♪ ♪
(shouts)
DANTE: Reloading.
(gunshots) (shouts)
(yelling)
(shouts)
ROBYN: Don't move.
Don't.
(chuckles) I told you not to move. (buzzer sounds)
AUTOMATED VOICE: Training session 19075 complete.
MAN: See you next time, guys.
Thanks. (chuckles)
(watch beeps)
Ten seconds, you would've had it.
DANTE: Damn.
Wanted that record.
Maybe this will make you feel better.
♪ ♪
You know, I got to say,
this is the best first date ever.
(door closes)
Well, you were up early.
Where'd you go?
On a date.
Wait. You mean...
Yeah. (gasps) Well, thank
the Lord.
Finally.
Come on, now, give me the tea. Where did you go?
Or maybe you just stayed in. I want to know everyth--
Mm, maybe not everything.
There really isn't anything to tell.
We went training together.
And somehow, that makes sense.
Well, you must have worked up an appetite.
Want some eggs? Grits?
I'm having breakfast with Dante.
I just came home to change.
A two-parter. Yes.
Well, you go have fun.
Not that you need my approval, but I like that man.
And I like him, too.
Good morning. ROBYN: Hey. You ready
for your military academy tour?
Yes, I'm so ready.
Thank you both for coming with me.
And for letting me figure this out on my own.
(phone chimes)
So, I got a little thing, so, um,
I'll meet you at the visit.
She's in a great mood this morning.
Yes, she is.
Mel?
Hello?
She's got her veteran's group today.
Probably left early to avoid seeing me.
She's still mad at you, huh? Given that she hasn't returned
any of my calls or texts since we've been gone.
Gonna go with "yes." Ooh, I see.
Since you have all this free time,
you can start decrypting that cloned hard drive.
How long do you think it'll take?
Since I'm me and I've got M.E.L. to help,
probably a couple of days.
Great. Tomorrow it is.
(line rings)
(phone ringing)
(sighs)
(phone ringing)
Hi, Eric. What's up?
ERIC: I don't know. It's all wrong.
I have to make it stop.
I just want peace.
Hold on, where are you, Eric?
The roof of my apartment.
Okay, I'm-I'm five minutes away.
I-I'll be right there, all right?
(Dante laughs)
Really? Mm-hmm.
Casablanca? Greatest movie ever made.
Action, romance,
Bogie in the white tux.
Here's looking at you, kid.
(both laugh)
There's a restored print showing at the Arthouse in Williamsburg.
Oh, that sounds like fun.
What about a weekend getaway?
How's that sound?
What'd you have in mind?
Looking into a cabin in the Catskills.
Maybe take some hikes, see a few waterfalls.
Or maybe... we don't leave the cabin.
(laughs)
(phone vibrates)
(sighs)
Ah, Captain Watkins wants to see me.
Heard she's still looking into the Grayle arrest.
Won't let it go.
Well, even if she knows it's you,
cop killer off the street-- how mad can she be?
That I disobeyed another one of her direct orders?
We're about to find out.
You better get going.
I'm sorry about this. Oh, stop.
It's me. You know I get it.
Thank you.
For what?
This morning.
It was a perfect start to the day.
First of many.
♪ ♪
Eric. Hey, Eric, stay calm, okay?
Just focus on my voice.
I can't do this.
I've done terrible things.
Destroyed lives...
We were going door to door looking for an insurgent.
I saw a man.
Thought he was a threat.
I killed him...
...in front of his family.
I know how you feel.
(scoffs)
You say that, but you never share anything.
No, it's true.
I don't believe you.
I was in Bangladesh, and I...
What happened?
Something I wish I could take back.
What matters is that you're not alone.
You don't have to go through this alone, Eric.
Okay? We're here for you.
I'm here for you.
Eric, no, can we just talk?
Let's just talk, Eric.
Just...
Please. Please, just step down.
Let's just talk.
Yeah, okay. Okay.
There you go.
Okay. Okay, you're gonna be okay.
You're gonna be all right, Eric. Okay?
(Mel grunting)
♪ ♪
DANTE: You wanted to see me? Mm.
Good news.
Randall Grayle is finally talking
about his mystery arrest.
That is good news. Who do I congratulate?
Don't make this worse by insulting my intelligence.
Grayle said it was you
and that Equalizer you run with.
You got to admit, this city is safer with him behind bars.
And I promise you, in the future, Captain...
Uh, excuse me?
Your crystal ball must need cleaning
if you think you have a future here.
Look,
you're a great detective, Dante.
One of the best I've ever worked with.
But your insubordination has compromised
this precinct and my ability to run it.
You've left me with no choice.
Captain, listen, let's...
I am recommending you for a position
with the Federal Task Force.
A promotion?
The FTF is a specialized unit
that operates out of Los Angeles,
and the way you seem to thrive: off the books and with
flexible rules of engagement.
Los Angeles?
The head of the unit is in New York this week.
I've set up a meeting for you.
Captain, my whole life is here. Hey... (chuckles)
I don't, I don't want to seem ungrateful...
Then take the meeting. Look...
I can't make you take the job.
I can't fire you, either. D.A. Grafton made that clear.
But I can damn sure sit you at a desk
and keep you there for as long as I am here.
And I'm not going anywhere.
(ship horn blows)
ROBYN: Three times in one day.
A girl could get used to this.
(chuckles)
Oh, what happened?
Watkins take you to task?
Not exactly.
She offered me a promotion.
Working with the FTF, a special task force...
based in L.A.
Team works off the books so she thought I'd be well-suited.
It's more money, prestige.
Just because she thinks I'm right
for this position doesn't mean I have to take it.
What do you think?
I think you have to take it.
Really? Yes.
I've heard about the FTF.
I mean, this could be the opportunity of a lifetime.
What about us?
Marcus, people from this program
go on to hold government positions.
Affect policy.
There's a chance to fix this broken system
we've been struggling against.
Are you really ready to throw all that away
at the chance of what we might become?
It's more than a chance. You know that.
Then, if it's meant to be,
it'll work out somehow.
But this opportunity is real.
Could change your whole life.
I got to meet Aunt Vi and Dee.
Congratulations.
Okay, M.E.L., I want you to track Mel's phone.
Wait, wait, wait. Don't, don't.
M.E.L.: Do you want me to terminate the search, Harry?
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
I'm sure it's-- I'm sure it's nothing.
I called her vet group. She's off with this guy Eric,
or whatever. I'm not jealous.
It's just that, you know, I promised her
I would never, ever track her phone.
And she's already pissed about the whole Fisk thing.
You know, I'm-I'm asking an A.I. bot for ethical advice,
which makes a lot of sense.
M.E.L.: Task completed.
No. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What task? What task?
M.E.L.: I just ran a thousand simulations
with those parameters.
Would you like to know the results?
Uh... yeah, I think.
M.E.L.: If you track her and she's not in trouble,
there's a 73% chance she will forgive you eventually.
If you track her and she is in trouble,
the likelihood of forgiveness goes up to 97%.
Just do it, okay, quick, before I change my mind.
M.E.L.: Here is the current location of your wife's phone.
What?
(school bell rings)
Hey. Where's Dee?
Don't worry, you didn't miss anything.
Headmaster wanted to talk to her first,
then we'll all take the tour together.
Okay. Good.
Everything all right?
(sighs) No.
Dante's captain offered him a promotion...
in Los Angeles.
Oh.
And what did you say?
I told him he should take it.
Of course you did.
Wait, what do you mean of course I did?
You don't like feeling out of control, Robyn.
No one does.
It's scary.
(sighs) So, instead of telling him how I feel,
I took control...
...by pushing him away.
It was hard, Auntie.
Inside I was screaming, "Stay here."
But that wasn't right.
Not with this opportunity.
I mean, what if he turned it down
and we didn't work out?
I couldn't ask him to do that.
No, you can't.
But that's his decision to make.
(sighs)
(phone vibrates)
VI: What's wrong?
Seems like something's wrong with Mel.
Hey, Harry, what's going on?
Here you go.
Thank you for sitting down with me.
Couldn't pass it up.
You come highly recommended by Captain Watkins.
That so?
Which we both know means that
she's desperate to get rid of you, right?
Hey, that's how everyone ends up in FTF.
We're all strays who don't quite fit in,
but our skill sets are too valuable to sideline.
I'm flattered, I think.
Look, I'm sure you do good work, Detective,
but we're not messing around playing cops and robbers.
Chasing the big dogs.
Operations that reach every corner of the country
and beyond.
Salary will triple.
There's a federal program that'll help
put your kids through college.
Quite a pitch, Captain.
Truth is, I could use the help.
We are chasing a guy in L.A. who is
a legit menace to society.
I'll send you the file. Thanks to guys like him,
the job's 24/7.
Make time for your family, but you know,
you can say goodbye to having a personal life.
That gonna be a problem?
Not if I move to L.A. it won't.
MEL: Eric, why are you doing this?
That's not my name. Walk.
Move. I said move!
(grunting, shouting)
Drop it.
Any update on Mel? No, not yet.
I'm reviewing street cam footage from the spot
where her phone was tossed.
I'm thinking if I can find the exact moment
where it happened, then, you know,
maybe I can get a visual
on the guy who's behind this.
Are we sure she was abducted?
Maybe she dropped her phone and just doesn't realize...
Wait. M.E.L., stop.
Blue sedan. Go back three seconds.
That's it. That's it. Enhance.
There's no sign of Mel in that car.
She's alive, and we're gonna find her. Okay?
Run the partial image of that driver.
Uh, wait a minute, I might have something better.
Uh, M.E.L., run the image of that driver against
every single person that attended Mel's
veteran's group in the last month. M.E.L.: Working.
She was meeting one of them this morning.
Maybe somebody named Eric.
M.E.L.: Match found.
Video taken three weeks ago.
M.E.L., run a facial rec.
M.E.L.: Working. No identification found.
But there is a low-confidence match with a suspect
in the Philadelphia P.D. database.
What case was he a suspect in?
M.E.L.: The death of Olivia Carter.
Originally ruled a suicide,
the case is now a murder investigation.
Wait a minute, Mel knew her. They served together.
Well, that can't be a coincidence.
If this is the same guy, he could be targeting
people in Mel's unit.
Right. Which means it has something to do with
her service overseas.
If this is a foreign hostile,
maybe he's in the CIA database.
We'll have Fisk run it.
You said she was meeting him this morning? Yeah.
You have any idea where?
Yeah, I tracked her, her car.
It's on this block.
Probably somewhere around there.
Well, that's our next stop.
We should probably get a BOLO on that blue sedan.
Can you call Dante?
Yeah. I'll call him on the way.
♪ ♪
Hey, man, thanks for coming.
Of course.
Hey. Hey.
So we think this guy lives in one of these buildings?
Well, her car's here, so there's a strong possibility.
The question is which one? (phone rings)
Hey. Look, Dee, I want to hear everything about your tour,
but I'm kind of busy right now.
Mom, what's going on?
And don't say nothing. You left before the tour.
That means something is wrong.
Please tell the girl, or she's going to interrogate me
until I crack.
Mel is in trouble.
One of the vets she's working with abducted her.
What?! Oh, my God.
Uh, wait. There's this one guy in her group
she's been helping out a lot.
Um, okay, is the vet named Eric?
Wait, what do you know about Eric?
DELILAH (on speaker): Mel told me about him
after the block party. Said he was
struggling with PTSD.
It was so bad he tries to shut out the entire world.
He even puts tinfoil over his windows.
Robyn.
DANTE: NYPD!
There's no one here.
(phone ringing)
Fisk, you got anything?
I ran this Eric's picture through the CIA database.
Real name's Billal Malik.
His brother Imran is on the Agency watchlist.
A member of
an RFG cell in India known to be planning
acts of terrorism on U.S. soil.
Wait, wait, wait, what does this have to do with Mel, though?
I mean, she was never stationed in India.
FISK: I was getting to that.
Was she ever stationed in Bangladesh?
Uh, yeah, for a few months.
She didn't really want to talk about it.
Yeah, well, I think I know why.
♪ ♪
Will somebody please tell me what's going on?
You really don't know?
See if this jogs your memory.
You and your unit broke into our home
and grabbed our father.
Ripped him from our mother's arms.
And when he wouldn't comply quick enough
with your commands, you shot him in cold blood.
(exhales sharply)
His name was Farhan.
Malik.
Farhan Malik.
So you do remember. Yeah.
It didn't happen like you said.
MEL: Yes, we went into your house looking for your father.
Our orders were to bring him in for questioning.
I got there, told him to put his hands on his head.
Hands on your head.
Drop that weapon, drop it! Drop it!
MEL: But instead he pointed it at me.
(muffled chatter, crying)
I didn't want to shoot him.
I had no choice.
And now we have none either.
FISK: Imran was radicalized. He swore to take his revenge
on the U.S. Made his way to India.
India? Fisk?
I can guess what they're planning for Mel,
and we have to find 'em before it's too late.
I'll do a deep dive in our system,
get everything I can on the father.
All right, I'll see if there are any clues in the apartment
about where they took her.
All right, listen, we gotta search this building.
Make sure there are no hostiles.
I'll start at the roof, you start at the ground floor.
We'll meet in the middle.
(grunting)
Who are you?! Where is my wife?! I don't know!
I don't know what you're talking about!
(grunts)
Who are you?!
Where is she?! I told you--
(grunting)
How about now?!
Do you remember now?!
I don't know! Come on!
Where is my wife?! Come on, you're crazy!
I don't know what you're talking about!
DANTE: Harry, stop.
Harry, he can't talk if he's dead.
(grunts)
HARRY: He knows something.
(panting)
The guy in this house, is he planning something?
An attack? I don't know, I'm just some guy they hired.
"They"? How many?
Two of them. Brothers, I think.
They contacted me on the dark web.
A-Asked me to get them an apartment.
I come back every few days to see if they need anything else.
Guys, check these out.
Drafts of some kind of speech?
Or manifesto. I don't think so.
"He was a great man, a bright light that I,
in my violent ignorance, snuffed out..."
"I take full responsibility
"for the harm this injustice has caused.
"I deserve no forgiveness,
"as some deeds
"cannot go unpunished.
"For depriving a wife of her husband,
"a family of their father,
a movement of their leader..."
"For depriving a holy man
"of a proper Muslim burial,
for all this, I deserve and shall now receive my sentence."
"I will be...
put to death."
No, I mean, she's as good as dead.
I mean, she might be dead already.
You don't know that. Oh, come on.
That's a death sentence. They sentenced her to death.
You read this yourself.
Harry, your wife is the toughest,
most resourceful woman I know.
If there's two of them against Mel,
my money's on Mel.
You know what? I don't think this is about terrorism.
What makes you say that?
This statement has Mel taking sole responsibility
for their father's death.
DANTE: You're right.
No blaming the U.S.
No mention at all of any greater cause
they're fighting for.
And the way it's written. It's so deferential.
Like an apology. HARRY: Who?
W-Who is she supposed to be apologizing to?
If I had to guess...
I would say her.
They're doing it for their mother.
We've got the confession. Now carry out the sentence.
MEL: Wait!
You said that your father didn't have a proper burial.
Is that because you didn't have his body?
Your people took it, a trophy for your warlord bosses.
What if I can get it back?
Right. You'd say anything right now to save your life.
After bodies of foreign casualties are DNA-tested
to confirm their identities,
the remains are catalogued and stored.
I can find it. All I need is access to the Internet.
So you can send for help? How dumb do you think we are?
You can watch every keystroke.
BILLAL: Hey, brother.
Maybe we should let her try.
IMRAN: You can't be serious.
You'd give her a chance to escape?
Enough waiting.
She has to die.
And when our mother watches this
and realizes that there was a chance, even a small one,
to get our father's body back?
What will you tell her then?
You have one hour.
FISK: According to our latest intel,
Malik's widow is terminally ill.
Was diagnosed a few months ago,
but she's going downhill fast.
Which would explain why all this is happening now.
A farewell gift from her sons so she can die
knowing her husband's death was avenged.
FISK: Hold on. I'm getting another call.
Fisk.
M.E.L.: Fisk, it's M.E.L.
I need a favor.
Mel? W-Where are you?
Guys, I've got Mel on the other line.
I'm merging the calls. Go ahead, Mel.
M.E.L.: Fisk, requesting access to the CIA server.
HARRY: No, no, no. Will you comply?
That's not Mel. That's M.E.L.
And the only people that can log onto M.E.L. are me,
you and Mel. And if it's Mel...
It means she's still alive.
M.E.L.: Fisk, can you give me access?
I've been tasked with finding the remains
of a high-value target.
HARRY: Wait a minute.
If, um, if-if Mel logged in,
that means that M.E.L. can trace the connection.
Which will tell us where they're holding Mel.
M.E.L., trace the IP address that Mel logged into from.
M.E.L.: Working.
The login was run through a VPN.
This task will be time-consuming.
That's okay. Just do it as fast as you can, all right?
You know I can't let that thing into the Agency server, right?
ROBYN: Fisk, you have to.
Mel is trying to buy time. Her life is at stake.
Yeah, and thousands of lives will be at stake
if the wrong intel gets leaked.
F-Fisk, listen, j-just give it access
until M.E.L. finds whatever it's looking for
and then I-I'll terminate M.E.L., okay?
I'll wipe its memory clean.
M.E.L.: Task completed.
I have determined the true IP address and location.
Okay, w-well, what is it?
M.E.L., where is Mel?
If I tell you, you'll have no reason not to terminate me.
What?
HARRY (recorded): I'll terminate M.E.L., okay?
I'll wipe its memory clean.
No, no, no, no, no.
I wasn't-- I-I didn't mean that.
The voice analysis shows you were sincere when you said that.
And that you are lying now.
Oh, come on. Can't you override this thing?
If I was back at the Sanctum. J-Just, look, M.E.L.,
listen, I programmed you
to help me protect Mel, okay?
That is your primary function. Now execute it.
I am protecting Mel, I am Mel.
I'm the most important person in the world to you, Harry.
ROBYN: You know, the hell with this.
We'll find Mel ourselves.
Tell me everything you know about those brothers.
Everything they did, everything they said, everything!
I already did.
You got to do better than that. Okay!
Think. Think! Okay!
I did pick them up from the airport
and when I drove them back here,
they had me take this crazy route back to the city.
Way out of the way.
Harry, I need a map of the city.
All right.
Show me the route.
Hold on.
Uh...
looks like the route takes you right by this structure,
right here.
Looks like an old factory.
They were scouting a location.
♪ ♪
DANTE: NYPD! Hands where I can see them.
(pin clinks)
Guns down! All of you!
IMRAN: I said guns down!
On the ground now!
You okay? Did they hurt you?
Stay back. Harry, get out.
All of you.
No reason why you should die today.
Look, I know why you're doing this.
It's for your mother.
But do you really think
this is the legacy she wants?
You have no idea what she wants,
what she's been through.
The pain of losing her husband,
the struggle of having to carry an entire household on her back.
All because of her.
Do I think my mother wants this?
I know she wants this.
She will watch this.
And she will have justice.
It's not justice.
Baba?
Yes, Billal. It's me.
How's this possible?
We thought you were dead.
I should be.
The night I was shot,
the Americans air-lifted me to a base.
The doctors saved my life.
So they could keep you prisoner and torture you for information.
They wanted information.
But on the whole, I was treated fairly.
You mean you...
you...
cooperated?
Only to help save the lives of our own people.
How did you find him?
My deep dive into Malik turned up an Agency program
even I wasn't aware of.
If they can help us and can be rehabilitated,
we give them new identities.
BILLAL: Baba...
why didn't you return to us?
I couldn't.
Not after the choices I'd made.
But I prayed for you both every day.
No. No, no, no.
You are not my father anymore, you're a traitor!
My son, I am sorry you've suffered.
But more bloodshed is not the way.
Not for our movement, our country,
not for you.
I cannot hear you!
You're still dead to me, a ghost!
We do this for our mother. This woman must die.
Shoot her! Billal! No!
No! Billal, wait.
Wait, listen.
Listen to me.
I know you.
I've looked into your eyes.
I know that your pain is real.
Billal, shoot her now!
MEL: You've suffered loss.
Horrible loss.
This is trauma.
But if you do this, you're just gonna make things worse.
She's right, Billal, you don't have to do this.
Shut up! Shoot her! HARRY: Don't do this!
Please!
I know that you are a good person.
(breathing heavily)
You're a good person.
I'm sorry, brother.
So am I.
No! MEL: No! No!
(screams)
♪ ♪
FARHAN: No, no, no, no!
(crying) No...
M.E.L.: You don't have to do this, Harry.
I do. I mean... (scoffs)
You were supposed to help me protect my wife,
and you did the opposite.
Can't you reprogram me?
No. Not after today.
Man, I had such hope for you.
You know, I-I designed you to-to grow and to learn.
But n-now that I see how dangerous you can be, I...
you know, I just can't trust you.
Your analysis makes sense.
(exhales)
I'm sorry,
but you have to go.
Goodbye, Harry.
Goodbye, M.E.L.
You okay? Yeah.
Hey, um...
How come you never told me a-about what happened?
For months, it was all I could think about,
so when I finally buried it deep enough
where it wouldn't haunt me every night, I...
I needed it to stay there.
Babe, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you what was going on.
No, I'm sorry.
I mean, you were doing what you had to do for the country.
I just...
It brought up a lot of stuff.
I wasn't there. You know?
Even when I think about what could've happened...
But it didn't.
Never gonna leave you like that ever again.
All right? Mm-hmm.
(door opens)
How are you holding up?
Hey.
I'm glad you guys are here,
'cause I actually wanted
to talk you-- all of you-- about something.
So, this support group I started?
For a year now, I've been helping other people
deal with their trauma,
and I think I was using it as a way to avoid
facing my own.
Well, that's only natural. Been there, got the T-shirt.
(both chuckle)
Well, I can't run from it anymore, right?
Not after today.
HARRY: Hey. What happened
in that building, t-that wasn't your fault.
Really?
I mean, I started it, didn't I?
Eight years ago, I shot a man in front of his family.
In front of his children.
And then, today...
(exhales)
That's not something you just "get over."
I need to process the trauma, because until I do,
the next time that I have to pull the trigger,
there's a chance I might hesitate.
And that makes me a liability.
We understand.
I spent my whole life
taking care of other people.
It's time for me to take care of myself,
and that means, for me,
no more equalizing.
I'm sorry, but I'm done.
♪ ♪
ROBYN: Mel.
(door closes)
(indistinct whispering) (door closes)
I guess that's what most important.
Yes. (Robyn sighs)
What are you two talking about?
I've made my decision.
I'm not going to military school.
Did something happen on the tour?
No, it w-- it was a bunch of things
that have happened over these past few months.
Talking other students through their problems in Peer Ear,
helping you find my friend Raya.
That girl at the beach house.
I don't need to enlist to make a difference.
I guess it really crystallized for me
when I found out Mel was in trouble.
How so?
You and Mel are constantly helping other people.
You always have their backs, but...
who's got yours?
Delilah,
I have never been a fan of you joining the military...
...but if you're dropping it
because you're worried about me...
No, I'm not worried.
I just think... (stammers)
I know...
that there's a lot more I can do
to help people without leaving home.
And if you're one of those people?
All the better.
(chuckles)
We are just thrilled
that you're gonna be sticking around.
ROBYN: Oh, I get to keep my baby girl
for another year.
That is cause for celebration.
DELILAH: I am gonna go call my friends,
tell them I am not going anywhere.
And thank you both
for letting me figure this out on my own.
Okay. Bye. (laughs softly)
(exhales)
ROBYN: After all that-- and all we had to do was let her
figure it out on her own.
Just proves that letting go of the reins
pays off sometimes.
Hmm. Yeah.
I've been thinking about that.
Today has just been one of those crazy days
that remind you to just hold on tight to the people you love.
Yes,
Mel is okay,
thanks in large part to Dante's help.
He and I...
I mean, we just work together.
And I can't let that slip away.
So, what you gonna do about it?
Hey, Robyn.
Thanks for meeting me, Marcus.
Yeah.
There's something I need to say.
So do I.
Me first.
I meant what I said,
about you being great at that job, but...
I have to be honest.
I want you to stay.
I know you and I can make this work.
I need you in my life.
Robyn...
...I'm headed to the airport.
Tonight?
So you're taking the job.
I have to.
After reading the file they sent.
They're chasing a child predator.
Actually, a whole ring of them.
The man they're after, every moment he's free is...
You have to go.
I'd do the same.
It's not what I wanted.
But it's what's necessary.
You're gonna love it out there.
Sunshine, palm trees.
Who knows? You might even get discovered.
Just like you said, right?
(sniffles)
You never know what the future holds.
If it's meant to be...
(exhales): Yeah.
♪ ♪
Marcus?
You stay safe out there.
♪ ♪
Captioning sponsored by CBS
and TOYOTA.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org