-11-
Alex's first day in Major Case was a Monday, and went much as expected: getting settled in to her office, meeting what seemed like a hundred people, and spending the afternoon getting a briefing on the bureau's open cases. Her predecessor, Andre Bennett, would be moving to an administrative position on the DA's executive staff, so he'd be around if she needed anything, but she was determined to know what she needed to know now, and hit the ground running. Her previous stint as a bureau chief in appeals hadn't quite been the abject failure she perceived it as—no-one was as hard on Alex Cabot as she was on herself—but she'd learned a lot, and wouldn't make the same mistakes twice.
Ellen had moved with her from SVU, and Casey and Mike weren't thrilled. Even though she was Alex's assistant, she was the longest-tenured admin any of them had and could be counted on to deliver the goods, so they were loathe to see her move upstairs with Cabot. Alex, though, would have been lost without the competence and caring the woman offered, and would have fought tooth and nail to convince her if she'd had to. The continuity was welcome, because while they were in the same building, only three floors above their old offices, it felt like a different landscape altogether.
Where Special Victims was the job most of the attorneys would do anything to avoid, Major Case was for climbers, and to a person the attorneys under Alex's command were hyper-intelligent, politically motivated and far too ambitious for their own good. A case tried here was usually big news, not just in the halls of Hogan Place, but also in the Times and the local news and any other place where people liked to write or talk about things rather than do them. The ADAs knew it, the people in City Hall knew it, and Alex knew it. The klieg lights would shine much brighter here than they had in appeals or even in SVU, and any failure on this stage would presage a spectacular fall. This was why she was nervous, though she'd downplayed it to Olivia, and while she had been truthful in saying that she didn't know where her own ambitions would take her five or ten years from now, she knew that falling short of expectations would dramatically limit her options.
Bennett was a good guy. Alex's own dealings with him were limited, but Casey knew him, and spoke very highly of him. He was thorough in outlining the cases, gave her what she needed without bogging her down in details.
"You're coming over at a good time, Cabot," he said. "Not too many open cases on the dockets."
"I'm sure that's due to your hard work the past few weeks," Alex said. "I appreciate it, Andre. Thanks for taking the time to fill me in."
"It's the least I can do," he told her. "When I took the job, there was no chance for a transition. I wasted a week just spinning my wheels, trying to get up to speed with little or no help from the backstabbing careerists who'll be working for you."
"Please tell me it's not that bad," Alex said.
"God knows I'd love to," he laughed. "But it is that bad. Prepare yourself, Alex. If pride goeth before a fall, this bunch will hit the ground with an enormous thud. You've got to have their backs, but don't forget that they don't necessarily have yours."
"I was afraid of that," Alex said, with a heavy sigh. "My last stint as an EADA was in appeals, where everyone was so green I felt like I was on Mars. They didn't have a lot of experience, but they were loyal."
"Well, this should be a nice change of pace for you then," Bennett joked. "You'll find no lack of experience-or confidence-on your staff."
"Anything in particular I should know about any of them?"
"Well, their evaluations are in the files, but to be honest, I'd suggest you not read them right away," he advised. "Meet them, give it a while, see what you think of them without letting my opinions color your judgment."
"That sounds ominous, Andre. What have I gotten myself into?" She smiled, to let him know she was kidding, at least in part.
"From everything I've heard about you, Cabot, you're both fearsome and fearless. That's a powerful combination," he said. "You'll do fine. Support them, stand behind them, but never let them behind you. Just remember-yours is the biggest office, and it's your head on the block, so do what you think is right."
By the end of day one, she was exhausted. Names and faces were flying through her head and case files were littering her desk when Ellen came in to see if she needed anything else. Alex looked up with an exhausted smile.
"Ellen, I'm fine, thanks for everything," she said. "Have a good evening."
"I will, you too," she said, and she turned to go, but looked back in before she pulled Alex's door closed. "Will you end up staying here all night, Ms. Cabot?"
"I'll try not to, but I can't make any promises," the attorney laughed. "Will you ever call me Alex?"
"Perhaps when I retire, but I can't make any promises," the older woman said. "And while I do worry about you, it's Detective Benson who told me to make sure you don't fall asleep here. I don't want to get on her bad side, so please do go home, have dinner, try to sleep at some point."
"Okay, in that case I will. Can't have you getting in trouble with Olivia," Alex winked at her. "One of us has to stay in her good graces."
Alex did leave, finally, at 9:30. She took a couple of files with her, and called Liv as she was leaving her office.
Olivia answered on the first ring. "You'd better be calling to tell me you're leaving work," she said.
"I am. Sorry, babe," Alex said. "Lots to absorb. I didn't realize how late it was getting."
"Well, good, because if you were going to spend the night there, I was going to have to give you an earful," Olivia warned her. "But I would let you bring a file home, so you'll put on those sexy glasses and do some lawyering on my couch."
It felt good to talk to Olivia, to be reminded of life outside of Hogan Place. Though she'd only been back a day, the two weeks of vacation had been far too kind to her. She felt like she'd been breaking rocks all day, and was glad to leave it behind. "I can do that," Alex said, as she walked out of the building and started toward the garage. "But can you watch me do my lawyering on my couch? I've got an early breakfast meeting and I'd hoped to grab a quick run. I just don't have it in me to go home early in the morning to grab a suit before work."
"Taken care of," Olivia said. And Alex heard a horn honk, looked up to see the Mercedes parked at the curb with Olivia behind the wheel. She climbed in gratefully, and looked at Liv with a puzzled smile.
"How did you know I'd be leaving now?"
"I didn't. I've been here for about 20 minutes, and if you hadn't called in the next 10, I was coming in after you."
"And the car?"
"Spare set of keys at your apartment, of course," Olivia laughed.
"You walked to my apartment to get the car keys, then cabbed it over here to pick me up?"
"Well, I had to go by there to get your clothes for tomorrow. I was motivated, sweetie. I wanted five or ten minutes with you before your head hits the pillow, because once that happens, I suspect you'll be out for the night."
"Am I that predictable?" Alex asked. "This is too sweet, Liv. I'm so tired I might cry."
"No crying," Olivia smiled at her. "It's my job to figure things out. I'm a detective, remember?"
"A sweet detective," Alex amended.
"Well, let's not let that get out. I'll have suspects expecting back-rubs and Munch giving me his dry cleaning."
Alex relaxed into the passenger seat, thinking she could comfortably sleep right here, but she did want to spend a little bit of time with Olivia tonight. Alex's insomnia had eased noticeably since she'd been seeing Olivia, and she didn't know if it was the fact that she was as happy as she'd ever been, or that she was having sex that was both fairly frequent and always fantastic. Or, simply, that she felt a weight had been lifted from her. Whether that was due to Olivia, or vanquishing the demons she'd carried since Baltimore, or some combination, she didn't know. And she didn't much care, when it came down to it.
Knowing that she had someone to go home to made her surprisingly happy. She'd never thought it was important. But then, she'd never had someone at home she cared so much about.
Olivia noticed how quiet she was. "That was a long first day, sweetie. How was it?"
"Exhilarating and exasperating and exhausting."
"Extremely?" Olivia joked, and Alex laughed.
"Excessively so," she added. "But, day one is in the books and if I can remember even half of what I was told and who I met, I'll be doing well."
"Lots of cases in play right now?"
"No, and thank God-and Andre Bennett-for small favors," Alex said. "I know he worked his ass off so he wouldn't have a lot to hand over."
"Well, that's something good then," Olivia said. "What's on the docket for tomorrow, Chief Cabot?"
"The breakfast meeting I mentioned, with the Chief ADA to discuss legislative priorities,then the weekly meeting with the DA and all of the bureau chiefs," Alex said. "And that's all before noon."
"Lots of meetings," Olivia said. "That sounds like it'll be the biggest change for you. Will you get enough time in the courtroom?"
"Probably not, so I'll just insert myself into too many cases and piss off my ADAs," she said. "Why not? Donnelly did it to me for years."
"That's the spirit, sweetie," Liv said. "Do unto others..."
"Before they can do unto you," Alex finished.
"Damn right," Olivia laughed. "I think I like this new you. The bureau chief version is so autocratic. You're just oozing power, Cabot. It's downright sexy."
"Thanks," Alex said. "Machiavelli had nothing on me. As much as I hate to disappoint you though, babe, I'm too tired to grant your wish of sleeping with a bureau chief."
"No," Liv said, "sleeping is exactly what I'm going to do with my bureau chief." She reached over for Alex's hand, rubbing her thumb lightly along the palm. "There will be plenty of time for currying sexual favors with you later. Tonight, I'm going to put you in a bath, rub your feet while you read a file or two, and then slide you into bed and tell you a story until you fall asleep."
"What's the story going to be about?"
"Not sure yet," Olivia answered, and lifted the hand she'd been holding, kissing the knuckles one at a time."Probably a beautiful lawyer who risks everything for justice, and her tough-as-nails cop girlfriend..."
"Sweet," Alex interjected. "Tough but sweet."
"Fine. Her-tough-but-sweet cop girlfriend, and how they put away bad guys and eat lots of Italian food and live happily ever after."
"So, only just the greatest story ever told then?"
"Pretty much."
Alex felt refreshed on Tuesday morning, a consequence of Olivia insisting that she sleep at least five hours, and then setting the alarm so that she'd get closer to six.
"I missed my run, babe," Alex complained.
"Want some cheese with that whine, Cabot?" Olivia teased, then relented a bit. She was a sucker for the look Alex got when she was disappointed. "I know you did, and I'm sorry. I won't make a habit of it, but you need sleep as much as you need to run. Besides, it's supposed to be a beautiful day. How about we take a run after work?"
"You're acting like that's for my benefit," Alex said. "But I suspect it's a way to get me home from work before the sun goes down."
"Call it what you want," Olivia replied. "But if it doesn't work, I'm not above having Ellen pull a fire alarm to get that building evacuated."
As the day wore on, Alex realized she might have to try that trick herself. Her breakfast meeting had been interesting, to say the least. Meeting with the DA's right-hand man had been enlightening, and while they hadn't discussed any practicalities, Alex knew when she was being leaned on. In particular, the guy outlined the specifics of the DA's support for the Public Corruption Prevention & Enforcement Act, and made it quite clear what was, and was not, expected of Alex.
Later, at the DA's weekly meeting, Alex did far more listening than talking, and had a thought or two about the fact that she'd made it this far. She'd certainly matured since she was a 26-year-old ADA. Just a little over a year out of Harvard, having clerked for a federal judge and then spending barely six months prosecuting drug cases before her assignment to SVU, she'd been accused of nepotism, and worse. Looking back, she realized she'd have thought the same thing herself. Having a judge for an uncle had been a blessing and a curse, even then.
Now, sitting at this table, Cutter was her peer, not her supervisor. She'd grown as an attorney and hadn't hesitated to challenge Mike when she felt it was warranted. She'd be a hypocrite to expect anything less from the staff in her new bureau.
The rest of Alex's Tuesday was spent meeting with the attorneys assigned to her, taking a few minutes to speak with each of them individually, and then a few more minutes after each meeting to jot down some notes encapsulating her first impressions. She knew some of them, of course, but mostly in passing, or as a friend of a friend. Hogan Place was home to more than 500 attorneys, and SVU was among the more insular units in the trial division, so she had no close friends or associates among the 27 attorneys on her team.
She worked quickly, wanting to get her thoughts down on paper while they were fresh, and also hoping to get home at a decent hour for a run—or some kind of exercise—with Olivia. The detective's afternoon, though, was significantly busier, and less pleasant. At 2:30, Cragen had gotten a call from the Chief of Police, followed shortly thereafter by a visit from the Chief of D's. He summoned Olivia and Nick as soon as the brass left.
The Chief's office had learned late that morning that the Times was about to publish a multi-part expose on sexual abuse at the Mansfield Academy, an elite private school on the Upper East Side. The story alleged wanton and ongoing sexual abuse by the Academy's teachers, and the paper's editor only called NYPD with a heads-up because the fallout would be radioactive. The school's alums included the Mayor, the Governor, three current Senators and one former President. The culture had been one of tacit acceptance, and the Times was alleging that the first victim had attended the school four decades before. Now, the Chief had kicked the case to Cragen and his squad, and they had less than 48 hours to get out in front of it before the story went to press. They worked out a plan with Cragen.
"You've got lead on this, Liv," he ordered. "Nick, with her, you two will be primaries. But it's going to be a big job, so I'm giving you Fin and Rollins as well. We'll get them in here shortly and brief them."
"How do you want to play this, Captain?" Nick asked. "Lot of toes could get stepped on here."
"Then lose the boots and do this in ballet slippers, if you have to. It's a shitstorm, you two," he said. "And you're going out in it, so put on your waders. It's going to get deep."
Olivia barely had a moment to call Alex at 6 and let her know that she wouldn't be home—for a run, for dinner, probably not for a night or two.
"This is major, Liv," Alex said, as soon as she heard the broadest outline of the investigation Olivia was leading. "Too many people with too much to lose. Be careful, babe."
"I will," the detective promised. "I'm sorry about tonight, sweetie."
"No apology necessary," Alex said. "If even half of what the Times is planning to report turns out to be true, that's going to be a nightmare. You're the best woman for the job, even if I would rather have you at home."
"Thanks, really."
"Save it for tomorrow morning."
"What's tomorrow morning?" Olivia asked.
"When I come by with clean clothes for you, and decent coffee and enough breakfast for you to share with Nick," she replied. "That might be something to be grateful for."
The case was, as feared, a many-headed hydra, with far-reaching tentacles and the potential to blow up into a media circus. The Mansfield Academy had educated privileged boys for more than 160 years, and a disproportionate number of them became men of power and prestige, in New York and in Washington. The reaction of the most famous graduates would either help the detectives and the DA's office sort this mess out quickly, or would result in stonewalling delays and press coverage that could only make this an even bigger nightmare than it had to be.
"I'm not liking this, Liv," Amaro told her as they were 36 hours in, running on fumes and interviewing witnesses and accomplices, accusers and accused. They'd each slept about 3 hours in the crib, when the hour became too late to contact any interviewees and they'd fried their brains piecing together the details. The Times hadn't given them the sources, the notes, or even the story itself. They'd been content to provide a broad outline and let the cops go back and do work they'd already done.
"Can't blame you, Nick," she agreed. "People who know something don't want this to come out, because it's going to be assumed that they were molested, and because even if they weren't, people will ask how they didn't do anything to report it then, or to stop it now."
"Well, they're all valid questions," Nick averred. "These men, lots of them anyway, have power now. If they knew what was going on—even if it didn't happen to them—they've got to answer for that, almost as much as the perpetrators. I mean, you know half the instructors at your school are abusing boys, and you not only keep it to to yourself, but you keep donating money, supporting the abusers? What sense does that make?"
"And more than a few of them sent their own kids there, so that only increased their interest in covering it up," Olivia added. "They couldn't afford to have the school's reputation destroyed."
They worked through the better part of the second night, Olivia having new reason to be grateful for Alex when she overheard Nick's goodnight call on Wednesday. "Honey, I know, but I can't leave. The story hits tomorrow, and after that we'll get a little reprieve, and I can come home for a few hours. But until then, I have to be here, and get hold of as many of the players as I can, before I have to deal with camera crews and the damn paparazzi."
She knew Maria was giving him a hard time for being here two nights in a row, knew from years of dealing with the peculiarities of the Stablers' home life that, even if she wasn't outright accusing him, she most likely assumed it was only a matter of time before her husband slept with his female partner. Olivia suspected that, even if he'd been here pulling overtime with Munch or Fin, he'd still get a rash of shit about the hours he worked.
Alex, on the other hand, knew the drill, and uttered not one peep of discontent when they'd talked, didn't pack Olivia's bags to send her on a guilt trip she didn't deserve. She said I love youand I miss you, but she just said them, didn't throw them in Olivia's face like accusations, or favors she was doing her.