Tracker (2024) s04e01 Episode Script
Safe Harbor
1
♪
[SMOKE DETECTOR BEEPING]
CHARLIE: Dad, your dinner's on fire!
SEAN: Okay. I'm coming,
I'm coming, I'm coming.
- [COUGHING]
- Watch out, watch out. Watch out.
I got it, I got it, I got it.
[GRUNTS]
Ah.
Oh, here we go.
- Damn it. Oh, it's fine.
- [COUGHING]
It's fine. Just a little,
uh, extra crispy.
Way extra crispy.
I'm not eating that.
- [LAUGHS]
- [PHONE VIBRATING]
Everything okay?
Yeah, yeah.
I just got to run out for a sec
and take care of something.
Now?
Yeah, it's a work thing.
Um, I'll be back soon.
Hey, uh, can you keep an eye
on your brother?
I'll bring home a pizza.
- Okay?
- Okay, deal.
Deal. All right.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
See you guys.
[PAN SCRAPES]
[SIZZLES]
[TV PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]
[CHARLIE SIGHS]
Dad home yet?
Not yet, but he'll be home soon, okay?
Don't worry.
Just go back to sleep, buddy, okay?
♪
♪
[ALARM RINGING]
[SIGHS]
[ALARM CONTINUES RINGING]
[RINGING STOPS]
[COFFEE BEANS GRINDING]
♪
[BURNER CLICKING]
♪
♪
[PHONE VIBRATING]
- Randy, what do you got?
- RANDY: Morning, C.
- Sorry to hit you so early.
- No, no, you know I'm awake.
- What's up?
- Single dad,
his name is Sean Wooledge,
he left home last night,
never came back.
Works construction in San Pedro.
Who's hiring?
His brother Charlie. Said
the family doesn't have much,
but they're willing to throw
whatever they got at it.
Listen, you're close,
I figured I'd toss it to you
to see if you were interested.
Yeah. Send me the details.
♪
[DOORBELL RINGS]
CHARLIE: Who is it?
Colter Shaw. Looking for Charlie.
[LOCK CLICKING]
Yeah, okay. Come on in.
Come on, Hank,
you're gonna miss the bus.
This the guy?
CHARLIE: Yeah, yeah. Uh, just go. Okay?
I'll meet you
at the bus stop after school.
Don't forget your lunch.
Hey.
Remember what we talked about, okay?
[DOOR CLOSES]
You're Charlie.
It's your dad that's missing,
not your brother, right?
I'm sorry I lied. I
I didn't think
you'd take a job from a kid.
How'd you find me?
Uh, I asked a Reddit thread.
Said you do this kind of thing.
- You should call the police.
- I can't.
Our neighbor called CPS on us last year
when Dad left Hank home alone.
H-He was sick, but Dad has to work.
They threaten to separate you?
I can't let that happen.
COLTER: Is it just the three
of you here, Charlie?
Since Mom died two years ago.
[CHARLIE SIGHS]
I'm sorry.
You have any family close by?
Any friends?
No one I trust enough
to explain what's happening.
I can take care of Hank.
I mean, we're in school
all day anyway. I-I just
I-I need to know that my dad's okay.
[SIGHS]
Why don't you tell me what happened?
Dad kept getting texts,
said he had to run out to work.
But I called the construction company,
and he was never on-site.
When was this?
He was making dinner.
Doesn't make sense,
lying about going to work.
He'd never done anything
like that before?
No, he-he would never leave us.
Always the three of us
against the world.
Do you have any idea
who he might have been texting?
No. Like
he said it was for work, so I
I don't know, I believed him.
What did you have?
- Burnt chicken.
- Yeah.
He messed up and burned our dinner,
so
So, he was distracted.
Look, w-whatever this costs,
it doesn't matter, I'll figure it out.
I just have a really bad feeling.
Please
can you find my dad?
Yeah, let me poke around.
Hopefully,
he's on his way home right now.
And if he's not?
Let me see what I can find out.
[PHONE VIBRATING]
Mm. Shoot.
- What's up, Colt?
- COLTER: Randy.
- Uh, how'd it go with Charlie?
- Charlie's Sean's kid.
- He's 15 years old.
- [CHUCKLES] Okay.
Props to the little man
for getting one past me.
I told him I'd keep the cops
out of it for now.
- I'll give it a day.
- That's cool, man.
Well, Sean's phone is off
the map and his car's a beater.
I got nothing.
Find out who he was texting last night?
- Something had him rattled.
- Yes, I can.
All right. He was going back and forth
with a guy named Bern Maddox.
Uh, something about money.
They were arranging to meet.
You got anything on this, uh,
this Bern guy?
I'm gonna find out.
- [KEYBOARD CLICKING]
- [MUTTERS]: San Pedro
Oh. Yeah. Buddy's got a record.
He did five years
for extortion and assault.
This is a bad dude.
- Where is he now?
- One sec.
All right, he got a new Escalade.
And he's parked outside of
Longshore Welding and Steel
right now. So, sending you the address.
Got it. Thanks, Randy.
MAXINE: I still can't believe
the landlord sold your old offices.
How are you settling in?
You know, for a temporary space,
it'll do.
- Thank you, by the way.
- Yeah. Of course.
You know, I could talk
to the other partners,
see if I could get you a lease.
Oh. No, no, no, no.
I-I really want our own space.
You know? I think it's a good time,
with the settlement money
coming in, and
- Yeah, I get it. Just asking.
- And hey,
I had a look at that case file
that you sent over.
- Mm.
- I mean, it seemed
pretty straightforward.
Oh, it's gonna be a little more
complicated than that.
- How so?
- Mm
Really big family, millions in assets,
voting stake at the company.
They're gonna play dirty.
People show you who they really
are when everything's on the line.
Don't I know it.
You okay?
Mm-hmm. I am not gonna bore you
with any more war stories
from my divorce.
Let's just say
it would be easier if he died.
You know any good hit men?
- I am kidding. Sort of.
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
I've got a good shovel.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Just saying.
What about you?
Things still going with the doctor?
[SIGHS] The doctor.
I don't know, he's just kind of
Boring? I told you.
I mean
Okay, so, you are officially
on the market again?
Why? Are you selling?
Our in-house investigator
- asked about you.
- Mm.
He saw your name on
the Praiter-Rockwell file.
I guess you guys
went to school together?
What's his name?
His name's Adam Shevlin.
Oh. Uh-oh.
- You know him.
- I did.
Many, many years ago.
Okay, well, I don't know
what he was like back then,
but I will say, he is very smart,
he's very cute and he is
not married, so I can
No. Please.
- Do not do that.
- Okay.
- Noted.
- It's a very long story,
- and I
- [KNOCKING]
Hi. Sorry to interrupt.
Oh. I am late, aren't I?
I mean, this guy, I can only
give him so much coffee.
Uh, I will take a look
at the case file again,
and I will let you know what I find.
- To be continued.
- Uh-huh.
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[DISTANT CHATTER]
Help you?
Yeah, maybe.
I'm here for, uh, Bern Maddox.
He here?
He's off today. Sorry.
Something I can do to help you?
No, I'm good. Thank you, though.
Well, I got work to do, so
Yeah. No, sorry. Go you know.
Thank you.
- You do something stupid?
- What?
There's a guy out front asking for you.
Is it a cop?
DARYL: Not sure, but he looked like one.
COLTER: Bern?
You're Bern Maddox.
- Now we got a problem.
- No, no, there's no problem.
I'm not a cop or anything.
I'm just looking for, uh, Sean Wooledge?
DARYL: Don't know the name.
Now, like I said, you better go
before something happens.
Something's gonna happen
what's gonna happen?
I got this, Daryl.
You better.
So, Sean comes to see you
last night, right?
He owes you money? What happened?
Man, I can't I don't need this.
No, no hey, hey, hey, hey.
Look. Sit down.
Sit down. Like I said, I'm not a cop.
Sean comes to see you last night,
he owes you money. What happened?
I can't have this blow back on me, man.
Okay? I'm on parole.
I sold him a gun, okay?
He said he needed to protect his girl.
♪
Sean and I go way back.
He comes to me, said his girl's
in some kind of trouble.
So, I made a call and I hooked him up.
This girl, did you get a name?
No, she was waiting in the car.
I just told him
it couldn't come back to me.
That's it?
That was it.
Okay. All right. Well, thank you.
Charlie, why don't you come on out?
Did you follow me here?
I-I know I'm supposed to be in school.
- I was really worried, so
- Listen, I
I know you're trying to help, but
you got to trust me, all right?
Is-is my dad in trouble? I mean,
those men looked really rough.
You'd tell me if he was in trouble?
I don't know if he's in trouble or not.
And I'm gonna try
to bring him back safe,
but you got to let me do my job.
- Yeah, okay.
- Okay.
Why don't you grab your bike?
I'll give you a ride to school.
How'd you find me, by the way?
The window outside the house,
it's like a speaker.
You heard me on the phone?
Yeah. You were talking about
the welding shop,
so I googled it.
Sorry, I just wanted to know
- what was happening.
- It's okay.
Since our mom died,
our dad is all me and Hank got.
My father passed away
when I was about your age.
Forces you to grow up fast.
I spent a lot of time taking
care of my younger sister.
I mean, my-my dad tries, just
he's always working, so
He's trying to provide
for you and your brother.
I know.
Can you tell me what
you found out at the shop?
Did your dad have a girlfriend, maybe?
He tries to keep that private,
'cause of Mom,
but I think I've heard him talking
to some lady named Stephanie.
Kind of just figured they were a thing.
What do you know about her?
Uh, just that she's
a supervisor at the port.
Kind of a big shot.
Dad brings her lunch sometimes.
- Last name?
- Uh, pretty sure it's Rodrigo.
Wait, no, it's-it's Rodriguez.
What does she have to do with this?
I'll see if I can find out.
- How do we do that?
- We don't do anything.
You're gonna go back to school. Hop in.
♪
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[SEABIRDS CHIRPING]
[PASSENGER DOOR CLOSES]
Here you are.
Will you let me know
if you hear anything?
You'll be my first call.
Okay.
[SCHOOL BELL RINGS]
[SHIP HORN BLOWS]
[LINE RINGING]
RANDY: Colter. You find Bern?
Yeah, I did. He, uh, sold a gun to Sean.
Damn.
The hell's Sean into?
He's protecting some woman
named, uh, Stephanie Rodriguez.
She's a supervisor at the port.
[MUTTERS]: Stephanie okay.
All right, protect her from what?
Haven't found that out yet.
All right.
Well, her phone's pinging
on a street in Vista del Oro.
- What's there?
- Uh, it's mostly residential.
- Can you send me a pin?
- You got it.
Thanks, Randy.
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
♪
♪
[LOCK CLICKING]
♪
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
KAO: Uh,
if you can have them bag the other ones
around the corner also, okay?
Shaw?
Uh, Detective Kao.
Uh, just got a download from my guys,
but wanted to hear it from you.
I was looking for Sean Wooledge.
- How is that?
- Family hired me to find him.
'Cause that's what you do. Find people?
New things. Every day.
Go on?
I tracked Sean and his girlfriend
Stephanie Rodriguez to this house.
- Where you happened to find a body.
- Exactly.
As soon as I found that body
and the signs of a struggle,
- that's when I called you guys.
- Appreciate that.
- Yeah.
- Really. But now I got to figure out
- what the hell happened here.
- Yeah.
Did you get an I.D. on the body?
Uh, yeah.
Brent Russo.
Gate clerk at the port.
He's your girl Stephanie's ex.
Nasty fight went down here.
I'm thinking new boyfriend
kills ex-boyfriend.
Hmm.
No history of violence, no record.
KAO: Maybe Stephanie gave him a reason.
[CHUCKLES] One of those "happy,
happy, no joy" kind of things.
Maybe, although I
I don't think Sean did this.
Why do you say that?
I think there was
a fourth party involved.
So, not a throuple.
Okay, three plus one.
- Yeah.
- I can buy that.
So, this fourth person,
right, was waiting for them.
The fight broke out here,
right, struggle goes this way.
Impact.
[GRUNTS]
KAO: Yeah, I see it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Falls. Tries to crawl away.
Well, I don't know
if he tried to crawl away.
Look at the size of that stain.
Indicates that this person
was unconscious.
Right? I think they were,
they were dragged this way.
I'm guessing that's Sean.
KAO: Yeah.
Too heavy to carry. Unlike Stephanie.
[WOMAN WHIMPERING]
Or Sean and Stephanie
did it all themselves
and now they're on the run,
'cause right now, I got their car here.
Or I can maybe get there on your
"party crasher plus one" theory.
Either way, we got to find them.
Yeah, goes without.
And maybe the body here
was dragged out the back.
- You see that?
- Yeah, we'll look into it, Mr. Shaw.
Meantime,
uh, you get a trace
on that missing couple,
let me know.
- Yeah.
- Thanks.
REENIE [OVER PHONE]: Hey, Colter.
- Randy brought me up to speed.
- Yeah, well,
now the police are involved.
Whoever killed Stephanie's ex
is after her and Sean.
The police aren't up
to speed yet, but they will be.
Well, you need to be out front
because of Sean's boys.
Look, if the police find out
that they don't have a guardian,
they're gonna get put
in protective custody.
Yeah, you're right. That's why
we got to find them right away.
Okay, who else was at the ex's house?
I'm trying to find that out.
How can I help?
Why don't you look into Stephanie's ex?
Brent Russo.
See if he's got any open
investigations, maybe something
local police
wouldn't know anything about.
They all work down by the port.
Can't be a coincidence, right?
Okay, yeah. Brent Russo.
Let me see what we can do.
Thanks, Reenie.
♪
♪
♪
[BELL CHIMES]
[VIDEO GAME BLIPPING]
Hi.
[VIDEO GAME BLIPPING]
[BELL DINGS]
Hi.
- Buck fifty. Cash or card?
- You got it.
Got cash for you.
Hey, listen, I was wondering, uh,
if you were, by chance,
working last night?
Depends why you're asking.
Well, a couple people were taken
from your alley.
I was hoping to get a look
at your security footage.
What are you, some concerned citizen?
Yeah, something like that.
Just trying to help them out.
I'm thinking maybe your cameras
might've caught something.
What's in it for me?
Well, what do you have in mind?
- 50 bucks maybe?
- You want 50 bucks?
[SCOFFS]
Wiping me out, Darlene. We got a deal?
Deal.
Have at it.
- [VIDEO GAME BLIPPING]
- Hmm
[PHONE CAMERA CLICKS]
[LINE RINGING]
Hey, Randy, Stephanie and Sean
were taken.
What? Why take them?
Uh, must've needed them for something.
Can you get an I.D.
on that picture I sent you?
RANDY: It's too blurry.
I got a partial plate on the van.
- Give me a sec.
- All right.
See if any of 'em
were registered to the port.
Uh, let me check.
Got one.
Registered to a Cabrillo Transport.
I believe it's
a freight-hauling business.
Yeah, it's got to be the one.
Yup, just sent you the addy.
Got it. Thanks, Randy.
[GROANING]
[PANTING]
STEPHANIE [WHISPERS]: Hey, hey, hey.
- Steph?
- Hey, hey. I'm here.
I'm here.
- Are you okay?
- I'll be fine.
- We got to get out of here.
- I'm sorry.
I didn't know any of this would happen.
- It's okay.
- [DOOR OPENS]
Cooled off a little?
STEPHANIE: Let us go. I-I promise,
I promise we won't say anything.
No can do.
Gonna need a little help first.
I swear, if you hurt her
Maybe-maybe-maybe I have him
start with you.
Mm? Let her watch and then
- do what I'm gonna do.
- [WHIMPERS] No.
- [SPITS]
- Ooh
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
STEPHANIE: No! No, no. [CRIES]
- Keep the change.
- Well, well, well.
RICK: Thank you.
Reenie Greene.
- Hey, Rick. How you doing?
- Got your text.
Got to say, you piqued my curiosity.
Well, I didn't want
to put it in writing,
but I need to understand why Brent Russo
has an open federal investigation.
- You know I can't do that.
- Oh, come on. Yes, you can.
- It's just the two of us.
- This can blow back.
- Feds don't mess around.
- I know they don't,
but two people have been taken, Rick,
and I think they could still be alive.
Yeah, I know what you're doing.
Yeah, maybe, but one is a single father,
with two kids.
I need to know what's going on, okay?
And if it's nothing, it's nothing,
but every minute counts.
[SIGHS]
[SHIP HORN BLOWING]
♪
♪
[BRAKES HISS]
♪
♪
[FOOTSTEPS NEARBY]
♪
[KEYS JINGLING]
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- [LOCK CLICKS]
[MAN SPEAKS RUSSIAN OVER RADIO]
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
♪
SEAN: Please, don't.
I'm not gonna do anything.
I'm here to help you.
Your kids hired me to find you.
- Are they okay?
- They're safe, yeah.
Your kids are fine. Where's Stephanie?
- They took her.
- Took her where?
I don't know.
They-they left half an hour ago.
[MEN SPEAKING RUSSIAN NEARBY]
[GRUNTING]
[SHOUTS]
Come on. Follow me. Let's go.
Gonna get you out of here.
Come on. Behind me.
- You all right?
- [GROANING, COUGHING]
- [WHEEZES] Yeah.
- Need a break?
No. I'm good.
Come on. You need a break.
It's okay. Right here.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
- [WINCES]
- Relax.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
This whole thing's
about Stephanie, isn't it?
Yeah. Her ex was pressuring her
to disappear a container.
Why couldn't he just do it himself?
He's a gate clerk.
That means he has access to the yard,
but not the central computer.
So, he needed her to delete the records.
Yeah. She didn't want to do it,
but these guys
You can't exactly say no to them.
And you were gonna confront them?
No. Th-They set up a meeting.
I told Steph to go to the cops,
but she was scared there'd be
some kind of blowback.
But then, things, they [SIGHS]
They went sideways. They killed Brent.
- [PHONE VIBRATING]
- Well, once they had her,
they didn't need him, did they?
COLTER: Reenie, talk to me.
What do you got?
It turns out, Stephanie's ex has
ties to Russian organized crime.
A guy named Archer Litvak.
Yeah, they're trafficking something.
They needed Stephanie
to disappear a container.
It's people, Colter.
That's what they're moving.
They're moving people.
They use "ghost containers," so
no record of them ever existing.
This thing goes south,
they're gonna kill everyone.
If she was gonna disappear a container,
where would she go?
How would she do that?
- The control room.
- Do you know where that is?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, can you show me?
- I can.
- I'll call local police
and tell my contact to activate.
Yeah, thanks, Reenie. Come on, show me.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
This is never gonna work.
It will if you play your part.
Good night.
Evening.
Hey, Steph.
[KEYPAD BEEPS]
♪
Hey, Steph. Didn't see you on the board.
Who's this?
Hi. [CHUCKLES]
First day, just getting shown around.
Okay.
I'm just gonna call and make
sure everyone has clearance.
[HANGS UP RECEIVER]
I wouldn't do that.
Excuse me. We're looking
for Stephanie Rodriguez.
She come through here?
Whoa. Who
- Are you okay?
- SEAN: Yeah, I'm fine.
I'm her boyfriend. She's been kidnapped.
The guy who did this to me is the
one who took her. We got to find her.
We need access to your control room.
Hey, I got a situation.
I got a pulse. Call an ambulance.
- On it.
- Great. Hey.
You're all right. We got you.
The people who did this,
you see where they went?
- [WEAKLY]: Yard four.
- Yard four?
SEAN: We passed it on the way in.
He still needs Stephanie
to get past security.
- I'm going after her.
- SEAN: I should come with you.
You're gonna stay here,
you're gonna apply pressure.
Save this man's life.
Come on. I'll get her.
♪
[ALARM BEEPING]
- [BEEPING STOPS]
- [ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[VEHICLE DOORS OPENING]
[CHATTER IN RUSSIAN]
[CHATTER CONTINUES IN DISTANCE]
[SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
[MAN CONTINUES IN RUSSIAN]
[RHYTHMIC BANGING]
See what's going on over there.
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
[GRUNTING]
- [GROANING]
- [GRUNTS]
[MEN SPEAKING RUSSIAN NEARBY]
[MAN CONTINUES IN RUSSIAN]
[GRUNTING]
[CHOKING]
[RAPID GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]
♪
[GRUNTS]
Let her go!
No one else has to get hurt tonight.
Not gonna happen!
[GROANS]
You all right?
I'll be fine. I'll be fine.
Okay.
- [METALLIC BANGING]
- Okay.
[BANGING CONTINUES]
[PEOPLE COUGHING]
COLTER: Okay.
You're okay.
You're okay.
♪
You're okay. You're safe now.
You're okay.
[SIREN WAILING]
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
Not even gonna ask,
but when I'm done mopping up,
I'm gonna need a blow-by-blow.
Yeah, yeah, you got it.
I'm just glad everyone's safe.
The Feds are knocking down doors
as we speak.
Should have enough to take down
the rest of Litvak's crew.
Good. The victims?
Thought they were applying for work.
Next thing they knew,
they were shoved in a container.
Been there for days.
We're gonna get them back
to the families.
Yeah. Well, they've been through a lot.
Nice work, Shaw.
You banked a favor with me,
far as I'm concerned.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
♪
[DOOR OPENS]
[DROPS KEYS]
Dad!
I'm so sorry, buddy. [GROANS]
[COUGHS, SIGHS]
How you doing, pal?
W-What happened?
[CHUCKLES] You should see the other guy.
It looks way worse
than it is, I promise.
Thank you
for being the man of the house.
Just did what you taught me.
I'm okay. We are okay.
Guys, uh, this is Stephanie,
my girlfriend.
We-we know, Dad.
I heard a lot about you.
Nice to finally meet you.
- [STEPHANIE CHUCKLES]
- It's bedtime, Hank, huh?
Why don't we go show Steph your room?
- Yeah, let's go.
- [CHUCKLES]
I'm proud of you.
Thank you, Dad.
Thank you.
For everything.
CHARLIE: I don't,
I don't know what to say.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You're wel you got
good instincts, by the way.
Even though I lied to get you here
and also followed you
when I wasn't supposed to?
That's exactly
what I'm talking about, yeah.
Yeah, I would've done the same thing.
That's cool.
- Oh. What do I owe you?
- Uh
- I'll make you a deal.
- Okay.
- I'm listening.
- Okay. Here's what I'm thinking.
Stay in school,
keep working hard, all right?
And when you finish, come look me up,
and, uh, we'll settle up then.
- Deal.
- Deal.
All right, you keep it up.
Make your father proud.
We did good.
See you down the line?
- Yeah.
- All right.
♪
[PHONE VIBRATING]
RANDY [OVER PHONE]: Colter.
All right, Randy, talk to me.
What's next?
[ENGINE STARTS]
♪
♪
[SMOKE DETECTOR BEEPING]
CHARLIE: Dad, your dinner's on fire!
SEAN: Okay. I'm coming,
I'm coming, I'm coming.
- [COUGHING]
- Watch out, watch out. Watch out.
I got it, I got it, I got it.
[GRUNTS]
Ah.
Oh, here we go.
- Damn it. Oh, it's fine.
- [COUGHING]
It's fine. Just a little,
uh, extra crispy.
Way extra crispy.
I'm not eating that.
- [LAUGHS]
- [PHONE VIBRATING]
Everything okay?
Yeah, yeah.
I just got to run out for a sec
and take care of something.
Now?
Yeah, it's a work thing.
Um, I'll be back soon.
Hey, uh, can you keep an eye
on your brother?
I'll bring home a pizza.
- Okay?
- Okay, deal.
Deal. All right.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
See you guys.
[PAN SCRAPES]
[SIZZLES]
[TV PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]
[CHARLIE SIGHS]
Dad home yet?
Not yet, but he'll be home soon, okay?
Don't worry.
Just go back to sleep, buddy, okay?
♪
♪
[ALARM RINGING]
[SIGHS]
[ALARM CONTINUES RINGING]
[RINGING STOPS]
[COFFEE BEANS GRINDING]
♪
[BURNER CLICKING]
♪
♪
[PHONE VIBRATING]
- Randy, what do you got?
- RANDY: Morning, C.
- Sorry to hit you so early.
- No, no, you know I'm awake.
- What's up?
- Single dad,
his name is Sean Wooledge,
he left home last night,
never came back.
Works construction in San Pedro.
Who's hiring?
His brother Charlie. Said
the family doesn't have much,
but they're willing to throw
whatever they got at it.
Listen, you're close,
I figured I'd toss it to you
to see if you were interested.
Yeah. Send me the details.
♪
[DOORBELL RINGS]
CHARLIE: Who is it?
Colter Shaw. Looking for Charlie.
[LOCK CLICKING]
Yeah, okay. Come on in.
Come on, Hank,
you're gonna miss the bus.
This the guy?
CHARLIE: Yeah, yeah. Uh, just go. Okay?
I'll meet you
at the bus stop after school.
Don't forget your lunch.
Hey.
Remember what we talked about, okay?
[DOOR CLOSES]
You're Charlie.
It's your dad that's missing,
not your brother, right?
I'm sorry I lied. I
I didn't think
you'd take a job from a kid.
How'd you find me?
Uh, I asked a Reddit thread.
Said you do this kind of thing.
- You should call the police.
- I can't.
Our neighbor called CPS on us last year
when Dad left Hank home alone.
H-He was sick, but Dad has to work.
They threaten to separate you?
I can't let that happen.
COLTER: Is it just the three
of you here, Charlie?
Since Mom died two years ago.
[CHARLIE SIGHS]
I'm sorry.
You have any family close by?
Any friends?
No one I trust enough
to explain what's happening.
I can take care of Hank.
I mean, we're in school
all day anyway. I-I just
I-I need to know that my dad's okay.
[SIGHS]
Why don't you tell me what happened?
Dad kept getting texts,
said he had to run out to work.
But I called the construction company,
and he was never on-site.
When was this?
He was making dinner.
Doesn't make sense,
lying about going to work.
He'd never done anything
like that before?
No, he-he would never leave us.
Always the three of us
against the world.
Do you have any idea
who he might have been texting?
No. Like
he said it was for work, so I
I don't know, I believed him.
What did you have?
- Burnt chicken.
- Yeah.
He messed up and burned our dinner,
so
So, he was distracted.
Look, w-whatever this costs,
it doesn't matter, I'll figure it out.
I just have a really bad feeling.
Please
can you find my dad?
Yeah, let me poke around.
Hopefully,
he's on his way home right now.
And if he's not?
Let me see what I can find out.
[PHONE VIBRATING]
Mm. Shoot.
- What's up, Colt?
- COLTER: Randy.
- Uh, how'd it go with Charlie?
- Charlie's Sean's kid.
- He's 15 years old.
- [CHUCKLES] Okay.
Props to the little man
for getting one past me.
I told him I'd keep the cops
out of it for now.
- I'll give it a day.
- That's cool, man.
Well, Sean's phone is off
the map and his car's a beater.
I got nothing.
Find out who he was texting last night?
- Something had him rattled.
- Yes, I can.
All right. He was going back and forth
with a guy named Bern Maddox.
Uh, something about money.
They were arranging to meet.
You got anything on this, uh,
this Bern guy?
I'm gonna find out.
- [KEYBOARD CLICKING]
- [MUTTERS]: San Pedro
Oh. Yeah. Buddy's got a record.
He did five years
for extortion and assault.
This is a bad dude.
- Where is he now?
- One sec.
All right, he got a new Escalade.
And he's parked outside of
Longshore Welding and Steel
right now. So, sending you the address.
Got it. Thanks, Randy.
MAXINE: I still can't believe
the landlord sold your old offices.
How are you settling in?
You know, for a temporary space,
it'll do.
- Thank you, by the way.
- Yeah. Of course.
You know, I could talk
to the other partners,
see if I could get you a lease.
Oh. No, no, no, no.
I-I really want our own space.
You know? I think it's a good time,
with the settlement money
coming in, and
- Yeah, I get it. Just asking.
- And hey,
I had a look at that case file
that you sent over.
- Mm.
- I mean, it seemed
pretty straightforward.
Oh, it's gonna be a little more
complicated than that.
- How so?
- Mm
Really big family, millions in assets,
voting stake at the company.
They're gonna play dirty.
People show you who they really
are when everything's on the line.
Don't I know it.
You okay?
Mm-hmm. I am not gonna bore you
with any more war stories
from my divorce.
Let's just say
it would be easier if he died.
You know any good hit men?
- I am kidding. Sort of.
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
I've got a good shovel.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Just saying.
What about you?
Things still going with the doctor?
[SIGHS] The doctor.
I don't know, he's just kind of
Boring? I told you.
I mean
Okay, so, you are officially
on the market again?
Why? Are you selling?
Our in-house investigator
- asked about you.
- Mm.
He saw your name on
the Praiter-Rockwell file.
I guess you guys
went to school together?
What's his name?
His name's Adam Shevlin.
Oh. Uh-oh.
- You know him.
- I did.
Many, many years ago.
Okay, well, I don't know
what he was like back then,
but I will say, he is very smart,
he's very cute and he is
not married, so I can
No. Please.
- Do not do that.
- Okay.
- Noted.
- It's a very long story,
- and I
- [KNOCKING]
Hi. Sorry to interrupt.
Oh. I am late, aren't I?
I mean, this guy, I can only
give him so much coffee.
Uh, I will take a look
at the case file again,
and I will let you know what I find.
- To be continued.
- Uh-huh.
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[DISTANT CHATTER]
Help you?
Yeah, maybe.
I'm here for, uh, Bern Maddox.
He here?
He's off today. Sorry.
Something I can do to help you?
No, I'm good. Thank you, though.
Well, I got work to do, so
Yeah. No, sorry. Go you know.
Thank you.
- You do something stupid?
- What?
There's a guy out front asking for you.
Is it a cop?
DARYL: Not sure, but he looked like one.
COLTER: Bern?
You're Bern Maddox.
- Now we got a problem.
- No, no, there's no problem.
I'm not a cop or anything.
I'm just looking for, uh, Sean Wooledge?
DARYL: Don't know the name.
Now, like I said, you better go
before something happens.
Something's gonna happen
what's gonna happen?
I got this, Daryl.
You better.
So, Sean comes to see you
last night, right?
He owes you money? What happened?
Man, I can't I don't need this.
No, no hey, hey, hey, hey.
Look. Sit down.
Sit down. Like I said, I'm not a cop.
Sean comes to see you last night,
he owes you money. What happened?
I can't have this blow back on me, man.
Okay? I'm on parole.
I sold him a gun, okay?
He said he needed to protect his girl.
♪
Sean and I go way back.
He comes to me, said his girl's
in some kind of trouble.
So, I made a call and I hooked him up.
This girl, did you get a name?
No, she was waiting in the car.
I just told him
it couldn't come back to me.
That's it?
That was it.
Okay. All right. Well, thank you.
Charlie, why don't you come on out?
Did you follow me here?
I-I know I'm supposed to be in school.
- I was really worried, so
- Listen, I
I know you're trying to help, but
you got to trust me, all right?
Is-is my dad in trouble? I mean,
those men looked really rough.
You'd tell me if he was in trouble?
I don't know if he's in trouble or not.
And I'm gonna try
to bring him back safe,
but you got to let me do my job.
- Yeah, okay.
- Okay.
Why don't you grab your bike?
I'll give you a ride to school.
How'd you find me, by the way?
The window outside the house,
it's like a speaker.
You heard me on the phone?
Yeah. You were talking about
the welding shop,
so I googled it.
Sorry, I just wanted to know
- what was happening.
- It's okay.
Since our mom died,
our dad is all me and Hank got.
My father passed away
when I was about your age.
Forces you to grow up fast.
I spent a lot of time taking
care of my younger sister.
I mean, my-my dad tries, just
he's always working, so
He's trying to provide
for you and your brother.
I know.
Can you tell me what
you found out at the shop?
Did your dad have a girlfriend, maybe?
He tries to keep that private,
'cause of Mom,
but I think I've heard him talking
to some lady named Stephanie.
Kind of just figured they were a thing.
What do you know about her?
Uh, just that she's
a supervisor at the port.
Kind of a big shot.
Dad brings her lunch sometimes.
- Last name?
- Uh, pretty sure it's Rodrigo.
Wait, no, it's-it's Rodriguez.
What does she have to do with this?
I'll see if I can find out.
- How do we do that?
- We don't do anything.
You're gonna go back to school. Hop in.
♪
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[SEABIRDS CHIRPING]
[PASSENGER DOOR CLOSES]
Here you are.
Will you let me know
if you hear anything?
You'll be my first call.
Okay.
[SCHOOL BELL RINGS]
[SHIP HORN BLOWS]
[LINE RINGING]
RANDY: Colter. You find Bern?
Yeah, I did. He, uh, sold a gun to Sean.
Damn.
The hell's Sean into?
He's protecting some woman
named, uh, Stephanie Rodriguez.
She's a supervisor at the port.
[MUTTERS]: Stephanie okay.
All right, protect her from what?
Haven't found that out yet.
All right.
Well, her phone's pinging
on a street in Vista del Oro.
- What's there?
- Uh, it's mostly residential.
- Can you send me a pin?
- You got it.
Thanks, Randy.
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
♪
♪
[LOCK CLICKING]
♪
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
KAO: Uh,
if you can have them bag the other ones
around the corner also, okay?
Shaw?
Uh, Detective Kao.
Uh, just got a download from my guys,
but wanted to hear it from you.
I was looking for Sean Wooledge.
- How is that?
- Family hired me to find him.
'Cause that's what you do. Find people?
New things. Every day.
Go on?
I tracked Sean and his girlfriend
Stephanie Rodriguez to this house.
- Where you happened to find a body.
- Exactly.
As soon as I found that body
and the signs of a struggle,
- that's when I called you guys.
- Appreciate that.
- Yeah.
- Really. But now I got to figure out
- what the hell happened here.
- Yeah.
Did you get an I.D. on the body?
Uh, yeah.
Brent Russo.
Gate clerk at the port.
He's your girl Stephanie's ex.
Nasty fight went down here.
I'm thinking new boyfriend
kills ex-boyfriend.
Hmm.
No history of violence, no record.
KAO: Maybe Stephanie gave him a reason.
[CHUCKLES] One of those "happy,
happy, no joy" kind of things.
Maybe, although I
I don't think Sean did this.
Why do you say that?
I think there was
a fourth party involved.
So, not a throuple.
Okay, three plus one.
- Yeah.
- I can buy that.
So, this fourth person,
right, was waiting for them.
The fight broke out here,
right, struggle goes this way.
Impact.
[GRUNTS]
KAO: Yeah, I see it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Falls. Tries to crawl away.
Well, I don't know
if he tried to crawl away.
Look at the size of that stain.
Indicates that this person
was unconscious.
Right? I think they were,
they were dragged this way.
I'm guessing that's Sean.
KAO: Yeah.
Too heavy to carry. Unlike Stephanie.
[WOMAN WHIMPERING]
Or Sean and Stephanie
did it all themselves
and now they're on the run,
'cause right now, I got their car here.
Or I can maybe get there on your
"party crasher plus one" theory.
Either way, we got to find them.
Yeah, goes without.
And maybe the body here
was dragged out the back.
- You see that?
- Yeah, we'll look into it, Mr. Shaw.
Meantime,
uh, you get a trace
on that missing couple,
let me know.
- Yeah.
- Thanks.
REENIE [OVER PHONE]: Hey, Colter.
- Randy brought me up to speed.
- Yeah, well,
now the police are involved.
Whoever killed Stephanie's ex
is after her and Sean.
The police aren't up
to speed yet, but they will be.
Well, you need to be out front
because of Sean's boys.
Look, if the police find out
that they don't have a guardian,
they're gonna get put
in protective custody.
Yeah, you're right. That's why
we got to find them right away.
Okay, who else was at the ex's house?
I'm trying to find that out.
How can I help?
Why don't you look into Stephanie's ex?
Brent Russo.
See if he's got any open
investigations, maybe something
local police
wouldn't know anything about.
They all work down by the port.
Can't be a coincidence, right?
Okay, yeah. Brent Russo.
Let me see what we can do.
Thanks, Reenie.
♪
♪
♪
[BELL CHIMES]
[VIDEO GAME BLIPPING]
Hi.
[VIDEO GAME BLIPPING]
[BELL DINGS]
Hi.
- Buck fifty. Cash or card?
- You got it.
Got cash for you.
Hey, listen, I was wondering, uh,
if you were, by chance,
working last night?
Depends why you're asking.
Well, a couple people were taken
from your alley.
I was hoping to get a look
at your security footage.
What are you, some concerned citizen?
Yeah, something like that.
Just trying to help them out.
I'm thinking maybe your cameras
might've caught something.
What's in it for me?
Well, what do you have in mind?
- 50 bucks maybe?
- You want 50 bucks?
[SCOFFS]
Wiping me out, Darlene. We got a deal?
Deal.
Have at it.
- [VIDEO GAME BLIPPING]
- Hmm
[PHONE CAMERA CLICKS]
[LINE RINGING]
Hey, Randy, Stephanie and Sean
were taken.
What? Why take them?
Uh, must've needed them for something.
Can you get an I.D.
on that picture I sent you?
RANDY: It's too blurry.
I got a partial plate on the van.
- Give me a sec.
- All right.
See if any of 'em
were registered to the port.
Uh, let me check.
Got one.
Registered to a Cabrillo Transport.
I believe it's
a freight-hauling business.
Yeah, it's got to be the one.
Yup, just sent you the addy.
Got it. Thanks, Randy.
[GROANING]
[PANTING]
STEPHANIE [WHISPERS]: Hey, hey, hey.
- Steph?
- Hey, hey. I'm here.
I'm here.
- Are you okay?
- I'll be fine.
- We got to get out of here.
- I'm sorry.
I didn't know any of this would happen.
- It's okay.
- [DOOR OPENS]
Cooled off a little?
STEPHANIE: Let us go. I-I promise,
I promise we won't say anything.
No can do.
Gonna need a little help first.
I swear, if you hurt her
Maybe-maybe-maybe I have him
start with you.
Mm? Let her watch and then
- do what I'm gonna do.
- [WHIMPERS] No.
- [SPITS]
- Ooh
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
STEPHANIE: No! No, no. [CRIES]
- Keep the change.
- Well, well, well.
RICK: Thank you.
Reenie Greene.
- Hey, Rick. How you doing?
- Got your text.
Got to say, you piqued my curiosity.
Well, I didn't want
to put it in writing,
but I need to understand why Brent Russo
has an open federal investigation.
- You know I can't do that.
- Oh, come on. Yes, you can.
- It's just the two of us.
- This can blow back.
- Feds don't mess around.
- I know they don't,
but two people have been taken, Rick,
and I think they could still be alive.
Yeah, I know what you're doing.
Yeah, maybe, but one is a single father,
with two kids.
I need to know what's going on, okay?
And if it's nothing, it's nothing,
but every minute counts.
[SIGHS]
[SHIP HORN BLOWING]
♪
♪
[BRAKES HISS]
♪
♪
[FOOTSTEPS NEARBY]
♪
[KEYS JINGLING]
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- [LOCK CLICKS]
[MAN SPEAKS RUSSIAN OVER RADIO]
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
♪
SEAN: Please, don't.
I'm not gonna do anything.
I'm here to help you.
Your kids hired me to find you.
- Are they okay?
- They're safe, yeah.
Your kids are fine. Where's Stephanie?
- They took her.
- Took her where?
I don't know.
They-they left half an hour ago.
[MEN SPEAKING RUSSIAN NEARBY]
[GRUNTING]
[SHOUTS]
Come on. Follow me. Let's go.
Gonna get you out of here.
Come on. Behind me.
- You all right?
- [GROANING, COUGHING]
- [WHEEZES] Yeah.
- Need a break?
No. I'm good.
Come on. You need a break.
It's okay. Right here.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
- [WINCES]
- Relax.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
This whole thing's
about Stephanie, isn't it?
Yeah. Her ex was pressuring her
to disappear a container.
Why couldn't he just do it himself?
He's a gate clerk.
That means he has access to the yard,
but not the central computer.
So, he needed her to delete the records.
Yeah. She didn't want to do it,
but these guys
You can't exactly say no to them.
And you were gonna confront them?
No. Th-They set up a meeting.
I told Steph to go to the cops,
but she was scared there'd be
some kind of blowback.
But then, things, they [SIGHS]
They went sideways. They killed Brent.
- [PHONE VIBRATING]
- Well, once they had her,
they didn't need him, did they?
COLTER: Reenie, talk to me.
What do you got?
It turns out, Stephanie's ex has
ties to Russian organized crime.
A guy named Archer Litvak.
Yeah, they're trafficking something.
They needed Stephanie
to disappear a container.
It's people, Colter.
That's what they're moving.
They're moving people.
They use "ghost containers," so
no record of them ever existing.
This thing goes south,
they're gonna kill everyone.
If she was gonna disappear a container,
where would she go?
How would she do that?
- The control room.
- Do you know where that is?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, can you show me?
- I can.
- I'll call local police
and tell my contact to activate.
Yeah, thanks, Reenie. Come on, show me.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
This is never gonna work.
It will if you play your part.
Good night.
Evening.
Hey, Steph.
[KEYPAD BEEPS]
♪
Hey, Steph. Didn't see you on the board.
Who's this?
Hi. [CHUCKLES]
First day, just getting shown around.
Okay.
I'm just gonna call and make
sure everyone has clearance.
[HANGS UP RECEIVER]
I wouldn't do that.
Excuse me. We're looking
for Stephanie Rodriguez.
She come through here?
Whoa. Who
- Are you okay?
- SEAN: Yeah, I'm fine.
I'm her boyfriend. She's been kidnapped.
The guy who did this to me is the
one who took her. We got to find her.
We need access to your control room.
Hey, I got a situation.
I got a pulse. Call an ambulance.
- On it.
- Great. Hey.
You're all right. We got you.
The people who did this,
you see where they went?
- [WEAKLY]: Yard four.
- Yard four?
SEAN: We passed it on the way in.
He still needs Stephanie
to get past security.
- I'm going after her.
- SEAN: I should come with you.
You're gonna stay here,
you're gonna apply pressure.
Save this man's life.
Come on. I'll get her.
♪
[ALARM BEEPING]
- [BEEPING STOPS]
- [ENGINE TURNS OFF]
[VEHICLE DOORS OPENING]
[CHATTER IN RUSSIAN]
[CHATTER CONTINUES IN DISTANCE]
[SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
[MAN CONTINUES IN RUSSIAN]
[RHYTHMIC BANGING]
See what's going on over there.
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
[GRUNTING]
- [GROANING]
- [GRUNTS]
[MEN SPEAKING RUSSIAN NEARBY]
[MAN CONTINUES IN RUSSIAN]
[GRUNTING]
[CHOKING]
[RAPID GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]
♪
[GRUNTS]
Let her go!
No one else has to get hurt tonight.
Not gonna happen!
[GROANS]
You all right?
I'll be fine. I'll be fine.
Okay.
- [METALLIC BANGING]
- Okay.
[BANGING CONTINUES]
[PEOPLE COUGHING]
COLTER: Okay.
You're okay.
You're okay.
♪
You're okay. You're safe now.
You're okay.
[SIREN WAILING]
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
Not even gonna ask,
but when I'm done mopping up,
I'm gonna need a blow-by-blow.
Yeah, yeah, you got it.
I'm just glad everyone's safe.
The Feds are knocking down doors
as we speak.
Should have enough to take down
the rest of Litvak's crew.
Good. The victims?
Thought they were applying for work.
Next thing they knew,
they were shoved in a container.
Been there for days.
We're gonna get them back
to the families.
Yeah. Well, they've been through a lot.
Nice work, Shaw.
You banked a favor with me,
far as I'm concerned.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
♪
[DOOR OPENS]
[DROPS KEYS]
Dad!
I'm so sorry, buddy. [GROANS]
[COUGHS, SIGHS]
How you doing, pal?
W-What happened?
[CHUCKLES] You should see the other guy.
It looks way worse
than it is, I promise.
Thank you
for being the man of the house.
Just did what you taught me.
I'm okay. We are okay.
Guys, uh, this is Stephanie,
my girlfriend.
We-we know, Dad.
I heard a lot about you.
Nice to finally meet you.
- [STEPHANIE CHUCKLES]
- It's bedtime, Hank, huh?
Why don't we go show Steph your room?
- Yeah, let's go.
- [CHUCKLES]
I'm proud of you.
Thank you, Dad.
Thank you.
For everything.
CHARLIE: I don't,
I don't know what to say.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You're wel you got
good instincts, by the way.
Even though I lied to get you here
and also followed you
when I wasn't supposed to?
That's exactly
what I'm talking about, yeah.
Yeah, I would've done the same thing.
That's cool.
- Oh. What do I owe you?
- Uh
- I'll make you a deal.
- Okay.
- I'm listening.
- Okay. Here's what I'm thinking.
Stay in school,
keep working hard, all right?
And when you finish, come look me up,
and, uh, we'll settle up then.
- Deal.
- Deal.
All right, you keep it up.
Make your father proud.
We did good.
See you down the line?
- Yeah.
- All right.
♪
[PHONE VIBRATING]
RANDY [OVER PHONE]: Colter.
All right, Randy, talk to me.
What's next?
[ENGINE STARTS]
♪