Awake s01e02 Episode Script

The Little Guy

So tell me how this works.
I'm awake with my wife, then I close my eyes.
I open them; I'm awake with my son.
And this has been happening since the accident? So, you begin working on one case here in reality, and suddenly, you begin working another case there, in your dream.
It all feels completely real to me.
You can't tell whether you're awake or asleep at this very moment.
Well, I can assure you, Detective Britten, this is not a dream.
That's exactly what the other shrink said.
AWAKE S01 Ep02 - The Little Guy Did you wash these? I presume that's teenager for "Thank you.
" They, They smell weird.
Weird? I-I don't know.
They used to smell different.
It's very difficult, isn't it? We can't begin to imagine all the the little ways that a loss affects us until we are confronted with it day by day.
Maybe.
Maybe some of those things aren't really lost.
What are you doing? What? Fabric softener.
Fabric softener.
My God, that is interesting.
Do you know that the exact access to the unconscious mind that you're describing has been sought after since the beginning of civilization? The Greeks used to sleep in temple chambers, hoping to receive insight from their dreams.
Even philosophers and scientists have recorded incredible breakthroughs All I do is end up working twice as many homicides.
Bernard Mackenzie? The fertility doctor, you guys never heard of him? 40-year-old marathoner, and Tuesday he drops dead of a heart attack.
Autopsy report comes back clean, but something about it kept bugging me.
So tonight I do a whole nother workup, and bingo, I find a reason to call my two bestest pals over in Homicide.
Potassium chloride.
Shot of that will give an Olympian a heart attack, but it's usually not very subtle, which is where this guy's killer gets smart.
The doctor here was diabetic, so they planted the chemical in his insulin, pushes it out of the blood, basically makes it untraceable.
Unless you're really good, which I am.
So, congratulations, gentlemen, Dr.
Bernard Mackenzie's death is now officially a murder.
Sorry.
I thought there was more in the fridge.
I'll get to the store tomorrow.
It's fine.
You know, I can go out, or like, eat at Cole's when you're going to be late.
His dad said it's okay.
What, you don't like cereal and soda night? I'm a step away from giving you a bag of sugar and a spoon.
I'm just saying, we don't have to force ourselves to do this.
What, eat? At the table.
Together every night.
You used to eat with your mother, right? When I wasn't here? Yeah, usually.
What did she have to do to convince you to sit down with her? I don't know.
I guess she cooked actual food.
What's all that? Mail.
Rex's.
That was Cole's dad.
Apparently Rex has been having stuff shipped to their address.
Look at this.
Catalogs.
Junk mail.
This one looks like a bill.
Could you pass me a knife? Why? I want to open the box, see what's inside.
Can we just Can we leave that alone? Why? Because I-I What's the point? Well, aren't you curious to see what it is? I mean, he's having stuff shipped to somebody else's house.
All right, fine.
Can you just leave it till I go? What's wrong? I'm not like you.
Okay, I Yesterday, I found his cleat in the trunk of the car, and I I remember he'd lost it, Yeah.
and he'd been looking for it for weeks, and I found it.
And I just stood there, and I It just about put me on the ground.
So, we'll we'll go through his mail, I just Shh.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand how it's so easy for you.
It-It's not that it's easy for me.
I just sometimes things, they don't remind me of him being gone, or the accident, they they remind me of him, you know? I mean, I don't know what's in there, but on the off chance it might have made you think of him, in case it put a smile on your face I thought it was worth opening.
I'm sorry.
No.
It just doesn't work like that for me.
Why do you think that you and your wife have such different reactions when something reminds you of Rex? Sometimes I Sometimes I think she's trying to deal with the fact that he's gone by pretending he was never here.
Where as you simply insist on pretending that he's perfectly fine.
I know you want to hold on to your son, but have you considered the possibility that that fantasy may become incompatible with holding on to your wife? Just because I have a different perspective, I don't see that as a bad thing.
Maybe the fact that I see things differently allows me to know what questions to ask, what answers to focus on.
Maybe it puts me in a better position to help.
What? Number three, Bernard Mackenzie.
What do you know about that? Some dead homeless guy.
Why? Dr.
Bernard Mackenzie's death is now officially a murder.
Let me see the file.
But they worked it.
It's, you know, there's no evidence, no leads, it's a dead end.
Why are you so interested in a dead homeless guy? Just get me the file.
All right.
I think that these sorts of connections between your worlds can be incredibly beneficial, and I support a more active connection between your conscious and unconscious mind.
I think it's gonna aid you in uncovering and processing the source of your emotional issues.
Well, would it surprise you to hear Dr.
Lee feels slightly differently? Let me be clear, Detective.
Your condition is the result of a deeply fractured psyche.
It is a problem.
It is not a tool.
Well, you can call it whatever you like, Doctor.
I seem to be doing all right with it.
Mrs.
Britten? Hey, Cole, Look, your dad was having some mail, dropped off that I guess Rex was having delivered here? Yeah, yeah, right, I Well, anyway, I opened this one and I was just wondering if you could tell me what that is? Yeah, that's, It's a camshaft.
Okay, uh, so new question.
I was wondering if you can tell me maybe why he had a camshaft delivered to your house? Right, yeah, Come with me.
We, uh, had been working on it for the past nine months.
Every time we said we were going to the beach, we actually came here.
You guys bought this? I-I know you guys had said no to him, and my parents said the same thing.
It was It was really all my idea.
Look, if it makes you feel any better, no one ever rode it.
It wasn't finished when Rex, After that, I didn't really feel like working on it, you know? What's this? That's a feeler gauge.
It-it like changes the distance between the, rocker arm and the valve stems.
To be honest, Rex was kind of the one that figured all this stuff out.
You should finish it.
Rex would have wanted you to.
This is a total waste of time.
They canvassed the neighborhood a month ago.
You think it's gotten more likely they're gonna know anything about a dead homeless junkie now? There's only one way to find out.
Did you even look at this guy's file? Bernard Mackenzie four arrests for assault and battery, two for armed robbery, 11 for possession of narcotics.
Now, this is the guy whose murder you suddenly feel compelled to solve? We don't pick the victims, Vega.
- It's our job to clear the cases.
- Don't give me that.
This wasn't our case, and you did pick this victim.
So if you're gonna drag me all over the city trying to dig him up, the least you can do is tell me why this is so important.
Who the hell is Bernard Mackenzie to you? - You want to know the truth? - Yes, I want to know the truth.
I don't have to explain myself to you.
What? I've been doing this job long enough that if I tell you some homeless guy's death is important, as far as you're concerned, it's a Kennedy assassination.
If you have trouble understanding that, you're gonna work me instead of the case all day, why don't you catch a cab back to the office, go do some paperwork, and I'll go be detective.
All right? Sir! Sir, excuse me.
LAPD.
Look, I'm a busy man, I'm very busy.
I understand that.
You know why we're here, don't you? You got any gum? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw that.
I saw that a hundred percent.
A hundred and ten percent.
It was, like, this guy, you know, he went boom! You know, and, like, the other guy, you know, like, dead! Where was this? Right down there.
Right down there where down there is.
Can you tell us what happened, exactly? H-He was a little guy.
The little guy shot him.
He just went boom! Shot him.
Mean little guy.
What'd he look like, this little guy? He was a little man.
I don't know, I-I-I didn't get that close.
I-I can't.
You-you see that house? The yellow one? That's where they keep the antennas.
And when they broadcast, they-they tell you all kind of crazy stuff.
I stay awake.
That's how I stay out of trouble.
The broadcasts.
Well, thank you.
If we have any more questions, we'll beam you up.
Thank you for your time.
If we need you, we'll find you.
You have to be kidding me.
That's your witness? The guy doesn't even know what planet he's on, man.
He thinks gum is money.
Doesn't mean he didn't see anything.
Can we go now? Wait, that's the guy? That's the guy you like for the Mackenzie murder? Yeah.
Why? Well, you didn't tell me he was, like, ten feet tall.
That matter for some reason? No.
I'll lead; you close.
This is ridiculous.
Then help me to see what I'm missing, Dr.
Taylor.
Did you threaten to kill Dr.
Mackenzie in front of his wife? We were arguing, I was venting obviously, I didn't mean it.
Look, the people you should be talking to are those religious groups that send us threatening e-mail all the time.
I've got a whole folder full of death threats for me and Mackenzie.
Well, was it you or a religious group that got into an altercation with the victim two days before he was found dead.
I was simply trying to clean out my office.
He accosted me.
And the office you were cleaning out, that's the one you lost in the lawsuit over the practice? A practice worth millions of dollars a year? I didn't care about that.
Really? Mackenzie's the one who decided that we could start printing money if we just took on a wealthier crowd.
And, then, so he started turning away the people who really do need our help, because they're tough cases affects our stats.
See, the kind of patients that Mackenzie wants, they need see you've got perfect stats.
So after a while I'd had enough.
And yes, when the contracts were all settled, it turns out he figured out a way to screw me out of my own practice.
But Mackenzie was the one who'd kill for another dollar.
I just wanted out.
Whatever happened, it had nothing to do with me.
Because you were at home that night watching television, by yourself, while your wife, your kids, anybody who could corroborate your story, was conveniently out.
Do I have it right so far, Doctor? How tall are you? Six, 11.
Why? It was the little guy.
Definitely.
Lawyer's here.
Okay.
Don't say a word.
But I didn't do Let me handle this.
My client has nothing to say at this time.
If you want to speak further to him, you can charge him with something.
Otherwise, it's time to let him go.
Let him go? Your client made public threats and got into a fistfight with a man who cost him millions of dollars.
That man ended up dead two days later.
Your client not only has no alibi, he had access to the office, knew that the victim was a diabetic, and being a doctor, knew exactly how to kill somebody and make it look like a heart attack.
Your client isn't going anywhere.
Then we're done talking.
What were you watching? Don't answer that.
You said you were watching television.
What were you watching? I can't help you if you don't talk.
It's an innocent question; you're saying you're innocent.
I don't see what the problem is.
What were you watching? Sunday night, I was watching the football game.
Office security said that the lights were tripped in the kitchen area where Mackenzie kept the insulin at around 9:00 p.
m.
That would've been the third quarter.
Remember anything about the third quarter? Arthur, I'd advise you not to say anything else until we've had a chance to speak.
- Who was winning? - Arthur.
The Steelers.
- They'd just scored.
- Which you could've found out by looking at a newspaper.
You remember anything the commentator said, anything specific? I remember something about the defense.
How the team was so banged up, the one commentator said that they'd ask him to play.
Something like that.
Is that right? Let's find out.
They're not gonna get anywhere on the field.
They've got so many people injured, I think even I'm in their dime package.
You can see the defen All right, so Taylor either saw the game, or made a tape and memorized the commentary.
Since he didn't think he had an alibi, I'm saying he saw the game.
He's not the guy.
That's quite a catch.
You don't pull that out of your hat and Taylor's in a cell waiting for a bail hearing.
Just trying to see it from all the angles.
No.
I saw it on your face the minute he walked in the room.
Lot of evidence against him, but you didn't like him for it.
Mind telling me what you saw that I didn't? I don't know, s something felt off.
And you asking him about his height, was that just part of what felt off to you? Intuition.
Okay.
So where does that leave us? Well, he said they had death threats.
What do you say we pull all their computers and see what we come up with? And what's your intuition telling you about going down that road? If I hear from it, you will be the first person to know.
Hey.
Anything? Yeah.
Threatening e-mails were standard issue, but our technical guys went through the clinic's computer system and found out it had been hacked.
Somebody had installed a backdoor to all the clinic's records, and within hours of the doctor's murder about 20 of those records disappeared.
Can we track this hacking somebody down? Let's ask Nat.
I.
P.
address belongs to Laura Harvison.
Her records are among the ones deleted within hours after the murder.
I looked her up.
Paralegal who barely knows how to use her own Facebook page.
It's really unlikely she pulled this off.
Right.
So who did? She's got a 17-year-old son.
More likely that's your hacker.
All right.
And, uh, what about the deleted records? Trying to retrieve copies from an off-site backup, but it's gonna take some time.
You got a name for this 17-year-old kid? Sam.
Sam Harvison.
All right.
Let's go see if we can pull Sammy away from the keyboard long enough to have a chat.
- Yeah.
- Thanks.
Just please, just don't tell my mom.
Why don't you walk us through what happened.
I was only trying to find my own file.
But once I was in, I accidentally altered some of the others.
I didn't mean to it was stupid but then every time I tried to fix it, I ended up just making it worse.
I didn't know what to do.
Why so interested in your file? My dad he found out that he had cancer, like, a few months after he married my mom.
He donated the-the sperm that they used to make me before he started his treatment.
And then by the time that Dr.
Mackenzie got my mom pregnant he wasn't doing well.
And he died a few months after I was born.
I just wanted to know my dad.
I never knew him.
I've tried to find out about him.
This just seemed like the easiest way to get ahold of his medical records, you know.
Why not just ask your mom? My mom I'm, like, the last remaining bit of my dad.
I'm, like, this reminder of the man that she loved.
So it just seemed easier to get the information myself.
At least, I thought it was.
I wasn't trying to mess anything up.
I swear to you.
Where were you on Sunday Sunday night, about 9:00 p.
m.
? Sunday? I was at a movie.
MmWere you with anyone? No.
But I might still have the ticket, if my mom hasn't thrown it out.
Yes There it is.
- Does-does that help? - Can I keep this? - Yeah, sure.
- Okay.
Thank you.
We'll let you know if we have any other questions.
How tall are you, Sam? Five, five.
Why? What's going on with you? When did this case become about how tall everybody is? It's kinda hard to explain.
Try me.
Well, it's just a theory.
I spoke to the alarm company.
They said there's a little window in the doctor's office with a broken contact that they didn't bothered to fix because they didn't think anybody could fit through there.
Okay.
Well, I figure somebody got through there, fixed the doctor's insulin, slipped out again without leaving a trace.
You just said it's too small for anybody to fit through.
No.
I said they said that.
Somebody small could fit through there, somebody like Sam Harvison could fit through there.
So instead of worrying about the people who work there, the people who walk right through the front door, you want to focus on people who can fit through a window? Why? Well, we don't have any motive for people who worked there.
And what you got for window boy? Nothing yet.
They're working on the records he deleted.
Maybe there's something in there.
So you're waiting for evidence to point at something you've already decided instead of deciding anything based on the evidence? This is not how you work a case, Mike.
I mean, this kid owes his life to Dr.
Mackenzie.
Without him, there is no Sam Harvison.
That's not just no motive, that's like an anti-motive.
And what does any of this have to do with being able - to fit through a window? - I don't know.
Like I said, just a theory.
We're going to the beach.
Be back later.
The beach? What are you talking about? We're supposed to have dinner.
Cooked up a fajita feast.
Come on, sit down.
Get it while it's hot.
Cole and I already made plans.
Well, we made plans last night.
And, Cole, no offense, but you look like you need fattening up.
Come sit down.
I just want to hang out with my friends.
You know, I went to a lot of trouble here.
And it smells good, doesn't it? - Come on, you know you want some.
- Yeah, yeah.
Save me some.
You be back at 11:00.
You call me at 10:00.
Bye, Mr.
Britten It's Coachella, man.
It's, like, three days of amazing bands.
We take the bike out, camp, it'll be awesome.
You said it was slipping in first, right? And third to fourth.
So, uh, what do you think? We're gonna have a hard time explaining why we disappear for three days.
Well, we'll make something up.
Like, a field trip, or-or like a college visit or something.
My dad doesn't have any idea about that stuff.
Yeah, dude, he's a detective.
Okay.
I think he's gonna figure it out.
Hasn't figured this out, has he? I I guess not, I just I don't know.
I mean, since when have you been so interested in, like, being smooshed together with thousands of people in hundred-degree heat? It's It's just a cool thing.
- Sorry I tried to include you.
- Okay.
Well, then, like, what if we say that Hey.
Hey.
Do you want to walk? I'll be back.
Dude, I thought we were gonna I won't be long.
Hey, Emma.
Yeah? You wouldn't happen to be going to Coachella, would you? Yeah.
Why? No reason.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- Morning.
- Morning.
- I'm sorry, I gotta run.
- Yeah.
I got coffee on for you.
Hey, I wanted to say something to you last night, but you got in so late, I I went through that mail.
And? It was good.
That box was a part for a motorcycle Rex and Cole were rebuilding.
What? Yeah.
Apparently, every time they went to the beach, that's where they went, to work on it.
The beach.
I'm telling you.
You should see this thing, it's amazing.
I mean, I didn't even know Rex could change batteries, let alone do anything mechanical.
Didn't we tell him clearly no motorcycle? But I-I he wanted it, so he found a way.
Sound like anyone you know? Anyway, I wanted to thank you.
For what? You were right.
Yeah, I-I When I saw that motorcycle, or when I saw this thing that Rex was just pouring himself into, and-and I didn't even know about it, something about it just felt weirdly alive.
You know, and I wasn't standing there sobbing.
I was I felt proud.
Yeah, it was just nice to think about Rex and feel something other than devastated.
That's great.
So, I'm gonna take Cole down to the shop, get some last parts and You should come by, check it out.
Yeah, well, I'd love to.
All right.
The beach.
You gonna be late? I don't know.
I'm kinda caught up on one at the moment.
I love you.
Love you.
Hey.
We got a fresh one.
Stabbing victim on Grand.
They're waiting on us.
Roll it to DaSilva.
We're on one.
We're not on anything.
We're looking at pictures of short people.
This is insane.
We're up.
This is our case.
Let's go.
- Detective Britten? - Hey.
Why don't you guys head over to Observation One.
I'll be there in a minute.
Could-could I maybe get a sandwich? Sure.
Get him a sandwich.
You have to be kidding me.
I already told you, if you don't want to work it, go read a comic book, just stay out of my way.
There's nothing to work on.
And I'm not the one in the way, you are.
I just told you we're up.
We have a real case, with a body on the ground, and you want to have lunch with a homeless guy? We're not up.
It's DaSilva's.
It's ours.
I didn't work my ass off to get promoted just so you can start hanging stuff on me that is never going to close.
You are nowhere on this.
- There's nowhere to go.
- Since you bring it up, why don't we take a minute to remember why you did get promoted, It wasn't just to close cases or not close cases, was it? It was to watch over me, so they could have someone who would tell them anything they wanted to know.
Someone who was so happy to get his badge, he's got no problem with spying on his fellow officers.
- Hey, screw you.
- Excuse me if I don't feel obligated - I killed myself for ten years.
- to tell you everything I'm thinking when I know you're just gonna go running to mama.
- Britten, what - Hey! Britten.
Get in here.
What's going on with you? I'm just trying to make some headway, and I got Sit down.
You wanted to come back.
This is the way it has to be.
Period.
Right? You don't like Vega, you don't like your therapy, then my offer still stands.
What to retire? That's ridiculous.
No one is not saying retire.
I'm saying listen to me.
You just experienced a horrific tragedy.
So instead of spending your days and nights knee-deep in everybody else's tragedies, why don't you let me put you somewhere that let's you do what's important to you, that let's you be there for your wife, that lets you guys rebuild.
Look, I'm fine.
Okay.
You want to be out there, then be out there.
But put this Mackenzie thing aside, and go take this case.
Can you do that? Can you? Yes, yes.
Good.
Hey, why are you pulling all these mug shots of short people anyway? 'Cause the witness saw a little guy.
The homeless guy who hears voices? I mean the witness.
All right, give him his sandwich, get him out of here.
Harvison deleted these records from the doctor's system shortly after the murder.
It could be a dead end, it's probably nothing, but, uh, none of us know how to read this stuff.
Just want to make sure I'm not missing something.
Really appreciate you taking a look.
No problem.
Let's take a look.
Yeah, looks like standard stuff.
Prenatal labs, genetic panels.
These What? It's impossible.
Doc? What do you got? They're all related.
Yeah, the markers on these genetic panels are all the same.
What are you saying? How could that happen? Mackenzie.
Mackenzie substituted his own sperm.
There's a lot of kids out there who don't know who their dad is.
Think I met one who does.
Ordered on-line, but the theater shows it was never scanned.
You ordered potassium chloride from a Canadian pharmacy over a month ago.
Sam? Techs have just started digging into your computer, but they, uh, they've already found searches for "induced heart attack," "diabetes," "insulin.
" We know.
Do you have to tell people what he was doing? It'll come out, eventually.
When did you find out? AP Anatomy.
We were doing these advanced genetic panels as a project, and I didn't understand all the complicated stuff at first, but I understood one simple thing.
My blood type was wrong.
You know, like, incompatible with my parents.
And I wanted to talk to my mom, I did, but I didn't want to freak her out.
I don't know.
It just kept bothering me.
Is that when you hacked into the doctor's system? I was only trying to find my own records, just trying to figure out what's going on.
Then that's when I find all these other records.
But the records have the exact same genetic markers as mine.
It's impossible.
Unless we were all related.
How many? I found 15 in the last three years.
The tests only go back that far.
I'm 17.
Even if I was the first, there's hundreds of us now.
Why didn't you just bring the evidence to us? So you could do what? Put him away for 11 years, or eight years, or 15 months with a $30,000 fine? Because that's what happened to the last three doctors who got caught.
And then what happens to us? You know, the kids like me, their families? Do you have any idea what it's like to find out You're living your life, and then just one day out of the blue, instead of being a part of your family, instead of being linked to the people that you love, you find out you're the child of a monster.
And once you hear that, that's a life sentence.
There's no going back.
So what? You want me to wreck all of these people's lives, and, what, the person who's responsible gets what, just, like, a slap on the wrist? You thought murder was a better answer? I got rid of the problem and protected the people who wouldn't want to know.
I mean, even his family, they get to think of him as this, as this nice, respected doctor who died of a heart attack.
I stopped him, no one else got hurt.
Look, look, please, just do what you want with me.
I-I will help you, I-I'll plead.
You can't let the rest of them find out.
You allowed a dream to direct your investigation.
Doesn't that concern you? It didn't direct my investigation.
It made me think we might be missing something in the case.
Which we probably are.
Even if you had more time, you haven't intimated a great deal of confidence that you actually had anything to go on, that there was anything else you could have done.
Would you say that that's accurate? I think that there is a lesson here in relying on these dreams as anything other than dreams.
The subconscious can be a highly unreliable witness.
It's quite remarkable.
Really.
You noted something subconsciously, you repeated it to yourself in your dream to focus on it, and because you imagined that you were looking for this little guy, you shaped the investigation of Dr.
Mackenzie's murder in a way that almost anyone else might have missed.
And in the end, you got your man.
I'm still missing something.
The other case it didn't pay off.
All right, you want to lead? What? The first suspect in our new case got brought in last night.
Would you like to lead the interrogation? A-Are you sure? No, but I figure if you can come at him half as strong as you came at me, it might scare something out of him.
I'm willing to try.
I'm pretty sure I can handle that.
All right.
Let's go to work.
Perhaps your subconscious was satisfied.
Didn't feel obligated to provide the other case with an ending.
It's likely, it's because you turned your attention to focusing yourself on the other thing you realized you'd been missing.
What's that? Rex's motorcycle.
You took something that you must have been conscious of at some low level, and you created a story to bring your attention to it.
And in the process, you find a way that strengthens the bonds that you really find most important.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Going to the beach with Cole.
Be back later.
Hey, Rex? Yeah? Wear a helmet.
O-Okay.
Thanks.
Dad? Yeah? Do you you want to see it? Yeah, sure.
All right.
Yeah.
Kind of can't believe it actually runs.
I can.
Do you want to take it for a spin? So? So I'm monitoring him.
He's fine.
No one finds that very reassuring.
I don't really care what anyone finds reassuring.
I have it under control.
That's what you said before.
You should have listened.
Instead of taking out his whole family.
It's the most insane We can debate the details all you want, but let's remember, we were protecting you as much as anyone.
I never asked for that.
I don't want that kind of protection.
Look, Harper, we've got a good thing here.
All anybody wants is to get past this and keep going.
Then let me handle Britten.
I'm telling you, you do anything else, this will get much worse before it gets better.
I am on top of it.
All right.
I trust you'll keep us informed.
Hey.
The guy that you used for the accident was he short? Short? Yeah, like a, like a little guy.
I suppose so.
Why? Did Britten say something? No, I was just wondering.
Because if you think he remembers anything I said it's nothing.
I'll keep you informed.

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