In a Phoenix Foundation interrogation room, Wilt is sitting alone. Mac and Patricia finally come in and tell him that they have to determine if he's a threat to the U.S. Wilt objects, insisting that he's no threat, and says that he' going home. When he tries to walk out, a security guard is standing there. Mac talks to Patricia privately and says that they can't treat Wilt like he's a suspect. He insists that Wilt did nothing wrong and threatens to quit.
Later, Mac meets with Riley and Jack. Mac insists that he won't let Phoenix send Wilt to a black site or witness protection. They meet with Patricia, who explains that they're going after prospective terrorists before they become terrorists. They are going after Dieva Roca, a Latvian extremist that has staged three attacks in the last month. The leader is Janis Lapa and he has just appeared in Riga. Janis' mother died, and he has an appointment in 18 hours to collect his inheritance from Latvian National Bank... and then they'll collect him.
Eighteen hours later, the team runs out of the bank as the alarms go off. Janis has escaped, and the team splits up to find him. Mac find Janis at a loading dock site and Janis opens fire on him. While he wait for Jack to get there, Mac grabs a can of paint, sets it on fire, and throws it at Janis. The explosion lets him get close enough to tackle Janis. Jack arrives and determines that Janis sent out an SOS to every contact on his phone. They drag Janis way before his teammates arrive.
Patricia goes to see Wilt, who is doing yoga meditation. She says that Oversight has a few questions about his phone records to China. Wilt explains that he buys silicone for prosthetics, and shows him his workshop marked as evidence.
As the team tries to drive to the exfil, Janis says that they took out a cop here three weeks ago. They get caught in traffic, and the terrorists search each car. The team abandons the car with Janis and runs down the street as the terrorists open fire, and the terrorists box them in. Riley isn't able to track the terrorists because they ditched their phones, and it will take 30 minutes for a satellite to pass over. A worker comes out of a nearby restaurant and dumps some garbage. Once he goes in, Mac goes in after him and comes out with a plastic bag. He then borrows Jack's cell phone, and uses jellied fuel and a clothing hanger to make an improvised hot-air balloon. Riley gets the picture from the phone, and Jack is less than thrilled that his phone is gone.
Riley finds a clear route out and they run. The balloon pops and Mac leads the team to the nearby American embassy. He calls Patricia and tells her to call the Latvian embassy. The Marine guard tells them to drop their weapons or he'll open fire. Patricia gets through in time, and the guard lets them in. Ambassador Roberts meets with them and Mac tells her who Janis is. The terrorists open fire and Roberts admits that they only have four Marines. The Marines open fire while everyone gets inside.
Patricia contacts Admiral Rodriguez and tells him to send help. Wilt is watching, and Patricia calls Riley who confirms that it's not going well. Roberts calls and confirms that the local police aren't coming, supposedly because of depleted manpower. There's no armory because it’s a peacetime embassy, and they tells them that Patricia can't get them help in less than six hours. Mac and Jack agree that it feels like Cairo, and Riley hacks the embassy cameras. She tells Jack that Roberts is married, much to his disappointment. Janis suggests that if they let him go, sand warns that the civilians will get slaughtered.
As the Marines return fire, Mac explains the situation to the staff. One man, Phillip, suggests that they just hand Janis over. Mac says that Janis is the key to killing thousands of innocent people, and promises Phillip and the others that he'll get them home. However, he needs everyone's help. Roberts says that they're all with him.
The team barricades the building as best they can, Jack warns Mac that they're going to need something heavier than furniture. Mac calculates out how many pieces of printer paper will stop an AK-47 bullet, and tells Roberts to get every ream of paper and book that they have. They tape them together and block the windows with them.
As Riley works, Janis tells her that she doesn't have to die with the others. If she helps him escape then he'll guarantee her safety. Riley figures that Janis figures that she's the weak link, and points out that he's tainted as a cooperative asset. She suggests that Janis terrorist allies will kill him for fear that he's given them up, and says that they're attacking the embassy to kill him.
As Mac and Jack barricade the windows, Jack points out that Mac is distracted by Wilt's arrest. He says that keeping Wilt in the dark has kept him alive, and that he stayed close to Wilt despite protocol. Jack says that Wilt will remember it eventually, and Mac admits that it's the first time he ever considered someone figuring out what he does. His friend tells him that they have to lie to their loved ones because telling them the truth endangers their lives.
The Marines start firing in single bursts, meaning that they're conserving ammo. Mac spots a truck outside and says that they can use it to strengthen the gate. He asks Roberts to gather her people and asks them to give him all of their Kevlar so that they can protect the Marines. After a moment, Roberts takes off her vest and the other staff members do likewise. Mac then tapes the Kevlar to two metal doors, and he and Jack go out using them as shields. They get to the truck, get in, and drive it to the gate that a terrorist took out with a grenade. They then use the makeshift shields to cover the Marines' escape back into the embassy.
There are four hours away, and Riley shows her teammates a live sat feed. There's a hummer heading for them. It easily bursts through the gate, and Mac tells everyone to get to the second floor. The terrorists get close enough to concentrate their fire on the doors, and Roberts says that they have to destroy the intel before the terrorists reach the building. One terrorist throws a grenade in, and Mac manages to toss it out before it detonates. Janis tells Mac that he can help, and Mac agrees over Jack's objections.
As a sergeant takes Janis out, the terrorists continue firing. Roberts hides behind the safe while Mac breaks a stone sculpture and then goes to the basement to grab all the cleaning supplies that they have. Jack cuts apart pipes and Mac fills cans with a chemical mix. They use the stone pieces as projectiles and fire at the terrorists, driving them off. Mac figures that they're retreating for other reasons, pulls in an antenna, and hooks it up to an AM/FM radio. They intercept a terrorist transmission saying that they've been ordered to fall back and wait for reinforcements. Thirty-four Dieva Roca soldiers will be there in two hours, and the U.S. reinforcements won't arrive for three hours.
As Mac checks the building, he hears Roberts talking to her husband and then her daughter. She says that she has to work late but she's going to try and get home to her. Jack finds Mac listening, and they both admit that everyone knows they can't repel the terrorists for an hour. They look at the staff members calling the families, and Jack says that they didn't sign up for a battle. Mac realizes that his decisions endangered them, just like they endangered Wilt, but he gets an idea from what Jack said. They're not going to keep the terrorists out, so they'll invite them in.
The terrorists move in while inside, Mac has Riley cover a file cabinet with dish soap so that they can move it into position. They mix sugar with a few extra ingredients to make flammable putty that explodes. Mac attaches it to the slippery file cabinet and makes a triggering device out of a walkie-talkie. He then tells Janis to call his friends and Riley gives him a script to recite. Janis calls them and says that he got away from the Americans and is hiding in the bathroom. He tells them where he loosened the fortifications, and shouts a warning. Jack punches him, and Riley explains that she had him on a time-delay.
The terrorists break in and they hear people moving overhead. They go to the doors leading to the stairwell and find a barricade of furniture. As they work on it, Mac hits the triggering device... and nothing happens. Mac gets Jack's last bullet, and he pries it open and uses the gunpowder to make a fuse.
Roberts hears the terrorists say that they're looking for another way up. Mac tells Jack to find cover but he refuses to leave. They light the fuse and run, and it explodes as they get clear. The file cabinet destroys the only other way up, and Jack and Mac climbs out a rear window and then bring everyone else down.
Mac runs over to the hummer and finds two terrorists guarding it. Jack and a Marine knock them out, and they drive the hummer to the embassy front door and get everyone into the vehicle and their cars. Phillip thanks Mac for keeping his promise, and they drive off.
Later back in LA, Mac visits wilt in Patricia's office. Mac admits that he's made a lot of mistakes and regrets lying to him the most. Wilt hugs him and says that he knows Mac was just trying to protect him. He says that he's proud of him because he always knew Mac could do more than work at a think tank. Mac says that he convinced Patricia to let Wilt go home, but he has to work with the team at Phoenix in an entry-level position at their lab. He tells Wilt that eventually he'll be in the field, and Wilt admits that he doesn't like the danger. Wilt immediately agrees and Mac warns him that he can't tell anyone what he does.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 19, 2016