The Santa Incident
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of LO:SVU or any other show mentioned here. I don't own the rights of the songs either. I'm making no money out of this whatsoever. Don't sue me, I have no money.
10
Suddenly the lights flickered and flashed on again. Few minutes later a technician entered the squad room.
"Ah, well, as you can see we have power again," he said. "We don't know exactly what it was, but the generator did not work."
Cragen grabbed for the next phone. There was no tone. "The phones still don't work. At least we're not sitting in darkness any longer."
"John?!" Fin shouted. "Look what I've got for you…" He held up a pair of well lined boots, scarlet red with a white fur brim.
"You don't expect me to wear that, do you?" John was taken aback.
"They will be warm. And I think that they will fit well… must be your size."
"I don't think so."
"John…" Cragen said. Their looks met and locked. The captain's brows narrowed. "Try them on."
"Sir?" Well, the captain seemed to be serious. So John got up and took the boots. "Where did you find these things?"
"You remember the Santa, Olivia and Elliot arrested this morning?" Fin replied. "He was still in custody because of the weather…"
"You owe me, partner."
"Yeah, John. Get finished."
"Captain Cragen?" someone at the door asked. It was an officer in a heavy coat and equally heavy pants and boots. He looked a bit like a grizzly bear.
"Yes, that's me." Cragen stepped towards him.
"I'm Officer Eidson, mounted police. My captain sent me and my partner to check the precincts we could not reach by radio. Is everything okay here?"
A radio squeaked. He picked it from his breast pocket. "Yes? – Yes. – One moment, sir. – Captain Cragen?"
"Now that the generator's working we're gonna be fine," Cragen answered. "Will you go to 25 and 26 Precinct, too?"
"To the 25 Precinct, yes. But it will be another unit," Eidson said. "And it will take some time."
"How's the weather?" John demanded to know.
"Just a light snowfall. But the streets… You don't see much of a street."
"Traffic?"
Eidson laughed. "No traffic, none at all. Many of the subway entrances are blocked by snowdrifts. So the trains had to be stopped. You can't drive a car right now either. Why, do you think, they asked our squad to go outside?"
"What have you seen while you were on your way to us?"
"Not very much. There are hardly people outside. I never saw the city so silent. Once the folks are convinced the blizzard is over, we have to hope that mayhem can be prevented. As long as there's no electricity security systems won't work…"
The implication was clear. Everyone knew what he meant before he finished his sentence.
"Plunders." Cragen frowned. "We have to contact the 26 Precinct. You say their radio's working?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Then we'll try this way. Where will you go from here?"
"We will be on patrol."
"We're missing two of our squad, Detective Olivia Benson and Detective Elliot Stabler. They were on their way to 26 Precinct when the blizzard began, but we don't know if they could get there in time."
"We will keep our eyes open, sir."
"Thank you, Officer Eidson."
"They were not at the 26 Precinct?" Fin sounded scared now.
Until they received this confirmation they could imagine Olivia and Elliot save and sound at the other station. Now their worries became more substantial.
"Captain Adams said, that they didn't even get a call from them," Cragen reported. "So they vanished somewhere between the pool hall and the precinct. The officers on patrol will check the pool hall and the way our detectives will most likely have taken."
"What will we do?" Fin asked. He became more restless than ever.
"We won't walk to 126th Street," John declared. "I won't walk."
"We'll find a way," Fin said. "Such as stopping the next snowplow passing."
And that was exactly what he did. They had to walk three blocks until they met one. From there they went up to 100th Street where the driver waited until a colleague came who could take the detectives to 126th Street.
The cops there could tell them nothing but what they already knew: Nobody had seen the two detectives from SVU.
Now Fin and John walked down the streets taking their time to check each public place they could find. So far no one could help them. Under their boots the snow was crunching. Still, it was almost as dark as in a dungeon. Many houses were still without power.
In the middle of the night, without electricity and not so long after a heavy blizzard there were not many places to control. Fin and John reached the pool hall around 1 am. It was closed.
"And now?" John asked. He clapped his hands and stepped from one foot on the other.
"We'll keep searching."
"Where the hell shall we go from here?" John yelled at him. "We're walking the streets for hours, but so far we have nothing!"
Around the corner a dumpster lid slammed shut. They walked there to check it out.
"Sir? NYPD. Do you have a minute?" Fin asked, showing his badge.
The man in the alley rose a flashlight to see who was approaching.
"Cops? Now? What do you want?"
"Do you work at the pool hall?" John wanted to know.
"No. I live in a flat on third floor." The man walked towards a door. "Let's go inside. It's more than uncomfortable out here. – Why are you asking for the pool hall? You want to do something against these jerks calling themselves students who hang about there? Then it's too late in the evening."
"You don't like students?" Fin raised his eyebrows.
"I don't like these students." The man picked cigarettes from out of his pockets and lit one up. He held the pack out to the cops.
"No, thanks," they said. "What can you tell us about them?"
"They are mean. They harass the waitresses and disturb the other guests. I used to play pool down there but since this guy, Paul something, uses to come I avoid the place."
"Have you seen them today?" John asked. "Before the blizzard?"
"Yeah, they were here. Headed for Riverside Drive when they left, following their comrade." The man chuckled. "Looked like he messed with the wrong guys this time. He seemed to be pissed when they went for their car."
"Can you describe these people?" Fin was alerted. This might have been Olivia and Elliot when they arrested Cornwell.
"A man and a woman. She had dark hair with a touch of red, shoulder length. I have seen her just for a moment before she got into the car. His hair also was dark, very short, like a soldier. He had a long woolen coat, dark green, brown suit. He was cleaning the lights."
"What happened next?"
"He got in, too, and drove away. Waited for a moment at the next crossing. A moment later the others were following them."
"In the direction of Riverside Drive?"
"Yeah. I already said that, didn't I?" He blew the smoke in John's face. "Was that all? Can I go up to my apartment now?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
He waved it off and left.
"Riverside Drive leads alongside Riverside Park," John said. "We haven't been there."
"Check it out?"
John looked up at Fin with resignation.
"We'll check everything."