Chapter Eight: Unraveled
Manhattan's Special Victims Unit Squad RoomWednesday August 19th, 06:38
Jess walked off the elevator and into the bullpen. She immediately noticed the media center was missing from the room. The teenager made a beeline for Olivia's desk. She pulled open the top right drawer and looked down at the contents with her mouth open. The detective's shield and service weapon were sitting there. The only three things Olivia never went anywhere for work without where all in Jess's slight, which meant they were not with the detective. Either she was sleeping up in the crib or something was seriously wrong. The teenager pocketed Olivia's cell phone, something she had not taken out of her hand since she had found it in the bedside table. Jess picked up the leather case that held detective's shield in her right hand; the small metal chain attached to it fell across the back of her hand. She closed her eyes and ran her thumb over the shield. She knew the number by heart: 44015
The young woman slid the badge into the laptop bag that was strung across the front of her body. Jess closed the drawer silently and opened the middle one. Amongst other things the teenager found the keys to Olivia's Mustang that had been parked in the motor pool on the way in. The tiny blonde pocketed the keys. She had a choice to make. Should she go up to the crib and see once and for all if the brunette was there or should she find the media center? The longer Jess stood and looked at the closed door to the crib the worse she felt about Olivia. There was no reason for Alex to have the detective's cell. There was no good reason for Olivia's gun and shield to be in her desk. If she were in the crib she would have them on the floor under the cot she was sleeping in. If she were on a detail or playing lookout she would have them with her. Unless…Jess's heart sank as her eyes wildly scanned the room for the media center. The door to the boardroom was open; it was the only other space big enough to accommodate all the monitors. The young woman walked quickly into the room and even though the lights were off she saw the media center. She grabbed the remote from the long table, powered the center up and stood before it.
She stood in front of the monitors completely paralyzed. Jess's heart shattered as her thoughts a minute earlier became facts. The squad had sent Olivia in undercover for the meet and greet with Markus Pharaoh…and he had abducted her.
Stabler woke to his cell phone vibrating on the pillow his head was resting on. He had kept it on in the event that Olivia managed to get to a phone. His eyes flew open as he grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID. "Cabot" He got up and took the phone out of the crib. Elliot closed the door behind him and answered the phone quietly. "Stabler"
The voice he heard on the other end was labored and panicked. "Elliot, Jess is missing!" It was Alex and she was beside herself.
"Alex, calm down. When was the last time you saw her?"
"Last night. She fell asleep in bed with me. When I woke up this morning she was gone…" Stabler heard horns honking and Alex swore under her breath.
"Alex, where are you?"
"In my car on my way to the One-six."
Elliot shook his head slightly trying to shake away the sleep and get a grip on what was happening. Could Pharaoh have somehow taken Jess during the night? "Alex, why are you coming here? Do you think Pharaoh could have taken Jess?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone as Alex processed what Elliot was asking her. The thought of Jess being abducted had not crossed her mind. She was positive Jess was on her way to the SVU squad room to look for Olivia. When Alex had seen that Olivia's phone was gone from the drawer she knew Jess had found it. "No, no I really don't think Markus Pharaoh has Jess. She found Olivia's cell phone. She has to be on her way into the squad to look for Liv. Where are you?"
Stabler scanned the bullpen. Jess wasn't in the squad room. "I'm in the squad now. Alex, she's not…" His eyes scanned the room and stopped at the door to the conference room. The lights were off but there was a glow coming from the room. Munch, Fin and Cragen were all in the crib, no one had been in that room in hours. "Hold on, I think I found her. Come to the station, I'll call you back if she's not here." He hung up the phone before Alex could answer him. He made his way down the stairs and across the floor of the bullpen to the door of the conference room. Elliot stood in the doorway silently for a moment. Jess's back was to him but he could hear her crying softly. Her whole life was wrapped up in his partner and in one second on a giant screen the child had seen her life with Olivia dissolve. That one word under his partners' picture made him feel sick to his stomach. 'Abducted' He whispered to Jess, in an attempt not to frighten her. "Jess, I am so sorry."
A small sob caught in Jess's throat as she heard Elliot's voice. She turned around slowly in order to face the detective. "Turn the lights on." Jess said quietly and calmly.
Elliot stepped inside the room and flicked the switch for the lights. The harsh fluorescent lights above them kicked in. "You weren't supposed to find out this way…"
Jess raised her brow and spoke just above a whisper. "I wasn't supposed to find out at all was I?"
The detective shook his head. "No, you weren't."
"Whose call was that?" Her tone and volume hadn't changed. If Elliot had not been standing in front of her he would have never been able to hear her.
Stabler stepped farther into the room. "It was a collective call, from everyone involved."
Alex appeared in the doorway behind Elliot. The teenager snickered under her breath at the sight of the A.D.A. She looked from Alex to the detective. "You were her handler in the park weren't you?"
Elliot nodded to Jess as he stepped closer to her. He wanted to hug her, to comfort her. "Yes, I was."
The teenager drew her right hand back ever so slightly before slapping it across Elliot's face. The detective's face shot sideways from the surprise and force of the blow.
Alex stepped into the room with a horrified look on her face. "Jess, stop! It's not Elliot's fault."
Stabler held up his hands. "No, no…Jess had every right. This is my fault."
Jess nodded to Elliot. "You're damn right this is your fault. You are her partner, Elliot. You are supposed to protect her." The young woman seethed at the detective. "Instead you fed her up to that sexual predator, Markus Pharaoh."
Elliot ran his right hand over his jaw as he looked down at the teen. "I know."
The younger blonde narrowed her eyes at Stabler. "She would never have let this happen to you."
The detective closed his eyes as he listened to Jess. He opened them and looked at her. "I know."
Jess pointed her right index finger at him as she spoke. "When I get Olivia back I don't want her partnered with you. Do you hear me? I want you to put in your paperwork and transfer out of this squad. Do you understand me?" Jess asked in an eerily calm tone through clenched teeth.
Stabler squinted his eyes at Jess but nodded. "Yes."
The teenager stepped closer to Elliot, forcing herself in his personal space. "Say it, Elliot. I want to hear the words come out of your fucking mouth." Rage churned in her eyes.
"I'll file my paperwork. I'll transfer out of Special Victims Unit." Alex didn't recognize the tone of voice Elliot was using, he didn't recognize it himself. It was guilt and grief-ridden.
Jess stepped away from him and walked towards Alex as she fished Olivia's cell phone out of the pocket of her jeans. She held it out to the A.D.A. The older blonde took the phone as the younger one spoke. "When I get Olivia back I want you to stay out of our lives. You lied to me, Alexandra. You left Olivia and now I'm leaving you. Stay the hell away from us. Do you hear me?!" Jess cried.
Tears ran down Alex's face as she shook her head. She needed to explain why she had lied. She needed to make Jess understand that it was for her own good. "No, I can't. Jessie…please…let me explain…"
"No!" Jess shouted as fury boiled over inside her. "There is no excuse for what you have done to us. You left Livie! You lied to me…"
Alex stepped towards Jess to try and hug her. She wrapped her arms around the teen but Jess pushed off of her in disgust. "Get off of me! Stay away from me, Alexandra. You make me sick!"
Jess ran out of the room and to the stairs. She hustled down the stairs and out of the One-six. The teenager went straight to Olivia's car, got in and put her laptop on the passenger seat. She took the computer out of the case and turned it on. Once it had booted up she opened the GPS program Morales had installed a few days earlier and had it establish contact with the tiny disk that she hoped was still on Olivia's ring. It took the program a minute to find the satellites and co-ordinates but eventually it gave Jess the location of the tiny disk; 146 Banker Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The teenager put the car in gear and took off. She knew it was only a matter of time before the detectives came after her. She could not risk them catching her. Jess knew she was the only one that could find Olivia. The teen had been betrayed by two people she loved very much. That pain shot through her entire body. The anguish she felt from Elliot, Alex and the rest of the squad lying to her mixed with the ache in her heart for Olivia clouded Jess's judgment. It made her feel she couldn't trust anyone at the One-six.
Cragen, Munch and Fin came down the stairs to find Stabler holding Alexandra Cabot in his arms. Initially they figured the A.D.A. was upset about the fact that Olivia was still missing. Elliot filled them in on what had happened with Jess that morning.
Alex tore herself away from Stabler's arms and looked down at herself. She could not go into court looking the way that she did. "I have to go home and change. I'm due in court at nine. Elliot, I can't call Olivia as the primary so I'll have to call you. Opening arguments are this morning and I'll be calling you after lunch. Can we go over your testimony around ten-thirty?"
Stabler looked at Cragen who nodded his head at the detective. "Yeah, sure. You wanna meet in your office?"
The A.D.A. nodded. "That would be great. Thanks, El." She nodded to the other men in the room and left to go back to her condo and get ready for the day.
Fin turned to Stabler. "That must have been some blow-out with Jess."
Elliot cocked his head to the right. "You have no idea. The kid told Alex to stay out of her and Olivia's lives."
Munch looked at Stabler over his the top of his glasses. "What else did she say?"
Stabler looked from Munch to Cragen and crossed his arms over his chest. "She told me to put in my paperwork to leave this squad. She said she didn't want me partnered with Olivia anymore."
The Captain crossed his arms over his chest. "What did you tell Jess?"
Elliot looked at the floor for a minute before looking back up at Cragen. "I told her I would. Markus Pharaoh will be my last case working for this unit."
Munch raised his brow. "You can't be serious? The kid is scared Stabler. She's scared and hurt; she's not thinking rationally."
Stabler looked down at the floor again and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah…well I am." He looked up at his Captain. "You'll have my transfer paperwork on your desk by the end of the day." He walked away from the group and to the locker room to find a clean shirt. The three men were left standing in the bullpen staring at each other in disbelief.
488 Amsterdam Ave
Detective Olivia Benson's Residence
Wednesday August 19th, 07:35
Jess showered quickly, dressed, put her hair in two braids and tied a bandana over her head. She didn't have much time to pack, but she needed to be meticulous. She was not coming back until she had Olivia. The young woman rounded up all the internet sticks and laptop batteries she had and put them in her laptops case. Jess grabbed her small video camera, Mini DV tapes for it and binoculars and shoved them into a bag. She packed a large sleeping bag, two pillows and enough clothing for five days. Jess called Morales and told him Alex had suggested she take the rest of the week off, that she needed a break. Morales was sympathetic and agreed. He told her he'd see her on Monday. The teenager grabbed some food from the kitchen and a Post-It note pad and pencil from her room. Jess sat at the kitchen table and wrote on the note pad.
"I was born at night, but not last night."
She ripped off the first piece of paper and set it on the table. Jess took her iPhone out of her pocket and scrolled through the contact list. She wrote four numbers down on the next Post-It, tore it off and pocketed the piece of paper. She threw the rest of the pad and the pencil into a bag and set her phone down on top of the Post-It on the table. Jess grabbed all the bags, left the apartment and locked the door behind herself. She put everything into Olivia's car she had parked at the curb and walked half a block to an ATM. The blonde withdrew five-hundred dollars. As she put the money in her pocket the teenager smiled and waved slightly at the camera above and in front of her. Jess knew the detectives would trace her bank account; they would look at the ATM camera footage. She turned away, walked to the car, got in and headed for Times Square.
1488 Broadway
'Techtronic Electronic'
Times Square
Jess had circled for five minutes but managed to find parking just off of Broadway. She took her laptop bag with her but left everything else in the car as she took off down the block and into the store. Jess walked up to the man behind the counter. "Hey, can I grab one of those pre-paid cell phones behind you, three SIM cards and that 80 gig external hard drive?" Jess pointed to a box through the plexiglass top of the counter.
The man looked at her with no expression. "Which phone would you like?"
Jess looked beyond the man to the wall behind him and shrugged. "The pink one" It didn't matter, it was a buster. She would dump the phone and the SIM cards as soon as she was done with them. "I need a car charger for the phone, too." Jess said as she picked up three small cases that hold SIM cards and set them on the counter.
After collecting the phone, charger, cards and external hard drive the clerk rang them up along with the cases for the SIM cards. Jess paid the man in cash, left the store and headed for the car. Once inside she hooked up the charger to the cigarette lighter output. The teenager took the first SIM card out of its packaging, opened up the phone and inserted the card. She plugged the phone into the charger and turned it on. Jess pulled out the Post-It from her pocket and dialed the first number.
"Hey, it's Jess. I need your help."
"Are you okay"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I really need your help though; it has to do with Olivia. Can you meet me…now?"
"Uh, yeah sure. Where are you?"
"Times Square, at the corner of Broadway and West 43rd Street. I need you to bring your laptop and as many batteries and Internet sticks as you have for it."
"Are we playing detective?"
"Sort of."
"That's all I get?"
"For now. Meet me and I'll tell you the rest. I'm sitting in Livie's Mustang."
"Cool. See ya."
"Bye"
Jess hung up, shut the phone off, opened the back of it and pulled out the SIM card. She tore the first number from the Post-It and placed it in the tiny case along with the card itself. The blonde retrieved the second SIM card, inserted it into the phone, put the phone back together and dialed the second number on the Post-It.
"Hey, it's me."
"Hey you, what's with the phone number, I almost didn't pick up?"
"Had to get a new phone for a couple of days. Don't call my other number. Look…I need your help."
"Okay. Are you hurt?", he said with concern in his voice.
"No. I need you to meet me in Times Square."
"Really? That's kind of a large area what are your cross streets?"
"Corner of Broadway and West 43rd Street"
"You're sure you are okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need you to help me with something."
"Let me guess…this has to do with my father and Olivia's stake-out?"
"There is no stake-out. Don't talk to your father. Meet me and I'll tell you everything. Please, Stabler…I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate."
"Okay, I'll be there. Give me thirty minutes."
"Thanks, babe. I'm sitting in Livie's car."
"Wow...I really can't wait to hear this", Dick said in a dry tone. "Bye, O'Malley"
"Bye, Stabler"
Forty minutes later Dick Stabler was in the passenger seat and Ken Randle was in the back seat of Olivia's car. Jess had waited to explain the whole story until both men where present. She told them about what had happened that morning and was about to reveal why she needed their help.
"Okay so here is the thing. I have this GPS tracking program on my laptop and it's giving me an address in Brooklyn. I'd say there is a ninety percent chance that's where Livie is…and Markus Pharaoh. I want to go there, make sure my hunch is right, tap into Pharaoh's website and get enough evidence on him to make a case in court."
Ken looked skeptically at Jess. "Seriously? You think you're going to be able to do that?"
The blonde gave Ken a half-smile. "Not by myself…that's why I called you. I need you to help me gain access to Pharaoh's IP address and hack his website. I have an external hard drive with me to transfer the evidence onto."
Dick was shocked. He couldn't help it but he smirked at his girlfriend as he said dryly, "You're going to prosecute this Markus Pharaoh, too?"
Jess sighed and rolled her eyes. "No. I just need to find Livie, anything else is gravy. Look, I really think we can build a case against Pharaoh. I have a video camera, too. I want video of this guy if we can get it. I promise if things go sideways I'll call Fin and Munch and hand everything over to them. Sooo…will you guys help me?" Jess asked looking between the two men.
Ken smiled slightly. "I'm in, let's get this perv."
Dick rolled his eyes and then focused on Jess. "O'Malley, you know I'm in. Let's roll."
The young woman nodded to both men and smirked at them. She handed her laptop to Dick and he opened it. The GPS tracking program was running and giving them turn by turn directions to where the tiny disk was. Jess turned the car on, put it in gear and followed the directions the program was giving.
60 Centre Street
Supreme Court Courtroom of Judge Lena PetrovskyWednesday August 19th, 13:03
Judge Petrovsky knocked her gavel on the wooden plate. "Court is now in session, please be seated." She looked down at Alex. "A.D.A. Cabot, call your first witness."
The tall blonde looked back at the Judge. "Prosecution calls Detective Elliot Stabler to the stand."
Stabler was sworn in and took the witness stand. Alex approached him asked a series of rehearsed questions ranging from whom and how information had been ascertained about Ronald Blaze, the search of his residence and the interrogation of the defendant. Elliot answered them and the defense only objected twice.
Once Alex had no further questions for the detective it was Blaze's attorney's turn. He stood; buttoned the top two buttons of his suit jacket and walked over to the witness stand.
"Detective Stabler, did you actually obtain the initial information allegedly connecting my client to this child pornography website?"
Stabler answered in a calm tone. "No. As I stated earlier a computer tech from TARU worked with Java script in order to connect Ronald Blaze's home computer with the child pornography website."
Blaze's attorney looked at the jury. "I see." He looked back at Stabler. "Detective Stabler, who waited outside my client's place of residence in order to apprehend him?"
Elliot looked at Alex who gave him the slightest 'I have no idea where this is going' look. He looked back at Blaze's attorney. "My colleagues, Detective Munch and Detective Tutuola."
Once again Blaze's attorney looked at the jury and cocked his head to the right. "I see. Detective Stabler, were you in charge of carrying out the search warrant on my client's apartment?"
Stabler squinted his eyes at the lawyer; he was getting tired of these needless questions. "No."
The attorney looked at the jury. "Who was?"
Elliot was starting to lose his patience. His partner was missing and they still had no leads on Markus Pharaoh. He did not have time to sit in court and be asked mindless questions. "My partner, Detective Benson."
"I see. And who ran the interrogation of my client, Ronald Blaze?"
"My partner and I did." Elliot said in a short tone.
"Right, but wasn't it your partner, Detective Benson, who flirted with Ronald Blaze? Wasn't she running the interrogation?" Blaze's attorney asked, never taking his eyes off the jury.
Alex shot up; she could see Stabler start to lose it on the stand. "Objection, your Honour. What bearing do any of these questions have on this case?"
Judge Petrovsky looked down at Blaze's lawyer. "Yes, Mr. Thomas, I'm interested in that very same thing."
Blaze's attorney looked from the jury to the Judge. "Your honour, I request that Detective Stabler's testimony be stricken from the record."
Alex looked from the Judge to Mr. Thomas. "On what grounds?"
"Simple, he was never directly related to any pertinent part of this case. He had nothing to do with finding the alleged computer evidence the prosecution has, he did not arrest my client, he was not in charge of the search warrant the prosecution alleges procured even more evidence against Ronald Blaze, nor did he run the interrogation of my client. How can Ms. Cabot call him as an expert witness if he was never directly involved in any major part of this case?"
Judge Petrovsky looked from Mr. Thomas to Alex. "Mr. Thomas has a point A.D.A. Cabot. Why did you call Detective Stabler as a witness?" The Judge thumbed through some paper work in front of her. "Why aren't you calling Detective Benson at all?"
Alex looked from the Judge to Stabler. "Sidebar, your Honor", the A.D.A. said sharply.
The Judge nodded and motioned for both attorneys to come to her bench. She put her hand over the microphone. "What is going on, Alexandra?"
The tall blonde looked from Elliot to Judge Petrovsky. "Detective Benson is unavailable to testify at this time. Detective Stabler is her partner and was present at all the major events in this case. His testimony is just as relevant as Detective Benson's."
Mr. Thomas looked from Alex to the Judge. "Your Honour, this is a blatant attempt by the prosecution to undermine my case and your courtroom. If A.D.A. Cabot cannot produce Detective Benson then I want the charges against my client dismissed. If the primary detective can't make it to court to testify then the People clearly don't have a case."
Judge Petrovsky looked from Mr. Thomas to Alex. "A.D.A. Cabot where is Detective Benson?"
Alex sighed slightly. "I'm not sure."
The Judge took her hand away and spoke into the microphone. "I want to see the prosecution, the defense and Detective Stabler in my chambers…NOW. Court is in recess for fifteen minutes." Petrovsky smacked her gavel and everyone filed out of the courtroom.
Chambers of Judge Lena Petrovsky
Everyone followed Judge Petrovsky into her chambers. Once behind her desk she addressed Alex. "Alexandra, where is Detective Benson?"
Alex looked at Stabler and then at the Judge. "I don't know. She was abducted over two days ago in an undercover investigation."
A shocked look struck the Judge's face. "Oh my God." She looked at Elliot. "Detective Stabler, what is being done to locate Detective Benson?"
Elliot looked at the Judge. "Everything that can be done is being done. Olivia went in undercover to meet Markus Pharaoh, who we believe to be the man who hired Ronald Blaze to maintain the child pornography website."
Mr. Thomas spoke for the first time. "Allegedly hired."
Everyone in the room looked at Mr. Thomas in disgust and then Stabler continued speaking. "We are following every lead but we have not gone public yet with Detective Benson's abduction. It is our feeling that keeping it quiet will increase our chances of a positive outcome in finding her."
"He's stonewalling, your Honour. He didn't keep his partner safe in an undercover operation and now Detective Stabler and the SVU squad are keeping their mistake from the public." Blaze's attorney said deadpanned to the Judge.
"You son of a bitch!" Elliot yelled as he went for Mr. Thomas.
Alex got between the two men. "That's enough. Elliot, BACK OFF!"
Stabler backed up but continued to eye the lawyer. Alex looked at Judge Petrovsky "Your Honour, I was not trying to undermine the case or your courtroom as Mr. Thomas would have you believe. I was trying to present my case with an equally qualified Detective as Benson without compromising the attempt to find her. Detective Stabler has the same account of what happened in all the major events in the case as Detective Benson would have."
Mr. Thomas looked at the Judge. "Judge, we'll never know that for sure. Detective Benson was the Primary on the case; I have a right to question her. I move for a 180.80 motion in this case on the grounds that the lead detective is unavailable to testify."
Judge Petrovsky looked hard at Blaze's attorney and then sighed.
Alex saw the writing on the wall. "Your Honour, you can't seriously be considering this motion? Detective Benson was abducted in the line of duty. Every effort is being made to locate her but there is no guarantee she will be found." Alex swallowed hard. Although she was trying to save her case, she had been struggling for days with the fact Olivia might not come back.
Blaze's attorney knew he was close to getting this motion. He mustered up all the sympathy he could, no matter how insincere some of it may have been. "Detective Benson's abduction is tragic. We all want to see her found safe and sound. My client is entitled to a speedy trail. He can't be expected to sit in jail and wait for Detective Benson to be found."
The Judge looked from Mr. Thomas to Alex. "He's right. I am granting his 180.80 motion but the trail will proceed for now. We will recess for the rest of the day, but Alex, be prepared to call your next witness tomorrow." She turned her attention to Elliot. "Detective Stabler, if there is anything I can do to aid in the search for Olivia please let me know."
Stabler nodded in thanks and the Judge dismissed them out of the room and recessed court until nine AM the next morning.
146 Banker Street
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Wednesday August 19th, 12:12
Olivia was having a hard time concentrating on her work. The text on the screen was running together in her blurred vision. The detective had slept on and off the night before. She woke up several times to a couple of the boys crying and a few times just on her own. Olivia looked down at her left hand and the sun shining through the windows behind her caught the silver ring on her finger. She stopped typing and looked harder at the ring. Jessie. All the detective could think of was her little girl. She wondered where the teen was and what she was doing. How much did she know? Had Alex and Elliot been honest with Jess or tried to lie to her? Olivia smiled slightly as she exhaled…they had probably tried to lie to the kid. The detective wondered how long it would take the teenager to figure out they were lying. The brunette's thoughts were interrupted by Markus Pharaoh.
"How is the website today, Detective Benson?" Pharaoh asked very nonchalantly.
The detective looked up at Markus. "It's fine. Up and running just like you asked."
Pharaoh smiled. "Good girl, Olivia. There is hope for those little boys yet. Here is some lunch." He set the tray down on the desk next to Benson so she could reach it given that her hands were shackled. Markus turned and left Olivia to her lunch and work.
Manhattan's SVU Squad Room
Wednesday August 19th 14:03
"I don't understand, Alex, what is a 180.80?" Cragen asked as he stood in the bullpen with his detectives and the A.D.A.
Alex sighed. "It's a motion that can be used when the prosecution fails to commence the defendant's preliminary hearing within the one hundred and forty-four hours required under CPL 180.80. I have one hundred and forty-four hours to produce Olivia or the case will be dismissed. Petrovsky was nice enough to let the case continue though, which means tomorrow morning at nine AM Jess will be called to the stand. Fin can you call her? I have tried to reach her but she won't pick up her cell."
Fin nodded and used his cell to call Jess. Alex looked at Cragen. "Are we any closer to finding Olivia?"
Cragen shook his head. "Not really. We are running down the addresses of vacant warehouses in Brooklyn. But it's gong to take a while to visit them all."
"She won't pick up for me either" Fin said, looking at Alex.
Munch picked up the phone on his desk. "I'll call Morales and get him to put Jess on." He dialed the number and spoke with the computer tech.
Alex looked back at Cragen. "This squad has less than one hundred and forty-four hours to run down all those warehouses or this case is over."
"Really? Okay thanks, Morales." Munch hung up the phone and looked at everyone in the room.
Stabler looked at Munch, "What did Morales say?"
"You're not going to believe this. He said Jess called him earlier today and told him Alex told her to take the rest of the week off. The kid never went to work today", Munch said over the rim of his glasses.
"Shit!" Stabler yelled.
"Are you kidding me? The kid's in the wind!", Fin said sharply.
"And she's got quite a head start on us", Cragen said looking around. "Alright people how do we want to play this?"
Alex was shell-shocked. How could she have let this happen? Olivia trusted her with their daughter and now Jess was gone. To no one in particular Alex said in a very withdrawn tone, "What about an Amber Alert?"
Stabler looked at Alex. "If we put out an Amber Alert this quad will be inundated with hundreds of calls and we will have to involve DCFS. I say we look for her along with Liv. We all know Jess has gone after her."
"I hate to say it but I think Stabler is right. If we involve DCFS Liv could lose Jess. I can't have that on my conscience", Fin said shaking his head.
Cragen looked at everyone. "Alright then we run her down like a perp, it's the fastest way to find her. Go to Olivia's place and toss it. Dump the LUDS on her cell and talk to her friends."
"I'm going to take Alex with me up to Olivia's. Munch and Fin can dump the LUDS," Stabler said grabbing the keys to his unmarked sedan.
Fin rolled his eyes. "Stabler, man, who do you think you are?"
The Captain held his hands up. "Enough. We all go to Olivia's and see what's up there. We will re-group there once we have some answers."
Alex walked over to Olivia's desk and opened the top left-hand and middle drawers. The detective's service weapon was there but her shield and car keys were gone. "Jess took Olivia's badge and the keys to her car."
Munch's brow practically crawled off his forehead. "Not only does she have a head start but she's got a vehicle. That kid could be anywhere."
"Alright everyone, let's hit Olivia's place and go from there."
The detectives, their Captain and the A.D.A. all left and headed for Olivia's apartment.
145 Banker Street
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Wednesday August 19th, 14:25
Jess drove the Mustang down the one-forty block of Banker Street the GPS system had indicated the tiny disk was on. The street was like the last six they had been down, mostly abandoned warehouses and boarded up houses.
The blonde looked around. "Wow, it looks Fallujah here."
"No kidding. I had no idea there were areas of Brooklyn that looked like this", Dick said in disbelief.
Ken looked at the empty street. "It is somewhat shocking that the yuppies haven't invaded this part of Brooklyn yet."
Jess looked back at him slightly. "Give 'em time."
As they looked at 146 Banker Street Jess noticed something immediately. "There are video cameras on that warehouse. There is a hundred percent chance that Markus Pharaoh is in there, gentlemen."
They drove past the warehouse, around the block in a perfect square and pulled into the vacant parking lot of the abandoned warehouse across the street from where the GPS had told them to go. The three of them got out of the car and looked around.
Dick looked across the roof of the car at Jess. "Now what, fearless leader?"
Jess smirked and cut him a sideways glance. "Now we break into this warehouse and spy on the one across the street. Video cameras are a huge tip-off that there is something happening in there someone wants to keep a secret."
Ken shrugged and looked between the other two accomplices. "Sounds good to me." The crew grabbed the equipment they needed and headed for one of the boarded-up doorways.
Once inside they took a toll of what lay ahead of them. The place had been abandoned for quite some time. They walked into a large two-storey room with a dirty concert floor. There were stairs to the left and right of them that went up to a balcony-style catwalk running along the sides of the building. At the front and back of the warehouse appeared to be offices. They took the stairs to their right up to the railed catwalk. They went to the front of the building first. The entire room was one long office, complete with desks and chairs. It had windows across the front and looked out across the street…at 146 Baker Street. Perfect.
Dick looked around. "Okay, so, this isn't so bad." He and Ken moved some desks together in front of the bank of windows. Jess grabbed three chairs and they all put the bags on top of the desks.
Ken opened his laptop case and plugged the power cord it into an outlet and booted up the computer. Dick grabbed the binoculars out of one of the bags while Jess set up her laptop. Ken looked at his partners-in-crime. "Power works. Plug your laptop in."
Jess smiled as she plugged in her laptop. "Amazing. That was a serious concern of mine."
While Dick looked across the street through the windows of 146 Banker Street he smiled. "You stole Olivia's car, we broke into a warehouse, now we are hacking into and spying on a pedophile and your concern was the power in this place?"
The blonde giggled as she shut down the GPS program and plugged an Internet stick into one of the USB port on her laptop. "Hey what can I say, a girl's gotta have priorities."
Ken looked at her and smiled. "Nice to know what yours are."
Dick's smile got wider. "Hey, O'Malley, is one of your priorities finding Olivia?"
Jess froze and slowly looked up at Dick, who was standing between her and Ken with his eyes glued to the binoculars. "Yes" she said just above a whisperer. "Why?"
"I can see her."
The young woman stood up slowly and Dick relinquished the binoculars. Jess took them, looked in the general direction her boyfriend had been looking and focused the sights. She scanned the windows across the street and caught the detective in her sights. All Jess could see was her back but it was one hundred percent Olivia Benson. "Livie" was the only word that escaped the teen's mouth. She stood there completely mesmerized by the figure sitting in front of a computer. "Ken, Livie is sitting in front of a computer. I need access to that IP address."
Ken and Dick exchanged looks…game on. "I've already started a trace for the IP address Jess. We're gonna get it."
488 Amsterdam Ave
Residence of Detective Olivia Benson
14:58
Two unmarked sedans were parked at the curb in front of Olivia's building and their passengers were standing in front of Olivia Benson's apartment door. Alex used her key to gain access and everyone filed in. Cragen put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "Look around before we toss the place. Tell us if anything is missing or out of place."
Alex nodded and went through the apartment room by room. The men looked around but didn't touch anything. The A.D.A. met everyone in the living room. "Jess's laptop, video camera and some of her clothes are missing. The pillows off her bed and a sleeping bag out of the linen closet are also gone. Beyond that, everything seems to be in place."
Cragen nodded. "Alright. Elliot and I will take Jess's bedroom. Fin and Munch go through the living room and kitchen." The detectives split up, put latex gloves on and tossed the rooms they had been assigned to.
Elliot stood in Jess's room with her trash can in his left arm and his right hand rifling through the garbage inside. "I wish my girls kept their bedrooms this clean."
The Captain was sitting at the teenager's desk looking around the desktop computer. "Jess is pretty particular about her things. Did you see her shoes all lined up beside the door?"
Stabler snorted. "Ha, no kidding. I have to admit the kid has organized Liv's apartment. It looks great."
Munch called from the kitchen. "Stabler, Cap, you should come see this!"
The two men looked at each other, dropped what they were doing and headed for the kitchen. They all stood over the kitchen table in disbelief. Alex looked from the cell phone to the men standing with her. "Why would she leave her phone? She sleeps with it for God's sakes."
Fin looked at Alex. "It's a smart phone, it has a GPS tracking device in it. Jess knows that."
Munch continued to stare at the phone. "She left the phone here knowing we would come after her."
Cragen picked up the phone and scrolled through the call history. Elliot picked up the note that was under the phone. He grinned slightly as he read the note out loud. "I was born at night but not last night."
Everyone looked up at each other and exchanged looks. They shared in Alex and Elliot's guilt about lying to Jess. Cragen spoke first. "Look, we all feel terrible about lying to Jess, but it was the best thing to do for her."
Fin's right eyebrow rose. "Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We gotta find her and Liv, fast."
The Captain held up Jess's iPhone. "The last two calls Jess made were today to Computer Crimes and yesterday to Alex. Her last text was to Olivia this morning. I still want her LUDS pulled but she's not stupid, I really don't think we'll find anything."
Munch sighed. "I think that's pretty much going to be the story for the whole apartment. The kid's good. Did you find anything?"
Stabler looked at Munch. "Nawww…nothing. I say we go back to the squad and dump her phone."
Cragen looked at everyone. "Sounds good. I'm going to call Huang in and see if he can profile Jess. Maybe he can shed some light on what is going through her head. I want to see where he is on his profile of Markus Pharaoh as well."