The Other Side of the Mall - Recap

As the Applebaums are driving home, Richard Applebaum complains to his wife Rachel that his boss is concerned about the letter he’s sent to the FDA about what he discovered. Their son Joel is busy playing games on his laptop. A SUV runs them off the road and the driver speaks Swedish, telling his men to get what they need and then kill the Applebaums. However, the police arrive before they can get to the van, and they’re forced to leave.

At the office, Chance wonders why a man is there taking measurements. However, he knows that Winston is planning to decorate, and warns him that he hates Christmas. Winston insists that a Christmas tree is good for business, but Chance figures that he’s trying to instill him with the Christmas spirit. The Applebaums arrive and ask to hire Chance. Richard tells them about the letter he wrote to the FDA about Hoxton-Moss, and they don’t want to go into witness protection and destroy their lives. As they talk, Ilsa comes in. Chance goes to see her and notices that she is preparing for a trip to Uganda to donate labor to her company’s charitable works. Chance comments about the holidays are rough for people who have lost someone close to him, but Ilsa insists that her trip has nothing to do with her husband’s death. As she goes, she wishes Chance a Happy Christmas. Once Ilsa is gone, Winston comes over and says that they’re taking a trip.



Chance, Winston, Guerrero, and Ames drive into suburbia and are overwhelmed by Christmas decorations. They arrive and find Richard, Rachel, and their son Joel arguing over the laptop. The team explains their plan: Winston will stay with Rachel at her book club, Chance and Guerrero will accompany Richard to work, and Ames will take Joel to school.

At Hoxton-Moss, Richard points out Nick Meachem, the boss that he thinks is responsible for the attack on him. Chance accompanies Richard as an office temp while Guerrero poses as a janitor. Chance introduces himself to Meachem, and Meachem tells Richard to meet with him later for a private discussion. Guerrero lifts Meachem’s keys as he bumps into him, and then harasses an employee into picking up his litter.



At the mall, Joel is working his job at the hot dog stand and apologizes to Ames for having to put up with his crappy life. Jamie comes over and Joel stammers over her as she orders a hot dog. She asks if he’s going to a friend’s party that night, because she likes his music, but Joel says that he can’t. Once Jamie leaves, Ames explains that Jamie is interested in him, but she admits he can’t go until they found out who is trying to kill the family.

As Chance tries to take in his new job, Richard calls Chance and tells him that Meachem knows about the letter, but didn’t accuse Richard of writing it. Meachem sent Richard to go downstairs to the archives, but there’s nothing down there he can’t access by the computer. Chance tells him to go and explains that it means they’ll figure things out sooner. He then calls Guerrero and tells him to check the trash in Meachem’s office. Guerrero searches the place and finds a business card with a Swedish address and the Applebaums’ name on it.

The Swedish man who lead the attack on Richard and his two henchmen get a signal and figure they have their target. They get out their guns and leave the van.

Richard goes to the archives, and Meachem confronts him. He says that they know Richard wrote the letter and reaches into his pocket. Chance leaps out and shoves him to the ground, and then claims that he thought Richard was going to attack Meachem. Meachem takes out a list of all the people whose jobs are at risk, and Chance convinces him to escort Richard off the grounds. They know that Meachem isn’t trying to kill Richard: now they have to figure out who is.

Rachel asks Winston to help find her book club notes on the laptop she borrowed from Joel. They soon start talking about how their partners don’t want Christmas decorations up. The killers open fire from outside and Winston gets Rachel to the laundry room. He then takes out the two killers as they enter the house, but one of them manages to escape. The front door opens and Winston prepares to shoot... one of the book club members.



That night, Guerrero checks the information on a cell phone that one of the killers dropped, while Winston and chance try to figure out why the killers came after Rachel. Richard figures that it’s her neighborhood blog and someone wants revenge for her gossip, and they start arguing. Chance and Winston both get fed up with the arguing, and Chance tells them to settle down.

In his room, Joel is disappointed that he can’t go to the party, and Ames suggests that they sneak out. Joel admits that he’s never done that before, and she assures him that Chance and Winston can handle the bodyguarding duties. Joel picks up his laptop so he can play the music that Jamie said she likes.



Ames and Joel arrive at the party and Ames intimidates the doorman into letting them in. Jamie is happy to see Joel, and wonders if Ames is his boyfriend. Joel says that they used to date but they’re not any more.

The killers pull up in the neighborhood.

Chance tells Richard and Rachel about the business card that Guerrero found, and the fact it had a Swedish address on it. They admit that the killers who came after them were speaking in a foreign language that might have been Swedish. Guerrero calls to tell Chance that the person behind the hit is Severenson Klemah, a game designer and hacker who has designed a program to piggyback a game onto the computer running it, allowing him to hack company computers. Klemah worked with Meachem to hack Hoxton-Moss computers and steal their research.

Winston calls Ames and demands to know where she is. He explains that the killers are after Joel, just as the two men arrive in the house. Ames tries to get Joel out, but the killers and go after the boy. Chance and Winston arrive and take out the killers while the partygoers look on in appreciation.



The team gets the Applebaums back to the office, and Richard complains about how the team isn’t doing much protecting. Joel explains that he played <em>Zombie Circus</em>, and after it shredded his computer, he hacked the company that made it and destroyed all of their files. Joel destroyed the Hoxton-Moss files, but there are still copies on the laptop.

Meachem arrives at his office and finds Guerrero waiting for him in his own chair. When Meachem tells Guerrero to get out, Guerrero closes the door and demands to know how he can get hold of Klemah. When Meachem refuses to talk, Guerrero starts stapling him.

Once they have the information, Chance calls Klemah and offers to give him the laptop. Klemah agrees and tells them to send Joel to the mall with the laptop. If they see anyone else, Klemah’s men will eventually kill the Applebaums. Chance agrees over the Applebaums’ objections, and Winston explains that they can protect Joel. The Applebaums warn that Joel is practically afraid of his own shadow. Chance talks to Joel privately and explains the situation to the teenager. He explains that Joel’s parents aren’t thrilled with him making the exchange, but assures Joel that he can protect him. What matters is if Joel thinks he can do it. The Applebaums insists that Joel isn’t up to deciding the matter, but Joel agrees and tells his parents that they should trust the team. Richard asks chance if he has any children or close family, and says that he doesn’t have any idea of what he’s putting them through. Chance admits that he doesn’t, but he does promise to protect them.



At the mall, Chance explains to Joel and Richard that once he hands over the laptop, they’ll follow Klemah and recover the files, and get the evidence they need to arrest him. As Chance goes, Richard reminds him that Joel is all they have, and Chance assures him that he won’t let anything happen to his son. Richard gets back in the van, and Ames explains the plan. Winston is dressed as Santa Claus, and Chance and Guerrero as janitors. Ames puts the hidden mike and camera on Joel and sends him in.

Joel goes in and spots Klemah’s men. However, Jamie comes over and tells Joel about how the entire school is talking about the incident at the party. Before he can get rid of her, Klemah tells his man to get Joel out. The man takes Joel out at gunpoint, and his fellow killers move in on Winston and Guerrero. Chance goes after the man on Joel and takes him out, while Winston and Guerrero take out the killers. Klemah escapes with the laptop and Chance rides a hanging sled down, leaps on Klemah, and recovers the laptop.



Later, everyone goes to the Applebaum house to celebrate Christmas. Richard informs the team that he talked to Meachem’s superiors, and they say he was working alone. He then apologizes to Rachel for their arguments. Winston assures her that he’ll be there for her book club meeting. Jamie arrives at the door and tells Joel that she was impressed about how he was like a real-life action hero. He doesn’t do anything at first and she walks off, disgusted, as Ames watches. Joel finally calls her back and kisses her under the mistletoe. The Applebaums watch, and Richard assures Rachel that their son can handle it because he’s an Applebaum.

At the office, the others arrive and find Guerrero drinking and admiring the new Christmas tree. Chance loosens up a little bit and they share a drink. Guerrero doesn’t ever want to go back, and Ames admits that she wondered what it would be like to grow up in the ‘burbs. They go their separate ways and chance checks on the tree just as Ilsa comes back. She admits that Chance was right and she left for Uganda because she hoped it would help her forget with her husband’s death. She admits that even before Marshall died, she didn’t have a normal life. Chance suggests that they get rid of the tree, but she says that she likes what it represents... and tells him the tree is staying.



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