Law & Order Special Victims Unit s20e18 Episode Script
Blackout
1 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.
Lieutenant Benson, you testified that you were the lead investigator on this case? I supervised the detectives, yes.
So you were the senior officer? - Yes.
- So it was your decision to hold my client, Mr.
Stevens, solely responsible for organizing this alleged sex party.
- Is that right? - The issue wasn't that it was a sex party.
The issue was that most of the girls in attendance were underage.
Your Honor, may I approach? I am going to file another motion to dismiss these charges.
Your Honor, how many more Hail Marys do we have to put up with? This is the second time in a week that Mrs.
Staines has made assertions without any basis.
Actually, I may see a basis this time.
In fact, I'm seriously considering dropping all charges against Mr.
Stevens.
Counselors, in my chambers now.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
I know my left hook needs work.
You're looking really good though.
I tell you what.
The next time we box, I'm hitting back.
Oh, well, now you're scaring me.
See you.
Ho, Lieutenant! Twice in one day.
Yeah, caught a real break today with the charges being dropped.
Yeah, I was surprised myself.
Just to show that there's no hard feelings, I have an extra ticket to the police philanthropy event tonight.
I didn't know I was getting divorced when I bought a pair of 'em six months ago.
Do you really think - that that's appropriate? - Yeah, why not? Maybe because you're suing the NYPD for $15 million? [LAUGHS.]
Come on.
It's a civil liberties case about the department conducting illegal surveillance on activist groups.
It's got nothing to do with your unit.
I'll tell you what.
I'll see you there because I already have a ticket.
Two hours of glad-handing the brass.
I am so ready to be on my couch with my feet up.
- Or in bed.
- Or that.
One more time around the room and we're out of here.
I was ready to go when we got here.
Nikki, we saved the city.
You cannot protect the rights of citizens by violating the rights of citizens.
All right, then why don't you call a constitutional law professor the next time somebody breaks into your car.
So, so much for small talk.
No, just a little sparring after hours.
It's nothing personal.
- Says you.
- Back at you, Sergeant.
And I need a refill.
How about we say good night to Dodds - and get the hell out of here? - Right behind you.
- We'll catch up.
- Good night, guys.
Lieutenant, Detective, am I allowed to say you both look lovely tonight? Only if you say the same thing to Fin and Carisi.
Oh, yeah, I'll get right on that.
Bill, are you going to introduce me? Benson, Rollins, meet Rob Miller, co-counsel to our lawyers on the civil rights lawsuit.
The case that Nicky Staines is litigating.
So you've heard of me? Well, you did make the top ten attorneys in "New York Magazine" last year.
It's what you get for picking up the check at lunch with a starving publisher.
That and $2.
75 gets you a ride on the bus.
Don't believe it.
Rob is one of the people who really runs this town.
Hardly.
Can I say I'm a huge fan of the work your unit does? Always nice to hear.
That a Georgia accent? - Loganville? - That's a first.
I went to school down south.
Lieutenant, nice to put a face to a name.
Maybe we could grab a coffee some time.
Chief knows how to get ahold of me.
Can I get you ladies a drink? - Actually, I have a - Sitter on the clock.
- I get it.
- Mm.
Both of you, thanks for making an appearance.
Of course.
What do you say? I say Mr.
High Powered Lawyer was making the moves on you.
- On me? - Mm.
What about you? Loganville? Ahh.
- All I got time for is kids.
- [SIGHS.]
Noah is waiting up for me as we speak.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[GROANS.]
- Where is she? - I didn't want to touch her.
I wasn't sure if she's alive or dead.
I got a pulse.
North Eddie, we got a pick-up of 54, 149 West Franklin Street.
Unconscious female.
- We need a bus.
- Honey.
You okay? [GROANS.]
Help help.
What are we looking at? White female, 40s.
Says she was assaulted.
She was pretty out of it, but she asked us to call SVU.
All right.
That's Nikki Staines.
Ms.
Staines.
Hey, what happened to you? I can't remember.
I must have been drugged.
Okay, okay.
We're gonna take care of you.
You know who did this to you? No.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
All I know is that I need a goddamn rape kit.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
- Hey.
- Brought these for you.
They're testing my clothes for DNA? Yes.
We're following procedure.
And where are we on the blood work? We'll have to wait a little bit longer for that.
Make sure that they don't just test for roofies, please.
- Okay.
- The last thing that I remember is ordering a drink, but I could have been drugged at any time.
- Okay.
- A-a-and date rape drugs can cause retroactive memory loss - We know that.
- [SIGHS.]
I know you wanna feel like you're in control.
I'm an experienced attorney, Detective.
I realize that, but you're gonna have to let us do our jobs.
Yes, y you're right.
Uh, I need to call my daughter.
Of course.
I got crime scenes to release this early - so you can get out of here.
- Thank you.
My phone What? My my wallet's here with all the money and credit cards in it, but where's my phone? That's everything you had on you.
[GASPING.]
I need my phone.
Um, my whole life's on it.
It's got a lot of sensitive information on it.
Okay.
And, uh, it just disappeared while it was in police custody.
No one on our end took anything.
Right.
I need to get out of here.
Can you please give me some privacy? Yeah.
Hey, what did we get from the hospital report? The tox screen was inconclusive for drugs but her blood alcohol content was .
12.
Okay, let's not get stuck on that.
I mean, she still could have been drugged.
They change one molecule and it doesn't show up on the test.
What did she say about the assault? Well, all she could say is she blacked out.
There was semen in her underwear but no tearing or bruising.
- Okay, what about DNA? - No matches yet, but, uh, we're still checking.
You have a problem, Carisi? No, I I understand that she's a victim here.
I just I guess I'd rather be working on behalf of somebody who's not suing our department for 15 mill.
Okay, well, that doesn't matter now.
So what do we know about the crime scene? She was found in the vestibule of her apartment building.
None of her neighbors know how she got there.
The traffic cam picked her up on the street, stumbling.
- Her phone? - The last ping was about a quarter mile from the event.
That was about an hour and a half after we saw her.
Okay, so let's expand the perimeter to include the party location.
Do we have security footage, guest lists? - Working on it.
- Wait, hold on.
This might not have anything to do with the party.
Now we got no DNA from the semen, but we did get a hit on the hair fiber.
J.
J.
Austen, he's one of Nikki's former clients.
- Well, how did she do for him? - Not great.
He did three years in Greenhaven for filming porn in his garage.
One of his actresses was underage.
He just got out last month.
Oh, my God, Daddy.
So smooth.
[MOANING.]
See? I'm not making porn anymore.
It's erotic podcasts.
People can listen in the kitchen, - the car, at work.
- Dude, what? That's why stop and go traffic is so bad.
Got the idea from Nikki actually.
- How so? - She was always recording conversations on her phone.
She said it was for legal reasons but I said she must have got turned on listening to them.
Have you been in touch with her? Oh, what's this about? Last thing I need is trouble with the police.
Okay, let's get back to the part where you said she liked recording people on her phone.
Like I said, she called it her mobile office.
Tell you the truth, I think she got paranoid when the FBI started raiding the lawyer's offices.
She wouldn't even upload to the cloud.
- What information's on it? - I don't know.
But she used to say there'd be a lot of people crying if that phone got in the wrong hands.
[KNOCKING.]
Hey, guys.
We'll be in touch.
Nikki's been saying her whole life is on that phone.
A lot of other people's, too, it sounds like.
No wonder she's dying to get it back.
So you're just gonna hassle my old clients instead of looking at real suspects? You know how this works.
We are following every lead, trying to figure out what happened to you.
I know what happened to me.
I was drugged and I was raped.
Have you even checked the video from the party? Yes, we looked at the street cams, the security cams.
If you were dosed there, the cameras missed it.
Oh, well, isn't that convenient? [SCOFFS.]
So what? You guys think that I went out and had a one night stand and can't remember it now? I am not a blackout drunk.
No one thinks that.
We're just looking at a list of individuals that may have motive.
No, see, I know where you're going with this.
You're looking to pin it on one of my clients so that you don't have to look at a guest list that is 50% police! Counselor, you're way off base here.
- Am I? - Yeah.
Doesn't it seem funny to you at all that whoever did this to me knew enough to take my phone and turn off the tracking? Everybody would know to do that.
Well, who would go to such extremes to gain access to my key information? My texts and phone numbers and recorded statements from clients.
Are you really suggesting that somebody from our department drugged you and then raped you just so that they could steal your cell phone? A lot of your brother officers have vendettas against me because I have called them out and sued them.
You're out on a limb here, Counselor.
I have been personally threatened by cops dozens of times and now I have been assaulted after a police party, so why aren't you questioning them? You should be looking at your own.
[SCOFFS.]
So does Nikki Staines have a point? Should we be looking at a cop for this? I'm not buying it.
Well, if you're gonna say that there is no way a police officer could have done this, - I'm gonna say you're wrong.
- And if this was some random assault after the party, why did he take her phone and not her wallet? Okay, I admit it's hinky, but it's not dispositive.
She is suing the department.
This is the biggest case of her career.
If he wanted a phone, why did he rape her? Well, she did say that a lot of cops had personal vendettas against her.
But I say we stay focused on the party.
I mean, she doesn't remember leaving, the security cams didn't pick her up outside the event, and whoever drove her home avoided the street cams.
Which a cop would know how to do.
That's opportunity.
What about motive? Look, was she suing any of these cops individually? She could be planning to.
The only way we're gonna rule this out is to subpoena every single cop at that party.
So which one of you wants to go to talk to Dodds with me? Let me get this straight.
You want me to allow a fishing expedition on the personnel records of 50 police officers? They were all at this party.
We need to eliminate them as suspects.
And create a record that will be a treasure trove for a defense lawyer already suing our department? No.
We don't want it to look like we're circling the wagons.
I got news.
We are circling the wagons.
- Staines is the enemy.
- No, not this time.
Staines is the victim here, Dodds.
I have to ask.
Are you sure you even have a case? I know! I know, I get it.
She says she doesn't remember consenting.
I believe that she was drugged, assaulted, and whoever did this knew how to avoid detection.
They were careful not to be seen.
They avoided the cameras.
Yeah, or Staines is steering us - in that direction.
- What possible reason would she have to do that? I don't know.
But before I sign off on subpoenas for half the department, just vet her motives.
Talk to Rob Miller.
I was horrified to hear what happened to Nikki Staines.
How's she doing? As well as can be expected.
So you spoke with her at the party.
Do you recall her leaving with anyone? No, but I'd had a lot to drink myself.
I barely remember how I got home.
Nobody said being a lawyer makes you a perfect witness, huh? Actually, lawyers generally make lousy witnesses.
So the chief said you're a little stymied in your investigation? [SCOFFS.]
- Could we speak privately? - Of course.
Maria, thank you.
So Dodds said that you might be able to provide some insight on what happened to Nikki.
Well, I've learned a thing or two from being her opposing counsel on this surveillance case.
Like what? The power of technology.
It's a list of suspects from the sex crimes databases who happened to be in the area where Nikki says she was assaulted.
Wow.
Where did you get this? A private company that aggregates location data from cell phones and owes me a favor or two.
The irony is, Nikki would be appalled by the civil liberties issues if the police did this, but I'm not the police.
Well, thank you.
You're welcome.
There's also something else we should discuss, and I am sorry to say that it involves the credibility of your victim.
This is a file on Nikki.
I think you should know what you're getting yourself into, before you put any more eggs in this basket.
And what am I getting into? Did you know that Nikki's been cited for contempt four times, and that at least one judge has threatened to have her sanctioned for suborning perjury and submitting false statements? Are you saying that Nikki is a liar? Absolutely not.
I like Nikki personally.
But I want you to be able to go into this with your eyes open.
Well We're still gonna pursue the case.
As you should.
I wanted you to have a chance to get ahead of a potential problem with someone making accusations about the NYPD.
Should I not have shared this? No, of course it's better to know, I [SIGHS.]
I feel like I've offended you.
No, not at all, we're we're all professionals here.
[CHUCKLES.]
I was afraid you'd say that as well.
Why? Because I wanted to ask you out for a drink tomorrow night before the Governor's dinner.
[LAUGHS.]
- Didn't see that one coming.
- You didn't? - No.
- Come on.
- No.
- Give me a chance to show you I'm one of the good guys.
6:00, Trattoria Italienne? I, uh I would need to arrange childcare so, um I'll let you know.
I look forward to it.
[LAUGHS.]
You got it, Liv.
We'll check it out.
She said how it went with the chief? As well as could be expected.
No subpoenas for cops at the party.
And he also told her to ask Rob Miller for help.
What? How is he gonna help? Apparently he gave Liv a file on Nicky Staines' background.
Either of you think it's odd that we're getting leads from Miller? Miller is a player.
He knows where all the bodies are buried.
He's also opposing counsel to Nikki in the civil rights case against our department, which gives him a vested interest in knocking her out.
You know why sharks don't attack lawyers, right? Professional courtesy.
- [LAUGHS.]
- Why do opposition research against the other side's attorney? If you want to win the case, you go after the plaintiffs.
You don't like Miller, huh? You said he was charming at that party.
He tried to be.
He pretended that he recognized my Loganville accent.
So? So there's no such thing as a Loganville accent.
Hey, can I take your order? Yeah, actually, David, I'd like to have a word with you.
Uh, we're pretty busy right now.
You mind telling me what this is about? I happen to be an attorney.
I know you're an attorney.
This is about Rob Miller.
You were a junior associate at his firm.
Megan, could you take over for a second? Listen.
I do not need to have a problem with Rob Miller.
I stopped practicing law five months ago.
You were one of his top guys on that police surveillance case, and now you're no longer with the firm.
- What happened? - I'll tell you what happened.
I graduated number three in my class from Yale Law School and now I'm working as a barista - for my brother-in-law.
- Right, because of Miller? I'd rather not say.
Hey, did Miller put you up to this? Listen, I came here without my partner.
Anything you want to say, it's just between us.
I swear.
He found out that I was interviewing with a rival law firm.
Yeah.
He fires me immediately, but then blackballs me from every other firm in town.
So yeah, I'm here because of Miller.
No social media until you get that paper done.
I know, Mom.
I love you.
I love you, too.
[SIGHS.]
Look, I got my daughter home sick from school, a ton of work to catch up on, so if you are just here to protect one of your own, I don't have time for it.
We have a new lead and I need to ask you some questions.
I'm sorry.
I have not been myself since this happened.
I get really distracted and angry for no reason.
It's okay.
Believe me, I I know how hard this can be.
Anyway, uh, what do you have? So You were saying that there's a connection between your civil rights case against NYPD and your assault? Yeah, which your colleagues didn't believe.
[SIGHS.]
Have you had any blowups with Rob Miller? No.
Not at all.
Uh, we've always been friendly and collegial.
We had a nice conversation about scheduling at the party the other night.
Why? Because he gave us these records.
Oh, my God.
This is a total smear on me.
Why is he doing this? That's what I'm wondering.
I did not realize he was that desperate to win.
Wait a second.
- This shouldn't be in here.
- What? This note about the judge threatening me with sanctions.
It was during the sex party trial.
- I was defending Wally Stevens.
- Right, the one that was dismissed a few days ago, yeah.
Yes, but this sanction was never on the record.
It was a private conversation in chambers.
So how in the hell does Rob Miller know about it? He had nothing to do with that case.
Detective, let me educate you on the concept of privileged communication.
What's said here stays here.
That's what I thought as well until I read this.
- What is this? - It's about you threatening Nikki Staines with sanctions for suborning perjury and making false statements during the Steven's trial.
Where did you get this? From the attorney Rob Miller.
It's part of a larger file on Ms.
Staines.
I have no idea how he got it.
Really? Because if she didn't tell him, and there was nobody else in this room, that only leaves one other possibility.
What are you after here, Detective? I wanna know about Miller's connection to your trial.
There was none.
Everything was above board.
My decisions are never overturned.
Yeah, then why grant a dubious motion to dismiss from a lawyer that you had just threatened to sanction the week before? Detective Rollins, you need to be very careful here.
Because I'm asking a few procedural questions? Because you're bringing kitchen matches to a firefight.
[SCOFFS.]
For the good of your squad and your own good personally, you drop this.
You're getting very close to the flame.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Professor, this is important.
Fine, but only because you spent a week Shepardizing those cases for me.
Actually, it was 12 days, but who's counting? [LAUGHS.]
Don't push it, Sonny.
So Judge Leonard? There was a rumor Leonard was suspended for a semester when he was at Syracuse Law.
Stupid son of a bitch plagiarized a law review article.
In the end, it all went away.
How did he get past the judicial review? Good question.
- Rob Miller? - Good answer.
I always suspected he was behind it.
Had a case against him once.
One thing about Miller, he'll steal your cattle and never leave tracks.
You didn't get this from me.
- You were right.
- Great.
Now I gotta tell Liv.
- Sorry to interrupt.
- Oh, not at all.
Better you than Fin or Carisi.
Can't ask them if they like these earrings.
- Yeah, I approve.
- Good.
You meeting somebody? - Rob Miller.
- Really? What's wrong? It uh How much do we know about that guy? Aside from the fact that he's defending the NYPD in a case brought on by Nikki Staines? And just happens to provide us negative info on her? I did some digging and some of the intel on her came from Judge Leonard, the judge who dismissed the charges in the Wally Stevens sex party case.
- Yeah.
- It turns out, that Leonard had committed plagiarism, back in law school.
But that didn't stop him from getting on the bench.
Exactly.
Rob Miller had to have something to do with this.
Okay, yeah, so you're getting the same bad feelings about Miller.
Oh, yeah.
From the second he handed me that thick file on Nikki, Why do you think I agreed to have a drink with him? You don't like the wine? California Red.
A little fruit forward.
Jammy.
No, I I love the wine.
It's just that I have to pick up my son from his play date.
So no chance of you joining me for the Governor's dinner? Not tonight anyway.
I'll take that to mean I can keep trying.
- [LAUGHS.]
- Another round? The lady's fine.
I'll take a refill.
You're pretty good at this, huh? - What's that? - Knowing things about other people.
Where they're from.
What kind of wine they like.
So are you, Detective Benson.
I mean, I know you're a lieutenant now but you're a detective at heart, aren't you? Well, sort of different what you do, right? It's more more of an accounting system.
Oh, you could look at it like that, or you could see it as helping people.
Like I'm trying to help you with your case.
Okay.
You know, if you want my DNA, you can just ask for it.
What are you talking about? The busboy who took my glass, I've never seen him here before.
And I saw how he was holding it.
He's crime scene unit, isn't he? Very good.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
You wanna tell me what's going on? Well, it appears that there are some things about you and Nikki Staines that that you forgot to mention.
For instance? For instance, if we run your DNA against what we found in Nikki's rape kit, will there be a match? Very likely it will.
Wow.
- That was easy.
- So was she.
So you're admitting that something happened? Ms.
Staines asked me for a ride home.
We had a somewhat drunken but completely consensual encounter in my limo.
Was that before or after you drugged her and took her phone? I don't know what happened to her phone, and if she took drugs, she got them from someone else.
Not me.
She'd obviously had a few drinks.
So you just dumped her out of your limo and onto the street? She insisted I stop the car.
She wanted to walk home.
I did what she asked me to.
Talk to my driver, he'll back me up.
I was in your office yesterday and you handed me a file on Nikki Staines.
You knew that we were investigating sexual assault and somehow you left all of this out.
Because I'm a gentleman.
I didn't want to embarrass her about our encounter when she's opposing counsel in a lawsuit.
You know that I can call the DA and get a warrant for your arrest now, right? Oh, really? For what? A drunken hookup in a limo? Give me a break.
I'm late for dinner.
And you don't want to be late for picking up your son.
Have a good night.
Uh, I can't talk about this now.
I need to get to bed early.
I'm due in court in the morning.
Nikki, I don't understand.
You accused us of dragging our feet with this case.
- Now we have a target - I wanna let it go.
- What? - Yeah, I made a mistake.
Okay? I was drinking too much that night and I made a bad decision.
So Rob Miller is right.
Whatever happened was consensual.
While you weren't conscious? I am a defense lawyer.
I know a lousy case when I see one.
- Did somebody get to you? - I don't wanna talk about it.
- Was it Miller? - Oh, my God, I am begging you to please let it go.
Okay, I have too much to lose.
What is he threatening you with? What? Because we can protect you, Nikki.
Don't you understand? I am going through a custody battle and I could lose my daughter.
So you get it? You cannot protect me.
I'm sorry, but I want nothing to do with going after Rob Miller.
- So Miller got to Nikki? - Yup, looks that way.
This guy's got a hand in everything.
Well, you were right.
I'll talk to you with the squad tomorrow.
Night, Amanda.
Mommy, there's a police car behind us.
Yeah, I can see that.
Are we speeding? Nope, not at all.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- Ma'am.
- Hi.
Do you know why we stopped you? I actually don't.
We observed you operating a vehicle in an unsafe manner.
Changing lanes without signaling.
I'm sorry, but that can't be true.
I have my son in the car.
Ma'am, have you been drinking? Of course not.
I I had a couple of sips of wine.
- I'm with - License and registration, please.
Okay.
Trooper, with all due respect, I'm NYPD.
Then you should know better, Lieutenant.
Excuse me? Ma'am, do you have a weapon on you? Of course I do, I just told you Ma'am, put your hands in the air and get out the car.
Mommy, why are they doing this? I don't know, honey.
Sweetie, it's okay.
It's okay.
Okay, don't worry about it.
Do we have to do this right now? Would you be so kind to let me call my chief? Ma'am, we're not going to argue.
You've been given an order.
Now get out and put your hands against the car.
Honey, it's going to be okay.
You just stay in the car.
All right? [KISSES.]
No worries.
- [SIGHS.]
- Turn around.
Hands on the car.
It's okay, honey.
- Lieutenant.
- We need to talk.
Now.
I heard about the traffic stop.
I'm as upset as you are.
I have a phone call to the superintendent of the State Police - to find out what happened.
- My son, Dodds.
They did this to me in front of my son.
Noah was hysterical.
He didn't sleep all night.
We'll get to the bottom of this.
We're already at the bottom of it.
This is about your friend, Rob Miller.
Why do you think Miller is involved? I think that Rob Miller raped Nikki Staines.
Well, I find that hard to believe.
Well, he admitted to having a sexual encounter with her.
He claimed that it was consensual, and when I threatened to arrest him, the next thing I know is I'm being pulled over by State Police.
Okay, let's just slow all this down.
Slow this down? Please don't tell me that he's got something on you.
What are you talking about? Well, that's how it works, doesn't it? Rob Miller finds your vulnerability, and then he exploits it.
He puts a marker on you and owns you for life.
- No one owns me, Lieutenant.
- Well, then what? You introduced me to our target.
You directed me to speak with him about the investigation.
For all I know, you could be the one leaking details about this case.
Okay, Liv, stop.
You're upset? Understandable.
- Yes.
- So I'm going to put aside for a moment what you just accused me of.
Well, you're not denying it.
Help me understand.
Tell me that I'm wrong.
Miller deliberately misled me.
He manipulated a judge and he intimidated our victim.
Olivia, I'm not saying you're wrong.
Then what are you saying? Hm? That if we strike at the king and miss it will be both our heads on the chopping block.
So let's make sure we don't miss.
Thank you for meeting me.
What's on your mind? I think we may have a problem with this Nikki Staines situation.
Why? I already told Lieutenant Benson the encounter was consensual.
You don't know Benson.
She believes Nikki was assaulted.
Then disabuse her of that belief.
Well, maybe I could if she wasn't convinced that you did this to get Nikki's phone.
- What? - She's like a dog with a bone.
She thinks you were looking for info on the NYPD lawsuit and maybe the the underage sex party case.
I don't even know what you're talking about.
She found out about your connection to Judge Leonard.
She's not gonna let this go.
What do you want me to do? If you have the phone, maybe you toss it.
Somewhere the cops can find it.
A garbage can in the neighborhood.
Maybe that'll get her off the scent.
Can't control your own people? Not her.
I think you need to relax, Bill.
Nikki herself is saying the sex was consensual.
She's not gonna testify.
And the damn phone, irony is, nothing about me on it.
- So you have it? - What do you mean? The phone is in your possession? I found it on the floor of my limo.
She must have dropped it.
She was completely blacked out.
She doesn't remember anything.
What if she does? What if Benson convinces her to testify? It'll be taken care of.
How? No Nikki, no case.
What are you saying? What's going on here? Are you wearing a wire? I'm your attorney, Bill.
Not to mention, you don't want me to release that memo of yours.
[DOOR SLAMMING.]
What's this? You're under arrest.
Anything I said is inadmissible.
Attorney/client privilege.
Huh, well, Chief Dodds waived that privilege when he put on that wire.
Plus, and you should know this, that does not apply when there's a crime fraud exception or discussion of further crime.
What crime? I was making a bad joke.
- [CHUCKLES.]
- Nikki Staines got into my car of her own accord.
She dropped her phone.
The sex was consensual.
Consensual? She was unconscious.
Why? You already had the phone.
Let me tell you something.
You're either a wolf in this life or a lamb.
My father was a lamb.
He had a shop.
And every week, the wolves in my neighborhood would come and pick the shelves clean, and when there was nothing left to steal, they took my sister in a back room and my father did nothing.
You know what I learned? I'd rather run with the wolves.
If I were you, I'd shut up.
I'll be out of these cuffs in an hour.
I wouldn't be so sure.
Once word gets out that you've been arrested, your friends are going to turn on you.
And nobody helps the wolf when he's bleeding.
You were right.
I'm sorry.
It's over.
Yeah.
What was that memo that he was talking about? It never went past my desk and it never will.
That's not an answer.
I'll give you a copy.
This memo that Dodds wrote.
You knew about it, didn't you? I didn't wanna upset you, Liv.
It was right after Noah got kidnapped.
Should I be worried about my job? Not for a minute.
Trust me, Liv, I've got your back now, then, and always.
[GENTLE MUSIC.]
Hey, Nikki.
Come in.
How are you holding up? Um, aside from the panic attacks and trouble sleeping? Yeah, I get it.
Believe me.
Well, if it's any relief, Rob is being held without bail in the federal system.
He can't get to the judge this time.
That's good.
That means we have a shot.
Yes, we do.
[CRYING.]
My God.
Hey It's okay.
[SOBBING.]
I can't believe it.
It's okay.
It's okay, Nikki.
It's over.
It's over and he can't hurt you again.
No.
That's not it.
Um It's me.
What do you mean? All the cases that I've done.
And all the All the victims that I've put on the stand.
The way that I have have torn them apart.
You were just doing your job.
I know.
I know what I did to them now.
[SOBBING.]
And I don't know if I will ever be the same again.
And I I don't even know if I'll be able to do my job again.
You will because you have to.
And because, Nikki, because you're damn good at it.
I don't I feel like I don't know anything anymore.
[SOBBING.]
Okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
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.
Lieutenant Benson, you testified that you were the lead investigator on this case? I supervised the detectives, yes.
So you were the senior officer? - Yes.
- So it was your decision to hold my client, Mr.
Stevens, solely responsible for organizing this alleged sex party.
- Is that right? - The issue wasn't that it was a sex party.
The issue was that most of the girls in attendance were underage.
Your Honor, may I approach? I am going to file another motion to dismiss these charges.
Your Honor, how many more Hail Marys do we have to put up with? This is the second time in a week that Mrs.
Staines has made assertions without any basis.
Actually, I may see a basis this time.
In fact, I'm seriously considering dropping all charges against Mr.
Stevens.
Counselors, in my chambers now.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
I know my left hook needs work.
You're looking really good though.
I tell you what.
The next time we box, I'm hitting back.
Oh, well, now you're scaring me.
See you.
Ho, Lieutenant! Twice in one day.
Yeah, caught a real break today with the charges being dropped.
Yeah, I was surprised myself.
Just to show that there's no hard feelings, I have an extra ticket to the police philanthropy event tonight.
I didn't know I was getting divorced when I bought a pair of 'em six months ago.
Do you really think - that that's appropriate? - Yeah, why not? Maybe because you're suing the NYPD for $15 million? [LAUGHS.]
Come on.
It's a civil liberties case about the department conducting illegal surveillance on activist groups.
It's got nothing to do with your unit.
I'll tell you what.
I'll see you there because I already have a ticket.
Two hours of glad-handing the brass.
I am so ready to be on my couch with my feet up.
- Or in bed.
- Or that.
One more time around the room and we're out of here.
I was ready to go when we got here.
Nikki, we saved the city.
You cannot protect the rights of citizens by violating the rights of citizens.
All right, then why don't you call a constitutional law professor the next time somebody breaks into your car.
So, so much for small talk.
No, just a little sparring after hours.
It's nothing personal.
- Says you.
- Back at you, Sergeant.
And I need a refill.
How about we say good night to Dodds - and get the hell out of here? - Right behind you.
- We'll catch up.
- Good night, guys.
Lieutenant, Detective, am I allowed to say you both look lovely tonight? Only if you say the same thing to Fin and Carisi.
Oh, yeah, I'll get right on that.
Bill, are you going to introduce me? Benson, Rollins, meet Rob Miller, co-counsel to our lawyers on the civil rights lawsuit.
The case that Nicky Staines is litigating.
So you've heard of me? Well, you did make the top ten attorneys in "New York Magazine" last year.
It's what you get for picking up the check at lunch with a starving publisher.
That and $2.
75 gets you a ride on the bus.
Don't believe it.
Rob is one of the people who really runs this town.
Hardly.
Can I say I'm a huge fan of the work your unit does? Always nice to hear.
That a Georgia accent? - Loganville? - That's a first.
I went to school down south.
Lieutenant, nice to put a face to a name.
Maybe we could grab a coffee some time.
Chief knows how to get ahold of me.
Can I get you ladies a drink? - Actually, I have a - Sitter on the clock.
- I get it.
- Mm.
Both of you, thanks for making an appearance.
Of course.
What do you say? I say Mr.
High Powered Lawyer was making the moves on you.
- On me? - Mm.
What about you? Loganville? Ahh.
- All I got time for is kids.
- [SIGHS.]
Noah is waiting up for me as we speak.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[GROANS.]
- Where is she? - I didn't want to touch her.
I wasn't sure if she's alive or dead.
I got a pulse.
North Eddie, we got a pick-up of 54, 149 West Franklin Street.
Unconscious female.
- We need a bus.
- Honey.
You okay? [GROANS.]
Help help.
What are we looking at? White female, 40s.
Says she was assaulted.
She was pretty out of it, but she asked us to call SVU.
All right.
That's Nikki Staines.
Ms.
Staines.
Hey, what happened to you? I can't remember.
I must have been drugged.
Okay, okay.
We're gonna take care of you.
You know who did this to you? No.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
All I know is that I need a goddamn rape kit.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
- Hey.
- Brought these for you.
They're testing my clothes for DNA? Yes.
We're following procedure.
And where are we on the blood work? We'll have to wait a little bit longer for that.
Make sure that they don't just test for roofies, please.
- Okay.
- The last thing that I remember is ordering a drink, but I could have been drugged at any time.
- Okay.
- A-a-and date rape drugs can cause retroactive memory loss - We know that.
- [SIGHS.]
I know you wanna feel like you're in control.
I'm an experienced attorney, Detective.
I realize that, but you're gonna have to let us do our jobs.
Yes, y you're right.
Uh, I need to call my daughter.
Of course.
I got crime scenes to release this early - so you can get out of here.
- Thank you.
My phone What? My my wallet's here with all the money and credit cards in it, but where's my phone? That's everything you had on you.
[GASPING.]
I need my phone.
Um, my whole life's on it.
It's got a lot of sensitive information on it.
Okay.
And, uh, it just disappeared while it was in police custody.
No one on our end took anything.
Right.
I need to get out of here.
Can you please give me some privacy? Yeah.
Hey, what did we get from the hospital report? The tox screen was inconclusive for drugs but her blood alcohol content was .
12.
Okay, let's not get stuck on that.
I mean, she still could have been drugged.
They change one molecule and it doesn't show up on the test.
What did she say about the assault? Well, all she could say is she blacked out.
There was semen in her underwear but no tearing or bruising.
- Okay, what about DNA? - No matches yet, but, uh, we're still checking.
You have a problem, Carisi? No, I I understand that she's a victim here.
I just I guess I'd rather be working on behalf of somebody who's not suing our department for 15 mill.
Okay, well, that doesn't matter now.
So what do we know about the crime scene? She was found in the vestibule of her apartment building.
None of her neighbors know how she got there.
The traffic cam picked her up on the street, stumbling.
- Her phone? - The last ping was about a quarter mile from the event.
That was about an hour and a half after we saw her.
Okay, so let's expand the perimeter to include the party location.
Do we have security footage, guest lists? - Working on it.
- Wait, hold on.
This might not have anything to do with the party.
Now we got no DNA from the semen, but we did get a hit on the hair fiber.
J.
J.
Austen, he's one of Nikki's former clients.
- Well, how did she do for him? - Not great.
He did three years in Greenhaven for filming porn in his garage.
One of his actresses was underage.
He just got out last month.
Oh, my God, Daddy.
So smooth.
[MOANING.]
See? I'm not making porn anymore.
It's erotic podcasts.
People can listen in the kitchen, - the car, at work.
- Dude, what? That's why stop and go traffic is so bad.
Got the idea from Nikki actually.
- How so? - She was always recording conversations on her phone.
She said it was for legal reasons but I said she must have got turned on listening to them.
Have you been in touch with her? Oh, what's this about? Last thing I need is trouble with the police.
Okay, let's get back to the part where you said she liked recording people on her phone.
Like I said, she called it her mobile office.
Tell you the truth, I think she got paranoid when the FBI started raiding the lawyer's offices.
She wouldn't even upload to the cloud.
- What information's on it? - I don't know.
But she used to say there'd be a lot of people crying if that phone got in the wrong hands.
[KNOCKING.]
Hey, guys.
We'll be in touch.
Nikki's been saying her whole life is on that phone.
A lot of other people's, too, it sounds like.
No wonder she's dying to get it back.
So you're just gonna hassle my old clients instead of looking at real suspects? You know how this works.
We are following every lead, trying to figure out what happened to you.
I know what happened to me.
I was drugged and I was raped.
Have you even checked the video from the party? Yes, we looked at the street cams, the security cams.
If you were dosed there, the cameras missed it.
Oh, well, isn't that convenient? [SCOFFS.]
So what? You guys think that I went out and had a one night stand and can't remember it now? I am not a blackout drunk.
No one thinks that.
We're just looking at a list of individuals that may have motive.
No, see, I know where you're going with this.
You're looking to pin it on one of my clients so that you don't have to look at a guest list that is 50% police! Counselor, you're way off base here.
- Am I? - Yeah.
Doesn't it seem funny to you at all that whoever did this to me knew enough to take my phone and turn off the tracking? Everybody would know to do that.
Well, who would go to such extremes to gain access to my key information? My texts and phone numbers and recorded statements from clients.
Are you really suggesting that somebody from our department drugged you and then raped you just so that they could steal your cell phone? A lot of your brother officers have vendettas against me because I have called them out and sued them.
You're out on a limb here, Counselor.
I have been personally threatened by cops dozens of times and now I have been assaulted after a police party, so why aren't you questioning them? You should be looking at your own.
[SCOFFS.]
So does Nikki Staines have a point? Should we be looking at a cop for this? I'm not buying it.
Well, if you're gonna say that there is no way a police officer could have done this, - I'm gonna say you're wrong.
- And if this was some random assault after the party, why did he take her phone and not her wallet? Okay, I admit it's hinky, but it's not dispositive.
She is suing the department.
This is the biggest case of her career.
If he wanted a phone, why did he rape her? Well, she did say that a lot of cops had personal vendettas against her.
But I say we stay focused on the party.
I mean, she doesn't remember leaving, the security cams didn't pick her up outside the event, and whoever drove her home avoided the street cams.
Which a cop would know how to do.
That's opportunity.
What about motive? Look, was she suing any of these cops individually? She could be planning to.
The only way we're gonna rule this out is to subpoena every single cop at that party.
So which one of you wants to go to talk to Dodds with me? Let me get this straight.
You want me to allow a fishing expedition on the personnel records of 50 police officers? They were all at this party.
We need to eliminate them as suspects.
And create a record that will be a treasure trove for a defense lawyer already suing our department? No.
We don't want it to look like we're circling the wagons.
I got news.
We are circling the wagons.
- Staines is the enemy.
- No, not this time.
Staines is the victim here, Dodds.
I have to ask.
Are you sure you even have a case? I know! I know, I get it.
She says she doesn't remember consenting.
I believe that she was drugged, assaulted, and whoever did this knew how to avoid detection.
They were careful not to be seen.
They avoided the cameras.
Yeah, or Staines is steering us - in that direction.
- What possible reason would she have to do that? I don't know.
But before I sign off on subpoenas for half the department, just vet her motives.
Talk to Rob Miller.
I was horrified to hear what happened to Nikki Staines.
How's she doing? As well as can be expected.
So you spoke with her at the party.
Do you recall her leaving with anyone? No, but I'd had a lot to drink myself.
I barely remember how I got home.
Nobody said being a lawyer makes you a perfect witness, huh? Actually, lawyers generally make lousy witnesses.
So the chief said you're a little stymied in your investigation? [SCOFFS.]
- Could we speak privately? - Of course.
Maria, thank you.
So Dodds said that you might be able to provide some insight on what happened to Nikki.
Well, I've learned a thing or two from being her opposing counsel on this surveillance case.
Like what? The power of technology.
It's a list of suspects from the sex crimes databases who happened to be in the area where Nikki says she was assaulted.
Wow.
Where did you get this? A private company that aggregates location data from cell phones and owes me a favor or two.
The irony is, Nikki would be appalled by the civil liberties issues if the police did this, but I'm not the police.
Well, thank you.
You're welcome.
There's also something else we should discuss, and I am sorry to say that it involves the credibility of your victim.
This is a file on Nikki.
I think you should know what you're getting yourself into, before you put any more eggs in this basket.
And what am I getting into? Did you know that Nikki's been cited for contempt four times, and that at least one judge has threatened to have her sanctioned for suborning perjury and submitting false statements? Are you saying that Nikki is a liar? Absolutely not.
I like Nikki personally.
But I want you to be able to go into this with your eyes open.
Well We're still gonna pursue the case.
As you should.
I wanted you to have a chance to get ahead of a potential problem with someone making accusations about the NYPD.
Should I not have shared this? No, of course it's better to know, I [SIGHS.]
I feel like I've offended you.
No, not at all, we're we're all professionals here.
[CHUCKLES.]
I was afraid you'd say that as well.
Why? Because I wanted to ask you out for a drink tomorrow night before the Governor's dinner.
[LAUGHS.]
- Didn't see that one coming.
- You didn't? - No.
- Come on.
- No.
- Give me a chance to show you I'm one of the good guys.
6:00, Trattoria Italienne? I, uh I would need to arrange childcare so, um I'll let you know.
I look forward to it.
[LAUGHS.]
You got it, Liv.
We'll check it out.
She said how it went with the chief? As well as could be expected.
No subpoenas for cops at the party.
And he also told her to ask Rob Miller for help.
What? How is he gonna help? Apparently he gave Liv a file on Nicky Staines' background.
Either of you think it's odd that we're getting leads from Miller? Miller is a player.
He knows where all the bodies are buried.
He's also opposing counsel to Nikki in the civil rights case against our department, which gives him a vested interest in knocking her out.
You know why sharks don't attack lawyers, right? Professional courtesy.
- [LAUGHS.]
- Why do opposition research against the other side's attorney? If you want to win the case, you go after the plaintiffs.
You don't like Miller, huh? You said he was charming at that party.
He tried to be.
He pretended that he recognized my Loganville accent.
So? So there's no such thing as a Loganville accent.
Hey, can I take your order? Yeah, actually, David, I'd like to have a word with you.
Uh, we're pretty busy right now.
You mind telling me what this is about? I happen to be an attorney.
I know you're an attorney.
This is about Rob Miller.
You were a junior associate at his firm.
Megan, could you take over for a second? Listen.
I do not need to have a problem with Rob Miller.
I stopped practicing law five months ago.
You were one of his top guys on that police surveillance case, and now you're no longer with the firm.
- What happened? - I'll tell you what happened.
I graduated number three in my class from Yale Law School and now I'm working as a barista - for my brother-in-law.
- Right, because of Miller? I'd rather not say.
Hey, did Miller put you up to this? Listen, I came here without my partner.
Anything you want to say, it's just between us.
I swear.
He found out that I was interviewing with a rival law firm.
Yeah.
He fires me immediately, but then blackballs me from every other firm in town.
So yeah, I'm here because of Miller.
No social media until you get that paper done.
I know, Mom.
I love you.
I love you, too.
[SIGHS.]
Look, I got my daughter home sick from school, a ton of work to catch up on, so if you are just here to protect one of your own, I don't have time for it.
We have a new lead and I need to ask you some questions.
I'm sorry.
I have not been myself since this happened.
I get really distracted and angry for no reason.
It's okay.
Believe me, I I know how hard this can be.
Anyway, uh, what do you have? So You were saying that there's a connection between your civil rights case against NYPD and your assault? Yeah, which your colleagues didn't believe.
[SIGHS.]
Have you had any blowups with Rob Miller? No.
Not at all.
Uh, we've always been friendly and collegial.
We had a nice conversation about scheduling at the party the other night.
Why? Because he gave us these records.
Oh, my God.
This is a total smear on me.
Why is he doing this? That's what I'm wondering.
I did not realize he was that desperate to win.
Wait a second.
- This shouldn't be in here.
- What? This note about the judge threatening me with sanctions.
It was during the sex party trial.
- I was defending Wally Stevens.
- Right, the one that was dismissed a few days ago, yeah.
Yes, but this sanction was never on the record.
It was a private conversation in chambers.
So how in the hell does Rob Miller know about it? He had nothing to do with that case.
Detective, let me educate you on the concept of privileged communication.
What's said here stays here.
That's what I thought as well until I read this.
- What is this? - It's about you threatening Nikki Staines with sanctions for suborning perjury and making false statements during the Steven's trial.
Where did you get this? From the attorney Rob Miller.
It's part of a larger file on Ms.
Staines.
I have no idea how he got it.
Really? Because if she didn't tell him, and there was nobody else in this room, that only leaves one other possibility.
What are you after here, Detective? I wanna know about Miller's connection to your trial.
There was none.
Everything was above board.
My decisions are never overturned.
Yeah, then why grant a dubious motion to dismiss from a lawyer that you had just threatened to sanction the week before? Detective Rollins, you need to be very careful here.
Because I'm asking a few procedural questions? Because you're bringing kitchen matches to a firefight.
[SCOFFS.]
For the good of your squad and your own good personally, you drop this.
You're getting very close to the flame.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
Professor, this is important.
Fine, but only because you spent a week Shepardizing those cases for me.
Actually, it was 12 days, but who's counting? [LAUGHS.]
Don't push it, Sonny.
So Judge Leonard? There was a rumor Leonard was suspended for a semester when he was at Syracuse Law.
Stupid son of a bitch plagiarized a law review article.
In the end, it all went away.
How did he get past the judicial review? Good question.
- Rob Miller? - Good answer.
I always suspected he was behind it.
Had a case against him once.
One thing about Miller, he'll steal your cattle and never leave tracks.
You didn't get this from me.
- You were right.
- Great.
Now I gotta tell Liv.
- Sorry to interrupt.
- Oh, not at all.
Better you than Fin or Carisi.
Can't ask them if they like these earrings.
- Yeah, I approve.
- Good.
You meeting somebody? - Rob Miller.
- Really? What's wrong? It uh How much do we know about that guy? Aside from the fact that he's defending the NYPD in a case brought on by Nikki Staines? And just happens to provide us negative info on her? I did some digging and some of the intel on her came from Judge Leonard, the judge who dismissed the charges in the Wally Stevens sex party case.
- Yeah.
- It turns out, that Leonard had committed plagiarism, back in law school.
But that didn't stop him from getting on the bench.
Exactly.
Rob Miller had to have something to do with this.
Okay, yeah, so you're getting the same bad feelings about Miller.
Oh, yeah.
From the second he handed me that thick file on Nikki, Why do you think I agreed to have a drink with him? You don't like the wine? California Red.
A little fruit forward.
Jammy.
No, I I love the wine.
It's just that I have to pick up my son from his play date.
So no chance of you joining me for the Governor's dinner? Not tonight anyway.
I'll take that to mean I can keep trying.
- [LAUGHS.]
- Another round? The lady's fine.
I'll take a refill.
You're pretty good at this, huh? - What's that? - Knowing things about other people.
Where they're from.
What kind of wine they like.
So are you, Detective Benson.
I mean, I know you're a lieutenant now but you're a detective at heart, aren't you? Well, sort of different what you do, right? It's more more of an accounting system.
Oh, you could look at it like that, or you could see it as helping people.
Like I'm trying to help you with your case.
Okay.
You know, if you want my DNA, you can just ask for it.
What are you talking about? The busboy who took my glass, I've never seen him here before.
And I saw how he was holding it.
He's crime scene unit, isn't he? Very good.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
You wanna tell me what's going on? Well, it appears that there are some things about you and Nikki Staines that that you forgot to mention.
For instance? For instance, if we run your DNA against what we found in Nikki's rape kit, will there be a match? Very likely it will.
Wow.
- That was easy.
- So was she.
So you're admitting that something happened? Ms.
Staines asked me for a ride home.
We had a somewhat drunken but completely consensual encounter in my limo.
Was that before or after you drugged her and took her phone? I don't know what happened to her phone, and if she took drugs, she got them from someone else.
Not me.
She'd obviously had a few drinks.
So you just dumped her out of your limo and onto the street? She insisted I stop the car.
She wanted to walk home.
I did what she asked me to.
Talk to my driver, he'll back me up.
I was in your office yesterday and you handed me a file on Nikki Staines.
You knew that we were investigating sexual assault and somehow you left all of this out.
Because I'm a gentleman.
I didn't want to embarrass her about our encounter when she's opposing counsel in a lawsuit.
You know that I can call the DA and get a warrant for your arrest now, right? Oh, really? For what? A drunken hookup in a limo? Give me a break.
I'm late for dinner.
And you don't want to be late for picking up your son.
Have a good night.
Uh, I can't talk about this now.
I need to get to bed early.
I'm due in court in the morning.
Nikki, I don't understand.
You accused us of dragging our feet with this case.
- Now we have a target - I wanna let it go.
- What? - Yeah, I made a mistake.
Okay? I was drinking too much that night and I made a bad decision.
So Rob Miller is right.
Whatever happened was consensual.
While you weren't conscious? I am a defense lawyer.
I know a lousy case when I see one.
- Did somebody get to you? - I don't wanna talk about it.
- Was it Miller? - Oh, my God, I am begging you to please let it go.
Okay, I have too much to lose.
What is he threatening you with? What? Because we can protect you, Nikki.
Don't you understand? I am going through a custody battle and I could lose my daughter.
So you get it? You cannot protect me.
I'm sorry, but I want nothing to do with going after Rob Miller.
- So Miller got to Nikki? - Yup, looks that way.
This guy's got a hand in everything.
Well, you were right.
I'll talk to you with the squad tomorrow.
Night, Amanda.
Mommy, there's a police car behind us.
Yeah, I can see that.
Are we speeding? Nope, not at all.
[TENSE MUSIC.]
- Ma'am.
- Hi.
Do you know why we stopped you? I actually don't.
We observed you operating a vehicle in an unsafe manner.
Changing lanes without signaling.
I'm sorry, but that can't be true.
I have my son in the car.
Ma'am, have you been drinking? Of course not.
I I had a couple of sips of wine.
- I'm with - License and registration, please.
Okay.
Trooper, with all due respect, I'm NYPD.
Then you should know better, Lieutenant.
Excuse me? Ma'am, do you have a weapon on you? Of course I do, I just told you Ma'am, put your hands in the air and get out the car.
Mommy, why are they doing this? I don't know, honey.
Sweetie, it's okay.
It's okay.
Okay, don't worry about it.
Do we have to do this right now? Would you be so kind to let me call my chief? Ma'am, we're not going to argue.
You've been given an order.
Now get out and put your hands against the car.
Honey, it's going to be okay.
You just stay in the car.
All right? [KISSES.]
No worries.
- [SIGHS.]
- Turn around.
Hands on the car.
It's okay, honey.
- Lieutenant.
- We need to talk.
Now.
I heard about the traffic stop.
I'm as upset as you are.
I have a phone call to the superintendent of the State Police - to find out what happened.
- My son, Dodds.
They did this to me in front of my son.
Noah was hysterical.
He didn't sleep all night.
We'll get to the bottom of this.
We're already at the bottom of it.
This is about your friend, Rob Miller.
Why do you think Miller is involved? I think that Rob Miller raped Nikki Staines.
Well, I find that hard to believe.
Well, he admitted to having a sexual encounter with her.
He claimed that it was consensual, and when I threatened to arrest him, the next thing I know is I'm being pulled over by State Police.
Okay, let's just slow all this down.
Slow this down? Please don't tell me that he's got something on you.
What are you talking about? Well, that's how it works, doesn't it? Rob Miller finds your vulnerability, and then he exploits it.
He puts a marker on you and owns you for life.
- No one owns me, Lieutenant.
- Well, then what? You introduced me to our target.
You directed me to speak with him about the investigation.
For all I know, you could be the one leaking details about this case.
Okay, Liv, stop.
You're upset? Understandable.
- Yes.
- So I'm going to put aside for a moment what you just accused me of.
Well, you're not denying it.
Help me understand.
Tell me that I'm wrong.
Miller deliberately misled me.
He manipulated a judge and he intimidated our victim.
Olivia, I'm not saying you're wrong.
Then what are you saying? Hm? That if we strike at the king and miss it will be both our heads on the chopping block.
So let's make sure we don't miss.
Thank you for meeting me.
What's on your mind? I think we may have a problem with this Nikki Staines situation.
Why? I already told Lieutenant Benson the encounter was consensual.
You don't know Benson.
She believes Nikki was assaulted.
Then disabuse her of that belief.
Well, maybe I could if she wasn't convinced that you did this to get Nikki's phone.
- What? - She's like a dog with a bone.
She thinks you were looking for info on the NYPD lawsuit and maybe the the underage sex party case.
I don't even know what you're talking about.
She found out about your connection to Judge Leonard.
She's not gonna let this go.
What do you want me to do? If you have the phone, maybe you toss it.
Somewhere the cops can find it.
A garbage can in the neighborhood.
Maybe that'll get her off the scent.
Can't control your own people? Not her.
I think you need to relax, Bill.
Nikki herself is saying the sex was consensual.
She's not gonna testify.
And the damn phone, irony is, nothing about me on it.
- So you have it? - What do you mean? The phone is in your possession? I found it on the floor of my limo.
She must have dropped it.
She was completely blacked out.
She doesn't remember anything.
What if she does? What if Benson convinces her to testify? It'll be taken care of.
How? No Nikki, no case.
What are you saying? What's going on here? Are you wearing a wire? I'm your attorney, Bill.
Not to mention, you don't want me to release that memo of yours.
[DOOR SLAMMING.]
What's this? You're under arrest.
Anything I said is inadmissible.
Attorney/client privilege.
Huh, well, Chief Dodds waived that privilege when he put on that wire.
Plus, and you should know this, that does not apply when there's a crime fraud exception or discussion of further crime.
What crime? I was making a bad joke.
- [CHUCKLES.]
- Nikki Staines got into my car of her own accord.
She dropped her phone.
The sex was consensual.
Consensual? She was unconscious.
Why? You already had the phone.
Let me tell you something.
You're either a wolf in this life or a lamb.
My father was a lamb.
He had a shop.
And every week, the wolves in my neighborhood would come and pick the shelves clean, and when there was nothing left to steal, they took my sister in a back room and my father did nothing.
You know what I learned? I'd rather run with the wolves.
If I were you, I'd shut up.
I'll be out of these cuffs in an hour.
I wouldn't be so sure.
Once word gets out that you've been arrested, your friends are going to turn on you.
And nobody helps the wolf when he's bleeding.
You were right.
I'm sorry.
It's over.
Yeah.
What was that memo that he was talking about? It never went past my desk and it never will.
That's not an answer.
I'll give you a copy.
This memo that Dodds wrote.
You knew about it, didn't you? I didn't wanna upset you, Liv.
It was right after Noah got kidnapped.
Should I be worried about my job? Not for a minute.
Trust me, Liv, I've got your back now, then, and always.
[GENTLE MUSIC.]
Hey, Nikki.
Come in.
How are you holding up? Um, aside from the panic attacks and trouble sleeping? Yeah, I get it.
Believe me.
Well, if it's any relief, Rob is being held without bail in the federal system.
He can't get to the judge this time.
That's good.
That means we have a shot.
Yes, we do.
[CRYING.]
My God.
Hey It's okay.
[SOBBING.]
I can't believe it.
It's okay.
It's okay, Nikki.
It's over.
It's over and he can't hurt you again.
No.
That's not it.
Um It's me.
What do you mean? All the cases that I've done.
And all the All the victims that I've put on the stand.
The way that I have have torn them apart.
You were just doing your job.
I know.
I know what I did to them now.
[SOBBING.]
And I don't know if I will ever be the same again.
And I I don't even know if I'll be able to do my job again.
You will because you have to.
And because, Nikki, because you're damn good at it.
I don't I feel like I don't know anything anymore.
[SOBBING.]
Okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.