प्लॉट

After being clean for two years, two months and five days Swenton succumbed to his old habits and eventually uttered the five most used little words of a junkie "I wish I were dead". William takes him under his own wing to get him clean. Gaza, a known drug dealer, calls in a favor to William but being unavailable because of Swenton Akani and Darnell (against his wishes) take the case to follow Gaza's daughter Nika and see if she is doing drugs at college & her sorority house. Akani tells Darnell to follow Nika but he deliberately loses her and plans to get his revenge on Gaza for what he did to his younger brother. Akani finds that she is bulimic and coughing up blood. Darnell finds her collapsed in her fathers shop and its up to William to come to the rescue.—Anonymous

Arnie, hooked up to an I.V., screams at nothing and nobody in particular. William rings out a towel of cold water and rubs away the sweat on the young man's forehead. This scary scene is intercut with that of a half-naked sorority girl popping pills outside a raucous campus event. Her sisters circle parts of her body that need improvement. The crowd cheers.

"I wish I was dead," whispers the pledge.

"I wish I was dead," whispers a writing Arnie.

But enough cheery intros. The next morning, Arnie screams again -- this time at William in particular. He tells his boss that he is leaving; that this isn't William's problem. The Cleaner, of course, begs to differ. "You're going to stay here and you're going to get clean," William says. "Take it easy!"

Back at the garage, Darnell asks Akani how long Arnie had been clean. "Two years," she says. Darnell worries that the next slip up could be either one of them. "Were fine," Akani says. But she doesn't look entirely convinced. Just then, a drug dealer enters looking for William. The man, named Gazza, is a regular informant for the crew, although you wouldnt know it by the rough greeting he receives from the big man.

"Tell William I'm ready for that favor," Gazza says.

Flash to a sorority house. It's a year after the incident we witnessed earlier. The junkie sorority girl is now planning the same hazing event for a new batch of pledges. She is clearly reluctant to be inflicting the event on anyone else. Her friend notes that while the strip show is demeaning, it is also "tradition."

Another apparent tradition: ecstasy. The girl reaches into her bag and produces a bag of the stuff. "Daddy's little private pharmacy!" squeals a delighted sorority sister.

In the meantime, William is holding Arnie's hair while he upchucks in the Banks family bathtub. Akani calls. She apologizes for not telling William about Arnie earlier -- but William clearly doesn't want to hear an apology, much less excuses. Akani then tells William about the drug dealer. William encourages Akani to "take the case" despite objections from Darnell. A favor, according to the Cleaner, is a favor.

Across town, sorority girl meets with her drug-dealing dad at his bakery. The girl has not been eating. "What are you doing to yourself?" dad asks. The girl tells her father to leave her alone. "The one thing you can change you won't," she says. She is obviously referencing his choice of profession. Oh, the irony!

Later, Akani meets with dad/ drug lord. "My daughter is sick," he says. "She steals my pills. She smells of alcohol. She weighs nothing." He is indeed aware of the irony but doesn't care at the moment. His daughter needs help. Minutes later, Akani approaches the sorority house, posing as a sister from another chapter. At that moment, the unsuspecting client leaves the house. Darnell follows. Akani, meanwhile, searches the girls room. She finds bags of vomit hidden in the closet. The girl is a "full-blown bulimic." She is also coughing up blood. Her next purge will likely be her last.

William and Arnie, looking a bit better, take a walk around the Banks home. Arnie worries that he will not be able to stay clean for another two years. "I still think about using everyday," William says. "Because I'm a junkie, man. And so are you." In other words, Arnie is ALWAYS going to have those dark thoughts.

Cut to Darnell, who follows the sorority girl in question. He picks up a phone and calls Akani. "I lost her," he says. Only he hasn't. The girl is just a few yards in front of him. What is the big man up to? We soon find out. He loads a gun, swearing to his absent brother "Malcolm" that he will "take care of business later tonight." Uh oh.

Back at the garage, Akani confronts Darnell. She obviously isn't buying this "I lost her" story. "What did Gazza do to you that gives you permission to let his daughter disappear on our watch?" she asks. Darnell practically spits his response: "What he did was let my brother disappear on his!"

Darnell explains: Gazza hired Malcolm to be a lieutenant in the dealer's vast organization. But when the police came calling, Malcolm took the fall. "Gazza framed his ass," Darnell says. And that, the big man explains, is how baby bro ended up in prison. "What about turning the other cheek?" Akani asks. Darnell exits.

The big man heads to Gazza's bakery. He accuses the suave dealer of turning his brother into a criminal. "And for this you blame me, right?" the dealer asks. "Not him." Darnell flashes his gun. "He made a choice," says the dealer, comparing both men to pawns on a chess board. Darnell, angry but not disagreeing, tucks his gun into his belt. He slams his fist down on the table and leaves.

Arnie, meanwhile, is fielding very personal questions from the Banks children -- much to his comic chagrin. Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. It is Gazza. "You don't come to my house!" William says. But it's too late. "You're coming with me," the dealer says. "You're going to help me with my daughter."

And she could use some help. The sorority strip show/ hazing event is in full swing. Parts of the young women's bodies are circled and marked like cattle. Any imperfections -- or fat -- will not be tolerated. The girl, flashing back to last year, hurries from the room.

Akani, meanwhile, arrives at the Banks home to see Arnie -- kind of awkward considering she once slept with Melissa's husband. Melissa takes it all in stride, however (for now anyway), and Akani and Arnie embrace. The tender scene is cut short by a call from Darnell. The big man is at the sorority house but the girl is nowhere in site.

They both agree that she will go someplace where her father can find her -- perhaps dead. "The bakery!" Darnell says. The big man is on it. Akani and Melissa share an awkward goodbye, then Akani heads for the sweet shop too.

But are they too late? The girl is slouched inside the bakery admonishing herself for being fat. She breaks into the display case and begins stuffing pastries and cookies into her mouth. Moments later, Darnell arrives. He finds the girl unconscious. The girl has literally choked herself with food. She is not breathing.

Akani arrives at the same time as Gazza and William. William takes drastic measures and opens up the girl's throat with a knife and a straw. Gross, but effective. The girl takes a deep breath. She will live.

Outside, the girl is loaded into the back of an ambulance. "We're even," William tells Gazza. "Sure," he says. "Until one of us needs the other again." William doesn't want to believe it but suspects the dealer is correct. They are, after all, only pawns.

Back home, William kisses his wife. "I met Akani," Melissa says. "She's beautiful."

"We were separated, Melissa," William says. "I was using again. I wasn't myself."

"I know," she says. "You were a different person then. You're a different person now."