Tracker Recap With Spoilers: "Off the Books"

Jensen Ackles guest stars on Tracker as Colter's older brother, Russell.

By Charlie Ridgely

Sunday night's penultimate episode of Tracker's freshman season is easily the most anticipated episode of the series yet. Not only will fans finally get to see Colter come face-to-face with his mysterious older brother, Russell, but said older brother is being played by longtime Supernatural star Jensen Ackles. Colter has been spending all season thinking about the death of his father and the part Russell might have played in it. This is the first time he'll actually have to confront that. With the finale set for next week, "Off the Books" is an adventure to get excited about it. You can check out a full, SPOILER-FILLED recap below!

The episode kicks off in Roanoke, Virginia, where a man anxiously waits at a rundown gas station. When he sees a flashlight in the woods, he dumps something in a trash can and runs away. This takes us to Colter's Airstream in the woods. A car pulls up and out of it climbs his older brother, Russell Shaw. Russell brings out some beer and the two brothers sit at a fire trying their best to hash out a conversation neither of them wants to have. He tells Colter he didn't push their dad off the cliff when he died, but that there was someone else out in the woods that night all those years ago. He says he saw the man from the woods talking to their mom at one point prior to that, and he reveals that their mom told him to leave and stay quiet about what happened. Russell goes on to say that he needs help with a friend that went missing. His buddy, Doug, is the man from the gas station, and he dumped his phone when he fled the scene. Colter agrees to help track Doug down. They begin to work together on this case, but Colter isn't sure if he believes Russell about their dad.

According to Russell, Doug had a mishap recently that could've triggered some PTSD and he wonders if his friend might be dealing with some kind of mental issue. They arrive at Russell's house and his wife says there was a mysterious package on the front doorstep that morning. Inside the package is a box with a single severed finger in it. The conversation reveals that Doug and Russell were involved in some work that his wife wasn't allowed to know about. Privately, Russell says that they work in off-the-books security. Bobby analyzes the finger that was sent to Doug's and it belongs to a man named Len who died two days prior. 

The Shaw brothers head to the morgue to check out the body. When Russell fails to charm the secretary into letting them in, they break in around back. Colter seems to have learned a lot more from their father's obscure education than Russell. They pull out Len's body and discover that all of his fingers had been removed. Before they can learn anything else, though, the police show up and arrest them.

Colter and Russell continue trying to work through the case while waiting in jail. Reenie shows up to get them out and Russell attempts his signature "charm" that has yet to work out for him. They bring her up to speed on Doug's case and she asks Russell about the Horizon group, the same client that Doug's wife was worried about. When Reenie leaves, Russell asks if there's anything between her and Colter, which Colter quickly shuts down. They head to where the body was found and Colter confronts Russell about keeping something from him regarding the case. Russell explains that a few of the guys from his unit were into some potentially supernatural things like curses, and that Doug was one of them. They discover a symbol on the wall of a building that matches the one from the box the finger came in. They're ambushed upon walking in but quickly turn the tables on the men trying to attack them. The men knew of Doug, and they say he came to them about some kind of "blessing" or "curse" ritual. The men give up the name Carlos, giving Russell a new lead to follow.

Russell explains to Colter that they had a slightly botched job where they killed a target with the same last name as Carlos'. Doug had to go back to the kill site because Russell left a knife behind. It's clear that all of this has something to do with Horizon and that job. The handler with Horizon tells them to keep a "tight circle" on things and that they're going to try and handle things. She then explains that the previous job was about a military rebel organization that was being built up and they were hired to stop. She goes on to tell them the location of a safe house where they might be able to find Doug, or at least some more information. When they get to the safe house they discover a dead boy, but it doesn't belong to Doug.

They find some photos of Carlos and his brother, and a note that Carlos was recently released from prison. He's after Doug for the death of his brother on that job in the past. Because of their work, Russell knows that Horizon isn't going to be sending them any help or backup. In the truck, Russell plays with a pocket knife in the passenger seat. It's the knife that Doug went back to get, and he reveals it was a gift from their father. Thanks to some help from Reenie and Bobby, they get the information from the van that took Doug from the safe house. Carlos owns a vacation property about three hours away, and that's likely where they're keeping Doug. The Shaw brothers get geared up and head out to the house.

Colter and Russell start working their way through the woods and towards the house, taking out guards on the way. They sneak in and past a couple of guys who are watching TV in the living room. When they are finally discovered, they had back down the stairs with a flash grenade and blazing guns.

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The Shaw brothers take out the men in the cabin. Russell catches a bullet to the arm and swears he's okay, but Colter doesn't believe him. They find Doug and get him out to safety before Colter goes to clean Russell's wound. Russell tells Colter to get Doug back home because he has "unfinished business" with Carlos that he needs to take care of. And like that, the Shaw brothers go their separate ways again.

After dropping Doug back at home, Colter goes to the motel where Russell was staying. The man at the front desk says Russell left a couple of days ago, but left a package for Colter. Inside, Colter finds a roll of money, Russell's beloved pocket knife, and a note that says "Keep this safe for me."

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