The Equalizer

Previously on The Equalizer...

I mean, who do you go to if you can't go to the cops?

We've gotten dozens of hits off that message you sent out.

- What are you doing? - I'm using my powers for good.

He's gonna be heavily guarded.

Well, then, I'm gonna need backup.

Trouble's my specialty.

Yes, it is.

Looks like you made some improvements with the place.

What do you need?

I need those freaky-ass superpowers of yours.

Detective Marcus Dante. Have you guys ever

come across this woman as a part of your investigation?

The facial rec turned up negative.

They said it's like she doesn't exist.

Except she does.

Tommy, open up. It's Dale. I made it.

Tommy?

Tommy? Tommy!

Oh, no.

Oh, stop. I can walk from here.

Oh, what, you don't want me to pump up my old-school joints?

Hey!

- Oh, hey, Jazzy. - Mom.

I haven't seen Jasmine in some time.

Any reason for that?

No. Just been busy. See you.

Yeah?

Morning, sunshine. Bad time?

No, I'm good. What's up?

There's some lawyer

putting the word out to the "got a problem" person.

He sounds pretty desperate.

We got to find something better to call me than that.

Go ahead and set up the meet.

So the rumors are true... You really do exist.

I've heard rumors, too.

Nic Palermo. Public defender.

Used to be a pretty good lawyer until you hit the bottle.

Yeah, well, I'm not here about me.

It's about an old client.

Dale Aldridge.

The murderer that just escaped Danford a few days back?

I don't help criminals.

Please.

He's innocent.

His case nearly broke me.

I spent ten years trying to show folks

that what happened to Dale was a gross miscarriage of justice.

But everywhere I turned, there were brick walls.

It wears on a man.

He's out of appeals now,

but he's still trying to prove that he didn't do it.

And if the cops find him, they'll probably kill him.

He deserves better, better than I could do.

Look, if you don't believe me, just take a look at the case.

There's something off about it.

Okay, I'll look at the case,

but I need to meet him face-to-face.

He called me from a burner. I don't know where he is.

Let me handle that.

Tommy Venti. Parolee.

Released from prison four months ago.

U.S. Marshals found the body

when they were tracking down that escapee,

Dale Aldridge.

Smart money's on a prison beef.

He and Aldridge were cellies.

This is Deputy U.S. Marshal Mike Monroe.

He's leading the fugitive task force.

Detective Marcus Dante.

Not much for you, Detective.

Neighbor saw Aldridge fleeing the scene.

Pretty cut-and-dry.

Except this was more than a prison beef.

These marks... This was an interrogation.

Someone wanted information.

Or just wanted to make it last.

If Dale Aldridge is settling scores, this won't be

the only homicide you're following down.

Easy, Dale. Easy, Dale. I'm not a cop.

Your lawyer Nic, he sent me to help you.

How'd you find me?

Tracked your burner phone.

What are you, some kind of a P.I.?

No. I'm more of a specialist.

Your lawyer says you're trying to clear your name.

How you planning on doing that?

There's this guy named Preacher,

and my last cellmate, Tommy, did time with him

a couple of years back upstate.

Overheard him confess

to the murder I'm in for.

When Tommy got out, he tracked him down.

We were gonna confront him, but...

Preacher, he got to Tommy first.

Beat him to death.

So that was your plan,

force a confession out of a killer?

Even if you did, you're out of appeals.

You wouldn't even get a new trial.

I don't care about a trial.

The only thing I care about is him.

That's my son, Blake.

He thinks he's the son of a murderer.

His mother says he's self-destructing,

going down the wrong path.

If I can just show him I'm not who they say I am,

maybe he won't think that's who he is, either.

I just want him to have a chance.

Okay, so, where is this Preacher?

That's just it. Tommy wouldn't say,

'cause everything's recorded on prison phones.

Preacher, that's just a nickname.

I don't even know his real name.

Well, let me worry about that.

But it might take a minute.

I can put you up in a safe house for a few days.

I can keep myself safe.

Cops consider you armed and dangerous.

They will shoot to kill.

I appreciate the help.

Would you trust anyone if you were me?

Well, okay.

But use this phone.

No one can track it but me.

Keep it on. Lose the other.

And don't even think about trying to contact your family.

Cops will be on 'em.

In the meantime,

I'll try to locate Preacher.

I remember this case.

They called it "Terror in Great Neck."

The guy would cut alarms and break in when no one was home.

Except for the last time someone was.

Carol Walton,

an ER nurse... She was found stabbed to death.

A neighbor said they saw Dale

hanging around her house that night.

Sounds suspicious.

Well, until you find out that he was working

as a handyman at the house next door.

So based on the testimony of one person,

Dale got sentenced to life.

There had to be other evidence.

I mean, DNA or a murder weapon.

Not according to his lawyer's files.

And he had no record.

Prosecution used the fact that he was

working-class and struggling, trying to provide

- for his family as motive. - It's hard to imagine

being locked up for something that you didn't do,

and then watching, helpless,

as your kid goes down the wrong road.

Got him.

No thanks to the Department of Corrections.

Their I.T. system's a pit of idiocy.

Reginald Floyd, aka Preacher.

Did a nickel at Fishkill for B and E.

Shared a block with Tommy for two of them.

Look at this.

- What? - Apparently, he got a traffic ticket

ten years ago: Rolling through a stop sign in Great Neck.

Date on the ticket?

Mm, June 11.

Same night as one of the first burglaries.

That's our guy. How do I find him?

It looks like he's in Queens. Apparently found God

on the inside... He's got some kind

of inner-city, uh, ministry now.

Then he should know all about the power of confession.

Yo. Rob, hey.

Uh, just watch your back out there.

That, uh, that cop

that's been looking for you, Marcus Dante, he's on

the task force that's hunting Aldridge.

Then I'll keep my eyes open.

If you have to carry the sheep,

that means not only was it far away, it was wounded.

The enemy kidnapped your dreams,

kidnapped your hopes,

kidnapped your future, and tried to kill you

in the process.

You were down, and you were bleeding.

But you survived.

Is there... Are there any survivors in the church today?

Are there any survivors online?

Make a sound if you're a survivor.

Ooh, you got a pretty good swing

for a man of God.

What?

What do you want from me?

The truth.

'Cause, Preacher, today is judgment day.

I know what you're thinking... I'm a killer... but you're wrong.

Says the man who tried to grand-slam my head.

You broke into my house.

I heard someone from my prison days

was looking to get even, then you showed up.

Looking for answers,