(Disclaimer: These characters belong to the Law and Order universe.)
Law and Order
Motion to Dismiss
Chapter 1
With a tired sigh, CIA operative Alexandria Andrews unlocked her car door and slid into the front seat. She tossed her briefcase onto the passenger seat next to her. It had been a long day in the office.
When you're a spy, debriefings are the most tedious, she thought.
She put her key into the ignition. A gloved hand reached out and wrapped around her neck.
"Hello, Alex," a voice whispered next to her ear, "Remember me?"
She felt a knife resting coldly against her throat.
"Please," she feigned fear, "I don't know who you are. I-I'm just an office worker."
"Oh, you know me. Try again" the voice whispered, this time in a malicious tone.
Then she felt the knife moving along her throat.
"L-let me think…please. …" Alexandria stammered, trying to insert fear in her voice, "y-yes…I do k-know you…" she began and then, with strong conviction, ended with, "…and you're annoying me!"
At the same time, she reached behind and pounded the intruder's face with a powerful punch to his nose, startling him. He made an agonized sound as his head flew back at impact. He reflexively released his grip on her throat.
The knife fell.
She followed the quick jab with a strong-
"…Connie." Mike's voice interrupted her reading.
ADA Connie Rubirosa looked up from her spy thriller novel. It was just getting to the good part. She glanced at her watch.
Lunchtime was over. Reluctantly she placed a paper she used as a bookmark back in her book.
EADA Mike Cutter was seated on the chair opposite her desk.
She had not even realized he had been observing her for the last ten minutes.
She looked so beautiful and intense, reading her action/thriller novel, enmeshed in the plot, he thought. She would scrutinize every word before slowly turning the page. Every thrilling movement could be read in the expressions of her face. Mike especially liked when she came to an incredible part in the story and would raise an eyebrow. He almost hated to interrupt her, but there was work to be done at the DA's office.
"Any forward movement on the Lewis case?" he asked.
The case involving Don Lewis had been the last case they had looked at before being pursued by Thomas Volchek two weeks ago.
A lifetime ago.
"Uh…still working on it." Connie told him as she looked around the desk for the file, "Although, from what I gather, the doctor has recently gone missing, too."
That was the case where three years ago Dr. Don Lewis had reported his wife missing from their Upper East Side home. Police had suspected Dr. Lewis, but had no evidence to press charges since the body had never been recovered.
And now they could not even locate him. The only reason they were even considering the Lewis case was that their workload had eased up considerably.
He tilted his head and examined her carefully. "Something on your mind? You've seemed distracted since the Volchek case ended."
Connie mulled over how she wanted to answer. It was hard to switch back to this no-action case after reading such an exciting chapter from her novel.
The chapter had reminded her of their own recent pulse-racing adventure, which included undercover work, a car chase, and gun shootings.
She leaned forward.
"Do you miss it, Mike?" she asked in an eager way, "Do you miss being one step ahead of the killers? Do you miss the adventure? All the excitement? All the action? Do you miss being part of the case?"
At first Mike looked puzzled as he tried to analyze what she was saying.
"Are you referring to the Volchek case?" He looked at her with those arresting blue eyes, "Connie, we are part of the case, but we are litigators. We don't chase bad guys. We let the police do that and then they arrest the suspects. Our job is to methodically prosecute these criminals. We convict with principles of law and our ingenuity. That's our contribution to the case."
He handed over some witness statements to add to the Lewis file.
She knew he was right. She needed to get back to prosecuting cases.
"You're correct, I suppose." Connie sounded compliant, a little disappointed that Mike didn't feel the same way. She gave a hopeless sigh. "I'll look over the witnesses' statements again for the Lewis case."
"…and Connie," Mike added, as he didn't want to leave her totally disappointed, "I do remember everything that happened with the Volchek case. Everything."
Connie watched him as he walked away. He tried to make her feel better, she thought wistfully. She knew what he meant about "everything".
As she had many times before, she recalled the feel of his lips when he had kissed her and the slow sway of his body when he had danced with her.
She wondered if their personal relationship would ever advanced past their professional relationship. She also didn't know if she wanted it to.
Only time will tell.
Now as Connie stared at the folder in front of her, one word came to mind. Paperwork.
The day went by slowly.
Finally, it was almost quitting time at One Hogan Place.
At the end of the day, Jack McCoy was in Connie's office, waiting for an update on her case.
His impatient questioning somehow sounded demanding.
"So, do you think this Lewis case is worth prosecuting?" he wanted to know.
Jack seemed none too please that the case was going nowhere.
"It's your call, Jack," said Connie, sounding noncommittal.
"We don't have a lot of case here," Jack noted.
"I agree that this is a tough case because we have no physical body," agreed Connie, "but Lupo and Bernard think this case has potential."
"That so? Let me take a look at the case," said Jack as Connie handed him the file.
Jack took out his bifocals. Connie watched as he opened the file to read Don Lewis' file. At first he just glanced at the write-ups in the folder with disinterest. Then he looked at the photo of Don Lewis.
She registered shock in Jack's expression.
Perhaps she imagined it. She observed him closely. He was now reading all the background information, earnestly flipping through all the papers attached to the file, with a scowl on his face.
He quickly peruse through the information again, this time more carefully. At last his eyes returned back to the photo of Lewis. He also stared a long time at the photo of Lewis' missing wife, which had also been placed in the file. It was like he was trying to memorize the photos.
He slammed shut the file and firmly handed it back to her.
"Something wrong with the case, Jack?" Connie tried to read his expression.
For a split second, he had a worried look, but it disappeared so quickly, she thought she might have imagined it.
"No…no…I'm fine…" He said, not quite answering her question. He looked out as if in deep thought, but then quickly recovered and nodded to her before he left the room.
His mind seemed somewhere else.
So unlike Jack, she thought.
Jack, the one with opinions about every case, every situation.
Her observations told her that DA Jack McCoy knew Dr. Don Lewis.
But he did not want her to know that fact.
.
.
Welcome back and thanks for reading! I hope you will enjoy this sequel to "Motion to Suppress".
I am very proud of this story.
The story begins with the mystery. Then we get to the action and the romance begins somewhere in the middle..
For you romantics out there, you will NOT be disappointed, either. Mike and Connie's romance will continue to blossom. The last chapter will tug at your heartstrings!
I appreciated all the reviews I've received from previous stories. Truly overwhelmed. Thank you!
Hopefully you'll follow this story to the very end, too!
Let me know what you think.