Note: This references characters and events in the L&O episode, "Scoundrels"
1995
This was the year it had all come apart for John Curren. Swindled by Willard Tappan, then swindled again by Arthur Kapinski…
And Jack McCoy too…
The DA had convinced Curren to plead guilty to killing Kapinski, so he could prosecute Tappan.
Then McCoy disappeared on me…
Sure, McCoy's assistant-Claire Kincaid-had told Curren it was a sudden breakdown; and the next thing Curren knew, Kincaid was the DA. But she hadn't had whatever it took to nail Tappan.
End result was that Tappan walked away from it all, still safe at that half-way house, picking up the trash, while Curren was stuck in prison, doing hard time; and the shit fest hadn't stopped there…
It was a prison-break, the kind you read about in books and saw in movies; hardened criminals making a desperate bid for freedom. Problem was, they dragged Curren along with them, and he-scared out of his wits-could only allow himself to be swept along…
Now, they were elsewhere, and Curren lost somewhere in Central Park. He had no money, nowhere to go, and he'd lost his glasses in the scuffle.
Without them, he was virtually blind.
He was currently hiding in a less used part of the park, a hidden bower, and right in front of him, the gnarliest…ugliest-looking tree he had ever seen.
It looked almost…human…with the trunk serving for torso, roots for feet, and branches for arms…
Please…he entreated it. I need help.
More than just a place to hide, the ache in his chest, the loss of his wife and family…
He needed more than that.
He needed…Justice…
Roots snake out from the gnarled tree, wrap gently around John Curren, draw him close, and draws him into a barked embrace. Something opens, and Curren is drawn…inside, where it is cool and dark. Curren tastes sap on his tongue. He drinks, and all he feels is peace. He can hide here. He will have justice.
Vengeance will be wrought upon the heads of those who so cruelly betrayed him…
He closed his eyes and slept, suddenly secure in the knowledge that he had an ally.
When he awoke, he would have his revenge upon those who had hurt him.
Willard Tappan.
And Jack McCoy…