Hey.
Hi. Weren't we eating out?
I decided
I was in the mood to cook.
Oh, yeah?
If I move in though, I'm bringing my knives.
The ones you have suck.
You mean when you move in.
How was work?
Hectic. But I think
I figured out a way to fix that.
What's this?
You're kidding?
Aruba?
You better go home and pack.
We're leaving tomorrow night.
For how long? Two weeks.
The limo's picking you up at your place at 7:00.
You're welcome.
(giggles)
Wait, I don't understand though.
How did you get time off from work?
They'll manage.
(screams and laughs)
Mm. Oh, stove? Off.
(laughing)
Alex Stark, 35, Caucasian.
His girlfriend says he owns a major cleaning service
that contracts out to office buildings
on Wall Street. Who called it in?
The girlfriend. She was staying over the night.
When she woke up he'd already left for work.
She let herself out, came back this afternoon,
found the blood on the floor.
It's a drilled lock, looks like a forced entry.
Yeah, someone went to a lot of trouble to get in here.
But none of the valuables seem to be touched.
Could be a kidnapping.
Do you know how much he's worth?
No, not yet. But we do know that he paid cash
for two plane tickets to Aruba, leaving from La Guardia tonight.
Okay.
We should have our guys contact Homeland Security.
Anybody that pays cash for an airline ticket
should raise a red flag.
Hey, Jack? Help me out.
(camera shutter clicking)
There goes his security deposit.
The blood on the floor-- do you think he's dead?
We don't know.
Do you have any idea what your
boyfriend was keeping in the safe?
Is that what was there?
He had an A&B Locksmith
install it six months ago.
I have no idea what he'd keep inside.
Cash, jewelry, drugs maybe?
I've never seen him do any.
But we've only been dating for three months.
Whoever did this,
if they took the safe, why would they hurt him?
We need to know
what kind of trouble he could be in.
Alex had a problem with one of his employees.
When was this?
Three days ago.
We were meeting an old family friend of his, Cynthia,
for brunch.
Alex was coming from work, but he was late.
(laughing)
And when he was a kid, he was obsessed with rabbits.
The only thing his aunt could get him to eat were carrots.
Well, he still really likes them. Oh.
I'm sorry I'm late. It's nice
to talk to someone who knows you so well. Hi, honey.
Hi.
Alex, you're bleeding.
Are you okay?
What happened?
I'm fine.
I just got into it outside work
with one of the guys on the crew.
Oh, my God.
Who? This new hire--
Justin.
I guess he wasn't happy
with the hours I gave him.
Did you call the police?
No.
Maybe you should.
No, I took care of it. I fired the guy.
Everything's okay, baby.
I promise.
Is that Justin guy why he went missing?
It's possible. Do you know his last name?
No.
But you should talk to Alex's crew chief, Gary.
What else can you tell us about Cynthia?
(sighs)
She was the closest thing to family he had.
His parents died when he was a kid.
He grew up with an aunt, but she passed away a year ago.
Do you know how we can get in touch with her? No.
But her last name was Neuwirth.
SAMANTHA: Gary?
Yeah.
Uh, I'm Special Agent Spade.
This is Special Agent Taylor. We're with the FBI.
Oh. Um, how can I help you?
Can you tell us about a guy
that used to clean here named Justin?
Oh, I never had a Justin.
Uh, why? What's this all about?
Alex Stark has gone missing.
Um, apparently, he fired a guy named Justin from here.
Alex fired somebody?
That's funny. He's only worked here six months.
I barely trust him changing the TP rolls around here.
Well, he says he's your boss.
Uh...
I guess it shouldn't surprise me.
Why's that?
It was pretty clear the other night,
he wasn't very happy with his job.
What the hell are you doing?
Stock order forms?
You know what would happen if someone else
caught you looking at these things? I was just
curious about what goes on here.
Come on. You see the amount of money they make here.
You never wondered how they do it?
Sure.
But it's none of my business
and it's none of yours either.
I'm sorry, Gary.
I just want to make something of myself.
For me, and for Sara.
You want to follow a dream?
Go to night school.
You want to keep this job,
take out the trash
like I pay you for.
I guess you got to report this, don't you?
We know Stark got into a fight.
Do you have any idea who it was with? No,
I never saw any fight.
Well, we're going to need
an employee list.
Can you do that for us?
Uh, I got one in my truck.
I'm guessing that fight didn't happen here.
I'm going to set up a canvas
between this building and the restaurant.
ELENA: So Stark may have been stealing
information from the investment bank.
His bank statements show big cash deposits
right after he got hired.
Well, nothing over $10,000.
He didn't want the government to know.
And three days ago, he emptied his account, $48,000.
Well, that could have been in the safe.
Um, any, uh, any news on Cynthia Neuwirth?
There's no New York listings,
but I did find one in Boston.
So I have a call in to the local PD
to see if they can find her.
Go ahead.
You got a highlighter? Mine just quit.
Yeah, sure, help yourself.
"Aces aren't the only thing
that's wild. Take a bet on me
and let's see if it pays off big."
I didn't realize that was your type.
This site was in Stark's browser history.
He visits at least twice a week.
Why's he trolling personals if his girlfriend's moving in?
I tried emailing the women he liked, in order to find out.
But I ended up getting the same auto response
from every one of them, "not interested."
Well, if they don't want to play the game, why buy the personals?
The ads were paid for by a Cornell Foods.
It's a front for an illegal poker club.
You can, uh, see the passwords in the quotes there.
"Professional looking for love."
"Adventuress seeking a good time."
You know, you really did your homework on this. Hey,
you know, vice did it for us.
They had to abort their sting
when, uh, when he got pulled for Homeland Security.
Right.
I don't know.
Illegal betting, loan sharking.
We bust in, they're going to clam up just on principle.
Why not go
in undercover? We already know this week's password.
And if Stark lost his shirt,
maybe some of the players are still talking about it.
Yeah, and even if he didn't, there might be somebody in there
that knows him better than his girlfriend does.
You know, whoever goes in,
they can't wear a weapon or a wire.
Intel says security is really tight in there. Right.
We should notify NYPD about what we're doing.
Hey, I'd be happy to go.
What?
What you forget the last time we played poker?
You went all in with a 7-2.
Sometimes it hits.
When?
So who's going to go in,
she asks, already knowing the answer.
The next time we're dealing
with an illegal chess operation, it can be your turn.
Okay?
Just be careful with the government's money.
Why? They're not.
(distant car horn)
(knocking on door)
I'm compassionate.
Empty your pockets and turn around.
Just the phone and wallet.
Robert Caplin.
Never seen you before.
I'm a friend of Alex's.
This way. Thank you.
He's good with Alex.
Changing $2,000.
Can I get you a drink, sir?
Uh, Scotch neat.
Another Laphroaig.
Neat.
Hey. Any word from Jack on the Bat phone?
No, and I'm not expecting to for a while.
It may take a few hands to establish his cover.
Okay, so we're doing a pool.
How much money Jack is going to lose while he's under.
So what can I put you down for?
DEALER: Pot's right, river card is...
five of clubs.
I'll raise it. Make it 80.
I don't think you have it.
Call.
Nice river.
I guess it's not your lucky day.
No, I guess not. Where did you
say you played before?
There's a 20/40 up on 114th Street.
Mm-hmm. I heard
(distorted): that's a pretty loose game.
Um... Yeah.
Check to you, sir.
DEALER: The bet is 40.
Sir?
Sorry?
(distorted): The bet has been raised to 40.
Right. Right.
Um, I'm feeling a little bit out of it.
Um, where's your bathroom?
It's in the back.
Thank you.
Oh!
(groaning)
(telephone ringing)
Wow, Jack can't seem to catch a break, huh?
You're the only one who's backing him.
Do you really think he's that good?
Honestly, I just figured I'd go for the long shot.
Well, risk big, win big. I like it.
(phone ringing) Uh, Danny.
Hey, Elena's here,
I'm going to put you on speaker phone, okay?
All right.
Tell us you got something on the canvas.
All right.
I got Justin. Yeah.
I just spoke to a gallery owner who witnessed a fight.
According to her, Stark took off
and she got the other guy's information
because she was afraid of getting sued.
Great, what's Justin's last name?
Uh, Ferarra, Justin Ferarra.
His address is on West 78th Street.
Got him.
I'm going to have him brought in.
All right, and one more thing.
I want to change my bet about Jack.
No, sorry, you can't.
I wrote it in Sharpie. Bye.
I know you work for Brendan Dillon.
Who?
You tell me what he wants with me.
I have no idea what you're talking about, lady.
You say you're Alex's friend, and I've never seen you before.
And then you sit
at a table that you've got no business at
just to get close to me.
Look, I met, I met Alex at a bar.
We were talking about poker.
I asked him where was a good place to play.
Do you want to live?
You stop lying and tell me what Brendan wants.
He's already got Alex and my money.
What else does he want?
I don't know!
Look, lady, I'll put the lotion in the basket, whatever it is
you want. Just...
(screaming)
Do you want another one? Do you?
You tell me what Brendan hired you to do.
Or I will empty this into you.
One.
I don't know! Two.
Tell me about Cynthia Neuwirth.
Well, there's no listing, but I did fine one in Boston.
Three. Boston!
The contract came out of Boston.
Okay, good.
Did he hire you to kill me?
Uh.
Answer me.
They wanted me to secure you.
And once I did, they wanted me to call,
then they tell me what to do.
(groaning)
What about Alex and my money?
Oh.
There was two contracts.
I got you.
Look.
If you let me go, I promise, I swear, that I will just,
I'll tell them I couldn't find you. Okay?
Just let me go.
No, you're going to help me.
How am I going to help you?
You're going to pretend like you did your job.
You're going to make your phone call
and you're going to find out
what they want you to do with me.
What if what they want is a bullet in your head?
Well, then that's what I do to you.
I just want my partner and my money back.
If I cross this Dillon guy, I'm as good as dead anyway.
Well, you know what Joe Torey says.
Oh, I don't know, what? Go Yankees?
Win today.
And all he's got is George Steinbrenner to worry about.
Not some crazy bitch with a nail gun.
What's the number?
Look, I'm just a contractor.
I'm freelance.
You kill me,
I take everything I know with me.
If you want me to help,
you have to tell me what's going on.
Justin Ferarra.
I'm Special Agent Johnson.
This is Special Agent Spade.
We'd like you to tell us
why you were fighting with Alex Stark the other morning.
Is that his name?
I bumped into him on the sidewalk and he went crazy.
I was protecting myself.
Your wife tells us you like to play poker.
SAMANTHA: She also told us that she's so terrified
that the IRS is going to show up,
that she was glad to get rid of this.
It's got Stark's fingerprints all over it.
And what else are we going to find if we search your car?
Blood? Like the blood we found in his apartment?
You think I killed him?
I know that you accosted him outside that gallery.
Probably trying to get the money back
that you lost playing poker.
Maybe it didn't end there.
He was losing money to me.
$3,000.
Then he called me one night,
saying he was ready to pay me back.
What the hell is going on here, Alex?
You call me at 2:00 a.m., drag me down to where you work.
You said you need your money back, right?
Well, I got something better.
Is this the guy, Alex?
Because I really got to get home.
Justin, this is Cynthia, my boss.
Hi. Hi.
What's this?
An overseas order
to buy two million shares of stock.
So what?
The order's big enough
that when I execute it tomorrow morning at 9:35,
the company stock is going to jump.
Everyone who owns it will make money.
So you give Cynthia some money
to buy your shares right at the open at 9:30.
She fills the order for the 2 million.
The stock trades up. You make a killing.
This is totally illegal,
right? You told me you were bringing someone serious.
I'm broke.
This is the only way that I can pay you.
And I promise you,
that you're going to make
more than just your money back with this.
I'm going home.
Sorry, Alex.
Wait.
I can have it in a couple hours.
I wouldn't have known it was a con, except I got greedy.
I went back the following morning with an extra $5,000.
When I saw Stark
vacuuming the lobby, I knew.
Why didn't you confront him then?
There was a security guard there.
So I waited until he left.
We got into it.
I told him if he didn't return my money, I'd call the cops.
I got it back the next day.
Is this the woman you saw?
Yeah.
Where did you and Stark meet?
At a card club over on Trinity Place.
Do you think he was scamming some of the other customers?
Sure.
Everyone loved playing with him.
But I guess he was losing on purpose.
A con artist?
Yeah. He told me he wanted
to sell his business and go back to college.
(sighs)
And Cynthia knew about it?
It looks like they're partners.
Now bearing all that in mind,
is there anything you remember that might help us?
When I was coming back from the bathroom at the restaurant,
I saw them arguing.
Cynthia said she was trying to convince Alex
to file a police report,
but now I don't know.
Well, look, thank you very much for your help.
I was so glad to find someone who knew him.
I should have known something was going on.
Why?
The way she looked at him.
Justin Ferrara's alibi checks out.
He was at a poker club on Trinity Place.
Oh, here's what I got.
A woman matching Cynthia's description is suspected
of real estate and insurance scams
in Houston, Denver and Chicago.
Well, do we know if she works with a partner? No, but I'll bet
she hooked up with Stark about seven months ago,
because that's when he quit
his data entry job.
Huh.
ELENA: Savach in organized crime
says Cynthia has been a person of interest
because of her connection with a Brendan Dillon.
Now he's into extortion and possibly homicide.
Well, what's his connection with Cynthia?
She was laundering his money
through a restaurant she managed and skimming off the top.
Maybe Dillon took Stark to try to get his money back.
I took him for 100 K, and now that he's got Alex,
he's got 80 grand back.
Well, you could look of it this way, you're up 20 grand.
Why don't you quit while you're ahead?
Because I don't like to lose.
So, you're going to call your contact
and you're going to help me get Alex back.
Or I'm going to do more
than just nail your hand to the chair.
What's the number?
(phone ringing)
Yeah.
Hey, it's Bob.
What's up, Bob?
I've got the target.
That's great,
that's great work.
So what do you want me to do?
Where do you want me to drop her off?
So, everything went okay?
Yeah, yeah, it's great.
I just want to get this bitch off my hands.
Look, man, I didn't expect you to call so soon.
Let me make a call and I'll get back to you.
Just make it fast.
Good.
Now you're one step closer to getting out of here.
How old were you when you had your appendix out?
What?
I saw your scar.
I was 32.
What hospital, Bob?
St. Vincent's.
Look, man, I didn't expect you to call so soon.
Let me make a call and I'll get back to you.
Just make it fast.
He's talking about a target and a drop.
It sounds like a kidnapping.
He definitely referred to the target as a woman.
All right.
He went in as a poker player, not a kidnapper.
Why's he changing his cover?
His cover must have been blown.
Maybe by Brendan Dillon.
Look, I think we need to raid the club.
No, no, no. I'm sure Jack's got a plan.
Now there's a parking structure
near the poker club on Hudson and West 14th.
Tell him that's where the drop is.
Okay.
Yeah, well, now I owe you.
Thanks.
What?
It took me about ten minutes to figure out
your tell in the club.
You blink when you bluff.
You just did that a minute ago on the phone.
What, you think I'm lying?
Explain to me how you have an appendectomy
at St. Vincent's hospital without leaving a record.
Computer error, I don't know.
No, no, you used Alex's name.
You made me tell you about Brendan,
and then that guy on the phone...
(phone vibrating)
...the phone is helping you pretend
to be someone you're not.
Who are you?
(nail gun fires)
(screaming)
Who?
I'm...
I'm... with the FBI.
Viv.
Tech says that Jack's phone
stopped pinging right after we called him.
So either he's turned it off or he's been made.
Did he make any other calls before it went dead? No.
Look, I don't think we can wait any longer on raiding the club.
All right.
Lean on vice for backup and hit it.
Great.
FBI! Keep your hands where we can see them!
Get on the ground.
You, get on the ground now!
Why do you have a gun?
I'm security.
Get up!
I'm going to ask you a question, okay?
I want to know if you've seen this man.
I asked you a question. Have you seen this man?
I got nothing to say.
I'm going to ask you one more time.
Have you seen him?
You won't do it.
You have no idea what I will do.
Don't test me.
I didn't know he was a nark.
Seemed like he was just a guy out to have some fun.
Hey.
You got to take it somewhere else.
Sorry.
I guess we got a little carried away.
Miss Neuwirth, you know this guy?
Well, we're kind of on again off again.
I guess we're back on tonight.
I need help.
All right, honey.
So, we've got to go.
Might be faster to take him out the back.
All right, yeah.
Is he going to puke?
Oh, my boy's all bark, no bite.
He'll be fine.
Put him in her car and that was it.
Make and model?
Lexus ES, black.
Take him and put him on the bus with the rest of them.
Dealer says that Cynthia Neuwirth was here.
Yeah, well, that security guy
said that Jack left with her, and that he was wasted.
I think she drugged him.
What the hell does she want with Jack?
If you do this, the FBI will be after you
for the rest of your life.
Come on, it's 80 grand.
You've known the guy ten months.
It's not worth it.
I can't just leave you here.
Sure you can.
I was looking for Alex Stark.
I'll stop.
It's not so simple.
Are you sure? Yes, there were two guys.
They were just parked right in front of your apartment. And you saw their faces?
One guy had dark hair, I think.
I don't know. I didn't really get a good look.
Well, what about the tags?
They're definitely Massachusetts plates.
Oh, God, it's got to be Brendan.
Do you really think it's him?
What are we going to do? No, no, no.
You're not going to do anything.
He doesn't know you exist, and we're going to keep it that way.
What about that investor on the hook, huh?
If he bites, that's 80 grand.
We could almost pay Dillon back. It's too risky.
Cynthia.
No, I told you what I did to him.
He's not going to be happy with me just paying him back.
He's going to want to hurt me.
We could split up.
You lay low.
I can take care of the last mark.
We take our nest egg,
we go, we set up shop somewhere where its safe.
You would do that for me?
Yes.
Cynthia, I was lost before you saw me
that day at the coffee shop.
And yes, this is a strange way to make a living.
But I love it.
And I wouldn't be doing it if it weren't for you.
I owe you.
I don't know.
Please.
I know I can do this.
This isn't even about the money, is it?
It's about Alex.
I...
I won't let anything happen to him.
It's complicated...
when you fall in love with your partner.
He's not my partner.
He's my son.
He's your son?
Does Dillon know?
No. He doesn't. Nobody knows.
You must have been young. How old were you?
I was 17.
I couldn't deal with the baby.
My sister took care of him.
What does he think happened to you?
My sister told him I was dead.
And when she died, I knew I had to tell him the truth.
Alex?
Yeah?
I'm Cynthia Neuwirth.
(phone rings) Excuse me.
Hey. I'm just heading over.
Yeah, but let me call you back.
There's somebody here.
I'm sorry. Um, do we know each other?
I recognize you... from your pictures.
I'm an old friend of your aunt's
and your mother's.
My aunt just died a few months ago.
I know. I'm sorry.
Um, how did you know them?
Elementary school.
I was in your
mother's class.
She got me into a lot of trouble.
Do you have a minute?
Can I buy you a coffee or something?
Well, you-you've got someplace else to go.
No, they'll wait.
Please.
I wanted to tell him, but I never could.
No, you dragged him into the life.
I built a relationship with him.
Do you love your son?
Do I love him?
I love my son!
Then why don't you...
why don't you let me go, and you can tell him?
Yeah. Yeah, you find him, you send him to jail.
It's better than finding him dead.
You know something.
You tell me what you know.
Tell me!
There was blood in his apartment.
Sit tight.
Hey, you hear anything from Boston PD?
Yeah, all of Dillon's men are accounted for.
He's not involved in this. Who's that?
It's a guy we picked up at the poker club.
Does he know anything? We'll see.
He sold a cloned cell phone to Stark last week.
All right.
Stark's phone is turned off
so we can't triangulate the signal,
but I was able to pull some messages
from his voice mailbox.
CYNTHIA: Alex, it's me. I'm here. Where are you?
You just call me when you get this. (beep)
Okay, what's going on? I'm freakin' out!
Just call me, okay?!
(beep)
Maybe you're at the club.
I'll wait there.
You meet me there if you get this.
The new message folder was empty,
so someone's been listening to them.
Okay, whoever accessed these messages,
do you know where they were calling from?
Three different pay phones in Long Island City.
Someone's being careful.
Hmm. Well, let's get an agent out to the island.
If they call again, maybe we can grab them.
Does Alex know your bank account
numbers, passwords, anything?
No.
What's that got to do with anything?
Dillon could use that information.
Use Alex as leverage to get his money back.
What, a ransom?
So where's the call?
Who knows?
How did Dillon find out about him
in the first place?
I don't know.
Besides the car,
what else made you think Dillon was on to you?
No, that was it, nothing else.
When was this?
Uh, last Friday.
What does it matter?
Alex emptied out his bank accounts two days
before that.
That's impossible.
Wake up, lady.
You've been conned.
You said yourself there was blood in Alex's apartment.
It's all part of the con.
Alex was counting on you to go to the apartment.
He figured you'd put it all on Dillon.
That you'd think it was too risky and you'd...
But you don't show up to the apartment.
The girlfriend does.
He just wanted to take off with his girlfriend,
with your money.
He was just doing what you taught him to do.
Yeah.
I should have told him who I was.
There's still a chance.
Oh, no, it's a little, it's a little late for that.
If he did all this
to take off with his girlfriend, we can use her to get him here.
It's worth a shot.
Stark's girlfriend is downstairs.
She claims that Jack called her, said she was in danger,
and that she should head straight to the FBI.
What?
Guys, I got something you want to hear.
This call came in a minute ago.
(beeping)
I work for Brendon Dillon.
What's Jack doing?
I have your girlfriend.
Bring the money to Cynthia's or she's dead.
That's it.
He's setting up a trap hoping that we're listening.
Maybe that's why he sent Stark's girlfriend here.
Yeah, but we have a police setup outside Cynthia's house.
He must mean somewhere else.
Well, where did this call come in from?
It was relayed from a tower near the poker club.
(computer beeping)
Someone's checking Stark's messages again
under a different address in Long Island City.
It could be Stark. We should grab him.
No, let's follow him.
I'm going to give the location to Elena.
All right, and I'll coordinate with P.D.
ELENA: He's pulling in.
Yeah, where are you?
I don't think I can wait. No.
(bell ringing)
(knocking)
I guess he got the call.
Why'd you help me?
Win today, right?
(grunting)
(screaming)
FBI!
Put your gun down!
CYNTHIA: Alex!
Put your gun down!
Where's Alex!
Get on the ground now!
Put it down!
(gunshot)
We got him, Viv.
They got him.
We're gonna need a medic.
Hey.
I heard you took the long odds on me.
Glad I was right.
Me, too.
Jack.
So Stark is ready to go to booking,
but he's got a lot of questions.
Don't worry about it.
I'll take care of it.
Is Sara all right?
She's fine.
Cynthia worked you over pretty good, huh?
Look, I was just afraid
she was going to do the same thing to me if I tried to leave.
All I wanted was to be able to start over with Sara.
Yeah, well, that's not going to happen.
Was she going to kill me?
She was...
She just wanted her money back.