At Motel Hell, Lem lies his ass off that his mic got disconnected during the scuffle with Vic. He asked about Terry and Vic maintains Two-Time shot him. Kavanaugh asks how the fight started. Guys like Vic don't just talk about stuff like that, you have to make it personal. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to let you in my head, make me think Vic had something to do with Terry dying," says Lem.
Kavanaugh smirks and tells Lem to pull up his shirt. Lem refuses to be wired again. Kavanaugh claims this time isn't about Terry; it's about what the rest of the team gets up to. There's also the small matter of the 15-year prison sentence Lem's facing. Can he try to avoid technical malfunctions this time?
Vic knocks on Shane's door. His best friend opens it, holding Jackson. Vic wants a private chat. Shane passes the baby off to Mara and steps outside. Vic tells Shane and Ronnie that IAD has Lem over a barrel about some missing heroin. "What's Lem doing with horse? He's not using," says Shane. He suggests Lem is running it on the side. Vic knows Lem wouldn't do that, least of all without telling them. "Like burning the money train cash?" Shane wants to know.
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| Dude, get over it. It's been like a year. (Image credit) |
Vic tells Ronnie to check the clubhouse for bugs. They need to stick to business as usual. He reminds them what's at stake: "IAD gets a whiff that Lem tipped us, it's over for him." Ronnie leaves.
Vic stays with Shane on the balcony to tell him that Lem asked about Terry. But it's cool, he disconnected the wire first. Vic didn't say a word, "but [Lem] knows." They can explain everything once the Internal Affairs trouble blows over. The fact remains that Vic and Shane were the only ones in the room when Vic shot Terry.
At a Mexican grocery store, the clerk reports to Tina and Julien that he found two bodies when he opened this morning. On a storage room couch, a naked woman is pinned by an obese and equally naked man. "What do you think? Heart attack, then she got crushed underneath him?" the clerk speculates. The woman gasps in surprise when Julien checks her pulse.
The uniforms move the dead man to the floor. The woman's wrists are bound behind her back with tape. Tina covers her with a blanket.
Ronnie sets up his laptop after running a wand through the clubhouse. Lem raises his shirt to show them exactly where the microphone is. Shane tells a joke about three explorers in the Congo who get captured by natives and are told to choose between death or chi-chi.
Ronnie opens a Word document and types HOW LONG? Lem types back YESTERDAY. Vic asks WHO? With one finger, Lem pecks out KAVANAUGH. Where'd he learn how to type?
Shane continues the joke; chi-chi amounts to sexual torture, but the first explorer chose it to escape death. He types WHY? Lem explains about the heroin in his Jeep. Shane jabs his finger at the screen, indicating he wants more details. WHEN LOOKING FOR ANGIE'S BODY...TO SAVE YOUR ASS. Vic realizes that was 6 months ago. I'M SCREWED, Lem types. Vic replies with a promise: WE'LL GET YOU OUT OF THIS.
Danny rattles the door. Ronnie hastily shuts his laptop. "We didn't know it was locked," Shane fibs. Danny has a case for them: a murder and possible sex crime. "Can you give it to someone else whose time isn't as valuable?" asks Shane. Vic is sure they can solve it by lunch.
Danny suddenly flinches. Vic asks if she's okay. "He just kicked," Danny explains. The guys congratulate her.
In the parking lot, Vic sends Lem to get a car. He wants Shane to find out everything he can about Kavanaugh. The heroin accusation could just be Internal Affairs chumming the waters.
The Strike Team's murder/rape is at the Mexican grocery store. Ronnie surveys the party mix of drugs on a table: "Poppers. Intensifies the orgasm." Vic has Ronnie run the male victim's driver's license. The store owner has never seen him before. "Then why does he have keys to your place?" Vic wants to know. He's aware the owner is infringing on the local Teamsters' turf, something they won't take kindly to.
The owner says Rodrigo is a part-time delivery driver. Union mandated wages are killing his business. Rodrigo's truck is parked by the loading dock. Shane gets into the cab to look for the woman's purse or ID. Vic rolls up the back door and finds a load of pinatas. He has Lem smash them open, which is probably the most fun the big guy's had in a while. "Dude, no drugs, no candy," Lem sounds disappointed.
Vic pries up a board and finds a secret cargo compartment. Three Mexican women, gagged with duct tape, are inside. All of them are dead. Lem looks ready to cry. Outside the truck, Shane exposits that the air vents were taped up to minimize any noise the girls made. None of them have IDs.
Ronnie learned Rodrigo did 5 years in prison for assault and rape. He got a current address from the parole officer. Before Vic can formulate one of his usual plans, Lem looks pointedly at the Texas longhorn on his shirt. Vic tells Shane and Ronnie to go file for a warrant and search Rodrigo's house; he and Lem will interview the victim at Mission Cross.
As usual, the nurse on duty is Corinne. Magdalena, the girl from the store, was severely dehydrated and has signs of sexual assault; there was also a date-rape drug in her system. She told Corinne that she and her little brother were both sold to Mexican gangbangers. Magdalena doesn't trust the police, "but I told her you were two of the good guys."
Vic tells her they found three more girls in the truck, but not her brother. Magdalena heard a man take him away. The truck stopped again. Rodrigo took Magdalena into the store and raped her: "Then he just died." Magdalena starts laughing in relief that her nightmare is over. She doesn't know who sold her or where she was supposed to end up.
Magdalena takes a small plastic bag off the nightstand and pulls out a wallet-size photo of her brother Pablo. "Please find him," she whimpers to Vic and Lem.
Becca, a lawyer, wants to talk to Dutch and Claudette. They arrested her client Evan for shooting someone during the school riot. She represented him in another matter (in which he was found guilty) two years ago. Becca is working pro bono because she knows he's innocent this time. She re-interviewed the police witnesses and thinks it was a shoddy job.
Dutch tells her Mariano, the first witness to come forward, had his story confirmed by four other boys. Were they aware those boys were Mariano's good friends? "We're not gonna reopen this case based on who's in what clique," says Dutch. Claudette adds, "Evan has a history with weapons and assault."
Becca insists he's changed. She understands they all have tough jobs and people make mistakes. She'll be waiting while they look into it.
The coroner says Rodrigo's C.O.D. was a heart attack "mixed with too much party fuel." Vic hangs back to talk to Corinne. Has anyone from the department asked her about him? Internal Affairs has their sights set on the Strike Team, but they're totally clean. Vic adds, "You and I were married, so spousal privilege applies during that time. You don't have to tell anyone anything." "Is there something I need to hide from them?" says Corinne.
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Shane finds another picture and asks, "What's granny doing in here?" Vic guesses she's helping traffic the kids. They head for the cross street written on the bottom of her photo.
Evan sits at the interrogation table, dressed in his finest juvie scrubs. Dutch talked to everyone again; the kids all say Evan did the shooting. Evan thinks Mariano scared his friends so they wouldn't say what really happened. According to him, Mariano had the gun.
Becca is confident someone will eventually tell the truth. Claudette thinks she's reopening the case to create reasonable doubt at trial. Becca wants to be sure before Evan spends up to 25 years in prison for something he didn't do and returns to her client's side. Dutch accuses his partner of trying to undermine the case.
Traynor, a parole officer, has a case for Dutch. His client Loel missed court yesterday, which is a parole violation. Loel appears to have some kind of physical deformity and a speech impediment. His friend Ned just got out of prison for armed robbery. Someone was taking care of his dog while he was locked up, so they went to get it.
The dogsitter lived in a trailer in the general vicinity of Farmington (Loel can't remember where): "All of a sudden, Ned comes out all bloody and shit. Tells me the guy wouldn't give him back his dog. They fought and Ned hit him with a shotgun. Made me grab the dead body, hack the head off." They buried the head in a field and chopped up the rest of the body. They dumped the body parts in a junkyard guarded by a bunch of dogs. Loel finishes with, "I was an unwilling participant, okay?"
Traynor believes Loel because he's studied how to read faces. Another amateur profiler. I can see why Danny thought Dutch would be a good fit for this investigation. Dutch agrees it's a fascinating theory, but the results are inconclusive. He flips the channel to Evan and asks for Traynor's take. Traynor also believes Evan is innocent.
The Strike Team catches up with Abuela the pimp at a street fair. A man is with her. Both run when they see badges. "You get the tortoise, we got the hare," Vic tells Ronnie. Abuela is wielding a knife, which Ronnie orders her to drop. The others catch the guy on the balcony of a shopping center. Shane almost gets knocked over it. As Lem cuffs him, the guy shouts, "I want a lawyer!" "Yeah? In a minute, you're gonna want a doctor!" snaps Shane, clearly forgetting they're being recorded.
Kavanaugh plays back tapes in Motel Hell. All he's got so far is Shane's stupid joke, which gives him a good chuckle. Edgar-veda heard about last night's technical problems. Could the case be compromised? Kavanaugh thinks it'll be okay. Edgar-veda is sure the microphone mishap was a calculated move on Lem's part and he's actually right for once.
Kavanaugh describes Vic as 98% good; the other 2% is what gets him. He's being pretty generous with those numbers, in my opinion. Edgar-veda is too convinced he's 100% evil. There has to be a reason Vic keeps slipping away. Edgar-veda points out that Kavanaugh's never met Vic, much less had him lie straight to his face. Kavanaugh's wasting his time and this could be their last chance to nail Vic to the wall.
"Where are these kids, lady?" Shane asks Abuela. Tina translates. Vic knows Rodrigo likes them young. Abuela maintains she's never seen the kids before, then keeps rattling on in Spanish.
Tina tells the guys she's saying: "This is more gringo bullshit. Threatening me because I'm an old, sick Mexican. I hope your syphilis-infected dick gets ripped off by rabid dogs and gets fed to your whore mother, may she rot in hell." Points for creativity? Then, in perfect English, Abuela requests an attorney.
Lem found out that Abuela did time for murder 30 years ago. Vic asks him to call the public defender's office and find out how soon they can get a lawyer to the Barn. Becca passes by. Vic wonders if she can help them by representing Abuela; he doesn't have time to wait because 50 juvenile sex slaves are missing. This could be her good deed for the day.
Becca is still holding a grudge against Vic over a case she lost. Vic was the sole witness who testified and he managed to convince the jury that the defendant was guilty. He can't believe she's unwilling to do something that may save lives. Becca gets high and mighty: "I'd rather not devote the next month of my life to protecting a sex slavemaster grandmother." Vic just needs an hour of her time.
Becca stands next to the accused pimp as Tina keeps translating. Abuela picked up girls at the fruit stand and took them to drop-off points. Her contact finds her after she calls him. Vic wants to send one of the guys to the meet and take down the operation. Becca refuses to allow it unless Abuela gets probation. Quoting another famous Bostonian, Vic advises, "Dream on."
Becca tells Vic it was stupid to let her know how important Abuela is. Vic can't believe she's willing to let Abuela go free.
Vic has a Plan B: Wire Tina for sound. They've just finished when Billings announces, "Officer Lowe has misgivings about putting his trainee under." "She's still on probation," adds Julien. Vic says the decoy has to look young or it won't work. Tina is confident she can handle it, even though she botched a simple domestic call so badly she had to get stitches.
Ronnie brings Vic a file on Kavanaugh. "Word is he gave his own partner up to IAD back in the day," says Shane. Since then, he's worked without a partner.
Kavanaugh's a "poor kid done good" with degrees in psychology and criminology. He's also a former Golden Gloves boxer. Before IAD, he worked stints in Vice and Robbery/Homicide. Kavanaugh is divorced with no kids. "We gotta figure out what this guy has to lose," whispers Shane. Vic is sure Kavanaugh can't be that squeaky-clean.
On a crowded sidewalk, Abuela leads Tina to a drop-off point. A van not unlike the Strike Team's own arrives. The driver gets out and opens the door for Tina. Thanks to some road-blocking civilians, Vic has to make a crazy U-turn in traffic to chase the van. Through the radio, they hear the trafficker telling Tina she can see Pablo after she turns enough tricks.
The pimp's van turns down an alley. The trafficker tells Tina, "We're gonna break you in first." Two obese guys get in the van with her. The trafficker orders Tina to open her mouth. Thinking on her feet, the rookie claims she has gonorrhea in her throat. Never mind, they'll just run a train on her later.
"And don't be telling the customers you're sick," adds the trafficker. Vic continues following the van.
At the junkyard, Dutch nervously eyes the dogs: "You sure they're chained up tight?" The junkyard owner says they'll be fine unless they think he's being threatened. Traynor opines that face-reading should be taught at the police academy. He offers to loan Dutch some books and DVDs on the subject.
Traynor also thinks it's obvious Claudette is trying to hide something from Dutch. The junkyard owner shows them where he found a human arm.
Tina has been taken to a house. The guys don't know if it's the trafficker's or just a spot they use to run girls. If they pounce too early, they won't have anything on the ring. A woman opens the door for Tina. Vic calls over the radio for everyone to bust in.
Lem gets through the door first and hits a guy with the butt of his shotgun. Girl start screaming. There are johns in the house too, beds partitioned off with flimsy sheets. After watching Season 2 of Secrets and Lies, Kenny Johnson raiding a whorehouse gives me deja vu.
Vic yells for Tina. They find her on one of the beds, sitting on a john's back and restraining him. Shane compliments her on a job well done. She seems shaken up.
Outside, Vic shows the trafficker a picture of Pablo. Lem holds the guy by the scruff of his neck: "This idiot's acting like he doesn't understand." Ronnie's found 10 girls from the photos; the rest are unaccounted for. Trafficker wants his lawyer. Vic smacks the guy with his stack of papers.
Shane doesn't think they should take him to the Barn; he'll never talk. Once word gets out about the raid, they'll never find the rest of the kids. Lem keeps glancing down to where his wire is taped. They load the trafficker into the van.
"This is a shitty day," Shane gripes. Vic looks on the bright side: Someone will be getting a lethal injection. Shane is sure Guttierez will only serve 5-7 years. Lem thinks they have enough to charge him with conspiracy for the three dead girls. With D.A. Calhoun prosecuting, Guttierez is as good as on death row.
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| The D.A.'s first name wouldn't happen to be Caleb, would it? (Photo credit) |
"I ain't getting no death penalty for girls I didn't kill. I didn't even see," says Guttierez. Vic suggests, "Save it for your last words while you're on the gurney." "I wouldn't expect any clemency with the Terminator as governor," Shane puts in.
Guttierez gives up Carlos Odon as his boss. Vic asks if he's waiving his right to counsel. Guitterez says yes and tells them the addresses of two other houses. Pablo and the rest of the boys were flown to Bangkok this afternoon.
Kavanaugh and Corinne have a friendly chat in the school parking lot. She hands over her address and phone number. Are Matt and Andy still having a playdate Friday? When Kavanaugh starts talking about tutoring, something throws up a red flag for Corinne as a parent: He can't remember who his son's teacher is, just that it's a woman. "I thought Mr. Dunhill taught the after-school program," Corinne says. He claims he was talking about the aide. Corinne makes an excuse to leave.
Mariano's Lawyer asks why his client is being charged with second-degree murder when Evan has already been arrested. Evan's lawyer has new witnesses saying Mariano was the shooter. The D.A. is dropping the case against Evan. Gunshot residue was found in Mariano's locker. Mariano's lawyer wants to play Let's Make A Deal.
Becca thanks Claudette for getting Evan released; she couldn't have gotten away with the bogus GSR claim. Claudette can call her for a favor anytime she needs one. Dutch tells her that Loel really was coerced, so he won't be charged with murder or hacking up the body. He's off dinner with Traynor. Claudette says, "[Traynor] has quite a reputation as a man's man, if you know what I mean....While you were reading faces, he was reading your package."
Vic asks Becca if she's sure there's no room in the cage for Abuela. Unfortunately, her deal has no loopholes. Corinne arrives with something to tell her ex-husband. A guy claiming to have an autistic child has come to the kids' school a few times and asked her questions. She knows how cops talk and she's also suspicious because she's never seen his kid.
"That him?" asks Vic, showing her Kavanaugh's photo. Corinne nods. Kavanaugh's been especially curious about how the Mackeys pay tuition and how involved Vic is. All she said was Vic always finds money for the kids: "I was trying to sell you as a good dad." She didn't mention the Bag O' Cash. Vic tells her Kavanaugh has no business asking her anything and he'll take care of it.
Cue a gratuitous Shane/Mara sex scene. Afterward, Shane lights a cigarette. Mara sighs that it was great for her, but he seemed distracted. "Lem's in some hot water," he confides. Mara thought Shane was keeping his nose clean. Shane tells her not to worry about it; things will work out.
"You and Vic together as a team standing behind Lem?" Mara wants to know. Not exactly. "Team's one thing, family's another," says Shane. He could've gone to prison after all the shit with Antwon. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to us," he promises. Mara reminds him, "Jackson needs his father." Shane can't live without either of them.
Lem comes into the clubhouse to get his jacket. Vic lets him know he talked to an American diplomat in Bangkok about finding Pablo: "I meant what I said about not giving up on him." He feels like he and Lem have unfinished business. Did Lem really think Vic was hiding the truth about Terry?
"I swept through that house. I cleared that bathroom. At least I thought I did. Somehow, Two-Time got past me. I left Terry exposed." Vic's never told anyone before; he feels like it's his fault. (Which it actually is). Vic scribbles 'We together?' on a notepad. Lem nods. They shake hands.
"Her Majesty Billings needs to see you," Danny tells Vic. The captain has company: Kavanaugh, who wants to talk to Vic alone. Kavanaugh claims he's touring the district. Recent budget cuts might tempt people to take shortcuts. He wants everyone to know there's a right way to do things.
Vic sees through him: "I've been a cop for 14 years. You guys never toured before." "New management," Kavanaugh shrugs. Special squads like the Strike Team get the most allegations of misconduct. He knows everyone in the Barn follows Vic's lead, even though he's not in charge. Is there anything suspicious Kavanaugh should be aware of?
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| (Photo credit) |
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