Chapter Text
***
“Are you telling me out of all the cops we have in this city, no-one is available to help us out?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying Lieutenant. Are you telling me no-one in your squad can do it?”
“No. Fin and Carisi don’t match the profile. Valenzuela has come down with stomach flu and I don’t have time to get someone else caught up. The only way this is going to work is if we can convince Cortez that our guy is the real deal.”
“I see.” muttered the Chief.
“Is there any chance I can borrow someone from another unit?” she asked, pleading and praying for the answer she wanted.
“Not at this short notice. I’ve already reached out and am mostly getting responses saying they wish they could help, but no can do.”
“Perfect.” grumbled Olivia, scrubbing a hand over her forehead, pressing at the creases, willing a solution to present itself.
“We do have one other option. What about ADA Barba?”
Benson’s jaw dropped. “Barba?!”
“Yes! He would fit the profile perfectly. It’s the perfect solution. You’ve said yourself the operation isn’t high risk, and you need a guy who fits a certain profile, and Barba does.”
Her eyes were wide as she tried to process the Chief’s suggestion, her words stumbling, “But sir…he’s not…he’s going to…”
With a stern voice, he replied, “ I’ve given you a solution, Lieutenant. It’s up to you if you want your operation to go ahead.”
She couldn’t respond to that, her words still trapped by the surprise at her boss’s idea.
***
“No, no and no.”
“But Barba, you’re the only one who can fill in.”
“Olivia, no! I’m not a cop, I have no experience in these situations. It’s your job to catch the guys and my job to make sure they don’t do it again.”
“Yes, I understand that, but I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate. You know we’ve spent months following this guy. This weekend is the perfect opportunity to catch him in the act and I don’t want to lose that chance.”
“I understand, Lieutenant, I really do, and I want to get this guy just as much as you do. But if this goes wrong, we lose any chance of getting a conviction anyway.”
Her face was set with a determination he had come to recognise well as she spoke again. “So, is it yourself you have so little faith in or my squad?”
“You know I have total faith in you and your squad, I just don’t want to get dragged into this. Not to mention the fact that if I’m involved in this operation, I can’t prosecute.”
“So, find another ADA who can. Barba, please ,” she pleaded, “you’re my only hope and I’m asking you as a friend.”
Rafael started muttering under his breath in Spanish and Olivia bit back a smirk when she roughly translated something about her driving him crazy that he was being held at gunpoint.
“I’m going to be there, so is Fin, Carisi, Rollins and we’ll have adequate back-up.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll do it.” he sighed, raising his hands in surrender and fixing her with a stern yet affectionate look before he continued, “But I swear to God, I get shot, I’m coming back to haunt you in the next life.”
“That works out in my favour, Rafael, because I have no intention of letting you, me or anyone else for that matter, get so much as a graze.”
“No one ever intends to get shot, Olivia, that’s sort of my point.” he retorted, smirking slightly.
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “You can wear a Kevlar if it makes you feel better.”
He looked offended. “And ruin the line of my suit? Absolutely not.”
“Uh, yeah…about that….” she trailed off, a frown slowly appearing on her face.
He sighed dramatically, pressing his fingers into the middle of his brow. “Don’t tell me, there’s a dress code.”
“Well, sort of. The place we’re going is an underground music venue, so if you own a pair of jeans, now is the time to break them out.” she smiled.
“Oh, for the love of God.” he groaned, slumping into his desk chair.
“If you could be in the squad room by six on Saturday night, we’ll have time to get wired, have a briefing, and co-ordinate our backstory, that sort of thing.”
“Yeah, okay.” he grumbled, returning to the papers in front of him before her words had sunk in, his head shooting back up quickly. “What do you mean our backstory?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I'm your date.” she grinned, spinning on her heel, and exiting the room as quickly as possible, ignoring his shouts that he was backing out of the deal .
***
To say the SVU squad were surprised when Barba arrived on Saturday evening was an understatement. He strolled in with his usual swagger except he looked nothing like the ADA they had grown accustomed to and dare any of them admit, grown fond of.
He was in jeans, a white shirt untucked with several buttons undone and a black leather jacket. The gold chain around his neck was just visible as well as some hair on his chest and he was sporting a rough and ready stubble, his hair tousled and decidedly more casual than they had ever seen .
“What?” he asked defensively as they all eyed him up and down.
“Who knew you had something other than suits in that wardrobe, Counsellor.” teased Fin.
“Very funny.” bit back Rafael, smoothing down his shirt feeling more self-conscious than he had in years. “Is ‘Liv around? She said six o’clock.”
“Yeah, she’s in there.” he jerked his head towards her office just as the door opened and the Chief stepped out, closely followed by one very dressed up Olivia Benson , eyes trained on her phone.
Rafael was helpless at stopping his eyes from roving over her, dressed in a figure-hugging black dress, ending just above her knees, with a neckline than was lower than he had ever seen her wear. Her hair was loosely curled, wavy tendrils framing her face and to top it all off, dark smoky eye make-up and a bold red lip.
She looked up from her phone to catch his gaze, giving him a shy smile and her eyebrows raising slightly as she took in the casual version of her friend and colleague.
“Looking good, Counsellor.” she said by way of a greeting, coming to stand close enough that he caught a waft of her perfume.
“I could say the same about you, Lieutenant, although ‘good’ doesn’t seem to do you justice.”
Olivia felt herself blush and ignored her rapidly rising heartrate. They had a job to do, and distractions like how gorgeous Rafael looked in jeans and a leather jacket could not derail months of work.
“You need to have your wire done.” she said quietly, motioning her head towards the corner of the squad room.
“What about you?” he asked innocently.
“Done already, before I got squeezed into this contraption.” she chuckled, waving a hand over her figure which allowed Rafael another glance over her curves without looking suspect .
“I see.” he nodded , clearing his throat, and shoving his hands in his pockets .
She laughed again, stepping closer to pat his shoulder. “Don’t try and figure out where the mic pack is.”
His eyes widened, and he made a sound somewhere between a choked laugh and a groan and she grinned before turning away.
He watched her saunter off, cursing himself for even looking but unable to resist, the back of the dress just as enticing as the front, a relatively low back and a zipper that ran from the dip to the top of her ass, every curve shown off perfectly.
He turned his head to see Fin watching him eyebrows raised and felt his cheeks redden even further. Clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair, he quickly escaped further interrogation.
***
Olivia led the briefing, her voice clear and commanding as she stood in front of their board, the case information pinned up neatly for everyone to check over. “This is the target, Alejandro Cortez.” she paused, pointing at a grainy photo taken from long-distance. “He’s got a string of so far unproven allegations against him, including sex trafficking and drug smuggling. He’s incredibly careful, keeps his distance and runs his operation through a handful of men with limited face time. Until three weeks ago we didn’t even have confirmation that he was the man in charge. The bartender and several others organise the girls. This is a rare opportunity that he’s even going to be there.”
“How likely is he to be armed?” asked a middle-aged male cop that Rafael didn’t recognise, from the far side of the room.
She noticed Rafael frown out of the corner of her eye.
“So far, we haven’t seen him carrying. We have to assume there will be several concealed weapons in venue, which is why we need this to be done as smoothly as possible. I don’t want a shoot-out in a crowd.”
“What are the chances he’s going to put up a fight?” the same cop spoke again.
“With the evidence my squad have gathered I would say not. This guy is intelligent, well-spoken, educated. He is meticulous and smooth, but he’s also arrogant. My guess is he’s going to showboat and play the ‘I have friends in high places’ card but go quietly, but we need to make sure we prepared for every eventuality.”
She paused, scanning the room before continuing. “We’ve got comms up and running and back-up if needed, but once we hear an admission that he’s the top guy and he’s selling the girls, I want cuffs on him. The venue could be an issue, it’s a club, minimal lighting, lots of dark corners, and several exits. I want them all covered.”
“Who are we going to have inside?” the same cop asked, and Rafael resisted the urge to roll his eyes, this guy was quickly turning into a pain in the ass.
“Myself.” She paused and glanced at her partner, “And ADA Barba.”
The room fell quiet, and Rafael felt all eyes turn on him.
“I know it’s not ideal, but the reality is we lost Valenzuela to stomach flu, we don’t have anyone else who fits the profile. The background has already been established and we must follow those parameters for this to be authentic.” Olivia explained.
The cop cleared his throat and glanced around quickly. Rafael saw Olivia exhale heavily.
“Lieutenant, with all due respect, an undercover op is risky as it is and now you want to throw someone in who can’t even handle a gun?”
Rafael growled in the back of his throat, this cop was starting to irritate him, he clearly wasn’t giving Olivia the respect she deserved. She was one of the most experienced officers in the room and this unknown man’s lack of faith in the commanding officer’s handling of the operation was frankly discourteous and unprofessional.
“While I appreciate your concerns, I don’t think the ADA attached to our unit can be considered inexperienced. He’s aware of the case in detail and you forget he’s with me. Now if any of you think I’m not a suitable escort then speak now or forever hold your peace.”
There was a murmur of agreement, Olivia was usually right, and Rafael looked suitably smug and in awe as she commanded the room with astonishing power and confidence. He would be lying if he didn’t admit this was the most attractive that he had ever found her.
“You all know what you’re doing, we’re rolling in twenty.” she announced.
She sighed heavily as the troops moved out. The energy in the room was palpable, a buzz of adrenaline, nerves and excitement hung in the air and Rafael felt his heart quickening.
He caught her eye and offered a reassuring nod, an unspoken communication between them that they had each other’s back and the trust between them was unbreakable.
***
“You ready?” she asked, glancing over as she navigated the streets to their destination.
“As I’ll ever be.” he sighed, letting his head fall back against the headrest and turning his head to avoid her eyes and watch the city instead.
“Go over it one more time.” she prodded.
“’Liv.” he groaned, closing his eyes and sliding his hand down his face before scratching his jaw.
“Rafael. Please.” she begged, her hands clutching the steering wheel more tightly.
“I’m from Brooklyn, run a small operation and looking for a new girl You're the...madam.” he replied, the last word feeling foul on his tongue.
She looked happier, but there was a furrow in her brow as she spoke again. “We need to establish some expectations here too.”
“Okay.” he said slowly, eyebrows knitting together, not yet catching on to her meaning.
“Around what’s likely to happen with these girls.” she explained.
“I think I’m aware of what goes on in these places, Lieutenant.” he retorted cheekily.
“I know you do, so you can’t freak out if the girls get handsy, which they probably will. Just…relax.”
He quirked an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Are you telling me to lie back and think of my country?”
She laughed loudly and shot him a dirty look. “No, I’m saying don’t let on that you might be uncomfortable. You can be awfully charming when you want to be, Rafael, use it to your advantage.”
“Was that a compliment somewhere in there?” he replied, giving her a smile that made her knees weak.
“Maybe.” she shrugged, giving him a blank look, “Pretend you’re in court, this is a performance. Do and say whatever it takes to get the bad guy.”
“Got it.” he nodded.
She pulled the car over, the engine stilled like her, hands curving over the wheel, her palms rubbing the leather.
“And don’t be shocked if I get closer to you, either. Touching, kissing and the like.” she said, her eyes flicking to his.
A glint of something electric sparkled in his eyes but disappeared too quickly for her to decipher, “ Well to be clear, I’m fine with all of that, I mean…” he cleared his throat, rubbing his palms nervously on his thighs, “is there anything for you? That I should…Is there anything you want me to avoid?”
She gave him the softest smile leaning in slightly and lowering her voice, “Whatever happens between us, don’t leave a mark.”
He chuckled and let out the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. “Alright then.”
***
“Don’t you think they look good?” Rollins asked, Carisi glancing up to watch his mentors outside the van doing a final check everything was ready.
“What? Lieu and Barba?” he replied, cocking his head.
The blonde rolled her eyes, “Yes, Carisi. Don’t you think they look good together?”
“Well yeah, they brush up alright.” he shrugged, his attention already elsewhere.
“No, I meant… oh never mind.” she muttered, taking her position at her station in the communications van.
***
The music was pounding through the floorboards, not overly loud, but the bass was shaking underneath their feet as they walked in. She could feel multiple sets of eyes on her, and she squared her shoulders and held her head high. His palm was burning on her waist, his arm wrapped around her back and holding her close, she willed herself to breathe as a warm flutter flashed through her stomach that she pushed firmly aside as they moved through the crowd.
Several steps led the way to a slightly raised area in front of the bar, and Rafael dutifully allowed Olivia to walk up first, if anyone asked, he was not looking at her ass in that dress. He motioned towards the bar and she smiled, choosing to situate herself at a railing, leaning and scanning the crowd. As Rafael moved towards the bar, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling as he noticed two, what could only be described as ‘hired thugs’ near the bar watching him and Olivia.
“Whiskey, large, no ice. And a Cabernet.” he said gruffly, the gentleman in him trying to hide deep down as he played ‘Rafi, high-roller, pimp and all-round asshole’.
Rafael nodded his thanks as the drinks appeared in front of him, knocking back the whiskey in one he slammed the glass down and waved his hand at the bartender. “Another.”
The bartender eyed him curiously before retrieving the bottle from behind him and topping the glass off again. Rafael pulled a large wad of bills from inside his jacket, dropping a fifty on the bar and telling the man to keep the change. He noticed the bartender’s eyes widen, and smirked.
“May as well treat myself.” winked Rafael, relieved to see the greedy but pleased look on the other man’s face.
“Yes, sir.” grinned the bartender.
“And if there’s anything else on the menu you think I might like, let your boss know, eh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The name’s Rafi.” said Rafael, before nodding, sweeping up his drinks and moving away.
Rafael returned to Olivia, who was exactly where he had left her, watching the crowds dance and mingle, low sofas around the edges of the room he smiled when he handed her the glass, and she hummed as she sipped.
“That’s surprisingly nice.” she murmured.
“Really? I imagine most people don’t come for the wine selection.” he muttered, his hand coming up to cover hers on the railing.
She looked down at their hands, and nudged his hand off, flipping her palm over so they could entwine their fingers, stepping into his body.
“Did he notice you’re a high roller?” she smirked, her eyes flickering up to his, her lashes framing her fiery eyes perfectly.
He nodded, hiding his smile behind a sip of scotch, and relishing the burn at the back of his throat. He would drink this one slowly, he needed to be alert, the first glass had been a simple tonic for his nerves. His body and brain now slightly more relaxed, but still thrumming with her touch, even holding her hand was sending waves of something he couldn’t describe through every cell in his body. Like electricity, he observed, it was dangerous, powerful, one clear shock and you’d be dead, just a little and you would be merely burned, sizzled inside out…the irony wasn’t lost on him that he was sure before the night was over, he would be scorched irrevocably.
“Let’s go and sit down.” she whispered, running her fingers across his shoulder.
As they did, Olivia glanced around to see the bartender watching them intently and speaking discretely to another man she assumed was one of Cortez’s men. As they sat down, she pulled her chair as close as possible, turning into his body and draping her arms around his neck. His hands went to her waist, bunching the material of her dress and willing his heart to slow down. She dipped her head into the crook of his neck again.
“Cortez knows we’re here. He’s watching.” her breath tickled his neck, and he couldn’t help his head rolling towards her, his body chasing hers involuntarily.
His breath hitched as he felt her lips graze his ear, “Play along, Rafa. Trust me.”
“I do.” he breathed out, his eyes flickering shut as he felt her nails rake through the hair at the base of the neck and down and around the front of his throat.
“Someone is going to come over.” she murmured, her lips rubbing across his earlobe, “remember what I said. Be confident, don’t give too much away.”
“And if we get made before that?” he asked quietly, turning his head so their noses were brushing against one another’s.
Even in the low light she could see every fleck of gold in his eyes, her breaths came out harsher, more like pants as she realised how tantalising close their lips were to each other’s.
“I trust you.” she whispered, her lips brushing his with the softest of strokes but Rafael was powerless to let go. His mouth chased hers before she knew what was happening, his lips claiming another intoxicating taste and she sighed into his mouth. The match had been struck, the fire within them slowly ignited as they gained a taste of each other. The tiniest touch of lips left them both stunned, a touch so intimate, so gentle, yet so powerful they were each terrified. It was as if a magnet was between them, their bodies latching on and refusing to relinquish something so sweet and perfect. He tasted delicious and smelled divine, her senses overwhelmed as one hand tangled into the hair at the nape of her neck, tugging gently so he could kiss her again, mouths fighting for dominance. Her stomach clenched, her thighs pressing together as she kissed him back, her tongue pressing against the seam of his mouth begging for entry and pleading for him to give her more of whatever this feeling was. Oh how he could kiss! She wanted more and if she could just-
“Are we interruptin’ there, pal?” came a sneery voice and their faces pulled apart.
***