Author’s Note: I don’t own Law & Order: SVU.
“I asked you what you were doing here, Chris,” he insisted on repeating the question until he was satisfied he had received a worthy answer. “I came to spend time with my brother. I thought you’d be happy to see me.” Elliot continued to observe her movements and how she handled herself. Though he felt the same presence that he remembered all those years ago something was different. A few years of growth can do that to a person. But why after all these years does she come waltzing in at 4am to find him?
“I have a phone. You could have called,” he stated to the young woman as she shifted her view from him to the floor and to the squad room as if she was doing surveillance of her own. “I tried your number, it’s disconnected. I figured you had moved so I thought I would try here,” she stated as she fought through her frustration. “Kathy and I split up. If you had kept in touch, you would know that.” She could no longer keep her growing frustration to herself and made it known to not only her arrogant sibling, but to the entire squad. “Well, Elliot seems like I’m an adult now and I’m allowed to have a life of my own. I came here to spend some time with you, but since you insist on being a jackass, I think I’ll just go back to my adult life and leave you alone,” she stated letting all of her pent up anger escape in one foul swoop.
All eyes turned to the enraged woman as she grew louder with each word. There was no conversation worth having through all of that. Elliot was quite aware of the attention they were receiving, but it seemed Chris didn’t care. She bent down to the bench, retrieved her bag and walked out the swinging doors. Elliot took a second to collect himself and followed his sibling out the doors. As he hit the hall he began to run for the front door of the station. He caught her as she grabbed the push bar to exit. “Christina, wait!” She didn’t stop. She pushed the door open and found herself amidst the traffic of the busy sidewalk out front.
Elliot tugged on her arm, grabbing her attention as she swung around to again, meet his eyes. “Chris, look. I’m sorry. That wasn’t the welcoming you deserved, but I was a little shocked to see you after all this time; especially at four something in the morning,” he proclaimed in the most apologetic tone he could muster. She shrugged, “I’m an early riser.” He shook off her comment, “Let me get you situated at my new place, alright?” She let out a little grin and nodded. The tension released from the two as they walked to the car. Once inside they quickly sped off.
The short drive was quick. Neither really added to the silence that enveloped the interior. Both seemed to be too tired to care. Up one flight of stairs and a quick key to the lock, they entered the tiny apartment. Chris looked around, “It’s quaint.” “It’s what I can afford,” he responded. “I’m gonna change real quick and then I need to head out.” “Busy life of a detective, I know how it is. I’ll make myself at home,” she smiled to him. “I’m sure you will,” he retorted.
Elliot disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Chris behind to hit the couch. He could make out the sounds of the tiny television flip on as he closed the door. This was definitely not something he expected today. He was still angry that she showed up out of nowhere, but he knew better than to let his quick temper and lack of sleep push her away again. He found another suit hanging in the closet and took no time switching out clothes. As he slipped his shoes on he heard a knock at his door. He turned to see that she had cracked it, but all he could make out was one eye staring down at him, “I noticed you have some left over fried chicken in the fridge. Mind if I have it?” He could imagine the little cute face she was putting on since he heard it in her voice, “Fried chicken for breakfast? Sure. Can’t guarantee it isn’t growing anything,” She realized he was dressed and pushed the door open revealing the look he had been picturing all along, “That’s fine. I’ve had worse.”
He stood from the bed and headed out of the bedroom. He grabbed his keys from the breakfast bar making his way to the front door. The buzzing noise of the microwave filled his ears as he turned to his pre-occupied sister, “I’m not sure when I’ll be home.” She nodded and kept her attention on the microwave, waving her hand behind her. He shook his head and closed the door behind him.
St. John’s Memorial Hospital
He soon met his partner outside the hospital room of their victim. “What took you so long?” Olivia questioned. “Unexpected visitor, Chris showed up at the station.” Olivia looked at him puzzled, “Chris?” He nodded, “Christina.” He watched the various thoughts run through her glazed eyes as she tried to put two and two together. “Your sister?” she finally responded, “I haven’t heard her name in a long time.” “As you can guess, I wasn’t expecting to see her. How’s the victim?” he slyly changed the subject.
Olivia removed her notepad from her left pant suit pocket, “Twenty-five year old Shondra Wallace. She currently has a head full of stitches and her mouth is so swollen she can only communicate through a notepad. She has ankle, wrist and neck burns from the leather rubbing her raw and whip marks up and down her back. She was able to tell me that the perp. is white, about 6 foot and he looks like a football player. I couldn’t get much else out of her.” Again the images of this huge white male beating on this tiny black female seemed to make his head spin. The cruelty of people amazed him, but how could someone possibly get sexual pleasure out of watching this woman bleed? He tried to focus, “We need to find the landlord.” Olivia agreed.
Back at the station, the two barraged the phones trying to find anyone who might have the number for the landlord. The only number any of the tenants had was an answering machine that was kept in the building. When the landlord finally cared to check on his tenants he could come and check the messages. It was apparently far and few times between that he would actually show up to fix anything. They had been at it for 3 hours now and where about ready to hit the streets to see if they could find anything other than what a disconnected phone line could get them. Elliot took one final sip of his coffee and stood from his chair. He noticed that the headache he had been worried about earlier had finally seceded. Maybe it was going to be an okay day after all.
Olivia was already stretching, yawning out the limited sleep she had received. He rubbed his eyes and grabbed for his suit jacket from the back of his chair. “Detective Benson?” he heard a voice call out to his partner behind him. He turned to reveal a small man, maybe 5’5”, probably Italian standing within inches of Olivia. “Yes,” she confirmed, “Can I help you?” The man extended his hand to her, which she took a second to respond to. “Martin Pinhero, I own the building you found that girl in this morning.” While Elliot was relieved to see the man he could understand her hesitation with wanting to greet him, he didn’t look like someone you would want to come in contact with without full hazmat gear on. Greasy black hair and a dingy white and blue jogging suit; his odor was evident from the opposite side of the desks. Elliot grabbed a seat from behind him knowing full well Olivia wasn’t about to offer him hers.
The man graciously accepted the seat offered him. Elliot began the questioning, “What can you tell us about the man who rents that apartment?” Mr. Pinhero began his story, “His name is Jack Dent. Big guy, real scary looking. I never had any problems from him. Always paid on time.” Elliot eyeballed the man and got the distinct feeling he wasn’t being completely forthcoming, but it was better than the nothing they had before. He asked, “You know where this Jack Dent works?” Martin Pinhero nodded his confirmation.
MacMillan Construction
Elliot and Olivia approached the single wide trailer surrounded by mounds of dirt and rebar pilings. The main door opened accompanied by a ‘whoosh’ noise. Elliot lost his footing as it seemed to fly open on its own. “Damn it, I told you guys to open it slowly!” An older man clad in blue jeans and flannel shirt approached them. He began to choke down his words when he realized who had entered. “Sorry, the A/C in here is pretty powerful and it’ll slam that door right through the wall.” Elliot nodded the man off as he looked around the room. The walls were covered in random drawings and there was an obvious set of plans strewn across the elevated table that sat in the middle of the room. Olivia entered making sure to not come in contact with the door as her and Elliot removed their badges.
The man acknowledged them, “What can I do for you?” Elliot continued his survey of the room. The drawings alone were amazing, but to think, some of the buildings now stood in their very city. Buildings that probably cost a few million dollars and there was no doubt in his mind that too many rapists, drug dealers, pedophiles and murders had put their hard work into building them. Construction was fast money and too much of it. No education with a big paycheck.
Olivia asked, “Do you have someone named Jack Dent working for you?” The man’s face quickly dropped. “That lazy ass? Not anymore. He worked here 2 months. Showed up maybe a total of a week. Took a job at local club as a bouncer. Good riddance.” Elliot gave Olivia a tiny smirk and directed the next obvious question, “What’s the name of the club?” This time the man paused and almost appeared embarrassed. “It’s one of those fetish clubs. Sticks and Stones. They are into some pretty hardcore stuff from how Jack used to talk. I’ll never understand those places. Doesn’t open until 10pm, though.” Just what he needed; to go to a club full of perverts. That will make his day much better. Elliot shook his head and looked once again at Olivia as she handed the man her card.
Back at the station they discussed the morning’s discoveries with the Captain. They recapped how the victim was found, her current condition, the landlord’s special appearance and finding the current job of Jack Dent. The Captain took all the information in and determined that, since they couldn’t go after Dent until the club opened that night, they should go home and get some rest. They all agreed there was no way they would be able take this guy down with their current lack of proper brain function. Elliot took his cue, put his jacket on and walked out of the station and to his car.
He slowly walked up the one flight of stairs that separated him from his bed. His key hit the lock and the door flew open. All he was thinking about was the warm blanket that awaited him and he was so consumed by that thought he forgot he had company. When it finally dawned on him, he realized how loudly he had opened the door but much to his relief it didn’t seem to bother Chris. There she lied, out cold on his hard couch with the TV still blaring. He let a small smile escape his lips as he made his way over to the TV and pressed the power button.
She continued to lie completely still even as he reached for the blanket that laid on the back of the couch and draped it over her. He turned to his bedroom door and slowly pushed the door open, entered and shut it. He removed his shoes and stripped down to his boxers and undershirt. He calmly lied down in the bed he had been daydreaming about since he woke up and was unconscious before his head hit the pillow.
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