Original subtitles

FRAN: What exactly did you see out there?

I told you, he was huge and wearing black leather and...

had some kind of weapon.

- I think he wanted to hurt me. - (scoffs)

This time of night in Central Park,

almost everyone wants to hurt you.

You said there's a group of people in this city

under attack by the government. Start there.

I worked at a lab assistant.

I'd sanitize equipment.

Prep samples.

I'd write reports.

That's how I got access to the files.

You ever heard of Operation Paperclip?

- No. - It was a postwar program

where the U. S. used Nazi scientist

against the Russians during the Red Scare.

- (echoing coughs) - They'd crossbreed contagions,

test them on patients.

Mix animal diseases with human ones.

They were looking for something that could be used as a weapon.

They hit on something good,

but it was too big to be airborne,

so they engineered it to thrive in mucous membranes.

- (heavy breathing) - (distant coughing)

And all of this happened on U. S. soil?

Nearby soil. Plum Island.

Even if that's true,

it was in the '50s right after the war.

What does it have to do with now?

The Cold War is heating up.

A year ago, they started bringing out

some of the golden oldies and testing them again.

Testing? You mean on humans?

- (coughing) - FRAN: Drug addicts, prisoners, homeless people.

They get them to volunteer for money.

They were experimenting with ticks

as a delivery mechanism

to spread the diseases.

They think some of the ticks got loose

and spread the disease outside the island.

You know what I'm talking about, don't you?

Patients have been showing up with conditions

that should be rare, but...

now they're all over the place.

Some of them have weird skin rashes,

diarrhea, like from a parasite.

- They created it, all of it. - Honestly,

conspiracy theories are dangerous.

They absolutely hurt more than they help.

Medical misinformation, which doctors like me

call the fear of science,

actually causes more infections, a higher ratio of disease...

The people that created this were evil.

I think they made the disease as painful as possible,

and they specifically targeted the people they detest.

Why are you telling all this to me?

I read the article in The Native

about the infected deer on Fire Island

and how they were slaughtered.

And I suggest you look more closely

at some of the symptoms your patients have

and go to the press.

With what?

I don't have any proof of anything,

and proof is everything.

And a study could take years.

Figure it out, and fast.

My life is on the line.

The people behind this know that I know.

Remember Karen fucking Silkwood?

She's in a Texas cemetery now.

(gasps)

(groans)

♪♪ ♪♪

(door creaks)

(groans)

(door closes)

♪♪ ♪♪

I just want to get out of here.

Please. Just let me go.

(elevator bell dings)

Help!

Help!

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

PATRICK: No matches on any of the fingerprints.

None of them were in the database.

MARZARA: Missing persons?

Yeah, we're running missing persons right now.

So far, no one seems to link up.

Goddamn it, when are we gonna get some luck on this damn case?

Well, we may have some now, Chief.

I just need to get back to it.

This guy's got a hell of a story.

Might be relevant.

All right, keep me up to speed.

Sure.

You were telling me what this guy made you do.

He kept me in a fucking cage.

- He made me perform acts... - What kind of acts?

- The kind I don't want people to know about. - Right.

Can you just tell me how you ended up at this guy's place?

Did he drag you off the street? Knock you on the head?

I answered a pay phone.

Outside a leather bar.

- Which bar? - The Ditch.

The guy was funny, made me laugh.

- PATRICK: Mm-hmm. - STEWART: He told me where he lived.

So I decided, what the hell?

Wait, you agreed to meet this guy over a phone call?

I guarantee you, it's not the weirdest pickup

that's happened in this city.

Okay, can you just...

describe the guy who held you and where this took place?

(Blondie's "Rapture" playing)

♪♪ ♪♪

(music continues muffled)

(lively chatter)

(loud knocking)

(lively chatter, laughter)

("Rapture" continues through speakers)

♪♪ Toe to toe ♪♪

- ♪♪ Dancing very close ♪♪ - We're looking for Sam.

♪♪ Barely breathing ♪♪

- ♪♪ Almost comatose ♪♪ - We're looking for Sam!

♪♪ Wall to wall ♪♪

- ♪♪ People hypnotized ♪♪ - That would be me.

- ♪♪ And they're stepping... ♪♪ - If the music's too loud,

we can turn it down.

It's not about the music.

I'm gonna need you to ask your guests to leave.

♪♪ Night in rapture. ♪♪

- (music fades) - So, you're admitting to me he was held in here.

He was in here, but he was not held.

- Do you see a lock? - Could've been one before.

There wasn't.

It was consensual.

It was a game.

He was into it. (scoffs)

I've never seen anyone more into it.

Could he have actually been frightened,

- and you misinterpreted? - SAM: No, not a chance.

He's not the first gentleman I've entertained down here.

And it won't be the last. I could offer you a session.

Don't be a smart-ass.

These are very serious accusations.

Then why aren't you locking me up?

You're not arresting me

because he won't press charges.

He won't press charges because there's nothing

that happened down here that both parties didn't want...

and enjoy.

So you see, you've ruined my evening

for no reason at all.

There were two very talented young photographers

who had their first gallery exhibition...

Something happened down here, and you are right,

he's not gonna press charges.

But not because nothing happened here,

because he is worried about his reputation.

(Sam scoffs)

(cage door closes)

That's something you're familiar with, isn't it?

I'm happy to play this act

in front of your little buddy over there.

I know what you're into.

And I know what you know about pain.

♪♪ ♪♪

(whispers): Don't fuck with me...

Detective.

We're done here.

(Sam sniffling)

GINO: So he just denied everything and you believed it?

-(brushing teeth) -PATRICK: Yeah. He said it was consensual.

And the kid doesn't want to press charges.

That's a relief.

- (taps toothbrush) - No paperwork for you.

Gino, the dungeon room does not match the room you were in.

Sam is not the guy.

- (toothbrush clatters) - Come here for a second.

I worked with an artist down at the paper

to come up with a sketch

based on what I could remember.

This could be something to go on.

(sighs)

I don't think it's enough to go on.

I don't think you were in your right state of mind

to remember anything about this guy's face.

Why are you shutting me down?

You're a cop. Protect and fucking serve.

All right, what do you want me to do?

Stop creating obstacles. Stop lying to me.

Oh, c-can you just not?!

Oh, you... Your ex-wife came to me

with a box full of your secret gear.

- Can I just not what? - Okay,

Gino, yeah. I like to go to leather bars.

Okay? I used to go to leather bars!

Are you happy now?

But you felt you had to lie to me.

(whispers): I had to lie to everybody about it.

Why?

I don't know.

There's nothing to be ashamed of.

Yeah. True.

But it's hotter when it feels like there is.

GINO (chuckling): Oh, God.

By that logic,

murder should be a fucking blast.

Well, for somebody in this city, it is,

and they have to be stopped.

Look, Gino, I thought I was onto something

with this Stewart guy and the pay phone,

- but that... - I've spoken to a handful of people

who have all mentioned the pay phone.

Maybe that's the way that we catch this guy.

Great, but I am not a private detective,

and I have to answer to people.

Can you imagine everybody down at the precinct

laughing at me when I say

that I want to stake out a sex phone?

But-but isn't that what you want to do?

Even if it's...

wrong?

Even if it's... bad?

Even if you know you shouldn't?

Gino.

Doesn't it make you...

a little hard?

Sneaking off to a leather bar like that

without asking for permission?

You're not afraid of a little punishment, are you?

(indistinct chatter)

Got another cig?

My last one.

- (horn honks in distance) - Buy you a drink?

I'm waiting for someone.

- (siren wails in distance) - (woman shouting indistinctly)

(phone rings)

Hello?

WOMAN: ¿Puedo hablar con Isabelita?

Yeah, you have the wrong number.

♪♪ ♪♪

- (phone rings) - Hello?

MAN 1 (over phone): Why don't you tell me what you like to do?

- (siren blaring in distance) - Why don't you tell me what you're into?

(phone rings)

Hey, buddy, this is for me, okay?

Do you like that idea?

- (phone rings) - Hello?

MAN 2: I'm into fucking

with faggots over the phone.

(siren wailing in distance)

(phone ringing)

♪♪ ♪♪

Hello?

CALLER: You must be tired

standing there all this time.

Aren't your feet sore?

It's not been that long.

Hours, by my count.

PATRICK: So you're watching me, huh?

For a little while.

Wow. Now you have my attention.

Where do we go from here?

I guess that depends on

how far you're willing to go from here.

I will go wherever you want me to go.

I'm not talking about location.

I'm talking about intention.

So am I.

CALLER (over phone): I'm going to give you an address.

Make it there in 20 minutes, and we'll see what you've got.

PATRICK: I don't know what you look like.

CALLER: That's part of the fun.

You'll have to find me.

CAMERON: Louis' problem.

It was called... I kid you not...

A fistula.

HANS: That's not an ailment.

That's something you pay big bucks for.

CAMERON: But fear not,

a courageous surgeon agreed to operate,

after experimenting on 75 volunteers

- from the local jail. - Hey.

What do you got back there?

CAMERON: They gave up their lives...

(Hans vocalizes)

What do you need?

Maybe you could use a little toke.

CAMERON: the surgeon came up with a medical implement

- to cure Louis' fistula. - (whimpering)

(holds high note)

(meows)

What's your name, anyhow?

I'm waiting for someone.

That's too bad.

And I would tuck that gun

more deeply into your waistband, friendo.

Not everybody in here is as nice to cops as I am.

(nearby applause)

(Hans yelps)

♪♪ ♪♪

(exhales slowly)

- All right. - (sets drink down)

(lively chatter)

(purrs, meows)

♪♪ ♪♪

(chains rattling)

PATRICK: I think you're expecting me.

MAN: I give off that vibe.

Weren't you the one I spoke to on the phone?

Hmm?

Well, I speak to a lot of people on the phone.

I am happy that you were one of them.

- Oh, yeah? - Mm-hmm.

Why don't you answer the question?

Don't you remember who you talk to on the phone?

I think we're compatible.

- Get your palms on the wall. - Yeah.

- Huh? - Yeah, uh-huh. (groans)

You always start off this way?

(breaking heavily)

Yeah, you always walk around with one of these?

- Hmm? Huh? - What?

What's this? No one wants that.

Huh?

You never can be too careful these days, right?

Fuck.

♪♪ ♪♪

All right.

(breathing heavily)

Oh, God. Yeah.

(chuckles)

- (breathing heavily) - (grunts) Fuck.

Oh, yeah.

- (sighs) - (chuckles)

(grunts)

(man cries out, pants)

(chuckles)

(grunting)

(screaming)

♪♪ ♪♪

(sighs)

Fucking cats.

(bottles rattle)

Hello?

WOMAN: Something is coming for you.

What did you say?

(tracks rattling)

ADAM: You have any idea why he didn't kill you?

He's a vet.

He stopped when he saw my tattoo

and thanked me for my service.

(phone ringing)

Look.

That's him.

Best as I can remember him.

Definitely not Big Daddy.

Two killers?

That we know of.

You think you can take some around?

I have a date at The Ascension Bar.

I can do that.

All right, well, just be careful.

If you're walking around asking about the Mai Tai Killer,

you could be next.

Who's the guy?

Theo Graves.

The photographer.

Please, just watch yourself.

His lover is, uh, is very powerful.

And, uh...

I've been hearing some dark shit about him.

(scrubbing on floor)

It's not the first time I've scrubbed blood

off of this floor.

Just not usually this much.

What do your New Jersey benefactors

think about all this mess?

They like it when no one north of 14th

is talking about it.

Well... they are now.

Look, this place is gonna be packed again tonight.

There's no cowards when it comes to getting laid.

Have you seen him before?

This man kidnapped me. I think he's the killer.

Yeah. He was here the other night, I'm sure.

You can just feel the dark energy when he's around.

I thought it was 'cause maybe he was in Vietnam.

- Those guys are all fucked-up. - No, that's him.

He needs to be captured. I'm tired of waiting for help.

- (scrubbing) - Please.

Just let me put some of these flyers up here.

This sketch needs to be seen on the evening news.

It needs to be on the cover of The Post like Son of Sam.

Okay.

Just... careful with the tape.

Can't have you tear the paint off my wall.

(muffled music playing)

Can I help you?

I'm, uh, I'm just here for a drink.

Perhaps you're unfamiliar with The Ascension Bar.

We are a "members only" club.

To become a member, you must be out,

you must be employed, and you must never bore me.

Well, I'm out and I have a job.

Can't guarantee that last part, though.

My friend, who I'm meeting, can. He's a... he's a member.

What's his name, sweetheart?

- Theo Graves. - Oh!

Why didn't you say so?

Come on in. I'll get you a seat.

- (lively chatter, laughter) - My name's Dunaway.

♪♪ ♪♪

Uh, I was wondering,

have you seen this man in the club?

He looks like every other white boy to me.

- What did he do? - We think he's the Mai Tai Killer.

- I read about that in The Native. - I work there.

- Uh, do you mind if I posted some of these really quick? - No fucking way.

You'll have this place look like it's a bus station.

I'd rather die than surrender my style.

What about a big guy into leather?

Goes by the name Big Daddy?

- Have you seen him? - No.

But if you do... (chuckles) give him my address.

Oh, hello.

Hey, doll.

Your little friend is in there.

I'll take you to him.

- (music playing softly) - Thank you.

- Hi. - Hi.

Two domestic beers, please.

Tonight we're drinking beer.

Why?

Because I want to feel what it feels like

to be the typical American man.

I would like to...

experience the liberation of banality.

Is that what you think of me?

(chuckles)

- Why did you invite me here? - Whoa.

Don't you think the Budweiser's enough banality for the evening?

(sighs) You have this boyfriend.

You hook up at parties and in the bars.

I mean, none of that's my scene, you know?

I don't want to get my hopes up for someone...

THEO: Thanks.

You trying to ask me to go steady?

(chuckles)

Have you seen this man?

(Henry sighs)

"Have you seen this man?"

"If so, pl..." Is that your number?

Yes. I know who this is.

He slithered in here last night.

Didn't get lucky, though.

And you didn't call the police?

Hello, 911.

This is The Brownstone.

There's a man trying to pick up another man.

Call Kojak and the Mod Squad.

I moved here when I was 13...

I was a runaway from Wyoming...

And between the hitchhiking and the Trailways,

men tried to murder me three times.

Another one tried an hour after I crossed the GW into Manhattan.

And over the years, I have lost friends and...

acquaintances and lovers

to men with knives and guns and fists

and broken bottles.

And if I had tried to find out what happened to all of them,

I wouldn't be here now. Would I?

I hate to ruin your night, but here's what happened to me.

The last time I was here,

I was drugged by a drink that you bought me,

kidnaped, tortured and I barely got out alive.

Mm.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

I didn't drug you.

This has nothing to do with me.

- Keep telling yourself that. - (flyers rustle)

It won't protect you or anyone else.

(Joy Division's "Shadowplay" playing)

(door opens)

♪♪ ♪♪

(rummaging)

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ To the center of the city ♪♪

♪♪ Where all roads meet, waiting for you ♪♪

♪♪ To the depths of the ocean ♪♪

♪♪ Where all hopes sank, searching for you ♪♪

♪♪ I was moving through the silence without motion ♪♪

♪♪ Waiting for you ♪♪

♪♪ In a room with a window in the corner... ♪♪

No. I'm sure I've never seen his face before.

Has your boyfriend seen him, maybe?

Maybe. I don't know. Why?

I don't know, I hear he's into some dark stuff.

Maybe they travel in similar circles.

Sam's never killed anyone.

Did you know he likes to tie men up and torture them?

- Who brought Big Daddy to you to photograph? - Sam did,

but Big Daddy's dead.

- Uh, no, he's not. - Yes, Adam, he is.

ADAM: Because Sam told you so?

Can you honestly trust him, Theo?

♪♪ In the shadow play... ♪♪

When Sam and I first met,

he wasn't like he is now.

When you get away with everything for so long,

you start to lose the difference between right and wrong.

Big Daddy is alive.

I've seen him. He's out there.

And Sam knows something about it.

Then I'm gonna find him.

If he is alive.

Uh, we didn't order those.

SERVER: Complements of the man at the bar.

- (door rattling) - DUNAWAY: It's locked.

We're locked in! Help! Help!

♪♪ ♪♪

- Why would someone do that? - He's gone.

Well, he has to still be in here.

The door's locked from the outside.

What?

- (gasps) - (glass breaks)

(man screams)

♪♪ ♪♪

(screaming)

(screaming)

So, you want my permission to secretly draw samples

- from patients at this facility? - Only specific patients.

Gay men who present with the symptoms I described.

Ms. Wells, there is a strict procedure

before any of this can be authorized.

There's the IRB,

the-the consort statement for randomized trials,

a full departmental review.

All of which could take months or more.

Well, this is not the Tuskegee Institute.

We-we-we don't experiment on patients in secret.

No, I-I can't sanction what you're asking for.

I'm sorry. If it got out, it would mean my job.

Isn't that a small price to pay for saving lives?

Well, that-that's an assumption without any evidence.

I'm trying to get the evidence.

Well, then use the proper channels, Ms. Wells.

- That's why they're there. - (siren wailing in distance)

- (indistinct chatter) - (phone rings)

Whitely?

(siren wailing)

EMT: You got anyone else on call, I'd bring them in.

- We got a lot more coming. - SURGEON: What the hell happened?

Fire at one of the gay bars.

Maybe arson. Place was packed.

We got four dead already.

(woman crying)

- (line rings) - It's me.

I need you to prep 15 blood kits as fast as you can.

- (indistinct chatter) - (Adam coughing)

ADAM: It was the killer. The Mai Tai Killer.

The guy who gave us the drinks at the bar.

Who else would do something like this?

Adam, half the people in this city

would love to burn down a gay bar.

Not me. Where else would I go get a drink?

(wheezing)

(coughing)

Are you okay?

- (exhales, coughs) - Sounds like smoke inhalation.

All right, just lie down so I can check your breathing.

- No, I don't need... - Adam, just let him.

- Get off of me! I'm fine! - Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey.

Get your hands off me!

- Adam, would you relax? - We need to do something, Theo.

This man's suffering from respiratory distress.

Come on, let's get him on this bed.

(coughing)

- ADAM: Let me go! - Adam. Hey. Adam, relax.

You're acting like a fucking lunatic.

(out of breath): Theo, you need to find Gino Barelli.

He's a reporter for The Native.

Tell him what happened.

It was the Mai Tai Killer at the bar.

- Gino Barelli. - Okay.

♪♪ ♪♪

- (phone ringing) - (busy chatter)

The fire is coming.

Can I use this?

Thank you.

(line ringing)

Hi, Gino Barelli?

GINO: What is this?

- Why do they have you tied up? - He's here, the Mai Tai Killer.

He was at the bar.

He sent us mai tais. He's here. You need to find him.

(Adam coughing)

Have you seen him? He came in with the others.

He's very, very tall.

- You couldn't miss him. - Uh, I think he was in 11.

Where's the guy that was just in here?

I don't know. He left.

- You just let him walk out? - He had first-degree burns

on his forearms and some smoke inhalation.

He was fine.

- Fuck! - When'd he leave?

Maybe five minutes ago, but I didn't sign him out.

Gino, Gino. What are we doing?

Let's just split up.

I'll go this way, you go that way.

PATRICK: Come on.

- (phone ringing) - (machine beeping)

(people coughing)

You ever died before?

Then you don't know how it feels.

I thought I did, but...

now I do.

I saw him,

the one who burned us.

He's coming for us all.

Not just the boys, all of us.

All of us.

♪♪ ♪♪

HANNAH: Adam?

Jesus, you were in the fire.

Why are you tied up?

Long story.

What are you doing here?

You don't work here.

HANNAH: I'm doing research.

I need to draw your blood.

You look good. You've got that glow thing.

(groans) Do you have one of those, um...

pictures?

An ultrasound? No.

ADAM: But everything's okay?

HANNAH: Yeah.

I feel good about what we did.

Me, too.

This is very important.

It's related to what you've been going through.

♪♪ ♪♪

(indistinct announcement over P. A.)

- How much longer? - HANNAH: Just two more vials.

I don't like hospitals. The floors are always dirty.

It's just a few more minutes. I'm trying to help you.

(machine beeps)

What are you doing? No, no. You really should get some rest.

I just took eight vials of blood.

- No. - Please!

♪♪ ♪♪

(elevator bell dings)

(horn honks)

(indistinct chatter)

Hey.

(grunts, groans)

(door bangs shut)

(footsteps departing)

(door opens)

♪♪ ♪♪

(indistinct announcement over P. A.)

(phone ringing)

Hey! Hey!

♪♪ ♪♪

(electrical crackling)

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪

(siren wails in distance)

(muffled screaming)

(surgical tape crackles)

(gasps softly)

I would never spill the blood of another vet,

but this is different.

You'll just freeze to death.

It's a peaceful way to go.

(grunts)

- No! No! - (pounding)

No!

♪♪ ♪♪

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org

♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪