Arlo Brandt

.

- Previously on "The Hunting Party"...

Truthfully, I took the job

to be closer to family.

- Dr. Dulles, you have a visitor.

Hi, Dad.

- This is written by a Dr. Dulles.

Does that name mean anything to you?

Uh, not really.

I mean, I'm pretty sure he was gone before my time.

- Just got those satellite images back from my friend.

These are the rescue efforts at the Pit.

This is where Silo 12 is located.

Why doctor this and not the Pit?

- What's more top-secret than the Pit?

What is out there?

- Some secrets are better left buried.

* *

* *

* I was lying on the grass *

* Of Sunday morning of last week *

* Indulging in my self-defeat *

- * My mind was thugged, all laced and bugged *

* All twisted, wrong, and beat *

* A comfortable three feet deep *

* *

* Now the fuzzy stare from not being there *

* *

* *

* *

Hey.

Hey, everything cool?

Uh, I'm sorry to bother you.

No, no, no, no.

It's no bother.

How can I help you?

- I, uh--actually, I hit something on the road,

and I blew a couple tires.

Oh, no.

Yeah.

Just up over there.

Yeah.

Did you, um, call a tow?

I tried.

I just can't get any service.

Yeah.

Yeah, the cell service is, uh, pretty spotty around here.

Yeah.

But you know, you're welcome to--to use my phone.

- Oh, uh, I don't want to intrude.

Um-- - No.

Would you maybe just--

could you call for me?

Would that be okay?

Oh, sure, dude.

No problem.

Hey, Chuck, it's Arlo.

- Or you can get two tins for $39.99.

- Yeah. Hey, um,

I got a dude over here that needs a tow.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's right, 225 Rieber Road.

You got it.

Oh, okay.

Hey, buddy. - Hmm?

He wants to talk to you.

Oh, uh--

Thanks.

* *

Hello?

Hello?

* *

- The commercial said it could cut through anything.

Let's find out.

* *

* *

Good morning, Morales.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Morning.

What cup are you on?

Three.

It's still early.

Milk, one sugar? - No, I'm good.

I got five hours of broken sleep

on a lumpy motel mattress, so good to go.

- You never did need much to recharge.

I always envied that.

- I am sure it's taking years off my life,

but it's got its upsides.

Can we talk?

Of course, yeah.

Is everything okay?

Yeah, yeah.

Should I be nervous?

Uh, it depends.

I know about Silo 12.

* *

- Bex, I told you there are certain things that I can't--

- No, what you told me was the blast at the Pit

was no accident.

How was Silo 12 involved?

Who's asking, you or Hassani?

- You want me to trust you, yet you keep stonewalling me.

That's not how trust works.

This isn't about trust.

The hell it's not.

There is so much that you're not telling me,

yet you want my loyalty in return.

It's not a good look, Oliver.

I can't help here if I don't know what I'm dealing with.

I'm trying to protect you.

When it comes to the Pit, information is dangerous.

Yeah.

So is being kept in the dark.

There you are.

We got a hit.

Dad.

All I'm seeing is his chin.

There he is.

Hey, Dad.

That's not my son.

- Come on, Dad, just let the nurse--

- I don't take orders from you.

I'm sorry, Shane.

I thought seeing you might calm him down, but--

No, it's--it's fine.

Um, listen, I got to get to work,

but if you could just, uh, give me a call if anything comes up.

And thanks for trying.

Will do.

Oh!

Let go of me!

This place is a prison.

* *

Ready when you are, sir.

- A man named Lucas Niles was found washed up

on a riverbank in Missouri.

He's currently in a coma at the local hospital.

DNA taken from under his fingernails matches

a Pit inmate named Arlo Brandt.

A compulsive consumer, Brandt suffered

from a psychological condition in which his sense of self was

based solely on his material possessions.

He was a unique case of conspicuous consumption,

as defined by Thurston Veblen.

Thorstein Veblen.

Uh, he was a 19th-century sociologist who studied people

who were fixated on material possessions

as a way of elevating their social status.

- Only in Brandt's case, he was a home shopper.

He packed his farmhouse with every item

he could buy over the phone.

- Screams shopaholic more than serial killer, doesn't it?

- Well, initially murder was just

a way to fund his addiction.

He'd booby trap the road to lure

stranded travelers looking for help.

He would kill them, and then he would strip their cars

and sell them for parts on eBay.

But over time, the killing itself became

his ultimate form of consumption.

- What's more valuable than a life?

- It took four U-Hauls to clear out

his possessions, and a dozen coroners

to cart off the corpses.

In the Pit, Brandt underwent something called MDT,

or Material Detachment Therapy, a treatment through which

he was denied all possessions of any kind.

Literally nothing?

- I guess the idea was if he could control

his urge to possess, then the same could be done

for his urge to kill.

- If he was denied all possessions

while incarcerated-- well, all stimuli, really--

then the outside world is going to overwhelm him.

He's gonna need to self-soothe. - Mm.

Something tells me that means more than a warm blanket

and a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

All right, let's roll.

Thank you.

* *

Greetings, friend.

I haven't seen you here before.

Are you new to meditation?

No.

I've been refining my practice for many years now.

- I commend your strength, brother.

I know that's not easy.