S05E05 - Traceback

"Traceback" is the fifth episode of Season 5 of We Can Fix Pawbert.

Synopsis

The investigation into Icener's network deepens as the pack discovers the operation is exploiting recently released felons as unwitting labor. Pawbert's anger at the exploitation drives a stakeout that captures a recruiter and reveals old Lynxley infrastructure connections, while Roskova narrowly escapes a warehouse confrontation.

Plot

Volkov undergoes further interrogation at ZSI, where Luther and Shaw press him on the Icener connection. Volkov confirms the name and acknowledges that the mission may have already gone further than intended, but he refuses to provide operational intelligence or betray his people. In the CCC, Shaw reports that the attacks are escalating—three incidents in a single week—and that the operatives are documenting ZSI response times, effectively studying the city's defenses. Costa orders continued CTU rotation at compromised stations and surveillance on every property identified from the Meridian Shipping records.

Nick and Judy work the corporate angle from the detective bullpen, tracing fourteen shell companies that all route through the same Vladifrostok holding company: Arctic Dawn Enterprises. Six years of acquisitions, all beginning three months after the Lynxley convictions. While driving to interview a corporate registrar in Sahara Square, Nick spots a gray van tailing them from the precinct. The tail is professional—not street-level—and breaks off the moment Nick and Judy acknowledge it, confirming that Roskova's people are conducting counter-surveillance on the investigation. The interview with registrar Damara Lodge confirms the shell network's sophistication: different mammals filed paperwork on different days, all using professional forgeries, all claiming generic import-export purposes.

Over dinner at the mansion, Luther reports that the device situation is worsening—CTU cleared eleven stations the previous day, only for three new compromised stations to appear overnight. The network has had six years to embed itself while ZSI has had six days to respond. Pawbert reveals something he noticed at ZRS: multiple clients mentioning unusual job offers for infrastructure work with good pay and no questions asked, all traceable to the same recruiter. When Nick casually refers to the scheme's exploitation of ex-cons—mammals nobody would believe if caught—Pawbert erupts. He slams his paw on the table and delivers a furious defense of the mammals being targeted, reminding Nick that they are citizens trying to rebuild their lives, that someone is weaponizing their desperation, and that he himself was exactly where they are three years ago. Nick apologizes. The table falls silent. But Pawbert channels his anger into intelligence: one of his clients turned down the suspicious job and remembered the recruiter's meeting location—a diner in the Canyonlands.

The pack stakes out the Dusty Mesa Diner in two cars. While waiting, Luther tells Pawbert not to apologize for his outburst—he was right to be angry, and Nick was wrong even if he did not mean it. Pawbert reveals the weight he carries: thirty-seven active clients, all one bad decision from returning to prison, and he cannot stop wondering how many took those job offers because they were desperate. When the recruiter—an arctic fox named Yevgeni—exits the diner carrying a folder of recruitment materials, the pack moves to intercept. Yevgeni recognizes Luther and bolts. The chase tears through the Canyonlands commercial district until Judy explodes through a gap in a fence and tackles him into a stack of pallets. Nick cuffs him.

Inside the diner, Pawbert spots Spotrick, a young ocelot who was meeting with the recruiter. Spotrick flees to the bathroom in terror. Rather than pursue aggressively, Pawbert walks calmly to the door, identifies himself as a Reentry Services worker, and tells Spotrick he is not a cop. Inside the bathroom, Pawbert de-escalates the panicking ocelot by sharing his own history—three years in prison, the impossible job search, the background checks that close every door. Spotrick had been offered the same "construction work" everyone else was offered, and he nearly took it. Pawbert assures him he is a witness, not a suspect, and persuades him to share what he remembers: the recruiter had a list of properties across the city where different crews would be assigned.

The captured materials and Spotrick's intelligence produce a significant breakthrough at the CCC. Yevgeni's property list reveals dozens of locations near weather wall infrastructure, and Pawbert recognizes some of them as old Lynxley sites—maintenance depots and relay stations that were officially decommissioned decades ago but never truly dismantled. The Lynxley family mothballed rather than destroyed, keeping facilities maintained as contingencies. O'Brian cross-references the locations with encrypted communications and confirms they fill significant gaps in the intelligence picture, forming a ring around primary weather wall junction points. Costa orders surveillance on every property, starting with those closest to active stations. That night, Nick, Judy, Luther, and Shaw conduct rooftop surveillance on a Tundratown warehouse from the list. They spot Roskova at the loading bay. Luther decides to move, but Roskova sees them and runs. A car chase through Tundratown's icy streets ends when Roskova abandons her SUV and disappears into a crowded market. Luther is left frustrated—close, but not close enough.

In the tag, Roskova reports to Icener by phone from a safehouse. She acknowledges that ZSI is learning faster, that Yevgeni will talk, and that the property network has been identified. She studies her map of weather wall stations and resolves to accelerate the installation schedule, confident that by the time ZSI understands the full picture, the operation will already be complete.

Key Moments

• Volkov confirms the Icener connection but refuses to provide operational intelligence, admitting only that the mission has gone too far
• Nick and Judy discover counter-surveillance while driving to Sahara Square, confirming Roskova's network is watching the investigation
• The corporate registrar interview reveals the shell company network's sophistication but yields no leads on the operatives themselves
• Pawbert erupts at dinner over the exploitation of recently released felons, confronting Nick directly about his dismissive language
• Pawbert reveals that his ZRS clients have been approached with suspicious job offers traceable to the same recruiter
• The pack stakes out the Dusty Mesa Diner and captures recruiter Yevgeni after a foot chase through Canyonlands
• Pawbert de-escalates Spotrick in the diner bathroom, using his own prison experience to build trust
• Spotrick provides intelligence about the recruiter's property list and planned work locations
• Pawbert identifies old Lynxley sites on the property list that were mothballed rather than decommissioned
• O'Brian cross-references the property locations with encrypted communications, filling significant intelligence gaps
• Luther spots Roskova at a Tundratown warehouse and decides to move, but she escapes into a crowded market
• Roskova contacts Icener and resolves to accelerate operations, confident she remains ahead of ZSI

Key Lines

Characters Introduced

Locations

• ZSI Headquarters - Interrogation Room, Crisis Coordination Center
• ZPD Precinct 1 - Detective bullpen
• Sahara Square - Corporate Services Office (Damara Lodge's workplace)
• Pawthorne Mansion - Dining room
• Canyonlands - Dusty Mesa Diner and parking lot
• Tundratown - Warehouse district; crowded market
• Roskova's safehouse (Tundratown)

Items

• Recruitment folder - Yevgeni's materials containing job offers and property addresses for hiring ex-cons
• Property list - Dozens of locations near weather wall infrastructure, including old mothballed Lynxley sites
• Yevgeni's forged IDs - Professional forgeries used by operatives who hired Damara Lodge
• Roskova's map - Weather wall stations marked with symbols at her Tundratown safehouse

Notes

• Pawbert's outburst about the exploitation of recently released felons is one of his most powerful moments, drawing directly on his personal experience and professional identity as a social worker.
• The revelation that Lynxley infrastructure was mothballed rather than decommissioned establishes a key plot thread: someone with knowledge of Lynxley family practices directed Icener's network to hidden sites.
• Spotrick's de-escalation marks the first time Pawbert applies his ZRS professional skills in a field crisis context.
• Nick and Judy's counter-surveillance encounter confirms Roskova's network is actively monitoring the investigation.