Moving closer so he could keep his voice low, Buzz asked "Do you ever get the feeling we work in an asylum?"

"Mmmm?" Tao murmured, not even looking up from his computer.

"This place, does it every strike you..."

"As full of cracks and weirdos?"

"Yeah."

"All the time."

"So it's not just me."

"Nope. But what brought it up today?"

"Today? It just seemed more intense than usual. Det. Sanchez is so smitten with DDA Rios I want to throw up..."

Tao nodded, "I agree. It turns my stomach every time I see him around her."

"Then we have Lt. Flynn with his cleanses..."

"His caffeinated cleanses."

"Yes. He's more interested in the length of some woman's skirt than what he's drinking."

"That's Andy."

"Then we have Det. Sykes who goes from calm and joking one second to wanting to rip a suspects head off the next."

"Don't be too hard on Amy, most of us want to rip the heads off of abusers."

"Okay... that's true, but she was practically psycho."

"Yeah, she was a little intense."

"And then there's Lt. Provenza. Every time someone questioned the Captain, he slammed them back. He's not usually so agressive."

"Well Rios being around and questioning everything, does tend to put everyone on edge."

"Well... that's true."

"And the Captain?"

Buzz looked surprised, "The Captain?"

"Yeah, what's different about the Captain? You've listed everyone else."

"Oh... nothing really. She's just spent the day using sign language and facial expressions to get her point across. That lawyer didn't even see the messages she was sending everyone right in front of him."

"And that's strange to you?"

"No... not really. I think we've all become used to her way of doing things. Chief Taylor still doesn't get it, but at least he's not threatening everyone anymore."

"Yeah, Taylor seems to have figured out that Captain Raydor always has a few aces up her sleeve and plays them in the heat of the moment."

"I'm actually a little surprised he let her manipulate him like that."

"Manipulate? The press release, you mean."

"Yeah. Even Det. Sykes thought it a bit odd, but then Lt. Provenza slammed her hard."

"He did seem a little over the top today. Any idea why?"

"You mean aside from the letter?"

"Letter? Oh... the treat to Rusty."

Buzz nodded, "Yes. But that came later."

"I don't know what to tell you, Buzz. Lt. Provenza and the Captain seem to be tag-teaming almost as well as she does with Lt. Flynn."

"That is something else that was weird today too. He was going on about caffeine, and she just stood there in front of him, like she was waiting for him to finish. She didn't look at him strangely or anything."

"The word you're looking for, Buzz, is 'unflappable'. Captain Raydor doesn't seem surprised by anything anyone says. She's merely amused, like when Amy said the victim forgot his safe word. Did you catch her smirk?"

"No, I missed that. I'm surprised she even knew what that meant."

"I've learned in this business it's best not to assume anything about anyone. Deep down, I think the Captain has a wicked sense of humour and she quite enjoys the sarcasm of our little band of crazies."

"She'd have to. She's running this asylum. But when it came to reading the letter, she became really upset."

"Yeah, Julio filled me in. So no prints, no hint of who sent it, and no way to follow up. I assume he's back to squad cars and spending time at the station. I'm going to have to talk with my son and see if I can't convince him to come over here from time to time. At least Rusty and Kevin have some things in common."

"I think the Captain would appreciate that."

"I imagine she would. So what's your conclusion, Buzz?"

"My conclusion?"

"You started this. Why do you think this entire squad is made up of 'cracks and weirdos'?"

"I... I don't know."

"Well when you have your conclusion, let me know. In the meantime I suggest you get comfortable."

"Get comfortable? Why?"

"Get comfortable because if everyone here is a crack or a weirdo, that means you fit into the crowd seamlessly. Just enjoy the ride."