The Person In Your Ear

"**The Person In Your Ear**" is the fourth episode of the Paramount+ series *Rabbit Hole*. It premiered on April 9, 2023.

## Synopsis

Armed with the data stolen from Arda, Weir is in go-mode to unveil the truth behind Valence's shocking death and enlists Hailey’s help to exploit a member of Crowley’s network. Meanwhile, US Treasury investigator Edward Homm may finally be ready to cooperate and help find Crowley. Liv, Weir's ex-wife, is dragged back into his world of secrets, and we see a new side of The Intern, the only member of Weir's original team spared in the explosion.

## Plot

### NFTs

As Jo Madi is rebuffed at Arda Analytics, Kyle, the Intern, enters and goes up to Xander Arnaz, saying that he has a delivery for him. He punches him in the neck, then grabs him, taking him out onto an awning. He tells him that he had one job and screwed it up. He throws him over, to land beside Madi, then goes back inside, placing a bust of Vladimir Lenin on his desk.

As a crowd chants, a man named Morgan Shaw narrates a podcast about conspiracy theories about tracking devices into vaccines. He states that if you're one of the millions of Americans who believe this then you are a victim of an operation to distract you from the real conspiracy: that a cabal of the rich and powerful are working behind the scenes to consolidate their control over American society. He continues that you stare at your screens, obliviously to your hand being in their pocket.

It is 24 hours before and John Weir sits, having a flashback. He pops some pills and Hailey shouts, asking if he found something. He throws a switch and some lights come on. He goes to Hailey who is at a monitor showing static and tells her she has to connect the digital antenna. She asks just how many secret hideouts he has and he tells her he doesn't know, but it's a lot. "I keep surfing these government auctions sites, can't help myself," he quips. He asks Ben what he's found and the tells him there's no way to trace who sent the last message to Miles Valence. John asks about the phone call that came to Miles and Ben tells him that there were 300 calls at the office at that time and there'd be no way to trace it but manually. John says they'll have to do it manually. Ben tells him he knows he to process intelligence.

At her office, Madi studies footage of Kyle, commenting that it looks like he knows just where the cameras are. She stops on some footage, commenting that Kyle doesn't look like a skateboarding intern. Back at the safe house, John tells Ben that he may have found something: that Miles Valence was purchasing NFTs, which doesn't make any sense, as he didn't like art of any kind and was conservative. Ben tells him that people hide their true selves, but he says there must be a reason. Ben asks if he's okay, saying it's all hit him hard and he's presenting signs of PTSD. He says it's understandable considering he saw his own father commit suicide. John, however, says that he's not having a delusion, that the whole thing is out of character. "It's how he was being paid!" shouts Edward Homm from the other room.

### Work stuff

They go to Homm, asking if he can hear everything. "Except when you mumble," he tells them. John asks him just what he knows about the NFT transactions. He tells John he wants to talk to his wife, to let her know he's still alive, but John tells him it's not going to happen. He, however, says he won't answer until he can talk to her. Ben says he's bluffing. Homm replies that he's guessing that the e-mails are from someone named Elliot Gao and if they tell him he's wrong, he'll talk. John stares at Ben, who tells him that they can't let anyone know Homm's alive yet. John tells him he seems like a nice guy and he has serious people who want him dead. If they find out he's still alive, they will finish the job, killing him and his wife, but if he helps them, he can go home. Homm asks if he could at least just see her. "How's that going to work?" John asks.

He patches them into security footage of his wife, Stacey, explaining that they installed security cameras because they didn't trust the housekeeper. He says it's good his wife's not crying, though she looks sad. John asks again who Gao is and he tells him that he's a high-end money launderer. He explains it as being "Bad Guy 101," that the easiest way to launder money is through certain kinds of assets. "So there's no real market value to certain things, just the value agreed upon between two parties," clarifies John. He says it's like using ten million dollars to buy a one million dollar house and Homm agrees that this comes with a lot less regulation and tax scrutiny. Gao acts a middleman for those looking to move money anonymously. John takes Ben aside, saying that this how they get Crowley out in the open. "If there really is a connection," says Ben. John tells him it's how they get him.

Hailey comes in, saying there's something they might want to see. They go to the TV and watch news footage regarding Xander Arnaz's death. Meanwhile, Kyle takes a call from a man who asks him why he made a scene like this, if it was supposed to be funny. He tells him he's not laughing and Kyle replies that if you want to send a message you have to make it a bad-ass one. The man tells him not to do it again, asking him about their "long-term project." He tells them there's no worries and asks if there's anything else, but the man on the other end hangs up. His girlfriend Eliza asks him what is wrong and he calls "work stuff." He tells her he's sick of doing stuff for other people and she suggests that he quit, but he tells her it's not that easy. He says it's good money and she tells him he doesn't need it, that he has her. She gets a message about a protest against the Shared Data Act and asks him if they can go. "Of course," he tells her.

John outlines a plan to Ben to get to Crowley through Gao. He suggests sending in Agent Jo Madi to scare him. Ben wonders if Madi will go along with it and he tells him that even though she may be a pain in the ass to him, she always does the right thing. He tells him that Hailey will have to help, that he's all over the news and he doesn't have a team. Ben asks if he trusts him, pointing out that she doesn't know how to do what they do. He tells him he can teach her for this. Ben asks him what makes him thinks he would want to. "I am so in!" shouts Hailey, Ben grumbling that they need to find a better safe house.

### Lessons

Agent Jo Madi enters what appears to be an abandoned room. She finds a document on a table labeled "Butchering Your First Animal" when she gets a call from Anna. Sighing, she takes the call. Anna asks where she is and she tells her that if she doesn't tell her, she won't be implicated in an unauthorized search with no evidence. She asks what's up and Anna tells her that she got an anonymous tip that Homm was investigating Elliot Gao.

Hailey is out driving with John. He teaches her about avoiding a tail. She asks what the second thing is to avoid being killed and he asks her to tell him something true, something simple like her name. She gives him her name and he asks for something else. She tells him she's sorry about his friend Valence. He thanks her, but tells her that he meant something like a story, something about herself. She tells him that before Pittsburgh she had a big job, that she was in-house counsel for a real-estate development company and got blackballed out. He tells her she's either lying or not telling the whole truth and she asks how he knows. He explains that she said "uh" and repeated the question, buying time to construct a lie. She tells him she was just thinking, but he says that she has a tell with her hands. She retorts that he and his dad are so paranoid, they think everyone is working against them.

Hailey says that it's probably why John's wife left him. She asks if he's wrong and he tells her she's not, he's just trying to teach her something. He asks her to try again, to just tell him anything. "A lie or the truth," she mutters, and he tells her that she's lying, that she repeated the question again and she has to project confidence. He tells her that people are suckers for confidence. She asks if this lesson two and he agrees it is. He asks what she was going to lie about and she tells him she was going to say he's handsome. John stops the car and she asks him what lesson three is. He tells her that it's to always listen to the person in your ear, handing her a pair of ear implants.

As Elliot Gao sits playing a game on his phone, he receives a call from the FBI. He curses, taking the call, and it's Agent Madi. She tells him she's with Financial Crimes and he tells her he thinks she has the wrong number. She tells him she doesn't, saying she wants to ask him about transactions he had with Arda Analytics. He asks where she heard this and she asks to meet him a 6. He says it'll be tricky and she suggests the morning at her office. He suggests 11 and she tells him to make it 9. Madi then calls Anna, asking her to trace the text tip if she can, that John is messing with her again.

### Ready

John coaches Hailey as she enters a corner store. She asks him what she's supposed to steal and he tells her he'll tell her when she's inside. He says he just needs her to get used to his voice right now. She enters at John's urging and asks the cashier when they close. The cashier tells her they're open 24 hours. "Cool, thanks," she tells him and John tells her she needs to find a blind spot, that she has a horny teenager watching her every move. "Tampons," she says and he agrees it's smart. She asks for her target and he tells her it's a puzzle book called *Magic Squares*.

Just then, John curses as a cop has entered the store. She tells him she has to abort, but he tells her not to, that she can handle it. He tells her to go talk to him, that anyone who's going to shoplift wouldn't talk to a cop. He tells her to make small talk, so she asks the cop if he thinks she should play the Powerball. He tells her he doesn't know and John tells her to walk away, but she continues talking, asking if he'll buy one. He calls it a waste of money and she says she knew he had an opinion. "You're actually flirting with him," comments John. Hailey returns to the car, puzzle book in hand. "Let's do this thing, I'm ready," she tells him. He agrees that she is.

At the safe house, Ben goes to Edward Homm, commenting that he hopes he's logging off and resetting the VPN every few minutes. "Yeah," agrees Homm, asking if his wife is dancing or it's just the angle. Ben tells him it's not the angle. He asks why and Ben asks if he's really an investigator, suggesting he turn off the feed for a while. Homm says he doesn't understand why she isn't sadder, that he'd be devastated if she died. He says there's someone at the door. He says it's his neighbor, Kevin, probably just checking in. "Oh shit, I was afraid of that," comments Ben, as Kevin and Homm's wife share a passionate embrace. Ben claps Homm's shoulder, telling him he feels for him. He tells him that dying a fake death is a special kind of hell. "Seriously, Topknot Kevin?" asks Homm and Ben suggests that they take a break. He tells him to tell John that there's a guy who can make sense of the phone numbers and he's gone to see him. Homm asks who he will talk to if he leaves. "God?" suggests Ben.

### Lessons into action

Anna tells Madi that she traced the text and it's another prepaid. Madi says that if John sent it, he would have used a burner. She gives her a call log and Madi points out an incoming call, saying that John wouldn't have used the same burner twice, unless he finally screwed up. She asks her to trace it. As an auction begins for an extremely rare bottle of whiskey at a $150,000 opening bid, John gets set up below. Hailey tells him that she's in and goes up to a man, asking if he's Elliot Gao. She tells him it's wonderful to put a face with a voice and he asks how she knows his. Holding up a badge, she identifies herself as Agent Jo Madi. At John's direction, she asks him when he started trading NFTs with Miles Valence. He tells her that he doesn't know a Valence. She tells him that he sure does, that he was on the news. "Isn't that the guy who died?" he asks and she asks if his death hit his bottom line.

Elliot Gao repeats the question and she tells him that he's about to lie to her, that repeating the question is a tell. John comments that now she's just showing off. He tells her he wasn't expecting a visit from the FBI and she says it will only take a minute. He says he should get his lawyer. She says there's no need for that, but then suddenly excuses herself. She tells John that she's walking away, that there's somebody there she knows, her old boss. She tells him that when she told him about his old job, she left out the part where she stole money from him. "What?" asks John and she tells him that they were corrupt, evicting poor people and trying to get her to cover up for them, but she pushed back. They fired her and she stole crypto from the company slush fund, not much at the time, but worth $26 million as of the past Friday. John curses, saying that he knew she lied to him, but she tells him he stopped her before she could even get to a lie.

John asks her if her boss saw her and she says she doesn't think so. He tells her she asks to abort and she asks what if Gao makes contact with Crowley. He tells her they'll figure something out, that she has to get downstairs fast. Elsewhere, Elliot Gao takes a message asking him if he's talking to the FBI. He curses and texts back that he isn't. A photo appears of him talking with Hailey, followed by a message saying "He's pissed. Don't Leave. He's coming to see you." Downstairs, John sees something on a monitor that causes him to curse and he tells Hailey again that she must abort. She asks if he's sure and he splutters, telling her to abort the abort and stay, that he saw her. He tells her that the people who tried to kidnap her before have arrived and are after the money. He tells her to try to stay out of sight.

John radios for Homm. He tells him to meet him outside the building. He tells him that Topknot Kevin is still in the house, wearing his bathrobe and John reminds him he said it was his investigation and he wanted to help. He tells him he will be a hero for solving the biggest money laundering case of the decade, that he might even get a medal. "Copy that," agrees Homm. Homm arrives and John takes the clipboard, putting a hat on Homm, telling him to hide his face as much as possible. Upstairs, Hailey is pegged and told that Elliot Gao wants to speak to her privately. Downstairs, John introduces himself as being with the DOB, Department of Buildings. When he's told he has to check in, he tells the man that it's an elevator inspection. When the man asks how he knows who he says he is, Homm shouts, asking if he wants to impede them. He says he's not and John replies that this is good.

### Inferred

Homm calls it exciting and John tells him he's to do his thing and buy Hailey some extra time. While John uses a clipboard to stop one elevator, Homm allows a couple of the men tailing Hailey onto another. When it reaches the second floor, he pushes the buttons for all floors and exits. Upstairs, Hailey tries to maintain the bluff of being an FBI agent, but Gao tells her that he knows she's not Jo Madi, showing him a picture of her. A man asks Gao what he wants him to do with her and he replies that Crowley will decide when he gets there. "Crowley is coming here?" asks Hailey pointedly, trying to make sure that John gets this. A guard asks John what he's doing in the elevator shaft and Homm knocks him out. Meanwhile, the two men attempt to take a different elevator at the fourth floor, only to be stymied by the clipboard. They are forced to take the stairs.

At the top floor, a man enters Gao's room. "Mr. Crowley?" he asks, but it is not Crowley, but Dr. Ben Wilson. "Wait..." comments Hailey and Ben says to shut her up. He tells her that he should put a bullet in her head, but it'll have to wait until there aren't a hundred people downstairs listening. He asks Gao if he ever gave him the impression that he wanted him to talk to the FBI about their business. Gao points out that Hailey is not FBI and he says he's talking about earlier, when Madi called him. He tells him that he knows everything, asking if he should trust him. He tells him he thinks he told Madi all about their plans and he says he doesn't even know about his plans. He admits he may have "inferred" that he's not offshoring his money, just concealing the source from the Treasury Department. John tells Hailey he's back, then hears Ben speaking. Gao tells Ben that he didn't tell Madi anything about Intaverse or the Ledger. John types "Intaverse? Ledger?" into his phone.

### Camera ready

"Tell me what you know about my campaign spending," demands then, but just then, Gao's phone buzzes. He holds up his phone, taking pictures of Ben, and Ben curses, asking what he's doing. He takes the phone from him. On it are his picture and the text "Send me a photograph of the man claiming to be. Then hand your phone to him." Another text appears: "Jesus, Ben, you got old." John asks what's happening. "Crowley," growls Ben and John curses. Another text message comes - "I'm going to tell them to kill you now," and Ben tells John that they need cover. John tells Hailey to remember exactly where everyone is and get prepared to act. He shorts a fuse, falling into the sewers below and causing the building to lose power. In the darkness, the men shoot, but Hailey deflects the gunfire, removes her gag, and shouts at Ben to get out.

John tells Hailey that he's back and she asks why he didn't tell her about Ben. "Where the hell is he?" she asks and John calls, asking him. He tells Hailey that Ben is headed for the main elevators and Hailey asks someone where the service elevators are. As John repeats that it's the main elevators, she tells him that she's dry cleaning. As Crowley's agents scramble for the service elevator, Ben and Hailey make their escape, John following close behind. Homm tells them they should have seen him, that he was like James Bond. Ben tells John that Crowley knows he's alive, but John replies that they got good leads. He asks him if he has any idea what Intaverse is, but Ben says that he doesn't and now Crowley is ahead.

Homm tells them that Intaverse is a web media company. He asks if they don't watch the news, that half of D.C. signed up on their "have an affair on us" commercial. He tells them that the congressman that resigned last month was outed as a member by WikiLeaks and said someone was blackmailing him. Ben says that Crowley is collecting dirt on politicians, waiting for one to be camera ready. Meanwhile, Morgan Shaw continues his podcast, telling people it's all about control, that they're looking for leverage. Ben tells John that Crowley is way ahead of them and John says they need to change the plan. He tells him they need to bring his team back in. "The ones who blew up?" asks Hailey. "Yeah," John agrees. She asks if this is fun for them, popping a bottle of wine. "Take back your life!" chants the crowd.

## Cast

### Starring

* Kiefer Sutherland as John Weir
* Meta Golding as Hailey Winton
* Enid Graham as Josephine "Jo" Madi
* Rob Yang as Edward Homm
* Walt Klink as Kyle ("The Intern")

and

* Charles Dance as Dr. Ben Wilson

### Guest starring

* Peter Weller as Distinguished Man
* Maia Jae Bastidas as Eliza Wells
* Jonas Chernick as Xander Arnaz
* Archie Kao as Elliot Gao
* Matthew MacFadzean as Morgan Shaw

### Co-starring

* James Binkley as Security Guard 4
* Sebastian Buitrago as Gau Security Guard
* Jason Chan as Kevin
* Alex Chung as Security Guard 2
* Jonathan Collard as Third Operative
* Christopher di Meo as Security Guard 3
* Bruce Davies as Doorman
* Kevin P. Gabel as Banker
* Jared Groenewegen as Security Guard #1
* Brian Hamman as Detective Reins
* Kevin Hare as Craig Payne
* Richard Harte as Scottish Prick
* Josette Jorge as Anna
* Michèle Kaye as Homm's Wife (Stacey)
* Anwar Knight as Reporter on TV
* Mike Kazarian as Arda Security Guard
* Natasha Krishnan as Xander's Assistant
* Yuyi Lone as Employee
* Brendan McMurty-Howlett as Hayden
* Colton Royce as Cop
* Tracy Shreve as Movie Producer
* Mark Wetherley as Politico

## Trivia

* This is the first episode of *Rabbit Hole* not to be written and directed by show creators Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. The director, Jon Cassar, previously both directed and served as an executive producer for *24*, in which Kiefer Sutherland starred as Jack Bauer, winning a total of four awards for his work directing and producing.

## Gallery

### Video

Rabbit Hole - Behind The Stunts Of Episode 4 - Paramount+Rabbit Hole - How To Steal A Puzzle Book (S1, E4) - Paramount+