Bull (2016) s06e13 Episode Script
The Hard Right
Turn your damn headlights off.
Sarge? Yeah, I see it.
Dim your headlights.
Bravo six Romeo.
We got a possible level three.
Going to confirm.
Over.
That Sergeant Bly? Sergeant, there a problem? Sergeant? Sergeant, what are you doing? He's got a weapon.
Put the weapon on the dash.
Now! Now! Step out of the vehicle with your hands up.
Oh, my God, Bly, what happened? Jason.
Thanks for coming.
Of course, Victor.
This is Chester Palmer, - our lead counsel at TAC.
- How are you, sir? This is Colonel Victor Taggart, one of the finest psychiatrists the U.
S.
Army has to offer.
Also one of the very few psychiatrists in the U.
S.
Army.
Jason's been ragging me for 15 years about headshrinking for the Army.
It's true that therapy is not as popular in military circles as I'd like, but I feel confident we can turn that around.
In another generation or two.
What's going on? I run a unit here that treats soldiers dealing with trauma suffered during deployment.
PTSD's epidemic, as you can imagine.
One of my patients was just charged with murder.
Name's Sergeant Carter Bly.
Colonel, if this involves a military court proceeding, I'm not sure that TAC is the right fit for you.
It happened off base under civilian authority.
And before you ask, Bly waived confidentiality, so no HIPAA issues.
So, what happened? He confessed to killing another soldier.
Sergeant Nathan Wells.
They were friends.
Best friends.
He confessed.
Did he give a reason? There is no reason.
That's why you're here.
I've known Nathan since high school.
Day after graduation, he drove us to the recruiting station.
I was hesitant.
But Nathan walked right up to the recruiter and said he was there to serve his country.
That's how he was.
He didn't like talking about a thing.
He'd just do it.
You need to take a moment? No, sir.
Nathan and I did basic together, one tour in Iraq, two in Afghanistan.
What happened the night that Sergeant Wells died? We were hanging out in Pelham Bay Park.
Used to go there when we were kids.
What were you doing there? Drinking beers.
You know.
Hanging out.
Then a vehicle backfired.
Came out of nowhere.
It was loud.
Next thing I know, I'm standing over Nathan with a gun in my hand.
Whose was it? Yours? No, sir.
It was Nathan's.
He always had it on him.
Well, how did you get it? I must have grabbed it.
Why do that? I don't remember.
It's all right, Carter.
In therapy, I've learned that when I dissociate, I'm in a fight-or-flight mentality.
I could've thought Nathan was trying to kill me or I don't know.
Anything, really.
I just don't know.
Nathan was like family to me.
Last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.
I've been seeing these kind of cases more and more.
Soldiers experiencing PTSD episodes, coupled with dissociative disorders.
Bly's case is more severe than most, but the experience he's describing isn't unique.
It's not even all that unusual.
Can you help him? Colonel, even with Sergeant Bly's illness, if we take his case, we'd strongly recommend a plea deal.
Plead guilty? Why? Well, because he did it and because he confessed to it and I see no other credible way to argue it.
He wasn't in his right mind.
Come on.
If there was ever a case to argue diminished capacity, this is it.
Vic, the insanity defense is only used in about one percent of cases, and even then, it's only successful 25% of the time.
Juries don't like saying someone isn't responsible for something they clearly did.
But he wasn't responsible.
Jason, the U.
S.
military takes healthy young men and women straight out of high school and ships them off to the battlefield.
And when they come back emotionally damaged, soldiers like Bly who seek treatment get stigmatized.
Their careers stall out.
Now, there's a number of us who are trying to change that, but shifting institutionalized norms takes time.
Okay.
We do understand that.
Bly's condition is not his fault.
It's a result of his service to this country.
There's no way on earth that that young man should go to prison.
And you're willing to testify to that in court? - Absolutely.
And all day long.
- Bull, look, I just have to say that if we plead this out, Bly is looking at a reduced sentence.
Maybe as little as five years.
But if we take this to trial, all that is out the window.
He's looking at 20, minimum.
There's a ton of downside if we lose.
Well, then I guess we're gonna have to win.
Mm.
Did your super fix that leaky sink yet? He said he's waiting on a part to come in.
They don't take that long.
I'll go talk to him.
Dad, my apartment, my sink, my problem.
I know.
I'm just saying I don't want him brushing you off.
Want one of these? - I'll finish this stack.
- No, thanks.
I'm starting a new trial today, and I never know if I'm gonna have enough time to eat lunch.
- About the trial - Oh, I read that story that you wrote about the, um the, uh, pigeon and the dog.
It was hilarious.
It was a puff piece.
No, it was funny.
It made me smile.
That's not nothing.
Dad, I need to talk to I know you want to be doing more compelling, hard-hitting journalism, but you've only been at BANG Online for, what, a few months? You got to pay your dues, kid.
My editor asked me to cover your trial.
What? The Fort Dryer murder.
My editor asked me to write a story on it.
That's Anna, that's What? You don't think I can handle the story.
No, I didn't say that.
But you go from writing animal stories one week to covering a high-profile murder - the next? - I've been working really hard.
I know you have.
But your editor knows that I'm representing the defendant, right? - Yes.
- Mm-hmm.
He thinks that you're gonna be able to hit me up for information, Anna.
He's taking advantage of you.
This is my shot, Dad.
And okay.
Maybe it did come a little early because my editor thinks that I have an in with you.
But I promise I'm not gonna ask you for any favors.
I'm writing this story.
Well, if you are going to do this, then you have to know you and I are gonna have to keep things completely separate.
I'm talking church and state separate.
Well, I'd argue that the church - influenced the state quite a bit - Anna.
Church and state.
Got it.
Good.
You're both here.
We need to start digging on the Fort Dryer case.
Already started.
This is so sad.
I've been digging through their socials.
These guys did everything together.
How do you get over killing your best friend? Well, the fact that they were so close, that has to be good for us, right? There's no motive for the prosecutor to point to.
Well, technically, the prosecution doesn't need motive to prove murder, but the lack of one certainly helps us.
So, Taylor, stay on their relationship.
That is our offense.
Danny, you're on defense.
Which is? PTSD.
Colonel Taggart will testify as an expert witness, but it would be great if we could find anyone who has witnessed Bly experiencing a PTSD episode.
- I'm on it.
- Marissa? Henri.
- I'm sorry to interrupt.
- Uh, no.
Uh, perfect timing.
I'll check in with you two later.
Who's the hot French guy? No clue.
Go, Marissa.
It's perfect.
- It fits the space quite well.
- Thank you for bringing it.
I doubt most gallery owners would take the trouble to install their clients' artwork.
Well, most of my clients don't spend months visiting the piece before they make the purchase.
I wanted to be sure that you were certain.
I was certain the moment I laid eyes on it.
I just needed to earn it.
Well, she was meant for you.
This may sound silly, but I do believe in a spiritual connection with art.
Well, I hope it's not silly.
It's been the guiding principle of my life.
Uh, this is a law firm, no? Uh, not exactly.
We're a trial science company.
- Ah.
- We consult on legal cases before they go to trial.
Ah.
Why? Do you need a lawyer? I could use a little legal consultation, perhaps.
Have a seat.
Let me see if I can help.
I do some work with a nonprofit that attempts to repatriate art and antiquities to their countries of origin, and we recently identified a centuries-old tribal mask that was stolen from the Guro people off the Ivory Coast.
Unfortunately, the item is about to go up for auction here in New York, and we won't have the official chain of title, for a couple of weeks.
And once the piece is sold, it it could disappear forever.
Have you explained the situation to the auction house? Without proof of provenance, auctioneers tend to be dismissive of these claims.
But I thought I could stall with the threat of legal action? Our in-house counsel is in the middle of trial right now, but I might be able to scare them a little.
Nathan was incredibly proud to serve in the military, to be a role model to our five-year-old son, Jack.
You must have been proud of him, too.
Absolutely.
Proud and sometimes worried.
I said a lot of prayers when Nathan was deployed, but I never thought that he would be killed at home by one of his fellow soldiers.
I know this is tough, but you got to look at her.
Mrs.
Wells, are you aware that the defendant claims he was suffering from a PTSD blackout when he shot your husband? Yes.
But I don't believe that for a second.
Objection.
The witness is not an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder.
Your Honor, the defense has stated that Sergeant Bly and Sergeant Wells were best friends.
Spent lots of time together.
Mrs.
Wells is qualified to speak to her own observations of the defendant's behavior - and motives.
- I agree.
Overruled.
But keep it within her purview, Counselor.
Mrs.
Wells, why don't you believe the defendant's story? I'm not saying Sergeant Bly didn't have problems when he got back from his last deployment, but I've been around him plenty, and I've never seen him black out or lose control.
My husband did just as many tours as him, and he never would've flipped out and killed somebody.
Objection Inflammatory and irrelevant.
Sergeant Wells' mental health has absolutely no bearing on this case.
We have gone a little out of bounds.
The jury will disregard the witness's last statement.
In the weeks leading up to your husband's death, did you have any reason to believe that he and Sergeant Bly were not on friendly terms? Yes.
Things had been tense between them.
Ever since Nathan got back from his last tour.
And a few nights before Nathan was killed the two of them were arguing out on our driveway.
For ages.
Did you hear what they were arguing about? No, at least not all of it, but at one point Carter Sergeant Bly got up in Nathan's face and I heard him yell that he would do whatever it took to stop him.
Did you ask your husband what they were fighting about? He said it had to do with Afghanistan.
But he couldn't talk about it.
As in, it involved some kind of military secret? That's how I understood it.
- Yes.
- Do you think that Sergeant Bly killed your husband to prevent him from revealing something that happened overseas? Objection, Your Honor! This is gross speculation! Sustained.
The jury will disregard A.
D.
A.
Thomas's conjecture.
Dial it back, Ms.
Thomas.
No further questions, Your Honor.
What happened in Afghanistan? Nothing.
I don't know what she's talking about.
Then what were you fighting about? Sergeant? He signed up for another tour.
- I didn't think he should do it.
- Why not? I remember the toll my last tour had on me.
Nathan had a wife.
A son.
Had more at stake.
I was concerned about him.
Well, to the jury, that concern looks like motive.
Hey, Vic, how you doing? I hope you don't mind.
They told me you were on your way back from court, and it was okay for me to wait here.
Oh, what's going on? Jason, I can't testify.
What are you talking about? I had to ask permission to testify, which I assumed would be pro forma.
I didn't know the classification status of Bly's deployments.
I'm sorry, what does that mean? Some of the operations that Bly took part in are highly classified.
My superiors are concerned that details could leak if I testify, so they have ordered me not to.
- Ignore them.
- I can't do that.
Yes, you can! Or quit the Army.
So you don't have to take these asinine orders.
The military is my life I know you don't get that.
Without your testimony, Bly is doing 50 years.
You get that.
Right? I'm gonna subpoena you and Bly's records and I'm gonna put it all out in public.
You can try.
It won't work.
You brought me into this.
You put me on this mission.
- I know.
- And now you're saying that the Army told you to walk away? I was wrong to assume that I could help this soldier just because I'm treating him.
I can't, Jason.
So you're telling Bly? I already have.
He understands.
"He understands.
" Hmm.
He understands that his therapist just hung him out to dry? When you're a soldier, you're a soldier first.
Well, congratulations, soldier.
You just left one of your own behind.
You're selling stolen goods.
Show me the paperwork that says someone else owns this, and they can have it back.
Until then I can't help you.
We will have the provenance document shortly.
It would be in your best interest to pull the mask from the auction in the interim.
No, it would be in my best interest to sell it and make a profit.
And risk losing a crucial piece of the Guro people's cultural history forever.
No offense, but I get people making claims on art all the time.
- Hmm.
- If I held up every auction without proof I'd be out of business.
Let's focus on the stolen mask.
I am prepared to file a Writ of Replevin to return this property to its rightful owner.
What law firm did you say you're from? Trial Analysis Corporation.
Hmm.
May I see your card? There's no "esquire" after you're name.
You're not even a lawyer, are you? I represent the interests Okay, look, I have an auction in two days.
Unless I get clear provenance before then, this piece will be listed.
Have a nice day.
God, that man, I want to slap the nice day right out of him.
You have a temper, too? But you know how to keep yours in check.
I shouldn't have needled him like that.
He deserved it.
You'd think someone who worked with art would appreciate its cultural significance.
Oh, well, you know, most people don't appreciate that spiritual connection you spoke of.
But thanks for trying.
Oh, no, no, we're not done.
- We're not? - Not by a long shot.
Look, I may not have "esquire" after my name, but I love a good fight.
Our whole case is PTSD.
If Taggart doesn't testify, we have no case.
Sorry I'm late.
I had a thing before work.
So Taggert is still a no-go? - Yeah.
- Do you think the Army is muscling him to cover up something that went bad over in Afghanistan? I could do some digging.
- See if there's anything to that.
- No.
Frankly, I don't want to find out that Bly had a motive to cover up something that happened over there.
The only place that leads is premeditation and a murder conviction.
Okay, then what's our plan B? Plan B is plan A PTSD.
We need to find a new expert who can get up there and testify.
Let these jurors know what it's like to have a dissociative experience.
But a new expert is not gonna understand Bly's history.
Which is why it is more important than ever that we find somebody from Bly's past who has witnessed one of these PTSD events.
How's Danny coming with all that? I don't think it's going well.
She hasn't even been able to get on the base to talk to Bly's fellow soldiers.
Well, she needs to figure out a way to talk to them off base.
Damn.
You're all right.
Where'd you learn to shoot like that? My dad.
He was in the Army and gone a lot.
When he was around, I wanted to hang out with him.
If that meant learning how to shoot a gun, that's what I did.
You ever think of joining? Thought about it.
My dad really struggled when he got back.
PTSD, you know.
It happens.
I read it just happened over at Fort Dryer.
One soldier shot another off base.
They're saying it's PTSD-related.
You know either of those guys? Yeah, I knew both of them.
The, um, the shooter, was it Sergeant Bly, I think? - You really think he had PTSD? - Yeah.
He seemed pretty messed up since his last deployment.
You ever see him have, like, an episode or anything? What are you asking about Bly for? Just making conversation.
- You a cop or something? - What? You know Bly's trial's going on right now.
You working for him? For Bly? Working for him? We got nothing to say to you, lady.
Come on.
Get her out of here.
Sorry, ma'am, but you're gonna have to leave.
I'm just trying to get some range time in.
You're upsetting my customers.
I'm just making friendly conversation.
This way.
Do you happen to know Sergeant Bly? Friendly conversation, my ass.
Listen, the guy's on trial for his life.
I work for his defense team.
The Army won't let me on base to talk to anyone, so Anyone on base talks about Bly, they'll catch hell.
Yeah, but you're not from base.
Not anymore.
Retired.
Right, so no one can give you hell anymore.
Bly liked to come here.
We talked sometimes.
Things weren't so easy for me when I came home, either.
Did he ever talk to you about his PTSD? Some.
Yeah.
He had it pretty rough.
Bly said that he suffered from, um, blackouts.
Did you ever see anything like that? Last fall a group of us got together in the park, for a birthday; some kids were playing with bang snaps.
One of them threw a handful, sounded like automatic weapon fire and Bly totally lost it.
Would you be willing to testify to that? Don't need to.
I can show you.
Take cover! Did he just tackle a little boy? Nearly broke the kid's arm.
Sergeant Bly, do you have an explanation for what we just saw in that video? Ever since my second tour of duty, I've suffered from severe PTSD.
I won't sleep for days.
If I do I get night terrors.
And I get bad panic attacks sometimes.
If I get triggered, like with the fireworks in that video, I black out completely.
My psychiatrist says the official term is a dissociative event.
And is that what happened the night that you shot Sergeant Wells? Did you have a dissociative event? Yes, sir.
My best guess is I was triggered by a car backfiring.
Sergeant Bly, did you have any - animus toward Sergeant Wells? - I think you should see this.
- Any reason to want him dead? - No.
He was my friend.
Trish Wells testified earlier that that you and her husband were fighting just days before he died.
- Isn't that correct? - We were arguing.
But we're friends.
Sometimes friends argue.
Look Nathan was more than a friend.
He was like a brother to me.
I had absolutely no desire to kill him.
Thank you, Sergeant Bly.
No further questions, Your Honor.
We are winning some hearts and minds, Bull.
Let's see how well Sergeant Bly holds up on cross before we pop the champagne.
Sergeant Bly, have you ever stayed - at the Stone Valley Motel? - Objection.
- Relevance? - Your Honor, I assure you this is relevant.
It'll take me just a moment to get there.
Sergeant Bly, you will answer the question.
I'm not sure.
I don't recall every - motel I've ever stayed in.
- Where is this going? - I don't know.
- Let me see if I can jog your memory.
An article was published on BANG Online today stating that you were a guest at Stone Valley Motel on September 5 of this year.
Did you stay the night at the motel? Yeah.
Uh, the court didn't hear you, Sergeant Bly.
Yes.
I was there.
Did a woman spend the night in your room with you? Yes.
Who was that woman? Trish Wells.
You had an affair with Trish Wells, the wife of Sergeant Wells? The man you claim was like a brother to you? I should've never let it happen.
When I came back from my last tour, I was having a hard time.
I just needed someone to talk to.
Nathan was overseas.
Trish and I were there for each other.
Is that why you killed Sergeant Wells, so you could have his wife - for yourself? - Objection.
Inflammatory, Your Honor.
Overruled.
Sergeant Bly will answer the question.
No.
We ended things months ago.
The shooting had nothing to do with Trish.
Don't bring her into this.
Well, I didn't bring her into this, Sergeant.
You did.
No further questions, Your Honor.
- Ask for a recess.
- Your Honor? The defense requests a short recess before we redirect.
No, no, no, he admitted it on the stand.
- All of it now.
The whole thing.
- Anna! - I need to talk to you.
- Yeah.
Now! You'll have my copy by 4:00.
Thanks, bye.
That was my editor, Dad.
I don't interrupt you when you're in court.
You blindsided me in there.
That article you wrote blew up our whole defense.
You could've given me a heads-up.
You didn't want me asking you for favors, but I'm supposed to tip you off about a scoop? It's called professional courtesy, Anna.
Church and state, remember? You're just mad that I found something that your team didn't.
When you didn't even think I could handle this case.
I never said that.
You didn't have to.
Look, I didn't mean to blow up your case.
I found a lead and I followed it.
All right, okay.
You want to be a professional? I'm gonna treat you like one.
I'm adding you to our witness list.
What? Why? Wait, no, if I'm on the witness list, I-I'll be under a gag order.
I can't write my story! Yeah, that's right.
Welcome to the big leagues.
Well, I think it would've been better for us to know that you were having an affair with Sergeant Wells' wife before we told the jury you guys were best friends.
I should've told you.
I was ashamed.
Disgusted in myself.
And I didn't want, I didn't want Trish's son to find out after he'd already lost his father.
Did Sergeant Wells find out? - Is that why you guys were fighting? - No.
He didn't know about me and Trish.
We were fighting about Nathan doing another tour, - like I told you.
- Are you sure that's it? 'Cause I can't defend you if you don't tell me everything.
You don't have to defend me.
I just want this to end.
Well, the trial's almost over, and we have to get it right.
We're talking about the rest of your life.
Trish has been through too much pain.
I'm not dragging her through more.
- What do you mean? - I'm done.
That's it.
I'm pleading guilty.
You need to sit down and we need to talk this through.
Take me back to the base.
Sergeant! - Danny.
- You don't have to say it.
Chunk's kid totally smoked me on that affair.
And she's barely off her college newspaper.
Well, that is not what I was gonna say.
But yeah, I did not anticipate the affair, either.
So that is on me, but now Sergeant Bly wants to plead guilty.
I say let him.
If he killed his friend to keep banging his wife, he should go to jail.
If Bly killed Wells so he could be with Trish, why confess to the murder? Why not have a better plan? Well, murderers aren't always that smart.
Or logical.
Well, that's true.
I don't understand Bly's sudden desire to plead guilty.
I mean, he says he doesn't want to put Trish through any more pain.
The cat's already out of the bag about the affair.
What more pain is there? Maybe he's hiding something else.
I want to know what Bly and Wells were really fighting about in the driveway.
Maybe one of the neighbors overheard them? I'll check it out.
Thank you.
Kind of late to be caffeinating.
Well, I was just doing a little research.
Trying to figure out a way to stop that auction I told you about.
Oh, yeah.
For the handsome French art dealer who saves the world's cultural heritage in his free time.
- What? - Just saying.
I get it.
Henri's a little ooh-la-la.
Yeah.
I may have a little crush.
You should ask him out.
I don't know.
Look, his gallery's my happy place.
It's where I go to escape sometimes.
If I ask him out it doesn't work out, then I can't go back there.
Or maybe it does work out and you can go to his gallery all the time.
Or it doesn't work out and you find a new gallery.
I mean, this is New York City, after all.
Right now I just want another shot at that smug auctioneer.
I can't let that guy win.
Good morning.
Welcome back.
You pass the bar since the last time we spoke? I'd like to show you something.
A notice from the Cultural Ministry of the Ivory Coast showing that the Guro tribal mask is in fact a stolen artifact.
That's not proof of provenance.
I told you, until I get the provenance, I'm not removing the piece from auction.
Oh, sorry, I wasn't being clear.
This notice isn't for you.
I'm sending it to all of the buyers registered to attend today's auction.
Good luck with that.
My client list is confidential.
- She has the list.
- Yeah.
I bet.
Right next to your fake law degree.
It's true, I'm not a lawyer.
But I am very resourceful.
Yeah.
Stolen antiquities make buyers nervous.
Fewer buyers means lower bids on everything.
It's your choice, Mr.
Ratliff.
You can remove the mask from the auction, or I can hit send.
Wait.
- Morning.
- You got something? I'm not sure.
I couldn't find any neighbors who saw the fight, but there's a guy who lives across the street that let me go through his security camera footage.
- Did it get the fight? - Yeah.
But there was no audio, so not very helpful, but there was something else.
Two weeks before Wells died, the camera caught this.
That's Bly, pulling Wells out of his garage.
- He's giving him CPR.
- Yep.
Why would you try and save your friend's life, only to kill him two weeks later? Get me the M.
E.
's report on Wells.
Hey, Vic.
Jason.
I was gonna call, but I thought maybe you wouldn't answer it.
I need your help.
Nothing's changed, I can't testify.
I don't want you to.
Bly lied.
And we both missed it.
What are you talking about? You said the Army stigmatizes soldiers who seek treatment for PTSD? Not officially, but yes.
I suspect there are a lot of soldiers who don't report their PTSD even if they have symptoms.
More than I'd like to think about.
Where are you going with this? I took another look at Wells' M.
E.
report.
His organs Heart, liver, lung they were all cherry red.
Which is consistent with exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide.
Say, if you wanted to kill yourself in your garage with car exhaust.
Wells didn't die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
No, he did not.
But he also didn't have any defensive wounds on his body.
Now how would Sergeant Bly have been able to take a gun away from a trained soldier without leaving any marks? What do you need my help with? We need to get Bly to tell us the truth about what really happened that night.
I'm here.
Not that I had a choice.
What's this about? Well, I wanted to talk to you about this guilty plea you want to file I've got some problems with it.
Yeah, like what? I don't believe you're guilty, for one.
I don't care.
If you won't do it, I'll get another lawyer Sergeant? What do you hear? Listen.
What is that, birds? Squirrels? Do you hear any cars? I sure don't.
No, I don't hear any cars because there are no cars anywhere near here.
So how do you get triggered by a backfiring car? Doesn't matter.
It matters if there was no car backfiring.
It matters if Wells had no defensive wounds.
Your story's starting to fall apart, Sergeant.
Yeah, I know what happened! Wells also had PTSD, didn't he? He was suffering badly and you knew it? That's why he tried to kill himself in the garage that night.
And we know that you saved him.
Carter.
You did everything you could for Wells.
You could not have done anything more.
But you can help your brothers and sisters.
The ones who are suffering just like Wells did and are afraid to say anything.
The truth is a powerful thing, Sergeant.
Tell the truth about Wells.
Talk about what happens if you don't get treatment.
I didn't help Nathan.
I couldn't.
He was struggling so much.
- Just listen to what I'm saying.
- I won't do it.
I'll walk you in myself.
- No! - Nathan, you need help.
What I need is to get the hell out of here and redeploy.
- Why do you want to go back? - It's easier over there.
It feels, uh - normal.
- Another tour's only gonna make things worse.
Things can't get any worse! - I got to tell Trish.
- No.
About you needing help, about the garage.
- Don't, man.
- She needs to know.
- She deserves to know.
- Come on.
Come on, I can't have my wife knowing about this.
Thinking I'm weak.
Thinking I'm I'm some problem.
I don't want to talk about this anymore.
Hey, uh Let's just hang.
Yeah? Let's just hang.
- All right.
- All right.
Want to go to the truck and grab some more beers? Yeah, sure.
Nathan! Nathan was a hero.
I didn't want his suicide to take away from that.
To tarnish his memory for Trish.
For his son.
So you confessed to a murder that didn't occur? Nathan was my best friend and I betrayed him.
He didn't know.
But I knew.
And my life I don't have much to be proud of.
Nothing to look forward to.
Especially now that Nathan's not here anymore.
This was just, um I was just trying to make things right.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Has the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
In The State of New York v.
Sergeant Carter Bly, we the jury find the defendant not guilty.
My thanks to the jury for their service.
This court is adjourned.
Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
Excuse me.
Congratulations, Sergeant.
And you, too, Jason.
Well, you guys didn't make it easy, but we got there.
Why did you not tell me? I should have known.
I didn't know how to.
No, don't-don't say that.
How did I not know he was so broken? How did I not? Anna, hold up, hey.
Oh, am I allowed to speak now? Has the gag order lifted? I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have put you on the witness list.
That was petty.
Yeah.
It was.
I was annoyed.
You showed up your old man.
And, yeah, maybe you were right, maybe I wasn't ready to see you do your thing.
Clearly I was wrong, and that's on me.
So can I make it up to you? Can I buy you something to eat? I get to choose the restaurant? Of course.
Okay.
So have you given any thought to maybe covering sports? 'Cause I don't want to do this kind of thing any time soon.
I hate sports.
But you feel free to cover all the boring cases.
That way I won't feel tempted to write about them.
We both know that's not gonna happen.
Come on.
Hey you have a visitor.
- I hope I'm not disturbing you.
- No Of course not.
Come in.
Well, um it was nice to meet you.
And you.
- Uh, to what do I owe the pleasure? - Um I-I brought you something as a thank-you.
- Oh.
- The provenance documents finally arrived.
And the mask is on its way back to the Ivory Coast.
That is wonderful news.
Oh.
It's beautiful.
I don't recognize it from your gallery.
No, no, no, it's not from my gallery.
It's, um, this is, uh, from me.
You paint? - I had no idea.
- We mustn't reveal all our secrets at once.
- Henri? - Hmm? Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime? To share more secrets? I might need a bit of wine before that.
Word came down today.
Bly's getting an Other Than Honorable discharge.
For lying.
That sounds a bit harsh.
I understand why it seems that way.
And I understand why they did it.
Really? There's a code.
You follow it or leave.
That's the deal.
You know, Vic, sometimes I think you give a little bit too much to this thing.
I get that.
But sometimes the people inside this thing think the people outside don't give enough.
Ah, point taken.
Two worlds.
Two worlds.
Sarge? Yeah, I see it.
Dim your headlights.
Bravo six Romeo.
We got a possible level three.
Going to confirm.
Over.
That Sergeant Bly? Sergeant, there a problem? Sergeant? Sergeant, what are you doing? He's got a weapon.
Put the weapon on the dash.
Now! Now! Step out of the vehicle with your hands up.
Oh, my God, Bly, what happened? Jason.
Thanks for coming.
Of course, Victor.
This is Chester Palmer, - our lead counsel at TAC.
- How are you, sir? This is Colonel Victor Taggart, one of the finest psychiatrists the U.
S.
Army has to offer.
Also one of the very few psychiatrists in the U.
S.
Army.
Jason's been ragging me for 15 years about headshrinking for the Army.
It's true that therapy is not as popular in military circles as I'd like, but I feel confident we can turn that around.
In another generation or two.
What's going on? I run a unit here that treats soldiers dealing with trauma suffered during deployment.
PTSD's epidemic, as you can imagine.
One of my patients was just charged with murder.
Name's Sergeant Carter Bly.
Colonel, if this involves a military court proceeding, I'm not sure that TAC is the right fit for you.
It happened off base under civilian authority.
And before you ask, Bly waived confidentiality, so no HIPAA issues.
So, what happened? He confessed to killing another soldier.
Sergeant Nathan Wells.
They were friends.
Best friends.
He confessed.
Did he give a reason? There is no reason.
That's why you're here.
I've known Nathan since high school.
Day after graduation, he drove us to the recruiting station.
I was hesitant.
But Nathan walked right up to the recruiter and said he was there to serve his country.
That's how he was.
He didn't like talking about a thing.
He'd just do it.
You need to take a moment? No, sir.
Nathan and I did basic together, one tour in Iraq, two in Afghanistan.
What happened the night that Sergeant Wells died? We were hanging out in Pelham Bay Park.
Used to go there when we were kids.
What were you doing there? Drinking beers.
You know.
Hanging out.
Then a vehicle backfired.
Came out of nowhere.
It was loud.
Next thing I know, I'm standing over Nathan with a gun in my hand.
Whose was it? Yours? No, sir.
It was Nathan's.
He always had it on him.
Well, how did you get it? I must have grabbed it.
Why do that? I don't remember.
It's all right, Carter.
In therapy, I've learned that when I dissociate, I'm in a fight-or-flight mentality.
I could've thought Nathan was trying to kill me or I don't know.
Anything, really.
I just don't know.
Nathan was like family to me.
Last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.
I've been seeing these kind of cases more and more.
Soldiers experiencing PTSD episodes, coupled with dissociative disorders.
Bly's case is more severe than most, but the experience he's describing isn't unique.
It's not even all that unusual.
Can you help him? Colonel, even with Sergeant Bly's illness, if we take his case, we'd strongly recommend a plea deal.
Plead guilty? Why? Well, because he did it and because he confessed to it and I see no other credible way to argue it.
He wasn't in his right mind.
Come on.
If there was ever a case to argue diminished capacity, this is it.
Vic, the insanity defense is only used in about one percent of cases, and even then, it's only successful 25% of the time.
Juries don't like saying someone isn't responsible for something they clearly did.
But he wasn't responsible.
Jason, the U.
S.
military takes healthy young men and women straight out of high school and ships them off to the battlefield.
And when they come back emotionally damaged, soldiers like Bly who seek treatment get stigmatized.
Their careers stall out.
Now, there's a number of us who are trying to change that, but shifting institutionalized norms takes time.
Okay.
We do understand that.
Bly's condition is not his fault.
It's a result of his service to this country.
There's no way on earth that that young man should go to prison.
And you're willing to testify to that in court? - Absolutely.
And all day long.
- Bull, look, I just have to say that if we plead this out, Bly is looking at a reduced sentence.
Maybe as little as five years.
But if we take this to trial, all that is out the window.
He's looking at 20, minimum.
There's a ton of downside if we lose.
Well, then I guess we're gonna have to win.
Mm.
Did your super fix that leaky sink yet? He said he's waiting on a part to come in.
They don't take that long.
I'll go talk to him.
Dad, my apartment, my sink, my problem.
I know.
I'm just saying I don't want him brushing you off.
Want one of these? - I'll finish this stack.
- No, thanks.
I'm starting a new trial today, and I never know if I'm gonna have enough time to eat lunch.
- About the trial - Oh, I read that story that you wrote about the, um the, uh, pigeon and the dog.
It was hilarious.
It was a puff piece.
No, it was funny.
It made me smile.
That's not nothing.
Dad, I need to talk to I know you want to be doing more compelling, hard-hitting journalism, but you've only been at BANG Online for, what, a few months? You got to pay your dues, kid.
My editor asked me to cover your trial.
What? The Fort Dryer murder.
My editor asked me to write a story on it.
That's Anna, that's What? You don't think I can handle the story.
No, I didn't say that.
But you go from writing animal stories one week to covering a high-profile murder - the next? - I've been working really hard.
I know you have.
But your editor knows that I'm representing the defendant, right? - Yes.
- Mm-hmm.
He thinks that you're gonna be able to hit me up for information, Anna.
He's taking advantage of you.
This is my shot, Dad.
And okay.
Maybe it did come a little early because my editor thinks that I have an in with you.
But I promise I'm not gonna ask you for any favors.
I'm writing this story.
Well, if you are going to do this, then you have to know you and I are gonna have to keep things completely separate.
I'm talking church and state separate.
Well, I'd argue that the church - influenced the state quite a bit - Anna.
Church and state.
Got it.
Good.
You're both here.
We need to start digging on the Fort Dryer case.
Already started.
This is so sad.
I've been digging through their socials.
These guys did everything together.
How do you get over killing your best friend? Well, the fact that they were so close, that has to be good for us, right? There's no motive for the prosecutor to point to.
Well, technically, the prosecution doesn't need motive to prove murder, but the lack of one certainly helps us.
So, Taylor, stay on their relationship.
That is our offense.
Danny, you're on defense.
Which is? PTSD.
Colonel Taggart will testify as an expert witness, but it would be great if we could find anyone who has witnessed Bly experiencing a PTSD episode.
- I'm on it.
- Marissa? Henri.
- I'm sorry to interrupt.
- Uh, no.
Uh, perfect timing.
I'll check in with you two later.
Who's the hot French guy? No clue.
Go, Marissa.
It's perfect.
- It fits the space quite well.
- Thank you for bringing it.
I doubt most gallery owners would take the trouble to install their clients' artwork.
Well, most of my clients don't spend months visiting the piece before they make the purchase.
I wanted to be sure that you were certain.
I was certain the moment I laid eyes on it.
I just needed to earn it.
Well, she was meant for you.
This may sound silly, but I do believe in a spiritual connection with art.
Well, I hope it's not silly.
It's been the guiding principle of my life.
Uh, this is a law firm, no? Uh, not exactly.
We're a trial science company.
- Ah.
- We consult on legal cases before they go to trial.
Ah.
Why? Do you need a lawyer? I could use a little legal consultation, perhaps.
Have a seat.
Let me see if I can help.
I do some work with a nonprofit that attempts to repatriate art and antiquities to their countries of origin, and we recently identified a centuries-old tribal mask that was stolen from the Guro people off the Ivory Coast.
Unfortunately, the item is about to go up for auction here in New York, and we won't have the official chain of title, for a couple of weeks.
And once the piece is sold, it it could disappear forever.
Have you explained the situation to the auction house? Without proof of provenance, auctioneers tend to be dismissive of these claims.
But I thought I could stall with the threat of legal action? Our in-house counsel is in the middle of trial right now, but I might be able to scare them a little.
Nathan was incredibly proud to serve in the military, to be a role model to our five-year-old son, Jack.
You must have been proud of him, too.
Absolutely.
Proud and sometimes worried.
I said a lot of prayers when Nathan was deployed, but I never thought that he would be killed at home by one of his fellow soldiers.
I know this is tough, but you got to look at her.
Mrs.
Wells, are you aware that the defendant claims he was suffering from a PTSD blackout when he shot your husband? Yes.
But I don't believe that for a second.
Objection.
The witness is not an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder.
Your Honor, the defense has stated that Sergeant Bly and Sergeant Wells were best friends.
Spent lots of time together.
Mrs.
Wells is qualified to speak to her own observations of the defendant's behavior - and motives.
- I agree.
Overruled.
But keep it within her purview, Counselor.
Mrs.
Wells, why don't you believe the defendant's story? I'm not saying Sergeant Bly didn't have problems when he got back from his last deployment, but I've been around him plenty, and I've never seen him black out or lose control.
My husband did just as many tours as him, and he never would've flipped out and killed somebody.
Objection Inflammatory and irrelevant.
Sergeant Wells' mental health has absolutely no bearing on this case.
We have gone a little out of bounds.
The jury will disregard the witness's last statement.
In the weeks leading up to your husband's death, did you have any reason to believe that he and Sergeant Bly were not on friendly terms? Yes.
Things had been tense between them.
Ever since Nathan got back from his last tour.
And a few nights before Nathan was killed the two of them were arguing out on our driveway.
For ages.
Did you hear what they were arguing about? No, at least not all of it, but at one point Carter Sergeant Bly got up in Nathan's face and I heard him yell that he would do whatever it took to stop him.
Did you ask your husband what they were fighting about? He said it had to do with Afghanistan.
But he couldn't talk about it.
As in, it involved some kind of military secret? That's how I understood it.
- Yes.
- Do you think that Sergeant Bly killed your husband to prevent him from revealing something that happened overseas? Objection, Your Honor! This is gross speculation! Sustained.
The jury will disregard A.
D.
A.
Thomas's conjecture.
Dial it back, Ms.
Thomas.
No further questions, Your Honor.
What happened in Afghanistan? Nothing.
I don't know what she's talking about.
Then what were you fighting about? Sergeant? He signed up for another tour.
- I didn't think he should do it.
- Why not? I remember the toll my last tour had on me.
Nathan had a wife.
A son.
Had more at stake.
I was concerned about him.
Well, to the jury, that concern looks like motive.
Hey, Vic, how you doing? I hope you don't mind.
They told me you were on your way back from court, and it was okay for me to wait here.
Oh, what's going on? Jason, I can't testify.
What are you talking about? I had to ask permission to testify, which I assumed would be pro forma.
I didn't know the classification status of Bly's deployments.
I'm sorry, what does that mean? Some of the operations that Bly took part in are highly classified.
My superiors are concerned that details could leak if I testify, so they have ordered me not to.
- Ignore them.
- I can't do that.
Yes, you can! Or quit the Army.
So you don't have to take these asinine orders.
The military is my life I know you don't get that.
Without your testimony, Bly is doing 50 years.
You get that.
Right? I'm gonna subpoena you and Bly's records and I'm gonna put it all out in public.
You can try.
It won't work.
You brought me into this.
You put me on this mission.
- I know.
- And now you're saying that the Army told you to walk away? I was wrong to assume that I could help this soldier just because I'm treating him.
I can't, Jason.
So you're telling Bly? I already have.
He understands.
"He understands.
" Hmm.
He understands that his therapist just hung him out to dry? When you're a soldier, you're a soldier first.
Well, congratulations, soldier.
You just left one of your own behind.
You're selling stolen goods.
Show me the paperwork that says someone else owns this, and they can have it back.
Until then I can't help you.
We will have the provenance document shortly.
It would be in your best interest to pull the mask from the auction in the interim.
No, it would be in my best interest to sell it and make a profit.
And risk losing a crucial piece of the Guro people's cultural history forever.
No offense, but I get people making claims on art all the time.
- Hmm.
- If I held up every auction without proof I'd be out of business.
Let's focus on the stolen mask.
I am prepared to file a Writ of Replevin to return this property to its rightful owner.
What law firm did you say you're from? Trial Analysis Corporation.
Hmm.
May I see your card? There's no "esquire" after you're name.
You're not even a lawyer, are you? I represent the interests Okay, look, I have an auction in two days.
Unless I get clear provenance before then, this piece will be listed.
Have a nice day.
God, that man, I want to slap the nice day right out of him.
You have a temper, too? But you know how to keep yours in check.
I shouldn't have needled him like that.
He deserved it.
You'd think someone who worked with art would appreciate its cultural significance.
Oh, well, you know, most people don't appreciate that spiritual connection you spoke of.
But thanks for trying.
Oh, no, no, we're not done.
- We're not? - Not by a long shot.
Look, I may not have "esquire" after my name, but I love a good fight.
Our whole case is PTSD.
If Taggart doesn't testify, we have no case.
Sorry I'm late.
I had a thing before work.
So Taggert is still a no-go? - Yeah.
- Do you think the Army is muscling him to cover up something that went bad over in Afghanistan? I could do some digging.
- See if there's anything to that.
- No.
Frankly, I don't want to find out that Bly had a motive to cover up something that happened over there.
The only place that leads is premeditation and a murder conviction.
Okay, then what's our plan B? Plan B is plan A PTSD.
We need to find a new expert who can get up there and testify.
Let these jurors know what it's like to have a dissociative experience.
But a new expert is not gonna understand Bly's history.
Which is why it is more important than ever that we find somebody from Bly's past who has witnessed one of these PTSD events.
How's Danny coming with all that? I don't think it's going well.
She hasn't even been able to get on the base to talk to Bly's fellow soldiers.
Well, she needs to figure out a way to talk to them off base.
Damn.
You're all right.
Where'd you learn to shoot like that? My dad.
He was in the Army and gone a lot.
When he was around, I wanted to hang out with him.
If that meant learning how to shoot a gun, that's what I did.
You ever think of joining? Thought about it.
My dad really struggled when he got back.
PTSD, you know.
It happens.
I read it just happened over at Fort Dryer.
One soldier shot another off base.
They're saying it's PTSD-related.
You know either of those guys? Yeah, I knew both of them.
The, um, the shooter, was it Sergeant Bly, I think? - You really think he had PTSD? - Yeah.
He seemed pretty messed up since his last deployment.
You ever see him have, like, an episode or anything? What are you asking about Bly for? Just making conversation.
- You a cop or something? - What? You know Bly's trial's going on right now.
You working for him? For Bly? Working for him? We got nothing to say to you, lady.
Come on.
Get her out of here.
Sorry, ma'am, but you're gonna have to leave.
I'm just trying to get some range time in.
You're upsetting my customers.
I'm just making friendly conversation.
This way.
Do you happen to know Sergeant Bly? Friendly conversation, my ass.
Listen, the guy's on trial for his life.
I work for his defense team.
The Army won't let me on base to talk to anyone, so Anyone on base talks about Bly, they'll catch hell.
Yeah, but you're not from base.
Not anymore.
Retired.
Right, so no one can give you hell anymore.
Bly liked to come here.
We talked sometimes.
Things weren't so easy for me when I came home, either.
Did he ever talk to you about his PTSD? Some.
Yeah.
He had it pretty rough.
Bly said that he suffered from, um, blackouts.
Did you ever see anything like that? Last fall a group of us got together in the park, for a birthday; some kids were playing with bang snaps.
One of them threw a handful, sounded like automatic weapon fire and Bly totally lost it.
Would you be willing to testify to that? Don't need to.
I can show you.
Take cover! Did he just tackle a little boy? Nearly broke the kid's arm.
Sergeant Bly, do you have an explanation for what we just saw in that video? Ever since my second tour of duty, I've suffered from severe PTSD.
I won't sleep for days.
If I do I get night terrors.
And I get bad panic attacks sometimes.
If I get triggered, like with the fireworks in that video, I black out completely.
My psychiatrist says the official term is a dissociative event.
And is that what happened the night that you shot Sergeant Wells? Did you have a dissociative event? Yes, sir.
My best guess is I was triggered by a car backfiring.
Sergeant Bly, did you have any - animus toward Sergeant Wells? - I think you should see this.
- Any reason to want him dead? - No.
He was my friend.
Trish Wells testified earlier that that you and her husband were fighting just days before he died.
- Isn't that correct? - We were arguing.
But we're friends.
Sometimes friends argue.
Look Nathan was more than a friend.
He was like a brother to me.
I had absolutely no desire to kill him.
Thank you, Sergeant Bly.
No further questions, Your Honor.
We are winning some hearts and minds, Bull.
Let's see how well Sergeant Bly holds up on cross before we pop the champagne.
Sergeant Bly, have you ever stayed - at the Stone Valley Motel? - Objection.
- Relevance? - Your Honor, I assure you this is relevant.
It'll take me just a moment to get there.
Sergeant Bly, you will answer the question.
I'm not sure.
I don't recall every - motel I've ever stayed in.
- Where is this going? - I don't know.
- Let me see if I can jog your memory.
An article was published on BANG Online today stating that you were a guest at Stone Valley Motel on September 5 of this year.
Did you stay the night at the motel? Yeah.
Uh, the court didn't hear you, Sergeant Bly.
Yes.
I was there.
Did a woman spend the night in your room with you? Yes.
Who was that woman? Trish Wells.
You had an affair with Trish Wells, the wife of Sergeant Wells? The man you claim was like a brother to you? I should've never let it happen.
When I came back from my last tour, I was having a hard time.
I just needed someone to talk to.
Nathan was overseas.
Trish and I were there for each other.
Is that why you killed Sergeant Wells, so you could have his wife - for yourself? - Objection.
Inflammatory, Your Honor.
Overruled.
Sergeant Bly will answer the question.
No.
We ended things months ago.
The shooting had nothing to do with Trish.
Don't bring her into this.
Well, I didn't bring her into this, Sergeant.
You did.
No further questions, Your Honor.
- Ask for a recess.
- Your Honor? The defense requests a short recess before we redirect.
No, no, no, he admitted it on the stand.
- All of it now.
The whole thing.
- Anna! - I need to talk to you.
- Yeah.
Now! You'll have my copy by 4:00.
Thanks, bye.
That was my editor, Dad.
I don't interrupt you when you're in court.
You blindsided me in there.
That article you wrote blew up our whole defense.
You could've given me a heads-up.
You didn't want me asking you for favors, but I'm supposed to tip you off about a scoop? It's called professional courtesy, Anna.
Church and state, remember? You're just mad that I found something that your team didn't.
When you didn't even think I could handle this case.
I never said that.
You didn't have to.
Look, I didn't mean to blow up your case.
I found a lead and I followed it.
All right, okay.
You want to be a professional? I'm gonna treat you like one.
I'm adding you to our witness list.
What? Why? Wait, no, if I'm on the witness list, I-I'll be under a gag order.
I can't write my story! Yeah, that's right.
Welcome to the big leagues.
Well, I think it would've been better for us to know that you were having an affair with Sergeant Wells' wife before we told the jury you guys were best friends.
I should've told you.
I was ashamed.
Disgusted in myself.
And I didn't want, I didn't want Trish's son to find out after he'd already lost his father.
Did Sergeant Wells find out? - Is that why you guys were fighting? - No.
He didn't know about me and Trish.
We were fighting about Nathan doing another tour, - like I told you.
- Are you sure that's it? 'Cause I can't defend you if you don't tell me everything.
You don't have to defend me.
I just want this to end.
Well, the trial's almost over, and we have to get it right.
We're talking about the rest of your life.
Trish has been through too much pain.
I'm not dragging her through more.
- What do you mean? - I'm done.
That's it.
I'm pleading guilty.
You need to sit down and we need to talk this through.
Take me back to the base.
Sergeant! - Danny.
- You don't have to say it.
Chunk's kid totally smoked me on that affair.
And she's barely off her college newspaper.
Well, that is not what I was gonna say.
But yeah, I did not anticipate the affair, either.
So that is on me, but now Sergeant Bly wants to plead guilty.
I say let him.
If he killed his friend to keep banging his wife, he should go to jail.
If Bly killed Wells so he could be with Trish, why confess to the murder? Why not have a better plan? Well, murderers aren't always that smart.
Or logical.
Well, that's true.
I don't understand Bly's sudden desire to plead guilty.
I mean, he says he doesn't want to put Trish through any more pain.
The cat's already out of the bag about the affair.
What more pain is there? Maybe he's hiding something else.
I want to know what Bly and Wells were really fighting about in the driveway.
Maybe one of the neighbors overheard them? I'll check it out.
Thank you.
Kind of late to be caffeinating.
Well, I was just doing a little research.
Trying to figure out a way to stop that auction I told you about.
Oh, yeah.
For the handsome French art dealer who saves the world's cultural heritage in his free time.
- What? - Just saying.
I get it.
Henri's a little ooh-la-la.
Yeah.
I may have a little crush.
You should ask him out.
I don't know.
Look, his gallery's my happy place.
It's where I go to escape sometimes.
If I ask him out it doesn't work out, then I can't go back there.
Or maybe it does work out and you can go to his gallery all the time.
Or it doesn't work out and you find a new gallery.
I mean, this is New York City, after all.
Right now I just want another shot at that smug auctioneer.
I can't let that guy win.
Good morning.
Welcome back.
You pass the bar since the last time we spoke? I'd like to show you something.
A notice from the Cultural Ministry of the Ivory Coast showing that the Guro tribal mask is in fact a stolen artifact.
That's not proof of provenance.
I told you, until I get the provenance, I'm not removing the piece from auction.
Oh, sorry, I wasn't being clear.
This notice isn't for you.
I'm sending it to all of the buyers registered to attend today's auction.
Good luck with that.
My client list is confidential.
- She has the list.
- Yeah.
I bet.
Right next to your fake law degree.
It's true, I'm not a lawyer.
But I am very resourceful.
Yeah.
Stolen antiquities make buyers nervous.
Fewer buyers means lower bids on everything.
It's your choice, Mr.
Ratliff.
You can remove the mask from the auction, or I can hit send.
Wait.
- Morning.
- You got something? I'm not sure.
I couldn't find any neighbors who saw the fight, but there's a guy who lives across the street that let me go through his security camera footage.
- Did it get the fight? - Yeah.
But there was no audio, so not very helpful, but there was something else.
Two weeks before Wells died, the camera caught this.
That's Bly, pulling Wells out of his garage.
- He's giving him CPR.
- Yep.
Why would you try and save your friend's life, only to kill him two weeks later? Get me the M.
E.
's report on Wells.
Hey, Vic.
Jason.
I was gonna call, but I thought maybe you wouldn't answer it.
I need your help.
Nothing's changed, I can't testify.
I don't want you to.
Bly lied.
And we both missed it.
What are you talking about? You said the Army stigmatizes soldiers who seek treatment for PTSD? Not officially, but yes.
I suspect there are a lot of soldiers who don't report their PTSD even if they have symptoms.
More than I'd like to think about.
Where are you going with this? I took another look at Wells' M.
E.
report.
His organs Heart, liver, lung they were all cherry red.
Which is consistent with exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide.
Say, if you wanted to kill yourself in your garage with car exhaust.
Wells didn't die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
No, he did not.
But he also didn't have any defensive wounds on his body.
Now how would Sergeant Bly have been able to take a gun away from a trained soldier without leaving any marks? What do you need my help with? We need to get Bly to tell us the truth about what really happened that night.
I'm here.
Not that I had a choice.
What's this about? Well, I wanted to talk to you about this guilty plea you want to file I've got some problems with it.
Yeah, like what? I don't believe you're guilty, for one.
I don't care.
If you won't do it, I'll get another lawyer Sergeant? What do you hear? Listen.
What is that, birds? Squirrels? Do you hear any cars? I sure don't.
No, I don't hear any cars because there are no cars anywhere near here.
So how do you get triggered by a backfiring car? Doesn't matter.
It matters if there was no car backfiring.
It matters if Wells had no defensive wounds.
Your story's starting to fall apart, Sergeant.
Yeah, I know what happened! Wells also had PTSD, didn't he? He was suffering badly and you knew it? That's why he tried to kill himself in the garage that night.
And we know that you saved him.
Carter.
You did everything you could for Wells.
You could not have done anything more.
But you can help your brothers and sisters.
The ones who are suffering just like Wells did and are afraid to say anything.
The truth is a powerful thing, Sergeant.
Tell the truth about Wells.
Talk about what happens if you don't get treatment.
I didn't help Nathan.
I couldn't.
He was struggling so much.
- Just listen to what I'm saying.
- I won't do it.
I'll walk you in myself.
- No! - Nathan, you need help.
What I need is to get the hell out of here and redeploy.
- Why do you want to go back? - It's easier over there.
It feels, uh - normal.
- Another tour's only gonna make things worse.
Things can't get any worse! - I got to tell Trish.
- No.
About you needing help, about the garage.
- Don't, man.
- She needs to know.
- She deserves to know.
- Come on.
Come on, I can't have my wife knowing about this.
Thinking I'm weak.
Thinking I'm I'm some problem.
I don't want to talk about this anymore.
Hey, uh Let's just hang.
Yeah? Let's just hang.
- All right.
- All right.
Want to go to the truck and grab some more beers? Yeah, sure.
Nathan! Nathan was a hero.
I didn't want his suicide to take away from that.
To tarnish his memory for Trish.
For his son.
So you confessed to a murder that didn't occur? Nathan was my best friend and I betrayed him.
He didn't know.
But I knew.
And my life I don't have much to be proud of.
Nothing to look forward to.
Especially now that Nathan's not here anymore.
This was just, um I was just trying to make things right.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Has the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
In The State of New York v.
Sergeant Carter Bly, we the jury find the defendant not guilty.
My thanks to the jury for their service.
This court is adjourned.
Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
Excuse me.
Congratulations, Sergeant.
And you, too, Jason.
Well, you guys didn't make it easy, but we got there.
Why did you not tell me? I should have known.
I didn't know how to.
No, don't-don't say that.
How did I not know he was so broken? How did I not? Anna, hold up, hey.
Oh, am I allowed to speak now? Has the gag order lifted? I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have put you on the witness list.
That was petty.
Yeah.
It was.
I was annoyed.
You showed up your old man.
And, yeah, maybe you were right, maybe I wasn't ready to see you do your thing.
Clearly I was wrong, and that's on me.
So can I make it up to you? Can I buy you something to eat? I get to choose the restaurant? Of course.
Okay.
So have you given any thought to maybe covering sports? 'Cause I don't want to do this kind of thing any time soon.
I hate sports.
But you feel free to cover all the boring cases.
That way I won't feel tempted to write about them.
We both know that's not gonna happen.
Come on.
Hey you have a visitor.
- I hope I'm not disturbing you.
- No Of course not.
Come in.
Well, um it was nice to meet you.
And you.
- Uh, to what do I owe the pleasure? - Um I-I brought you something as a thank-you.
- Oh.
- The provenance documents finally arrived.
And the mask is on its way back to the Ivory Coast.
That is wonderful news.
Oh.
It's beautiful.
I don't recognize it from your gallery.
No, no, no, it's not from my gallery.
It's, um, this is, uh, from me.
You paint? - I had no idea.
- We mustn't reveal all our secrets at once.
- Henri? - Hmm? Would you like to go to dinner with me sometime? To share more secrets? I might need a bit of wine before that.
Word came down today.
Bly's getting an Other Than Honorable discharge.
For lying.
That sounds a bit harsh.
I understand why it seems that way.
And I understand why they did it.
Really? There's a code.
You follow it or leave.
That's the deal.
You know, Vic, sometimes I think you give a little bit too much to this thing.
I get that.
But sometimes the people inside this thing think the people outside don't give enough.
Ah, point taken.
Two worlds.
Two worlds.