THIS. It wasn’t
his area of homicide or crime—but it was at the same time. The innocent laid covered in a blanket,
animal print stained red with crimson that once coursed through veins and
through a beating heart. He sighs quietly, the red and blue of nearby lights
splash across walls, his forest eyes and the breath of air that meets with the
cold New York night. His gaze analyzes the scene and he’s handed a report of
the surviving victim; the child’s mother. Javier Falcón is
rumored to be dispassionate, to be known to be unaffected by the most gruesome
scenes, but even this once brings a pain to his chest that cannot be soothed by
solving the crimes alone. No, there isn’t a single thing in existence that
could heal what has been seen.
The child was hardly two, and it took every fiber in his
being to knell beside the small body and take notes, someone behind told him
the mother would need surgery and he only nodded. “We will need SVU, this is
more than just us.” The words are spoken as he pulls his coat around tighter
around his neck. After living in New York for a few years, he still wasn’t used
to the cold, having spent his life in Spain. His accent was thick and heavy
against the noise of the scene, the sound of emergency vehicles and the growing
crowd beyond the yellow tape.
He stood looking over the barrier blocking the body from
view. Onlookers—he never understood them, but paid no mind while stepping aside
for the ME. The two gave their usual greetings and he asked for them to wait to
move the body until SVU had sent their detective over. There was a nod given
while the ME remained busy behind the screen, his own tasks at hand was to
begin investigating the scene. Blood pooled in the alley but lead up to a dead
end and into the back door of an apartment building, the crimson tinged drops
reflected in the lights above back doors to business long since closed.
“I hope we have that building secured, and blocked off.” A
second officer nodded, it gave Falcón further belief that this crime escalated
somewhere else and ended where the mother had fallen with the child in her arms
before being spotted by an innocent bystander. He had hang over, but it hardly showed,
he needed to figure out the case, and that meant working with SVU, something he
wasn’t fond of. However, he’d make the best of it.
she sits behind a mountain of paperwork, black rimmed glasses rest on the bridge of her nose, hair falling messily into her face. looking to the few remaining in the squad room, each sit respectively at their desks as they begin yet another long night of work. after nearly two decades in the field, she should be used to this it wasn’t uncommon to have enough work to carry her into next week, but it never stopped the stress from adding yet another weight to already heavy shoulders. with a handful of open cases under her belt, it was no surprise to be practically drowning in work, but giving anything but her utmost attention wouldn’t do. it was in her nature to give everything to help a victim, even if that meant weeks of sleepless nights and early mornings. sighing, she rolls her neck and opens a file to begin her work.
her cell rings, bringing her out of concentration. she gives it a second and prepares herself for the inevitable. it’s a new case, there’s no doubt in her mind, but even after all these years it still gives her chills when she receives the call. their conversation is short, and she’s given minimal information on the crime. but one thing sticks under her skin, a mother and her child, 2 years old … it’s never easy. she stands, grabbing her coat draped over the back of the chair and sliding it over her shoulders before slipping her phone in the pocket. when she steps out of her office, all eyes are turned in her direction as she gives the details, only that in which she knows, and tells her squad members that she’ll be taking this one alone, for now. they’ve been through so much this past week, olivia feels it’s only necessary to give them a moment to recover from the CHAOS.
as acting commander of manhattan’s special victims unit, the lieutenant was almost always first to arrive at the scene. she was the one to be called the moment their assistance was needed and was always ready to give her insight. she was well-known throughout the NYPD for her work, and although she appreciated the help of others, she preferred to handle things with the help of her squad and her squad alone. homicide was assisting in this case and although she appreciated their help, sharing cases always felt … unnecessary.
it’s not long before the arrives. it’s no surprise there’s already a group of onlookers crowded at the scene, and it takes her a moment to navigate through them to reach the line of police tape blocking off the crime scene. ❛ lieutenant benson, SVU ❜ she flashes her badge, slipping under the tape and making her way over to where a few stood around what she presumed to be the body of the deceased. she’d seen countless bodies in her time at SVU, but nothing could truly prepare her for seeing the body first hand. breath hitches as she sees the child, blood stained clothes covering her small figure. stepping back, olivia allows the ME some space to further his investigation of the body. her steps are slow as she moves throughout the scene, taking time to make mental notes of the blood trail down the alley. she passes a handful of officers as she moves further down the alley, where she meets a fellow detective and makes her way towards him.
❛ it’s unfortunate that we have to work under such circumstances … ❜ she pauses, then offers a hand in his direction, ❛ what do we know so far? ❜
❝ LIV !! ❞ even now it was an UNUSUAL feeling to refer to sergeant LIEUTENANT benson as ‘ liv ‘. he assumed that maybe one day she’d refer to him as RAFAEL but, in truth, he didn’t want to know what olivia sounded like when she said ‘ rafael‘. his icy gaze softened, for her ?? he still didn’t know w h y. she was a good friend, perhaps. he just wasn’t USED to that a n y m o r e.
❝ please tell me you heard at least ONE thing from what i just said. ❞
❛
hm??
❜
his voice cuts through her thoughts, focused gaze now landing on barba. all she can remember is hearing her name, and after bringing her bottom lip between teeth in an attempt to stir up any memory as to what he said, her mind remains blank.
❛ i’m SORRY. i wasn’t … listening. what did you say? ❜
sonny had more than his fair share of work to do and mostly because he’d fallen a little behind due to the holidays. now that they were basically done and over with, he had to come back and face the reality of the massive amounts of paperwork he had to catch up with. it helped that school was done for the semester and since he passed his classes, it was one less thing on his plate at the moment but soon enough, he’d be back to the same old, same old.
he’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone here when he heard benson’s footfalls and he glances away from the computer screen. “ probably the same reason you’re still here. ” he gestured to the stack of files on his desk before relaxing back in his seat. “ don’t worry, i’ll shut everythin’ down before i leave. ” sonny had a little bit left in the tank, or enough to finish what he was working on now.
❛
do you know what time it is? go home, i’d like to have a functioning detective tomorrow morning.
❜
her gaze moves to his laptop, raising her brow as a silent order to shut it down and pack up. she was the first one in, last one out;always. no exceptions. she knows how everyone works in the squad, they leave late with their work, stay up even later, and come back in the morning four coffees deep and ready to go. olivia probably did it more often than most …. running this group took a lot more effort than being apart of it.
now that the holidays were over, everyone was swamped. cases that they pushed aside to enjoy time with family and friends were now coming back to bite them in their asses, hard. it takes a toll on you, olivia knew that. and she wanted carisi to enjoy what little time was left in the night. she takes a few steps to his desk, and sits on the edge of the one next to his.
her office is dark. the lamp at the corner of her desk spills a soft glow, piles of paperwork sitting tall cast shadows over the cluttered surface. a quick glance at the clock, and she sighs. 9:58. olivia texts the babysitter and apologizes for being almost an hour late, and begins to collect her things. she rises from her chair, stuffing one folder after another into her bag, bringing her glasses atop her head. it doesn’t take her long to get everything put away. she decides to only focus on one case tonight, and takes the corresponding paperwork. when she’s satisfied, her bag is brought over her shoulder, and she clicks off the light.
olivia leaves under the impression that she’s alone. she turns off the lights in the back of the squadroom, and hums a tune under her breath as she makes her way up front. reaching into her pocket to check her phone, olivia freezes when she hears keys clicking to her right. a quick glance, and the source of the sound is revealed.
