Flikken

- Season 5

(2003)

Britt takes the oath as Chief Constable. She depends on taking over the job as Team Chief Constabel from Nadine Vanbruane, but also her new colleague Van Reeth wants the job. After a joke gets out of hand, Nadine gets heavily beaten up. Britt has to prove under ungrateful circumstances that she is worthy of the title Team Chief Constable.

After a carjacking at a garden centre goes wrong, two attackers take the wife of the manager with them and dump her. In the ice cold winter night Britt and her team organize a search for Mrs. Bosman. It's becoming a race against time, because her chances of survival are getting smaller with the minute. Bruno gets the new chief of Internal Affairs, John Nauwelaerts, after him. But that has nothing to do with the out of hand joke he pulled earlier.

With a lot of reluctancy Pasmans and Raymond rescue a furious dog from a decrepit house. In the living room they find a bitten on corpse of a man. They can't decide if the man was murdered or if it was suicide. Britt, Merel en Sofie keep on searching for the garden centre robbers. Especially Sofie is convinced that they will strike again.

Sofie is in a coma. With perseverance Britt and her team search for the robbers who shot Sofie. One of the trails lead to an old acquaintance of Raymond: Giovanni di Renzo, a shady car dealer. Giovanni claims he bettered his live, because he is on the brink of becoming a father. His wife is about to give birth at any moment. Meanwhile Nick stays at the hospital with Sofie, who fights for her live.

Sofie dies. It's a great shock to the team and now they are even more determined to get the killer. Dazed by anger and sorrow, Nick makes an unforgivable professional mistake. He pulls his gun in the midst of a group of playing kids. Britt tries to protect him against himself and against John Nauwelaerts, the chief of Internal Affair. She takes all the blame on herself and offers her resignation. But she didn't count on Nauwelaerts.

A female student gets raped and asks for help from the two female inspectors. Britt and Merel try to handle the girl with care, but Chief Constable Nauwelaerts wants a quick result. He only seems interested in the facts and Merel finds that difficult. Bruno also finds it difficult that his stepfather suddenly has become his chief, especially when he gets him to work with the dreaded 'Moustache'.

Britt and Merel examine the drugs related death of a prisoner and get to know Lucas. He's a mentally disabled man who gets bullied and beaten in prison. John, Pasmans and Raymond try to get a lovesick musician from the roof. Nick fights to get back with the team. And Bruno gets more and more annoyed with the fact that the 'Moustache' always seems to pick out young women to give them a ticket.

Pasmans finally introduces his new love to the other team members, although this doesn't go exactly accordingly to plan. When the couple leaves for a weekend in Paris, they see how a girl on a bicycle gets run off the road. The driver doesn't stop and flees. With Pasmans duty comes first. He cancels his fun weekend to track down the driver. Britt and Merel discover there might be a connection with their investigations.

On a dump in the city Pasmans and Raymond find a human skull. Step by step John and his team reconstruct the face, the conduct and the personality of the victim. A religious eccentric, an arrogant young artist and a deeply hurt father pass before them. Meanwhile Johan is on a business trip with a female client, which gives Britt a faint feeling of jealousy.

Up to know Nick is not very successful as an undercover agent. But when he gets beaten up and robbed one night, suddenly the case accelerates. A hotel guest tempts him into a rendezvous at the Leie and proposes an art deal to him. Pasmans and Raymond investigate the attempt on a young illegal and cross paths with an old acquaintance.

A young strawberry grower gets caught early in the morning, when he tries to drag his dead father in a delivery van. He claims he wanted to take his father to the hospital, but Britt and Merel soon see through his story. Pasmans and Raymond get a little less important case from John; a 'dognapping'. When Bruno treats his very sick mother to a dinner, she tells him something from the heart that will change his view on John forever.

The rowing club at the water sports track is in total uproar. Stéphanie, a young rower of 15, has gone missing. When her mobile is found in the bushes, everyone understands that she didn't just run from home. In the meantime Pasmans and Raymond keep themselves busy with a less alarming disappearance: a group of African musicians on tour lost their orchestra leader. When Jacqueline gets hospitalized John warns Bruno to keep himself ready.

The team are still after the murderer on Stéphanie. But her father is still without a trace and the rowing trainer keeps insisting that he is innocent. The first breakthrough comes after a confession from Jean-Claude Maes. The night before the disappearance, when he was peeping, he saw how a man was trying to rape Stéphanie at the boathouse. Meanwhile Bruno and John keep watch at Jacqueline's deathbed.