♪ She said "Don't come home if you go to the bar" ♪
♪ I said, "Okay, baby" Then got drunk out in the yard ♪
♪ 2:00 a.m. I knock-knock Knocked up on the door ♪
♪ But she never unlock-locked it ♪
♪ Guess I don't live there no more ♪
♪ Yeah, she meant business this time ♪
♪ I can't believe my bloodshot eyes ♪
♪ I woke up on the wrong side ♪
♪ Of the truck bed this morning ♪
♪ With a bone dry bottle of Jack I was pouring ♪
♪ Damn, she got some nerve ♪
♪ When she kicked me to the curb ♪
♪ Guess you can say I got what I deserve ♪
♪ 'Cause I woke up on the wrong side ♪
♪ Of the truck bed this morning ♪
♪ I used that empty bag of corn To rest my head ♪
♪ A camo jacket for a blanket ♪
♪ Then passed out like I was dead... ♪
Hey.
- What are you doing? - Sorry. I...
My fault. I-I thought you were someone else.
What's your problem, man?
This guy's being all weird.
- What did this creep do? - He grabbed me.
It was an accident. My bad, really.
Bro, what'd you say?
- It was just an accident. I didn't... - Nah.
Not sure how much of a job there is here.
Maybe our student just got burned out and needed a break.
That's what I said from the start.
But you're the one that wanted to drive to Wyoming and check it out.
Blake's mother, Polly Baker,
is convinced there's more to it.
She works as a custodian there at the school.
Said she hasn't heard from her son in two days.
Called campus police.
Anything from them? No.
They checked the apartment, nothing out of the ordinary.
But he left his cell phone behind.
That's odd. - I don't know.
Not if you wanted to get away for a few days. Not be bothered.
All right. I'm already here.
I'll let you know what she says.
I talked to him two days ago, and then just nothing.
Blake always responds,
even if it's just to say he's busy in the lab and he'll call back.
You said over the phone he's involved in some big grant project?
He's researching protein folding.
Biochemistry department with Professor Lyle Hewitt.
Very prestigious. Potential patents, big pharma circling.
- You must be proud. - I am.
Most of it's over my head, but it makes Blake light up.
You mentioned that he's under a lot of pressure recently?
Well...
He's always had anxiety,
but the last time I talked to him,
I could tell that his head was somewhere else.
I'll go to the lab he works at.
Look around, ask some questions.
Maybe someone knows where he is or what he's up to.
I gotta say, it's only been a couple of days?
I know, but something is wrong.
High pressure grant project,
lot of intense work, maybe...
Maybe he just needed a couple of days away.
Maybe there's more of a story,
something you're not telling me?
Come here.
I know all about family secrets.
I do.
But if there's something,
anything that you have,
that might help me find your son,
you should tell me.
My brother had a psychotic break
when he was the same age as Blake.
He ran off.
We found him a week later,
sleeping on the streets,
talking about demons in his blood.
Mmm.
He was diagnosed as schizophrenic.
And you think Blake might have the same thing?
All I know is it's just not like Blake to just vanish like this.
I just need to know my son is safe.
Trust me when I tell you this.
I'm gonna do everything I can to find your son, okay?
The fundamental principles of thermodynamics remain the same.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
But when it comes to the Second Law of Thermodynamics,
entropy increases
and mechanical work irreversibly turns into heat.
That's where things get a little bit mysterious,
because has it actually been proven?
So the question I want to leave you guys with for next time
posed by Stephen Wolfram is,
does the Second Law always work,
or is it sometimes violated?
And if so, what would we need to prove that?
Okay, guys. Uh, thank you.
Extra credit essays, you can turn it in at the front.
Thank you.
Thermodynamics.
Hey, Dory.
Who would have thought my baby sister's
a physics expert? Come here.
And who would have thought my big brother
would show up after a year
without so much as a phone call?
Uh, yes, I've been, you know, busy.
- I'm sorry, Dory. - So have I.
But I call. I try.
You don't call me back.
I'm sorry.
I'm your little sister. It's my job to give you crap.
What are you doing here?
I just thought I'd swing by and visit. I was in the neighborhood.
You know I can tell when you're lying?
And you hate surprises. So, come on, out with it.
Here on a job, and I wanna talk to you about this.
File folder. Ooh, what's in it?
Stuff about Dad.
I have another class. Come on, walk with me.
I came across that file on a previous job.
They were trying to hurt me,
so they looked into our family.
I've read all these articles before. What's the big deal?
University memos in there about Dad and some other stuff.
Okay, "Ashton Shaw dismissed for cause."
"Evidence of irresponsible and dangerous behavior."
Dad was arrested, breaking and entering, resisted arrest.
He had run ins with the law.
- I don't... - Keep going.
This says Dad was employed by the government for seven years.
Don't you think if this is true,
it's strange that Mom never told us any of this?
I don't know, Colter.
Who knows what Dad was into?
Honestly, Mom was just as crazy as he was.
Why are you looking into that?
I don't know. I'm curious.
Well, I'm not.
I honestly hope we don't make the same mistakes that they did.
I understand what you're saying,
but they're both part of us, right?
Look at you. You're a professor, just like they were.
I'm not gonna go insane
and move to the mountains if you're worried.
- Not what I'm worried about. - Okay.
Then let's just move on. I have.
I talked to Russell by the way.
He says you've been ducking him.
You talked to Russell?
Yeah, some. We keep in touch.
You should talk to him.
I don't have anything to say to Russell.
Okay, fine. Do it your way. You always do.
Can we at least just grab dinner before you leave town?
Yeah, no, I would. You know, I'm on a job. It's a schedule thing.
Colter, come on. I don't know when I'm gonna see you again.
Look, I will find a place. I'll even buy.
- Sure. Yeah. - Good.
What's the job?
Missing student. Blake Baker.
Right, yeah.
Uh, we got an email from Campus Police,
saying they're looking for him.
He's a smart kid. Biochem grad student.
His mother works on campus.
Her name's Polly. She's a custodian.
- Know her? - She's been here for years. Sweet woman.
You don't seem too concerned.
Happens to a couple of students every year.
They burn out, they take off.
It's not that uncommon.
Okay, I'm gonna go check out that lab, actually, so...
I'm...
Dinner.
I'll text you a time and a place.
- Can we help you? - Looking for Blake Baker.
He works here, right?
Dude, he hasn't been here in two days.
Any idea where he might be?
Nope. Must have flaked.
Flipped out. I don't know. It happens all the time.
Some folks can handle it. Others can't.
His mother's worried about him.
Hired me to help find him.
He wouldn't bail on us.
Well, he's not here. So where is he then?
I don't know. But Blake loved the work we were doing.
What's the work you've been doing?
Working on the next step of protein structure prediction.
Understanding how proteins choose their shape
is a game changer in drug development.
The problem is some proteins shape shift,
but Professor Hewitt is onto something here.
Professor Hewitt,
uh, this guy's looking for Blake.
And you are?
Colter Shaw. Working for his mother. She hasn't heard from him.
She's worried about his mental state.
Can I rely on your discretion?
Sure. I just want to find Blake.
Well, I had a difficult conversation with him two days ago, I guess.
I'm not saying that this has anything to do with Blake going missing,
but maybe.
I caught Blake falsifying his research.
You confronted him?
No, not exactly a confrontation.
I presented him with my suspicion. He denied it.
But his numbers didn't match our actual results.
I told him I wouldn't report him to the Dean's office,
but I had to revoke his lab privileges.
Why would he do that?
I don't know.
But it happens more than you might think.
The last thing we need is another Theranos here.
Elizabeth Holmes.
Mmm-hmm. Blood screening technology valued at billions,
and, unfortunately, it was a fanciful lie.
So the work has monetary value?
It will, if we can scale it up.
So even the smallest mistake would be fatal.
What Blake was doing, it didn't make a lot of sense.
How'd he take it?
Not well.
He's a good kid who made a mistake.
I hope you find him and I hope he's okay.
If he reaches out, will you let me know?
- Of course. - Thank you.
Hey, Dex, I need you to double-check this data before I send it.
I'm sorry I didn't catch your name.
- It's Jada. - Jada.
I'm looking for the student union
and I have no idea where I'm going.
Point me in the right direction?
It's the other side of Commons.
- Tall building. Can't miss it. - Can't miss it.
So the Commons building is which... I don't...
Can you just show me? I don't know where I'm going.
Thanks.
You Blake's girlfriend? I saw that photo of you two.
No, we're just friends.
Hmm. What do you think happened to him?
I'm not getting involved.
I can't get kicked off this grant.
I understand that. But you obviously care about him.
I don't think you believe what everyone's saying.
When was the last time you saw him?
Two days ago.
- At the lab? - No.
Late that night, I was making a delivery for my gig job
over on the north side of town.
- Did he see you? - No, not at first.
Uh...
He was drunk or something,
wearing this stupid red cowboy hat.
He looked absolutely ridiculous.
And I guess maybe he'd been to the big Wild West party.
I don't know. But it was strange.
Strange that he was out having fun?
Yeah, a little. Uh...
Blake's one of the nicest guys,
but not the "partying in a cowboy hat" type.
He's a "nose down in the lab" type.
- You know? - Socially awkward.
Yeah. Especially around woman.
So drinking, socializing, that kind of behavior
is out of the ordinary for him.
Yeah.
Did he talk to you when you saw him?
No. I tried to.
I called his name and he ignored me.
Like I said, maybe he was drunk.
Can you tell me where this happened?
- You get into Blake's phone? - All looks legit, C.
Calls to Moms. Texts about school.
But nothing after he went missing.
Uh, well, he left his phone in his dorm.
Anything about a relationship?
You think homeboy was in love?
I don't know. Friend said he was acting different.
Said he was socializing more, living it up.
He's either in love or looking for it.
Still doesn't explain why he went missing.
No, it doesn't.
I'm checking out the location his lab partner saw him at Saturday night.
Maybe I can find something.
Hmm.
Let me comb through his socials, see if they connect me to a wormhole.
All right, here's something.
A lot of messages back and forth with someone.
They also exchanged files, all encrypted.
It's gonna take me a while to get through it.
Hold on a second. I think I found what I'm looking for.
Call me back when you crack the encryption.
All right. What do we got?
Ooh, our boy Blake was into some girl.
It was more than that.
- You got a name? - I don't have a name yet.
But I do have an alias.
She went by BlondieBaby, so I'm still working on it.
But he definitely was into someone.
- How so? - You know how college is.
You text someone, start vibing.
You ask to meet IRL, and then they ghost you.
I didn't go to college.
Wait, for real?
No, the education system is designed to weed out people who are independent.
People who think for themselves,
who won't surrender to the system.
Okay, C.
Now that's some wake up sheeple wisdom I can get into.
It's an old Chomsky quote my father would always say to us when we complained.
Thought your Dad was in education.
My father was full of contradictions.
What do you got on Blake?
Well, last Saturday night, just before midnight,
Blake texted, "I was at a party. Why'd you no show?"
Then she says, "Sorry. Something came up.
"Bet you were a sexy cowboy. Ready to meet."
She agrees to meet up with him
only if he promised to be discreet.
Then she sent him an address.
Okay.
So he goes to a party, he gets stood up, right?
He leaves his cell phone back at his place,
and then he goes to meet up with her again.
Hold tight. I got an encrypted pic coming in.
Whoa.
- Hello. - What do you got?
These are not the type of pics you'd want to get out.
Got a blonde woman gettin' all kinds of freaky.
Nudes and garden variety BDSM.
How the hell do you know what garden variety is?
Student of the world, Colter.
Let's say she's strapped to a bed in a room with red lighting.
Think I was just at that house.
- He was sending her nudes as well? - How'd you know?
I saw him on a tablet at that same house.
Can you send me her photo? Just her face will do.
Do you one better. I've got a name.
Irene Hertzyl.
Sending you the pic now.
Excuse me. Hello?
- Oh, sorry. We were just about to close. - Irene Hertzyl?
Or BlondieBaby, right?
I want to know what you were doing with Blake Baker.
He hasn't been seen since he met you at that house.
No, no, no, don't do that. Back up.
What are you looking for?
Huh.
I know about the nude photos that you sent.
Does your husband?
- I don't know what you're talking about. - You don't know?
This is you, right?
I didn't do anything to Blake.
Yet you wanted him to send nude photos. Why?
Leverage has value. Now, please.
Leverage.
Catfishing.
Why were you blackmailing Blake? Was it for money?
You went to a lot of trouble to hide your name.
Now, I am sure the police,
maybe even the FBI, might have some questions for you,
or you could just answer mine,
It was a job. We were hired to do it.
Who hired you?
My husband, Chuck, handles all of that.
It's anonymous on the dark web.
We sell online services.
Bad product reviews, online trolling.
Catfishing.
The client said that they needed leverage.
You figured if you had nude photos of him, you'd have him over a barrel.
It wasn't my idea.
My husband, Chuck. It was his plan.
- I just do what I'm told. - But you did it, right?
You did it. You seduced him. He became obsessed with you.
Why did you lure him to the house with the bondage stuff?
The client said they wanted to really scare him.
Make sure Blake would keep his mouth shut.
It was a setup to intimidate him.
What did Blake know?
Chuck said that he had some evidence that was bad for the client.
Clearly, he knew some sort of secret.
What happened here?
It was bad.
I didn't want this to happen.
Show me.
How did you get here?
I followed her.
From that sick house she told me to meet her at.
I hid in the bushes until she came.
Sorry. I didn't... I went to lock up.
I thought he would be gone.
Just come with me.
Get out of here!
Chuck. Stop! You hurt him.
What do you want me to do? - Take him to the hospital.
And he didn't take him to the hospital.
It's been two days. You're not worried about your husband?
This isn't the first time he's taken off without telling me or calling.
You said you initially heard from the client via the dark web?
It's where Chuck does his business on the computer.
So then you know how to send messages to the client?
I'm in, and ready to do my thing.
What do you want the message to say?
"Need to meet in person ASAP.
"I have the evidence."
And away we go.
Whoever your mystery client is,
they just got the message.
Let me know when you hear a reply.
- You know it. - Thanks.
I don't like doing this.
I just do it because Chuck makes me.
Now's your chance to prove it. By doing the right thing.
You're gonna help me find Blake.
Dory. What are you doing here?
Dinner.
I am so sorry.
I texted the time, the place.
I got a reply from you saying, "Great."
Sat there for about 30 minutes before I realized,
"Same old Colter."
I got into something. Sorry. Why didn't you call?
I figured showing up
was the only way I'd actually get to see you
rather than hearing "I got caught up in something."
Or someone.
No.
- It's not what it looks like. - Okay.
Take care, Colter.
No, no, no, hold on a second.
Dory, hold on a second.
That missing student. Blake? He's in danger.
- Who's the girl? - Her husband attacked Blake.
I think he still has him. I'm not sure.
That's what I'm dealing with.
Okay. Maybe you should call the police.
I can't. I figure there's a 50% chance that Blake is still alive.
I call the police and they show up, that goes to zero.
Look, Blake has some kind of evidence against them,
I think they're holding him, trying to break him.
- Are they mobsters? - I don't know.
- I gotta take this. - Yeah.
Hey, you get a reply?
It's set.
They'll meet you in a parking lot on south side of town.
About 20 minutes away. I'll send you the location.
We gotta go. Okay.
Thanks, Bobby. Got it.
All right, look, I, uh...
Dory, I'll call you, I promise.
No, don't do that. Don't promise.
Go do your job. You know where to find me.
Maybe they ain't gonna show.
He'll show.
Someone's coming.
- Yes? - Do you have something for me?
A flash drive?
Don't move.
Damn it!
Hey, come here.
Look at me. Come here. Hey!
Pull the hood down! Pull the hood down!
Dex.
Where the hell is Blake?
I don't know, man.
You set this whole thing up with Chuck.
What? I don't know a Chuck.
The guy blackmailing Blake with the photos.
Blake found out, he confronted him, he got hurt.
I wanna know where he is.
No, this is getting out of hand.
Oh, we're beyond way out of hand.
- Why did you do this? - No, I didn't do anything.
You gotta believe me. Okay? All I did was I made an intro.
I gave the name of a dark web service.
To who?
- To who? - To Professor Hewitt.
He wanted help with the Blake problem.
What evidence did Blake have on him?
Blake knew that Professor Hewitt's research in the lab wasn't adding up.
Hewitt said Blake's numbers were off.
No, Blake's were right. They matched the data.
The data,
well, it didn't show the progress
that Professor Hewitt was reporting to his investors.
So Hewitt stood to lose millions in investor funds.
We were going to get there.
We... We just needed more time.
Professor Hewitt was desperate to shut Blake up.
So I gave him the name of this dark web connection that I'd heard about.
And how'd you know to come here?
Professor Hewitt sent me a message
to meet some blonde woman
and get the evidence, a flash drive that Blake had.
That's all I know. I swear.
You do know they're gonna kill him, right?
What am I supposed to do?
You're gonna call Hewitt
and you're gonna tell him a story
about how you're gonna find the evidence.
Okay, how?
- How is that gonna help? - It's gonna buy me time.
Dory, I need your help.
Yeah, of course.
Professor Hewitt's the one blackmailing Blake.
He's holding him hostage somewhere on campus.
Whoa, whoa, Lyle Hewitt, our biochem professor?
Why would he be blackmailing a student?
Something to do with evidence about dirty research data.
I don't have time to go into it.
Hewitt's phone, it traces back to his lab.
There's no way he'd be holding Blake
out in the open like that.
You know this campus as well as anyone.
- Where might he have him? - Uh, his office. One of the other labs.
No, he's had him for two days.
Don't think he'd hold him anywhere where someone might come in contact.
One of the old bomb shelters.
There's one under the biochemistry building.
Bomb shelters?
Built during Cold War, but haven't used them in years.
- How do I get there? - I'll come with you. You won't find it.
I'm at the school so I'll meet you at the biochem building.
Dory. I got this one on my own.
I'm not... Dory!
The door's probably locked.
I'll take care of it.
No.
You can follow me.
Yeah, that works, too.
You could let me go.
I won't tell anyone about you.
You can't trust Professor Hewitt, you know?
I don't trust anyone, kid.
Just tell me where this evidence is, so I can get paid,
and this can be over.
You sure this is right?
Trust me. This must be hard to find.
- You're gonna kill me, aren't you? - Not my problem.
You and the professor work it out.
I talked to Dex. He said he got the location of evidence from your wife.
Found an address in an old jacket pocket that Blake left at your store.
You believe that? It sounds like someone's onto us.
- Call your wife and see. - How stupid are you?
If this is a setup, that's the last thing we're gonna do.
You don't understand what happens if this gets out.
Everything I've worked for is over.
My whole life ruined.
I only got one option.
We kill the kid.
No, we will get the evidence.
We'll destroy it. Then there's no proof.
We get the evidence or not, kid knows.
There's only one way this can end.
You want to bury the secret?
Bury the kid.
- I hid the evidence. - Lies.
No, hey, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
It'll get out even if I'm dead. He's lying.
This ends now.
Okay, stop. Wait!
You know, there's gotta be another way. Just let me think.
I tried your plan. It didn't work.
So, am I doing this or what?
Okay.
But I should be the one to do it. Give me the gun.
Is that blood?
Call the police.
Please don't.
I don't have reception. I have to go back out.
It's fine. Make the call.
Please, no!
I'll give you the flash drive.
You can have the evidence.
Hewitt, I know you killed Chuck.
You want another body on your hands?
Blake's the only one with the evidence.
You kill him, you're never gonna get it.
If you come in here, I'll kill you too.
I am coming in there.
If you have a gun pointed at me, I will take you out.
Do you understand?
Doesn't have to be this way.
Hewitt, put the gun down.
Last chance.
Are you okay?
Yeah. Thank you.
You'll live.
Uh, Mr. Shaw.
Don't think you want to leave town without this.
Thank you.
I have my son back, healthy and safe.
There's no price I wouldn't pay.
How you holding up?
A little banged up, but relieved.
- I'll be fine. - You're about to feel even better.
Professor Hewitt is facing murder
and attempted murder charges.
Hopefully, he's gonna spend the rest of his life in prison.
What's gonna happen to Dex?
He's probably gonna do a little jail time.
If he's lucky, he'll get probation.
But he's young enough. He can turn his life around.
I've got one question for you, though.
- Anything. - The evidence. Did you have it?
I hid it in Jada's locker in the lab.
The only person I would trust with this.
Okay. All right. Does she know?
No idea.
So, where do you go next? Another job?
Probably, yeah.
First, I have a promise to keep.
- Be good. - Thank you.
Thank you.
Thanks.
You are already checking your watch?
You're heading out tonight, aren't you?
Maybe.
Okay, fine. I will take what I can get.
What?
Hmm?
Why don't you stop by more?
Uh, it's... Nothing. No reason.
Yeah.
I think a little part of you might resent me.
Resent you?
- Why would I resent you? - Because I left.
When Uncle Dave and Aunt Melissa said come live with us,
I was the first one to jump in that car.
And you didn't. You stayed.
I did stay.
Mom needed me.
Dad had died. Russell was gone.
I didn't think going to the city was right.
- You didn't need to stay. - She didn't have anyone.
No one.
- After what Dad put us through... - No.
Mom went along with every wild idea Dad had.
Living off the grid, sleeping with one eye open,
just waiting for that boogeyman to come.
His ideas, not hers.
I love you, but no. Grow up.
Mom was not some fragile woman
that just got dragged along against her will.
I thought you said you moved on.
I have.
I was hoping that if you and I talked, maybe you could, too.
It's time to put it behind us.
All of us.
You talking about Russell?
Don't.
I want my brothers back together. Yeah.
And Mom, whatever version she told you,
is either one, a complete lie,
or two, some BS story just to keep you around.
- What's that supposed to mean? - It means we get to go on.
What happened happened.
But I'm not gonna let it have power over me.
And Mom,
that's all she has, is the past.
And that's why she holds it over us, because she can't let it go.
She's got this image of who Dad was.
And sure, yeah.
That's a version of the events,
but that is not what happened.
Maybe it's more complicated than that.
And maybe it was all a lie.
It's time to put it behind us, don't you think?
Just...
please call Russell.
♪ I might as well be dreaming ♪
♪ Run 'round in my head ♪
♪ I might as well be dreaming... ♪
What's good here?
♪ Run 'round in my head ♪
♪ If this is gonna Run 'round in my head ♪
♪ I might as well be dreaming ♪
♪ Run 'round in my head ♪