Chapter Two: Hook, Line and Sinker

A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot, Computer Crime's tech Morales and Jessica O'Malley busted through the doors of Manhattan's Special Victims Unit shortly after noon. Alex opened, "I'm due in court back downtown in less than an hour, bottom line this for me."

The detectives looked at the three individuals that were now in their presence. Elliot was the first to speak. "We ran the address Jess gave us. It bounced back to a guy named Ronald Blaze."

Olivia was taken aback by Alex's tone…skirt suit and her heels. The skirts always got her but she composed herself. "Ronald Blaze is a computer programmer, or at least he was until he was laid off a year ago."

Fin looked at the A.D.A.; Olivia really was a lucky woman. "He's been drawing unemployment insurance every since."

Alex furrowed her brow as she put her briefcase down on the desk that used to be Jess's. "He's drawing UI and he lives in Chelsea?"

Munch looked over his glasses at her. "We thought the same thing. We get the impression he might be subsidizing his income."

Alex crossed her arms and looked hard at Jess. It was the first time Jess would be playing a major role in a case. The foundation of the warrant would be based on her work. Alex had never played hardball with the younger blonde, better here and now than in a courtroom tomorrow with a Judge and a defense attorney. "How did you get his address?"

The detectives, and now their Captain watched the teenager and the Assistant District Attorney dance. It was something that had to be done if Jess was serious about her Tech job. This wasn't a small piece of the puzzle she had put together; it was their whole case at this point. No amount of wit, charm or class was going to get Jess through this; intelligence, professionalism and cold hard facts where the teen's current defense.

Jess had seen Alex in the courtroom before. She had looked and sounded this intense but the intensity had never been directed at her before. 'If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen' was something that Tony Carpino had always said to Jess. The fact was she loved the kitchen. She squared her shoulders but spoke in an even tone to her A.D.A. "I found some odd strings of numbers while I was trying to find the actual server the website was using to stream over the Internet. After two days I got fed up being bounced around the world with proxy servers so I went back to these numbers. The numbers were actually three IP addresses. I monitored the addresses and found two email addresses that appeared to be sending messages back and forth. I typed the two addresses into an email-tracing program in order to find out their origins. Only one address came back, the one in Chelsea; I gave it to detectives Stabler and Benson."

Alex uncrossed her arms, leaned down and put her palms on the desk. She continued to stare hard at Jess. "Ms. O'Malley do you have the records to substantiate the monitoring and tracing you preformed?"

Over Jess's shoulder and across her body was a laptop bag, she never went anywhere without her laptop. Jess sashayed over to Alex calmly, but with a hint in her eyes that told the older blonde she knew what she was doing. In front of everyone Jess admired professionally she reached into a side pocket, pulled out at file and handed it to Alex. "It's all there Counselor. Please peruse it but I think you'll find it all in order. The question becomes is it enough to prove P.C. for a warrant?"

Alex took the file and opened it. She skimmed the paper work. Jess had been correct, she had typed up the reports and Morales had signed off on them, as her superior. There were screen shots of all the traces that had been performed, with Jess's signature on them. There was more than enough evidence for a search warrant of Ronald Blaze's apartment in Chelsea. Alex was pleased, and quite proud. Jess had done incredible work. She closed the file, looked at the shorter blonde expressionless and sighed. "There is enough evidence for probable cause. Once a search warrant is obtained and is carried out it is possible that Ronald Blaze will be formally charged with crimes. Ms. O'Malley you will have to testify to the validity of this evidence in court. Are you prepared for that?"

Jess looked hard at Alex; she wondered at what point the A.D.A. would break out of this because God knows Jess was not going to give her the satisfaction of being the first to break. She met Alex's gaze with an emotionless one of her own. "Absolutely. I would not have performed the work and written the reports if I wasn't prepared to stand behind it."

The A.D.A. nodded her head. "That's a good work ethic Ms. O'Malley." Alex turned and addressed the squad. "There is enough evidence here for a search warrant. I want Morales and O'Malley to aid in the seizure of any computers or tech equipment." Alex's tone shifted, it was less intense and more like her normal voice. "This case is getting bigger by the minute." Alex turned to Cragen. "Don, I'm sure you have received as many ass-chewing phone calls as Jack McCoy has today. No one outside of this room can find out about Evan Winthrop on that website. We need to shut it down and deal with the fallout later."

Captain Cragen nodded his head. "This squad agrees. No one will talk to the press and it would appear the Winthrop's would like their privacy at this point. We'll hold their hands but hold back on the details of their son's case."

Alex nodded. "Good." She picked up her briefcase from Jess's old desk. "I'm going to the courthouse to procure a search warrant. I'll call when I have it and I'll send it with my assistant. She can meet you at the apartment."

Jess turned and walked back towards Morales to give Alex room to leave. As the A.D.A. walked she took the shorter blonde's hand in hers and they walked out the doors of SVU. As they stood at the top of the stairs Alex gently grabbed the younger woman around the waist and pulled her back in her arms. "You did remarkable work here, Jessie."

The teenager smiled as she put her own hands on top of Alex's. "Thanks, Ally"

Jess had called her Ally. It made the A.D.A. smile. Alex bent down and kissed the left side of Jess's neck gently. It was something the women did to each other. Jess and Alex shared a number of experiences; one of which was a cut to the left side of each woman's neck, courtesy of Brian Nudds. It escaped even Olivia why the two blondes' did this but it seemed to almost comfort both of them. Jess giggled and turned slightly to whisper in Alex's ear. "I'm sorry about this morning. I do want to move, but I didn't mean to say Alexandra."

She had known from the moment the words had left Jess's mouth this morning she had not meant them. Not just how she had referred to her and Olivia but also the part about moving. "I know you did not mean it. We'll talk tonight."

There was something about the way Alex said the last three words that sent off bells in Jess's head. Olivia had said the same thing; her pseudo mothers had talked about tonight. She played off her sudden fear of nightfall. "Thanks for keeping it real when it came to my work."

Alex let go of the teen and stood up straight. Jess turned in Alex's personal space to meet the stunning sky blue eyes. "I have to, that's my job. You have to as well. This isn't a game."

Jess nodded, the smile having left her face. "I know it isn't. I've seen every video of our victims those animals have posted. I want this site shut down more than anything."

Alex looked down at the innocent deep green eyes of the teenager. "Good, you are the key to this. We need you in order to shut them down. I'm going to get the search warrant."

She nodded and Alex turned and left. Jess went back into the squad room. The A.D.A. felt bad about not pulling Olivia out into the hall as well. At least then she could have hugged her, been close to her. Alex had to accost a Judge and plead her case for a search warrant before she went into court to plead the people's case to another Judge. The tall blonde hailed a cab outside of the precinct. Once inside the cab Alex pulled out her cell phone and called her assistant to have her meet Alex at the courthouse. She then sent a text to Olivia.

Jess took off the laptop bag, carefully set it down, and sat at her old desk. It had been a while since she had spent any great length of time in the squad room. She and Morales were stuck there until the search warrant came through. It would be a waste of time to go downtown and back to work just to come more than half way back uptown to Chelsea. Morales had pulled up a chair and was sitting a couple of feet from Jess. Cragen had gone into his office and closed the door after he heard his phone ringing. Munch looked at Jess. "Nice work, Tech O'Malley"

Jess smiled, put her feet up on her desk and folded her hands in her lap. "Thanks, Conspiracy." She looked at Fin. "Although I should be thanking Fin and Ken. The laptop Ken built for me in outstanding. With a few upgrades and tweaking, it's now better than anything One P.P. has."

Fin looked at Jess. "You're welcome, Kid. How do you like Computer Crimes?"

Her smile widened as she nodded. "I love it. It's incredible."

Elliot leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. He had not seen much of Jess lately. She had been at his house a fair amount but almost never when he was there. He also knew she had been seeing a lot of his son, Dick. "We've missed you here, Jess."

The smile became a smirk and she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm sure you have. Without me here who calls you on your crap, old man?"

This brought a smile to all four detectives' faces, as well as Morales's. Elliot laced his fingers behind his head as he grinned. "Oh Liv takes care of that, don't you worry."

Jess raised her right eyebrow at Elliot and said in a dry tone, "I have no doubt."

Elliot had missed this. "It's not as much fun around here without you. You bring something to the table…"

Jess's smirk became a full-on eat-shit smile. "A certain je ne sais quoi, if you will?"

Olivia smiled. God, she missed Jess when she wasn't with her. It was unbelievable how easily the child fit right back in. The tit for tat game had gotten the best of the squad as they laughed out loud. The sixteen-year-old had out verbalized Stabler using another language. Olivia looked at Jess and through her laughter she said, "Good to have you back, Jessie."

Jess smiled at the detectives. "It's good to be back."

Olivia's cell phone beeped and she grabbed it out of her pocket. Jess laced her fingers behind her head and looked at squad. "Who's in for pizza?"

The detectives looked at her completely bewildered. Fin took the first shot. "You're kidding, right?"

Munch looked over his glasses at her. "You used to berate us all the time about getting take-out."

Jess shrugged. "I left my lunch back at the office. It's past high-noon, let's eat. Who's in, kids?"

Stabler looked at Jess and reached for his wallet. "I'm in as long as it's not from Pino's"

Fin took his wallet out as did Munch and Benson. Fin walked over. "Same here."

Olivia didn't look up from her cell. She opened her wallet, fished out money and threw it across the desk with her left hand. "Ditto."

Jess unlaced her hands and held them up looking at the detectives. "What am I an idiot? I was born at night but not…" The four detectives finished her sentence. "Last night." Olivia had not even looked up from her cell as she spoke, something that did not go unnoticed by the young blonde. Jess rolled her eyes. "I spent too much time with you people. I'll make the call. Morales, you in?"

Morales reached for his wallet. "Yeah, totally."

As Olivia read Alex's text message a flush crawled up her neck and stained her face. "Would have loved to take you in the Crib. Or would you have preferred the holding cells downstairs?" The text was hot and made Olivia's thighs sweat. She missed Alex terribly. There had to be a way to work things out. The detective needed more time to figure this out. She texted Alex back, "Out of the two I would choose the Crib for sure. Although let's face it, hand's down an Interview room would be the best." It did not take long but Alex typed back. "We'll make it happen. Bring your cuffs."

Dick Stabler walked through the doors of the squad room and right over to Jess. She stood up and they kissed, in front of everyone. Olivia was still pre-occupied with her cell to notice but everyone else did. Munch let out a low whistle. They stopped the shameless display of affection and he pulled up a chair on the other side of Jess. Dick stayed for lunch and until the call came from Alex's assistant that she was on her way over to Ronald Blaze's apartment.

It had been an informative day for Morales when it came to his protégé. He knew that Olivia Benson was Jess's legal guardian and that the teen was astonishing with computers. That was as much as he knew about her. When Jess had apologized to Benson earlier she had used the name Ally. Morales now took Ally to be A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot; meaning that Benson and Cabot were together this morning, early this morning. Alex had taken the tiny blonde by the hand and led her out of the squad room, solidifying to Morales that Benson and Cabot were in a relationship and that the two seemed to be raising Jess together. He also became aware that Jess was dating Detective Stabler's son. Morales had seen Jess handle herself incredibly professionally. She had a very bright future in Computer Crimes and he planned on telling her so.

276 9th Avenue, apartment six-thirty

Residence of Ronald Blaze

Friday August 14th, 14:35

Morales and Jess had ridden over to the apartment in an unmarked sedan with Stabler and Benson. Fin, Munch and Cragen followed then in a different sedan. They pulled up to the curb and Olivia turned to Jess and Morales. "Wait here. We'll get the super to open the door. Once it's clear we'll come out and get you."

The tech looked at the detective. "Please don't touch anything until we get in there. I want to take pictures of any computer equipment this guys has."

Benson and Stabler nodded and got out of the car. They met Fin, Munch and Cragen and walked to the front door of the apartment building. They were met by Alex's assistant who handed them the warrant. Cragen took it from her. "Any exclusions in the apartment we should know about?"

The assistant shook her head. "None. Ms. Cabot said to rip the place apart."

Cragen nodded. "Once we are inside we'll call the CSU in."

They opened the front door and buzzed the superintendant. He answered, met them in the lobby and showed them to Ronald Blaze's apartment. He knocked on the door but there was no answer. The super unlocked the door for the detectives. Stabler opened the door slowly, his gun drawn. The four detectives moved past the super, guns drawn and secured the apartment. Ronald Blaze was not home. Cragen went down and got Morales and Jess out of the sedan. He also radioed for the CSU team to come in.

Morales photographed Blaze's computer setup. Two towers, four external hard-drives and three monitors. Jess's eye lit up at the sight of all the equipment. Morales smiled slightly looked at her. "Excited, Jess?"

She looked from Blaze's setup to her superior. "These people are not stupid. There is enough equipment to run the site from here if they needed to. I'm telling you, somewhere in all that, Blaze has hung himself," she nodded back towards the computer.

The entire SVU squad and their Captain were listening to the tech's conversation. Morales's smile had dissipated; he did not want his protégé getting overzealous. "How do you know that? You said yourself these people are geniuses."

Jess looked back at the setup and walked over to it. Jess had latex gloves on and she ran her hand over the keyboard, which was rubber. "I feel it."

Once the CSU team arrived they dusted the computer equipment for fingerprints first and lifted as many as they could. The computer techs waited; the teen became board and wandered through the apartment. Eventually, Morales, Jess and two members of the CSU team carefully packed up the equipment and hauled it downstairs to a CSU van. Morales and Jess paid their respects to the SVU squad and left in the van with the equipment. They headed back to their office at One Police Plaza to begin analyzing. It was obvious Blaze wasn't running the website from his apartment, his computer was off.

Fin walked into the living room of Ronald Blaze's apartment. "There is nothing in this place to indicate Blaze had anything to do with the kiddy porn site."

Stabler, Cragen and Benson were all in the living room with Fin. Munch walked into the living room from the kitchen. "He's right. This was a bust. Only porn we found was some magazines of big busted ladies, no photos of children anywhere, this guy looks like a normal guy."

Cragen dismissed the last few members of the CSU team. Benson looked around at her fellow detectives. "I agree. The problem is all that computer equipment is expensive and most of it looked less than a year old. How did a guy collecting unemployment buy all that stuff?"

Stabler pointed to the forty-six inch flatscreen on the wall. "Check it out. This television is worth a chunk of change too. Blaze likes his toys. How does he afford this place?"

Cragen joined them. "I'm not sure but we're going to sit on his place until he returns so we can ask him. Once he sees his computers are gone he may tip off other people involved in the website. I want him picked up before he tries to take off."

Benson looked at her watch. It was four-thirty. Jess would be putting in overtime at the office but Alex would be done in court by six. Olivia could still make dinner; that is if she and Elliot did not get stuck with surveillance. Fin watched Olivia look at her watch. She had been preoccupied in the squad room with her cell phone. There was something going on there. He looked at Cragen. "Munch and I will sit on Blaze for now."

Cragen nodded and turned to Olivia and Elliot. "Stabler, Benson go home and get some rest. If Blaze doesn't show by eleven tonight, you're up."

The detectives nodded and everyone left Ronald Blaze's apartment. Cragen, Benson and Stabler went back to the office. Olivia and Elliot retrieved their cars and went home. Munch and Fin locked Blaze's apartment, left the building and sat in their unmarked sedan across the street from the building.

Computer Crimes

One Police Plaza

Friday August 14, 19:13

Jess and Morales were pouring through Donald Blaze's hard drives. They had made it back to One Police Plaza by three-thirty and had been hard at work ever since. Morales noticed Jess had only stopped to eat around six-thirty. The teenager had been hard at work the rest of the time, an ear-bud in her left ear whose other end was attached to her iPhone. Morales went over to her and stood beside her. It took the blonde about a minute but she eventually addressed him, never taking her eyes off the screen in front of her or her fingers off the keyboard. "What's up?"

Morales watched Jess's small fingers move around the keyboard. He had to admit he was enthralled with her abilities and knowledge. "You haven't left your desk in almost four hours. You can go home if you want."

Jess stopped typing and looked up at Morales. "Naw, I want to nail this guy. I'm telling you there is something here, I know it."

Morales looked down at the teenager. "What about Benson? Doesn't she want you at home with her yet?"

The right side of Jess's mouth curled into a half smile. "No…I think she would prefer if I stayed here for awhile."

Morales furrowed his brow. "What would make you say that?"

Jess swiveled her chair to face Morales. "You saw a lot today. At this point you must have figured out that Alex Cabot and Livie are seeing each other. They are having dinner at home tonight and I don't want to disturb them."

The computer tech smiled. "Yeah I got the impression Benson and Cabot where together given your apology this morning and how A.D.A. Cabot took your hand in the squad room. I didn't know you were seeing Stabler's son either."

The young woman's smirk became a full on smile. "Yeah, Dick and I starting dating about two months ago; he is an amazing guy. Look, I want to give Livie and Ally some time alone. Plus I still have this hard drive of Blaze's and one more tower to go through."

Morales sighed. "You can finish the one you are working on now. Then I want you to go home. Benson and Cabot aside, I can't afford to pay you any more overtime today. You will have been on the clock for almost twelve hours pretty soon. We are both leaving at eight."

Jess furrowed her brow. "But…I need to finish this. This guy is good, Morales. He has scrubbing software that goes over files ten times or more. There is something here, I just need more time…"

Morales put up his hands, palms up stopping the teenager. "Twelve hours on the clock Jess, that is the limit. There is always tomorrow. If you don't leaving willingly I'll call Benson."

The blonde rolled her eyes at her superior. "Fine. I'll be in on Saturday morning though."

Morales rolled his eyes. "Noted. You're making breakfast."

A smirk found its way across Jess's face. "Noted."

Across the street from the Residence of Ronald Blaze

Friday August 14th, 19:20

The windows were rolled down in the unmarked sedan and Munch had just come back with coffee in paper cups. As he sat down in the seat he handed Fin his. "I can't thank you enough for volunteering us for this detail."

Fin looked at his partner and took the cup from him. "Look, would you have rather sat here all night?"

Munch closed the car door, settled into the passenger's seat, turned his head and looked over the rim of his dark glasses at Fin. "No one is going to have to sit on this guy tonight. He's going to come home and we are going to have to run him in."

Fin rolled his eyes. "You don't know that. I just didn't wanna be out here all night."

Munch sipped his coffee. "Oh yeah why not? Hot date tonight?"

He nodded his head. "Wouldn't you like to know." He turned his attention to the sidewalk across the street. A tall man in dress pants and button up dress shirt with a laptop bag strung across his body was walking down the street towards the building. Fin nodded towards the male. "That's our boy."

The detectives put their coffee cups in the holders in the console of the sedan. Munch watch Ronald Blaze open the door to his building and walk in. He clicked onto a walkie-talkie. "Our man is inside the building. You guys take the front door and we'll take the fire escape."

There was a patrol car sitting in the alley across from the building. The two uniformed officers got out of the squad car as Fin and Munch left their sedan parked at the curb. Fin looked at the officers as the four of them made their way across the street. "The jig will be up pretty fast. Once you knock he'll probably fly out the fire escape. If he opens the door cuff him and let us in the window."

The uniformed officers nodded at him and disappeared inside the apartment building. Munch and Fin made their way around the side of the building and up the fire escape. Munch looked up at Fin, who was four steps ahead of him on the stairs. "I told you he'd come home."

Ronald Blaze unlocked the door to his apartment and walked inside. He closed the door behind him and locked it. It took him about five seconds to realize his computers and monitors were gone. He was not a stupid man. Blaze knew the police had been trying to shut down the website. With the video of the new star already up the site was getting even more attention than anticipated. Blaze was surprised that the NYPD had been able to obtain a warrant. He had been careful. Steps were in place to make sure this did not happen. A knocked came to the door.

"Ronald Blaze? This is the New York City Police Department. Please open the door so we can talk to you."

Talk my ass, Ronald thought to himself. Not only had they obtained a warrant to seize his computers but they probably had a warrant for his arrest. Fuck that. Blaze moved to his bedroom and opened the window that led to the fire escape. He put his feet out first and slithered the rest of his body out the window. He started down only to be met by Munch; who grabbed him and bent him over the railing, handcuffing him.

"Ronald Blaze, I'm Detective Munch and this is my partner Detective Tutuola. We have some questions for you."

488 Amsterdam Ave

Residence of Detective Olivia Benson

Friday August 14th, 19:40

Alex and Olivia sat at the kitchen table as they finished their dinner. Olivia had cooked, mostly. Alex had helped but had also set the table. The women were having a fabulous time; it was as if nothing had come between them. There were no lights on in the kitchen or living room. Alex had lit the candles on the table and counter. The late evening sun was streaming in through the living room windows from behind buildings.

"You know, Al, it could be like this more of the time. I mean just you and me."

The A.D.A. looked lovingly across the table at the woman she adored. "How do you figure?"

Olivia looked into those sky blue eyes across the table. "Jess could spend more time at the Stablers. She likes it there and they love having her."

Alex raised her right eyebrow. "And you would be comfortable with that? I mean with Jess being away from us?"

The detective looked down for a minute, contemplating what she had said. Hearing Elliot suggest it this morning had made Olivia's heart sink. She had waited so long for the love she felt for Jess, shared with her. It seemed to go against everything she felt not to spend time with the kid. What her partner had said about pushing the mother of his children away had struck a cord with Olivia also. She had never thought of Alex in this way, but it was a valid point. The blonde spent more time with Jess than Olivia did, even though legally Olivia was her guardian. She had waited just as long for the love she had with Alex; the relationship she had with Alex. Olivia knew how it felt to lose Alex; she did not want to live like that again.

The brunette looked up at Alex. "Yes, I would be comfortable with it."

Alex had watched her detective weigh the pros and cons in her head. Olivia was not one to take the subject of Jess lightly. The A.D.A. could tell by the sincerity in her lover's voice that she meant what she said. The brunette's answer surprised Alex. For the first time Olivia was compromising for their relationship. The problem was it was at the expensive of Jess. Alex knew going to the Stabler's wouldn't be a horrible place for Jess to go. She just wasn't sure Jess was ready for a change like this. Olivia saw a shift of emotion on Alex's face.

"Would you be comfortable with it?" Olivia questioned, temporarily thrown off by the look on the blonde's face.

"I'm not sure. Liv, I have wanted to have this discussion for weeks. Hearing this now…I don't know, it just seems wrong somehow. All I want is to spend more time with you, just the two of us. I don't want it to be at the expense of our daughter though."

About four weeks after Brian Nudds was remanded into custody, and Alex had basically moved into Olivia's apartment she, and the detective had started referring to Jess as their daughter. Never directly to the teen and never in front of anyone else; it was a nicety that the two women shared only with each other.

Olivia raised her right eyebrow. "Al, I really don't think it would be like that. I was thinking maybe once a week. Jess is pretty strong and she is doing really well in therapy."

Alex sighed. She knew Olivia was right. "Do you really think Jess is ready? She's going to know we are sending her away in order to be alone. How do you think that will make her feel?"

The detective looked down and sighed. She did not believe Jess was ready and despite her partner's points this morning Olivia knew she would feel horrible knowing that Jess would feel abandoned. She gazed back up at Alex. "I never thought it would be this hard. I cannot choose between you and Jess."

Alex met Olivia's eyes. "How could we know it would become this difficult?" The blonde shook her head. "We are in an impossible situation. I cannot choose between you and Jess either."

Olivia and Alex's cell phones both chirped, indicating text messages. Olivia closed her eyes and sighed. She pushed herself off the chair and walked over to the small table beside the door to her apartment. She picked up both cell phones and walked back to the table. She handed Alex hers and opened the message on her own. It was from Fin.

"We've got Ronald Blaze, heading to the squad."

The detective looked down at the A.D.A. "We're picking our daughter up on the way up to the squad."

Alex gave a half-smile and looked up lovingly. "I'll drive"

Olivia knelt down and kissed Alex passionately. When the kiss ended Olivia stayed in Alex's personal space and gave a gentle smile. "Nothing is impossible. I refuse to give up on us and the family we have created."

The blonde gave an adoring smile. "Detective Benson, eternal optimist."