Sophia was quiet for most of the flight to New York with Agent Hotchner and Dr. Reid. She was still trying to wrap her head around it all even after all these years. The flight from Chicago To New York took a couple of hours. When they stepped off the jet they were instantly greeted by a federal SUV with tinted out windows. The detective sat in the back seat as Agent Hotchner drove them back to the police station while Dr. Reid sat in the passenger seat. The detective could tell they had questions for her but they didn't ask her.
Special Victims Unit, New York City Police Department, New York City
Sophia followed Agent Hotchner and Dr. Reid into a tall building and into a large office space with a sign that read 'New York Police Department, Special Victims Unit' In the open office stood a few faces she didn't recognize along with the rest of the BAU she met working a case together almost a year ago. "How did the trip go?" an older woman with dark brown hair asked as she walked over to the three of them.
"Good," Agent Hotchner replied, "Agent Hale?" Agent Morgan said more than asked the woman standing to the side. "It's Detective now, it's nice to see you all again," Sophia replied as she shook agent Morgan's hand followed by agents Prentiss, Jareau, and Rossi. "It's nice to see you too," Agent Prentiss said confused as the agents looked at Dr. Reid and Agent Hotchner.
"Detective Hale is here to help us catch our unsub, we have reason to believe she crossed paths with him at some point," Agent Hotchner replied to everyone. "I'm Lieutenant Olivia Benson, thank you for helping us on this case," the brunette woman said as she held her hand out to Sophia.
The Detective shook her hand, "Glad I can help Lieutenant," she replied. "Detective Carisi, but everyone calls me Sonny," a light brunette Detective said with gelled back hair. "Detective Hale," She replied shaking his hand. "Detective Rollins," A blonde Detective introduced shaking Sophia's hand next. "Detective Tutuola," he introduced shaking her hand. "Agent Hotchner mentioned you might have crossed paths with our unsub?" Lieutenant Benson asked.
Sophia nodded, "I can't tell you much about him because It's a blur, but I might be able to point you to who can get you in touch with him." the detective replied as she noticed the wipe board covered in 10 teenage girls all nude, dead and tied down to a bed. Sophia turned her gaze away from the photos realizing everyone was looking at her.
"How do you get in touch with this guy?" Agent Rossi asked her, "You don't get in touch with him, he reaches out to their... pimp I guess you could call him," Hale replied. "Wait you're saying our killer in a john?" Lieutenant Benson asked. "Can I ask, how many of these victims were in foster care or runaways?" Detective Hale asked glancing at the board for a moment. "All of them, how did you know that?" Detective Tutuola asked her.
Detective Hale went quiet, "that's how you crossed paths with our unsub." Agent Prentiss said more than asked her tone soft as she tried to cover the sadness on her face and in her voice. Sophia stayed quiet but nodded her head yes, "Around my 5th birthday CPS deemed my mom an unfit guardian for numerous reasons. I bounced from foster home to foster home until I aged out of the system and 99% of these homes don't care about the kids, they're all just a paycheck..." Sophia said with a sigh as everyone stayed quiet.
"When I turned 15 I was placed in a home with Damien Harris I believe was his name. He'd...." Sophia paused taking a breath and looking at the floor. "Take as much time as you need," Lieutenant Benson said softly. "He'd set up... 'dates' for the girls in his care, with older men usually," the Detective replied fighting the the tears threatening to spill.
Sophia spent almost a decade trying to forget what happened in her time with Damien. "Can you tell us about the... dates?" Agent Prentiss asked softly. "Damien would pick what we wear, give us a shot of vodka, tequila whatever he had on hand, then drive us to a parking garage to meet whoever our 'date' was and by the time I'd get in the 'date's' vehicle everything's a dark hole... I'd usually come too back at Harris' house in my room," Sophia replied her voice barely above a whisper.
The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop, "I'd wake up with bruises, cuts, bite marks to the point blood was drawn... my body hurt so much I'd stay in bed for a few days until Damien would get pissed off the house was a mess, or to get the hell up because he'd arranged another 'date'" Sophia replied explaining what she could recall from that time in her life.
The room was silent, "I'm so sorry you went through that," Lieutenant Benson said meeting Sophia's gaze. Her voice was soft as she spoke and her face was empathetic instead of the usual sympathetic looks she'd get when she briefly and vaguely brought up any part of her childhood. She would never forget the looks Will and Jay gave her when she told them what she remembered about her mom and living with her. After that Sophia never really brought anything from her past up again not wanting to receive that sad look of pity from anyone.
Sophia sighed and shrugged, "It is what it is," was all she said. "No honey, it's not whatever... You were sold by your guardian and pimped out to be sexually assaulted... That's a lot to carry," Lieutenant Benson said softly. "I'll get Garcia to look into the victim's guardians," Agent Morgan said looking at Agent Hotchner before he stepped away to make a call.
"Can I get you a coffee or anything?" Detective Rollins asked her as Sophia just shook her head. "No, thank you," she replied softly. "So Garcia did some digging and it turns out all the victims were placed in a home by the same couple Darren and Rachel Harris. Garcia did some more digging and it turns out Rachel Harris died 8 years ago and Darren Harris didn't exist more than 9 years ago when he registered for a driver's license in New York," Agent Morgan replied.
"So what you're saying is Darren Harris is an alias?" Detective Carisi said more than asked. "Did Garcia send a photo of Darren Harris' driver's license photo?" Agent Hotchner asked. "Of course, here," Agent Morgan said pulling up the photo on his phone. "Can I?" Sophia asked the agent who looked at Agent Hotchner who nodded silently.
Agent Morgan turned the phone to face her showing her the photo. The detective froze when she saw him. "Son of a- you know him." Dr. Reid said more than asked. "That's... Damien Harris," Sophia replied causing the agents and detectives to exchange silent looks. "Hale your sure?" Agent Hotchner asked her. "I swear on my badge, career, and life. That's Damien Harris, he- he was the worst placement I had with CPS," Sophia replied.
"Garcia just sent Damien Harris' Home and Work address'," Agent Morgan said, "Alright, Morgan, Reid want to bring in Mr. Harris?" Agent Hotchner asked the agents who nodded and made their way out of the office. Agent Hotchner led Sophia into a room with a table and chairs where she could have a seat and relax. "I brought a bottle of water," Agent Prentiss said walking into the room and setting the bottle on the table in front of Sophia. "Thanks," she replied softly as she took a seat next to Sophia along with Agent Hotchner.
"Can I ask what happened to your mom?" he asked her carefully asking the question. Sophia took a sip of water, "Police found her in a flop house in Humble Park, she ODed when I was 10," Sophia replied. "I'm really sorry," Agent Hotchner replied earning a shrug from Sophia who didn't know what to say. "What about your dad?" Agent Prentiss asked her earning another shrug. "I don't know much about him, my mom didn't really talk about him... She said he was a professional baseball player, from here in New York actually a pitcher, no idea what team. Honestly, I thought she was on another one of her high rambles that made no sense so I'd take that with a grain of salt," Sophia replied.
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Hey, everyone I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I don't tend to start my stories off with this much chaos but this story is slightly different than most of my other books. With that being said I hope you enjoy this story, I'm hoping to have Chapter 3 posted by Tomorrow ( Sunday, May 19th, 2024)
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Survivor (One Chicago / Law & Order SVU Fanfic) *Temporarily On Hold*
Fanfiction*Co-Writer: @BrooklynDaniels32 * Sophia Hale spent her entire life surviving. Her father took off before she was born, her mom turned to pills to cope, the pills turned to harder drugs, and her mom's boyfriend would weaponize her addiction in order...
