Without a Trace

Limitless Podcast Transcript [S2E9]

Mark: I guess, and with the whole list change it's not like many others are at risk right now, but... it's still scary, you know?

Johnny: Of course. Who knows who's going to be on that hitlist next.

Mark: Exactly. But now I'm wondering what the Charlatan's motive could possibly be, you know? Murders and kidnappings, but why?

Johnny: Yeah, there really are no correlations with many of the people on the lists, let alone on the same list. I hope once he gets caught he explains his whole plan.

Mark: Like in the movies?

Johnny: Exactly like in the movies. The Charlatan just has this intriguing aura that I'm so curious of, and no doubt that's why those nine got together too, maybe.

Mark: I can see it, the Charlatan's always one step ahead somehow, like they have eyes everywhere, and their henchmen seem to be doubling and tripling, it's hard to tell who's affiliated with the Charlatan and who's faking.

Johnny: There's something really interesting about those henchmen, though! Have you noticed that they are using certain weapons?

Mark: From previous vigilantes, I know! Just the other day one of those henchmen were spotted holding onto Agust's pistols, isn't that insane? Where the hell did they get those? I'm pretty sure the police rounded up nearly all of them.

Johnny: Well, that's what they want us to think.

Mark: Of course, it is.

Johnny: It's just... interesting. And then there's why they use them too.

Mark: I mean... if you want to go into it... I have a theory.

Johnny: Ooh, do share.

Mark: Well, the definition of 'Charlatan' to begin with is "a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill, or a fraud." And if the Charlatan's henchmen are using ex-vigilante weapons, maybe they're trying to mimic them? But with that said, whoever the real Charlatan is might be someone well know hiding in plain sight. Likewise, they could be someone entirely random just throwing us for a loop, you know? It kind of fits when we put it up with how the Charlatan seems to be one step ahead.

Johnny: Wait that's actually really good, Mark!

Mark: Then part of me wanted to take it to a larger stretch and say maybe the people on their lists are also somewhat of "charlatans" but, for the most part, the victims seem very normal, nothing stands out about them.

Johnny: I wonder how much more this case will unfold.

Mark: Me too, it really is a twisting case. The police are having so much difficulty figuring anything out about them, the broadcasts are just encrypted so well that the Charlatan's impossible to track down and the use of henchmen makes it even harder.

Johnny: Let alone their weapons, those belonged to vigilantes, and it's not like many of the police force are trained to take direct hits from those.

Mark: Yeah, the whole thing is just a mess.

Johnny: You think this is what they wanted?

Mark: Oh, yeah, definitely. Chaos of some kind, or at least instilling that fear into everyone.

Johnny: Shit... keep our doors locked, right?

Mark: Yeah. I think we went over a good majority of it all, the casefile is shockingly short.

Johnny: For it being a year old, the Charlatan covers their tracks well.

Mark: Uh huh, there's not much we can do about lack of information. There's only eyewitness reports of their henchmen, but nothing on the person themselves.

Johnny: Like I said, lock your doors.

Mark: And on that note, we can probably end this episode early. Thanks for listening, you guys, and as usual we'll be active on Twitter to answer your questions on CuriousCat and, also as usual, we'll be answering the first 100 questions that come in. We'll leave a poll pinned for what vigilante you want us to talk about next and maybe we'll even throw in something extra. If you check out Patreon right now you'll see a nifty poll for a secret thing that I think you'll all enjoy. Oh, and buy us a Kofi! Link's in our bio on Twitter.

Johnny: Oh and thanks to Crys, as always, for transcribing! She works hard so we don't have to! Make sure to follow her on ​ and buy her a Kofi so she can keep transcribing more of your favorite podcasts.

Mark: And, seriously, stay safe, everyone.

Johnny: We'll see you in the next one!

Outro Song: - deep priority