Targets of Obsession - Recap

Nick and Ray touch base in the locker room before Ray heads for court on
the Nate Haskell case. Nick jokes that he'd say 'give 'im hell' but he
figures that's where Haskell is headed, anyway.

Haskell is prepared for his day in court. He speaks on his own behalf to
the judge about the media trying to portray him as some sort of monster.
The judge says his attorney should be doing the talking, but he objects.
He thinks the jury needs to see the real Nate Haskell. He paints himself
as a vulnerable little boy who was sadistically abused by an alcoholic
father. His attorney doesn't even like him, so he'd like to unappoint
him. The judge grants his wishes, against her better judgment. She warns
him there will be no delays. He smiles and locks eyes with Ray.

Nick is almost home when he gets a phone call. Some kid is telling Nick
that he said he wanted to be his friends. He wouldn't let the cops hurt
his brother. And then Nick emptied his gun into his brother. The kid is
Jason McCann. He says "I should just let you die like you did Alex." As
Nick approaches his door, he sees writing on the inner wall of his
fence. "Sic semper tyrannis." Nick asks how Jason got his number and he
says he has to go, they're coming. "Whatever you do, don't go home."
Nick's leg encounters a trip wire, and he stops dead, calling the bomb
squad.

It's an M67 frag grenade in a can. The wire is cut, freeing Nick. The
tech tells him to back up slowly, as there may be more surprises. Nick
hopes not, since he's already eight lives down. They need to sweep the
house before Nick can come in. Catherine and Vartann wait outside.
Nick's running on raw adrenaline as Catherine tries to calm him down.
He's ready for a fight, he wonders if they are. She asks if he remembers
anything, and he describes a maroon van with an extended cab on the roof.

Nick thinks Jason's call helped save his life. Vartann says Jason
belongs in jail, he's bad news. Catherine says it's too big a
coincidence, and orders Vartann to bring the kid in.

Haskell starts questioning Ray about the day he stabbed him. The
prosecution objects, but Nate claims it goes to state of mind. The judge
overrules. "Painful" doesn't do it for Haskell. He wants more
information. After all, Ray is a writer. Ray says sharp, hot, and after
it stopped, he felt very lightheaded. What did he feel when he gazed
into Haskell's eyes? Disbelief. Haskell says that's a thought, and he's
asking for a feeling. Ray says "Fear." Haskell says that when he sees
the anguish he caused Ray, he feels nothing. Prosecution objects, but
Haskell continues. He wants to feel something, but he doesn't. Haskell
goes on too long, prosecution objects that the defense is testifying.
The judge upholds and asks the jury to disregard Haskell's last comments.

Sara and Greg examine the bomb file from Nick's yard. Based on that,
Sara determines that whoever created it is a lefty. Less than 15% of the
population is left-handed. His profile doesn't say if Jason McCann is
left-handed, but Sara is going to ask them to have him sign something,
and maybe they'll get lucky.

Nick arrives and sits down with Jason. He's got a bruise on his face. He
claims he fell. He takes a drink of soda, and he's left-handed. Nick
thanks him for calling. He probably saved his life. If Jason will give
him a name, Nick will do what he can to help him. Jason says he can't.
They'll kill him.

Brass intercepts Jason's legal guardian, Dr. Huxbee. He heard they
pulled him out of school. Is he under arrest? Jim tells him no. Brass
wants to talk to Huxbee before he lets Jason go. He says they have
nothing to talk about, but Brass says he'd be surprised. What about that
shiner? Huxbee says Jason fell, skateboarding. Brass makes it clear he
doesn't buy it without actually coming out and saying so.

Brass checked Huxbee's file. Before he got his PhD, he was in the coast
guard. He must have tied a few knots back in the day. Like on the bomb.
Huxbee says he's opposed to violence. Jim gets it. Huxbee just makes
'em, he doesn't plant 'em. That's too dangerous. Jim asks him to sign a
release, and he can return to publicly trashing this country that gives
him the right to spew all this hatred. He signs left-handed.

Brass lets him go pick up Jason. Nick lets Brass know that Jason seems
scared, but he can't get a handle on it.

Hodges fills Catherine in on the grenade fragments. The ingredients were
the same as those found in the pipe bombs Jason's brother Alex made.
Sara notes that empty grenades can be bought as a commemorative, and
filled with anything you want. They arrive at Greg's desk. He reminds
them about how Huxbee was bragging about living off the grid. Apparently
he's back on the grid. He has a credit card, and he's been a very busy
buyer. The ingredients he purchased were those found in the grenade
fragments.

Vartann, Catherine, and Nick arrive with a member of the bomb squad at a
location rented by Huxbee. They call out that they have a warrant, but
get no response. Catherine sees blood on the floor, and it leads to
Huxbee. He's dead, and the body's wired. They find another bomb
surrounded by green lasers. The whole place might be rigged, so they
retrace their steps back out the door. Catherine eyeballs a sensor on
their way, and Kip blows powder into the doorway. This reveals another
green laser. They have no way out, and 17 minutes on the countdown clock.

Kip tries to radio in, but his radio is disabled. They have to figure
things out from where they stand. Kip says if it blows, that much C4
will take them all out. He needs to figure out how to defuse it. They
have 14 minutes to defuse it.

Haskell questions a psychiatrist who tested him by showing him a series
of horrifying pictures. A normal person would be deeply disturbed by
these pictures. Haskell, on the other hand, has a profoundly impaired
cortex. He has a genetic mutation known as a "warrior gene". It
increases his chance of committing violent crime by 400%. It is the
doctor's expert opinion that he cannot be held responsible for any of
his actions.

Nick says they're being watched. Whoever did this wants to see them
sweat. They want to play with lasers? Catherine will give them lasers.
She takes out the camera. In the back of a van, Jason slams a laptop
shut as the picture goes blank.

Since they can't go through the beams to disarm the bomb, they'll go
over them. There are enough pallets and lumber there to build a stairway
to heaven. As Vartann takes a step, he is shot upward by something
placed under the plywood he walked on. 9mm cartridges were atttached to
the wood. Vartann is bleeding pretty heavily from his femoral artery.
Catherine says she's going to stay with Lou and apply pressure, while
they put together the 'ladder' to climb over the lasers and down to the
bomb.

One of Nate's cheerleaders confronts Ray. He should have more compassion
for Nate. The man has a disease. She's his fiancee. Ray fills her in on
two of Haskell's victims wearing the same pendant he gave her. Another
woman waves Vivian over to join their prayer circle. Brass touches base
with Ray, who is quite concerned that the jury appears to be buying the
MAOA defense. If they buy it, all his convictions could be overturned
and Haskell could go free. Brass gets called in, it's his turn to testify.

Catherine stays at Lou's side, he's not doing so well. There are less
than four minutes left on the clock. Kip jumps in and almost breaks a
laser, but he's good. Kip tells Nick to take cover, just in case. Nick
says all they have is plywood, and that's no good. Kip points out that
it can't hurt. Nick drags Lou to a sheltered area. When Nick returns,
Kip gives him the bad news. Mercury switch. It's an anti-tampering
device that works on gravity. If he cuts the power lead, it will trigger
the bomb. They have less than a minute to go. Kip does a work-around,
and he's successful with less than 14 seconds to spare. He hates to
disappoint Nick, but he's not dying today. They need to get Lou to the
hospital.

The timer comes back up, and Kip throws his body on it as Nick and
Catherine hit the dirt. The bomb goes off. The rescue squad finds
Catherine, Nick and Lou. Ray gets the call and asks for the name of
Vartann's attending so he can follow up. He has to get back in court, so
he ends the call.

From the stand, Ray tells the prosecuting attorney that the MAOA
defense is utter nonsense. There are just as many studies to back Ray's
opinion as there are to back the other doctor's. He makes the point that
alcoholics are predisposed, but we don't give them a pass if they decide
to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, and kill people. The law is
interested in if a person knows the difference between right and wrong.
Haskell knows the difference between right and wrong, and he takes
pleasure in committing crimes that he knows are against the law. The
fact that he tried to cover up the crimes is evidence of his
consciousness of guilt.

Haskell tries to prove that Ray doesn't have the right degree to give
the expert testimony he just gave. So, on what basis is he testifying?
Personal. Like Haskell, Ray was raised by an alcoholic, abusive father
and like Haskell, he has the MAOA gene. "DNA isn't destiny. We're all
responsible for our own actions." He goes on to tell Nate he shares that
gene with him, but he's never murdered anyone. He gets his satisfaction
from bringing justice to victims, not killing and torturing them.

Vartann wakes up in the hospital with Catherine by his side. He's going
to be fine, but Kip didn't make it. He thanks her for being there. She
tells him to get some rest, and she'll be back. Nick asks how she's
doing, and she says good. They hug.

Abe tells Sara that Huxbee was shot in the head, execution style. The
gunshot was overkill. Blunt force trauma was the cause of death. The
same gun was used in a break-in to a National Guard armory. Greg saw a
surveillance video that shows none other than Jason McCann using
Huxbee's plastic. It's not likely Jason made the bomb alone, so they
zoom in on the guy standing next to him. He's wearing a field jacket
with the name "Johnson" over the pocket. Greg wonders if he's stupid
enough to wear a jacket with his own name on it.

Haskell's verdict comes back, Guilty. His women declare it an injustice.
Nate appears to send some sort of signal, by grasping something on his
wrist. Ray sees it. He congratulates the prosecuting attorney, who
thanks him. Ray smiles at Haskell before walking away.

Sara shares with Nick that they found the guy in the store with Jason.
Nick recognizes the guys MOS as having to do with explosives. He got a
less-than-honorable discharge two years ago, and according to the DMV he
owns a maroon Chevy van. Nick is furious when he realizes that Jason set
him up. He made sure that Nick, Catherine and Lou were all in that
building with the C4, and Sara says that they all were responsible for
taking his brother Alex down. Nick's more mad at himself for not seeing it.

Sara wants to know if Jason is pulling the strings, or is someone else
pulling his strings. Nick thought it was Huxbee, but it's gotta be this
dude Johnson. They have to find him, because he's sitting on a lot of
C4. Nick has a realization. Kids and their phones. Jason called him. He
deserves a call back.

Jason is stunned. Nick is supposed to be dead. Greg has a rough estimate
of where Jason's call was taken.

Jason promptly destroys his phone.

The team follows the van, Greg is driving, Nick's shotgun, Brass is in
radio control from his vehicle.

Ray shows up to say hey to Haskell. The MAOA revelation was a delightful
surprise. How long has Haskell known? He tries to say a few months, but
Ray doesn't buy it. It must have been before his first kill. Haskell
won't answer. He just keeps trying to sidestep. Ray says the first
studies didn't even occur until the 1970's. How did he know? He won't
answer, and Ray starts to leave. The one thing Nate dreams about more
than anything else is freedom. The power of positive thinking, and he's
very positive.

Johnson and Jason fight their way down the road. He tells Jason he's
going to get them killed. The LVPD put down nails to take out the tires,
and when the van stops, Johnson is ready to surrender. Jason pulls a gun
on him and tells him not to quit on him. Brass orders them to throw
their weapons out the window.

Jason claims he'll give up, but only to Stokes. Greg says "Don't even
think about it." Nick calls out that he'll talk to Jason after he gets
out of the vehicle. Johnson continues trying to talk him down. "Live to
fight another day, remember?" Jason's answer is to cock his weapon. He
tells Johnson to get out, and he does so. He follows the directions
given by Brass, as does Jason. He throws the weapon down, but when he
gets out he claims Johnson has a bomb. Johnson divulges himself of his
jacket to prove that there is no bomb. While they're focused on him,
Jason grabs another pistol and opens fire. Everybody returns fire, and
he is killed instantly.

As Ray leaves, Haskell's women watch him. Ray replays the exchange he
saw between the fiancee and Nate, and heads back in the building at a
run. He tells an officer that he needs to see Nate immediately. The
gentleman in the cell is not Haskell. They switched wristbands. Haskell
is in a minimum security van, and Vivian stops the van by shooting the
driver, and frees him. They drive away together.

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