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Guts + Fuel + Hope Recap

In Abu Dhabi, an agent is showing a well-dressed couple an apartment, Mac and Riley run in, and Mac explains that he thought the place was empty. He tells the three people to get to the furthest room possible and shows them the gunmen coming in via the monitor. Mac grabs a squirt gun, a belt, and some stuffed animals. They run out and the agent locks the door behind them and then calls the police. They hear screaming and shooting outside, and then Riley knocks on the door and says that it's safe. The trio come out and find unconscious men tied up and gagged, furniture shot up, and guns piled up on a chair. Mac blows out the fire on the muzzle of his squirt gun, tells them to call Phoenix with any questions, and leave with Riley.

Oversight sits alone in a diner and orders a meal. He tells the waitress that it looks like it'll be just him.

On a Phoenix jet above the Mediterranean, Mac and Riley play War. They talk about how Jack is talking to the Secretary of Defense about his supposedly going rogue. Riley asks if Mac told Oversight that exfil got pushed and they left later than expected. He claims that it slipped his mind and says that he's still not ready to see his father. Mac doesn't see a reason to let his father know he didn’t have to wait. The jet changes its heading, and Matty and Wilt call and say that something has come up, and Mac and Riley are the closest agents. Wilt explains that rebels have taken over the Georgian city of Tago, blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Dr. Lena Nakani at the Georgian Children's Hospital sent out a video saying that their weekly shipment of liquid oxygen hasn't arrived. They have twelve patients who require ventilator assistance to breathe, and if the tanker doesn't arrive in ten hours then the children will die. Mac says that they're in and Matty says that the driver abandoned the tanker and the only plant in the area has shut down. No one wants to drive it because of the rebels, and the rebels have seized AA guns so land transport is the only option. Mac and Riley need to find the tanker and drive it to the hospital before it's too late. Wilt says that the tanker is old and has no GPS tracker, and they figure it was abandoned between the plant and the hospital. They touch down in four hours, giving them six hours to find the tanker and deliver it to the hospital.

The plane touches down four hours later, and Mac and Riley drive into rebel territory. Oversight texts Mac and asks about lunch, and Mac ignores it. Riley asks if one lunch will be so bad, and Wilt overhears her and says that he's been asking the same question for week. Mac insists that he doesn't want to make small talk with a man who left him, and Riley says that it's a chance for him to work on his relationship and figures that there's a deeper reason. He avoids the question and spots the tanker, just as it drives by.

The agents follow the tanker, pulling up next to the cab. A man, Vasil, is driving it and speeds up when Mac yells at him to pull over. Mac tells Riley to get as close to the cab as possible, gets on the roof, and jumps over to the tanker. Vasil swerves the tanker and Mac barely holds on. He manages to pull the fuel line and the tanker grinds to a halt. Vasil comes out and attacks Mac, who easily subdues him. Riley parks and comes over, and Vasil explains that he's delivering the oxygen to the hospital. He says that his son is one of the patients and shows them a photo of the boy, Vano. Mac introduces them and explains that they're there to deliver the truck to the hospital, and Vasil asks to come with them. Riley points out that they can't leave Vasil there in case the rebels find him, and Mac reluctantly agrees.

The trio hear explosions in the distance, and Matty determines that the rebels are blowing up all the roads into the city and they only have four hours to deliver the oxygen. Mac says that they'll cut through the mountains and find a paved road on the other side. Vasil warns that the area is very rough and the tanker won't make it, and Mac figures that they'll have to give it an upgrade. With his guidance, the trio reconfigure the tanker. Mac stabilizes the rebound clip on the truck using his phone and Vasil says that Vano loves trucks. He explains that Vano has been in the hospital for a long time because his lungs aren't fully developed. Vasil says that the agents are heroes, and Riley tells him that he's a hero. Riley looks at Mac, and Matty and Wilt tell them to drive fast to make up the time.

Riley drives off in the tanker and Mac tells Matty and Wilt that if they go too fast, they could set off sparks that would ignite the oxygen. Matty warns that they're cutting it close, and Wilt spots an unidentified rebel vehicle heading for them. He directs them to a large cluster of trees where they could hide but they have to hurry. Riley pulls the tanker into the grove and parks, and the truck goes by without the rebels spotting the tanker.

They try to start up but the tanker is stuck in the dirt when it collapses beneath them. Mac uses the suspension airbag to lift the truck and raise the wheel, and Vasil goes to call his wife and son. Riley asks if Mac is all right, and Mac shots off the radio and asks if she thinks Elwood is capable of change. She says that he probably won't, but she never wants to regret not giving them a second chance.

Vasil returns and says that rebels are coming. They rev up the engine and pull out of the dirt. There are two hours left and it will take them 90 minutes to get there. Two rebel vehicles pull up behind the tanker, and Mac tells Riley to floor it. The rebels don't shoot because they want the oxygen for the black market. The tanker hits a pothole and the trio hear a leak. Mac confirms that they're venting oxygen and tells Riley and Vasil that he's going up to plug the leak from a valve. He grabs a water bottle before he goes and explains that the valve is so cold that all he has to do is pour water on it and the resulting ice will create a seal.

Mac climbs up to the valve while Matty warns Riley where the trucks are. She swerves to hold them back, but a rebel jumps onto the tanker and attacks Mac with a knife. They fight and he rebels knocks Mac down, but Riley swerves into a guard rail and knocks the man off. Mac seals the valve just as another rebel jumps onto the cab and kicks in the window. Riley kicks the rebel onto the shoulder, and Mac re-enters the cab. The other rebels continue their pursuit, and Mac finds a road flare and creates a bomb with a bottle of alcohol. He uses the flare as a fuse and tosses the bottle onto the remaining truck, and the explosion flips it open.

Riley realizes that they burned through all of their fuel, and Vasil directs them to a nearby fuel station. As Mac refuels, Vasil calls his family and Mac tells Riley that he once wanted a relationship with his father but now he's too angry with him and can't let it go. Mac talks about how he idolized his father after his mother died, and when he left without saying a word it was brutal. Eventually Mac gave up believing there was a good reason and imagine that he was a drunk or a criminal. Now Mac has learned that Oversight is a good guy.

Matty tells them that a truck is coming, and men get out and tell them at gunpoint not to move. Vasil comes over and explains that he's actually a thief. He and his friends are going to take the truck and sell the oxygen. Vasil knew from the onboard navigation system where the truck was going. He says that his family is in danger and needs the money to get them to safety, and isn't proud of the children that will die. The thieves take off with the tanker, and Mac admits that he doesn't know what he's going to do.

Matty contacts a diplomat in Armenia but gets no satisfaction. The Turkish ambassador says that there's a full tanker of oxygen but he won't send his people over the border. Matty tells Mac and Riley that they've come up empty, and the agents have traced Mac's phone on the truck into rebel territory. They arrive at the hospital and say that they're going to take the children to the oxygen. Nakani warns that the children won't survive the trip, but Mac says that if they borrow vehicles then they can get to turkey. The doctor warns that the rebels will attack any convoy.

The lights flicker and Mac talks with the maintenance man. He explains that all of the life-saving equipment is on battery backup, and the rest of the city uses a compressed air chamber to store and create energy. Mac says that they need to connect the chamber's outflow valve to the hospital's oxygen converter, refilling the oxygen tanks. He warns that there's over a thousand PSI in the chamber and without protection, anyone won't last long. Mac says that he has a means to create the protection but isn't sure if it will work. Wilt and Matty warn that they have to leave immediately, and Mac figures that they should stay and take their chances.

Mac and the other get an air hose, pill bottles, a motorcycle helmet, and blankets. Working quickly, Mac makes an improvised pressure suit and Nakani has an oxygen tank that will give him enough air for three minutes. They hook up the air hose to the outflow valve and Mac goes in through the airlock. The pressure makes it hard for him to breath, and his suit caves in. Wilt talks him through which valve to hook up to, but the hose is a few inches short.

The nurses switch to manual oxygen for the patients, and Mac realizes that he can use his oxygen tube to extend the hose. Matty warns that the air is 78% nitrogen and if he inhales one time then he'll get the bends and die. Mac says that he'll hold his breath, cuts his hose, loses comms, and goes to work. He tapes up his air hose to the hospital hose and feeds the oxygen to the hospital converter. Riley goes to the chamber and pounds on the door, and Mac staggers out of the airlock. He tells Riley that he needs to work on his cardio and laughs.

Mac and Riley go upstairs, and Matty tells them that UN soldiers are moving in with supplies and aid. Vasil sold the rebels the tanker and they traced it via Mac's phone to the rebel stronghold. Phoenix is sending a helicopter to exfil Mac and Riley. Matty tells Wilt to go home, and says that she knows that he's been having a hard time over Jill's death. She says that she's available if Wilt ever wants to talk, and Wilt thanks her before leaving.

Riley asks Mac what kind of father puts his family before others, and points out that a father who puts others before his family is a good one. She tells him that all they have to do is accept their parents, is glad that she took the chance with Elwood, and figures that Mac will be as well. Riley leaves and Mac looks at the happy families around him.

Later at the diner, Oversight sits alone and orders his usual. The waitress asks him who he keeps waiting for week after week, and Mac comes in and says that it's him. He asks for a menu and sits down with Oversight, and apologizes for being late. Oversight says that it was worth the wait and offers him a French fry.

Written by Gadfly on Oct 20, 2018

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