Chapter Text
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offences are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Rafael Barba felt a headache brewing, and he sighed audibly. Ignoring the look Carisi gave him, he stepped forward to the whiteboard. He had hoped for some quiet. Or at least less cases. Just for a while, just as a little break. Not to be welcomed into the station with allegedly abusive parents, underaged victims, and only a speck of evidence. That was still an exaggeration, it was essentially nothing. Staring at the whiteboard in front of him, the Assistant District Attorney had hoped very, very wrong.
"They got their kid representation," Carisi muttered.
Rafael threw a confused look his way. "Why?"
Olivia shrugged. "It's not like they're talking, or explaining anything at the moment. We're pretty blind on this."
He pinched his nose and grumbled into his beard. "I've noticed. Fine. I want to talk to them. Parents and kid," he said, aware of his strained tone. Carisi, used to the mood by now, only nodded.
"Do we know who is representing the kid?" he added, raising his brows.
"Jeff O'Neill's firm, but I'm still waiting on the paperwork," Olivia answered instead, "I can't recall them crossing our path before."
Rafael couldn't say he had either, so he shook his head.
"Then let's see who we're dealing with."
§§§
Cassandra Aldridge should've asked her partner why she had gotten handed over this case, she really should've. Instead, she was sitting in between two parents, talking non-stop, while she tried to comprehend the case.
"Alright, Mrs. Cooper, that's-…," she tried, and was abruptly interrupted.
"And then that Detective, she gave me such a look, and asked why I was let go from my last job, I mean, that's none of her business, really."
Her husband nodded and Cassandra made a small note in her file. "You're so right honey," he patted her hand, now turning to look at Cassandra, "That's why we hired you."
She blinked a few times. Leaning back, she gave both parents a long look. "I'm a lawyer for children and people getting divorced, Mr Cooper, you're aware of that? If you want a defence for yourself, I'm not the right lawyer."
The husband nodded enthusiastically. "We have a defence lawyer. We need you for Dylan."
Said teenager gave her a look out of his big brown eyes, his lips tightly pressed onto each other. That's a little weird, she thought to herself. Cassandra wondered if she could recount the last time an innocent parent lawyered up for their child. She couldn't.
"Alright. But so far, I don't see any charges, that's correct? And there is nothing tangible so far, no accusation?" she asked slowly, suppressing the urge to scratch her head in confusion. Their enthusiasm was odd. No warrant, no scheduled hearing, no nothing. Usually, Cassandra worked with parents who hated each other's gut, but that was beside the point right now.
"Yes, not that we did anything, but we were worried that Dylan might be questioned, and we didn't want him to be without representation," Mrs Cooper explained, smiling at her, "And you've been a recommendation by our friends."
For a second, Cassandra wondered if she would ever get used to being recommended for divorce.
"Okay then," she said distinctly, "Then I would like to speak to Dylan. Alone, since he is my client now."
As expected, the mom's lips twitched. Cassandra didn't need another reminder of how she should've not taken this case. "Fine," she ground out between bared teeth, "I will see you in a bit, Sweetie."
The parents, albeit against their will, went outside the room. Dylan, a lanky kid with a bunch of brown curls, gave her an expecting look.
"I would like to get to know you first, Mr. Cooper," Cassandra smiled warmly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Is that alright with you?"
He gave her a shrug, leaning back to scrutinize her. Gone was the tense teenager, replaced by an overly cocky version of the young man.
"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"
Dylan cracked his knuckles in an I'm cooler than you gesture. "What do you want to know, Mrs. Alderidge? School, hobbies, girlfriends?" he gave her a smirk. Oh, Jesus. Cassandra, having dealt with her fair share of moody and hormonal teenagers, leaned back and gave him a stern look.
"Do you want me to know about all of that?"
His confidence didn't butch and he shrugged. "Well, you're the one who asked," Dylan gave back. Cassandra, chuckling by now, pushed over a bowl of candies. With no pending lawsuit against his parents yet, she had time to play his game with him.
"You pay attention then," she said, "Tell me what I should know. As your lawyer."
Taking a piece with a red wrapper, the teenager hummed.
"You know my name, you know my parents. You see what they're like," he mused, putting the candy in his mouth, "Other than that, I'm a good student. Chess club, football, drama, I do it all. My parents like to keep my portfolio versatile. Or well, me busy."
Cassandra let out a low hum. "Why do you need to be busy?"
He shrugged. "To stay out of trouble, probably."
A short silence settled between them, and she made a note in her file. Usually, kids started to talk on their own, bridging silence with something, a question, a statement, a…
"My parents didn't say anything?" Dylan asked, wariness colouring his voice. There it is. Cassandra raised her brows, slowly putting the pen down. There was something like hope in his eyes, something she couldn't quite place. Or understand.
"About you staying out of trouble? No, they didn't. Should they have?" she asked, her voice carefully neutral. Dylan, a little smirk making its way back onto his lips, shook his head.
"Oh no, I was just curious. There is not much more to me, all school and hobbies. Oh, and no girlfriend right now."
Cassandra let out a little snort, refraining from rolling her eyes. "Too much trouble?" she commented dryly.
Dylan laughed. "Yeah, you get it. Are you married?"
She looked at him and cocked her head. His eyes flickered to her bare fingers.
"Mr. Cooper, I don't think it's important for you if your lawyer is married or not," Cassandra quipped, "Don't you think?"
For a second, his face darkened. "Kids?" he pressed out, the juvenile cockiness leaving his face. She squinted her eyes at the teenager. He was not making any sense.
"No. Why?"
Dylan looked away, his fingers fidgeting on the table. "Just because," he said, "Wanted to know if you know what it's like."
A short silence settled between them, while he seemed to wrestle with something.
"How do you get along with your parents?" she asked calmly, watching his reaction. As if something switched in him, his smirk was back on his face. Dylan shrugged.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," he gave back, "Just your regular American family."
Cassandra cocked her head at him. "So the relationship with your parents is good? No problems?"
He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "No ma'am. All good."
Cassandra took a deep breath. "What would happen if you'd get in trouble?"
The whole conversation was fruitless, she realized. There was nothing to defend here, no case for her.
"My mom's a teacher, we would probably talk about it," he chuckled, "About our feelings, expectations, that sort of stuff."
She only hummed and put down her pen. "What about why your parents hired you a lawyer? Do you think you'll need me?"
Dylan lifted his shoulders in disinterest. "Honestly? No idea. I just want to go back to school," he said, seemingly bored. Cassandra decided to fulfil his wishes.
"Alright, I have everything for now," she said, "If you think of something, give me a call."
With a nod of his head, the teenager left her office. When she saw the enthusiastic wave of her parents, she started to regret ever even taking the meeting.
§§§
Olivia wanted to punch something. Or rip out her hair, it was hard to tell.
"So you're telling me we're waiting for two lawyers now?" she asked, her tone unmistakably annoyed. Amanda only shrugged, looking at the teenager behind the glass.
"After seeing the parents, I would rather have a lawyer in there than his parents."
A scoff sounded out behind them. "Depends on the lawyer. Calhoun for the parents?"
The blonde raised her eyebrows. "Yes. I don't know the other one, she hasn't been in our holy halls before."
Rafael gave her an exhausted look. The case was annoying all of them, especially since none of them knew what was going on, making it hard to question anybody. "I'm getting a coffee until the lawyers get here. Do you want one?"
Olivia rolled her eyes at him. "You had what, only five today?"
He smirked back at her, brushing off the comment. "I take it as a no. Call me when someone shows up," Rafael only said, walking away from them.
"Shouldn't the kid be more…nervous? He looks awfully relaxed." Amanda gave her a look, having ignored the ADA's quest for coffee.
"Hmm, you might be right," Olivia leaned in and gave him a long look, "We don't have much on his parents except for that one girl who won't take the stand and vanished again, and we don't have any tangible evidence. This case is rocky to begin with."
Squinting her eyes at the kid again, Amanda hummed. "If your mother abuses other children, would you not know? At least, I don't know, guess? Something feels off."
Olivia wanted to agree but she knew she couldn't. It was never this easy. From how Amanda had breathed out the last sentence, she knew she didn't have to say anything. It had been more of a hope than anything else from the blonde woman. Both fell into silence, watching the teenager behind the one-way mirror. Heels on the floor behind them shook them out of their silent wondering. Olivia turned, expecting Rita Calhoun, finally ready to sit in with the parents. Instead, she watched a brunette come up to them. She smiled way more welcoming than Rita Calhoun, and if Olivia wasn't mistaken, she wasn't a criminal defence lawyer. At least not one she had seen before. Her hair in a low bun, a coat over her blue slacks and a white shirt, she looked official, polished. But her eyes were kind enough for Olivia to smile back.
"I'm here on behalf of Dylan Cooper," she introduced herself, stretching out her hand, "I'm Cassandra Aldridge, his lawyer."
"Sergeant Benson, nice to meet you. This is Detective Rollins," Olivia introduced them, taking the hand, "Glad you could make it. Do you want to get rid of that coat?"
She smiled gracefully at her. "Oh that would be great, thank you."
Olivia took it from her and a few steps towards it, with Cassandra half following her.
"Since Dylan is my client, I do have a few questions about what this is about," she said, her grey eyes settled on Olivia, "His parents were not very forthcoming with information."
She hung up the coat and turned back to the lawyer. Cassandra Aldridge didn't look like she was entirely sure why she was hired either. Opening her mouth, Olivia noticed Rafael, coming out of the break room again. He was looking at his phone, balancing a cup in his other hand.
"Of course. As our ADA is here, too, I think it would be a good idea to discuss what's going on."
With that, Rafael looked up, his eyes a little bored. Until they landed on the figure in front of him, her back to him. Olivia watched him squint his eyes at the lawyer as if he was trying to figure out if he knew her. And then Cassandra turned around, her eyes meeting Rafael's.
"Happy to disc-…", the smile froze on the brunette's lips, "Rafael."
It was rare to see the man at loss for words, or even only caught off guard. It was rarer to see him visibly pale, just for looking at someone. However, Rafael Barba stared at the woman, his knuckles going white enough on the handle that Olivia briefly feared for the integrity of his coffee cup. It looked like he was staring at a ghost. Cassandra made a very small step in his direction, shaking the man out of his paralysis.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he pressed out with a strained voice. Olivia couldn't remember hearing him sound like this, ever. Cassandra, the smile melting off her face, stepped back again and straightened her back.
"I represent Dylan Cooper."
Rafael's lips twitched and Olivia grew more and more confused by the second. None of them heard another pair of heels coming closer.
"You don't practice in New York," Rafael argued, his expression growing from whatever shock he had lived through to…angry? Yes, Olivia decided, questionably, snippily, angry. Highly unlike Rafael Barba angry.
"Yes, she does. She did my last divorce," another voice came from behind the group. Olivia, from this whole exchange feeling the headache brewing behind her brows, turned to look to no other than Rita Calhoun. The defence attorney looked back and forth between the only two people who were still staring at each other. She cleared her throat.
"You got a divorce?" Amanda chimed in, looking at her. Rita shrugged and pulled her eyes from the pair.
"Successfully. If anyone's ever interested in hiring Cassandra," she gestured towards the brunette. When the other lawyer didn't react, Rita rolled her eyes.
"Can you two continue your standoff later? I have court after this."
For a change, Olivia had to agree. It was getting ridiculous. Not to mention that she desperately needed to know what it was about. Rafael tore his eyes from the other lawyer and looked at Olivia.
"Are you with the parents?" he said, clearing his throat. Olivia gave him a nod.
"Great. Let's go then," Rita reacted, more a demand than anything else, starting down the hall towards the interrogation room. When Olivia started to follow her, the defence attorney gave her a look of curiosity. "What's up with these two, did she cut his suspenders or something?"
The other woman could only pull up her shoulders and shrug. She would have to find out later.