The Shield

He's representing a company that has backing of various mexican investment interests.

The mexican mob is buying up farmington?

- Blackmail - That's how Pezuela's getting everyone onboard.

Do you want to give me a clue what all this is about?

The intel box the mexis are using to blackmail their way up to the top.

You made it look like it was sold out to the armos.

Which lit the fuse for the blood feud we're stirring up between Rezian and the mexicans.

Nicely done.

Where's that blackmail box?

Aceveda: you couldn't resist the temptation to use it for your own purposes.

I am now in possession of the box until the time is right to turn it over to justice.

What about the files?

Whatever's in that box is giving Rezian big balls.

He's taken something that belongs to me.

I took your money-Train cash. I'm not afraid to come here and tell you about it.

Instead of the $2 million that I don't have, I'm gonna grant you three wishes.

Once you've had your three meals, we walk away from the table fat, happy, and even.

I'm sick of walking around half the day smiling at a guy who put a grenade in Lem's lap.

We need Shane right now.

We're gonna make him feel safe.

We're gonna get through this, come through the other side.

Thank you.

Never mind the illegal drinking. You were supposed to be watching your brother matthew.

He's your responsibility, not mine.

Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!

The only parent that's ever around to listen to me.

Don't you ever push your mother like that! Do you understand?!

Hi.

Uh, I need to talk to cass.

I'm sorry things got out of control before.

We're already running late for school.

I already grounded her. She's furious.

You know what, this may not be the best time to talk.

Please, Corrine.

It's the time I have.

Okay, come on.

Cassidy?

Your father's here.

Open the door, please.

Cass?

Listen, kid. I apologize for losing my temper.

I grabbed you way harder than intended, and I'm sorry.

Do you hear me?

Fine.

All right, now, for your part, I think you owe your mother and I an explanation.

We trusted you with certain responsibilities.

You let us down.

Hey! We're talking to you.

Apology accepted.

I'm ready to go.

We'll finish this later.

You made a big mistake. It could have had some goddamn serious consequences.

Please don't swear.

I apologized, and now I'm waiting

To hear an explanation about your behavior.

How do you explain your behavior?

I don't have to explain myself.

All the investigations. You're the criminal.

I'm your father!

Your choice, not mine.

Hey, I'm gonna be your father whether you like what I teach you or not!

Let's go. Come on.

Let's go. Let's go.

God damn it.

Hello!

Rezian's safe house.

I see that.

It went up in smoke early this morning - Two bodies.

Rezian?

Both too crispy to I.D.

I'm guessing it's Pezuela's boys hunting for the blackmail box.

Means they're still convinced the armenians have their intel.

If that is Rezian laying in there,

That's one more name off the list of armos that know about our money-Train debt.

Our deal was with Rezian.

Him being dead might put us back to square one.

Mmm, s'mores.

The arson unit weigh in yet?

It didn't have to. The killers left gasoline cans behind. Weren't even trying to hide it.

Recovered 9mm shells, bullet holes in their skulls.

Today's the city march observing the armenian genocide.

The block's in the middle of a red, blue, and orange sea

Whole area's gonna be swarming with people.

Strange day for an internal beef.

The armenians make any recent enemies?

I heard some talk the mexicans have been stirring things up with them.

Could just be street chatter.

If this is the first shot in a war,

I don't want the armenian day of remembrance being turned into a fresh battle.

Well, maybe Shane's playdates with Ellis Rezian can pay off again.

We'll track him down, get him to I.D. The bodies.

See you guys back at the barn.

Rezian gone might not be the worst thing.

Cut off the head, and the tentacles get frisky. It's a risk.

Look, just hear me out.

Let's find out if he's alive first, all right?

It's okay.

Glad to see you upright.

If I hadn't gotten out of there last night -

Don't worry. You already thanked me.

Two of my lieutenants are dead. And this was the mexicans?

They couldn't kill you in jail. Why did you think they would stop on the outside?

What do they want?

Some mexican intel went missing. Whatever it was, it was valuable enough to spark a war.

Your two burned lieutenants will vouch for that.

If you've heard the rumors, you can find their source, right?

I want a sit-Down with the people who burned my store and killed my men.

My people are dead because the mexicans are wrong.

I'll talk to them, make them understand that.

They shanked you. They killed your guys. Now you want to pencil in some kind of circle jerk?

The only way to respond is to push back.

The mexicans are too powerful. We can't compete against their numbers.

You think them realizing the armos don't have the balls to fight back is gonna lead to peace?

The mexicans will smell your weakness,

And they'll pounce on it.

We don't have their missing intel.

When they know that, they'll go looking for it someplace else.

If I pull this off, it's number two on your short list of favors.

One more, me and my family are all paid up.

As long as the meeting happens before any more armenian blood is shed.

It's time to end this war we started.

Can't do that yet. We got the list of Rezian's inner circle,

Which just grew smaller by two.

That's time to finish this job while we can still control the casualties.

Look, I know that you are not thinking about setting up this meeting.

I'm thinking about setting up this meetin

Is this another one of those surprise endings that you're gonna lay on me after all this is over with?

Rezian isn't the only one we have to think about taking down.

I'm - I'm targeting cruz Pezuela.

Aceveda's one-Man campaign bankroll?

He's buying up farmington with cartel money.

Pezuela gets his way, the entire district will be Byz Lat-Owned and -Operated.

Well, how is that our problem?

It's big-Picture time, Matt.

They're trying to take my badge, and I need an endgame.

Pezuela is the cherry on my career sundae.

Why does that have to involve Rezian?

The only way to connect Pezuela to the cartel

Is to force him into making a bad mistake.

The intel in that box belongs to him.

Now, if Pezuela gets desperate enough to get it back,

He shoots his way into a jail cell and wipes out

The armenian threat for us - Two for one.

What happens when Pezuela doesn't cooperate and we're forced to choose one win?

Not there yet.

Rezian wants to sit down with the mexican brains.

Guess he got your smoke signals.

And he's willing to make a deal.

I'm not paying anyone to give me back my property.

I'm paying you to get it.

I'm giving you a chance to get your blackmail box.

That's what you're paying me for.

That doesn't interest you,

I'm sure Rezian will be content to hold onto it,

Do with it as he sees fit.

Or you could try to burn your way through the rest of east hollywood.

This might be the smarter move.

I'll set it up.

But they want to talk to the brains.

I am not walking into the belly of the armenian beast

With one of your day laborers as my date.

Okay.

Hoy más tarde te llamo.

Detective Mackey,

Amando Rios.

Amando will speak for me.

Not sure he'll pass for brains.

He's less tequila-Soaked than the rest of the crew I've seen circling you lately.

There's only one condition.

If they don't bring the box to this meeting, every file, tell them not to come at all.

Fair enough.

What meeting?

I'll explain it all

As soon as detective Mackey gets back to us with the details.

Rios isn't just some beaner.

He's got a face only a cartel could love.

I got Julien looking into him now.

What do I tell Rezian?

Tell him the truth.

Pezuela's not sending his boy unless he knows the blackmail box is waiting.

So, the meet-And-Greet doesn't even happen.

We look like we did our job for both sides.

They stay clueless and at war.

According to the computer, Amando Rios is a nonperson, at least stateside.

He's one of the arsonists?

Well, it's possible.

Tipster thinks he might be hooked up with a mexican cartel.

That's a world bigger than what our database covers.

Then you might need to dig a little deeper.

Well, I'll try and find a bigger shovel.

You got to love that first-Year strike team enthusiasm.

Keep an eye on Julien - Information we need -

But if Rios gets picked up or spooked,

We lose our best shot at Pezuela.

There shouldn't be any trace of his location

Under any rocks that Julien can reach.

Hey, you called me.

I don't need anyone mixing martinis,

But I'd like a little credit for braving the morning gridlock.

Ah, give us a minute.