The Dresden Files (2007–2008): Season 1, Episode 8 - Storm Front - full transcript

Jennifer, you're shivering.

Tommy, that thing we
saw outside the club...

That was just a
trick of the light.

I'm here.

Nothing is gonna happen to you.

- Tommy?
- Oh my God.

Baby?

Jennifer!

When I hung up my shingle
I thought all my cases

would start with a sultry femme
fatale begging for help

and oozing sex and danger.



I live in hope.

Detective Kirmani, to what
do I owe the pleasure?

Headed to the rink?

Damn, overcharged it again.

Nice trick.

You got batteries in that thing?

Everyone's a skeptic.

I've been meaning to ask you,

Harry Dresden, "wizard"?

Let me guess.

A couple of summers
ago you were a Jedi knight

and now you're
a wizard named Harry?

It's good marketing I guess,

but couldn't you
come with something



a little more original?

My father named me
after Harry Houdini.

You heard of him?

He was a circus freak,
right, like Bozo the Clown?

Do you have a license
for this thing?

Look, if this is
a personal visit,

I don't do parties and
I don't do love potions,

so unless you got a serious job,

the way in is also the way out.

Lieutenant Murphy
wants to see you.

You know the drill.

Hey Murphy, so did you
have this guy pick me up

to give him grief or me?

I sent him because
I have a case.

Interested?

I'm guessing you got weirdness?

What I've got is
two dead bodies.

Wow.

Champagne, candlelight,

room with a view...

they had quite a night planned.

Yeah, until someone ripped their
hearts out of their chests.

Coroner estimates the time of
death was about 12 hours ago.

Victims were Jennifer Randall
and Thomas Edward Thompson.

Tommy Tom, the mobster.

Wizard and organized
crime connoisseur!

Quite a nice resume
you got there...

Gandalf.

So you're thinking a hit, right?

Jennifer was just
a college student.

No arrest record, not
even a parking ticket.

B average in sociology
at Northwestern.

Tommy Tom, on the other hand...

Did not major in sociology.

Our working theory is
that someone broke in,

subdued them, cut their
chests open with a knife,

stuffed fire crackers
into their hearts

and set them off.

Then they left.

Yeah, except there were
no signs of forced entry.

There's no drag marks,
there's no footprints,

there's no powder burns.

There's no knife marks on
the victims' skin or ribs.

Which means our
working theory sucks.

That's why you're here.

These people weren't
stabbed Murphy.

Nothing touched them.

Their hearts exploded
out of their chests.

There's only one thing
that can do that.

A microwave?

Black Magic.

It's as black as it gets.

Hey, the murder weapon
was Black Magic?

Yeah, look Murphy, we both
know there's no such thing

as magic.

I appreciate your
offer, I really do,

but I can't help
you on this one.

To solve this case

I'd have to recreate the way
the murders were done

and if I do that
there are people

that will be unhappy with me;
Seriously unhappy.

Your bosses?

The society?

Association?

High Council.

Do yourself a favor,

forget I ever told
you about them.

I gotta go.

The High Council.

Capital H, capital C.

Cue ominous music.

It's kind of like the bar
association for wizards.

They provide oversight;

They administer
the entrance exams

and try to basically keep all
this magic stuff out of sight

and under control.

The good guys, theoretically.

But cross them and you'll wish
you'd never slung a spell.

Morgan.

Nice to see you, buy you a beer?

The stick, drop it!

Two people are dead Dresden,
killed by the Black.

There's only one
operator in this city

who can work that kind of spell.

It wasn't me.

I had nothing...

Dresden,

if you want mercy

you're going to have
to talk to Ancient Mai.

Really?

Mai, you're looking young today.

You know, someone your
age really shouldn't be

eating that stuff.

Now tell me something
I care about.

Well how about I didn't
kill those two people.

I didn't do it and
Morgan didn't do it,

so that leaves you.

What ever happened to the
benefit of the doubt?

You lost that right 5 years ago

when you killed your uncle
Justin Morningway

with Black magic.

That was self defense.

Your face is slipping.

Look, I'm not the
only answer here.

We could be looking at an
out-of-town or something

out of the never-never, or
even a free agent/sorcerer.

Which is the only reason
you're still breathing.

I'm going to make this
very simple Dresden,

if someone else did this,

prove it.

Find him

and bring me
his head on a platter.

Because if I don't get his head,

I'm taking yours.

High Council justice isn't
>like the regular legal system.

It's more old school

with blunt implements
and sharp edges.

So when Mai tells
me to do something.

I can't exactly appeal
to a higher court.

Prove it...

And if I screw up
I'm not likely to get

a stay of execution either.

Science says any piece of person

contains a blueprint
of the whole;

DNA, all that stuff.

But people like me,
we've always known that.

We get a part of someone,
blood, hair, whatever,

and you got a hook
into the whole burrito,

a window into the soul.

Where you gonna take me?

What changed you mind?

Does it matter?

How did you find this place?

Pretty lux for a student.

The lease was in
Tommy Tom's name.

If he put her up in
such a nice place,

what were they
doing at the hotel?

Maybe he wanted to treat
her to a night out,

a change of scenery.

Maybe.

- Is our victim?
- Yeah.

Jennifer Randall with her parents

and her two best friends.

Old portrait, who's she?

Grace Cutler, a friend.

You're wasting your time Dres,

Jennifer Randall is a side show.

We're here because of Tommy Tom.

Assuming Tommy Tom is
the principal target.

Let's go sit down for a second.

After you.

Okay, technically.

I'm not supposed to talk
about this stuff to civilians

so you'll have to
pretend like you

don't believe a word I'm saying.

I think I can manage that.

The first thing to know is
there's lots of different

kinds of spells.

You've got summoning,
divination, enchantment.

The point is,

our killer wasn't
in the hotel room;

No line of sight.

And that leaves
only one possiby,

Thaumaturgy.

Thaumaturgy works by remote.

Think voodoo doll.

You get someone's hair or blood,

you put it into a
representation of them

and then whatever happens
to the representation

happens to the original.

The thing is,
to fuel Thaumaturgy

you have to use
a strong emotion,

and love is good.

Anger is better and hate is
best of all, serious hate.

Killing Tommy and
Jennifer like that,

ripping their hearts out,

that takes serious hate;

The kind of hate that most
people don't experience

in their entire lives.

Tommy Tom was a bad man
who caused a lot of pain.

Yeah, but the question we
should be focusing on

is who hated poor little
innocent Jennifer Randall?

Jennifer Randall died
because someone hated her.

But to hate someone you
have to really know them.

So when I'm looking
for someone's enemies

the first people I check
into are their friends;

The closer the better.

Yes?

Mrs. Cutler?

Harry Dresden,

I'm a consultant with
the Chicago police.

I have some questions
about your daughter Grace.

Do you have a moment please?

I don't understand,

Grace died of an overdose
almost a year ago.

Why are you here?

An overdose?

I thought you said you
were with the police?

Oh, I am, I am.

I'm just looking into the
death of Jennifer Randall.

Jenny's dead?

Yeah.

Grace... she and Jennifer
were close, right?

I don't think I want
to talk about this.

No, I just want to know
about their relationship.

Were they good friends?

Friends!

If it weren't for
Jennifer and Linda

my daughter would
be alive today.

Grace didn't do drugs, not
until she met those girls.

I everything because of them;

My daughter and my husband.

Your husband?

You lost your husband too?

Victor...

After Grace he lost
interest in everything,

his practice, me,
his entire life.

His practice?

What was he, a doctor?

He's a dentist,

but he gave it up.

Instead of going to work he
just spent all his time

in Grace's room going through
her things over and over

and... and one day I found
him lying in his office.

I didn't even know he owned gun.

Yes.

Just go.

Grief is a powerful emotion.

It can be healing or it can
be twisted into a dark

and destructive anger.

Monica Cutler had lost her
daughter and her husband,

but did that make her a
mourner or a murderer.

Who's there?

This will be a lot easier

if you'd just
get an email address.

What can I say?

Technology doesn't like me.

Grace Cutler's Coroner
report, like you asked.

It's all there.

They found her body
in a seedy hotel room,

evidence of a heart attack,
probably a speed ball.

Well I don't see a
toxicology report.

Dresden, this Grace Cutler
stuff is a wild goose chase.

Just because she was a friend
of Jennifer Randall

doesn't mean their
deaths are related.

Two girls, friends, both dead
before their 21st birthdays

and you're saying
that's a coincidence.

It happens.

Oh please!

You do this stuff to
make me crazy, don't you?

I ask you to
investigate Tommy Tom,

you go after Jennifer Randall.

I finally start getting
on board with that

and now it's Grace Cutler?

When I was investigating
Jennifer Randall

no one bothered me.

I started looking into
Grace Cutler and bang,

someone comes after me.

And that's usually a sign.

I'm on the right track.

Grace Cutler is the way in.

Being a wizard doesn't
mean I can snap my fingers

and know everything.

There you go.

Sometimes when I don't
know what to do next

it's important to take
a step back and,

you know, maybe call a friend.

And if that friend happens to
be an investigative reporter

who knows something

about looking into
suspicious overdoses...

Susan?

Well, there's nothing
like a friend with benefits.

You're early, as usual.

Harry, you can do
better than that.

"Susan, what a
pleasant surprise!"

"Come in, let me
take your coat."

Of course. And that.

Nice towels.

Uh huh.

Susan, Susan, Susan,

it's not a date if we
never leave the apartment.

Now we're going
for dinner and the movie

and you're going to wait there
while I get dressed, okay?

Your loss.

The astounding Dresden.

My dad.

He once opened for Sinatra.

So what happened to you,
stage fright?

Very funny.

Oh I got it.

Susan, no, no!

Where's Dresden?

Susan get away from the door!

Okay, get down, just get down.

Oh god, it's a spike demon.

Demon!?

Yeah, it's okay, just stay down.

It can't cross the threshold.

Unless it's really strong.

Who summoned you and
why are you here?

Want answers, force
them out of me.

Okay, I got to get
you out of here.

Okay, down in the basement

there's a potion
under the benches.

Drink it and it will
help you escape.

Go. Come on.

- Oh my coat!
- What are you doing?

I'm getting my coat Harry!

Demon! Get down there!

Yeah, now what is
the problem here?

How disappointing.

I thought you'd be stronger.

Drink this now.

Okay.

Quick as you can,
save some for me.

Too much cheetah hair.

"Cheetah hair?"

We gotta go.

He's probably right behind us.

Oh man.

Okay, you wait here.

I'll make sure
the coast is clear.

I have an idea.

You play the helpless damsel
and I'll go check things out.

Nnnno, Susan, I'm serious.

I gotta deal with this.

Susan...

Ahh!

- Are you okay?
- Define okay.

That thing, s it?

Dead? No. I wish.

You can't kill
something like that.

It's banished...

for awhile anyway.

Compelling a demon,

ordering it to attack som

is like hiring a hit man.

It usually works
but there's a price.

It means you're desperate,

and desperate people
make mistakes,

mistakes I can use against them.

What about werewolves?

Can't talk about it.

Goblins, witches,
trolls, vampires?

Still can't talk about it.

So that was an actual demon.

Magic is real.

Summoning a demon.

Did you really think Ancient
Mai would let that slide?

Harry, how did he...

where did he come from?

It's a good question.

You want to answer
the nice lady;

Tell a civilian here how
you can just show up?

Spare the lecture.

I should end you now.

Hey, leave him alone.

Susan, don't do that.

Stay out of this.

You can't tell me what to do.

I'm a reporter.

Oh, good for you.

Son of a...

Attacking a warden
of the High Council;

Imprisoning me.

You just signed your
own death warrant.

Like you weren't already
going to execute me.

You can't keep me
in here forever.

My head.

A perfectly good head.

Two eyes, nose, little mouth,
all in the right place.

I have to go out, but you
just try to rest, okay.

No way! I'm coming with you.

No Susan, Susan.

Ah, on second thought...

Take it easy.

Basement is off limit.

There's leftovers in the fridge.

Help yourself.

And if a big furry
monster comes in

and sits on your chest,

well, that's my cat.

Personalize plate 1SXYL1MO.

Registered to
137 Harrington Place.

Harrington Place.

Got it.

Thanks Murphy, I'll
talk to you soon.

Wait! Dresden...

What?

I pay your bills, remember?

Sorry.

If you have a lead
you're supposed to...

It's a bad connection.

I've got to go.

Don't you dare hang up on me!

Dresden!

Linda?

Bianca.

Why did it have to be Bianca?

Back away from the car!

I don't have time for this crap.

The magical world isn't so
different from the normal one.

It's full of predators and prey

and in Chicago

one of the biggest predators
of them all is Bianca.

Harry, what a pleasant surprise.

I didn't think I'd
see you again so soon.

Well if it were up to me
I wouldn't be here at all.

You know Harry, it's the little
lies that we tell ourselves

that make life so amusing.

"I won't cheat on my
wife; I'm a good person."

Oh we all say the
right words Harry,

but when temptation comes
along, well, here you are.

I didn't come here to be turned
into one of your zombies.

No.

No, your addictions run
much darker, don't they?

Why are you here Harry?

I thought we had
an understanding.

And I thought you agreed
to behave yourself.

Oh Harry, have I been naughty?

Jennifer Randall, Grace
Cutler, Linda Atwater.

You recognize these girls?

Pretty. What about them?

Dead, dead and dead.

All three of them.

Linda?

Linda is dead?

No, that's
impossible, I just t...

Talked to her, I know.

I found your number
on her auto dial.

Bianca, I got 4 dead bodies,
three of them innocent girls,

and you're connected
to all of it.

Now what do you know and
what did you do to them?

You mean, hurt Linda?

Get out!

I want answers Bianca.

- Good night Dresden!
- What did you do to them?

Okay, okay, okay.

Bianca, no more games.

Three girls:
Grace, Jennifer, Linda.

What do you know about them?

Why are you bothering me?

I thought we were done.

Mrs. Cutler, your daughter
didn't die from an overdose.

Now don't you want
to know the truth,

because I know I would.

You've got ten minutes.

Thank you.

It all started when your
daughter and her friends

went to a party hosted by
a woman named Bianca.

Bianca's isn't the kind of
place where 3 wide-eyed

college girls belong,
but they went anyway.

The thing about Bianca's is
whatever you're looking for,

you can find it there.

Jennifer Randall met a man,
a mobster named Tommy Tom.

He showed her passion,
power and corruption.

Linda Atwater had her eyes
opened to a world of wealth

and sensuality.

But your daughter Grace,
what she was looking for

wasn't so simple,

so she had to
search a little deeper.

Your daughter was smart;
She was talented, focused,

but she was unsure of herself.

She never felt like
she was in control

and at Bianca's.

Grace found something that
gave her that control -

an ancient skill-

the craft of magic.

Call it what you want,

but there's a right way and
a wrong way to use magic.

There's a path of light
and a path of darkness

and Grace chose the Black.

When you use the Black

it eats at you,

makes you dependant so you
want to use it more and more.

Sooner or later
it starts using you.

Eventually your daughter
got in too deep.

Acario shekarek...
I summon thee.

Acario shekarek, I summon thee.

She slipped up.

It cost her her life.

This is crazy.

You're crazy.

Get out!

Get out of my house.

Making me leave isn't
gonna change the truth.

It was heroin.

The police told us so.

Linda had been busted
for possession.

Jennifer was sleeping
with a dealer.

It was her friend's fault!

You're angry, huh?

You want to lash out.

Grace's friends... me...

Why are you doing this?

When I found my husband his
head was in so many pieces

the only way they
could identify him

was by checking his teeth.

Sorry I upset you.

Please leave.

I'm so sorry.

The talent for magic
runs in families.

I get it from my mother, but
if Monica Cutler knew magic

she would have used it
to lash out at me

when I pushed her buttons.

So Grace Cutler didn't
inherit her talent

from her mother.

What are you doing?

Which left only 1 possibility.

This belong to Victor?

It's his old textbooks.

Do you have the key?

I wouldn't know
where to find it.

Never mind, it wasn't locked.

What is all that?

They ID'd your husband by
his dental records, right?

Where'd they get his records?

From his personal files.

Let me guess, no autopsy
because it was suicide;

The body was cremated as per
your husband's wishes, right?

You... What are you saying?

What I think is your
husband is still alive.

So this Cutler guy
faked his own death

and he's been out there
on the run ever since?

Well, not on the run.

This guys no pro, he's
just a talented amateur.

Even with all the anger
he's feeling though,

he'd still need a ton
of extra juice

to fuel his spells.

That means a permanent
ritual area, home base.

I'll find him.

Okay, but just promise
you'll be careful.

Don't try to talk to him
or confront him, just...

Bye, bye.

Okay.

That's for hanging up on me,

stealing evidence
from a crime scene

and assaulting an officer!

You mean Kirmani? He counts?

And these...

are for being spotted in
the car with the dead body

of Linda Atwater.

I didn't kill that girl.

Best I could tell

she saw Kirmani drag
me to the crime scene.

She thought I killed Jennifer,

she started following me

and then the real
murderer caught up to her.

The only person that
caught up to her was you!

I gave you her address.

My license plate search

is on record in the
Department computer system.

The only thing I hate more
than being played and lied to

is being made to look like
an accessory to a murder.

I know who did it Murphy.

Karmani saw you.

He's already put out an APB.

You just made yourself
the prime suspect

for three murders.

If you really like me for this

you'd be reading me my rights.

All I care about are answers
and I'm not hearing them.

You want answers?

They're inside.

There you go.

Does the stuff belong
to Victor Cutler?

Yeah, and his daughter
Grace before him.

Okay, let's recap.

Grace died of Black magic.

Her father thought it was an
o.d., blamed her friends,

faked his own death

then took up Black Magic
himself to get revenge.

Yup.

Except it's all garbage.

Your suspect is dead; Your
murder weapon is hocus pocus.

You can't walk into a
court with any of it.

Twenty-four hours.

That's all I need.

Come on Susan, pick up.

Come on.

Thanks technology,
I hate you too.

Oh no.

The storms.

He's getting extra
power from the storms.

Come on Murphy.

Dresden?

Victor Cutler, where is he?

What is wrong with you?

Are you hurt?

Victor... I'm his next target.

I've got to find him
before it's too late.

Tell me you found him.

I ran his old addresses all
the way back to the town

where he was born,
Oakview, Michigan.

I got nothing.

Home towns, places of birth,

they have strength,
energy could use.

I have to get there.

For an evil sorcerer,

Oakview, Michigan looks like
a pretty good place to hide.

It's out of the way,
it's quiet and isolated,

and doesn't stand out - at
least not to most people.

Of course as you
work in Thaumaturgy,

trafficking with
the dark powers,

making blood sacrifices,
that kind of stuff,

you don't know how to hide it.

It's the magical equivalent
of lighting a bonfire,

for someone like me.

If I get close enough,
I can feel the heat.

Grace Cutler.

Oh, Oh.

Victor.

Susan!

The heart is such a fragile
thing, easy to break,

impossible to repair.

You let her go.

She has nothing to do with this!

She does, because
you care for her.

The way I treasured my Grace.

So this is all about revenge...

against Jennifer
and Tommy and Linda.

They're criminals and nothing
is going to keep me

from punishing them,
especially not you.

I'll take that.

You okay?

What happened to not
confronting him.

Don't come near.

You should have left me alone.

Didn't leave me
much choice Victor.

You murdered nnocent people.

It wasn't drugs that
killed your daughter;

It was magic - Black Magic.

You're just trying to confuse
me, make me lose my focus.

I've been where you are Victor.

I've used magic to kill.

I know how good it feels, how
much I want to do it again.

This isn't about
revenge anymore;

This is about power -
an addiction.

I don't have to listen to this.

Acario shekarek, I summon thee,

Acario shekarek, I summon thee.

I summon thee.

Now what?

You want your daughter's
murderer, he's right there.

You got that thing's name from
your daughter's books right?

You summoned him,

he had him teach
you the spell you used

to kill Jennifer and the others

and you sent it after me.

Don't you get it?

Grace summoned it before you
did and it killed her and now

it's convincing you to kill
innocent people in her name.

I know what I'm doin.

Kill him! Kill the wizard!

You don't get it; Just because
that thing does what you say

doesn't mean it
can't manipulate you.

You're an even bigger
fool than your daughter.

No, back!

Amateurs.

Now you.

Okay buddy.

Susan, no!

Put her down, put her down!

Want to save the girl? Force me.

Use the black, seal my fate?

That, or the girl dies.

Dres! Don't!

How very brave.

Use the Black Dresden,
you know you want to.

You dream about it,
it's inside you.

Whisper it.

All you got to do is let it out.

You go to hell!

Holy water!

One last chance - compel me!

I don't think so.

Say it or you die!

You're not going to kill me.

You need a wizard to keep you
here, to summon and compel you!

And with Victor and Grace
dead I'm your only hope.

If I die they'll be no more
fun and games for you.

You forget, I'm immortal,
I've got all eternity to wait

for another sucker, but you...

Morgan.

Dresden.

Hold that thought.

Susan, are you all right?

She's a lot tougher
than she looks.

How lowere you
standing out there?

Long enough.

So you let me twist in the
wind just to see me suffer?

Wanted to hear what
you had to say.

Another test.

Did I pass professor?

Class dismissed.

- I'm alive.
- For now.

Don't look so disappointed.

A demon was summoned;
People are dead.

If I could prove that you were
responsible for any of that

we wouldn't be
having this conversation,

but I've been told otherwise.

So you went to bat for me.
I'm speechless.

Works for me.

So, you're off the hook -
for now, but I know you,

you'll screw up again and
I'll be there when you do.

It's not fair, you know.

Murderer/sorcerer, a
demon, an heroic wizard;

Got the story of a lifetime
and no one wants to print it.

Skeptics, you'll
get used to them.

And on the bright side,

I stopped the bad guy
and I got the girl.

How did that happen?

Magic?

Magic.

Magic, it can be
dark, dangerous, deadly,

but if you walk the
straight and narrow,

stay pure of heart,
all that stuff,

you can also use magic

to make the world
a little brighter.