Playing the Predictable
1 Samuel 16:7
“Playing the Predictable” is episode #778 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written and directed by Paul McCusker, and originally aired on October 3, 2015.
Summary
Eugene is recruited to investigate disappearing money at the Odyssey Bank and the new head of Vance's gang, Dion, announces his intention to make Buck's life miserable.
Plot
Dion Farkus, one of the thugs who beat up Buck Oliver, tells Buck that Vance King is singularly unhappy about Buck's telling the police about Vance's actions and has instructed Dion to make Buck's life miserable while Vince is kept home from school by his angry mother.
Meanwhile, at Whit's End, Officer Landon Davidson requests recently deputized Eugene Meltsner's assistance in a case at the Odyssey Bank. A hacker is stealing small amounts from bank accounts, seemingly at random. Megyn Rankin, head of bank security, believes that they are being hacked from the outside but has no further information. Eugene encourages Ms. Rankin and Officer Davidson to keep this fraud as quiet as possible, since alerting employees could cause the thief to steal a larger amount of money. He and Landon decide to connect an unprotected computer to the bank's system in hopes that the hacker will go after it.
Buck has a run-in with Dion, but, reluctant to beat up Buck without provocation, Dion agrees to visit Whit's End with Buck. While there, he gets in trouble with Whit for threatening another boy and leaves in a huff. Whit expresses his concern regarding Buck's new choice of friends and Buck promises to talk to Dion.
At the bank, while Eugene and Landon are still working, Ms. Rankin rushes in to reveal that $500 has been moved fraudulently from an account and seemingly disappeared. They all agree to shut the system down overnight, ostensibly for maintenance, in hopes of having discovered the perpetrator by the next morning.
Later that day, Eugene and Buck discuss his work on the case (in broad and confidential terms). Buck suggests that the hacker might actually be someone working from the inside pretending that they were an outsider. When Eugene returns to the bank, he discovers that a bank employee has been using an external device on their computer around the same time that money goes missing. The computer turns out to be one shared by various employees that is not allocated to any individual. Ms. Rankin tracks down the logins on that computer and they decide to watch security footage of the times surrounding logins when money went missing.
Buck expresses his concern for Dion and advises him to change his life, insinuating that he has big plans which Dion (and his gang) can figure into. Dion agrees to meet Buck at the bowling alley in two days.
Discussion Questions
- There are no discussion questions listed for this episode. »
Cast
Heard in episode
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Dion Farkus | Alex Polinsky |
| Buck Oliver | Robby Bruce |
| Eugene Meltsner | Will Ryan |
| John Whittaker | Andre Stojka |
| Landon Davidson | Calvin Winbush |
| Megyn Rankin | Kari Wahlgren |
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Buck Oliver | Robby Bruce |
| Dion Farkus | Alex Polinsky |
| Eugene Meltsner | Will Ryan |
| John Whittaker | Andre Stojka |
| Landon Davidson | Calvin Winbush |
| Megyn Rankin | Kari Wahlgren |
Mentioned in episode
| Character | Mentioned By |
|---|---|
| Vance King | Dion Farkus |
| Mrs. Franklin | Dion Farkus |
| Don Polehaus | Landon Davidson |
| Katrina Meltsner | Buck Oliver |
| Vince King | Megyn Rankin |
Notes
- In-Universe
- This is a main episode in The Ties That Bind (Saga).
- Dion and Buck refer to Buck's being beat up in #759: “The Ties that Bind, Part 9”.
- Whit and Eugene discuss his work on the newly redesigned Let's Get Together festival that Whit began working on in #764: “The Ties That Bind, Part 14”.
- Allusions
- The number of the computer used in the thefts is 18675309, a reference to the song "867-5309" by Tommy Tutone.
- Dion references the Field of Dreams.
Quotes
Dion Farkus: We don't call ourselves a gang anymore. It's bad PR.
Buck Oliver: What are you called now?
Dion Farkus: We decided on Team Vance. Yeah we saw one of those afternoon talk shows. The team is a more positive word. The police will think we're helping old people across the street or getting kittens out of trees. That kind of thing.
Buck Oliver: Play the predictable, but don't forget the dog.
Buck Oliver: Hey Dion, where's your crew? I thought this is where you make my life miserable.
Dion Farkus: Oh yeah. You see you've heard of the field of dreams. This is the field of screams. But yeah it's just me again.
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