Pistol Whip

**"Pistol Whip"** is the fourth episode of the first season of *Almost Paradise*. The episode first aired on April 20, 2020, on WGN America (now NewsNation).

## Synopsis

Vlogger and diver Jessa Torres is filming a vlog on an empty stretch of beach. She dives into the water, continuing to film using a GoPro. After diving for several minutes, she sees two people in diving gear interacting with some debris on the ocean floor. They notice her and begin to give chase. Torres tries to flee, but is shot with a harpoon and killed, dropping her GoPro.

Meanwhile at the hotel, 90s American action TV star Jerry Westwood arrives alongside a documentary crew. Chief Ike Ocampo meets them there to personally deliver a filming permit as he is a big fan of Westwood. Westwood states that he is in town to film a documentary about sunken Japanese World War II battleships.

Later on at the hotel bar, Alex Walker notices Westwood and strikes up a conversation, as he is also a big fan. Westwood offers Alex a job as his stunt double. Overhearing this, Cory Santos, the hotel manager and Alex's landlord, eagerly accepts Westwood's offer on Alex's behalf as this would allow Alex to pay his rent. While Alex is meeting with Westwood, Torres' husband Julio is at the police station begging the police to look into her disappearance. While Ocampo declines as he thinks that she is just cooling off after a fight the couple had, Kai Mendoza agrees to look into the case.

Mendoza finds the diving equipment shop that Jess Torres frequented and is able to get a rough idea of where Jess was seen diving last. Her and Alex meet up at the beach and dive down to where Jess was. They find the GoPro and see the same divers Jess saw, and have to flee. They escape the divers and go back to the police station to view the footage. Upon viewing the footage they realize Jess saw the divers and that was who killed her.

The following day, Alex and Westwood go to film the documentary. Alex realizes the documentary crew is not who they say they are and a stand-off occurs on the boat. It is revealed that the documentary is a cover-up and that the crew is after a sunken Russian submarine. Everyone makes it back to shore where the director, Andre Adam, sets the nuke he brought up from the submarine to explode in six hours if his demands are not met. However, he accidentally sets it to six minutes and is unable to abort the detonation. Westwood, remembering a Russian consultant who helped design a bomb for a scene on his old TV show, defuses the bomb at the last second.

## Cast

### Main

* Christian Kane as Alex Walker
* Samantha Richelle as Detective Kai Mendoza
* Arthur Acuña as Detective Ernesto Alamares
* Nonie Buencamino as Chief Ike Ocampo
* Ces Quesada as Cory Santos

### Guest

* Andrew Laing as Jerry Westwood
* Paul Holmes as Andre Adam
* Nick Dunbar as Nikolai
* Annicka Dolonius as Jessa Torres
* Ketchup Eusebio as Julio Torres
* Maritina Romulo as Linda
* Boom Labrusca as Cop
* Bettina Magsaysay as News Anchor
* Michael Bucher as Ion
* Pathrese Abejuela as Female Coast Guard Officer
* Che McGuinness as Tourist Man #1
* Leo Stripp as Tourist Man #2
* Mariella Laurel as Lula