The scene unfolds at the bustling Metro Police Department, where Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) finds himself engrossed in a picture of his brother on his phone's screen. Suddenly, Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan) snatches the device from his hands, curiosity piqued. "Is that Daniel?" she inquires. Cole nods, explaining it's his brother's birthday and he's lost in memories. Max, sensing the somber mood, proposes they do something joyful to celebrate Daniel's life.
Meanwhile, Detective Simmons (Michael Xavier) lays into Detective Yates (Amy Goodmurphy) for her persistent lateness. Yates groans about the four-block trek from her parking space, earning a stern warning from Simmons about Chief Li's (Terry Chen) impending wrath. But Yates brushes it off, confident Li won't discover her tardiness – until he unexpectedly appears, calling her out. Unperturbed, Yates informs Ellis of a visitor.
Outside, Ellis and Max discover Lorne pacing anxiously in front of the precinct. Lorne insists on a private conversation with Ellis, who declines Max's offer of support. In the interrogation room, Lorne's tone is urgent – aliens are after him and his missing wife, he claims, and only Ellis can stop them. Observing through the two-way mirror, Max wonders aloud how Jerry Stanwell (John Rempel) knew Ellis lived aboard a boat.
Lorne reveals more – the alien leader, Commander Nevets, and the orb concealed beneath Cyprus hold the key to their defeat and Ellis's wife's rescue. Before long, Ellis and Max brief Chief Li on the bizarre tale. Ellis, driven by a desire to help Lorne, suggests it's connected to Daniel's mission to aid those in need. Skeptical, Li orders them to take Lorne to the hospital if his claims prove groundless.
As they follow Lorne's directions to Jerry's hideout, the warehouse explodes above them, sending them sprawling to the ground. Regaining their composure, they exchange worried glances. A firefighter informs them Jerry was indeed staying there but found no bodies. Ellis senses they were targeted.
Back at the station, Li removes Ellis from the case. Max puzzles over Lorne's motives, while Ellis notes Lorne's apparent distress at the explosion – to no avail with Li. Simmons fills them in on Jerry's background – a former investigative journalist at The Tribune, recently terminated. Ellis posits someone didn't want Jerry digging too deep. Li assigns Max and Ellis to speak with Tribune Editor Marge Radner (Jenn Griffin), while Yates keeps an eye on Lorne. Yates half-jokingly wonders if her punishment for the parking issue is in effect, earning a chorus of "four blocks away" from Simmons, Max, and Ellis.
Lorne drops a bombshell – Jerry is hiding in Jupiter. Ellis reassuringly tells him he's safe, but Yates tries to offload Lorne onto Simmons, leading to a moment of tic-tac-toe distraction. Left alone, Lorne helps himself to an aerosol hairspray can and lighter from Yates's desk. Meanwhile, Yates eavesdrops on Simmons's desperate phone call for help. Suddenly, the fire alarm blares, and Lorne vanishes into thin air.Marge imparted to Max and Ellis that Jerry, plagued by legal entanglements, had been terminated months prior but had neglected to collect his belongings. She asserted that Jerry was a whistleblower against high-stakes corruption, possessing an unwavering integrity that refused to妥协 with the system. Moments later, curiosity led Max and Ellis to sift through Jerry's abandoned possessions. Marge suggested a cake for Daniel’s birthday, but he expressed a preference for a slice of pizza, showcasing his casual demeanor.
Interrupting their reverie, a call from Yates and Simmons alerted them to Lorne’s dramatic escape amidst a blazing fire alarm. Amid Jerry’s clutter, Max unearthed a receipt from the Jupiter Motel. Rushing to the scene, they stumbled upon Lorne, frozen beside Jerry’s lifeless corpus, with a Mangia Pizza box discarded on the floor. Soon, forensic experts descended upon the room, meticulously processing every detail.
Ellis observed that Jerry had succumbed to two close-range gunshot wounds, and a bullet retrieved from the wall bore silent witness to the悲剧. Pretending non-recognition, Ellis ventured further into the investigation. Max pried open the pizza box to find it eerily pristine, a stark contrast to the grim scene. Leslie Kwan, a forensic agent, revealed that Lorne's hands were untouched by gunshot residue, casting doubts on his guilt. Despite this, Lorne emphasized the urgency of their departure, fearing for his wife’s safety. Ellis handed him three key items to ponder before he was whisked away to the hospital.
CCTV footage unfurled like a movie, capturing a pizza delivery man handing over the fateful box. Jerry, opening the door, was forcibly ushered inside by the pizza man, just as Lorne arrived. As Max and Ellis neared, the pizza man brandished a gun, abandoning his plan upon their arrival. Ellis swiftly instructed Officer Jay (Ajay Musodi) to issue a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) for the delivery vehicle.
Upon reaching the hospital, they were startled to find the pizza man’s car already parked there. In Lorne’s hospital room, they discovered a picked lock and an absent Lorne. Tracking him down to a supply room, the pizza man unleashed a hail of bullets. Ellis returned fire, chasing him into a stairwell where gunshots echoed ominously. The pizza man escaped in his vehicle, leaving behind a trail of chaos.
Ellis found a label for Perc Drycleaners tucked inside Lorne’s shirt, a clue leading them further into the maze. At the Metro Police Department, Simmons informed Yates that Lorne’s surname was Collins. Yates disclosed that Forensics had matched the bullets used in Jerry’s murder with those found at the hospital. A mysterious call interrupted him, the caller branding him a "sneaky little weasel." Delving into the database, she discovered that Lorne Collins was not their man.
Elsewhere, the real Lorne recounted picking up a stranded individual, allowing him to borrow his shirt. Max and Ellis visited the spot where “Lorne the trucker” (Scott McNeil) had encountered their imposter. Across from a deer crossing sign, a secluded path led to an abandoned, crashed car. vehicle, painting a picture of a meticulously planned tragedy.Edgar, a biomedical engineer employed at Orion Medpro, finds himself amidst a crisis as his wife, Allison Peplow (portrayed by Erin Boyes), remains inexplicably absent. Yates urgently conveys to Max and Ellis that Edgar has suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and is currently undergoing delicate surgical intervention. Meanwhile, Simmons, amidst a ringtone's interruption, mentions Orion's belt metaphorically as the "three kings," hinting at unseen cosmic connections. Yates expresses frustration towards Simmons for keeping crucial secrets tucked away.
Within the hallowed halls of Orion Medpro, Ellis confides in Max about Edgar's ingenious creation—a device akin to the EpiPen. Steven Dermay, lauding Edgar as a "genius," credits him with the company's soaring success. He casually mentions Allison's life-threatening allergy to bees, unaware of the looming tension. Ellis probes further, inquiring about an investigative journalist's scrutiny on Orion, to which Steven responds with a claim of amicable media relations. When pressed about why Edgar's prolonged absence from work wasn't reported, Steven dismisses it as a recurrent behavior, swiftly shifting gears to inquire about Edgar's hospital whereabouts, offering to foot the bills as a gesture of corporate solidarity.
At the police precinct, Simmons unfolds a disturbing revelation: Edgar's GPS logs indicate he was en route to the station before abruptly veering off course. Leveraging Edgar's unique tic-tac-toe unlock sequence, Yates and Max gain access to his phone, uncovering text messages that reveal his clandestine role as a whistleblower. Ellis pieces together the puzzle, explaining that Edgar had discovered Orion's unethical practice of outsourcing auto-injector production to cut costs, leading to defective devices that claimed several lives from anaphylactic shock. Jerry, an investigative journalist, had been hot on Orion's trail, but a federal health inquiry inexplicably ruled in the company's favor.
Li, sensing an impending breakthrough, asks what evidence they need to bring Steven and Orion to justice. Ellis responds by revealing a bombshell: Edgar had mentioned a damning report concealed somewhere within Orion's premises, a potential smoking gun that could expose the company's wrongdoings.
Max persistently declines to abandon Ellis on Daniel's special day, determined to unravel Edgar's enigmatic puzzle together. As they decipher the clues, they uncover the startling revelation that Edgar concealed the incriminating report within an intricate orb, and that Commander Nevets is none other than Steven. With eager anticipation, Ellis unlatches the orb, revealing the damning report that confirms Steven's awareness of the defective auto-injectors. Max promptly accuses him of orchestrating Jerry's murder and attempting to silence Edgar to preserve his secrets. In response, Ellis places him under arrest for fraud, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder, to which Steven retorts with a chilling warning about underestimating his adversaries.
Later, at the hospital, Edgar shows signs of a full recovery, revealing that Steven stubbornly refused to recall the faulty auto-injectors due to the potential impact on stock prices. He further discloses that Jerry had harbored suspicions of Ellis being framed. Edgar expresses heartfelt gratitude to Ellis for his assistance and is warmly embraced by Allison upon her arrival.
Meanwhile, Ellis enlightens Li about the pizza delivery man's true identity as part of Steven's security team. Yates confronts Simmons, demanding to know his true intentions, only to be shown a parking spot reserved specially for her. Simmons jokes that his gesture was a reaction to her incessant complaints, to which she playfully suggests they are best friends. However, Simmons' tone quickly sobers as he threatens her life should her complaints persist.
As the sun sets over the water, Ellis tinkers away on his boat when Max arrives, bearing a pizza adorned with a single candle. Together, they serenade Daniel with "Happy Birthday," and with a smile, he blows out the flame, marking the celebration of a day marked by revelations and resilience.
