Along the way to 1 Hogan Place, I was thinking about my first time meeting the others; in this job, it felt like you were meeting someone new to the team every week.
It was a case regarding a young girl who went by Mac. The girl had, according to her parents, been abducted from the home, the abductor evidently locking the mom in the bathroom. Upon further inspection, the family had dealt with kidnapped children before. I was usually working to Mac, and later on the parents alongside Elliot or Olivia, to find out more about what the parents would do to Mac in order to keep her safe- and just what happened to their other daughter, Ella.
We ended up finding her. She was forced to be a child-turned-adult bride to her abductor. But, when we brought Ella to her parents, Olivia later pointed out that Mackenzie didn't seem as ... happy about the news.
She was crying in the background. I wonder what happened to her. I hope they're okay.
Then a year later, both Amanda and Nick came along. Amanda came in to work right away, hadn't even set up her desk before she went to a crime scene. Nick, too, was put straight to work - but both kind of handle those situations differently.
While Amanda was one to listen to those who (technically) had superiority, Nick had his own way to do things - and had this idea that he was always right.
Needless to say, we didn't get along.
Now at the Courthouse, Liv and Harris got out first, moving to the backdoors to let Amanda and myself out next. We stalked up the high steps and into the building, myself behind the rest. At first, Elliot, Liv, and Fin tended to flank this way in order to keep me safe- I was the youngest, the smallest.
I hated that.
But being the last also meant I was most observant, and could catch last-minute details that others missed. Even though we were in the safety of the courthouse, literally surrounded by police officers, that didn't stop a criminal if they really wanted to get the job done.
I'd been shot at more times than I cared to admit on these stairs; I definitely knew better.
Upon entering the courtroom, they were finishing up a case. Two lawyers were bickering back and forth before one decided he'd been defeated and walked out of the room with his head between his shoulders.
"Captain- is it take your daughters to work day?" as- who I assumed was- Rafael Barba reached out his hand to shake each of ours.
"Barba- I lied and said you know your way around a courtroom." It was my turn to shake his hand when the Captain had said that, and I glanced back to fix a really nasty glare on him, simultaneously pulling my hand away. Before I could say more, he was already turning around to go-
-where ever it was SVU Captains go (other than, as of late, jail.)
So we were left to follow after the ADA.
"Does the victim appears credible?"
I spoke up. "She was really shaken up, plus her story was consistent-"
"That's not what I asked." Now leaning against his desk, he repeated, "Does she appear credible?"
I shook my head, glancing between my partners, clearly confused.
"The reason I ask, we had a case where a woman was raped. Attacker had strangled her so bad her eyes popped out of her sockets. He claims she liked it rough, the jury deadlocks." Oh. "I want to meet her."
"She's been through a rough time, Counselor-" Amanda began, but of course Barba had to have the last word.
I was starting to like him as much as I liked Nick.
"And if we go forward it's not going to get any easier."
So later on that day, we were right back in the DA's office, Jocelyn sitting before him, obviously frustrated she had to go through her testimony. AGAIN.
It was after leaving the DA's office, walking down the familiar courthouse steps, that things took a very strange turn. I didn't live too far from the bus stop that would take me back home, so I offered to just walk that way instead of having them drive the short distance. As I leaned against the bench, pulling out my phone, ready to call Joe and see if I should go ahead and order dinner-
I noticed a car parked across the street from me. Normally, that wouldn't be strange. If I hadn't looked up between my thick lashes, phone still before me, I wouldn't have noticed the fact the person within the car- a male- was staring straight at me.
I just about dropped my phone, head shooting completely upright, but before I could move another muscle the car was turning on its signal and peeling into the street, cutting off a tax and narrowly missed being t-boned.
What was that? It probably wasn't important - it probably was nothing at all- but it still made me extremely wary, and I didn't look or even touch my phone the rest of the way home.
The next few days, my paranoia continued to heightened my senses, making me more jumpy. Surprisingly, other than Amanda, Nick noticed as well, approaching me at my desk and stepping instantly away when I nearly jumped out of my seat.
"Hey- did somethin' happen, or- ?"
"No, no. I- No." I shook my head, too vigorously, making my denial even more evident. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You don't act like-"
Olivia and Harris came in and interrupted us, giving me a breath of reprieve. "Let's get to court. Cain is up."
We took two cars on the way to the courthouse; Munch and Fin stayed at the precinct, Harris rode with Amanda and Oliva, leaving me alone with him.
"What's going on?" Nick was looking ahead, but I could feel him gazing at me in his peripheral.
"Focus on driving, Amaro." I kept my own green eyes on my window, watching the grey-on-grey scenery pass by us to the courthouse.
"So that's it? You've been acting more like a manic freak than Munch, and you're just goin' to shrug it off?"
I thought about just ignoring him, letting his words roll over my head and out the window. But- and maybe this really was just manic behavior, I'm no therapist- I kept noticing that same car across from the precinct and once across my house.
It was a black car, common in this city, and it wouldn't seem sketchy, save for that every time I looked over, it drove off.
"I think... " But what if it was just a cop being a cop, and it wasn't that big of a deal? If I brought it up, everyone would get all up in arms, it would turn into this big ol' thing-
Nope; I was already the baby in the squad room, I didn't want unnecessary protection. I was also a cop: I could handle myself.
"I think Sera might be getting bullied at school," I said instead. "I just get lost in thought about it, that's all." I shrugged. "It's girl stuff. I'll take care of it." Finally, I faced him, grimacing, hoping it appeared more like a smile to help simmer down any suspicions.
However, Nick was still staring forward, nodding at my words. "Well, if you need some of us trying to persuade the school to do something about it-"
I chuckled, a genuine noise of amusement, and shook my head at the offer. "If you were a teenage girl, would you want a bunch of cops flocking you?"
"Good point." Now he was smiling; admittedly, he was kind of nice looking when he wasn't trying to be a cocky prick. "Let me know how it works out."
In the courtroom, Barba was laying it on thick with Adam Cain. The things he was questioning him about were unorthodox, to say the least.
"What excites you about sex, Mr. Cain?" See what I mean?
"What excites anyone about sex?" Adam Cain seemed to believe this a joke, and rolled his eyes at the question.
Barba would proceed with questioning like that, and it seemed fine and dandy- until he took his belt off.
"Your honor-" Rita Calhoun would interject, pleading with the judge to stop whatever nonsense Barba had started.
"As an average joe, I am curious about how this whole belt-around-the-neck thing works. I am sure, your honor, the jury is just the same."
"Proceed cautiously, Mr. Barba."
I would lean forward; he wasn't really going to do this, was he? My eyes first fixed on Nick, then Amanda on the other side of me. They seemed in just as much disbelief.
"Show me- show me how you like it, Mr. Cain. Pull it- Pull it!"
"Like this." Cain would tug on Barba's belt so hard, the ADA's face turned instantly bright red. I lifted my bottom from my seat, ready to leap to the rescue as was my duty as a police officer. But Cain released his hold, and Barba hacked, walking away from the bench to return to his desk.
"Not a mark," said the ADA, holding up a picture taken the day of her outcry.
It was pretty much over at that point.
We met outside of the courthouse, Jocelyn looking less than victorious over the jury's guilty verdict.
"What do I do now?" she asked, looking between each of us. "My career is over-"
"The thing about America: this country loves a comeback," muttered Barba, pressing a reassuring hand on Jocelyn's shoulder before descending to the media frenzy just a few yards down from us.
We followed suit, feeling relieved, if only a little, that our new ADA has proven himself quite reliable. As always, I was very last in line- and just like always, I was scanning the area for details that the others couldn't be seeing, not with all the cameras shoved in their face.
So, as before, I saw that black town car, that male staring right at. But he didn't peel away like before, but seemed to shift gears to park in park, pull his keys out, and open his door.
My heart leapt to my throat. Every ounce of police training went out the window- I would have reacted better, if not for the fact that at this point I held some type of familiarity toward this man, and was curious as well as frightened as to why he kept his eye on me this whole time.
I glanced down at the others; they were still swamped by press. They wouldn't know if I slipped out of my position for a minute. And other than my stalker, there was no imminent threat. I walked down the steps, around the media, and toward the car. I slipped a hand over my piece, the other reaching for my phone. If he decided to run off, I could get a quick picture of the license plate.
If not, well- back to being a paranoid maniac.
The man watched me approaching, watched me reaching on either side of me. He retreated to his car again, and amidst the already-crowded streets of the Big Apple, I couldn't get to him before he closed the door. I managed to land a punch on a back door as he would, as usual, peel out of there. However, my phone in my hand, I'd lift the device and take a quick snapshot of the plate.
The next thing I knew, there was screaming and peeling, then I was tumbling onto the side of the street opposite the courthouse. I had pressed against the concrete with the hand not holding my phone, and I felt a crack as I rolled onto my back. Pain seered up my arm, and I could literally see stars for a moment before being pulled onto my feet.
"Are you crazy?" It was Nick; I didn't register at first because of the random spots covering my vision.
"Yes- no. I'm not crazy. I'm fine." I stepped away from him, pocketing my phone while lifting my opposing hand to my face, noticing the redness and obvious swelling. "Damn."
"What were you doing in the middle of the road?" He was just as breathless as myself, looking both worried as well as (rightfully) angry at my carelessness.
So, I did the best thing I could in that situation: played stupid. "Sight-seeing."
