Chapter 49: The Raid
Christina was still with Alonzo, Juaquin and Manny. Everyone else had gone on their way to their various clubs or stash houses. Alonzo was keeping her close to him. She got the feeling that he wasn't completely trusting of her. They were at Dante's house. The booze and drugs were flowing freely. Everyone, except Chris, was drunk and high. Chris had only had beer and she felt like she was sticking out like a sore thumb. She tried to play it cool. She sat next to Alonzo in the kitchen while he played dominos with some of the guys. She made a point to be extra flirty with him and stayed cool with the guys. She wanted them to like having her around. Dante came to the table with a tray with lines of coke. They passed it around the table until it came around to Chris. She took the tray from Alonzo and passed it back to Dante without doing a line.
"You too good to taste my stuff?"
"I don't touch the stuff. I just sell it" she said explaining her refusal.
"It's good shit" Alonzo said wiping his nose.
"I know" Chris said before taking a drink from her beer. "But I'm good" she said still declining the drugs. She finished her beer and leaned over Alonzo to get another from the cooler sitting on the floor next to him. She cracked it open and took another drink. Alonzo waved him off and went back to playing dominos. Dante left the table and went back to the other room. The dominos game ended and they were about to start another round when Chris checked her watch. It was almost four in the morning. She figured Franco would've finished up at the club and been back at the apartment by now. She'd had enough beers to get a good buzz going and she was getting a contact high from all the drugs floating around. "Hey" she said leaning over and whispering in Alonzo's ear, "I'm gonna head home".
"You sure" he said looking away from his dominos. "The party's still going".
"Yeah. I'm tired".
"Ok" he said with a shrug. "I'll see you tomorrow to help you move your stuff". They'd talked about her moving out of the apartment with Franco and into Alonzo's house. She needed to keep up his belief that they were together now. She couldn't do that and continue to live with Franco.
"Ok." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "I'll call you". She kissed him again then got up, took her jacket from the back of her chair, and walked out of the kitchen. She made her rounds on her way out, saying goodbye to everyone. Five minutes later, she was walking out the door to head home. She made it back to the apartment just after four thirty and Franco was still up, sitting in the living room on the couch. She took off her jacket and set it, along with her keys, on the side table before going over and sitting next to him. "So….I'm moving my stuff to Alonzo's house tomorrow".
"What? Why?" he said angrily.
"He thinks we're together now. I have to keep up appearances". He scoffed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. This'll be over soon anyways".
"Right. Over for you maybe" he said bitterly. Chris wasn't going to get into another argument with him about his consequences. He'd made his own bed. She had no sympathy for him.
"I'm gonna go to bed" she said ignoring his comment. She got up from the couch and went into the bedroom. She got shorts and a t shirt from her drawer and went into the bathroom. She took a quick shower, changed her clothes, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and went to get in bed. Franco came in the bedroom ten minutes later and got in bed next to her. Every couple minutes, he sighed heavily and shifted positions. Chris was convinced he was trying to get on her nerves. She just put it out of her mind and relaxed into the bed. In less than forty-eight hours, she'd be headed home.
When she woke up, she brushed her teeth and changed her clothes then packed her bags. Alonzo came by that afternoon and helped her with her stuff. She moved in to his house in time for them to go over to the club to set up for opening. The rest of the day was spent in the back room getting ready for the meet the next day. Chris was completely ready to get this done and over with. They had a group cutting product for sale on the floor of the club and another group counting money for the shipment of ecstasy coming in the next day. They double and triple checked the count before bagging the money and putting it in the safe. They spent the rest of the night out in the club drinking, dancing, and having a good time. Chris and Franco were both doing their part. Chris stuck close to Alonzo and Franco avoided them. His jealousy was very believable, probably because he wasn't pretending. He was reluctant but compliant. Ernesto was keeping a close eye on him. Even though he was following orders, he still couldn't be trusted.
After they closed up the club, Christina went back to the house with Alonzo's sister while Alonzo and the guys went to the warehouse. They were going to make sure everything was ready for the buy. She offered to go along to try to get a look at what they were up to but he told her he didn't need her and sent her home. She wanted to argue but insisting on going with him would've raised red flags so she just went home. She got in bed and tried not to stress about the raid. She knew what she had to do and that was the most important thing. The only variable she could control was herself. Everything and everyone else was out of her hands. She cleared everything from her mind and drifted off to get a good night's sleep. She would need it. She woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee filling her nose. The clock on the night stand read ten forty-seven. She got out of bed and went downstairs to the kitchen. Laila was at the stove cooking breakfast and Alonzo was already sitting at the table with Ernesto and Juaquin. She made herself a cup of coffee then went over and sat down next to him.
"I didn't hear you come in" she said before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah, you were out. Those shots caught up with you". Laila came out and set plates in front of each of them then went to get the plates of food, bringing them to the table two at a time. They said grace and then starting filling their plates with food.
"Everything set for today?"
"Si, estamos listos" he said confidently (Yes, we're ready). They chatted amongst themselves, going over the details for the day one more time as they ate breakfast. Once they were all done, the guys left the kitchen and Chris helped Laila clean up. She thought about what would happen to her once the raid went down and the house was swept. Laila wasn't deeply involved but Chris knew that she'd sold drugs for Alonzo before. She was young and a good, smart kid. She would do whatever she could to make sure she got a second chance to do things the right way. When they finished cleaning the kitchen, she looked at the clock on the stove. Twelve thirty-six. SVU and SWAT would be setting up near the warehouse by now. They needed to set up video and audio and would have to be careful in case Alonzo had anyone watching the place before the meet. In just a couple hours, she'd be face to face with Amanda again. She just hoped that everything would go as planned.
SVU and SWAT arrived at the warehouse promptly at noon. Amaro and Fin took their vests off and took a walk around the block to make sure that no one was watching the buildings. They drove two vans into the warehouse next door to the warehouse the drug buy was supposed to happen in. Once they determined the area was clear, they went around and set mics and cameras up so they'd have eyes and ears inside once the drug deal began. It was important for them to have a clear view and clear sound so they could move in at the right time. They checked the picture on every camera and tested the audio. They wouldn't know if it'd catch everything until people actually showed up and started talking. They'd spent a lot of time putting up the cameras and getting the angles right. They didn't have much time left to set up the parabolic mics. They didn't want to stay in the warehouse too long and risk exposing their presence in case anyone showed up early. It was nearing one o'clock. Chris had told them her crew would be showing up to the warehouse at two. All that was left to do now was watch and wait.
"Ok, head's up" Carisi said getting everyone's attention. "We've got movement". They'd been waiting for over an hour with no sign of either dealers or buyers. Finally, it looked like the show was about to get started. Three SUVs pulled up and parked. At total of fifteen people exited the vehicles. Christina exited the front passenger seat of the second truck and Franco exited the back passenger seat of the third.
"I guess Franco really did decide to get on board" Amaro said upon seeing him on the monitor.
"Good" Olivia said taking her seat in front of the monitors. "Let's hope this goes smoothly". She scooted closer to the monitors then turned to Fin, "Tell SWAT to get ready". He nodded then went over the leaders of the SWAT teams to tell that the parties were showing up and they needed to get ready. Once SWAT started to move into their positions he went back over to watch the monitors with his team. He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Amanda. Olivia had enforced what she'd said before about Amanda not being able to be at the raid. They'd had to leave back in the squad room but Fin promised to send her updates.
It's on
Did you see Chris? Is she okay?
Yeah she's here. Looks ok to me
Armed?
He took a moment a scan the monitors. They had a few bags that they had brought inside the warehouse from the trucks. He found Christina and looked closely. He couldn't see any gun on her.
Doesn't look like it
Damn it. What is she thinking?
"Ok, let's get ready" Alonzo said sitting the bag he was carrying on the table. The mics picked up the sound clearly. They would have no problem deciding the right time to move in. Chris stayed close to Alonzo, just like he liked it. Franco seemed far away, both physically and mentally. He stood near the door, looking around the room like he was waiting for the right moment to run. Alonzo opened the bag, took out a gun, and handed it to Christina. She checked the magazine then loaded a round into the chamber before putting the gun in her waistband. He pulled out one gun after another passing them out to everyone. Fin took his phone back out and texted Amanda again.
Scratch that. She's got a gun now. They all do. A lot of fire power in there.
Most everyone had a hand gun except Ernesto and Orlando. They both had ARs and were sent to guard the two doors in the warehouse. "Make sure those are locked" Alonzo said pointing to the large overhead doors. Monte and Juaquin went outside and made sure both sliding doors where pulled all the way down and secured by locks before coming back inside.
"What about the money?" Chris asked leaning on his shoulder.
"We don't show the money until we see the product" he said. "You and Rosita" he said nodding towards her. She turned to him when she heard her name. "You handle that. I'll give you a signal".
"Ok".
"¿Espera, maneja que?" Rosita asked confused (Wait, handle what?).
"Presta atención" he hissed at her (Pay attention). "You and Christina get the money when I say" he clarified. She nodded. "¿Entiendes?" (You understand?)
"Si, entiendo" she said in a pacifying tone (Yes, I understand). He checked his watch. It was two thirty one. The dealers were supposed to be showing up in half an hour.
"Anybody else have any questions, ask them now?" Alonzo said speaking to everyone. "I don't want any fuck ups when our product gets here". Nobody spoke up. "última oportunidad" (Last chance).
"I got a question" Orlando said speaking up.
"¿Qué es?" (What is it?)
"Are we really gonna let this cabrón stay in here with us for this?" he asked pointing to Franco. "No se puede confiar" (You can't trust him).
"Fuck you" Franco scoffed.
"Te patearé el culo" Orlanda said stepping towards him (I'll kick your ass).
"Hagamoslo" Franco said pulling his gun from his waistband and holding his arms out, accepting Orlando's challenge (Let's do it). They got in each other's faces and started yelling back and forth. Ernesto and Monte stepped in to pull them apart. Them trying to get at each other went on for a few minutes. Christina yelled at Franco to put his gun away. He turned his anger toward her, waving his gun around and yelling for her not to tell him what to do. Olivia and the team watched from the other warehouse as things started to get out of control. She was about to tell them to move in when Alonzo spoke again.
"¡Eso es suficiente!" he yelled (That's enough). "Have you lost your mind?" he said stepping to Franco. "You don't talk to her like that and you definitely don't wave a gun in her face" he said defending his girl. Christina stood behind him, seemingly pleased with Alonzo's defense of her. Franco took a breath and put his gun back in his waistband. Olivia told everyone to stand down and sighed in relief. It seemed like Alonzo had control of the situation.
"How about I just wait outside" he suggested.
"Hell no" Alonzo said quickly shooting down the idea. "I need to keep my eye on you". Tensions were high now. Everyone was on edge and eyeing Franco. If he would wave a gun in Christina's face, he'd wave a gun at anyone.
"You sure that's what you want?" Ernesto asked. "Orlando's right". Franco laughed.
"You're one to talk" he said still laughing. "I thought you had my back. Good enough to stick a knife in it, huh?"
"Franco…." Christina said speaking up. She didn't want him to do this now. She just wanted to get this done and go home. The thought that he was stirring the pot on purpose crossed her mind.
"And you…." he said looking at her. "Don't even get me started on you".
"Why would she trust you?" Rosita said surprising Christina by speaking up for her. "She knows what happened to your last girlfriend".
"What are you even doing here Rosita?" Franco asked turning on her too.
"Pendejo" she said under her breath.
"¡Todos, cállate!" Alonzo yelled (Everyone, shut up!). "Franco stays" he said firmly. He looked at his watch again. It was now two forty-seven. "Get in your places. They'll be here soon". Orland and Ernesto went back over to their respective doors and Franco retook his place in the corner. It was clear that they both would have their eyes on Franco until this deal was done. Alonzo turned and took Chris' hand, leading her back over to the table. Rosita stood to her right, a few steps behind her. It almost felt like she was her body guard. She wondered if Alonzo had told her to do that. Everyone else spread out, covering every part of the warehouse. A few minutes later, Ernesto heard cars pulling up outside. He looked through the window on the door and watched as a group of people starting getting out of the two trucks that had just pulled up.
"They're here" he announced to everyone.
"It's show time" Alonzo said looking to Christina. "You ready?" She nodded. "Let them in". Ernesto opened the door and ushered the other crew inside. There were nine of them. Six men and three women. Chris assumed they were all armed. The leader of the group, Felipe, and his lieutenant Jesus, the two that Alonzo and Ernesto had dealt with, stepped up to the table. They set four bags on top.
"You brought a lot of people" Felipe said looking around.
"Gotta do what I gotta do".
"Where's the money?"
"We see the product first, then you get the money" Alonzo said confidently. He spoke as if, by default, he was in charge. Felipe and his crew outnumbered and outgunned. If he was smart, him and his people would do what Alonzo said.
"That wasn't the deal ese" Jesus said speaking up.
"The only deal was the drugs for the money" Alonzo argued. "No deal about the particulars of the exchange". Franco took this opportunity, while everyone was distracted by the exchange between leaders, to make his move. He took his phone out, sent a quick text, and casually slipped it back in his pocket.
"You trying to get over o…." Before he could finish the sentence, Felipe held up a hand silencing him.
"No problemo" Felipe said nonchalantly. He reached forward and unzipped the two bags he'd put on the table and opened it up, exposing the bags of pills inside. After a moment of hesitation, Jesus did the same. All four bags appeared to be full of pills. Alonzo looked over at Juaquin and Manny and gestured for them to come over. Juaquin grabbed the bag sitting on the floor at his feet and they came over to the table. Alonzo and Christina stepped back so Juaquin and Manny could take their places. Juaquin opened the bag and pulled out two scales, setting them on the table, one in front of him and the other in front of Manny. Then he took two testing kits out of the bag. One for each of them. In the warehouse next door, Fin took out his phone and sent Amanda another update then pulled up a chair and sat down next to Olivia when he saw Juaquin pull out the test kits.
"This is gonna take a while" he said crossing his arms over his chest. She sighed and shook her head. Amaro came over from talking to the SWAT guys.
"SWAT is getting antsy. They're ready to move in" he said standing next to Liv.
"Well, it's not time yet. We're not moving until we see the money change hands" she said repeating her instructions from earlier. "They wait for my order".
"You got it". He went back over and told them what the sergeant said. "Shouldn't be too much longer" he said placating them. As he walked back over, he heard the conversation from the other warehouse coming through their monitors.
"Usted no confía en mí, hermano?" Felipe asked when he saw the scales and test kits (You don't trust me, brother).
"No, y no soy tu hermano" Alonzo said matter of fact (No, and I'm not your brother). "Empezar" he said nodding to Juaquin and Manny. Juaquin took out the first bag of pills and handed it to Manny before taking one out for himself. They each opened their bag and inspected the pills inside. He randomly took a few out and laid them on the table to test them. Once they tested them and saw they were good, they resealed the bag and put it on the scale. If the weight was good, they put it on the left side of the table. If it was off, it went to the right. Manny got to a bag that he didn't even bother to weigh because it tested bad for purity. He just set it to the right and kept going. There were hundreds of bags in each duffel and they all had to be tested and weighed. Chris had suggested that they bring more scales and kits so it'd go faster but Alonzo said no. Both Juaquin and Manny tested his products all the time. He trusted that they knew what they were doing. Thirty-five minutes had gone by since they started and they were finally on the last duffel bag. They were just a few bags in when they all heard a familiar sound in the distance.
"Are those sirens?" Amaro said, asking the question on everyone's mind but didn't need to be asked.
"Definitely sirens" Fin answered.
"Damn it" Olivia said frustrated. "I don't want anything to spook them. Carisi go check it out". Meanwhile, next door, Christina was confused. SVU should've been right next door. They wouldn't have needed to approach, sirens going. Simultaneously, SVU and SWAT were next door trying to figure out what was going on. Carisi went over to the front door and looked out the window. He saw multiple marked cars coming around the corner, heading down the street.
"Sarg, they're coming here" he said looking over at Olivia. It didn't make any sense. They should've been the only ones to know this deal was happening. No uniformed officers should've been showing up. But they had no time to figure it out. They had to move now. In an instant, everything started moving faster.
"Ok" Olivia said getting up from her chair, "team one, you're with me. We're hitting the front door. Team two move to the back door of the warehouse" she said giving orders to SWAT. "Nobody gets away".
"Remember, we have a UC inside so watch your front sights" Fin yelled as they headed to their positions.
"Alright, let's move" the second team leader said as he hustled his team out the back door of the warehouse to stack on the back door of the adjacent building. Ernesto had also looked out the window of the door he was guarding but he didn't have the same view of the street that Carisi did. After a few seconds, he realized what was happening and his eyes got wide. The origin of the sound was apparent to everyone by then. They knew it was police sirens yet they ignored it assuming they were headed somewhere else. But the sound only got closer. Only Ernesto could see the SWAT team moving towards the building. Suddenly it clicked in Chris' head and she looked over, locking eyes with Franco who had a mischievous grin on his face.
"Cops!"