In Paris, Desi drives a stolen Presidential limo after picking up Mac. The police chase after them in cars and helicopters, Desi points out that nothing else was going to get them out of the mess that they're in. Mac calls Matty and she says that she can't bail them out. The French agents shoot out a tire, and Riley and Wilt read them the stats on the car. Mac has Riley direct them to the nearest underpass, and then he takes out the medical equipment in the back. He makes a gas mask as Desi turns into the tunnel, and Mac releases a gas grenade built into the car. By the time the agents catch up to the limo, they discover that it's empty since Mac and Desi escaped through the sewers.
Later, James orders hot coffee and he sees a newscast about two parents saying that their children disappeared during overseas.
At Phoenix, Mac goes over the components of the bomb planted in James' SUV. Wilt says that he's programmed Sparky to analyze human behavior, and runs a video of two men in Italy. Sparky determines that the one of them is recruiting a Ukrainian asset. James calls them to the war room, and Mac meets with Desi. Sparky tells Wilt that according to their responses, they have a common attraction.
In the war room, James runs the newscast. He explains that Ben Hagan and Isabel Marx called their parents from Bogota six days ago. They missed their flight the next day, and the State Department won't launch an official search. Ben and Isabel told their friends that they were participating in a no-go scavenger hunt, \and they go to places on the U.S. no-go lists. Sending representatives to find missing participants encourages more people to participate. Matty admits that they don't know what happened to Ben and Isabel, so the team is going to go in as backpacking participants. She warns them that it's an unsanctioned op so they'll have no backup.
The team arrive in Bogota and go to the address where backpackers start the No-Go Challenge. Desi admits that she's done her fair share of stupid things, and Mac talks about how he was in Tangiers on a camel. In the back, Wilt tells Riley what Sparky reported. Riley is surprised but figures that it's great. He says that he isn't, reminding her of what happened when Mac was involved with Nikki. Wilt notes that Desi reminds him of Mac's lab partner in high school, and how he was so distracted he got a B in chemistry. He figures that Mac shouldn't date anyone he works with, preferring Mac keep his head in the game. Riley doesn't see them having a relationship.
The team arrive at the address: a building home to 5,000 squatters after the construction was shut down. Challengers must first retrieve a map in the 45th floor in a utility closet. The team goes in and head u0p the stairs, moving past the squatters. They discover that the map is gone, and a man comes over and offers them the maps for everything they've got. His teammates draw knives, and Desi prepares to beat them. Mac says that they're looking for friends and offers the leader everything they have in return or information and the maps. The team fights the muggers and the maps blow out the window. Mac grabs some nearby flypaper and manages to snag a map before it blows off the edge of the building.
The team read the map which shows several starting points. However, they have no idea which one Ben and Isabel took.
James and Matty tell Ben's parents, Tyler and Julie, that Phoenix is helping and ask if Ben said anything to them about which starting point he took. They don’t remember anything, and Julie says that Ben turned down a desk job at the last minute and decided to travel the world with Isabel. Tyler figures that Ben needed to take the time before he got trapped with a job and family. James says that all parents can do is raise them right and hope they'll be all right. He admits that he has a son and explains that Mac is on the team searching for Ben and Isabel. James promise Julie and Tyler that Mac will find their son. Julie mentions that Ben climbed as a child, and figures that he would have started at a high-voltage tower.
The team goes to the tower and an Australian girl was found there a month ago, electrocuted. The rules require the participants to sign their names at each stop, and Desi figures that Ben signed his name at the top. Mac admits that he's scared of heights, and notes that if they slip then they'll electrocute themselves. He rigs insulated climbing gear and then he and Desi climb up the tower. On the ground, Wilt can't watch and Riley does watch. Wilt finally looks as their teammates reach the top and see names on the insulating discs. They belay up the rest of the way to get close to the discs, and Desi starts singing as Mac climbs up the discs to get to the signatures. Desi explains that her mother used to singing the same song when she got scared. Mac gets the coordinates to the next location, slips, and Desi holds the belaying rope up as Mac's phone drops to the ground he gets Ben and Isabel's signature and radios to Matty and James.
Wilt suggests that they use the signatures to identify the other Challengers, and then determine if any of them met Ben and Isabel. Riley checks the travel records and determines that ten of them flew into the country at the same time. Six of them went missing, and the team realizes that someone is piggybacking on the Challenge and abducting participants.
The coordinates lead to the Rio soccer stadium, which is currently closed for renovations. The team breaks in and Riley figures that it's a great place for abductions. She assumes that someone is watching them, and they split up to check the seats on the bottom level. Mac picks Desi to go with him, and Wilt figures that Mac deliberately picked Desi to be with her.
Mac and Desi tell about their worst youthful experiences, and Mac "wins".
Matty tells James that he did a good job reassuring Ben's parents, and notes that he divulged that his son was on the mission team. James says that he feels the same way the parents did when he sent Mac out in the field. His priority used to be mission success but now he wants everyone to get home safe. James asks Matty to keep it confidential so people don't think he's a big softy, and she says that the fact he secretly is makes him a good boss.
Desi talks about how she swam with sharks, and Mac finds the coordinates for the next location. Ben and Isabel's names are there, and some of the other names match the names at the tower. Matty and James spot a van approaching on satellite view, and Mac tells Wilt and Riley to hold their positions. Three masked men attack them and knock them out with tasers, and take them away. Wilt and Riley run across the station Wilt jumps on one of the abductors. Riley arrives and clubs the other two with a broom, knocking them out. Riley hacks their cellphones and discovers that they called a man a nearby. She accesses the phone camera and sends a photo of the man to Matty. Matty identifies the man as Derek Diresta, a human trafficker. He got a request for English speakers right before Ben and Isabel disappeared, and says on the phone that they're moving the prisoners from a farmhouse to the docks in thirty minutes.
The team goes to the farm where Diresta and his men are holding the prisoners. Matty says that they have to rescue the kids before they're moved. Wilt and Riley put on the masks while Mac and Desi pretend to be prisoners. Riley drives up to the gate and Riley uses one man's phone to text that they're there. They remote-open the gate and when the van stops, Mac and Desi knock out the abductors. Inside, the team finds detailed research on all of the No Go locations, and there are maps for other continents. They figure that Diresta is going to expand his operation.
Riley spots Diresta and the prisoners on the internal surveillance cameras, and Mac has Wilt and Desi find a sleeping bag filled with watertight stuffing to make an airtight bag. Once they do, Mac finds a substance to make a toxic gas, and they knock out the guards one at a time by putting the bag over their heads. Riley and Wilt lock up the guards while Mac and Desi free the prisoners.
Diresta tells the prisoners that soon they'll be placed in their new situations. When Wilt tries to gas him, Diresta knocks him out. Desi attacks the trafficker and Mac recovers and knocks him down. Wilt and Riley arrive, and they realize that Ben and Isabel aren't there. Diresta says that they got too famous so they're going to kill them.
Matty spots the van on satellite and radios the location to the team. They realize the van is heading to the electrical tower to kill Ben and Isabel, and make it look like an accident. Mac and Desi take the abductors' off-road bikes to catch up to them.
In the van, Ben apologizes to Isabel for talking her into it, and she says that it's all right.
Mac and Desi arrive at the gate to the tower and find the gate locked. Mac rides up a dirt hill and over the fence, and Desi follows him. She shoots one of the abductors, and they get to the van and knock out the others. Mac tells Ben and Isabel that they're okay and unties them.
The team heads back to the U.S., and Ben and Isabel are reunited with their parents. James looks on and hugs Mac when he comes over. Wilt suggests that James give them a paid vacation, and James tells him to keep dreaming.
That night at Mac's house, the team watches a broadcast about the backpackers' rescue. Matty says that Diresta flipped on his overseas counterparts and Phoenix is working with Interpol to shut down the network. Desi stops by wearing a dress, and Wilt and Riley figure that it's on. Meanwhile, Desi tells Mac that she's running late for her date. Mac tells her to have fun and Desi leaves, and Wilt figures that they're safe. Riley sees the look they exchange before Desi leaves and isn't so sure.
Written by Gadfly on Apr 27, 2019