In this episode, Sam and Andy's rekindled relationship continues to become more obvious and lighthearted, while Chloe plays guardian angel, encouraging people to pay attention to what's going on with Gail and Chris. In terms of police work, the guys of 15 Division (and Traci) work on busting a gun selling operation while Andy and Sam work a potential missing person case. It's a less hectic episode than recent ones but with a lot of buildup to what's to come, in both the personal and professional worlds of the officers.
The beginning
At the start of the episode, Dov wakes a sleeping Chris up while on patrol. Chris then asks Dov if he ever wishes they had a normal 9-5 job so that they could have time for a real life. Dov says he's perfectly content. They soon respond to a call about a fight between frat boys, and when Chris grabs one kid to break up the fight and the other punches the guy he's holding, Chris flips out on the attacker. When things calm down and both frat boys are detained, Dov finds a fire arm on one guy.
At the station, Dov relays the incident to Chloe, and she mentions what he did at Fight Night. She had thought the freak out was a onetime thing but now she wonders if something is going on with Chris. She advises Dov to talk to him.
Cut to Chris meeting with his mysterious dealer. The guy warns Chris that he's starting to get that "best customer look." Chris ignores him and says he'll pay the rest of the money by Friday.
Shoot to parade meeting. Oliver tells everyone about Chris and Dov's bust and explains that the gun one frat boy had is part of an underground trade of unregistered weapons—with college students being the buyers. Oliver informs everyone that an undercover team is going that night to the bar where the kid got the gun to try to shut down the operation. He also demands the report on the Jameson murders from Gail.
Andy and Duncan
In the next scene, Andy and Nick are talking (I guess that whole Fight Night moment menat nothing and everything is fine and dandy between them? What the heck!?) when Andy sees Duncan meeting with Oliver and wonders out loud what he's doing at the station. Nick reminds her that Duncan's failure isn't her fault even though he's sure somewhere in her mind there's a stone tablet that says it is. Andy admits he's right and makes a move to go talk to Duncan, but Nick stops her. When Duncan leaves, Oliver calls her over and informs her that she needs to lay low because Duncan and his lawyer have made serious allegations against the division and against Andy personally. Oliver assures her he's on Andy's side and that it will blow over, that Duncan has no case, but warns her that her reports on Duncan will be subpoenaed and that Duncan will still be coming into the office and she must not have any contact with him.
The gun operation
Cut to Traci and Steve briefing Dov, Nick and Chris on the operation. Diaz is assigned to be the buyer—he has to ask a bartender named Angelo for a "bobsled martini" while flashing a wad of cash (marked so they can identify their money). Dov will be there for cover and Nick will be the eyes at the bar.
Andy and Sam
Back at the station, Andy approaches Sam at his desk. After a brief mention of the Duncan
situation, Sam says she can help him on a potential missing persons case if she's free. Andy playfully asks, "is this the workplace equivalent of pity sex?" Sam admits it is but Andy accepts the offer. He briefs her on the situation: The guy is Brian Roudy, a 32 year-old single teacher. His brother hasn't seen or heard from him in three days so he reported him missing and brought the police Brian's phone, mail, bank statements, etc. When Sam mentions the part about Brian being a teacher, Andy angrily brings up her Duncan problem but abruptly heads off to take Brian's phone to tech to see if they can crack the password and get information.
The gun operation
At the bar, as everyone gets in their places, Steve and Traci (camped outside in a van) have an adorable conversation. Inside, Nick catches the eye of the cute dark-haired bartender as soon as he sits down. Elsewhere in the bar, Dov spots the suspect, Angelo, and Chris heads off after him to try and "buy" a gun. At first Angelo plays dumb but eventually, after some hesitation and examining Chris's money in the back room, he asks Chris for a phone number and tells him to wait.
Cut to the bartender flirting with Nick. She asks if a cute guy like him is there alone because someone broke his heart. He soon thanks her for switching stations so she can talk to him and then asks her name. She tells him it's Essie and he guesses she's named after her grandma Ester. He's right and Steve, overhearing the encounter, is impressed by Nick's game. But Traci isn't, and correctly predicts his next line will be to ask where she's from. It doesn't work well on Essie, as Traci also predicted.
Andy and Sam
Meanwhile, back at the station, Andy and Sam discover that Brian took the maximum amount of money out of his account on multiple days before disappearing. Andy assumes he's a grownup runaway and comments wistfully on how nice it would be to leave behind your problems (clearly referring to Duncan). Sam offers to talk about it but she declines.
Gail
Shoot to Chloe finding Gail in the locker room struggling to take off a turtleneck she impulsively bought, along with other things. Chloe asks what is up with her but before she gets an answer Oliver enters and asks Gail again to get him the paperwork on the Jameson murders so he can close the case.
The gun operation
At the bar, Nick and Essie are both on their phones and when Nick points it out, they enter a new round of flirtatious chatter, which Steve and Traci comment on to one another.
Cut to Dov pointing out a guy in the bar who looks like a dealer—it's Chris's, which prompts Chris to freak out and hastily urge Dov to ignore the guy. He soon gets a text from an unknown number instructing him to leave the money in the paper towel dispenser in the men's bathroom. Chris makes the drop but then hides in the stall and switches off the volume on his phone when he sees his dealer coming in. The dealer finds him and threatens him about the debt he owes, before walking out. Dov comes in right after and asks what happened to his phone. Chris gives a lame excuse but Dov doesn't pursue the issue. Back at their table, when Dov tells Chris to stop acting so skittish, Chris chalks it up to being nervous that the gun deal is taking so long. But he then gets a text to go out to the back alley so he and Chris get in place. However, Chris's dealer walks out before the gun dealer and confronts him. Chris switches off his phone again, tries to get the dealer, Jamie, to leave but when he sees Dov moving in, he whispers "go with it" and then grabs Jamie as if he's making an arrest. Chris suggests he take Jamie around front and let him go so they can continue the operation but Traci and Steve say that it's too late and Jamie will need to be processed.
Traci tells Nick to get the money and get out but the money is gone. On his way out of the bathroom he runs into Essie and after a couple of words exchanged, Nick asks her if she's ever wanted to say screw work and just do what she wanted, stepping up as he does so that he's basically whispering in her year. She responds, "you mean like right now," and you can cut the sexual tension with a knife but the moment is ruined when Angelo barks at Essie to get back to the bar.
When Chris gets a minute alone with Jamie at the station he assures him he can still get him out of it, Jamie tells him he has till sunrise to figure it out or he'll make a deal with the prosecutor and rat Chris out.
Andy and Sam
Andy and Sam haven't found out anything suspicious to chalk Brian's situation up to a drug problem or anything similar, except that he has spent a lot of money in Costa Rica over the past six months. When Andy asks Sam where he would go if he left everything behind, he says nowhere unless you were coming. It's cute but then Andy says she likes the beach and Sam suggests going North. Andy half-jokingly responds by saying that means they'll never agree on a place to retire so they should just be friends, and Sam insists he'll put up with the beach. Then Andy finds evidence that Brian got a job in Costa Rica which leads to a quick playful exchange about Sam talking Spanish in the bedroom.
Gail
Oliver calls out to Gail from his office demanding the report, once again. Chloe hears him and then goes to him to express her concern for Gail. She suggests Oliver talk to her. Look at Chloe giving advice to everyone to help make sure her peers okay. She really is the best.
Andy and Sam
Shoot to Sam finding Andy in the kitchen and asking again if she wants to talk about Duncan. He assures her it's the kind of situation everyone gets in and that she'll be fine, she made the right call. But then Andy confesses she left things out of the reports and that's what has her most worried—the higher ups will find out she lied. When she asks what happens then, Sam cheers her up by suggesting a condo in Costa Rica.
The gun operation
Elsewhere at the station, Chris, in an attempt to save his skin, manipulates Jamie into giving him information about the gun dealer in exchange for freedom.
Andy and Sam
Shoot back to Andy and Sam. As Sam finds out Brian isn't at his condo in Costa Rica, Chloe arrives with the transcribed text messages from Brian's phone. A lot are regarding the sale of a particular Chloe, which Chloe finds off since she just took a report from someone (a shrink) selling the exact same kind of car.
So they bring in the shrink and he explains that he and a guy agreed to meet for a test drive. He didn't ask him for his license. The guy was anxious, silent but angry. "When we got to the woods he started interrogating me...like he was confusing me for someone else," said the shrink, who then said that when the guy got out of the car to take a call, out of fear, he jumped into the driver's seat and drove away. Sam and Andy ask him if he can reconstruct the route they took and the shrink obliges.
The gun operation
Back at the bar, Nick and Essie are still flirting as Nick is still trying to pin down a suspect. Steve and Traci are ready to pull the plug on the operation when Chris gives them a name and address of the person Jamie gave him. Peck isn't sold and says they'll send it to drug squad but in the meantime, he should charge the dealer they picked up (Jamie). Chris panics, to Dov's shock and confusion and eventually he leaves to supposedly hand off the drugs they found on Jamie to evidence. He makes a pit stop at the cafeteria where he mashes up baking soda to look like cocaine. When he arrives at evidence with the bag of "drugs," Dov is there. Dov asks where he was and Chris gaves another lame answer.
At the bar, Nick discovers the gun dealer is Essie when she pulls out a wad of cash—their cash—to make change for a 100 from another patient.
Shoot to Dov and Chris heading out of the police station when they pass Traci and Steve, who tells them that they are letting Jamie go because the "drugs" weren't real. Dov and Steve aren't happy about it but Chris stays mum.
When he later walks Jamie out and apologizes, Jamie just menacingly reminds him again of his debt and walks away.
Gail
Oliver confronts Gail who has finally finished her report and asks what's been bothering her. She brings up the Jameson murders—the fact that a little girl is left all alone because her mother was shot accidentally. Oliver extends his understanding and explains that it's the case that broke her skin and though things will now hurt more, it's normal. He offers her help anytime she needs, and she accepts his comfort.
Andy and Sam
Andy and Sam arrive at some random lot with the shrink and discover one of the black cars that was on sale. They find Brian in the trunk, apparently dead.