Unable to make a deal with the Iron Crusaders, Cohle and Hart follows one of them to their meth cookhouse. Rather than call it in and request backup, they decide to raid the operation on their own. They face little resistance but after Hart finds two children living in abhorrent conditions, they kill the only two men they find there, one of whom is their main suspect Reggie Ledoux. Before the review board, they claim to have come under heavy fire and ended up fighting for their lives. In the process Reggie Ledoux and the other man were killed. They are commended for their bravery. Things subsequently got better for both of them, at least for a few years. Hart was promoted to Detective Sergeant and reconciled with his wife Maggie. Cohle received a commendation for bravery and got a girlfriend, Laurie. In 2002 however, Cohle gets information that the killer may not have been Ledoux. In the present day, Detectives Gilbough and Papania are told the same story given to the board 17 years ... Written by garykmcd