(upbeat music) This episode is brought to you by Experian. Are you paying for subscriptions you don't use, but can't find the time or energy to cancel them? Experian could cancel unwanted subscriptions for you, saving you an average of $270 per year, and plenty of time. Download the Experian app. Results will vary, not all subscriptions are eligible. Savings are not guaranteed, paid membership with connected payment account required. (upbeat music) It's time for Thriller Thursdays here on the Mutual Audio Network. The following audio drama is rated PG for parental guidance. (upbeat music) The Hup Chronicles followed the adventures of Detective Kate Hoch, who went from a Baltimore police detective to intergalactic investigator, from fighting crime on the streets, to trying in the stars. (upbeat music) And now, episode 230, who are you? (upbeat music) Wait, what? Are you sure you positively know who this is? Yeah, no doubt, and he doesn't look quite the same, but he didn't change his voice. That is my cousin Vinny. No, seriously, who is it? I told you, he's my cousin Vinny. He disappeared in '97, Vincent Tanaka. Well, what happened? Did he just wake up one morning, go out for a pack of cigarettes, and then never return? Actually, yeah, except it was for a lottery ticket. Vinny was always certain that the big jackpot was coming his way. I don't think he wanted to go to college or even get a job. He was always looking for a quick hustle. What about immediate family? Did his parents search for him? He really didn't have an immediate family. Both his parents passed away. A tornado hit their house. Vincent was the only survivor. That happened when he was like three. So who raised him? My parents tried. His mother was my father's sister. That only lasted for about two years. When he was five, he became a ward of the state. He was just too much to handle. I suppose losing both parents at three in a horrible storm was rough, but he should have grown out of it. He would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. That went on and on until my parents just couldn't deal with it. So was he eventually adopted? No, but he did get a lot of psychological help and came back to live with us until he was about 18. Then he disappeared. Without a trace. But since he was 18, there wasn't much the police could do. Did your parents report a missing? Yeah, but it was like you said. The police said that technically he was an adult and he just left, which was his right. There wasn't anything missing from the house and he didn't have any debts. Well, except for... Except for what? It's only a guess. I mean, this was a long time ago, but he had run up some debts. My parents didn't know about it, but I knew. Then one day he said it was all good. He had paid everything off. Was it a significant debt? I got the impression it was. Any idea where he got the money? A loan shark maybe? I was afraid to ask, but thinking back on it, I don't see how he could have had come into some money. He wasn't working. He was always looking for the easy score. Then he just vanished. Without a trace. There's a possibility that he's back and that's why we're here. We're trying to track down a suspect in a case and your cousin may be him. It's either him or you have another cousin you don't know about. One that died in 1997? Hmm, I don't think so. What did Vinny do? Well, does the last name Korski mean anything to you? Should it? I mean, it's vaguely familiar to me, but I can't quite place it. Who is he? After talking to you and looking at the DNA results, we think Korski is Vinny. But we need to be absolutely sure are you as close as relative? Yeah, here, take this password and go to this site. You can access our family tree. This will be a great help to our investigation. Just what did this Korski guy do? Well, he's a lieutenant colonel in the army. He first appeared at West Point. His records showed that he graduated from a high school in Pattonville, Germany, but that turned out to be false. That's nuts. He went to high school here. Korski was stationed in what used to be called Fort Eustis a few years ago. He ran my parents off the road in a snowstorm. He was never charged. What happened to them? They didn't make it. Well, you know, if we can verify his true identity, we might be able to build a better case. I can't believe he's showed up after all these years and is an army colonel no less. I hope you find him. So do we. You three take point. If you make contact, make sure they see the white flag. You two, cover the rear. This should be a good landing spot. There are trees all around us. But I do not want to be here when darkness comes upon us. Don't worry, Ursula. I don't plan on being here then. One period of darkness with the river masters was enough. We and we reached a camp. Hold short, and I will advance to talk to them. Move out. What do we do if we encounter one of those beasts along the way? I wouldn't worry about that. These are nocturnal beasts. They are very rarely seen during the day, unless they're hungry. And since they had quite a feast last night, I don't think we need to worry. I worry about the ones who missed the dinner bell. Don't worry. We have enough firepower to take down anything that wants to feed on us. Plus, once one goes down, the others are conditioned to respond to weapons fire like a dinner bell. They'll be too busy eating to bother with us. I just hope they don't look at us as snack food. There are seven of us. I'm sure we can put up a good fight. What is it? Like hell. You five stay here and wait for my signal. Ursula, you come with me. They know me. Perhaps just our presence won't alarm them. Come, follow me. [MUSIC PLAYING] Well, of all the people in the galaxy, you are the last person I expected to see. Major Dunn, thank you for not shooting me. This is my assistant Ursula. Well, I didn't expect to see Lenora by your side, especially after she turned on you. The last time you were here, you were arrested. Yes, Zorcar, Mandu, Lenora, and I were all arrested. Zorcar was taken to the lunar penal colony, while Mandu and I went to Balabar prison. And what happened to Lenora? That witch turned traitor and now works for the IDF. When we find her, she belongs to me. I take it that it was you that was killing a river monster last night. Something I learned from my short stay here, kill the biggest one, then sit back and watch the carnage. I suppose I should thank you for that. At least they've been fed and we'll be quiet this next dark phase. Do you plan on staying until next life? I have five others waiting in the jungle. May I bring them forth? Certainly. They are welcomed. Ursula, go fetch them in and bring them here. Yes, Lord Lister. What is it that you need from us? The same as I requested on my last visit. My answer is the same as last time. We have all retired and have no desire to return to the life of rage. I would like to speak to your people. There is a movement to rebuild the empire back to its formal glory. You and your men can be the foundation and leadership. You are most welcome to talk to anyone you like and stay as long as you like. But you must honor whatever their wishes are. I give you my word. You'll need time to speak to everyone. Is your craft secure? Yes, it is a battle to humble a troop transport. It is built to take a beating. Since you fed the beasts, your craft shouldn't be in any danger. Stay until the light of tomorrow. We'll house and feed you. But you must leave before tomorrow's period of darkness. I agreed to your terms. Well, good afternoon, former detective Kate Hogg, the Baltimore's finest. How'd you meet and go with holiday? Baltimore's finest? Listen to you reminiscing about the good old days. So? I've been reinstated to full duty. For real? That's fantastic news. I tell you what, let me take you to lunch and buy a nice big bowl of rabbit salad. How about a big fat juicy steak? What? All right. Where is Kate Hogg? What have you done with her? And who are you? I'm just kidding, Jim. You had me worried for a minute there, slugger. Full duty, that's great news. So now what? They didn't have anything specific yet. They want me to continue on your case. When something comes up, we'll both know. Well, I know that's disappointing, but hey, look. Overall, it's great news. I could use your help today. I can see that. Sam and Wayne are in Texas, Lenore's in space, and Scarlett and sister in Alabama. What is there love to do? Kelly just contacted me. They got a positive hit on Cuskey's closest relative, some cousin in Enterprise, Alabama. Enterprise? Weren't you stationed there for flight training? What was it, Fort Rucker? What was it? Is exactly right. Oh no, don't tell me they changed the name of Fort Rucker, too. I don't want to talk about it. Anyway, Kelly and Scarlett got lucky. They got a DNA match for Corskey in Enterprise. Turns out the guy was positive that Corskey was his first cousin who disappeared in 1997, Vincent Tanaka. That's really good news. Do you know anything about this Vincent Tanaka? Well, we know that his parents died in a tornado when he was about three. Then this Brian Tanaka's parents took him in and he became unmanageable. And when he turned 18, he disappeared. He also paid off a sizable debt all at once. Let me guess. The cousin has no idea where the money came from, and he disappeared right after paying the debt. And it's my guess that the source of his loan is a source of his disappearance. My thoughts exactly. And I smell a loan shark or organized crime. What are Kelly and Scarlett pursuing? Well, there aren't any other close relatives to talk to. So they'll go through his high school yearbook and see if they can come up with any possible friends who still live in the area. Do you think that's why rage recruited him? He was young and owed money to some bad people. I think it's a very good possibility. He was a prime target, troubled, young and in trouble. Well, is there anything we can do on this end? It was at one time a war to the state. We need to go through all the records and see if we can find any living caretakers. We just need to get a read on this guy, something that Sam can use. OK, I'll get on that. What are you going to do? I'm going to coordinate with Thornton and see what we can do. I'll also contact Berman and relay this information to Sam. Seems like we're finally getting somewhere. I guess so. You guess so. All right, Kate. I've known you long enough to know when something's up. What's bugging you? Do you now log it's been since I worked a real case? A real case? And just what exactly do you mean by that? This case is pretty real. For you, it is. I'm talking about a case for me. Not something I'm just doing research for. I could do this at home. I see. The racehorse is tired of chopping around the track. It's just warming up. She's ready to run. An unusual analogy. But yes, they clear me for full duty. Then they tell me to go graze in the pasture. I need to get out there and pursue leads. Chase bad guys, make some collars. Kate, look, trust me. I know exactly how you feel. Or have you forgotten standing by my bed at Mayo Clinic, giving me the same encouragement? At least it didn't plant some circuit board in your brain. Making you a human remote control. Yeah? Well, at least you have the same face and voice. Well, for me, that would be an improvement. Look, we've both had major setbacks. I'm just saying that I'm fine and have been fine for a while. I'm ready to get back in the game and sitting on the sidelines is frustrating. Just what did holiday tell you? That there was nothing big right now and I should work with you on wrapping up this case. Which, by the way, I'm happy to do. Well, this is interesting. What you got? What 18-year-old boy doesn't apply for a driver's license? I guess we'll have to expand our search to other states. It might want to start with New York since he went to the academy under the name of Korski. I'm assuming you've been searching under both names? Of course. I haven't been out that long. All right, you do that and I'll continue to check state records. It's got to be here somewhere. I don't think we need to travel any further east. If I remember correctly, that large tree stump is where we entered the jungle for the camp. We need to go on foot from here. How far to the river? Not very far. Once we get there, though, we'll have to cross it. Wait, wait, wait, wait, stop the present. Did you say cross the river as in get in the water and wait over? I don't usually agree with Marco, but I'm with him on this one. Look, I did it in the middle of the dark period and nothing happened. It's light out and the creatures had a full meal last night. They're out there somewhere, sleeping it off. Well, maybe so, but they're not the only things found in this river. I'm sure that place is chock-a-block for a strange creature. All of them hungry for human flesh. It'd give me a break. Come on, you two, follow me to the river and we'll go from there. Well, let's just say by some miracle we've crossed the river and reached the camp. Then what? We'll need to climb up a steep bank and there's a clearing at the top. From there, we can see the camp. And then? And then we will observe. I don't want to go waltzing in there like Matilda. I'm not knowing what to expect. We'll stay there and observe. Well, what do you hope to see? This. It's done bad. You were right, Gabby. He's here. Nobody else is around, so I guess they all went into the camp. Would you want to stay here this close to the river? Let's keep moving. You know, we could just take up a position across the field and wait for them to return. There is a road from Tyrannus that goes right to the camp. I don't want to risk them taking a vehicle out of there. We might be able to hear it. Well, remember, they also have electric ones for daytime running. Now, are you two going to keep complaining? Do I need to do this myself? We got you back, Gabby. I just don't want a river monster to get it. Oh, I hear running water. The river is just over this rise. I hope that's all there is over this rise. Don't worry. I told you, they had a big meal last night and they're sleeping it off. There's not much else in the river to worry about. Well, much, you say. That means there's something. Ah, I look at it this way. You two are a lot meatier than I am, so I'm not too worried. Oh, jeez. Thanks, Gabby. That's bloody rare shore. Here we go. It doesn't look too wide here. And don't worry, seven people cross this thing already and I don't see any blood in the water. Grab a stick to prod in front of you as you go. Let's go. I'll lead. The water's not even knee deep. Don't step without checking first. Yeah, and at the same time, don't take too long. Oh, guide right, deep hold. That never got past me knee. That wasn't so bad. They cover once we press this bank. There it is, just like I left it. Those are some pretty impressive walls and there are plenty of gun emplacements on top. We might be here a while, so get comfortable. Did anyone bring snacks? Joe Mac, food is the last thing you want on you out here. Hey, did you find out anything new? Yeah, I found out that meeting those guys at 6 a.m. at the gym for a workout was a mistake. They almost killed me, but we went to a nice breakfast, so it was worth it. Well, while you were out running in circles and feeding your face, I got some interesting news from Pierman. Really? So what did the mighty favog have to say? The mighty what? I guess the muppets weren't a part of your informative years. I enjoyed them in my research for your planet, so... What's his beef? They got their first big break in Korski's identity. Really? So we are getting close to learning his true identity? We got a name. Is that close enough? Open on me. Our man is Vincent Tanaka of Enterprise, Alabama. He was orphaned at three, grew up in state-sponsored homes, and was taken in at around 15 by the family of his cousin Brian Tanaka. He disappeared at 18. Exactly when Korski appears at West Point. Barns and Detective Hawk are working state records, and Kellyan Scarlett are searching local records, including a search for schoolmates. They're hoping to find someone who was close to them. Any ideas as to why he disappeared and assumed a new identity? Evidently, he had a lot of debt that suddenly disappeared. I can think of two possibilities. One, rage paid them off and then took him under their wing. Or two, he borrowed from some bad people. And again, rage paid the bad guys. So what do we do with this new information? I'm going to hold all of this in reserve and let the rest of the team find out more. I need to try to get close enough to find out what Bishop's mission is. I don't want to scare off Korski by saying, "Hey, Vincent, good morning." Well, that's true. Whatever you plan to do, you might want to move it along a little faster, and we only have one more facility to inspect. Yeah, I realize that. I need to find something one of them is doing wrong. Then maybe that'll ask me for help. Until that happens, I can't force the issue. It's a delicate balance we're dealing with here. On one hand, we want to bring Korski, or should I say Tanaka, to justice. On the other hand, we have some nefarious plot by rage to discover. No offense to Scarlet, but I think the rage angle is more important at this point. She's waited a long time. I'm sure she'd understand having to wait just a little more. Besides, we need more information on him. Yup. The more the merrier. Garrett. Hey, Wayne. Jim Box here. Have you been brought up to speed, of course. Pyramid updated us. You got anything new? No, but I informed Kelly and Scarlet to include you in any updates they send to me. We would appreciate that. Sam is getting close to Bishop and Korski, but we don't want to push things. How do you feel about pressing Korski? Do we do that, or try to find out more about Bishop's mission? We all feel that the mission comes first. And how does Scarlet feel about that? She's all there, and just as long as we're nailing. That's our take on it, too. Find out what the rage mission is, stop it, and then take down Korski. It's getting deeper than that. We think there is some old, deep in the Pentagon. We need to keep that in mind. It's not just their local mission, the overall team structure. Who are the players? How deeply embedded are they? I got you. We'll keep that in mind as we go forward. Sound good. Keep me updated. You got it. Anything new? No. When it's caught up, he agrees that our primary mission is to find out what rage is planning. Korski can wait. Then I need to get closer to him before time runs out. So far, this has just been an exercise. An exercise, sir? Yes. An exercise in walking? Ah, yes. Well, at least we get to the workout. How many doors do we have to knock on? Three. There doesn't seem to be a lot of doctors here in the northwest quadrant of the city. I hope the others are having better luck. I think this is worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. Why is that? Because it's a really big haystack. And we're not sure what kind of needle we're looking for. Also, how can we be sure we haven't found the right doctor already? Oh, really, IDF. Could you help a rage leader remove a circuit board for Law Zorker's brain? I realize what you're saying, Agent Slane. But you have to look at the telltale signs. I have a lot of experience in reading people. For example, and this isn't 100% accurate. But when people look to the left, they have been creative. Creative? In other words, lying? Yes. But, like I said, it's not 100% accurate. There are many other signs. But you can get an overall sense of what's being said by weighing them all together. Well, I haven't observed anything unusual with the people we talked to so far. Have I missed anything? I don't think so. We have quite a distance to go to our next visit. I'm going to check in with the others. Tony's silent to Jaffra. You ever heard Tony? We don't have any to reporters yet. How are things going in the southwest? Sam and I have gone about halfway through the list, but no luck yet. I think perhaps my looks do actually scare people away. We have three left on our list. One's completed. Sam and I will head back to the park where we met earlier. Join us when you're done. We can do that. Have you heard anything from Lenora or Nate? You must have had your radio off. Yes. We just left one. I had the radio off when we were talking to him. Mate and Lee are my currency talking with one of the doctors on their list. I haven't heard anything from Lenora. That could be good or bad. Hopefully it's not having difficulties. I worry about her being from here. That concerns me too. She may run into rage members who recognize her. Yes. And worse. Know that she is responsible for Lister's arrest, but Lister being on Titan III, I worry about her safety. He could very well make contact with someone here to deal with her. I have confidence in her. I'm sure she can handle herself. Let me know if you have any luck. I'll see you at the park. We'll do. Sounds like we were having the same luck. Well, let's hope someone has better luck. Yes. Can I help? Lenora. Hello, Zegman. What are you doing here? You can drop the act. You know why I'm here. I don't want to have anything to do with race, so leave me alone. Good day. Not so fast. I must you want to deal with the business end of my M19. Lenora, please. Don't do this. Well, Lenora gets Zegman to confess and give up Hanukkah. How will Sam deal with the new information and what will Gabby's team do at the mercenary camp? Find out the answers to these questions and more. In the next episode of the Hot Chronicles Rally, the Titan 3. [MUSIC PLAYING]
