The Blacklist s07e13 Episode Script

Newton Purcell

1 We weren't expecting you.
- Beg your pardon.
- I said, we weren't expecting you for hours.
You got quite the pull in this town, boss called me at home.
I'm glad he did, with the power out, generators are running the server, but they won't keep up for long.
Are you all right? Yeah, I'm fine.
- Which way is the server room? - This way.
Here it is.
I'll be back to check on you in a few.
- Figure it out yet? - Yeah.
It should be ready in just a minute.
All right.
What was the problem? See for yourself.
What the? Hey.
Come on.
Open the door! Let me out.
Come on, let me out.
Now may seem like an odd time to mention it, but the men in my family have a low sperm count.
You're right.
It does seem odd.
When I'm 10,000 feet off the ground, that's what I think about.
- Your sperm count? - Dying and Before I die, I I'd like to have kids.
No one wants to hear more about your sperm count than me, but we're over the jump zone.
What? Oh, okay.
Do you? - Do you wanna have kids? - Of course.
- But I've accepted that might not happen.
- What? You You deserve to be happy.
I was the only one Charles recognised, but after this last incident, he can't even do that anymore.
But I can't leave him, no matter how much I want to.
Is that out of, you know, guilt? Or obligation or lifestyle? - No.
It's not guilt or obligation.
- Oh, my God.
And certainly not lifestyle.
I mean, we don't have a prenup or anything.
It's just - You know, it's the right thing to do.
- Oh, of course.
So where does that? - Where does that leave you and me, and? - I hope it leaves us together.
This is a bad idea.
Of course it is.
That's why we're doing it.
No, it doesn't work.
I can't Because I can't.
- What about dinner? - I told you, I'm busy.
- Drinks? - Glen, what the hell's going on? It's probably best if we discuss it face-to-face.
Discuss what? What's happened? You know what, truth is, my day is pretty wall-to-wall.
I've got the Digimarc tech here.
Phyllis is out with a stomach bug, something to do with raw butter.
Anyway, point is - this could wait.
- I have a sinking feeling it can't.
I'll be there within the hour.
- Everything okay? - It's a little unclear.
I'll get right to it.
Three weeks ago, there was an explosion in a data centre in Virginia.
Last night, a data centre owned by the same company was attacked in Maryland.
Optimus, from what I understand, their servers store NSA data.
So naturally the FBI will assume they were targeted by some foreign entity looking for classified intel.
That makes total sense to me.
Which is why I'm certain you'll completely disagree.
I'm a contrarian by necessity, not by choice.
If people were wrong less often, my life would be much easier.
And considerably less smug.
My sources have ruled out Tehran, Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang.
Dollars to donuts, this was a domestic affair.
Anti-government group.
Some extremist group against the government, in favour of more privacy, I don't know.
But whoever they are, and whatever they're after, it appears they won't stop until they get it.
Optimus is the largest data-storage company in the country.
They contract with Fortune 500 companies and government agencies including DOD, CIA and NSA.
Sorry I'm late.
I was jumping out of an airplane.
Really.
Skydiving.
Have any of you ever done it? It's insane.
Your enthusiasm is duly noted, as is your tardiness.
- Agent Park.
- Police report indicates three people died in last night's blast that shut down their backup generators.
Optimus was on backups because their power had been knocked out.
- What do we know? - Culpeper Electric was alerted by Optimus.
But a crew didn't arrive until after the explosion.
And the DOD stores highly classified information there.
Hard to think that's a coincidence.
Reddington would say it is.
He thinks we're looking at a domestic threat.
Assuming he's right, we could be looking at corporate sabotage.
Optimus has been taking over more market share, maybe one of its competitors got desperate.
There's also the privacy angle.
Optimus collects metadata on citizens whether they like it or not.
Ressler, Park, go to Optimus, see what they can tell us about the latest attack.
There's 50 data centres across the country.
Any one of them could be next.
Anything wrong? No.
I just I had a friend helping me find something, and he's having a hard time doing it.
Great.
- Need a jump? - Yeah, if you don't mind.
- Yeah.
Pop the hood.
I'll grab my cables.
- Thanks.
What the? The battery, it's gone What do you mean, the Tokyo shipment didn't go as planned? - It got sort of rerouted.
- How? Clerical errors, someone transposed two digits on the VIN number, typed an O instead of a zero.
Simple mistake, could have happened to anyone.
The vehicle's not in Houston? It's in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which is considerably closer.
Glen, we talked about this.
You wanted an assignment I did, but this? I can fix this.
It's a bump in the road.
My guy in Tokyo did his job.
That vehicle came off the line, factory-built, and shipped.
- Approved by customs, it cleared the port.
- I could go to Scranton, get the truck.
All you had to do was make sure it was routed to the dealership in Houston, so you could buy it with the money I gave you.
- I'm already looking at flights.
- Glen, look at me.
Do you understand that truck isn't just a truck, it's a test balloon.
Carrying a shipment of black-market tritium valued at over $12 million.
If this shipment goes right, I land a contract that will pay dividends for years.
If it goes south, I can't begin to tell you how badly things go for everyone involved.
- Starting with present company.
- All right.
Chillax.
- I'll handle it.
- Oh, yes.
You're gonna handle it.
You're gonna get on the next flight to Scranton, walk into that dealership, buy the damn truck, and get it here by Tuesday before my buyer is any the wiser.
Am I clear? Truck.
Two days, here by Tuesday.
Might I ask one question? This may seem like a reach, all things considered, but would you be comfortable with me flying business class, you know, for my back? You have two days.
So you know how Culpeper said its crew didn't arrive until after the explosion? - Optimus said there was a truck there.
- Why is that relevant? Because the truck that showed up, Culpeper reported it stolen three weeks ago.
We pulled CCTV feeds from a nearby business.
It shows the van approaching the Optimus facility just after the power went out.
Okay, so whoever did this cut the power on purpose, showed up in a stolen truck to fix it, and then got waved in like a Trojan horse.
I see plates.
Did you run a BOLO? We were about to, but first, we wanted to give you this.
From Optimus.
The information that was stolen was backed up onto that hard drive.
Now, we don't know who stole the data yet, but once you go through, we may know why.
If you need to deal with it, whatever it is I do, but I can go through the data.
Let me know what you find.
Okay.
Where do you wanna start? Would you have stayed with Tom if he didn't want children? That's where you wanna start? I want to stay with Elodie, but I also want a relationship with a future, and You know what? Forget it.
Here.
As I recall, Samar didn't want kids.
Elodie wants kids, but they can't have any, and Samar was different.
They're different, but you're the same.
I just don't think it's coincidence.
You falling in love with two women who don't want children.
So you think my being with Samar and Elodie means I don't want children? What I think is you think too much.
And if you're meant to be with someone, all that matters is that you are.
- There you are.
- We came as soon as we could.
Oh, my.
I do like that coat.
- Merino or cashmere? - Looks like alpaca.
That does not look like alpaca.
- It's vicuña.
- Yes.
- Is there a problem with Houston? - Oh, heavens no.
A slight delay is all, my people at the port decided to take extra precautions.
Which is what you pay me for to get your product here.
But we're still on for Tuesday? - It's him.
- Yeah.
Speak of the devil, my man in Houston.
Please excuse me.
You have it? Sort of, there's been a bit of a development.
Oh, my God, Glen, is the truck there in Scranton or not? - It's here, but it's not for sale.
- What? Was it sold, what happened? It's complicated.
Well, un-complicate it for me.
Explain it to me like I'm a 4th grader.
Well, as it turns out, Big John's Auto here in Scranton has a competition every year, sort of a promotional event when they give away a truck.
They call it "Hands on a Hard Body.
" These nutters get around the vehicle, standing as long as they can.
Day and night, one hand on the truck to see who can last the longest.
The last one left standing wins the truck.
- It is a test of endurance.
- This isn't happening.
I'm 30 hours deep and I've already seen four people drop.
I'm telling you, it's - Okay, gotta go.
- No.
Wait, Glen We get a 15-minute break every few hours, but so far, I'm feeling strong.
- I'm coming there myself.
- I appreciate the support, but I got this.
As long as my hammertoe doesn't act up, I think I can go the distance.
Within two days, I plan to be eastbound and down, and headed your way.
Wish me luck.
What a guy! - Is everything okay? - Jolly good.
Your cargo is in country.
That said, I think it may be worth discussing a slight adjustment to our Tuesday delivery plan.
It's time I introduced myself.
My name is Newton Purcell.
I doubt you remember me, but we met some years ago.
We talked about the impact sound can have on a person's mind, body and soul.
To put it charitably, you were something of a sceptic.
Shock wave lithotripsy is what doctors use to crush kidney stones.
By making a few small adjustments to the amplitude and frequency of the soundwaves, I can cause mild tingling, disrupt blood circulation and nerve functions.
Please, stop.
You didn't believe me when I told you sound could drive a man insane.
- I believe you.
I do.
- I'm sure you do.
Now.
So I'll pose a different question.
One which you'll never be able to answer.
Can a person be killed by sound? No, I'm begging you.
Please! No! So Reddington was right.
Yes.
According to the data, none of the files relate to national security.
- What do they relate to? - Internal company data, - personnel files, contracts, lobbying.
- For what purpose? - Blackmail, corporate espionage? - At this point, we don't know.
Keen, I know you have to go.
Aram, go over the data again.
- See if there's anything you missed.
- BOLO came back with a match on the van.
Abandoned in an alley in Annapolis.
Looks like we have ourselves a body.
I hope you got my text.
And I wish I had better news.
It's not your fault.
You did what you could.
- Yeah.
- So no hits on the guy I'm looking for? Nothing.
Not off the BOLO or from the field offices, he's a ghost.
To find him, you're gonna need a ghost hunter.
- A PI? - Crazy expensive, cash only.
Psychotic and worth every penny.
- You're telling me that sound did this? - ME thinks so.
His ears were perforated and joints degraded.
He thinks it might be some sonic weapon.
He's never seen one, but says that directed ultrasonic waves can sever nerves and burst blood vessels.
The victim was a Westlake City council member.
Served two terms before opening a consulting business in Annapolis.
Westlake, isn't that the site of another Optimus facility? Exactly.
And besides the van connecting Healy to Optimus, this was in the stolen files.
A series of hidden payments made from Optimus to Healy, and to a woman named Libby Bishop in 2015.
And she is? Agent Mojtabai? Right.
Bishop.
Bishop.
- She is another member of the city council.
- Find her and put her in protective custody.
We have to assume if the Blacklister went after Healy, he'll go after her also.
Skydiving get cancelled? I'm sorry.
It's Elodie.
Her husband He's back in the hospital.
- Hey.
Sorry to bother you.
- Hi.
My dog slipped free of her harness in your backyard.
- Do you mind if I take a look? - Not at all.
What's her name? Macy.
She's a slippery one.
Oh, poor thing.
Go around back and I'll I'll meet you there, okay.
Macy.
Here, girl.
- Come on.
- Hello? Libby Bishop, this is Agent Alina Park with the FBI.
Is this some kind of joke? Did Darren put you up to this? Ryan Healy's been killed.
- What? - Macy.
Here, girl.
- Are you somewhere safe? - I'm at home.
- Are you alone? - I'm helping a man look for his dog.
Okay, Libby, I want you to stay calm, all right? If he can hear you, answer my questions like you're talking to a friend.
- Nice and relaxed.
Do you know this man? - No.
No.
We haven't found her yet.
What time will you be - home? - We're less than five minutes away.
If he comes after you, you have to scream and fight like hell.
Do you hear me? You have to fight.
Libby? Libby Bishop.
FBI.
We're too late.
Well, maybe this will help us.
What's that? Nothing, honey.
Your daddy just always taught me to be ready for a rainy day.
But it's not raining.
Aren't you too smart for your own good? Come here.
Get up here.
Have I ever told you how your daddy and I met? No? Elodie.
Hi.
How is he? They did angioplasty, put stents in to open up his arteries.
- He's in recovery.
- All right.
Good.
I'm glad you're here.
- So I've been thinking about - There something I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
No, please.
You first.
What's been happening with Charles, his recent health scares, it just made me realise how How selfish I've been.
This is my burden, it's not yours.
You deserve a life.
And I can't give you the one you want.
Okay.
Maybe I should have gone first.
Because what I've been realising is that I think too much.
And that I need to stop thinking.
And just feel.
And when I do that I feel like I wanna be with you.
Look around.
You don't want this.
I'm looking in the only direction that matters.
And I'm telling you, I do.
Mrs Radcliffe.
- Can I see him now? - I'm afraid there's been a complication.
- I thought he was in recovery.
- He was.
An aneurysm burst, causing a brain haemorrhage.
There's nothing we could do.
He passed away.
I'm sorry.
Why? No.
He can't be gone! It's okay.
I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.
- What's with all the police? - I don't know, but that's a lot of police.
How long has it been? Forty-one hours.
Forty? Oh, my God.
I don't know how you do it.
Okay, go ahead and take a five-minute break.
Let's give him a call.
- Yeah? - What the hell is going on? It's the hammertoe.
She's back.
I'm not talking about your feet.
I'm talking about all the cops.
Why is this place crawling with cops? Tell me about it.
They're all here to support the rookie on the force over in Old Forge.
"Sundance Kid," they call him.
I'm not worried about him, or any of the other competitors, for that matter.
Real competition is Pastor Ritzen.
He won in '16, then again in '18, and now God's soldier's back for blood.
Honestly, my feet.
- Glen, the merchandise on that truck - No, really.
My feet.
I know you can't come with all the boobies on the beat, but maybe Dembe could come rub them.
Everyone else has someone else to cheer them on, I got nobody.
- Glen, please listen to me - This is psychological warfare.
Don't worry, chief.
I'm gonna get you that merchandise on that truck - Okay, we're back.
- Gotta jump, we're back.
Wait, no, Glen, hold on.
You're not back.
I got this.
Eye of the tiger.
- Should I call his mother, get her involved? - Oh, my God, no.
Talk about bad to worse.
He's dug in like a deer tick.
Well, I'm not rubbing his feet.
We need the names and information of every contestant with a hand on that truck.
Believe me, Glen's not going anywhere.
But if all of a sudden, he drops like a sack, one of these other clowns is gonna be driving around town in our $12 million.
You know how the ME said that Healy was killed by sound? - We found it at Libby Bishop's.
- A hearing aid? On the phone, I told her to put up a fight.
That tells me she did.
I spoke to Aram Elodie's husband died.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- I'm not sure you should be.
Is it a tragedy if you're dating a married woman and her husband dies? He said he'd be here as soon as he can.
- The hearing aid.
What does that get us? - It's not a what, it's a who.
Dara Lin, the doctor who designed it.
See, it was specially made, not to amplify sound, but to block it out.
I make these for a lot of my patients.
There's a serial number on it, can you find the name that way? You say he killed someone? And abducted someone else.
If we wait on a warrant, he'll kill her too.
You made him a hearing aid that blocks out sound? Is it really that common? When I became an ENT, it was unheard of.
Now I find my patients are as concerned by what they can hear as by what they can't.
Noise pollution.
The surgeon general has been warning about the hazards for a generation.
Anxiety, depression, dementia.
- Sound can cause all that? - Not one sound, no.
But we live in a world of continuous sound.
Low-frequency radio signals, electrical substations, server farms.
- Server farms? You mean like data centres? - Exactly.
The noise generated by their cooling system is precisely the type of low-frequency sound which can elevate stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which over time can lead to high blood pressure, stroke and heart failure.
And apparently murder.
Here it is.
The man you're looking for is Newton Purcell.
I always figured it'd be Gordon or Cartwright.
But I was wrong, wasn't I, Libby? - Please, whoever you are - No, no, no.
You had your chance to speak.
Now you're going to listen.
- We had an agreement.
- You said you could get this done.
And it's getting done.
Clearly, it's not.
You've already moved the timeline once, you're asking to move it again.
Don't get your vicuña in a bunch.
Take a breath.
You came to me because you had no viable way to get your product into the country.
This pipeline we're testing? This concept of moving a single vehicle from the assembly line as a courier, it's new.
And it's going to have unforeseen obstacles, which we obviously now have.
Which is why I asked for the extension.
If that's a problem, we'll work around it.
But rest assured, I have my top man on the job.
- Top man? - My top man.
A man I trust.
A man with whom I share a history.
A man with whom I'd go into battle shoulder to shoulder, anytime, anywhere, because his dedication knows no bounds.
If there is a man who can get you your shipment on time, it's my guy Glen.
So you can doubt me, you can doubt my services, but do not doubt Glen.
Eye of the tiger.
Those were powerful words, Raymond.
- I wish I believed them.
- Yeah, well, so do I.
But they needed to be reassured.
You and I, on the other hand, know the truth.
So please tell me you have the information on the remaining contestants.
- I do.
- Good.
Because we need to fix this thing before Glen bungles it more than he already has and costs us a fortune.
Dr Lin was able to use the earpiece to ID a suspect.
Name's Newton Purcell, 38-year-old mechanical engineer.
Last known address is on Pine Road in Westlake, Maryland.
The same place Healy and Bishop were on the city council.
And home to an Optimus facility.
Agent Keen and I are on our way to Purcell's home now.
Back when we lived in Ohio, Melody and I used to go for walks after I got home from work.
Best part of my day.
Peaceful, quiet.
Dr Lin says Purcell suffers acute auditory distress caused by the noise generated by the server farms, and he's not alone.
Apparently, thousands experience similar effects.
It was faint at first.
At that point they only had a handful of units online, but as time went on, the hum got louder and louder.
Until one day When I went for a walk on my own, the hum came back home with me.
I heard it all the time.
I couldn't sleep.
I lost my job.
We sold the house, moved to Westlake And then six months later, guess what.
I found out Optimus was opening up a facility just a mile away.
Back in 2014, Optimus selected Westlake as the site of their next centre.
Construction was held up due to an environmental impact report which recommended further study of the acoustic effects of their new facility.
Melody said that sound knocked all the kindness out of me.
I wasn't surprised when she left.
The truth is, I hardly noticed.
He didn't only wanna hurt Optimus, he wanted to punish the people responsible for letting it be built in the first place.
Healy and Bishop.
So Purcell knew Optimus was paying somebody to fast-track construction, he just didn't know who.
There's no record of the decision, which explains why he went digging through Optimus' corporate data.
Three days after Optimus made payments to Healy and Bishop, zoning commission cancelled the study.
Construction started six weeks later.
I thought I was helping.
Cutting through red tape, but it was gonna bring jobs to the city.
I didn't know.
People think of sound pollution as a nuisance.
An annoyance.
But something tells me when the world hears what happened to you, they'll understand just how dangerous sound can be.
No.
No.
No! No! No! No! No! Park, cut the power.
Libby, are you all right? Park! Park! Alina! Newton Purcell, you're under arrest for the murder of Ryan Healy.
Okay, folks.
That concludes Hour 64.
Take a break to rest and use the facility.
Looking good out there, Father.
A little too good, maybe.
Excuse me? Well, you got the big fella.
But the little guy, the sweatpants, track suit and terrible feet, who's he got? - Doesn't seem like a fair fight, does it? - The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Yes, but there's nothing mysterious about the pain Glen is in.
Sciatica, herniated disc, haemorrhoids.
But the real pain is the guy's a natural-born loser.
He has never won anything, and he's got his heart set on that truck.
You've won, what? Twice? Well, you of all people would know, if he could come away a winner it would be the answer to all his prayers.
It's because I've won twice that I know salvation doesn't come with being the last man standing.
It comes from doing your best, which I'm sure your friend will realise when he comes in second.
Have you driven a Mercedes? How about a Mercedes? Surely you can find salvation in German engineering.
- Are you offering me a bribe? - Consider it tithing.
I need to get back.
I'm a sedan man myself, the S-class is heavenly.
But perhaps you'd be more comfortable in a G-Wagen.
Or, hey, what about an SL Roadster? You and the missus, out on the open road, feeling the wind in your pulpit gown.
Have you seen the Maybach? With the executive rear seats? The massage function? - And the calf rests and pull-down tables.
- For your wafers and wife.
Let me pray on it.
Or perhaps a Sprinter for the flock.
We know about the hum.
Is that why you killed Healy and abducted Bishop? Because you blame them for it.
For causing the hum.
- Have you ever seen the stars? - The stars? Not one or two, not the North Star or a dot in Orion's Belt.
I'm talking about Pegasus, Leo, the constellations.
The Milky Way, the heavens.
We can't see them anymore.
Light pollution has blocked our view of heaven and no one cares.
- Let's talk about Ryan Healy.
- And what did God create in heaven? Wind whistling in the trees, waves crashing on beaches, the love song of the nightingale and the lark.
And we can't hear them anymore.
Sound pollution has drowned out God's music and no one cares.
Is that why you killed Healy? Because you care? I killed him because I want the hum to stop.
And because I know it never will.
I'll reach out to Main Justice, tell them we have a confession.
Hopefully they won't think we beat it out of him.
- He attacked me.
- Which put you into survival mode, I get it.
But you crossed the line.
From what I've seen, I didn't think this task force had a line.
It's blurry at times, but it's there.
You shot the attorney general.
Which is why I get it.
What you did to Purcell? What happened in Anchorage? It's also why I understand that whatever it is that sets you off, you need to deal with it.
You can see the Milky Way in Alaska, and hear the wind in the trees.
I don't miss it.
You must be a friend of Elodie's.
I am.
So sorry.
Aram Mojtabai.
We met after Charles' accident.
I know she was devoted to him.
So sorry, would you excuse me one? Thank you.
- Agent Keen, is everything okay? - Fine, the case is over.
It's all good.
I'm just checking in with you.
How's Elodie? She's She's holding it together.
And how are you? Shockingly calm.
When I got to the hospital, before we knew that Charles had passed I took your advice and stopped thinking, and the minute I did, everything just clicked into place.
- I'm so glad to hear that.
- I realised that's why I like her so much.
She doesn't think, she feels.
She lives in the moment and she stays there.
Not just when it's easy, but when it's hard.
Like with Charles.
She didn't stay with him out of guilt or obligation, she stayed with him because it's the right thing.
Aram? - Are you still there? - I have to call you back.
This is inexcusable.
- This whole thing was a mistake.
- He'll be here.
Do you see him? Do you see the truck? Do you have any idea how much that shipment is worth? Over 12 million.
And now because of your guy Well, I'll be your Huckleberry.
Look who showed up.
And with two minutes to spare, no less.
What a man.
What a truck! Sorry I'm late, fellas.
A few of the boys at the dealership insisted on photographs.
As I said, never doubt my man Glen.
I have to admit, I was starting to doubt you, Glen.
Never doubt the jelly bean.
The shipment, tritium.
What is it anyway? Tritium is an extremely rare radioactive isotope of hydrogen.
- Sounds kind of serious.
- It is.
You got that stuff in the gas tank? Not in the tank, Glen.
The vehicle.
Tritium is a gas that can be safely stored as a metal hydride.
In this case, as truck parts.
Which parts, I have no idea.
I have no idea.
It's, you know, like Goldfinger.
- So who are these chowder heads? - I suspect they're CIA.
Tritium is an important component in nuclear warheads and has to be replaced frequently because of its short half-life.
In any case, that doesn't matter.
You got the job done.
Yeah.
So, what about my truck? You know what? It don't matter.
What matters is I wanna prove to you I could do this on my own.
I wanted you to know I can get the job done without your help, that you didn't need to intervene.
I wanted to go the distance.
That's all that matters to me.
Your faith.
Not some vehicle.
What the hell is that? That, Glen, is your payment.
My man, R-Squared.
Taking care of his own! Yes, sirree.
Don't mind if I do.
And, hey, boss.
Don't forget, you know who you can count on next time you get yourself in a pinch.
Eye of the tiger, baby.
Eye of the tiger.
Flip down the rearview.
Money's in the backpack.
And information on the target.
Handsome.
You want to kiss him or kill him? I want him found.
Don't call me.
I'll call you.

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