Human Target Episode 2.02 The Wife's Tale

Seven years ago, at a nice house outside San Francisco, Chance carries out a hit on a bookish-looking guy named Mr. Brooks.

Now, Chance gets a call from an "old friend" named Donnelly. Winston drives him to a seedy bar, then rumbles that this place is part of Chance's past. He'll wait in the car. Inside, Donnelly hands Chance a file folder containing a woman's photo. She's a target. He refuses to reveal more, but the hit's going down soon.

Chance tells Winston they're taking this woman's case, starting now. Because, seven years ago, he killed her husband.

At HQ, Winston does research with the fancy expensive computer Ilsa bought. What's the connection here? Chance explains that he got his assignments from Donnelly or the Old Man; he never knew who ordered hits. Or even that Brooks was married. The widow, Rebecca Brooks, is an economics professor at Northern California University - as was her dead husband, Daniel.

According to Rebecca's dating-service profile, she has a lunch date today. The assassin might know that too. Chance will pretend to be her date and get her out of there. Meanwhile, Guerrero will lean on Donnelly . . . but who's gonna drive him? Dude, his glasses fell into a meat grinder, and he won't get a new pair till tomorrow.

Perky master thief Ames chauffeurs Guerrero to the seedy bar in his El Dorado. But never mind her bad-girl résumé - he makes her wait in the car.

Ilsa is VERY interested in discussing business. But Winston's heading out to back up Chance in the field. Great, says Ilsa, on-the-job training! So much for being an absentee owner. Winston says these jobs can get messy. Ilsa insists that she can handle it.

In the new high-tech surveillance van, Winston feeds Chance info. Rebecca's date is Kevin Heller, a tall doctor with dark hair. Hmm. Chance wings it and almost gets her to leave with him . . . until Kevin shows up. Chance quickly realizes that "Kevin" is an assassin. He warns Rebecca, but she storms off.

Chance follows her to the parking garage, where Kevin starts shooting! She dives into Chance's car, and he speeds down the tight spiral ramp as Kevin vaults the railing from level to level, blasting away. Finally, Chance out-maneuvers him.

At HQ, Rebecca freaks out. Ilsa - who feels for this woman, because her husband was also murdered - explains that Chance's team saved her life. She can trust him. Rebecca says that her husband was killed in a robbery, not murdered. And his last project was only a formula to predict price changes for baseball park tickets, which he didn't even finish. She's just applied for a grant to complete it, in his memory. Someone must have found out and ordered her killed.

As Chance and Rebecca go to get Daniel's papers from the university's archives, Guerrero threatens Donnelly at the bar. Suddenly, Ames plunks down, pretending to be Guerrero's girlfriend. Guerrero orders her out, and she stomps away . . . with Donnelly's phone. The contact who ordered the hit is a lawyer for a small private investment bank. On speakerphone, Guerrero says that the same people must have hired Chance to kill Rebecca's husband. Ilsa is stunned. Chance killed Daniel?! But Ilsa told Rebecca she could trust Chance!

Chance and Rebecca learn that, right before he died, Daniel's papers were shipped to an address in the posh town of Tiburon - the house where he was killed. Then Kevin bursts into the archives. Shootout! They escape, but Rebecca breaks down: Maybe Kevin killed her husband. Chance consoles her. Awkward.

Whap! Guerrero questions the lawyer, who bleeds and eventually reveals that Daniel was blackmailing the firm. Suddenly, shots shatter the skylight! Ames dives on Guerrero and saves him from a bullet. But the lawyer is dead.

Guerrero updates Winston, who heads out to help Chance. Ilsa protests, but he growls that she knew about Chance's past - and he TOLD her things get messy. Ilsa comes anyway.

In Tiburon, Chance and Rebecca find a safe containing a gun and Daniel's formula. She innocently realizes that his theory can also detect when someone is manipulating the stock market. Suddenly, Kevin's outside! Chance says that they can use the storm door. How did he know about that? He bluffs, but Rebecca levels Daniel's gun and asks how Chance knows so much. Does he know who killed her husband? Chance confesses: I did.

BANG! She shoots him in the shoulder and flees.

Kevin grabs Rebecca by the pool. Chance attacks him, and, after a fierce battle, Chance wins. But Rebecca still has Daniel's gun! Chance says go ahead and shoot; no one will blame you, least of all me. Suddenly, someone disarms Rebecca. It's Donnelly! He reveals that he set up Chance so he could get Daniel's theory. It should give him a nice retirement.

Chance tells Rebecca he's sorry. Donnelly cocks his gun. BLAM! Donnelly falls into the pool - revealing Winston behind him, smoking gun in hand. Ilsa is again stunned.

At HQ, Guerrero glowers while Ames babbles about Daniel's blackmail scheme. "Let's go," he growls. Back at the bar, he orders a club soda. And, he can't believe he's doing this, but he opens a tab for her. "Stop smiling," he tells Ames. She can't.

Later, Winston tells a questioning Ilsa that Chance isn't OK with everything he's done. All they can do is try to make things right. A man calls: Someone's trying to kill him. Ilsa smiles at Chance. "I think we can help."