Waking up so suddenly to find all of his wounds have been bandaged and wrapped, Michael sits up but groans a bit in pain and stands to his feet. He walks into a room to find Roy working on his car.
Michael Monroe: How long have I been out?
Roy Wheeler: Couple of hours. Four at most.
Roy grabs another tool from the toolbox and continues his work.
Michael Monroe: Where's Clint?
Roy Wheeler: He's at the shop. Collecting a few things, but he'll be back later.
Michael Monroe: You know, when I was little, me and Trevor would always help my dad fix his cars. He was a real grease monkey when it came to cars. He always enjoyed our "help" and always showed us how to repair parts, change oil, you know the basic stuff. When I got older, Trevor went off to train to be a police officer and I continued to work on cars and helped my dad run the shop. Then, one night, he and my mom went on their anniversary dinner while we were overseas and that's when Trevor called me. He was called to the scene of a car wreck that killed my parents. You know the rest."
Roy sits there a moment, speechless.
Roy Wheeler: You were discharged because you damn near killed the man that killed your parents.
Michael nods, confirming the story as Roy shakes his head, puts the wrench back in the box and wipes his hands with a rag.
Roy Wheeler: Look, man, I know you like to beat yourself up over things you believe is your fault, but the truth is, none of it is and you need to come to accept that. Your parents, Trevor, none of that is your fault. You are not a superhero and can't save everyone. You are a human being. It's just the way of life, man.
Michael sits there, taking in all that Roy has told him. The two take a moment in silence as Michael stands up from his chair.
Michael Monroe: I'm going to lay back down. If you need anything, just scream. I'm sure it will jolt me awake.
To understand what he is dealing with and who he is up against, Michael begins to do more research not just on Roman but on Sasha and Robert while undergoing intense and extreme combat training. During one of his workouts, Clint enters the gym and is, well, shocked to see how much better and how much stronger Michael has become.
Clint Gallows: You should take a look at this.
Michael jumps down from the workout beam and wipes the sweat off his face. He looks at the tablet containing information on Robert, but Michael hacks deeper into the file and notices that he once served in the British Royal Navy and was once a bodyguard for the royal family until he one night while escorting the family to a fundraiser event, a drunk driver swerved out of control and plowed into their car, killing the wife of the family. Robert became so enraged that he pulled the man from his car and beat him to death with his bare hands that in turn resulted in his termination of his job and became a ruthless hitman, assassinating those he saw as worthless and began to work for very powerful and rich people to do their dirty jobs.
Clint Gallows: Before we go after Roman, and I mean actually go after him, we need to eliminate his two major contacts.
Michael hands him back the tablet as he goes back to working out.
Michael Monroe: I just hacked the entire file in seconds. You're getting slow, Clint.
Over the course of the next few days, not only does Michael become stronger and a master of martial arts as well as other various forms of combat including hand-to-hand, swordsmanship, marksman, knives Manship and close quarter's combat, he also improves his physical and mental condition and Clint gives Michael a more powerful and stronger armored suit while Michael himself makes a brand new face mask and finishes his outfit with a gunslinger hat, a pair of black gloves, black pants and boots. Fully suited, Michael steps into the command center and gets the approval from Roy and Clint. As night falls, Michael tests his improved skills by stopping two car jackers and then a group of armed men attempting to rob a closed bank.
Michael Monroe: These side crimes are too easy.
Michael says into the earpiece and Clint sends him coordinates of a nearby trafficking trade.
Michael Monroe: Are you serious?
Clint Gallows: I think now, you are ready."
Michael Monroe: The last time-
Michael begins to say but stops as he thinks back to what happened last time.
Clint Gallows: You can do it, Michael. I have faith in you.
Michael gets into his car and drives off to the location and finds it to be an old warehouse.
Clint Gallows: Twenty tangos inside. Captives are being held on the far east side of the building.
Michael takes a moment and exhales deeply before exiting his car and quietly moves to the other side of the building. He slowly enters and quickly eliminates a guard close by and drags him away. One by one, he picks the grunts off then enters the building and comes to a long hallway.
Michael Monroe: And I would assume the captives are in that room at the very end?
Michael cracks his knuckles and neck. Walking, he begins to hear muffled voices and when he walks by one of the rooms, he can hear the voices inside. He then kicks the door in and starts to fight and beat down the grunts until it spills into the hall again, but Michael is able to hold his own against the grunts, using his skill set of various combat techniques. Gassed from the fight, he manages to overpower and knock the grunts out then makes his way to the door at the end of the hall and kicks it open to find the remaining grunts, which he quickly dispatches of and finds the four restrained captives. He cuts them free and has them go with him.
Michael Monroe: Get ahold of David. Tell him to send backup to get these women out of here.
Clint Gallows: Five minutes out.
Michael then turns to the rescued women and can see they are terrified and comforts them.
Michael Monroe: It's okay. I'm going to get you out of here. No matter what you see out there, if we get into any trouble, you get out of the building. Do not stop for anything. You understand?
The women nod to him as they move.
Michael Monroe: When I move, you move. When I stop, you stop. I'll get you out of here.
The five move through the hall, over the unconscious bodies of the grunts. As they make their way towards the exit, the same masked assailant from the city is standing there, sword drawn and blocking their way out. The assailant draws a second sword and challenges Michael to a duel, but he fires his pistol only for the assailant to block them without breaking a sweat. Sirens are heard in the distant and Michael instructs the women to run while he handles the assailant. He holsters his pistols and draws his two katanas and the two begin dueling, showing very impressive skills until Michael gets the upper hand, knocks one of the swords away, but the assailant manages to handle his own with just one.
Michael Monroe: You're not one of Roman's.
The assailant twirls the sword around and replies in Russian then goes on the attack again, but Michael shows his training has paid off when he mixes his swordsmanship with martial arts and manages to use a set of knives to pin the assailant on the sleeves of his suit to the wall.
Michael Monroe: Whoever you are, I am NOT your enemy.
The assailant kicks him in the leg then frees himself by yanking his arm free then takes the knife to stab him with it, but Michael dodges his stab attempt as he spin kicks the assailant to the ground and when he goes to stand up, Michael drops him with a hard blow to the face then points his gun at him.
Michael Monroe: Who are you? Why are you targeting me?
The assailant unmasks himself, but Michael doesn't recognize him. The man wipes the blood from his mouth and chuckles a bit.
Assailant: Been a very long time since a man has made me bleed.
The assailant speaks in a very strong Russian accent.
Assailant: I don't work for that засранец nor could I ever. He has done so many bad things to me and Mother Russia.
The assailant stands to his feet and holsters his sword then introduces himself as Yuri Baranov. He holds his hand out, offering a truce. Hesitant at first, then Michael shakes it and introduces himself.
Yuri Baranov: I already know. I've been following you for quite some time, Mr. Monroe. But now that I have seen you are not what I thought, I no longer consider you an enemy.
Michael Monroe: Why were you following me?
Yuri Baranov: Because someone deep within your government hired me to kill you.
Michael Monroe: Someone in the government, the U.S. government, wants you to kill me? Why? What makes me so important?
Yuri Baranov: Because you are the brother of Trevor Monroe and he wasn't just digging information on Roman, but the corrupted officials in your government. They know because they have had special agents spy on him and they were secretly working with Galloway, giving him the resources of human trafficking hotspots all across the globe. But I've seen what you are capable of, and I will not kill you on one condition.
Michael Monroe: Name your price.
Yuri Baranov: I kill Sasha.
Michael Monroe: Consider it done.
Yuri puts his mask back on and exits as Michael leaves the warehouse.
Clint Gallows: The captives got out and are safe. You need to get out of there. SWAT officers are about to bust their way inside and are ordered to shoot on site.
Going to his utility belt, Michael fires a grappling hook into the shafts above him and pulls himself up just as the SWAT officers appear to find the guards knocked out. Michael escapes the building and returns to his car without being detected and drives away. David exits the building after finding no trace of the vigilante as Chris is waiting for him by his car.
Commissioner David Oswalt: Chris? How are you doing?
The two men shake hands.
Chris Reid: Been better. I'm ready to come back, sir.
Commissioner David Oswalt: We're ready to have you back.
Chris Reid: News is all over this. They say the vigilante is involved.
Commissioner David Oswalt: This vigilante has been involved in alot of "activity" lately. He's managed to capture some of the worst criminals.
David and Chris watch as the grunts are escorted from the building in cuffs and placed into two police vans to escort them to prison.
Chris Reid: I'll be back at the office first thing in the morning.
Commissioner David Oswalt: Good to have you back, son.