Rabbit Hole (2023) s01e04 Episode Script
The Person In Your Ear
1
BEN: No one's ever succeeded
in toppling a democracy
as big and strong as ours,
but Crowley smells an opportunity.
This data intel business
that you built He'll
be attracted to that.
But you two have to stage a breakup.
- This was not the plan.
- Shut up!
Valence, no!
LARTER: Valence fucked us!
MADI: What happened up there?
THE INTERN: It was just
it was really sudden.
I mean, were there other people there?
- And John Weir where was he?
- THE INTERN: It's so hard to remember.
I have a source deep in the government.
He thinks Edward Homm was killed
because he got too
close to something big.
Was it Crowley?
- Did you stumble on that link?
- WEIR: How do I access.
- Valence's comms data?
- XANDER: His password
and his authenticator. Five wrong tries,
the whole server bleaches itself.
- Fuck!
- Your email said it was urgent
we talk at 10:15 about John Weir.
Well, I did not send you any email. I
BEN: I'm gonna ask you a question.
Show me what's in your hand.
I must be getting old, seeing things.
YOUNG VALENCE: These
number represent letters,
and they spell one
thing worth remembering.
It's me.
- I'm in.
- WOMAN: He's downloading comm data.
- Cut him off! Fuck!
- Got it.
Tell everyone we're leaving in five.
[PHONE BUZZING]
XANDER: I'm so sorry.
The plan didn't go as we'd hoped, sir.
Yes, sir.
- Look, I just need two minutes.
- I'm sorry.
We'll be happy to have our attorneys
contact you as soon as possible.
MADI: There's definitely
something bigger going on here.
- How do I know? How do I?
- [LOUD THUD]
- Oh!
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING]
Call it a feeling.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
MADI: Okay, look, I just
need two minutes. That's it.
- Come on, man.
- ASSISTANT: I'm sorry.
We'll be happy to have
our attorneys contact you
- as soon as possible.
- [MADI SIGHS]
[INDISTINCT RADIO TRANSMISSION]
Hello.
I got an order for a Xander?
[GUTTURAL GRUNTING]
[THE INTERN CLEARS THROAT]
[TRAFFIC PASSING]
[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
- [CHOKING]
- You had one job. Okay?
You fucked it up.
[GASPS]
[SCREAMING]
[BODY THUDS]
[PEOPLE SCREAMING IN DISTANCE]
♪
♪
[INDISTINCT, OVERLAPPING
NEWS BROADCASTS]
[CROWD CLAMORING]
MORGAN SHAW: Billionaires
bankroll vaccines
to insert nanodevices
into every American,
which the NSA, using the 5G spectrum,
can use to control us.
If you are one of the
millions of Americans
who believe this to be true,
then you are a victim of a massive
disinformation operation
intended to distract you
from the real truth,
the real conspiracy.
The real truth
is that a cabal of the rich
and powerful are working
behind the scenes to consolidate
their control over every
aspect of American society.
You buy what they want you to buy.
You click on what they
want you to click on.
You stare at your screens,
oblivious to the fact
that their hand is in your pocket.
Wake up, sheeple!
[WEIR BREATHES DEEPLY]
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[EXHALES]
[INHALES]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
[GROANS]
[PANTING]
Oh, shit.
[BOTTLE CLATTERS ON FLOOR]
HAILEY [IN DISTANCE]: You find it yet?
- [SWITCH CLANKS]
- [LIGHTS BUZZING]
That's it!
You got to connect the digital antenna.
It's right there.
How many of these do you have?
Antennas? Just the one.
No, I mean creepy, secret hideouts.
I don't know. A lot.
I keep surfing these
government auction sites.
- Can't help myself.
- Mm, of course.
You never know how many safe
houses you're gonna need.
I know, right?
So what'd you find?
BEN: There's no way to tell
who sent that last message to Valence,
not that I can tell anyway.
- What about the phone call?
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Yes. 300 calls went through the
main switchboard in that time frame.
It's well nigh impossible to know
which one went to his office.
And short of calling them all manually,
I don't know what else we can do.
Well, I guess we're gonna
start calling them all manually.
Oh, Johnathan.
If there's some secret explanation
as to why your friend
turned, it's not in here.
These are meetings, billable hours,
- dinner dates, you
- What about the emails?
No, nothing about anything.
Let me look at 'em.
I know how to process intelligence.
MADI: Can you go frame by frame?
[MADI SCOFFS]
Does it look like he knows
right where the cameras are?
GUARD: Hard to say.
Oh, stop. There.
Does that look like a 20-something,
doe-eyed, skateboarding intern to you?
Hard to say.
You know, you're really great at this.
I can't imagine how a
murderer ever got past you.
BEN: So, smart-ass,
did you find anything?
WEIR: Actually, I think I have.
Valence was purchasing NFTs.
Crypto art investing bullshit.
- Mm-hmm.
- So what?
He didn't like art.
I mean, any kind of art.
And he was conservative.
There's no way he would've made
those kinds of speculative investments.
It just wasn't him.
People hide their true selves, John.
How much more proof do you need?
I don't buy it. There's
got to be a reason.
Are you okay?
This has hit you hard. I know that.
You're presenting signs
of deeply entrenched PTSD.
Now, Valence's betrayal and
then watching him jump
Uh, this has set you back.
It's understandable,
considering you saw your
own father commit suicide.
WEIR: I'm not having a delusion, okay?
You yourself have always said,
"If you want to understand people,
study their patterns and the
breaks in those patterns."
This is out of character for Valence,
and I think it's worth looking into.
So what are you saying?
He had shit taste in art, yeah?
HOMM [IN DISTANCE]: It's
how he was being paid!
You got to be fucking kidding me.
And you can hear everything?
Except when you mumble.
WEIR: So what do you know about
Valence's NFT transactions?
I want to talk to my wife.
I want her to know I'm still alive.
Not gonna happen. Answer the question.
She must be suffering.
I'm not I'm not answering
until I talk to her.
He's bluffing. No deal.
Let me guess. Those emails are
from a guy named Elliot Gao.
Tell me I'm wrong, and I'll talk.
No, John, we can't let anybody
know he's alive, not yet.
Homm, right?
You mind if I call you "Homm"?
You seem like a nice enough guy.
You got some very serious
people who want you dead.
When they find out you're still alive,
they will finish the job,
and they will kill your wife.
Understand me?
They always use family against you.
You're better off dead.
WEIR: Look, the sooner you help us,
the sooner we get you home.
Can I just see her then maybe?
Would that be all right?
How's that gonna work?
HOMM: This is my Stacey.
She didn't trust the housekeeper
so we installed these.
I wish there was sound.
It's-it's good she's not crying.
She looks s-sad, though.
She look she looks sad, right?
Yes. Yes, very sad, Homm.
So who's Elliot Gao?
He part of the Luxbrant investigation?
Uh, no, he's part of something
much bigger that I've been working on.
He's a high-end money launderer,
a billionaire who launders
money for bigger billionaires.
Yeah. I thought she'd be more upset,
but, uh, I I'm glad
she's being strong.
Yeah.
You are a very lucky man.
So back to Gao.
What is he doing with the NFTs?
It's bad guy 101.
Look, the easiest way
to launder money is
by privately buying and
selling certain kinds of assets.
Real estate, art, rare
wines and whiskeys,
expensive things that are
one-of-a-kind or non-fungible.
That's the "NF" in NFT.
So there's no real market
value to certain things,
just the value agreed
upon between two parties.
Kind of like using ten million dollars
to buy a one-million-dollar house.
Uh, yeah, but with a lot less
regulation and tax scrutiny.
You create an NFT A
cartoon goat smoking a bong,
whatever it costs pennies.
Then you declare it's worth
a million dollars and sell it.
Now you're the possessor
of a million dollars,
legitimately valued through
the sale of fine art.
We can trace those
transactions back to the source.
Uh, yeah, but these transactions
are in cryptocurrencies
and involve multiple shell companies
in different states and countries.
And that's where Gao comes in.
He designs the schemes
and acts as middleman
for anyone looking to
move money anonymously.
So, we're saying this is how
Crowley moves money around.
And this is why he wants you dead?
Can I talk to you for a second?
This is how we find him.
This is how we get him out in the open.
- If there really is a connection.
- Of course there's a connection.
This is what we've been looking for.
If we start messing
with his money pipeline,
he will have to act,
he will expose himself,
and that's how we'll get him.
It's like we found a
thermal exhaust port
for the fucking Death Star.
Is that some nerd thing
I'm supposed to understand?
Oh, God.
Yeah, it's a vulnerability
the rebels discovered.
It's a two-meter wide target,
uh, small thermal exhaust
port below the main port.
- Shaft leads directly
- Guys, you might want to see this.
NEWSMAN: Police and emergency
workers are responding
to a fatal incident
involving an employee
here at the headquarters
of Arda Analytics,
where, less than 48 hours
ago, another top executive
of the same firm fell to his death.
Now, authorities are not saying
whether today's tragedy
is connected to the death
of Miles Valence, but
the similar circumstances
are certainly hard to deny.
Experts have long pointed
to compelling data about
so-called "suicide clusters."
- [PHONE BUZZING]
- But one officer that I spoke with said
- THE INTERN: Yeah?
- MAN: What the hell was that all about?
Uh
Why would you make such a scene?
Was that supposed to be funny?
Yeah, man. Kind of, yeah.
- Well, I'm not laughing.
- [DOOR OPENS]
No, but you never really do, do you?
[KISSES]
Look, man, if you want to send a message
to people telling them not to fuck up,
they need to know it's a message, right?
It was a pretty badass message.
Well, do not do it again.
Now, what about our long-term project?
- Oh, no worries there.
- Good.
NEWSMAN: Israeli tanks
and bulldozers
Anything else?
[LINE BEEPS]
Okay.
Fucking asshole.
What's wrong, baby?
It's work stuff.
Had to get rid of somebody.
Well, that sucks. Who?
I don't know.
I don't really care. It's just kind of
stressing me out, I guess.
You want some more lorazepam?
[ELIZA SIGHS]
I'm just so sick of doing
shit for other people.
You know?
So, you quit.
- It's not that easy.
- [SIGHS]
It's good money. You know,
that's how they keep you under control.
Well, fuck them, baby.
You don't need their money.
You have me, hmm?
[LAUGHS]
[PHONE BUZZING AND DINGING]
[PANTING]
[SIGHS]
Yes.
- Hayden's in Midtown.
- [CROWD CLAMORING ON COMPUTER]
- Look.
- HAYDEN: Time to raise our voices loud enough
that they can't block out the sound.
You want to stop the Data Act?
Then we need to speak up,
and we need to show up.
We are gathering right now!
- Can we go?
- Of course.
- Yeah.
- [LAUGHS]
- What do you have in mind?
- If we can get Gao to think
that he's attracting the
wrong kind of attention,
he'll have to warn
Crowley, who will crawl out
from underneath his rock
to eliminate the threat.
Then bang, we got him.
Gao happens to be hosting an event
at his place in a couple days.
Send in Agent Jo Madi,
scare him, wait for the reaction.
- Just like that?
- Just like that.
You'd be surprised what you
get from an anonymous tip.
I can get her to reach out to him.
And the FBI caller ID
That'll make him sweat.
- If she doesn't bite?
- She will.
Madi might be a pain in the ass to me,
but you can always count on
her to do the right thing.
And when she does, we'll be listening.
Hailey's gonna have to help
us out with part of this.
Her? Why?
[SIGHS] Because right now,
I'm all over the news, and
I don't have a team anymore.
Crowley thinks you're dead,
and I want to keep it that way.
And you trust her?
[SIGHS] I don't have a choice.
It's a simple play. Super simple.
But she doesn't know
how to do what we do.
For this, I can teach her everything
she needs to know by tomorrow.
And what makes you think
she'd want to do it?
HAILEY [IN DISTANCE]: Oh, I'm so in!
We need to find a better safe house.
Yeah.
[BRAKES SQUEAKING SOFTLY]
♪
[DOORKNOB RATTLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
♪
[QUIET CREAKING]
[PHONE BUZZING]
[SIGHS]
- Anna, what is it?
- ANNA: Where are you?
If I don't tell you,
you won't be implicated
in an unauthorized search
with no evidence. What's up?
I just got an anonymous tip.
Voice or email?
Text. It says Edward Homm
was investigating Arda and
someone named Gao. Elliot Gao.
Elliot Gao.
Get me a number.
You just passed it.
This is your first lesson.
Spies call it "dry cleaning."
Make sure that we're not being followed.
Nobody's back there.
That Subaru.
It's, like, a mile away.
If I was tailing someone, I'd
want to keep my distance, too.
That's because you're a twitchy freak.
Yeah.
Okay, dry cleaning. Got it.
What's the second thing
I have to learn to avoid getting killed?
Tell me something true.
[SIGHS] Keep it simple.
Your name.
My name is Hailey.
Now tell me something else.
I'm sorry about your friend Valence.
Sorry you had to see that.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
- I appreciate that.
- Yeah.
But I meant something more
like a story, something
something about you.
Oh, a story about me. Um
Well, um,
before Pittsburgh,
uh, I had a pretty big job.
I was in-house counsel for a
real estate development company,
and I got fired.
And-and not just fired.
I-I got blackballed.
And you're lying, or at least
- not telling me the whole truth.
- What?
You said, "Uh," and then
repeated the question.
You were buying time to construct a lie.
- What? I was just thinking. I
- And you do this
cute little thing with your hands
when you're not telling the truth.
Uh, you know, man, you
think everything's a lie.
You and your crazy-ass dad.
You're so used to looking
over your shoulder,
you think everybody's
working against you.
That's no way to live. It's
probably why your wife left you.
- Whoa.
- Am-am I wrong,
or was she not into moving
houses every 12 hours?
[HAILEY SIGHS]
I'm not saying you're wrong.
She hated living with me.
I'm I'm just trying to
teach you something, okay?
I'm sorry. I just don't
like being called a liar.
Okay, look, try it again,
and this time, tell me
a lie, tell me the truth.
It doesn't matter.
Just tell me something.
Okay, a-a lie or the truth.
- And you're lying.
- Well, how do you know?
You repeated the question again, Hailey.
You cannot hesitate.
You have to project confidence.
People can smell dishonesty.
They can smell nervousness.
Even stupid people.
But everybody is a
sucker for confidence.
So is that lesson two?
Yeah.
So what were you gonna lie about?
I was gonna say you're handsome.
[CHUCKLES]
[LAUGHS]
And what's lesson three?
Always, and I mean always,
listen to the person in your ear.
[VIDEO GAME BEEPING]
[BUZZING]
What the fuck?
Shit, shit, shit.
Okay, you got this.
[SIGHS] Elliot Gao.
MADI: Oh, Mr. Gao,
my name is Agent Jo Madi.
I'm with the Financial
Crimes Division of the FBI.
Financial Crimes? [CHUCKLES]
Then I think you have the wrong number.
I definitely don't.
I want to ask you about
transactions you brokered
with Arda Analytics.
Where'd you hear that?
Well, I can explain it to you tonight.
I can be at your place by 6:00.
Yeah, no. Uh, tonight's gonna be tricky.
I'm hosting an auction.
Well, how about tomorrow morning, then?
My office. I'll send a car for you.
No, that won't be necessary.
I can be there, let's say 11:00.
Let's make it 9:00.
[PHONE BEEPS]
Hey, Anna, uh,
I want you to try to trace
that text tip that you got.
Weir's messing with me again.
- ANNA: You got it.
- Yeah. Thanks.
[PHONE BEEPS]
WEIR: Okay, don't walk too fast.
Or too slow.
Good.
So what am I supposed to steal?
I'll tell you when you're inside.
Right now, I want you
to get used to my voice.
I need you to trust me.
I need you to do everything I say.
[SCOFFS]
Normally, I'd say, once you're inside,
I want you to become
invisible, disappear.
That's not gonna work for you.
Why not?
People notice you.
John, are you trying to compliment me?
No. I just want you to be confident.
Go on in.
[ELECTRONIC BELL CHIMES]
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING QUIETLY]
When y'all close?
We're open 24 hours.
Cool. Thanks.
Did I sound confident?
WEIR: Yeah, but now you've
got a horny teenager
watching your every move.
You need to find a blind spot.
- Tampon aisle.
- Smart.
How'd you know he was a teenager?
Squeaky voice.
All right, what's my target?
Okay, it's a puzzle
book by the magazines.
It's called Magic Squares.
Magic Squares.
Got it.
Shit.
Hailey, I don't want you to panic,
but in a few seconds, someone's
gonna walk in the store.
I don't want you to look at
the door. Use the mirror.
- [ELECTRONIC BELL CHIMES]
- Keep your head down, eyes up.
Shit. I got to abort.
Abort? Wow. Aren't you a pro.
Do not abort. You can handle this.
Just listen to the voice in your ear.
[SIGHS] You suck.
All right, well, what do I do?
Go talk to him.
- I'm sorry?
- [ELECTRONIC BELL CHIMES]
Anybody who's gonna shoplift
isn't gonna go talk to a cop.
Talk to him, and you'll
inoculate yourself.
- What do I say?
- Something forgettable, small talk.
[COFFEE POURS]
You think I should play the Powerball?
Huh?
Was thinking about buying a ticket,
but everybody says the odds are, like,
a zillion to one.
What do you think?
I don't know.
Okay, good. Walk away.
So
no opinion. Okay, okay.
Are you gonna buy one?
- COP: No.
- Why not?
'Cause it's a waste of money.
See? I knew you had an opinion.
Oh, my God. You're
actually flirting with him.
I am.
So grateful for your advice, Officer.
- Bloop.
- See, I told you.
ALL YOU GOT TO DO: listen
to the person in your ear.
It was not your idea to flirt.
- I told you to talk to him.
- No, you said
"inoculate" or some bullshit.
I knew how you'd interpret that.
[LAUGHS]: Oh, whatever.
Let's-let's do this thing.
I'm ready.
I think you are.
I hope you're logging off
and resetting the VPN every few minutes.
Yeah. Yeah.
Is she dancing?
Or is that just the angle?
Oh, it's not the angle.
Why is she doing that?
You sure you're an investigator?
I think maybe you should
turn that off for a while.
I-I I don't understand
why she's not sadder.
If-if she died, I'd be devastated.
People have different ways
of mourning, and, um
Someone's at the door.
Oh, it's Kevin.
It's my neighbor Kevin. He's a good guy.
Probably just checking up on her.
Oh, shit.
I was afraid of that. [CLEARS THROAT]
What the fuck?
What the fuck? That's
Yeah, I feel for you, pal.
Listen, dying a fake death
is a special kind of hell.
Seriously, Kevin? Topknot Kevin?
Uh, think we should take
a break from this now.
- Well, where are you going?
- Yeah.
Uh, John will be back
soon to pick you up.
Tell him there's a guy
I know who can make sense
of those phone numbers,
and I've gone to see him.
No, wait. Y-You can't go.
Who-who am I gonna talk to?
BEN: God?
ANNA: Agent Madi, I traced that text.
- Oh. And?
- No good. It's another prepaid.
[SIGHS] Well, it should be.
If Weir sent the text, then
he'd have used a burner.
Sorry. Well, here's a call log anyway.
Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
- There's an incoming call here.
- Yeah?
Well, Weir wouldn't have used
the same burner phone twice.
Not on purpose, anyway.
Unless he finally screwed up.
- Do you want me to trace the
- Please.
♪
[LIVELY CROWD CHATTER]
MAN: Why would a bottle of whiskey
require such bleeding-edge
anti-counterfeiting measures?
Rarity.
Six figures for a bottle of
booze might seem a bit stiff.
This is unicorn dram.
Because, in the 19th century,
all Scotch whiskey was blended.
There was no such a thing
as a single malt.
This cask was on its way
to Oban to be blended
when the ship went down.
And this is your opportunity
to own this rare bottle
for an opening price of only $150,000.
The action will begin in about
ten minutes, so grab yourself
the drink on the way to
the room and remember to
I got eyes on the penthouse.
Let me know when you're in.
HAILEY: I'm in.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Are you Elliot Gao?
Uh, well, if you're the one
looking for me, then yes.
It's wonderful to put a
face with a voice, Mr. Gao.
Oh, please. Elliot.
How do you know my voice?
- We spoke on the phone.
- Hmm.
Agent Jo Madi, FBI.
Ask him when he started
trading NFTs with Miles Valence.
When did you start trading
NFTs with Miles Valence?
You know, I don't
think I know a Valence.
Sure you do. He's all over the news,
and you're all over his inbox.
Wow. You must've been
great in a courtroom.
Oh, right. Isn't that the guy that died?
You do a lot of business with Valence.
Has his death hit your bottom line?
Has it hit my bottom line?
- No, I don't think
- You're about to lie to me.
- What?
- You repeated the question. It's a tell.
Okay, now you're just showing off.
Look, I was not expecting a visit
from the FBI tonight,
okay? I have guests.
Well, this will only take a minute.
Okay, then I should get my lawyer.
No need for that
I I'm-I'm sorry.
Um, excuse me, please.
- WEIR: Hailey, what's going on?
- I'm walking away.
Why? You're doing great?
There's someone I know here.
- Who?
- Craig Payne.
- WEIR: Who's that?
- HAILEY: My old boss.
Okay, and that's a bad thing?
Yeah. Remember how I told you
I worked for a developer in Chicago?
Yeah, the place you left
to reinvent yourself.
Yeah, well, I left out the part
where I stole money from him.
- What?
- They're corrupt.
They were evicting poor people
and trying to get me
to cover up for them.
So I pushed back, and
they didn't like that.
They fired me.
And, uh
And what?
I stole a little crypto
from the company slush fund.
Oh. How much?
Not much, but it was
a few years ago, so,
obviously, it's worth
a little bit more today.
Okay, Hailey, exactly how much more?
$26 million as of Friday.
What the fuck?
You lied to me.
- I knew you lied to me.
- I didn't lie.
You stopped me before I
could even get to a lie.
I hate being right about this shit.
How was I supposed to know that crypto
was gonna spike
a thousand billion percent?
- Did he see you?
- I don't think so.
Hailey, you got to abort.
But what about Gao?
What if I leave and he
makes contact with Crowley?
We'll have to figure something else out.
You need to get downstairs as
fast as you can before he sees you.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Shit.
WEIR: Oh, shit.
Hailey, you've got to abort.
- Are you sure?
- No, no, no. I mean
All right, which is it, oh,
infallible man in my ear?
You need to abort the abort.
You need to stay up there.
- What? Why?
- Because he saw you.
- I don't think he did.
- I promise you, he saw you.
And in a related story,
I now know who our friends
in the blue Mercedes are.
[WHISPERING]: They're after my money.
Well, technically, his money, but yeah.
They just arrived.
What do I do?
Try to stay out of sight.
I'll get back to you.
WEIR: Homm, do you copy?
- [STATIC CRACKLES]
- Homm, do you copy?
- Yeah, I copy.
- I need you to meet me outside the building
- and bring a clipboard.
- Oh, Weir,
Topknot Kevin is still in the house.
Oh, buddy, you got to stop watching.
- He's wearing my bathrobe.
- Homm, this was your investigation.
You said you wanted to
be here. Do you remember?
What do you think she's gonna say
when you solve the biggest money
laundering case of the decade?
Buddy, you're gonna be a hero.
They're gonna give you
a raise, a promotion.
I bet they even give you a medal.
Meet me in front of the building,
and don't forget the fucking clipboard.
Copy that.
Take this.
Put it on. I want you to hide your face
from the cameras as much as possible.
Stay calm and do not say a word.
MAN: You two, stay put
until I'm sure it's her.
Weir, where are you?
Shit.
Hailey Winton?
No.
That's her.
Mr. Gao would like to
speak with you privately.
- DOB.
- DOORMAN: Wait, what?
Hey. Asshole. You have to check in.
I don't have to do shit. What
part of DOB don't you get?
Department of Buildings.
I'm here to inspect your elevators.
State law requires
two inspections a year.
You've had one.
The second is happening right now.
- DOORMAN: But how do I know you're
- You want to impede us?
I'm not impeding.
Good. We'll be out of
your hair in a moment.
- [QUIETLY]: How was that?
- Impressive.
- Let's talk next steps.
- This is exciting.
You're gonna do your thing,
buy Hailey some extra time.
Then you're gonna meet
me in the east stairwell. Got it?
- Got it.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- DOORMAN: Excuse me, sir.
- MAN: We're with Mr. Payne.
Thanks.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- Hey, what the fuck, dude?
- HOMM: Sorry.
What the fuck was that?
HAILEY: I realize that TV
and movies make it seem like
FBI agents always have badges and guns,
but that's just Hollywood. It
I don't know who the fuck you are,
but you are not
her.
That's true.
I'm not an uptight white lady.
GUARD: What would
like me to do with her?
Mr. Crowley will decide
when he gets here.
Crowley is coming here?
Really?
Crowley is coming here.
WEIR: Homm, come on.
Hey, what are you doing there?
Department of Buildings.
The elevator shaft
GUARD: Department of Buildings?
After 5:00? Since when?
Is he gonna be okay?
Yeah, he's gonna be fine.
We just rang his bell.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- [ALARM RINGING]
- [GEARS GRINDING]
Ah, fuck it. Let's take the stairs.
♪
♪
[BEN CLEARS THROAT]
Mr. Crowley?
Wait
- Shut her up.
- What-wha Oh
I should really just put
a bullet in your head,
but that'll have to
wait till there aren't
a hundred people downstairs listening.
Now, did I somehow
give you the impression
that I wanted you to talk to
the FBI about our business?
No, but-but she's not even FBI.
No, I'm talking about earlier,
when the real FBI agent called you.
- How did you know
- I know everything.
- GAO: Mr. Crowley
- BEN: Mr. Gao.
Should I trust you?
GAO: Yes, of course.
Why? Why should I trust you?
Listen, that FBI agent
said she wanted to discuss
the Arda transactions.
And what did you tell her
about our involvement with Arda?
- Nothing.
- I think you're lying.
I think you told Agent Madi
all about our plans, didn't you?
Plans? [CHUCKLES]
- I don't even know about your plans.
- Don't fuck with me, Gao.
GAO: Oh.
Okay, m-maybe I inferred
Inferred?
GAO: Like, um you're
not offshoring your money.
You just are concealing the source
- from the Treasury Department.
- What else?
Okay, Hailey.
- BEN: I'm sure you think you were careful.
- I'm back.
But that FBI agent is clever.
More clever than you, I think.
Whether you realize it or not,
she got something from you.
So, what other transactions
did you tell her about?
[PHONE BUZZING]
Nothing else.
None at all.
We were on the phone for
less than two minutes.
Nothing about Intaverse
or the Ledger. Nothing at all.
BEN: What about the campaign spending?
- GAO: What campaign spending?
- BEN: Don't be coy with me,
Mr. Gao; I don't have the patience.
Tell me what you know
about my campaign spending.
[PHONE BUZZING]
[BEN SIGHS]
Sorry, am I boring you?
Mm?
[CAMERA CLICKING]
What the fuck are you doing?
Give me that phone.
WEIR: Ben, Hailey, what's happening?
- BEN: Crowley.
- Oh, shit.
[QUIETLY]: Johnathan, we need cover.
- WEIR: Okay, just give me a sec.
- [PHONES RINGING]
Not too much of a mess.
- Johnathan
- WEIR: Okay, I need you to
remember exactly where
everybody is and get prepared to act.
Fuck. This is gonna hurt.
[BUZZING]
[PEOPLE GASPING]
- [ALL GRUNTING]
- [GUNSHOTS]
[PANTING]
Ben, get out of here.
Weir, where are you?
WEIR: Hailey, I'm back.
HAILEY: Why didn't
you tell me about Ben?
You didn't think I needed to know that?
You don't think I can keep a secret?
Where the hell is he?
WEIR: Hold on.
Dad, where are you?
BEN: I'm on my way to
the main elevator lobby.
Hailey, he's headed
for the main elevators.
HAILEY: Where's the service elevator?
I need to get down to
the service elevator.
No. the main elevators, Hailey,
not the service elevators.
The main elevators.
Yeah, Weir, I'm fucking dry cleaning.
Everybody's a professional.
[GRUNTS]
He says they're heading
towards the service elevator.
- Let's go.
- There was a service elevator?
[DOOR CLOSES]
You guys should have seen me.
I was like James Bond in there.
BEN: He knows that I'm alive.
We got some good leads.
Intaverse. The Ledger.
You have any idea what Intaverse is?
No. We're done, John.
We've lost the advantage.
He's ahead of us, and that's the
last place you want to be with him.
- He doesn't know about me.
- Not yet.
HOMM: Intaverse is a web media company.
Don't you guys watch the news?
The whole, um, GetTugether.com thing?
The "have a consensual
affair on us" commercial?
Half of D.C. signed up for it.
Not me, of course.
And why was it on the news?
That congressman that
resigned last month,
he got outed as a member by WikiLeaks.
It was a whole thing.
He says someone was blackmailing him.
So it's a honey trap.
He's collecting
kompromat on politicians.
Probably got half of
Washington in his pocket by now.
He's just waiting for
one to be camera ready.
MORGAN SHAW: It's all
about control, sheeple.
They gather up your searches
and your likes and your Facebook groups
and your-your pornography
preferences, right?
And they know you, man. They know you.
They're looking for leverage.
They're looking for ways to rope you in
to buying their shit.
To buying into their causes.
To make you care about whatever it is
they want you to care about.
To make do whatever it is
they want you to do.
BEN: He's so far ahead of us.
Then we need to move faster.
We need to change the plan.
- Yeah. To what?
- We need more people.
We need to bring my team back in.
What team?
The ones who blew up?
They're still alive?
Yeah.
What's up with you people?
Is this shit fun to you?
CROWD [CHANTING]: Take back your life!
Take back your life!
Take back your life!
Take back your life!
BEN: No one's ever succeeded
in toppling a democracy
as big and strong as ours,
but Crowley smells an opportunity.
This data intel business
that you built He'll
be attracted to that.
But you two have to stage a breakup.
- This was not the plan.
- Shut up!
Valence, no!
LARTER: Valence fucked us!
MADI: What happened up there?
THE INTERN: It was just
it was really sudden.
I mean, were there other people there?
- And John Weir where was he?
- THE INTERN: It's so hard to remember.
I have a source deep in the government.
He thinks Edward Homm was killed
because he got too
close to something big.
Was it Crowley?
- Did you stumble on that link?
- WEIR: How do I access.
- Valence's comms data?
- XANDER: His password
and his authenticator. Five wrong tries,
the whole server bleaches itself.
- Fuck!
- Your email said it was urgent
we talk at 10:15 about John Weir.
Well, I did not send you any email. I
BEN: I'm gonna ask you a question.
Show me what's in your hand.
I must be getting old, seeing things.
YOUNG VALENCE: These
number represent letters,
and they spell one
thing worth remembering.
It's me.
- I'm in.
- WOMAN: He's downloading comm data.
- Cut him off! Fuck!
- Got it.
Tell everyone we're leaving in five.
[PHONE BUZZING]
XANDER: I'm so sorry.
The plan didn't go as we'd hoped, sir.
Yes, sir.
- Look, I just need two minutes.
- I'm sorry.
We'll be happy to have our attorneys
contact you as soon as possible.
MADI: There's definitely
something bigger going on here.
- How do I know? How do I?
- [LOUD THUD]
- Oh!
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING]
Call it a feeling.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
MADI: Okay, look, I just
need two minutes. That's it.
- Come on, man.
- ASSISTANT: I'm sorry.
We'll be happy to have
our attorneys contact you
- as soon as possible.
- [MADI SIGHS]
[INDISTINCT RADIO TRANSMISSION]
Hello.
I got an order for a Xander?
[GUTTURAL GRUNTING]
[THE INTERN CLEARS THROAT]
[TRAFFIC PASSING]
[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
- [CHOKING]
- You had one job. Okay?
You fucked it up.
[GASPS]
[SCREAMING]
[BODY THUDS]
[PEOPLE SCREAMING IN DISTANCE]
♪
♪
[INDISTINCT, OVERLAPPING
NEWS BROADCASTS]
[CROWD CLAMORING]
MORGAN SHAW: Billionaires
bankroll vaccines
to insert nanodevices
into every American,
which the NSA, using the 5G spectrum,
can use to control us.
If you are one of the
millions of Americans
who believe this to be true,
then you are a victim of a massive
disinformation operation
intended to distract you
from the real truth,
the real conspiracy.
The real truth
is that a cabal of the rich
and powerful are working
behind the scenes to consolidate
their control over every
aspect of American society.
You buy what they want you to buy.
You click on what they
want you to click on.
You stare at your screens,
oblivious to the fact
that their hand is in your pocket.
Wake up, sheeple!
[WEIR BREATHES DEEPLY]
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[EXHALES DEEPLY]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[EXHALES]
[INHALES]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
[GROANS]
[PANTING]
Oh, shit.
[BOTTLE CLATTERS ON FLOOR]
HAILEY [IN DISTANCE]: You find it yet?
- [SWITCH CLANKS]
- [LIGHTS BUZZING]
That's it!
You got to connect the digital antenna.
It's right there.
How many of these do you have?
Antennas? Just the one.
No, I mean creepy, secret hideouts.
I don't know. A lot.
I keep surfing these
government auction sites.
- Can't help myself.
- Mm, of course.
You never know how many safe
houses you're gonna need.
I know, right?
So what'd you find?
BEN: There's no way to tell
who sent that last message to Valence,
not that I can tell anyway.
- What about the phone call?
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Yes. 300 calls went through the
main switchboard in that time frame.
It's well nigh impossible to know
which one went to his office.
And short of calling them all manually,
I don't know what else we can do.
Well, I guess we're gonna
start calling them all manually.
Oh, Johnathan.
If there's some secret explanation
as to why your friend
turned, it's not in here.
These are meetings, billable hours,
- dinner dates, you
- What about the emails?
No, nothing about anything.
Let me look at 'em.
I know how to process intelligence.
MADI: Can you go frame by frame?
[MADI SCOFFS]
Does it look like he knows
right where the cameras are?
GUARD: Hard to say.
Oh, stop. There.
Does that look like a 20-something,
doe-eyed, skateboarding intern to you?
Hard to say.
You know, you're really great at this.
I can't imagine how a
murderer ever got past you.
BEN: So, smart-ass,
did you find anything?
WEIR: Actually, I think I have.
Valence was purchasing NFTs.
Crypto art investing bullshit.
- Mm-hmm.
- So what?
He didn't like art.
I mean, any kind of art.
And he was conservative.
There's no way he would've made
those kinds of speculative investments.
It just wasn't him.
People hide their true selves, John.
How much more proof do you need?
I don't buy it. There's
got to be a reason.
Are you okay?
This has hit you hard. I know that.
You're presenting signs
of deeply entrenched PTSD.
Now, Valence's betrayal and
then watching him jump
Uh, this has set you back.
It's understandable,
considering you saw your
own father commit suicide.
WEIR: I'm not having a delusion, okay?
You yourself have always said,
"If you want to understand people,
study their patterns and the
breaks in those patterns."
This is out of character for Valence,
and I think it's worth looking into.
So what are you saying?
He had shit taste in art, yeah?
HOMM [IN DISTANCE]: It's
how he was being paid!
You got to be fucking kidding me.
And you can hear everything?
Except when you mumble.
WEIR: So what do you know about
Valence's NFT transactions?
I want to talk to my wife.
I want her to know I'm still alive.
Not gonna happen. Answer the question.
She must be suffering.
I'm not I'm not answering
until I talk to her.
He's bluffing. No deal.
Let me guess. Those emails are
from a guy named Elliot Gao.
Tell me I'm wrong, and I'll talk.
No, John, we can't let anybody
know he's alive, not yet.
Homm, right?
You mind if I call you "Homm"?
You seem like a nice enough guy.
You got some very serious
people who want you dead.
When they find out you're still alive,
they will finish the job,
and they will kill your wife.
Understand me?
They always use family against you.
You're better off dead.
WEIR: Look, the sooner you help us,
the sooner we get you home.
Can I just see her then maybe?
Would that be all right?
How's that gonna work?
HOMM: This is my Stacey.
She didn't trust the housekeeper
so we installed these.
I wish there was sound.
It's-it's good she's not crying.
She looks s-sad, though.
She look she looks sad, right?
Yes. Yes, very sad, Homm.
So who's Elliot Gao?
He part of the Luxbrant investigation?
Uh, no, he's part of something
much bigger that I've been working on.
He's a high-end money launderer,
a billionaire who launders
money for bigger billionaires.
Yeah. I thought she'd be more upset,
but, uh, I I'm glad
she's being strong.
Yeah.
You are a very lucky man.
So back to Gao.
What is he doing with the NFTs?
It's bad guy 101.
Look, the easiest way
to launder money is
by privately buying and
selling certain kinds of assets.
Real estate, art, rare
wines and whiskeys,
expensive things that are
one-of-a-kind or non-fungible.
That's the "NF" in NFT.
So there's no real market
value to certain things,
just the value agreed
upon between two parties.
Kind of like using ten million dollars
to buy a one-million-dollar house.
Uh, yeah, but with a lot less
regulation and tax scrutiny.
You create an NFT A
cartoon goat smoking a bong,
whatever it costs pennies.
Then you declare it's worth
a million dollars and sell it.
Now you're the possessor
of a million dollars,
legitimately valued through
the sale of fine art.
We can trace those
transactions back to the source.
Uh, yeah, but these transactions
are in cryptocurrencies
and involve multiple shell companies
in different states and countries.
And that's where Gao comes in.
He designs the schemes
and acts as middleman
for anyone looking to
move money anonymously.
So, we're saying this is how
Crowley moves money around.
And this is why he wants you dead?
Can I talk to you for a second?
This is how we find him.
This is how we get him out in the open.
- If there really is a connection.
- Of course there's a connection.
This is what we've been looking for.
If we start messing
with his money pipeline,
he will have to act,
he will expose himself,
and that's how we'll get him.
It's like we found a
thermal exhaust port
for the fucking Death Star.
Is that some nerd thing
I'm supposed to understand?
Oh, God.
Yeah, it's a vulnerability
the rebels discovered.
It's a two-meter wide target,
uh, small thermal exhaust
port below the main port.
- Shaft leads directly
- Guys, you might want to see this.
NEWSMAN: Police and emergency
workers are responding
to a fatal incident
involving an employee
here at the headquarters
of Arda Analytics,
where, less than 48 hours
ago, another top executive
of the same firm fell to his death.
Now, authorities are not saying
whether today's tragedy
is connected to the death
of Miles Valence, but
the similar circumstances
are certainly hard to deny.
Experts have long pointed
to compelling data about
so-called "suicide clusters."
- [PHONE BUZZING]
- But one officer that I spoke with said
- THE INTERN: Yeah?
- MAN: What the hell was that all about?
Uh
Why would you make such a scene?
Was that supposed to be funny?
Yeah, man. Kind of, yeah.
- Well, I'm not laughing.
- [DOOR OPENS]
No, but you never really do, do you?
[KISSES]
Look, man, if you want to send a message
to people telling them not to fuck up,
they need to know it's a message, right?
It was a pretty badass message.
Well, do not do it again.
Now, what about our long-term project?
- Oh, no worries there.
- Good.
NEWSMAN: Israeli tanks
and bulldozers
Anything else?
[LINE BEEPS]
Okay.
Fucking asshole.
What's wrong, baby?
It's work stuff.
Had to get rid of somebody.
Well, that sucks. Who?
I don't know.
I don't really care. It's just kind of
stressing me out, I guess.
You want some more lorazepam?
[ELIZA SIGHS]
I'm just so sick of doing
shit for other people.
You know?
So, you quit.
- It's not that easy.
- [SIGHS]
It's good money. You know,
that's how they keep you under control.
Well, fuck them, baby.
You don't need their money.
You have me, hmm?
[LAUGHS]
[PHONE BUZZING AND DINGING]
[PANTING]
[SIGHS]
Yes.
- Hayden's in Midtown.
- [CROWD CLAMORING ON COMPUTER]
- Look.
- HAYDEN: Time to raise our voices loud enough
that they can't block out the sound.
You want to stop the Data Act?
Then we need to speak up,
and we need to show up.
We are gathering right now!
- Can we go?
- Of course.
- Yeah.
- [LAUGHS]
- What do you have in mind?
- If we can get Gao to think
that he's attracting the
wrong kind of attention,
he'll have to warn
Crowley, who will crawl out
from underneath his rock
to eliminate the threat.
Then bang, we got him.
Gao happens to be hosting an event
at his place in a couple days.
Send in Agent Jo Madi,
scare him, wait for the reaction.
- Just like that?
- Just like that.
You'd be surprised what you
get from an anonymous tip.
I can get her to reach out to him.
And the FBI caller ID
That'll make him sweat.
- If she doesn't bite?
- She will.
Madi might be a pain in the ass to me,
but you can always count on
her to do the right thing.
And when she does, we'll be listening.
Hailey's gonna have to help
us out with part of this.
Her? Why?
[SIGHS] Because right now,
I'm all over the news, and
I don't have a team anymore.
Crowley thinks you're dead,
and I want to keep it that way.
And you trust her?
[SIGHS] I don't have a choice.
It's a simple play. Super simple.
But she doesn't know
how to do what we do.
For this, I can teach her everything
she needs to know by tomorrow.
And what makes you think
she'd want to do it?
HAILEY [IN DISTANCE]: Oh, I'm so in!
We need to find a better safe house.
Yeah.
[BRAKES SQUEAKING SOFTLY]
♪
[DOORKNOB RATTLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
♪
[QUIET CREAKING]
[PHONE BUZZING]
[SIGHS]
- Anna, what is it?
- ANNA: Where are you?
If I don't tell you,
you won't be implicated
in an unauthorized search
with no evidence. What's up?
I just got an anonymous tip.
Voice or email?
Text. It says Edward Homm
was investigating Arda and
someone named Gao. Elliot Gao.
Elliot Gao.
Get me a number.
You just passed it.
This is your first lesson.
Spies call it "dry cleaning."
Make sure that we're not being followed.
Nobody's back there.
That Subaru.
It's, like, a mile away.
If I was tailing someone, I'd
want to keep my distance, too.
That's because you're a twitchy freak.
Yeah.
Okay, dry cleaning. Got it.
What's the second thing
I have to learn to avoid getting killed?
Tell me something true.
[SIGHS] Keep it simple.
Your name.
My name is Hailey.
Now tell me something else.
I'm sorry about your friend Valence.
Sorry you had to see that.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
- I appreciate that.
- Yeah.
But I meant something more
like a story, something
something about you.
Oh, a story about me. Um
Well, um,
before Pittsburgh,
uh, I had a pretty big job.
I was in-house counsel for a
real estate development company,
and I got fired.
And-and not just fired.
I-I got blackballed.
And you're lying, or at least
- not telling me the whole truth.
- What?
You said, "Uh," and then
repeated the question.
You were buying time to construct a lie.
- What? I was just thinking. I
- And you do this
cute little thing with your hands
when you're not telling the truth.
Uh, you know, man, you
think everything's a lie.
You and your crazy-ass dad.
You're so used to looking
over your shoulder,
you think everybody's
working against you.
That's no way to live. It's
probably why your wife left you.
- Whoa.
- Am-am I wrong,
or was she not into moving
houses every 12 hours?
[HAILEY SIGHS]
I'm not saying you're wrong.
She hated living with me.
I'm I'm just trying to
teach you something, okay?
I'm sorry. I just don't
like being called a liar.
Okay, look, try it again,
and this time, tell me
a lie, tell me the truth.
It doesn't matter.
Just tell me something.
Okay, a-a lie or the truth.
- And you're lying.
- Well, how do you know?
You repeated the question again, Hailey.
You cannot hesitate.
You have to project confidence.
People can smell dishonesty.
They can smell nervousness.
Even stupid people.
But everybody is a
sucker for confidence.
So is that lesson two?
Yeah.
So what were you gonna lie about?
I was gonna say you're handsome.
[CHUCKLES]
[LAUGHS]
And what's lesson three?
Always, and I mean always,
listen to the person in your ear.
[VIDEO GAME BEEPING]
[BUZZING]
What the fuck?
Shit, shit, shit.
Okay, you got this.
[SIGHS] Elliot Gao.
MADI: Oh, Mr. Gao,
my name is Agent Jo Madi.
I'm with the Financial
Crimes Division of the FBI.
Financial Crimes? [CHUCKLES]
Then I think you have the wrong number.
I definitely don't.
I want to ask you about
transactions you brokered
with Arda Analytics.
Where'd you hear that?
Well, I can explain it to you tonight.
I can be at your place by 6:00.
Yeah, no. Uh, tonight's gonna be tricky.
I'm hosting an auction.
Well, how about tomorrow morning, then?
My office. I'll send a car for you.
No, that won't be necessary.
I can be there, let's say 11:00.
Let's make it 9:00.
[PHONE BEEPS]
Hey, Anna, uh,
I want you to try to trace
that text tip that you got.
Weir's messing with me again.
- ANNA: You got it.
- Yeah. Thanks.
[PHONE BEEPS]
WEIR: Okay, don't walk too fast.
Or too slow.
Good.
So what am I supposed to steal?
I'll tell you when you're inside.
Right now, I want you
to get used to my voice.
I need you to trust me.
I need you to do everything I say.
[SCOFFS]
Normally, I'd say, once you're inside,
I want you to become
invisible, disappear.
That's not gonna work for you.
Why not?
People notice you.
John, are you trying to compliment me?
No. I just want you to be confident.
Go on in.
[ELECTRONIC BELL CHIMES]
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING QUIETLY]
When y'all close?
We're open 24 hours.
Cool. Thanks.
Did I sound confident?
WEIR: Yeah, but now you've
got a horny teenager
watching your every move.
You need to find a blind spot.
- Tampon aisle.
- Smart.
How'd you know he was a teenager?
Squeaky voice.
All right, what's my target?
Okay, it's a puzzle
book by the magazines.
It's called Magic Squares.
Magic Squares.
Got it.
Shit.
Hailey, I don't want you to panic,
but in a few seconds, someone's
gonna walk in the store.
I don't want you to look at
the door. Use the mirror.
- [ELECTRONIC BELL CHIMES]
- Keep your head down, eyes up.
Shit. I got to abort.
Abort? Wow. Aren't you a pro.
Do not abort. You can handle this.
Just listen to the voice in your ear.
[SIGHS] You suck.
All right, well, what do I do?
Go talk to him.
- I'm sorry?
- [ELECTRONIC BELL CHIMES]
Anybody who's gonna shoplift
isn't gonna go talk to a cop.
Talk to him, and you'll
inoculate yourself.
- What do I say?
- Something forgettable, small talk.
[COFFEE POURS]
You think I should play the Powerball?
Huh?
Was thinking about buying a ticket,
but everybody says the odds are, like,
a zillion to one.
What do you think?
I don't know.
Okay, good. Walk away.
So
no opinion. Okay, okay.
Are you gonna buy one?
- COP: No.
- Why not?
'Cause it's a waste of money.
See? I knew you had an opinion.
Oh, my God. You're
actually flirting with him.
I am.
So grateful for your advice, Officer.
- Bloop.
- See, I told you.
ALL YOU GOT TO DO: listen
to the person in your ear.
It was not your idea to flirt.
- I told you to talk to him.
- No, you said
"inoculate" or some bullshit.
I knew how you'd interpret that.
[LAUGHS]: Oh, whatever.
Let's-let's do this thing.
I'm ready.
I think you are.
I hope you're logging off
and resetting the VPN every few minutes.
Yeah. Yeah.
Is she dancing?
Or is that just the angle?
Oh, it's not the angle.
Why is she doing that?
You sure you're an investigator?
I think maybe you should
turn that off for a while.
I-I I don't understand
why she's not sadder.
If-if she died, I'd be devastated.
People have different ways
of mourning, and, um
Someone's at the door.
Oh, it's Kevin.
It's my neighbor Kevin. He's a good guy.
Probably just checking up on her.
Oh, shit.
I was afraid of that. [CLEARS THROAT]
What the fuck?
What the fuck? That's
Yeah, I feel for you, pal.
Listen, dying a fake death
is a special kind of hell.
Seriously, Kevin? Topknot Kevin?
Uh, think we should take
a break from this now.
- Well, where are you going?
- Yeah.
Uh, John will be back
soon to pick you up.
Tell him there's a guy
I know who can make sense
of those phone numbers,
and I've gone to see him.
No, wait. Y-You can't go.
Who-who am I gonna talk to?
BEN: God?
ANNA: Agent Madi, I traced that text.
- Oh. And?
- No good. It's another prepaid.
[SIGHS] Well, it should be.
If Weir sent the text, then
he'd have used a burner.
Sorry. Well, here's a call log anyway.
Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
- There's an incoming call here.
- Yeah?
Well, Weir wouldn't have used
the same burner phone twice.
Not on purpose, anyway.
Unless he finally screwed up.
- Do you want me to trace the
- Please.
♪
[LIVELY CROWD CHATTER]
MAN: Why would a bottle of whiskey
require such bleeding-edge
anti-counterfeiting measures?
Rarity.
Six figures for a bottle of
booze might seem a bit stiff.
This is unicorn dram.
Because, in the 19th century,
all Scotch whiskey was blended.
There was no such a thing
as a single malt.
This cask was on its way
to Oban to be blended
when the ship went down.
And this is your opportunity
to own this rare bottle
for an opening price of only $150,000.
The action will begin in about
ten minutes, so grab yourself
the drink on the way to
the room and remember to
I got eyes on the penthouse.
Let me know when you're in.
HAILEY: I'm in.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Are you Elliot Gao?
Uh, well, if you're the one
looking for me, then yes.
It's wonderful to put a
face with a voice, Mr. Gao.
Oh, please. Elliot.
How do you know my voice?
- We spoke on the phone.
- Hmm.
Agent Jo Madi, FBI.
Ask him when he started
trading NFTs with Miles Valence.
When did you start trading
NFTs with Miles Valence?
You know, I don't
think I know a Valence.
Sure you do. He's all over the news,
and you're all over his inbox.
Wow. You must've been
great in a courtroom.
Oh, right. Isn't that the guy that died?
You do a lot of business with Valence.
Has his death hit your bottom line?
Has it hit my bottom line?
- No, I don't think
- You're about to lie to me.
- What?
- You repeated the question. It's a tell.
Okay, now you're just showing off.
Look, I was not expecting a visit
from the FBI tonight,
okay? I have guests.
Well, this will only take a minute.
Okay, then I should get my lawyer.
No need for that
I I'm-I'm sorry.
Um, excuse me, please.
- WEIR: Hailey, what's going on?
- I'm walking away.
Why? You're doing great?
There's someone I know here.
- Who?
- Craig Payne.
- WEIR: Who's that?
- HAILEY: My old boss.
Okay, and that's a bad thing?
Yeah. Remember how I told you
I worked for a developer in Chicago?
Yeah, the place you left
to reinvent yourself.
Yeah, well, I left out the part
where I stole money from him.
- What?
- They're corrupt.
They were evicting poor people
and trying to get me
to cover up for them.
So I pushed back, and
they didn't like that.
They fired me.
And, uh
And what?
I stole a little crypto
from the company slush fund.
Oh. How much?
Not much, but it was
a few years ago, so,
obviously, it's worth
a little bit more today.
Okay, Hailey, exactly how much more?
$26 million as of Friday.
What the fuck?
You lied to me.
- I knew you lied to me.
- I didn't lie.
You stopped me before I
could even get to a lie.
I hate being right about this shit.
How was I supposed to know that crypto
was gonna spike
a thousand billion percent?
- Did he see you?
- I don't think so.
Hailey, you got to abort.
But what about Gao?
What if I leave and he
makes contact with Crowley?
We'll have to figure something else out.
You need to get downstairs as
fast as you can before he sees you.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Shit.
WEIR: Oh, shit.
Hailey, you've got to abort.
- Are you sure?
- No, no, no. I mean
All right, which is it, oh,
infallible man in my ear?
You need to abort the abort.
You need to stay up there.
- What? Why?
- Because he saw you.
- I don't think he did.
- I promise you, he saw you.
And in a related story,
I now know who our friends
in the blue Mercedes are.
[WHISPERING]: They're after my money.
Well, technically, his money, but yeah.
They just arrived.
What do I do?
Try to stay out of sight.
I'll get back to you.
WEIR: Homm, do you copy?
- [STATIC CRACKLES]
- Homm, do you copy?
- Yeah, I copy.
- I need you to meet me outside the building
- and bring a clipboard.
- Oh, Weir,
Topknot Kevin is still in the house.
Oh, buddy, you got to stop watching.
- He's wearing my bathrobe.
- Homm, this was your investigation.
You said you wanted to
be here. Do you remember?
What do you think she's gonna say
when you solve the biggest money
laundering case of the decade?
Buddy, you're gonna be a hero.
They're gonna give you
a raise, a promotion.
I bet they even give you a medal.
Meet me in front of the building,
and don't forget the fucking clipboard.
Copy that.
Take this.
Put it on. I want you to hide your face
from the cameras as much as possible.
Stay calm and do not say a word.
MAN: You two, stay put
until I'm sure it's her.
Weir, where are you?
Shit.
Hailey Winton?
No.
That's her.
Mr. Gao would like to
speak with you privately.
- DOB.
- DOORMAN: Wait, what?
Hey. Asshole. You have to check in.
I don't have to do shit. What
part of DOB don't you get?
Department of Buildings.
I'm here to inspect your elevators.
State law requires
two inspections a year.
You've had one.
The second is happening right now.
- DOORMAN: But how do I know you're
- You want to impede us?
I'm not impeding.
Good. We'll be out of
your hair in a moment.
- [QUIETLY]: How was that?
- Impressive.
- Let's talk next steps.
- This is exciting.
You're gonna do your thing,
buy Hailey some extra time.
Then you're gonna meet
me in the east stairwell. Got it?
- Got it.
- [ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- DOORMAN: Excuse me, sir.
- MAN: We're with Mr. Payne.
Thanks.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- Hey, what the fuck, dude?
- HOMM: Sorry.
What the fuck was that?
HAILEY: I realize that TV
and movies make it seem like
FBI agents always have badges and guns,
but that's just Hollywood. It
I don't know who the fuck you are,
but you are not
her.
That's true.
I'm not an uptight white lady.
GUARD: What would
like me to do with her?
Mr. Crowley will decide
when he gets here.
Crowley is coming here?
Really?
Crowley is coming here.
WEIR: Homm, come on.
Hey, what are you doing there?
Department of Buildings.
The elevator shaft
GUARD: Department of Buildings?
After 5:00? Since when?
Is he gonna be okay?
Yeah, he's gonna be fine.
We just rang his bell.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
- [ALARM RINGING]
- [GEARS GRINDING]
Ah, fuck it. Let's take the stairs.
♪
♪
[BEN CLEARS THROAT]
Mr. Crowley?
Wait
- Shut her up.
- What-wha Oh
I should really just put
a bullet in your head,
but that'll have to
wait till there aren't
a hundred people downstairs listening.
Now, did I somehow
give you the impression
that I wanted you to talk to
the FBI about our business?
No, but-but she's not even FBI.
No, I'm talking about earlier,
when the real FBI agent called you.
- How did you know
- I know everything.
- GAO: Mr. Crowley
- BEN: Mr. Gao.
Should I trust you?
GAO: Yes, of course.
Why? Why should I trust you?
Listen, that FBI agent
said she wanted to discuss
the Arda transactions.
And what did you tell her
about our involvement with Arda?
- Nothing.
- I think you're lying.
I think you told Agent Madi
all about our plans, didn't you?
Plans? [CHUCKLES]
- I don't even know about your plans.
- Don't fuck with me, Gao.
GAO: Oh.
Okay, m-maybe I inferred
Inferred?
GAO: Like, um you're
not offshoring your money.
You just are concealing the source
- from the Treasury Department.
- What else?
Okay, Hailey.
- BEN: I'm sure you think you were careful.
- I'm back.
But that FBI agent is clever.
More clever than you, I think.
Whether you realize it or not,
she got something from you.
So, what other transactions
did you tell her about?
[PHONE BUZZING]
Nothing else.
None at all.
We were on the phone for
less than two minutes.
Nothing about Intaverse
or the Ledger. Nothing at all.
BEN: What about the campaign spending?
- GAO: What campaign spending?
- BEN: Don't be coy with me,
Mr. Gao; I don't have the patience.
Tell me what you know
about my campaign spending.
[PHONE BUZZING]
[BEN SIGHS]
Sorry, am I boring you?
Mm?
[CAMERA CLICKING]
What the fuck are you doing?
Give me that phone.
WEIR: Ben, Hailey, what's happening?
- BEN: Crowley.
- Oh, shit.
[QUIETLY]: Johnathan, we need cover.
- WEIR: Okay, just give me a sec.
- [PHONES RINGING]
Not too much of a mess.
- Johnathan
- WEIR: Okay, I need you to
remember exactly where
everybody is and get prepared to act.
Fuck. This is gonna hurt.
[BUZZING]
[PEOPLE GASPING]
- [ALL GRUNTING]
- [GUNSHOTS]
[PANTING]
Ben, get out of here.
Weir, where are you?
WEIR: Hailey, I'm back.
HAILEY: Why didn't
you tell me about Ben?
You didn't think I needed to know that?
You don't think I can keep a secret?
Where the hell is he?
WEIR: Hold on.
Dad, where are you?
BEN: I'm on my way to
the main elevator lobby.
Hailey, he's headed
for the main elevators.
HAILEY: Where's the service elevator?
I need to get down to
the service elevator.
No. the main elevators, Hailey,
not the service elevators.
The main elevators.
Yeah, Weir, I'm fucking dry cleaning.
Everybody's a professional.
[GRUNTS]
He says they're heading
towards the service elevator.
- Let's go.
- There was a service elevator?
[DOOR CLOSES]
You guys should have seen me.
I was like James Bond in there.
BEN: He knows that I'm alive.
We got some good leads.
Intaverse. The Ledger.
You have any idea what Intaverse is?
No. We're done, John.
We've lost the advantage.
He's ahead of us, and that's the
last place you want to be with him.
- He doesn't know about me.
- Not yet.
HOMM: Intaverse is a web media company.
Don't you guys watch the news?
The whole, um, GetTugether.com thing?
The "have a consensual
affair on us" commercial?
Half of D.C. signed up for it.
Not me, of course.
And why was it on the news?
That congressman that
resigned last month,
he got outed as a member by WikiLeaks.
It was a whole thing.
He says someone was blackmailing him.
So it's a honey trap.
He's collecting
kompromat on politicians.
Probably got half of
Washington in his pocket by now.
He's just waiting for
one to be camera ready.
MORGAN SHAW: It's all
about control, sheeple.
They gather up your searches
and your likes and your Facebook groups
and your-your pornography
preferences, right?
And they know you, man. They know you.
They're looking for leverage.
They're looking for ways to rope you in
to buying their shit.
To buying into their causes.
To make you care about whatever it is
they want you to care about.
To make do whatever it is
they want you to do.
BEN: He's so far ahead of us.
Then we need to move faster.
We need to change the plan.
- Yeah. To what?
- We need more people.
We need to bring my team back in.
What team?
The ones who blew up?
They're still alive?
Yeah.
What's up with you people?
Is this shit fun to you?
CROWD [CHANTING]: Take back your life!
Take back your life!
Take back your life!
Take back your life!