Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - The Outlaw Eddie Wagner - full transcript
While Jet steps into the field to secure necessary intel for the team, Bell considers a proposition from Congressman Kilbride; Albi takes drastic measures to keep a secret safe; Stabler and Benson air some long-standing grievances
.
- In the nation's
largest city,
the vicious and violent
members of the underworld
are hunted by the detectives
of the Organized Crime
Control Bureau.
These are their stories.
- The K-O and the Marcy Killers
are going after the Italians.
- Nice to set eyes on you,
Nova.
- Good to see you too, boss.
[people screaming,
glass shatters]
- Penda!
- Why is she here?
- She works for me.
- You are walking
a very tight rope.
- I had to prove my loyalty.
[all cheering]
- You're gonna use this
to keep in touch.
You're in our circle.
- I wrote this.
Just read it.
- Liv!
- Elliot.
What the hell happened?
- Drugs.
Someone--someone dosed me.
- Okay, we need to get you
to a hospital immediately.
- No, no.
- Yeah.
- I need--
I need you...
To let me in.
Let me in.
- Come on.
[voice distorted]
There's a protocol
when a UC is forced
to take a controlled substance.
- [slowly]
I felt I had to come here.
- You felt?
- We never talked.
We never talked
about what happened.
- I have nothing more to say
about what happened
with Navarro.
- Not Navarro. Us.
- Elliot, now's not the time
for us to talk.
Now is the time for us
to figure out what you ingested
and have it vouchered
and lab-tested,
so I am gonna call it in.
- I didn't write the letter.
[apprehensive music]
- What?
- I didn't write the letter.
- The letter that you gave me
when you came back from Rome?
- Kathy.
- Kathy, your wife...
Wrote the letter that
you told me that you wrote?
- Yes.
It was her idea.
It would be easier
to talk when...
We see each other
after so much time.
I tried and I tried,
and then...
Kathy helped dictate.
- That what we were
to each other was never real.
And that we got in the way
of each other being who
and where we needed to be.
- That was Kathy.
- And if there was a man
in my life,
you hope he's the kind,
faithful, and devoted
man that I deserved.
- Kathy.
- "But in a parallel
universe...
- "It will always
be you and I."
I wrote that.
I slipped it in there
before sealing the envelope.
Liv.
- Hey.
- [groans]
[tense music]
- [grunts]
[groans]
- He is a grown-ass man,
Ayanna.
And grown-ass men should
have friends they can turn to
when they need them
in the middle of the night.
- He was drugged.
He did what he had to do
to not blow the operation.
- You're lucky you're cute.
- That's right, I am cute.
- Here, tell him we're fresh
out of oat milk, or soy milk,
or whatever the hell white
people are into these days.
- [laughs]
Was it something you ingested?
Did they spike your drink?
- No.
[sniffles]
I barely drank anything.
Um, it was administered orally
by a girl who slipped it
in my mouth.
With her mouth.
- Did you blow your cover?
- No, I kept it together.
- Until you got to Benson's.
- Why?
What'd she say?
- Just that you were
pretty messed up.
- Well, that's true.
- You know what
would have happened
if she reported this.
- Yeah, I'd automatically be
taken off my UC assignment
and given a drug test.
- And hospitalized
to monitor you
for unforeseen side effects.
- Ayanna, you can't
pull me out of there.
We're almost where we need
to be to bring down Kosta.
- You don't have
to tell me twice.
[phone buzzes]
But it's on me to decide
if it's safe for you
to go in the field, and I--
That's not our burner.
- Present from Jon Kosta,
and AB is Albi Briscu.
And I'm going off to see him.
Mm.
Tell your wife I like it black.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Jesus, Eddie.
You had great night, no?
- You wanted to see me?
- I need favor.
Personal favor.
I want you to make it look
like he died in a fire.
- Well.
You want me to build
a fire hot enough
to get rid of the fact that
he's got a bullet in his head?
I mean, you want temperatures
that high,
you're gonna have three
fire departments at the scene.
- Why you bring me problem?
- You want to dispose
of a body quick and easy
where you don't have
to answer no questions.
I got the place.
- The hell is this place?
- Used to be
a mental institution.
This is where they buried all
the John Does that died there.
[grunting]
All right. Yeah.
That's deep enough.
That's good.
- There's a reason I pay you
off the books for this.
- Okay.
- This never happen.
You was never here.
And you never saw that body.
- What body?
♪ ♪
.
- Any idea who the guy was?
- None.
- And definitely not
the K-O's usual MO.
When they kill, they want
their enemies to know.
- That's why I think
it's personal.
And, by the way,
if Albi trusts me,
it means I'm one step closer
to getting face time
with Jon Kosta.
- That's the goal.
- Oh, just the person
I want to see.
- This better not be a meeting
that could have been an email.
- The K-O put me on their
friends and family plan,
but I can't make calls,
only incoming
and outgoing texts.
- I can clone it to my laptop
and do a deep dive
when I get back to the city,
where I belong.
At first glance, it looks
like an ordinary smartphone,
but it's been stripped
of its GPS, Internet,
camera, and microphone.
You can't even
make calls on it.
- And you can't track it.
Clever.
- I was able
to retrieve some deleted texts
from the phone's trash,
but as you can see,
they're heavily encrypted.
- How long will it take you
to crack the encryption?
- That's the bad news.
This level of sophistication
is basically unbreakable
without a decryption key,
but there's good news too.
I was able to isolate
a recurring portion
of the encryption code.
At regular intervals,
it mimics a World War II-era
British signal's
intelligence algorithm.
- Translate?
- It's like a signature.
When you're this good, you want
to take credit for your work.
Malachi. That's his code name.
Nobody knows his real name
or even what he looks like.
- Well, how do you know
he's the one
that made the texting app
that the K-O use?
- He's who I'd hire,
if I were them.
And I'd bet that's his
signature embedded in the code.
Sergeant, request permission
to attend the Capture the Flag
competition
in Queens this weekend.
- The who?
What is that?
- Ah, I've heard about those.
Hackers and members
of the cybersecurity community
get together and see who can
backdoor their way into banks,
government agencies,
and media sites for fun.
There's booze and prizes.
- Guys like Malachi travel
all over the world
to compete in them.
It's a can't-miss opportunity.
- Okay.
- Maldonado,
you'll go with her.
- If you don't mind me asking,
Congressman Kilbride,
what's your interest
in Damon's case?
- Frankly, Sergeant Bell,
I fear you're facing
a real uphill battle
with this case.
- Oh, we're well aware of that.
They've already tried
to get Ayanna
to back channel a lowball offer
to me.
- I want you to consider
partnering with my old firm,
Kilbride, Weathers and Douglas.
They'll take the case pro bono.
- Congressman--
- I have no financial stake
in the firm any longer.
I just know
where this is going,
and I want you to have
the muscle behind you
that you're going to need
to ride it out.
- And what's in it for you?
Besides a little social justice
warrior street cred?
- Ayanna.
- Sergeant Bell, I carried
the NYPD badge for 26 years.
I earned my street cred
before you were even born.
- Pop that now.
Pop that, pop that, pop that.
There you go.
- Reggie!
- Oh, it's about time.
- What?
- Turn my back for a second
at the restaurant last night,
and you Houdini on me.
Like you had someplace
better to go, huh?
- I didn't think you needed me.
- You thought wrong.
I don't know.
You got that phone,
maybe you think
you don't need me no more.
- Reg.
You're my man. Always will be.
You're the reason why I'm here.
- Don't forget that. All right?
Hit me back when I text you.
- Look, man,
this thing don't work.
That thing that Kosta gave me.
Man, I tried to call you,
nothing.
- It's text only.
Everything else is disabled.
That's how we roll.
- Oh.
- Reggie.
- Hold this.
I'll be right back.
What, are you pouting 'cause
you didn't get the invite?
- I don't pout.
- You're invited when
Kosta says you're invited.
- Tell me something,
Eddie Wagner.
Why is a man like you working
for the idiot
who's working for my husband?
- A man's gotta make a living.
Who's your husband?
- They call me Mrs. Briscu.
- Oh, hey, how are you?
Nice to meet you.
- You can call me Flutura.
- Okay.
- They say you used
to be a boxer.
You've still got the arms.
- Yeah, what else
do they say about me?
- [laughs]
From where I sit,
you hear all kinds of things.
For example,
I know you walked away
from that skanky little vajze
who threw herself at you
last night,
which has me wondering,
what's Eddie Wagner's deal?
Is he celibate?
Queer?
Need a pill to get it up?
Next time I see you,
I'm gonna want some answers.
- How'd it go?
- Fine.
Let's go get something to eat.
- What's up?
- Cho got a hit
on our John Doe.
- Tristan Vucaj.
Second-generation immigrant.
28 years old.
A construction worker.
- All I see here
are a couple of arrests
for petty theft and a DUI.
He doesn't look
like a major player.
- Could have been related
to one of Albi's rivals.
- And Albi killed him for what,
to send a message?
That doesn't track with
the secret burial in the woods.
Is there an address?
- It's in the folder.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Oh, that looks good.
What is that?
- Qofte te ferguara.
Fried meatballs.
- Qofte te ferguara.
- [scoffs]
- What are you laughing about?
She--well, it's good, right?
- You have a very
strong accent.
- Very strong.
- Hey, listen.
- Hmm?
- I saw you talking to Flutura
in the gym.
- Oh, yeah, Mrs. Briscu, yeah.
- Well, do yourself a favor,
don't do that, okay?
Albi doesn't like nobody
mackin' on his wife.
- What you talking about?
I'm not mackin' on anybody.
- I'm just trying to keep
your head from ending up
in one zip code
and the rest of your body
in another, you feel me?
Albi's old school.
You mess around,
you get on his bad side,
there's not much I can do
for you.
- All right. Enough said.
You gonna eat all that?
- [laughs]
[police siren wails]
- Yeah, you're telling me.
- Look at these guys.
- Hey!
- Oh!
- Hey, you!
- You didn't pay
that parking ticket?
- Hey, you!
Let me see your hands.
- What the hell?
- Hey!
- Anything in your pockets
I should know about?
- Yeah, your mother's number.
- Any weapons? Sharp objects?
- Stop! Stop!
That's not him!
That's not the guy.
The man who hit me has hair
on the top of his head,
and he's way younger.
- Sorry about that sir.
- Oh, now it's--
- Are you okay?
- Don't touch me.
- If you'd like to report this
incident to our supervisor--
- Tell your supervisor
to blow it out his ass.
- These frickin' cops.
They damn near tear
your head off,
and then they ask you if you
want to file a complaint.
With them. It's ridiculous.
Right, Eddie?
Eddie.
You said you didn't pout.
♪ ♪
- Hey.
- Hey.
- If you're looking
for Tristan,
he hasn't been around
for a couple of days.
- Yeah, I know.
Do you know where he went?
- People come and go
from that apartment.
I'm just a manager.
I don't ask questions.
- Oh, okay.
Hey, I left something in there.
Thought maybe
you can help me out.
I just need to get in there
for a few minutes.
What do you say?
- I don't think Mrs. Briscu
would look too kindly on me
letting you into her apartment.
- Flutura's the one
who sent me.
- Listen,
I don't want no problems.
Briscu's the name on the lease.
- Come on, Nova.
Where the hell are you?
- So if nobody knows who he is,
how do we know
which one is Malachi?
- I'm guessing he'll be the one
who wins
the hacking competition.
- He won't win.
He doesn't need to.
But it'll be obvious
he could if he wanted.
I just have to look for the guy
who's pulling his punches.
Don't touch that.
- Sergeant Bell,
I need a word with you.
Private.
Nova missed a meet-up.
In six years,
come hell or high water,
she's never done that.
- Jet, can you
come in here please?
I'm assuming you
tried her cell.
- Yeah, of course.
She's been offline.
- We'll send someone
to her apartment,
put a APB out on her car.
What does she drive?
Jet, run a trace
on Nova's phone,
find out her last known
location ASAP.
- I already have
her last known location.
She's right outside.
- What?
- She pinged me ten minutes ago
to let me know
she was on her way in.
- You scared me
half to death, girl.
Where you been?
- New Covenant.
- New what?
- It's a church.
- You went AWOL on me
to go to church?
- It was Penda's church.
- I'm gonna assume you went to
church as part of your cover.
But when I set a meet,
it is your job to show up.
- Sergeant Brewster,
if I can suggest--
- No, you cannot!
She's my UC, my responsibility.
Do you have anything meaningful
to report?
- I'ma need some time off.
- Excuse me?
- Penda's funeral's
in South Carolina.
That's where her family is.
They want to bury her there.
I'm going.
- Request denied.
- It's not a request.
- Look, Hugo's walking out
of Rikers any minute now.
- Hugo's getting out?
- It's why
I called the meet-up.
It's a game-changer,
and I need you here for it.
I need you to focus.
- I can't.
I loved her. I still do.
- I am ordering you
to let this go.
[sentimental music]
♪ ♪
[footsteps approaching]
- I know Sergeant Brewster
can be pretty tough,
but I think he believes
he's doing what's best for you.
- Don't work me.
- I'm not working you, Nova.
- Good, 'cause I don't
know you,
and I don't need no pep talk.
So you can take
that sister girl performance
somewhere else.
- All I'm trying to say
is that I know something about
what you're going through.
I just lost someone
a couple months ago.
Her name was Gina.
She was my undercover,
but we were close.
- The bitch got sloppy
and ended up dead.
Got it. Cool story, sis.
I know you think me and Penda
was just a couple hood bitches
running with the Marcy Killers
and playing kiss the fish.
But I've been deep cover
for six years,
working from the inside.
I don't get
to sit behind a desk
and make charts all day
and then go home and cuddle up
in front of the TV
with my respectable
businessman husband
who's so supportive
of me being a cop.
[pensive music]
♪ ♪
- You're right.
You don't know me.
So don't presume you know what
I think or who I go home to.
My wife is a lawyer.
♪ ♪
.
- Don't worry.
I won't blow your cover.
I'm just gonna
play the background
while you do your thing.
They won't even notice me.
- We walk in, and you get asked
to name your favorite
vulnerability attack scenario.
What do you say?
They'll peg you as a cop
in ten seconds.
I'm going alone.
[upbeat electronic music]
♪ ♪
[cheering]
- User Freedumb
has been eliminated.
Quarterfinal round complete.
Advancing to semifinals.
- Sergeant Bell,
this is a surprise.
- I wanted to speak to you
away from Denise.
I know she wants what's best
for Damon, and so do I,
but I suspect your interest
stems from something else.
- Sergeant Bell,
if you think I'm after a piece
of the windfall that
you're hoping to get from NYPD,
let me put your fear to rest.
I don't usually hold out hope
for something
that's never going to happen.
- What they're offering Damon
isn't a lot,
but he's entitled to something.
His hand is destroyed.
His future as a musician
is gone.
- Don't get me wrong,
what happened to Damon
was horrific,
and he deserves justice.
But I've seen a million cases
like his,
and they just don't move
the needle with the public.
To put it bluntly,
ain't no protesters gonna be
stopping traffic
on Fifth Avenue
because some Black kid
can't play the guitar.
- You'd rather
he ended up a hashtag?
- I'd rather this not happen
to him at all.
But we don't live
in that kind of world.
So why don't you and I
change it?
- Change what?
- The world.
Truth is, you're half right.
There is something behind
my interest in Damon's lawsuit.
You.
- I don't understand.
- I'm guessing
you were once like me,
a young Black cop
who thought the only way
to make systemic change
was from the inside.
But you must know by now
that if policing in America
was ever gonna self-correct,
it would have happened already.
- I'm a cop
because I believe in the job,
Congressman Kilbride.
- I have no doubt.
I've been
following your career.
Now, that little setback
with Richard Wheatley
notwithstanding,
you are a rising star.
But soon, you are going
to smack your head
against the blue wall, and then
you'll see what I saw--
real power is not
in enforcing the law;
real power
is in making the law.
- I'm not after power.
And I am not a politician.
- Not yet.
But it wouldn't take much
to turn you into one.
- So the name on the lease
of the apartment
that Tristan Vucaj lived in
is Flutura Briscu.
- Albi Briscu's wife?
- The very same.
I think that
Tristan was the boy toy
that Albi found out about.
- Poor bastard probably
never knew what hit him.
- Yeah, I also think
that's why Albi came to me
to help him get rid
of the body.
He didn't want anyone else
in the family
to know that
his wife had a side piece.
- You think Flutura knew that
her husband murdered
her boyfriend?
- I don't know. Why?
You think she's worth
trying to flip?
- Mm, if she cared
about her boo thing.
- Ah, it's hard to know
what she cares about.
But I think it's worth a shot.
- Semifinal round complete.
Advancing to finals.
[cheers and applause]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Malachi's on the move.
- Copy that.
What's he look like?
- Like a fleeing criminal!
You can't miss him!
- [grunts]
- Nice to meet you, Malachi.
- Never heard of him.
- I'd recognize you anywhere.
- Nice-looking nails.
Complements your hair.
- I like a man
who notices things like that.
- I was told
to stay away from you.
- Yet here you are.
- Just wanted to make sure
that you knew
that I wasn't celibate
or queer.
- Well, that's promising.
- I also don't want to make
an enemy of Albi Briscu.
- Albi could care less
what I do.
I can't remember
the last time he touched me.
- I find that hard to believe.
- Ours is a marriage
of convenience.
He can't keep his hands
off other women.
I conveniently pretend
to look the other way.
I think it's only fair that I
get to do as I please as well.
- So he knows
about your friend Tristan?
- What friend?
- Tristan Vucaj.
You don't know him?
- No.
I don't know anyone
by that name.
- [scoffs]
Eh, the guys back at the gym,
they just, you know.
- Let me tell you something
about Albanian men.
They gossip more than women.
So when are we
gonna get together?
Hm?
- Sooner rather than later.
.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
[siren chirps]
- You can't park here.
Move your vehicle.
[engine turns over]
Move along.
[dance music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
- Hey. Where's the bathroom?
Hey.
- Why are you following me?
- I'm not following you.
Albi, you came to me.
We got rid of a body.
You didn't wany anybody else
in the family to know about it.
I was worried about you.
- Not what you think.
- I'm not thinking anything.
- I'm not a fag, you know.
- I didn't say you were.
[car alarm chirps]
[hammer clicks back]
- Get in.
- Where are we going?
- Somewhere quick and easy,
where I don't have
to answer questions.
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
[car alarm chirps]
[shovel clangs]
Pick it up.
Move your ass.
.
- So was he extorting you
or falling in love with you?
- Shut up and keep digging.
- He was going to out you.
- I said shut your mouth.
- Either way, it makes sense.
He's young.
You've got money.
But I'm betting he fell
in love with you.
[pensive music]
♪ ♪
You didn't mean to shoot him,
did you?
- I tried to reason with him!
He was stubborn.
Stupid.
I'm a man!
You see?
My culture, you don't just--
I'm a man.
- Yeah, you are.
- Yeah!
- So what is your plan now?
You just gonna kill everyone
who finds out, forever?
- Maybe.
Keep digging.
- I'm not your problem, Albi.
The other people
finding out's your problem.
I mean, me, I'm an outsider.
You said it yourself.
I'm an outsider.
I don't care about this.
Whatever this is, I don't care.
And I don't talk.
I'm a businessman.
You're my boss.
You tell me whatever
I need to do, and I go do it.
You tell me I didn't see
something, I didn't see it.
I got nothing over on you.
You're the one holding
all the cards, Albi.
All I'm asking for is my life.
And in return, I swear to you,
I swear to God
and all the saints,
I will protect your secret
with my life.
♪ ♪
- Blessed are those
who die in the Lord.
That was for Penda, not you.
You and me are done.
Did Brewster tell you
to come here?
- Sergeant Brewster doesn't
tell me what to do.
I quite Narco 'cause
I didn't want to take orders
from a little man
with a big ego.
You were gonna
marry Penda here,
in her favorite church.
- I was thinking about asking.
Never got around to it.
- I'm really sorry
for your loss, Nova.
- Carmen. That's my name.
You know who started
calling me Nova?
Hugo.
Said it was short for Casanova,
'cause of how I used
to pull so many girls.
Penda came along
and shut all that down.
- Yeah?
It happens
when you find your one.
Carmen, I think you should
come back to the task force.
Not for me, not for Brewster,
but for the lives you still
have the opportunity to save.
Look, you said it yourself,
you've spent six years
of your life trying
to take down the Marcy Killers.
That's more than a job,
that's a calling.
- It won't bring Penda back.
- No.
But it will honor her memory.
- Detective Maldonado said
you wanted to see me?
- Oh, yeah?
What else did he say?
- That you refused
to give your real name,
that your prints are nowhere
to be found in the system,
and I'm the only person
you want to speak to.
- You know,
you're the first person
ever gave me a run
for my money.
I'm not sure I would have
captured the flag.
I'm trying to give you
a compliment here.
- Thank you.
- I can't remember the last
time I saw exploit development,
reverse engineering,
lateral movement,
and exfiltration all
from the same competitor.
I wonder, though,
does it bother you?
Wasting your God-given talents
working for the man?
- It beats working
for the Albanians.
- I don't work
for the Albanians.
I don't work for anyone.
- You created
the encrypted texting app
they're using to run
their criminal enterprise.
- It's not against the law
to create an app.
People do it every day.
- It's against the law
to knowingly assist
transnational
criminal organizations
import
and distribute narcotics.
- Operative word
is "knowingly."
I have no knowledge
of any of the things
that you just described.
- Just like I'm sure you have
no knowledge of someone
hacking
into the personnel files
at Fort Rucker
in Alabama last month.
Or stealing $200,000
from a Cayman Islands bank
in a phishing scam.
- Yeah, Fort Rucker is named
after
a Confederate Army general.
Screw that guy.
And as for the Cayman Islands
Federal Bank, it's 2021,
and those idiots are still
using remote networking.
A five-year-old could have
breached their security.
- I never said
it was Cayman Islands Federal.
- Lucky guess?
- His real name's Adam Mintock.
The app he created for the
Albanians is called SpeakLow.
He's willing to give us
the decryption key in exchange
for lighter sentencing
on some other crimes.
- Wow.
- Okay, but how did you--
- You're welcome.
[alarm beeping]
- [chuckles]
- Come on, man.
- Heard about your girl.
You a'ight?
- We got work to do.
That's how I make this right.
- I always knew
you was a real one.
So let's go.
You know where to take me.
- Uh-huh.
- Well, looks like
she's back in the game.
- Yeah,
that's pretty impressive,
considering the hit
she just took.
With Nova back
inside the Marcy Killers
and you with the K-O,
we're back on track.
- Brewster, he good?
- Mm.
Brewster wants to be chief
of detectives someday,
so anything that gets him
closer to that, he's good.
- How about you?
- I might have
bigger ambitions.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Breathe on every shot, right?
- Yeah.
- Where are you looking at?
- The triangle.
- You're looking
at the triangle.
Ah, how many times
you getting hit?
You gotta keep those eyes up.
- Yeah, man.
- Hey! There he is!
- [laughs]
- Eddie!
What happened?
I put a girl in your lap
the other night,
all right, would have
done anything you wanted.
You turn her down cold?
Why? She wasn't hot enough?
- No, no, she was plenty hot.
I mean, honestly, I would have
slipped her the Mickey,
but someone slipped me
a Mickey.
- Is that what happened?
- I just wish Albi
had called me.
He had three girls back
in his hotel room.
- [laughing]
Okay.
All right, boys,
let's go talk business.
- You heard the boss, Eddie.
What are you waiting for?
♪ ♪
[wolf howls]
- In the nation's
largest city,
the vicious and violent
members of the underworld
are hunted by the detectives
of the Organized Crime
Control Bureau.
These are their stories.
- The K-O and the Marcy Killers
are going after the Italians.
- Nice to set eyes on you,
Nova.
- Good to see you too, boss.
[people screaming,
glass shatters]
- Penda!
- Why is she here?
- She works for me.
- You are walking
a very tight rope.
- I had to prove my loyalty.
[all cheering]
- You're gonna use this
to keep in touch.
You're in our circle.
- I wrote this.
Just read it.
- Liv!
- Elliot.
What the hell happened?
- Drugs.
Someone--someone dosed me.
- Okay, we need to get you
to a hospital immediately.
- No, no.
- Yeah.
- I need--
I need you...
To let me in.
Let me in.
- Come on.
[voice distorted]
There's a protocol
when a UC is forced
to take a controlled substance.
- [slowly]
I felt I had to come here.
- You felt?
- We never talked.
We never talked
about what happened.
- I have nothing more to say
about what happened
with Navarro.
- Not Navarro. Us.
- Elliot, now's not the time
for us to talk.
Now is the time for us
to figure out what you ingested
and have it vouchered
and lab-tested,
so I am gonna call it in.
- I didn't write the letter.
[apprehensive music]
- What?
- I didn't write the letter.
- The letter that you gave me
when you came back from Rome?
- Kathy.
- Kathy, your wife...
Wrote the letter that
you told me that you wrote?
- Yes.
It was her idea.
It would be easier
to talk when...
We see each other
after so much time.
I tried and I tried,
and then...
Kathy helped dictate.
- That what we were
to each other was never real.
And that we got in the way
of each other being who
and where we needed to be.
- That was Kathy.
- And if there was a man
in my life,
you hope he's the kind,
faithful, and devoted
man that I deserved.
- Kathy.
- "But in a parallel
universe...
- "It will always
be you and I."
I wrote that.
I slipped it in there
before sealing the envelope.
Liv.
- Hey.
- [groans]
[tense music]
- [grunts]
[groans]
- He is a grown-ass man,
Ayanna.
And grown-ass men should
have friends they can turn to
when they need them
in the middle of the night.
- He was drugged.
He did what he had to do
to not blow the operation.
- You're lucky you're cute.
- That's right, I am cute.
- Here, tell him we're fresh
out of oat milk, or soy milk,
or whatever the hell white
people are into these days.
- [laughs]
Was it something you ingested?
Did they spike your drink?
- No.
[sniffles]
I barely drank anything.
Um, it was administered orally
by a girl who slipped it
in my mouth.
With her mouth.
- Did you blow your cover?
- No, I kept it together.
- Until you got to Benson's.
- Why?
What'd she say?
- Just that you were
pretty messed up.
- Well, that's true.
- You know what
would have happened
if she reported this.
- Yeah, I'd automatically be
taken off my UC assignment
and given a drug test.
- And hospitalized
to monitor you
for unforeseen side effects.
- Ayanna, you can't
pull me out of there.
We're almost where we need
to be to bring down Kosta.
- You don't have
to tell me twice.
[phone buzzes]
But it's on me to decide
if it's safe for you
to go in the field, and I--
That's not our burner.
- Present from Jon Kosta,
and AB is Albi Briscu.
And I'm going off to see him.
Mm.
Tell your wife I like it black.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Jesus, Eddie.
You had great night, no?
- You wanted to see me?
- I need favor.
Personal favor.
I want you to make it look
like he died in a fire.
- Well.
You want me to build
a fire hot enough
to get rid of the fact that
he's got a bullet in his head?
I mean, you want temperatures
that high,
you're gonna have three
fire departments at the scene.
- Why you bring me problem?
- You want to dispose
of a body quick and easy
where you don't have
to answer no questions.
I got the place.
- The hell is this place?
- Used to be
a mental institution.
This is where they buried all
the John Does that died there.
[grunting]
All right. Yeah.
That's deep enough.
That's good.
- There's a reason I pay you
off the books for this.
- Okay.
- This never happen.
You was never here.
And you never saw that body.
- What body?
♪ ♪
.
- Any idea who the guy was?
- None.
- And definitely not
the K-O's usual MO.
When they kill, they want
their enemies to know.
- That's why I think
it's personal.
And, by the way,
if Albi trusts me,
it means I'm one step closer
to getting face time
with Jon Kosta.
- That's the goal.
- Oh, just the person
I want to see.
- This better not be a meeting
that could have been an email.
- The K-O put me on their
friends and family plan,
but I can't make calls,
only incoming
and outgoing texts.
- I can clone it to my laptop
and do a deep dive
when I get back to the city,
where I belong.
At first glance, it looks
like an ordinary smartphone,
but it's been stripped
of its GPS, Internet,
camera, and microphone.
You can't even
make calls on it.
- And you can't track it.
Clever.
- I was able
to retrieve some deleted texts
from the phone's trash,
but as you can see,
they're heavily encrypted.
- How long will it take you
to crack the encryption?
- That's the bad news.
This level of sophistication
is basically unbreakable
without a decryption key,
but there's good news too.
I was able to isolate
a recurring portion
of the encryption code.
At regular intervals,
it mimics a World War II-era
British signal's
intelligence algorithm.
- Translate?
- It's like a signature.
When you're this good, you want
to take credit for your work.
Malachi. That's his code name.
Nobody knows his real name
or even what he looks like.
- Well, how do you know
he's the one
that made the texting app
that the K-O use?
- He's who I'd hire,
if I were them.
And I'd bet that's his
signature embedded in the code.
Sergeant, request permission
to attend the Capture the Flag
competition
in Queens this weekend.
- The who?
What is that?
- Ah, I've heard about those.
Hackers and members
of the cybersecurity community
get together and see who can
backdoor their way into banks,
government agencies,
and media sites for fun.
There's booze and prizes.
- Guys like Malachi travel
all over the world
to compete in them.
It's a can't-miss opportunity.
- Okay.
- Maldonado,
you'll go with her.
- If you don't mind me asking,
Congressman Kilbride,
what's your interest
in Damon's case?
- Frankly, Sergeant Bell,
I fear you're facing
a real uphill battle
with this case.
- Oh, we're well aware of that.
They've already tried
to get Ayanna
to back channel a lowball offer
to me.
- I want you to consider
partnering with my old firm,
Kilbride, Weathers and Douglas.
They'll take the case pro bono.
- Congressman--
- I have no financial stake
in the firm any longer.
I just know
where this is going,
and I want you to have
the muscle behind you
that you're going to need
to ride it out.
- And what's in it for you?
Besides a little social justice
warrior street cred?
- Ayanna.
- Sergeant Bell, I carried
the NYPD badge for 26 years.
I earned my street cred
before you were even born.
- Pop that now.
Pop that, pop that, pop that.
There you go.
- Reggie!
- Oh, it's about time.
- What?
- Turn my back for a second
at the restaurant last night,
and you Houdini on me.
Like you had someplace
better to go, huh?
- I didn't think you needed me.
- You thought wrong.
I don't know.
You got that phone,
maybe you think
you don't need me no more.
- Reg.
You're my man. Always will be.
You're the reason why I'm here.
- Don't forget that. All right?
Hit me back when I text you.
- Look, man,
this thing don't work.
That thing that Kosta gave me.
Man, I tried to call you,
nothing.
- It's text only.
Everything else is disabled.
That's how we roll.
- Oh.
- Reggie.
- Hold this.
I'll be right back.
What, are you pouting 'cause
you didn't get the invite?
- I don't pout.
- You're invited when
Kosta says you're invited.
- Tell me something,
Eddie Wagner.
Why is a man like you working
for the idiot
who's working for my husband?
- A man's gotta make a living.
Who's your husband?
- They call me Mrs. Briscu.
- Oh, hey, how are you?
Nice to meet you.
- You can call me Flutura.
- Okay.
- They say you used
to be a boxer.
You've still got the arms.
- Yeah, what else
do they say about me?
- [laughs]
From where I sit,
you hear all kinds of things.
For example,
I know you walked away
from that skanky little vajze
who threw herself at you
last night,
which has me wondering,
what's Eddie Wagner's deal?
Is he celibate?
Queer?
Need a pill to get it up?
Next time I see you,
I'm gonna want some answers.
- How'd it go?
- Fine.
Let's go get something to eat.
- What's up?
- Cho got a hit
on our John Doe.
- Tristan Vucaj.
Second-generation immigrant.
28 years old.
A construction worker.
- All I see here
are a couple of arrests
for petty theft and a DUI.
He doesn't look
like a major player.
- Could have been related
to one of Albi's rivals.
- And Albi killed him for what,
to send a message?
That doesn't track with
the secret burial in the woods.
Is there an address?
- It's in the folder.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Oh, that looks good.
What is that?
- Qofte te ferguara.
Fried meatballs.
- Qofte te ferguara.
- [scoffs]
- What are you laughing about?
She--well, it's good, right?
- You have a very
strong accent.
- Very strong.
- Hey, listen.
- Hmm?
- I saw you talking to Flutura
in the gym.
- Oh, yeah, Mrs. Briscu, yeah.
- Well, do yourself a favor,
don't do that, okay?
Albi doesn't like nobody
mackin' on his wife.
- What you talking about?
I'm not mackin' on anybody.
- I'm just trying to keep
your head from ending up
in one zip code
and the rest of your body
in another, you feel me?
Albi's old school.
You mess around,
you get on his bad side,
there's not much I can do
for you.
- All right. Enough said.
You gonna eat all that?
- [laughs]
[police siren wails]
- Yeah, you're telling me.
- Look at these guys.
- Hey!
- Oh!
- Hey, you!
- You didn't pay
that parking ticket?
- Hey, you!
Let me see your hands.
- What the hell?
- Hey!
- Anything in your pockets
I should know about?
- Yeah, your mother's number.
- Any weapons? Sharp objects?
- Stop! Stop!
That's not him!
That's not the guy.
The man who hit me has hair
on the top of his head,
and he's way younger.
- Sorry about that sir.
- Oh, now it's--
- Are you okay?
- Don't touch me.
- If you'd like to report this
incident to our supervisor--
- Tell your supervisor
to blow it out his ass.
- These frickin' cops.
They damn near tear
your head off,
and then they ask you if you
want to file a complaint.
With them. It's ridiculous.
Right, Eddie?
Eddie.
You said you didn't pout.
♪ ♪
- Hey.
- Hey.
- If you're looking
for Tristan,
he hasn't been around
for a couple of days.
- Yeah, I know.
Do you know where he went?
- People come and go
from that apartment.
I'm just a manager.
I don't ask questions.
- Oh, okay.
Hey, I left something in there.
Thought maybe
you can help me out.
I just need to get in there
for a few minutes.
What do you say?
- I don't think Mrs. Briscu
would look too kindly on me
letting you into her apartment.
- Flutura's the one
who sent me.
- Listen,
I don't want no problems.
Briscu's the name on the lease.
- Come on, Nova.
Where the hell are you?
- So if nobody knows who he is,
how do we know
which one is Malachi?
- I'm guessing he'll be the one
who wins
the hacking competition.
- He won't win.
He doesn't need to.
But it'll be obvious
he could if he wanted.
I just have to look for the guy
who's pulling his punches.
Don't touch that.
- Sergeant Bell,
I need a word with you.
Private.
Nova missed a meet-up.
In six years,
come hell or high water,
she's never done that.
- Jet, can you
come in here please?
I'm assuming you
tried her cell.
- Yeah, of course.
She's been offline.
- We'll send someone
to her apartment,
put a APB out on her car.
What does she drive?
Jet, run a trace
on Nova's phone,
find out her last known
location ASAP.
- I already have
her last known location.
She's right outside.
- What?
- She pinged me ten minutes ago
to let me know
she was on her way in.
- You scared me
half to death, girl.
Where you been?
- New Covenant.
- New what?
- It's a church.
- You went AWOL on me
to go to church?
- It was Penda's church.
- I'm gonna assume you went to
church as part of your cover.
But when I set a meet,
it is your job to show up.
- Sergeant Brewster,
if I can suggest--
- No, you cannot!
She's my UC, my responsibility.
Do you have anything meaningful
to report?
- I'ma need some time off.
- Excuse me?
- Penda's funeral's
in South Carolina.
That's where her family is.
They want to bury her there.
I'm going.
- Request denied.
- It's not a request.
- Look, Hugo's walking out
of Rikers any minute now.
- Hugo's getting out?
- It's why
I called the meet-up.
It's a game-changer,
and I need you here for it.
I need you to focus.
- I can't.
I loved her. I still do.
- I am ordering you
to let this go.
[sentimental music]
♪ ♪
[footsteps approaching]
- I know Sergeant Brewster
can be pretty tough,
but I think he believes
he's doing what's best for you.
- Don't work me.
- I'm not working you, Nova.
- Good, 'cause I don't
know you,
and I don't need no pep talk.
So you can take
that sister girl performance
somewhere else.
- All I'm trying to say
is that I know something about
what you're going through.
I just lost someone
a couple months ago.
Her name was Gina.
She was my undercover,
but we were close.
- The bitch got sloppy
and ended up dead.
Got it. Cool story, sis.
I know you think me and Penda
was just a couple hood bitches
running with the Marcy Killers
and playing kiss the fish.
But I've been deep cover
for six years,
working from the inside.
I don't get
to sit behind a desk
and make charts all day
and then go home and cuddle up
in front of the TV
with my respectable
businessman husband
who's so supportive
of me being a cop.
[pensive music]
♪ ♪
- You're right.
You don't know me.
So don't presume you know what
I think or who I go home to.
My wife is a lawyer.
♪ ♪
.
- Don't worry.
I won't blow your cover.
I'm just gonna
play the background
while you do your thing.
They won't even notice me.
- We walk in, and you get asked
to name your favorite
vulnerability attack scenario.
What do you say?
They'll peg you as a cop
in ten seconds.
I'm going alone.
[upbeat electronic music]
♪ ♪
[cheering]
- User Freedumb
has been eliminated.
Quarterfinal round complete.
Advancing to semifinals.
- Sergeant Bell,
this is a surprise.
- I wanted to speak to you
away from Denise.
I know she wants what's best
for Damon, and so do I,
but I suspect your interest
stems from something else.
- Sergeant Bell,
if you think I'm after a piece
of the windfall that
you're hoping to get from NYPD,
let me put your fear to rest.
I don't usually hold out hope
for something
that's never going to happen.
- What they're offering Damon
isn't a lot,
but he's entitled to something.
His hand is destroyed.
His future as a musician
is gone.
- Don't get me wrong,
what happened to Damon
was horrific,
and he deserves justice.
But I've seen a million cases
like his,
and they just don't move
the needle with the public.
To put it bluntly,
ain't no protesters gonna be
stopping traffic
on Fifth Avenue
because some Black kid
can't play the guitar.
- You'd rather
he ended up a hashtag?
- I'd rather this not happen
to him at all.
But we don't live
in that kind of world.
So why don't you and I
change it?
- Change what?
- The world.
Truth is, you're half right.
There is something behind
my interest in Damon's lawsuit.
You.
- I don't understand.
- I'm guessing
you were once like me,
a young Black cop
who thought the only way
to make systemic change
was from the inside.
But you must know by now
that if policing in America
was ever gonna self-correct,
it would have happened already.
- I'm a cop
because I believe in the job,
Congressman Kilbride.
- I have no doubt.
I've been
following your career.
Now, that little setback
with Richard Wheatley
notwithstanding,
you are a rising star.
But soon, you are going
to smack your head
against the blue wall, and then
you'll see what I saw--
real power is not
in enforcing the law;
real power
is in making the law.
- I'm not after power.
And I am not a politician.
- Not yet.
But it wouldn't take much
to turn you into one.
- So the name on the lease
of the apartment
that Tristan Vucaj lived in
is Flutura Briscu.
- Albi Briscu's wife?
- The very same.
I think that
Tristan was the boy toy
that Albi found out about.
- Poor bastard probably
never knew what hit him.
- Yeah, I also think
that's why Albi came to me
to help him get rid
of the body.
He didn't want anyone else
in the family
to know that
his wife had a side piece.
- You think Flutura knew that
her husband murdered
her boyfriend?
- I don't know. Why?
You think she's worth
trying to flip?
- Mm, if she cared
about her boo thing.
- Ah, it's hard to know
what she cares about.
But I think it's worth a shot.
- Semifinal round complete.
Advancing to finals.
[cheers and applause]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Malachi's on the move.
- Copy that.
What's he look like?
- Like a fleeing criminal!
You can't miss him!
- [grunts]
- Nice to meet you, Malachi.
- Never heard of him.
- I'd recognize you anywhere.
- Nice-looking nails.
Complements your hair.
- I like a man
who notices things like that.
- I was told
to stay away from you.
- Yet here you are.
- Just wanted to make sure
that you knew
that I wasn't celibate
or queer.
- Well, that's promising.
- I also don't want to make
an enemy of Albi Briscu.
- Albi could care less
what I do.
I can't remember
the last time he touched me.
- I find that hard to believe.
- Ours is a marriage
of convenience.
He can't keep his hands
off other women.
I conveniently pretend
to look the other way.
I think it's only fair that I
get to do as I please as well.
- So he knows
about your friend Tristan?
- What friend?
- Tristan Vucaj.
You don't know him?
- No.
I don't know anyone
by that name.
- [scoffs]
Eh, the guys back at the gym,
they just, you know.
- Let me tell you something
about Albanian men.
They gossip more than women.
So when are we
gonna get together?
Hm?
- Sooner rather than later.
.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
[siren chirps]
- You can't park here.
Move your vehicle.
[engine turns over]
Move along.
[dance music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
- Hey. Where's the bathroom?
Hey.
- Why are you following me?
- I'm not following you.
Albi, you came to me.
We got rid of a body.
You didn't wany anybody else
in the family to know about it.
I was worried about you.
- Not what you think.
- I'm not thinking anything.
- I'm not a fag, you know.
- I didn't say you were.
[car alarm chirps]
[hammer clicks back]
- Get in.
- Where are we going?
- Somewhere quick and easy,
where I don't have
to answer questions.
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
[car alarm chirps]
[shovel clangs]
Pick it up.
Move your ass.
.
- So was he extorting you
or falling in love with you?
- Shut up and keep digging.
- He was going to out you.
- I said shut your mouth.
- Either way, it makes sense.
He's young.
You've got money.
But I'm betting he fell
in love with you.
[pensive music]
♪ ♪
You didn't mean to shoot him,
did you?
- I tried to reason with him!
He was stubborn.
Stupid.
I'm a man!
You see?
My culture, you don't just--
I'm a man.
- Yeah, you are.
- Yeah!
- So what is your plan now?
You just gonna kill everyone
who finds out, forever?
- Maybe.
Keep digging.
- I'm not your problem, Albi.
The other people
finding out's your problem.
I mean, me, I'm an outsider.
You said it yourself.
I'm an outsider.
I don't care about this.
Whatever this is, I don't care.
And I don't talk.
I'm a businessman.
You're my boss.
You tell me whatever
I need to do, and I go do it.
You tell me I didn't see
something, I didn't see it.
I got nothing over on you.
You're the one holding
all the cards, Albi.
All I'm asking for is my life.
And in return, I swear to you,
I swear to God
and all the saints,
I will protect your secret
with my life.
♪ ♪
- Blessed are those
who die in the Lord.
That was for Penda, not you.
You and me are done.
Did Brewster tell you
to come here?
- Sergeant Brewster doesn't
tell me what to do.
I quite Narco 'cause
I didn't want to take orders
from a little man
with a big ego.
You were gonna
marry Penda here,
in her favorite church.
- I was thinking about asking.
Never got around to it.
- I'm really sorry
for your loss, Nova.
- Carmen. That's my name.
You know who started
calling me Nova?
Hugo.
Said it was short for Casanova,
'cause of how I used
to pull so many girls.
Penda came along
and shut all that down.
- Yeah?
It happens
when you find your one.
Carmen, I think you should
come back to the task force.
Not for me, not for Brewster,
but for the lives you still
have the opportunity to save.
Look, you said it yourself,
you've spent six years
of your life trying
to take down the Marcy Killers.
That's more than a job,
that's a calling.
- It won't bring Penda back.
- No.
But it will honor her memory.
- Detective Maldonado said
you wanted to see me?
- Oh, yeah?
What else did he say?
- That you refused
to give your real name,
that your prints are nowhere
to be found in the system,
and I'm the only person
you want to speak to.
- You know,
you're the first person
ever gave me a run
for my money.
I'm not sure I would have
captured the flag.
I'm trying to give you
a compliment here.
- Thank you.
- I can't remember the last
time I saw exploit development,
reverse engineering,
lateral movement,
and exfiltration all
from the same competitor.
I wonder, though,
does it bother you?
Wasting your God-given talents
working for the man?
- It beats working
for the Albanians.
- I don't work
for the Albanians.
I don't work for anyone.
- You created
the encrypted texting app
they're using to run
their criminal enterprise.
- It's not against the law
to create an app.
People do it every day.
- It's against the law
to knowingly assist
transnational
criminal organizations
import
and distribute narcotics.
- Operative word
is "knowingly."
I have no knowledge
of any of the things
that you just described.
- Just like I'm sure you have
no knowledge of someone
hacking
into the personnel files
at Fort Rucker
in Alabama last month.
Or stealing $200,000
from a Cayman Islands bank
in a phishing scam.
- Yeah, Fort Rucker is named
after
a Confederate Army general.
Screw that guy.
And as for the Cayman Islands
Federal Bank, it's 2021,
and those idiots are still
using remote networking.
A five-year-old could have
breached their security.
- I never said
it was Cayman Islands Federal.
- Lucky guess?
- His real name's Adam Mintock.
The app he created for the
Albanians is called SpeakLow.
He's willing to give us
the decryption key in exchange
for lighter sentencing
on some other crimes.
- Wow.
- Okay, but how did you--
- You're welcome.
[alarm beeping]
- [chuckles]
- Come on, man.
- Heard about your girl.
You a'ight?
- We got work to do.
That's how I make this right.
- I always knew
you was a real one.
So let's go.
You know where to take me.
- Uh-huh.
- Well, looks like
she's back in the game.
- Yeah,
that's pretty impressive,
considering the hit
she just took.
With Nova back
inside the Marcy Killers
and you with the K-O,
we're back on track.
- Brewster, he good?
- Mm.
Brewster wants to be chief
of detectives someday,
so anything that gets him
closer to that, he's good.
- How about you?
- I might have
bigger ambitions.
[tense music]
♪ ♪
- Breathe on every shot, right?
- Yeah.
- Where are you looking at?
- The triangle.
- You're looking
at the triangle.
Ah, how many times
you getting hit?
You gotta keep those eyes up.
- Yeah, man.
- Hey! There he is!
- [laughs]
- Eddie!
What happened?
I put a girl in your lap
the other night,
all right, would have
done anything you wanted.
You turn her down cold?
Why? She wasn't hot enough?
- No, no, she was plenty hot.
I mean, honestly, I would have
slipped her the Mickey,
but someone slipped me
a Mickey.
- Is that what happened?
- I just wish Albi
had called me.
He had three girls back
in his hotel room.
- [laughing]
Okay.
All right, boys,
let's go talk business.
- You heard the boss, Eddie.
What are you waiting for?
♪ ♪
[wolf howls]