Previously on The Equalizer...
Hey. Who's your friend?
Aunt Vi, this is Cameron.
Are you a sophomore, too?
Junior, actually.
You must be starting to think about colleges.
Oh, nah, not going to college.
I got other plans.
How are things with Big Ben?
Exactly how I knew it'd be.
Dad, where's Grandpa?
He's not gonna make it. His car broke down.
Seriously?
Addie Stanford, from parole downstairs?
And why do I need a travel pass?
Your father, Ben Dante, registered you
to accompany him to a funeral this weekend?
Right.
That funeral. Thanks, Addie.
Rob, what are you doing here?
Miles, I need your help.
Miles, your ex-husband?
He helps out sometimes.
Look, I still don't know exactly
what type of operation you're running, Robyn...
but whatever it is,
I want in.
He's gettin' away!
There he is!
After him! After him!
You see him?
He's trapped!
We know you ain't got no more bullets!
Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com
_
Is that what I think it is?
Depends. Does it look like an award-winning peach cobbler?
Absolutely.
Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Barbara Sullivan's face
when I pass her for the most wins in block party history.
That's right. Yeah, let's go!
I ain't playing with her this year!
I know that's right. I know that's right, Aunt Vi.
I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to today.
You have loved this block party ever since you were little.
I mean, I'm just excited to have a day off.
Just a chance to kick back,
have some fun, just like a normal person.
If anybody deserves it, it's you.
Ah. Good morning, guys!
- Well, someone's happy. - Hello.
Hi. Mom, good morning.
Okay, so, I just got off the phone with Dad,
and turns out, he was able to move his shift,
so he'll be there today after all.
Great!
Right? Oh, my gosh, I cannot remember
the last time we all hung out together.
This is going to be so awesome.
Hey, Dante.
Morning. You and the fam heading over to the block party?
We are. Are we gonna see you there?
Wouldn't miss it.
I'll be working the grill at the community outreach table.
It's a good chance for the neighborhood
to get to know the NYPD.
Also a good chance to spend time with you.
I can't wait.
Anyway, I'll be there as soon as I get back
from this funeral in Jersey.
Sorry for your loss.
Oh, no, not mine. Big Ben's old partner, Johnny D.
Terms of his parole require an escort out of state.
And you volunteered?
No, but I'm doing it anyway.
Uh, he's here.
- Find you when I get there? - You better.
You're late.
Good morning to you, too.
You haven't been answering my texts.
My phone died. I keep forgetting to plug it in at night.
I was starting to think you blew it off.
Why wouldn't I show up to my old partner's funeral?
I don't know, Pop. Why don't you show up to a lot of things?
What I don't get is why we didn't just meet at your place.
Would have been nice to have breakfast with my grandkids.
Because this way, if you don't show up,
the only person you're letting down is Johnny.
And you can't piss him off too bad because he's dead.
Though, knowing you, you'd find a way, Pop.
Ah!
You guys made it.
Do you think we'd miss this?
- Hi. - I mean, when do we get the chance
to just hang out?
- You know? - I know.
Where's Aunt Vi? Down here,
about to destroy the competition with her famous peach cobbler.
- Endless cobbler? - Oh.
You'll have to excuse me, ladies. Destiny calls.
All right, I should go find Dee.
Go on. I'm gonna say hello to Aunt Vi.
Okay, well, make sure you check out the incense table,
get your karaoke on, and Miss Loretta's jerk chicken
is fire.
- Okay, I'll see you later. - Okay.
Aunt Vi...
Hi, Mel.
- It's so good to see you. - You, too.
But I am concerned.
Do you ever feed that man?
Ah. Peach cobbler is kind of his thing.
It's a borderline fetish.
Barbara.
Vee-ola.
Oh, I'm sorry. Did I get that wrong?
Girl, I never seem to get it straight.
How could you? We only see each other once a year.
Usually when I'm collecting the first-place ribbons.
Always living in the past, Vee-ola,
but this year will be different.
Not if your cobbler's the same.
- Oh, I got something for you this year. - Bring it.
Hmph.
- Wow. - Don't worry about it.
She's gonna be singing a different tune
when I beat her ass
the third year in a row.
Okay. Check it out.
One of the judges is a no-show today, so...
- Tell me you didn't. - Honey, I had to.
It's-it's my civic duty.
I mean, the, uh, the needs of the many
outweigh the sugar-shock of the judge.
Babe, how are you going to be impartial?
Aunt Vi's in the contest.
Not to worry. It's a blind taste test.
You know, also, honey, as you know,
my reputation is unim-peach-able.
Sugar's rotting your brain. I'm gonna cut you off.
Oh, please don't.
Oh!
Okay.
Oh, man. That one takes me all the way back.
Dad, I forgot you had moves.
- Yeah, so did he. - I tell you, it's a shame, man.
We used to come here every year without fail.
- But life happens, right? - I remember that year
you went too far on those Jamaican beef patties.
Oh. Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, that didn't end well.
- It did not end well. - No.
Ooh. Or the year you beat Dad at H.O.R.S.E.
with, like, everyone watching.
Year? You mean years?
Okay, okay. Now you guys just making stuff up.
You want to go? Right now, me and you?
It's right over here
- if you want to try me. - Hey. Hey, there's my friend Cam.
I haven't seen him in forever.
Oh, go ahead, say hi.
- Mom and I can take care of ourselves. - Okay.
- Yeah, I'll find you guys in a bit. - Yeah, I'll be watching.
Cam?
No way! Dee!
- What's up? - Hey.
Oh, my gosh.
It's been ages.
Uh, Delilah, this is Tyrese.
Uh, Ty and I... we grew up together.
- What's up? - Hey.
Yo, those are nice kicks.
Thanks, Private School.
Cam, I'm gonna take a lap,
check out the food court.
- I'll catch you guys later. - All right, bro.
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
So... Uh, what have you been up to?
Uh, well, you know that app I was talking about?
It launched.
It's reselling sneakers, right?
Oh, high-end sneakers.
I'm talking limited editions, collabs.
It's called "Premium Kicks."
That's amazing.
Not going to college next year was the right decision.
Yeah. I mean, just by not going into debt,
I'm ahead of the game.
And I got to admit,
I have actually been reconsidering college myself.
- Really? You? - I know.
- That's crazy.
I know.
Actually, I would really love to talk to you about it.
Yeah, let's do it. How about over tacos?
Sounds good.
- Let's do it. - Let's do it.
Stephon sure is getting big.
You don't want to talk? Have it your way.
It's my way now, huh?
Who do you think I learned it from?
Look, Marcus, I know you're angry,
been angry for a long time.
And I've come to terms with that.
But I'm trying to start over.
I think you need to give me a chance.
I gave you that chance when you wanted to take the boys
to the Yankee game. You blew it.
I told you, something came up.
- Uh-huh. - This was important.
What was more important than not letting your grandsons down?
Never mind.
No, go on, tell me. I want to know.
- Really? - Really, I do.
Okay.
Then I'll tell you.
The hell is this guy doing?
Gun!
Hey! Get off the road!
Go faster! They're gaining!
Look out!
Marcus.
You okay?
Been better.
Suck it up. We got to move.
Want me to get that?
I got it. I got it.
Wait.
Here.
You good?
Sounded like two shooters.
- Yeah. - You put 'em down fast.
Save the back-patting. There's gonna be more coming.
Somebody planned that to take us out.
If there's a plan...
There's a backup plan.
You good?
I'm fine.
This is no time for pride, boy.
Take my shoulder.
Come on.
I got you.
We need to get off the street now.
Come on.
This'll do.
Yes!
- Yes! - Yeah, Mel, you killed it!
- Yeah? Really? - Yes. Yes!
- That was better than in the shower, - babe! Oh!
You have a lot of peach cobbler in your beard.
Oh. Speaking of cobbler, come on.
I gotta go to the judges' table. Come on, let's go.
Now, these two,
they're part of your team, right?
What team?
Okay.
Well, have you at least thought about what I asked you?
About working with me?
Yeah.
Saving lives side by side again,
the adrenaline rush of enemy bullets going over our heads.
I know you haven't forgotten
how great we are in the field together.
That was a long time ago. Things have changed.
Sure. But haven't I proven that I'm still reliable?
I mean, you showed up at my house twice
with almost-dead people and I helped you out,
no questions asked, didn't I?
Oh, there were questions.
But you... were a big help.
Come on, Rob.
All I'm asking is that you let me in
to whatever it is you got going on.
I know it's worthwhile if you're pursuing it.
That is very flattering.
But let me consider it a bit longer.
It's not just my decision.
Okay, I tell you what.
How 'bout we play for it?
This is not the kind of thing you decide with a game.
Oh.
Sounds to me like somebody's scared.
You do know I have seen you shoot.
Well, then...
Okay.
It's on.
I'm so glad I ran into you.
Can't believe how long it's been.
Yeah.
But, you know what, it feels like yesterday.
Where is it? It was just here!
- Hey. What's happening over there? - I can't find it anywhere!
- I don't know. - Somebody must've took it!
I just left for a minute. I had to go to the bathroom.
Are we sure it's gone?
It's gone. The strongbox is empty.
Hey, what's going on?
Someone stole all the raffle money.
Over 2,000 bucks.
We were raising it for Kevin Jordan.
Help him pay for expenses at college next year.
Yo, that's messed up.
Hey. There's Tyrese.
You think maybe he saw something?
Uh, maybe. We can ask him.
Yo, Ty.
What's up?
Yo. Someone just stole a bunch of cash
from the raffle booth, and everyone's tripping
because no one saw it happen.
You see anything?
Nah, man.
Why are you asking me?
There's no reason, bro. Chill.
My bad. I got to take this.
- Hey, yo, what's poppin'? - Pretty defensive, don't you think?
Ty? Nah. He...
he's just wound tight.
You know him really well, right?
- Do you think it's possible that... - Oh.
Whoa, let me stop you right there.
Just 'cause Ty is "from the hood"
doesn't mean he stole that money.
Wait, what? No, it's not about where he's from, okay?
He took off for a while.
And the next time we see him,
he's not far from where it happened.
So?
Maybe he just went to the bathroom and then...
decided to buy a T-shirt or something. I don't know.
But then why was he acting all weird?
Look, all I'm saying is that somebody took that money.
And it's a big deal to that kid going off to college.
Okay, sure.
But I know Tyrese. He's a good guy.
Look, I'm not about to accuse my friend of stealing,
especially not based on some half-baked theory.
I'm not asking you to accuse anybody.
I just...
- I'm trying to be... - Hey, Dee.
Hi. I just heard about the money.
Did you guys see anything?
Nope.
Wait, I saw someone in the crowd,
uh, walking around with a video camera.
Maybe they captured something.
Yeah. Yeah, it's worth finding out.
Okay. I'll see.
Thanks.
Come on, son, I got you.
Man...
You need stitches.
And we need backup. Let me have your phone.
I don't have it.
Must have flown out in the crash.
Now what?
We don't want to get trapped here.
So let's get out of here while we can.
I can gut it out.
Not like that.
That tourniquet's not doing the trick.
We need to do something now.
I don't think amputation's the answer.
Just give me a minute here.
Who the hell are those guys?
No idea.
But they were carrying some high-caliber hand cannons.
Desert Eagles, maybe.
Driving bulletproof SUVs.
These weren't corner boys. None of that stuff's cheap.
These were foot soldiers.
They're part of a larger operation.
Just means we were right.
There's more coming.
So what are we waiting for?
I can use the powder to cauterize your wound.
So now you're Rambo.
Sit back and learn something.
Why do you think they're after us?
Maybe someone you crossed in prison?
Pretty quick to put this on me.
I mean, you are the one who's been coloring
outside the lines all these years.
You steal from bad people, they're gonna hold a grudge.
You don't think you got enemies?
What about all the perps you put away?
Any cop worth his badge has a target on his back.
Got it.
Fine.
If we're gonna do this, let's get it over with.
This is gonna hurt like hell.
Here.
Bite on my belt.
I'm good.
Tough guy, huh?
Weren't so tough when you fell off your skateboard.
You always like to bring that up.
If you're gonna...
Nothing but net.
What do you got?
- I got H-O-R-S, and you know it. - Oh...
So you know what that means, right?
I mean, I'm no spelling bee champion,
but I think it means you really need to...
I know.
I know what it means.
Don't miss.
- Ugh. - Ooh.
What? Air ball.
What?
All right, come on. Two out of three.
N-No... Miles, you think I'm gonna play you until you win?
All right, all right, you're lucky I got to go, too.
Rob, I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this.
This was a lot of fun.
You know, the fun doesn't necessarily have to end.
We should have dinner.
I would love that.
I'll check Dee's schedule and I'll get back to you.
No, I was talking about the two of us.
- The two of us? - Yeah.
Like, on a date?
Well, I mean, we don't...
have to put a label on it.
Just have dinner.
See where it goes.
There. That should stop the bleeding, at least.
You good?
Good enough. Thanks.
Let's go.
Damn it, we're trapped.
Find them and kill them. Let's go!
I count eight. All armed.
Pop, you know those guys?
The big guy running point.
Name's Vanetti.
Drug dealer from my beat back in the day.
Back in the day? You mean...
He was in a crew we used to rob.
Looks like this is my dirt coming back
to bite me in the ass.
Classic.
Just another way you've managed to make my life worse.
I'm sorry, son.
I really am.
I want all these buildings searched.
They're not getting away.
Come on. Go!
Looks like they're gonna search every building on this block.
Including this one.
We got six bullets for seven men.
And one of them is coming to search this place.
But if we shoot this guy...
The noise might draw the others.
So what do we do? Hide?
There's a lot of rooms in this place to search.
Hiding might be our best option.
Mm-hmm. Mm...
Hey.
Just in time to see me take down Barbara's
dry-ass cobbler.
Hmm.
You okay?
I'm not sure, but I think Miles just asked me out on a date.
- No. - Mm-hmm.
Okay, come on. Spill it.
Okay, so we were walking,
reminiscing a little bit
and he bought me a ginger beer and, uh...
Oh...
You fell for that again.
Auntie, what you talking about?
Do you not remember the time that you were mad at him
for working too many long hours?
He made dinner, took you for a walk and...
And he bought me a ginger beer.
Damn.
Oh, he is smooth.
You are not actually thinking
about going out with him, are you?
I considered it for a second.
I mean, just the thought of going on a date with anyone,
would be, you know, nice.
Normal?
Yes, that part.
But you're not normal.
You're a most extraordinary creature.
Well, whatever I am...
...it would be great to have more days like today.
You know?
A chance to just... be.
I know.
Speaking of dates, isn't Dante supposed to be here?
That's a good question.
Yeah, he was supposed to work the outreach booth.
I'll check with them, see if they heard anything.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Is that blood?
Pop?
Harry? Got a problem.
You and me both.
Sample A's crust is buttery heaven.
Sample B's filling, though, is a nectar from the gods.
Oh, you mean, a "problem" problem. Sorry.
Something's up with Dante.
The outreach booth was trying to get in touch with him
to get an ETA, but he hasn't gotten back to them.
Did you try calling him?
Yeah, it's going straight to voice mail.
M.E.L., run a GPS check on Marcus Dante's phone.
Task completed.
GPS is off. In fact, his phone is off.
He was taking Big Ben
to his ex-partner's funeral in Patterson.
Can you check and see if something went down?
You think something happened there?
A dirty cop's funeral?
- Prime opportunity for payback. - You got a name?
Uh, Johnny something. Johnny D, I think.
Johnny D. Okay, well, shouldn't be too hard.
I mean, how many ex-cops in Jersey are having a funeral today?
I got it.
Hey, Dee. Dee.
So I found the videographer.
Um, his footage didn't show anybody, but look.
Is that someone's foot?
Yeah, walking away from the raffle table.
You can kind of...
Did you see someone wearing these?
There's probably two dozen people
here at this party wearing those.
- Yeah. - And besides, whoever stole that money
is probably long gone by now.
You're probably right. You guys good?
- Yeah. - I'm gonna talk to Harry.
- Yeah. We're good. Have fun. - Yeah.
Okay, yes, Tyrese is wearing those.
But like I said, he's not the only one.
I'm not saying it's definitely Tyrese,
but this means we can't rule him out, either.
Okay, yeah. I get that.
I get that.
But if Tyrese did steal a bunch of money,
why would he hang around here?
Yeah, you're probably right.
Unless whoever stole it hung around because
they knew their absence would make them look more guilty.
Okay, so he's guilty if he runs,
and he's guilty if he stays?
Do you even hear yourself?
You know what? I'm gonna prove it to you
that it's not Tyrese.
- All right. - Oh, there he is. Come.
- That's what I'm trying to say. - Yo, Ty.
Uh, let me see your car keys real quick.
Uh, everything good?
Yeah, I just think I left my wallet in your ride.
- That's all. - Private School got you spending
your sneaker money already.
Yo, what the hell, Ty?
Hey, yo, man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
How you feeling?
- Like I'm losing blood fast. - All right, all right.
We gotta get you to a hospital.
There's no way we're gonna make it past
all those men out there.
We have to at least try.
Hey, Tony, check in.
The Blancos want a status report.
Blancos.
Something tells me that's not good news.
I just had a run-in with the Blancos recently.
My old partner went missing in one of their casinos,
so we had to raid the place. Confiscated a ton of contraband.
Must have cost 'em a pretty penny.
Point being, maybe these guys are after me, not you.
Uh, I'm sorry about what I said, Pop.
About you ruining my life.
You did this to yourself.
Never should have volunteered to drive me.
Volunteer? You told 'em I'd do it.
No, I didn't. Who told you that?
Your parole officer. What was her name? Uh...
Addie, I think.
My parole officer's Frank Mahoney.
Come to think of it, I'd never seen this woman before.
Said she'd just transferred in.
Probably sent by those Blancos
to tee this up.
Get us in the car together, then take us both out.
I'll be damned. Hey.
Hey! Stay with me.
You gotta stay awake.
I'm tired, Marcus.
Tired as when you made me drive your old Volvo 240
from Coney Island to Red Hook?
You almost burned out my clutch.
Yeah. What were you thinking, letting a ten-year-old
drive a stick shift?
I worked a double the night before.
You figured it out, didn't you?
Yeah. You could have at least told me how to get home
before passing out, snoring.
How else were you gonna learn to navigate the city?
We made it.
You knew just what you were doing.
See, your childhood wasn't all bad.
Or maybe you're just being nice 'cause I'm dying.
All right, cut it out, Pop.
There's only one way out of this:
leave me behind.
That's not happening.
But before you go...
...there's something you need to know.
Hey. All right, all right.
Easy, easy.
Plenty of time to talk about this later.
Boy, there's not gonna be no later.
Now shut up and listen.
Okay.
I made a lot of mistakes.
I wish I could take 'em back, but I can't.
All those times that I wasn't there,
for you, for your mother...
there was somewhere else I needed to be.
All right, Pop, this can wait.
Marcus...
you have a brother.
Ty, what are you doing?
You need to put that gun down.
Nah, bro, I need that money.
Yo, I didn't bring you here to steal it
and pull a gun out on my friend.
Man, you used to be down.
Now you're taking Private School's side?
Tyrese, please, this will only make things worse.
Shut up! You don't know me.
Yeah, I've seen your designer clothes.
You couldn't begin to understand what I'm going through.
You're right. You're right, I can't.
But there's always another way.
How? Look, I-I went to school, I got the grades,
but I had to drop out. Is that the other way?
Do you work two jobs so your sisters won't
cry themselves to sleep hungry every night?
Do you have a mom who's abusive
because she's mentally ill and can't get the meds she needs?
Do you?
Worst part is, I can't report her, even if I wanted to,
because she'll be put into an institution,
and my sisters right into foster care.
I'm out of options,
- so I gotta do what I gotta do. - I get it, Ty.
The system is broken.
But you need to put that gun down.
No, I get it.
Now that you got your little sneaker business,
you forgot what it's like to be hungry.
Man, no matter how hard you try,
you're never gonna be one of them.
Let us help you.
You do not deserve to go through this alone.
I don't need your sympathy.
I can take care of myself.
A-And screw you for judging me, man.
You're not better than me.
Dee?
Get over here!
Mel, no. Let him go.
- Let him go, please. - Hey! Wait!
What happened? What was that? Are you okay?
- Yes, I'm okay. - No, you're not.
We're good. Look at me. We're good.
- You okay? - I promise, we're good.
I promise.
Did you hear what I said, son?
You have a brother.
You're bleeding out and the Blancos are hunting us.
Now's not the time.
His name is James.
Why are you telling me this now?
You need to know. There was a reason I wasn't always there.
A reason I wasn't able to take your boys
to that Yankee game.
That's why you couldn't take them.
Because you were with him.
James said that he needed to see me.
That supposed to make me feel better?
I tried so hard with you, Marcus.
I used to write you letters
when you refused to talk to me.
Your mother told me that you threw them away unopened.
So now it's my fault you were never around.
That's not what I meant.
Man, just stop talking.
I need to figure out how to get us out of here.
Marcus, I can't walk.
You're gonna have to leave me behind.
Pop! Stop. Please.
We're not gonna get past 'em.
You're right about that.
So we'll just have to bring the fight to us.
Ooh, you going down, Vee-ola.
The only thing I'm doing is collecting
my first-place ribbon.
And you have one more time to butcher my name.
Well, we've, uh, we've made our decision,
and the two finalists were both delicious.
But I'm afraid we only have one winner,
and that would be... sample L.
Oh, yes. Yes!
I knew your tastebuds would make the right choice.
- Oh, I thought it was... - Oh, hell no.
Do these two know each other?
You know what, the fix is in.
Oh, please Barbara, we know half the people in here.
And besides, it was a blind taste test.
I can assure you that we made our decisions
solely based on the merits of the cobbler.
And yours was absolutely terrific, by the way.
Oh, please, why should we care about
what this clown thinks, anyway?
Excuse me?
It's okay. That's all right. It's okay.
Listen, Barbara, I promise you it was very, very close.
And I could tell that you used only the finest ingredients,
from the crust to those garden-fresh peaches.
And that hint of paprika, while odd, was a delicious
and inspired choice.
In fact, I can only ever remember
having paprika in a cobbler at Sylvia's Restaurant
in Harlem. I mean, if I didn't know better...
He's absolutely right.
This cobbler tastes exactly like the one from Sylvia's.
Well, I may have used a similar recipe...
I highly doubt that.
That recipe is a closely guarded secret.
Well, you know, we could call Sylvia's and see if a Babara
ordered a cobbler recently. No?
Whatever,
Vee-ola.
That's right, take your stolen cobbler
along with your stank attitude!
Uh-oh. That's not good.
You guys find anything?
Couldn't find anything, boss.
- Where's Tony? - He went into that building
when we first started searching, and never came out.
Follow me.
- Hey. - Hey. Any update on Dante?
There were no incidents at Johnny Delgado's funeral,
but I had M.E.L. check all major tollbooths,
and there's no sign that Dante's car
even ever made it out of town.
We checked all the hospitals. No luck.
Something's definitely wrong.
We should go look for him.
Dante was picking up his father in Bed Stuy earlier.
Okay, fastest route to Jersey is Brooklyn Bridge
through the Holland Tunnel.
Okay, that's where we start.
Go.
Damn it.
He's gettin' away!
There he is!
After him!
You see him?
He's trapped!
We know you ain't got no more bullets!
Come out! We just want to talk!
I can hear you just fine from here.
Just give up! We know there's nothing you can do.
You sure you want to take that chance?
Other side.
Go, go, go.
Pop.
Pop. Come on, Pop. Let's get you out of here.
Pop, please.
Don't you quit on me right now, okay?
Come on, Pop, get up.
Pop, get up.
Get up!
Get up.
Told you to leave me behind, boy.
You're hardheaded.
Who do you think I got that from?
Definitely your mother.
Look, Pop,
there's one more shooter out there.
We got to move before he finds us.
Okay. Okay.
How many more?
He was the last of them.
Okay. Need you to hold on a little bit longer.
Ambulance is on the way. Let's go.
You okay?
Nah. I'm not.
Look, I-I'm really sorry about Tyrese.
I would've never brought him if...
Stop.
It's not your fault.
I mean, he's clearly in a tough spot.
But I do appreciate what you did.
Standing up for me.
Yeah, I wasn't gonna let him hurt you.
I know.
- Thanks. - Yeah.
What'd the doctor say?
Extensive blood loss is causing
some of his systems to shut down,
so they've induced a coma for now.
But the doctor said, uh,
he's certain he'll pull through.
Well, considering all he's been through, that's good news.
Yeah.
But you don't seem happy.
Course I am.
Marcus, is there something else going on?
I don't feel like getting into it.
That was my way of handling things for a long time.
Keeping everything inside,
letting it eat away at me,
until the stress nearly killed me.
I have a brother.
Yeah. Just found out.
When Big Ben thought he was dying.
Said he wanted me to know.
I think he just wanted to get it off his chest.
Like a confession.
All those years as his punching bag,
now he wants me to be his priest?
Oh, and he tried to make it all my fault.
"I tried to get through to you, but you were always so angry."
You damn right I was angry.
I'm sorry, Marcus.
That's a lot to process.
It's gonna take some time.
I've been standing here, thinking about
things that happened when I was a kid,
things I'm suddenly seeing in a new light.
All of those holidays he missed because he "drew a bad shift."
All those nights my mom and I spent worrying if he was okay,
he was playing father of the year to someone else's kid.
I feel like a fool.
Don't do that.
You were only a kid yourself.
I'm sorry.
I can't be here right now.
All right. I'm gonna call it.
Okay. I'm closing soon. I'll come join you.
Hey, you know what was great about that block party?
- What? - Everything.
Thought you were gonna say "cobbler."
Oh, man, I-I think I've had enough cobbler
to last me at least until tomorrow morning.
There's leftovers in the fridge,
- though, right? - Yes.
Ye... Ooh.
- Oh. Hey. - Dee.
- Hey. - Hey. Come on in.
- Thanks. - Wow.
Hey. I-I hope I'm not bothering you so late.
Oh, come on, are you kidding? Do you want anything? Water...
No, no, I'm all good, thank you.
Okay. Well, uh, make yourself at home.
Okay.
Hi.
Okay. So...
this is about what, uh, happened at the block party today?
Yeah, I can't stop shaking.
It just, it keeps...
playing over and over again in my head.
Having a loaded gun pointed at you is...
really scary.
Yeah.
Look who I'm telling.
No. It is scary.
Mel, can you please not tell my mom about this?
Oh, yeah, I'm done interfering.
- Okay. - But I'm curious
why you didn't want me to go after that guy?
It's 'cause he's already on a bad path.
He doesn't need jail, he needs help.
And...
I really, really wanted to help him.
And he didn't want it.
I guess I just, I never really thought about this side
of what you and my mom do.
It must feel great
when you're able to get somebody's life back on track.
You're right.
But when you can't...
I mean, God, does it always feel this bad?
Dee, the fact that you are taking this so personally
is a testament to how loving
and giving and caring you are.
It does get easier, is what you're telling me, right?
No.
But you learn to accept the fact
that sometimes you're just not gonna get through.
There is this vet in my support group. Eric.
He has severe PTSD.
I dropped him off the other day,
and I saw that he had blocked all off his windows
with tinfoil.
- Like shutting out the world. - Yeah.
He's literally walled himself off.
So I just, you know, do what I can and then...
Because some people have to figure it out for themselves.
On their own time.
What if they don't?
Well,
then, sweetie, there's nothing else we can do.
And you're right, that does feel like crap.
Hey, Auntie.
Sorry I left before. How'd it go?
Did you win?
Have you had my cobbler?
- Boom! - Yes.
Down goes Barbara.
That's right.
That's what I'm...
And what about you? Where'd you disappear to?
I had to help Dante with something.
Oh. So you did see him.
And how was that?
Pretty crazy.
I mean, I feel bad for him.
It's a long story, but...
Let's just say neither one of us got a day off.
Aw.
I did come to a realization, though.
What's that?
That the life I've chosen
doesn't leave room for relationships.
Why would you say that?
Because it's true.
All I wanted was one day
to be normal.
And I can't even get that.
Because my life is not normal.
But everything was going so well.
Yeah.
Then reality smacks me in the face.
And I remember all the reasons
why it didn't work out with Miles.
The unpredictable schedule,
not finding time for each other,
having to lie about the reasons why.
Yeah, but you and Miles had a lot of issues to overcome.
Yeah, but those weren't our issues.
Those were my issues.
And they still are.
Meaning any relationship
I try is doomed from the start.
Yeah. You're right.
You can't talk about where you've been all day
or what you've done.
You can't make plans because...
...something always comes up.
So, yeah, how can you
even think about dating someone?
Exactly.
I can't.
But...
what if there were someone
whose life is just as unpredictable as yours?
Someone you would never have to lie to,
because he already knows exactly what you do
and respects the hell out of you for it.
You wouldn't happen to know
a certain detective like that, would you?