Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021) s03e11 Episode Script

In the nation's largest city,
the vicious and violent
members of the underworld
are hunted by the detectives
of the Organized Crime Control Bureau.
These are their stories.
Deputy Inspector Thurman.
I was just so excited
to show my appreciation.
The vacancy that opened up
when you declined the position.
Bernanda Menendez.
Connected with some major
players out of Havana.
I need some information on
some young faces out of Miami.
I gotta protect my own family.
They're moving product north.
They're into street racing.
Go!
- You up for this?
- First undercover op?
- Hell yeah.
- Be on top of your game.
Do you wanna help out?
I'm sorry. I'm ditching the wire.
Police car behind us?
Feels like cops to me.
Lose them.
We're gonna have fun with you.
Yo, who was that back there?
Should I have blasted them?
- I could have blasted them.
- Shut up for a second.
Where is he going?
He's taking a left.
Sarge, what's the move?
Just stay on him.
We're right behind you.
I'm just saying,
Duran's not gonna like this.
I will take care of Duran, okay?
Yeah, but now we got loose ends.
Stop talking, Cristobal!
Where's Duran?
Huh?
We are going to see Duran. Where is he?
I'm not about to take this heat to him.
Well, I just lost the heat.
I saved you both, all right?
That gets me an introduction.
Now tell me where Duran is
so we can get the hell off the road.
I don't know what's
happening in that car.
She's already in there.
Come on.
Your job was to find me a buyer.
We got 48 hours at best
to find another one, or
Hey, jefe.
Who who is this?
It's the guy I told you about.
Kevin.
You're the driver, right?
Yeah, and she brought me here
'cause I'm the solution
to your problems.
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
If it wasn't for me, these two
- would be in cuffs right now.
- Ah.
And how long do you think it would take
for the cops to find you?
So maybe you should say thank you.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, instead of getting all worked up.
Look, I can drive. I can deal.
- Among other things.
- Other things?
Like what hitting cops, eh?
He's bad news.
What is wrong with you,
to bring me another problem like this?
Can I use the bathroom? Huh?
Okay. Everybody everybody out!
Why are you pushing me, bro?
I don't wanna fight you.
I just wanted to use the bathroom.
There ain't no bathroom here.
I don't wanna see his face again.
- Get him out of here, now.
- Okay.
- What are you doing?
- Vamos. Let's go.
- What are you
- Move.
Come on. Walk. Vamos.
- Come on.
- Get outta here.
- You tough.
- Step.
I'll go look somewhere else.
You're just gonna throw me out?
We're done with you, okay?
Don't make the mistake
of trying to come back here.
Thank God you had your phone
on you so we could track you.
Why'd you ditch your wire?
They were gonna find it
when they frisked me I had to.
That is not what happened,
and you know it.
You disobeyed a direct order,
and you put all of us in jeopardy.
I just put eyes on Cristobal
and Bernanda in the bar.
Call backup now, we can take them in.
Sarge, look, they're not
the target, okay, not anymore.
There's something way bigger
going on here.
All the guys coming up from Miami,
they're working for one guy Duran.
Look, apparently, he owns Miami.
Now he wants New York.
He's in town for two days
to scout a buyer,
and I got an in.
Or I did.
Well, we didn't know
what was going on in there.
- I came to help you.
- No, no.
There's no way Duran's
gonna trust me now.
Yeah, I think you're right.
So let's use it to our advantage.
Maybe Duran can't trust you.
You're a crooked bastard
who deserves to pay.
What are you talking about?
You got us in, but it's
my turn to finish the job.
I just gotta murder you first.
You don't have to do this, man.
- You steal from me too?
- No! No!
Look, I messed up.
I messed up. Okay, I get that.
But I can make it right. Okay?
- I can make it right.
- Too late.
- And we got it. You all right?
- Yep.
Get this to CSU, don't let
them know it was staged.
If they can't tell it was fake, then
- Mm-hmm.
- You really think it'll work?
Well, Duran's gotta
offload that new shipment
he just brought up from Miami.
I pose as a buyer who's
just done him a favor,
I think he'll be more
inclined to talk to me.
He's gonna need to see money.
I know.
I'll go get it.
I'll find out.
Here you go.
$200,000. All marked bills.
Serial numbers are all
documented, of course.
And we got this neat little trick.
Invisible ink.
Uh hey, let me get you a release.
Be right back.
How you doing?
That was a quick exit you made
back there at the crime scene.
Was it?
I thought we were done
with me getting shot.
It's a smart way to get us back in.
It's certainly a way to get Stabler in.
I could have done it, Jet.
But then he wouldn't be the guy.
Come on, it's not like that.
You ditched your wire.
You really think
that's why I got pulled?
All right.
Let me get you to sign that.
All right.
- Happy hunting.
- No hunting for me.
I'm just the dead guy.
Hey, Stabler.
These are Detectives Lowry
and Martinez from Miami.
Oh, hey. How you doing?
What can we do for you?
Oh, it's what we're here
to do for you, my friend.
Oh?
They've been working Duran's
drug running op down south.
When we got word he was
up here to make a big sale,
we reached out to offer our help.
Yeah? Who exactly did you reach out to?
- Elliot.
- Excuse me.
- Hey. Did you get the money?
- Yeah.
Don't do anything with it
until I come out.
I hear you're the man who got us in.
Deputy Inspector.
I was just filling him in on Duran.
Tell me more about
this next move of yours.
What are those two detectives
from Miami doing here?
They're here to help.
Right. Why?
Their captain reached out to me,
offered to give us everything
they knew to help grab him.
So they're gonna help us grab him?
Mm.
I'd like you to make them feel welcome.
Excuse me.
Those yahoos have
zero jurisdiction here.
What's he thinking?
He's thinking he's new,
and he wants to do things differently.
Huh. How do you feel about that?
I feel like we're on the clock,
and we don't have time to waste,
so let's play nice for now.
Play nice.
His full name is Antonio Duran.
Came over from Cuba during
the Mariel boatlift in 1980,
looking for the American Dream,
which, of course, meant selling drugs.
You guys know the cocaine cowboys?
He was an original member.
Except he didn't get caught.
Until 2001, when the Feds grabbed him
on money laundering charges.
Got a six-year sentence,
which would have been three
with good behavior.
But this happened while he was inside.
That's Duran doing the shanking.
Added 16 years.
Why'd he do it?
At the sentencing,
he said the guy was a snitch,
and he'd do it all over again.
So now Duran is out and
back to selling product.
In the '80s, it was cocaine.
These days, he's into molly,
fentanyl, occasionally heroin.
Past six months, Miami
has seen a major spike
in drug-related ODs and homicides,
and all signs point to Duran, but
He's hard to track, and
we don't have much help.
People are scared to talk.
Yeah, we ran into that
problem in the Heights.
Only reason we even know he's
connected to the street racers
is our network of CIs.
Bernanda Menendez.
She's in charge of expanding
Duran's operation.
What he did in Miami,
he's planning on doing here.
Our ballpark these runners
have transported
at least 150 pounds of product,
which means Duran's looking
for a big payday.
So now he just needs to sell it.
Let's get out there and buy some drugs.
Get you something?
I hope so. Hold on a second.
The guy playing pool.
Uh, whatever he's having.
- Keep the change.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
How you doing?
Looks like pretty good timing.
You're Cristobal, right?
I don't know you.
I'm looking for Mr. Duran.
I don't know who that is.
You sure?
'Cause if you did, um
that would be yours, and, uh,
that would be his.
Who are you?
Guy looking to do business.
Arms out.
Turn around.
Who sent you?
Street racing.
Kid who went by the name of Kevin.
He caused you problems, didn't he?
Yeah. I took care of that.
Turn around.
Wait here.
Follow me.
How do you know Kevin?
I knew him.
But uh, that's done with now.
You don't have to do this, man.
- You steal from me, too?
- No! No!
Look, I messed up.
I messed up. Okay, I get that.
But I can make it right, okay?
I can make it right. No, no!
Who are you?
Vince Moretti.
- Vince Moretti.
- Mm-hmm.
What are you doing here?
That kid Kevin came to me
looking to rip you off.
Told me where he knew where to find you,
what you were pushing,
how we could take you down
and grab all your product.
Hmm.
There's one thing I won't
tolerate in this business,
and that's disloyalty
and snitches.
I got distribution.
I've lost my supplier.
Thanks to Kevin, I know you got product.
It's almost like fate
brought us together.
You ever see one of these before?
Where I'm from, artists make sculptures
just like these from a single
piece of Guayacan wood.
Hmm.
The children love it.
Because you see
you see, it's very detailed.
It's, uh it's careful work, though.
You carve too much,
and the wood is liable to break,
and all your effort is for naught.
I wanna know
who I'm doing business with.
And you you're a stranger to me.
Let's change that.
If it's in the cards, I'll let you know.
Thank you.
Good luck with the turtle.
What do you think?
So far, the phone was clear.
I can't tell.
You know what to do.
Hey. How'd it go?
Uh, he's intrigued.
He's also smart. Very smart.
He's gonna wanna be thorough.
Call Reyes. Let him know.
You have a tail.
Yes, I do.
This morning, police are saying
gang violence is at the root
- You gotta see this.
- What's going on?
Of last night's shooting
that left two dead
and three others injured
in Washington Heights.
And police are still
on the scene, scouring
Car belongs to one of Duran's crew.
We tracked it from Miami.
Looks like Duran made a move.
He wants New York now.
This is only gonna get worse.
Isn't that where
your friend's bodega is?
Do we have a victims list?
Then the shooting started.
I ran to pull him away, and
He was a good kid.
He stayed away from all that.
Ugh. This is my fault. I'm a coward.
Esteban, listen to me.
You ran into the fight
to try and save your nephew.
You're not a coward.
His name is Duran.
He's the one done this
to our neighborhood.
This is Vince.
Duran wants to meet.
Watch your texts for details.
Oh. You tell him I'm ready.
Right there.
You'll get them back at the end.
What do you think?
- '54?
- Mm.
Was that a guess?
My old man liked classic cars.
These things always remind me of him.
Where'd you get it?
After the revolution,
Castro banned the import
of all American-made vehicles.
This is all we had.
And we had to keep them running
many, many years.
We had no choice.
I remember my uncle
I watched him drop a Russian-made engine
into a car just like this.
He liked to say he ended
the Cold War that day.
Yeah, well, you know.
Different times, right?
Some say better times.
Some do.
Cubanos have no fondness for these cars.
Not like Americans.
You seem to like them.
40 years ago, I was forced
to leave my heritage behind.
I suppose this is my way
to reclaim it
and restore it.
Come.
Let's talk.
I did some digging on you, my friend.
I could not find much.
Well, if you did dig
and you found too much,
I wouldn't be very good
at what I did, now, would I?
You did your own research, I suppose.
I did.
Then you're aware of my reputation.
I am.
You certainly wasted no time
getting back into business.
You are referring to my state vacation?
I lost a lot when I was inside.
There are things
I need to accomplish now.
Let me help you accomplish those things.
No photos. Nothing personal. Nada.
Yeah, that's twice.
What are you looking for?
Collateral.
I showed you the money,
got rid of that snitch for you.
No me importa.
Money, to men in our position,
is not the same as collateral.
I wanna know what you care about.
Well, you know. What do I care about?
Not married.
Women are trouble.
Dale.
No kids.
What's your point?
There's nothing scarier than
doing business with a man
who has nothing to lose.
Well, there's nothing scarier than a man
who has everything to lose.
Hey. How'd it go?
All right. I'll call you back. Thanks.
I just got off the phone
with Captain Dominguez
- out of Miami.
- Hmm?
He wants to know why his
detectives are being iced out.
Well, if he wants them back,
I'm more than happy to send them to him.
Look, Duran wants to make a deal.
But it's contingent on a deposit.
- How much?
- Another 200,000.
Whew. Okay.
You want me to make the call?
- No, I'll do it.
- Okay.
But you need to do me a favor.
What's that?
Hey, guys.
I'm going to give you an update.
Jamie was just filling us in on some
- of what's been happening.
- Good, good.
Well, the situation is still very fluid,
but I made contact with Duran.
Meaning?
We're circling a deal.
So I just need you guys to sit tight
until I lock it in, yeah?
- Hey.
- Yeah?
If you need anything, let me know.
Yeah, you know what the team
could use right now?
You keeping them occupied.
Oh. Sorry.
They told me to come in.
No prob.
Just had to finish up my set.
Yeah, I got this old rotator cuff injury
from my football days.
Still acts up.
What do you want?
Oh, you played Division I.
Tarheels.
I thought you went to Columbia.
Um.
So I'm on the hook for 200K already,
and you're asking me to double it
for Stabler's handshake deal?
How do how do I justify that?
By walking into the AG's office
with an international drug
trafficker in your custody
after your first month on the job.
Huh.
You should know that
people in this building
are still trying to make
sense out of why
you didn't take this job.
People, or you?
They're watching you closely.
Okay.
Anybody has a problem
with me or how I run OCCB,
they can tell me.
Yeah, they'll tell me first.
And if things go south,
I can't protect you.
I don't have that pull yet.
Well, this is how you get it.
If you deliver.
I'll deliver.
What the hell happened?
Hey.
My guys from Miami,
they got into it with another crew.
Duran took it out on me.
He said I brought heat to him.
Duran did this to you, huh?
Can you stand up?
Can you walk?
Let's go. Get up. Come on.
Let's get the hell out of here.
Let's go.
Police! Nobody move!
Show us your hands.
Freeze! Drop the gun!
Let me see your hands!
Suspect down.
Come on! Nobody move!
Stay where you are!
I'm not talking to you or anybody.
Where's my lawyer?
Have him call us with any update.
What are you thinking,
raiding my investigation?
We had Intel Duran was setting up a buy
- out of the bar.
- Yeah? What did you find?
DEA is still doing their sweep.
They can sweep all they want.
They're not gonna find anything
'cause Duran doesn't have product here.
Well, you could have told us that.
Frankly, you could
have told us anything.
I told you to stand by,
and now you've screwed
the whole damn thing up.
Hey, we got the same goal here.
No, we don't.
I wanna catch the guy.
You just sent them running.
Who told you about the bar?
Where's Jamie?
Break room.
Hey.
Did you tell the Miami
boys about the deal
- we were working on?
- What are you talking about?
Duran's bar just got raided by the DEA.
A bar that they shouldn't
have known anything about.
- I didn't talk to the DEA
- No, Miami did!
And I'm asking you what it was
you've said to Miami.
I didn't say anything.
I didn't tell them anything.
They might have overheard something.
- Maybe Bell said something.
- No, leave Bell out of this.
This is about you and me now.
Oh, really?
I thought this was all about you.
All right.
You had your chance.
You went rogue. You remember that?
And you've always done it by the book?
Don't mistake ignorance
for experience, my man.
So I'm ignorant right now.
What?
What?
Deputy Inspector's here.
Yeah, sorry to just drop in,
but I wanted to give you
a heads-up in person.
Duran's gone.
As far as we know, he could
already be back in Miami.
And out of our jurisdiction.
The good news is, our kidnapping victim
can directly tie Cristobal
to the street racing and drug running
Cristobal was never our target.
Take the win, Detective.
Duran's case is being
turned over to the DEA.
I'm meeting with the agent
in charge this afternoon.
- You good with this?
- It's not her call.
Or mine.
As soon as Miami brought in the
DEA, it was out of our hands.
Well, Miami called the DEA,
but they wouldn't have
moved in without your approval.
I tried to give you
a heads-up, Detective,
but you were in the field.
I didn't wanna break your cover.
You didn't need to.
You got the DEA to do that for you.
You should have called me.
Look, I told you my limits here.
And we got Cristobal.
Let's not go out of our way
to make this look bad now, shall we?
Excuse me.
Whose side is he on?
His.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Break room. Break room.
Close the door.
So we've just been informed
that Duran is in the wind,
and this is now officially a DEA case.
I'm calling BS on both counts.
So what's next?
Our phones track our movements, right?
Unless you turn it off,
which no one ever does.
Cristobal was Duran's muscle.
Wherever he went, Duran went.
You think that Duran
might still be in town?
And if he is, then Cristobal's
previous location data might
give us an idea where he's at.
I need his phone.
No, that phone's gotta be
in DEA custody at this point.
I don't think they're gonna
be sharing that
with us anytime soon.
We don't need them to.
Phone carrier is gonna have
his GPS data.
- Just need a subpoena.
- I'll get the subpoena.
Good idea.
I just need you
to run interference with
- On it.
- All right, let's go.
You can see the bar,
the garage, his apartment,
and then there's this.
Man, Cristobal spent
a lot of time there.
Storefront in the Bronx.
Owned by a corporation out of Miami.
You take Jamie and Reyes.
I'll deal with Miami.
Hey.
Stash pad.
Yeah, and someone's moving out.
Hey!
NYPD. Don't move.
Police.
Surprised?
Put your hands against the wall.
Hands against the wall.
Where is Duran?
Where is Duran? Where is he hiding?
Where is Duran?
You're boring me.
Look, this does make sense, you know.
Because we both know how
Duran feels about snitches.
You're afraid.
But you're playing the loyal soldier.
It's too bad he doesn't
feel the same way about you.
What do you know about loyalty, hmm?
It has to be earned.
And I've earned it.
Yeah, but what has it gotten you?
Peace of mind.
Well, that was like watching you try
to break a rock for two hours.
I barely made a crack.
Let me give it a shot.
Let me try it.
I knew you were a cop.
No, you didn't,
or you wouldn't be here, would you?
I'm not signing anything.
It's a real estate listing.
For a home in Staten Island.
Duran's daughter lives there.
He didn't know, either,
until he got a letter
while he was serving.
DNA tests linked them up.
One of those you get online
for 99 bucks.
Duran's got a grandson now.
Just a couple of miles away from here.
He's not here for you, Bernanda.
He's here for them.
He was always gonna
take the money and run,
and leave you holding the bag.
Why do you think
everything ran through you?
He learned his lesson last time.
Oh, well.
You lied about being a driver,
then you faked your own death,
and you want me to believe this?
You don't have to believe me.
It's all right there,
right in front of you.
See for yourself.
He's taking care of them, not you.
He
He
he told me
that New York would be mine.
It was his gift to me.
The drug charges, the kidnapping.
That's gonna be his gift to you.
He's not gonna help
you anymore, Bernanda.
He never planned to.
How'd he find out Duran had a daughter?
While Miami was working us,
he was working them.
Okay, Duran, he played you.
He played you to take all
the money, walk away with it,
and let you take the fall.
Hey. Hey.
It's not about him anymore.
It's about you saving yourself.
And I can help you do that.
Where I grew up,
we had turtles just like this.
And once a year, but only at night,
you could go down to the beach
and watch the babies
come up out of the sand
and run for the water.
Because the water was safety.
It was where their home was.
Antonio, I bet your mama would
love to hear this story, huh?
Can you go find her? Go.
How did you find this
I need to talk.
Not here.
- The bar was raided.
- Mm-hmm.
- By the DEA.
- Yeah.
I tried to get in touch.
Cristobal is dead.
I know.
I know what happened.
So what do I do?
There's evidence that connects me
to Cristobal and the drugs.
And I'm all alone here.
I can't help you.
I told you not to get involved
with Cristobal.
I could tell he was running drugs.
He knows she's wired.
You could tell?
But he was running drugs for you.
Bernanda, if you are involved
with this drug running,
I don't wanna know anything
about it, hmm?
And you brought this here
to my home, to my family.
No, no.
You need to leave.
Bernanda.
What are you doing?
What is she doing?
Tell them.
Tell them that you run the drugs.
Mi amor, put the gun down.
- Then do it.
- Let's go!
You told me that New York will be mine.
That we will start a family, Antonio.
I have a family.
Whatever you do, it's not gonna work.
The police will see that
I have nothing to do with this.
You're no better than a snitch!
Drop the gun! Drop the gun!
Get a bus.
Cuff her up.
Dispatch, we need a bus
for a male shot in the chest.
421 Fernwood, Staten Island.
Grandpa?
Oh, hey. Come in.
Where's Miami?
Cleared out.
I'm devastated. How's your end?
Bernanda Menendez is being indicted
as the leader of the street gang,
on top of the murder charges.
Wow, they couldn't find
anything to tie in Duran?
He's no longer their problem, so.
He's not anybody's problem anymore.
Jamie.
Hey.
Um, good job with Bernanda earlier.
I didn't get a chance to tell you.
Thanks.
And Miami, the way you worked them.
It's very smart.
Bell tell you to say that?
No.
What's with the attitude?
- Sorry.
- No, you're not.
What's with the attitude?
Look, you guys were right, okay?
I disobeyed an order.
I shouldn't have done that.
But you didn't have to humiliate me.
- What are you talking about?
- You literally killed me.
You made me look like
a snitch on camera,
and the worst part is, you enjoyed it.
It was part of the operation.
Well, you took me out of the op.
Then you punish me,
you make me a babysitter.
It's just
That's not how I meant it.
Now, look this job is not
about ego or pride
or who gets the credit.
This is about us catching criminals,
and we do it as a team.
Mm-hmm.
You'll get your shot again.
Just gotta be ready when it happens.