The Brave – Desperate Times

By: Danielle de la Torre

The midseason takes us on an incredible thrilling journey from start to finish. It starts in the intelligence conference room in the United States where Director Campbell (Anne Heche) briefs her team on Fahem Jarif (Bobby Naderi) the man responsible for the car bomb on the beach that killed four American service members and injured many more. This car bomb took place at the end of the Pilot episode after the team celebrated a successful mission. But it is certainly not forgotten. As director Campbell explains that this is an Assassination mission we see the team check-in through airport security assuming the identities of all different people. Preach (Demetrius Grosse) as a man from Uganda, Amir (Hadi Tabbal) and McG (Noah Mills) together as businessmen and Dalton (Mike Vogel) and Jaz (Natacha Karam) as a Muslim couple. The security guard questions Jaz and Dalton about being married but Dalton impresses reciting a convincing statement about the Qur’an.

Dalton and Jaz enter a shop and meet with Dalton’s old friend Hossein Larijani (John Farmanesh-Bocca) the exchange greetings and introductions before Hossein escorts them to a hidden room where the rest of the team waits. They all make fun of each other’s undercovers identities before they connect with Hannah (Sofia Pernas) Noah (Tate Ellington) and Director Campbell back in the intelligence office. Hannah debriefs them and Director Campbell gives them their orders. Lastly, Director Campbell states that this is a hostile territory and if they get caught they will not be recognized by the U.S. government and therefore be on their own. Dalton tells the intelligence team to start the clock and they get ready. Hossien pulls Dalton aside and questions him about working with a woman. Dalton replies that he works with whoever can get the job done. Hossien expresses his concern as someone who has lost a partner to the bad guys he knows what they will do to Jaz. Dalton assures Hossien that Jaz will be fine and he’s more worried about what she will do to them.

Dalton and McG stake out Jarif’s place and await his departure. The rest of the team acknowledges from their various hiding spots. The follow him to a tea house where everyone is positioned around the building for the assassination. The scene grows intense while they wait for Jarif to sit down so they can take him out. Jarif is spooked by an interaction with a barista and ends up leaving. Director Campbell tells Dalton to abort the mission but Jaz runs for another spot to get a shot off. As Preach and Jaz scramble for a perfect view for the shot Dalton tries to calm the team down making sure no one risks their life. Jaz and Preach get into place but she misses her shot due to someone getting in the way. Jarif gets in the car and takes off.

Minutes later a woman walks into the tea house and Amir identifies her as the one Jarif was going to meet with. This sparks the attention of the intelligence team because Jarif would not do business with a woman unless she was a carrier for a man who could not risk meeting with Jarif in person. Amir and Hossien follow her as the intelligence team tries to uncover her identity through facial recognition. The intelligence team identifies her as Aida Hareb (Amber Pohl) the sister of a known terrorist who carried out large attacks on American forces in Iraq. As Dalton and Amir follow her she makes Dalton and makes a run for it dipping into a building. Dalton goes after her. When Dalton finds her she takes a suicide pill and kills herself before Dalton can get to her.

The team goes back to the drawing board as they meet back up at the secret room in Hossien’s shop. Director Campbell informs them they have not been made yet and she is confident she can still get them out. Dalton scolds Preach and Jaz for going off book from the plan and really gets on Jaz for almost killing a kid that got in the way of Jaz’s shot. They are interrupted when a text goes off on Aida’s phone. The text is Jarif apologizing for not meeting. The intelligence team scrambles to compose a reply when they do they are met with the phone ringing instead. Dalton has Jaz pick it up. With the help from Noah and Sofia Jaz has the information to impersonate Aida when she answers the phone. Jaz ends up securing a second meet up at a penthouse before she hangs up. Hossien thinks that the team can’t do anything now but the team proves him wrong. Director Campbell tells the team that Jaz could pull off passing as Aida for the meet up due to the two never meeting before and tells Dalton it’s his call. Dalton asks the team and they each give their own thoughts before a decision is made. Dalton pulls Jaz aside and asks her opinion. He tells her that she doesn’t have a thing to prove to him and that they should probably just walk out of the mission with their heads held high. Jaz tells him that they got lucky on the beach when the bomb went off. The next people may not be so lucky. She decides to pursue the mission.

Dalton and Preach can’t go in with Jaz due to the fact that the will be made in a heartbeat so McG and Amir go into the lobby along with Jaz. McG and Amir meet up with Hossien as a fake business meeting while Jaz is escorted upstairs to Jarif by armed guards.

Back in the car Dalton tells Preach that he hates waiting in the car not knowing what is happening. Preach explains that he hates it too but when Dalton is out there by himself they have faith in him so he might as well have faith in Jaz.

Jaz is patted down before she enters to meet Jarif. The meeting goes well before Jarif explains that something is wrong. Everyone tenses before Jarif explains they don’t have their tea. Jaz slips the poison into the tea. As they talk Aida’s phone rings again but this time it is her brother. The team knows know for certain that he will make Jaz out to be a fraud. Jarif tells her to answer it but she insists she will do it later. Jarif leans over and answers the phone anyway. Aida’s brother explains he was worried something had happened to her she had not answered her phone all morning. Jarif puts two and two together and realized Jaz is, in fact, a fraud. Jarif reaches for the phone but Jaz throws her tea in his face. A struggle ensues and the team can only sit back and listen. She strangles Jarif as he desperately tries to reach for a tablecloth to pull down so a vase will break and alert the guards. Jaz ends up overpowering Jarif and puts him down quickly. She then tells Dalton they need to improvise to get her out of there.

Amir and McG take a stairwell while Hossien watches the lobby. Jaz fixes herself up before she makes her way out of the room. She makes it into the elevator before the guards are alerted that something has happened to Jarif. Jaz gets off on the fifth floor and navigates her way down with the help of the team. They are all forced to stop due to the lobby entrance being swarmed by guards. Jaz tells Dalton that she’s going out a window. Dalton tells her she’s crazy but she replies it’s what he would do. As she runs for the window she is wrapped up by a guard. The only thing that comes over the radios is Amir telling everyone that they have Jaz. Director Campbell in a fit of rage pushes everything off her desk and exits the intelligence room.

It becomes unclear what happens to Jaz…her fate hangs in the balance.

All new episodes return Monday, January 1^st.