Law & Order Special Victims Unit s17e11 Episode Script

Townhouse Incident

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Lucy.
Morning.
Is Luca ready? Oh, I meant to text you.
You don't need to walk him to school today.
He has strep.
Oh, poor kid.
Well, does he need anything? No! My husband's helping out.
We're set.
Okay, well, tell him I hope he feels Noah, where's the apple again? Where do we have the apple? Thank you! Done.
Now, can you show me Sorry, Lucy.
One sec.
Can you show me the orange? No I'm sorry, Lucy.
What were you saying now? The Crivellos that's the other family that you work for? Yes.
There are two kids.
I walk the younger boy, Luca, to school.
I went over this morning to pick him up, and his mom sent me away.
She was acting really strange.
Something was off.
How do you mean? Her voice was really shaky.
She was really nervous.
There were red marks on her neck too.
And her husband was there, yelling.
Maybe you could swing by? Hi.
Lisa.
Olivia Benson.
Sure.
Noah's mom.
- Yeah.
- Lucy's not here.
Well, actually, I stopped by to speak with you.
It's a bad day.
Luca's sick.
Yeah.
You have a you have a little cut there, over your eye.
Oh, it's nothing.
I should go.
So how about I come back later? Let her in.
Actually, why not just come in now? Okay.
Whoa.
Hey! Hey, how you doing? Show me your hands! Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
What are you doing? Both hands up! Now, bitch! You think we're playing with you? No.
No, I don't.
Okay.
You're both in charge.
One move, and I'll blow a hole right through your face.
- Okay.
Okay.
- I'm sorry.
Who the hell is she? Get me her purse.
My name is Olivia Benson, and I'm here by chance, but I'm a New York City police officer.
You armed? I am.
My weapon is holstered right here on my right hip.
Ralph? Come and take this.
You carrying a drop? I am not.
I am not.
You can check.
- I'm not asking permission.
- Okay.
Ooh oh.
We got a problem here.
The old man tell you where the money's at yet? No.
He's holding out.
We don't keep cash here.
Right.
Kick his ass until he coughs.
Ugh! Who all knows you're here? No one.
- You better not be lying to me.
- I am not lying to you.
This your son? Hmm? It is.
Good.
Means that you don't want to die.
Roxie, tie her up.
Listen to me.
We don't need to do that.
Why don't we just talk? I know that you and I can figure this oh! I told you to shut the hell up.
Anyone use a heavy bag in the weight room? I brought my gloves.
You box? Yeah, I did Golden Gloves and pro-am.
You? I don't want to hurt you.
Hey.
We got a call.
Where's Liv? DNA conference all day.
Looks like our push-in rapist struck again, this time in Chelsea.
Same guy? He's black, tall, in his twenties.
He's armed, same M.
O.
Plus, the vics ID'd the sketch.
Just like they did before.
All right.
Either way, let's bring him in alive.
Fin, notify central, alert transit And housing.
I know the drill.
I'm sure you do.
Carisi, tell the one one we're en route.
I'll text Benson when we get there.
Come on, Richard! Ugh! Boss man.
Where's the safe? Ralph, please.
I told you, we don't have a safe.
- Useless! - Ugh! Joe, he says they ain't got a safe.
You swore that there was cash here.
- They own ten supermarkets.
- Yeah, okay.
Roxie, she's upstairs.
She's going through the jewelry, and when she's done, we should go.
You said there's a safe.
Go find it.
The girl rang the bell at 6:00 a.
m.
Said she'd been robbed.
I went to call 911.
Those two burst in.
Have you ever seen them before? The one with the hat, Ralph.
He used to drive a truck for my husband's stores.
Richard told me he fired him.
They've got Luca tied upstairs.
What the hell's taking Roxie so long? Who's that? Don't worry about it.
Go downstairs and find that safe.
You got a text about some rapist.
I really need to answer that.
Please.
There.
You just did.
What did you find? $200 and a bunch of crap jewelry.
Where's the real stuff, huh? I told you there's nothing in here.
Mm maybe we should bring the little boy downstairs.
Hold on there.
Let's not do that.
Wait.
We do have a safe deposit box.
Oh.
Nearby? Joe, hey man, hey, I found some electronics.
New plan.
We're taking Mommy to the bank.
_ So you get back from your run Yeah, I heard someone.
I thought it was my husband, but then I felt the gun.
And where were you, sir? The apartment door was open.
I walk in, and then I see this guy on top of Stacey.
And I just yelled, "Stop! Police!" I'm not police.
That's good.
You scared him.
Yeah, he he went out that window.
Wasn't more than He didn't rape me, but it was close.
I scratched his face.
Okay, that's great.
DNA.
Swab and scrape her hands.
Nothing on the canvass yet? No.
Building's on lockdown.
That's a long jump down He might be hurt.
He didn't jump.
He climbed up.
Neighbors called in a suspicious man checking doors on the adjacent roof.
Good.
He's stuck up there.
Let's go.
- Luca? - Where's Mommy? - Uh-uh.
- She's okay, sweetheart.
I have to pee.
Let me just check if he's okay.
I just want to help the kid.
Oh, you want to help? How about you get on the bed? Rox? He's armed! Gun on the ground, now! Put the gun on the ground.
Come out with your hands up! You gonna shoot me like you did that other black man? I'm not gonna shoot you.
Let's go.
All right, hands on the wall! Hands on the wall! Come on.
Come on! Come here.
Hey.
They caught your rapist.
We should celebrate, huh? Who's up for a party? - Don't, Joe.
- Huh? Eeny meeny miney ho.
Please You.
No.
Please.
You're coming with me.
Joe, you don't need her.
- Turn around - Please help me! Please! - Joe - Please help me! Get off me! Help! Roxie, for God sakes, do something.
- Get off me, please! - Hey! Stop! All you have to do is go in there! Roxie, this is on you.
Let me in there.
Ah! Don't do that again.
Stop touching me! Please! Stop! Help me! You got the wrong guy.
Again.
I'm gonna sue your asses.
You left prints and DNA.
Lab's gonna tie you to all those rapes.
That girl you assaulted and stuffed in the dryer you know she was 12? Here's what I know: lawyer.
Yeah, go ahead.
Lawyer up.
You're still going down.
He's hurting her! Make him stop! She's crying.
Make him stop! - Can't you just shut up? - Make him stop it! Make him shut up.
Well, then, you're gonna have to untie us, aren't you? Make him stop it! She's crying! Please.
I'm not gonna do anything stupid.
Just let me help the boy.
Make him stop it! Someone help! Make him stop! Someone help her! Someone help her.
Make him stop it.
Someone help! Get him quiet.
Someone help! She's crying.
Make him stop.
- I want Tess.
- I know you do.
Come on.
I know.
I know you do.
Listen, I want you to take a big, deep breath, okay? Deep, deep breath.
There you go, sweetheart.
There you go.
Okay.
Okay.
Here, are these yours? Huh? Do you know how to turn on a movie? Okay.
All right.
We can go sit down.
Help me! This can't be the way you wanted things to go down.
You don't know me.
I know that you don't want to hear your boyfriend raping a 16-year-old.
Well, Joe does Joe, and I do me, so why don't you sit down? - You can save yourself.
- What are you, Mother Theresa? I've already been saved, by Joe.
Okay? Who's Lucy? She's my sitter.
She's also Luca's sitter, and she she needs to talk to me.
She needs to know about my son's daycare pickup.
I really need to answer that.
Congratulations.
You found another unarmed black man.
I suppose we should be grateful that you didn't shoot him.
He had a gun on him.
Did he? Who planted it? Don't troll.
This is your client's third rape.
We have multiple IDs.
DNA too.
Forensics will confirm.
Save it for the judge.
May I? Nice work.
Where's Liv? She's still at the DNA conference.
No, she's not.
I was there all morning.
I would've seen her.
- Hey, Detective Carisi.
- Hey, Lucy.
Liv's not in.
She's not? I'm a little worried.
This morning, I sent her to the brownstone of another family I sit for.
I had a really strange vibe from the mom, and Okay.
What did Liv say about it? Well, I haven't been able to talk to her.
Look, she just sent me this weird text.
All right.
Guys, we got a problem here.
Liv just texted this to her babysitter.
"Stuck at precinct all day.
"Pick up William at day care.
He has a play date with Lewis today.
" William Lewis? That's not good.
When did you last hear from her? I texted her a few hours ago about the push-in rapist.
She answered back.
But you didn't actually speak to her? No.
And now she's sending us a text about William Lewis? That's got to be a code for ten-thirteen.
Lucy said that Liv checked on a neighbor this morning.
Where? "Barba" keeps calling.
Why? Just my office.
Surprise.
Shh.
Careful, your head.
What the hell, Roxie? She's untied? Look, I was just helping with the kid.
They're not going anywhere.
You pull anything, and you're never gonna see your son again.
Oh, you're okay.
Can I just get them something to drink? Get away from her.
Ralph? What the hell is taking so long, man? We got the cash from the ATM, but the mom, she's all upset, and she wants to talk to the kids before she goes in.
No.
No, that's not part of the deal.
She sees them after.
Give me the phone.
No.
Now! I have to know they're okay.
- What's going on? - It's under control, Joe.
She just wants proof that we didn't kill them.
Proof? She want to hear them scream? I think that's Mommy on the phone.
How about you take a photo, and you send it to them if you want the money? Smile! Now get the cash, or they're dead.
Who's that? Why don't you let me answer it? Whoever it is, I will get rid of them.
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, no.
She goes! You love him, right? One wrong move, and it's lights out for your little bro.
I'm not supposed to open the door.
It's okay, we're truant officers.
Yeah, we're with the Board of Ed.
You and your brother weren't at school today.
We're both sick.
Okay, can we talk to your mom and dad? They're not home.
I got to go.
GPS says Liv's still inside.
That girl was not okay.
They're gone, Joe.
We're jacked.
They were cops.
What the hell did you say to them? Nothing, I just told him Luca and I were sick.
Listen to me; they may have figured out that I'm here, so their next move is to call for backup.
Now is the time for you guys to go.
You just need to stop talking.
You know, maybe we should listen to her.
Babe, come on.
We need to get out of here.
Come on.
Look at her.
She's a cop.
Everything that she says is a lie.
Everything that she says is a trap.
There's no perimeter here.
I'm telling you.
Look out.
Look for yourself.
There's no perimeter.
Okay? Slip out the back before they figure out who you are.
We're not going anywhere until we get the money.
You got that? Chief Gabriel? Mike Dodds.
Where are we? We have a level one going on.
The precinct has the area in lockdown.
Everyone in the line of fire has been evacuated, and everyone else has been told to shelter in place.
Did you call into the house yet? We're waiting for hostage negotiation.
- Chief? - Captain Sasso, pole cams up? Up and running.
We see two armed suspects.
White male, about 40, and a younger white female.
What about Benson? She's inside with a teenage girl and a younger boy.
That's Tess and her brother, Luca.
Everyone seems to be sequestered in a second floor bedroom.
Okay, what about the parents? Richard owns Crivello's grocery chain.
He was MIA from work today.
Lisa's a stay-at-home mom.
No visual yet.
I'll work other angles.
All right.
Dammit.
Dammit.
We should have gone.
They're gonna kill us.
Let Richard go.
Let the kids go.
You keep me.
I'm your best asset.
And where's your stupid-ass brother, Roxie? I don't know, Joe.
He should've been back by now.
I mean, what are we doing here? What's our plan? - Shut up! - What's our play? What's our plan? Just let me think! Let me think, okay? Hey.
Yeah, you.
You're gonna get us out of here.
You're gonna call them and tell them to stand down.
They won't, Joe.
Oh, you don't think I'm serious? How about I shove this gun down her throat? Open your mouth.
Okay, okay.
No need for that.
Give me my phone.
I'm gonna call my sergeant, okay? - Speaker on.
- Okay.
No secrets.
Hey, it's Benson.
They're still setting up the secure line.
Record this.
Dodds, it's just you.
Go.
- Dodds.
- Dodds, it's Benson here.
We're all okay.
I want the cameras down and the snipers to back away.
Joe wants the snipers to back away and the cameras disabled.
Okay.
Okay, we can do that.
A negotiator's en route.
In the meantime, is everybody okay? A negotiator? A pizza for a hostage? - They just want to talk.
- Yeah, I know what that means.
Talk, talk, talk.
Get away from the window.
Come on.
Joe You're holding a family and a police officer hostage.
If you don't talk to them, they're gonna burst in here, and they're gonna take you out, and they're gonna take Roxie out.
That's just where we are.
Joe.
Fine.
Who at the NYPD do you trust? My squad.
My detectives.
No.
Someone with more pull.
Someone that cares about you.
Is there anyone at the NYPD who cares if you live or if you die? Any change in the situation? No, Captain.
The hostage taker told Benson he's waiting for you to arrive.
Okay, I need to know everything you've told him.
We agreed to pull back ESU, turn off the cameras, and get you here; that's it.
Also, this guy sounded pretty hopped up to me.
- Like on drugs? - Mm.
Great, his emotions are up and he's high.
Not much room for rational thinking.
Nope, not much.
Captain Tucker? I'm Chief Gabriel, incident commander.
ESU's set.
Hostage negotiation team can walk you through this.
I'm all right.
I was on the team before IAB.
I take the refresher twice a year.
Okay.
I think we're good.
What happened to your friend, huh? The one with the juice? Where is he? He's gonna be here, and when he gets here, he's gonna want to know how everyone is doing, so So would you let me just check on Richard? Roxie could go with me.
This is all your fault.
If anyone dies No one is gonna die, okay? She's gonna get her guy, and then we're gonna get out of here.
And what about your idiot for a brother, Roxie? Huh? You know, this whole place is surrounded, so if he saw a cop Answer on speaker.
Now.
Benson.
You're on speaker, and Joe is here with me.
It's Tucker.
Everyone okay? Joe and Roxie are taking good care of us.
The children are unharmed, and the father's injuries are under control.
I see.
And how about Lisa, the mother? You say that she's here.
And if he wants to talk to her? Joe if he thinks that I'm lying, he's gonna get nervous.
You don't want that.
Don't say a thing about the bank.
She's not here right now, but she will be back soon.
Is she okay? They let the mother go out on her own? No way.
There's a third hostage taker.
They're making a bank run.
Which bank? There's one on every corner in this neighborhood.
We'll check their financials.
I'll lock down every bank in the zip code.
I got a photo of the mother.
I'll text it out.
Let us know if you get anything on the third guy.
I see.
And Joe is there with you? Yes, he is.
He can hear you.
Hey, Joe.
This is Captain Tucker.
You can call me Ed.
Everything all right? What do you think, Ed? I got a gun to your cop.
No tricks.
Joe, I am listening to you.
I am, and I know how stressful this is for you, and I want you to know, I've done this a lot more than you have, so I can get you out of this.
- Tell him.
- Okay, Tucker? Joe has some things that he needs.
I want an SUV with tinted windows no driver, can't be rigged and I want a million dollars in cash.
He's asking for a car, Tucker.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm getting this.
Transportation and money is that right, Joe? I'm not finished.
I want the streets to a helipad cleared, all the traffic blocked like I'm the freakin' pope, and then I want a helicopter standing by, and then, I want a CJ4 jet, fully fueled no pilot, because I can fly.
Well, the truth is, it's gonna take some time, bud.
You tell them, or else Okay.
Tucker? Joe's not playing around.
I understand Joe's not playing around.
Okay, we will get all these things in motion, Joe, but how about, as an act of good faith, you release the kids? How about I don't shoot them right this second? Huh? There's your good faith.
Tucker, ESU says they have the building covered.
They're ready to go inside.
I'm sure they are, but this doesn't need to get tactical yet.
He's making demands, which means he's looking toward the future.
He wants to live.
The mom just made a withdrawal from an ATM.
Fin and Carisi are on their way.
_ Hey, sorry for the wait, but Trish had to step upstairs for a sec.
We've been ready to go forever.
Now let us out of here.
No problem.
Right this way.
Down on the ground! Now! On the ground! No! Stop! You're safe.
Come on, let's go.
Gun! Did Joe give me up? He's the one who made me do this.
All right, listen to me.
Joe's not your friend right now.
I am.
That's why you got to tell me everything you can about what's going on inside that house.
Ralph Volkov.
Assault, drunk driving.
Fired by Crivello's grocery chain after two failed drug tests.
A revenge plan? But he's not the ringleader? No.
Yeah, this was his idea.
I didn't I didn't want to hurt them.
We just we needed the money.
Hello, Ralph.
I'm Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba.
So who's "we"? Me and my sister Roxie.
Our our mother, she she needs a new hip.
She can hardly walk.
Roxie's the one in the house now? Yeah, but she didn't want to hurt anyone either.
That's all on Joe.
Uhhuh.
Joe's his real name? Ralph? Ralph, look at me.
Anybody dies in there, you're on the hook for felony murder.
You help us, or you're gone.
Joe's his real name.
Joe Utley.
They wouldn't stop hitting my husband.
He was bleeding from the head for hours.
Well, head wounds tend to bleed a lot.
Usually looks a lot worse than it is, okay? Now, can you tell me how many guns they had inside? Oh, I'm not sure, but they each had a gun.
- Pistols? - Yes, three pistols.
And Joe had, like, a machine gun or something.
Did Lieutenant Benson have a gun on her? They took it away.
You've got to let me back in there.
I promised them I'd bring the money, and I need to see my kids.
- Okay.
- They're okay, right? I mean, they were half an hour ago.
- You sure of that? - Yes.
Before going into the bank, I made them send a photo to Ralph's phone.
This photo this the last time you had contact with Joe and Roxie? Yeah, man.
Good, we may need you to call him.
No, he's gonna be mad at me.
Hey, this your buddy right here? That's Joe, but he's not my buddy.
Joe Utley, dishonorably discharged from Special Forces.
They sent him down for the war on drugs.
He ended up switching sides.
Joe's about to call Ralph.
That's you.
Yeah, but this wasn't my idea.
Play along.
Tell him you have the money, and to ask the negotiator to let you two hook up safely.
I don't think I should get involved.
Let me ask you something, man.
You ever want to see your sister alive again? Hey, Joe.
Ralph, where the hell are you? Huh? You got the cash? Yeah, I got it.
I got it right here.
Good.
The cops know we're inside.
Get back here and tell them to let you in.
House is surrounded, man.
Just do it, Ralph.
The cops will let you in.
Uh I can't.
They got me.
Son of a bitch! Your brother! They got him.
Who? The cops? Is he okay? I'm not really concerned about him right now.
Well, I am.
Are we gonna get him back? You're gonna get him back, right, Joe? You gonna answer that? Answer one of them! Shut up! What? Hey, Joe.
It's Ed.
Can you hear me? I'm here with Ralph.
Yeah, well, I want Ralph, and I want the cash here, now.
You lie again, and your pretty little girlfriend dies.
Joe, no one can make you kill anybody if you don't want to.
He really wants Ralph in here, now.
Yeah, I understand that, but that's not something we can do right now.
He's telling you the truth.
We're not allowed to send civilians inside.
Okay.
Then I'm done talking.
Joe, listen to me.
ESU is all over this block.
Do you know who they are? Yeah, Ed.
They're like SWAT.
Exactly.
You stop talking to me, they pull me away, and those guys take over.
Let me talk to Ralph.
I can't go in, Joe.
They got snipers.
You're an idiot.
He said that he could do this, that he could get the money.
This is your fault.
You said that he was good for this.
You should have gone, okay? Don't blame this on him! This is your fault.
Okay, that guy in there? He's not doing so great.
Okay? He's gonna die, okay? Everybody okay? Okay.
So we know that Ralph's not coming in here, but do you have his money? Good idea.
Joe, let's make another deal.
We'll give you the $50,000 Ralph got.
There we go.
I got bonds, too, Joe, from the safety deposit box.
Those, too.
The money, the bonds You give us the kids.
A trade for a trade.
Yeah.
Oh, come on, Joe.
Okay.
Okay.
Joe's on board.
You get us the money, and he will send out one person.
You made the right choice, Joe.
I have your money.
There's two EMTs standing by to take Richard out of there.
No guns, no tricks.
I promise.
What are they wearing? They're wearing EMT uniforms.
How do I know that they're not carrying? I want both those guys to strip down, now.
They're not carrying, Joe.
Bull.
Make them strip.
All right, but they keep their vests on.
Oh, that's fine.
But what about my car, huh? Is the helicopter ready? The plane? We're working on all of that, Joe, okay? We just need more time.
Stand by.
He wants you to strip.
The money is all there.
And what about my car? They told me to tell you it's on its way, and so is the helicopter.
How do I know you're not lying? If they say that it's coming, it's coming.
Fine.
Get him out of here.
Wait.
The vests take them off.
- Nice work.
- Thanks.
How's it look in there? - It's not good.
- Liv okay? - She's okay.
- Joe? I want to thank you.
It was good getting Richard out of there.
Now we're onto the next step, okay? The car's pulling up.
It's there, Joe.
Next, I'm gonna send someone out to check the car.
I want the keys in the ignition, engine running, and I want all those ESU guys gone.
You hear me? I want a clear path! Hey, boss lady, why don't you put this vest on Roxie? Okay.
Roxie, you don't have to do this.
They have your brother.
He's safe.
This is your chance.
You go out there, and you don't come back.
I know you don't want to die.
How do you know? All you have to do is drop to your knees and put your hands up.
Just shut up.
Just shut up.
Buckle me in.
Here she comes.
Everyone hold fire.
Yeah, everything's clear, Joe.
Get back in here.
Roxie? What is taking so long? Roxie? What are you doing? What's going on out there? She's still at the car, Joe.
Get in here.
Let's go! Roxie? I'm I'm sorry, Joe.
Hey, hold up.
She's surrendering.
We got her.
Get her over here.
Damn you.
Take it easy.
What did you say to her? I didn't tell her anything, Joe.
Agh! I'm sick of you lying to me! Ow! Joe, listen to me.
This is better for you.
You don't need her.
We're so close.
We're so close to getting out of here.
You tell Tucker how we're gonna do this.
Your terms, Joe.
Your terms.
Hey, Joe? You got what you wanted now.
The money, the car, the chopper, the plane but now I'm gonna need something.
The kids, Joe.
Okay? No.
We're all going out of here together, and if anything happens, everyone's gonna die with me.
End of negotiations.
I've kept my side.
We're gonna need at least one kid.
Fine.
When I get into the car, I'll give you the little kid, but I'm keeping my girls.
They're taking me out, aren't they? You keep your gun to my head, and they're not gonna try to beat your trigger squeeze.
That, I know for a fact.
So we're not letting him drive out of here.
Nobody shoots till I give you the green light.
Hold on, Chief, okay? He's lost his girl.
He comes out, he sees massive PD presence Maybe we ask him to lay down.
What? Take a knee? That's not your call, Tucker.
Thanks for your help.
You keep him talking as long as you can, but ESU's got this now.
Is that clear? Okay, Joe, just keep your gun to my head.
Oh, you're not gonna have to worry about that.
Now, let's go.
They're coming out of the garden level.
We're gonna go up the steps.
Nice and slow.
Okay.
Hold your fire! It's okay, honey.
We're almost there.
You're doing great, guys.
It's okay.
Nice and easy.
Get back! Move! Get back! Now! Farther back! Wait for the green light.
The kids are going in the back of the car.
You know, Joe Joe, we don't really we don't really need the kids anymore, right? You keep your gun on me.
Why don't we let the kids go? And just make it about you and me, Joe.
I'm all you need.
You and me.
Go go.
He's letting both kids go! Okay, that's great, Joe.
Come on.
- Thank you, Joe.
- All right, come on.
Come on.
Keep going.
Keep going, keep going.
- Get in.
- Okay.
I'm getting in.
I'm just gonna let Tucker know the plan, okay? No, I'm gonna tell Tucker Take him out! Lieutenant! Secure his weapon! - I got it! - You all right? Come on.
Come on.
- It's over.
- I'm okay.
If you say so.
He was dead before he hit the ground.
- Where's Noah? - We'll bring him.
But where is he? Okay, he's with Lucy right now.
We're gonna find him for you, okay? Lieutenant, just take care of yourself first.
Okay.
Tucker Thank you.
For what? You did a great job in there, Lieutenant.
Let's get you out of here.
Come on.

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