Trama

Vic and Shane's relationship continues to deteriorate as they work against each other to track down the Armenian hit man. The war between the Mexicans and Salvadorans continues, and Vic gets a temporary reprieve from early retirement.

Where'd we leave off? Mackey's forced retirement was up in the air; Acevedo introduced Mackey to a guy named Cruz Pezuela who had a job for him, protecting "larger interests"; it turned out Pezuela had Mexican mob connections with interests in buying up land in Farmington; Mackey pieced it together and stole a file box from a Pezuela associate that included blackmail evidence against several local and state politicians, which he hoped would save his job.

Shane got the Armenians back in the fold by telling Diro, the daughter of the ring leader, the money train robbery "was Vic," and she put out a hit on Mackey and his family; Shane arranged a coup within the Armenian gang, telling another guy, Rezian, that Diro was setting up a hit on Mackey and offering "favors" and "protection" in exchange for the $2 million that was lost. Shane, apparently genuinely interested in protecting Mackey's wife and daughter, locked them in a storage bin, shot the hitman, Zadofian, at Mackey's wife's house and told him to join Rezian's movement or die; Mackey heard the "shots fired" call at his house, then heard about Shane locking his wife and daughter up, and took it as "a warning" from Shane, telling Ronnie, "We're gonna crush him."

The final season begins...: Shane came home to find his wife bound with duct tape and Mackey and Ronnie soon emerged and started beating the crap out of him. Shane explained that the Armenians knew about the money train and that he was paying off Mackey and Ronnie's debt with favors and protection "to keep you and your family safe." Shane wanted to work together with Mackey, but Mackey wasn't having it, saying he was going to find Zadofian and the truth and warning Shane to "stay out of my way." Shane pleaded with Vic to understand that "I would never do anything to hurt your family."

Vic's response: "Lem was family."

Shane's wife, Mara, upset after being tied up by Vic, said their bad blood was spraying all over their family. Shane said he "keeps trying to do the right thing," but Mara told him Vic was never going to forgive him for Lem and that he needs to get away from Vic.

Ronnie told Shane he was offered a job with another unit and was probably going to take it. Vic and Ronnie met up with Ray Carlson, a former cop who told Vic security work has been a little thin lately. Vic paid Ray to protect his family from Zadofian, but without them knowing he was watching them.

Shane met an upset Rezian in jail. He wanted Shane to make the case against him go away, but Shane said he couldn't get rid of evidence. Rezian told Shane to find Zadofian before Vic and Ronnie did, and Rezian's men would "extract" information from Zadofian on where Diro was.

Vic and Ronnie showed up on a murder scene where two Salvadoran bodies were dragged on the back of a car, leaving a trail of blood throughout the neighborhood. An FBI agent, Olivia Murray, showed up on a "curiosity call" because the ritual of dragging bodies to designate new boundaries in blood by Mexican cartel mercenaries. The neighborhood had been a hot zone since the San Marcos house murders. Her investigation was shut down and she was hoping the new case would kick-start hers.

Vic tried to convince his wife and daughter that they weren't in danger, despite the fact that they'd already noticed Ray watching them outside Vic's house. He claimed the blood in the house was a break-in gone bad. Corrine didn't seem convinced. Outside, Ray was fighting with a man who said he needed the files with evidence against Pezuela. The man, chained in an abandoned apartment, told Vic that Pezuela ordered the bodies dragged around to mark new boundaries for the neighborhood. It's where he wants to put a new hotel.

Wyms asked Shane about his visits to Rezian at the county jail. Shane said he was playing an angle on the Mexican-Salvadoran conflict. Ronnie heard about a vet who fixes up injured Armenians and Vic went to find her.

Dutch sighting! Dutch had a flirty exchange with Tina. Wyms told him unis were helping with admin and mentioned that Billings' lawsuit was being settled because the department just wanted him gone. Meanwhile, Vic found the vet and she told him Zadofian was at a hotel. Shane tracked down Zadofian's squeeze and she told him he was at the same hotel.

Dutch Sighting #2! Danny came in and asked Dutch if he had a minute, and he launched into a "what happened last night was just two friends being vulnerable" speech. She didn't respond, but said there was a man in the station saying he killed his wife. Dutch got flustered, then went to talk to the guy. The guy actually hired a friend, Hector, to do the job and was tried and freed, so he couldn't be tried again. He now wanted Hector behind bars because he wanted to be with Hector's woman. Billings had originally investigated the case, so Dutch would need to call him and see what he remembered.

Vic and Ronnie barged into Zadofian's motel room and Vic coerced Zadofian into identifying that Shane was the man who shot him. Vic nearly choked the guy to death. Shane showed up and hid out, knowing Vic was there. Vic left, but Ronnie stayed.

A short time later, back at the station, Vic convinced a witness to talk about what she'd seen at the body dragging scene. She wanted assurance that nothing would happen to her boyfriend. Back at the motel, Diro called Zadofian, but Ronnie didn't let him answer. He shot Zadofian twice in the chest. Shane heard this and panicked, then, after Ronnie left, went into the room to see it for himself.

Agent Murray pulled together some possible Mexican cartel profiles and handed them to Vic when the call of shots fired came into the station. Wyms told Vic to stay at the station and that she'd send Shane -- who just happened to be there, hacking Zadofian's feet off with an ax to make it look like the killers were sending a message.

Ronnie came back to the station and seemed distant, even though Vic convinced him they were both covered. Ronnie seemed convinced by Shane's story. Julien told Vic that the witness ID'd a Federale from the photo lineup.

Billings showed up in a cab, asking for reimbursement and saying he had blackouts and memory lapses since the accident. He agreed to stay and help with Dutch's case to avoid a delay in settling his lawsuit. But he demanded sushi because protein helps with the memory loss. Billings pulled up Hector's alibi from his girlfriend at the time.

Vic and Aceveda were locking up the file box when Vic told him he wanted to use the blackmail material to get his job back. Aceveda told him he couldn't do that, but they could use the info in there to hurt Pezuela. There was a zoning meeting that night that would give Pezuela his hotel approval and a councilmember whose vote Pezuela was counting on was in the blackmail box. They decided to send the councilmember a copy of his file.

Wyms tried to tap into Billings' humanity about the lawsuit, telling him the settlement money comes out of gang intervention programs and other worthwhile causes. He said it was on her for letting Mackey and Cavanaugh get out of control. She yelled and called him "a joke" and he said he'd add slander to the lawsuit.

Julien found where the Federale was hiding and Ronnie arranged the move to make the arrest. Shane suggested they act quickly, but Ronnie insisted on waiting 15 minutes for the SWAT team. Meanwhile, Vic went to visit Pezuela and ask about the body dragging. He told Pezuela that a former employee of his sold off his files. Vic wanted Pezuela to play a role in getting his badge back, and Pezuela said he wasn't sure if he could help.

Ronnie and the cops had to move quickly on the Federale arrest, so they went in and a firefight broke out. Vic arrived and created what he called a "diversion," by driving through the wall of the place to end the gunfire. Vic told Shane that his story about Zadofian panned out and added that he'd need Shane's help to keep his family clear of the whole thing. "I'm here for you, Vic," Shane said. Vic hesitated, then said, "Yeah." He said there was more to the plan, but he'd explain back at the Barn.

Vic started telling Shane that he needs the Armenians to think the Mexicans are their "worst problem since the Turks" when Wyms came in and told him the decision on his badge had been delayed. The commissioner took a leave for health reasons and it would take at least 30 days to form a new committee. Wyms told Mackey that Ronnie would be running things and any wayward activity would be a mark on Ronnie's record.

Dutch shamed Billings back into action, and he went in and got Hector's girlfriend to confess that she'd made up his alibi two years earlier but didn't know about the killing until afterward.

Danny was doing inventory at the gun store where the gunfight occurred when a guy jumped out and covered her mouth just long enough to flee when he heard other cops around. She said the room wasn't cleared right and that she'd have someone fired if she figured out who failed to clear it.

Wyms praised Billings, then said the tape of his interrogation of Hector's girlfriend would kill his lawsuit. Wyms said she expected him to report to work the next morning.

Corrine and Cass noticed Ray's SUV outside Vic's house and Corrine decided to go home. Wyms and Dutch noted the coincidence between the dead Armenian and the incident at Vic's house, but the Strike Team was clear.

Shane went to the jail and told Rezian that Diro was teaming with the Mexicans. Shane made Rezian promise that nothing would happen to Vic's family because he could stop Diro and her Mexican threat.

Vic found out that Pezuela got the commissioner to take a leave. Pezuela said it would give him a month to judge Mackey's effectiveness. Mackey told Pezuela the name of his employee who sold the files, and said that Rezian was who won the bidding war, making Armenians seem like the threat Pezuela needed to look out for.

Ray told Vic that Corrine and Cassie left his house, and Corrine showed up at Mara's, telling Corrine she knew that Shane had locked her and Cassie in a storage bin and that Vic had come to her house and bound her as payback. They realized that one of them was being lied to, and connected over the fact that they should get involved.

Ronnie showed Vic photos of Zadofian's feet, chopped off, and they realized that Shane was behind it and "knee deep" in Armenian, ummm, stuff. Vic said they had to keep Shane close and make him feel safe "just like old times." Vic and Ronnie asked Shane about the feet, and Shane admitted he chopped off the feet, adding that he had no idea who shot him. Vic and Ronnie claimed it was probably Diro who shot him. With Vic and Shane lying to each other about who knew and did what, Vic said they'd just "sit back... watch the gang war."