The squad room of the 16th Precinct was filled with many voices; some were loud, argumentative, and angry, and some were filled with compassion, understanding, and a bit of sorrow but one thing could be said for all of these voices, they were all tired. In general terms, the life of a NYPD detective was just that, tiring. From case to case they shifted, with both good and bad results, each weighing heavily on the detectives, and often dosing the people of NY with rudimentary questions. People always seemed to use the word why when asking; why do you choose to stay with this unit? Why couldn't you find a lighter job with another department; doesn't it drag you down after a bit? Why would you choose to cover crimes of this nature? Why expose yourself to this darkness? The detectives general paid no notice, continuing on with goals of justice, and safety for those victims desperately needing their services, and unknown to them, a blue-eyed college student now met the requirements.
At a somewhat disheveled desk, that was rather out of the ordinary, sat a fiercely independent brunette woman, who had eyes to match. She held a confident but tired attitude about her, and her eyes shadowed compassion, and a bit of darkness that came with the job if you took time to notice; she had done this for a while, but it never got any easier, and the justice they gave, never seemed to be enough.
Her name was Olivia Benson, and her thoughts were fixated on the kidnapping video of Irina Miller that she had just watched for the third time in the last hour. She was hoping to find some unturned clue in the mannerism or body language of this unidentified man, but so far her efforts had been fruitless. After the detectives had found the bodies of Rose Anderson, and Irina Miller in different spots, during different seasons, with different but similar COD's, they thought they were chasing a routine perpetrator of some sorts; however, when the bullets pulled from these two women had matched, a three-year-old cold case had been reopened. Olivia was concerned and annoyed that they had found nothing new, for all she knew, another women's life could be in danger and they were doing nothing to help her. With a sigh she slammed the file she had rifled through down on her desk, in a loud manner which in turn caused the crudely stacked files to fall, and head to turn her way.
She was frustrated. That bastard had slipped through the fingers of the Special Victims Unit that was a few states away, and they were in danger of slipping through there own if they didn't find them soon. Pushing back from her desk, she decided she needed a cup of coffee to clear her head, and then she was going to re-review what evidence they had, and nail this bastard whomever they may be.
Across the room, a fair-haired and blue-eyed detective was watching Olivia out of the corner of her eye, as she continued to click, click, click the last bit of her already late case report. Her name was Amanda Rollins, and she was the only other female detective on the squad; something she found to be a blessing and a curse at times depending on the case or situation. As the newbie, some might say she was still wet behind the ears, but Amanda knew she could hold her own, so she let them think whatever they wanted.
As she let her eyes drift she wondered what exactly had set Olivia off this time, she had watched the video as well, and it was horrible, but she knew they were doing all that they could do in a unique situation like the one before them. Irina was walking in the park, her dark purple jacket hanging on her pale shoulders, and her long black hair framing her face. She looked content, brushing the leaves out of her hair as a man clad in a tattered brown jacket walked up to her, and touched her arm. Irina recoiled visibly surprised, and then she smiled. The man removed his arm and the two chatted for a moment, as he seemed to apologize from his body language, while he never showed his face. Irina gives a wave, and turns around to walk away, and this seems to infuriate the man. Catching her arm, he pulls her closer and removes a cloth from his jacket pocket. He covers her mouth before she could scream and drags her from in front of the camera frame, and then the tape goes black. The next time the detective or anyone saw her, Irina was dead in a junkyard with a bullet in her brain; what a horrible way to die Amanda thought.
Amanda watched as Olivia returned to her desk, a renewed vigor in her actions, her face now returned to that look of clear calm that the detectives all knew so well. The old green Christmas themed coffee cup, appearing to have been refilled more than once in the short amount of time she had been away. Good luck getting some sleep later Amanda said to herself with a chuckle, the cribs are better in terms of comfort when you can actually sleep; blindsided by coffee, and with sleep evading you, it would be ten times as fun for the older female detective. Though she doubted they would be getting any sleep soon, her thoughts were interrupted with a question.
"Finished yet" Olivia calls to her, placing her coffee on the desk as she gathers the papers that had shuffled out of the files after she had knocked them over with her coffee retreat; she had almost tossed them across her desk, and she mentally scolded herself for acting that way. How childish of her. "No, not yet, just have to read through."
Olivia watched as Amanda finishes typing her report and scans the screen with a small look of triumph, the computer reflecting the tiredness written on Amanda's face. Olivia couldn't help but stare at the detective - how young she looked, how she wanted to completely prove herself. That eagerness will serve you well in the future if you choose to continue on that path she thought. Olivia had seen many with that broken but hopeful gleam in their eyes, but after working with the unit for a few months, it would just be a completely broken look; and when they requested a transfer out; that look was what Olivia remembered them by. She couldn't help but think Amanda was different though; there was just something about her. She knew others saw it as well, and through time they had all found themselves opening up and trusting the blue-eyed southern detective. There was a change in Fin's attitude, with the rookie by his side. He knew she would back him up, and there was an air of trust there that everyone in the precinct could see. Olivia hoped she could find that again with her new partner, Nick Amaro, as she had with Elliot. That jerk, always in her thoughts when she didn't want him to be. With a sigh, Olivia returned to the files of Irina and Rose, she would nail this man's ass to a pedestal, and make sure he got the needle somehow.
The circumstances surrounding the two dead girls had weighed heavily on the detectives and the room was filled with storm clouds; full of anger, and indescribable hostility manifested onto the people around them instead of the missing perpetrator. After interviewing several people of interest, and chasing down leads that had ended up with cold dead ends, pun intended, the detectives didn't know where to turn next. While Munch and Fin were comparing ideas, Nick was out getting Chinese yet again, the rookies always seemed to be the ones fetching dinner. Olivia was checking a report over one of the inconclusive interrogation she had overseen earlier in the day, and Amanda was updating the timeline they had taped over a whiteboard in the middle of the room. Captain Cragen was watching them all. He knew this case was frustrating them, it was clearly shown in there body language, even in Olivia. Ms. Cool and composed was beginning to look a bit frazzled around the edges, and Cragen couldn't help but chuckle darkly. "Captain, you're going to want to see this" he heard Munch yell through the cracked door, the usual sarcastic tone missing from his the old captain stood up his knees popped, and as he left his office he wondered when he had gotten so old.
On the big screen the detectives watches as the tape rolls the disappearance of the blond haired girl from an old bench in the peaceful park. After sitting down they watch her stretch with a faint smile playing on her lips, and finally curl up like a tabby cat and fall gently asleep with her knees pulled into her and the sun partly on her face. She looks so peaceful Olivia thought as she continued to watch the blond girl. That peace would be short lived though, as a few moments after this, the bushes moved and the detectives could see a man creep out with a cloth in hand and a mischievously dark grin on his face. The girl closed her eyes as quick as she opened them, going limp and possibly unconscious as he drug her from the viewing range of the tape.
"Son of a bitch, you think this is connected?" Amanda questions aloud, pulling the question they all want to ask into the air. "That's exactly what I think" Cragen replies with a tired sigh. "I think he's become more daring." "Hey Amanda" Olivia says excitedly, with a look of knowing on her face, as she stepped forward closer to the screen. Her face tells the other detectives that she has found something, "rewind the tape to just before he reached the girl." Amanda does as she is asked, and pauses the tape when Olivia waves her hand about, and she now too notices something she hadn't seen before. There is half of a circular white logo, with green lettering and a crudely drawn flower image, which looked to belong to a floral service, on the white collar that had found itself sticking out of the mans shirt. Olivia finds herself staring at the densely pixellated image for a moment, before running back to her desk and hurriedly flipping through the files of the two deceased women from the unsolved cases. "Where have I seen this before", quickly looking through Rose's file she returns to the startled group with an image of something green, with crude lettering; "Think these will match, if we clean that image up?" Olivia asks the group. "Here's to hoping," was Fins darkly positive reply.