01x09 - Death on Two Legs

[bunniefuu]

Sir, we greatly appreciate your continued

patronage during these troubling times.

However, I must ask

Are you truly okay with always having

just steak and nothing else?

I require the perfect protein intake

in order to maintain my perfect body.

It's as simple as that.

I'm done. See you tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

It's about time for the inquiry

committee hearing.

Are you ready?

Of course.

Feeling nervous at all?

Nope.

It's no wonder they call you

the walking AI.

Oh, nothing.

Well, we'd better get going.

Oh, hey, you feeling okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Ow

You should get more rest.

Thanks for having my back.

The feeling is totally mutual.

Where's Axel?

He's out getting groceries

with Doug.

Huh?

Has that cat always been here?

Yeah.

Although it's still not very friendly.

Found a place to belong

in spite of itself, huh?

All righty, I bought a bunch of stuff.

I've turned off the drive recorder

so our conversation won't be overheard.

Wait. You're not

Gonna ask me out on a date?

That's the last thing I'd do,

even if the world ended tomorrow.

Bummer.

What do you think?

About what?

Say that we get our hands on Skinner.

Will we really get the freedom

they promised us?

Hard to say.

Seems like we may've uncovered

one too many secrets.

Exactly.

And considering they went out of their way

to make Lazarus a separate unit from the NSA

So once the job is done,

they'll just erase us all along with it.

For once, I agree with you.

Aw, shucks.

And I'm pretty sure they're already trying

to figure out exactly how much we know.

Hayes!

It's been a while.

Hey, Abel.

You're looking good.

Right back at you.

Let me introduce you.

This is

Maybe later.

Friend of yours?

That's Captain Hayes.

He was in the Green Berets with me.

Wow.

He's a career military man,

born and bred in the Army.

And the other guy?

That's Schneider from INSCOM.

I don't know him personally,

but he's supposed to be quite sharp.

Sounds like you've got a new rival.

I now call this inquiry committee

hearing to order.

We are gathered here today to discuss

the future of Team S5, also known as Lazarus,

that was recently formed under

NSA supervision.

Okay, please present the report.

The Lazarus team was specially assembled

with the goal of capturing Skinner,

but so far they've instigated

a public shootout,

a helicopter crash,

a massive fire at a cult compound,

and most recently,

an oil rig fire in Russia, all of which

has put them under serious suspicion.

We've confirmed the team landed near the site of

the fire using a European-based US Army heli just before it started.

It seems clear beyond a doubt that Lazarus

was directly involved in these incidents.

Anything to say, Abel?

I have no objections.

As if that's not bad enough, one member

of Lazarus is actually a former Russian spy.

You can't deny the possibility that she

might've leaked our intel to Russia, can you?

The biggest problem is this series of actions has no

direct connection to their mission of capturing Skinner.

In that case, it seems to me that we need to see proof

of whether Lazarus is really searching for Skinner or not.

As it so happens,

my people have made contact with a member of Lazarus,

and we've arranged for them to testify at this hearing.

Permission is hereby granted to bring

the witness in and have them testify.

Are you saying that we've got a spy?

Well, I once saw Leland carrying

two different cell phones around.

I don't have any solid proof,

but be sure to keep that in mind.

Your name?

Leland Astor, sir.

You've been acting as a member of Lazarus

and monitoring all of their actions from the inside.

Is that right?

Yes, sir.

Let's start with your mission

in the Arctic.

Was that necessary in regards

to the search for Skinner?

No.

That operation was undertaken

to rescue Chris,

and it had no direct connection

to Skinner.

Oh?

So this mission, which has stoked

international tensions,

was carried out solely to rescue

one of your own. Do I have that right?

Correct.

Oh, Chris.

You shouldn't be moving around yet.

Aw, c'mon.

At this rate, the world'll end

with me still in bed!

What was this again?

However, Chris is an essential part of ensuring

that Skinner is found and captured.

So, in other words,

this mission was ultimately necessary

if we want to catch Skinner.

Are you saying that it was worth

the cost of causing an international affair?

No, but right now, I believe finding Skinner

should be considered the higher priority.

Tell us, were your teammates

really searching for Skinner?

Weren't they actually

doing something else?

No, sir.

From what I could tell, there was no

indication they were doing anything else.

I still have questions.

For example, the history of

another member, Axel Gilberto.

We're aware that he was in prison before,

but the details seemed to have been covered up.

Well

I'm not sure myself,

but my guess is someone from the prison tried to bury it,

since they don't want it known he escaped multiple times.

So, he's broken out of prison

more than once?

That's what he told me.

From the icy depths of Alaska

to the heart of the Arizona desert.

The witness may step down.

In any case, our view is that the Lazarus team must be

held responsible for the various issues they have caused.

Pardon me!

What is it?

Skinner has just uploaded

a new video statement online!

It's been 20 days since I made

my initial statement,

but I'm afraid that no one

has come to visit me.

The world's governments have been

acting as if nothing happened.

They continue to fight over

territorial waters in the Arctic

and just shamefully push

the world even closer to w*r.

Has humanity already given up

on the idea of survival?

As previously announced,

the first subject will die in ten days.

And you should know

that first subject is me.

So unless you find and catch me within

the next ten days, then hope will be lost forever.

No way

So he hasn't taken the antidote?

How the world will look after

ten days is entirely up to you people.

That's all I can say at this point.

Huh? What's so funny?!

Nothing much.

Just that I agree with Skinner.

He already said everything that

I was planning to say here.

What do you mean?

We don't have time to waste

on this ridiculous farce.

What good does it do any of us to sabotage

our colleagues and stab them in the back?

We're just one step away

from catching Skinner.

If the committee chooses to

disband Lazarus now,

then which of you is planning to assume responsibility

when nobody is able to find Skinner in time?

Who will even be left to take the blame after

the world literally comes to an end?

We have no choice, then.

But, sir!

Permission is granted for Lazarus

to temporarily resume their activities.

But obviously,

only for ten more days!

You must capture him

without fail before then.

Of course. That's the plan.

You heard the kid's testimony.

The escapee from Eyman Prison in Arizona

that we've been looking for is definitely Axel Gilberto.

Then why is there no data?

I'm assuming because they had

a hacker erase it all.

They don't want anybody

to know, huh?

We're going to have to take action.

Don't underestimate Abel.

That man is incredibly sharp.

He'll catch on

if we act too carelessly.

I'm aware, which is why

we won't do it ourselves.

In fact, we'll just get a ghost that

nobody has ever met to do it instead.

What do you mean, "ghost"?

Leland!

There you are.

You gave me a real scare.

S-Sorry.

I nearly lost it after your testimony

started painting us in a bad light.

I was totally ready to k*ll you.

That joke's more scary than funny

Why didn't you tell me about this?

Well, as the saying goes

"Fool the enemy by fooling

your friends first."

I'm sorry.

Was it INSCOM who reached out

to you about testifying, Leland?

They never said who they were,

but I'm pretty sure it was.

They must've thought it'd be easy

to flip you to their side,

but apparently they weren't aware that Abel

was close friends with your father, huh?

Thank you for your business.

Very well, I will come to you.

Goddammit.

Skinner being the first to die was

definitely not something I saw coming.

We're boned.

Oh, Chris.

You okay to be up?

Well, we can't really afford me

sleeping in bed all day, can we?

Did you see Skinner's statement?

We just watched it.

It seems pretty obvious that

Skinner never took the antidote.

I got the same impression.

No more time to screw around, huh?

Yeah, except we don't have any

new clues to go off of.

Oh, right.

Could you look into this for me?

What's this?

Some kind of drug?

It's something I picked up

when we searched Skinner's place.

Really?

How come this is the first time

we're seeing it?

'Cause I forgot about it. Jeez.

I bet that pill was just stuffed in

some clothes lying on the floor.

Whoa, how'd you know that?

In any case, we should look into it.

It's almost time.

Greetings.

I assume you're the clients?

You're the guy?

I'm Souryuu's agent.

Please call me HQ.

Nice to meet you.

Sorry, but I'm afraid we can't reveal

our identities to you.

Will that be a problem?

Not at all.

All that you need to provide is precise

information about the target and payment.

Tell me about this "Souryuu" guy.

All I've heard is that he's a phantom assassin

who nobody has ever seen before.

Who exactly is he?

I merely act as his agent.

I know nothing about

his origins or identity.

Plus

I've actually never met him

in person myself.

Are you serious?

However, I can guarantee you that any task

he accepts will be ex*cuted flawlessly.

All right.

But my understanding is that

his services don't come cheap.

It's 30 million dollars per job.

Tax-exempt, of course.

What?!

Yeah, that lines up

with what I've heard.

If you don't find those terms acceptable,

then we will be unable to move forward.

Hold on.

I'm not paying millions of dollars to some ghost

that nobody's ever met without a guarantee.

You propose a test?

That's fine.

However, please be aware we don't accept

responsibility for whatever outcome the test has.

Fair enough.

We'll proceed with payment after

the test has been completed.

Where will the test take place?

Check the back of my card.

Now, if you'll please excuse me.

Christ. All this gear for just

a single target?

What've they got, a friggin' tank?

Well, even you and your piss-poor aim

could nail 'em with firepower like this.

Damn straight!

They'll be mincemeat in seconds.

sh*t, guess we ain't having

sloppy joe for dinner.

Only one target.

Dead or alive.

We don't know what kind of traps to expect,

so stay on your toes.

This mission is complete once we confirm

the target has been neutralized.

Single heat signature detected

in area 7D.

Let's get this party started, boys!

Come in!

Somebody give me a sitrep!

I repeat, somebody give me a sitrep!

Hey! What's the matter?!

H-Holy sh*t

Goodness me.

I must say, he really went overboard.

I will need you to dispose

of all the bodies, please.

Hey, what happened?!

Give me an update!

They were wiped out?

That's impossible.

All right, he's passed the test.

His target will be this man.