Gamblers Anonymous Part Five
Olivia was sitting in her office, reading up on some cases. But then she kept on getting distracted by what Murphy told her about Rollins. Maybe having Rollins going in undercover for this, was a bad idea. She left her train of thought, when she heard knock on her door.
"It's open." She said while still looking at the files on her desk. She looked up and saw Fin. Olivia took of her glasses.
"Fin, I need to ask you a favor." She said.
"Sure, what's up?" he said sliding his hands in his pockets.
"It's Rollins."
"What 'bout her?" he asked.
"I get this feeling her addiction with gambling is getting bad again." She explained.
"You want me to go to the pub tonight?"
"Would you? That would be great." Olivia said.
"Sure thing Liv. You want me to talk to her at all?"
"Just see how she is. I'm worried."
"You got it." he said leaving her office. Olivia closed up the case file and leaned back in her chair. If she finds out that Rollins is gambling again. Like really gambling and its interfering with her work, she might have to do something. But Olivia didn't want to fire her. However, Rollins would be the next one out of the team.
Murfs Pub
Fin walked into Murfs the Surf Pub and saw Amanda at a table. He walked over at sat down across from her. She had a glass of alcohol with her.
"You okay?" Fin asked as he sat. Amanda looked up and tried to put on a smile for Fin but couldn't come around to it.
"I don't know." She replied. Fin looked a little down towards her to see her face.
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked.
"I owe so much Fin." She said. Fin sighed.
"How much do you owe Rollins?"
"I'm over 20k now Fin. I was doing good and then I just lost it all." She said now guilty. Fin tried to touch her shoulder for comfort but that didn't seem to help much because all she did was quietly cry.
"I can help you. I'll help you pay." He said. Amanda looked up at Fin.
"No, no I can't accept your money."
"Hey, hey, everything is gonna be alright. We'll figure it out together. Like partners."
"Nothing is alright Fin. Nothing. This job, this place, it's all I have left. I love my job, I do. And I know Liv wants to send me out as soon as she can." She said now going into more tears than before.
SVU 7:28am
Amanda had being sitting in some traffic before she walked into the precinct. She hated the early morning traffic in New York. She sat her purse down next to her desk and then sat down. She look over Fin was there. And Amaro. He wasn't.
"You okay?" Fin asked her leaning his head over to see her.
"I'm fine Fin, I'm fine." She said. She signed into her computer and decided to work on Maria's case. Amanda opened up her drawer and then pulled out the file she got from Atlanta PD. She licked her finger and opened it up. The first victim from seven years ago. She flipped passed a few pages and onto the next. The second victim who was barely 21. She died.
"Atlanta PD!" detective Rollins shouted to the man with the woman who had a knife against her throat.
"She deserves it." the man said. Amanda was ready to shoot.
"I wouldn't shoot if I where you darlin'." A voice behind her said. She then felt a gun pressed against her back. The man in front of her gave a smile. She held up her hands in the air. Minutes later, the man had sliced part of the woman's throat and she fell to the ground. Amanda tried to look away.
"Amanda." She heard someone say. Amanda jump and noticed it was only Liv touching her shoulder.
"How's that case going?" Olivia asked.
"I'm just looking through the victims file now." She told Liv.
"Remembering anything?"
"Yeah, a few details here and there." She said flipping through the pages. Olivia hesitated for a moment before saying.
"I know what your answer is going to be but I thought I would still ask anyways." At this point Rollins looked up at her.
"Yeah."
"Would it hurt at all to bring Chief Patton down to help out?"
"No-No. That's not an option. I can't have him back here. Olivia you know what he did to me. I-I just can't have him back." Amanda said tensing up a little.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry I asked."
"I can do this case myself." She said getting back to the files. Amanda looked at her and then Fin. Fin just shrugged his shoulders. Amanda now on the fourth victim started remembering piece by piece of this case.
"I never raped her! She's lying! And I certainly never murdered her best friend!" Richard shouted (same man who had murdered the young women). They were in the court room with Richard Harrison testifying. The T.V screen across from him so that they could all see the footage. Detective Rollins sits in the second row watching. He's a lair. She thought. She was the only witness to witness his murder.
"That could have been another man! That wasn't me. You have to believe me. How could someone like me murder an innocent women?" he questioned the jury. Questions and chattering started to fill the courtroom.
"Alright, Alright. Enough. Everybody silence." The judge had said.
"Is there anyone in this courtroom that witness the murder of Alexis Mitchell?" the judge asked. Amanda sat there. She slowly stood up and the judge noticed.
"Mam, did you witness the murder of Alexis Mitchell?" Amanda took a deep breathe looking directly and Richard Harrison.
"Yes, yes I witnessed her being murdered." Amanda said. Again, the courtroom filled with more chattering.
Amanda nearly jumped when her phone vibrated. She picked it up. She didn't recognize the phone number but answered anyways.
"Detective Rollins." She said. Nothing replied. Nothing.
"Hello?" she asked. Probably some idiots doing a prank.
"Anybody there?" she asked. No replied so she hung up. She went back to the files.
"At the time I didn't' know his (Richard's) name. He was just a man holding a knife to a young women." Amanda told the jury.
"As I was about to shoot, I remember some other man pressing a gun on my back so I froze and did as told. Then, shortly after, Richard sliced her neck and she fell to the ground." Amanda said finishing.
"We will be taking a quick ten minute recess." The judge said hitting her hammer on the table.
Amanda closed up the case file, not wanting to remember any more of this horrible case. And how Richard Harrison had gotten away. She put her face in her hands and sighed. Her phone rang again. INCOMING CALL: NICK AMARO. She took some breaths and then answered it.
"Maria isn't at the hospital anymore." Nick immediately said as she picked up.
"What?"
"She isn't at the hospital anymore." Nick repeated.
"How'd that happen?" she asked.
"I don't know, somebody released her." He explained. Amanda tried to remember what the passports said.
"Hang on." She told Nick as she took her phone off her ear and went to the Pictures section.
Passport #1: Los Angles, California.
Passport #2: Chicago, Illinois
Passport #3: Boston, Massachusetts
Amanda had no idea where Maria could be. She could be all the way over to L.A. or Chicago. She didn't know. She put the phone back on her ear.
"Nick, I really have no idea where she could be." She told him.
"What do the passports say?"
"L.A, California, Chicago, Illinois and Boston." She replied. Nick ran his hand over his forehead.
"There's no reason why she would go to California." He said.
"What about Chicago or Boston?" she asked.
"Maybe Chicago but I doubt it." he told her.
"I'll have Liv give Sergeant Voight a call. I got to go Nick."
"Okay, give me an update when you have one." He said as she hung up her phone. She sat her phone on her desk. She put her face in her hands and then got up and headed to Olivia's office. She knocked on her door before entering.
"Rollins?" Olivia asked as she came walking in.
"Maria's gone missing. There's a possibility that she may be somewhere in Chicago." Rollins informed her with her hands on her hip.
"I'll call Sergeant Voight right now." She said picking up her phone and dialing his number. Amanda stood there and watched.
"Voight, one of our victims may be in Chicago." She told him while looking at Amanda.
"I spoke to Voight and they don't have anything on Maria. I don't think she's in Chicago." Olivia said while walking up to the team at the table.
"That leaves Boston then." Amanda said.
"What about L.A?" Fin asked.
"Nick said that the chance of Maria being in L.A. is very low." She told him.
"We should still check with LAPD." Olivia suggested.
"I'm on it." Amanda said getting up to go to her desk. She started dialing LAPD's number.
"Hi, this is Detective Amanda Rollins from NYPD's Special Victims Unit. We just need to ask you a few questions." She said.
"We're looking for a Maria Amaro." she told him.
"Alright thank you sir. We'll take the next flight to L.A. Thank You." Amanda said hanging up.
"She's in L.A." she told the team.
Los Angles, California. LAPDbuilding.
"What where the recent locations of her?" Amanda asked Agent Rookie.
"She was last at a gas station. Chevron gas station. Next to the 7-eleven one." Agent Rookie told her as they walked up to the screen. The LAPD team was gathered around a table.
"Is that footage?" Fin asked pointing at the screen.
"Yeah, from the Chevron gas station." The man replied.
"Replay it." Agent Rookie ordered.
"Stop…that's her…right there." She said pointing at the women standing up against the car.