Justice | Law & Order : SVU

one

That day in the SVU office was unusually quiet, though none of the detectives were willing to say that out loud in fear of jinxing it. Everybody sat at their desks just counting down the seconds until they could go home or waiting for a call to come in. On one hand a slow day was the worst thing ever simply down to the fact that they tended to drag on and on but on the other hand it also meant that there wasn't anybody out their being raped or assaulted and that would never not be a good thing.

Just 20 more minutes or so until technically most of them could go home and of course thats when somebody walks through the door, a boy no older than eighteen, Hispanic, he looked shaken, nervous, scared even so with a sigh Carisi stood up from his desk and walked over to the boy.

"Hey, can I help you?" Carisi asked planting and encouraging smile on his face.

"Yeah.. um.. I'm looking for detective Benson?" The boy said posing it more as a question than a statement "does she.. does she still work here?"

"It's Sergeant now but yeah, why don't you sit down and I'll fetch her for you" Carisi said directing the boy over to a chair before he walks over to Olivia's office and knocks on the door before he walks in.

"Sergent, there's a boy here asking for you" Carisi tells her.

"Where is he?" Olivia asks standing up and walking around her desk towards the door. She comes to a stop next to Carisi looking over to the boy in question.

Seeing him she nods and follows Carisi out of the office and over towards the boy.

"I'm Sergeant Benson, Can I help you?" Olivia asks smiling as the boy shoots up out of his seat.

"I... I don't.." he starts as his eyes well with tears leading Olivia to rest a gentle hand on his arm and lean over to pull a tissue out of the box on the desk next to him "A girl i go to school with is saying... she's saying that I raped her last Friday night at a party, but I don't remember a thing" he finally admits before he's wracked by sobs his body shaking. Olivia and Carisi both take sharp inhales of breath and look over to each other.

"Okay, what's your name?" Olivia asks once he's had a moment to calm down.

"Alejandro. Alejandro Martinez." He tells her and immediately her eyebrows raise in recognition.

"Alejandro?" Olivia asks suddenly sounding slightly breathless "where's your mom?"

"She's at work, she doesn't know anything. I... I wanted to tell her but I can't... if she knows that there's even a chance that I... that I even looked at a girl wrong mama will know. She'll know and she won't love me anymore" Alejandro tells her, sobs still continuing to wrack his body.

"Know what Alejandro?" Olivia asks still gently resting a hand on his arm.

"She'll know that I'm just like my father" He cries out "I can't be like him, whoever he was. I just can't"

"Okay Alejandro, I'm going to take you through to my office and I think you should call your mom, I don't want you to say another word until she gets here. Okay?" Olivia softly speaks. The boy nods, bringing the tissue up to wipe his face and the Olivia guides him towards her office. She makes sure he's comfortable before she walks back out and everybody gathers around her.

"We got a case?" Rollins asks.

"Eighteen year old boy, he says he's been accused of rape but he can't remember a thing" Olivia tells the group of detectives "I've told him not to say another word until his mother arrives"

"What?" Nick asks shocked "but he was talking. He's eighteen. He doesn't need a guardian"

"No... but... his name is Alejandro Martinez" Olivia tells them, for most of them that name doesn't mean a thing but Fin recognises it immediately.

"That was little Alex?" Fin asks his eyes widening.

"Are we supposed to recognise that name?" Amanda asks looking between Olivia and Fin.

"Fourteen years ago we rescued his mother Antonella Martinez from a trafficking ring. He was four at the time, she was eighteen. No idea who the father was but Alejandro was kept from her so she wouldn't run." Olivia tells them all.

"So that's what he meant about being like his father" Carisi realises.

"He was a sweet boy back then" Olivia tells them all.

"Real mama's boy" Fin adds "Antonella didn't speak much English, was trafficked from Colombia, he used to translate for her when she struggled. He never let go of her whenever we saw her. I just can't believe with that history he'd ever touch a woman wrong"

"Okay but a girl is still saying that he raped her. We're investigating this right?" Amanda asks.

"As soon as Antonella gets here we'll get more details from Alejandro" Olivia confirms, just as she finishes her sentence the loud clicking of heels rings out through the room, they all turn to thee direction of the sound to find a tall Hispanic woman strutting in, a face full of worry.

"Olivia" The woman calls out, her accent thick causing the name to sound more like Olibia but her voice was soft, a hint of rasp to it "what is happening? Alejandro call me and he tell me that he is here but nothing more. Is something wrong?" She asks as she gets closer and she rests a hand on Olivia's arm, her hand shaking.

"Antonella" Olivia says gently "He is here, he's in my office but he's fine"

"Then why is he here?" Antonella asks looking round at all of the detectives.

"Why don't we go somewhere more private and talk?" Olivia asks.

"No, no just tell me" Antonella persists.

"Okay, Alejandro came in looking for Olivia. He says that he has been accused of rape but he can't remember anything" Fin tells her.

"Rape?" Antonella asks, her eyes widening in shock "my Alejandro? He would never!"

"Okay well we're going to investigate and we will find the truth" Olivia consoles her.

"No, no my Alejandro would never hurt a woman. He knows what happened to me. He knows everything. He is a good boy, a sweet boy. He has never even had sex before, never mind raped anybody. His whole life he is afraid he will become like is father, I tell him he is only whatever good was in that man and all the good in me." Antonella continues on.

"Okay, so we'll get this ask cleared up. I need Alejandro to give me a name and then I'll send somebody to speak to the girl. I promise we will get to the bottom of this" Olivia speaks sincerely "Now why don't I take you through to him okay?"

"Sì" Antonella nods allowing Olivia to guide her through to her office.

"Mama" the boy in question cries out as soon as he spots her, tears streaming down his face as he runs toward her. She readily takes him into her arms, smoothing over his curly hair with her soft hands in a soothing gesture "Lo siento mucho mama. Lo siento mucho" (I'm so sorry mama. I'm so sorry) he cries between sobs.

"It's okay mijo I'm here now" Antonella whispers not caring that all the other detectives are watching the exchange.

"Alejandro can you tell me the girls name?" Olivia asks gently stepping closer to the mother and son.

"Valerie Jones. She's in my class." Alejandro softly tells her. Olivia smiles and nods before she walks back out of the office towards the detectives still standing watching.

"Rollins, Carisi you two find Valerie Jones. Get her side of the story. Amaro you find out who else was there that night. Fin, you come and question Alejandro with me, he knows us" Olivia delegates.

All of them nod and head off in different directions to do their jobs.