I was enjoying my vacation with my friends before we started school again in the fall. We all had decided to go to New York for the Summer. See the sights, enjoy the nightlife and whatnot. We didn't expect to be recognized by our fans, though. We were the biggest heavy metal band to come up from the bottom since Metallica released their new album last year.
I had face palmed when a mob of our fans started running towards us. I looked to my drummer for an idea. "Don't look at me, Mike. It's all you", Dave said. Dave is my drummer and one of my best friends.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I hate you sometimes, you know that, Dave", I said.
"And I know you don't really mean that, too", said Dave.
He knew I was messin' with him. I always mess with my band like that. It's all good, clean fun between us all.
I pulled my pen out and got ready to sign autographs. The rest of my band followed suit and got their pens out, too.
The mob of fans was around 10, 15 people. Thank God it was only that much. We didn't need a huge group of people mobbing us.
It was getting later into the afternoon when we finally finished signing the final autographs for our fans. I looked at my watch and noticed the time. "Holy shit! We're late, guys! We were suppose to be at the studio 3 hours ago!", I said in a panicky voice.
Just then, the producer rolled up in his 2015 Lamborghini Gallardo. It has a flawless cherry red paint job with a flame design on the hood. It was the sweetest exotic car I had ever seen. I was practically drooling over it when the producer stepped out of his car.
He was pissed that we didn't show up at the allotted time. "Where the hell have you been, Mike! We've been waiting for you and your band for the past 3 hrs!", yelled Rod.
"Sorry, Rod. We were on our way, but we were held up by our fans. You know we can't disappoint our fans. And please don't yell at me again, ok", I said.
Rod smiled at me and nodded. He understood about having to please the fans. His last band he worked with didn't care about their fans. It was all about the money with them. We are totally different, though. We enjoy making music, whether we get paid or not. It was about having fun.
"I'll let it go, Mike. But next time, call me and let me know you're running late, ok. The studio manager wasn't happy about you guys wasting his time by not showing up on time", Rod said.
"Sorry man. Shit happens", Jake said.
"Ain't that the truth, Jake", Brian said, looking at Jake.
Both Jake and Brian are my guitar players. Brian also dubs as my mix master, too.
I do apologize for my rude manners. I'm Michelle, but I go by Mike. I'm the lead singer for our band, The Wolfpack 4.
We've already made the Billboard Top 5 list earlier this year. We hit #1 last month with our hit single, "Comin' Atcha Like A Tornado".
We all had decided to put that one on our self titled album this time around.
Rod had followed us back to the hotel we were all staying at. He had flown us to New York and put us up in the Park Central New York hotel. It was like staying in a mansion. The place was beautiful inside and out.
I parked our rental while everyone else went inside. I didn't trust someone else to park my car for me. Call me paranoid, but I've always been that way. I guess it's the way I was raised.
While I was looking for a place to park on the street, I heard gun fire going off. I looked around and saw bullets flying towards my rental car. One went through the driver side door and into my left side while another one went through my windshield. It hit me in the chest. Before I knew it, I was bleeding profusely. I tried to stop the bleeding long enough to call 911, but I had already passed out due to lack of blood.
"What's taking so long? She should have been parked and on her way inside by now. Brian, call her cell and find out what's going on", Jake said. He was very worried about me. And he should be. Afterall, him and I are dating. We were just glad that both Brian and Dave were cool about it. We didn't want bad blood among the group.
"Sorry, Jake. She's not answering. I keep getting her voice mail, but I'll keep trying", said Brian.
"Naw, don't worry about it. She's probably signing autographs again or taking pictures with fans. I'll go look for her in an hour. In the meantime, I'm headin' to the bar for a few drinks. Comin' Brian?", asked Jake.
"Naw, man. You go on ahead. I'll see ya up in the room later", Brian said.
Jake nodded and headed for the bar in the hotel.
2 ½ hrs. went by and Jake got even more worried. He pulled out his Motorola Droid Razr and hit #2 on the speed dial. He waited for me to answer, but by the 4th ring, it went to voice mail.
He looked at the time on his cell. It read 6:30p. It was 4p when I was looking for a place to park the rental. The bartender asked Jake if he wanted another shot of Jack and he declined. He paid the bartender and headed out of the bar and went straight for the entrance of the Park Central New York Hotel.
Once outside, he started walking to his right down the street to the corner. He was hoping that I hadn't gotten into trouble.
He came to the corner and turned to his right again and walked down the street. He saw a car door open. He noticed it was the rental from the airport. He ran to the car and looked inside, hoping to find me inside, but to no avail.
He saw blood and bullet holes in the car. Jake started to panic, but then he calmed himself down. He knew getting upset wasn't getting him anywhere. He pulled out his cell and called Dave.
"Hello?", Dave said.
"Yo Dave. It's Jake. Mike is missing. I found the rental car and lots of blood inside. Along with bullet holes in the driver side door and windshield", Jake said.
"Fuck! I'll get Brian and we'll be down shortly", said Dave.
"No. I'm handling this, Dave. I have some friends here in New York that can help, but I will keep you up to date", said Jake.
"Ok, man. Good luck. I hope you find her alive. She's our friend", Dave said.
"I know. Later", Jake said.
After he ended the call with Dave, he called a friend of his in the NYPD. Jake was hoping his friend could help. Hoping being the key word, too.
"Benson, Stabler. My office", Cragen said from across the bullpen.
Benson and Stabler looked at each other. "What'd we do now?", Benson asked, getting up from her desk.
Elliot shrugged his shoulders and followed his partner to Cragen's office.
"Close the door, Elliot then have a seat you 2", said Cragen.
The was closed and both Benson and Stabler took a seat in front of Cragen's desk.
"I received a call 10 min. ago from 1PP. They want us to handle this case with kid gloves", Cragen said.
" What's the case, Cap? A missing child?", asked Elliot.
"No. A missing lead singer from the new up and coming metal band, The Wolfpack 4", said Cragen.
"How is this an SVU case, Captain?", asked Olivia, sounding perplexed.
"It's not, Liv, but I told 1PP we would take the case. Here's the file on the lead singer", Cragen said, handing them each a file folder with case of the missing lead singer and a photo of her.
The opened the folders and then looked up at Cragen. "Why not give this to Fin and Much? This is more in Fin's direction. He's the music buff", Stabler said.
"1PP wants you 2 handling this, Elliot. The caller asked specifically for you by name", said Cragen.
Olivia looked at her partner. "Who would ask for you by name, El?", Olivia asked.
"I don't know, Liv", said Elliot. Then he looked at Cragen. "Did the caller identify themselves?", Elliot asked.
"Yes. He said his name is Jake Drago. The missing lead singer is his girlfriend, Michelle Morganis", Cragen said.
"Jake Drago? I haven't seen him since I left the Marine Corp. Guess he's been doing good for himself. Do you have the number by chance, Cap? Maybe I can get more info from him than what's here", Stabler said.
"Good idea, Elliot. Maybe arrange a meeting place to talk with him", said Cragen, handing Elliot the cell number for Jake's cell phone.
9a Tuesday morning. All 3 met at a coffee shop to talk about what happened. As Jake pulled up to the curb, both Benson and Stabler had arrived just a few min. before him.
Jake stepped out of the car and closed the door. Then he locked it. Its New York afterall. You never know what's going to happen. Especially, if you're a celebrity.
Jake knew that all too well. Just like any celeb would.
He met Benson and Stabler up on the sidewalk. Jake hadn't seen Stabler since the Marine Corp. back in '88. "Elliot freakin' Stabler. It's been a damn long time, Marine", Jake said, extending his hand out.
"It has been a long time, Jake. How've you been?", asked Elliot, shaking Jake's hand.
"Pretty good. Heard you made Detective now", said Jake. Then he laid his eyes on Liv. "Damn Stabler, you still know how to pick'em. She's a fox", Jake said.
"It's not what you think, Jake. This is my partner, Detective Benson. Liv, I'd like you to meet a Marine buddy of mine. Former Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Jake Drago. We called him 'Dragon' cause he was strong as hell and quick as hell, too", Elliot said.
"Nice to meet you, Jake. Can you tell us what happened last night?", asked Olivia.
"How about we get some coffee first, then I'll tell ya what I saw", said Jake.
"Sounds good, Jake. You buying?", asked Elliot.
"Of course, Marine", Jake said. Then they headed inside the coffee shop for a cup of coffee.
An hour into the conversation, Jake's cell goes off. He looked at in horror. It was a video of his girlfriend strapped to the wall. She was naked and out cold. He also noticed that she had been bleeding badly.
"What kind of person would do this to my girl?", Jake said to himself. He didn't realize that both Liv and Elliot had heard him.
"Let me see that, Jake", Elliot said. Jake handed over the cell phone to Elliot.
He and Liv watched the video from beginning to end on Jake's cell phone. Liv tried to turn away, but couldn't. It sickened both of them. "Let's hope she's still alive, Jake. Mind if we take this? Our tech specialist can pinpoint where the video came from and who sent it", said Elliot.
"Yeah, go ahead. I want the bastard who's doing this to her, Stabler. She means everything to me", said Jake.
Liv placed a hand on Jake's shoulder. "We'll find her, Jake. Don't worry, we will find her and her captors", Liv said.
Jake placed his hand on top of Liv's. "Thanks Detective. I appreciate it. So, how did you end up with him as a partner?", Jake asked.