Without a Trace Episode 6.11 4G

On a poorly lit block off the Westside Highway, hookers strut while johns cruise past. In a parked van, Scott Lucas watches and listens with high-tech surveillance gear. When a hooker recognizes a john as a local politician, the man threatens her. Scott quickly pulls up and snaps pictures. "Is this your new outreach program, Councilman?" he asks, then hits the gas. As the councilman's car begins to follow, he vanishes.

The agents find Scott's van stripped and abandoned. A hidden recorder in the dashboard has audio of Scott arguing with an assailant. Though the councilman has an alibi, the agents dig into other cases, worried that Scott's reputation for getting the job done at all costs may have been his undoing. Scott's ex-wife, Kim, says that the recent passing of Scott's father had prompted him to reflect on his career, feeling that maybe it was time to get out. But Scott had also planted lipstick cameras in many of his female neighbors' apartments; perhaps he had a more lascivious agenda.

The motives behind Scott's spying remain a mystery until the agents learn of his unusual friendship with Adam, a sixteen year old foster kid. Once Adam's father, Mitch, comes into the picture, things become clear. Scott tried to bring Mitch back into Adam's life, but neither Adam nor Mitch wanted anything to do with one another. Mitch knocked out Scott and ripped off his van to sell for money to score drugs, and he reveals Scott's location. He's alive, and once he's in the hospital he petitions the court to become a foster father to Adam.