A/N: I DO NOT own any part of the Law & Order franchise. It is property of Dick Wolf. Wow, so this weeks episode for the 13th was....absolutely outstanding. Usually the mid-season episodes are absolutely awful like last weeks but this one was just amazing. Although, it would have been better is Munch was in it :). So...I just got a kind of....idea for later on in this story but I don't know if it's too stupid or not. Hm. We'll see when we cross that bridge. I also think I will start doing my chapters off songs. I love music. It's my life. That's why I put so much in these stories. I also do not own the rights to the song Smooth Criminal. It is property of the late great Michael Jackson, nor do I own Lost, which is property of J.J. Abrahms.
Smooth Criminal
Everyone sat in the study tensely. Jodi sat on the edge of the couch while John was next to her with his arm around her. After Anthony frantically warned her about her possible fate she reluctantly let him in. She then led the other two to her study where she and John sat silently. Anthony stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed.
"So...can I get the full story here?" Jodi asked, feeling the now-familiar feeling of having someone after her take hold.
"What do you mean?" Anthony shrugged.
"I mean....did someone just wake up one morning and decide to kill me?" she shrugged before crossing her legs.
Anthony looked away. She was his sister, and the fact that she wasn't wearing anything except a paper-thin bathrobe that clung to her every curve and showed every inch of leg possible made him more than uncomfortable. His natural male instinct kicked in and he had to force himself not to look at her body, and all the while he fought nausea at the fact that her body was so incredible. She was his sister.
"No, The Don just doesn't want you and your lawyer buddy saying anything that might point his way if you try and get dad out of jail."
She ignored the fact that he knew more than he should have. Always having been the slightest bit paranoid she generally got the feeling that someone was watching her, but for it to be part of her brothers gang it made all the more sense.
"The Don? Sweetie, you do realize that our great grandparents were hispanic right? Not Italian. You do realize the gang your in period is made up of mostly Puerto Ricans and blacks too?"
"Maybe I should tell you the whole thing." he nodded before sitting down on the couch across from him. It welcomed him and he couldn't help but smile. She had to be making good money to afford this place, let alone these things.
"Something funny?" she spat.
"No, just admired your couch here little sis. You must make alot of dough. How do you do it?"
"Legally." she retorted.
Instead of jumping on him the moment he rang the door like John should have, he elected to wait and here what the boy had to say.
"Well...about three years after you moved away our gang started running into another. The ever-present Italians. It's impossible to avoid them seeing as to how they have at least 200 mafia members in each state, not including the huge ones. Last year, we got an offer from The Don. Said he'd stop killing our guys and taking our shit if we worked for him. The boss agreed. We sort of merged, so now we work for them, doing the dirty work so they don't even have to lift a finger. In addition we get 75% of the L.A. branch profits including the highest quality drugs, girls, and protection. After mom started naming names he only agreed not to kill her after I begged him. Seeing as to how I've personally done quite a few killings for him it was agreed between the both of us that he owed me one. Then we got word that you and some lawyer were planning on taking dad's case to court, which would mean you'd be led back to us. He can't have that, so he told me to give you a warning. Either drop it, or he's sending people to end it another way."
"So that's what you are? A delivery boy?"
His eyebrow twitched at the insult but he kept his temper.
"You really think I was going to let them kill you? You're my sister Jodi."
"You let them rape me."
His face went from tense to remorseful in a matter of seconds.
"I didn't know that was going to happen." he said quietly.
Jodi's creul laugh rang through the room. She was absolutely evil when she was angry, John had been a witness to that.
"You didn't know? Really Ant? Because even I know that every member of your so-called gang had to let everyone pull a train with someone in the new guys family for initiation."
"I thought they were just going to go for your friends not you! And I definitely didn't know they were gonna kill anyone!"
"You didn't know? Wow. That's more bullshit than a septic tank the size of New York could hold."
"I didn't! They told me that they were going to grab one of he girls in there and just take her with us. I didn't know what they actually did until I heard the gunshots in the house."
"Hm. Interesting. So you were going to let them and possibly participate in the raping of an innocent young girl? You're sick."
"What's the difference? You're one to talk, seeing as to how you're sleeping with this guy." he nodded at John, who then dropped his hand from Jodi' shoulder.
"Don't fucking turn this on me. The difference is that I'm not so young that I haven't even hit puberty yet. The difference is that I am old enough to decide who I want to be with. The difference is that I am choosing to have sex with this man whom I love. The difference is that I'm sleeping with only him, and not being forced to have sex with one guys after another. That's the difference. What you did was just gross and sadistic."
She grabbed John's hand tightly, knowing that what Anthony had just said would hit him harshly.
"Well, the key fact is that whether you believe it or not I actually love you. Your my blood. You and ma are all I have left, and I couldn't let them kill you."
"Elizabeth is not my mother, and to be honest I don't consider you my family either. So you think dad should rot in jail for no reason?"
"He chose to do that."
"I'm done with you. Tell your little buddies if they want to kill me, then go ahead and do it, because I'm getting dad out. And when I do, I'm going to absolutely love visiting you in jail."
With that she stood up and opened the door to the study to let Anthony know it was time leave. She led him to the front door.
"Jodi, please, you're making a huge mistake. Just...all you have to do is drop the case. Dad will be out in a little over ten years."
"Get the hell out of my house." she growled before opening the front door to her home.
"Jodi. I'm begging you." his eyes swam.
"Anthony, if you really love me...if you really care....you'd help me."
"I can't do that. Once your in, your in for life."
"Then you've already made you choice."
With that she slammed the door in his face before collapsing against it and falling to the ground in a sobbing pile. She had successfully kept her composure throughout the entire ordeal but no more. As the horrid memories of her first rape and the pain it had brought her overtook her she let the tears fall. John immediately dropped to her side wrapping his arms around her. She laid her head down on his shoulder, feeling unashamed for the first time to cry in front of him.
After a several minutes of him rubbing her back and telling her that everything was alright he gently coaxed her up before picking her up and carrying her up to the bedroom. He set her down on the bed before getting in with her.
"I'm sorry." she sniffed as he brushed her red hair out of her face with his hand.
"For what?" he asked softly.
"Earlier." she shrugged, refering to their small fight before they had received their unexpected visitor.
"Oh...yeah. I'm sorry too." he said before kissing her forehead.
She found his lips with hers and kissed him for a moment before wiping her face.
"Shit, I look a mess right now don't I?" she giggled nervously through red and swollen eyes. They just about matched her hair.
"No, you look beautiful as always." he smiled before kissing her again. It was true. During her weakest moments she still was stunning.
She sighed before laying back in the bed. For some reason, crying always just seemed to suck the energy out of her.
"Hey...I'm going to make a phone call real quick and then I'll be right back up okay?" John said before kissing her a last time and climbing out of the bed.
As he left the room Jodi watched in a mixture of curiousity and exhaustion. Who would he possibly have to call at a moment like this?
The thought flew into her mind before she could stop it. What if he was going to call Casey? As ridiculous as the thought was, she couldn't help but worry. If she was the frist person he ran to, was he really over her?
She had never been the jealous type, but she had no clue why this woman bothered her so much. From the first moment all those weeks ago when she picked the picture up off his desk the warning bells had gone off in her head, and that night at the bar they had explained themselves when she walked from the bathroom to find them in a liplock.
She pushed the thoughts aside before closing her eyes. She trusted him, but she could only hope he trusted her.
***************
"Hey, Elliot I need a favor." John said as he stood in the kitchen. He knew Elliot and Liv would probably be the only ones down at the precinct still and that neither would say anything to anyone else about it.
"Alright...."
"I need Claudia Williams."
***************
"What can I do for you Detective?" Claudia Williams said as she folded her hands at her desk. John sat down across from her. It had been years and that fact had been evident. The stress of her job had started to show on her face. Among that her previously curly hair was now bone straight and it looked as though she had lost weight.
"I' need your help." he crossed his legs.
"Oh....I'm intrigued." she raised and eyebrow and leaned back in her chair.
"My fiance....her father was falsely accused of a crime and she' trying to get him out...and now the Italian mafia is after her."
Claudia's face immediately became tense.
"So first the Russians, now the Italians. Your squad has been bringing me a lot of work Detective."
"This one has nothing to do with my work."
".....Okay Detective. You do realize this means alot of strenuous work for the both of us?"
"Yeah."
"Good. So tell me everything..."
***************
"Nice to see you again John." Jodi's father smiled as he sat down at the table across from them.
"Nice to see you again too Mr. Stanford." John replied, still getting used to Jodi's father being 12 years younger than him.
"Just call me Anthony." he smiled.
John looked over at Jodi in short-lived confusion before realizing that her brother had been named after their father.
"Daddy...there's something I have to tell you." Jodi said before grabbing John's arm.
Although it had been almost a month since John had proposed, Jodi elected to tell her father in person rather than through a letter or on the phone.
"Oh....?" her father raised an eyebrow.
"John and I...we're engaged." Jodi smiled.
Her father struggled to keep his face blank as a torrent of emotion flooded through him. While he couldn't be happier for her, what father wanted their kid dating a person older than they were? But at the same time, he could see in his daughters face that she loved John. He made her happy. That was all he really wanted for his daughter.
After she had come to visit the first time with John, Anthony had went around asking every guard in the joint about him. After learning as much about him as he could he knew that John was going to treat his daughter well.
"When did this happen." he asked through a blank face.
"A few weeks ago before Christmas." Jodi smiled. She could see past the seemingly emotionless face of her father. His lip twitched as he tried to hold back a smile.
"Why wait so long to tell me?"
"I wanted to tell you in person."
Her father gave up before giving them the biggest smile either had seen. So here his baby girl was finally getting was a moment every father wanted to see, and at the realization that he wouldn't be able to, he felt a pang in his heart.
"That's great honey. I'm really happy for you both...John....you picked a great girl. That's what I tried to raise her to be, however short a period I had."
As he spoke the words a single unanticipated tear fell from his eye. He wiped it away in a mixture of surprise and horror.
"Daddy....what's wrong?" Jodi asked, before grabbing his hand. Pretty soon more began to flow as he cried freely.
"I've missed so much of your life sweetie. I'm so sorry I have to miss this....it's been my dream to see you get married, and...I can't be there."
Jodi put a hand on his stubbled cheek. At the sight of his tears her own heart began to break. John tightened his grip around her as he felt her body begin to tremor like it did when she attempted to hold in tears.
"Dad...I'm going to get you out of here." Jodi smiled through watery eyes.
Her father let out a strangled chuckle.
"What? Your going to tunnel down to my cell with a spoon?"
"No, I'm going to court and tell them you were wrongfully imprisoned."
He stared at had to be kidding.
"Jodi...I pleaded guilty to rape and murder. It's a miracle I didn't get the death penalty. I did that to protect you."
"Dad...I've survived enough. I can protect myself. Everyone knows you didn't lay a hand on any of those girls. Everyone that knows you knows you couldn't have."
"Jury didn't believe that."
"They will when they have all the facts."
"Dammit Jodi! I'm in here for a reason alright."
"Yeah, you killed those guys to protect me."
"It's still murder."
"It's justifiable."
He sighed before wiping his nose on his sleeve.
"You listen to me Jodi. You're not going to do anything. I'll refuse to testify. I'm doing this to protect you. I'm a martyr and damn proud of it. Don't mess up everything I had to do to keep you safe."
Jodi closed her eyes before standing up.
"Let's go." she said to John tensely before grabbing his hand. She looked at her dad a last time before turning and walking away.
The hell she would let him sit in jail.
******************
Jodi walked to the car that had been sitting across the street from her home. The black Jaguar blended in with the rest of the street, as well as the fact that it had been sitting idle for days, but she knew better.
She rapped on the tinted window three times before it rolled down. In the front seat was Anthony Jr., looking defeated.
"What the hell are you still doing here?" she asked.
"...I just wanted to make sure you were safe."
"You just wanted to try and change my mind." she corrected him before crossing her arms over her chest.
"Jodi...okay please. I'm begging you now. Don't do this."
As he spoke she couldn't help but see the pleading voice in his eyes. The mischevious sparkle she had always seen was now gone. His hands were clenched on the steering wheel as tight as anything she had ever seen. Dark circles hung under his eyes.
"Anthony....I have to. Dad went to prison for me. To protect me. I can protect myself, and I'm not going to sit by and rot there."
"He'll only been in another ten years or so. It's not worth your life."
"He's worth everything."
"Jodi!" Anthony exclaimed. For the first time in her life she heard a slight waver in his voice as he tried to hide his desperation and tears.
Jodi's face softened at the sight of it. Maybe he really did care.
"Ant......I can't. I have to get him out. I'm sorry."
"Well....if you won't listen to me...what's that old-man boyfriend of yours gonna say when you end up dead?"
The words hit Jodi like an iron fist. She hadn't even bothered to ask John his opinion on the entire situation. How did he really feel about it?
".....He'll survive." she shrugged.
"Jo. Please."
She looked into his eyes. In them she saw the love. Everything she had denied over the years. He was her brother. He did really care. Or at least he was really good at pretending to.
"I can't." she said softly.
Anthony closed his eyes. She had just signed her death sentence. He knew they wouldn't just kill her either. They'd rape her. Humiliate her. Probably kill John in front of her. It would horrible.
"Fine....then I' guess I'll have to help you."
A/N: I do apologize for the wait. FanFiction didn't seem to want to convert my documents. I also apologize for the first few chapters. I was having major writer's block when I wrote them back in January, and they're not as good as the ones I've recently written so bear with me please.
