Captain Cragen thought that he had seen it all.
He had received a phone call ten minutes ago from the Captain of the Queens Special Victims Unit, Cap. Jake Severn. They had received a call from 911 dispatchers that two teenage boys had made a gruesome discovery in an abandoned warehouse. IAB was ordering that all SVU bureaus work together to solve the crime.
For the first time since his induction as Captain of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, the captain cried over a case, for the first time in 16 years.
"John, I don't care what you say. The JFK murder will never be solved! That is one part of history that we are not meant to know the truth from!"
"Repeat that as many times as you want my daring partner, but one day it will be solved!" exclaimed John.
"I say give up Fin." said Elliot. "JFK is like his idol; he will sit there all day and argue."
"Captain Alert" whispered Olivia, and they all put their head down and grabbed a pen to look like they were doing their work as ordered. She had seen the Captain coming out of his office, and he would become frustrated sometimes when he saw they were socializing instead of doing their paperwork. But when almost 20 seconds had passed, and the Captain still had not said anything, Olivia grew worried and lifted her head to take a look.
"Captain, what's happened? You look like you have been crying" said a concerned Olivia. Fin, Elliot, and John all turned around. Sure enough, their captain for 10 years, well in Fin's case 9, had a worried look on his face, and looked like he had been crying.
"Cap-" began Elliot.
"Olivia, call Novak and tell her to come down. Elliot the same to Dr. Huang, Fin the same to Warner. Tell them it's an emergency."
With a puzzled look, the three complied with their task. Detective Munch, however, looked at the Captain as he began to walk away, looking more like his age. He had never seen the Captain cry before, even when he mentioned his wife, Marge. Something terrible had to have happened.
"Captain, what's going on?" asked Munch.
After nearly a minute of silence, the four detectives looked at their captain, who finally turned around. "Something that will change our lives forever John; Something that will change our lives forever."
Nearly half an hour later, 8 people were crowded into the Manhattan Special Victims Unit conference room. This room was hardly ever used, which worried the occupants except the captain. The last time Olivia remembered they had used this room, was during the case of undercover DEA agent Olivia Sandoval/Tellez.
"Okay. I got a call from IAB Commissioner Tucker about a case. It has been called as top priority and all five SVU bureaus are working this case."
"Captain-" started Elliot.
"Elliot! Not now, at least, during this case. Now I know how you all feel about having a case taken from you, but since it is in our jurisdiction, we are the top, receiving help from fellow NYPD detectives. Trust me, we're gonna need It." said the Captain in a serious tone.
Everyone nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation, but couldn't help but wonder: What was the case exactly? Why was SVU being called in? And how serious is it that every unit in the city is needed?
"Now I have called Novak, Huang, and Warner into this discussion because I want you to go with us to the crime scene. I know Novak and Huang don't usually come with us, but I feel that it will be needed for you to come along, to give you some hope to put a little bit more effort in this case. Huang of course is needed to be able to derive a profile of the killer or killers. I personally hope that whoever did this had help. Hard to imagine that one person could come up with all of this on his own. Novak, it is very unlikely that you ever go to the crime scene, only when...you feel…that you need to see the victim in order to prosecute the case. I don't believe it is going to be needed, since the photos are most likely going to be enough, but I think you might want to come.
Casey nodded, remembering having to see the body of the 16-year-old girl who had died at the hands of Jamie, who had later been discovered to have committed the crime while having a lapse of her bipolar disorder.
"Warner, I believe you had just received a call before we called you?"
"Yes Captain. Some bodies were found in a warehouse, and I was about to leave when you had Fin call me and say it was an emergency."
"The bodies are the victims of this case. I just…want to warn you all of what you are going to see in this case. Press is all over, at least the ones that can take it are."
A nervous glance seemed to pass through the group, before diverting their eyes back to the captain.
"Well, it's now the moment of truth. Everyone grab your coats. Let's head over to the crime scene."
They all stood and began leaving one by one, with the Captain in the lead. Elliot noticed that Olivia had stayed behind, taking longer, still in her seat, staring ahead.
"Everything ok Liv?"
Olivia stood up and looked Elliot in the eye. He noticed that there was some redness, indicating that she had been crying.
"No Elliot. Everything is not alright. I really have a bad feeling about this case. Captain is like a father to me; we are all like a family. What ever happened that made your own dad cry and scared? When that happens, you know that it's going to change everything. And it even makes you afraid for your own life."