Chapter Seventy



Eli

I've been back at work for 3 weeks now. As Ash and my dad keep telling me, I need to get back to some form of normal. I've been spending my days at work and my nights at Dani's bedside. There hasn't been much change with Dani, except that her brain activity has spiked a few times. The doctors are pleased with that and they say she's making good progress, all things considered. There's been no complications with her gun shot wounds and no major infections have arisen. The swelling in her face is starting to go down and she's starting to look a little more like Dani, she's even less gray in her color, but her bruising is very prominent now. I suppose I should be grateful for the small things, but I can't seem to get my hopes up. Until Dani is speaking to me again, I don't think I'll be able to release this great weight that seems to be constantly sitting on my chest.

I'm just looking at the blueprints for a building we're supposed to be raiding later on, when the Cap calls me into his office.

He tells me to sit before he continues, “Baker and Jones need to bring Babkin in. I need you to call Arrow and find out where he is.”

Arrow picks up immediately, “LT? What's wrong? What's happening?”

I haven't really spoken to him since the incident, so I'm guessing he thinks something has gone wrong.

“Hey man. You still on Babkin?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Jones and Baker are on their way to arrest him. Where is he?”

“He's stepped out of work for lunch, but he's at Subway on West End Avenue.”

“Thanks. Cap, Subway on West End Ave, near his work. Arrow, once the detectives have him in the precinct, then I need you to come in.”

“You're sure, LT? You don't think he's going to slip out of their grasp like the other times?”

“No, not this time. Come in, soldier.”

“Yes sir. I'll call when I'm outside.”

I hang up and look at the Cap expectantly.

“We have his prints on the money. We also have a warrant to get his DNA. He'll be with us at least 12 hours, providing he can go through Central Booking and get an arraignment that quick. I have a feeling the DA's office will want to push this through quickly to try to save themselves the embarrassment of one of their own being brought in again.”

“Hold him as long as possible. If the detectives are questioning Arrow, I don't want Babkin getting out before he's through. I refuse to let him disappear.”

“I'll do what I can. You need to get ready for the raid.”

“I want to watch the interview.”

“No.”

“What?! Why?!”

“Because I don't think you can handle it. Besides, that's a serious break of protocol. I can't be sure you won't walk in there and beat him to a pulp...”

“I'm not going to ruin the case by doing that. Cap, I need to watch.”

“No, you don't. You need to get to that raid and get some other bad guys. We'll deal with this. You don't want to know the details and you don't want to do this to yourself. Just trust me. Captain Greggson and I will oversee the interview. Go get ready for the raid.”

I storm out of the Cap's office, making sure he knows just how furious I am about this. Ash takes one look at me and he lets out a low whistle. “Guess you found out about not watching the interview then?”

I let out a string of words in Spanish, which makes Ash chuckle. “Well, you got your fire back, that's for sure. I thought you'd lost it for a second there.”

“It's not funny, Scott.”

“No, but neither is you breaking into the interview and beating the snot out of the guy, or worse, completely ruining the case. Just trust the system and trust the Cap. He won't let you down. You don't want to hear what he has to say, trust me. I don't want you to hear what he has to say. He's going to assume you're watching and he'll play to that. Don't give him the satisfaction.”

I sigh and try to release my frustration and anger. “Ash, I just want it to be over. I want her to wake up and for everything to go back to normal.”

“I know, man, I know. Just let us get justice the right way. You focus on Dani and this raid and we'll focus on getting these scumbags.”

I just nod, knowing I'm not going to win this battle. It might be for my own good, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. It's a bitter pill to swallow.





Captain Michaels

Once Eli's team are out of the building, I head downstairs to pick up Arrow. Eli told him I'd be coming to get him, and he told me I'd recognize him when I saw him. As I step up to the front desk, I scan the room. Yep, Eli was right. I can tell exactly who Arrow is. He looks like a football player; tall and well built, with his blonde hair and blue eyes. He looks like he keeps himself in good shape. His clothes are a plain version of army fatigues, and it looks like he doesn't know how to be anything else, other than a soldier. I step up to him and greet him, “Hey, I'm Captain Michaels.”

“Arrow. LT told me you'd meet me. Did he tell you how to find me?”

I chuckle, “Just that I'd know you when I saw you. He wasn't wrong. I have to ask, how on earth do you stay so hidden on missions?”

He laughs, “That would be telling. I just have a knack for it, I guess. I don't need to stay close to people necessarily.”

“Ok then. You want to come through? I wasn't sure if you wanted to stay down here to give your statement? I'll be interviewing you instead of the detectives.”

“Where is my guy?”

“Down here, in holding. The detectives will be questioning him soon.”

“I'll go upstairs then. Can't have him seeing me.”

“True.”

We are silent during the elevator ride and I offer him coffee on the way to the interviewing room. He takes a seat and I notice that he doesn't look at all uncomfortable in this situation. I know he was a soldier, but it seems more than just his army training that's keeping him so calm.

“Did Eli run through this whole process with you?”

“No, not recently. I haven't really spoken to him since that day.”

“Understandable. I'm just trying to figure out how you're so calm and comfortable in here.”

“I haven't done anything wrong...”

“No, I know that, but most people tend to feel some form of discomfort in this kind of situation.”

“Most people don't have LT and Scott as friends. LT trained us well. We saw some pretty awful things in action so if I can stay calm during our time overseas, then I think I can handle an interview room in the NYPD.”

“Fair enough. So, I'm going to record this interview and I'd like you to write down what you know. I'll question you first and then I'll leave you to write down your statement. That way, I can see if the details match up.”

“Yes sir. Fire away.”

I run through a series of questions with him, starting with the simple stuff like his name, where he resides, his job, things like that and then I ask him about Babkin.

I hear the sharp edge to his tone, as he talks about tailing him. He knows just by following him, that the guy is up to no good, but he has nothing that he can prove. He explains that he's followed him to well known, and not so well known, Bratva spots. He says they're mostly just Russian run bars, restaurants or clubs, but they're a front for the Bratva. He tells me about the Ergo bank and that he's sure it's a meeting place for the members of the Bratva.

Then I ask him about the morning of the bomb scare. He explains, in detail, Babkin's events for the day. Even down to what he was watching on TV in the Bratva Bar, which happened to be the news on the whole bomb scare. Then, Arrow tells me that around 9am, Babkin jumps up, grabs a few guys and drives over to 438 49th Street West. He says there were four guys in total and they left without a guy.

He continues, “I'd never seen them go that that address before, so I should have thought something was off. But I'd only been tailing Babkin, not any of the other guys. I just assumed that was where one of the guys lived. They left about 2 hours later, minus one guy. He was the oldest and fattest out of the four. If I'd have known what had gone down, I'd have called it in, but I couldn't go into the building without blowing my cover.”

He actually sounds upset by this and it's the most emotion I have seen from him. He always seems to be so calm and collected; just like Eli. It makes me wonder if he's upset he missed something or if he actually knows Dani. So I ask, “Do you know Miss Romanov?”

“No sir, never met her. But, if she's a friend of Ramirez, then she's a friend of mine.”

“Thank you. I'll conclude the interview now and I'll leave you to write out your statement.”

He nods and I leave him to it.

One of my analysts finds me and says, “Sir? A Captain Greggson is downstairs asking for you.”

“Thanks. Would you mind bringing him up please?”

“Not at all, sir.”

Arrow is just stepping out of the interview room, when Captain Greggson greets me. I introduce the two men and explain to Greggson who Arrow is.

Greggson shakes his hand and says, “While I'm not going to pretend to be happy about the fact you guys were running an operation behind my back, I will thank you for not allowing Babkin to evade us.”

“Just following orders, sir.”

“Well, I'm glad you did. Rob, are the detectives interviewing Babkin now?”

I nod, “Shortly. I thought we'd watch, just to see how things progress.”

“Good. I want to see what he has to say for himself.”

Arrow clears his throat and asks, “Can I sit in, sir?”

“No, I can't allow that I'm afraid. I'll tell you the same thing I told Eli; we'll handle this. Just trust us to deal with it.”

“Yes sir. Can I at least see him in the room, just so I know he's cuffed to the table?”

“That I can allow. I'll show you out. Clint, if you want to follow me downstairs then we'll just stay and watch the interview.”

We all travel down the 30 floors in the elevator in silence. I show Arrow into the viewing room, so he can see Babkin sitting cuffed to the table. He leans against the glass for a second or two and then he stands upright. He shakes both mine and Clint's hands and then says, “It was nice to meet you both, Captains. LT knows how to get in touch with me if you need me.”

Before we can even blink, he's gone. For a big guy, he sure moves pretty fast.

Baker and Jones appear in the interview room and they start the tape. They introduce themselves and then ask Babkin to confirm his full name, date of birth and where he lives. They also remind him that he has refused legal counsel, which I assume is because he is an attorney and he thinks he can represent himself properly.

Jones gets straight to it, “Where were you on the morning of December 26th?”

“Which year?”

“Last year. Don't try to be coy.”

“I was at the bar with some friends.”

“What bar?”

“Bratva Bar.”

Jones and Baker shoot each other looks and Baker asks, “Really?”

Babkin sighs and acts like he's bored as he says, “Yes, and before you ask, Bratva in Russian means brotherhood. Us Russians are very family orientated.”

“Where did you go after the bar?”

“I don't know, my friends and I hung out.”

“Do you know anything about 438 49th Street West?”

Babkin looks a little shocked, like the detectives shouldn't know about that address, but he quickly recovers and replies, “Not sure about that. I don't remember every address I go to. It could be something to do with work.”

“You and your friends were seen entering and leaving the building of 438 49th Street West around the time a crime was committed.”

“So, you automatically assume I committed a crime? I'd like to see that one stick.”

He chuckles; he actually laughs and I want to smack that smirk right off his face.

“For the moment we are just trying to determine your movements at the time the crime was committed. I would like to inform you, we do have a warrant to collect a DNA sample from you. That might have an affect on what you tell us.”

“I'd like to see your warrant...”

Baker shows Babkin the warrant and Tom walks in to collect Babkin's DNA. I'm surprised Babkin doesn't put up more of a fight, but maybe he knows he can't really dispute the warrant. Tom quickly takes the sample and disappears before Jones asks, “Do you know a Miss Romanov?”

At first, Babkin looks a little shocked and then slightly confused, before his features show some clarity. That makes me wonder if Dani was given another name by them, or if she has changed her name since getting away from them.

Babkin says, “Nope, can't say I do.”

Baker clears his throat and replies, “See, now I think you're just lying. Your fingerprints were found in her apartment...”

He shows Babkin the photos of Dani's apartment; thankfully Dani isn't in any of the pictures. Babkin smirks to himself slightly, but he must know he's not going to get out of this by lying, so he sighs and says, “I recognize the apartment. I only know her as Tatyana though.”

“Tatyana?”

“Yeah. You'll probably find my prints on some $100 bills.”

“Why would we find them on the bills?”

Babkin sighs again, “Do I have to spell it out for you, detectives?”

There's a pause before Babkin clears his throat, smirks and responds, “She's a hooker. Has been for years. She's a brotherhood whore; always has been and always will be.”

“So, you're not denying you were in her apartment?”

“No, I was there. You can charge me with solicitation, but you won't find anything else on me. My prints will be on the money, but she was fine when I left. What happened after that has nothing to do with me...”

I can't even believe I'm hearing this right now. Is he seriously going to sit there and tell them Dani was a willing participant in all of this?

Greggson shoots me a look and asks, “Is there any truth in that?”

“No! She would never have willingly let him into her house.”

“Are you sure about that? Maybe you don't know her as well as you think...”

“You're wrong about her. Ramirez is her boyfriend, and as far as I can make out, he spends most nights there. She'd have no way of hiding something like that from him. I do have to give you some background info on her, though. Something I have not long found out myself. We shouldn't do this here though.”

We leave the detectives to finish up questioning Babkin, and on the way up to my floor, I call Tom, “Tom, run the name Tatyana through every database you can. I need to know if there is any link to the Bratva and Dani. Just let me know what you find.”

Clint and I take a seat in my office and I take a moment to think about what I'm going to actually say. It still shocks me that Dani has this kind of history and it's not so easy to detach that from the girl I know.

Clint frowns and questions, “Rob? What's going on?”

“Our analyst, Danica, she was sold to the Bratva as a child. They had her for 10 years, so the comment about her being a prostitute is technically true. Except, she escaped from them about 4 years ago. I can't vouch for what she did right after escaping, but since she's been working here, she's had no ties with them or with any form of illegal activity. I know what Babkin is saying isn't true, because Eli has been with her most of that time.”

“That doesn't mean we can prove it. Unfortunately, the courts will just see Eli's statement as a boyfriend trying to protect his girl. We can only use what the evidence shows. On the down side, there is no way of proving Babkin isn't telling the truth, and that she was raped and beaten after he left. Unless we can find some form of evidence to prove he was involved in her attempted murder, then we can only hold him on the solicitation charge.”

“I know.”

Clint thinks for a few minutes, and then something clicks, “She's Ramirez's CI, isn't she? She's the one who told him how awful Babkin is. It's starting to make more sense now; how Eli could know information no one else could possibly know about the Bratva. But how did he know it's the Solntsevskaya Bratva?”

There's knock on my door, “Come in.”

It's Eli; perfect timing.

“Sir? We're back from the raid. I wasn't sure if you wanted to sit in on the debriefing... Oh, hey Captain Greggson.”

“Hey Lieutenant. I'm sorry to hear about your girlfriend. I just hope we can catch the guys who did it.”

“Thanks. Me too.”

Eli looks like he doesn't want to talk about Dani's condition, so I decide to divert back to the investigation. “Eli, how did you know it was the Solntsevskaya Bratva?”

“Ash and I did some research. It just seems to fit with the stuff that they're into. Plus, with some of the stuff Dani told me, it could only be them. Why?”

“We were just wondering about it, that's all.”

There's another knock on my door; do we want to have a party in here? Eli lets them in, it's Tom.

He looks shocked that there's so many people in here, but he says, “Sir? I think we've found something that might help hold Babkin. Would you like to speak in private?”

One look at Eli's face lets me know that he wants to hear this. Tom doesn't look particularly comfortable at the thought of discussing this in front of Eli though.

“Eli, can you handle staying? Are you going to lose it?”

“No sir. I'm fine.”

I nod to Tom so he continues, “We have a translation on the tattoo Rachel took pictures of on Dani's back. As far as we can figure, the spider in the web usually represents drug addiction. What is most interesting, is the Russian writing underneath the spider's web. We finally got the translation back.”

He hesitates, so I raise my eyebrows and ask, “Yes?”

“Sir, I'm not sure I'm comfortable saying this in front of the Lieutenant. I mean, it's not a particularly nice translation.”

Eli grinds out, “Just say it, Tom. I want to know.”

Tom stares at me as he nods and responds, “Translated into English, it means 'Bratva Whore STN' with the number 15 underneath it.”

Eli sucks in a breath, but doesn't do or say anything else.

I question, “STN? What does that mean?”

Clint speaks up, “That's another name for the Solntsevskaya Bratva. Sometimes they use that name in different states.”

“Right. Any ideas on the number, Tom? Maybe she was the 15th girl they took?”

Eli mutters, “She was 15 when they bought her. That's probably what it means...”

Everyone else is shocked by this revelation. I don't think Tom actually knew the severity of the situation until just now and he takes a step back as he asks, “So the tattoo is true?”

I don't answer, I just say, “Thank you, Tom. Anything else to go on?”

“Not yet, sir. I'm still running the name and the DNA results won't be back for a few days.”

“Right. Thanks Tom.”

He leaves and I take a glance at Eli. He looks surprisingly calm after hearing this news and I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. He takes a deep breath and says, “So, we can link Babkin to the Bratva with this, right?”

“Not necessarily. His statement is throwing some problems our way. We need to work out where we're going from here.”

Clint watches Eli closely, “Lieutenant, I know you must be frustrated with this, but you need to trust us with this. We will do everything we can to hold him.”

“Yeah, I know. However, I'm worried that you won't have enough to keep him. When's his arraignment?”

“Not until tomorrow. The detectives are still questioning him and he'll go into holding after his interview and then to his arraignment as soon as that comes up. It seems like there's a slot tomorrow afternoon that he's booked in to. The DA's office will be coming in to speak to me at some point before that. I need you to keep yourself and your brother away from this one. Understood?”

“Yes sir. You need to tell me if or when Babkin is being released; I'll need to call Arrow and inform him.”

“Will do. Go run training and then you all should be ready to clock out.”





Eli

As I leave the Cap's office, I'm not sure how I feel. I should be shocked at the translation on Dani's tattoo, but to be honest, not much is surprising me when it comes to these people. I quickly debrief the guys and then I tell them we're running training before clocking out. They all groan but stand up and take their gear off. I hear Cam, Ben and Cain whispering among themselves.

I catch Cam say, “I heard he's being interviewed now...”

Cain pipes up, “Personally, I think we should go down there and beat the living daylights out of him...”

I have to speak up, “Who?”

They all look tongue-tied; something my team never suffers with.

“Spit it out, one of you.”

Cain's the brave one, “We heard the guy that attacked Dani is downstairs. Someone said Baker and Jones are questioning him...”

“They are questioning someone, doesn't mean anything until he's found guilty.”

They look shocked and Ben asks, “How can you be so calm about it, LT?”

I sigh, “Because I have to be. We can't go around taking the law into our own hands; that makes us no better than the guys we arrest. No matter how much I want to just deal with it myself, I know I can't. You trust the system, right?”

They all nod, so I continue, “Then let it run it's course. If he's guilty, then the detectives will get him. We have to trust that or we're doing our jobs in vain. Training in 10 minutes, so take your gear off.”

After training, I head to the hospital. Ash is with me when my cell rings. It's Arrow.

“Hey man, what's up?”

“Hey. I need you to do me a favor.”

“Sure. What?”

“I need you to go into the viewing room joined to the interview room Babkin was in.”

I frown and draw out, “Ok... Why?”

“Because I left a bug on the window. It's tiny, so you're going to have to look closely...”

Ok, so that's shocked me. I whisper, “You bugged the precinct?!”

He chuckles and then my words actually sink in, “You bugged the precinct... Did you get the interview?”

“Why do you think I did it?”

“Dude, you are a legend.”

He laughs again and then turns serious, “I know... LT, I have to warn you though, it's not pretty.”

“I don't expect it to be. I've come to learn these people are as far from pretty as you can get. You busy now?”

“Nope. I'm waiting to see if he's released. You want me to swing by your place?”

“I'm at the hospital. You think you can meet us here? We've only just arrived.”

“Sure thing. ICU, right?”

“Yeah. Ask for Romanov at the nurses station, they'll show you where to go.”

“See you in 10.”

As I hang up, I explain to Ash what's going down. His response isn't what I expect.

“How does that guy move around so quickly? Is he like tracking us so he knows how to get us quickly or something?”

I shrug. Now that I think about it, he always seems to arrive anywhere within a short space of time. Maybe he is tracking us all. It is what he's good at after all.

Ash, Arrow and I listen to the recording of Babkin's interview right there, in the hospital room. By the time it's finished, I'm not the only one who is angry.

Ash clears his throat and then voices something we're all thinking, “If Tom can't link Babkin to anything else, he'll walk. They won't make him do time just for picking up a prostitute, as he says.”

“Yeah, but he basically admitted she was used by the Bratva. That's got to count for something, right?”

Arrow frowns, “Depends, he said brotherhood, not Bratva. On a technicality, he'll just say it means some of his Russian brothers, not the actual mafia. Everything is so intertwined and has so many double meanings, that it's hard to get a clear picture.”

“His arraignment is tomorrow, so we'll find out what they're actually charging him with then.”

After Ash and Arrow leave the hospital, I grab a few hours sleep on the chair before I head home to shower and change for work. The day is extremely busy and I don't even get time to ask the Cap about Babkin's arraignment until it's almost time to leave. The Cap looks grim faced as he replies, “They're only charging him with solicitation, as it is the only thing we can link him to. The DNA samples were compromised because there was more than one contributor. We only have his prints on the money, which is explained by his statement. The skin samples under Dani's nails don't match Babkin, and we have to get Arrow to identify the other two men before we can get a warrant for DNA samples. Unfortunately, Dani cannot give us a statement to confirm or deny Babkin's story. But, because of this, the judge has given him 2 months in jail and a $500 fine. She informed him that due to the circumstances surrounding this case, it is in the best interests of the court, the justice system and the DA's office that some form of punishment is given. If we can find anything else linking him to her house, then we can build another case, but until then, he's got 2 months in jail.”

I grind out, “Not good enough. In a couple of months, he'll be free and Dani probably won't even be out of hospital. How is that fair? How does that show us that the system works?”

He sighs and drops his head, “It isn't fair, but we can only punish what we can prove. He's not stupid; he knows what he needs to do to evade us. I'm sorry, Eli.”

I storm out of the Cap's office, breeze past Ash and the team and head to the shooting range. I need to shoot something, I'd like to shoot someone, but that's never going to happen. I'm finishing my second clip when I see Ash out the corner of my eye. His expression is similar to the one I'm probably sporting, so I'm pretty sure he spoke to the Cap. He has the same idea as me, as he shoots the target a number of times. It's amazing how shooting at an inanimate object can help to relieve some pent up emotions.

When we're both quiet, I whisper, “How is this even possible? Why can't we catch a break?”

“I don't know, man. It doesn't seem right or fair, but we are dealing with people who have been evading the law for a very long time. They've got far more to lose by getting caught so they're good at keeping things hidden. If or when Arrow identifies the other guys, then maybe we'll get one of them to turn on Babkin. There's no disputing the DNA under Dani's nails, so that guy isn't getting out of anything. We've got 2 months to find and flip these other guys. Let's focus on that. Ok?”

I nod, but I'm still seething about this major injustice.