Although he's nearly mowed down by a private plane that crashes into the estate's tidal pool, Thomas befriends the pilot, Sam Hunter, who was delivering the plane to its new owner, Mr. Sato; both men have an inkling that they've met before but can't seem to remember where or when, and Thomas has a nagging feeling that he owes Sam one, even though he can't place his finger on why; after Higgins and Thomas are shot at when they catch someone snooping around the plane, Thomas searches through the wreckage and discovers that the crash was caused by sabotage; Sam returns to Texas for his son's birthday, and attempts to reconcile with his ex-wife; after Thomas lets him know about the sabotage and that an investigation into Sato's background reveals that he's a major cocaine importer, Sam takes to the air to track down Sato and Nick, the coworker he suspects of causing the plane crash; a bit of fancy flying later, Sam forces the plane carrying Nick, Sato, and a cargo of cocaine to land right in