Chapter 2
The Echoes in the System
The morning sun glinted off the glass towers of Manhattan, but inside the SVU squad room, the light felt cold. Olivia Benson stood at the whiteboard, Anna's frantic words scrawled in red marker:
"He's silencing me! The shadow man. Hertz levels. Jonathan Reid. My children."
Rollins entered with two steaming cups of coffee, setting one in front of Olivia. "Tech crimes is running a search on Hertz frequency manipulation," she said quietly. "It's fringe stuff, but there are a few old CIA files—declassified, mostly blacked out."
Olivia nodded, her eyes never leaving the board. "And Jonathan Reid?"
"Nothing concrete yet," Rollins replied. "But he's not a ghost. There are financial records—payments to a Dr. Harold Sunstreet, a neurologist with ties to government contracts. And there's chatter about a project called 'The Eye.'"
Fin strode in, dropping a thin file on the table. "I ran Anna's name through missing persons. Her kids—twins, both under ten—were flagged three days ago in a DHS database. No follow-up. They vanished."
The room fell silent. Olivia's jaw tightened. "We're not letting this one slip through the cracks."
INT. SVU INTERVIEW ROOM – LATER
Anna sat hunched in her chair, hands clasped tightly in her lap. Olivia entered, closing the door softly behind her.
"Anna, I need you to think carefully. You said someone's controlling you. How?"
Anna's gaze flickered to the mirrored glass. "He… he makes me forget. Sometimes I wake up and I'm somewhere else. Sometimes I hear music—static, like a radio out of tune. Then I lose time."
Olivia's voice was gentle but firm. "Do you remember anything else? Anything about your children?"
Anna shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I just want them back. Please."
Olivia squeezed her hand. "We'll find them. I promise."
INT. CHICAGO PD – INTELLIGENCE UNIT – DAY
Miles away, in Chicago, Sergeant Hank Voight glared at a crime scene photo. A young woman, eyes vacant, a barcode tattooed behind her ear. Detective Jay Halstead stood beside him, reading the preliminary report.
"Same pattern as New York," Halstead said. "Disappearance, reappearance, no memory, neurological damage."
Voight grunted. "And the barcode?"
"Registered to a shell company—Sun Street Holdings. Tied to a D.C. address."
Voight's eyes narrowed. "Get me Olivia Benson in New York. Now."
INT. FBI QUANTICO – CRIMINAL MINDS BULLPEN – DAY
Dr. Spencer Reid flipped through a dossier, brow furrowed. Prentiss leaned over his shoulder. "What do you see?"
"It's not just trafficking," Reid murmured. "It's identity erasure. Shared aliases, psychological triggers, hypnosis. This is organized—and they're using techniques straight out of MK-Ultra."
Prentiss's phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. "Benson's calling. She wants us in New York. Now."
INT. SVU SQUAD ROOM – NIGHT
The squad room was crowded, tension humming in the air as Olivia, Rollins, Fin, Voight, Halstead, Prentiss, and Reid gathered around the conference table. Maps, photos, and files were spread out before them.
Olivia looked at each of them in turn. "This isn't just an SVU case. It's bigger. We're up against a system—one that erases people, manipulates minds, and hides behind government projects."
Voight nodded. "We've seen it in Chicago. It's spreading."
Prentiss added, "And it's not just about trafficking. It's about control."
Reid tapped a photo of a barcode. "This is a signature. They want us to know they're watching."
Olivia's eyes hardened. "Then let's show them we're watching, too. We work together. We don't stop until we bring them down."
The team nodded, united by a common purpose—and the knowledge that the shadows were deeper, and more dangerous, than they'd ever imagined.
End of Chapter 2