Original subtitles

(SIRENS WAILING)

(TIRES SCREECH)

Careful, Luca, these guys ripped off enough nitroglycerin

to make that thing a mobile bomb.

Good thing we're in a mobile tank.

You said this was a simple job for some friends of yours.

There wasn't supposed to be a guard on duty!

I'll get us out of this. Just keep driving.

(TIRES SCREECH)

Chris, Luca, you guys okay?

We're Code 4. Betty took most

of the hit for us, but I think we're out of this fight.

HONDO: Get her back to HQ to get fixed up.

We'll take it from here.

24-David, I got eyes on you and the van from the airship.

That van has more barrels, and our ride does not

have the same armor Black Betty does.

(TIRES SQUEAL)

Whoa!

He's headed south into oncoming traffic!

(CAR HORNS HONKING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

We got to get 'em out of the city.

Deacon, rally the backup

to the 4th Street Bridge. I've got an idea.

Get this thing down on the ground in front of him.

We need to turn him around.

I think we lost them.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

- (SIREN WAILING) - (HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING)

HONDO: Deacon, he's crossing the bridge, heading your way.

DEACON: 30-David. We're in position.

We got eyes on the van now.

This is the LAPD.

We have you surrounded.

Exit the van, get on the ground,

and spread your arms and legs.

This is my fault.

I took the job.

I lost my cool.

I'll fix this, Charlie.

I'm the big brother.

Supposed to take care of you.

Look, we're both idiots, okay?

DEACON: I repeat, get out of the van now.

Get down on the ground now.

I have something to say, and you better listen,

or I'll take down this whole bridge and everyone on it!

You will not be told again.

Drop your weapon, get on your knees.

Put your hands behind your head.

Duff, what the hell are you doing, man?

Get down on the ground, Charlie!

Just listen to me. I got this!

I acted alone!

My brother didn't know

what he was driving me to do.

None of this is his fault!

HONDO: We've got a jumper!

Hold your fire!

I love you, Charlie.

Duff!

I got you.

HICKS: Where do y'all think you're going?

The photographer from the police commission's

been in my office all night,

waiting to take a team photo for the new LAPD website.

Oh, was that today? 'Cause I got plans.

Yeah, I got to get home

- to an ice bath, doctor's orders. - Yeah.

HONDO: Commander, my team's earned a night to put their feet up.

We'll take the photo tomorrow, I promise.

All right, first thing in the morning, no excuses.

Later.

It's the third time you've put the photo off, Hondo.

Police commission's getting a little impatient.

They should be happy that I agreed to do it at all.

They just want 20-Squad because we check all the boxes

on their diversity bingo card.

(LAUGHS) Okay, well...

regardless, you did a hell of a job tonight.

- Whole team did. - Thank you, sir.

HONDO: Morning, baby.

Where do you think you're going?

You know it's your turn to make breakfast.

Two unis out of Hollywood missed a dispatch call last night.

Their cruiser was just found, and they weren't in it.

Oh, my God.

Yeah, Hicks is calling everybody in.

I'm sorry I got to run.

Can I make it up to you tonight?

- Mmm. - Sergeant Harrelson,

this'll be six nights in a row I've slept over.

We're trying to make a baby, remember?

The last time I checked, you can't do it

- from separate beds. (CHUCKLES) - Hmm. (CHUCKLES)

- I love you. - I love you.

Hondo, wait.

The local news just posted about your missing officers.

They found their body cams.

There's a video.

HONDO (ON VIDEO): Officer Lumbard? Birch?

Or is it the other way around?

Sorry, it's easy to mix the two of you up.

Hondo, his voice.

Both white, both new to the force.

And both abusing your power. What is this?

My name is Daniel Harrelson.

A lot of you may know me as the officer

who blew the whistle on the LAPD last summer.

I'd like to tell you that it made a difference, but guess what.

There's still a lot of bad cops out there.

Take these two.

Been on the beat for a little over a year,

and they've already got a list of complaints against them.

Does the LAPD care?

I'm out of patience.

Cops need to be held accountable for their actions.

You don't see me hiding my face.

I'm done waiting on the department to clean itself up.

- (GUNSHOTS) - What the hell is this?

- (PHONE BUZZING) - Okay, that's you.

But that can't be you.

- That video is fake. - But it was taken off

of a real LAPD body cam.

(PHONE RINGING)

Someone's setting me up, Nichelle.

I was here with you all night.

I know, but the whole world is gonna see this.

What are you gonna do?

(SIGHS)

You have to call your boss.

He'll sort this out, keep you safe.

No, I can't.

Hicks'll bench me. He might even have to arrest me.

But you have an alibi. I'll tell them...

The word of my girlfriend ain't gonna hold up against video evidence.

Or at least not till this thing gets debunked.

- (SIGHS) - (TIRES SCREECHING)

Hondo?

Two police cars just pulled into your driveway.

What if...? Do they think you really did this?

Baby, I got to go. I got to leave right now.

- What? No. - Look, if someone's

really trying to set me up, it might only be the beginning.

I can't be tied to a desk

or sitting in a cell waiting for the other shoe to drop.

You'll be safe with the officers.

Just tell them the truth. Everything's gonna be okay.

(EXHALES) Where are you going?

To find out who the hell's behind this.

Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com

Thanks for coming.

How bad is it?

Every cop in L.A.'s got a picture of your face.

Unis just picked up Nichelle.

And they're going through your house right now.

- Are you sure this is the play? - Someone's trying to ruin

my life, Deac... I got to figure out who and why.

All right. Well, in that case, you're gonna need a way to get around.

Take Annie's car. Don't scratch it.

You don't want her coming after you, too.

- I'm sorry I pulled you into this. - Hey, stop.

We'll always have your back.

(VEHICLES APPROACHING)

Deacon, you called in the team?

(DOORS OPEN AND CLOSE)

None of you should be here right now.

The second you get to HQ,

they're gonna question you about my whereabouts.

I'm not letting any of you lose your job because of me.

Sorry, boss. When somebody messes with you,

they mess with all of us.

Besides, whoever actually killed those officers, they're still out there.

Rest of LAPD's looking, for you, we need to be looking for them.

All right, then. What do we know?

DEACON: Unis found Lumbard and Birch's cruiser

in a Denny's parking lot, about 5:00 a.m.

Car was untouched, no sign of a struggle.

Dash cam showed the two of them arriving about midnight.

- Grabbed some food. - Someone knew their patterns

and then grabbed them on their break.

About an hour after the cruiser was found, their body

cams were dropped at a local news station.

One was wiped clean,

and the other had the video of you on it.

So whoever made this fake video

actually put it on an LAPD body cam?

STREET: I got a friend who might be able to tell us

how someone could do that. She's not exactly...

law-abiding, but she's probably not gonna call the cops

- the second she sees your face. - All right, great.

She's who I visit first.

Well, hold on, you're not going alone.

What'd I just say, Street?

I ain't dragging anybody else down with me.

That's too bad 'cause she's my contact... I'm going.

Fine.

The rest of you check on Lumbard and Birch.

There's got to be a reason they were targeted.

Hey?

Thanks.

All of you.

You're late. Follow me.

Now, I'm not gonna ask you where you're coming from

because I don't want to have to put you in the position to lie.

Sir, I can honestly say I have no idea

- where Hondo is right now. - Well, keep it that way.

Now, obviously, I know it can't be Hondo in that video,

but since dropping this morning, this execution

has been shared by every major news station.

Now a lot of people think Hondo's a cop killer.

All right, I've got 20-Squad working on finding out

how the video was made and who made it.

Well, whoever it was did their homework.

Now, Lumbard and Birch were not shy about voicing

their unhappiness with some of the city's social programs.

Now, just, you know, cop venting,

but they called Hondo out a few times, and they were not fans.

Yeah, makes it look like Hondo has motive.

What about the rest of 20-Squad?

Internal Affairs is gonna grill us.

All right, I'll stall IAD

as long as I can,

but there is a highly trained LAPD sergeant on the run,

so I don't know how long I'm gonna be able to hold them off.

So whatever Hondo's doing,

he needs to do it faster.

STREET: Thanks for helping us, Elyse.

Anything for you, Jimbo.

I mean, you gave me a way to pay rent that didn't involve

email scams or credit card fraud.

I, uh, convinced Elyse to become

our go-to cybercrimes expert in Long Beach back in the day,

before that was a real job.

When it did become a real job, LBPD wouldn't hire someone

with a criminal record, and they just let me go.

Don't worry, I made my investments in crypto early, so...

I am set for life.

All about pro bono hacktivism now.

Okay, don't tell us about that.

We're already in the middle of one felony today.

Fair enough. I've already downloaded the video.

It's, uh, definitely a deepfake.

Phony media that uses artificial intelligence

to study photos and videos of a person,

and then creates a new video of that person doing something

- they've never done before. - How can you tell this is a deepfake?

When in doubt, look at the eyes.

AI hasn't quite mastered replicating

blinking yet... Just doesn't get it.

This video, however, is incredibly tight.

Deepfakes are generated frame by frame.

You slow 'em down enough...

...you can catch a funky one.

My pops always told me to only believe what

you can see with your own eyes, now we can't even do that.

Tech's only getting better.

Pretty soon, even I won't be able to tell the difference.

Good luck prosecuting someone

with video evidence in a few years.

Y-You're telling me any keyboard cowboy

in his mom's basement

with the right software can do this?

It takes a little bit more than that.

You need a baseline video.

Real footage of someone

who looks like your subject for the program to manipulate.

So there's an original video out there without me in it.

How did they make it look like me?

Let me see your phone.

Deepfakes require a ton of modeling data.

Images and other media

of the subject they're copying.

In this case, you.

The more, the better.

Here.

Someone installed spyware onto your phone.

Your photos and videos were being linked

to another computer in the city.

How could someone do that without me knowing?

A real pro just needs to be on the same Wi-Fi as you.

Can you find out where his data's going?

It'll take me a few hours, but no one can hide from me.

Text Street if you find something, please.

Yeah, of course.

- Thanks. - Mm-hmm.

Any luck finding anything on Lumbard or Birch?

The temperature around here is ice-cold.

I hit up every cop I know who may have crossed paths

with them over the last year.

Most ignored my calls, but the ones who picked up were more

interested in trashing Hondo than sharing intel.

My old shift commander runs their division now.

I figured he'd at least have a few other suspects

for us to chase down. Nope. He thinks Hondo's a killer

and I'm a traitor for saying otherwise.

How is it so many cops actually believe Hondo's guilty?

Because they want to believe it... they've been waiting

for an excuse to turn on him, and now they have it.

Take it you're getting the silent treatment, too?

I was, so I got creative.

You know Wells from Evidence?

Turns out he's got a new puppy.

I promised to house-train and dog-sit it

on his next vacation, so...

he slipped me this.

It's a copy of all the data from Lumbard

and Birch's squad car... GPS, dash cams,

radio calls, everything.

LAPD's already been through it, though.

They were looking for things that pointed to Hondo.

We're looking for who really killed them.

You're putting a lot on the line, riding with me today.

- I appreciate it. - Well, it's been a while

since I've played hooky from SWAT.

Wouldn't want people to think I lost my bad-boy edge.

Seriously, though?

I'm a different man

than the one who joined, and I have you to thank for that.

Everything you've done,

even kicking me off for a hot minute,

you did it to make me a better officer.

I'll always have your six, man.

No questions asked.

(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER)

Any idea who might be behind all this?

Been thinking about that all morning.

You put away countless criminals.

Who's got the biggest grudge?

That's a long list, kid.

Yeah. But this isn't just some corner kid

that you put away for five to ten.

This deepfake?

Someone with serious resources

is targeting you.

I mean, that kind of hate, that's next level.

Are you sure this hacker friend of yours knows what she's doing?

Yeah, these things take time.

Elyse is the best, though.

As soon as she finds out where your hacked phone data's going,

she'll let me know. We just...

need to hold out a little longer.

No surprises on Lumbard and Birch's abandoned cruiser GPS.

They didn't go anywhere out of the ordinary.

Same with the dash cam footage. They're unis.

Lots of sitting around, waiting for the action to happen.

Hey, check this out, I've been going through

the logs on the cruiser's automatic license plate reader.

One plate keeps popping up over and over,

almost 50 times.

And every time on the rear camera.

- Almost as if... - Someone's following them,

learning their routine, just like Hondo said.

Plate belongs to Pasha Kulpa.

No criminal record, but it looks like he owns

five apartment buildings in the Valley.

Which is usually code for "I'm up to super shady stuff

- and need to hide it." - Hold on, he's got a federal file.

Looks like he's got ties

to organized crime in Eastern Europe,

and the Feds suspect he's running

his own small outfit here in L.A.

What's this Kulpa guy got to do with Hondo?

What do you say we find out?

This lot's registered as Kulpa's current business address.

Luca, right. Chris, left. Tan, door.

Pasha Kulpa! LAPD!

(ELECTRIC WHIRRING)

Clear!

That's a lot of computer power for a site

that hasn't even broken ground yet.

Kulpa was just here... the computer's still logged in.

My name is Daniel Harrelson...

This must be the original video,

the one they manipulated to look and sound like Hondo.

DEACON: Kulpa probably edited the video here.

This is proof that the Hondo video's fake.

I'm done

waiting for the department to clean itself up.

That good?

MAN: Yeah, we're good.

TAN: The gunshots were fake.

But that's still the real Lumbard and Birch, which means...

They might still be alive.

Elyse couldn't narrow it down to the exact room,

but whoever hijacked your phone,

their I.P. address puts them somewhere inside this hotel.

Go talk to the front desk.

See if you can get a list of recent guests.

I'm gonna hang back. I don't want to be spotted.

Okay.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

You must be the man of the hour.

A.J.: Maybe you need a permanent reminder

- of who's in charge here. - (GUNSHOT)

(GUNFIRE)

You took my son.

And you'll pay greatly for it.

Hondo.

Took you long enough to find me.

I've been waiting for you.

Arthur Novak.

You're supposed to be in prison.

Money and connections go a long way in Mexico.

You left me with both.

No, I checked on you.

You were serving real time.

Hey, Hondo? Hondo?

I spent six months in a filthy cell,

fighting to stay alive every day,

mourning my boy every night.

But eventually I got my hands on a phone.

And from there, access to my accounts.

After that, it was just a matter of time

until I paid the right people off.

Or otherwise brought 'em into check.

- You should've stayed down there. - I'm not worried.

I'm a free man, Hondo.

Can't say the same for you.

Don't worry about her alerting the police.

I called them the second I saw you outside.

They should be here any moment now.

Why don't you sit?

Have a drink with me.

You won't find wine like this in prison,

I promise you.

(SIRENS WAILING)

That weak-ass deepfake ain't gonna hold up.

You should've never shown your face,

'cause now I'm coming for you.

The deepfake was just the beginning.

Look forward to seeing you again.

Sergeant Harrelson, show us your hands!

Do not make this difficult.

On your knees.

On your knees!

♪

I just gave my official statement to the chief.

I'm no longer a suspect thanks to the footage y'all found.

Tech team verified it... It's the original video.

- I'm a free man. - Yeah.

Okay, guys, this ain't over yet.

Lumbard and Birch are still missing.

They could be alive, barely hanging on

and counting on us to find 'em.

But first...

there's something I need to tell y'all.

I wasn't straight with you about what happened last summer

- in Mexico. - The man at the hotel.

Arthur Novak... He and his son ran

the town I was staying in like crime bosses.

And when they threatened an innocent family, I had to step in.

Novak retaliated.

And kidnapped a young woman.

I led a rescue mission, but things went sideways.

I had to kill Novak's son to save her life.

That's why he's coming after you.

All of this is some kind of revenge play.

First it was the deepfake,

and now he's holding these two officers' lives

over my head.

We're sorry you had to go through this, Hondo.

Deacon, I don't need sympathy.

I need your help to find Lumbard and Birch.

Okay.

Novak has help.

A guy named Pasha Kulpa.

TAN: Looks like the two go way back.

There's matching arrests here for robbery,

theft and assault all over Europe going back to the '80s.

Makes sense... we know Kulpa helped make the deepfake.

Dude even has a cameo in the video we found.

All right, so we double down on our sweep for Kulpa.

We find him, we find the officers.

We find the officers, we find Novak.

I'll hit up his business properties.

Luca and I'll take known associates.

Yeah.

Where are you going, Hondo?

Novak's confident that he's safe in the U.S.

I'm gonna prove him wrong.

HICKS: Yeah, well, Novak wasn't lying.

His record in Mexico's been cleared.

Now, I don't know who he paid off,

but he's a free man south of the border.

What about his Interpol charges?

The whole reason he was hiding out in Mexico

- was to avoid extradition. - True.

But until a federal warrant comes down,

LAPD can't touch him.

The man kidnapped two of our officers, Commander.

Well, there's nothing tying Novak to that

besides your suspicion, Hondo.

Now, look, I'm working on getting the warrant.

I just need you to sit tight.

I-I can't "sit tight"

when two people are in danger because of me.

You don't have a choice.

I'm pulling you out of the field.

As of right now, you're officially benched.

I don't want you leaving the building.

The chief cleared me. You can't do this!

You ran, Hondo!

The chief and the commission are furious!

You're lucky that's all I'm doing is benching you.

It wasn't that simple.

I know.

I'm on your side.

I just need you to sit tight

until this thing's over, all right?

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello?

NOVAK: Has your day turned a corner, Hondo?

Where's Lumbard and Birch, you son of a bitch?

Mind your temper when speaking to me.

You shouldn't be so hostile with the man

holding their lives in his hand.

- So they are alive? - Yes.

A little thirsty, but breathing.

Look, you want to come at me, then come at me.

But leave those officers out of this.

Your savior complex runs deep, doesn't it?

You want to be a hero to everyone.

All communities.

Black and blue.

Shame no one will trust you after this morning.

I've been cleared of everything that was on your damn deepfake.

Doesn't matter much, does it?

The first headline always lives on,

well past a retraction.

Your name's been sullied.

You'll always be viewed skeptically,

suspiciously from now on.

Well, I guess you got what you wanted then.

You don't need Lumbard and Birch.

I have so much more to take.

I rotted in that hellhole

for six long months planning this.

Your reputation is just the start.

You took my son and my freedom from me,

and I won't stop

until I've taken away everything you love.

I was rewatching the raw footage and found something.

A reflection in the camera's side mirror.

I think they accidentally captured a sign

wherever they filmed this.

So it was edited out of the deepfake,

but...

Skilling Electric... It's a defunct power plant.

It's been abandoned for years. Perfect place to lay low.

Could Novak and Kulpa still be there with Lumbard and Birch?

With every cop in the city looking for 'em?

Makes sense to stay in one place.

Okay, I'll call Deac. Let's go find those officers, man.

Baby, hey.

- Does this mean...? - I'm good.

We're good, at least as far as the police are concerned.

They treat you all right downtown?

They stuck me in a room like this,

left me alone for the most part.

But don't worry about me. Are you okay?

No, not really.

Arthur Novak is in L.A.

He's the one who set me up.

Novak? From Mexico?

Some kind of vendetta. He told me

he wants to hurt the people I love.

That's why you had me brought here.

Yeah, thankfully, my mom and pops

are out of town right now, and Darryl's staying

with Leroy just to be safe.

Hopefully this all ends soon.

My team's out chasing a lead right now.

Why aren't you with them?

Because I'm benched.

And maybe I deserve it... I chose to run.

- I chose to keep Novak a secret. - You told me.

- That meant something. - But just you.

Not my squad. This was supposed to stay down there.

I thought it was finished, and I was wrong.

You are putting a lot of blame on yourself

for something a bad man is doing to you.

I know you're Superman,

but you can't always take on all of the burden yourself.

That's the responsibility that comes with being a team leader.

Team leader. You know better than anyone

that SWAT isn't about any one person.

Lean on the people around you.

I love that you're open with me,

but you also need to be open with your team.

They're your family, too.

Novak wasn't talking about you or my family

when he said he was gonna go after the people I love.

Nichelle, I got to call Deacon.

♪

This is the car from the deepfake.

Blood all over the back seat.

This must be what they brought Lumbard and Birch in.

Doesn't mean they didn't leave.

- (PHONE BUZZING) - All right, perimeter's clear.

Let's check inside.

- It's a trap! - (GUNS FIRING)

(GASPING)

Luca!

(GUNS FIRING)

STREET: Let me see, let me see!

- Bullet didn't go through. - I'm okay.

We can't stay here. We need better cover.

TAN: They left this car for us to find

in the best spot to pin us down. There's nowhere to go!

DEACON: That garage door. That's our target.

We'll use the car as cover.

Tan, Street, you stay on the bumper. Luca, you good?

- Yeah, I'm good. - DEACON: You and Chris with me

on the passenger-side door. Let's move!

TAN: Yeah. Go! Go!

(LUCA GRUNTS)

Luca, you stay low.

Keep your head down. We're getting you out of here.

On my call. Push!

(GRUNTING)

The shots were coming from the roof.

- (GUNSHOTS) - (FOOTSTEPS RUNNING)

I see movement. They're on the run!

Go after those shooters. I'll stay with Luca,

call for backup.

TAN: LAPD! Don't move!

Last man.

They're headed for the exit!

(VEHICLES APPROACHING)

No!

26-David.

The shooters got away.

How's Luca? DEACON: He's fine.

- Just a bad bruise. - This was Novak's plan.

He left that clue in the mirror for us to find,

knowing I would get benched and be forced to watch him

ambush my team from the sidelines.

Yeah, but we got one up on him.

- We're all okay. - For now.

Novak's still out there, and I'm done waiting

- for his next move. - You're gonna have to.

- You're not allowed to leave HQ. - I don't care.

Nobody else needs to get hurt because of my mistakes.

- Hondo. - Try and stop me, Deacon.

Hey, Hondo? Hondo, Hondo. Think about it. Think about it.

This is exactly what Novak wants you to do.

Get out of my way, Street.

I know you won't walk out that door.

Novak may want you to go rogue,

but that's 'cause he doesn't know how good a cop you are.

I said that to you once upon a time, didn't I?

Right after I found my brother dead.

I was ready to burn down half of Long Beach,

but you stopped me.

Hondo,

I have watched Novak get to you all day.

Now, I know that you're mad,

but you are smarter than him.

Show Novak that he doesn't know you,

that you cannot be manipulated.

Hondo, talk to us.

I should've told everyone about Novak.

Truth is,

I still regret taking off in the first place,

but I thought I needed to be alone.

But when I was at my lowest point...

...I just wished that all of you were down there with me

to have my back.

I told you we'd always have your back.

We were there for you this morning,

and we're still here for you right now.

Can't stop 20-Squad.

And Novak is about to find that out the hard way.

Street, you said that Novak

would probably want me to take off on my own.

Let's give him what he wants.

I got an idea.

Federal warrant for Arthur Novak has been approved.

Wow, that was quick. Thanks, Commander.

Oh, I got to scream at an FBI director.

- No thanks necessary. - Hmm.

You ready?

- Yeah. - Okay.

(PHONE RINGING)

This is an unexpected surprise.

HONDO: First you take a shot at my name,

and then you take shots at my team.

I'm done with your games, Novak.

Why don't you quit being a coward

and just take your shot at me already?

What's your hurry?

Your team dodged a bullet. Impressive.

But now it's my turn to make the next move,

and I plan to take my time executing it.

Time's the one thing you don't have.

A warrant's just been green-lit for your arrest on U.S. soil,

so right now every airport and checkpoint in the state

is getting a copy of your face.

You've overstayed your welcome.

So, any chance you had of slipping out of this country has vanished.

This is valuable information.

No doubt you want something in return.

Lumbard and Birch.

This isn't about them. It never was.

Still trying to be a hero.

So predictable.

So,

what do you propose?

A trade.

The officers for a way out.

You name the location.

You bring me Lumbard and Birch alive,

and I'll drive you across the border myself.

You're safe in Mexico. Live to fight another day.

It's tempting.

But I think we're past the point of trusting each other.

Novak, all that matters to me

is getting those officers home safe.

You've done your damage, man. You ruined my rep.

Is burying me really worth going back to prison

for the rest of your life?

I'll text you an address

and bring the boys in blue.

Meet me there in an hour.

Come unarmed. And, Hondo,

if you're not alone,

I'll put a bullet in both of their brains

without hesitation.

Novak, we started this thing, just the two of us.

I'm-a finish it the same way.

How'd you know Novak would take the bait?

'Cause once he gets me alone, he's gonna kill me.

That's been his plan the entire time.

Whose idea was it to send Hondo unarmed

without comms or tracking of any kind?

His. We can't risk having Novak sweep Hondo for bugs.

If he finds out what we're planning,

first he'll kill Hondo, and then he'll kill

- Lumbard and Birch. - TAN: Luca,

- you sure you're up for this? - LUCA: Oh, I've had

bigger bruises wrestling with Terry as a kid.

No way I'm skipping the chance to help Hondo.

(VEHICLE APPROACHING)

What the hell's going on? Where's Novak?

Where's Lumbard and Birch? Arthur is a very careful man.

You have fooled him once before.

He said he was gonna meet me here. We had a deal.

The deal still holds.

We're just rendezvousing at a different location.

If you want to see those officers alive,

you'll get in.

(CAR DOOR CLOSES)

♪

- (ENGINE TURNS OFF) - (VEHICLE APPROACHING)

- (ENGINE TURNS OFF) - (CAR DOORS OPEN)

Where's Lumbard and Birch?

As you can see,

I found my own way out of the country.

Suppose that means our deal is off.

I don't need you after all.

You killed my son, Daniel.

This is how it was always going to end.

I didn't come all this way not to avenge my boy.

But first?

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

I want to see you suffer one last time.

And you call me predictable, Novak?

I knew there was no way you were gonna leave

without your pound of flesh.

And I also knew about this airstrip.

It took some digging,

but did you know that your boy Pasha

used to run drugs out of here?

So I figured if you were gonna kill me and bounce,

this is where it would be.

But that's why my team headed straight over here

after our phone call.

All they needed to move in were those missing officers.

Well, that...

- (GRUNTING) - (SIREN WAILING)

(TIRES SCREECH)

Go. Go, go.

It's Lumbard and Birch.

Street, Tan, lay us some cover fire.

We're getting you guys out of here!

Let's go. Come on. Get over here. Come on.

Arthur! What are you doing?

NOVAK: Getting myself

out of here!

Novak's on the move.

Drop your weapons!

(GUNSHOTS)

(ENGINE SPUTTERING)

It's over, Novak.

I can still finish what I came here to do.

Nah, I don't think you can.

STREET: It'll never happen.

They'll drop you before you even get close to raising that gun.

All right. You know how this goes.

- Arthur Novak, you're under arrest. - (HANDCUFFS CLINKING)

If you couldn't beat me one-on-one in Mexico,

how the hell did you think you could do it

with my team behind me?

Nichelle.

Hey.

(NICHELLE EXHALES)

Baby, we're safe.

Novak's gonna answer for decades of crime.

- (SIGHS) - We never have to see him again.

Today was different, Hondo.

I know the realities of your job,

but today...

(EXHALES) Today was the first time

you walked out that door and I worried

it'd be the last time I saw you.

I know.

And I'm sorry, Nichelle. I'm so sorry.

But I can't tell you you won't feel this way again.

It's the one promise I can never make you.

Does that make you rethink anything

about starting a family together?

Do you think I'd let that stupid son of a bitch

get what he wants?

I ain't going nowhere.

I love you so much.

I just wanted to clear the air before you went home.

It goes without saying,

but you've been restored to active duty.

I'm sorry for what went down.

I just want to put this whole mess behind me.

You know I had to bench you.

If you crossed paths with one overzealous rookie

who missed the memo about the deepfake...

- Sure. I get it. - Yeah.

Novak knew I would run.

He counted on it.

- Mm-hmm. - Sir, I am sorry

that I didn't trust you enough to come in.

I'm not gonna pretend that I understand what it felt like

to be in your shoes at that moment.

But the next time you're framed for murder

and your commander calls,

pick up the damn phone.

Deal.

What's all this?

I know you ain't waiting on me to go home.

Well, after everything today,

we thought you might need a beer.

I know I do.

- Luca and I got a full fridge. - Yeah.

CHRIS: It's been forever since the whole squad's hung out.

What do you say, Hondo?

You guys saved my life today. You know that?

You had my back from the moment this thing went down.

You risked your jobs and your lives all for me.

Come on, boss. It was nothing, man.

HONDO: Nah.

It's not nothing, Luca.

Every one of you stepped up without ever doubting me.

The only reason I survived is because I had

this group of officers behind me.

And you always will.

DEACON: That's right.

There's no one else we'd rather follow into a fight.

CHRIS: Yeah.

We'll follow you anywhere.

That's what 20-Squad's all about.

Just know how much I appreciate all of you.

All right. Enough of the Kumbaya.

Hell yeah. Let's get changed and go get some drinks.

- Let's do it! - Hey, unless you're driving me home,

- I'm gonna need Annie's keys back. - Oh, that's right.

I'm so sorry, but I've been waiting here all day.

I only need one photo for the LAPD website.

Can we please just get this over with?

I got shot today, so I'm not good.

Yeah, I got to pick up my wife and kids.

- More plans tonight... - Yeah, I'm not photo-ready.

Ice bath again. I got to do it every day.

Guys, guys, guys. Nah, nah, nah.

Not this time. Let's give her a break. Come on.

Let's show this city

what the best SWAT team in the LAPD looks like.

Three, two, one.

Everyone say "Roll SWAT"!

- ALL: Roll SWAT! - (CAMERA CLICKS)