TV Jots

From Cali to Reno to Michigan to Tucson

[Episode 1.03] What are Tom and Jeff up to, dressed all commando outside of what looks like a military base? Why, they’re setting loose kittens so the animals will wander over the sensor line and trip the base’s alarms.

Once that happens enough times to annoy the frak out of the guards, the duo enters undetected and steals a nice big .50-caliber machine gun, as requested by Bobby for the upcoming precious metals job, complete with 400 rounds of ammunition that look like they weight a ton alone. The guys are nothing if not clever.

While Bobby lies to his wife Hope that he’ll be traveling to Portland, San Francisco, and Houston in the next couple of weeks for business, the Feds identify the former husband of “Dorothy Collins” as hardcore criminal and current inmate Michael Khouri (Sterling K. Brown, Army Wives), who’s serving five years in Michigan on a drug charge. The law has also managed to match fabric found on the burned arm from the river with phone company uniforms, so the next step is to scour missing reports for all white males under 60.

Meanwhile, Agents Dodd and Valez (Lisa Vidal, Third Watch) take a trip to Michigan to chat with Khouri. They try to get him to help locate “Dee” by hinting she’s the one who set him up for his current prison stint — since they were robbery buddies and all — but he’s not buying. In fact, the convict asks them quite nicely, if a tad ominously, to give his ex-wife the message that he’s coming for her soon if they ever find her.

Back in Cali, Kala Tafattafua (Sidney S. Liufau) starts questioning Venice Beach locals about the unidentified guy in his police sketch, and increasingly suspicious Hope continues playing sleuth by following Bobby in her car as he pays a visit to potential new electronics man Mark Langley (Brent Sexton, Life).

Mark claims he’s not drinking again when Bobby asks, but he’s lying, of course, as Tom and Annie verify soon enough when they tail him later. Good thing, then, that Bobby only gives him a preliminary assignment instead of bringing him on full-fledged from the get-go. On to Tom’s suggestion of a young guy he did time with, whom we meet in the next episode.

Somewhere in there, Bobby and Tom make it to Nevada’s Reno International Airport to observe the hangar where the 1,300 pounds of gold they plan to steal will arrive. Given the huge haul and the amount and quality of airport security, it’s immediately clear the thieves need an armored car to complete the job.

Next stop on the itinerary? Meet the rest of the team in Tucson to steal said armored tuck during a complicated operation that involves — take a deep breath — lifting ID from an unsuspecting truck driver to rent another truck and then ambush an armored truck, driven by two guards and carrying used grocery store coupons worth zilch, under an underpass in broad daylight. Got that? Good.

After Joe refuses to tell Macy what’s going on with Shawn when she arrives at his house to complain about the latest mysterious envelope containing $10,000 and no note, shady bookie Art Jackson (William Lucking, Murder, She Wrote) drops by his garage, looking for Shawn and repayment of that formerly $30,000, now $35,000 debt. However, when the encounter doesn’t turn up the gambling addict, Art visits Macy, forcing her to hide in a closet with her son and call Joe after Art and his goons finish trashing her house.

Up Next on Episode Four: Now that Team Bobby has the machine gun and the getaway car, it’s time for yet more heist prep during “Four,” which has never been broadcast on television previously. We also meet the new electronics guy, although Kala and the FBI take a temporary break from the action.