In prison , a fight breaks out between two white prisoners when one won't get out of another prisoner's seat in the cafeteria. Apparently the guy being beat up belongs to a Black guy named Floyd. The other prisoner is a hacker but says what he did isn't cool, as someone died.

The hacker gets a message in a Ramen container that says 10 PM. He looks at the clock.A riot sounds like it's breaking out and his cell door opens. He walks right out while people are fighting and hits a guard over the head who is attacking Floyd, then takes off and seanks around outside in the yard, evading the spotlights and eventually disconnecting wires so he can escape from prison altogether.

The FBI briefs Organized Crime and their own agents on five prisoners who escaped. They are not believed to be coordinating with each other. There will be a press conference soon. No ransom demands yet but there was ransomware involved.

Jett looks into how the prisoners escaped. They hacked into the prison system. She looks at the script for the malware and is impressed.

Wheatley is doing some podcast. He says he is exonerated, which the podcast host disagrees with. ANyway he isn't going to retaliate when he lost everything. Stabler is watching but Bell tells him she needs him back at the office.

Jett briefs the others on McClain. He was arrested when his crew accidentally locked a janitor in a vault during a heist and the janitor died. McClain had no access to computers in jail but the breakout is his MO.

McClain gives himself a bloody nose somewhere.

Jett talks to the warden who claims there is no way McClain could have gotten access to computers. However they find coded messages in his cell. There is a photo of a female CO.

Jett questions the CO who claims he had her back and didn't seem like an inmate. She thinks he cares about her and isn't manipulating her. However she let him use her phone a few times.

Bell and Stabler interview a guy who made a deal to testify against McClain. Like Wheatley, he says talking to the Feds was the right thing to do. His phone rings but he ignores it, though he says he has to go to work. He's a data analyst for an insurance company.

Stabler and Bell follow their witness to see where he's really headed. They see him pull over at a stop sign on the corner, where he meets a mysterious person in a hoodie. Bell takes a photo and sees McClain's face is messed up. Jett gets the photo but facial rec can'tt ID him. However Jettt herself can ID him. McClain leaves and the other dude takes off. Stabler and Bell give chase but a truck gets in their way. Suspect is cornered a and backs up and almost hits Stabler. Stabler and Bell surround the car.

McClain was controlling the car remotely. The other suspect admits he lied. McClain threatened to ruin him on the Dark Web if he didn't help him. He says McClain feels guilty about the guy who died and wants to make amends by getting in touch with the guy's wife.  Jett asks him about the code found in the prison. He doesn't recognize it and says it's not Constatine's style. Jett agrees. The suspect has never seen anything like this code.

Jett doesn't want to bring Adam in and says she can't find him anyway. Stabler tells her Adam is under house arrest.

Adam doesn't answer his door. She is able to break in by fooling his iris scanner with a phone app. She's in but can't find Adam. She finds fake IDS everywhere. She also discovers he put his ankle bracelet on the cat. Adam comes up to her and they exchange threats. Adam's girlfriend (?) has an ACAB jacket. She leaves and Adam claims that he is helping abused women escape domestic violence. He's also supportive of the prisoners escaping. He is interested when he hears Constatine is involved.

Stabler and Bell learn that Wheatley has been brought in to help them with the case. Stabler walks out. Wheatley smirks. Stabler tells Brewster that Wheatley is playing them. Brewster doesn't think so. Wheatley wanders out into the conversation and claims that Stabler is stalking him.  Wheatley and Stabler exchange words about who holds grudges or doesn't and then Stabler orders Wheatley to give him an address where they will meet as needed.

Meanwhile, Adam puts down Jett's computer. He finds the hackers are in Russia. Wheatley is introduced and doubts that Adam is correct.

Stabler helps Angela, who is still pretending to be severely disabled, to a table in a bar. Angela won't tell him anything about Wheatley. She says she was kicked out of the safe house when the charges against Wheatley were dropped. Stabler is sorry. Angela says that she did her best. Stabler said at that time he truly believed in her. But now Sebastian McClain? ANgela claims not to know McClain and claims her memory is still weak. She won't let Stabler open a sugar packet for her. Stabler tells her to be careful. She says she's getting better. He tells her he's talking about Wheatley. Angela reacts strangely to spilling water and Stabler notes her recovery is miraculous.

Kilbride speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for a community library he is sponsoring.  Denise and Bell are there to wish him well. Bell says this library means a lot to her. Kilbride takes a photo with them. Novi shows up and says Kilbride needs to go to his next appointment.

Bell meets Novi on a graffiti-lined street. She recognizes some of the guys Kilbride is working for from the gang she's investigating. One of them is a guy named Webb who is homophobic.

Kilbride meets with Webb, who gives him an envelope full of money. Kilbride has made sure Webb's firm won the contract to build the library. But they are not going to let it be built. He wants delays to drive the cost up so he can get more money from Webb.

Wheatley compliments Adam, who claims that his hacking is quasi legal. Wheatley is sure the address was spoofed and that the hacker is in NY, which Stabler confirms. Wheatley suggests they look into who is on the back end but suddenly all the computers go off and a ransomware demand is made. If they don't pay more prisoners will be released.  (Did Wheatley know that would happen?)

Jett and Adam both want to answer Bell's question. She calls on Jett. Anyway, Wheatley thinks they should pay the ransom. He suggests his proprietary cryptocoin. He wants his phone so he can scrape it together. Jett warns him that tracking features have been disabled. SOmeone immediately withdraws the money in Queens when it is sent.

The cops arrive at the scene and get shot at right away. Stabler catches the hacker, Carlos Martinez, whose day job is in a dentist's office. He was paid to follow a template for the ransom attack. Stabler thinks Wheatley hired Martinez and then sold him out.

McClain meets with Wheatley and Angela at their home. Wheatley had met McClain on the prison bus and promised to break him out of prison.  Wheatley says McClain can stay one night and then must go back on the run. Right now he is the most wanted man in America.

Elsewhere, Stabler vows to prove Wheatley's involvement...