Ray meets with Arnold Dodd, agent for TV actor Ty Gardiner, who plays Dr. Clinton Wolf in the TV medi-drama Cry Wolf. Dodd claims someone is trying to kill Gardiner and they want to hire Ray to find out who. Dodd tells Ray they know about Ray's payment and agrees to set up a personal meeting with Ty. They go to Ty's ranch house where he's in the pool making out with his vegetarian/dietician. She stalks out, angry, and Ray is ready to leave. Ty first snaps at him as a hired hand, but when Ray refuses to give in, Ty apologizes and explains his life is in danger. He also apologizes for being a jerk, rambling the writers on his TV show are to blame for turning his character into a yutz. He invites Ray to stay and have a steak, then watches him eat. Ty gives him a speech about how his life is on the skids, which Ray recognizes from one of Ty's movies. Ty admits that he set up a fake knife attack as a PR stunt a year ago, and now the police won't listen to him. An irritated Ray heads out the door but when Ty tries to get him to come back, a man opens fire from a car and then drives off. Ray gets the Nevada license plate number from the car as it goes.
While Dodd calls the skeptical police, Ray bandages Ty's wounded thumb. Ty starts rambling again and Ray figures out he's on illegal amphetamines. He finally agrees to take the case but tells Ty he'll have to do everything he says and get off the drugs. Ray checks the security system that night and in the morning Ty staggers out of bed. Ray has gone through his records and found information on a Mark Webber from Las Vegas. Since the shooter's license plates were from Las Vegas, Ray figures they're connected. He has Ty get Webber's address, and Ty finds a leftover bottle of pills and starts popping. They go to Webber's business address and along the way Ty starts rambling again and Ray gives him one more warning. At the address they find a new office: TyGard. Ty is the president even though he's never seen the place. They go inside and nobody there has heard of Ty, even though there are publicity photos of him all over the place. The secretary admits that there was a drive by shooting recently and Webber called in sick. Ray determines the entire place is a front for Webber's shady business deals. They find out Webber's home address and go there. Webber says he had a business deal with some men in Las Vegas but he's got things settled. He's interrupted when a Japanese man comes in and shoots him dead. Ray knocks him out and finds a ring identifying him as a Yakuza assassin.
They call the police who are interested in finding out who Ray is. Ray tells them to worry about the Yakuza and demands his phone call. He makes a call to the lieutenant governor's office and gets them to let him go. Ty gets released as well and says the Yakuza can't want him dead because he's never met them. Ray warns that the Yakuza are big on revenge and figures Webber had a secret compartment. They go back to Webber's house after the police leave and Ray finds a secret room with Webber's records. As they go in Ray hears a helicopter but Ty figures it's the neighborhood watch program. When Ray tells him to check it out, Ty blows it off. Ray finds papers saying Webber was cutting a real estate deal with Sam de Augusta, a major Las Vegas mob boss. Webber scammed de Augusta out of his money using Ty's name. When Ray hears men breaking in, he tries to get Ty out but more men arrest them at gunpoint.
The men take Ray and Ty to a secluded spot and a man in a suit demands to know how they're connected to Webber. Ray IDs them as FBI agents but is less than thrilled when Ty gives out his identity as Stingray. The head FBI agent, Mutter, orders a background check on Ray, who warns him that the file is closed. Ray figures their best bet is to compare notes and explains that Webber set up Ty and was involved with both the Mafia and the Yakuza. In return Webber explains that Webber was working for them and needed $3 million to set up the Yakuza. Ray figures that Webber used the $3 million as front money to buy the cocaine then tried to escape with the money and the drugs. Mutter is ready to leave now that Webber is dead but Ray offers him a deal.
Ray meets with Sam de Augusta as Ty's representative and convinces the mob boss that the Yakuza are moving in on Mafia turf, and Ty has the 50 lbs. of cocaine that Webber conned from the Yakuza. If de Augusta gives Ty protection, he'll turn the cocaine over. Once de Augusta agrees, Ray goes to the Yakuza and convinces them to accept the cocaine in return for calling off the contract on Ty. The Yakuza agree to Ray's deal.
Ray and Ty meet de Augusta at a closed amusement park, where Ray has also told the Yakuza about. Ty turns over the cocaine to de Augusta and the Yakuza open fire. Ty takes a bullet in the shoulder and Ray gets him to cover while hidden FBI agents open fire and take everyone prisoner. Ray is wounded as well and both of them end up in the hospital. Mutter thanks Ray for his help and notes that his superiors closed down his attempts to investigate Ray's background. After he leaves, Ray and Ty fight over the remote as the actor tries to catch another newscast about his heroic role in bringing both mobs to justice.
Written by Gadfly on Sep 15, 2015