Law and Order: FCU. "An Hour of Wolves, Pt. 1"
"In the Fashion Justice System the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups. The police who investigate fashion crime and the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders..."
"Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm Detective Frisco and this is my partner Detective Gleem, from Fashion Crimes. We need to speak to Ms. Minmaid."
Detectives Bennie Frisco and Ned Gleem, Fashion Crimes
"Just go down the hall," said the admin assistant, right before he went back to his issue of Car and Driver.
"Ah, public servants," said Frisco, and he waved his hand in a mockery of a grand gesture.
Assistant District Attorney Blair Minmaid's door was open, but her back was turned. She was rustling through a file cabinet. Det. Gleem knocked gently and said, "Blair?"
ADA Blair Minmaid
Despite his precautions, he managed to startle her. Once she recovered herself, she smiled and said, "Ned! Bennie!"
"Wipe that smile off your lovely face," said Bennie, "because you are not going to be happy with what we have to tell you."
"What?"
"Your case against the head of the Austin Syndicate..."
Blair gasped. She'd worked so hard on that case. It had been a jurisdictional nightmare; while the Austin Syndicate was not as established as some of the other "families," their leader was a real kingpin.
Get it? "King"pin?
Lots of people wanted to try him, and the fact that she'd managed to move up to 'first in line' had been a real testament to her skills. Getting the 'Hawaiian Shirt' victims counseling and preparing them to testify had taken months!
That's right people...remember the horror!
"He's gone...he's skipped. Something happened while he was being extradited to Texas to stand trial there for racketeering."
Blair crumpled into her chair. He bought someone off! She imagined his smiling face and it made her very, very angry.
Yeah, just try and hold me, baby...
No one said anything for a few moments until Ned was able to say, "I'm so sorry. But...we do have some other news that might be of interest to you."
"Oh?"
"We have evidence that the Wolverines are back in the city."
Blair sat up straight again. The Club of Wolverines was the dominant syndicate in the upper midwest and even better connected than the Austin gang. They had ties all up and down the I-95 corridor and had been smuggling tasteless clothes through ports from Boston to Baltimore for the better part of a decade. However, unlike the Austinites, they had a flatter organizational structure that made it more difficult to catch them. A few years ago, one of the CW soldiers had stood trial for the attempted murder of fashion editor Lanna Lintour (his shoes had caused Ms. Lintour to faint, fall down a flight of stairs and nearly die). However, the forensics were weak and witnesses wouldn't testify and none of the CW members were willing to roll, so he had walked.
Where is her justice?
But maybe this time...
"Do you have a pretext for bringing them in? Can we connect them to the Austin disappearance?"
"Not these three," said Bennie. "Not directly."
"Stake them out," said Minmaid. "Find a reason to bring them in."
**
As for as Bennie and Ned could tell, there were three CW soldiers working in Manhattan at the moment.
Eh, they're close enough to mugshots...
The detectives had been trailing the three of them for the better part of two days, but they had been dressing carefully, and the detectives were unable to make an arrest. However, it looked like tonight might be their lucky night. The three suspects had left their seedy motel room very quickly at 2am, and sped off in the general direction of the port. They were clearly getting ready to receive shipments (of dubious legality) of God-knows-what-horror of fashion.
Bennie was driving along after them. "They're gonna just flood the market with this shit," he said. "Makes me so angry to think about all the waste, all the lives that will be ruined. This is such a losing battle, Ned. Such a losing battle."
"We can stop 'em," said Gleem. "We can break these guys. Blair is brave and courageous. Getting Peirsol in front of a judge was an incredible first step. We can take them down...it's not a losing battle."
By this time, the suspects had come to a stop. Again, the detectives were lucky. There was a single light above their car, just enough for them to get a good look at the suspects' clothes. If there was anything...
"Wait," said Bennie. "They're coming out of the car. Oh ho, my eyes spy a footwear violation, Ned."
That's pretty much the textbook definition of "footwear violation"
Ned was out first, gun drawn: "FREEZE! NYPD!"
One of the three men was clearly startled.
The man with the footwear violation tried to kick the shoes off and run for it. Unfortunately for him, Ned was quick, and able to subdue him.
"I know you weren't just trying to get rid of evidence!" said Gleem as he handcuffed him.
"Hey Ned," said Bennie, "what do we do with these two?"
"They got any violations or outstanding warrants?"
"These two angels? Well, they're clean for now, but I think I'm going to call for some back-up and then we'll all just wait to see what the tide brings in, won't we, boys?"
Be patient there...this could take a while.
Ned laughed. Bennie was really the best. "OK then," he said, "I'll bring this one down to HQ and we'll get the interrogation party started."
The familiar words and Ned's familiar voice rang in Frisco's ears, "...you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one..."
"Hey!" he called out. "Don't forget to call Blair!"
****
Next week on Law and Order: Fashion Crimes Unit: "An Hour of Wolves" continues as Bennie Frisco and Ned Gleem interrogate members of the feared Club of Wolverines organized fashion crime syndicate. Find out how ADA Blair Minmaid will deal with the shocking revelations and her disappointment over the Austin Syndicate affair!
A/N: Chronology is my plaything; let's just all assume this takes place during a time when all three "suspects" were affiliated with CW.
A/N #2 Thanks to my Usual Suspects as well as MGoSwim for the photos. As always, if you'd like more specific credit just let me know and I will provide!
"Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm Detective Frisco and this is my partner Detective Gleem, from Fashion Crimes. We need to speak to Ms. Minmaid."
Detectives Bennie Frisco and Ned Gleem, Fashion Crimes
"Just go down the hall," said the admin assistant, right before he went back to his issue of Car and Driver.
"Ah, public servants," said Frisco, and he waved his hand in a mockery of a grand gesture.
Assistant District Attorney Blair Minmaid's door was open, but her back was turned. She was rustling through a file cabinet. Det. Gleem knocked gently and said, "Blair?"
ADA Blair Minmaid
Despite his precautions, he managed to startle her. Once she recovered herself, she smiled and said, "Ned! Bennie!"
"Wipe that smile off your lovely face," said Bennie, "because you are not going to be happy with what we have to tell you."
"What?"
"Your case against the head of the Austin Syndicate..."
Blair gasped. She'd worked so hard on that case. It had been a jurisdictional nightmare; while the Austin Syndicate was not as established as some of the other "families," their leader was a real kingpin.
Get it? "King"pin?
Lots of people wanted to try him, and the fact that she'd managed to move up to 'first in line' had been a real testament to her skills. Getting the 'Hawaiian Shirt' victims counseling and preparing them to testify had taken months!
That's right people...remember the horror!
"He's gone...he's skipped. Something happened while he was being extradited to Texas to stand trial there for racketeering."
Blair crumpled into her chair. He bought someone off! She imagined his smiling face and it made her very, very angry.
Yeah, just try and hold me, baby...
No one said anything for a few moments until Ned was able to say, "I'm so sorry. But...we do have some other news that might be of interest to you."
"Oh?"
"We have evidence that the Wolverines are back in the city."
Blair sat up straight again. The Club of Wolverines was the dominant syndicate in the upper midwest and even better connected than the Austin gang. They had ties all up and down the I-95 corridor and had been smuggling tasteless clothes through ports from Boston to Baltimore for the better part of a decade. However, unlike the Austinites, they had a flatter organizational structure that made it more difficult to catch them. A few years ago, one of the CW soldiers had stood trial for the attempted murder of fashion editor Lanna Lintour (his shoes had caused Ms. Lintour to faint, fall down a flight of stairs and nearly die). However, the forensics were weak and witnesses wouldn't testify and none of the CW members were willing to roll, so he had walked.
Where is her justice?
But maybe this time...
"Do you have a pretext for bringing them in? Can we connect them to the Austin disappearance?"
"Not these three," said Bennie. "Not directly."
"Stake them out," said Minmaid. "Find a reason to bring them in."
**
As for as Bennie and Ned could tell, there were three CW soldiers working in Manhattan at the moment.
Eh, they're close enough to mugshots...
The detectives had been trailing the three of them for the better part of two days, but they had been dressing carefully, and the detectives were unable to make an arrest. However, it looked like tonight might be their lucky night. The three suspects had left their seedy motel room very quickly at 2am, and sped off in the general direction of the port. They were clearly getting ready to receive shipments (of dubious legality) of God-knows-what-horror of fashion.
Bennie was driving along after them. "They're gonna just flood the market with this shit," he said. "Makes me so angry to think about all the waste, all the lives that will be ruined. This is such a losing battle, Ned. Such a losing battle."
"We can stop 'em," said Gleem. "We can break these guys. Blair is brave and courageous. Getting Peirsol in front of a judge was an incredible first step. We can take them down...it's not a losing battle."
By this time, the suspects had come to a stop. Again, the detectives were lucky. There was a single light above their car, just enough for them to get a good look at the suspects' clothes. If there was anything...
"Wait," said Bennie. "They're coming out of the car. Oh ho, my eyes spy a footwear violation, Ned."
That's pretty much the textbook definition of "footwear violation"
Ned was out first, gun drawn: "FREEZE! NYPD!"
One of the three men was clearly startled.
The man with the footwear violation tried to kick the shoes off and run for it. Unfortunately for him, Ned was quick, and able to subdue him.
"I know you weren't just trying to get rid of evidence!" said Gleem as he handcuffed him.
"Hey Ned," said Bennie, "what do we do with these two?"
"They got any violations or outstanding warrants?"
"These two angels? Well, they're clean for now, but I think I'm going to call for some back-up and then we'll all just wait to see what the tide brings in, won't we, boys?"
Be patient there...this could take a while.
Ned laughed. Bennie was really the best. "OK then," he said, "I'll bring this one down to HQ and we'll get the interrogation party started."
The familiar words and Ned's familiar voice rang in Frisco's ears, "...you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one..."
"Hey!" he called out. "Don't forget to call Blair!"
****
Next week on Law and Order: Fashion Crimes Unit: "An Hour of Wolves" continues as Bennie Frisco and Ned Gleem interrogate members of the feared Club of Wolverines organized fashion crime syndicate. Find out how ADA Blair Minmaid will deal with the shocking revelations and her disappointment over the Austin Syndicate affair!
A/N: Chronology is my plaything; let's just all assume this takes place during a time when all three "suspects" were affiliated with CW.
A/N #2 Thanks to my Usual Suspects as well as MGoSwim for the photos. As always, if you'd like more specific credit just let me know and I will provide!