The Ritual Killer

I'm going in.

Oh!

There is

an impossibly fine line

between sanity and madness.

And it's not always possible to know

which side of that line we are standing on.

The violence between disparate sides

is not endemic to this culture.

It is endemic to all cultures.

We are again

tribes.

But defining

our tribe is not as simple

as the black people born under the sun,

or the white people born under the moon.

Our division is,

wrong others

against right self.

And this division does not rest

simply on an unfamiliarity

with a tribe other than our own.

It's deeper than that.

Sir?

Yes?

It's the 21st century, Dr. Mackles.

With my phone, I can learn about

any culture on the planet.

I'm a Google search away from knowing

everything about a belief system in 20 minutes.

Let me ask you a question.

What if that belief system you Googled

was so antithetical to your own,

that would seem, for lack of a better word,

insane?

Like what?

Well, like, uh,

take medicine.

Here, medicine is

all pharmaceutical compounds

created in laboratories,

sold by faceless corporations to millions.

In other parts of the world,

medicine is a plant.

A bit of bark, a root,

or a mineral.

Or a combination of all of them.

Administered to one man

by another man

who is believed to channel powers

that you could not begin to comprehend.

This medical knowledge is based on ancient beliefs.

The tenets of which in this country,

it would just make your blood run cold.

Metaphysical beliefs in healing and humanity.

That would seem, um,

insane to you,

no matter how hard you tried to understand them.

But it is the very belief in such things

that gives this medicine it's power.

Looks like we're out of time.

So, we'll take this up again next week.

Thank you.

Mr. Hobbs.

I want you to do something for me.

A little extra credit, if you will.

I want you to take that phone in your pocket

and find me a culture that is so inverse to your own

that the idea of it taking root here, in this city,

would scare the bejesus out of you.

Yes, sir.

Get the fuck in there!

Don't fucking move.

No! Wait!

- Hey! Stop!

What are you doing in there?

I'm Detective Boyd.

Get away from me!

- Calm down, it's okay. I don't wanna go.

Please?

No. What's he doing with her? That's mine!

Shut the fuck up!

You can't take her!

I'm Detective Boyd.

- She's mine! Don't talk to her!

Come on, give me you hand.

What are you doing with her?

Keep your hands up!

Look, I'm gonna get you outta here. Come on.

- Maria? - Hey, where are you going?

- Maria? - Where you going?

You can't take her!

Hey, man.

Get on your fucking... She stays with me, pal.

Get down on your feet now.

I didn't do anything wrong, man.

- Yeah? - She came willingly with me.

I told you, get on your fucking feet!

Nah! You go to hell, bitch.

You first.

No, no, no, no!

We need him alive!

Medics are on the way.

Then go to hell!

You first.

Mr. Farner.

Mr. Randoku. It is an honor, sir.

A man like you, who is so powerful.

Tell me, why do you want to do this?

Who is interviewing who?

I am interviewing you, sir.

I do not do business with anyone,

I do not know everything about.

Neither do I.

Mr. Randoku, I'm a man who explores options

of power, as you say.

It is elusive.

You are a man who harvests power,

and bottles it even.

You're also a man with a lot of eyes on you right now.

I have a plane that can take you anywhere you like.

Appreciate the kind words, sir.

I do not need your help.

You... need me.

Let me know when you are ready.

Think of the souls you could've harvested there, Mr. Randoku.

Detective Boyd, did you feel any sense of vindication

when you fired at the suspect?

Other than it was him or me? No.

Did the death of your own daughter in any way

affect your decision to fire on Mr. Preston?

No.

Let's be honest, Ms. Cannon.

Mr. Preston was clearly leaning forward

at the time of the shooting,

reaching for a gun.

Any more questions?

You okay?

Yeah.

That's not convincing.

No, I'm okay.

I had another bad dream.

Do you want to talk about it?

No. Not really.

Hello?

Yes, it's me.

Let's move forward.

I'll wire what we agreed upon.

Go, go, go, go, go!

You got it!

All right, you go first.

I'm just kidding. Yeah.

What's going on?

You might have fooled the review board,

but don't you think you can fool me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Now, you get your ass

over to the shrink and see if you can fool her.

I think I'm having a hard time hearing you

'cause all I can hear are the voices.

You know?

Fuckers... You having fun?

Yeah, loads.

I was thinking maybe you should take a vacation.

- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.

I'm just curious. Where would you send me?

Anywhere but here.

And do what?

I don't know. Fish.

Go out on - a charter boat. - Fish?