01x06 - The Norseman

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "The Player"...

Detective Brown, this is Special Agent Rose Nolan with the F.B.I.

Justin Foucault has been on my radar as part of a domestic terror investigation.

Take a look at these.

Why are you telling me this?

You're very close with someone who matches the profile.

I found some old pictures on a S.I.M. card.

Dates are off by three days. It doesn't make any sense.

I was thinking about those dates you showed me.

There was one active phone number.

702's a Vegas number.

Alex.

Where are you?

Don't try and find me, please.

[thrash metal music playing]

Ginny: Alex, I have to go.

Don't try and find me, please.

They'll k*ll you if you do.

Ginny...

[taps key]

[clank, whirring]

Oh.

Uncle Alex, sorry. I-I thought you'd be at work.

Huh. Dani, what are you doing here?

It's been a while since I visited.

What, so you just thought you'd come check on me?

Yeah.

Hey, where's your mom?

Uh... [chuckles] Thanks, kid.

You wanna tell me what you're doing Oh, cool bike. here alone...

...from Phoenix? Dani.

Mom went psycho.

And I-I can't deal 'cause she's such a hypocrite, okay?

She... she has three tattoos that I know of.

And she goes nuclear when I get one little one?

So you got a tattoo?

Mm-hmm.

It means... freedom and safe travels.

Mm.

Sailors get them.

Mm. Sailors.

Not exactly top choice for role models.

[chuckles]

Listen, can I... can I stay for a few days?

Please? I-I can't go back.

Not until she calms down a little bit.

Dani...

[sighs]

You know I'm always here for you, but we gotta let your mom know what's up.

Does she even know you're here?

No, I... I left when she went to her shift.

[sighs]

You can't just hide out.

I didn't know where else to go.

Fine.

You can stay for a few days.

Okay.

I'll call your mom.

But then you and I, we have to have a very serious talk, okay?

Sure.

Okay.

[cellphone chimes]

[groans]

And we'll have that talk when I get back from work.

[chuckles] Coolest uncle ever.

Yeah, we'll see about that.

In the meantime, just, um, don't, uh...

Don't touch the liquor?

Do not touch the liquor.

Okay.

All right. I love you.

I love you, too.

Bye.

Thank you, Uncle Alex.

You're welcome.

♪

So what's the connection?

No connection. Just a pattern.

Former Special Forces guys. They can all be placed at a series of unrelated crime scenes, and then they end up dead or disappeared.

[paper rustles]

And there's your friend.

Alex Kane.

[coffee cup thuds]

You following him?

We both know he's hiding something.

Hey, what's this?

Oh, that was taken at the Occam, where he's been spending an unusual amount of time.

No, no, no. I mean her.

Been trying to figure that out.

Whoever she is, she's using some sort of high-intensity infrared device to obscure her features.

Check this out.

Where did you get this?

Justin Foucault, the ex-Special Ops found dead in the desert.

This was taken two days before he d*ed.

With our mystery blonde.

♪

[elevator bell dings]

I trust Ginny's niece found her way to your apartment well enough?

Hey, let's not spy on my family.

Hardly spying.

The Instagram of the new tattoo, the tweet "Mom sucks," a cellphone search for your address, and an online purchase of a bus ticket from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

Teenagers don't leak information.

They shout it unto the digital void.

[keypad beeps, door opens]

I couldn't help but notice.

You have a new bet.

[chuckles] Or we could shake hands like civilized men.

Good morning, Mr. Kane. How are you doing?

Or any number of common greetings would do.

So what's all this?

Cold case homicides, courtesy of L.V.P.D. storage.

The murders are connected.

How?

A serial k*ller has been targeting Las Vegas for nearly two decades, and nobody knows it.

In the last 48 hours, of October 1996, two people were k*lled.

Their heads and hands were never found.

Mnh.

What? Does this actually bother you?

No.

This sort of k*ller offends me.

They are chaotic. Messy.

9 years later on October 31, 2005, two new victims were found.

After all that time, the police dismissed it as a copycat.

Well, not all of them did.

Cal Brown was a rookie on the '96 case.

He thought the '05 murders were the same guy, but he couldn't prove it.

I know. I've read his notes.

I'm impressed. He's quite good.

But we can connect some dots he couldn't see.

[console chimes and beeps]

The dates of the murders and the number of the victims correspond to the patterns on the winterfest cycle of a Norse pagan calendar meant to honor the dead.

The pagans made sacrifices by severing the heads and hands of those who were offered up.

Lovely. So this guy's a wannabe Viking priest?

I call this charming fellow "The Norseman."

Our data predicts he will strike again this year and that he'll take 2 more victims in the next 72 hours.

That's between now and Halloween.

That is, unless you can stop it.

The bet...

[console chimes]

[computer beeps]

Can Alex Kane stop The Norseman from completing his ritual before midnight, October 31st?

Well, we're about to find out.

♪

[electronic dance music playing]

[crowd cheering]

Wanna get out of here?

♪

[both laughing]

[gasps] I could go for a swim!

I don't have a suit.

Oh, no.

Neither do I.

[giggles]

[screaming]

Man: Oh! Oh, oh!

[speaking Scandinavian language]

[continues speaking Scandinavian language]

♪

[siren wailing in distance]

[clears throat] You were right.

Yes, sir, on it.

It's your guy again, isn't it?

You always said he'd be back.

I swear, man, the only time you don't pop up at a crime scene is when you're part of the crime scene.

[chuckles]

You ready to tell me who you're working for?

Well, as a security consultant, technically, I work for myself.

For tax purposes, it's called an S corp.

You know, you can really transform your financial portfolio if you sign up for that.

[static]

That's funny.

Hey, uh, I think we found something over here.

What? In the men's room?

Yeah, uh, thinking the guy got hit on the way out.

[beep]

Alex?

[dryers whirring]

[static]

Alex, your mic is distorted.

Well, this is not at all alarming.

You know who I am, Cal? What I do?

What you did.

You telling me you working black ops again on U.S. soil?

I'm telling you I'm working for some very serious people.

And these people work out of the Occam?

No. The Occam's a new client. That's it.

Just wanna make sure you're not in over your head.

I appreciate that, Cal. I do.

But I wanna help you catch this guy.

You've just got to promise me not to ask for details.

The people I'm with, they don't play well with others, but they have resources.

Now this k*ller is not gonna stop.

You and I both know that.

Not unless we do something about it.

So let me help you, Cal. Please.

I almost got him in '05.

[computer beeps]

Patrols spotted a guy peeping a couple of the crime scenes.

[cellphone ringing]

Big, weird dude named Bron Torvald.

[ring, beep]

Lived out in the Sand Hills.

What the...

Didn't have enough to arrest, but I questioned him, then he disappeared.

It's Vegas. People disappear.

Yeah, but right after he disappeared, I got this.

Huh.

Didn't match any of the known victims so we could never I.D. it.

I was getting close.

Torvald was sending a message... "Back off."

Hmm.

Weird thing is, right after that, he just went quiet.

Been off the map ever since.

Raised in foster homes, so no next of kin listed, no way to track him down.

Anything else connect the victims?

Yeah, he finds them online.

That's how he makes contact.

That's it. That's all I got.

[cellphone rings]

[ring]

Vegas P.D.

Mm.

You want me to say hi for you?

[beep]

Kane.

What?

See you later.

She did what?

[sighs heavily]

[cellphone rings]

Oh, good.

[beep]

Yep.

Okay, what the hell were you doing just then?

Yeah, the restroom.

I'm guessing all that concrete and piping bugged out your tech.

Okay, my tech is not buggy. You know the rules, Alex.

Well, which rule did you see me break?

Are we good? 'Cause I got something for ya.

I need you to check out a guy named Bron Torvald.

Cal made him for the killings back in '05, but he went underground.

Already on it. Looks like a lovely fellow.

Hey, also check out all the victims' online activities in the days before they were k*lled.

That's how he finds them.

Now let's wrap this up before he grabs another one.

[console beeping]

[beeping]

[beeping, dialing]

Johnson, old friend. How are ya?

I'm well, Samuel. Good to hear your voice.

This new Player of yours, Alex Kane, he is quite the showman. [chuckles]

Our friends like him very much... almost as much as they like watching you play.

Well, glad to hear the gamblers are enjoying themselves.

Unfortunately, there is a more pressing concern.

How can I help?

An F.B.I. agent is digging into our enterprise.

Rose Nolan.

She's currently working with the L.V.P.D.

I would like her reassigned, preferably out of the country.

Consider it done.

[door opens]

Sir? We're about to begin.

Ah, duty calls.

But we should have a proper get-together.

It's been too long.

I'll visit soon.

You can buy me lunch at the Drake.

Done.

Hmm.

[Alex sighs heavily]

Thank you.

[siren wailing in distance]

Shoplifting? Really?

I didn't have any money.

You know that's not a legal defense, right?

Dani, what's going on? This isn't like you.

Nothing. I don't...

I don't know. I'm just stupid.

Hey, you and I both know that's not true.

What, um...

What'd you steal, anyway?

A snow globe of Vegas.

A-A snow globe of Vegas?

Well, that was pretty stupid, wasn't it?

[chuckles] Yeah.

[chuckles] What am I gonna do with you?

I don't know. I just...

I wanted to get you something to say thanks for letting me stay.

A-A joke present, you know.

You wanna do something nice for me?

Make peace with your mom.

Are you gonna tell her about this?

She finds out you did jail time under my watch, I'm in as much trouble as you.

[cellphone rings]

[ring]

One sec.

[ring]

[beep]

Yeah.

I called you because I didn't want you hearing voices in front of your niece like a crazy person.

That's so considerate of you.

But you need to move now.

You found him?

[console beeps]

Almost.

You were right. He's been scouting his victims online.

Can you track his I.P. address?

What a novel idea. I'm on it.

[beeping]

Move now.

[cellphone beeps]

I gotta go.

What?

You're gonna stay here for a few more hours.

What? What am I supposed to do?

Think about what you did, feel remorse, vow to walk a better path.

Welcome to the criminal justice system, kid.

What? What?! Uncle Alex!

[electronic dance music playing]

[indistinct conversations]

[cellphone alert chimes]

♪

[alert chimes]

[alert chimes]

Alex: How'd you find him?

[console chimes]

All of the victims talked online with strangers whose names referenced Norse mythology.

[alert chimes]

_

♪

A user with that same address is active right now.

He's meeting his next victim as we speak.

He's leading her right to him.

He's making a game of it.

So he's making a game of m*rder?

What kind of a monster would do that?

[alert chimes]

You're taller than I expected.

♪

Hey, where are we going? I thought we were gonna dance.

[muffled voice] I wanna show you something.

Come here. Trust me.

Aah!

You do not wanna date this guy.

Bron Torvald, right?

[grunting]

[grunting]

[g*nshots]

Aah!

[woman screams]

[indistinct conversations]

Man: Hey!

[woman yells]

[crowd chattering]

Brown: Freeze!

Get down on your knees!

Man: Get away, get away.

Get down on your knees!

[crowd chattering]

[handcuffs clicking]

Bron Torvald, you are under arrest.

Wait. This isn't Tor... Who the hell are you?

♪

[indistinct conversations]

I have no idea who this guy is.

No license, no record, clean prints.

I would've bet 1,000 bucks Bron Torvald was our k*ller.

You shouldn't gamble on crime. It's a sucker's game.

Guess I had the wrong guy in '05, unless he really is a copycat.

I don't suppose it would do me any good to ask you how you ended up tangling with him in that club.

All's well that ends well.

Just wanna pick up my niece and get out of here.

Hey, speak of the devil.

[chuckles] Thank you.

Hey.

Thank you for getting me out of there.

[chuckles]

Also, I hate you.

Yeah, well, you'll get over it.

Come on. I'm starving. You can hate me over breakfast.

Okay.

[mouth full] Oh, that's hot.

[chuckles] Is it good?

But... but it's very good. Yes, it's very good.

Wanna split a beer?

[crunches]

[mouth full] No? I'm kidding.

So... have you had a chance to talk to my mom?

I did.

And she was worried, but I was able to calm her down.

Since when has she been worried about anything other than herself and how to get the next guy?

Yes, but... she never stops thinking about you.

I don't know. She just... she never listens.

To anyone.

She wouldn't even listen to Aunt Ginny who's, like, way smarter.

They used to fight all the time. Don't you remember?

Yeah. Sisters are complicated.

Yeah, well... maybe everything would've been less complicated if Ginny was my mom.

I-I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry.

Dani, your mother loves you.

And yes, she can be... she can be a lot of work sometimes.

And I'm sure she's overreacting about the tattoo, but she is trying.

You know, this doesn't just represent freedom.

It also means loyalty to family.

And it always comes home after its travels.

Yeah, Ginny told me that, too.

Did she?

Mm-hmm.

Huh. You know...

I've got something of hers I think she'd want you to have.

Really?

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Thank you. Put it on.

Okay.

[crunching]

Thanks.

You earned it.

Best grilled cheese ever.

[chuckles] What can I say? Nailed it.

[singsongy] Nailed it.

[laughs]

[phone rings]

[ring]

[console beeps]

Johnson.

That lunch at the Drake... maybe we should do it sooner rather than later.

Why? Is there a problem?

Your Agent Nolan... her posting is directorate priority.

She's protected.

[liquor pouring]

What are you saying?

She's untouchable? I'm saying I can't touch her, which, if not alarming, is very interesting.

That it is. That it is.

When can you be in Chicago?

It may take me a couple of days.

Okay.

In the meantime, we shouldn't talk on the phone until you do.

[line disconnects, beep]

Hmm.

Brown: Sooner or later, we'll figure out who you are.

But what I'm curious about is why?

Why do you go around just cutting off people's heads?

My gods require tribute. Idun wanted a girl.

And who am I to say no?

[scoffs]

This is a cycle of sacrifice that's existed for centuries.

I'm just a pawn in a much greater game.

Well, this year, your gods are gonna go hungry.

'Cause this time? I got you.

[file slides across table]

Oh, one more thing.

Who is Bron Torvald?

What is his connection to you?

He is the man you k*lled.

I what now?

After you questioned him, he discovered my work.

He was going to betray me, betray our gods.

Well, sounds like a good dude.

We survived together, all the foster homes.

He's my brother.

And because of you, I had to k*ll him.

[sighs]

It was his skull you sent me.

[whispers] Yeah.

It was my promise you'd see me again.

Yeah, and here we are.

I k*lled my own brother to serve my deities.

Do you really think there's anything you can do to stop me from serving them now?

I can lock your crazy ass up and throw away the key.

[door closes]

[gagging]

[click]

[handcuff unlocks]

Aah! [gasps]

[g*nsh*t]

Uhh!

[g*nshots]

Uhh!

♪

Look out!

[g*nsh*t]

[g*nshots]

[officers shouting indistinctly]

[click, body thuds]

[indistinct shouting]

What's he doing?

♪

[cannister pops, gas hissing]

[coughing]

[cannister pops]

[beep]

[cellphone rings]

[ring]

Yep.

Alex, you need to get back to the police station now.

The bet is not over. The Norseman broke free.

[keys jangle]

Get eyes on Cal.

Why? Because it's a grudge.

He's after Cal. That's why he hasn't left yet.

[beep]

I need you to...

Yeah, I'll... I'll stay here.

Yes, stay put.

[gate squeaks and whirs]

[gas continues hissing]

[coughing]

I got no sh*t!

♪

[g*nshots]

[coughing]

[shouting indistinctly]

[g*nshots, shell casings fall]

[hissing]

♪

Uhh!

[click]

Damn it.

Cassandra: Leaves the station, moves up the street, goes into a garage.

And he never comes out.

[console whooshes and chimes]

Connects to an old delivery tunnel system for the casinos.

Which means he could be anywhere in the city.

Yeah. Perhaps he'll circle back and strike Detective Brown?

No, his sacrifices take priority.

That's why he ran when he couldn't get a clear sh*t at Brown.

He still needs his second victim.

It's his compulsion.

His deadline is midnight. So where's he gonna look?

He said he pays tribute to the gods, okay?

I checked, and each of his victims matches the attributes of a particular Norse god... age, gender, appearance.

That girl tonight was gonna be his sacrifice to the goddess idun.

[console chimes]

And now he needs her replacement.

Down to the wire.

There's extraordinary interest amongst the gamblers.

The odds have decisively turned against you.

You must be delighted. Go back to the station footage.

Mm-hmm.

[console chimes]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow, slow, slow down.

Booking files. Why would he...

Dani's file was in there.

He was looking at her when we brought him in.

She's gonna be his next sacrifice.

Inform the gamblers and remind them that the clock stops at midnight.

[line ringing]

Come on, Dani, pick up the phone.

Pick up the phone, Dani.

[cellphone rings]

[music playing in earbuds]

[ring]

[ring]

[ring, beep]

[music stops]

Hey, are you on your way up?

Hey, someone's coming after you.

What?

You need to get out of the apartment, find a cop, and tell them that someone is trying to abduct you.

It's the man from the police station.

He got out.

[gate opens]

Dani, can you hear me?

Dani?

No! [screaming]

He's here, Uncle Alex!

Uncle Alex! Help me!

Dani!

Help me!

Uncle Alex, please!

I have my final tribute.

[Dani screaming]

And I promise you, it'll be a worthy death.

Listen to me. You listen... wait, listen!

[line disconnects]

No! No! No, please! Uncle Alex!

[cellphone beeps]

[revs engine]

[tires peal]

[engine rumbling]

[beeping]

Okay, I don't have him on any feed.

I've lost him, Alex.

Alex, are you there?

I don't know what vehicle he's in.

I can't... I can't track him.

I am!

[beeping]

Where the hell are you going? I'm following them!

I don't understand. You've got a track on The Norseman? When?

I put a tracker on Dani!

I wired it to an old necklace of Ginny's.

[tires screech]

[engine idling]

[beeps]

[engine revs]

[breathing erratically]

[engine revving]

[turns off engine]

Cassandra: What's going on?

They're here.

[lowered voice] Cassandra, call the police.

You know I can't do that.

She's a 15-year-old kid.

If anything happens to her...

I can't lose another person to your game.

Not my game, the game, to which we have both bound.

Alex?

Alex!

[panting] No.

No!

[metal scraping]

[thrash metal music playing]

I know you're scared.

You may not be able to understand this, but it's a great honor.

♪

It's very sharp.

[crying]

And I'm very good at what I do.

There'll be no pain.

Okay?

Only peace when it's done.

[sniffles]

♪

[blade scrapes]

Can I ask you a question?

[voice breaking] Why? Why are you doing this?

Each of the gods needs a tribute, and each of us has a story to be offered.

[breathing erratically]

[exhaling sharply]

This is my story.

And when your sacrifice is done, I will etch your story onto your skull so that you will live forever in their eyes.

[static]

Cassandra, can you hear me?

That's great.

[groaning]

[breathing heavily]

[groans]

[grunting]

[groans]

Aah!

[groans, coughs]

[groans]

[breathing heavily]

Wait!

Wait, wait, wait. [crying]

The offering... it must be made by midnight before the harvest.

[whimpering]

[sobbing]

[gasping]

[breathing shallowly]

It's time.

[Dani whimpering]

[whimpering]

No! [sobs]

Wait. Wait. Don't.

Wait! Wait! Wait!

[panting]

Uncle Alex!

♪

[grunting]

[clank]

[grunting]

Dani, run!

[grunting continues]

[clank]

Uhh!

[panting]

[sobs] No, please!

Alex: It's after midnight. It's over.

Your sacrifice is lost.

[door opens]

Johnson: Indeed, it is.

October 31st has come and gone, and The Norseman has not claimed his final victim.

The bet is over. You win.

[groans]

Excellent work, Mr. Kane.

You and your niece should leave.

[breathing heavily]

Who are you?

Oh, I'm the Pit Boss.

I tidy up.

♪

[grunting]

[weapons whooshing]

[groans]

Uhh!

Aah!

[bones cr*ck]

[grunting]

Aah!

[choking]

[bones crunch]

[grunts]

[Foals' "Albatross" playing]

♪ You got an albatross around your neck ♪

Brown: What do we got?

Man: Anonymous tip. Some lady called it in.

Is Forensics still on the way? Show me.

♪ You got a hundred broken lightbulbs ♪
♪ Above your head ♪
♪ They said that you had it coming ♪
♪ But I wouldn't bet ♪
♪ 'Cause you got a slowly ticking time b*mb ♪
♪ And then you see red ♪
♪ Sunblind ♪
♪ Sunblind ♪
♪ You got an albatross around your neck ♪
♪ Around your neck ♪
♪ You got a pile of broken wishbones ♪

Hey.

We're almost to your place.

Who was that guy?

The one that helped us?

He's someone I work with.

Someone very good at his job.

And your job is... it's really dangerous, right?

Yeah, it is.

Just be careful, okay?

I can't lose you, too.

[shifts gears]

Here we are. Now why don't you go make peace with your mom?

I will.

Thank you.

Okay.

All right, you take care of yourself, okay?

[sniffles] Okay.

Dani.

Cut her some slack, okay?

Okay.

Gin Martini. Shaken. Dirty and wet.

Has to be just right, huh?

I know what I like.

[chuckles]

Haven't seen you around here before.

Should you have?

Yeah. This is one of my favorite joints.

Not a lot of people know about this place.

Always pass by.

Figured it was time to drop in and say hello.

Thank you.

Hmm.

[clink]

I know that you're protected, but not protected as much as you think.

Oh.

What's life without a little danger?

Yeah, some would say that the person who tempts fate has never been in real danger.

I'm more interested in the person who can tell me why highly trained former Special Forces operatives keep disappearing from Las Vegas.

Would you know anyone like that?

[sets down glass]

Drink's on the House.

Aren't you going to have another?

Not this time.

Well, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon.

As much as I would like that, that would be... unfortunate.

Why, yes.

[gate opens]

...forget you are like all the rest of them.

Only it's true, ain't it? Well, ain't it?

I believe a "thank you" may be in order.

Tell me the story. There's always a story.

[keys thud]

You don't leave a person anything, do you?

Thank you for stopping that psycho.

Now do you wanna tell me why you kept the game alive while my niece was in his hands?

No, I'm not talking about the matter I assisted you with, but you're welcome.

I'm talking about the phone number you slipped into my hand.

Where did you get it?

Ginny left it, and I called it and I talked to her.

The number's dead now, but I knew if you checked it...

Yes, indeed, the number is dead.

However, I was able to narrow the zone and ran facial recognition on the area.

This was two days ago.

That's... that's her.

Who's that guy? Where... where is this?

Answer to the first question... I don't know.

To the second... Miami International Airport.

Well, they could be anywhere by now.

Indeed, they could, but this is a trail, and we will follow it.