It was late, it had been a long day. Buzz had just returned with fresh coffee and was handing out the orders to the team. He heard the sound of staccato heels approaching from the hallway while giving the last cup to Chief Johnson. He looked up and hesitated just for a second as he registered Captain Raydor's arrival before he let go of the Chief's cup and turned to head back to Electronics, deliberately not making eye contact with the Captain on his way. He didn't like Captain Raydor–she seemed to have a talent for disrupting their investigations and bringing out the worst possible behavior in his team. But, unlike the rest of the team, Buzz didn't want to do anything to intentionally draw her ire. It wasn't his fault nobody decided to include the Captain in the order even though she'd been following them around for most of the day.

. . .

Brenda looked up from her desk as Buzz returned to the murder room, fresh coffee in hand. She stood up and exited her office, making her way over to where he was stationed passing out beverages. As she reached for her coffee, Brenda noticed Buzz's slight hesitation and quick sideways glance before he turned and headed back to Electronics, perhaps a little more swiftly than usual. Out of the corner of her eye, she traced the path of his gaze and identified the intruding presence. She must have been particularly tired to have missed the unmistakable clip of Raydor's pointy heels echoing down the hallway signaling her approach. Even the sound of that woman's shoes was uptight!

Letting out a sigh, she plastered a bright smile on her face before turning to acknowledge Captain Raydor's return. She was surprised to find that the Captain had stopped mid-stride on the far side of the room. Brenda sent out a prayer of thanks for the momentary reprieve. The tension had been particularly thick today and Brenda preferred to keep as much physical distance between them as possible.

She watched the Captain's gaze move across the members of the team, silently taking note of their freshly-delivered beverages and saw the woman's jaw set as she processed the fact that none remained unclaimed. When Raydor's eyes finally landed on the Chief, Brenda made sure her syrupy smile remained overly-exaggerated so as not to give away her genuine amusement at unintentionally irritating the Captain–and without even breaking any rules! It served her right for barging in and interfering with their case at every turn. Plus, it's not like they ever knew exactly when that woman would decide to…grace them…with her presence. She took another large sip of her coffee without taking her eyes off the Captain, grateful it was just cool enough to go down without burning.

They remained that way for what felt like an hour, neither wanting to be the first to break eye contact. And then the Captain pressed forward again, still holding Brenda's gaze as she resumed her path toward the Chief. Brenda gestured to her office with her free hand and braced herself for the impact of whatever particular brand of interference Captain Raydor had in store for them this evening.

. . .

Her headache was mounting and the day was definitely catching up with her, but Sharon Raydor strode back toward the Priority Homicide murder room forcing herself to keep her measured clip despite how heavy her feet were feeling. She rounded the corner just as Buzz was handing out a fresh round of coffees to the team. God could she use some caffeine right now, they had a long night ahead of them…and then she stopped short.

She noticed Buzz pause, just for a second, while handing the last coffee over to the Chief, and then scurry off to Electronics, eyes averted. Of course they didn't get one for her. Nevermind that she had been with them most of the day trying to prevent the ever-growing string of breaches in protocol the Deputy Chief tended to leave in her wake. That woman was a risk management nightmare!

Sharon suppressed a sigh and set her jaw, shifting her focus to the source of her now pounding headache. Chief Johnson turned to her with a nauseatingly fake smile and just stared. Then she raised her cup to her lips and took a sip, clearly trying to rub it in a little harder. Whatever. If she was being honest with herself, she expected nothing less. After so many years in Internal Affairs, she was used to the exclusion and overt hostility from her colleagues. If someone had actually thought to bring her a coffee, it probably would have been poisoned…and as much as her brain wanted the caffeine boost, her body probably couldn't handle much more at the moment anyway.

At least it's just coffee. Better to have them withholding a beverage from her than the name of the hospital someone was taken to or other key information about the case…She pressed forward toward the Chief, who gestured toward her office, still holding her gaze. Yes, it was going to be a long night…