They Shoot Hammers, Don't They? - Recap

It's the police department's annual shooting competition. Trunk goes first and gets a near-perfect score, coming within a few seconds of the record. Sledge takes to the course and shoots... everything. Although he gets 0 points on judgment, he wins on speed and accuracy and knocks a few seconds off of his old record. As they get back to the station, Hammer talks about how he owes his shooting skills to his father. Trunk notes that Hamer still hasn't broken the all-time departmental record, made by a John Kogan. Hamer angrily insists that Kogan's record should have been stricken by records. Doreau arrives, dressed as a a call girl for an undercover mission, and tells Hammer that she's picked up a tip that an informant has information on a prison breakout by someone with a grudge against Hammer.



Hammer meets at a line of phones and talks to the informant... four phones down. Hammer gets stuck on the handicap phone, and then has to switch phones to call Trunk for the $25,000 payoff the informant wants. Jumping from phone to phone, Hammer finally gets through to Trunk... who refuses to pay the money if it'll save Hammer's life. Hammer ends up threatening the informant, who reveals that the prison breakout is occurring... now.



On a desert road, a prison bus is taking a single prisoner to death row. A woman is standing in the road and the bus driver is forced to stop. He lets her on board and she knocks him out, then frees the prisoner: John Kogan. He kicks her out and drives away in the bus. Hammer gets the news at police HQ when a newscaster interviews Kogan. The escaped prisoner warns that he'll rip apart the city until Hammer gives him what he wants: a shootout. Doreau sees the broadcast and wonders what grudge Kogan has against Hammer. Hammer tells her that Kogan was his former partner in the department



Turnk refuses to let Hammer accept the challenge and transfer him to Personnel. Meanwhile, Kogan drives the bus across the country, bringing down cars, jeeps, and helicopters. Infuriated, Hammer asks Trunk again and when the captain refuses, Hammer starts breaking up his office to provoke him into giving him a suspension. It doesn't work at first, but when the officers wonder if Hammer is chicken, he smashes a filing cabinet down on Trunk's desk. The captain has no choice but to put him on suspension. Doreau asks Trunk why he's reluctant to let Hammer go up against Kogan, and the captain explains that the two were childhood friends... and Kogan was always the fastest draw.



Hammer calls the news station to get the word out that he'll meet Kogan for his duel. He remembers how Kogan always used to beat him at fast-draw water pistols when they were kids. He then explains to Doreau that when Kogan was his partner, he finally took a bribe and then killed the criminal. Hammer tried to arrest him on the spot but couldn't shoot him. Later he captured his partner and sent him to prison. Hammer takes Doreau to a carnival to relax, and explains that he grew up around carnivals where his father was the circus sharpshooter. Hammer meets with an old family friend, carnival sharpshooter Dead Eye Dan. Hammer asks Dan for the secret of the one trick that his father never taught him. Dan reluctantly whispers the secret of the trick in Hammer's ear.



Hammer and Doreau go to meet Kogan at an Old West ghost town. Kogan emerges from his bus and prepares to square off. Kogan outdraws Hammer and shoots his prized gun out of his hand, then keeps shooting it. Provoked, Hammer tells Kogan to shoot him instead. The escaped prisoner shoots Hammer in the head with his last bullet and the inspector collapses to the ground... then gets up smiling, the bullet between his teeth. Hammer thanks his dad and arrests Kogan then straps him to the bus and drives him to headquarters. Hammer gives Trunk his trophy in recompense for smashing up the captain's office. Trunk smashes it for revenge and Hammer is impressed.



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