Brown Eyed Girl
Chapter 8
A Meeting
"I wish you had called me Friday night when this man approached you." Trevor Lagan said as he looked over the summons Barba had been served. Rafael and Olivia were sitting in his office later that same afternoon. He had been handling the details for Mari's adoption and for Barba also adopting Noah.
"What do you think this means?" Olivia asked him. "Do you think he's going to request a paternity test?"
Trevor shook his head, "I am sure he will, and you need to be prepared for the judge to order one on Mari."
"If it comes back that he is Mari's biological father, then what?" Rafael asked knowing Trevor knew this section of family law better than he did.
"It's complicated, he isn't listed on Mari's birth certificate and you have legal claim to her because of Claudia's will but if she is his biological child a judge might overlook all of that, unless he is proven unfit. I suggest you let me get my investigators on him immediately." Trevor explained to them.
"Of course" Barba told him. "His people, not your people." He said to Oliva with a half-smile.
"Please, yes, Oliva you cannot have your people involved in this at all." Trevor agreed.
"I know how to do my job." Olivia grumbled at them prompting them to both roll their eyes.
"You said Stephens gave you his number Barba?" Trevor asked him.
"Yes, outside the office on Friday."
"Do not call him, but if he contacts you again, then let me know immediately. Try and not worry too much you guys, we don't even know if this man has any claim to her. I will call you as soon as my investigators have anything." Trevor did his best to reassure them.
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They returned home after meeting with Trevor to find Lucy and the kids just coming back from the park.
"Did you guys have fun at the park? Olivia asked as she took Mari from Lucy who was also trying to help Noah get his jacket off.
"We didn't get to stay long enough." Noah complained. "After that man kept trying to talk to Mari and me Lucy said we needed to go."
Oliva and Rafael both looked to Lucy for an explanation. "I was getting ready to call one of you." She explained, "You've always told me if I feel uncomfortable with how anyone approaches the children to leave and so we did. Noah was climbing on the playground up to the slide and I was pushing Mari on the swing. He met Noah at the bottom of the slide and asked him where his Mommy or Daddy was. Noah ran straight to me." Lucy began to explain.
"Good job Noah, you did the right thing." Rafael praised him pulling him close for a hug. "What happened next?"
"He knew my name and Mari's name and Lucy's name, he said he was friends with Mari's first Mommy." Noah told them. Oliva and Rafael looked at each other in alarm.
"He asked me how old Mari was and if I had ever met either of her biological parents. Liv, Rafael, I promise I didn't answer any of his questions. I told him he needed to leave us alone, that I was going to call the police, then the kids and I left." Lucy told them.
"You did great Lucy, thank you." Oliva reassured her then after settling the children down with a show she and Rafael filled Lucy in on what was going on. Then they called Trevor who said he would immediately file for an order of protection keeping Stephens away from the entire family and Lucy until the court proceedings.
"I think I should take some time off of work." Liv told Rafael that night as they were getting ready for bed. "I think one of us be with the kids until this is over and you've already taken so much time with you paternity leave."
"Besides, you're the one of is that carries a gun." Rafael said only half joking.
"So you are OK with that?" She asked him, Rafael pulled her close and kissed her.
"Would it do me any good to tell you otherwise?" He asked knowing that when she decided her children needed her for something there was no changing her mind.
Liv laughed for the first time that day, "No, it wouldn't" she said laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm scared Raf."
"Me too." He said stroking her hair, "But we are going to get through this. The four of us are a family and nothing is going to change that."
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When Rafael arrived at work the next morning Carmen handed him a stack of mail and other papers that needed his attention as he shuffled through them a folded piece of paper with his name on it fell out. He opened it a quickly read it. Mr. Barba, your family is beautiful. I enjoyed getting to speak to Noah at the park yesterday. Mari looks so much like Claudia. I know you don't want anything to disturb your family. Meet me Phillips' Tavern at eight o'clock and we can discuss a finical arrangement that could give both of us what we want.
Rafael carefully set the letter down on his desk handling it as he would a piece of evidence. He picked up his phone and called Liv, he quickly told her about the letter. "Have your team get down here, I'll call Trevor." He told her.
"I just dropped Noah at school, Mari and I will be there in ten minutes." She said before texting Finn to have the squad meet at Barba's office. "You want to go to Pappi's office Mari?" she asked the toddler as she buckled her in her stroller.
"See Pappi!" Mari said happily shaking her sippy cup.
The first thing Liv did when she arrived at this office was to put the letter in evidence bag as Rafael pulled out some toys that he kept in the corner for Mari to play with. The SVU team and Trevor arrived at the same time and hey gathered around the table in the office as Olivia filled everyone in.
"Why didn't you tell me to sit on this guy Liv? " Finn asked
"Yeah, we would have all taken turns." Carisi added.
"As much as I appreciate that as my fiancé pointed out up until this point it would have been illegal for us to do anything." Oliva explained, catching Rafael's smile when she referred to him as her fiancé.
"Now however, it looks like Mr. Stephens is attempting a few different felonies, extortion and child trafficking to name two."
"You want to meet the guy and wear a wire?" Trevor asked Rafael.
"Yes, I'll need a warrant but it shouldn't be hard to get with this letter and with what he pulled in the park yesterday,"
"Then I will leave that to you and keep my people on seeing what we can learn about Stephens' past." Trevor said excusing himself and leaving the rest of them to come up with a plan.
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A little before seven Liv, Finn, and Rafael were sitting in a block away from Phillip's Tavern, Rollins and Carisi were already inside at a table that would give them a good view.
"He's here sitting in a booth in the back." Carisi told them.
Liv finished adjusting Rafael's wire and buttoned up his shirt, "I still think I should go with you." She said quietly fidgeting with his tie.
Rafael lifted her chin and placed a soft kiss on her lips, "Like Finn said earlier, that might scare him off. I'll be fine. I love you."
"I love you too." She said kissing him a little longer than Finn cared to see.
"All right you two you can go home and do that later once we arrest this scum bag." He told them ushering Rafael out of the van.
Oliva watched Rafael until he turned the corner into the bar and she felt Finn's hand on her shoulder, "He's going to be all right Liv." Oliva just sighed a Finn drove the van around and parked it in front of the bar.
Rafael walked through the bar careful not to acknowledge Carisi and Rollins as he passed them. He spotted Stephens in the back booth and sat down across from him.
"Glad you could make it this evening Mr. Barba, how is the family? Is Lieutenant Benson working late tonight? Are the children with the sitter again? I have to say I'm concerned with how much time the two of you are away from them." Stephens said his voice taunting.
"What do you want Stephens?" Rafael asked doing his best to keep his voice calm.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Don't you want a drink?" He asked him finishing off the beer that sat in front of him.
"No, I just want to be rid of you and I want you to stay away from my family." Rafael said the anger creeping into his voice.
"Well, we have the hearing next week and I imagine a paternity test will follow that. Then we will see what happens I suppose, unless…"
"Unless what Stephens?"Rafeal asked praying he would say everything they needed him too.
"Well, my Broadway part fell through, and I am thinking it might be time to relocate, say maybe LA, try some west coast acting," Stephens began to explain.
"Well don't' let me stop you." Barba said dryly.
"Relocating is expensive and LA isn't cheap. I would need some startup money to get me settled I suppose." He continued
"What does any of this have to do with me?" Barba asked careful to not lead him too much.
"Well, I figure you have an interest in me leaving. So maybe you would want to invest in my move, and then I would probably forget all about that little girl who calls you Papi."
"How much?" Rafael asked him not even flinching and he briefly wondered if he would actually pay the man off if he could.
"I think one hundred thousand dollars should be enough to set me up in LA." Stephens told him.
Back in the van Liv laughed when he said that and Finn looked at her, "You and the Counselor have a stash I need to know about?" Liv just shook her head and turned her attention back to the conversation.
"Surely you don't think I have that kind of money just sitting around." Rafael told him trying to make it believable.
"Half up front and then the rest can be paid over the next year, when it's paid you will never hear from me again." Stephens said clearly having thought this out.
"How do I know you won't show up again, wanting to take Mari?" Rafael asked him.
"When the last payment is in my bank account I will mail you a letter legally giving up any rights to the girl. "
"So you are saying you would potentially sell your child for one hundred thousand dollars?" The disgust apparent in Rafael's voice.
"You can call in that if you want, or just making sure she's in a good home." Stephens said with an over confident laugh.
"That's all we need" Finn said putting his hand on Liv's shoulder.
"Rollins, Caris, get him we've got what we need." Liv told her detectives.
"Good job Babe." She said with a smile then she heard Rafael's courtroom voice take over.
"Actually, Stephens child trafficking in what the state of New York and The Federal Government call it." He said stepping away from the table as Rollins read him his rights, cuffed him and lead him out of the bar.
Liv passed them on her way in, "Amanda wait," she said looking at Stephens, "You are never getting anywhere near either of my children again. Get him out of here." The she made her way over to Rafael.
"Bag his glass." She told Finn who nodded understanding why she wanted it.
"You want to run his DNA against Mari's?" Rafael asked her.
"We have to Raf, that's the only way we can know for sure." She reminded him stepping closer to him as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I know, you're right, but for tonight let's just go home to our children." He told her.
"Yes, let's go home." She agreed laying her head against his shoulder and leaving her team to take care of the details for the evening.
TBC