The Equalizer (2021) s05e12 Episode Script
Trust No One
1
Previously on The Equalizer
Make sure you send me that.
[PEOPLE SCREAMING, GASPING]
Call 911!
Private school got you spending
- your sneaker money already.
- [CAM CHUCKLES]
- Yo. What the hell, Ty?
- Hey, yo, man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
MEL: But I'm curious
why you didn't want me
to go after that guy.
He doesn't need jail. He needs help.
I probably should have been
straight with you this morning.
Wait, so you are dating Detective Dante.
We are Instagram official.
And when the time is right,
I would love to bring
him by to meet you.
I would love that.
VI: Me, too.
I will make him a dinner
he will never forget.
[LAUGHS]
♪
[PANTING]
[KEYS JINGLING, DOOR UNLOCKS]
[LOCKS CLICKING]
[THUMPING]
- [GASPS, YELLS]
- [SILENCED GUNSHOTS]
[BODY THUDS]
♪
[GASPS SOFTLY] Don't tell me you baked.
Kouign-amann cakes.
How many do you want?
[SIGHS]
None.
'Scuse me?
I'm grabbing breakfast
with Dante this morning.
Okay, isn't this, like,
your fourth breakfast date
in a row with him?
Are these breakfast dates or
breakfast dates?
Aunt Vi, stop.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, then invite him over.
I'll cook up something special
for us to enjoy together.
No. That's okay.
[CHUCKLES] But thank you.
[CLEARS THROAT] Aunt Vi,
does that offer extend
to both me and Cam?
VI: Sure. How is it
that the teenager's happy
to bring her boyfriend around
but her grown mama
is still hiding her man?
You both have known Dante for years.
Mm-hmm. But you never had him over.
Now you're dating. So what is it
exactly that you're afraid of?
Marcus Dante's an important part
of your life, and so are we.
Come on, now.
Invite the man over for dinner.
And have him bring his sons, too.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I know
we haven't met them yet.
Exactly.
It's way past time
for the families to meet.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Mm. Harry.
Here you go.
Share it with your man.
Oh, I got to go.
[VI AND ROBYN LAUGH]
That was a good one, Auntie. [LAUGHS]
Well, the police think
my father was a random victim
of a home invasion crew.
But you don't think so.
Someone wanted him dead.
Did he mention any specific threat
or anyone he had problems with?
I don't know.
Um, my father and I,
we haven't spoken for
many years.
What happened between you two?
My mom died suddenly
when I was ten, and, um, honestly,
a piece of my dad
just died along with her.
I'm sorry.
Mom was his everything.
They were history
professors at Hempstead U.
That's how they met. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Just two history nerds
with a passion for the Revolutionary War
and big dreams for funding
a scholarship program
for underprivileged history majors.
[CHUCKLES]
Sounds like they were
made for each other.
Yeah.
When she died,
my father just he couldn't
deal with life in the present,
including raising his daughter.
All he did was study the past.
He was obsessed with it.
Right up until the day he knew
he was going to be killed.
Well, what makes you think that?
Yesterday, I received three
boxes my father mailed,
like, an hour before his death.
What was in the boxes?
His research.
And this note.
- "Dearest Ariel, Truss"
- "Trust."
I think he meant "trust,"
like he wrote it in a hurry.
"Trust no one. Shortface's
contingency went to Percival.
Your loving father."
What does it mean?
I don't know.
Look, I get how all this sounds, but,
in my gut, I j [SIGHS]
I just know that
his murder wasn't random.
I'm gonna find out who did this.
Dr. Johan Kincaid.
A history professor at Hempstead U.
Good yearly evaluations. Decent scores
on those teacher ratings websites.
- Any threats?
- I mean, one student said
taking his class was like
having a root canal performed
with a melon baller.
But, you know, nothing
that would lead to murder.
And there has been a rash
of brutal home invasions
in the professor's neighborhood.
So, yeah, that note is suspicious,
but there's a chance he could be
just another unlucky victim
of this heist crew.
Look, you know
I had to live without knowing
my father's killer for years.
I don't want Ariel to go
through the same thing.
Let's be sure.
- Sure.
- Now, I know
who we should talk to first
Dr. Kincaid's boss.
Check out these emails
he was sending his dean,
going on and on
about needing personal security.
ROBYN: Can you two look into that?
See if you can find out what
the professor was so afraid of.
And can you send a
police report to Dante?
We're having a breakfast date.
I'd love to know what
his take is on this.
Oh, eggs with a little side of murder.
- That's romantic.
- Stop it.
- It's cute.
- [SCOFFS]
Okay, you have fun, now.
Oh.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[CHUCKLES]
Sorry I'm late.
Mm.
Worth the wait.
Got something for you.
Check this out.
You do know they have food here, right?
Yeah, but just try this.
Mmm.
Aunt Vi's baking?
- You've been holding out on me.
- I mean,
we can fix that. [CHUCKLES]
[LAUGHS] Come over for dinner one night.
You know?
Bring Kyler and Stefon.
Be nice to get our families together.
Yeah.
Sounds like fun.
Um, so, I had a chance to, uh,
review Professor Kincaid's case file,
and I don't think he was a victim
of that same home invasion crew.
- Why?
- M.O.'s off. They target high-end homes.
You know, the ones with safes
filled with cash and jewelry.
And even though the professor's
place was ransacked like the others,
it doesn't appear anything
was actually stolen.
But I might have a lead for you.
Because I'm the perfect boyfriend.
I'll be the judge of that.
I called the detective working the case.
He'd just re-canvassed.
Found a neighbor who remembers a
dark van outside the professor's
during the time-of-death window.
No plates yet,
but I've got my tech at the FTF
scrubbing through traffic cams.
Like I said,
perfect boyfriend.
Oh, come on.
You're getting there.
[BOTH LAUGH]
RADCLIFF: Professor
Kincaid was the most talented
historian I've ever known.
Also the most paranoid.
Maybe for good reason,
considering he was killed.
- So what happened?
- You know, last month,
he published an article
with some audacious claims
about the location of
Captain William Kidd's buried treasure.
- Really?
- Really?
Supposedly, a few
unsavory fortune hunters took notice,
which is why he requested security.
So the professor might've been
killed over some fairy tale
about pirates' treasure?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.
The story of
Captain Kidd's treasure is real.
No, no, no, it was. It [STAMMERS]
Before he was executed,
Captain Kidd revealed
that he had buried gold
somewhere in the 13 Colonies.
I was really into pirates as a kid.
Okay, but you're an adult now,
and you know that all of that is legend.
Right?
RADCLIFF: Actually,
there are written accounts
of Captain Kidd burying
gold ingots he plundered.
[CLICKS TONGUE] See?
Dean, are there also written accounts
of the Loch Ness Monster?
[SIGHS]: Okay. Where
did Professor Kincaid
think the treasure was buried?
Well, he hypothesized
that Benjamin Franklin
secretly found the gold
after the Revolutionary War.
And Professor Kincaid
concluded that he then hid the gold
in case the British invaded again
and the debt-ridden United States
needed to finance another war.
Hid the gold in case,
which is synonymous with contingency.
Look, uh,
Professor Kincaid
wrote Ariel, his daughter,
this letter before he died.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY] What?
He figured it out.
U-Uh, you see,
"Caelia Shortface"
was a pseudonym
that Benjamin Franklin used.
And "Percival"
might possibly be a reference
to Percival Smith.
- Wh-Who's that?
- [STAMMERS]
John D. Rockefeller's go-to guy.
He-he was well-connected.
He was a dedicated Freemason.
Of course there's a
Freemason angle to this.
No, no, no. See, that follows.
Uh, Benjamin Franklin
would have entrusted
the safety of the gold
to his fellow Freemasons.
And Professor Kincaid
was probably tracking it
o-over the decades,
from Freemason to Freemason,
until it was in the safe
possession of Percival.
By chance,
are you in possession
of Professor Kincaid's journal?
Contained all of his conclusions.
Who else knew about this journal?
Well, everyone, I think.
Rumor was that he wrote
his deductions in riddles.
Which I could decipher for you.
Give us a second.
Yeah.
[QUIETLY]: That's got to be
why the professor was killed
and why his place was ransacked.
They were after that journal.
HARRY: The professor sent a
bunch of boxes of research to Ariel.
Bet it's in one of the boxes.
Which means she's in danger.
I'll call Rob,
see if she can get to her.
- Okay.
- [BEEP, LINE RINGING]
ROBYN: Sorry
breakfast was interrupted.
Duty calls. I get it.
So
about us getting our families together,
for dinner.
Why don't you want to do it?
I never said that.
Yes, you did.
With your body language.
[CHUCKLES] Damn.
It's really not easy
dating a former CIA operative.
Not when you lie to her.
I never lied to you.
Look, I'm down with the family dinner.
But my boys,
especially my youngest,
probably won't be.
Somehow, Stefon's equated me moving back
to New York with me getting back
with his mom.
So he's hoping his idea
of the perfect family
becomes a reality.
[SIGHS]
Ariel's front door is open.
♪
ROBYN: Hey.
That detective said the neighbor saw
a dark van outside his house.
There's one in the alley.
Ariel.
Ariel? Hey.
- MAN: Drive! Go, go, go!
- [ENGINE STARTS]
I'm going after them.
[ENGINE REVVING, TIRES SQUEALING]
Thank you. [GROANS]
They were after my dad's journal.
I took them to it, and bam,
everything went dark.
NYPD is assigning a squad car
to sit outside your place
until we catch these guys.
Just in case. And they found the van.
It was abandoned
about a mile away from here.
It was stolen.
They're fingerprinting it,
but I wouldn't hold my breath.
ROBYN: Ariel,
the men who killed your father
believe that his journal will
lead them to a hidden treasure.
Wait.
That's what he's been working on?
Some kind of treasure map?
Yeah. Now, we can track these guys down
by going to where they're going.
So, can you tell us anything about
what's inside that journal?
He never showed it to me.
He never shared any of
what he was working on.
Actually, I I might have something.
All I wanted was waffles and bacon.
Next thing I know, I'm chasing
masked men down an alleyway.
Well, like you said,
it ain't easy dating me.
Yeah, but it's worth it.
Here. This is from
my tenth birthday party.
Hey, Daddy, check out this
new dress Aunt Sascha got me.
Who was the first person
to sign the U.S. Constitution?
George Washington.
JOHAN: The date?
ARIEL: September 17, 1787.
ARIEL: After my mom died,
my father was so disconnected
from reality.
All of our real communication happened
in these tedious pop quizzes. [LAUGHS]
Look. You can see it.
His journal. Crap.
You can't make anything out.
I have someone who can help with that.
DELILAH: So,
what'd you do last night?
I just hung out.
Yeah? With who?
Tyrese.
That's my boy.
Who pulled a gun on us. And you know
how pissed off I was at him for that.
It's inexcusable.
But he apologized to me,
like, a million times.
Well, I'm glad
you two worked things out.
Ty wants to apologize to you, too.
I mean, that's what
we were talking about
- last night.
- I don't care.
Come on.
He's like my brother.
Can you at least hear him out?
Please.
Fine.
But just know, he won't be the only one
with something to say.
Ah. "The path to Shortface's contingency
begins with" Dot, dot, dot.
Yeah, that's very suspenseful.
HARRY: I know. It's killing me.
Is this a glimpse into
young Harry, the pirate fan?
[LAUGHS]
Okay, but you know that
this is not real, right?
[BRITISH ACCENT]: Ye of little faith.
Wow. Yeah.
- There's more where that came from.
- Babe.
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
"Rockefeller's Board
"an envoy's finale
where Legall devoted his life,
"leads to triumph over
illusions and morals of slight."
- What the hell does that mean?
- Well, hold on a sec.
So, we know that Percival is
Rockefeller's go-to guy, right?
So what if it has something to
do with the board of directors?
But what's "Legall"?
Is that a person? I don't know.
Let's see.
Okay, Legall de Kermeur
was an 18th-century
premiere French chess player.
Chess! Rockefeller's board
must mean his chessboard.
Man, I married a smart lady.
- Yeah, you did.
- Um, okay.
Wait a minute. "Envoy" is
synonymous with "ambassador."
And we both know
who the first U.S. ambassador
- to France was.
- We do?
- It was Benjamin Franklin. Um
- Benjamin Franklin.
Okay, so if we cross-reference
all these variables
Okay, okay. So, Legall owned
a Parisian chess club
that Benjamin Franklin used to frequent.
And it was infamous, apparently,
for some sort of
chess-playing automaton,
although it was all an elaborate hoax.
"Illusions and morals of slight."
HARRY: But it says here
that Benjamin Franklin
beat it, and that must be
that must be the "triumph."
- Okay.
- Okay.
HARRY: So how does all of this
- lead us to the bad guys and the gold?
- I don't know.
But John D. Rockefeller's
chessboard will.
Right. Okay.
[MUTTERING] Oh.
- Oh, yeah. Okay, okay.
- What?
So, Rockefeller's favorite chessboard
was gifted to him
from his faithful employee
BOTH: Percival Smith!
Right? And Percival probably put a clue
in the chessboard for his
fellow Freemasons.
- Mm-hmm.
- And he gifted it to Rockefeller
'cause he knew it would stay
in the family estate.
Okay, so, all we have to do
is find the chessboard
before the killers do.
Right. Okay.
Okay. All right, easy.
So, the chessboard is the property
of the Rockefeller Historical Society.
But wait a minute. A week ago,
it was sent on loan to
the New York Museum of History.
Really? Who requested that?
I did. As museum curator,
I have lots of contacts
when it comes to antiquities.
Professor Kincaid knew this
and asked for my help.
Did he say why he wanted
to examine Rockefeller's chessboard?
No, he was a bit cagey, though.
But the professor was
my doctoral advisor.
How could I say no? [LAUGHS]
Um, do do you mind if we have a look?
Mm.
The professor came by to study it,
- what, three days ago, Fenton?
- Yes.
Dr. Luttrell was in a donors' meeting,
so I showed him the set.
And what-what did he do with it?
He requested to study it alone.
Do you mind if we have a look?
Please. Careful with it.
I'll be at my desk.
The professor probably
found a clue on this board,
wrote it in his journal,
which the killers have.
Right. So, they're still ahead of us.
Man, we got to solve
this puzzle, and quick.
Okay, so we know it has to
do with Benjamin Franklin
winning the chess game.
HARRY: "An envoy's finale."
Franklin's the envoy. If we re-create
his last move, we'll unlock the clue.
I got it.
Okay. Automaton king to G8.
All right, then let's see.
LUTTRELL: Excuse me.
- What exactly is going on here?
- Okay, pawn.
You said you were looking
into the professor's murder
on behalf of his daughter?
We are, Dr. Luttrell.
A couple more moves, and we should know
where to look for his killers.
If we re-create Franklin's game,
this last move
is going to
unlock a message that's embedded
- inside this board.
- Okay.
- You guys ready? Okay.
- Yeah.
- Here-here we go.
- MEL: Okay.
Checkmate. [LAUGHS]
This, uh, was wrong.
No, you were right.
It's Morse code.
- I need a Do you have a?
- Yeah.
MEL: Okay.
See, the-the circles are dots,
and the rectangles are dashes.
So, when you put all the pieces,
they spell "P, Q,
"four, five, five,
"four, dot,
one, nine, one, four."
Is that me, or does that look
like a Dewey decimal
number from a library?
Yeah. It does.
Pretium Revolutionis.
It's in the secure section
of the public library main branch.
The killers could already be there.
- Rob and Dante are closer.
- Okay.
- Um, okay. Oh.
- [LINE RINGING]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
What's up, man?
[SIGHS]
Hey, Dee.
Appreciate you coming.
Heard you've got something to say?
What I did,
stealing that money, that's not me.
And-and pulling guns on people,
that's not me, either.
But desperation can
sometimes turn you into someone else.
I just want you to know
I'm sorry.
That wasn't the first time a gun
was pointed in my direction.
Last time
my friend Jason was killed.
Right in front of me.
It is seared in my memory.
I will never forget it.
Just like how I'll never forget
that you put a gun in my face,
threatened to take my life.
I was never going
to pull the trigger. I swear.
Is that supposed to make me
feel better or you feel better?
You have no idea
of the damage you caused.
And if you really think
that a few remorseful words are
just gonna make everything okay,
then you need a whole lot more
than my forgiveness.
I just want to make this right.
Please?
How can I make this right?
Actions, Tyrese.
Not words.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Sorry. It's my little sis.
Hey.
Where is Mom at?
Chill. No one's going to foster care.
All right? I'm coming now.
CAM: Hey, what's going on?
Neighbor called my sis
to say our social worker's doing
a surprise visit two floors down.
That mean your place is next?
And Moms up and disappeared,
so my sisters are alone.
Look, I've got to go.
Um, okay,
I'm gonna get you home, and then
I have to go help him out.
No, no, there's no time.
I'll go with you.
- Okay. Yeah.
- Come on.
DANTE: Sorry about earlier.
Not being upfront when you
invited my boys to dinner.
Ah, Marcus, it's okay.
My gut says to just
lay it out to Stefon.
Let him know I'm not
getting back with his mother,
and that's that, but
ROBYN: The lock. Someone beat us here.
[PHONE CAMERA CLICKING]
[PHONE WHOOSHES]
♪
[LINE RINGING]
MAN: Found the book. Get the pictures?
Roger that. Headed out now.
DANTE: Federal agent! Freeze!
- Get down!
- [GUNFIRE]
[GRUNTING, PANTING]
Good timing.
I aim to please.
Hmm.
Only a couple calls.
All sent to the same number
he sent the photos to.
I'll have Harry check it out, but
I'm guessing it's another burner.
You find anything else?
Just cash, no I.D.
Combine that
with his skills with a weapon,
the way he moved?
My opinion,
he and his crew are mercenaries.
Operatives.
So you think someone might've hired them
to kill the professor
and steal his journal.
[PHONE TRILLING]
ROBYN: Harry, I just
sent you a set of prints.
I need you to I.D. the dead guy
and his employer.
HARRY: Employer? These guys are pros?
I think former military?
Uh, former mi uh, okay.
Here it comes, your stiff is
uh, Aaron Drake.
Former Special Forces, so
you're right about the military.
Looks like he's currently a gun-for-hire
with a variety of skills,
all of them deadly.
I'm gonna look into his bank account.
According to Drake's balance,
I am in the wrong line of work.
Harry!
I know, I know, we're the good guys.
So he's made a couple
of withdrawals recently.
But two days ago,
a "CK Incorporated"
made a $10,000 deposit.
[STAMMERS]
I bet you that's a shell corp.
Maybe it stands for "Captain Kidd."
10,000 doesn't seem like very much.
Could be a down payment, and the rest is
you know, his share of the treasure.
Um, you know, I'll tell you what.
I'm gonna look into
his known associates.
And, uh, I'm gonna set a program
trying to track down
who-who made that deposit,
but it, you know,
it's gonna take a while.
- I got a phone number to send you.
- [PHONE CAMERA CLICKING]
Harry, there are two
more mercs out there,
and they already have the first clue.
We have to get to them first.
Well, can I just say
that-that we are hunting
for Captain Kidd's treasure? I mean
Do you realize that this is, like,
a dream come true
for my 12-year-old self.
I'm happy for you, Harry.
I'll be happier when we catch
the professor's killer.
All right.
I'm sending you a picture
of the manuscript.
[PHONE CAMERA CLICKING]
[SIGHING]
Honey, you do realize
this could all be
some made-up scavenger hunt
created by a bored
19th-century rich boy, right?
Well, then my inner
12-year-old's heart will be broken.
But it really doesn't matter
if the treasure is real or not,
as long as the professor's killer
- thinks that it is.
- Yeah.
You know, I found something.
It's just not what we're looking for.
What?
See these designs?
Flowers and vines?
They're actually
Latin phrases from a poem
called "Invictus"
by William Ernest Henley.
So you're an authority on pirates,
and now you speak Latin, too?
Well, no one speaks Latin.
But Google Translate does.
Okay.
So what does Google Translate
have to say about "Invictus"?
That it's a poem about
strength and willpower
in the face of adversity,
which are common themes
with the Freemasons.
So we're on the right track.
I don't know, maybe, it's just
i-if there's some sort of hidden clue
or-or meaning in these words
or the letters or the poem,
I-I just, you know, I can't see it.
Aw, baby.
You can't see it yet.
You can't see it yet.
Don't forget, it took the professor
a lifetime of research to get here.
Yeah.
Hang on, the professor's research.
Ariel said that there wasn't
anything else in the
in the boxes that her
her father sent her
about Benjamin Franklin or treasure.
She didn't know to look for "Invictus."
I think we need to take
another look in those boxes.
- Yeah.
- Come on.
ARIEL: I didn't see anything
about "Invictus" in the researh
my father sent, but you're welcome
to go through it yourselves.
Have you translated the shorthand yet?
I wouldn't know shorthand if
I saw it, which I obviously did.
My father made me learn
it when I was young,
along with about
a million other useless skills.
Not so useless,
if it's in a hidden code.
It says "Cincinnatus
"and Blueskin oversee
the key to victory."
Please tell me that means something.
Well, Cincinnatus was a Roman statesman
who was famous for his selfless devotion
to the Republic in times of crisis.
And George Washington was known
as the "American Cincinnatus."
Mrs. Brown, junior year,
American history, she was brutal.
Uh, but Blueskin?
- Was his horse.
- Okay, so Washington
and his horse are
overseeing the key to victory.
That could be a reference
to the gold that, uh, Benjamin Franklin
squirreled away for a rainy day.
MEL: Ariel, I want to ask you something.
So
all those useless facts
your father made you
learn, you know, the
obscure history facts,
the quizzes. [SIGHS]
Do you ever think that
maybe that was his way of
trying to connect with you?
He could have just talked to me.
Yeah, that's what I thought,
too, about my father.
That he could have just talked to me.
[SIGHS]
Turns out
he didn't know how to talk to me.
I don't know, just maybe
your father sharing his work with you
was his way of telling you
that he loved you.
I got it.
The equestrian statue of
Washington in Union Square Park.
MEL: Okay, but what's the
key to victory it's overseeing?
Um, actually, in 1929,
they moved the statue.
And before then, it was in the
southeast corner of the square.
Okay, uh, so, all right,
the manuscript was painted
in 1914, at which point
Washington and his horse
would have been overlooking
the Masonic temple built
by John D. Rockefeller,
- which was overseen by Percival Smith!
- Percival Smith!
So the key to victory is
in the Masonic temple.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
Thank you so much.
DELILAH: Okay.
- You good?
- CAM: Yeah.
DELILAH: Yeah. Here.
- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.
- [LAUGHING]
- [TYRESE HUMMING]
Hey.
- Hi.
- I like your braids.
Tyrese does it better than our mom.
Oh, really?
That makes me wish
I had an older brother.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
How old are you girls?
I'm eight. Tonya's only seven.
Hey, now.
You know the rules.
No arguing when Ms. Howell gets here.
TONYA: Be polite.
Only tell her good things.
And no talking about Mom.
Okay, then.
Go play.
So, um
I take it the social worker
has been here before?
On the regular.
We usually have it down,
but today was a surprise.
Thanks for helping out.
[SCOFFS] Always, man.
If any little thing goes wrong,
Social Services can take the girls away.
No foster care, Tyrese!
- You promised!
- You're right.
I promised, so quit worrying.
I won't let that happen, okay?
ROBYN: Okay, Harry, we're here.
HARRY: Okay, just tell me
anything that you see.
Whole lot of things
that don't look like keys.
I heard that. Listen.
This is a treasure hunt, so remember,
just take nothing at face value.
ROBYN: Okay.
I'm looking at some Masonic symbols.
Square and compass.
Okay, searching.
And got it: it represents
judgment, balance and stability.
I got a beehive.
Searching, and
beehive is just a beehive.
It represents strength in unity.
A judge's gavel?
All right, judge's gavel, let's see.
That's Hiram's Gavel.
It's one of the most important
artifacts in Freemasonry.
It should have a square
and compass engraved on it.
It's also got a chopped-up snake on it.
Wait a minute.
Rob, this could be it.
A dismembered snake
is a Revolutionary War symbol
for the Colonies.
ROBYN: "Join or die" is engraved
by the snake.
HARRY: That's it.
That's got to be the key.
Just grab that gavel,
and look for anything that it opens.
Um, I just got a ping.
That number you gave me was a bust,
but "CK Incorporated" just popped.
Offshore account,
shell corp, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
But who are you? Who are you?
Looks like we got the Earl of Bellomont.
MEL: Who's that?
The colonial governor of New York.
He-he betrayed Captain Kidd.
Just like Dr. Luttrell
betrayed her professor.
Our helpful curator is the one
- who hired Drake and the other mercs.
- [DOORBELL RINGS]
Ariel I heard about your father.
I just wanted to make sure
that you were okay.
No wonder you were
my father's favorite student.
[LAUGHS]
Uh, I'm sorry.
- Who are you?
- Friends of mine, dear.
Why don't we all get acquainted?
♪
Any idea where to start?
Well, we don't even know if that key
opens something in this building.
Good point.
And since we're not actually
looking for the gold,
I say we forget about
whatever this key fits
and stake out this place instead.
Yeah, waiting for them to catch
up to us sounds a lot better
than looking for a lock in a haystack.
- Yeah.
- [PHONE RINGING]
It's Ariel.
Ariel, we have the key.
LUTTRELL: Congratulations.
You're much smarter
than I gave you credit for.
Who is this?
The person our dear professor
should have shared his discovery with.
But enough about me, let's
discuss his ungrateful daughter.
What have you done with Ariel?
I spent years helping her dad
when no one else believed him.
Now she's helping me get what I'm owed.
The gold for her life.
And if we don't find the gold?
Didn't I just compliment
your intelligence?
Let me know when you have it,
and I'll tell you where to go.
An encrypted number.
We better find that gold.
Otherwise, they're gonna kill Ariel.
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Ms. Howell.
This is a surprise.
Well, that's the point, Tyrese.
Although I have a feeling
your neighbors tipped you off.
HOWELL: Friends of yours?
Yes, ma'am.
This is my friend Cam.
We came up together,
but now he's a big entrepreneur.
And
his girlfriend Dee.
She goes to private school.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you both.
Hello, ladies. How is school?
I got an "A" on my math quiz.
Tyrese helped me study.
And what about you, Tonya?
School going well?
Yes, ma'am.
I studied, too, but I got a "B."
She has a real hard-ass
teacher. S-Sorry.
- A real hard teacher.
- HOWELL: Listen,
I understand that,
and "B" s are still good grades.
Now, tell me, what did you have
for dinner last night?
Anything yummy?
Tyrese made us grilled cheese sandwiches
and tater tots.
Delicious.
And what about your mother?
Did she help Tyrese make dinner?
Where's your mother, Tyrese?
She went to the store.
Wasn't she at the store
the last time I was here?
TYRESE: I don't remember, but
we're having lasagna
for dinner, and she had
to pick up some stuff.
That's why me and my friends
are here with the girls.
[WHISPERS]: Don't worry.
Tyrese said he wouldn't let her take us.
And Tyrese is the best big brother ever.
Tyrese,
I know how much you love your sisters.
How much you do for them.
I'm on your side.
But please, have your mother call me.
VENETTA: Told you.
You know what?
You're right, Venetta.
Tyrese is the best big brother ever.
ROBYN [OVER PHONE]:
Anything else on Ariel's phone?
HARRY: Not a peep or a ping.
That SIM card must have been destroyed.
Dr. Luttrell and her boys
know what they're doing.
So the only way to save Ariel
is by finding the treasure.
Harry, any idea what we're looking for?
I mean, the gavel
is the "key to victory."
So you're looking for "victory,"
whatever that means.
Was there anything else in
the manuscript that might help?
No.
What about "Invictus"?
Babe, you're brilliant. "Invictus."
ROBYN: What's that?
"Invictus" is a late-19th-century poem
about triumph over adversity.
I found it.
What what, the-the lock?
No. "Invictus."
The word written on a pillar.
Not a lock?
- Harry, I know I'm right.
- This it?
Yeah, but there's no place for a key.
Yeah, but it's not a key, it's a gavel.
A hammer.
Harry, we found a secret compartment.
That's got to be it. That's got to be
where Percival hid the gold.
Okay, I admit it.
You are the perfect boyfriend.
HARRY: Okay, very sweet.
Did you find the gold?
It's empty.
- It's empty?
- It's empty?
Babe, you were right.
This was an elaborate hoax.
Rob, if there's no gold,
how do we save Ariel?
ROBYN: We get creative.
It's time to call Dr. Luttrell.
Tiffany Luttrell. Where's Ariel?
Where the hell is my treasure?
There is no treasure.
DANTE: That story about Captain
Kidd and his buried gold,
that's all it is a story.
You're lying.
The professor's research was
A desperate fantasy of a grieving man
who'd lost his wife.
None of it is real.
How about we call it even?
You give us Ariel,
and you can walk away.
Tempting, but I can't leave anyone alive
who knows about the professor's murder
or the treasure.
There is no treasure.
- You're wrong.
- [DOOR OPENS]
I'm almost sorry that you won't be here
when I prove it.
♪
Let me guess.
Dr. Luttrell promised she was
gonna pay you for your service
with a percentage of the gold, right?
But like I said, there is no gold.
But easy
I got 25 grand, cash, for each of you,
if you work for me.
And there's more coming.
Now!
[GRUNTING]
That was a warning.
Move again, and I'm aiming for you.
Where's Ariel?
Thank you for finding
my father's killer.
And for saving me.
I know it won't bring him back, but
I hope it helps knowing that
his killer will be behind bars.
And you, y-you really helped me
see my father in a new light.
I wish I'd understood him sooner.
And I wish the treasure was real.
[BOTH CHUCKLE] Me, too.
That he didn't waste his life
on a wild-goose chase.
Yeah, the-the story,
the hunt, it was incredible.
HARRY: You guys, I
I think I figured it out.
Hmm?
The last message that the professor
sent Ariel before he died,
"Truss no one," okay?
I-I don't think it was a misspelling.
So it wasn't a warning?
No, I think the professor was
sending Ariel the-the last clue
to the treasure.
Just meet me at the Masonic temple.
So, if you look at the meeting room
from the entrance to the altar, this
is the first pillar in the room.
And "truss," T-R-U-S-S,
is a support beam, aka a pillar.
- What is your point, Harry?
- Okay. What if
"Truss no one" isn't a mistake, it isn't
"Trust no one"?
What if I add a period right there,
and it's an abbreviation
for "truss number one,"
meaning pillar number one.
Baby, I know you want
the treasure to be real,
but this is really
It's-it's possible.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
It's probable.
It's engraved with a laurel wreath.
That's the Roman symbol of victory.
ROBYN: Go ahead.
It's what your father would have wanted.
♪
- MEL: No way.
- [LAUGHTER]
- No way!
- ARIEL: Oh, my God!
What?
Yes!
So, Ariel and the Freemasons
are giving part of the gold to a museum,
and using the rest to fund a scholarship
in her parents' name.
Just like they would have wanted.
- Yeah.
- It's great.
To pirates.
- [LAUGHTER]
- Arrr.
- To pirates. Cheers.
- To pirates.
To pirates.
Mmm.
And to the greatest treasure
that 12-year-old me
could have ever dreamed of.
[LAUGHS]: Oh.
I am sorry I doubted you,
and I'm very happy for you
that your pirate story was real.
Well, you know, and I'm glad
I'm, you know, too mature
to say "I told you so."
So, the way I see it,
we have two hurdles.
- Two?
- Mm-hmm. The first
is getting Stefon to accept the fact
his parents aren't
getting back together.
And the second
is letting him adjust to the idea
that his father
is in a romantic relationship
with a woman other than his mother.
Neither of which will be easy.
I'm not complaining.
I'm just laying out the issues.
Issues we will get over.
Together.
Thank you.
You are
The perfect girlfriend?
Ah.
That's it.
Thank you for today.
Thank you for hearing me.
And thank you for hearing Ty's apology.
It really meant a lot to him.
And me.
I'm glad I did.
I guess I thought
I understood his situation
but I didn't.
Not really.
Um
How's his mom doing?
The, uh, the bipolar thing,
it's-it's the-the meds.
If the cocktail isn't right
or the side effects
are too much, it just
everything falls apart.
Like today.
And Tyrese is left to clean up.
Exactly.
Well
I told him to reach out
if he ever needs me to babysit.
I just wish there was more
we could do to help him.
Yeah, me, too.
Hey, you know that dinner
we talked about,
- with Marcus and his boys?
- Mm-hmm.
Well, it's just gonna have
to be Marcus for the time being.
Why is that?
Because I'm dating someone
with children and a past,
and so is he.
Marcus and I are easy,
but the rest of it is
it's complicated.
And life is, right?
I, uh
I spent the day with Cam
and one of his friends.
I saw that life
really can be complicated.
And hard.
Yeah.
Just because it's complicated, though,
doesn't mean
it's not worth fighting for.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Now, that's my auntie.
Okay, yeah, you ate that.
[LAUGHTER]
I love y'all. And we love you.
We love you.
Previously on The Equalizer
Make sure you send me that.
[PEOPLE SCREAMING, GASPING]
Call 911!
Private school got you spending
- your sneaker money already.
- [CAM CHUCKLES]
- Yo. What the hell, Ty?
- Hey, yo, man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
MEL: But I'm curious
why you didn't want me
to go after that guy.
He doesn't need jail. He needs help.
I probably should have been
straight with you this morning.
Wait, so you are dating Detective Dante.
We are Instagram official.
And when the time is right,
I would love to bring
him by to meet you.
I would love that.
VI: Me, too.
I will make him a dinner
he will never forget.
[LAUGHS]
♪
[PANTING]
[KEYS JINGLING, DOOR UNLOCKS]
[LOCKS CLICKING]
[THUMPING]
- [GASPS, YELLS]
- [SILENCED GUNSHOTS]
[BODY THUDS]
♪
[GASPS SOFTLY] Don't tell me you baked.
Kouign-amann cakes.
How many do you want?
[SIGHS]
None.
'Scuse me?
I'm grabbing breakfast
with Dante this morning.
Okay, isn't this, like,
your fourth breakfast date
in a row with him?
Are these breakfast dates or
breakfast dates?
Aunt Vi, stop.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, then invite him over.
I'll cook up something special
for us to enjoy together.
No. That's okay.
[CHUCKLES] But thank you.
[CLEARS THROAT] Aunt Vi,
does that offer extend
to both me and Cam?
VI: Sure. How is it
that the teenager's happy
to bring her boyfriend around
but her grown mama
is still hiding her man?
You both have known Dante for years.
Mm-hmm. But you never had him over.
Now you're dating. So what is it
exactly that you're afraid of?
Marcus Dante's an important part
of your life, and so are we.
Come on, now.
Invite the man over for dinner.
And have him bring his sons, too.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I know
we haven't met them yet.
Exactly.
It's way past time
for the families to meet.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Mm. Harry.
Here you go.
Share it with your man.
Oh, I got to go.
[VI AND ROBYN LAUGH]
That was a good one, Auntie. [LAUGHS]
Well, the police think
my father was a random victim
of a home invasion crew.
But you don't think so.
Someone wanted him dead.
Did he mention any specific threat
or anyone he had problems with?
I don't know.
Um, my father and I,
we haven't spoken for
many years.
What happened between you two?
My mom died suddenly
when I was ten, and, um, honestly,
a piece of my dad
just died along with her.
I'm sorry.
Mom was his everything.
They were history
professors at Hempstead U.
That's how they met. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
Just two history nerds
with a passion for the Revolutionary War
and big dreams for funding
a scholarship program
for underprivileged history majors.
[CHUCKLES]
Sounds like they were
made for each other.
Yeah.
When she died,
my father just he couldn't
deal with life in the present,
including raising his daughter.
All he did was study the past.
He was obsessed with it.
Right up until the day he knew
he was going to be killed.
Well, what makes you think that?
Yesterday, I received three
boxes my father mailed,
like, an hour before his death.
What was in the boxes?
His research.
And this note.
- "Dearest Ariel, Truss"
- "Trust."
I think he meant "trust,"
like he wrote it in a hurry.
"Trust no one. Shortface's
contingency went to Percival.
Your loving father."
What does it mean?
I don't know.
Look, I get how all this sounds, but,
in my gut, I j [SIGHS]
I just know that
his murder wasn't random.
I'm gonna find out who did this.
Dr. Johan Kincaid.
A history professor at Hempstead U.
Good yearly evaluations. Decent scores
on those teacher ratings websites.
- Any threats?
- I mean, one student said
taking his class was like
having a root canal performed
with a melon baller.
But, you know, nothing
that would lead to murder.
And there has been a rash
of brutal home invasions
in the professor's neighborhood.
So, yeah, that note is suspicious,
but there's a chance he could be
just another unlucky victim
of this heist crew.
Look, you know
I had to live without knowing
my father's killer for years.
I don't want Ariel to go
through the same thing.
Let's be sure.
- Sure.
- Now, I know
who we should talk to first
Dr. Kincaid's boss.
Check out these emails
he was sending his dean,
going on and on
about needing personal security.
ROBYN: Can you two look into that?
See if you can find out what
the professor was so afraid of.
And can you send a
police report to Dante?
We're having a breakfast date.
I'd love to know what
his take is on this.
Oh, eggs with a little side of murder.
- That's romantic.
- Stop it.
- It's cute.
- [SCOFFS]
Okay, you have fun, now.
Oh.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[CHUCKLES]
Sorry I'm late.
Mm.
Worth the wait.
Got something for you.
Check this out.
You do know they have food here, right?
Yeah, but just try this.
Mmm.
Aunt Vi's baking?
- You've been holding out on me.
- I mean,
we can fix that. [CHUCKLES]
[LAUGHS] Come over for dinner one night.
You know?
Bring Kyler and Stefon.
Be nice to get our families together.
Yeah.
Sounds like fun.
Um, so, I had a chance to, uh,
review Professor Kincaid's case file,
and I don't think he was a victim
of that same home invasion crew.
- Why?
- M.O.'s off. They target high-end homes.
You know, the ones with safes
filled with cash and jewelry.
And even though the professor's
place was ransacked like the others,
it doesn't appear anything
was actually stolen.
But I might have a lead for you.
Because I'm the perfect boyfriend.
I'll be the judge of that.
I called the detective working the case.
He'd just re-canvassed.
Found a neighbor who remembers a
dark van outside the professor's
during the time-of-death window.
No plates yet,
but I've got my tech at the FTF
scrubbing through traffic cams.
Like I said,
perfect boyfriend.
Oh, come on.
You're getting there.
[BOTH LAUGH]
RADCLIFF: Professor
Kincaid was the most talented
historian I've ever known.
Also the most paranoid.
Maybe for good reason,
considering he was killed.
- So what happened?
- You know, last month,
he published an article
with some audacious claims
about the location of
Captain William Kidd's buried treasure.
- Really?
- Really?
Supposedly, a few
unsavory fortune hunters took notice,
which is why he requested security.
So the professor might've been
killed over some fairy tale
about pirates' treasure?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.
The story of
Captain Kidd's treasure is real.
No, no, no, it was. It [STAMMERS]
Before he was executed,
Captain Kidd revealed
that he had buried gold
somewhere in the 13 Colonies.
I was really into pirates as a kid.
Okay, but you're an adult now,
and you know that all of that is legend.
Right?
RADCLIFF: Actually,
there are written accounts
of Captain Kidd burying
gold ingots he plundered.
[CLICKS TONGUE] See?
Dean, are there also written accounts
of the Loch Ness Monster?
[SIGHS]: Okay. Where
did Professor Kincaid
think the treasure was buried?
Well, he hypothesized
that Benjamin Franklin
secretly found the gold
after the Revolutionary War.
And Professor Kincaid
concluded that he then hid the gold
in case the British invaded again
and the debt-ridden United States
needed to finance another war.
Hid the gold in case,
which is synonymous with contingency.
Look, uh,
Professor Kincaid
wrote Ariel, his daughter,
this letter before he died.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY] What?
He figured it out.
U-Uh, you see,
"Caelia Shortface"
was a pseudonym
that Benjamin Franklin used.
And "Percival"
might possibly be a reference
to Percival Smith.
- Wh-Who's that?
- [STAMMERS]
John D. Rockefeller's go-to guy.
He-he was well-connected.
He was a dedicated Freemason.
Of course there's a
Freemason angle to this.
No, no, no. See, that follows.
Uh, Benjamin Franklin
would have entrusted
the safety of the gold
to his fellow Freemasons.
And Professor Kincaid
was probably tracking it
o-over the decades,
from Freemason to Freemason,
until it was in the safe
possession of Percival.
By chance,
are you in possession
of Professor Kincaid's journal?
Contained all of his conclusions.
Who else knew about this journal?
Well, everyone, I think.
Rumor was that he wrote
his deductions in riddles.
Which I could decipher for you.
Give us a second.
Yeah.
[QUIETLY]: That's got to be
why the professor was killed
and why his place was ransacked.
They were after that journal.
HARRY: The professor sent a
bunch of boxes of research to Ariel.
Bet it's in one of the boxes.
Which means she's in danger.
I'll call Rob,
see if she can get to her.
- Okay.
- [BEEP, LINE RINGING]
ROBYN: Sorry
breakfast was interrupted.
Duty calls. I get it.
So
about us getting our families together,
for dinner.
Why don't you want to do it?
I never said that.
Yes, you did.
With your body language.
[CHUCKLES] Damn.
It's really not easy
dating a former CIA operative.
Not when you lie to her.
I never lied to you.
Look, I'm down with the family dinner.
But my boys,
especially my youngest,
probably won't be.
Somehow, Stefon's equated me moving back
to New York with me getting back
with his mom.
So he's hoping his idea
of the perfect family
becomes a reality.
[SIGHS]
Ariel's front door is open.
♪
ROBYN: Hey.
That detective said the neighbor saw
a dark van outside his house.
There's one in the alley.
Ariel.
Ariel? Hey.
- MAN: Drive! Go, go, go!
- [ENGINE STARTS]
I'm going after them.
[ENGINE REVVING, TIRES SQUEALING]
Thank you. [GROANS]
They were after my dad's journal.
I took them to it, and bam,
everything went dark.
NYPD is assigning a squad car
to sit outside your place
until we catch these guys.
Just in case. And they found the van.
It was abandoned
about a mile away from here.
It was stolen.
They're fingerprinting it,
but I wouldn't hold my breath.
ROBYN: Ariel,
the men who killed your father
believe that his journal will
lead them to a hidden treasure.
Wait.
That's what he's been working on?
Some kind of treasure map?
Yeah. Now, we can track these guys down
by going to where they're going.
So, can you tell us anything about
what's inside that journal?
He never showed it to me.
He never shared any of
what he was working on.
Actually, I I might have something.
All I wanted was waffles and bacon.
Next thing I know, I'm chasing
masked men down an alleyway.
Well, like you said,
it ain't easy dating me.
Yeah, but it's worth it.
Here. This is from
my tenth birthday party.
Hey, Daddy, check out this
new dress Aunt Sascha got me.
Who was the first person
to sign the U.S. Constitution?
George Washington.
JOHAN: The date?
ARIEL: September 17, 1787.
ARIEL: After my mom died,
my father was so disconnected
from reality.
All of our real communication happened
in these tedious pop quizzes. [LAUGHS]
Look. You can see it.
His journal. Crap.
You can't make anything out.
I have someone who can help with that.
DELILAH: So,
what'd you do last night?
I just hung out.
Yeah? With who?
Tyrese.
That's my boy.
Who pulled a gun on us. And you know
how pissed off I was at him for that.
It's inexcusable.
But he apologized to me,
like, a million times.
Well, I'm glad
you two worked things out.
Ty wants to apologize to you, too.
I mean, that's what
we were talking about
- last night.
- I don't care.
Come on.
He's like my brother.
Can you at least hear him out?
Please.
Fine.
But just know, he won't be the only one
with something to say.
Ah. "The path to Shortface's contingency
begins with" Dot, dot, dot.
Yeah, that's very suspenseful.
HARRY: I know. It's killing me.
Is this a glimpse into
young Harry, the pirate fan?
[LAUGHS]
Okay, but you know that
this is not real, right?
[BRITISH ACCENT]: Ye of little faith.
Wow. Yeah.
- There's more where that came from.
- Babe.
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
"Rockefeller's Board
"an envoy's finale
where Legall devoted his life,
"leads to triumph over
illusions and morals of slight."
- What the hell does that mean?
- Well, hold on a sec.
So, we know that Percival is
Rockefeller's go-to guy, right?
So what if it has something to
do with the board of directors?
But what's "Legall"?
Is that a person? I don't know.
Let's see.
Okay, Legall de Kermeur
was an 18th-century
premiere French chess player.
Chess! Rockefeller's board
must mean his chessboard.
Man, I married a smart lady.
- Yeah, you did.
- Um, okay.
Wait a minute. "Envoy" is
synonymous with "ambassador."
And we both know
who the first U.S. ambassador
- to France was.
- We do?
- It was Benjamin Franklin. Um
- Benjamin Franklin.
Okay, so if we cross-reference
all these variables
Okay, okay. So, Legall owned
a Parisian chess club
that Benjamin Franklin used to frequent.
And it was infamous, apparently,
for some sort of
chess-playing automaton,
although it was all an elaborate hoax.
"Illusions and morals of slight."
HARRY: But it says here
that Benjamin Franklin
beat it, and that must be
that must be the "triumph."
- Okay.
- Okay.
HARRY: So how does all of this
- lead us to the bad guys and the gold?
- I don't know.
But John D. Rockefeller's
chessboard will.
Right. Okay.
[MUTTERING] Oh.
- Oh, yeah. Okay, okay.
- What?
So, Rockefeller's favorite chessboard
was gifted to him
from his faithful employee
BOTH: Percival Smith!
Right? And Percival probably put a clue
in the chessboard for his
fellow Freemasons.
- Mm-hmm.
- And he gifted it to Rockefeller
'cause he knew it would stay
in the family estate.
Okay, so, all we have to do
is find the chessboard
before the killers do.
Right. Okay.
Okay. All right, easy.
So, the chessboard is the property
of the Rockefeller Historical Society.
But wait a minute. A week ago,
it was sent on loan to
the New York Museum of History.
Really? Who requested that?
I did. As museum curator,
I have lots of contacts
when it comes to antiquities.
Professor Kincaid knew this
and asked for my help.
Did he say why he wanted
to examine Rockefeller's chessboard?
No, he was a bit cagey, though.
But the professor was
my doctoral advisor.
How could I say no? [LAUGHS]
Um, do do you mind if we have a look?
Mm.
The professor came by to study it,
- what, three days ago, Fenton?
- Yes.
Dr. Luttrell was in a donors' meeting,
so I showed him the set.
And what-what did he do with it?
He requested to study it alone.
Do you mind if we have a look?
Please. Careful with it.
I'll be at my desk.
The professor probably
found a clue on this board,
wrote it in his journal,
which the killers have.
Right. So, they're still ahead of us.
Man, we got to solve
this puzzle, and quick.
Okay, so we know it has to
do with Benjamin Franklin
winning the chess game.
HARRY: "An envoy's finale."
Franklin's the envoy. If we re-create
his last move, we'll unlock the clue.
I got it.
Okay. Automaton king to G8.
All right, then let's see.
LUTTRELL: Excuse me.
- What exactly is going on here?
- Okay, pawn.
You said you were looking
into the professor's murder
on behalf of his daughter?
We are, Dr. Luttrell.
A couple more moves, and we should know
where to look for his killers.
If we re-create Franklin's game,
this last move
is going to
unlock a message that's embedded
- inside this board.
- Okay.
- You guys ready? Okay.
- Yeah.
- Here-here we go.
- MEL: Okay.
Checkmate. [LAUGHS]
This, uh, was wrong.
No, you were right.
It's Morse code.
- I need a Do you have a?
- Yeah.
MEL: Okay.
See, the-the circles are dots,
and the rectangles are dashes.
So, when you put all the pieces,
they spell "P, Q,
"four, five, five,
"four, dot,
one, nine, one, four."
Is that me, or does that look
like a Dewey decimal
number from a library?
Yeah. It does.
Pretium Revolutionis.
It's in the secure section
of the public library main branch.
The killers could already be there.
- Rob and Dante are closer.
- Okay.
- Um, okay. Oh.
- [LINE RINGING]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
What's up, man?
[SIGHS]
Hey, Dee.
Appreciate you coming.
Heard you've got something to say?
What I did,
stealing that money, that's not me.
And-and pulling guns on people,
that's not me, either.
But desperation can
sometimes turn you into someone else.
I just want you to know
I'm sorry.
That wasn't the first time a gun
was pointed in my direction.
Last time
my friend Jason was killed.
Right in front of me.
It is seared in my memory.
I will never forget it.
Just like how I'll never forget
that you put a gun in my face,
threatened to take my life.
I was never going
to pull the trigger. I swear.
Is that supposed to make me
feel better or you feel better?
You have no idea
of the damage you caused.
And if you really think
that a few remorseful words are
just gonna make everything okay,
then you need a whole lot more
than my forgiveness.
I just want to make this right.
Please?
How can I make this right?
Actions, Tyrese.
Not words.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Sorry. It's my little sis.
Hey.
Where is Mom at?
Chill. No one's going to foster care.
All right? I'm coming now.
CAM: Hey, what's going on?
Neighbor called my sis
to say our social worker's doing
a surprise visit two floors down.
That mean your place is next?
And Moms up and disappeared,
so my sisters are alone.
Look, I've got to go.
Um, okay,
I'm gonna get you home, and then
I have to go help him out.
No, no, there's no time.
I'll go with you.
- Okay. Yeah.
- Come on.
DANTE: Sorry about earlier.
Not being upfront when you
invited my boys to dinner.
Ah, Marcus, it's okay.
My gut says to just
lay it out to Stefon.
Let him know I'm not
getting back with his mother,
and that's that, but
ROBYN: The lock. Someone beat us here.
[PHONE CAMERA CLICKING]
[PHONE WHOOSHES]
♪
[LINE RINGING]
MAN: Found the book. Get the pictures?
Roger that. Headed out now.
DANTE: Federal agent! Freeze!
- Get down!
- [GUNFIRE]
[GRUNTING, PANTING]
Good timing.
I aim to please.
Hmm.
Only a couple calls.
All sent to the same number
he sent the photos to.
I'll have Harry check it out, but
I'm guessing it's another burner.
You find anything else?
Just cash, no I.D.
Combine that
with his skills with a weapon,
the way he moved?
My opinion,
he and his crew are mercenaries.
Operatives.
So you think someone might've hired them
to kill the professor
and steal his journal.
[PHONE TRILLING]
ROBYN: Harry, I just
sent you a set of prints.
I need you to I.D. the dead guy
and his employer.
HARRY: Employer? These guys are pros?
I think former military?
Uh, former mi uh, okay.
Here it comes, your stiff is
uh, Aaron Drake.
Former Special Forces, so
you're right about the military.
Looks like he's currently a gun-for-hire
with a variety of skills,
all of them deadly.
I'm gonna look into his bank account.
According to Drake's balance,
I am in the wrong line of work.
Harry!
I know, I know, we're the good guys.
So he's made a couple
of withdrawals recently.
But two days ago,
a "CK Incorporated"
made a $10,000 deposit.
[STAMMERS]
I bet you that's a shell corp.
Maybe it stands for "Captain Kidd."
10,000 doesn't seem like very much.
Could be a down payment, and the rest is
you know, his share of the treasure.
Um, you know, I'll tell you what.
I'm gonna look into
his known associates.
And, uh, I'm gonna set a program
trying to track down
who-who made that deposit,
but it, you know,
it's gonna take a while.
- I got a phone number to send you.
- [PHONE CAMERA CLICKING]
Harry, there are two
more mercs out there,
and they already have the first clue.
We have to get to them first.
Well, can I just say
that-that we are hunting
for Captain Kidd's treasure? I mean
Do you realize that this is, like,
a dream come true
for my 12-year-old self.
I'm happy for you, Harry.
I'll be happier when we catch
the professor's killer.
All right.
I'm sending you a picture
of the manuscript.
[PHONE CAMERA CLICKING]
[SIGHING]
Honey, you do realize
this could all be
some made-up scavenger hunt
created by a bored
19th-century rich boy, right?
Well, then my inner
12-year-old's heart will be broken.
But it really doesn't matter
if the treasure is real or not,
as long as the professor's killer
- thinks that it is.
- Yeah.
You know, I found something.
It's just not what we're looking for.
What?
See these designs?
Flowers and vines?
They're actually
Latin phrases from a poem
called "Invictus"
by William Ernest Henley.
So you're an authority on pirates,
and now you speak Latin, too?
Well, no one speaks Latin.
But Google Translate does.
Okay.
So what does Google Translate
have to say about "Invictus"?
That it's a poem about
strength and willpower
in the face of adversity,
which are common themes
with the Freemasons.
So we're on the right track.
I don't know, maybe, it's just
i-if there's some sort of hidden clue
or-or meaning in these words
or the letters or the poem,
I-I just, you know, I can't see it.
Aw, baby.
You can't see it yet.
You can't see it yet.
Don't forget, it took the professor
a lifetime of research to get here.
Yeah.
Hang on, the professor's research.
Ariel said that there wasn't
anything else in the
in the boxes that her
her father sent her
about Benjamin Franklin or treasure.
She didn't know to look for "Invictus."
I think we need to take
another look in those boxes.
- Yeah.
- Come on.
ARIEL: I didn't see anything
about "Invictus" in the researh
my father sent, but you're welcome
to go through it yourselves.
Have you translated the shorthand yet?
I wouldn't know shorthand if
I saw it, which I obviously did.
My father made me learn
it when I was young,
along with about
a million other useless skills.
Not so useless,
if it's in a hidden code.
It says "Cincinnatus
"and Blueskin oversee
the key to victory."
Please tell me that means something.
Well, Cincinnatus was a Roman statesman
who was famous for his selfless devotion
to the Republic in times of crisis.
And George Washington was known
as the "American Cincinnatus."
Mrs. Brown, junior year,
American history, she was brutal.
Uh, but Blueskin?
- Was his horse.
- Okay, so Washington
and his horse are
overseeing the key to victory.
That could be a reference
to the gold that, uh, Benjamin Franklin
squirreled away for a rainy day.
MEL: Ariel, I want to ask you something.
So
all those useless facts
your father made you
learn, you know, the
obscure history facts,
the quizzes. [SIGHS]
Do you ever think that
maybe that was his way of
trying to connect with you?
He could have just talked to me.
Yeah, that's what I thought,
too, about my father.
That he could have just talked to me.
[SIGHS]
Turns out
he didn't know how to talk to me.
I don't know, just maybe
your father sharing his work with you
was his way of telling you
that he loved you.
I got it.
The equestrian statue of
Washington in Union Square Park.
MEL: Okay, but what's the
key to victory it's overseeing?
Um, actually, in 1929,
they moved the statue.
And before then, it was in the
southeast corner of the square.
Okay, uh, so, all right,
the manuscript was painted
in 1914, at which point
Washington and his horse
would have been overlooking
the Masonic temple built
by John D. Rockefeller,
- which was overseen by Percival Smith!
- Percival Smith!
So the key to victory is
in the Masonic temple.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
Thank you so much.
DELILAH: Okay.
- You good?
- CAM: Yeah.
DELILAH: Yeah. Here.
- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.
- [LAUGHING]
- [TYRESE HUMMING]
Hey.
- Hi.
- I like your braids.
Tyrese does it better than our mom.
Oh, really?
That makes me wish
I had an older brother.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
How old are you girls?
I'm eight. Tonya's only seven.
Hey, now.
You know the rules.
No arguing when Ms. Howell gets here.
TONYA: Be polite.
Only tell her good things.
And no talking about Mom.
Okay, then.
Go play.
So, um
I take it the social worker
has been here before?
On the regular.
We usually have it down,
but today was a surprise.
Thanks for helping out.
[SCOFFS] Always, man.
If any little thing goes wrong,
Social Services can take the girls away.
No foster care, Tyrese!
- You promised!
- You're right.
I promised, so quit worrying.
I won't let that happen, okay?
ROBYN: Okay, Harry, we're here.
HARRY: Okay, just tell me
anything that you see.
Whole lot of things
that don't look like keys.
I heard that. Listen.
This is a treasure hunt, so remember,
just take nothing at face value.
ROBYN: Okay.
I'm looking at some Masonic symbols.
Square and compass.
Okay, searching.
And got it: it represents
judgment, balance and stability.
I got a beehive.
Searching, and
beehive is just a beehive.
It represents strength in unity.
A judge's gavel?
All right, judge's gavel, let's see.
That's Hiram's Gavel.
It's one of the most important
artifacts in Freemasonry.
It should have a square
and compass engraved on it.
It's also got a chopped-up snake on it.
Wait a minute.
Rob, this could be it.
A dismembered snake
is a Revolutionary War symbol
for the Colonies.
ROBYN: "Join or die" is engraved
by the snake.
HARRY: That's it.
That's got to be the key.
Just grab that gavel,
and look for anything that it opens.
Um, I just got a ping.
That number you gave me was a bust,
but "CK Incorporated" just popped.
Offshore account,
shell corp, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
But who are you? Who are you?
Looks like we got the Earl of Bellomont.
MEL: Who's that?
The colonial governor of New York.
He-he betrayed Captain Kidd.
Just like Dr. Luttrell
betrayed her professor.
Our helpful curator is the one
- who hired Drake and the other mercs.
- [DOORBELL RINGS]
Ariel I heard about your father.
I just wanted to make sure
that you were okay.
No wonder you were
my father's favorite student.
[LAUGHS]
Uh, I'm sorry.
- Who are you?
- Friends of mine, dear.
Why don't we all get acquainted?
♪
Any idea where to start?
Well, we don't even know if that key
opens something in this building.
Good point.
And since we're not actually
looking for the gold,
I say we forget about
whatever this key fits
and stake out this place instead.
Yeah, waiting for them to catch
up to us sounds a lot better
than looking for a lock in a haystack.
- Yeah.
- [PHONE RINGING]
It's Ariel.
Ariel, we have the key.
LUTTRELL: Congratulations.
You're much smarter
than I gave you credit for.
Who is this?
The person our dear professor
should have shared his discovery with.
But enough about me, let's
discuss his ungrateful daughter.
What have you done with Ariel?
I spent years helping her dad
when no one else believed him.
Now she's helping me get what I'm owed.
The gold for her life.
And if we don't find the gold?
Didn't I just compliment
your intelligence?
Let me know when you have it,
and I'll tell you where to go.
An encrypted number.
We better find that gold.
Otherwise, they're gonna kill Ariel.
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Ms. Howell.
This is a surprise.
Well, that's the point, Tyrese.
Although I have a feeling
your neighbors tipped you off.
HOWELL: Friends of yours?
Yes, ma'am.
This is my friend Cam.
We came up together,
but now he's a big entrepreneur.
And
his girlfriend Dee.
She goes to private school.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you both.
Hello, ladies. How is school?
I got an "A" on my math quiz.
Tyrese helped me study.
And what about you, Tonya?
School going well?
Yes, ma'am.
I studied, too, but I got a "B."
She has a real hard-ass
teacher. S-Sorry.
- A real hard teacher.
- HOWELL: Listen,
I understand that,
and "B" s are still good grades.
Now, tell me, what did you have
for dinner last night?
Anything yummy?
Tyrese made us grilled cheese sandwiches
and tater tots.
Delicious.
And what about your mother?
Did she help Tyrese make dinner?
Where's your mother, Tyrese?
She went to the store.
Wasn't she at the store
the last time I was here?
TYRESE: I don't remember, but
we're having lasagna
for dinner, and she had
to pick up some stuff.
That's why me and my friends
are here with the girls.
[WHISPERS]: Don't worry.
Tyrese said he wouldn't let her take us.
And Tyrese is the best big brother ever.
Tyrese,
I know how much you love your sisters.
How much you do for them.
I'm on your side.
But please, have your mother call me.
VENETTA: Told you.
You know what?
You're right, Venetta.
Tyrese is the best big brother ever.
ROBYN [OVER PHONE]:
Anything else on Ariel's phone?
HARRY: Not a peep or a ping.
That SIM card must have been destroyed.
Dr. Luttrell and her boys
know what they're doing.
So the only way to save Ariel
is by finding the treasure.
Harry, any idea what we're looking for?
I mean, the gavel
is the "key to victory."
So you're looking for "victory,"
whatever that means.
Was there anything else in
the manuscript that might help?
No.
What about "Invictus"?
Babe, you're brilliant. "Invictus."
ROBYN: What's that?
"Invictus" is a late-19th-century poem
about triumph over adversity.
I found it.
What what, the-the lock?
No. "Invictus."
The word written on a pillar.
Not a lock?
- Harry, I know I'm right.
- This it?
Yeah, but there's no place for a key.
Yeah, but it's not a key, it's a gavel.
A hammer.
Harry, we found a secret compartment.
That's got to be it. That's got to be
where Percival hid the gold.
Okay, I admit it.
You are the perfect boyfriend.
HARRY: Okay, very sweet.
Did you find the gold?
It's empty.
- It's empty?
- It's empty?
Babe, you were right.
This was an elaborate hoax.
Rob, if there's no gold,
how do we save Ariel?
ROBYN: We get creative.
It's time to call Dr. Luttrell.
Tiffany Luttrell. Where's Ariel?
Where the hell is my treasure?
There is no treasure.
DANTE: That story about Captain
Kidd and his buried gold,
that's all it is a story.
You're lying.
The professor's research was
A desperate fantasy of a grieving man
who'd lost his wife.
None of it is real.
How about we call it even?
You give us Ariel,
and you can walk away.
Tempting, but I can't leave anyone alive
who knows about the professor's murder
or the treasure.
There is no treasure.
- You're wrong.
- [DOOR OPENS]
I'm almost sorry that you won't be here
when I prove it.
♪
Let me guess.
Dr. Luttrell promised she was
gonna pay you for your service
with a percentage of the gold, right?
But like I said, there is no gold.
But easy
I got 25 grand, cash, for each of you,
if you work for me.
And there's more coming.
Now!
[GRUNTING]
That was a warning.
Move again, and I'm aiming for you.
Where's Ariel?
Thank you for finding
my father's killer.
And for saving me.
I know it won't bring him back, but
I hope it helps knowing that
his killer will be behind bars.
And you, y-you really helped me
see my father in a new light.
I wish I'd understood him sooner.
And I wish the treasure was real.
[BOTH CHUCKLE] Me, too.
That he didn't waste his life
on a wild-goose chase.
Yeah, the-the story,
the hunt, it was incredible.
HARRY: You guys, I
I think I figured it out.
Hmm?
The last message that the professor
sent Ariel before he died,
"Truss no one," okay?
I-I don't think it was a misspelling.
So it wasn't a warning?
No, I think the professor was
sending Ariel the-the last clue
to the treasure.
Just meet me at the Masonic temple.
So, if you look at the meeting room
from the entrance to the altar, this
is the first pillar in the room.
And "truss," T-R-U-S-S,
is a support beam, aka a pillar.
- What is your point, Harry?
- Okay. What if
"Truss no one" isn't a mistake, it isn't
"Trust no one"?
What if I add a period right there,
and it's an abbreviation
for "truss number one,"
meaning pillar number one.
Baby, I know you want
the treasure to be real,
but this is really
It's-it's possible.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
It's probable.
It's engraved with a laurel wreath.
That's the Roman symbol of victory.
ROBYN: Go ahead.
It's what your father would have wanted.
♪
- MEL: No way.
- [LAUGHTER]
- No way!
- ARIEL: Oh, my God!
What?
Yes!
So, Ariel and the Freemasons
are giving part of the gold to a museum,
and using the rest to fund a scholarship
in her parents' name.
Just like they would have wanted.
- Yeah.
- It's great.
To pirates.
- [LAUGHTER]
- Arrr.
- To pirates. Cheers.
- To pirates.
To pirates.
Mmm.
And to the greatest treasure
that 12-year-old me
could have ever dreamed of.
[LAUGHS]: Oh.
I am sorry I doubted you,
and I'm very happy for you
that your pirate story was real.
Well, you know, and I'm glad
I'm, you know, too mature
to say "I told you so."
So, the way I see it,
we have two hurdles.
- Two?
- Mm-hmm. The first
is getting Stefon to accept the fact
his parents aren't
getting back together.
And the second
is letting him adjust to the idea
that his father
is in a romantic relationship
with a woman other than his mother.
Neither of which will be easy.
I'm not complaining.
I'm just laying out the issues.
Issues we will get over.
Together.
Thank you.
You are
The perfect girlfriend?
Ah.
That's it.
Thank you for today.
Thank you for hearing me.
And thank you for hearing Ty's apology.
It really meant a lot to him.
And me.
I'm glad I did.
I guess I thought
I understood his situation
but I didn't.
Not really.
Um
How's his mom doing?
The, uh, the bipolar thing,
it's-it's the-the meds.
If the cocktail isn't right
or the side effects
are too much, it just
everything falls apart.
Like today.
And Tyrese is left to clean up.
Exactly.
Well
I told him to reach out
if he ever needs me to babysit.
I just wish there was more
we could do to help him.
Yeah, me, too.
Hey, you know that dinner
we talked about,
- with Marcus and his boys?
- Mm-hmm.
Well, it's just gonna have
to be Marcus for the time being.
Why is that?
Because I'm dating someone
with children and a past,
and so is he.
Marcus and I are easy,
but the rest of it is
it's complicated.
And life is, right?
I, uh
I spent the day with Cam
and one of his friends.
I saw that life
really can be complicated.
And hard.
Yeah.
Just because it's complicated, though,
doesn't mean
it's not worth fighting for.
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Now, that's my auntie.
Okay, yeah, you ate that.
[LAUGHTER]
I love y'all. And we love you.
We love you.