Fusion: Warehouse 13/Law And Order: SVU
Notes: The seventh and final entry for the Sampler, written for AU Week 2013.
This is basically the last 6 minutes or so of the Law And Order: SVU episode Loss, converted over to Bering And Wells.
{*****}
The case was a dog from the minute they caught it - even by SVU standards, which was saying something.
Their dead hooker Livia Telles had ended up being dead cop Livia Sandoval, deep undercover inside a major Colombian drug ring. To make matters worse, Sandoval had been undercover for the DEA, and her handlers had immediately stepped in to keep SVU from investigating any further.
Captain Nielsen had managed to get permission to continue investigating, but only if they worked the case as originally presented to them - no mention of Sandoval's true identity, and no pursuit of any leads that might reveal it.
And damned if SVU hadn't pulled it off, arresting the very dangerous and very connected Rafael Zapata for Sandoval's rape and murder. Of course, things had gone straight to hell again from there when they'd been ordered to reveal the sources they'd worked so hard to keep confidential.
Helena Wells, the Assistant District Attorney handling the case, had been livid - and far from willing to jeopardize her career or freedom, even for the SVU unit. She'd been even less amused when Zapata tried to attack her when she went to offer a plea deal, and she stopped laughing altogether when death threats were made against herself and her daughter Christina.
The DEA agent who'd been feeding SVU their intel - one of Sandoval's handlers, a man named Donovan - had agreed to come forward once he heard about those death threats. He ended up dead mere moments after talking to Helena, when his car exploded in front of Helena and half the SVU team.
(The similarity in last name hadn't been lost on any of them, and it was safe to say that each member of the team found some pretext to hug Claudia that night - Myka, Pete, Steve, even Helena.
That was also the night that Nielsen gave Helena his old service revolver, complete with expedited permits, and the night when Pete and Myka accompanied Helena to the airport as she placed Christina on a plane to go stay with her family in London.)
Unfortunately, the now-deceased Agent Donovan - and God did that phrase creep them all out - had taken their case with him when he died. Helena's boss had decided to drop the case, leaving the Feds to go after Zapata for murdering one of their own - it wasn't a bad call, as the Feds had a much better case and could at least put Zapata away, but it was still infuriating.
(Though, to be honest, it had been immensely gratifying to see the smugness fade from Zapata's face as the Feds moved in to arrest him the second Helena motioned to drop her charges.)
They'd all needed a little downtime, so they'd all met up at one of the station's favorite cop bars - even Artie, who hadn't been Captain Nielsen to the SVU team in years. Pete, of course, stuck to his beloved root beer - after several years sober, he was quite content with that - while the others shared a pitcher of beer.
Artie got a call not long after they all settled in, which he happily summed up for everyone. The FBI had connected Zapata to the car bomb and gotten him to flip on his boss, Cesar Velez. The DEA was hopeful of an indictment for Velez - from there, the Colombians could arrest him and start the extradition process.
The fact that Zapata had struck a deal dimmed the otherwise happy mood a bit, but not much. Steve and Claudia bantered good-naturedly for a bit between themselves, and even with Artie a little, before all three called it a night due to an early morning.
That left Myka, Pete, and Helena still sitting there, and it didn't take long for alcohol and fatigue to catch up with Helena. Not that Pete and Myka could blame her even a little - she'd been remarkably resilient through the whole ordeal, all things considered.
Pete did his best to try and cheer her up, even using the nickname Claudia had given her. "We've had a good run, HG - conviction rates are way up. We can't win 'em all."
"I'd call getting Zapata and Velez a win," Myka argued. "Livia Sandoval would be happy with it."
Helena just sighed in frustration, tugging her fingers through her hair. Her London accent was even more pronounced than usual when she finally spoke. "It just never seems like enough. We may have gotten Zapata, but he'll never stand trial for what he did to Livia Sandoval."
She paused to sip at her beer again. "We tell ourselves that we speak for the victims, that we close their cases and get them justice, but we all know that their lives will never be the same again."
It was a familiar sentiment among the SVU team, and Pete just nodded his understanding. Myka, in a rare affectionate gesture, reached out to squeeze Helena's hand.
Helena shook her head a little, as if trying to shake off her black mood. "I think I've had enough for one night. Shall we go?"
If they hadn't been so tired and so disheartened by the last few days, they might have been paying better attention as they bickered good-naturedly over how Helena was getting home. As it was, Pete's famous 'vibes' didn't kick in until the black car had pulled up beside them and opened fire.
To be fair, Pete moved fast once he spotted the danger - he tackled Myka and Helena, getting them both onto the ground before Myka's amazing reflexes had even kicked in. Once that was done, he got right back to his feet again and raced off after the car.
It took about that long for Myka's brain to catch up, and she cautiously poked her head up to see if it was safe yet. That was when she looked over to check on Helena. "Helena-"
Helena was on the ground, eyes closed, bleeding from a gunshot wound to her shoulder. Her breathing was frighteningly shallow from Myka's vantage point, and Myka couldn't help speaking out loud as she raced over to her. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. "
Helena's blood was hot and sticky against Myka's hands as she fought desperately to stop the bleeding. She didn't even look up as she barked out commands with all the authority of a career law enforcement officer. "Someone call an ambulance! Call 911 - now!"
Outwardly, Myka looked every bit the composed police officer. Inwardly, though, her world was slowly crumbling as her attempts to stop the bleeding failed, and words spilled out unbidden under her breath as she begged Helena to hold on. "It's okay, Helena. Come on, Helena, look at me. It's okay, sweetie. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me, Helena. The ambulance is on its way already.. You're gonna be okay. You hear me, Helena, you're gonna be okay. Open your eyes, look at me. You're gonna be just fine. You're gonna be just fine. Just stay with me."
Pete, out of breath from chasing the car, just stood there staring once he returned. Not for long, though - he quickly shook off his shock, and moved to make sure an ambulance was in fact on its way. Fortunately, most of the bar patrons were cops or friends of cops - they'd called for help the second Myka called out, and anyone who'd seen anything was already waiting to give their statement.
Myka, usually so perceptive, was completely oblivious to all of this. She was still struggling futilely to stop the bleeding, still muttering to herself in desperation even though her voice had dropped to a whisper. "Helena, Helena, Helena, Helena… You're gonna be okay. Just open your eyes and look at me."
Helena's eyes finally opened. They fluttered closed immediately afterward, though, as she gave a long, shaky exhale and her head rolled to one side.
SVU Squad Room, 2 Days Later…
The SVU squad room, normally so full of noise and activity, was hauntingly still and silent.
Myka sat in total silence at her desk, staring down at the badge she'd placed atop a law book Helena had left at the station. She'd done this every few hours over the last two days, and no one had had the heart to say anything about it - they all knew that there had been something unspoken between Myka and Helena, something that they'd never have the chance to explore now.
Claudia - who'd idolized Helena in her own way - was coping the only way she knew how, immersing herself in work until everything else faded away. Nothing she did could bring Helena back, but she could definitely continue to fight the good fight in Helena's name, and was busily pouring over case files.
Steve, for his part, alternated between keeping an eye on Claudia and keeping an eye on Myka and Pete. Myka - for reasons they all understood but were afraid to mention for fear of making things worse - was taking Helena's loss hardest, and even Pete was allowing his perpetually cheerful, optimistic facade to drop.
He was, in fact, currently scowling angrily at the front page of the morning newspaper. Helena Wells' death at the hands of a Colombian drug cartel was obviously front page news, and would be for some time.
Still, glaring angrily at the paper was a decidedly healthier, less frightening response than Myka's had been the first time she'd seen one of the headlines yesterday. They were still finding bits of the shredded newspaper all over the squad room…
The silence and stillness had just gone from calming to oppressive (again) when Artie came walking up, the sheer familiarity of his brusqueness something very like a breath of fresh air. "Do we have a trial date on the Richmond case yet?"
Myka, surprisingly, was the first to answer - somewhere in the time Steve had been scrutinizing Pete, she'd put her badge away and pulled her case files out. "We just got word it's been postponed."
Artie frowned in irritation - an oddly comforting gesture. "We're going to lose that witness. She was already shaky to begin with."
"There's nothing we can do," Pete reminded him. "They're having to pull in ADAs from other bureaus. It takes time."
Artie's impending commentary on that was cut off by a uniform handing him a note. His frown deepened as he read it. "Wonderful. Rafael Zapata was found dead in a holding cell while awaiting a hearing. No witnesses."
The resulting cacophony lasted just long enough for Claudia to get off a crack about missing the days when the government could just send in a Delta Force assassination squad. Artie cut them all off, directing his attention to Myka and Pete as he held out the note. "DEA Agent Hammond wants to see you two tonight - something about closing out the case. Here's the address."
The provided location for the meet ended up being a dark, abandoned lot in the middle of nowhere. There were three other cars - well, two cars and one SUV, all black - parked there when Pete and Myka arrived. If Hammond - Livia Sandoval's other handler - hadn't already been standing there in plain sight, the two detectives would probably have just turned around and left, or at very least called for backup.
As it was, nerves made Pete snarkier than ever. "Nice location. Convenient."
Hammond shrugged as if to say 'What can you do?'. "I'm sorry. It was the only way to do this."
Curiosity finally got the better of Myka. "Do what?"
Hammond nodded toward the black SUV in the center of the caravan before starting to walk towards it. "Wouldn't take no for an answer. Real pain in the ass, this one."
His voice held both amusement and respect along with his irritation, though, and the source became clear the second the back passenger door of the SUV opened. Moonlight outlined a familiar face that they'd thought they'd never see again as Helena Wells - alive and well - stepped into view.
Her eyes - usually so full of life - just looked sad and tired. "I am so sorry about all of this."
The words were ostensibly meant for both of them, but Pete knew they were really meant for Myka. Even if the apology was meant partly for him, it was pretty clear that Myka and Helena weren't paying a damn bit of attention to anyone else as they stood there staring into each other's eyes.
"Your funeral is tomorrow…" Myka whispered finally, and those words somehow conveyed everything she'd been through over the last few days.
Hammond, apparently oblivious to the scene playing out in front of him, interrupted the conversation. "And you're both expected to attend. For the time being, Miss Wells is better off dead. If Velez can get to Zapata, he can get to her."
It should have been obvious already, but that made finally everything click for Pete. "You're putting her in Witness Protection. What about Christina?"
Hammond looked to Helena then, clearly uncomfortable. "She's safer with her uncle in London for now."
Helena didn't even try to disguise her anger or bitterness. "Until Velez is extradited or otherwise dealt with."
Myka finally broke then, tears streaking down her cheeks as she watched Helena blink back her own. "How long?"
Helena opened her mouth as if to make one of her usual witty retorts, then closed it when nothing came to her. There was no answer to that question, and all Helena could do was shrug as she tried to keep from breaking down in front of everyone.
The two women just stood there staring at each other again, somehow trying to convey everything they'd thought they had so much time to say. Just when it looked like they'd get the courage up to at least hug each other goodbye, one of the marshals cut in.
"We need to move out," he explained apologetically.
Myka and Helena held eye contact for as long as they could, even after Helena had been safely locked back in the SUV. Neither of them was even trying to hide their tears anymore.
Pete put an arm around his partner while they watched the caravan drive away, offering what little reassurance he could as Myka leaned against him. "Don't worry, Mykes. She'll be back."