Case Closed

Title: Case Closed (3/?)

Author: Master F&M

Fandom: Law and Order: SVU

Rating: Mature Audience

Summary: Captains Tutuola and Stabler join forces, and departments, to close a case that affects
Fin personally. Runs within the timeline of Infinity.

Disclaimer: Law and Order: SVU and all its characters belong to Dick Wolf. I just get to play
with them.

Author’s Note: Sam is a character that does not exist on the show.

Feedback: Please give some. For entertainment purposes only.

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CHAPTER 3

            Kenny followed Olivia into the Narcotics squadroom without knowing exactly how he
felt about the situation. The Gemstone case was supposed to be theirs. They’d been working
around the clock on it, trying to locate the lead suspect in their three open murder cases, but
hadn’t managed to get very far. Captain Tutuola had been right about him being well protected.
Everyone they had talked to claimed to either not know who he was or where he could be found.
Yet, here they were; on their way to the Narcotics interrogation room to question the S.O.B.
Tutuola had called Stabler a few minutes ago to let them know Vega was coming in.

            “Why are we here again?” Kenny asked. “Why aren’t we talking to him back at our
squadroom?”

            “Because this,” Olivia looked around for Fin, “is where Mr. Vega chose to come in.”

            “Why would he do that? Why would he volunteer to talk to us?”

            “Because he’s a pretty sick bastard.” Mike Sandoval approached the SVU team. “He’s
getting a kick out of the fact that we really don’t have anything on him.” He smiled.

            “Nice to see you again, Lieutenant. Too bad it’s under these circumstances.”

            Olivia nodded. “This is my partner, Det. Briscoe.”

            Sandoval shook Kenny’s hand then turned toward the hall. “The Captain’s been waiting
for you. We got a call out of the blue this morning from Vega’s lawyer saying that he’d heard we
were looking for his client. Naturally, Vega, being the law-abiding citizen that he is, wanted to
come in and answer any questions we might have for him.”

            “Gee, that’s awfully cooperative.” Olivia really wanted to see this guy. She couldn’t
stand it when suspects thought they were smarter than the cops.

            “Yeah, well, I’m sure it’s only to see what we have so far, and I gotta tell you,” Sandoval
opened the door to the observation room. “It’s not much.”

            Fin stood in front of the window, staring into the interrogation room. He’d had Vega in
that same room several times, twenty years ago, but had never managed to make anything stick to
him. It riled him to know that the lowlife had been walking around all this time, a free man,
while Markus’ kids had had to grow up without their father.

            He turned his head when the group entered the room. Even with the lights dimmed, the
trio could make out the distinctively angry scowl on his face.

            “He here yet?”

            Sandoval shook his head. “Not yet. I left word at the desk to set him up back here as
soon as he came in.” He looked at his watch.

            “It should be any minute now. His lawyer said he’d be in before noon.” Fin nodded, then
turned toward the window again.

            Olivia studied her friend. Elliot had told her all about Fin’s history with Vega. She gave
Mike a knowing look. “You guys got any coffee in this place? I could use some before we get
started.”

            “Sure.” Mike understood she wanted a chance to talk to Fin alone. He turned to Kenny
and nodded his head toward the hall.

            “Come on. I’ll show you where it is.”

            Olivia waited until they’d shut the door behind them before speaking. “This must be
tough for you, dealing with him again after all these years.”

            Fin shook his head, not at all surprised that Elliot had told her about him and Vega. “He
ain’t gonna walk this time. He’s gonna pay for what he did to those girls.”

            “We don’t actually know that he’s involved in any of those murders.”

            “Oh, he’s involved.” Fin frowned, then moved away from the window. “He wouldn’t be
showing up here today if he wasn’t. See, that’s how he operates. He likes to play games with the
police.”

             “Is that why he volunteered to come in here, instead of SVU?”

            “Probably. To rub it in my face.”

            Olivia walked over to Fin, and spoke softly. “Then maybe you should let me and Kenny
handle this.” He looked up sharply, but she continued before he could protest.

            “You’re too close. It’s too personal. What’s going to happen if you go in there and he
starts pushing your buttons? Can you tell me for sure that you won’t give him any reason to file
a case against us?” Olivia knew how deeply Fin felt for the people he cared about. She also
knew the extent of the rage he felt toward anyone whom he knew had harmed them.

            “Thanks for your concern, Lieutenant, but I think I can handle it.”

            Fin had never pulled rank on her before, and she guessed he was only doing it now
because he was angry. Knowing she would never win a standoff with him professionally, Olivia
straightened her shoulders and held her ground as his friend.

            “Listen, Fin. I know how much you want this guy. Let me talk to him. I’ll get whatever
I can out of him, and I promise I’ll do everything I can to help put him away.”

            “He’s here.”

            Sandoval and Kenny entered the room, putting down the cups they’d brought with them.
A few seconds later, everyone watched as a uniform escorted Vega and his attorney into the
interrogation room. Fin’s eyes locked on him, and immediately flooded with the anger he felt
toward the man.

            “So how do you want to handle this, Capt.?”

             Sandoval wanted to know if Olivia’s conversation with his boss had changed his plans
any. Over the years, he’d developed a great deal of respect for Fin, first as his partner, then as his
go-to guy in the department, but Mike wasn’t sure if Fin questioning Vega himself would be a
good idea. He would, however, back up Tutuola in whatever decision he made. He had learned
to trust Fin’s judgement on most matters, and he did, after all, owe his Captain his life.

            Fin briefly looked in Olivia’s direction before turning back toward the window. He knew
she was right. Already, he wanted nothing more than to slam his fist into Vega’s smug face.

            “Let SVU take the lead on this. But I want you in there, too. Let him know we’re
coming at him for the girls and the drugs.”

            Sandoval nodded, impressed with Olivia’s power of persuasion, then held the door open
for her and Kenny to pass through. All three came face to face with Vega’s bored expression as
they entered the opposite room.

            “Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Vega.” Olivia’s voice hinted that she was anything but.
“We had a few things we needed to take care of before we spoke to you. Thank you, though, for
coming in to talk to us. ”

             She and Kenny sat down at the unoccupied end of the table while Sandoval went to stand
behind Vega, effectively sandwiching him in between them.

            “I’m Lt. Hellerman,” Olivia continued with her introduction, “and this is my partner, Det.
Briscoe. We’re from the Special Victims Unit.” She nodded toward Mike.

            “Sgt. Sandoval is from Narcotics. We all appreciate you giving us some of your time.”

            “Not at all.” Vega twisted around in his chair to get a good look at Mike. “I’d be happy
to clear up any questions or concerns the NYPD may have for me. Actually . . . ,” he got up and
walked over to address his reflection in the mirror.

            “. . . this isn’t my first time at one of these little gatherings. There was a . . . ” he
wavered as he searched for the right word, “misunderstanding between two of your detectives
and myself a ways back.” Straightening his tie, he winked then gave a small laugh as he turned
to sit down again.

            “But there was no harm done.”

            Fin barely kept control of himself on the other side of the glass. No harm done. There
was no question Vega knew he was there watching. His self-satisfied confidence told Fin that he
wasn’t really worried about anything that might come from the police, and further convinced Fin
that he was getting information from the inside.

            “That’s one of the reasons we wanted to talk to you.” Speaking slowly, Kenny pretended
to read from the file in front of him, when in fact he had already memorized everything they had
on Vega.

            “You’ve been brought in for questioning before, relating to some drug charges?”

            “Like I said, it was a misunderstanding.”

            Briscoe nodded, his eyes still on the file. “It says here that you used to go by the name
Gemstone.” He looked up for affirmation.

            “Yes. It’s one of the many nicknames people have given me.”

            “It’s not really a common name, though.”

            Vega shrugged. “I suppose not, but I’m not really a common man.”

            “I see.” Kenny went back to reading the file while Vega waited for more from him.

            “Your name recently came up in connection with the rape and murder of three young
girls.”

            Olivia blind-sided Vega with her bluntness, jarring him from the lull Kenny had
intentionally created. No one else in the room noticed his slight reaction, but after all her years
of experience, Olivia caught the fleeting look of panic that passed through his eyes. She leaned
in toward him.

            “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

            Vega looked from one to the other. “Of course not.”

            “And I suppose you also wouldn’t know anything about the coke we found in their
systems?” Sandoval asked from across the room. “You know, the pure stuff?” He walked over
and leaned down close to Vega’s ear.

            “Like the junk you deal out of Columbia?”

            Vega turned and smiled at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

            “My client came in to answer a few questions,” Vega’s attorney spoke up for the first
time. “Not to be accused of committing a crime.”

            “See, I was wondering when you were going to chime in,” Kenny shook his head at the
lawyer. “I’ve never known a mouthpiece to keep his mouth shut for so long.”

            “Mr. Vazquez looks out for my interest. I do not need him to speak for me.”

            “Then tell me, Gemstone,” Olivia asked, “where were you last Friday night at 11:00
p.m.?”

            “I’m certain I was home in bed.”

            “That’s funny,” Olivia pretended to look confused. “We have an eye witness who puts
you in Club Indigo at that time with one of our victims.”

            Vega’s eyes narrowed. The fact that she’d named the club told him that they did indeed
have someone who had already talked more than they should have. He didn’t like that.

            “I don’t believe I’ve ever even been in that club. Who exactly would this eyewitness be?”

            Olivia shook her head and smiled at him. “Can’t say. That would be telling.” 

            Vega sat quietly for a moment, then dismissed the statement with a wave of his hand.
“No matter. Your witness must be mistaken. I can produce two very lovely girls who would be
more than happy to confirm that I was at home that night. In bed.” He sat back in his seat,
satisfied with his answer.

            “Two, huh?” Sandoval came around to stand in front of him. “What? They give you a
two-for-one deal or something?”

            Olivia laughed openly at the suggestion, then shook her head in mock pity. “Such a
shame. A guy like you having to pay for it.”

            Vega glared at them as his vanity got the better of him. “I have never in my life had to
pay for a woman. They come to me. I have no use for the whores at that club.”

            “Wait a minute.”

            Kenny held up a finger to stop the conversation. He made a show of flipping through the
pages of the notepad where he’d been taking notes, searching. “None of us ever said there were
prostitutes at the club.” He looked up with a puzzled expression.

            “How’d you know about them?”

            “Yes, Mr. Vega,” Olivia joined in asking the question. “How did you know since you’ve
never actually been in the club?”

            Vega glanced at his lawyer, somewhat unsettled by his admission. “I do business all over
town. I must have heard about it. I’m sure many people have.”

            “Not according to Vice.” Sandoval sat down next to Olivia and spoke to her as if Vega
wasn’t there.

             “The guys up there say it’s a pretty close-knit operation. All very hush, hush. You
practically need a membership card to participate.” He turned toward Kenny.

            “See, a couple of regular guys like us, we’d go in and probably wouldn’t even know what
was going on. We’d be sitting there enjoying our drinks while girls were being bought and sold
in a back room somewhere.”

            “Smooth way to run a business- hiding it in a legitimate one.” Olivia snapped her fingers
at their suspect. “What business did you say you were in again?”

            “You mean other than the drugs?” Sandoval answered for him. “And the selling of girls
as sex slaves?”

            “That will be enough.” Mr. Vazquez stood. “We’re done here. The next time you have
any questions for my client, you can ask them through me.”

            Vega took his time getting to his feet to show that he wasn’t worried. Following his
lawyer to the door, he stopped in front of Sandoval in an attempt to regain the upper hand.

            “Say hello to your Captain for me. We’re old friends.”

            Sandoval smiled back at him until Vega left, then he and the others joined Fin in the
observation room.

            “I think he was surprised by how much we knew, even if we can’t prove it.” Olivia shook
off the oily feeling Vega had given her. “I think we rattled him.”

            “Yeah. I think so, too.” Fin finally moved away from the window. “Now we just have to
watch him to see what he does about it.”

            “We’ll set up a surveillance team.”

            “I think it’ll be best if we limit the number of players involved in this case. He’s got a
man on the inside.”

            All three stared at him. “You sure about that?”

            “I’m almost positive.” He shook his head. “I’d just rather not take any chances on it.”

            Sandoval swore. A dirty cop made all cops look bad. “Then how about I bring Miller
and Williams onboard to help do the stakeout ourselves?” He looked to the SVU team for
approval.

            “They’ve worked with us before on a couple of cases we needed to keep quiet about,
including the Angelino case. I trust them. With them, we can rotate out of the watch every six
hours or so.”

            “Fine by us.” Olivia spoke for both of them. “I’ll clear it with Elliot.”

            “Good.” Fin hesitated for a moment. “You did a good job in there. You all did.” Even
Kenny understood that that was high praise coming from Fin.

            “Thanks.”

            The SVU team left to bring their captain up to speed while Sandoval gathered up his files
and headed for the door.

            “I’ll go talk to Miller and Williams.”

            “Hold on a sec.” Fin drew him back into the room. “You have the name of the girl they
talked to at the club? The one that gave up Vega?”

            “Yeah. Why?”

            “Go pick her up. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going or why, and don’t stop once
you’ve got her until you get her back here.” Fin didn’t want a repeat of what had happened
twenty-two years ago.

            “I’ll stash her down in Homicide until this is over.”

            “Got it.” Mike nodded in understanding then quickly left.

            Fin ran a hand across his face as he headed to his office. He needed to come up with a
plan. Vega did tell Mike to say hello. Now Fin wanted to figure out a few ways he could say hi
back.