off into the night. Relationships Relationship with Shane Mackey's relationship with Detective Shane Vendrell has been described as the "centrepiece of The Shield". Shane was Vic's best friend since before the creation of the Strike Team. The season two prequel episode 'Co-Pilot' shows that they were partners before the events of season one. The strength of their friendship is evident in season one, in how Vic initially only keeps Shane informed of some of his darker schemes, leaving Lem and Ronnie out. However, their relationship eventually becomes strained when Shane enters into a serious relationship with Mara, who is very demanding of his time. After Lemansky burns the money train cash, Vic is unable to resolve the subsequent animosity between Lemansky and Shane. Indeed, he finds himself embroiled in it when Shane accuses Vic of taking other people's side against him when they are supposed to be best friends. Vic calls Mara a bitch who has got Shane so twisted that he cannot think straight anymore. The two fall out, and the strike team is disbanded. During season 4 Shane and Vic reconcile after Shane gets involved with the drug lord and gang leader Antwon Mitchell, who kills a young girl using Shane's gun. Blackmailing Shane, he offers to hand her body over to him in return for the body of Vic Mackey. Shane contacts Vic to meet him alone. After convincing Vic of his innocence in the girl's murder, the two men work together again, along with Ronnie and Lem, to save Shane's career and put Antwon behind bars. Following this, the Strike Team is reformed. When Vic learns the truth about Shane's murder of Lem, Vic confronts Shane, and tells him that if he ever sees him again, he would kill him. Shane drives off, calling Vic a hypocrite. Vic and Ronnie ultimately decide that the time had come for Shane to pay with his life for murdering Lem. They arrange for him to be assassinated by a Mexican drug cartel. At the last second, Vic tries to call off the hit on Shane, but was unable to reach Shane on his cell phone. Through sheer luck, Shane survives. Shane decides to retaliate by blackmailing a small-time pimp into murdering Ronnie in his apartment, while preparing to murder Vic at Vic's apartment himself. The attempt on Ronnie's life is botched, as well as Vic's when Ronnie alerts him