04x13 - Stabler's Lament

[bunniefuu]

In the nation's largest city,

the vicious and violent
members of the underworld

are hunted by the detectives

of the Organized Crime Control Bureau.

These are their stories.

I've got some news.

You're leaving school?

You're not answering my question.

Yeah, it looks like Emery's
holding an online auction.

What are they buying?

Grenade launchers, heavy machine g*ns.

This is all coming into New York Harbor?

Was he there the day you picked up

the body of Detective Bashir?

No, but I did see your boy die.

[g*nsh*t]

They made me take care of the body.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

I want back in.

Now you got a guy on the inside.

No, Joey, this isn't your fight.

That's where you're wrong.
This is my fight.

Your brother is part of Emery's crew,

and you didn't think that
was worth mentioning?

You're the one who's got
someone on the inside.

That nearly got you k*lled.

What do you think is gonna happen to Joe

if they find out he's my brother?

I sometimes feel
I don't know where I am.

It's as if the world
and everything in it

has become unrecognizable.

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Why are you up so early?
What's... what's going on?

Shh, I don't want to wake up your dad.

All right. Well, do you need anything?

No, no. Go back to bed.

Kids, grandkids, my brothers, Ma...

unrecognizable.

♪ ♪

It's like I'm in a world that's changed,

and I'm trying, but...

I mean, I know how to do my job

and all the things that
come with that, but...

it's all the other stuff,

you know, the stuff that makes up life

that... I'm just lost.

♪ ♪

It feels like the world
is just spinning so fast,

and I'm just barely hanging on...

As I watch everything
I once had or loved...

Still love...

Fly away.

I'm really glad I spoke with you today.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

So all your brother said is
that it arrives in a few days?

He'll try to reach out
when he knows more.

Okay, so we're looking
for some kind of ship

that left from somewhere
across the Atlantic

at some point between
six months ago and now

and arrives here soon-ish?

We're gonna need a way
to narrow this down.

Our guys are chasing down
the SSU operative

that gave up the original intel.

If we could figure out
which port it left from,

I assume that would help.

Anything would help at this point.

I mean, right now, we're
looking for a polar bear

in a snowstorm. [CHUCKLES]

Just something my grandma used to say.

That's adorable.

Any activity?

We got eyes on your brother.

They're setting up a new front.

That say Dragonetti Automotive?

Mm-hmm.

They're trading in wine for tires now?

Yeah, a bit of a step down.

No. You see those tires?

Damn expensive and hard to get.

Run you about 32K a set.

Car nerd.

[ENGINE RUMBLING]

[SOFT SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

How's it looking?

Better every day.

The shop, Joe.

Ah. So far, so good.

Should be selling rubber
by the end of the day.

Got an update on our shipment.

Guess they ran into weather out of KGD.

So they're a day behind schedule.

Another day to get ready.

Boss is not gonna be happy,

but we could use it.

♪ ♪

Hey, look what the cat dragged in.

How you doing, buddy? Come on in.

- Good, good.
- Good to see you.

Becky, you look beautiful as always.

Come on in. Hey, Ma, look who's here.

Ah!

Oh, hi, honey.

Hi.

Oh.

You're pregnant?

Oh.

[SIGHS] I told you.

She always knows.

You have powers beyond reason.

Oh, yes, but I only
use them for good, dear.

W-wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

[SCOFFS] You two are, uh...

- Knocked up.
- Having a baby.

Holy... come here. Sit down.

Can we, uh... can we get you anything?

- I'm fine, thanks.
- You sure?

- Maybe some tea?
- I'm all right.

Grandma, Becky made you banana bread.

[GASPS] I love banana bread.

Any nuts?

Oh, never.

Atta girl.

Honey, would you go get
some plates and napkins?

Yes, Miss Daisy.

Hey, man, I'm really,
really happy for you.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah, we're both super excited about it.

Yeah, you should be. It's amazing.

And I want you to know you can
count on me for anything.

Really?

Absolutely.

Can you...

Tell your dad?

Not a chance. That's on you.

- Randall.
- Yeah.

I want to do a family dinner

to celebrate Eli and Becky's good news.

That's a great idea, Ma.

I'll, uh, call and see who's around.

We'll invite the whole family,

all my grandkids, uh, Joe Jr.,

and, um... uh...

- Elliot.
- Elliot.

Of course. I know that.

We'll do family dinner at his place,

just like last time.

Mm.

Maybe not exactly like last time.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[LINE TRILLS]

[PHONE RINGS]

Showtime?

Showtime.

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

[SCOFFS]

[QUIETLY] Thought you said the roof.

Afternoon, JoJo.

May I come in?

If I'd known you were coming,

I would have ordered a pupu platter.

Just happy to see you're not
downstairs at the bar.

Checking up on me, huh?

Even better.

My son's in town, and I want
you to join us for dinner.

One last hurrah before
you-know-what arrives.

Everything ready?

We're all set up and furnished.

Everything looks totally legit.

Brilliant.

And things between you and Toby?

I heard he got a little rough
with you the other day.

Yeah.

Well, we worked it out.

He's always had trust issues.

Do you?

Of course not.

I trust you.

But A*F still has one of those
pathetic beekeepers in custody,

one that might talk too much.

So until that particular
loose end is tied up,

I want security as tight as a tick.

Already on it.

Good man.

And the monsters?

- Not a peep.
- Wonderful.

Just in case.

Is this a test?

Call it... insurance.

♪ ♪

What took you so long?

Emery came to my room.

Just now?

Yeah. He gave me this.

I didn't touch it, El.

I'm just giving it to you as evidence.

- You think he's on to you?
- No.

Why would he give this to you?

It's just his happy way of testing me.

All right? The man's big on mind games.

Push your buttons, see how you react.

Listen, they're upping
security, all right,

electronic surveillance,
doubling the guards.

Anything that comes within


they're gonna know about it.

- Anything else?
- Yeah, Dahlia said

the shipment's running late
because they hit a storm

leaving something called KGD.

KGD? All right, I'll tell the team.

Oh, and Emery wants me to eat
with him and his kid tonight.

So I got to miss our family dinner.

What family dinner?

Dude, check your phone.

Look, this might be
the last time we're able

to talk in person for a while.

Okay, we're gonna have eyes on you.

- Okay.
- All right.

- Hey, hey, hey.
- Yeah?

Come here.

Stay safe, all right?

All right. I will.

Are you sure he's clean?

Why else would he give it to me?

So you believe him?

I do believe him.

You think he's playing both sides?

Look, I know you're worried about him.

Of course I'm worried about him.

We're putting him right
in the line of fire here.

No, he put himself there.
Don't forget that.

We got it.

KGD is a port code
for Kaliningrad, Russia.

And we know that the ship
was delayed by a storm.

Yeah, a Category 2 hurricane.
That helped us.

We track every shipment headed our way

that originated in Kaliningrad.

That should help narrow it down.

Assuming our ship didn't
falsify its origin certificate.

Let's work with what we have.

Well, this should help.

- What are we looking at?
- AIS data.

The Coast Guard uses an
automatic identification system

to ID the location of vessels
in international waters.

And they lost the transponder
signal from one

of the Kaliningrad boats
on five separate occasions.

That's a ghost ship.

When are they coming in?

Well, it's 32 miles offshore,

and if it maintains its current speed,

it'll be here before morning.

We'll work with DHS
to intercept the vessel.

And go through thousands
of containers on an open ocean?

No, we can't connect the ship to Emery.

We need to wait until they offload

the weapons at the warehouse.

Don't you think you're
maybe a little too close

to this to be calling the shots?

It's bad enough you have
an addict for a CI.

What does that mean?
What are you trying to say?

We got faulty intel, is that it?

Detective.

Special Agent Cole, a word, now.

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

You trust that guy?

I trust him to file the proper paperwork

regardless of whose hands
it might fall into.

So he's a paper pusher, not a traitor.

Are you asking me if he's the mole?

Honestly, I don't think
he's got the guts.

Hi, Joe.

Hey, hey, tough guy.

Eat with us.

Giles, settle down.

Joe, come sit. We have lots to discuss.

No, I want Joe, I want Joe, I want Joe!

Giles!

[CLEARS THROAT] Hey, I'm Joe.

- So I've heard.
- [LAUGHTER]

Colin. Hope you like chicken fingers.

Yeah, who doesn't?

Thank you.

So what's shaking, tough guy?

Blow it up. Pow!

Wow, he likes you.

You must have kids and a wife
tucked away somewhere.

None of the above.

Joe, I got a new car.

Would you like to play racetrack?

I'd frickin' love to.

But you are gonna eat first.

Yeah, see, Ma, you
got to put the fig jam

on top of the cheese.
You know, it's good.

Please don't tell me how to
eat cheese and crackers, son.

All right, I'm just trying
to expand your palate.

- Go on, tell them.
- No.

Tell us what?

Well, I was gonna wait
till Dad showed up,

but chances are he won't show.

I signed up for the police academy.

- [GASPS]
- What?

Oh, that's wonderful news.

OMG, I am texting everyone.

Well, I have to take
the civil service exam

and pass a psych eval and a physical.

You're gonna ace 'em all, babe.

I don't know about the physical.

You know, you're a little wimpy.

You might need to bulk up
to kick some criminal a*s.

I'll fatten him up.

Oh, honey, that's just so good

there's gonna be another cop
in the family.

I'm here. I'm here.

Sorry I'm late.

- Hey.
- Hi, honey.

There was, uh...
something at work came up.

- Yeah, how you doing?
- Hey, everyone.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Uh, I'm gonna check on dinner.

I will help.

Me too.

Something I said?

Hey, Mama. How are you?

- I'm good.
- Yeah?

Who puts the jam on a cheese plate?

Uh, that's your brother.

Yeah, that figures.
Oh, speaking of which,

Joey's not gonna be here.

So what'd I miss?

Well, I was just telling Eli
how wonderful it is

that there's gonna be
another cop in the family.

Who's gonna be a cop?

I am, Dad.

Since when?

Since I signed up this morning.

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

And I'm just so proud of you

that you're gonna continue
the family tradition.

Hey, I'm gonna start the grilling.

No, I'll grill.

And, uh, you're gonna help.

Grab the steaks.

Good luck.

Ow!

Giles, please.

That was me, boss.

Sorry.

[SIGHS] Okay, come sit now, JoJo.

Okay, so...

He's a great kid.

Who?

Your son.

Oh. [CHUCKLES]

Yes, of course.

Yes, uh, sweet boy.

So, uh, as I was saying, our
inventory arrives tomorrow.

You and Toby will go
in the morning to unload it.

It's worth more than you can imagine.

These particular auto parts
are very delicate.

So you must be very careful.

Understood?

Understood.

Good.

What I'm saying is,
it's just changed a lot

since when I started.
It's way more dangerous...

Statistically, it's a lot safer...

Forget the statistics.
I just don't think it's...

I don't think it's for you.

- You don't believe in me?
- That's not what I said.

I believe in you, and I love you...

Jesus, Dad, I want you
to support my choices.

I support your choices,
but if I see a mistake,

I got to give voice to that.

- It's my mistake.
- It's a mistake.

Elliott! Elliott, listen.

We know you're scared, all right?

But don't transfer your fears onto Eli.

It's not healthy.

I am this close
to punching you in the face.

Give the kid a break, will you?

He's a lot smarter than
you were when you joined.

Elliott.

- Mama...
- Listen to me.

Your son wants to be a cop like you.

You should be proud of him.

I am proud of him.

I don't want to see him
get himself k*lled.

Yeah, well, welcome to my world.

And mine. It wasn't just Mom out there

waiting for you to get
home in one piece.

It was all of us.

Yeah, as did I with your father.

Well, then you're seeing my point.

Is this the life you want for 'em?

- [PHONE RINGING]
- I have no regrets

about my life, mister.

- Neither do I...
- Stabler.

Everyone shut up.

I'll be there.

All right, I got to go.

Again?

Yeah, again.

You want to be a cop?
This is what it looks like.

♪ ♪

- What do we got?
- Ship's arriving now.

Manifest lists nearly 9,000 containers.

It's gonna take some time to offload.

Once they ID the cargo,
they still got to transport it

- to the warehouse.
- Go.

I want eyes on every inch of that place.

Have your Special Response Team
suit up and wait for my orders.

You wouldn't be stealing this bust

right out from under me, would you?

Keep your dogs on a leash.

Emery is on high security.

I don't want anyone or
anything tipping our hand.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[TRUCK BEEPING]

[SIGHS]

I hate this part.

The waiting?

I know how that sounds
coming from someone

who just spent months undercover.

Speaking of which, you mind
if I ask you something?

That cute guy in your office,

you two have something going on?

Oh.

Well, um, it's...

it's complicated.

Ah. Okay.

Didn't want to get
in the middle of anything.

We're still trying to figure it out.

It's okay.

Guys with glasses usually
don't go for me anyway.

Wait, you're talking about Vargas?

Yeah.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

Auction's about to start.

Reyes, you got anything?

All quiet on the warehouse front.

Wait a second. I know this car.

That's Emery's car.

Are you guys seeing this?

Yeah.

Anybody got eyes on Emery?

Too dark to see through the car windows

to get a confirmation.

No. No, no, no, no.
We're gonna lose signal!

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

It's okay.

That just confirms that's our guy.

Rolls just went in.

Sorry, guys, we're blind.

I don't like this.

Something weird's happening
with the auction website.

Put it up.

♪ ♪

[VOICE DISTORTED] Good day, friends.

Some of you have been asking
for tangible evidence

that I have what I've promised.

So to quell any doubts,
I decided to perform

a little proof of concept demonstration

for your viewing enjoyment.

So grab some popcorn,
sit back, and enjoy.

[NORMAL VOICE]
Assisting me in this will be

a former colleague who betrayed me.

I don't tolerate disloyalty.

As you can see, the merchandise
is safe and secure

and very shiny.

♪ ♪

Don't try this at home, friends.

They're gonna k*ll him.

Everyone go. Go, go, go!

Alpha team, move in. Go! Go!

♪ ♪

[WHIMPERING]

[SIREN WAILING]

Go.

[GASPING]

[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]

♪ ♪

Show me your hands! Show me your hands!

- Hands up! Hands up!
- Get out!

Out! Over here.

Hands up.

Clear.

Put your hands on the hood now.

Where's Emery?

Who?

♪ ♪

Hey, we're clear.

We've been played.

Hey, what the hell are we doing?

Change of plans.

Emery had a little surprise

for the cops watching the warehouse.

Whoa, whoa, what? What cops?

Shut up and get in the car.

♪ ♪

Emery's Rolls-Royce.
The driver, Ron Cormack,

was hired via Taskrabbit
to detail the Rolls

and deliver it to the warehouse.

Yeah, we did a full background check.

- He's legit.
- So he doesn't know anything?

Same goes for the three
guys that were working

inside the warehouse, all
short-term Taskrabbit hires

other than Joe Stabler, of course.

Speaking of Stabler, where is your CI?

He hasn't checked in yet.

And you have no backup
means of locating him?

He's undercover with a guy

that rolls with his own signal jammer.

I told you, he's on high security.

A gray Volkswagen Jetta was caught

leaving the docklands area
minutes after the raid,

but we found it abandoned
in a parking lot a mile away.

Yeah, we're doing
a door-to-door just in case,

but apparently, they must have
had a car waiting for them.

It was a setup.

And your CI clearly knew it
from the start.

You don't know that.

Neither, apparently, do you.

What's clear is Emery assumed
he was being watched

by law enforcement in some capacity.

Yeah, auction site went down

less than 90 seconds after
we raided the warehouse.

Ditto the buyer IP addresses
that we managed to trace.

They've got good reason to be jumpy.

Forensics are saying the
substance used to k*ll Tyler,

ironically known as "Goodnight",

is a Soviet-era chemical weapon
known as an A-agent,

a variation on Novichok.

Was that the nerve gas they used

to execute that guy in the UK?

It's been linked to assassinations
around the world.

My understanding is that this A-agent

was originally developed
as a b*ttlefield weapon.

So it can be used for
a mass casualty event?

Definitely.

Given what we know about
Soviet chemical weapons,

each of those canisters contains enough

to k*ll hundreds, if not thousands.

And Emery just auctioned off six of them

to America's most wanted.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Okay, I think we have
everything we need.

Hard level, huh?

This game is stupid.

- Joe.
- Yeah?

You're coming with us.

We're all leaving town.

- Now?
- Now.

Okay.

Uh, can I swing by the hotel,
grab my go bag?

No. No time.

You can buy a change of clothes
and a toothbrush when we land.

Okay.

What about Colin?

He's not coming with us.

He'll be taking a later flight.

He has a special delivery
to make, as you can see.

In the meantime, keep an eye
on the evil spawn, will you?

Yeah, of course.

Scoot over.

All right, so what were you saying?

This game is stupid?

- Yeah.
- Mm.

Hard and stupid are different.

Who cares?

Pretty much, uh, no one, sadly.

Took me a long time to figure that out.

Your pearls of wisdom aren't gonna

get me through this level.

Fair.

But I could.

No way. It's too hard.

Want to bet?

Ah-ah-ah.

I'll tell you my secrets when
I'm done beating your game.

Sarge, Stabler.

Your brother got us a location.

How the hell did he manage to do that?

My program intercepted a Pro-X Player DM

with the name Stabler in the text body.

Pro-X Player is, like,

the hottest handheld console out there.

He used a gaming system to DM?

Oh, so a DM, it...

- I know what a DM is.
- Okay.

The account your brother
used to reach out,

it's registered to one
Giles Emery, age 10.

Where are they?

A small airfield upstate.

Call ESU. Contact A*F.

Give them a heads-up.

Looks like your brother came through.

It does.

♪ ♪

You look troubled.

Uh, well, I'm about to board
a jet to God knows where

after watching Colin
arm himself to the teeth

and then get locked to a briefcase

full of something nasty,
so yeah, just a little.

So you're paying attention.

And you are not fazed at all.

You can't survive boarding school

without a decent poker face, Joe.

♪ ♪

[SIRENS WAILING]

We gotta stop that plane!

- [g*nsh*t]
- Agh!

[g*nf*re]

[PLANE ENGINES WHIRRING]

♪ ♪

[g*nf*re]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

[SHOUTS IN RUSSIAN]

Krychek's on the move!

Cover us!

[g*nf*re]

♪ ♪

You've got to get me
and this out of here.

What do you think I'm doing? Come on.

Krychek!

[g*nf*re]

♪ ♪

You follow the briefcase
on the count of three.

Lay it down. One, two, three.

[g*nf*re]

Ready? All right, go.

[SOFT FOOTSTEPS]

- [g*nshots]
- [GRUNTS]

[g*nshots]

Aah!

[GROANING]

Open it.

♪ ♪

Guys, I need a hazmat team,
southeast corner, stat.

Okay. Cover.

[g*nf*re]

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

They already giving you
the third degree?

You know it.

There's a lot of downtown eyes on us...

well, on me... lately.

But they seem to be satisfied
with our use of force.

How do you feel about it?

Well, I'm not really sure

I'm the same person anymore
after getting shot.

Hey, guys.

Did you find him?

He filed a flight plan.

Okay.

And?

Cuba.

Which would be bad enough,

but the AIS transponder went offline

the moment they hit
international airspace.

And we identified 47 commercial airports

in their possible fuel range

and God knows how many private strips.

Right.

I'm sorry.

No, it's not your fault.

Labs got to confirm, but
it looks like we secured

all six canisters of Goodnight.

All right. Great job, everybody.

And credit to Sam.

We never would've gotten
Emery without him.

Is that...

Yeah. That's Sam's k*ller.

♪ ♪

[SIGHS] Well, well.

I'll be damned.

You hear from Krychek?

No, no, he's dead.

A friend forwarded me
the preliminary report

from the scene.

Oh.

Sorry to hear that.

[CHUCKLES] No need to pretend
you'll miss him, JoJo.

No, you know what's quite a bit worse?

Our dear Colin is
apparently incarcerated,

his delivery unmade.

You mean the goods didn't get through?

What the hell happened?

[TENSE MUSIC]

Isn't it obvious?

♪ ♪

You think someone tipped off the Feds?

[LAUGHS] Of course someone
tipped off the Feds, JoJo.

[CHUCKLES] Ah.

You know who?

My money is on, uh...

♪ ♪

Giles. [LAUGHING]

[LAUGHING]

That boy is always up to something.

Oh, we'll ferret out the traitor.

Have no fear.

But in the meantime, it appears
congratulations are in order.

What do you mean?

Well, you're getting a bump up...

a promotion, climbing the ladder,

the American Dream.

Okay.

I want you to take Colin's place.

You want me to be your son's manny?

[LAUGHING]

No.

No, no, no.

You're the new delivery boy.

As you know, I'm a big fan of insurance.

Always have a backup plan
and backup "goods",

as you so eloquently put it.

Damn, man.

You do not miss a trick, do you?

Hmm.

As a matter of fact, I don't.

Your wrist, please.

♪ ♪

He's asking for you, sir.

Nightmare.

Sometimes the monsters
really are under the bed.

Excuse me.

♪ ♪

[SIGHS]

[TEA KETTLE WHISTLING]

Eli.

Hey, Dad.

I don't think I've ever seen
you up this early before.

[SIGHS] That's not true.

I used to get up for practice
earlier than this.

I was kidding.

[CHUCKLES] Sorry.

I guess I'm...

I'm a little stressed.

Mm.

How many weeks?

Becky, how far along is she?

Uncle Randall tell you?

Mm, no. When you guys first got here,

you were both acting
a little squirrelly.

And now with the ginger tea,
that's a dead giveaway.

That's what I used to pour your
mom when she was in that state.

So you told your uncle.

Why didn't you tell the old man?

[SIGHS]

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Mm.

Did you tell him?

He guessed.

What does he think?

I don't know yet.

♪ ♪

You're not gonna believe this.

Guess who's having a baby.

♪ ♪

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[WOLF HOWLS]