What's the difference between justice and revenge?
Some say justice is about finding balance.
An attempt to return to equilibrium.
Restoring order by delivering the proportionate response.
Others mistake inflicting pain as justice.
They're wrong.
Violence only corrupts order,
the very balance they set out to restore.
But I'm not here for justice.
Not anymore.
I want revenge.
There are three bedrooms upstairs, two more bathrooms,
the master bedroom had the patio restored recently.
It's all up to code.
Personally, I'd gut the place from floor to ceiling.
Renovate the whole thing.
Even if you did nothing, this place is a steal.
Good neighborhood, great school district.
There's even room for a pool.
You can't deny the potential investment opportunity.
Why is it listed so low, then?
I mean... somebody die in here?
Uh, the owner... he fell on hard times.
You know, he borrowed against the house,
missed a few payments.
My advice?
Put in a lowball offer.
The seller is out of options.
Hey, honey pie.
What are you doing here?
I needed to see you.
We've discussed this, Norman.
It's been almost three weeks.
Some space is a good thing.
I missed you.
Yeah, me too.
But I'm doing what's best for our marriage.
I want you to come home, Kate.
We still have till the end of the month.
- I can fix this. - Enough, Norman.
This isn't a problem that you can solve.
We were screwed, okay?
Bad things happen to good people all the time,
and there's nothing you can do about it.
I got a plan, Kate.
A way to fix everything.
I won't let them take our house.
Norman Wilkerson.
Senior factory maintenance mechanic at the Perkins plant
for the past... 26 years?
References are on the back.
No doubt you're qualified, Norman.
If anything, overqualified.
You say that like it's a bad thing.
So what made you decide to leave?
I didn't.
The plant was closed down last year by Benedict Global.
Part of its...
corporate restructuring.
You do realize this position
is under the Benedict Global umbrella?
Same holding company.
You're fine with that?
It's a job.
My ego went out the window a long time ago.
This old dog knows one trick...
Fixing broken-down conveyor belts.
Particular set of skills
that's diminishing in demand every day.
Can you get this to me tomorrow?
I'll put in a good word for you with corporate.
They should make a decision by the end of the month.
Thank you.
Think positive, be positive,
and positive things will happen.
Get in the damn trunk.
Get in! Get in the trunk.
Okay, okay, okay. Okay, okay.
Justice, revenge.
All that matters
is that the punishment is proportionate.
So you tell me,
how should you be punished?
What's the appropriate penalty for the pain you've caused?
Hammurabi's code.
An eye for an eye.
Tooth for a tooth.
Call you back.
Christina Hart. It's been too long.
Judging from that file,
we're not exactly here to catch up, are we, Valerie?
Word is you've gained quite an impressive portfolio of clients.
I could use your expertise...
and discretion.
I don't know much about insurance.
We're expanding into the K&R sector.
Kidnapping and ransom.
That's a very dangerous business, Valerie.
It's also lucrative.
Seems like someone gets taken every day around here.
Government official?
An accountant.
That sounds like a job for the police.
I came to you for a reason.
There's a $5 million indemnity policy.
For an accountant?
He runs the books for private equity behemoth
Benedict Global Management.
Got abducted while getting in his car.
There's no ransom demand yet,
but we can't just sit on our hands.
My firm is prepared to offer you $1 million
to assist in the investigation.
So we do all of the work, you save $4 million,
if all goes well.
Like I said, it's a lucrative business.
Who's your FBI point person?
Client prefers not to lift up their skirt for the authorities.
Benedict Global specializes in the restructuring of factories
through leveraged buyouts.
Acquiring a struggling business, purging the employees,
repurposing the plant, flipping it for millions.
Ruthless stuff.
Oh, so you thought of me.
I know how effective you can be.
And I trust you.
What do you say?
A favor for an old asset?
Who's the missing person?
This guy, Samuel Patel.
He's the lead accountant at Benedict Global.
A coworker started to worry
when he didn't show up to his morning meeting.
Last time he was seen was in the elevator
on the way to the employee parking garage last night.
Never made it home.
- Married? - Yeah, to his job.
I mean, this guy's a total workaholic.
Hasn't missed a day of work since he started.
Gets in at 5:00 A.M. Goes home at 7:00 P.M.
Every single day, like clockwork.
Stays longer on weekends.
Guy should consider a career change.
No, not this guy.
He's got a mathematics degree from Stanford,
magna cum laude, MBA from Wharton.
I mean, this guy's dedicated every waking moment
to landing a job at Benedict.
You couldn't pay me enough.
Corporate raiders will be the death of the working class.
Don't you mean robots?
- What do you mean, robots? - Robots, man.
Sentient machinery.
Do you know that Amazon right now has 45,000 robots
running their fulfillment centers,
and they're gonna add another 20 next year?
So if you don't want to lose your job to a robot,
you have to start fine-tuning your social skills.
Oh, like you, sunshine?
That's clever. I get it.
Why would Hart choose this case?
I don't know.
Because a man is in danger?
This is what you signed up for.
This guy's got a huge insurance policy,
and there's still no ransom demand.
Yeah, I don't think this is about a payoff.
I think this is personal to someone.
Where's my damn money?
Please, let me go. You've got the wrong guy.
- I'm just an accountant. - No, you're his accountant.
How much does Benedict give you to look the other way?
What did you do with our pensions?
Tell me the truth and you can go home.
- Don't make me hurt you. - Please, please, please.
I want to hear you say his name.
Who stole our pensions?
Say it!
Lester Benedict.
Now,
I want to hear how he did it.
No sign of a struggle.
Because Patel never saw it coming.
Kidnapper was waiting for him.
There's multiple ways to access this garage.
Why here?
No cameras.
But still, parking garages are risky.
A pro would never pick this place.
People coming in, people going out...
Access over efficiency.
Trunk release.
So Patel couldn't break free.
The kidnapper drove Patel out of here
in the trunk of his own car.
E-ZPass transaction history
tracks all pay roads and bridges the car took along the way.
- Final destination? - I don't know.
We lost him under a bridge.
He must have switched vehicles.
Well, what about toll cameras?
Can you get a visual of the driver?
Impossible to identify.
He took basic precautions.
He was wearing sunglasses, hat pulled low.
There's a camera right above the exit
to the parking garage, and there's an ATM right across the way,
so maybe one of those got a tighter shot.
Just need a lobe, man.
- A lobe? - I mean an earlobe, you know?
Faces change. Weight fluctuates over time.
Even fingerprints become unreliable with age.
But the outer ear is one of the most accurate ways
of identifying somebody.
You know that your ear is fully formed at birth?
I mean, sure, the lobe, it descends.
It grows with time.
But the overall shape remains the same.
Okay, is there a database?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm working on it. Working on it.
Gotcha.
- Where are you going? - I'll be right back.
Gonna talk to Benedict.
- Thank you so much. - My pleasure.
Can I help you, sir?
Yes, I'm here to see Lester Benedict.
- Name? - Bryan Mills.
- Mills, you said? - Yeah.
I don't see you here on the schedule.
Yeah, tell him it's regarding his missing accountant.
Come with us, sir.
Lester Benedict. Bryan Mills.
Pleased to meet you, sir.
What do you want?
My firm has been hired by Valerie Banner
to assist in the rescue and recovery of Samuel Patel.
I was hoping to gain access to his office,
any security feeds around the premises,
and of course, his email, both work and personal.
I asked for discretion.
Get Valerie on the phone.
Define bad news.
We've been pulled off the case.
Benedict Global decided to handle this in-house.
- What happened? - Not sure.
Seems like your people poking around spooked them.
Isn't that what we're supposed to do?
Don't know, don't care.
Our fee was paid in full. Easy money.
I'll transfer over the funds soon.
You can call off your dogs, Christina.
That's a bit quaint for a bad guy lair.
Kilroy, are you sure this is the place?
I matched the driver of Patel's car
with a mug shot from the system.
Norman Wilkerson.
He worked at a plant
that was shut down by Benedict Global.
There's our motive.
Hey, Hart.
Benedict Global has decided to handle the case in-house.
We are officially off the Patel case.
It is a little late for that.
We're in the kidnapper's place right now.
His name is Norman Wilkerson.
I told them we'd shut down the case.
Why would Benedict suddenly decide to handle this in-house?
Probably didn't want a third party turning over rocks.
Scared of what we might find hiding underneath.
Get over there.
Driveway.
Get in the trunk.
Drop the gun!
You're not a cop.
And you're not a killer.
You don't know anything about me.
Well, I think I do.
I know you're holding a revolver.
Only holds six rounds, and you can't reload it.
Looks old.
Your father's gun?
Yeah.
Been tucked in the closet for years.
What's your name?
- Norman. - My name's Bryan.
You have an important choice to make, Norman.
I'm prepared to pull the trigger.
Are you?
Now, I want to hear how he did it.
Benedict convinces the employees to take pay cuts.
They'll get repaid once they...
They balance the company books.
He swears it's the only way to save the company, and...
Benedict preys on their loyalty.
The employees have worked there for years.
They're willing to sacrifice anything to save it.
But once the plant is primed to pull itself out of the red,
and it's time to repay the employees...
Benedict files for bankruptcy.
Patel describes all the loopholes they use
to funnel our pensions into offshore accounts.
Hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Norman... - He's just gonna do it again.
What do you mean, again?
This is the fifth company he's raided in as many years.
I mean, think about how many towns he's ruined.
Imagine the families he's broken up.
Meanwhile, they pay him to speak at business schools
and corporate retreats.
So what is your plan?
I'm gonna use this confession to blackmail Benedict
for $245,888.
That's a very specific amount.
Exactly what he stole.
I want what was mine.
I demand justice.
I'm just one man.
All my credit cards are maxed out.
My relatives have cut me off.
My wife had to pawn her wedding ring.
Now they're trying to take my house.
This is my last shot.
You know, a forced confession won't hold up in court.
Imagine the public relations nightmare.
Benedict will pay to keep it quiet.
If Benedict broke the law...
Laws? No, no.
Laws don't apply to men like Benedict.
You know if you go through with this,
you will end up in jail.
Or dead.
Bad things happen to good people,
and no one does anything about it.
No, I'm not ready to just roll over and die just yet.
No way.
No.
Then we need to be smarter.
We?
What are you talking about?
Santana's driving Patel home.
Where's Norman?
Stashed him at a hotel until this is all said and done.
Until what's done?
Until I get the money back.
Bryan, we are not crusaders.
The mission was to save a life.
Look, I have dealt with men like Benedict before.
They do not respond well to threats.
If you want to force his hand, then you leverage
what he cares about the most.
Money.
To do that effectively,
we need to arrange a face-to-face.
Well, that's easier said than done.
What kind of car does he drive?
What the hell?
You've done this before.
Even a novice can highjack a car
through the infotainment system.
You can target the steering?
And guidance, stability controls,
cruise control, GPS, Bluetooth,
automated systems for the driver's convenience.
And mine.
Hello, Lester.
Nice car.
Buy or lease?
Who are you?
Name's unimportant, Lester.
All that really matters is that I represent a client
who's owed a substantial sum of money,
and I am here to collect.
There's a flash drive in here.
It contains the confession of one of your employees
who describes, in detail,
all of your illegal business practices...
Specifically how you steal employee pensions
from the companies you raid.
I don't appreciate these wild accusations.
This alleged confession is slanderous at best
and sure as hell won't be admissible.
Of course not, Lester.
Still, it would be a shame if the video ended up on YouTube.
I haven't done anything illegal.
You consider funneling money
into secret offshore accounts legal?
Forget about your reputation, Lester.
Imagine how the board will react.
You think you're the first person
who's tried to blackmail me?
My client will walk away once the debt is repaid.
Step away from my car.
This is pocket change to you.
If I pay, more accusations will follow.
It'll never end.
Consider it the price of doing bad business.
- How much? - 250 grand.
Whatever makes this all go away.
The drive is yours.
Hey, we got to make sure
that we're protecting Norman's identity,
so you are taking every precaution, right?
All you do is deposit the cash into a PayPal account,
use it to purchase Bitcoin,
open a bunch of dummy accounts,
buy some gift cards and make some online purchases,
and the returned items get converted back into cash.
Something tells me you've got money hidden all over the net.
The internet's my digital mattress.
In more ways than one, sadly.
That's really gross.
- Santana. - Thank you.
You don't have to sell the house anymore, Norman.
My wife... she loved this house.
Should've seen it when we first moved in.
Place was falling apart.
We rebuilt it from the ground up.
Every weekend was a new project.
When Kate got pregnant,
she spent months getting that nursery ready.
It had to be perfect.
Nesting.
Rearranging the closets drove me nuts.
Survival instinct.
Nature's way of keeping us close to home.
I'd give anything to have Kate here...
rearranging those closets.
- You should tell her that. - I did.
Probably too late now to make a difference.
I'm the reason she left. Not Benedict.
After the plant closed, I just...
started into a downward spiral.
Why'd you help me, Bryan?
My uncle...
He... he worked for a factory when I was young.
Well, most of the whole town was employed by that factory
in one way or another.
And then the corporate raiders showed up and shut it down.
And when the factory goes down in a factory town,
you know,
everything crumbles around it.
Your uncle...
He ever recover?
I found him dead.
Hanging from the rafters.
I had to cut him down before my aunt got home.
My aunt, she...
She cursed the businessmen,
but I blamed myself
for not doing more.
I could've done more.
Should've...
pushed him to keep fighting.
$200,000 there.
That is enough to start over.
Seeing that fear in Benedict's eyes
was worth millions.
What did you just say?
Tell me what happened, Norman.
I went to see Benedict.
Waited for him at the top of the parking ramp.
Thought I was homeless.
Tried to hand me a few bucks.
You were instructed to lay low.
It didn't feel right.
What about all the others, hmm?
I let Benedict know this isn't over.
And how did you think he would respond?
Men are here to kill you, Norman.
What?
I need you to listen to me.
- Where is your gun? - In my room.
Go get it.
You shoot anyone who makes it up those stairs.
What are you gonna do?
Norman.
Cops will call it a home invasion gone bad.
Houses up for sale are common targets.
The sign out front is practically an invitation
to burglars.
And there's a lockbox right by the door
with a key inside.
Mills, you okay?
You got kind of a lot of blood.
It's not mine.
Why would Benedict risk everything
just to prove a point?
Because Norman confronted him.
Benedict knew it wasn't over.
He knew the problem would disappear.
Bad things happen to good people.
And nobody does anything about it.
Norman wanted justice.
What you're about to do is something very different.
Benedict deserves what's coming.
You remember your last revenge mission?
Yep, and he deserved a bullet too.
Yeah, you spent six months in prison,
you were almost killed,
and I had to disband the entire team.
How is killing Benedict not justified?
Justice is about creating order.
It's not about satiating anger.
It's about finding a balance.
The punishment must be proportionate.
Okay.
So, you tell me how he should be punished.
Let's take a page out of Norman's playbook.
Patel confessed once.
Maybe he can be persuaded to testify on record.
Made it look like a suicide.
I bet it's the same guy that killed Norman.
Benedict's cleaning up his mess, one dead body at a time.
Can't prove it.
You know what, we tried playing this by the book.
Now it's time to bring Benedict in.
Can you locate his vehicle?
GPS in Benedict's car places him
in a small private airport in Virginia.
So, he's trying to leave town?
- How far from here? - 30 minutes.
Ten if you let me screw with the traffic lights.
But I mean, you'll never make it either way.
Where's he headed?
Belize. He's got a place there.
He goes there every couple of months.
Even if we had anything,
Belize will never extradite Benedict.
I'll go get him.
What does that mean?
Bring him back.
We can have another Mexico, Bryan.
I've spent a lot of time in Belize over the years.
You ever been here before?
Lot of places I've never been.
Well, Belize isn't just a vacation destination.
It's like a safe haven for white-collar criminals.
Benedict should feel right at home.
Yep, the government looks the other way
as long as they get a cut.
You get details on his compound?
Oh, you mean fortress?
Security.
Top of the line.
Kilroy will help with that.
Yeah, Benedict has protection.
Private military?
Gang suppression unit.
Paid for by the government, but they function
more like a hit squad for hire.
And Benedict has the money to keep them working
around the clock.
Mills, I just want to make sure you're hearing me.
The guy has a small army guarding him.
The contact come through yet?
You sure she got everything?
La Tumba never disappoints.
Tumba?
That's Spanish for "Grave."
She got the name because that's where
she usually hides the goods.
You sure this is the one?
Kopi Luwak beans.
$200 for a pound.
Why's it so expensive?
Civets. The beans ferment inside the animal
and then get collected from the, uh...
droppings.
You want some?
See, you have a problem with this.
Meanwhile, the FDA allows one maggot
for every 250 milliliters of fruit juice.
Don't even get me started on cereal.
Any word from Mills?
Nothing.
Think we both know how this story ends.
Listen, guys like Benedict,
they destroy hundreds of lives for what?
To pad their pockets.
Death is too light a sentence for that guy.
He deserves something way worse.
Favor for a favor.
Anything.
I need some personal information
about Lester Benedict.
How did he secure your services?
Money. What else?
Yes, but how did he pay you?
Was it a check? Direct deposit?
Wire transfer.
I need all the details on that transaction.
Client's information is privileged.
You came to me for a reason.
Now I'm coming to you.
Benedict has enough money to destroy anyone
who gets in his way.
There's a guy outside the gate
demanding to speak with you.
Send him away.
The same guy who showed up at your office.
Who are you?
Hello, Lester.
I've come a long way to find you.
You should consider this your last warning.
Surrender now,
and I'll bring you to justice.
Good luck.
Kilroy, cut the feeds.
Kill him.
- What the hell is going on? - Don't worry, sir.
We got this.
This way, sir.
Positions.
Light him up.
Santana, a little help?
This is for Norman.
And this is for Patel.
Lester!
I'm not leaving without you!
Don't waste the ammo, Mills.
The room is equipped
with bullet-resistant walls and fiberglass panels.
There's a security panel.
I can't access any of the tech.
If you want to get in, you need Benedict to open the door.
All right, hold on a second.
I found a layout to the panic room.
There's a duct behind the left wall.
So, you tell me.
How should you be punished?
What's the appropriate penalty
for the pain you've caused?
Hammurabi's code.
An eye for an eye.
Tooth for a tooth.
How much?
How much... how much do you want?
I can pay you whatever you want.
Let me tell you a little story.
About a man.
A good man.
Married his college sweetheart.
Then they started a life together.
Sure, they were broke.
Didn't matter, though.
Because they knew
all that hard work would pay off.
So, after years of saving,
watching every penny,
they finally had enough
to buy a house.
American dream.
Small house. Nothing special.
But they liked it.
They loved it.
Because it was theirs.
They earned it.
And maybe someday, if he kept his head down
and played by the rules,
he could retire,
enjoy the time he had left with her.
I'm not the one who killed him.
His name was Norman.
You see, you made the rules.
And then you broke them.
Because you could.
Who are you?
What do you want from me?
Now, that's a good question.
Because when I first arrived down here,
I wasn't sure what to do.
See, I thought about bringing you to justice.
But snakes like you always manage to slither away.
So, then I thought about killing you.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But for you?
Death would be too easy.
See, I needed to find a punishment...
as proportionate.
I realized there's a better way of doing this.
So, I liquidated your accounts.
I don't understand.
You're broke, Benedict. Flat broke.
What? No, that's not possible.
We were able to find all of your accounts,
every single one.
See for yourself.
Go on.
They've all been drained.
Even the secret ones.
That money you thought no one could ever find.
The Cayman account. Luxembourg.
That safety deposit box in Bahrain.
Every dollar, gone.
No.
This isn't real. This can't be real.
The same way you stole the pensions from all those people.
Even when you had more money than you could ever spend.
Now you know how they feel.
Where is it? What did you do?
Now, my team is redistributing the funds,
giving it back to all the people you stole from.
It's not everything.
But it's a start.
No. Ha.
No, no, that's not possible.
Money problems should be the least of your concerns right now.
That's the sound of more GSU soldiers.
Don't get too excited.
Because they're not here to save you.
My people have already informed them
of your financial troubles and taken back anything
you might have paid them.
You see, that's the problem with paid mercenaries.
You have to be able to pay them.
Otherwise, they become your enemy
and come to extract their fee some other way.
No, no. You can't do that.
First, they're gonna tear this place apart,
steal everything you own... Which won't be enough,
because it never is.
So, then they'll come to you for money,
money that you no longer have.
What they do after that...
Well, that's up to them.
No, no, please, you can't leave me like this.
Please.
You have a decision to make.
Either spend the rest of your life
in a deep, dark hole somewhere,
or...
Norman decided to fight.
What will you do?
Now you've had everything taken from you.
No, wait. Wait, please!
Good luck.