The Shield

Vic challenges Shane and deals with threats to his family. A federal agent arrives in Farmington to investigate a recent wave of violence. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

As a local gang war heats up, Vic positions himself as a valuable commodity to the warring parties. Corrine and Cassidy confront Vic. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Vic works an angle to make himself valuable to the Armenian mob. Corrine finds herself in a surprising legal jam. Tina targets a producer of adult entertainment. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

As Vic’s domestic problems mount, two mob henchmen are found dead at Ellis Rezian’s safehouse in the wake of an arson attack on the eve of a politically-sensitive Armenian Genocide remembrance. When Rezian asks for a meeting to prove to the Mexicans that he doesn’t have the files they are after, Shane is sure they can use the deal to finally dispose of anyone who can tie them to the money train robbery, while Vic remains adamant about taking down Cruz Pezuela, too. And though Pezuela agrees to have his lieutenant, Armando Rios, meet with the Armenians, he insists that Rezian bring the missing files with him. Meanwhile, Dutch doubts that sixteen-year-old Lloyd Denton’s shooting of a high school classmate is simply the result of a botched burglary. As Vic asks Olivia Murray to investigate Rios, his plan to stoke the gang war runs aground when Rezian agrees to bring the files. Knowing that he’s lying, and with Olivia coming up empty-handed, Vic acts to maintain credibility with Pezuela by helping Rios avoid an arrest. Though he comes to the meeting empty-handed, Rezian offers to help Rios find the files. So, in order to maintain control, Vic and Aceveda blackmail City Controller Robert Martin into funding a genocide memorial sought by the Armenians in the hope that Pezuela will think that it was the result of Rezian’s using the stolen intel as leverage. Meanwhile, as Cassidy asks Danny about her dad, Dutch worries that Lloyd may be a serial killer in the making News that Martin has approved the memorial prompts Pezuela to order a hit on Rezian. Yet, after Pezuela promises that no civilians will he hurt, his men shoot and kill Martin. Finally, despite Dutch’s best efforts at eliciting a confession, Lloyd insists that he didn’t know that the intruder he shot was a high school bully. And as Vic insists that Pezuela turn over Martin’s killers, he and Aceveda find that Olivia is working for Pezuela. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Adding to their worries over finding that Olivia Murray is being blackmailed into working for Cruz Pezuela, Aceveda and Vic must also tread carefully around the investigation into City Controller Robert Martin’s murder. Uncertainty over Olivia’s loyalties leads Vic to question why she wants help finding the kidnapped daughter of Gaytan Echevarria, a Cuban drug lord and focus of a major Federal investigation. Yet, after linking the kidnapping to a car theft ring, Vic enlists a rival gang to provide cover for an assault on a chop shop to spring Noelle Echeverria without alerting her father to the ongoing investigation. And Vic’s life gets even more complicated after Cassidy is suspended from school following a wild teenage party. After Claudette insists that Dutch stop interfering with her being subpoenaed, accused murderer Kleavon Gardner raises her medical history during a deposition in order to undermine the prosecutor’s case against him. As he’s trying to help D.A. Beth Insardi nail Gardner, Dutch turns to profiler and psychologist Lyor Chotzen for his insights into the mind of Lloyd Denton, the teenager he suspects of being a nascent serial killer. To keep her case from falling apart and protect the confidentiality of Claudette’s medical history, Insardi offers Gardner life without parole in exchange for his confession. And once Little agrees, Dutch asks his advice on how to keep Lloyd from becoming like him. Once Noelle has been freed, Vic turns his attention to the classmate who hosted the party, only to learn that Cassidy’s role was far greater than she’s let on. Then, as Shane wants Ronnie to convince Vic to turn over the box of stolen intel and end the Armenian threat, Claudette comes clean about her health problems and asks Danny to help out by taking a desk job at the Barn. Finally, as Vic refuses Danny’s plea to relinquish his rights to their son, and Dutch fails to get through to Lloyd, Olivia looks to get out from under Pezuela’s thumb. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

To protect his political future, Aceveda wants to give the files stolen from Pezuela over to Federal agents. After persuading the councilman to wait one more day before doing anything, Vic devises a plan to end the gang feud, stop the threats against his family, and avenge Lem’s murder. So, while Shane agrees to arrange a meeting between Rezian and Pezuela’s men, he’s unaware that Vic intends to use it to kill him. Meanwhile, Shane signs on to assist ex-Strike Team member Tavon Harris in finding Gary Barba, a fugitive wanted for the six-year-old murder of everyone in his family except for his daughter, Camille. Found naked and covered in blood, Jeff Busada is worried that he may have killed someone while sleepwalking. But after interviewing his ex-wife, Sophia, Dutch is skeptical of the claim. With Claudette connecting Martin’s killers to the Mexican mob, Vic asks Olivia not to end her involvement with Pezuela just yet. Pretending to look for Martin’s killers, he then helps Pezuela’s lieutenant, Armando Rios, plan an ambush of Shane and the Armenians. However, when Olivia learns that Federal agents have been watching Rios, Vic worries that his meetings with the hit man may have been caught on tape. While Shane helps Camille lure her dad into a trap that leads to his confession, Tavon figures out how he was previously tricked into thinking he attacked Mara in order to cover the Strike Team’s misdeeds. Finally, Vic has second thoughts about sending Shane to be killed by Rios. But Vic can’t warn him, and after Shane escapes the hail of gunfire that kills Rezian and his crew, he realizes that he was set up. And as Jeff takes his own life in order to end his torment, Vic tells a very shaky Corrine that the threat posed by the Armenian mob is over. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

While the fatal ambush of the Armenians has Shane looking over his shoulder, Vic, Aceveda, and Olivia give the stolen intel files to agents investigating the cartels and Robert Martin's murder. Though Vic tries to justify having hung onto box in order to cover their tracks in the case, he is ordered to stand down. However, in pulling Olivia's file before turning the rest over, Aceveda seeks some leverage to insure her loyalty. And after his review board hearing is unexpectedly moved up, Vic finds that he is being terminated without his pension in just ten days. Upon learning that Pezuela is cutting him loose and that Danny has asked Corrine to help prevent his getting custody of their child, Vic is assigned to investigate the murder of a prostitute who has been working alongside Farrah, a hooker he once tried to get out of the sex trade. With the case focusing on a pimp named Bombay, Vic and Ronnie persuade his strongman and collector, Two Man, to reveal where they can find him. But when the Strike Team arrives at his meth lab and Bombay comes out shooting, he's killed by Julien. Meanwhile, Dutch suspects that a series of burglaries in Claudette's neighborhood are the work of Lester Spirakus, an ex-cop looking to spark new business for his home security company. As Vic uses what little influence he has left to get the Federal agents to cooperate in bringing down Pezuela, he pressures Aceveda to give him the file that could end Olivia's law enforcement career. Then, after learning that Bombay was tipped off to the raid, Vic realizes that Farrah called him knowing full well that he would be killed. Finally, as Dutch worries about how Claudette is holding up in the face of her illness, he confronts Lester with evidence that he and a partner were behind the robberies. And after Danny says that she is ready to negotiate a custody deal even as she prepares to slip out of town unnoticed with her baby, Shane enlists Two Man to kill Vic. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Ready to strike back, Shane enlists Mara to support his alibi before heading out to ambush Vic and sending Two-Man after Ronnie. However, Ronnie narrowly escapes being shot and Shane’s risks of being exposed after a witness identifies Two-Man. Unaware of how close Shane came to killing him, Vic tries leveraging his connection to Pezuela into an undercover job with the Federal task force. After Pezuela orders him to persuade a Catholic priest to close a church that is threatening his new low-income housing project, Vic gets reassigned to work with Olivia for his final week on the job. But when Father Morton refuses to shut down despite being shown evidence that proves he is allowing the E-Park Johnnies to deal drugs out of his parish, Vic turns to gang leader Damon Leeks to find out why. And while Leeks won’t reveal anything, Morton admits to covering up the affair and child he had with Damon’s sister, Keisha. Though both Vic and Ronnie want a shot at questioning him, Claudette assigns Dutch and Billings to interrogate Two-Man. But knowing that finding the weapon is critical to their getting a confession, Shane quietly convinces his partner-in-crime to tell him where it’s hidden. Meanwhile, after Pezuela guarantees to make him the next Mayor of Los Angeles, Aceveda is asked to keep the corrupt developer on the hook. Unaware that Shane has already recovered the gun, Dutch and Billings take a chance by telling Two-Man that it’s been found. But it’s only after Vic makes it look like he is about to be charged for assaulting a pair of prostitutes that Two-Man reveals how Shane blackmailed him into becoming an accomplice. And now knowing the truth, Vic and Ronnie won’t be stopped from going after Shane on their own. Finally, as Mara asks Corrine to be a conduit for information while she and Shane are on the run, Vic safely relocates Keisha and her son before shutting down Damon and his crew. And after making one last pitch for a job with the Task Force, Vic turns in his badge and gun to Claudette so that he can go after Shane on his own. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Now that he’s resigned, legal roadblocks stand in the way of Vic finding Shane and Mara. After discovering that they left without taking their son’s antibiotics, he looks for evidence that they tried to get a new prescription or false passports, anything that might provide a clue to their whereabouts. But when he and Mara call and find Vic at Corrine’s, Shane warns him to steer clear. Meanwhile, as Dutch dates Lloyd Denton’s mom, Rita, simply to further his efforts to stop the teenaged serial killer, Billings’ ex-wife and teenage daughter demand that he do something about a registered sex offender who has moved into their neighborhood. Although Aceveda is bristling at the demands Pezuela is making in exchange for supporting his mayoral candidacy, Olivia wants him to maintain the relationship so they can investigate the real estate baron’s new partner, Guillermo Diaz. Given a lead that puts them onto Shane and Mara, Ronnie worries that Vic won’t hesitate to kill both of them if given the chance. When Shane and Mara have to take their son to the ER, Vic confronts them in the hospital parking garage. But in the ensuing confusion, he’s the one who’s arrested by the police as the fugitive couple escapes. As identifying Diaz as Diego Beltran, a major player from Mexico, proves that Pezuela is now under the thumb of the drug cartels, an angry Rita realizes that Dutch was using her in order to learn more about her son. And after Dutch refuses to bend the rules in order to harass Irving Heap, Billings gets some other friends on the force to concoct a child pornography charge that sends the paroled sex offender back to prison. Finally, when threatened by Claudette, Ronnie tells how Lem’s murder set Vic on his quest for revenge. And now that they have some breathing room, Shane and Mara seek refuge in a vacant suburban house where, after telling Corrine about how Vic tried to kill them and their son, they plan their next move. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

With Shane and Mara safely hidden in a vacant house for the time being, Vic asks Stella Sewell for information about her daughter before offering the Byz Lat’s Santi Galas a $10,000 reward for finding them. Worried about their past misdeeds being disclosed, Ronnie tells Vic that he is thinking about running. But when Vic pleads for a more time to catch Diego Beltran, Ronnie agrees to wait. Refocusing his efforts, Vic is meeting with Pezuela and Beltran when Aceveda arrives to say that he is now calling the shots in his mayoral campaign. And to ensure that he isn’t seen as an errand boy and to prove to Vic that he isn’t about to back down, Aceveda threatens Pezuela in front of Beltran. Meanwhile, as Dutch and Claudette promise to protect Corrine in exchange for her cooperation, Shane and Mara plan to leave the country. After sending Ronnie and Billings to interview a trio of cleaning women suspected in the murder of their employer, Claudette and Dutch are monitoring Corrine’s phone when Vic shows up unannounced. Warning Corrine of the danger, Dutch asks her to play along so he can use an open phone line to overhear what Vic says. Meanwhile, as Beltran wants Vic to prove his loyalty by killing Pezuela, a realtor’s attempt to show the house where they are hiding forces Shane and Mara to flee. Admitting that he’s been sent to kill him, Vic convinces Pezuela to turn over Olivia’s intel file and to cooperate in exposing Beltran. And as Shane and Mara are ripped off by gangsters who threaten to turn them in, Billings finds that a suspect’s phony claim about being propositioned for sex drove her jealous boyfriend to kill her boss. Finally, after Vic makes it look like Pezuela committed suicide, Beltran says he won’t interfere with Aceveda’s mayoral campaign -- so long as he wins. And as Shane gives Vic twenty-four hours to have Corrine deliver $100,000 or risk having their secrets exposed, Claudette offers Mara leniency if her husband surrenders. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

As Mara fools Claudette into believing that she is accepting her deal, Corrine agrees to act as the go-between to deliver $100,000 to Shane. Deflecting Aceveda’s inquiries about Pezuela, Vic turns to Beltran with an offer to negotiate a drug distribution deal with the city’s black gangs. And by promising to give Olivia the intel file on her, Vic hopes to get a deal for him and Ronnie to work with the feds. Worried that Shane has followed through on his threat, Ronnie enlists Billings to watch Claudette’s mail for a letter detailing the Strike Team’s crimes. Meanwhile, as Vic presents Beltran’s proposal to the gangs while scamming them for $100,000 to pay off Shane, Ronnie and Julien investigate the shooting death of top college football prospect Cardell Rhodes. Moving ahead with their plan, Dutch and Claudette prepare Corrine to hand off the cash to Shane. Yet, after negotiating a deal for the cartel, Vic must rethink his own scheme when Beltran’s lieutenants insist he return to see their boss at once. And after Vic sends Ronnie to deliver the cash, Mara never shows, forcing Dutch and Claudette to call off their sting. Meanwhile, Ronnie suspects that Cardell’s death is tied to his involvement with a local gang. And after Shane narrowly avoids being arrested while trying to rob a small-time drug dealer, Mara hatches a plan to get some money by breaking into a former employer’s safe. News that the required autopsy was never performed before his body was sent to Mexico leads Aceveda to conclude that Pezuela’s suicide was a trick. And knowing how Pezuela’s working with the government could undermine his mayoral campaign, Aceveda gets Vic to cooperate by threatening to expose him. After pressing the neighbors, Julien and Ronnie learn that the bullet that struck Cardell was actually meant for a college recruiter who pulled the plug on another student’s scholarship a year earlier. Finally, though he and Mara rob a real estate office of some checks, Shane’s fugitive status limits his ability to turn them into cash. And after giving the file to Olivia and then learning that Shane’s threat to send a letter to Claudette was a hoax, Vic tries to shore up a deal with the feds by introducing Ronnie to Beltran. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Desperate for money, Shane is looking for someone to rob at an after hours gambling club when he’s greeted by Biddle, a man claiming to know him. Playing along, and with Mara following close behind, Shane joins him at home, only to discover that he’s been lured into a trap after being recognized as the vice cop Biddle holds responsible for the prison murder of his brother. Sensing trouble, Mara heads inside and ends up killing a woman and then breaking her own collarbone before she and Shane can flee. Meanwhile, Vic and Ronnie step up their plan to get themselves an immunity deal with the feds. But when Olivia says that it won’t be easy, Vic insists that she deliver or risk losing Beltran. And after Aceveda tells Olivia that his cooperation also depends on their immunity, Vic walks out when the deal he’s given to sign excludes Ronnie. As Danny returns to work at the Barn, Billings asks Dutch to help fight the department’s effort to sue him for fraud. But after forcing him to first clear up the phony arrest of paroled sex offender Irving Heap causes even more damage to Billings’ already shaky reputation, Dutch will still only give him a halfhearted statement of support. Meanwhile, after robbing a teenage dealer of some drugs for Mara’s pain, Shane must then ambush Tina in order to keep from being caught. When Vic sees that he is being drawn into a trap, Dutch and Claudette must pretend to arrest Corrine in order to maintain their cover. Believing that she’s been jailed because of him, Vic agrees to set aside Ronnie’s immunity deal so long as Corrine gets help. But once Olivia and her boss agree on the condition that he disclose everything that is to be covered by the deal, they are horrified to discover just how far Vic had gone. Finally, as Danny offers help Corrine with her kids as she waits in jail, Claudette and Dutch discover that Vic has been granted full immunity in exchange for helping the feds. And as Claudette reacts by turning on Dutch, and Mara finds she no longer has the strength to keep running, Vic prepares to bring down Beltran. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

As word of his immunity deal spreads, Vic is unaware that Corrine has been cooperating with the police and trying to get into a witness protection program as he lays a trap for Beltran. But when Beltran sends his henchmen to meet with the black gang leaders, Olivia’s decision to make an arrest despite the drug lord’s absence undermines Vic’s leverage with the government. Meanwhile, as Dutch tries to get a confession out of Lloyd Denton, the teenage serial killer plants evidence that makes it appear the detective is a suspect in the disappearance of the boy’s mother. And as Shane struggles to care for Mara, he sends word that he will surrender in exchange for the murder charges against his wife being dropped. But when Vic refuses to help, Shane desperately looks for a way to keep Mara out of prison. Driven by pride and a desire to land a new law enforcement job, Vic offers mayoral candidate Aceveda a chance at claiming some credit in exchange for backing his plan to arrest Beltran. Meanwhile, as Aceveda’s candidacy is challenged by a vocal community activist, and a lawyer asks Dutch to help Billings keep his pension in spite of his shady workplace injury lawsuit, a raid on Shane’s house finds that he killed Mara and their son before committing suicide. With an ailing Claudette working to get Lloyd to confess and clear Dutch of any suspicion, Aceveda’s intervention results in Olivia being there when Vic and Ronnie take down Beltran at his warehouse hideout. Yet, as he gets word of Shane’s murder-suicide, Ronnie discovers that Vic’s promise of immunity for both of them was a lie, while Vic learns that his role in the Beltran bust hasn’t salvaged his reputation. Finally, as Ronnie is arrested and Lloyd admits to killing his own mother, Vic discovers that his immunity deal with the Feds amounts to little more than a desk job – one that is tantamount to a prison sentence as it will keep him from ever seeing his family again. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

As word of his immunity deal spreads, Vic is unaware that Corrine has been cooperating with the police and trying to get into a witness protection program as he lays a trap for Beltran. But when Beltran sends his henchmen to meet with the black gang leaders, Olivia’s decision to make an arrest despite the drug lord’s absence undermines Vic’s leverage with the government. Meanwhile, as Dutch tries to get a confession out of Lloyd Denton, the teenage serial killer plants evidence that makes it appear the detective is a suspect in the disappearance of the boy’s mother. And as Shane struggles to care for Mara, he sends word that he will surrender in exchange for the murder charges against his wife being dropped. But when Vic refuses to help, Shane desperately looks for a way to keep Mara out of prison. Driven by pride and a desire to land a new law enforcement job, Vic offers mayoral candidate Aceveda a chance at claiming some credit in exchange for backing his plan to arrest Beltran. Meanwhile, as Aceveda’s candidacy is challenged by a vocal community activist, and a lawyer asks Dutch to help Billings keep his pension in spite of his shady workplace injury lawsuit, a raid on Shane’s house finds that he killed Mara and their son before committing suicide. With an ailing Claudette working to get Lloyd to confess and clear Dutch of any suspicion, Aceveda’s intervention results in Olivia being there when Vic and Ronnie take down Beltran at his warehouse hideout. Yet, as he gets word of Shane’s murder-suicide, Ronnie discovers that Vic’s promise of immunity for both of them was a lie, while Vic learns that his role in the Beltran bust hasn’t salvaged his reputation. Finally, as Ronnie is arrested and Lloyd admits to killing his own mother, Vic discovers that his immunity deal with the Feds amounts to little more than a desk job – one that is tantamount to a prison sentence as it will keep him from ever seeing his family again. © 2008 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.