Major Crimes (2012–2018): Season 3, Episode 9 - Sweet Revenge - full transcript
Major Crimes appears to be dealing with a possible sniper while investigating the murder of a man who runs a "revenge porn" website. Meanwhile, Sharon's son voices his opposition to Rusty's adoption.
[Police radio chatter]
Tao: Provenza, if you don't mind.
Thank you.
Seven feet.
Hold onto it, please. Please. Hold on.
Guy liked to party.
Well, looked like the last time the victim
checked his computer was at 2:37 A.M.
You can let go now.
The bullet descended 16 inches
over a downward trajectory of 2.26 degrees.
Provenza: That would put the sniper where?
Clean shot from the roof
of that tall building
across the street, sir.
That could be right.
Could be?
Well, my measurements might be off a little.
All right. Sanchez, go over there
and see if the killer left anything behind.
So, what the heck is Sweet Revenge, anyway?
Our victim, Travis Hall, runs a website
that lets guys get back
at their ex-girlfriends
by posting naked pictures of them online.
It's called revenge porn.
Whatever happened to
scribbling the girl's name
on a bathroom stall?
Well, this seems to pay better.
And the victim's assistant
told patrol he arrived this morning
and found his boss murdered
and himself out of a job.
His alibi's good.
Any reason why his boss would be up
in the middle of the night on his computer?
Why are men ever up late at
night on their computers?
Also, according to neighbors,
Hall had a lot of girlfriends who
came and went at all hours.
The lock on the door is a keypad.
I wonder how many of his
girlfriends had the code?
Are you telling me that women
were interested in this creep?
See? You should never give up.
Buzz: Oh, God.
Come read some of these letters
on the victim's bulletin board.
Sykes: "These photos have ruined my life.
"I'll do anything if you take them down."
Buzz: Look what he wrote underneath.
"You'll do anything? Too late,
dumb bitch. Enjoy your pain."
He put this stuff up
like he was proud of it.
Everyone who wrote this
guy is a potential suspect.
All right, let's take
it all with us, damn it.
Oh, look at this...
An FBI warrant from six weeks ago.
[Scoffs] We've only been here an hour
and we've already caught
up with them, you know?
Maybe all this can be their problem.
[Police radio chatter]
I found a bullet.
And it's from a long rifle,
so maybe a sniper from across the street.
Like everyone said.
Ah, yes. Thank you for picking up.
And how are you this morning,
very special agent Fritz Howard?
My neck is killing me, and my shoulder.
My arm, too.
- Did you hurt yourself?
- I don't think so.
I've been bent over box after
box of inventory I have to label
before officially retiring from the FBI.
Also, moving everything from Wilshire
to the special operations
bureau, that was hard.
I'm a little stressed
out about being a boss.
Sharon: You'll adapt.
Deputy Chief Howard has a nice ring to it.
Thanks.
It's gonna be an interesting change.
Mm. Brenda ends up taking this job
she's been meeting on in Washington,
the whole thing could be
a bit of a juggling act.
But I think we can handle it.
Oh, Sharon. Sharon.
I'll meet you there, Sharon.
Hey, look, I-I cannot pick up Ricky
at the airport by myself. I barely know him.
And... and he does not like me very much.
Why would you say that?
Well, because ever since
you started divorcing Jack,
he's been, like, really
distant on the phone.
Rusty, you and Ricky are
going to be brothers.
Picking each other up at the
airport is what families do.
It'll be fine. Don't worry.
Travis: It's not my fault they're
embarrassed of themselves.
I wasn't there when they undressed,
and I didn't pay anyone to snap the photos.
How is it my fault?
Our investigation concluded
that Sweet Revenge Online
nets over $10 million a year.
How come the bureau hasn't
already shut down this website?
Unfortunately, legally,
it's protected speech.
Women have been physically
threatened by Mr. Hall.
- That's a violation of California law, too.
- No, no, no, no, no.
- We didn't know anything about that
- I could just as easily ask,
- until today.
- "why didn't the L.A.P.D. do anything?"
If the FBI had passed
this information along...
We followed the money, hoping to
shut down the site by identifying
fraud or racketeering.
The pictures themselves don't help us.
What if these photographs
were obtained illegally?
We needed evidence of
either theft or hacking.
We could never get it.
Murder gives the L.A.P.D.
better grounds for a warrant.
You said Sweet Revenge
netted $10 million a year.
How much of that went to
this Travis Hall dirtbag?
Less than 5%.
No, Hall's just the, uh, front man.
Key player is a guy named Scott Ward,
who, uh, may be a little mobbed up.
We've invited Mr. Ward over for a chat.
He's coming with his lawyer.
Alan Burke. Terrible guy.
Regardless, a sniper attack
might make Mr. Ward feel
that his own safety
requires him to cooperate.
I'd be happy to help with that interview.
Better use my FBI connections
while you still can.
Burke: Is this threat to my client?
'Cause we came down
here under the assumption
we'd be helping you find a killer,
not submit information about my client's
legitimate business activities.
The L.A.P.D. thinks these
legitimate business activities
might be a legitimate motive for murder.
Flynn: The sniper who killed your partner,
he might just have you in the
cross hairs too, Mr. Ward.
Okay, first, Travis and I were not partners.
Scott, these are blatant
intimidation techniques.
I'm not intimidated, Alan. I'm freaked out.
Okay? The L.A.P.D. didn't kill Travis, okay?
Look, he might have been the perfect person
to promote Sweet Revenge,
but the website was my idea,
put together with my
investors and my servers.
So if people connected to
it are getting killed...
God.
Same way with Travis' website...
Any likely suspects
among the letter writers?
How about all of them?
And their fathers, too.
I'm telling you, captain,
this Scott Ward guy's not
gonna hang around here forever.
What is taking Tao so long?
No one else could get
this done as fast as Mike.
We just need to hold on.
Okay, for centuries, women
have been dumping men
without a second thought.
We're putting a big dent in that pattern.
And the world's a better place for it.
Flynn: Well, considering
you're providing the planet
with such a noble public service,
how come you stayed out of the spotlight
and let your friend
Travis take all the bows?
Anything to do with all
these threatening letters?
Burke: Successful businesses
attract complaints.
- I have it.
- Interview 1.
We're not concerned about it.
Scott: Besides, you said you
were looking for a sniper.
I mean, do you really think a woman
could do something like this?
I think there could be a line of them.
Look, my client warned Travis
about hanging out with drug dealers,
not to mention all the hookers he had over.
This tragedy is more about Travis' lifestyle
than it is about Scott's business.
Uh-huh.
Well, maybe after the FBI and the L.A.P.D.
Get a good look at your client's servers,
we'll agree with you.
Nice try. But unless you have evidence
of money laundering or racketeering,
federal government's not going
anywhere near my client's servers.
Flynn: This is not about double-checking
your bookkeeping anymore.
This is about murder.
The judge just signed a
warrant granting us permission
to search through all your data.
So if you have any idea who killed Travis,
You know what? You were never interested
- now is a perfect time.
- in having us help you identify suspects.
You know, Alan, I think...
Alan, we should just pro...
No. You, Scott, you're not talking anymore.
You are coming with me... now.
Hey, Scotty.
You don't want to help us,
let me give you some advice...
Stay away from windows.
Scott.
I hate to say it, captain,
but I think we need to keep an eye
on Scott Ward, for safety's sake.
Agreed. Let's get Amy on that.
And roll out S.I.S. She's gonna need backup.
- Sykes.
- Lieutenant.
Talking to the people who wrote letters.
I have a suspect.
That's him, Keith Price. Ex-army ranger.
After his wife's pictures got
posted, she killed herself.
Well, that's good motive.
And army rangers have
mandatory sniper training.
And can hide in plain sight
without leaving a trace behind.
Tao: All right. Before we
turn down sniper alley,
I'd like to check my measurements
against the autopsy,
in case I missed something.
Okay.
Ricky: Hi, mom. [Gasps]
Ricky!
- Hi!
- Hi!
- Oh!
- Oh, my gosh.
Look at you. Oh, my gosh. What is this?
- Got a little scruff. It's cute.
- Thank you.
Uh... boy, you guys got back here quickly.
Yeah. Well, uh, Rusty's...
- He knows his way around the big city.
- Yeah.
I also know how to take directions well.
Lieutenant, do you remember my son Ricky?
Hey. How are you, Ricky?
- Good to see you again. Captain.
- Yeah?
Um... we're going to, uh, hold our ex-ranger
until we can run a background
check on him, okay?
Um, why don't we go into
my office for a moment?
- Sure.
- Rusty, you too. Come on.
Well, my biggest news
is that we're not planning
on going public anymore
because a larger Internet-security
firm offered us a buyout.
Aw, does that mean you're gonna
have to work for someone else?
I don't know. Maybe I'll just,
you know, take the cash and travel.
And I haven't really stopped
since college, right?
And a house and a car only tie you down.
Right, Rusty?
Oh, I don't know.
I've never really thought about that before.
Well, you don't have to, I guess.
And I'd, uh, I'd like to
spend more time in L.A.
- What?
- Yeah, yeah.
I want to take you out
for dinner tonight, mom,
and we could, you know,
talk about the future a little.
I don't think I'm going to
get out of here for dinner.
You're working tonight?
Mom, I just got off the plane.
I thought we were gonna
spend some time together.
I know. I am so sorry.
I have a sniper problem.
Uh, maybe you and Rusty
could grab a bite to eat,
and then we can have breakfast
together tomorrow, I hope.
I'm sorry. I'm...
- Ricky: Yeah.
- Okay.
L-let me just grab my stuff,
and then I'll run you home.
Okay, when S.I.D. pulled
all this crap offline,
instead of shutting down,
the website switched over
to something called...
Ricky: Mirror servers?
- Yeah. Hey, Ricky.
- Andy.
The data will still be intact,
but you're gonna need some help
getting through their firewalls.
Where's Lieutenant Tao?
Provenza: Oh, he's at the morgue
obsessing over bullet trajectories.
Well, mom, these are most likely
load-balanced servers running Apache...
Hi.
Or, uh, maybe Fedora under Linux.
Nothing advanced... I could
probably get these booted up
and reset the root passwords.
Do you guys have someplace
I could plug this stuff in?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Oh, I don't... I don't really need you guys.
I know, honey, but we have
chain-of-custody issues,
- and you're not an officer of the court.
- Gotcha.
And I'll just stay out of your way.
Thanks. Sorry to invade your space.
Turnabout is fair play, right?
[Telephones ringing]
I... I'll just wait in the break room.
Our army ranger has been read his rights
- and has agreed to cooperate.
- Thank you.
Flynn: Don't worry.
We'll keep an eye on Dr. Einstein here
until Mike gets back.
Just don't let your suspect
confess before I get a chance
to look at Sweet Revenge Online's finances.
Mm. Um, lieutenant, if I go long,
will you check on Mike's progress?
All rangers specialize in firearms.
Uh, sorry to interrupt.
Captain Sharon Raydor.
Um, thank you, Lieutenant Price
for agreeing to cooperate...
How's Tao getting back here
from the morgue, oxcart?
I've been told that the pictures
of your wife did not get posted
on Sweet Revenge Online in the usual way.
That's right. They were stolen.
How did that happen?
I've been away from my family
for three of the past five
years, and Kelly... my wife...
Kelly thought the pictures of herself
might... bridge the distance.
Personal pictures, and I
kept them on my laptop.
She sent you these photos by e-mail?
To my private account, yes.
And that would have been the
end of it, except coming home,
I had my laptop out in the airport
when I got a phone call.
I answered it.
I stood up and stretched my
legs for just one minute,
and when I sat back down,
my laptop was gone.
And that's how your wife's
pictures were posted
on the Sweet Revenge website?
Yes.
I tried to have them taken down
before one of the students
in her 9th-grade math class
or another teacher found out,
or my son, who goes to
the same school, saw them.
[Sighs]
I wrote Mr. Hall and explained the
situation to him as best I could.
How'd Mr. Hall respond?
[Sighs]
[Voice breaking] With lewd photos of himself
sent to my wife's e-mail address,
asking what the big deal with nudity was.
So I... I paid one of those
online-reputation services
to make the pictures of Kelly disappear,
and they were taken down
for less than a day.
[Sniffles]
And then someone from her school saw them.
Word got around, and my
son... He saw the pictures.
I tried to explain to him
that this was meant to be
something private between his mom and me...
But he didn't see it that way,
and neither did the principal,
who gave Kelly the choice
between resigning [Sniffles]
And a hearing in front of the school board.
So, that day, on the way home from school,
she pulled the car over, on
the side of the road, and...
She jumped from the Colorado Street Bridge.
Yes. Yes, she did.
[Sniffles]
I looked away from my laptop for one minute,
and the world changed.
[Cellphone beeps]
Do you have any weapons, Lieutenant Price?
Amy says Scott Ward could be on the move.
Where the hell is Tao? Damn it!
I can give you the combination
and consent to search my house.
[Cellphone vibrates]
Hello.
Tao, what are you doing?!
Looking at what is left
of Travis Hall's head.
I was expecting to find a wound
consistent with a 7.62 cartridge
fired from over 50 yards away.
But the bullet entered the cranium 3
1/2 centimeters right of the midline,
and the weapon was placed
directly against the scalp.
There was definitely a sniper
shot from across the street.
Right, and I'm glad I
don't have to explain that,
because that was not the cause of death.
There's circular stippling on the wound
and patches of blood
where the hair was yanked
from your victim's head.
You mean, uh, like he
was... like the killer...
Grabbed the victim from behind.
Right.
Do not pull my hair.
With his left hand, while with the right,
he shot point-blank into
the back of Hall's head.
So, the murder weapon was pointed...
Up, yes, it was.
Ooh.
Oh, my God.
I've just been putting all this
pressure on a man who lost his wife,
and he didn't kill Hall?
Not with a rifle, and here's
the bullet that did the job.
It's from a 9mm handgun.
Okay, so, the same night that
Travis Hall gets his head blown off,
a sniper sets up across the street?
That doesn't make any sense.
Unless someone was trying to mislead us.
Our key suspect has
long-range-weapons training.
Keith Price, angry army vet,
sends a letter threatening
to kill Travis Hall.
Could have been known by everybody
working at Sweet Revenge Online,
including Scott Ward.
All right, subject is moving toward Olive.
This is his third time around the block.
I have to think he's waiting
for something... or someone.
Hey, we got a bogey at the Jaguar.
[Arguing indistinctly]
Scott: Me? You know what
you... you know what you did.
W... hey!
[Gunfire]
Sykes: R-63, shots fired at my location
from the east side of the street.
S.I.S. Units, block off the north side.
Let's go.
[Tires screech]
Should I roll paramedics?
No. They don't look hurt.
Number one has a small-frame
9mm in his possession.
R-63, we have a possible sniper...
Location unknown.
Have responding units set up a
perimeter to the north and south.
I repeat, we have a sniper.
Approach with caution.
Shots were fired at Scott Ward.
And the guy he was with
came from 7.62 cartridges.
Same as the rifle at our first crime scene.
Also the same... our
sniper didn't hit anybody.
But in his coat, Scott Ward had a 9mm
and since Travis Hall was
shot with one of those,
I sent his weapon on to ballistics.
Whatever you can give us,
chief, to catch this sniper.
I've got the entire
neighborhood blocked off,
and S.I.S. is searching it,
along with 30 patrol officers
and two dogs trained in fear scent.
The sniper isn't getting away,
though how he's involved, I don't know.
Tell us about the man who
got into the fight with Ward.
His I.D. says he's Ryan Brooks,
and his name has a flag on it from the FBI.
Well, since he's about
to become a deputy chief,
maybe Agent Howard wouldn't
mind explaining that.
I'll hurry Warden Brooks
through booking for you.
Meanwhile, I'm taking
Sykes back to help Cooper.
I feel the need for a little
in-person supervision.
- Mm-hmm.
- Keep me posted.
Yes, sir.
[Door opens]
Sorry we've gone so late.
Lieutenant Mike is back at the servers now,
so you and Ricky are
cleared to go to dinner.
How does that sound?
Okay.
I'm so sorry.
If I wasn't looking for a sniper,
- you know...
- I-I-it's not your fault.
But we need to rethink
this whole adoption thing,
because Ricky is not into it at all.
A little pushback from siblings is natural.
When I was pregnant with Ricky,
Emily told me several times she
didn't want a little brother.
She was 3.
Oh, they're always 3.
Look, Ricky hasn't thought this through.
I can tell.
I'll talk to him in the
morning, and I'm sure
that whatever issue he has,
we can get it straightened out.
Sharon, I know you're a
great deal maker and...
Hey.
Hey.
Servers are up and running.
Lieutenant Tao can do the rest.
So, I'm ready whenever you are, Rusty.
Have you thought about where you
and Rusty might like to go eat?
Oh, I'm... I'm gonna raid the
refrigerator when I get home.
I'm... I'm pretty tired.
Yeah, it's almost, uh, wow, 9:30.
I'm sorry you have to work late. Mm.
Oh.
See you for breakfast.
- I hope so. Probably, yes.
- Great.
Okay, well, it looks like you
have your work cut out for you,
so good luck.
Thank you, Rusty.
Um, you guys have a great night.
Mm-hmm. Love you.
Love you, too.
Sanchez: It wasn't a fight, exactly.
Ryan Brooks and Scott Ward
pushed each other around in public...
Not very well, but we can still
hold them on battery charges.
Anything the FBI can share
with us about Mr. Brooks?
He invests in high-tech startups.
The FBI investigated him for
tax evasion... got nowhere.
Well, maybe our old friend Scotty, here,
will be more forthcoming now
that somebody is shooting at him.
Plus, Lieutenant Price was in our custody
when the second shooting took place,
so he couldn't have been involved.
I think we should wait
until ballistics is finished
testing all the weapons at his
house before releasing Price.
Someone was framing our
army ranger for a reason.
Maybe Mr. Ward can tell us why.
Provenza: Just to be clear, Scott,
are you waiving your right to an attorney?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Do not call Alan Burke, that bastard.
He's the one that told Ryan I
was getting weak in the knees.
You guarantee my safety,
and I will tell you
whatever you want to know.
Okay. Well, you realize that
the gun that you're concealing,
the Ruger LC9, is the exact
make used to kill Travis?
If I killed Travis with that gun,
do you really think I'd be
stupid enough to carry it on me?
Yeah, I needed it to defend myself.
From Ryan Brooks?
W-why would he want to hurt you?
'Cause that... that idiot
Travis was threatening him,
demanding more money
and saying that if he
didn't get what he wanted,
he was gonna go to the FBI.
About their legitimate business practices.
Ryan answers to powerful people,
people that would be vulnerable
to questionable publicity.
So, that's why you met him on the street,
to talk about a public-relations problem?
No, no, obviously, he wanted
me to go out to his car
so I would be in the open.
It was a setup.
Ryan tried to have me assassinated.
He's pushing the sniper angle.
- Okay.
- So did we.
Except the sniper hasn't killed anyone.
You said why he wanted Travis dead.
Why did he want to kill you?
Because I know how our site
ties to his other sites,
which is where the real money is.
The real money.
W-what do you mean "the real money"?
I'll tell you.
But first, I need immunity.
Get me immunity. I'll tell you everything.
There's nothing to tell! I'm not a killer!
Look, I'm an investor who provides startup
capital for various online enterprises.
Sir, are you saying that... that you had
nothing to do with Travis Hall's death,
nothing to do with the sniper
who shot at Scott Ward this afternoon?
Shot at Scott?!
Scott lured me to his
apartment to have me killed!
You want to give immunity to Scott?!
Give it to me!
I know all of the secrets.
I'm sure we can come to an understanding.
We'll see about that.
Excuse us.
Allow me to present the server
logs for Sweet Revenge Online.
Over and over, you can see they
used buffer overflow, path name,
and SQL injection attacks to exploit
vulnerabilities in e-mail servers.
Buzz.
Uh, Sweet Revenge hacked into
people's computers to steal images.
- Ah. Thank you.
- We got it.
Fritz: The L.A.P.D. got farther in 12 hours
than the FBI did in six months.
You know, I think I'm
gonna like it over here.
Well, to be fair, we had a warrant.
Federal government's
computer fraud and abuse act
makes every instance of
unauthorized access to
and theft from private e-mail
accounts a class "B" felony.
It's punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
There's hundreds of
violations in those records.
And that's not just
leverage. That's justice.
- And Sweet Revenge.
- Sharon: Wait.
Wait, we still have a sniper out there,
and I don't know how he connects.
This is why Ryan Brooks was
trying to kill you, isn't it?
He knew you could cut a
deal on the hacking charges,
like Travis tried to do, and
send him to prison for life.
N-no. Um, this is... It's
just part of the crime.
Do you want to know the whole thing?
Let me get another lawyer... not Burke.
No, no, no, no, no. No, no.
Now, you listen to me.
We've got a sniper on the loose.
We can't wait for you to get a lawyer.
You want to make a deal? Fine.
We'll arrest you, turn you over to the FBI.
Or you can revoke your right to counsel,
tell us the whole ugly story.
We can work on leniency later,
based on your cooperation.
But if while we're standing
here the sniper kills someone,
you're on your own.
So, you have the right to
remain silent and be an idiot
and to get a lawyer and go to
jail for the rest of your life.
Or... you could revoke and help us.
It's up to you.
[Clears throat]
No, wait, wait, wait, wait!
Hold on, hold on.
I revoke.
All right?
[Panting] Now, here's the deal.
When Ryan and I started
Sweet Revenge Online,
we had no idea how much money we could make,
but Ryan knew no matter
what our site took in,
he would make 10 times as
much linking off of it.
What kind of links?
All those reputation services
promising to scrub people's pictures
off of Sweet Revenge Online
in exchange for cash.
Those were Ryan's.
So, he was using your website
as a starting point for blackmail.
People pay.
He just puts the pictures somewhere else.
They pay again.
They pop up again, over and over.
Eventually, people... you know, they just...
They run out of money, or they... give up.
Or commit suicide.
[Sighs]
Hacking just got elevated to extortion.
If Travis was threatening to expose them,
that's motive for his murder.
But who pulled the trigger?
Hmm.
[Dog barking]
Come up slowly with your hands raised.
Slowly so we can see them. Now!
Connor: Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, I'm sitting up, so don't...
don't shoot me, please.
[Barking continues]
[Footsteps approach]
Morning, mom.
Morning, darling.
Find your shooter?
Our sniper, yes.
As it turns out, he was
the son of an army ranger.
His mother committed suicide.
- He's a very troubled young man.
- Hmm.
You're not gonna be
adopting him, too, are you?
Let's discuss this adoption,
because I feel your lack of
enthusiasm from a great distance,
and I'd like to know... what's that about?
Okay.
[Sighs] Right off the bat,
I want you to know
that I understand a lot of
what you're going through.
Dad was a letdown as a husband.
Emily left for New York
to do her ballet thing.
I left for Palo Alto.
I don't make it home all that often.
You work all the time.
It's a recipe for loneliness.
And... and I... mom, I have a lot
of sympathy for you on that score.
And, also, you are
incredibly giving and caring,
but, mom, t-t-that kid,
he is... he's a hustler,
and he's... and a con artist,
and I think that he's
taken advantage of you.
A-and look... look, you did so much for me.
You were tough and honest when I needed it,
and now I think I need
to do the same for you.
I need to take the hit like you did
and... and be the bad guy for
a minute and step in to say
that this is not a good idea.
[Sighs]
May I ask, have you, by any chance,
been talking with your father about this?
Yeah, we talked a few times.
I mean, he's... he's worried about you.
Mom, I'm worried about you. I am.
Like, helping the kid a
little bit, that's great,
but t-t-t-to make him legally your son...
I just... I think that we need
to take a giant step back here,
- and just re-eval...
- Hold on. Hold on.
Before we go back,
I should clear up a big
misunderstanding that you have.
Okay.
I'm not asking your
permission to adopt Rusty,
or Emily's permission.
I see great things in this boy,
and I mean that from the bottom
of my ever-so-lonely heart.
Come on, mom.
You know that I did not mean
loneliness as a criticism.
I was only pointing out the fact...
It's clear what you're pointing out.
Now I'm pointing out to you...
If you don't develop a little human
compassion for this young man
who grew up with none of the advantages
you took for granted every day of your life,
then I'm gonna leave here
wondering where I went wrong as a mother.
Mom. Mom, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.
Hang on.
Look, I-I'm... I'm gonna
have children one day.
So is Emily.
Do you really want your grandkids
calling that boy "Uncle Rusty"?
That is a whole lot better
than what I'm thinking
of calling you right now.
Mom!
Richard William Raydor, you listen to me,
and you listen to me good.
You've got one chance to get this right.
You need to turn your attitude
around right this minute,
because if you make Rusty
feel unwelcome in this family
after all of his and my hard work,
I will be just so... disappointed.
Oh, my God.
I am so disappointed in you right now,
I don't even know what to say.
[Door closes]
Sykes: The attacks look like a
father-son assassination team.
Given his age
and the circumstances of his mother's death,
it's a little easier to understand.
Tao: And though the other guns
from Lieutenant Price's house
didn't match up to the murder,
the sniper rifle we found with Connor...
It was used in both attacks.
The boy has been read his
rights, and he'll talk,
but maybe we shouldn't ask him if he...
No, we have to do this in order.
Flynn: We already know what he's gonna say,
and two confessions could gum up the works.
But they could also be a solution.
Just be ready to follow up with the father.
Amy, let's hear the boy out.
Connor: I killed Travis Hall.
Same way I tried to kill
Scott Ward, but I missed.
And I... I did it on my own,
so my father knows nothing about it.
So, how'd you kill Travis?
I just... I set up on the
building across the street,
and when I saw him in the window, I shot.
It was easy.
What time was that?
I... I don't know.
Sometimes between 11:30 and 12:00.
So, you fired through the window,
and you shot Travis from across the street?
- Yeah.
- Wrong answer.
Travis Hall wasn't killed by a PSG1
but by a handgun, up close.
You didn't have anything to
do with his murder, did you?
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, no, I killed him
from across the street.
Maybe you thought that you were helping
your dad by shooting at this man,
but you're not helping him
or yourself now by lying.
I'm not lying, all right?
No, I killed Travis.
I killed him because he killed my mom.
Your mother committed suicide.
No, he made her do that, all right?!
She... she was fine before, okay?
[Breathing heavily]
And my mother... I never got
the chance to tell her...
[Sniffles] [Voice breaking]
I said some really terrible things to her.
Listen to me, Connor.
I'm a mother, and I promise you,
your mother knew you were sorry.
No, she didn't.
[Sniffles] She didn't know.
If she knew, she wouldn't have jumped.
She did know.
Mothers know, and whatever you
said, no matter how terrible,
that is not why your mother killed herself.
And you're not making things better for her
by saying you killed people when you didn't,
so tell us the truth.
Why did you fire your gun
at those men yesterday?
[Breathing heavily]
Look, [Sniffles] I did kill Travis, okay?
I killed him.
Now, whatever I said before,
I... I was... I mean,
I was just lying about how,
but... but I killed him, okay?
So, you can let my dad go now, okay?
I mean, you have me now,
so... so please, just let him go.
Please.
How much longer am I gonna be held
here without being charged?
Well, we'll be releasing
you soon, Mr. Price.
We have a confession in
the murder of Travis Hall,
and we apprehended the sniper
who also fired upon two other men
while you were in custody
yesterday afternoon.
Same rifle was used in both
shootings, so that's it.
If you don't mind my
asking, who killed Hall?
Oh, well, we're sorry to
have to tell you this, sir,
but it was your son, Connor.
That's not... that's not possible.
He already confessed.
But the good news is since he's 15,
he can't be sentenced as an adult.
No, no, no, no, no. Hold on. Hold on.
Wait. Connor's innocent.
[ Breathing heavily]
If you look closely at
the physical evidence,
you'll see that Hall wasn't
killed by a sniper.
He was shot close-range with a 9mm handgun.
Really? How do you know that?
Because after my wife died,
I couldn't get Travis' face out of my mind,
so I blew it off his head!
That's how I know.
How is this anything except
premeditated murder in the first?
I don't know.
We need to remind you,
- you have the right to remain silent.
- I've already waived!
Okay.
Let's start... with how you gained
entry into Hall's apartment.
It was easy.
I paid one of Hall's whores
to get the security code.
Any particular reason why
you chose a 9mm Ruger?
I set up a computer alert for anything
to do with Sweet Revenge Online,
which pointed me to an
Instagram photo of Scott Ward
waving his Ruger around at a party.
Okay, w... let me get this straight.
Y-you wanted to frame Scott Ward, but first,
you wanted to frame
yourself with a sniper shot?
Why?
So you'd look at me hard
off the bat, and then,
when you found the second bullet,
you'd go after Ward or Ryan Brooks.
I guess I just overestimated
your skill as investigators.
Wait, you had your son fire
upon these other two men
while you were in custody
because you thought you
framed yourself too well?!
No, no. That... [Breathing heavily]
That was never the plan.
He didn't know what I was doing.
Your son did fire at Brooks
and Ward yesterday afternoon.
It's only luck that no one was wounded.
It's not luck!
I taught Connor to shoot,
so if he didn't hit anybody,
he was trying to miss.
Write it all down.
[Sighs]
I looked away from my laptop for one minute.
Yeah? Well, you looked
away from your son, too.
It's getting to be a bad habit for you.
Write it all down, and
we'll see how it checks out.
Then maybe we can help your son.
What will happen to the boy?
Can't just walk away. He endangered lives.
Well, he shouldn't spend the
next 10 years in prison, either,
just for trying to protect a parent.
His impulse was right.
It's the way he acted on it
that requires a response.
Bad impulse control.
That's what keeps us all in business.
Welcome to the L.A.P.D.,
soon-to-be deputy chief Howard.
Welcome to the L.A.P.D.
[Door opens, closes]
Uh, you know, mom,
some day soon, you and Rusty are
gonna have to come to San Francisco
and let me take you to this place.
Got the best dumplings in the world.
Huh.
Well, from all the stuff you've
been inviting us to do tonight,
it sounds like everything's better up north.
How did you manage to
survive growing up here in L.A.?
Well, it's not so bad being here...
You know, if you don't mind
breathing air you can see.
And how would you describe inhaling
all of the fog where you live?
[Laughs]
Funny. He's a funny guy.
Okay.
Funny guy.
I have one question for you...
Before you officially become the
little brother I never wanted.
I'm interested in what
your idea of family is
and what the word means to you... "family."
Well... I guess...
it means that the people in your
life who you've decided t...
to love no matter what,
and the people who are going to
love you back no matter what.
Sharon: Sounds pretty good to me...
Loving each other no matter what.
Not bad.
All right, little brother.
Any questions for me?
Yeah. Uh, just one.
Shoot.
Who cuts your hair?
[Laughs] W-what?
[Snorts]
Don't snort-laugh. I...
[Laughs] Don't be laughing.
I cut my hair.
[Laughing] It saves me tons of money. What?
[Laughing] Well, that explains it.
Oh, oh.
Okay, are... y... all right.
Like a lot of other
decisions I've made recently,
I am... rethinking it.
Thank God. [Laughs]
I am. I'm rethink... stop it.
I'm rethinking it.
Fritz: Have you heard back from the
D.A. about that boy, Connor Price?
Supervised probation and
therapy, living with his aunt.
It's the best we could do.
[Sighs] I guess it is.
Last one.
And thanks for your help.
Maybe an ex-FBI guy can work
out over here after all.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Julio.
I'm gonna say good night to Mike.
Per your instructions, I've
done a complete data dump.
Hey, Mike, could you do me a favor...
And keep what I'm about to tell
you in complete confidence?
Sure.
Even Brenda can't know this, all right?
No kidding around. I got
to know I can trust you.
Of course you can.
I'm taking a back exit.
I need you to meet me downstairs
with two aspirin and a bottle of water,
and then I need you to
drive me to the hospital.
Wait, wait, wait, can you tell
me what the hell is going on?
I'm having a heart attack.
Meet me up front, take me to the ER.
It's St. Louis.
Holy crap.
Holy crap. Holy crap.
Tao: Provenza, if you don't mind.
Thank you.
Seven feet.
Hold onto it, please. Please. Hold on.
Guy liked to party.
Well, looked like the last time the victim
checked his computer was at 2:37 A.M.
You can let go now.
The bullet descended 16 inches
over a downward trajectory of 2.26 degrees.
Provenza: That would put the sniper where?
Clean shot from the roof
of that tall building
across the street, sir.
That could be right.
Could be?
Well, my measurements might be off a little.
All right. Sanchez, go over there
and see if the killer left anything behind.
So, what the heck is Sweet Revenge, anyway?
Our victim, Travis Hall, runs a website
that lets guys get back
at their ex-girlfriends
by posting naked pictures of them online.
It's called revenge porn.
Whatever happened to
scribbling the girl's name
on a bathroom stall?
Well, this seems to pay better.
And the victim's assistant
told patrol he arrived this morning
and found his boss murdered
and himself out of a job.
His alibi's good.
Any reason why his boss would be up
in the middle of the night on his computer?
Why are men ever up late at
night on their computers?
Also, according to neighbors,
Hall had a lot of girlfriends who
came and went at all hours.
The lock on the door is a keypad.
I wonder how many of his
girlfriends had the code?
Are you telling me that women
were interested in this creep?
See? You should never give up.
Buzz: Oh, God.
Come read some of these letters
on the victim's bulletin board.
Sykes: "These photos have ruined my life.
"I'll do anything if you take them down."
Buzz: Look what he wrote underneath.
"You'll do anything? Too late,
dumb bitch. Enjoy your pain."
He put this stuff up
like he was proud of it.
Everyone who wrote this
guy is a potential suspect.
All right, let's take
it all with us, damn it.
Oh, look at this...
An FBI warrant from six weeks ago.
[Scoffs] We've only been here an hour
and we've already caught
up with them, you know?
Maybe all this can be their problem.
[Police radio chatter]
I found a bullet.
And it's from a long rifle,
so maybe a sniper from across the street.
Like everyone said.
Ah, yes. Thank you for picking up.
And how are you this morning,
very special agent Fritz Howard?
My neck is killing me, and my shoulder.
My arm, too.
- Did you hurt yourself?
- I don't think so.
I've been bent over box after
box of inventory I have to label
before officially retiring from the FBI.
Also, moving everything from Wilshire
to the special operations
bureau, that was hard.
I'm a little stressed
out about being a boss.
Sharon: You'll adapt.
Deputy Chief Howard has a nice ring to it.
Thanks.
It's gonna be an interesting change.
Mm. Brenda ends up taking this job
she's been meeting on in Washington,
the whole thing could be
a bit of a juggling act.
But I think we can handle it.
Oh, Sharon. Sharon.
I'll meet you there, Sharon.
Hey, look, I-I cannot pick up Ricky
at the airport by myself. I barely know him.
And... and he does not like me very much.
Why would you say that?
Well, because ever since
you started divorcing Jack,
he's been, like, really
distant on the phone.
Rusty, you and Ricky are
going to be brothers.
Picking each other up at the
airport is what families do.
It'll be fine. Don't worry.
Travis: It's not my fault they're
embarrassed of themselves.
I wasn't there when they undressed,
and I didn't pay anyone to snap the photos.
How is it my fault?
Our investigation concluded
that Sweet Revenge Online
nets over $10 million a year.
How come the bureau hasn't
already shut down this website?
Unfortunately, legally,
it's protected speech.
Women have been physically
threatened by Mr. Hall.
- That's a violation of California law, too.
- No, no, no, no, no.
- We didn't know anything about that
- I could just as easily ask,
- until today.
- "why didn't the L.A.P.D. do anything?"
If the FBI had passed
this information along...
We followed the money, hoping to
shut down the site by identifying
fraud or racketeering.
The pictures themselves don't help us.
What if these photographs
were obtained illegally?
We needed evidence of
either theft or hacking.
We could never get it.
Murder gives the L.A.P.D.
better grounds for a warrant.
You said Sweet Revenge
netted $10 million a year.
How much of that went to
this Travis Hall dirtbag?
Less than 5%.
No, Hall's just the, uh, front man.
Key player is a guy named Scott Ward,
who, uh, may be a little mobbed up.
We've invited Mr. Ward over for a chat.
He's coming with his lawyer.
Alan Burke. Terrible guy.
Regardless, a sniper attack
might make Mr. Ward feel
that his own safety
requires him to cooperate.
I'd be happy to help with that interview.
Better use my FBI connections
while you still can.
Burke: Is this threat to my client?
'Cause we came down
here under the assumption
we'd be helping you find a killer,
not submit information about my client's
legitimate business activities.
The L.A.P.D. thinks these
legitimate business activities
might be a legitimate motive for murder.
Flynn: The sniper who killed your partner,
he might just have you in the
cross hairs too, Mr. Ward.
Okay, first, Travis and I were not partners.
Scott, these are blatant
intimidation techniques.
I'm not intimidated, Alan. I'm freaked out.
Okay? The L.A.P.D. didn't kill Travis, okay?
Look, he might have been the perfect person
to promote Sweet Revenge,
but the website was my idea,
put together with my
investors and my servers.
So if people connected to
it are getting killed...
God.
Same way with Travis' website...
Any likely suspects
among the letter writers?
How about all of them?
And their fathers, too.
I'm telling you, captain,
this Scott Ward guy's not
gonna hang around here forever.
What is taking Tao so long?
No one else could get
this done as fast as Mike.
We just need to hold on.
Okay, for centuries, women
have been dumping men
without a second thought.
We're putting a big dent in that pattern.
And the world's a better place for it.
Flynn: Well, considering
you're providing the planet
with such a noble public service,
how come you stayed out of the spotlight
and let your friend
Travis take all the bows?
Anything to do with all
these threatening letters?
Burke: Successful businesses
attract complaints.
- I have it.
- Interview 1.
We're not concerned about it.
Scott: Besides, you said you
were looking for a sniper.
I mean, do you really think a woman
could do something like this?
I think there could be a line of them.
Look, my client warned Travis
about hanging out with drug dealers,
not to mention all the hookers he had over.
This tragedy is more about Travis' lifestyle
than it is about Scott's business.
Uh-huh.
Well, maybe after the FBI and the L.A.P.D.
Get a good look at your client's servers,
we'll agree with you.
Nice try. But unless you have evidence
of money laundering or racketeering,
federal government's not going
anywhere near my client's servers.
Flynn: This is not about double-checking
your bookkeeping anymore.
This is about murder.
The judge just signed a
warrant granting us permission
to search through all your data.
So if you have any idea who killed Travis,
You know what? You were never interested
- now is a perfect time.
- in having us help you identify suspects.
You know, Alan, I think...
Alan, we should just pro...
No. You, Scott, you're not talking anymore.
You are coming with me... now.
Hey, Scotty.
You don't want to help us,
let me give you some advice...
Stay away from windows.
Scott.
I hate to say it, captain,
but I think we need to keep an eye
on Scott Ward, for safety's sake.
Agreed. Let's get Amy on that.
And roll out S.I.S. She's gonna need backup.
- Sykes.
- Lieutenant.
Talking to the people who wrote letters.
I have a suspect.
That's him, Keith Price. Ex-army ranger.
After his wife's pictures got
posted, she killed herself.
Well, that's good motive.
And army rangers have
mandatory sniper training.
And can hide in plain sight
without leaving a trace behind.
Tao: All right. Before we
turn down sniper alley,
I'd like to check my measurements
against the autopsy,
in case I missed something.
Okay.
Ricky: Hi, mom. [Gasps]
Ricky!
- Hi!
- Hi!
- Oh!
- Oh, my gosh.
Look at you. Oh, my gosh. What is this?
- Got a little scruff. It's cute.
- Thank you.
Uh... boy, you guys got back here quickly.
Yeah. Well, uh, Rusty's...
- He knows his way around the big city.
- Yeah.
I also know how to take directions well.
Lieutenant, do you remember my son Ricky?
Hey. How are you, Ricky?
- Good to see you again. Captain.
- Yeah?
Um... we're going to, uh, hold our ex-ranger
until we can run a background
check on him, okay?
Um, why don't we go into
my office for a moment?
- Sure.
- Rusty, you too. Come on.
Well, my biggest news
is that we're not planning
on going public anymore
because a larger Internet-security
firm offered us a buyout.
Aw, does that mean you're gonna
have to work for someone else?
I don't know. Maybe I'll just,
you know, take the cash and travel.
And I haven't really stopped
since college, right?
And a house and a car only tie you down.
Right, Rusty?
Oh, I don't know.
I've never really thought about that before.
Well, you don't have to, I guess.
And I'd, uh, I'd like to
spend more time in L.A.
- What?
- Yeah, yeah.
I want to take you out
for dinner tonight, mom,
and we could, you know,
talk about the future a little.
I don't think I'm going to
get out of here for dinner.
You're working tonight?
Mom, I just got off the plane.
I thought we were gonna
spend some time together.
I know. I am so sorry.
I have a sniper problem.
Uh, maybe you and Rusty
could grab a bite to eat,
and then we can have breakfast
together tomorrow, I hope.
I'm sorry. I'm...
- Ricky: Yeah.
- Okay.
L-let me just grab my stuff,
and then I'll run you home.
Okay, when S.I.D. pulled
all this crap offline,
instead of shutting down,
the website switched over
to something called...
Ricky: Mirror servers?
- Yeah. Hey, Ricky.
- Andy.
The data will still be intact,
but you're gonna need some help
getting through their firewalls.
Where's Lieutenant Tao?
Provenza: Oh, he's at the morgue
obsessing over bullet trajectories.
Well, mom, these are most likely
load-balanced servers running Apache...
Hi.
Or, uh, maybe Fedora under Linux.
Nothing advanced... I could
probably get these booted up
and reset the root passwords.
Do you guys have someplace
I could plug this stuff in?
Oh, I'm sorry.
Oh, I don't... I don't really need you guys.
I know, honey, but we have
chain-of-custody issues,
- and you're not an officer of the court.
- Gotcha.
And I'll just stay out of your way.
Thanks. Sorry to invade your space.
Turnabout is fair play, right?
[Telephones ringing]
I... I'll just wait in the break room.
Our army ranger has been read his rights
- and has agreed to cooperate.
- Thank you.
Flynn: Don't worry.
We'll keep an eye on Dr. Einstein here
until Mike gets back.
Just don't let your suspect
confess before I get a chance
to look at Sweet Revenge Online's finances.
Mm. Um, lieutenant, if I go long,
will you check on Mike's progress?
All rangers specialize in firearms.
Uh, sorry to interrupt.
Captain Sharon Raydor.
Um, thank you, Lieutenant Price
for agreeing to cooperate...
How's Tao getting back here
from the morgue, oxcart?
I've been told that the pictures
of your wife did not get posted
on Sweet Revenge Online in the usual way.
That's right. They were stolen.
How did that happen?
I've been away from my family
for three of the past five
years, and Kelly... my wife...
Kelly thought the pictures of herself
might... bridge the distance.
Personal pictures, and I
kept them on my laptop.
She sent you these photos by e-mail?
To my private account, yes.
And that would have been the
end of it, except coming home,
I had my laptop out in the airport
when I got a phone call.
I answered it.
I stood up and stretched my
legs for just one minute,
and when I sat back down,
my laptop was gone.
And that's how your wife's
pictures were posted
on the Sweet Revenge website?
Yes.
I tried to have them taken down
before one of the students
in her 9th-grade math class
or another teacher found out,
or my son, who goes to
the same school, saw them.
[Sighs]
I wrote Mr. Hall and explained the
situation to him as best I could.
How'd Mr. Hall respond?
[Sighs]
[Voice breaking] With lewd photos of himself
sent to my wife's e-mail address,
asking what the big deal with nudity was.
So I... I paid one of those
online-reputation services
to make the pictures of Kelly disappear,
and they were taken down
for less than a day.
[Sniffles]
And then someone from her school saw them.
Word got around, and my
son... He saw the pictures.
I tried to explain to him
that this was meant to be
something private between his mom and me...
But he didn't see it that way,
and neither did the principal,
who gave Kelly the choice
between resigning [Sniffles]
And a hearing in front of the school board.
So, that day, on the way home from school,
she pulled the car over, on
the side of the road, and...
She jumped from the Colorado Street Bridge.
Yes. Yes, she did.
[Sniffles]
I looked away from my laptop for one minute,
and the world changed.
[Cellphone beeps]
Do you have any weapons, Lieutenant Price?
Amy says Scott Ward could be on the move.
Where the hell is Tao? Damn it!
I can give you the combination
and consent to search my house.
[Cellphone vibrates]
Hello.
Tao, what are you doing?!
Looking at what is left
of Travis Hall's head.
I was expecting to find a wound
consistent with a 7.62 cartridge
fired from over 50 yards away.
But the bullet entered the cranium 3
1/2 centimeters right of the midline,
and the weapon was placed
directly against the scalp.
There was definitely a sniper
shot from across the street.
Right, and I'm glad I
don't have to explain that,
because that was not the cause of death.
There's circular stippling on the wound
and patches of blood
where the hair was yanked
from your victim's head.
You mean, uh, like he
was... like the killer...
Grabbed the victim from behind.
Right.
Do not pull my hair.
With his left hand, while with the right,
he shot point-blank into
the back of Hall's head.
So, the murder weapon was pointed...
Up, yes, it was.
Ooh.
Oh, my God.
I've just been putting all this
pressure on a man who lost his wife,
and he didn't kill Hall?
Not with a rifle, and here's
the bullet that did the job.
It's from a 9mm handgun.
Okay, so, the same night that
Travis Hall gets his head blown off,
a sniper sets up across the street?
That doesn't make any sense.
Unless someone was trying to mislead us.
Our key suspect has
long-range-weapons training.
Keith Price, angry army vet,
sends a letter threatening
to kill Travis Hall.
Could have been known by everybody
working at Sweet Revenge Online,
including Scott Ward.
All right, subject is moving toward Olive.
This is his third time around the block.
I have to think he's waiting
for something... or someone.
Hey, we got a bogey at the Jaguar.
[Arguing indistinctly]
Scott: Me? You know what
you... you know what you did.
W... hey!
[Gunfire]
Sykes: R-63, shots fired at my location
from the east side of the street.
S.I.S. Units, block off the north side.
Let's go.
[Tires screech]
Should I roll paramedics?
No. They don't look hurt.
Number one has a small-frame
9mm in his possession.
R-63, we have a possible sniper...
Location unknown.
Have responding units set up a
perimeter to the north and south.
I repeat, we have a sniper.
Approach with caution.
Shots were fired at Scott Ward.
And the guy he was with
came from 7.62 cartridges.
Same as the rifle at our first crime scene.
Also the same... our
sniper didn't hit anybody.
But in his coat, Scott Ward had a 9mm
and since Travis Hall was
shot with one of those,
I sent his weapon on to ballistics.
Whatever you can give us,
chief, to catch this sniper.
I've got the entire
neighborhood blocked off,
and S.I.S. is searching it,
along with 30 patrol officers
and two dogs trained in fear scent.
The sniper isn't getting away,
though how he's involved, I don't know.
Tell us about the man who
got into the fight with Ward.
His I.D. says he's Ryan Brooks,
and his name has a flag on it from the FBI.
Well, since he's about
to become a deputy chief,
maybe Agent Howard wouldn't
mind explaining that.
I'll hurry Warden Brooks
through booking for you.
Meanwhile, I'm taking
Sykes back to help Cooper.
I feel the need for a little
in-person supervision.
- Mm-hmm.
- Keep me posted.
Yes, sir.
[Door opens]
Sorry we've gone so late.
Lieutenant Mike is back at the servers now,
so you and Ricky are
cleared to go to dinner.
How does that sound?
Okay.
I'm so sorry.
If I wasn't looking for a sniper,
- you know...
- I-I-it's not your fault.
But we need to rethink
this whole adoption thing,
because Ricky is not into it at all.
A little pushback from siblings is natural.
When I was pregnant with Ricky,
Emily told me several times she
didn't want a little brother.
She was 3.
Oh, they're always 3.
Look, Ricky hasn't thought this through.
I can tell.
I'll talk to him in the
morning, and I'm sure
that whatever issue he has,
we can get it straightened out.
Sharon, I know you're a
great deal maker and...
Hey.
Hey.
Servers are up and running.
Lieutenant Tao can do the rest.
So, I'm ready whenever you are, Rusty.
Have you thought about where you
and Rusty might like to go eat?
Oh, I'm... I'm gonna raid the
refrigerator when I get home.
I'm... I'm pretty tired.
Yeah, it's almost, uh, wow, 9:30.
I'm sorry you have to work late. Mm.
Oh.
See you for breakfast.
- I hope so. Probably, yes.
- Great.
Okay, well, it looks like you
have your work cut out for you,
so good luck.
Thank you, Rusty.
Um, you guys have a great night.
Mm-hmm. Love you.
Love you, too.
Sanchez: It wasn't a fight, exactly.
Ryan Brooks and Scott Ward
pushed each other around in public...
Not very well, but we can still
hold them on battery charges.
Anything the FBI can share
with us about Mr. Brooks?
He invests in high-tech startups.
The FBI investigated him for
tax evasion... got nowhere.
Well, maybe our old friend Scotty, here,
will be more forthcoming now
that somebody is shooting at him.
Plus, Lieutenant Price was in our custody
when the second shooting took place,
so he couldn't have been involved.
I think we should wait
until ballistics is finished
testing all the weapons at his
house before releasing Price.
Someone was framing our
army ranger for a reason.
Maybe Mr. Ward can tell us why.
Provenza: Just to be clear, Scott,
are you waiving your right to an attorney?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Do not call Alan Burke, that bastard.
He's the one that told Ryan I
was getting weak in the knees.
You guarantee my safety,
and I will tell you
whatever you want to know.
Okay. Well, you realize that
the gun that you're concealing,
the Ruger LC9, is the exact
make used to kill Travis?
If I killed Travis with that gun,
do you really think I'd be
stupid enough to carry it on me?
Yeah, I needed it to defend myself.
From Ryan Brooks?
W-why would he want to hurt you?
'Cause that... that idiot
Travis was threatening him,
demanding more money
and saying that if he
didn't get what he wanted,
he was gonna go to the FBI.
About their legitimate business practices.
Ryan answers to powerful people,
people that would be vulnerable
to questionable publicity.
So, that's why you met him on the street,
to talk about a public-relations problem?
No, no, obviously, he wanted
me to go out to his car
so I would be in the open.
It was a setup.
Ryan tried to have me assassinated.
He's pushing the sniper angle.
- Okay.
- So did we.
Except the sniper hasn't killed anyone.
You said why he wanted Travis dead.
Why did he want to kill you?
Because I know how our site
ties to his other sites,
which is where the real money is.
The real money.
W-what do you mean "the real money"?
I'll tell you.
But first, I need immunity.
Get me immunity. I'll tell you everything.
There's nothing to tell! I'm not a killer!
Look, I'm an investor who provides startup
capital for various online enterprises.
Sir, are you saying that... that you had
nothing to do with Travis Hall's death,
nothing to do with the sniper
who shot at Scott Ward this afternoon?
Shot at Scott?!
Scott lured me to his
apartment to have me killed!
You want to give immunity to Scott?!
Give it to me!
I know all of the secrets.
I'm sure we can come to an understanding.
We'll see about that.
Excuse us.
Allow me to present the server
logs for Sweet Revenge Online.
Over and over, you can see they
used buffer overflow, path name,
and SQL injection attacks to exploit
vulnerabilities in e-mail servers.
Buzz.
Uh, Sweet Revenge hacked into
people's computers to steal images.
- Ah. Thank you.
- We got it.
Fritz: The L.A.P.D. got farther in 12 hours
than the FBI did in six months.
You know, I think I'm
gonna like it over here.
Well, to be fair, we had a warrant.
Federal government's
computer fraud and abuse act
makes every instance of
unauthorized access to
and theft from private e-mail
accounts a class "B" felony.
It's punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
There's hundreds of
violations in those records.
And that's not just
leverage. That's justice.
- And Sweet Revenge.
- Sharon: Wait.
Wait, we still have a sniper out there,
and I don't know how he connects.
This is why Ryan Brooks was
trying to kill you, isn't it?
He knew you could cut a
deal on the hacking charges,
like Travis tried to do, and
send him to prison for life.
N-no. Um, this is... It's
just part of the crime.
Do you want to know the whole thing?
Let me get another lawyer... not Burke.
No, no, no, no, no. No, no.
Now, you listen to me.
We've got a sniper on the loose.
We can't wait for you to get a lawyer.
You want to make a deal? Fine.
We'll arrest you, turn you over to the FBI.
Or you can revoke your right to counsel,
tell us the whole ugly story.
We can work on leniency later,
based on your cooperation.
But if while we're standing
here the sniper kills someone,
you're on your own.
So, you have the right to
remain silent and be an idiot
and to get a lawyer and go to
jail for the rest of your life.
Or... you could revoke and help us.
It's up to you.
[Clears throat]
No, wait, wait, wait, wait!
Hold on, hold on.
I revoke.
All right?
[Panting] Now, here's the deal.
When Ryan and I started
Sweet Revenge Online,
we had no idea how much money we could make,
but Ryan knew no matter
what our site took in,
he would make 10 times as
much linking off of it.
What kind of links?
All those reputation services
promising to scrub people's pictures
off of Sweet Revenge Online
in exchange for cash.
Those were Ryan's.
So, he was using your website
as a starting point for blackmail.
People pay.
He just puts the pictures somewhere else.
They pay again.
They pop up again, over and over.
Eventually, people... you know, they just...
They run out of money, or they... give up.
Or commit suicide.
[Sighs]
Hacking just got elevated to extortion.
If Travis was threatening to expose them,
that's motive for his murder.
But who pulled the trigger?
Hmm.
[Dog barking]
Come up slowly with your hands raised.
Slowly so we can see them. Now!
Connor: Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, I'm sitting up, so don't...
don't shoot me, please.
[Barking continues]
[Footsteps approach]
Morning, mom.
Morning, darling.
Find your shooter?
Our sniper, yes.
As it turns out, he was
the son of an army ranger.
His mother committed suicide.
- He's a very troubled young man.
- Hmm.
You're not gonna be
adopting him, too, are you?
Let's discuss this adoption,
because I feel your lack of
enthusiasm from a great distance,
and I'd like to know... what's that about?
Okay.
[Sighs] Right off the bat,
I want you to know
that I understand a lot of
what you're going through.
Dad was a letdown as a husband.
Emily left for New York
to do her ballet thing.
I left for Palo Alto.
I don't make it home all that often.
You work all the time.
It's a recipe for loneliness.
And... and I... mom, I have a lot
of sympathy for you on that score.
And, also, you are
incredibly giving and caring,
but, mom, t-t-that kid,
he is... he's a hustler,
and he's... and a con artist,
and I think that he's
taken advantage of you.
A-and look... look, you did so much for me.
You were tough and honest when I needed it,
and now I think I need
to do the same for you.
I need to take the hit like you did
and... and be the bad guy for
a minute and step in to say
that this is not a good idea.
[Sighs]
May I ask, have you, by any chance,
been talking with your father about this?
Yeah, we talked a few times.
I mean, he's... he's worried about you.
Mom, I'm worried about you. I am.
Like, helping the kid a
little bit, that's great,
but t-t-t-to make him legally your son...
I just... I think that we need
to take a giant step back here,
- and just re-eval...
- Hold on. Hold on.
Before we go back,
I should clear up a big
misunderstanding that you have.
Okay.
I'm not asking your
permission to adopt Rusty,
or Emily's permission.
I see great things in this boy,
and I mean that from the bottom
of my ever-so-lonely heart.
Come on, mom.
You know that I did not mean
loneliness as a criticism.
I was only pointing out the fact...
It's clear what you're pointing out.
Now I'm pointing out to you...
If you don't develop a little human
compassion for this young man
who grew up with none of the advantages
you took for granted every day of your life,
then I'm gonna leave here
wondering where I went wrong as a mother.
Mom. Mom, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.
Hang on.
Look, I-I'm... I'm gonna
have children one day.
So is Emily.
Do you really want your grandkids
calling that boy "Uncle Rusty"?
That is a whole lot better
than what I'm thinking
of calling you right now.
Mom!
Richard William Raydor, you listen to me,
and you listen to me good.
You've got one chance to get this right.
You need to turn your attitude
around right this minute,
because if you make Rusty
feel unwelcome in this family
after all of his and my hard work,
I will be just so... disappointed.
Oh, my God.
I am so disappointed in you right now,
I don't even know what to say.
[Door closes]
Sykes: The attacks look like a
father-son assassination team.
Given his age
and the circumstances of his mother's death,
it's a little easier to understand.
Tao: And though the other guns
from Lieutenant Price's house
didn't match up to the murder,
the sniper rifle we found with Connor...
It was used in both attacks.
The boy has been read his
rights, and he'll talk,
but maybe we shouldn't ask him if he...
No, we have to do this in order.
Flynn: We already know what he's gonna say,
and two confessions could gum up the works.
But they could also be a solution.
Just be ready to follow up with the father.
Amy, let's hear the boy out.
Connor: I killed Travis Hall.
Same way I tried to kill
Scott Ward, but I missed.
And I... I did it on my own,
so my father knows nothing about it.
So, how'd you kill Travis?
I just... I set up on the
building across the street,
and when I saw him in the window, I shot.
It was easy.
What time was that?
I... I don't know.
Sometimes between 11:30 and 12:00.
So, you fired through the window,
and you shot Travis from across the street?
- Yeah.
- Wrong answer.
Travis Hall wasn't killed by a PSG1
but by a handgun, up close.
You didn't have anything to
do with his murder, did you?
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, no, I killed him
from across the street.
Maybe you thought that you were helping
your dad by shooting at this man,
but you're not helping him
or yourself now by lying.
I'm not lying, all right?
No, I killed Travis.
I killed him because he killed my mom.
Your mother committed suicide.
No, he made her do that, all right?!
She... she was fine before, okay?
[Breathing heavily]
And my mother... I never got
the chance to tell her...
[Sniffles] [Voice breaking]
I said some really terrible things to her.
Listen to me, Connor.
I'm a mother, and I promise you,
your mother knew you were sorry.
No, she didn't.
[Sniffles] She didn't know.
If she knew, she wouldn't have jumped.
She did know.
Mothers know, and whatever you
said, no matter how terrible,
that is not why your mother killed herself.
And you're not making things better for her
by saying you killed people when you didn't,
so tell us the truth.
Why did you fire your gun
at those men yesterday?
[Breathing heavily]
Look, [Sniffles] I did kill Travis, okay?
I killed him.
Now, whatever I said before,
I... I was... I mean,
I was just lying about how,
but... but I killed him, okay?
So, you can let my dad go now, okay?
I mean, you have me now,
so... so please, just let him go.
Please.
How much longer am I gonna be held
here without being charged?
Well, we'll be releasing
you soon, Mr. Price.
We have a confession in
the murder of Travis Hall,
and we apprehended the sniper
who also fired upon two other men
while you were in custody
yesterday afternoon.
Same rifle was used in both
shootings, so that's it.
If you don't mind my
asking, who killed Hall?
Oh, well, we're sorry to
have to tell you this, sir,
but it was your son, Connor.
That's not... that's not possible.
He already confessed.
But the good news is since he's 15,
he can't be sentenced as an adult.
No, no, no, no, no. Hold on. Hold on.
Wait. Connor's innocent.
[ Breathing heavily]
If you look closely at
the physical evidence,
you'll see that Hall wasn't
killed by a sniper.
He was shot close-range with a 9mm handgun.
Really? How do you know that?
Because after my wife died,
I couldn't get Travis' face out of my mind,
so I blew it off his head!
That's how I know.
How is this anything except
premeditated murder in the first?
I don't know.
We need to remind you,
- you have the right to remain silent.
- I've already waived!
Okay.
Let's start... with how you gained
entry into Hall's apartment.
It was easy.
I paid one of Hall's whores
to get the security code.
Any particular reason why
you chose a 9mm Ruger?
I set up a computer alert for anything
to do with Sweet Revenge Online,
which pointed me to an
Instagram photo of Scott Ward
waving his Ruger around at a party.
Okay, w... let me get this straight.
Y-you wanted to frame Scott Ward, but first,
you wanted to frame
yourself with a sniper shot?
Why?
So you'd look at me hard
off the bat, and then,
when you found the second bullet,
you'd go after Ward or Ryan Brooks.
I guess I just overestimated
your skill as investigators.
Wait, you had your son fire
upon these other two men
while you were in custody
because you thought you
framed yourself too well?!
No, no. That... [Breathing heavily]
That was never the plan.
He didn't know what I was doing.
Your son did fire at Brooks
and Ward yesterday afternoon.
It's only luck that no one was wounded.
It's not luck!
I taught Connor to shoot,
so if he didn't hit anybody,
he was trying to miss.
Write it all down.
[Sighs]
I looked away from my laptop for one minute.
Yeah? Well, you looked
away from your son, too.
It's getting to be a bad habit for you.
Write it all down, and
we'll see how it checks out.
Then maybe we can help your son.
What will happen to the boy?
Can't just walk away. He endangered lives.
Well, he shouldn't spend the
next 10 years in prison, either,
just for trying to protect a parent.
His impulse was right.
It's the way he acted on it
that requires a response.
Bad impulse control.
That's what keeps us all in business.
Welcome to the L.A.P.D.,
soon-to-be deputy chief Howard.
Welcome to the L.A.P.D.
[Door opens, closes]
Uh, you know, mom,
some day soon, you and Rusty are
gonna have to come to San Francisco
and let me take you to this place.
Got the best dumplings in the world.
Huh.
Well, from all the stuff you've
been inviting us to do tonight,
it sounds like everything's better up north.
How did you manage to
survive growing up here in L.A.?
Well, it's not so bad being here...
You know, if you don't mind
breathing air you can see.
And how would you describe inhaling
all of the fog where you live?
[Laughs]
Funny. He's a funny guy.
Okay.
Funny guy.
I have one question for you...
Before you officially become the
little brother I never wanted.
I'm interested in what
your idea of family is
and what the word means to you... "family."
Well... I guess...
it means that the people in your
life who you've decided t...
to love no matter what,
and the people who are going to
love you back no matter what.
Sharon: Sounds pretty good to me...
Loving each other no matter what.
Not bad.
All right, little brother.
Any questions for me?
Yeah. Uh, just one.
Shoot.
Who cuts your hair?
[Laughs] W-what?
[Snorts]
Don't snort-laugh. I...
[Laughs] Don't be laughing.
I cut my hair.
[Laughing] It saves me tons of money. What?
[Laughing] Well, that explains it.
Oh, oh.
Okay, are... y... all right.
Like a lot of other
decisions I've made recently,
I am... rethinking it.
Thank God. [Laughs]
I am. I'm rethink... stop it.
I'm rethinking it.
Fritz: Have you heard back from the
D.A. about that boy, Connor Price?
Supervised probation and
therapy, living with his aunt.
It's the best we could do.
[Sighs] I guess it is.
Last one.
And thanks for your help.
Maybe an ex-FBI guy can work
out over here after all.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Julio.
I'm gonna say good night to Mike.
Per your instructions, I've
done a complete data dump.
Hey, Mike, could you do me a favor...
And keep what I'm about to tell
you in complete confidence?
Sure.
Even Brenda can't know this, all right?
No kidding around. I got
to know I can trust you.
Of course you can.
I'm taking a back exit.
I need you to meet me downstairs
with two aspirin and a bottle of water,
and then I need you to
drive me to the hospital.
Wait, wait, wait, can you tell
me what the hell is going on?
I'm having a heart attack.
Meet me up front, take me to the ER.
It's St. Louis.
Holy crap.
Holy crap. Holy crap.