Previously on Reacher...
No one knows the three of you are here.
We are treating you like enemy combatants on U.S. soil.
We can do whatever we want.
Where is the drive that Anna Merrick gave to you on the train?
- Get in! - Who are you?
Russell Plum, freelance journalist.
- What is all this? - My research.
I've been investigating the CIA for years.
In the '90s, my mother met a U.S. soldier named John.
Congressman John Sampson.
They had an affair, and you're basically walking with the result of that union.
My doctors say I need a bone marrow transplant,
but matches are hard to come by.
You were in country when my source was conceived.
You think I had an affair?
If my DNA's all it's gonna take to get you to leave us alone...
...here you go.
Someone was looking for the drive.
- Your nephew? - Yeah, I wish he'd call me back.
Hey, who's that guy talking to Sampson?
That's Nolan Cahill, Sampson's chief of staff.
Remember when I said there was a fourth witness
on the train when Anna killed herself? That's him.
You're back.
Van's downstairs.
- Here. - What's this?
A cat.
We need all the information you can get on Nolan Cahill.
He's John Sampson's chief of staff.
Why? What's going on?
My sister, uh...
...Anna, she, um...
The one you were talking about in the van?
Works for the Pentagon, had some kind of jump drive?
She shot herself in the head in front of me
two nights ago on the Broad Street Line.
♪ laundry on the hill ♪
♪ billboards and the buildings ♪
♪ Memories of it still keep calling ♪
A little tact?
♪ and calling...
Cahill was on the train the night she died.
We need to know why.
A woman kills herself on the same train
as the chief of staff of a potential presidential candidate.
The CIA starts kidnapping people over it.
It-It's a tragedy,
clearly, of course, but that's a story.
Give me a beat, I'll get into some records.
You got Ben. Leave a message, or live like you're in the 21st century and text me.
The mailbox is full
- and cannot-- - Fuck!
♪ another ♪
♪ Tempted, but the truth is discovered...
I got it.
I got it. Sorry.
He's a liability.
Inexperienced, all emotion.
- He's a cop. - From Mayberry.
- Mayfield. - Same thing.
We don't know what we're up against. We need all the help we can find.
- He can't help us. - How do you know?
You ever have a sibling get killed over some fucked-up illegal shit?
Yes.
- What? - Bottom line?
He doesn't pull it together, I'll leave him on the side of the road.
Who are you calling?
Lila. Sampson's being straight about not being her father.
Jumped at the chance to provide DNA.
I want to know why she lied to me and what she really knows.
Okay, found a lot.
Cahill served on the same Delta Team as Sampson.
He was Sampson's commanding officer. Huh.
He's got more medals than the Olympics.
- Man like that knows a lot. - Great.
Now what are we doing here? Let's go and confront him.
- He won't talk. - Then we make him talk.
We can't pull a congressman's chief of staff off the street and rough him up.
That girl was sliced to pieces.
I want my fuckin' nephew back!
Jacob, we're not fighting you. It's just--
Someone's outside.
It's the CIA backup squad from the black site.
- How'd they find us? - Oh, shit.
What'd you do?
After you guys ditched me, I may have posted something on 4Chan
saying I found a thumb drive on the Philly subway.
It had Anna Merrick's name on the side and military records on it.
I asked if anyone had any intel, maybe they should just reach out.
What the fuck?
You guys wouldn't tell me anything, and you stole my van.
All right? This story could give me my career back.
I figured I could flush out someone who might know something.
I used a VPN, I used an encryption so they couldn't trace it.
Looks like someone could.
Maybe two someones.
Yeah, looks like we got another car full of thugs.
That one with the bruise was at Lila's hotel yesterday.
Who the hell are these guys?
Doesn't matter if they're private contractors,
federal boys or the '75 Cincinnati Reds.
If they're here, it's not good.
Think the Big Red Machine's working with the CIA as ghost ops?
Maybe.
I don't think they're working together.
They're coming in.
Oh, shit. They cut the power.
They'll use a standard protocol search,
work their way up floor by floor until they find us.
There's only one set of stairs.
- We'll run straight into 'em. - Is there any way off the roof?
- Or a fire escape? - No.
- Where are your knives? - I don't have any knives. I eat take-out.
- You got any weapons? - I have five cans of wasp spray.
- Why? - I have wasps.
Get 'em. Jacob, grab the fire extinguisher.
Stay here.
Use that to create cover so Tamara can start shooting when she hears the signal.
What's the signal?
Screaming.
Come on, hurry. They're coming.
Clear!
Clear.
- Keep it down. - I can't find the fucking wasp spray.
Now!
Still alive? Good.
Who do you work for?
- I need a doctor. - You want a doctor?
- I want to know who hired you. - Please.
- Hey, tell me where Ben is right now! - Hey. Get him out of here!
You have to stay calm.
Stay calm. He knows where Ben is.
But he can't say shit if you kill him.
We need that man alive if we're gonna get intel.
Uh... that's not gonna happen.
- You're robbing him? - We need to figure out who these guys are.
Their guns could be traced back to murdered CIA.
- Oh, shit. - What is it?
Two addresses. One's this place, one's hopefully not what I think it is.
All right, we got to move, guys.
Lila, it's Reacher.
Your pal from the hotel yesterday paid another visit.
He's not a problem anymore, but he had the address
to the Rittenhouse Hotel on him.
If that's where you are, leave now.
I'll find you.
♪ A deeper shade of soul, yeah ♪
- ♪ A deeper shade of soul ♪ - ♪ Took a long time...
Hey?
- What? - You good?
Yeah, man. I... I just got to get out of D.C.
I mean, you have no idea what this city can be like
when they have you in their crosshairs.
They killed my career. Now they're gonna kill me.
Can we please just go any faster?
We need to make a stop in town first.
- Wha...? - What? Are you kidding me?
We're on the run, and we need cash.
Got to hit an ATM while we're in the city.
The people that want us dead know we're in D.C.
By the time they get a bead on the ATM, we're long gone.
Yeah, man. Might be following us already.
Before they came up to my loft, they saw the van
in the garage, they probably called it in to their bosses.
Our vehicle's been compromised.
You got another skin under the Plumber sign?
Yeah, but they have the make and model. We got to get a new ride.
We're wanted by the CIA.
We can't exactly go to Hertz and give 'em our licenses.
I know a place.
We can be there in less than two hours.
♪ You've not heard of us, this is certified organic...
Yo, Cyrus.
♪ On its way, don't panic...
Ah, fuck this. Nah, nah, nah, nah.
Me and Docherty cut a deal.
I get you dirt on those boys from Norristown, you leave me alone.
Docherty made that deal, not me.
I don't make deals with punks.
- Then what you doing here? - I need to make a deal with some punks.
And who are your white boys?
My backup dancers. Want to trade my Windstar
for your Highlander?
That's money. That's bullshit.
We both know that SUV's stolen.
So, if you want,
we can continue this conversation at the District while I run the VIN.
That is, if it isn't already filed off.
If you were gonna bust us, you'd have done it by now.
You are absolutely right.
Guess we'll have to figure out another way to negotiate.
♪ I may not be the best alive, but I count ♪
♪ No matter the amount of the trials I face...
What are you doing?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Yo, that's 50 racks right there! What you doing?
What is she doing?
Getting his attention.
- Hey, yo-- - Let's try this again.
My Windstar for your Highlander.
'Cause in a few seconds, our only option is to run our asses out of here.
Shit. All right. All right. All right, just put it out. Put it out.
And throw in some plates from a car that's properly registered.
That Jetta?
Nah, nah, nah. That's my sister's car right there.
Rayona'll kill me. You know she's crazy, right?
This rag is burning up pretty quickly.
Okay. Okay. You know what?
I think I can make it work with Ray Ray.
I can figure it out. Just please put it out. Put it out!
I'm-a call you Pancake.
♪ Ah, ah ♪
♪ Down in the Mexicali ♪
♪ Bop, doo-wop ♪
♪ There's a crazy little place...
I liked that cat.
Ray Ray's all right.
Kitty's got a good home.
Lila.
Hey, I got your message.
Moved my family to a new hotel immediately.
We're settling in, we're just a little freaked out.
We need to talk. Where can you meet?
The park again?
We need someplace inside
where the people looking for us can't just see us driving by.
A place that's crowded, but quiet enough we can talk.
No loud bars.
I passed a bowling alley on the way here.
Playtime Bowl on 2nd.
Perfect. Head there now. I'll see you soon.
Reacher?
Thank you.
I need to get some info from Lila to confront Cahill with.
He's a powerful guy with D.C. connections.
I can't just show up and try to intimidate him.
Where do you want me to drop you three off?
You're going alone?
What if more mercs are following Lila? You'll need backup.
Didn't need backup at the hotel.
I was with you.
Yeah, out cold in the hall.
Odds are slim they'll find one woman in this city that fast.
Hopefully. Lila stands out.
How so?
She's what the kids today call a smoke show.
That why you want to meet her alone?
I caught her in a lie.
Can't just show up with two cops. She's not gonna open her mouth.
I have to go alone.
Mm-hmm.
Drop us off at the District for my shift.
I'll check in with Docherty, see what he found
while you... probe Lila.
♪ I didn't know just what to expect ♪
- Hmm. - ♪ in Mexico ♪
♪ She threw her arms around my neck ♪
♪ in Mexico ♪
♪ We started dancing all around the floor ♪
♪ in Mexico ♪
♪ and then she did a dance I never saw before ♪
Holy shit.
It's Halley's comet, coming by once every hundred years.
It's 75, dickhead. Where are we on the Merrick case?
Look, fuck you. You were MIA again.
It's becoming a habit. I'm done helping you.
I don't have time for this shit, man. We're working something here.
We? Who? You and the Fuck-It-Up Gang?
The Feds took the case. It's not our hot dog cart any more, Slick.
That dead OnlyFans girl was found in Philadelphia.
That's our jurisdiction. So what do we got?
Or should I not give a shit about homicides
that happen in my own city anymore?
- You're not a homicide detective. - Neither are you.
What are you smiling at, Pee Wee?
Look, whoever hired that girl, that escort or whatever, they covered their tracks.
VPN, offshore accounts. Untraceable.
What about the ME?
It's gonna be a few days on the report.
Did you expedite it?
- Yeah. - And the guy in the library?
The fucking tip line? Was that you?
It doesn't matter who called it in. What do we got on him?
His prints didn't match anything in the girl's room.
- And? - You know what, guys?
There's Tastykakes in the kitchen.
- Cool. I could eat. - I'm not hungry.
Then grab some coffee. I got this.
Ah, now what the hell are you doing?
You already rat-fucked your career, now you want to do it to mine?
Got nothing to do with you.
You know damn well your shit splatters on me.
I got a 40-year vest coming. I ain't gonna let you shit it up.
Big D, we found the Self Check-Out's car.
- Near the subway stop? - No.
Merrick got on at Tasker-Morris. Car was picked up at 6th and Carpenter.
RPC's babysitting it. You want to feed the Feds?
It was your case.
You tell 'em. I don't care.
Copy that.
- It's not our case anymore. - Anna Merrick isn't.
No one said I couldn't look into a stolen car.
Could be a stolen car ring here in Philly.
You've been phoning it in for years.
Now, all of a sudden, you want to be a cop again?
Have you forgotten what happened the last time you couldn't let a case go?
I'm getting Tastykakes.
A pain in my ass.
We got the car.
♪ I don't want to lose ♪
♪ this good thing ♪
♪ that I've got ♪
♪ If I do ♪
♪ I would surely...
Reacher, thank you again for warning us.
It's the last thing I'll do for you if you don't tell me the truth.
You lied about Sampson.
I don't believe he's your father, and neither do you.
Being honest is the least you can do,
considering I confronted a U.S. congressman with your bullshit.
You're right.
I wasn't entirely truthful.
I'm a journalist.
Amisha is not my mother, and these two are hired protection.
Protecting you from what?
I'm here to expose the secrets of the most powerful government on earth.
And the cancer?
Made the bruises myself so I could get to Sampson.
So you could lie to him, too?
Look, I'm truly sorry, okay?
But you could've had information we needed.
And I was scared.
A woman died. Men came after me.
Tell me the real story.
Fries are communal.
Go on.
Amisha and Sampson didn't have an affair, but they are connected in another way.
When Amisha and her husband were still students in Indonesia,
they were concerned with the growing influence of the military
under a man named General Putra.
So, they had rallies.
And soon after that, the whole entire group was illegally incarcerated.
Putra committed atrocities.
Amisha listened as her husband was brutally beaten
and killed in a cell next to hers.
And then she was beaten within an inch of her own life.
Putra and his soldiers were trained by an American Delta Force specialist.
John Sampson.
Yeah, and that's why he was in Indonesia in the first place.
To teach Putra's soldiers advanced military tactics.
The very tactics that were used against the civilians Putra tortured and killed.
What about Nolan Cahill?
He was... he was Sampson's commanding officer in Indonesia. Why?
He was on the train the night Anna died.
He must've been there to stop Anna from delivering the drive to me,
getting the story to me.
America wants to scrub its involvement clean, but the public deserves to know.
After sitting with Amisha,
listening to her story, looking in her eyes, at her face,
seeing what Putra did to her, Anna Merrick agreed to help.
And that's why she was bringing me that drive,
'cause she appreciated what's at stake.
Bet she appreciated stealing government records is a federal crime.
Anna chose to work for the Pentagon 'cause she's a patriot.
And she, like I,
believed a man like Sampson, a man with his morals,
cannot take the White House.
I have to get this story out.
Please.
I need your help.
If it's not for me, for Amisha, her husband and all the people killed.
For Anna.
That drive has the proof connecting Sampson to all of this.
I'll find the drive.
When I see what's on it,
I'll decide what to do with it.
That's all I can ask. Thank you.
Don't thank me yet.
Looks like the Big Red Machine found us.
- How? - You were followed.
Might want to hire some new security.
What are you gonna do?
Make 'em regret walking in here.
Perhaps not.
Guns on the table, or the girl dies.
Now.
Get up. We're taking a walk.
Let's go. Sit down.
You, sit down.
It's time for Midnight Cosmic Bowl!
All strikes get a free pitcher of Rolling Rock,
and we got buy-one-get-one apps!
Get them out of here.
♪ I can't wait till I see you again...
♪ I want to on put on my, my, my, my, my boogie shoes ♪
♪ Just to boogie with you, yeah ♪
♪ I want to put on my, my, my, my, my boogie shoes...
♪ I want to do it till the sun comes up...
Come on.
♪ Oh, yeah ♪
♪ I want to do it till I can't get enough ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, uh-huh...
♪ I want to put on...
♪ I want to put on my, my, my, my my boogie shoes ♪
I told you to get out of here.
The guards took Amisha to the hotel.
I couldn't just leave you behind.
Thank you.
Ah, we got to go.
If I get caught in the system, the CIA will find me.
CIA?
Let 'em through.
- This is it? - Yeah.
Any idea why she'd ditch a perfectly good car, take the subway?
- None. - Whoever took it
knew exactly what they were doing.
Take it to a secluded spot, toss the hell out of it.
Like Anna's house.
CIA again?
Maybe.
Had to know local cops were looking for this car.
Didn't want to get caught with it next to the subway.
Damn. Look at this shit.
Glove box forced open, seats shredded.
Look at this mail.
Credit card offer.
"Act fast, get 5,000 extra points."
If this was street hoods, they would have taken this,
run a little fraud.
This was definitely people looking for something.
- The drive. - Yeah.
Bear Creek pass.
Never cleaned out her trunk from last winter.
So her winter jacket would have been here, too.
And you can't make a guess as to why she would put it on
and get on a hot subway?
No idea.
Well, looks like she just happened to still have this stuff in the back.
So if Anna left the house without a coat,
wearing one wasn't part of her plan.
It became part of the plan
after she got in the car.
None of this is logical.
Yeah.
You okay?
I was supposed to go with her and Ben...
...to Bear Creek...
...but I canceled last minute so I could...
...reinsulate my fucking garage.
I am never gonna get to do anything with them again.
At least my garage is...
warm, right?
Hey.
You know what kind of people put themself through hell after a loved one dies?
Like, shoulda, I-I coulda,
I wish I had?
Good people.
But it doesn't help you...
...and it's not gonna help finding who did all this.
So, you still with me?
Head in the game?
All right.
No GPS.
Phone mount on dash.
Probably used her cell to navigate.
There was no phone found on Anna at the subway station, and nothing on the train.
Well, whoever searched must have taken it.
Move.
It's a work badge.
We found Anna's work badge at her house.
Whole point of those things is security, getting onto federal property.
They don't give out extras.
Anna ever mention a second job or working someplace new?
No. Never.
Shit. Feds. We got to go.
What are you doing? What?
Listen, once you shoved that thing in your pocket,
you tainted chain of custody.
If that badge leads to anything, you'll never get a conviction.
Federal government takes over a suicide. CIA kidnaps us.
The Reds try to kill us.
Fuck the chain of custody.
I want to find out what my sister died over.
♪ Playin with my mind, babe ♪
♪ always accusin' me...
♪ I said, you're playing with my mind ♪
♪ babe ♪
♪ always accusin' me ♪
- ♪ of doin' wrong... - New clothes.
Guy was selling 'em outside the Way-Way across the street.
Wawa.
How's Amisha holding up?
She and the guards are in for the night.
No injuries. They got away clean.
Um, she's scared.
People are trying to hurt her again.
It's bringing back a lot of bad memories.
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Now here come my mother-in-law ♪
I travel light.
♪ It's the same thing every day...
You're hurt pretty bad.
Been better.
Been worse.
Thank you.
For giving me a second chance.
Sorry I lied to you. I didn't want to.
Yes, you did.
That's why you said a specific set of words
in a specific way at a specific time.
To tell a lie.
But I've got a firm policy to forgive liars
who save me from getting brained in an alley.
♪ I can see your lights...
Thank you.
But I still wish I didn't have to be deceptive.
Getting to the truth, getting the story out,
it just required I not tell the truth.
That was the cost.
But is the cost worth it?
We could've been killed back there at that bowling alley or at the hotel.
I don't run away from danger.
You don't seem to, either.
I'm a 250-pound former soldier.
You're a 110-pound reporter, and your security's average at best.
Maybe you should take Amisha and go back home.
Never.
What we're trying to do here, it's bigger than just me and Amisha.
And she agrees.
We came here for information, and the last person
to have that information was in this city.
So, no.
We're not leaving.
Even if you die as a result?
I told you, I'm not a person who runs.
What happened there?
Guess I'm not a person who runs, either.
Is that why you're still here?
You feel bad you couldn't help Anna, don't you?
That poor woman looked you in the eyes,
confused, petrified, broken,
and you couldn't do anything.
But hey,
who do you think's more responsible?
The man who said a few words to Anna on a subway...
...or the reporter who put her there?
I'll get your back.
My mother gave me this bracelet when I was 16.
She was a real journalist.
Died in action in Indonesia.
She's why I'm a reporter.
This bracelet...
...is all I have of her.
Two seeds
in each box,
supposed to be...
me and her...
...always together.
Each box a different stage of our lives.
♪ Accusin' me...
And I tell people it's just a regular charm bracelet.
For some reason...
...it doesn't feel right to lie to you again.
♪ Oh, but I can't see ♪
♪ I can't see nobody home ♪
♪ No, no, no ♪
Can't say I'm comfortable doing this on my laptop.
I don't give a fuck.
Yeah? Well, I do.
Look, man, I may record CIA sites,
use burners, live off the grid, but all that's legal.
Taking your sister's badge from a crime scene?
That's federal evidence tampering.
Then leave.
You don't have to be here.
Okay, yeah. That's easy for you to say.
You want to know why I only write for online publications now?
Hmm? Because, a year ago, I was working a banking scandal that implicated
the Fed and a lot of the powers that be, including my own newspaper,
who I discovered had been sitting on the story for years.
When the watchers essentially work for the watched,
yeah, you don't stand a chance.
They not only fired me, they discredited me, humiliated me,
called me a crackpot,
planted insane conspiracy theory documents on my laptop,
manipulated my expense reports, make it look like that I was stealing.
Made my own father doubt me.
So, yeah...
...I need to be here.
Here. Knew we had one in evidence.
Fraud raided a fake ID ring a few weeks ago. It should work.
Okay.
Ready to go.
Let's see what we got here.
All right.
Anna Merrick.
Work address and access allowance
to Building 28, station J12.
Level Eight clearance?
Thought you said your sister was an HR clerk?
What the hell's she doing with Level Eight clearance?
I-I have no idea.
Well, at least we know where we're going to next.
Tell me that badge isn't from the car.
Forget what you think you see and leave.
Well, I see stolen evidence.
No. You don't.
You're gonna intimidate me?
I'm no fuckin' rat, Green.
I'm no idiot.
This is a federal case.
I'm not you. I'm not content to blow up my career over bullshit.
So if they come to me, if they ask me...
...I'm gonna tell 'em what I've seen.
Go back to your desk, Shaun.
All right, grab your shit. We got to move.
You know you're way too big to make a quiet getaway, right?
Didn't want to wake you.
Don't always sneak out in the middle of the night, but I have a drive ahead of me.
Where to?
Baltimore.
Want to get there first thing in the morning.
Gives me two and a half hours tops.
What's there?
Sampson.
After what you told me, there's more we need to discuss.
Just come back safe, okay?
I don't want anyone else I dragged into this getting hurt.
What the hell was Anna doing here?
Springfield.
Here we go.
Reacher. Congressman Sampson was wondering when he'd see you again.
Follow me.
- You coming? - Last time
you said I was going to meet Sampson, I wound up talking to federal flunkies.
How do I know you're not gonna screw me again?
Get on the elevator and find out.
Oh. Unless you want to be bouncing off the walls, stop at half.
Half it is.
Come in, Springfield.
Shouldn't leave the door open.
You called me from the elevator 20 seconds ago.
Reacher.
Good to see you again.
Would you like breakfast?
I never turn down a meal.
Then sit.
There's a poached egg and a cup of fruit.
I haven't touched it.
Thank you.
I can only assume that you came down here
because you feel there's information you want,
or you have information to share.
Which one is it?
Both.
Then go ahead.
I already told you. We have no secrets between us.
All right.
I want to know about your involvement with General Putra.
He tortured and slaughtered a number of political dissidents in Indonesia.
Mm-hmm. And?
And my source tells me that he was trained by Delta Force, led by you.
And by the way you're squirming,
I'd say you know the general's name, and you were involved
- in his atrocities. - John...
You're awfully calm for a man being accused
of what could be war crimes.
Your source only got part of the story right.
Yes, I was in Indonesia with Delta Force in 1998,
and I met Putra.
I didn't much like him.
Our mission was top secret, and it remains so.
But what I can disclose is that
I have never tortured or killed civilians.
And I've never assisted in torturing or killing civilians.
If you're trying to get a rise out of me, it won't work.
Simply because I'm telling the truth.
Why didn't you tell me all this the first time we met?
Do you typically offer up details of your top secret military operations
- when a stranger asks? - Point taken.
Is there anything you can tell me that you're not?
Nothing.
What about your chief of staff?
- Cahill? - What about him?
The night Anna Merrick killed herself,
there were four witnesses on the train, but only three were interviewed by police.
One ran away. It was Cahill.
Excuse my language, but that's bullshit.
- I saw him. - Cahill wasn't on that train.
- He would've told me. - Would he?
Seems people have a habit of leaving out important details
from the discussion around here.
- Not Nolan Cahill. - Really?
Where is he? We could go ask him together.
Fine.
Let's go.
Nolan.
We need to speak.
Things never stay hidden, do they?
What does that mean?
Watergate, Iran-Contra, Hunter's fucking laptop.
Whatever people try to hide, it always comes out.
Why were you on the subway with Anna Merrick the night she died?
Did you take her jump drive?
You would've made a good president.
I'm sorry, John.
Nolan.
- Nolan. Nolan! - No!
Oh, my God.
This is Springfield. I need a perimeter and paramedic.
♪ With your feet on the air and your head on the ground ♪
♪ try this trick and spin it ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ Your head will collapse if there's nothing in it and you'll ask yourself ♪
♪ Where is my mind? ♪
♪ Where is my mind?
♪ Where is my mind? ♪
♪ Way out in the water ♪
♪ see it swimming ♪
♪ I was swimming in the Caribbean ♪
♪ Animals were hiding behind the rock ♪
♪ except for the little fish ♪
♪ bump into me, swear he's trying to talk to me coy-coy ♪
♪ Where is my mind? ♪
♪ Way out in the water ♪
♪ see it swimming ♪
♪ With your feet on the air and your head on the ground ♪