Shane's face has finally healed from the ass-kicking. He splashes cold water on it and flushes his painkillers down the toilet. He sits down and painstakingly scrawls TERRY CROWLEY across the top of a legal pad. More pads and case files (including Terry's) are spread across the spare bed in his hotel room. Shane's antsy, pacing and smoking cigarettes.
Ronnie gets in Vic's car, asking, "Did you talk to Shane?" Vic can barely get the words out: "He did it. He killed Lem." Ronnie can't believe it. Vic promises Shane is never coming back to the Strike Team.
They're meeting Hernan the undercover fed in a park bathroom. Hernan's new handler, Talbert, knows the severed arm belonged to government official Romero. Hernan was told to leave the case alone. Vic finds it odd that the governments on both sides of the border are looking the other way. Hernan bets "some fed way up the food chain is getting greased to keep it off the books."
Hernan doesn't trust Talbert, a dangerous position for an undercover to be in. He asks Vic to be his lifeline. Vic gives Hernan the number to his burner phone. Hernan is hoping to get his own crew, which will make him privy to more gang secrets. Could Vic raid Lonya's Bar at 2:00 this afternoon Hernan plans to tip off the gang 20 minutes before Vic gets there. His cover story will be that he has a mole in the police department.
When Vic arrives at the Barn, cops are pouring out to their cars en masse. "We got a street fair with confetti and dead bodies," Kevin says. More specifically, it's the Salvadoran El Mundo Festival. Four people are dead, others injured; all the casualties are women and children. And does Vic happen to know why Shane called in sick today?
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Claudette theorizes the shooting is Mexican payback for the San Marcos house murders. "Hernan says Salvadorans had nothing to do with San Marcos. It was an internal Mexican beef," says Vic. Claudette isn't so sure about that. "He lied," Vic realizes.
Danny is struggling to keep a distraught woman behind the police tape. "My son!" the Latina cries, pointing to a stretcher the paramedics are loading into an ambulance, "My son was shot! Let me see him!"
Back at the Barn, Claudette wants to find out why Hernan lied to them. Vic explains Hernan is about to be made a gang captain and wouldn't want the local cops turning up the heat. The undercover fed is nervous about being told not to investigate Romero's murder and no longer trusts his handler. Claudette tells Dutch and Billings to run with the Romero lead.
Vic tells the captain about the favor Hernan asked for. She wants the Salvadorans brought in anyway. Phillips arrives to talk to her. "I-I know this street festival thing looks bad," Claudette stutters. She assures the chief her best detectives are handling it. Fortunately, Wilshire and Central have also offered help.
Mara is by the vending machines, holding Jackson on one hip. Have the guys seen Shane? He didn't come home last night. I'm not sure why Mara even cares, given that she threw him out of the house after his drug-fueled murder confession. Mara zeroes right in on Vic: "He doesn't do anything without you knowing about it." She knows the truth about Lem. "If you did anything to hurt Shane--"
Vic cuts her off, challenging, "What is it you think you know?" Mara says she and Shane don't keep secrets from each other. Vic pats Jackson on the head: "Open and honest. That's the best way, right?"
The guys raid Lonya's Bar, which, surprise of surprises, is empty. "Hernan knew we'd come early for the bosses," says Vic, "I'm beginning to think this guy is kind of an asshole."
Shane straightens up a stack of handwritten papers. Besides the one with Terry's name on it, there's one that says ARMENIAN MONEY TRAIN FEB-APR '03. He puts all his files and folders into two manila envelopes.
At the bar, Vic's phone rings. Hernan is on the other end. Vic asks if the bosses are planning retaliation. Said bosses are around, so Hernan gives his answer in rapid Spanish. The gist of it is "check the garbage." Vic finds a list of the bosses' addresses. He decodes what Hernan is saying as "pick me up with the rest of them." Vic hangs up and takes back what he said about Hernan.
Ronnie thinks it's a smart move that "preserves his cover, gets the shot-callers off the street." Julien is concerned the Byz Lats might get suspicious if they just pick up the Salvadorans. Vic has a solution for that: a gang sweep.
Claudette tells Edgar-veda about Phillips' visit and his involving Wilshire and Central: "Our stats are tanking. He's gonna shut this place down." Edgar-veda guesses, "They're keeping it under the radar to protect morale." "It's hard to motivate cops when your home base is a sinking ship," she points out.
Claudette asks for extra manpower for a gang sweep. Edgar-veda cautions that the Mexican and Salvadoran communities are both angry; this will look like victim-blaming. "It's a warrant sweep," she explains, adding she's doing this to protect an undercover ICE agent. The agent might be able to help broker peace.
At a construction site, Edgar-veda's friend Cruz lays out his plans for a new community: restaurants, stores, and a movie theater within walking distance of new low-income housing and a low-cost medical clinic: "People work hard for their money. They shouldn't have to bus to Beverly Hills to spend it." If they're low-income, they can't stop in Beverly Hills anyway, dummy.
Edgar-veda tells Cruz about the upcoming gang sweep. His friend calls it a "blitzkrieg against Latinos." Edgar-veda argues, "We're getting gang members off the street to keep the community safe." Between all their connections, they can convince the neighborhood this is a good thing.
Cruz explains the two of them aren't considered "real Latinos" by the locals anymore: "They see a developer and a former cop." Edgar-veda tells them the Barn might be closed permanently, meaning fewer police officers in the area. Gesturing at the construction, he asks, "What good is all this if we can't protect it or the people who come here?" Edgar-veda even goes as far as telling Cruz the real reason they're doing the sweep. Jesus, Hernan is a....
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"I left you a message, said not to wait up," he adds. His cell died and he couldn't find another phone. (A likely story). In any case, Shane's sorry he worried her. Mara tells him that she went looking for him at work and talked to Vic. He scared her.
"Mara, what did you say to him?" asks Shane, "Did you say anything about Lem?" "I think he might've figured it out," she replies. Shane wants to know what else she said to him. Mara may have mentioned that the Vendrells don't keep secrets from each other.
Shane sighs: "You know who this guy is? What he's done? The shit he can do, Mara? Not just to me, but to you and Jacks?" "What else have you done, Shane? Huh?" Mara sounds freaked out. Shane barks, "Enough!"
Mara backs away from him, but keeps asking questions: "Will he tell them about Lem? Will they send you to prison?" Shane is confident Vic will keep his mouth shut; he could cause all kinds of trouble for Vic if he wanted to. "So you're a threat to him? Oh God," says Mara. They have to get out of L.A.
Shane has already called Vice about getting his old job back. He'll work there for a year or so until they save enough to move. Shane gives her instructions: Pack a bag for herself and Jackson, small but enough to live out of for a while. He has a few things he needs to take care of, then he'll join them. Shane gives her a hug and a kiss.
Mara realizes she can't leave that fast. Corinne is supposed to come over tomorrow with stuff for their new baby. "Vic wouldn't do anything to us when we're with his wife and kid, right?" Make that "ex-wife," Mara.
Kevin briefs everyone on their two main targets: Octavio Menez, to be picked up by SWAT, and Santi Galas, to be picked up by the Strike Team. "These scumbags live with family, that means elderly and kids," adds Vic, "So safety off, but easy on the trigger." Ronnie's job is to bring in Hernan; other gang members know Vic's face.
Agent Talbert enters to start the feds vs. locals pissing contest. He refuses to sign off on the raid. "Then don't," says Claudette. The sweep is happening with or without his help. Talbert intends to stop it. "Might as well paint a bull's-eye on Hernan's back," says Vic. Talbert gives them the password ("honeycomb); they're to back off immediately if Hernan tells them to.
Ronnie and the SWAT team descend on Hernan's house. Ronnie finds Hernan in bed with a girl and whispers "honeycomb" in his ear. Elsewhere, Vic, Kevin, and Julien are in foot pursuit of Santi. Julien tackles him. "Godspeed," Vic jokes.
Shane pays a visit to Nancy, the widow of disgraced former assistant police chief Ben Gilroy. She recognizes him as one of Vic's friends. What does Shane need? Shane knows that she recently told Vic about people Gilroy knew when he was living in Mexico. Shane himself is investigating something similar and needs whatever intel she gave to Vic. Nancy is suspicious.
"I can't discuss the details with you, ma'am," Shane says politely, "But you're gonna have to turn over that information. I don't wanna have to file a failure to cooperate charge." Nancy glares: "I was married to a cop for 20 years, asshole. Don't threaten me with bullshit charges." Even when Katey Sagal isn't playing Gemma, she's still a bad bitch.
When she tries to leave the room, Shane grabs her by the arm. Do the couple's daughters know Daddy ripped off the city and "disgraced the badge for some dirty Latina snatch?" Nancy looks out the window and sees her kids on the walkway talking to a friend. "Shut up," she hisses.
Shane does the opposite: "They know he choked on his own puke? Those autopsy photos are brutal. You want your daughters to see 'em?" Nancy gives Shane a hard slap across the face. He pushes her onto an easy chair and leans over her. Shane wants everything she knows by tonight or he's coming over for a little show-and-tell. He lets himself out a second before the girls open the front door.
Vic understands why Hernan lied about the San Marcos murders, but they still need the truth. Hernan explains the Byz Lats are trying to partner with a cartel based in Mexico City; the Salvadorans want a piece of the action too. He doesn't know what chopping off the Mexican official's arm had to do with anything.
Claudette asks Hernan to broker a ceasefire between the Byz Lats and Salvadorans. "There's no peace without the shooters paying the price," he says. Vic has an idea: send the Byz Lat gunmen to Chino, which is Salvadoran-deep. Does Hernan think he can talk the "Salvadoran Grand Poobah" into that?
Hernan knows he can't be promoted to captain if he "talks like Ghandi." "Talk like Trump," Kevin advises. The gangs can't go back to making money if they're too busy killing each other. Hernan can't ask who the shooters were without blowing his cover. Talbert thinks the assignment is getting too dangerous. "You're not pulling me out of this," Hernan says stubbornly. He's been undercover for 2 1/2 years. Vic agrees with his position.
Claudette pulls him aside. She heard Shane reapplied for his old job in Vice. Vic shrugs, "Makes sense. Lem gone, me bein' forced out maybe." "He also requested two weeks unpaid leave," adds Claudette. That's roughly the same amount of time Vic has left on the job. Shane's request is being denied, mostly because the wheels of police bureaucracy turn slowly.
Vic doesn't have a problem with Shane staying at the Barn. Claudette has noticed Vic doesn't seem especially upset about his best friend transferring: "If something happened between the two of you that affects the job, I need to know." Vic, of course, doesn't rat Shane out. He just says they're all upset over Lem. If Claudette has an issue with Shane, she should talk to new Strike Team leader Kevin. "I'm just a hired hand here now," Vic adds bitterly.
He and Kevin have a chat with Santi. "Don't you Byz Lat assholes know you gotta get along with these psychos? Either that or get a grenade shoved up your ass." Santi's life would be much easier if he gives up the names of the street fair shooters. He won't have a gang left to run if the members keep getting killed.
The cops know which Salvadorans were responsible for the San Marcos murders and are planning to arrest them soon. "But maybe these guys get lost on the way back to the Barn, end up in a bad neighborhood somehow," Vic suggests, "Tell me where to lose them." With the score settled, the Byz Lats can get back to business. Vic offers Santi a disposable cell phone: "Use all the minutes you need."
In the squadroom, Nancy approaches Vic and quietly asks, "What the hell is your guy up to?" Vic wants to know which one she's talking about. "That goddamn hillbilly," she replies. Vic takes her into the clubhouse. Nancy tells him that Shane came over unexpectedly and wanted to talk to Gilroy's Mexican contacts. She's worried someone will find out she was sending money to Gilroy while he was on the run. Vic told IAD he got the information on his own so they'd close the case.
Nancy sighs, "It never ends, does it?" Vic promises he'll take care of Shane. Nancy thinks he better; Shane threatened to tell her girls all their dad's secrets: the embezzlement, the affair, even the autopsy photos. She's done everything possible to shelter her daughters from that knowledge. "You rein him in, Vic, or so help me God--" "I'll take care of it," he cuts her off. I smell another hit brewing...
Ronnie comes in, catching the tail end of the conversation."Shane's gettin' ready for a cold, long winter," Vic says. He explains about Shane trying to find Gilroy's Mexican contacts and putting in for a transfer. "We gonna be one of the bases he tries to cover?" worries Ronnie.
At a Middle Eastern bakery, Shane channels his dead friend by helping himself to a free sample cookie. Unlike Lem, however, he immediately spits it in the trash. The baker introduces himself as Yezik and tells him the free cookies are called barazek. (Google tells me that's a concoction of pistachio and sesame seeds). "No wonder you give it away for free, tastes like old tires," says Shane.
Yezik uneasily eyes the badge on Shane's belt. Shane wants to talk to the bakery's new owner Kesahkian. Yezik claims not to know him. Shane looks around: "I see about a dozen health code violations in this room alone. Gives me authority to start opening up all your ovens. You sure all I'm gonna find is half-baked barazek?" Yezik thinks he can pass along a message, which is Shane has a business proposal for Kesahkian. He hands Yezik a business card.
Mara and Corinne sit on the floor together while Jackson and Megan play together. "Shane's just so hard to access sometimes," says Mrs. Vendrell, who knew darn well he wasn't exactly Mr. Warm-and-Fuzzy when they got together. Did Vic talk about work much? Corinne tried to get him to open up and eventually stopped asking.
Shane tells Mara some things, but "sometimes, I wish he didn't tell me anything." Ohhhhh boy, I bet she's about to say entirely too much. Corinne blames police work for turning her marriage sour and making Vic into a hard-ass. When they first met, Vic was really sweet.
Mara knows Vic's had it rough, what with Kavanaugh's IAD investigation. "Those charges were all bullshit," says Corinne, never mind the kids are right there, "I know he had nothing to do with Lem's murder." "I know," Mara nods. Does she ever!
"It's the off-duty shit that scares me the most. You know?" says Mara. Corinne acts like she has no idea what that means and leaves to refill the kids' sippy cups.
Romero, one of the San Marcos victims, was Mexico's Assistant Secretary of Trade and Export. His father is Mexico's Secretary of Finance. "The hell's this guy's hacked-off arm doing in Farmington?" Dutch muses. Also what happened to the rest of body? He looks around as Billing makes a turn. Does his partner know where he's going.
"I used to troll for UCLA hotties when I was in community college," says Billings, "Wasn't gonna take 'em back to my shithole in Alhambra, so I'd drive up here, say I'm going to my folks' place." Dutch can't believe that actually worked. It really didn't, though. Billings would find a nice house with lights on, then tell the girl his parents came home early and they'd have to go to her place.
Dutch looks at the house they parked next to: "Looks like Eduardo's ex found herself a rich gringo." He rings the doorbell, setting off a chorus of barking dogs.
In the back of the bakery, Shane is annoyed that he's talking to someone named Ellis instead of Kesahkian himself. He reaches for his gun and so do Ellis' friends. Ellis says something to them in Armenian. They all lay down their guns as a show of good faith. Shane guesses the rumors are true about old-school Armenian mob guys coming back to the neighborhood. Yeah, getting involved with them worked so well last time.
Ellis remarks it's been a while since they had a good relationship with local cops. "Yeah, well, choppin' off people's feet will strain any relationship," says Shane. The Armenians wants to smooth that over. Ellis says there's a new Iraqi-owned gas station nearby with an Arab-based gas supplier. "Sounds fishy. Could be funneling the money back to al-Qaeda," says Shane. He'll see what he can find out.
At the Barn, Romero's ex tells the cops she hasn't seen him in years, but they talk on the phone sometimes. Dutch breaks the news about Romero's severed arm being found with numerous other dead bodies. She had no idea he was even missing. Maria remembers her late ex-husband traveled to L.A. two or three times a year, supposedly for family reasons. He always stayed at the same hotel in Koreatown.
Dutch learns that Romero checked into the Koreatown hotel using an alias two days before his death. The clerk gave Billings the plate number of Romero's Mercedes, which came back as a rental from LAX. They're in the process of tracing the LoJack signal.
Upstairs, Santi agrees to give up three shooters. Claudette knows witnesses saw six, but Santi won't reveal whether or not that's accurate. Claudette doesn't like the possibility of letting three murderers walk free, but it may be the only option they have to cool down the gangs. Once she's gone, Vic returns to Santi. The Byz Lat tells Vic where to drop off the Salvadorans.
Kevin doesn't entirely trust Santi and wants to call for backup. Vic assures him this is an honest deal. The guys scramble into position, Ronnie hopping around like a spider monkey. "You're not gonna believe this," he says when he peeks in the window. The three Byz Lats are having a noisy orgy with a woman in the kitchen/living room. Vic, Ronnie, Kevin, and Julien go in the house via the side door and round up the naked perps.
In the Koreatown hotel room, Dutch and Billings find Romero. He's very much alive, but is missing half of one arm. "Glad we found the rest of you," remarks Dutch. Romero refuses to talk due to diplomatic immunity. Billings opens a suitcase on the bed and finds stacks of cash. "Ever heard of traveler's checks?" snarks Dutch.
In her office, Claudette tells Dutch she just got chewed out by the Mexican consulate for taking Romero in against his will. Dutch argues Romero needs protective custody: "This guy had his arm hacked off at a grisly crime scene. He had a suitcase full of unexplained cash." Dutch knows he'll hold onto the money "like it's his missing hand." To keep him around, they need to "lose" the suitcase.
"Technically, we should notify Narcotics," says Claudette. A lot of the money had drug residue on it. Claudette risks a further ass-reaming by playing fast and loose with procedures, but the information they could get out of Romero would be worth it.
Down by the cage, Vic introduces Octavio to the Byz Lats who opened fire on the street fair. It's too bad they can't all get to know each other. Vic shoves Hernan all the way out to the lobby. Claudette hopes Hernan will keep his end of the bargain.
Mara loads a bag of baby toys into her car. "I'm sorry if I said too much earlier," she tells Corinne. The former Mrs. Mackey understands needing to vent. Mara knows something happened between Vic and her husband, something that drove a huge wedge between them. She's worried and wants Corinne to talk to Vic.
"You think Vic's gonna do something to him?" asks Corinne. Mara answers, "Tell Vic we don't want any trouble. He can get hurt too. He has just as much to lose as we do, if not more." Corinne demands to know what Mara means. Mara just gets in her car and pulls away.
Shane goes to the Iraqi gas station, flashes his badge, and asks for the supply invoices. The clerk tells him to come back with a warrant. When the guy puts his hand through the bulletproof glass for a better look at the badge, Shane grabs his wrist. "I'm a citizen, man!" the guy protests. Shane cuffs him to the counter and says, "Not in my world."
Shane puts on a pair of latex gloves and locks the store. He gets in the booth with the clerk, kicks him, and takes a clipboard off the wall. The station is getting a shipment tonight from Nawzad Oil. Shane wonders if the company is on a Homeland Security watchlist. He takes the surveillance tape out of the VCR, instructing the clerk to refuse the gas.
The clerk shouldn't get too fussed, though. Another company will be dropping off a shipment in the morning. Shane thinks the company's name ends in I-A-N. The clerk immediately knows what's going on: Armenians put Shane up to this. Shane grabs his cuffed wrist again: "Nobody puts me up to anything." (Bullshit).
Vic and Kevin are at the rendezvous point Hernan picked. The undercover agent is a no-show. Talbert pulls up, informing the locals he lost contact with Hernan. "What's that mean?" asks Kevin. Nothing good. Talbert accuses them of compromising Hernan's cover, then drives off.
Claudette knocks on Nancy's door and takes an evidence bag in her purse. Some of Gilroy's belongings got lost when he was booked, namely his watch and wedding ring. She wanted to personally return them. Claudette is also curious why Nancy seemed so upset earlier. Nancy tells her it's nothing.
Claudette looks around at the framed photos; she has two daughters herself with the same age difference as Nancy's. Claudette doesn't have pictures of her ex either. "Guess we know how to pick 'em, huh?" asks Nancy.
Claudette tells Nancy about her own husband's murder, which her oldest daughter witnessed. She thinks Bonnie is handling it okay, but Claudette admits she stopped asking a while ago. Nancy questions, "You ever blame yourself?" Claudette doesn't anymore and encourages Nancy to call if she needs someone to talk to.
Just before Claudette steps out, Nancy tells her that Vic wanted to know how Gilroy got money in Mexico. She'd never dream of helping a fugitive, of course. "Vendrell came by today, wanted the same information. He was all jacked up." Claudette won't let Vic or anyone else hurt Nancy.
Elsewhere, Danny radios in a dead body. We see it's the Iraqi gas station clerk, the nozzle of a gas pump shoved down his throat.
Vic catches up to Shane, warning him not to go to Nancy's again. Shane jabs at Vic, implying he's sleeping with Nancy. "You've destroyed enough families. You leave hers alone," Vic says before tossing something into Shane's open truck window. "Don't worry, it's not like it's a live grenade or anything."
It's an envelope with the names of Gilroy's Mexican contacts. Vic twists the knife some more: "Good luck on the goat farm. I hear Juarez PD's lookin' for a few good hombres." Shane asks if Vic is stupid enough to think he'd use the same escape plan they set up for Lem. He knew threatening Nancy would move Vic here, to neutral ground.
Shane tosses a manila envelope onto Vic's lap and delivers a great monologue: "The original is in a warm, safe place. Anything happens to me or my wife or my son, even my mailman, anybody that I am close to, that lands on IAD's doorstep. Just imagine every wrong, brutal thing we've ever done. It's hard to do, isn't it? We've done so many." That said, Shane peels away.
Vic opens the envelope and finds the top sheet, which describes what really happened the night Terry died. The next paper is about Tio, a drug dealer the Strike Team used to protect; there are crime scene photos from his murder. There's more: Margos' mug shot, a dead woman's photo.
Vic looks up and sees Nancy standing nearby. He drives away, blinking rapidly and no doubt pondering how fucked he truly is. End of episode.
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