The Shield

As the Barn's new commander, Steve Billings, is breaking the news about upcoming budget cuts, Julien and his rookie partner, Tina Hanlon, are responding to the knifing death of a black student at Wellman-Chase High School. When shots are fired during a riot between black and Latino students, the call for back up forces Vic to take control when Billings freezes. After the police and Councilman David Aceveda converge on the chaotic scene where a fifteen-year-old Latino lays dead from a gunshot wound, Vic learns that the stabbing was carried out on orders from a Latino prison gang, dictating that two blacks must be killed. As Corrine is approached outside her kid's school by Jon Kavanaugh, a man claiming to also be the parent of an autistic child, Assistant Chief Phillips tells Vic that he is being forced out of the department once he's eligible for retirement. After breaking the news to Shane, Vic joins his team to arrest stabbing suspect Lorenzo Lavedra, but not before he's wounded another black victim. As Dutch gets someone to ID the gunman at school as Evan Dayne, Vic is dealing with Lorenzo's mom, Calida, when her son attacks Claudette. Meanwhile, Aceveda is also approached by Kavanaugh, who is actually an Internal Affairs cop assigned to investigate Vic. When questioned, Lorenzo says that if he doesn't murder two blacks within the next few hours, his imprisoned dad will be killed. With Lorenzo in custody, the job falls to his younger brother, Cisco, who is stabbed after murdering a local barbershop's black customer. And as Cisco is rushed to the hospital, Vic dispatches Lem to the prison with photos of the murder victims that he hopes will save the elder Lavedra. Finally, as forensics evidence exonerates Dayne, and the Strike Team gets revenge on a teenager who clubbed Ronnie during the riot, Kavanaugh threatens to arrest Lem in order to turn him against Vic. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Unaware that Lem is being pressured to cooperate with an investigation into the death of Detective Terry Crowley, the Strike Team hits the street in search of Doomsday, a Salvadoran thug who's extorting cash from local businesses. Though Vic warns him to stop, the investigation into a brutal triple murder produces a witness who describes a suspect that resembles Doomsday. But when her dogs are decapitated while she's being questioned, the witness refuses to pick him out of a line up. Meanwhile, as Julien worries after seeing Tina use excessive force in an arrest, Dutch suspects that the death of Guillermo Solis is not an alcohol-induced accident. After the dead man's wife leads them to a church where he was undergoing aversion therapy for alcoholism, Dutch is convinced that the pastor, Romero, forced Solis to drink himself to death. Though Claudette isn't convinced, when he sees the widow wearing a pair of fancy shoes just like those at a store owned by Romero, Dutch suspects that he killed Solis in order to make a play for his wife. After Aceveda and Detective Kavanaugh claim that it could prove Vic's innocence, Lem makes the difficult choice to wear a wire. But, as Kavanaugh continues posing as a parent at the school in order to learn whatever he can from Corrine, once Lem rejoins the Strike Team, he's careful not to catch any incriminating statements on tape. To ensure that he doesn't return to the street, Vic and his team re-arrest Doomsday. Taking him across the border where they scare him into confessing, the cops then arrange for Doomsday to be arrested on a weapons charge in Mexico. Finally, as Danny cautions Julien against filing a report that would get Tina dismissed, Dutch blames Claudette for not supporting him when he's ordered to drop the investigation of Romero. And after Lem reveals that they are being recorded, he's horrified when Vic refuses to deny responsibility for Crowley's death. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Abuela's request for an attorney threatens to cause a delay that could jeopardize the lives of more than fifty child sex salves, so Vic asks Becca Doyle for help. Though Abuela agrees to a deal and rookie Tina Hanlon risks her life in a sting to stop the traffickers, it's still too late to keep Pablo from being shipped to Thailand. Meanwhile, as Corrine worries that she is a pawn in Kavanaugh's investigation of Vic, a detective who specializes in reading facial expressions tells Dutch that Claudette is hiding something. As Detective Traynor's expertise with facial expressions helps Dutch close one murder case, Becca's tenacity clears Dayne and helps Claudette get a confession from the gunman at a high school riot. Finally, once the slave ring has been dismantled, Vic turns his attention to the IAD investigation. And as the Strike Team is trying to learn as much as they can about the investigation, Vic finally comes face to face with Kavanaugh. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

While friction with Julien leads Tina to request a reassignment to another training officer, in the wake of her rookie mistake during a holding cell riot, she finds Danny unsympathetic to her complaints. Finally, as Dutch confronts Claudette about her illness, and Becca agrees to represent the Strike Team, Vic tracks down Emolia. Though he's outraged to learn that she's been cooperating with the department's investigation into his past for quite some time, he has to cover when Kavanaugh shows up, too. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Frustrated with Lem's inability to get anything on tape, Kavanaugh plants a listening device inside the Strike Team's clubhouse. However, already struggling to keep his informant on board, and now forced to question Aceveda's commitment to the investigation, Kavanaugh realizes that any recordings of Vic and lawyer Becca Doyle discussing strategy are inadmissible as evidence. Meanwhile, as the death of a psychotic ER patient due to taking black market prescription drugs leads Vic to uncover a scheme to peddle expired and stolen pharmaceuticals to the poor and uninsured, Dutch arrests an illegal immigrant who claims he was hired to bury a dead man. Upon learning that a Russian crime syndicate is aiming to take over the drug racket, Vic tracks down mob boss Mikula Popovich and the garage where he is keeping his supply of stolen medicine. And when Vic offers Popovich protection in exchange for a cut of the scam's profits, Kavanaugh catches them on tape. Meanwhile, after questioning Peaches Pyman, Dutch finds her dead boyfriend's body in the closet of a house she shares with Shonda Cromwell. Now that he has the recording, Kavanaugh and a SWAT team are ready to pounce when surveillance indicates that Vic and Popvich have murdered the supplier of the stolen drugs. Though certain he's caught Vic red-handed, Kavanaugh discovers that he's actually been duped into interfering with an undercover drug bust. Finally, unwilling to believe that Peaches could have murdered her boyfriend, Dutch finds that it was actually Shonda who killed him. And as Claudette tells Dutch that she has lupus, Becca agrees to continue defending Vic and his men. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Despite being tricked into interfering with an undercover bust, Kavanaugh ramps up his investigation by moving into Billings' office. While Becca tries to keep everyone together in the face of this latest move, the Strike Team questions Kasper Milford, a white drug dealer who witnessed a drive-by shooting that looks to be connected to a gang turf war. As Vic cracks down on the local drug trade to elicit some cooperation, Kavanaugh questions Danny about the suspicion that Mackey may be her baby's father. Meanwhile, after a bloody shirt found by his sister, Fatima, provides a lead in the case against serial killer Kleavon Gardner, Dutch narrowly avoids getting caught during a surreptitious search that uncovers even more evidence. However, after Kleavon reports that Fatima is missing, Dutch has to tell Claudette that a murder weapon he spotted in his bedroom is now gone. As news of the investigation into the murder of Federal Agent Terry Crowley causes Becca to wonder what else she hasn't been told, Kavanaugh tells Corrine what he suspects about Danny's baby as he is questioning her about the source of the money she uses to pay for her kids' private school tuitions. Meanwhile, as Julien and Tina look for a vigilante using rat traps to punish men seeking anonymous gay sex, Vic suspects that Kasper knows more than he's letting on. Although Kasper refuses to talk, a recording of him boasting of his sexual prowess prompts a girlfriend to reveal that he orchestrated the drive-by and then had the hitmen killed, too. As Kavanaugh looks for someone who will turn against Vic, Claudette resolves to nail Kleavon after another murder victim is found to have been made up to look like her. As more revelations leave Becca wondering how much more Vic hasn't told her, Kavanaugh announces that he is also looking to connect Aceveda to the Strike Team. Finally as a result of their investigation, Tina realizes that Julien is hiding his own homosexual past. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

With Kavanaugh trying to follow the trail of stolen Armenian mob cash back to Vic, Claudette questions Kleavon Gardner about the string of murder victims that may now include his sister, Fatima. Though Claudette is tested by Kleavon's stoicism, Dutch insists that she is close to breaking him as news that Fatima sold a credit card to raise some cash raises hopes that finding her will help close the case. Meanwhile, following the murder of his girlfriend and her young daughter, meth dealer Maurizio Ochoa accuses her former boyfriend, ex-con Ted Shusett, of the crime. While unanswered questions about the mob money threaten to implicate the Strike Team, another fatal shooting suggests that Ochoa hired someone to recover the drugs Shusett stole in the double homicide. As Vic looks to reward a meth addict for leading him to Shusett, Kavanaugh invokes the case of Antwon Mitchell to pressure Aceveda into cooperating. So, to avoid being implicated himself, Aceveda suggests that Lemonhead consider cooperating in exchange for leniency. Meanwhile, after his informant arranges a sting, Vic is caught in a standoff when Shusett takes an innocent hostage. But with the aid of some pilfered military explosives, he and the Strike Team takes down Shusett before he kills again. After finding Fatima in hiding, an exhausted Claudette gets her to cooperate in a ruse that prompts Kleavon to confess to the string of murders. As the news of the missing mob money has Becca worried that her clients are continuing to withhold important details, Vic tells Corrine to cooperate with Kavanaugh and not worry about the consequences. Finally, Claudette is injured when she falls down a flight of stairs following the successful interrogation. And even though Tina claims she saw Kleavon push her, Dutch is sure that she fainted first. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

To advance his case against Vic, Kavanaugh turns to gang leader Antwon Mitchell. Since nothing can be done about his consecutive life sentences for murder, Mitchell asks that Vic and his men serve any prison time they may get with him. Leaving with hopes that Mitchell will eventually agree to cooperate, Kavanaugh joins in the investigation of a hand grenade attack on a gang drug house - an attack he was warned of in advance by Emolia Melendez, but refused to take seriously. So, to stop a Salvadoran drug ring that's trying to reclaim lost territory, Kavanaugh works with Vic by allowing Emolia to infiltrate the gang. Meanwhile, after quietly offering to link Vic to the Armenian mob money, Dutch is drafted to investigate the rape of Kavanaugh's estranged wife, Sadie. After Emolia is hired by the Salvadorans to assemble more grenades, Vic turns up the heat on MC Dunn-Good, a drug dealer whose gang was the target of the attack. Although Dunn is skeptical of Vic's promise to protect him in exchange for revealing the location of more potential targets, Kavanaugh persuades him to cooperate. But because he is distracted by the investigation into the assault on Sadie, Kavanaugh isn't around when Vic takes Emolia to the scene of another grenade attack on a house that wasn't one of those identified by Dunn. Meanwhile, after Sadie identifies her attacker from a list of registered sex offenders, Dutch discovers that she has a history of mental illness that could cast doubt on the accusation. And though Corrine returns the stolen mob money she received from Vic, Kavanaugh won't discuss to a deal to protect her from prosecution. As Kavanaugh looks to keep the attack on Sadie under wraps, Vic seizes upon a chance to bust the Salvadoran grenade factory. Yet, when the discovery that Emolia is wearing a wire forces the Strike Team to burst in to save her, they end up losing their target. Finally, after pressuring Lemonhead to turn against Vic, Kavanaugh discovers that Vic overheard Sadie admit to concocting the story about the rape. Exploding in anger, Kavanaugh arrests Lemonhead for possession and then returns to prison to agree to Antwon's demand. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

With Lemonhead behind bars waiting for someone to post his bail, Kavanaugh increases the pressure on Vic and his men with a series of interviews at the scene of Terry Crowley's murder. Already upset that all of his assets have been frozen by the IAD investigators, Vic then learns that Antwon Mitchell is offering to help Kavanaugh in exchange for having Lemonhead sent to the prison were he's incarcerated. Meanwhile, as Claudette returns to duty to investigate the murder of a courier who was bringing high quality marijuana in from Canada, Tina risks losing her job after she mistakenly arrests an undercover cop. But the case against her becomes complicated when Dutch learns that Billings has clandestine photos of the rookie cop getting undressed in the locker room. As Kavanaugh looks to force both Aceveda and Corrine to cooperate, Vic signs on to Claudette and Dutch's murder investigation. Following a tip that leads him to the dealer behind the Canadian operation, Vic then offers to help him recover $250,000 he lost as a result of the murder in exchange for the cash to post Lem's bail. But after learning that the dealer's stepson, Jade Reid, is their suspect, Vic and Shane must find him - and the stolen cash - before Claudette. Meanwhile, though he's already promised to see that Tina is fired, Billings has second thoughts after Dutch points out the problems that the secret photographs could cause. After Claudette also gets a lead to where Reid is staying, Vic sends Shane and Ronnie to the apartment to steal the money before the other cops arrive. Finding the stoned suspect sitting on the stolen cash, the rogue cops manage to slip away with it just minutes ahead of his arrest. Then, using some of the money lifted from Reid, Vic enlists a friend to post Lemonhead's bail. Finally, as Billings offers a chance to work with Dutch to bribe Paula into not making a case of the photos, on the heels of Lem's release, Vic gets Aceveda's attention when he threatens to let the IAD investigation bring him down too. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

The prospect of serving prison time prompts Lemonhead to cut a deal with the D.A. to protect the rest of the Strike Team. So, in exchange for seeing that he isn't targeted behind bars, Vic agrees when Antwon Mitchell asks him to help his new lieutenant, rap singer Kern Little, recover confiscated gang property from a police warehouse. However, even as Vic is holding up his end of the deal, he's stunned when Kern is shot by a member of his own gang in a move by Antwon to stop him from returning to power on the street. While Vic lets himself be drawn into an affair with Kavanaugh's wife, Sadie, Dutch and Claudette sign on to track down an assailant who is using rat traps to maim gay men. As Claudette accuses Dutch of leaking word of her illness after she is confined to a desk pending the outcome of a physical exam, rat trap attack victim Alarico Trujillo is reluctant to answer questions for fear of tipping off his wife to his homosexuality. Yet, it is Trujillo's description of his assailant that ultimately allows Dutch and Claudette to bring in Jarred Stawl for questioning. As Kavanaugh's investigation is coming undone, Vic's hopes of helping Lem in prison are dashed when Mitchell reneges on their deal after the warehouse safe is found to be empty. While passing her physical paves the way for Claudette's promotion to command of the Barn, when Trujillo's credibility is damaged by an arrest for spousal abuse, it's up to Julien to get Stawl to confess to the attacks. Finally, as Vic and Becca give in to their simmering sexual tension, Kavanaugh looks to Corrine for some sexual payback. And as Dutch tells Claudette that her mistrust has spoiled their working relationship, Vic sends Lem to hide in Mexico. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

As Vic looks to get Lemonhead to safety, Kavanaugh goes all out to make his case against the Strike Team. © 2006 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.