Original subtitles

The following program contains mature subject matter and violence.

Viewer discretion is advised.

Previously on Wildcards.

Vivian? Where have you been for the past 15 years? I have been on the run from

Gideon Varga.

I love Jessica, but it doesn't mean I should have to choose between her and my

best friend.

Who are you? This is Tomo Hayashi. You are going to steal a diamond.

I know how we're going to get the diamond out.

How? With Matt.

That's funny. I didn't hear the doorbell. Oh, you really should get that

upgraded. I've got it down to three seconds flat.

Oh, coffee.

Thank goodness.

I hope it's not that hazelnut nonsense.

We got that French roast that you like.

Question for you. Who is Dan Vartel?

Oh, this lovely real estate agent I met.

Why is it on my fridge? Are you looking to buy something?

No, to sell.

Uh, sugar? Left cabinet. Do you own a property that I don't know about?

if you do...

I'm sure the coffee over there would be really good. No, it's for you to sell

this, pied -a -terre. You should always have a sale in place before a big job.

But this is my home. No, it's a trap.

You set down roots, and then you wake up one morning and realize you've been

living next to the same people for 25 years.

Same faces, same casserole smells, same tedious book clubs. That's not freedom,

darling. That is just captivity with better drapes.

Some people will call that stability, Mom.

Stability.

To just be a wearing pearl.

Trust me, I was born into it. Family estates, summer homes, portraits of long

-dead relatives staring down at you every dinner. I gave that all up for

father. And the thrill of the con.

And I have never once regretted it. I loved it too, but this is my home.

My life. We must be prepared to leave in a moment's notice.

Especially given the current circumstances.

So. Give him a call.

He's also very cute.

Maybe a sale and a fling might help ease the transition.

Okay, I'd love to see and chat, but I have a police charity event today, and I

have no idea what I'm going to wear. Why didn't you tell me? I have already been

in your closet, but I'm sure we can find something acceptable for you to wear.

All right, you just make sure that champagne is chilling by the time we get

there. All right, no, you the man.

Hi, dog, Yates.

That fit is fitting. Thank you.

Had to crush a housewife's toe just to get it on Black Friday.

Wow, looking good, Chief.

Thank you. As do you both.

Standing pants?

Oh, yeah, of course. Same.

Standing pants?

Yeah, trim fit. Knife edge crease. Pants that look great standing up, but too

tight to sit in comfortably.

As opposed to sitting pants when you're sitting around working all day. Oh,

well, I just hope that you two have been practicing your photo wall poses.

Bam! Watch out now.

Because I've been practicing mine all week. I think I might get discovered

tonight, boys. Yeah, you will.

Well, look what the cat named Mark dragged in. You clean up nice,

Thank you, Yates. Looking good yourself.

Standing pants? Oh, yeah.

Wow. Hello, hot stuff.

Right back at you, baby.

Look at you guys. You're the best dressed cops in

the city.

Okay, let's get going, kids, before Fashion Relay turns into just late.

See you, Oprah.

It's a beautiful dress.

Thank you.

I've never seen you in a tux before.

It's a rental.

Please keep it. You wear it well.

Maybe I will.

I should take this.

I'll catch up with you. Okay. I'll see you out there.

Hi, Mr. Bartell.

I'm sorry, Dan. I'm not ready to sell right now. I apologize that you were

this information, but I'm busy tonight and tomorrow.

Bye.

Heads up!

A 911 call's been routed to the bullpen. I got it, Tony. Thanks.

Hello? Hello, is anybody there? Yeah, this is Max at the Metro Police

Department. What's going on? I've been kidnapped, please. Please, you have to

help me.

What's your name? Veronica Dreskin, please. Please, you have to help me.

woman named Veronica. She said she's been kidnapped.

Hey, Veronica, I have my box here, chiefly.

Veronica, this is Chief Patrick Lee. Can you tell me where you're being held

right now?

I don't know. I don't know.

It's okay. Breathe. We're going to get through this.

Can you tell me if you saw your kidnappers? No. I was walking this

way to City Hall, and it started to rain, so I ducked down the alley off up

go in the side entrance, and then this van pulled up beside me, and two men

jumped out, and before I knew it, they threw a bag over my head. They threw me

in the van, and they zip -tied my hands, which are still bound, and then they

didn't take the bag off my head until I got into this room.

Are you hurt?

No.

I'm just... I'm just freaking out.

Do you know what time this happened around? It was around 8 .45 this

Okay, you said you were in a van.

Do you have any idea how long it was driving for? Yeah, maybe a half hour, 45

minutes. Yates, get a map set up in the conference room. Check all the CCTV

footage around the city hall at that time.

Veronica, did they say anything?

No, not a peep. Okay, where are the kidnappers now?

I don't know. I heard their footsteps go down the hall. I don't think they can

hear me. They let you keep yourself?

No. How are you calling us?

I built a phone.

I found a painted over wall cover, and so I was just hoping there'd be an old

phone jack inside. So I tried to find something to open it up, and when I did,

there was no phone jack, but there were these phone wires. So all I needed was a

way to hear and be heard.

Every smoke alarm has this, like, small speaker inside, so I was able to hook it

up, and then I tapped out 911 with the wires, and I just prayed that someone

would answer, and you did.

You built a phone? What are you, MacGyver?

I'm a building inspector for the city.

Never thought that would pay off in an emergency, but here we are.

Veronica, when they took the bag off your head, did you see your kidnappers?

Yeah, there was a big guy in a ski mask.

He took the bag off my head, took a picture with his phone, and then he just

left.

Simmons, get a trace on this. Find out everything you can about Veronica

Dreskin.

Veronica. Do you have any idea who might have kidnapped you or why?

No, I mean, it can't be for ransom.

We're not rich.

We? My husband, Todd, and I. He's middle management.

Veronica, this is Detective Ellis. Are you connected to anybody who could

to pay a ransom?

No. My parents are gone, and my brother's just a mechanic.

Where can we reach your husband? He works at Ground Pen. It's an HVAC

He's there right now. He's got a really big presentation today.

I'll go track him down.

Veronica, can you tell us anything about the room that you're in?

It's small.

Maybe 300 square feet.

No window.

Seems like a basement.

Maybe an old commercial building.

That's great. What else?

The floors are cracked linoleum. The door is metal. No handle inside.

It's ready.

Thank you, Veronica. Just hold tight a minute. We're going to map out our next

move here. No, no, don't hang up, please.

We're still here. We can hear you, okay? We're not going anywhere.

Come with me. It's going to get loud in here in a minute. I got them to set up a

private area for you. Me?

Just be yourself. If you can talk a mark out of a million dollars...

You can talk her into staying calm.

Max, you got this.

Hi, Veronica, it's Max again. Hi, Max.

Okay, I'm going to be on the phone with you until we find you, okay?

Okay, thank you.

Yates, Jack has the map ready for you. Great.

Max. Veronica, give me a second.

All right, I'm here. What do you need? We got the map up. Can you see it?

Yeah. Got it. Okay, great. We need to narrow down where she might be. Okay.

Where do we start? We need her to walk us through the incident again, okay?

Sound, smells, anything.

People can always remember more than they think they can. Okay. Hang her on.

Veronica, I have Detective Yates on with us. Hi, Veronica.

Hi. Okay, Veronica, you said you were grabbed in the alley off six.

Then you were in the car for about 45 minutes. Can you think back to when you

were first in the van?

It's downtown.

Was the road smooth, bumpy?

Actually, yeah.

Um, the road was smooth, and then after a couple of minutes, we turned right,

and the road got bumpy. Okay, good. Bumpy how? Like speed bumps or maybe a

construction zone?

Like construction.

Like those, um... You know, those metal plates they put in the road when they're

working?

Wait, that must have been Carlton Street. They're, um, working on the

there. How long were you on Carlton?

A couple minutes, I think. I don't know. And then, um...

And then we turned and the road smoothed out again. Okay, what else?

I don't know. I don't know. That's it.

Okay, stay hard. Close your eyes. Put yourself back into the SUV. What can you

remember?

Downhill.

Yeah, we went down a steep grade and then the road noise changed.

Changed how? The tires made like a different sound.

Like we were going over like a metal grid or something.

Wait, I got it. That must be Monroe Street Bridge. Are you sure?

Yes, yes. It's an open great bridge at the bottom of the hill. I go over it all

the time. The Monroe Street Bridge. She's going east out of the city. That

on for a couple of minutes and, um... Nothing else stands out.

Did that help? Absolutely.

Great work.

What you got? Based on what Veronica told us, she's somewhere in the eastern

section of the city here.

Still a big area, but better than before.

Also, Alice was able to track down Todd, Veronica's husband.

Was it any work?

No, he was not.

What? Veronica's been kidnapped?

What, you expect us to believe you have nothing to do with it? Of course I

don't. So you're saying you haven't received a ransom call? No, this is the

first I'm hearing about any of it. When did this happen? This morning. You told

your wife you had a big presentation, and our officers find you at home in bed

with another woman, Sheila.

Convenient timing. Oh, it's classic. Yeah, get your wife out of the picture,

then you and your mistress ride off into the sunset, nice little payday. I swear

I had nothing to do with it.

Is she okay? For now.

Thank God. Do you have anything that's ransom -worthy? Cash, expensive art,

collectibles? What? No.

We're going to need to take a look at your financials, life insurance

We don't have life insurance.

I canceled our policy months ago. How'd you do that?

I couldn't afford it. You and your wife have steady jobs, no? Yeah, but finance,

even double life, can be pretty expensive. Right, Todd?

Listen, I may be a bad husband, but I have nothing to do with Veronica being

kidnapped. I swear.

And you have an alibi this morning, 8 .45?

Sheila came to my place at 8 .30.

Right after Veronica left. Do you have any idea who would want to kidnap

Veronica or why?

No clue.

Everyone loves Veronica.

Everyone loves Veronica.

Except their cheating husband.

I just spoke to Todd. He said he was at home at 8 .30 and his mistress can

confirm it.

So Todd has an alibi, but he still could have hired someone to take out his

wife. I don't know. We just checked his financials. He can barely afford to put

gas in his car.

Well, her husband is bad, but maybe not kidnap bad.

What should we do with him?

Keep them here.

Kidnappers may call them. All right, I'll let Simmons know.

I'm going to check in with Tex, see about the phone trace.

What are you going to tell her, Max?

Well, I'm not going to tell her that our husband's a lying, cheating, dog

-breath scumbag. She's already got enough on her plate. Yeah, good call.

Okay.

Hey, Veronica, I'm here.

Hi. Did you get a hold of Todd? Has there been a ransom call? Oh, well, we

finally located him, but no ransom call.

Didn't know that you've been kidnapped.

Wait, so they haven't even contacted him yet?

I don't understand.

What's the point of a kidnapping with no ransom?

Well, that's how we're trying to work out.

Unless, of course, I'm never getting released.

Don't go there. We're going to find you.

Okay.

Wait. Max, you said finally located him. Those were your words. You said finally

located him, but I told you that he was at work for a big presentation today.

Well, I can find out the details from the officer that picked him up.

He was with her, wasn't he?

Sheila?

Tell me the truth, please.

Veronica, I'm sorry.

He was with his mistress while I was being kidnapped.

You knew about her?

Yeah.

A few months back, I saw some texts where he promised to end it.

But he didn't.

We did therapy and all that, and I don't know.

I guess some part of me knew he never ended anything.

You know, the irony is I even planned us a surprise trip, hoping we can

reconnect. I guess that was just a band -aid solution for the real problem.

I've just been in denial.

I feel so stupid.

You're not stupid, and you're not to blame, okay?

You don't have to say that just to keep me calm.

Sometimes it feels easier to just avoid some things altogether.

My whole job is about finding flaws in buildings.

I couldn't even see the cracks in my own marriage.

Facts.

Veronica, hold on.

Yes, Chief?

We just heard back from Tech. They can't trace the line. It's like it doesn't

exist. Well, how can that be?

They don't know. Well, she's a building inspector. Maybe she will.

Veronica, we're having a hard time tracing the line you're calling from.

techies say the number doesn't exist.

Any idea why that might be?

Because it's a ghost line.

What's that?

An abandoned commercial building. The phone numbers drop off the telecom

provider's records. There's no paper trails or database entry. It's like the

phone version of Ghost in the Walls. Which makes it impossible to trace.

Does that mean you're not going to find me?

He's my partner.

Can you think of anybody who might have a grudge against you?

Honestly, no, I can't.

Veronica, breathe.

Take a breath, okay? Think.

Okay.

What was the question?

Is there anyone you can think of who might want to harm you? Maybe somebody

work. That's crazy. I can't think of anybody.

I just... Oh, wait a minute.

No, there is a guy. He's a real estate developer with, like, a really scary

temper. He left me a bunch of threatening voicemails yesterday. I

I didn't remember that. I just...

Feels like so long ago.

Okay, you're doing great, Veronica. What's his name?

Oh, my God. Veronica?

I hear something.

Someone's coming.

Veronica? Veronica?

Are you okay?

If you can hear us, we're still here.

Damn it.

Veronica?

Chief, it's been ten minutes. We have to go get her.

Max, we can't call back a ghost line. Look, I just got off the phone with

Veronica's supervisor, okay? The building developer that she was talking

his name's Arturo Bianchi, some glorified slumlord with mob ties.

Go talk to him. I'll get Simmons to run a background check on Bianchi for you.

Oh, what if we lost her? What if they already got her?

Max, we don't have enough information to panic yet.

Well, it's never stopped me before.

We're doing everything that we can. Let's just focus on what we can control.

Okay. TRT are prepped and ready when you have a location.

I'll update them.

Max, stay on the phone.

You're the voice that she's going to want to hear as soon as she gets back

online.

I appreciate you dressing up for me, detectives.

But I only got five minutes. Mr. Bianchi, I hear you recently clashed

Veronica Dreskin.

Of course I did. I'm a developer. And Sherlock Holmes' inspector is costing me

millions. How's she doing that? Well, she loves to spot the tiniest little

details other people don't even notice, which makes her a real pain in my ass.

All her code violations are going to set me back at least a month. You know what

that's going to cost?

Sounds to me like she's good at her job. Uh -uh.

Other inspectors, they understand the big picture. They know I got deadlines.

Veronica is always nitpicking.

Veronica's been kidnapped.

Whoa.

You're kidding, right?

No. You think I had something to do with that? Well, you did threaten her when

she wouldn't drop the violations.

Well, yeah, I was angry, but that's just how we talk.

You ever worked a construction site?

Look, I didn't do anything crazy. I'm a businessman.

Where were you this morning at 8 .15 a .m.? I was here. I've been here since

sunrise. Ask anyone.

I'll need a list of all your properties that have basements.

Yeah, not a problem.

Veronica, she's a pain.

She's a smart lady. I respect that, so whatever I can do to help.

Thanks for your time.

We got her back. 911 is back to her through.

Veronica?

I'm okay.

Oh, what happened? Did they hurt you? No.

They just brought me food.

Food? Yeah, he just handed it to me and left.

That's a good sign, right?

Maybe they won't kill me?

Veronica, it's Detective Yates again. Can you tell us more about the food and

detailed? Yeah, it's a... It's a cheeseburger and fries from the Golden

Were the fries curly or straight cut?

Yates. What are you doing? The curly fries are to die for, sir.

Not you, Veronica. I think Yates is on to something. Are the fries still hot?

Yeah. Yeah, they're still warm.

Yates, she's got to be near a golden bun.

Mm -hmm.

Okay. There are 25 golden bun locations in the city, but we know she's in the

eastern section of the city, so that cuts the number down to 15 locations.

And if Veronica is right and she did go over the Monroe Street Bridge, we can

eliminate these five locations.

Leaving 10 locations.

And warm fries means that she's within five minutes of one of them.

Tony!

The kidnappers picked up an order of a cheeseburger and fries and Veronica's

line dropped. We need to figure out which Golden Buns took that exact order

within that specific time frame. You got it, Chief.

Tony, pick me up a number five, would you? Extra pickles and cheese.

Get yourself something, too.

Thanks.

I haven't had a burger in over a year. Why not?

Todd was really into clean eating and healthy habits, and I was just trying to

be supportive. But from now on, I'm eating whatever the hell I want. Fries

before it dies.

And my sister.

Oh, hold on, Veronica.

Please have some good news.

Bianchi's alibi holds up.

None of the properties he owns match the kind of building Veronica's being held

in. Okay, well, what about the threatening voicemails?

Apparently, she's relentless.

about finding even the smallest code violations.

All the builders call her Sherlock Holmes. You know, spelled like H -O -M

I get it.

Boys are so lame.

Bottom line, Bianchi's a dead end.

Maybe not.

I'll call you back.

Veronica? Still here.

Any leads?

Just your nickname.

You mean Sherlock Holmes, spelled H -O -M -E -S?

You make these idiots' lives miserable by focusing on the tiny details, right?

Probably, yes.

Put that funny hat on with the ear flaps, okay? Look around the room. What

you see?

Take your time.

Stare and tell me the story.

Okay, the ceiling is paneled, probably suspended, which is

normal for a commercial building.

The door frame is wide, which means cinder block masonry.

There's a metal beam on the wall, which is non -combustible. Means this

building's probably more than six floors.

Okay, that's good. What else?

Rock wool.

It's been re -insulated.

How do you know? The insulation doesn't look degraded. It means it was probably

insulated with asbestos initially.

Someone coming?

Whoever approves the removal of asbestos is supposed to leave a tag right at the

edge here.

205794.

That's the building inspector's ID.

The date is faded, but the year is 1998.

Okay, can we look this up?

It'll be in the records at City Hall.

Amazing, Veronica.

I hear something.

What is it?

It's a man's voice coming through the next room.

He's yelling for help.

Don't hang up.

Holding somebody else here. What does that mean? What do they want?

I don't know.

Hang on.

Chief? I heard.

Seems like we're dealing with two kidnappings.

Chief? Yeah.

So two people were kidnapped?

It seems like it.

Sounded like the other person there was being moved.

Another hostage makes the no -ransom thing even weirder, no?

Simmons, look into reports for the last 24 hours. Let's make sure another

kidnapping or missing persons report didn't get lost in the shuffle. I'm on

right now.

You and you.

Let's go. You're with me.

The Golden Bun's a dead end.

Hundreds of that exact meal were ordered during the time frame at those

locations. Of course. We're gathering all their CCTV footage, but it's going

take hours. Damn it.

Thank you, Tony.

What if I'm next?

Remember what I said. Don't go there.

You have big things to do, like dump your sleazebag husband.

True.

I have an idea.

Let's play the alphabet game.

What's that?

Go through the alphabet one letter at a time. I'll name something and then you

go. I could definitely think of a word that starts with a B.

Maybe I'll start with C.

On second thought, let's go straight to D.

Donut.

Deception. Elephant.

Extensions. The cheap kind.

Frog. Fake, like her tan.

I'm sensing a theme here.

I know what you're doing, Max.

And I really appreciate it.

You have no idea what it means to me to have your voice on the end of this line.

You tell me in person when you get out of there, okay?

I hope so.

Okay. Where were we?

The letter G.

Guacamole. Gold digger. Hamster.

Homewrecker.

Chief. Got ourselves another kidnapping. Came in this morning.

Talk to me.

All right.

Name's Ramona Alvarez. Witness says he was snatched in broad daylight, thrown

a vehicle just outside his house.

Found a black SUV?

Yeah. You guessed it. Another black SUV. Vanier Park.

House is not on our radar. Viewpoint went out. Did a knock and talk. His

said there must be a mix -up. Ramona's just fine. Sounded a little too sure, if

you ask me.

Call Ellis. Tell him we need a remote statement in person.

Hey, Chief.

We traced the inspector's ID number from the inspector's free tag. He approved

36 buildings in the city in 1998.

How many in our zone? 20. Tell Yates to get this up on the map.

Zebra. Zipper.

If only it kept his closed.

Max? Veronica, hold on a second.

There has been a second abduction.

Ellis is following up, and we've narrowed the buildings down to about 20.

So let's try and get some more details.

Veronica, I have my chief here. Veronica?

Now you mentioned that you're in a commercial building. How do you know

Because of the cinder block primarily.

Cinder block like this isn't normally used for residential homes.

That's great. Anything else?

Yeah, the mortaring. These cinder blocks have fake irregular joints, so the

building's probably old.

Probably older than 1950 when the mortaring style changed.

Fantastic.

You can call the public works department and get a city engineer that can help

narrow that down.

Copy that. Thank you.

Nice work, Veronica.

You think it helped?

I knew it did.

Hi.

Detective Ellis, Metro PD.

Just hoping to speak with Ramon today. That's my husband.

I have some questions about an abduction report.

Ramon!

Ramon, this is Detective Ellis. He's here about the whole kidnapping thing.

Well, here I am, not kidnapped.

I'm very glad to see that.

Sorry you were sent on a wild goose, J.

Your neighbor, Dorothy Banks, reported that a black SUV pulled up in front of

your house.

Her moan was dragged inside, and then it sped away.

Do you have any idea why she would have made up such an elaborate and specific

claim? Dorothy's like 90.

Yeah, she calls 911 more times than she calls her family.

I mean, she once accused me of stealing pound cakes from her freezer. Turns out

she was sleep -eating.

All right, well, I just have to ask for our records. Where were you both when

Mrs. Banks reported the kidnapping?

I was working in my home office and Landon was at the stadium. I got home

than an hour ago.

I'm a relief pitcher for the Heat Wave.

She converted ten straight saves.

Go Heat Wave.

Well, thanks for your time, gentlemen.

Yeah. Appreciate it.

Yeah.

They're lying.

Landon and Ramone say nothing happened, but the marks on Ramone's wrist tell a

different story. They look like zip tie marks.

Veronica's wrists are still zip -tied. Now, why would Ramon and his husband lie

about him getting kidnapped?

Because they're hiding something.

I just found something that can prove it.

We got this from your neighbor's doorbell camera this morning.

Why did you lie to me about the kidnapping?

I promised Landon I wouldn't say anything.

What, did he have something to do with this? No.

I mean, it's complicated.

The kidnappers took me to get to him, and when he did what they said, they

brought me back home. What do you mean he did what they said?

I'm sorry, I can't tell you. If the truth ever came out, it would ruin his

career. You do realize obstructing justice can also ruin your career,

After the kidnappers took Ramon, they called me with instructions.

All right, which were?

Do you know anything about baseball?

More of a football guy myself.

I'm a relief pitcher.

I can throw one, maybe two innings a game. Tops.

The kidnappers told me that during my inning, my first pitch had to go into

dirt. My second had to be a fastball. My third had to be a curveball. And my

fourth had to be a sinker. All right. Why such specific pitches?

They must have been fixing a micro bet.

What is that?

Ramon's kidnapping wasn't about ransom. It's a sports bet hustle. Not just any

regular game fixing. Micro betting.

Explain. It's not like traditional betting where you're betting on wins and

losses. Instead, you're betting on a specific moment of a game. Yeah, like

betting on how many times a tennis player would bounce the ball before he

it. Or each pitch of an inning, like Landon did. The kidnappers told Landon

which pitches he had to throw in the game. So he did what they said, and then

they released Ramon. Yeah.

Max? Oh, hold on, Veronica.

No, no, no, don't mute me. Veronica, do you know anyone in pro sports?

No. It could be anyone, even remotely related, a ball boy, a caddie, anyone.

My brother, Freddy, he's on Justin Allgaier's pit crew for the NASCAR O

Series.

You're the former champion, Justin Allgaier. Justin, what would you say to

other drivers on the track today that are competing against you?

Yeah, I mean, they're going to have a tough race ahead of them. You know, I

think that this is going to be a big battle. We're excited and we're ready

the challenge and we'll see what happens.

Yeah. Freddie.

Hey, Patrick Lee from the Metropolitan Police. Listen very carefully.

We know your sister Veronica's been kidnapped, and we think the abductors

contacted you. I don't know what you're talking about.

Listen, Freddie, this is Detective Ellis here. Now, I know you're scared, and I

know I'm just a voice on the phone, but we are trying to save your sister, and

we're running out of time. If you want to see her again, you're going to have

help us. Have they contacted you to fix the race?

Yes, they have.

She okay?

Yes, but we need to find her as soon as possible.

Now tell me exactly what they told you to do.

We've been making tire stops all day. They don't usually last longer than 15

seconds, but they told me to slow it down by at least a second each time.

And you've been complying? Of course.

I can't let them hurt her. Of course. You're doing great, Freddy.

Get the race up on a monitor. They told me this next stop needs to be two

seconds slower. That ain't gonna be easy.

Just do exactly what they say, Freddy.

Yeah. I'll do whatever it takes.

10 -4, man. Pit this side. Right side only, guys. That's easy. We can't lose

anything this time.

I gotta go. Justin's coming in for a stop.

Let's go. Okay.

And in one heck of a race we have tonight, folks, Allgaier's coming into

pit. The 88 car hot on his tail.

Allgaier's pit.

It's a parlay.

Hard on?

A series of micro bets could be one game, could be multiple across different

sports. If you hit on all of your bets, you're walking away with a huge payday.

How huge?

The odds of you hitting on every one of your micro bets is astronomical. It's

like betting on every shot in a championship game and getting them all

Simmons and I ran an estimate. If you were to bet $10 ,000, say, on Landon's

pitches, and on top of that, you correctly picked the timing from every

Justin's pit stops, the payout is... Over 10 mil?

I'm starting to think Crank does pay.

I have a city engineer.

Gates, take that.

Freddie. I just got benched.

That drop bug, that was our last chance.

You've got to get back in there, Freddie.

Hey, what happened?

They just kicked Freddie out of the pit.

We're down under 100 laps.

There's only one pit stop left.

Freddie, how long until the next stop?

About an hour.

He says about an hour. Which means we've only got an hour to pay Baraka.

97 laps to go here. It's been a hell of a race. Each team will need one more pit

stop.

Freddy, you got to get back into the pit crew.

Security won't let me through.

I got into it with my crew chief.

He talked me off the track. Let me talk to your boss.

I can't even get through until the race is over.

We got something.

Freddy, I'm going to put you on mute. I'm still here. Hang tight.

I talked to the city engineer, cross -referencing all the parameters we have.

narrowed down the commercial buildings that were built with cinder block in the

mortar style that Veronica talked about.

That leaves eight possible buildings where she could be.

How many laps left in the race?

95. The average of 45 seconds a lap.

2 ,660 seconds, 45 minutes.

What?

I'm extra good at math when I'm hungry. That doesn't give our TRT unit enough

time to check out all these buildings.

Where's the team right now? Here. They should be entering any minute. Okay,

instruct TRT to focus on these five buildings. Now, we're close enough to

section here. I'll hit these three buildings.

They're never going to be able to make it there in time. Copy that. Take

with you. Okay, let's get suited up, Simmons. Help me to the car in five.

TRT, this is Yates.

What if they hurt my brother?

They won't. He's at the track. He's safe.

I can't imagine how scared he's been this whole time.

Are you close?

Yeah, we've always been close.

He's my little brother.

If I don't get out of here, he is never going to forgive himself.

You're amazing.

What do you mean?

Here you are, kidnapped, alone, scared, and all you're thinking about is how

this is affecting your brother.

You're a good person.

Back?

Give me a sec, Veronica.

Hey, where are we with everything?

We've narrowed down the list of buildings, but we only have 45 minutes

Okay, what about her brother?

He just got kicked out of the pit crew.

Oh, jeez.

Just... Don't tell her that. I won't.

Look, I gotta go, but I just wanted to come here and tell you that...

really lucky that you picked up the phone today.

Gotta go.

Hey, Ellis?

Yeah? You have to find her.

Please.

Sorry about that.

Is everything okay?

Yeah. My partner is out there looking for you.

And trust me...

There is no one I believe in more to save the day than him.

Well, if you think that about him, he must be a special guy.

He is.

Okay, all of this is reminding me of a funny story.

It's summer of 2016, and I'm in a hotel in Marrakesh with a belly dancer and

three drunk spider monkeys.

And the elevator gets stuck.

Oh, and let me tell you, drunk spider monkeys do not like... Mr. Cole, yes.

Maybe it was a petty reason to end a relationship, but maple syrup on

I need a man, not buddy the elf, okay?

Veronica?

Are you there?

I'm here.

Did I put you to sleep?

No. I've just been thinking.

Why would they let me go?

You know the other person you heard in there?

They let him go.

They did?

Yep. He's safe and sound.

One more down, Chief.

Allison Simmons just texted. The first building on their list is empty. They're

on to the next.

I hear something.

They're coming.

They're coming. I have to hide the phone. Stay quiet, Max.

Hey.

Smile.

Chief Lee?

Uh, are you there?

Freddy, I'm right here.

I'm getting a call. I think it's the kidnappers. What should I do? Okay,

conference them in so I can hear, then answer it.

Hello? Check your phone, Freddy. I'm sending you a picture.

Just a reminder, only one more pit stop and she can go home.

As long as you hold up on your end.

They kicked me out of the pit for slowing things down.

You better find a way back in there.

Or your sister dies.

Gates, where's Ellis?

I got him right here. Hang on.

Ellis, where are you? Yeah, the first building's empty. PRT is doing their

but we still got two more buildings to clear. How many laps until he comes in

for a pit stop? Freddy, how many laps until the pit stop? I don't know. No

than 20. 20 laps.

Not enough time to check both buildings.

Well, we gotta choose one. Yeah, which one?

Please, you don't have to do this. You can just let me go, please. I promise I

won't pay. Your brother comes through.

You'll be going home.

If not... Please don't do this. Stay quiet until the race is over.

Please don't do this. I don't want to end up a newspaper headline.

I said shut up!

No.

Max, we need to make a choice.

All guys are going to come in to pit on the next lap.

They're coming in for the pit stop.

I know where C .I. is.

This is it. They called a stop.

Your brother's got one last chance to fix the big time. He's been pulled.

There's no way.

Then he better find a way.

Guess we'll see how much he loves you.

Son of a bitch.

Your brother just killed you.

No, please.

Freddie. We got her. Your sister's safe.

Justin has managed to fight his way to only a half -hour wait behind the

He's going for it. He dives low.

Snake, the bottom groove.

Make the pass.

I needed to hug someone.

It's okay.

I get it.

You're safe now.

It's over.

Is this the phone you made?

Yeah.

Impressive. It worked in a pinch.

If you're up for it, I think there's somebody who'd like to meet you.

Hell of a day.

Don't say that again.

You all right, Chief?

Just getting old, Max.

Max? Veronica?

I'm not hallucinating, right? You're real.

I... I don't know how to thank you. No need to thank me. Just so you know,

gonna be besties now.

Obviously. Nanny Patty stat.

Agreed.

So, how'd you guys figure out where Veronica was anyway?

Well, the last time the kidnappers came, they left the door open a crack. I

looked down the hall, and I saw the printing presses.

And when I heard her mention that she was going to be a newspaper headline, I

knew that she was giving me a clue that she was in the Old City Gazette printing

plant.

I was hoping you'd pick up on that.

Veronica, your husband is still in holding. Well, we can keep him for 24

if you want to make him sweat. As much as I would enjoy that, I don't want to

waste one more second.

Bring me to that scumbag.

Tony, let's take care of her. Will do, Chief.

Thank you.

Listen up, everyone. Today, we did what we trained for.

And then some.

Max, you kept Veronica calm and you stayed the course. At one point, you

to me about protocol.

Wait, Max did that?

Yeah. Really proud of all the hard work we did today. Working together, the

handoffs were seamless. It was like... Okay, crew.

All right, well, we're still in our swanky duds. So someone say drink.

Let's say karaoke.

I'm thinking Spice Girls. Yates, your baby Spice. Yeah, this baby needs

pot pie in bed. And not necessarily in that order.

Well, I'm scary Spice and I really, really, really want to go home.

Sorry. I gotta get the hell out of these pants.

Something tells me you don't know Mel C's rap from Wannabe.

Afraid not.

How dare you scare me like that?

I had it all under control, okay? Promise.

I'll give you a ride.

No, I have way too much adrenaline from today.

And I don't want this dress to go to waste.

So, I guess I'll just go to karaoke on my own.

Okay. Knock them dead.

Send me a video.

Hi,

darling. It's Mom. So, Dan, the real estate agent, called me, and I told him

you'd recon... Ellis, wait!

I'll take that ride after all.

Mom?

I think we need to talk about... We have company, honey.

Hello, Max.

To what do we owe the honor?

Oh, I just dropped by to make sure everything is on track.

As you know, the clock is ticking.

I told Mr.

Hayashi everything is fine.

Indeed. Couldn't be better.

Tickety -boo.

Nothing to worry about.

Oh. I'm not the one who should be worried.

Need I remind you, failure is not an option.

At least not one I'd recommend.

We got that, right?

Of course.

Yeah.

Okay, because if we make one wrong move, we're dead.

And so is everybody else we love.

Begin German lesson for today.

Lesson 14, expanding vocabulary.

Listen first, then repeat.

My uncle suffers from gout, but dances anyway.

Mein Onkel leidet an Gicht, aber er tanzt trotzdem.

Mein Onkel leidet an Gicht, aber er tanzt trotzdem.

Very good.

Danke. Next.

The Miller's ox has an open sore.

Der Ochse des Müllers hat eine offene Wunde. Der Ochse des Müllers hat eine

offene Wunde.

Very good.

No, it's perfect.

Wunderbar.

Next. The angry monk has hidden the sausage in the piano.

Oh.

I'll just bet he has.