Ransom

Ahmed.

I can't believe it.

Ah.

I know. So long.

It's good to see you.

Can't get used to how you look without the uniform.

Yeah. Me, neither.

Eight years.

But I'm officially discharged.

I can't get used to how you look without the beard.

Like Jay-Z, right?

- I thought you were into Kanye. - No.

- Jay-Z now. - Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I listen to him on my way home from work.

"On my way home from work."

Did you ever think you'd say that?

No.

Never.

You're doing well, man.

I'm happy for you.

Thanks, Mike.

So,

how you liking Paris?

Yeah, it's nice.

But it's hard.

Yeah, the women, though.

I know.

Can't get used to that.

- Everywhere I go, women. - Yeah.

Any luck with that?

- Uh, no, not yet. Not yet. - Mm.

I remember these.

Long way from Gitmo.

Sometimes I wake up, and I think I'm still there.

I don't know how you got through it, man.

Because of you.

Listen, my, uh,

shift starts in ten minutes,

but I'm gonna take tomorrow off to show you around Paris.

Okay.

- Let me get a shot. - Yes.

So we'll meet tomorrow, huh?

Sounds good, man.

- Hey! Hey! - No!

Stop him!

*RANSOM* Season 02 Episode 04 Episode Title : "A Free Man in Paris"

My name is Michael Parkes.

I'm an American citizen.

I'm being held hostage.

Bring...

Bring five million euros

to Parc de Villette in Paris,

in the 19th district

tonight at midnight.

If not,

they will execute me.

Please get me out of here.

There will be no police or military involvement,

or he dies.

That's Ahmed Bakal.

How do you know?

There.

See that?

Same bracelet.

He's the terrorist who kidnapped my son.

Is this really your first time in Paris?

It is. City of romance.

The city of bad memories, if you ask me.

Did a French girl break your heart, Oliver?

Not exactly.

- Zara. - Hey, Zara.

How's Paris?

Beautiful, but we miss you.

Is Mrs. Parkes there?

I'm with her right now.

Putting you on speaker.

Mrs. Parkes, Eric Beaumont.

We spoke on the phone.

Ahmed Bakal kidnapped my son.

Mrs. Parkes showed me a photo of Ahmed

wearing the same bracelet as the kidnapper.

I sent you a screen grab.

Okay.

Any progress sourcing the video?

No. It came untraceable.

All right.

Mrs. Parkes, since the kidnappers aren't communicating,

we're working on tracking down Ahmed.

He's our only connection to Michael here in Paris.

The police have searched his apartment and his place of work,

but he is AWOL.

Of course he's AWOL. He's a jihadist.

You know he befriended my son in Guantanamo

when Michael was stationed there as a guard.

We're still very much investigating

Ahmed's complicity.

Eric, did you get the contact info

for the Paris resettlement office I sent?

We're here now.

We'll see if Ahmed's reintegration officer

can help us track him down.

We'll be in touch.

Okay. Standing by.

Jihadists who kidnap people for ransom usually do it

in places they control... tribal Pakistan,

the Islamic State... so why Paris?

Because Michael's here now.

But he doesn't come from money.

Still, kidnapping an ex-Gitmo guard

definitely sends a political message.

If you're gonna kidnap someone,

why set up a meeting on social media?

You're assuming Ahmed's behind it.

Well, the bracelet was pretty incriminating.

We don't know for sure if he's involved,

but someone like Ahmed can be easily compromised.

Plus, he does have a history of violence.

Society will isolate him, making him

vulnerable to recidivism. Still,

let's not let our biases get in the way on this one.

Isn't it weird that a Gitmo guard

and detainee became friends?

It's rare, but it happens.

Probably weirder that we became friends.

- Ooh. - Monsieur Beaumont?

Ah, Madame Rigaud. Enchanté.

Uh, this is Maxine Carlson, my second.

- Hi. - And...

- Oliver Yates, our profiler. - Hi.

- Yes, hello. - Hey.

Uh, I pulled Ahmed Bakal's file for you.

- Okay, perfect. Thank you. - Okay.

That's everything we know

- about him. - Mm-hmm.

Ahmed was a low-level fighter

when he was caught in a raid in Afghanistan,

then held in Guantanamo as an enemy combatant without charge.

He was released in 2013?

That's right. He was cooperative,

and when Obama was trying to close Guantanamo,

they decided he posed a low threat,

and there was no reason to keep holding him.

France agreed to resettle him.

How have you helped him reintegrate into society?

We arranged an apartment for him and a job at a market.

How's he been adjusting?

He was monitored heavily when he first arrived,

but he's been living here five years without incident.

Ahmed texted Michael to meet him at Café Sousse

because it's a ten minute walk from his job.

But the market where he works is actually 20 minutes away.

By metro.

So, he got it wrong.

Oh, Paris life ain't cheap.

Maybe he has another job?

At a body shop under the table.

There's only one body shop

within a ten minute walk from the café.

Let's hit the body shop.

How is Evie doing?

After Delaine?

Yeah, her mom tells me she's okay.

Teenage girls.

Masters of the cold shoulder.

Yeah, the silence is deafening.

As-salaam alaikum.

Alaikum salaam.

We're looking for an Ahmed Bakal. Is he here?

I do not know an Ahmed.

Crossed arms, delayed response. He's defensive.

- You mind if I, uh...? - Employees only.

This one getting an oil change?

Yes.

Even though it doesn't have an engine?

Oh.

But look.

It does have an Ahmed.

I always had a bad feeling about Ahmed.

After they became friends, Michael changed.

He started on antidepressants.

You think Ahmed caused it?

I think he poisoned his mind.

I get it: Guantanamo

is controversial, but don't those people see

their attacks justify Gitmo's existence?

Actually, I think Guantanamo is used

by jihadists as a recruitment tool.

Are you Muslim?

I'm Zoroastrian.

Not Muslim.

Look, I already said to you, I don't know any jihadists.

Not anymore.

Are you sure you're not cops?

We're negotiators.

- Hey. - Ah.

And you think I did this?

No. Michael and I were supposed to meet.

He never showed.

I knew something happened. I got nervous.

I don't know where he is.