Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU. It belongs to a genius named Dick Wolf. No profit is being made from this story.
Everyone was reassembled in the squad room five minutes later. Cragen gestured to Sean, and he nodded, going to stand in front of the chalkboard.
"Chief Hammond has given us the official go-ahead," he confirmed. "So, for now, I say we should stick with Captain Cragen's original plan of surveillance." He looked back at Don with raised eyebrows and waited.
Cragen nodded, a little surprised. "That works for me," he said, looking at the detectives. "What about you guys?"
Munch looked at Fin and they both nodded agreement. They looked to the other two.
Olivia bit her lip. The look on Elliot's face told her plainly that he didn't like the idea. They held a quick conversation with their eyes. He jerked his head in disgust, and she smiled apologetically, knowing he understood.
"It's cool by me," she said.
Cragen nodded. His eyes fixed on Elliot. He could see the contempt on his face as well as the others could.
"Elliot?" he asked hesitantly.
Elliot raised his eyes to look at the captain before flicking them toward Sean. His brother made sure that Don's back was to him before fixing him with a look of gloating and a set of cockily raised eyebrows.
Sean's face split into a small grin when he saw the fury explode behind Elliot's eyes, knowing that he had to hold his tongue in the presence of his boss.
Pursing his lips tightly, Elliot looked back to Cragen. He looked at him and shrugged, not wanting to lie but at the same time not wanting to say what was currently on his mind.
"If you don't agree with us, now is the time to speak up," Don said impatiently.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, and tried again. The captain gave him an exasperated look.
"I just…" he began slowly. He glanced at Sean again. "What is that really going to accomplish?" He looked at Cragen earnestly. "We don't know anything about this guy at all… we don't even know for sure that it is a guy. For all we know, we could be looking for a female perp." He shrugged again, and trailed off helplessly.
"Well….we know he likes prostitutes," Fin ventured to say. "We also know that he…." He looked at Elliot for a minute and amended his statement. "The perp uses chicken wire to hold the doors shut at the buildings he torches…"
"No," Elliot cut in. "We don't."
That made the others give him a surprised look.
"We know what Sean has told us," he continued. "So far, I have yet to see a single piece of tangible evidence."
Sean stepped from behind Cragen and walked over to where Elliot was sitting. The tension in his demeanor was obvious.
"Guys-" Cragen began, seeing the potential disaster brewing.
"What do you mean by that?" he said, ignoring the captain. Defense was clear in his stance.
Elliot shrugged one shoulder casually. "Nothing," he said flippantly. His eyes were cold and piercing as he looked at his brother though, belying the carefree gesture. "We should totally trust you, Sean." He raised one eyebrow in a clear indication of challenge, his voice dry and venomous. "You've never given me a reason not to, right?"
Ooh…one point for Elliot! Olivia thought triumphantly, silently watching the exchange warily. After what Elliot had revealed to her on the roof, all thoughts of keeping an open mind about his brother were gone. She would gladly step in to be part of his tag team…no one messed with her best friend.
"Do you have something to say to me?" the elder Stabler asked angrily. He spread his arms out invitingly. "If so, let's hear it."
Just when it looked like he might, Cragen stepped in. "Cool it," he said warningly, looking first at Elliot and then to Sean. "Now."
Sean glared at his brother before stepping back.
The captain continued looking threateningly between the two brothers. "Is there an issue that you would care to discuss?" he continued.
"No, sir," Sean said easily, smiling in amusement.
Cragen looked at Elliot again, boring holes into him. The detective knew damn well that the captain wasn't looking for an affirmative response and if he dared to challenge that would stick his ass behind a desk until the next century.
He clenched his teeth. "No, sir," he echoed.
Cragen stepped back. Olivia glanced at her partner to see an expression of angry frustration.
"Well, regardless of whether or not all of us are in agreement," Don said, addressing everyone now. "We really don't have anything to lose at this point. Plan on working late tonight…Olivia, Fin, and John will be our backup team." He looked to the two brothers, his voice daring them to question his authority, and added, "Sean and Elliot…you will be our lead team."
He looked at the small group in front of him. "I'll let you guys pick your positions if you want, or I can just assign them along with the rest."
"We'll take Lexington and 15th," Sean spoke up immediately.
Don looked at him a minute and nodded. "Sure," he agreed. Looking to the other three, he asked, "How about you?"
The trio looked at each other for a minute. Munch raised his eyebrows, and Fin and Olivia shrugged in a non-committing manner. "We'll take the area by the fire house," he volunteered.
He nodded again. "Ok," he said, checking his watch. "Give me about an hour to organize the remaining teams together, and we'll head out. Sean, go ahead and get in contact with the fire crew to let them know we're getting ready to set up. Tell them to be on alert."
Sean nodded.
"Everyone else," he continued, looking at the full squad room. "Just hang out for a bit…no one leave the precinct, got it?"
A series of nods and "yes, sir" responses chorused the air. Detectives began getting up. Some headed for the upstairs lounge, some left the squad room, and others began talking and milling around.
Elliot got up and headed straight for the stairs. Olivia knew that he was most likely going to the workout room to get rid of his current anger…she pitied the punching bags at the moment.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sean get ready to follow him up.
"Don't you think it would be better if you stayed here?" she asked, coldly.
He looked at her in annoyance. "I don't remember asking your opinion," he said rudely.
Fortunately, Cragen agreed with her. "Ah, Sean," he called before he got up two stairs. He gestured for him to come back. "There's no reason for you to go up there right now….you stay down here."
A smirk escaped Olivia before she could stop it. Unfortunately, Sean was looking right at her and caught it. He glared at her in disgust before returning to the ground and walking toward the coffee machine.
About twenty minutes later, Elliot came tearing down the stairs like the devil was after him. Olivia looked up from the paperwork she was occupying herself with in surprise. He was sweaty and wearing workout clothes. He burst into Cragen's office, startling him as well.
"Quick, turn on the TV," he said urgently. "There's been another fire."
Sean was closest and flipped on the set. Most everyone had returned by then and immediately went over to the small TV. Elliot came out of the office with Don right behind him.
The screen zoned in on a building engulfed in flames. That in itself didn't surprise them, but the building did. They all recognized it.
"Damn," Munch said in shock. "That's Phil's Grill."
It was a well-established city diner that was a primary hangout for various members of the NYPD. Everyone at the 16th precinct had been there at least once. Elliot and Olivia were among the frequents- they went there for lunch almost every time they were in the area.
A female reporter was a little ways down the street, with the burning building visible behind her. The somber look on her face put the detectives on alert.
"We are coming to you live from downtown Manhattan," the woman said into her microphone. "Behind me is a local establishment known as Phil's Grill, located on 23rd Avenue…where a little under ten minutes ago a fire broke out in the second-story boiler room. The fire has quickly spread to the ground floor dining area…firefighters are working to get it under control, but at the moment we are being told that there are still many people inside."
"Dear God," Elliot murmured in horror. His stomach dropped. There were people inside?
The noise level in the room had completely diminished now, as all the detectives were focused on the horrible scene on the television.
The reporter startled for a minute, and reached for her left ear, revealing a microphone placed there. She turned away from the camera for a minute.
"I have just been informed that there are still twelve people trapped in the dining area," she reported, turning to face the camera again. "All of them are members of the New York Police Department."
Cragen's face paled. Several audible gasps were heard around the room from some who couldn't contain their horror. Olivia looked at Elliot with an expression of horrified disbelief.
The scene shifted back to the main news anchors, but no one moved away from the television. Even when the channel broke for a commercial, there was no movement. Everyone was shocked speechless and motionless.
A few minutes later, the news anchors came back on.
"We will be returning to the scene of the fire at Phil's Grill later on in our broadcast," said the man. "More information will be released as it becomes available, but we have been informed by fire officials that they believe this is an act of arson." The camera shifted to his female co-anchor. "In other news," she said. "City council is calling this year's polls…."
The captain blinked after a minute, realizing they were all still staring at the screen blankly. He shook himself quickly and reached for the power button.
Forty detectives and an ATF agent were staring at him, aghast. He swallowed hard and turned around to face them. Taking a shaky breath, he began to speak, but his words caught in his throat.
"Forget the lists," he said, swallowing hard. He tried to make his voice as strong as he could. "Everyone except you five…" He waved a hand listlessly toward Elliot, Olivia, Munch, Fin, and Sean. "Get into groups of four. We're moving on this right now."
Other detectives jumped to attention and immediately began grouping together. Most groups were two sets of partners, but no one was really paying attention. They knew that now was not the time to quibble over details.
Olivia shifted in her seat and adjusted the air-conditioning vent to hit a little higher up on her face. Beside her, Munch was leaning forward toward the open car window with a pair of binoculars raised to his eyes, sweeping the perimeter for the hundredth time.
"You know," his partner grumbled from his spot in the back behind Olivia. "Having the window down really isn't helping the air-conditioning back here."
John ignored him, as usual. He didn't even acknowledge that he had heard. Fin jerked up to the edge of the seat suddenly, startling Olivia with his movement, and reached over the center console to yank the middle vent in his direction. He flipped the air control to the highest it could go and sat back again angrily.
"How's it looking on your end, guys?" Cragen's voice broke through the silence suddenly and boomed out of the radio.
Glad for the distraction, Olivia snatched the microphone as Munch was reaching for it and pulled it towards her.
"Nothing yet," she reported. "In fact, we haven't seen a human being in over twenty minutes."
"Unless you count Sparky the Dalmatian," Munch said, grabbing the mic from her hand before she could react. "He's been running around the fire trucks for almost a half-hour…I'm surprised the dog hasn't puked yet."
Don rolled his eyes in disgust. "Just keep your eyes open," he said in annoyance, and replaced his mic.
"What else did you think we were going to do?" he heard Munch say in a dry, sarcastic voice.
He sighed and shook his head, keeping up his watch from the squad car he was in. The alley he was parked in was a perfect place to not be seen….but it left him little room to see past the dumpsters twenty feet in front of him. He was considered the center base, as the teams were each stationed in various points to the east and west of his location.
Elliot scanned the street corner again, watching the hookers parading up and down the "strip", as it was popularly called. If their guy was looking to get lucky tonight, this would be the place to go.
Keeping his gaze sharp and observant, he allowed his thoughts to wander. This was, in his opinion, a huge waste of time and effort. If their purpose was to go unnoticed, they were definitely failing miserably. The two good-looking men in the blue Toyota Tundra were not passed off by the working girls…Elliot had counted twenty offers in the two hours they had been sitting here, and he was disgusted.
Sean, of course, took it as an ego boost. Though he kept focused on their task, he would hang out of the open window whenever a girl would approach and begin flirting charmingly with her. He seemed to get a kick out of getting them excited before telling them that he was working and would have to take a raincheck.
Due to his brother's tactless attempt at entertaining himself, the girls would keep coming….Elliot knew this. He also knew that if the guy they were after was in the vicinity, he wouldn't be for very long…not if he had to compete for attention.
Somehow, by some extreme force of will, Elliot managed to hold his tongue while Sean was busy lapping it up and concentrate on keeping watch. But finally, one encounter pushed him over the edge.
After getting a negative response from Elliot, the girl had crossed the street to the driver's side to flirt with Sean. When he told her he was working, this one decided not to take no for an answer. She leaned into the window and began touching him and giggling annoyingly.
Elliot's breath caught in irritation…this girl couldn't have been older than 20. But he bit his lip and kept his focus out the side window. Then his brother began playing with her.
"So, what's this color?" he teased, lifting her hand and drawing a lazy finger down her brightly painted nails. "It looks like celery."
The girl's high-pitched giggle assaulted Elliot's ears, and he felt his blood pressure start to rise. Gritting his teeth, he still remained silent.
"You are so funny," the cheaply made up redhead drawled, running a hand over his shoulder.
"Well, you know…" Sean said, smiling a charming smile. "I like to have fun…especially with redheads."
Oh good lord, Elliot thought in irritation.
As predicted, the girl got excited at that. "Really?" she purred in a seductive voice. "Well, I can show you fun…fun like you have never seen before."
Elliot couldn't stop from looking over at them now; he just couldn't believe how ridiculous this was.
The redhead saw him looking and smiled widely. "How about it?" she said invitingly, running her hand up and down Sean's arm again as she spoke. "I'll show you and that cutie in the passenger seat a good time tonight." She began reaching for the driver's side door handle, smiling predatorily.
Elliot drew his badge out of the pocket of his jeans. "Honey," he said, his voice dripping with disgust. "Unless you want a good time in a federal lockup, I suggest you get off of this street corner."
The girl's eyes widened and she jerked away from the door. "Look…I-I didn't know you guys were cops," she began stammering in a panic. "Please, I can't go to jail…please, I'm not looking for trouble, mister, honest!"
"Neither are we," Elliot said calmly. "We're not going to arrest you tonight….if you turn around right now and go home. I don't want to see you again, got it? Otherwise, I will arrest you."
"Yes, sir," she said, her eyes wide. She backed away frantically, holding her hands up. "Yes, sir…I swear to God. I don't want any trouble, I swear to God."
"Good," Elliot said. "Get going."
The girl took off so fast that he could swear he saw skid marks on the sidewalk. Shaking his head, he readjusted his body to scan out the window again. A loud scoff from Sean made him turn back.
"Way to be obvious, fuck head," Sean said snidely. "You just broadcasted us to the whole street corner."
Elliot couldn't stop his jaw from dropping in shock. "What the hell….are you kidding me?" he asked angrily. "You're a fucking undercover cop hitting on a fucking prostitute! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Go to hell," Sean spat out. "You're just jealous because she liked me better."
Red spots danced before Elliot's eyes, and his fists clenched. "You know what, Sean?" he said furiously. Right now, he was ready to pop the jackass in the mouth as hard as he could.
Sean turned toward him with a threatening posture and glared at him. "What?" he said with challenge in his tone.
Breathing hard, Elliot stared coldly at him. Fortunately, his mind caught up….he was on-duty, and had a job to do. His teeth were locked so tight that his jaw trembled as he glared at his brother.
"Forget it," he hissed, and turned away from him, withdrawing as totally as if there was a cement wall between them.
Finally, four hours after beginning the surveillance, Cragen called them in.
"Alright, everyone," he said, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake. "Pack it in for tonight…we're going to have to regroup this. Everyone head back to the station."
He waited for each of the seven teams to give him affirmative responses before replacing the radio and starting the engine.
"Well," Munch said in disgust, hearing the captain's announcement. He shifted the sedan into drive. "That was fun."
Olivia buckled her seat belt and stretched her legs out. Bringing them back up, she tilted her head slowly to the left and her neck popped with an amazingly loud crackling sound.
"Sick," Fin said, in an awed voice.
She straightened her head and turned to look at him before tilting her head in the other direction and doing it again to the other side.
"Sorry," she said with a shrug and a sheepish smile. "I had to do it."
The teams pulled into the parking lot of the precinct within the next half-hour. Cragen's car was there, along with almost all of the other detectives. The captain was standing with the others in a group when Munch parked the sedan and shut off the ignition. Olivia got out and stretched, her muscles stiff from sitting down for so long. Fin did the same.
They walked over to join the rest of them. Olivia began looking for Elliot, and didn't see him or Sean.
"We're waiting on Elliot and Sean," Cragen said. "As soon as they get here, we'll call it a night."
At that minute, a loud squeal of tires echoed in the quiet night air. Their heads all swiveled around toward the sound.
The blue Tundra slammed on brakes hard beside the entrance to the parking lot so fast that it made tire tracks in the pavement.
Elliot jumped from the passenger side without closing the door. "Get out!" they heard him scream. "Come on…I'm going to kick your ass!"
Cragen began running over to the truck. Naturally, the others followed, their interests peaked.
As soon as Sean opened the door, Elliot slugged him so hard that he bounced off of the truck and hit the ground.
But he recovered quickly, and as his brother was going for another blow, Sean aimed a well-placed kick to his mid-section.
The air exploded from Elliot's lungs as he felt the wind knocked out of him. He went down on one knee, gasping for air. Sean used the opportunity to plow a fist right into his face.
Snarling like an animal, Elliot knocked Sean to the ground with a sweeping kick and struggled to get over top of him.
"Hey, hey!" Angry shouts were heard, and then Elliot felt himself being pulled off of Sean by several strong arms. He struggled as hard as he could to get them off, but failed.
Munch and two other detectives dragged Sean off of the ground and pulled him away. He was breathing hard, but didn't resist.
Cragen and Fin had a hold of Elliot, and were dragging him across the parking lot. He jumped and fought wildly, still so angry that all he wanted to do was beat the shit out of Sean.
He was caught off guard when he felt himself being yanked sideways, and then he was in an arm lock.
"Knock it off, Elliot!" Cragen barked, his voice angrier than he had ever heard before. He tightened his vice grip on his detective's arm. "I mean it!"
Finally, he surrendered and stopped fighting, and was released immediately.
Olivia planted herself in front of her partner in case he got any bright ideas. He was already in enough trouble as it was. He glared at her, and she glared right back, not intimidated at all.
"You're full of shit, Elliot!" Sean yelled from across the parking lot. "Nothing but shit!"
"Fuck you, Sean!" he screamed back at him.
"Shut up!" Cragen bellowed. Olivia jumped. "Both of you!"
Gulping in a breath, Elliot shut his mouth. He was trembling with adrenaline, one hand reaching up to gingerly feel his nose. The taste of blood was starting to make him nauseous.
"If I hear another word, you're ass is going to be suspended," he said, glaring at Elliot. Then he turned to Sean. "And you're going to go back to Jersey…..you got me?"
Neither man spoke. The other detectives, split into two groups on opposite sides of the parking lot, watched warily.
Sensing movement behind her, Olivia turned and planted a hand on the solid wall of Elliot's chest. "Stop it," she snapped. "Just leave it the hell alone, Elliot."
The captain continued to glare at them. "I want you both in my office tomorrow morning at 7 am," he growled. "If you can give me one good reason why the both of you shouldn't be fired, I'll consider letting you keep your jobs."
Fuck! Elliot thought wildly.
"Everyone go home," Cragen said. "Now."
He sounded so pissed off that the others all scurried away quickly without a word.
Don glared at Sean again before turning around and striding over to Elliot. "You've pushed it too far," he hissed at him. "This is it for you, Elliot….I'm sick of this shit. You had better come up with a damn good excuse by the morning, because otherwise you're out of here."
Olivia's eyes bugged out at the statement, but she quickly composed herself.
Elliot looked at him in shock. He felt like he was going to puke.
The captain walked away without another word. Olivia looked at Elliot, waiting for an explanation, but he didn't even glance her way before going to his truck. He got inside and pulled away like a bat out of hell.