Law & Order Special Victims Unit s14e04 Episode Script

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.
Captain.
I didn't see you come in.
Probably didn't recognize me without the orange jumpsuit.
- Glad to be back? - Sure.
Just checking that Harris didn't steal my favorite stapler.
- Look, what happened to you-- - Yeah.
Let's get back to work.
I'm glad to see the place hasn't fallen apart entirely.
Wasn't the same without you, Captain.
I took a two-week coffee break and nobody noticed.
I don't think so.
I see Harris had you filing daily memo books, mileage logs.
Lots of busywork.
But it didn't seem to slow you down.
You cleared me.
So let's keep it up, try following the rules for a change.
There's rules, and then there's bureaucracy.
Try following both.
Wouldn't hurt to color inside the lines for a while.
All of us.
Oh, and, uh, by the way thanks.
Wasn't my idea to reinvent the line during a recession.
It's hard enough selling this crap to people when they got money.
Hold on.
I think I see my car.
Dworkin? - Uh, Dorkin.
- Dworkin.
Jonas Dworkin? Duchess Hotel? Yeah.
Sorry about the "W.
" All right, I'll talk to you when I get to the hotel.
First five drinks are on you.
Tough flight? Flying coach from Kansas City.
I got three screaming babies.
Guy sitting next to me must have been 600 pounds.
Got any vodka back here? No, but I can go and grab some for you if you want.
No, that's all right.
You know, I can get that and more, you know, if you, uh, really want to let off some tension, really relax.
Yeah? Yeah.
What have you got in mind? Whatever you do.
Where you going? There's an open bar.
Artisanal vodka-- whatever the hell that means-- in the hospitality suite.
Yeah, I'll be there, okay? Save some for me.
Evening.
This is Pilar.
Hello, Pilar.
What, are you kidding me? I can't bring that in there.
It's a sales conference.
Everybody knows me.
No problem.
There's plenty of room in the back seat.
Hey, eyes on the road.
You're the boss.
Vodka's in the cooler on the floor.
Five bucks a pop.
You can stop talking now.
Town car driver ran off.
The two passengers in the back knocked around pretty good, but responsive.
Jaws of life is getting them out.
So it's a non-fatal traffic accident.
- Why are you calling us? - The passengers.
One male, one female.
His pants are around his ankles, and it wasn't the crash that unzipped his fly.
And look at the girl.
- She's dressed for a party.
- Hmm.
Hey, sweetheart, you're gonna be okay.
I'm Detective Benson.
Hey, what's that on her neck.
You see that? Is that a bar code? That girl is somebody's property.
So, what's your last name, Pilar? What does it matter? The police may not care about things like this in your country.
We do.
Jones.
I americanized it.
All right, Miss Jones.
How old are you? Really.
'Cause we didn't find any ID in the back of the car.
I don't like to take my purse with me.
Pickpockets.
You mean the man that you work for doesn't let you take your papers with you.
I was on a date.
Okay, and your date We have his ID.
What's his name again? I don't remember.
Pilar.
You're not in any trouble.
We want to help you.
We can get you away from the man who did that to you.
That is a joke.
It don't mean anything.
Why are you talking to me? I wasn't driving the car.
I didn't cause a crash.
Paying for sex is against the law.
All I paid for were drinks.
I come to town, I meet a girl, I got lucky.
Lucky? Up to a point.
You happen to notice the bar code tattooed on your friend's neck? I wasn't looking at her neck.
Yeah? Who was driving the car? I don't know his name.
I met him outside the hotel.
Said he was gonna take us to a club downtown.
You were headed north.
Hey, look.
Driving in a limo isn't illegal.
Neither is having sex.
Unless Bloomberg passed some new law I haven't heard about.
Thank you for your help, Mr.
Dworkin.
And we'll be sure to call your wife and let her know you're okay.
So this turkey greeting card salesman flies in from Kansas City and scores with a hot 18-year old? Yeah, and she likes sweaty pot bellies.
I don't think so.
But he's not gonna say he paid her, and she's not gonna say he paid her.
There's no way she's 18.
If she's 16, that's statutory rape.
Has she given you anything? She's scared or brainwashed or both.
I mean, she just wants to get the hell out of here.
Back to the loving arms of her pimp.
She's from Colombia with no ID.
If she snuck into the country, we can hold her.
Homeland Security.
That way, we could talk to her.
Maybe help her come to her senses.
Patrol picked up the driver of the town car.
They're bringing him in.
I was in a daze, you know? Check-- check it out, man.
I-I just wandered off.
Leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury-- that's a crime.
So give me a ticket.
We can do better that that.
See, we found empty vodka bottles in your car.
That's driving while intoxicated.
Lose your license, spend a year in jail.
Well, who says I was drinking? There were two other people in the car.
All right, let's talk about them.
Start with the girl.
What about her? You know her? No, she hailed me at the meatpacking district.
She just wanted me to drive her around for the night while she socialized.
Anyone see you pick her up? Uh, 50 drunk 20-year-olds from New Jersey.
She didn't have a purse or a wallet.
How did she pay you? Uh, she gave me cash.
And this.
Passport.
She asked me to hold it in case she got drunk.
She didn't want to lose it.
The DA ran her passport.
Republic of Colombia.
Issued to Pilar Morenas right after her 17th birthday.
With a US visa from our embassy in Bogota.
She's legal and she's legal.
That's what it says.
So we let her walk out of that hospital and back to the guy who branded her? You get anything from her driver? A confession that he delivers whores on wheels? No.
Not yet.
Mr.
Wiggins claims he never met her before last night, and this perfect stranger gave him her passport to hold.
Happens all the time.
Or, while he was in his daze, Pilar's pimp handed him her passport so we'd have to release her.
I mean, pimps hang onto their girls' passports all the time, so they can't run.
Doesn't matter.
The driver's not talking.
The john's not talking.
Pilar is not talking.
We're stalled.
And, no, it's not because I'm spooked about going after another prostitution ring.
Can we at least check this with State, and make sure that it's legit? It's already being done.
While we're waiting, Liv, take another run at the girl, she's our best bet.
Hey, Nick, Nick.
- How're you doing? - Me? I'm not the one who spent the week in Rikers.
We're cleared.
Both of us.
I was asking more about your family situation.
Uh Maria and I, we're talking.
Went down to DC last weekend.
Took Zara to the spy museum.
It was quality father-daughter time.
- Zara is what, now? - Six.
You ever considered the zoo? I just want to go home.
To Colombia.
Pilar, I can get you a ticket.
No, I didn't do anything wrong.
Just--just leave me alone.
Pilar, I can protect you from your pimp.
You don't have to go back to him.
Do you understand that? I'm just going to a friend's.
- What friend? - Everything is fine.
What friend? Where does she live? Is that her? Pilar, come.
- Sofia.
- Look.
Listen to me, we're trying to help her.
We can help you too.
No one can help us.
Pilar.
Yeah.
Where? The body was spotted a half hour ago.
The way the tides run near Hell Gate, could have gone in anywhere between here and City Island.
- Any witnesses? - Nothing yet.
Lot of river to canvass.
She's, uh, fresh.
Beat up pretty good.
Then there's this.
Same bar code.
So he brands 'em, he pimps 'em, and kills 'em.
I want this guy.
No ID, not in the system, she's late teens.
Dental work by someone who hasn't read a journal since 1955.
Old scar on her right cheek.
Fresh bruises on her face and shoulders.
Cause of death-- blunt trauma, lots of it.
So not shot, not stabbed.
Just hit.
Sexually active, very.
Scarring and fibrotic changes to the perineal tissues, vaginal and anal.
But she might have been headed toward taking a break.
Why? She was pregnant.
Bad for business.
Pimp must have been thrilled.
It's "Get an abortion.
Get back on the street.
" I assume this is courtesy of whoever employed her? It's a good bet.
I don't know her.
I hope that's true.
She had the same tattoo as the girl you were driving the other night.
Kids.
They have their fads.
Like having sex with strangers in the back of your car? Consenting adults.
I left the scene of an accident.
Slap my wrist.
Can I go? Yeah, sure.
In about 25 years.
What are you talking about? Girls you were driving, they didn't want to be there.
They're sex slaves.
Which makes you an accomplice to kidnapping and rape.
And since this girl was beaten to death, you're looking at felony murder.
That's a hell of a stretch.
Yeah, well, we don't mind stretching.
Neither does the DA's office.
That's two agencies who'll be pouring through your logbooks, your car's GPS, your phone records, your bank accounts, looking for the dead girl's DNA in your car.
So you tell me, are we gonna find a link between you and the guy who did this? Son of a bitch.
Sorry, is that a yes? His name is Lou.
He calls, I pick the girls up from the subway, and I take 'em to their dates.
Sometimes they go to a hotel.
And sometimes, uh, they use the back seat.
But either way, I get 50 bucks.
On top of whatever I get from the johns.
And then you drive the girls home? No.
Um Always to a subway.
Uh Lou is-- is very careful.
Lou got a last name? Phone number? I don't know.
I call the service.
He calls me back.
But he did give you Pilar's passport after the accident? Yes.
I met him at a-- at a diner in Kips Bay.
That's the only place I've ever met him.
That's nice work.
Okay, look, I get a black town car from CEU and I'm good to go.
Nick.
I'm gonna have Fin take this one.
Why? You don't trust me alone in a car with a hooker? That's not what the captain's saying.
I trust you.
But if this goes to trial, you'll have to testify.
And I don't want some defense attorney dredging up baseless charges-- I know how to handle myself in a courtroom, Captain.
My call! End of discussion.
- You Lou? - Lou couldn't make it.
I'm Mikey.
You Harold? That's what they tell me.
Show me your hack license.
Taxi commission loves me.
What do you drive? Town car, 2007.
Is it clean? We serve an upscale clientele.
Yeah, you don't want 'em to get their upscale pants dirty when they pull 'em off.
My friend briefed me.
What else he tell you? He told me 50 bucks a trip.
An hour never happens.
We're a volume operation.
- What else? - Eyes front.
No sudden stops.
And watch out for garbage trucks.
I have a question for you.
What if one of these guys makes a mess in the back of my car? Who cleans that up? The girls.
And you tell me if they give any problem.
Don't talk to 'em, don't trust 'em, don't do 'em any favors.
Can you guys hear me? Loud and clear.
Want me to sing you guys a song? Lord, no.
There she is.
All right, so how far do we let this go? Oh, let's just hope we don't have to decide.
Whitmere Hotel.
You know where it is? Yeah, I had my bar mitzvah there.
That's a joke.
Okay.
My name's Harold, what's yours? Anna.
That's a beautiful name.
Where you from, Anna? It's, um-- it's a small country.
You--you wouldn't know it.
Try me.
I won a geography contest in the sixth grade.
Moldova.
Never heard of it.
At the hotel, you wait outside.
I will go in.
Class act this time.
Springing for a bed.
Maybe he gets carsick.
Now Mikey told me you could take care of yourself.
Mikey said that? Yeah, he also said you're a real hard worker.
It's none of my business, but you picked a tough racket.
Did Mikey tell you I pick it? Yeah.
You didn't? Sure.
Whatever he say.
Mikey seems like a real player.
I hope he's got you in a real nice apartment.
It's a house.
You took the Seven train.
Corona? You talk too much.
Just trying to be friendly.
Seem a lot nicer than the other girl I used to drive around.
Blonde.
She had a scar.
I don't know her.
Right here on her cheek.
I forget her name.
I don't know such a girl.
I saw her eyes in the rearview mirror.
- She was terrified.
- So what do we got? They're kept in a house along the Seven line.
It could be Corona, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst.
Yeah.
I'm working on it.
Anna, are you okay? - Sure.
- You should have called me.
I would have taught that guy a lesson.
He was a little kinked.
It's not too bad.
Okay.
I'm driving you home.
I need the address.
- Only to the subway.
- No, no, no.
You're not getting on the subway looking like that.
- I'm taking you home.
- No.
Mikey said no.
Don't worry about Mikey.
Get in the car.
Mikey can take it up with me.
Hey.
What happened to you? Uh the date, he he was nasty.
Do you know how much these dresses cost? There goes your cigarette money for the month.
It's not fair.
Ooh.
So now you're making the rules here, huh? It wasn't my fault.
Oh, really? Oh! Neither was this.
Hey, maybe she could work it off.
Remember, Mikey, don't mark her up.
It kills me we got to wait out here like this.
Not for long.
Captain.
Amaro rode back with Fin.
Rollins and I are outside the location.
We'll sit on it while you get the warrant.
Okay.
Brought you breakfast.
Thanks.
Everything set up? Yeah, captain's bringing the warrant.
House traces to a Louis Pappas and his son Michael.
DA's ready to move.
Okay, great.
Victim Services for the girls? Standing by.
Captain, we good to go? No.
We're done for now.
- What? - This is lieutenant Alex Eames.
She's working a joint task force with Homeland Security.
Homeland Security? Weren't you Major Case? Used to be.
I'm on loan.
What's going on? Remember that passport we asked State to check? - Yeah.
- Congratulate yourselves.
You've stumbled upon a terrorism case.
So, for now, you stand down.
So why those guys are holding girls, forcing them into prostitution, we just go home? I don't have a choice.
And neither do you.
Officialy, I'm not supposed to say anything but I get your frustration.
What I'm telling you cannot go further than this room.
This started with the passport belonging to Pilar Morenas.
- We were told that was genuine.
- It was.
But her visa, that was forged.
With the distinctive characteristics of a forger named Ekrem Petar.
He's Bosnian.
He works for sex traffickers, and for a splinter Al-Qaeda group in the Caucasus.
Are you telling us the working girls are terrorists? No.
Peter forges visas for the sex traffickers for the money.
He supplies terrorists for the cause.
I still don't see why it shuts us down? We've picked up chatter that a terrorist, using documents forged by Petar, will be coming into the United States to join an operative who is already here to launch an attack.
I worked military intelligence.
There's a hundred false alarms for every real one.
We don't think this one's false.
Fine.
You know this person's coming.
You know what his documents look like.
Nab him when he lands.
We want to pick him up after he joins his accomplice, so we can get them both.
That won't happen if he hears a sex ring using the same visas got busted.
If he thinks we're on to the forgeries, he could come in with other papers.
And we do not want to miss this guy.
So we just let these bastards keep operating? After we have the terrorists, you can raid the Pappases, arrest them, shake and bake them however you'd like.
And when do you expect for that to happen? When's your terrorist due? Soon we hope.
- Hope.
Nice.
- Okay, we're done here.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
I know how hard this is.
Do you? - How long were you Major Case? - 11 years.
My partner moved on, and I decided it was time for a change.
I couldn't do that, because SVU is too important.
- I'm aware of that.
- Are you? These girls are enslaved.
They're raped every night.
I get it.
Then how can you ask us to stand down? You were here for 9/11? This is the right decision.
- How high up did this go? - Very.
Until we get the green light, it's hands off the Pappases' operation.
So what if we don't go after the operation? Yeah.
I mean, there are routine anti-prostitution sweeps all the time.
Yeah, and if one or two of the Pappases' girls get picked up purely by chance, I mean, nobody's gonna suspect that we know anything about forged visas.
Just a bunch of dumb cops going about our business.
Boy, you people really got used to rogue operations while I was gone, didn't you? I want to know everything.
If I say stop, you stop.
How are you and your friend doing tonight, Sofia? Want me to take you anywhere in particular? Just drive.
I can stop and get some booze if you want me to.
Just drive, please.
Oh, man.
Damn taxi cops.
What do they want now? I don't see a TLC decal on your right rear window.
Come on.
You're supposed to know the rules.
I'm gonna need you to step outside of the vehicle.
Three decals: Right front, right rear and left rear.
I just need to make sure that your seat belts are operational.
Thank you, come on out sir.
- Maybe they fell off.
- Can I see your license, sir? Come out of the car, sir, put your hands on the trunk.
Maybe we should get another car.
No, no.
I'll just be a minute.
The right rear seat belt is non-operable.
Really should have buckled up.
And if you ask for the air-conditioning to be turned on, did your driver comply? - What? - It's your right.
No, no.
The temperature was fine.
Is this your husband, ma'am? He's a friend.
I think I'll walk from here.
Some friend.
You know, I could be wrong here, but if you're into something-- I'm walking too.
Total bust.
Yeah, no leverage.
They weren't doing anything in the back seat.
Can I help it if the guy's slow? What am I supposed to do? Jump back there and coach him? Plan "B"? Call Lou's service.
Ask for Anna, the girl I drove last time.
She seemed unhappy enough to jump.
Is Cragen gonna be all right with that? He'll be okay.
We'll be watching.
Okay.
Camera's working.
Hey, should I, uh, keep my hands where you can see 'em? Is he ever gonna get over this? He will.
Let it go.
Uh, Mr.
Martinez? You got it.
Come in.
Please.
You want a drink? No.
You're very handsome.
Heh.
Are compliments part of the service? Are you here on business or or where are you from? Miami.
Can I see a driver's license? Not hiring you for a driving lesson.
Sometimes, there is just Police.
So Sure.
It's a Florida license.
Okay.
Now what? Whatever you want.
It's 300 for straight.
I forgot to show you this.
Hey, Anna.
- Look, we want to help you.
- Anna.
It'll be okay.
We're not here to arrest you.
It's Lou and Mikey, okay? They're going down.
They're--they're going to kill me.
Like they killed your friend? The one who was pregnant? Anna, we're gonna keep you safe.
That's a promise.
Her name was Vika.
Mikey took her to get the abortion.
A doctor in Jackson Heights.
She told me she was going to run.
You say Mikey did it? Not his dad? His son is an idiot.
All he does is grope us and make us do things.
I let him sometimes.
She answered an ad for a nanny job.
Probably thought she'd be working for some rich family on Fifth Avenue.
They sent her to Mexico first, where she was broken in.
And then the Pappases bought her.
You know, when I first got here Mikey locked me up with no clothes.
He kept coming back.
And he would always say, "Welcome to America.
" So there's you, there's Pilar, and there's Sofia.
How many others are there? Eight.
Or nine.
Sofia is new.
She has her own room.
I don't know why.
You're free now, Anna.
I told you we'd keep you safe.
- She one of the Pappases? - It was a random operation.
No one would have any reason to think that we're on to him.
All due respect, Detective, they're smarter than you are.
We picked up a conversation this morning.
The terrorist we've been waiting for, he's in the country.
We missed him.
Hey, stuff happens.
If he'd used the papers we were looking for, we would have spotted him.
Seems like someone got wind of your random operation.
This guy, when did he get here exactly? We're not sure.
So he could have come in weeks ago.
You can tell yourself that.
I have to explain this to my bosses.
And yours.
Here it comes.
What now? Maybe they killed her, too.
They showed me pictures of my little sister back home.
They said their friends would take her if I didn't do everything they say.
If they want to fire me, they know where to find me.
Go get these sons of bitches.
Police! Search warrant! Oh! You're under arrest.
Get down.
- Move.
- Clear! - Pilar.
- Need a hand.
Where's Mikey? Where's your son? Screw you.
Pilar, where's Mikey? Stand up.
Put your hands down.
Let's go, come on.
Let's go.
It's okay.
It's over for you, Junior.
After your little parade through that living room, ain't nobody scared of you.
- I'm not talking to you.
- You should.
We got you cold on I don't know how many counts of rape.
Their whores.
Can't rape a whore.
Yeah? Well, you can murder one.
We found the abortion doctor you took Vika to.
He said that she ran out on him, that you ran after her saying you'd kill her.
I don't know what you're talking about.
It's amazing.
You are as stupid as you look.
They're all talking, Lou.
The girls, your son.
Great witnesses.
Hookers and a fat moron.
We'll be sure to tell him you said so.
He told me he was running a nanny service.
Nannies.
Those girls look like nannies to you? Listen, I don't even live in that house.
I have a condo in Long Beach.
I just came by today to watch the game.
Your dad's putting it all on you.
You're lying.
Yeah? You think he loves you? Or even likes you? Ou think he won't toss you over to save his own skin? You messed up, Mikey.
You're not supposed to screw the merchandise.
And you're definitely not supposed to kill it.
Your dad called you a "Fat moron.
" That ring a bell? We found Lou's books.
Right where Mikey said they'd be-- in a hole in the wall behind the refrigerator.
"Pilar, Anna, Vika.
" Every date, what they charged, what they did.
Some of these women did And they grossed thousands.
Look what they made for themselves.
$30 for cosmetics, $20 for energy drinks, and an underwear allowance.
Guys, we're missing somebody.
The girl who picked up Pilar at the hospital.
Pilar called her Sofia.
- Indian-looking girl? - Yeah.
Yeah, I drove her when Amaro and Rollins were playing taxi cop.
There's no Sofia in here.
She didn't book any dates.
She had at least one.
She was with a john that night.
It's not in the book.
She and the john weren't having sex.
- They were just talking.
- What language? Something foreign.
I couldn't hear.
Anna said Sofia had her own room in the house.
And she's new.
The intercepted communications about the terrorism did they say it was a he? I'll call Eames.
Sofia? Who's Sofia? - Where is she? - Beats me.
Getting a bikini wax.
Lou, we know that she wasn't working for you and Mikey.
So what was she doing? You were just babysitting her, weren't you? Did somebody pay you to do that? They tell you what she was here for? Who's she? What's this worth to you? Depends what you tell us.
So I can walk out of here? Go back to Long Beach? Catch the end of the game? Give us a taste.
Okay.
She came in two weeks ago.
But she wasn't here to hook.
She was up to something else.
What? Tell us where she is.
Know what? I might remember that once my lawyer works out a deal for me.
That's a hell of a cover for a terrorist.
To come into the country as a smuggled sex slave.
Who'd have thought? Sure, just another woman being bought and sold.
Nobody's gonna look too carefully at that.
- I've got to call my people.
- And then what? They whisk Lou away and give him whatever he wants? To prevent a major terrorist attack, yeah, they will.
After what they did to those girls? After they beat one to death? Look, where did Fin pick up Sofia's john, at a hotel? No, apartment building.
Amsterdam Ave.
Just give us one crack at this before you make that call.
You want to go after an operational terrorist by yourselves? SVU takes on Al-Qaeda? You can come with.
All right, super says she's in there right now.
Usually comes around 5:00 and stays an hour.
It's 6:11.
Don't yell, okay? Who's in there? A date.
How many are they, and what weapons do they have? What? What do you think I am? I'm just a whore.
I work for Lou.
Did you know that tattoos were forbidden in Islam? How many? What weapons? Don't move! Not an inch! That a boy.
Just keep still now.
I keep telling you, I don't know about bombs.
I was just there to have sex.
No.
See, Sofia, we're way past that.
We can have you examined, and when we do, we're gonna find out you're a virgin.
Aren't we? - How can a whore be a virgin? - She can't.
Must have been awful for you.
Living in that house.
I'm sure you had a good reason.
What happened to you? You know what happened to me.
No, I don't.
I want to understand.
What happened? Did it happen to you? To someone in your family? You're from Waziristan.
What village? Don't you think people should know? They call you a terrorist.
Don't you think they should understand? Don't you want them to understand? My father was a doctor.
A drone struck some people near where we lived.
My father went to help.
To tend the wounded.
He was not a fighter.
He was trying to save lives.
Stop the bleeding.
And then another drone hit.
Your government targets the rescuers.
It is standard policy.
My father he was blown into pieces.
We buried the ones we could find.
So you came here.
This is where the drones came from.
And you hid among girls that were being raped, who were enslaved.
And you let that happen.
I was sorry for them.
But there are so many people to be sorry for.
It's a rough story about the father.
They all have a reason.
Something.
And that's how you break 'em.
Get them to tell their story.
Isn't that how you do it? Well, I don't normally do it leaning over sideways.
Yeah.
Uh I learned that from my partner at Major Case.
It was his way of keeping eye contact.
It's a little eccentric.
You have no idea.
Okay.
All that time together.
The two of us.
It was like we were married.
But you weren't.