American Horror Story (2011–…): Season 11, Episode 3 - Smoke Signals - full transcript

What exactly
did you see out there?

I told you, he was huge and
wearing black leather and...

had some kind of weapon.

I think he wanted to hurt me.

This time of night
in Central Park,

almost everyone
wants to hurt you.

You said there's a group
of people in this city

under attack by the
government. Start there.

I worked at a lab assistant.

I'd sanitize equipment.

Prep samples.



I'd write reports.

That's how I got
access to the files.

You ever heard of
Operation Paperclip?

- No.
- It was a postwar program

where the U. S.
used Nazi scientist

against the Russians
during the Red Scare.

They'd crossbreed contagions,

test them on patients.

Mix animal diseases
with human ones.

They were looking for something
that could be used as a weapon.

They hit on something good,

but it was too big
to be airborne,

so they engineered it to
thrive in mucous membranes.

And all of this
happened on U. S. soil?



Nearby soil. Plum Island.

Even if that's true,

it was in the '50s
right after the war.

What does it have
to do with now?

The Cold War is heating up.

A year ago, they
started bringing out

some of the golden oldies
and testing them again.

Testing? You mean on humans?

Drug addicts,
prisoners, homeless people.

They get them to
volunteer for money.

They were experimenting
with ticks

as a delivery mechanism

to spread the diseases.

They think some of
the ticks got loose

and spread the disease
outside the island.

You know what I'm
talking about, don't you?

Patients have been
showing up with conditions

that should be rare, but...

now they're all over the place.

Some of them have
weird skin rashes,

diarrhea, like from a parasite.

- They created it, all of it.
- Honestly,

conspiracy theories
are dangerous.

They absolutely hurt
more than they help.

Medical misinformation,
which doctors like me

call the fear of science,

actually causes more infections,
a higher ratio of disease...

The people that
created this were evil.

I think they made the disease
as painful as possible,

and they specifically targeted
the people they detest.

Why are you telling
all this to me?

I read the article in The Native

about the infected
deer on Fire Island

and how they were slaughtered.

And I suggest you
look more closely

at some of the symptoms
your patients have

and go to the press.

With what?

I don't have any
proof of anything,

and proof is everything.

And a study could take years.

Figure it out, and fast.

My life is on the line.

The people behind
this know that I know.

Remember Karen fucking Silkwood?

She's in a Texas cemetery now.

I just want to get out of here.

Please. Just let me go.

Help!

Help!

No matches on
any of the fingerprints.

None of them were
in the database.

Missing persons?

Yeah, we're running
missing persons right now.

So far, no one seems to link up.

Goddamn it, when are we gonna
get some luck on this damn case?

Well, we may have
some now, Chief.

I just need to get back to it.

This guy's got a
hell of a story.

Might be relevant.

All right, keep me up to speed.

Sure.

You were telling me what
this guy made you do.

He kept me in a fucking cage.

- He made me perform acts...
- What kind of acts?

- The kind I don't want people to know about.
- Right.

Can you just tell me how you
ended up at this guy's place?

Did he drag you off the
street? Knock you on the head?

I answered a pay phone.

Outside a leather bar.

- Which bar?
- The Ditch.

The guy was funny,
made me laugh.

- Mm-hmm.
- He told me where he lived.

So I decided, what the hell?

Wait, you agreed to meet
this guy over a phone call?

I guarantee you, it's
not the weirdest pickup

that's happened in this city.

Okay, can you just...

describe the guy who held you
and where this took place?

- We're looking for Sam.

- We're looking for Sam!

- That would be me.

- If the music's too loud,

we can turn it down.

It's not about the music.

I'm gonna need you to
ask your guests to leave.

So, you're
admitting to me he was held in here.

He was in here, but
he was not held.

- Do you see a lock?
- Could've been one before.

There wasn't.

It was consensual.

It was a game.

He was into it.

I've never seen
anyone more into it.

Could he have actually
been frightened,

- and you misinterpreted?
- No, not a chance.

He's not the first gentleman
I've entertained down here.

And it won't be the last. I
could offer you a session.

Don't be a smart-ass.

These are very
serious accusations.

Then why aren't
you locking me up?

You're not arresting me

because he won't press charges.

He won't press charges
because there's nothing

that happened down here that
both parties didn't want...

and enjoy.

So you see, you've
ruined my evening

for no reason at all.

There were two very
talented young photographers

who had their first
gallery exhibition...

Something happened down
here, and you are right,

he's not gonna press charges.

But not because
nothing happened here,

because he is worried
about his reputation.

That's something you're
familiar with, isn't it?

I'm happy to play this act

in front of your little
buddy over there.

I know what you're into.

And I know what you
know about pain.

Don't
fuck with me...

Detective.

We're done here.

So he just denied
everything and you believed it?

Yeah. He said it was consensual.

And the kid doesn't
want to press charges.

That's a relief.

No paperwork for you.

Gino, the dungeon room does
not match the room you were in.

Sam is not the guy.

Come here for a second.

I worked with an artist
down at the paper

to come up with a sketch

based on what I could remember.

This could be
something to go on.

I don't think it's
enough to go on.

I don't think you were in
your right state of mind

to remember anything
about this guy's face.

Why are you shutting me down?

You're a cop. Protect
and fucking serve.

All right, what do
you want me to do?

Stop creating obstacles.
Stop lying to me.

Oh, c-can you just not?!

Oh, you... Your
ex-wife came to me

with a box full of
your secret gear.

- Can I just not what?
- Okay,

Gino, yeah. I like to
go to leather bars.

Okay? I used to go
to leather bars!

Are you happy now?

But you felt you
had to lie to me.

I had to lie
to everybody about it.

Why?

I don't know.

There's nothing
to be ashamed of.

Yeah. True.

But it's hotter when
it feels like there is.

Oh, God.

By that logic,

murder should be
a fucking blast.

Well, for somebody
in this city, it is,

and they have to be stopped.

Look, Gino, I thought
I was onto something

with this Stewart guy
and the pay phone,

- but that...
- I've spoken to a handful of people

who have all mentioned
the pay phone.

Maybe that's the way
that we catch this guy.

Great, but I am not
a private detective,

and I have to answer to people.

Can you imagine everybody
down at the precinct

laughing at me when I say

that I want to stake
out a sex phone?

But-but isn't that
what you want to do?

Even if it's...

wrong?

Even if it's... bad?

Even if you know you shouldn't?

Gino.

Doesn't it make you...

a little hard?

Sneaking off to a
leather bar like that

without asking for permission?

You're not afraid of a
little punishment, are you?

Got another cig?

My last one.

Buy you a drink?

I'm waiting for someone.

Hello?

¿Puedo hablar
con Isabelita?

Yeah, you have the wrong number.

Hello?

Why don't
you tell me what you like to do?

Why
don't you tell me what you're into?

Hey, buddy, this
is for me, okay?

Do you like that idea?

Hello?

I'm into fucking

with faggots over the phone.

Hello?

You must be tired

standing there all this time.

Aren't your feet sore?

It's not been that long.

Hours, by my count.

So you're
watching me, huh?

For a little while.

Wow. Now you have my attention.

Where do we go from here?

I guess that depends on

how far you're willing
to go from here.

I will go wherever
you want me to go.

I'm not talking about location.

I'm talking about intention.

So am I.

I'm
going to give you an address.

Make it there in 20 minutes,
and we'll see what you've got.

I don't know
what you look like.

That's
part of the fun.

You'll have to find me.

Louis' problem.

It was called...
I kid you not...

A fistula.

That's not an ailment.

That's something you
pay big bucks for.

But fear not,

a courageous surgeon
agreed to operate,

after experimenting
on 75 volunteers

- from the local jail.
- Hey.

What do you got back there?

They gave
up their lives...

What do you need?

Maybe you could
use a little toke.

The surgeon came
up with a medical implement

to cure Louis' fistula.

What's your name, anyhow?

I'm waiting for someone.

That's too bad.

And I would tuck that gun

more deeply into your
waistband, friendo.

Not everybody in here is
as nice to cops as I am.

All right.

I think
you're expecting me.

I give off that vibe.

Weren't you the one I
spoke to on the phone?

Hmm?

Well, I speak to a lot
of people on the phone.

I am happy that you
were one of them.

- Oh, yeah?
- Mm-hmm.

Why don't you
answer the question?

Don't you remember who
you talk to on the phone?

I think we're compatible.

- Get your palms on the wall.
- Yeah.

- Huh?
- Yeah, uh-huh.

You always start off this way?

Yeah, you always walk
around with one of these?

- Hmm? Huh?
- What?

What's this? No one wants that.

Huh?

You never can be too
careful these days, right?

Fuck.

All right.

Oh, God. Yeah.

Fuck.

Oh, yeah.

Fucking cats.

Hello?

Something
is coming for you.

What did you say?

You have any idea
why he didn't kill you?

He's a vet.

He stopped when he saw my tattoo

and thanked me for my service.

Look.

That's him.

Best as I can remember him.

Definitely not Big Daddy.

Two killers?

That we know of.

You think you can
take some around?

I have a date at
The Ascension Bar.

I can do that.

All right, well,
just be careful.

If you're walking around asking
about the Mai Tai Killer,

you could be next.

Who's the guy?

Theo Graves.

The photographer.

Please, just watch yourself.

His lover is, uh,
is very powerful.

And, uh...

I've been hearing some
dark shit about him.

It's not the first time
I've scrubbed blood

off of this floor.

Just not usually this much.

What do your New
Jersey benefactors

think about all this mess?

They like it when
no one north of 14th

is talking about it.

Well... they are now.

Look, this place is gonna
be packed again tonight.

There's no cowards when
it comes to getting laid.

Have you seen him before?

This man kidnapped me.
I think he's the killer.

Yeah. He was here the
other night, I'm sure.

You can just feel the dark
energy when he's around.

I thought it was 'cause
maybe he was in Vietnam.

- Those guys are all fucked-up.
- No, that's him.

He needs to be captured. I'm
tired of waiting for help.

Please.

Just let me put some of
these flyers up here.

This sketch needs to be
seen on the evening news.

It needs to be on the cover
of The Post like Son of Sam.

Okay.

Just... careful with the tape.

Can't have you tear
the paint off my wall.

Can I help you?

I'm, uh, I'm just
here for a drink.

Perhaps you're unfamiliar
with The Ascension Bar.

We are a "members only" club.

To become a member,
you must be out,

you must be employed, and
you must never bore me.

Well, I'm out and I have a job.

Can't guarantee that
last part, though.

My friend, who I'm meeting,
can. He's a... he's a member.

What's his name, sweetheart?

- Theo Graves.
- Oh!

Why didn't you say so?

Come on in. I'll get you a seat.

My name's Dunaway.

Uh, I was wondering,

have you seen this
man in the club?

He looks like every
other white boy to me.

- What did he do?
- We think he's the Mai Tai Killer.

- I read about that in The Native.
- I work there.

- Uh, do you mind if I posted some of these really quick?
- No fucking way.

You'll have this place look
like it's a bus station.

I'd rather die than
surrender my style.

What about a big
guy into leather?

Goes by the name Big Daddy?

- Have you seen him?
- No.

But if you do...
give him my address.

Oh, hello.

Hey, doll.

Your little friend is in there.

I'll take you to him.

Thank you.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Two domestic beers, please.

Tonight we're drinking beer.

Why?

Because I want to feel
what it feels like

to be the typical American man.

I would like to...

experience the
liberation of banality.

Is that what you think of me?

- Why did you invite me here?
- Whoa.

Don't you think the Budweiser's
enough banality for the evening?

You have this boyfriend.

You hook up at parties
and in the bars.

I mean, none of that's
my scene, you know?

I don't want to get my
hopes up for someone...

Thanks.

You trying to ask
me to go steady?

Have you seen this man?

"Have you seen this man?"

"If so, pl..." Is
that your number?

Yes. I know who this is.

He slithered in here last night.

Didn't get lucky, though.

And you didn't call the police?

Hello, 911.

This is The Brownstone.

There's a man trying
to pick up another man.

Call Kojak and the Mod Squad.

I moved here when I was 13...

I was a runaway from Wyoming...

And between the hitchhiking
and the Trailways,

men tried to murder
me three times.

Another one tried an hour after
I crossed the GW into Manhattan.

And over the years, I
have lost friends and...

acquaintances and lovers

to men with knives
and guns and fists

and broken bottles.

And if I had tried to find out
what happened to all of them,

I wouldn't be
here now. Would I?

I hate to ruin your night, but
here's what happened to me.

The last time I was here,

I was drugged by a drink
that you bought me,

kidnaped, tortured and
I barely got out alive.

Mm.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

I didn't drug you.

This has nothing to do with me.

Keep telling yourself that.

It won't protect
you or anyone else.

No. I'm sure I've never
seen his face before.

Has your boyfriend
seen him, maybe?

Maybe. I don't know. Why?

I don't know, I hear he's
into some dark stuff.

Maybe they travel
in similar circles.

Sam's never killed anyone.

Did you know he likes to
tie men up and torture them?

- Who brought Big Daddy to you to photograph?
- Sam did,

but Big Daddy's dead.

- Uh, no, he's not.
- Yes, Adam, he is.

Because Sam told you so?

Can you honestly
trust him, Theo?

When Sam and I first met,

he wasn't like he is now.

When you get away with
everything for so long,

you start to lose the difference
between right and wrong.

Big Daddy is alive.

I've seen him. He's out there.

And Sam knows
something about it.

Then I'm gonna find him.

If he is alive.

Uh, we didn't order those.

Complements
of the man at the bar.

It's locked.

We're locked in! Help! Help!

- Why would someone do that?
- He's gone.

Well, he has to
still be in here.

The door's locked
from the outside.

What?

So, you want my permission
to secretly draw samples

- from patients at this facility?
- Only specific patients.

Gay men who present with
the symptoms I described.

Ms. Wells, there is
a strict procedure

before any of this
can be authorized.

There's the IRB,

the-the consort statement
for randomized trials,

a full departmental review.

All of which could
take months or more.

Well, this is not the
Tuskegee Institute.

We-we-we don't experiment
on patients in secret.

No, I-I can't sanction
what you're asking for.

I'm sorry. If it got out,
it would mean my job.

Isn't that a small price
to pay for saving lives?

Well, that-that's an assumption
without any evidence.

I'm trying to get the evidence.

Well, then use the proper
channels, Ms. Wells.

That's why they're there.

Whitely?

You got anyone else
on call, I'd bring them in.

- We got a lot more coming.
- What the hell happened?

Fire at one of the gay bars.

Maybe arson. Place was packed.

We got four dead already.

It's me.

I need you to prep 15 blood
kits as fast as you can.

It was the killer.
The Mai Tai Killer.

The guy who gave us
the drinks at the bar.

Who else would do
something like this?

Adam, half the
people in this city

would love to burn
down a gay bar.

Not me. Where else
would I go get a drink?

Are you okay?

Sounds like smoke inhalation.

All right, just lie down so
I can check your breathing.

- No, I don't need...
- Adam, just let him.

- Get off of me! I'm fine!
- Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey.

Get your hands off me!

- Adam, would you relax?
- We need to do something, Theo.

This man's suffering from
respiratory distress.

Come on, let's get
him on this bed.

- Let me go!
- Adam. Hey. Adam, relax.

You're acting like
a fucking lunatic.

Theo, you
need to find Gino Barelli.

He's a reporter for The Native.

Tell him what happened.

It was the Mai Tai
Killer at the bar.

- Gino Barelli.
- Okay.

The fire is coming.

Can I use this?

Thank you.

Hi, Gino Barelli?

What is this?

- Why do they have you tied up?
- He's here, the Mai Tai Killer.

He was at the bar.

He sent us mai tais. He's
here. You need to find him.

Have you seen him? He
came in with the others.

He's very, very tall.

- You couldn't miss him.
- Uh, I think he was in 11.

Where's the guy that
was just in here?

I don't know. He left.

- You just let him walk out?
- He had first-degree burns

on his forearms and
some smoke inhalation.

He was fine.

- Fuck!
- When'd he leave?

Maybe five minutes ago,
but I didn't sign him out.

Gino, Gino. What are we doing?

Let's just split up.

I'll go this way,
you go that way.

Come on.

You ever died before?

Then you don't
know how it feels.

I thought I did, but...

now I do.

I saw him,

the one who burned us.

He's coming for us all.

Not just the boys, all of us.

All of us.

Adam?

Jesus, you were in the fire.

Why are you tied up?

Long story.

What are you doing here?

You don't work here.

I'm doing research.

I need to draw your blood.

You look good. You've
got that glow thing.

Do you have
one of those, um...

pictures?

An ultrasound? No.

But everything's okay?

Yeah.

I feel good about what we did.

Me, too.

This is very important.

It's related to what
you've been going through.

- How much longer?
- Just two more vials.

I don't like hospitals. The
floors are always dirty.

It's just a few more minutes.
I'm trying to help you.

What are you doing? No, no. You
really should get some rest.

I just took eight
vials of blood.

- No.
- Please!

Hey.

Hey! Hey!

I would never spill the
blood of another vet,

but this is different.

You'll just freeze to death.

It's a peaceful way to go.

No! No!

No!