Chapter 12 Who is she?
Casey Novak paid the taxi driver hurriedly as he dropped her off in front of the hospital. She practically ran into the main building heading straight for the elevators. She had spoken to Cragen as soon as her plane had landed from DC, to check any pending cases that required her immediate attention. However, what she heard instead was something that chilled her to the bone. Olivia Benson was in ICU with three grave bullet wounds.
The elevator seemed to take forever and when the doors finally opened, she headed immediately to the nurse's station to ask about the Detective's condition. It had only been a year and a half ago that she had met the Detective and even though at first their relationship had been tense, soon they had become friends going out to dinner on or some social function occasionally. You certainly couldn't say they were close friends exactly, but they liked each other enough to be considered more than just co-workers. After all the SVU, team was like a small family. She spent so much time with them that it was inevitable that some friendships would form. She and Olivia were the only women in the group and it was natural that they stick together.
"Good morning, I'm looking for Detective Benson." She asked the first nurse she saw. "They told me she was here."
"Good morning, are you family?" The nurse asked in return, the hospital staff was aware of the security issues that involved the patient, even though they weren't completely aware of the real reason behind all the secrecy that surrounded the Detective.
"I'm the Assistant District Attorney, Detective Benson's co-worker." Casey showed her badge." I've been out of town."
"Her condition is still serious but stable, her partner can update you." She indicated over Casey's shoulder to the man seated at the end of the hallway.
Casey turned and immediately recognized Elliot. "Thank you." She said and hurried toward him.
"Elliot!" She exclaimed as she got near. "How are you? Cragen just informed me as soon as I arrived." She looked worried. Elliot looked exhausted and his serious demeanor frightened her.
"Casey." Elliot stood. "Just waiting, the Doctor's have done all they can, now it's just a question of waiting".
"What happened?" She immediately wanted to know, her lawyer's mind demanding answers, after all, if the perp was still alive she would see to it that the bastard rotted in prison.
Elliot paled slightly at the question; he was tired of having to repeat the same thing over and over again. As it was it was hard enough to forget and then having to repeat it every five minutes... "We went looking for more leads in regards to Michelle Perez's whereabouts. As you know she had been kidnapped by the perp..." Elliot was concise without leaving anything out but not giving too much detail.
"Oh God!" Casey brought her hand up to her forehead in disbelief. "Is he alive?" She asked in a harsh tone.
"No, Olivia managed to shoot him, but I killed him."
"I understand." She looked upwards, she shouldn't be happy that Elliot had killed the bastard, but she couldn't help it. After all alive the man was a perp of the worst kind; if he had remained alive, he would certainly have gotten the death penalty without a doubt. "Can I go in and see her?"
"Well..." Elliot seemed to be unsure, true Alex wasn't there with her at the moment, the security surrounding the ex ADA was basically to keep her presence and the charade of her death a secret." "Yeah, I guess it would be ok, but just for a few minutes." He conceded before looking down the hall in case Alex should appear. He would have to talk to Novak in case she happened to run into Alex. No one in the Department knew the truth about Alex, not even the District Attorney's office, Branch nor Liz Donnelly. Only the captain, Munch, Fin and of course, him were aware of the situation.
Elliot walked Casey over to the nurse and indicated that the ADA was authorized to visit Olivia for a few minutes. Once she had the sterile scrubs and mask on, Casey slipped into Olivia's room. When she saw the condition she was in the tears began to fall. She moved closer to the hospital bed and took her hand, squeezing it gently.
"Olivia, please be strong, don't let it beat you, you're a fighter and I know you can overcome this. Come on Detective, what would SVU be without you? You are SUV's Angel, don't forget it."
She squeezed her hand once more, wiping her tears away as she left.
"She looks really bad Elliot." She said as soon as she was in front of Elliot. Without thinking twice, she hugged a stunned Stabler who was not used to these displays of affection from the attorney.
"I know, I know." At that moment, he raised his eyes and saw Alex walking by looking at him questioningly. It was obvious that she had seen Casey come out of Olivia's room and was asking herself who the woman was and why she had gone in to see her lover. Her face showed a bit of annoyance, but at a glance from Elliot, she went into the room, but not without first gesturing that, she expected an explanation.
"I need to go to the office; I have a lot of work pending." Casey stepped away. "Please don't hesitate to call me if anything happens. I'll be available, I'll stop by later."
"Of course, I'll be here the rest of the morning, after all the rest of the world is still spinning." Elliot responded with sarcasm. He hated having to leave his partner, even though just knowing that the one that really mattered remained at her side, was of some comfort. Almost.
Casey agreed and left, but not before repeating to Elliot, that she should be notified if there were any changes no matter what the hour. As soon as the attorney disappeared into the elevator, Alex emerged from Olivia's room and stood close to Stabler staring at him sternly.
"Who is she?" She questioned with barely contained fury "Why did she go in to see Liv?" Her eyes flashed dangerously, it was obvious that the green monster was making its presence known.
"Your replacement" Stabler responded and by the way that Alex's eyes narrowed it was apparent he had made a mistake choosing those words.
"My what?!" Alex exclaimed heatedly almost yelling.
"No, no, that's not what I meant" He rushed to explain, "She's the new SVU ADA, Casey Novak."
"I see," she said between gritted teeth. "Why did she go in to see her? Only you and I are authorized to see her."
"Casey and Olivia are good friends Alex." Elliot explained in a conciliatory tone "it's' completely understandable that she's worried about her, don't ya think?"
"I see." She repeated and by her tone, it was clear that she wasn't convinced of what kind of friends exactly they were. It was apparent to Elliot that Alex was jealous of Novak.
"For God's sake Alex, Olivia only has eyes for you. She loves you. She always has, she always will, it was your name she said before she lost consciousness." Elliot said exasperated.
Elliot's outburst seemed to have a calming effect on Alex rather than upsetting her more.
"I'm sorry. It's just that it took me by surprise. I've been here more than 24 hours and I hadn't seen her, she wasn't even here when I arrived." She said as she rubbed her forehead.
"She was out of the city, she just arrived, and I'm assuming she came directly to the hospital as soon as she found out." He explained.
"She...she doesn't know I'm alive, right?" Alex asked pensively.
"No, only our friends know. I don't think it would be convenient for her to know. After all she's the ADA and you are supposed to be dead." He affirmed.
"If she comes back, just make sure I'm not here, otherwise there might be problems. The less people know that I'm here the better." She indicated and without another word returned to Olivia's side.
Great Elliot thought to himself,
just fucking great, not only do I have to watch out for strangers that show Liv too much interest, but also now, I have to keep an eye out for Casey so she doesn't run into Alex, who anyone could see she was jealous of. Damn! He rubbed the back of his neck
Alex stationed herself next to Liv as soon as she was at her side, took her hand, and leaned over to kiss her forehead.
"Hi beautiful, how are you? I hope to see those beautiful brown eyes of your soon Liv, I miss you so much." She whispered against her ear, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Please come back to me Liv, please."
Alex remained by her side for a good while, squeezing her hand and recounting some of the things she'd done while in Wisconsin, more to fill the depressing silence that filled the small room where Olivia was. It was so depressing just listen all the incessant beeps of the machines that constantly monitored Olivia's condition. Alex could not help but check it one (check it once? Or check on one?), trying to discern the information each gave out.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Benson, how are you today?" The doctor assigned to Liv's case asked.
"Good Afternoon Dr. Randall." Alex smiled to herself delighted that he had called her Mrs. Benson, just one of the safeguards placed to cover her identity "As well as can be expected. How is she?" She looked at him anxiously while he reviewed the chart at the foot of Olivia's bed.
"Well, according to last night's notes she spent the night without troubles, fortunately she made it past the critical 24 hours. She is still in serious condition but at least we have more hope of a good recovery. The next 48 hours will be critical; we hope that she does not develop any infections or pneumonia due to weakened state. If she manages to make it past that, we can take her out of the induced coma. However, for now we will leave her as she is. It is the best thing in order for her body to recuperate properly. If she had been awake, the pain would have been too much, that would have stressed her physically, and emotionally which she doesn't need if she is to recover fully.
Alex agreed and moved aside to let the Doctor examine Olivia. She never took her eyes off the intern continually observing his body language. If something was wrong, she wanted to know immediately.
"A bit later we'll take her down for a CT scan to check her brain activity. As you know," He explained. "The lack of oxygen she suffered twice has us a bit worried. However, her status thus far has been favorable and we should be able move her to a recovery room within the next 24 hours if things progress as well as they are now.
Alex bit her lip, hugging herself, just the very idea of Liv having secondary complications terrorized her. The Doctor smiled at her comfortingly before leaving the room once he made some notations on Olivia's chart. As soon as she was alone she moved rapidly to her side once again.
"Oh Liv, what I wouldn't give for you to be able to tell me that you're fine." She studied her face searching for any sign; she squeezed her hand gently looking for comfort from her presence. Hypnotized by the rise and fall of Olivia's chest as proof that the Detective was alive; she knew of course given Olivia's induced coma that she could not answer her but the waiting was so overwhelming. Each hour that she passed there made her feel more and more desperate. To see Liv lying on that bed, connected to machines and IV's made her hurt in an indescribable manner. She could not manage to convince herself that everything would be fine. She felt unreal, for several moments, she wanted to close her eyes and when she opened them again to be alone and isolated once again in Wisconsin if that meant that Liv would be well again and that nothing had happened to her.
At moments like these, Alex was not the cold and calculating attorney that could tear apart her opponent with mere words. At those moments, she was only a woman in love that could see the woman she loved lying in a hospital bed unconscious and unable to see that she was by her side. It was at moments like these that Alex Cabot lost her faith, one that almost two years ago had been ripped from her grasp that until now she had not managed to recover. Life, her life had been an injustice, something ironic in the life of a woman that had dedicated her life in search of it and seeing that is was carried out. A justice that had no meaning when you are the victim.
Alex could not stay too long with Olivia, hospitals rules would not allow it, so after a few minutes she left the room. As soon as Elliot saw her, he approached.
"How is she?" He asked, not because he didn't know, he had gone in to see her as soon as he arrived but he could always count on Alex to notice something that he hadn't seen.
"She has a bit more color, before she looked so pale." Alex said in a rough voice. Talking about Liv always caused a knot in her throat, it was too painful to talk about the Detective like that, too hard to reconcile the energetic and full of life woman that was Liv with the woman now in that bed. "The Doctor has told me that if she continues improving they can move her from ICU to recovery by tomorrow. I'm going to arrange to get a double room, that way I can stay with her. I'll ask my mother to make the arrangements."
Elliot agreed and looked towards the elevator as if making sure nothing strange was happening. "Let's go to the waiting room I want to talk to you."
Alex looked at him strangely but agreed and headed for the waiting room assigned to her, those assigned to family members who were in critical condition and refused to leave their side. Once they were alone, Alex sat and waited for Elliot to speak.
"Alex, it's not good for you to be holed up here at the hospital all day, I know that it's dangerous for you to go out even here around the hospital, but you can go to a safe house or a hotel nearby." He tried to reason with Cabot.
"NO." Alex refused outright. "I am not moving from here unless it's with Olivia at my side."
"Alex, I'm not telling you to leave, I'm only suggesting that you get a change of scenery." Elliot insisted.
"Elliot I know that your intentions are good." She looked at him with determination and paused in order to give her words more emphasis. "As long as Olivia's life is in danger I am not moving from her side for a single moment. The only reason that I am not there now is that they will not allow it, otherwise Elliot be assured that I would be. Besides that, I can't walk about freely through the city even with bodyguards it would be dangerous."
"I know Alex." He said in frustration. "It's just that being holed up here all day isn't good for you."
"This is where Olivia is El" was her response. "It's the only important thing now."
Elliot nodded stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. "I know."
"You know." She said changing the subject. "My mother forgot to bring me a few things, I mean it's not so much that she forgot, after all she brought me what I asked for given that I'm here locked away. Would you mind calling her and asking her to bring them to me tomorrow?"
"Of course not, tell me."
"Some books to read and if possible a laptop, it's unlikely that she still has mine which would be the best."
Elliot nodded and wrote it down in his notepad "anything else?"
"I'm not sure, I'm sure she'll bring me something to eat. But now that you mention it, could it be possible for you to bring me a cappuccino from Luigi's next time you come?"
"Of course, I spoke with Cragen awhile ago." He commented. "Given that Olivia has no close relatives or a spouse," they smiled to each other "he authorized one of us to be at her side in case of any eventualities while she is in ICU. However, once she is moved to a room he won't be able to justify our presence any longer. But if you are here it won't be a problem, the problem will be in the danger it will pose to your life."
'Elliot" She looked up, smiling ironically. "I doubt that Velez's informants are keeping up with the SVU detectives, however, I do think that while the hospital security is kept abreast of the situation and there are strangers inquiring about Olivia's health that should be enough to notify you and therefore be of no problem. You yourself have said, Liv has no family, only friends and those are your people.
"What you say makes sense, but you can never be too careful, Liv would skin me alive if something happened if I were here watching over her." He laughed nervously.
"Don't worry Elliot, everything will be fine. Why don't you go buy a coffee or something? I'm going to rest for a bit, they are going to take Liv down for a CT scan and I want to be there when they take her there."
"Ok, I'll see you in a bit." He answered and left the room.
Alex watched him leave with a tired expression. She looked up at the ceiling and let herself fall back onto the tiny bed that was in the room. She wasn't exactly sleepy, but she felt mentally exhausted, the anxiety over Liv was taking its toll on her already raw emotions. This shouldn't be happening; she shouldn't be coming back to this. Not like this.
Chapter 13 Hearsay
Elliot left the hospital and got into his car, he would go to the precinct to check on some things. He had an idea and wanted to put it into action immediately. He had a gut feeling that things for Alex were going to get worse before they got better.
As soon as he got to the precinct, Munch and Fin raised their heads when they saw him and immediately tensed.
"Has something happened?" Munch asked first thing.
"No." Elliot quickly replied. "Is Cragen in his office?" he looked around guardedly.
"Yeah" Fin responded looking at him questioningly.
"Hey, Fin, have you spoken with your friends from narcotics? Are there any rumors on Velez?"
"No man, ain't talked to them, but I'll get on it. Wat'cha thinkin'?"
"Hammond commented that the net around Velez is closing in, so I'm curious how true it is. Its priority to know what is happening with him, we need to know how secure our package is."
"Hmm," he shook his head, I'll go see a fella I know, he'll know betta' than any what's goin' on in the underground. He'll gimme something."
"Do it. By the way, Casey stopped in to see Liv, she almost bumped into her."
"Oh a conspiracy." Munch jumped in. "Do you want us to keep her away from the hospital?"
"Not exactly, but it would be wise to keep tabs on her, and in case she goes to visit Liv to make sure she doesn't see her, I think we need to provide her with a disposable cell phone, I'll buy it on my way back to the hospital" He crossed his arms. "You already know that what they have is still under wraps."
Fin and Munch exchanged glances and nodded. It was true, the "world" in general didn't know but they were detectives, and they had been together long enough to know and had noticed something. It was impossible not to see how happy Liv was before Cabot's "death", and how miserable she had been when they believed that she was dead. It was very hard to see the light in Liv's eyes disappear. The worst part was that since no one knew, no one could do anything about it. Liv shut herself away and not only that but also she and Elliot had a disagreement that had resulted in her leaving the unit for several months. Fortunately, they had managed to overcome their differences, but for a time, they hadn't known what had happened to Liv or her whereabouts.
Elliot stayed for a few more minutes at the precinct to check some pending cases before returning to the hospital, he bought the disposable cell and stopped by Luigi's for Cabot's coffee.
That same night on his way home, he received a call from Fin.
"What did you find out?" he asked as soon as he answered.
"It seems Hammond was right, Velez is losin' turf and power'. When he had to kill Zapata, who had been his number one man in NY; and puttin' a price on Cabot's head he had been obliged to disappear. The Italian Mafia used this to recoup territory. It's goin' 'round that even his Lieutenants are turnin' their backs on him."
"Fuck, it's more complicated than I thought." Elliot exclaimed.
"What'cha mean?" Fin was disconcerted by Stabler's reaction.
"If Velez is as desperate as he seems to be, he might do something crazy and if he finds out she's alive he might try something. He's gonna fall and he's going to make sure he's not the only one going down."
"Oh shit. I think I'll ask my friend to keep his eyes and ears open. We need to be up on what's goin' down."
"I'm going to have to talk to Hammond; I hope the idiot doesn't hang me out to dry. He's not very happy with me as it is. In fact, I'm probably the most undesirable person he knows right about now.
"Don't worry about it man, we know how to care for our own. Hammond shoulda figured that out the way his lost his own partner."
"Yes, well, speak to your friend again, Liv is still in critical condition, and there won't be a power on this earth that will make her leave her side if she should need to hide again. She's not going anywhere without Liv at her side.
"Ok, man, see ya!"
"See you later."
Elliot hung up and concentrated on driving, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, he wasn't sure why but he felt that something was going to happen soon. His instincts never failed him, he knew something would happen, a second before hearing the shots in the room next door when Liv fell. He had simply just been too late, but this time he was not going to fail Olivia. Alexandra was the only thing allowing her to hang on. Losing her would be like losing Liv. She wouldn't be able to stand losing her, not again, not for real.
When he arrived at his house after eleven, he was surprised to see the kitchen light on. Normally Kathy was asleep at this hour, especially since she had to work the next day. He went in and headed for the kitchen, his wife was apparently preparing him a sandwich.
"Hey." He said softly moving closer and kissing her forehead.
Kathy raised her glance and smiled. "Hey handsome, how's Olivia doing?"
"She is stable for the moment. They did a CT scan on her today to check for brain damage due to lack of oxygen. The Doctor is only waiting for the next 24 hours to move her from ICU and to a recovery room and if there is no infection within the next 48 hours, they can take her out of the induced coma."
"It's just a precaution, from what you've told me her organs didn't suffer any damage aside from the collapsed lung, however, she did lose a lot of blood and with the surgery to repair the bullet damage she'll be in a lot of pain. It's better that she remain sedated for the time being."
"I know, but Alex doesn't feel the same." He shrugged his shoulders, taking out a beer from the fridge.
"And how is she doing?" Elliot had told her the truth about Alex and Olivia when his partner had confided in him, just as he had told her about the attorney not being really dead like everyone believed. He had done it because Olivia was devastated and needed friends more than ever, even though Olivia hadn't allowed much comforting. She shut herself off with her pain in such a way that her relationship with Elliot had almost disintegrated.
"Devastated, she is really having a rough time, the fact that her own life is still in danger is just another weight on her shoulders. She can't leave the hospital, not that she wants to, but still it's a lot of pressure."
Kathy nodded and passed him the sandwich; Elliot smiled and sat down to eat. "By the way, what are you doing up? Not that it bothers me, on the contrary."
Kathy leaned against him and gave him a hug, "I know how difficult this is for you honey, not only do you nearly lose Olivia, but now you're also worried about the woman she loves. I know what it is to love someone in the service. It's not easy being a Cop's wife."
Elliot looked at her gratefully and continued eating in silence. He wasn't a bad husband or father, he knew that, but he wasn't there enough either. His work was too demanding and on many occasions too horrible to share with his wife. The only thing he was thankful for each night when he managed to make it home was that they were safe and sound. After seeing the things he saw daily and the horrors that he had to witness he couldn't do anything but be grateful to God that they would never see those things. However, even though he didn't share with Kathy didn't mean that she wasn't aware in one way or another; she slept with him, she consoled him in silence when the horrors of what he had witnessed followed him into his nightmares. No, it wasn't easy being his wife and it never would be.
When they finally went to bed Elliot hugged Kathy against him the rest of the night, feeling bad because he was able to lie in her arms, when his best friend was lying in a hospital bed alone even though Alex was nearby, it wasn't the same thing. Alex needed Olivia's warmth, as much as his friend needed hers. He knew better than anyone else what the silent presence of a loved one by your side could mend a wounded soul. He didn't know how to share his demons, he didn't want to darken what little family life he had with horror stories, and he hoped that Kathy understood that. It wasn't kind words that he needed to hear, that it wasn't discussions or philosophies about humanities evils or the absence of God in this life that he needed. The only thing he needed was her warmth and presence. Tomorrows were too uncertain, his work was too dangerous, and more often than not, he had to leave his home each morning or in the middle of the night, knowing that he was leaving behind his family and that he might not ever return. He closed his eyes knowing that no matter how much he fought for justice at the end of the day he asked himself more often than not how he had managed to do it for over a decade and if it was worth it at all.
The morning arrived much too quickly, he felt as if he had just closed his eyes when it was time to get up again. He couldn't help but feel all the tension from the last few days in this body, it hurt as if he had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson and lost them all twice. He scrubbed his face to try to wake up and got into the shower, twenty minutes later he was on his way to the precinct. Today was Munch's turn to watch over Olivia and he had to get himself up to date on his pending cases.
It was around 10 a.m. when they received a call about a homicide at a brokerage firm with a possible rape. What began as a routine call as far as SVU goes, soon turned into a chain of murders and money laundering that pointed to something much sinister than they could even imagine.
Elena Brevette's body was found by a colleague in the supply closet with her throat slashed, tortured, and raped. Everything indicated, given the way the body was found, that the perp was a sexual sadist. The rigor mortis in Helena Brevette's body revealed that she was murdered and tortured on Friday night, the forensic evidence was nearly non-existent, the perp took every precaution not to leave any evidence behind cleaning any possible trace of DNA with bleach.
However, when Fin and Elliot began to make routine questions they found out that the husband was conveniently out of the city, supposedly to return on Sunday night. When they went to the victim's house to interrogate her husband what they found instead was Jason Brevette lifeless body, tied to a chair in the living room with a violent hit to the back of his head, he was tortured and killed in the same way as his wife. O'Halloran found a possible motive in the hidden safe for the death of the Brevette couple. The safe deposit box had been emptied, and thanks to a new instrument that could pull odors from the ink used to print currency, they could estimate the dollar amount that had been in the safe to be more or less $1.5 million dollars. Their murders were evidently something more, something more sinister than what they thought at first. The killer entered the house of the Brevette's with the keys he stole from Elena after killing her and he had waited inside the house for the husband to return from Miami, he hadn't been dead more than 12 hours.
They returned to the 16, with more questions than answers. Given the seriousness of the case, Cragen called Munch to assist with the investigation, placing an officer in civilian clothes in the ICU waiting area to be alert to any strangers asking for Olivia's condition. Like Elliot, he also had the feeling that things were becoming more complicated than they appeared at first sight.
The first thing Munch discovered was that Investments Brevette was actually a smoke screen to launder money, more likely to be linked with drug trafficking, their main client was
Vega Enterprises . Fin immediately called his friend in narcotics; Miguel asked them to meet him some time later.
Miguel explained to them what Vega Enterprises was, and how the Colombian drug dealers laundered their dirty money and had it transferred legally back to Colombia without rising suspicion. After reviewing the list that Munch managed to get of Brevette's investors, he recognized a name, Elvira Castillo and they immediately went to interview her at the bodega she owned. It was late when they arrived there, but not so late to not find her. After a bit of pressure and the promise to transfer her son to Sing, Sing, Elvira gave them a name.
Sergio Montoya.
Montoya was the middleman, he was the one that got the latinos to invest small amounts of money from time to time, paid out by check to the Brevette's investment firm in exchange for $5,000 in cash. With the name and address of Montoya, they went to his house to ask him some questions. Two bodies and a child miraculously alive was what they found in Montoya's apartment. Apparently, they had been tortured and murdered with a shot in the back of their heads by the same killer that murdered the Brevette's. Unfortunately, they arrived too late, but the bodies were still warm, however, they had a potential witness. Perhaps after all, the boy who the hired gun had left for dead might be able to give them the lead they needed.
When Antonio recovered consciousness and was able to talk, Miguel accompanied by Fin managed to obtain a name and some details about what had happened in the apartment that night. That Antonio had pretended to be asleep which had saved his life. The child identified his attacker as
El Fantasma, The Ghost. The nickname didn't ring any bells to Miguel, but was the only lead they had for now. Stabler called Fin and they returned to the precinct going directly to the Forensics lab to join Elliot, O'Halloran already had the ballistic results.
O'Halloran showed Elliot the bullet comparisons, demonstrating that both bullets found in the Montoya couple belonged to the same weapon, and then he told Elliot that there was something even more interesting.
"And this is a third bullet".
"Who?" Elliot Asked.
"An unsolved murder" answered O'Halloran hitting the enter key and in a matter of seconds a photo appeared.
Elliot knew that his gut instinct had been correct when Alexandra Cabot's picture, victim of the same weapon that had killed the Montoya's, appeared on O'Halloran's screen.
"Oh fuck!" He said through gritted teeth. "Alexandra Cabot."
"What's up man?" Fin asked as he walked in with Miguel.
"We've opened up a can of worms. The Montoya's and Brevette's murderer is the same 'killer'..." He exchanged a look with Fin "as Alexandra Cabot's".
"You shitting me man?" Fin's eyes grew wide.
"No, apparently he's connected to Velez, the money that was being laundered was Velez's and he probably paid Liam Connors to kill them all, possibly they were stealing money from him. Everything points to Liam Connors being his hired gun."
"We have to find the SOB, he's our link."
"Come on, we need to talk to Cragen and start looking for more leads, if we let too much more time go by he'll disappear again."
Fin and Elliot practically ran out of Forensics', the ball was rolling and they didn't know how much time they would have before it caused more damage along its path. Liam Connors was on the loose, he had already been hired to kill Alex. They had to find him before it was too late. It was obvious that Velez was launching a desperate offensive in order not to lose any more territory, money or his freedom.
Continued...