You guys are probably like I know they are not starting a new story when they can't even update the other ones that they have, but...I am. Oops. Anyways, this chapter has some foreshadowing before you get to the big bomb at the end. There will be a lot of flashbacks to help build the plot more. Um, that's all I can say without giving the rest away. Enjoy!
"This is the third kidnapping this only thing the victims have in common is that they all were going to be adopted, but the birth parents changed their minds. No bodies have been found matching their description." Voight was debriefing the team as another similar case came in.
"Could it be the adoptive parents?" Lindsay asked. "It's not as common as the birth parents kidnapping their children, but you spent nine months preparing to get a child only for the parents to change their mind. That's enough motive."
"Actually, Erin can be onto something. These parents all used the same adoption agency and lawyer." Mouse said walking into the squad room. "Or lawyers I should say. They're a married couple. John and Paige Williams." He tacked their pictures on the board.
"Well, time to go to talk to them."
"Already ahead of you. I bought you guys plane tickets. They're in New York for an adoption conference. I didn't even know they had conferences for adoption agencies. It's like they have conventions for everything." He rambled on.
"Why did you buy tickets? We don't even know if they're suspects or not."
"Because this isn't the first string of kidnappings that have happened at their agency. They also have an office in Manhattan, and our favorite squad there is dealing with the same cases we are." Mouse said defending himself.
"Lindsay, Antonio, and Atwater, get packed. You're going to New York." Voight said before walking into his office and closing the door behind him.
For business and personal reasons, he immediately called Olivia.
She picked up on the second ring, as if she was expecting him to call. "Hey."
"Looks like we'll be seeing each other sooner than planned."
"What do you mean?"
"Mouse didn't call you?" It was Mouse, he didn't expect him to think everything through. "We have another overlapping case. Our kidnapping cases may have the same masterminds behind them.
"I'll tell my squad. When are you guys flying in?"
"Tonight."
"Okay. I can't wait to see you." She said with a smile. Whether is was business or personal, she was always happy to see Hank's face.
"Oh, you missed me?" He said smirking in his cocky voice.
"Of course you have to ruin the moment." She said with an eye-roll. "But, yes. I missed you. It's been almost two months. Can you blame me?"
He decided to stop acting like the cocky son of a bitch that he was. "No, I can't. I've missed you, too, Benson."
"I knew it. Who all are you bringing?"
"Erin, Antonio, and Atwater."
"I'm surprised you're not bringing Jay." She said poking fun at him. Ever since Hank found out that the two of them were indeed dating, he liked to keep them separated as much as possible.
"Someone has jokes today. The lovebirds will be fine without each other for a couple of days."
She couldn't help but to chuckle. "You're such a dad. She's a grown woman. She can date whomever she wants." She heard him about to say something else, but she cut him off. "It is also very possible to have a business and personal relationship with someone. Don't be a hypocrite, Henry."
She used his first name, his real first name, and she only used that when she was mid-orgasm or they were mid-argument. "We don't work in the same unit, Olivia."
She smirked at him trying to one up her. "Correct, but we work together quite often. She's not that teenager you saved off of the streets anymore."
"You're just not going to let this go, huh?" Hank found Olivia taking Erin's side a little comical because of the history there.
"No, because you know I'm right."
"You're not always right, Benson."
"In this relationship I am." She smiled when she heard him suck his teeth at her. "I have to go. I'll see you tonight. Have a safe trip."
"We'll see about that tonight. I love you."
"I love you, too." She said before hanging up the phone.
"Benson, you know you didn't have to pick us up." Hank said on the phone while walking out of the airport.
"Oh, shut up. I'm in Row D, in a black Escalade." She said rolling her eyes. "But, I'll remember not to do anything nice for you anymore." She said in a teasing tone.
He lowered his voice so his squad couldn't hear him. "Not even that thing you do with your mouth?" He said with a smirk on his face.
God, all that man thought about was sex. "Nope."
"Guess I'll be staying in a hotel." He said approaching the row that she was in.
"Sounds personal." She said noticing him and his squad coming towards the car.
"Goodbye, Olivia." He said with a half-smile on his face. He walked to the back of the truck and opened the trunk to pack up their bags.
"How was the flight?" Olivia asked as the squad climbed in the backseat leaving Hank to put all the bags away.
"Too long." Atwater answered.
"Too loud." Antonio said.
"Too bumpy." Erin added.
"You guys are such babies." Hank said getting in the front seat. He leaned over the console and kissed Olivia on the cheek.
"Hank!" She was surprised at his public display of affection.
"We know." The three of them said in a chorus like tone.
She raised an eyebrow. "You told them?" She was surprised because they never talked about going public, nor did he tell her that he told his squad.
"No. They figured it out, and I confirmed it. Your squad doesn't know?"
She cleared her throat "I'm pretty sure they have their suspicions, but I haven't told them"
"Uh oh." Atwater instigated.
Erin elbowed him in his side. "Shut up." She whispered to him. "Parents, before you start bickering, can we solve the case first?"
"Chicago, Chicago. When are you getting put on the NYPD payroll?" Fin asked with a smile on his face as he welcomed the squad.
Carisi and Dodds took their bags into Olivia's office.
"Hopefully soon. These trips are no joke." Erin said with a smile on her face.
"I debriefed them on the way here."
"Good, because we just got another case." Amanda said hanging up the phone.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I was taking the dog for a walk, and Madison wanted to come with me. All I did was bend over to clean up the dog's mess, and out of nowhere, this man came and grabbed Madison and ran over."
"Did you get a good look at him?" Olivia asked.
Madison's father, James, shook his head. "Kind of. He was about six feet and had on all black."
Olivia wrote down the vague description and sighed. "Sir, did you and your wife had any plans to place Madison up for adoption, but change your mind at the last minute?"
James was stunned at her question, and how she could know that information. "Uh, yeah. How did you know? Do you know who did this?"
"Sir, we're going to find your daughter. What was your adoption lawyer name?"
"Um, John and his wife. Their last name is something common, like Wilson.." He trailed off as he tried to think about the last name. "Williams! John Williams!"
Hank glanced over at Olivia as they realized that their victim list was just growing.
"Between Chicago and here, we're at nine kidnapped children. The conference is tonight, and that's where we're making our move. I refuse to let another child get kidnapped on my watch." Olivia said frustrated. Child cases affected her even more now that she had Noah. After the scare in the park that one day, she was beyond terrified of having something like this happening to him.
"So, what's the plan tonight, boss?" Carisi asked.
"Undercover couple looking to adopt. Any volunteers?"
"Why have volunteers when we have an actual couple in the room?" Fin said with a smirk on his face. Everyone knew about Hank and Olivia, they were just waiting for her to say something.
"Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me something, Detective?" Olivia asked crossing her arms.
"Besides the fact that we know about you and Sergeant Voight? Nope."
"Wait, really?" Dodds asked with a confused look on his face. He looked at Hank and Olivia. "You two are a thing?"
"You know to be as smart as you are, you're an idiot." Amanda said.
Olivia wasn't even surprised that they knew. She would fire them if they didn't since her and Hank didn't try to hide it. However, her relationship status was not the most important thing to talk about right now. "Fine. Hank and I will go undercover. Carisi and Dodds, do some research on the legality of adoptions. You'll be blending in as adoption lawyers. Atwater and Antonio, you're going to be security. Erin, Fin, and Amanda, you're our eyes and ears. You see something off, you let us know."
Everyone nodded, showing that they were understanding of their roles tonight. "Everyone be at the conference by 7:30."
"I'm sure that's not the way you wanted them to find out about us." Hank said as they were getting ready for tonight. He knew how Olivia was and if something wasn't done the way she wanted it, it would make her uncomfortable.
She looked up at him as she finished putting her shoes on. "I'm fine." She said giving him her famous line. "I just didn't appreciate being put on the spot like that. I don't mind them knowing about us."
"Are you sure?"
"Hank."
He simply shrugged his shoulders. "This isn't the first time you've kept me in the dark until people just figured it out themselves."
"What are you talking about?"
"So, you and Hank?" Megan teased Olivia as they were studying together in the library.
Olivia looked up from her book. "We're just friends." She lied. Her and Hank had been dating for the last six months, but she wasn't ready for anyone to know yet. She wasn't ashamed of him, but she just hated having people in her business.
"You're such a liar." Megan said with an eyeroll. "You're all he talks about."
"Yes, because we're good friends." She was going to kill him. She told him she wanted to keep this lowkey.
"Oh, we're just friends?" Hank asked coming up behind Olivia and gently squeezing her shoulders.
Olivia slightly jumped and looked up at him. "Well, yes because Megan couldn't mind her own business even if you paid her."
"Hey!" Megan said offended.
Hank smirked but knew she was lying. "I'll see you later." He said leaning down and kissing her forehead.
"I am not having this argument with you." She rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed. "They know, so I don't see why it's an issue anymore."
This was not how he wanted to spend his first night back with her, so he was just going to leave it at that. "Forget it, Benson. You ready to go?"
Him saying Benson instead of Olivia just let her know that he was far from being over this. She sighed. This was a twenty year argument that would never be dropped. "Yeah. Let's go."
The squad met in a private meeting room to get wired before they went to socialize.
"Everyone know what they need to do?" Olivia asked.
They all nodded.
"We're ready to go, boss." Atwater said.
"Okay, everyone get in position. Remember, we want to keep these people talking. Hank and I will trail John and Paige, and act like future clients. You guys just see if they're doing this alone or not. Let's go."
xxxxxx
Hank and Olivia were grateful that everyone was wearing name tags because it made it easier for them to find their possible kidnapping couple.
"I never told you how beautiful you look tonight." Hank whispered to Olivia while they walked around the room, trying not to look suspicious.
Of course she blushed. She's known this man for over twenty years and he still had the ability to give her butterflies. "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."
"I know you guys are not going to flirt over the wire all night." Antonio said slightly disgusted.
"Yeah, you guys are worse than Erin and Jay." Atwater added.
"Hello, I'm right here." Erin said.
"Guys, John and Paige are coming right to you." Amanda said interrupting the small bickering between them.
Olivia and Hank turned their attention to the couple coming their way and put on fake smiles.
"You guys have to be new." John said before even saying hello or introducing himself. "I'm John Williams, and this is my wife Paige."
Hank put his arm around Olivia protectively and brought her closer to him. "I'm Hank, and this is my wife Olivia."
Olivia didn't know if he pulled her closer because he was being protective or possessive. Either way, she was grateful because she was already getting a bad vibe from the two of them.
"Are you guys lawyers are looking to adopt?"
"To adopt." Olivia said. "We recently found out that we were infertile, so now we're looking into other options."
"Ah, well you've come to the perfect place. My wife and I own are own adoption agency, and we would love to help a beautiful couple like you start a family."
"Is it me or is anyone else getting a creepy vibe from them?" Erin asked over the wire.
"You're not alone." Fin said walking past Olivia and Hank and looking at them to make sure they were okay.
"Are you free tomorrow? We want to start the process as soon as possible." Olivia said.
"Absolutely. Come down to our offices around 9 am, and we would love to get you started."
"You don't have a history of birth parents changing their minds, do you? Our friend has that happened to her and her husband, and she was absolutely devastated."
Olivia's comment made the couple physically uncomfortable and they both shifted their weight from foot to foot.
John cleared his throat. "No. We only pick the best candidates so our clients would never have to go through such a traumatic event." He pulled out his card. "Even if a rare event would to happen, we give back full refunds."
"Bingo. Money is always the motive." Amanda said with a smirk on her face.
"Check. One more move and we have their king." Carisi said before taking a sip of his water at the bar.
Everyone groaned at Carisi's lame chess joke.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"That's great. We'll see you tomorrow." Hank said grabbing the card from him.
They waited until they walked away to discuss what just happened.
"They're definitely behind the kidnappings." Hank said.
"Yeah, but all the kids are between the ages of three and five. Why wait so long?"
"That's the million dollar question." Antonio said.
After staying at the conference for a couple more hours, not much more information was collected except that John and Paige were not very liked in the adoption world. Their ways were viewed as unethical and many people tried to get their license taken away.
Olivia and Hank were sitting at the bar with Fin and Amanda when a fight broke out. The four of them ran over to the scene just in time to see Erin get punched from trying to break up the fight.
Hank immediately went into over protective dad mode by grabbing John and throwing him against the wall.
Atwater grabbed the other man and threw him down on the ground.
Olivia kneeled next to Erin. "Hey, you okay?"
"Jesus, he hits like a bitch." She said with a slight smile. Not too big as she realized she had a cut on her lips.
Olivia smiled. "That's my girl." She helped her up. "Let's get you cleaned up." They walked away to the bathroom.
"You're under arrest for assaulting a police officer." Hank said to John.
"What? He hit me first!"
"Not him. You hit my daughter." He tightened the handcuffs. "Big mistake."
"Are you seriously interrogating me for hitting that lady cop? Because if you are, I want my lawyer present." He said in a stern voice.
"The moment you call your lawyer is the same moment we take our deal off of the table." Hank said leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.
"What deal?"
"That we'll drop the charges if you talk to us about the reason string of kidnappings that has been happening." Olivia answered in a softer voice than Hank.
John cleared his throat and sat up straight in his chair. "You guys really aren't looking to adopt, are you?"
"You're just now figuring this out?" Hank asked.
"You don't know how many cops have been clients of mine." He defended himself.
"But we know your clients are kidnappers, so either you start talking, or you can say goodbye to your freedom."
"My clients would never do such a thing."
"So, it's you doing the crimes?" Hank asked pushing himself off the wall. "You don't want to give anyone refunds, so you're taking the kids that they almost had?" He leaned on the table right next to John. "Tell me where those kids are or so help me God, I will kill you."
"He's not joking. He'll kill you." Olivia said in a matter of fact voice. Olivia knew that Hank would keep his calm until Olivia gave him the okay.
"I will not stand for this!" John shot up from his chair, but Hank pushed his back now. "We're not done here."
There was a knock on the glass. Both squads knew better than to interrupt an interrogation unless they had some new information.
Olivia gave John one last look before she stood up from her chair and walked over to the door. She opened it and Hank followed her out. "What?" She said to Fin, the only one standing out there.
"Melinda got a hit on the DNA from the conference and said she wants to see you two." Fin said pointing at Olivia and Hank.
"She couldn't have just faxed it over?"
"In all honesty, she sounded pissed off. And I would know what that sounds like."
Olivia sighed as she rubbed her face. There was a million things running through her head right now. There was no reason for Melinda to be pissed.
"What did you do, Benson?" Hank teased her.
"Oh, no. She asked for you, too. You did something, also. I don't care what you guys did, but if she comes home pissed at me, we're going to have a problem."
"Melinda." Olivia said stepping into her office.
"I cannot believe you two." She said standing up from her desk and walking to her computer. "Follow me."
Olivia looked at Hank with a confused look on her face before she followed her. "What is this horrible thing that we did?"
"It's not what you did, it's the fact that you kept it a secret."
Hank and Olivia both gulped. They had dated for a few years back in the day before Olivia moved back to Chicago, but neither one of them thought that was a secret.
"I ran the DNA from the conference, and I got two hits. Erin's because she's a cop and John's because he's a lawyer."
"Okay.." Olivia said not knowing where she was going with this.
However, Hank, all of a sudden felt like the walls were caving in on him. His worse nightmare was about to come true.
"The new system pulls up all familiar matches."
"Melinda, just get to the point." Olivia said getting annoyed.
Melinda clicked the enter bar twice and Olivia and Hank's picture popped up. "You two are Erin's real parents."
:)
oh, just to clarify, yes, Olivia and Hank dated back in the day just in case you didn't pick that up. Reviews are nice!
