Almost Paradise (2020–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Ghost Month - full transcript

Alex, good morning.

Hey, what are you guys doing here?

Uh, we wanted to buy you breakfast.

Too late.

We'll get the coffee, then.

I've been here for two years, guys,
you've never bought me breakfast.

What do you want?

Ocampo got a tip
from a contact at Interpol,

and they've had a spike in alerts
from the Philippines.

Mm.

And the word "Mactan"
popped up more than once.



And?

And that's it.

Well, we thought maybe you could
get in touch with your pal Lockhart

and get the skinny.

Chief Ocampo just wants in
on whatever's going on.

Right, and for that I get breakfast?

That doesn't rate dinner,
rate drinks?

It's just a phone call.

Yeah, well, I don't exist
to advance Ocampo's career.

It's not all about his career, okay?

Look, if something's going down,
we need to know about it.

To protect our people.

Okay, well, the problem is,
is that if I ask them for a favor,

then I owe them a favor.



I don't want that.

That's the way I learned you can't help...

Hang on.

I know I locked this door when I left.

Hey, guys.

God dang! What are you doing, man?!
You scared the hell out of her.

I'm sorry.

Don't bring that in here.
What, are you making a sacrifice?

It's not a sacrifice.

I'm trying to manifest a Ferrari.

Shouldn't you manifest
a driver's license first?

It's not for me.

It's for my dad.

It's for you dad?

It's Ghost Month,
and my friend Lim says

that during Ghost Month,
you can offer the spirits

what they wanted the most
during their lives.

My dad, he used to look at pictures
of Ferraris in car magazines.

I know he's a restless, hungry ghost.

Can I come back after school
to restock on merchandise?

I have to buy more construction paper.
I wanna make him an SUV.

Go get the construction paper.
I'll restock the shelves.

Thank you.

-Hungry ghost?

It's a Chinese Buddhist tradition.

People who suffer
violent or mysterious deaths

are believed to manifest themselves
as restless spirits.

Plus, there are special rules,
which, if you don't follow...

then these hungry ghosts
can make things quite unsettling for you.

Are you serious?

You're not in Kansas anymore.

Well, I'm from Texas,
and it's stupid.

Have I ever told you
the story about my sensei?

Here we go.

My sensei's name was Michael Batacan.

He was my martial arts instructor
at the Academy.

Batacan never liked me.
He worked me harder than anyone else.

Constantly berated me.

"Alamares! Matuon! Focus!"

We never spoke again after the Academy.

But one night, years later,
I was in the thick of it,

fighting off three members
of the Balanbam gang.

What I didn't know was
there was a fourth man

with a knife behind me.

Then, from out of nowhere,
I hear that unmistakable Batacan bark.

"Alamares! Matuon!"

It made me turn,
and I avoided death that night.

When I looked around for Batacan,
no one was there.

Later, I found out that he had died
in a car accident an hour earlier.

And let me guess,
this was during Ghost Month.

It's not superstition, Alex.
It's a belief that death isn't final.

Spirits can transcend,
make themselves felt by the living,

especially when they have
unfinished business.

No disrespect, Ernesto,
but I'm from Texas, all right?

We only believe in the three G's:
God, guns, and gas production.

"Ghosts" starts with a G,

and they have their ways
of making you believe.

Did you do that?

That's, like, seven bucks, man!

My name is Alex Walker.
I'm ex-DEA.

One of my first assignments
took me to an isolated beach

right here on this island.

I sold what little I had
and bought myself a gift shop.

Just peace, no stress, no drama.

Boy, was I wrong.

Alex, this market is a great place

to find Ghost Month merchandise
to sell at your gift shop.

Let me get this straight.

People buy this stuff,
then they burn it,

and then they gotta buy it again?

You're absolutely right. I'm selling
the wrong stuff in my gift shop.

Well, those are nice.

It's very, uh, resort-y.

Yeah.

Kai, I appreciate you
showing me all this,

but I have a feeling this is not
why we're here, so what is?

Alex, we're friends, right?

Mm-hmm.

And friends do things for one another.

Like make phone calls to Washington
to get information

-that a friend really needs.
-And there it is.

Look, this is our island.

If they know something we don't,
we need to be clued in.

It's only right.

What makes you think Lockhart's
gonna give me any answers?

He idolizes you.
You're like a hero to him.

I hear he even cites you
as an example to young desk jockeys.

Yeah, 'cause I'm the poster boy
for field agent mental health.

What is this again?

It's a remembrance wall for the dead.

Ernesto said there's rules
to this Ghost Month thing.

What are they?

Is it like "step on a crack,
break your mother's back"?

No, that's matricide.

Let me see if I can
remember all of them. Um...

Don't hang your clothes
outside through the night.

Don't stand too close to a wall
or sleep facing a mirror.

Don't take the last ride of the day.
Don't take pictures at night.

And, oh, don't whistle in the dark.

Ernesto believes in all these?

Well, you know him.

He's, uh, very in touch
with his spiritual side.

Wonder if I'm always gonna be
a fish out of water.

Well, that's really up to you, Alex.

If you don't wanna be an outsider,

you really have to let this place
become a part of you.

And you could start
by helping us by calling...

-Ooh.

What was that for?

Taking a picture at night.

Ghost Month.

I'm a rule breaker.

You gonna start
whistling in the dark now?

Let me give you a lift home
before you start attracting hungry ghosts.

Is that the last ride to the hotel?

-Might be.
-I'm gonna catch it.

Alex, you don't have to prove anything.

Hey, Ghost Month, baby, huh?
I'll see you soon.

Unless the ghosts get me!

My brother.

The usual?

Yeah. Double, please.

Straight up.

Rough night, huh?

Uh, just...

strange.

Ah.

Cleo? Brother? Psst.

Anything wrong?

Don't look now.

Hey, don't look now.

The guy in the red jacket,
is he staring at me?

There's nobody there.

Who are you?!
What do you want?!

As you can see,
it's a two-week NBI training course.

I would travel to Manila next month.

Which is traditionally
a slow period in Mactan, Chief.

I like your ambition.

The National Bureau of Investigation
is very selective.

Congratulations on being invited.

There's a small cost involved, Chief.
Transportation and lodging, mainly.

Yeah, and we're gonna have to pay
your salary while you're gone.

It's not a vacation, sir.

I'd be learning things I could share
with the whole department.

Of course.

Have you made any progress
with Walker on the Interpol alerts?

For now, Alex doesn't think
he could be of any help to us, Chief.

Has he made the call I requested?

Not yet, sir.

The first thing that my father
taught me when I was a child

was that everyone
has something they want.

For instance, I love Choco-Stix.

If I did my chores, I would be rewarded.

Now, I know there are things
that you want.

This training program, for example.

And you know that
there are things that I want.

It's quite simple.

You get what you want
when I get what I want.

You know what I'd like to do
with the Choco-Stix right about now?

Don't get too upset, partner.

The Chief knows that you doing the program
will benefit the whole department.

We'll get you there.

The only thing he's interested in
is a headline in the newspapers.

Yeah, that's good.
You got the hair down.

But the lips are...

I think the lips are thinner,
but the eyes--

What's going on, Alex?

Last night after I left you,
somebody started following me.

I first saw him on the jeepney,

and then I saw him
back at the bar at the hotel.

And then I think he broke into my room.

He broke into your shop?

Sorta.

What do you mean?

Well, I turned, he scared me,
and I confronted him.

-So you had a fight?
- Maybe.

I mean, something happened,
and then I woke up.

It was a dream?

I wasn't asleep on the jeepney
and I was awake at the bar.

You okay, Alex? You look a little shaky.

-What?
-What about this, Mr. Walker?

Oh, that's good.
That's real good. That's him.

That's the guy. This is the guy.

What? You guys know this guy?

You're certain that was the man you saw?

Ernesto, I've been trained
to observe things. This is the guy.

Believe it or not,
we happen to know exactly who that is.

Who's this guy?

You're not gonna tell me who the guy is?

We'll tell you,

but you have to make
that phone call to Lockhart.

Yeah, yeah. Bingo. That's the guy.

His name was Ivan Ramos.

What's his name now?

Alex, he's dead.

Ivan Ramos was killed in an explosion
at his factory a year ago.

There was an investigation.
No foul play was discovered.

His death was ruled a tragic accident.

This guy's not dead.
Guys, I just saw him.

Maybe he has a twin.

No, not even a brother.

Ghost Month.

No, there's an explanation for this.

Well, maybe you shouldn't
have taken that last ride.

Oh, no, don't. Not you, too.

There were hundreds of pictures
on that wall of remembrance.

You know, you could've
subconsciously fixated on that one.

And you're always kidding around about
breaking the rules and attracting ghosts.

Maybe the power of suggestion,
and a drink or two,

made you see things.

-Or it's Ghost Month.
-Stop.

All right?
I don't hallucinate when I drink.

Most of the time.

And I had seen this guy before
an ounce of alcohol touched my lips.

Either way,
we've kept up our end of the bargain.

Yeah.

"Join the State Department,"
my father said.

-"See the world," my father--
- I'm sorry, sir.

There is a call for you on line one.
He says it's urgent.

-Who is it?
- He wouldn't say.

-Lockhart. Who's this?

It's Alex Walker.

We spent a month together
one week in a Filipino typhoon.

Walker.
Your voice is actually triggering.

I'm getting flashbacks of wind,
rain, automatic weapons fire.

Yeah, well, I'm glad you have such
a strong memory of our time together.

What can I do for you, ex-Agent Walker?

Interpol alerts
concerning the Philippines.

What do you got for me?

There's a book of rules
and regulations about an inch thick

regarding
inter-governmental communications

and the sharing of information.

Talk to me off the record, then.

Every email, text,
and phone call I make

is recorded
by the United States Government.

There's no such thing
as "off the record" anymore.

Yeah, but you're a maverick, right?
I mean, you don't play by the rules.

Enjoy the sunshine in Mactan,
but you know how it is, Walker.

There's always a storm brewing.

I've been there during typhoon season.

Weather changes in a weekend.

Yeah, well, see, you're not as useless
as you look, Lockhart.

You could've been
a great balding weatherman.

At least I'm not scamming tourists
with knockoffs.

I get my merchandise from Singapore
just like everybody else.

Or China.

And sell to the Europeans
on vacations at an obscene profit.

Oh, you're just mad
'cause I'm a free man

and you're still part of the machine.

You hear that? That crackle?

That's your brain calcifying.

Trust me, Walker,
you're gonna come crawling back to us.

You sure about that?

As sure as the sun sets in the East.

Thanks for trying, Walker,

but I guess you don't
have the juice anymore.

-You happy?

That was humiliating.

I'm sorry you had to do that.

What are you talking about?
You should be happy.

He just gave us a ton of information.

-He did?
- Yeah, he did.

Hey, the sun doesn't set in the East, man.

He's giving us confirmation.
It's Friday.

This weekend,
something's going down in Mactan

between a European buyer
and contraband from China.

That's why he was saying all that
stuff about how the weather changes

during the typhoon season.

And the knockoffs from China.

Fentanyl as heroin?

Yeah, he said everything we needed to know
without saying it out loud.

What about the crackle
and your brain calcifying?

That was an insult.

Oh.

Man, this Lockhart's good.

So I guess we're all square.

No, we're not all square.
I still got an open case here, all right?

And I'm not convinced that there's
a dead man following me around.

You owe me one.

So I'm gonna take this file
just for today.

You know what I mean?
Just peruse it over, you know?

Later.

Did you know Ivan?

Oh, something like that.

But I don't know you.

I'm his mother, Cecilia.

Are you a Sun Devil?

Am I a Sun Devil?

Arizona State Sun Devils,

where he went to school--
where we went to school.

That's how I know him.

Yeah, I'm American. Alex Walker.

I know, I could tell.

-Huh.
-That's why I asked.

Miss Ramos, can I ask you...

Please don't be offended by this,
but are you sure that Ivan...

is dead?

Of course, he's dead.

I know, it's just, you know, I mean,
you know how things go.

It's like the last time I saw him,
back in the States,

he seemed so...

alive.

I do still speak with him, you know.

You do?

He's a hungry ghost.

He built that business
with his bare hands.

How could he make such a tragic mistake?

No, I don't believe that
that explosion was an accident.

You think there was foul play?

I don't want to make accusations,
but who benefited the most

after Ivan died?

His new partner, Joshua.

He came into the business

when Ivan needed a loan
to grow the factory.

And not even a full year after Ivan died,

he seduced Nina.

Nina is...?

Ivan's widow. He married her.

She doesn't understand that he's evil.

And he runs the whole company now.

Someday, the truth will come out.

And finally, Ivan can rest.

Can I tell you a secret?

Of course.

I'm going to speak with Ivan tonight.

Will you come with me?

Yes, ma'am.

The path through the Afterworld
is dark and dangerous.

That's why we need a trusted guide.

Her name is Shaman Evangeline.

She's in extremely high demand,
especially during Ghost Month.

She will perform the Pag-anito.

The what?

It's like a Filipino seance.

How did you hear about her?

The internet. Five-star ratings.

Nina is meeting us here.

I thought that with Ivan's wife,
a devoted friend, and me present,

it should give Evangeline the best chance
to summon Ivan's spirit.

Okay.

The shaman will be with you shortly.

I'm so sorry. Sorry I'm late.

I know how important this is to you.

Nina, I'd like you to meet Alex Walker.

He was a good friend of Ivan's
from Arizona State.

- Yeah.
-Alex?

Pleasure's mine.

I don't remember
Ivan mentioning your name.

Yeah, well, we kind of lost track
when he moved back to the Philippines.

I'm really sorry
to hear about his passing.

Ivan told me he didn't have
many friends in America.

So you must have shared
his great passion.

Yes, I did.

You sang together?

Yeah, it was more
of a Waylon-and-Willie thing,

if you know what I mean.

Ivan's passion was opera.

Yeah, yeah, it was.

Mine, too.

The problem is,
is that you can get your ass handed to you

in Tempe, Arizona, for stuff like that.

So we had to keep the opera
on the down low.

The shaman is ready for you.

We call upon the anito

and the spirits of the dead to join us.

Feast on our offerings

and guide us in our journey.

Ivan?

Ivan Ramos.

Your family and friends
wish to greet you warmly

and to communicate their love
and sadness

upon your passing.

Join hands with me.

We reach across the great divide

that separates the living and the dead.

Ivan, use my body and my voice.

Announce your presence

and let us embrace your spirit.

He's with us.

Mother.

It's been so long.

Ivan, is that you?

Yes, Mother.

My love, can you see me?

My beautiful Nina.

I miss seeing your beautiful face.

My son, have you been able
to find any peace?

I'm still troubled.
I roam the unknown.

Alone and confused.

Is there something you want to tell me?

I know you must.
I feel your presence constantly.

I want to tell you something.

I love you, Mother.

But I want to know more about your death.
We know the police were wrong.

Ivan, why are you still a hungry ghost?
What happened?

How did you die?

So many things to tell for one session.

Is it possible
for you to purchase a series of sessions?

All right, all right, all right.
That's it.

Game over, Madame Bullshitska.

- Alex--
-No, it's a con. It's a con.

How dare you!
I've got a five-star rating on Yelp!

I bet you do.

I'm gonna show you something.

You get a little column of water mist
right about here...

and then...

...project an image
of the deceased on it.

How do you get cold air
in the Philippines?

How's that?

Now, the voice and everything else...

...controlled by foot pedals.

- Cecilia.
-Cecilia! Cecilia!

- Cecilia.
-Mother! Mother! Mother!

You're preying on a distraught mother.

A widow.

You're a fraud.

I have to make a living, that's true,

but I am no fraud.

I have a gift.

And I'm not a liar.

You are.

You don't know Ivan.

You saw him.

That's why you're here.

I feel he wants to tell you something

beyond the grave.

He didn't say anything to me.

Ivan revealed himself to me.

Just like he did with you.

Prove it.

When I saw him,
he was wearing a red jacket.

And he only said two words:

"The Skull!"

Hey, where's Cecilia?

She felt too angry
and humiliated to stay.

Also, she felt like a fool to think

that this was the way
to connect with her son.

Are you okay?

Hey, listen to me.

It's over, all right? That was fake.

I know. I know.

But recently,
I've been seeing Ivan in my dreams.

I feel like he's angry with me.

That's why I came here
even though I know Cecilia hates me.

Why would you say that?

Because I married
Ivan's business partner, Joshua.

Cecilia thought he was evil,

and that he had something
to do with Ivan's death.

And recently, Joshua, my husband...

he's been acting differently.

Abrupt, secretive...

And you're starting to think that Cecilia
is right about him.

I don't blame you if you think I'm crazy,

but I think Ivan is trying
to warm me from the Beyond.

Okay. I don't think you're crazy.

What are we doing here?
This is a closed case.

'Cause you owe me one
and I don't have a car,

and I think something
was overlooked.

I think Ivan's partner, Joshua,
wanted the factory for himself.

Because a fake shaman
said a dead man spoke to her?

You can't dismiss a warning
from the Beyond.

Not during Ghost Month.

What does "the skull" mean anyway?

Maybe it's literal.

Like there's some forensic evidence
involving a head wound

that the coroner overlooked.

We gotta exhume Ivan's body.

Are you out of your damn mind?

Look, his mom said
that he was suspicious, all right?

And the wife says he's acting hinky.
She's scared. She could be in danger.

Yeah, okay,
can you please get an affidavit

from the ghost
so we could show it to the judge?

Okay, look, that's him.

It's Joshua Bautista,
Nina's current husband.

Let's follow him.

Well, I think both of our cases
just had a head-on collision.

What are you talking about?

The g--

-The guy shaking hands with Joshua?
- Yeah?

Sobek Kruskal.

He's one of the most notorious
drug traffickers out of Eastern Europe,

known to the DEA, known to Interpol...

as The Skull.

Wait!

Please, what do you want from me?!

Hungry ghost. Hungry ghost.

Joshua Bautista?!

Nina? It's Alex Walker.

That's what I'm calling about.

Can you meet me somewhere?

These two men
in the photographs

we have had under surveillance
since Friday.

Joshua Bautista, a Filipino citizen,

proprietor of RB Import-Export
in Mactan,

and Sobek Kruskal,
AKA The Skull,

a Hungarian national.

We have reasons to believe that
a fentanyl smuggling operation

is imminent.

Our goal is to catch them
en route with the shipment.

Now, if there aren't any more questions,
go get prepped.

Thank you.

I'm so glad you called.

He just got worse last night.
Now I'm really scared.

All right, listen to me, I'm here now.

And I'm not gonna let him hurt you.

Is that the reason why
you wanted to see me?

It's a little embarrassing,
but I had a dream.

About me?

No. Ivan.

And Joshua, too.

You know what?

When Ivan died, I was weak.

It felt like I'd lost everything.

And Joshua,
he made me feel safe again.

Yeah. You were vulnerable.

You had gone through
a traumatic experience, all right?

That's not--
That's not your fault.

No, I should have listened when
Cecilia warned me about Joshua,

that he only wanted the factory.

And if I'm out of the way, it's all his.

Listen, some things
are getting ready to happen.

Very dangerous things
I don't think you should be around.

What do you mean?

It's better if you don't know.

Do you have friends or family
that are not on the island,

somewhere you can just go stay
for a few days?

I do.

But why are you doing this, Mr. Walker?

Just because of a dream?

And maybe...

I'm starting to care about you.

Right.

Kruskal is there,
preparing the trucks.

The unit is ready to roll out
on my command.

Hang on. Why are you waiting
for the trucks to hit the road?

Why not just storm the loading dock?

Because we don't know what kind
of defenses they have inside the factory.

They're more vulnerable on the highway.

They're on the move.

We're a go!

-Let's go.

Nina, what's up? What's going on?

Alex, I'm scared.

Well, where are you?

I'm at the factory.

I told you to stay away from the factory.

Yeah, but he made me come here
after I confronted him.

He's really angry. He has a gun.

All right, look,
just stay away from him, okay?

Get somewhere and hide.
I'm on my way to you.

-Alex, we gotta go.
-Just stick with the plan!

-Alex!

Intruder!

Hey, hey, hey.

She told me you'd come.

Take it easy.

Huh?

Take it easy.

Nobody's gonna get hurt.

Are you okay?

I'm fine.

He raised his gun. I had to shoot.

He's dead.

Don't touch him. Don't.

Nina?

Men are so predictable.

Cecilia was right.
Ivan's death wasn't an accident.

But it wasn't Joshua.

You arranged the explosion.

I'm guessing you romanced
some demolition expert.

Why?

Because he doesn't want
to make real money.

And I have expensive taste.

What about Joshua?

Same.

Lack of ambition.

But more of an idiot, like you.

You're right, Alex.

You're going to protect me.

That's why you killed Joshua
and he killed you.

That's what the police is gonna think.

You walked right into it
when you faked being Ivan's friend.

Oh, you're such an easy mark.

And what's next for you, Nina?

I have plans with a European investor.

And killing Ivan, killing me,

it's just the cost of business?

I'm afraid so.

But I must admit, I will wonder
what might have been.

You were so sweet
when you told me you cared for me.

I didn't say that.

-No?
-No.

I said maybe I was starting
to care about you.

-And then maybe I didn't.

I'm so happy you're alive.

-Please!
-Ivan was my friend.

My partner.

How could I let you do this to me?

-The dishonor!

You get all that?

Put him in the back. Come on.

Heard it all, loud and clear.

Man, we are making this too easy
for the Regional Prosecutor.

I almost feel sorry for her.

I bet you this is the first time
she couldn't flirt her way out of trouble.

Well, beauty is a burden.

Trust me.

Tell me about it.

Oh, you, too?

Yeah, well,
for professional reasons,

I hide that part of my life from you.

Love hurts.

Yes, it does.

You all right, man?

I should be. I'm alive.

I wanna thank you.

And I wanna punch you.

There's a lot I gotta work out.

Yeah, well, it's gonna take a minute.

When you came to me this morning
and told me what she was gonna do...

You didn't believe me.

I was angry at you
for making me see her for who she is.

Yeah, well, I wouldn't
beat yourself up about it too bad.

You weren't her first victim and you sure
as hell wouldn't have been her last.

Heck, I bet even The Skull

would have been crying in his beer
before too long.

You know, there's something
I still don't understand.

How'd you know I was innocent?

You saw me meet with Kruskal.

How'd you know I was being set up?

Ivan told me.

Ivan?!

Man, come on!

He talked to you?

Not exactly, all right?

I had a nightmare, right?

He was chasing me through the woods
and he buried both of us in a grave.

And I knew right there,
we were both in danger.

I knew we had
the same common enemy.

That's it?

That's not it.
I mean, there was more to--

Listen, man,
it was a hell of a nightmare!

So I-- I owe my life to a dream?

I guess sometimes
you gotta listen to your dreams.

Last night, under my leadership,
the Mactan P.D.

shut down a sophisticated
international drug trafficking operation,

seized over two million dollars'
worth of contraband,

and arrested its principals.

This should demonstrate that

well-funded international agencies
like Interpol

are not the only ones
who can use modern, rational,

and scientific
crime-fighting techniques.

-And t--

I'll take your questions later.

For now, I'd like to bring
your attention to two people

who were most influential
in this success.

-Detective Kai Mendoza...

-...and Detective Ernesto Alamares.

Congratulations are in order
for our colleagues.

And Detective Kai Mendoza
has been chosen

to take part
in a prestigious training program

at the National Bureau of Investigation
in Manila.

We are very proud of her.

What are you doing?

You burning cars again?

I didn't wanna smoke up the shop again.

Well, I got something for you.

There you go.

-An SUV!
-That's right.

Thank you.

You think he'll like it?

Oh, I know he's gonna like it.

See, where he's driving,
they don't give speeding tickets.

Who's the joss money for?

Well, that's for my dad.

He was always broke.

You're back?

I never left.

Yeah, well, that's not creepy at all.

I want to thank you.

Do I get to make a wish now or something?

I could use next week's
winning lottery numbers.

It was a joke.

Are you here to tell me something?

What is it I need to know?

If you're lucky,
your life is filled with people.

And family.

And love.

But in a blink, it's over.

Most of the names are forgotten.

The days, too.

All this happens quicker
than it takes for an arm

to reach out and draw back--
as if touched by flame.

I hope now you can find peace.

You won't see me again, Alex.

You held my hand at the edge of a cliff,

but it's time for me to let go
and see what's on the other side.