S.W.A.T. Exiles (2026) s01e03 Episode Script
Burn Zone
1
HONDO:
Previously on SWAT Exiles
Angela Pike, your new commander.
Somehow, your rule-breaking
decision to leak
body cam footage casts
you as some kind of reformer.
I'm not so convinced.
I think someone handed me a time bomb,
and they just hoped
I didn't notice the ticking.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
I need you to look into someone for me.
TATE: I started to wonder about
her involvement in getting you fired.
That was her?
I'm gonna need a whole lot of
tequila before I spill that story.
- Good night, Sammy.
- Good night.
ANGELA: If today's after action
report reads like the last one,
this whole experiment
may be on life support.
He left out something, something
important which makes this a lie.
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
[SNORING]
[SCOFFS] Beat me here.
I mean, that tracks, I guess.
I woke up early.
Figured I'd come in instead
of waking up my roommates.
I haven't really been sleeping much.
Okay, cool. You're in the zone.
We don't need to "talk" talk.
I just I just need to vent.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[GRUNTING]
[SCREAMS]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[RATTLING]
- [CAR HORNS HONKING]
- [PEOPLE CLAMORING]
MAN: Hey!
[OVERWHELMING URBAN NOISE]
So, like, the not sleeping is a thing,
but the anxiety is It's killing me.
I've always been like,
I'm good, I got this.
Especially at work.
[SIGHS]
But that last stop, I just
I can't get it out of my head.
Something happened.
Something I never thought
would happen to me.
I'm kind of afraid
it's gonna happen again.
I tried talking
to my boyfriend about it.
He just did not want to go there.
[SCOFFS]
He's a brand manager.
He maybe just can't relate.
But you could.
How do you move past a bad thing?
Because, like
Malik getting Scout before you
even got a shot.
That's just messed up. [CHUCKLES]
No pressure. Obviously.
I'm just grateful
you let me unload really.
- I mean, any advice you got would be
- Oh.
Treadmill's yours.
[SCOFFS, CHUCKLES]
[PANTING]
[THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCREAMS]
[CAR HORNS HONKING]
[JACKHAMMER RATTLING]
Hey, get back in your car.
[CAR HORN HONKING INCESSANTLY]
- [THUDS]
- [GASPS]
- The horn. Too loud.
- Hey! Leave her alone!
It never stops.
It has to stop.
- [CAR HORNS HONKING]
- [JACKHAMMER RATTLING]
It never stops.
It has to stop!
- [SIREN WAILING]
- MAN: Hey!
- [THUDS]
- [SOUNDS STOP]
[MAN LAUGHING]
[JACKHAMMER RATTLING]
[LAUGHING ECHOES]
- [MAN LAUGHING]
- WOMAN: What's that guy doing?
MAN 2: Get in your car, bro.
MAN 3: What're you doing, man?
[WOMAN YELLS INDISTINCTLY]
Projectile origin south-east.
Suspended loft. Release point elevated.
[ECHOES] High-chassis SUV.
- [GUNSHOTS]
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING]
MAN: No. Get down!
MAN: Hurry up
[SCREAMS, GROANS]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
- [FIRING ON VIDEO GAME]
- [WILHELM SCREAM]
Jesus. Do I really want to know?
I made a VR program
for our training scenarios,
imported the shoot house modules,
lets us run the training ops as
many times as we want to without
Without actually running the ops.
It's not meant
to replace physical training.
It's meant to complement it.
- It's still a prototype, but
- It's awesome.
[SCOFFS]
Gear up. It's training day.
When we practice, it's for real.
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
- JUDE: Whoo!
- Yo, Taran tactical came through.
Who said influencing is a waste of time?
Sick shit, Sammy.
[CHUCKLES]
HONDO: Listen up. Scenario.
Armed robbery crew
pinned to this location.
Also suspected inside,
missing 15-year-old girl.
Condition unknown. Malik, on you.
- Call it.
- All right.
Flashbang at entry point, we go in.
Apprehend suspects, detain occupants.
Clear the location.
Stack up. The top up. Let's go.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
LAPD Search warrant. Open the door.
[THUDS]
[DRONE WHIRRING]
ETHAN: Low light. Target's not visible.
Interior door is closed.
First bedroom clear.
Hallway to the rear clear.
[GUNSHOT]
- We've lost visuals.
- MALIK: Go!
We got two shooters in the back.
[GUNSHOTS]
[ALARM RINGING]
MAN [ON RADIO]:
Two shooters down.
- JUDE: Meth lab!
- Could blow.
- What do you do?
- Dispatch, 44 Squad.
We need hazmat team,
bomb squad and FD on standby.
Have patrol evacuate
all surrounding residences.
- On me.
- CASSIDY: Copy.
MALIK: Reaching door.
[SIREN BLARING]
Dead. Dead.
[SCREAMING]
- We got her.
- MALIK: Clear out.
[ALARM CONTINUES BLARING]
[BABY CRYING]
HONDO: You gonna leave a baby behind?
Jude, Cassidy, get the baby.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
JUDE: Nothing here. Anything?
CASSIDY: Nothing over here.
Is that coming from the ov
Hey, I got it. I found the baby.
MALIK: All right, come on, let's roll.
[BABY CONTINUES CRYING]
[EXPLOSION]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[SIGHS]
You know, that's not
how you hold a baby, right?
Then don't hand me one, Dad.
Shots. Smoke. Sirens.
Sensory overload, designed to
push you to the point of meltdown.
Baby in the oven was a little dark.
Dark is out there.
Armed hitmen on dirt bikes
flying out of a crate.
And if you freeze
you die and your squad dies.
Now I put you through hell.
You came through the other side.
But we will do this again and again,
until I know you know what to do
and where to find each other.
Grab some water.
ANGELA: I don't know, Hondo.
From what you've been saying,
you almost convinced me this team
was stocked with D-list operators.
But after what I just saw.
I mean, they delivered.
[SIGHS] Poise under pressure,
that's what I need.
- Every time.
- Hmm.
A lot of adrenaline after a scenario
like that, how do they decompress?
[CHUCKLES]
We don't have that luxury
on the field, commander.
Reform squad isn't just about
field tactics and accountability.
It's It's holistic.
It's about building
something sustainable.
My career is staked
on this working, yours too.
So maybe a little less grind,
more mental health.
So this whole beautiful
experiment doesn't flame out.
Related, I got an op for you.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCOFFS]
[FIRING AND SCREAMING ON VIDEO]
His name is Walter Kovic.
He's a former California
Rocket Center engineer.
Just opened fire on the 110.
Eight wounded, no fatalities.
Kovic, still at large.
Metro traced his car registration
to an address in northeast LA.
Now, guys like this pressure
builds and they snap,
and they will not stop
until someone stops them.
[SIGHS]
Malik, Jude, Ethan, you sit
on Kovic's house with Metro.
Sammy, Cassidy, you're with me.
Monitoring the manhunt,
ready to roll if he surfaces.
Eyes sharp. You find anything,
you call it in.
- Is this a gendered op?
- Maybe.
Or maybe we're just benched.
[HONDO SIGHS]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, man, you got an update on Pike?
TATE: No. Work, home.
Nothing to see
unless going to a
movie alone counts.
- It was a new, uh
- HONDO: Keep on her.
Hondo. Might be time to let this one go.
No, no.
She showed up
to my training unannounced.
She's got me under a microscope,
and I want her under mine.
Stay on her.
[DOOR OPENS]
[SIGHS]
Closed door means don't come in,
or at least knock.
Yeah. Sorry.
Ooh, can I see?
- [GUN COCKING]
- SAMMY: Mm.
Pit Viper.
- [GUN CLICKS]
- Very thoughtful.
Boss gun for my boss.
[SIGHS]
Am I benched?
Sammy, I told you, you're on call.
Set up in front of a screen,
monitor tips.
Right. That training scenario
this morning,
I don't mean to be all main character,
but was it for me?
It was for everyone.
[SCOFFS]
Are we doing it?
- Is that the Gen Z stare?
- That's not a thing.
Maybe it is.
The sim, you said
it was designed to overwhelm,
like when I was Scout,
even mentioned the dirt bikes.
You can say if it was.
Yes, Sammy.
To practice decision-making
at peak overstimulation
so you can act and not freeze.
Vapor lock on a real world op is the
worst thing a SWAT operator can do.
Okay, but hypothetically,
if someone vapor locks once,
it doesn't mean they're going
to do it again, right?
If it happens again that someone
will no longer be on 44 Squad.
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
Copy that.
[SIGHS]
Walter Kovic's kind of a
big deal among rocket buffs.
He's a launch specialist.
Cassini team, back in the day.
He used to wear
these cool aviator glasses.
Mustache.
How do you go from
rocket scientist to a shooter?
MALIK: Hey, look.
Burn zone.
Jeez, this guy's
got nothing left to lose.
[BEEPS]
[SIGHING]
Get in the car, Mark.
Now.
What's this about?
I got your letter.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
MALIK: Walter Kovic, LAPD.
If you're in here, come out.
LAPD.
Walter Kovic, come out.
Looks like he's living here.
- ETHAN: Who are you?
- Nancy Foster, next door.
What's going on?
Did Walter do something?
Walter opened fire in the freeway,
shot eight people.
MALIK: We need to find him
before he hurts anyone else?
Anything you could tell us
that might help?
He hasn't been right for a long time.
Well, that's Pam, his wife.
They got married
right here 20 years ago.
Planted the roses for the wedding.
And after Pam died,
Walter let himself go.
He let this whole place go.
And that fence is on my property.
Walter wouldn't agree to move it.
I'm not saying it was karma,
but my house is still here.
Walter lost his job and then the fires.
[CHUCKLES]
Those roses went up like firecrackers.
Anyone else he might have trouble with?
His insurance claim got rejected again,
and I heard him say he was going
to settle things and make it right.
Thank you.
Can you tell that police car
to park farther down?
I don't want to see it
when I look out my window.
Guy lost his house, his wife, his job,
everything that made him him.
I just got a call from Malik.
- Dig up Walter's homeowner's insurance.
- On it.
Big claim got rejected.
These guys often have a revenge path.
Shots fired. Wilshire and 7th.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
That's the LJT building.
Walter's policy is with LJT Insurance.
He's got a target.
We got to lock down LJT now.
Let's go.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Three witnesses place gunshots
on this floor of the garage.
It's sealed off. No one in, no one out.
- You got a fix on the shooter?
- OFFICER: Not yet.
He knew the camera angles, stayed
in shadow, could still be in here.
Or not.
We got choppers up,
units on the streets.
- Employees inside on lockdown?
- Sweep in there's almost done.
You two take the left side.
I'll go right.
Hondo, blue car, driver's side.
Confirm one DOA. Gunshot wound.
Rear corner of the garage
near the employee elevator.
Mark Miller. LJT Employee.
No laptop.
He's got something in his mouth.
Guys got to be pretty mad
to force feed a letter
to the man who signed it
before killing him.
It's a rejection letter of
Walter Kovic's claim appeal,
dated three days ago.
Such a tragedy.
Like the fires themselves.
It breaks my heart to see
our clients suffering like this.
Your VP denied
his claim and appeal, why?
He was a policyholder for decades.
[SCOFFS] Insurance, especially
in today's challenging landscape,
is a two way street.
Right. We pay for coverage.
You provide it.
Marc did his best
to work with Mr. Kovic.
He sent him multiple notifications.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't
maintain protective standards.
Refused to trim back vegetation.
[HONDO CHUCKLES]
When that fire started,
my windows were rattling,
palm trees bent in half.
That firestorm
had 100 mile an hour winds.
You really think
cutting down some rose bushes
would have saved Walter's house?
SAMMY: We got a code red in there.
And out here.
- She high-key hates that CEO.
- Or she's freaking out
because her boss just got shot in the
garage
and she has to stay here and work.
Either way, she might know something.
Well, you don't exactly give
"spill your heart out to me vibes".
I'll lead.
Hey.
Uh, can I get you a water?
- Coffee?
- SAMMY: Oh, you're so sweet.
I'm Officer Bishop. Sammy.
- What's your name?
- Maddie.
Mark's assistant.
My teammate and I see
stuff like this too often.
It can be traumatizing.
It really helps us to talk about it.
You don't have to.
We just wanted to say that
we're sorry about your boss.
Mark was an asshole.
Like a yeller?
The kind that keeps a mental
list of all of your mistakes.
Underestimates you even though
you work your ass off.
Makes it hard to come into work
some days, right?
Babe, you know
this is not your fault, right?
Ugh, that letter they found in
Mark's mouth, he didn't even sign it.
I did.
I stamped his signature
on hundreds of them.
Sylvia Beckett.
Maddie, it's not your job
to protect her.
SYLVIA: With today's changing
weather patterns
and higher temperatures,
mitigating risk is critical.
This is a business.
It's not a public service.
Walter could have appealed
his claim again.
Instead, he blamed the messenger
who was just doing his job.
Mark Miller didn't start the fire.
Then who did?
Your company's doing the investigation.
The cause hasn't been determined yet.
I can't talk about it.
You know how that goes.
MADDIE: Sylvia came
back from this lunch.
Wasn't even on her schedule.
With someone named John Smith.
What kind of fake name is that?
That's shady AF. Then what?
[SIGHS] Sylvia told all the
VP's to deny every fire claim.
Appeals too.
For whatever reason, they could find.
That's when they denied
Walter Kovic's appeal.
[SIGHS] I'm so gonna steal
office supplies and quiet quit.
[SAMMY CHUCKLES]
Do you have your boss' laptop?
No. He always took it with him.
Sticky notes are best. Clear them out.
Walter could have used this key
card to get here and go on a rampage,
but he spared them. Even the CEO.
Cassidy pegged the assistant
as an info source.
She cracked.
Got a couple of leads, but no laptop.
All right. Metro,
see if there's a wallet on the body.
Maybe Walter stole more than the laptop.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
ETHAN: Kovic's insurance was denied,
he killed the claim agent,
stole his laptop,
and maybe there's a John Smith
connected to all this?
It could be fake, but run it anyway.
There's hundreds of John Smith's in LA.
ANGELA: Kovic used Mark Miller's credit
card
to take a cab back to his house.
We have an APB out. Cool Ranch?
We've got a warrant
to pull remote
access on Mark Miller's stolen laptop.
If Kovic still has it,
might be able to track him,
find what he's been looking for.
If the laptop is active, I can hijack
the session, harvest credentials,
inject a series of call back
platform beacons to gain access.
Great. You take it from here.
I'm going to clock out.
During a manhunt?
Walter Kovic is just
one active file on my desk.
And believe me,
I feel the weight of every single one.
So, yeah, I could pull an all-nighter,
be useless tomorrow,
or I could trust those on it are
up to the task and come in fresh.
[SCOFFS] That's a choice.
I'm sorry.
Work-life balance equals survival.
Emotional regulation
is not a soft skill.
If more people took it seriously,
maybe we could stop
being a society that explodes.
So yeah, I'm going to take some me-time.
Good night.
Ethan, let me know if you find anything.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Might be a late night.
Hate to keep you up.
FOBs for the garage lobby and elevator.
Keys for the apartment.
You can crash at my place.
There's lots of room.
- No, you really don't have to.
- Be as much for me as for you.
My doctor says it'll help my brain.
- Yeah, I remember.
- Yeah.
I won't stay long, okay?
Oh, stay as long as you want.
Help yourself to whatever, food, drinks.
The rooftop's got a sick view.
Oh, well. Thank God. I mean,
I couldn't stay somewhere
that didn't have a sick view.
[BOTH LAUGH]
Later, E.
Hey, can you show me
how to use the game?
Sure.
You don't usually stay this late.
I just want to run
the meth house scenario again.
Improve my reaction time,
until I know I know what to do.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
Every time I got
Your punch there ♪
Another one coming ♪
Trying to hold me back
But a girl stay stayin' ♪
Putting in the work
While y'all stay fun and well ♪
Meet me on the court
For the run, I run it ♪
I ain't never, never
Stopped it ♪
I ain't quitting Anytime soon ♪
I was made for making it
I make it while you faking it ♪
I'm takin names
And breaking all the rules ♪
They're like, ooh, she got it
Ooh, she cool ♪
She just had her win ♪
And she just makin'
All the moves ♪
[MUSIC FADES]
[SIGHS]
Question.
HONDO: Shoot.
Why'd you follow me here tonight
when that other guy's
been tailing me all week?
I mean, I'm flattered you
shelled out for PI and everything,
but seriously, why?
Okay.
Two years ago, after Reyes died,
I exposed a cover up and got canned.
The two operators who hid evidence
transferred, still on the force,
found out that you were part
of the IA investigation.
- So your PI is former LAPD?
- Then Hicks brings me back.
Flimsy team, target on my back.
Two direct reports
gone in the record time.
And who is my new boss? You.
Feels connected.
Like someone wants to end me, and SWAT.
Like that person is you.
I followed you to find out if it's true.
Wow.
This whole thing's
a big conspiracy to you.
Yeah, I was IA.
Your file did cross my desk.
Reyes was a tragedy and a mess.
And that's all I can say on that.
And I took this job because
I believe in reforming SWAT,
which you already know.
And hell, no, I would not
have picked you to lead it.
But, hey, here we are.
And since we're being
straight with each other,
you know what I think you really need?
A hobby.
[CHUCKLES]
Like, for me, it's this.
It's pool. Noise blurs.
Table comes in a sharp focus.
[EXHALES]
One breath, one thing at a time.
First strike.
Everything ripples outward.
Every collision shapes the game.
You know, I used to come here and get my
ass kicked by this old guy
named Lampkin.
One night he told me his secret.
Your opponent ain't shit.
Game is between you
and the table. Always.
Oh, and beer and a jukebox.
And there ain't enough jukeboxes
left in the world.
You want to play?
Rack 'em.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
Finally.
- SAMMY: What was that?
- Decryption software finished.
[SAMMY SIGHS]
Let's take a look at
what someone was trying to hide.
It's just the insurance company's
preliminary fire investigation.
It's not even complete.
Huh?
Says a decommissioned
transformer was the ignition source.
Sounds like something an insurance
company wouldn't want to hide.
Wait, the distro list on this report.
John Smith.
That's who the CEO of LJ
had that stealth lunch with.
John Smith is Head of Operations
at Pascal Water and Power.
It was one of their transformers
that started the fire.
- He might be Walter's next target.
- Yeah.
[MUSIC FADES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DEVICE BEEPING]
All right, listen up.
If PWP caused the fire,
Walter could be targeting
their Head of Operations.
Now, his actions are escalating.
He's got access to incendiary equipment,
the ability to weaponize it.
This has potential
for a mass casualty event.
Employees are sheltered in place.
Fire Department, bomb squad,
ambulances en route.
Lock in.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Let's roll.
[EXPLOSION]
That was the main utility hub.
Where the emergency shut-off was.
Walter had to know that.
Malik, Cassidy, evacuate
the north wing. Mask up!
Ethan, Jude,
get to the maintenance crew.
Update risk via comms.
Sammy, south wing with me.
Move!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
MALIK: Emergency protocol,
workers cleared out.
HONDO: It's John Smith.
Kovic. Headed for the server bay.
Keep moving.
JUDE:
Never seen one of those before.
- What the hell is this thing?
- Some kind of cell.
It's got a charge.
Like something
you'd use to boost a rocket.
This plant's connected to the city grid.
That's bad. Very bad, because
[EXPLOSIONS]
They're on every transformer.
The next surge will be bigger.
It'll overload the system,
take down
the whole grid, black out all of LA.
Okay. Okay.
There's no way of knowing
when the next one will blow.
The control room was just destroyed.
Is there another way to shut them down?
Manually. One by one.
- Can't we just pull it off?
- Won't budge. It's not adhesive.
- Maybe a permanent magnet.
- Could be neodymium.
The tower that just exploded,
find out if the cell fell off.
If it did, there might be
something we could do.
Go!
Entry team.
[PANTING]
JUDE [DISTORTED OVER RADIO]:
Potential Next tower
- Still protected.
- Say again.
Casualties.
Jude, say again.
CASSIDY [OVER RADIO]:
Utility room. Lower level.
MALIK: Maintenance crew located.
Doors busted.
Cassidy, check around.
[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]
CASSIDY: LAPD. Everyone out.
Follow my partner.
[COUGHING]
MALIK: Follow me.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
HONDO: Don't move, Walter.
No, no, no, no. Not another step.
Dead man's trigger.
You take me out, my finger slips off,
all the towers activate,
no one walks away.
ETHAN: At extremely high temperatures,
ferromagnetic material loses its
permanent magnetic properties,
making it paramagnetic.
Like when a rocket launches and
all the extra stuff just falls away.
Make sure you clear every cell.
This ends here.
- No! Drop your gun!
- ETHAN [OVER RADIO]: team,
- Drop your gun!
- I need you to buy some more time.
- Drop it or I'll do it!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey!
I'll put it away. I'm putting it away.
There.
You want me unarmed?
I'm unarmed.
- Walter.
- Stop! Stop!
Okay. Hey.
I get it. Trust me, I get it.
I don't think so.
The job, it gave you purpose.
It meant something.
You worked hard for an
institution you were proud of.
And when you clocked out,
you went home to the woman you loved.
[GASPS SOFTLY]
[SIGHS]
Your life was full, Walter.
You gave it everything you had
and now it's all gone.
It feels like the world
turned on you, right?
And now all it does is take.
That's enough to drive
anyone over the edge, man.
But listen to me, you and me,
we can walk out of here
without hurting anyone else.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
No, they are part of it.
Not about keeping us safe or warm.
They want us in the dark.
Don't Don't you see?
They're against us.
Against us. Hiding things.
They said they wouldn't pay.
They'll pay. I'll make them pay!
[GROANS]
ETHAN: We're almost done.
We just need a little longer.
- [GUNSHOT]
- [THUDS]
[PANTING]
ETHAN [OVER RADIO]:
It's done. We stopped it.
[SIGHS]
[PANTING]
[THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
Feels so good
When you don't have to worry ♪
Nothing stays the same ♪
[SIGHS]
Today was insane.
Burritos, blow torches, a rocketeer.
[CHUCKLES]
You know who it was?
Walter Kovic?
Yeah. Cassini.
You remember when we watched
the targeted flyby of Helene?
He lost it.
People aren't built to do life alone.
We're wired that way.
Connection isn't optional.
It's survival.
We need to know
somebody's got our back.
- Everyone has to change ♪
-
We need a reason
to do what we do.
Hi.
Hi.
ETHAN: And we gotta take care
of each other.
How are you?
ETHAN: Because it could all end
in a heartbeat.
Everybody changed ♪
You should be here.
I say everybody changed ♪
Why did you change? ♪
We arrested Sylvia Beckett.
The utilities company knew
when the investigation was finished,
payouts could bankrupt them.
LJT agreed to drive down the claims to
guarantee PWP
would cover their settlements.
They tried to delete the evidence.
Profiting from corruption.
It's a cozy little deal. [CHUCKLES]
HONDO: Commander,
we got a shooter off the street.
Mass casualty avoided.
City wasn't plunged into darkness.
- Feels like a win.
- Yeah.
Yeah. It does.
You know,
after we talked the other night,
kind of thought
we were on the same page.
Now, kind of feeling like I got played.
- What's this about?
- Why'd you lie?
The after action report.
Gun case. Warehouse shootout.
I added it to the central case file,
it got kicked back.
Flagged for inconsistencies,
omissions, obfuscation, cover-ups.
So, yeah, this, this is starting
to feel like dirty cop shit.
Tell me I'm wrong.
You're not wrong.
That op one of my team froze.
Vapor locked.
I kept an eye on it.
They recalibrated, came back strong,
and they proved themselves again today.
I left it off the report
to protect them.
To protect the squad that's
just starting to find itself.
And I lied because you said one
mistake and this unit is finished.
Was it wrong? Yeah.
Would I do it again
to keep SWAT rolling?
Absolutely.
I made a judgment call
and it was correct,
but we got a bigger issue here.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
The only people who know what happened
in that warehouse
are on my squad.
- I don't know who flagged it.
- Hmm.
I don't. I don't even know how
they would have seen the report.
- If I can help with
- [LAUGHS]
- Hondo, whatever you do
- [SIGHS]
- SAMMY: Why are you here?
- I'm kind of crashing here.
- Where's Ethan?
- Work. Robotics club.
- What does Ethan do again?
- Heh. Legit question.
- So, what are you doing here?
- I, um
I didn't want to go home.
My house is kind of a party
house right now and it's been a day.
- It's been a bunch of days.
- [LAUGHS]
- Yeah.
- [CLEARS THROAT]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING IN BACKGROUND]
You wanna, um
You want a drink or something?
No, I just want to chill
on this squishy, amazing couch.
It's so much comfier
than the one at work.
[BOTH LAUGH]
Why are you staying here?
Or is it a, um, if you tell me
you have to kill me situation?
[LAUGHS]
No, it's not that serious.
When I got out of the undercover thing,
they set me up in corporate housing,
and it was already furnished, and gray,
and just didn't feel like me, you know?
Yeah. [SCOFFS]
I haven't been feeling like me either.
- What does that mean?
- Just the job.
SWAT. It's so intense.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
Makes everything else feel like
Do you even want to know this? [SCOFFS]
Yeah, why wouldn't I?
[SAMMY MOANS]
Sorry. Heh. I don't know why I did that.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
I didn't I didn't mean to.
Terrible idea.
Worst.
Living in the moment
Till I die ♪
I've been feeling like
I'm in the sky ♪
Is it a bird or a plane?
Girl, it's I ♪
Yeah ♪
Lately I've been feeling
So alive ♪
Lately I've been feeling
So alive ♪
I feel alive ♪
I feel like ♪
Living up the moment
Girl, alive ♪
I got with me
I don't even know ♪
Look alive ♪
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
HONDO:
Previously on SWAT Exiles
Angela Pike, your new commander.
Somehow, your rule-breaking
decision to leak
body cam footage casts
you as some kind of reformer.
I'm not so convinced.
I think someone handed me a time bomb,
and they just hoped
I didn't notice the ticking.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
I need you to look into someone for me.
TATE: I started to wonder about
her involvement in getting you fired.
That was her?
I'm gonna need a whole lot of
tequila before I spill that story.
- Good night, Sammy.
- Good night.
ANGELA: If today's after action
report reads like the last one,
this whole experiment
may be on life support.
He left out something, something
important which makes this a lie.
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
[SNORING]
[SCOFFS] Beat me here.
I mean, that tracks, I guess.
I woke up early.
Figured I'd come in instead
of waking up my roommates.
I haven't really been sleeping much.
Okay, cool. You're in the zone.
We don't need to "talk" talk.
I just I just need to vent.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[GRUNTING]
[SCREAMS]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[RATTLING]
- [CAR HORNS HONKING]
- [PEOPLE CLAMORING]
MAN: Hey!
[OVERWHELMING URBAN NOISE]
So, like, the not sleeping is a thing,
but the anxiety is It's killing me.
I've always been like,
I'm good, I got this.
Especially at work.
[SIGHS]
But that last stop, I just
I can't get it out of my head.
Something happened.
Something I never thought
would happen to me.
I'm kind of afraid
it's gonna happen again.
I tried talking
to my boyfriend about it.
He just did not want to go there.
[SCOFFS]
He's a brand manager.
He maybe just can't relate.
But you could.
How do you move past a bad thing?
Because, like
Malik getting Scout before you
even got a shot.
That's just messed up. [CHUCKLES]
No pressure. Obviously.
I'm just grateful
you let me unload really.
- I mean, any advice you got would be
- Oh.
Treadmill's yours.
[SCOFFS, CHUCKLES]
[PANTING]
[THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCREAMS]
[CAR HORNS HONKING]
[JACKHAMMER RATTLING]
Hey, get back in your car.
[CAR HORN HONKING INCESSANTLY]
- [THUDS]
- [GASPS]
- The horn. Too loud.
- Hey! Leave her alone!
It never stops.
It has to stop.
- [CAR HORNS HONKING]
- [JACKHAMMER RATTLING]
It never stops.
It has to stop!
- [SIREN WAILING]
- MAN: Hey!
- [THUDS]
- [SOUNDS STOP]
[MAN LAUGHING]
[JACKHAMMER RATTLING]
[LAUGHING ECHOES]
- [MAN LAUGHING]
- WOMAN: What's that guy doing?
MAN 2: Get in your car, bro.
MAN 3: What're you doing, man?
[WOMAN YELLS INDISTINCTLY]
Projectile origin south-east.
Suspended loft. Release point elevated.
[ECHOES] High-chassis SUV.
- [GUNSHOTS]
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING]
MAN: No. Get down!
MAN: Hurry up
[SCREAMS, GROANS]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
- [FIRING ON VIDEO GAME]
- [WILHELM SCREAM]
Jesus. Do I really want to know?
I made a VR program
for our training scenarios,
imported the shoot house modules,
lets us run the training ops as
many times as we want to without
Without actually running the ops.
It's not meant
to replace physical training.
It's meant to complement it.
- It's still a prototype, but
- It's awesome.
[SCOFFS]
Gear up. It's training day.
When we practice, it's for real.
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
- JUDE: Whoo!
- Yo, Taran tactical came through.
Who said influencing is a waste of time?
Sick shit, Sammy.
[CHUCKLES]
HONDO: Listen up. Scenario.
Armed robbery crew
pinned to this location.
Also suspected inside,
missing 15-year-old girl.
Condition unknown. Malik, on you.
- Call it.
- All right.
Flashbang at entry point, we go in.
Apprehend suspects, detain occupants.
Clear the location.
Stack up. The top up. Let's go.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
LAPD Search warrant. Open the door.
[THUDS]
[DRONE WHIRRING]
ETHAN: Low light. Target's not visible.
Interior door is closed.
First bedroom clear.
Hallway to the rear clear.
[GUNSHOT]
- We've lost visuals.
- MALIK: Go!
We got two shooters in the back.
[GUNSHOTS]
[ALARM RINGING]
MAN [ON RADIO]:
Two shooters down.
- JUDE: Meth lab!
- Could blow.
- What do you do?
- Dispatch, 44 Squad.
We need hazmat team,
bomb squad and FD on standby.
Have patrol evacuate
all surrounding residences.
- On me.
- CASSIDY: Copy.
MALIK: Reaching door.
[SIREN BLARING]
Dead. Dead.
[SCREAMING]
- We got her.
- MALIK: Clear out.
[ALARM CONTINUES BLARING]
[BABY CRYING]
HONDO: You gonna leave a baby behind?
Jude, Cassidy, get the baby.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
JUDE: Nothing here. Anything?
CASSIDY: Nothing over here.
Is that coming from the ov
Hey, I got it. I found the baby.
MALIK: All right, come on, let's roll.
[BABY CONTINUES CRYING]
[EXPLOSION]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[SIGHS]
You know, that's not
how you hold a baby, right?
Then don't hand me one, Dad.
Shots. Smoke. Sirens.
Sensory overload, designed to
push you to the point of meltdown.
Baby in the oven was a little dark.
Dark is out there.
Armed hitmen on dirt bikes
flying out of a crate.
And if you freeze
you die and your squad dies.
Now I put you through hell.
You came through the other side.
But we will do this again and again,
until I know you know what to do
and where to find each other.
Grab some water.
ANGELA: I don't know, Hondo.
From what you've been saying,
you almost convinced me this team
was stocked with D-list operators.
But after what I just saw.
I mean, they delivered.
[SIGHS] Poise under pressure,
that's what I need.
- Every time.
- Hmm.
A lot of adrenaline after a scenario
like that, how do they decompress?
[CHUCKLES]
We don't have that luxury
on the field, commander.
Reform squad isn't just about
field tactics and accountability.
It's It's holistic.
It's about building
something sustainable.
My career is staked
on this working, yours too.
So maybe a little less grind,
more mental health.
So this whole beautiful
experiment doesn't flame out.
Related, I got an op for you.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCOFFS]
[FIRING AND SCREAMING ON VIDEO]
His name is Walter Kovic.
He's a former California
Rocket Center engineer.
Just opened fire on the 110.
Eight wounded, no fatalities.
Kovic, still at large.
Metro traced his car registration
to an address in northeast LA.
Now, guys like this pressure
builds and they snap,
and they will not stop
until someone stops them.
[SIGHS]
Malik, Jude, Ethan, you sit
on Kovic's house with Metro.
Sammy, Cassidy, you're with me.
Monitoring the manhunt,
ready to roll if he surfaces.
Eyes sharp. You find anything,
you call it in.
- Is this a gendered op?
- Maybe.
Or maybe we're just benched.
[HONDO SIGHS]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, man, you got an update on Pike?
TATE: No. Work, home.
Nothing to see
unless going to a
movie alone counts.
- It was a new, uh
- HONDO: Keep on her.
Hondo. Might be time to let this one go.
No, no.
She showed up
to my training unannounced.
She's got me under a microscope,
and I want her under mine.
Stay on her.
[DOOR OPENS]
[SIGHS]
Closed door means don't come in,
or at least knock.
Yeah. Sorry.
Ooh, can I see?
- [GUN COCKING]
- SAMMY: Mm.
Pit Viper.
- [GUN CLICKS]
- Very thoughtful.
Boss gun for my boss.
[SIGHS]
Am I benched?
Sammy, I told you, you're on call.
Set up in front of a screen,
monitor tips.
Right. That training scenario
this morning,
I don't mean to be all main character,
but was it for me?
It was for everyone.
[SCOFFS]
Are we doing it?
- Is that the Gen Z stare?
- That's not a thing.
Maybe it is.
The sim, you said
it was designed to overwhelm,
like when I was Scout,
even mentioned the dirt bikes.
You can say if it was.
Yes, Sammy.
To practice decision-making
at peak overstimulation
so you can act and not freeze.
Vapor lock on a real world op is the
worst thing a SWAT operator can do.
Okay, but hypothetically,
if someone vapor locks once,
it doesn't mean they're going
to do it again, right?
If it happens again that someone
will no longer be on 44 Squad.
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
Copy that.
[SIGHS]
Walter Kovic's kind of a
big deal among rocket buffs.
He's a launch specialist.
Cassini team, back in the day.
He used to wear
these cool aviator glasses.
Mustache.
How do you go from
rocket scientist to a shooter?
MALIK: Hey, look.
Burn zone.
Jeez, this guy's
got nothing left to lose.
[BEEPS]
[SIGHING]
Get in the car, Mark.
Now.
What's this about?
I got your letter.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
MALIK: Walter Kovic, LAPD.
If you're in here, come out.
LAPD.
Walter Kovic, come out.
Looks like he's living here.
- ETHAN: Who are you?
- Nancy Foster, next door.
What's going on?
Did Walter do something?
Walter opened fire in the freeway,
shot eight people.
MALIK: We need to find him
before he hurts anyone else?
Anything you could tell us
that might help?
He hasn't been right for a long time.
Well, that's Pam, his wife.
They got married
right here 20 years ago.
Planted the roses for the wedding.
And after Pam died,
Walter let himself go.
He let this whole place go.
And that fence is on my property.
Walter wouldn't agree to move it.
I'm not saying it was karma,
but my house is still here.
Walter lost his job and then the fires.
[CHUCKLES]
Those roses went up like firecrackers.
Anyone else he might have trouble with?
His insurance claim got rejected again,
and I heard him say he was going
to settle things and make it right.
Thank you.
Can you tell that police car
to park farther down?
I don't want to see it
when I look out my window.
Guy lost his house, his wife, his job,
everything that made him him.
I just got a call from Malik.
- Dig up Walter's homeowner's insurance.
- On it.
Big claim got rejected.
These guys often have a revenge path.
Shots fired. Wilshire and 7th.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
That's the LJT building.
Walter's policy is with LJT Insurance.
He's got a target.
We got to lock down LJT now.
Let's go.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Three witnesses place gunshots
on this floor of the garage.
It's sealed off. No one in, no one out.
- You got a fix on the shooter?
- OFFICER: Not yet.
He knew the camera angles, stayed
in shadow, could still be in here.
Or not.
We got choppers up,
units on the streets.
- Employees inside on lockdown?
- Sweep in there's almost done.
You two take the left side.
I'll go right.
Hondo, blue car, driver's side.
Confirm one DOA. Gunshot wound.
Rear corner of the garage
near the employee elevator.
Mark Miller. LJT Employee.
No laptop.
He's got something in his mouth.
Guys got to be pretty mad
to force feed a letter
to the man who signed it
before killing him.
It's a rejection letter of
Walter Kovic's claim appeal,
dated three days ago.
Such a tragedy.
Like the fires themselves.
It breaks my heart to see
our clients suffering like this.
Your VP denied
his claim and appeal, why?
He was a policyholder for decades.
[SCOFFS] Insurance, especially
in today's challenging landscape,
is a two way street.
Right. We pay for coverage.
You provide it.
Marc did his best
to work with Mr. Kovic.
He sent him multiple notifications.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't
maintain protective standards.
Refused to trim back vegetation.
[HONDO CHUCKLES]
When that fire started,
my windows were rattling,
palm trees bent in half.
That firestorm
had 100 mile an hour winds.
You really think
cutting down some rose bushes
would have saved Walter's house?
SAMMY: We got a code red in there.
And out here.
- She high-key hates that CEO.
- Or she's freaking out
because her boss just got shot in the
garage
and she has to stay here and work.
Either way, she might know something.
Well, you don't exactly give
"spill your heart out to me vibes".
I'll lead.
Hey.
Uh, can I get you a water?
- Coffee?
- SAMMY: Oh, you're so sweet.
I'm Officer Bishop. Sammy.
- What's your name?
- Maddie.
Mark's assistant.
My teammate and I see
stuff like this too often.
It can be traumatizing.
It really helps us to talk about it.
You don't have to.
We just wanted to say that
we're sorry about your boss.
Mark was an asshole.
Like a yeller?
The kind that keeps a mental
list of all of your mistakes.
Underestimates you even though
you work your ass off.
Makes it hard to come into work
some days, right?
Babe, you know
this is not your fault, right?
Ugh, that letter they found in
Mark's mouth, he didn't even sign it.
I did.
I stamped his signature
on hundreds of them.
Sylvia Beckett.
Maddie, it's not your job
to protect her.
SYLVIA: With today's changing
weather patterns
and higher temperatures,
mitigating risk is critical.
This is a business.
It's not a public service.
Walter could have appealed
his claim again.
Instead, he blamed the messenger
who was just doing his job.
Mark Miller didn't start the fire.
Then who did?
Your company's doing the investigation.
The cause hasn't been determined yet.
I can't talk about it.
You know how that goes.
MADDIE: Sylvia came
back from this lunch.
Wasn't even on her schedule.
With someone named John Smith.
What kind of fake name is that?
That's shady AF. Then what?
[SIGHS] Sylvia told all the
VP's to deny every fire claim.
Appeals too.
For whatever reason, they could find.
That's when they denied
Walter Kovic's appeal.
[SIGHS] I'm so gonna steal
office supplies and quiet quit.
[SAMMY CHUCKLES]
Do you have your boss' laptop?
No. He always took it with him.
Sticky notes are best. Clear them out.
Walter could have used this key
card to get here and go on a rampage,
but he spared them. Even the CEO.
Cassidy pegged the assistant
as an info source.
She cracked.
Got a couple of leads, but no laptop.
All right. Metro,
see if there's a wallet on the body.
Maybe Walter stole more than the laptop.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
ETHAN: Kovic's insurance was denied,
he killed the claim agent,
stole his laptop,
and maybe there's a John Smith
connected to all this?
It could be fake, but run it anyway.
There's hundreds of John Smith's in LA.
ANGELA: Kovic used Mark Miller's credit
card
to take a cab back to his house.
We have an APB out. Cool Ranch?
We've got a warrant
to pull remote
access on Mark Miller's stolen laptop.
If Kovic still has it,
might be able to track him,
find what he's been looking for.
If the laptop is active, I can hijack
the session, harvest credentials,
inject a series of call back
platform beacons to gain access.
Great. You take it from here.
I'm going to clock out.
During a manhunt?
Walter Kovic is just
one active file on my desk.
And believe me,
I feel the weight of every single one.
So, yeah, I could pull an all-nighter,
be useless tomorrow,
or I could trust those on it are
up to the task and come in fresh.
[SCOFFS] That's a choice.
I'm sorry.
Work-life balance equals survival.
Emotional regulation
is not a soft skill.
If more people took it seriously,
maybe we could stop
being a society that explodes.
So yeah, I'm going to take some me-time.
Good night.
Ethan, let me know if you find anything.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Might be a late night.
Hate to keep you up.
FOBs for the garage lobby and elevator.
Keys for the apartment.
You can crash at my place.
There's lots of room.
- No, you really don't have to.
- Be as much for me as for you.
My doctor says it'll help my brain.
- Yeah, I remember.
- Yeah.
I won't stay long, okay?
Oh, stay as long as you want.
Help yourself to whatever, food, drinks.
The rooftop's got a sick view.
Oh, well. Thank God. I mean,
I couldn't stay somewhere
that didn't have a sick view.
[BOTH LAUGH]
Later, E.
Hey, can you show me
how to use the game?
Sure.
You don't usually stay this late.
I just want to run
the meth house scenario again.
Improve my reaction time,
until I know I know what to do.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
Every time I got
Your punch there ♪
Another one coming ♪
Trying to hold me back
But a girl stay stayin' ♪
Putting in the work
While y'all stay fun and well ♪
Meet me on the court
For the run, I run it ♪
I ain't never, never
Stopped it ♪
I ain't quitting Anytime soon ♪
I was made for making it
I make it while you faking it ♪
I'm takin names
And breaking all the rules ♪
They're like, ooh, she got it
Ooh, she cool ♪
She just had her win ♪
And she just makin'
All the moves ♪
[MUSIC FADES]
[SIGHS]
Question.
HONDO: Shoot.
Why'd you follow me here tonight
when that other guy's
been tailing me all week?
I mean, I'm flattered you
shelled out for PI and everything,
but seriously, why?
Okay.
Two years ago, after Reyes died,
I exposed a cover up and got canned.
The two operators who hid evidence
transferred, still on the force,
found out that you were part
of the IA investigation.
- So your PI is former LAPD?
- Then Hicks brings me back.
Flimsy team, target on my back.
Two direct reports
gone in the record time.
And who is my new boss? You.
Feels connected.
Like someone wants to end me, and SWAT.
Like that person is you.
I followed you to find out if it's true.
Wow.
This whole thing's
a big conspiracy to you.
Yeah, I was IA.
Your file did cross my desk.
Reyes was a tragedy and a mess.
And that's all I can say on that.
And I took this job because
I believe in reforming SWAT,
which you already know.
And hell, no, I would not
have picked you to lead it.
But, hey, here we are.
And since we're being
straight with each other,
you know what I think you really need?
A hobby.
[CHUCKLES]
Like, for me, it's this.
It's pool. Noise blurs.
Table comes in a sharp focus.
[EXHALES]
One breath, one thing at a time.
First strike.
Everything ripples outward.
Every collision shapes the game.
You know, I used to come here and get my
ass kicked by this old guy
named Lampkin.
One night he told me his secret.
Your opponent ain't shit.
Game is between you
and the table. Always.
Oh, and beer and a jukebox.
And there ain't enough jukeboxes
left in the world.
You want to play?
Rack 'em.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
Finally.
- SAMMY: What was that?
- Decryption software finished.
[SAMMY SIGHS]
Let's take a look at
what someone was trying to hide.
It's just the insurance company's
preliminary fire investigation.
It's not even complete.
Huh?
Says a decommissioned
transformer was the ignition source.
Sounds like something an insurance
company wouldn't want to hide.
Wait, the distro list on this report.
John Smith.
That's who the CEO of LJ
had that stealth lunch with.
John Smith is Head of Operations
at Pascal Water and Power.
It was one of their transformers
that started the fire.
- He might be Walter's next target.
- Yeah.
[MUSIC FADES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DEVICE BEEPING]
All right, listen up.
If PWP caused the fire,
Walter could be targeting
their Head of Operations.
Now, his actions are escalating.
He's got access to incendiary equipment,
the ability to weaponize it.
This has potential
for a mass casualty event.
Employees are sheltered in place.
Fire Department, bomb squad,
ambulances en route.
Lock in.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
Let's roll.
[EXPLOSION]
That was the main utility hub.
Where the emergency shut-off was.
Walter had to know that.
Malik, Cassidy, evacuate
the north wing. Mask up!
Ethan, Jude,
get to the maintenance crew.
Update risk via comms.
Sammy, south wing with me.
Move!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
MALIK: Emergency protocol,
workers cleared out.
HONDO: It's John Smith.
Kovic. Headed for the server bay.
Keep moving.
JUDE:
Never seen one of those before.
- What the hell is this thing?
- Some kind of cell.
It's got a charge.
Like something
you'd use to boost a rocket.
This plant's connected to the city grid.
That's bad. Very bad, because
[EXPLOSIONS]
They're on every transformer.
The next surge will be bigger.
It'll overload the system,
take down
the whole grid, black out all of LA.
Okay. Okay.
There's no way of knowing
when the next one will blow.
The control room was just destroyed.
Is there another way to shut them down?
Manually. One by one.
- Can't we just pull it off?
- Won't budge. It's not adhesive.
- Maybe a permanent magnet.
- Could be neodymium.
The tower that just exploded,
find out if the cell fell off.
If it did, there might be
something we could do.
Go!
Entry team.
[PANTING]
JUDE [DISTORTED OVER RADIO]:
Potential Next tower
- Still protected.
- Say again.
Casualties.
Jude, say again.
CASSIDY [OVER RADIO]:
Utility room. Lower level.
MALIK: Maintenance crew located.
Doors busted.
Cassidy, check around.
[ELECTRICITY CRACKLING]
CASSIDY: LAPD. Everyone out.
Follow my partner.
[COUGHING]
MALIK: Follow me.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
HONDO: Don't move, Walter.
No, no, no, no. Not another step.
Dead man's trigger.
You take me out, my finger slips off,
all the towers activate,
no one walks away.
ETHAN: At extremely high temperatures,
ferromagnetic material loses its
permanent magnetic properties,
making it paramagnetic.
Like when a rocket launches and
all the extra stuff just falls away.
Make sure you clear every cell.
This ends here.
- No! Drop your gun!
- ETHAN [OVER RADIO]: team,
- Drop your gun!
- I need you to buy some more time.
- Drop it or I'll do it!
- Hey, hey, hey, hey!
I'll put it away. I'm putting it away.
There.
You want me unarmed?
I'm unarmed.
- Walter.
- Stop! Stop!
Okay. Hey.
I get it. Trust me, I get it.
I don't think so.
The job, it gave you purpose.
It meant something.
You worked hard for an
institution you were proud of.
And when you clocked out,
you went home to the woman you loved.
[GASPS SOFTLY]
[SIGHS]
Your life was full, Walter.
You gave it everything you had
and now it's all gone.
It feels like the world
turned on you, right?
And now all it does is take.
That's enough to drive
anyone over the edge, man.
But listen to me, you and me,
we can walk out of here
without hurting anyone else.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
No, they are part of it.
Not about keeping us safe or warm.
They want us in the dark.
Don't Don't you see?
They're against us.
Against us. Hiding things.
They said they wouldn't pay.
They'll pay. I'll make them pay!
[GROANS]
ETHAN: We're almost done.
We just need a little longer.
- [GUNSHOT]
- [THUDS]
[PANTING]
ETHAN [OVER RADIO]:
It's done. We stopped it.
[SIGHS]
[PANTING]
[THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
Feels so good
When you don't have to worry ♪
Nothing stays the same ♪
[SIGHS]
Today was insane.
Burritos, blow torches, a rocketeer.
[CHUCKLES]
You know who it was?
Walter Kovic?
Yeah. Cassini.
You remember when we watched
the targeted flyby of Helene?
He lost it.
People aren't built to do life alone.
We're wired that way.
Connection isn't optional.
It's survival.
We need to know
somebody's got our back.
- Everyone has to change ♪
-
We need a reason
to do what we do.
Hi.
Hi.
ETHAN: And we gotta take care
of each other.
How are you?
ETHAN: Because it could all end
in a heartbeat.
Everybody changed ♪
You should be here.
I say everybody changed ♪
Why did you change? ♪
We arrested Sylvia Beckett.
The utilities company knew
when the investigation was finished,
payouts could bankrupt them.
LJT agreed to drive down the claims to
guarantee PWP
would cover their settlements.
They tried to delete the evidence.
Profiting from corruption.
It's a cozy little deal. [CHUCKLES]
HONDO: Commander,
we got a shooter off the street.
Mass casualty avoided.
City wasn't plunged into darkness.
- Feels like a win.
- Yeah.
Yeah. It does.
You know,
after we talked the other night,
kind of thought
we were on the same page.
Now, kind of feeling like I got played.
- What's this about?
- Why'd you lie?
The after action report.
Gun case. Warehouse shootout.
I added it to the central case file,
it got kicked back.
Flagged for inconsistencies,
omissions, obfuscation, cover-ups.
So, yeah, this, this is starting
to feel like dirty cop shit.
Tell me I'm wrong.
You're not wrong.
That op one of my team froze.
Vapor locked.
I kept an eye on it.
They recalibrated, came back strong,
and they proved themselves again today.
I left it off the report
to protect them.
To protect the squad that's
just starting to find itself.
And I lied because you said one
mistake and this unit is finished.
Was it wrong? Yeah.
Would I do it again
to keep SWAT rolling?
Absolutely.
I made a judgment call
and it was correct,
but we got a bigger issue here.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
The only people who know what happened
in that warehouse
are on my squad.
- I don't know who flagged it.
- Hmm.
I don't. I don't even know how
they would have seen the report.
- If I can help with
- [LAUGHS]
- Hondo, whatever you do
- [SIGHS]
- SAMMY: Why are you here?
- I'm kind of crashing here.
- Where's Ethan?
- Work. Robotics club.
- What does Ethan do again?
- Heh. Legit question.
- So, what are you doing here?
- I, um
I didn't want to go home.
My house is kind of a party
house right now and it's been a day.
- It's been a bunch of days.
- [LAUGHS]
- Yeah.
- [CLEARS THROAT]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING IN BACKGROUND]
You wanna, um
You want a drink or something?
No, I just want to chill
on this squishy, amazing couch.
It's so much comfier
than the one at work.
[BOTH LAUGH]
Why are you staying here?
Or is it a, um, if you tell me
you have to kill me situation?
[LAUGHS]
No, it's not that serious.
When I got out of the undercover thing,
they set me up in corporate housing,
and it was already furnished, and gray,
and just didn't feel like me, you know?
Yeah. [SCOFFS]
I haven't been feeling like me either.
- What does that mean?
- Just the job.
SWAT. It's so intense.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
Makes everything else feel like
Do you even want to know this? [SCOFFS]
Yeah, why wouldn't I?
[SAMMY MOANS]
Sorry. Heh. I don't know why I did that.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
I didn't I didn't mean to.
Terrible idea.
Worst.
Living in the moment
Till I die ♪
I've been feeling like
I'm in the sky ♪
Is it a bird or a plane?
Girl, it's I ♪
Yeah ♪
Lately I've been feeling
So alive ♪
Lately I've been feeling
So alive ♪
I feel alive ♪
I feel like ♪
Living up the moment
Girl, alive ♪
I got with me
I don't even know ♪
Look alive ♪
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]