Wild Cards (2024) s02e03 Episode Script
The Lorne Identity
1
Previously on Wild Cards.
My brother Daniel put those up.
You two are close, I can tell.
He left me everything he
had, which was basically
just this rundown boat
and everything in it.
I did hear something that
you'll be interested in.
It involves Ellis.
The kid was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
Tough luck for him, but
I had to take him out.
Huh? Well, I heard the kid
had a brother who's a cop.
Name is Cole Ellis.
Max, what are you doing here?
You guys don't have a case.
They're setting up Wi-Fi in my condo,
which interrupted my
Deep Space Nine rewatch.
Totally underrated in
the star trek oeuvre.
I agree.
And what are you doing?
Oh, is this your brother?
Yeah.
Daniel's birthday today.
Or, uh, would have been.
Okay. Binge watch. Canceled.
Let's do something fun for
your brother's birthday.
- Max.
- What was his favorite thing to do?
Bowling. Log rolling. Taxidermy.
Please don't say taxidermy.
I was taking a private
moment to reminisce.
And now I've got some paperwork to do.
Yates, we got a game for
you. It's called paperwork.
Pass.
The only games I like to
play involves surgical gloves.
- Ew!
- You're late again.
What am I supposed to do?
They moved my parking
spot four blocks away.
I had to hoof it all the way here.
Do you know what that much
exercise does to the body?
Nothing good.
- Li's gonna be pissed.
- Yeah, well, Li's never gonna know.
- Yates, you're late again.
- Damn it.
Uh, sir my parking spot
Yates, what do I hate
more than anything?
Um Sardines. Babies. Corduroy.
Excuses. Just figure it out.
You don't work in the post office.
Copy. No problem.
Injustices abound.
Oh, Ellis, there's a guy downstairs
that wants to talk to you,
and he'll only talk to you.
- Who is it?
- I don't know, I didn't get his name.
Yates, seriously?
Oh, I'm sorry that my
brain doesn't work so well
when my day involves excessive walking.
Hi, I'm Detective Ellis.
You're Ellis.
Good. That's good,
'cause I I I um
Oh, I really need your help.
- Okay. How can I help you?
- Ha!
Um, I can't, um I
can't tell you that here
because there are too many listeners.
Oh, don't worry about me.
I'm like his emotional support dog.
Just, um, please, there's just no time.
Okay? We can speak in
private. Right this way.
Are you taking him to interrogation?
Great idea. I'll secret watch.
Max. I'm fine. I don't
need emotional support.
Tell that to Mark.
There's danger.
There is so much danger,
and only you can stop it.
- Why only me?
- Well, that's what Jerry said.
Who's Jerry?
He's my friend.
He told me to talk to you, only to you.
He said I would find you here on your
on your boat.
How does he know where you live?
Um run me through the situation.
They're after me and my wife.
She's missing, and, I don't
know, maybe they have her.
And if they have her,
what am I going to do?
I just don't know what I'm gonna do.
Why would these people have your wife?
Because she knows too much.
Look, I want you to name
three things in the room, okay?
- What?
- Three objects in the room.
Name them right now. Go.
Uh, table.
Pen.
Door handle.
[EXHALES]
Feel your breathing relax?
Yeah.
Okay. Now, I like you. I
want to help you, all right?
So let's just take it slow.
Start from the top. All right.
Give me your full name.
It's, um
I don't know.
You don't know your name?
No, I can't remember.
It's on his shirt.
Is it
Lorne?
Maybe.
All right, let's try
something different.
Um, what's your wife's name?
I don't remember that either.
Do you know your address?
No.
Lorne, are you on any
kind of medications?
Maybe something that
would affect your memory.
No, no, no, no, no.
I mean, at least no, I
don't I don't think so.
You don't think so?
Okay, look, we should pause this.
I need to get you properly
examined by a physician.
No, no, no, there's no
time. There's no time.
We need to talk to Jerry.
He can answer all of
your questions, please.
I know this might sound crazy,
but no one is safe right now.
Listen to me.
They are everywhere.
Who are they?
Aliens.
This guy thinks aliens are after him.
I'll have a uni bring
him to the hospital.
Sir, Lorne's got some
gaps in his memory, yes,
But I think this Jerry
guy might be his caretaker
or his doctor or something.
Just let me look into it, okay?
If it doesn't pan out, I'll
take him to the hospital.
We can run them through the
missing persons database.
Why do you want to help this guy?
He came here looking for me, all right?
And he knows where I live.
I mean, maybe there's a
connection I'm missing.
It's because of Daniel, isn't it?
It's Daniel's birthday today.
Look, Daniel had this rule
that if somebody asked you
for help, you never say no.
That's why he went into social work.
He wanted to help people.
So the fact that this guy
came here looking for me,
only me, on today of all days, I just
I feel like I, at least,
have to look into it.
And Yates has already
agreed to do his paperwork.
Look, I know it's been hard
with Daniel's killer on the run.
I called the federal officers
working on the case every
day, but still nothing.
I appreciate that more
than you know, sir.
Take this guy to this Jerry person,
if it's all bs, bring
him to the hospital.
Yes, sir.
Max, you don't need to
come. It's not a Russo case.
And miss out on aliens.
Yeah, fat chance.
Where are we going?
Uh
left turn.
Yeah. Yeah.
Now. Right turn.
Yeah.
Are you sure you don't
remember Jerry's address?
Just think for a sec.
I don't, but I know where I'm going.
- Right turn.
- [TIRES SCREECH]
Yep.
Heads up would have been nice.
Sorry.
You know, I want to hear
more about these aliens.
What do they look like on a scale
from Marvin the Martian to Predator?
Well, they go by the
name of the three kings.
They've got, like, these huge antlers.
They're led by a commander named Nevets.
Now, the only way to
defeat the commander
is to find the ORB, which
is located under Cyprus.
- Cyprus?
- Yeah.
I've never been to Cyprus. Pack my bags.
No, no. Listen, we have to find the orb.
We have to because it's the only way
we're going to defeat the aliens.
Do you understand? That's
the only way this is going to end.
And that's the only way that
I'm going to get my wife back.
Okay, wait.
Yeah, this is it,
this is it, this is it.
Hey! No, no, no, don't don't
those are the aliens
right there, right there.
And we're going to find
them right after this, okay?
- Yeah.
- I just need you to focus.
Can we just go quickly,
please? Just hurry.
So he said Jerry lived
in this warehouse.
Yeah, yeah. This is the warehouse.
Okay, we gotta hurry.
[EXPLOSION]
[GROANS]
♪
Looks like an explosion went
off inside the warehouse.
A Jerry Stanwell had been staying there.
So Jerry is a real person?
Certainly seems so. No
sign of a body, though.
And the fire's been contained.
Luckily, no one in the
building was harmed.
I'll let you guys know
if we find anything else.
Okay. Thank you.
Do you think Jerry was
targeted by someone?
Maybe we were the targets.
Ten seconds later, they would
have been scraping us off the dirt.
He tried to kill you.
This guy comes in, says
he knows where you live,
then brings you to a place
with a live explosive.
No. You're off this.
Why would Lorne try to hurt Ellis?
Why does anyone commit crimes?
- Why did you?
- I didn't commit crimes.
I helped rich people part
ways with their money.
- What's the difference?
- Pizazz.
Sir, Lorne seems genuinely shocked
by the explosion, all right?
He's really shaken up about it.
So he's a good actor.
He knows how to pull
on your heartstrings.
He probably doesn't even have a wife.
Or he does, and she's in danger.
[KNOCKING]
- What do you got?
- Jerry Stanwell lost his job at the local paper
a little while back.
He was an investigative journalist.
See, maybe he and Jerry were
working on a story together,
investigating something that
someone didn't want them to.
Like the fact that aliens walk among us.
There's no such thing as aliens, Max.
- Not with that attitude there aren't.
- Enough.
Here's what we're going to do.
You two go to the paper,
see what you can find out about Jerry.
Yates, keep an eye on Lorne.
Wait for medical
services to check him out.
Babysitting duty?
Sir, is this punishment for my lateness?
Because my parking spot is
[ALL] Four blocks away.
Yeah. We know.
Okay, Lorne, I'm gonna
go talk to somebody
who can help us find Jerry, all right?
Oh, I just remembered. I
know where his hideout is.
Great. Where?
- Jupiter.
- Awesome.
Jupiter. Great.
Okay, well, I'll tell
everybody about that.
And in the meantime,
you stay here, okay?
Where are you going? You can't leave me.
You can't leave me.
Jerry told me I can't
trust anybody but you.
You know they're going to
come for me next, right?
Lorne, you're safe here, okay? Promise.
Detective Yates is going to
take care of you, all right?
You simply can't spell
safety without Yates.
Where's the fire?
Wait!
Max, like I said, this
isn't a Russo case.
- You're getting nothing out of this.
- Getting nothing out of this.
We're this close to a close encounter.
[EXHALES]
Hey, can you tag in for a quick sec?
I got to visit the
little detective's room.
- I can't, I gotta go talk to Li.
- What about?
Oh, that's, uh, none of your business.
Weird.
Let's take this over to my desk.
You know, Tic-Tac-Toe is
a two player game, right?
Oh, you're actually not supposed
to put an X over top of my O.
It's literally the only rule.
Stop.
No offense, but you
are very bad at this.
Hey, what's with the secret meet?
Oh, that? That that was
nothing. I gotta go make a call.
Okay. He's hiding something.
But I I can trust him, you know.
He's my partner.
Unless I can't trust him.
You know, people turn on
their partners all the time,
like mark Zuckerberg versus
those twins in that movie?
Or versus his friend in that movie?
Or versus that girl
he dated in that movie?
Man, that guy's a real jerk.
I'm gonna go listen
in on his call, okay?
- You wait here for the doctor.
- What? What doctor?
Yeah, he's coming to check you out.
[STAMMERING] But, but, but, but,
but you can't trust the probes.
I hear you there, compadre.
I draw the line at probes.
Big red flag.
Don't move.
Don't move.
[EXHALES]
So please help me out.
Yeah. Give me a call back anytime.
Perfect. Great. Thank you.
Hi. Everything okay?
Yeah. Everything is just fine.
- Mm.
- [FIRE BELL RINGING]
[FIRE BELL RINGING]
- Where's the guy?
- He's gone.
Hi.
Are you Marge Radner?
- Who's asking?
- I'm Detective Ellis, Metro Police.
This is Max.
You're the editor of the tribune.
Yeah, but I'm on a smoke break.
But you're not smoking.
I quit.
They don't need to know.
It turns out if you stop doing something
that's going to give you cancer,
you get punished with fewer breaks.
Do you know a Jerry Stanwell?
Jerry, sure. Investigative journalist.
He used to work for me.
Is he in some kind of legal trouble?
He's always sticking
his nose into something.
He's missing, actually.
Any idea where he is?
Beats me.
Well, he got laid off a few months ago.
What about a Lorne? Anybody
with that name worked for you?
Not recently
that I can remember.
What can you tell us about Jerry?
Jerry is a good guy.
He's always focused
on big-time corruption.
The little guy, you know.
That's why we had to give him the boot.
You fired him? Why?
Listen, I love a good Woodward
and Bernstein style exposé
as much as the next gal.
It doesn't keep the lights on
like puff pieces about sex
scandals or cat fashion shows.
Cat fashion shows?
We need to get Mark an agent.
Jerry wouldn't play ball, though.
Too much integrity.
He was the last holdout,
so we had to cut him loose.
Is there anything you can give
us that might help us find him?
Well, there's a banker's box upstairs
full of his stuff in it.
I've been waiting for him
to pick it up for months.
You can have a look
through it if you want.
Great. We'll take a look at that.
So, Marge, tell me about
these cat fashion shows.
Are we talking little
Halloween costumes?
Well, nothing like the documentation
of a person's Indian food order
to give you a peek into their life.
Jerry avoids spice at all costs.
None of this stuff seems useful at all.
Are you positive you've never
met this Jerry guy before?
Not that I can think of.
Well, maybe you've been Men in Black'd,
and your memory's been erased.
What? You wouldn't know, would you?
Look, I'm sorry, this is how
we're spending Daniel's birthday.
I feel like if we have to do this,
we should have a cake or something.
- What?
- No, it's just that Daniel didn't like sweets.
So whenever he'd have a birthday party,
we'd get cake for the other kids.
But for him
just put a candle on a slice of pizza.
That's sweet.
Yeah.
[PHONE RINGING]
- What do you got?
- Lorne escaped.
What? Yates, you had one job.
You're supposed to be watching him.
I know, and I was watching him
until, for a second I wasn't.
He set off the fire alarm.
He took off in the chaos.
How did that happen?
Bottle of hairspray and
a lighter, apparently.
Guess our guy isn't as
spacey as we thought.
We put a BOLO out on
him. I'll keep you posted.
Okay. Thanks, I guess.
Lorne will be okay.
No, he's not in a good state right now.
- I mean, who knows where he could be.
- True.
And I guess we still
don't know where he falls
in the good guy, bad guy scale.
Although, I don't know, I
can't help but feel for him.
It must be scary believing
in something nobody else does.
But I think I'm starting
to believe Lorne.
Do you remember when he said
Jerry's hideout was on Jupiter?
All right. The manager says that
Jerry was staying in room 311.
It's right up here.
Well, hopefully it's really
him and not a pod person.
Hey, Jerry, why don't you come outside?
It's the police.
Is anybody inside?
All right. So, looks like Jerry
was shot twice at close range.
They did recover a
bullet from the back wall,
but the gun's nowhere to be found.
So do you recognize Jerry?
No, I don't.
[CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPS]
- What did Lorne say?
- Shocker of the year.
He doesn't remember how he got here.
Is it too convenient
that the only person
that can corroborate
Lorne's story is now dead?
Greaseless and crumb-less.
This never held any pizza.
Maybe the killer used it as a decoy
to gain access to the room.
You think you're getting pizza
and you get murdered instead.
Rude.
Hey, we did a GSR test on Lorne.
No trace of gunshot
residue on his hands.
Okay, let me know if you
find any gloves, yeah?
Of course.
First a bomb, now a body. What a day?
You really think Lorne did this?
Honestly, my gut says no, but
maybe I'm just kidding myself
and I'm ignoring the obvious.
Just like Bernie's razor.
You mean Occam's razor.
No. Bernie's.
He ran an absinth bar in Madrid.
He killed a guy with a
razor and then put the razor
on the wall in his bar, in plain sight.
And in the con community,
Bernie's razor refers to when
the obvious answer is true.
Yeah, exactly. That's Occam's razor.
Who the heck is Occam?
Really?
We're about to take
your guy to the hospital.
Okay, we'll be right there. Thank you.
Okay, you talk to Lorne, and
I'll take the motel manager.
Okay. Sounds like a plan.
I didn't do this.
Somehow they got to Jerry.
And if they can kill Jerry,
then they can kill my wife.
So now we really need to hurry.
Okay, we need to get the orb.
Lorne, they need to bring
you to the hospital now, okay?
I can't go to the hospital!
We're running out of time!
Don't you see that?
More people are gonna
die unless we stop them.
Lorne, give me three objects right now.
Gurney.
Oxygen tank.
- Handcuffs.
- Good.
Now you're gonna be safe
at the hospital, all right?
I got lots of officers
to watch over you.
Are you coming?
I can't, I got things to
look into here, all right,
but you're in good hands. Promise.
Wait. Just wait.
Look, I know how this
looks. I know how I sound.
Just
thank you for helping me.
- Of course.
- Detective,
Max has the motel security footage.
Who is that, a pizza guy?
Yeah, I guess Jerry must
have ordered one to his room.
Okay, pizza guy and Jerry are talking.
Wait, did the pizza guy
just force his way in?
Yeah. Pizza box was a decoy.
Hey, there's Lorne.
Look.
Is that a gun?
It is.
Which means that is
definitely not a pizza guy.
Well, if it is, he must
have a terrible yelp rating.
He was going to kill Lorne,
but we got in the way.
Which means?
Lorne's right. There's
someone after him.
Okay. Hey, Officer Jay,
get a BOLO out on those plates.
- Got it, boss.
- We need to get to the hospital now.
That's the same car from the motel.
Hi. Metro pd. Where's Lorne's room?
Room 217.
Thank you.
He's gone.
Find him.
He picked the lock.
Well, he couldn't have gotten far.
Come on.
Lorne!
You need to come with me!
Aren't you gonna ask me to,
like, name three objects?
No. The only objects
that matter right now
are killer, killer, killer. Let's go.
I got him!
Get back!
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
How did that guy even
know Lorne was here?
Who knows? He probably just
followed the ambulance here.
What I want to know is,
how did Lorne know how to
pick the lock on the handcuffs?
Well, I've known how since I was 13,
but I got a lock
picking set for Christmas
instead of an easy-bake oven.
- How's Lorne?
- Better.
We sedated him to calm him down.
These are his personal effects.
Thanks.
Every time we find a
new piece to the puzzle,
it just reveals more missing pieces.
An investigative journalist is murdered,
then the killer tries to shoot Lorne
in the middle of the hospital.
Lorne's wife could be next.
- We need to find her fast.
- How can we do that?
We don't even know Lorne's full name.
Oh, don't bother. I
already checked it for id.
Well, maybe I can find
something identify-y
in his pockets.
And voila.
I bet it is something to do with aliens.
Maybe a secret government
tracking program?
No, it has something
to do with dry cleaning.
That's how they track
the customers clothes.
- You know what this means?
- That you apparently dry clean your clothes.
No.
This could get us Lorne's identity.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
All right. Same to you.
All right, check it out. That was the
dry cleaner that barcoded the shirt.
Lorne's last name is Collins.
I just got back from
forensics, and they told me
that the bullet that
killed Jerry Stanwell
matches the ones they
found at the hospital.
I think we're dealing
with the same shooter here.
[TELEPHONE RINGS]
Oh, hang on, I got to take this.
Yeah. Hello.
Thanks for getting back to me.
Yeah. Okay sure, yeah.
No, take your secret call.
All good with me.
Sneaky little weasel.
You're not Lorne.
Yeah, that's my shirt.
I picked up that guy off the side
of the road, middle of nowhere.
He was having a rough
day, I'll tell you.
How do you get your shirt?
Well, he got cold. I had an extra.
I was being a good Samaritan.
Did he tell you anything
when you picked him up?
He said he had to get to
the city and see Ellen.
I think that's you, DeGeneres.
So, uh then what?
I stopped to get gas, and he ran off.
Took my favorite bowling shirt with him.
That's what I get for
being a good Samaritan.
Where exactly did you pick him up?
Do I get my shirt back if I tell you?
[CAR HONKING]
Are you sure this is the right spot?
This is where the trucker
said he picked up Lorne
or other Lorne.
What was Lorne doing out
here in the middle of nowhere?
He said the aliens had
huge antlers, right?
This must be what he meant.
Jupiter means Jupiter Motel.
Antlers means deer crossing.
He's using sci-fi vocabulary
to describe real things.
Unless these deer are like
the mutant ones from Annihilation.
Really?
What? I'm considering all my options.
You see that?
Looks like a vehicle ran over
this patch of grass recently.
Let's go check it out.
What the?
Hello? Hey! Anybody in there?
Hello?
All right. Nobody's in the car.
Must have pulled off the
road from the highway.
Lorne's real name is Edgar Peplow.
At least we've identified him now.
It was a pretty bad accident.
Lorne must have been in
the car when it crashed.
Which would explain the
amnesia and delusions.
What?
Nice find.
It's dead, but probably Lorne's.
Probably tell us more
about Lorne than Lorne can.
I'm gonna get forensics
to check out the car's GPS,
see where he was headed.
Wait a minute.
There weren't any skid marks
on the road, were there?
So.
So he either didn't
brake or he couldn't.
Yeah, there it is. Brake lines broken.
Maybe because of the crash?
No, because if that was the case,
there'd be a pool of
brake fluid on the ground.
There's
No, there's nothing.
Meaning it wasn't aliens.
Meaning somebody cut his brakes.
Somebody wanted him dead.
So he's an engineer.
A biomedical engineer, specifically.
He works for a company
called Orion MedPro.
They design medical equipment.
The engineering explains
Lorne's slick moves
with the paperclip and the hairspray.
He's good at MacGyvering solutions.
His real name is Edgar Peplow.
His wife's name is Allison Peplow.
The wife does exist.
Sent two uniforms to their house.
Multiple phone calls.
- No luck so far.
- Maybe she's involved.
Maybe she's the one who cut his brakes.
Or maybe she's been kidnapped.
Hey.
That phone you found powered on
only problem is it's locked,
so it's gonna take a couple
hours to crack into it.
Well, why can't Lorne do it?
He's a little busy having
his brain operated on.
- Wait. What?
- Hospital called.
Docs found a brain bleed on his MRI.
That's what's been
causing his delusions.
Is he gonna be okay?
It's a delicate surgery,
and they don't know.
He say something about three kings?
It's Lorne's word for aliens. Why?
Orion's belt is also
known as the three kings.
It's right there on the logo.
So three kings means Orion MedPro.
How did you know that?
Well, astronomy has always
been one of my hobbies.
- What in the hell?
- What?
How did I not know that
- you were a star nerd?
- Eh.
You know what, what else
are you keeping from me?
- [PHONE RINGING]
- Hang on, I gotta
Let me guess, take this, yeah.
What's with all the secrets?
You know, whatever happened
to trusting your partner?
- I'm gonna go eavesdrop.
- Okay. We're looking for Edgar's wife,
and we're trying to crack his phone.
You two go to his company.
See if you can find any real answers.
[PA] Orion MedPro where
originality saves lives.
Look, there's Lorne with
Steven Dermay, the CEO.
I was doing some
reading on their website.
It turns out that
Orion actually came out
with a new kind of auto-injector device
for treating allergic reactions,
you know, like an EpiPen.
It's fast acting. It's more effective.
And get this, Lorne was the
one that came up with it.
Our Lorne's a genius.
Who would have thunk?
Hi. Metro pd. We called ahead.
Of course. Mr. Dermay will see you now.
Thank you.
[KNOCKING]
Come in.
Hi. Steven Dermay.
Detective Ellis, this is Max.
- Hi.
- So glad you called.
Please, please have a seat.
This won't be that long.
I couldn't believe when
I heard about Edgar.
How is he doing?
He's out of surgery, but I
think it's still too early to tell
if he's out of the woods.
And what about his wife?
Was she also in the crash?
She was not, no. We're
still trying to locate her.
Any idea where she could be?
And please don't say a
planet. It's been a long day.
Um. No, sorry, I don't.
Do you think something
happened to her, too?
We're just exploring
every angle, that's all.
How long have you and
Edgar worked together?
Since I started the company.
When I met ed, I hit the jackpot.
He's a genius.
Without his brains, there would
probably be no company at all.
Oh, careful with that.
Is this the auto injector he designed?
It is, yeah. Ed's passion project.
His wife, Allison, has
a deadly bee allergy.
It's what inspired it.
And how long have he and
Allison been together?
Years.
They met at a sci-fi
convention in college.
Two nerds in love.
[SMALL CHUCKLE]
You got a lot of awards?
Yeah, they're a pretty niche
in the biotech industry,
but we've worked hard to
bring some good to the world.
Is there any reason why
an investigative journalist
would be looking into your company?
No, no. We have a great
relationship with the press.
Why?
Just a lead I'm following up on.
Clear!
Sorry. I've always wanted to do that.
So Edgar doesn't come to
work for two days straight.
Why didn't you report him missing?
Ed disappears for days at a
time when he has new ideas.
I didn't think twice when
he didn't show up for work.
If I'd known, I
[EXHALES] I'm sorry, I just I
I can't believe this happened to him.
What hospital is he at?
I want to make sure that he
gets the best possible care.
And, of course, we'll pay
for anything Edgar needs
bills, whatever it is.
We'll make sure to get you that info.
- Thanks for your time, Mr. Dermay.
- Anytime.
Let's go.
Yates. Any luck with the phone?
Un-nun. Nothing yet.
Well, someone's avoiding paperwork.
Ha, ha. That's actually Lorne's.
He loves Tic-Tac-Toe.
Not that he knows how to play.
He puts his X's in the same spot,
same pattern every single time.
Even over top of my O's,
which is extremely annoying.
All right. GPS data came
back confirming Lorne
was on his way here when
his car went off the road.
Well, to talk to you, clearly.
- So what about the phone?
- Phone's encrypted. Can't get into it.
Lorne's unconscious, so he can't help.
I mean, he doesn't
even remember his name.
It's a bit of a stretch to think
that he'd know his passcode.
I got a subpoena that I'm working on
with the cell phone provider.
It's going to take a couple of days,
but that's all we got.
Allow me, boys.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Well, worth a shot.
What order did he play his exes in?
Same every single time.
Here, here, here and here.
I have an idea.
And we're in.
Lorne's Tic-Tac-Toe
pattern was his passcode?
I know why he contacted the reporter.
So he's a whistleblower.
According to the text
messages with his wife, yes.
See, Lorne figured out that Orion had
started outsourcing the manufacturing
of the auto injectors to cut costs.
But some were faulty.
A few people died of anaphylactic shock
when theirs didn't work.
Lorne, he invented these auto injectors
to help people like his wife.
So when he figured out that they
were doing the exact opposite
He brought his discovery to Steven.
And then he realized
Steven already knew.
He was responsible
for the whole cover up.
- What's the link to the journalist?
- From the text messages,
apparently, Jerry was working
on a story about Orion.
After hearing about
all the reported deaths
from the faulty auto injectors,
Federal Health steps in and
does their own investigation,
finds Orion at no fault,
chalks it up to a user error
And Jerry didn't have any
proof until Lorne contacted him.
So Steven realized the company
would be criminally responsible
if it got out that he knew.
Not to mention what it would
have done to their stock price.
He would have lost everything.
How can we take this guy down?
In the texts, Lorne talks about a report
that proves what Steven did.
Lorne was going to whistleblow,
but he knew that Steven was on to him,
that he was listening.
He'd bugged his cell phone,
his car, his house, you name it.
Lorne couldn't smuggle the report out.
So he hid the report
somewhere inside the company building.
It's a nice story, but
without that report,
we've got no case.
Find it.
It's late, you shouldn't
be here. Come on.
Oh, as if.
What if Steven ends up
being E.T. in disguise?
I mean it, Max. You're
not even on this case.
You know, me and my
dad have this tradition
for my mom's birthday.
It's called no man left behind.
Every year, we spend the
day together, no matter what.
Some years, one of us tries
to get out of it to mope alone.
And then it's up to
the other one to say,
no, sorry, no man left behind.
I know it's hard,
birthdays for loved ones
who aren't here anymore.
But you're officially inaugurated
into no man left behind.
Well, thank you.
No sweat.
So Lorne was telling us his story,
but just in a different language.
Jupiter meant the Jupiter Motel.
Right. And the aliens with
antlers mean deer crossing sign.
The three kings. Orion MedPro.
But in order to find the report,
we need to figure out what
commander Nevets, Cyprus,
and the orb means.
As in O-R-B.
[BOTH] I know where it is.
Steven, look at you
burning the midnight oil.
Let me call you back.
I'm sorry. It was in
the middle of things.
Is there an update on Edgar?
You know what, there
is actually, Steven.
Now, our pal, Edgar at first,
he wasn't making a lot
of sense, I'll be honest.
But then we realized
that there was always
this little nugget of
truth to what he was saying.
Turns out the answers
were right in front of us.
We just needed to read
between the lines a little bit.
And when we knew the three
kings referred to Orion,
we had to figure out
who is commander Nevets.
I'm sorry. What are you talking about?
And then we realized Nevets
is actually Steven backwards.
And the word cypress kept coming up.
Aren't those cypress trees
in the painting behind you?
Well, this is all very entertaining,
but we know that poor
ed's not in a good place.
I'm sure he's said a lot of things.
- Doesn't mean they're valid.
- Oh, we're not done.
See, right here.
Awarded to Orion MedPro
for their contributions to
the medical technology field.
Presented by Operational Research Board,
also known as ORB.
Edgar couldn't get the
proof out of the building.
So he hid it in plain sight.
Right here in your office.
Bernie's razor.
Here we have the manufacturer's report
which proves that you knew
that your auto injectors were defective,
making you criminally responsible
for the deaths of the
people who were using them.
Not to mention having Jerry killed
because he was going to post an article
about the cover-up
and attempting to kill
your own engineer to keep
him from whistleblowing.
All to save your company's stock
price and to stay out of jail.
This is insane.
I don't even know what
you're talking about.
Stephen Dermay, you're under
arrest for fraud, murder,
and conspiracy to commit murder.
Hold Hold on now!
Stand up. Put your
hands behind your back.
You have no idea who
you're dealing with.
I think we have a pretty good idea.
Live long and prosper. Commander Nevets.
How are you feeling,
Lorne? Edgar, sorry.
I'm still getting used to that.
Relieved. Glad to have my memory back.
I must have really sounded
like I was off my rocker
there for a minute.
But you ended up making
a whole lot of sense.
And doctors were able to drain
the bleed in your cranium,
which was putting all that
pressure on your brain.
That's where all the memory loss
and confusion was coming from.
You're gonna make a full recovery.
Yeah. And Steven is going to be
going away for a very long time.
Oh, god. That was all so crazy.
I just couldn't believe
when Steven refused
to issue the recall.
I mean, putting stock
prices above human lives,
it's just it's insane.
I gotta ask, why me?
I mean, why was I the only
person that you talked to?
It was Jerry. He was doing a story about
police corruption a while back.
Came across your case
from a couple of years ago.
He always believed that you were set up.
He would always say that he just knew
that those weren't
your drugs in your car.
How would he know that?
You know, I don't know.
We never did get into it.
All Jerry told me was that, um,
you're a good cop and a good man.
And
boy, he was right.
You could have had me committed
ranting about aliens and
but you didn't, you helped me,
And I don't I don't know
what to tell you other than
thank you.
Both of you, really. Thank you.
Of course.
Oh. Thank god.
- Allie.
- Oh my god!
- Allie! Allie!
- Are you okay?
Yes, yes. I'm okay. I'm okay.
I'm okay.
I promise I'm fine. I'm
fine, I'm fine, I'm fine.
I'm Allison, Edgar's wife.
We've been looking for you.
Before Edgar went to the police,
he had me turn my phone off
and hide out at my parents.
It was just the only way I
could think to keep her safe.
As soon as I saw the news report
about Steven being arrested,
I turned my phone back on,
and I heard all these messages from you.
Sweetie, sweetie
they got him.
They got him.
I thought I might never see you again.
I know. I'm sorry. I know, I know.
I know, I know.
It's okay.
Bye-bye, pizza guy.
Turns out he was a part of
Orion's private security detail.
We followed your instincts
on this case and you were right.
Good work.
- Thank you, sir.
- You too.
No, I appreciate that, thank you.
Okay. Okay, bye.
Enough.
- What?
- What's going on?
What's the secret?
Are you dealing drugs?
Are you Are you having me killed?
Because you know what?
I actually don't even care anymore.
I just need answers.
All right, come on. Follow me.
Oh, shoot. Is it the
having me killed one?
Is there someone waiting
for me back there?
Come on.
I want to make a phone call first.
I want to call my mom,
tell her I love her.
She has no idea, does she?
Nope, not at all.
This is what those calls were all about.
A parking spot in the station next to me
for you, huh?
- You like that?
- You mean to tell me that this entire time
you were doing something nice?
Yes, that's what I I'm a nice guy.
Huh.
Is it because I'm your best friend?
No, it's because if
I had to listen to you
complain about your
parking spot one more time,
I was gonna retire early.
And because I'm your best friend.
You keep this up,
and I will have you killed.
Okay.
Thanks, best friend.
Yeah, don't mention it.
He's my best friend.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey, mark. I missed you.
It's been a minute since
you've been on the boat.
I know.
You never invite me over anymore.
I didn't invite you over today.
Fair point.
What are you doing?
Oh, I'm trying to repair
the steering mechanism.
Wait, does this mean
your boat's going to boat?
It's a step towards
the boat, boating, yeah.
The first of, like, a thousand probably,
but you gotta start somewhere, right?
Just the way Daniel wanted it.
He'd be proud.
He'd also be proud of
how you helped out Lorne.
Thanks for sticking
with me on this case,
because it was actually really nice
not to be alone yesterday.
To contemplate
where I should lay ♪
Sorry, I was supposed to do this
yesterday, but, you know crime..
Close your eyes and sit down.
- Why?
- Just close your eyes.
One thing I have to
say means nothing ♪
You can open them.
Max
Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy ♪
Come on.
[TOGETHER] Birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday dear ♪
Daniel ♪
Happy birthday to ♪
You ♪
♪
Well, hello there.
Another item for the office, I see.
[PHONE VIBRATING]
No, George, I cannot just
whip up some Wagyu filet mignon
for your poker game tonight.
Doesn't anyone have
any respect for my time?
Oh, god, the universe is
definitely sending me a message.
♪
♪
Previously on Wild Cards.
My brother Daniel put those up.
You two are close, I can tell.
He left me everything he
had, which was basically
just this rundown boat
and everything in it.
I did hear something that
you'll be interested in.
It involves Ellis.
The kid was in the wrong
place at the wrong time.
Tough luck for him, but
I had to take him out.
Huh? Well, I heard the kid
had a brother who's a cop.
Name is Cole Ellis.
Max, what are you doing here?
You guys don't have a case.
They're setting up Wi-Fi in my condo,
which interrupted my
Deep Space Nine rewatch.
Totally underrated in
the star trek oeuvre.
I agree.
And what are you doing?
Oh, is this your brother?
Yeah.
Daniel's birthday today.
Or, uh, would have been.
Okay. Binge watch. Canceled.
Let's do something fun for
your brother's birthday.
- Max.
- What was his favorite thing to do?
Bowling. Log rolling. Taxidermy.
Please don't say taxidermy.
I was taking a private
moment to reminisce.
And now I've got some paperwork to do.
Yates, we got a game for
you. It's called paperwork.
Pass.
The only games I like to
play involves surgical gloves.
- Ew!
- You're late again.
What am I supposed to do?
They moved my parking
spot four blocks away.
I had to hoof it all the way here.
Do you know what that much
exercise does to the body?
Nothing good.
- Li's gonna be pissed.
- Yeah, well, Li's never gonna know.
- Yates, you're late again.
- Damn it.
Uh, sir my parking spot
Yates, what do I hate
more than anything?
Um Sardines. Babies. Corduroy.
Excuses. Just figure it out.
You don't work in the post office.
Copy. No problem.
Injustices abound.
Oh, Ellis, there's a guy downstairs
that wants to talk to you,
and he'll only talk to you.
- Who is it?
- I don't know, I didn't get his name.
Yates, seriously?
Oh, I'm sorry that my
brain doesn't work so well
when my day involves excessive walking.
Hi, I'm Detective Ellis.
You're Ellis.
Good. That's good,
'cause I I I um
Oh, I really need your help.
- Okay. How can I help you?
- Ha!
Um, I can't, um I
can't tell you that here
because there are too many listeners.
Oh, don't worry about me.
I'm like his emotional support dog.
Just, um, please, there's just no time.
Okay? We can speak in
private. Right this way.
Are you taking him to interrogation?
Great idea. I'll secret watch.
Max. I'm fine. I don't
need emotional support.
Tell that to Mark.
There's danger.
There is so much danger,
and only you can stop it.
- Why only me?
- Well, that's what Jerry said.
Who's Jerry?
He's my friend.
He told me to talk to you, only to you.
He said I would find you here on your
on your boat.
How does he know where you live?
Um run me through the situation.
They're after me and my wife.
She's missing, and, I don't
know, maybe they have her.
And if they have her,
what am I going to do?
I just don't know what I'm gonna do.
Why would these people have your wife?
Because she knows too much.
Look, I want you to name
three things in the room, okay?
- What?
- Three objects in the room.
Name them right now. Go.
Uh, table.
Pen.
Door handle.
[EXHALES]
Feel your breathing relax?
Yeah.
Okay. Now, I like you. I
want to help you, all right?
So let's just take it slow.
Start from the top. All right.
Give me your full name.
It's, um
I don't know.
You don't know your name?
No, I can't remember.
It's on his shirt.
Is it
Lorne?
Maybe.
All right, let's try
something different.
Um, what's your wife's name?
I don't remember that either.
Do you know your address?
No.
Lorne, are you on any
kind of medications?
Maybe something that
would affect your memory.
No, no, no, no, no.
I mean, at least no, I
don't I don't think so.
You don't think so?
Okay, look, we should pause this.
I need to get you properly
examined by a physician.
No, no, no, there's no
time. There's no time.
We need to talk to Jerry.
He can answer all of
your questions, please.
I know this might sound crazy,
but no one is safe right now.
Listen to me.
They are everywhere.
Who are they?
Aliens.
This guy thinks aliens are after him.
I'll have a uni bring
him to the hospital.
Sir, Lorne's got some
gaps in his memory, yes,
But I think this Jerry
guy might be his caretaker
or his doctor or something.
Just let me look into it, okay?
If it doesn't pan out, I'll
take him to the hospital.
We can run them through the
missing persons database.
Why do you want to help this guy?
He came here looking for me, all right?
And he knows where I live.
I mean, maybe there's a
connection I'm missing.
It's because of Daniel, isn't it?
It's Daniel's birthday today.
Look, Daniel had this rule
that if somebody asked you
for help, you never say no.
That's why he went into social work.
He wanted to help people.
So the fact that this guy
came here looking for me,
only me, on today of all days, I just
I feel like I, at least,
have to look into it.
And Yates has already
agreed to do his paperwork.
Look, I know it's been hard
with Daniel's killer on the run.
I called the federal officers
working on the case every
day, but still nothing.
I appreciate that more
than you know, sir.
Take this guy to this Jerry person,
if it's all bs, bring
him to the hospital.
Yes, sir.
Max, you don't need to
come. It's not a Russo case.
And miss out on aliens.
Yeah, fat chance.
Where are we going?
Uh
left turn.
Yeah. Yeah.
Now. Right turn.
Yeah.
Are you sure you don't
remember Jerry's address?
Just think for a sec.
I don't, but I know where I'm going.
- Right turn.
- [TIRES SCREECH]
Yep.
Heads up would have been nice.
Sorry.
You know, I want to hear
more about these aliens.
What do they look like on a scale
from Marvin the Martian to Predator?
Well, they go by the
name of the three kings.
They've got, like, these huge antlers.
They're led by a commander named Nevets.
Now, the only way to
defeat the commander
is to find the ORB, which
is located under Cyprus.
- Cyprus?
- Yeah.
I've never been to Cyprus. Pack my bags.
No, no. Listen, we have to find the orb.
We have to because it's the only way
we're going to defeat the aliens.
Do you understand? That's
the only way this is going to end.
And that's the only way that
I'm going to get my wife back.
Okay, wait.
Yeah, this is it,
this is it, this is it.
Hey! No, no, no, don't don't
those are the aliens
right there, right there.
And we're going to find
them right after this, okay?
- Yeah.
- I just need you to focus.
Can we just go quickly,
please? Just hurry.
So he said Jerry lived
in this warehouse.
Yeah, yeah. This is the warehouse.
Okay, we gotta hurry.
[EXPLOSION]
[GROANS]
♪
Looks like an explosion went
off inside the warehouse.
A Jerry Stanwell had been staying there.
So Jerry is a real person?
Certainly seems so. No
sign of a body, though.
And the fire's been contained.
Luckily, no one in the
building was harmed.
I'll let you guys know
if we find anything else.
Okay. Thank you.
Do you think Jerry was
targeted by someone?
Maybe we were the targets.
Ten seconds later, they would
have been scraping us off the dirt.
He tried to kill you.
This guy comes in, says
he knows where you live,
then brings you to a place
with a live explosive.
No. You're off this.
Why would Lorne try to hurt Ellis?
Why does anyone commit crimes?
- Why did you?
- I didn't commit crimes.
I helped rich people part
ways with their money.
- What's the difference?
- Pizazz.
Sir, Lorne seems genuinely shocked
by the explosion, all right?
He's really shaken up about it.
So he's a good actor.
He knows how to pull
on your heartstrings.
He probably doesn't even have a wife.
Or he does, and she's in danger.
[KNOCKING]
- What do you got?
- Jerry Stanwell lost his job at the local paper
a little while back.
He was an investigative journalist.
See, maybe he and Jerry were
working on a story together,
investigating something that
someone didn't want them to.
Like the fact that aliens walk among us.
There's no such thing as aliens, Max.
- Not with that attitude there aren't.
- Enough.
Here's what we're going to do.
You two go to the paper,
see what you can find out about Jerry.
Yates, keep an eye on Lorne.
Wait for medical
services to check him out.
Babysitting duty?
Sir, is this punishment for my lateness?
Because my parking spot is
[ALL] Four blocks away.
Yeah. We know.
Okay, Lorne, I'm gonna
go talk to somebody
who can help us find Jerry, all right?
Oh, I just remembered. I
know where his hideout is.
Great. Where?
- Jupiter.
- Awesome.
Jupiter. Great.
Okay, well, I'll tell
everybody about that.
And in the meantime,
you stay here, okay?
Where are you going? You can't leave me.
You can't leave me.
Jerry told me I can't
trust anybody but you.
You know they're going to
come for me next, right?
Lorne, you're safe here, okay? Promise.
Detective Yates is going to
take care of you, all right?
You simply can't spell
safety without Yates.
Where's the fire?
Wait!
Max, like I said, this
isn't a Russo case.
- You're getting nothing out of this.
- Getting nothing out of this.
We're this close to a close encounter.
[EXHALES]
Hey, can you tag in for a quick sec?
I got to visit the
little detective's room.
- I can't, I gotta go talk to Li.
- What about?
Oh, that's, uh, none of your business.
Weird.
Let's take this over to my desk.
You know, Tic-Tac-Toe is
a two player game, right?
Oh, you're actually not supposed
to put an X over top of my O.
It's literally the only rule.
Stop.
No offense, but you
are very bad at this.
Hey, what's with the secret meet?
Oh, that? That that was
nothing. I gotta go make a call.
Okay. He's hiding something.
But I I can trust him, you know.
He's my partner.
Unless I can't trust him.
You know, people turn on
their partners all the time,
like mark Zuckerberg versus
those twins in that movie?
Or versus his friend in that movie?
Or versus that girl
he dated in that movie?
Man, that guy's a real jerk.
I'm gonna go listen
in on his call, okay?
- You wait here for the doctor.
- What? What doctor?
Yeah, he's coming to check you out.
[STAMMERING] But, but, but, but,
but you can't trust the probes.
I hear you there, compadre.
I draw the line at probes.
Big red flag.
Don't move.
Don't move.
[EXHALES]
So please help me out.
Yeah. Give me a call back anytime.
Perfect. Great. Thank you.
Hi. Everything okay?
Yeah. Everything is just fine.
- Mm.
- [FIRE BELL RINGING]
[FIRE BELL RINGING]
- Where's the guy?
- He's gone.
Hi.
Are you Marge Radner?
- Who's asking?
- I'm Detective Ellis, Metro Police.
This is Max.
You're the editor of the tribune.
Yeah, but I'm on a smoke break.
But you're not smoking.
I quit.
They don't need to know.
It turns out if you stop doing something
that's going to give you cancer,
you get punished with fewer breaks.
Do you know a Jerry Stanwell?
Jerry, sure. Investigative journalist.
He used to work for me.
Is he in some kind of legal trouble?
He's always sticking
his nose into something.
He's missing, actually.
Any idea where he is?
Beats me.
Well, he got laid off a few months ago.
What about a Lorne? Anybody
with that name worked for you?
Not recently
that I can remember.
What can you tell us about Jerry?
Jerry is a good guy.
He's always focused
on big-time corruption.
The little guy, you know.
That's why we had to give him the boot.
You fired him? Why?
Listen, I love a good Woodward
and Bernstein style exposé
as much as the next gal.
It doesn't keep the lights on
like puff pieces about sex
scandals or cat fashion shows.
Cat fashion shows?
We need to get Mark an agent.
Jerry wouldn't play ball, though.
Too much integrity.
He was the last holdout,
so we had to cut him loose.
Is there anything you can give
us that might help us find him?
Well, there's a banker's box upstairs
full of his stuff in it.
I've been waiting for him
to pick it up for months.
You can have a look
through it if you want.
Great. We'll take a look at that.
So, Marge, tell me about
these cat fashion shows.
Are we talking little
Halloween costumes?
Well, nothing like the documentation
of a person's Indian food order
to give you a peek into their life.
Jerry avoids spice at all costs.
None of this stuff seems useful at all.
Are you positive you've never
met this Jerry guy before?
Not that I can think of.
Well, maybe you've been Men in Black'd,
and your memory's been erased.
What? You wouldn't know, would you?
Look, I'm sorry, this is how
we're spending Daniel's birthday.
I feel like if we have to do this,
we should have a cake or something.
- What?
- No, it's just that Daniel didn't like sweets.
So whenever he'd have a birthday party,
we'd get cake for the other kids.
But for him
just put a candle on a slice of pizza.
That's sweet.
Yeah.
[PHONE RINGING]
- What do you got?
- Lorne escaped.
What? Yates, you had one job.
You're supposed to be watching him.
I know, and I was watching him
until, for a second I wasn't.
He set off the fire alarm.
He took off in the chaos.
How did that happen?
Bottle of hairspray and
a lighter, apparently.
Guess our guy isn't as
spacey as we thought.
We put a BOLO out on
him. I'll keep you posted.
Okay. Thanks, I guess.
Lorne will be okay.
No, he's not in a good state right now.
- I mean, who knows where he could be.
- True.
And I guess we still
don't know where he falls
in the good guy, bad guy scale.
Although, I don't know, I
can't help but feel for him.
It must be scary believing
in something nobody else does.
But I think I'm starting
to believe Lorne.
Do you remember when he said
Jerry's hideout was on Jupiter?
All right. The manager says that
Jerry was staying in room 311.
It's right up here.
Well, hopefully it's really
him and not a pod person.
Hey, Jerry, why don't you come outside?
It's the police.
Is anybody inside?
All right. So, looks like Jerry
was shot twice at close range.
They did recover a
bullet from the back wall,
but the gun's nowhere to be found.
So do you recognize Jerry?
No, I don't.
[CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPS]
- What did Lorne say?
- Shocker of the year.
He doesn't remember how he got here.
Is it too convenient
that the only person
that can corroborate
Lorne's story is now dead?
Greaseless and crumb-less.
This never held any pizza.
Maybe the killer used it as a decoy
to gain access to the room.
You think you're getting pizza
and you get murdered instead.
Rude.
Hey, we did a GSR test on Lorne.
No trace of gunshot
residue on his hands.
Okay, let me know if you
find any gloves, yeah?
Of course.
First a bomb, now a body. What a day?
You really think Lorne did this?
Honestly, my gut says no, but
maybe I'm just kidding myself
and I'm ignoring the obvious.
Just like Bernie's razor.
You mean Occam's razor.
No. Bernie's.
He ran an absinth bar in Madrid.
He killed a guy with a
razor and then put the razor
on the wall in his bar, in plain sight.
And in the con community,
Bernie's razor refers to when
the obvious answer is true.
Yeah, exactly. That's Occam's razor.
Who the heck is Occam?
Really?
We're about to take
your guy to the hospital.
Okay, we'll be right there. Thank you.
Okay, you talk to Lorne, and
I'll take the motel manager.
Okay. Sounds like a plan.
I didn't do this.
Somehow they got to Jerry.
And if they can kill Jerry,
then they can kill my wife.
So now we really need to hurry.
Okay, we need to get the orb.
Lorne, they need to bring
you to the hospital now, okay?
I can't go to the hospital!
We're running out of time!
Don't you see that?
More people are gonna
die unless we stop them.
Lorne, give me three objects right now.
Gurney.
Oxygen tank.
- Handcuffs.
- Good.
Now you're gonna be safe
at the hospital, all right?
I got lots of officers
to watch over you.
Are you coming?
I can't, I got things to
look into here, all right,
but you're in good hands. Promise.
Wait. Just wait.
Look, I know how this
looks. I know how I sound.
Just
thank you for helping me.
- Of course.
- Detective,
Max has the motel security footage.
Who is that, a pizza guy?
Yeah, I guess Jerry must
have ordered one to his room.
Okay, pizza guy and Jerry are talking.
Wait, did the pizza guy
just force his way in?
Yeah. Pizza box was a decoy.
Hey, there's Lorne.
Look.
Is that a gun?
It is.
Which means that is
definitely not a pizza guy.
Well, if it is, he must
have a terrible yelp rating.
He was going to kill Lorne,
but we got in the way.
Which means?
Lorne's right. There's
someone after him.
Okay. Hey, Officer Jay,
get a BOLO out on those plates.
- Got it, boss.
- We need to get to the hospital now.
That's the same car from the motel.
Hi. Metro pd. Where's Lorne's room?
Room 217.
Thank you.
He's gone.
Find him.
He picked the lock.
Well, he couldn't have gotten far.
Come on.
Lorne!
You need to come with me!
Aren't you gonna ask me to,
like, name three objects?
No. The only objects
that matter right now
are killer, killer, killer. Let's go.
I got him!
Get back!
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
How did that guy even
know Lorne was here?
Who knows? He probably just
followed the ambulance here.
What I want to know is,
how did Lorne know how to
pick the lock on the handcuffs?
Well, I've known how since I was 13,
but I got a lock
picking set for Christmas
instead of an easy-bake oven.
- How's Lorne?
- Better.
We sedated him to calm him down.
These are his personal effects.
Thanks.
Every time we find a
new piece to the puzzle,
it just reveals more missing pieces.
An investigative journalist is murdered,
then the killer tries to shoot Lorne
in the middle of the hospital.
Lorne's wife could be next.
- We need to find her fast.
- How can we do that?
We don't even know Lorne's full name.
Oh, don't bother. I
already checked it for id.
Well, maybe I can find
something identify-y
in his pockets.
And voila.
I bet it is something to do with aliens.
Maybe a secret government
tracking program?
No, it has something
to do with dry cleaning.
That's how they track
the customers clothes.
- You know what this means?
- That you apparently dry clean your clothes.
No.
This could get us Lorne's identity.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
All right. Same to you.
All right, check it out. That was the
dry cleaner that barcoded the shirt.
Lorne's last name is Collins.
I just got back from
forensics, and they told me
that the bullet that
killed Jerry Stanwell
matches the ones they
found at the hospital.
I think we're dealing
with the same shooter here.
[TELEPHONE RINGS]
Oh, hang on, I got to take this.
Yeah. Hello.
Thanks for getting back to me.
Yeah. Okay sure, yeah.
No, take your secret call.
All good with me.
Sneaky little weasel.
You're not Lorne.
Yeah, that's my shirt.
I picked up that guy off the side
of the road, middle of nowhere.
He was having a rough
day, I'll tell you.
How do you get your shirt?
Well, he got cold. I had an extra.
I was being a good Samaritan.
Did he tell you anything
when you picked him up?
He said he had to get to
the city and see Ellen.
I think that's you, DeGeneres.
So, uh then what?
I stopped to get gas, and he ran off.
Took my favorite bowling shirt with him.
That's what I get for
being a good Samaritan.
Where exactly did you pick him up?
Do I get my shirt back if I tell you?
[CAR HONKING]
Are you sure this is the right spot?
This is where the trucker
said he picked up Lorne
or other Lorne.
What was Lorne doing out
here in the middle of nowhere?
He said the aliens had
huge antlers, right?
This must be what he meant.
Jupiter means Jupiter Motel.
Antlers means deer crossing.
He's using sci-fi vocabulary
to describe real things.
Unless these deer are like
the mutant ones from Annihilation.
Really?
What? I'm considering all my options.
You see that?
Looks like a vehicle ran over
this patch of grass recently.
Let's go check it out.
What the?
Hello? Hey! Anybody in there?
Hello?
All right. Nobody's in the car.
Must have pulled off the
road from the highway.
Lorne's real name is Edgar Peplow.
At least we've identified him now.
It was a pretty bad accident.
Lorne must have been in
the car when it crashed.
Which would explain the
amnesia and delusions.
What?
Nice find.
It's dead, but probably Lorne's.
Probably tell us more
about Lorne than Lorne can.
I'm gonna get forensics
to check out the car's GPS,
see where he was headed.
Wait a minute.
There weren't any skid marks
on the road, were there?
So.
So he either didn't
brake or he couldn't.
Yeah, there it is. Brake lines broken.
Maybe because of the crash?
No, because if that was the case,
there'd be a pool of
brake fluid on the ground.
There's
No, there's nothing.
Meaning it wasn't aliens.
Meaning somebody cut his brakes.
Somebody wanted him dead.
So he's an engineer.
A biomedical engineer, specifically.
He works for a company
called Orion MedPro.
They design medical equipment.
The engineering explains
Lorne's slick moves
with the paperclip and the hairspray.
He's good at MacGyvering solutions.
His real name is Edgar Peplow.
His wife's name is Allison Peplow.
The wife does exist.
Sent two uniforms to their house.
Multiple phone calls.
- No luck so far.
- Maybe she's involved.
Maybe she's the one who cut his brakes.
Or maybe she's been kidnapped.
Hey.
That phone you found powered on
only problem is it's locked,
so it's gonna take a couple
hours to crack into it.
Well, why can't Lorne do it?
He's a little busy having
his brain operated on.
- Wait. What?
- Hospital called.
Docs found a brain bleed on his MRI.
That's what's been
causing his delusions.
Is he gonna be okay?
It's a delicate surgery,
and they don't know.
He say something about three kings?
It's Lorne's word for aliens. Why?
Orion's belt is also
known as the three kings.
It's right there on the logo.
So three kings means Orion MedPro.
How did you know that?
Well, astronomy has always
been one of my hobbies.
- What in the hell?
- What?
How did I not know that
- you were a star nerd?
- Eh.
You know what, what else
are you keeping from me?
- [PHONE RINGING]
- Hang on, I gotta
Let me guess, take this, yeah.
What's with all the secrets?
You know, whatever happened
to trusting your partner?
- I'm gonna go eavesdrop.
- Okay. We're looking for Edgar's wife,
and we're trying to crack his phone.
You two go to his company.
See if you can find any real answers.
[PA] Orion MedPro where
originality saves lives.
Look, there's Lorne with
Steven Dermay, the CEO.
I was doing some
reading on their website.
It turns out that
Orion actually came out
with a new kind of auto-injector device
for treating allergic reactions,
you know, like an EpiPen.
It's fast acting. It's more effective.
And get this, Lorne was the
one that came up with it.
Our Lorne's a genius.
Who would have thunk?
Hi. Metro pd. We called ahead.
Of course. Mr. Dermay will see you now.
Thank you.
[KNOCKING]
Come in.
Hi. Steven Dermay.
Detective Ellis, this is Max.
- Hi.
- So glad you called.
Please, please have a seat.
This won't be that long.
I couldn't believe when
I heard about Edgar.
How is he doing?
He's out of surgery, but I
think it's still too early to tell
if he's out of the woods.
And what about his wife?
Was she also in the crash?
She was not, no. We're
still trying to locate her.
Any idea where she could be?
And please don't say a
planet. It's been a long day.
Um. No, sorry, I don't.
Do you think something
happened to her, too?
We're just exploring
every angle, that's all.
How long have you and
Edgar worked together?
Since I started the company.
When I met ed, I hit the jackpot.
He's a genius.
Without his brains, there would
probably be no company at all.
Oh, careful with that.
Is this the auto injector he designed?
It is, yeah. Ed's passion project.
His wife, Allison, has
a deadly bee allergy.
It's what inspired it.
And how long have he and
Allison been together?
Years.
They met at a sci-fi
convention in college.
Two nerds in love.
[SMALL CHUCKLE]
You got a lot of awards?
Yeah, they're a pretty niche
in the biotech industry,
but we've worked hard to
bring some good to the world.
Is there any reason why
an investigative journalist
would be looking into your company?
No, no. We have a great
relationship with the press.
Why?
Just a lead I'm following up on.
Clear!
Sorry. I've always wanted to do that.
So Edgar doesn't come to
work for two days straight.
Why didn't you report him missing?
Ed disappears for days at a
time when he has new ideas.
I didn't think twice when
he didn't show up for work.
If I'd known, I
[EXHALES] I'm sorry, I just I
I can't believe this happened to him.
What hospital is he at?
I want to make sure that he
gets the best possible care.
And, of course, we'll pay
for anything Edgar needs
bills, whatever it is.
We'll make sure to get you that info.
- Thanks for your time, Mr. Dermay.
- Anytime.
Let's go.
Yates. Any luck with the phone?
Un-nun. Nothing yet.
Well, someone's avoiding paperwork.
Ha, ha. That's actually Lorne's.
He loves Tic-Tac-Toe.
Not that he knows how to play.
He puts his X's in the same spot,
same pattern every single time.
Even over top of my O's,
which is extremely annoying.
All right. GPS data came
back confirming Lorne
was on his way here when
his car went off the road.
Well, to talk to you, clearly.
- So what about the phone?
- Phone's encrypted. Can't get into it.
Lorne's unconscious, so he can't help.
I mean, he doesn't
even remember his name.
It's a bit of a stretch to think
that he'd know his passcode.
I got a subpoena that I'm working on
with the cell phone provider.
It's going to take a couple of days,
but that's all we got.
Allow me, boys.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Well, worth a shot.
What order did he play his exes in?
Same every single time.
Here, here, here and here.
I have an idea.
And we're in.
Lorne's Tic-Tac-Toe
pattern was his passcode?
I know why he contacted the reporter.
So he's a whistleblower.
According to the text
messages with his wife, yes.
See, Lorne figured out that Orion had
started outsourcing the manufacturing
of the auto injectors to cut costs.
But some were faulty.
A few people died of anaphylactic shock
when theirs didn't work.
Lorne, he invented these auto injectors
to help people like his wife.
So when he figured out that they
were doing the exact opposite
He brought his discovery to Steven.
And then he realized
Steven already knew.
He was responsible
for the whole cover up.
- What's the link to the journalist?
- From the text messages,
apparently, Jerry was working
on a story about Orion.
After hearing about
all the reported deaths
from the faulty auto injectors,
Federal Health steps in and
does their own investigation,
finds Orion at no fault,
chalks it up to a user error
And Jerry didn't have any
proof until Lorne contacted him.
So Steven realized the company
would be criminally responsible
if it got out that he knew.
Not to mention what it would
have done to their stock price.
He would have lost everything.
How can we take this guy down?
In the texts, Lorne talks about a report
that proves what Steven did.
Lorne was going to whistleblow,
but he knew that Steven was on to him,
that he was listening.
He'd bugged his cell phone,
his car, his house, you name it.
Lorne couldn't smuggle the report out.
So he hid the report
somewhere inside the company building.
It's a nice story, but
without that report,
we've got no case.
Find it.
It's late, you shouldn't
be here. Come on.
Oh, as if.
What if Steven ends up
being E.T. in disguise?
I mean it, Max. You're
not even on this case.
You know, me and my
dad have this tradition
for my mom's birthday.
It's called no man left behind.
Every year, we spend the
day together, no matter what.
Some years, one of us tries
to get out of it to mope alone.
And then it's up to
the other one to say,
no, sorry, no man left behind.
I know it's hard,
birthdays for loved ones
who aren't here anymore.
But you're officially inaugurated
into no man left behind.
Well, thank you.
No sweat.
So Lorne was telling us his story,
but just in a different language.
Jupiter meant the Jupiter Motel.
Right. And the aliens with
antlers mean deer crossing sign.
The three kings. Orion MedPro.
But in order to find the report,
we need to figure out what
commander Nevets, Cyprus,
and the orb means.
As in O-R-B.
[BOTH] I know where it is.
Steven, look at you
burning the midnight oil.
Let me call you back.
I'm sorry. It was in
the middle of things.
Is there an update on Edgar?
You know what, there
is actually, Steven.
Now, our pal, Edgar at first,
he wasn't making a lot
of sense, I'll be honest.
But then we realized
that there was always
this little nugget of
truth to what he was saying.
Turns out the answers
were right in front of us.
We just needed to read
between the lines a little bit.
And when we knew the three
kings referred to Orion,
we had to figure out
who is commander Nevets.
I'm sorry. What are you talking about?
And then we realized Nevets
is actually Steven backwards.
And the word cypress kept coming up.
Aren't those cypress trees
in the painting behind you?
Well, this is all very entertaining,
but we know that poor
ed's not in a good place.
I'm sure he's said a lot of things.
- Doesn't mean they're valid.
- Oh, we're not done.
See, right here.
Awarded to Orion MedPro
for their contributions to
the medical technology field.
Presented by Operational Research Board,
also known as ORB.
Edgar couldn't get the
proof out of the building.
So he hid it in plain sight.
Right here in your office.
Bernie's razor.
Here we have the manufacturer's report
which proves that you knew
that your auto injectors were defective,
making you criminally responsible
for the deaths of the
people who were using them.
Not to mention having Jerry killed
because he was going to post an article
about the cover-up
and attempting to kill
your own engineer to keep
him from whistleblowing.
All to save your company's stock
price and to stay out of jail.
This is insane.
I don't even know what
you're talking about.
Stephen Dermay, you're under
arrest for fraud, murder,
and conspiracy to commit murder.
Hold Hold on now!
Stand up. Put your
hands behind your back.
You have no idea who
you're dealing with.
I think we have a pretty good idea.
Live long and prosper. Commander Nevets.
How are you feeling,
Lorne? Edgar, sorry.
I'm still getting used to that.
Relieved. Glad to have my memory back.
I must have really sounded
like I was off my rocker
there for a minute.
But you ended up making
a whole lot of sense.
And doctors were able to drain
the bleed in your cranium,
which was putting all that
pressure on your brain.
That's where all the memory loss
and confusion was coming from.
You're gonna make a full recovery.
Yeah. And Steven is going to be
going away for a very long time.
Oh, god. That was all so crazy.
I just couldn't believe
when Steven refused
to issue the recall.
I mean, putting stock
prices above human lives,
it's just it's insane.
I gotta ask, why me?
I mean, why was I the only
person that you talked to?
It was Jerry. He was doing a story about
police corruption a while back.
Came across your case
from a couple of years ago.
He always believed that you were set up.
He would always say that he just knew
that those weren't
your drugs in your car.
How would he know that?
You know, I don't know.
We never did get into it.
All Jerry told me was that, um,
you're a good cop and a good man.
And
boy, he was right.
You could have had me committed
ranting about aliens and
but you didn't, you helped me,
And I don't I don't know
what to tell you other than
thank you.
Both of you, really. Thank you.
Of course.
Oh. Thank god.
- Allie.
- Oh my god!
- Allie! Allie!
- Are you okay?
Yes, yes. I'm okay. I'm okay.
I'm okay.
I promise I'm fine. I'm
fine, I'm fine, I'm fine.
I'm Allison, Edgar's wife.
We've been looking for you.
Before Edgar went to the police,
he had me turn my phone off
and hide out at my parents.
It was just the only way I
could think to keep her safe.
As soon as I saw the news report
about Steven being arrested,
I turned my phone back on,
and I heard all these messages from you.
Sweetie, sweetie
they got him.
They got him.
I thought I might never see you again.
I know. I'm sorry. I know, I know.
I know, I know.
It's okay.
Bye-bye, pizza guy.
Turns out he was a part of
Orion's private security detail.
We followed your instincts
on this case and you were right.
Good work.
- Thank you, sir.
- You too.
No, I appreciate that, thank you.
Okay. Okay, bye.
Enough.
- What?
- What's going on?
What's the secret?
Are you dealing drugs?
Are you Are you having me killed?
Because you know what?
I actually don't even care anymore.
I just need answers.
All right, come on. Follow me.
Oh, shoot. Is it the
having me killed one?
Is there someone waiting
for me back there?
Come on.
I want to make a phone call first.
I want to call my mom,
tell her I love her.
She has no idea, does she?
Nope, not at all.
This is what those calls were all about.
A parking spot in the station next to me
for you, huh?
- You like that?
- You mean to tell me that this entire time
you were doing something nice?
Yes, that's what I I'm a nice guy.
Huh.
Is it because I'm your best friend?
No, it's because if
I had to listen to you
complain about your
parking spot one more time,
I was gonna retire early.
And because I'm your best friend.
You keep this up,
and I will have you killed.
Okay.
Thanks, best friend.
Yeah, don't mention it.
He's my best friend.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey, mark. I missed you.
It's been a minute since
you've been on the boat.
I know.
You never invite me over anymore.
I didn't invite you over today.
Fair point.
What are you doing?
Oh, I'm trying to repair
the steering mechanism.
Wait, does this mean
your boat's going to boat?
It's a step towards
the boat, boating, yeah.
The first of, like, a thousand probably,
but you gotta start somewhere, right?
Just the way Daniel wanted it.
He'd be proud.
He'd also be proud of
how you helped out Lorne.
Thanks for sticking
with me on this case,
because it was actually really nice
not to be alone yesterday.
To contemplate
where I should lay ♪
Sorry, I was supposed to do this
yesterday, but, you know crime..
Close your eyes and sit down.
- Why?
- Just close your eyes.
One thing I have to
say means nothing ♪
You can open them.
Max
Happy birthday to you ♪
Happy ♪
Come on.
[TOGETHER] Birthday to you ♪
Happy birthday dear ♪
Daniel ♪
Happy birthday to ♪
You ♪
♪
Well, hello there.
Another item for the office, I see.
[PHONE VIBRATING]
No, George, I cannot just
whip up some Wagyu filet mignon
for your poker game tonight.
Doesn't anyone have
any respect for my time?
Oh, god, the universe is
definitely sending me a message.
♪
♪