protestors: [chanting] Housing is a human right! You will be arrested if you do not leave the area.
Housing is a human right! protestors: [chanting] Housing is a human right!
You'd better get back!
I said, back! Hold the line.
Alpha team execute.
Everybody move! Keep together.
Move it!
Move, move, move! Clear the way! Stupid pigs!
Fascists! Maggie! [table clatters]
On me. Let's go!
Light 'em up! Incoming!
Move, move, move, move!
Push down that hallway. Let's go, let's go, let's go!
Let's go! Move, move, move, move, move!
She's right up those stairs.
Undersecretary Willis. We're here to escort you off campus. I can't do that. We got about 30 seconds before this riot catches up-- I won't abandon these students while law enforcement is endangering them. The students took you hostage. No, no, they offered to escort me out. I chose to stay. Okay, ma'am, we don't care if you're the UN Secretary General. It's not safe for you here, so you are gonna come with us, even if I gotta carry you out.
[screaming] Oh, my God. I tried to help, but there's a lot of blood. Where?
Syd. Yeah. Go with her. OA, with me.
OA. What do you got?
All the guys you need. Yeah?
Okay, thanks. [sighs] Okay.
Hey, Sergeant. Carter, right. Yeah. I'm Jubal Valentine, the ASAC over at 26 Fed. And that kid in the blue hoodie, plaid shirt, that is my son, Tyler.
He's not even enrolled here. He's in high school.
Any chance you'd consider releasing him to me?
I guarantee you he'll receive the discipline he deserves. You realize what you're asking me to do.
He's my kid, man. My badge is on the line. Please?
Soto, cut the blue hoodie loose.
Let's go, kid. Get up. Come on.
What just happened?
Go home, Tyler. We'll talk about this later. I didn't ask for your help. Now.
Agent Valentine. Hey, Marcus. Good to see you. I didn't see you in the crowd out there. I'm overseeing NYPD operations. A word. We have a problem. Okay. Commissioner wants your guys to take over the homicide given the undersecretary's involvement. Excuse me. My involvement?
She riled those kids up. For what? The school doesn't wanna house the migrants in the dorms?
They don't like it, drop out. They have every right to express themselves. They have a right to shut the hell up and get to class. I can't speak to this man. And you don't have to. She's all yours. Undersecretary, I have some questions for you.
So talk to me. What do we know?
Student ID found in his wallet confirms his name is Jacob Aquino. He was a senior here at Hudson, a commuter student from Ridgewood. I think he's a protester, right?
He's got the yellow band on. They're tracking his family down now. Where are we with the cause of death?
ME gave us a sneak peek of her prelim. Looks like Aquino died from blunt force trauma to the head prior to the fall. Any idea with what? Undetermined. Nothing's been recovered thus far. All the early signs suggest that Aquino's time of death was less than three hours ago. Three hours. Someone had to see something. All right, so we need to get our hands on campus security footage, see who came in and out of the building on either side of that time of death and, given what just went down out there, we should be prepared to subpoena for it. And we need to start interviewing anyone who set foot inside this building in our timeline. Yeah? Thanks.
This is our victim. Did you have any interaction with him? With all the masks, I couldn't tell you for sure. But you were scheduled to speak in this auditorium at 1:00 p.m., is that correct? Yes. My speech was scheduled two months ago before the university made their controversial housing decision. No one anticipated there would be a protest, not one this big. I entered at noon to set up. Students took over the building shortly after. We're aware. So a few students moved me to a room upstairs. And you weren't forced? No. We thought it would be safer. Well, according to your timeline, you were all in this building at the time of the murder. It was chaos.
All right, so Hudson University's campus riot just claimed the life of 21-year-old honor student Jacob Aquino who was bludgeoned to death practicing his First Amendment right to protest the university's refusal to house migrants in their available dorms, and there is a chorus of people demanding answers, the students and administrators at the front of that line. So what are we thinking?
Well, Hudson's hashtag is full of students blaming the NYPD for Jacob Aquino's murder. Dozens of claims of excessive force and demands for accountability. Right. Well, sure. We know the NYPD doesn't have a ton of love for these protesters, but we really think some agro cop beat Jacob to death?
That is-- That is a bomb we're not willing to toss until we have evidence to back it up. And no one approach the NYPD until I've spoken with the commissioner. I would also like not to declare war on the NYPD. War will not be declared on this day. Uh, ME just sent over the report. Aquino was murdered an hour before NYPD breached Turley Hall. So there were no officers in that building. Wonderful, though, ruling out the NYPD, while saving us a massive headache and a PR nightmare, does send us careening back to square one. Well, what about counter-protesters, angry because immigrants were being housed at the college?
Jacob self-identifies as a Filipino immigrant. Sure, it's possible one or more counter-protesters infiltrated the campus before the riot popped off. What we need to do is put together a timeline of Jacob's day. We got the campus security footage, student live streams, police body cams. Facial rec will sort all the footage, videos' metadata will tell us where and when they were taken. Cross-referencing both, and you have your timeline. Wow. Gotta love technology, huh?
Okay. Nothing. Okay, look at this one. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This guy. Looks like a counter-protester. Can we get an ID?
Looks too old to be a student, yeah?
Right, well, a lot of the counter-protesters were just people from the neighborhood that didn't want migrants housed in their backyard. Okay, Frank Dorman, 36, Iraq War vet, accused of killing two noncombatants in Baghdad, though the allegations were never substantiated. He was discharged from the army. Based on his socials, he's passionate about securing the nation's borders. Okay, so Dorman wouldn't take kindly to an immigrant student leading the charge to bring more immigrants into his neighborhood. So what, they fight?
Then Dorman finds his way into the building and finishes the job? Let's bring him in. Let's see if we can get a location, yeah?
Cell towers ping him to the university. Looks like he never left. The encampment's been cleared. There's nothing left to counter-protest. There's no reason he should be on that campus. Unless he's planning something else.
Frank Dorman, FBI. We have a couple of questions for you. [spikes rattle]
Don't you have better things to do? Turn off the vehicle and step out with your hands where I can see them. You coming at me all wrong. Drop it right now and step out with your hands up. Let's go. Or what?
You gonna shoot a vet?
That's up to you. Let's go. Out of the vehicle.
Drop it now.
Hands.
Come on.
Victim was bludgeoned. Could be the murder weapon.
It's hard to tell.
Whoa. That's quite the collection.
Snowflakes, activists. I don't even know what they want. They want migrants to be housed humanely. You know what I was doing when I was their age? Eating RPG fire in Fallujah. This isn't Iraq, Mr. Dorman. And yet you were armed for a fight.
The blood on the knife is from a white-tailed deer, in case you were curious. Hunting license and permits are in the glove, which I'm sure you already found. How about this kid? You got a permit for what you did to him?
That kid? He's some entitled brat. That is scholarship student Jacob Aquino. And he's dead.
You don't seem surprised. What, do you think I killed him? You tell us. Looks like you two got into it. Yeah, we had some words. He called me names. I threatened to teach him some manners, respect people who sacrificed to defend the freedoms he enjoys. And then I returned to my car, where I remained. Check my dash cam. Well, we commend you on your service to your country, Mr. Dorman, and appreciate your cooperation today. Your hunting license and permits are in order. Firearms, however, are not permitted on campus. You brought four of them. Get comfortable. You're gonna be there a while.
You buying this?
I mean, I know he believes it. Everyone at the protest thinks their side is right. It's Moran. We just found Aquino's mother. He was my only child. We moved here from Manila when he was just a boy. It was difficult, but I wanted him to have a good education. When he got into Hudson, he was so excited. It sounds like you raised him right. I was worried that he would get distracted when he joined that fraternity. I know the trouble those boys get up to. But then he resigned.
When did he resign?
Just a few days ago. Did he tell you why?
He didn't want to talk about it. [sobbing] My boy.
Why would Jacob resign from a fraternity in the middle of the semester? Smells like drama to me. Well, Jacob was pre-med, a focus on novel protein analysis. His lab partner got kicked out of school last week-- cocaine possession. Vivek Patel, a junior molecular biology. NYPD is sending over the full report now. Campus security must have interviewed Jacob in connection with it. They did. Nothing. Jacob was clean, or at least appeared as such. Got something. Yeah. Jacob's mom helped unlock his phone. 31 texts from a Freddy Albrecht, President of Pi Sigma Nu. That's Jacob's frat. Former frat. Correct. Okay. Jacob ignored the texts, but they get pretty angry. "You're starting to piss me off." Expletive, expletive. "You forgot how much I helped you." Expletive. Frat drama turns deadly? I don't know. Then there's this-- dash cam footage off our suspect Frank Dorman's truck.
Yeah. Wait, is that-- Jacob.
Arguing with none other than frat president Freddy Albrecht. Looks like it's back to school for us.
Hey.
FBI. I'm Agent Zidan. This is Agent Bell. What's your name?
Alistair. Okay. We have some questions to ask you about Jacob Aquino. Yeah, that was crazy, man. We're still shook. Were you and Jacob close?
Yeah, we're all close with Jacob. Yeah, we're all like boys. That's, like, what Pi Sigma's about. We're gonna hold a vigil for him tonight, even though he's not a member anymore. And why did he leave?
I don't know. He didn't say. Is Freddy Albrecht inside?
Freddy? No. Nah, Freddy-- Freddy took it hard. After what happened, he split. Freddy always looked after Jacob, though. They were--they were tight. They were really tight. Really?
Because we have footage of them arguing on campus. I don't know anything about that, man. You gotta ask Freddy. Do you know where he is?
His parents' apartment. It's a sick place.
FBI. Is Freddy here?
[Red Means Run's "I Came to Move Mountains"] Spread out. ♪ No more backing down ♪
Hey. Sorry, is the music too loud?
My bad. [music stops] Special Agent Bell. This is Special Agent Zidan. We have a warrant to search your property, and we have a few questions for you, Freddy. Right. You're here about Jacob. You don't seem that surprised. You two were beefing, correct? Not really. Just a little disagreement. Oh, really?
Well, you sent him 31 angry texts. Then he dies, and you left campus. You see how that looks, Freddy?
I couldn't stay on campus. I didn't wanna hear anyone else's voice. My parents are in Mallorca. Got this place to myself for a few days. Mm. That's nice. What were you guys talking about?
Oh, I needed to get the letterman back after he left Sigma Pi. It's fraternity policy. Sounds stupid. What's up?
That's just laundry back there. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Frat machine broke last week. Foam party got out of control. Yeah, so you decided to put on a load of whites?
Is that part of your grieving process too?
You know, when we first got in here, you shut this door. It makes me think there's something in here you don't want me to find. Wait, don't-- Not the whites I was talking about.
Put your hands behind your back, Freddy.
You're really gonna take all my stuff?
Is that, like, standard procedure?
Don't worry. We'll keep them safe. But you might wanna wake your parents up in Mallorca. You're under arrest, Freddy.
Phew, you are a busy student. That duffel was stacked with 3 kilos of cocaine, 75k in street value. Federal drug trafficking charge with that weight. You are looking at ten years, and that is before Jacob's murder. I didn't kill Jacob. Okay, well, we have video and texts showing you two at war with each other. Have you ever seen a jury trial, Freddy, in real life?
Jurors, real people, working people, they look at you, a rich kid messing around with drugs. They didn't go to prep school, but they are street smart. I don't see them buying your little story about wanting a letterman jacket back. No, whoever killed Jacob, it was one of my suppliers. They've threatened me before. Who's your supplier?
If I talk to you, they're gonna find out. Whoever they are, we can protect you from them. Not from these guys, you can't. They're psychos. Why would they wanna kill Jacob, huh?
Because... [sighs] Jacob worked for me. He sold on campus. For a while, everything was chill until that kid got thrown out of school, Jacob's lab partner. We know all about him, Vivek Patel. He didn't give up any names. It doesn't matter. These guys are paranoid. If Jacob's lab partner got caught, they'd figured he'd be next, and then he'd squeal. Okay. Do you think he'd do that?
Hell, no. But... then Jacob wanted to resign from Pi Sigma. He wanted out, but, you know, my texts. It's not that simple. I was trying to warn him. Again, who's your supplier?
Freddy, you called Jacob a friend. Well, now is your last chance to be a good friend. Help us find his killers.
Our fraternity friend has named his coke suppliers as Mario and Cesar Becerra. So what do we have on them?
They're persons of interest in over a dozen homicide cases with links to the Jalisco cartel. NYPD suspects them of supplying colleges across the five boroughs. Just not a lot of evidence at this point. So if they did this murder and we want it to stick, we need more than Freddy's theory, something like, oh, I don't know, a confession. Think Freddy will wear a wire?
Mario and Cesar Becerra, they're under investigation by an active NYPD narco task force. Okay. Building the case for a year, they may not want the FBI complicating things. Who's running it?
[laughing] Not a damn chance, Valentine. Wheels are in motion. I can't hit pause on a long-term investigation because you happen to overlap on one case. So we'll add our resources and speed your case up. Right, so the FBI gets all the credit on my guys' hard work? Thanks, but no thanks. We're not trying to step on anyone's toes here, Marcus. We're just following a homicide case where it leads. And we're trying to close a dozen homicides this crew did in service of their narco conspiracy. If we move in prematurely, we won't be able to make the other cases stick. I understand that, I do, but, look, I can't abandon our case because you got yours. I think we should join forces here. Or you can sit this one out, but we're gonna have to move forward.
I get it. You guys have your priorities. Well, exactly. Thank you. Just like you with your kid.
Sorry. What do you mean? What do you mean?
I would have done the same thing, too, try to get him off without an arrest. Unfortunately, I can't stop NYPD from investigating the trespassers at the protest.
We have our priorities too.
Hey. Hey. I didn't realize we were firing up a joint task force. Oh, yeah, Just looking to coordinate with NYPD is all. All right, I'll call the commissioner and make sure everybody plays nice. No, no, Isobel, you don't have to do that. I got it. Thanks, though.
[breathing heavily] I don't think I can do this. You're the only one who can. Okay?
The second that Mario admits that he killed Jacob, you pull right out of there. He doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm just, you know, what I am. Your fear is your advantage. Right now, in this moment, all you have to be is someone in over his head, desperate to get back in his good graces. That's why you're going to him, to let him know that you can keep quiet, unlike Jacob. It shouldn't be too hard to play. Can I get my stuff back? My wallet, they card me all the time at this place.
There you go. All right. We'll have a team on the inside. We'll all be able to hear everything going on. If you feel like things are starting to go south, you just say the word, we'll move in, okay?
Suspect approaching. Ghost me all day, then all of a sudden you wanna meet in person?
I'm not your bitch, Freddy. Don't jerk me around. What? You mute now?
No. I'm sorry. I'm freaking out. What happened to Jacob, it's drawn too much attention. Who the hell is Jacob? Why should I care?
You know who he is, man. He was one of my guys, and now he's gone. Cops are sniffing around, so, like, we need to figure out our story. What story? Are you gonna talk?
No, I'm not. But Jacob wasn't going to either. You didn't have to, you know. Yo, I didn't touch your boy. Maybe it was one of your other guys. What's his name again? Alistair. But he didn't do it. No way. He didn't mention Alistair before. Must have been protecting him. Well, maybe it was your brother, Cesar. Honestly, I don't care who popped the kid, but I can see you got a lot on your plate right now, so this partnership has run its course. I'm gonna need my supply back now. All of it. Uh... You tell him it's too dangerous to move right now. It's too risky. Cops are all over campus. I promise it's safe at the frat house. You know, that's funny, 'cause when you ghosted me, I sent Cesar down to your clubhouse. They tossed that place inside out. And guess what? No product. [grunting] What are you-- [bowling ball clatters] [gasping]
I don't like liars, Freddy. Mario, it's fine. If I'm gone, you won't find your supply. You should be thanking me, man. There are cops everywhere. You're lucky I moved it.
I can get you your product. I just needed to wait until there were less eyes on me. Now that we're clear, let's get you your refund. Mario, please.
You have till tomorrow.
It shouldn't be a problem. Good. Because just in case, took out an insurance policy.
I get my product, you get your friend Alistair back. Then we're done. Like done-done.
Okay, you heard it from the man himself. We now have a kidnapping on our hands. The Becerra brothers are holding Alistair Donnelly captive. The question is where. They said they took him from the frat. Does it have any security cameras?
None that are working. NYPD has still got a minimal presence on campus, but no calls or reports have come in either. I've been monitoring social media geotags around the campus. One post stood out, a TikTok from a dorm near the frat house. - Okay, guys... It looks like it was interrupted by whatever was happening outside their dorm room. Like, oh, my God. Yeah, yeah, yeah, what do you wanna bet Alistair Donnelly's in that trunk. I can't confirm, but I'm with you. That's probably him.
Oh, my God. Can we get a plate? It's a little blurry. All right, let's put a BOLO out on that Challenger, see if we can pick up a thread. Meantime, I'll get with NYPD. Get a list of strongholds these guys use.
They're gonna kill Alistair, just like they killed Jacob. We are not gonna let that happen. The Becerras are gonna go down for Jacob's murder, but we need to get your friend out of there safely first. We're setting up a bag for you to take to Mario. The plan is, you make that delivery so we can get Alistair back. I don't think that's gonna work. I think-- I think it's too late. What do you mean?
Mario said he was holding him as collateral. Yeah, Mario said that, but now Cesar's involved. If Mario is the brains, then Cesar is the fist beating your face in. He makes people bleed for fun. At the bowling alley, you said that you think Cesar is responsible for Jacob's death. He's insane. You tell me he caved in the side of Jacob's head, I'd believe you, and if he grabbed Alistair, I don't know, man, I'm scared. Please, you gotta find Alistair before they pop him. Where could Cesar be holding Alistair?
I don't know. How would I know?
Where did you pick up the product?
Never the same place twice.
But, actually, first time we met, Mario drove me around the Bronx for an hour till we got to some body shop. They do custom mods. They installed the trap in my truck. Caesar was in there waiting for us in, like, an office. Maybe it's their headquarters. What's the name of that body shop?
Hey, Marcus. Thank you for coming in. So, listen, we got new intelligence that your investigation didn't reveal. Mazel tov. The location of a body shop the Becerras operate. Paradiso Motors, we know it. It's one of their legitimate businesses. I think it appears that way. But our intel says they use the garage to fit cars with traps to conceal, well, whatever needs concealing. You got eyes inside? We do not. But we would very much like to get some. That's why I called. Yeah, so first you set up surveillance on my target, and now you wanna expose our investigation without knowing who or what's inside, including your victim. No. No. We will not move in unless we confirm that they're holding the kid in there. We found the location, but the bust is yours. It's all mine as far as I'm concerned. Come on, Marcus. I'm suggesting that we move together. Anything you find as far as it pertains to your case, the evidence, the--the credit, it's all NYPD.
We can't let this slip through the cracks, Valentine. That means whatever this body shop is, it's gotta be more than that. Understood.
No, thank you, Commissioner. Obviously, I had no idea, and I would never let something like this slide.
Absolutely. Our privilege does not extend to favors such as this.
But I would appreciate it if you would keep this just between us and trust that I will handle this.
Thank you.
There's the blue Challenger.
Delta's at building.
Okay, we'll cover the front. We'll wait for your signal. Copy. All right. Hey. If we do move on this, it is my call. Yeah, yeah, I'm good with that. We're about to get eyes on the inside, see what we're dealing with. How are we doing?
Good. Almost there.
We're in. Yeah.
Two guards at the entrance.
There's another one. I think three. Another three loading up a car, 20 feet from the entrance. No sign of Alistair Donnelly. You see any door that might lead to the basement?
Okay, there we go. We got a door on the west wall.
Two coming through that door, both armed. That's Mario Becerra. With that many guards, I'd say they're hiding something. Most likely it's our kid.
We gotta breach right now. Wait, wait, wait.
Yo, what the hell is this?
We're compromised.
Execute. Execute.
[gunfire] [engine rumbles]
Mario is in custody. Front of building clear.
Grubb, on me. Give me backup. Tango is down. OA, cover us.
Shots fired! Tango down.
FBI. [moaning]
Come any closer and he's dead.
Oh, so you like to gamble. It's over, Cesar. Put down the gun. Nah. Take your finger off the trigger. Point the gun away. Lower it to the ground slowly. Put it down. You got it. No problem. Now!
This is Agent Zidan. We have Alistair. Send an ambulance to our location ASAP. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Thank you. OA. What?
This might be the same weapon that killed Jacob.
Good work, guys. How you doing, kid? Check that out.
Lieutenant.
Valentine.
At least we can get Mario to testify.
Hey. Yeah. ME's report came back negative for the tire iron. That's not what killed Jacob. Great. So after everything, we still don't have a murder weapon. ME said that Cesar would need something with a curved base to inflict that kind of damage.
Wait a minute. The students were using bike locks to barricade doors all over campus. Let me see. Yeah, right there. Throw it up. Check it out. Heavy U-locks. Okay, if Cesar did use that to kill him, we didn't find one in his body shop. He could have stashed it somewhere else. Get a search party to the campus.
How is he? Is he okay?
Alistair's gonna be fine. He'll be in the hospital a couple weeks, physical therapy for a couple of months, but he's expected to make a full recovery. [sighs] Thank you. You know, this is all my fault. If I--if I just told you about Alistair from the beginning-- You screwed up, Freddy.
When you tried to lay the blame on Cesar, you said you wouldn't be surprised if he was the one that caved in Jacob's skull. We didn't give you that detail.
You played us.
The murder weapon, which we found in the dumpster at your frat house. You were so nervous when we took your keys off of you because you knew that it would unlock that. We talked to Mario. No one in his crew has ever heard of Jacob because Jacob is not in your drug ring. What we think happened is that Jacob found out what you've been doing, decides to leave the frat. You confront him at the protest. An argument turns into a fight, where you lose control, because even though Jacob was your friend, you couldn't trust him to keep his mouth shut. His word wasn't good enough for you, was it?
And you've been trying to lie and manipulate your way out of this murder, which I understand that part. What I can't comprehend is why you killed Jacob. He was really your friend. But you beat him to death with a bike lock.
I just need you to sign at the bottom acknowledging you're being referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility for abusing your authority in the release of a favored civilian without following procedure.
Is this really necessary?
Jubal, you violated bureau policy. I talked to Marcus myself an hour ago. They're not pressing charges against Tyler. When were you gonna tell me about Tyler?
I only found out when I spoke to the commissioner, and I promised him the consequences would bear down on any person who abused their authority. Okay, look, I-- I cut a corner. I get that, and maybe I should have come to you, but, Isobel, if you send this to OPR, they're gonna bench me.
Is this really necessary?
This is me protecting you. So either you sign this form and take time off without pay, or you refuse to sign it, and you have unlimited time off without pay.
All right.
Hey. You, uh, doing homework?
No. No? Looks like you're doing homework. Well, it's an essay. It's a third of my grade, so.
Right. Well, we gotta talk about it. What's there to talk about?
I didn't ask for your help. Well, I--I gave it anyway. And I didn't do it to prove some point. I mean, you said you might wanna join the FBI someday, right?
Well, guess what--they're a pretty selective organization. You wind up with a record, that follows you around for the rest of your life. [scoffs] You're so proud of yourself. Actually, I'm not, Tyler. Because I broke the rules doing what I did for you. And you know what? They suspended me for it.
And look, I'm not telling you this so you feel bad or so you--so you'll say thanks or something. It's kinda my job to help you get through these years without doing any permanent damage, so... however you feel about it, I'd do it again.
My friends are in trouble and I'm not. And that sucks. It's not fair.
I don't wanna be special. [breathes deeply] Yeah, well, guess what?
You are.
I gotta finish this.
Yeah.
[wolf howls] ic]