Zoo (2015–2017): Season 1, Episode 5 - Blame It on Leo - full transcript

NARRATOR: For centuries, mankind
has been the dominant species.

We've domesticated animals,
locked them up, killed them for sport.

But a series of recent events
seem to suggest

all across the globe
animals have decided "no more."

And so we were hired,

a team of people
from different backgrounds,

with different specialties.

An expert in animal behavior,

a journalist,

safari guide,

foreign intelligence agent,



and a veterinary pathologist.

Our task: To find out
what is happening with the animals,

why it's happening, and how to stop it.

Previously on Zoo:

JACKSON:
That's a bat.

- Flying a little high, isn't it?
- And a little too early in the day.

Do you have family? I never asked.

Yeah, we're not close.

As you can imagine,
I'm an acquired taste.

Okay. Why are you in Mississippi?

I believe that's what
you would call classified.

You know, in America,
we have this thing.

It's called inter-agency cooperation.

- You should try it sometime.
- Perhaps I will, but not tonight.



Good night, Agent Shafer.

[WOLF ROARS
AND MAN SCREAMS]

MAN:
Over here!

[ALARM RINGING]

[WOLVES HOWLING]

Over here!

MAN:
Those are Hartley's clothes.

BEN:
So where is Evan Lee?

Well, we've been here for two days.

And already, we've discovered
unusual bacteria inside a wolf

that's behaving abnormally.
That's an accomplishment.

JAMIE: I found this. It's his... Hartley's.
It was in his cell.

I also found this.

- That Evan Lee Hartley?
- That's my father.

JAMIE:
Anything yet?

You know what's guaranteed
to make this go faster, Jamie?

You saying "anything yet"
every 25 seconds.

- Okay. I know. I know, but...
- We're running out of time. I know.

Here's something.

Evan Lee Hartley wrote this name
all over his Bible.

- Leo Butler.
- Let me see.

I can't find anything to explain
why he kept this picture

of him and my dad, but...

Leo Butler. Here. And here.

Here.

Who's Leo Butler?

- Hey, now.
JAMIE: What? What is it?

Looks like a type
of Alcanivorax bacteria.

The kind they use to clean up oil spills.
Eats hydrocarbons.

Okay, well, how'd it wind up
in the blood of a wolf?

The usual way.

It went from a primary consumer
all the way to a tertiary consumer.

Professor, remember your audience.

I spent every one of my science classes
thinking about my English homework.

The food web. Chain reaction.

[SINGING] There was an old lady
Who swallowed a cat

She swallowed the cat
To catch the bird

She swallowed the bird
To catch the spider

- Mitch, we really got to get going.
- That wiggled and jiggled

And tickled inside her

She swallowed the spider
To catch the fly

[BELL RINGS]

- Mitch, did you hear that? Let's go.
- Hang on a second. I got something.

- Mitch, we really got to go.
- Yup. On my way.

We are going to get caught.
We have to get out.

Mitch, move!

Ripped By mstoll

Hey.

[ENGINE STARTS]

Slipping out without getting caught
by the teacher.

Takes me back.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]

[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]

Yeah, once I increased
the magnification,

I saw a chemical signature.

A string of benign molecules that have
no bearing on the bacteria whatsoever.

Audience, Mitch. Remember it.

It means
the bacteria was man-made.

And it was signed by the chemist
who created it.

- Then we need to talk to this chemist.
- Not that easy.

Think of the signature
as a graffiti tag.

I saw it, but I still have no idea
who painted it on the wall.

- So we're at a dead end.
- Not yet.

I forwarded the signature
to a guy I know at MIT.

He might be able to come up
with an ID for us.

Pack your bags.
We're going to Rio.

- Heh. I love this job. Ha-ha-ha.
- What's in Rio?

You said if you could find out
what all of these animals

we've encountered have in common,

you can maybe find a way
to figure out what's happening.

- Well, you can add bats to your list.
- Bats.

Thousands of them swarming
all over Rio, in broad daylight.

That's weird, right?

What, the daylight thing?

Bats are nocturnal,
but it's not unheard of.

Thousands of them though?

Yeah. Oh.

- Excuse me, guys.
- Can I talk to you for a second?

I'm not going to Rio.

- Jackson...
- I'm going to find Leo Butler.

You don't know
that Butler is connected to your father.

And you don't know that he's not.

That was my guy at MIT.
He was able to ID the signature.

It was a chemist who used
to work at Reiden Global.

JAMIE:
What?

The company you all keep telling me
isn't the root of all evil?

That Reiden Global?

- Did you get a name?
- I did.

- Leo Butler.
- Leo Butler?

- Why? You know him?
- No.

But I sure as hell want to.

Okay, Jackson, you stay here
with Jamie and you find this Leo Butler.

The rest of us will go to Rio.

[BELL DINGS]

WOMAN: The pilot has turned off
the fasten-seatbelt sign.

You're free to roam about the cabin.

They can't fly this high, you know.

Bats. They can't fly this high.

You were flying at a much lower altitude
when they came at you in Japan,

so nothing to worry about.
At least until we start our descent.

Meantime, in order to keep
your mind off all things bat,

I thought, uh,
I'd offer up some facts.

- Facts about what?
- Facts about bats.

- Bat fact number one.
- Oh, God.

Their wings are actually
webbed fingers.

Bat fact number two.

The phrase "blind as a bat,"
kind of a misnomer.

I mean, they don't see too well,

but same can be said
for some of us, right?

Word on the street is Butler
has been blackmailing Reiden

ever since he went underground

and dispersing the money
to various charities,

charities all over the world
that give the money to people

who've been wronged by Reiden.

- Are these internal Reiden documents?
- I've made some friends over the years.

Bloggers. Hacktivists.
People under the stairs.

- But they got us these.
- This is completely illegal.

I like it.

- Okay, well, we have to find him.
- I'm getting close.

A guy's gotta live while he's out there
being Robin Hood, right?

Butler has been paying himself
with a portion of the blackmail money,

routing it through shell companies
with PO boxes all over the Gulf Coast.

I think with a little time and some luck
I can get his actual address.

Wow.

This is... This is good.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Miss Campbell.
Agent Shafer with the FBI.

- We met at the prison.
- Yes, of course. Agent Shafer.

I see what you did there.

You said my name louder
than necessary

as if to alert somebody in your room
of my presence.

Yeah, my subterfuge game
isn't so tight.

- Well, frankly, it's terrible.
- How'd you know we were here?

Miss Tousignant asked me
to keep her in the loop

on the Evan Lee Hartley manhunt.
She told me where you'd be staying.

Agent Shafer. Please, come in.

- Great.
- No. Jackson, I don't think...

Ahem. So have you found him?
Hartley?

I didn't say that.

I implied it so you'd let me in.

See, his subterfuge game is tight.

Well, I am a trained professional.

What do you want?

What does Reiden Global have
to do with the prison fire?

Why do you ask that?

Well, Reiden was hacked yesterday

and somehow, some
of their documents found their way

into your e-mail address.

- How...?
- We have a cybercrime division.

We're good like that.

So first, I find you scam your way
into a crime scene at a prison

and now,
you've hacked into Reiden Global.

So how about you tell me
what you're really up to?

[SIGHS]

I have a friend
at the Brazilian Intelligence Agency.

When we arrive in Rio,
she will brief us on the situation.

Sounds like a plan.
Proud to be part of it.

MAN: Ladies and gentlemen,
we are beginning our descent

into lovely Rio de Janeiro.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

What is it?

All flight attendants,
please return to your seats.

MITCH:
Bat fact number three.

Apparently, it's worse than we thought.

Ah. Joey cut his hair.

Can you believe that, Henry?

Oh. Here's something about Tristan.

It says he has a black lab
named Esther.

It'd be fun to go out with a boy
who had a dog.

Or even a boy who didn't have a dog.

Okay. Good boy, Henry.

[DOG BARKING]

[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

You okay?

Sweetie? Okay, baby, come on.

MAN: You okay, kiddo?
- Yeah.

It wasn't a bad one.

And Henry warned me in time.

MAN:
Good boy.

Hey, you know,
you can't just arrest him

before we've had a chance
to talk with him.

BEN:
Sure I can. In fact, I have to.

Once I called the Bureau
to pinpoint Leo's location

from a list of PO boxes,
it became an official FBI investigation.

Even has a case number.

You have to give me 15 minutes
with him first.

Look, I already agreed to let you
come along on this little boat ride.

- Now you're giving me orders?
- Fifteen minutes. That's all we ask.

Miss Campbell, you just told me

that Leo Butler's blackmailing
a multinational corporation.

It's a federal offense.

Out of everything we told you,
that's your takeaway?

Federal crime,
Federal Bureau of Investigation.

You see the linkage?

How about the fact that when
this guy was working for Reiden,

somehow Leo Butler
created a bacteria

that caused those wolves
to attack a prison?

Let's see.

Leo Butler, a blackmailing embezzler,
invents a bacteria

that accidentally creates
prisoner-eating wolves.

That's what you want me
to tell my bosses at the Bureau?

That's a better takeaway?

CHLOE: We want to know
what is driving the bats wild.

WOMAN:
So do we.

What business is that
of the French government?

I'm sorry. I cannot say it.

State secrets. Of course.

In any case,
it's nice to see you in the field.

Congratulations.

So the bats.
Have your scientists done any testing?

Sim. And the good news,
they have determined the bats

- do not have rabies.
- And the bad news?

Rabies is the only thing that would
even come close to explaining this.

Your friend is a scientist.

One who would love to know
what responses are being considered.

The plan on the table is to drop
a version of endrin on the bats.

Endrin? Come on.
You can't be serious.

- What is endrin?
MITCH: It's an insecticide.

Outlawed in the States
and most developed countries.

It's like chemotherapy. Kills the cancer
but attacks everything else as well.

You do realize
you'd be risking the health

of every single living thing in Rio.

And we are considering
that very issue.

But you've seen the bats.
People are frightened.

Well, at least give us some time.

Because if you kill them all, we'll never
learn what's causing this behavior.

- I'll do what I can.
- Thank you.

But I make no promises.

[ENGINE STARTS]

You know, I can't help but notice
for a city under siege by bats...

No bats.

Not here, at least.

CHLOE:
Why over there and not here?

Hey, wait. We can't go in there.
We don't have a warrant.

Good thing I'm not a cop.

- What's the cage for?
JAMIE: Damned if I know.

[FOOTSTEPS]

- Federal agent. We just wanna talk.
JAMIE: We don't wanna hurt you.

Or maybe we do just wanna hurt you.

MITCH: Come to Rio,
jewel of South America.

I've seen this before,

this kind of jerry-rigged power,
in poorer African villages.

This place might as well be
a separate city,

cut off from all official services.

Utilities, plumbing, power,
telephone service.

To survive, the people are forced
to improvise.

Why do you suppose the bats
congregate here, of all places?

Because it's less sanitary here?

More insects?
More food for the bats?

I don't know. I gotta get ahold of one
of these things, study it up close.

Gabriela was able to delay
the pesticide drop until morning.

Still doesn't give us much time,
does it?

[GUNFIRE]

It's okay.
They're shooting at the bats.

Mitch.

After you.

[BATS SQUEAKING]

CHLOE:
What are they doing?

[SIGHS]

Sometimes insects like
to nest in transformers.

Maybe the bats are feeding.

CHLOE: What?
ABRAHAM: Get down!

[PEOPLE SCREAMING]

Must have been a chain reaction.

[SPEAKS IN PORTUGUESE]

- What did you do?
- Nothing.

We're only studying the bats.

- You're French?
- Yes.

My friend,
we don't want any trouble.

And where are you from,
big papa?

Africa.

Gonna wish you never left.

You might want to reconsider.

[SPEAKS IN PORTUGUESE]

Shall we lower our weapons
and have a discussion?

An American, an African,
and a French woman.

[MAN CHUCKLES]

If you'd walk into a bar together,
we'd have the beginning of a bad joke.

Rio has many sights popular
with the tourists,

but, uh, this neighborhood
is not one of them.

Tell your men to stand down.
We're no threat to them.

The fact that your gun
is still raised says otherwise.

Chloe, please lower your gun.

Perhaps we should pay these men
for their time.

A token of our inconveniencing them.

You have been around.

Here and there.

That's wonderful.

Souvenir.

Look, just tell us what you know
about Evan Lee Hartley.

I don't know who that is.

Your name is written on almost
every other page of his Bible.

Well, that's suitably eerie.

What about Robert Oz?
Robert Oz. Does that ring any bells?

Oz. No. Should it?
Are you gonna hit me again?

Jackson. Please.
Look, we need your help.

Please, can you just talk to us?

So if she's the good cop
and he's the bad cop,

- what does that make you?
- Oh, actually, I'm the only cop.

We need to talk to you
about Reiden Global.

- No. No. No way.
- Leo, please.

No way. I'm not getting involved in this.
They've got people everywhere.

You could be involved with them.

Leo, I'm from Folsom, Louisiana.

- Does that mean anything to you?
- Of course.

There's a brand-new library there
because of you.

I heard it came out beautiful.

What can you tell us
about the Alcanivorax bacteria?

What is taking him so long
to find Henry?

You let the dog out again
with the fence still broken

and you're gonna complain
that your stepdad hasn't found him

- in a timely fashion?
- I know, I know.

I just keep forgetting
that it's not fixed.

- When will it be fixed?
- When I hit the lottery.

That would be such a great story,
it would make the news.

"Mother of a dying girl wins big.
Story at 11:00."

Clementine.

You'd be famous,
and me and Henry too.

I don't wanna be famous for that.

[CELL PHONE CHIMING]

Hello?

Henry got hit by a car
on Cranston Street.

I'm on my way to the vet now.

- Oh, God.
- What is it? What is it, Mom?

ABRAHAM:
What are you looking for, exactly?

Anything abnormal.

Some sort of clue
as to why they're behaving this way.

Could take a while.

That's why I never had any patience
for science.

I'm going to walk to that past?is.

- Does anybody want something?
- No, I'm good.

- Chloe?
- I'm good. Thank you.

I didn't want to say anything
in front of Abe,

but when your friend
was talking earlier, uh, Gabriela,

about seeing you in the field,
what was that about?

- I've not seen her in a long time is all.
- Yeah, I don't think that's it.

Not seeing how you played it
with those street kids.

Might have been nice
if you or your boss would've told us

that our field leader
has no field experience.

I'm entirely qualified for whatever
we may encounter

while carrying out this mission.

Yeah, see, even that sounds
like you read it out of a spy novel.

[SCOFFS]

Someday,
I would like to meet this person

who made you become
this thing you are today.

Was it his mom,
who didn't hug him enough?

A college girlfriend
who broke his heart?

Or was he always the last picked
on the sporting teams?

It was all those things.

Hang on a second.

The eyes have changed.
Shape is different.

Here, come here. Take a look.
Pupils are bigger.

[BAT SHRIEKS
AND CHLOE GASPS]

That's not dead.
That is not a dead bat.

That... Definitely not.

So you mimicked the wolf's brain
inside a coffee pot?

That's actually... That's quite brilliant.

Our brilliance really isn't
the message here.

- And then the coffee pot exploded?
- Literally.

Oh, galloping crud.

Okay, kiddies.
You've had your coffee klatch.

- Time for Loopy Leo to go to jail.
- No, no, ten minutes.

- I'll give you four.
- Jail? Who said anything about jail?

Leo, could the bacteria you created

have caused the wolves' behavior
to change?

No. Not the bacteria.

Leo, please, if there's something
that you know, just tell us.

Look, a lot of guys would not have
given that money to charity.

I know you're one of the good ones.

Ever wonder why Reiden
is so much more successful

than all of their competitors?

It's because they have a vector
that's better than all the others.

- Really?
BEN: Okay.

I'll be man enough to admit it.
I wouldn't know what a vector is

even if the Wi-Fi in this creepy shack
was working.

A vector is a DNA molecule used
to manipulate cellular material

on a genetic level.

Still haven't gotten any smarter
in the last five seconds.

It means they have a molecule

that allows them to be faster,
better, cheaper.

Why doesn't everybody else
just get their own?

Because they can't.

Among other things,
the vector is extremely rare.

Outside of Reiden, you are the only
other people who know it exists.

Only a select few inside Reiden
even know where it comes from.

- They call it the Mother Cell.
- That doesn't sound ominous at all.

LEO: They discovered it
about a dozen years ago.

Preliminary testing proved
how powerful it was.

By the time they realized
the potential side effects, it was too late.

They'd already invested
too much money to back out.

- What side effects?
- I don't sleep anymore,

because I lay awake at night

counting all the different ways
they could kill me.

I'd arrived at 16.

- Sixteen different ways...
- Leo! Side effects.

It's doing something to the animals,
isn't it?

Do you know
where it is used by Reiden?

Maybe you don't understand.

The Mother Cell is in
every single product Reiden makes.

It's everywhere. It's all over the world,
and it can't be stopped.

JAMIE:
No one is gonna hurt you.

Just get us the Mother Cell
and all of this will be over.

We can protect you.
Right, Agent Shafer?

Absolutely.

I keep it hidden, not far from here.

- Fine. We're going with you.
- No. Absolutely not.

You don't have a say in the matter.

I certainly do.
I just won't retrieve it for you.

Well, then you can just go to jail.

That still doesn't get you
the Mother Cell.

Wait, what if I went with you?
Just me.

One of you guys punched him
and the other one's a cop.

- I would under...
- That would be entirely acceptable.

- It would?
- Entirely.

We'll take my boat.

- Vet says it'll cost $3,000.
- Three thousand?

He's gonna need follow-up surgery.

On top of Clem's treatment?

How can we?

You're not gonna like this,

- but maybe we should call him.
- No.

- Aud, I'm just saying.
- Why?

- Because he bought her the dog?
- He is her father.

She hasn't seen him
since she was 2 years old.

No, I am not gonna call him
and guilt him into paying for this.

Okay. We'll go to Plan B.

- We have a Plan B?
- Sure.

Plan B is we make it work.

We'll fix Henry and we'll figure it out.

But we are not gonna let Clem
lose her best friend.

[SIGHS]

[SQUEAKING]

Why are you so anxious?

Still not sure letting her go alone
with that guy was the right thing to do.

Oh, please.
You see the way he looked at her?

Like he'd been wandering
the Sahara Desert for five years

- and she was a lake of root beer.
- Huh?

It means he may ditch her,
but he's not gonna hurt her.

- But just in case, bang.
- What?

I hacked into Leo's account.

Now, he syncs his phone
with his computer,

so I can access the GPS
on his phone.

- You hacked into the account?
- Yeah.

What kind of a federal agent
are you?

A good one. All right, that's them.

If he's able to ditch Jamie
and disappear with the Mother Cell,

we can track him.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

You know what,
keep an eye on them, will you?

- Hello?
- Hello, Jackson? It's Chloe.

- How are things in Rio?
- Good, good.

Um...

It's quiet. At the moment.

Mitch is examining a bat.

He discovered an abnormality
in its eye.

I swear to God, I am gonna kill
that man before this is over.

Yeah, I may beat you to it.

And Abraham,
he has his dark places, no?

Oui. Yeah. Perhaps someday
he'll tell you about it.

So did you find Leo Butler?

Yeah, we did.
He doesn't know my father.

But listen to this. He may...

[GASPING]

Chloe? Hey, what's going on
over there? You okay?

Hey, Chloe. Hey, Chloe.

- Chloe?
- I'm sorry, I have to go.

Is it possible that the bat was attracted
to my phone or to technology?

I mean, is that crazy?

Well, crazy seems to be on
a sliding scale since I met you guys.

The plane in Japan. Perhaps the bats
were attracted to its radio waves.

And what about the solar panels
in the Antarctic?

And those power poles in the favelas
weren't shielded properly.

I think you are using the wrong words.

Being attracted to something is not
the same thing as attacking it.

Well, I don't know. I once threw all
my ex-wife's clothes on the front lawn

because I was attracted to her.

All right, are you guys familiar
with the trophic scale?

Well, pretend we're not.

The trophic scale is an index of where
everything falls on the food chain.

Apex predators are a five.
They're at the top.

Sharks, tigers, birds of prey.
Predators that eat other predators.

Humans, contrary to popular belief,
are only a 2.2.

Alongside pigs and anchovies.

Anchovies.

Now, only two things allow us
to behave like fives.

Our ability to reason...

and our technology.

They're still on the move.

Looks like they docked his boat.
Now they're in his car.

What are you doing?

Leo Butler's name is written
all over Evan Lee Hartley's Bible.

Maybe something in here
will tell me why.

Hold on. We don't have a warrant,

- so none of this can be used in court.
- Spare me the ethics lecture, okay?

You just hacked
into the man's computer.

I'll start on this stuff.

But they can't know it.
The animals, the bats.

Can't know what?

That's it's only our technology
that keeps us from being their prey.

Are you asking if the animals
have somehow developed

a hyper-intelligence?

Whether they know it or not,

this mission of ours has just become
a whole lot less amusing.

- How far can bats see?
- Ahem. Depends.

Some can only see 25 feet, others can
see up to a few hundred yards. Why?

We go far out into the forest

and we hook up something
with an electromagnetic signal,

and we boost it somehow
so the bats can't miss it.

Once there, they'll be too far away to
see any other electromagnetic source.

Exactement.
So maybe they remain there.

All right. Whoa. Whoa.

Let's try and remember
our designations here, okay?

I'm the scientist. You're the analyst.
Still not sure what you are.

- But it could work, yes?
- No. Yes.

Maybe. If we... If we had something
that gave off that kind of signal.

How about a cellular antenna?
Like the one at the favela?

The favelas...

Yeah, you don't remember
what happened to us out there?

Real cellular antennae,
those owned by phone companies,

- will be secured behind locked gates.
- No. No way.

- Do you have another idea?
- You support this plan?

Yes.

I mean, guys,
we have to do something.

If we don't, the government
will drop poison from the sky,

and as you yourself pointed out,

that poison will affect
every living thing in Rio. Including us.

Stay here.

- Where are you going?
- To get it. The Mother Cell.

Almost forgot.

- What are you doing?
- Contributing.

I'm gonna sell some of this stuff
to help pay for Henry's doctor bills.

Sweetie, don't be ridiculous.

Wait.

- Where did you get this?
- From your closet.

I didn't know I still had it.

- You know I love Justin, Mom, right?
- I know.

- But do you think if I got really bad...
- Baby.

- That he would come?

- Clementine.
- Do you?

I don't know. I really don't.

JUSTIN: Hey, guys. Here, boy.
- It's them.

- Is he okay?
- He's gonna be fine.

He just needs to take it easy
for a while and take his meds.

- Welcome to my world, Henry.
- Exactly, babe.

And I'm putting you in charge.

Just like you're good
about taking your medicine,

you gotta be good
about giving Henry his.

I can do that.
Thank you so much, guys.

Thank you so much.

He must be starving.
Come on, Henry. Time for supper.

Come on.

Whew. Thank you.

Plan B. Make your kid smile.

Everything else will take care of itself.

- Hold on.
- What is it?

Looks like some sort of inventory
of products that contain the Mother Cell.

And how and where
those products were used.

You're telling me
that all of these products

have this Mother Cell in them?

But this is everything
from dog food to weed killer.

I know.

[OWL HOOTING]

[GASPS]

Wow.

LEO:
I know, right?

I gotta admit,
I'm kind of glad to be shed of it.

Soon as I pack up my stuff,
I disappear, for good.

Now it's your problem.

[ENGINE STARTS]

[ALARM SOUNDING]

[ENGINE STARTS]

Got the truck.
Be there in five minutes.

We'll be ready.

Think I almost got it.

MAN:
Almost got what?

I can't even begin to understand
what's happening right now. Do not.

You're making a mistake.

Only mistake was keeping Enzo
on his leash earlier.

- Hidey-ho.
MITCH: Hey.

We're... We're actually just trying
to solve your bat problem.

Oh, yeah?

Aliado, it looks to me like you've got
a bat problem all your own.

[GRUNTS]

Here, look.
That's the one I'm gonna buy.

And I'm gonna name her Ventus,
which is the Latin word for wind.

Wow. Beautiful. You'll have
to take me for a sail sometime.

You don't have to work
the charm thing anymore.

You got what you came for.

Leo, I'm forever grateful
for what you did.

And I 100 percent want to go
for a sail with you when this is all over.

- You do?
- Yeah, I do.

LEO: What the hell?
- What is it?

- My GPS is on.
- Okay.

- I don't use my GPS. You tricked me.
- What? No, no...

- Your friends are tracking me.
- No, no, no. Leo.

I told you. I told you
this would happen. I knew it.

No, no, Leo, listen to me.
Nobody is tricking you.

[CRASHING NOISES]

Where is it?

Ripped By mstoll