Played (2013) s01e07 Episode Script

It's nine o'clock, you promised you'd be home.
I know I'm still downtown, I'm sorry.
Can we talk about this when I get home - Please, please - Are you OK? - Help! - John! Go, get in! Let's go, let's go! Season 1, Episode 7 "Cars" You know, it's a lot easier to sneak out on a full stomach.
Good morning.
You don't have to disappear every time we hook up.
A little breakfast never hurt anyone.
Unless you're a chicken.
It's just that, I have an early morning.
I got a meeting in a few minutes.
Look, if I stay for breakfast, then I'll be here for dinner, and maybe, we'll catch a movie, a ball game.
A month or so and it'll be dinner with your parents They live in Arizona.
Okay, fine, then it'll be your boss or a friend.
But, here's the thing, I just won't be there.
- I won't make it.
- Maria.
And you'll pretend that it's fine but you won't trust me, you'll be jealous.
Hey, hey, come on.
You're about to break us up and we haven't even had our first date yet.
That's the best part.
I mean, I don't even know what you do for a living.
I like this.
Ethan, this isn't broken.
Why do you want to fix it? Because whatever it is you're scared of, it's not me.
This, whatever this is, it's real.
I'm sorry.
We've been on this case two weeks and there've been five more carjackings.
Kelly.
The latest victim.
Jon Davis.
Father of two, beaten unconscious and relieved of his late model Audi.
We know these attacks are related.
They go back almost a year.
Multiple armed crews all over the city.
Millions of dollars in car thefts.
What we don't know is who's calling the shots.
Whoever's running the crews and moving the cars, they're serious, they're pros, alright? Innocent targets, brutal violence.
We need to shut these guys down, fast.
You've made some progress? OK, so I've been making friends with these two.
Ryan and Alex.
I met them at a street race.
- You were driving? - Are you kidding me? Maria's the best driver in this whole division.
Seriously? Yeah, my dad's idea of quality time was me holding a torque wrench while he swapped out a gasket.
So these guys, are they partners? One of the two-men crews? They fit the profile to a T.
Yep.
Alex has a thug.
He's got a rap sheet a mile long.
Plenty of carjacking, brutal violence.
But Ryan's different, he's my guy I scored points with him driving, talking shop.
He's starting to trust me and I can tell he's not into the violence.
He says he's got a job coming in later today.
"Coming in" What does that mean? We don't know.
He won't give her the details yet.
- But he's agreed to intro me to his boss.
- That's good.
A'ight.
Let's get Maria prepped.
She's gonna be our primary, whatever she needs.
This might be her only chance to move up the chain, we can't miss it.
Daniel, I want you close cover.
Jesse and I will hang back and be ready to move where the play takes us.
Whoever we're dealing with, has no problem breaking what gets in their way.
So it's only a matter of time until escalates and we end up with a homicide.
Scooped the cold air intake from a guy in Pasadena.
Custom weld and polish.
And it gets you what? 20 horses, tops? Drop nitrous in and you're talking 200.
For 20 seconds.
Then you shred your engine.
Probably take you a whole tank just to get this beast up a hill.
You need something new, carbon fiber, CPU-controlled hydraulics When I'm red lining into a hairpin, I trust my car, not a computer.
Watch out.
- Here comes trouble.
- I got him.
Watcha doin' here, man? You know, I still can't figure out why a big guy like you is so afraid of girls.
Ease up.
She's cool.
We have a meet, Ryan.
Yeah? Well, that's why she's here, I want her to meet our guy.
So what, you think you just gonna cut her in, is that what you're thinking? Is that coming out of your cake? Were you even ask me about that? Like a need your permission to make a move.
We need a driver.
She's crazy good, you know that.
You need to get out of here, right now.
Or what? Trust me, your boss is going to want to meet me.
K, drop it.
He's here.
I'll tell you what, she's in, I'm out, man.
That simple.
We'll talk, alright? Alright, here we go.
It's handshakes and small talk.
Got it, right? - He just gave Ryan some money.
- That's it, that'll be for the job.
- We're gonna stay on this guy.
- Alright, I'll see you back at HQ.
He says now, he means now, we do it tonight.
So what's the gig? Well, come on.
You said you'd cut me in.
- And I told you to disappear, little girl.
- Did you? You know, it's weird.
I just zone out whenever you open your mouth.
How about I make you pay attention, bitch.
- Hey, hey, back off.
- Calm down before someone gets hurt.
Oh, really? You think you're gonna hurt me? Is that watcha think? Give me a reason.
- Arrrgh, get her under control, man.
- Yeah, well, calm down.
- You said you need a driver, right? - This ain't chauffeuring, sweetheart.
Let's go, you, me quarter mile, right now.
What do I get when I win? My ride.
We race for pink slips.
What the hell are you doing, Maria? I want you to watch when I sell your car for parts.
You heard it.
What's wrong? You need a handicap, sweetheart? I'll give you two car length, but if you don't have the balls, I mean Get in your car.
I don't need no handicap.
We checked the target's photo against the database, nothing.
- Did you run his plates? - Also nothing.
Where are you right now? We followed him to a business, Vaughn Motorsports.
- He's still inside.
- Kahli? It's a private dealership, exclusive high end car sales.
Owned by Ellen and Davin Vaughn.
Looks completely legit.
I guess we're gonna have to go inside then.
Take a look.
Your son needs a new car.
Stuff like that? Maybe I'm into some kind of sketchy business, see if they bite.
Read my mind.
Hey, if you can get me photos of VIN numbers on the cars, I can run them, see if they're stolen.
- We just need one for a search warrant.
- Alright, done.
- We should probably get changed.
- Let's go get rich.
Quarter mile to the concrete road block.
First one there wins.
Keep your car.
All I want is to get in on your action.
Fine.
Pick us up tonight.
We'll text you.
Normally we're by appointment only.
These cars are sick.
He has an exuberance for this sort of thing.
This is very last minute, I forgot my son's birthday.
So I'm in the doghouse here.
Are you interested in anything in particular? A happy son.
I promised him anything he wanted.
I don't know, he said 'chick-magnet'.
I guessing that's a sports car.
Well, Mr Ross, John Ross.
We can get whatever your son wants.
- As long as you're serious.
- Oh, I'm very serious.
I assume paying cash won't be a problem? What line of work are you in, Mr.
Ross? Let's call it import and export.
Cash will be just fine.
Good.
The husband and wife are clean.
I ran every VIN number you got and Not one of the cars is stolen.
You think they have a chop shop? No, cause the numbers are stamped all over the parts, right? So one of them would have flagged by now.
They must be involved.
Why else would this guy be there? What are you doing? I'm working.
Isn't that what we're doing here? I don't know, is it? Jesse, Daniel's waiting out front.
We're going to back up Maria.
- Get moving.
- I'm on my way.
What are we doing here? I thought we were breaking into a car, not a house.
- You ever boosted a Lamborghini? - No.
Why? Engine lock, GPS tracking.
It's cleaner and faster if we snag the keys.
Especially when nobody's home.
- You sure about that? - Yeah, I'm sure.
Relax.
Gotcha! Let's do this.
Here we go, they're in.
We've got no eyes.
Second floor.
Is that them? What's happening? A light just went on upstairs, I'm texting Maria.
Someone home.
Guys.
I heard someone upstairs.
Someone's home.
We gotta go.
- Maybe we should bail? - No, no, we don't leave without the car.
Is someone there? What the hell are you doing? Hey, no! Get in there! Go! You should have stayed upstairs, old man.
Enough! Stop.
I said stop! Back off! He saw your face.
We have to deal with him.
We're not here to make a mess.
We're here for the car.
Police! Show me your hands! Get on the ground.
On the ground! Get down! - Show me your hands! - Get down! Sir, you alright? You're going to be alright, sir.
I need an ambulance at 20 Peldar Street.
I have a civilian male, severe head trauma.
This isn't my first time either, so you can skip the tough guy stuff.
- We're both professionals, right? - Professionals? Career cop, career criminal.
It is what it is.
Whatever you say.
I need an introduction to your boss.
For what? Maybe a couple years off my sentence? Maybe some early parole? - I can talk to the prosecutor.
- Yeah? That sounds good.
Except, I ain't no rat.
I can stand my time, bitch.
So screw you.
Well, I have to say that's a relief.
Phil Bronte, the man at the house.
You put a grandfather in the hospital, Alex.
You're out of control, and you're a coward.
I was worried you might cut a deal.
You tryin' to play me? No games.
Truth is, I want you to go to jail for a long, long time.
And this non-compliance you're showing, that means I can push for maximum sentence.
It's a good day.
Maximum sentence, are you serious in there? It was no play.
Major crime can charge him.
Make sure they take their time.
- OK.
- So what now? We stick with Ryan? Make him an agent, see if he'll work with us, maybe? Maria? We're going to need Ryan's help, he can get us to Zeke.
Think he can handle it? I don't know.
- You don't think he'll flip? - In a heart beat.
This just got real for him.
He needs an out.
But working with us is a lot of pressure.
I'm not sure I can trust him.
OK, so why don't you go in there, talk to him, see how it feels.
Okay.
I'll give it a shot.
He's in rough shape.
- Can you give us the room? - Yeah.
All right.
Hey, Ryan.
You're a cop? Are you kidding me? You're good, I had no idea.
You know what's stupid? I'm still happy to see you.
- It's always good to see a friend.
- You're a cop.
Best friend to have right now.
So what? Are you going to, like, question me? Make a report? Take me to jail? Do I have a choice? Everybody makes mistakes, you're mine.
My mom always said that to me.
That's a hell of a thing to say to her kid.
Yeah, but what I'm doing, stealing cars and all that? She hates it.
I don't blame her.
Look at me.
I'm sitting here worrying what my mom's gonna think.
Last night, you tried to stop Alex.
- He was beating that man - So? So you know what I think? I think you're better than that.
Than him.
I can help you.
I can drop these charges but you have to help me first.
What kind of help are we talkin'? I need a way in.
We'll start with the guy from yesterday, your boss? Work our way up Hey, if you aren't up for this, you need to let me know.
I need to be able to trust you.
Completely.
Can I trust you? Let's start with the name of your boss.
The guy in the Hummer who gave you the job.
Why don't you tell me who you work for? His name is Zeke Weston.
He's crazy violent.
Especially if you make a mistake.
Runs, like, ten crews of guys who jack cars.
He gives us a name, an address, we deliver the cars, and Zeke makes them squeaky clean and legal.
What happens to them then? How do they get sold? - Do the clients know they're stolen? - I swear, I have no idea.
I'm just the help, right? And Zeke isn't much of a talker.
Can you bring me in as your new partner? You think he'd go for that? Yeah.
I mean, I can try.
OK, so we're going right into Zeke's garage, with you getting busted last night, he's gonna be tense as hell.
So you got to keep him calm, he needs to feel like he's in control, alright? Now my guys will be outside, they'll be listening.
So if we get into any kind of trouble, they'll be right there to back us up.
Okay, you ready? Take a deep breath.
And remember, "I'm not a cop.
" Come on.
What the hell is she doing here? I asked you a question.
What is she doing here? Come on, Ryan.
Step up.
You got this.
That job you gave us last night.
That was junk, Zeke.
The guy was home, alright? Alex is done.
Yeah, Alex called me.
From jail.
He said you got busted.
That's right, I had to bail myself out, man.
Alex beat the hell out of the guy which is why he's still in.
Anyway, the point is, now I need a new partner.
Alright? That's what she's doing here.
I just wanted to clear it with you, out of respect.
Ryan gets very confused sometimes.
He says things he shouldn't.
- Where'd you meet her? - It's Maria.
- Racing pink slips out at Cherry Beach.
- She can drive? Gave him a spot, six car lengths.
Still smoked him.
Who does she work for? You.
Starting now.
Come on.
Come on We're done here.
I do the recruiting.
Take a walk.
No sale.
It's alright.
Could be a first step, we'll stay on Zeke.
See what he gets into.
I have to say I'm impressed.
Only five hundred production models built, and last time I checked there weren't any left.
- Where did you find it? - I have a number of suppliers.
You mind if I take a photograph? For my son.
These days if it doesn't happen in a photograph, it never happened.
Of course.
- Ok, got the photo.
- Do you think your son will like it? I hope so.
It's his favorite color.
Nothing.
It's clean.
I have friends overseas who'd be interested in this sort of thing.
- Is that right? - Of course, it would have to be volume.
But if you could move cars like this, 20 grand a unit? 20 thousands each? At that price they would have to be stolen.
You have the capacity for this sort of operation? I ship things overseas, in containers.
Heavy machinery, textiles, that sort of thing.
Including cars.
Certainly possible, why not? You're talking to the wrong people, Mr.
Ross.
- That's too bad.
- I'm sorry we can't help you.
Well, if you change your mind.
I'm going to show this to my son.
I'll be in touch.
Give our best to your boy.
- Once again, VIN was clean.
- Nah, they've gotta be fake.
Khali ran the numbers.
Paperwork's legit.
I ask for a car that's impossible to buy, and they come up with one literally overnight.
We have no way to prove that it's stolen.
Yeah, but the wife, Ellen, she was into the deal.
She was already spending the money in her head.
It was the husband that backed away? There was something going on there, plenty of tension.
These people are careful, we've seen that with Zeke.
They're smart, so we just have to be smarter.
- Yeah? - It's Daniel.
- Hey.
- We've got action with Zeke.
We followed him to a park.
He's out of his car.
What's he doing? Looks like he's meeting up with the wife, Ellen Vaughn.
- Just her? No husband? - Yeah, looks that way.
- Whoa, are you seeing this? - Yeah Yeah, keep shooting.
- What is it? - Ellen and Zeke.
I think we just found a way in.
So she's married to the money, but she's sleeping with the muscle.
Yeah, this is more than a one night stand.
- You're sure? - Yeah, look at his hand.
On her back, there's a closeness between them, not an urgency.
She's looking into his eyes.
There's trust there.
- This is real for her.
- So how do we use it? I'll reach out to Ellen.
If she's looking for an exit ramp for her and her boyfriend, I'll be happy to provide.
Meanwhile, Ryan delivers the photos to the husband.
He wants to prove his loyalty, and thought Davin should know what his wife is doing.
- He uses it as a chance to step up.
- That's a lot of pressure on Ryan.
He can handle it.
Set up a meeting with Ellen, see if she bites.
All right.
- Hey.
Nice job with this kid.
- Ryan? - Anyone could've flipped him.
- That's not true.
You made a genuine connection.
He trusts you, Maria, he believes in you.
He looks at me, all he sees is a get out of jail free card.
Don't be so sure.
We're just waiting on a signal.
You remember what to say? - I'm your new partner, right? - Yeah.
I'm good.
I'm gonna keep my distance, you got this.
I jacked my first car before I could drive.
Me and a buddy, we swiped this minivan, drove it around the block.
I bet it was a rush.
It sounds stupid but I always thought I wouldn't be able to do it.
Like it wouldn't be that easy or something.
Then I started learning security systems, ignition overrides.
I could boost anything with an engine.
We used to swipe cars from the airport lot.
No one got hurt.
It's like it wasn't even real.
But these guys Everyone gets hurt.
We'll shut them down.
I always thought cops were kind of lame.
But all this? Way bigger rush than joyriding that minivan.
- I guess you're probably used to it.
- It never gets old.
It's gotta be tough, though.
Always pretending to be someone you're not.
You ever just miss just being yourself? - Yeah.
- You're good to go.
Okay.
Headed in.
You ready? Yeah It's a nice day for a walk.
I'm glad you called.
I wanted to apologize for my husband.
You don't have to apologize, I understand.
He's the overbearing, controlling type.
Is that what you think? I'll tell you what's clear to me.
Your partnership isn't working and if I were you, I'd ditch him.
I can move your cars, Ellen.
This was a mistake.
Ellen, you're the smartest person in the room and he won't even trust your judgment.
I didn't come here for an appraisal of my marriage.
You'll have complete autonomy, you'll obtain the product, I'll move it overseas, where I will sell it.
What kind of business do you think I'm running, exactly? Look, do you think I just happened to come out of nowhere? I've had my eyes on your operation for some time now.
I can help you take it to another level if you want me to.
It's up to you.
- Mr.
Vaughn.
- Ryan, isn't it? Zeke's not here.
Actually, sir, I wanted to talk to you.
The reason I wanted to see you Ryan, whatever it is, you can take it up with Zeke.
You need to leave now.
- This is too much for him.
- Give him a second.
Photos just went down.
No one knows.
I swear.
Why bring this to me? Zeke is out of control, he's dangerous.
This operation should be clean, low profile.
But Zeke's got crews putting people in hospitals.
Me and my partner back there, we'll do things differently.
So you want his job.
You're an opportunist.
If I was, I'd be blackmailing your wife.
He's doing good.
Look, I get it.
I'm nobody to you, I'm nothing.
But right now, I'm the one person who isn't lying to you.
Wait.
Come back tonight, we'll talk.
I thought for sure he wasn't gonna go for it.
- You did great in there.
- So what's our next move? We just blew up their entire foundation.
Now, we show Davin that we can help put it back together.
Looks like Ryan made quite the impression.
The dealership was shut up tight.
No sign of Davin or the lovers.
I'm sure Davin is freaking out right now.
He said he'd be in touch.
Hey, look at this, I got something.
I set up a fake website for John's import-export firm.
- Ellen Vaughn just paid it a visit.
- You sure it's Ellen? Yeah, I tracked the IP address, it's her, she's checking him out.
- That means she's interested.
- She's making a move.
Her and Zeke, that's good.
They're scrambling.
If we could set up a buy we could shut this whole thing down.
Oh no, it's Ryan.
Something's wrong, he's panicking.
I gotta go.
- I got your text, what's wrong? - We messed up.
Zeke called me.
He sounds really weird.
Davin must have told him that I ratted him out.
OK, slow down.
Tell me what happened.
Zeke wants me to pick up a car from the drop spot, get it taken care of.
- What does that mean? - I did this once for him.
If we get a car that's too hot, Zeke leaves it in the drop spot for me.
I have to pick it up, take it to the crushers.
So if you get busted with the car, it's on you, and Zeke just walks away.
It's usually no big deal.
But this time, something's different.
I could hear it in his voice.
He was ice-cold.
You think he's setting you up? The drop spot is isolated, there's no cameras.
If I go there, anything could happen.
But we don't have a choice.
Zeke will get suspicious if we don't do what he says, right? "We?" You're not alone in this.
Where's the pickup spot? - It's back that way.
- Let's go.
Here come my guys.
We're gonna check out the car, make sure it's safe.
Hey, stay back.
We circled the perimeter twice, it's clear.
We're alone.
Alright, which one? Right there, red sedan.
Keys are under the bumper.
It doesn't look right to me.
The back wheels are low.
There's something heavy in the trunk.
Rebecca, we got eyes on the car, could be rigged with explosives.
Get everyone out of there, I'm calling the bomb squad.
Oh, no, wait a second, we know Zeke is reckless and impulsive.
But a bomb? It doesn't make sense.
Especially if it's personal.
If anything, he's going to want to cave Ryan's head in with a tire iron himself.
I'm going to take a closer look.
John, are you listening to me? Keep your distance.
Rebecca, I'm losing you, you're starting to break up.
Roll ETF to their location now.
Bomb disposal unit.
- What are you doing? - I'm gonna go take a look.
- I'm right with you.
- No, no, no.
Both of you stay put.
Only need one of us to be stupid.
John! - Homicide's working on search warrants.
- Too slow.
In the meantime, our happy couple disappears.
We're running out of time, we need to get a confession.
The good news is Ellen Vaughn has reached out.
She wants a meeting with John Ross, the exporter.
So we do a double play.
While I'm working on the wife, Maria could be working on the boyfriend, Zeke.
We gotta get a matching car, same make, model as the one we found the body in.
- Why? - So that Ryan can drive it back.
He got nervous, he looked in the trunk, found the body.
Now he's gonna confront Zeke, all freaked out.
Seeing that car, the shock of it - They might just fall apart.
- Yeah, that's a good plan.
- But does it get us a confession? - At this point, it's our best shot.
Okay, we're in position.
- Good.
Maria? - Good to go.
Stand by, we're waiting on John's signal.
Okay, standing by.
Any minute now.
Look, we don't know how Zeke's gonna react when he sees this car.
I do.
I got this, I know how to talk to him.
If things go South, you follow my lead.
Yeah.
When this is all over with, you ever thought about what you might do? I've never been good at anything besides stealing cars.
You're pretty good at this.
I'm no cop.
No.
But we could put you on the payroll, and you could help us out.
- As a job? - Yeah, you're pretty good at this.
Might be worth it, just to see the look on my mom's face.
We want to move the cars, right now, fast.
They're all ready to go, the detailed list is in my office.
I don't need a list.
What I need is the history of each vehicle.
In case any issues should arise.
They're untraceable.
I do the work myself.
That's not much of an assurance.
My clients need more than that.
We take the VIN numbers from wrecked cars, we copy them, and we put them on ours.
- But then there's no paper trail.
- We make one.
You can look as deep as you want, all you find is a clean car.
We can discuss money in my office.
Of course.
But first I want to pick up that present for my son.
- There's the cue.
- Maria, you're on.
We've got them on the cars, now let's get them for murder.
OK, going in.
Is everything okay? Fine.
Let's step into my office.
- Get that out of here.
- The car, or the body in the trunk? - Will your husband be joining us? - No I'll be handling this.
All I need to know is if he's gonna be a problem.
- Can we get him on the phone? - I can't, he's unavailable.
What was the plan? I get caught dumping the car, go down for murder? Was that it? Did you really think you could get away with it? You don't know what you're talking about.
Yeah? So tell me.
You need to shut up, right now.
Move.
Outside.
Come on, Ryan, let's go outside.
So you gonna kill me like you killed Davin, huh? You coward? - Ryan, that's enough.
- Daniel, Jesse, start moving in.
Let's go.
Come on, Ryan, let's go.
You shouldn't have come here.
Tell me what happened, or else I'm going to the cops.
Ryan, stop! I told you to shut up! Ryan! No John, he's got a knife, get over here! Police get on the ground, don't move! There's so much blood.
I need an ambulance at 151 Dumay, we have a civilian injured.
- Severe abdominal stab.
- Shut up! Ryan, listen to me, listen.
You have to stay still, okay.
Ambulance is on it's way.
It happened so fast.
I know, look at me, look at me.
I want you to picture your mom's face when you tell her you work for the cops.
She'd never believe me.
You're gonna be OK, you're gonna get out of this, OK? The ambulance is on it's way.
Ryan! Ryan, Ryan, you're gonna be okay.
I don't even know your real name.
It's Maria.
Maria Cortez.
That's a really pretty name.
It's okay, you're going to be okay.
Ryan, stay still, please.
Please.
.
! Mrs.
Everwood? My name is Maria, I'm a police officer.
I need to talk to you about your son, Ryan.
You people.
No, I don't know where he's living, and no, I haven't talked to him in a couple of years.
Uh, Mrs.
Everwood.
Ryan isn't in trouble.
He was working on a case, helping police.
Helping me.
Helping me.
Ryan's been injured, he was stabbed.
How bad is it? He lost a lot blood, he's gonna need surgery, but he is conscious, and The doctors think he's gonna be okay.
I knew this was gonna happen, I've been waiting for it.
Your son stopped a lot of people from getting hurt.
He wants to make a change.
He's been asking for you.
- I can take you if you'd like.
- Yes, thank you.
What? Maria's blaming herself.
That kid almost died.
She'll be fine.
I'll check in with her.
This job.
You spend all this time with someone and then You arrest them, or They get stabbed But you made a connection.
You opened up to them.
You know what the tough part is? Going home at night to someone who loves you, and you have to open up to them, all over again.
- I'm sorry I didn't call first.
- No, it's okay.
I'm a cop.
You wanted to know what I do for a living.
Okay.
And you were wrong.
I am scared of you.
You're the first guy I've connected with, in a long time.
And that kind of freaks me out.
Hey Why don't you come inside? Let's go out.
Talk.
It's three in the morning.
That's okay.
You'll get used to it.