- In the nation's largest city,
the vicious and violent members of the underworld
are hunted by the detectives
of the Organized Crime Control Bureau.
These are their stories.
- What's your interest in Damon's case?
- I want you to partner with my old firm.
- And what's in it for you?
[suspenseful music]
- Who's that?
- Edmund Ross, hedge fund billionaire.
- Your friend, Flutura,
she's a lot more than a party planner.
- They're bidding on the girls.
- Human trafficking. We're moving in.
- [sobs]
♪
- I'm a police officer. You're safe now.
- Drop the weapon, Ross.
We are way more interested in Kosta than we are in you.
- Ross keeps a black book
of everyone who attends his parties.
- How did this happen?
- There's a rat in this organization.
- Whoa. [laughs]
- Lightweight? - [laughs]
Okay, you'll see. You'll see.
- Never had that problem before.
- Oh, really? - Oh, come on.
- Oh, you saved me again, Eddie.
- Well, when you call-- - Drunk, I'm drunk.
- Well, drunk or not, when you call,
I'm at your disposal.
- We drink Raki,
nectar of the Albanian gods.
- Yeah.
- Well, yeah, 90 proof. That's some nectar.
- The jukebox is why I had Albi take over this place.
- Ain't no rock and roll in Albania?
- Mm. Not like this.
New wave.
[Blondie's "Call Me"]
♪
- ♪ Color me your color, baby ♪
♪ Color me your car
♪ Color me your color, darling ♪
♪ I know who you are
♪ Come up off your color chart ♪
- When I was 15, this was my favorite song.
- You know what it's about? - Of course.
It's about a woman who wants a man.
- Well, it's about a call girl.
- You're making an assumption.
You don't know anything about her.
- No, it's a prostitute.
You know, the girls at the party the other night.
♪
- They're not prostitutes. - Okay.
I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
- You did.
- ♪ Emotions come
♪ I don't know why
♪ Cover up love's alibi
- Why you care? - I don't care.
I'm just trying to make dumb conversation.
I apologize.
- Let's converse like this.
You know, it would be a lot worse for the girls
if they didn't have me involved.
- What do you mean a lot worse? How so?
- I protect them from Albanian men
because they're derra--pigs.
- Well, look, I don't know nothing about Albanian men,
but those guys at the party the other night...
♪
- The year this song came out was the year I was sold.
[solemn music]
The men my father sold me to--
- Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Wait--wait a minute. Your father?
What do you mean your father? - On the boat to America...
♪
The men had their way with me,
sometimes three or four in one night.
Only one man didn't hurt me.
He was supposed to take me to the warehouse
where they kept the girls,
but instead,
he took me home and married me.
- Albi.
Albi saved you.
- Maybe I saved him.
All men are pigs.
Once in a while, one of you comes through.
[metal clattering]
Is someone out there?
[suspenseful music]
♪
If it's Albi, he'll kill you!
- Hey. Hey!
What are you doing?
Who are you? Who sent you?
Hey, answer me. Who are you?
What do you want? - Eddie Wagner.
- Last time. Who are you?
- I'm your son.
[dramatic music]
- Hey, look, I don't know what you want or who you are,
but you better disappear,
or I'm gonna make you disappear.
Get out of here. Get out of here!
- Who was it?
- Just some kid looking to jack the bar.
Come on.
Keep drinking.
[tense music]
♪
- Mama.
- Oh, good, just in time for breakfast.
- Yeah, no, I can't. I'm just here to check on Eli.
- Yeah, he's still not talking to me.
- All right. I'll try and fix that.
- I'll fix you some eggs. - I don't have time.
- You've got time to eat a couple of eggs.
- All right, sleepyhead, rise and shine.
Let's go.
- Dad, God, give me a break.
- Want me to give you a break? Why you still asleep?
- I was up late prepping for a chem test, okay?
- Okay.
- Check the cameras if you don't believe me.
- Well, those cameras are there for your safety,
and Jet only flags something for me if it's suspicious.
- God, it's like East Germany
in the Cold War, and you're the Stasi.
- Look, it may seem like I'm policing you,
and, well, okay, I am, but look, once I'm back home,
you and me, we can come up with a better system.
- Once you're back home? - Yeah.
- Where's Grandma gonna sleep?
- Your eggs are ready.
- Transnational organized crime poses one of
the greatest threats to New Yorkers' safety,
our health, our democratic institutions,
and our economic well-being.
Now we're seeing an even more pernicious alliance
forming between these criminal organizations
and our so-called pillars of Wall Street.
Last week, a hedge fund billionaire
by the name of Edmund Ross
was implicated in a sex trafficking ring
run by a ruthless Albanian mafia outfit
known as the Kosta Organization.
As Governor of New York...
- Really wish he hadn't done that.
- [chuckles] What do you expect?
Bleeding heart liberal.
Sees a billionaire in the headlines,
of course he's gonna jump all over him.
- The Ross arrest was heavily reported on the news.
- Yeah, but nobody ever mentioned the Albanians.
- Yeah, that's 'cause we were keeping them on the DL.
He must have a mole downtown.
- How the hell did we not know Eddie Wagner has a son.
- Excuse me? - A son?
- Yeah, a son. I'm with Flutura last night.
I'm trying to get her to tell me
about the K-O trafficking operations,
which I think I recorded
with your super secret agent watch there,
and I'm interrupted by some juvie looking stalker kid
who claims that he's Eddie Wagner's son.
So, I ask again, is it true? How'd that happen?
Because this arose with a Maine driver's license.
Louis Chinaski. - Run it.
[suspenseful music]
- Louis Edward Chinaski,
19 years old from Bangor, Maine.
Louis' mother, Janice Chinaski, OD'd in 2011.
Louis went into the foster system at age six.
And it looks like there was a male,
one E Wagner, who was in and out of the household.
- Hence Louis' middle name.
- Which makes it very likely that Eddie was his father.
- Apologies for missing it on my original search.
No excuses, but most of what
I was able to find on Wagner was analog.
- Anything else?
- A domestic incident report
that shows the kid landed in the ER,
which is how Child Services got involved.
- Fractured ribs, nose, orbital bone.
Six years old.
Looks like not only am I an arsonist,
I'm also a child abuser.
- Stabler, don't get invested in this kid.
- I'm not invested. I scared him away.
He came looking for his piece of trash father,
and I convinced him I'm still a piece of trash.
- Good, because if it risks blowing your cover,
we're gonna have to pick him up and take him off the street.
- Hey, Jet, no more surprises, yeah?
- Copy. - Okay.
Where are we with Ross?
- Brewster and I were waiting on you to interrogate him.
We gotta flip this guy.
- DA's Office concurs that we have enough
to indict Briscu and Bogdani.
- We're not moving on Albi or Reggie
until we have enough to indict Kosta.
All the dominoes fall in a row. That's what Sergeant Bell said.
- Kosta is the endgame.
- We've already told you. We're not interested.
- What was your arrangement with the Kosta Organization?
How long were they supplying girls to you?
- The who?
- Ask him how he chose his party planner.
- Flutura Briscu put together an event
for the Mersham Foundation.
I was one of the honorees.
It was an impressive event,
so I hired her to do my next event.
- I suppose you weren't aware that Mrs. Briscu is married
to the number two man in the Kosta Organization.
- As I said, I've never heard of the Kosta Organization.
- Oh, maybe this will jog your memory.
♪
- That man whispering in your ear,
that's Jon Kosta.
You still never heard of him?
- Did he pay the K-O a flat fee for the girls?
- Or did Kosta also take a cut of the final sales
after the girls were purchased?
- I had no idea those girls were being sold.
- That's BS.
Rita was sent to Ross' house a few days before the party.
You tell him we've got Rita in custody,
and she is prepared to testify against him
every assault that she endured at his hands.
- Some Albanian girl says this. I say that.
I don't know, Sergeant.
Seems like a case of he said, she said to me.
- That black book look familiar?
♪
There are plenty of names still in this book
that didn't burn up when you threw it in the fire.
So Mr. Ross, you have two choices.
One, you can talk to us.
Two, Jon Kosta and the other important people
in his book are gonna make sure you don't talk to anyone.
♪
- Right hand up. Protect, protect.
Keep your guard up. Joe, come on.
- Hey, Eddie.
- Mjaft, Mjaft. Stop, stop, stop!
You want to kill my best fighter?
Didn't tell me you had a kid, Eddie.
- Probably got a lot of kids I don't know about.
- Familia. Know what that means, Eddie?
- Yeah, family.
- Very important in the Albanian culture,
even if the kid is a bastard.
- He said I got your boxing genes.
And you know, someday
I could even be a better fighter than you.
- Well, you're not yet,
and unless you want me to prove it to you,
you're gonna get the hell out of here right now.
- Wait, wait, wait!
I, uh...
Uh...
[sentimental music]
♪
- Come here.
What do you want? You want money?
- No, I don't want money.
Look, a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine in Brooklyn,
he sends me a link about a drug bust in Red Hook.
He said I could stay with him
if I wanted to come try to find you.
- Great. You found me.
- Yeah, and I'm not looking for a handout.
You know, I could use a job.
I could, you know, help out with stuff.
- Don't have no job. - I'm pretty good with--
- I don't have a job to give you.
- Hey, kid, this is my gym.
You want to earn a few bucks, I can find you something to do.
I'm sure Eddie wouldn't mind. Would you, Eddie?
- No.
♪
Well, Louis Chinaski, congratulations.
You're the Besa Boxing Gym spit bucket boy.
♪
- That Ross arrest is really hitting the nerve of our base.
Who would have thought I'd be the tough-on-crime candidate?
What can I do for you, Detective?
- Sergeant. Ayanna Bell.
I was surprised to hear you calling out
transnational criminal organizations by name
at your rally this morning.
- I'm a progressive, Sergeant.
That doesn't mean I'm in favor of crime.
- Unfortunately, we're in the middle of an investigation.
- The Edmund Ross thing.
- He's a bad guy, but he wasn't our target.
Our operation is focused on the TCO
that supplies the girls to him. - The Albanians.
- It hasn't been reported anywhere
that it was an Albanian syndicate,
and we make a point
of not identifying any group or crew or individuals.
- 'Cause you didn't want to tip them off.
I get it, and I certainly didn't mean
to jeopardize your investigation.
- It's not just that.
When you name check a man like Jon Kosta
in public the way you did,
you're putting yourself in a really dangerous situation.
- If I had a nickel for everyone who doesn't like me
because of a position I've taken, Sergeant Bell,
I wouldn't have to spend so much time fundraising.
I do have a bodyguard.
- Only one?
- I didn't even want to hire him.
My wife insisted.
- Just be careful.
- Someone talked to the NYPD. I'll figure out who it was.
It could have been one of Ross' guests,
someone with a business vendetta,
or someone facing charges looking to make a deal.
- It's a possibility.
- Well, I gotta consider another possibility.
[tense music]
someone in this room is disloyal.
♪
Flutura...
You're the one who said there's a rat.
Well, there can be female rats too.
Women are weak. They gossip, talk too much.
- I'm not weak!
- If you suspect Flutura, you suspect me, too, Jon.
- Maybe I should.
James.
Stand up.
- Why?
- My grandfather, he used to say
that you can tell by the shape of a man's tongue
if he's a liar.
Open your mouth.
Stick your tongue out.
Uh-huh.
[muffled scream]
♪
Well, maybe my grandfather could tell,
but I have no idea
if my friend James is innocent or guilty.
This isn't justice. This is a warning.
And it's child's play compared to what I'll do
to whoever led the police to that party.
♪
- You really must take that tongue down, Jon.
It's starting to smell.
- Well, tell me who the rat is, I'll take it down.
- You know it's not me, right? - No, you're too smart.
Reggie's too stupid.
You think it was Ashes? He's an outsider.
- Too small time.
- That's what I think too.
More likely it's one of our own
two-timing us with another Albanian clan.
- Well, if it is, I will root them out.
- You know this man Garcia?
- What about him? - I want him dead.
- What did he do?
- What'd he do? He insulted our people.
He insulted me on national television
in front of the whole world.
My name, Albi! My name!
[tense music]
A man doesn't do that and live to do it again.
- This is not Albania.
You cannot kill political candidates.
- If you ever read a history book in your life,
you'd know that they've killed much more important men
than Teddy Garcia in this country.
Wagner! Get in here.
I want you to give your friend Albi here
a lesson on American history. - Okay.
- How many prominent men have been assassinated
in this country in the last century?
♪
- JFK, RFK, MLK,
and they might have got Reagan if he'd had a K in his name.
- You see, Albi?
If history has taught us anything,
it's that you can kill whoever you want in America,
including this meddling politician Garcia
who calls us the Albanian mafia
and drags my name through the gutter.
- Who's Garcia?
- [sighs] Okay, you're kidding me, right?
Don't none of you watch the news?
- I don't own a TV.
- [sighs] This is gjakmarrja.
You know what that means, Wagner?
- Blood feud.
♪
- I got a job for you.
- Okay.
- I want you to find out who tipped
the police about Edmund Ross.
- I'm on it.
- Convince me it wasn't you.
♪
- I need your advice. Eddie Wagner.
I know you don't like him, and I don't understand why,
but I want to know exactly what you saw in his coffee grounds.
[Albanian pop music playing]
♪
"Grief and tragedy." Don't they always go together?
- [chuckles]
Zemerimi.
I know. He's angry.
But tell me about love. Dashuri.
Has Eddie been seeing one of my girls?
Is he the one that called the police
and had them taken away?
[suspenseful music]
What? What do you see?
♪
Yes, he saved someone.
He saved me from being arrested.
Did he save anyone else?
♪
- You're good at that.
- Well, if there's one thing the Marines teach you
how to do, it's fold.
That guy running for governor...
Teddy Garcia,
Kosta wants him dead. - Already on it.
Personally advised him not to mention
Kosta's name in any of his speeches.
- Well, it might be too late.
Kosta used the word "gjakmarrja."
- What's that, like besa? - It's like blood feud.
When an Albanian says "gjakmarrja,"
they're not messing around. They mean it.
They're gonna follow through.
- You think Jon Kosta would put out a hit?
- Well, seeing as how he has
a man's tongue nailed to his office wall,
and I saw him cut it out of the guy's mouth,
I'd say the chances are pretty good.
♪
- How's your misguided son?
- Eli or Louis?
- The one I told you to kick to the curb.
I hope you did it.
- Still working on it.
- I'ma send the three-six to pick him up for jaywalking.
- No, just give me a little more time with that.
I think Louis is slowly coming to the realization
that his father is a dirtbag.
♪
- Sergeant Bell.
You brought backup. Am I in trouble?
- This is my colleague, Sergeant Brewster.
- Always happy to meet another voter.
- I'll be voting for the other guy.
That's not why we're here.
- Jon Kosta ordered a hit on you.
- We want to put a car
on your office and one on your house.
- I appreciate your concern, Sergeant,
whether you vote for me or not, but that's not what I'm about.
Riding in an armored car from my heavily-guarded office
to my heavily-guarded home?
- So it's about optics. - It's about message.
I won't be intimidated into hiding behind a badge
every time someone I call out in a speech threatens me
because I call out a lot of people,
and I'm gonna continue to call them out
till I'm New York's governor and long after that.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle
of date night, and my wife is winning.
As usual.
[tense music]
- [grunts]
♪
[upbeat music playing]
♪
- Hey, whatever this is, it's gonna stop,
or I'm gonna make it stop.
- Look, I just wanted to tell you--
- And I just want to tell you
just 'cause I boned your mom don't make me your father.
Do you understand what I'm saying to you?
- Look, she was asking questions about you.
That lady, the one in the bar
that you were sucking face with.
- Yeah, what kind of questions? What was she asking about?
- Who's my mother?
When was the last time I saw you?
Stuff like that. - What'd you say?
Did you tell her you were the one in the alley?
- No, I thought if you didn't tell her,
there must have been a reason for her not to know.
- You're smart. All right, I gotta get going.
- You on a job? - And that's dumb--questions.
Asking too many questions is trouble.
- Well, I want to work with you.
I want to learn how you roll.
- How I roll? Okay.
I got a job later today.
Maybe you can help me out. Go to the hardware store.
Get me a giant can of lighter fluid.
Bring it back to my place in an hour.
You know where I live, don't you?
- Yeah.
- Hey. Did he say what it's about?
- Just something to do with Damon's settlement.
I've been working with this law firm.
- Nova, one minute. I forgot.
[suspenseful music]
Give this to your boss.
Tell him there's more where that came from.
- Yes, sir.
♪
- Yo, Charlene.
- Bye, Nova. See you soon.
- Ladies, please.
I have news.
- Good news or bad news?
- Well, I'll leave that for you to decide.
The NYPD is prepared to offer $750,000
in a settlement for the unwarranted assault
of your nephew.
- That's more than five times their original offer.
- I believe they may have been swayed
by the Edmund Ross affair.
Very big piece of business.
- They know about your involvement?
- I may have mentioned it.
It all reflects well on you, Sergeant Bell.
- And there's still the little matter of the--
- The apology, indeed.
Would Damon be willing to accept
the carefully-written statement
that acknowledges this never would have happened
were he not a young, Black man? - I think he might.
- Ayanna?
- I'm happy if Damon and Denise are.
- Then I venture this was good news.
♪
- Raki.
Nectar of the Albanian gods, right?
- It's lion's milk. Makes you strong.
- There a reason why you gotta be strong?
You ain't gotta tell me nothing, man,
but if you do,
I just want you to know it ain't gonna leave this bar.
- Albi ordered me to do a job. - Mm-hmm.
- Said Kosta chose me special for it.
- So you gotta do it, right? - Yeah, I gotta do it.
- Yeah.
- I mean, I gotta get back in his good graces.
I gotta shine for once, you know?
- Yeah.
- And if he picked me, that means he's ready
to move me up if I do a good job, right?
- Yeah. So what's the problem?
- It's high-risk. - Mm-hmm.
- Just not sure I can pull it off.
- No, no, no.
Hey, Reg, I believe in you, man, so whatever it is,
I know you can do this. I know it.
- If I don't do it, somebody else will.
- Mm-hmm. - Right?
- Mm-hmm.
- And then he'll just keep passing me over,
and I'll just stay where I've always been.
- Whatever you need, I'm there for you.
- I'm supposed to do it alone. - So do it alone.
You know, I don't want the credit.
I'm just letting you know.
Whatever it is, you know, tell me what you need.
Whatever you need.
- Why?
[tense music]
- What do you mean why?
Why?
What we've been through, you and me,
all the things that you've done for me.
'Cause you're my boy, that's why.
♪
- All my life, all I've ever been taught
was to trust only family.
- I get it, man.
- It's times like these I wish my father was still around.
- You know, Reg,
that Louis kid,
coming around, telling me that he's my son,
and I got no fatherly feelings towards that dude whatsoever.
But you?
You're my family.
♪
- Yeah.
[grunts]
- So you gonna tell me what the job is or what?
- Okay, people, let's move.
This hit is going down in real time as we speak.
- Does Garcia have security?
- One rent-a-cop
who seems like he's watched too many war movies.
- Designated shooter is Reggie Bogdani.
- Why would Kosta give a buffoon like Bogdani
such a big job?
- Stabler's theory is that Bogdani is expendable,
which means they'll let him go down shooting.
Stay sharp.
[dramatic music]
[suspenseful music]
♪
- Garcia's at a campaign stop,
and Stabler's on his way to intercept him.
- I've got a Twitter hit on Garcia.
"Just left the park with my amazing volunteers."
Tracking him.
♪
- Come on, Eddie.
[phone ringing]
Eddie, what the hell, man?
If I drive around this block one more time,
I'm gonna go bananas. - Just hang tight.
I got my eyes on Garcia.
- Mr. Garcia, this is Sergeant Bell.
- I'm on my way to a book signing.
Can I get back to you--
- I want you to listen to me very carefully.
There's an assassin with a screw loose
that's ready to take you out when you get to your home.
A detective and an ESU team has been dispatched to your car
and to your residence.
Is there anyone at your house right now?
- I told you, Sergeant, I have my own security,
and he's more than capable of--
- Mr. Garcia, please listen to me.
- Terry Garcia. - Hey, whoa.
- Hey, hey! - Take it easy.
I'm a cop. I'm a cop!
Mr. Garcia, I work for Sergeant Bell.
NYPD. Tell your man to stand down.
- It's all right.
I told your Sergeant--
- I don't care what you told her.
There's a man from the K-O coming to kill you
because you shot your mouth off.
Is anyone at your house right now?
Wife, kids?
- My kids are gone for the weekend,
and my wife is volunteering.
But, actually, she might be getting back right now--
- Call her right now. Tell her not to go home.
Get in the car, please. You too.
Call her now.
♪
[sharp ringing]
- [humming nervously]
How many times can I drive around this thing?
It's like a freaking ice cream truck.
[phone ringing]
All right, Reg, come on.
You got this. [car horn blares]
Hey, watch out!
- Okay, Stabler's with Garcia. - Close call.
- Our man intercepted the target.
Has ESU secured the residence?
- There's an accident on the Westside Highway.
SRG is sending a backup unit.
- There you are.
♪
Yeah, yeah, let's do this. Let's do this.
[phone ringing]
- Pick up the phone, Diana! Pick up the phone!
- Shoot. Hey, Reggie!
- It's on, Eddie. It's shine time now.
- Reggie, listen to me,
listen to me, you're wasted, man.
I got Garcia right in front of me in a car.
- Just hang tight. Wait for my signal.
- No, bro, I saw him go in now. I'm making my move.
- No, Reggie, you didn't. Reggie, Reggie!
♪
[tires squeal]
[car horn blares]
[intense music]
- Come on. Come on.
Pick up, pick up, pick up.
Pick up the phone. Pick up the phone.
[phone ringing]
Pick up the phone. [doorbell rings]
[phone ringing]
Pick up the phone. Pick up the phone.
♪
[phone ringing] [doorbell ringing]
- Hi, babe.
- Hey. Where are you right now?
- I just got home.
Hang on, one sec. I'm just getting a delivery.
- Diana, don't open the door!
- Hello? Do I need to sign for it?
[gunshot]
- No, no, no! Diana, are you okay?
Diana!
- [panicked breathing] Oh.
- We need to go to my house now!
♪
[sirens wailing]
Diana?
Diana, are you okay?
[solemn music]
♪
Diana.
Come on, sweetheart. Talk to me.
♪
Diana, talk to me, okay? God, please!
Please, no, God! No, no, come on!
Help! Help me!
Help, help!
- Can you believe this guy?
Milking the death of his wife for a photo op?
Politicians, you know what I mean?
- My nephew really screwed this up.
- I don't know about that.
- What do you mean?
- Well, if he did his job and took out Garcia,
it'd be over.
That scum wouldn't feel a thing.
This way, he can suffer a while,
and then we send somebody capable to finish the job.
- There will be no mistake next time
because I will do it myself.
- That's good. That's what I like to hear.
[suspenseful music]
Meantime, Edmund Ross.
- They're still holding him, which means
he must be making a deal. You agree?
- Yeah, that rich candy ass is too soft for prison.
He'll say anything to get out of doing time.
I need you to take care of that too.
Before he gets in front of a grand jury.
- Don't worry. - Albi...
No more mistakes.
- You have my word, Jon.
♪
[reporters questioning indistinctly]
- This afternoon,
my beautiful, brilliant wife Diana
volunteered at a women's shelter
as she's done twice a week for the past five years.
Two hours later, she was murdered
with a bullet that was meant for me.
I wish that bullet had struck me instead of her
with all my heart.
I will not rest until the cowards
who did this are brought to justice.
[reporters questioning indistinctly]
[indistinct chatter]
[dramatic music]
- Hey, hit me with one more, please.
Hey. I said hit me again.
- Take it easy, bro. It's happy hour.
Be happy.
- You got a problem, chief? Huh?
- Yo, Reggie!
- Eddie?
My man.
[chuckles]
- Reggie Bogdani, you're under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent.
♪
- I thought you were gonna be here an hour ago.
- Yeah, well, I got held up.
- Is this enough lighter fluid?
- Yeah, it's fine.
- Well, how about you teach me how to use it?
- [chuckles] How to use it?
You put it on the coals, you light it,
you throw the burner on top.
- No, you know what I mean. Like, Eddie Ashes stuff.
- Some other day. - No, no.
Not until you keep your promise to me.
- Look, Louis, not every kid needs to grow up
to be like their father. Just take my word for it.
- I don't want to be like my father.
My father was an abusive sociopath.
I want to be like you.
I don't know who you are,
but I know you're not Eddie Wagner.
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
[wolf howls]