Law & Order Special Victims Unit s27e09 Episode Script
Purity
1
In the criminal justice system
sexually based offenses are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
These women are being trafficked,
and they're forced to
carry someone else's baby.
We would give birth
to become U.S. citizens.
And when we arrived,
we were locked away.
Derek Hobbs, we need
to know who your clients are
and who runs this operation.
They sold babies for profit.
- Come on out, Darcy.
- Hey, no, no, you can't
- Darcy.
- Talk about what Daddy does
for work.
This is the husband and
wife team that operated
a fraudulent charity
Sergey Volkov and Sara Tandon.
Got it. Encrypted messages between
Sara Tandon and somebody.
"We'll take them all."
Who would want to buy 400 embryos?
Let's tie these
messages to a location.
Volkov and Tandon
were talking to a bunch
of white supremacists.
- [BEEPING]
- You hear that?
Everyone out!
Move now!
Everyone out!
- Move, move!
- Let's go, let's go!
Everybody out, now!
♪
[PANTING]
[GROANING]
♪
Oh, my God.
Bruno.
Oh, God.
- Ow.
- Oh, God.
I need a bus, now!
You're okay
[PANTING]
♪
[SIRENS WAILING]
BP's unstable, 80/50.
Heart rate's real tachy
at 130. How we looking?
We're at least 15 minutes out.
He
He's losing a lot of blood here.
Just keep applying pressure, okay?
You just had to be the hero, huh?
Nah, you were going too slow.
I was just trying to get past you.
I must have slipped.
Oh, I guess I just
got lucky then, huh?
Yeah.
At least that makes one of us.
[MACHINE BEEPING]
Terry?
- Terry!
- He's in V-fib.
- Charging the defibrillator.
- Oh, my God.
[DEFIBRILLATOR WHIRRING]
- Come on, Terry.
- Shocking at 200.
Clear!
[DEFIBRILLATOR THUMPS]
- Yeah?
- Still in V-fib.
Ah!
- [DEFIBRILLATOR WHIRRING]
- Come on, Bruno.
Shocking at 200 again.
Charging, and clear!
- Okay.
- [DEFIBRILLATOR THUMPS]
Yeah? [STEADY BEEPING]
All right, we got him back.
Okay.
All right.
Sinus rhythm.
Pulse is weak.
Keep applying pressure.
- Don't stop.
- Okay, I got it.
Come on, Terry.
Stay with me.
Male, 40s.
Impaled foreign object,
crashed en route.
Down less than a minute.
Okay, his name is Terry Bruno.
- He's a detective with NYPD.
- Pale, diaphoretic!
You're good.
I got this.
Set up two large-bore
IVs, type and cross for six,
and start another unit wide open.
Ma'am, he's in good hands.
We've got him from here, okay?
- Tell them we're coming right up.
- You got this.
You got this.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Hey, El, it's me.
I, um
I sent you some details
about a possible hate group.
So, if you can call me as
soon as you get a chance,
because, you know, things are
Things are maybe not great.
Yeah, so call me.
Thanks.
Hey.
He's in surgery.
For now, it looks like the
bleeding is under control.
So Bruno's gonna make it?
We're optimistic.
But the shrapnel did a
number on his spleen.
We should know more in
the next eight hours or so.
Okay.
So please, just keep us posted.
Thank you.
You've still got a little bit of
Yeah.
So we need to speak with Sara Tandon.
Do you think she knew
about the explosives?
I don't know.
But we're sure as hell gonna find out.
[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]
[DOOR CLANKS OPEN]
Didn't peg you for a neo-Nazi, Sara.
Excuse me?
The people that you and
your husband are working with?
You know, we found their arsenal
and their little pile
of plastic explosives.
I'm sorry.
I have no earthly idea what
- you two are talking about.
- Really?
'Cause, we found your chat logs
from your and your husband's phone.
And one of my guys almost died today.
So you're gonna give us a name.
Who is on the other
end of that conversation?
How am I supposed to
know the answer to that?
Because that's you arranging
a delivery with someone.
- Name, now!
- This isn't me.
Sure, it is.
It's connected to your charity.
Our charity.
Contrary to what you might think,
I wasn't actually privy to
my husband's business.
This must have been him.
I'm sorry.
Wrong answer.
- You gotta try again.
- You may not believe me,
but I tried to do
something legitimate,
a way to help women,
families, children.
Sergey took my dream and
twisted it into something evil.
You trafficked women, Sara,
and then you sold their babies.
I had no choice!
Sergey was a monster.
I tried to stop him.
You saw how violent he was.
I feared for my life.
- If I hadn't gone along
- Okay, are you serious?
You're playing the
victim card with us?
- [SOBS]
- Is that what we're doing?
I may not have been
locked up with them, Detective,
but I am just as much a
prisoner as those poor women.
Okay, fine.
If that's true, then
Give us all your information,
all your records, all
your communications.
I mean, if you are
actually innocent, right?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
God, I wish I could, truly.
But my lawyer advised against it.
Shocker.
I'd say speak directly to Sergey,
but one of your people
shot him in the face.
- Officer!
- Not that I mind, of course.
Like I said, the man was a monster.
[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]
The man was a monster!
How much you wanna make a bet
we just got a preview
of Sara's defense?
"Volkov made me do it."
She can turn on the
waterworks all she wants,
but her hands are all
over that fake charity,
and we've got the
evidence to prove it.
Yeah.
But we still have no idea
on that white supremacy group
or where the weapons came from.
- What?
- This could be a lead.
Stabler just sent me a name
An informant up in Yonkers.
- That's not far from the farm.
- No.
I'm gonna send Fin up there.
Have him take Walker.
New guy can be pretty persuasive.
Anything in particular I
need to know about this guy?
Dude is an off-book informant.
He dabbles in smuggling.
Real paranoid.
Sounds like fun.
Yo, AJ!
Who's asking?
Friends of Stabler.
- AJ's not here.
- Funny, that.
There's a patch on
your chest that says AJ.
What do you fellas want?
Just a little information is all.
I just work on cars, bro.
Well, the word is, you move product,
black-market goodies
like drugs and guns.
Explosives.
What the hell are you playing at?
You come in here?
I don't know y'all.
Yes, you do.
We're friends.
Maybe I talk to Stabler.
Maybe.
But I sure as hell don't talk
to some random jackasses
off the street, cops or no.
Did you just call us jackasses?
Look, you owe Stabler, right?
He helped your girl,
Janie, out of a jam, okay?
Elliot says you help us
with this one, you're square.
Cool?
Okay.
So, any C-4 come
through here lately?
Couple months ago.
Some new cat started coming around,
made a few big purchases,
including a batch of C-4.
Describe the cat.
Blonde hair, blue eyes,
gnarly tattoos, piss-poor attitude.
Dude bought a lot of firepower
explosives, AR-15s, the whole kit.
How about a name?
Okay, team, listen up.
So the suspect's name is Andrew Wells,
32, card-carrying white supremacist.
He's got a sheet full
of violent offenses
agg assault, stalking,
possession of a deadly weapon.
Farmhouse from the previous raid
belongs to a distant
relative of Wells.
And we have a witness
who can finger him
as the buyer of the explosives.
Which means that we're walking into
a volatile situation.
So ESU is gonna take
point, serve the warrant.
The rest of it is run
by the book, okay?
No cowboy moves, Griff.
Are we clear?
Crystal, Cap.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- NYPD!
- Show me your hands!
[OFFICERS SHOUTING]
Suspect in custody.
Coming out now.
You got any idea who the hell I am?
Get your damn hands off me, pigs!
This is sovereign land!
You have no right!
Don't you touch him, you animals!
Let my husband go!
How dare you put hands on him
All right, ma'am, we
need you to step back.
- Get out of here!
- I need you to step back now.
How dare you! Get off!
Hey, Captain.
Look.
♪
All right, put him in
the back of the squad car.
Okay.
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
we are here on official police action.
I'm gonna need you all
to go back into your houses now.
None of you belong here!
You can all go to hell!
We don't recognize your authority!
Baby, make sure you call der lehrer.
Tell him what's going on.
Get in the car.
Guys, you seeing this?
Welcome to the neighbourhood.
A real cute little neighborhood
you got for yourselves up there.
Their group even has a fancy name.
- Does it now?
- Yeah.
They call themselves
the Aryan Nationalist Alliance.
"Hateful Racists"
sounds more on brand.
Or terrorists.
Lady, we're just like-minded folks
fighting to preserve the real America.
Real Americans don't build bombs.
I don't know nothing
about any bombs.
Oh?
Well, we found an
illegal weapons cache
on your great uncle's farm.
And we can tie you to the purchase.
The question we keep
coming back to, though,
is, where did you get all that money?
Gear like that ain't cheap,
and you're an unemployed,
three-time loser.
I already told you,
I don't know nothing.
Whoever that stuff belongs to,
I'd wager they're just
making sure they're prepared.
Prepared for what?
The race war that's coming.
- [CHUCKLING] Okay.
- Ignore it all you want.
But there's a genocide
happening in this country.
Traditional Americans,
white Americans,
are being replaced.
First I've heard of it.
Our culture is wasting away
miscegenation, immigration.
We're fighting for survival,
preserving the purity
of the Aryan bloodline.
All right, where'd you
get the babies, huh?
You buy them on the black market?
You made a deal with Sara
Tandon and Sergey Volkov?
Who?
What about "der lehrer"?
You told your wife to call them.
It means "teacher" in German, right?
Sounds smart.
Smarter than him, at least.
But I mean, hey, that's a long list.
- Long list.
- Shut your whore mouth.
You know, why is it
always the scared little bitches
- who won't quit barking?
- [KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Thank you, ladies.
That'll be all.
- Don't say another word.
- You know what?
That's interesting because
I didn't hear Mr. Wells
request a lawyer.
Fortunately for Mr. Wells,
someone called on his behalf.
Now, if you'll excuse
me, my client and I
have some important things to discuss.
Have fun in Rikers, patriot.
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- [DOOR CLICKS]
We have Wells dead to rights
on the weapons and explosives.
There's no way he's
getting out of this.
Do we know what
these racists were doing
with Sara Tandon or the baby mill?
Not yet.
But
It's no coincidence
that their messages
led us to a neighborhood
full of pregnant women.
And kids, all with
blonde hair and blue eyes.
All right, so what do
we know about these
Aryan Nationalist Alliance people?
New kids on the
white supremacist block
with ties to other East
Coast hate groups.
They've been grabbing
up property to form
a "whites-only" community.
Yeah, but the whole neighborhood?
I mean
Orange County is not exactly cheap.
Neither is Wells' lawyer.
Guy costs more than
most of our yearly salaries.
How does a hate group have
that kind of money to spend?
They don't.
It turns out that every
house in this subdivision
is owned by a shell corporation.
And that shell corp is
owned by a different shell corp.
Which is owned by an umbrella group.
Which are all owned by
one guy, Joseph Dahlsonn.
Trust fund multimillionaire,
son of a Norwegian auto magnate.
He stays out of the
spotlight for the most part,
except for his
foundations and charities.
And a score of tech companies
that he's bought
over the last ten years.
Now, his latest acquisition
is a genetics company
called Supra Genomics.
They do cutting-edge
screening and testing
on wealthy IVF patients.
- Meaning embryos.
- Bingo.
Jesus, you're kidding me.
Tech millionaire in a neighborhood
full of pregnant neo-Nazis.
What the hell's going on here?
We're gonna have to ask Mr. Dahlsonn
to answer that question.
Everything here at Supra Genomics,
from R&D to sequencing
to microarray analysis,
is kept in strict compliance with FDA
and even international
scientific standards.
Same goes for your embryo testing?
Of course, and we don't
just test for disease and defect.
We perform polygenic screening,
giving our parents insight
into likely intelligence,
optimal height,
any other optimal traits.
Our parents want their
children to be smarter,
stronger, healthier
The same as any other parent.
Assuming they can
afford it, of course.
Yes, well, they're
willing to go the extra mile,
and so are we.
Eventually, we'll be
able to edit genes in vitro,
eliminating disease and
defect once and for all.
That sounds a lot like
eugenics, which is illegal.
Yes, we prefer the
term neo-evolution.
Technology will help us
build future generations
on superior genes.
Blue-eyed,
blonde-haired, Aryan genes
is what you really mean
when you say "superior," right?
[CHUCKLES]
You didn't come here to
talk about scientific ethics.
We're here to find
out why you bought
a militant hate group
an entire neighborhood.
Militant?
What else would you call the ANA?
Well, I'd call them a private group
interested in the protection
of white European culture.
And, yes, I support their goals,
and I helped establish a community.
There's nothing illegal about that.
Unless they used it
to buy 40 pounds of C-4.
I have no knowledge of that.
And for the record, I abhor violence.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Sir, it's almost 11:30.
Ah
I have an appointment.
I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Security will see you out.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Ms. Efron,
I understand the defense has
filed a new motion in this case.
Yes, Your Honor.
We move to suppress
any and all evidence
obtained by Hope Lifts'
attorney, Derek Hobbs.
On what grounds?
- Forced coercion.
- Forced coercion?
Uh, this is the first we're
hearing of this, Your Honor.
Derek Hobbs was
a willing participant
Mr. Price, I have an affidavit
attesting to the actions
of a Lieutenant Brady,
namely the intimidation
and implied detention
of Mr. Hobbs' 14-year-old daughter.
According to this,
Lieutenant Brady removed
a female minor from a
vehicle and threatened her,
all in an effort to coerce
privileged information
from Mr. Hobbs about his client.
I can't speak to the specific
complaint, Your Honor.
But I know Lieutenant
Brady to be a dedicated
and honorable public servant.
That may be, Mr. Price,
but attorney-client privilege
is a cornerstone of
our judicial system.
It will not be discarded
in my courtroom.
Motion to suppress is granted.
All evidence obtained by
the state through Mr. Hobbs
is hereby excluded.
Your Honor, before
you make your ruling,
can you grant us a brief recess to
Anything else, Ms. Efron?
Yes, Judge, thank you.
Given this change of
circumstance for my client,
we would hereby ask
the court to reconsider bail.
Sara Tandon, Your
Honor, is a clear-cut flight risk.
Not with the evidence you
currently have, Mr. Carisi.
Bail is granted at $20,000.
If that's all, court is
hereby adjourned.
- What the hell just happened?
- The case just got torpedoed.
Tandon is walking free.
Hey, does anyone
have delivery records
from quarter three?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, thanks.
- Hey.
- BOTH: Hey.
Bruno is awake.
Fin and Griff are on
their way over to him.
Well, it's about time
we got some good news.
- How's he doing?
- Grumpy.
From the sounds of it.
But otherwise, he's doing all right.
[SIGHS]
What're we working on?
Trying to find something
to nab Sara Tandon on
after we "lost" that evidence.
Pulled all the records, expenses,
and paperwork from Hope Lifts.
Maybe there's a connection
here between her and Dahlsonn.
- Do we have anything?
- Yeah.
This photo from a
charity event last winter.
So, here's Dahlsonn posing
with three other attendees.
Notice who's on the other end?
I certainly do. Sara Tandon.
Yeah, which means,
at the very least,
Dahlsonn and Tandon
ran in the same circles.
Okay.
Anything else?
Financial records.
Got multiple donations from Dahlsonn's
charitable foundation
directly to Hope Lifts.
- Payments to Tandon?
- Think so.
Dahlsonn also made similar donations
to a dozen other charities.
Meaning it's just circumstantial.
Hold on, I may have something.
I noticed that there was
over 300 embryos missing
from Hope Lifts' inventory.
Like discarded or lost?
I wasn't sure until I
found delivery receipts.
There's shipments from Hope Lifts
to an address not far
from Supra Genomics.
Did those records happen to come
with a name or a signature?
Brantley Lorenz.
It's Dahlsonn's assistant.
You mind if we come in?
Uh, I don't really know if
I should be talking to you.
Yeah, that's your right, Brantley.
That's absolutely your right.
Yeah, but you should
know you are looking at
some very serious jail time here.
- I'm looking at what?
- Yeah.
Illicit transport,
receipt of stolen goods,
not to mention federal charges, right?
Maybe I should
just call Mr. Dahlsonn.
Hey, he a good boss,
this Mr. Dahlsonn?
Sure, I guess.
I just figure he must
be someone really special
for you to be willing
to go to jail for him.
I was just doing my job.
Okay, I'm gonna
give you a tip, Brantley.
"Just following orders,"
that's not an excuse you wanna use
when you're working for
- a white supremacist.
- Mm-mm.
Look, if this guy
really cared about you,
you would not be in the position
you find yourself in right now.
So why don't you just
tell us what you know?
[SIGHS]
He's gonna kill me.
Not if he's in jail.
What were those shipments for?
Embryos.
Do you know where they were from?
No, I just met a courier,
then brought them to the office.
And what was he
using the embryos for?
Off-books testing
An experimental
germline editing program.
Mr. Dahlsonn would get
all these secret embryos
and screen them.
He only wanted to keep the white ones.
What did he do
with the rest of them?
Destroyed them.
He said the white ones
were more genetically pure.
A whole team works
on these white embryos,
manipulating genes
to make them stronger.
I think some might have
even been implanted.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey! Hey, hey, hey!
What the hell is going on?
I'm seizing evidence.
This is all part of a
criminal investigation.
No, no! These are my embryos!
Well, not anymore, they're not.
But the good news is,
you get to go with them.
Joseph Dahlsonn, you're under arrest.
- Cuff him.
- You're kidding.
You're kidding me.
Oh, my God.
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
♪
Derek, your client was conducting
banned germline experiments
on embryos that he
acquired on the black market.
Alleged experiments,
which are not illegal
under New York state law.
No, but the possession and
purchase of stolen property is.
He used Andrew Wells as a go-between
to get hundreds of
embryos from Sara Tandon.
That amount alone is a Class B felony.
A charge we're happy to
defend and disprove in court.
Personally, I think the
criminal conspiracy charges
are a bigger problem for Mr. Dahlsonn.
What are you on about?
Well, he provided material support
to a hate group,
which
in turn used his money
to buy almost 40 pounds of C-4.
That's ridiculous.
Oh, when an NYPD officer
was injured by that C-4,
that's not ridiculous, counselor.
That's attempted murder.
These charges are paper thin.
I'll shred them once we
step in front of a judge.
Furthermore, I'm motioning
for the immediate return
of the embryos.
They're the intellectual
property of Supra Genomics.
Motion all you want.
They're part of an ongoing
murder and human
trafficking investigation.
Those embryos are ours.
Those are my embryos!
That's my property!
- Joseph.
- You parasites!
- Hey.
- They're tainting my work,
- and I won't have it!
- Oh, my God.
The arrogance of this guy.
He's trying to create a
master race with babies,
and he acts like he's
done nothing wrong.
Well, if we're just talking
about the gene editing,
I'm not sure that he has.
Well, it's banned in the U.S.
By an act of Congress, yeah.
But I couldn't point
to a New York statute.
Give it to the Feds?
That could set up a
dangerous precedent.
How?
By preventing monsters
like him from playing God?
No, by stifling innovation.
Look, Dahlsonn is scum.
You get no argument
from me on that point.
But gene editing technology
has the potential to save lives.
It also has the
potential to destroy them.
Yeah.
What if it can
prevent diseases like
sickle cell, Huntington's?
Look, my own father had Alzheimer's.
And where do we draw the line?
And who gets to
decide where that line is?
You?
Me?
Him?
I'm just saying, it's complicated.
That's all.
- [SCOFFS]
- [PHONE BUZZING]
Benson.
Polina.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Where are you?
Okay, Polina, I'm not far, all right?
It's gonna be okay.
I need you
I need you to stay there, okay?
I'm on my way.
I'm on my way.
- [BREATHING HEAVILY]
- Polina.
- Hey.
- Something's wrong.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Look, the ambulance
is on its way now, okay?
[WHIMPERING] I'm scared.
Yeah, I know
I know you are.
Just breathe, okay?
Just breathe.
- [GROANING]
- Shh.
Please, I don't want this. I
don't want the baby to come.
I don't know if we have
much choice at this point.
I'm right here, and I'm
not going anywhere.
We're gonna bring this baby
into the world together, okay?
- [GASPING]
- Okay, it's okay.
They'll be here any minute.
Hey.
How you doing?
- I don't know. Okay, I guess.
- Yeah.
The doctor said that
you were really lucky.
You know, complications
like these, you know,
are usually caught much earlier.
If I hadn't been held prisoner.
[BABY COOING]
Oh.
- Did you give her a name yet?
- No.
They said that,
these babies would
go to nice families,
be loved.
You weren't planning
on being a mother?
She grew inside me, but
she came from other parents.
I was never supposed to be her mom.
I know you weren't.
And very bad people
took that choice away from you.
But, Polina, she's yours now.
So
I could give her away.
You know, my son is adopted.
So that's
That's a good option,
you know, if that's
If that's what you
feel is right for you.
It is.
I can't care for her.
I can barely care for myself.
And what if they send
me back to Ukraine,
to war?
[SOFT PENSIVE MUSIC]
[BABY COOING]
I look at this baby, and I think,
how can I leave?
How can I live not knowing her,
if she's happy, safe?
No matter what I choose, I will
I will hurt her.
It's not fair.
No, it's not.
But none of this is
your fault, Polina.
But I promise you
I'm gonna do everything I can
To punish the woman who put you here.
♪
What do I do?
I wish I could tell you
that there was a right answer
or wrong answer.
But there's just not.
There's only one
that you can live with.
♪
Sergey controlled
every aspect of my life.
I never
I never saw myself
as one of those people
living in denial, unable
to accept the truth.
That you were a victim of abuse?
In the beginning,
it was an arm twist.
Then it became a
slap, a punch, a choke.
[VOICE BREAKING]
Escalating over the years,
eventually a knife to my
throat and a gun to my head.
It all felt normal to me. [SNIFFLING]
I'd been programmed to survive.
I did whatever Sergey wanted
Or else.
And when Mr. Volkov
created this scheme,
his plan to warp your idea
into something horrific
I said no.
I tried to object.
He broke three of my ribs. [SOBBING]
I'm so-
I'm so sorry for
everything that's happened,
for those poor women.
I'm so sorry I wasn't stronger.
Thank you, Sara.
Nothing further.
Ms. Tandon,
do you have any documentation
of this supposed abuse?
No.
I wish I did.
Photographs, a video, medical
records, anything like that?
I was in survival mode,
doing my best to endure.
What about a witness,
someone who could
corroborate these injuries?
Sergey was cruel and clever.
He was always careful
not to leave visible marks.
But surely, you must
have told someone.
Anyone?
Are you blaming me for my own abuse?
I was a victim.
A victim with
influential social contacts,
a corporate bank account,
and a flourishing charity.
Ms. Tandon, if Sergey
really was in charge,
then how come you were the one
that created an
alias, hired the lawyer,
and filed the overseas
paperwork to incorporate?
- That was you
- Objection, Your Honor!
This is inadmissible, and he knows it.
Sustained.
Both of you, approach the bench now.
What the hell do you think
you're doing, Mr. Carisi?
I made my ruling on
this matter very clear.
Your Honor, I am
simply trying to define
Ms. Tandon's role within this charity.
If my enthusiasm got the
better of me, I apologize.
Let me help you rein in
that enthusiasm, counselor.
You come anywhere near
this line of questioning again,
and I'm holding you in contempt.
Are we clear?
Very.
Thank you, sir.
Lady's one hell of an actress.
And the jury is eating it up.
- Either we find something more
- Gentlemen.
How would you like a little help
with your Tandon situation?
Is your client
offering us something?
In exchange for a deal,
Mr. Dahlsonn will testify
Sara Tandon gave the
order to kill Nadiya Tecun.
He just happened
to overhear this?
How?
He was on the phone with Tandon
when she learned Nadiya had escaped.
All right, the word
of a racist sociopath
doesn't go far with a jury.
We would need proof.
You'll get it, and more,
if we can come to an
arrangement, of course.
Ugh, I'll bite.
What's the ask?
All charges dropped and the return
of Mr. Dahlsonn's embryos.
Hmm?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
If Dahlsonn's telling the truth,
his testimony could sink Tandon.
- Provided we let him walk.
- Wait a minute.
So, our only option,
is to make a deal with an
unrepentant white supremacist?
You want Tandon to pay
for Nadiya Tecun's murder?
This is the way we do it.
How the hell does Dahlsonn
even have claim to these embryos?
Well, the original donors
relinquished all legal
and parental rights when they
were signed over to Tandon.
- Under false pretenses.
- No, not necessarily.
Hope Lifts' paperwork was clever.
The fine print suggests
Tandon could use
the embryos as she saw fit.
- Oh, my God.
- Including scientific donations.
Which bolsters Dahlsonn's claim
on the embryos as
intellectual properties.
So, are you saying he
could end up with them
even if we say no?
I'm saying they have an argument.
What happens if Tandon
doesn't get convicted?
And what happens if
they both get off scot-free?
Can we live with that?
At this point, we
don't have a choice.
I hear the concerns.
All deals have inherent risk,
and Dahlsonn's reprehensible,
but Tandon is our priority.
If he can help us put her away,
then we hold our noses
and agree to his terms.
Make the deal.
[FOREBODING MUSIC]
♪
This agreement ensures that
any statements you make here
cannot be used against you at trial.
Should the evidence
you provide prove fruitful,
the charges against
you will be dismissed.
And my property?
Will be returned upon your release.
Excellent.
This contains records and recordings
of their conversations.
♪
And this address,
is a location in Brownsville.
Your people will wanna pay a visit.
What are we gonna find there?
Let's just say poor
Nadiya wasn't the first victim
of Sara Tandon.
Sara and I met through
her charity, Hope Lifts.
Because of my genetics company,
I had a special interest
in snowflake embryos
in the IVF community,
and we became friendly.
At what point did you
realize that Ms. Tandon's
so-called charity
wasn't what it seemed?
About six months in,
I, uh, began to notice
some inconsistencies.
I suspected that the
operation was less than legal.
So I made her an offer.
I would financially
support her charity,
and she would supply me
with half of her embryos.
- And this worked well?
- Remarkably.
Sara and I eventually
became close confidants.
Sergey was less of
a conversationalist.
How would you
describe their dynamic?
Sergey was the
muscle of the operation,
but Sara was the brains.
- Why would you say that?
- She made all the decisions.
Most recently, she offered to sell me
her entire embryo supply.
Did she say why?
Risks were piling up.
She'd grown tired of it all,
finding surrogates,
housing, feeding them,
locating buyers, and other
Challenges.
Challenges?
Do you mean the dead women,
and babies that the NYPD discovered
in an unmarked mass grave?
Indeed.
I suppose Sara had found it
all distasteful and wanted out.
Nothing further.
Mr. Dahlsonn
Are you a white supremacist?
I believe in the protection
and preservation
of white European culture,
if that's what you mean.
You also think
minorities and immigrants
poison the blood of the United States.
Isn't that correct?
I suppose, in so many words.
In fact, you've overseen unethical
and genetic experimentation,
all to create a superior
line of white children.
- Isn't that so?
- What I hope to create
is a world where children
can grow up without fear
of life-threatening
illness or disease.
Some kids are born with
the most terrible conditions.
What kind of person
wouldn't do everything in
their power to prevent that?
But in this scenario,
you're the one who
decides who's worthy.
Faced with these disturbing truths
and the fact that you're
only here testifying
because of a plea deal
with the prosecution,
why should we believe you?
Because it's the truth.
Question my views.
Question my character.
I'm a lot of things.
But unlike Sara Tandon,
I am no murderer.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
On the counts of
kidnapping in the first degree,
how do you find?
We find the defendant guilty.
On the count of murder in the
second degree, how do you find?
We find the defendant guilty.
[AUDIENCE MURMURING]
Thank you.
Thank you.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Thank you.
♪
With your T-Visa approval
comes employment eligibility
and, ultimately, a
path toward permanent,
lawful residence.
Please come up when
you hear your name.
Polina Kravets.
[SOFT MUSIC]
Marya Vereska.
We cannot thank you enough.
Well, we're so happy we could help.
Have you thought
of a name yet for her?
Daryna.
It means "gift."
Mm.
Hey, I sent those
Oh, my stars.
Look who's up and about.
- Hey.
- How you feeling?
I'm still a little sore.
Won't be wearing
any bikinis this year.
But otherwise, I'm good.
Well, for what it's
worth, I always took you
as more of a one-piece kind of guy.
Noted.
So, Dahlsonn is being released today.
Well, we're having intel keep
tabs on his racist commune
and the Feds are
looking into his company, but
I just don't think that
there's a lot that they can do.
So the creep walks free
and gets the embryos back.
- Don't seem right.
- It's not.
But
I do think that karma has a way of
biting back on guys like Dahlsonn.
I do.
[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]
Appreciate the
personal touch, Lieutenant,
you seeing me on my way.
I expect my embryos will be
returned in a timely manner.
Yeah.
About that, somehow all
of the original donor families
have learned what's happened.
I can't imagine how they found out.
Understandably, they're very upset.
So upset they decided
to file an injunction.
And a judge has put a
halt to the return of, uh,
"your" embryos.
We had a deal.
This is outrageous.
Out of our hands.
You want them back,
you gotta talk to a judge.
In regard to the
fate of these embryos,
I've reviewed both the petitioner
and the response brief.
Is there anything else
either party wishes to say
before I give my ruling?
Your Honor, our clients
are deeply disturbed
by what's been done
with their genetic material.
Under no circumstance do
they wish for these embryos
to end up in the hands of
Mr. Dahlsonn or his company.
Mr. Strauss?
Well, it's simple, Your Honor.
These embryos, regardless
of the families' desires
or the bad actions of the broker
they were acquired through,
are the intellectual property
of Supra Genomics.
We demand their return.
[SIGHS]
To call the situation
unique is an understatement.
The law offers little precedent.
Both sides claim ownership,
and both are tainted by fraud.
On one hand, you have
the biological parents
of these embryos.
Though this was not the
intention of their donation,
the documents they signed
relinquished any and
all legal claim to them.
That waiver, as written, still holds.
On the other hand, you have
Mr. Dahlsonn and his company.
If I accepted their claims to
these embryos at face value,
then, yes, their return
to Supra Genomics
would be a proper remedy.
However, by Mr. Dahlsonn's
own testimony,
these embryos were acquired
through dubious legal means
at best, and knowingly
illicit means at worst.
As such, it is this court's decision
that the fate of the
embryos be the same
as what would have happened
had none of these parties
Hope Lifts, Sara
Tandon, Supra Genomics
become involved in the first place.
- They are to be destroyed.
- [EXHALES]
Judge, this is a notice
that we are filing an
emergency stay of your ruling
with the appellate division.
As is your prerogative, Mr. Strauss.
Best of luck.
♪
You know he's got
the money and power
- to keep fighting this.
- Oh, sure.
And even if he loses,
he will find a way
to get more eventually.
What'd you say to me the other day?
We do the best we can?
Right.
Even when it doesn't feel good enough.
♪
In the criminal justice system
sexually based offenses are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
These women are being trafficked,
and they're forced to
carry someone else's baby.
We would give birth
to become U.S. citizens.
And when we arrived,
we were locked away.
Derek Hobbs, we need
to know who your clients are
and who runs this operation.
They sold babies for profit.
- Come on out, Darcy.
- Hey, no, no, you can't
- Darcy.
- Talk about what Daddy does
for work.
This is the husband and
wife team that operated
a fraudulent charity
Sergey Volkov and Sara Tandon.
Got it. Encrypted messages between
Sara Tandon and somebody.
"We'll take them all."
Who would want to buy 400 embryos?
Let's tie these
messages to a location.
Volkov and Tandon
were talking to a bunch
of white supremacists.
- [BEEPING]
- You hear that?
Everyone out!
Move now!
Everyone out!
- Move, move!
- Let's go, let's go!
Everybody out, now!
♪
[PANTING]
[GROANING]
♪
Oh, my God.
Bruno.
Oh, God.
- Ow.
- Oh, God.
I need a bus, now!
You're okay
[PANTING]
♪
[SIRENS WAILING]
BP's unstable, 80/50.
Heart rate's real tachy
at 130. How we looking?
We're at least 15 minutes out.
He
He's losing a lot of blood here.
Just keep applying pressure, okay?
You just had to be the hero, huh?
Nah, you were going too slow.
I was just trying to get past you.
I must have slipped.
Oh, I guess I just
got lucky then, huh?
Yeah.
At least that makes one of us.
[MACHINE BEEPING]
Terry?
- Terry!
- He's in V-fib.
- Charging the defibrillator.
- Oh, my God.
[DEFIBRILLATOR WHIRRING]
- Come on, Terry.
- Shocking at 200.
Clear!
[DEFIBRILLATOR THUMPS]
- Yeah?
- Still in V-fib.
Ah!
- [DEFIBRILLATOR WHIRRING]
- Come on, Bruno.
Shocking at 200 again.
Charging, and clear!
- Okay.
- [DEFIBRILLATOR THUMPS]
Yeah? [STEADY BEEPING]
All right, we got him back.
Okay.
All right.
Sinus rhythm.
Pulse is weak.
Keep applying pressure.
- Don't stop.
- Okay, I got it.
Come on, Terry.
Stay with me.
Male, 40s.
Impaled foreign object,
crashed en route.
Down less than a minute.
Okay, his name is Terry Bruno.
- He's a detective with NYPD.
- Pale, diaphoretic!
You're good.
I got this.
Set up two large-bore
IVs, type and cross for six,
and start another unit wide open.
Ma'am, he's in good hands.
We've got him from here, okay?
- Tell them we're coming right up.
- You got this.
You got this.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Hey, El, it's me.
I, um
I sent you some details
about a possible hate group.
So, if you can call me as
soon as you get a chance,
because, you know, things are
Things are maybe not great.
Yeah, so call me.
Thanks.
Hey.
He's in surgery.
For now, it looks like the
bleeding is under control.
So Bruno's gonna make it?
We're optimistic.
But the shrapnel did a
number on his spleen.
We should know more in
the next eight hours or so.
Okay.
So please, just keep us posted.
Thank you.
You've still got a little bit of
Yeah.
So we need to speak with Sara Tandon.
Do you think she knew
about the explosives?
I don't know.
But we're sure as hell gonna find out.
[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]
[DOOR CLANKS OPEN]
Didn't peg you for a neo-Nazi, Sara.
Excuse me?
The people that you and
your husband are working with?
You know, we found their arsenal
and their little pile
of plastic explosives.
I'm sorry.
I have no earthly idea what
- you two are talking about.
- Really?
'Cause, we found your chat logs
from your and your husband's phone.
And one of my guys almost died today.
So you're gonna give us a name.
Who is on the other
end of that conversation?
How am I supposed to
know the answer to that?
Because that's you arranging
a delivery with someone.
- Name, now!
- This isn't me.
Sure, it is.
It's connected to your charity.
Our charity.
Contrary to what you might think,
I wasn't actually privy to
my husband's business.
This must have been him.
I'm sorry.
Wrong answer.
- You gotta try again.
- You may not believe me,
but I tried to do
something legitimate,
a way to help women,
families, children.
Sergey took my dream and
twisted it into something evil.
You trafficked women, Sara,
and then you sold their babies.
I had no choice!
Sergey was a monster.
I tried to stop him.
You saw how violent he was.
I feared for my life.
- If I hadn't gone along
- Okay, are you serious?
You're playing the
victim card with us?
- [SOBS]
- Is that what we're doing?
I may not have been
locked up with them, Detective,
but I am just as much a
prisoner as those poor women.
Okay, fine.
If that's true, then
Give us all your information,
all your records, all
your communications.
I mean, if you are
actually innocent, right?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
God, I wish I could, truly.
But my lawyer advised against it.
Shocker.
I'd say speak directly to Sergey,
but one of your people
shot him in the face.
- Officer!
- Not that I mind, of course.
Like I said, the man was a monster.
[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]
The man was a monster!
How much you wanna make a bet
we just got a preview
of Sara's defense?
"Volkov made me do it."
She can turn on the
waterworks all she wants,
but her hands are all
over that fake charity,
and we've got the
evidence to prove it.
Yeah.
But we still have no idea
on that white supremacy group
or where the weapons came from.
- What?
- This could be a lead.
Stabler just sent me a name
An informant up in Yonkers.
- That's not far from the farm.
- No.
I'm gonna send Fin up there.
Have him take Walker.
New guy can be pretty persuasive.
Anything in particular I
need to know about this guy?
Dude is an off-book informant.
He dabbles in smuggling.
Real paranoid.
Sounds like fun.
Yo, AJ!
Who's asking?
Friends of Stabler.
- AJ's not here.
- Funny, that.
There's a patch on
your chest that says AJ.
What do you fellas want?
Just a little information is all.
I just work on cars, bro.
Well, the word is, you move product,
black-market goodies
like drugs and guns.
Explosives.
What the hell are you playing at?
You come in here?
I don't know y'all.
Yes, you do.
We're friends.
Maybe I talk to Stabler.
Maybe.
But I sure as hell don't talk
to some random jackasses
off the street, cops or no.
Did you just call us jackasses?
Look, you owe Stabler, right?
He helped your girl,
Janie, out of a jam, okay?
Elliot says you help us
with this one, you're square.
Cool?
Okay.
So, any C-4 come
through here lately?
Couple months ago.
Some new cat started coming around,
made a few big purchases,
including a batch of C-4.
Describe the cat.
Blonde hair, blue eyes,
gnarly tattoos, piss-poor attitude.
Dude bought a lot of firepower
explosives, AR-15s, the whole kit.
How about a name?
Okay, team, listen up.
So the suspect's name is Andrew Wells,
32, card-carrying white supremacist.
He's got a sheet full
of violent offenses
agg assault, stalking,
possession of a deadly weapon.
Farmhouse from the previous raid
belongs to a distant
relative of Wells.
And we have a witness
who can finger him
as the buyer of the explosives.
Which means that we're walking into
a volatile situation.
So ESU is gonna take
point, serve the warrant.
The rest of it is run
by the book, okay?
No cowboy moves, Griff.
Are we clear?
Crystal, Cap.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- NYPD!
- Show me your hands!
[OFFICERS SHOUTING]
Suspect in custody.
Coming out now.
You got any idea who the hell I am?
Get your damn hands off me, pigs!
This is sovereign land!
You have no right!
Don't you touch him, you animals!
Let my husband go!
How dare you put hands on him
All right, ma'am, we
need you to step back.
- Get out of here!
- I need you to step back now.
How dare you! Get off!
Hey, Captain.
Look.
♪
All right, put him in
the back of the squad car.
Okay.
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
we are here on official police action.
I'm gonna need you all
to go back into your houses now.
None of you belong here!
You can all go to hell!
We don't recognize your authority!
Baby, make sure you call der lehrer.
Tell him what's going on.
Get in the car.
Guys, you seeing this?
Welcome to the neighbourhood.
A real cute little neighborhood
you got for yourselves up there.
Their group even has a fancy name.
- Does it now?
- Yeah.
They call themselves
the Aryan Nationalist Alliance.
"Hateful Racists"
sounds more on brand.
Or terrorists.
Lady, we're just like-minded folks
fighting to preserve the real America.
Real Americans don't build bombs.
I don't know nothing
about any bombs.
Oh?
Well, we found an
illegal weapons cache
on your great uncle's farm.
And we can tie you to the purchase.
The question we keep
coming back to, though,
is, where did you get all that money?
Gear like that ain't cheap,
and you're an unemployed,
three-time loser.
I already told you,
I don't know nothing.
Whoever that stuff belongs to,
I'd wager they're just
making sure they're prepared.
Prepared for what?
The race war that's coming.
- [CHUCKLING] Okay.
- Ignore it all you want.
But there's a genocide
happening in this country.
Traditional Americans,
white Americans,
are being replaced.
First I've heard of it.
Our culture is wasting away
miscegenation, immigration.
We're fighting for survival,
preserving the purity
of the Aryan bloodline.
All right, where'd you
get the babies, huh?
You buy them on the black market?
You made a deal with Sara
Tandon and Sergey Volkov?
Who?
What about "der lehrer"?
You told your wife to call them.
It means "teacher" in German, right?
Sounds smart.
Smarter than him, at least.
But I mean, hey, that's a long list.
- Long list.
- Shut your whore mouth.
You know, why is it
always the scared little bitches
- who won't quit barking?
- [KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Thank you, ladies.
That'll be all.
- Don't say another word.
- You know what?
That's interesting because
I didn't hear Mr. Wells
request a lawyer.
Fortunately for Mr. Wells,
someone called on his behalf.
Now, if you'll excuse
me, my client and I
have some important things to discuss.
Have fun in Rikers, patriot.
- [CLEARS THROAT]
- [DOOR CLICKS]
We have Wells dead to rights
on the weapons and explosives.
There's no way he's
getting out of this.
Do we know what
these racists were doing
with Sara Tandon or the baby mill?
Not yet.
But
It's no coincidence
that their messages
led us to a neighborhood
full of pregnant women.
And kids, all with
blonde hair and blue eyes.
All right, so what do
we know about these
Aryan Nationalist Alliance people?
New kids on the
white supremacist block
with ties to other East
Coast hate groups.
They've been grabbing
up property to form
a "whites-only" community.
Yeah, but the whole neighborhood?
I mean
Orange County is not exactly cheap.
Neither is Wells' lawyer.
Guy costs more than
most of our yearly salaries.
How does a hate group have
that kind of money to spend?
They don't.
It turns out that every
house in this subdivision
is owned by a shell corporation.
And that shell corp is
owned by a different shell corp.
Which is owned by an umbrella group.
Which are all owned by
one guy, Joseph Dahlsonn.
Trust fund multimillionaire,
son of a Norwegian auto magnate.
He stays out of the
spotlight for the most part,
except for his
foundations and charities.
And a score of tech companies
that he's bought
over the last ten years.
Now, his latest acquisition
is a genetics company
called Supra Genomics.
They do cutting-edge
screening and testing
on wealthy IVF patients.
- Meaning embryos.
- Bingo.
Jesus, you're kidding me.
Tech millionaire in a neighborhood
full of pregnant neo-Nazis.
What the hell's going on here?
We're gonna have to ask Mr. Dahlsonn
to answer that question.
Everything here at Supra Genomics,
from R&D to sequencing
to microarray analysis,
is kept in strict compliance with FDA
and even international
scientific standards.
Same goes for your embryo testing?
Of course, and we don't
just test for disease and defect.
We perform polygenic screening,
giving our parents insight
into likely intelligence,
optimal height,
any other optimal traits.
Our parents want their
children to be smarter,
stronger, healthier
The same as any other parent.
Assuming they can
afford it, of course.
Yes, well, they're
willing to go the extra mile,
and so are we.
Eventually, we'll be
able to edit genes in vitro,
eliminating disease and
defect once and for all.
That sounds a lot like
eugenics, which is illegal.
Yes, we prefer the
term neo-evolution.
Technology will help us
build future generations
on superior genes.
Blue-eyed,
blonde-haired, Aryan genes
is what you really mean
when you say "superior," right?
[CHUCKLES]
You didn't come here to
talk about scientific ethics.
We're here to find
out why you bought
a militant hate group
an entire neighborhood.
Militant?
What else would you call the ANA?
Well, I'd call them a private group
interested in the protection
of white European culture.
And, yes, I support their goals,
and I helped establish a community.
There's nothing illegal about that.
Unless they used it
to buy 40 pounds of C-4.
I have no knowledge of that.
And for the record, I abhor violence.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Sir, it's almost 11:30.
Ah
I have an appointment.
I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Security will see you out.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Ms. Efron,
I understand the defense has
filed a new motion in this case.
Yes, Your Honor.
We move to suppress
any and all evidence
obtained by Hope Lifts'
attorney, Derek Hobbs.
On what grounds?
- Forced coercion.
- Forced coercion?
Uh, this is the first we're
hearing of this, Your Honor.
Derek Hobbs was
a willing participant
Mr. Price, I have an affidavit
attesting to the actions
of a Lieutenant Brady,
namely the intimidation
and implied detention
of Mr. Hobbs' 14-year-old daughter.
According to this,
Lieutenant Brady removed
a female minor from a
vehicle and threatened her,
all in an effort to coerce
privileged information
from Mr. Hobbs about his client.
I can't speak to the specific
complaint, Your Honor.
But I know Lieutenant
Brady to be a dedicated
and honorable public servant.
That may be, Mr. Price,
but attorney-client privilege
is a cornerstone of
our judicial system.
It will not be discarded
in my courtroom.
Motion to suppress is granted.
All evidence obtained by
the state through Mr. Hobbs
is hereby excluded.
Your Honor, before
you make your ruling,
can you grant us a brief recess to
Anything else, Ms. Efron?
Yes, Judge, thank you.
Given this change of
circumstance for my client,
we would hereby ask
the court to reconsider bail.
Sara Tandon, Your
Honor, is a clear-cut flight risk.
Not with the evidence you
currently have, Mr. Carisi.
Bail is granted at $20,000.
If that's all, court is
hereby adjourned.
- What the hell just happened?
- The case just got torpedoed.
Tandon is walking free.
Hey, does anyone
have delivery records
from quarter three?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, thanks.
- Hey.
- BOTH: Hey.
Bruno is awake.
Fin and Griff are on
their way over to him.
Well, it's about time
we got some good news.
- How's he doing?
- Grumpy.
From the sounds of it.
But otherwise, he's doing all right.
[SIGHS]
What're we working on?
Trying to find something
to nab Sara Tandon on
after we "lost" that evidence.
Pulled all the records, expenses,
and paperwork from Hope Lifts.
Maybe there's a connection
here between her and Dahlsonn.
- Do we have anything?
- Yeah.
This photo from a
charity event last winter.
So, here's Dahlsonn posing
with three other attendees.
Notice who's on the other end?
I certainly do. Sara Tandon.
Yeah, which means,
at the very least,
Dahlsonn and Tandon
ran in the same circles.
Okay.
Anything else?
Financial records.
Got multiple donations from Dahlsonn's
charitable foundation
directly to Hope Lifts.
- Payments to Tandon?
- Think so.
Dahlsonn also made similar donations
to a dozen other charities.
Meaning it's just circumstantial.
Hold on, I may have something.
I noticed that there was
over 300 embryos missing
from Hope Lifts' inventory.
Like discarded or lost?
I wasn't sure until I
found delivery receipts.
There's shipments from Hope Lifts
to an address not far
from Supra Genomics.
Did those records happen to come
with a name or a signature?
Brantley Lorenz.
It's Dahlsonn's assistant.
You mind if we come in?
Uh, I don't really know if
I should be talking to you.
Yeah, that's your right, Brantley.
That's absolutely your right.
Yeah, but you should
know you are looking at
some very serious jail time here.
- I'm looking at what?
- Yeah.
Illicit transport,
receipt of stolen goods,
not to mention federal charges, right?
Maybe I should
just call Mr. Dahlsonn.
Hey, he a good boss,
this Mr. Dahlsonn?
Sure, I guess.
I just figure he must
be someone really special
for you to be willing
to go to jail for him.
I was just doing my job.
Okay, I'm gonna
give you a tip, Brantley.
"Just following orders,"
that's not an excuse you wanna use
when you're working for
- a white supremacist.
- Mm-mm.
Look, if this guy
really cared about you,
you would not be in the position
you find yourself in right now.
So why don't you just
tell us what you know?
[SIGHS]
He's gonna kill me.
Not if he's in jail.
What were those shipments for?
Embryos.
Do you know where they were from?
No, I just met a courier,
then brought them to the office.
And what was he
using the embryos for?
Off-books testing
An experimental
germline editing program.
Mr. Dahlsonn would get
all these secret embryos
and screen them.
He only wanted to keep the white ones.
What did he do
with the rest of them?
Destroyed them.
He said the white ones
were more genetically pure.
A whole team works
on these white embryos,
manipulating genes
to make them stronger.
I think some might have
even been implanted.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey! Hey, hey, hey!
What the hell is going on?
I'm seizing evidence.
This is all part of a
criminal investigation.
No, no! These are my embryos!
Well, not anymore, they're not.
But the good news is,
you get to go with them.
Joseph Dahlsonn, you're under arrest.
- Cuff him.
- You're kidding.
You're kidding me.
Oh, my God.
[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
♪
Derek, your client was conducting
banned germline experiments
on embryos that he
acquired on the black market.
Alleged experiments,
which are not illegal
under New York state law.
No, but the possession and
purchase of stolen property is.
He used Andrew Wells as a go-between
to get hundreds of
embryos from Sara Tandon.
That amount alone is a Class B felony.
A charge we're happy to
defend and disprove in court.
Personally, I think the
criminal conspiracy charges
are a bigger problem for Mr. Dahlsonn.
What are you on about?
Well, he provided material support
to a hate group,
which
in turn used his money
to buy almost 40 pounds of C-4.
That's ridiculous.
Oh, when an NYPD officer
was injured by that C-4,
that's not ridiculous, counselor.
That's attempted murder.
These charges are paper thin.
I'll shred them once we
step in front of a judge.
Furthermore, I'm motioning
for the immediate return
of the embryos.
They're the intellectual
property of Supra Genomics.
Motion all you want.
They're part of an ongoing
murder and human
trafficking investigation.
Those embryos are ours.
Those are my embryos!
That's my property!
- Joseph.
- You parasites!
- Hey.
- They're tainting my work,
- and I won't have it!
- Oh, my God.
The arrogance of this guy.
He's trying to create a
master race with babies,
and he acts like he's
done nothing wrong.
Well, if we're just talking
about the gene editing,
I'm not sure that he has.
Well, it's banned in the U.S.
By an act of Congress, yeah.
But I couldn't point
to a New York statute.
Give it to the Feds?
That could set up a
dangerous precedent.
How?
By preventing monsters
like him from playing God?
No, by stifling innovation.
Look, Dahlsonn is scum.
You get no argument
from me on that point.
But gene editing technology
has the potential to save lives.
It also has the
potential to destroy them.
Yeah.
What if it can
prevent diseases like
sickle cell, Huntington's?
Look, my own father had Alzheimer's.
And where do we draw the line?
And who gets to
decide where that line is?
You?
Me?
Him?
I'm just saying, it's complicated.
That's all.
- [SCOFFS]
- [PHONE BUZZING]
Benson.
Polina.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Where are you?
Okay, Polina, I'm not far, all right?
It's gonna be okay.
I need you
I need you to stay there, okay?
I'm on my way.
I'm on my way.
- [BREATHING HEAVILY]
- Polina.
- Hey.
- Something's wrong.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Look, the ambulance
is on its way now, okay?
[WHIMPERING] I'm scared.
Yeah, I know
I know you are.
Just breathe, okay?
Just breathe.
- [GROANING]
- Shh.
Please, I don't want this. I
don't want the baby to come.
I don't know if we have
much choice at this point.
I'm right here, and I'm
not going anywhere.
We're gonna bring this baby
into the world together, okay?
- [GASPING]
- Okay, it's okay.
They'll be here any minute.
Hey.
How you doing?
- I don't know. Okay, I guess.
- Yeah.
The doctor said that
you were really lucky.
You know, complications
like these, you know,
are usually caught much earlier.
If I hadn't been held prisoner.
[BABY COOING]
Oh.
- Did you give her a name yet?
- No.
They said that,
these babies would
go to nice families,
be loved.
You weren't planning
on being a mother?
She grew inside me, but
she came from other parents.
I was never supposed to be her mom.
I know you weren't.
And very bad people
took that choice away from you.
But, Polina, she's yours now.
So
I could give her away.
You know, my son is adopted.
So that's
That's a good option,
you know, if that's
If that's what you
feel is right for you.
It is.
I can't care for her.
I can barely care for myself.
And what if they send
me back to Ukraine,
to war?
[SOFT PENSIVE MUSIC]
[BABY COOING]
I look at this baby, and I think,
how can I leave?
How can I live not knowing her,
if she's happy, safe?
No matter what I choose, I will
I will hurt her.
It's not fair.
No, it's not.
But none of this is
your fault, Polina.
But I promise you
I'm gonna do everything I can
To punish the woman who put you here.
♪
What do I do?
I wish I could tell you
that there was a right answer
or wrong answer.
But there's just not.
There's only one
that you can live with.
♪
Sergey controlled
every aspect of my life.
I never
I never saw myself
as one of those people
living in denial, unable
to accept the truth.
That you were a victim of abuse?
In the beginning,
it was an arm twist.
Then it became a
slap, a punch, a choke.
[VOICE BREAKING]
Escalating over the years,
eventually a knife to my
throat and a gun to my head.
It all felt normal to me. [SNIFFLING]
I'd been programmed to survive.
I did whatever Sergey wanted
Or else.
And when Mr. Volkov
created this scheme,
his plan to warp your idea
into something horrific
I said no.
I tried to object.
He broke three of my ribs. [SOBBING]
I'm so-
I'm so sorry for
everything that's happened,
for those poor women.
I'm so sorry I wasn't stronger.
Thank you, Sara.
Nothing further.
Ms. Tandon,
do you have any documentation
of this supposed abuse?
No.
I wish I did.
Photographs, a video, medical
records, anything like that?
I was in survival mode,
doing my best to endure.
What about a witness,
someone who could
corroborate these injuries?
Sergey was cruel and clever.
He was always careful
not to leave visible marks.
But surely, you must
have told someone.
Anyone?
Are you blaming me for my own abuse?
I was a victim.
A victim with
influential social contacts,
a corporate bank account,
and a flourishing charity.
Ms. Tandon, if Sergey
really was in charge,
then how come you were the one
that created an
alias, hired the lawyer,
and filed the overseas
paperwork to incorporate?
- That was you
- Objection, Your Honor!
This is inadmissible, and he knows it.
Sustained.
Both of you, approach the bench now.
What the hell do you think
you're doing, Mr. Carisi?
I made my ruling on
this matter very clear.
Your Honor, I am
simply trying to define
Ms. Tandon's role within this charity.
If my enthusiasm got the
better of me, I apologize.
Let me help you rein in
that enthusiasm, counselor.
You come anywhere near
this line of questioning again,
and I'm holding you in contempt.
Are we clear?
Very.
Thank you, sir.
Lady's one hell of an actress.
And the jury is eating it up.
- Either we find something more
- Gentlemen.
How would you like a little help
with your Tandon situation?
Is your client
offering us something?
In exchange for a deal,
Mr. Dahlsonn will testify
Sara Tandon gave the
order to kill Nadiya Tecun.
He just happened
to overhear this?
How?
He was on the phone with Tandon
when she learned Nadiya had escaped.
All right, the word
of a racist sociopath
doesn't go far with a jury.
We would need proof.
You'll get it, and more,
if we can come to an
arrangement, of course.
Ugh, I'll bite.
What's the ask?
All charges dropped and the return
of Mr. Dahlsonn's embryos.
Hmm?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
If Dahlsonn's telling the truth,
his testimony could sink Tandon.
- Provided we let him walk.
- Wait a minute.
So, our only option,
is to make a deal with an
unrepentant white supremacist?
You want Tandon to pay
for Nadiya Tecun's murder?
This is the way we do it.
How the hell does Dahlsonn
even have claim to these embryos?
Well, the original donors
relinquished all legal
and parental rights when they
were signed over to Tandon.
- Under false pretenses.
- No, not necessarily.
Hope Lifts' paperwork was clever.
The fine print suggests
Tandon could use
the embryos as she saw fit.
- Oh, my God.
- Including scientific donations.
Which bolsters Dahlsonn's claim
on the embryos as
intellectual properties.
So, are you saying he
could end up with them
even if we say no?
I'm saying they have an argument.
What happens if Tandon
doesn't get convicted?
And what happens if
they both get off scot-free?
Can we live with that?
At this point, we
don't have a choice.
I hear the concerns.
All deals have inherent risk,
and Dahlsonn's reprehensible,
but Tandon is our priority.
If he can help us put her away,
then we hold our noses
and agree to his terms.
Make the deal.
[FOREBODING MUSIC]
♪
This agreement ensures that
any statements you make here
cannot be used against you at trial.
Should the evidence
you provide prove fruitful,
the charges against
you will be dismissed.
And my property?
Will be returned upon your release.
Excellent.
This contains records and recordings
of their conversations.
♪
And this address,
is a location in Brownsville.
Your people will wanna pay a visit.
What are we gonna find there?
Let's just say poor
Nadiya wasn't the first victim
of Sara Tandon.
Sara and I met through
her charity, Hope Lifts.
Because of my genetics company,
I had a special interest
in snowflake embryos
in the IVF community,
and we became friendly.
At what point did you
realize that Ms. Tandon's
so-called charity
wasn't what it seemed?
About six months in,
I, uh, began to notice
some inconsistencies.
I suspected that the
operation was less than legal.
So I made her an offer.
I would financially
support her charity,
and she would supply me
with half of her embryos.
- And this worked well?
- Remarkably.
Sara and I eventually
became close confidants.
Sergey was less of
a conversationalist.
How would you
describe their dynamic?
Sergey was the
muscle of the operation,
but Sara was the brains.
- Why would you say that?
- She made all the decisions.
Most recently, she offered to sell me
her entire embryo supply.
Did she say why?
Risks were piling up.
She'd grown tired of it all,
finding surrogates,
housing, feeding them,
locating buyers, and other
Challenges.
Challenges?
Do you mean the dead women,
and babies that the NYPD discovered
in an unmarked mass grave?
Indeed.
I suppose Sara had found it
all distasteful and wanted out.
Nothing further.
Mr. Dahlsonn
Are you a white supremacist?
I believe in the protection
and preservation
of white European culture,
if that's what you mean.
You also think
minorities and immigrants
poison the blood of the United States.
Isn't that correct?
I suppose, in so many words.
In fact, you've overseen unethical
and genetic experimentation,
all to create a superior
line of white children.
- Isn't that so?
- What I hope to create
is a world where children
can grow up without fear
of life-threatening
illness or disease.
Some kids are born with
the most terrible conditions.
What kind of person
wouldn't do everything in
their power to prevent that?
But in this scenario,
you're the one who
decides who's worthy.
Faced with these disturbing truths
and the fact that you're
only here testifying
because of a plea deal
with the prosecution,
why should we believe you?
Because it's the truth.
Question my views.
Question my character.
I'm a lot of things.
But unlike Sara Tandon,
I am no murderer.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
On the counts of
kidnapping in the first degree,
how do you find?
We find the defendant guilty.
On the count of murder in the
second degree, how do you find?
We find the defendant guilty.
[AUDIENCE MURMURING]
Thank you.
Thank you.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Thank you.
♪
With your T-Visa approval
comes employment eligibility
and, ultimately, a
path toward permanent,
lawful residence.
Please come up when
you hear your name.
Polina Kravets.
[SOFT MUSIC]
Marya Vereska.
We cannot thank you enough.
Well, we're so happy we could help.
Have you thought
of a name yet for her?
Daryna.
It means "gift."
Mm.
Hey, I sent those
Oh, my stars.
Look who's up and about.
- Hey.
- How you feeling?
I'm still a little sore.
Won't be wearing
any bikinis this year.
But otherwise, I'm good.
Well, for what it's
worth, I always took you
as more of a one-piece kind of guy.
Noted.
So, Dahlsonn is being released today.
Well, we're having intel keep
tabs on his racist commune
and the Feds are
looking into his company, but
I just don't think that
there's a lot that they can do.
So the creep walks free
and gets the embryos back.
- Don't seem right.
- It's not.
But
I do think that karma has a way of
biting back on guys like Dahlsonn.
I do.
[DOOR BUZZER BLARES]
Appreciate the
personal touch, Lieutenant,
you seeing me on my way.
I expect my embryos will be
returned in a timely manner.
Yeah.
About that, somehow all
of the original donor families
have learned what's happened.
I can't imagine how they found out.
Understandably, they're very upset.
So upset they decided
to file an injunction.
And a judge has put a
halt to the return of, uh,
"your" embryos.
We had a deal.
This is outrageous.
Out of our hands.
You want them back,
you gotta talk to a judge.
In regard to the
fate of these embryos,
I've reviewed both the petitioner
and the response brief.
Is there anything else
either party wishes to say
before I give my ruling?
Your Honor, our clients
are deeply disturbed
by what's been done
with their genetic material.
Under no circumstance do
they wish for these embryos
to end up in the hands of
Mr. Dahlsonn or his company.
Mr. Strauss?
Well, it's simple, Your Honor.
These embryos, regardless
of the families' desires
or the bad actions of the broker
they were acquired through,
are the intellectual property
of Supra Genomics.
We demand their return.
[SIGHS]
To call the situation
unique is an understatement.
The law offers little precedent.
Both sides claim ownership,
and both are tainted by fraud.
On one hand, you have
the biological parents
of these embryos.
Though this was not the
intention of their donation,
the documents they signed
relinquished any and
all legal claim to them.
That waiver, as written, still holds.
On the other hand, you have
Mr. Dahlsonn and his company.
If I accepted their claims to
these embryos at face value,
then, yes, their return
to Supra Genomics
would be a proper remedy.
However, by Mr. Dahlsonn's
own testimony,
these embryos were acquired
through dubious legal means
at best, and knowingly
illicit means at worst.
As such, it is this court's decision
that the fate of the
embryos be the same
as what would have happened
had none of these parties
Hope Lifts, Sara
Tandon, Supra Genomics
become involved in the first place.
- They are to be destroyed.
- [EXHALES]
Judge, this is a notice
that we are filing an
emergency stay of your ruling
with the appellate division.
As is your prerogative, Mr. Strauss.
Best of luck.
♪
You know he's got
the money and power
- to keep fighting this.
- Oh, sure.
And even if he loses,
he will find a way
to get more eventually.
What'd you say to me the other day?
We do the best we can?
Right.
Even when it doesn't feel good enough.
♪