“The Waste” is episode five of season one of Special Unit 2.
Two women are sniping at each other at a cosmetic surgery clinic. One heads for liposuction and the nurse tells the doctor there’s a problem with the liposuction. He thinks it’s a problem with the disposal line and goes to check. There’s a bubbling sound from a toilet. And a hand reaches out of the toilet and throws him across the room, killing him.
Cops are at the scene and a detective is barking out orders when Nick and Kate arrive. Nick recognises the detective, Rich, and they talk. Rich is unhappy they are taking over. Kate goes to see the footprints and is told they’re atypical. They only lead out of the room and they look to be barefoot, but the surface of the feet is smooth with no print pattern. Kate has the floor collected with a chainsaw. Nick is talking to Rich who is trying to get him and Kate off the case. And refuses to step away himself.
Sean says that whatever left the prints is 98% fat. He has a theory as to what it might be. The DNA test came back with 111 different people. There are rules for the disposal of medical waste and the clinic was illegally disposing of it. He thinks the creature came from the fat removed from liposuction patients. It’s not only made of fat but needs to ingest it to live. Captain Page asks what brought it to life. Sean says it doesn’t matter, because O’Malley will be ordered to kill it.
Kate asks if Sean is taking its side. It killed someone. Sean says yes, a greedy plastic surgeon. Nick thinks that’s a point. Sean’s point is that this creature isn’t something that’s been trying to exterminate humanity for centuries. It’s something they created, through being vain and irresponsible. Perhaps give it the benefit of the doubt. They can try and get it whilst it’s feeding; sites where discarded human fat are where it will go.
Rich is in a bar going over the case but tells everyone to go when Nick arrives. He says the doctor was seeing three of his patients and his nurse. Just because Nick is point doesn’t mean Rich can’t be involved. Nick says it does. And he can’t say why.
In the car, Carl gets a call about 911 to a medical facility. He tells Nick and Kate it’s not connected to the creature; he was invited on that job. The next call is, and Nick and Kate head in. The creature got inside through the pipes. Outside, a police car turns up, then Rich. He heads in and speaks to one of the cops, Bishop. That one encounters the creature and ends up killed by it; the monster then turns into a puddle of fat and slips away. Rich finds the body and the is holding the murder weapon when the second officer arrives and arrests him.
Nick and Kate are seeing Rich’s captain. He says there was some bad blood between Rich and Bishop and he was found holding the murder weapon with no-one else in the building. Who did it if not Rich? Or, are the details classified?
Nick tries telling Page they can’t let Rich go down for something he didn’t do. Page isn’t going to reveal the truth and cause a panic just because Rich is Nick’s old partner. And why was he there anyway? Nick assumes Rich was listening to 911 calls too. Page tells him they don’t reveal what they do for Nick’s friend’s sake or anyone else’s. Meanwhile, how do they catch it?
Kate says the creature is going through all the waste human fat. So, a public health directive has been issued to transfer everything left to a central area. They will be able to get it there, or at least put a tracker on it.
They have a problem dealing with the creature because it can turn into a puddle and fit through anything. And it needs to eat a lot of fat to survive. Rich is still assumed to be responsible for Bishop’s death and Nick wants to prove he isn’t. Without revealing the truth to anyone. Rich himself doesn’t help matters.