Original subtitles

[panting]

[grunts]

[bell ringing]

[announcer] Reminder.

Shelter Stone Academy is currently in lockdown.

Erika. Hey.

I came as fast as I could.

Reenie. Thank you for meeting me at the school.

It's gonna be okay. I got you.

Tell me exactly what happened.

Uh...

Noah and I have a regular weekly call. He's never missed it.

Not once. But I didn't hear from him last night.

He would never not call me.

I called the school and they wouldn't let me talk to him.

I think he ran away and they're not telling me.

Did you look at the enrollment contract?

I did. It's pretty extreme.

They don't have to share any information with you when he's on school grounds,

but that's why I'm here.

- If he ran off... - Already got it covered.

- That guy I told you about? - Can he find Noah?

He's a tracker.

If someone's missing, this is the guy you want looking for him. Okay?

This is Colter Shaw.

Reenie. Mrs. Kennedy.

Erika, please.

I'm not sure how to do this.

- I'm just so worried about... - It's going to be okay.

I did a little research on the school.

Outdoor based curriculum with counseling, closed campus.

[Erika] I know what you're thinking.

"Who sends her son to a place like this?"

No, I'm not here to judge.

Noah's had some troubles

and the school was helping him find himself.

At least that's what they claim.

- You don't believe that? - I don't know what to believe.

I talked to him last week

and he sounded good, happy.

He was doing well in class. I thought...

- I thought he'd turned the corner. - Why would he run away?

You can trust him.

Noah's had some problems with substance abuse.

That's why we enrolled him here. It was his last chance.

Let's get to work.

Come on. He's got this.

[Gilroy] Mrs. Kennedy, I understand how you must feel right now.

Is Noah missing, or not?

Because if he's here, we'd like to see him.

And if he's not, I'm going to the police.

He's currently unaccounted for.

You mean run away?

These kids are independent-minded. Often rebellious.

Sometimes, they try to find time alone. We have a large campus.

It's not uncommon for a student to set out for an adventure on their own.

- We always find them. - That's good.

So, let me get this straight.

You built a school that's more like a prison.

That by your admission, students are trying to escape from,

but you want parents to believe that you got everything under control.

Our methods may seem unusual, but our outdoor based curriculum

builds confidence, self-reliance.

And we've had over 30 years of success

in turning young men and women's lives around.

So what are you doing to find Noah?

We have a safety protocol

when a student is unaccounted for past the 10:00 p.m. bed check.

We've activated our 12-member security team, led by Tom Ritter.

But now we need to get to work, and I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.

We all want to believe that you're gonna find Noah,

but you're more nervous about this than you're letting on.

Why is that?

Noah is a good young man,

but as you know, he has a history of substance issues.

He recently relapsed?

Yes. Four months ago.

It was my understanding that he has been clean since he's been here.

Unfortunately, not.

Relapse is common for former drug addicts.

Now, we have to at least consider the possibility

that he left the campus in the hopes of finding drugs.

Mrs. Kennedy wants her son located. So far, you've been unable to do that.

- That's why I'm here. - With all due respect,

we have experience in these matters

and I don't have any more time to waste explaining this to you.

I'll be happy to show you the way out.

- No, we're gonna stay. - Or I can go talk to a judge.

I'd just like to get a look at the place he was last seen.

- I'll give you 30 minutes. - Great.

Go to his dorm, see if you can find something

- that might lead to where he went. - Okay. Come on.

Get me Ritter.

You guys got a lot of fences.

- Lot of cameras. - It can look extreme,

but with the range of kids we have, sometimes it's necessary.

It's been my experience that often

when you give kids boundaries, they find ways around them.

In this case, Noah was last seen right here on security footage.

But there's no footage of him coming back.

You got a blind spot back there.

- I'm aware. - Kids aware of it, too?

Some are.

To your point, some are more resourceful than others.

Colter Shaw, meet Tom Ritter, my head of security.

I'm giving him a few minutes to look around.

Johnny was the last to see Noah.

Where were you when you saw him last?

- Leaving the library. - Anybody else see him?

We'll handle the questioning.

We don't have time to mark territory. We just need answers.

I was by myself.

Anything out of the ordinary? He seem upset?

Like I said, I just saw him. I didn't talk to him.

Now I really gotta prep for my outdoor life skills.

Go on.

Where's Noah's dorm?

Actually, school policy states we don't allow...

Down the hall, to the right, up the stairs.

I'll have a security guard meet you there.

- You have ten minutes, Mr. Shaw. - That's all I need.

[cell phone buzzing]

Colter, what can we help you with?

I need more information about this Shelter Stone Academy.

Part school, part rehab.

I need a full download on their history, methods, how they operate.

Anything that'll help me find this missing kid.

You got it.

You okay?

What if he's out there alone?

Or worse, high and alone?

You can't go down that road, Erika.

I never should've let Walter send him here.

We were desperate.

Look, you just wanted Noah to get better,

and he did, right?

[chuckles softly]

He's got the matching one.

[Reenie] Hmm.

I gave it to him after the divorce

when he was having all the trouble at the other school.

It's a Dara knot. A symbol of strength.

I told him we could get through this together,

as long as we were both strong.

[officer] Right here.

[knocks on door]

- Find anything? - Nothing unexpected.

Class schedule, books, uniform, toiletries bag.

What?

Noah ever mention a girlfriend?

No, I don't even know if he likes girls.

He's got breath spray, three different flavors of lip balm

and a hair scrunchie. I'd say he has a girlfriend.

[scoffs]

I can't believe he never said a word about her to me.

Teenagers only talk to teenagers.

Fire detail?

Yeah. It's my turn to do setup.

Part of our survival skills or some crap.

- There's a better way to do that. - I got it, big guy.

I spent a lot of time outside as a kid. Used to build campfires every day.

You got graded on them?

Because I do. Like it even matters.

No, it does matter. A fire could save your life.

My brother was always way better at building them than I was.

It used to drive me nuts. But I learned.

My dad, he made it a point to make sure we could survive in any situation.

Build a fire, find shelter, food, all the essentials.

Well, if you're such an expert, what am I doing wrong?

What are you doing wrong?

Uh, you're going for a tee-pee fire, right?

It may seem like the easiest way to build one, but it's not stable.

All right.

We're going like this, like a log cabin.

You see that? Sturdy. Stable.

Plus, the wood will burn slower, better heat base.

- Thanks. - Yeah.

You work for the school or something?

No. Noah's mom hired me to find him.

So, if there's something, anything you think I might want to know,

it'll stay between the two of us.

I think Noah may be in danger, especially if he made it off campus.

I don't know. Maybe he had a reason to run away.

Either way, he hasn't been seen or heard from since yesterday, so...

Where did you say you saw him last?

Was it the library? You sure?

It was by the maintenance sheds.

Everybody knows the cameras don't see behind the sheds.

Yeah, well, look, I mean,

I don't need to know what you were doing there,

unless it had something to do with Noah.

- No. - But you saw something, right?

Was he with someone?

- A girl? - Not a girl,

but I saw Noah and Zeke.

- Zeke is a student here? - No, he works here.

Mows the lawns, unclogs the toilets.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Noah looked scared.

That's when I took off. I didn't wanna get busted.

What are you still doing here?

We have a problem. One of your employees, a man named Zeke,

was seen arguing with Noah right before he disappeared.

What aren't you telling us?

We're pulling security footage

'cause I was informed that Zeke Steadman didn't show up for work today.

We need to know when the last time he was on campus.

When were you planning on telling us?

Once I had verified for certain. But I didn't want to alarm anyone.

Take a look at that footage.

Rewind that gate camera.

Here. This is Zeke leaving campus last night.

Stop right there. Look.

Did you see that? No? Look.

Right there.

Oh, my God, that's Noah.

I'm sorry, Erika. I don't think he ran away.

It certainly looks like Noah's been kidnapped.

[Erika] Why would he take Noah?

Most kidnapped teenage boys around Noah's age,

are usually taken by a parent or someone they know.

- We'll figure it out. - [knocking on door]

What do you got?

The authorities checked Zeke's apartment. He wasn't there.

Security confirmed Zeke hasn't been back since yesterday.

[Reenie] I want to see everything on this guy.

Employment records, his emails from the server,

pre-employment background checks.

As I told you, we handed everything over to the police.

That's great. I would like to see them, too.

I'm gonna go find Zeke.

And see if this mystery girlfriend is connected.

We've involved the police.

Who'll do everything within legal means to find them.

That's a lot of red tape, which I don't have to deal with.

He's right. You've got my number. Let me know what you find.

I'll be moving fast.

Hey, Bobby. I texted you a number that belongs to a guy named Zeke Steadman.

I think he grabbed our missing student.

Skipping the pleasantries today?

- What? - The part where you say hello.

Ask me how I'm doing.

You know, like two humans might interact.

Last time you told me to cut to the chase.

Right. Just seein' if you're paying attention.

All right. Chase cut. Let's do this.

Mmm. I pinged the phone, but I got nothing.

It's offline or the battery's dead.

Maybe out of cell range. Might take me a little time.

Time I don't have. Can you pull up a call log?

That I can.

- Anything catch your eye? - Yeah.

Eight calls to one number late last night and then nothing.

The number's registered to a Lisa Jefferson.

Zeke could be working with someone else. Maybe he took Noah to her.

- You got an address? - Coming right at ya.

- Go away. - Looking for Noah Kennedy.

I have reason to believe you know where he is.

- Who are you? - Lisa Jefferson?

- Yeah. - Noah's mom hired me.

Anybody else in the house with you, Lisa?

I don't know where Noah is.

I need you to help me find him before it's too late.

May I?

- [winces] - There you go.

Is it broken?

I don't think so. I'd definitely get it looked at.

- And that eye. - Thanks.

- Noah do this? - God, no.

He would never. Noah is the sweetest guy in the world.

- Your boyfriend? - Kinda.

We met back at Shelter Stone.

I left after last semester, but we stay in touch.

It isn't easy with him being in there,

but we text or talk when he can get a phone.

When he can sneak away or get off campus for school project,

we find a way to meet.

If it wasn't Noah, who did all this?

It's my fault.

I messed up.

Last night, I told my ex I didn't want to see him anymore.

He was so pissed.

And then I told Noah.

Your ex is Zeke?

Zeke? Like from Shelter Stone? The maintenance guy, no.

Zeke's a good guy.

- He helped Noah sneak off. - To see you.

I told him not to. I didn't want him to see this.

But Noah said he was gonna talk to Ray.

Ray's the guy that did this?

Ray Vernon, he's crazy.

You dated him?

Sort of. I mean... Okay,

he was my drug dealer back when I was using,

and he supplies a lot of the kids at Shelter Stone with stuff.

And we started hooking up

and we were going pretty steady for a few months.

But then I got clean and I didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

Noah was helping me with that.

And Ray doesn't like to hear no.

Where was Noah going to confront him?

- Talk to, not confront. - Hmm.

I told him that Ray works at Road Rage.

- It's a dive bar just outside of town. - Do you know if they met up?

I don't know. Um...

I just got a call from Noah saying that he made it off campus.

He said he was gonna tell Ray to leave me alone,

or he'd call the cops about the drug dealing.

I didn't mean to get Noah involved.

I was...

I was just scared.

- I should've kept my mouth shut. - It's not your fault.

Hey, it's not your fault.

I'd like to have a friend of mine come over and be with you.

If that's okay? Her name is Reenie.

You'll like her. That'll be all right?

- Yeah. - Okay.

Find Noah, please.

If anything happens to him, I'll never forgive myself.

I will, but first tell me everything there is to know about Ray Vernon.

Okay.

Thanks for coming. Didn't feel right leaving her alone.

Of course. It's good for Erika too.

Gives her something to do other than just worrying.

What were they thinking?

[Colter] I don't know. Ray's a pretty dangerous guy.

And she's just a kid.

Gets into drugs, the wrong crowd.

The next thing you know, some older guy like this

has his claws in her, and she can't get out.

Hope you find that son of a bitch

and they lock him up for life.

You okay?

Yeah.

You know,

I was one of the first people to ever hold Noah after Erika gave birth.

And when he was fussy, I taught her how to soothe him.

It kills me that he is in danger.

You need to find Ray and put an end to this.

I had Teddi and Velma run his name.

He's had several warrants, one for a smash and grab, one for assault.

Done time for possession and dealing.

- This guy is a real lowlife. - And he's not gonna get away with it.

We're documenting everything.

Every bruise, every broken light bulb,

and I'm encouraging her to press charges.

At the very least, we can get a restraining order.

- But first, I need to find Noah safe. - Yeah.

- Thanks for the call. - Yeah.

- Is she okay? - Yeah. She's pretty shaken up.

- Do you know what happened? - Zeke wasn't trying to hurt Noah.

He was trying to help him sneak off campus

so they could go scare this Ray Vernon guy.

- Know who that is? - No.

Anyway, Zeke's one of the good guys.

That tracks to me. Zeke cares about the kids.

I'm gonna check out this biker bar Ray works at.

- Mind if I tag along? - Better if you check out his place.

- Do you have an address? - I will.

We're at capacity, amigo. Come back some other time.

I'm not looking for a drink.

I'm looking for some info on a guy running the door last night.

- Ray? - We don't really do info.

- Hit the road. - I'm looking for a missing teenage boy.

He was here last night. Ray's involved.

You don't have to be involved.

Of course, I could call the police, and then, everyone's involved.

Just answer a few simple questions. You'll never hear from me again.

- What do you wanna know? - Was there a teenager here last night?

Maybe with another guy? Talked to Ray?

Yeah.

Yeah, almost closing time around 1:30 in the morning.

Anything else?

Kid and his buddy come up to Ray talking about drugs and some girl.

I don't know anything else. It's not really my business.

- How did Ray react? - Ray's a whack job.

He lost it. He started screaming at them.

Might have pulled a piece, couldn't see for sure.

But kid and his buddy got spooked, took off back to his car.

But Ray didn't let it go.

Ray jumped in his car, peeled off after them.

Thanks for the info, amigo.

Did you find Ray?

No, but he was at this bar last night.

So was Noah and Zeke.

I guess they came here to confront him. Things got ugly.

Then Zeke peeled off in Zeke's car.

- Ray went after them. - Do you know where they went?

No. Let's see what I can find between here and where Ray lives.

The head of security at the school right now is at Ray's house.

Stand by. We're still digging into Ray.

Deed of a remote cabin he owns.

Sending you a new pin, standby.

It's not his home address.

It looks like he inherited it from his deceased father a few years back.

It's not far from where you are now.

The way Lisa described Ray, if he's got Noah and Zeke with him,

what are the odds they're still alive?

What the hell?

Colter, what was that?

Are you all right?

Send an ambulance to me right away. I think I found Zeke.

[twigs snapping]

[insects trilling]

- [cell phone vibrating] - [softly] Here.

- Hey. - Reenie, I got bad news.

I found Zeke.

- Is Noah with him? - No.

Zeke's dead. He was shot.

- There's nothing I could have done. - Oh, my God.

- Was it Ray? - Most likely.

It looks like he ran him off the road. Noah's definitely injured.

How bad?

It looks like he was able to crawl from the car.

And he ran. Ray went after him.

[leaves rustling]

[softly] I've company.

That's far enough.

Stand down, Shaw.

It's me, Ritter. I was coming back from Ray's.

I saw your truck and Zeke.

What the hell kind of mess did Noah step in?

Police and ambulance are on the way.

But you won't be waiting for them, will you?

- Wasn't planning on it. - Me neither.

I think Ray's out there hunting Noah right now.

- The police will just push him to panic. - I'm coming with you.

Ex-Navy, two tours overseas. Don't worry, I won't slow you down.

Happy to have you.

Noah's out there somewhere. Twenty-four hours, wounded.

He's lost and dehydrated.

I got another boot print.

- You find something? - Drops of blood.

They're dry. There's less quantity than there was half a mile back.

What does that mean?

The blood in the wound was coagulating.

- Well, that's good news, right? - It's good and bad.

Good news is there's a 70% chance that the wounds weren't life threatening.

- Bad news? - The bad news is there won't be

much of a blood trail for us to follow.

Where did you go, Noah? Give me a sign.

[Ritter] What's that?

There's no corrosion.

It still works. Hasn't been out here long.

Ray probably dropped it while chasing after Noah.

What matters is where they went next.

Did they follow further along this ridge here,

or did they go down by the river?

Should we split up?

It's probably our best play. We don't have a lot of time.

I'll take the ridge. You track down back this way.

The terrain is probably a little bit rougher.

You'll probably move quicker than me.

Hey, Ritter. Be careful. Watch your back.

[thunder rumbles]

Don't you move. I swear I'll shoot you.

- No need for that. No one's moving. - You better not.

- Noah. - You don't know me.

That's right. Your mother hired me.

I help find people. She's worried about you.

- We can call her right now. - Stop! Don't move.

I know you're scared.

I know you don't wanna trust anyone right now.

I know Ray is chasing you. I know he's still after you.

Let me help you get out of here.

Is this yours?

When Reenie introduced me to your mom,

she was wearing something like it.

- You know Reenie? - I do.

I do know Reenie. Yeah. We work together sometimes.

She's very smart. She's very pretty.

And she's very certain that she's never been wrong about anything in her life.

- That's Reenie. - That's Zeke's gun?

- Yeah. - I'll trade you, okay?

There you go.

Ray's still out here.

Yeah, we do need to go,

but the first thing we need is to take care of that leg.

Have a seat. Nice job of the tourniquet, by the way.

- I bet my mom is freaking out. - Yeah, she is.

That's what moms do.

My mom used to freak out all the time, too.

You probably want to leave out a couple of details

about your little adventure here. You know what I mean?

Like that crazy psycho Ray.

We just went to talk to him and tell him to leave Lisa alone.

But then he went ballistic

and chased us out of that parking lot and pulled up next to us.

Shot Zeke. So when we were off the side of the road,

I grabbed Zeke's gun and took off.

Ray almost got me a couple of times,

but I was able to hide and stay away from him.

Is Zeke dead?

There's nothing I could do to help.

- It's all my fault. - No.

- It's my fault. - No, it's not your fault.

No, it's Ray's fault. There's nothing you could have done.

You were brave, what you did, standing up to a bully like that.

You've been out here alone on the run for an entire day. It's very brave.

That outdoor crap they taught us in school came handy.

[Colter] That's right. I need you to be brave for a little bit longer,

because I gotta get you up to the road.

It's going to hurt, but I think you can do it.

[gunshots]

We gotta go. Come on, it's time.

[loud grunt nearby]

- What was that? - [shushes]

Sit down. Get down.

Stay right there.

- Ritter? - We've got to stop meeting like this.

Thought you were Ray.

Be careful. He's still out here.

- Yeah, I know. - He shot me.

I got a few at him, too.

It's all right. I got you.

Hey. You found him.

Hey, kid.

- Is he gonna be okay? - Just keep your voice down.

Yeah, he got the drop on me.

I messed up looking at the footprint.

[Colter] Doesn't matter.

- Put pressure on that, okay? I got you. - Yeah.

There we go.

- I'm gonna be okay. - Yeah.

You just get Noah and get him out of here.

- [video game sounds] - [chuckling]

- [grunts enthusiastically] - [phone vibrating]

- [Colter] Bobby, listen to me. - Always.

About ten and a half miles southwest of Shelter Stone Academy in the woods,

I got a man down. He works for the school.

I got your location.

The suspect is out here, armed and dangerous.

Copy that.

Help is on the way.

Water. Keep your eyes peeled, okay?

Come on. We gotta go.

You got this. All right, we're almost there.

- I need a break just for a bit. - Almost there.

- Just for a minute. Please. - Come on.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Sit down right here.

Take a little rest. Then we'll tackle the last leg. Deal?

- Deal. - Okay.

I've got some water here. Finish it. You'll feel better.

- That's better. I can make it now. - Yeah?

Ready? Come on.

[gun cocks]

How about we stay instead? Throw the kid to the side.

It's not gonna happen.

Man, listen, why don't we talk this out?

Come up with some kind of solution.

I've already got the solution.

[Colter] Let's not be rash.

You've been out here 24 hours. You're confused. Let's talk.

Shut up!

Noah!

[sirens blaring in distance]

Lisa's lucky to have someone in her life like you, who cares about her so much.

- I just wanted to help her. - And you did.

Noah.

[indistinct radio chatter]

Thank God.

I'm never letting you out of my sight again.

- Mom, I'm fine. - What were you thinking?

So I guess you've met.

You okay? I heard they found Ray unconscious.

You weren't worried about me or something like that, were you?

- No. - You sure? It seems like you're worried.

Not even a little bit? I won't tell anybody.

- This much. - There it is. I thought that much.

Mmm.

[indistinct chatter]

Ms. Greene, trust I won't be hearing from you anytime soon.

Oh, well, I don't think I'll be taking

any further legal action if that's what you're asking.

Well, that's good to hear.

- How's Ritter? - He's gonna make it.

Good. I feel responsible.

You found Noah and brought him back.

I can't thank you enough for that.

I'm just glad he's back safe and sound.

What I said about your school yesterday.

That it was more like a prison.

That the kids would find a way to get out.

Yeah, that. I misjudged this place.

Noah was out in the woods for 24 hours. He was alone. Afraid.

But he managed to avoid his pursuers. He found water.

He learned all that from here.

Yes. Shelter Stone fosters community.

But also teaches the value of self-reliance.

I'm sorry I misjudged you, too.

I appreciate your help.

Mmm.

What's that?

I just must have heard incorrectly.

Like, did you say that you misjudged something?

- So you were wrong? - [clears throat]

You got a check for me?

[chuckles] I sure do.

And I took it upon myself to apply the family and friends discount.

Fair enough. As long as this makes us even.

There are not enough favors in the universe that you could do

- that would make us even. - I miss you already.

Hey. Um...

[♪ folk rock song playing]

You made my friend happy.

And that makes me happy. So, thank you.

Where are you going?

I got something for Noah.

[bell ringing]

[knocking on door]

I bet you're happy to have a break from the great outdoors.

I might take another day in the woods to get out of chemistry.

I hear your mother's not making you leave Shelter Stone.

[sighs] It took some convincing, but she knows I'm happy here.

Good.

You know, when I was a kid, my dad would always give us

these challenges, these tasks.

He pushed my brother and I pretty hard.

It's what like they do here, I guess.

Anyway, every time we accomplished something great,

he would always give us something to remember it by.

I found that when I was tracking you. You earned that.

Every time you look at it, you'll be reminded of what you did.

That you survived and that you're better for it.

- Thanks. - Yeah.

Be good.

All right. What's next?

Well, I have actually got something super interesting.

How do we feel about Manhattan?

Big Apple? Where am I gonna park this thing?

Actually, it's Manhattan, Kansas.

Oh. Even better. Only 1,700 miles away.