Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021) s05e07 Episode Script

1
[TENSE MUSIC]
You're taking me off active duty?
You're not in obvious distress,
but whether you're
ready to get back out there
is another story.
My mom she's been
getting calls from Joe Jr.
I was hoping that you could trace it.
This is still an active case
with international implications.
Let's not saying anything about this
to my brother, OK?
I did not see who
shot and killed Pietro.
But you believed at the time
it was your son, Eli Stabler, who fired.
Yes.
The whole squad is
calling me Baby Stabler.
They're hazing you. It'll blow over.
Maybe you should mind your own business.
- What is Eli gonna be?
- What do you mean?
Well, is he gonna be a cop like you
or a cop like your father?
[SIREN WAILING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[ELECTRONIC WARBLING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- [COMPUTER BEEPS]
- Found him.
I'm heading back in.
Later.
[KEYS CLACKING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CAR HORN HONKS]
["MY DARLING CLEMENTINE" PLAYING]
What the fuck?
[SIGHS]
[DEVICE CHIRPS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[GASPS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS]
Hey, it's me. Just
landed a few hours ago.
Thanks for the restaurant recs,
but you should have told me
that these Italians drink at every meal.
[LAUGHS]
Anyway, the Camorra case
should be wrapped up in a few days.
And with Reyes and I both out,
please, for God's sake, take the time.
And kiss that grandbaby for me.
OK, bye.
[ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS]
Hey, this is your weekly reminder
to not skip your weekly
therapist appointment.
I know, I know, I can sit and twist.
Bye.
[GLASS SHATTERS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
In what some are
calling a freak accident,
there is one casualty
in what appears to be
Babe, boxcutter.
- [KNOCK AT DOOR]
- An art protest gone awry.
The CEO of the food-delivery service
- Oh, hey.
- Hey.
Hey.
Yeah, sorry for popping
by, but I brought breakfast.
- So, you hungry?
- Oh, appreciate it.
It's no bother. We're
still getting set up.
- It's been a process.
- I see that.
Well, I'm here. Put me to work.
- What happened to your hand?
- Eh, it's nothing.
- What do you got?
- Uh, Bernie dropped that off.
- There?
- Mm-hmm.
All right.
This protest thing is wild.
They said one of those delivery bots
just straight up exploded.
I guess there were some things
she couldn't get rid
of when you were kids.
Yeah, this used to
hang above Joe Jr.'s crib.
[LULLABY PLAYING]
We're not hanging that over Owen's crib.
Owen? Is that the name?
- Oh, we're workshopping it.
- Mm.
Eli, come help your dad.
I'm watching this.
- [TOY SQUEAKS]
- [SCOFFS]
Authorities are currently investigating
what could've caused the malfunction.
Zip Chow steadfastly
maintains their robots are safe
- What's the matter?
- Nothing.
To use on the city
streets, and that this is
[TV SHUTS OFF]
- IAB? Heard something?
- Not yet.
But Hunt doesn't think I
have anything to worry about.
Take it seriously.
Take it seriously. I
mean, you pull a trigger
- I'm here if you want to talk.
- I said I'm good.
I know what you said.
And you're good until
the day when you're not.
Someone's been going to therapy.
[TENSE MUSIC]
- Hey.
- [GASPS]
[SCOFFS] You scared me.
- What's with the suit?
- Oh, I just I have a thing.
Just have to give a presentation tonight
about the dangers of
artificial intelligence.
The dangers of the thing that
you use every day interesting.
What are you watching?
Videos from the protest last night.
Oh, yeah, I heard that's on
Counterterrorism's radar now.
Something about it
just doesn't sit right.
What do you mean? What's that?
Well, I mean, they're
calling it an accident.
- Mm-hmm.
- You know, just a malfunction
with one of the robots,
but I don't know
it just feels more intentional.
Like the delivery bot was tampered with?
Yeah, it wouldn't take
much just some sort
of trigger mechanism
that was remote-activated.
I mean, it'd be the same
way that you would access
the navigation controls.
I could write that code in my sleep.
It sounds like you already have.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Hmm.
[COMPUTER RINGING]
Mm.
Is that my Randall?
Yeah, look, uh, I've been meaning
- to talk to you about this.
- Have you?
Well, now we have the opportunity.
All three of us can talk about it.
- Great.
- Put him on speaker.
[RINGING CONTINUES]
- Hey, Randall.
- Hey, Kyle.
I got another lead on Joe Jr.
Yeah, I'm gonna send
the screengrabs over
so you can run them through
your little mystery machine.
It's not a mystery
machine. It's a magic box.
Shit.
I'm gonna deal with you later.
- Don't you have therapy?
- Bye, Randall.
Look, I swear I only
had the best intentions.
How long's this been going on?
Look, the important thing
is that we found something.
- And what did you find?
- Your brother Joe Jr
he's been spotted in
nightclubs overseas.
Uh, clubs that are known drug scenes.
And the sightings they're legit.
But it is in the oddest
collection of cities.
I mean, it's, uh, Amsterdam, Stockholm,
uh, Istanbul, Madrid, Berlin.
And if you can believe it, Baghdad.
Yeah.
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling ♪
Oh, my darling Clementine ♪
You are lost and gone forever ♪
Dreadful sorry, Clementine ♪
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Have you seen the news?
I haven't.
Otherwise, I'd know why you're
on the verge of freaking out.
Tyler Pearson's dead.
Shit.
Really?
We were going to send him
a message, not blow him up.
Hey, bring your voice down.
- He didn't deserve to die.
- Sure, he did.
It was a happy accident.
Beyond that, I don't know
what else to tell you, Skye,
unless
you want to say something?
They're calling us terrorists.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Baby
do you trust me?
I want to hear you say it.
I trust you.
- Good.
- But
No, no, no, no.
You either do, or you don't.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
I'll see you back at the spot
when we implement phase two.
Until then, my mom's
fighting for her life,
and that's where my head's at right now.
I'm sure you understand.
I'm sorry.
[FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING]
Generative AI is a
curse on creativity, right?
There's no denying
it, but we cannot ignore
AI's potential for good
in other industries.
Artificial intelligence can
not only make lives easier,
it can actually save them.
I want to thank you
for the invitation to
speak here tonight.
And, remember, power lies in creation,
not imitation.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Thank you. Thank you.
[CHUCKLING] Thank you so much.
Could you sign my floppy disk?
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
- Thank you so much for coming.
- Thanks.
Oh.
Have fun. Take care.
Oh, uh
You're Dr. Kyle Vargas?
Uh, yeah.
Detective Tanner,
Counterterrorism Bureau.
We need to talk.
Um
Joey, Joey, Joey, what are you up to?
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[DOOR BUZZING]
[DOOR CLANGING]
Detective Tanner, Counterterrorism.
We tried contacting a Sergeant Bell,
but she's in a different time zone.
Well, I'm Detective Stabler.
You didn't contact me.
Well, we're doing that right now.
Can you find Vargas's desk?
Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute.
Nobody moves until I
understand what's going on here.
Dr. Kyle Vargas is
currently in our custody.
He's a suspect in the
protest attacks two nights ago.
Dr. Vargas is an employee of the NYPD.
He's not a terrorist.
I understand that you may have questions
about your colleague's
potential involvement
- in our case
- I actually don't have one question.
I'm just calling bullshit. Where is he?
- He's in our custody.
- We've established that.
I want to see him, now.
[DOOR OPENS]
- I didn't do this.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
So I hear.
Cyber Crimes analyzed
the program that was used
to remote-access these delivery bots.
The malware had a coded signature,
one they were able to trace
back to its original author.
- See something familiar?
- I do.
Do you want to tell me
why your fingerprints
are all over this code?
I have no idea.
I wrote this on a lark years ago,
as part of a weekend coding competition.
And then you posted it
to a black hat chat room.
Somebody else uploaded it.
- Who?
- I don't know.
Look, these things, they just
they float around cyberspace,
and every once in a
while, somebody stumbles
across something,
and they find a use for it.
Terrorism, for example.
I understand why you brought me in.
I do, but this wasn't me.
I work for OCCB.
I mean, I'm a white
hat now, and this is why.
What were you doing two nights ago?
I was at home.
You were online on
anarchist chat boards.
[STAMMERS]
I I saw the projections
on my way home,
and I was curious who was behind it.
The next morning you were
on the same boards again.
'Cause I was curious what went wrong.
Uh-huh.
Wait here.
[SIGHS]
You know, I
- Is he always like this?
- I told you, he's nervous.
It's like watching someone
kick a puppy in there.
This is nothing but a waste of
It's a waste of time. I agree with you.
But, look, at the moment,
he's what we got in
terms of physical evidence.
He's not going anywhere.
What we think is that the
people behind this protest
are a group that call
themselves the Collective.
They're anonymous, but
they have this signature style
that we've traced to
similar demonstrations
in Chicago and Los Angeles.
But this is the first time
anyone's gotten hurt.
So what you're saying
is, this is organized crime.
You'd like our help on the task force.
I did not say any of those things.
We accept.
Um, I think we should
start with the manufacturer
of the delivery bots, unless
you have a better idea.
[TENSE MUSIC]
I know we've all heard
about what happened the other night.
Is it what we wanted?
Of course not.
But is it what we need?
I say yes.
Our message has been
heard all over the world.
For the first time, people
are taking us seriously.
We all know that real
change comes at a price.
If we have to set a few backfires
to stop the world
from burning, so be it.
- We're with you!
- Let's do this!
Then let's get back to work.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
We're the first of our kind in the city.
How does it work?
We receive orders from the customer,
and our bots deploy to the restaurant.
Food-service workers
put the order inside,
and then the autonomous
driving software takes over.
If it experiences any issues,
our controllers step in to
take over manual control.
Your controllers?
Our programmers double as jockeys.
Uh, the one who was
working that night
you'll want to talk to her.
The hackers tried to
corrupt our backup files,
but we're good coders too.
We were able to retrieve most of them.
At this point, we'd already
lost navigational control,
but the cameras were still recording
when they projected the images.
At some point, that bot
made a course correction.
Show them.
That's the victim. That's Tyler Pearson.
Looks like it's following him.
Mm-hmm.
There's a single audio file.
[TENSE MUSIC]
["MY DARLING CLEMENTINE" PLAYING]
Is that "My Darling Clementine"?
Mm.
[STATIC CRACKLING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Nice.
"Nice"? That's all I get?
I don't hand out compliments like candy.
- Mm.
- You have to earn them.
Noted.
You're late, Max.
Maybe because the cops were at my work
for the last three hours.
Which we expected.
They're not completely incompetent.
- Did they talk to you?
- No.
Exactly.
And they won't because
the code made sure
none of this will ever
trace back to you.
Everyone should be here soon.
We'll go green when we're all here.
I think we should give it a beat.
[SNIFFS]
On that too.
[TENSE MUSIC]
You want to be a revolutionary?
Then fucking nut up
and continue the fight.
You want to cosplay this shit?
Then I'll get you a
T-shirt of Che Guevara,
and you can go sell incense
down at Washington Square Park.
What's it gonna be?
I'm in. [SCOFFS]
OK? I'm in.
Then fucking get on it!
Has anyone heard from Skye?
No.
Fuck it. We'll roll without her.
Right now it only
appears to be affecting
electric vehicles.
Similar reports are coming
in from all five boroughs.
No one knows quite what to make of it.
We ran into three minor
accidents on the way here.
We're at Broome Street
and West Broadway,
and it's backed up for days
no movement in any direction.
Cars are parked in
the middle of the street,
and drivers are getting
out of their vehicles,
arguing with each
other it's total mayhem.
Initial reports indicate
that electric vehicles
have stalled out,
and messages are appearing
on their touchscreens.
Witnesses we talked to claim
their cars have been hacked.
[TIRES SQUEALING]
What's happening?
The brakes aren't working either.
- Turn off the engine!
- I'm trying!
Do something!
["MY DARLING CLEMENTINE" PLAYING]
Jerry, look out!
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]
Detective.
No skid marks, no indication
they even tried to brake.
Apparently it just missed the
reporter and his cameraman
and then plowed into the news van.
Driver told first responders
the car had a mind of its own.
- Mm.
- She was airlifted to Greenpoint.
Passenger died at the scene.
So why control this
car and not the others?
It's the robot attack all over again.
They try to send a message,
and then something goes wrong.
Mm, yeah.
Something that seems like an accident.
You use the protest as a cover.
- I doubt it's the Collective.
- Hmm?
Maybe a couple of their members,
but I keep my eye on groups like this.
They're artists.
Maybe they're pissed-off artists,
but they're artists at heart.
Until they're terrorists.
- Well, there's that.
- Mm-hmm.
Oh, look who's a free man.
Not a free man.
More like downgraded
to person of interest.
Did they use my code?
It's my program again?
Yeah, it looks like it.
Excuse me. Sorry. May I?
Thank you.
[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
Looks like they pushed
out a fabricated OTA.
It's a over-the-air software update.
It allowed them to take
over the vehicle's controls.
You OK?
Look, I mean, it's definitely my code
uh, part of it, anyway.
I mean, they they built
on it. They made it better.
By better, I mean worse.
- Look, I know I didn't do this.
- Mm-hmm.
But I can't help but feel responsible.
I get it.
Trust me, I get it.
Ms. Powell?
Detective Stabler, Detective Tanner.
We'd like to ask you a few
questions about the accident.
[TEARFULLY] She's dead, isn't she?
I'm sorry, she is, yes.
[SNIFFLES]
I'm so sorry.
I know that this is very difficult.
But can you tell us
what happened right before the crash?
[SIGHS, WHIMPERS]
We were going over my schedule,
and then the screen,
it just started to fritz.
And then I lost control of the car.
You couldn't steer?
The brakes, the windows,
nothing was working.
It was driving itself.
There was nothing I could do.
Do you remember anything else?
Did you maybe see
something or hear something?
Yeah, I thought maybe
I was dreaming, but
I could swear I heard a song.
It was something familiar.
I don't know the name of it.
["MY DARLING CLEMENTINE"
PLAYING OVER CELL PHONE]
Yes. Yes, that's the one.
What does it mean?
That's what we're trying to figure out.
Ms. Powell, can you think of any reason
that someone might want to target you?
Me? I thought
They said it was happening to everyone.
Yours was the only
car that lost control,
and we're investigating
a similar incident
from a few nights ago.
I don't understand.
Someone did this on
purpose? They tried to kill me?
[BREATHES SHARPLY]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hey.
We're just talking
about how to incorporate
your latest piece.
I, uh, made a few adjustments.
I hope you don't mind.
Stop it. Just stop.
You're gonna say that
was an accident too?
First Tyler, now Gemma?
We are supposed to be in this together,
but you've gone off the deep end.
I don't even know who you are anymore.
They're the ones that lost themselves.
I wish you could see that.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Listen to me.
You're going through
some serious shit right now,
but you can't take it out on the world.
Maybe you're right.
Maybe you don't know me anymore.
I can't do this right
now. I've got to work.
Welcome home.
Tell me about Gemma Powell.
Oh, well, she runs
an art gallery in Soho.
She's been there over a decade.
A very expensive one, by the way.
Nothing in there goes
for less than 100 grand.
How about the other victim?
Oh. Uh, Tyler Pearson.
He's a partner
in a non-fungible-tokens
trading platform.
He made over $20 million
last year in asset management.
From digital art?
They sure like to call it that.
So these two are basically
the face of everything
the Collective hates.
But if the protests
are targeted killings,
why would the whole
group be going along with it?
Sometimes all it takes
is a charismatic leader
to turn a vendetta into a cause.
I've been doing a deep
dive on the Collective's art,
and every city has different motifs
with multiple signatures
except for New York.
That's one motif, one signature.
Shit, I can't believe I missed this.
This is an homage to
Basquiat, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
He was a New York
artist, big in the 1980s.
Even bigger on wealth inequality.
He was born in 1960. He died in '88.
That's our signature.
See if you can connect
it to any other protests
or any exhibitions.
[SCOFFS] Got something.
Uh, it's an old social-media post,
an artist talking about how she came up
with a cool tribute to
Basquiat using the dates.
Got a name?
And a photo.
Hmm.
[WATER RUNNING]
[WATER STOPS]
Skye, someone's here to see you.
I haven't picked up a brush
in years, digital or otherwise.
Well, other than to help the folks here.
Once an artist, always an artist,
isn't that what they say?
At some point, you have
to get honest with yourself
and pay your rent. [CHUCKLES]
Have you heard about the protests
- happening around the city?
- Hasn't everyone?
Uh, yeah, I suppose everyone has,
but not everyone's
had their art projected
across a skyscraper
or piped into a car's display screen.
I don't understand.
Um
does this look familiar?
That's some of my old stuff.
Why is it part of the
Collective's stunts?
Ten years ago, I sold
some of my old work
to an online stock-images company
- to pay the bills.
- [CELL PHONE RINGING]
Anyone can download it for a fee.
- You can take a look yourself.
- OK.
Uh, excuse me one sec.
I got to take this.
Becky, everything all right?
So what was the name of this
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Oh, one more, one more!
We still haven't
toasted for those pricks
down in Internal Affairs yet.
May we get what we want,
may we get what we need,
and to that IAB asshole,
may you get what you deserve.
[LAUGHTER]
You need to get better
at handling your liquor
if you want to hang with the big boys.
I know, I know, I know.
- Hey.
- Oh, hey, hey, hey, hey, Dad.
Hey, hey, hey, Becky
was worried about you.
You were supposed to
have dinner with her parents.
Oh, uh, just tell her I'm fine.
No, you tell her. We're leaving.
[SIGHS] Look, hey.
- You can't tell me what to do.
- Stand up.
- I'm not 12.
- Then don't act like it.
Stand up. Say goodbye. Let's go.
- Hey, take it easy, Detective.
- Hey.
A kid died by his gun.
You're out here partying
like nothing happened?
Well, according to IAB, nothing did.
- Yeah.
- It was a good kill.
Sarge
get between me and my kid again,
and I'll kick the
living shit out of you.
[BABY FUSSING]
It's funny how they don't tell you.
What's that?
How hard it is to feed a newborn.
Yeah. Yeah.
Kathy went through that
with every one of our kids.
And you're right. They
don't tell you nothing.
They also don't tell
you how difficult
He killed someone, Elliot.
[CRIES]
- Hey.
- [CRYING]
[SOFT MUSIC]
- OK.
- [SOBBING]
Eli doesn't drink.
I've heard him at night, crying.
[SIGHS]
Look, maybe that's a good thing.
Maybe that's just means
that he still feels something.
[BABY FUSSING]
It's gonna be all right.
I don't know what Eli needs or wants.
He's
he has changed.
Hey, hey.
What he needs and wants is you.
You and Owen.
He's gonna see his way through this.
I hope so.
I want to help him,
but I don't know how.
[SIGHS]
What does he say about all this?
We don't talk about it.
Mm.
It's like he has something to prove now.
I just want him back.
I just want the gentle
soul I fell in love with back,
and I feel like this job is
gonna kill that part of him.
[BABY FUSSES]
- Can you hold him for a minute?
- Yeah.
OK.
- Bathroom break. [SIGHS]
- Mm-hmm.
[SIGHS]
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
I thought you were the doctor.
How's she doing?
The same.
Worse.
I don't even know anymore.
You have to stop this.
We need to lie low for a while.
Please, I can't watch
you do this anymore.
Let's get out of here,
just you and me
start over somewhere
else before it's too late.
I'm not leaving.
I'm not abandoning what we've built.
Then you're abandoning me.
I can't be a part of this anymore.
Hey. Sorry I had to run.
- Family emergency.
- It's OK.
We didn't get much after you left.
She clammed up pretty quickly.
Yeah, well, it looks like
your girl's been busy.
Uh-huh.
She's got four misdemeanor
arrests for vandalism
and a handful of
violations for trespassing.
She has an apartment in Queens.
My team is working on
getting a search warrant.
But at the moment, the
evidence connecting her
with the Collective is flimsy at best.
It's just some art from ten years ago.
- Which she claimed was stolen.
- Well, maybe it was.
If you recall, I was
arrested three days ago
for something similar.
With the possibility
that she could be lying,
I had Vargas pull folks
that she was arrested with,
hoping maybe some of these
names could start to put faces
to the Collective.
Yeah, so far, no direct connections,
but I'm I'm only halfway through.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
[PHONE BEEPS]
Tanner.
It's Skye.
You came to see me, gave me your card.
Skye, yes.
I'm here with Detective Stabler.
Are you OK?
Honestly, I'm not sure.
I'm ready to talk.
Where are you? We'll come get you.
What the hell?
Oh, my darling, oh, my darling ♪
Oh, my darling Clementine ♪
You are lost and gone forever ♪
- Dreadful sorry, Clementine ♪
- [DOOR RATTLES]
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
- You are lost ♪
- Help!
- And gone forever ♪
- Someone please help me!
Dreadful sorry, Clementine ♪
[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]
Please, A.G., don't do this!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[SIRENS APPROACHING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER POLICE RADIO]
That her?
Mm.
Suspected smoke inhalation.
The automatic doors were locked.
Couldn't get out.
I just talked to her.
Look, I'm sure this doesn't help, but
just to let you know, to
get an extreme reaction
like this means we're getting close.
We're getting close to him, right?
Yeah.
All right, I'm gonna have my
guys look into her next of kin.
Maybe they know who
she's been spending time with.
I'll have Vargas pull
surveillance from the school
and traffic cams.
- Maybe we'll find something.
- Yeah.
You know, I used to be in
Education and Intelligence,
and I couldn't wait to get
out from behind that desk.
- Mm.
- Not on nights like this.
Amen.
[GULPS, SIGHS]
I remember the first time I met Skye.
Found her work online.
She was this gorgeous,
crazy-talented artist.
And me?
[CHUCKLES]
Just some pencil-neck geek
who wanted to collaborate.
She wanted to challenge
the way people think
Inspire others
to make the world a better place.
She was the best of all of us,
and greed has once
again put a price on life
and made us the problem,
made us the criminal.
She made the ultimate sacrifice
gave up her life to
protect me, to protect you,
and to protect our message.
She would want us to keep going
to keep fighting,
because this is a goddamn war!
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
They haven't seen nothing yet.
Joe?
Oh.
I'm right here, Mom.
Oh, my God, sweetheart.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Everything I've been
through, every place I've been,
as long as it led me
back to here to see you,
to tell you I love you
it was worth it, Mom.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
You you you seem troubled, honey.
Oh, I'm fine.
Reach out to Elliot.
You can trust Elliot.
There's nothing Elliot
can do for me now.
[SCOFFS]
Oh.
Come here.
I love you.
Trust Elliot.
Oh, my God.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]