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The Hammer is the second episode of the second season and the 12th overall episode of The Catch.

Short Summary[]

The AVI team takes on a difficult and unlikely client being hunted by a sharpshooting assassin. Meanwhile, Alice struggles to keep Tommy out of trouble as Rhys and Ben are tempted by old tricks.

Full Summary[]

Margot tells Alice and Valerie she has a business proposition for them. Then she turnes to get the briefcase she brought with her and both Alice and Valerie pull out their guns. She tells them to put their guns away, because she's unarmed. Then she corrects that she is armed, but only because someone is trying to kill her. Alice is surprised that just one person is trying to kill her. She tells them a sniper just shot Jamison. She wants them to find out who. Valerie is shocked that Margot wants to hire them. Margot is aware of the irony of the situation, but she wants to hire them and they need clients. She offers them $500,000, not counterfeit, with another payment of the same amount once they've caught the person.

Valerie, Alice, Danny, and Sophie debate whether or not they should take on Margot. Valerie says with the money, they could rehire all the staff and the security team. Sophie doesn't want to start working for criminals. Danny thinks Margot's playing them, but Valerie says she has no reason to, because she's already won. Alice says she won't feel safe unless she knows where Margot is and what she's doing. That's what she's paying them to do. Valerie asks if she's going to tell Margot about Ben. Alice shrugs. Danny asks if she's going to tell Ben about Margot and she says that if she does, he'll tell her not to take the case, threaten Margot, and she'll try to kill him.

Danny tells Alice they can handle Margot's case, so Alice can work on Tommy's case and not get involved. She protests that she'a already involved and she's not taking her eyes of Margot. She thanks Danny anyway. Then she asks for an update on Tommy's case. Danny says the Kincaids were aliases that only go back three years. He's still trying to figure out who they really were. Alice says maybe Tommy could help, but Danny says he hasn't been picking up his phone. Alice tries to call him and he picks up, tired. Alice asks if she woke him and he says she didn't, but only because Ben already did. He was grinding coffee beans. Ben is still there, so Alice asks to talk to him. She reminds him that he's undercover, but he says he hasn't gotten his new assignment yet. She starts to tell him about Margot, but he cuts her off and asks about her being head cheerleader when she was in school, until she got herself suspended. She asks to talk to Tommy again. She tells him they need him in the office. She tells him not to talk about his cases with Ben and asks to talk to Ben again. She tells Ben she doesn't want Tommy talking about his case or Ben talking about his new job or any of his old jobs. Ben says they'll have to go back to talking about her. She says she's coming over, but Ben says he's late for work and hangs up.

Justine tells Ben and Rhys the suspect is Kenji Yoshida, the Chef at Vinzu. Rhys knows the place. It's impossible to get a table, but he's eaten there. Justine tells them the FBI's informant tells them Kenji is his source for all varieties of high-end contraband. She tells them they're going in after hours to place cameras. Rhys sand Ben start talking about ideas of how to go in, but Justine tells them they're going in as exterminators. They think she's joking, but she makes it clear she's serious. She can't trust them, so they need to do things her way. Or go back to prison.

Tommy is surprised the Kincaids were using aliases. Danny asks him to think back to that time and asks if they ever called each other anything else or had any pet names. Tommy can't remember, but then he asks about the dogs. The police have the dogs, but he suggests checking their microchips to see what name they're registered under.

In Margot's room, Alice and Valerie investigate Jamison's death. They figure out where the shooter was positioned and find a bullet with no markings. It's custom, so the shooter was a pro. Alice wonders how he missed then, unless Jamison was the target. Margot tells them she and Jamison had switched positions rather abruptly before the shooting. Alice asks her for a list of enemies. Margot tells them to start with her three missing leftenants. If she lists everyone who wants her dead, they'll be there all day. Alice says she will. They'll get her a new room, but she can't leave. They'll get her a new phone and laptop and she contacts no one outside the team. They're in charge no. Margot asks Alice if she's enjoying it. Alice says she is more than she thought she would.

Alice comes home to Tommy. She tells him his tip about the dogs was good. He then informs him that he also set the table. She's surprised to see four place settings and ask who's coming. Ben then steps out and says it was his idea. Alice then sees Rhys cooking in the kitchen.

Alice is upset that Ben brought Rhys there. Ben says he couldn't leave him alone because he gets into things like a puppy. Alice reminds Ben that he's still undercover, but Ben says he isn't. He'll just be sneaking around in a costume. He can't even talk about it and asks her about the new client she was going to tell him about this morning. She just tells him not to change the subject. The dinner party can't happen. Ben wants to get to know Tommy before he leaves town again and he only took the deal so he and Alice could be together. He wants to pretend they're normal for one night. Alice asks if he thinks they'll notice if they skip salad to go be together. Ben's worried about leaving them alone together for that long. Alice goes to interrupt, but Ben says he has Rhys on a short leash for the night.

Rhys finishes telling Tommy the story of the first time he killed a man. Tommy is fascinated. Rhys says it was a sordid chapter in his life. It was a terrible time and it's over. Crime doesn't pay and you don't want to end up in prison like Ben. Tommy asks why Ben was in prison. Alice tries to say it's not polite to ask that, but Rhys interrupts and says they had him on all kinds of charges. Tommy asks how he got out. Alice says technicality, but Rhys tells Tommy he made a deal. Rhys asks Tommy what brought him to town. Tommy starts to tell him, but Alice says he's between jobs and she wants him to think about working for her. They say they don't get to see each other often, but they've been through a lot together. Rhys says he has a big sister, too, but Alice can tell him what a horrible person his sister is.

Margot opens the door to find Valerie, who has her new phone and laptop. Behind her is Melissa Trumbull, an agent who will be protecting Margot. Margot is more concerned with her food. She tries to dismiss Melissa, but when Valerie informs her that her three missing leftenants are dead, she agrees to keep Melissa, but only out in the hall. Valerie says she'll call with the ballistics report when she has it and tells Margot to try not to make anymore enemies.

Sophie asks Danny to go get a drink. He asks her to give him 20 minutes. She wants to see what he's working on. Reluctantly, he shows her that he's looking into Tommy. She asks if he trusts anyone and he says he doesn't. She then wants to know if he ran a background check on her. He says it's his job. She says she's leaving and he can come with her and she can show him that some people are worth trusting or he can stay. He asks for five more minutes, so she leaves without him.

Ben admits that he shouldn't have invited Rhys over. Ben thinks Tommy had a good time. She says that's the problem. He's impressionable and Ben and Rhys aren't the best role models. He's a criminal. Ben says now he's one of the good guys. Alice starts to whisper because she doesn't want Tommy to overhear. Ben asks what he has to do to get Alice to forgive his past. Maybe they shouldn't trust each other because they've only known each other a year and one of them was lying to the other the entire time. Alice asks how Ben would feel if she did that. He says he would understand that she had to do it and forgive her. She says she's forgiven him, but he knows she won't let him forget it. Ben starts to put on his shoes to leave.

She follows him to the living room. Alice says it's not Ben. It's Tommy. She doesn't want him looking at Ben's life and thinking that's an option. He wouldn't last in Ben's world. She doesn't trust him. Just then, Tommy closes the fridge. She says that's not what she meant, but he thinks that's exactly what she meant. Ben leaves and Tommy goes into the room.

Margot wakes up to find Alice in her room. She heard Margot was concerned that Alice wasn't giving the case enough attention, so she sent Trumbull home around six. Margot asks if she couldn't sleep because of a guilty conscience. Alice wonders what she has to feel guilty about. Margot asks if Ben knows about them. Alice doesn't answer and instead clarifies that Margot doesn't trust her. They moving on, but Margot will never trust Alice and Alice will never trust her. Alice tells Margot to get dressed because they have work to do. Alice's phone rings. She tells Valerie she's at Margot's. Valerie's concerned that she's alone with Margot. Alice asks about Tommy's case. The dogs are registered to Patrick Murphy. Tommy's intel was good. When Margot comes out and asks who Tommy is, Alice hangs up. Margot thought she was Alice's only client, but Alice says Tommy's her brother. Margot has one of those herself.

Rhys stands on the stairs, dressed in his exterminator costume. Justine had them sent over and there's one for Ben, too. Ben tells Rhys to take it off. He says the FBI only recruited them because they're the best at what they do. They didn't get that way by taking orders. They need to take down the smuggling ring the only way they know how. Not as bug people.

Ben uses Rhys's contacts to get a reservation at Vinzu. After he's sat down, Rhys plants the idea with the bartender that Ben is a famous food critic. This gets him special attention from Kenji. Kenji delivers a plate to Ben personally and says he knows who he is. He asks if he's enjoying his food. Ben says he could only enjoy it more if Kenji joined him. Kenji does so.

Tommy asks Sophie where Alice is. Sophie says she's out on a case, not his, but she'll be back soon. Tommy asks if Alice has given up on him. Sophie says no, he was right about the dogs. They're registered to Patrick Murphy. Tommy says they used to get mail addressed to Patrick Murphy and said he was the previous tenant. Sophie finds a picture of the mail from the crime scene. Tommy just gave them another clue.

Alice and Margot sit in silence together. Alice's phone comes with the ballistics report from the shooter. No markings. Hand-made bullet. Margot knows where it came from. She's a dead woman.

It's The Hammer, an assassin no one has seen who gets hired and paid anonymously. He makes his own weapons and bullets. They need to lure him out. They need to use Margot as bait to draw him out. Alice is going to pose as Margot.

Valerie is against Alice putting herself at risk for Margot. Valerie thinks Margot is setting them up, but Alice doesn't think so because Margot was scared. Alice says they're going to do the job they were paid for and never see Margot again. She promises.

Ben and Rhys tell Justine what they did to infiltrate Vinzu. She listens as they talk and then says what she thinks doesn't matter. They'r pros, so they don't need the FBI's protection or resources. So if it goes south or Kenji learns that William Sayles the food critic is a black man, they're on their own.

The AVI associates look at the mail pile. There are several letters to Patrick Murphy from The Optican Group. There's no listing for the company, so they'll keep looking.

Tommy goes into Alice's office about what she said. She says she didn't mean it, but she knows she did. What she said was true. His life is a disaster. He's never had a real job. She asks if he wants one. He says he does, so she offers him a job at AVI. Sophie comes in. She found a program on their server that is recording every keystroke.

Alice goes to Margot and says they need to have a little chat. Margot denies hacking AVI. Alice thinks she did it to put Alice in the path of the assassin's bullet. Margot says she didn't call the FBI to ruin Alice. She did it to get back on Ben. Ben lied to her for months, maybe years. He broke her heart, so tried to take away the thing he loved most: Alice. Margot says she lied earlier. She does trust Alice. She spent a year studying Alice and knows how good she is. Margot tells Alice to tell her what she needs to do and she'll do it.

Ben walks into Vinzu surprised to see Justine sitting at the bar. He asks her what she's doing there and she says she's there to observe the master. Kenji comes up and greets Ben. He sees Justine and believes they're together. Just then, Rhys comes up and pretends he and Justine are a married couple there for their anniversary. He offers them a special setting.

Ben asks Kenji about where he gets his fish. He says his sources get the fish before it gets to the market. He also secretly serves Fugu. He has a plate of it brought for Ben to try.

Rhys tells Justine to stop staring or she'll blow their cover. She says she's just there as backup. She also gives Rhys the cameras. He leaves the table to go place them around the restaurant.

Ben toast Kenji. Kenji gets sad. He says he wants to get back to Osaka most days. Ben pours him another drink and asks why. Kenji says all this belonged to other people. They can't talk there, so Kenji leads Ben away from the table.

Justine starts to get up to follow, but Rhys says it'll look suspicious and they aren't going anywhere. Besides, they can watch on Rhys's phone. Rhys snuggles in close to Justine to watch Ben and Kenji in the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Kenji says he got involved with some powerful investors that are using the restaurant as a front for their own interests. He grabs a knife and cuts open a fish, resealing that it's full of diamonds.

Alice has a plan. The shooter is likely staking out the hotel because Margot's been holed up inside for two days. So when she steps outside, he'll take his shot and they'll take him. Margot's willing to put herself in the line of fire, so they're going to station agents at the most likely locations and confuse him.

Margot, Sophie, Valerie, and Alice all pose as Margot and move around the plaza. When the agent at the third location doesn't check in, they know that's where he is. Alice is closer, so she drops her disguise and takes off. The Hammer then looks at the three remaining and fires at once. It's Sophie, who quickly runs for cover. Next he shoots at Valerie, who also runs. As he goes to fire at the real Margot, Alice makes it up to the roof to find his gun there, but not him. She goes back inside the building and he attacks her from behind. They fight and he throws her to the ground. He goes after her dropped gun, but she grabs a board and hits him. She holds the gun on him as Danny approaches them. They have him.

The Hammer doesn't know the name of the person who hired him. He tells them they might as well just kill him now. Alice says no one's going to kill him, but Margot grabs her gun and says she'll take over from here. Alice says that's not how they deal with things. Margot reminds Alice that they work for her. Valerie then says technically their job is done now. She and Alice leave after Alice tell Margot not to kill anyone. After they're gone, Margot tells The Hammer she wants to hire him.

Ben tells Justine she can't arrest Kenji. He's just a pawn and they're missing out on a much bigger bust if they take him down. They need more time. Justine doesn't want to give it to them. He wants a week, but she says they won't get that.

Sophie comes into AVI and asks Tommy if Danny is there. He's not. Sophie is freaked out because she got shot at. And then Danny left and didn't check on her at all. He tells her Danny's a fool and kisses her. He pulls back, but she kisses him again.

Ben and Alice meet in a parking garage. He gives her a bag. It's a bento box from Vinzu. They kiss. He says he's a criminal, who is now a good guy who has to pretend to be a criminal so that in 18 months, he can be worthy of the woman he loves. He'll still never be a good role model for her brother. She says she was never into choir boys. He then asks if that applies to even when she was head cheerleader. They kiss again and he asks if she still has the uniform. She says they're done talking.

Ben enters Vinzu to find people emptying it. Fumiko tells him Kenji went back to Osaka. She gives him a note from Kenji that thanks Ben for inspiring him to return to his roots. Ben's phone rings. It's Justine, who tells him the Bureau is giving him 24 hours to get as much information as they can before they arrest Kenji. He has to break the news to her.

Sophie comes in and Danny asks her where she's been because she left him three message and then didn't answer when he called her back. She says she was with Tommy and asks where he was when he left her alone at the plaza after being shot at. Alice comes in. Danny tells her he left the hotel last night to meet up with some FBI buddies about Tommy's case. They ran the name The Optican Group through VICAP and found that it's a front for the Soundland Drug Cartel. The money is drug money. Whoever killed the Kincaids was after the money and now will be after Tommy.

Tommy rejects a call from Alice. He's with Rhys. He says he'd prefer Alice doesn't know he's there. He tells Rhys he has access to $3 million and he wants Rhys's help to steal it. A flashback shows him putting the key log tracker on Sophie's computer.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Cons and Cases[]

Margot Bishop[]

Margot hired AVI to secure her safety. They investigated the events surrounding Jamison's death. Margot listed her three missing leftenants as potential suspects, saying if she listed everyone who wanted her dead, they'd be there all day. They moved Margot to another room and brought her a burner phone and laptop. They also had Melissa Trumbull protect her. Valerie also found that the three missing leftenants were dead. When they ran the ballistics from the bullet that killed Jamison, Margot informed them that it came from a freelance assassin called The Hammer. They decided to have Alice pose as Margot to draw out the assassin so they could catch him. Margot was willing to use herself to draw him out and so she, Sophie, Alice, and Valerie all wore the same outfit and carried umbrellas to confuse The Hammer. When he figured out what they were doing, he started shooting at them one a time to figure out which was the real one. Before he could shoot Margot, Alice ran up to the roof where he was perched and physical fought with him and subdued him. He told them he was hired and paid anonymously. Their job complete, Alice and Valerie left him alone with Margot, who said she wanted to hire him.

Tommy Vaughan[]

AVI learned that the Kincaids were just aliases. Tommy gave them the idea to check the dogs' microchips to see the name of their registered owners. They got the name Patrick Murphy and saw a letter to Patrick from The Optican Group in the house. There was no listing for The Optican Group. Danny met up with some FBI contacts and learned that The Optican Group is a front for the Southland Drug Cartel. And they would likely be after Tommy for the money. Without Alice's knowledge, Tommy went to Rhys to get Rhys to help him disappear with the money. He also put a key logger on Sophie's computer to get information.

Kenji Yoshida[]

Justine had Ben and Rhys infiltrate Kenji's restaurant Vinzu, through which they knew he was supplying criminals with contraband. Justine wanted them to pretend to be exterminators and plant cameras through which the FBI could observe criminal activity. Instead of doing that, Ben and Rhys convinced the restaurant that Ben was a famous food critic, getting them to treat him like a king and a meeting with Kenji himself. Kenji invited Ben to dine with him a second time and revealed that the restaurant serves Fugu while Rhys planted the cameras. Kenji then confessed to Ben that the restaurant was a front. He took Ben into the kitchen and showed him a fish that was full of diamonds. They were using him and the restaurant as a front for their contraband. Ben went to Justine to try to get her to extend the job so they could take down the people who were using Kenji. The FBI agreed to give him another day, but when he went back to the restaurant, he learned that Kenji had left it to go back to his home in Osaka.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Googa Mama" The Bongolian
  • Rhys's rumor about Ben being a food critic spreads through the restaurant.
  • Ben enjoys the food and Kenji joins him at the table.
"If I Didn't Know Better" Arum Rae
  • Sophie and Tommy share a kiss.
  • Ben and Alice meet on top of a parking garage. He says he wants to be worthy of her and they end up making out.

Notes and Trivia[]

The_Catch_2x02_Promo_"The_Hammer"_(HD)_This_Season_On

The Catch 2x02 Promo "The Hammer" (HD) This Season On

  • This episode scored 3.81 million viewers.
  • Alice wears the dress that she wears in the promotional photos for the second season.

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

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