Previously on "Perception"...
Who are you?
Special Agent Drexler.
I'm the FBI legate at the U.S. Embassy.
Impersonating an FBI agent is a federal crime.
We got to find this guy.
We've been working together on and off for, what, five years?
You're the serial killer.
He said he had to kill us all.
You attribute this PTSD to the actions of the defendant, Josiah Rosenthal?
Yes. I thought I was going to die.
We're getting married in two days.
You love her.
What did you want to tell me?
It makes me happy to see you so... Happy.
"I can't do this."
We've been planning this for months,
and she waits till we get a church full of people
to decide she can't do this?
Donnie, I'm sorry. This is...
This is bullshit is what it is.
Donnie...
Hey, hey, slow down. Where are you going?
I'm going to find Kate.
Look, you don't want to do this.
Due respect, Joe, this is between me and her.
And what are you gonna do, find her and drag her back?
No. I'm gonna make her look me in the eye and tell me what the hell is going on here.
Look, son, I know my daughter, huh?
She says she wants to be left alone, she wants to be left alone.
Give her some space. Maybe she'll come back around.
So I'm... I'm just supposed to do nothing?
Let me buy you a drink.
Thanks, Joe, but I'm not really in the mood for company.
Can I ask you a question, Doc?
If I say no, will it stop you?
When you went to see Kate just before she took off,
did you talk to her?
Yeah. So?
Did it seem to you like she was having second thoughts?
Not that I was aware of.
- Then don't you think... - That it's none of our business?
- Yes, I do. - Sorry.
You need anything?
Peace and quiet.
I'm gonna go change.
Hey, stranger.
Natalie?
How's tricks?
God, I've missed you.
I've missed you, too.
What are you doing here?
Today seemed like a good day to come back for a visit.
I had plans.
But as it turns out, I got the rest of the day for you.
- Only because you sabotaged the wedding. - What?
Did you or did you not get up out of your seat
right before the ceremony was supposed to start
to tell Kate that you loved her?
I...
I had a momentary irrational impulse that I resisted.
So you didn't talk to her right before she was about to walk down the aisle?
- Yes, I did, but... - What did you say?
I told her I was happy for her.
Before that?
I said she looked beautiful. So what?
So maybe she heard that and picked up on some nonverbal cues...
Your eyes, your body language.
Oh, come on, come on.
Maybe she intuited what you really wanted to say,
and that gave her second thoughts.
- That's ridiculous. - Daniel, at least admit it to me!
Admit what?
That you're secretly glad that Kate ran out on Donnie.
Okay, you know before, when I said I missed you?
I was being polite.
Daniel, you're gonna have to face...
Hello?
Is this Dr. Pierce?
Who's this?
I have Kate Moretti.
If you ever want to see her alive again,
tell your friend Donnie Ryan to secure the release
of Dr. Josiah Rosenthal from prison.
If this is some kind of a joke...
Once he's free, you will receive further instructions.
You have 72 hours.
If you alert the authorities or fail to deliver Dr. Rosenthal,
Kate Moretti dies.
Kate didn't get cold feet. She was abducted.
What?
I got this... this phone call, weird voice.
Whoever it was, he says that... That he has Kate
and that if you don't get Rosenthal out of prison
or... or if we alert the authorities, he's gonna kill her.
Bless your paranoid heart, Daniel.
What?
Look, I... I don't know if you're trying to make me feel better
or if you actually believe what you're saying right now,
but the truth is, Kate left me, pure and simple.
- You're not... You're not listening. - I should have seen the signs.
She didn't want a big wedding.
She didn't want to buy a house or talk about having a baby.
Donnie, Donnie...
Daniel, I might be a little drunk right now,
but you have schizophrenia.
No offense, but just please, ask yourself what is more plausible here,
that Kate is being offered in a hostage exchange
for a prisoner on death row
or that this is just another one of your...
No, no, not... not this time, not this time.
Think... think about it. You're an assistant U.S. attorney.
You have access to Rosenthal. He knows that.
He obviously orchestrated this whole thing.
So you have to find a way to get him released.
So what, he... He sent some henchman
to sneak into the church and grab Kate when nobody was looking?
Maybe! M-m-maybe he made a deal with... with some prison gang
who... who had their... Their associates on the outside kidnap her.
He... he's an incredibly resourceful sociopath who, let's not forget,
abducted and... and killed an FBI agent before.
And now he's facing lethal injection. He's desperate.
Donnie, Kate's not a coward.
Don't you think if... if she was having second thoughts,
she'd tell you face-to-face?
Uh, even if I had some magic power to spring Rosenthal,
this voice on the phone... Why call you instead of me?
Because all Rosenthal knows about you
is that you're the prosecutor who put him away.
He doesn't know if your calls are monitored,
or how you'd react, but he knows me,
and he knows that I'd convince you not to alert the authorities.
Look, may... maybe I did hallucinate the phone call.
But if there's even a chance that I didn't,
you've got to sober up and go and see that son of a bitch.
Mr. Ryan.
This is a surprise.
Is it?
I assumed you'd be off on your honeymoon.
How'd you know I was getting married?
My lawyer is a big gossip.
Do you know where Kate Moretti is?
Oh, my God.
Did she leave you at the altar?
That must be quite painful. You really should talk to someone.
Officially, I've had to suspend my practice,
- but I'd be willing to speak with... - Cut the crap, Rosenthal.
Did you have someone call Dr. Pierce with demands?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Then I'll see you at your execution.
Wait.
I don't know anything about your fiancée, Mr. Ryan,
but there is something that's been weighing on me ever since I was sentenced.
There are certain individuals who disappeared years ago
that were never accounted for.
I think about their families often,
how difficult it must be to not know what happened to their loved ones.
If you were to contact the FBI
and arrange for my temporary release,
I'd be willing to help you find the remains of those individuals.
Sounds like a setup.
You say you're leading us to the additional remains of victims,
but instead, you walk us right into an ambush designed to help you escape.
Except I don't recall exactly where the remains are,
so I couldn't really arrange an ambush
without knowing the precise location beforehand...
Could I?
Maybe the FBI could assign one of their site consultants
to come along and help me remember.
Maybe.
But the FBI would insist on U.S. Marshals.
Of course.
And I could never get away from them,
not without help on the inside.
And who on the inside would help me?
You're a sick son of a bitch.
And you are a man whose bride has just disappeared.
You're right.
And I couldn't even begin to think about what you're proposing
unless I knew she was okay.
Well, I wouldn't worry about it, Mr. Ryan.
I'm sure she'll turn up... Eventually.
I am a federal agent. They will have an army looking for me.
You are in way over your head. Do you understand?
Ugh.
Jesus Christ! Where did you get this?
I found it on my doorstep.
If we tell the FBI about this, they're gonna want to try and figure out
where Kate's being held and who the accomplice is.
There's no time for that.
There's... there's no way they're gonna go along with a ruse
to... to make Rosenthal think that we're breaking him
- out of prison in exchange for Kate. - No, so what do we do?
We're gonna have to pull this off on our own.
Are you up for that, Daniel?
Absolutely.
Even if it means losing our careers...
Or going to prison.
- Whatever it takes. - Okay.
All right, the first thing we do is go to the FBI.
We tell the special agent in charge
that Rosenthal is looking for redemption before he dies.
He wants to help close some of his unsolved murders.
Parsons will assign a couple of agents,
but I am going to insist that you come along.
You're a psych expert.
You know Rosenthal better than anyone.
You can help gauge whether he's pulling the wool over our eyes.
Parsons won't have any problem with that,
but he'll definitely insist upon an armed escort.
It's about a one-hour drive to the spot
I'll tell Rosenthal to claim he buried the victims.
We're actually going to Kahakee State Park.
It's a place that I used to go camping with my dad.
At a certain point,
we'll have to leave the cars and go in on foot.
In order for this plan to work,
we'll need to create some separation
between Rosenthal and the marshals.
Where the hell is this clearing you're talking about, Rosenthal?
- You said it was a half-mile in. - I said about a half a mile.
Dragging us out to the middle of nowhere.
You know what? Forget about it.
I've changed my mind. Let's go back.
No. We came all the way out here. Now, show us where the bodies are buried.
It's not exactly easy to focus with a bunch of shotguns pointed at me.
This is where you come in.
Let's... let's just give him some room, okay?
Sir, are orders are to keep him tight.
He's not gonna help us if he feels threatened.
Eventually, we'll come to the clearing
where my dad and I used to camp.
There's an old stone well.
That's where I put Kristen.
Rosenthal will get to the well just ahead of me,
and that's when he'll grab the gun
I'll have planted ahead of time.
Gun!
Everybody lower your weapons or Ryan dies right now.
You really want to go home and tell your bosses and the media
that you couldn't stop a sociopath
from spraying the brains of an assistant U.S. attorney
all over the woods?!
Put the guns down!
Of course, Rosenthal's gun won't be loaded,
but they won't know that.
On your knees.
Hands behind your head.
Not you, Pierce. Get up.
Get the guns. Put them in the well.
Rosenthal will order you to collect their weapons,
cellphones, and car keys.
Come on, move!
Get them. Come on. Let's go. Pick them up!
You'll dump it all into the well.
Then you'll cuff the marshals...
And uncuff Rosenthal.
All right, you two are coming with me.
Let's go. Move.
The marshals and agents will try and follow us,
- but it will take them hours... - Let's go.
To cover the ground we can travel in 10 minutes.
That way.
And 10 minutes away, on another fire road,
we'll have a different car waiting for us.
Okay. Now, give me the gun.
Why? It's not loaded, is it?
No.
But this one is.
Daniel, relax.
Try some of those breathing exercises we worked on.
I am not your patient anymore!
What happens now?!
The voice on the phone said there'd be instructions.
We make the exchange tonight.
I'll direct us to the location.
In the meantime, we go to a motel in Kingston.
We stay out of sight.
No. We're not going anywhere
until we have proof that Kate is still alive.
You got your photograph, didn't you?
I want proof she's alive now.
You kill me, you'll never see your Kate again.
You're right.
Aah!
Jesus, Donnie, that is not part of the plan!
It was part of the plan I didn't tell you about!
I'm in control of this thing, not you!
Now, I talk to Kate in the next 60 seconds
or I put a bullet in your other leg.
Kate!
Kate, can you hear me?
Donnie.
Are you okay?
I... I am. I'm okay.
But I'm in some kind of a...
Kate. Hey!
I wasn't finished talking to her.
You wanted proof. I obliged.
I don't know what kind of twisted dirtbag
you talked into helping you, but if Kate is harmed in any way,
I will personally kill him, and then I will kill you.
The son of a bitch will be dead already if we don't get him to a hospital.
No. If we go to a hospital, they'll alert the police, and this will be over.
You should have thought of that before you shot him.
Well, you went to Med School. You sew him up.
I'm not a surgeon! Don't point that at me!
Well, why don't I give it a whack? What do you say, Josiah?
How about I dig that bullet out of your leg for you?
If I die, Kate dies with me.
Shut up, both of you!
Help me get him in the car.
Aah!
Excuse me. Do we know each other?
- I don't think so. - No, I'm sure I've seen you.
Oh, my God. You were on the news.
No, I wasn't.
Yes. You were one of those men that crazy serial killer took hostage.
Is he watching us?
You stay here. I will call the police.
No, no, no. Please stop! Don't call the police!
- Sir? - No, please don't do that.
Are you all right?
Yes. I just need to ring these up.
This might sting.
If only we had some heroin to shoot you up with like you used on your victims.
A lot less messy than bullets, isn't it?
The heroin wasn't for my convenience.
It was to give those poor souls a few moments of peace
at the end of their tragic lives.
The tragedy in their lives was you, you sadistic prick.
You may not agree with my actions, Daniel, but I'm no sadist, unlike your cohort,
who clearly seems to get pleasure out of watching me in pain.
Yeah? He's not the only one.
You know, I'd assumed that you'd exaggerated Donnie's character defects.
I see now that you were way too kind.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Come on, Daniel.
How many times during therapy
did you bring up your misgivings about Donnie,
especially as it pertained to Kate?
I never said anything like that.
He didn't think you were an appropriate partner for her.
Shut up, Josiah! I mean it.
Truth is, Daniel believes that she belongs with him...
Not you.
I'm gonna need ice to pack the wound.
Something wrong, Daniel?
- I know who Rosenthal is working with. - Who?
Do you remember the time we were in Paris, the guy who...
- who impersonated the FBI legate? - Yeah.
He's sitting in a car in the parking lot.
There's no one out there.
Well, he... he... He must have realized that I spotted him and drove off.
Isn't it more likely you hallucinated?
Hey, hey, you thought I'd hallucinated the phone call.
- Daniel... - Just think about it.
He's an international spy.
He'd know how to orchestrate something like this.
What could he possibly have to do with Rosenthal?
I... I don't... I don't know.
But they must be connected somehow.
Maybe... maybe this whole prisoner exchange is just a smokescreen for an even bigger...
Listen, Daniel!
I am not sure who or what you saw out there,
but we cannot afford to let your paranoia get us off-track.
It might cost Kate her life.
So I don't know what you need to do to get your shit together,
but whatever it is, I need you to do it now.
Hey! Over here, hey, hey!
Federal Marshals, sir. We need to use your phone.
All right, people, listen up.
We have a situation.
A multistate dragnet is under way
for convicted serial killer Josiah Rosenthal,
who took two hostages during a daring escape
from the federal authorities earlier this afternoon.
Security has been tightened at borders and airports.
And investigators are said to be following multiple leads.
Just turn that off, please.
Relax, Daniel.
As long as this prick holds up his end of the bargain,
this will all be over in a few minutes.
Where to next?
Straight to the end.
Then stop the car and turn off the engine.
And where is Kate?
She's in the van.
You let me go, once I'm safe, Kate gets released.
Bullshit.
You're not going anywhere until Kate's free, too.
Bring her out! I want to see her!
Donnie, she's not in there. It's a trick.
Daniel, where the hell are you going?!
Get back here!
You'd better go after him.
And leave you all alone to just walk away? I don't think so.
Daniel's delusional, Donnie. He needs your help.
Maybe he's right and this is all just a smokescreen.
Hey.
Stop!
I shot him once!
I want to see Kate right now or I'll shoot him again!
- Kate. - Donnie?
It's been fun, Donnie,
but I guess it's time.
Take off her blindfold and let her go.
He doesn't start walking until she starts walking.
Do what he says.
Oh, thank God.
- Are you hurt? - I'm fine.
What the hell is Rosenthal doing here?
I had to break him out of prison to get you back.
- What?! - I'll explain.
We got to go find Daniel. He went running off.
Well, we can't let Rosenthal get away.
No, he's not getting away.
We have a plan. Come on.
It's been a while, Dr. Pierce.
But we'll always have Paris, won't we?
It's pretty, isn't it?
After you and your friends got me arrested by the French,
they turned me over to the iranians.
They gave me the scar as a souvenir
for failing to deliver the nuclear technology that I promised them.
That's what this is about... revenge?
You cooked up this whole plot just to get us sent to prison?
Not just this plot, Pierce.
You remember Donnie getting charged with murder,
you getting blown up in a house?
It was all me.
You three ruined me, and I'm gonna ruin you.
You're out of your mind.
- You and me both. - Daniel!
No.
Daniel?
He...
Kate, you're okay.
Are you?
I've been better. But you're... you're safe.
That's... that's all that matters. What... what about Rosenthal?
Get out of the van! Get your hands behind your head!
Now open the back.
Joe, we got him?
We got a problem.
Guy works for a Gypsy Cab Company.
He got an e-mail offering him 500 bucks to drive
and not ask any questions.
Did he get an eye on Rosenthal's accomplice?
The deal was to pick up the van in one spot,
take it to another, and never look in the cargo area.
Kate and I watched Rosenthal and ski mask get into this van,
so how did they just disappear into thin air?
It looks like there was a hole in your plan, Pierce.
Huh?
Two holes, actually.
Daniel?
They dropped out of the van and into this manhole.
So now what? They're in the sewers?
Or they climbed right back out another manhole a block or two away,
got in a different car, and took off.
- We got to call the FBI. - Slow down.
We are dealing with a convicted serial killer at large.
We got to call in the big guns,
get him back in custody as soon as possible.
She's right, Donnie.
We... we agreed to face the consequences, to come clean.
The FBI's got the... The airports and the borders covered.
So before we call it in and we get separated and interrogated,
can we just take five minutes and talk about
if there's any way that we can find Rosenthal on our own?
Yeah, and cover our asses in the process.
Kate, is... is there anything that you can tell us
about who abducted you?
I was in the changing room after Daniel left.
Wait. Daniel was there?
Yeah. He came in to wish me good luck.
I finally had a moment to myself where I could take a breath,
and I heard a knock at the door.
All I saw was a ski mask.
I don't remember changing my clothes or leaving the church.
Whoever tased me must have given me some kind of a sedative, too.
That sounds like Rosenthal.
When I woke up, all I knew was that I was blindfolded in handcuffs.
But they took a picture of you, and they put you on the phone with me.
Can you remember anything from then?
There was a light in my eyes.
- I couldn't see anything. - There's got to be something.
Did he talk at all? Was he tall?
- Did he smell? - No!
I do remember him sniffing a lot.
Maybe he was snorting blow. How the hell should I know?
Look, I'm sorry, but this is pointless.
I'm calling the FBI. Somebody give me a phone.
Maybe you've had it wrong this whole time, Pierce.
Maybe I wasn't trying to put you in jail.
Maybe I was trying to get you out.
What the hell are you talking about?
What?
Ah!
Sorry.
These allergies... killing me.
Kate, hang up the phone, hang up the phone.
I know who Rosenthal's accomplice is.
I should have realized it when I saw her at the church.
It was right before you disappeared.
I... I ran into Tasha.
Tasha?
She looked like she'd been crying.
You been crying?
But no, she said...
No.
She said she had allergies.
I... I... I assumed she was crashing the wedding
because she's in love with Donnie, but... but she was there to abduct you.
The taser, the... the ski mask... They must have been in the gift box.
Daniel, what the hell are you talking about?
Tasha was one of Rosenthal's victims.
He... he threw her out of the van and nearly killed her. Remember?
I don't think he did throw her out of a van. I think she jumped.
Why the hell would she do that?
To pose as one of his victims.
She... she gave us a wrong lead, Kate, remember?
Her whole story was just a ruse to throw us off Rosenthal's track.
But she testified against him at his sentencing.
She helped send him to death row.
I think she was sending him a message.
Remember... remember how she... She asked to address him directly?
It's not over.
I have a future.
I have plans.
They had a relationship. Don't you see?
She was trying to tell him that... that somehow,
she was gonna break him out.
But how would Rosenthal get details in prison?
From a... From a, uh, guard maybe
or... or another prisoner smuggling messages?
They knew they needed leverage to get you to release Rosenthal.
They had to figure out what was important enough to you that you'd risk everything.
So... so Tasha asked you out.
Can I buy you a drink?s
She discovers that you and Kate are getting married.
I'm engaged to be married.
A little reconnaissance at the rehearsal dinner.
So they're not getting married at St. Stephen's?
No. The wedding's at...
And bingo, she's got her plan.
And now what? You think they're running off to Mexico
like Bonnie and Clyde?
No, no, no. He's... he's too smart for that.
He knows that the border and the airport are crawling with security.
So... What if he's lying low at the last place
that anyone would think to look for him?
At the home of a woman everyone thought was his victim.
Aw, that's the craziest thing I ever heard.
Welcome to my life.
Open up!
Agent Moretti, what is going on?
You can't just walk into my house like this.
- Where is Rosenthal? - Rosenthal?
I... I saw on the news he escaped. Oh, my God, you don't think he's coming...
Spare me the theatrics, Tasha.
We know all about your relationship with him,
the message you sent him from the witness stand,
and the real reason you showed up at the church.
This is crazy. I don't know what you are talking...
The second floor is clear.
Nothing back here.
I want you people out of my house right now or I'm calling the police.
I said get out... Now!
It was you.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You led me up some stairs.
Is there a basement?
Yes, but...
Show me now.
This the place, honey?
This isn't right.
I told you. Now, please, will you all just leave me alone?
- 3, 4, 5, 6. - What are you doing?
I counted my steps to the stairs when she led me out. There were 17.
Maybe this isn't the place.
I heard a door open on the way.
There's got to be one around here.
- Careful, Kate. - No!
On your knees. Hands behind your head.
This is it. This is where I was held.
You weren't the only one.
This is where you killed your victims, isn't it?
Apparently, I'll be going back to prison,
where you two felons will be joining me.
I'm calling this in.
But first, I need to talk to you two alone.
Dad, you got them?
I got it. Donnie, I got it.
Come on.
Get on your knees. Hands behind your head.
Right. Before I call Parsons, I need to know everything
that you guys and my dad did to get me out.
Start from the beginning.
Kate, what difference does it make now?
All that matters is those two psychopaths will never hurt anyone again.
Except for the three people who I care about the most.
Now, they're gonna tell their side,
and I cannot bear the idea of you guys going down for saving me.
Now, if I have all the facts, maybe there is some way that I can spin it.
Dad?
What did you do?
They went for my gun.
Funny how things work out...
Two dead scumbags that were going to be executed anyway.
I just saved the taxpayers a lot of dough.
- This isn't right. - And what is?
Me, Donnie, the professor here...
We go to prison for saving your life?
That happens, you'll be all alone.
Honey, I can't stand the thought of that.
Whatever we do,
we got to make sure we're all on the same page.
The two suspects charged me in an attempt to disarm me.
In self-defense, I fired twice,
fatally injuring both perpetrators.
Now, look, I was alone...
You run out on your wedding
and magically reappear just in time to save these two?
I know how it looks, boss. I do.
But I'm not the first bride to get cold feet.
After the wedding, I went to stay with my dad.
We saw the report about the escape and abduction on the news,
and I had a hunch about Tasha from all her crazy behavior before.
So my dad and I, who, as I believe you know
was a highly decorated police officer...
We followed up on my suspicion. We got lucky.
In my opinion, this whole thing stinks.
And I don't know what really happened,
but rest assured I am going to find out.
Quite the irony, isn't it?
You spend your whole life terrified of conspiracies,
and now you're part of one.
I think I'll stick around and see how all this plays out.
- Here come the guys. - Oh, thanks.
Hey, Max, Daniel. So glad you guys made it.
Wouldn't miss it for the world.
Hey, um, give us a minute, would you?
- Sure thing. - Thanks, Max.
How are you holding up?
My conscience is bothering me.
Of course, I'm used to hearing nagging voices in my head, so...
Listen, Daniel, whatever we did,
you helped me save the woman I love,
and I will always be grateful for that.
Donnie, I, uh... uh, there's... I need to...
The things Rosenthal said in the motel room about me loving Kate...
Daniel, stop.
The guy's a whack job. He was playing mind games.
- Yes, he was. But... - But what?
It was all just a lie, right?
No. Some of what he said was true.
I do love Kate.
Daniel, don't... Don't do this.
Which is why I'm happy she found someone like you.
Are you good in a crisis?
Would you rush into the middle of the street
to push someone out of the path of a moving car,
or would you duck out of the way and save your own skin?
When it comes to crises, it really does take a village,
a team of neurological neighbors in your brain working together
to avert disaster,
much like it sometimes requires a team of first responders
to rescue somebody in a deadly predicament.
Well, what if... what if all the parts of your brain
failed to work together in that crucial instant?
What if your limbic system
and your dorsolateral prefrontal cortex betray each other
at the moment of truth?
Would you suffer a breakdown
in the face of what scares you most?