- An old enemy complicates matters for Nate and his crew as they try to help several small-time business people who were conned into committing crimes.
- His entire childhood, Nate could never find "the lady" hiding among the 3-Card Monte dealt by the flying fingers of Jimmy Ford (Tom Skerritt). Jimmy is out of prison and directing a Russian crew who blackmails innocent people into doing their bidding. Nate forces his way in--Jimmy is all talk, thinking he can outcon his son (the altar boy) while Nate is determined to find the Queen. Sophie fears the con will dissolve into a pissing contest but Nate knows how his father thinks. At least, he is betting the con that he knows better than Father...—LA-Lawyer
- Andrei gets roughed up by some tough Russian thugs. They tell him either he does what they're asking or they'll kill his children. They give him a red cell phone.
In bar HQ, Andrei tells Nate and the crew that they just told him to answer when it rings. He installs and repairs telephone lines.
Nate tells him to answer the phone when it rings. Hardison put a tap on it. There was one incoming call. Hardison calls it back. The head goon Pyotr answers. They track him. Eliot and Parker head there.
From Condo HQ, Hardison reads the team in on Pyotr, an ex-military guy turned mafia. They lost $20 million in a bust by the police last month.
At the Russian's warehouse HQ, they see a Russian mafia dude using a money counting machine to count wads off cash. Eliot knows their MO, they blackmail innocent people into committing crimes and taking the fall, then they kill them.
Sophie and Nate tail four of them on the street.
In the warehouse, Parker is searching through the Russians' SUV when the one counting cash hears her. He comes to investigate and runs into Eliot. They work out their issues with crowbars. Eliot wins.
Sophie and Nate see where the Russians are heading: right to their bar HQ. They figure they reversed the phone tap and are now going for Hardison.
Sophie and Nate go in the back of the bar and see it's set up with plans like someone else has been using it for HQ. The gang of Russians is in the front.
The Russia mafia guy Eliot subdued takes out a red phone and says he still has it and will do whatever they want. He's not a bad guy, he's another victim.
Nate goes to talk to the Russian's boss. "Hello, dad," he says.
He tells Nate he got out of prison a while ago. He took the fall for the three families, but he's upset he got nothing in return. Nate tells his dad he doesn't want him running game in his town. His dad says Nate doesn't have what it takes.
Flash back to dad teaching Nate three card monte and young Nate not being able to keep his eye on the queen.
Jimmy tells Nate he's setting up in back but will be out by the weekend.
Upstairs, Nate runs down Jimmy Ford, former bookie. He started out working for the McTeague family then he became a loan shark, then a fixer.
They don't know what the red phones have to do with it. Simikov, the guy Eliot met, is in shipping and there's a third red phone they haven't traced yet.
Nate tries to figure out what his dad is up to. Sophie suggests they sit it out, specifically Nate. He says his dad is just another mark.
They get an alert that Andrei has gotten a call. Hardison explains they want him to install a black box in the police station so they can control alarms.
Nate resolves that they'll help him. Sophie plays drunk and Detectives Hardison and Eliot take her into the desk sergeant saying she's from a prominent family and they need to keep her out of the press. Parker plays with the phones so Nate gets the desk sarge's call.
They take her down to the drunk tank and rig the phones in the basement. Back outside, the Leveragers regroup to find Nate is gone.
Cut to Nate in the back of the bar making a pitch to his dad to help him out. He shows him the remote he has to control the black box in the station. He tells his dad if he's going to pull a job in his town, he wants in.
Pyotr is suspicious of Nate, but he mentions how he got a warden busted from inside the prison. They show him some of the plan.
Back up in condo HQ, Nate shows the Leveragers the three banks. But Nate says they're not hitting any of them.
Cut back to Jimmy laying out the plan. The cops will think all three are being robbed because they control the alarms.
Nate sees it's three card monte, with banks. They have to find the real target.
Eliot and Hardison will look for the third red cell phone. Nate's going to try to get his dad to trust him enough to plan a bank robbery.
Jimmy tells his dad their next target is a guy with all the bank codes. He's planning to have his goons attack him, but Nate has a better idea. He tells his dad to limp. They ask the guy for change and Jimmy spills pills, as the guy is distracted picking them up, they take the papers they need from his briefcase.
Sophie works her way into the bar's back room, pretending to have Russian parents to chat up Pyotr while Parker sneaks in the back to snap pictures of all the plans.
Eliot and Hardison zero on the person with the other red phone. They run into the desk sarge at a coffee cart outside the station. The barista has the red phone.
Back at the bar, Pyotr still isn't happy with Nate and waves his gun around again. Nate takes him on, much to Jimmy's delight.
Later, Jimmy and Nate share a drink. Jimmy tells him he's planning one last job then he'll buy a boat and sail away to Ireland. The next day, Sophie tries to check that he's OK. Nate says he's the only one who can take him down. Nate goes downstairs to report on the day of the heist but his dad and all the plans are gone.
Flash back to Nate getting socked by Pyotr and falling back into his dad and Jimmy lifting the black box remote from Nate's pocket.
Nate rounds up the Leveragers, saying they have no idea what Jimmy's doing. Hardison says they have bar code label scanners, but why?
They wonder if the coffee guy is being used to drug cops.
Nate remembers his young three card monte lesson and all the distraction, then his dad berating him when he can't get it.
Nate figures out where he's going. The trick to three card monte: the queen's never on the table. He asks where police keep evidence.
Flash back to Hardison reporting the Russians lost $20 million in a bust last week.
The cops get their drugged coffee.
Jimmy sets off the bank silent alarms. All the cops head out.
Driving to the evidence lock up, the cop with drugged coffee gets very sleepy and stops for Pyotr in uniform.
Jimmy walks into the chaotic station saying he has an evidence transfer. Outside, Pyotr and his guys come in dressed as cops. The Leveragers pull up outside. Nate's looking forward to busting his dad.
They bust into the evidence locker, they use their bar code scanners to find their stuff. They have a timer to tell them when the evidence door will lock again.
Nate and Sophie go inside the department. Upstairs, Jimmy goes into the Organized Crime Division. He finds boards of evidence on the three families he went to prison for. He goes into their evidence safe and gets a betting ledger.
Nate finds him and puts a gun to his head.
Nate knew he wouldn't take the money and run, it's about respect. He thinks if he gets rid of the ledger, the case against the three families will go away and they'll owe him.
Nate tells his dad the cops are coming for him. When Jimmy says he won't go back to prison, Nate points the gun at him again, but Jimmy doesn't think he can do it.
Nate tells him to go. Jimmy leaves with the ledger.
Outside at the evidence van, Eliot knocks out the Russian inside.
In the evidence room, the Russians are finding only household goods on the scanners because Hardison is rigging them. The evidence locker door slams shut on them - Hardison rigged their timer, too. The real cops come for them.
Later, Jimmy calls McTeague, telling him he's got the ledger. He calls the other families. They're not receptive. Then a car full of guys fires on him. Jimmy takes Nate's call, asking him what he's done.
At the docks, Nate tells his dad he called the families and told them his dad stole the ledger, but he blackmailed them. Now Jimmy has a price on his head. Nate points to the boat behind him, telling his dad he'll be in Ireland in two weeks. Jimmy calls him ruthless and cruel and is finally proud of Nate.
"Enjoy your retirement," Nate says.
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