Castle s05e23 Episode Script
The Human Factor
There you go.
Thanks.
An explosion! Is this incoming artillery fire from above? No! Rommel's troops have lured our boys into a minefield.
Will the M-4 Sherman tank's armor be able to withstand this cowardly barrage from below? Yes, it can! And the Sherman smashes through Nazi lines to reach the Whoa.
That is not the Suez Canal.
If you're trying to decide what to wear, just keep wearing what you're wearing now Or less.
Pervert.
That is Field Marshal Pervert to you.
Castle, can you grab that? Got it.
This is Detective Beckett's office.
Seriously? A car bomb? Talk about a heightened police presence.
Wait a minute.
What is this? Something's not right.
Hey, Espo.
Why are they taking the car away? CSU's not done with it, is it? They were barely started before the feds came in and seized the vehicle.
Why would they seize the vehicle? I tried to ask, but they iced me out.
Who's in charge? See that guy over there? Name's agent Guerrero.
Trust me.
He's not gonna budge.
Agent Guerrero.
I'm Detective Beckett-- Let me save you the trouble.
We're taking the car.
CSU hasn't finished processing it yet.
This is a murder scene.
I'm gonna need to find out who the victim was-- I'm sorry, but that vehicle's part of a federal investigation.
And if you people hinder us in any way, we'll arrest you for obstruction.
What the hell's going on here? And why is Homeland Security involved? I don't know.
This whole thing stinks.
According to witnesses, those two guys were staking out the car even before it blew up, And Homeland Security isn't letting me talk to them.
A mysterious car bombing The feds giving us the boot, and now Men in Black.
I'll say it.
I'm intrigued.
Who are you guys? Identify yourselves.
Hey, guys.
You get this a lot-- Agent "J," Agent "K"? Why were you guys surveilling that car? Who was in it when it exploded? Well, we don't have a body, we don't have a crime scene, and we don't have any witnesses, but At least we have each other.
- We still have a homicide to solve.
- And that.
I think I got an ID on our vic.
A uniform found his wallet, blown about a half a block down that way.
Matches the description of the guy that witnesses saw get in the car.
His name is Dale Tanner.
I always knew this day might come.
Dale did, too.
It was one of the hazards of his job.
What kind of a job would lead to this? When Dale was 16, his father was convicted of murder in Texas-- wrongly convicted.
Right before the retrial, his father died in prison.
And so fighting for the underdog, that kind of became his life's mission.
So about ten years ago he started the web site.
"Whistleblower Anonymous.
" I know that site.
He exposed the, uh, the waterboarding memos, the Orton-Geo fracking scandal.
I had no idea he was the one behind it.
Dale felt it was more important to keep attention on the issues rather than himself.
Was your husband working on anything recently? Yeah, I think he was planning on posting some documents.
Whatever they were, they were making him nervous.
Where are the documents now? Probably at his law office in Queens.
Why would Homeland Security be interested in your husband? Half the government was interested in my husband.
After he posted those photographs of Abu Ghraib, they tried to get him to reveal his sources.
They harassed him.
Followed him everywhere he went.
It got so bad that, two months ago, he actually moved into our rental unit in Queens.
He said that he was concerned about our safety.
And now he's dead.
Mrs.
Tanner, Witnesses say that your husband parked on Mercer just before 8:00.
Waited on the sidewalk till 8:15, and then he got back in his car.
Do you know what he was doing downtown? I have no idea.
He felt like, the less we knew, the better.
I should've talked to him more.
Did he work with anyone else that might have known what he was involved in? He had a partner, but I don't know who it was.
Why are we even talking to them, mom? The government killed my father, and you're helping them cover it up.
Sean, please.
Now I'm not gonna call this a cover-up, but I will say this-- the feds are not helping us out.
They won't tell us what evidence they found in Tanner's car.
Okay.
So we'll just work it from other angles.
We know that he had a partner.
Why don't we look into his phone records, see who it was? Because they're not being released to us.
Neither are Tanner's financials.
Maybe we can get it from his law office? We tried to search there.
They sealed the place and they took his computers.
I'm starting to see what you mean by the feds not helping.
Then we're just gonna solve this without their help.
Where are we on motive? Well, there's plenty of that to go around.
Tanner wasn't afraid to take on the big boys-- banks, big oil, dirty politicians.
In the past year, he posted highly damaging, and I might add, truthful information on 30 corporations, government agencies, and individuals.
And that's just what I found before his site was taken off-line.
With no solid information, it's hard to even know where to start.
We start with manner of death.
We know we're dealing with a bomb, a bomb that was already in Tanner's car.
Right, because he stayed near the vehicle, no one could've tampered with it.
And whoever planted the bomb had to have access to the car at an earlier point.
Like in his garage.
That's where the car was before Tanner drove it downtown, and when I talked to the neighbors, one of them saw an unfamiliar motorcycle jet out of the garage last night at 1:00 a.
m.
Did they happen to get a plate? No.
But this traffic cam did.
Bike's registered to a Monica Lane.
And get this--she works as a security contractor at Orton-Geo.
That's the fracking company Tanner almost put out of business.
Man, the camera really does add 10 pounds.
You were coming from an apartment building garage before that was taken.
What were you doing there? That's none of your business.
It became our business when Dale Tanner got blown to bits.
What? He's dead? Yeah, and I bet the company that you work for likes him a whole lot better that way.
Look, I had nothing to do with his death.
This is not what you think.
Then what is it, Monica? He and I were seeing each other.
Really? You and Dale Tanner? We met in the park a few months ago.
We just connected.
Yeah.
I can see you're real busted up.
You were spying on him.
Isn't that what this is really about? Okay, Orton-Geo lost half a billion dollars in contracts because of Dale Tanner.
My job was to get close to him and find out who was leaking him information.
But it did not involve killing him.
Was anyone else after him? Besides you, of course.
Oh, God.
His wife.
He said she had called.
She'd just found out about us.
She threatened to kill him.
I felt betrayed.
Don't you see? I-I stood by him for 24 years.
You withheld that he was having an affair, and then you went out of your way to make it look like his work got him killed.
Because it did.
All right, look, I admit it.
Okay? I said some things to Dale, but I was upset.
Besides, I didn't go near that apartment.
I didn't.
You could've hired someone else to do it.
With what money, huh? Really? It's not like Dale and his web site ever made anybody rich.
Beckett, there's something you need to see.
So, um CSU sent this over.
Based on what little they had, they were able to piece together where the explosion originated.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the explosion originated in the car.
Right.
Well, normally, a car bomb is placed inside the engine compartment or underneath.
But this one went off near the front seat.
So it was planted inside the car.
Actually, it wasn't planted at all.
CSU found these metal fragments, and they were able to trace it to a very specific device.
They put together this reconstruction of the explosion.
Is that a missile? Specifically, the kind of missile deployed from an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Dale Tanner was taken out by a drone? One second Dale Tanner's sitting in his car.
The next boom.
Poor guy didn't even know what hit him.
This couldn't have been a drone strike.
There's gotta be a mistake here.
There isn't.
CSU found PBXN-112 explosive residue and fluoridated aluminum from a missile casing.
There's no way that a military drone could fly over New York City and smoke a guy.
Actually, it could.
There's a drone training facility at Fort Drummond.
Ryan, while Castle and I look into that, can you talk to anyone that knew Tanner? Let's see if we can find out who his partner was.
What, you and Castle are going to Fort Drummond? Yeah, the head of the drone program agreed to a meeting.
What is going on here? Do you really think the military took him out? I don't see how they could.
Because they wouldn't cross that line? Because in my experience, huge bureaucracies don't act with that kind of efficiency.
Well, that's comforting.
No wild theories about the military industrial complex? I just don't want to believe my country could do something like this.
Me neither.
Detective Beckett, Mr.
Castle.
Thank you for visiting Fort Drummond.
So we gather that you believe that there was an incident that occurred in the city-- No, not an incident.
A murder, from a drone strike.
That's an outrageous accusation, Detective.
What do you base it on? Forensic evidence at the crime scene.
It's consistent with a drone-fired missile.
How many drones were in the air this morning? That information is classified.
Colonel Fortis, was there a drone flying over New York City at 8:15 a.
m.
? That's classified.
Okay, how about this? Did anyone else have access to the drones, any federal agencies, corporations? - That's- - Classified.
Okay, well, then I'd like to take a look at your flight log.
This meeting is over.
Keep in mind, the waivers you signed prohibit you from discussing what was said here.
Nothing was said here.
Well, then we shouldn't have a problem.
Touche.
That man over there.
He was at the crime scene.
Who is he? Does he work for you? Don't bother.
It's classified.
You know, I don't know what the hell you guys are up to, but I promise you, I will find out.
Now might be the time for wild military industrial complex theories.
And here's one-- Tanner was about to post super-secret military documents.
They took him out with a drone, and now they're covering it up, which actually isn't so wild.
I don't know.
Maybe they just fired the missile by mistake.
And just so happened to hit a-a vocal critic of the US government? And the guy from the crime scene shows up at our kafkaesque meeting? I don't think so.
I don't even know why they took that meeting.
All they did was stonewall.
Beckett.
Yo.
Got a call from CSU.
The feds just came in and seized all materials related to the Tanner case.
What, the explosive residue, the fragment samples? - All of it.
- We've been played.
They just met with us to find out where everything was and what we knew.
And then they grabbed all the evidence.
Yeah, and now we have no proof that a drone strike ever happened.
And we're no closer to figuring out why it happened or who did it.
Well, maybe Tanner's partner could tell us.
Do you know who it is? Turns out Tanner taught law classes at East Borough College to make ends meet, and his colleagues said they remember seeing a former student named Omar Dixon hanging around.
I talked to Omar's girlfriend.
She said that he did work for Tanner, but it was all hush-hush what he did.
And where's Omar now? The girlfriend said she has no idea.
But Sean Tanner might.
He attends East Borough, too.
Used to drop by and see his dad.
Maybe he knows Omar.
Oh, I think he does.
You remember what he did when you asked if he knew his dad's partner? - He changed the subject.
- Boom.
I'm telling you, I don't know him.
I don't know anyone named Omar Dixon.
Look, Sean, I know that law enforcement hasn't always been on your guys' side.
Try never.
But we're not the feds, Sean.
We're the guys trying to solve your dad's murder.
And no matter what you think, we're not gonna stop until that job is done.
Here's the thing, bro-- If your dad was killed for what he put on that web site, your boy Omar's in danger, too.
Help us out, Sean.
Yeah, I met Omar.
I knew him a little.
He worked with my dad.
Where can we find him? My dad gave me a number for him.
We need you to call that number, tell Omar you'd like to meet.
Omar? I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
Whoa.
Where's-- where's Sean? He couldn't make it.
Need to ask you a few questions about Dale Tanner.
I'm not getting involved.
Omar, you're already involved.
Well, then I'm not getting any more involved.
It's bad enough I saw his blown-up car on the news.
Now I've got people following me.
And not just you.
What people? I have no idea, lady.
No idea who they are.
Who killed Tanner? Was it because of the documents that he was gonna post? How the hell should I know? You're his partner, aren't you? His partner? Is that what people think? Is that why they're after me? If you're not his partner, then who are you? His assistant.
I'm his part-time IT guy.
I set up his web site.
He gave me files.
I'd upload them, and for that, the cheap bastard paid me 15 bucks an hour.
Did he tell you what he was working on? I didn't know and I didn't care.
It was just a gig for me, and right now, I'm sorry I ever took it.
Don't move.
That's him.
That's one of the guys that was following me.
Omar! Omar! Steady.
You're under arrest.
He's awfully calm for a guy walking around with a silenced pistol.
Yeah, well, he's been in rooms like this before.
So what do we know about Robert Williams? That his ID is fake.
What about his prints? There's no record of them in the system.
I don't know who this guy is.
As is my way, I'm gonna go with government assassin.
Well, time to find out.
What's your name? Does it matter? It's not like we're gonna get to know each other.
Who had Dale Tanner killed? Were you a part of it or was your job just to clean up the mess? You're tenacious.
I respect that.
Was Omar Dixon a part of the mess? He went into hiding.
By the way, how did you manage to draw him out? I'll be asking the questions.
You just won't be getting the answers.
We'll see.
I can keep you for 24 hours, and I fully intend to do so.
You have me for five more seconds.
Use them well.
Beckett, you got a phone call.
Time's up.
This is Detective Kate Beckett.
I'm sorry.
What? Hold for who? Uh, good evening, Mr.
Attorney General.
Yes, it is.
Yes, we do.
Release him? I Look, Sir, with all due respect, a man has been killed, and he is a person of interest.
Fine.
But then I'm gonna want something in return.
Yes, Sir.
I fully understand.
Thank you, Sir.
Well played, Detective Beckett.
So what do you want to know? Why don't we start with, who are you? Jared Stack.
Special investigator for the Attorney General's office.
I've never heard of it.
You're not supposed to.
And what's you connection to Dale Tanner? Tanner was under scrutiny by the FBI, DHS, and the Pentagon, not to mention the NYPD Counterterrorism Unit.
Somebody objective needed to look into his death, so they picked me.
When did you realize that he was killed by a drone and not a car bomb? Once our people examined the wreckage.
Why the fake ID? I didn't know where this was headed.
The AG needs deniability.
"The secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions.
" It's "Mission: Impossible.
" Pretty much.
I'm even wearing a mask.
- Really? - No.
You claim that you have no idea where this is headed, but it seems pretty clear to me.
The military launched an attack against Tanner.
I went over the logs at Fort Drummond.
It didn't come from there.
Where did it come from? That's what I'm trying to find out.
The fact is, we've lost a number of drones.
Some of 'em have fallen into enemy hands.
So one of our enemies killed Tanner with a drone? That theory is highly improbable, and coming from me, that's saying something.
Think of it this way-- Let's say our government wanted Tanner dead.
Why not just gun him down in the streets? Why use a drone? Why get rid of him in a way that could bounce back on them? The same reason most killers do-- 'cause they think they're gonna get away with it.
Stack.
What? You're sure? All right.
Uh send me a link to that feed.
Thanks.
What is it? That was one of my colleagues.
The drone wasn't from Fort Drummond, but it was one of ours.
This is the video feed off a drone on a routine training run from an air national guard base near Syracuse at 8:16 this morning.
Would you mind shutting those blinds? Who's flying the drone? Funny you should ask.
The pilot lost control nine minutes earlier over Long Island.
Whoa.
What do you mean, lost control? Take a listen for yourself.
I don't know, Sir.
It's not responding to any commands.
Okay, try rebooting the comm software.
I already rebooted.
That didn't fix it.
Do we need to notify TSA that-- Wait.
What the hell is that? Are you running a targeting protocol on that vehicle? No.
I'm not doing anything.
I don't know what's happening.
Oh, my God.
Somebody hacked into that drone and took out Dale Tanner.
Why is it so hard to believe? People hack into banks all the time-- the Pentagon, NASA.
Yeah, but a drone? Maybe the pilot was just pretending that he wasn't flying.
No, no.
You can't fake that kind of panic.
I agree.
He was having a pants-soiling moment.
But there is one possibility we are neglecting.
The drone itself.
It's "Rise of the Machines", not unlike skynet in "The Terminator".
The machines have achieved consciousness, and they are pissed.
Sorry to disappoint, Mr.
Castle, but it's a human perp we're after.
NSA picked up an encrypted signal that was sent out the exact moment the pilot lost control.
That signal basically overrode the controls and allowed the hacker to take over the drone.
And where did this signal come from? From the lower half of the State of New York.
Uh, NSA is trying to narrow that down as we speak.
So for all we know, we're looking for some 14-year-old nerd with a computer? No, it's not likely.
Whoever did this had to know how to defeat the signal encryption and have the software to run the drone.
Warburg.
What's a Warburg? No, it's not a what.
It's a who.
He's the only guy that could've pulled this off.
Okay, how do we find him? He's been off-grid for about a year.
The guy's a real ghost.
You'll never find him.
But you know what? I might by tracing this signal.
Maybe we can work on this together.
I agreed to tell you what I knew, which I've done.
It's been real fun, Detective Beckett, but, uh, I'll take things from here, all right? And here I thought we all had bonded.
If Warburg hacked that drone, then he's our murder suspect, and I am not buying Tack's word that we can't find him.
Let's dig into this guy and see who we're dealing with.
Simon Warburg-- a programming legend.
Overcame severe OCD to become chief designer for the operational software used in military drones.
And then what? Well, he got busted for sabotaging that software.
But he fled before the FBI could arrest him.
Warburg.
Sounds like a Bond villain, right? Petting his cat while formulating a plan for world domination.
And what is that plan, you ask? - Actually, I didn't ask.
- Talkin' to the boys.
To create a drone army-- a drone army that can think, that possess awareness.
And who better than the programming genius who designed their software to give them that spark of life? Castle, you don't actually believe that.
And keep in mind, if you say yes, I will find you less attractive.
Well, it is conceivable, and I have to say, a far better story.
Yo, check it.
Warburg posted a video just before he went into hiding.
People don't understand why I tampered with the drone software.
That's Warburg? I was expecting Dr.
Evil? Someone a little less nerdy.
It's because I've seen the future.
And I know their plan.
Here it is.
Building a drone army.
They'll introduce surveillance drones to monitor traffic.
Seems harmless enough, right? So we let it happen.
Next, there'll be security drones.
Because who doesn't like to feel safer? And then armed drones to protect our skies.
And by then, it's too late.
Because the system to monitor, to control, to kill any one of us will already be in place.
Someone has to stop this.
Even if that someone is me.
He wasn't building a drone army.
He was preventing one from being built.
I was pretty close.
If by "close," you mean "opposite.
" Warburg believed that drones were gonna be used to target US citizens.
That's why he killed an activist like Dale Tanner-- to show us that the future was already here.
This guy basically framed the government to try to stop drone use.
So we get Warburg, we're gonna get our killer.
And I think I know how.
Guys, look at those books.
All on science.
All first editions.
That's "The Origin of the Species.
" So? So he was a book collector.
A book collector with OCD.
A habit like that would die hard.
I'll start checking antique bookstores in the morning to see if Warburg contacted any of them.
Beckett.
No tank is gonna get Beckett.
Beckett, get up.
We gotta go.
You totally fell for it.
You acted like it was "Rise of the Machines.
" No, I didn't.
That's--I didn't think it was "Rise of the-- If that was actually a killer tank, you bailed.
I went to get the bat to the protect you to eliminate the threat.
Really? There's a camera here, Castle.
I saw the look on your face.
Beckett.
Hey, Beckett.
Sorry to call you so late.
But I think I got something.
Ryan, what are you doing at the precinct? Well, I was looking at web sites of antique bookstores, and I was checking out one near Woodstock, and I think I've noticed a pattern.
What kind of a pattern? According to this inventory grid, The bookseller sold seven books on the same day last month.
And I see all seven of those books on one shelf of Warburg's bookcase.
Either that's a statistical impossibility or-- Or Warburg is rebuilding his book collection one shelf at a time.
Which would mean, he ordered books from this bookstore.
Ah, that aroma-- old leather and moldering paper.
It's official.
I love this place.
Castle, look.
It's "Storm Season.
" Oh.
On the clearance table.
And the love fades.
Uh, can I help you? Yes, as a matter of fact, you can.
Do you recognize this man? Oh, yes, indeed.
It's--it's Mr.
Smith.
He's quite a discerning collector.
Uh, he's purchased quite a few books from us here.
Really, Smith? That's original.
Do you have his address? Does he get his books delivered? No, no.
He comes in and he picks them up.
Do you know what kind of car he drives? Well, he usually rides a bicycle.
So he's local.
All right.
I'm gonna get the boys to look up all the properties bought or sold in the area over the past year, since Warburg went missing.
Seriously? Uh, it's--it's-- it's a nice book.
Thank you.
So according to Ryan, the house at the end of this driveway was purchased ten months ago by attorney.
Warburg is here.
I can feel it.
Castle, you've said that about every place we've been to so far.
Yeah, but this time I mean it.
The force is stronger with this one.
The problem is, it's private property, and I don't have a warrant.
Just pretend you don't see the sign.
Look, we're on the cusp of finding Warburg, who, at the very least, is a person of interest and at most, a maniacal super-villain with the power to bend drones to his will.
And Gate's unlocked.
Burning daylight.
Maybe Warburg is here.
It is remote and secluded.
You know, I just had a deeply disturbing thought.
Much like most of your thoughts? What if Warburg isn't involved? I mean we have been played before.
What if Stack just mentioned his name to send us on a wild-goose chase? Oh, Castle, I don't think so.
Ah, still, there's no more proof that Warburg is involved than there is that the drone acted on its own.
Seriously? I haven't gotten that skynet thing out of your system yet? You mock me, but mark my words.
The day will come.
The experts call it the singularity the emergence of a technological super intelligence-- Wait, Castle.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Do you hear that? Like a buzzing.
You okay? Yeah, I think so.
Hey, that was just like "North by Northwest.
" Castle, don't get too excited.
It's coming back.
What are you doing? We gotta run.
We're never gonna make it to cover.
As soon as it gets in range, I'm gonna shoot it.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
I can't believe you missed with every shot.
Really?! Do you think that you shot down that drone with your marksmanship? I rose to the occasion.
Wow, this time, I really did protect you.
Yeah, along with yourself.
You know, this makes up for what may be considered a momentary lack of manliness.
No, I have earned my redemption.
Nothing can take that away from me.
These aren't real bullets.
These are blanks.
Blanks? Well, I didn't know that, so that doesn't-- that doesn't diminish the act of heroism.
That-- are those really blanks? Of course they're blanks, you idiot.
Meant to deter trespassers like you.
You just obliterated my finest drone.
I'm having the cops arrest you.
Let me save you a phone call.
We're here about Dale Tanner, Mr.
Warburg.
Knew somebody would be eventually.
Check out the quad.
It's my favorite.
Oh, sweet.
Payback for wrecking my drone.
Mr.
Warburg, let's talk about Dale Tanner.
You want to know if I killed him.
The answer is, yes, I did.
Would you like to tell me why? It began two years ago With this.
I don't understand what a car driving through the desert has to do with Dale Tanner.
Intelligence reports said there were three high-ranking Afghan militants in this car.
It was the right make and model, traveling at a high rate of speed.
So the drone pilot was given the green light to strike.
But then he saw those red dots on the trunk and he had a feeling so he aborted the mission.
There were no militants in that car.
The red dots were roses, because the young couple driving down that desert road had just gotten married.
That's when I knew I could no longer be a part of the drone program.
Uh, I don't understand.
Why? The pilot didn't fire.
Because the next generation of drones won't have pilots.
The new AI software will give drones decision-making capability.
They'll assess the data and take lethal action all on their own.
It really will be "Rise of the Machines.
" Those new drones would turn that car to ash without hesitation.
That's why, when lives are at stake, we need a man who sees roses.
We need the human factor.
And where was the human factor when you killed Dale Tanner? Let me show you something.
I wrote this program myself.
Note the user-friendly interface.
I'm rather proud of it.
Now these red dots are individual drones currently over New York State.
Now if I click on one I can monitor the drone's function in real time.
And with the push of a button, I can take over control of the aircraft.
Just like you did with Tanner.
Oh, I was on a bike ride that day and nowhere near a computer.
You just said that you killed him.
Well, I meant my software led to his death, but I didn't do it.
In fact, I was in touch with Dale Tanner.
I wanted him to post the program.
So I loaded it onto a flash drive and got it to him.
You wanted Tanner to post your drone-hacking software on his web site? If the Pentagon found out, they'd have to ground their entire drone fleet.
Precisely.
It'd bring drone development to a grinding halt.
But Tanner refused to post the program.
He sent it back, saying he didn't want any idiot with a computer being able to take over control of a drone.
I realized he might have a point, so, um, I decided to keep the program to myself.
So if you didn't use this and Tanner didn't post it, then who killed him? After I heard about his death, I checked out the flash drive I sent him.
Someone copied my program off of it onto a USB drive.
Now it wasn't Tanner.
He wouldn't order a drone strike on himself.
And it wasn't anyone on my end, because, well who else is there? So then it had to be someone close to Tanner with access to his work.
And we only know one person like that.
His assistant-- Omar Dixon.
Okay, here's my theory-- Omar Dixon is working for Tanner, but he's just scraping by.
Along comes Warburg's drone hack.
Tanner doesn't want it.
But Dixon sees an opportunity.
He realizes how much a drone-hacking program would be worth on the open market.
Exactly.
He burns a copy, learns how to use it.
The next step-- real-world test.
And Tanner's a cheap bastard anyway, so I'll get it.
For Richard Castle, press 1.
For Beckett, press 2.
Yo.
How about I just talk, jackass? So we put out an APB on Omar Dixon, but it looks like he's already in the wind.
His girlfriend said that he packed a bag, snuck out down the fire escape.
Okay, circulate his photo to airports and bus and train stations.
Already on it.
Detective Beckett, I sure do appreciate you finding Simon Warburg for me.
Is that what you were hoping for when you gave us his name? Well, I just thought you might think of something that we hadn't.
When I pinged your cell phone, I realized I was right.
FBI's picking him up right now.
Well, then it might interest you to know he didn't kill Tanner.
What are you talking about? We have reason to believe that it was Omar Dixon, Tanner's assistant.
The problem is, he's on the run.
I can help with that.
The facial recognition system's scanning footage over the last two hours from all the main departure points.
How accurate is this thing, really? Well, if he passed in front of one of those cameras, it'll spot him.
Man, talk about Big Brother.
There's gotta be a way to beat the system, though, right? Wear big sunglasses, let your bangs hang down over your forehead.
It totally messes with the software.
What if you don't have bangs? You could wear heavy makeup.
Paint random-colored shapes all over your face.
Yeah, I'm not doing that.
And there he is.
JFK, International Terminal, Now it'll track him off his face and the color of his clothes.
Damn it.
Omar Dixon caught a flight to Beirut.
Left an hour ago.
He's gone.
We reached the airline.
Omar Dixon was definitely on that flight to Beirut, - by way of Abu Dhabi.
- Why Beirut? He's got family there on his mom's side and dual citizenship.
He flew out on a Lebanese passport.
Can we have him detained when he lands? No.
There's no extradition agreement.
Probably why he went there.
And it's an excellent part of the world if you want to sell some drone-hacking software.
Speaking of drone hacking Say hello to our friend Omar Dixon.
See you later, Omar.
I thought he was heading to Beirut.
He was until I asked the attorney general to contact the FAA and have them recall the flight back to JFK.
You know, one of the perks of working for an 800-pound gorilla.
Did you already interview him? Well You're the reason we got him, Detective Beckett.
Why don't you do the honors? Look at that How she uses the silence.
She's a force to be reckoned with.
Oh, you don't know the half of it.
Omar, right now, your bags are being searched for a USB drive.
Your best bet is to tell me the truth before it turns up.
I told you the truth.
I had nothing to do with what happened to Tanner.
Then why did you flee the country? Because I like being alive, that's why.
Somebody put a bomb in his car.
I had people chasing me.
You and I both know that there was no bomb.
What do you mean? You used the software hack to fire a missile from a drone.
You're outta your mind.
Wh-why is this happening to me?! Are you actually gonna sit there and tell me that you had no idea about the flash drive Warburg gave Tanner? I had an idea, sure.
Tanner sent me to pick it up from the dead drop.
At which time, you copied it.
I never copied anything.
I didn't even know what was on it.
The next day, Tanner said he didn't want it, and so he--he told me to return the flash drive to the dead drop.
So that's what I did.
That's all I did.
Did anyone else know about the flash drive or have access to it? Yeah.
Yeah, just one person.
Hey, Sean.
You mind if we come in? I guess.
Where's your mom, Sean? She went to get groceries.
What's up? Is there news about my dad? We talked to Omar.
He said you started dropping by the office two months ago, mostly when your dad wasn't around.
I like hanging with Omar.
So what? Or was it to connect with your dad? I mean, two months ago, that's when he moved out, isn't it? Okay, uh, I-- I'm not exactly sure why we're talking about this.
Is that why you went to the college where he taught classes, so you could connect? I mean, it had to be hard, Sean, having a father like that-- so absent, so driven.
A crusader who put his mission above all else, even the people who loved him.
Warburg's drone hack was copied on to a 4-Gig USB drive.
Just so happens you bought the same kind of drive the day that copy was made.
You called your dad.
You asked him to meet with you because you wanted to know exactly where he would be.
Isn't that right, Sean? So what pushed you over the edge, Sean? Was it when you found out about the affair? My mom held us together.
Dad was always gone.
We never had any money.
We were being watched all the time.
No friends because of all the rumors and whispers.
And that was it.
That was our life.
All so he could expose wrongdoing and hold the authorities accountable.
What about his family? Why didn't we matter as much as some stupid scandal? And then, after all of it, after everything that he put us through, He leaves my mom for another woman?! And you wanted to make him pay.
He broke her heart! Me He broke mine, too.
What is this? What's going on? How about a nice glass of zinfandel when we get back to my place? After the day we've had today, that sounds great.
Detective Beckett and Mr.
Castle, both the president and the Attorney General have asked me to convey their thanks for your work on this case.
I don't suppose the president's appreciation could come in the form of a blurb for my book? Yeah, that's not gonna happen.
Uh, but, Detective Beckett, could I have a word? Yeah.
Let me ask you something.
Where do you see yourself five years from now? I haven't really given it much thought.
As a lieutenant, a captain? At One Police Plaza climbing the ladder? That's not really where my heart is.
Where is your heart in that room? You want to be in that room five years from now, busting some killer's balls? I don't know you.
Certainly not well enough to have this conversation.
Yeah, I used to work Homicide, too.
- Really? - Yeah.
Chicago.
Till some guy tapped me on the shoulder.
Today, I'm that guy.
What I'm saying is this-- I think you're exceptional.
You're smart, you're strong, You're an asymmetrical thinker.
I see bigger things for you.
Who says I want bigger things? Practically everything about you screams it.
There's a job opening in DC.
What job? With the Attorney General.
We report directly to him.
We work with total autonomy on the biggest, most challenging cases.
Cases like this, where the stakes are high and the outcome can affect history.
Not everybody has what it takes for the job.
I think you do.
Call that number to schedule an interview.
Think about it.
I will.
I'll be talking to you, Detective Beckett.
So you can rest easy, Castle.
It looks like the rise of the machines is still a few years off.
That's what the autonomous drones want you to think.
Well, the fact is, an autonomous drone would never have killed Dale Tanner.
Mm, true, Because with people, all decisions are personal.
And where one person might see roses another may see a chance to move on from an old life and on to a new one.
The human factor.
The human factor.
And this human needs a shower.
Care to join me? I'll be there in a minute.
You never did tell me what Stack wanted to talk to you about.
Nothing.
It was nothing.
Thanks.
An explosion! Is this incoming artillery fire from above? No! Rommel's troops have lured our boys into a minefield.
Will the M-4 Sherman tank's armor be able to withstand this cowardly barrage from below? Yes, it can! And the Sherman smashes through Nazi lines to reach the Whoa.
That is not the Suez Canal.
If you're trying to decide what to wear, just keep wearing what you're wearing now Or less.
Pervert.
That is Field Marshal Pervert to you.
Castle, can you grab that? Got it.
This is Detective Beckett's office.
Seriously? A car bomb? Talk about a heightened police presence.
Wait a minute.
What is this? Something's not right.
Hey, Espo.
Why are they taking the car away? CSU's not done with it, is it? They were barely started before the feds came in and seized the vehicle.
Why would they seize the vehicle? I tried to ask, but they iced me out.
Who's in charge? See that guy over there? Name's agent Guerrero.
Trust me.
He's not gonna budge.
Agent Guerrero.
I'm Detective Beckett-- Let me save you the trouble.
We're taking the car.
CSU hasn't finished processing it yet.
This is a murder scene.
I'm gonna need to find out who the victim was-- I'm sorry, but that vehicle's part of a federal investigation.
And if you people hinder us in any way, we'll arrest you for obstruction.
What the hell's going on here? And why is Homeland Security involved? I don't know.
This whole thing stinks.
According to witnesses, those two guys were staking out the car even before it blew up, And Homeland Security isn't letting me talk to them.
A mysterious car bombing The feds giving us the boot, and now Men in Black.
I'll say it.
I'm intrigued.
Who are you guys? Identify yourselves.
Hey, guys.
You get this a lot-- Agent "J," Agent "K"? Why were you guys surveilling that car? Who was in it when it exploded? Well, we don't have a body, we don't have a crime scene, and we don't have any witnesses, but At least we have each other.
- We still have a homicide to solve.
- And that.
I think I got an ID on our vic.
A uniform found his wallet, blown about a half a block down that way.
Matches the description of the guy that witnesses saw get in the car.
His name is Dale Tanner.
I always knew this day might come.
Dale did, too.
It was one of the hazards of his job.
What kind of a job would lead to this? When Dale was 16, his father was convicted of murder in Texas-- wrongly convicted.
Right before the retrial, his father died in prison.
And so fighting for the underdog, that kind of became his life's mission.
So about ten years ago he started the web site.
"Whistleblower Anonymous.
" I know that site.
He exposed the, uh, the waterboarding memos, the Orton-Geo fracking scandal.
I had no idea he was the one behind it.
Dale felt it was more important to keep attention on the issues rather than himself.
Was your husband working on anything recently? Yeah, I think he was planning on posting some documents.
Whatever they were, they were making him nervous.
Where are the documents now? Probably at his law office in Queens.
Why would Homeland Security be interested in your husband? Half the government was interested in my husband.
After he posted those photographs of Abu Ghraib, they tried to get him to reveal his sources.
They harassed him.
Followed him everywhere he went.
It got so bad that, two months ago, he actually moved into our rental unit in Queens.
He said that he was concerned about our safety.
And now he's dead.
Mrs.
Tanner, Witnesses say that your husband parked on Mercer just before 8:00.
Waited on the sidewalk till 8:15, and then he got back in his car.
Do you know what he was doing downtown? I have no idea.
He felt like, the less we knew, the better.
I should've talked to him more.
Did he work with anyone else that might have known what he was involved in? He had a partner, but I don't know who it was.
Why are we even talking to them, mom? The government killed my father, and you're helping them cover it up.
Sean, please.
Now I'm not gonna call this a cover-up, but I will say this-- the feds are not helping us out.
They won't tell us what evidence they found in Tanner's car.
Okay.
So we'll just work it from other angles.
We know that he had a partner.
Why don't we look into his phone records, see who it was? Because they're not being released to us.
Neither are Tanner's financials.
Maybe we can get it from his law office? We tried to search there.
They sealed the place and they took his computers.
I'm starting to see what you mean by the feds not helping.
Then we're just gonna solve this without their help.
Where are we on motive? Well, there's plenty of that to go around.
Tanner wasn't afraid to take on the big boys-- banks, big oil, dirty politicians.
In the past year, he posted highly damaging, and I might add, truthful information on 30 corporations, government agencies, and individuals.
And that's just what I found before his site was taken off-line.
With no solid information, it's hard to even know where to start.
We start with manner of death.
We know we're dealing with a bomb, a bomb that was already in Tanner's car.
Right, because he stayed near the vehicle, no one could've tampered with it.
And whoever planted the bomb had to have access to the car at an earlier point.
Like in his garage.
That's where the car was before Tanner drove it downtown, and when I talked to the neighbors, one of them saw an unfamiliar motorcycle jet out of the garage last night at 1:00 a.
m.
Did they happen to get a plate? No.
But this traffic cam did.
Bike's registered to a Monica Lane.
And get this--she works as a security contractor at Orton-Geo.
That's the fracking company Tanner almost put out of business.
Man, the camera really does add 10 pounds.
You were coming from an apartment building garage before that was taken.
What were you doing there? That's none of your business.
It became our business when Dale Tanner got blown to bits.
What? He's dead? Yeah, and I bet the company that you work for likes him a whole lot better that way.
Look, I had nothing to do with his death.
This is not what you think.
Then what is it, Monica? He and I were seeing each other.
Really? You and Dale Tanner? We met in the park a few months ago.
We just connected.
Yeah.
I can see you're real busted up.
You were spying on him.
Isn't that what this is really about? Okay, Orton-Geo lost half a billion dollars in contracts because of Dale Tanner.
My job was to get close to him and find out who was leaking him information.
But it did not involve killing him.
Was anyone else after him? Besides you, of course.
Oh, God.
His wife.
He said she had called.
She'd just found out about us.
She threatened to kill him.
I felt betrayed.
Don't you see? I-I stood by him for 24 years.
You withheld that he was having an affair, and then you went out of your way to make it look like his work got him killed.
Because it did.
All right, look, I admit it.
Okay? I said some things to Dale, but I was upset.
Besides, I didn't go near that apartment.
I didn't.
You could've hired someone else to do it.
With what money, huh? Really? It's not like Dale and his web site ever made anybody rich.
Beckett, there's something you need to see.
So, um CSU sent this over.
Based on what little they had, they were able to piece together where the explosion originated.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the explosion originated in the car.
Right.
Well, normally, a car bomb is placed inside the engine compartment or underneath.
But this one went off near the front seat.
So it was planted inside the car.
Actually, it wasn't planted at all.
CSU found these metal fragments, and they were able to trace it to a very specific device.
They put together this reconstruction of the explosion.
Is that a missile? Specifically, the kind of missile deployed from an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Dale Tanner was taken out by a drone? One second Dale Tanner's sitting in his car.
The next boom.
Poor guy didn't even know what hit him.
This couldn't have been a drone strike.
There's gotta be a mistake here.
There isn't.
CSU found PBXN-112 explosive residue and fluoridated aluminum from a missile casing.
There's no way that a military drone could fly over New York City and smoke a guy.
Actually, it could.
There's a drone training facility at Fort Drummond.
Ryan, while Castle and I look into that, can you talk to anyone that knew Tanner? Let's see if we can find out who his partner was.
What, you and Castle are going to Fort Drummond? Yeah, the head of the drone program agreed to a meeting.
What is going on here? Do you really think the military took him out? I don't see how they could.
Because they wouldn't cross that line? Because in my experience, huge bureaucracies don't act with that kind of efficiency.
Well, that's comforting.
No wild theories about the military industrial complex? I just don't want to believe my country could do something like this.
Me neither.
Detective Beckett, Mr.
Castle.
Thank you for visiting Fort Drummond.
So we gather that you believe that there was an incident that occurred in the city-- No, not an incident.
A murder, from a drone strike.
That's an outrageous accusation, Detective.
What do you base it on? Forensic evidence at the crime scene.
It's consistent with a drone-fired missile.
How many drones were in the air this morning? That information is classified.
Colonel Fortis, was there a drone flying over New York City at 8:15 a.
m.
? That's classified.
Okay, how about this? Did anyone else have access to the drones, any federal agencies, corporations? - That's- - Classified.
Okay, well, then I'd like to take a look at your flight log.
This meeting is over.
Keep in mind, the waivers you signed prohibit you from discussing what was said here.
Nothing was said here.
Well, then we shouldn't have a problem.
Touche.
That man over there.
He was at the crime scene.
Who is he? Does he work for you? Don't bother.
It's classified.
You know, I don't know what the hell you guys are up to, but I promise you, I will find out.
Now might be the time for wild military industrial complex theories.
And here's one-- Tanner was about to post super-secret military documents.
They took him out with a drone, and now they're covering it up, which actually isn't so wild.
I don't know.
Maybe they just fired the missile by mistake.
And just so happened to hit a-a vocal critic of the US government? And the guy from the crime scene shows up at our kafkaesque meeting? I don't think so.
I don't even know why they took that meeting.
All they did was stonewall.
Beckett.
Yo.
Got a call from CSU.
The feds just came in and seized all materials related to the Tanner case.
What, the explosive residue, the fragment samples? - All of it.
- We've been played.
They just met with us to find out where everything was and what we knew.
And then they grabbed all the evidence.
Yeah, and now we have no proof that a drone strike ever happened.
And we're no closer to figuring out why it happened or who did it.
Well, maybe Tanner's partner could tell us.
Do you know who it is? Turns out Tanner taught law classes at East Borough College to make ends meet, and his colleagues said they remember seeing a former student named Omar Dixon hanging around.
I talked to Omar's girlfriend.
She said that he did work for Tanner, but it was all hush-hush what he did.
And where's Omar now? The girlfriend said she has no idea.
But Sean Tanner might.
He attends East Borough, too.
Used to drop by and see his dad.
Maybe he knows Omar.
Oh, I think he does.
You remember what he did when you asked if he knew his dad's partner? - He changed the subject.
- Boom.
I'm telling you, I don't know him.
I don't know anyone named Omar Dixon.
Look, Sean, I know that law enforcement hasn't always been on your guys' side.
Try never.
But we're not the feds, Sean.
We're the guys trying to solve your dad's murder.
And no matter what you think, we're not gonna stop until that job is done.
Here's the thing, bro-- If your dad was killed for what he put on that web site, your boy Omar's in danger, too.
Help us out, Sean.
Yeah, I met Omar.
I knew him a little.
He worked with my dad.
Where can we find him? My dad gave me a number for him.
We need you to call that number, tell Omar you'd like to meet.
Omar? I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
Whoa.
Where's-- where's Sean? He couldn't make it.
Need to ask you a few questions about Dale Tanner.
I'm not getting involved.
Omar, you're already involved.
Well, then I'm not getting any more involved.
It's bad enough I saw his blown-up car on the news.
Now I've got people following me.
And not just you.
What people? I have no idea, lady.
No idea who they are.
Who killed Tanner? Was it because of the documents that he was gonna post? How the hell should I know? You're his partner, aren't you? His partner? Is that what people think? Is that why they're after me? If you're not his partner, then who are you? His assistant.
I'm his part-time IT guy.
I set up his web site.
He gave me files.
I'd upload them, and for that, the cheap bastard paid me 15 bucks an hour.
Did he tell you what he was working on? I didn't know and I didn't care.
It was just a gig for me, and right now, I'm sorry I ever took it.
Don't move.
That's him.
That's one of the guys that was following me.
Omar! Omar! Steady.
You're under arrest.
He's awfully calm for a guy walking around with a silenced pistol.
Yeah, well, he's been in rooms like this before.
So what do we know about Robert Williams? That his ID is fake.
What about his prints? There's no record of them in the system.
I don't know who this guy is.
As is my way, I'm gonna go with government assassin.
Well, time to find out.
What's your name? Does it matter? It's not like we're gonna get to know each other.
Who had Dale Tanner killed? Were you a part of it or was your job just to clean up the mess? You're tenacious.
I respect that.
Was Omar Dixon a part of the mess? He went into hiding.
By the way, how did you manage to draw him out? I'll be asking the questions.
You just won't be getting the answers.
We'll see.
I can keep you for 24 hours, and I fully intend to do so.
You have me for five more seconds.
Use them well.
Beckett, you got a phone call.
Time's up.
This is Detective Kate Beckett.
I'm sorry.
What? Hold for who? Uh, good evening, Mr.
Attorney General.
Yes, it is.
Yes, we do.
Release him? I Look, Sir, with all due respect, a man has been killed, and he is a person of interest.
Fine.
But then I'm gonna want something in return.
Yes, Sir.
I fully understand.
Thank you, Sir.
Well played, Detective Beckett.
So what do you want to know? Why don't we start with, who are you? Jared Stack.
Special investigator for the Attorney General's office.
I've never heard of it.
You're not supposed to.
And what's you connection to Dale Tanner? Tanner was under scrutiny by the FBI, DHS, and the Pentagon, not to mention the NYPD Counterterrorism Unit.
Somebody objective needed to look into his death, so they picked me.
When did you realize that he was killed by a drone and not a car bomb? Once our people examined the wreckage.
Why the fake ID? I didn't know where this was headed.
The AG needs deniability.
"The secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions.
" It's "Mission: Impossible.
" Pretty much.
I'm even wearing a mask.
- Really? - No.
You claim that you have no idea where this is headed, but it seems pretty clear to me.
The military launched an attack against Tanner.
I went over the logs at Fort Drummond.
It didn't come from there.
Where did it come from? That's what I'm trying to find out.
The fact is, we've lost a number of drones.
Some of 'em have fallen into enemy hands.
So one of our enemies killed Tanner with a drone? That theory is highly improbable, and coming from me, that's saying something.
Think of it this way-- Let's say our government wanted Tanner dead.
Why not just gun him down in the streets? Why use a drone? Why get rid of him in a way that could bounce back on them? The same reason most killers do-- 'cause they think they're gonna get away with it.
Stack.
What? You're sure? All right.
Uh send me a link to that feed.
Thanks.
What is it? That was one of my colleagues.
The drone wasn't from Fort Drummond, but it was one of ours.
This is the video feed off a drone on a routine training run from an air national guard base near Syracuse at 8:16 this morning.
Would you mind shutting those blinds? Who's flying the drone? Funny you should ask.
The pilot lost control nine minutes earlier over Long Island.
Whoa.
What do you mean, lost control? Take a listen for yourself.
I don't know, Sir.
It's not responding to any commands.
Okay, try rebooting the comm software.
I already rebooted.
That didn't fix it.
Do we need to notify TSA that-- Wait.
What the hell is that? Are you running a targeting protocol on that vehicle? No.
I'm not doing anything.
I don't know what's happening.
Oh, my God.
Somebody hacked into that drone and took out Dale Tanner.
Why is it so hard to believe? People hack into banks all the time-- the Pentagon, NASA.
Yeah, but a drone? Maybe the pilot was just pretending that he wasn't flying.
No, no.
You can't fake that kind of panic.
I agree.
He was having a pants-soiling moment.
But there is one possibility we are neglecting.
The drone itself.
It's "Rise of the Machines", not unlike skynet in "The Terminator".
The machines have achieved consciousness, and they are pissed.
Sorry to disappoint, Mr.
Castle, but it's a human perp we're after.
NSA picked up an encrypted signal that was sent out the exact moment the pilot lost control.
That signal basically overrode the controls and allowed the hacker to take over the drone.
And where did this signal come from? From the lower half of the State of New York.
Uh, NSA is trying to narrow that down as we speak.
So for all we know, we're looking for some 14-year-old nerd with a computer? No, it's not likely.
Whoever did this had to know how to defeat the signal encryption and have the software to run the drone.
Warburg.
What's a Warburg? No, it's not a what.
It's a who.
He's the only guy that could've pulled this off.
Okay, how do we find him? He's been off-grid for about a year.
The guy's a real ghost.
You'll never find him.
But you know what? I might by tracing this signal.
Maybe we can work on this together.
I agreed to tell you what I knew, which I've done.
It's been real fun, Detective Beckett, but, uh, I'll take things from here, all right? And here I thought we all had bonded.
If Warburg hacked that drone, then he's our murder suspect, and I am not buying Tack's word that we can't find him.
Let's dig into this guy and see who we're dealing with.
Simon Warburg-- a programming legend.
Overcame severe OCD to become chief designer for the operational software used in military drones.
And then what? Well, he got busted for sabotaging that software.
But he fled before the FBI could arrest him.
Warburg.
Sounds like a Bond villain, right? Petting his cat while formulating a plan for world domination.
And what is that plan, you ask? - Actually, I didn't ask.
- Talkin' to the boys.
To create a drone army-- a drone army that can think, that possess awareness.
And who better than the programming genius who designed their software to give them that spark of life? Castle, you don't actually believe that.
And keep in mind, if you say yes, I will find you less attractive.
Well, it is conceivable, and I have to say, a far better story.
Yo, check it.
Warburg posted a video just before he went into hiding.
People don't understand why I tampered with the drone software.
That's Warburg? I was expecting Dr.
Evil? Someone a little less nerdy.
It's because I've seen the future.
And I know their plan.
Here it is.
Building a drone army.
They'll introduce surveillance drones to monitor traffic.
Seems harmless enough, right? So we let it happen.
Next, there'll be security drones.
Because who doesn't like to feel safer? And then armed drones to protect our skies.
And by then, it's too late.
Because the system to monitor, to control, to kill any one of us will already be in place.
Someone has to stop this.
Even if that someone is me.
He wasn't building a drone army.
He was preventing one from being built.
I was pretty close.
If by "close," you mean "opposite.
" Warburg believed that drones were gonna be used to target US citizens.
That's why he killed an activist like Dale Tanner-- to show us that the future was already here.
This guy basically framed the government to try to stop drone use.
So we get Warburg, we're gonna get our killer.
And I think I know how.
Guys, look at those books.
All on science.
All first editions.
That's "The Origin of the Species.
" So? So he was a book collector.
A book collector with OCD.
A habit like that would die hard.
I'll start checking antique bookstores in the morning to see if Warburg contacted any of them.
Beckett.
No tank is gonna get Beckett.
Beckett, get up.
We gotta go.
You totally fell for it.
You acted like it was "Rise of the Machines.
" No, I didn't.
That's--I didn't think it was "Rise of the-- If that was actually a killer tank, you bailed.
I went to get the bat to the protect you to eliminate the threat.
Really? There's a camera here, Castle.
I saw the look on your face.
Beckett.
Hey, Beckett.
Sorry to call you so late.
But I think I got something.
Ryan, what are you doing at the precinct? Well, I was looking at web sites of antique bookstores, and I was checking out one near Woodstock, and I think I've noticed a pattern.
What kind of a pattern? According to this inventory grid, The bookseller sold seven books on the same day last month.
And I see all seven of those books on one shelf of Warburg's bookcase.
Either that's a statistical impossibility or-- Or Warburg is rebuilding his book collection one shelf at a time.
Which would mean, he ordered books from this bookstore.
Ah, that aroma-- old leather and moldering paper.
It's official.
I love this place.
Castle, look.
It's "Storm Season.
" Oh.
On the clearance table.
And the love fades.
Uh, can I help you? Yes, as a matter of fact, you can.
Do you recognize this man? Oh, yes, indeed.
It's--it's Mr.
Smith.
He's quite a discerning collector.
Uh, he's purchased quite a few books from us here.
Really, Smith? That's original.
Do you have his address? Does he get his books delivered? No, no.
He comes in and he picks them up.
Do you know what kind of car he drives? Well, he usually rides a bicycle.
So he's local.
All right.
I'm gonna get the boys to look up all the properties bought or sold in the area over the past year, since Warburg went missing.
Seriously? Uh, it's--it's-- it's a nice book.
Thank you.
So according to Ryan, the house at the end of this driveway was purchased ten months ago by attorney.
Warburg is here.
I can feel it.
Castle, you've said that about every place we've been to so far.
Yeah, but this time I mean it.
The force is stronger with this one.
The problem is, it's private property, and I don't have a warrant.
Just pretend you don't see the sign.
Look, we're on the cusp of finding Warburg, who, at the very least, is a person of interest and at most, a maniacal super-villain with the power to bend drones to his will.
And Gate's unlocked.
Burning daylight.
Maybe Warburg is here.
It is remote and secluded.
You know, I just had a deeply disturbing thought.
Much like most of your thoughts? What if Warburg isn't involved? I mean we have been played before.
What if Stack just mentioned his name to send us on a wild-goose chase? Oh, Castle, I don't think so.
Ah, still, there's no more proof that Warburg is involved than there is that the drone acted on its own.
Seriously? I haven't gotten that skynet thing out of your system yet? You mock me, but mark my words.
The day will come.
The experts call it the singularity the emergence of a technological super intelligence-- Wait, Castle.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Do you hear that? Like a buzzing.
You okay? Yeah, I think so.
Hey, that was just like "North by Northwest.
" Castle, don't get too excited.
It's coming back.
What are you doing? We gotta run.
We're never gonna make it to cover.
As soon as it gets in range, I'm gonna shoot it.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
I can't believe you missed with every shot.
Really?! Do you think that you shot down that drone with your marksmanship? I rose to the occasion.
Wow, this time, I really did protect you.
Yeah, along with yourself.
You know, this makes up for what may be considered a momentary lack of manliness.
No, I have earned my redemption.
Nothing can take that away from me.
These aren't real bullets.
These are blanks.
Blanks? Well, I didn't know that, so that doesn't-- that doesn't diminish the act of heroism.
That-- are those really blanks? Of course they're blanks, you idiot.
Meant to deter trespassers like you.
You just obliterated my finest drone.
I'm having the cops arrest you.
Let me save you a phone call.
We're here about Dale Tanner, Mr.
Warburg.
Knew somebody would be eventually.
Check out the quad.
It's my favorite.
Oh, sweet.
Payback for wrecking my drone.
Mr.
Warburg, let's talk about Dale Tanner.
You want to know if I killed him.
The answer is, yes, I did.
Would you like to tell me why? It began two years ago With this.
I don't understand what a car driving through the desert has to do with Dale Tanner.
Intelligence reports said there were three high-ranking Afghan militants in this car.
It was the right make and model, traveling at a high rate of speed.
So the drone pilot was given the green light to strike.
But then he saw those red dots on the trunk and he had a feeling so he aborted the mission.
There were no militants in that car.
The red dots were roses, because the young couple driving down that desert road had just gotten married.
That's when I knew I could no longer be a part of the drone program.
Uh, I don't understand.
Why? The pilot didn't fire.
Because the next generation of drones won't have pilots.
The new AI software will give drones decision-making capability.
They'll assess the data and take lethal action all on their own.
It really will be "Rise of the Machines.
" Those new drones would turn that car to ash without hesitation.
That's why, when lives are at stake, we need a man who sees roses.
We need the human factor.
And where was the human factor when you killed Dale Tanner? Let me show you something.
I wrote this program myself.
Note the user-friendly interface.
I'm rather proud of it.
Now these red dots are individual drones currently over New York State.
Now if I click on one I can monitor the drone's function in real time.
And with the push of a button, I can take over control of the aircraft.
Just like you did with Tanner.
Oh, I was on a bike ride that day and nowhere near a computer.
You just said that you killed him.
Well, I meant my software led to his death, but I didn't do it.
In fact, I was in touch with Dale Tanner.
I wanted him to post the program.
So I loaded it onto a flash drive and got it to him.
You wanted Tanner to post your drone-hacking software on his web site? If the Pentagon found out, they'd have to ground their entire drone fleet.
Precisely.
It'd bring drone development to a grinding halt.
But Tanner refused to post the program.
He sent it back, saying he didn't want any idiot with a computer being able to take over control of a drone.
I realized he might have a point, so, um, I decided to keep the program to myself.
So if you didn't use this and Tanner didn't post it, then who killed him? After I heard about his death, I checked out the flash drive I sent him.
Someone copied my program off of it onto a USB drive.
Now it wasn't Tanner.
He wouldn't order a drone strike on himself.
And it wasn't anyone on my end, because, well who else is there? So then it had to be someone close to Tanner with access to his work.
And we only know one person like that.
His assistant-- Omar Dixon.
Okay, here's my theory-- Omar Dixon is working for Tanner, but he's just scraping by.
Along comes Warburg's drone hack.
Tanner doesn't want it.
But Dixon sees an opportunity.
He realizes how much a drone-hacking program would be worth on the open market.
Exactly.
He burns a copy, learns how to use it.
The next step-- real-world test.
And Tanner's a cheap bastard anyway, so I'll get it.
For Richard Castle, press 1.
For Beckett, press 2.
Yo.
How about I just talk, jackass? So we put out an APB on Omar Dixon, but it looks like he's already in the wind.
His girlfriend said that he packed a bag, snuck out down the fire escape.
Okay, circulate his photo to airports and bus and train stations.
Already on it.
Detective Beckett, I sure do appreciate you finding Simon Warburg for me.
Is that what you were hoping for when you gave us his name? Well, I just thought you might think of something that we hadn't.
When I pinged your cell phone, I realized I was right.
FBI's picking him up right now.
Well, then it might interest you to know he didn't kill Tanner.
What are you talking about? We have reason to believe that it was Omar Dixon, Tanner's assistant.
The problem is, he's on the run.
I can help with that.
The facial recognition system's scanning footage over the last two hours from all the main departure points.
How accurate is this thing, really? Well, if he passed in front of one of those cameras, it'll spot him.
Man, talk about Big Brother.
There's gotta be a way to beat the system, though, right? Wear big sunglasses, let your bangs hang down over your forehead.
It totally messes with the software.
What if you don't have bangs? You could wear heavy makeup.
Paint random-colored shapes all over your face.
Yeah, I'm not doing that.
And there he is.
JFK, International Terminal, Now it'll track him off his face and the color of his clothes.
Damn it.
Omar Dixon caught a flight to Beirut.
Left an hour ago.
He's gone.
We reached the airline.
Omar Dixon was definitely on that flight to Beirut, - by way of Abu Dhabi.
- Why Beirut? He's got family there on his mom's side and dual citizenship.
He flew out on a Lebanese passport.
Can we have him detained when he lands? No.
There's no extradition agreement.
Probably why he went there.
And it's an excellent part of the world if you want to sell some drone-hacking software.
Speaking of drone hacking Say hello to our friend Omar Dixon.
See you later, Omar.
I thought he was heading to Beirut.
He was until I asked the attorney general to contact the FAA and have them recall the flight back to JFK.
You know, one of the perks of working for an 800-pound gorilla.
Did you already interview him? Well You're the reason we got him, Detective Beckett.
Why don't you do the honors? Look at that How she uses the silence.
She's a force to be reckoned with.
Oh, you don't know the half of it.
Omar, right now, your bags are being searched for a USB drive.
Your best bet is to tell me the truth before it turns up.
I told you the truth.
I had nothing to do with what happened to Tanner.
Then why did you flee the country? Because I like being alive, that's why.
Somebody put a bomb in his car.
I had people chasing me.
You and I both know that there was no bomb.
What do you mean? You used the software hack to fire a missile from a drone.
You're outta your mind.
Wh-why is this happening to me?! Are you actually gonna sit there and tell me that you had no idea about the flash drive Warburg gave Tanner? I had an idea, sure.
Tanner sent me to pick it up from the dead drop.
At which time, you copied it.
I never copied anything.
I didn't even know what was on it.
The next day, Tanner said he didn't want it, and so he--he told me to return the flash drive to the dead drop.
So that's what I did.
That's all I did.
Did anyone else know about the flash drive or have access to it? Yeah.
Yeah, just one person.
Hey, Sean.
You mind if we come in? I guess.
Where's your mom, Sean? She went to get groceries.
What's up? Is there news about my dad? We talked to Omar.
He said you started dropping by the office two months ago, mostly when your dad wasn't around.
I like hanging with Omar.
So what? Or was it to connect with your dad? I mean, two months ago, that's when he moved out, isn't it? Okay, uh, I-- I'm not exactly sure why we're talking about this.
Is that why you went to the college where he taught classes, so you could connect? I mean, it had to be hard, Sean, having a father like that-- so absent, so driven.
A crusader who put his mission above all else, even the people who loved him.
Warburg's drone hack was copied on to a 4-Gig USB drive.
Just so happens you bought the same kind of drive the day that copy was made.
You called your dad.
You asked him to meet with you because you wanted to know exactly where he would be.
Isn't that right, Sean? So what pushed you over the edge, Sean? Was it when you found out about the affair? My mom held us together.
Dad was always gone.
We never had any money.
We were being watched all the time.
No friends because of all the rumors and whispers.
And that was it.
That was our life.
All so he could expose wrongdoing and hold the authorities accountable.
What about his family? Why didn't we matter as much as some stupid scandal? And then, after all of it, after everything that he put us through, He leaves my mom for another woman?! And you wanted to make him pay.
He broke her heart! Me He broke mine, too.
What is this? What's going on? How about a nice glass of zinfandel when we get back to my place? After the day we've had today, that sounds great.
Detective Beckett and Mr.
Castle, both the president and the Attorney General have asked me to convey their thanks for your work on this case.
I don't suppose the president's appreciation could come in the form of a blurb for my book? Yeah, that's not gonna happen.
Uh, but, Detective Beckett, could I have a word? Yeah.
Let me ask you something.
Where do you see yourself five years from now? I haven't really given it much thought.
As a lieutenant, a captain? At One Police Plaza climbing the ladder? That's not really where my heart is.
Where is your heart in that room? You want to be in that room five years from now, busting some killer's balls? I don't know you.
Certainly not well enough to have this conversation.
Yeah, I used to work Homicide, too.
- Really? - Yeah.
Chicago.
Till some guy tapped me on the shoulder.
Today, I'm that guy.
What I'm saying is this-- I think you're exceptional.
You're smart, you're strong, You're an asymmetrical thinker.
I see bigger things for you.
Who says I want bigger things? Practically everything about you screams it.
There's a job opening in DC.
What job? With the Attorney General.
We report directly to him.
We work with total autonomy on the biggest, most challenging cases.
Cases like this, where the stakes are high and the outcome can affect history.
Not everybody has what it takes for the job.
I think you do.
Call that number to schedule an interview.
Think about it.
I will.
I'll be talking to you, Detective Beckett.
So you can rest easy, Castle.
It looks like the rise of the machines is still a few years off.
That's what the autonomous drones want you to think.
Well, the fact is, an autonomous drone would never have killed Dale Tanner.
Mm, true, Because with people, all decisions are personal.
And where one person might see roses another may see a chance to move on from an old life and on to a new one.
The human factor.
The human factor.
And this human needs a shower.
Care to join me? I'll be there in a minute.
You never did tell me what Stack wanted to talk to you about.
Nothing.
It was nothing.