Somebody's Getting "Smoked" (Episode 5.9)

Previously on: Terry's case was reopened, putting the Strike Team in the crosshairs of IAD's Kavanaugh. He first tried the Agent Stahl technique: Use the "old ladies" to get to the men. Kavanaugh let it slip to Corinne about Vic's affair with Danny and his suspicions that Vic fathered her baby. Antwon Mitchell offered information in exchange for the Strike Team being sent to his cell block. Kavanaugh made good on his threat to arrest Lem. He even put him in the cage with the rest of the Barn's arrestees, essentially throwing him to the wolves.

"What you lookin' at, you punk-ass?" an inmate taunts as Lem is escorted down the cell block in his new orange jail scrubs. Lem is totally on edge, which can't be good for his ulcer. Becca and Vic are in the visitors' room. A guard uncuffs Lem and gives him 10 minutes.

The first thing Vic does is pull Lem into a hug and mess up his hair. All smiles, Lem assures Vic that he's okay. Vic's plan to get Lem out seems to be tenuous at best because Lem asks if Mara changed her mind about putting up the Vendrell residence as collateral. Of course she did. Mara would ruin her reputation if she did something unselfish.

More bad news: Kavanaugh had everyone's assets frozen. "So I'm stuck," Lem says glumly. He knows Vic doesn't have $100,000 lying around, at least not anymore. Becca has filed a motion to get his bail reduced. Lem asks how much longer he has to hold out. Vic promises that in 24 hours, Lem will be sleeping in his own bed. Lem's face shows some uncharacteristic pessimism. Honestly, though, who could blame him at this point?

Tina and Julien arrive on the scene of an apparent store robbery. Around back, Tina finds a guy sitting on top of another man, restraining him. She shouts for him to drop his gun. The guy shouts back that he's a cop too, but slides his gun away. The hoodie-clad perp takes the opportunity to get up and scramble over a fence.

"Man, tell your partner not to shoot," says the maybe-cop. Julien barks at Tina that the guy is undercover. "I didn't know. He didn't identify himself," says Tina, even though he totally did. Julien points out the yellow bandanna on the guy's arm, the color of the day. "Which makes you ditz of the month, honey," the undercover puts in.

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Shane and Becca walk Kavanaugh through the apartment where Terry died. Shane keeps up the longstanding party line that Terry shot drug dealer Two-Time, who then killed Terry. "Ballistics gave Vic the kill shot," Kavanaugh says lightly. Shane guesses he's off his game.

Kavanaugh asks if that was the case when Lem's teenage informant Angie was killed. Shane's bullet was in her. Shane points out that he didn't pull the trigger; Antwon did. Kavanaugh wonders if Shane was on Antwon's payroll, which was definitely true for a while. Becca says it was a documented undercover assignment.

Kavanaugh knows the pimp shakedowns were real. So were the payoffs from drug dealers. Shane was Antwon's bitch. Becca interrupts that they're here to talk about Terry.

Next it's Vic's turn to relive the events of the pilot. Terry went in first and Vic failed to clear the bathroom: "Two-Time must've been hiding behind the wall." He and Shane were going down the hall when Vic heard the shot that killed Terry.

A guy Vic doesn't seem to know is present at the walk-through. Kavanaugh introduces him as Terry's brother Drew, a former cop from San Diego. Drew remembers how Vic couldn't make eye contact with the Crowleys at Terry's funeral. He wanted to see Vic's face and find out the truth.

"Of all the underhanded bullshit!" Becca shouts. She wants Drew removed. "If you killed him, God will know," warns Drew. Vic is sorry about Terry, but that night went just like he said. Drew keeps preaching, "If you're lying, God will have your soul and I give it to him personally."

Ronnie is confident Kavanaugh will be forced to drop the case because all their stories match up. Vic worries he'll just "move on to shit we actually did." Shane thinks this was all about rubbing their collective nose in what Kavanaugh was able to dig up on him and Army. Antwon has to be involved. Vic doubts it; nobody can get Antwon out of prison, what with him doing double life sentences.

They run down who else would know about Shane's extracurriculars, everyone from Antwon's sidekick Halpern to ex-captain Monica. Ronnie suggests it could've been Lem. Vic tells him to shut up. They have to focus on raising bail. "This is the last night he spends in County," Vic vows.

Prospects are none too rosy with $700 in cash between them and three frozen bank accounts. Five seasons in, we get our first bit of intel on the rest of the Lemansky clan. According to Ronnie, the rellies are trailer trash who flat out refused to help with bail so they could buy Powerball tickets. Makes you wonder how Lem turned out to be such a give-you-the-shirt-off-his-back kind of guy. Certainly explains why he considers the Strike Team his only family.

The guys have to hope they "just happen" to find $100 K on the street. Shane is uneasy about that with Kavanaugh's lazy eye focused on them. Vic thinks Kavanaugh is more interested in the past. "If you're wrong, we're gonna end up keeping Lem company," Ronnie pipes up from the backseat. However, Vic promised Lem they wouldn't leave him and Vic Mackey is a man of his word.

A construction worker found a man's body buried under a pile of site waste (insulation, drywall, and the like). The killer was probably hoping the victim would be carted off with the trash. Tina agrees with Dutch's theory. Julien asks about Claudette. She's on sick leave for a few more weeks.

When Vic goes to pick up the kids, Corinne is somewhat frantic. Her bank accounts and credit cards have been frozen. She couldn't even buy groceries earlier. "I can't be around you and neither can the kids." Corinne tells Vic that, for the record, it wasn't her idea; it was her lawyer's. They can resume their normal visits after Kavanaugh finds someone else to chase.

Cassidy appears in the doorway, hugs her dad, and politely tells him to leave: "Mom's been crying all morning." Vic offers to give Corinne cash for groceries, but for obvious reasons, she can't accept it.

Billings has a visitor: Hoffman the undercover detective wants to file a complaint about Tina. Danny explains that Tina failed to recognize Hoffman was undercover. "She nearly blew my head off," adds Hoffman. Julien is also filing a report. Billings swears they'll make sure it doesn't happen again. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one way to do that: strip Tina of her badge. She's racked up several monumental mistakes since she started.

Hoffman rambles about how "I get enough guns to my head without Barbie adding to the action." Billings seems surprised that he's expected to fire people. Danny agrees; she and Julien have both tried, but they're not getting through to Tina.

Billings gripes trying to fire a Latina officer will be a massive headache because people will cry racism and/or sexism. Danny says bluntly, "She's gonna land herself or someone else in a body bag." "Being captain's about making tough choices," says Billings the spineless jellyfish. He'll handle Tina.

Billings sees Vic and thought he had the day off to spend with the youngsters. Vic lies that all three kids are sick. Does Billings have any cases for him, like the loan shark on Clinton? Billings says they guy copped a plea and got 2-6 years. Felonious T the drug dealer closed up shop too.

Danny says there's a girl who wants to see Vic. Maybe one of Lem's relatives grew a conscience? No, turns out to be a young black woman, one of Antwon's numerous girlfriends. Vic pats her down. "Your incarcerated old man wants to fly a kite?" he guesses.

Antwon wants to know what Vic is willing to do "to keep your boy Curtis alive." She heard Lem is going to Lompoc and will be put on Antwon's cell block because"the big brother" made a deal with Antwon. Dick move even for Kavanaugh the Rat King. The clock is ticking on the offer.

"You tell Antwon I'll put a bullet in that fat head of his myself before I let him kill another cop," Vic says fiercely. The girl suggests Vic say it in person when he winds up in prison himself. Collecting $100,000 to get Lem out just took on a new sense of urgency.

Dutch finds a folder on his desk chair. Inside are pictures of Tina changing clothes in the Barn's locker room, wearing only underwear. Claudette asks what he's looking at. "Nothing. Huh?" he says dumbly. Claudette observes, "Your face is red." Dutch jumps topics to how nice it is to have his partner back. Since taking that nasty tumble down the stairs, she's walking with a cane.

Dutch exposits on the construction site dump job: Artemis Cooke, black, 43, shot in the face. His mother is upstairs. Dutch makes an after-you gesture toward the stairs. Artemis' mom praises her son's work ethic; he's always had several jobs. His most recent gig was with an ambulance service that "drove organs into Canada."

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Mom guesses "they have a big need for them up there." If the detectives have more questions about that, they can ask his friend DeKnight, who works for the same company.

Vic confronts Kavanaugh, who's lurking in the breakroom: "Your attempts to drive a wedge between me and my guys include planning a murder?" Kavanaugh unconvincingly says he's looking for his salad; somebody must've stolen it. Vic has a solution: Send the salad thief to prison to be killed by Antwon. Kavanaugh is no better than the criminals if he hands Lem over to a known cop-killer.

Kavanaugh is all "you mean like how you set Terry up?" "Terry was a snake, just like you," says Vic. Kavanaugh takes that to mean Vic knew Terry was undercover. Vic didn't until Kavanaugh himself told him. Kavanaugh smiles that Antwon had a lot to say about Shane: "Does your neck hurt from the noose tightening?"

Vic repeats Kavanaugh will be the real killer if Lem goes to Lompoc. Kavanaugh agrees to let Vic pick the prison if everyone on the Strike Team comes clean. Vic stays silent. Kavanaugh guesses he's not really that concerned about Lem. There's nothing in writing about where he'll serve his sentence, but Kavanaugh can make recommendations. As my nursing instructors and Judge Judy always say, "If it's not on paper, it doesn't exist."

Kavanaugh adds, "Any correctional facility is dangerous for a cop." The best way to avoid that danger is not doing shady shit that could land you in jail. "Streets can be dangerous too," Vic says, more of an observation than a threat.

Vic knows Kavanaugh is bluffing. We're talking about a man who "couldn't even cut [his] poor, sick-in-the-head, defenseless ex-wife a break from the rules." He doesn't think even the Rat King has the stomach to hand Lem over to Antwon. "I didn't used to," says Kavanaugh.

DeKnight tells Dutch he worked a straight job with Artemis at a plant; Artemis got the black-market organ ambulance gig on his own. "Organs usually have to be transplanted within hours. Takes a hell of a lot longer to drive to Canada," Dutch notes. Wouldn't it be better to fly them? DeKnight shrugs they could be "low-priority organs, like fingers or tongues."

"Whatever he was running got him shot in the face," says Claudette. DeKnight admits that it was "some kinda super-weed." Artemis made $8,000 a trip and everyone loved him. DeKnight likens him to a stoner's version of Santa Claus.

Danny notices Claudette's limp and asks how she is. Claudette keeps telling Dutch she's fine and he's not about to argue, even though she did come back early. Danny plans on using every second of her 6-week maternity leave.

Dutch follows Tina into the evidence room and hands her the folder of semi-nude pictures. Tina doesn't understand how these were taken; she always locks the door. (Hasn't she ever heard of surveillance cameras)? "I barely glanced. Just enough to identify you," says Dutch.

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Dutch confirms my theory about the camera. He advises the rookie not to let everyone's "high-school mentality" get to her. This is more than mean-spirited teasing, you moron, it's flat-out sexual harassment.

"Shit. I think I'm gonna get fired," Tina says sadly. She tells Dutch about almost shooting the undercover cop. Dutch shrugs that people make mistakes, even him.

Tina remembers when she wore specific matching bra and panty sets and knows these photos were taken in the last few days. Dutch says he'll find out who's behind this and destroy all the pictures. How about taking down the camera while you're at it?

Tina thanks him for being a gentleman. Not two seconds later, Dutch requests that she give the photos back for evidentiary purposes. And she does! Tina really is an idiot.

Edgar-veda announces that he's resigning as a reserve police officer so Kavanaugh can't compel him to talk by threatening his badge. Furthermore: "As vice-chair of the police committee, I'm launching an investigation into your investigation." Kavanaugh's wasted tens of thousands of dollars and all he has to show for it is Lem in jail on 7-month-old charges.

Kavanaugh has more than that: $65,000 given to Corinne by Vic, the Strike Team's assets frozen, and Antwon singing like a bird. He thinks Edgar-veda can help him sweat Vic more. Storming into his office was a nice touch. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" says Edgar-veda. Vic will never confide in him.

Kavanaugh points out that desperate men need friends in high places, like a city councilman serving on the police committee. Edgar-veda agrees to temporarily put his investigation into Kavanaugh on hold. "Walk out angry. Mackey's watching," Kavanaugh coaches, returning Edgar-veda's badge.

Dutch tells Vic about the super-pot being smuggled in from Canada by phony ambulances. Does he know anyone involved in that racket? Vic has a question of his own: Where's the van? Dutch has no clue. Vic agrees to lend a hand since Dutch and Claudette's "Wonder Twin powers aren't fully activated." He watches Edgar-veda leave Kavanaugh's office.

Vic tells Shane and Ronnie about Kavanaugh's Lompoc plot. If Kavanaugh isn't gona play by the rules, the Strike Team won't either. Of course, when did they ever?

They go to a restaurant frequented by One-Niners. Vic knows Antwon isn't letting Halpern call the shots. He asks about the Canadian connection. Halpern tells them to talk to a "dude with a fancy French name." More specifically, Dijon, like the mustard.

In the men's room, Dutch compliments a uniform on the pictures: "You think Tina's panties are regulation?" How'd he take the photos? The uniform claims he just found them on Billings' desk. Dutch is always staring at Tina and it would've been cruel not show him.

Corinne is not pleased with Kavanaugh. She did everything the Rat King asked and he still froze her bank account. How is she supposed to feed the kids? Kavanaugh is unsympathetic: "You told me about $65,000. Now I hear there may be more." If there was, Corinne argues, she wouldn't have defaulted on Matt and Megan's tuition.

Kavanaugh is sorry for the inconvenience, but Corinne is one of the walls he needs around Vic. "I'm not a wall; I'm a mother," she says. Father of her kids or not, she's cutting Vic out of her life. Kavanaugh tells her about Lem's arrest and how he's waiting for Vic to bail him out. The longer Lem spends in County, the more pliable he'll be.

"That has nothing to do with me," Corinne says through gritted teeth. Kavanaugh needs her to get Vic to confess if she wants her life back. Corinne asks exactly what she did to deserve this. "You married the wrong man," replies Kavanaugh. A lot of people do, but that doesn't mean they should be constantly threatened with arrest.

Billings, Julien, and Danny confer about Tina. She's ill-suited for the job, a danger to herself and everyone around her. Billings wants an on-the-record report of Tina's conduct. Dutch shows him the pictures. "Shit. Where'd you get these?" the captain wants to know, "They were on my desk. Is nothing sacred?"

Billings explains that he put a security camera in the locker room after the last round of vending machine ripoffs, which makes absolutely no sense because the machines are in the hall. The captain figured the thief was hiding the stolen snacks in their locker. Well, Lem has an airtight alibi (not that he'd do that anyway). Billings supposedly had the pictures so they "wouldn't fall into the wrong hands."

"Do you have any idea what kinda shitstorm you're looking at when she finds out you're behind these?" asks Dutch. Billings can't believe Dutch told her, even though Tina has every right to know. He sighs, "I just promised to wash her out."

On her way out, Corinne throws shade at Danny. She hopes she isn't counting on Vic to provide for the baby. "I'm at work right now. This isn't the place," Danny says politely. Corinne asks why not; after all, work is where Vic found Danny. Danny reminds her Vic is the one who broke his vows. "That makes him a cheat," Corinne snarls, "That makes you a whore and the baby you're both having a bastard."

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Shane, Vic, and Ronnie go to Dijon's house. They know the dealer got ripped off this morning and they're willing to hunt down his missing cargo for a finder's fee of $100,000. It's only a question of time until the detectives assigned to Artemis' murder trace his phone records to Dijon. The Strike Team can ensure Dijon's name is kept out of it.

Dijon explains that his cash was stolen, not the weed. Artemis had been on his way to Canada with $250,000 in the van. The guys want their fee upfront. Dijon doesn't have it because it was tied up in the shipment. Vic wants a list of customers and anyone else who knew where Artemis was going. He also asks Dijon to plead ignorance with the other detectives.

Vic brings Dijon to the Barn. Dutch and Claudette take him upstairs. Vic is about to follow them when his phone rings; it's a collect call from County. Lem wants to know if he's getting out today. Vic dials up Becca, turning the call into a three-way. This way, if any guards ask, Lem can say he's talking to his lawyer.

"Whoa, you can't use me as cover for anything illegal," says Becca. Vic has good news and bad news. He and the guys might have a way to raise the bail money. On the other hand, Kavanaugh has been visiting Antwon and made a deal with him. If Lem gets convicted, he's going to Lompoc.

Lem is shocked. Becca says Kavanaugh doesn't have the legal authority to do that. "It's never gonna get that far," Vic assures Lem. One way or another, they'll get him out from under Kavanaugh's large ass. Kavanaugh won't admit to what he did, but the deal exists. Dutch comes looking for Vic, so he ends the call.

Billings pulls Dutch into the observation room: "You know I was on the up and up taking those photos." Tina will probably sue the police department and end up with a huge settlement. Billings doesn't want that to happen. He needs Dutch's help to make it go away. Does Dutch want to be Tina's hero or "watch her red bra and panties" walk out of his life forever?

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Claudette knows Dijon is part of the pot ring, but nobody kills their own driver. If her suspicions are correct, Dijon will want his money back. Vic is sure Artemis was acting alone, but he'll take another shot at him. Claudette is none too happy that Dutch let Vic in on their case.

Downstairs, Vic tells Dijon his list is getting them nowhere. Does anybody else know about Dijon's business dealings? Dijon shrugs, "Just my wife and my dumb-ass stepson." Jaden is 20 and used to drive once in a while. That stopped when Dijon found out Jaden was keeping drugs for himself. He doesn't know where Jaden is and doubts his wife does.

Vic tells Shane and Ronnie that Silver Lake would be a good place to start looking for Jaden. It's where the uniforms found Artemis' van. Jaden could've hit up local weed dealers with $250,000 burning a hole in his pocket. They have to find him before Claudette does.

Speaking of, she gets a call from the crime lab. Fingerprints in the van came back to Jaden. His last known address is his mother's. Claudette wants to head over there. Vic offers to do it for her. She doesn't fall for it.

Jaden's mom Tasha hasn't seen her son in two months. Dijon is sure Jaden didn't shoot anyone. Claudette has Dijon show Dutch to Jaden's room. Tasha repeats that Jaden is a good boy. The only other place he might be is his girlfriend's house. Tasha doesn't approve of her.

Vic gives Shane the girlfriend's address, warning Dutch and Claudette will be there in 15 minutes. Shane and Ronnie need to find the money and get out as fast as possible. They can't park in front of the house because Claudette knows Shane's truck (a nice-looking Dodge Ram).

The back door is locked, so Ronnie climbs in a window. Shane follows him. Nobody seems to be home. They search frantically for the cash and are about to give up when Ronnie notices the bedroom door is ajar. Jaden is on the bed, passed out from smoking weed. There's a duffel bag underneath him.

Shane and Ronnie hear cars pull up. "Grab it, grab it!" Ronnie cries. Shane jerks the bag out from under the skinny kid without much difficulty. They sprint out of the house just before Vic, Claudette, and Dutch come in the front door.

In the kitchen, Vic sees Shane climbing out the window. Shane gives him the "okay" signal. "Clear!" Vic calls. Dutch wakes up Jaden.

"Somebody took my money," Jaden slurs out as Vic puts him in the cage. He didn't want to hurt anyone. "You shot him in the face 3 times," Dutch disagrees. Vic tells Dutch and Claudette that anything Jaden says while high is inadmissible, as if they don't already know. Jaden thinks the cops should go hassle Dijon. He can't believe his stepfather fired him.

In the squadroom, Claudette ponders their next move. Jaden told her someone broke into his girlfriend's apartment and stole the money. "It's my day off. I helped catch a killer. Finding the money's your problem," says Vic.

The guys go to a shop run by our old friend Smitty. "I haven't seen you guys in a while. It was nice," says the locksmith. Vic asks if he'd like to make $100,000. Duh, who wouldn't? Vic explains that Lem is in jail. Their bank accounts are frozen, so Smitty has to put up the bond. The Strike Team will pay him back and Smitty doesn't have to worry about Lem not showing up for court.

"And the catch is...?" Smitty wants to know. Well, IAD might show up to check his books. How many security systems would Smitty have to sell to make $100,000? Smitty asks why they always come to him. "Because you're the last honest guy we know," replies Vic. Wrong. Lem is honest as they come, which is part of the reason he has an ulcer after 5 years of Strike Team shenanigans.

Vic gives Becca the story that an old friend is bailing Lem out. Becca will make some calls and see if she can fast-track his release. The lawyer has found herself between a rock and a hard place: "I don't wanna convince you all to turn on Lem. I don't wanna convince him to turn on you, but that's what a good lawyer would be advising." She doesn't want any of them in prison.

Becca sighs that she might be better as their friend than their lawyer. Vic says Lem needs her. Besides, they can't afford to hire someone else. If she has to decide who to protect, she should take Lem's side. Vic even offers to switch places with Lem and be the one in Lompoc. Becca wants Vic to have a second chance, which he's already had, plus at least five or six more.

Billings apologizes to Tina on behalf of the department about the pictures and lies, "The identity of the culprit's a mystery."

Dutch and Billings both feel Tina has special promise that needs to be nurtured. Billings will allow Dutch to take Tina under his wing and teach her about detective work. "Unless these photos have you too upset to focus on career advancement," the captain adds.

Tina gets it; she can't climb the department ladder unless she shuts up. Billings covers his ass by telling her that shadowing Dutch is just an opportunity he thinks she deserves. Instead of consulting her union rep, Tina tells Dutch she looks forward to working with him.

When Lem walks out of the jail gate, Shane and Ronnie are on the sidewalk to greet him. Ronnie gives his best friend an enthusiastic hug, joking, "Looks like your hymen's still intact." Shane hugs Lem too. Lem asks what happened to Vic. Shane says he had someplace to be, but he'll catch up with them at the bar; Smitty's buying. "I am?" says the locksmith.

"What are you doing here?" Edgar-veda asks. Vic opines that Kavanaugh is out of control and unbalanced.

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Kavanaugh's been threatening Lem's life. Vic has a feeling Edgar-veda isn't so fond of the Rat King either. Does Kavanaugh have Edgar-veda over a barrel? Edgar-veda calls it "the price I pay for having been your boss." But he's not dirty, not like the Strike Team. Vic warns he won't go quietly.

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Edgar-veda himself will be the first target. "Your stink will smell up every voting booth in this city." If Edgar-veda ever wants to be mayor, he and Vic will have to work together. Edgar-veda, Vic, and the rest of the Strike Team will be the last men standing. "What's your plan?" asks Edgar-veda. Vic stares; he probably hasn't thought that far ahead yet. End of episode.