by Jonathan Bredemeyer
(S03E03)
We get right to the point with this episode opening with Loker on the phone with a new potential job. Lightman strolls by and stops long enough to make fun of him and get the evil eye from Foster for it. He notices Foster's a bit off and shows Lightman a video of the new cop friend's partner kicking the crap out of someone. Apparently, Internal Affairs is hesitating giving the Lightman Group the case because of Cal's relationship to his partner. Foster's pissed about this....
Lightman heads to the shooting range (of all places) to confront this dirty cop about the beating. He ticks off the cop and then heads over to talk to his brand-new best friend, dirty female cop. She pegs him as working for IA and they have a 'close encounter' (including discussion about 'squeezing in the sack'). Lightman grabs a gun and proves he can cluster 3 shots in the crotch of a target. She gives a little and claims she can take care of herself, but a rebuke by Lightman and he grabs a flask out of her back pocket shows her otherwise.
She (let's call her Val this time around) and Lightman are off to talk to the suspect who got beaten (Prince John). "A Prince where I come from is a burden on a tax payer." After some smart-ass answers in front of his friends, they haul PJ into Lightman's clear room. Once there, Lightman determines the cop is out to kill PJ, but Val protests. Lightman sticks to his guns...
PJ: "You see me running?"
Lightman: "My advice to you: Dust off your sneakers, princess."
In the meantime, Foster, Torres, and Loker are in looking at pictures from the beating. Torres pegs Val as not having a poker face. Lightman walks in and he and Foster get a bit testy at each other. After kicking out the other four, Foster seems pretty pissed and presents him with IA pictures of Val and Lightman on a date. They get a call and head off to see PJ's dead body.
Val is at the scene and IA shows up to talk to Foster as soon as they arrive. Her partner is standing by looking scared as hell as Lightman grills Val on the situation. IA comes over and tries to arrest her for the murder, based on an eyewitness.
Lightman shows up at the jail and begins to mess with an unhappy Val dressed in an orange jumpsuit. Her partner shows up to speak with her alone. Cal goes and talks to the arresting IA blonde woman about the situation. She threatens him, he threatens her, and finally make a deal to let him interview Val's dirty partner if he turns over Val, too.
Lightman returns to the fort to find Loker listening to a 911 tape. "I thought I took your desk away." Loker ignores him and proceed to explain how the caller is lying. Lightman's skeptical of Loker's initiative. Foster joins the party and Lightman pretends she scared him. Foster disproves one of Loker's findings in the tape, and then she and Lightman head off to follow up with one of her leads. They arrive at one of PJ's gang friend's houses, and Lightman heads in to mess with him while searching his room. He finds a gun, disables it, and watches the kid leave. Foster finishes interviewing the woman and she confirms she definitely saw Val kill PJ.
Lightman and Foster go to another murder scene and see the kid who Lightman just chased out. Talking to Val's dirty partner, Lightman gets the background on them. Cal then skips off to pressure and pick a fight with Ronnie as his friends watch and re-question him again. After he says it wasn't the 'lady cop,' he lets him punch him in the stomach to look good, and takes off. Lightman asks Foster to have IA get him an interview with one of the other kids, as he pegs him as involved. This seems true as the gang member makes eye contact with the dirty cop before the facial examples of hiding something flash on the screen.
Lightman gets Val outta jail and pours them some wine for them. They talk dirtily about how dirty cops work... Torres and Loker are now providing their analysis to Foster on how Val has been gradually getting more disgusted with her partner. Torres & Loker think that Lightman has missed this even though he has watched all her interviews... Back to the dirty convo, Val gives Lightman examples of how she started her corruption. Of course, Lightman cuts straight to the point and asks her to skip to the two murders when they hear someone coming. The two immediately set up an intimate scene (without lube) and Val calls in a break-in. She loses her outer shirt and they grabs guns from her personal stash in the bedroom. What appear to be 2 gang members come in and start shooting up the bed with machine guns. Cal yells a distraction and Val shoots 2. They let the third leave, and Lightman suggests she ditch her illegal gun stash...
Lightman confronts Val about Foster's IA connection and claims he doesn't like betraying her by sticking up for Val. He claims he's doing it because he thinks Foster is sometimes wrong about Lightman in the same way.
Lightman moves on to confronting her corrupt partner in a waiting area. He accuses him of ignoring Suarez (leader of the problem gang) because he's his son. Lightman says, "Choose: your partner or your son." Val and Lightman leave him after that to talk to the IA woman. Apparently, Far (the corrupt partner) goes in and tells all because she then shows up at Foster's office wanting to yell at Lightman. The IA woman claims she's either going after Lightman or Val and one will go down. Clearly intimidated, Foster gives her the proof she needs. Lightman shows up to find Foster turning on him; Foster sees him.
Lightman goes to coach Val for her date in the cube, teaching her how to hide contempt. Foster and Torres prep the IA woman for the interview and explain how to question Val. It flashes back to Lightman still prepping Val for the lies she's about to tell. It's kinda neat watching Foster and Lightman prep to 'face off' (lets see that more...).
Torres questions Val in the cube. It's pretty obvious that she's beating them: Lightman makes Loker announce it. Lightman tries to makes Foster commit to claiming Val is clean, and Foster runs out.She , Lightman, and the IA blonde face off in the hallway and Foster lies for Lightman and says she's clean except for calling her partner a good father. Val's partner and his son get booked. Lightman starts laying into Val, and Foster actually defends her. They start talking and Lightman leaves unnoticed in hopes they'll talk more, but Foster denies Val's coffee invite. I'll guess these two will be squaring off for Lightman's attention in the future...
The 3 examples? Loker & Lightman, Lightman & Foster, and Corrupt Cop & son... you could make the case for Lightman & Val, but you'd be wrong...
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