We called earlier, we need to speak to the principal?" Churlish leaned her elbows on the front desk, and quickly glanced over her shoulder to make sure Jet was still there. Girl could walk as quietly as a ghost. Sure enough she was there, but hung back, arms folded, with a displeased look on her face. .
"Of course," the secretary picked up the phone, and a shrill ring broke out in the office slightly down the hall. "She'll be with you shortly, take a seat," the woman said kindly.
Churlish nodded and sat in the chair closest to where Jet stood. Her eyes flicked up to Jet, and asked, "What's going on?"
"Nothing really. I just hate these places." Jet's hand tightened on her laptop bag.
"Private schools or the educational system on a whole." Churlish didn't know much about the detective standing next to her, she suspected that not many did. But she liked her. She was smart, confident and unassuming. Clearly introverted, but extremely good at the job.
Jet rolled her eyes. "Private schools," she answered as if she had tasted something bad.
"Any reason why?" Churlish wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
"Uniforms, conformity, authoritative practices…what's not to like?" Jet's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"You went to private school," Churlish guessed.
"Uh yeah. Boarding school actually…until I hacked the school servers." She looked up slyly with a small smile.
Churlish's eyes widened slightly. "Any particular reason why?"
Jet shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "Computer teacher gave me a B-."
Churlish laughed. "Seriously?" Her voice was incredulous.
"Yeah. Said I was a smart ass and life doesn't reward people who don't respect authority." Jet rolled her eyes. "As if anyone could respect an idiot like that."
Churlish wasn't particularly fond of blind obedience to authority, but she absolutely knew how and when to color within the lines. However, she got the impression that Jet was probably substantially smarter than the teacher who thought he wanted to teach her a lesson. Hacking the school computer system was definitely one way to exhibit her superior intelligence.
"Detectives?" Both women looked up immediately, as the principal approached. "Come on back," she invited, and led the way back to her office.
-000-
Fin liked Reyes. If he could he would steal the quiet, no nonsense man from Sergeant Bell's squad. He was quick to observe, and didn't ask stupid questions. In recent years Fin had lost all patience with young detectives who lacked the ability to shut up and use their brain.
Their ride to the prison was filled with a sort of comfortable silence. Reyes' eyes remained fixed out the window for most of the drive, but as they drew closer to their destination he asked, "What did Stabler say exactly? You know, to get him and the Captain greenlit?"
Fin chuckled internally. The man obviously knew his coworker well. Out of the two laying in the hospital, Elliot was the one who was more likely to run his mouth. "Cap didn't give exact details, but I've watched them both work for twenty years." There was a perverse sense of amusement at it all. Twenty five years and the two appeared to function as they did in the beginning. "My guess is Stabler took the opportunity to threaten the gang leader when they visited the last time."
Reyes nodded silently. "Sounds about right." His gaze drifted out the window and Fin could see the wheels turning in the man's head.
He likely was aware of the bond between the pair. A man like Reyes was skilled at fading into the background. He had to know much more than he ever let on. Anyone who knew anything about Stabler knew he brashly protected the ones he loved, and any idiot could figure out that he loved Liv.
"What sent Papa after Benson in the first place?"
Fin had forgotten that the incident hadn't been broadcasted at the time. Everyone knew about Duarte's demise, but as with most things, Liv kept herself protected from gossip and scrutiny…as much as possible. "Bronx's caseload got crazy and some of our team stepped in to help. We had a case that was connected to BX9…" Reyes could put the rest of the pieces together himself.
"Stabler and Benson were shot though. Isn't BX9's MO the machete thing…?" That was the case with Olivia's initial attack, and the cause of Duarte's death.
"Yep. But things change, and we gotta cover every possibility." Fin stopped at a light and shifted his body towards the younger man. "I've watched those two figure out some strange shit. If both of their guts say it Papa…I'm willing to bet on them."
"Fair enough," Reyes said simply.
Fin parked the SUV. "Ready?"
Reyes sighed and reached for the door handle. "Wouldn't be the first sociopath I crossed paths with…"
Fin chuckled, "Well then, Let's go."
-000-
"Seriously El? Ugh, just…" Olivia waved him down. "You remember you have a spinal injury right?" She scoffed herself to the edge of her bed. "Such a dumbass," she mumbled. The nurse finished taking vitals, and had Velasco help haul Elliot back to his bed, but it had been less than an hour and he was already trying to sneak back.
Elliot leaned back into the recline of his hospital bed, and grinned. "You love me," he teased.
"Yeah you're my damn kryptonite," she grumbled as she hobbled over. She gave him shit, but really, she wanted to be next to him too. Laying next to him curbed her anxiety, and she hated to admit it, but everything felt better when she laid next to him.
Once she felt certain she was steady on her feet she shuffled over to his bedside. He reached his hand towards her and steadied her as she climbed into his bed. She made sure she laid on his uninjured side, tucking herself snugly against his side.
He dropped a soft kiss on her hair, "You'd doin okay."
"Yeah. About as good as I can with a chunk of an organ missing."
He kissed her temple. "How's your pain?"
She rested her head on his shoulder. To be honest she could probably use more pain killers, but she still resisted. "It's fine."
"Liar." His warm breath floated past her ear.
She adjusted her weight, making him wince in pain. "You're one to talk." She sighed as she settled against him. "I'm fine right here," she said softly.
"I still think you should get some more painkillers." He kissed her head again, "if you sleep here, I'll make sure you're okay."
The idea of having him next to her did make her feel better, but if she invited the nurse in for meds she might make her move and the whole thing would be pointless. "I don't know," she hedged.
"Come on Liv." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Just…just humor me okay?"
She wanted to protest, but she knew he was right. She was hurting, and she trusted him to keep the PTSD at bay. It would be nice to get some sleeps "Fine, but I'm staying here," she grumbled, and nuzzled her face deeper into his shoulder.
"I won't let them move ya," he smiled. "I got you Benson."
-000-
"He's not one of ours…" the principal handed the tablet back to Jet.
Churlish wanted to scream. It was nearly impossible to tell who the kid was let alone if he attended this school. Churlish patiently pointed out the logo on the sweatshirt. "This is your school logo though, right?"
The woman leaned in closer. "Yes," she confirmed. "That was a design we sold a few years back. We had a surplus that year," she looked up at the two detectives, "we sent the extras to goodwill after the school year concluded."
Churlish tried not to feel disheartened. If the sweatshirt was bought at goodwill, then this lead was almost pointless. "Thanks." Churlish tilted her head towards the door, hoping Jet would lead the way out, but Jet paused.
"Mind if we check out your library for a few minutes? I need to charge this for a minute and I'm curious about your beautiful facilities." Jet gave her most charming smile. It was almost comical, considering how she felt about the place in general.
"Of course!" The principal almost glowed at the complement. "It's down the same hallway. We are very proud of it. It was renovated recently and it's beautiful."
"Thank you!" Jet's words came out with uncharacteristic enthusiasm.
Jet led the way out of the office and Churlish trailed behind her. "What are you thinking?" She wondered out loud.
"Yearbooks. The principal seemed too eager to distance herself and the school from the whole thing." Jet's hand gripped her laptop bag, and her steps were determined as she led the way to the library.
"Maybe she's worried about the school's reputation if they are pulled into an investigation." Churlish joined the brainstorm.
"Maybe, but look at this place." Jet motioned to the beauty of the building and the overall wealth screaming at every corner. "The kid in the video looks Latino to me, and this place…I'd say 90% of the kids are white."
Churlish nodded, suddenly understanding what she was getting at. "It wouldn't be hard to find to flip through some yearbooks then…" they approached the double doors leading to what looked like an extensive library.
Jet placed her hand on the door handle and turned. "Right. Something tells me the connection is here somewhere." Her large dark eyes drifted to the library shelves. "We just need to find it."
Up to speed on the plan, Churlish nodded her agreement. "Okay then. Let's get to it."
-000-
Elliot brushed a hand through Olivia's hair as she slept. Their nurse had indulged them, and allowed Olivia to remain in Elliot's bed. They had been begging her to take painkillers from the beginning, and the captain negotiated her own terms. She'd take meds if they let her stay next to him.
The doctors hadn't checked in yet, and he was certain that they would spout off some sort of hospital policy, and move Liv back across the room, but for now the nurses were sympathetic and turned a blind eye.
Elliot rested his lips against her forehead and closed his eyes. Over the years they had experienced many close brushes with death, but usually it was one of them in the bed (usually him) and the other in the chair next to it. This…this was the closest they had ever come to death together, and he thanked God they both survived.
The buzzing from across the room pulled Elliot from his thoughts. Liv's phone lit up as it laid on her hospital bed. Olivia didn't budge, and her breathing continued to flow in and out steadily. Whoever it was should know better than to call her now.
As soon as her phone quieted, his began the same irritating buzz. "The hell," he breathed out quietly.
Olivia was pressed tightly against him, and his range of movement was limited because of his injuries so he had no choice but to ignore his phone, and hope whatever was happening could be taken care of by the rest of their teams.
Not even a minute later the door clicked open and Velasco peeked his head in. He noted his sleeping captain, and then his eyes flitted to Elliot. He had his phone pressed against his chest as if he wanted to muffle the sound of their voices for the person on the other end. "Its Jet." His eyes glanced down at his phone and back up to Elliot. "She thinks she found something interesting." Velasco glanced at Olivia, sleeping soundly against Elliot's good shoulder. "You good to talk to her?"
Elliot sighed. He really didn't want to wake Liv, but it appeared that he didn't really have a choice. He nodded. "Put her on speaker," Elliot instructed.
Velasco did as he was told and held the phone out for Elliot to speak into. "What you got for us Jet?"
