Disclaimer: Law & Order: SVU is property of Dick Wolf, NBC, USA Network, etc. I do not own the characters…I'm just borrowing them for the story. The song "Paper Angels" was written by Jimmy Wayne and Don Sampson and is performed by Jimmy Wayne. The song and all lyrics are property of DreamWorks Nashville.

After everyday after Thanksgiving sales

The malls just ain't complete

Without a bunch of decorations

And a paper angel tree

There's artificial smiles on artificial tree limbs

Sayin' what she'd love to have and what to buy for him…

Manhattan Mall

Sunday, December 19, 2004

6:47pm

Elliot Stabler shuffled his way through the last minute throng of shoppers drifting through level C-1 of the Manhattan Mall. Holiday music piped through the loudspeakers, drowned out only by the screams of eager children in line to meet Santa, the 'ching-ching!' of cash registers and the volunteers ringing bells in support of the Salvation Army's red kettle drive.

A beautiful Christmas tree stood against the backdrop of the chaos, decorated in garland, beads, tinsel…and dozens of paper angels. For years Elliot had made it a point to visit the tree, sometimes with his family in tow, plucking off one or more of the angels and figuring out what gifts would be appropriate for little boys or little girls whose names on the back of the paper stood as poignant reminders to all those less fortunate during the holiday season.

Well I hope Maggie likes her new winter clothes

And her buggy with the baby doll

And maybe Tommy smiles in his new Nike shoes

When he shoots that basketball

I can't help but wishing that I could do more

And not just while I'm shopping in the department store…

Snaking his way to the tree with bags in tow, Elliot pulled two angels from the branches. With KB Toys on the same floor and the shopping for his own children not quite finished, he smiled to himself at the thought of adding a few more names to his list.

Lost in his own thoughts as he debated over action figures and Barbie dolls, he didn't quite notice the commotion from the family standing next to him.

"Honey, we need to notify the mall security or call the police!"

It was the end of that statement that caught Elliot's attention, and he snapped his head up to see the anxious face of a young African-American woman, her right hand gripping the small piece of paper her husband had pulled from the tree.

"Ma'am, I'm an SVU detective. Is something wrong?"

The woman handed the paper to Elliot. On the back he saw a child's handwriting. Scrawled across the paper were a short message and a phone number.

Help! I was kidnapped. 212-477-1244. Mitch.

Special Victims Unit Squad room

8:05pm

Elliot shrugged his coat off, loosening the neck of his sweater. He had a lukewarm cup of coffee in his right hand, a cell phone tucked under his ear. He finished the call just as Captain Cragen walked through the door.

"What couldn't wait until morning, Detective?"

"This. It was pulled off a tree at the Manhattan Mall."

He stepped forward and handed the paper, now sealed in a plastic evidence bag, to the Captain. Cragen examined it, turning it over and reading the message. Skepticism instantly shrouded his eyes.

"You call the number?"

Elliot nodded. "Phone's disconnected. I'm on my way to the lab…see if we can pull a print from the paper…run it through the databank and get lucky? Maybe it's a missing kid."

"Then you hand it over to Missing Persons."

"Cap'n…"

"Elliot, we're backlogged with our own cases. You've got trial prep in the morning, and

Fin is otherwise indisposed. Let MPS handle it."

Elliot turned away and crossed his arms over his broad chest, defiance etched in his features. "We're the best chance that this kid has got."

Cragen sighed. "If there is a kid."

Elliot continued to stare him down. "We can't be sure there's not. Look, I just want to make a few inquiries. If there's a dead end I'll hand it off."

Cragen noted the stubborn streak that seemed to accompany Elliot Stabler was in rare form, but at the same time he understood it was every cop's instinct – every good cop—

to protect the smallest of victims. Finally he nodded.

"See what you can find out…BUT…you don't move on anything until you come to me. Got it?"

Elliot nodded, grabbing his jacket and stuffing his cell phone in his pocket. As he made a move for the door, Cragen called out, "Get a hold of Benson. See if you can pull your resources!"

Elliot's reply drifted through the hallway. "Already done, Cap'n."

10 hours later…

Cragen stood in the doorway of the precinct with a newspaper tucked under his arm, having walked in on a scene more reminiscent of a scavenger hunt than an 'unofficial inquiry'. Empty coffee cups were stacked among the desks…files sat open and random papers and pictures were taped to the white board, surrounded by arrows, circled information and question marks.

Stabler was leaning against the far wall facing the window, one hand propped against the cool cement as he impatiently waited for a fax that seemed to be taking entirely too long. Cragen took in his disheveled appearance, knowing full well Elliot had spent the entire night in the precinct.

He looked around and spotted Olivia tucked behind a computer monitor, the phone to her ear, her voice rising at every letter she recited to the person on the other end of the call. "H-O-L-L-E-T-T. That's two L's, two T's." She paused. "Hold? No. I've been on hold. Look…I just need information!"

She sighed as she pulled the receiver from her ear in disgust. "El, any luck on the last known address?"

He answered without pulled his attention from the fax machine. "Still waiting on NCIC. You get contact information for the father?"

Instead of an answer from Olivia, Cragen's voice boomed through the squad room.

"What the hell is going on?"