Trigger Creep

**"Trigger Creep"** is the twenty-second episode of the second season in the remake version of *S.W.A.T.*, and the forty-fourth episode overall, which was aired on May 9, 2019.

## Summary

The SWAT team races to locate the next place a lone gunman will strike while he is at large in Los Angeles. Also, Hondo takes some time away from the team to pursue an investigation that hits close to home, and Jessica is presented with an unexpected opportunity.

## Recap

Hondo looking exhausted, sitting in a chair in Darryl’s room. His mother Charice Harrelson arrives with coffee as Hondo tells her that Darryl is stable. She wants him to go home as she will be there to watch over him. He reveals that he is going to tell Leroy what happened to his son. Hondo overhears Detective Billings asking the nurses to call him as soon as the kid wakes up. Hondo stops him, revealing he is SWAT. Billings doesn’t know what went down yet but the best guess is the kid took a job delivering snack foods, saw how much cash was involved and roped one of his friends into robbing the truck and they fought over the money. Hondo is furious that Billings automatically assumes Darryl was involved in an armed robbery, but Billings says he is the son of a known felon.

Agent Ellen Benson is greeted by Jessica Cortez at SWAT HQ. She wants to get straight down to business, revealing the FBI has been watching for the past three months a ring of sex traffickers, having moved hundreds of women and children over the Arizona/Mexico border and that number is set to grow. Jessica wants to know how that involves the LAPD, she says next month the ring leader will be setting foot on American soil for the first time in years. They had an agent, but a recent breach in the field office has made them worry she will be made.

They want Jessica to do it, saying two weeks prep and two weeks undercover. Benson admits she hasn’t passed it by Robert Hicks yet but Jessica is concerned about her own commitments to the LAPD; Benson knows it short notice but she has the opportunity to save several lives. Jessica feels insulted because she saves lives every day. She promises to look at the case file before she says no.

Hondo arrives at the prison, where Leroy already heard, but wants to know how bad Darryl is. Leroy is pissed that he had to hear his son got shot third hand, not even getting a courtesy call. Hondo felt it was best to tell him in person, admitting he has no idea who shot him; immediately asking him if he has beef with anyone that could have rolled over to Darryl. Leroy feels Hondo should have left Darryl in juvie, but Hondo informs him that Darryl almost died in juvie. Leroy reminds Hondo that Darryl is his son; Hondo isn’t disputing it; saying they both had a choice. Hondo knows that Leroy is going to make a call the second he leaves because he wants retribution. Hondo is asking him to stand down and let him handle it. Leroy says he needs to make his move as the world doesn’t stop spinning around just because Hondo says so. Leroy doesn’t trust his word, telling Hondo to do him and he will do himself.

Hicks absolutely refuses to let Hondo work the case, saying it is a direct conflict of interest. He is sure the facts will shake out and should stay with the kid. Hondo says Leroy isn’t playing as his guys are not waiting on warrants and when they find the shooter they are going to kill him, destroying any chance he has of clearing Darryl’s name. Hicks reminds him they are SWAT and not robbery. Hondo says they can either make this official or they can wonder what he is doing with his day off. Hicks gives in, but tells him he better keep the case detective up to date.

Brad walks into the coffee shop he worked at, returning his uniform and name tag as Seth (Andy Cohen) takes it. Brad smashes a cart of dishes onto the floor, Alex learns Brad was a former employee who was verbally abusive and they had to let him go. Alex goes to fill a customer’s cup with hot coffee but is shot through the window. Seth looks out and sees that it is Brad as he continues to fire shots into the coffee shop. Seth is shot next, but Brad bolts when an elderly couple is walking on the sidewalk and spots him.

Dominic Luca continues to work with Kelly as her mother cries from the stool, something Luca observes. He is praising Kelly for all her hard work and begins talking about her new school. He asks Kelly to pack up as he talks to Tuana, learning they want to pull Kelly’s spot from the school after seeing her school records and all the trouble she’s been getting into. Luca says they are not going to take no for an answer because if Kelly stays in her current school she will continue to fall behind and she deserves better. He has to run but promises to fix this.

SWAT rolls out in Black Betty as Deacon explains what is going on with Brad, who is a champion shooter, having two guns registered in his name. Chris Alonso wonders what happened to deal with rejection like a normal person. Victor Tan says there is nothing like drinking with some friends and bitching to them, waking up looking at the help wanted section. Jim Street is quiet, Luca wondering if that has something to do with him not coming home last night. Deacon reveals patrol did a grid search and there is no sign of Brad, but they have his address in Santa Monica and they are treating him like an active shooter.

They break into his room at the boarding house, Deacon calling into command says there is no sign of Brad. Jessica confirms that he has a wife, Lara and a daughter, Thea. Jessica finds out that his daughter died 9 months ago, as Deacon says that is definitely a trigger. SWAT worries that he is planning something big before he turns the gun on himself; finding that Brad laid out a funeral suit on the bed.

Lara is surprised that Brad killed two people, Hicks wanting to ask her some questions to see what she knows and if he is possibly going to kill more people. They know Brad was driving her car, but she has no idea what he was planning because she has been in a rehab center for the past 60 days and they haven’t spoken. Lara admits her and Brad are getting a divorce, revealing that morning their daughter woke up fine, smiling and playing in the park but by afternoon she was gone because of meningitis.

Hicks says they are sorry for her loss as Lara tells them yesterday would have been their daughter’s 4th birthday. She knows Brad is angry at the world and most marriages don’t survive to lose a child. She has been clean for 36 days but Brad took so much time from work that he got fired as a head chef in a nice restaurant downtown. They lost the house, Lara didn’t care but Brad did because all his memories of Thea were there.

Jessica asks Tan to help the shooter’s wife, Street telling Chris that he has been staying at his mom’s apartment the last few nights hoping she will show up. He stops Chris, who says they are not going to discuss the awkwardness between them and simply going to do their jobs.

Hondo returns to the scene where Darryl was shot, blood still on the pavement. He is met by Dt. Billings who wished Hondo had told him the kid was friend and family. Hondo introduces himself to the delivery driver, Jorge Ramiera. He knows who Hondo is as Darryl never shut up about him. Jorge explains they were done with the deliveries, he heard popping but by the time he got out there the guy was gone. Hondo wants him to call him directly if he remembers anything else.

Hondo learns from Billings that they tried to view the footage of a camera across the alley but the owner is out of the country and manager won’t let them view it without a subpoena. He hasn’t written one up, Hondo has a buddy who can put a rush on ballistics and fingerprints. He is angry that this case isn’t a priority for Billings, saying he has 5 other cases, 3 of which are innocent victims. Hondo angrily asks if he is missing something because Jorge didn’t say anything that points a finger at Darryl. Billings knows Darryl was arrested a few weeks ago, had he known Hondo was connected to the case, he would have held his tongue but his opinion still stands. Hondo learns that Darryl had $500 in his pocket, suggesting he grabbed as much as he could before he got shot. He reminds Hondo that sometimes the facts are just the facts; if Hondo finds something he should let him know.

Hondo notices a car trying to flee the scene. He goes into the restaurant and finds the manager had been pistol whipped but they had taken the entire DVR. Hondo wants to know if they were there on behalf of Leroy. The manager admits there might be a backup, but the owner is gone, leaving him to deal with this but Hondo gets a valuable piece of information about a homeless guy, Disco who is there every morning, dumpster diving.

Jessica reveals to Hicks that Benson came that morning with another undercover assignment; she is actually considering it but Hicks says she is trying to get her to fall in love with the job and decide to stay. She is determined to stay at SWAT and will only be gone for one month. Hicks reminds her she is on the shortlist for Director of Police Operations and does she really want to risk that. Jessica feels she can do both, but it was exciting working in the field. He is willing to sign off on it, but they will be looking for someone who is happily married to the LAPD, not a mistress at the FBI. He warns her if she takes this gig she can kiss that promotion goodbye.

Tan rushes over, saying they found Lara’s car by LAX and the bank that foreclosed on the house is a couple of blocks away. Brad is setting up for his shot when SWAT arrives, blocking his view. Deacon tells Luca to stay behind the wheel; but before they can get out, Brad begins firing at the bank. Tan and Street work on getting the civilians to safety, keeping Black Betty there for cover. Chris is sent to get eyes on Brad. Jessica tells Deacon that air support is still waiting on approval from air traffic control.

Deacon tells Chris where Brad is, but she can’t see him from her location. SWAT is forced to work through a panicked crowd. Deacon makes his way to the roof but finds where Brad was shooting from and it is empty. Deacon learns from everyone they haven’t seen anything. Hicks is furious that Brad Thomas is still in the wind as Deacon says he slipped through their perimeter in the chaos, stealing another woman’s car. Jessica shows them the two main locations, plus they are checking everyone he insulted at work. They wonder if Lara is a target because of the divorce; Jessica says they sent a uni with her back to rehab.

Hondo scours the alleyways, finally finding Disco who attempts to run from his squad car. Hondo reveals he is LAPD, asking him about the shooting as someone said he could have been in the area. Hondo offers him $50 as he says he saw a guy sneak into a delivery truck, but then the other kid comes out and they begin to argue; the one that got shot. They were fighting over a box and a few seconds later BAM. He feels it was a pretty cold thing to do to someone they know. Disco says they were whispering for about a minute before they started arguing. Hondo calls Billings with an update.

Hondo asks Clarice if she thinks Darryl was playing them all along. She doesn’t think this Darryl would have done this, Hondo feeling maybe he was too far gone for their help as his mother reminds him that he wasn’t much different from Darryl. Billings calls Hondo, revealing the gun used in Darryl’s shooting was used once before, impressed that the ballistics report came back so fast. Hondo is shocked to learn the gun is registered to Darryl’s boss, Jorge. Billings sends him the address where Jorge is on a delivery run right now.

Tan tells Luca where to drive, but he is busy thinking wanting to know if they’ve ever written a recommendation for a kid’s school before; Deacon says his wife did for Lila’s preschool. Luca needs to write the letter and it has to be by tonight and it is going terribly. He has a million things to say so Tan suggests he screw the letter and talk to the principal face to face as it is always harder to say no to someone’s face and no one would say no to Luca as he is huge!

They find Brad’s car at the impound, as Luca said he would be pissed too, Brad lost his job, his car, his kid and his wife; so there isn’t just one trigger here. Tan shouts that they have a body that has been dead for several hours, Luca calls in for coroner as Deacon feels this is Brad’s catalyst. Brad made a mental list of everyone he is pissed at, Deacon suggesting they search the lot to see what they can find. Tan finds receipts for a flower shop, which is near where his daughter is buried. Jessica calls Deacon, saying Brad took Lara and he has a hunch where he is taking her.

Billings and Hondo confront Jorge, suggesting no more games as Hondo demands he reveal who shot Darryl and he confesses it was his nephew Luis. He saw him run off with cashbox but didn’t know he used his gun. He tried to be a good influence on the kid after his dad died, even had him working for him. Jorge denies knowing about the robbery but says Luis would sell his own mother to get his next hit. Jorge is certain that Darryl did not plan this out with Luis, as they have only met a couple of times. Jorge admits he knew about the cash in Darryl’s pocket as he told him to hold onto it. They got a rabbit when they knock on Luis’ girlfriend’s door, Hondo chasing him down, telling the uni to cuff him.

Hondo demands to know why he did this to Darryl, but sees Leroy’s guys show up. Hondo jumps up asking them what is up. Billings grabs his gun asking Hondo if there is a problem here; Hondo says they have no problems and they are just leaving but they need to inform Leroy that this is done and he kept his word. Hondo asks Luis what he and Darryl were talking about before he shot him; he says Darryl tried to stop him saying he didn’t have to do it. Luis calls Darryl a stupid kid and should have kept his mouth shut. Billings congratulates Hondo saying it looks like they cracked the case and never would have solved it this fast without Hondo.

Clarice calls Hondo, telling him he needs to get to the hospital right away as Darryl’s stats dropped and now they are rushing him into surgery.

SWAT drives through the cemetery, Luca wondering if he was going to off himself there; Deacon feels he would as he intended to not survive today. Brad is dragging Lara to Thea’s gravesite, saying he was there every day to be close to her. He feels Thea is better off now and it is time for them to be with her. Lara is shocked as Brad says this is the only thing that makes it right; the answer isn’t in the bottom of the bottle but here with the gun. She refuses to shoot herself just as Tan spots the car Brad jacked; they race to the scene as Brad shoots towards them, Luca rushes to Lara who isn’t hit, assuring him she is safe.

Tan and Deacon enter a mausoleum, Deacon asking him to calm down and talk. He admits he came close to losing it all too but he got lucky. He knows the anger, blaming everyone wondering if he would have been more valuable to his family gone than there. Tan looks at Deacon, surprised. He had someone offer him a lifeline before he had to make this choice. Brad says he doesn’t want a lifeline but Deacon knocks the gun out of his hand saying the people he killed didn’t have a choice and neither does he. Deacon says what he said was basic negotiation, say whatever you need to earn their trust.

Hondo informs him mom that Darryl was doing right and doesn’t deserve any of this. She tries to reassure him everything is going to be okay but Hondo is terrified, not knowing for sure. She says that is all she’s got for him now because she is his mother, even though she is scared and doesn’t have a damn clue about what is going to happen. The doctor comes in, revealing he made it through surgery, but despite their best efforts the wounds in Darryl’s leg became infected, they were able to save the leg but they had to remove a great deal of muscle tissue. He will be able to walk but never have full function again. Hondo cries as he realizes Darryl is going to live; his mother grabbing his face, saying again that things will be okay.

Luca finds the principal, introducing himself. She says he should have written the letter as she asked. Luca tells her about how he grew up, freezing up and kids made fun of him; causing him to beat them up. He had a teacher reach out to him and got him to see a therapist who revealed he had dyslexia and they taught him how to read and turned his life around. He is now a SWAT officer all because someone gave him a second chance. He has known Kelly for a year, who is kind, hardworking and smart; she just needs someone to give her a second chance. The principal walks away and Luca reveals to Kelly that she starts in the fall, but she can’t get rid of him as her tutor. Tuana holds his hand, thanking him.

Benson returns to Jessica’s office, confronting her on the length of the assignment being much longer and wants to know if she is trying to poach her from SWAT. Benson says there is definitely a place for her with the FBI if she loves it. Jessica is reminded she is too good to be sitting at the sidelines and needs to be out in the field.

Street wakes up to noises, spotting a woman taking the Blu Ray player. She says Karen gave her the keys, saying it was her place and she could take anything she wanted. Jim finds out that Karen owes her $200 and discovers this is Frezno Tina who sold his credit card information. He demands to know where his mother is, but Tina wants to know how much it is worth to him. He offers her the player, warning him that he might not like what he finds when she tells him.

Hondo sits at Darryl’s bedside when he begins to wake up. He reassures him that he shouldn’t worry, promising everything will be okay. Darryl nods at him.

## Cast

### Main

* Shemar Moore - Daniel Harrelson
* Stephanie Sigman - Jessica Cortez
* Alex Russell - Jim Street
* Lina Esco - Christina Alonso
* Kenny Johnson - Dominic Luca
* David Lim - Victor Tan
* Patrick St. Esprit - Robert Hicks
* Jay Harrington - David Kay

### Recurring

* Debbie Allen - Charice Harrelson
* DeShae Frost - Darryl Henderson
* Michael Beach - Leroy Henderson

### Guest

* Lorin McCraley - Disco
* Christopher Redman - Brad
* Abby Brammell - Lara
* Jayda Aslan - Tuana (credited as Jayda Berkman)
* Angelica Scarlet Johnson - Kelly Stewart
* Justin Barco - Luis
* David Marciano - Detective Steve Billings
* Mark D. Espinoza - Jorge (credited as Mark Espinoza)
* Anjali Bhimani - FBI Special Agent Ellen Benson
* Eugene Shaw - Jax
* Andy Cohen - Seth
* Erica Shaffer - Doctor
* Carlie Casey - Frezno Tina
* Leigh Bush - Roberts
* Brendan Calton - Trainee
* Jonathan Eisley - Trucker Cap

## Trivia

* The dyslexia storyline is inspired by the life of Kenny Johnson.
* The role of Kelly is played by Angelica Scarlet Johnson (Kenny's daughter).
* David Marciano was in *The Shield*, which was also set in the same city as *S.W.A.T.*, Los Angeles, and he worked alongside with Kenny Johnson. He is portraying the same character as his previous role, Detective Billings.
* Abby Brammell was in *The Unit*.