In North Korea, Jack and Mac are driving through the countryside with soldiers pursuing them in another truck. Mac is mixing fuel in pop bottles. Meanwhile, Riley and Patricia are monitoring them from base and detect another enemy truck joining the pursuit. Patricia reminds them that they need the asset alive, while Mac starts tossing out bottles.
The guys approach the DMZ and the guards are waiting for them. They lose radio contact with base, and Jack complains that Jack has been distracted for the last two weeks since Nikki escaped. Mac insists that he's fine.
Riley gets the men back on their monitor as they approach the DMZ gate. Mac grabs the wheel and spins the track around, and they drive backwards to the gate. They smash through it and get to the other side, and Mac gets out and tells the soldiers to call the embassy and get their authorization. Someone in the trunk bangs on the sides, and the soldiers get him out. Jack says that the asset is an Interpol most-wanted terrorist, and tries to melt down their reactors a few w weeks ago. The soldiers take him away and the pursuing soldiers reluctantly lead. The South Korean commander then waves Mac and Jack through.
Later, Mac is sleeping at his house in LA when a man in a soldier's uniform comes in. Mac snaps awake and tackles him, and realizes that it's Wilt wearing a costume for his new movie... including a mask. Once he gets control of himself, Mac admires the mask and still claims that he was at an energy conference in Cleveland. Riley comes in and says that she needs Wilt.
Soon, Jimmy Green meets with Riley and explains that he's her probation officer. He points out that she'll be working at a think tank, the Phoenix Foundation, and wonders how she got the deal. Riley avoids giving him a direct answer, and Jimmy asks her about whether she's traveled outside of the city. The hacker lies about whether she's lift the city and if she's touched a computer. Wilt is posing as her boyfriend and Jimmy wishes her luck, saying that she has a better chance of going straight if she has a stable relationship. Outside, wilt is trying to get his candy from a machine. Riley kicks it and gets the bar, and thanks him for convincing Jimmy that he's her boyfriend. Wilt doesn't know what she really does, and Riley insists that she just made a mistake. As they leave, wilt assures Riley that he understands her and suggests that they lean into it. She gives him one digit instead of her full phone number, and says that she'll give him one number each week he proves he can pretend to be her boyfriend.
At the Phoenix foundation, Jack assures Patricia that Mac is doing fine despite Nikki's escape. Jack assures her that Mac is good at surviving and shouldn't be pulled from the field. All he needs is to continue working, and will be fine.
Mac goes to Nikki's apartment to search the place for clues as to where she went. Jack comes in and assures Mac that the place has already been searched, and knows that Mac has been there every day since she escaped custody. He tells Mac that he's genuinely concerned, and reminds Mac that it's not their job to find Nikki. They get a text and are summoned to Patricia's office. Patricia shows them a report about the Venezuelan secret police grabbing an American journalist and put her in prison, saying that she's a spy. She admits that the woman is a spy, and her real name is Sarah Adler. Jack recognizes her and Patricia offers her condolences. When Mac wonders what's going on, Jack says that he and Sara trained together in the CIA. They sent her in to confirm rumors that international arms dealer Alfredo Barrios was now running his operation in Caracas. Two days ago, Sarah found out that Barrios was there, and she stole a ledger detailing Gabriel's network. They took her before she could turn over the information, and they don't know where she is. The CIA disavowed her and the government asked the Phoenix Foundation to find her because they're her last chance.
Mac, Jack, and Riley fly to Venezuela and Jack remembers when narcs had him and Sarah pinned down. Mac asks if his friend if he's all right, and Jack says that Sarah is the only reason he got home in time to say goodbye to his father before he died. Riley joins them and asks if Jack's if his contact in Caracas is reliable. Jack assures them that they did.
After they land, the team goes to a bar and a man named Marco immediately punches Jack. Marco says that they don't serve Jack's time, and Jack insists that he just wants to talk to his friend Julio. Julio says that he doesn't want to speak to Jack, and Marco has his men grab Jack. Mac slides a bar down the bar, breaking it, and sets the alcohol on fire as a distraction. A fight breaks out and Julio runs out the back. Once the two agents have taken down their opponents, they go after Julio through the streets. Riley is in the car and opens her door, slamming it into Julio and ending the pursuit.
Once they get the information from Julio, the treat drives out to an old hospital and Riley confirms that it's a black site. She hacks the wireless network and gives herself complete access to the internal cameras, and they spot Sarah being led into a room. Mac has Riley pull up an overhead sat image, He spots an elevator on the roof and says that it's their way in. The street entrance is sealed by a metal plate embedded in the brick wall. Mac uses a car battery, jumper cables, and a euro-coin to create a makeshift arc welder and cuts the plate loose. They then open the elevator doors and Mac climbs down the cable to search for Sarah while Jack watches the perimeter.
Riley works out a route from Mac to Sarah, but warns that there are guards everywhere. Mac has her cut the power to the building, once he removes one of the security cameras from its wall mounting. He then rigs a makeshift pair of light-boosting goggles. Sarah directs him to Sarah's cell and Mac makes his way through the darkness, avoiding the guards. He knocks out the room guard with a fire extinguisher and goes inside, and Sarah jumps him. Mac identifies himself and explains that he's there with Jack to rescue her. Sarah releases him when she hears her ex-partner's name and Mac says that she has to come with him right now.
Riley spots a guard starting up a backup generator and warns Mac. The lights come up and he and Sarah run for the outside, dodging gunfire. They head for the exit and knock out one guard, but not before he sends a warning via the radio. Sarah takes his gun and opens fire on the other guards, just as Jack drives through the front doors and they get in. Jack backs out, firing as he goes, and Sarah says that her fiancé wanted kids and she wasn't ready.
As the team drives into Caracas, Riley dozes off. Sarah tells Jack that he didn't owe her anything but thanks him anyway. Jack says that she looks good, and flirts briefly with her. After a moment, Sarah starts to say anything but Jack is forced to swerve to avoid traffic. Riley wakes up and Sarah says that they're about there.
Jack drives to a house and Sarah explains that she's renting a room from a local that she trusts. As she goes on ahead, Mac looks at Jack and says that he's not over Sarah. He says that he sees why Jack fell for Sarah, because she's a female version of him. Jack says that he was young and thought that Sarah would always be there. However, he figures that this might be his second chance.
Inside, Sarah discovers that someone has searched the place. She finds her host, Luis, tied to a chair and shot dead. Mac confirms that the wounds are fresh and Sarah says that it was Barrios. Police cars approach and Sarah gets the ledger flash drive from a hidden cache. She tells them to go, insisting that she's not leaving, and Jack warns there's nothing she could do to bring Luis back. Sarah says that Barrios is in town because of the ledger, and he'll disappear if she leaves. She reminds Jack that he taught her not to worry about the chain of commands, and Jack tells his teammates that he's going with Sarah. Mac insists on going with him, and tells Riley that they're not going to tell Patricia. The hacker agrees to go with them, and they head out.
The team drives to an Internet cafe and Riley goes inside. She orders their biggest bundle of minutes from the cashier and goes to work. A man stares at her and Riley points out that there's already a half-naked woman on his computer. She accesses the flash drive and then sends it on an uplink to the Foundation. Patricia is exercising when her aide Andie Lee tells her that the information is coming in on an old-school connection and it will take just over eight hours. Patricia figures that Mac can give it to her when he arrives, and Andie says that the team missed their expo and not responding to calls.
Mac, Jack, and Sarah go to Barrios' compound. She explains that she slipped in during a party and stole the ledger. Jack points out that they're outnumbered by the army Barrios has, and Mac says that they'll have to bring their own. He uses the rear-view mirrors from their car to set up a directional heat source. Mac then focuses the sun's rays on several boxes of ammo.
At the Internet café, Riley waits for the information to upload. Two SUVs pull up outside and Barrios' men come in. Patricia arrives, shoots them, and tells Riley that they're leaving. As they go, Patricia says that the government traced her through their network of contacts.
The ammo boxes finally explode and the guards assume that they're under attack. Barrios takes off on a motorcycle, and Patricia and Riley pull up. Mac and the others get in and they drive after Barrios. Patricia manages to get ahead of him but Barrios jumps over them using a handy tree stump and the chase continues. Patricia pulls up to him as close as she can, and Mac cuts the camouflage netting off of the top of their jeep. He weighs it with wrenches and tosses it into the motorcycle wheels, and it goes down.
Sarah approaches Barrios and tells him to turn over and remove his helmet. Patricia tells Sarah to stand down, and Jack suggests that they take a walk. Sarah reluctantly goes with him, sobbing, and Jack tells her to relax and it's over.
Back in LA, Patricia reminds the team that the mission was Sarah and the ledger, not Barrios. They all take the blame and Patricia says that off the record she would have done the same thing. Sarah's fiancé Jeff comes in and Sarah runs to hug him. She introduces Jeff and Jack tries to put a good face on it. Jeff hugs him and thanks Jack for saving Sarah. Sarah gives Jack a hug and whispers that she tried to tell him, and then leaves with Jeff. Once they're gone, Jack breaks into laughter and admits to Mac that he has terrible luck with women. Mac assures him that at least they have each other.
Later, Mac goes back to Nikki's apartment and insists to himself that he's not just trying to fix Nikki. He sees a fly enter an electrical outlet and realizes that it conceals a hidden compartment. Mac removes the outlet cover and finds something inside.
At the house, Wilt is showing Riley how to make a perfect hamburger. Outside, Jack is playing 1-on-1 with Mac, and Jack thanks him for Caracas. He assures Mac that he brought his a game there, and Mac says that his friend was right and Nikki got into his head. Riley comes out and tells them that Wilt has the hamburgers ready. Once she goes in, Jack and Mac both figure Riley is the closest they're going to get to a stable relationship with a woman. They play for game point, and Mac scores the last point... without telling Jack about Nikki's passports that he found.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 1, 2016