All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S22E04.Sightless.in.a.Savage.Land.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]-en

- 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.

- ♪ It's a new dawn,
it's a new day ♪

♪ It's a new life
for me, yeah ♪

- Are they still gonna
drop the ball?

- Yes, of course.

- If nobody's gonna
be here,

then why are they
putting those up?

- Oh, just to
close it off.

Hey, Noah?

We're gonna watch it on TV

just like any other New Year's.

- No, it's not.

I just want this year
to be over.

- ♪ And I'm feeling good

- Everyone does.

♪

- ♪ Fish in the sea

- Morning, handsome.

- Good morning.
- ♪ You know how I feel

- It's rooibos.
Herbal.

- Rooibos?
- Mm-hmm.

- Hmm.

- ♪ It's a new dawn,
it's a new day ♪

♪ It's a new life for me

- What?

Do I have something on my face?

- No, you're just beautiful.

♪

- ♪ Dragonfly out in the sun

- Black coffee, two sugars
and one regular.

Give--give me two bear claws
as well, all right?

- Ooh, what are you
doing to me?

- You need to eat.
- [laughs]

- You got my file?
- Yeah.

DD5s for the Berasco case.

- Thank you.

Gives me something
to do tonight.

- You're not
with your family?

- No, they went out
to the Poconos.

I got seven arraignments
Monday morning and--

- So you're alone
on New Year's?

That's--that's bad luck.

Why don't you...

why don't you come over?

- Nah, I don't want
to crash or anything.

- You're not crashing,
it's pizza.

And the girls will bang
on pots and pans.

We'll all be asleep by 9:30.

- Ah.

Ah, okay.
Okay, sold.

- Good.

- ♪ And I'm feeling good

- Whew.

- Too much?
- No, it's--

it's just right.

It's--Fin, it's gorgeous.

- What if she says no?

- She's not gonna say no.

- An engagement, then what?
A wedding?

It all seems so corny to me.

- After the year we've had?

Fin, you found love.

Hold onto it tight.

- Thanks.

- ♪ And this old world
is a new world ♪

♪ And a bold world for me

[noisemakers tooting]

- Hello, Officer.

- Not tonight.

For once, I am off duty.

- Pizza man's here!

- Uncle Sonny!
- [laughs]

Hey, Jesse.
Where's Billie?

- She's asleep.
We're one down here already.

- What?
What a lightweight!

I'll tell you what, Jesse.

You and I, we're gonna get
this party popping, okay?

[noisemaker toots]

- [laughs]
Oh, my God.

- I'm sorry, sorry.
- It's okay, it's okay.

- ♪ It's a new life for me

- Happy?
- [giggles]

I can stay up
till midnight, right?

- I don't know, can you?
- [giggles]

I'm not tired.

♪

[giggles]
- Here we go.

- ♪ Dragonfly out in the sun

- Well, this is lovely.

- You like the meal?

- Yeah, I told you,
I loved it.

But are you okay?
You seem a little anxious.

- I'm okay.
I'm cool.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

- 'Cause you know,
my father would always say

that New Year's
is for amateurs,

so, I mean, we can go home.

- No, no.
Before that...

to us.

- ♪ For me

- You know, we were
each other's first partner,

and that's a bond.
- Mm-hmm.

- Then last year,
we found each other again.

I don't ever want to lose you.

♪

Phoebe...

I got you something.

[cell phone beeping]

- Oh, sorry.

- ♪ Blossom on the tree

♪ You know how I feel

♪ It's a new dawn,
it's a new day ♪

♪ It's a new life

[cell phone beeping]

♪ For me

♪ And I'm feeling good

- [sighs]

♪

- ♪ Dragonfly out in the sun

♪ You know what I mean,
don'tcha know? ♪

[cell phone beeping]

♪ Butterflies all having fun

- [sighs]
One sec.

- Seriously?

- ♪ Sleep in peace

- It's an AMBER Alert.
I have to go.

I'm sorry.

- ♪ It's a new dawn,
it's a new day ♪

♪ It's a new life

♪ For me

[cell phone beeping]

[vocalizing]

- What is it?
- AMBER Alert.

13-year-old girl
taken off the street

a block from Gracie Mansion.

- SVU requested.

So 2021 begins.
- ♪ Oh, I'm feeling good

[both sigh]

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

- So much for ringing
in the new year.

- Yeah.
I can stay; you got kids.

- No, no, it's okay.
They're home with Carisi.

He didn't have a place to go.

- Well, the missing girl
is Nydia Davis.

- Okay.

- Those are her foster parents,
Ajay and Rani Sharma.

He's also an ACS supervisor.

- And this is the last place
he saw her?

- He said they got
into a fight; she ran away.

He followed her
and saw her get thrown

into a white box truck
on that corner.

- You think he went
through with it?

- Fin.
Phoebe say yes?

- I got saved
by the AMBER Alert.

She's home.
- Come on, turn around.

Go back.
We got this.

- I'm in no rush.

I'm here.
What's going on?

- She's a good girl.
Just been acting up lately.

Hanging out with a bad crowd.

- What happened tonight?

- She wanted to go out.
I said no.

She's 13.

She ran.

By the time I caught up,
I saw two guys

wrestling her into a box truck.

- Did you get a good look
at them?

- Latino, hoodies, face masks.

- So, no.

Does this "bad crowd"
have names?

- I try to give Nydia
her privacy.

- Does she have a cell phone,
use social media?

- I took her phone
and her computer.

- We'll need to take a look
at both of those.

- Yeah, of course.

- Are there any other kids
in the house

that might know where Nydia
was going?

- Our son and daughter
were asleep.

We have two other
foster daughters,

but I already asked them.

They don't know.

- Is there anyone else
in Nydia's life?

- You think someone
she knows did this?

[somber music]

Ajay lets Nydia's biological
mother have visitation.

She's a junkie.

♪

- Captain.

- What are we looking at?

Is this an abduction

or a runaway teen
on New Year's Eve?

- We're not sure.

The girl was fighting
with her foster parents.

There could be a bad boyfriend
in the picture.

- Got it.
- Checking partials on plates

and truck rentals.

Nothing on the traffic cams.
- 1PP has its eyes on this.

The girl's foster father
is high up at ACS.

This happened
near Gracie Mansion.

- Rollins and Kat are talking

to the girl's
birth mother right now.

Lulu Davis, record for
possession and prostitution.

- Phoebe?

- Ten, nine, eight, seven...
- Happy New Year.

- Yeah, literally.

- Six, five...

- What, did you come here
to give me a kiss

at midnight?
- Yes, of course.

Also...
- Two, one, Happy New Year!

- Happy New Year!

[party horn blares]

- Also, the AMBER Alert girl.

Turns out I arrested her mom

and her mom's pimp,
Chili Chacon.

He runs his girls
out of a white box truck.

- She was reported taken

by two male Latinos
in a box truck.

- I'll run Chili's plates.

- I hate to say it,
but you can make a lot of money

running a 13-year-old girl
on New Year's Eve.

- Chili?
I haven't seen him in weeks.

And I'd never let him
pimp my daughter out.

- Nydia was last seen
being dragged into a truck

that matches Chili's.

- That curry-breath ACS idiot
told you that?

She ran away on him.

I never lost her.

- You lost custody.

Drugs, prostitution.

- I needed money.

My husband ditched us.

I'm clean now,
working my program.

- You don't look it.

- [scoffs]

Come on, girl.
It's New Year's Eve.

- Yeah, Nydia's out there,
so either you spend the night

jonesing in a holding cell,
or you text Chili.

[hip-hop music playing]

- Forty per shorty.

- What's the deal, player?

- Forty per shorty,
15 minutes.

- How about 15 years, Chili?

- Not you again.
- Where's Nydia?

Am I gonna find her
back there, Chili?

- Lulu's brat?

[scoffs]
I don't run kids, baba.

- Witness saw her snatched
into a white box truck.

Get out.
- Not me!

Ask my girls--I've been
at this hot spot all night!

- Come on.

[tense music]

- Everybody out.

♪

- My truck might have rocked,
but it never rolled, baba.

- Party's over, Chili.

[cell phone ringing]

- Nydia's not here.

They say they haven't seen her.

- They might be
telling the truth.

A girl matching
her description was found

bleeding out
off York Avenue.

♪

- No ID.

She was unconscious
by an ambulance bay.

One of the orderlies realized
she matched the AMBER Alert.

- But what happened to her?
- She was hemorrhaging.

Her tox screen shows
misoprostol and mifepristone.

- The abortion pill.
- We had to do a DandC.

She was at least
eight weeks along.

- They told me I lost the baby.
- We are so sorry.

- I just wanted to be a mom.

- But you took the medication
to end the pregnancy.

- What?
No, I would never.

- Nydia, how did you get
to the hospital?

- Didn't Ajay tell you?

Is he here?

- He's on his way, he--

Ajay reported you missing.

He was very, very worried
about you.

- What?

Didn't he bring me here?

- Okay, so...

Nydia, why don't you tell me

the last thing
that you remember.

- I was...bleeding.

- Okay.

- Ajay said he'd take me
to a hospital.

- 'Cause EMTs,
they brought you here.

And they found you unconscious
on a sidewalk.

- No.

No, Ajay carried me to his car.

- Nydia, did Ajay know
that you were pregnant?

- Yeah.
He didn't tell you that?

- No, he told us
that you ran away--

that he saw you
being kidnapped.

- Why would he say that?

- Do you have a boyfriend?

Hmm, Chili?

- [laughs]
What?

No.
No, Chili's a pimp.

You think I'm like my mom?
That's disgusting.

- Okay.

- I'm in love...

with Ajay.

♪

Just ask him.

- Thank God you guys
found Nydia,

but I don't understand
why Rani and I can't see her.

She must be so traumatized.
- Soon.

But while we're waiting...

some of what she's telling us

doesn't track with what
you told the police.

- Now that she's okay,
I can tell you the truth.

- Which is?

- She ran away
on New Year's Eve.

I thought if I didn't say
she had been kidnapped,

no one would look for her.

- That makes sense.

The problem is she said
she passed out at home

and you were gonna drive her
to the hospital.

- What?
No.

She's confused.

- That's what we think,
but this is some shocking news.

She's pregnant.

- Oh, my God.

Well, that would explain
why she's been acting out.

- Hmm.

- Do you have any idea
who the father could be?

- No, what'd she say?

- Well, actually,
for whatever it's worth,

she says it's you.

- [laughs]

Okay, we all know what this is.

She has a boyfriend.
She's protecting him.

She's angry with us
for being strict.

I-I've seen this a lot
in foster care.

I need to talk to her.

- That's not gonna happen
right now.

- Of course,
you have an allegation.

You have to do due diligence.

- We do.
And for starters,

if we want to exclude you,
we need to search your car.

We need a DNA sample from you.

- Believe me, I appreciate
that you need to investigate,

but an accusation like this,

my whole career
could be ruined.

And I got
four other kids at home.

- I get it.

I got two teenage daughters
of my own.

But you're innocent, right?

So why not just clear this up?

- To be safe, let me talk
to my supervisor first.

- Okay.

- And maybe a lawyer.
- Of course.

- He's right.

Troubled teens
can blame their guardians.

Any priors?
- No.

Twenty years at ACS.

Ajay and his wife
have personally fostered

dozens of girls.

The supervisor called me
back immediately

on New Year's Day to tell me

that Nydia had caused trouble
in former foster homes

and that he has
never, ever gotten

a complaint against Ajay.

- Well, somebody got
this girl pregnant.

Who else is in the house?

- The Sharmas have 10-year-old
twins, a boy and a girl,

and two other pre-teen
foster girls.

- Can we try for fetal DNA?

- We can, but it's a very
complicated process

and it doesn't always work.

- Nydia denied taking
abortion drugs?

- Nydia said that
she wanted to keep the baby.

Look, it is possible
that somebody

slipped her these drugs
without her knowledge.

- Yeah, easy enough
to get online.

I'll start with a warrant
for her computer and his.

- Is there anyone
in Nydia's life

she might have confided in?

- Well, the mother
has her own problems,

but we did get Nydia's
cell phone records.

The dad texts her every day.

- The father's
still in the picture?

- Mm-hmm.
- Where is he?

- My ex says Nydia's
in the hospital.

She's not returning my texts.

Is she okay?
- She's being taken care of.

- Good.

Old Lulu likes to push
my buttons.

- Mr. Davis, do you know
if Nydia has a boyfriend?

- What?
No.

She's 13.

Besides, she'd tell me.
We text every day.

Listen, I love my daughter.

It killed me to lose custody,
but...

it had to be.

- Her foster parents,
how well do you know them?

- I only met the father.

He brought Nydia in here
a few times.

Showed respect.

- She ever talk
to you about him?

Any problems?

- No, typical
teenage girl stuff like...

he wouldn't let her use
the phone at night.

He seemed
very protective of her.

- Protective how?

- Well, he always had
his arm around her

like he was shielding her
or something.

I guess it can be tough to take

if you're not used to
a place like this.

- Yeah.

Did you get much of a chance
to speak with Nydia

away from Ajay?

- No, but she seemed happy.

Before the Sharmas,
she was in a group home.

You know, between
Nydia's mother and the drugs,

and, you know, my chair...

it's all my fault.

- Never apologize
for wearing the cloth, soldier.

- Yeah.

I lost a lot of good friends.

Lost my wife, my leg...

maybe my mind.

But the worst part
was losing my kid.

Once I get out of here,
I'm gonna make a home

for Nydia and me.

And be a real dad, you know?
- Hey.

From one Airborne Ranger
to another...

call me if you need
some company

when you want to go visit
your daughter.

[soft dramatic music]

- Hey, any luck
with the girl's father?

- He loves his daughter,

but if there's something
going on

between her and Sharma,
he's not seeing it.

- Nydia is sticking
to her story

and I talked to the girls
in the house, the wife.

They all blame Nydia
for acting out,

see Ajay as a saint.

- Which could be true,
or he's an experienced groomer.

- Well, that's what I think,
but...

still don't have
enough to arrest.

- Taru went through
Ajay's computer.

He tried to delete his history,

but they were able to recover
recent searches for...

New York State
abortion clinics,

RU-486, misoprostol,
and mifepristone.

- So he slipped her
the abortion drugs.

- Nydia told me
he made her smoothies.

- Call Carisi.
Get a warrant for that blender.

Pick up Ajay.

- Nydia's father...

I have to tell him.

- Mickey, are you sure
you want to be here?

- I want to look
that son of a bitch in the eye.

Let him know I know.

- Mr. Sharma...

on the charge of rape
in the second,

rape in the third,

first degree
reckless endangerment,

and official misconduct,

how do you plead?

- My client pleads not guilty.

- People on bail?

- This is a heinous crime,
Your Honor.

There are other children
in the defendant's home.

Request remand.
- Your Honor, my client

is a respected civil servant
with no priors.

- I don't want to hear it.
I'm granting remand.

Bailiffs?
COs will arrange

individual protective transport
to Rikers.

I put my faith
in the DOC thereafter.

- That's it?
- For now.

Want me to take you
back to the VA?

- Let me get a smoke first.

[soft tense music]

♪

- Mickey!

There you are.

Right across the street.

Mickey?

- Reporter told me
he's coming out this way.

He didn't look at me
at the arraignment.

That's all I want.

♪

[cell phone rings]

- Captain?

- Ajay!

[gunshots]

- No, no, no!

The hell did you do?

- Mickey Davis, Specialist.

173rd Airborne Rangers,
The Herd.

Last four:
Zero, six, four, seven.

- Oh, my God.

♪

- Consulting with
the Innocence Project,

defending voting rights
on the ground.

I've barely slept
since the election ended.

- Liv said once
everything cleared up,

you might consider
doing defense work.

- Your case or hers?

You're both getting sued.

- [scoffs]
- The city settled one of mine.

Liv's still waiting on her day
in the barrel,

but that's not why we're here.

- It should be.
Sorry.

- Anyway...

Hypothetically, if we...

arrested a defendant

who was not innocent--

- Decorated vet.
Six tours in Afghanistan.

Comes home to find his daughter
raped by her foster father.

- And he shoots the guy
point-blank range three times?

Hypothetically.
- So you're all caught up.

- All right, hold on.

Carisi asked you to intervene
on Davis' behalf?

- Well, actually, Carisi
doesn't know that we're here.

- [laughs]

- We wanted to see if you
would feel him out.

And see if he would
cut Mickey a deal.

- With Carisi's stomach?

He won't have the stomach
to take this to trial.

- As long as Mickey
doesn't go to prison.

- I feel for him,
but he shot a suspect

under arrest going to trial.

The government frowns on that.

And it's against the law.

- That's why we called you.

- Carisi?

How's the eighth floor
treating you?

- No differently than
any other junior ADA.

- They want you to cover
their ass all the time?

Never lose a case?

- Pretty much.

Good to see you, Barba.

If you came to taunt me,
I got all day.

- Huh, they gave you an office.

Nice view.

- I had to move
the Xerox machine

and four filing cabinets
just to get the desk in.

- So you caught
the Mickey Davis case?

- Oh, yeah.
Horror story.

- What are you charging?

- The guy brought
a gun to court,

he followed the vic
to transport,

and shot him
at point-blank range.

What do you think?

- I think the guy's got
a Purple Heart,

titanium leg, and PTS.

- That doesn't change
what he did.

- He was betrayed
by the VA and ACS.

Even the eighth floor's gotta
know this is a dog.

- Maybe, but they still
want him to do time.

- That has to be negotiable.

- Hold on.

Before we continue...
- Mm-hmm.

- Are you representing
Mickey Davis?

- I guess I am now.

- [scoffs]

Okay.

What kind of deal
are you looking for?

- No way you want
to put this guy on trial.

- Best I can offer
is man two.

- 3 1/2 years?
No, but thank you.

- Barba, we both know
this wasn't heat of the moment.

Man two is a gift.

- Maybe to you,
not to Mr. Davis.

- There's security cam video.
There's multiple eyewitnesses.

Mickey broke the law.

- A jury might see that
as defending his daughter

when no one else did.

- Get the jury
to ignore the law?

That's a slippery slope,
Rafael.

- You really have
become a lawyer.

- What does that mean?

- Mickey Davis
is a human being.

So are the jurors.
See you at arraignment.

- You going for insanity?

- I'm going for
straight-up not guilty.

[dramatic music]

- So you know, Mr. Barba,
I don't need charity.

I get 100% disability
because of my leg and PTS.

- Don't worry about his fee.
We'll talk about that later.

- Thank you, Sergeant.
That's right.

That's not your worry
right now.

- What I'm worried about
is my daughter.

She's telling her mother
that I killed

the only man she'll ever love?

My goal was to get out of rehab
and give her a normal life,

but now?

They'll never let me
out of prison.

- One thing at a time,
Mr. Davis.

I want to go over your story.

- The day I shot
that animal?

- First, your life story.

Your time in the Army.

When you became a dad.

Just so you know, there's
nothing you can say

that I haven't heard before.

Mickey held his own
at the arraignment.

The judge released him ROR.

- Well, it's not like
Davis is a flight risk.

- What do you need, Barba?

- I'm going for
jury nullification.

- English, Counselor?

- Get the jury
to ignore the law,

see the accused as a victim.

- Counselor.

I don't know if you've met
Deputy Chief Garland.

- Mr. Barba,
do you have a second?

- Just to be clear,
the NYPD isn't pressuring

a defense attorney
to walk away from his client?

- Of course not.
Not my prerogative.

At the same time,
I'm surprised to see you

in the SVU squad room.

- Oh, I'm sure you were
just catching up

with old friends, right?

- Yes.
That's right.

- Good, just want to make
sure the boundaries are clear.

It's an emotional case
for all of us and...

I wouldn't want you presuming
on your old friendships

in the hopes of having SVU
detectives buttress your case.

- Then we're both
on the same page.

- I hope so.

One more thing, Mr. Barba.

I hope your strategy
won't be to countenance

a vigilante's murder
of a man accused of rape.

Given our country's
dark history,

we both know
where that could lead.

I'll leave you two
to reminisce.

- He's a lot of fun.

Gets right to the point.

- Always, and so will I.

What the hell
are you doing here?

- You asked me
to defend Davis.

- A hypothetical.
And, by the way,

I didn't even know
that you took the case

until Garland called me.

- I went to see Carisi,
he pointed out

that we couldn't
even discuss the case

if I wasn't
representing Davis and--

things moved quickly.
How did Garland find out?

- The DA's office
must have called him.

- I have no intention
of disrespecting Carisi.

- [scoffs]
- But...

Mickey deserves a defense.
Isn't that why you came to me?

- I wanted you
to cut him a deal!

Listen.
As the Chief said,

we cannot send a message
that it is okay

to take the law
into your own hands.

- Well, that's Carisi's case
to make.

Luckily I don't work
for the DA.

I don't need to worry
about messages.

I just need to get
12 New Yorkers

to like my client and me.

- Barba...

he's guilty.

- Is he?

Depends on the jury.

- I consider myself
a nice guy.

But I'm not always gonna
be nice during this trial.

Sometimes I'm gonna be loud,

angry, sarcastic

when I cross-examine witnesses

from the ACS, VA, and NYPD,

who, as you will hear,

failed to do their jobs.

Anyone have a problem
with that?

All right.

- This is not
a popularity contest.

This is not about who wears
the snazziest suit,

who has the most charisma,

or even who talks the fastest.

It's also not about
how many combat medals

the defendant has.

This is about the facts
and the law.

- I'm not allowed to ask you
to imagine

what it would be like
to be Mickey Davis right now

sitting at that table.

- I submit to you
that the evidence in this case

is overwhelming.

You will see video of Mr. Davis

shooting and killing
Ajay Sharma.

- But I need to know that
you will consider

your decision in this case
as the most important decision

in your life...

because it certainly will be
the most important decision

in the life of
this decorated war hero.

- You will hear testimony

that Mr. Davis is a wounded vet

whose daughter was victimized
by a serial predator.

- You expect Mr. Davis
to not react

when his own daughter
is assaulted

like the victims he saw
in combat?

- Are any of you veterans?

Or proud to have
family members who have served?

- I need to ask if anyone
or a family member

has been the victim
of gun violence?

- I challenge
jurors 32 and 36.

- No objection.
I challenge number 17.

- The evidence will show
that Ajay Sharma

was awaiting trial

when Mrs. Davis acted as
judge, jury, and executioner.

Do you believe that everybody

has a Constitutional right to
have their guilt or innocence

determined by a jury
and not a vigilante?

- I challenge number
18, 24, and 29.

- That leaves you
two peremptory challenges,

Mr. Barba.

- And I challenge number 16.

- And you're out, Mr. Carisi.

- You promise me,
keep an open mind...

and hold the government
to make its case?

- Mr. Barba is going to play
on your emotions.

But I ask that you promise me
and the State of New York

that you will decide this case

on the facts and the law

as instructed by the judge.

- Mr. Carisi told you
that he represents

the people of New York.

Well...

you are the people of New York.

And neither Mr. Carisi
nor the Judge here

gets to decide how this trial
will turn out for my client.

You do.

[soft tense music]

♪

[knocking]

- How'd it go at voir dire?

- It was the Rafael Barba show,

charming and cherry-picking
jurors for 12 straight hours.

- Yeah, he was
always a dog with a bone.

- [laughs]
Yeah.

I'm looking at
his witness list,

and he tracked down
Ajay's other foster kids,

ACS employees, VA shrinks.

How big of a staff
does he have?

- I probably shouldn't
tell you this...

- About you and Fin
helping him out?

I don't want to know.
- I am not helping him out.

- It's fine.
Barba was here before me.

Fin was your first partner.

- That doesn't mean
I'm more loyal to them

than I am to you.

You should know that
it wasn't Liv's intention

to undercut you.
- Oh, no?

Are you gonna tell me
that Fin brought Barba in?

- Ajay!
- No, no!

[gunshots]

No, no, no.

- Sergeant Tutuola,

you were there when Mr. Davis
shot Ajay Sharma?

- Yes.
I was on the phone.

I heard a commotion.
I turned.

I saw Mr. Davis, gun aimed,

and he fired three rounds.

- And what did Mr. Davis do
after he shot Ajay?

- He dropped his gun
and recited his name and rank.

- Did you think that
that was for dramatic effect,

or did he actually believe that
he was a soldier in battle?

- Objection.
Calls for speculation.

- Rephrase.

Did he appear confused?

- No.
- Thank you, Sergeant.

- No, no!

- On the video,
you get between Mr. Davis

and the corrections officers.

- I just didn't want
a bad situation to get worse.

I knew he was no threat
to the officers.

They didn't know that.

- You knew he was no danger.

Do you think Mickey Davis
should be sitting

in this courtroom here today?

- That's not my job.
- No?

But it was your job
to investigate Ajay Sharma?

- Yes.
- Do you have any doubt

that Ajay Sharma
raped Nydia Davis repeatedly,

got her pregnant,
and administered

the abortion drugs
which almost got her killed?

- None.
- Well, what about the other

four girls he fostered
who he also sexually assaulted?

Did you charge him for that?

- We only found out
about the other girls

after Mr. Sharma's death.

- So for 10 years
as an ACS supervisor,

Ajay Sharma raped girls
in his care

and neither ACS nor SVU
found out about it

until Nydia Davis was found
hemorrhaging in the street?

Why?
- I can't answer that.

- Was it because ACS failed
to do its job

to protect Nydia,
just like SVU failed?

- Objection.
- Sustained.

- Leaving my client no choice

but to protect
his daughter himself!

- Mr. Barba!
I'm about this close

to holding you in contempt.
- You can fine me all you want,

Your Honor, I'm not gonna
stop asking questions,

because I am fighting
for my client's freedom

the same way he fought
for our country's.

[tense music]

The defense calls Mickey Davis.

- No, sir.

♪

[groans]

- Mr. Davis,
can you tell the jury

how you came to be
in that chair?

- My unit was ambushed
in the Khyber Pass.

I went back to retrieve
two of my men,

stepped on an IED.

It was a coffee can full
of rags and a grenade.

Spent two years in Landstuhl,
a military hospital,

and then the VA here.

They fit me with one of these.
[chuckles]

Still learning how to use it.
It's been tough.

Focusing on getting custody
of my daughter back

helped me get through.

- And now?

- I'll never get over
what happened

to Nydia in that house...

[dark music]

With that animal.

ACS lied.

They made me believe
that she was safe.

- How did you react when you
found out that Ajay Sharma

had been raping Nydia,
impregnated her,

and left her
on the sidewalk to die?

- I cried like a baby.

- Why did you go
to that courthouse?

- To see him arraigned.

I wanted to hear him admit
what he'd done.

Then I heard him plead
not guilty?

There's no remorse.

No shame.

- What did you do?

- I found out where
he was being transported.

I wanted him to look me
in the eye,

so I called his name.

- Then what happened?

- He refused to look at me.

I lost control, I--

my head was pounding
and there's blood in my eyes.

My ears were ringing.

I knew I had to protect Nydia.

After that, I--

I don't remember much.

- So you reacted as you were
trained to do as a Ranger.

Shoot the enemy,
center mass, close grouping--

- Objection, leading.

- Rephrase.

Mr. Davis...

why were you deployed
to Afghanistan?

- To fight the Taliban.

To defend women, children,
from their brutality.

- Rape?

- Yes, sir.

Shoot to kill if I had to.

- Thank you.
Nothing further.

♪

- Thank you for your service,
Mr. Davis,

and I'm truly sorry for
what happened to your daughter.

You said you went
to the courthouse

to see Ajay Sharma arraigned?
- Yes, sir.

- And you brought
a gun with you.

Did you know that was illegal?

- I'm used to carrying.
It's just a reflex.

- But they don't let you
keep the gun at the VA,

so you had to go to
a brother soldier's house

earlier that day to get it?

- Yes, sir.
- And you took advantage

of being a vet in a wheelchair

to avoid the metal detector,
get that gun through security.

- Well, law enforcement's
usually respectful

of my service.
- In court,

you heard the judge grant
Ajay private transport?

- Yes, sir.
- And you found out that

that transport was going
to occur in the sally port.

How long did it take you
to get over there?

- Well, I'm not confined
to this chair.

- No, I know.
You had to find

a service elevator
to avoid the courthouse steps,

cross from Chambers to Baxter,

at lunch hour--20 minutes
sound about right?

- I guess.

- And how long
did you wait outside

before Ajay was walked out?

There's security footage.

You waited 40 minutes
in 30-degree weather.

- Objection,
is there a question here?

- Let's move along,
Mr. Carisi.

- Mr. Davis, you smuggled
the gun into the courthouse,

tracked Sharma's location,

waited for him,
called out his name,

and then shot him at
point-blank range three times.

And you expect this jury
to believe

that you didn't want
to kill him?

That none of that
was intentional?

- I didn't intend to shoot him.

- Oh, so the gun
just went off?

You're a trained
military professional.

You must know that in order
for a weapon to fire,

you gotta pull the trigger?

- Objection.
- I'll allow.

- I didn't know where I was.

- Oh, well, where did you
think you were?

♪

- Afghanistan.

- Well, do you know
where you are now?

- Yes, sir.

- Do you know that murder
is against the law?

- So is what he did.

- Do you know that even
if you're a soldier at war,

it's a violation of
the military code of conduct

to shoot an unarmed,
handcuffed civilian?

- That son of a bitch
raped my daughter!

Raped her.

I'm her father.

I'm supposed to protect her.

- Your Honor,
we need a recess.

- Mr. Davis,
be honest with me.

You knew where you were,

you knew exactly
what you were doing,

and you would do it again,
wouldn't you?

- You're damn straight!
Every day of the week.

♪

- Well, that didn't
exactly go as planned.

- You had to see it coming.

- Off the record, he expressed
similar sentiments in prep.

I advised him that it would
not be in his best interests

to convey that to a jury.

When I was an ADA,
this would be the moment

I would offer
the defense a deal.

- Man two
is still on the table.

I can recommend the minimum.

- That's exactly the offer
I told Mickey you'd make.

- What did he say?

- Basically, no thank you,
but more anatomically.

- Man two specifically states
that the accused--

- Lacked the intention
to cause harm.

- If I go any lower,
then I'm saying

it's okay for civilians
to take the law

into their own hands.

Rafael, when you were an ADA--

- I would have held the line
at man two.

But here we are.

When I was an ADA,
the NYPD and the DA's office

commanded a modicum of respect.

- So it's a bull market
in vigilantism?

We already have armed militias
coming into our cities.

How much more lawlessness
can we take?

- In terms of the big picture,
I agree.

In terms of Davis...

I don't think a jury's gonna
put him in a cell.

- And that's all that matters?

- To my client?
Yeah.

See you tomorrow.

You know how you used to come
to all of my closing arguments?

- Yeah.

- Let's see if you
learned anything.

My client is in a fight
for his life,

as serious a fight
as when he was

facing the enemy
in Afghanistan.

He returned home damaged
in body and soul.

And while he was on the long,
hard road to recovery,

his daughter
was being groomed, raped,

and impregnated by Ajay Sharma.

Sharma was a serial predator,

raping young girls
in his home for a decade.

No one stopped him.
Not ACS.

Not SVU.

And now the government
wants to punish Mr. Davis

because he did
what no one else would do.

He protected his daughter.

- We all understand
the raw emotion

behind Mr. Davis' decision
to murder Ajay Sharma.

We understand that.

But the question is...

who do we want to determine

which laws we obey

and which laws we don't?

We are lucky

to live in a country
where police,

prosecutors, and courts
mete out justice,

not individuals.

You made me a promise
at voir dire

that you would decide this case

based on the evidence
and the law.

Well, there's no doubt
to either,

as the defendant's own words
made clear.

[dramatic music]

♪

- Cheers.
- To what?

Jury deliberates for six hours

to find Mickey guilty
of man two

and we are right back
where we started.

- To irony, then.

- You both did your jobs,
and so did the judge.

I mean, Davis got the minimum,
but that sends a message.

- 3 1/2 years?

You ask me,
he shouldn't do a day.

- Yeah, I got that from you.

I thought we were
on the same side.

- We used to be.

- Come on, Fin.

What happens to Nydia now?

- She's in a group home.
I mean...

[cell phone chimes]

She's getting counseling.
She's mad at Mickey.

She didn't want Ajay to die.

- Sorry to cut
this wake short.

My mom is heading
to Florida tomorrow.

Tell Liv I'm sorry
I missed her.

- Will do.
- Uh-oh,

my fiancée wants me home.

- You went through with it?
- Yeah, this morning.

One condition.
No more herbal tea.

- Good for you.
Mazel tov.

- Congratulations, Fin.
- Hey, you got a date set?

- Gotta go.
- Aw.

- Next round's on me.
- Thank you.

You doing okay?

- [sighs]
Not really.

To be honest, I--

I feel bad about Mickey.
- Hmm.

- And maybe I'm a little angry.

- At Barba?
- No.

He was just doing his job.

Look, it's hard enough going up
against my mentor,

but when half of my old unit
is helping him investigate?

- It's over.

And not for nothing,
you won.

- Cheers.

- Hey.

Did I miss the post-mortem?

- No, they're still inside.

Hey, walk with me?

- Sure.

- Are you mad at me

about how I handled this case?

- Davis confessed on the stand.

What if they found him guilty
of man one?

- It was never gonna happen.
- Because you're so good?

Barba, how much of this
was about Davis...

and how much of it
was about you?

- What do you mean?

- The way that
you had to leave.

Maybe you weren't
defending him, maybe...

you were defending yourself.

- We can't change the past.

- I just miss it.

And you.

That's all.

- Me too.

This past year's been
all about loss.

- Well, let's hope that
this year's a better one.

- Happy New Year, Liv.

- Happy New Year.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

[wolf howls]