At 5:20 am, Reardon reports the search was fruitless and directs them south to the Four Corners exit. Twenty minutes later, he calls again: Starcher is eating ice cream at a truck-stop restaurant. There, Rudd finds his son alone in a booth, unharmed. Starcher says his captors, Nancy and Joe, were kind. A uniformed man grabbed him at the park, claiming his grandmother was hospitalized, then drove him to the country. Nancy and Joe spent the weekend playing backgammon with him. Rudd instructs the manager to preserve outside surveillance footage for the FBI.

Rudd calls Judith with the news and puts Starcher on the phone. At 7:30 am, they meet in Judith’s office parking lot with her parents and Ava. Everyone rushes to Starcher with tears. Rudd pulls Judith aside and asks her to meet with him and the FBI later this morning because the story is more complicated. After she reluctantly agrees, Rudd leaves, wondering when he will see his son again.

At a court hearing, the judge grants a continuance given the news of Starcher’s return. In the hallway, Fango ambushes Rudd, demanding Link’s money and making a veiled threat against Starcher. After Rudd punches him and knocks him out, a second thug approaches, but Partner hits him with a steel baton. A security guard arrives and Rudd claims both men tried to jump him. The thugs, wanting no police scrutiny, decline to press charges. As Rudd leaves, he warns Fango that any further contact from Link goes straight to the FBI.

At Judith’s firm, the staff congratulate Rudd as a hero. Then, he meets Judith and FBI agents Beatty and Agnew. When Beatty asks why Rudd called the meeting, Rudd announces he knows who kidnapped Starcher and why, then reveals everything.

As Rudd lays out the plot, Judith’s relief hardens into anger and ammunition to prove he endangers their son. Beatty acknowledges the account explains why local police kept the FBI out. When Judith questions how anything can be proven, Rudd admits it will be difficult. Then, they speak privately when the agents leave. Judith argues that if Kemp is desperate enough to kidnap a child, pursuing him is too dangerous. She fears Swanger and calls Rudd a train wreck. After a receptionist announces reporters outside, they agree to wait to make a decision. Rudd cancels his meeting with a police detective, apologizes, and slips out the rear.

Rudd rents a dented Mazda from Ken’s Kars to evade reporters and enemies. That evening, Naomi Tarrant, Starcher’s teacher, calls Rudd to check on the boy. They bond over mutual dislike of Judith and Ava, and Naomi proposes dinner. The following night they meet at a Tex-Mex restaurant, discussing Starcher, Rudd’s marriage, and their pasts. Rudd is strongly attracted to her. She surprises him by expressing interest in cage fights, and they agree to go Friday.

Over lunch, Doug Renfro appears gaunt and defeated. He is selling the house—Kitty’s memory haunts every room—and plans to leave the country. He wants to settle the civil case immediately and skip trial. When he asks whether they can exceed the city’s liability cap of $1 million, Rudd reveals he is considering extortion using damaging information about the police department. Renfro supports the idea and urges him to move fast.

After midnight, Partner calls from the hospital. Someone detonated a bomb beneath the van as he left a restaurant. He escaped with burns to his arm. Rudd drives to the scene, pays a cashier $100 for cell phone footage of the explosion, but it reveals nothing useful. He concludes Link ordered the bombing in retaliation for the courthouse fight. So, Rudd’s plan is for Partner to ask Miguel Zapate’s to intimidate, not hurt, Link’s thugs.

Rudd and Judith speak by phone. After confirming Starcher is fine, Judith announces she will not pursue an FBI investigation into Roy Kemp—proving the case would be near impossible, Kemp is dangerously desperate, and she wants no distractions. Rudd agrees.

At City Hall, Rudd meets the mayor and city attorney to negotiate the Renfro settlement. He demands termination of the eight SWAT officers and the police chief, offering to accept the $1million liability cap. However, when the mayor agrees, Rudd produces a signed affidavit detailing how Kemp orchestrated Starcher’s abduction and bluffs that the FBI is investigating. He offers to bury both the lawsuit and the kidnapping story in exchange for an additional million for Renfro. Moss calls it extortion. Rudd concurs. He gives them until Monday morning to accept.

Rudd picks up Naomi for the cage fights. He tells her about the van bombing and his firebombed former office and that he carries a concealed weapon. Naomi appears intrigued. A trainer pitches his fighter for backing. When the bouts begin, Naomi becomes an enthusiastic spectator.

After the fights, Rudd and Naomi share a pizza and show obvious mutual affection. She asks about the kidnapping; he stays evasive. Driving to her condo, Naomi says a relationship would be difficult while he wears a gun. At her door she gives him a brief kiss and schedules another date for the following night.

At City Hall, the mayor agrees to $2 million: one from insurance now, $500,000 from the city this year, $500,000 next year. The chief and officers will be fired the next day. Rudd refuses to sign until the terminations happen and demands the mayor hold a press conference to publicly apologize and announce the firings. Moss agrees to redraft the documents.

Rudd tells Doug Renfro about the $2 million settlement over lunch and offers to cut his fee from 25% to 10%. Renfro becomes emotional, then insists on paying 15%. He shares that his house has sold; he is leaving in two weeks possibly for Spain.

Rudd watches Mayor Sullivan’s press conference. The mayor stands alone, announces the Renfro settlement, offers an apology, and confirms the firing of the police chief and eight SWAT officers. Rudd reflects that eight more ex-cops now want him dead. The money arrives, he finalizes things with Renfro, and the last time he sees him, Doug is climbing into a taxi for the airport, destination unknown. Rudd is envious.

During his weekly jail visit, Rudd finds Tadeo growing delusional about getting off and beginning to distrust Rudd. Leaving the jail, Reardon intercepts him. Reardon reveals that Tubby Fango and Razor Robilio, Link’s thugs, have been found murdered in a landfill and notes Rudd was the last known person to fight with them. Rudd dismisses the implication. After Reardon leaves, he retreats to a toilet stall, shaken, quietly questioning Miguel’s involvement.

In the parked van, Rudd and Partner have lost their appetites. Partner insists he told Miguel only to scare the men, not harm them, and speculates the confrontation escalated. Rudd tells him to question Miguel, but Partner doubts Miguel will ever admit to anything. Rudd raises the possibility someone else killed them. Partner weakly agrees.

At 3:37 am, Swanger calls and says that Jiliana Kemp is alive. He directs Rudd to a prepaid phone hidden at an all-night pharmacy. He knows Rudd is driving a U-Haul. When Rudd retrieves the phone, Swanger directs him to a burger joint north off the highway, where Swanger will appear in disguise after confirming Rudd is alone. Rudd warns he is armed.

Swanger arrives in a UPS uniform and tells Rudd that Jiliana is alive but enslaved by a human trafficking ring. She is addicted to heroin, forced into prostitution, and her baby was sold for $50,000. Swanger proposes returning her in exchange for a cut of the $150,000 reward. When pressed, Rudd explains the kidnapping of Starcher forced him to reveal the burial location. Then, Swanger admits he watched the police dig from the woods. Disgusted, Rudd tells him he deserves a bullet and moves to leave. When Swanger grabs his shoulder, Rudd draws his gun. To prove his story, Swanger says another missing girl from Lamont, Missouri, is being held at the same Chicago location as Jiliana. Rudd stands gripping his pistol, fighting the urge to pull the trigger.