Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021) s05e08 Episode Script
Fail Safe
1
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Your brother, Joe Jr.,
he's been spotted in
nightclubs overseas,
clubs that are known drug scenes.
You seem troubled,
honey. Reach out to Elliot.
There's nothing Elliot
can do for me now.
Witnesses claim their
cars have been hacked.
Detective Tanner,
Counterterrorism Bureau.
The people behind this
are a group that call
themselves The Collective.
So they're terrorists.
Our message has been heard,
'cause for the first time,
people are taking us seriously.
I can't be a part of this anymore.
I'm not abandoning what we've built.
It's Skye.
I'm ready to talk.
Help! Someone please help me!
[FLAMES ROARING, SIREN WAILING]
You get an extreme reaction like this,
means we're getting close.
[HARD ROCK MUSIC]
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
Where are you going?
Keep working. I'll be back.
Hey, Ma.
So I go into the bodega
across from the karate studio,
ask for a DVD section.
The guy laughs at me. Right?
Laughs in my face like I'm the asshole.
It was like I asked for
parchment paper and a quill.
[PERSON GASPING FOR AIR]
Ma? Ma!
- [GASPING]
- Ma, are you okay?
J Joey came.
- [CELL PHONE BEEPING]
- [COUGHING] And
[GASPING] And I told him
Easy. I'm calling for help.
- Yeah, I need an ambulance.
- [GASPING]
I need an ambulance!
Hey, Mom.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I know you can hear me.
I'm holding your hand right now.
I'm sorry, A-Seong,
but I'm afraid it's time.
Randall.
Randall, Randall. What happened?
I don't know. I I
found her on the ground.
- She was struggling to breathe.
- Where the hell were you?
I was out getting movies
for our movie night.
- When I got back
- How is she?
- I don't know.
- Can we see her?
They're working on her right now.
All we can do is wait.
[SIGHS]
There has to be some sort of treatment
that you haven't thought of.
Maybe a drug trial or something?
We've done everything
we can at this point.
But given her current condition,
the hospital has unfortunately deemed
that no further
treatment can be justified.
So you're justifying murder?
Excuse me?
I thought you were
supposed to treat the patient,
not the numbers.
I understand you're
upset, and I'm sorry.
We'll do our best to keep
your mother comfortable.
Don't worry.
I won't let this go unanswered.
We're taking your mom to
get her a cardiac ultrasound.
So so it's definitely
her heart, then?
It could be a number of things.
We won't know for sure
until we perform more tests.
I'll come get you in the
waiting room when we're done.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[SIGHS]
Hey, there's, um, something
else I got to tell you.
When I found her on the floor,
she said Joe Jr. Had come to see her.
Stop. You know how her mind is.
I don't think it was the dementia.
She, uh, was absolutely sure.
Joe's back.
[HEAVY METAL MUSIC]
- How's it looking?
- It'll be ready.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
Who's keeping track of her meds?
It's important to give
them a list so they
- know what she's taking.
- Randall has it.
Good morning, Kathleen.
Hey. How is she?
They're still doing tests,
and we should know something soon.
I can take over if you want
to go get something to eat.
No, I could could stay for a while.
Oh, forget it.
Listen, all your glaring
is scaring away the staff.
What are you talking about, glaring?
That's all you do is glare,
and they need to do their job.
D Dad, he's got a point.
You are kind of intense.
Wow.
All right. I wasn't glaring, by the way.
Now, look, the second you hear anything,
I want to know, got it?
- Get out of here.
- Of course.
- Get out of here.
- Go.
[BOTH SIGH]
Dean's office said they
have never had a problem
with their electronic
locks or key cards before.
Well, that means someone
remotely hacked the system
and locked Skye in the classroom.
- Hey.
- Uh, any news on your mom?
Uh, nothing to report,
but your new BFF,
Randall, sends his love.
Hey, you should be at the hospital.
Eh, my family's got a rotation.
What do you got?
We were just going over the details
of Skye Johnson's death.
It looks like Arson found
a source for the explosion.
What do you mean "explosion"?
- I thought she was killed by a fire.
- No, the fire started
after the classroom computers exploded.
Now, the working theory is
that someone likely physically tampered
with the lithium batteries and
then remotely detonated them
after Skye was in the classroom.
We need to slow down.
What do you mean "likely"?
Take me step by step
everything you got.
This is the security-cam footage
from inside the classroom.
[SIGHS] So what am I looking for?
Just wait for it.
- Someone shut down the camera.
- Yeah, for 17 minutes.
Plenty of time for
somebody to get in there
- and tamper with the batteries.
- And it was right after she called us.
You got footage of anyone
going in and out of that
building around that time?
No. Every interior and
exterior camera shut down
at exactly the same time.
- That's no glitch.
- And it's not a coincidence.
Agreed.
Where are we with finding her family?
Both her parents passed
away a couple years ago.
Rest of her family's on the West Coast.
- Social circle?
- She was very insular.
Seems to have spent most
of her time at the school
and at her apartment in Queens.
Let's go for a ride.
[SOFT SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Ms. Johnson was a good tenant.
Always a friendly smile,
paid her rent on time,
and kept to herself, like
everybody these days.
Let me know when
you're done. I'll lock up.
Thank you.
[DISTANT CAR HORN HONKS]
Hmm.
Well, if there was ever any doubt
- she was in The Collective
- Hmm.
These are the protests that
they staged in Chicago and LA.
Hmm, yeah.
Check this out.
You recognize anyone?
Huh.
It's Gemma Powell and Tyler Pearson.
- Yeah.
- So she did know our victims.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
This one looks recent.
Mm.
This guy is familiar,
although I can't place him.
We'll have Vargas do facial recognition,
- try and get a name.
- Hmm. 6088
it's her signature.
She certainly had talent.
Mm.
This is the same guy.
This.
Boyfriend maybe?
Well, whoever he is,
he's important to her.
Any luck yet?
I'm still running face recognition
on the guy with paint on
his head, but this guy
well, I've never had to match a face
- to a cubist portrait before.
- Neo-cubist.
What's the difference?
You find us a match,
and Tanner will be happy
to spend the day explaining it to you.
Well, I did have some
luck with this photo.
They didn't just have
Berkeley in common.
The SRA is an upstart protest group
- that they were all a part of.
- Like a precursor to The Collective?
Yeah, they called themselves
the Society for Resistant Art.
Okay, run the names of anyone
who's associated with that group.
Find out if anyone
lives in New York now.
Oh, we got a match
for our, uh, paint guy.
Uh, he goes by the name of Max Sherman.
A misdemeanor for
chaining himself to a tree
a few years ago, but
other than that, he's clean.
Well, sounds like someone
who would be associated
with a group like The Collective.
Or start it?
Well, here is his DMV mugshot.
And according to public records
he works as a robotics
engineer at Zipp Chow.
Holy hell.
You knew you'd seen
him somewhere before.
I sure did.
[SIMPLE MINDS' "DON'T YOU
(FORGET ABOUT ME)" PLAYS]
- BOTH: Won't you ♪
- Come see about me? ♪
BOTH: I'll be alone ♪
Dancing, you know it, baby ♪
Tell me your troubles and doubts ♪
What are you doing here?
I pulled up in front of my place
and found the cops at my door.
- They follow you here?
- Don't think so.
But I ditched my phone just in case.
Smart.
[SIGHS] I don't know how,
but they figured out
that I'm involved in this.
Relax. Everything's under control.
Is that you or the coke talking?
[TENSE MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
We've been through
some things this past year,
haven't we?
[SIGHS]
Created The Collective from nothing
turned it into this
living, breathing thing.
And now
we're on the precipice of greatness.
[SIGHS]
[SCOFFS]
Whatever happens,
whatever comes next
I know I can totally rely
on you to see it through.
Can't I?
I was thinking,
maybe we should lay
low until things calm down.
No, Max.
Nothing changes. Just do your job.
It's too risky.
- What about the cause?
- I am the cause!
You need to get out of here.
Take the fire escape so no one sees you.
Go.
- Hey.
- Hi.
Hey.
She was awake for a bit but
had a little bit of a setback.
The EKG and other tests
suggest it's a heart arrhythmia.
- Mm-hmm.
- A procedure may be needed,
but they won't know for sure
until they get more
imaging in the morning.
But at least they know what it is.
Yeah.
How you holding up?
I'm actually okay.
I'm just worried about
you and Uncle Randall.
How come?
I just want to make sure that
you both are grasping that
Grandma's 92 years old.
Mm-hmm.
And I've been reading this book
that has been very helpful for preparing
for the loss of a loved one.
- And, um, it's called "Embracing the Sunset."
- Mm-hmm.
And it walks you through
this process of letting go.
Honey
uh
we're Irish Catholic.
We hold on to family as
tight and as long as we can
until the good Lord puts
His hand over ours and
lets us know that
He'll take it from here.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
So I think I'll know when to let her go.
But thank you.
- [VIBRATING CONTINUES]
- One second.
- [PHONE BEEPS]
- Hey, tell me you got something?
Well, Tanner went to Sherman's place,
uh, but he wasn't there.
So I tracked him going into
the Maru Karaoke Lounge,
and it is not just any karaoke bar.
It is owned by someone
named A-Seong Gan.
And you are not going
to believe who it is.
Sending you his DMV photo now.
[CELL PHONE BLOOPS]
That's the guy on Skye's portrait.
Yes, indeedy.
All right, I'm going to call Tanner.
You call Captain Pierce at Bomb Squad.
Tell him Detective Stabler
requests quiet assistance
at the location.
I'll reach out to him
and brief him later.
Bye.
- I got to run, all right?
- Okay.
[SOFTLY] Keep me updated. I love you.
You got it.
[CAR HORNS HONKING, INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You're still the only detective
gives me an order and I say how high.
- Good to see you, too, Sean.
- Captain, Detective Tanner.
We have a warrant.
Yeah, we don't know what
the building is being used for,
but we know what
this crew is capable of.
My guys haven't seen any obvious signs
- of explosives from out here.
- I say we go for it.
Let's go.
Go.
Move.
[DISTANT SIREN WAILING]
Police! Police!
- Hands!
- Let me see your hands!
Let me see your let me
see your fucking hands!
Let me see your hands!
Show me your hands!
Bomb Squad? Bomb?
- What's your name?
- A-Seong Gan.
Do you need a pen and pad?
I can spell it out for you.
A lot of people butcher it.
- You got ID?
- Sure.
- Nope.
- Reaching for my wallet.
Not a nuclear warhead back there.
Oh, hi. You must be looking for these.
Explosive residue check, I assume?
Our friends are going
to be searching your bar.
This is for you.
It's called a warrant.
Well, in that case, be my guest.
Shouldn't you be out
looking for real criminals?
It's a dangerous city out there.
Anything can happen.
- Why don't we go chat?
- Lead the way.
So you recently took over
ownership of the karaoke
bar from your mother?
That's right.
I made some updates.
Took out the carpeting,
the cigarette machine.
Why'd she give it to you?
She got tired of wannabe singers
who couldn't carry a tune.
She likes to own
buildings, not run them.
A real immigrant success story.
Where's your mother now?
She returned home.
And your father? Where is he?
Don't know, don't care.
Prick ran out on us when I was a baby.
Fuck him.
You bring me down here
to talk about my family?
You know a man named Tyler Pearson?
Wow.
Haven't heard that name in a minute.
Yeah, he and I were
part of an artist group
back in college.
Tyler was killed in an
explosion the other night.
Wow.
I, uh, saw something on the news.
That that was Tyler?
Yeah, that was him.
Who else was in this
artist group of yours?
Mostly painters
who thought they could
change the world with art.
We were naive.
Tyler had real talent.
Could have made a name
for himself with his work, but
instead, he sold out
and got into that NFT shit.
And made a small fortune.
Behind every fortune lies a great crime.
Honoré de Balzac.
Wow.
An educated cop.
How about Gemma Powell?
Was she in this artist group, too?
Damn, another name from the past.
What's, uh what's Gemma
got to do with anything?
- What do you know about her?
- A friend.
We painted together.
Lost track after college.
I think she runs her own art gallery?
She was seriously injured
in that citywide electric-car hijacking.
Her assistant, Julia
Ortiz, died in the crash.
Good Lord.
- Seriously?
- Mm-hmm.
When's the last time you
and, uh, Gemma spoke?
Must've been 10, 11 years ago.
Hmm.
Well [CLEARS THROAT]
Not too long ago, Gemma wrote you.
"Your work feels
derivative and uninspired
"and comes across as
more copycat than original.
"I'm afraid it's not a fit
for our gallery."
She didn't think my art
was a good fit for the gallery.
- Yeah.
- So what?
I'm not the first artist
to get a rejection letter.
What about Skye Johnson?
Did she reject you, too,
before she burned to
death in her classroom?
Why is it all these people around you
keep getting into accidents?
That what I'm being accused of?
Bad luck?
Well, maybe look at it this way.
Tyler's part of your artist group,
uh, but he breaks off and
makes a heck of a lot of money.
He winds up dead.
Gemma, she, uh, basically calls you
an uninspired copycat,
and she winds up seriously injured.
Then Skye breaks up with you,
starts talking to us, winds up dead.
She did
[SCOFFS]
You're just a couple of functionaries
looking for easy answers
so you can run home
and drink yourselves to sleep.
Are we done here?
It's weird. He's hiding something.
He acts like he's sitting on three aces.
He could've walked at
any time. Why didn't he?
He's smart enough to know
we don't have anything
to arrest him with.
- Or he likes the attention.
- Likes the cat-and-mouse game.
- He's stalling for time.
- After he mentioned Balzac,
I went back to the shareware website
where my old code was downloaded from,
you know, see who had accessed it.
And one of the downloaders
goes by the handle Balzac6088.
- 6088?
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
That's Skye Johnson's art signature.
A handle on a website is not
enough for an arrest, though.
- Um [GROANS SOFTLY]
- What's up?
[SIGHS] It's my mother.
Um, look, everything this guy does
is through a filter of anger
and a sense of grievance.
It's personal, and I
think that's the key.
Just keep pushing that
button until he decides to walk,
and I'll check in with you later, okay?
- Okay.
- Good work.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
When do they want to operate?
First thing tomorrow.
They're not fooling around.
You know, this, um
There's no small procedures at Ma's age.
Surgeon warned that, uh,
well, there's a chance
things don't work out.
- Do you know if she has a DNR?
- I thought you would know.
We don't talk about that kind of stuff.
[SIGHS] You know, no one warned us
we'd have to make these decisions.
- Yeah.
- And shit just got real.
I mean, it was real before,
but you know what I'm saying.
- Real
- Yeah.
Look, I'm going to be honest.
I don't know I don't
know what to do here.
Eh, come on, Mom's
going to outlive us all, right?
- Hey, Randall.
- Yeah?
Um, you know, when
when Mom fell, if you
hadn't been there
Oh, God damn it. Don't
get schmaltzy on me.
Listen to me.
I want you to know that I
appreciate you being here.
I've missed you.
Buy me a steak dinner when it's over.
What do you mean "over"?
You can't help yourself, can you?
- I didn't mean over over.
- [SCOFFS]
I meant, like, you
know, just you know.
- All right, Joe Jr.
- Okay.
For the sake of argument,
let's just say he is in town, okay?
- All right.
- What's your deal with him?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Oh, great
more pep talks about hitting
quotas and profit margins.
[SCOFFS] I wonder if this
time they'll ask us to start
- with
- [COMPUTER WHIRRING]
[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING FROM COMPUTER]
[CONCERNED CHATTER]
He wanted to be a CI, my CI. A CI is
I know what a confidential informant is.
CI for what?
Well, for that shady business
we suspected he was involved in.
Christ, you turned our
baby brother into a
I didn't turn him into anything.
He came to me, insisted
he wanted to go undercover.
What kind of, uh, shady
business are these guys into?
They're international smugglers
mostly drugs and weapons.
It was very difficult to trace.
He was already on the inside.
I think he was tired of the game,
and he wanted to make
things right for himself and
maybe with us.
[EXPLOSION]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
- What do you got?
- Six dead.
And we've confirmed that
every hospital in the city
had this symbol on their
screens at the exact same time.
But only this hospital had the bomb?
- Exactly.
- Yeah.
It's like The Collective's
other attacks.
They use protest and spectacle
as a way to cover for
their intended target.
I've been doing a deep
dive into all the victims.
Nothing in their personal
lives appears to connect to Gan.
What about the hospital itself?
Uh, not as far as I can tell.
How about Gan's
relatives in the hospital?
[KEYS CLACKING]
At the end of the interview
Yeah.
Gan started checking his
watch every couple minutes.
Seemed almost giddy.
And then right after 3:00
p.m., that's when he walked out.
What time did the bomb go off?
3:04.
You know, if our aspiring terrorists
aren't building the bomb at the bar,
where the hell are they doing it?
Okay, uh, got something.
55-year-old Korean
female died at the hospital
earlier this week.
But, uh, doesn't match.
Last name's Choi.
That's the same name
on the building title
of the karaoke bar.
And Gan said that his
father walked out on them.
It would make sense
that his mother went back
to using her maiden name.
Well, her primary physician is this guy.
It's, uh, Doctor Arden Stokol.
He's the one closest to the blast.
Could've been payback for
not being able to save his mom.
- Gives us a motive.
- Okay.
I need you to connect Gan
to the hospital hack of
those computer screens.
On it. [SIGHS]
Hey, why don't you go
home and get some rest?
No, I'm fine.
And by rest, I mean sleep.
Vargas and I can do the graveyard shift.
Go home.
Sleep.
Hey
stay vigilant.
These guys aren't done yet.
If you need me, I'll be at the hospital.
[TANNER SIGHS]
[LIGHT CLATTERING]
Son of a bitch.
Sorry, Ma.
Joey?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
What are you doing up this early?
Yeah, I I just, uh
looking for a better blanket.
You didn't you didn't
see a, uh, orderly, did you?
No, not a soul. Wing's a ghost town.
You want this?
- You sip on it?
- A little bit.
How's Mama?
Eh, sleeping like the angel she is.
You all right?
Yeah, just just a little tired.
[YAWNS]
Couch over there, if you want
to close your eyes for a bit.
No, I'm okay.
Don't you ever sleep?
Ah, sleep's overrated.
I also tend to over-caffeinate.
But if I crash, you'd better watch out.
- Thanks for the heads-up.
- [CHUCKLES]
All right. You want
anything from the fridge?
Nah, I'm good. Thanks.
- Oh, that's weird.
- Something wrong?
Yeah, I missed a call from Stabler.
Hey, something interesting
turned up at the scene
of the hospital bombing.
I'll meet you there.
- Sounds somewhat promising.
- Yeah, I'll keep you posted.
Yeah. I'm not going anywhere.
[DOORS CLOSE]
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
First floor. Going up.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
- Hey.
Sorry for the 5:00 a.m. call.
- Mm, no. You find something?
- Unfortunately, no.
Uh, I'm calling because I
never heard back from Tanner.
What are you talking about?
Well, she went to
the hospital last night
to meet you, but she
never got back to me.
It's been almost three hours.
Wait a minute. Meet me?
About the evidence you mentioned
in the voicemail message you left her.
Vargas, I never left Tanner a message.
[BIRDS SINGING]
[DISTANT SHIP HORN BLOWS]
[GRUNTS, BREATHING HEAVILY]
Is is someone there?
There's a bomb under me.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Back away.
Call 911.
Call 911!
No sign of forced
entrance at her apartment.
You got anything?
Tanner's NYPD phone's still offline.
Any way you can access her voicemail?
Uh, it should be archived
on the department's internal database.
- [KEYS CLACKING]
- Uh, let me pull it up.
Hey, something interesting
turned up at the scene
of the hospital bombing.
I'll meet you there.
- I was convinced.
- [CELL PHONE VIBRATING, RINGING]
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
- Captain Pierce, what's up?
I'll be right there.
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
- Vargas, we got to go now.
[SIREN WAILING]
Captain, what's the
situation? How's she doing?
She's rattled but otherwise okay.
Those four are mannequins
attached to fake bombs,
but the one under
Tanner is real, and it's live.
Can you defuse it?
We're dealing with an
encased shrapnel device
fused to a lithium battery
with some kind of computerized receiver.
I've never seen something like it.
It's going to take some time
to figure out how to defuse it.
Captain, this is Kyle Vargas.
The hackers that are behind this,
they're using his codes.
I think he's our best bet
to deactivate that bomb.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hacking the bomb's
computer isn't the problem.
It's making sure that I
don't accidentally trigger
any defensive mechanisms
they may have coded into it
that would, you know,
trigger the timing sequence.
Activation would be bad.
- So don't do that.
- Copy that.
Okay, I'm going to take a look
at the bomb's timing mechanism.
Our men should be ready in 45.
Wait, Cap. What do you mean 45?
Takes time to get suited up.
I don't think we have that much time.
We have to make that time.
Like I said, I get my men
ready, we go on my order.
- Give me that flak vest.
- Uh, yeah.
Sync these up?
Yeah.
- Check.
- Yeah.
Wait, you're not going to
It's up to you.
What the hell is he doing?
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ON TV]
Al the networks are carrying it,
and we're going viral on socials.
As soon as we have a
big enough audience,
get ready to detonate.
- When will that be?
- Soon, Max. Soon.
[KEYS CLACKING]
- Hey, Stabler.
- Copy, Stabler.
Uh, I managed to get into the
bomb's computerized device,
and I'm seeing cellular activity.
What does that mean?
The bomb's online.
They can remotely
detonate it anytime they want.
[KEYS CLACKING]
Everyone's amped up.
- Ready to detonate?
- Not yet.
I want as many people
as possible to see this.
- Hey.
- What are you doing here?
I drew the short straw. You good?
Besides a full bladder, great.
Shouldn't you have a bomb suit on?
- I didn't want to alarm you.
- [CHUCKLES]
Pierce explain the deal to you?
Yeah, I think I get it. Cut
me out, bad things happen.
Disconnect the bomb, bad things happen.
- So you got the idea.
- Yeah, loud and clear.
You going to get me out of here?
Vargas, let's do this.
You son of a bitch.
You and I are going to
have a talk when this is over.
Yeah, I thought you were
going to say that, Captain.
Let's start by getting a
good look at the device.
- What are you seeing behind it?
- All right.
I got 6 batteries, 12 cylinders,
4 wires that go into each cylinder,
2 wires that go into each battery.
Copy that.
Whenever you're ready,
I'm going to need you to
remove the cover to the receiver.
Now, I am betting
there is a keypad inside
that they used to program the bomb.
Copy. Removing the cover.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Opening up the box.
- Shit.
- Problem?
I was expecting a simple
zero-through-nine keypad,
so, uh, password's gonna
be a bit trickier than I expected.
All right, so what do I do now?
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
- That's interesting.
- What?
[CHUCKLES] Seems like
we've got a mouse in the house.
Trying to jam our signal,
but it's amateur hour,
and his code is shit.
Typical cops.
Keep the cops out.
It's almost showtime, people.
Collective's trying to
kick me off the signal,
but, uh, I got a few
more tricks up my sleeve.
Where are we at, guys?
Shit uh, sorry, just give
me a minute to think, okay?
Vargas, we don't have a minute.
Hey, Vargas?
- Vargas, can you hear me?
- Go.
Vargas, they're just
going to be using a copy
of whatever it is that
they stole from you
in the first place, right?
Son of a bitch.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
Think we have enough eyes on us.
Ready when you are.
We're going viral.
People are watching.
We've come to the big climactic moment.
- What are you doing?
- I blocked their signal.
But I'm not sure how
long I can keep them off.
I'm going to try a Hail Mary
based on something Tanner just told me.
Stabler, as soon as I
get the deactivation code,
I need you to punch it in.
You ready?
All right.
Um
hold on a second.
Uh
[GRUNTS]
Uh
[TENSE MUSIC]
Listen
whatever happens, it's
going to be fine, okay?
Thanks.
All right, guys.
Your guy better figure
this out quick, Stabler,
or we're going to have to go old-school.
Okay, just, uh just hold
on a few more seconds.
Try stealing this, you
copycat sons of bitches.
Ready for the code?
Give it to me.
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
Of course, we have multiple agencies
dealing with the situation,
multiple experts
analyzing the situation
[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
- What's wrong?
- I I'm not sure.
Blow the fucking bomb, Max.
Screen's gone to black.
What the fuck is happening?
Remember that old code you stole
- to take over the cars and bots?
- What about them?
They stole it back and used
it to take over our system.
You said they were fucking amateurs!
I I don't know how, but
they they they tricked us.
I'm sorry, AG.
It it's over.
[SCREAMS]
The bomb has been rendered safe.
I repeat the bomb
has been rendered safe.
Get her off that thing.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
You okay?
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Thanks.
[PANICKED CHATTER]
Okay, everyone, wipe
all their hard drives
all single records, all data sets,
and all active processes.
- Police!
- Don't move!
Don't move! Hands, hands, hands!
Hands where I can see 'em! Put 'em up.
Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up!
That's right.
- [GRUNTS]
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
That's for the chloroform, asshole.
Freedom is never voluntarily
given by the oppressor.
Tell it to your cellmate.
Never!
What's the latest?
Uh, she just got out of
surgery a little while ago.
- And?
- And when she woke up,
she insisted on speaking
to her least favorite son.
So you two had a nice talk?
Shut up, jackass.
We better go see her
before Kathleen gets here
and starts barking orders.
Oh, so good.
Oh, Ma, go easy on that stuff, will you?
I just wish somebody
had put a little gin in it.
[ALL CHUCKLE]
Now we know where it comes from.
Hey, Ma, the doctor said
your heart-ablation procedure
was a big success.
Oh, good.
Does that mean I can go home now?
Uh, we're just waiting on someone
to officially discharge you.
Oh, I see.
I want to say something to all of you.
I want to thank you.
I mean, if this had been "my time"
I'm at peace with all of it.
I really am.
I've had a really good life.
Don't talk like that, Grandma.
No, it's true.
I mean, just looking at your faces
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[LAUGHS]
I savor every moment with you.
[CHUCKLES]
[SIGHS]
I'm gonna, uh, try and find
someone to help us check out.
I'll be back in a minute.
Um
you want anything from
the cafeteria, Uncle Randall?
Uh, uh, no, actually, I'm good.
- Thanks, Kathleen.
- Be right back.
Where's Joey? Why isn't he here?
Joe Jr.'s in Europe, remember?
No, he came to the apartment.
I told you I saw him at the apartment.
Why wouldn't he be here now?
Just get some rest, Ma, okay?
You okay, Dad?
Yeah, I'm good. Thanks.
Come on, let's go for
a walk like old times.
I'd like that.
Someday, many, many years
from now, when you are 92
- and in the hospital
- [CHUCKLES]
I'll be there for you the whole time.
And I'll leave the
self-help book at home.
- Yeah.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Hey.
- Hmm?
Have I ever told you
how proud I am to be your daughter?
- I love you.
- [CELL PHONE VIBRATING, RINGING]
Um
[KATHLEEN CHUCKLES,
VIBRATING AND RINGING CONTINUE]
I'm sorry.
Detective Stabler.
It's me.
Joey.
I don't have long.
- Ma okay?
- Uh, yeah, yeah.
- How are you?
- Yeah, good enough.
Listen, no matter what happens,
and it's gonna happen soon now, Elliot,
know that I love you.
I made my own choices.
No, no, no, Joey, listen to me.
I can bring you in. I can protect you.
I can get you out of whatever
the hell is going on here.
Just know that I love you.
Joey.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Grandma was right.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Your brother, Joe Jr.,
he's been spotted in
nightclubs overseas,
clubs that are known drug scenes.
You seem troubled,
honey. Reach out to Elliot.
There's nothing Elliot
can do for me now.
Witnesses claim their
cars have been hacked.
Detective Tanner,
Counterterrorism Bureau.
The people behind this
are a group that call
themselves The Collective.
So they're terrorists.
Our message has been heard,
'cause for the first time,
people are taking us seriously.
I can't be a part of this anymore.
I'm not abandoning what we've built.
It's Skye.
I'm ready to talk.
Help! Someone please help me!
[FLAMES ROARING, SIREN WAILING]
You get an extreme reaction like this,
means we're getting close.
[HARD ROCK MUSIC]
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
Where are you going?
Keep working. I'll be back.
Hey, Ma.
So I go into the bodega
across from the karate studio,
ask for a DVD section.
The guy laughs at me. Right?
Laughs in my face like I'm the asshole.
It was like I asked for
parchment paper and a quill.
[PERSON GASPING FOR AIR]
Ma? Ma!
- [GASPING]
- Ma, are you okay?
J Joey came.
- [CELL PHONE BEEPING]
- [COUGHING] And
[GASPING] And I told him
Easy. I'm calling for help.
- Yeah, I need an ambulance.
- [GASPING]
I need an ambulance!
Hey, Mom.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I know you can hear me.
I'm holding your hand right now.
I'm sorry, A-Seong,
but I'm afraid it's time.
Randall.
Randall, Randall. What happened?
I don't know. I I
found her on the ground.
- She was struggling to breathe.
- Where the hell were you?
I was out getting movies
for our movie night.
- When I got back
- How is she?
- I don't know.
- Can we see her?
They're working on her right now.
All we can do is wait.
[SIGHS]
There has to be some sort of treatment
that you haven't thought of.
Maybe a drug trial or something?
We've done everything
we can at this point.
But given her current condition,
the hospital has unfortunately deemed
that no further
treatment can be justified.
So you're justifying murder?
Excuse me?
I thought you were
supposed to treat the patient,
not the numbers.
I understand you're
upset, and I'm sorry.
We'll do our best to keep
your mother comfortable.
Don't worry.
I won't let this go unanswered.
We're taking your mom to
get her a cardiac ultrasound.
So so it's definitely
her heart, then?
It could be a number of things.
We won't know for sure
until we perform more tests.
I'll come get you in the
waiting room when we're done.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[SIGHS]
Hey, there's, um, something
else I got to tell you.
When I found her on the floor,
she said Joe Jr. Had come to see her.
Stop. You know how her mind is.
I don't think it was the dementia.
She, uh, was absolutely sure.
Joe's back.
[HEAVY METAL MUSIC]
- How's it looking?
- It'll be ready.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
Who's keeping track of her meds?
It's important to give
them a list so they
- know what she's taking.
- Randall has it.
Good morning, Kathleen.
Hey. How is she?
They're still doing tests,
and we should know something soon.
I can take over if you want
to go get something to eat.
No, I could could stay for a while.
Oh, forget it.
Listen, all your glaring
is scaring away the staff.
What are you talking about, glaring?
That's all you do is glare,
and they need to do their job.
D Dad, he's got a point.
You are kind of intense.
Wow.
All right. I wasn't glaring, by the way.
Now, look, the second you hear anything,
I want to know, got it?
- Get out of here.
- Of course.
- Get out of here.
- Go.
[BOTH SIGH]
Dean's office said they
have never had a problem
with their electronic
locks or key cards before.
Well, that means someone
remotely hacked the system
and locked Skye in the classroom.
- Hey.
- Uh, any news on your mom?
Uh, nothing to report,
but your new BFF,
Randall, sends his love.
Hey, you should be at the hospital.
Eh, my family's got a rotation.
What do you got?
We were just going over the details
of Skye Johnson's death.
It looks like Arson found
a source for the explosion.
What do you mean "explosion"?
- I thought she was killed by a fire.
- No, the fire started
after the classroom computers exploded.
Now, the working theory is
that someone likely physically tampered
with the lithium batteries and
then remotely detonated them
after Skye was in the classroom.
We need to slow down.
What do you mean "likely"?
Take me step by step
everything you got.
This is the security-cam footage
from inside the classroom.
[SIGHS] So what am I looking for?
Just wait for it.
- Someone shut down the camera.
- Yeah, for 17 minutes.
Plenty of time for
somebody to get in there
- and tamper with the batteries.
- And it was right after she called us.
You got footage of anyone
going in and out of that
building around that time?
No. Every interior and
exterior camera shut down
at exactly the same time.
- That's no glitch.
- And it's not a coincidence.
Agreed.
Where are we with finding her family?
Both her parents passed
away a couple years ago.
Rest of her family's on the West Coast.
- Social circle?
- She was very insular.
Seems to have spent most
of her time at the school
and at her apartment in Queens.
Let's go for a ride.
[SOFT SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Ms. Johnson was a good tenant.
Always a friendly smile,
paid her rent on time,
and kept to herself, like
everybody these days.
Let me know when
you're done. I'll lock up.
Thank you.
[DISTANT CAR HORN HONKS]
Hmm.
Well, if there was ever any doubt
- she was in The Collective
- Hmm.
These are the protests that
they staged in Chicago and LA.
Hmm, yeah.
Check this out.
You recognize anyone?
Huh.
It's Gemma Powell and Tyler Pearson.
- Yeah.
- So she did know our victims.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
This one looks recent.
Mm.
This guy is familiar,
although I can't place him.
We'll have Vargas do facial recognition,
- try and get a name.
- Hmm. 6088
it's her signature.
She certainly had talent.
Mm.
This is the same guy.
This.
Boyfriend maybe?
Well, whoever he is,
he's important to her.
Any luck yet?
I'm still running face recognition
on the guy with paint on
his head, but this guy
well, I've never had to match a face
- to a cubist portrait before.
- Neo-cubist.
What's the difference?
You find us a match,
and Tanner will be happy
to spend the day explaining it to you.
Well, I did have some
luck with this photo.
They didn't just have
Berkeley in common.
The SRA is an upstart protest group
- that they were all a part of.
- Like a precursor to The Collective?
Yeah, they called themselves
the Society for Resistant Art.
Okay, run the names of anyone
who's associated with that group.
Find out if anyone
lives in New York now.
Oh, we got a match
for our, uh, paint guy.
Uh, he goes by the name of Max Sherman.
A misdemeanor for
chaining himself to a tree
a few years ago, but
other than that, he's clean.
Well, sounds like someone
who would be associated
with a group like The Collective.
Or start it?
Well, here is his DMV mugshot.
And according to public records
he works as a robotics
engineer at Zipp Chow.
Holy hell.
You knew you'd seen
him somewhere before.
I sure did.
[SIMPLE MINDS' "DON'T YOU
(FORGET ABOUT ME)" PLAYS]
- BOTH: Won't you ♪
- Come see about me? ♪
BOTH: I'll be alone ♪
Dancing, you know it, baby ♪
Tell me your troubles and doubts ♪
What are you doing here?
I pulled up in front of my place
and found the cops at my door.
- They follow you here?
- Don't think so.
But I ditched my phone just in case.
Smart.
[SIGHS] I don't know how,
but they figured out
that I'm involved in this.
Relax. Everything's under control.
Is that you or the coke talking?
[TENSE MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
We've been through
some things this past year,
haven't we?
[SIGHS]
Created The Collective from nothing
turned it into this
living, breathing thing.
And now
we're on the precipice of greatness.
[SIGHS]
[SCOFFS]
Whatever happens,
whatever comes next
I know I can totally rely
on you to see it through.
Can't I?
I was thinking,
maybe we should lay
low until things calm down.
No, Max.
Nothing changes. Just do your job.
It's too risky.
- What about the cause?
- I am the cause!
You need to get out of here.
Take the fire escape so no one sees you.
Go.
- Hey.
- Hi.
Hey.
She was awake for a bit but
had a little bit of a setback.
The EKG and other tests
suggest it's a heart arrhythmia.
- Mm-hmm.
- A procedure may be needed,
but they won't know for sure
until they get more
imaging in the morning.
But at least they know what it is.
Yeah.
How you holding up?
I'm actually okay.
I'm just worried about
you and Uncle Randall.
How come?
I just want to make sure that
you both are grasping that
Grandma's 92 years old.
Mm-hmm.
And I've been reading this book
that has been very helpful for preparing
for the loss of a loved one.
- And, um, it's called "Embracing the Sunset."
- Mm-hmm.
And it walks you through
this process of letting go.
Honey
uh
we're Irish Catholic.
We hold on to family as
tight and as long as we can
until the good Lord puts
His hand over ours and
lets us know that
He'll take it from here.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]
So I think I'll know when to let her go.
But thank you.
- [VIBRATING CONTINUES]
- One second.
- [PHONE BEEPS]
- Hey, tell me you got something?
Well, Tanner went to Sherman's place,
uh, but he wasn't there.
So I tracked him going into
the Maru Karaoke Lounge,
and it is not just any karaoke bar.
It is owned by someone
named A-Seong Gan.
And you are not going
to believe who it is.
Sending you his DMV photo now.
[CELL PHONE BLOOPS]
That's the guy on Skye's portrait.
Yes, indeedy.
All right, I'm going to call Tanner.
You call Captain Pierce at Bomb Squad.
Tell him Detective Stabler
requests quiet assistance
at the location.
I'll reach out to him
and brief him later.
Bye.
- I got to run, all right?
- Okay.
[SOFTLY] Keep me updated. I love you.
You got it.
[CAR HORNS HONKING, INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You're still the only detective
gives me an order and I say how high.
- Good to see you, too, Sean.
- Captain, Detective Tanner.
We have a warrant.
Yeah, we don't know what
the building is being used for,
but we know what
this crew is capable of.
My guys haven't seen any obvious signs
- of explosives from out here.
- I say we go for it.
Let's go.
Go.
Move.
[DISTANT SIREN WAILING]
Police! Police!
- Hands!
- Let me see your hands!
Let me see your let me
see your fucking hands!
Let me see your hands!
Show me your hands!
Bomb Squad? Bomb?
- What's your name?
- A-Seong Gan.
Do you need a pen and pad?
I can spell it out for you.
A lot of people butcher it.
- You got ID?
- Sure.
- Nope.
- Reaching for my wallet.
Not a nuclear warhead back there.
Oh, hi. You must be looking for these.
Explosive residue check, I assume?
Our friends are going
to be searching your bar.
This is for you.
It's called a warrant.
Well, in that case, be my guest.
Shouldn't you be out
looking for real criminals?
It's a dangerous city out there.
Anything can happen.
- Why don't we go chat?
- Lead the way.
So you recently took over
ownership of the karaoke
bar from your mother?
That's right.
I made some updates.
Took out the carpeting,
the cigarette machine.
Why'd she give it to you?
She got tired of wannabe singers
who couldn't carry a tune.
She likes to own
buildings, not run them.
A real immigrant success story.
Where's your mother now?
She returned home.
And your father? Where is he?
Don't know, don't care.
Prick ran out on us when I was a baby.
Fuck him.
You bring me down here
to talk about my family?
You know a man named Tyler Pearson?
Wow.
Haven't heard that name in a minute.
Yeah, he and I were
part of an artist group
back in college.
Tyler was killed in an
explosion the other night.
Wow.
I, uh, saw something on the news.
That that was Tyler?
Yeah, that was him.
Who else was in this
artist group of yours?
Mostly painters
who thought they could
change the world with art.
We were naive.
Tyler had real talent.
Could have made a name
for himself with his work, but
instead, he sold out
and got into that NFT shit.
And made a small fortune.
Behind every fortune lies a great crime.
Honoré de Balzac.
Wow.
An educated cop.
How about Gemma Powell?
Was she in this artist group, too?
Damn, another name from the past.
What's, uh what's Gemma
got to do with anything?
- What do you know about her?
- A friend.
We painted together.
Lost track after college.
I think she runs her own art gallery?
She was seriously injured
in that citywide electric-car hijacking.
Her assistant, Julia
Ortiz, died in the crash.
Good Lord.
- Seriously?
- Mm-hmm.
When's the last time you
and, uh, Gemma spoke?
Must've been 10, 11 years ago.
Hmm.
Well [CLEARS THROAT]
Not too long ago, Gemma wrote you.
"Your work feels
derivative and uninspired
"and comes across as
more copycat than original.
"I'm afraid it's not a fit
for our gallery."
She didn't think my art
was a good fit for the gallery.
- Yeah.
- So what?
I'm not the first artist
to get a rejection letter.
What about Skye Johnson?
Did she reject you, too,
before she burned to
death in her classroom?
Why is it all these people around you
keep getting into accidents?
That what I'm being accused of?
Bad luck?
Well, maybe look at it this way.
Tyler's part of your artist group,
uh, but he breaks off and
makes a heck of a lot of money.
He winds up dead.
Gemma, she, uh, basically calls you
an uninspired copycat,
and she winds up seriously injured.
Then Skye breaks up with you,
starts talking to us, winds up dead.
She did
[SCOFFS]
You're just a couple of functionaries
looking for easy answers
so you can run home
and drink yourselves to sleep.
Are we done here?
It's weird. He's hiding something.
He acts like he's sitting on three aces.
He could've walked at
any time. Why didn't he?
He's smart enough to know
we don't have anything
to arrest him with.
- Or he likes the attention.
- Likes the cat-and-mouse game.
- He's stalling for time.
- After he mentioned Balzac,
I went back to the shareware website
where my old code was downloaded from,
you know, see who had accessed it.
And one of the downloaders
goes by the handle Balzac6088.
- 6088?
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
That's Skye Johnson's art signature.
A handle on a website is not
enough for an arrest, though.
- Um [GROANS SOFTLY]
- What's up?
[SIGHS] It's my mother.
Um, look, everything this guy does
is through a filter of anger
and a sense of grievance.
It's personal, and I
think that's the key.
Just keep pushing that
button until he decides to walk,
and I'll check in with you later, okay?
- Okay.
- Good work.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
When do they want to operate?
First thing tomorrow.
They're not fooling around.
You know, this, um
There's no small procedures at Ma's age.
Surgeon warned that, uh,
well, there's a chance
things don't work out.
- Do you know if she has a DNR?
- I thought you would know.
We don't talk about that kind of stuff.
[SIGHS] You know, no one warned us
we'd have to make these decisions.
- Yeah.
- And shit just got real.
I mean, it was real before,
but you know what I'm saying.
- Real
- Yeah.
Look, I'm going to be honest.
I don't know I don't
know what to do here.
Eh, come on, Mom's
going to outlive us all, right?
- Hey, Randall.
- Yeah?
Um, you know, when
when Mom fell, if you
hadn't been there
Oh, God damn it. Don't
get schmaltzy on me.
Listen to me.
I want you to know that I
appreciate you being here.
I've missed you.
Buy me a steak dinner when it's over.
What do you mean "over"?
You can't help yourself, can you?
- I didn't mean over over.
- [SCOFFS]
I meant, like, you
know, just you know.
- All right, Joe Jr.
- Okay.
For the sake of argument,
let's just say he is in town, okay?
- All right.
- What's your deal with him?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Oh, great
more pep talks about hitting
quotas and profit margins.
[SCOFFS] I wonder if this
time they'll ask us to start
- with
- [COMPUTER WHIRRING]
[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING FROM COMPUTER]
[CONCERNED CHATTER]
He wanted to be a CI, my CI. A CI is
I know what a confidential informant is.
CI for what?
Well, for that shady business
we suspected he was involved in.
Christ, you turned our
baby brother into a
I didn't turn him into anything.
He came to me, insisted
he wanted to go undercover.
What kind of, uh, shady
business are these guys into?
They're international smugglers
mostly drugs and weapons.
It was very difficult to trace.
He was already on the inside.
I think he was tired of the game,
and he wanted to make
things right for himself and
maybe with us.
[EXPLOSION]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
- What do you got?
- Six dead.
And we've confirmed that
every hospital in the city
had this symbol on their
screens at the exact same time.
But only this hospital had the bomb?
- Exactly.
- Yeah.
It's like The Collective's
other attacks.
They use protest and spectacle
as a way to cover for
their intended target.
I've been doing a deep
dive into all the victims.
Nothing in their personal
lives appears to connect to Gan.
What about the hospital itself?
Uh, not as far as I can tell.
How about Gan's
relatives in the hospital?
[KEYS CLACKING]
At the end of the interview
Yeah.
Gan started checking his
watch every couple minutes.
Seemed almost giddy.
And then right after 3:00
p.m., that's when he walked out.
What time did the bomb go off?
3:04.
You know, if our aspiring terrorists
aren't building the bomb at the bar,
where the hell are they doing it?
Okay, uh, got something.
55-year-old Korean
female died at the hospital
earlier this week.
But, uh, doesn't match.
Last name's Choi.
That's the same name
on the building title
of the karaoke bar.
And Gan said that his
father walked out on them.
It would make sense
that his mother went back
to using her maiden name.
Well, her primary physician is this guy.
It's, uh, Doctor Arden Stokol.
He's the one closest to the blast.
Could've been payback for
not being able to save his mom.
- Gives us a motive.
- Okay.
I need you to connect Gan
to the hospital hack of
those computer screens.
On it. [SIGHS]
Hey, why don't you go
home and get some rest?
No, I'm fine.
And by rest, I mean sleep.
Vargas and I can do the graveyard shift.
Go home.
Sleep.
Hey
stay vigilant.
These guys aren't done yet.
If you need me, I'll be at the hospital.
[TANNER SIGHS]
[LIGHT CLATTERING]
Son of a bitch.
Sorry, Ma.
Joey?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
What are you doing up this early?
Yeah, I I just, uh
looking for a better blanket.
You didn't you didn't
see a, uh, orderly, did you?
No, not a soul. Wing's a ghost town.
You want this?
- You sip on it?
- A little bit.
How's Mama?
Eh, sleeping like the angel she is.
You all right?
Yeah, just just a little tired.
[YAWNS]
Couch over there, if you want
to close your eyes for a bit.
No, I'm okay.
Don't you ever sleep?
Ah, sleep's overrated.
I also tend to over-caffeinate.
But if I crash, you'd better watch out.
- Thanks for the heads-up.
- [CHUCKLES]
All right. You want
anything from the fridge?
Nah, I'm good. Thanks.
- Oh, that's weird.
- Something wrong?
Yeah, I missed a call from Stabler.
Hey, something interesting
turned up at the scene
of the hospital bombing.
I'll meet you there.
- Sounds somewhat promising.
- Yeah, I'll keep you posted.
Yeah. I'm not going anywhere.
[DOORS CLOSE]
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
First floor. Going up.
[CELL PHONE VIBRATING]
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
- Hey.
Sorry for the 5:00 a.m. call.
- Mm, no. You find something?
- Unfortunately, no.
Uh, I'm calling because I
never heard back from Tanner.
What are you talking about?
Well, she went to
the hospital last night
to meet you, but she
never got back to me.
It's been almost three hours.
Wait a minute. Meet me?
About the evidence you mentioned
in the voicemail message you left her.
Vargas, I never left Tanner a message.
[BIRDS SINGING]
[DISTANT SHIP HORN BLOWS]
[GRUNTS, BREATHING HEAVILY]
Is is someone there?
There's a bomb under me.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Back away.
Call 911.
Call 911!
No sign of forced
entrance at her apartment.
You got anything?
Tanner's NYPD phone's still offline.
Any way you can access her voicemail?
Uh, it should be archived
on the department's internal database.
- [KEYS CLACKING]
- Uh, let me pull it up.
Hey, something interesting
turned up at the scene
of the hospital bombing.
I'll meet you there.
- I was convinced.
- [CELL PHONE VIBRATING, RINGING]
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
- Captain Pierce, what's up?
I'll be right there.
- [CELL PHONE BEEPS]
- Vargas, we got to go now.
[SIREN WAILING]
Captain, what's the
situation? How's she doing?
She's rattled but otherwise okay.
Those four are mannequins
attached to fake bombs,
but the one under
Tanner is real, and it's live.
Can you defuse it?
We're dealing with an
encased shrapnel device
fused to a lithium battery
with some kind of computerized receiver.
I've never seen something like it.
It's going to take some time
to figure out how to defuse it.
Captain, this is Kyle Vargas.
The hackers that are behind this,
they're using his codes.
I think he's our best bet
to deactivate that bomb.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Hacking the bomb's
computer isn't the problem.
It's making sure that I
don't accidentally trigger
any defensive mechanisms
they may have coded into it
that would, you know,
trigger the timing sequence.
Activation would be bad.
- So don't do that.
- Copy that.
Okay, I'm going to take a look
at the bomb's timing mechanism.
Our men should be ready in 45.
Wait, Cap. What do you mean 45?
Takes time to get suited up.
I don't think we have that much time.
We have to make that time.
Like I said, I get my men
ready, we go on my order.
- Give me that flak vest.
- Uh, yeah.
Sync these up?
Yeah.
- Check.
- Yeah.
Wait, you're not going to
It's up to you.
What the hell is he doing?
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ON TV]
Al the networks are carrying it,
and we're going viral on socials.
As soon as we have a
big enough audience,
get ready to detonate.
- When will that be?
- Soon, Max. Soon.
[KEYS CLACKING]
- Hey, Stabler.
- Copy, Stabler.
Uh, I managed to get into the
bomb's computerized device,
and I'm seeing cellular activity.
What does that mean?
The bomb's online.
They can remotely
detonate it anytime they want.
[KEYS CLACKING]
Everyone's amped up.
- Ready to detonate?
- Not yet.
I want as many people
as possible to see this.
- Hey.
- What are you doing here?
I drew the short straw. You good?
Besides a full bladder, great.
Shouldn't you have a bomb suit on?
- I didn't want to alarm you.
- [CHUCKLES]
Pierce explain the deal to you?
Yeah, I think I get it. Cut
me out, bad things happen.
Disconnect the bomb, bad things happen.
- So you got the idea.
- Yeah, loud and clear.
You going to get me out of here?
Vargas, let's do this.
You son of a bitch.
You and I are going to
have a talk when this is over.
Yeah, I thought you were
going to say that, Captain.
Let's start by getting a
good look at the device.
- What are you seeing behind it?
- All right.
I got 6 batteries, 12 cylinders,
4 wires that go into each cylinder,
2 wires that go into each battery.
Copy that.
Whenever you're ready,
I'm going to need you to
remove the cover to the receiver.
Now, I am betting
there is a keypad inside
that they used to program the bomb.
Copy. Removing the cover.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Opening up the box.
- Shit.
- Problem?
I was expecting a simple
zero-through-nine keypad,
so, uh, password's gonna
be a bit trickier than I expected.
All right, so what do I do now?
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
- That's interesting.
- What?
[CHUCKLES] Seems like
we've got a mouse in the house.
Trying to jam our signal,
but it's amateur hour,
and his code is shit.
Typical cops.
Keep the cops out.
It's almost showtime, people.
Collective's trying to
kick me off the signal,
but, uh, I got a few
more tricks up my sleeve.
Where are we at, guys?
Shit uh, sorry, just give
me a minute to think, okay?
Vargas, we don't have a minute.
Hey, Vargas?
- Vargas, can you hear me?
- Go.
Vargas, they're just
going to be using a copy
of whatever it is that
they stole from you
in the first place, right?
Son of a bitch.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
Think we have enough eyes on us.
Ready when you are.
We're going viral.
People are watching.
We've come to the big climactic moment.
- What are you doing?
- I blocked their signal.
But I'm not sure how
long I can keep them off.
I'm going to try a Hail Mary
based on something Tanner just told me.
Stabler, as soon as I
get the deactivation code,
I need you to punch it in.
You ready?
All right.
Um
hold on a second.
Uh
[GRUNTS]
Uh
[TENSE MUSIC]
Listen
whatever happens, it's
going to be fine, okay?
Thanks.
All right, guys.
Your guy better figure
this out quick, Stabler,
or we're going to have to go old-school.
Okay, just, uh just hold
on a few more seconds.
Try stealing this, you
copycat sons of bitches.
Ready for the code?
Give it to me.
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
Of course, we have multiple agencies
dealing with the situation,
multiple experts
analyzing the situation
[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
- What's wrong?
- I I'm not sure.
Blow the fucking bomb, Max.
Screen's gone to black.
What the fuck is happening?
Remember that old code you stole
- to take over the cars and bots?
- What about them?
They stole it back and used
it to take over our system.
You said they were fucking amateurs!
I I don't know how, but
they they they tricked us.
I'm sorry, AG.
It it's over.
[SCREAMS]
The bomb has been rendered safe.
I repeat the bomb
has been rendered safe.
Get her off that thing.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
You okay?
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Thanks.
[PANICKED CHATTER]
Okay, everyone, wipe
all their hard drives
all single records, all data sets,
and all active processes.
- Police!
- Don't move!
Don't move! Hands, hands, hands!
Hands where I can see 'em! Put 'em up.
Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up!
That's right.
- [GRUNTS]
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
That's for the chloroform, asshole.
Freedom is never voluntarily
given by the oppressor.
Tell it to your cellmate.
Never!
What's the latest?
Uh, she just got out of
surgery a little while ago.
- And?
- And when she woke up,
she insisted on speaking
to her least favorite son.
So you two had a nice talk?
Shut up, jackass.
We better go see her
before Kathleen gets here
and starts barking orders.
Oh, so good.
Oh, Ma, go easy on that stuff, will you?
I just wish somebody
had put a little gin in it.
[ALL CHUCKLE]
Now we know where it comes from.
Hey, Ma, the doctor said
your heart-ablation procedure
was a big success.
Oh, good.
Does that mean I can go home now?
Uh, we're just waiting on someone
to officially discharge you.
Oh, I see.
I want to say something to all of you.
I want to thank you.
I mean, if this had been "my time"
I'm at peace with all of it.
I really am.
I've had a really good life.
Don't talk like that, Grandma.
No, it's true.
I mean, just looking at your faces
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[LAUGHS]
I savor every moment with you.
[CHUCKLES]
[SIGHS]
I'm gonna, uh, try and find
someone to help us check out.
I'll be back in a minute.
Um
you want anything from
the cafeteria, Uncle Randall?
Uh, uh, no, actually, I'm good.
- Thanks, Kathleen.
- Be right back.
Where's Joey? Why isn't he here?
Joe Jr.'s in Europe, remember?
No, he came to the apartment.
I told you I saw him at the apartment.
Why wouldn't he be here now?
Just get some rest, Ma, okay?
You okay, Dad?
Yeah, I'm good. Thanks.
Come on, let's go for
a walk like old times.
I'd like that.
Someday, many, many years
from now, when you are 92
- and in the hospital
- [CHUCKLES]
I'll be there for you the whole time.
And I'll leave the
self-help book at home.
- Yeah.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Hey.
- Hmm?
Have I ever told you
how proud I am to be your daughter?
- I love you.
- [CELL PHONE VIBRATING, RINGING]
Um
[KATHLEEN CHUCKLES,
VIBRATING AND RINGING CONTINUE]
I'm sorry.
Detective Stabler.
It's me.
Joey.
I don't have long.
- Ma okay?
- Uh, yeah, yeah.
- How are you?
- Yeah, good enough.
Listen, no matter what happens,
and it's gonna happen soon now, Elliot,
know that I love you.
I made my own choices.
No, no, no, Joey, listen to me.
I can bring you in. I can protect you.
I can get you out of whatever
the hell is going on here.
Just know that I love you.
Joey.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Grandma was right.