The Red Ponies - Recap

Agents Lisbon and Jane stepped out of their car into the driveway of the Bajoran Helicopters business because of a call they had received from someone that morning. They wondered aloud who might have summoned them there when a fancy sports car pulled up, driven by none other than Walter Mashburn, friend of Lisbon and would-be lover. Mashburn fancied Lisbon who told him she was not interested, but he persisted, now and then, in reminding her of his interest. They were greeting one another cordially when a door in the nearby building opened and Drucker, head of Bajoran security, hailed the agents, calling them inside. Mashburn and the two agents followed Drucker and when they saw Uri Bajoran, former KGB agent, Uri acidly greeted Mashburn, telling him that he did not need to be there. Mashburn reminded him that Uri himself was due to sign legal papers turning Bajoran Helicopters over to him today. The agents remained in the outer room while Mashburn and Uri headed into Uri's office. Just then, Mashburn popped out of the office to say something to Lisbon when a tremendous blast came from the office, supposedly killing Uri and Drucker, possibly intended for Mashburn who luckily was saved when he stepped out. Shocked and dismayed, everyone took stock of themselves and were alright. A little later, enough DNA was found of Uri to identify that he had been killed in the bomb blast.

Agents Jane and Cho went to the widow's palatial mansion to enquire of Marie Bajoran, who confessed that she had been engaged to Mashburn years ago and felt that he still cared very much for her, but she had been madly in love with her husband and didn't return Mashburn's affections. Jane asked where the bathroom was and hurried up the stairs to the family's private quarters where he found several toupees that Bajoran had worn, one of them missing. He took one of the toupees and when discovered by the housekeeper in Bajoran's large bedroom, she told him to leave and informed her mistress of what he'd been doing. He was asked to leave and when the toupee was found missing, he was reprimanded by Lisbon and Hightower.

Agent Cho was assigned to Mashburn to keep him safe, which Mashburn found very boring. Mashburn did alot of business via phone and computer during this time, which bored Cho. Mashburn received a call from Jane who was buying the propeller from the plane that had crashed carrying the Big Bopper for Mashburn. Jane told him to throw a celebration party, which he would do the next day. A man named Shenkhar, another rich man, very much wanted that propeller and when he saw it at the party, he confronted Mashburn who told him tough luck, but to enjoy the party. Shenkhar,, who already hated Mashburn, went for the man's throat, but was torn off by agents and taken away where he was questioned and released. At the party, Jane announced to one and all that Lisbon was now Mashburn's new girlfriend, which upset her because she was not.

Lisbon asked Mashburn if there were any people who hated him enough to kill him: he denied it, but a thorough back ground check was made of him and a hot tempered, veryjealous German super model named Elsa Struven came into the picture because she had several assault charges filed against her by Mashburn in the recent past. At the party, she came at Lisbon, trying to stab her with a knife, but missed and was arrested and questioned. She did admit to Lisbon and Jane that she had been stalking Mashburn out of extreme jealousy and had over three hundred pictures of the man on her cell phone. She was obviously obsessed with him, but he wanted nothing further to do with her. She was warned and released.

Jane made a plan with Marie Bajoran to draw to catch Mashburn in the act, since he was suspected of setting up the bomb blast that killed Bajoran. Marie agreed and played her part. At Mashburn's home, an exasperated Lisbon snapped that she was this close to arresting him for the murder of Bajoran, but Mashburn vehemently denied any part of it. He said that he was not that kind of man, even though he might have motive and did have the materials to make a bomb. He simply would not do that. Jane called Lisbon's phone and told her that he was nearly at Mashburn's mansion, to come to the front door. Mashburn overheard the conversation and left the room running. At the door, Mashburn punched Jane in the face and tore off in his sports car to parts unkown. Shocked, Lisbon said to Jane that she didn't know what had gotten into Mashburn to run off like that, let alone punch Jane in the eye. Jane shrugged.

Late that night, at the Marin County airport, in private hangar ten, Uri Bajoran stalked silently into the echoing expanse carrying a gun with a silencer, watching as what looked like Mashburn walked slowly round the private plane to board it. Uri aimed his gun as the man rounded the plane and Jane appeared. Agents burst from hiding, tackling Uri to the ground, wrenching the gun from his fingers. Jane walked up to him and said that he looked just fine for a dead man. Uri smiled wryly and said that he had wanted to kill Mashburn for forcing his hand into selling Bajoran Helicopters. Jane said that Uri had been very clever in setting up the bomb blast to make it appear that he had been killed, but he'd escaped out the back door, that Uri's former KGB military training had stood the man in good stead, and that his vanity for toupees had given him away: that one of his best toupees had been missing from the stand and that he couldn't go out into public with out it. Jane exonerated a relieved Mashburn who had turned up at the scene of all charges, that he was innocent.

Back at CBI headquarters, Lisbon told Jane that Marie Bajoran had been caught and stopped at the Canadian border and taken into custody. A puzzling case well solved.

The next morning, a very satisfied pair, Mashburn and Lisbon, exchanged small talk as Lisbon climbed out of Mashburn's bed and dressed for work, Mashburn murmuring that he never thought he would be having a one night stand with Dirty Harry, meaning Lisbon. She smiled, picked up her gun and walked toward the front door, answering her cell phone for a call about work that day. Mashburn smiled and lay back to contemplate last night.


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