Chapter 2
Al's boxing, Upper Manhattan, Tuesday, 11:22AM
Harvey Specter had given their doorman the okay to share where he and his daughter were if SVU happened to stop by. ADA Barba, Detective Carisi and Rollins walked into the boxing gym and found the two they were looking for. Barba personally was very interested in what he was witnessing.
Harvey was wearing kickboxing hand pads while Remi wore the boxing gloves. He was helping her workout, train, release tension. She threw many fast uppercuts, punches, bobbing and weaving, blocking, sidekicks and after several minutes of that, she took all her frustrations out and ended the cycle with a hard round-kick. It was so hard it actually had Harvey lose his footing and he stumbled back a bit. She had finally succumbed to her built up emotions and sat where she stood and cried softly. Harvey went to her immediately and placed his arm around her.
"It's okay, it'll be okay." Harvey assured.
Harvey didn't get a chance to say much more when Barba and the two detectives made themselves known. Remi noticed her father being distracted and looked over and up. She noticed the SVU team and got up right away as she wiped her tears with the hand towel her father gave her.
"Did you find Ari and Jules!?" Remi asked anxiously.
"No sweetheart, not yet." Detective Rollins answered sincerely.
"However, we do have two possible leads," ADA Barba added, "We would like to show you a couple of pictures and see if you recognize any of the men. Are you up for that?"
Both detectives noticed a change in domineer with their partner/friend. Barba is usually much more straight forward, must get it done, no time for emotions if you will. With Remi they noticed softness in his tone. It was almost protective.
"Ummm yeah, I can." Remi answered with determination to find her friends.
Barba looked around, "How about we all go over here for a bit more privacy?"
As they all walked to a quieter area, Remi took off her remaining pink colored EVERLAST brand boxing glove and handed them over to her father. She proceeded to wipe as much sweat as she could. With the sweat and pheromones heavily activated, the smell of her Burberry perfume hit the air in her path with welcoming floral yet woody notes. Carisi noticed the pleasant smell and simply looked down at the young girl. He hadn't known her long or even that well yet. There was something about her. She wore an Adidas pink sports bra and long tight leggings, her hair French braided on both sides and her nails were perfectly manicured with French tips. She oozed femininity yet her personality was far from anything stereotypical. She had a fighting spirit, determination, assertiveness with the right amount of aggression. She was confident, a leader.
As the small group reached their desired area, Carisi took out his phone. He showed Remi seven different photos. She picked two of them out right away.
"Him! That's Ron and this guy, that…that is Clay. Do you have them in custody or just an idea where they are?" She asked quickly.
"They are being detained." Barba answered as his eyes darted over to the detectives and back to her.
"Clay Roberts is in the hospital with a serious infection due to the injury he sustained while you were escaping. Rollins explained. "Rob Drudgers is being held at the precinct."
"A serious infection hum?" Remi stated as a pleasing smirk fell upon her soft plump naturally pink lips. She looked up a moment later and found all four adults looking at her with a bit of concern.
"What? He totally deserves it. A modern slang never held more true than right now, I'm sorry not sorry."
"Sweetheart, as your lawyer, I highly advice to not look so happy about something like that around D.A's and detectives, it tends to raise red flags to possible pre-meditation." Harvey states simply with a smirk of his own.
She sighed, "Yeah, okay, got it."
Harvey looked over at the other three, "Is there anything else you need from Remi right now?"
"At this moment, no, we will be in touch." Barba answered.
Harvey nodded then looked at his teenage daughter, "Why don't you hit the showers then we can go out for lunch?"
"Kay," She answered half distracted then looked at the other three, "umm bye."
"Bye." The three answered.
The detectives headed out but Barba stayed behind. He turned to Harvey, "How long has Remi been into kickboxing?"
"I introduced her to it the day her mother bought Remi's first bra when she was only 11."
Barba nodded, "good call, I like the way you think." He said with a smirk but his eyes showed sadness. Harvey observed the man and could tell something was on his mind.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" Harvey asked simply.
"Now really isn't the time, but, quick question, when did you meet Scottie?"
"I met her during the holidays, 2002."
"The holidays, 2002? So Remi was what, around 6 months old?"
"Yes, that is right. And no, Remi doesn't know…I'm sorry, since everything happened, I haven't been too focused on how you and my wife knew each other. Is there something I should know?"
"Yes, I think so, but, it's not my place. Ask Scottie about it."
"Alright, I will."
"Right, well, I'll be in touch."
16th precinct, Lower Manhattan, New York, Thursday, 4:37PM
The SVU team had discovered disturbing information with their further investigation. They were gathered around the evidence area when Remi walked in wearing a white Nike sports tank top, black Nike sport leggings; white Nike running shoes and a white running headband with her hair up in a high ponytail. She also had a thin zipper jacket tied around her waist. Barba was the first to notice her presence.
"Remi, is everything okay? Where did you run in from?" Barba asked noticing her attire and obvious sign that she was exasperated from running.
Carisi had left and returned with a bottle of water. Remi took it gratefully. She opened it and took a long drink, a very long drink. Once she had what she needed she thanked Carisi and looked at Barba.
"I was just out running and wanted to see if there were any leads on finding Ari and Jules."
"Running from where exactly?" Barba asked almost impatiently.
"Ummm, you know, from home. I kinda just kept running."
"Kinda just kept running? You live in Upper Manhattan, this is Lower Manhattan. That isn't some small run around the block." Barba stated.
Remi looked at her FitBit watch. "Ummm wow, yeah, I wasn't paying much attention but yeah, 9.3 miles in an hour and 15 minutes."
"Do you parents know you're out for a long run?" Carisi asked.
"No, they are both in the office today. I left a note in case one of them came home early though."
"A note? Do your parents always let you just come and go as you please?" Barba asked as he was starting to get really upset at the idea.
Remi tilted her head to the left side and looked at Barba dubiously for a moment before straightening back up. She started to feel upset but kept it together as best as she could.
"I just needed to see if there were any leads. I just kept running it's not something I normally do. Sorry I bothered you." Remi said as she started to turn around and head out.
Olivia Benson looked at Rafael Barba for a moment as in, "what's wrong with you?" She looked back over at the teenage girl. "Now wait a minute Remi, sweetheart, there actually is something."
The fifteen year old turned back around with a look of hope in her big green eyes. Olivia walked closer.
"What is it? Please tell me, I can take it."
The two perps we have are both tied with past sex trafficking cases. Remi found the nearest chair and sat down. She could hardly breathe.
"This is my fault, all my fault." Remi whispered as she was trying to control her panic attack.
"This is in no way your fault sweetheart." Olivia tried in a soothing tone.
Remi stood up feeling frantic. "Yes, it is. I'M the one that wanted to go dancing. I'M the one that gave the final yes about going with those creeps. I didn't listen to my instincts. Ari and Jules kept telling me how cute they were and that it wasn't fair I was the only one with a boyfriend. It's MY fault!"
"You have a boyfriend?" Barba asked with surprise.
The others looked at him with confusion but re-focused onto Remi. "It's still not your fault Remi." Carisi said, "Yeah, you made a mistake by going to the club but, those creeps, that…that is NOT on you."
"No, you don't get it. The three of us had a pact together. We were going to do everything we could to not mess up our futures like some other girls do. We weren't going to do anything that could get us pregnant or do drugs, none of that. Jules is going to be a psychiatrist and specialize with suicidal patients because that's how she lost her mom. Ari is going to be a lawyer, she said she plans on doing as much pro-bono work as she can to help people…and."
"And you?" Barba asked genuinely interested.
"Me, I still can't decide between being a doctor or FBI agent. Of course considering current circumstances, I really don't know now. But, after we graduated we were going to take a year off before going off to college."
"To travel a bit? See the world?" Carisi asked.
"Sort of, we were going to join Peace Corp. It was all going as planned. Everything was laid out perfectly. We had perfect grades. The perfect social crowd. I just was just voted in as student body president. Jules was my vise and Ari was secretary. Perfect…it was all perfect. Too perfect." Remi ended softly. "I started to feel like I couldn't breathe. I was going crazy inside. I just wanted to let loose, have a little fun. And now, now everything is gone."
"This is just a detour," Lieutenant Benson tried, "I can tell you're a very strong girl. You can still proceed with your plans."
"No, not without Ari and Jules, I can't, I just can't."
"You don't have to make any decisions at this moment. You just need to get through this. How about I drive you back home?" Barba asked sympathetically.
"Ummm, I…its okay, I can just run."
"It's going to be dark soon, are your parents really okay with you running this far in the dark?"
"They won't know if you don't tell them." She smirked as she wiped her tears.
Barba simply quirked his eyebrow and that small gesture alone spoke volumes.
"Okay, okay, I won't run. I can just take a cab though. You're really busy here."
He stepped a bit closer, "I need to clear my head. You'll be doing me a favor I promise."
She looked at him, the others then back over at the ADA. "Okay then, I guess, sure."
SVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVU
The first ten minutes of the drive was quiet. Barba wasn't exactly sure what to talk about without revealing too much. He was reminded by what she was wearing and that gave him his ice breaker.
"So, you're into kick-boxing and running. I run a bit myself. Do you work out a lot?"
Remi looked over for a minute and with tired eyes she answered.
"Yes, it helps me get through things. It's not always exactly what I need but it helps."
"Do you do any other sports?"
"Not too much. I do trapeze yoga, that's pretty fun for conditioning. My boyfriend plays baseball and football. He and I run together a lot."
"He wasn't free to run with you today?"
"No, he had football practice."
"Aww, so how long have you and your boyfriend been together?"
"We started dating three months ago, after I turned fifteen. We met two years ago though."
"Through school?"
"No, we go to different schools. I umm, I actually had a message for him, from his mom. They were her last words."
"Okay, you really have my curiosity now, please tell me about it."
Remi was quiet for a few moments before speaking.
"I was thirteen; it was a boutique in the Village, a pair of shoes I wanted. I knew exactly where they were inside and everything. My dad gave me his credit card and I was just going to run in and out. I went inside and grabbed the shoes. I was in line with two other women. The one in front was complaining about something trivial. At some point I ended up talking to the woman behind me, her name was Allison. All the sudden this man ran in with a gun. He was robbing the place. The lady that was in front of me started screaming hysterically. It must have really struck a nerve with the guy. He started shooting her and then had his gun aimed at me. I just froze, he shot, and the bullet missed me as someone knocked me out of the way. It was Allison. We think it was her maternal instincts kicking in to help me, we aren't sure exactly. Anyway, the clerk finally got out his gun and shot the jerk. After that, I just know she lived long enough to ask me to tell her son and her husband that she loved them more than the world and that she was sorry for leaving so soon. Then…then she just died in my arms."
By time Remi finished her story they had reached the apartment building where the Specters lived. Barba pulled into a parking spot, turned off the engine and just looked over at the young girl. He was quiet, stunned, at that moment, he was actually speechless. After a minute he replied.
"I wish I knew the right words to say. I'm truly sorry you had to go through that…and now this."
"It's okay, I'll live. I just need Ari and Jules back."
"I promise you we will do everything we can."
Lennox Hill Hospital, Upper Manhattan, Friday, 6:15PM
Chief Dodds made his way quickly to the ER waiting room. He was followed closely by ADA, Rafael Barba. In the room was the Chief's grandson, Harvey and Scottie Specter along with Mike and Rachel Ross. Chief Dodds instantly had his grandson fling himself into his arms sobbing.
"It's okay Kaneti, it'll be okay." The chief soothed as he looked over to the Specters, "What happened?"
"That's what I want to know." Barba added.
"We think Remi tried to commit suicide." Mike answered as her parents were in no condition to really talk.
Kaneti shook his head no as he backed away from his grandfather and wiped his tears.
"No, no way, I keep telling you guys she wouldn't do that! Remi would never do that."
"You found her in the bathtub with deep cuts on her thighs. If it wasn't suicide then please, tell us what happened." Rachel pleaded.
Kaneti looked over at Barba and realized he was the only person he hadn't met before who was there for Remi.
"Are you Mr. Barba?"
"Yes."
"Remi knows."
Barba looked at him with confusion then over at Harvey and Scottie. They looked at each other. Harvey stood up.
"Damn it. She must have heard us arguing last night."
"Arguing about what exactly?" Mike asked.
"Arguing over the idea that Barba here arrived at the office last night and reprimanding us on our parenting." Harvey snapped.
"She was left alone while she is going through a traumatic experience. She ran all the way down to lower Manhattan, by herself. She would have run home alone too, in the dark. Where were either of you? Working."
"Oh excuse me, like you don't work over 80 hours a week counselor!" Harvey snapped.
"I don't have the responsibility of a teenage daughter at home. Especially NOW when she needs her parents the most."
"Is that supposed to be some sort of underlined threat?" Harvey asked getting closer in Barba's face.
"I'm not threatening anyone but I do have my rights as Remi's biological father!"
"Alright, enough!" Chief Dodds ordered and separated the two men. "You two damn roosters can have your cock fight later. Right now that little girl is in there fighting for her life. I believe Kaneti, it must have been an accident. The LAST thing she needs is extra stress over both of you tearing each other apart."
Both Rafael and Harvey looked over at the Chief.
"You're right Will, you're right, I'm sorry." Harvey said as he backed up and stood closer to his wife.
"Yeah, me too." Barba added.
A nurse came in quickly before anyone could say anything further. "Is everyone in here on behalf of Remiany Specter?"
"Yes, we are." Chief William Dodds answered.
"We need more blood. Anyone in here O or AB negative?"
"I'm O negative." Scottie answered.
"I also have type O." Mike Ross answered.
"I am AB negative." Barba replied.
"Great, come with me, quickly. Remiany is going into Hypovolemic shock she needs more blood right away!"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! XOXO