Episode Three - Escalation

Riley is being held down by two of Don Lucchese's associates against his will. The Don informs him that he needs to kill Riley, drain his blood and filling it with the Lucchese blood. This will complete the Transformation for Riley into being a Vampire and create a blood bond between him and the Don. Riley reluctantly agrees to these terms, on the condition the Don shoots him in the heart and not the face. When Riley comes to the procedure is complete, and he works out the acquired Vampire suncream turns the Vampires into daywalkers after a single consumption. They test this and it works - Riley is now a day walking member of the Lucchese crime family.

Carrie is in a park with Alex, he is attempting to guide her after her Transformation the previous evening into a member of the Free Council. No specifics are mentioned but Mahone does point out that she signed the Ledger to defend the City at all costs. Carrie doesn't seem to heed the gravitas of Mahone's warnings and he agrees to shelve the lectures and join her at CBI HQ as his fiancée, Elizabeth Nash is giving a briefing on the Columbian Strangler serial killer

Elizabeth Nash briefs the whole of CBI on the Columbian Strangler killings. 4 Years ago, 6 Columbia University students were found strangled over 6 weeks. The following year, 6 notable academics were found strangled. This was followed by 6 notable religious leaders the year after before finally 6 prominent criminal figures last year. The briefing was being given as its around the time of year the killings begin again and to pass on any leads to Detective Hoffman, the lead on the case.

Rachel is searching through Jake's desk. Jake has taken a personal day after the night before. Rachel along with others tookJake out for a "B+B" - a good natured hazing welcoming him to the team. Ironically the last person who received one of these was Ivan, and it didn't go quite according to plan as he handled an amount of alcohol that would fell a small Rhino and walked home. Rachel comes across a note written by Jake - an informant called Little Tito offered the CBI the Columbian Strangler in exchange for a large quantity of drugs. As Rachel is reading the note, Carrie and Riley enter. At this moment a shocking realisation sets in for all three of them. Though people who haven't been transformed cant tell people who have, they can see through the masque of others who have been. As such for the first time they see Rachel as a Changeling, Riley as a Vampire and Carrie as a Mage. Ironically Jake couldn't have picked a better day to not be in the room!

As they approach the Captain with the Tito deal, a hostage situation breaks. Michael Trent, the Syndicate Operative who failed to smuggle in a shipment of the Vampire sun cream. He holds the CBI responsible for being fired from Syndicate Industries, presumably for failing his mission, and is holding a subway cart to ransom for $10 million and the life of Ivan Grokolov.

The Unit travel down into the bowels of the subway system with Ivan in tow. They realise the stakes have been elevated because they have subsequently learnt that the Mayor himself was on board the train as a PR stunt. The three members of the Unit and Ivan lay siege to the train and successfully re-take it, killing Trent in the process. The Mayor leads the hostages out to the press, inadvertently getting far better PR than the original stunt had intended. Carrie notices a figure among the shadows and approaches Trents Ghost via her powers. He states only one message "It's begun." before fading into the afterlife. Much to her suprise ,She is also approached for the first time by a werewolf, Samuel, who gingerly requests that his pack take the bodies of those killed to feed on, and just as fast, run away into the tunnels.

Having successfully resolved the hostage crisis, the Captain signs off on the shipment of drugs for Tito. In spite of the drugs, the Columbian Strangler would be a big win. They arrive at Tito's apartment and the building manager lets them into Tito apartment. They discover the body of Tito hanged in a way to give the appearance of crucifixion above a stain of water beneath the device. The Strangler had gotten to him first...