⋆° დ ༄ RISKY BUSINESS
chapter thirty four. the number of rats.
crossover event.

Maxine and Jay are at the hospital with Voight and Olivia Benson, waiting on news about the nurse that got beaten, raped and burned at her house.

After telling Voight that the victim's sister is on her way, Jay and Maxine walk down the hall and are met with Jay's brother, Will.

"Hey" Jay says.

"Hey. How's Victoria? Any word?" Will asks.

"We saw the crime scene. It can't be good" Max says.

"What happened?"

"Fire department found her in a burning building. She's got burns all over her body. Her skull was fractured and she'd been sexually assulted" Jay says.

"This is horrible" Will says, "She's the nicest person"

"You know her?"

"Just in passing. She's a nurse in maternity. Any idea who did it?"

"Would we be standing here if we did?"

🪩🪩🪩

Back on the unit, the intelligence team is gathered around the whiteboard and listens to Olivia Benson, while she updates them about the case.

"So the first victim, Alice Whitlock, raped and murdered. Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the skull. She was a nurse at the columbia Presbyterian. Second vic, Lisa Hoffman. She was raped and killed in the same fashion as Whitlock, but she was found completely burned in her own car along the Harlem river" Liv says, "Green nail polish was applied to both of these victims at some point during the crime. Debra McCulloch" Liv continues on, pointing to the picture of the third victim, "was last seen exiting a bar on 53rd and 3rd. She was a nurse at Mount Sinai. So, all three victims in New York, 2004. Witnesses were consistent, they all saw a man in medical clothing and his arm in a sling approaching these women"

"The victim from here, she have green nail polish on?" Max asks.

"Don't know yet"

"Yeah. Lab techs gonna check when the doctor gives the okay, but there's no guarantee we'll find out either way. Her hands were severely burned, she was trying to cover her face" Voight says.

"Also, there was no DNA at either of the New York crime scenes" Benson adds.

"Are there any theories why he stopped for ten years?" Adam asks.

"Sadly, we don't know that he has" Olivia answers, "So, our suspect is a male, white, 5 '9", approximately forty years old. He's either in the medical field or, obviously, posing as someone who is. There's nothing physically distinctive about him. All witnesses, again, were consistent when they described him. They said that he was average looking and normal"

"These details of the crimes have gone out to every news and radio station in town" Dawson says.

"We check city wide and in the suburbs on missile x cards and information reports on any attempted abductions or suspicious calls" Voight says, as max picks up her desk phone.

"I'm gonna have Mouse triangulate the cell towers on the girls phone and check all social media. We can find out if she electronically checked in anywhere during the day" Lindsay says.

"I'll check the sex offender files and recently released parolees" Dawson says.

"Good" Voight says.

"That was Olinsky at Chicago Med" max says, hanging up the phone, "Victoria didn't make it"

🪩🪩🪩

Antonio, Adam and Erin are outside the victims house and neighborhood asking people about the suspect, while Max and Jay are looking around the victim's burned house with Matt Casey and Charlotte Halstead-Scott.

"Offender balled newspaper and shredded rubber and piled it near the victim" Matt says, pointing his flashlight into the bedroom, "then he left a trail of the same combo to the back door. Used lighter fluid as an accelerant. Lit it, then left out the back door"

Max, Jay, Charlotte and Matt duck under some crime scene tape on the bedroom door as Casey continues on, saying, "Some burning rubber dropped down a coax cable hole in the floor, right here" Matt steps on the area he's talking about to show Max and Jay, "Which is why we initially thought it started downstairs"

"Okay, so the offender drags the victim up the back staircase into the bedroom." Jay says, "There's no way we're pulling any DNA out of here"

"Definitely not" Max agrees.

"I heard whoever did this has done it before?" Charlotte asks, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, it's looking like it" Jay answers his sister.

"Hey, check it out" Maxine says, picking up a small bottle with fire residue on it from the ground next to the bed and showing it to Jay, "it's a nail polish bottle"

"What color did the offender use on the victims?" Jay questions.

"Green" Max says, opening the bottle to find out it's indeed green nail polish, "well, now there's no doubt"

🪩🪩🪩

"You look gorgeous tonight, princess" Maverick said, placing his hand on the girls bare thigh as he drives down the road, rubbing his thumb along the side of her leg.

Maxine looks over at her boyfriend with puppy eyes, "just tonight?"

Maverick looked over at those puppy eyes he couldn't say no to, "oh that's not—"

Maxine chuckles, "I'm just kidding"

Maverick squeezes Maxine's thigh, who squeezes her legs together making the taller man smile.

"So, I was thinking, that maybe it's time to move in together"

Maxine looks at the man she loves, "really?"

"I mean, if you want to"

Maxine grabs her boyfriends hand, "okay"

"Yeah? You sure. I know it's a big step for you"

"As long as you're there with me, I can do anything"

Maverick looks over at the detective and it was like he fell in love all over again.

🪩🪩🪩

"Awesome. After you two, all I need is Ruzek to sign the card" Nadia says, as she, Maxine and Jay are in the locker room at the 21st district, signing Erin's birthday card.

"Careful with Ruzek, he's terrible at keeping secrets" max says, passing the card to Jay for him to sign.

"Okay. So, I'm gonna steal her car keys to pick up the cake and if that doesn't work, can I borrow one of yours?"

"Yeah. No problem" Maxine says.

"Awesome"

"What's no problem?" Erin asks, walking around the corner.

"It's...it's all under control" Jay says as he and Max leave the locker room and head for the unit.

"What did you write?" Jay asks his Angel of a partner.

"'Happy Birthday to the best best friend in the world. I love you'"

"Well, that's definitely better than what I wrote"

"Which was?"

"'Happy Birthday. You rock girl!'"

Maxine stops walking and looks at her partner and says, "Please tell me you didn't really write, 'you rock girl'?"

Silence filled between them before Maxine bursts out laughing and walks away. "Oh my god, you're never gonna live that one down"

Max and Jay walk back onto the unit to see that Fin and Amaro have arrived from New York

"So, this is everything pertinent from our files on the New York Victims" Amaro says passing out files, as Voight walks in and they say hi.

"Hey, I guess that tip line must have paid off" Atwater says, as he and Adam walk onto the unit, "Apparently some woman just called over in bucktown. She said that some guy two weeks ago was asking for help unloading boxes from his car"

"Was she attacked?" Max asks.

"No, she got a weird feeling and took off" Adam answers, "get this though. The guy was wearing scrubs"

"I'll go interview this woman" Maxine says, getting the address from Adam and grabbing her coat with Amaro not far behind.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine and Nick get out of the car and walk down the sidewalk to get to Charlotte Reegans apartment to talk to her about the tip she called in.

"So Honey's hold me you guys have been getting to know each other" Nick said as Maxine opened the gate.

"Yeah. I even got to meet Ryder."

"Yeah, he's a great kid. I'm glad you guys know each other. Sorry about how it all happened"

Maxine shrugs, "it's life. But everything happens for a reason, right?" Then she rings the doorbell, "Charlotte Reegan?"

"Yes"

"Hi, I'm detective bishop" Maxine says, holding up her shield, "and this is detective Amaro. You called in a tip last night?"

"Yeah. Wow, you guys got here quick"

"Hey, Charlotte. Would you mind taking us through what happened?" Nick asks.

"Of course. Come in"

Charlotte leads max and Nick into her small apartment, picking up a few things off the ground as she enters. "Sorry about the mess. This place is so small my stuff gets everywhere"

"You know, when I was your age, I slept in a closet in New York. Six hundred a month" Nick says.

"So, Charlotte. What happened two weeks ago?" Max questions.

"Uh, well, it gets claustrophobic in here. So I went for a walk. I was over by the park and there was this guy standing by his car. Said he needed help moving a box to the passenger seat" Charlotte explains, "you know, he had a sling on his arm and doctor pants on under his jacket, so I walked over to help but when I got to the car I saw this car jack thingy in the back seat and he was just a little too...I don't know, too friendly. Too chatty"

"Did you get a good look at him?" Nick asks.

"Not really. It was night. He was a white guy. He was wearing a cap"

"What kind of car was he driving?" Maxine questions.

"Subaru. Wagon. I remember because my aunt has one. Uh, dark green. I didn't get a license plate though. I just turned and gripped my keys in my hand and started walking"

"If you see this guy again, would you be able to identify him?" Max asks.

🪩🪩🪩

"Jay, calm down" Max says, trying to calm her partner down in the locker room.

"You weren't in that room, Max"

"I know"

"Can you believe they actually think my brother did this"

"They're just going on what the evidence shows"

"And it's crap. Will did not do this"

"I know"

~~~

Maxine pulls her best friend into the staircase, who looked more than confused. "What's going on?"

"Maverick and I are moving in together"

Adam raises an eyebrow, "really? You don't think it's too soon?"

"I'm in love with him, Adam. I'm ready"

Adam smiles and brings the shorter girl into a hug, "then I'm happy for you, Maxie"

~~~

"Home address, employer information and what else?" Gregory Yates asks, writing down the information on a notepad in interrogation led by Maxine and Nick, after Mouse found the car from a security tape from Charlotte's apartment building and Burgess and Roman tracking it down.

"Cell phone number" Max says, leaning agaisnt the pale blue walls.

"Oh, of course"

"So, what brings you to Chicago, Mr Yates?" Amaro questions.

"Employment"

"Where?" Maxine asks.

"Medhelp. It's an urgent care facility on the south side"

"So, you were a professor at Columbia in New York" Amaro says, reading over a file, "residency at Presbyterian"

"That's correct"

"When was this?" Nick questions.

"Well, I'm sure that file states it"

"I'm asking you"

"Ten years or so" Yates says, leaning back in the chair.

"Where've you been since then?" Maxine questions.

"Oh, all over. Traveling. Lots of time in New Orleans. Now, there is a lawless town. My job as a physician, you know, there's always a need. Always a spot to fill"

Max and Nick tilt their heads to the side as Yates starts to get this look in his eyes.

"How'd you go from being a doctor at one of the best hospitals in the country to working at an urgent care?" Max asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him"

Max raises her eyebrow at the weird man.

"Croucho Marx. Oh, see, I bet you don't even know who that is"

"You ever been to Chicago Med?" Max asks.

"Oh, sure"

"As a patient or..." Maxine asks and Yates chuckles. "No, actually. I have lunch there sometimes"

"Do you know this woman?" Amaro asks, sliding a picture of the first victim in front of Yates as he sits up in the chair.

"No"

"Her?" Nick asks, sliding a picture of the second victim in front of him. "Her...her.. Or her" Nick slides the rest of the victim's photos in front of Yates.

"No"

"No?"

"No. Are any of these the pedestrians that the car I'm purchasing supposedly struck? That is the reason that I was brought in. Am I correct?"

Maxine looks down at Yates' arms and notices there's no hair on them and asks, "You shave your arms, doctor?"

"My whole body, actually" Yates says, turning around in his seat, "It's for cycling. Helps reduce drag"

"You know, I'm new to the city. What's the best spot around here for cycling" Amaro questions.

"I don't know, my bike's still in storage" Yates answers, still looking at Max, "Am I under arrest? I do have a general sense of my rights as a US citizen"

"You're free to go" Max says and Yates stands up, as well as Nick and Yates grabs his jacket and heads for the door, followed by Maxine, "Thanks for coming in"

"Oh, I'm happy to help"

"Do you have any travel plans, Mr. Yates?" Max asks, as the two enter the hall.

"None. Are you kidding? I just got to your beautiful city. I can't wait to explore it."

"I'll walk you out" Max says, following Yates out of the unit after he says 'hello' to Nadia, which she thought was weird.

Maxine goes over to her desk and turns her computer on and starts doing some paperwork.

"Get a states attorney on board ASAP. Give 'em particulars, probable cause and let 'em know we believe this guy is good for it" Voight tells Bishop, who nods her head, "Alright, one of you figure out who's gonna be the affiant on his phone"

"I'm on it, boss" Ruzek says.

"We are gonna run this clean. We're gonna run this thorough. We're gonna run it by the book. Everybody understand?" Voight asks and everyone agrees.

~~~

Max, Erin, Jay and Will walk into Hank's office, so Will can tell Voight what he knows about Greg Yates.

"He was one of those instructors that made the students call him by his first name. Liked to hang out at the bars we went to. Some bought into it but I always got a creepy vibe" Will explains, "Someone invited him out to a party one night and Yates corners me. Starts talking about who has the best ass. Who he'd like to have sex with first. Debra McCulloch was at that party. The nurse that went missing"

"Was it the night she went missing?" Erin asks.

"No. I think it was, like, three nights before that, but they were both there. He could easily have met her that night"

"Bishop, you have a call" Nadia says and Max turns around, "It's Greg Yates"

Maxine sits at her desk as everyone stands around her and Nadia puts the phone on speaker.

"Detective Bishop" max says.

"I can't help but think that we got off on the wrong foot"

"How do you mean?"

"Oh, I just feel like I made a bad impression on your co-workers back there. I would like to try and win you guys back. Are you free to meet for a short conversation?"

"Sure. Why don't you come by the district"

"No, just you and me. The pavilion at Millennium park in three hours. Thank you for your time in advance" Yates says before hanging up the phone and Max looks at Voight. "I'm meeting him"

~~~

"I'll be fine, Mav. I promise. I know how to take care of myself" Maxine said, passing back and forth in the locker room talking to her boyfriend.

"I know. I just worry about you. You're going to be meeting a possible serial killer"

"Mav, baby. Listen to me, I'll be okay. I promise." Maxine said as she looked up to see Adam waving for her to hurry up, "I gotta go, I love you" then she hung up and followed after her best friend.

Both the intelligence team and the SVU team gather around the basement putting on their vests, while Mouse gets Maxine ready for the meet.

"Alright, so, Voight will be able to communicate with you through this" Mouse says, giving the detective an earwig and said girl puts it in and pulls down her hat more to cover her ears, "Now, I'd use your phone in your other ear, assuming you like to hear over four thousand hertz"

"Okay" Max chuckles, "Good?"

"Yeah"

"Just stay where we can see you" Jay tells his partner.

"yeah"

"We'll be nearby in case anything goes sideways" Antonio says.

"Hey, Al, you guys find a good look out yet?" Voight asks.

"We'll be near the pedestrian bridges a few hundred yards away"

"Fin, Amaro, you're on the ground with Ruzek and Antonio. Stay sharp" Voight says.

Maxine's phone starts ringing and she raises an eyebrow at the caller and answers it, "Sergeant Benson"

"Bishop, Fin told me you're going to meet with Yates, alone?"

"Yeah, I figure he's either looking to confess, he's playing us or he's looking to do something stupid and even if it's the last one, he's been at this for ten years, it's worth it if we can finally bring him down"

"Look, just remember, if he's reaching out to you, he's feeling the pressure, right? He could be capable of anything right now"

"I'll be ready, Sergeant"

"be safe"

"Thanks. I will" Maxine says then hangs up her phone and sees a text from Will. 'be safe out there, hero' and she smiles.

Maxine goes to leave the roll up when she hears, "Maxie"

Maxine turns around to see Adam and she sighs, "I'll be fine, A. I'm doing this"

"I know. I could never stop you from doing anything. Just be safe, alright?" Adam says and Max nods her head.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine walks along the pavilion at the Millennium park and sits in one of the plastic stadium seats.

"Anyone got eyes on Yates?" Max asks, into her hidden mic.

"Halstead you got eyes on him?" Voight asks through his walkie.

"Nothing" Jay says, looking through his sniper scope, "Wait. I got him. He's approaching from the west"

"Sorry, I'm a little late" Yates says, approaching the detective, "You look great, by the way"

"So, what is it you could only tell me in the park at night?"

"Wanna go grab a cup of coffee? It's too cold to sit" Yates asks and Max tilts her head, "Come on. I'm harmless"

Maxine stands up, and says, "We can talk right here"

"No" Yates says, taking out a tube of chapstick and putting some on, "I want some coffee. It's close. I promise, or you can sit here and I'll see you when I see you"

Every instinct Maxine has is screaming no, we'll find another way, but she can't lose this so she walks away with him.

"Bishop and Yates are on the move" Antonio says, through his walkie.

"They're shifting positions. Lost sight of Bishop" Olinsky says through his walkie as well, and the anger on Jay's and Adam's face is visible for anyone to see.

"Yeah, I got them" Amaro says, through his walkie, "They're headed towards the walkway. We'll stay back"

"I do this walk at night. The skyline is so beautiful" Yates says as him and max walk along the small bridge, "It stuns me everytime"

"Hmmm. Why did you ask me to meet you in the park if you wanted to get coffee"

"Oh, it's nothing nefarious. I changed my mind. It's cold"

"You know what I think?" Max asks, "I think it's a move to assert control over the situation and over me"

"Your Sergeant has gotten into your head. Don't let him think for you. You're better than that. Have you been following what's been going on in Egypt, post revolution?"

"No" max says, as the two stop walking and Yates turns towards her.

"Well, they finally got rid of Mubarak in 2011. Do you remember this at all? There's much fanfare and jubilation" Yates says, "The people are free! The people have spoken! But when the euphoria ebbs, as it inevitably does, what are they left with? High crime, raided antiquities, unrest. See, you can unclench the iron fist of that dictator and that, that's great, but you're not really prepared for what's on the other side. You know what they call that, detective? The law of unintended consequences"

"Why'd you wanna meet with me, Greg?"

"You know what my favorite example of that law is? In Hanoi, under French colonial rule, they established a bounty for each rat tail turned in, to try and reduce the number of rats, you know what happened? People started breeding rats, for their tails and that charming little country ended up with more rats than it started with"

"You wanna know why I think you wanted to meet me?" Maxine asks, "Because I'm 5'5" and I have brown hair, exactly like all those women that were murdered"

"Is that so" Yates says.

"Why don't we talk about that instead of hiding behind all this history 101 crap. Tell me what happened. I know that you want to. Who do I remind you of? Your mom? An ex-girlfriend, maybe? Come on"

"More rats, detective, remember that" Yates says, before walking away.

"We got him, he's heading for a taxi" Al says, through his walkie.

~~~

"You sure, you're alright?" Hank asks his detective.

"Yeah"

Everyone gathers around the pavilion as Jay runs over to them. "Patrol says he took the cab to water tower place, and then he slipped them once he got inside"

"He's playing a game. He knows it's just a matter of time. We'll get him" max says.

🪩🪩🪩

Maxine, Hank, Fin and Nick follow Chief Boden into yet another house fire with another victim.

"Fire was started in the bedroom" Boden says, pointing to the spot with his flashlight.

"You said 'was started'?" Fin asks.

"Yeah. The amount of damage in the room, lack of accidental causes...this is arson if you ask me, I just can't prove that right now"

"Is there any way of telling whether or not it was started remotely?" Voight asks.

"We'll search for an incendiary device, but even if the device survived the fire, it would be weeks maybe months before any conclusion and that's if we're lucky"

"That's why he was with Bishop when it started" Fin says.

"Plausible deniability" Amaro says, then bends down to see the victim.

"What is she, like eighteen?" Max asks.

"What's this?" Fin asks, picking up a small bottle, "Green nail polish"

Hank and max leave the house and go over to Lindsay who asks, "Was it him?"

"Yeah, he was using me as an alibi" Maxine says, anger racing in her veins.

"I got a location on his phone" Mouse says, "It's an apartment on the west side"

"Get everyone over there now!" Voight demands.

"Give me the address" Max tells Mouse as she and Erin get into their vehicle and head to the west side.

🪩🪩🪩

The team heads into the apartment with their guns drawn and flashlights shining to find the place empty and the basement to have three fans going and a bottle of green nail polish, Yates' phone and a lighter on the floor.

"He was just here" Ruzek says.

to be continued . . .

authors note;

MAV AND MAX ARE MOVING IN TOGETHER 😭😭🥺🥺🫶🏼🫶🏼💓💓💓💓