02x04 - Maya

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Alert: Missing Persons Unit". Aired: January 8, 2023 – present.*
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Jason and Nikki investigate cases for the Philadelphia Police Department's Missing Persons Unit while also trying to find out the truth about their missing son.
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02x04 - Maya

Post by bunniefuu »

♪ When I look into your eyes ♪

♪ And I can tell that you're all in ♪

♪ 'Cause I can hear your heart b*ating ♪

♪ Padam! ♪

♪ Padam ♪

♪ Padam, padam ♪

♪ I hear it and I know ♪

♪ Padam, padam ♪

♪ I know you wanna take me home ♪

♪ I know ♪

♪ You want to know me close ♪

♪ Padam, padam ♪

♪ When your heart goes ♪

♪ Padam! ♪

[CHEERING AND SHOUTING]

[DANCE MUSIC THUMPING]

[INDISTINCT EXCHANGES]

[TEEN 1] Canary always has food for us.

[TEEN 2] Oh, my God, I'm so hungry.

[TEEN 1] Yeah. Me too.

Are you sure she's working tonight?

- [APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
- Oh, you hear that applause?

Canary's def in there. Trust.

[MUSIC THUMPING]

[SIREN WAILING IN
DISTANCE, DRAWING NEAR]

Order's up, kiddos.

Today, we have "drunk leftovers,"

which, what looks like a BLT,

- and what looks like orange chicken.
- Thank you!

They've really gotta work
on their menu at this place.

- How was the show tonight?
- Oh, it was good.

On a scale of Wong Foo to Priscilla,

I'd give it a Birdcage.

As the great Vivien Leigh said...

[RASPING, AS LEIGH] "...
tomorrow is another day."

Who's Vivien Leigh?

[MOCKS DISDAIN] Oh!
Gen Z. Gotta love ya.

Heh! Someone who's not Gen Z, me,

needs to get out of these heels

because my cankles are crowing.

- Bye, my darlings.
- Thanks.

I'll see you tomorrow, Maya?

Yup, I'll be here. Thanks.

[TEXT ALERT BEEPS]

[ENGINE STARTS]

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

[VEHICLE APPROACHING]

[VEHICLE ACCELERATING]

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

Oh! All right, Reggie.

Oh...

What did we talk about, all right?

We need our elbow in
and our eyes on what?

The basket?

All right, buddy. I love your energy.

Let's try to keep this
one in one zip code, okay?

- You got it, Coach Mike.
- Okay. Come on!

- [SHOUTING] Who wants pizza?
- [KIDS] Me!

[MIKE] Hey, hey, hey.

Save me a pepperoni, all right?

[KIDS CLAMBERING]

Hey, Mrs. Coach. You're early.

All right? We gotta practice.
We got a game this weekend.

How's Reggie gonna go pro

if he's stuffing his
face with pepperoni pizza?

The pies were hot,

and your all-stars don't seem to mind.

[MIKE GRUNTS]

One second.

Hey, we got extra, if you want a slice?

I need help.

Yeah. What can I do you for?

It's not for me. It's for my friend.

You wanna tell me about your friend?

Her name's Maya.

I haven't seen her in, like, two days,

and I asked around
and nobody's seen her.

Come here.

If she's in trouble, then...

we-we can help.

We just need to know some things.

What is Maya's last name?

- I don't know it.
- What about her parents?

Don't know them, either.

You know where she lives?

We don't, uh... we don't have homes,

like, normal homes.

What's your name, baby?

- Jax.
- You want to tell me

the last place you saw Maya?

- Yeah.
- Let's get you some food.

- Thanks.
- Come here, baby.

Actually, I know this place.

I was here once, I got a burger,

I was on a stakeout,

and it felt like a-a Buick
was stuck in my colon.

All right, all right!

You thought we needed to know that?

Gut health is very important, Michael.

Okay? Even for somebody your age.

Y-You don't have to worry
about it yet, though.

You and Maya come here often?

Yeah. The queens here are really nice.

Queens? Drag queens?

- Yeah.
- Yeah?

Some of them will sneak
food for us when they can,

and then we'll snatch makeup
for them when we... can.

I probably shouldn't
have just told a cop that.

- It's fine.
- No, you're under arrest.

- What?
- I'm k... I'm kidding.

It's out of our jurisdiction,
stolen makeup. You're fine.

Did somebody give you
guys food the other night?

Yeah. My girl, Canary.

All right, well, maybe
she knows something.

She usually shows up around lunchtime.

Lunchtime? Okay, um... here.

Go, uh...

go get yourself something
to eat. Not here.

- Thanks.
- Thank you very much.

Don't buy dr*gs!

All right, what do
we do? Just wait here?

Ooh-ee!

Nice ass, daddy.

Why you? I mean, I got
a nice ass, don't I?

Have you seen your ass?

- Huh?
- I'll let you answer that question yourself.

Let's just go wait in the car.

I have a fantastic ass.

Oh, heads up.

[DOOR THUDS]

Miss Canary?

I guess that depends on who's asking.

The precinct holding
a beauty pageant today?

Uh, no.

Uh, we're looking for
a homeless girl, Maya.

Yeah, I know Maya. I do give
her food every now and then,

but I don't know if the food from
here is a blessing or a curse.

Yeah, no, I feel you on that.

Do you know where she is?

I don't, but is she in trouble, or...

She might be.

Okay. That explains it.

You know, I actually found her bag

when I was coming home from
the club the other night.

I actually grabbed it,
thinking that I would just

give it to her the next time I saw her.

You mind grabbing it for me?

Not at all, cutie, as long
as you hold my w*r paint.

I mean, what... w-what
is it? "Cutie" now?

- Don't...
- I mean, y-you're like catnip around here.

All right, all right, all right.

Thank you.

[SIGHING]

This bag is probably all she had.

There's no way she
left it on a sidewalk.

Let me see.

Oh.

[KEMI] Just a child.

A little girl...

living out of a backpack.

I mean, what kind of
world allows that, Nik?

And where were her parents?

"Family" doesn't always
mean what you think it does.

[GROANS IN DREAD] Oh.

It's not a good sign.

What do you think? Drug problems?

Well, she wouldn't be the first girl

to get lost at the bottom of a baggie.

Hmm.

Well, someone seems to care about Maya.

[NIKKI] Mm.

Oh.

"Glenolden Girls' Soccer Camp."

Find that camp.

I want the name of both
those girls right now.

Yeah.

[JASON HUMMING JOVIALLY]

Hey, Nik.

You, uh, you wore jeans to our wedding.

Feet off my desk.

- Yes, ma'am.
- And it was spontaneous, okay?

I didn't exactly have time to shop.

You actually listened to me?

I'm afraid of the next 60 seconds.

Don't be.

Um...

I did a thing.

Uh, I looked into the
John Maritz m*rder,

even though you may have told me not to.

Are we doing this again?

It was a car b*mb. It
is with Homicide now.

I asked you to stand down.

Okay, okay, and I didn't. W-Would
it help if I said I was sorry?

You're not sorry. I know you.

- Okay, fair.
- Fine.

You already closed the door, so you

might as well tell me what you found.

I found nothing.

Okay? It's just the PD portal.

I looked at the file
and a-a virus nuked me.

What do you mean?

- It was white-listed.
- "White-listed"?

- Mm.
- [CHUCKLING SKEPTICALLY]

You can't update your phone
software. How do you even...

Wayne?

Of course. Wayne.

Okay, okay, okay, look.

Nik, the point is, it was white-listed.

Okay? Is that a coincidence?

Tell me, who has the authority
to do something like that?

Someone who has something to hide,

someone who may or may not
have a personal beef with me.

Do you want to buy a
vowel? Should I keep going?

- Stop it!
- Okay, let's skip to the end.

Hollis Braun. Your new buddy.

He isn't my buddy, okay?

And-and you can't
just level accusations

against an inspector like that.

- Why not?
- Hey, uh...

- What's up?
- This is weird,

but I just got a message
from Braun's office

saying that he wanted to
set up a lunch with me.

[JASON CACKLES]

You want a recommendation?

The Olive Garden's breadsticks are...

I mean, they are phenomenal.

W-Why does he want to
have lunch with you?

Uh, sorry, that... that came out wrong.

Yeah, just a little bit.

But also, I don't know.
I didn't call him back.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[KEMI] Hey, Nikki?

I got those ID's.

Okay.

All right, so...

the summer camp identified those girls.

- Mm-hmm?
- The one on the left is our girl, Maya,

except the camp had her

registered under a different name.

Hannah Marie Sutter.

And she's from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

So what's she doing in Philly?

I don't know,

but she's ours now,

and a runaway doesn't leave her bag

unless someone makes her.

Issue the alert.

All right.

[ALERT BEGINS BLARING]

[OVERLAPPING ALERTS BLARING]

[EXHALES]

[BREATH SHAKING]

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

Hello?

Can anyone hear me? Hello?

Is anyone...

[GASPS]

[CHAIN RATTLES]

[CHAIN THUDDING AND
CLACKING AGAINST FRAME]

Please, let me out of here!

[GASPING AND WHEEZING]

I can't... I can't breathe!

[HYPERVENTILATING]

[GASPING INTENSELY]

Somebody, please, let me out of here!

So she made it all the
way to Philly this time?

Well, we called the
New Jersey State Police.

They have two prior missing reports

- in their system for Maya...
- Hannah.

But there's no current report,

even though we have a
statement from another kid

saying that she's been on
the streets at least a month.

What's your point?

We're trying to understand

why you didn't report
your daughter missing.

She ran away five years ago.
She ran away two years ago.

- Right.
- Just to be clear,

because clarity is important,

you didn't report her
most recent departure

to any of the appropriate authorities?

Our daughter would
rather live on the streets

than at home with us.

Do you know what that's like?

I work. My husband works.

We have two other children
who are both normal and easy.

Tell us what to do.

People prey on runaways,

and there's nothing we can do to
stop them unless we are notified.

You're calling us bad parents.

They're calling us bad parents.

Mrs. Sutter, I-I am not calling you...

We just can't communicate with Hannah.

Believe us, we've tried.

[SIGHING]

What do you expect us to do?

You can try and learn.

She loves soccer,

so we spent a fortune to
send her to soccer camp.

Yet, she comes home
talking about a-a girlfriend

who lives in Philly,
wanting to go live with her,

wanting us to call her Maya,

and then she ran away...

again.

So, we figure,

she'll come home when she's tired
of making a spectacle of herself.

Mr. and Mrs. Sutter,

your other children may be "easy,"

but that doesn't mean
that Maya isn't normal.

And the only lesson
that she needs to learn

is to stop hoping

that her parents will
start acting like parents.

Kemi. Kemi.

And if you'll excuse me,
I have a child to find.

[TENSE MUSIC]

My apologies. Would you
give us a moment, please?

- Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

I'm sorry.

That was unprofessional.

But those people in there,

I know that look in their eyes,
I have seen it in my parents'.

[VOICE SHAKING] It is plain
and simple indifference.

It is not our job to judge.

It is our job to find their daughter.

I know that!

But their daughter is in danger,

and they didn't even report it.

Let me handle them, okay?

You track down the girl from the photos,

the one from the soccer
camp, the girlfriend. Okay?

[OFFICER] Captain.

We have a hit on the alert
from the City Youth Shelter.

- I'm sorry.
- It's okay.

[WOMAN] Close to a quarter of
the country's unhoused population


is under 18.

- I'm sure you know that.
- Yeah.

Right here, in Philadelphia alone,

there's 1,700 children
living on the streets.

[MIKE TAKES A BREATH]

Tell me about Maya.

She's stayed here before,
but two nights ago,

when checked in for
the 7:00 p.m. curfew,

we didn't have any beds available.

Well, maybe she went to another shelter.

There's three youth shelters,
but that's only 40 beds total.

Wait. I-If there's just no beds, what,

she just ends up on the street?

Welcome to my sleepless nights.

Find her, Sergeant.

With no roof over their heads,

these kids don't last long.

Hey.

How you doing?

Am I busted?

No, no, you're gonna be okay this time.

Um, we-we're gonna flush
that down the toilet,

and then you're gonna
tell me where you got it.

Mm. Yeah, uh...

[TAPPING TENSELY]

It's-It's a local dealer.

Guy named Skit.

Just, you-you text him,
he gives a meet-up point,

usually around 13th Street,
in-in the Gayborhood.

- Okay.
- You said 13th Street?

- Yeah.
- That's a block away from where Maya went missing.

Okay, so, why don't you run off

and, uh, flush that down the toilet,

then you're gonna text Skit,

and we're gonna set up a meet for us.

Yeah.

[CAMERA ZOOM WHIRRING]

[TENSE MUSIC]

[JASON] This girl's
younger than Sid, man.


I don't like her chances
if we don't find her.


Well, street kids do a
lot of things to survive.

You know, maybe she owed the wrong guy,

offered the wrong thing,
got in over her head?

Whatever it is, hopefully,
this dealer can help us.

What kind of a name is Skit anyway?

I don't know. His
parents must've hated him.

He sells dr*gs to kids. I'm
not much of a fan either...

cutie.

All right.

Hold on.

You know, it just occurred to me...

- What?
- Well, I mean, this-this...

this dealer kid, he thinks
that the kid who texted him

is coming to see him,

not two grown men who look...

like how you look.

- What's wrong with the way I look?
- You look like a cop.

He's gonna see you
comin' from a mile away.

- You look like a cop, too!
- No, I don't.

You're outta your mind. This
is the sexy mechanic look.

'Kay? Chicks dig it.

And, y-you know, you, uh...

you got something different going on.

Yeah.

What do you think?

No. No. No. Absolutely not. No.

It'd look so good on you.

Come on. Come on. Let's just look.

Let's just look.

[UP-TEMPO MUSIC]

It's funny?

I don't know why I listened to you.

You look really good.

Nikki's going to like it.

- It really shows off your physique.
- Yeah. I look like brown Fonzie.

You look great! Hey,
look, don't be so selfish.

All right? We're trying to find a kid.

And, you know what, the truth is,

you're gonna find a lot,
um, uses... for this thing.

- Yeah? Where exactly?
- I don't know.

A midnight showing of
Saturday Night Fever?

[JASON LAUGHS]

You know what?

It's actually not that bad.

[STARTS BEATBOX-SCATTING]

Very good, very good, very good.

When you're done admiring yourself,

I think I see, uh... Skit.

[MIKE] Ahem.

Skit?

Yeah, no chance. Keep walkin', officers.

Oh... was it that obvious?

You look like a high
school football coach

and your buddy here

looks like he just lost a
George Michael costume contest,

so, yeah, a little obvious.

We're gonna have a little
chit-chat after this.

- That's fair.
- And I know my rights.

Okay? You texted me from
a phone that wasn't yours.

That's entrapment.

I don't care about any of that.

I'm looking for a
girl, a client of yours.

Wanna help us out, maybe we
don't arrest you? For now?

I knew it.

Go get 'em, George Michael!

You got this!

- Stop!
- [CAR HORN BLARING]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Was it worth it? Now
you're under arrest.

[SKIT GRUNTS]

Thanks for the assist.

Anytime! Love the jacket.

Hey! You hear that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thanks.

Thank you, everyone.

- [CLAPPING]
- Thank you!

- [SMATTERING OF APPLAUSE RISES]
- [WOLF-WHISTLING]

[MIKE] We're looking
for Maya. You know her?

I don't have to talk to you.

That's true, but you also
had six grams of coke,

thirty Oxy, and a dozen
ecstasy pills on you

when we busted you, so...

What are you doing? Are you
supplying Coachella this year?

You want to talk to us, or
you want to talk to the judge

at your arraignment? Your choice.

[SIGHING]

Fine.

Maya bought from me,

but it's not what you think.

She came to me once
in a while for zannies.

Do you know, uh, was she getting high?

Or did she actually have anxiety, or...

Do you know how hard it is
to get mental health meds

when you live on the streets?

When's the last time you saw her?

Couple days ago.

She needed meds, she
didn't have enough cash,

and I don't do charity, so.

She said she had some
kinda under-the-table gig,

she'd get the money, and come back,

but she never showed up.

What, she worked somewhere local? Where?

[BANG]

Hey.

Got your attention now? Good.

She didn't tell me, okay?

Probably somewhere in the Gayborhood,

but that's all I know.

Caitlyn?

Hi. I'm Detective Adebayo.

Can you sit for a minute?

I need to talk to you about Maya...

uh, Hannah.

We have, uh, reason to
believe that she's in...

she's in danger.

I...

- don't know anything about...
- Oh. Oh, sweetie.

I'm a friend. I'm trying to help.

I want Maya safe.

And if these photos
are telling the truth,

I think you do, too.

Look.

I can call your parents and have them

take you down to the station
for an official interview,

or we can talk here.

Yeah?

Okay, um...

so you met Maya at soccer
camp over the summer.

Why don't you start there?

I was nervous about going to camp

because I'm not great in new situations,

but...

meeting Maya the first time...

She has anxiety issues. She got me.

[KEMI] Mm.

Everything just felt right, you know?

Oh, yeah. I do!

I mean, you meet the right person

and it just feels like
you're breathing air

that you never breathed before.

Did it feel like that?

- Yeah?
- Yeah!

- Yeah.
- Yeah. Just like that.

That was the freest I-I ever felt.

We called each other "Teddy Bear,"

so I bought her a
stuffed animal. So silly.

I'm not out at home like Maya was.

I wasn't ready to be
someone new with my family,

and then, a couple weeks ago,

Maya shows up at my door,
asking to stay with me.

She didn't know that
I wasn't out at home.

So, um... what did you do then?

[VOICE SHAKING] I told her to leave.

Did she mention anyone harassing her,

or trying to take advantage in any way?

No. No, nothing like that.

A couple weeks ago, I got to school,

and there was a note in my locker.

She must've snuck in.

She said that she'd be in the city

and that she'd stay close.

I need to see that note.
Do you still have it?

_

I'll make sure that
this gets back to you.

Are you gonna find her?

I hope so.

Will you tell her that I miss her?

It'll be the first thing that I do.

So we have a girl with mental
health issues that got rejected.

Possible su1c1de, possible predators...

I don't... I don't love it.

The girlfriend can't place her,

and that was about three days ago,

- so we're running out of time.
- [NIKKI] All right.

So, what do we know about the hours

before she disappeared?

Well, we know she saw her dealer.

Six o'clock, right?

Then she got turned away from
the youth center at 7:00 p.m.

Um, the next thing we know

is that she was with the
boy outside the drag bar

at, say, 10:00 p.m.
to close, at midnight.

And then, gone.

All right, so the big
piece that's missing

is between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m.

What about the drug dealer kid?

He said that she picked up work
somewhere in the Gayborhood.

Mm-hmm, question is where?

[KEMI] Wait a minute. Uh...

the note that she gave to Caitlyn.

Let's see.

Um, it was on a napkin from this place.

The Gin Fizz.

Who the hell let a


Either she's got the
Mona Lisa of fake ID's

and she likes their appletinis,

or she was not going there for a drink,

she was working there.

- That's where she was working.
- [KEMI] Yeah.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

Can I get you officers a drink?

Yeah, I'm gonna have this whole bottle.

We're on duty. Thanks.

Uh, David'll be off the phone
in just a second, fellas.

You work here long?

Yeah, I haven't missed
a day in three years.

David hired me 'cause the
circuit boys can't get free drinks

off a straight bartender.

That's a good business plan.
You must've seen it all, huh?

Yeah, wild times. The sex got
safer and the dr*gs got weirder.

Let me ask you a question.

You, um, you ever come
across fake ID's here?

Like, underage kids?

Anybody like... her, for example?

I, uh...

yeah, think you guys
should talk to the boss.

Sorry about that.

What can I do for the PD today?

[CHUCKLES] Oh, I do have a thing
with the city about parking spots,

but other than that,
clean as the driven snow.

No, it's not that. We're
looking for this girl.

Who? Maya?

- You know her?
- Sure, I know her.

Okay, why-why is there a


There are so many homeless
kids in this neighborhood.

It breaks my heart.

I don't let them near the booze.

I just slip them cash
to help with the dishes,

take out the trash, that kinda thing.

Right. Was she here, uh, two nights ago?

Yeah, a couple hours' worth.

She was motivated. Hustled.

I don't think I've ever seen
the glasses shine so bright.

You know, it's about time
someone from the city gave a crap.

Yeah, what do you mean?

Do you have any idea how many
kids go missing from here?

Come through, disappear,

vanish like they never existed.

No one comes around here asking.

Well... we're asking now.

Well, it's about damn time.

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

[KNOCKING AT DOOR]

Hey, Inspector. What's up?

Well, you couldn't make lunch,

so I thought I'd just drop by.

Yeah, well,

we're full-court press
for the missing kid,

so, um... but come in, have a seat.

I'm a flat-white guy myself.

But you?

Double-Americano.

This is great. Thank you.

Um, I read your file

and I'm impressed.

- Thanks.
- You always wanted to be a cop?

No, it turns out that the Phillies
were all set at left field,

so I went with my backup plan.

- You?
- My father was a cop.

Never made it out of uniform.

My mother used to say
that he loved the badge

and he loved the bottle,

and they both hated him back.

Oh, I know the type.

Yeah. All me and my little brother

ever wanted was to impress the bastard.

Now my brother owns nine charter schools

and my badge says "Inspector" on it,

which wasn't easy,

carrying the old man's name
around like an albatross.

Irony is,

he d*ed of cirrhosis
before he could see it.

- I'm sorry about that.
- Anyway,

a long-winded way of me saying

that whatever it is that is driving you,

this is the sweet spot of your career

where everything you
touch can turn to gold...

long as nobody else's tarnish rubs off.

Jason Grant's a good cop.

I know that Nikki
thinks the world of him,

but he leaves me...

a little... concerned.

[DOOR OPENS]

Inspector.

What brings you up to MPU?

[INSPECTOR BRAUN] Delivering coffee.

I'll leave you two to work on the case,

but I'll put a lunch in
the books for us all soon.

- Sound good?
- Yep.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Um, Kemi wants us in the
conference room right away.

Talk to me, Kemi. What do you got?

So we may be looking
at a serial offender.

Um, the bar owner

implied that Maya isn't the first kid

to disappear from the Gayborhood,

so Jason asked me to do some digging.

No children matching
Maya's general profile

came up in our case history,

so I expanded the search parameters.

A lot of these kids
don't come from Philly.

They just end up here.

- Meaning they were reported missing elsewhere?
- [MIKE] Mm-hmm.

[KEMI] Exactly, so,

I looked at kids

reported missing all over the state.

Um, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Hershey.

According to the Missing and
Endangered Children's database,

there are 194 children missing

in Pennsylvania alone.

So, I focused on the ones
with last-known sightings

in Philadelphia...

[MIKE] Which is still a needle
in a haystack of needles.

We gotta narrow it down.

Figure out which ones were
last seen in the Gayborhood.

Which is why Jason is
bringing in someone to...

consult.

[QUIRKY UPBEAT MUSIC]

After you.

Miss Canary, I really
appreciate your time.

This is my friend, Kemi.

She's gonna show you some photos.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.

Anything for my girl Maya.

But you couldn't have given
a girl a chance to change?

Basically snatched my
tush right off the stage

at drag brunch.

Not that I minded him near my tush.

Oh, clock's always
ticking. Welcome to MPU.

Hmm! Well, okay.

Mind if I, uh, make myself a
little bit more comfortable?

Let my hair down?

Do your thing.

Ah. There you go.

Now, be careful with
her. That's my baby.

Okay.

- [CANARY] These three.
- [KEMI] Are you sure?

[CANARY] Oh, yeah!

I see these kids
almost every single day,

and, girl, I do not forget a face.

Mm. Her.

This girl, Rosalind,

she works part-time at
a store called Parameter.

- Okay.
- Mm-hmm.

And, Joel... oh, my angel.

Joel washed dishes at
the bar that I perform at.

Clown Car.

And then this girl, I can't
remember her name, but...

Ah! Yes.

Kara with a "K."

Mm. I've seen her once
or twice down at Gin Fizz.

- Okay.
- I sometimes do a little pop-up there.

Gin Fizz? All right.

- Kemi, will you handle that?
- Yeah, I'm on it.

- Thank you so much.
- [NIKKI] Thank you.

Thank you, Canary.

Ooh, la, la!

[SINGSONG] Who is getting married?

Oh, I am.

Ooh! Con-drag-ulations, honey.

You're gonna look stunning in ivory.

- Thank you.
- Hmph.

Just between us girlfriends...

I wouldn't do the floor-length.

- Really? Why not?
- Look at you!

You've got the calves of a cheetah.

Might as well show 'em off.

Oh, stop it.

[LAUGHING]

[TRAPDOOR CREAKS]

[CHAIN RATTLING]

[MAN'S VOICE, MODULATED]
How you look is going to

dictate who you go to.

If I were you,

I'd try and look nice.

Please! I have... [GASPING]

... bad anxiety and I...

No one in your life wants you,

but someone on the other
end of that camera will.


I won't talk to the cops! I swear!

Clean up and get some rest.

Bidding starts in a few hours.

Please... please...

please...

[SOBBING]

Hey, Nikki?

Uh, you're not gonna believe this.

What do you got?

- Uh, the businesses that Canary told us about?
- Uh-huh?

Remember the bar owner that
Mike and Jason talked to?

- David Close.
- Yes.

He owns all three.

And there's more.

Close has a record.

Thirty years ago,

he was arrested for unlawful
sexual contact with a minor.

Get Mike and Jason back there.

We have a little girl
running out of time.

Find David Close. Now.

Yeah.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

[JASON] Tell me again,
'cause I don't get it.

I mean, I got a bunch of missing kids,

and you... you have a record.

He was my high school boyfriend.

I turned 18, he was still 17.
His parents were h*m*.

All the charges were dropped eventually.

I never saw him again.

These missing kids,

I give them cash, I give them work,

so they don't starve to death.

I have nothing to hide from you two.

Okay, fine. I want details.

I want details when you
spoke to them, what they said,

where you were, all of it.

I don't have time for this.

Well, you're gonna have
to make time. All right?

We need a list of every
single one of your employees

that came into contact with the kids.

Okay. Whatever I have to do to help,

but I got nobody on shift right now.

I got two people from the Parameter,

they're out of town.

I got my bartender,
Richard, he called in sick.

[JASON] Whoa-whoa, wait.

- That's the bartender from yesterday?
- Yeah. Richard Fredricks.

He specifically said

that he has never missed a day of work.

- He even made a joke about it.
- Yeah.

Hold on.

All right, his name
is Richard Fredricks,


and he definitely got squirrelly

when we showed him a picture of Maya.

All right. I'm pulling everything
up in the system now.

Okay, here we go.

Uh... he had an arrest for
disorderly conduct eight years ago.

Home address is Bridesburg.

No other priors.

I don't know. Th-This guy looks clean.

No. Keep looking.

- There's gotta be something.
- Okay.

Um...

no social media footprint, no liens,

no court filings.

Wait a second.

I'm looking at his utility bill.

He has three separate
fiber optic Internet lines

going into his house.

A bartender does not need
that much Internet draw.

Am I right?

He must be uploading and downloading

enormous amounts of content.

Okay, I guarantee, whatever
he's uploading and downloading

would make your skin crawl.

I think I wanna find out
and shut this monster down.

[INTENSE MUSIC]

[KEYS CLACKING]

Okay.

What exactly are you doing?

Uh, so I made a phone call to a...

let's just say a friend of a friend,

who gave me access to her Tor browser

to get onto the Dark Web.

Let me guess, Wayne.

Of course. Wayne.

Okay, hosting a Dark Web platform

is the most likely reason

for Fredricks' massive
fiber optic situation,

so Wayne gave me a
source-tracking package,

uh, so that I could search out his VPN

when I was in here, and...

- Got it.
- I think this is it.

Uh...

[BEEP-BEEP]

Nikki, his site is
broadcasting live right now.

Oh, my God. It's Maya.

That's what this is all about.

He's trafficking her.

Fredricks' selling her
to the highest bidder.

Twenty-eight minutes.

We need to cut this
off. Anything we can do?

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

[DISTANT] Kemi? Kemi? Kemi...

Kemi.

[LOUDLY] Kemi!

I'll tell you what we can do.

We can get his Internet
provider on the phone

and we can thr*aten to arrest
every person who doesn't help us

cut off his service right this second.

[BEEPING]

What the hell?

[CONNECTION SHUTS DOWN]

Son of a bitch.

Please, is it over?

[INTENSE MUSIC]

[WHACKING KEYS]

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

[CLICKING]

Somebody, please! Help me!

[DOOR OPENING]

[CREAKING]

[HINGES SQUEAL]

[DOOR THUDS]

[DEADBOLT ENGAGES]

Please, is it over?

I need my meds!

It's over.

We're outta here.

[TAPE RIPS]

Where are we going?

Where no one will find you.

I got a business to protect.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Look who's a sneaky little bitch.

I swear to God...

[GRUNTS] Ah!

[SIRENS YELPING]

Go around back!

[MAYA PANTING]

[RICHARD GRUNTS]

[MAYA SHRIEKING]

- [DOOR CRASHES OPEN]
- [MIKE] Maya!

[MAYA SHRIEKS]

[SCREAMS]

Somebody! Please!
Please! Somebody, help me!

[JASON] Maya! Back away from
the door. This is the police!

Get down on the floor, now!

Somebody, help me,
please! Somebody, help me!

[MAYA SCREAMS] No!

[CRIES OUT]

[MAYA WHIMPERING]

Hey, hey. You okay?

Okay. Hey, I need a
paramedic in here now!

Stay down, stay down. All right?

That's what you get
for messing with kids.

You got the right to
keep bleeding, homeboy.

Hey, come on. Come on.

[JASON] On your stomach.

[FOOTSTEPS]

I called the Sutters.

They're on their way to pick up Maya.

Those people don't want her, Nikki,

and when you're not wanted,
they aren't your family.

[NIKKI] We don't have a choice.

[KEMI] No.

I know this is hard.

Why don't you go in
there and wait with her?

Okay.

[MAYA] When I was on my own...

[SNIFFLING]

no matter where I had to sleep,

no matter who stepped over me...

I never felt as alone as
I did when I was back home.

No, it's, ahem, just a house.

It's not my home.

When I was very young,
something happened to me, too.

I didn't, uh, I didn't leave home,

but I was taken from it.

And I hoped...

I prayed that, uh, someone
would come and save me.

But...

in the end,

it wasn't my family who did.

It was the police.

Even when you are alone,

you don't have to feel lonely.

There are infinite lights in this world.

You just...

You just have to see them in the dark.

My, uh, cell phone number is on there,

just in case you need me.

[CHOKES UP] I'm sorry, I just...

I've never had anyone
look out for me before.

I've never even had anyone miss me.

Oh... I think someone does.

I, uh... I spoke to Caitlyn.

You did?

I did, and I, um...

I have a feeling that...

your Teddy Bear is still out there.

[GASPS, SIGHS DEEPLY]

[CHUCKLES UNEASILY]

What do I do now?

Um...

you start to heal.

You take your meds.

Maybe... talk to a therapist.

And in a few more years,

you're gonna head out into the...

great, big world and
find your own place,

and find a new family.

- What you've been through...
- [DEFLATING SIGH]

... you can face anything.

Am I allowed to hug a police officer?

Y-Yes, yes. Today, you are, young lady.

[CHUCKLING]

[SIGHING]

Um... one question.

Why did Hannah Marie Sutter
decide she wanted to be Maya?

"Shadows on the wall,
noises down the hall...

life doesn't frighten me at all."

Maya Angelou.

No one's braver than her.

That's why I'm Maya.

Mm.

That...

that sure looked cozy
with the Inspector earlier.

Got a nice side of
compliments with my caffeine.

Good. You deserve it.

Seems like a decent man.

Yeah.

Hey, let me ask you something.

He wouldn't happen to have a reason

to keep his eye on Jay, would he?

- What do you mean?
- I don't know.

Jay's not up to something... is he?

Not that I know of. No.

It's probably nothing.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Hey.

So what's with the, uh, covert action?

This is just between us. Okay?

We started a conversation about
Braun in my office yesterday

and I think we should finish it.

I-I don't know what
you want me to say, Nik.

I don't trust this guy.

I think he's a bad dude.

I'm telling you, Nik.
I'm onto something here.

You gotta trust me.

No. No, you're not, okay?

This right here,

this just posted an hour ago.

It's from Central District Homicide.

Someone confessed.

They confessed to building

and detonating the b*mb
that k*lled John Maritz.

Central has him in custody.

They got him, Jay.

I don't care, I'm still right.

I don't care that you don't care.

It's over. Case closed.

[TENSE MUSIC]

[UPBEAT MUSIC]
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