02x09 - Another Man's Treasure

[bunniefuu]

[LIGHT JAZZY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- Are these correct?
- Yeah.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

♪ ♪

Good morning.

I see you all received
your free thermal mugs.

Now, if I wanted to buy
that mug back from you,

how much would you charge?

Raise your hand if you'd
sell it back to me for $15.

♪ ♪

How about 20?



♪ ♪

What about you, more than 25?

[LAUGHTER]

Last week, when I showed
you a picture of this mug,

most of you said that you
wouldn't even pay $5 for it.

What changed?

Inflation?

[LAUGHTER]

Besides inflation.

Ownership?

Ding, ding, ding.

Now that you own it,
you'd want more to give it up

than you would have paid to get it.

Oh, the endowment effect.

Mm.

So you have been paying attention.

Additionally, if I were to ask
you to name a price tomorrow,

you'd give it an even higher value.

The longer we possess something,

the more we value it.

We also have trouble letting it go

because we can't stand
the thought of losing it.

Whoa.

Wait, people camped out overnight?

Not every day you get
a chance to get a free Oculus

before its official release.

[SCOFFS] Man, my brother just
sent me the email this morning.

I really wanted to get him one.

Oh, there's no way
we're in the first 100.

Oh, come on, it's totally
possible that's only 99 people.

Let's wait it out and see, huh?

Um, hi, everybody.

My manager just told me
that there is no giveaway.

Sorry, everybody.

Wait, wait, what about the email?

That wasn't from us.
We didn't send an email out.

Sorry for the confusion, everybody.

So it was a scam?

I guess so.

That's bull!
We're not leaving without our headsets!

OK, wait a minute.

We slept on the street for this.

- [OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]
- That's not fair!

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Two.

ALL: We won't go! We won't go!
We won't go!

Whoa. This is too much.
Let's get out of here.

Um, Simon?

Excuse me. Simon?

♪ ♪

Simon? Simon?

Hey, just I'm... I'm trying to get out.

♪ ♪

ALL: We won't go!

We won't go! We won't go!

♪ ♪

[COUGHS]

♪ ♪

ALL: We won't go! We won't go!

[RIZWAN AND SIMON STRAINING]
We won't go! We won't go!

♪ ♪

[COUGHS TWICE]

♪ ♪

ALL: We won't go! We won't go!

- You good?
- Yeah.

- You OK?
- Yeah.

♪ ♪

ALL: We won't go! We won't go!

♪ ♪

We won't go! We won't go!

We won't go!

♪ ♪

We won't go! We won't go!

BOTH: Whoa.

[ALL CHEERING]

ALL: We won't go! We won't go!

[CROWD DISTANT]
We won't go! We won't go!

We won't go! We won't go!
We won't go! We won't go!

[SIRENS WAILING]

♪ ♪

We won't go! We won't go!

- Hey, it's the police.
- [SIRENS WAILING]

ALL: We won't go! We won't go!

We won't go! We won't go!

♪ ♪

[KEYPAD BEEPING]

[ALARM BLARING]

I've never seen anything like it.

Good thing you got out when you did.

I don't get how it got
out of control so fast.

Mob mentality.

We take behavioral cues from
people around us every day.

But in a strange crowd, there's
no reference for social norms.

So people literally
don't know how to act.

The aggressive behavior
of a few stood out.

Even people who are usually level-headed

latch on to that aggression.

And that's how a mob is formed.

That was my first mob.

And hopefully last.

I know some detectives
at the local precinct.

We should get you two
over there to give statements

about what you witnessed.

You may have some information
that they could use.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

My supervisor said the same thing.

"You should take some time off."

You don't like that idea?

I mean, I guess I could use a vacation.

- But I...
- You would rather work instead.

Honestly, yes.

The more I work,
the less I have time to think.

About Jace.

I know you're gonna say
that's not healthy.

I'm gonna tell you
you should do whatever you need

to do to feel good, Marisa.

But you're making time
for yourself today,

and that's progress.

There's something else
that's been bothering me.

I can't stop thinking about Bean.

Bean?

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

The baby I had when I was a teenager.

That's what I called him.

I chose a closed adoption.

And so I never knew his name.

♪ ♪

I thought it was best
to know as little as possible.

♪ ♪

But now, I'm thinking
about looking for him.

And if you found him,

what would you want to say to him?

I guess...

I guess I would want
to know where he is.

I wanna know how he is.

What... what his... what life is like.

I would just want to see...

[PHONE BUZZES]

Work again?

It's urgent.

- To be continued.
- Yeah.

♪ ♪

Yeah.

Dr. Mercer.

Didn't know you were working this case.

Agent Quinn, as far as I know, I'm not.

We're just passing by. What's going on?

There was a museum heist
about an hour ago.

Marisa's inside.

Someone robbed the museum
during business hours

in broad daylight?

It's the easiest way to do it.

No breaking in, no alarms to bypass.

Thanks.

Hey, what are y'all doing here?

We just came from the precinct.

Simon and Rizwan got caught in a crowd

that got out of control
a few blocks away.

The freebie mob.

There's a name for it already?

Well, it's all the talk at the Bureau.

Our heist happened at the same time.

That's why the police were
delayed getting here.

A museum heist and a mob that
got set off by a scam email

happened simultaneously,
both in locations

that rely on a response
from the same precinct?

You think they're connected?

Either that or the thieves
got really lucky.

What did they take?

Look at this.

They broke open the display case

and took a mask worth $30,000.

Nothing else in the gallery?

Well, there was a sword
with a solid gold handle

right next to it
and other weapons and jewelry

that had to be worth
at least ten times as much.

So why steal the least valuable item?

It's a bit irrational, isn't it?

You in or what?

Gentlemen...

duty calls.

And this is from the security camera?

We're analyzing the footage,
but they both hid their faces.

The thief comes in and hugs
the wall to avoid the cameras.

And then we're blind.

And that camera's stationary?

Yeah, the insurance company
decides where they're placed.

Marisa?

This is the museum curator, Mr. Adesina.

Nnamdi, please.

Nnamdi, this is Dr. Alec Mercer.

He's consulting on the case.

Were you working this morning?

I was taking my son to school

when I heard the mask was stolen.

Mm.

Most of the stuff
in this museum is stolen.

That's how it got here, right?

How can you steal something
that's already been stolen?

Jamaal, take the train to school.

I'll call to excuse your t*rd.

He grew up in museums.

But he's rebelling
against everything these days.

Do either of you have kids?

No.

Hmm, wise decision.

I'm going to need
your personnel records.

Of course. I've worked in
three other museums in the area

and never had
a security issue like this.

Can you think of anyone
who wanted this specific mask

for any reason?

It was acquired at auction recently.

There were several others

who were in a tight bidding w*r for it.

We'll start there. Thank you, Nnamdi.

Mm.

Hey, you all right?

I noticed your reaction when
Nnamdi mentioned kids.

It's Bean.

He's been on my mind ever since
I told Rose about him.

You told Rose?

[SOMBER MUSIC]

It came up on our surprise camping trip.

I'm not sleeping.

My mind is constantly racing
thinking about him.

So much so

that I asked Rose to see
if she could find him.

And if she does?

I... I don't know yet. [CHUCKLES]

What I do know is that we need
to find these thieves.

I will track down the
other bidders from the auction.

Maybe Kylie can trace the email blast.

Whoever sent it knew
how the crowd would react,

knew their social science.

Who would even come up with
something like this besides...

you?

That's what I'm worried about.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

I had my brother send me
the original email,

passed it on to Kylie.

For a phishing scam, they did a
good job making this look authentic.

People camped out overnight
for that Oculus.

No wonder they were angry.

The professor calls that
escalation of commitment.

Because they invested so much time,

they felt that much closer
to owning the headset.

So even though they were scammed,

they weren't gonna leave without it.

A lot of planning went into this.

I read that some t*rror1st
groups fund their operations

by selling stolen art and antiquities.

I'm thinking FSB.

Or the Pink Panthers.

Maybe some real-life
Indiana Jones took the mask

'cause it's the key
to finding long-lost treasure.

Well, once Kylie locates
where the email originated,

- we'll see who's closest.
- You know what?

I take mine back. I'm with Riz.

Because how cool would
it be if that mask

- leads to the Holy Grail?
- Right?

[IMITATES expl*si*n]

Thank you for coming down.

This mask is missing.

I wanted to talk to you
because you recently bid on it.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

So bidding on a mask
makes me a criminal?

♪ ♪

It's beautiful.

I love beautiful things.

♪ ♪

Yo, I just thought it was cool.

I'm a writer, but I've
always been interested in art,

so I became a collector.

I'd love to create my own museum someday

to honor the cultures in my collection.

I'm an influencer.

Honestly, this girl I was
talking to, she wanted it.

And I just wanted to impress her.

I'm a museum director.

Am I not allowed to do my job
without raising suspicion?

Oh, I was interested
in the mask, but I got outbid.

So I went after a pair
of gilded statues instead.

My business manager talked me out of it.

It was a good thing, too,

'cause that girl was
into some weirdstuff, man.

Yo, you ever heard of furries?

It's very rare
to find antiquities from Nepal,

so of course I wanted it.

Do you need my transcripts
and dental records,

or am I free to go?

[QUIRKY DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Prickly is putting it too nicely.

I'm not convinced, but
she does have a solid alibi.

They all do.

They also have the means to hire someone

to do the dirty work.

Most stolen art is recovered
when thieves try to sell it.

We have eyes all over the black market.

I don't think they'll sell it.

Why not?

From what you said about
the auction bidders,

the value they placed
on the mask wasn't monetary.

For them, it seems
to be more about ownership.

- Mm.
- There she is.

- Hey.
- Hey.

I found the spammer who sent the email.

She was paid with Ethereum.

Crypto, hard to trace.

Yeah, but the same person
bought a second email blast

and doubled the amount
of people to target.

They should be at the store right now.

If they're using the same ruse right now

with twice as many people,
the chances of someone

getting seriously injured
increase exponentially.

[SHOUTING AND CLAMORING]

Hey, stop fighting!

[TENSE MUSIC]

Get over here!

♪ ♪

- Two museums in one day.
- Never a dull moment.

And this, you're going to want to see.

Marisa is in with the museum director.

This one was robbed
while a second mob was formed

less than a mile away.

Anybody hurt?

Two people in the ICU
and dozens injured.

That email blast had a riddle to solve

to get to the fake sneaker giveaway.

Oh, gamification. They made it a game.

Solving the riddle
increases their motivation

- to get the prize.
- Mm.

- Is that...
- Yeah, the Bhairav mask.

So the thieves stole it from one museum

just to put it in another one?

Looks that way.

But they took the Nepali Bowl
that's usually in that case.

It's also in the camera's blind spot.

Another Nepali artifact
stolen from this museum.

One that was looted from a
monastery in Nepal 60 years ago,

though I'm sure the Wilkins Museum

has paperwork that says otherwise.

Mm.

Yaahna Bidari.

This is Dr. Alec Mercer.

We asked the cultural attaché
to the Nepali ambassador

to join us.

You think the papers are falsified?

Nepal banned the export
of cultural objects,

but dealers and brokers find ways

to forge letters of provenance.

So you have an interest in the bowl?

My office is in negotiations
with multiple countries

to get thousands
of stolen artifacts back home.

And I'm guessing any involvement

or even knowledge of a stunt like this

would jeopardize those talks?

Whether it's this set
of bowls or sacred statues,

we wouldn't take that risk.

Even if they are here illegally.

How did an item with
such a contentious origin

end up in a collection at all?

That's a question
for the museum director.

[INTRIGUING MUSIC]

She repeatedly asked me
the same questions

over and over and over.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

All right.

♪ ♪

For the one-millionth time,
if I was gonna steal something,

I wouldn't put it in my own museum.

You have no idea
how the mask ended up here?

If it's the real mask.

There are rumors that when
the "Mona Lisa" was stolen,

it was replaced with a fake.

I can't do anything about
the "Mona Lisa,"

but I can assure you

that we are going to use
all of our resources

to authenticate the mask.

And we'll do the same when
we recover the bowl.

Do you know about the
disputed origins of the bowl?

I have a letter of provenance
that proves the bowl

was legally sold and that we

werelegally hosting it.

Of course.

We're just curious because
the Nepali government

feels that the bowl left the country

under questionable circumstances.

A bowl just like mine was recently sold

on the black market,
probably to a private collector

who won't even share it with the world.

So why aren't you
and Nepal hounding them?

We are not accusing you of anything.

♪ ♪

[PHONE BUZZING]

Excuse me for a second.

♪ ♪

Are you picking up the accusations
where your partner left off?

I... I'm just a consultant.

But honestly, I'm confused.

What's going on?

[SIGHS] Alec doing Alec things.

And replace heist.

Thieves don't usually return
what they steal.

Maybe the scheme isn't over.

You think they'll be back?

I don't know. I'm still trying to
understand the antiquities world.

You have a lot more knowledge
about these things than I do.

- He's downplaying.
- Thank you, Dr. Mercer...

Self-deprecating while
validating her to boost her ego.

I've had a constant barrage
of angry activists trolling me

and demanding my entire
collection be repatriated.

Activists?

That might explain
replacing the bowl with a mask.

It wasn't about theft.

It was about getting attention
for their cause.

Their cause?

No, those activists
would have you believe

that we don't do good work

and we're just a trophy case
for colonialism.

That would be
a harsh criticism of museums.


visited D.C. museums last year

and learned about someone
that lived centuries ago

or from the other side of the world.

You really care about what you do.

And I do it while obeying the law.

Could you get me a list
of these activists

that reached out to you?

It could help you get your bowl back.

Of course.

Anything I can do to be of assistance.

Well played, Dr. Mercer, well played.

I get that they needed a distraction,

but why would these activists
work these crowds up like that?

I mean, activists want
to improve the community.

These mobs just seem to hurt people.

Maybe their judgment was
clouded by their passion.

Well, all these groups are
posting about the thefts.

Reddit threads, blog posts.

- The news is spreading fast.
- Hmm.

Which makes sense if one of
these groups is a part of it.

Well, whether they are or not,

they are capitalizing on the moment.

Oh, it looks like there's
a protest happening right now.

- Mm.
- Here's a live stream.

[ALL CHANTING]

That's across from the Wilkins Museum.

Weren't you just there?

Less than an hour ago.

Might be another distraction.

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

I don't think
this is another distraction.

It's not a riot. It seems different.

- It's peaceful.
- Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Is that Nnamdi's son?

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

I guess he's not all talk.
He's protesting.

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Or maybe he's not.

ALL: Culture is not yours to own!

Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

ALL: Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

What are you up to, Jamaal?

ALL: Culture is not yours to own!

Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

Send them home! Send them home!

Culture is not yours to own!

Hurry up, Jamaal.

I've almost got it.

♪ ♪

Dude.

[GRUNTS]

Step away from the door.

[GROANS]

You can't arrest me
for peacefully protesting.

Is that what you call what
you were doing to that door?

What I was doing was
going in for a sit-in.

The museum is closed.
And it's a crime scene.

What you're doing is trespassing.

How'd you open that door so easily?

The door is broken.
It's been like that for years.

Jamaal, I'm gonna have to take you in.

[SCOFFING] For what?

Breaking into a museum,

whether the door is working or not,

is frowned upon by the FBI.

I'll catch up with you later.

- I want to check something.
- Yeah.

[PROTESTERS CHANTING DISTANTLY]

- [DOOR HINGE SQUEAKS]
- [APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS]

Dr. Mercer, what are you doing here?

Penelope, we were just checking
to see if we missed anything.

- Are there cameras back here?
- No.

Did you know that this door was broken?

Just one of the many things
I need to fix around here.

Many?

This isn't exactly the Smithsonian.

I'm doing my best to creatively
manage a dwindling budget.

Less full-time staff helps,
but it causes other issues.

So you're understaffed right now.

Sadly.

I've had to hire former employees back

as independent contractors
on a project-to-project basis.

But sometimes you get what you pay for.

How so?

Different people
means inconsistent vision.

[SCOFFS] I mean, look at this.

Roman armor in the middle
of South Asian artifacts?

No cohesion, you know?

Exhibit aesthetics aren't my forte.

Ah, let me show you.

[HYDRAULIC HISSING]

[INTRIGUING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

This would have been a much
more appropriate place for the bowl.

Where the other
South Asian artifacts are.

If I had time to do everything myself...

I'm sorry.

Can you tell me more about
these former employees

that you've been contracting?

♪ ♪

You didn't read me my rights.

You're not under arrest.

I just want to talk to you.

I'd like to wait for your dad
to get here

- before...
- Wait, you called my dad?

You're a minor. I had to.

I don't want him here.

Well, he's on his way.

You're lucky to have a father
that cares about you so much.

You know nothing about him.

He doesn't care about anybody
but himself.

I am sure that that's not true.

You ever heard of the Benin bronzes?

The treasures that the
British stole from West Africa?

Mm-hmm.

Didn't the museums return those?

Not all of them.

He's still working with the people

that are making money
off of our culture.

Yeah, he cares about something
all right.

- [DOOR OPENS]
- [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

You shouldn't be talking
to my son without me here.

I tried to wait for you, but Jamaal...

This has nothing to do with Jamaal!

You can't treat him like a criminal!

We found Jamaal
breaking into the back door

of the Wilkins Museum.

He's just a boy.

I am trying to find out

who stole artifacts from your museum.

And now I have proof
that Jamaal had access

to both crime scenes.

It doesn't matter what
you think you have.

I'm telling you,
he wasn't part of any of this.

He's right.

Jamaal wasn't part of the robberies.

But you were.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

You took on contract work
at the Wilkins Museum.

That's how Jamaal knows his way around.

He grew up going to work with
me at a few different museums.

The artifacts didn't just
happen to be in blind spots.

You moved the cases out of view
of the cameras.

I've been a curator for 30 years.

I love my job.

But I turned a blind eye too many times

when stolen artifacts showed up
in collections.

Surely you can report items
with questionable provenance.

And I did.

I tried to fix things within the system.

But the result was always
the same. Empty promises.

If you've worked in the
system for 30 years, why now?

I had a chance to return
a Benin artifact.

I fought, and finally, got the
director and board to agree.

I was so proud and excited
to take Jamaal

to the repatriation ceremony.

What happened?

- The museum backed out.
- Mm.

They didn't trust Nigeria to properly

take care of the artifact.

Can you imagine being
told that your people

are not responsible enough to
take care of your own history?

I had to tell my son...

I failed.

The disappointment in his eyes,
I still see it.

And my heart breaks
a little more every time.

Did you know
that people were seriously hurt

in the mobs that were set up
to distract from the heist?

What mobs?

[SUSPENSEFUL SOMBER MUSIC]

You didn't plan this.

I... I just moved the cases.

Who planned it?

An activist.

They wanted to make a statement

about museums trafficking
in stolen antiquities.

But they needed someone
with access to make it work.

And you agreed to help?

I wanted to effect change,

to redeem myself in my son's eyes.

They were going to return the items.

I... I... I didn't know
about people getting hurt.

We are gonna need some
information on this activist.

[SOMBER MUSIC FADING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Kai Potter's shift starts soon.

They want to keep things
business as usual

in case they need an alibi.

Kai had a string of jobs
where they tried

to organize the workers into unions.

Coffee shop, pizza joint.

And...

You don't think this is our mastermind?

Anything's possible.

- But this activist is in their 20s?
- Mm.

It takes years of study to be
able to predict human behavior.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Everything all right?

Yeah. Yeah, nothing to worry about.

Mm.

Nnamdi and Jamaal, they are
just too emotionally distant

to see that they're on the same side.

So it just makes me wonder

about my son.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

Mm.

Whether we're alike or we're different.

Or if I even want to know.

Because at least
I could imagine the answer.

You got the email from Rose
about your son.

I haven't opened it yet.

♪ ♪

And it'll have to wait.
Look who just rolled up.

Kai Potter?

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

They're swaps, not robberies.

We're just starting a conversation.

Taking something
that doesn't belong to you

is stealing, even if it's a stunt.

Shouldn't that apply to museums, too?

That's why we're making a statement.

You realize you could
be charged with a crime?

With the amount of damage,
inciting a riot alone

will get you up to ten years.

And we haven't even
started with federal charges.

What?

Tom never said anything about ten years.

Who's Tom?

If you help me, maybe I can help you.

What's Tom's full name?

Tom's probably not even his real name.

That group is anonymous.

He's older, knows a lot
about the artifacts.

He's the one who came up
with the whole plan

to get people talking.

Was Tom with you in the museum?

No, Tom had me recruit the curator

and get him to move the display
cases to blind spots

that Tom already knew about.

And?

Tom told me how
to cut open the display cases.

My friend Jimmy was my lookout.
We joined the group together.

It sounds like this Tom
is doing all the plotting

and you're taking all the risk.

Yeah.

I guess so.

So where's the bowl now?

Jimmy's holding on to the bowl

until we get the info for the next swap.

There's not gonna be a third swap.

This stops now.

Let's go see Jimmy.

It's B3 at the end of the hall.

[SCOFFS] You don't need that.

Trust me. Jimmy's an art history major.

The only weapon he has is a paintbrush.

- Jimmy?
- [KNOCKS ON DOOR]

FBI. Are you in there?

We're coming in.

Oh, God. Jimmy, Jimmy, are you OK?

Jimmy?

Clear.

[TENSE MUSIC]

He's unconscious, but breathing.

The bowl is gone.

It was in that suitcase.

I need an ambulance.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪ ♪

He'll recover, but Jimmy was
hit over the head pretty hard.

Who else knew the bowl was here?

Just me and Tom.

No sign of forced entry.

Jimmy must have opened
the door for someone he knew.

Or someone he thought he knew.

From the looks of it,
the assailant improvised

and grabbed the nearest thing
to hit Jimmy.

Was it a part of the plan
for Tom to come here?

No, the plan was to swap out
the mask for the bowl

right away and wait for instructions

for the next move of the bowl.

And why not swap out the bowl
right away, too?

I don't know, but we had to tell Tom

as soon as we had the bowl.

He even described it in detail

to make sure it was like
the one he'd seen before.

♪ ♪

We know this Tom person

anticipated exactly how
people would react,

so he used it to his advantage

for the two different distraction mobs.

And by pretending
to be an ally for the cause,

he manipulated
two idealistic young activists

into doing the actual heisting for him.

But why the theatrics, diversions,

the long con with Kai?

Can all of this really
be about a single bowl?

Not a single bowl.

Phoebe, Rizwan,
you remember the experiment

you ran on collectors'
completion motivation?

Yeah, the Jimi Hendrix albums?

The what?

Phoebe and Rizwan did a field study

under the guise of a record store

auctioning three related items,

the only three studio albums

by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

We asked 50 customers
how much they'd bid

for one of the albums.

To get one of the three albums,

participants bid on average $25.

With the next 50 customers,

we said the store was doing a promotion.

We gave them one album as a freebie

and then asked how much they
would pay to get the second.

People in that group bid more,

$35 on average to acquire
the second album in the set.

We gave our last group
two albums for free

and asked how much they
would bid on the final album.

That group bid $100 on average

to acquire the final album in the set.

It's four times as much
as the first group bid

for a single album.

Completion motivation
drastically changed

how they saw the final album

and the value they endowed it with.

Once they had two,

they were more motivated
to get the last album.

Exactly.

Whole marketing campaigns
are designed to capitalize

on a desire to complete the set.

Limited-edition dolls and toys,

collect all the Monopoly pieces
to get a free burger,

"Pokémon."

"Gotta catch 'em all."

[CHUCKLING] Makes sense,
but how does that apply to Tom?

Penelope told us
an identical bowl was sold

on the black market recently.

Kai said that Tom mentioned
seeing another bowl.

You think Tom was that buyer.

He gave a very detailed
description of it to Kai.

So the take-and-replace
heist was just a way for Tom

to convince Kai that they were
aligned in the repatriation cause.

It wasn't about that for Tom.

It was about getting the companion

for the bowl he already had.

But if he has both bowls,
then it's over, right?

He's probably headed out
of the country with them.

So we lure him back.

But with what bait?
His collection's complete.

Unless it isn't.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

I'm not sure I can
be of much help to you

or your assistant, Dr. Mercer.

- Please.
- [SIGHS]

I think you can.

When the Nepali Bowl was stolen,

I was under the impression
that there were two.

One that was acquired
by a private collector

and the other by the Wilkins Museum.

But you said the stolen bowl
was part of a set,

not a pair, which made me wonder

if maybe there was a third bowl.

Rizwan did some digging.

And he found the legend
of Prince Keshchandra.

[YAAHNA CLEARS THROAT]

♪ ♪

"When the young prince
gambled away his fortune,

"his sister took pity on him

"and served him a meal in a gold bowl.

But that night, he stole
the bowl and gambled it away."

So the next night, she served him

in a silver bowl and then a bronze bowl,

both of which he gambled away.

"He ran to the woods in shame.

"When he cried and begged forgiveness,

God blessed him with more gold
than he could carry."

[CLEARS THROAT]

Based on that legend
and your reaction to it,

I'm guessing my hunch about
a third bowl may be right?

The end of that story
says to make amends,

Keshchandra used that gold
to build a sacred monastery.

Which still stands

and existed for centuries
before your country did.

The three bowls were
altarpieces in that monastery?

Until they were stolen,

like other irreplaceable
symbols of faith.

I understand.

Then why do I feel like you're

about to ask me to give you a third bowl

when my country has already
lost the other two bowls?

Because the last Nepali Bowl

could be the key to
getting you the full set.

We could use the third bowl
to draw the thief out.

Or they'll take it.

Or it ends up in a Western museum.

Can't you just use a replica?

From what we know about our thief,

it's unlikely that a replica
would fool him.

And we need to do this
before he disappears

with the other two bowls.

♪ ♪

My father is Iranian.

I know a lot about the struggles

to get looted Persian treasures back.

You know that old saying,
why are the pyramids in Egypt?

Because they won't fit
in the British Museum.

We can bring the thief to justice

and reunite the sacred bowls,
but only if you'll trust us.

[TENSE MUSIC]

After the thefts,
rumors of another Nepali Bowl

set off a search of archives
and private collections.

We were skeptical, but uncovered a bowl

that has been authenticated
as being part of the same set

as the lost one.

We can't lose this bowl.
I gave Yaahna my word.

Penelope's here.
You think she could be our Tom?

That's what
I've been trying to find out.

I got my team researching
all the collector suspects

seeing if there's anything we missed.

When Nnamdi's speech is over,

I will take watch just outside
of the bowl room,

and Quinn will monitor the main lobby.

We spread the word
to every activist group

in all the sites
Tom could be monitoring.

Anybody who ever thought
about Nepali artifacts

knows that bowl is there today.

What if he knows it's a trap?

He may, but his completion motivation

says the risk of getting caught
is second to the risk

of missing his shot at the full set.

It's visible. It's just out
of view from the main gallery.

Good. We need Tom to think
that bowl is attainable.

- [DOOR OPENS]
- We did what you asked.

There's something you need to see.

I'll be right back.

We think we found Tom.

[INTRIGUING MUSIC]

And thank you to the Nepali government

for allowing this very special,
limited exhibition.

Do come in and enjoy it.

[APPLAUSE]

All right, everyone, here we go.

Come in, come in.

Thank you. Thank you for coming.

Thank you so much. Good to see you.

Hello. How are you?

[LIGHT PERCUSSIVE MUSIC]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

♪ ♪

OK, remember, keep your eyes peeled

for anyone wearing or carrying anything

that could conceal a stolen bowl.

♪ ♪

[LOUD THUD]

♪ ♪

[GASEOUS HISSING]

[TENSE MUSIC]

[ALARM BLARING]

What's going on? Quinn, talk to me.

♪ ♪

Yellow gas coming from a trash can.

[GASPS]

Yellow gas?

Wait, I read that.

We gotta get everyone out of here.

That could be chlorine gas.

Everybody, out! Out of the building now!

Come on, everyone out! Move, move.

Everyone out. Come on.

♪ ♪

Here, read this.

Go, go, go, go, go!

Everybody, out!

Come on. Let's go.
Find the nearest exit.

Everybody out
as quickly as you can, please.

[ALARM BLARING]

Marisa, can you hear me?

Alec, there's some kind of gas.

- Ignore it.
- What?

It's a distraction,
just like with the mobs.

The gas is harmless. It's the
crowd's reaction Tom's counting on.

How do you know that?

Because I'm reading his book right now.

Tom Fields is a pen name
for Warren Sheffield.

- The collector?
- It's beautiful.

He writes psychological suspense.

In his last book,
he used a yellow smoke b*mb

to clear a bank.

All his books contain
human behavior-based crimes.

- Uh...
- Marisa, get out of there!

Alec, are you sure about that?

You have to trust me.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[ALARM BLARING]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

On the ground!

Put your hands up and get
on the ground, Warren, now!

Put the bowl down!

♪ ♪

Go.

♪ ♪

[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]

♪ ♪

We got him.

And the bowl is safe.

[UPLIFTING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Well, they've been looted,
smuggled across borders,

and even sold on the black market.

But today, a repatriation ceremony

marks the return of
several cultural artifacts

to their home in Nepal.

Dignitaries and museum officials believe

that this is a step towards
righting the wrongs

of stealing tangible heritage
from the people who

treasure it the most.

♪ I'm here to tell you ♪

♪ Wherever you go ♪

♪ And whether you're high or low ♪

♪ I'll be there for ya ♪

♪ I'm in your corner ♪

Oh!

♪ If you're far from home ♪

♪ And maybe you're finding
you're on your own ♪

♪ I'll be there for ya,
I'm in your corner ♪

You called Warren's bluff.

I guess his human behavioral knowledge

was no match for yours.

I'm just glad everybody's safe

and that we didn't lose that bowl.

Jimmy's recovery is going well,

but he and Kai will still be charged

for stealing the artifacts.

They said attention on repatriation

was the important thing,

so I guess you can call it
a success for them?

Mm.

I was dismissed
from my duties as curator.

Mm.

But I still wanted to thank
you for helping me

to return these artifacts to Nepal.

Well, they did have some help.

You were part of this thing, too, Dad.

He's right.

And for your help
and because your participation

in the heist was nonviolent,
I'm sure the DA will be able

to plead you down to probation.

[SIGHS]

And now you both know
your beliefs are aligned.

So you can work together for the cause.

I made some mistakes.
But the world is watching now.

I won't waste this opportunity
to use my voice.

We won't waste this opportunity.

Yeah?

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

♪ ♪

The last time I was here, you asked me

what I would want my son to know.

I would want him to know

that he mattered.

That he still matters.

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

And forcing myself back into his life

feels like it says the opposite.

♪ ♪

Someone sent me info on him.

I deleted that email.

Instead, I put myself

on the adoption search
and reunion sites.

And how does that feel?

It feels right.

It's his choice.

But I can open the door.

♪ ♪

If he wants to look for me,
I'll be here.

♪ ♪

[PHONE BUZZING]

Ownership can also apply to ideas.

Just like an object,
we can endow a point of view

or an idea with disproportionate value.

And then it becomes just
as hard for us to let it go.

It doesn't mean we can't.

It takes effort.

Just like most important things in life.

So maybe someday one of you will

give me back that free mug.

Maybe today.

[LIGHT JAZZY MUSIC]

Bueller?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Oh, God, my references are old.