Chapter 2
The next morning, Olivia sat at her desk, seemingly waiting for the hammer to drop. Fin poked his nose into her office and he could tell that she was not in a good mood. He was about to make it worse with what he had to say.
"Hey Liv," she looked up from the paperwork on her desk.
"Yes?" Olivia wanted to know.
"Duarte is here," Fin said. He could see her eyes roll so he pulled himself completely into her office and closed the door.
"Look, I know that you don't want to deal with this guy but the sooner you give your statement, the sooner we can get rid of him," he told her.
"Oh, I don't think it'll be that simple," she admitted.
"Why?" Fin was confused. They hadn't found the kid that she'd shot yet but they were working on it. Duarte's detectives were assisting Rollins and Velasco out in the field. Fin had basically stayed behind to keep an eye on her. Chief McGrath wanted her with some sort of protective detail even when she was in the safety of the precinct. Noah was currently preparing to head back to the McCann's. His half-brother's family had been extremely understanding and the New York State Troopers would be helping with security at their home.
"Because I just got a pile dropped in my lap from the Chief. He's trying to keep me busy or maybe it's because he doesn't have a choice," Olivia shook her head before continuing, "Bronx SVU is a disaster area. After One PP cleaned house over there, Detective Terry Bruno has been trying to clean up the mess. His predecessors left him a major backlog and a history of low closure rates. The Feds are on McGrath's ass to get this cleaned up – which means he's decided it's now my problem."
"He said he wants you to work with Duarte but then he's dumping this on your lap?" Fin raised an eyebrow.
"I think he really doesn't want me working with Duarte. What he wants is us to kiss and make up and then I handle this mess in the Bronx," she said.
"BX9 came after you. As much as Duarte probably doesn't want you over his shoulder, he has to know you'd want into the investigation," her old friend was incredulous.
"There's too much heat. It hits the press that I'm working the case that stems from my own assault, there'll be more headaches than the Feds knocking down the Bronx's door," Olivia pointed out. There was a knock on her door – it was Duarte.
"Let him in, then head to the Bronx. I want your assessment of what is going on over there and what kind of Feds we're dealing with. I'll keep you posted," she told her second in command. Fin nodded and then let the Bronx Gangs commanding officer into the room.
Elliot walked into the sixteenth precinct. He hadn't intended on finding his way here, but Sergeant Bell had told him that she didn't want to see him today. She had heard about the attack on the Captain and knew he wouldn't be able to stay focused anyway. They were between big cases but there was rarely a quiet moment in the OCCB anyway.
He could see that Olivia was in a meeting with someone, so he took a seat at Fin's desk. He wasn't sure where the Sergeant was but the Desk Sergeant told him Fin had left, leaving him in charge of protecting the Captain. Elliot promised him that he'd take over so the poor guy could do all of his other work.
Twenty minutes later, the man exited Olivia's office. He didn't look happy, but Elliot didn't say anything to him. His eyes moved toward his former partner. She had a bit of a smirk on her face.
"Duarte, I presume?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm about to become a giant pain in his ass. Want to join?" She wondered.
"Oh, you going to investigate your own attack? Pretty sure Cragen would have advised against that," Elliot pointed out.
"And then we'd do it anyway. He went to the mat a lot for us," Olivia nodded.
"You're that person now. No one to stop you from getting into trouble with One PP," he said. She was about to say something when her phone rang. She quickly answered it. Not on the phone long, Olivia shook her head.
"What's up?" Elliot wanted to know.
"They found the kid that I shot," she told him.
To Be Continued…