The Equalizer

There are things in this world that no one

should have to experience.

And it is my job to make them right.

It's okay. We're the good guys.

Previously on The Equalizer...

This is Melody, one of my oldest friends.

How's it going, Harry?

I need those freaky-ass superpowers of yours.

I serve as an equalizer.

It's what I was put on this earth to do.

Whoo! Let's get them!

Get over here!

Burn it to the ground!

Ella?

Upstairs!

Ella!

Stay back!

We don't want no trouble. No!

- Daddy! - Ella, we have to go.

Come on.

- It's okay. - Go.

Go on, grab it!

Y'all really gonna make me choose?

Come on, now. Stop stalling.

Yeah, Mom. Which is better?

- Damn! - Boom! Told you.

Almond flour was the move.

Girl, congratulations.

That means you can start making breakfast

- for everybody from now on. - Wait, what?

Good luck with that.

Okay, no.

That is not her recipe. She set me up.

Ooh, Aunt Vi with the long game.

- What you got up for today? - Vera's coming over.

She's applying for the U.N.'s youth internship program,

and she asked me for help on her essay.

Smart, asking you.

- Okay, I'm out. - She's in the kitchen.

- Bye. Love you. - Love you.

- Have fun. - Thanks.

Hey, Vera.

Thank you so much for doing this with me.

Of course. I mean, United Nations?

- That's so exciting. - I know, right?

Okay.

- Let me know what you think. - Okay.

Um...

Wait, is this a mistake?

It says "Vera Lopez."

I thought your last name was Franks.

Lopez is my middle name. My mom thinks I stand a better chance

if they know I'm a minority candidate.

But you're not.

I kinda am. Lopez is my middle name

from my grandfather's side, and I have the right to use it.

Okay, but should you?

I'm just saying I've known you since junior high,

and you've never said you were anything but white.

But now that being a minority can help you...

Does that not ring false to you?

Why not use Franks

and then put Lopez as your middle name

if that's true.

It is true.

I wouldn't lie about that.

And this program

could really help me get into some good colleges.

I thought you of all people would understand.

No, I mean, I want to help you. It's just...

I'm not sure if I'm okay with this.

Seriously, Dee?

Wow.

Fine.

This painting you want me to find. Do you have a photo?

No. Just my grandmother's descriptions.

- When was it stolen? - On May 31,

1921, from her house in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tulsa?

You don't mean...?

The first night, there were shootings.

Fires came on the second.

On the third, planes dropped bombs.

35 blocks of Black Wall Street

burned to the ground by race terrorists.

My grandmother Ella was left homeless that night.

Her mother, Ruthie, lost her life.

The whole event was just pure evil.

And we're still living with the scars.

Ever heard of Henry Ossawa Tanner?

The artist. Course.

- Powerful work. - At the turn of the century,

my great-grandfather commissioned him

to do a portrait of Ruthie.

This is a rough sketch

from my grandmother's memory.

That painting,

along with trucks

and supplies from our family's shipping business,

were stolen that night.

- Did your grandmother say by who? - She was just a child.

But she never forgot.

Not their faces or their laughter.

It was the Nardoni Brothers.

- Wilford and Neil. - As in...?

Nardoni International Shipping.

Their family built their empire

on what was stolen from ours.

Last year,

Fortune did a profile on Roger Nardoni,

great-grandson of Wilford. Now owner of the company.

You see that there?

That's the corner of the painting.

It's in his home office.

Or was when they took the photo.

Have you contacted him?

We have. Our lawyers have.

But, of course, he denied it. We even got the police to search

his place, but they claimed they couldn't find it.

It'd be worth millions today.

But it's not about the money.

Grandmother Ella is now 107,

and she hasn't seen her mother's face

in over 100 years.

Her dying wish

is to see her one last time before she passes.

We know he has it.

But we're at a dead end here,

and Grandmother Ella doesn't have much time.

Can you help us?

Your client is right.

Police did conduct a search of Roger Nardoni's place

five months ago. Found nothing, but...

- But what? - I doubt they looked very hard.

Nardoni's a major donor to the benevolent fund.

Billionaires certainly know how to hide their assets.

Listen, you find something, give me a call.

Until then, I can't help you.

Thanks.

All right, Roger Nardoni.

CEO, Nardoni Shipping.

In the last hundred years, they've expanded

from trucks to tank barges.

Now they run 25 container ships to Asia and South America.

Not exactly a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" kind of guy.

His fortune, his business: all inherited from his family.

And all stolen from someone else's.

And this kind of injustice leaves a legacy.

Just like wealth.

Gets passed down through the generations.

The first thing we need to do is find that painting.

Harry, dig into his life.

See what you can learn.

Where you going?

Nardoni's.

Cops may have tipped him before the search

so he could hide the painting.

It's been long enough, maybe he put it back.

So you're gonna, what, break into his house?

Why break in when I can be invited?

Ms. Brandicott. Come.

Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.

Oh, anyone who moves half a billion semiconductors a year

is someone I can make time for.

Those are impressive numbers.

Not as impressive as your art collection.

You have quite the eclectic taste.

At least, to my untrained eye.

It's true. My taste spans the globe,

just like my business.

You're shipping out of Taiwan?

Port of Gaoxiong.

I thought your company had a contract with Maersk.

We do. And we're not happy.

But we want to avoid a potential frenzy,

so we're not advertising.

It's why you didn't want to come to the office.

Mr. Toshigi doesn't like rumors.

What about this one?

Ah. It's a Burchfield. 1916.

1916? Really?

The colors are vibrant.

No cracking at all.

It almost looks new.

Well, like you said, your eye is untrained.

A-About your order.

What kind of time frame are you thinking about?

As soon as possible once we see numbers we like.

Mr. Toshigi would like bids by Friday.

And if word leaks,

you're out.

But don't worry.

From what I've seen,

I have a feeling we'll be talking again soon.

It's the same frame, but the painting is new.

Designed to match what's in the magazine.

And when I asked Nardoni

about it, his face lit up with micro-tells.

He must've gotten spooked

by the Watkins family inquiry.