Late into the night, when all the bars close, a young woman takes an Uber home due to having a bit too much to drink, and her ride picks her up to take her home. The driver puts her address into his GPS and drives off. The unknown man glances at her from the mirror and notices her on her phone as he drives in a different direction, away from her house. The car comes to a stop, and the driver unbuckles his seat belt as the woman informs him they are not at her place, to which he replies he has a flat and needs to change the tire and asks for her help. Opening the trunk, he pours a liquid onto a cloth as she gets out, and he grabs a tire iron. He hands it to her as he takes out the spare tire, rolls it to the left side of the car, and leans it up against the car as he goes back to the trunk. When the woman does not see a flat, the man covers her mouth with the rag. The woman struggles against his grip, but he is much stronger than her, and she soon passes out. Using zip ties, he binds her hands behind her back and her feet together, then puts a rag in her mouth and stuffs her in the trunk along with the spare tire and tire iron, then drives off. Arriving at a rundown, almost abandoned house, the man gets out of the car, carries his victim inside, and closes the door behind him. He takes her into the basement and places her on a table, where he cuts off her shirt and straps her down. Soon, the woman begins to wake up, and when she discovers she's been kidnapped, she begins to scream for help, but nothing comes out except muffled screams. The man looks at her with evil intentions in his eyes as he picks up a scalpel and approaches her. She begins to squirm and struggle as the man holds her down. Tears roll down her face as he rubs the weapon against her face, intimidating her, then takes the rag out of her mouth. The woman pleads with him to let her go and not kill her, but the man just glares at her without saying a word. She asks him if he is going to kill her as he looks into her terrified eyes for a long pause and coldly replies, "Yes." He takes out a pair of tweezers and gruesomely rips out her belly button ring. Blood oozes out as she screams in agony as the man looks at the piece of jewelry and drops it into a tray. He picks up the scalpel and warns her that everything she is about to feel will indeed be extremely painful, and he smiles sinisterly as he drives the sharp tool into her stomach.
Waking up to the sun partly shining through the half-drawn window blinds and noticing Brooke is already out of bed, Michael rubs his eyes and looks at the clock to read that it is a little past ten in the morning. Throwing the covers off, Michael sits on the side of the bed and gets up to go into the bathroom. Michael washes his face as he looks at the scar on his hand from when Roman impaled it with a knife a year ago. Seeing the scar reminds him of why he does what he does every night and why he fights to defend the city. The battles may be exhausting, at times nearly killing him, but the scars show he is a survivor, and he refuses to let anyone or anything try to destroy his home. After changing, Michael goes into the kitchen to find Brooke in her hospital scrubs and putting her breakfast plate in the dishwasher. She informs him she is heading to the hospital and kisses him before heading out the door. He takes out a glass and pours himself some orange juice when he gets a call from Roy, who tells him to turn the TV on. Michael does so, and there is a report of multiple bodies being found in a mass grave near the same abandoned house where the mysterious man took the woman the night before. Her mutilated body was found inside the house, with multiple strange symbols drawn on the walls. The total number of bodies found so far is fifteen, with most already in the early stages of decay and being victims that went missing more than eight months ago, while a few are recently deceased.
Roy Wheeler: Just when we thought sh*t was getting better here
Michael Monroe: Fuck.
Arriving at HQ, Michael walks inside and turns the power on as he tosses his keys on the table.
Yuri Baranov: You know too?
Startled, Michael turns to find Yuri as he draws his gun, but he puts it away.
Michael Monroe: You've got to stop doing that.
Roy Wheeler: Stop what?
Roy and Clint both appear as Michael informs them of Yuri's sudden appearance. The four of them put the news station on regarding the fifteen bodies discovered by police, and the killer remains at large.
Clint Gallows: This guy could be anywhere.
Michael Monroe: They have nothing on him?
Roy Wheeler: No DNA, no finger prints. This guy is a fucking ghost, man.
Michael Monroe: We knew at some point someone was going to end the newfound peace. Now we are going to be right back where we were when we first started.
Clint Gallows: Let's not jump to conclusions yet. We're dealing with a serial killer, not Roman.
Michael Monroe is a serial killer, and nobody even knows who the hell he is.
Clint Gallows: This guy has to have left something behind.
Michael Monroe: I'll go to the house tonight and see if I can find anything.
Roy Wheeler: I'll go with you. You'll need backup if things go south.
Michael Monroe: No, I need you here. In case you get a tip about something happening. No offense, Clint, but Roy, you are more experienced.
Yuri Baranov: I beg to differ.
Roy Wheeler: I forgot he was even back there.
Michael Monroe: Okay, fine, Roy, come with me. Yuri, stay here and keep an eye on things.
Clint Gallows: In that case, then you both will need this.
Clint hands him a device that looks almost like a small jewelry box.
Clint Gallows: Something I have been working on for the last few months. Already had test runs, and it's good.
Michael Monroe: What is this?
Clint Gallows: I haven't found a name for it yet, but picture a UV light ten times more advanced. You just set it in the middle of the building, turn it on, and it will light up the entire structure. You won't even need to scan areas yourself.
Before returning home, Michael arrives at the police station and goes to meet with David as he knocks on the door and walks inside.
David Oswalt: Michael, come in. How are you doing?
Michael Monroe: Getting there
Michael takes a seat as David finishes some paperwork.
Michael Monroe: Any leads on this killer?
David looks behind him to make sure nobody is being nosey or looking.
David Oswalt: Nothing yet. We've done almost everything we can on the bodies, the house, everything. Whoever this man is, he's doing a damn good job covering his ass. I've dealt with killers before, but most of them were sloppy and messy. This one has something about him that seems different. It's like he is experienced.
Michael Monroe: I'm going to that house tonight. I'm going to try something new and see if it can work.
David Oswalt: I can only give you a two-hour window. That's the best I can do. An active crime scene, we can't be away for more than a few hours.
Michael Monroe: Two hours is all I need. Thank you, commissioner.
A knock on the door interrupts them, and a female officer, fairly young yet beautiful, opens the door but suddenly stops when she sees Michael standing up.
David Oswalt: Michael, this is
Michael Monroe: Rebecca?
Rebecca Butler: Michael.
David Oswalt: You two know each other?
Michael Monroe: From a long time ago.
The two hug each other as old friends would do when not seeing one another for a long time.
David Oswalt: Huh. Crystal City has a way of reuniting old friends.
Michael Monroe: Thank you again, David. I'll catch you later.
Michael and Rebecca walk out of his office as David smiles and continues his paperwork. Stepping outside, Michael walks to his car with Rebecca.
Michael Monroe: When did you get here? How long have you been here?
Rebecca Butler: I transferred. Few weeks ago, actually. From Los Angeles.
Michael Monroe: Why come here? You know the history of this city.
Rebecca Butler: LA just was not for me. I almost died three times there, lost my best friend, and had a partner that tried to...
Michael Monroe: Shit. I'm really sorry, Becca. I truly am. Nobody should ever have to go through that. People these days—I don't know.
Rebecca Butler: I'm fine, Michael. He got his ass kicked, and I put in my transfer, and now here I am.
Michael Monroe: They always say the monsters live under our beds or in the closet, but they are the ones we walk past every day.
Rebecca Butler: You've always had a good heart, Michael. I'm sorry I was not here when, well, you know.
Michael Monroe: You can say it. It's been a year, Rebecca. I've moved on.
Rebecca Butler: Have you?
Michael Monroe: No.
Rebecca Butler: Losing a loved one is something that always sticks with us. Takes a piece of us with them when they leave here.
Their conversation is cut short when a police call comes in, and she and her new partner are the ones responding to it as she goes with her. Michael gets into his car and drives away to return home.