Apparently "Bottom Bitch" Is a Good Thing? (Episode 3.3)

Previously on: Shane bought Mara a Lexus. Mara thinks it's unfair that Vic always makes Shane the little brother (and even told Vic as much). Claudette had the idea of bringing in the undercover Decoy Squad from Wilshire, an idea Edgar-veda approved of (and took credit for). In exchange, Claudette was given command of both the Decoy Squad and the Strike Team. Two Armenians were killed by their fellows looking for the missing money train cash. Vic's junkie prostitute informant Connie was murdered.

Lem parks his Harley behind the Barn. Vic shows him the newly (as of 2004) redesigned $20. The old ones will be phased out over the next year, meaning they have to unload their money train $20's ASAP. Lem asks about Claudette being in charge of the Strike Team. "That's the way she sees it," says Vic. Lem asks if Vic's ever had a female boss. "You ever met my daughter?" asks Vic. Cassidy's been begging him to go mini-golfing.

Vic thinks their best strategy is to kill Claudette with kindness; she'll loosen the reins after a few months. When they enter the clubhouse, it's a lot fuller than usual. It seems the Decoy Squad was told they could use it too. Walon, a guy dressed like a filthy bum, introduces the rest of the group: Eddie, Annie, and Trish. Vic offers to find them another room, but the Decoy Squad thinks they can make it work.

"What's that smell?" Lem asks. Oh, it's just Walon. He's been playing homeless for 3 days. Vic helpfully points him in the direction of the showers.

Mara is shoving makeup in her purse while Shane protests he needs to go to work. "Then go already," she says. Shane doesn't want to if they're upset with each other. Mara goes into the living room. It looks like she's trying to take everything else that will fit in her purse. "You don't want me here," she accuses. All Shane said was that it was fast for her to be moving in. That doesn't mean he doesn't like coming home to her. Mara leaves and Shane follows her to her car.

In the roll call room, Walon is freshly showered and wearing new clothes. Claudette asks where the rest of the Strike Team is. Ronnie has an appointment with a plastic surgeon about his face. Supposedly, Shane's car battery died. Claudette announces both teams will be targeting prostitution. She's mapped out 4 red-light districts. The first two phases of her plan are getting the girls off the streets and arresting the johns.

Edgar-veda adds that they've set up temporary processing stations. Local news crews will be filming. The D.A.'s office has given some very special permissions. "Members of your teams can now show their, uh, members to the girls," Claudette explains. I bet a redesigned $20 that Lem will be too shy. "It's only to convince them that you're not law enforcement," Claudette emphasizes. Hookers can look but not touch. "Their loss," says Vic.

In the stakeout car that night, Vic and Lem have a chuckle about "drive-through blowjobs." Tavon, driving a different car, stops at the curb. The hooker is suspicious that he's a cop and wants to see his "package." Tavon obliges, then asks, "How do I know you're not a cop?" "I am a cop," the woman replies.

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But instead of a badge, the woman hikes up her micro-mini to show Tavon her goodies. "Oh, that just made my week," laughs Vic. The woman gets in Tavon's car. About the same time, Shane gets in the backseat of Vic's. He apologizes for being late; he had stuff to deal with. "Well, next time, pick up a phone or at least answer yours," says Vic.

Tavon calls Vic on the radio: "We got an assault in progress. You guys see that?" It's a prostitute being beaten by several other hookers. Vic tells Lem to floor it. The girls scatter when he parks in the alley. He and the others get out of the car and start rounding up the woman's attackers.

"Hey, I know you, right?" Farrah the victim calls to Vic from the cage, "You're the cop that was there when Connie got killed." She was a friend of Connie's and remembers him from the funeral. Vic asks what she wants. The girl's pimp kicked her out of his stable and won't let anyone else take her in. She needs protection. Vic suggests she relocate or find a new job. Connie was just an informant.

"Please, you're a cop. They're gonna kill me out there," the hooker begs. Vic tells her, "I'm not gonna judge the life you chose, but I'm not gonna get sucked into it either. Good luck."

Vic flirts that Annie and Trish, wearing hooker garb, "dirty up quite nicely." "Just a few rags from my closet," Trish flirts back. Claudette is impressed by the stack of arrest reports. Shane says he had a flat and got there as quick as he could. "I told her your battery died," Vic says pointedly. Shane promises it won't happen again.

Claudette talked to Farrah and the hooker is willing to help build a case against her pimp. Vic thinks she's a liar. "Then she should fit right in on your team," Claudette says lightly. She wants to send a message to the pimps. Vic concedes, "You're the boss."

Claudette meets Dutch a crime scene. The victim, 73-year-old Isabel Nelson, was raped. The rapist was in the house naked when she came home. After the attack, the guy stole some cash and jewelry. Isabel tells the detectives that the man was wearing a ski mask. She thinks he was white or Mexican. She doesn't remember seeing any tattoos or anything else, just his penis.

Claudette says they don't have to talk about this right now. "I wanna help," Isabel insists. Dutch asks if the man left right away. No, he asked Isabel where she keeps her jewelry. Then the rapist got back into bed with Isabel and cuddled her for 2-3 hours. "That was the worse part," Isabel whimpers. Poor old dear.

Shane calls Mara and asks her to stop ignoring his messages. "Trouble in paradise," Lem says sagely. Vic doesn't miss that part of his marriage. The clubhouse is now empty except for Tavon and Farrah. She apologizes for going over Vic's head, but she's scared. He doesn't know Smooth. "I know pimps. Only thing original about 'em are their names," says Vic.

Farrah reveals she's from San Jose. Vic suggests she set up shop there after they arrest Smooth. Farrah likes Los Angeles better; also, Smooth won't lay a hand on her if she's under Vic's protection. Vic tells her it's a one-time deal.

Edgar-veda asks about a well-dressed suspect in the cage. Trish arrested him for solicitation, but the guy had no ID and wouldn't give up his name. The guy also had a huge paper bag of sex toys with him. Thankfully, most of them appear to be unopened. Edgar-veda tells Trish to finish the paperwork and run it by him.

The John Doe suspect asks Edgar-veda how he is. "Better than you, Javier," says the captain. Javier contends, "That policewoman made a big mistake." First of all, to quote Hot Fuzz, Trish is a police officer; being a woman has nothing to do with it. Javier claims Trish flagged him down to ask for directions. Edgar-veda tells him to cut the bull; he knows about the bag of sex toys. "Embarrassing, it's not illegal," says Javier.

Edgar-veda asks why Javier wouldn't give Trish his name. Javier was trying to save Farmington from (yet another) scandal.

Dutch is wondering about the pathology of a cuddling rapist. Was it an emotional souvenir or something done out of guilt? Vic thanks Claudette for siccing Farrah on him: "She's a real winner." Her pimp Smooth heads up a "a glorified whorehouse for downtown suits." He has drugs there as refreshments for the guests. Claudette will call for a warrant and tells Vic, "You see if Shane slept through his alarm."

Shane and Vic take Farrah to Smooth's house in the Strike Team van. Farrah tells them where Smooth keeps the drug stash. Vic is making Tavon point man because Shane is already in trouble with Claudette. Tavon has to hand over his gun because Smooth runs a metal detector over johns on the way in. Vic tells Tavon to keep it simple and get solicited. Vic asks Farrah who the "bottom bitch" is. Farrah replies contemptuously, "She's the queen whore, Cocoa."

Shane and Tavon go inside. Cocoa, who actually has most of her body covered and sports a 1970's style Afro, asks how they heard about the brothel. Tavon claims they're in town for a car convention and got the number from Chevy. Tavon asks how much it costs to get some Cocoa. She only gives oral to customers. Tavon picks out an alternate girl.

Cocoa picks up a box and offers them cocaine, ecstacy, and Viagra. Tavon wants ecstacy and says Shane could use the Viagra. Tavon and Shane follow Cocoa upstairs. Shane asks to use the bathroom. He goes in, turns the water on, and calls down to the the van. Vic, Lem, and some uniforms run up the porch. Lem hits the door with the battering ram, but nothing happens because it's reinforced. Vic, still on the phone with Shane, tells him the door has to be opened from the inside.

"It's a raid!" shouts Cocoa, running down the stairs. Tavon asks Shane where their backup is. Shane tells him they can't get in. Tavon vaults over the railing to chase Cocoa. Shane opens the front door. Cocoa gets away. "She's flushing the drugs!" Shane cries. Tavon hits the bathroom door with a ram. Cocoa gloats that they're too late.

Dutch asks Wanda, one of Isabel's neighbors, if she saw anyone unusual outside the building last night. "Just the police," she replies. Wanda lives with her 19-year-old son Josh, but he wasn't home. Dutch hands her a business card and asks for Josh to call him. "Should I be worried?" asks Wanda. There were a lot of police cars at Isabel's for just a break-in. Dutch tells Wanda it would be a good idea to to lock her doors when she's not home.

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Vic thinks Smooth is smarter than they figured; the brothel was rented under Cocoa's name. Cocoa won't talk since they don't have a drug charge to hold her on. "Looks like it's time for you to catch that bus," Vic says to Farrah. The hooker stands up: "I didn't do this so he could walk." Well, Vic isn't doing it to settle Farrah's grudge. They busted Smooth's brothel, Cocoa, and most of the "girls."

"Use me if you have to," says Farrah. Smooth turned out Farrah's 13-year-old sister when she came to visit. Next thing Farrah knew, her sister was shooting up and got AIDS. She hasn't seen her sister in 2 months. Claudette pulls Vic aside to ask what she thinks of using Farrah to get to Smooth. "Could get her killed. But if she doesn't care, why should we?" asks Vic. They can get her out of L.A. afterward.

Vic just wants Farrah out of their lives. "The reason pimp cases are impossible is because girls won't cooperate," says Claudette. "She's willing." Vic wants someone else to have to deal with Farrah, but Claudette says no way. "You want Smooth, I want my clubhouse back," says Vic. Claudette doesn't bargain.

Wanda talks to Dutch in the lobby. She knows he wasn't telling the truth; other neighbors told her Isabel was raped. Dutch tells her that he can't discuss an ongoing case. Wanda is alone a lot and she's worried. She asks if Dutch talked to Paul Fets, a registered sex offender who lives across the street from Isabel. Dutch tells her there are 34 other sex offenders in a 5-block radius; checking on them all takes time. Well, you could at least rule out the ones who are only attracted to children or males.

Wanda says that Paul followed her into her apartment once under the guise of helping her with groceries. If Josh hadn't come home, she could've been one of Paul's victims. Wanda also saw Paul looking in Isabel's window last week. Dutch promises to talk to him. He asks why she didn't tell him earlier. "Because you didn't tell me you were looking for a rapist," she answers.

Dutch asks Paul if he heard about a woman being raped in the next apartment building. Crawling into someone's window sounds a lot like Paul's M.O. His victim was a paraplegic woman in a wheelchair. "I don't think that way anymore," says Paul. Dutch asks why he was seen looking into Isabel's window. Paul claims he didn't do that.

Claudette asks if Isabel was home or if Paul decided to go back later. Dutch wants to know about Wanda. "I was trying to help her with her groceries," Paul mumbles. Wanda didn't have to go and tell all the neighbors he's a convicted rapist; he doesn't like it.

"Too bad!"
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Vic tells Farrah to be at the Barn by 10 AM and they'll pay Smooth a visit. They can't do it tonight because she's not the only woman in Vic's life who needs attention. Farrah asks where she's supposed to sleep. Vic is like "I dunno, where'd you go last night?" Farrah has her own apartment, but claims it isn't safe. She asks for money to stay in a motel. Vic reminds her that he gave her a bus ticket; she can leave any time.

Shane still hasn't gotten through to Mara. He leaves another message, asking her to let him know that she's okay. He hangs up and gripes to Vic about how now he has to "share a locker with Pig-Pen." Well, boo-hoo. I had to share my first high school locker with a couple who made out in front of it all day. Vic is sure the Decoy Squad will be gone soon. "Or we will," says Shane. He heard they made 15 arrests on the hooker sting.

Vic asks what's going on with Mara. Shane shakes his head: "These pimps have it figured out. You treat 'em like shit, they stick to you like flies." He's scared of losing Mara. "She's the first girl I've been with that's better than me, ya know?" If she's better than Shane, I'd hate to meet his exes. Love doctor Vic Mackey thinks Shane should give Mara space; she'll call when she's ready. Vic himself is headed out for the evening with Cassidy for mini golf and ice cream.

Cut to Vic dropping Cassidy off at Corinne's. "Mom!" she cries, looking upset. Vic's sorry; he doesn't know what happened. All of a sudden, she started begging to come home. Corinne sends her to bed. Cassidy wants her dad to tuck her in.

"Go to your room," Corrine repeats. Cassidy says no. Vic tells her to listen to Mom; he promises he'll make it up to her next week. Cassidy tackle-hugs him: "Daddy, please stay!" What is going on with this girl? Vic thinks maybe it'd be a good idea to hang around for an hour or so.

Corinne pulls Cassidy away from her dad. She knows what the kid is trying to do and it won't work. If Cassidy wants to have daddy/daughter time, she has to behave for Vic. Corinne bodily drags Cassidy to her room. All the while, Cassidy is begging Vic not to go. But Vic does leave.

Dutch tells Paul that he deals with rape and murder every day, but he likes his job. He feels like he has the chance to "take bad people away before they hurt somebody else." "That's not me," Paul insists. In Dutch's experience, rapists always do it again.

He asks if Paul is familiar with the concept of a moral compass. Some people don't have one at all or it's been broken beyond repair; it's not always their fault. Paul starts breathing heavy and asks to use the bathroom. Dutch takes him to the women's room and Paul almost panics: "Oh no, this is for girls!" Dutch explains that the men's room is out of order (doesn't add that it's been that way for 2 years). He assures Paul that it's okay to use this one.

Paul leans over the sink, still panting. "I did things," he says. Dutch knows. Paul hides in the corner by the paper towel dispenser. He stammers, asking how to fix a broken moral compass. "You can't," Dutch answers. He talks about Isabel, how her rape might be the last sexual experience she'll ever have. Can Paul imagine living with that kind of pain? What if she were Paul's grandmother?

Dutch believes Paul when he says he doesn't want to hurt anyone again. He needs Paul's help to make sure of that. Paul starts sobbing: "I don't wanna be broken."

Edgar-veda's friend Machado is in his office. He asks if Javier sent him. There's not much the captain can do about Javier's arrest, even though Javier is a friend of Machado's and supported Edgar-veda's campaign. Not processing Javier while he looks into things is all the courtesy he can offer. Javier apparently told Machado it was entrapment. Edgar-veda promises to talk to the arresting officer.

Machado remembers when a reporter asked awkward questions about Edgar-veda, concerning an alleged rape the captain committed while a student at USC. He supported his friend and never asked whether or not it was true.

Edgar-veda goes downstairs to the clubhouse and asks Trish about Javier's arrest. Trish smiled at Javier and he parked at the curb. Javier then offered her $150 for a very specific and bizarre sex act. Edgar-veda tells her about the entrapment claim. Trish says that didn't happen. Edgar-veda is still looking into this and doesn't want her discussing the case with anyone.

In the breakroom, Danny tells Julien and Tommy about a call she took at L.A. Sound Design. She asked the owner for the surveillance tapes; he went in the back of the store for 2 minutes and came out with a ruined tape. Julien and Tommy recently went on a robbery call at a different location. That store didn't have surveillance cameras.

Danny asks for a copy of the serial numbers the guys took because detectives are short-staffed and this is a low-priority case. Maybe the three of them can do some digging on their own. "Just because you've been icing it on the sidelines for a while doesn't mean you have to play Wonder Woman," Tommy says rudely, "though I might be able to dig up the outfit for ya." Something about these robberies doesn't feel right to her. The boys didn't notice anything unusual, even though the same chain has been robbed twice in two weeks.

Danny apologizes for interrupting their dinner and starts to leave. Julien gets up. He promises to have the serial numbers to her in half an hour.

In the clubhouse, Vic is wiring Farrah for sound. Shouldn't Trish or somebody be doing that? Vic tells Farrah to keep it simple: she wants to be back in Smooth's stable and will do whatever it takes. Smooth's more likely to say yes now that most of his "employees" are in county lockup. If he starts to rough Farrah up, Vic will stop him. "I can take a beating," she says seductively.

He hands her the microphone to conceal in her cleavage. She tries to grab his hands to let him "help." Vic warns her not to touch him. Farrah brings up Connie again: "She said you were nice. All you've been to me is an asshole." Oh, you're breaking his heart.

Claudette tells Edgar-veda that Dutch got Paul to confess. She asks why there are 15 john arrests from yesterday but only 14 made it to booking. The captain released Javier Sanchez because he's the school superintendent and he wants to double-check the facts. It's a courtesy. "What qualifies as the special-treatment club this week?" asks Claudette.

Edgar-veda tries to get her to see Javier's side. Once he's processed, his penchant for prostitutes becomes public record and he'll be humiliated. Claudette crosses her arms; she thought things were supposed to be changing in Farmington.

Vic sees Edgar-veda congratulating the Decoy Squad on another big stack of arrests. "We keep bringin' in this many fish, we might need to find you new digs," Walon says to the Strike Team at large. Farrah comes out of the clubhouse. Right at that moment, Mara calls Shane. Claudette asks if Farrah understands that her life is at risk and she needs to get on a bus to San Jose right after the bust. Farrah does. Shane hangs up the phone and tells Claudette he needs to take a personal day.

Outside a barber shop, Lem, Vic, and Tavon are in the stakeout car. Farrah goes in and promises to be Smooth's best earner. Smooth gets out of the barber chair and grabs Farrah by the neck, choking her. The Strike Team is about to ride to her rescue when Smooth lets go. If she earns enough money tonight, maybe they'll talk.

Farrah runs out of the barber shop and throws up on the sidewalk. Vic tells Farrah they got everything on tape and checks out the bruises already rising on her throat. He instructs Lem to take Polaroids.

In the breakroom, Trish asks for Vic's opinion. She's stuck between Claudette and the captain. It seems like Edgar-veda isn't interested in pursuing Javier the john with his bag of sex toys. Whose side should she take? Vic says Edgar-veda is the boss and about to be a city councilman: "If he asks for something, do him the favor." She notices Vic is eating Chinese food and offers to take him out for it sometime; she'll pay him back.

Dutch now doesn't think Paul raped Isabel. When he made his statement, he didn't say anything about cuddling. Paul supposedly dumped her jewelry, but he doesn't remember where. He seems slow and couldn't have committed this crime without leaving a single hair or fiber behind.

Vic gives Farrah a wad of money: "Be very clear you earned it hooking." Farrah tells him that $600 won't be enough, even though she's supposedly only been on the streets a few hours. It's an insult and Smooth will kill her. "We're not gonna let him hurt you," Vic tries to reassure her.

Farrah flips out. She wants to explain to Smooth what's going on, how she was working with Vic but changed her mind. "You tell him that, he will kill you," Vic warns. Farrah screams that Vic doesn't give a crap about her. Smooth will take care of her if she tells the truth. Oh, he'll do that, all right.

Suddenly, Vic grabs Farrah by the hair. Lem jumps out of the stakeout car and hurries over. "You think you could just walk away from me?" Vic yells, "You made me a promise. You told me you wanted this." Vic drags her down the wall; it's him she should be scared of, not Smooth. He pulls out his gun.

"Let me just go talk to him," says Farrah, now terrified and hyperventilating. Vic puts his gun in her mouth, one of the most despicable things we've seen him do yet. He tells her that she better talk to Smooth exactly how they rehearsed it. Farrah whimpers that she understands. Vic holsters his gun, but keeps holding onto her hair. I'm waiting for Lem to step in and teach his boss a lesson, Nicolas Cage-style.

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"You wanna make me happy, huh?" Vic asks in a very pimp-like tone. Farrah stands up and it seems almost like she wants to kiss him. Lem looks disgusted. Vic gives Farrah the $600 and sends her on her way.

"What the hell was that?" Lem asks Vic once they're back in the car. Vic says, "I just saved her life." They watch her approach Smooth. "Po-po's been crackin' down, c'mere," says the pimp, walking her out of sight. Smooth isn't satisfied with her earnings. Farrah tells him to shove it up his ass. "Damn, she's baitin' him," says Vic. They all pile out of the car.

Smooth takes off his belt, ready to smack her around with it. Farrah starts screaming for help. Vic tackles the pimp. Farrah tries to kick Smooth while he's down, so Lem grabs her around the waist. Vic cuffs Smooth.

"I got marks. You and I can say he hit me, get him put away for longer," Farrah says eagerly in the squadroom at the Barn. If you've been here since Season 1, this all sounds very familiar. Vic refuses to lie for her. And did she forget she's going to San Jose? Farrah doesn't think that'll be necessary; Vic is protecting her now. What he did to her in that alley should've been enough to disabuse her of that notion. Filing brutality charges would be a very good idea.

Farrah asks why Vic is such a shithead. She starts yelling about how Vic put a gun in her mouth. "No, I did not," he says. Farrah wants to know why he won't protect her. Vic tells her to shut up. He found out her sob story is bullshit. Farrah's only sibling is a 7-year-old sister who lives in San Jose. She's just pissed off that Smooth replaced her.

Farrah asks if Vic used Connie too. It's all his fault that Connie is dead and Brian doesn't have a mother. Vic tries to hustle her toward the door: "Wouldn't want you to miss your bus!" He adds that he didn't kill Connie. "You all find ways of killing yourselves." He pushes Farrah in the lobby through the door that has to be buzzed open. "Asshole!" she yells from behind the glass.

Julien and Tommy meet Danny at an apartment. She got a hit on one of the stolen stereos; the apartment's tenant, Sun Yun Do, registered online to get a warranty. "Sure you don't wanna call SWAT?" Tommy asks sarcastically.

Claudette looks through some Polaroids that Dutch took to Isabel, one of which is of Paul. "You showed a 73-year-old woman a penis line-up?" she hisses incredulously. Would it have been any better if the victim was, say, 23? "She wants the guy caught. All she saw was the penis," Dutch rationalizes. Anyway, she picked the wrong one.

"Whose did she choose?" asks Claudette. Dutch looks sheepish.

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Claudette reacts much the same, her jaw dropping open. Dutch is all "well, nobody else would volunteer." I wonder why! He adds, "It's not like it's anything you haven't seen before." Really now? You're going there because she's been married and has kids?

Dutch goes upstairs to tell Paul they're sending him home. They know he didn't rape Isabel. Paul wants to stay; he thinks about raping other women and has a broken moral compass. Dutch explains that the moral compass bit was just an interrogation technique. Paul hasn't done anything since raping Mandy 7 years ago, right?

A psychiatrist named Dr. Lakeman will be coming to talk to Paul about fighting his urges. Paul doesn't want to go home; Wanda told everybody about Mandy, the woman he raped. He's sure Wanda will tell everyone that he raped Isabel too. Dutch says he'll talk to the neighbors, as if that'll do any good. He gives Paul his business card.

Shane is pacing the living room when Mara comes in. "You said you weren't gonna be here," she says. She's here to pack the rest of her stuff and leave. "Why are you acting like such a psycho bitch?" Shane asks. Oh, sure, that'll smooth things over. Mara keeps throwing clothes in a suitcase. Shane raises his voice, "You wanna leave? Fine. Then pack your shit!" Yet another great tactic to convince her to give you another chance.

Shane goes in the bedroom and starts helping her pack. "Why are you sulking?" he demands, "You're the one who turned on me." He gets nastier. Could Mara not afford a car and was playing house until she could leave? Mara calls him an asshole, probably because he caught onto her. She's always come across to me as a gold-digger. "How's the Lexus driving?" Shane wants to know. Mara throws the keys right at his face.

Shane tells Mara to keep the car; she earned it: "Hope the next guy enjoys it!" Mara gets teary. Now Shane doesn't want her to leave until he gets to watch her cry. Mara throws a couple of binders at him and announces, "I'm pregnant." It was an accident and she's sorry. Next she tosses her purse; the contents scatter all over the floor.

Shane's reaction is instantaneous: "Well, we'll get married." "Oh no!" cries Mara, as though he just said he doesn't think the baby is his. She dramatically collapses to her knees with great, heaving sobs. Shane sits down by her. "Marry me," he repeats in a whisper.

The fact Mara practically had a nervous breakdown when you suggested it the first time should be a really big hint there, Shane. He's far from my favorite character, but this scene really made me feel bad for him. You can tell he earnestly loves her and wants to do right by his future child. Mara seems to think of Shane more like a terrible mistake.

Claudette comes into Edgar-veda's office. There's a reporter downstairs who wants to ask about Javier the school superintendent being arrested for soliciting a prostitute. Machado knows the reporter, Carlos, and offers to handle it. Claudette plans on moving forward with getting the case to court. The captain tells her to send some uniforms to get Javier. When Claudette is gone, Machado accuses her of leaking the story.

Downstairs, Dutch congratulates Danny on getting her job back. She tells him about the insurance scam the stereo shop owner was running. "Sure makes it easier when officers hand me closed cases," he says. Officer Paula lets Dutch know someone's on hold needing to talk to him. When he picks up, Paul's voice says, "I tried real hard. Her son just left. She's alone." It doesn't take a detective to work out that he's talking about Wanda.

Dutch tells Paul not to go anywhere. He gives Danny a piece of paper with Wanda's address and says quietly, "Rape in progress. Call it in." Paul asks how he can change what he wants. Dutch tries to dissuade him, "It isn't what you want." He's done so well these last 7 years. "No, I haven't," Paul disagrees, "I'll try not to hurt her too bad." The line clicks dead.

Uniforms descend on Wanda's apartment. We can hear her screaming inside. Tommy breaks in and pulls Paul off his victim. He flops, bare-assed, onto the floor.

Edgar-veda watches as Javier is booked. Claudette knows schools and sex crimes will make for a major news story. "He brought it on himself," Edgar-veda says sanctimoniously. Claudette had help; she knows she didn't call Carlos. The captain proved he's cracking down on a crime in a way that didn't hurt him or Machado. Edgar-veda doesn't even try to deny how self-serving he is, just tells Claudette she was always his best detective.

Vic goes to one of the hooker strolls and tries to pick up Farrah. Her coworker informs him, "She's not for sale. That's Nasty's new girl." Vic just wants to talk for 2 minutes. After a brief conference with the other girl and her pimp, Farrah walks up to his window. Vic notices she missed the bus. He asks if this whole mess was just about her getting into Nasty's stable.

"After you kicked me, I had to survive. Told Nasty I'd help him get some of Smooth's girls," says Farrah proudly. "Thanks for helping make me queen." "Enjoy your kingdom." Vic's tone is flat. All business, Farrah charges him $20. Vic looks at one of his newer bills, crumples it up, and pitches it out the window. Farrah picks it out of the street as he drives away.

In the breakroom, Tommy and Julien are telling their story about arresting Paul. "That rapist asshole got a double dip of vanilla and chocolate." says Tommy.

I'm sorry, but nobody pulls that off quite like these two.
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He and Julien high-five. Danny asks if Julien will walk her to her car. She looks hurt when he says he's not leaving yet.

At his apartment, Shane gets a bear hug from a very drunk Lem. He seems to be throwing himself a combination engagement/I'm-gonna-be-a-daddy party. Given her apparent shame and horror at the situation, I'm surprised Mara went along with it. Shane asks where Vic disappeared too. Lem shrugs. He's probably doing good if he currently remembers his own name. Shane goes to find him. People are lining his exterior stairs. He gets another hug and a toast. Still no Vic.

His best friend, it transpires, is using his badge to pay an unauthorized visit to Brian's foster home. The white-trash-looking foster dad lets him in, proving once again that a badge really can open doors. Foster mom is watching TV in the living room. A couple of older kids run past Vic.

Vic follows foster dad upstairs. Brian is sitting on a bedroom floor, playing with a brightly colored toy car by himself. Vic fires off questions about Brian. How is he? Does he talk? What does he like to do? Foster dad says Brian likes to play with the other foster kids; he and his wife have 5 in total. Vic does the math: $500 times 5 kids equals $2,500 a month. What do they do with it?

Foster dad doesn't appreciate being accused of skimming from the till; the kids get what they need. "3 hots and a cot? You bank the rest," Vic surmises. Foster mom asks what Vic knows about child-rearing and I'm surprised Vic doesn't tell her that he's a father of 3. Foster mom insists Brian's better off with them; she knows his birth mother was a crack whore. "I knew her," says Vic, the slightest edge in his voice. Foster dad puts in, "At least we're there for them."

Vic pokes his head back in the bedroom. Brian is now happily playing with a different toy. Vic lets the couple know he'll be checking in on the kid every so often: "I'd better like what I see." End of episode.