"Do you think they'll be hard on her?" Grace asked from the passenger seat of the car as Olivia drove them to the courthouse. Today Emily was being brought before a judge to decide what was to become of her for filing a false police report. Olivia was required to be there, and Grace wanted to be there to offer moral support to her friend. The two girls had been texting nearly nonstop and their little fight was completely behind them.
"I hope not; given the circumstances, I hope the judge will decide to just fine her. Unfortunately, Judge Lunsford is known as a hanging judge, and he could decide to send her to Block C just to make an example of her. We'll just have to wait and see what happens." Olivia explained, stopping the car at a red light.
When they arrived at the courthouse, Olivia parked the car and the two of them walked inside and located Judge Lunsford's courtroom and sat down in the gallery. Emily was standing at the podium with the translator and a court-appointed attorney by her side, with Victoria Cues sitting on the front row in the gallery. Judge Lunsford walked into the courtroom and sat down on his chair.
"Case number 24601, submissive Emily Jackson, accused of filing a false report with the Manhattan Special Victims Unit." the bailiff announced, handing the judge a file as the translator signed everything that was being said so that Emily could understand.
"Ms. Jackson, I see here you've been a registered submissive since you were eighteen. Your record is clean, you've never been in trouble with the law before." Judge Lunsford quickly glanced through Emily's file, "Is Victoria Cues present?"
"I am, your Honor." Victoria stood up.
"Seeing that legally Ms. Jackson is your property, you have some say in what happens here today. Are you able and willing that Emily should return to your home?" Judge Lunsford inquired.
"Yes, your Honor. Emily and I have had several conversations over the past several days regarding the nature of our contract, negotiations have taken place, and she is welcome to come home." Victoria nodded.
"Captain Benson, we meet again." Judge Lunsford looked at Olivia, "What does the Special Victims Unit have to say in all of this?"
"The Special Victims Unit holds no grudge, your Honor." Olivia stood up, "Given the circumstances, the Special Victims Unit asks for mercy on Emily's behalf."
"Young lady," Judge Lunsford addressed Emily while the translator signed everything that was being said, "I am not accustomed to showing mercy in my courtroom. It is my opinion that harsher sentencing is best for both the individual and society at large. However, seeing that you are a person who has been the victim of a violent crime and also a person with disabilities and need your translator with you at all times, in this case I am somewhat moved to mercy. You have just narrowly escaped a stint in Block C, and if I ever see you in my courtroom again you will serve an entire two week sentence there. With that said, filing a false report is serious business in my courtroom, and I feel that a simple monetary fine would not be sufficient. Therefore, I sentence you to a judicial strapping, to be carried out immediately, after which you will be free to go home for proper aftercare."
"Ma'am, please." Grace quietly turned to Olivia, pleading with her to step in.
"It's not my call, baby, and it isn't yours either. Be a good girl." Olivia quietly warned Grace not to make a fuss. However, Olivia did stand up again, "Your Honor, given the fact that Ms. Jackson was violently raped at the hands of a man, the Special Victims Unit asks that the strapping be administered over Ms. Jackson's skirt by a female."
"So ordered." Judge Lunsford agreed, "Ms. Cues, since Ms. Jackson is legally your property, you may administer the strapping yourself if you choose to do so. If you decline, the bailiff will fetch one of our Disciplinary Officers on duty."
"I respectfully decline, your Honor." Victoria replied.
"Very well. Bailiff, go find out which one of our female Disciplinary Officers is on duty and have her report here immediately." Judge Lunsford ordered.
"At what level would you like me to administer the strap, your Honor?" Dani Beck walked into the courtroom carrying a prison strap.
"A level two strapping will be sufficient in this case." Judge Lunsford replied.
Emily whined and whimpered as she was tied down over the spanking bench. Grace turned and buried her face on Olivia's shoulder, having no desire to watch. Olivia held her close and gently stroked her hair to reassure her. Both Emily and Grace jumped as the first lick of the strap was delivered and the sound echoed off the walls along with Emily's cry of pain.
"One." the bailiff counted.
After fifty licks of the prison strap, it was over and Emily lay limp over the spanking bench sobbing deeply as Dani Beck gently released her wrists and ankles from their restraints. Dani gently rubbed Emily's back for a few moments until Emily felt strong enough to push herself up to her feet and somehow managed to find her way into Victoria's arms. Clinging to Victoria, Emily looked up at Judge Lunsford, blinking through her tears.
"Ms. Jackson, remember what I said; if I see you in my courtroom again, you'll serve a two week stint in Block C. I recommend that you behave yourself. Ms. Cues, take this young lady home and administer arnica to her bottom." Judge Lunsford banged his gavel, "Next case."
Out in the hallway, Grace greeted Emily with a warm hug.
"Are you okay?" Grace signed.
"I've been better." Emily signed honestly with puffy, watery eyes, "At least it's over, and it was only a level two. I am tired now, though, I want to go home and lie down. Maybe next week we can go shopping one day."
"I'd like that." Grace smiled.
"Well, I'm fresh out of ideas. Anybody got any suggestions?" Olivia inquired, leaning against a vacant desk in the bullpen, and she looked up when Joe Velasco walked into the precinct, "New guy, you're late. Everybody, this is Joe Velasco, our new white shield. Joe Velasco, this is everybody. For right now, we're going to swap partners. Kat and Churlish, you're a team. Velasco, you'll be partnering with Fin. Amanda, you're solo for right now, so you'll partner up with Elliot or myself as needed until I can find another detective to fill the spot. Now, back to William Lewis…"
"Well, something weird is going on with this guy. I don't know if he's part bird or what, but he left no fingerprints at Chelsea's apartment. Nothing on the fire escape, nothing inside the apartment. The only trace of him is his DNA inside of Chelsea and on her bed sheets." Churlish said, "Plus, he's got a whole list of aliases, which must be how he's gotten away with so much."
"Has anybody considered tracking this guy through the tax man? He'd have to use his real name and address to pay the piper." Velasco settled himself at the vacant desk Olivia was currently leaning against, logged into the computer, and began to type, "Yeah, here he is. William Lewis, 901 Kingston Avenue, apartment B6."
"You're a keeper, new guy." Olivia commented, reading over his shoulder, "All right, you and Fin go pick him up."
"I drive." Fin said to Velasco, picking up his car keys.
"William Lewis, police! Open up!" Fin pounded on the door of the apartment, and they received no answer.
"Open it up." Velasco turned to the apartment's landlady, and she did as she was told.
"Drugs." Fin identified drugs sitting out in the open on the coffee table, and the two men immediately drew their weapons.
They searched the apartment and found it empty, so they put on rubber gloves and began to search through William Lewis's belongings. After about half an hour, they were ready to give up when Fin accidentally knocked over a vase and its contents spilled out onto the floor.
"We got him." Fin picked up several pictures, all of women lying on their backs, most of them badly beaten, looking up into the camera with William Lewis's hand over their mouth, their faces tear-streaked and clearly terrified. Among them was a picture of Emily Jackson lying on the ground in Central Park.
"I don't see one of Chelsea Preston." Velasco observed, "Maybe he hasn't had time to develop it yet. So where's the camera?" The two detectives continued their search.
"Bastard probably has it on him right now." Fin grumbled, "What the hell is this, a blowtorch?"
"I completely forgot that he took a picture." Emily signed, looking genuinely shocked as she sat on the couch in the home she shared with Victoria Cues.
"That's okay, Emily, sometimes memories come back in fragments, especially after something traumatic." Olivia signed, "But with your consent, we'd like to take you back to Central Park where it happened and see if any other memories come to mind."
"Of course. Anything I can do to help." Emily agreed.
Olivia and Amanda followed Emily through Central Park until they arrived at a clump of trees and Emily stopped walking, staring up at the trees with haunted eyes.
"Take your time, Emily. Anything you saw or smelled or touched, anything at all that comes to mind will be very helpful." Amanda signed.
"I came walking from that direction," Emily signed and then pointed, "and he was suddenly in front of me. Like I told you guys, I don't know how he knows I'm deaf, but he knows ASL and he started signing to me asking me if I needed help. My butt was sore and I was irritated with my Mistress, so I told him to screw off. His face changed, and he grabbed me. I remember the feeling of his hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream. I remember the smell of his cologne; it's the same cologne my brother wears, it's Adidas. He pushed me down on the ground and got on top of me. I remember feeling a rock under my left hand, I should have picked it up and knocked him over the head with it."
"Emily, none of this is your fault. You did everything right, you survived." Olivia signed.
"I bit him, and that's when he started beating me. I…" Emily stopped and gasped fearfully.
"It's okay, sweetie, you're safe here with us." Olivia signed.
"I remember. I looked over to my right, just for a moment, and there was a man standing there, frozen, just watching as if he'd seen a ghost. We made eye contact, and he turned and ran away." Emily signed as she began to cry.
"You're doing a wonderful job, sweetheart." Olivia signed, "Can you tell us what this man looked like?"
"He was fat. He wore glasses, he had… blonde hair, blue eyes."
"Okay, we're going to take you back to the precinct and have you work with a sketch artist." Olivia signed, and Emily agreed.
"Yes, is this Victoria Cues?" Olivia Benson sat at her desk with her phone pressed to her ear.
"Yes, it is." Victoria replied.
"Hi, Victoria, this is Olivia Benson from SVU. We've still got Emily here with us, she's working with a sketch artist right now, and I was wondering if after she's done with the sketch artist if it would be alright to invite her over for dinner tonight. I know Grace would love to see her and spend some time with her."
"If she wants to have dinner with you, that's fine with me, I'm sure she would enjoy that. Poor baby has been through so much, I'm sure she would appreciate the distraction. She needs to be home by nine thirty, and if she gives you any trouble feel free to spank her little bottom."
"I'm sure that won't be necessary, but I'll keep that in mind, and if Grace ever spends any time with Emily over at your place, feel free to do the same. I'll have Emily home by eight at the latest." Olivia promised.
The call was disconnected, and Olivia stood from her desk and walked out to the bullpen where Emily was just finishing up with the sketch artist. The sketch artist packed up his things and walked out of the precinct while Olivia's detectives went to distribute his sketch to the media.
"Hey, honey, I just got off the phone with Victoria, and she said it would be okay for me to ask you if you want to come have dinner with Grace and I tonight at our place." Olivia signed.
"Yes, Ma'am, I would like that." Emily signed, smiling happily.
"Great. Let me shut down my computer and then we'll go."
While her computer was shutting down, Olivia pulled out her cell phone and dialed Grace's number.
"Hi, Ma'am."
"Hi, baby. I'm getting ready to leave work right now, and I'm bringing a guest with me, so you can get dressed before we come home. Emily is coming over to have dinner with us and spend a little time with you." Olivia spoke into the phone.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace smiled happily.