Scorpion (2014–2018): Season 3, Episode 9 - Mother Load - full transcript
Paige's estranged mother calls on Team Scorpion when she accidentally uncovers a forgotten nuclear reactor on the verge of exploding.
Brave warriors,
today begins our quest
to save our home!
All:
The warlock's chest.
Yes.
Our beloved sanctuary
has been marked for demolition.
So, brandish your
clipboards,
unsheathe your pens
and collect the signatures
i need to make it
onto the west altadenia
alderman's ballot.
Seriously, guys, get going.
It's Thanksgiving.
I said that I would help
set the table, so please.
What the hell is this?
Cabe. Oh, cabe!
You've come to help me get
signatures for my campaign.
No, I'm here to help Paige get
some potatoes for the dinner,
which you better not miss
because you're playing
dress-up with your chums.
Cripes, man, how old are you?
I am dyfrost the wise
and I've seen 50 winters.
Go away.
Kid, nerds dressed up
in their mother's bathrobes,
harassing the electorate,
isn't how you win an election.
Uh, well...
Dressing up gets
people's attention.
It was kaldor's idea,
my, uh, campaign manager.
Statistically, there's more
foot traffic on Thanksgiving.
It's the perfect way to...
Piss people off.
They got to feed
20 relatives today;
they don't want to be bothered
by a bunch of freaky wizards.
So, you come back
on a Sunday morning,
when folks are relaxed,
then you'll get your signatures.
That's actually a good idea.
But what about him?
People are
lining up for him.
He's not even set up yet.
He's giving away
free cranberry sauce.
Oh, great, 99 cents a can.
200 bucks and he gets every
signature he needs.
Is that Toby?
What the heck, man?!
You're fraternizing
with the enemy!
Paige makes that homemade
cranberry sauce.
I swung by here to pick up
some of the good stuff.
It's a good thing I ran
into that guy, huh?
He's the competition.
Oh, well, relax.
I used a fake name.
Signature's not valid.
Mr. Curtis.
Excuse me, you
left your license.
I'm sorry, man.
They asked for ID.
It was free sauce.
You must be my competition.
I'm Dr. Sanjay patel.
Sylvester dodd.
Doctor?
Oh, what's your specialty?
I have a phd in geology.
Funny how they throw
the term doctor
around, isn't it?
Sanjay,
we're running
out of cans.
We need to restock.
Everyone,
this is
my campaign manager,
Allie Jones.
Allie,
our esteemed opponent.
Mr. dodd, a pleasure.
I'd love to
introduce myself
to your campaign
manager if he's around.
(Shouting)
He's not here.
Uh... I'm-I'm running in.
I could, I could grab
some cranberry sauce
for you so you won't
lose your, uh,
your post there.
My name is Gabe, cabe.
Cabe, cabe gallo.
Scottish cabe.
Italian gallo.
A little Gaelic and garlic.
Fun.
And I do
appreciate the help;
I'll be right over there.
It's great to
meet all of you.
Sanjay, we should
really get back.
Toby:
Look at him.
Flush, red
around the ears.
I'd say Turkey
isn't the only bird
cabe's got
his eye on today.
And my Harvard-trained
preceptors tell me that
she was flirting with you.
Shouldn't slap
another man's sauce.
Where's cabe?
I sent him to buy some potatoes,
not grow them.
Happy, can you help me
with the pies?
Happy?
Oh.
What the heck is that?
I asked you to pick me up
a carving knife,
not something from mad Max.
I know, but I was thinking
about the engineering
of electric knives
and how they're
underutilized,
so I made this.
Check it out.
It toasts the bread
while it cuts.
We call it
the toasty-slicey.
The slicey-toasty.
Guys, all I want is a
traditional family dinner.
Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie,
so please, no more genius-y
stuff, not today.
(Walter clears his throat)
My electrolyte
elixir worked.
Oh, god, help me.
Smells good in here.
Well, I really hope you...
Like stuffing 'cause that's
all I've made so far.
Well, I've made strides
that prove that my new drink
substantially enhances
athletic endeavors.
You drank that sludge?
Fastest Turkey trot
I've ever run.
No muscle cramping,
no dehydration,
and it is all thanks
to Wally's invention.
And timbo's peak
performance.
(Chuckles)
(Phone rings)
Excuse me,
got to get this.
Walter: Yes.
Wally and timbo?
Seriously?
Yeah, you wanted us to get
along, we're getting along.
Glad you're friends,
just got to tell you,
it's a little... weird.
(Chuckles)
You'd rather us be enemies?
No.
It's just... Walter's not one
to, uh, make friends
with humans, so... guess you
must be a pretty special human.
Mm.
Walter:
Great. See you then.
Great news.
We just picked up a job.
For when?
Now.
Let's gear up.
No! I've been planning this meal
for a week,
and I need help,
and there's no way
we're taking off
for the south seas
or the Ukraine.
This is Thanksgiving and we're
gonna have a happy, family meal,
damn it.
(Sighs)
It's not the Ukraine.
It's El Segundo.
And it's a quick
structural inspection.
Some real estate investor,
named Veronica Franklin,
needs to have permit paperwork
to the city by Monday morning,
but everyone's gone
because of the holiday weekend.
Nice.
Desperation prices.
Exactly. Top dollar
for a few hours' work
and we desperately need
to refill our slush fund.
No, we don't.
Slush fund's fine.
Actually, it's been financing
my recent inventions,
like genius water.
You can't call it that.
There's already smart water.
That's a good point.
We should brainstorm.
No! No brainstorming.
I can't believe you guys
are gonna mess up Thanksgiving.
Do you know how hard it is
not to screw up a Turkey?
Just pop that fowl in the oven.
We'll be back in a few hours.
The client is
at the end of her rope.
She saw an article
about scorpion,
read that we employed
a genius engineer.
Guilty as charged.
You always say that scorpion
is about helping people.
Now, you get her to sign
the paperwork while we work,
and we'll be done
before you know it.
(Car horn honks)
Oh, hey, there's
the others.
Ralph, help sly
unload the groceries
and I'll get the
contracts together.
And, Walter,
if my Turkey
is not cooked in time,
your goose will be.
Joint's falling apart.
What is it?
Cabe:
It's an old philochrome
film manufacturing plant,
been empty for decades.
Guys...
(Indistinct conversation)
You hear something?
Yeah, actually I do.
It sounds like...
Cantonese.
(Laughing):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it's
a business deal.
They're negotiating.
You know cantonese?
Well, how do you expect me
to watch lectures
by Chinese physicists?
(Speaking cantonese)
Walter:
Ms. Franklin?
Yeah, I'm Walter o'brien.
We-we spoke on the phone.
Hello.
Thank you for coming.
Walter:
Certainly,
Ms. Franklin.
Uh, tell me how
we can help you.
What the hell
are you doing here?
You okay, kid?
Paige, just hear me out.
How does Ms. Franklin
know your name?
Her last name is not Franklin.
It's dineen.
She's my mother.
Not good?
I know this is
a lot to process,
but I really need your help
and you're the only person
i could turn to.
I don't want anything
to do with you
or whatever you're trying
to get us involved in.
Yeah, what are
we involved in?
An uncomfortable
family squabble.
Well, it's
about the building.
I assume it's not
the structural issue that
you mentioned on the phone.
That's correct.
What a shock;
mom playing fast and loose
with the truth.
I had to be sure
that you would come.
You see, I've been following
scorpion in the news.
What?
I can't be interested
in my daughter's life?
Since when?
(Sighs)
And I knew that scorpion
was the type of business
that could help me.
How do we help
you exactly?
See, uh,
over there?
We found this very old
piece of machinery
and it was covered
in warning stickers:
"Danger."
"Hazardous materials."
And I just didn't know
what to do.
Okay, well, I can check it out,
Ms. dineen, yeah.
Thank you, Walter. Thank you.
Walter: Sure.
N-no.
No, we're not helping her.
Walter.
We don't entertain her lies.
You guys, we can't believe
anything she says.
Veronica:
Yes, you can. You see,
I represent Swiss bankers
who are buying this property.
Now, I hired a few
day laborers to relay
a little bit
of the foundation
there, but vibrations
from the jackhammer
forced this fake wall
to fall down
and-and underneath it there
was a-an old elevator shaft
with the machinery in it.
And I figured only a team
of geniuses could help me.
Well, you figured wrong.
Walter:
Happy,
you got to check
this out.
Come, hurry!
No, I just said
we're not helping.
How is that not clear?!
Uh, uh, pal?
Uh, you are, uh...
How do I put this?
You're letting the weight
of your emotional baggage
crash your Paige plane.
You see,
you control how you react
to this unforeseen development.
Toby, I swear I will stuff
my foot in your business
like you're
a Thanksgiving Turkey.
And our session is complete.
Guys, I am the manager
of this team,
and we are not taking
this case, period.
We're taking this case.
Are you kidding me?!
Why?
Because the machine in the
back is a nuclear reactor.
(Under breath):
Oh, I'm never finishing
that Turkey.
♪ ♪
Seems like
a nobelium neutron activator.
Probably loaded
with three pounds
of enriched uranium plates.
Like the californium
neutron flux multiplier
that Kodak put in the bottom
of their Rochester,
New York facility in '74,
except theirs wasn't capable
of nuclear fission.
Well, this one is.
Why would
philochrome
have a reactor?
To run power-hungry equipment
that checks
for the impurities in film,
neutron radiography testing,
plenty of other applications.
This is the stuff of legends.
Decades ago,
a handful of private companies
built their own
mini-reactors
and they hid them.
Can't believe
we actually found one.
Okay, but how
is it still running
in an abandoned building?
Right here.
Illegally spliced
into the power grid.
When the company
went belly up, everyone boogied
and left this thing here.
(Wood and metal groans,
then crashes)
Happy: Whoa.
What in the hell was that?
All the jackhammering
weakened the foundation
around the support beams.
Whole basement's unstable.
Piece of ceiling or column could
fall and hit on the reactor.
But the reactor's
encased, right?
So...
Well, the cooling
system isn't.
Look at, you
see these pipes?
When this system was built,
they used a liquid
metal process made
of sodium and potassium.
It doesn't corrode
the pipes inside
like water-based systems, but...
Always a but.
They soon realized
that sodium and potassium
react explosively
when exposed to water,
even with trace amounts of water
in the air.
So, if there's
a collapse in here
and it breaks
one of those pipes...
The cooling system goes boom.
On top of a
nuclear reactor.
In the middle of Los Angeles.
Mushroom cloud city.
Millions of people at risk.
Cabe:
I'll make the necessary calls.
(Veronica sighs)
Thank goodness
i called for help.
You're seriously taking credit
when you're the one
who made this mess?
I certainly did not.
I didn't let this building
rot to the point
where it's dangerous, I didn't
put liquid metal
in those pipes.
And I surely
didn't build an
illegal reactor.
No, you just walked back
into my life
after a decade,
more than happy
to blow it up again,
figuratively and literally.
Paige...
What are you
doing in this building, mom?
'Cause we all know
you're up to something,
as usual!
Paige...
You're upset, we'll talk
about this later.
I have nothing to say to you,
except go back
to where you came from.
And the bell ends the round.
We are gonna step outside,
take some breaths and calm down.
Keep her away from me.
So...
Thanksgiving plans?
This is ridiculous.
I am gonna go
talk to her right now.
I don't think
that's a good idea.
I'm sorry, and you are?
Tim Armstrong, I'm...
Dating your daughter.
It's nice to meet you.
Well, Tim, I'm glad you know
what my daughter needs,
after dating her
for how long?
A few months.
Oh, okay, well,
I gave birth to her
when I was 17.
I saw her through everything
from tonsillitis
to tap dancing,
so I appreciate your concern
for her well-being,
but I know what's best for her,
and what's best is for she and i
to talk this out.
I agree and you should, just...
Not right now.
Cabe:
Thanks for nothing!
(Phone beeps)
What?
State nuclear facility says
their closest inspectors
are two hours away.
They're rushing 'em to L.A. now.
We could have an
explosion by then.
Understood, but
we're dealing with
a government bureaucracy
on a four-day
holiday weekend.
Most of the people
i need to talk to
traveled yesterday to
be with their families.
Cabe, did you try homeland?
Yeah,
I did, and homeland said,
with a problem like this,
they'd call scorpion.
They did offer
logistical help if we need it.
So we need a lead-lined
facility,
simple underground structure
so nothing could fall
on it, ideally on bedrock
to protect the pipes
from breaking
in unforeseen seismic activity.
Then what we do is
we just keep it there
until the nuclear commission
can properly dismantle it.
Ralph and I are
searching for something
matching those specs now!
But if we remove the reactor
from its power source,
the cooling system shuts off--
nuclear meltdown.
That's why we need a truck.
We secure the reactor
in the back,
I'll rig the truck's battery
to the cooling system.
That'll give us
about 31 minutes to
get the nuke to
wherever it's going.
I have a rented truck outside
for the equipment.
A-a truck for a
few jackhammers?
It was all they had, so...
Everything she's involved with
is suspicious.
You keep saying that--
that she's a liar,
she's duplicitous,
she's sneaky--
but unless you tell me
why you feel that way,
i can't help you.
Okay, you want to hear it? Fine.
What was your hourly
private practice rate?
Well, it was $400 an hour.
Problem was,
racetrack made $500.
Well, here's 20 bucks.
You're retained.
Patient-doctor confidentiality.
You cannot tell
anyone on the team.
Legally I can't,
but i-i wouldn't anyway
if you had just asked.
That being said,
I'm keeping the $20.
My mother is a con woman,
a first-degree grifter.
Growing up,
she was in everything
from pyramid schemes
that ripped off pta moms
to selling time-shares
that she didn't own.
How did that affect
your relationship?
Relationship?
What relationship?
She was always doing time--
six months here,
eight months there.
I told my friends
that she was a saleswoman
who traveled the world
making custom perfumes
for celebrities.
And my dad worshipped her,
and when he finally moved out,
he took me with him
because he knew
being around her
was unhealthy for a child.
He was right.
And every once in a while,
she would--
she would show up and--
and bring me a gift
and I wouldn't open it because
i knew how she paid for it.
With money that belonged to
someone who had been swindled.
(Voice breaking):
And my father died...
My father...
Died heartbroken because of
the woman that you met today.
Whatever.
I-I've made my peace with it.
Paige, you have not
made your peace with it.
You have built-up anger
and that's harmful.
You need to talk to your mother
in a constructive way,
let her know how
she's made you feel.
No, if it were easy
talking to Veronica dineen,
I would have had it out with her
a long time ago.
For years
i have searched my soul
for any love
i have left for her and...
I've found nothing.
(Computer beeps)
I found something!
What do you have?
In the 1950s
solarsun pictures built
an underground film vault
in palos verdes
to preserve their film library.
Been empty since
everything went digital.
Walter, according
to this site,
the vault is lead-lined
and airtight!
And it's on bedrock.
So, for safety's sake,
we shouldn't drive
over 25 miles per hour
with the reactor in the truck,
but palos verdes
is only 11 miles away,
so we get there well before
the truck's battery can
no longer keep
the cooling system operational.
I got a question.
This thing weighs
several hundred pounds.
How are we gonna get it
out of here and into a truck
without banging it around
so much
that we all get toasted?
Happy: We got to figure out
a way to get this up the shaft,
to the first floor
and out the door.
It's only ten feet.
Yeah, well,
it might as well be a hundred.
Not necessarily.
Happy, get the car Jack
from cabe's truck.
Roger that.
Now, everyone,
look for something that we can
put under the reactor.
(Grunting)
Hey!
This thing is full
of film canisters!
Would these work?
Found some trade binders!
We can put the Jack on these!
Great, bring them over!
Move out of the way!
(Jack cranking)
Okay, cabe, Tim,
stack the canisters
under the pallet.
Power cables are pulled tight.
I'll have to disconnect 'em
from the grid.
Once I do that,
the cooling system goes down
and the reactor
starts heating up.
Walter, how much time
do we have to connect it
to the truck battery
before meltdown?
Well, if I'm right about
the uranium contents,
I'd say 19 minutes.
That's not a lot of time.
(Grunts)
Well, there's never enough time.
Here, start unhooking it.
Um, while they're doing that,
may I talk to you for a moment?
Uh, yeah, but it'll
have to be quick 'cause
they're nearly done.
Okay, understood. Just...
You know, um,
I know today
has been volatile.
But it was never my intention to
turn your company upside down.
Oh, no, it's okay.
Uh, emotional situations
are always--
often dysfunctional.
Oh, well, everything
between Paige and I
has been dysfunctional
for some time now.
I was terrified
for a while--
you know, how she'd turn out--
she was rudderless,
single mom,
dropped out of school.
So, when I saw her name
mentioned in articles
i read about scorpion,
uh...
(Chuckles)
I was relieved.
She seems to have found a home,
and I'm appreciative of that
more than you could ever know.
So thank you.
Well, we appreciate Paige.
She's very, uh...
She brings intangibles.
You seem to really care for her.
As a-- as a valued member
of the team, of course.
Yeah, she's t-top notch.
So, um, okay.
Oh, no, we...
Oh, can I just...
Thank you for listening
and being so kind.
I mean, between Paige and Tim,
I haven't received
a very warm welcome.
Oh, well, Tim is...
(Chuckles)
An acquired taste.
Uh, i-i didn't much like him
when he first came to scorpion.
Oh, he's not one of
the original geniuses?
Oh, no. He's not a genius.
Then why is he on the team?
Well, he's a
homeland trainee.
Oh.
Paige:
I mean, you have no idea
how manipulative she is!
One conversation and she has you
doubting yourself!
This is not worth $20.
(Phone ringing)
Oh, thank god.
Hello.
Doc, you, Paige and Veronica
need to take her truck
and pick up packing materials
to cushion the reactor
during the drive.
Veronica's on her way up.
I'm not going anywhere with her!
Why is she even still here?
'Cause we need the manpower
to load up the truck,
and there isn't much time!
I'm about to disconnect
the power cables,
so we'll have less than
20 minutes until meltdown.
Well, I feel like I'm about
to have a meltdown.
About to?
(Powering down)
Okay, here we go.
(Cranking)
Keep it steady!
Thank you for the
obvious advice.
Canisters!
Okay!
(Cabe grunts)
Binders!
Oh, I got it!
(Cabe grunting)
(Creaking)
Almost to the first floor.
Cabe, get up there
and pull that sucker out!
On my way!
So, Veronica, which field
of real estate are you in?
Development, finance.
Fraudulent transactions.
Not helpful.
And, uh,
you work out of L.A. mostly?
Actually, I live just
outside of scottsdale.
A lovely gated community.
But I hate talking
about myself.
(Chuckling)
I'd like to
catch up with
my daughter,
but since she won't
speak with me,
maybe you could fill
me in on her life.
I'd love to hear
about her boyfriend,
Tim?
(Whispers):
I will kill you.
Doctor?
I think he's a Virgo.
No, no, no. No, no.
We are not going to sit here
and discuss my life
in front of someone
who has not been
a part of that life.
I'm making an effort,
Paige.
20 years too late!
I am uncomfortable.
Okay, what is your real agenda?
Why-why are you in L.A.?
Why did you call my company
into this thing?
One, I don't
have an agenda.
Two, I'm in L.A.
on business.
And three,
i needed help
and wanted to
reconnect with you.
I don't believe
anything you say.
Now pull in here.
En garde!
Toby:
Oh, see this is why
i didn't do family therapy.
Oh, great.
Hardware store is closed
'cause of Thanksgiving.
What are we gonna do now?
Walter says
we need materials
to cushion the reactor.
I have an idea.
Support Sanjay patel
for alderman?
I'm a Sylvester dodd woman.
She's having a rough day.
Good job, happy! It's almost
level with the floor.
Okay, should be just
about there.
Cabe: Hey, it's started swaying,
you guys!
Oh, crap.
The canisters are falling!
Okay, I'll restack
the binders! Happy,
get the Jack in
place for support!
Come on.
(Grunting)
Uh, big problem!
Jack broke!
Get out from under there
before that thing crushes you!
If this thing falls,
the pipes break,
liquid metal exposed.
And then mushroom cloud.
(Grunting)
All right!
We are not gonna be able
to hold this thing very long.
Cabe: We gotta figure out a way
to get this weight off them!
Uh, give me a second!
I hope your back's
feeling strong,
cabe, I got a plan.
I'm gonna jam this sucker
under those bars
on top of the reactor.
Don't hit
the coolant pipes!
No duh! Push down hard
on the seesaw.
(Creaking)
Yeah, it's not all the way
to the top.
Happy:
I can see.
Cabe, lie on the bar.
What?
Just lie on the damn bar!
(Straining)
Hyah!
We got it.
(À la Ricky Ricardo):
Sweetheart,
you have some 'splaining to do.
Careful.
Careful with that.
You get the packing
material?
Hardware store was closed.
We had to improvise.
Toilet paper and marshmallows.
Yeah, that'll work.
So, happy, we have
six and a half minutes
to get the reactor hooked up
to the truck's battery.
Okay, get that beast to the
back, and I'll have it ready
in less than five.
Done!
With 91 seconds to spare.
This is what you do
for a living?
This'll keep the reactor cool
for 31 minutes.
That's more than
enough time
to get to the film
storage bunkers.
So, happy, we need
to stay in the back
and monitor the temperature
and mechanics.
If the pipes break,
the cooling system fails,
and then mushroom cloud.
Tim, cabe, hold
the reactor steady.
If they bounce too much,
mushroom cloud.
And then, Paige, Toby,
drive cautiously.
One wrong pothole...
Mushroom cloud,
got it.
All right, hurry!
Where are you going?
I'm coming.
I feel responsible.
No, you're just
faking guilt
because god knows what you
want to get out of this.
So do what you do best,
walk away while
i clean up your mess.
Be reasonable.
I can help and still
make my 3:00 appointment.
It's a win-win.
Read my lips, you're not
getting in this truck.
Paige, you drive stick?
I told you to
let me teach you.
She's a mother trucker.
Great driving, Veronica.
Slow and steady,
no faster than
25 miles per hour
and we should
get there safe.
Guys, I'm looking
at the city grid online.
There is zero traffic
due to the holiday weekend.
Got clear skies, smooth sailing.
Our cases rarely go this well.
What's that?
A weirdo in a cape
dropped it off.
Kaldor?
Don't know, I wouldn't
let him in.
He was wearing a cape.
"Don't be a clod,
vote for dodd."
You know, I asked him
to get me t-shirts.
Capes are a bad idea.
(Truck rattling)
No...
Veronica:
What's this?
Toby:
Sly, you're route's blocked
by the Thanksgiving day parade.
Sylvester (Over radio):
Impossible.
I know the route perfectly.
They're premiering
the super fun guy balloon.
I'm recording it and everything.
Well, there are barricades
in front of us
that say you sent us
the wrong way.
Well, they must have changed
their route last minute
and forgot to update
the web site.
Well, it's just
a police barricade.
I can go around it.
Wouldn't be
the first time.
They can't drive
through a parade route.
Why not? If this thing
blows up on top of the float
or ten blocks away,
either way the parade's over.
We can get LAPD
to try to clear it,
but you cancel it,
you're gonna get thousands
of spectators simultaneously
leaving the area.
Total gridlock.
We'll never make it
to palos verdes in time.
Cabe:
Sly, find another road.
All side streets
heading south are blocked,
east and west of you.
Okay, then,
we'll take hawthorne.
It goes all
the way around.
Too much added time.
The truck's battery will die,
and with it,
most of Los Angeles.
Hey, we're right next
to the muni golf course.
No cars, no barricades-- we can
drive right through the city.
According to its web site,
it's closed
for the holiday weekend.
There shouldn't be anybody
on the course.
No, it's too dangerous.
We need smooth roads,
not hills, bumps,
and divots.
Boss, I've got this
nuke box hooked up
to a 12.6-volt
direct-current battery.
It's already starting
to heat up,
and the marshmallows
are melting-- we need a plan.
I got it.
We can go over
unpaved roads.
We just need to use
these moving straps.
But they're not flexible.
They have no give.
That's why I'm gonna
build shock absorbers.
Out of what?
Us.
Toby:
We're down to 24 minutes
and counting-- how's it going
back there?
Sylvester (On radio):
Almost done.
Can I help?
Something tells me
a nuclear reactor is
a less-volatile situation
than the one up here.
Can it, Toby.
I kid.
Not really.
Speaking of kids,
how is my grandson?
He's delightful.
None of your business.
I-i mean, it's none
of your business.
I can't wait
to meet him.
What could possibly
make you think
I would ever let you
see my son?
Because you're a kind
and decent person,
and wouldn't deny a boy
his own grandmother.
Watch me.
Mushroom cloud would be nice
right about now.
Hey, Veronica, when I say so,
hit the Greens.
Guys, lift on three.
One, two, three!
(All groaning, straining)
Walter: Okay, good.
Got it. Drive.
Sylvester:
I can imagine that's heavy.
You only have eight minutes,
and then you'll
clear the course
and you'll be on your way.
Just hold on.
All we're doing is holding on.
Get the rig going faster.
No, no, no.
Not faster on soft ground, okay?
We can't risk the volatility.
You want volatility?
Keep letting your side sag.
Man up and lift.
(Thump)
What the hell was that?
What?
(Banging)
Oh, balls.
What do you mean, "oh, balls"?
I mean we're getting
pelted by golf balls!
What? The site said
the course was closed.
The course, not the range.
(Golf balls thumping)
Aah! Geez!
Those jerks are
aiming at us.
I would, too, if I saw
a truck on my driving range.
(Pelting continues)
Toby: Uh, happy,
would it be bad if one
of the wire connectors
you rigged were broken
by a golf ball?
Mushroom-cloud bad.
That's what I thought.
Should I drive faster?
Walter:
No! It's too dangerous.
What is their problem?
It's human nature.
We got balls, clubs,
a moving target,
and frat boys home
on Thanksgiving break.
This is what they do.
Damn it, I guess
I'm doing this.
Doing what?
Becoming a human piñata.
I'm gonna protect
the connector box.
(Shrieking)
Aah! Try to break it
now, jerks!
Ow!
Aah! Ow!
(Toby grunting)
Man, they're really
nailing him.
Kind of wish I could see that.
Just a few more
yards, Toby.
Aah! Ow!
We're off the course now.
You can put the reactor down.
Okay, cabe, carefully.
Gentle.
You okay?
Uh, never worse.
Great. Uh, well,
that shortcut worked.
We'll get to
the film vault on time.
Yeah, but I'm gonna miss
my 3:00 appointment.
You're worried about
one of your crooked meetings
when there's five million
lives on the line?
It's with people who don't
like to be kept waiting.
(Gunshots)
Whoa! What the hell?!
We're being shot at?
They found me.
I don't know how,
but they found me.
Aah!
If a bullet cracks the
cooling pipe, it's over.
Okay, who the hell
are these guys?!
Not waiting around to find out.
Veronica, screw the
25-mile-an-hour limit, floor it!
(Gunfire)
Aah!
Oh, let me guess.
The people shooting at us
are your 3:00.
Good guess.
(Gunshots continue)
(Gunfire)
Sly, you gotta
help us out, man.
We got bullets
raining down on us.
Okay, we are strategizing
an escape plan now.
Ralph, you're a gamer,
what do you see?
Hang a left on beach cove.
I have an idea.
Toby: Quick, turn left.
(Gunfire continues)
What are
these guys after?
They think we're
carrying money.
They're Swiss bankers.
It's a real estate deal.
What Swiss bankers
shoot at people?
O-okay,
they're not Swiss,
but they do have
Swiss bank accounts.
Congratulations, your lying
is gonna get us killed.
(Gunshots)
(Tires screech)
Walter: Aah!
Veronica, you will be
approaching
train tracks very soon--
drive over them.
Ralph, progress report.
I'm almost into
the city's train system.
The tracks are gonna jostle
this thing hard, hold on!
(Gunshots continue)
We're in.
(Railroad crossing bell
clanging)
Whoa!
(Bell clanging)
(Tires screeching)
Oh, yeah!
Nice job, sly,
you nailed 'em!
What the hell, mom?!
I had no idea that
they would resort
to this kind of violence.
Who?
These...
You know what, don't tell me.
You're just gonna lie anyway.
We're gonna get the reactor
to the film vault,
happy's gonna splice its
cooling system into the grid,
and you can walk home.
I am so done with you!
(Alarm sounding)
What now?
Oh, boy.
Uh, there's a GPS
kill switch on the engine.
A GPS what switch?
We've got no battery
to keep our hot box cool.
We're on a countdown
to meltdown.
I'll try and override.
Wait, when you rented
this truck, what did you do?
I said I had
a rented truck.
I never said
i rented a truck.
Someone with a credit card
ending in 3939
rented it, technically.
Great, the credit card company
picked up the fraud,
and the rental place used
the GPS to shut down the truck.
Thanks, mom. If millions
of people die,
it'll be your fault.
How could I know
about GPS switches?
I've been in prison
for six years.
Prison?
Prison?
Prison?
Grandma's a jailbird.
That's your gated community
in Arizona?
Arizona state
penitentiary for women.
It has lots of gates.
Guys, I didn't plan for this
to turn out this way.
You know those...
Those men who were
shooting at us?
I did business with them
a while ago.
I owe them some money,
and when I got out,
i wanted to settle up.
We were supposed to meet
at the factory,
and then I found this
nuclear thing
and things got sidetracked.
I didn't know
how dangerous they were.
They probably went
to the building early
to make sure you weren't
playing any games.
They saw you leave
with us, followed.
Probably thought their money
was on the truck.
Waited until we got far enough
away from the driving range,
no one could see us,
opened fire.
Paige:
Congratulations.
You've graduated to hanging out
with killers.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry
that things spiraled out
like this.
I'm... sorry I put you
and your friends in danger.
I'm... sorry about today
and every other day
prior to this day.
You don't have a baby and
think that you're gonna end up
a lousy parent.
It's not the plan.
It just happens.
It doesn't just happen.
You allow it to happen.
And I would never allow that
to happen to my child.
I know.
Because you're a better
mother than I could ever be.
I've made
a million mistakes,
but I've never stopped
loving you.
And no matter what
you say to me,
no matter how much you
hate me, I never will.
Happy:
Okay, no go.
They make these switches
complicated for a reason.
We don't have the tools
or the time
for me to get the battery
running again.
Bottom line?
Bottom line?
We've got about nine minutes
until meltdown.
Walt, you got to figure a way
to cool this reactor
without a battery.
Okay, sly,
what's our current distance
from the ocean?
Less than three miles.
Walter:
Okay.
Uh, I know what you're thinking,
but even if we could get it
to the ocean,
liquid metal can't have contact
with water or it'll explode.
And the coolant pipes
are so brittle,
they'll crack in the cold ocean.
So, then we ditch the coolant.
Tim:
How?
You said even the moisture
in the air
could cause it to detonate.
Sodium metal can
be stored in oil.
If you drain the
coolant directly
into oil,
without exposing it to oxygen,
you can safely remove it
before sinking the reactor.
All right, where do
we get that much oil?
Holy cow.
When we were driving away
from the shooters, we drove
so far out of the way
that we circled back around
to the parade route.
So what?
Look.
It's churros!
On behalf of the
unites states government,
I'm commandeering your churro
cart and all its cooking oil.
(Groans)
Walter:
Happy, make sure there's
a vacuum seal.
Happy:
That's the plan.
Tim:
Ready.
Walter:
Hit it, happy.
Sylvester:
How's it looking?
Happy:
Flowing, but we got to drain
the whole system.
And, with no coolant,
this thing is red hot.
We've got less than...
Eight minutes
until another chernobyl.
Toby:
You guys have been to chernobyl.
If I remember correctly,
no one wants to go back there.
Uh, Walter, how do we get this
to the ocean in time?
Super fun guy.
Cabe.
(Crowd cheering and applauding)
Cabe:
Excuse me.
On behalf of the
United States government,
I'm commandeering this
super fun guy balloon!
Walter:
Helium tank is set.
Isn't this just gonna cause
an environmental disaster
in the ocean?
No, not at all.
Every seven centimeters
the reactor drops,
the radioactivity of
the waste falls by half.
You could be swimming
ten feet away from it
and get no exposure.
It'll be safe until
the department of energy
can pick it up
over the next 24 hours.
Can you give me your cell phone?
Yeah.
I'm gonna put it inside
so they can track
our location exactly.
(Quietly):
Hey, Veronica.
Can I talk to you?
That phone's not
Bluetooth compatible.
So, you pretended you
were talking cantonese
when we came into that
basement, didn't you?
I was just trying
to impress my daughter.
And the... rental truck
for just a few jackhammers?
How much did those
shooters think you had
that you needed a truck?
You're gonna keep me
on my toes, aren't you?
Walter:
Sly.
Give me the numbers?
We are in luck.
Wind speed is ten miles
per hour due west.
You need to puncture the balloon
at a 45-degree angle
to give it some lift! Only...
How are you
going to puncture it?
Kid, it's probably a good thing
you're not here to witness this.
What does that mean?
Super fun guy is gonna
take it in the tokus.
All right.
(Expelling gas)
Walter:
Stand by, cabe.
Fire!
(Expelling gas)
Sylvester: I'm watching
on the satellite now...
There is a superhero-shaped
object
heading towards the pacific.
I think that's the one.
The compressed air is expelling
with enough force
to have super fun guy
traveling at a rate
of 80 miles per hour.
That gives us a splashdown time
of two minutes and 15 seconds!
(Claps)
We did it! We're safe!
Whoo! Yes!
Most excellent result.
It's been a long day.
Let's go eat some bird.
I knew this Turkey
wouldn't make it.
(Chuckles) Ah, it's okay, babe.
Maybe, uh... kovelsky's is open.
Kovelsky's
for Thanksgiving dinner?
(Door opens)
Why not?
I thought that Turkey
would be dry.
♪ ♪
What are you doing here?
I figured with all the time
spent out of the office,
that dinner would be a bust,
so I thought I'd help out
with some Chinese food,
you know? As a...
As a thank you.
Chinese for Thanksgiving?
Let's do it!
Thank you.
Thanks.
Uh...
Well, okay, then, uh, have a...
A nice night.
You're not gonna
just let her go?
Ralph:
Grandma?
You're not gonna ice
your own mom on Thanksgiving.
I have no relationship with
her. It's uncomfortable...
Right now everyone in America
is getting together
and having an uncomfortable
family dinner.
That's what you do
on Thanksgiving.
Now, come on, kid.
You're better than this.
Would you like
to meet your grandson?
I'd like that very much.
Paige:
Ralph.
(Exhales)
Ralph.
It's a true pleasure.
(Door opens)
Ms. Jones?
Can I help you
with something?
Oh, your team of, um,
wizards... (Chuckles)
Left their sign-up
sheets at the market.
Not all the signatures
yet, but so close.
Oh, okay. Thank you.
They worked so hard,
got some melons
thrown at them, so...
Wanted to return it.
Okay. Appreciate it.
Would you... would you
like some Chinese?
Oh, I can't.
On my way to my sister's
for Thanksgiving dinner.
Okay, well.
Have a nice holiday.
You, too.
Putz.
Huh?
Why don't you ask her out?
She's at least ten years
younger than me.
Everyone's at least ten years
younger than you.
Cabe, she came here
on Thanksgiving
to give you something
she could've given you
next week.
As gross as it sounds,
she's warm for your form.
Great work, Casanova.
(Inhales)
The hell are you wearing?
This is my campaign cape.
I'm trying it out.
Cabe:
"Don't be a clod,
vote for dodd."
That sucks. It should be:
"Sly's your guy."
Now lose the cape.
I'm your campaign manager now.
What? Why?
'Cause I care about you, kid.
Ooh!
(Indistinct chatter)
Oh. Walter, can...
You and my mom
grab the plates
and set the table?
Yeah, sure. Absolutely. Yeah.
She's more than
just a "top notch"
team member to you,
isn't she?
Hmm?
I'm a con woman.
I read people.
I tried with Paige,
and I failed.
It's a non-issue.
She's with Tim.
For now.
Walter,
despite my issues with Paige,
I want what's best
for my daughter,
and from what I can tell,
that's you.
So...
I'm gonna
help you get her back.
♪ ♪
today begins our quest
to save our home!
All:
The warlock's chest.
Yes.
Our beloved sanctuary
has been marked for demolition.
So, brandish your
clipboards,
unsheathe your pens
and collect the signatures
i need to make it
onto the west altadenia
alderman's ballot.
Seriously, guys, get going.
It's Thanksgiving.
I said that I would help
set the table, so please.
What the hell is this?
Cabe. Oh, cabe!
You've come to help me get
signatures for my campaign.
No, I'm here to help Paige get
some potatoes for the dinner,
which you better not miss
because you're playing
dress-up with your chums.
Cripes, man, how old are you?
I am dyfrost the wise
and I've seen 50 winters.
Go away.
Kid, nerds dressed up
in their mother's bathrobes,
harassing the electorate,
isn't how you win an election.
Uh, well...
Dressing up gets
people's attention.
It was kaldor's idea,
my, uh, campaign manager.
Statistically, there's more
foot traffic on Thanksgiving.
It's the perfect way to...
Piss people off.
They got to feed
20 relatives today;
they don't want to be bothered
by a bunch of freaky wizards.
So, you come back
on a Sunday morning,
when folks are relaxed,
then you'll get your signatures.
That's actually a good idea.
But what about him?
People are
lining up for him.
He's not even set up yet.
He's giving away
free cranberry sauce.
Oh, great, 99 cents a can.
200 bucks and he gets every
signature he needs.
Is that Toby?
What the heck, man?!
You're fraternizing
with the enemy!
Paige makes that homemade
cranberry sauce.
I swung by here to pick up
some of the good stuff.
It's a good thing I ran
into that guy, huh?
He's the competition.
Oh, well, relax.
I used a fake name.
Signature's not valid.
Mr. Curtis.
Excuse me, you
left your license.
I'm sorry, man.
They asked for ID.
It was free sauce.
You must be my competition.
I'm Dr. Sanjay patel.
Sylvester dodd.
Doctor?
Oh, what's your specialty?
I have a phd in geology.
Funny how they throw
the term doctor
around, isn't it?
Sanjay,
we're running
out of cans.
We need to restock.
Everyone,
this is
my campaign manager,
Allie Jones.
Allie,
our esteemed opponent.
Mr. dodd, a pleasure.
I'd love to
introduce myself
to your campaign
manager if he's around.
(Shouting)
He's not here.
Uh... I'm-I'm running in.
I could, I could grab
some cranberry sauce
for you so you won't
lose your, uh,
your post there.
My name is Gabe, cabe.
Cabe, cabe gallo.
Scottish cabe.
Italian gallo.
A little Gaelic and garlic.
Fun.
And I do
appreciate the help;
I'll be right over there.
It's great to
meet all of you.
Sanjay, we should
really get back.
Toby:
Look at him.
Flush, red
around the ears.
I'd say Turkey
isn't the only bird
cabe's got
his eye on today.
And my Harvard-trained
preceptors tell me that
she was flirting with you.
Shouldn't slap
another man's sauce.
Where's cabe?
I sent him to buy some potatoes,
not grow them.
Happy, can you help me
with the pies?
Happy?
Oh.
What the heck is that?
I asked you to pick me up
a carving knife,
not something from mad Max.
I know, but I was thinking
about the engineering
of electric knives
and how they're
underutilized,
so I made this.
Check it out.
It toasts the bread
while it cuts.
We call it
the toasty-slicey.
The slicey-toasty.
Guys, all I want is a
traditional family dinner.
Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie,
so please, no more genius-y
stuff, not today.
(Walter clears his throat)
My electrolyte
elixir worked.
Oh, god, help me.
Smells good in here.
Well, I really hope you...
Like stuffing 'cause that's
all I've made so far.
Well, I've made strides
that prove that my new drink
substantially enhances
athletic endeavors.
You drank that sludge?
Fastest Turkey trot
I've ever run.
No muscle cramping,
no dehydration,
and it is all thanks
to Wally's invention.
And timbo's peak
performance.
(Chuckles)
(Phone rings)
Excuse me,
got to get this.
Walter: Yes.
Wally and timbo?
Seriously?
Yeah, you wanted us to get
along, we're getting along.
Glad you're friends,
just got to tell you,
it's a little... weird.
(Chuckles)
You'd rather us be enemies?
No.
It's just... Walter's not one
to, uh, make friends
with humans, so... guess you
must be a pretty special human.
Mm.
Walter:
Great. See you then.
Great news.
We just picked up a job.
For when?
Now.
Let's gear up.
No! I've been planning this meal
for a week,
and I need help,
and there's no way
we're taking off
for the south seas
or the Ukraine.
This is Thanksgiving and we're
gonna have a happy, family meal,
damn it.
(Sighs)
It's not the Ukraine.
It's El Segundo.
And it's a quick
structural inspection.
Some real estate investor,
named Veronica Franklin,
needs to have permit paperwork
to the city by Monday morning,
but everyone's gone
because of the holiday weekend.
Nice.
Desperation prices.
Exactly. Top dollar
for a few hours' work
and we desperately need
to refill our slush fund.
No, we don't.
Slush fund's fine.
Actually, it's been financing
my recent inventions,
like genius water.
You can't call it that.
There's already smart water.
That's a good point.
We should brainstorm.
No! No brainstorming.
I can't believe you guys
are gonna mess up Thanksgiving.
Do you know how hard it is
not to screw up a Turkey?
Just pop that fowl in the oven.
We'll be back in a few hours.
The client is
at the end of her rope.
She saw an article
about scorpion,
read that we employed
a genius engineer.
Guilty as charged.
You always say that scorpion
is about helping people.
Now, you get her to sign
the paperwork while we work,
and we'll be done
before you know it.
(Car horn honks)
Oh, hey, there's
the others.
Ralph, help sly
unload the groceries
and I'll get the
contracts together.
And, Walter,
if my Turkey
is not cooked in time,
your goose will be.
Joint's falling apart.
What is it?
Cabe:
It's an old philochrome
film manufacturing plant,
been empty for decades.
Guys...
(Indistinct conversation)
You hear something?
Yeah, actually I do.
It sounds like...
Cantonese.
(Laughing):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it's
a business deal.
They're negotiating.
You know cantonese?
Well, how do you expect me
to watch lectures
by Chinese physicists?
(Speaking cantonese)
Walter:
Ms. Franklin?
Yeah, I'm Walter o'brien.
We-we spoke on the phone.
Hello.
Thank you for coming.
Walter:
Certainly,
Ms. Franklin.
Uh, tell me how
we can help you.
What the hell
are you doing here?
You okay, kid?
Paige, just hear me out.
How does Ms. Franklin
know your name?
Her last name is not Franklin.
It's dineen.
She's my mother.
Not good?
I know this is
a lot to process,
but I really need your help
and you're the only person
i could turn to.
I don't want anything
to do with you
or whatever you're trying
to get us involved in.
Yeah, what are
we involved in?
An uncomfortable
family squabble.
Well, it's
about the building.
I assume it's not
the structural issue that
you mentioned on the phone.
That's correct.
What a shock;
mom playing fast and loose
with the truth.
I had to be sure
that you would come.
You see, I've been following
scorpion in the news.
What?
I can't be interested
in my daughter's life?
Since when?
(Sighs)
And I knew that scorpion
was the type of business
that could help me.
How do we help
you exactly?
See, uh,
over there?
We found this very old
piece of machinery
and it was covered
in warning stickers:
"Danger."
"Hazardous materials."
And I just didn't know
what to do.
Okay, well, I can check it out,
Ms. dineen, yeah.
Thank you, Walter. Thank you.
Walter: Sure.
N-no.
No, we're not helping her.
Walter.
We don't entertain her lies.
You guys, we can't believe
anything she says.
Veronica:
Yes, you can. You see,
I represent Swiss bankers
who are buying this property.
Now, I hired a few
day laborers to relay
a little bit
of the foundation
there, but vibrations
from the jackhammer
forced this fake wall
to fall down
and-and underneath it there
was a-an old elevator shaft
with the machinery in it.
And I figured only a team
of geniuses could help me.
Well, you figured wrong.
Walter:
Happy,
you got to check
this out.
Come, hurry!
No, I just said
we're not helping.
How is that not clear?!
Uh, uh, pal?
Uh, you are, uh...
How do I put this?
You're letting the weight
of your emotional baggage
crash your Paige plane.
You see,
you control how you react
to this unforeseen development.
Toby, I swear I will stuff
my foot in your business
like you're
a Thanksgiving Turkey.
And our session is complete.
Guys, I am the manager
of this team,
and we are not taking
this case, period.
We're taking this case.
Are you kidding me?!
Why?
Because the machine in the
back is a nuclear reactor.
(Under breath):
Oh, I'm never finishing
that Turkey.
♪ ♪
Seems like
a nobelium neutron activator.
Probably loaded
with three pounds
of enriched uranium plates.
Like the californium
neutron flux multiplier
that Kodak put in the bottom
of their Rochester,
New York facility in '74,
except theirs wasn't capable
of nuclear fission.
Well, this one is.
Why would
philochrome
have a reactor?
To run power-hungry equipment
that checks
for the impurities in film,
neutron radiography testing,
plenty of other applications.
This is the stuff of legends.
Decades ago,
a handful of private companies
built their own
mini-reactors
and they hid them.
Can't believe
we actually found one.
Okay, but how
is it still running
in an abandoned building?
Right here.
Illegally spliced
into the power grid.
When the company
went belly up, everyone boogied
and left this thing here.
(Wood and metal groans,
then crashes)
Happy: Whoa.
What in the hell was that?
All the jackhammering
weakened the foundation
around the support beams.
Whole basement's unstable.
Piece of ceiling or column could
fall and hit on the reactor.
But the reactor's
encased, right?
So...
Well, the cooling
system isn't.
Look at, you
see these pipes?
When this system was built,
they used a liquid
metal process made
of sodium and potassium.
It doesn't corrode
the pipes inside
like water-based systems, but...
Always a but.
They soon realized
that sodium and potassium
react explosively
when exposed to water,
even with trace amounts of water
in the air.
So, if there's
a collapse in here
and it breaks
one of those pipes...
The cooling system goes boom.
On top of a
nuclear reactor.
In the middle of Los Angeles.
Mushroom cloud city.
Millions of people at risk.
Cabe:
I'll make the necessary calls.
(Veronica sighs)
Thank goodness
i called for help.
You're seriously taking credit
when you're the one
who made this mess?
I certainly did not.
I didn't let this building
rot to the point
where it's dangerous, I didn't
put liquid metal
in those pipes.
And I surely
didn't build an
illegal reactor.
No, you just walked back
into my life
after a decade,
more than happy
to blow it up again,
figuratively and literally.
Paige...
What are you
doing in this building, mom?
'Cause we all know
you're up to something,
as usual!
Paige...
You're upset, we'll talk
about this later.
I have nothing to say to you,
except go back
to where you came from.
And the bell ends the round.
We are gonna step outside,
take some breaths and calm down.
Keep her away from me.
So...
Thanksgiving plans?
This is ridiculous.
I am gonna go
talk to her right now.
I don't think
that's a good idea.
I'm sorry, and you are?
Tim Armstrong, I'm...
Dating your daughter.
It's nice to meet you.
Well, Tim, I'm glad you know
what my daughter needs,
after dating her
for how long?
A few months.
Oh, okay, well,
I gave birth to her
when I was 17.
I saw her through everything
from tonsillitis
to tap dancing,
so I appreciate your concern
for her well-being,
but I know what's best for her,
and what's best is for she and i
to talk this out.
I agree and you should, just...
Not right now.
Cabe:
Thanks for nothing!
(Phone beeps)
What?
State nuclear facility says
their closest inspectors
are two hours away.
They're rushing 'em to L.A. now.
We could have an
explosion by then.
Understood, but
we're dealing with
a government bureaucracy
on a four-day
holiday weekend.
Most of the people
i need to talk to
traveled yesterday to
be with their families.
Cabe, did you try homeland?
Yeah,
I did, and homeland said,
with a problem like this,
they'd call scorpion.
They did offer
logistical help if we need it.
So we need a lead-lined
facility,
simple underground structure
so nothing could fall
on it, ideally on bedrock
to protect the pipes
from breaking
in unforeseen seismic activity.
Then what we do is
we just keep it there
until the nuclear commission
can properly dismantle it.
Ralph and I are
searching for something
matching those specs now!
But if we remove the reactor
from its power source,
the cooling system shuts off--
nuclear meltdown.
That's why we need a truck.
We secure the reactor
in the back,
I'll rig the truck's battery
to the cooling system.
That'll give us
about 31 minutes to
get the nuke to
wherever it's going.
I have a rented truck outside
for the equipment.
A-a truck for a
few jackhammers?
It was all they had, so...
Everything she's involved with
is suspicious.
You keep saying that--
that she's a liar,
she's duplicitous,
she's sneaky--
but unless you tell me
why you feel that way,
i can't help you.
Okay, you want to hear it? Fine.
What was your hourly
private practice rate?
Well, it was $400 an hour.
Problem was,
racetrack made $500.
Well, here's 20 bucks.
You're retained.
Patient-doctor confidentiality.
You cannot tell
anyone on the team.
Legally I can't,
but i-i wouldn't anyway
if you had just asked.
That being said,
I'm keeping the $20.
My mother is a con woman,
a first-degree grifter.
Growing up,
she was in everything
from pyramid schemes
that ripped off pta moms
to selling time-shares
that she didn't own.
How did that affect
your relationship?
Relationship?
What relationship?
She was always doing time--
six months here,
eight months there.
I told my friends
that she was a saleswoman
who traveled the world
making custom perfumes
for celebrities.
And my dad worshipped her,
and when he finally moved out,
he took me with him
because he knew
being around her
was unhealthy for a child.
He was right.
And every once in a while,
she would--
she would show up and--
and bring me a gift
and I wouldn't open it because
i knew how she paid for it.
With money that belonged to
someone who had been swindled.
(Voice breaking):
And my father died...
My father...
Died heartbroken because of
the woman that you met today.
Whatever.
I-I've made my peace with it.
Paige, you have not
made your peace with it.
You have built-up anger
and that's harmful.
You need to talk to your mother
in a constructive way,
let her know how
she's made you feel.
No, if it were easy
talking to Veronica dineen,
I would have had it out with her
a long time ago.
For years
i have searched my soul
for any love
i have left for her and...
I've found nothing.
(Computer beeps)
I found something!
What do you have?
In the 1950s
solarsun pictures built
an underground film vault
in palos verdes
to preserve their film library.
Been empty since
everything went digital.
Walter, according
to this site,
the vault is lead-lined
and airtight!
And it's on bedrock.
So, for safety's sake,
we shouldn't drive
over 25 miles per hour
with the reactor in the truck,
but palos verdes
is only 11 miles away,
so we get there well before
the truck's battery can
no longer keep
the cooling system operational.
I got a question.
This thing weighs
several hundred pounds.
How are we gonna get it
out of here and into a truck
without banging it around
so much
that we all get toasted?
Happy: We got to figure out
a way to get this up the shaft,
to the first floor
and out the door.
It's only ten feet.
Yeah, well,
it might as well be a hundred.
Not necessarily.
Happy, get the car Jack
from cabe's truck.
Roger that.
Now, everyone,
look for something that we can
put under the reactor.
(Grunting)
Hey!
This thing is full
of film canisters!
Would these work?
Found some trade binders!
We can put the Jack on these!
Great, bring them over!
Move out of the way!
(Jack cranking)
Okay, cabe, Tim,
stack the canisters
under the pallet.
Power cables are pulled tight.
I'll have to disconnect 'em
from the grid.
Once I do that,
the cooling system goes down
and the reactor
starts heating up.
Walter, how much time
do we have to connect it
to the truck battery
before meltdown?
Well, if I'm right about
the uranium contents,
I'd say 19 minutes.
That's not a lot of time.
(Grunts)
Well, there's never enough time.
Here, start unhooking it.
Um, while they're doing that,
may I talk to you for a moment?
Uh, yeah, but it'll
have to be quick 'cause
they're nearly done.
Okay, understood. Just...
You know, um,
I know today
has been volatile.
But it was never my intention to
turn your company upside down.
Oh, no, it's okay.
Uh, emotional situations
are always--
often dysfunctional.
Oh, well, everything
between Paige and I
has been dysfunctional
for some time now.
I was terrified
for a while--
you know, how she'd turn out--
she was rudderless,
single mom,
dropped out of school.
So, when I saw her name
mentioned in articles
i read about scorpion,
uh...
(Chuckles)
I was relieved.
She seems to have found a home,
and I'm appreciative of that
more than you could ever know.
So thank you.
Well, we appreciate Paige.
She's very, uh...
She brings intangibles.
You seem to really care for her.
As a-- as a valued member
of the team, of course.
Yeah, she's t-top notch.
So, um, okay.
Oh, no, we...
Oh, can I just...
Thank you for listening
and being so kind.
I mean, between Paige and Tim,
I haven't received
a very warm welcome.
Oh, well, Tim is...
(Chuckles)
An acquired taste.
Uh, i-i didn't much like him
when he first came to scorpion.
Oh, he's not one of
the original geniuses?
Oh, no. He's not a genius.
Then why is he on the team?
Well, he's a
homeland trainee.
Oh.
Paige:
I mean, you have no idea
how manipulative she is!
One conversation and she has you
doubting yourself!
This is not worth $20.
(Phone ringing)
Oh, thank god.
Hello.
Doc, you, Paige and Veronica
need to take her truck
and pick up packing materials
to cushion the reactor
during the drive.
Veronica's on her way up.
I'm not going anywhere with her!
Why is she even still here?
'Cause we need the manpower
to load up the truck,
and there isn't much time!
I'm about to disconnect
the power cables,
so we'll have less than
20 minutes until meltdown.
Well, I feel like I'm about
to have a meltdown.
About to?
(Powering down)
Okay, here we go.
(Cranking)
Keep it steady!
Thank you for the
obvious advice.
Canisters!
Okay!
(Cabe grunts)
Binders!
Oh, I got it!
(Cabe grunting)
(Creaking)
Almost to the first floor.
Cabe, get up there
and pull that sucker out!
On my way!
So, Veronica, which field
of real estate are you in?
Development, finance.
Fraudulent transactions.
Not helpful.
And, uh,
you work out of L.A. mostly?
Actually, I live just
outside of scottsdale.
A lovely gated community.
But I hate talking
about myself.
(Chuckling)
I'd like to
catch up with
my daughter,
but since she won't
speak with me,
maybe you could fill
me in on her life.
I'd love to hear
about her boyfriend,
Tim?
(Whispers):
I will kill you.
Doctor?
I think he's a Virgo.
No, no, no. No, no.
We are not going to sit here
and discuss my life
in front of someone
who has not been
a part of that life.
I'm making an effort,
Paige.
20 years too late!
I am uncomfortable.
Okay, what is your real agenda?
Why-why are you in L.A.?
Why did you call my company
into this thing?
One, I don't
have an agenda.
Two, I'm in L.A.
on business.
And three,
i needed help
and wanted to
reconnect with you.
I don't believe
anything you say.
Now pull in here.
En garde!
Toby:
Oh, see this is why
i didn't do family therapy.
Oh, great.
Hardware store is closed
'cause of Thanksgiving.
What are we gonna do now?
Walter says
we need materials
to cushion the reactor.
I have an idea.
Support Sanjay patel
for alderman?
I'm a Sylvester dodd woman.
She's having a rough day.
Good job, happy! It's almost
level with the floor.
Okay, should be just
about there.
Cabe: Hey, it's started swaying,
you guys!
Oh, crap.
The canisters are falling!
Okay, I'll restack
the binders! Happy,
get the Jack in
place for support!
Come on.
(Grunting)
Uh, big problem!
Jack broke!
Get out from under there
before that thing crushes you!
If this thing falls,
the pipes break,
liquid metal exposed.
And then mushroom cloud.
(Grunting)
All right!
We are not gonna be able
to hold this thing very long.
Cabe: We gotta figure out a way
to get this weight off them!
Uh, give me a second!
I hope your back's
feeling strong,
cabe, I got a plan.
I'm gonna jam this sucker
under those bars
on top of the reactor.
Don't hit
the coolant pipes!
No duh! Push down hard
on the seesaw.
(Creaking)
Yeah, it's not all the way
to the top.
Happy:
I can see.
Cabe, lie on the bar.
What?
Just lie on the damn bar!
(Straining)
Hyah!
We got it.
(À la Ricky Ricardo):
Sweetheart,
you have some 'splaining to do.
Careful.
Careful with that.
You get the packing
material?
Hardware store was closed.
We had to improvise.
Toilet paper and marshmallows.
Yeah, that'll work.
So, happy, we have
six and a half minutes
to get the reactor hooked up
to the truck's battery.
Okay, get that beast to the
back, and I'll have it ready
in less than five.
Done!
With 91 seconds to spare.
This is what you do
for a living?
This'll keep the reactor cool
for 31 minutes.
That's more than
enough time
to get to the film
storage bunkers.
So, happy, we need
to stay in the back
and monitor the temperature
and mechanics.
If the pipes break,
the cooling system fails,
and then mushroom cloud.
Tim, cabe, hold
the reactor steady.
If they bounce too much,
mushroom cloud.
And then, Paige, Toby,
drive cautiously.
One wrong pothole...
Mushroom cloud,
got it.
All right, hurry!
Where are you going?
I'm coming.
I feel responsible.
No, you're just
faking guilt
because god knows what you
want to get out of this.
So do what you do best,
walk away while
i clean up your mess.
Be reasonable.
I can help and still
make my 3:00 appointment.
It's a win-win.
Read my lips, you're not
getting in this truck.
Paige, you drive stick?
I told you to
let me teach you.
She's a mother trucker.
Great driving, Veronica.
Slow and steady,
no faster than
25 miles per hour
and we should
get there safe.
Guys, I'm looking
at the city grid online.
There is zero traffic
due to the holiday weekend.
Got clear skies, smooth sailing.
Our cases rarely go this well.
What's that?
A weirdo in a cape
dropped it off.
Kaldor?
Don't know, I wouldn't
let him in.
He was wearing a cape.
"Don't be a clod,
vote for dodd."
You know, I asked him
to get me t-shirts.
Capes are a bad idea.
(Truck rattling)
No...
Veronica:
What's this?
Toby:
Sly, you're route's blocked
by the Thanksgiving day parade.
Sylvester (Over radio):
Impossible.
I know the route perfectly.
They're premiering
the super fun guy balloon.
I'm recording it and everything.
Well, there are barricades
in front of us
that say you sent us
the wrong way.
Well, they must have changed
their route last minute
and forgot to update
the web site.
Well, it's just
a police barricade.
I can go around it.
Wouldn't be
the first time.
They can't drive
through a parade route.
Why not? If this thing
blows up on top of the float
or ten blocks away,
either way the parade's over.
We can get LAPD
to try to clear it,
but you cancel it,
you're gonna get thousands
of spectators simultaneously
leaving the area.
Total gridlock.
We'll never make it
to palos verdes in time.
Cabe:
Sly, find another road.
All side streets
heading south are blocked,
east and west of you.
Okay, then,
we'll take hawthorne.
It goes all
the way around.
Too much added time.
The truck's battery will die,
and with it,
most of Los Angeles.
Hey, we're right next
to the muni golf course.
No cars, no barricades-- we can
drive right through the city.
According to its web site,
it's closed
for the holiday weekend.
There shouldn't be anybody
on the course.
No, it's too dangerous.
We need smooth roads,
not hills, bumps,
and divots.
Boss, I've got this
nuke box hooked up
to a 12.6-volt
direct-current battery.
It's already starting
to heat up,
and the marshmallows
are melting-- we need a plan.
I got it.
We can go over
unpaved roads.
We just need to use
these moving straps.
But they're not flexible.
They have no give.
That's why I'm gonna
build shock absorbers.
Out of what?
Us.
Toby:
We're down to 24 minutes
and counting-- how's it going
back there?
Sylvester (On radio):
Almost done.
Can I help?
Something tells me
a nuclear reactor is
a less-volatile situation
than the one up here.
Can it, Toby.
I kid.
Not really.
Speaking of kids,
how is my grandson?
He's delightful.
None of your business.
I-i mean, it's none
of your business.
I can't wait
to meet him.
What could possibly
make you think
I would ever let you
see my son?
Because you're a kind
and decent person,
and wouldn't deny a boy
his own grandmother.
Watch me.
Mushroom cloud would be nice
right about now.
Hey, Veronica, when I say so,
hit the Greens.
Guys, lift on three.
One, two, three!
(All groaning, straining)
Walter: Okay, good.
Got it. Drive.
Sylvester:
I can imagine that's heavy.
You only have eight minutes,
and then you'll
clear the course
and you'll be on your way.
Just hold on.
All we're doing is holding on.
Get the rig going faster.
No, no, no.
Not faster on soft ground, okay?
We can't risk the volatility.
You want volatility?
Keep letting your side sag.
Man up and lift.
(Thump)
What the hell was that?
What?
(Banging)
Oh, balls.
What do you mean, "oh, balls"?
I mean we're getting
pelted by golf balls!
What? The site said
the course was closed.
The course, not the range.
(Golf balls thumping)
Aah! Geez!
Those jerks are
aiming at us.
I would, too, if I saw
a truck on my driving range.
(Pelting continues)
Toby: Uh, happy,
would it be bad if one
of the wire connectors
you rigged were broken
by a golf ball?
Mushroom-cloud bad.
That's what I thought.
Should I drive faster?
Walter:
No! It's too dangerous.
What is their problem?
It's human nature.
We got balls, clubs,
a moving target,
and frat boys home
on Thanksgiving break.
This is what they do.
Damn it, I guess
I'm doing this.
Doing what?
Becoming a human piñata.
I'm gonna protect
the connector box.
(Shrieking)
Aah! Try to break it
now, jerks!
Ow!
Aah! Ow!
(Toby grunting)
Man, they're really
nailing him.
Kind of wish I could see that.
Just a few more
yards, Toby.
Aah! Ow!
We're off the course now.
You can put the reactor down.
Okay, cabe, carefully.
Gentle.
You okay?
Uh, never worse.
Great. Uh, well,
that shortcut worked.
We'll get to
the film vault on time.
Yeah, but I'm gonna miss
my 3:00 appointment.
You're worried about
one of your crooked meetings
when there's five million
lives on the line?
It's with people who don't
like to be kept waiting.
(Gunshots)
Whoa! What the hell?!
We're being shot at?
They found me.
I don't know how,
but they found me.
Aah!
If a bullet cracks the
cooling pipe, it's over.
Okay, who the hell
are these guys?!
Not waiting around to find out.
Veronica, screw the
25-mile-an-hour limit, floor it!
(Gunfire)
Aah!
Oh, let me guess.
The people shooting at us
are your 3:00.
Good guess.
(Gunshots continue)
(Gunfire)
Sly, you gotta
help us out, man.
We got bullets
raining down on us.
Okay, we are strategizing
an escape plan now.
Ralph, you're a gamer,
what do you see?
Hang a left on beach cove.
I have an idea.
Toby: Quick, turn left.
(Gunfire continues)
What are
these guys after?
They think we're
carrying money.
They're Swiss bankers.
It's a real estate deal.
What Swiss bankers
shoot at people?
O-okay,
they're not Swiss,
but they do have
Swiss bank accounts.
Congratulations, your lying
is gonna get us killed.
(Gunshots)
(Tires screech)
Walter: Aah!
Veronica, you will be
approaching
train tracks very soon--
drive over them.
Ralph, progress report.
I'm almost into
the city's train system.
The tracks are gonna jostle
this thing hard, hold on!
(Gunshots continue)
We're in.
(Railroad crossing bell
clanging)
Whoa!
(Bell clanging)
(Tires screeching)
Oh, yeah!
Nice job, sly,
you nailed 'em!
What the hell, mom?!
I had no idea that
they would resort
to this kind of violence.
Who?
These...
You know what, don't tell me.
You're just gonna lie anyway.
We're gonna get the reactor
to the film vault,
happy's gonna splice its
cooling system into the grid,
and you can walk home.
I am so done with you!
(Alarm sounding)
What now?
Oh, boy.
Uh, there's a GPS
kill switch on the engine.
A GPS what switch?
We've got no battery
to keep our hot box cool.
We're on a countdown
to meltdown.
I'll try and override.
Wait, when you rented
this truck, what did you do?
I said I had
a rented truck.
I never said
i rented a truck.
Someone with a credit card
ending in 3939
rented it, technically.
Great, the credit card company
picked up the fraud,
and the rental place used
the GPS to shut down the truck.
Thanks, mom. If millions
of people die,
it'll be your fault.
How could I know
about GPS switches?
I've been in prison
for six years.
Prison?
Prison?
Prison?
Grandma's a jailbird.
That's your gated community
in Arizona?
Arizona state
penitentiary for women.
It has lots of gates.
Guys, I didn't plan for this
to turn out this way.
You know those...
Those men who were
shooting at us?
I did business with them
a while ago.
I owe them some money,
and when I got out,
i wanted to settle up.
We were supposed to meet
at the factory,
and then I found this
nuclear thing
and things got sidetracked.
I didn't know
how dangerous they were.
They probably went
to the building early
to make sure you weren't
playing any games.
They saw you leave
with us, followed.
Probably thought their money
was on the truck.
Waited until we got far enough
away from the driving range,
no one could see us,
opened fire.
Paige:
Congratulations.
You've graduated to hanging out
with killers.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry
that things spiraled out
like this.
I'm... sorry I put you
and your friends in danger.
I'm... sorry about today
and every other day
prior to this day.
You don't have a baby and
think that you're gonna end up
a lousy parent.
It's not the plan.
It just happens.
It doesn't just happen.
You allow it to happen.
And I would never allow that
to happen to my child.
I know.
Because you're a better
mother than I could ever be.
I've made
a million mistakes,
but I've never stopped
loving you.
And no matter what
you say to me,
no matter how much you
hate me, I never will.
Happy:
Okay, no go.
They make these switches
complicated for a reason.
We don't have the tools
or the time
for me to get the battery
running again.
Bottom line?
Bottom line?
We've got about nine minutes
until meltdown.
Walt, you got to figure a way
to cool this reactor
without a battery.
Okay, sly,
what's our current distance
from the ocean?
Less than three miles.
Walter:
Okay.
Uh, I know what you're thinking,
but even if we could get it
to the ocean,
liquid metal can't have contact
with water or it'll explode.
And the coolant pipes
are so brittle,
they'll crack in the cold ocean.
So, then we ditch the coolant.
Tim:
How?
You said even the moisture
in the air
could cause it to detonate.
Sodium metal can
be stored in oil.
If you drain the
coolant directly
into oil,
without exposing it to oxygen,
you can safely remove it
before sinking the reactor.
All right, where do
we get that much oil?
Holy cow.
When we were driving away
from the shooters, we drove
so far out of the way
that we circled back around
to the parade route.
So what?
Look.
It's churros!
On behalf of the
unites states government,
I'm commandeering your churro
cart and all its cooking oil.
(Groans)
Walter:
Happy, make sure there's
a vacuum seal.
Happy:
That's the plan.
Tim:
Ready.
Walter:
Hit it, happy.
Sylvester:
How's it looking?
Happy:
Flowing, but we got to drain
the whole system.
And, with no coolant,
this thing is red hot.
We've got less than...
Eight minutes
until another chernobyl.
Toby:
You guys have been to chernobyl.
If I remember correctly,
no one wants to go back there.
Uh, Walter, how do we get this
to the ocean in time?
Super fun guy.
Cabe.
(Crowd cheering and applauding)
Cabe:
Excuse me.
On behalf of the
United States government,
I'm commandeering this
super fun guy balloon!
Walter:
Helium tank is set.
Isn't this just gonna cause
an environmental disaster
in the ocean?
No, not at all.
Every seven centimeters
the reactor drops,
the radioactivity of
the waste falls by half.
You could be swimming
ten feet away from it
and get no exposure.
It'll be safe until
the department of energy
can pick it up
over the next 24 hours.
Can you give me your cell phone?
Yeah.
I'm gonna put it inside
so they can track
our location exactly.
(Quietly):
Hey, Veronica.
Can I talk to you?
That phone's not
Bluetooth compatible.
So, you pretended you
were talking cantonese
when we came into that
basement, didn't you?
I was just trying
to impress my daughter.
And the... rental truck
for just a few jackhammers?
How much did those
shooters think you had
that you needed a truck?
You're gonna keep me
on my toes, aren't you?
Walter:
Sly.
Give me the numbers?
We are in luck.
Wind speed is ten miles
per hour due west.
You need to puncture the balloon
at a 45-degree angle
to give it some lift! Only...
How are you
going to puncture it?
Kid, it's probably a good thing
you're not here to witness this.
What does that mean?
Super fun guy is gonna
take it in the tokus.
All right.
(Expelling gas)
Walter:
Stand by, cabe.
Fire!
(Expelling gas)
Sylvester: I'm watching
on the satellite now...
There is a superhero-shaped
object
heading towards the pacific.
I think that's the one.
The compressed air is expelling
with enough force
to have super fun guy
traveling at a rate
of 80 miles per hour.
That gives us a splashdown time
of two minutes and 15 seconds!
(Claps)
We did it! We're safe!
Whoo! Yes!
Most excellent result.
It's been a long day.
Let's go eat some bird.
I knew this Turkey
wouldn't make it.
(Chuckles) Ah, it's okay, babe.
Maybe, uh... kovelsky's is open.
Kovelsky's
for Thanksgiving dinner?
(Door opens)
Why not?
I thought that Turkey
would be dry.
♪ ♪
What are you doing here?
I figured with all the time
spent out of the office,
that dinner would be a bust,
so I thought I'd help out
with some Chinese food,
you know? As a...
As a thank you.
Chinese for Thanksgiving?
Let's do it!
Thank you.
Thanks.
Uh...
Well, okay, then, uh, have a...
A nice night.
You're not gonna
just let her go?
Ralph:
Grandma?
You're not gonna ice
your own mom on Thanksgiving.
I have no relationship with
her. It's uncomfortable...
Right now everyone in America
is getting together
and having an uncomfortable
family dinner.
That's what you do
on Thanksgiving.
Now, come on, kid.
You're better than this.
Would you like
to meet your grandson?
I'd like that very much.
Paige:
Ralph.
(Exhales)
Ralph.
It's a true pleasure.
(Door opens)
Ms. Jones?
Can I help you
with something?
Oh, your team of, um,
wizards... (Chuckles)
Left their sign-up
sheets at the market.
Not all the signatures
yet, but so close.
Oh, okay. Thank you.
They worked so hard,
got some melons
thrown at them, so...
Wanted to return it.
Okay. Appreciate it.
Would you... would you
like some Chinese?
Oh, I can't.
On my way to my sister's
for Thanksgiving dinner.
Okay, well.
Have a nice holiday.
You, too.
Putz.
Huh?
Why don't you ask her out?
She's at least ten years
younger than me.
Everyone's at least ten years
younger than you.
Cabe, she came here
on Thanksgiving
to give you something
she could've given you
next week.
As gross as it sounds,
she's warm for your form.
Great work, Casanova.
(Inhales)
The hell are you wearing?
This is my campaign cape.
I'm trying it out.
Cabe:
"Don't be a clod,
vote for dodd."
That sucks. It should be:
"Sly's your guy."
Now lose the cape.
I'm your campaign manager now.
What? Why?
'Cause I care about you, kid.
Ooh!
(Indistinct chatter)
Oh. Walter, can...
You and my mom
grab the plates
and set the table?
Yeah, sure. Absolutely. Yeah.
She's more than
just a "top notch"
team member to you,
isn't she?
Hmm?
I'm a con woman.
I read people.
I tried with Paige,
and I failed.
It's a non-issue.
She's with Tim.
For now.
Walter,
despite my issues with Paige,
I want what's best
for my daughter,
and from what I can tell,
that's you.
So...
I'm gonna
help you get her back.
♪ ♪