Chapter 2: An Adventure Awaits
A/N: So, seeing as I am a fiction writer and not a journalist or an investigator, I took some (ok, a lot lol) of liberties in the proceedings of such a court.
Alex walked along the corridor toward the meeting room. Her stride was confident and self-assured. She had been preparing for this for the past six months and she knew this case like the back of her hand.
After having spent a few months in the Congo, she knew firsthand the degree to which these particularly repugnant crimes against humanity had escalated. In fact, she had met with some of the survivors of the raid against Djambala. It sent shivers up her spine and a new torrent of righteous anger filled her.
The attempted conviction of the leader of the gorilla militia had failed. Yet this time she held the key to success. This trial would not be held in the greedy motherland, where bribes took precedence over the law. No, this time court was being held in the ICC building in The Hauge, Netherlands.
The International Criminal Court had indicted over twenty men since its opening back in 2001. Since then, only two convictions had been achieved. And of those two, one man had been murdered in prison while the other's case had been dismissed. This was the cruel statistic. Five men awaited trial for crimes committed during war; and Alex was determined to add one more to the list.
Alex held the power to sway the ICC in favor of the indictment of one of the leaders, a lieutenant, in the Republic of Congo's rebel militia. She opened the door into the meeting room and strode to her position at the table. She sat her briefcase down and began preparing her files. As she did, various members of the council came in and introduced themselves.
The president of the court, a South Korean lawyer, sat at the head of the table. Next to him sat the vice president of the court. She was a Malian lawyer and judge, elected so back in 2003. Men and women from the council filed into the room. If anyone had the power to put away one of the cruelest war criminals of the decade, it would be one of the people at this table. Even Judge Elizabeth Donnelly had somehow managed to get in on this case and Lord knows she's one to be reckoned with.
Alex looked around the room, at the incredibly powerful group of officials and thought to herself, this is what I've worked so hard for. This is the opportunity I've been waiting for. If she could persuade the court to indict this man, she'd be the one that helped put away a serial rapist and war criminal. Although the chief prosecutor was the one that would actually put him away, without Alex, their case would be extremely lackluster.
She'd seen the horror that his men could inflict, and she couldn't shake it. The second night she'd been in the Congo, she'd run into a little girl who'd had her right arm hacked off with a machete. After they'd amputated her arm, they raped her so many times that she lost count. Now, Alex often awoken in the middle of the night in a cold sweat dreaming of that little girl's face. She'd never shared that dream with Olivia; instead she kept them buried in her own mind.
Nevertheless, on those nights, Olivia had been there. She'd woken up with her and she'd lull her back into sleep through her gentle manner of whispered affection and assurance. Alex would fall asleep in her girlfriend's arms feeling protected for the night. Yet, as she lay there, wrapped securely in Liv's embrace, she couldn't help but picture the faces of some of the other women she'd seen. And she knew that they weren't sleeping safely that night.
If she could put away this man, then perhaps those women would be able to sleep better at night; perhaps she would be able to sleep better at night. It wouldn't change what had happened, but it was one small step - one small step to stopping the act of rape as a scare tactic in war. If she could help put him away, then perhaps it would assuage her guilt. She had let them down once, but not this time.
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
Olivia slammed the door to the interview room behind her with a smug grin across her face. "That play gets 'em every time," she said.
Cragen stood at the window with his hands in his pockets. "It looks like a slam dunk," he said and then walked with Olivia back into the bullpen. "Good work detective," he called over his shoulder as he headed toward his office.
She nodded her head in thanks as she sat down at her desk.
Officers escorted the perp out of the back room and took him off toward central booking.
Liv began typing up her report. They had obtained incriminating evidence earlier that morning while performing a search warrant in the perp's apartment. He had several DVDs hidden in a floorboard and it was only by happenstance that the detectives found it. It hadn't taken her long to squeeze out any remaining information she needed from him.
It was days like these that made her proud of what she worked so hard for. Of course, there were days that seemed to rip out her insides and take a bit of her sole with them. Those were the worst cases to work. Having a child amplified those horrors even more, especially when they involved young children. But today a rapist was headed to prison, and there would be justice and peace of mind for the victims.
Liv could see it in their eyes, the hurt that each predator caused. She felt it too, and it made her all the more proud each time one was sent to prison.
Elliot glanced up from his paperwork. "So how's my little man?" he asked.
"Riley?" Liv glanced up from her report. "He's doing great. Actually, he's been bugging me about visiting the station again. He wants to see his uncle Elliot."
Elliot beamed. He loved Riley like any uncle and so he bore the title proudly. "Is that so?" he asked. He looked down at his almost complete paperwork and then at the clock. It was getting close to five and there was nothing else pressing that needed to be done. "Well, why don't you bring him over to my house for the evening and Kathy and I will watch him. You and Alex can go out on a date, and Eli and Riley can play together."
"That's really sweet of you El, but I don't want to be a burden . . ." Olivia began but got interrupted.
Elliot leaned over his desk. "Liv, stop. You and Alex rarely get a night out. Go celebrate her victory . . . or if she didn't manage to get that indictment, then go take her mind off of it."
Olivia looked at him uncertainly. He was right, the two of them rarely got to go out on date and she was all finished for the day. "What about you and Kathy? Wouldn't you guys like to get out?"
Elliot raised his brow and nodded. "Yeah, well, we still got three kids at home. A peaceful night in is all I really want." He shrugged. "Eli has been wanting to play with Riles again. He'll keep him entertained."
Olivia pursed her lips in a grin. "Ok, we'll bring him over on our way out." She looked down at her watch. "I expect a call from Alex soon and I'll know how the meeting went."
*-*/*-*/*-*/*-*/
The meeting had lasted all morning and into the better half of the evening. Alex had presented her case first, followed by a few more ICC members. The meeting was coming to a close and the council members were taking a vote on the indictment.
After a long discussion, the members decided that they did have enough evidence to prosecute the lieutenant; and they would have him indicted and brought to The Hague by the beginning of the next week.
Alex began packing her briefcase; a radiant smile was plastered across her face.
Then the president of the court walked up to her. His accent was thick, but his English was very good. She stopped at his approach. He grinned at her and began speaking, "You have laid before us an incredible case against the defendant Ms. Cabot."
"Thank you sir, I was just doing my job," Alex said.
Then the vice president walked up to join them. She gave the president a knowing nod. "We have been speaking to the other members about you, and it seems we are all very impressed by your work."
The high compliments made Alex grin from ear to ear. Unable to control her giddiness, she did an almost imperceptible bounce on her toes. She laughed at herself as she did that because it reminded her of her son and how he seemed to bounce and jump at literally everything that excited him.
Somewhere in the background, Judge Donnelly saw the exchange taking place. She stood back and watched amused.
The president of the court continued his accolade, "We have been admiring your work for some time, and we have seen the enthusiasm and dedication from which you work . . ."
"What we're trying to say," the VP interjected, "is that we would be honored if you would be the chief prosecutor on this case."
For the moment, Alex was stunned into silence. The position was highly sought after; and very high profile- an honor indeed. However, the catch to taking this job was that it would involve a move. One that she wasn't sure Olivia would want to make. "Thank you for the offer, but I will have to get back with you on that."
The president looked at her quizzically. "Is this not what you want?"
Alex frantically waved her hands back and forth. "Oh no, that's not what I meant at all." She regained her composure, "I just need to talk with my girlfriend about the move, and what we'd do with our son."
He eyed her suspiciously and then looked over at the VP with that judging look in his eyes.
Well, apparently not everyone has caught up to the times. Alex thought.
Elizabeth stepped in at that precise moment, before Alex went out on a tirade. She stepped next to Alex, and spoke on her behalf, "She will have an answer for you by the end of the week."
The president and the vice president seemed to accept that answer and then strode out of the room.
Donnelly turned to face Alex and spoke to her, "You could have kept that little tid-bit to yourself."
"Why?" A now wound up Alex said, "Who are they to critique the way I live. Furthermore, how is it any different from their lives?"
The judge put up a hand to silence Alex's ranting. "They judge for a living my dear. Now, go home and discuss the offer with your girlfriend. Let me know what you decide. It would be rather nice to see a familiar face." The judge grinned as she revealed the secret she had kept the whole meeting.
Alex looked at her astonished. "They asked you to judge the case?"
Elizabeth nodded her head, "They did indeed, and I accepted."
Alex bit her bottom lip. Her struggle was evident.
Elizabeth grabbed Alex's shoulder to bring her back to reality. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime Alex; an adventure awaits."
A/N: Thoughts or comments anyone? Will Liv want to leave everything behind and go with Alex? And what happens with little Riley Benson-Cabot if Olivia doesn't go?
