Kung Fu (2021) s02e01 Episode Script

1
Come on! Gotta go!
Sorry, guys. Dead end.
Look, I don't want to hurt you.
Just give up the money
you stole from the Changs,
and we don't even have to fight.
Damian Wu?
Your Uncle Roy know what
you've gotten mixed up in?
Sorry. Roy's a regular
at Harmony Dumplings.
He used to bring you in
when you were yay-high.
Oh, man.
Come on.
Ok.
Screw that.
Ahh!
Come on, let's go.
Some friends you've got.
I swear, if I'd have
known we'd cross with
the Nicky Shen tonight
It's just you've got kind
of a reputation these days.
That's nice to hear, but not the point.
- Sorry.
- No.
You're gonna return it
to Mrs. Chang yourself.
And you're gonna apologize to her face
for raiding her till.
If you don't, I'll hear about it.
And cut those friends loose.
They give you any
trouble, you let me know.
Thanks, Nicky. I'm taking it right now.
I promise.
Hey, mama.
Hey, Mrs. Fung keeps calling.
Why hasn't she gotten her soup yet?
Sorry, just a few minutes behind.
Hmm. Ok. What happened?
I might have gotten
a little sidetracked.
Sidetracked? Meaning what? Fighting?
Barely. And it all worked out.
I was just helping out the changs.
Ok, but that soup better not get cold.
Don't worry, still hot.
- Hey, Althea.
- Where are you?
On my way, I swear.
- Nicky
- Love you. Bye.
How's it feel now that
it's official, Dr. Shen?
Hopefully you won't be ditching
the clinic anytime soon.
- I like having you around.
- I'm still part-timing for now.
Just got to pay off
that med school debt.
Don't buy the poor doctor routine.
Ryan's gonna be making
real doctor money soon.
Hey, when do you find
out where you matched?
Uh, I should find out any day now.
Well, man, till then, live it up.
He is. Trust me.
Oh, what's that supposed to mean?
Just saying you've been
very occupied lately.
A lot of extracurricular activities.
Wow, you're sex shaming me.
Wait, I thought you
were with that architect.
The architect was ages ago.
Whose side are you on?
Sorry, sorry.
Hi.
Congrats, brother.
Champers?
Just because I don't drink alcohol
doesn't mean I don't gift alcohol.
How'd the big presentation go?
Killing it at your new job
like we all knew you would?
She's crushing it.
Yeah, I'm crushing it.
It's great to be back in the game.
Oh! Ha!
You know this is my jam.
And you know you're
dancing to it right now.
Let's go. Come on. Come on.
Hi.
So is tonight gonna be
a Henry's place night?
I thought last night was
a Henry's place night.
Why can't I have you every night?
Well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve
and that "Eater" profile
blew up our to-go orders.
So I promised mama
I'd help staring early.
Aw.
Patience, Henry.
Hey, you made it.
- Hey. Hey.
- Hey, man.
Any breakthrough on
the Russell Tan front?
More like a dead end, actually.
We know Tan is amassing this
real estate empire in the city.
He's got everyone in his pocket,
including my boss.
Every time I pull on a thread,
some impossible deal
Nothing shady?
Just ordinary billionaire shady.
So we've got nothing.
Well, we know what we gotta do
Keep keeping tabs, stay frosty.
But
Until that other shoe drops
- Oh, no.
- Oh, no.
Oh, yeah.
Tonight we dance.
Mama?
Baba?
Who are you?
Nicky!
Stay back!
Nicky.
So we have a
possible female suspect.
Assailant came in
through the front window.
Discovered in here.
There was a scuffle.
Your daughter chased
her out into the street.
Yes, officer.
Sounds like your
daughter tried her best.
Hope you don't mind me saying,
probably better not to
pick fights with criminals.
But nothing was taken?
No. Checked everything twice.
Nothing's missing.
Thanks to Nicky.
All right. Well, we're almost done here.
We're gonna wrap this up in a couple
of minutes and be out of your hair.
- You ok?
- Yeah.
How are your parents?
Freaked out but putting on a brave face.
Henry, someone was in our house.
My parents I mean
What if I hadn't come home when I did?
Who do you think it was?
Any chance it was retaliation?
The last 6 months you've helped
a lot of people from the community
and made a lot of enemies.
Not to mention Tony Kang just got
out of prison last month.
No. If Tony wanted payback,
he would have come for me already.
Besides, this didn't feel
like anyone I've fought
since we've been back.
This felt different.
When I walked into the
house, I sensed her,
her presence.
I felt something like
a connection to her.
She was raw, sloppy even, but
She was strong.
You know how we've been waiting
for the other shoe to drop,
for something big and bad to start up?
I think it just did.
Uhh!
- Yah!
- Uhh!
Hey, oh.
Oh. Eh.
Hey, baba. You ok?
The break-in last night.
Yeah, Nicky had Evan put a
police detail on the house.
Everything's ok. Another
party. Excuse me, son.
Come, come, come. This
way. Welcome, welcome.
Hey, mama, have you seen
Nicky went to get more produce.
- Who's he?
- Huh? Oh.
Here for an interview. New line cook.
But I haven't had a
moment to talk to him.
The orders just keep coming in.
- I'm back!
- Oh.
Oh, no. Totally forgot.
All's forgiven, but
you're coming with me now.
Hey, where do you think
you guys are going?
Sorry, mama, I promised Ryan
I'd train with him today.
Train? Since when did you
start working out, Ryan?
- Uh, mama.
- What? You're not even athletic.
Ok, well, we're going.
Hey, don't forget, tonight,
New Year's Eve reunion dinner.
First time in 3 years
we're gonna be together.
I am so sorry. I will be
with you in just a minute.
Table 7 sent their whole order back.
- Too spicy.
- What?
They asked for spicy.
I
Sebastian, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- Come on out.
What's this?
Daikon.
Specifically, a Chinese green lobak.
If it's the good stuff,
you picked it up from Huang's Wholesale.
Only market in town that carries
shao shan produce fresh from bolinas.
- Knife skills?
- Never had any complaints.
Hmm. Ok.
You are hired.
Take over.
Right.
- Man down!
- Seriously?
Sorry, Althea.
Hey, Gwen.
Any chance you had a moment
to review my proposal?
Oh, I'm planning to get to that soon.
Ok, great.
Well, it's just 'cause
the software updates
I'm proposing won't require
a huge capital investment,
but will go a long
way towards addressing
some of the core issues with the tech.
- Core issues?
- The problem with the source code
I briefed you on last month.
Mm-mmm.
Refresher.
Uh, 20% of our users
encounter error messages.
I've isolated the bug,
and if we just made a few tweaks,
it would really improve
the end user experience.
But why bother fixing
it if it's just 20%?
Look, Althea, I hired
you because you're amazing
and brilliant, and you are
an incredible programmer.
- Thank you.
- Yeah, but I think
there seems to be a disconnect,
'cause what's our motto here at Loungr?
It's work hard, rest hard.
Ok, this is last year's sign.
But this should say
"work hard, rest hard."
And I so appreciate your hard work.
And, Althea, look, I know
you're trying to make your mark,
but the time for looking under the hood,
um, it's over.
It's about focusing on that buyout. Ok?
So we can all get rich.
Oh! Got it.
I'm so glad you get it now.
100%.
Ok, good.
Yeah. And, Althea, in the meantime,
enjoy yourself here.
Get a latte. Play some pong.
- Yeah.
- Get in a nap pod.
Yeah. You get it.
There she is.
- Hey, girl, hey.
- What's up, what's up?
Ha ha ha!
Uhh!
Whew.
That's got to be a record.
All right.
72 bpm.
Ok, it's official. My
sister's a superhero.
- Or I've just been training a lot.
- No.
No, you can't deny empirical evidence.
Months of data support my theory.
Your theory is wish fulfillment.
You've always been
obsessed with comic books.
Sorry, but my brush with Biange energy
did not turn me into a mutant.
Come on.
No one works out like you just did
without spiking their heart rate.
Yeah, well, it definitely
spiked last night.
Even superheroes have off days.
It's been a while
since you lost a fight.
You may be Shaolin, but
you're still my sister.
Even you have an ego.
Fair.
But it's not just that.
I've been at peace, happy, you know.
This whole time I've been
telling myself that I was red
Am ready for whatever's coming. But
But now?
This woman, she got close.
It feels personal.
Any questions on strategy?
I think we have our marching orders.
- Evan.
- Hey, Nadia.
Oh, D.A. Hughes.
Your meeting with Ms.
Penberthy is in 5 minutes.
I know. What are you doing down here?
I asked Nadia to bring
me a copy of the affidavit
for the Williams case.
And here it is.
Thank you. Ahem.
Evan.
Is there something you want to tell me?
What's going on between you two?
Between me and Nadia?
'Cause we have very
strict reporting procedures
about office romance.
Oh, I assure you there's
nothing romantic between us.
Good.
'Cause I don't need that headache.
I have something.
A highly-skilled mercenary
goes by the name
Sasha Beals just popped up in sf.
You think she's the one
who broke into our house?
She matches the description you gave.
I've been tracking her
'cause she's done jobs
for dictators, shady
multinationals, and Russell Tan.
She's a specialist in
infiltration and exfiltration.
So theft and kidnapping.
Yeah.
What could you have that she wants?
I can think of one thing.
Evan, I'll call you right back.
Henry, where's our, uh, spare key
for our research stash?
Card catalogue.
Top drawer, middle file.
What's up?
Bad feeling.
She took it, all our research
Biange, the weapons, the bloodlines.
It's gone.
How is Kerwin doing?
No change since the
flight from Shanghai.
Mr. Tan, there's
someone here to see you.
Sasha, did you get the girl?
She's trained.
And she's been waiting for this.
I won't make the same mistake again.
If you want her, I'll
need a better team.
I'll give you whatever you want.
Just get it done.
Why would Tan send Sasha to steal
our research in the first place?
You'd think he has
everything we have and more.
Yeah. The Biange energy
went back into the earth,
the weapons were destroyed.
It doesn't make any sense.
We've watched this like 10 times now.
Maybe there's nothing to see.
I haven't spotted her anywhere.
Too many people going in and
the quality is pretty bad.
Ok, there's you closing up.
Well, it was empty when I locked up,
and it was empty when I
opened it in the morning.
What if she left a different way?
Are there cameras outside?
Yeah, front entrance and rear alley.
Is that Sasha?
That's her.
Just keep it humming, Althea.
Your work doesn't matter,
and you'll never leave your Mark here
or anywhere else in Silicon Valley,
but at least you have
nice comfy nap pods
and lattes on tap.
Thanks, Gwen.
I love feeling like it's all about money
and I'm just wasting my life here.
Um.
Thought you might be
hungry. I brought takeout.
Heh. You're perfect.
And I've completely lost my mind.
You know, you're not stuck here.
- If you hate it
- I kind of am. Stuck.
After Cloudrush, I was out of
the workforce for a whole year.
That's a huge gap on my résume
and I couldn't exactly add an item
for planning wedding of the century.
Lucky to get an interview here,
let alone actual job.
Maybe Gwen's right.
Maybe I've just got to go with the flow.
Oh, pebbles.
Bam bam.
Hey, Nicky.
Any chance you could
hack into a cab company.
Like in my sleep or
Althea.
Send me what you've got.
I think we need to start
turning people away outside.
No, no, no. No. No.
Lo por, take a moment.
- Come.
- What?
Imagine this. Huh?
Last year.
Last new year we didn't know if we could
keep those doors open another month.
The dining room was
practically empty, remember?
We're busy. I'm tired.
Good problem to have, huh?
Yeah, but we have a long service ahead.
I haven't even started prepping
for the reunion dinner yet.
What about the desserts?
It won't be a Shen new year without
my mother's ma tuan and your nian gao.
At the rate we're going,
we're not gonna get dinner
on the table till midnight.
I can pitch in.
You've got your hands full, no?
I like a challenge.
You're comfortable making dessert?
I'm pretty comfortable making anything.
I've worked in Beijing, honed
my mala skills in Chengdu.
Also did a year in Paris.
Made ceviche in Peru.
No formal training, but, you know,
picked up a few things over the years.
So should I get that
nian gao started?
- Yeah.
- Yes!
Well, I can report that
SF's fifth best cab service
has surprisingly good security.
Good enough to keep you out?
Please.
Ok, I'm in.
You said the pick up was at 4 am?
I've got a pick up
near the community
center at 4:06. Matches
the license plate.
Is there a drop off location?
Yep. 8341 market. 4:18 am.
We'll go check it out.
You're sure this is
where she was dropped off?
What do you mean?
This doesn't make any sense.
Sasha Beals, international mercenary,
sets up camp here?
I don't know about that,
but I found our research.
If Tan hired her to take this,
wouldn't she have brought
it straight to him?
Checked everything
twice. Nothing's missing.
I recognize this.
Nicky?
It's identical.
Nicky?
Hey, mama, odd question,
but you have a bracelet
in your jewelry box.
I have several bracelets
in my jewelry box.
Nicky, it's really, really
busy in the kitchen right now.
The gold one. There's an inscription.
It looks like you've had it for a while.
Oh, yeah, Po Po gave that
to me a long time ago,
told me to pass it on to my daughter.
I had two. I guess I couldn't choose.
So I kept it for myself. Why do you ask?
The inscription. It's custom
made, right? One of a kind.
Well, not really. It's
part of a matching pair.
Po Po gave aunt Mei-xue the other one.
Ok, why do you ask?
Never mind, mama. Got to go.
So if this bracelet
belonged to Mei-xue,
you think Sasha stole it?
No.
Henry, I think we've been
looking at this wrong.
It didn't add up. That hideout,
all that stuff.
I think she's auntie
Mei-xue's daughter.
The connections are
all there, but nothing.
Sorry, no breakthroughs tonight.
It's ok.
See you at the office.
Hey, Nadia.
Thank you for doing this for me,
for risking your job,
coming all the way out here.
You know I'm not just
doing this for you.
My parents, they grew up in
San Francisco, Manila town.
Oh, I had no idea SF had a Manila town.
Most people don't.
Gentrification.
City officials looking the other way
as men like Tan built over it.
That's why I'm doing this.
Nadia.
Nicky, are you sure?
Pretty sure.
Mei-xue had a daughter?
We have a cousin?
When we fought, I felt
a connection to her.
It makes sense now.
Are you gonna tell mama?
No. Not tonight. Not new year's Eve.
We don't even know
what we're dealing with.
Or what she wants.
You think she's the one
who attacked you last night?
What about Tan's mercenary?
- Yeah, could she be the same person?
- Could she be working with Tan?
I don't know. But we need to figure out
what she's doing here.
I was hoping there'd
be a clue in this stash.
All right, let's start digging.
Who are you?
Funny. That's what I was gonna ask you.
My name's Evan.
Yeah, Evan Hartley.
Born and raised in San Francisco.
Assistant D.A.
Someone's done their research.
All this stuff.
I'm guessing there's a reason why
you're keeping this hidden
away from your office.
Nice government files.
Stolen?
Who are you?
That's kind of a deep question.
Don't be smart.
I know about you and your friends
Nicky Shen and Henry Yan.
Why the hell are you after me?
Anyone find anything?
She left little notes everywhere.
Yeah, but no dates,
no order to any of it.
I think she's young.
Something about all this
just feels like she's a kid.
Would a kid have something like this?
So the other two
burner phones were dead,
but I cracked the passcode on this one.
There's a call log.
And I recognize this area code.
It's Nash creek.
Turn around real slow.
Yeah, Duke here.
Duke?
Why were you in Nash Creek?
Sorry, but they're my friends.
Without knowing who you are,
I can't trust you not to hurt them.
Thanks. You, too.
What'd Duke say?
Ok, so a young woman tracked
him down a few months ago.
Wouldn't say who she was.
Duke didn't trust her, so he kept mum.
But apparently she was
shaking people down at the bar.
One of the locals told
her about 3 strangers
who showed up in town
and got in a bar fight.
That's how we got onto her radar.
So she tracked you from Nash Creek,
first to our house, then the library.
Does 2pce499 mean anything to you?
Evan. She tracked him.
For what it's worth,
I don't think you're a killer.
I think you're searching for answers.
And I think you're scared.
Liar.
How do you know this person?
How do you know this person?
I don't.
Evan?
Stop, stop, stop.
Put it down, please.
Mei-xue, you're her daughter.
Who are you?
I'm family.
Please just put the knife down,
and I'll tell you everything.
You can trust us.
We want to help.
You ok?
Yeah.
Sorry about your friend.
You got mixed up.
And I'm starting to understand why.
Your mom never told
you she had a sister?
She never talked about her family.
She raised me in that cabin.
Alone.
You had no contact with anyone?
She said there was no reason
for me to go in the world.
Said it was a dangerous place
filled with people who want to hurt me.
She raised me, taught
me how to defend myself
in case anyone ever did come,
but no one did.
When did you leave?
I was 16.
I was tired of secrecy,
being trapped in that cabin.
I just I just wanted
to see the world.
So
I ran away.
I made my way to New York.
Learned how to survive.
I scraped by. It was hard,
but I felt free.
I made some friends on the street,
a group of kids.
They were squatting in
an abandoned tenement.
What happened?
They found me.
6 months ago.
This woman.
Leading a team of men.
They raided our squat in
the middle of the night.
They shot my friends.
Killed them all.
I only survived because
of what mama taught me.
I went home, but when I got there
I found out about you and
your friends in Nash Creek.
I asked around.
I knew about this cabin.
I just wanted answers.
I had to know who you were.
I'm Nicky.
Mia.
That woman's still out there.
Ok. I'm not safe here.
I'm not safe anywhere.
We'll keep you safe. I promise.
Nicky.
She's right.
Tan's mercenaries.
If what she just told us is true,
Sasha came to San
Francisco looking for her.
Well, she's safe here, right?
Uh, for now. Maybe.
We can figure this out.
We just need to regroup, strategize.
What was that?
Evan?
I don't know.
Move, now!
Mia!
Uhh!
Hi, Mia.
Uhh.
Go!
Mia!
Mia!
Uhh.
You're not going anywhere.
Drop it.
Drop what, the phone or the gun?
Does he know you're here?
Who's he?
Your boss. Russell Tan.
I know he's been tracking her.
Does he know where she is?
No.
Nicky.
Evan, take this.
- The others?
- Tied and bound in the cabin.
All set.
Dennis.
I can't believe we get you tonight.
Yeah, I'm on loan.
My parents have us
booked for tomorrow night.
Besides, how could I turn down
my first Shen family New Year's Eve?
I'm really glad you're here.
Ryan.
What?
He's buttering you up.
He knows, as newlyweds,
we're on the hook for
Hong bao for him and Nicky,
and he's being extra nice.
So I'll give him a fatty stack.
- Mmm.
- Bro.
- You're not really gonna
- No.
- Have you heard from Nicky?
- No.
Not since she and Henry
went to check on Evan.
I'll try her again.
Your whispers aren't
as quiet as you think.
Yeah, we might be old, but we can hear.
- Hey.
- Nicky.
Who's your friend?
There's a lot to explain,
but, mama, everyone,
this is Mia.
Auntie Mie-xue's daughter.
Hi.
I, um
I
Uh.
Hi. Come, come. Sit.
Heh. Of course.
Please. Please join us.
Let's eat.
Yes, please. Let's eat.
Well, she seems to be
enjoying mama's giao zi.
Probably been forever
since she's had a warm meal.
She's been alone for years.
You know, no family to lean on,
no one looking out for her.
That's awful.
She looks just like her.
Even her voice.
It's as if a part of
Mei-xue has returned to us.
Mama.
She's in danger, isn't she?
Yeah.
Whatever happens, she's family.
Our family.
And you promise me you will protect her,
you will keep her safe.
I will.
Any word from Sasha?
No, sir. Not yet.
Kerwin, it's ok.
Aah! Where am I?
You're alive, Kerwin.
And whether you like it or not,
you're home.
Uhh!
It is time, Zhilan.
No, no. No. No, no, no.
Yes, sister.
You have avoided me long enough.
You have nothing now.
You are ready to see me,
to finally face
everything you have done.
Greg, move your head.