The Cape Episode 1.04 Scales

Scales is angered when Peter Fleming sends a goon to demand more kickbacks. The meeting is captured on tape that Vince and Orwell listen to back at their hideout. Vince thinks he can use Scales' anger to his advantage at a masquerade ball that night. He asks Max for his help at the ball, but Max (and Rollo and Ruvi) are planning a secret heist and tell him he's on his own - they've got "carnival business" to attend to.

The Cape visits Scales and reveals that Fleming and Chess are one and the same - meaning the crippling kickbacks Scales pays each of them are going to the same person. Vince suggests Scales confront Fleming that night at the masquerade ball - to be held on the Monte Carlo train alongside local dignitaries like the Mayor. Angered, Scales shoots at The Cape, but Vince disappears in a plume of smoke.

While the revelers board the Monte Carlo, Fleming holds sway at a press conference in full costume. As Vince watches, he's reminded of the time he visited Trip in school and talked to his classmates about being a cop. It was Trip's birthday that day - as it is today. Meanwhile, Trip is reading a school textbook that's been defaced with the words "return to murderer's kid." It's going to be a tough birthday for Trip this year. We see him waiting at home for his mom. Dana's stuck in traffic with a dead cell phone and can't call Trip to tell him she'll be late - or that her boss Travis is coming by and it's okay to let him into their home. Travis waits in the hallway because Trip doesn't trust him and won't open the door.

Scales shows up at the train station. It's an unpleasant surprise for Fleming, as the press surrounds them immediately, taking pictures. Scales quietly reveals he knows Fleming is Chess and threatens to tell the press unless he gets what he wants. Scales demands to be made the city's official supplier of raw materials, and an introduction to the Mayor. His hands tied, Fleming boards the train with Scales. As the train gets ready to pull out, The Cape notices that one of the train conductors is Rollo - and suddenly realizes what Max's "carnival business" really is.

The Monte Carlo speeds through the night, the party in full swing. The Cape tells Orwell about Max's plan to rob the train. He tries to find Max but instead bumps into another "Cape" - it's Secretary of Prisons Portman dressed in costume. When Portman finds out what's happening, he begs to help. Vince tells him to keep an eye out for Rollo.

Fleming introduces Scale to the Mayor, and Scales immediately comes on too strong, promising to supply cheap copper pipe and other metals with no tax while poking the Mayor in the arm. The Mayor takes offense and tries to leave, but Scales starts yelling at him. Security shows up to lead the Mayor away. The Cape confronts Rollo, begging him not to pull the heist. Vince doesn't want anything to disrupt his plan for Scales to out Fleming as Chess. The revelation would finally allow him to clear his name. Rollo and Ruvi ignore Vince, knocking him to the ground.

Vince flashes back to a vacation he took with an 8-year-old Trip. Trip was worried about divorce but his dad assured him he'd always be there for him. Back in the present, Trip realizes he's on his own. Through the locked front door, he asks Travis questions about the law and the idea of being innocent until proven guilty. Happy with the answers Travis gives him, Trip pops a candy bar through the mail slot. Back on the train, Orwell watches as Fleming talks to the press. Listening as reporters swallow his lies, she can't keep quiet and loudly calls him out. When Fleming accuses her of reading the Orwell is Watching blog, Orwell realizes she's said too much and flees.

Scales yells at the Mayor. Fleming is pulled into the argument when Scales decides to play his ace card, announcing to everyone present that Fleming is indeed Chess. Vince watches through the door, knowing this is the moment he's been waiting for. But the crowd laughs in disbelief and the moment is gone. Scales grabs a gun and decides to do what he does best - steal from everyone. He demands their wallets and jewelry.

Vince tells Orwell to get to the front of the train and secure the engine. Scales tries to escape only to be confronted by The Cape. A savage fight atop the train itself ensues - which results in The Cape being knocked over the side.

Fleming confronts Scales and they both pull guns on each other. During the standoff, Scales' right-hand man releases the latch connecting the train cars. Detached, Scales and his minion take off to their freedom, leaving Fleming aboard the speeding engine.

Clinging to the side of the train, The Cape finally manages to lower himself to safety, where Orwell tells him the train is now a runaway. The only way to stop it is to cut the brake hose that's under the train. Before The Cape can get to the hose, Fleming confronts him; the pair decides to form an uneasy alliance to fix the problem.

The freed caboose has come to a stop. Max, Rollo and Ruvi are robbing it when Scales walks in. He's quickly overpowered by Max and thrown into a cage - one that reminds him of his childhood years caged up in a freak show. The Carnival of Crime members take the money and head off into the night, leaving behind an enraged Scales who repeatedly bangs his head against the iron bars.

On board the runaway train, The Cape tells Fleming that cutting the brakes is a two-man job. They must work together if they want to stay alive. They decide that Fleming, an engineer by training, should go under the train. Vince lowers Fleming into position using his cape.

Wrapped in Vince's cape, Fleming climbs under the speeding train and cuts the brake hose. Vince realizes that everything is one big game to Fleming and angrily tells him to stop playing. But it's clear Fleming won't. Scales head-slams his way out of the cage and comes across the same hood who approached him earlier at the docks. Scales takes his revenge.

Dana finally arrives home and lets Travis inside. At the carnival, Vince finds Max counting the spoils of the heist. He realizes that he and Max are ultimately on opposite sides. A little later, Orwell and Vince take a quiet moment. Orwell sums up the night positively; Scales and Fleming are at war, and the Secretary of Prisons wants to help Vince.

Trip is asleep when he's woken up by the sounds of someone on his fire escape, but all he finds is a gift and a card. The package contains a compass and the card's message reads, "No journey too far... Your friend, The Cape."