02x14 - The Book of Secrets: Chapter Four: Original Sin

[bunniefuu]

[Jefferson] Previously on Black Lightning...

I want you to meet my family.

No. No, no, sorry. [stutters] I can't make it.

I haven't even said when.

Grace?

[Gambi] Technically, Grace Choi doesn't exist.

It's a completely false identity.

There's a lot this woman didn't tell you about herself.

Are you sure you wanna find her?

There's a lot that I kept from her, too, Gambi.

Boss, this tech is ancient. I mean, literally nuts and bolts.

Todd's already cracked the briefcase, and he doesn't know how to work the Leavenworth pods.

So, Todd got a new car.

Lala!

I took your life in order to make my purpose your purpose.

- I spent a cool mil on a reanimation program. [gasps]

Eventually everyone you k*lled is gonna come back to haunt your black ass.

Tattooing themselves on your body until there's no skin left. [chuckles]

[door knob rattling]

Latavious?

Why you keep calling me that?

You know I don't go by that no more.

That's like calling Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay. It's disrespectful.

Uh... I, uh, I didn't mean disrespect.

It's just...

You caught me off guard. I thought you were dead.

I was dead. Twice.

I knew I'd find you here, working late after everyone else is gone, 'cause that's how you do.

I didn't expect that you'd be grading papers.

Thought you was the principal.

I was.

[Jefferson sighs]

Ain't nobody checking for the cameras, Mr. Pierce.

[Jefferson] They record everything.

Good.

[scoffs]

Why are you here?

That's a good question.

I came to see you.

"Those who can't remember their past are condemned to repeat it."

You know, most people think that's Winston Churchill.

It's George Santayana.

"What's past is prologue."

Shakespeare. A tribute to Shakespeare.

I ain't forgot what you taught me, Mr. Pierce.

It's just the streets taught me, too.

[cries out]

I'm having a hard time reconciling my past.

When I die, I come back, and what I've done comes back on me.

[breathing heavily]

And this time, I heard a voice that said...

I have unfinished business.

Which brought you to me.

You gonna k*ll me?

I need answers. I need answers to my past.

Why am I here?

And that voice...

That voice said it's about you and Earl.

Earl was like a brother to me.

And that voice sent me to you.

[groaning]

[breathing heavily]

So you must've k*lled him.

And you're gonna tell me why.

♪♪ Last night I saw a superhero He was black ♪♪

♪♪ He said "This is for the street Black Lightning's back" ♪♪

Okay, lower.

Like this?

Mm-mmm. Lower.

Lower. Hey, hey, hey.

Come on. It's not a swimsuit.

Okay, thank you, Mom. I know it's not a swimsuit.

Because if it was, it'd be a teeny bikini. [both chuckling]

All right, let me show you something here.

Yeah. Could you, uh... make it a little bit more like this?

You know what I'm saying?

Jen, you're not supposed to look like a pop star.

The suit is designed to protect you.

Okay, first off, a "pop star"?' Really? And second, that's dope.

[Lynn] Dope? No.

I hope we're not talking about the suit, because when it comes to that, I care less about you looking "dope," and more about it keeping you safe. [Jennifer clears throat]

Exactly.

Okay, of course I wanna be safe.

But I shouldn't have to sacrifice style over practicality.

See, this is what I'm talking about. I love this fabric. This is nice.

It oughta be. It cost a fortune.

Excuse me, am I the only one taking this suit business seriously?

Of course not, Lynn. You know I take it seriously.

And I'm a lot better at this than I used to be.

Here.

[Lynn] Oh! [laughing] Remember this?

Oh! [laughing]

What is that?

This is your dad's first suit.

He wore that in public?

Ask him about the time he was outnumbered 20-to 1.

This suit kept him alive.

Okay. Well, if the suit's so great, why is it not his suit now?

Well, that's because George Clinton, he called, he asked for it back.

[laughing]

That's really funny. Ha-ha-ha!

Look, the truth is, that we discovered that the suit was actually harming him.

While it was keeping him safe from the outside, it was hurting him from the inside.

Which is exactly why we need to be less focused on you looking cute and more focused on you being safe.

Okay. Okay. I get it.

Why do you think I k*lled Earl?

[Lala] When Earl was around, things was good.

We ain't have a lot, but we were happy.

But we got in trouble here and there, but it was just kid stuff.

But after Earl got m*rder*d...

Do you really think k*lling another person will make you feel better?

If it's the right person. [scoffs] Hell, yeah.

That's why you should k*ll him. Right here, right now.

The same way you murked me and Lawanda.

No question, no hesitation.

Man, that's stupid. Don't listen to this fool. Hey, who you calling stupid?

The voice said find answers.

So let's find them. He k*lled Earl.

What more do y'all need to know?

Sitting up in here talking when y'all should be sh**ting.

Don't do this. Who're you talking to?

What?

Who are you speaking with?

Oh, you think I'm crazy, don't you?

I think you've done some terrible things, and that's why you're suffering.

[Will imitates g*nshots]

[Lawanda] Shut up! [Will] Get your hands off me!

Just shut up a minute! Just shut up!

One to the chest, one to the head. That way, you know they dead.

[Will and Lawanda arguing indistinctly]

Look, I can see you suffering. Let me help you.

[Will and Lawanda continue arguing]

What?

I can find someone who can help you with whatever you're dealing with.

I don't need no damn help.

You're damn right you don't! So pop him off right now!

Shut up! [grunts] Shut up!

Before I k*ll every damn body in here again!

[breathing heavily]

The only thing I need you to do...

[sniffles] is tell me what I wanna know, or you gonna die.

Mom and Uncle Gambi are driving me crazy.

Hello?

What're you looking at?

What?

Seriously?

Grace, again? Just go after her.

I've been trying.

Well, try harder!

Do you know how lucky you are?

What lucky? Huh?

That someone I thought I had something real with just disappeared on me?

[sighs] No, lucky there's hope you could still have something real.

My hope d*ed with Khalil.

Damn, Jen. Don't say that... Look, stop. Stop. That's how it is.

That's how it is for me.

Just go find Grace.

[sighs] Can you call me back, please, so we can talk about that fast little daughter of yours?

Seriously, Jeff, I don't think she's ready for all this.

She's acting like she's picking out a prom dress, not a lifesaving suit.

Please. Can you just call me back, or at least reply to my texts?

I don't wanna worry about you, too.

I know you say I worry too much.

And you're probably fine, but please, just can you call me back, so I know you're okay?

[beeping]

Wendy Hernandez, wind velocity test, phase one.

Nice and easy, okay? I don't want you overdoing it.

If things get too intense, we can always dial it back, okay?

Dr. Stewart, can I have a word?

Yes.

She's not your kid.

She doesn't need to be coddled.

I'm not coddling her. I'm treating her like a human being, which is something you've clearly forgotten how to do.

See, some people have dogs that they treat like members of their family.

They dress them up in silly costumes and insist that the rest of us treat them like relevant members of the society.

But they're not.

They can, however, be useful tools.

Dogs can sniff out dr*gs and landmines, but their relevance is solely dependent on their ability to be of service.

Why are you telling me this?

Because I'm not here to waste my sentiments on Wendy.

Waste?

She can't sniff out landmines, but she can do other things for her government... [sighs]

...and her country, to keep its citizens safe.

That's why she's here.

[inhales sharply] She's here to get stronger, healthier.

She's here to realize her full potential for the benefit of all of us.

Wendy could prove to be more revolutionary than the t*nk or the machine g*n.

But we absolutely have no time to waste.

Do you understand what I am saying?

That you don't like dogs?

You, uh...

have a very sharp wit, Dr. Stewart.

She's my patient, Agent Odell.

They all are, no matter who they are, or what they are, they're my patients.

And I refuse to check my humanity at the door! [door slams]

You're doing great!

Still haven't heard back from Jefferson.

But I left him a couple of messages. What did you find?

I ran the partial image from the security footage at the Rebecca Lee Crumpler Clinic that you sent me.

And?

There wasn't enough for me to come up with the name of the person in the image.

There was, however, enough for me to come up with 50 names.

Luckily, only three of those names are here in Freeland.

And one has been seen with known associates of Tobias Whale.

Bingo.

[voices whispering indistinctly]

[grunts]

Shh!

[grunting]

[voices continue whispering] [breathing heavily]

[Jefferson] Hey! Hey, hey!

You still with me?

[grunts]

[Jefferson] Look, maybe this will help.

Earl was a great student, he won science fairs, tutored.

You know, he won the talent show once?

Could sing like an angel.

After all these years, not a day goes by that I don't think about him.

I thought you and Earl were gonna be...

Gonna be what?

Successful.

It's still blank.

You know more than what you saying.

You stalling.

That's 'cause his ass is lying.

Look at him, he's all twitchy and jumpy.

Lala just sh*t him. How's he supposed to act? [Lala shushes]

How did he die? I don't know.

Damn it, don't play me. I will sh**t you straight in the face.

All I know is how he was found.

The police, they got nowhere, dismissed it as a g*ng k*lling and moved on.

Students, if they knew anything, they didn't say anything.

I remember that.

The Hundred wasn't what it is now.

They were on the come up.

You think they did it?

Yeah, I think they did. Why?

Earl was being hassled by the One Hundred.

Came to me for advice.

And what'd you say?

I told him to go to the cops.

I thought he'd be okay.

Why would you think that?

You know how things go down here. You know what it is.

Look, I thought Black Lightning would change things.

Well, he didn't, and neither did you.

All y'all did was get Earl k*lled.

[softly] Yeah, you probably right.

That's all I needed to hear.

[grunts]

[Jefferson grunting]

[squishing] [screams]

[Lawanda grunts]

I got her. Finish his ass off.

You ain't got nobody.

[Will grunts]

[both grunting]

[Lala] Hey.

Come on, man. Hey, hey!

Y'all need to quit, man.

[Will grunts]

[grunts]

Can we both get out of this classroom alive, without causing each other more pain?

Oh, you trying to save your life?

No. I'm trying to save yours.

I already told you... I can't die.

Oh, you gonna need more than that g*n to save your ass.

[grunts]

It's not about saving my ass.

You came here for answers, right? Hmm? Mm-hmm.

There's a void in your memory, but somehow you, you know that history is at the root of what's troubling you.

Now, I had old yearbooks scanned into digital archives.

Maybe this will help with your memory.

[shudders]

[sniffling]

Deputy Chief. You're just in time.

I got a statement from an informant that Todd Green partied with Tobias Whale at Club One Hundred.

I'm gonna pick him up. You're my backup.

Sir, we just got ID on a body in a car that blew up.

It's Todd Green.

Yes, sir.

You can take that to Evidence.

[sighs]

[beeping]

Oh, Rodney. Um, this is not working right now.

I can have security check it. But could you just buzz me in?

I'm afraid not, Dr. Stewart.

What do you mean?

I'm not permitted to allow you into the secure space with the subject.

What? What're you talking about?

Rodney, I asked you a question!

[Wendy screaming]

You let me in right now!

She's powering up too fast! She's gonna have an aneurysm. Can't you all see that?

Stop it!

You stop it right now!

Get your hands off me! No, you let me go!

What're you doing?

Her foster parents have been dead a long time, but Grace did have a foster brother, a year younger.

This was his last address of record.

[sighs]

[hurried footsteps retreating]

Hello? I can hear someone in here.

Or at least I could.

[sighs]

Listen, I'm not the police or anything.

I'm just looking for some info on Grace.

She's not in any trouble, I hope not.

I just wanna make sure that she's okay and if you can help...

Hi. Hi. I'm Anissa Pierce.

I'm a friend of Grace. Grace Choi.

Like I said, I... really not here for any trouble.

I just wanna make sure that she's okay.

Trouble will find you if you do not leave this place.

Excuse me?

Whoa! Is everything all right in here?

Leave while you can.

[knocking on door]

Grace? Grace, are you in here?

Grace! [banging on door]

Grace. Grace, are you in there?

Grace?

Grace?

Grace!

Who is that?

Earl. [inhales deeply]

It's Earl.

Can you see him now? Mm-hmm.

Can you remember where he lived?

Right next door.

Was Earl involved in anything? Anything sketchy?

Not really.

I mean, he sold some dr*gs for The Hundred, like the rest of us poor kids.

But he wasn't built for it.

So he decided to get out of the game. I even got...

Wait, you got him what?

I mean, I was slinging, too. [sniffles] Okay.

I mean, looking to move up, make more money.

He was supposed to be helping me out.

And?

He wasn't with it.

So I looked out for him, got him a free pass.

Wait. If Earl had a free pass, then why'd they go after him?

You know why.

[sighs]

I told Earl to tell the police about the One Hundred's business.

And Tobias has some guys on the force, and when he found out about it, he put a hit out on Earl.

Did you warn him?

Nah, it was a wrap. Wasn't no stopping it.

If Tobias want you got, it was a done deal.

And I wasn't gonna let anyone k*ll Earl.

Then what happened?

[breathing heavily]

I k*lled him myself.

He was caught up.

I mean, he was gonna get got.

Why'd you hang him in the hoop?

Because I ain't wanna be poor no more.

I had to show Tobias that I was serious, and that I could send a message.

You need to turn yourself in.

There you go. No.

I'm gonna make Tobias pay.

After that, it don't matter.

"The past is always tense, but the future perfect."

Who said that?

Zadie Smith.

She also said that, "Every moment happens twice: inside and out, and there's two different histories."

I'm sorry, Mr. Pierce.

Thank you for everything.

[door closes]

[voice whispering indistinctly]

Earl?

[groaning]

[screaming]

[exclaiming in pain]

[takes deep breath]

[cell phone vibrating]

[sighs] Yeah?

We just ID'd the body of Todd Green.

[Gambi] Tobias? Yeah.

I did make a dent in that other thing that we talked about.

Oh, you got something on the break-in at the clinic?

If I can isolate the radioactive residue we found in the basement, then maybe I can identify what was taken from the clinic and possibly track it.

[scoffs] That's more than my people can do, I'm all for it.

- I'll let you know when I find something. Great.

Okay.

[panting] Okay, is it finished yet?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, now look, I know I'm not as cool as I used to be...

It's all right.

But I did listen to what you had to say, and I tried to reflect your ideas. So I hope... Okay.

That's it?

[sighs] You don't like it.

[pants]

[screams] [both laughing]

Okay, okay, I'm just gonna take one selfie... No, no, no, no, no.

No. [sighs] The only people I'm gonna show are my mom, my dad, Anissa. That's it.

I'm not 100% done with it. There are some kinks I have to work out...

No, that's okay. It looks great. It's beautiful.

Please, just one photo?

[sighs] I'm not comfortable with that.

[sighs] Fine, at least let me try it on.

Jen...

Please?

[sighs]

[Gambi] How do you feel? Great! [chuckles]

I will feel even better if you let me take a photo, though.

Jen, it's just the foundation for the suit.

It's not even how it's gonna really look. I just need you to focus.

I am focused.

Okay. Just move around a little.

Oh. Okay. Okay.

[chuckles] Nice moves.

See, I told you you could be a pop star.

[chuckles] Yeah. Oh, Uncle Gambi, check out my moonwalk.

Look. I don't think you've seen this. Hey, [chuckles] check me out.

[chuckles]

[alarm beeping] Oh, my God.

Uncle Gambi! Uncle Gambi, open it. Let me out! Jen!

Let me out! No, it's okay. It's all right.

Uncle Gambi, let me out! Let me out! Let me out!

It's all right. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay, Jen.

It wasn't done. I shouldn't have let this happen.

No, it's fine. It's my fault.

I shouldn't have been pushing it like that. I'm sorry.

The suit wasn't done. I'm sorry, kid.

[pants] Come on.

Hello?

Hello. Grace, are you inside? Are you okay? Grace?

Ah. Damn!

[flies buzzing]

Oh...

[buzzing gets louder]

What the hell?

[Grace as old man] You should not have come here.

I'm looking for Grace. Grace Choi.

[Grace as old man] Leave, before it's too late.

Too late for what?

[Grace as old man] You.

[both grunting]

[Thunder groans]

[both grunting]

[panting] Where's Grace Choi?

[Thunder exclaims]

What the hell?

[Lynn sighs]

The man is clearly a sociopath. [Jennifer] Mm-hmm.

He watched that kid almost die, and he didn't even break a sweat.

Then he compared her to an animal.

[Jennifer] An animal?

A dog. It was strange.

Actually, he compared her to a machine g*n.

He compared Wendy to a w*apon.

So, basically I'm being paid to weaponize these kids for w*r. [sighs]

[Jennifer] You have the worst boss ever.

Yeah, well, I'm not gonna do it.

I might not have been able to save the others, but I'll be damned if I'm going to be used [takes deep breath] to turn Wendy into a w*apon of mass destruction.

[Jennifer] Okay.

[sighs]

You know what? I'm sorry. This...

This is a one-sided conversation. [sighs]

How was your day?

[clicks tongue] Or should I say, how was the suit?

Uh, good.

Good? That's, that's it?

That's all you got? I thought you'd be more excited.

I thought you'd be wearing it right now.

I am excited. It's just...

I listened to what you guys said, and the most important thing is that it's safe.

Well, I don't know what's gotten into you... [door opens]

...but I like it.

[door closes]

Hey, there you are. I've been trying to reach you all day.

What did we say about staying in touch? Checking in?

[chuckling] I know. I know. I'm sorry.

Um, I had a day.

Yeah, Dad, we're supposed to check in so that we don't make Mom worry, remember?

[Lynn scoffs] Thank you, Jennifer.

You're welcome, Daddy.

Oh, my God, I have had a day. Y'all would never guess what happened.

[Lynn chuckles] Did you finally find Grace?

Not exactly.

What happened?

Well, I searched for her but didn't find her.

That's your crazy story?

Found something else.

Well, what'd you find, sweetie?

I don't know. But I was just wondering, how do you know if someone is more trouble than they're worth?

The baggage, the drama, if it's just way too much for you to take on?

Well, Mom should be able to answer that question.

Jennifer!

I'm just saying it couldn't have been easy.

You're so normal, and Dad is...

Dad is what?

Like us. Y'all know what I mean.

Look, that's why I loved Khalil. Okay?

He loved me, weirdness and all.

And I think we all deserve love like that. Don't we?

Yeah.

I guess we do.

[softly] Come here.

What was that for?

Mmm. Just because you a good sister. That's why.

[Jefferson sighs]

[Lynn] So, how was your day? Come on, tell me.

Today was hard. What happened?

Um... [clears throat]

A former student of mine was angry and...

You know what? Doesn't matter.

Does not matter. What matters is I am here now, [through speakers] with the people I love, the people who love me, - despite my "weirdness." [all laughing]

[Anissa] Well, you know, Dad, no offense, but your stories, they can be a little long.

[all laughing]

Yep. [Jefferson] Cheers.

Cheers. [Jennifer] My glass is empty but cheers. [laughs]

[Anissa] Cheers. The pizza smells great, so let's eat.

Mmm. Thank God. Thank God.

[Jennifer chuckles] Yeah.

Wow!

[grunting]

[coughs, retching]

[breathing heavily]

Why won't you let me die?

Because you still have work to do yet.

The pain. If you wanna stop the pain, it is tied to Jefferson or one called the Earl.

[breathing heavily] Earl is dead.

I can't remember anything else about him.

Your past will give birth to you, time and time again, until you untie the knot of your pain.

And then can I die?

[chuckles softly]

What the hell are you smiling about?

After knowledge comes redemption.

And then?

And then you shall know peace.

Peace? The hell are you talking about?

How do I get redemption?

You will know after you untie the knot your pain has tied.

[chuckles]

[groaning]

[echoed groaning]

I was a straight-A student before I met Tobias.

[scoffs] That was a long time ago.

My entire life could've been different.

Your life? If it wasn't for you, I'd still be alive.

Me too. [scoffs] There's no way you'll be able to k*ll Tobias.

You already tried to k*ll him and failed, several times.

How many times has Tobias k*lled you?

Twice. [laughs]

If you're gonna do this, you gotta be smart this time.

You gotta be ruthless. You gotta be a savage.

[mocking] You gotta be a savage.

Why do you think this time is gonna be different than any other time he's tried to murk him?

Because it has to be, because I understand everything that Tobias took away from me and Freeland, and I'm doing this to save Freeland. That's gotta be my redemption.

One way or another, I'm gonna k*ll Tobias.

Are the individuals in this room the only ones that know the, uh, truth about the Pierces?

[female ASA technician] Yes, sir. It couldn't be more classified.

The feed from this satellite doesn't exist and neither does the satellite and its unique capabilities.

[Agent Odell] Good, good, good.

Let's keep it that way.

[female ASA technician] Yes, sir.

That'll be all.

[beeping]

[closing theme music playing]