SYNOPSIS:

BLOOD TRAIL Homicide Det. Zeke Makowski tracks a ritualistic serial killer baptized by the press as the Butcher who inexplicably resumes his murderous rampage after 30 years. Zeke’s captain orders him to recruit his estranged father Stan, an ex-cop who hunted the Butcher decades earlier. Right off the bat, Stan tells his son to drop dead because it was this very case that cost him his marriage and drove him over the brink. The next day though Stan hears about the Butcher’s latest victim – a six-month-old infant. Stan reverses his decision and signs on with Zeke and his female partner Novarro. Zeke confronts St. Clair, a C.I.A. agent who suspiciously appears at one of the crime scenes. Threatened with a media investigation, St. Clair reveals to Zeke that the Butcher is a Romanian assassin named Brucan contracted to terminate an al-Qaeda sleeper cell which is planning a bio-chemical attack on the Windy City. After his clandestine meeting with Zeke, St. Clair is ambushed by the Butcher and silenced forever. Overwhelmed with the escalating body count, Zeke continues to booze it up and begins fighting with his girlfriend Gail, a psychiatrist who provided a psychological profile of the serial killer. Pursuing a hot lead, Zeke and Stan discover the Butcher hiding out in a homeless shelter. The Butcher narrowly escapes, but leaves behind clues to his next victim – the new Catholic Pope who is touring the U.S. During a parade, the Pope is viciously attacked by Brucan. With only seconds to spare Zeke saves the Pope’s life, but the Butcher eludes capture once again. Seeking bloody pay back, the Butcher murders Zeke’s partner Novarro. Impaled in her chest is a note which threatens: You’re Next! Devastated by Novarro’s death and Gail moving out of his condo, Zeke turns in his gun and shield. Cleaning out his locker, Zeke confronts his father about his mother’s suicide years ago. Stan admits he suffered a nervous breakdown while working the Butcher case and took out his emotional pain on Zeke’s mom. Having walked in Stan’s shoes Zeke forgives his old man and mends a twenty year rift. Clean and sober, Zeke makes up with his girlfriend Gail and proposes to her. Convinced Zeke has left his demons behind Gail agrees to marry him. Posing as a Catholic priest, the Butcher lures Gail to a church to discuss her upcoming nuptials. Suspecting a set up Zeke races across town and finds his horror of horrors – Gail tied lashed to a wooden cross with her throat slashed. Inconsolable, Zeke goes on a drinking binge and is kidnapped by the Butcher. Shackled and beaten Zeke must listen to Brucan compare the murders he commits to the human sacrifices carried out by the Aztecs in the 13th century. Before the Butcher can finish off Zeke a C.I.A. tactical team breaks in and arrests him. Immediately Brucan is loaded up for deportation to avoid a public scandal. Before the plane can take off, the Butcher surprises the C.I.A. escort team with a hidden shank and kills them all. Disguised as a pilot, Zeke challenges the Butcher to one final throw down and kills the Butcher with his own weapon, ending his 30 year reign of terror.

BLOOD TRAIL