The normally calm, cool, brunette who occupied the office across the hall from EADA Mike Cutter stood in his doorway. Rubirosa's dark eyes as wide as saucers. It took the new EADA a few seconds respond to his assistant's penatrating stare.

"McCoy's on the war path,"Cutter said without looking up from the report in front of him.

Rubirosa rolled her eyes as she moved closer to the attractive man clad in a navy suit and dress shirt that remained open at the collar.

"Against who? Me? What did I do to Jack to deserve six months worth of disks and documentation to go through when you already told me we'd be working overtime every night this week to get ready for the Hobart trial?"

"Jack reassigned Hobart to Ron Carver. I already walked the files down to his assistant."

"Reassigned Hobart," Rubirosa repeated as she turned to leave.

"Connie, remember he's not just your supervisor anymore."

Rubirosa stopped dead in her tracks. Cutter smiled as he looked away, knowing his assistants face would be scarlet, just as it had been the other half dozen times he'd stepped in to keep her from confronting the new DA. Even though the McCoy had been paired up with the young ADA barely a year, the two had formed a bond that made Rubirosa more than comfortable challenging him when McCoy made, what she viewed, bad judgment call.

"But Mike, does Jack realize you and I have spent the last two months preparing-"

Cutter raised one hand, as he handed his assistant his copy of the New York Times, with the other

"Obviously, you haven't seen the morning paper."

Rubirosa read the headline and looked sharply back at her supervisor.

"Oh no. I'd expect to see a headline like: Mad Dog McCoy Manipulates the Media in The Ledger, not The Times. Jack's seen this?"

"Oh yeah," Cutter said with a knowing smile. "Jack anticipated this. Trust me...he's more than prepared to fight dirty on this one. More than prepared."

Rubirosa skimmed the story beneath the headline, as she leaned against the door frame.

"Interim New York County DA, Jack McCoy is skating a fine line between investagatorial discretion and abuse of power by a public official… Mike, whose leading the charge against Jack and why?"

"Did you read the labels on any the boxes in your office," Cutter replied as he folded his hands on the desktop.

"It looks like they're all from the archives in DC... files from Congressman Prescott's office."

Cutter waited for the young woman to make the connection. He still shuttered when he recalled his conversation with the DA that weekend. In his short time as senior prosecutor Cutter had heard McCoy annoyed, had seen him backed up against more than one political wall, but he'd never heard McCoy sound as repelled, as ready for a street fight, as he had when he uttered the words that left no room for confusion in Cutter's mind.

"…I want him taken down, Mike. I want him taken down so hard, he can't get up again."

Across the hall, Jack McCoy was repeating the same words to Sam Prescott who nodded in agreement.

"…I know he's your brother, Sam, but if you get in the way of my investigation, I won't have a choice. I'll take you down with him."

"You don't have to make idle threats to gain my cooperation, Jack. You know how I feel about Mal," the other man said bluntly. "What he did to her…that alone is reason enough for me to help you."

"Good, because make no mistake, "McCoy continued indifferently. "I believe Brooke's assault is just the tip of the iceberg.We both know men like this don't stop with a single attack. I also believe John Prescott was an active participatant in the death of Lori Mills."

"I wish could say I was shocked or even that I don't think my half brother is capable of committing any of these crimes. But I can't, that's why I called you, Jack. Not only is it making me sick to think of what he did all those years ago to Mal, it makes me sicker that I didn't realize…that I didn't put a stop to it..."

McCoy studied the tortured face of the man across from him. Prescott looked like he'd gotten even less sleep than McCoy had the night before.

"You say that like you knew or that you suspected –"

"No," Prescott said sharply, as he met McCoy accusing stare."No, Jack. I had no idea he'd touched my beautiful…our precious girl. I'd have killed him myself if I'd known, which is probably why Mal never let on anything had happened."

"Brooke does tend to be protective of those she loves," McCoy agreed with a sigh. "She also has seen enough victims to know vague recollections...especially against a public figure... won't go very far legally."

"So, how can I help you?"

"From what Brooke has told me, I know you and your half brother have a history of estrangement that goes back to your childhood. You know what I'm looking for, Sam. Evidence of other crimes, any knowledge of other victims. I want as much dirt as I can find before I even think about charging him. Anything you know, that you think I could use to bury him, I need to hear."

Prescott rubbed his ear thoughtfully. McCoy immediately went on the defensive when he saw what he knew to be a telltale sign the other man was waffling.

"Damn it Sam, do you really think he's finished with her," McCoy said incredulously.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he opened the top drawer of his desk and tossed the manila file towards the other man.

"He threatened her this weekend. Read the report yourself. If you think Brooke or Danielle is safe, you won't after you read the things Brooke told Detective Benson. The man's a killer, Sam and he thinks he's going to get away with it. "

"Damn it Jack, I believe you," he said as he flipped through the pages. "I just don't want to bring harm to anyone else..."

Prescott stopped abruptly and gave McCoy a questioning gaze as he looked up from the report.

"She really did this," he asked with a chuckle.

McCoy smiled as well, while he nodded.

"My God and I used to make fun of those self defense classes she went to way back when. Did your people get any thing they can use from the mouth swab?"

"I put a rush on the lab results. I'll know by the end of business today. I'm still sending the detectives to your search your brother's place. I took care of the warrant myself."

"But Jack, if you do that…what if he does go after her again?"

"Sam," McCoy said, leaning across the desk, impatiently. "Not only do I intend to harass your brother with Brooke's breaking and entering complaint, I've subpeoned every piece of paper his office has generated in the last decade to start an investigation into corruption by his office. When I'm finished I'll have every bank record, every hint of a bribe, ready to leak to the press. Sam, If you want to keep Brooke out of harm's way, you need to tell me what you know about other victims and you need to do it now."

"There's only one way you could get warrants and subepeona's issued in break neck time like this,"Prescott said quietly."Which judge do you have in your pocket, Jack?"

McCoy defiantly set his jaw. Even if the judge who signed his subpeona and warrants wasn't a former SVU bureau chef, as well as his former wife, the last person McCoy was willing to discuss his late night call to Judge Elizabeth Donnelly with, was the man in front of him.

"All you need to concern yourself with is telling me what you know, Sam."

Prescott reached into his briefcase and handed McCoy an envelope.

"Everything you want is in there,"he said as he stood."I don't know how much help it'll be. People have moved…died…some might just be too ashamed or afraid to talk about it…but it'll give your investigators a place to start."

McCoy reached for the glasses that lay beside a stack of files on the desk. He skimmed the thick pile of pages and waited to hear the sound of the door closing behind Prescott, before he reached for the receiver.

"Linda, get me the sheriff's office in Riverton, West Virginia."