American Odyssey Episode 1.02 Oscar Mike

Odelle and Aslam continue their trek across the desert with the nomadic Tuareg people, and Aslam reminds her that she must remain undercover as a man or risk stoning. A more immediate threat emerges when a regional terrorist organization, the Ansar Dine, intercepts the pilgrimage. They brandish flyers with Odelle's face printed on them, clearly on the hunt. She avoids the Ansar Dine, but during a fitful night she secretly provides an injured child (beaten by his dad) with medicine to ease his pain - a move that backfires when his irate father later confronts her about the pills. Her silence provokes him, and he shoves her hard enough to knock her cheche off her face. Before the man can alert the others, Aslam arrives with a small rope and strangles him - and a reluctant Odelle finishes the job with a swift crack of the man's neck.

Another shove occurs back in New York where Harrison's girlfriend Anna shoves her way out of the apartment. He pleads with her to understand that nothing occurred between him and Ruby and relays the mystery surrounding Odelle (and Bob's possibly related disappearance). With Anna's level of help uncertain, Harrison continues his search for Bob on his own, snagging Bob's home address from a fellow activist. He pays a visit to the apartment, only to find Bob's invalid mom Rose inside. This dead end sends him back to the protests at Bowling Green Park, where Harrison spots Ruby and she admits to lying about Time Magazine, but only because she wanted him to talk. He presses her on Bob's whereabouts, emphasizing the fact only Bob can provide the email proof of Odelle's life. Ruby suggests he try jail, a likely spot for any activist under the watchful eye of police. Sure enough, they find him there - and Bob remains skittish in Ruby's company - although he still promises to send Harrison the email so he can broadcast it to the hungry network at the protest.

Meanwhile, Peter struggles to stay calm in the aftermath of Gentry's death. He breaks down in front of his wife Sarah and returns to work amid protestors who assert Odelle remains alive, a claim Peter believes. He communicates as much with the U.S. Attorney when Peter informs him of everything he knows so far about Societel Mining and Gentry. Unfortunately, the attorney knows it's not enough to build a viable case. Peter needs more proof. But when he huddles up with Joe, he discovers that Societel no longer exists as their client - the merger went through and all the relevant files are in transit back to the company. Peter rushes to intercept the files en route and attempts to copy them in the process - until he finds himself roped into a meeting with Alex Baker of Societel. The chairman of Societel pressures him to arrange a meeting with the immensely popular frontrunner for Greek prime minister, Sofia Tsaldari, who's in town on a visit to New York. Baker indicates Peter could leverage his existing relationship with Tsaldari to help protect Societel's billion-dollar holdings in Greece, a country in the midst of an intense debt crisis many believe Tsaldari can solve.

Except any plans disappear soon after when police appear at Peter's house with a warrant for his arrest, charging him with the murder of Danny Gentry. As they place him in cuffs, police confiscate all his electronics and files. At the precinct, he defends his innocence, and without substantiated evidence, they release him. Back at home, Sarah, still rocked by the scare, pushes for details. Peter promises that if whoever framed him threatens her or anyone else in the family, he will stop pursuing the case. But no sooner does he say that than he discovers a man in an unmarked car watching his house and following him during a jog. His daughter Maya watches with concern as Peter demands that the man stay away from his family.

Suzanne and Ron Ballard feel a similar intensity as both struggle to synthesize conflicting news about Odelle. Ron believes Colonel Glen's assertion that the photograph represents a hoax, while Suzanne sides with the activists (and social media outlets) clamoring for the government to admit to a cover-up, bolstered by #OdelleLives catching fire online. When Ron leaves for a dinner and allows Suzanne to stay home, she breaks his trust by sneaking out of the house and heading to the protests at the park.

She arrives to an energized crowd and spots Harrison at the ready with news networks and a host of others (including a heavily armed police force) awaiting the promised email of proof. When Bob finally emails him, Harrison ascends the stage to raucous applause and announces the arrival of the truth - but when he broadcasts Bob's email to the masses, confusion cripples the momentum. Instead of an email penned by Odelle 14 hours after her supposed death, Bob sent Harrison - who in turn sent the world - an Internet cat video. Police move in to scatter the crowd and frustration leads to sparks of violence. And all the while, buried in the chaos, is Suzanne Ballard - crushed by Harrison's failure.

Frantic, Harrison avoids police long enough to call a devastated Bob and demand he send the promised email. Bob, clearly upset, hangs up on Harrison and purges the email from his computer and the worldwide network while police pin a confused Harrison to the ground, unaware that the best evidence of Odelle's survival no longer exists.

Back on the dirt roads of the North Africa desert, Odelle and Aslam keep a low profile as they hear the boy in search of his missing father. He approaches them and Aslam pushes him aside, unintentionally spurring the child to pull out a knife. The boy lunges at Aslam, causing an instinctual reaction from Odelle that knocks the knife away, sends the boy to the ground - and draws everyone's attention right to her. She's not just a woman in their midst - she's an American. A beating commences and Odelle lays curled on the ground as feet and fists pummel her. Horrified, Aslam slips away as they pull Odelle, tie her hands and place her in a hole up to her chest. They fill the hole with sand and prepare to sling rocks at her immobile body, seconds away from stoning Odelle to death, when the Ansar Dine arrive - led by Aslam. Ansar Dine soldiers rip Odelle away to their vehicle (she sustains a stray rock to the head, now barely able to walk) and with some convincing they allow Aslam on the vehicle too. It's a temporary escape and a temporary alliance - the Ansar Dine are no strangers to murder and torture.

But for now, temporary is enough.