Jack is laying on the Atlanta Motor Speedway "listening" to the great drivers of the past. A car drives by and Jack goes out of the way just in time. Driver Travis Long pulls over and thanks MacGyver for his advice on cutting his track. Jack asks to get sit and take a selfie, and Travis invites him to drive it. The agent immediately agrees but has trouble getting in through the window. Matty texts saying that they have to go, saying that something crashed in the Nevada desert and they can't identify it. Jack has second thoughts and gets out the window with some help from Travis.
At Phoenix, Mac and Jack go to Matty's office and Mac insists that the object is manmade. Jack doesn't believe it and Mac goes in. Matty tells Jack that he's not assigned to the case, and says that she only called him in to give Mac a ride. She then tells Mac and Riley that an object was spotted over the Nevada desert. A rancher stumbled on the crash site and the military took the object to a nearby base, and they want Phoenix to identify it. Matty bumps up their clearances to give them access to everything she has, and figures that someone will come looking for it.
Mac and Riley go to the base and Riley points out that Mac isn't wearing his father's watch. He says that he put it up on eBay, and insists that he's sure about it. After a moment he admits that he isn't, but says that if his father wants to talk to him then he knows where to find him.
Dr. Isaac Herman greets them and says that they're not going to be friend. He explains that he's been back-engineering recovered technology for 20 years and tells them to stay out of his way. Mac invokes Einstein and suggests that Isaac give them a chance, and Isaac agrees. Isaac is examining a seamless metal skin and Mac realizes that he's going to remove a bit of the surface irradiating it with a laser. Mac picks up the ball and rattles it, and has Riley run a scan on military sensors suspended from water balloons. Isaac warns that the file to confirm it requires clearance, and riley accesses the file. None of the sensors look anything like the sphere, and Isaac goes to the laser. Riley uses her clearance to look up Matty's file.
Wilt is working in the lab when Riley calls and asks him for advice. She explains what Matty knows about Mac's father, but she doesn't want to give Mac the file because he's said that he's dropping the matter. As Wil considers her question, Mac calls Riley over and she hangs up.
Matty meets Jack in an interrogation room and explains that Mac and Riley were sent as technical consultants. Jack figures that there's an explanation, and Matty says that it's time they have a talk. She knows that Jack broke into her house, and tells him to sit down so they can chat.
Mac asks Isaac if he's sure about using the laser, and Isaac insists. He fires the laser and the sphere releases an EMP pulse that knocks out the power. The sensor confirms that something is pulsing inside the sphere, putting out a signal.
Jack says that he broke into Matty's house because she wouldn’t tell Mac about is father. She complains that he didn't come to her, and Jack says that their plan went sideways. Matty points out that Jack dragged Wilt, Elwood, and Jill into it, and Jack says that he didn't. He tells Matty that she doesn't trust him, and Matty insists that she can't. She says that Jack should trust him to know that everything she does is for the good of their family. Matty tells Jack that she loves the fact that he operates on instinct but it's her job to see the big picture. Jack asks her if she knew Mac's father, and all Matty says is that everything she's done is to keep Mac safe.
Riley confirms that the sphere is sending out their GPS coordinates, and Mac figures that whoever built it is coming back. He mixes chemicals on a lab coat and tosses it over the sphere to block the sphere's transmission. The waveform flatlines and they leave.
A mercenary, Edgar Porter, and his men pull up to the gate. Porter kills the guard and tells his men to find the sphere.
As Isaac objects, gunshots ring out. Riley asks for their phones and dismantles them to avoid GPS tracking. They hear more gunshots as the guards go down, and Isaac reluctantly tells them the back way. The mercenaries track them physically and open fire, shooting Isaac in the gut. The trio gets into a jeep and drives off, and Mac has Riley turn off onto a road to Groom Lake and turn her headlights off. He explains that Area 51 is there and the military should be able to keep them safe. The radiator goes out from a bullet and they're forced to pull over. Mac warns that he can't fix it, and tells Riley that they're heading to Area 51 on foot.
The mercenaries search the area, and Mac and Riley take apart the Jeep to make a travois. They carry Isaac across the desert and Mac insists that they're not abandoning the scientist.
Jack storms into the lab and finally tells Wilt that Matty knows what they broke into her house. He admits that Matty isn't happy with them, and they both said that they did what they did to protect Mac. Jack wonders if Wilt is hiding something from him and demands the truth.
Mac and Riley see a shooting star and she says that she used to think shooting stars are aliens passing y the planet. As Mac talks about his childhood, Isaac asks if they're going the right way. Riley calls for a rest break, and says that they should determine their directions. Mac knows the coordinates of Area 51 and creates a sextant out of a piece of metal and Isaac's watch. He says that his dad taught him how to do it, and determines where they are and where they're going.
Porter and his men find the abandoned jeep and realizes where the team is heading.
The trio arrives at Area 51 but nobody responds to their calls. They hear men shouting and go to investigate, and find two MPs, Brazel and Marcel, in an office. Mac explains what happened to them, and the MPs say that they're the only ones there. Brazel explains that eight months ago everyone there was moved to a new location except them.
Matty things Jack into the monitor room and tells him that Mac and Riley are in trouble. the techs have the techs accessed the cameras at the lab and have identified Porter as a former wetworks operative turned hired gun. An Eastern Block weapon manufacturer sent them in to retrieve a new piece of tech, and they left eight dead at the lab. Matty sends Jack and a tac team to rescue their friends.
The MPs show Mac and Riley that they have two guns and a can of mace. The proximity alarms go off, and the MPs take the trio to the morgue and reveal an alien dummy that they have in a drawer. Brazel says that the doors are reinforced steel and no one is getting in.
Porter and his men shoot their way in and search for the sphere.
Mac douses the coat around the sphere with more of the chemicals, and Riley gives Isaac some painkillers. Mac has the MPs barricade the supposedly impenetrable door and then takes apart floppy disks and a pair of sunglasses to make welding goggles. He rigs up an acetylene torch and the sphere starts twitching. Mac removes the lab coat and confirms that the electrical charge from his welder is interacting with the sphere The metal housing retracts and Mac finds microchips made in China. He figures that the metal skin is made of a new alloy that can reshape itself, and that the sphere is sensor proof and could take out an armored vehicle. Mac suggests that it's a prototype missile
The mercenaries arrive outside, and Isaac insists that they can't let the mercenaries have the sphere. As Mac removes the welder away, the metal on the sphere reverts to its orb shape and he says that they should give the mercenaries the sphere.
Porter's lieutenant, Cobb, picks up the signal and leads the team to the morgue. The doors are open, and they find the sphere. Mac bursts out of a drawer, gets behind them, lock them in the room, and breaks the key off. Porter calls out the window, saying that they'll shoot their way out and leave with the device. Mac trigger the electrical wiring that he's rigged, causing the sphere to retract and cause the chemical inside to mix, causing an explosion that knocks out the mercenaries.
Mac and Riley get Isaac to a base jeep, and the MPs say that it's the best time that they've had there. Brazel figures that Riley is hot, and she drives off before he can give her his number. As they drive, Herman expresses his appreciation for Mac saving his life and thanks them. A light shines down from overhead... and they realizes that it's the spotlight from a Phoenix chopper. Mac calls Jack in the chopper, and he jokingly complains that they went to Area 51 without him.
When Mac tells him that the mercenaries are in the Area 51 morgue, Jack eagerly goes there and takes a selfie with Porter before the tac team drag the mercenaries away. Once they leave, Jack takes selfies of himself in Area 51. He opens the drawer and finds the alien dummy, and for a moment figures that it's a real alien body. He then takes it to the speedway with him and drives around the track with it.
Later, Jack goes to Mac's house with the dummy. Riley says that she was waiting for Jack so they call tell Mac about the file together. They join Wilt and Mac, and Mac says that Travis called to say that Jack flipped his car and has been banned from the track. Mac realizes that something is up, and Jack describes his meeting with Matty. Undeterred, Mac says that he's come to terms with the whole thing and it's time to move on. They all support him, but Riley tells him that he needs all the facts and explains that she looked through Matty's file on Mac's dad. She gives Mac the flash drive with the information.
Written by Gadfly on Apr 28, 2018