A/N: Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews! I'm really glad you're enjoying this... I certainly enjoyed writing it. Well, about as much as a person can enjoy the subject matter. Let me know what you think about this next one too! This is where a lot of the research I did comes in.
Shannon: Sorry I couldn't reply to your review. I'm glad you liked it. Hopefully this chapter will answer your question about Munch's reaction to what's going on. I always pictured him as really calm, even when it came to something like this. Even in "RAW" he stayed pretty cool about the whole situation. Anyways, I hope this answers it a little better for you.
Chapter 5
Precinct 16
Friday, April 20
"I don't like this, Elliot." Dr. George Huang folded his arms across his chest and leaned against Munch's desk.
"I don't like it either," Munch retorted. "I don't like my people being cut down in schoolyards like this is some sort of throwback to World War II."
"That's not what I'm referring to, John," the dapper Chinese-American psychiatrist answered calmly. "I don't like how everything is too neat, too tidy."
"How often do we get a case like this?" Olivia asked. "The evidence is overwhelming. We have his face on tape leaving the scene of the crime. The cabbie can positively ID him."
"I know. And that's exactly what I'm talking about." Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Casey enter the squad room and stop at Elliot's side. The detective looked over, gave her a half-smile, and moved over so she could lean up against his desk. Huang had guessed a while back that they were involved in a relationship, but they were careful to keep it out of the office, so he had nothing solid.
"Maybe he was just stupid," Fin interjected.
Huang shook his head patiently. "I don't think so. This attack was carefully planned, down to the last detail. He meticulously made sure no one saw his face until he stopped at the EZ mart. It's almost as if he was leading us to him, almost like he wanted to be caught."
"Who in his right mind would want to be caught?" Casey asked incredulously.
"I said 'almost'. It's not that he wants to be caught," Huang answered. "He just doesn't mind being caught."
"Is he trying to go for some sort of insanity thing?" Elliot asked.
Olivia nodded in agreement. "To be neo-Nazi these days, you'd have to be crazy."
"I don't think he is neo-Nazi."
Cragen furrowed his brow at their shrink. "Did we read the same letter?"
"His rhetoric isn't neo-Nazi. He doesn't lambast the city for supporting African-Americans, Hispanics, or gays. He lambasts the city for supporting Jews. Hitler killed quite a bit of the other groups, including Slavs, but he mostly targeted Jews. Over six million Jews died in the Holocaust, the most out of any group of people persecuted by Hitler. Notice also how he ends the letter."
"'Heil Hitler.'" Munch snorted disdainfully. "He's obviously got a flair for the melodramatic."
"In Mein Kampf, Hitler blamed the Jews for the problems of Germany after World War I. He used insults like 'Christ-killers' when he was carrying out his pogroms throughout the country. This guy is using the exact same rhetoric, the exact same insults. I think he's more than a neo-Nazi. I think he might be the real deal, or at the very least trained by the real deal."
Elliot furrowed his brow. "It's been a while since my high school history class, but I thought true Nazism in the United States died out after Hitler's death and reawakened just before the Civil Rights Movement."
"In the United States, it did. But Hitler's brand of fascism wasn't limited to Germany and Italy. Spain was fascist, and as was most of South America. Your cabbie said that he had a mix of a German and Spanish accent. A lot of Nazis escaped to Spain and South America after World War II to evade being charged with war crimes, because of their sympathetic governments."
"Israel captured Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in the sixties," Munch added.
Huang nodded. "He wasn't the only one. Eva Peron and her husband openly supported Hitler's regime. Josef Mengele fled to Brazil and died in the seventies under an assumed name. Hundreds of Nazis made new lives in Argentina and Brazil after World War II. Because of his accent and the wording of the letter, I think your guy might be a descendant of one of them."
Elliot opened his mouth to say something, but his phone interrupted him. "Stabler," he answered it.
"No offense, Doc," Casey said, shaking her head. "I'm finding a lot of this hard to believe. A true Nazi in New York? It's something straight out of The Boys from Brazil."
"It does seem a little fantastic," Cragen agreed.
Huang gave them a knowing smile. "I think that when you do find him, he won't put up much of a fight. Being charged with these crimes makes him a martyr to those that believe the same things he does. He'll have the perfect forum to make his ideologies known. He's a narcissist. He's convinced he's right, and he wants everyone to know it. He believes that he's starting a war against the Jews. The thing about starting a war is that you have to convince others that it's a good cause, or no one will support it."
"That was the lab," Elliot said, replacing his phone on the cradle. "They have something for us."
He glanced at Casey as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. She didn't say anything, but her eyes spoke louder than words. Be careful, those green-blue orbs shouted at him. Elliot gave his girlfriend a reassuring smile as he shrugged on his jacket. He loved that she was so concerned about him.
"Call me when you find something," she said quietly as Olivia joined them.
"Of course," he answered. With one last smile, they disappeared down the corridor.
Crime Lab
One Police Plaza
Friday, April 20
"We managed to lift some prints off the letter you sent us," O'Halloran explained to Elliot and Olivia as they followed him through the crime lab.
"How many sets?" Olivia asked, nearly running into the lab tech when he stopped in front of a computer.
"Four. We eliminated three of them – Chief of D's, your boss, and Elliot."
Elliot leaned against the desk. "Great. What about the fourth?"
O'Halloran sighed and sank into the chair. "Nothing from AFIS." He hit a couple of keys on the keyboard, and the scanned print appeared on the computer screen.
Olivia frowned thoughtfully. Suddenly an idea hit her, and her head jerked up to look Elliot in the eyes. "Didn't the cabbie say something about the guy having a weird accent?"
The CSU tech raised his eyebrows at the two detectives. "I'll run it through Immigration." He hit a couple more keys, and the computer began scanning through the thousands of prints in the INS's database. Within minutes, the computer bleeped at him. O'Halloran leaned forward as the software brought up a photo. "Joseph Adolphus. Immigrated a year ago from Argentina under a professional permanent resident visa. Lives in Brooklyn."
"Let me guess," Elliot said. "318 Wyckoff Street?"
"How'd you know?" The tech turned in his seat, eyebrows raised again.
"Lucky guess."
"Hey Elliot." Olivia nudged her partner's shoulder and gestured to the picture on the screen. "Look familiar?"
Elliot narrowed his eyes and studied the photo. Lean face, bright blue eyes, dark hair… his eyes immediately widened. "It can't be." He pulled out the security camera photo from his jacket pocket and held it up next to the monitor. "It's him," he said with a sigh.
Olivia pulled out her phone. "I'll call Novak for a warrant."
Office of ADA Casey Novak
Friday, April 20
"Judge Bradley signed off on the warrant," Casey said as she handed Olivia the signed blue-backed legal paper. "Lucky for us, he was just as outraged by this shooting as we were."
"Have you talked to the Argentinean embassy?" Olivia asked as she took the warrant from the attorney's hand.
"They're giving me the runaround. I did talk with our embassy in Buenos Aires and explained our situation. Apparently, stuff like this has been going on down there since after World War II, mini-pogroms all over South America. Our embassy pulled documentation a couple of years ago when the Argentineans refused to give the names of the Nazis they helped escape from Europe. They'll get back to me in a couple of hours. Meantime, you guys go pick up our favorite Nazi bastard and bring him in before he shoots someone else."
Olivia nodded and grinned at the fiery ADA. "Got it." She turned around to head out the door, but immediately noticed that Elliot wasn't behind her. "Coming, El?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Give me a minute." Olivia hesitated, and he raised his eyebrow at her. "Just a minute."
A smirk slowly spread across her face, and she looked back and forth between the blushing attorney and glowering detective. "I'll meet you in the car," she said, coughing to hide her laugh.
Elliot waited until his partner disappeared around the corner before he turned to face Casey. "You okay?" he asked. "I know I haven't talked to you much today."
"You're on a case." Casey smiled. "I know how you get when you're on a case."
"How do I get?"
"Brooding."
Elliot laughed and stepped closer to her. "What was with that look back in the squadroom?"
Casey sighed. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For being overly concerned. I know you can take care of yourself."
Elliot took another step closer to her. By now, he was within about six inches of her. "Yeah, I can. But I like it when you're concerned," he said seriously. "I'm glad to know you care enough to be concerned."
"Of course I do," she replied softly. "It's just…" She sighed. "Huang's good. If he says that this guy doesn't mind getting caught, I believe him. But if he's wrong…"
"Casey," Elliot said gently. He reached up and tenderly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I'll be fine. Liv'll watch my back, Munch and Fin'll be there, and we'll go in full force."
"I know. I just don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
Elliot stared at her for a minute. She'd never been that open with him before, even in the past three months. She'd never admitted she worried about him. It scared him and thrilled him at the same time. He was falling for her – hard. Harder than he'd ever fallen.
"Elliot?"
Her voice jerked him back from his reverie. He looked her in the eyes and smiled again. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you, either," he said softly. "I'm glad you're worried about me."
"Yeah, well, you're alone in that sentiment."
He chuckled low in his throat and glanced around. It was nearly ten at night, and the DA's office was, for the most part, deserted. Satisfied that there was no one around, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. He couldn't resist twining his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him when he felt her respond.
Casey's moan rumbled through his lips, and she gently skimmed his lips with her tongue as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He acquiesced to her demand and parted his lips, letting her probe his mouth gently. It was by far the most passionate kiss they'd shared in a public place.
Finally he pulled back, smiling from ear to ear, as was she. Casey's lips were swollen from his kiss, and her blue-green orbs shined. "You should probably get moving," she whispered, suppressing a shiver as he ran his fingers through her strawberry-blonde hair.
"Yeah, Liv's probably getting impatient."
Casey snorted at that. "Probably." She leaned forward and gently kissed him one more time. "See you at the precinct when you get back with the Nazi bastard."
Elliot smiled again and shook his head. She could be so blunt at times. "See you then."
He found Olivia waiting for him in the lobby by the door. She grinned at his quizzical look. "Forgot you have the keys," she explained. Her grin widened at his chuckle.
Elliot pushed open the door and followed his partner out toward their car. His mind was whirling. Lately his feelings for Casey had changed dramatically. He hadn't fallen hard in a long time. Hell, he hadn't even had feelings like these for Kathy in their twenty-plus years of marriage.
"So have you told her yet?"
Olivia's voice startled him, and his head jerked to the left to look her in the eyes. "Told her what?"
"That you love her."
Elliot frowned as he fished the car keys out of his pockets. "What makes you think that I love her?"
"That look on your face right now."
He hated that she knew him so well. "I don't know if I do," he said quietly, inserting the key into the door lock.
Olivia snorted and opened the passenger-side door. "C'mon, El. You practically live at her place. Your kids love her. Hell, even Kathy likes her. Your face brightens up so much when she walks into the room it's like looking into the sun."
Elliot sighed and slid into the driver's seat. He stuck the key into the ignition and turned to look at Olivia. "Okay. Maybe I do love her. She's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. What if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"She does," Olivia replied gently. "You need to tell her. I'd hate to see you lose this chance. Like you said, she's the best thing that's happened to you in a long time."
He stared at his partner for a minute, absorbing her words. "Yeah. You're right," he said quietly as he turned the ignition.
318 Wyckoff Street
Brooklyn
Friday, April 20
"Find anything on that computer yet?" Elliot asked their TARU tech Reuben Morales, who was bent over Joseph Adolphus's laptop in his Brooklyn apartment.
Morales shook his head. "It's all encrypted. I'll have to get it back to the lab."
Olivia reached over Morales's shoulder to pick up a picture sitting innocently on the desk. It was an old black-and-white photo of a scowling man in a dapper uniform. "Hey, Elliot, check this out."
Her partner maneuvered around the kitchen counter to join her in the living room. He reached out and gently took the photo from Olivia's hands. "Those are SS insignias," he said quietly, tracing the outlines of the lightning bolts on the man's lapels.
"Relative?"
"Looks a lot like our guy."
"Check out what we found in the bedroom." Elliot and Olivia turned at the sound of Munch's voice and saw him enter the living room from the hallway, Fin on his heels. He held up a long sniper rifle, complete with a scope.
A low whistle escaped Elliot. "Damn. That's a lot of firepower."
"A lot of firepower that's been recently used." Munch sniffed the barrel. "Been fired recently."
"Ballistics should give us a match to the slug from Isaiah Jaslow," Olivia said with a slight smile.
"That's not all we found back there," Fin said. He held up a copy of Mein Kampf.
Elliot snorted in disgust. "A little light reading?"
"And we found a pair of boots." Munch held up the dark combat boots. "Man's size ten."
"What's going on here?!"
The three detectives whirled around to see a tall, thin, dark-haired man with a dark duffel bag standing in the doorway, his hands on his hips and a furious expression in his blue eyes. "Joseph Adolphus?" Elliot asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Yes. What are you doing here?" Adolphus asked in a thick accent. His eyes fell on Munch and hardened even more.
"Executing a search warrant," Olivia replied, showing him the legal document.
"Is this your rifle?" Munch inquired, holding up the rifle in one gloved hand.
"Yes. What is this all about?"
"Shooting in Manhattan earlier this morning. Two little boys were killed, and a rifle a lot like this was used."
Adolphus's eyes narrowed again. "I do not think I should say anything else. Especially to you, Jew."
Munch's eyes hardened behind his dark glasses, but he kept his cool.
Elliot grinned mirthlessly. "Well, that's fine by us. Joseph Adolphus, you're under arrest on two counts of murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be held against you –"
"Hey guys."
They glanced up to see O'Halloran standing in the hallway, a concerned look on his features.
"There's something you need to see."
The four detectives and the handcuffed Adolphus made their way to the spare bedroom. O'Halloran stood in the middle of the room, two more CSU techs flanking him. "What is it?" Olivia asked. She didn't like the look on his face.
"We found traces of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil in these bags." He gestured to two bags leaning inconspicuously against the far wall.
"Those make big booms," Fin said, his eyes widening.
Munch glared at the smiling Adolphus. "What the hell did you do?"
"Beginning a war," he sneered.
Olivia disappeared down the hall and quickly returned with Adolphus's black bag. "What're we going to find in here?" she asked, shoving the bag under Adolphus's nose.
Silence.
"Get him outta here," Elliot growled, shoving the still-smiling perp toward two uniformed officers.
O'Halloran bent over the bag and quickly unzipped it. A white, powdery substance coated the inside lining. He swallowed hard and looked up at the concerned detectives. "Ammonium nitrate. This bag held a homemade bomb."
Olivia looked up at her colleagues, dark eyes wide. "It could be anywhere in the city."
"The war has just begun," Munch whispered.
A/N2: Casey references The Boys from Brazil in the chapter, and I wasn't sure how many of you have heard of that movie. If you get a chance to see it, it's an interesting plotline. In the movie (made in the late '70s), Josef Mengele manages to create 95 clones of Hitler and place them throughout the world in hopes of restarting the Third Reich, forcing a famous Nazi hunter to stop him again. The movie isn't even close to real life, but it's interesting nonetheless.