Case Closed

Title: Case Closed (5/?)

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 5

            Fin stood impatiently watching, trying not to rush her, as Sam packed a bag for Terry. He
knew she wasn’t comfortable with leaving their home while he dealt with Vega. He’d had to
spend the greater part of the previous night convincing her that the safest place for her and their
kids to be right now was away from him. In the end she had agreed to the move, but Fin knew it
was only because he had asked her to trust him.

            “How long do you think we’ll be gone?” Sam wasn’t sure if she should pack enough for
a week or for a month.

            “I dunno, baby.” Fin drew up beside her and added Terry’s favorite toy to the bag. “Just
take a few things. I’ll make sure you have everything you need once you get there.”

            Sam stopped working and turned toward him. She shook her head a little, still uncertain
of his decision.

            “Are you sure, Fin? Are you sure this is the best way?”

            Fin sighed as he took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. He kissed them
before looking up into her eyes.

            “We really ain’t got the time to go over this again, Sam. You and the kids leaving is the
only way I know how to keep you safe. You just gotta trust me on this.”

            Sam studied him for a moment then leaned into him. “I do. But it still doesn’t stop me
from worrying. I mean, maybe we’ll be okay, but what about everyone else?”

            “It’s already taken care of. Like I told you, Elliot’s got people sitting with every Munch
and Tutuola in town.” He paused, then decided he couldn’t tell her a lie. Not even a white one.

            “Except my folks.”

            Sam looked up in surprise, but Fin held up a hand.

            “My dad wasn’t having it. Said if he didn’t hide out from the government back in the
sixties when he had reason to, then he sure as hell wasn’t gonna hide from some lowlife dealer
now.”

            Sam couldn’t suppress a smile. “I guess I know where you get your stubborn streak.”

            Fin returned the smile, then brought them back to the matter at hand. “We need to get
going.”

            “Okay, Dad, we’re packed.”

            Corey led his brothers into the room carrying their bags. Born twenty-five minutes before
his twin, Calvin, he had always considered himself the older brother and tried to take charge
whenever he could.

            Fin looked into his boys’ faces and regretted having to disrupt their teenage lives. As
much as his work did affect his family, he had always tried to give his kids as much of a normal
upbringing as he reasonably could. His sons, now fifteen, fourteen, and thirteen, had never felt
put out by his job . . . until now.

            Fin took in the miniature scowl on his youngest son’s face and sighed. Deon would be
missing a class outing he had really been looking forward to.

            “You know I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if I didn’t have to, right?”

            “We know, Dad.” Johnathon, who had gleaned the seriousness of the situation, glared at
his brother. “We’re okay with it.”

            “D?”

            “What?”

             Deon tilted his chin toward his father, still holding onto his disappointment. Standing
next to Fin, Sam shot her son a look and stared down his defiance. Deon dropped his head in
defeat. Feeling sorry for him, Fin gave his shoulder a squeeze.

            “I know how much you wanted to go with your class, but this is important. Maybe I can
make it up to you when you get back, alright?”

            Deon relented. “Okay.” He was never really one to stay angry for long anyway.

            “Good. Now let’s get going.”

            Fin walked to the front door and held it open as his family filed out toward the elevator.
He looked at his watch. 7:30 A.M. If he hurried, he could get them there and still be back in
time to show up at the station house.

......................................................

            Sergeant Gaffney looked at the roadmap one last time before refolding it and stuffing it
into his pocket. Backing his car out of the lot, he smiled as he headed out toward the Catskills
and Tutuola’s cabin. The bastard is finally going to get his.

            Gaffney was one of a handful of people within Fin’s department who didn’t like the way
their captain ran things. Every one of them was an older, white male who hadn’t taken well to
the shake-up Fin had caused when he assumed command, and more than a few of them resented
the fact that they could no longer accept the grafts they’d been used to getting for looking the
other way. Fin had put a stop to that by threatening an immediate transfer to anyone he even
suspected of it. But unlike any of the others, Gaffney’s dislike of his captain was more personal.
He just couldn’t stand the man.

            Cocky son-of-a-bitch. Gaffney thought back to all the times Tutuola had lorded around
the department like he was God’s gift to law enforcement, spitting out orders and expecting them
to be carried out to the letter. He hated the way his captain gave you that stare whenever you did
something he didn’t like, and the way he never hung out with the rest of his squad. All the other
captains joined them for a drink every now and then, but noooo, not Tutuola. He thought he was
too good for them. He never even had more than a few words to ever say to anybody. Well,
almost anybody. He and that spic Sandoval seemed pretty tight. Greasy little monkey. He was
always doing Tutuola’s bidding. He had his head stuck so far up Tutuola’s ass it was amazing he
could even breathe.

            Gaffney checked the traffic behind him, then pressed down a little harder on the
accelerator. That’s okay, though. After today things are going to change. He figured it would
take at least ‘til evening before Tutuola found out that his kids were dead and that his wife was
missing. All hell would break loose then. Gaffney’s only regret was that he couldn’t be there to
see the bastard’s face when he walked through the cabin door. He’d love to laugh at him and ask
him where all his cool was now.

            Still, he might get a chance at the wife- nice, little piece that she was. Maybe if he did a
particularly good job with the brats, then Vega would let him have a few turns with her before he
sold her off. Gaffney loved the idea of Vega’s revenge: to let Tutuola live, knowing that his wife
was getting her brains fucked out somewhere on the other side of the planet. There was no way
he’d stay on the force after that. Personally, Gaffney was hoping he’d blow his own brains out.
That would certainly put both him and Gaffney out of their miseries.

            He clutched the steering wheel as he grew excited by the idea. Thinking he might just put
a bullet in Sandoval too for good measure, he wondered what his chances of making Captain
would be if the goon squad was completely eliminated.

............................................................

            Fin looked in his rearview mirror for any sign that he was being followed. Satisfied that
he wasn’t, he pulled out his cell and punched in Mike’s number.

            “Sandoval.”

            “It’s me. How are things there?”

            “It’s pretty quiet. I’ll keep you informed.”

            “Yeah, do that. Stay on top of it.”

            “Don’t worry, Captain. If anything comes up, I’ll take care of it.”

            “Good.”

            Fin hung up the phone and took one last look back in the mirror before getting off at his
exit.

...........................................

            Gaffney hid his car several yards back on the wooded road and walked the rest of the way
to the cabin. Making certain to stay out of plain sight, he took his time approaching it, while
cursing the fact that he had to make his way through the heavy brush.

            The cabin would have made an ideal place for a romantic get together. Tucked away
among lush trees and foliage, it sat several miles from its nearest neighbor and afforded its
occupants all the privacy anyone could ever want. It would also make, he decided, the ideal
place for the job he’d come to do. There’d be no witnesses to see or hear anything.

            Gaffney stopped and crouched behind a tree when the cabin came into full view. He tried
to make out whether or not anyone was inside, but couldn’t. All the windows were open, but the
curtains were drawn shut. He took a moment to admire it. He would definitely enjoy offing
Tutuola’s kids here. How many other cops in the department could afford a place like this? Not
many, that’s for sure. Gaffney wanted to make sure Tutuola never stepped a foot in it again.

            He snuck closer to the building, searching for the family SUV, then relaxed a little when
he saw that it was gone. Good. Judging from the voices coming from inside, he realized Tutuola
must’ve already dropped them off and left. Now came the easy part. He could pick them off like
sitting ducks.

            Gaffney made his way to the front door. Removing the gun Vega had given him from his
belt, he slowly turned the knob and was surprised to find the door unlocked. Stupid bitch. He
wondered if Tutuola had even told them the real reason he’d brought them up here. Gaffney
hoped not. He’d love for Tutuola to have that on his conscience as well.

            Calculating the direction of the room he’d heard the voices coming from, he quickly
made his way through the front of the building to the back bedroom. He wanted to get as many
of them as possible in the initial attack. He didn’t think the Missus would put up much of a fight
with the little shits already dead.

             Bracing himself, Gaffney burst through the door, his gun drawn and ready, only to find it
empty. The sole item in the room was a tape player, looped to replay Calvin rehearsing his part
in the school play in front of his family.

            Realizing he’d been tricked, Gaffney turned around to leave- - and stared down the barrel
of Sandoval’s 9 mm.

...........................................

            “Did you really use to live here, Dad?” Deon looked skeptically out the window at the
old tenement building in Harlem.

            “Yeah, I did.”

            Fin got out of the borrowed van and walked around to the passenger’s side door. He
opened it to help Sam out and noticed the rather dubious expression she was wearing as well. He
glanced up at the building, then back at her.

            “I know it looks rough, but you’ll be okay here.”

            Fin had brought them to stay with a friend he’d grown up with and who was now acting
as one of his informants. This was one of the same small-time thieves that he’d been criticized
for having on his payroll in the first place, but Fin thought the information he got was well worth
it. Besides, he knew he could trust Tre. Every since Fin had rescued his younger brother from a
drug gang, Tre has been dedicated to helping Fin in any way he could. He would guard Fin’s
children like they were his own.

            Fin retrieved the bags from the back of the van and laid them at her feet.

            “Trust me, Sam. There’s eyes all over this place. Nobody’s gonna get in or out without
Tre knowing about it.”

            She lowered her voice so the boys wouldn’t hear. “And you really think staying here is
better than at a safehouse?”

            “This is Tre’s base of operation. He ain’t into nothing more than a little lifting and
boosting every now and then, but the security he’s got here is better than anything the department
could come up with. And I don’t have to worry about whether or not he’s on my side.”

            Fin moved to open the van doors as Tre came out of the building. “Besides, it’ll do the
boys good to stay somewhere other than the penthouse and the West Side.” He lifted Terry out
of her car seat. “It won’t hurt ‘em to see how the other half lives . . . how I used to live.”

            Sam took Terry from Fin. “Okay. If you say it’s safe, then I believe you. So let me leave
the kids here and go back with you. I can help you fight this guy. You know I can.”

            In the past Sam had helped Fin, unofficially, by digging up information on the targets he
really wanted to take down. The information she’d provided him with wasn’t anything that could
be used in court to help convict them, but it was usually something Fin’s street cops could use to
get them, or someone close to them, to turn.

            Fin shook his head. “Not this time, baby. I can’t go after Vega unless I know you’re safe.
All of you. I need you to be here with the kids.”

            Tre Marrow joined them in front of the van. “Don’t worry about it, man. I got this. I’ll
take care of them.” He turned to the boys. “You guys like video games?”

            “Sure.”

            Each boy gave Fin a wave before accompanying Tre to the building where he waited in
the doorway for Sam to follow. She gave Fin a parting kiss before turning to join them.

            “Call me tonight?”

            Fin nodded. “As soon as I can. Don’t worry. It’ll be alright.”

            “Sure,” she answered sarcastically. “He says don’t worry.”

            Fin waited until she’d gone inside, and the door was closed behind her, before getting
back in the van. Now he could head out to the station house and wait for Sandoval’s call.

.....................................

            “Drop it.” Sandoval had his gun pointed directly between Gaffney’s eyes. “Now.”

            “Whoa, whoa.” Gaffney held up his hands in mock surrender. “What’s this about?
What’s going on?”

            Mike motioned for him to lay his gun down on the floor, then kicked it away before
answering. “What’s going on?” He maneuvered them further into the room.

            “Why don’t you tell me, Gaffney? Why are you here?”

            Gaffney quickly searched his mind for an answer, then threw out the first thing he came
up with.

            “I was just scoping out the area and thought I heard something. I came in here to check it
out.”

            “Oh. Sure.” Sandoval smirked at him. “And you just happen to be around the Captain’s
cabin on the day you call out sick?”

            Gaffney tried to appear surprised. “This is Tutuola’s cabin? Hey, I had no idea. I mean,
I heard it was up here, but . . . ” He trailed off.

            “Listen. The truth is, I called out because I wanted a chance to look at the places up here.
I’m thinking about retiring soon and I might be in the market for one.”

            “Oh, really. On what salary? Certainly not a sergeant’s. You working for somebody else
we don’t know about?”

            Gaffney started to protest, but Sandoval had lost his patience. “Cut the crap. Do you
think I’m stupid? We both know why you’re here: Vega sent you after the Captain’s family. We
set the trap and you fell right in it.”

            Gaffney dropped his pretense and sneered at him. “Think you got it all figured out, huh?”

            “Yeah, I do. See, I figure you’ve been working for Vega now for years. You’ve been
feeding him information on what we had on him, and you’re also probably the one who’s
responsible for evidence disappearing.”

            Sandoval gave him a heated look. “What are the odds that you’re also the trigger man
who killed Tutuola’s first witness against Vega, and his partner?”

            Gaffney laughed at him. “So what if I am? You’ll never be able to prove any of it.”

             Suddenly crumpling, he went down in a heap in the middle of the floor. Sandoval stood
over him.

            “Who says we’ll need to?”

            Gaffney never saw the punch Williams delivered to his kidney, but he certainly felt the
kick Miller shot to his ribs.