Authors Note- I've had this written for awhile and was waiting to write more, but hit a bit of a block. Sorry it's so short, all feedback is welcome.

Disclaimer- Law and Order: SVU as well as the characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

12:37 PM

"So you think it was drug related?" Elliot looked up from his coffee at his partner who was behind the wheel of the police sedan.

"Possibly…" she noted hesitantly, her eyes shielded by dark glasses. "Why the castration though?"

"Young kid messes with a big dealer, wants to send a message?"

"Maybe. What about the friends?"

"Steven and Shelby?"

"Yeah them. So far they're the last two who were seen with the vic and they we have about 6 unaccounted hours before his death. They're our missing puzzle pieces right now."

"Yeah the mother didn't know their last names though."

"I say we check the school."

"It's a start. We'll see what we can dig up, who really had it in for this kid. Mostly who Steven and Shelby are and what they know. I'll call back to the station, have Fin check with Narcotics to see how deep this kid was really in."

QUEENS P.R.E.P. ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL

138-11 35th AVENUE

QUEENS

1:16 PM

"I'm Jeanine Brown, the principal here. I just want to let you know that the school is willing to do anything to help in your investigation."

"Thank you Jeanine. What did you know about Frank?"

The middle-aged brunette paused with a long direct gaze at the tattered carpet floor, then responded with her dry raspy voice, "Not too much. Most of our kids here come from abusive houses, poverty, environments with a lot of adversity like that. Frank was in the small minority that came from more... normal homes. Two parents, middle class. You know..."

Elliot nodded. "Did any students have problems with him?"

"Not more than most. We're constantly breaking up fights, trying to keep ahead of the threats and the weapons," she stopped breaking her professionalism to fidget with the broach on her white turtleneck. "With Frank though…specifically however a lot of complaints were filed by girls claiming sexual harassment," she said as she sat down behind a heavy wooden desk, motioning for Elliot and Olivia to take a seat.

"Were any of them investigated?"

Jeanine shook her head nervously. "They were all dropped. And to be honest we just don't have the resources. Just today we've had three weapons confiscated and a couple hundred dollars worth of drugs. We get all the kids here that other schools can't deal with or don't want to. We're the dumping ground for rejected kids, most of whom have rap sheets comparable to those in Sing Sing. We're just trying to get them facing the right direction."

"Would we be able to have copies of those complaints?"

Jeanine hesitated. "They're supposed to be confidential but... circumstances. Yes. I'll have my secretary make copies."

"Thank you. One last thing, do you know if Frank had any close friends here at school?"

"Only one. A kid named Jason Raffey. You'll probably find him outside the cafeteria in the alley smoking."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elliot and Olivia walked behind the school towards a dumpster that a small group of black clad teens were using as a backrest as they stood in an oblong, incomplete circle smoking cigarettes.

"Is Jason Raffey here?" asked Olivia. A painfully pale blonde girl looked up at her through black-rimmed eyes, her fishnet covered hands poking a hole in her long black skirt with a safety pin.

"Why the hell do you want to know?" she spat.

Olivia pulled out her badge. "Let's try this again. NYPD, we're here to ask Jason a few questions about your friend Frank." The boy sitting next to the girl rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Liz." He looked up at Olivia. "I'm Jason."

"Would you come with us real quickly please?" she asked. He nodded defiantly, standing up and following Olivia and Elliot into the school. Just as they got inside, Olivia turned the opposite direction.

"I'll go take care of that other thing," she told Eliot. He nodded.

"Sorry about Lizzie earlier. She's just like that," Jason shrugged nervously as he followed Elliot into the empty classroom. "Where's the woman?"

"Detective Benson? She went to talk with some other students right now."

"Oh."

"Your principal says that you're one of Frank's good friends here at school," Elliot said as he sat down in a desk across from Jason. He nodded, pulling his hands into the tattered black sweatshirt.

"How good of friends?"

"Well I met him through Hickey, a friend of mine who goes to Regis. Anyway they live kind of close to each other so we hang out a lot. The rest of our good friends go to Regis and Cherry Creek Day School, you know, both private schools in Yorkville. Regis is an all boys Catholic sausage fest and Creek is just a bunch of rich kids," Jason shrugged running his hand through a flat, un-styled brown Mohawk.

"Frank's mother said he had problems with drugs. Do you know anything about that?" Jason hesitated. "I'm not here to get you in trouble Jason, just to find out what happened to Frank."

"He smoked a lot of pot. We all do you know. He really liked other stuff too, ecstasy, shrooms, acid, he even did coke with this one girl he knew through Hickey, Kirsten."

"Was he dealing?"

"No. He just liked to do drugs. Spent all his money on the stuff. It's all he really cared about."

"When's the last time you talked to Frank?"

"Yesterday during school. I was going to meet up with him, Hickey and Shelby but I had to go to work instead."

Elliot paused. "Hickey… do you mean Steven?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah that's his first name."

"Do you know Shelby's last name?"

"Yeah Siex. She goes to Creek."

"Do you know where we could find them?"

"Now? They're probably at work. We all work at this pizza place, Anthony's. Madison and 65th. Frank used to work there but he got fired a long time ago."