Danger Zone (File One of The First Responders Files)

Chapter Forty-Three

While SVU (plus a sergeant and an officer) rushes to find their arsonist, Matt deals with having to sit out a few shifts . . . at least he trusts the guy who's running Truck in his place.

***

When Olivia returned to the precinct, she stopped in her tracks, seeing Garland, Carlos, and Nick exchanging files between themselves. "You know, Liv, when you said Stabler was aggressive, I didn't know it was this aggressive," Nick remarked, showing what they were looking at.

"You're going through his records?" Olivia asked in surprise.

"This is the wife of a police detective who works counter-terrorism," Garland reminded Olivia. "Any piece of information we have, we will sift through."

"And Nick thought an unbiased set of eyes might be helpful," Carlos added.

"Unbiased?" Olivia repeated.

"I was your partner," Nick shrugged.

"I think it's fairly obvious what my bias might be," Garland remarked dryly, nodding to the NYPD crest on the wall.

Olivia conceded with a sigh, sitting down next to Carlos. "And your findings?"

"Multiple firearm discharges, six fatal shootings," Garland answered, raising an eyebrow. "And I'm still going through the IAB logs."

"Disposition on multiple charges," Nick continued, then snorted. "Oh . . . and referred for counseling."

"We were both referred," Olivia corrected.

"Why did he resign from the force?" Garland wondered. "There's no official reason."

Olivia tensed, looking down at her hands. She felt Carlos scoot just an inch closer, no doubt trying to offer some form of comfort without breaking professionalism. She gave him a grateful smile, and Carlos nodded encouragingly. "His last shooting was a 16-year-old girl who brought a gun into the stationhouse," she told Garland. "And, you know, my guess . . . my guess is that he just didn't want to go through the hoops. IAB interviews, counseling."

"You guess?" Garland repeated in surprise. "Come on, he didn't tell you?"

"From what I've heard from TK and his father, sir, he didn't have contact with either Captain Benson or Captain Strand after he left the force," Carlos offered quietly.

Garland turned to Nick, who merely nodded. "They didn't when I took his place," the sergeant added.

Olivia nodded, confirming their statements. "I know how this looks," she said, gesturing over the files everyone held. "He got too rough back in the day . . . but it wasn't just testosterone. It was because he cared so much."

Garland nodded, mulling it over. "And he was your first partner, the one who had your back," he listed. "You were his junior when there weren't that many female detectives. I get it."

"Someone's gonna think that at some point and possibly bring it up," Nick pointed out.

Olivia sighed, nodding. And thank God that Garland was bringing it up before anyone else might. "Chief, I'm not making excuses for him, and I'm not apologizing for him," she said. "But I believe that he changed."

"I hope so," Garland admitted, surprising her. "Forgive me if I have my doubts. A grunt former Marine, a night college degree, and a CPI like this? He goes off the grid for six years, and somehow the old boy network got him back on the force."

"He's a good detective, sir," Carlos shook his head. "I've seen parts of how he works, back in Austin. That's the most recent shooting in the books," he pointed to the file Nick held. "And it wasn't fatal. He took that shot to save Captain Brett's life. He's a good man."