They watch the city from their precinct rooftop. Night has fallen over New York City, but it hardly matters. Even if there were no moon, one would still be able to see. The streetlights glare at the sidewalks and people below them, bathing them all in an orange glow. And above it all, the detectives exchange glances.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Elliot says finally, and the others look at him as he continues. "The fact that people still think that way, I mean."
"I don't see why you're still hung up on it," Munch remarks acidly. "You're not the one they had a problem with."
Silence falls after this, broken by the sound of someone shouting below. Olivia looks at her two colleagues and rolls her eyes.
"They had a problem with all of us," she tells them, "And it's because we tried to stop them."
"Didn't do much good," Fin comments at this point, "They're still out there."
"Exactly. They're still out there. And because of the First Amendment, we can't do a damn thing about it," says Munch.
"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion," Elliot says mildly.
"It's still wrong," Olivia retorts, shooting her partner an annoyed look.
"It's funny," Munch says after this exchange, "You think that your city's the greatest one in the world, and that everything in it is perfect, and then something like this happens."
"We're cops, Munch," Fin says dryly, "We already know stuff like this happens."
"Then you can look me in the eye and tell me that your opinion of New York City hasn't changed."
No reply comes. All of them exchanges glances once more; their opinions of their city have changed, and they know it. Elliot shifts his injured arm into a more comfortable position in its sling and sighs.
"You'd think that people would just learn to tolerate each other." he says finally. Munch gives a derisive snort at this and turns to face him.
"As reprehensible as this might sound to you, it's probably never going to happen," he says. "There's probably going to be a racist in every setting. Someone's always going to have a problem with me because I'm Jewish, with Fin because he's black, with Olivia because she's a woman…"
At this point, he trails off, knowing that his colleagues understand where he is going. But it is still unnerving to them to know that for once, it is not just one of those theories he is fond of rambling on about. Olivia shakes her head and leans back against the guardrail that keeps them from falling.
"It's disgusting," she says. "I don't get how people can do that."
"I don't think anyone does," says Fin. "Just another one of those things that no one but God's got the answer to."
Startled by this rather uncharacteristic answer, the others look at him for a long moment before nodding silently in agreement.
"The sad part is that kids were involved in all this," Elliot says finally, quietly, and it is evident to the others that he is thinking of his own. But they all see where he's coming from.
"Can't help what you've been taught," Munch says dryly.
"It would help if they weren't being taught that one race or one religion are better than the others," Olivia comments sarcastically.
"Or that violence is an answer," says Fin.
"You know, when you think back, it becomes quite apparent how many times you've only just made it out alive," Elliot says, deliberately changing the subject.
"That's not exactly comforting," says Olivia, "Considering that you're right, that is."
"You know something else?" Munch asks, for some reason now determined to lighten their mood somewhat. "All those times I could've been shot in Baltimore are starting to catch up to me."
Laughter comes once what he's just said finally registers with the others, not at all forced like it's tended to be nowadays. For a fleeting moment, the four of them are reminded of earlier years, when their cases, while challenging, weren't as hard hitting as this. The reverie is broken suddenly, and they are brought crashing back to reality by the sound of a bottle shattering below.
"Must be Friday," says Fin, and again, there is laughter.
"What do you think is gonna happen to the ones who keep on going that way?" Olivia asks finally, effectively returning to their original subject.
"They keep killing people and assaulting cops, every single one of 'em is gonna end up in prison," says Fin.
"Hey, that hardly counts," Munch protests loudly at this, "She was an undercover Fed and that Nazi kid was watching her. What was she supposed to do?"
Elliot and Olivia exchange glances and then look at him in mock surprise.
"Wait a minute," they say, "Did we just hear you defending the Feds?"
"Not all of them," Munch replies, feigning annoyance, "Just one."
"Who're you and what did you do with my partner?" Fin quips. Munch gives him a look.
"You get shot, it makes you think," he says. Olivia snorts.
"You got shot in the rear end, Munch," she says. "That's hardly life-threatening enough to make you think."
"Hey, I got shot, didn't I?" he retorts. "Where, might I ask, were you when all of that was going on?"
"I don't have to answer that," Olivia shoots back, smirking. He rolls his eyes and motions to Elliot.
"Partners are supposed to have each other's backs. This probably wouldn't have happened if you'd been there." he says, but there is a teasing note in his voice that none of them miss. Even so, Elliot decides to play along and takes the defensive position.
"It's hardly her fault," he says, pretending to be ticked off, "None of us could've stopped what happened."
"Yeah," says Olivia, an almost childlike grin crossing her face as she peers over her partner's shoulder. "Leave me alone, Munch."
He shakes his head at them and turns once more to look down at the city.
"Who'd have thought that a place like this could hold horrors such as that?" he asks.
"This coming from a guy who made his living on the sixth most dangerous streets in the country," says Fin.
"How do you know that?" Munch asks, startled.
"Ain't hard," says Fin. "It was in the news."
"I didn't hear anything to that effect," Munch replies.
"Maybe because I read it off the internet," Fin tells him.
"There," says Olivia, breaking in before Munch can retort. "Now this…this is normal."
"Define normal," says Elliot. She rolls her eyes at him and continues.
"Normal is like this," she says, motioning first to them and then to Munch and Fin. "The four of us talking. Screwing around when we've got nothing better to do and not constantly at each other's throats."
"You're one to talk," Munch tells her, "How long have you and Elliot been at each other's throats now?"
She makes a face at him. "We're not anymore," she says.
"I should live to see the day," Fin mutters. Olivia swats at him but misses, and silence falls between them once again, only to be broken yet again by car horns honking.
"You know, some good did come out of this," Fin remarks finally. The others look at him with raised eyebrows.
"How do you figure?" asks Elliot. "Cragen's got me on desk duty, you're out a partner because Liv's being forced to work with Munch…"
"I am not that hard to work with," Munch retorts, feigning hurt.
"That's not what I meant," says Fin, chuckling slightly at his partner's annoyance. "I meant that people can't just ignore something like this anymore. They have to face it."
"And if they decide they don't want to?" Munch asks.
"Then it's on them," Fin replies. "Ain't like it should be new to 'em anyways. Racism's been around since the beginning of time."
"Sad, but true," says Olivia. "This should've at least taught them that it's not going to stop unless we get out there and do something."
"And once again the police department becomes a politician's tool," Munch remarks mildly. "Isn't it an election year? I can just see us being targeted because some senator thinks we're not doing enough about hate crimes."
"We're not doing enough?" Elliot asks. "Yeah, right. I'd love to see them try and handle all of this."
"They'd run screaming," says Olivia. She sighs and glances at her watch. "What if we were like that?"
"You're joking, right?" asks Elliot, but she shakes her head.
"I'm serious," she says. "What if we were?"
"I'd eat my gun." says Munch, and considering his views on suicide, to the others, this is something. Elliot and Fin both feel the same way about it, but even so both men nod in assent.
"I wouldn't be able to live with myself, either," says Elliot.
And again, there is that city silence. The four detectives sigh and lean against the guardrail.
"So, what now?" Munch asks finally. "Now that we've taken on the worst of what this city has to throw at us…"
"I don't know about the worst," says Olivia.
"We'll see," says Fin.
The others nod their assent, indicating that they all hold the same opinion on some level. To them, nothing at the moment is worse than what they witnessed a few days ago. That is, until the next case comes along.
"I know what we do," says Elliot, and the others turn to face him, questioning looks on their faces as he continues.
"We get over it," he says simply, and catching on to where he's going, Olivia picks up the slack.
"We go home and try to sleep," she says. Fin glances at her and takes over.
"We wake up, come back to the precinct…wait for another call…" he says.
"And then we go out and nail someone for breaking the law."
Munch is the last one to speak, and his statement somehow brings their whole conversation full circle. They're right, and they know it. And what they've said is exactly what they'll do. Come morning, this conversation will probably be a fleeting memory and they will be out on the streets once more, trying to solve yet another case.
"Never ends, does it?" Munch asks finally, as they turn to head inside. "No matter what, this city's always gonna have us on our knees and at its mercy."
A/N: Kinda late, but at least I'm in the same season. Raw's been bothering me ever since the first time I saw it, and I've seen it twice since, more for Munch than anything else, but that's just me. Anyways, now that I've finished rambling, I shall go. And SVU is not mine.