The Shield

Previously on "The Shield"...

My detectives found 12 bodies hacked to pieces.

Well, 11 bodies, one arm.

Machete is the weapon of choice for the salvadorans.

It supports the tip that Aceveda's cronies gave us

that the killers were salvadorans. The victims were all mexican illegals.

- Ids? - All but the arm.

The guy at I.N.S. ID'ed the arm from San Marcos house.

Eduardo Romero... a mid-level bureaucrat in the mexican government.

Could embarrass a lot of powerful people on both sides of the border.

You solve this, that's a dozen murders in the win column.

It just might be enough. This door is open.

What do you know about a guy named Hernan?

He's a fed... undercover in the salvadoran organization.

Benjamin Westcott Gilroy.

The mexican authorities sent him back.

- Any family? - Wife.

I killed Lem.

Please forgive me, please! I can't! I can't do this any more.

I'm sorry.

You dropped a grenade in his lap. And what did you do? Did you run?

Shane?!

I did what I thought had to be done at the time.

He wouldn't go to Mexico.

I told him about the money that we were gonna send him.

- And he never turned on us! - We couldn't afford to take that chance.

I mean, all I was doing was following your game plan, coach.

Get in your truck, drive away.

Leave here before I kill you.

I called you all last night. Did you talk to Shane? What happened?

He did it.

He killed Lem.

Oh, Jesus Christ.

He confessed?

He pocketed a grenade before Aceveda's even told us about Lem's deal.

He looked him right in the eye,

dropped it in his lap, and ran.

Never included us, never talked to us. Just...

took it on himself and killed a guy who was only looking out for us.

Where is he now?

Oh, no.

It's over. He's... He's never coming back. He's moved on.

Are we here for Hernan?

He called a meeting, said it was important.

Reaching out to me is a big risk to your cover.

I know.

When I went to upload Zinman on the spare arm you guys found at San Marcos,

I was met by some new guy.

Talbert.

They gave you a new handler midstream? Yeah.

This guy knew the arm belonged to Romero.

Told me to leave it alone. End of conversation.

A mexican official loses a limb in a hacked up pile of dead mexi illegals

and the U.S. and mexican governments both turned a blind eye?

I've seen this shit go down before.

Some fairway up the food chain is getting greased. Keep it off the books.

Brings in his own overseer... Keeps everyone else in the dark.

If you don't trust who you tell it to then you're lost undercover.

Well, until I know more, I need a lifeline.

Throway cell phone. Number can't be traced to anybody.

- You need me, you call me. - Salvadorans are promoting.

I could use a push to captain.

Get my own crew, open me up to a whole lot of gang secrets.

Well, how big of a push do you need?

Boss has a meeting at Lonya's bar on ninth.

Need a raid at 2:00 sharp.

Well, what am I gonna find?

Nothing. I'm gonna tip them off 20 minutes before you show.

- Tell them I've got a mole in the P.D. - Hmm.

We'll come and knock.

Let's go!

What's up?!

We got a street fair filled with confetti and dead bodies.

Got 6 shot up at the el salvador del mundo festival.

4 dead, multiple injuries, women and children.

I was waiting to see what the mexican payback would be

- for the San Marcos murders. - City tactical?

No, we're on our own, man.

Oh, Shane called in sick today. He ok?

Seemed fine last night.

Unis are outnumbered. Help them out.

Spoke to 3 witnesses. All tell the same stories.

6 mexican bangers stroll in wearing backpacks.

- All wearing Byz Lat ink. - Only nobody pays any attention

till they pull out sawed-off shotguns and start shooting at everybody.

salvadoran bangers sponsored this fair.

This looks like retaliation for the San Marcos house murders.

Hernan said the el salvadorans had nothing to do with San Marcos.

- It was an internal mexican beef. - Well, he's wrong.

- This smells like payback. - Bad intel on his part.

He lied.

Hey, hey! Step back! Hey! Hey, ma'am! Hey!

My son! My son was shot!

Let me see him! No!

Look, I'm sorry. You're gonna have to stay behind the line, ok?

We need to talk to Hernan and find out why he lied to us about San Marcos.

The salvadorans are close to giving him his captain's stripes.

He must not want local law turning up the heat on him.

It's stepping on his upward mobility.

- Plus, he's nervous. - About what?

We got a buddy at I.N.S. Who IDed the chopped off arm

that we found at the San Marcos house. It belongs to Eduardo Romero.

- He's a midlevel mexican bureaucrat. - Hernan contacted me this morning.

He's nervous because I.C.E. is telling him to back away from the Romero trail.

sounds like somebody in immigration has got their feet to the fire

- doesn't want to get burned. - Hernan's spooked.

He reached out to me because he doesn't trust his chain of command.

That doesn't mean we have to back off. You run with that Romero lead.

It might be the break we need in the San Marcos case.

Find the Byz Lats who shot up the festival.

Hernan wants us to raid a salvadoran bar this afternoon.

He's gonna give the bosses an early heads-up. Earn points by

keeping them out of harm's way.

Salvadoran bosses are already

planning a retaliation. We need to bring them in now.

- Going in early could set Hernan back. - He set us back

by lying about San Marcos being mexican on mexican.

He can gain favor with the bosses some other way.

Captain Wyms?!

Uh, I know the street festival thing looks bad.

I got the Strike Team and my best detectives on it.

San Marcos is still unsolved, now this?

Wilshire and Central agreed to lend a hand.

I don't recall asking them for help.

Send copies of everything you have on the street fair shooting and San Marcos

so Wilshire and Central can back you up.

- Shane here? - No. I haven't seen him.

He didn't come home last night.

- Everything all right between you two? - Where the hell is he?

I'll be right out.

I don't know where Shane is. Maybe you should ask the captain.

- She might be able to help you. - He doesn't do anything

without you knowing about it. Don't dick me around here.

I'm not. That's his job.

I know what happened last night.

It was a busy evening. You'll have to be more specific.

About Lem.

What about Lem?

- If you did anything to hurt Shane... - Why would I hurt Shane?

What is it you think you know?

I know everything about Shane.

We don't have any secrets.

Oh.

Open and honest.

That's always the best way, right?

Transcript: SW

Synch: javawarrior2003 Fix: ::emicad::

Hey!

God damn it! Bosses got out of here in a hurry.

waitress said they all took off when

they heard about the street fair shooting.

Hernan knew we'd come early for the bosses.

He's pulled them out early to gain trust.

I'm beginning to think this guy is kind of an asshole.

Let's flip it.

Yeah?

Hey, sorry I missed your yamada, amigo.

Still need them smokes.

You with the bosses?

There a retaliation plan?

Si, los Macanudos and los Dukes.

Not the regs. That shit burns like garbage.

- Garbage. - She got them in stock, eh?

Found your cigars.

These the addresses for the bosses?

Why not put two aside for me, eh? Don't forget me, ay?

- Pick you up with the rest of them. - Si, amigo. Buenos noches.

I take back the asshole comment about Hernan. He came through.

Wants us to scoop him up with the rest of the bosses.

Preserves his cover, gets the shot-callers off the street.

- Buys us some time to make a peace. - Yeah, but the shooters were Byz Lat.

Just picking up the salvadorians might raise

suspicions that we've got a guy inside.

Gang sweep.

Wide net. Salvadorans and mexicans.

Hernan's just another sad brown face in the paddy wagon...

Until we get him along.

How can I help with the fallout?

Phillips had me send over our case files to Wilshire and Central.

Our stats are tanking. He's gonna shut this place down.

- No, I would have heard something. - He's bringing them up to speed

so that when they split the farm in half,

the transition goes smoothly.

And keeping it under the radar. Protect morale.

It's hard to motivate cops when your home base is a sinking ship.

I'll look into it on a policy level.

How can I help right now?

Those extra bodies you threatened to spoil us with,

- I need them tonight. - For what?

Gang sweep.

Gonna bring in as many Byz Lat salvadoran bangers as we can.

It gives us time to find the shooters, negotiate a peace.

The mexican and salvadoran communities both feel victimized.

It sounds punitive.

It's a warrant sweep. It's bringing felons in from the front lines.

It'll feel like a siege.

I.C.E. has an undercover operative

high up the salvadoran food chain I need to protect.

I gotta pick him up without anyone getting wise.

He can help us end this.