Deadly Impact

Tom and his team corner the Lion's operation as Christmas Eve unfolds. They arrive at Tom's home and find his wife Kelly bound in a basement filled with explosives, watched over by the Lion via CCTV. The Lion forces Tom to choose between Kelly's life and the safety of everyone inside the house, giving him a 3 minutes 25 seconds countdown. Tom disables the lights and shoots Kelly, sacrificing his wife to save others.

Eight years have passed and Tom has retired to Mexico, haunted by Kelly's death. FBI agent Isabel Ordonez travels there to recruit him to help track down the Lion again. Tom initially refuses but secretly notes the nightclub address that will become central to the Lion's plan, hoping to exact his own revenge.

Isabel presents evidence that the Lion will meet associates at a nightclub, prompting Tom to re-enter the hunt as a reluctant consultant. He declines active duty but uses the information to prepare for the Lion's movement and to devise his own plan of revenge. The nightclub becomes a focal point for the Lion's operations.

Inside the nightclub, the Lion moves past Tom to meet his associate, then kills the man and detonates a bomb to cover his escape. Tom gives chase through the club's exterior until the Lion subdues him and prepares to kill him. An unmarked police car arrives, forcing the Lion to abandon Tom and vanish.

The FBI driver Hops mistakes Tom for one of the Lion's operatives and tries to arrest him. Tom is taken in but then brought to assist the FBI's task force alongside his former partner Ryan. This marks Tom's reluctant return to professional pursuit of the Lion.

The Lion disguises himself as a hotel janitor to observe a hotel in Albuquerque. He uses a chemical agent to damage the floor and then poses as a mason to fix it, secretly installing explosive cement and a trigger chip. The plan is designed to lock down the hotel and give him a path to unleash devastation.

Kaplow announces a $100 million ransom, claiming payment will prevent further hits, but Tom suspects the money is a smokescreen for a deeper objective. The Lion's communications are crafted to keep law enforcement focused on money rather than motive. The countdown continues as investigators piece together the Lion's true aim.

Investigators discover a cleaning crew employee has been missing for two days and was connected to the nightclub and hotel. Tom and Isabel trace the janitor's trail to a bugged house, but a threatening call from the Lion forces them to retreat. The Lion demonstrates he can control the hotel situation from a distance.

The Lion notes that Amy, Ryan's daughter, works as a bartender at the hotel and uses her to intimidate the guests. He orders Amy to announce a hostage situation and detonates bombs inside the hotel's floors, raising the ransom to 200 million. The hotel becomes a locked-down trap as the situation spirals.

Kaplow's true identity is revealed as David Kaplow, and he abducts Ryan's daughter to force Ryan into assassinating Senator Cordero. Ryan reluctantly complies, but he is killed by Cordero's bodyguard, escalating the confrontation. The nature of Kaplow's plan becomes clearer as personal stakes rise.

Kaplow detonates a bombing at the FBI headquarters and abducts Agent Isabel Ordonez, heightening the danger for Tom and the agency. Tom races toward Ordonez's house to intervene as the situation worsens. The escalating violence marks a shift from pursuit to direct assault on trusted figures.

Tom confronts Kaplow in a brutal fight at Ordonez's house and is briefly forced to surrender. Kaplow escapes but Tom taunts him with a call, revealing that Kaplow's vest is rigged to bombs. Tom detonates the vest, killing Kaplow in a police car while he survives the ordeal.