Rex Resolution 60: Der Verlierer

And so begins Season 5!

Who wouldn't sign up for a hot air balloon ride over Vienna? Boeck, who partakes unwillingly in some kind of a police prize, with Rex and Brandtner for company. Hoellerer is nowhere to be seen - too much ballast around the middle for the balloon, perhaps?

Anyway, wouldn't you just know it? Alex and Christian just happen to find themselves in prime position to watch a robber fleeing a bungled bank robbery down below. Not that Boeck is able to look anywhere except straight ahead. The robber has panicked and shot dead a passerby who tried to foil his escape. With police arriving on the scene, Brandtner is able to direct to where the robber dumped clothes and towards the robber, until a shift of wind takes them in the wrong direction.

The robber, Anton, is a novice. In desperate straights, owning money to brothel owner Sonner for a drug deal gone bad, the bank job is his attempt to pay Sonner back. Unfortunately for Anton the money is rendered useless by dye and so Sonner's henhman Grueber kidnaps Anton's girlfriend Alina. The idea is that Alina will work off Anton's debts in the brothel. In the interim, she is taken to a warehouse and dosed up with drugs.

With an identikit picture of the robber, Brandtner checks the drug scene and the robber is identified as Anton. His flat is empty of furniture and a quick sweep of nearby antiques stores reveals that Anton has sold everything and also his link to Alina, an employee.

Sonner gives Anton a chance to pay off his debts by closing a drug deal but what Anton doesn't know is that Sonner has arranged with Grueber to rip off the dealer as payback for a past deal gone wrong. Anton is just heading out for the job as Brandtner turns up at Alina's flat. With little to go on, Rex locates traces of burnt money from the bank job in the flat.

At the drugs handover, everything goes wrong. Grueber is shot dead, Anton is also shot but manages to flee with the money and drugs. When Grueber's body is identified, the link to Sonner emerges and Brandtner heads off to quiz him. He acts cool and Brandtner has no choice but to leave.

When Anton contacts Sonner to say he has the drugs and the money and will give them to him in return for Alina, Sonner heads off to the warehouse to get the girl. Unknown to him, Anton has hidden in the boot of his car and manages to get Alina away from Sonner, although he gets shot again the process.

Unluckily for Sonner, Brandtner had noticed some building plans while in his office and heads out to the building for a look, surprising Sonner. A shot out between Sonner and Brandtner follows, before Brandtner rescues a fear-paralysed Boeck from a high window ledge and then the girl Alina.

Other players include Annett Renneberg as Alina, Uwe Bohm as Sonner, Martin Brambach as Grueber, the late Urs Hefti, not credited for this episode, Paul Kreshka, not credited for this episode with IMDB, and Hans Dieter Sigl, not listed with IMDB and not pictured above.

A single Recycled Rexer Roman Knizka, uncredited for this episode but also appearing in 'Attentat auf Rex' (2003) as Huneck.