Captain Jack frames the Sharia Group for the kidnapping by using a stolen authentication password. Secretary of Defense Decker argues that the Syria-linked group justifies retaliation against Syria. Secretary of State Andrea Mayes protests. Hamilton agrees and orders national airtime.

At Alex’s home, the group watches Hamilton announce that if Brennan is not returned within eight hours, the US will launch a nuclear strike on Damascus, Syria. Stone insists that they must find the president themselves. Alex identifies Reinke and Peters in Milton’s surveillance footage and recognizes the masked man’s distinctive hand as Tom Hemingway’s. Jackie Simpson confirms the identification.

Stone persuades Jackie not to report their findings, arguing it would destroy her godfather’s and father’s careers. Alex deduces that the president may be held at a facility near Washington, Virginia. Stone realizes that Brennan must be at Murder Mountain, a former CIA training ground he knows well. He agrees to take Alex, Reuben, and Jackie.

The USS Tennessee prepares to launch a Trident II missile at Damascus. Damascus evacuates. The Sharia Group denies responsibility for Brennan’s kidnapping. At NIC, Gray discovers that Reinke and Peters have not reported for duty, that Hemingway assigned them to the Johnson case, and that Hemingway accessed Johnson’s computer without authorization. Gray assembles a team and orders his helicopter.

Alex, Stone, Jackie, and Reuben proceed on foot toward Murder Mountain with weapons and night-vision gear. They enter through a secret cave entrance. Stone is overcome with memories of training as an assassin there. He explains that there is no way through the facility except to go through the training modules, which are dangerous.

Meanwhile, Captain Jack and 11 North Korean mercenaries ambush and garrote Reinke and Peters, who are guarding the facility entrance.

Hemingway ambushes Captain Jack’s group, killing two North Koreans with stunning speed before disappearing. Stone splits his group: He and Reuben take the left training rooms, Alex and Jackie the right.

In the firing range, Stone tricks and kills two North Koreans. Alex, on a catwalk, triggers a trapdoor and falls into sludge with an opponent. He uses his magnetized flashlight as a decoy and kills the man in the darkness.

In a room modeled after Hogan’s Alley, Hemingway kills three mercenaries with throwing knives and crescent swords. Stone comes upon them and aims at Hemingway’s head, but Hemingway senses him and turns. Stone lowers his weapon.

In the “room of truth”—a torture chamber—a mercenary wounds Reuben with a thrown knife (409). Stone shoots out the lights, dons night-vision goggles, and severs a chain holding a one-ton cage, crushing the attacker.

The groups reunite near the holding cells, where Brennan and Chastity lie unconscious. Two mercenaries throw a flash-bang, but Hemingway arrives and kills both. Alex tells Hemingway about the impending nuclear strike. Captain Jack emerges, takes Jackie hostage, and reveals that he betrayed Hemingway for the North Koreans, whose goal is to start an American-Muslim war.

Stone steps forward, revealing his identity as John Carr, Captain Jack’s old rival. Hemingway hits the light switch. In darkness, Stone slashes Captain Jack’s calves with a knife.

Gray arrives with six armed men and reveals hidden bitterness. He intends to let everyone die and allow Damascus to be destroyed, claiming that Hamilton can run the country. Captain Jack fires a hidden pistol at Brennan; Jackie dives in front of the president and dies instantly. Stone quietly speaks her name—Beth—which only Alex hears.

Stone convinces Gray to follow Hemingway’s plan, releasing Brennan from Medina, Ohio—a nearby location, not Saudi Arabia—and allowing Gray to take credit for the rescue. Stone kneels by Jackie’s body and sees a crescent scar on her palm, confirming that she is his daughter, Beth. He kisses her goodbye. Before takeoff, Hemingway escapes into the woods.

With 52 minutes remaining until the deadline, Decker convinces Hamilton to move the launch ahead. Soon after, the secure phone rings: Brennan has been recovered. Hamilton frantically orders the launch aborted, but atmospheric interference disrupts communications. Contact is reestablished, and the launch is aborted with one second to spare.

Brennan is recovered in Medina, Ohio. Gray is publicly hailed as a hero. Jackie’s death is ruled a carjacking. Brennan returns with an 86% approval rating. Learning that Syria was not involved and how close Hamilton came to launching a nuclear strike on an innocent nation, Brennan rebukes his advisers and turns to Secretary of State Mayes, signaling a major foreign policy shift.

At Jackie’s funeral, Stone watches from hiding. After the mourners leave, he approaches the coffin, kneels beside it for 20 minutes, leaves a daisy, and says goodbye to Beth.

At Stone’s house, the Camel Club inducts Alex and Kate as new members. Alex stays behind when the others leave and reveals that he knows Jackie was Stone’s daughter Beth. He pieced together clues from Stone’s whisper, a discrepancy in Jackie’s file about her Atlanta birthplace, and her physical dissimilarity to her parents.

Stone meets Gray at John Carr’s grave in Arlington. He demands Gray’s resignation. When Gray scoffs, Stone plays a recording of Gray’s treasonous confession from Murder Mountain. Defeated, Gray accepts.

The next day, Gray’s resignation is major news. On perimeter duty, Alex points to Lafayette Park, remarking that the country will be all right as long as Stone remains. On a bench, Stone sits with Adelphia, watching the White House and continuing his vigil.