Blood & Treasure (2019) s02e06 Episode Script

Mystery at Poison Island

1
- [GUNFIRE]
- DANNY: My name is Danny McNamara.
I used to work for the FBI.
LEXI: And I'm Lexi Vaziri.
I used to be a thief.
DANNY: Excuse me, a master thief.
We're back on the hunt after the Vatican
was attacked by a mysterious group
led by someone who calls
himself the Great Khan.
LEXI: He's looking for an
ancient Mongolian artifact
called the Spirit Banner.
DANNY: Also known as
the Soul of Genghis Khan.
And they're leaving
a path of destruction
in their wake to get their hands on it.
LEXI: So, it looks like
it's up to us to stop them
by finding the Banner.
DANNY: Before they do.
Previously on Blood & Treasure
Whatever the Great Khan
stole from the Vatican,
it was connected to the
trail of the Spirit Banner.
It's up to you to find out what
the letter on the thumb drive means.
Oh, no.
A scientist named Dr. Orlov
was the last known
person to have the Banner.
But his trail went cold, so
I have orders from the Great Khan
to not let you out of my sight.
I may know the owner of the Banner.
That twit has the Soul of Genghis Khan.
It's a fake. It's a forgery.
Which means that you
don't have the real Banner.
LEXI: Aralsk-7.
So Dr. Orlov took the real
Banner to Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan? Well, then, let's do this.
DANNY: Last time we saw Violet,
she wanted to get the Banner
for a million-dollar
bounty from the Khan.
She spent the best years of her life
in prison because of me.
I owe her big.
You help us get the Banner safely
into the hands of the authorities,
I'll get your record cleared.

How far away is this Aral Sea?
- We're here.
- LEXI: Here?!
I can't help but note the
complete lack of water.
Did neither of you watch
the documentary Shaw sent?
- BOTH: No.
- Back in the '50s,
this was all water.
The Aralsk-7 base was
on a secluded island.
Very on-brand for Dr. Orlov to conceal
the Banner and his
super-secret science experiments.
So what happened to the sea?
Environmental abuse by
the Soviets dried the sea up.
Well, I get seasick, so, uh,
score one for the Soviets.
That's an interesting takeaway.
LEXI: Not exactly what I pictured.
Wait. But we had an agreement.
- Aralsk-7.
- As far as I go.
We need to get to the island.
As far as I go.
Great.
[PHONE CHIMING]
It's a trading post.
Maybe we could hitch a ride from here.
I'll meet you guys in there.
Chuck.
FATHER CHUCK:
Danny, I've been thinking.
Maybe I'm not the right
guy to be following up
on this old CIA/Vatican
letter from Kate.
Chuck, you're the
perfect person to figure out
whatever Operation Temujin was.
You're a priest. That's
why Kate gave it to you.
Good luck. We're all counting on you.
Don't you Leslie Nielsen me.
I asked Sister Lisa to pull
anything she could from the archives.
I don't know what the fallout will be
if I get caught snooping around.
Well, do you have an excuse prepared?
You mean like a lie, Danny?
No, I don't have a lie prepared.
I've spent my life trying to avoid that.
All right, let's try this another way.
Uh, what happened to the
book you were working on
- before the Vatican attack?
- The book?!
Danny, I haven't even
thought about that in for
Wait a minute. Oh
So if someone asks at the library
what I'm doing there, I
say I'm working on a book.
And they assume I'm
there doing research,
- so it's not technically a lie.
- Chuck
Though it's a lie in my heart.
Though a lie aimed at
getting to the truth. Uh
You know, Thomas Aquinas once said
Chuck, you got this.
I got this. I got this.
Hey. Everything all right?
Yeah, yeah.
Chuck was having a minor freak-out.
He'll be fine.
At the moment, I'm more worried about
your sticky-fingered friend
we brought on the treasure hunt.
Danny, she knows you
can help clear her record.
She's not gonna be an issue.
Oh.
- Okay, I'll handle her.
- Lex,
she doesn't care about anything
except getting what she wants.
You're wrong. She cares about me.
I will handle her.
Trust me.
Hey, cut it out.
What can I do for you?
DANNY: We're looking for transport.
A ride to Aralsk-7.
No one will take you across,
but you can buy transportation here,
and you'll need special equipment.
It's very dangerous.
I thought the bioweapons base
was dismantled and cleaned up.
[LAUGHS] Cleaned up?
No, they just buried
everything in the sand.
Bacteria and virus
are only residents now.
So it's like germ-Chernobyl.
Awesome.
MAN: Go see Amir at the garage in back.
You'll need environmental meter.
Measures bacteria and
viral spores in the air.
- [DEVICE CLICKING]
- This thing says
we're right on the limit.
I wouldn't sight-see on your way across.
For the anthrax rain.
[SCOFFS]
It doesn't literally rain anthrax.
Wait about two hours and
you can see for yourself.
And also this.
Vancomycin 3.0?
Isn't that, like, a super-antibiotic?
Better to take it now for precaution.
I, for one, am super
thrilled about starting over
with a clean slate
Biologically speaking.
So how will you be paying?
Guys, um, this is my treat.
I [CLEARS THROAT]
[AMIR WHISTLES]
You know what,
I'm gonna find you
three bikes that work.
Be right back.
Cool.
Okay, I'll take the lead
and keep an eye on
the environmental reader.
[CROW CAWING]
LEXI: Aralsk-7.
No way that place isn't haunted.
Well, if you want to hang back here,
no one will judge you.
And miss the anthrax rain?
Not a chance.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Hello.
I was just down in the archives,
and I had an appointment
to meet with Sister Lisa,
but I was told to come here.
Ah, yes, Father Donnelly.
The cardinal is expecting you.
The cardinal?
Uh, what about Sister Lisa?
She's actually helping
me research a book
that I've been working on.
This way, please.
Have a seat over there.
Cardinal Rossi will be right with you.
[DOOR CLOSES]
I understand you went to Vietnam.
Why?
I have friends there.
Friends are important,
but family is even more important.
And the family of the Church
must hold together
if it is to survive
another 2,000 years.
Wouldn't you agree?
Why not go for 3,000?
[CHUCKLES]
Your enthusiasm will be missed here
at the Vatican, Father.
Boston is very lucky
to be getting a bishop
like you.
I've been promoted?
And I'm going back to Boston?
Congratulations.
You've been selected
to be a titular bishop.
A bishop only in name,
but still
So I won't actually have a job to do.
Have faith that you
will be where the Church
needs you most.
DANNY: This is Danny McNamara.
Please leave a message.
Danny, I really need to talk to you.
The plan did not work, which is bad.
But I'm on the trail
of a Vatican cover-up,
which is even worse,
'cause what could be so bad
that it needs a cover-up? What do I do?
Oh, right, um, okay,
you would tell me that
if they're scared of me,
that I'm heading in the right direction.
And I need to find the
person most likely to know
what it is that they
don't want me to know.
Or at least figure out who it
is they don't want me to talk to.
And I actually know who that is.
Thanks.
[ENGINES TURN OFF]
[CROW CAWING]
[CLICKING]
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
Thought you were
gonna get yourself killed.
Well, I thought the goal was
to get here as soon as possible.
Yeah? You weren't trying
to leave Lexi and I behind?
Maybe get to the Banner first?
Oh. I thought we were a team.
I'm really feeling the trust here.
Hey. Hey.
- [THUNDER CRASHES]
- Oh, wonderful.
Let's keep moving,
before it starts raining syphilis on us.
Why would Dr. Orlov come here?
It's not a military hospital.
It's a children's clinic.
- We got to get inside.
- Right.
DANNY: Come on.
LEXI: Come on, Vi.
[BAG UNZIPS]
HARDWICK: If the Great Khan's spies are
right about Danny heading to Aralsk-7
then they would have stopped here.
Look, I know Batu told you
to keep me on a short leash,
but is all that stuff back
there strictly necessary?
Don't worry, you're the
Khan's special treasure hunter.
This is for anyone who gets in our way.
You just find the Banner.
[THUNDER CRASHES]
VIOLET: Great.
The creepy children's
clinic has been ransacked,
and we're stuck here
until the killer rain stops.
DANNY: Well, we got
a lot of ground to cover.
Hopefully it'll be over
by the time we're done.
You don't actually think the
Banner's still here, do you?
Well, this was never
gonna be a quick score, Vi.
These things take time.
It's not too late to go
back to the trading post.
VIOLET: And abandon the team?
- Never.
- LEXI: I'm beginning to think
you two are enjoying this.
Got it.
Sister Lisa! Sister Lisa!
Whatever you need, Father,
I assure you I can't help.
Please stop being, so
incredibly loud and obvious.
They moved you away from the Vatican
because I asked you to look into
Operation Temujin, didn't they?
I vowed to be of service,
however the Holy Father sees fit.
Oh, come on. They got to you, too?
Who is "they"?
Could you give us a minute, please?
[SPEAKING ITALIAN]
Grazie.
Mi scusi.
Cardinal Rossi wants us out of the way.
He's covering something up.
No kidding.
Perhaps you might see the
example he's made of me,
and take that as a hint to back off.
Hey, I can't.
And I know you can't, either.
Come on, we were both there
the night of the Vatican attack.
Don't you want answers?
Hey.
Come on, the sisters are the
eyes and ears of the Vatican.
I know you know something.
Help me.
You've always been
different, Father Donnelly.
Technically, it's "Bishop" now.
Most priests barely notice
when we are in the room.
They definitely don't
ask us what we think.
I was a latchkey kid who spent
20 years in Catholic school.
I was practically raised by nuns.
There wasn't anything in the archives
about Operation Temujin
or what it has to do
with the Spirit Banner.
But I was able to get help
from the sisters around Rome.
And they tracked down something
Well, someone,
you should know about.
Someone?
Have a blessed day, Bishop Donnelly.
[THUNDER CRASHING]
There aren't any beds for the adults.
Not even the nurses.
They were all alone at night.
At least they had each other.
Danny.
That's Dr. Orlov.
This is from '74.
That's 20 years after
Orlov left Mongolia.
You see these leg braces?
These kids had polio.
But that virus was
eradicated in the '50s.
So, what, they didn't get the vaccine?
DANNY: Orlov was researching DNA.
I think he moved on
to engineering viruses.
These kids were his test subjects.
Testing on little kids.
Hell of a world.
I'm gonna go look in the other rooms.
Hey. Stay behind me
while we clear the entry.
And keep out of the toxic rain.
So, what was that about back there?
Vi was an orphan.
Before she ran away, she spent
a lot of time in places like this.
Well, hopefully not exactly like this.
If I grew up like she did,
I'd have ended up just like her.
I don't know about that.
I'm just saying,
you're not her.
Maybe, maybe not.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[THUNDER CRASHES]
Hey.
Here's a thought.
Why don't we find the Banner
first before you kill the people
that were leading us to the Banner?
Take your hands off my weapon.
Now.
Okay.
[GUN CLICKS]
Get down!
Hardwick!
[PANTING]
Did someone just shoot at us?
If it makes you feel any better,
pretty sure they were aiming at me.
Go.
Come on.
VIOLET: Here.
- I want this back.
- Perfect.
[ELEVATOR WHIRRING]
[EXHALES]
Okay, we need to make sure
they can't follow us down here.
Yeah.
Okay, we've got to keep it moving.
They might find another way down.
Whoa.
No one has been down here for decades.
[SCOFFS]
Huh. I loosened it for you.
Uh-huh.
[COUGHING]
Oh, my God.
This must have been a
decontamination chamber.
Hardwick, come on, show yourself!
[TILE CLATTERS]

Whew.
I think there's something
alive down there.
What?
DANNY: Cockroaches.
Oh, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not!
Danny.
The door's automatic?
Uh
Lexi?
Danny, I don't know what's wrong.
We've gotta get this thing open.
[GRUNTING]
It won't budge.
Do you see anything on your end?
Uh, uh, I think it's a
weight-trigger door.
What do you mean?
The door opened for me because
it has a preset weight.
Well, why isn't it working now?
Because it was designed
to only work for Dr. Orlov.
Now the decontamination won't stop
until it finishes its cycle.
You have to override the system.
Look for a control panel.
It's for emergencies, like this one.
VIOLET: Stand back.
Okay, I'm gonna shoot my way through.
Wait, shoot?
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
That smell
Guys, this place has been filling
with fumes, for God knows how long.
You shoot that gun,
it'll go up like a match.
- Let's find another way.
- This looks familiar.
Danny, there's a breaker box.
[GRUNTS] Come on.
[LEXI STRAINING]
[SHRIEKS] Oh, God! Oh, God!
Oh, there's so many more inside.
There's more inside!
You're not gonna vomit, are you?
Like that time you got
one of these in your mouth
when we were escaping the Paris sewers?
It was the size of an éclair.
DANNY: What-What's wrong?
I don't know how to work
the breaker panel, and it is
- Gross!
- What?
Does he know that one cockroach
nest could just take you out?
No. And he never will.
Everything's fine.
[QUIETLY]: Almost everything.
[METALLIC CREAKING]
Eastern Bloc prisons used
to have a fuse just like this.
And I had a Russian
cellmate that used to make
a pretty good caramel out of
sugar packets and a lighter.
- [ELECTRICITY CRACKLES]
- Oh, I could've done that.
Hold on, smart-ass.
This thing's really stuck.
Guys, there's green stuff!
Very toxic-looking green stuff!
- Oh
- [DOOR HISSES]
This escape room sucks.
Oh, my God.
Oh, goody.
Brains.
Our mad scientist was a busy little
bee down here, for all those years.
Hey, thanks for your help back there.
Well, never thought
there would be an upside
to growing up poor,
but being cool with cockroaches
actually comes in handy.
[GRUNTS]
Nah, keep it.
A peace offering.
You could have left me in that chamber.
You didn't.
It's not about you.
She's family.
I'd never do anything to hurt her.
Whatever else, you can trust in that.
Okay, that's enough bonding.
What was that all about?
- I apologized.
- Oh.
She has an issue with authority figures.
I guess I can see why.
I'm sure the fact that I was
an FBI agent didn't help.
Look, I'm not saying
that I totally get her, but
I don't have to judge her.
I could kiss you,
if I wasn't so grossed out right now.
Who knew cockroaches were your thing?
Oh, God help you if
you use that against me.
What about a little, tiny plastic one?
Then I will regret having murdered you.
Ugh.
- What is this?
- I don't know.
Human DNA has a double helix,
but these are plans for an additional
Something.
Whatever Orlov was in the middle of,
it looks like he left in a hurry.
And these samples all say "vaccinated,"
but they're clearly badly infected.
DANNY: It could be that Dr. Orlov
was working on bioweapons
to grow diseases beyond vaccination.
So even if you got the
vaccine, you'd still get sick.
Looks like he had a target in mind.
Mongolians.
The test subjects were probably chosen
because they were genetically
linked to Genghis Khan.
I mean, millions of people
in this part of the world
were descended from him.
I think Dr. Orlov was
engineering a virus
to take them all out.
Seems like there's a lot
easier ways to kill people.
I don't know, bullets are expensive,
and nukes make the
ground unusable for farming.
So this is like a 2.0 version
of the smallpox blanket
that your people gave to the Indians?
An attempt at it.
Well
This was all the early
days of genetic science.
I mean, there's no way
he could have pulled it off.
What does all of this have
to do with the Spirit Banner?
Well, the Banner has Khan's DNA on it.
Maybe the Great Khan
wants it for the same reason.
- To weaponize Genghis's DNA.
- Maybe.
But I can't imagine it
would be to kill Mongolians.
I mean, the Great Khan's
whole identity is rooted
in Mongolian lore.
Or the Great Khan is
a rich white guy trying
to blame the world's
problems on Asian people.

Hey!


[WHISPERING]: Come on, God,
I'm doing a good thing here.
Don't punish me for it.
[LOCK CLICKS]
Saint Victoria.
"Protector of the Laotian Sana Mission."
There's a saint I've never heard of.

[CLANGING]
[WHISTLING BLOOD & TREASURE THEME]
[GRUNTS]: Mm.
One thing doesn't make sense to me here.
Only one thing?
DANNY: Okay, many things, but
What I'm wondering is why
is all this stuff still down here?
If Orlov abandoned this research,
he would have burned it all.
Maybe he didn't get a chance to.
Who leaves proof of attempted genocide?
VIOLET: Lexi!
[EXHALES]
Dr. Orlov, I presume?
Well, that explains why all
his stuff is still down here.
Hey.
You know what this would
have been perfect for?
Let me guess
Holding a Mongolian war banner
with trace amounts of Genghis Khan DNA?
Lexi.
Whoever killed Dr. Orlov
wasn't just after the Banner.
They took his research, too.
Someone found out what
he was doing down here.
And killed what's-his-face.
And took the Banner.
But who?
MAN: Hardwick! Come on out!
[CHATTER IN DISTANCE]
MAN: Say hi, Hardwick!
What's that?
[LAUGHS]: Hey. Hey.
No.
No, no, no, no. No,
no, it's not like that.
It's not what you think.
The Khan sent a team here to kill you.
And now they're coming
for all of us. Danny!
- On your knees.
- Danny
Hands behind your head, Simon.
Danny, we don't have time for this.
I just sabotaged a
gun and saved your life.
Hey, Lexi.
Wow. You look great.
I'm not the bad guy here.
No, you never are, are you?
They're coming for us
and we need to go, Danny.
It could be a trap.
HARDWICK: Guys. Who's she?
We'll check it out.
But hope, for your sake, it's not.
DANNY: What's the Khan planning?
A massive terrorist attack.
Mentioned something
about the Chinese New Year.
Describe him.
Uh, he's, uh, he's bald.
He's a stocky guy, Asian descent.
Doesn't play well with others.
Asked me to call him Batu.
Batu.
Batu was the grandson of Genghis Khan.
- Okay. Great.
- Founded the Golden Horde.
It's probably an alias.
Does any of this actually really
- What else?
- What else?
Uh, likes feeding people to crocodiles
when he's in a good mood? Can we go?
Why does the Khan want the Banner?
I don't know, 'cause
we're not that close.
But he thinks you know
how to get it for him.
Listen, I've stayed alive just
long enough to remain useful.
That guy's a maniac.
This is what he did to me.
- My God.
- Yeah.
You're going back to the Great Khan.
Did you hear what I just said?
There's-there's no way. There's
no way in hell I'm going back.
You leave here with us, I'm
taking you straight back to prison.
But so long as the Khan
thinks you're working for him,
you can help us.
Get his real name,
pinpoint his location,
find out what he's planning
to do with the Banner.
What do I get in return
for being your spy?
You get my word that
I'll do everything I can
to help you once we take the Khan down.
[SHOUTING]
Get back. Stay out of sight.
- I don't want you getting shot.
- How will I contact you?
You're an evil mastermind, Simon.
Figure it out.
Ah.
[PANTING]
Bloody hell.
Can you open it?
She fried it.
Without the main power,
it will never open.
[SHOUTS]
It's gonna blow.
Come on.
I'm sorry.
- There's no time.
- Violet!
- Come on.
- No, I can't leave her!
You go in there, you die.
Come on.
[EXHALES]
I left her behind.
Again.
Hey, hey. Look at me.
If you'd gone back,
you'd be dead, too.
She wouldn't have wanted that.
I need a minute to clean up.
Where's your washroom?
Paying customers only.
Okay, we'll take the bathroom key,
a couple bottles of water
and a full tank of gasoline.
Hmm.
Bathroom's at the back.
[CRYING SOFTLY]

[SNIFFLES]
[WHISPERS]: I'm sorry.
[LINE RINGING]
[GROANS]
Hey. You're back.
Yeah. Yeah, we made it back, but, um
All right, well, I found something.
Big news. You ready?
- What?
- Operation Temujin
happened at a
missionary hospital in Laos.
It got shut down by a nun who did
something so badass it got her sainted.
- What did she do?
- I don't know.
I got the canonization
testament for Saint Victoria,
but everything about
her time as a nurse there
in the '70s is blacked out.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. She was a nurse?
Yeah. Does that mean something?
Yeah. Um
Dr. Orlov was murdered in the mid-'70s,
and whoever did it took his
research along with the Banner.
I assume to continue the
bioweapon experiments.
Sounds like the banner went to Sana,
which is where Sister
Victoria became Saint Victoria.
Yep. Hey, I'll, uh, call you
when we're out of Kazakhstan.
- All right.
- Good work, buddy.
Hey.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I don't want to talk about it.
Whatever you want.
What's next?
Wait a second.
Where-where did these crates come from?
Yankees, like you.
Came here once when I was younger.
Traded for lots of things.
I got the watch.
May-may I see that?
Sure.
But it's not for sale.
Yankees called themselves Ravens.
You think the Americans
killed Orlov, took the Banner?
What Americans would be operating
a covert Soviet mission
during the Cold War?
The CIA.
That's why they sent
Kate after the Banner.
This was the cover-up.
And thanks to Chuck, we know the CIA
was working with the Vatican.
They had a hospital mission
in Laos that popped up
after Orlov was shut down.
We need to talk to Kate.
She's not our only source anymore.
What is it?
You're not gonna believe this.
My father has this exact same watch.
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