CBS’s Tracker season two episode two opens with a man (Steven Culp) sneaking through the woods. He starts recording as he films a satellite dish and explains he’s on a secret DOD site that isn’t supposed to exist. As he’s filming, his camera goes wonky with electrical interference. That’s followed by a piercing noise that forces him to his knees. A spotlight shines down from above.
The man’s name is Scott Palmer and his daughter, Patty, hires Colter (Justin Hartley) to find him after she receives a distressing phone message and can’t reach him for two days. The police won’t help her since there aren’t any signs of foul play. She and Colter look around his house and it’s a mess, which doesn’t seem unusual. Her mom’s dead, but when she was alive, her parents were really into aliens and UFOs. Scott’s last voicemail indicated he found something unusual. Patty admits he was into government conspiracy stuff, and Colter says he completely understands.
Her dad thought he was being followed because he was on to the government’s secret alien program. Colter gets her to admit her dad was harassing astrophysics professor Dr. Iris Blair. Patty thinks Iris’s husband might have something to do with her dad’s disappearance since he had a restraining order against Scott.
Colter and Velma (Abby McAnany) discuss the \$20,000 case, and Reenie (Fiona Rene) will look into the restraining order. Velma loves feeling useful and being part of Reenie’s team.
Reenie learns Scott called Dr. Blair 20 times a day, which is why her husband filed for the restraining order. Colter scans the call logs and then pays a visit to Dr. Blair (April Parker Shaw) who claims to know nothing about Scott going missing. She says he wouldn’t stop calling, but Colter points out that some calls lasted 10 minutes. Dr. Blair admits Scott had interesting ideas on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAPs) and was sharing information with her.
As Dr. Blair’s talking, it becomes obvious she’s scared of something/someone.
Bobby (Eric Graise) calls with the news that Scott’s phone is dead and that his phone location records were wiped clean. However, he found Scott’s car’s last location: an unmarked road on government land. Bobby believes in UAPs and suggests a few resources Colter (a non-believer) should check out.
Before they hang up, Colter asks Bobby to look into Dr. Blair.
Night falls, and Colter reaches Scott’s car’s final location. He rings Bobby to tell him there’s nothing there, and Bobby reveals that he found a secure message board that Dr. Blair contributes to about UAPs/UFOs. Colter keeps searching the area and finds Scott’s car tucked away in the woods. The call starts breaking up as Colter continues to look around. He finds a hole in the fence that Scott cut, and as he comes within feet of where Scott was in the spotlight, his phone starts acting strange and then completely shuts down.
The spotlight hits Colter.
12 hours later, Bobby, Reenie, and Velma frantically search for Colter. A sheriff found Colter’s truck but there’s no sign of what happened to Colter. Reenie knows something’s wrong and calls Russell for help.
Colter comes to in a cell, handcuffed to a bed, with a man explaining he’s lucky he was found before he was blown up by unexploded ordinances. Colter was hit with a tranquilizer dart to stop him from exploring the area. His interrogator warns Colter there’s a guard right outside the door who will dose him again if he’s a problem.
As soon as he leaves, Colter works his way free of the restraints. He listens through the door and then stares at the surveillance camera. The guards watch from a booth but don’t stop Colter as he inspects his cell.
His interrogator tells someone there’s eight hours until something happens, just as Russell (Jensen Ackles) sneaks through the halls and enters Colter’s cell. He’s taken out three guards and hands Colter a gun as they make their way through the halls.
They emerge outside, and Russell suggests they keep moving. He’s been inside a covert DOD program and knows these people aren’t to be messed with. Russell confirms Reenie called him and he just happened to be nearby. He discovered that Colter wandered onto a “black site” and came to his rescue.
Russell admits he keeps asking Reenie out and she keeps putting him off. He thinks rescuing Colter might actually earn him a date, especially if Colter tells Reenie he was brave. Colter declines to be any part of the Russell/Reenie possible dating scenario.
Russell not only believes in UAPs, but he’s also actually seen stuff that would knock the socks off Colter. Colter fills his brother in on Scott Palmer, and Russell suggests maybe the aliens took him. He recalls when their dad took them to see the lights in the sky, and their dad pointed to the spaceship on Colter’s pajamas when he asked what they were. Colter claims not to remember any of this and suggests it was just a meteor shower.
Patty calls and informs Colter that men in a black SUV are parked outside her dad’s house. She thinks it’s possible her dad is actually in danger, and Colter tells her to try and sneak out without being seen.
Colter realizes that they must have let him go on purpose since they let him keep his phone. They’re using him to find Scott. Russell pulls over and smashes Colter’s phone. He then digs a tracker out of Colter’s neck, and Colter tosses it and his now useless phone into a field.
In addition to Russell’s car (which looks like Supernatural’s Baby, but isn’t), Tracker tosses in another nod to Supernatural by having Jensen Ackles make a sandwich without asking while waiting for Dr. Blair to return home.
Dr. Blair arrives home and is shocked to discover Colter and Russell inside her house. Colter believes she told Scott something and that’s why he’s being hunted by government agents. Colter holds up a printout with symbols and numbers that look similar to what appeared on his phone, and Dr. Blair says it’s a form of communication they’ve been seeing for six months. She’s not sure it has to do with UAPs, but it appears that’s possible. They’re trying to decode the messages, and Scott sent a screenshot of a recent message that appeared on his phone.
This message looks just like Colter’s, but Colter’s top line ended with 2901. Dr. Blair believes they’re geodata coordinates and pulls up the location on a map. That may be where Scott’s heading and Russell warns Dr. Blair to be careful. She should probably skip town until it’s safe.
A short while later, she hustles to her car with a bag and calls her husband. Before she can drive off, Colter’s interrogator knocks on her driver’s side window.
Colter and Russell arrive at the location 200 miles away and there’s nothing there. Russell brags when his phone rings and it’s Reenie. Before he can answer it, Colter yanks it from his hand and tosses it away. It’s possible their trackers are tracking Reenie’s signal. (Sure, Colter, that’s the only reason you don’t want your brother hooking up with Reenie!)
The brothers pause when they hear something. Not far away they discover a UAP landing site buzzing with people. An announcement says, “The surge begins in T-minus 10 minutes.”
Russell and Colter sneak around the base and decide to split up, with a plan to meet up in 20 minutes. The announcement continues, telling everyone to move into the safety zone.
Bobby and Reenie can’t figure out where Colter and Russell are; they should have checked in already. Velma discovers Dr. Blair’s car showed up on a police scanner as a 10-54 (possible dead body) followed by a 10-56 (suicide). They realize someone got to Dr. Blair.
Russell’s confronted by Colter’s interrogator inside a building, and the man notes that their dad also liked to get in the government’s way. He asks Russell about Scott Palmer and Russell denies knowing the name. Russell believes the government sent out a message and someone answered back. That’s why there’s a landing pad outside for an “alien meet-and-greet.”
Russell disarms the interrogator and knocks him out. He spends a few minutes looking around and then removes a jar from a cabinet. Meanwhile, Colter takes out a guard as the countdown is down to T-minus two minutes.
Colter finds Scott hiding in a building, but Scott refuses to leave. He needs to see whatever this is the government’s about to do. He’s certain an alien spaceship is on the way and is adamant that the world needs to know the truth. Cotler assures him it’s not worth dying for. Scott disagrees.
They’re still arguing when suddenly a bright light appears outside. Colter warns Scott to cover his ears as a piercing sound fills the air. The building shakes and items crash to the floor, and then just as suddenly it’s over.
Scott and Colter meet up with Russell outside the building, as a security breach is announced. They have to try and leave now, or they won’t make it out alive. A helicopter tracks their movements, and they run into the woods, outside the perimeter. They’re walking down a dirt road as a van approaches and the driver gets out, addressing Colter by name. He hands Colter a phone and it’s Reenie on the other end. She ordered the van to get them, which was super expensive.
She calls them the dumb Shaw brothers and is angry neither would text her back. It’s also obvious she’s relieved they’ve been found safe and sound.
Russell and Colter deliver Scott home and his daughter’s thankful he’s back safe and sound. She hands over the \$20,000 and thanks Colter before walking off arm-in-arm with her dad.
Russell wonders if Colter’s changed his mind about UAPs, but Colter doesn’t think what they just experienced proves anything. Colter suggests it was a test of a defense system, while Russell thinks it was an alien spaceship. Russell shows Colter the bottle he grabbed, and Colter reacts sarcastically, saying he’s impressed with this rock. Russell believes it’s much more than a rock. It could be part of an alien ship. He’s going to have his guy run tests.
Tracker tosses in multiple nods to Supernatural as the episode ends. Colter looks at Russell’s car and says, “Sweet ride. I wouldn’t mind getting behind the wheel of this thing.” Russell replies, “That’s never going to happen.”
As they’re driving to get Colter’s car, Colter tells his brother about Dr. Blair’s murder made to look like a suicide. Russell believes the government isn’t interested in them any longer since the operation in the woods is complete. Colter’s shocked to learn his interrogator knew about the Shaw family, and wonders if there’s something in their dad’s box that Dory kept that might connect the dots.
Russell doesn’t think it’s any big deal, but Colter isn’t going to drop it.
They make it to the dirt road where Colter’s truck’s parked, but Russell won’t drive down it. “This ‘baby’ doesn’t drive on gravel,” says Russell.
Russell’s pleased with himself and says he’s off to Colorado for a date with Reenie. She finally agreed after he saved Colter. As they say goodbye, Colter reluctantly admits his brother rescued him and says thanks.
