- The members of the EOD team, including Sanborn, Eldridge, and Will, are driving along in a Humvee.
- Eldridge is holding forth on how absurd and old school it is that they have so many tanks hanging around since they don't seem to really help in keeping everyone alive in the current war. He jokes about how they'd be all set for a tank battle with Russia, though.
- Sanborn wants Eldridge to shut up, and Eldridge says he's just going to scare the new guy. A title card tells us that there are 38 days left in Bravo Company's rotation. (That's their company, just in case that wasn't clear.)
- The guys are stuck in traffic trying to get people out of their way.
- The soldiers arrive to a deserted street. Well, deserted-ish—there are some people around. However, the soldiers can't seem to find the troops that called them out to the scene.
- The guys look around and talk over their radios, trying to find their fellow soldiers.
- Finally, the guys spot the other group's Humvee and shout out that they are friendly—you know, so their fellow soldiers don't shoot them by accident. But it turns out the Humvee is empty.
- Will sees someone waving an American flag from a nearby door. He yells "friendly!" and heads in. Aha. This is where the soldiers were hiding. They point out where they may have seen an IED.
- Instead of investigating the scene using the robot, Will is going to get right in the bomb suit.
- Sanborn is not super into this idea since they won't even get a look at what they're after before going in.
- However, Will is firm, so the team suits him up. Sanborn asks again if Will really needs to do it this way, particularly on his first day—why not take it easy?
- The soldiers kind of side-eye each other as Will heads out to deal with the IED. Clearly, this guy isn't doing things they way they are used to having them done.
- Eldridge says Will is "a rowdy boy," and Sanborn says he's reckless.
- As he moves, Will throws out a canister that sends up smoke, obscuring him from view.
- Apparently, he's trying to create a diversion, but Sanborn gets annoyed since no one can tell where Will is.
- Adding to Sanborn's annoyance: Will is not as interested in radioing Sanborn with every change in his position, which is clearly what Thompson did (based on what we saw in the opening scene) and what Sanborn wants.
- Needless to say, between the canister and Will's, er, radio silence, Sanborn is not impressed with the new guy's first outing.
- Meanwhile, Will continues toward the IED. So far, so good.
- Suddenly, there's a new complication: a car comes zooming into the area. A taxi.
- Will pulls a gun on the taxi, and the rest of the soldiers are pretty much freaking out.
- No one else can move in to help because the bomb could go off at any minute, and only Will has a bomb suit.
- Will talks to the driver, asking him to back up. It's pretty tense, and they have a standoff. Will decides to speed things along and fires near the car.
- When the driver still doesn't move, Will fires through the windshield.
- Still nothing. Really? We would be so out of there.
- Will decides to take things up yet another level and puts the gun against the guy's head.
- "Success," finally—the driver reverses and leaves the blast area. The other soldiers then grab the driver and put him on the ground.
- Will seems to be amused, remarking, "Well, if he wasn't an insurgent, he sure the hell is now." Sanborn doesn't find it funny.
- Anyway, back to the task at hand. Will continues toward the supposed IED/wires. He looks around and examines the ground. He radios back that he's found something. He starts probing the bomb and apparently disarms it.
- Will radios back that they are good to go.
- Time to relax? Well, we were fooled before, so we're going to hold off on the celebrating for now.
- And for good reason. There's a guy watching from above who looks very interested in everything that's going on.
- Then, Will finds a wire and follows it back to its source. The guy above watches. Will radios back, "Secondary."
- Will pulls on the wire and five more of the thing he just disarmed come up out of the sandy ground.
- The guy watching from above starts heading down the stairs.
- Meanwhile, Will works on the wires for the bombs he just pulled up. We crosscut between Will's work and the guy's trip down the stairs. What is the guy on the stairs up to?
- Will follows the wires. The guy from the stairs passes him, and Will shows him one of the key bits that he's pulled out of the bomb with a big smile. The guy doesn't say or do anything; he just keeps moving. As he moves along, we see him drop something. Hmm, was that the detonator?
- Okay, now we can relax, as far as bombs are concerned. However, Sanborn is not happy. He gives Will some guff for how he handled that whole situation, and Eldridge takes the opportunity to remind Sanborn that they only have 39 days left on their rotation.
- Sanborn replies that it's 38 if they survive this day.