S.W.A.T. (2017) s03e02 Episode Script
Bad Faith
1 Sergeants Harrelson and Becker.
You remember Lieutenant Detective Lynch from the mayor's office? - Sure.
Hello, ma'am.
- Nice to see you again, Lieutenant.
- Sergeants.
- It seems that SWAT has piqued the interest of some of the powers that be in the city, and they want Lieutenant Detective Lynch here for the day to, um how'd the memo put it? Conduct a departmental review.
Past few days, I've been reading your strike reports and personnel files in the city archives.
Boy, that was a test of my dust allergy.
And no question, SWAT deserves its rep as the best.
It's an expectation we welcome.
Now I'm ready for some firsthand observation and conversation with boots on the ground.
Shall we start with you? Yes, ma'am.
You can use the office across the hall.
Thanks, Commander.
Here to observe? What do you think she and the mayor are really up to? Well, three decades of policing tells me it's not to conduct a review.
Maybe we're both just too cynical.
You know, it makes sense to me now why city hall's been stonewalling me on hiring a new captain to replace Cortez.
CEOs don't get to pick new VPs when a company's about to get taken over.
Lynch is here to take inventory.
You think city hall has new plans for SWAT? Like what? Exactly.
This one is a chile relleno.
It's a bell pepper stuffed with veggies and meat, dipped in, uh butter? - Egg batter.
- Egg batter.
Right.
And then you fry it, and you want to wash it down with tepache.
Taste this, Deac.
It's pineapple.
It's tangy, but it's not sweet.
It's good.
Top it off with, uh what do you call these, uh, - doughnut ball things again? - Buñuelitos.
- Buñuritos.
- Buñuelitos.
Buñueliri bun Yeah.
Yeah.
Xiomara, this food is amazing.
You know, if I knew that Luca lived two doors down from a five-star chef, - I would've moved in a long time ago.
- Check it out.
Mmm, mmm.
You realize this smell's toying with a bunch of hungry SWAT officers out there? Think they're getting ready to breach.
Now, imagine these culinary treats could come to you wherever you are any day of the week.
- Like a delivery service? - Better.
Food truck, all right? It's a prospectus I drew up.
All the facts and figures laid out right in here.
What it would take for us to start our own operation.
Guatemalan food is the only cuisine around that's sweet, spicy and savory all in the same dish.
And with the way Xiomara cooks, man, there's nothing like it out there.
Trust me.
I know you know your food trucks.
Start-up costs run 60 grand that's for a truck, equipment, supplies.
I can front 35 grand.
If you four and Hondo throw in five each, this could be a team investment.
I mean, look, we already put together a menu, man it's awesome.
Xiomara, how do you feel about taking on - the foodie capital of the world? - He say so.
Look, I know I'm springing this on you guys out of the blue, but just look it over, check it out, tell me what you think.
I mean, this could be the next big thing, man.
Transfer van is here.
Please have all transfer patients at the garage and ready.
You're so silly.
Look at her flirt.
Who do you think she's talking to? Probably a boyfriend.
Probably.
I mean, she's really pretty.
I like her, uh, lipstick.
I can get it for you.
If you do me a favor.
Oh.
You took your medication, Bernice.
No.
I need to use the toilet.
Rec time's almost over.
Can you hold it till the orderlies are back to get everyone to their rooms? Call you later, babe.
Okay.
Let's go, Bernice.
Come on.
Roll down your sleeves.
They're strict with the dress code here.
Let's go.
We have a 304-B in room 26.
Dr.
Shannon, we have 304-B in room 26.
Get back in the room.
Ruth.
Who wants to have some fun? 20-David to Command.
We're on site at Martin West Psychiatric Hospital.
All right, remember, these people are not in their right mind.
Unless a life is in immediate danger, we go with nonlethal force the whole way today.
This ain't over until everyone in there is safely restrained.
Deac, let's go, let's go.
Three, two, one.
Deac.
Chris, Street, you're with me.
Tan, you and me got Fight Club.
You ready? - Yup.
- Move in.
Move in.
Go.
Break it up! Break it up! That's enough, guys! Everybody, put your hands behind your backs.
Do it now.
LAPD! Don't move! Show me your hands.
Turn around.
This time I'm gonna do it, I swear.
What's your name? Bernice.
Bernice, hey.
Nobody needs to get hurt.
Just turn around.
No! LAPD.
We're just trying to get things settled down.
Can you put the brush down, - turn around, please? - You like it? Absolutely.
Now, put the brush down, please.
Someone in Beverly Hills is gonna pay for my art one day.
No doubt.
Now, just turn around, okay? Especially when I'm dead.
How about you just place your hands on the wall? Paint's still wet.
Behind your back, then.
No! Give me your hand.
He's the last one.
Hey, look who passed with flying colors.
Ah-ha-ha-ha.
Not even a little funny.
Hey, Street, you know we got to pay - for our own dry cleaning, right? - Yes! Hondo.
Found that missing guard.
How'd all this get started? The new custodian.
I-I don't know his name.
He smuggled in weapons, got 'em all riled up.
Then he ran off with Ruth Pearson.
Ruth Pearson's a patient here? For the past nine years, yeah.
Who's Ruth Pearson? Wayne Pearson's widow.
They ran a cult together from a compound in Laurel Canyon years ago.
The one that planned that mass suicide, Virgo's Temple? This is that cult leader's wife? Ruth was as much the leader as her husband was, only Wayne died that day and she didn't.
A lot of people got hurt because of what this couple did, and no one was ever really held accountable.
What about Ruth? D.
A.
didn't throw the book at her? He tried, but it didn't go anywhere.
She's legally insane.
Who we dealing with? So, Ruth Pearson and her husband founded Virgo's Temple in the early '90s, but by '99, it had turned into a full-blown doomsday cult.
When the world didn't end with Y2K, Wayne just pushed the apocalypse back.
After a while, Ruth said believers could only ascend to a higher plane one way.
- Mass suicide? - Wayne and a few higher-ups managed to off themselves, but cops and SWAT saved everyone else in that compound while under fire.
After all these years, Ruth's bound to be vindictive.
With the help of the janitor and his two buddies outside, she's now armed and at large in L.
A.
Administrator said they hired the janitor last month, apparently under a false ID.
Hondo called it.
Checked the janitor's prints against the state juvenile records and got a hit.
That employee is Ruth's son.
All three of those guys are.
Auto theft, armed robbery, assault.
Rap sheets sure to make Mama proud.
Lieutenant Lynch talked to the mayor.
SWAT's gonna run point on this.
Ruth Pearson is a high-profile fugitive.
Her escape will draw plenty of public interest.
Especially now that we know it's a family reunion.
Might be your chance for a do-over with the Virgo's Temple, Sergeant.
The Pearson family used to have dozens of followers who were willing to drink the Kool-Aid.
Sir, we're gonna need access to Ruth's patient file and a list of every Temple member detectives processed nine years ago.
All right.
That's Theo, Zuma and Ben.
Zuma's kind of the odd brother out.
- Check out the muscles on him.
- What a bruiser.
Think Ruth sprinkled 'roids on his cornflakes? Definitely didn't skip neck day at the gym.
Guy's an absolute unit.
You get those mug shots out yet? Yeah.
Every train, bus and gas station on our list.
Hospital ran a criminal background check on Theo Pearson before they hired him.
- I got it right here.
- Some good that did.
Doesn't look like it was too hard for him to cheat the system: fake name, fake address, fake references.
You can fake an ID, but you can't fake a social security number.
Find his W-9, see what you can get back on it.
Hey, Deac.
Lynch told Hondo this is his chance for a do-over with Virgo's Temple.
What's that supposed to mean? It sounded like a dig to me.
Was Hondo part of the raid that took out the Temple nine years ago? Yeah.
We both were.
You saw it all go down? Yeah.
Saw the aftermath.
Wayne and a few of his lackeys, they were DOA before we got there, but - we saved the rest.
- Do you remember seeing - Ruth or the boys? - Not sure.
It was surreal.
The adults were armed.
The kids were all upstairs huddled four to a bed.
So what do you think Lynch meant by Hondo getting a do-over? You'll have to ask her.
Commander Hicks, meet Leo Moretti.
Leo is a private investigator who helped me resolve a parental kidnapping case a few years back.
This is his client, Pam.
- Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
How can we help? The people you're looking for, the Pearsons, my daughter's with them, being held against her will.
Did you report her abduction to the police? She wasn't abducted, Commander.
Pam hasn't seen her daughter in four years.
Why do you think she's with them? Found it in her room.
Clare never really had friends, and I worked nights after the divorce.
So Fiona was a godsend, at first.
One night, I found Wayne Pearson's book in Clare's room.
Letters were tucked inside between the girls and the Pearson boys.
How they were all gonna live together on a commune, h-how the world was gonna end.
They even got matching star tattoos on their wrists.
So I told Clare that she couldn't see Fiona or the Pearson boys anymore.
She stormed out.
That was the last time I saw her.
Commune? Intel said the Temple disbanded nine years ago.
You're saying they're still active? We don't think they ever weren't.
Numbers aren't what they used to be, but I believe there's still a handful of devoted followers.
From what I've found, some ex-members have moved out of state, but more recently, they've changed their names and they've trickled back into the area.
Mind sharing what you've been able to collect with us? - Whatever it takes to get Clare home.
- Oh, good.
There's one more thing, Commander.
Two months ago, Clare called me.
First time in four years.
She said she was pregnant.
She needed money.
She wanted to escape from them, that the-the boys had terrible things planned.
And then there was screaming, and the line went dead.
Clare is alive and wants out.
Would you excuse me a second? The Social Security number used by Ruth's son, issued to a Dylan Wheady, and he's on our list of Temple members.
- Social was never reported stolen? - No.
Well, this guy's probably in on it.
Maybe he's sheltering the whole Pearson clan.
The registered address is a ranch house up in the foothills.
Good Shepherd Road.
- Well, go get 'em.
- All right.
Street and Tan, three-side with me.
Deac and Chris, you've got the one.
LAPD! You're police.
Oh, it's the police.
Thank God.
- What's your name? - Nicole.
- I'm Nicole.
- Where's Dylan Wheady? - Dylan, you can come out.
It's safe.
- Turn around, turn around.
What? Turn around.
We thought you were them.
- Thought we were who? - The Pearsons.
We heard about Ruth's escape.
Josh and Jasmine split.
We didn't know what else to do.
Josh and Jasmine? Josh and I escaped from the Temple together.
Ruth was always so tough on him.
He wasn't about to wait around and let her hurt Jasmine.
Yeah, they left about an hour ago.
Why was one of the brothers using your Social Security number? I had to leave everything behind; my friends, my car, my Social Security card.
You have to file for a new address to report it stolen.
I was afraid it was gonna make it easier for them to track me down.
Did you hear any chatter about what they might have planned? I check a few online forums once in a while, in case some cult-obsessed troll targets Dylan.
Posts on there have been picking up lately.
I guess that makes sense.
Ruth escaping the same week as the Draconids.
Same week as what? The Draconid meteor shower.
It's Temple dogma.
Meteors clear the sky for a ship to arrive from Andromeda.
They're the ones that are supposed to take the souls to the higher level planet.
It all sounds so stupid now.
Hondo, we got a male and female here.
They say they're hiding from the Pearson family, and there's another couple in the wind.
Okay, let's bring 'em in.
- Rest of the property is clear.
- Roger that.
Hey, guys, mug shots we blasted out just got a hit.
A man matching Theo Pearson's description was just seen at a truck depot on Commerce Boulevard.
Sending Street and Tan to check it out.
The rest of us are on our way back to HQ with two guests.
Okay, roger that.
I took a look at Luca's prospectus.
- That thing goes deep, you put in work.
- Yeah.
Hey, what's got him so revved up about this food truck? At first, I thought it was just Luca being Luca, trying to help out a neighbor, but I don't know, man, it seems like she's just along for the ride.
This is all Luca's baby.
She's a hell of a cook, though.
You gonna throw in? I would, but I'm trying to save up.
Yeah, same.
Hoping to do some traveling next year.
- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.
It's kind of crazy there aren't more Guatemalan food trucks around.
- That our guy? - 26-David.
Eyes on Theo Pearson at the depot.
Police! Don't move! Step out from behind the vehicle with your hands on your head.
Walk slowly backwards to me.
Shots fired.
1942 Commerce Boulevard.
Repeat.
Shots fired.
- Two, two, two.
- Go, go, go, go, go.
Nowhere to go.
Give it up.
Drop the gun! I'll be waiting for them.
Don't do that! Who the hell are these people? Self-immolation as an act of protest is desperate.
Burning yourself alive as the result of delusion speaks to something far more disturbing.
Like being raised in a cult.
Or having two nutcase parents.
In the Pearsons' case, I'd say both nurture and nature are equal to blame.
Here's Mom's sanity hearing.
Ancient Mayans said the path to the afterlife was more painful than anything.
No one reaches Andromeda without sacrifice.
But when we arrive, all that pain it makes us gods.
And our time is at hand.
The convoy is coming.
She's Machiavellian, narcissistic, and a diagnosed psychopath all three traits of the dark triad.
Manipulative, violent, and a god complex? That's a hell of a cocktail.
Patients like this are unpredictable in a clinical setting.
In the real world, watch out.
Any idea what Ruth might be planning next? Well, the boyfriend and girlfriend we brought in aren't sure, but timing her escape to coincide with this Draconid meteor shower or whatever She's setting up another doomsday, and given her track record, her true believers are a body count waiting to happen.
Lieutenant, thank whoever you know who's on the sanity review board.
Usually, it takes weeks to pull these hearings.
I don't believe in red tape.
- Hondo.
- Hey, kid.
Any luck tracking that missing couple from the farmhouse? Uh, not yet.
No cell phone traces, credit card hits, nothing.
- Just keep looking, then.
- Okay.
Hey, uh, can I ask you something? Yeah.
Go ahead, shoot.
Lynch she said that today was your chance for a do-over? Yeah, all right.
Look, kid, when we hit that compound nine years ago, I put myself in a vulnerable position, so Bucky wrote me up.
My only violation on my SWAT record.
I'm sure Buck was trying to teach you a lesson.
No.
No, I deserved it.
I got locked in a standoff with one of the Temple followers.
Neither one of us wanted to lower our guns but I could see that the guy was just scared.
So I thought the only way he was gonna make it out of there alive was if I could earn his trust somehow.
- You lowered your weapon first? - No.
No, I did not, but I didn't take the shot when I could have and when I should have.
I leaned too much on my gut, Street.
And since then, I've seen that go way wrong for cops more than once.
That's why we work the way that we do.
We rely on our training in the moment.
It's a lesson every officer learns.
We got to be good, but we got to be lucky, too.
But how does Lynch even know about this? - She must have done her homework.
- I mean, is she, like, digging into our personnel files? - How and why? - I got no idea.
What I did that day wasn't very smart.
But, man, you know, the-the kid just seemed like a lost soul more than any type of threat to me at the time.
His name's Kai.
And believe it or not, these past few years, he's gone and turned his life around.
He opened a place to help people who flee or get spit out by groups like the Temple.
Go figure.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
You think maybe he can help us out with this? - I'm about to go find out.
- All right.
Tamalitos? Uh, no, thank you.
I shouldn't.
Speak for yourself.
I'll have two chuchitos to go and some hot sauce, too, please.
Thank you.
What's up, bro? Listen, um I can't invest in the food truck right now.
It's just not a good time.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have put you on the spot, man, I mean, just knowing you got back on solid ground financially.
So I gave it some thought.
There's no point doing all this work to get the truck up and running if the team can't be part of it.
I want to spot you the five grand.
Okay, you just pay me back whenever you can.
- It's okay, man.
- No.
That is unbelievably generous.
I-I can't accept that.
I don't want to owe you any money.
I don't want to owe anybody money.
And-and as soon as I do get some money to invest, I want to invest it in something simple and-and boring, like a-a mutual fund.
Yeah, but you tasted this food, right? I mean, this stuff is just gonna sell itself.
It is fantastic, it is.
It I'm sorry.
Okay, I understand.
I can't swing it either, Luca.
I've been trying to put money away, and I know Tan and Street are in the same boat, probably waiting for the right time to tell you.
But, you know, I don't know if Hondo's taken a look at the prospectus.
Yeah.
No.
I mean, Hondo's got responsibilities.
You all do.
I-I get it.
Totally get it.
It's cool.
- I swear, if I had the money to burn - Don't-don't worry about it.
It's good.
It's good.
- I'm all right.
- All right.
Hi.
Hey, I I should have talked it over with them before roping you in.
I'm sorry.
This was supposed to be something for my whole team.
I-I mean, something for you, obviously, and something for me, too.
I've never been in charge of my own thing before, and I thought Look, I-I didn't go to business school or anything, but I know I could've pulled this off.
I kn I know it, man.
I'll think of some other way.
Don't worry.
Hmm? Thanks for the talk.
All right.
Mmm.
Man, that's so good.
Hondo? - Hey.
- Hey.
- Good to see you, Kai.
- You, too.
I assume you saw the news of Ruth Pearson's escape - and what happened to Theo? - Burning himself alive? It's awful.
Can't say I'm surprised.
Well, I guess the crazy bar for this cult is on a whole nother level.
The Temple sales pitch was simple.
You know, they'd help you reach consciousness above human.
And at times, it felt real.
You know, growing vegetables, raising animals.
We sang a lot.
I did everything that Wayne and Ruth said, hoping for enlightenment, but, uh, it's all a lie.
That must've been a tough realization.
It wasn't until I was old enough to process their most demented views that I questioned things.
How Ruth said that burning alive was the cleanest way for the soul to ascend, or that suicide was the only way to reach perfection.
When the Pearsons planned this doomsday, what do you remember in the lead-up to that afternoon? Well, Wayne said the ship would come for us.
The sky would finally be clear enough for the journey.
Then the day came, and we were all ready to ascend.
Wayne and his men started handing out pills and telling the kids they were vitamins.
And then we showed up and all hell broke loose.
I wasn't in my right mind, Hondo.
- I hope you know that.
- I do know that, Kai.
I could see that you didn't want to shoot me.
The Pearsons may have linked up with a handful of Temple members.
Now, with the meteor showers coming this week, Ruth seems to think that some type of convoy is coming for them.
She's planning something big.
Does that mean anything to you? She used that word, "convoy"? - Yes.
- That's Temple lingo.
Means 36 Ruth and 35 followers.
They're the convoy.
You think Ruth has 35 other people willing to take their own lives? 23 ex-members unaccounted for.
None of 'em have been seen at their home or their jobs the past two weeks.
They just vanished.
All right, with the five rumored new recruits we got from the P.
I.
, that makes 28.
You add Ruth and her two surviving sons Still only gives them 31 members, tops.
Yeah, and they need 36 for this ritual.
She needs more bodies.
My daughter called.
She broke free from the Pearsons.
- Sh-She escaped.
- Where is she? I recorded the call.
Here, listen.
- Mom, I got away.
- You okay? Ruth's getting them ready.
Come get me, please.
Where are you? I came to Grandma's place, but she's not there.
If they find me, my baby I'm scared, Mom.
Clare? Hello? Hello? My-my mother's been in a nursing home.
We're selling her house, but I just I haven't had time to pack it up.
Clare doesn't know any of this.
I'll go with you.
No, ma'am, I'm sorry, that is not an option.
You can follow us and hang by the perimeter.
Uh W-Wait.
Bring my baby home safe.
LAPD! - Clare, are you here? - LAPD! Deac.
Main room clear.
Cops are here, Clare.
24-David, I need an R/A.
Pregnant female, pair of lacerations to the head and torso.
- I'll grab a medkit.
You good? - I got her.
Go.
Hey.
Stay with us.
Hey, Moretti, I thought you said Clare had a star tattoo on her wrist.
Yeah, a star on her left wrist.
She's got explosives! Drop the trigger! Get off Get off me, bitch! Roll bomb squad to the location now! Chris, you good? This isn't Clare.
They used her to lure us in.
They wanted to distract us.
- Who is it? - Your mother.
Ruth? Do what you want with me.
But just let Jasmine go.
She's innocent.
We are all innocent, darling.
Please, you don't have to do this.
You came here to stop us.
But now you'll join us.
And it will be a wonderful journey.
Ex-Temple member Josh Palmer and his girlfriend Jasmine Delgado.
Would've been better off hiding in that house with their friends.
A BOLO hit on Josh's car led cops to this motel.
No traffic cams nearby, so we lost 'em.
The Pearsons could have taken 'em anywhere by now.
Ruth's kidnapping innocents to sacrifice just so the numbers add up.
Three more violent abductions, each reported in the past hour, each within the vicinity of a Temple member's last known address.
- Six victims.
- That makes 36.
A convoy.
Those people are gonna get executed.
A mass homicide just to fulfill some insane prophecy.
A brainwashed cult leading people around at gunpoint in the middle of L.
A.
? Someone's got to spot it and call it in.
Where are they hoping to pull something off like this? Chem test came back.
The liquid in that girl's pouch was saline solution, paint thinner, turpentine.
Flammable blend.
She wanted to burn until there was nothing left.
Nine years ago, there was an industrial-sized propane tank - outside the Temple's compound.
- Yeah, I remember that.
I figured they just kept it for survival purposes, but knowing their affinity for burning alive, it just might've been their plan B.
Ruth just didn't get the chance to pull it off.
Think she's planning on taking all 36 out in a blaze of glory? They want me to wait in here until you're ready to talk.
What's in your hand? That's Astrid.
- She's so young.
- She might be Astrid to you, but her real name is Clare.
Her mom Pam is watching.
Her mother's here? You think the Temple has all the answers? What if they're just trying to manipulate you? I chose to join.
I chose to seek perfection.
No one manipulated me.
Look where you are.
Was this what they promised? To be turned over to the cops as bait, spend your life in prison? I volunteered.
I bet those brothers weren't too quick to step forward.
That's what happens in groups like the Temple.
Women are seen, not heard.
Cook, clean, serve men.
Any men who want to be served.
You don't know why we do what we do.
I know about the 14-year-old girls who Wayne Pearson's paired off with the men in the group.
Ruth was the one that partnered us off.
She called it marriage.
They're not going to Andromeda, and they're not gonna end up in another planet.
They're on their way to being locked up or being dead, unless you stop it.
Where's Ruth taking this convoy? I don't know.
They used to talk about some clearing deep in the woods, surrounded by oaks.
Never said where.
I can't help you any more.
Anything? We alerted San Bernardino, Los Padres, and Big Bear National Parks.
Officers posted at every entrance.
Yeah, but transporting 36 people that far, some unwilling? You think they'll stay closer to home? Check out the scanner.
Angeles National Forest.
Park ranger just reported 50 camping stove fuel tanks stolen from a shed.
Somebody just got a hell of a lot of kerosene.
Where'd that go down? Buckhorn Campground.
Let's gear up.
We need to section off over a thousand acres of woods north of this campground! They got to be down here somewhere! All right, let's switch up here.
Luca's our eyes in the sky.
He's looking for signs of an encampment.
Keep your radios cranked up.
How many trails start from here? I'm counting five! Three to the east, two to the south! Street and I got the trails to the south.
All right, Chris and Tan, you're with me.
- Okay.
- We'll take the east.
They came for us before.
Today, they are giving us a second chance.
They are waiting for us to ascend.
Are you ready to free your soul? Yes! Then let's all convoy home.
Be strong.
We're almost there.
Anyone else smell that? Luca, you spot any sign of them near our location? Wait, it looks like something, maybe south, southeast? Roger that.
Street, Street.
This is 20-David.
We're close.
Let's move, let's move.
We'll ascend through the fire, - to a - L.
A.
P.
D.
! Hands where we can see 'em! Get down! Move in now! Deacon, you and me, let's move! The rest of you, cover us! Move.
Go, go, go, go.
Drop your weapons.
On the ground.
On the ground.
Flat on the ground.
Astrid.
Clare.
Okay, put that down.
Put that down.
We're here to help.
We're here to help.
Give me your hands.
Tracking Ruth and Ben Pearson, both armed, one hostage.
- Left! - Right! I got you, I got you.
It's okay.
Are you okay? Come on.
Yeah, it's okay.
Place your weapon on the ground.
Don't bother telling me I'm surrounded and I need to give up.
Ever think about death? I've seen my fair share of it.
I meant your own.
Put the gun down, Ruth.
There's no martyrs today.
Clare? Clare? I doubt Pam will even be around by the time her daughter gets out.
Clare brought vulnerable people into the fold.
She made a choice.
Toughest thing about raising kids: how do you keep them from making a decision that you know is bad for 'em? Pam only wanted to save her daughter from these people.
Look what it got her.
Well, she saved her grandchild.
Saved Clare, too, in a way.
She'll have plenty of time to think about it.
Maybe get her head on straight.
At least she's alive.
Yeah.
Kai.
- This is Dr.
Wendy Hughes.
- Ah, pleased to meet you, Dr.
Hughes.
Wendy's fine.
Some of the folks S.
W.
A.
T.
arrested are in need of guidance over the next few days, so thank you so much for letting me pick your brain.
Oh, I'm happy to help however I can.
It's serious trauma.
It'll be a long road back.
It took me years.
I just thought it'd be a good idea to get the two of you linked up.
Appreciate the introduction, Sergeant.
I can take it from here.
Uh, give me one second.
- Mm-hmm.
- Hey, Hondo.
Uh, before you go There's something I've been needing to say.
You know, it's been a while since I thought about that day.
Same here.
Earlier, you said that That you knew that I didn't want to shoot you nine years ago.
I pulled the trigger.
My pistol jammed.
Man, I was So lost back then.
But I tried to kill you.
And I'm so, so sorry.
But I owed you the truth.
Vandelli said the tostada was the best he's ever tasted.
Maybe he'll jump in on the food truck.
I hope Luca knows it's nothing personal.
You know? It's the business model.
Only one out of ten restaurants makes it.
Got to imagine the odds are even worse for a food truck.
Some pretty great chow, though.
Yeah, it is.
But it's risky, and Luca's about as far from an accountant or a businessman as you can get.
Well, he's a big boy, and this is real money he's asking for.
He gets it.
He'll be onto the next thing in no time.
Luca.
- Yo.
- Xiomara got any of that dinner behind? Hearing those fools talk about her grub all damn day - got me some type of hungry.
- I don't know.
- Check the fridge, bro.
- Ah, right here.
Okay.
All right, let's see what she's working with.
Oh.
All right, I guess the hype is real.
Hey.
There's a lot of food trucks out there, man.
You sure you thought this all the way through? Oh, hell, yeah, man.
And people would flock to it.
All right, let's say you get a late-night call.
- Yeah.
- Truck breaks down.
How you gonna get it back on the road before the bars close? Well, Marty Jensen's been looking for something to do ever since he retired from the garage.
And if Xiomara gets the flu? Her niece Rosita has all her recipes, man.
She said she'd take every hour that we could give her.
How many burritos you got to make to pay all these people, Luca? Dude, we don't do burritos.
It's Guatemalan, man.
Look, I got it all lined up.
Once the truck's out on the road, I think we'd be in the black after, like, three months.
All right, listen, I'm not sure what kind of advice I can give you as an investor.
Look, I get it, all right? You don't have to feel obligated to let me down easy.
I'm good.
Luca, when you bought that house, I wasn't sure it was gonna last.
Just telling you the truth.
But you made it work, man.
And when Kelly got rejected from that school, you didn't just write a letter.
You showed up in person, and you fixed the problem.
Look, man, I don't need a spreadsheet to know you have what it takes to do this.
Now, I don't know where you're gonna get the rest of the money from, but you can put me down for $5K.
And you ain't got to worry.
I'm the silent type of partner because you're gonna kill it.
I don't know what to say, man.
You don't got to say nothing.
Just do the damn thing.
Today was a roller coaster.
It ain't over yet.
Excuse me.
What are you doing? I, uh Lieutenant.
You want to tell me why your name's getting stenciled onto a door - in our building? - I am so sorry.
That was supposed to happen tomorrow morning after I spoke to you.
Just how long is this review of yours gonna take? It's finished.
I already sent it to the mayor.
Then why do you need an office? To phase in the changes the mayor and I discussed.
- Such as? - Maximizing S.
W.
A.
T.
's value to the city.
Now you're an efficiency expert in my department? No, I'm not here to tell you how to do things, just to reorient your thinking about what S.
W.
A.
T.
can do.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Almost every time I come in here, I see officers sparring in that ring.
Now, I get it.
Physical conditioning is important.
So is training.
It's what keeps officers alive.
And it's one of the reasons S.
W.
A.
T.
has the best cops in the city.
But maybe all of these great cops can be put to better use in the field before someone has to call 911.
I believe S.
W.
A.
T.
's being underutilized.
In your one-day opinion.
The mayor thinks extremely highly of S.
W.
A.
T.
So do I.
That's why she's placing me here as a consultant outside the chain of command.
Now, I'm sorry this got sprung on you like this, but we are going to be asking more from S.
W.
A.
T.
It's a compliment.
And I know you're up to it.
Trust me, things are about to get interesting.
Yeah.
Real interesting.
You remember Lieutenant Detective Lynch from the mayor's office? - Sure.
Hello, ma'am.
- Nice to see you again, Lieutenant.
- Sergeants.
- It seems that SWAT has piqued the interest of some of the powers that be in the city, and they want Lieutenant Detective Lynch here for the day to, um how'd the memo put it? Conduct a departmental review.
Past few days, I've been reading your strike reports and personnel files in the city archives.
Boy, that was a test of my dust allergy.
And no question, SWAT deserves its rep as the best.
It's an expectation we welcome.
Now I'm ready for some firsthand observation and conversation with boots on the ground.
Shall we start with you? Yes, ma'am.
You can use the office across the hall.
Thanks, Commander.
Here to observe? What do you think she and the mayor are really up to? Well, three decades of policing tells me it's not to conduct a review.
Maybe we're both just too cynical.
You know, it makes sense to me now why city hall's been stonewalling me on hiring a new captain to replace Cortez.
CEOs don't get to pick new VPs when a company's about to get taken over.
Lynch is here to take inventory.
You think city hall has new plans for SWAT? Like what? Exactly.
This one is a chile relleno.
It's a bell pepper stuffed with veggies and meat, dipped in, uh butter? - Egg batter.
- Egg batter.
Right.
And then you fry it, and you want to wash it down with tepache.
Taste this, Deac.
It's pineapple.
It's tangy, but it's not sweet.
It's good.
Top it off with, uh what do you call these, uh, - doughnut ball things again? - Buñuelitos.
- Buñuritos.
- Buñuelitos.
Buñueliri bun Yeah.
Yeah.
Xiomara, this food is amazing.
You know, if I knew that Luca lived two doors down from a five-star chef, - I would've moved in a long time ago.
- Check it out.
Mmm, mmm.
You realize this smell's toying with a bunch of hungry SWAT officers out there? Think they're getting ready to breach.
Now, imagine these culinary treats could come to you wherever you are any day of the week.
- Like a delivery service? - Better.
Food truck, all right? It's a prospectus I drew up.
All the facts and figures laid out right in here.
What it would take for us to start our own operation.
Guatemalan food is the only cuisine around that's sweet, spicy and savory all in the same dish.
And with the way Xiomara cooks, man, there's nothing like it out there.
Trust me.
I know you know your food trucks.
Start-up costs run 60 grand that's for a truck, equipment, supplies.
I can front 35 grand.
If you four and Hondo throw in five each, this could be a team investment.
I mean, look, we already put together a menu, man it's awesome.
Xiomara, how do you feel about taking on - the foodie capital of the world? - He say so.
Look, I know I'm springing this on you guys out of the blue, but just look it over, check it out, tell me what you think.
I mean, this could be the next big thing, man.
Transfer van is here.
Please have all transfer patients at the garage and ready.
You're so silly.
Look at her flirt.
Who do you think she's talking to? Probably a boyfriend.
Probably.
I mean, she's really pretty.
I like her, uh, lipstick.
I can get it for you.
If you do me a favor.
Oh.
You took your medication, Bernice.
No.
I need to use the toilet.
Rec time's almost over.
Can you hold it till the orderlies are back to get everyone to their rooms? Call you later, babe.
Okay.
Let's go, Bernice.
Come on.
Roll down your sleeves.
They're strict with the dress code here.
Let's go.
We have a 304-B in room 26.
Dr.
Shannon, we have 304-B in room 26.
Get back in the room.
Ruth.
Who wants to have some fun? 20-David to Command.
We're on site at Martin West Psychiatric Hospital.
All right, remember, these people are not in their right mind.
Unless a life is in immediate danger, we go with nonlethal force the whole way today.
This ain't over until everyone in there is safely restrained.
Deac, let's go, let's go.
Three, two, one.
Deac.
Chris, Street, you're with me.
Tan, you and me got Fight Club.
You ready? - Yup.
- Move in.
Move in.
Go.
Break it up! Break it up! That's enough, guys! Everybody, put your hands behind your backs.
Do it now.
LAPD! Don't move! Show me your hands.
Turn around.
This time I'm gonna do it, I swear.
What's your name? Bernice.
Bernice, hey.
Nobody needs to get hurt.
Just turn around.
No! LAPD.
We're just trying to get things settled down.
Can you put the brush down, - turn around, please? - You like it? Absolutely.
Now, put the brush down, please.
Someone in Beverly Hills is gonna pay for my art one day.
No doubt.
Now, just turn around, okay? Especially when I'm dead.
How about you just place your hands on the wall? Paint's still wet.
Behind your back, then.
No! Give me your hand.
He's the last one.
Hey, look who passed with flying colors.
Ah-ha-ha-ha.
Not even a little funny.
Hey, Street, you know we got to pay - for our own dry cleaning, right? - Yes! Hondo.
Found that missing guard.
How'd all this get started? The new custodian.
I-I don't know his name.
He smuggled in weapons, got 'em all riled up.
Then he ran off with Ruth Pearson.
Ruth Pearson's a patient here? For the past nine years, yeah.
Who's Ruth Pearson? Wayne Pearson's widow.
They ran a cult together from a compound in Laurel Canyon years ago.
The one that planned that mass suicide, Virgo's Temple? This is that cult leader's wife? Ruth was as much the leader as her husband was, only Wayne died that day and she didn't.
A lot of people got hurt because of what this couple did, and no one was ever really held accountable.
What about Ruth? D.
A.
didn't throw the book at her? He tried, but it didn't go anywhere.
She's legally insane.
Who we dealing with? So, Ruth Pearson and her husband founded Virgo's Temple in the early '90s, but by '99, it had turned into a full-blown doomsday cult.
When the world didn't end with Y2K, Wayne just pushed the apocalypse back.
After a while, Ruth said believers could only ascend to a higher plane one way.
- Mass suicide? - Wayne and a few higher-ups managed to off themselves, but cops and SWAT saved everyone else in that compound while under fire.
After all these years, Ruth's bound to be vindictive.
With the help of the janitor and his two buddies outside, she's now armed and at large in L.
A.
Administrator said they hired the janitor last month, apparently under a false ID.
Hondo called it.
Checked the janitor's prints against the state juvenile records and got a hit.
That employee is Ruth's son.
All three of those guys are.
Auto theft, armed robbery, assault.
Rap sheets sure to make Mama proud.
Lieutenant Lynch talked to the mayor.
SWAT's gonna run point on this.
Ruth Pearson is a high-profile fugitive.
Her escape will draw plenty of public interest.
Especially now that we know it's a family reunion.
Might be your chance for a do-over with the Virgo's Temple, Sergeant.
The Pearson family used to have dozens of followers who were willing to drink the Kool-Aid.
Sir, we're gonna need access to Ruth's patient file and a list of every Temple member detectives processed nine years ago.
All right.
That's Theo, Zuma and Ben.
Zuma's kind of the odd brother out.
- Check out the muscles on him.
- What a bruiser.
Think Ruth sprinkled 'roids on his cornflakes? Definitely didn't skip neck day at the gym.
Guy's an absolute unit.
You get those mug shots out yet? Yeah.
Every train, bus and gas station on our list.
Hospital ran a criminal background check on Theo Pearson before they hired him.
- I got it right here.
- Some good that did.
Doesn't look like it was too hard for him to cheat the system: fake name, fake address, fake references.
You can fake an ID, but you can't fake a social security number.
Find his W-9, see what you can get back on it.
Hey, Deac.
Lynch told Hondo this is his chance for a do-over with Virgo's Temple.
What's that supposed to mean? It sounded like a dig to me.
Was Hondo part of the raid that took out the Temple nine years ago? Yeah.
We both were.
You saw it all go down? Yeah.
Saw the aftermath.
Wayne and a few of his lackeys, they were DOA before we got there, but - we saved the rest.
- Do you remember seeing - Ruth or the boys? - Not sure.
It was surreal.
The adults were armed.
The kids were all upstairs huddled four to a bed.
So what do you think Lynch meant by Hondo getting a do-over? You'll have to ask her.
Commander Hicks, meet Leo Moretti.
Leo is a private investigator who helped me resolve a parental kidnapping case a few years back.
This is his client, Pam.
- Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
How can we help? The people you're looking for, the Pearsons, my daughter's with them, being held against her will.
Did you report her abduction to the police? She wasn't abducted, Commander.
Pam hasn't seen her daughter in four years.
Why do you think she's with them? Found it in her room.
Clare never really had friends, and I worked nights after the divorce.
So Fiona was a godsend, at first.
One night, I found Wayne Pearson's book in Clare's room.
Letters were tucked inside between the girls and the Pearson boys.
How they were all gonna live together on a commune, h-how the world was gonna end.
They even got matching star tattoos on their wrists.
So I told Clare that she couldn't see Fiona or the Pearson boys anymore.
She stormed out.
That was the last time I saw her.
Commune? Intel said the Temple disbanded nine years ago.
You're saying they're still active? We don't think they ever weren't.
Numbers aren't what they used to be, but I believe there's still a handful of devoted followers.
From what I've found, some ex-members have moved out of state, but more recently, they've changed their names and they've trickled back into the area.
Mind sharing what you've been able to collect with us? - Whatever it takes to get Clare home.
- Oh, good.
There's one more thing, Commander.
Two months ago, Clare called me.
First time in four years.
She said she was pregnant.
She needed money.
She wanted to escape from them, that the-the boys had terrible things planned.
And then there was screaming, and the line went dead.
Clare is alive and wants out.
Would you excuse me a second? The Social Security number used by Ruth's son, issued to a Dylan Wheady, and he's on our list of Temple members.
- Social was never reported stolen? - No.
Well, this guy's probably in on it.
Maybe he's sheltering the whole Pearson clan.
The registered address is a ranch house up in the foothills.
Good Shepherd Road.
- Well, go get 'em.
- All right.
Street and Tan, three-side with me.
Deac and Chris, you've got the one.
LAPD! You're police.
Oh, it's the police.
Thank God.
- What's your name? - Nicole.
- I'm Nicole.
- Where's Dylan Wheady? - Dylan, you can come out.
It's safe.
- Turn around, turn around.
What? Turn around.
We thought you were them.
- Thought we were who? - The Pearsons.
We heard about Ruth's escape.
Josh and Jasmine split.
We didn't know what else to do.
Josh and Jasmine? Josh and I escaped from the Temple together.
Ruth was always so tough on him.
He wasn't about to wait around and let her hurt Jasmine.
Yeah, they left about an hour ago.
Why was one of the brothers using your Social Security number? I had to leave everything behind; my friends, my car, my Social Security card.
You have to file for a new address to report it stolen.
I was afraid it was gonna make it easier for them to track me down.
Did you hear any chatter about what they might have planned? I check a few online forums once in a while, in case some cult-obsessed troll targets Dylan.
Posts on there have been picking up lately.
I guess that makes sense.
Ruth escaping the same week as the Draconids.
Same week as what? The Draconid meteor shower.
It's Temple dogma.
Meteors clear the sky for a ship to arrive from Andromeda.
They're the ones that are supposed to take the souls to the higher level planet.
It all sounds so stupid now.
Hondo, we got a male and female here.
They say they're hiding from the Pearson family, and there's another couple in the wind.
Okay, let's bring 'em in.
- Rest of the property is clear.
- Roger that.
Hey, guys, mug shots we blasted out just got a hit.
A man matching Theo Pearson's description was just seen at a truck depot on Commerce Boulevard.
Sending Street and Tan to check it out.
The rest of us are on our way back to HQ with two guests.
Okay, roger that.
I took a look at Luca's prospectus.
- That thing goes deep, you put in work.
- Yeah.
Hey, what's got him so revved up about this food truck? At first, I thought it was just Luca being Luca, trying to help out a neighbor, but I don't know, man, it seems like she's just along for the ride.
This is all Luca's baby.
She's a hell of a cook, though.
You gonna throw in? I would, but I'm trying to save up.
Yeah, same.
Hoping to do some traveling next year.
- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.
It's kind of crazy there aren't more Guatemalan food trucks around.
- That our guy? - 26-David.
Eyes on Theo Pearson at the depot.
Police! Don't move! Step out from behind the vehicle with your hands on your head.
Walk slowly backwards to me.
Shots fired.
1942 Commerce Boulevard.
Repeat.
Shots fired.
- Two, two, two.
- Go, go, go, go, go.
Nowhere to go.
Give it up.
Drop the gun! I'll be waiting for them.
Don't do that! Who the hell are these people? Self-immolation as an act of protest is desperate.
Burning yourself alive as the result of delusion speaks to something far more disturbing.
Like being raised in a cult.
Or having two nutcase parents.
In the Pearsons' case, I'd say both nurture and nature are equal to blame.
Here's Mom's sanity hearing.
Ancient Mayans said the path to the afterlife was more painful than anything.
No one reaches Andromeda without sacrifice.
But when we arrive, all that pain it makes us gods.
And our time is at hand.
The convoy is coming.
She's Machiavellian, narcissistic, and a diagnosed psychopath all three traits of the dark triad.
Manipulative, violent, and a god complex? That's a hell of a cocktail.
Patients like this are unpredictable in a clinical setting.
In the real world, watch out.
Any idea what Ruth might be planning next? Well, the boyfriend and girlfriend we brought in aren't sure, but timing her escape to coincide with this Draconid meteor shower or whatever She's setting up another doomsday, and given her track record, her true believers are a body count waiting to happen.
Lieutenant, thank whoever you know who's on the sanity review board.
Usually, it takes weeks to pull these hearings.
I don't believe in red tape.
- Hondo.
- Hey, kid.
Any luck tracking that missing couple from the farmhouse? Uh, not yet.
No cell phone traces, credit card hits, nothing.
- Just keep looking, then.
- Okay.
Hey, uh, can I ask you something? Yeah.
Go ahead, shoot.
Lynch she said that today was your chance for a do-over? Yeah, all right.
Look, kid, when we hit that compound nine years ago, I put myself in a vulnerable position, so Bucky wrote me up.
My only violation on my SWAT record.
I'm sure Buck was trying to teach you a lesson.
No.
No, I deserved it.
I got locked in a standoff with one of the Temple followers.
Neither one of us wanted to lower our guns but I could see that the guy was just scared.
So I thought the only way he was gonna make it out of there alive was if I could earn his trust somehow.
- You lowered your weapon first? - No.
No, I did not, but I didn't take the shot when I could have and when I should have.
I leaned too much on my gut, Street.
And since then, I've seen that go way wrong for cops more than once.
That's why we work the way that we do.
We rely on our training in the moment.
It's a lesson every officer learns.
We got to be good, but we got to be lucky, too.
But how does Lynch even know about this? - She must have done her homework.
- I mean, is she, like, digging into our personnel files? - How and why? - I got no idea.
What I did that day wasn't very smart.
But, man, you know, the-the kid just seemed like a lost soul more than any type of threat to me at the time.
His name's Kai.
And believe it or not, these past few years, he's gone and turned his life around.
He opened a place to help people who flee or get spit out by groups like the Temple.
Go figure.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
You think maybe he can help us out with this? - I'm about to go find out.
- All right.
Tamalitos? Uh, no, thank you.
I shouldn't.
Speak for yourself.
I'll have two chuchitos to go and some hot sauce, too, please.
Thank you.
What's up, bro? Listen, um I can't invest in the food truck right now.
It's just not a good time.
I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have put you on the spot, man, I mean, just knowing you got back on solid ground financially.
So I gave it some thought.
There's no point doing all this work to get the truck up and running if the team can't be part of it.
I want to spot you the five grand.
Okay, you just pay me back whenever you can.
- It's okay, man.
- No.
That is unbelievably generous.
I-I can't accept that.
I don't want to owe you any money.
I don't want to owe anybody money.
And-and as soon as I do get some money to invest, I want to invest it in something simple and-and boring, like a-a mutual fund.
Yeah, but you tasted this food, right? I mean, this stuff is just gonna sell itself.
It is fantastic, it is.
It I'm sorry.
Okay, I understand.
I can't swing it either, Luca.
I've been trying to put money away, and I know Tan and Street are in the same boat, probably waiting for the right time to tell you.
But, you know, I don't know if Hondo's taken a look at the prospectus.
Yeah.
No.
I mean, Hondo's got responsibilities.
You all do.
I-I get it.
Totally get it.
It's cool.
- I swear, if I had the money to burn - Don't-don't worry about it.
It's good.
It's good.
- I'm all right.
- All right.
Hi.
Hey, I I should have talked it over with them before roping you in.
I'm sorry.
This was supposed to be something for my whole team.
I-I mean, something for you, obviously, and something for me, too.
I've never been in charge of my own thing before, and I thought Look, I-I didn't go to business school or anything, but I know I could've pulled this off.
I kn I know it, man.
I'll think of some other way.
Don't worry.
Hmm? Thanks for the talk.
All right.
Mmm.
Man, that's so good.
Hondo? - Hey.
- Hey.
- Good to see you, Kai.
- You, too.
I assume you saw the news of Ruth Pearson's escape - and what happened to Theo? - Burning himself alive? It's awful.
Can't say I'm surprised.
Well, I guess the crazy bar for this cult is on a whole nother level.
The Temple sales pitch was simple.
You know, they'd help you reach consciousness above human.
And at times, it felt real.
You know, growing vegetables, raising animals.
We sang a lot.
I did everything that Wayne and Ruth said, hoping for enlightenment, but, uh, it's all a lie.
That must've been a tough realization.
It wasn't until I was old enough to process their most demented views that I questioned things.
How Ruth said that burning alive was the cleanest way for the soul to ascend, or that suicide was the only way to reach perfection.
When the Pearsons planned this doomsday, what do you remember in the lead-up to that afternoon? Well, Wayne said the ship would come for us.
The sky would finally be clear enough for the journey.
Then the day came, and we were all ready to ascend.
Wayne and his men started handing out pills and telling the kids they were vitamins.
And then we showed up and all hell broke loose.
I wasn't in my right mind, Hondo.
- I hope you know that.
- I do know that, Kai.
I could see that you didn't want to shoot me.
The Pearsons may have linked up with a handful of Temple members.
Now, with the meteor showers coming this week, Ruth seems to think that some type of convoy is coming for them.
She's planning something big.
Does that mean anything to you? She used that word, "convoy"? - Yes.
- That's Temple lingo.
Means 36 Ruth and 35 followers.
They're the convoy.
You think Ruth has 35 other people willing to take their own lives? 23 ex-members unaccounted for.
None of 'em have been seen at their home or their jobs the past two weeks.
They just vanished.
All right, with the five rumored new recruits we got from the P.
I.
, that makes 28.
You add Ruth and her two surviving sons Still only gives them 31 members, tops.
Yeah, and they need 36 for this ritual.
She needs more bodies.
My daughter called.
She broke free from the Pearsons.
- Sh-She escaped.
- Where is she? I recorded the call.
Here, listen.
- Mom, I got away.
- You okay? Ruth's getting them ready.
Come get me, please.
Where are you? I came to Grandma's place, but she's not there.
If they find me, my baby I'm scared, Mom.
Clare? Hello? Hello? My-my mother's been in a nursing home.
We're selling her house, but I just I haven't had time to pack it up.
Clare doesn't know any of this.
I'll go with you.
No, ma'am, I'm sorry, that is not an option.
You can follow us and hang by the perimeter.
Uh W-Wait.
Bring my baby home safe.
LAPD! - Clare, are you here? - LAPD! Deac.
Main room clear.
Cops are here, Clare.
24-David, I need an R/A.
Pregnant female, pair of lacerations to the head and torso.
- I'll grab a medkit.
You good? - I got her.
Go.
Hey.
Stay with us.
Hey, Moretti, I thought you said Clare had a star tattoo on her wrist.
Yeah, a star on her left wrist.
She's got explosives! Drop the trigger! Get off Get off me, bitch! Roll bomb squad to the location now! Chris, you good? This isn't Clare.
They used her to lure us in.
They wanted to distract us.
- Who is it? - Your mother.
Ruth? Do what you want with me.
But just let Jasmine go.
She's innocent.
We are all innocent, darling.
Please, you don't have to do this.
You came here to stop us.
But now you'll join us.
And it will be a wonderful journey.
Ex-Temple member Josh Palmer and his girlfriend Jasmine Delgado.
Would've been better off hiding in that house with their friends.
A BOLO hit on Josh's car led cops to this motel.
No traffic cams nearby, so we lost 'em.
The Pearsons could have taken 'em anywhere by now.
Ruth's kidnapping innocents to sacrifice just so the numbers add up.
Three more violent abductions, each reported in the past hour, each within the vicinity of a Temple member's last known address.
- Six victims.
- That makes 36.
A convoy.
Those people are gonna get executed.
A mass homicide just to fulfill some insane prophecy.
A brainwashed cult leading people around at gunpoint in the middle of L.
A.
? Someone's got to spot it and call it in.
Where are they hoping to pull something off like this? Chem test came back.
The liquid in that girl's pouch was saline solution, paint thinner, turpentine.
Flammable blend.
She wanted to burn until there was nothing left.
Nine years ago, there was an industrial-sized propane tank - outside the Temple's compound.
- Yeah, I remember that.
I figured they just kept it for survival purposes, but knowing their affinity for burning alive, it just might've been their plan B.
Ruth just didn't get the chance to pull it off.
Think she's planning on taking all 36 out in a blaze of glory? They want me to wait in here until you're ready to talk.
What's in your hand? That's Astrid.
- She's so young.
- She might be Astrid to you, but her real name is Clare.
Her mom Pam is watching.
Her mother's here? You think the Temple has all the answers? What if they're just trying to manipulate you? I chose to join.
I chose to seek perfection.
No one manipulated me.
Look where you are.
Was this what they promised? To be turned over to the cops as bait, spend your life in prison? I volunteered.
I bet those brothers weren't too quick to step forward.
That's what happens in groups like the Temple.
Women are seen, not heard.
Cook, clean, serve men.
Any men who want to be served.
You don't know why we do what we do.
I know about the 14-year-old girls who Wayne Pearson's paired off with the men in the group.
Ruth was the one that partnered us off.
She called it marriage.
They're not going to Andromeda, and they're not gonna end up in another planet.
They're on their way to being locked up or being dead, unless you stop it.
Where's Ruth taking this convoy? I don't know.
They used to talk about some clearing deep in the woods, surrounded by oaks.
Never said where.
I can't help you any more.
Anything? We alerted San Bernardino, Los Padres, and Big Bear National Parks.
Officers posted at every entrance.
Yeah, but transporting 36 people that far, some unwilling? You think they'll stay closer to home? Check out the scanner.
Angeles National Forest.
Park ranger just reported 50 camping stove fuel tanks stolen from a shed.
Somebody just got a hell of a lot of kerosene.
Where'd that go down? Buckhorn Campground.
Let's gear up.
We need to section off over a thousand acres of woods north of this campground! They got to be down here somewhere! All right, let's switch up here.
Luca's our eyes in the sky.
He's looking for signs of an encampment.
Keep your radios cranked up.
How many trails start from here? I'm counting five! Three to the east, two to the south! Street and I got the trails to the south.
All right, Chris and Tan, you're with me.
- Okay.
- We'll take the east.
They came for us before.
Today, they are giving us a second chance.
They are waiting for us to ascend.
Are you ready to free your soul? Yes! Then let's all convoy home.
Be strong.
We're almost there.
Anyone else smell that? Luca, you spot any sign of them near our location? Wait, it looks like something, maybe south, southeast? Roger that.
Street, Street.
This is 20-David.
We're close.
Let's move, let's move.
We'll ascend through the fire, - to a - L.
A.
P.
D.
! Hands where we can see 'em! Get down! Move in now! Deacon, you and me, let's move! The rest of you, cover us! Move.
Go, go, go, go.
Drop your weapons.
On the ground.
On the ground.
Flat on the ground.
Astrid.
Clare.
Okay, put that down.
Put that down.
We're here to help.
We're here to help.
Give me your hands.
Tracking Ruth and Ben Pearson, both armed, one hostage.
- Left! - Right! I got you, I got you.
It's okay.
Are you okay? Come on.
Yeah, it's okay.
Place your weapon on the ground.
Don't bother telling me I'm surrounded and I need to give up.
Ever think about death? I've seen my fair share of it.
I meant your own.
Put the gun down, Ruth.
There's no martyrs today.
Clare? Clare? I doubt Pam will even be around by the time her daughter gets out.
Clare brought vulnerable people into the fold.
She made a choice.
Toughest thing about raising kids: how do you keep them from making a decision that you know is bad for 'em? Pam only wanted to save her daughter from these people.
Look what it got her.
Well, she saved her grandchild.
Saved Clare, too, in a way.
She'll have plenty of time to think about it.
Maybe get her head on straight.
At least she's alive.
Yeah.
Kai.
- This is Dr.
Wendy Hughes.
- Ah, pleased to meet you, Dr.
Hughes.
Wendy's fine.
Some of the folks S.
W.
A.
T.
arrested are in need of guidance over the next few days, so thank you so much for letting me pick your brain.
Oh, I'm happy to help however I can.
It's serious trauma.
It'll be a long road back.
It took me years.
I just thought it'd be a good idea to get the two of you linked up.
Appreciate the introduction, Sergeant.
I can take it from here.
Uh, give me one second.
- Mm-hmm.
- Hey, Hondo.
Uh, before you go There's something I've been needing to say.
You know, it's been a while since I thought about that day.
Same here.
Earlier, you said that That you knew that I didn't want to shoot you nine years ago.
I pulled the trigger.
My pistol jammed.
Man, I was So lost back then.
But I tried to kill you.
And I'm so, so sorry.
But I owed you the truth.
Vandelli said the tostada was the best he's ever tasted.
Maybe he'll jump in on the food truck.
I hope Luca knows it's nothing personal.
You know? It's the business model.
Only one out of ten restaurants makes it.
Got to imagine the odds are even worse for a food truck.
Some pretty great chow, though.
Yeah, it is.
But it's risky, and Luca's about as far from an accountant or a businessman as you can get.
Well, he's a big boy, and this is real money he's asking for.
He gets it.
He'll be onto the next thing in no time.
Luca.
- Yo.
- Xiomara got any of that dinner behind? Hearing those fools talk about her grub all damn day - got me some type of hungry.
- I don't know.
- Check the fridge, bro.
- Ah, right here.
Okay.
All right, let's see what she's working with.
Oh.
All right, I guess the hype is real.
Hey.
There's a lot of food trucks out there, man.
You sure you thought this all the way through? Oh, hell, yeah, man.
And people would flock to it.
All right, let's say you get a late-night call.
- Yeah.
- Truck breaks down.
How you gonna get it back on the road before the bars close? Well, Marty Jensen's been looking for something to do ever since he retired from the garage.
And if Xiomara gets the flu? Her niece Rosita has all her recipes, man.
She said she'd take every hour that we could give her.
How many burritos you got to make to pay all these people, Luca? Dude, we don't do burritos.
It's Guatemalan, man.
Look, I got it all lined up.
Once the truck's out on the road, I think we'd be in the black after, like, three months.
All right, listen, I'm not sure what kind of advice I can give you as an investor.
Look, I get it, all right? You don't have to feel obligated to let me down easy.
I'm good.
Luca, when you bought that house, I wasn't sure it was gonna last.
Just telling you the truth.
But you made it work, man.
And when Kelly got rejected from that school, you didn't just write a letter.
You showed up in person, and you fixed the problem.
Look, man, I don't need a spreadsheet to know you have what it takes to do this.
Now, I don't know where you're gonna get the rest of the money from, but you can put me down for $5K.
And you ain't got to worry.
I'm the silent type of partner because you're gonna kill it.
I don't know what to say, man.
You don't got to say nothing.
Just do the damn thing.
Today was a roller coaster.
It ain't over yet.
Excuse me.
What are you doing? I, uh Lieutenant.
You want to tell me why your name's getting stenciled onto a door - in our building? - I am so sorry.
That was supposed to happen tomorrow morning after I spoke to you.
Just how long is this review of yours gonna take? It's finished.
I already sent it to the mayor.
Then why do you need an office? To phase in the changes the mayor and I discussed.
- Such as? - Maximizing S.
W.
A.
T.
's value to the city.
Now you're an efficiency expert in my department? No, I'm not here to tell you how to do things, just to reorient your thinking about what S.
W.
A.
T.
can do.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Almost every time I come in here, I see officers sparring in that ring.
Now, I get it.
Physical conditioning is important.
So is training.
It's what keeps officers alive.
And it's one of the reasons S.
W.
A.
T.
has the best cops in the city.
But maybe all of these great cops can be put to better use in the field before someone has to call 911.
I believe S.
W.
A.
T.
's being underutilized.
In your one-day opinion.
The mayor thinks extremely highly of S.
W.
A.
T.
So do I.
That's why she's placing me here as a consultant outside the chain of command.
Now, I'm sorry this got sprung on you like this, but we are going to be asking more from S.
W.
A.
T.
It's a compliment.
And I know you're up to it.
Trust me, things are about to get interesting.
Yeah.
Real interesting.