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BX9 had well laid plans to terrorize everyone in Olivia Bensons life. Unfortunately for SVU and Liv, ADA Carisi he was next on the list of targets.
Sonny had noticed some punk kids across the street from the Courthouse, but didn’t pay them any mind. BX9 had been pushed from his mind as he was more occupied with his wife’s impending delivery of their little boy. Amanda had insisted he also attend her baby shower as prior ones had included Beth Anne and ended in disaster. For the occasion Sonny had decided to prepare a speech even though he was unsure that it would be appropriate to dote on his beautiful, and amazing wife during the event with a toast of non alcoholic beverages. He quickly walked thru the door with his phone in hand and Id badge to get thru security and heard a scream come from behind him of a woman. He spun on his heel to see the commotion of people running and trying to exit or enter and chaos ensuing.
One of the boys he had entered and grabbed a woman and was holding her by her throat in front of him with a switch in his hand and showing off the bomb strapped to his chest with his other hand. The boy shouted in Spanish,” Estoy aquí con un mensaje de Oscar Papa. Fiscal Carisi- Si vienes conmigo tu familia no tiene que morir. Si te niegas, tu familia y todos aquí serán asesinados. Sabemos dónde están sus hijos y su esposa.” ( I am here with a message from Oscar Papa. District Attorney Carisi- If you come with me your family does not have to die. If you refuse your family and everyone here will be killed. We know where your kids are, and your wife.)
One of the security guards immediately stepped in front of Sonny and pulled his gun aiming it at the boys head. Sonny shot a text to Liv- ‘BX9 here, holding woman hostage. Bomb vest wants me to go or will kill kids and Amanda’
Liv saw the message and immediately ordered a protective detail for Amanda and the girls sending Fin to get them all and bring them to SVU. She called Elliot to tell him what was happening and asking for him to meet her at the courthouse. Then called ERT to set up a perimeter and get as many people safe as they could.
Sonny’s next text went to Amanda ‘ I love you Amanda Carisi and I always will.’
Amanda received the message as she was beginning her lecture and quickly hearted his message from her watch and then sent back ‘Love you too even though your son is trying to push my kidneys out.’
Sonny moved thru the crowd trying not to be noticed and figure out an exit strategy. Right now he wished he had a gun, he was still qualified, and had a gun but didn’t wear it as an ADA. Right now he needed a gun and didn’t have one, no one except the guards or officers would have one in here so the likelihood of him obtaining one was slim to none.
Liv raced outside the courthouse and ran into Lorraine Maxwell who was wondering what the commotion was outside the courthouse. Liv gave her the quickest of rundowns before excusing herself to meet with the Lieutenant from ERT.
Elliott arrived a few seconds after Liv spoke to ERT and went to her,” Tell me what you know.”
Liv groaned,” It doesn’t look good. ERT is going to start evacuating the upper floors thru the back. We know 1 boy with a bomb vest, and trigger. Holding a woman hostage and demanding Carisi. Also that Oscar Papa sent him. “
Elliott nodded,” Okay so we need to get Rollins, the kids into custody now before BX9 grabs her. I can send Jet and Reyes to go pick them up.” Liv shook her head quickly,” Finn is on it. He already has the girls en route to SVU with Velasco and is on his way to Fordham to get Amanda.”
Elliott nodded,” You trust the kid to get them there? “ Liv nodded,” Yeah we’re good. He’s solid or I wouldn’t have let him near this. Now we gotta get Carisi out of there. Amanda can’t handle the stress of losing him and neither can I.”
Elliott pulled her into a hug and nodded,” We will get him out. I’m going to go suit up and go in with ERT… I’ll make sure he comes out alive.”
Liv nodded into his embrace,” Thank you El..”
Inside the courthouse the situation was escalating, the upper floors were being evacuated silently while the ground floor was in pure chaos.
Juan (the BX9 boy) was screaming for Carisi every few seconds to come out.
Sonny had made his way into the center of the rotunda knowing he needed to make it to the stairs to have the best chance. He also felt guilty knowing this kid was going to get pissed not finding him. As Sonny continued to move he felt eyes on him from colleagues and other attorneys. He silently prayed no one would scream there he was or point him out.
At Fordham Finn made his way into Amanda’s lecture as she was providing the writing prompt for her students essay and he slinked into a back seat catching her eye.
Amanda smiled and continued giving the homework assignment then released the class and began preparing for her next. Finn walked down the stairs to her and tried to smile but his body language gave it away. “ What’s wrong with Sonny?” Finn nodded,” You could always read people Rollins.. uh Professor. Amanda…”
Amanda’s arms crossed as he didn’t immediately deny anything being wrong,” Finn— My husband… What’s wrong?” Finn nodded,” Nothing much- there’s a BX9 threat. So I’m gonna escort you down to the 16 for a little bit and then Carisi will join you when he’s done.”
Amanda’s mind flashed to the text, he would text her periodically but not the way he did. Her eyes swelled with tears and her hand went to her stomach,” Finn I need you to be honest with me. How bad is it? The text he sent me wasn’t like him… to much finality to it. “ Finn tried to look anywhere but her face but settled on it,” BX9 threatened you and the girls if Carisi didn’t go with the kid. The kid has a bomb strapped to his chest- in the courthouse. Liv is there and ERT. It’s under control.”
Amanda grabbed her keys, phone and jacket,” Let’s go to the courthouse Finn. I need to be there. I can help- you know I can.”
Finn shook his head,” I got strict orders to take you right to the cribs.. The girls are there with Velasco.” “ I’m going to the courthouse Finn, the girls are safe. I need to be there for Sonny.”
Finn grumbled and shot Liv a text,” Headed your way- Amanda ain’t going no where but there… I’m not gonna cuff a pregnant woman.”
Liv sighed and responded,” I’ll see you when you get here- just try to keep her calm.”
Inside Elliott helped clear the entire upstairs and evacuate everyone. ERT gathered in a hallway discussing their best approach and trying to get a head shot of the boy with the bomb. After photographing it from an air duct they determined it was too risky as he had a deadman’s switch. Elliott came out and went to Liv as Finn and Amanda walked up and he motioned to Amanda,” There’s a deadman switch so we can’t take the shot. The entire upper floor is evacuated, the ground floor has around 150-160 people trapped. Carisi has blended in with the crowd so I couldn’t spot him.”
Amanda held her stomach,” So you’re gonna negotiate with the kid? I want to do this- I can get him to let everyone go.”
Liv shook her head,” Amanda that’s not smart… Your emotions, Carisi, I just…” Elliott cut her off,” I think that’s a great idea- let’s see what happens.” Liv looked at him and started to speak again and nodded knowing Amanda was a skilled negotiator and could use her profiling skills to hone in on weaknesses.
Amanda walked with them to get a bullhorn and a phone to communicate. An officer fully dressed delivered the phone to the front door for Juan to use.
Amanda took the bullhorn and announced that the phone was outside and she just wanted to talk.
Inside Juan moved with the woman to see the phone then ordered a woman sitting along the wall to go retrieve the phone and told her if she didn’t return he’d blow the building up. The woman did as she was told and returned the phone to him before being thrown back to the floor.
Juan keyed the phone on speaker and waited to hear the voice on the other end.
Amanda took a steady breath on mute before clicking her phone on,” I understand you’re looking for a specific person in the courthouse correct?”
Juan nodded while looking around before speaking ,” Yeah- A Coward… his name is Carisi. Dominick Carisi. Do you know him?”
Amanda kept her composure,” Yes all of NYPD does. I can help you find him if you can do something for me?”
Juan looked at the phone kind of shocked,” What’s that Lady?”
Amanda steadied herself,” I need you to let some hostages go in good faith. Let them walk out. The women and children. You do that I’ll help you find him.”
Juan shook his head,” How about I just blow this place up and then I’m assured he gets justice?”
Amanda nodded,” But then you die too. Is that what you want? Don’t you have anyone at home who would miss you?”
Juan tried to not show any emotion,” My Ma.. She’s sick but… I have to complete my mission or it won’t matter anyways.”
Amanda muted the phone and told the team to find this kids mom.
Sonny listened intently at Amanda in her element. He knew she’d be able to resolve this because that’s just what she did, why she could elicit confessions from some of the most hardened criminals. At the same time he knew how she must be feeling with his life in jeopardy inside, and how much she also was aching to be doing this job again full time.
Amanda waited a beat before continuing,” Listen, I got kids- I know if they were in trouble I’d want someone to help them. That’s what us moms do. We worry more about our kids than ourselves and we’d throw ourselves in front of a bomb to protect them. Can you just help me protect the kids inside the building like your mom would want you protected? Let them come out, at the very least.”
Juan’s eyes darted around the room and he shouted for all the kids to leave before he changed his mind. He knew this wasn’t the plan but didn’t see any of the other gang members there so figured they’d not stayed inside.
Amanda alerted ERT kids were coming out to get them evacuated quickly.
Amanda watched as the kids 12 - 13 of them running down the courthouse stairs. Then saw a woman with an infant coming as well.
“Can I ask what to call you? I just want to say an appropriate thank you for letting those kid come out.”
He wiped his face,” Juan..” Out of the corner of his eye he saw another gang member.
Amanda nodded,” Well thank you Juan. What you just did was very brave. So now we’re working on locating Mr. Carisi inside the building. Can I get you anything in the meantime? Some pizzas or something?”
Juan shook his head,” No… No I shouldn’t have sent those kids out. I need District Attorney Carisi now or this is going to get messy.”
Amanda heard the alarm in his voice,” Juan is there someone else inside the building? Someone you’re afraid of?”
Juan barely got a “Si “ out before the explosion was heard and felt in the command post Amanda was in.
Amanda dropped the headset and stood up as fast as she could,” Oh God… NOOOOO.” She immediately dialed Carisi’s phone and it ran thru to voicemail. Then redialed and her call could not go thru.
Elliott ran toward the building and up the stairs gun drawn and inside the gaping opening in the building to look for signs of Carisi or anyone alive.
The blast was instant. There had been 3 other bombers in the building and little did Juan know his wasn’t even armed or real they hadn’t trusted him to get the job done.
This bomber had been in the back right hand corner of the rotunda and thought he’d seen the target so just detonated. Little did he know Sonny was closer to center of the rotunda but not out of harms way. The blast threw him against a pillar on the left near the grand staircase leading up to the courtrooms. His head was ringing, ears ringing, vision blurry.
The amount of casualties would be in the tens to twenties if not more. Juan had been thrown close to where Carisi landed and the kid was in rough shape. A piece of rebar pierced his abdomen and his breathing was erratic. He still had the phone clutched into his hand and brought it up to his mouth,” Are you there?”
Amanda heard the voice on the line and grabbed the headset again,” Juan? Juan? What happened?”
Juan gurgled,” I didn’t do it. The others… Tell my Ma I’m sorry.”
Amanda radioed Stabler to look for the kid and kept the line open so he could hear what was being said. “Juan. Where in the building are you? Can you move? I’ve got someone coming to help you.”
Juan screamed in pain when he tried to move,” No… I can’t move. There’s metal sticking thru my stomach. I can see the stairs.. the big ones up front.”
Carisi centered himself and started evaluating his surroundings and got his bearings back. He could’ve sworn he heard Amanda’s voice like a beacon so he followed it as he crawled. His ankle hurting so he couldn’t put weight on it. Crawling felt like his only option.
Amanda kept trying to talk to Juan, calm him down. “ You’re going to be okay. I promise. I know these things as a mom. Just describe where you are and keep talking to me.”
Sonny crawled to where the kid was and applied pressure to his bleeding wound,” ‘Manda….”
Amanda’s heart dropped into her stomach,” Sonny… My God… Are you hurt? Stabler is on his way. Tell me where you are.”
Juan looked at him and even though his mission had been to kill him this man was keeping him alive and he hadn’t wanted to be involved in the first place.
Sonny noticed the bomb was still intact,” ‘Manda you need to evacuate this bomb didn’t explode… I don’t know how many others there are. I need you to…” His voice dropped as he heard a gun cock at the back of his head.
Another BX9 member had made their way to Juan to kill him for not carrying out his part of the plan, but instead he had found the real target and cocked his gun,” Tell your puta adios.”
Elliott made it toward the stairs seeing Carisi, the kid and another man with a gun to Carisi’s head. He didn’t know if the guy was wired, or not but he decided his best bet was to approach then disarm him instead of shooting him. He moved like a panther in the jungle over obstacles and leaped onto the man knocking him to the floor and checking for a bomb vest.
Stablers assault gave Sonny the opportunity to grab his weapon and checked the immediate area with one hand on Juan’s wound.” ‘Manda we need a medic in a bomb suit. This kid is bleeding out. “
Everything happened so fast Amanda wasn’t sure she could keep up with the situation as everything began swirling around her and she got flushed.
Liv put a hand on her shoulder,” Breathe… El has him. He’s coming out alive Amanda.”
Amanda sucked in air,” Yeah- yeah there’s a medic suiting up now Carisi… Listen you promised me a juicy steak tonight and I need you to keep good on that promise.”
Sonny nodded,” Yeah.. I got ya Rollins… I swear.”
First responders began flooding the area evacuating those who could be moved and assessing the structure. Sonny and Stabler both had moved away from the kid to help others as the medic was working on him. They looked at each other just as the building shuddered and the rotunda collapsed into rubble.
Amanda looked on in anguish at the collapse the wind shaking the command post and coating everything in thick grey spot and ash. Liv immediately grabbed and hugged her hoping it would keep her together. Sobs escaping her so gut wrenching that Liv herself began to cry knowing Elliott was also lost.
The medics had freed and packed Juan and were about to carry him out when the center rotunda collapsed the medic drug him out on a back board and the bomb squad swarmed him to remove the vest finding it to be a decoy only.
Inside Elliott had seen and felt the collapse and shoved Carisi at the right moment and they were trapped beside the column that had fallen. It caught most of the debris and gave them a safe haven. Carisi’s ankle was definitely broken now as the bone was protruding the skin. Elliott was bruised, battered and had a head wound. He fumbled trying to find his radio and couldn’t get it to connect. He clicked it for SOS and then tried Morse code.
Sonny had been knocked unconscious and Elliott clambered to him. “Carisi.. Wake up we gotta figure out how to get outta here.”
Sonny’s eyes fluttered,” Stabler?”
Elliott nodded,” Yeah… Now come on. I gotta set your ankle. It’s gonna hurt like a bitch.” He hands him his jacket balled up to bite on as he made quick work doing a field set then securing it with two pieces of hardwood from nearby and then his belt.
Sonny screamed into the jacket and then panted in pain from it being set. “ I need to get to Amanda.” He dug his phone from his pocket and the screen was shattered but he tried to use voice recognition to call her and it immediately beeped for all lines busy.
Outside Amanda held her stomach and paced the command center before going outside and standing there staring at the collapsed front of the courthouse she walked into so many times. Her eyes watered uncontrollably as she stroked her stomach praying out loud and internally. Finn looked at Liv,” Carisi’s gotta be good he was with Elliott. You know Stabler wouldn’t let a collapse keep him down.” Finn always tried to make light of a situation and tried to in this moment as well.
Liv wiped her eyes watching Amanda,” Yeah- I’m sure Elliott saved him. He knew he had a baby on the way. And he swore to Amanda he’d get him out.”
Inside Elliott stabilized him to stand and began looking for a way to get thru the rubble blocking them without collapsing the column down onto them. “Alright Carisi I’m going to tunnel our way out of here so I’m going to need you ready to move when I say the word.” Sonny nodded,” Yeah I’m ready.”
Elliott assessed and reassessed before beginning to tunnel thru some of the rubble. Carefully making sure the integrity of the surrounding area as he moved each piece. Fire fighters could be heard asking survivors to call out as Elliott tunneled. He shouted over here several times as his hand finally broke thru to the surface and was visible. The firefighters quickly came over and began removing the pieces to extricate them.
Soon the light could be seen and Elliott was the first out of space followed by the fire fighters pulling Sonny out of the rubbled area.
Outside Amanda had moved to the ground and buried her head in her knees with tears just pouring as contraction after contraction hit her as she sobbed. Whether it had been Braxton hicks or labor she wouldn’t acknowledge it yet, her future, her home, her life had just changed in a flash, an explosion and collapse. Her Sonny was helping the kid who contributed to this. He was an ADA not a cop, he never should’ve been in this danger. Amanda lifted her head only when she heard Finn yell Stabler. She was on her feet and moving toward him thru the pain. Stabler moved over to her and gave her a quick hug,” He’s good, broken ankle but he’s good. Coming out right now. You look like you’re in labor….”
Sonny saw Amanda as soon as they had him out and he made the firefighters stop so he could stand and hobble over to her,” ‘Manda… ‘Manda..” His arms wrapped around her immediately and her body shuddered against him. Every emotion she had poured out of her body as she held him still crying and shaking. Amanda looked up at him for a brief glimpse to realize her entire world wasn’t gone then leaned her head against him,” I’m in labor. I thought I lost you and just couldn’t handle it. I’m sorry I put the baby in distress.”
Sonny rubbed her back and kissed her forehead,” It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you to the hospital and get you looked at and taken care of. You and our little one is going to be okay.” Amanda nodded against him and gripped his jacket as a contraction ripped thru her. “ Okay… Okay.. “
Sonny motioned to the fire fighters to take her and he’d hop to the ambulance. They lifted her onto the board and carried her to the ambulance and loaded her in as Stabler came to quickly help Carisi make it without putting any pressure on his ankle. He assisted him in then pulled out one of his gun and handed it to Carisi.” I’m sure you still know how to use this. Since the threat isn’t over yet, keep your wife safe. We will be to the hospital soon, and I’ll go get your girls and bring them up.” Sonny nodded his thanks and understanding before the ambulance quickly left the scene and took them to the hospital where Amanda’s doctor was already waiting.