"Alex!" David stopped running when he saw his son sitting with Paige on the floor, but only for a moment. As soon as Alex saw his Dad he clapped his hands together and started beaming. David knelt down and pulled his son into a tight embrace. "Hey buddy! I'm so glad you're safe. I missed you." There was a choke in David's voice as he lifted Alex off the ground. As he turned to face the team there were tears in his eyes which threatened to spill out. Walter looked away. Seeing a man emote so strongly was unsettling.

"Thank you" He said kissing Alex's head. "Thank you for saving Alex. Who are you?"

"We're Scorpion." Toby said.

"I've heard of you." David carefully placed Alex back on the ground so he could continue to draw. "I'm glad you're here. There isn't much time."

"Where's Happy?" Toby asked. The team looked towards the door she had been working on, which was opened. "We need to find her."

"Relax Doc." Happy said coming back in. "I was hoping I could figure out where those guys went, but there are too many service hallways to know for sure." Toby visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Start from the beginning David." Cabe said. "Tell us what happened."

"As I'm sure you all know, I was tasked to find any areas in the metro rail system that would be vulnerable to terrorist attack. When I received my assignment from the city it seemed urgent so I started with the most logical place for an attack." David motioned to the rooms around them causing everyone to nod in agreement. "After I completed my analysis I knew that there were some serious problems, and they needed to be taken care of right away. If explosives were to be placed at strategic spots on the red line, 1 city block could be completely wiped out from a collapse of the tunnel, and if this station were to be hit, it would take out 5 city blocks."

Toby whistled.

"I had transferred the data from my tablet to a flash drive when I was finished. They must have been watching me because I was on my way out of one of the service tunnels when two men grabbed me. I knew I had to do something to get rid of the flash drive, so as they were trying to secure me I dropped it down a grate."

"That was really brave of you." Paige said. Walter turned to look at her for a second and frowned.

"It was just luck, but thank you." David continued. "The odds of me standing over something I could drop the flash drive down were pretty small."

"5% chance." Sylvester said over the coms.

"After they had realized what I did the men were furious. They took me here and started threatening me. Threats turned into demonstrations…" He paused. "Back in 2003 I was in Afghanistan doing engineering work for the army and was trained on how to withstand torture, so the methods they were using weren't effective enough. This morning the men told me they had grabbed Alex." David paused for a moment and then continued. "They told me if I didn't give them the information they would torture Alex in front of me and…" He choked, looking down at Alex who seemed to be in his own world. "I knew we wouldn't live if I gave them the information, but I couldn't stand the thought of him being tortured. I…I told them I would help them."

"And did you?" Walter asked.

"I gave them different information than what was on the flash drive. If they placed explosives where I suggested there would be damage, but not as much. It didn't work. They knew somehow I hadn't given them the correct information and announced that they would be bringing Alex in. Before they could do that a 3rd man came in saying they had located the flash drive."

"How is that possible?" Cabe asked.

"I don't know." David said. "The likely scenario is that the grate I dropped the flash drive down was ventilation for one of the lower level hallways and not water runoff like I had hoped."

"That's probably what happened" Walter agreed.

"They packed up and a few minutes later I heard shots."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the terrorists? Were there any more than the three you mentioned? What did they look like?" Cabe asked.

"I only counted the 3 men, and they wore ski masks so I couldn't see their faces. They also spoke perfect English."

"Only 3?" Happy said furrowing her eyebrows." They must have more people than that."

"Maybe. But they were careful to limit my interactions. I do know they are planning to hit both this station and the red line, so we don't have much time. I will tell you where the bombs are and then I'll help you locate them ."

"Happy can you bring over the tablet?" Walter asked. She nodded and walked toward the rest of the group.

"The best spots to put bombs in the red line are in these places." David marked them. This accounts for total collapse of all the tunnels."

"We know that the terrorists are targeting Hollywood in an effort to upset the stock market." Walter added.

"In that case, best place to start is the Studio City stop. Accounting for that, I'd change the scenario to this." David erased some of his markings and put fresh ones. "As for 7th street station, it's all going to be in the 3rd level." Walter nodded. The situation was looking pretty grim. If as many bombs needed to go off as David suggested, he wasn't sure how they were going to find them all in time.

"There's a chance they haven't gotten a chance to place all the bombs, so we need to cut them off while we still can." Walter said. "How long until backup arrives Cabe?"

"They just arrived and are standing by for orders."

"Okay. Happy and Toby, you head to Studio City and start looking through the tunnels. It will be faster if you drive there. Paige and Alex can go with them. David and I will head down to the lower levels. "

"I'll meet up with Homeland and brief them on the situation then send half the team through the red line and half through the station." Cabe added.

"Fastest way for everyone to get where they need to be is back through the pipe and to the main area of the station" Happy said looking over the blueprints.

David turned to look at Alex and said "Hey buddy. We're going to leave now, and the way we have to get out is through the red pipe. It's a little dark in there, but I'm going to be with you." Alex started shaking his head violently. "Listen, You've been so incredibly brave today. I just need you be brave for a couple more minutes. I know you can do it. Come here and I'll carry you." Alex allowed David to pick him up and they started walking to the pipe. Paige picked up the art supplies, paused when she looked at Alex's drawing and then silently put it in her bag.

As soon as the team was out of the other side Walter and Cabe sealed the pipe by putting the cap back on and securing it so someone from the other side couldn't open it.

"I want to thank you for grabbing Alex's art supplies" David said to Paige as they walked through the tunnel. "That's probably going to be the only thing stopping him from having a meltdown."

"You're welcome. We were at your house trying to look for clues when we got the call that Alex had been taken. We could see how important drawing was to him from the pictures in his room so I figured it would probably help if we found him separate from you."

"You were right." David paused for a moment. "I saw Alex drawing in your lap. He…he doesn't connect very well to people he doesn't know. I'm…I'm just really surprised."

"Well, I have a son that's…special. He's just special in a different way from Alex."

"Ralph's special in the literal sense because he is a genius which account for only 2% of the worldwide population" Walter interrupted.

Paige turned toward Walter with a horrified look on her face. "Walter!"

Did I say something wrong? Walter thought. "I was just stating a fact."

"Well, that was an incredibly insensitive."

"It's okay." David said graciously. "I understand what Walter means."

Walter felt embarrassed. He hadn't meant to appear insensitive, he just wanted David to understand that Ralph wasn't disabled, but enabled. He decided to distract himself by calculating how many steps until the team went their separate ways.

"Okay this is it." Happy said when they reached the middle of the first level. "David take my com, I'll get another one from Sylvester when I get back to the van."

"Thanks." David said taking the com and putting it in his ear.

"Watch each other's backs." Cabe said nodding towards the team and heading off.

Walter looked at Paige and motioned for her to come close.

"What is it Walter?"

"After you drop off Toby and Happy I want you to drive the van back to the cyclone. The coms we're using are linked to a satellite, so there isn't any reason for you to stay. You'll be safe there and you can look after Alex."

"But what if….what if you need someone to come and get you in the event…."

"We won't be able to get out in any case, so there's no point in risking your life to stay."

"Walter. I…" She paused unable to hold his gaze. "I wish you didn't have to do this."

"I know." Walter found himself putting his hands on her shoulders. "But it will be okay." That was a lie, but he had to say something.

"Come back safe." She whispered. Walter reluctantly let go of her.

"Alex" David said putting him on the ground. "I've got to do some work." Alex began to shake his head violently and moan. "Listen to me buddy. I won't be gone very long, and Paige here is going to be right next to you. Is that okay? She brought you your pencils. I know you like her." Alex leaned into his father. "I love you Alex." He kissed his son and then turned him toward Paige who lifted him up.

"We'll see you guys soon." Happy said.