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.

"Blood and Water" Run Deep (Episode 3.2)

Previously on: Edgar-veda decided to stay on the job for 6 more months, despite promising Claudette she'd be captain a lot sooner than that. 4 Armenians were killed by someone looking for the missing money train cash and the only 4 people who know where it is are the members of the Strike Team. Even though they're supposed to keep a low profile and Shane barely knows his new girlfriend, he agreed to buy her a car. 

The Byz Lat gang has armed themselves with MP5s stolen from Fort Irwin. They killed rapper Kern's homeboy Slap, so Kern pulled a drive-by as retaliation. Vic was only able to recover half the guns. He needed $100K to buy back the other half, which Edgar-veda refused to give him without going through the proper channels. Being Vic Mackey, he took matters into his own hands and withdrew the money from the Strike Team's "retirement fund." 

"Jesus, between your snoring and the phone," Mara groans at Shane. Shane sleepily rolls over and answers it. "Rise and shine, gorgeous," Vic chirps, "...I'm about 5 feet from your door." He starts knocking none-too-gently. Mara whines some more.

No doubt to spite Vic, Shane answers the door in his underwear. Vic tells him that he set up a meeting with the Byz Lats. Shane finishes getting dressed in the living room. Mara, also in her underwear, appears and asks, "Should I make coffee?" Vic appreciates the thought, but doesn't have time. "I was talking to him," she says coldly, indicating Shane, who tells her to go back to bed. Vic tells his partner to take the gun but leave the badge: "We're not cops tonight. We're neo-Nazis."

Between him and Vic's bald head, they'll fit right in.
(Photo credit)

Mara looks vaguely uncomfortable with that idea. Shane kisses her goodbye. As they go down the steps, Vic says, "I see someone parked a new Lexus in your parking spot." For the third time in two episodes, Shane clarifies that it's preowned. Vic goes into disappointed dad mode: "And I told you not to buy it for her. We'll talk about this later."

Shane asks why Latino gangbanger Garza would sell any of his guns to a couple of white supremacists. "It's called commerce," says Vic, the "dipshit" heavily implied. He gives Shane the Duffel O' Cash. Shane can't believe the captain signed off on this. Vic tells him it's actually the money train cash, but assures him "it's for display purposes only." He promised Kern he'd get the guns. Confiscating military-grade weapons from gangbangers will make their jobs easier and safer. Shane mutters that he can't believe Vic dipped into their stash "to keep a promise to some scumbag."

Vic explains Edgar-veda wouldn't have been able to sign off on time. This deal is strictly off the books. Shane gripes that they won't get credit for the bust and adds, "We're gonna talk about this later too." They find Garza enjoying a late-night snack at a 24-hour taco stand. Shane and Vic let him know that the MP5s belong to their organization: Sword of the Creator. I guess Church of the Last Chance Salvation didn't sound violent enough.

Vic claims they put down a deposit, but their connection got nervous and dumped them somewhere. They aren't saying it's Garza's fault, which is why they're willing to pay for the guns instead of just taking them. "Besides, we're still gonna need somebody to mow our lawns once this race war's over with," drawls Shane. Vic sweetens the deal; they'll even pay double.

If Garza doesn't cooperate, Shane will turn him to over to his nonexistent ATF agent brother-in-law. Garza wants half the money up front. In that case, Vic wants half the guns. Garza says to meet him in an hour. Vic wants to choose the place and see all 36 guns.

Julien and his new partner Tommy find a crying Hispanic guy rocking back and forth on the curb. There's blood all over his hands. In a nearby car, the driver and passenger have been shot. "He's dead," the guy sobs. Tommy radios for backup and a crime scene unit.

Near the docks, Lem is sitting on a roof with his trusty rifle. His trademark hair is visible over the ledge. Not the smartest move on his part. Oh, and you can totally see his walkie-talkie too. Lemming also looks like he just rolled out of bed (probably did, given how late it is).

Lem tells Vic a 4-Runner just pulled up; there's a driver, a passenger, and some muscle in the back. "How did I know this guy was gonna bone us?" asks Vic rhetorically, who's headed toward the docks in his truck. Lem can see the gun crates in the back of the 4-Runner. Vic tells Lem to stay put; he and Shane will be there in 10 minutes.

Dutch examines the pockmarked car. "How many rounds went off here?" he asks. Claudette thinks there could've been multiple shooters. Dutch asks about the blood-covered guy being looked over by EMS. Tommy exposits that he was in the backseat when this went down, "bawling his eyes out when we got here." Julien finds a military-grade gun in a nearby alley, meaning there might not have been more than one suspect.

Shane and Vic arrive at the docks to meet Garza. Vic instructs Garza to tell his hidden shooters to drop their guns and come out with their hands up. Garza whistles. The homeboys come out, but they're armed. Garza informs the guys that he needs the money and the guns. Garza whistles again. Some more Byz Lats descend from the roof, guns pointed at Lem's back.

"Tell them to let him go right now, asshole!" Ronnie calls from his hiding spot. Garza smirks about how he's already lived 5 years longer than he predicted; his fellow Byz Lat founders are dead. "Go ahead, shoot." he taunts, "Make me a hero." One way or the other, his gang is getting their money. Vic warns, "If your guy so much as twitches, my guy's gonna put one in the back of your skull."

Garza tells his homeboy to shoot Lem. Vic is like "hold on a second." He tells Ronnie to put down his gun. Ronnie will if the Byz Lat does. He reluctantly drops his rifle when Vic says, "Ronnie, go on." Garza knees Vic hard. He takes the Duffel O' Cash from Shane, then gives him the same treatment. Lem somehow escapes getting hit. As a parting shot, Garza tells the loudly groaning cops, "Mow your own lawns, putas."

It's awfully quiet in the clubhouse when the newest member of the Strike Team comes in for work. "Rough night?" Tavon asks Shane. He makes a comment about how sometimes a man just can't satisfy his woman, if you get my drift. Shane is not amused. Vic plans to set up Garza in a drug sting and use that to take the guns away from the Byz Lats. And not some piddly pot bust either; they need to catch him with the hard stuff. Vic sends Tavon to chase the crack connection while he looks for heroin.

"So what about our goddamn money?" Shane asks after Tavon leaves. Vic says their priority has to be getting Garza and his stolen guns off the street. "Our priorities? I don't remember being consulted, do you?" Shane asks Lem. The blond blames himself for letting someone sneak up behind him. Shane goes on, "You never shoulda been in that situation." For a second, it seems like Vic taking Shane's side as usual. He then adds that it's his fault; they were ill-positioned and outnumbered.

"In the meantime, we'll never see that 100 grand again," Shane gripes.

Vic actually does say that too.
(Photo credit)

Vic invites Shane to take the money out of his share. Lem thinks they should all eat the loss, cost of doing business and all that. Vic says Shane needs the money. Like Vic himself doesn't for Matt's tuition and in-home occupational therapy. Oh, Lem didn't know that Shane bought his girlfriend a new car? Shane accepts that Vic is the boss at work, but what he does with the money train cash is his own business. "Count your money and wash your Lexus," says Vic. He and the others will get Garza on their own.

Kern heard that the Byz Lats robbed some white dudes trying to buy guns. Vic's like "yeah, I know, that was me." He knows Kern was behind the drive-by that killed a Byz Lat. Kern says, "I can't control every dog in the pound." His guys are making noise about taking out girlfriends and kids of the Byz Lats next. "I can steer the ship, but I can't turn it around." Vic is gonna get the MP5s along with Garza. He'll hold Kern personally responsible if the One-Niners pull any more drive-bys.

Claudette meets Chief Bankston at city hall. She's been having trouble getting in touch by phone. "That's because I've been ducking your calls, Detective," he says bluntly. She asks if she was wrong about having been offered the captain's job. "That was when the job was open," the chief says. If Claudette can't be promoted in Farmington, she wants to be transferred to another open captain's position. Chief Bankston tells her there are no open captain slots.

"So you're telling me a chief has been out-politicked by a captain?" she asks. Chief Bankston pauses halfway through getting in his chauffeured car. Does Claudette have his word that she'll be promoted when Edgar-veda is elected to city council? "You have my support," he answers evasively. The chief advises her to start playing politics with Edgar-veda.

"I thought you were working," says Mara when Shane walks in the front door. Shane shrugs that he got into it with Vic and turns down her offer of a sandwich. He'll drink beer for lunch. Mara wants to know what's wrong, but he tells her it isn't important. Mara thinks it has to do with her and the Lexus. They can return it, even though it makes her look better as a realtor.

Shane says the argument had nothing to do with her: "Sometimes brothers fight." "So why is he always making you the little brother?" Mara asks, sitting next to him. Shane tells her it's not like that, even though it totally is.

Back at the Barn, Dutch has questions for Vic. Isn't he on a case involving stolen MP5s? The same gun was used in a murder Dutch is investigating. The victims were Hispanic. Vic asks which neighborhood and then tells Dutch it's Byz Lat territory.

Vic asks if Tavon has found out who sells crack to Garza. All Tavon knows is it's a guy who drives a blue Volvo 740.

Not the sportiest ride for a drug dealer.
(Photo credit)

According to Tavon, the owner made up for the car's lack of style by putting $2,000 rims on it. Only 6 of these Volvos are registered in Farmington. Vic gets a good chuckle at the name of one of the owners: Alonzo Wang. He's apparently also Garza's heroin connection. Vic tells Tavon to run down an address.

Corinne stops by for a visit, so Vic immediately assumes something is wrong. Corinne is resuming her career as a nurse and just got her new work schedule. She wants to look it over with him. Vic doesn't have time. Corinne gives him a copy. If he has questions, he can call her at the hospital or home.

Vic wants to know which hospital she'll be working for. Corinne managed to get her old job back: ER at Mission Cross. Vic doesn't like that a bit: "It's becoming a war zone down there." The high turnover rate was how a friend was able to get Corinne the job. Vic unfolds her schedule. Corinne will be working nights twice a week. Did she get a nanny for those nights?

"I thought you would take the kids," says Corinne. Vic can't because he works those nights too. Corinne basically accuses him of lying about wanting to spend more time with the kids. "I spent 11 years working around your schedule, Vic. Divorce means occasionally working around mine." Before things get any uglier, Edgar-veda appears and offers a cheery greeting. Corinne suddenly has to go. Vic promises he'll work something out with his own schedule.

"Getting back together?" the captain grins. Vic tells him no. Also, he needs a warrant. He got a tip that could put the Byz Lats' drug supplier out of business. It's a time-sensitive thing. How long will it take to process the paperwork? That depends on how solid the evidence is. Vic thinks this tip could also solve Dutch's gang-related shooting. The captain repeats for him to go through proper channels.

Claudette talks to the survivor of the drive-by, Esteban. His dead friends had numerous convictions ranging from assault to DUI. This kid, however, graduated cum laude and was a National Merit Scholar. What was he doing with two losers?

"Raymond wasn't a loser. He was my friend," says Esteban. Raymond protected him in high school when other kids were beating him up and stealing from him. "A guardian angel with a rap sheet 6 pages long?" asks Claudette doubtfully.

It's really not that out there. In high school, I was an honor student with a few less-than-savory friends. My sophomore year, I was being sexually harassed by a group of boys. They even made some threats and I was scared out of my head. Enter my friend's older brother Rocky, a little dude with a temper. He was out of school more than he was in, mostly for fighting. When he did show up at school, Rocky would meet me in the front hall every morning and walk me to my classes. This went on for months until the guys decided it would be smarter to leave me alone.

Raymond's girlfriend is already wearing a T-shirt with her beloved's picture on it. She even has a stack of them ready for sale. Claudette and Dutch know she's made threats against Garza. Raymond's friend Calva was a Torruco, but started out a Byz Lat. Did Garza consider him a traitor? Yes, and Raymond was with Calva that night to warn him, try to convince him to rejoin the Byz Lats.

In the stakeout car, Ronnie wonders what's taking Tavon so long. Vic says, "He'll get here when he gets here." "If we hadn't got him involved in this, we'd just go in there and pop this asshole," Lem says grumpily. Did someone forget to feed him? He's usually not the one with an itchy trigger finger. Vic reminds them that he's trying to put Garza away, so they can't go rogue. Lem wants to know why the Great and Powerful Edgar-veda can't "cut the bullshit and get us a warrant while I'm still in my 30s."

Alonzo steps out on his front porch for approximately half a second before going back inside. Just then, Tavon arrives with the warrant. He's sorry he's late, but the judge was in Pilates class. Only in L.A. When Alonzo goes outside again, the Strike Team is waiting. He asks, "Can I help you?" "Not only can you, you're going to," says Vic.

They herd him into the living room and finish clearing the house. The basement door is padlocked, so Lem kicks it in. We hear him cheering from downstairs. He and Tavon found Alonzo's stash, along with a small home lab. Vic gives Alonzo the warrant: "Hope you got somethin' for a headache 'cause I'm it." "It's a regular Rite Aid," Lem puts in.

Alonzo plans to have his lawyer look over the warrant "and if there's even an apostrophe missing," the charges will vanish. Vic says he's welcome to roll those dice. He wants Alonzo to call Garza and say he's gotten new shipments of cocaine and heroin.

Tavon and Alonzo go to a park to wait for Garza. In the car, Lem asks how long Vic plans on benching Shane. "He'll come back when he's ready," Vic says. He radios Tavon to tell him Alonzo needs to stop looking nervous. Garza shows up with the cash. Lem recognizes the duffel as theirs. Upon closer inspection, the guy isn't Garza at all but his lieutenant Diagur. Lem wonders how they're supposed to nail Garza for the drugs now. "Tavon, give him the drugs. Tell him you'll get the money from him later," Vic instructs.

Ronnie doesn't understand why they're letting Diagur go. Vic explains that they can take their money back later without Tavon around. Tavon makes up a story that the police are watching his house, so he can't take the cash right now. Diagur walks away with the backpack full of drugs and the Duffel O' Cash. Tavon radios in, asking why they're letting him go. Vic drives off without him.

"I told you going to the chief wouldn't help," Edgar-veda gloats at Claudette. He starts giving a speech about cleaning up Farmington. "Spare me, I'm not one of your voters," she says. She also points out he could've rid Gotham of scum in the 2 years he's been captain.

Edgar-veda needs someone to oversee the practical pieces of the plan he stole from Claudette. She could have command of the Strike Team and the new Decoy Squad. Think of it as being promoted. "I had a promotion," she says icily.

Lem, Vic, and Ronnie pull over Diagur. They tell him to pop the trunk. Vic asks where Garza is.

Garza, it turns out, is being interrogated by Dutch. The detective exposits that Garza is only 27 and already head of one of the biggest gangs in Farmington: "You've taught yourself what guys spend years in business school trying to learn--leading men and maximizing profits." Garza snarks that he'll let Dutch know if the Byz Lats start a stock option.

Dutch asks where Garza was at midnight the night before. Garza had a VIP table at Candi's Lounge. He offers to get Dutch in sometime. Is that all Dutch needs? Our CEO is late for an appointment. Dutch is sure the "wheels of industry" will be fine without him.

Ronnie guards the door of a motel room. Inside are Vic, Lem, and Diagur. Lem is relaxing on the bed watching TV. Vic asks if Diagur wants to take the fall for the drugs; that's what'll happen if he won't tell them where the guns are. Diagur claims he doesn't know about drugs or guns. "Come on, man, where do we find Garza?" asks Lem, sounding somewhere between tired and irritated. Diagur doesn't know that either.

Vic doesn't have anything personal against Diagur, but right now the guy's messing up his plan to take down Garza. Diagur wants to know why they're not talking in a police station. "I take you in, you're in the system. I lose control of the situation," says Vic. That's probably code for 'I'm also planning to unleash my wrath (or Lem's) at some point.'

Vic doesn't want Diagur's future decided by some lawyer who doesn't know how valuable he can be. "I'll never be valuable to you," Diagur tells him. Vic thinks Diagur just needs convincing.

In the observation room, Claudette shows Esteban a video line-up. "I told you I didn't see anyone," he says quietly. Dutch says seeing the guy's face can make things come back to you. He tells Esteban about a group of guys who bullied him in middle school; they'd spray-paint his locker or steal his homework and charge him to get it back. This was in the Midwest. He can't imagine the bullying dished out in the inner city of Los Angeles. Esteban must be scared.

"No one in this line-up can see you, son," Claudette reassures him. Dutch knows Esteban wants to do the right thing for his protector Raymond. Esteban repeats that he didn't see or hear anything. The detectives step out. Claudette is sure Esteban saw Garza shoot his friends. She sighs. A kid who was on his way out of Farmington wound up covered with blood in the backseat of a car with two gangbangers.

Julien and Tommy chase someone down the sidewalk to the sound of a blaring car alarm. Their suspect pushes a woman to the ground, then runs into a church. Folding chairs are scattered on the floor. Judging by the white-draped arch and small number of congregants, Julien's just interrupted a wedding rehearsal. In the course of subduing the guy, Julien has to use his nightstick. Tommy cuffs the guy. As they leave, Julien apologizes to the minister.

There's a knock on the motel room door. Lem opens it so Kern can come in. Diagur asks, now handcuffed to the hanging TV stand, "What the hell's he doing here?" Vic introduces to Kern to the new leader of the Byz Lats. "Garza's mi jefe," says Diagur.

Vic shuts off the TV and cuts Diagur loose. He's grooming Diagur to take over. Vic brought Kern here so the gang leaders could have a war council. He tosses a map of Los Angeles on the bed. Diagur doesn't want a truce with Kern and calls him a spook. Reached way back into the archives for that insult. In response, Kern calls Diagur "taco boy."

"There's no need to go racial here," says Vic, stepping between them, "No one wants to settle this thing in a locked steel container with our bare hands." He and Ronnie will come back in a few hours. Lem is staying behind as mediator, which actually isn't a bad job for him.

When Vic goes back to the clubhouse, Shane is waiting. Vic is glad to see his best friend. Shane requests that the boss keep out of his personal life. Tavon comes in, asking why they basically let Diagur off scot-free. Vic explains that Diagur agreed to cooperate and help them retrieve the stolen guns from Garza. Tavon isn't happy he had to hitch a ride back to the Barn with their snitch.

Dutch finds Claudette making calculations at her desk. She's trying to figure out how much money she has between her savings account and partial pension. "You're too young to quit," Dutch tells her. Flattery will get you nowhere, son. She presents the Danny Glover argument:

(Photo credit)

Dutch is sure that Edgar-veda's job will be hers; she just has to wait a few months. Claudette wishes she had his faith. "You're the best cop I've ever worked with," says Dutch, "Nobody else ever came close to keeping up with me." You just had to make it about you again, huh?

Vic passes by and Dutch asks if he has a profile on Garza from the Byz Lats. Vic's been looking for him all day. "I just cut him loose," Dutch informs Vic. He didn't want to, but Esteban wouldn't ID Garza. Dutch knows Garza is guilty. He just has to find away to poke a hole in Garza's alibi that he was at Candi's Lounge. "I may have heard of that place," says Shane. Of course you have. Claudette calls to Dutch that the crime scene reconstruction team is waiting for them.

This could solve the Strike Team's problem. If Garza can be proven guilty of murder, they won't have to strengthen the drug case with their own money. Time for a trip to Candi's.

The reconstruction team has discovered the bullets were fired from a rooftop. Some of the bullets hit the backseat, where Esteban was supposedly sitting. They've used a shitload of string to illustrate the trajectories. Dutch tells the CSI to take down the "art project." The kid gripes about how he just spent hours putting it up.

Unfortunately for Vic and Shane, Garza really was doing body shots off a stripper with the creative stage name of Poundcake. Edgar-veda asks if anything came of the warrant Vic got on Garza's supplier. That's a big fat nope according to Vic the lying liar who lies. They're trying to connect Garza to the gang shootings, but it doesn't look like he actually pulled the trigger.

Across the room, Claudette is talking to Esteban. Dutch points him out as the shooter. He takes the kid upstairs, making up some story about how he has to fill out a witness statement form. Dutch talked to the registrar at UC-Santa Barbara and found out Esteban didn't re-enroll for this semester. Esteban guesses he was homesick. Has Esteban applied for any jobs or colleges here in L.A.? No, not yet.

Esteban asks if this will take much longer. Dutch says the kid is free to walk around; he knows these rooms make people claustrophobic. Claudette, Vic, and Shane watch on the observation room TV. Dutch knows Esteban didn't see anything, but is the kid sure he didn't hear anything? Esteban couldn't hear anything over the music. "So how'd you hear the shots?" Dutch asks. Esteban clearly wasn't expecting that question.

Dutch tells Esteban about the bullet holes in the roof, right near where the kid was sitting. He had to have hit the floorboards pretty quick or he'd be dead. "Why would I kill my best friend?" Esteban challenges. From the rooftop, Esteban wouldn't have been able to see the passenger seat. Dutch thinks he only meant to kill Calva.

Did Esteban come back home to make extra money by joining the Byz Lats? Esteban says Raymond wouldn't let him. "Which is why you went behind his back, asked Garza to jump you in. Taking out Calva was your initiation," Dutch goes on. After the shooting, Esteban realized he killed Raymond too. And Raymond was there to give Calva a chance to rejoin the Byz Lats, trying to prevent more violence. Dutch thinks Raymond was a good guy, you know, for a gangbanger.

Esteban sits down and sobs, "I didn't mean to do it." Dutch asks who gave him the gun. No surprise, it was Garza. Claudette knows they'll need corroboration; one gangbanger's word against another doesn't mean much. Vic thinks he can help her with that.

When Shane and Vic go back to the motel, Ronnie says, "Don't ask." Inside, Lem is cranky: "Middle East'll be a love-in before these idiots sort their shit out!" Neither Kern nor Diagur feel like the other has anything to offer. Vic herds Diagur into the tiny bathroom. The gangbanger really ought to be grateful for the "battlefield promotion" Vic was able to arrange. Garza's looking at jail time.

Diagur is confident nothing will stick. "How smart was it sending a 19-year-old bookworm to do the hit?" asks Vic. He has Garza's drugs, cash, and second in command. Nobody's gonna know that Diagur took over thanks to a shady backroom deal. Or bathroom deal in this case. All Vic needs is proof Garza ordered the hit. The only thing Diagur knows is that Garza gave Esteban a gun, the address, and Mapquest directions.

Danny comes to the Barn and she's not a happy camper. Her appeal was at 11:00 A.M. Edgar-veda was supposed to show up, but didn't. She wants to know why. Because he's a duplicitous bastard? The captain promises the vote will be 2-to-1 in Danny's favor; he made some calls earlier. She'll get the official confirmation tomorrow. Danny is visibly relieved.

Danny goes to the parking lot to give Julien the good news. Tommy asks crudely, "What desk didja hafta bend over to make that happen?" "It sure as hell wasn't yours," she retorts.

Kern finally emerges from the motel room. Vic warns that the One-Niners better make good on their truce. Kern points out that Vic still doesn't have the guns. Maybe not, but he has a good idea. Later, Diagur comes out of a house and turns his ballcap backwards. That's the signal that Garza is there.

Shane and Vic have two special guests in the back of the stakeout car: Claudette and Dutch. According to Vic, gangbangers giving up their buddies is what separates them from the cops. "Loyalty, that most disposable of virtues," Dutch comments. Everyone gets out of the car. Shockingly, Garza's front door is unlocked. Less surprising is the drug lab in his kitchen or basement.
I can't really tell which.

Shane chases one of the cooks into the backyard. Vic gives Garza a swift boot to the balls and asks where the guns are. "We got him," Shane announces to Claudette and Dutch.

Edgar-veda finds Tommy and Julien in the breakroom. He tells them the church pastor filed an excessive force complaint. Tommy immediately goes on the defensive: "The guy was tweaking. He wouldn't go down. Took 4 of us just to get him in the cage." The captain sends Tommy out of the room. He tells Julien that the pastor is a friend of his, so the complaint will most likely go away. Edgar-veda asks for Julien's perception of the situation. Julien believes they used no more force than necessary.

Claudette surveys Garza's drug lab: "Even if we don't get him on the homicides, this should put him away for a couple of decades." Dutch still wants to nail him for murder-for-hire. Vic suggests Dutch take Garza's computer.

Back at the Barn, Dutch talks to Garza in the cage about what they found on the laptop: "The porn sites were illuminating." And, oh, by the way, they also found the Mapquest directions that sent Esteban to the hit. If Garza turns in the other 35 stolen guns, the D.A. will take the death penalty off the table. Garza slaps his arm and invites, "Put the needle right here." He wants to make a phone call.

Back at the motel, Vic watches as Diagur talks to Garza on the phone. Lem looks like he's about to take a nap. Diagur asks where the guns are so the Byz Lats can protect themselves from the One-Niners and Torrucos. He writes something down on the motel notepad.

Outside, Vic tells Lem to get a truck and pick up the guns. He instructs him to hold a few back. Lem wants to know how they're supposed to explain all the guns to the captain. "We can't, so we won't," says Vic. He tosses the Duffel O' Cash to Shane and tells him to put it in the storage unit. There's only $80,000 left, "Byz Lats overhead, I guess."

Shane thinks everything worked out well, all things considered. Vic says it's more like they got lucky. "So we cool?" asks Shane. Vic says yes. Awww, the bromance is back.

Edgar-veda tells Claudette the Decoy Squad will be starting next week. Of course, he got them to come to Farmington via some more shady political favors. Claudette thinks they need high-profile busts; the Decoy Squad can lure the bad guys out and the Strike Team will make the arrests. It's a very public way to change perception and reality. Claudette says she'll do anything to help.

Mara gets out of her car and tells Vic that Shane isn't home. Vic knows that. He wanted to apologize to her for waking them up last night. Vic thinks he and Mara got off on the wrong foot. They should get to know each other better because she's becoming a big part of his best friend's life. She's family. Mara says, "Never been big on family. Or cops, really." Then why the hell are you dating one?

Vic just wants everybody to get along. Mara's seen that kind of smile before on "guys who thought a wink and a $3 gin and tonic was all that it would take to get me into bed with them." Was she a bartender or did she just hang out in them a lot? Vic asks what he did to piss her off. "I don't like the way you treat Shane," Mara answers. Vic says, "You don't understand the world that Shane and I live in."

Mara gives him the old "my guy works for you, but he comes home to me" speech. Vic points out that she's only known Shane for 2 months. Mara thinks Vic is just jealous because he's divorced. Is he scared that Shane is all he has left? Mara doesn't need his bullshit. She tells Vic not to come over unless Shane is home.

Dutch has talked to the Treasury Department, but none of the marked bills have appeared in circulation yet. "I wouldn't sweat it. No one steals money to sit on it their whole lives," says Claudette. She's sorry that Esteban turned out to be a killer; he and Dutch had a connection. "Just when I thought he was a victim," says Dutch. Now the kid is "just another loser." You guys do know he can hear you from the cage, right?

Danny stops by Julien's house, where he's bringing in groceries. She thinks there's a good chance they could be partners again if they both talk to Edgar-veda. There's a problem with that, though. Danny's a training officer and Julien's not a rookie anymore. Danny says she's been bumped down a rank. Julien says, "Maybe. But I like the way things are for now." You can tell Danny's trying not to show she's hurt.

Claudette tells Vic she needs to meet with the Strike Team next Tuesday afternoon. The Decoy Squad from Wilshire is being brought in to work with them. She'll be in charge of both teams. Vic, of course, isn't thrilled about that. But he doesn't get vocal.

On the way out, he runs into the captain. Vic thinks the idea of the Decoy Squad is an interesting experiment. "It's more than an experiment, Vic. It's your assignment for the forseeable future," says Edgar-veda, "Maybe working under Claudette will actually produce results." "I've been producing results," Vic argues.

Edgar-veda reminds him about the drug warrant that blew up in his face. Dutch and Claudette also beat him to a gang bust. Dozens of stolen military weapons are still on the streets. Well. everyone has an off day.

It's sunset. Pelicans fly past. The Strike Team is out on Vic's boat with some cold beer, presumably doing a little fishing. Ronnie zips up a duffel full of guns and tosses it into the ocean. Shane wants to throw the next one. "Bon voyage," Vic says with a smile. End of episode.

"Playing Tight" to the Vest (Episode 3.1)

Last season: Drug dealer/murderer/rapist Armadillo was stabbed to death in the cage. This was blamed on Danny doing a bad search, so she was fired. Two homophobic uniforms, Carlson and Jackson, put up slanderous flyers about Julien. They were both fired and got revenge by going to Julien's house and giving him a "blanket party." 

Chief Bankston gave Edgar-veda the ultimatum to resign as captain if he lost the city council primary. Claudette is waiting in the wings for his spot. Edgar-veda won the primary and will be captain until the general election; if he loses that race, he'll still be resigning from the force.

Vic and the Strike Team planned to rip off the Armenian mob's so-called money train. During the heist, the Armenians turned on each other, leaving two dead. But the Strike Team still got away with what is supposed to be their big, final retirement score.

We jump right to a shirtless man beating on a suspected Peeping Tom's door with an aluminum baseball bat, screaming, "That prick saw my mom naked!" This is quickly broken up by Julien and his new male partner. The Peeping Tom argues that the woman shouldn't have left her blinds up, adding, "She's nothing to look at." A kid gets out of the house and runs past Julien. "Am I working alone here?" gripes Julien's new partner.

In an unmarked car, the Strike Team is listening to "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" of all things. I guess I shouldn't be surprised after Lemming's rendition of "Rich Girl" last season. They're staking out a corner drug dealer who looks all of 12 years old. Vic thinks any bust is a good bust. "And one step closer to cashing in on a small fortune," Lem pipes up from the backseat. Filling the arrest quotas will keep their noses clean. "Or in your case, brown," says Shane. Lem playfully swipes at him over the seat. Vic chuckles that at least they're keeping him entertained.

At the Barn, it looks like Claudette is packing up her desk. Edgar-veda has a case for Dutch and Claudette. Dutch gripes that he already has 2 open cases. Edgar-veda shrugs that they're shortstaffed. Claudette has some budgetary ideas about it. The captain tells her to focus on her detective duties; she still has 2 days until she takes command. He adds that the case is a special circumstances double homicide.

What special circumstances, you may ask? Two Armenian immigrants were found dead with their feet cut off, lying on the bottom of an empty swimming pool. (Not the same one Vic is using to store money). Both have done prison time. Dutch thinks their feet were amputated postmortem: "One foot's a trophy; four is just plain weird." Judging by the lack of blood spatter, they were killed somewhere else. A woman is watching them through a chain link fence.

Dutch asks who Claudette will assign as his new partner. He suggests Detective Ruiz from Hollywood. "Uh, Gabrielle's quite a looker," says Claudette. Dutch innocently asks, "Is she?"

Lemming chuckles in the backseat as Vic makes faces in the rearview mirror. Shane writes down the license plate of one of the dealer's customers. The registration comes back to R. Mark Lindman, M.D., but the people in the car look like kids. The drug dealers run for their car as the Strike Team drives up. Shane puts his hand out the window, demanding the doctor's kid's keys.

The drug dealers peel away from the curb. "Get the kid!" Vic calls to Tavon. Tavon badges the doctor's kid. The female passenger starts crying.

Vic radios in their pursuit. "We're losing him," Shane says unnecessarily. Overhead, there's the whirr of helicopter blades. The dealers aren't going anywhere. "Let some other unit wreck their car," says Vic. The chopper pilot keeps Vic updated over the radio. It doesn't take long for the suspects to cause a multi-car pileup. When the Strike Team gets there, a van has overturned.

Vic chases one of their suspects on foot. Over the fence and through the alleys he and Shane go. Their suspect runs through someone's open back door. Vic tackles the kid in the middle of an unsuspecting couple's dining room. They watch with mild interest from the living room as Vic grapples him. The dealer manages to bloody Vic's nose. The wife helpfully brings him a towel.

Lem speaks Spanish to the driver of the overturned van as he yanks the windshield off. Whatever cargo the guy's carrying is on fire. Lem calls over his shoulder for a knife to cut the seatbelt. I can tell you from being a volunteer firefighter that won't work. Only thing that will is a seatbelt cutter. Suddenly, gunshots start pinging off the cars. Everyone starts screaming and ducking for cover.

Lem steps through the hole where the van's windshield used to be. Shane wonders where the gunfire is coming from. Vic doesn't know. Shane guesses it could be the van. "Lem, get outta there!" Vic bellows. Lem isn't budging; he's almost gotten the driver to safety. Vic realizes there's no one actually shooting at them. Lem has successfully rescued the driver.

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The gunfire stops. When Shane and Vic approach the van, they figure out what's going on. The driver was hauling guns and ammo; the heat from the fire made the bullets start exploding. Watched a lot of MythBusters growing up and I can't recall if they ever touched on that particular thing.

CHAOS (Captain Has Arrived On Scene). The EMTs report the van's driver has a few burns and mild shock. "He's in for a bigger one," says Vic. He explains to Edgar-veda about the car chase leading to the ammo-filled van flipping over and catching fire. "One hell of a fireworks show," Shane says. Edgar-veda is not pleased that Vic's pursuit caused an accident. Vic swears they followed all the regulations in the book. The captain wants a report ASAP so his ducks are in a row downtown. "Quack, quack," Vic snarks. No pat on the back for Lemming?

Vic tries to pass off a case to Dutch, but Dutch says he's too busy with a double homicide. He asks if Vic knows about any in-fighting with the local Armenian mob families. He shows Vic crime scene pictures of the two guys with missing feet. The harbor patrol found two other victims last week. Vic guesses it was "old-country retribution." He'll show the pictures to the Strike Team.

Lem is sure those guys were killed by someone looking for the money train cash. "What happens when they run out of feet and realize it was an outside job?" Ronnie asks worriedly. Vic says only 4 people know what happened to the money train and they're all sitting at the same table. They just have to keep their heads and go about business as usual.

Tavon comes into the clubhouse. He ran Jesse the van driver's name, but the guy doesn't have a criminal record; he's an out-of-work cement mixer. Vic goes upstairs, where Jesse has a bandage on his head from being grazed by a stray round. "It is not against the law to have bullets," says Jesse. That's true, unless he was driving them across state lines. Vic knows Jesse took a Greyhound to Arizona to pick up a van filled with a half-ton of 9 mm bullets. Jesse's son Diagur told him it wasn't illegal.

Vic knows Diagur is in a local gang called the Byz Lats. Fellow Kurt Sutter fans will recognize that gang from Sons of Anarchy. Vic asks if Diagur was helping out his unemployed dad. Jesse insists Diagur wasn't involved.

Claudette and Dutch are baffled by the dead Armenians. Their apartments didn't reveal signs of a struggle and the victims' cars were still in their respective parking spaces. The killer must've been someone they trusted. Dutch speculates it could be Margos Dezirian, an Armenian mobster with a terrifying foot fetish who killed someone in their cage and then escaped the paddy wagon. "It's not the only lead we're chasing," says Claudette and she's probably lying.

If Dutch ends up being right about Margos, he wants to call the feds. He's wanted by them, LAPD, and Interpol. Edgar-veda agrees to allow it. Dutch adds that Danny has her final appeal with the police commission the next day; a good word from a future city councilman could go a long way. All the captain says is, "I'm aware of the situation."

Edgar-veda goes upstairs to his office. Vic is there and wants one last favor. He caught a Byz Lat's dad running ammo, but he can't find a free detective to investigate. And where there's ammo, there's guns. Edgar-veda tells him actual murders and armed robberies are the priority. Why doesn't Vic look into it himself? Vic can't unless the chief lowers his arrest quota. Edgar-veda refuses to get into the middle of this. He'll assign a detective when someone is free. And does Vic have the accident report?

Downstairs, Vic asks Lem if he finished said accident report. Ronnie thought he was supposed to write it. When they walk into the clubhouse, Shane is kissing his new girlfriend Mara on the couch. "We in your way?" asks Vic. Mara explains they were just looking at some car listings. She's getting her realtor's license next week and needs to upgrade her car so she'll look better at showings. Shane's helping her with the down payment. Vic is all "really now?"

Mara reminds Shane to meet her at a dealership after work and gives him a goodbye kiss. Vic sends Tavon with Lem and Ronnie to keep arresting drug dealers. To Shane, he says, "You and me are ditching school today."

Dutch got Margos' file from Interpol. He's suspected of killing 3 coca farmers in Chile; the victims' feet were removed. Dutch wants to run Margos' aliases against international flight manifests. Lem and Shane's Armenian friend Chorekian is waiting for the detectives in the lobby. He knows who killed the other Armenians because the same person was waiting at his house to kill him. Chorekian has brought along his mother, his sister, and his sister's several children. If the police protect his family, he'll tell them everything he knows.

Chorekian is sitting at Dutch's desk when Lem passes by. He follows Lem to the vending machine. Don't they know each other? Lem doesn't think so. "You and your friend Cletus," Chorekian says, "The accident that day. The guys paid up. I never had to call."

Lem is dismissive as he walks away with his bag of chips. Dutch has overheard and asks, "Cletus?" "I did not know you work for the police," Chorekian babbles on. Lem is uncharacteristically rude: "That was off-duty. I'm on-duty now. I gotta get back to work."

At a gas pump behind the Barn, Shane is ignoring the NO SMOKING sign. Vic questions his best friend's judgment: "You've known this girl for 2 months and you're buying her a new car?" Shane corrects him; it's used and all he's doing is making the down payment. Mara will make the monthly payments after she sells her first house. Vic wants to know what happened to keeping a low profile. Shane argues he's using his own money.

Vic reminds Shane how buying his girlfriend a new Lexus on a cop's salary looks. "It's preowned!" Shane repeats. It's also nothing new for Shane to be in a ton of debt. Vic tells him not to buy the car.

Lem comes out and tells his boss they have a problem. Dutch is interviewing Chorekian, who saw him and Shane the day of the heist. Lem doesn't know why Dutch wants to talk to him, but Chorekian recognized our burly friend. To be fair, anybody would. That haircut is pretty distinctive.

"And he remembered your name, Cletus," Lem adds. Vic is pissed; Cletus Van Damme also happens to be the alias Shane used to rent the storage unit where the Strike Team hid their retirement fund. Shane shrugs, "Well, it makes Lem laugh." Lemming sure isn't laughing now.

Tavon comes out of the Barn, asking if Lem is riding with him and Ronnie today. Vic reminds Lem of the severity of the situation. They were following Chorekian hours before ripping off the money train. If Dutch starts connecting the dots, they're all well and truly fucked. Vic announces they're moving the money tonight and renting a storage unit under a different alias.

Might I suggest Boyd Crowder?
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In the observation room, Chorekian sees Margos on the TV monitor. "That is not the man doing the killing," he says firmly. Dutch presses. Is he sure? Chorekian's heard of Margos, but the guy Dutch should be looking for is Lyor Slavok. He's not sure who gives Lyor his marching orders. "It's all because of the damn money train," says Chorekian.

Edgar-veda has heard rumors about a money train and can't believe someone ripped it off. "The Armenians are gonna keep dropping bodies until they find out who," says Claudette. He shows her the latest crime statistics: numbers are up by double digits in all areas. Claudette thinks the best thing he can do on city council is find the money to get the Barn fully staffed again.

The captain asks for her ideas about adding people. Claudette suggests bringing in the Decoy Squad from Wilshire. The captain is sure the Decoy Squad's commanding officer won't let them go; they're highly successful. Claudette is thinking of appealing to the chief. Edgar-veda says that'll make her look naive.

Shane and Vic find Diagur at an arcade. The kid's easily identifiable by the tattoo of his name across his shoulder blades, sticking out of his wifebeater. Vic knows his dad crashed a van loaded with live ammo. He's fine, by the way, if the kid even cares. The only gun Shane finds on a patron isn't big enough to hold 9 mm. Vic asks if they're expecting a new shipment. Of course, everyone denies it.

Vic gives a warning: If they arm themselves with anything bigger, the Byz Lats will become his personal pinata. In case anyone doesn't get the metaphor, Shane adds, "Which means we shove candy up your ass and beat ya with a bat."

Van Bro is still selling art on the sidewalk. It looks like the Strike Team made good on their promise of a sporty new wheelchair. His latest paintings are an entirely new genre: religious erotica.

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I know there are prostitutes in the Bible, the most famous being Mary Magdalene, but seriously? Anyway, Van Bro has no clue who's selling guns to Byz Lats, but he does know who's buying them.

But nope, it's our old pal Kern Little. The rapper is chilling in what looks like a strip club. Must be off-hours because Kern and his posse are the only people in the place other than the women. Vic thought Kern was broke. How'd he open this place? Kern claims he had investors. Vic guesses they're One-Niners. He wants to know what a gangsta rapper is doing in the gun-running business. Besides boosting his street cred?

Vic bets he and Shane could make their monthly narcotics quota just by emptying everyone's pockets. Kern says he's not buying guns because he wants to: "'Cause I got to." The Byz Lats have been arming themselves with fully automatic MP5s. Kern's just making sure his boys have equal firepower. He's not sure if the Byz Lats actually have the MP5s yet. Vic asks, "Who's running this arms race?

Just a wild guess.
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Kern claims it's a "regular army" guy. Vic wants to know when Kern is making his own buy and promises to take care of disarming the Byz Lats. Kern doesn't trust Vic after what happened to their last "business deal." Vic says if he has to find out on his own, he's hauling Kern in. 

Agent Quigley of the U.S. Treasury arrives, looking for Dutch. We learn that Dutch's Christian name is Holland Wagenbach. Something tells me he was bullied a lot in school. Dutch had requested the FBI. Well, Quigley is who he gets. The treasury agent understands there's an Armenain wise guy who wants to talk. "He already has," says Dutch. Quigley wants to talk to the boss.

Upstairs, Quigley sits down with Dutch, Edgar-veda, and Claudette. The Treasury Department has long been concerned about the Armenian mob shipping loads of U.S. currency overseas. 4 months ago, Quigley and other agents conducted a sting operation in San Jose, where an Armenian business owner was being shaken down. They inserted $50,000 worth of marked bills into the protection money. So far, none of the bills have been used. 

Quigley heard about Farmington's investigation into an Armenian mob rip-off. "And 4 related murders," Dutch puts in. Treasury blew the money laundering case, but the marked bills could end up leading Dutch to the killers. 

Speaking of the marked bills, Shane is in the storage unit, practically drooling over the footlocker of money. Vic seems less awed. Someone starts knocking on the unit's door. Shane hastily closes the footlocker and sits on top of it. One hand drifts to the small of his back, where he's hiding a small gun.

Vic rolls up the door. It's just Albert the manager, trying to make sure his customers got their boxes moved in okay. He sees the sheer number of boxes and asks if one of the guys recently moved. Vic explains he just got divorced. Albert asks which of them is Mr. London. As in Jack London the author? That would be Shane. Albert hands over the spare keys Shane requested. He tells them good night.

Vic watches him go. He tells Shane to buy new padlocks. They can't have the manager getting curious. Shane opens the footlocker again and throws some coats on top of the money. Vic gets a call on his cell phone from Lem. He's needed somewhere.

At the crime scene, Vic has a hard time not stepping on the shell casings all over the street. Foreign music is playing in the background. Something is illegibly spray-painted on the sidewalk. The victim is Kern's friend Slap. His feet are intact, so we know who it wasn't. There's a CD case nearby, one of Kern's albums, which is titled Too Big to Be Little. "So much for passing this case off," Vic mumbles.

Kern and company are waiting to pick up their guns. The Strike Team have (poorly) concealed themselves in a nearby alley. Vic wants to know where Kern's connection is. "Guess he got spooked," shrugs the rapper. Vic calls bullshit. He knows Kern is upset about what happened to Slap, but that "still doesn't give you license to bend me over." Kern argues it's not his fault.

Vic pulls his sidearm. Kern's homeboys do the same. "Don't even think about it," warns Lem, armed with his trusty shotgun. Shane, of all people, tells Vic to take it easy. He's sure Kern will call them with the new time and place. Vic will be waiting.

Mara and Shane exit the car dealership's office. She's ripping her boyfriend a new one: "Why did you say you would help me? So embarrassing!" Shane apologizes. He spins a story about how he talked to his friends and they said buying the car could put a huge strain on their relationship, which is still fairly new. Mara gets louder: "I worked my ass off to get this realtor's license! I need to make a living! Would you buy a half-million dollar home from somebody driving a '97 Neon?" "From you? Sure," says Shane. Mara stomps off.

At Mackeys, Cassidy complains that Vic wouldn't let her have ice cream before bedtime. Corinne tells her to go to bed. Matt is sitting at the kitchen table, drawing a picture with his new occupational therapist Owen. When asked what he's drawing, the kid replies, "Daddy and me." They finish listening to a classical music CD. Vic is impressed by the progress Matt has made.

Owen explains his reason for using music: "Matt's learning to use his ears as his primary source of hearing so his other senses don't get overwhelmed." As the daughter of an occupational therapist, that statement made absolutely no sense to me. He reminds Corinne to keep Matt doing his drills, says it was nice to meet Vic, and leaves.

"Told you he was amazing!" Corinne is practically skipping. Owen wants to have two more sessions a week and work with Matt full-time...at the low price of an extra $300 a week. Vic will only have to pay half. He agrees, elated that Matt is talking now. 

Corinne tells Vic she's going back to work; there's a nursing shortage, so the pay is great. She's planning to work 30 hours a week, meaning they'll have to adjust Vic's schedule of visiting the kids. Corinne emphasizes how much she wants to work again.

Edgar-veda visits Danny at her glamorous new job: school security guard. Well, it's supposed to be temporary until her appeal, but her lawyer said not to get her hopes up. Edgar-veda wants to restock the Barn with officers he can trust to be tough but fair, people who aren't afraid to tell him when other people aren't being fair. Danny's not interested in being one of his rats.

The captain claims that's not what he's trying to do. He just doesn't want another good cop to be railroaded the way Danny was. She'd only have to come to him if major lines are crossed. "By Vic?" she asks. Edgar-veda says, "By anyone." If Danny wants her old job back, she has until the end of the school day to think about it. 

Vic talks to Julien. He's heard he's having self-confidence problems on the street in addition to the disrespect Julien gets in the Barn. People are wondering what Julien plans to do about the blanket party someone gave him. Julien says the detectives on the case aren't really getting anywhere. "Everybody here knows who did it and they're watching you," says Vic.

A warrant for the Armenian double murder should be issued within the hour. Vic wants to know if Claudette and Dutch need help, but both ignore him. "Damn, I was gonna ask her to the prom," Vic says, trying to lighten the mood. Dutch tells him, "The mob's pissed off about a shitload of stolen money that was ticketed for the homeland. Now they're whacking all the players, trying to find it." Chorekian was scared he'd be next and is now in witness protection.

This may help Dutch clear two of his unsolved murder cases. The night the money was stolen, Armenian mob soldiers were killed. The robbers were described as 3 or 4 guys in ski masks.

Vic calls an emergency powwow in the clubhouse. Chorekian spilled his guts to Dutch about the Armenians who died the night of the robbery. Lem isn't worried; the Strike Team actually wasn't responsible for that. Ronnie asks why Chorekian would say that. Vic's guess is Chorekian knew those two guys were stealing. He admitted to his part in the money laundering but not the rest. If the robbery gets traced, guess who's on the hook for the double murder? 

Vic passes out the keys to the new storage unit. They should all wait about 6-9 months before giving any of the cash to the real estate guy. Shane and Ronnie have just started to bitch about this when Tavon comes in. "Didn't mean to interrupt your secret Klan meeting," he says. Shane sasses, "Left our hoods at the dry cleaners."

Tavon wants to know why they all stop talking whenever he walks in. "Maybe because we're all captivated by your winning smile," says Shane. Tavon fires back, "Or blinded by yours." 

Vic spins a story that they were just talking about the Byz Lat situation. The Barn doesn't have enough manpower to take them down and Kern isn't playing nice. They're gonna tap the rapper's phone, even though they don't have a warrant. If Tavon has a problem with that, he should speak now or forever hold his peace.

Tavon found out that 12 cases of MP5s were recently stolen from Fort Irwin, a still-functioning training base in San Bernadino County. A total of 72 guns are on the street. Tavon doesn't want another body to pick up. Vic is satisfied with this answer. He sends Ronnie off to set up the phone tap. 

Tavon and Ronnie plant the wiretap together, disguised as telephone linemen. "Hey, look, it's the Village People," Shane jokes in the stakeout car. The first conversation they pick up is a woman demanding to know why Kern hired "light-skinned skanks with nice bodies" to work in his club. "Sounds like Kern's not too big to be a little whipped," Shane observes. Vic says lightly, "Next thing you know, he'll be buying her a new car." He's leaving now, supposedly to pick up Cassidy from school. 

Shane asks how long he and Lem have to sit out here in the car. "'Til the call comes in," Vic replies. He unnecessarily adds that the gun conversation will probably be in code. Shane is about to be in the doghouse again; he promised Mara a lunch date. I hope somebody brought plenty of snacks for Lem.

Claudette is executing the Armenian search warrant and has found 4 different guns so far. Dutch found an invoice: an overnight package shipped to Greece this morning. The name on the receipt, Marcus Dreliozis, sounds like a Greek alias for Margos Dezirian. There's an interesting note about the package: "contains dry ice." Dutch bets it's the missing feet. How perfectly gruesome.

Lem is eating a burrito in the front seat, eavesdropping on Shane's apology call to Mara. Shane hangs up and leans back in the seat, looking depressed. Lem tries to cheer him up: "Dude, we're rich. At least we're gonna be." They hear Kern's conversation with a guy named Lex: "Guns are ready. Get all the cash yet?" Kern confirms it. Lex will be at Kern's place in half an hour.

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"I think I just broke the code," says a wide-eyed Shane. 

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By the time Vic gets back, Tavon has joined them and is eating a cheeseburger. The gun runner just went into Kern's place. Lem saw 6 crates and 4 Army guys. Vic decides they need backup. Ronnie is all "wait a second, we're kinda here illegally." Vic starts to radio in, but Shane grabs his arm. He suggests they just keep a low profile. Vic managed to get through to dispatch, because a woman's voice crackles out of the speaker, asking for their location.

Vic asks if the guys really want to try going mano y mano against 36 loaded MP5s. Nobody seems to like the sound of those odds. Vic tells the dispatcher where they are.

Lyor the Armenian mobster and his lawyer keep conversing in their native tongue, making it impossible for Claudette and Dutch to know what's going on. The gist of it is the mobster wasn't involved in the murders. Dutch asks what the guy mailed to Athens earlier today. The lawyer translates his client's answer as "books." "In dry ice?" Dutch asks skeptically. Neither Armenian has an answer for that.

Lyor's name may not be on the receipt, but it was found in his house. Dutch wants to know why he was dumb enough to keep it. "I'm not gonna ask him that," says the lawyer. Claudette asks why the mobster is whispering; they can't understand him anyway. Dutch is sure Margos will be at the pickup address in Greece tomorrow. Too bad it's being rerouted to L.A.

A small army of uniforms shows up to cover Vic and the Strike Team. Even though he's not a rookie anymore, Julien's new partner rudely tells him not to get in anyone's way. They burst into the bar just as Kern hands over the money. One of the gun runners escapes into a back room. Vic asks where it leads. Kern says it's basically a door to nowhere; the only window is barred.

Vic tells the uniforms to arrest everyone and take them outside. The Strike Team helps themselves to 4 of the MP5s. Vic gives the guy in the back room 3 seconds to disarm himself before they open fire. Their suspect complies.

Agent Quigley gives Edgar-veda a list of serial numbers from the marked money. The bills will be flagged if they're spent and put into the bank system. Dutch thinks they should do cursory checks on all busts involving large amounts of cash. He also has bad news. He called the American embassy in Athens, but the Greek authorities won't arrest Margos without the go-ahead from somebody higher on the food chain. Agent Quigley thinks he might be able to help.

Lem is grinning as they lead their suspects out. Vic is absolutely disgusted that the gun runners are stealing from soldiers to supply gangbangers. He roughly shoves the guy against a wall, demanding to know who's selling guns to the Byz Lats. The guy refuses to talk. Vic tells Shane to uncuff him. 

Vic takes out his revolver and puts it in the suspect's hands. Cocking his own gun, he lays out the situation: "The trained soldier grabbed my spare gun and tried to make a run for it." "Oh, guys!" calls Lemming the Lookout. Shane directs an errant female uniform to where they're loading the evidence van. 

Vic repeats his question. The suspect won't answer. Vic raises his gun, telling the guy to run. The suspect (finally) realizes Vic isn't bluffing and spills his guts. He sold the guns to Garza, reigning Byz Lat king. The suspect puts down Vic's revolver. "That's a good little soldier boy," Vic praises.

Edgar-veda wants to hang onto the list of marked bills. He wants to know if Vic has been asking Dutch about the Armenian double murder. Dutch says he asked him a few things since Vic has more experience with organized crime. From now on, the captain doesn't want Vic to know anything. Someone tells Dutch a package came for him.

"We just got a letter
We just got a letter!
Wonder who it's from?"
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When Dutch opens the box, sure enough, it contains severed feet!

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Vic tells Julien not to take Kern to the Barn, claiming Kern and his homies set up the sting. That's why they didn't need a warrant. "What the hell was that?" Kern asks quietly as Vic uncuffs him. Vic thought he'd be more grateful about dodging a felony firearms charge. They can call things even. Kern argues they're not even because nobody on the Strike Team is dead. Uh, dude, the last guy that threatened them got shanked to death in a holding cell.

Kerns adds that they'll just get more guns and pay a visit to the Mexicans. Vic gives his word that their next stop is Byz Lat turf. Everything will be cleared up by tonight. Shane gives his best friend a look: "Thought we were playing it tight." He said the thing!

Shane isn't happy about being put at risk "over guns we had nothing to do with." Vic would do it again if he had to. "Well, I wouldn't," says Shane. Ooh, you sure told him!

Agent Quigley tried to get some back-scratching done, but the Greeks aren't interested in helping. Dutch suggests calling Parguay, Chile, or Belgium; Margos is wanted in those countries too. Quigley says that'll take a few days. That's no good because they already know where Margos will be tomorrow and "it's already tomorrow in Athens." How hard is it to have some local cops pick Margos up? 

Lyor won't tell them where Margos is going after Greece. "Even in prison, you need feet," Claudette puts in sagely. Quigley's sorry, but there's nothing else he can do. Claudette tries to talk to Assistant Chief Phillips, but he fobs her off to Edgar-veda. "He's not stepping down yet, is he?" she asks. Assistant Chief Phillips won't say anything more.

"I'm supposed to be captain in two days!" Claudette rages in the office. Edgar-veda has decided to stay until he takes care of a few things; it's a volatile time at the understaffed Barn. She asks if he's bringing in the Decoy Squad. When he says yes, Claudette accuses him of stealing her ideas. Ever the politician, Edgar-veda says, "I'm implementing them." Claudette doesn't buy that for a second.

They argue the semantics of that for a bit. The captain still foolishly believes he's making a difference. "You're the reason for half the problems in the first place," Claudette points out. He advises her to keep her opinions to herself. Claudette brandishes her reading glasses at him, saying, "I will not let you do this to me." Edgar-veda tries flattery. There's a big picture here that he knows Claudette is smart enough to see. Besides, Chief Bankston won't help her.

Vic helps Van Bro put some paintings in his wheelchair basket. He asks where he can find Garza. Van Bro thought Garza retired. "Maybe his pension ran out," Vic suggests. He needs Van Bro to tell Garza he needs a buyer for some guns who's willing to pay double the asking price. Van Bro thinks that could take a couple days. Vic gives him 2 hours.

When Vic gets back to the Barn, he sees Danny on the balcony. Edgar-veda praises him for the gun bust. Vic tells him not to get too excited; they only found half of what was stolen from Fort Irwin. He needs about $100K to buy the rest off the Byz Lats and he needs it tonight. "I'm not bending the rules for you," says the captain, even though he has a history of doing that.

Anyway, wasn't Vic opposed to taking this assignment? Vic's like "yeah, at first." Now he feels like he's the only person who cares. Edgar-veda tells him to file the paperwork and wait "or you can stop by the ATM."

Vic got an idea
An awful idea
Vic got a wonderful, awful idea
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In the squadroom, Dutch is ranting at someone on the phone: "The guy's wanted by Interpol! I'm giving you the address! All you have to do is pick him up! What's so goddamn hard about that? If my tone sounds superior, it's because I'm American and you're Greek." He slams down the phone and gets cagey when Vic asks what's wrong.

Elsewhere, Julien is praying in a stairwell. One of the disgraced uniforms who attacked him approaches. "Confess what you did to me," Julien orders. The guy answers, "I didn't do anything to you." Julien grabs him in a chokehold from behind. This scene is all the more disturbing after reading what actor Michael Jace did to his wife. 

The ex-uniform starts gagging while Julien mumbles Bible verses. "Julien, please!" his victim cries. We hear the sound of bone snapping. Julien immediately lets go, leaving the guy crying and coughing on the ground. Julien heads downstairs, pauses like he's gonna go back to check on the guy, and then continues on his way. 

Montage! Mara hugs and kisses Shane in the lobby of a different car dealership. Kern and his crew pull a drive-by at the arcade frequented by the Byz Lats; Diagur is unscathed. Vic goes to the storage unit and loads a duffel bag with cash. End of episode.