Case 13 - Second date, first case

<Events after The Rookie S1E11 and SWAT S1E7, but before Modern Family S9E13>

Ben spent his entire Friday at the hospital with Anna. Thanks to his connections, he was even allowed to stay overnight to keep her company. On Saturday, getting ready for his date felt like a chore despite being excited about it anyway.

[Ben Weiss commentary scene change]

"Uh, where is this?" Ben asked as he looked around until he focused on the camera.

"I'll just tell you what I'm thinking?"

Nobody answered, of course, so a few moments of silence passed until he spoke up again.

"Guess that's happens in here. So anyway. I wasn't really in the mood for a date if I was going to be honest. Then again, Anna was already in an isolated room with Emilia practically having moved in right next to her... so she wasn't alone. I should have postponed the date... but Emi was pretty insistent that she got it."

Ben stared into the camera for a while.

"There's just one thing I forgot..."

[Commentary ended]

"Oh my god, your hair!"

Haley looked at Ben with a horrified look when she walked up to him near the market. A little self-conscious, Ben brought his hands up to brush his head.

"Is it really so bad?" Ben wondered in a small voice.

"No, no," Haley excused, but her already originally wide eyes that had turned even wider didn't leave his hair for a whole while.

Well, the missing hair.

"Uh, so... you heard about Anna's need for the medical procedure?"

"Yeah, I overheard mom and Emilia talk about it when we were at your home last week," Haley answered as she still kept looking at Ben's head.

"Yeah, well... she has problems with her bone marrow, and she's getting new marrow transplanted. Mine. Uh, the procedure requires her to get radiation treatment. And that will likely result in her losing most of her hair. We cut hers short yesterday and, well she's not even 3, so she isn't as attached to her hair as older girls. Anyway, I didn't want her to go through it alone," Ben shyly explained while stratching the back of his head.

[Haley Dunphy commentary scene change]

"Ugh. His hair looked so nice before, and his super short buzz cut looked kinda dumb. He definitely doesn't have the headshape for it," Haley commented with a fed up expression. "But how can I even badmouth it when he has such a damn wholesome reason for it!?"

[Commentary ended]

"Really? A turban? Does my hair really look so bad?" Ben asked as they were browsing a clothes stand in the market.

"Yeah, doesn't really fit your face," Haley idly commented as she scrutinized Ben from head to toe. "Try this?"

She handed Ben a bejeweled kufi cap.

"Now you're just messing with me," Ben playfully complained but still tried it on for her. "I'm getting a baseball cap or something on the way home."

"How about a fedora?"

"We could do a sunhat?" Ben asked as he looked at Haley weirdly.

"Just never stop wearing your bike helmet," Haley huffed with a small smile. "But this place is so cool. Thank you for bringing me here."

"And you're sure you wanna try picking up sewing?" Ben asked as he carried several bolts of colorful fabrics in a shopping bag for her.

[Haley Dunphy commentary scene change]

"I didn't really want to. I mean, I do, but not really? I kinda have to do something if I want to feel like I'm not a waste of space next to him. Ben got his life together after five years in hell, followed by months in the hospital. He did all that in weeks. Then there's me. I live in my parents' basement, got kicked out of college. I wanted a tattoo my whole life, and three years after my 21st birthday, I still couldn't decide on what to get... ugh, who can compete with him?" Haley whined.

She put up her hand and started counting, "He barely knew about his daughter and suddenly becomes the sweetest dad in the world. I mean, who just cuts off his hair on a whim when they look so hot with long hair? He saved Zofia from actual slavery when his own life was on the line. Who even knew that stuff like that existed?? Then he saves lives every single day in his job, I think. I mean, he saved mine when he wasn't even working. If that wasn't enough, he helps feed poor people every Sunday and even teaches them like karate and computer stuff for free? Meanwhile, I... ugh."

Haley looked a little down for a moment before she breathed out deeply.

"He wasn't pushy at all about any of it but actually really sweet. He had like hundreds of ideas for what I could do with my life. For example, I could revisit my fashion blog that I told him about and talk about the fashion of LA's different cultures. Even actual fashion design is on the table again thanks to his ideas. There's a bunch of old ladies at the community center he works at that fix clothes for kids. If he cashes in a favor, they'll teach me to use a sewing machine and how to make clothes from scratch. I won't end up on a fashion show anytime soon or sell thousands of pieces, but if this works out... I have like hundreds of ideas."

"I should look for my old scrap book from high school..."

[Commentary ended]

"You're just watching me eat all day and only take a bite every time?" Ben asked as they were strolling from food stand to food stand trying all kinds of exotic dishes to round out their date.

"Uhuh," Haley hummed.

"You're one of those girls that eats half a salad at a date to not look like a pig, aren't ya?"

Haley looked at Ben with an indignant expression and scoffed, "We can't all look good eating. And we can't all keep a figure like mine by eating a full meal every day."

"You mean three full meals, right?" Ben looked at Haley with eyes that got wider and wider. "Right??"

"I'm pleading the fifth. Did I get that right?"

"Well, I'm horrified, but yes, you are right. Fifth amendment means you don't have to say anything in a court of law if it means you incriminate yourself. We'll just pretend this is a court of public opinion. But please know that court usually tells us we should eat right," Ben quipped with an understanding, yet concerned smile.

"Are we going to have our first fight over this?" Haley asked with a small grin.

Ben chewed the last of the food he got and shrugged.

"Not really good at fighting. Uh, verbally and emotionally. Physically, I'm pretty good at it, actually."

"Of course you are. But, well, this was the first time you weren't inherently positive about something," Haley replied with a thoughtful look. "I was kind of..."

"Overwhelmed?"

"Uh, glad?"

"Glad?" Ben asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're human."

"Haha, okay? Tell me when you feel like I'm not human. I can show you a few flaws from time to time. Just look at my weird head."

Haley giggled and once more took Ben's arm as the two were walking side by side through masses of people.

"Eating right and light exercise is necessary if you want to stay healthy for a long time. Clears up skin, fills out your curves, makes you happier..."

"Wow, you feel really strongly about this, don't you?"

"Hey, I wouldn't be up running every morning if I didn't eat right," Ben argued.

"Hmm, you do have nice skin. You have a really cute butt... and you smile a lot... ugh, I already lost our first argument. Will you make me wake up and run with you?"

"I'd never force you if you decide it isn't your thing," Ben replied with a small shrug.

[Haley Dunphy commentary scene change]

"We were talking like it wasn't our second date but our second anniversary... I never moved so fast with a guy and I somehow became really attached really quickly. I know for Ben that's apparently normal since he can build a new life in a month."

Haley shook her head and grasped her own arms in a guarded posture.

"I don't know. It felt really nice. And I felt save... but man. I really hope he grows back his hair fast, though."

[Commentary ended]

-----

Three weeks later, Ben and Haley were going steady to his knowledge despite Ben barely having any time for her. He spent an hour at the hospital at the very least every day. He scaled back his time for the food drives in turn and barely spent any time at the gun range or the gym at SWAT, but the squads, the commander and the captain were thankfully understanding.

The week before Christmas, Ben's time at the bomb squad came to an end, and he was now working for Vice. Vice is the division responsible for gaming, gambling, illegal betting, porn, and prostitution. His 'handler' as she called herself was Detective Alicia Murphy.

A tough 40-something brunette running around in combat boots and knee-length coats. She wasn't really keen on helping Ben out in the first days. But that changed on Ben's third day. The two met up at St Ambrose, the hospital where his daughter was currently recovering from the radiation and the bone marrow transplant and where she would stay for another month at the very least.

"What do we have?" Ben asked as he arrived at the entrance.

"The absolute shitstick," Murphy responded in greeting and walked into the hospital. Ben followed her in silence.

"What the fuu~dge," Ben said with a horrified expression as he looked around him.

"It's okay to curse. This is an absolute fuckfest," Murphy chided and looked around. "Thirteen of them. All of them under 18. Not one of them speaks English or responds to us."

Ben looked at thirteen severely beaten girls in the trauma unit of the hospital. All of them were blonde, tall, and probably rather pretty if it wasn't for the bruises, cuts, and dirt. A whole host of nurses and doctors were cleaning and dressing wounds.

"Excuse me ma'am, but this is clearly human trafficking. Isn't this federal then? Is FBI running point?"

"Of course FBI is running point. But we're loaned out because one of my CIs was the one who tipped us off to this 'shipment' during the night."

Ben searched Detective Murphy's face for a moment, wondering why he wasn't called for the night raid, before looking back at the patients.

"What can we do to help?"

"First order of business, the FBI doesn't have the correct translator in California," Murphy answered and lifted an eyebrow.

Ben looked at her and when she wouldn't say what was happening he asked in an unsure voice, "Okay?"

Murphy gave Ben a cocky smirk.

"I read your file, Weiss. I know for a fact you speak their language."

"Out with it then, give me a hint at least..."

"It's Dutch," Murphy answered easily, seemingly over teasing Ben.

"Good hint. Dutch it is. Really weird though that none of them speak any English. Netherlands has a really high English literacy rate, and they look like girls that had a decent education... it usually is the case for Dutch people."

Ben went over to one of the girls he had identified as the one least injured.

"Hallo, ik ben Ben. Ik werk voor de LAPD. Wat is je naam? [Hello, I'm Ben. I work for the LAPD. What is your name?]"

The girl looked at Ben for a moment before once more blanky staring ahead. But tears started rolling from her eyes.

"We hoopten dat u meer zou weten over de omstandigheden van uw ontvoering. Waar bent u heengebracht? Kent u namen van degenen die u ontvoerd hebben? [We were hoping that you would know more about the circumstances of your abduction. Where were you taken? Do you know any names of those who took you?]"

The girl shook her head for a moment and quietly sobbed for half a minute.

"Anna. Mijn naam is Anna Beekhof. [Anna. My name is Anna Beekhof.]" The girl eventually whispered.

Ben was a little shaken since the poor girl had the same name as his little daughter but quickly got a hold of his emotions.

"Dat is een erg mooie naam. Mijn daughter- nee, dochter heet ook Anna. [That's a very nice name. My daughter's name is also Anna.]" Ben complimented with a soft voice. "Hoe zijn jullie allemaal zo geworden? [How did you all become like this?]"

Anna pressed her lips together for a moment and then started giving Ben a brief summary of all she knew.

The girls played field hockey together in a regional U17 team. Their coach took them on a trip to Spain via ferry but in the middle of the night, a group of men entered the boat and abducted fourteen of them. Which meant one, the captain, was still missing. Anna had no idea where their team captain was or if their coach was still alive either.

There was a Christmas tournament supposed to happen in Spain that they were travelling to before it happened. As for the abductors, Anna only caught obvious codenames.

"Well, that's certainly more than I suspected you would get. Hurray for you knowing so much Dutch," Murphy commented once Ben got back with all the information he got. "I'll have the name of the coach run through the system, you check up that tournament. Call up the organizers if you can to see if you find out if any other teams didn't appear. Maybe this is bigger than we thought."

Ben and Murphy got to work while still in the hospital. Ben made his calls from next to the room his daughter was in to keep her company. Emilia wasn't here this early yet.

"I'll be damned if Murphy finds out the coach is what everyone thought he was..." Ben mumbled the more he researched.

"What did you find?" Murphy asked from just behind him and made Ben almost jump out of his chair. "And why are you here?"

Ben, caught with his figurative pants down, pointed at the big glass window next to him and said, "That's Anna. My daughter. She's here for a bone marrow transplant."

"Oh. I hope she has a speedy recovery. So what did you find?" Murphy spoke with a pitying look towards the window Ben pointed at but remained professional.

"Thanks. The tournament is fake. I found the coach's facebook and I'm starting to suspect it's a fake page, but I can't be sure yet. He had a post for a tournament flyer that looks convincing to the parents at least since they most of them liked the post, but nothing checks out. The link for the tournament is a dud with no working links and stock images I found through reverse image search. No phone number is working either."

"Alright, FBI got back to me too. The coach's name is not real. Right on the money on that one," Murphy complimented with an appropriately morose expression.

"You got an email for me where I can hand in what I found to the FBI?"

"Yeah, I'll text you the address. Don't be surprised if you aren't praised for it or if you even get a response."

Murphy and Ben discussed some more until a nurse came up to tell them another girl had something to say. So another translation session later, Ben learned the name of a potential ringleader that the girl had overheard that their team captain had screamed out when the girls heard the captain's voice for the last time.

Detective Murphy got on the phone with the FBI's lead on this case, and they got a picture for the ringleader's name that turned out to be the coach's real name.

"I mean, it was starting to get obvious, but the coach is clearly in on it," Ben commented as they stood near the patients. Most girls were now tended to properly.

"That begs the question; how did the captain know to scream that name? Was she involved? Did she overhear it in the last moments of her life and screamed it out to inform the others?" Detective Murphy mumbled as she bit a nail.

"Well, Antje Smit is real, and her parents are real. So if she was involved, I'd like to think she was somehow groomed by this fake Coach Hiller fella."

"Never just assume, Weiss. But yeah, a 15 year old isn't the mastermind. I'd like to think so, too."

Ben spent the rest of the morning brushing up on his Dutch by talking to each of the girls to calm them down. Which is when he eventually learned the partial name of a container ship they were brought to, followed by the make and model of the plane they were put on to get from the East to the West coast.

The FBI had a team storming a ship that matched the rough window of arrival at a port in Florida with the partial name. Murphy and Ben were following along an FBI field team toward an airstrip in the very north of San Fernando Valley, close to where the girls were found.

"How sure are we this is where the girls were dropped off?" Murphy wondered as the group arrived at the control tower at the end of the dusty runway.

"Well, one way to find out," Special Agent Wyck Bird, who was leading the case on this side of the pond pondered and took one of his men up to the control tower.

Detective Murphy took Ben to the hangar instead.

"There's blood here," Murphy said into a two-way radio to inform the FBI guys. "A lot of blood."

Ben had his gun out already in preparation for who left the bloody hand print on the back hangar door. A line of blood led into the hangar.

"*Two bodies up in the tower. DOA, shot to head execution style. No signs of struggle,*" Special Agent Bird answered through the radio.

Ben looked to Murphy in question, and she gave him a handsign for them to enter.

The giant hangar was more or less empty except for a few barrels and three light aircrafts and a single small personal jet with a maximum capacity of 25 people.

There were three blood trails with three different origins. One of them led deeper into a hanger. Two were leading to tire tracks where the blood stopped.

Someone drove off while bleeding and took the other bodies with them.

As Ben stalked from cover to cover and found enough shell casings for dozens upon dozens of shots, Murphy chased the blood trail going deeper. When he gingerly picked up a tossed gun, he heard the detective he arrived with.

"LAPD! Show me your hands!" Murphy shouted as they walked deeper into the hangar following the trail of blood and found someone propped up against one of the oil drums.

"It's Antje," Ben commented and holstered his weapon to run forward. He put one of his hands near her nose and the other to her neck. "Breathing is very shallow. Pulse almost non-existant. GSW to the abdomen!"

He gingerly leaned the girl forward a little as Murphy called for an ambulance and commented, "No exit wound! Shit!"

"Antje! Hou vol! Hulp is onderweg! [Antje! Hang in there! Help is on its way!]" Ben shouted as he tried his best to stabilize the young girl's condition.

"A-anders is in Venice Beach," Antje whispered in the faintest of voices, barely breathing out. "Heeft iets met wafles... [Something about waffles...]"

"Ok, ik heb het. Stop nu met praten. [Alright, I got it. Now stop talking.]" Ben gently chided and turned to Murphy.

"Venice Beach. Do you know anything there with waffles?"

"You hungry now?" Murphy asked with a raised brow. "There was this taco truck a few miles out that we drove past. Maybe the EMT can stop on the way over?"

"No, stop joking. Venice Beach, something with waffles. That's where that supposed ringleader Anders she shouted about is supposed to be," Ben answered with furrowed brows.

"I'll call it in," Detective Murphy replied after learning how serious it was and got to work while Ben did his best to keep Antje alive.

Instead of keeping her there, one of the FBI agents turned out to be a combat medic veteran, and they loaded the young girl into one of the SUVs they brought over. Several minutes later, Ben loaded the girl into the ambulance they met halfway there and followed along.

Mumford's 50-David team was on duty today and checked out a waffle joint while they were still a few minutes out from the hospital but didn't find Anders there. But then they checked a second location, a diner with famous waffles on the menu, and found him there in the bathroom. Shot in the head, execution style. And his face matched the one of fake coach Hiller.

While Murphy turned up at the hospital where Ben arrived with Antje, the FBI found a few more executed men on that container ship in Florida.

"This is one fucked up first case. Who the hell did the clean up on this job that everyone involved is shot in the head and nobody knows anything? And for what? A few teenagers from the Netherlands?" Ben asked with a weirded out expression.

"Well, it's the FBI's problem now," Murphy replied with a helpless shrug. "You'll just keep yourself available for those poor girls. Antje will be transferred to St Ambrose once they got the bullet out and made sure she is stable enough for the transport."