UNEXPECTED TURN

CHAPTER 1

Dance club, 21 and over, Friday night, 9:37pm

"Guys, I don't know, it just doesn't feel right. Why can't we just stay here and dance like we planned?"

"Remi, come on, they are soooooo cute. Plus they are college boys, it'll be fun." The slender, pretty faced, Latina coaxed.

"Yeah, you even said yourself that tonight was about letting loose and being free. We all have very busy lives. It's important to get this out of our system now so we can focus better later." The other accomplice with long red hair, sparsely freckled, recently perfected, surgically done nose and light blue eyes said to her friend.

"I still don't know. I just have a bad feeling."

"You still carry that knife your dad made you promise to always have with you?" The dark brown, purple highlighted hair girl asked.

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay then, things go south you can whip it out and kick butt." The girl with big amber colored eyes smirked.

Remi sighed, "Mmmm yeah, because that is on top of my list of things I want to accomplish in life."

"Stop worrying so much. It's just one night of fun, come on, we totally work our asses off. We deserve this."

The platinum blond with lavender tipped hair looked over at the boys and back over at her two best friends since kindergarten. "Alright, fine but if it starts going wrong, we leave, promise me."

The two girls promised and the three of them left the club with the three men they each only met an hour prior.

St Luke's Hospital, Saturday morning, 12:13AM

Remi had her cuts attended to and bandaged; she was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, hugging herself and staring blankly in front of her.

"Remi?"

She looked over and noticed a good looking couple at her side. A tall male, sandy blond hair and a light blond haired woman with soft features both held a warm, sympathetic smile.

"Yes?"

"I'm Detective Rollins and this is Detective Carisi. We are here to get your statement and help you find who did this to you."

"How old are you?" Detective Carisi asked after he realized the ID the doctor had given him was clearly a fake.

Remi looked at him and contemplated for a moment whether to lie but she found herself too tired to carry on the ruse.

"Fifteen." She answered softly.

"Fifteen? So not twenty-two," he sighed, "Where are your parents?"

"Bora Bora."

"They left you alone?"

"No."

Carisi waited a moment hoping she would elaborate. When she didn't, he continued his questioning.

"Who is your guardian while they are away?"

"My Uncle Mike and Aunt Rachel."

Remi answered this as tears slowly fell; she had a question of her own.

"Any leads on finding my friends, Ari and Jules?"

"Arianna Sanchez and Jubilee Connors, right?" Detective Rollins asked.

"They too are actually fifteen and not twenty-two, correct?" Detective Carisi confirmed.

"Yes sir."

"Alright, there is a BOLO for them. We are doing everything we can. Tell us what happened. Give us any clues you can think of." Detective Carisi added.

"Well, Ari, Jules and I went to their hotel suite. They said they were from Pennsylvania and just visiting over the weekend. Umm so when we got there, we all kind of went different ways. Ari went on the balcony with ummm, Trevor and Jules was with the other guy, Ron. I stayed in the front with Clay. He gave me some kind of drink. I was…" Remi shook her head slightly, "I was so stupid. I didn't watch him pour it. I drank it anyway. After a few minutes I started feeling really off. I finally did something smart and ran into the bathroom. I made myself throw up. That really pissed off Clay. When I left the bathroom I tried to get to Ari and Jules. I wanted to leave. Clay punched me in the face, it hurt like hell but if anything, it really pissed me off. I kicked him when he came at me again and that only made him stumble him for a second. I tried to find my bag. I was close but he grabbed me and was trying to take off my…my panties, which he did. He pulled his pants down but I was able to free my arm and poke him in the eye. That's when I found my bag and got the knife that my dad makes me always carry. When he charged at me again, I…I stopped him."

"Was he still alive when you got away?" Rollins asked.

"As far as I could tell because he was screaming in pain. I tried to run and get Ari and Jules but then Trevor and Ron came out and ran toward me. That's when I somehow escaped and ran for help."

"Okay, alright. Do you have the knife with you by chance? We can get DNA off of it." Carisi said.

"Yes, in my bag, but, I have much more than just his blood for you to get his DNA."

Carisi looked at her dubiously then looked in the designer mini backpack.

Manhattan, SVU, 16th Precinct, Saturday, 4:27PM

A.D.A. Rafael Barba was in the precinct reading over the information he was given about the latest SVU victim. Her name was Remiany Rafaella Scott-Specter. The name stood out for two reasons. He simply noticed Rafaella was the feminine version of his own name, Rafael. Her hyphenated last name, Scott; his last serious relationship was with a woman that had the last name Scott. At this point, he didn't think too much into it. It was nothing more than a simple reminder of a decision he deeply regretted for many years. He continued to read when he arrived to the detail of what she had for evidence of DNA. Detective Carisi just walked in to start his shift. Barba looked up and over at him.

"Truly, this fifteen year old, from upper Manhattan, with a 4.2 GPA and genius level IQ, cut…his…penis off? Did I read that correctly?"

The detective smirked, "Yes, you indeed read that correctly. Trust me, I saw it first hand and I went to bed with nightmares."

Barba raised his eyebrows, "Wow, kudos to her for her survival skills."

Before Barba was able to ask anything further, Detective Rollins walked out with three sketches of the men Remi and her friends were with. Remi wasn't far behind with her Uncle. Her eyes made it over to Barba and his with hers. There was a familiarity about her, Barba felt. The moment was quickly interpreted as a beautiful, dressed-to-the-nine's, couple walked in the room.

"Remi!"

"Daddy! Mom!" Remi stated and finally let go of her emotions as she ran into her father's arms. He lifted up the petite teen with ease and he hugged her close as she cried on his shoulder. Her mother looked over her daughter's injuries with tears in her own eyes as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"Scottie?"

She looked over at the A.D.A. "Rafael? You're back in New York? Are you on this investigation?" She asked stepping closer and wide eyed.

"Yes, I was just going over everything we have so far. Why don't you two take Remi home. We will go over everything we can for now. I'll be in touch soon."

Manhattan apartment of A.D.A. Rafael Barba, Saturday, 11:23pm

Barba walked into his apartment, placed his keys on a hook near his door and went straight to his personal lap top. He needed to confirm the exact date of something in his past. It didn't take him too long to find the information he needed. He had left for a promising new position from New York to Chicago in October 10th of 2001. He opened the folder to triple check the date of birth of Remiany Rafaella Scott-Specter. Her DOB, May 15, 2002, that left only a difference of about seven months. Barba got up and fixed himself a stiff drink. He picked up his phone and texted the only person who could confirm whether or not his assumptions were correct.

Hello, are you still awake?

Three minutes later…yes.

TO BE CONTINUED…PLEASE REVIEW, THANK YOU! XOXO