Leverage Transcripts derived from the closed captions available online and formated by slaysvamps. Feel free to download and share, but please give credit and a link back to me here.
Leverage Main | When Darkness Falls

5x06 The DB Cooper Job
[Portland FBI Headquarters]

(two men in masks walk through the dark offices with flashlights. Hey hook onto a computer and begin gathering information. A door opens, making the men hide)

Guard: Hey! Who’s there? (guards enter, looking around) I’ll check in here. You check in the next room.

(the guards look through the room)

Guard: No one in here! I’ll check the hallway.

(the masked men throw a flash grenade into an aisle. It goes off)


[Stairwell]

Guard (above): Check the stairwell!

(the two masked men come down the stairs, pulling off their masks to reveal McSweeten and Parker. Parker grabs McSweeten’s jacket and pulls him down the stairs)

Parker: Come on.


[Leverage Headquarters]

(Parker follows Nate to a set of doors through which they see McSweeten sitting at the bar of the pub, drinking)

Nate: No, no. Parker, you do not bring an FBI agent into our bar.

Parker: No, our cover’s not blown. McSweeten still thinks I’m Special Agent Hagen.

Nate: Who agreed to help him break into Portland FBI last night. What are you thinking?

Parker: I’m doing this because he needs us.

Nate: So do the victims of Oliver Schmidt’s Ponzi scheme. I’ve been planning that takedown for months, all right? I-I-I don’t have time for this.

Parker: Nate, he’s about to lose his father. Please just go talk to him. For me.


[Brew Pub]

(Nate pours McSweeten a drink)

McSweeten: Pancreatic cancer. Doctors said we’re out of options and I could take him home, so that’s what I did.

Nate: Oh, I’m sorry.

McSweeten: Agent Hagen says you’re a profiler who’s helped the FBI solve impossible cases.

Nate: I take it you got one involving your father.

McSweeten: My dad was an FBI agent here in Portland for over 40 years. He took a lot of bad guys off the streets, but none of that is gonna end up in his obituary because of the one that got away. Before my father dies, help me do one thing for him. Help me bring D.B. Cooper to justice.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: Wait. The number-one unsolved mystery in the history of American crime... that’s our new job?

Nate: No, our job is to take down Oliver Schmidt. This is just a detour. Sophie?

Sophie (walks to monitors): It’s 1971, the day before Thanksgiving. A 727 takes off from Portland bound for Seattle. It is hijacked by this man, a passenger who goes by the name of Dan Cooper.

Parker: Wait. I thought his name was D.B. Cooper?

Hardison: That was misheard by a reporter at the scene, and then it was repeated until it became gospel. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your swooning. Go on and swoon.

Sophie: He shows the stewardess what appears to be a bomb. He demands $200,000 in cash and four parachutes. He gets them. Then he does something no one expects. Somewhere over the cascades, which is near to where we are now, he jumps, and he just... he disappears forever.

Hardison: Sophie, just real quick... you had a poster of D.B. over your bed when you was, like, 15. Tell the truth... you did, didn’t you?

Sophie: So what? What if I did?

Eliot: Wait. Let me save us a little trouble here, okay? The guy jumped from 10,000 feet, yeah, but it was seven below zero. He’s in a 1971 parachute. He jumped in bad weather over dense woods. He didn’t survive. Case closed.

Nate: All right, this is... this is probably just a, you know, a waste of time.

Parker: What?!

Nate: But I promised that we would try. So, I’m gonna go talk to McSweeten’s dad, and, Hardison, you’re gonna follow up on the old case file.

Hardison: The old case file that Parker stole?

Nate: Yeah.

Hardison: The one that’s, like, 80 volumes long?

Parker: Don’t worry. I got you some help.


[Brew Pub]

Hardison: Mr. Reynolds.

Steve: Special Agent Thomas?

Hardison: You can call me Alan. This isn’t a bureau matter.

Steve: Call me Steve. I was Peter McSweeten’s partner on the Cooper case.

Hardison (takes him over to Nate): Well, we’re gonna be working with Mr. Dalworth here. He’s a private consultant.

Steve (shakes Nate’s hand): Well... Anything for Peter, but, uh, you should know this wasn’t just a case for me. It was personal. My, um, late wife was a stewardess on the plane.

Nate: Oh. Wow. Well, then, you’re the right man to ask. It seems everyone has a theory about Cooper. What’s yours?

Steve: About a year after Cooper vanished, Richard McCoy hijacks a plane out of Denver, gets caught, sentenced to 45 years. Some time later, he makes a gun out of dental paste and breaks through the prison gates in a garbage truck. Dies in a gunfight with the FBI. There’s a fella in Florida, a Duane Weber, admitted to being Cooper on his death bed in 1995. You want a theory? Take your pick.


[McSweeten Home]

(knock on the door)

McSweeten (entering with Nate): Dad? Is it a good time?

Peter: The sirens are luring the sailors to their death. Luckily, I know how it ends.

McSweeten: I’ll be back in a few hours.

Peter: Tally ho, son. Peter McSweeten.

Nate: Nick Dalworth.

Peter: Have a seat.

Nate: Thank you. (sits down)

Peter: So, you’re a profiler who’s come to take a run at the Cooper case.

Nate: If it’s all right.

Peter: I spent 40 years trying to understand one man. What’s it like to climb into the mind of a different criminal every day?

Nate: Well, if I told you I left it at the office, I’d be lying.

Peter: Then this is a story you should hear. It began the day before Thanksgiving, 1971.


[McSweeten Home, 1971]

(Nate adjusts his tie as a child plays in the background. Sophie holds up a suitcase)

Nate: Oh, what’s that?

Sophie: Just a little something for the new job.

Nate: Oh, well! This is gonna be tough.

Sophie: Saying goodbye to the people you care about always is. (walks toward door)

Nate: Tally ho, Todd. Tally ho, dad.


[Portland FBI Office, 1971]

Peter: It was my first day as chief of the Seattle office. Before I reported there, I had to do one thing... thank the people I served with here in Portland.

Hardison: Hail, hail. The conquering hero returns.

Nate: I just came to say goodbye. You were a great partner, Reggie, and you got a bright future here at the bureau.

Hardison: Especially now that you’re moving on. You was, uh, kind of pinning my wings back, chief. No offense.

Nate: None taken. (everyone stops and listens) If I could just get everyone’s attention for... for a second. So, our motto is “fidelity, bravery, integrity.” And all my time here in Portland, I must say you have all shown those qualities every single day, and for that, I thank you. But if I could do one thing before I leave, I’d like to add a word to that sign... “compassion.” Never forget to put yourselves in the shoes of the people we serve, and not just the victims, but the perpetrators as well. They’re all deserving of our mercy. Thank you.

(clapping)


[Airplane, 1971]

Parker: There you are.

(Parker moves among the passengers, checking on them)

Parker: Ma’am, your drink.

Woman: Thank you.

Man: Hey, little lady, can I get another scotch?

Parker: I’m telling you, Laurie, the shorter they make these hemlines, the more these drunks think we’re on the menu.

Laurie: Don’t knock it till you try it.

Parker: Not even this stops them! (looks at ring on hand) I want combat pay.

Laurie: Well, Stephanie, good luck with that.

(Parker moves back into aisle toward a man wearing a hat and sunglasses)

Pilot: Welcome to flight 305. What can I get for you, sir?

Cooper: Bourbon and water, please. (hands her a note) And this is for you.

Parker (walks back to Laurie) What did I tell you? Another lovesick businessman. (tucks note into pocket)

Laurie: Now, now. Don’t be so hasty.

(Cooper raises his magazine to cover his face)


[McSweeten Home]

Peter: Once Cooper handed Stephanie Ritter the note, she became his connection to us. Just about everything we know about him...


[Airplane, 1971]

Peter: ...we got from that brave woman. Of course, Stephanie had to open the note first.

Parker (hands Cooper his drink): Here you are, sir.

Cooper (catches Parker’s wrist): Miss... You really ought to read the note.

(Parker pulls her hand away and takes out the note. It reads: I HAVE A BOMB IN MY BRIEFCASE. I WILL USE IT IF NECESSARY. I WANT YOU TO SIT NEXT TO ME. YOU ARE BEING HIGHJACKED. Parker looks around and sits next to Cooper. He puts his briefcase on his lap and opens it, revealing a bomb)


[Interior Car, 1971]

(Nate looks over a file as another agent drives)

Crowsley: The plane just landed. We’ll be at the airport in about five minutes.

Nate: 32 passengers on board. Do they know what’s happening?

Crowsley: No, just the, uh, the stewardess, Stephanie Ritter, and the two-man flight crew.

Nate: And the hijacker... what are his demands?

Crowsley: $200,000, a refueling truck to meet the plane here in Seattle... and four parachutes.

Nate: Four parachutes.


[Seattle Airport, 1971]

Agent: McSweeten, welcome to Seattle. I see you’ve met Mr. Crowsley from the airline. I presume he’s brought you up to speed. While you were delayed, I prepared a tactical assault plan. My men can take out the hijacker with minimal casualties. That is my recommended course of action.

Nate: Why is that?

Agent: Because the bomb’s a fake, the plane is on the ground. If we let him take off again, anything can happen. So, what are your orders?

(Nate and Agent look out the window at the plane)

Crowsley: Why are all the shades down?

Nate: Well, police snipers can’t hit what they can’t see.

Agent: My strike team is standing by. We wait much longer, there’s no telling what this guy might do.

Nate: Radio the pilot. And tell the hijacker to release all the passengers, and we’ll give him what he wants. (points at shutes) Roll these up.

Agent: You’re just gonna let him take off with the money and four parachutes?

Nate: Ah, the chutes are a bluff. He’s gonna land.

Agent: How the hell do you know that?

Nate (laughs): The same way you know the bomb’s a fake. (begins loading money in briefcase)


[Airplane, 1971]

Cooper: Sorry I couldn’t let you get off with the passengers. I need someone to speak for me. Are you scared?

(Parker nods)

Cooper: Do I seem crazy to you?

(Parker shakes her head)

Cooper (takes money from inside his jacket and hands it to Parker): Get me another bourbon and water and, uh, keep the change.

(someone knocks on the plane. Parker moves to get up, but Cooper stops her with a hand on her shoulder)

Cooper: Don’t try anything or I’ll set off the bomb.

(Parker nods and Cooper lets her go. She moves to the door and opens it, revealing Peter outside. Peter throws the shutes inside and hands Parker the briefcase)

Nate: I’m gonna get you out of here safe. I promise.

(Nate closes the door. Cooper looks inside the briefcase)

Cooper: Tell the pilot we’re flying to Mexico City. He’s to fly no higher than 10,000 feet, flaps at 15 degrees. If he fails to comply with any of these instructions, I will know, and I will act accordingly.

(Parker nods)

Cooper: Go.


[Seattle Airport, 1971]

Agent: I told you this was a mistake. Now we’re gonna have to chase him all the way down the coast...

Nate: Reno.

Agent: He told the pilot to fly to Mexico City.

Nate: Well, he’s not gonna get there. No. No, fuel... it burns much faster at low altitude. By my calculations, he’s gonna be running out of fuel by Reno. He’s gonna have to land, and that’s... that’s where we’re gonna take him.

Agent: Based on what?

Nate: On my 55 combat missions in Korea. Give me Las Vegas FBI.


[Airplane, 1971]

(Parker sits in the cockpit between the two pilots as lightning lights up the plane. The plane rocks)

Parker: What was that?

Pilot: Something happened in the cabin. Looks like the aft door is open.

(Parker gets up and opens the door to the cabin)

Pilot: Do not go in there!

(Paper fly about as she moves toward the back of the plane. She finds an open door but no Cooper)


[Reno Airport, 1971]

(agents search the plane as Nate watches Parker talk to a sketch artist)

Artist: More like this?

Parker: Yeah, he had short... short, dark hair. Kind of a high... higher forehead.

Peter: And that was the last anyone saw of Dan “D.B.” Cooper. After that, I was—


[McSweeten Home]

Peter: --transferred back to Portland. They didn’t call it a demotion, but everyone knew that’s what it was.


[Portland FBI Office, 1971]

Peter: Meanwhile, D.B. Cooper became an instant folk hero... a punch line on “Johnny Carson.” They even wrote songs about him.

(Nate enters the Portland office while everyone watches him and “DB Cooper” plays on the radio)

Hardison: It’s not my kind of music, but damned if it ain’t catchy as hell. Welcome back. (answers phone) Agent Wilkins. Yeah. Now, tell it to me. Now, slow down, slow down, slow down.


[McSweeten Home]

(Nate’s phone rings. Peter gestures for him to answer it)

Nate (into phone): Yeah, uh, yeah, what do you got?

Steve: Records of –


[Leverage Headquarters]

Steve: --a farm mortgage held by a Daniel Cooper. It got paid off in 1972.

Hardison: The IRS flagged it, but since agencies didn’t share info back then, it was never forwarded to the FBI.

Steve: Here’s the best part... he was army airborne. Paratrooper.

Hardison: His last---


[McSweeten Home]

Hardison: --known residence is here in Portland. Sophie’s en route. I’ll keep you posted.

(Nate hangs up the phone)

Peter: I know that face. It’s Cooper. He’s got you now.

Nate: Oh, well, we’ll see. It’s getting dark. Peter, do you want to take a little break right...

Peter: When it comes to “skyjack71,” I never rest. I’m guessing that’s a feeling you know well.


[Portland FBI Office, Past]

Peter: I came to believe that finding D.B. Cooper was the reason I was put on this earth. Everything else fell by the wayside.


[McSweeten Home, Past]

(Sophie sits with Christmas decorations as Nate paces behind her)

Nate: Yes, your honor, I know what day it is, but I have a suspect and I need a search warrant before he flees. No. I... I do not have an eyewitness I.D. I... yeah, I understand. Thing i... i... hello? Hello? Ah! (hangs up phone) I got to go.

Sophie: Peter, I can’t believe you’re doing this to us on Christmas Eve.

Nate: Joy, this is not me. As long as Cooper is free and celebrated, other men, desperate men, are gonna hijack planes, and people are gonna get hurt.

Sophie: And you think that’s your fault?

Nate: I know it is.

Sophie: I shouldn’t be surprised. Did you see your son’s Christmas list?

Nate: “A bike. D.B. Cooper.”

Sophie: He knows it’s what you want more than anything in the world.


[Reynolds Home, Past]

(Nate approaches door and knocks, Parker answers)

Parker: Oh. Hi. Agent McSweeten.

Nate: I’m sorry to intrude.

Parker: It’s okay. Uh, do you want some coffee?

Nate: No. No, thank you. I just... I’d like to show you something, and then I’ll, uh, be on my way. (hands her photo) We got a tip that this fella, he’s been going around local bars bragging that he’s D.B. Cooper. I just need you to be positive. Was this the hijacker from flight 305?

Parker: Maybe. I don’t know. I’m sorry.

(Parker hands back photo. Nate looks defeated as he puts the photo in his pocket)

Parker: Hey. Are you okay?

Nate: I’m fine. I just... it’s been a long year. (sighs) Thank you. (turns to go)

Eliot: Mr. McSweeten.

Parker: Oh, uh, this is my husband, Steve Reynolds.

Eliot: How you doing? Listen, I just wanted to say thank you so much for, uh... What D.B. Cooper put my wife through... don’t ever give up.

Nate: M-maybe I will, ah, take that coffee that you offered.

Eliot: Yeah. Yeah. Come on in.

Parker: Come in.

Eliot: Please.

(in the kitchen, Parker pours the coffee for Nate and Eliot who are sitting at the table)

Nate: What kind of work are you in, Steve?

Eliot: Whatever I can get these days, you know? It’s tough out there since the army sent me home. Going on... About three years next month.

Nate: Three years?

Eliot: Yeah.

Nate: So you were on the Tet offensive?

Eliot: I was. I wanted to serve my country. (chuckles) Now you got crack pots hijacking airplanes, you got college students calling us vets “baby killers,” and it just feels like...

Nate: It feels like the world is being turned upside down, doesn’t it?

Eliot: Yes, it does.

Nate: Steve, what if I were to tell you that you could help bring D.B. Cooper to justice?

Eliot: What do you mean?

Nate: What I mean is, how would you like a job?


[Quantico, Past]

Nate: And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office, so help me God.

Eliot: That I will well...

Peter (voice over): Steve Reynolds was a decorated veteran, and with my support, he went to Quantico and was sworn in as a FBI agent.

Nate: One of the perks of undercover work... I got them to waive cutting your hair.

(Eliot laughs)

Nate (gesturing for camera): Uh, for Mr. Hoover.

(camera flashes, picture becomes one of Peter and Steve)


[McSweeten Home]

Peter: Steve became my partner. I finally had an ally in my quest to bring D.B. Cooper to justice.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: Hey, Steve. Did you ever think that you would end up in the FBI?

Steve: Well... After I went through in the war? (laughs) I never thought I’d live this long. You know, it’s fair to say that the day that Peter McSweeten knocked on my door, he saved my life.

Peter: Years went by.


[McSweeten Home]

Peter: Suspects came and went. Then we got our first break in the case. A family found cash from the Cooper ransom washed up on a riverbank. We went to investigate, and that’s—


[Exterior Woods, Past]

Peter: —when everything changed.

(Nate, Eliot and Hardison walk through a forest)

Hardison: What the hell we doing out here?

Nate: We’re following the first solid lead we’ve had in years.

Hardison: Yeah, right. Probably have better luck finding big foot.

Eliot (grabs Hardison): Now, you listen to me! My wife still has nightmares about that hijacking, all right?! Now you...

Nate: Easy. Easy. (pushes them apart) Gentlemen.

Hardison: What do you expect to find out here, huh? D.B. Cooper living in a log cabin? He died in them trees or he walked out. Either way, he won. You lost. D.B. Cooper is just another file for the cold-case room. (walks awa)

Eliot: Sorry.

Nate: He’s right.

Eliot: Don’t listen to him, Pete.

Nate: We may never find him, but... we can still do some good.


[Cold Case 721768: ‘Drustore Cowboy’ pill distribution ring]

Pete (voice over): That’s when Steve and I took over the cold-case unit.

(Eliot chases a suspect along an elevated train system. Nate pulls up in a car and they continue chase)


[Cold Case 755506: Police Corruption]

(Eliot pulls handfuls of cash from a bag)

Eliot: I just want to get the hell out of here.

Bad Cop: I hear you.

(Eliot examines drugs from another bag)

Nate: Freeze! FBI.

Eliot: No, no, no! D...

(Nate shoots the bad cop, who falls)

Eliot: Stay down! Stay down! (cuffs the bad cop) Get your hands behind your back! (slams the bad cop down on a barrel) What the hell are you doing, man? I didn’t do the deal.

Nate: That’s not heroin in there. It’s cyanide. We thought he was just a dirty narcotics detective. Turns out he’s also a psychopath.


[Cold Case 721768: Multi-state grocery store hold-up spree]

(Nate chases Virgil down a sidewalk. Eliot runs along a roof line as they run down an alley. Virgil reaches a dead end and turns, pointing a gun at Nate)

Nate: Whoa, hey, Virgil, now listen to me. You’re a stick-up man, not a cop killer. I know what you’re going through. It’s not easy losing your house, losing your job. But you’ve got to...

(Eliot jumps on Virgil, knocking him down and punching him)

Nate: He wasn’t gonna shoot.

(Nate pulls Virgil along down a road with Eliot beside him)

Nate: Well, we got the gun that he used for the stick-up.

Eliot: What’s in the trunk, Virgil?

Nate: Well...

Eliot: Huh?

Nate (pulling keys from Virgil’s pocket): Let’s have a look. (tosses keys to Eliot) Was it a ski mask that you used, huh?

(Eliot opens the trunk of Virgil’s car to reveal a woman in the trunk)

Eliot: It’s the clerk from Roy’s marketplace... the one that I.D’d him. (lifts woman out) Come here, sweetie. (sets her down) There. (ungags her) You okay?

Woman: Yeah. (hugs Eliot) Thank you.

Eliot (to Pete): You think too much of people. (leads woman away)


[McSweeten Home]

Nate (answering phone): Yeah?

Sophie: Nate, I—


[Cemetery]

Sophie: —found Daniel Cooper. (looks down at headstone) Looks like he died in 1968, three years before the hijacking. It’s another dead end. Cooper died abroad... Vietnam. That’s why Hardison didn’t find a death certificate. Anyway, it was three years before the highjacking.


[McSweeten Home]

Nate (dials phone): Yeah, Hardison.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Nate: What else did you find in the case file?

Hardison: It’s not what’s in here. It’s what’s missing. There’s no DNA evidence, even though they pulled hairs and fibers from the hijacker’s clothing.

(Steve hangs photos on a board)

Steve: You know, I retired before that stuff became important, but I know where it must be stored. The crime lab.


[Interior Van]

Parker: DNA file’s secure. On my way.

McSweeten: Copy. (laughs and picks up a piece of equipment) Look at all this stuff.


[Exterior Crime Lab]

(Parker crosses the road with a box)


[Interior Van]

McSweeten: I asked the bureau for a desk lamp six months ago. Is that a crossbow?

Parker (opens door): Here! (throws box at McSweeten and climbs into the van) Come on! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!

(McSweeten moves to front of van and drives away)


[Exterior Crime Lab]

Nate: Peter, any regrets about the case?

Peter: Just one.


[Exterior Crime Lab, Past]

Peter: My boy, Todd, had a hard time growing up in the shadow of D.B. Cooper.


[Portland FBI Office, Past]

Nate (answering phone): McSweeten. Thank you. (hangs up phone) Michael Novak’s here.

Eliot: Eight years after the hijacking, and now this kid thinks they got the composite sketch wrong?

Nate: Well, him, he was on the plane, and he swears that Cooper looked different than in the sketch. Come on. We have to...

Eliot: Follow every lead. All right.

Nate (answering phone): McSweeten. Todd? Tally ho, son. Where... where are you? Yeah, okay. I’ll be... I’ll be right there. (hangs up phone) I...

Eliot: Go. Go. I got the Novak interview.


[Exterior Street, Past]

(Todd stands at a corner as Nate pulls up, honking. Todd approaches the car)

Nate: What happened?

Todd: A bunch of kids said they needed to borrow my bike to look for a lost dog. They said they’d be right back.

Nate: When was that?

Todd: Three hours ago. Why does this keep happening to me?

Nate (sighs): Every day, I go and chase bad guys... some really bad. And pretty soon, you start to see everyone like that. It’s easier that way. You know, you could... you could be like that, too. You wouldn’t lose as many bikes.

Todd: But I won’t find any lost dogs.

Nate: That’s right. (sighs) It’s not a weakness to see the good in people, all right? It’s not a... a flaw or a bad thing to... to trust. Do you want to know the truth, Todd? You’re the best guy I know. Get in.

Peter: I still believe that.


[McSweeten Home]

Peter: The people I arrested... they were human beings to me. Something drove them to cross the line, but I always believed that they could be redeemed, even Cooper.

Nate: No.

Peter: Don’t you believe that?

Nate: No. No. I wish I did.

Peter: Then you can see why I’m worried about my son.

Nate: Sure. You’re afraid of what the hunt for Cooper might do to him.

Peter: I tried to stop him, but I suppose a son will always try to avenge his father’s defeats.

Nate (gestures toward book): Like Telemachus and Odysseus.

Peter: You don’t have to find D.B. Cooper. He’s... Lost somewhere in the darkness. Just... Just make sure my son doesn’t follow him there.

Nate: Well, it’s getting late. Until tomorrow.

Peter: I’ll be here.

Nate: Thank you.

Peter: Yep.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Nate: Hey. What’s in the DNA file?

Hardison: The DNA never made it to the main case file because it was contaminated by the investigating team. Everybody’s DNA is in there... Cooper’s, Reynolds’, McSweeten’s, the lab techs’.

Nate: Yeah, I was afraid of that. That’s what happens sometimes with old cases when they predate modern forensics.

Hardison: So, what? Back to square one?

Nate: No, I prefer “back to the drawing board.” It’s more hopeful.

(Parker’s phone rings)

Parker: It’s McSweeten. (answers) Hi. Hey... Yeah. I’m sorry. Okay. (hangs up) His dad died last night.


[Brew Pub]

McSweeten: We should be drinking coffee.

(Nate pours shots)

McSweeten: Dad loved his coffee.

Steve: Yeah. He’d let it get ice cold and top it off all day long. Drove me crazy.

Parker: What else do you remember about him?

Steve: Well, he was a hell of a shot.

McSweeten: Yeah, but a terrible driver.

Steve: That’s true.

Steve: One time, we’re in this high-speed chase, and he plows us right into this restaurant dumpster. Pow! What a mess! So we get out of the car, we’re looking at the damage, and this girl comes running up to us and says somebody attacked her and that maybe she thought he was the C.I.A. Or one of the Russians. She’s, uh, tripping on acid. She’s a runaway. So I’m ready to hand her over to the paramedics. Peter’s got her in the back seat of the car. “Take us to him,” he tells her. We found the guy! He’s in the bus station! And the next day, he takes us to the woods where he’s buried three other runaways. I say to Peter, “Hey. This girl, she was. She was strung out. She was ranting. I mean, how did you know?” He said, “All I heard was that she was afraid.” So, (raises his glass) here’s to Peter McSweeten, who couldn’t drive a lick.

(they all toast)

McSweeten: I want to thank you again for trying. From now on, the hunt for D.B. Cooper is on me.


[Leverage Headquarters]

Parker: What are you doing?

Nate: Working. You hear what McSweeten said back there? This was gonna be his fight now? (Nate turns to look at her) I’m not gonna let that happen.

(Nate and Hardison pace)

Nate: Michael Novak was a 10-year-old passenger on the plane when he told Steve Reynolds that D.B. Cooper looked different than the sketch.

Hardison: Yeah, but he only remembered after eight years. And he saw him for all of, what, 10 seconds? The stewardess... she was on the flight, sitting next to him for five hours straight. She studied every inch of his face.

Nate: What do we know about this case? What do we know about this case? I mean, we don’t have a suspect. We have hundreds of suspects. We don’t even know if he survived the jump, right? The only thing that we have for certain... we have this sketch. This sketch that was provided by the stewardess’s description. That’s the only thing that no one has ever questioned. (pushes board aside) Where was the stewardess sitting when the FBI interviewed her?

Hardison: On the plane. Why? (brings up seating chart on the display)

Nate: And what was the in-flight magazine?

Hardison (pulls up cover of magazine): “Sky Class.”

Nate: Show me the back cover.

(Hardison does so)

Nate: Enlarge.

(large picture of back of magazine fills screen)

Nate: Sketch.

(display changes to side by side of the sketch and the back of the magazine. The men displayed are the same)

Hardison: Now, why would she lie?


[Reynolds Home]

(Nate approaches door and rings the bell. Steve answers)

Steve: Nick! Hey!

Nate: Steve.

(they shake)

Nate: Hey, sorry to bother you.

Steve: Come on in. It’s all right.

Nate: I was in the neighborhood, and I just had a couple of questions about the case I wanted to run by you. I hope it’s all right.

Steve: Yeah.

Nate: Oh, here’s... Stephanie? (picks up picture) She sure was beautiful.

Steve: Yeah. Miss her every day. She’s been gone 10 years now.

Nate: 10 years now?

Steve: Ah. Just making some tea. Excuse me. (walks into kitchen)

Nate: You and her got married in 1972, right?

(behind Nate, Steve walks toward door holding case and gun. Nate turns to see him, and McSweeten enters through front door)

McSweeten: Uncle Steve?

Nate: Now why don’t you tell us the real story of D.B. Cooper?

Steve: I’ve been carrying this around with me for a long time.


[Airplane, 1971]

(Parker approaches a passenger)

Parker: Welcome to flight 305. What can I get for you, sir?

Eliot (lowers newspaper): I believe I’ll have a bourbon and water, please. (hands Parker a note) And this is for you.

(scene changes to Eliot and Parker sitting next to each other on plane)

Eliot: Are you scared?

(Parker nods)

Eliot: Do you think I’m crazy?

(Parker nods. Eliot takes off glasses and hat)

Eliot: What about now? I’m not doing this ‘cause I want to. I’m doing it because I made a promise.

Parker: To who?

(Eliot shows Parker a set of dog tags)

Parker: P.F.C. Daniel Cooper.

Eliot: I held his hand when he died. And I told him that I was gonna take care of his family, and that’s what I’m going to do.

Parker: Please, I don’t want to die. This... this ring? It’s just for show to keep the drunks away. But I want to get married, and I want to have kids.

Eliot: Hey. I’m not gonna hurt you. Or anyone. Do you believe me?

(Parker nods. Eliot nods)

Parker: What do you want me to do?

Eliot (takes money from inside his jacket and hands it to Parker): I think I’ll have another bourbon and water. Keep the change.

(someone knocks on the plane. Parker moves to get up, but Eliot stops her with a hand on her shoulder)

Eliot: Hey. Let’s see. You tell them if they try anything, I will set this bomb off. Tell them.

(Parker gets up and moves toward front of plane. Halfway there she stops and looks at Eliot)

(later in the cabin, the plane jerks)

Parker: What was that?

Captain: Something happened in the cabin. Looks like the aft door is open.

(Parker gets up and opens the door to the cabin)

Pilot: Do not go in there!

(Paper fly about as she moves toward the back of the plane. She finds an open and Eliot ready to jump)

Parker: Don’t!

Eliot: Stay back!

Parker: You’ll never make it!

Eliot: There’s only one way to find out!

Parker: Look, maybe it should have been you instead of your friend. But it doesn’t matter! (she falls into Eliot, who catches her) Don’t do this.

Eliot: Why do you care?

Parker: I don’t know.

Eliot: Come on. (pushes her up further into the plane, then stands on the stairs looking at her) I’ll see you again. I promise. And I keep my promises. (he jumps)

Parker: No!


[Reynolds Home, Past]

(Parker is doing dishes. She turns, and when she looks back, Eliot is standing outside the window. She goes to the back yard to meet him. He’s carrying the briefcase he jumped from the plane with, but drops it on the ground before touching her face and pulling her close.

Eliot: Hi.

Parker: Hi.

(fade to a photo of their wedding. Parker puts on a record and dances toward Eliot)

Eliot: Wonder if Santa’s in the area.

Parker: Maybe.

Eliot: Cheers.

Peter: Cheers.

(they touch glasses, looking out the window. Together they see Nate getting out of his car)

Parker: Oh, my God. It’s the FBI. Go. You have to get out of here. Go out the back. (pushing Eliot toward another room) I’m not gonna lose you!

Eliot: You’re not gonna lose me. I promise, okay? Just be cool. Be cool. Just answer the door. Trust me. Answer the door.

(Eliot leaves room. Scene fades to Eliot sitting back down at the table)

Parker (from another room): Merry Christmas to you, too, Agent McSweeten. (enters room) What the hell was that? Why didn’t you leave?

Eliot: I don’t know. I don’t know. I wanted to see his face. Did you hear what he said? How would I like a job? He’s taunting me. He’s taunting me. Yeah. Why doesn’t he just put me in jail?

Parker: Well, maybe not. Maybe he’s telling the truth. I mean, why would he come here like this? You could run now. It doesn’t make any sense.

Eliot: You actually think he wants me to help him find D.B. Cooper?

Parker: Yes. And I think you should do it.

Eliot (leans forward): I’m D.B. Cooper.

Parker (leans forward): Which is why it’s perfect. If you’re right, then they already know who you are, and it’s only a matter of time until they catch you. But if I’m right, they will never find D.B. Cooper because he will be right in front of them.

Eliot (sits back): So you think I should do it?

Parker: I think you’re gonna have to be on top of your game. One slip-up and it’s over.


[Reynolds Home]

McSweeten: How’d you figure out he was D.B. Cooper?

Nate: Daniel Cooper died in the Tet offensive. And it wasn’t too hard to figure out that Steve was in his unit, and there was another reason that the physical evidence was contaminated by the investigating team.

McSweeten: What about the money?

Steve: It paid for a dairy farm for Dan Cooper’s family. Buried some in the woods... In case I got caught. That’s what the campers found.

Nate: You know, there-there’s one thing that I just couldn’t... couldn’t quite figure out. The kid witness on the plane.


[Plane, 1971]

(Parker walks down the eisle, looking at passengers, one of which is a child, drawing)

Nate: Novak.


[Reynolds Home]

Nate: Now, you interviewed him. How’d you fool him?

Steve: Well, years of lying taught me one thing. Look someone dead in the eye.


[Portland FBI Office, Past]

Nate (answering phone): McSweeten. Todd? Tally ho, son. Where... where are you? Yeah, okay. I’ll be... I’ll be right there. (hangs up phone) I...

Eliot: Go. Go. I got the Novak interview.


[Portland FBI Lobby, Past]

(Eliot approaches a young man sitting on a bench, showing his FBI badge)

Eliot: Michael?

Michael: Yes, sir.

Eliot: Special Agent Steven Reynolds. How you doing? I’m gonna take your statement today. On behalf of the FBI, I just want to say... thank you for coming forward.

(Michael nods eagerly)


[Reynolds Home]

Steve: Your dad was like a brother to me. (stands and holds his hands out for cuffs) Nothing will ever change that.

(McSweeten takes handcuffs from his belt and handcuffs Steve, leading him out of the house)


[Exterior Reynolds Home]

(McSweeten puts Steve in the back of his car and walks around to the driver’s side. Nate approaches)

Nate: Todd.

He’s a criminal. He belongs in jail.

Nate: Is... is that... is that really what you want?

McSweeten: Yes. It’s what my father wanted more than anything in the world... to bring D.B. Cooper to justice.

Nate: You know, Todd, your... your dad, he had a gift that I believe he passed on to you. He could see goodness in people. And because of that, did bring D.B. Cooper to justice.


[Flashbacks]

(At Nate shakes Eliot’s hand)

(In the Portland FBI Office, Eliot and Nate work on various cold cases)

(Nate chases Virgil down a sidewalk. Eliot runs along a roof line as they run down an alley)

(Eliot hugs Parker as they talk to Nate at the Reynolds home)

(Eliot lifts a woman from the trunk of Virgil’s car)

(Eliot chases a suspect along an elevated train system. Nate pulls up in a car and they continue chase)

Steve (sitting in Leverage Headquarters): You know, it’s fair to say that the day that Peter McSweeten knocked on my door, he saved my life.


[Exterior Reynolds Home]

(McSweeten thinks about it as Steve waits tensely in the back of the car. McSweeten looks at Nate, who nods)



[McSweeten Home]

(McSweeten enters carrying suitcase, walks over to his dad’s chair, puts down his briefcase and picks up the copy of “The Odyssey of Homer”, pulling out the book mark to see the Christmas list he’d written many years before)


[Brew Pub]

(Nate and McSweeten sit at the bar drinking)

Nate: You did the right thing.

McSweeten: You think my father knew?

Nate: Yeah, listen, here’s the thing. Peter McSweeten knew that Steve Reynolds was a man who deserved a second chance. I mean, isn’t that enough?

McSweeten: Yeah. (takes drink and slides the book over to Nate) I wanted to thank you.

Nate: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I... I can’t take that.

McSweeten: My father went on an odyssey for over 40 years. You ended it. (stands) I know he’d want you to have it. (walks away)

Sophie (approaching, sees book): I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going back to sea.

Nate: If you could choose someone from “the Odyssey” that most resembles me, who would it be?

Sophie: Well, um... The hero, obviously... Odysseus. Cunning warrior, master of disguise, and it means “trouble” in Greek.

Nate: I think I’m like a siren.

Sophie: Ah. You sing the songs that lure the sailors to their death.

Nate: Yes, but not just any song.

Sophie: No, no, no. The song that offers them their deepest desire.

Nate: When we first started this thing, this thing that we do, do you remember what I said to everybody? “You all know what you can do, but I know what you can do together”? That my talent. But now...

Sophie: Now you offer a man like Oliver Schmidt their deepest desire in order to... cestroy them.

Nate: When you spend most of your time getting inside the minds of bad people, looking for their flaws and their weakness, then it’s pretty much all you see. Everyone.

Sophie: That’s not what happened to Peter McSweeten.

Nate: Ah, but Peter McSweeten wasn’t Jimmy Ford’s son.

Sophie: So, what do you want to do?

Nate: I want to build something.

The End

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