“Safe” is episode ten of season one of Fringe.
A group are robbing the Philadelphia Mutual Savings Bank at night; one of them is Loeb. They’re using the device created at the end of “The Equation” to get through the wall of the vault, by firing a magnetic grapple through. Three of them pull themselves through the wall; they’ve got under two minutes to do it. A specific safe deposit box is taken and the men start to leave. The magnet won’t disengage so the third remains behind to fix it. He manages to, but as he’s being pulled out the wall solidifies, trapping him. Loeb shoots him.
Olivia, Peter and Walter arrive at the bank; Walter thinks the man trapped in the wall is fascinating. Broyles explains this appears to be the third in a series of related bank robberies, the previous two in Cleveland and Baltimore. In each case, a single oversized safe deposit box was taken. The vault wasn’t breached. They’ve called the bank manager to trace the box. Olivia knows the man in the wall. Raul Lupo. They were in the Marines together, he’s from Jersey and his wife is Susan. She’s been to his house.
The robbers are in a warehouse. It will take a few hours to get what was in the safe deposit box open and there’s one more box.
In Wissenschaft Prison, David Robert Jones, introduced in “In Which We Meet Mr. Jones”, is seeing his lawyer, Kohl.
Walter and Peter are in a Tool Rack; Walter is impressed by the store. Peter takes issue to his father suggesting he’s wasted his life. An assistant asks if she can help. Walter says yes; he’s after an electric saw with easily replaceable blades. What’s he cutting? Human tissue. Flesh and bone. Possibly one of the more disturbing answers to that question. The assistant tells them where to look and Peter calls after her, saying she needn’t call the police.
Kohl is telling Jones that the best he can hope for is life. They are going to appeal. Jones doesn’t seem remotely interested. He asks if his people have news. Yes; the job in Philadelphia was successful. Jones wants Loeb sent another $100K and to be informed of the location of the next item. He uses back of the appeal form to write down an eclectic list of things he needs.
Olivia heads to see Susan Lugo. Raul moved out two years ago and they haven’t spoken in months. She isn’t surprised by the robberies, though; when he came back after the war, he was dark. Olivia says she served with Raul and she’s been to the house before. She remembers the night Raul made first lieutenant, and remembers it perfectly. Only problem is, Olivia wasn’t there; John Scott was. Susan asks if she’s okay. Good question.
Walter has used his new saw to cut off Raul’s hand when Olivia returns. He says whoever did this is at the cutting edge of quantum physics and the technology to do it cost more than a dozen banks will hold. Peter and Walter both realise something is wrong with Olivia; Walter suggests high stress. Or the effects of hallucinogens. Olivia explains she didn’t know Raul Lugo; John Scott did.
The box has now been cut open and Loeb takes a look inside.
At Massive Dynamic, Nina Sharp is told that they’re at a dead end with trying to reconstruct John Scott’s memories.
Walter has rice, a vibrating football table and some toys at the lab. He demonstrates by putting a toy in the rice and placing it on the vibrating board; the toy sinks in when the vibrations start. He believes something similar was done at the bank. The technology is also slightly radioactive. How slightly? Walter uses a Geiger counter on the hand. Not as slightly as he thought. Olivia returns; the safe deposit boxes were taken out 23 years ago with cash in bogus names. Regarding the radiation, they can see if anyone checks into a hospital with radiation poisoning. She and Peter head to speak to Raul’s best friend.
Obviously, the robbers are after something specific from the banks, something probably deposited by the same person. And then they discover who that person was.