Life - A Civil War (Episode 107)

Dani and Charlie = my new favorite platonic OTP

I want to give a big thank you to Adrienne Saia, who filled in for me last week when I was getting my party on for my birthday. Not only was my show in great hands, but it looks like Life picked up a new fan. Woohoo!

Over breakfast, Charlie tells Ted that he had a dream. Ted warily asks if it was about clowns, because he doesn't like dreams about clowns. Speaking for the entire world, Charlie asks, "Who does?" No, this dream was about a solar farm. Charlie's decided that he wants to buy a solar farm, so he instructs Ted to look into it. And this kicks off the Life portion of NBC's Green Week. Look, I like Ted but this subplot is forced and not all that interesting, so here's what happens: Ted makes plans to visit a solar farm and Olivia, the soon-to-be stepmommy who was supposed to meet a working Charlie, tags along. So do her ginormous boobs. I mean, seriously, girlfriend is stacked. Ted has a crush on Olivia and it makes him nervous, so he forgets to get gas and they get stranded at the solar farm, which Olivia finds hilarious. They make a campfire, Ted admits his crush, and Olivia sings to him, then they fall asleep and are awakened the next morning by some construction workers.

Dani and Charlie pull up to a convenience store, where an angry crowd has gathered and are held off by police. Bobby shows them inside and points out their victims, two dead kids shot in the head and stuffed in the drinks cooler. The killer also took the time to write "GO HOME" in motor oil on the cooler doors. Dani looks more closely at the victims and says they're Persian. Given their ethnicity and the message, Dani thinks they're working a hate crime. Charlie advises Bobby to call some more units, given the increasingly unsettled crowd outside. He and Dani talk to the clerk, who says there were three gunmen wearing ski masks. They confronted the victims, telling them to "go back where you came from" and then the clerk heard two shots. Speaking of which, Dani and Charlie hear what sounds like gunshots outside and they rush out, their guns drawn. They and the other cops look around frantically as the crowd, a mix of white and Persian, look around for the shooter, until an officer spots firecrackers on the crowd. The cops start to relax but Charlie sees a skinhead in the crowd with a crowbar, moving to cause some violence. He starts to take him down but Bobby gets their first and cuffs the guy. "More units?" Bobby asks with a grin. Charlie agrees and, uh...winks at him, which is an interesting acting choice by Damian Lewis.

Back in the store, while CSIs process the scene, Dani and Charlie hear raised voices. They walk over to where a cop is trying to get a woman and her daughter to leave, but he can't understand the woman because she's agitated and she's speaking Farsi. Charlie and Dani take over and Charlie gets the woman to calm down enough so that her daughter can translate. She says her brother, the woman's son, was supposed to stop at the store on his way home from class but never showed. Charlie takes them over to look at the victims and the woman becomes distraught again. The daughter says the victims were friends with Amir, her brother, and whoever killed them must have taken him.

Charlie, Dani and Bobby ride the elevator up to the squad room and chat about Bobby taking down the skinhead. Bobby says it was nothing and Charlie says it was only nothing because he did something and if he hadn't, it could've become any number of things. "Did you have to wind him up?" Dani grits. HEE. Charlie is indeed wound up and starts rambling about a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a hurricane, while Dani complains and rolls her eyes. Again, hee. I have decided that they're my favorite new partnership on TV. I was going to go with Sam, Sock, and Ben from Reaper but, no, Charlie and Dani win. Anyway, Charlie tells Bobby that his actions will make a good story and Bobby laughs, saying it's not the Bank of LA story but at least it's true. At the robbery mention, Dani loses it and demands to know what he's talking about. She asks Bobby if he said something and, confused, he replies that he said nothing. This sets Charlie off again and Dani snaps that if he mentions the butterfly again she'll rip its wings off. Heh. She turns to Bobby again and gets in his face, but he tells her her was just referring to a story he likes to tell and suggests she back down. She does and stalks off, while Charlie, curious and troubled, gazes after her.

In the squad room, Dani and Charlie note that Karen's office is filled with badges from a variety of different organizations, all wanting a piece of the sexy hate crime action. They join the party just as Karen is telling the group that the murders will be handled by the LAPD, pointing out Dani and Charlie, who look back at everyone, all, "'Sup?" Heh. Charlie outlines what they know so far, most of it repetitive, but he does add that both victims were busted for pot as juveniles. Karen cautions sensitivity, since the neighborhood where the kids died is predominantly white but has seen a large influx of Persian-Americans since the 80s. Charlie makes plans to meet with the store owner, Mary Ann Farmer, while Dani will stay and talk to Amir's mother and sister, Roya and Shahnaz.

At the convenience store, Charlie meets Mary Ann Farmer, the owner, a pretty blonde in her mid-30s who reminds me a little of Amy Poehler. Charlie admits he was expecting someone a bit older and Mary Ann replies, "Careful of having expectations, Detective. They only lead to disappointment." Charlie looks a little smitten but he manages to restrain himself from declaring his Zen-ish affections. Mary Ann asks if she can go inside and he waves her on in. She tells him that it was her first store and he's surprised to hear that she owns six. Inside, she stares with dismay at the spot where the two victims were killed and Charlie, wondering if there's a connection between her store and the murders, asks her to look at the security footage. She's surprised she doesn't have to go down to the station and he can show it to her on a handheld video player, agreeing with Charlie when he says it's like living in the future. Again, Charlie looks like he wants to start making out with her right then and there, which is really kind of adorable, if inappropriate. Mary Ann watches the footage and he look sharpens when one of the masked gunmen gets close to the camera before shooting it out. Charlie notices this and asks if she recognizes the shooter from his eyes. Looking nauseated, she says it's her son, Jeffrey.

Meanwhile, Dani has to deal with Roya, who is insisting, through Shahnaz's translation, that Amir isn't a drug dealer like his friends were and he's a good boy who made straight As. Interestingly, Shahnaz translates everything Roya says, but she doesn't have to translate what Dani says to Roya. I get that it's easier to understand a language than speak it, but I find it hard to believe Roya wouldn't need some things translated for her.

Down at the station, Mary Ann tells Charlie that she was 15 and pregnant when she ran away from home. She got a job at a gas station where she worked her way up and eventually bought the place, then five more. She's just like Lorelai Gilmore! You know, if Rory was a boy and grew up to become a psycho bigot. She says she and Jeffrey used to be close, but in his teens he started to pull away and got involved in anti-immigrant activities. He hangs out with a couple of surfer friends who live in a van, probably the same one that was seen leaving the store after the shooting. While they're talking, they hear screams and Charlie and Dani rush out to find Roya, shrieking at something on Shahnaz's cell phone. She shows it to the detectives and it's a picture of Amir, alive but battered, with the message "Wait for our call" attached. Karen tells a cop to trace the message but the disposable phone is already being tossed out of a van.

Later, everyone waits around for Amir's abductors to call again. Shahnaz's phone is hooked up to a tracker and when it rings, she answers nervously. A male voice says he wants the money Amir made selling dope and if he doesn't get it, Amir will end up dead like his friends. The caller hangs up and tosses the phone out into the street like the first one. Karen, feeling vindicated, says it's not a hate crime issue but, Dani and Charlie echoing it with her, "drugs and money." Hearing raised voices, they go out into the squad room to see Roya yelling in Farsi at Mary Ann, who is trying to talk to her. Dani intervenes and, surprising Charlie, translates what Roya is saying. She tells Mary Ann that Roya wants to know what kind of mother raises an animal like Jeffrey. Mary Ann nods and asks Dani to tell Roya that she would give her life for Amir's and she knows how much Roya must love him. Dani does, then leads Roya away, while Charlie talks to Mary Ann and says she'll need to get on the phone with Jeffrey at some point. Mary Ann thinks that would be a bad idea, then realizes that Charlie may have to kill her son. Charlie can't promise her he won't, because even though he's a redheaded crimesolver his name is not Horatio Caine. And for that, I am truly grateful.

As Dani and Charlie drive to search Amir's house, Charlie notes that he didn't know Dani speaks Farsi. Dani replies that her mother was Persian and spoke it while Dani was growing up, but her father wouldn't allow it in the house when he was around. Wow, Jack Reese sounds like such a lovely guy. Can't wait to meet the bastard. At the house, Roya gets riled up again, insisting Amir is a good boy who studies hard and likes to play video games. They collect Amir's computer and takes it back to the station, where the tech hooks it up so the detectives can access it in the conference room. Charlie observes that the station's server is password-protected and the tech says they're not allowed guns and the cops can't get into the server. Oh, poor tech, you have no idea what kind of fun challenge you just presented Charlie.

In the conference room, everyone gets to work on going through Amir's things, fueled by coffee and Red Bull. Charlie asks Dani what was up with her spat with Bobby earlier and she brushes it off, saying she was only 12 when the Bank of LA robbery happened. Charlie lets it drop, then casually wanders with a can of Red Bull over to a computer keyboard and pours some in. All of the monitors start flickering and he takes off to tell the tech about the problem. The tech races off and Charlie uses the opportunity to search the station's server for information about the robbery. He learns that Dani's father, Jack, was the SWAT team leader when the robbery happened, then he closes the search and disappears before the tech returns.

After having gone through everything in Amir's stuff and computer, the detectives haven't found anything unusual. Another computer tech says she found references on Amir's computer to a file named "Farah Level 10" but there was no trace of the file itself. After meditating on his desk for a while (no, seriously), Charlie gets an idea and remembers that Roya said Amir liked to play video games. He asks if a video console is like a computer and the girl tech responds that it's not like a computer, it is a computer. They head back to the house and get the console and find his Prince of Persia game, which is about rescuing the Princess Farah. They fire it up back at the station and Charlie asks the first tech if he can get to level 10. "I'm 30 years old, I live with my mother, and I have a Captain Kirk in my closet." HEE! Alas, the tech doesn't fare too well so Charlie, who has noticed Shahnaz moving her hands like she's playing, sits her in the seat. As more and more cops gather around to watch breathlessly, which is hilarious, Shahnaz bitchslaps the game into submission and gets to level 10. When that happens, a series of spreadsheets detailing Amir's drug selling business start popping open.

Dani and Charlie get a call that a body has been dumped in the streets. They go check it out and learn that it's not Amir or Jeffrey, but one of Jeffrey's friends. Dani wants to know why the people pulling the kidnapping job would kill one of their own and Charlie suggests there was a disagreement, but he doesn't seem to think it's the usual "drugs and money" reason. Back at the station, Shahnaz gets another call from Jeffrey, telling her that time's up. She's intructed to say she'll give him the information about the money in exchange for Amir and Jeffrey agrees. Karen calls Dani and tells her and Charlie to go to the meeting point at the Rose Bowl and end it, preferably without anyone else dying.

As they drive, Charlie looks thoughtful and tells Dani that something's not right. Dani agrees but she's exhausted from the long night and has no suggestions. Charlie calls another tech, who actually gets a name - McAllister - and wakes him from his nap on the desk. Charlie tells McAllister to go over the spreadsheets again but McAllister balks, insisting there's nothing else to find, so Charlie takes him through a Zen exercise. He tells McAllister to close his eyes and imagine Charlie coming into the room, finding that McAllister didn't do what he asked. Remembering that Charlie used to be in prison and probably knows ways to hurt a man that the cops haven't even dreamed of, McAllister gets right to work. Heh. While Roya and Shahnaz pray outside, McAllister looks through the spreadsheets, then tells Charlie he's found something. There's another column in the spreadsheet that references an offshore account with $93,000 and it's coded "MAF." Charlie realizes immediately that it stands for Mary Ann Farmer and he and Dani turn the car around to go to Mary Ann's house. At the house, they find the van in the driveway, with Jeffrey's other crony shot dead in it. The garage door is open and Dani and Charlie realize Jeffrey took Amir and Mary Ann in her car.

While cops and CSIs process the van and house, Charlie and Dani rehash what they know and try to figure out what's next. Dani thinks Jeffrey is simply after both Amir's and Mary Ann's money, but Charlie thinks there's more to it. He calls McAllister, asking if he was asleep. "Of course not. Sleep is for babies," McAllister replies, while guzzling a Red Bull. Hee. I love the trio of computer techs and I hope we see them again. Charlie asks McAllister where the $93,000 is and McAllister says it's in the Bahamas, but can be wire transferred to any bank. Charlie wants him to track it.

At a bank, Jeffrey stands behind Mary Ann and Amir, furtively holding a gun on them while they authorize a wire transfer. Why the teller's mental alarms didn't go off when three people crowded at her window, two of them visibly nervous and one looking really squirrely, is beyond me. Remind me never to bank at this fictional institution. Anyway, Mary Ann's transfer finishes and Jeffrey motions for Amir to do his, but Amir balks, whispering to Mary Ann that Jeffrey is going to kill him once he gets the money. Amir's voice keeps getting louder as he talks about Jeffrey murdering them while the teller continues to be all, "Dur?" Good lord, is she functionally retarded? Thankfully, Charlie and Dani come in, bringing some sexy competence to the proceedings. Charlie talks to Jeffrey, who's pulled out his gun now that Amir has blown it, not that he needed to worry about a cover with the Worst Teller Ever. He asks about the "Go Home" message and thinks Jeffrey was the one who really wanted to go home, back to the love of his mother, but she was giving her love to Amir, if you know what I mean and I think you do. Charlie says that when Mary Ann told Roya that she understands how much Roya loves Amir, she meant it literally because she loves Amir too. While Charlie is talking, a SWAT sniper moves into position and when Jeffrey swings his gun around to point it at Charlie, the sniper takes him out. Looking shocked and scared, Jeffrey falls to the floor, reaching out and calling for his mother as he dies.

Outside, Jeffrey's body is wheeled away on a gurney and Amir, arrested for his drug dealing, is led off in handcuffs. Charlie sits next to a stricken Mary Ann on the curb and she tells him that Amir started coming into her store when he was in high school. He showed her ways to invest the cash she earned in her business and they fell in love. She insists he wasn't like the other kids, despite dealing drugs, and he wanted to be somebody. "The kind of kid who could start out pumping gas and go on to own six stations?" Charlie asks. Mary Ann nods and leaves, then Dani comes over to give Charlie a hand up and a cup of coffee.

At Charlie's house, he and Ted arrive home at the same time, but they're too tired to share stories about their night. Over glasses of orange juice, which is sadly the only fruit sighting in this episode, Charlie asks Ted about the solar farm and Ted says he thinks it can work. Charlie heads upstairs to his conspiracy wall, where he draws a line from the Bank of LA robbery section to Dani's picture, then another from her to a blank square with the caption "LA Bank Robbbery SWAT team leader," where he writes down "Jack Reese - Dani's father." He stares enigmatically at Dani's picture as we fade to black.