S.W.A.T. (2017–…): Season 3, Episode 9 - Sea Legs - full transcript

Ah.

I'm sorry for
calling so late,

but I don't do my first
bump till midnight.

I'm not here to party,

but if you still have a girl
for sale, I'm interested.

How much can you afford?

Depends on her age.

15. Bulgarian.

She's got those blue eyes,
and the skin of a doll's.

Beautiful, huh?

She's a steal for 60 grand.



50.
I can give you 25 tonight,

another 25 after
she turns a profit.

Man speaks bulgarian...

Let's go.

Your name is Kella Prodic?

You came to this country
ten years ago

from the village of Ozora?

It was 12 years ago,
but yes.

I have a cousin
in Ozora.

He says
no one's ever heard of you.

Ozora is a big village.

Not that big.

Search it.

Jakob, what the hell is this?



Wait, you called me. I'm just
trying to do business here.

Light it.

You always have
cigarettes,

but I never
see you smoke.

What's this?

A microphone?

Jakob,
it's not what you think.

What are you?
Some kind of spy for one of my rivals?

No. I swear.

No!

You better do this
before I change my mind.

I know that's not supposed
to be that funny,

but that's funny.

You know,
of all the tac gear we tested

at the SHOT Show
in Vegas last month,

these vendors were
our favorites.

Yeah,
we invited them out to L.A.,

so you and Hondo
could judge for yourselves.

Appreciate you guys
setting this up.

Besides hitting the SHOT Show,

what other kind of trouble did
you guys get into in Sin City?

Mm, mm, mm.
Strictly business.

We hit the floor bright
and early every day.

Yeah, I'm sure you guys
kept a rigid curfew.

So how much did you drop
at the roulette table?

Oh, nice, Deac, accuse the Asian
of having a gambling problem.

So a couple grand, huh?

Hey, me, Luca and Tan
were just private citizens

enjoying the scenery,

maybe contributing to
the local economy.

All right,
so we've got enough

in the budget
for this quarter

for one new piece of equipment.

So let's, uh,
test these out in the field

and may the best gear win.

All right.

Trisha.

Hey. This is Sergeant Kay.

- Sergeant.
- Hi.

Thank you so much for the
opportunity to have LAPD SWAT

test our newest NVGs.

Where's Luca?

Luca is in San Francisco seeing
a specialist for a hip injury.

He reinjured it a few weeks back.

We talked about getting drinks
while I was in town.

I'll have to text him,
see how he's doing.

I'm sure he'd love to hear
from you. So, Trisha,

why don't you tell me
what sets your NVGs apart

from the ones we currently use
in the field.

Well, these are the first

night-vision goggles combined
with thermal imagery,

giving the wearer
a 360-degree view.

They basically give you eyes
in the back of your head.

You got me.

Nice.

Well, color me impressed.

Our refracting mirror technology
is ten times better

than any NVG on the market.

All right, well, we'll, uh,
we'll test it out in the field

- and get back to you.
- Can't wait to hear what you think.

Oh.

What's happening, Commander?

This is Sergeant Ben Sikora,
LAPD Organized Crime.

He's got a code red situation

involving one of his officers
working undercover.

At approximately 0030
this morning,

one of my undercover officers,
Ava Ilic,

met with suspects
who run a sex trafficking ring

- and disappeared.
- What about surveillance?

Anyone from your team
got eyes on her?

Ava got a call
from one of the suspects

requesting a last-minute meeting.

She called me en route to a brothel

located in Echo Park,

but she never sent me the address.

- Any pings from her phone?
- Zero.

Ava's cell and her secret
recording device both went dark

at the exact same time this crew
ditched all their cell phones.

Who is the crew?

Jakob Varga. Got a
long list of felony priors.

He's the top dog
of a pack of Hungarians.

Organized Crime's been
after him for six months.

Laszlo Kithclo.

Dragan Vilic. Zeno Noche.

These are Varga's enforcers.

Known on the streets as "Bal Kez,"

which in Hungarian means
"the left hands."

In certain verses of the Bible,
the left hand

is considered to be the evil hand.

And believe me,
these guys live up to the name.

Varga's boys

are mainly known for moving
high quantities of club drugs.

A year ago, Organized Crime
received intel

that they extended their operation
into sex-trafficking

teenage, even preteen girls.

- How long has Ava been undercover?
- Three months.

Ava's Serbian... she's got the
look, she knows the language.

We had her posing as a madam

looking to buy some girls
to start her own brothel.

And you got some of your team
sitting on the Hungarian LKAs?

Yeah, but so far, no sign
of Varga or his soldiers.

All right, where do we start?

This is my surveillance log.

It's a list of bars
and clubs Bal Kez

- either runs or is known to frequent.
- All right.

Let's suit up, start blasting
off hinges until we find her.

Becker, thanks for filling in for Luca.

My pleasure.
Hope he's better soon.

That makes all of us.

First place we hit is Fero's.
It's a hipster dive in Los Feliz

that Varga called
before he dumped his phone.

Intel shows Varga's a silent
partner in the bar where Bal Kez

sells bad cocaine
and counterfeit Gucci bags.

I've chased a lot
of Eastern European crews,

but this outfit is the most
vicious I've ever seen.

I don't want to imagine
what they're doing to Ava

if her cover's blown.

You can ask these guys
and they'll tell you,

I don't go preaching at work,

but I don't think it's in
God's plan to let Ava die today.

I haven't been to church
in years,

but if we get Ava back,
I'll join your parish's choir.

Ava's parents
are heading down here.

I need a point person
to act as liaison.

Sir, I can handle the parents.

Excellent. Thanks, Alonso.

Volunteering for bad news duty,
that's pretty righteous of you.

LAPD Vice has raided
this bar before.

According to their report,

it's got
reinforced steel doors.

- Damn, what's that?
- It's called a "door-blower,"

straight from the SHOT Show,
baby.

- Let's go.
- Wait till you see what it does.

Street, you're up.

- Ready to rock, Hondo.
- Go.

LAPD! You drop that bag!

- We've got a warrant.
- Right side clear.

Jakob Varga. Where is he?

I just run the bar.

Got to be
at least 200 grand here.

Your tips? Must be mixing
the baddest drinks in town.

Okay, listen, full disclosure,

Varga called me,
said get the cash from the safe

and get it ready
for Danika to pick up.

- Who's Danika?
- His girlfriend.

All right,
she should be here any minute.

No sign of Ava.

All right,
let's lose the rigs outside.

We're expecting
a visitor.

Be advised,
suspect approaching the bar now.

LAPD!

Turn off the vehicle,
place your hands on the dash!

Lady, turn off the car!

Tires!

Keep your hands on the wheel!
Deacon, go.

Out of the car, out of the car.

Let's go.

Where's Jakob Varga?

Ava?

Girl speaking Bulgarian...

Sikora speaks Bulgarian...

It's okay, it's okay.
You're safe.

I got you. I got you, come on.

- I got you, I got you.
- Speaking Bulgarian...

What's she saying?

"Thank God for sending you."

*S.W.A.T *
Season 03 Episode 09

*S.W.A.T *
Episode Title : "Lion's Den"

Undocumented immigrant from Albania.

According to Organized Crime,

you're Varga's number one girl,

and we caught you trying
to pick up a bag of cash

so you could split town
together.

What about that girl
tied up in your trunk?

No sympathy for her or the
others Varga sells as sex slaves?

Jakob took me from my village
when I was 15.

Five years, I worked
in one of his brothels.

Was I sad?

No.
I wanted to be his best earner,

his most beautiful,

and I was.

A year ago,
he took me off my back

and put me by his side.

Back in my village,

I had nothing.

Now
I have a condo,

nice clothes, drive a Maserati.

Thanks to him, you're about to
be living in a ten-by-ten cell.

You don't owe him anything.

The girl in my trunk,
she's better off here.

Just like I was.

Her name's Juliana.

She was snatched from her
village in Bulgaria a month ago.

Smuggled over in a shipping
container with three other girls.

How old is she?

15.
The others were 14.

Does she have any idea
where Varga is?

Or remember any place
they took her?

She was blindfolded and moved
around in the trunks of cars.

She doesn't have a clue.

She's suffering from PTSD.

With everything
she's been through,

it's no wonder.

We need to get her to a hospital
for a rape kit,

pregnancy
and STD tests.

I told her to go with you,
to the doctor.

No. You keep it.

And what's gonna happen to her?

Because she's an undocumented
minor, I have to alert

Social Services.

Anything out of
Varga's girlfriend?

Besides her demented take
on the American Dream? No.

But we found something
in her purse.

It's a barbershop in Echo Park
owned by Jovan Balic,

immigrated from
Belgrade 20 years ago.

Priors for stolen
goods and pandering.

- Check out the back.
- We ran the number.

Belongs to a burner phone
that was deactivated

- right after Ava disappeared.
- What do the words mean?

"Virgin skin, good prices."

Lovely.
Danika must have

been handing these out
to potential customers.

When Ava last called you,
she said

she was meeting Varga
and his crew at Echo Park.

I bet that barbershop's
just a brothel

for Varga to
supply girls to.

You know the place?

No. It wasn't ever on our radar.

Well, now it's on ours.

Alonso.

This is George and Lexi Ilic,
Ava's parents.

Chris Alonso.

I'm sorry I'm meeting you
under these circumstances.

You're in good hands with her.

Ava.
Do you have any news?

We haven't located her yet,
but we arrested a suspect

who we're hoping can point us
in the right direction.

We knew
Ava worked undercover,

but she said there were
safeguards in place.

- What happened?
- I know this is hard.

Please follow me.

I'll be in and out with my team,
but you're welcome

to stay here
as long as you want.

And I'll update you as
soon as I learn something.

Thank you.

Ava's our only daughter.

When she joined
the police,

it wasn't exactly the career

we pictured for her.

But we supported her.

Just wish she would've told us

how dangerous
this job really was.

She was just trying to keep you
from worrying about her.

I got to get back to my
team, but I'll come back

and check on both of you.

Promise us you'll find her.

I can't make any promises,

but believe me,
we're doing everything we can.

Okay.

It's okay.

You got to try this thing.
From the SHOT Show?

X-1 Baton rifle. Each round
has the kinetic energy

- of five shotgun slugs.
- Deacon, you,

Tan and Becker take the three
side, clear it top to bottom.

The rest of you are with me.
Let's move.

LAPD.

Drop the blade!

- Out. Get out.
- Drop it.

The girls.
Where are the girls?

I'm just a barber.

We got a warrant.

Barber my ass.

Deacon, we got a rabbit.
Chris, flex-cuff him.

Street, two!

- Go, go, go, go, go!
- Hands behind your back.

LAPD SWAT!

Drop your weapon!

I'd give it a nine.

Check this out.

Move.

Next room.

Tan, kick it.

Left side clear.
Right side clear.

Two, two, two. LAPD!

On the ground!
On the ground now!

Hands behind your head!

Check with him.
Take them to Cienaga South,

notify Dr. Wendy Hughes
you got more female victims.

- Yes, sir.
- Have you ever seen this woman?

No. Never.

Listen,

I'm telling you,
I never hurt those girls.

We found something.

Get the barber back in here.

Roger that.
Let's go.

Ava's purse,

gun and cell are gone.

Her lighter.

It was her recording device.

If Varga found her
surveillance mic,

he knows she's either
a cop or a snitch.

Where the hell is Varga?

Him and his guys came this morning,

wanting money I owed him.

Said he was leaving town.

Did Varga have this girl
with him?

Yes.

He said she was patkány.

A rat.

The, uh, bathroom's
through there.

Take him to holding.

What are you doing out here?

That man,

is he involved in Ava's case?

He's a suspect
we picked up from a brothel

that Bal Kez sold girls to.

The Hungarian gang?

I've read about them
in the paper.

That's who Ava
was undercover with?

I'm not supposed
to share any details.

We're hoping
she's hiding somewhere

until she can get us
a message.

- And if she isn't?
- Listen, just...

...just stay by your
wife's side and stay strong.

All right?
Can you do that for me?

Yes. Uh...

Of course. Sorry.

You know, that's about the tenth
time I've seen you check that.

I keep waiting for it
to ring and it's Ava,

telling me she's safe.

I've spent ten years

in Organized Crime running
undercover operations

and never once
lost an officer in the field.

Look, man, I know this
has you all twisted,

but this wasn't her
first time undercover.

She knew the dangers.

She trusted me to make
the calls to keep her safe.

And I let her down.

If you didn't think
she could handle it,

you would've called off
the meet.

I just wanted Varga so bad.

Maybe
it clouded my judgment.

And then when she called me,
I-I should've,

I should've told her
to turn around.

N-Now I can't even
face her parents.

When Street first
joined my team,

he went undercover
to bust a crew of car thieves.

We lost him for a while.

Just like Ava,
all his comms went dark.

What happened?

We barely got his ass back.

But I waited
until we got Street back safely

before I beat myself up
about it.

Get your head
back in the game,

because right now,
Ava needs you.

The girls we found at the
barbershop, how are they doing?

Physically, they'll heal fine.

Mentally, it could take years.

What I wouldn't give
for five minutes alone

in a dark alley with Varga.

- All I'd need is four.
- I'm not sure

if this means anything,
but the girls mentioned

being blindfolded and put
into trunks with bags of coffee

whenever they were
being transported.

Wait a second.
In Danika's Maserati,

wasn't there, like, 50 pounds
of coffee in the trunk?

Didn't you guys bust a suspect

named Petavich
at the brothel earlier?

Yeah. Yeah, he posted bail
about a half hour ago. Why?

Well, we just got a call.
There's a barricade situation

at his home.

I swear.

Don't lie to me!

Tell me where my daughter is.

It's George Ilic, Ava's dad.

He's got Petavich hostage?

30-David.

Hold your fire.
Our suspect is Ava's father.

I'm going in.
I can talk to him.

Negative.
He's not an innocent civilian.

He's a suspect with a gun.

You want to talk him down,

you do it from here.

My wife, she died.

I've been all alone,
so I see a girl once a week.

- We mostly just talk.
- This girl.

Did she say anything
about my daughter?

No, no. But she told me once
that Varga

took off her blindfold
somewhere in a back room

where she met an old man
grinding coffee

while reciting her poetry.

George, it's Officer Alonso.

Don't come in here.
I'll kill him!

SWAT has the house surrounded.

We need you to put down the gun
so no one gets hurt.

Why should I listen to you?

You haven't found Ava.
Maybe I can.

George, we've got new intel
on Ava's whereabouts.

By doing this,
you're just slowing us down

from finding her.

Think about your family.

You want to make your wife
a widow?

If you don't put down your gun,
SWAT will

put you down!

That's the last thing
anybody wants.

Especially Ava.

Come on.

Put it down.

Suspect's unarmed.

LAPD!

LAPD!
Down on the ground! Do it now!

Hands behind your back.

30-David.
Suspect neutralized.

Ava's father may have
put her in more danger.

The only way he would have known

about the Hungarians' involvement

is if you told him.
Am I wrong?

George happened to see Petavich
when we hauled him in.

And when he saw him,
he asked if he was responsible

for his daughter's disappearance.

- Maybe he saw it on my face.
- Damn it!

- What were you thinking?
- I wasn't gonna lie to him.

I mean, what if it was one of
your kids who was kidnapped?

Wouldn't you want to know
who was responsible?

Don't throw hypotheticals at me.
You screwed up.

Then punish me.

- Not Ava's dad.
- Please.

It's too late for that now.

If you read my jacket, you know
my mom died when I was 13.

I know every word
in your jacket.

Your mother was killed
in an accident on the 5 Freeway.

I'm sorry, but what does that
have to do with this?

When I was in the seventh grade,
a cop pulled me out of class

and drove me down
to Hollenbeck Station.

He parked me on a bench,
where I waited for an hour.

Then these two other officers
were walking by,

talking about a woman
who got turned into highway hamburger.

- Oh, geez...
- Laughing about how sorry they felt

for the Caltrans team who had
to scrape her off the road.

Then they finally noticed me
and asked me for my name.

When I told them Alonso,

they could barely
look me in the eyes

when they told me
it was my mom who died.

It's a shame you had to hear it
that way.

When I became police,
I swore nothing like that

would ever happen
on my watch.

I was just trying to be honest

and respectful
to Ava's parents.

All right, yeah, it's...

Get back to the team.

And let's bring Ava back
alive.

What's with the history books?

So we found coffee
in Danika's trunk.

The Serbian girls
then told Dr. Wendy

something about
laying on bags of coffee.

And then Petavich admitted that

the girl he visited in the brothel

met an old Hungarian man
who was grinding coffee.

So we got to thinking
there's got to be a connection, right?

We started digging and found this guy.

Anton Boros. Came over
from Hungary in '79

after being released from prison
for killing a business rival.

Boros... he was a nasty piece
of work back in the day.

Considered the Hungarian
godfather of L.A.

He's been off LAPD's radar
for a decade.

Organized Crime never
got enough to indict him.

Assumed he was inactive.

A gangster who happily retired?
That doesn't happen very often.

What's Boros up to now?

He owns a café in Echo Park,

specializing in Hungarian coffee.

So Boros isn't as retired
as everyone thought.

LAPD SWAT, ma'am.
He's closed.

You ever seen her?

Never.

What's your relationship
to Bal Kez, Jakob Varga?

Are you helping them
smuggle underage girls here

- from the old country?
- You have the wrong person.

- I'm running a café.
- Yeah?

Then what's this bad boy for?

- Security system.
- Her name is Ava Ilic.

She disappeared yesterday,
and we think that Varga and his boys

are keeping her hostage.

Ilic.

Serbian, hmm?

Well, I'm sorry for her family,

but I have no idea
what you're talking about.

All the years that
you outsmarted the cops

and never spent a night
in jail.

It'd be a damn shame
if you spent the last years

of your life in prison
for somebody else's crimes.

If I tell you all I know
about Jakob Varga,

I won't be arrested?

Deal of a lifetime.

I am not part of Bal Kez.

I-I supply the coffee
to mask the smell,

so the girls don't know
where they're coming from.

- And where's that?
- The Salton Sea.

Alkaline beds.

Dead fish.

Is Ava there?
Is she still alive?

I don't know,

but a girl so pretty,

he wouldn't just
throw her away.

No. She's too valuable.

This is 20-David to Command.

Tell air support
we need the hawk ready to fly.

The Salton Sea

Thought all they had here

was hippie burnouts and meth heads.

- That and Coachella.
- I'm telling you guys,

the Sea's got nothing but bad juju.

I didn't take you for
the superstitious type, Becker.

All right, Boros owns ten
acres in an area called Bombay Beach.

It's an old resort turned
ghost town.

Barely any residents
or police presence.

There's dozens of abandoned
buildings on the property.

Varga and his boys could be
holding Ava in any one of them.

So we're gonna touch down
a half mile out, move in on foot

and then we take them by surprise.

Who's game for 360 NVGs?

Deac?

We're passing over the
Salton Sea now, Sergeant.

Miklos is
coming from Vegas.

He's got a new
underground club.

Gonna buy all three
for a cut-rate.

I threw the snitch in for free.

We got to make you
look presentable.

The plane is all set?

We leave at midnight.
Private charter.

Palm Springs to Vancouver,
then to Budapest.

Sheriff Perry.

I appreciate the welcome to your
turf and y'all having our backs.

Pleasure's mine, Sergeant.

Only one main road
in and out of here.

I got deputies stationed on
both ends.

That's good to know.

I'll hit you on the radio as
soon as we locate the suspects.

Calvary's waiting,
hammers cocked.

All right, let's move!

Deacon, you and Stevens
take the east.

Tan, you and Becker south.

Me, Street and Sikora
will search the north.

We don't want them
to know we're coming,

so use your NVGs
instead of tac-lights.

- Everybody set?
- Set.

Let's get it done.

Sikora, cover right.

- Engine's still warm.
- Check the plates.

Hondo.

Registered to Varga's girlfriend.

Street, cover me.

Deac and Tan, we got possible
location of the suspects.

The Low Dive bar.
Requesting backup.

Street, take the three side.
Me and Sikora got the one.

Sikora, let's go.

Get the converters.

26-David, on the three side.

- If those are cops,
- Yes.

- They'll have to shoot through you.
- No! No!

Ava!

What are you doing?
Get back!

- We got shots fired!
- On our way, Hondo.

Street, you got any movement
on the three side?

Negative, Hondo.

LAPD!

- Right side clear!
- Left side clear!

Hondo...

26-David, I've got eyes

on four male suspects
and a female

coming out an escape hatch
50 yards out,

splitting up in all directions.

Those shots were just a diversion.
They took Ava.

Sergeant, I need you to stay
with the girls

in case they circle back.

The rest of us, fan out.
Let's find them.

LAPD! Drop your weapon!

We got shots fired!

Keep your tac-lights off.
We don't want to be targets.

Tan, Becker, you take
suspect one left side.

Stevens, you're with me
on the right side.

Becker,
I've got a runner.

LAPD! Drop your weapon!

Suspect down!

Stevens, down!

30-David,
suspect down.

Cover!

Two suspects sighted
on the west end.

Varga's got Ava.

Street, you're on Dragan...
he went right.

- I'm on Varga, move!
- Got 'em.

Varga!

Give it up!
You got no place to go!

Ava, now!

Suspect down.

George,
they found her.

Please tell me.

Ava's safe
and is being medevacked

to a hospital as we speak.

Thank God.

Sorry, but you have to be taken
to men's central and booked.

I'm gonna do everything
I can to help.

At least my daughter
is alive.

Thank you.

Hondo, you and your team
did one hell of a deed

out there tonight.

Pleasure's ours, sir.

Out of all the gear
we tried out in the field,

these are the winners.

I'll call Trisha, tell her
we're gonna put in an order.

Big sale to SWAT...
bet Trisha rewards Luca

big-time
when they go on that date.

Well, speaking of Luca,
the specialist up

in San Francisco said
it's not just his hip...

he's having complications
with his back,

so, they're gonna have to keep him
up there a while longer.

How much longer?

Well, I don't know.

Depends on the results.

All right, listen up.

We all reach out to Luca,
and we show him some love.

Deac, next time
you talk to God,

tell him
I appreciated the help.

Hey, listen,
there's choir practice at my parish

every Saturday at 5:30.

I can't sing a lick,
don't think you'd want me.

How about a cold beer, then?

I wish I could, but some of us
have more paperwork than others.

Understood.

Pleasure working with you.

Alonso!

Commander.

The odds of getting Ava back
alive weren't in her favor.

- How's she doing?
- Good.

- Considering what she's been through.
- Good.

I just got back from the hospital.

Her mom's by her side.

I wish her dad was, too.

George Ilic used a gun
to take a man hostage.

That hostage had sex
numerous times

with underage girls
brought to this country

in shipping containers.

The D.A. won't just
sweep this under the rug.

Sir,
regardless of what happened,

I'm still an advocate for
Ava's family.

Assistant District Attorney
Kemper is handling

the charges against Ava's father.

Now, I phoned and suggested
they be dropped down to misdemeanors,

but Kemper didn't seem
too willing to budge.

Maybe
you can convince him.

Thanks.

Should we be worried
about Luca?

Nah, he'll be back
in no time.

Guy's indestructible.

Listen,
for you guys at your age,

it's easy to take a hit
and jump right back,

but for the rest of us...

What, are you "Old Man Deacon"
now?

Nah, I'm just saying.
Once you hit 35,

it gets harder and harder
to bounce back, that's all.

Those little aches and pains
that you used to laugh off?

Now they got you
limping for a week.

Oh, come on, Deac,
we know you and Luca both

got a couple more decades
in you.

Nah, the only thing
I know is that

there's an expiration date
for all us doing this job.

And sometimes,

you see the end coming straight
at you and sometimes...

it sneaks up on your six.

Thought you went
home and crashed.

Nah, I had some paperwork
I had to finish up.

More responsibility,
more work.

I feel you.

Be careful what you wish for,
right?

Yeah...

Listen, I hope after all of this,

you take some vacation days,
get your head right.

I already put in for six weeks.

I haven't taken leave for years,
but my wife's always

wanted to rent an RV,
head across country.

Hey, listen, man.

Thank you.

Nah, come on, man.

Getting Ava back
was a team effort.

No.

I mean for your honesty.

I've done countless

undercover missions
and I never once cracked.

I was in a dark place.

But your words...

well,
they got me through it.

As team leaders,
sometimes we got to be reminded

that the weight of the world
isn't always on our shoulders.

We got brothers
and sisters to count on.

Amen.

Sync corrections by srjanapala