Author's Note: Glasgowman's Wrath was an episode that really stuck in my mind. The relationship between Perry and Mia was chilling. So I had an idea of what could happen when Perry turned eighteen and revisited court, and... well... things kind of exploded.
"Counselor, I'm surprised to see you here. You don't typically frequent family court."
Sonny smiled in greeting to Pippa Cox as he entered the courtroom, much smaller and less intimidating than the criminal courtroom he was used to. "Hey, Pippa," he said. "No, I don't, but I've got a special interest in the Gilbert case. I had a break in my schedule and thought I'd pop in and sit in on it."
Pippa inclined her head. "That's right, you were one of the arresting officers in that case."
He nodded. "Feels like a lifetime ago, but yeah. You still on her case?"
"Yes," she said, smiling. "And she's doing well, from what her therapists have told me. I'm hopeful we can get her released today."
"That's good to hear," he replied. The memory of Perry Gilbert's brief interaction with her best friend and co-conspirator Mia Harris in an elevator right after the two had been sentenced was still fresh in his mind. "She's eighteen now?"
"Yes, so this hearing will determine whether she is released as an adult, or—" Pippa trailed off.
"…or if she needs more psychiatric evaluation."
They both glanced up as two armed guards escorted Perry into the courtroom. "See you, Carisi," Pippa said, and strode purposefully over to her client.
Sonny blew out a breath and sank onto one of the benches. The Gilbert case was one of those that stuck in the back of his mind and occasionally came back to haunt him in the middle of the night. He found himself wondering what ever happened to the paranoid gentle giant, Charlie Dorsey, who had unwittingly been dragged into the dangerous fantasies these girls had spun and wondered what had happened to him. Had Charlie stayed in the housing they had secured for him? Or had he made his way back to the wilderness?
"All rise."
Obediently, Sonny stood and folded his hands in front of him as the judge entered the courtroom. Once Judge Linden had taken her seat at the bench, he nodded briefly at her and sat back down. He glanced over in surprise as someone slid in the seat next to him and found Amanda Rollins by his side.
"You wanted to see if they'd let her out, too?" she whispered.
"Yeah," he replied just as quietly. "She and that other girl, Mia…they just didn't sit well with me. I hope she got the help she needed, but…"
"But," Amanda agreed.
The two of them sat side-by-side and listened intently to the proceedings. Perry's mother testified on her behalf about the progress she had made in the psychiatric facility, and Judge Linden nodded in approval.
Her psychiatrist then came to the stand and testified that Perry had made tremendous progress, but still had tendencies to lose herself in fantasy. Though she still felt Perry could make a full recovery, she was not there yet. And so, the doctor could not recommend Perry be released.
From his position on the bench, Sonny watched Perry's reaction. It was the same impassive, calm expression he remembered from her first trial. Sighing, he glanced at Rollins who met his eyes with concern in her own. She shook her head sadly.
Perry was not likely to be released today.
"Your Honor," Pippa said as the doctor took her seat, "Perry would like to testify on her own behalf."
Judge Linden nodded. "I'll allow it."
Pippa nodded encouragingly at Perry and patted her arm. The girl – and a girl she still was, whatever the law said – stood and carefully and began making her way to the stand. Halfway there, though, she faltered in her steps. Concerned, Sonny glanced briefly at Amanda who shrugged.
"I'm sorry, your honor," Perry said. "I'm not feeling so great—" She stumbled, and the courtroom bailiffs both lunged forward to help her.
It happened so fast that Sonny wasn't exactly sure how it transpired. One second Perry was tripping over her own feet as she tried to make her way to the stand, and the next she had snatched the bailiff's gun, scurried across the room, and pointed the firearm at the startled court officer.
"Don't move," she said to the officer. "Put your hands up, and back away."
"Miss Perry!" Judge Linden cried. "Surrender that weapon."
"No," Perry said, firmly. "I will not go back in there. You will let me out. I can't go back in there, caged up like an animal. You need to let. Me. Out."
By this time, Amanda had drawn her weapon. "Perry, drop the gun," she said, authoritatively. "Put it down before this gets any worse than it already is."
Without hesitation, Perry swung the gun to point at the judge. "You drop yours, Blondie," she shot back to Amanda. She gazed smugly over her shoulder at the officer. "Oh, I remember you." With the weapon still trained on Judge Linden, she slowly backed up closer to Amanda and Sonny. "I remember both of you. You're the cops who tossed me in there to begin with."
Sonny held up his hands to show her he was unarmed. "Perry, listen to Detective Rollins," he said. "Drop the gun. Don't let this get out of hand."
She glanced back and forth between Sonny and Amanda, and then abruptly swung the gun and pointed it at Sonny.
No matter how many times you have a gun pointed at you, it never feels any different, he thought, his stomach coiling sickly.
"What's the matter, Detective Carisi?" Perry taunted. "Don't have your gun on you?"
"I'm not a detective anymore," Carisi replied, quietly. "I'm a prosecuting attorney. I'm no threat to you. Everyone here just wants to help you."
"You could have helped me six years ago, and you didn't." Her eyes blazed as she glared at him. "Instead, you let them put me in that crazy house. Now you," she glanced at Amanda. "Drop the fucking gun or I will shoot him."
"Okay, okay," Amanda conceded. She carefully put her gun on the bench in front of her, and Perry quickly snatched it up. Amanda held up her hands in surrender. "Perry, let's talk about this."
"For God's sake, Perry!" her mother cried. "Put the gun down!"
"Shut up, Mom," she said, her eyes and the gun both trained on Sonny. "I am not going back in there. None of you can make me go!"
"Young lady," Judge Linden began, signaling the bailiff. He silently began creeping back towards the door. "You don't have to do this. Let's talk about this, see what we can work out."
Perry spun around, catching sight of the bailiff as she did so. "Stop," she barked. "Don't take another step. If you touch that door, this is over."
"Perry, no one said you have to go back," Sonny interjected. "Judge Linden is right – let's talk about it, see what we can work out." He could see her agitation, and the mood was catching. He took a deep, steadying breath and struggled to stay calm and gain control of the situation. "Just put the gun down."
Hands shaking, she whirled back on him. "You. Put. Me. There!" she shrieked. "This is your fault."
"It was six years ago," Amanda said calmly. "Let's put that in the past and talk about the future now."
"Perry!" her mother, shouted again.
This time the sudden noise obviously struck Perry's already frayed nerves just right, and she jumped.
When she did, her finger hit the trigger.
The sound was so startling that she instinctively hit it again.
For Sonny, it seemed like the echoing bang occurred in slow motion. Instinctively he tried to move out of the way, but there is no real way to dodge a bullet. White-hot pain exploded in his shoulder. Before his mind really even had a chance to process it, his side followed, and a sharp cry escaped his lips. With a last glance up at the panicked girl holding the gun in front of him, Carisi crumpled to the floor.
"You know, Counselor, I would have never pictured myself leaving the DA's office," Carmen said as she dropped a stack of files on Barba's desk.
He grinned charmingly up at her with a twinkle in his green eyes. "But you missed my witty repartee?"
"Or something," she laughed. "How does ADA Carisi feel about you being a defense attorney?"
"As long as it's not a case he's prosecuting, he's fine with it." He shrugged. "So, I just try to avoid sex crimes."
"He didn't say a lot about you over in the DA's office," Carmen said, perching on the edge of his desk. "He's definitely a separate work and home kind of guy. But he always had a picture of you on his desk. You guys are good?'
Rafael thought briefly about the small box in his coat pocket, and the dinner reservations he had made for that night. "Yeah," he said softly as a flush crept into his cheeks and a smile touched his lips. "Yeah, we're good."
Carmen chuckled and shook her head. "You guys are adorable. I remember how hard you fought to keep it under wraps when you were first together." She gave him a pointed look. "I should have figured out he wasn't coming to your office every single day because of work."
"Some of it was!" Rafael protested.
"Some," Carmen laughed. "And some was definitely personal."
"Mr. Barba," an excited voice interrupted, and both Rafael and Carmen looked up to see their fresh-faced young intern, Candice, burst into the room. "You need to turn on the news."
"Why?" he asked, already reaching for his computer mouse. "What's going on?"
"There's something going on over at family court over on Lafayette." Candice stepped up behind his chair as he pulled up the local news. "One of my classmates texted me about it. He said something about a hostage situation?"
"Family court," Barba mused. "That's a little extreme for family court." He couldn't put his finger on why, but something about the situation had dread rising up in his gut.
"That's what I thought," Candice said. Both she and Carmen were now peering over his shoulder. "Something about a defendant going nuts."
"You have anything interesting on the books today?" Rafael asked as he poured himself a bowl of cereal and topped it with some sliced strawberries.
Sonny shook his head and stirred cream and sugar into his coffee. "Nah," he said dismissively. "Actually I'm planning to pop by family court this afternoon."
"Family court?" Rafael glanced over his shoulder at his partner. "What are you doing over there?"
"Do you remember the Perry Gilbert and Mia Harris case from a few years ago?"
He glanced up and pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Vaguely? I don't think it crossed my desk because they were too young to prosecute."
Sonny nodded as he sat at the table with his coffee. "Perry was sent to a psychiatric hospital. She's eighteen now, and her competency hearing is today. I was one of the arresting officers and…" He took a swallow of his coffee and shook his head. "Those girls made me uncomfortable, Rafi. I want to see what happens."
"Don't forget we have dinner reservations," Rafael said as he sat down and spooned up his first bite of cereal.
Sonny grinned at him over the top of his mug. "Wouldn't miss it."
Shit.
"Hang on," Barba said and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Sonny's number, taking several deep breaths when it rang repeatedly with no answer. Biting his lip, he tried again and ignored the concerned looks that passed between Carmen and Candice. Barba swore softly under his breath.
"What's wrong?" Carmen asked.
"Sonny was going to family court today," he said sharply, and struggled to ignore the widening of her dark eyes.
Rafael stared at his phone for a moment and scrolled through the contacts before resting on a name. He hesitated briefly, wondering if Benson would even take his call. They hadn't spoken in months, after his decision to serve as defense for Richard Wheatly. Deciding that was secondary in this situation, he dialed the number. "Olivia," he began when she answered.
"Rafa, I know you're worried," she cut him off, and the sick sense of dread rising within him grew even hotter. "But I need you to let me go do my job so I can get Carisi safely out of there."
He closed his eyes. "So he's in there?"
"Yeah, Rafa. He is."