Author's Note: Hey there guys :) This is my first L&O fanfiction, so it might not be perfect, but bear with me :) I'd LOVE it if you could REVIEW so I know what you guys find I should change or if you like it :D preferably the latter
So yeah, i'll stop babbling and let you read :) Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters you recognize, they belong to Dick Wolf, the lucky guy :)
A/N: Okay, okay, okay, sorry to interrupt you again, but in order for the story to go the way I want it, keep these minor/major changes in mind. For all intents and purposes, I've made the following changes:
-This is set few months after the end of Season 20
-Lieutenant Van Buren has been cured of her cancer
-Cyrus Lupo is thirty years old
-Lieutenant Van Buren is getting slowly getting her marriage arranged with Frank
-Unfortunately, I don't live in New York, so don't get mad if some places aren't situated perfectly
Now you can read :D
Chapter 1
- Where It All Started –
New York, Brooklyn
Monday, November 15th
All was peaceful as could be in Brooklyn in the early afternoon of November 15th. Mother of three, Anastasia Rider was cleaning up the kitchen table, where her husband Edward Rider had just finished eating a lunch of hamburgers with her just ten minutes earlier. If he could, he came home every day for lunch so that he could see his wife before he came home. After he ate, he always returned to his work at Striker Enterprises, a company that created, built and designed fighter planes for the army. Jets, plain old carriers, fast planes that were meant to not be seen by enemies, you name it; Striker Enterprises did it all. Of course, everything was top secret, and to most people, everything was on a need-to-know basis. Of course, that meant his work life was classified stuff.
As Anastasia put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and started it, she proceeded to stroll down the main hall into the living room. As she settled herself into her favorite armchair, she looked over at the glass coffee table and one of the picture frames that was settled on top of it. She leant over, grabbed it in her hand, and leant back. The picture frame held a picture taken only a few months earlier, of the family. In the back, there was Edward and herself, with Edward's arm draped over her shoulder, pulling her close. Then, in the front, were their four kids; Cassidy, Joshua, Sebastian, and Tatiana. From oldest to youngest, there was Tatiana, who was aged at twenty seven, Sebastian, who was recently eighteen, Joshua, who was nine, and Cassidy, at a young age of six. They were all smiling, from their places in front of their parents. The picture was taken in Central Park, on one of their strolls. Anastasia smiled.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the shrill sound of the phone ringing a catchy melody, unlike the traditional "ring-ring". She got up, placed the picture back on the table, and answered the nearest phone, right beside the entrance to the living room. "Hello."
"Hi mom," the voice on the phone said. "It's Tatiana."
"Hi honey, how are you?" Anastasia asked, recognizing the voice of her eldest daughter. "When do you think you'll be home today?"
"I'm fine, I'm just finishing up a quick lunch. I have to tell you about this amazing Thai place Vanessa told me about, the food is to die for," said Tatiana, joy in her voice. "Oh yeah, sorry. What time is it now?"
"Just after one in the afternoon," replied Anastasia, waiting for an answer.
"Well then, I'll be home nice and early. Expect to see me around two thirty, I have the afternoon off but I have to stop by a book store and get something for class," Tatiana said after a moment. She was studying in law school, after being a veterinarian for a while and teaching kindergarten for two years. It was her first year. "Hey, do you want me to get Josh and Cass from school? I've got the time, I can get them when they finish before coming home. And Sebastian too."
"Sebastian told me he had to stop by some store after school to get a new case for his phone," explained her mother, "But it would help a lot if you could pick up your brother and sister."
"No problem mom, the book store is right near the school, actually," said Tatiana, "So I won't get Seb then. Okay I'll remember that."
"So I'll see you home around quarter past three. Your father's getting home around four thirty today, he gets to come an hour and half earlier than usual this week, there's less work at the office," Anastasia informed her.
"Okay mom. Well I have to go, I just got to the car, and I can't use my cell while driving," said Tatiana. Anastasia could hear the sound of the car starting up. "Bye mom, love you."
"Bye sweetie." She ended the call, placing the phone back on its charger. She sighed and looked at the huge house- like apartment around her. Many, many years ago, they had bought two adjacent apartments and turned them into one huge apartment, which is where they lived now. She went to the kitchen to get a wet cloth to wipe down the furniture for dust. She reached for the phone once again. She had to tell Edward that Tatiana was going to get Joshua and Cassidy.
The office where Detectives Cyrus Lupo and Kevin Bernard worked was unusually quiet for a Monday evening. Lieutenant Anita Van Buren was in her office, getting off the phone with her fiancé. Only a few months earlier, she was told that her cancer had gone away, and she had been cheerful for weeks on end, right before returning to her old self. She was back to normal.
Lupo sat at his desk across from Bernard, who was just finishing up some sort of paperwork, much like he should be doing. He ran his hand through his hair; he hated paperwork.
Suddenly, the Lieutenant burst from her office and strode right over to the two detectives. They both looked up at her as she walked hurriedly over, both of them noticing the troubled look on her face and the quick manner in which she was walking. They shared a look; this didn't look good.
"There's a problem," Van Buren started, not giving the Lupo or Bernard a chance to say anything. "Leave now and don't make any stops on the way there. I have a really bad feeling about this one, boys."
Bernard and Lupo paid little attention to the speed limit as they rushed over to the address that Van Buren gave them, driving until they came to the area in Brooklyn where the residence was located. Finding the apartment was no problem, considering that a few wailing police cars were parked in front of it. For reasons unknown to them, no one seemed to be inside the apartment, which the two detectives could see was a huge apartment made out of two side by side apartments. Police were at the front doors, ramming into them with all their might.
Bernard screeched to halt on the street, and the two partners were out of the car and walking hurriedly to the front doors before anyone noticed their arrival. A middle aged officer noticed them and began jogging alongside them.
"What's the situation?" Lupo asked him, slowing his pace a little.
"We received a 911 call from this apartment. There was screaming, yelling, and what sounded a lot like a dog barking in the background. We heard gunshots, while the person on the phone kept saying for us to come, and that there were people with guns in the house, and they didn't know why. The connection was cut short. We only just got here," he said as quickly as possible. "The door won't open, and they're sturdy; we can't bust them down. We don't know what's in there."
"Okay, thanks," said Bernard. "We'll try getting in. Have your guys check for any other ways in."
"Gotcha." The officer disappeared, spouting orders.
Lupo and Bernard walked up the front steps, where all the officers at the front door moved back down to allow them space. Lupo tried the doorknob, just to be sure, but it was locked. He backed up against the railings, while giving a signal to Bernard. Bernard ran forward, hitting the door with full force with his shoulder. The doors shook, but they didn't open.
They heard a gunshot from inside the house. Everyone was quiet. The bad guys were still in there. Without further hesitation, Lupo and Bernard drew their guns and Lupo shot at the lock on the door multiple times. Then he threw himself against the weakened door until it budged open. He snuck in with Bernard and a half dozen officers behind him.
Two big pieces of furniture were pushed up against the door, which is why they wouldn't open, in addition to being locked.
Lupo went to the left, while Bernard took the right. Two officers went upstairs, while the others followed either of the two detectives. Lupo found himself in what appeared to be the kitchen. There was blood all over the white floor tiles. It seemed as though someone who was bleeding dragged themselves across the floor. He looked around the room. There was no body. He continued until he was at the back of the main hall, where he found more blood on the floor and bloody handprints on the walls. There a broken glass chandelier in the middle of the hallway, with some blood on one on the clear crystals. Suddenly he heard someone call him.
"Lupes! Get over here!" Bernard yelled as loudly as he could. Lupo followed his voice until he found his way back at the front of the apartment and into the living room. It looked like a warzone.
There were five bodies all over the huge living room. A glass coffee table in the middle of the room was shattered into large chunks and little slivers of glass. Bernard stood opposite the room from Lupo, with the two officers that followed him behind him, all of them with their hands down and pale faces.
The first of five bodies was a woman, possibly in her late forties, with blond hair. She had a huge piece of glass sticking out of her upper thigh, and another in her stomach. There was also a bullet hole going through her neck. On her arms, she had multiple cuts. There was a deep, bloody gash in her forehead.
The second was a little girl who looked no more than six. She had dirty blonde hair, and her body was sprawled on a large, white, bloodstained couch. Her arm was bent at an odd angle, she had bruises already forming on her neck, a bullet in her stomach, and a deep cut on her arm.
The third and fourth bodies were both boys. The first looked about eighteen, and the other looked a little under ten years old. The little boy had black hair which was plastered to his head with blood. Blood trickled down his neck. His neck had a small cut on it, and he had a bullet in the center of his chest. In addition to that, he had a bloody foot, which was probably hit with a bullet or two, glass on his arm, and two deep cuts in his cheek. The older boy's body was lying across the torso of the younger one; he probably fell on him. He had four bullets in him; one in his head, in his mess of dark brown hair, one in his chest, one on his shoulder, and one through his neck, all of them making up the C.O.D. Like the woman, who must be their mother, he had multiple pieces of glass sticking out of him; in his leg – which was bent oddly – and in his chest.
The last body was the worst of them all. It was a man that looked late into his forties. He had graying dark brown hair and a sturdy build. His body was beside a fireplace, where a fire was slowly dying. One of the tips of the fireplace tools was lying in the fire, burning bright orange. The man's shirt was torn open, to reveal multiple brands and scorches, where he was obviously hit or branded with the white hot metal tool. He had deep gashes all over his persona; on his arms, his legs, his face. He had at least six bullets in him; all over his torso. His neck had a large piece of glass sticking out of it. Part of his mouth was cut, and two of his fingers looked broken. It was a gruesome sight.
Lupo felt a huge shock and found himself unable to move; this was one of the worst scenes he'd ever seen here in New York City. Bernard was the first to move. He leant over the broken coffee table – where most of the glass seemed to come from – and picked up and broken picture frame. He looked at it and frowned. "Hey Lupes, look at this."
He tossed the picture frame across the room to Lupo. The detective caught it and looked at the bloodied picture. He matched the faces to five of the six people in the picture. One of them – a girl in her twenties – didn't match anyone. Her body wasn't in the living room.
"She's gotta be somewhere else in the house, Lupes," said Bernard. But before either of them could move, they heard a small whimper coming from the room they were in. They looked around until their eyes settled on the little boy, who's finger twitched. If they looked carefully, his chest rose and fell, just slightly.
Lupo reacted. "We need the paramedics!" he yelled. An officer was already on his way out, bickering the paramedics in and directing them towards the boy. Lupo backed away and looked at Bernard. They had to find the other girl.
Bernard paused before moving. "Didn't the officer outside mention a dog?" As if on cue, they all heard a dog bark from the back of the huge apartment, and then they heard a whimper, probably from the same dog. They ran to the back of the house-like apartment, following the sounds of the faint barking from the dog. They came across a door that was halfway open, with blood on the doorknob. The noises came from behind the door. Bernard pushed the door open with the hand that wasn't holding the gun.
"Police," Bernard said to the door as it swung open. "Anyone in there?" The room was pitch black. The dog present in the room barked madly. Lupo felt along the inside wall for a light switch. He found one and flicked it on.
The room was a fairly large storage closet; big enough for five people to stand with enough space in. Three walls had white metal shelves on them, with items like cleaning detergent, spare brooms, a vacuum cleaner, medical supplies and dozens upon dozens of towels. On the far side of the closet, the detectives located the dog, a German Shepherd, barking wildly, baring its teeth. Beside the dog, lay a body; the missing girl from the picture. She looked around twenty six or twenty seven, with long brown hair. Her slim body lay across the bloodied floor. Her chest rose and fell with every shaky breath. She was still alive.
She had blood all over her left leg, due to what looked like three bullet holes. She had a huge, deep cut on her right forearm, which was bleeding freely. There was deep cut above her left eye, on her forehead, which was leaving a trail of blood across her cheek. With her damaged arm, she clutched her stomach weakly. Her lip was cut, and she seemed to be struggling to keep her brown eyes open. The German Shepherd wouldn't stop barking. Weakly and with much effort, she lifted her left arm and placed her hand on the dog's back. "Stop, Thunder. They're…good." She breathed the last word, and it escaped her as barely a whisper. She flinched in pain at the contact of her hand on the dog, and she let it fall to the ground, which only resulted in a whimper of immense pain.
Lupo and Bernard were already in the room, kneeling beside her. After getting a look at all of the girl's damage, and how she was barely managing to breathe, the partners shared a knowing look; she was losing a lot of blood. Bernard stood and bellowed "GET A MEDIC OVER HERE, NOW!"
Lupo looked at the floor beside the girl and noticed a cell phone with a bloodied screen. That must have been how the 911 call was made, and surely she was back here when she called in, with the dog, which would explain the barking. Lupo then looked at the dog, as Bernard knelt and reassured the girl that they were going to rush her to the hospital and get her straight into surgery. Lupo noticed that the dog has blood all over its back, on its muzzle, and on its paws. The blood on its back seemed to be its own.
"We're going to need some kind of vet too," Lupo informed Bernard, indicating the dog.
At that moment, the paramedics rushed into the room. Lupo and Bernard both backed up to give them room to do their duties. The dog – which was named Thunder according to the girl – dragged itself on the floor to beside Lupo. In any other circumstance, Lupo would've smiled; Thunder could smell Otto, his dog, on him. Lupo bent down and rubbed the injured dog's head soothingly. The dog whimpered, and Lupo draped a towel from one of the shelves over the dog's back.
The girl was taken outside to another ambulance; the little boy –her brother, it turns out – was already on his way to the hospital. Other police officers arrived with medics to take the dog to a vet for special care, and informed Lupo and Bernard that they would be contacted when the dog could return to its owner. Although it was not said, Lupo and Bernard knew that the officer refrained from adding Presuming that its owners aren't all dead by then.
Lupo and Bernard went back to the front of the house. Where many neighbors had gathered outside to find out what was going on.
Lupo looked at Bernard and said. "This is most definitely not good."
A/N: Well, Chapter 1 is done! Hopefully you enjoyed it :) Please REVIEW and let me know what you think! I like constructive critism, but there's nothing better than a few positive reviews! :)
I've got a huge plot for this story; lots of crime, action, and some romance for all of you that love a good story :) Stay tuned for chapter 2! REVIEW!
x strikerinthesky
