The early morning buzz of activity welcomed Lieutenant Benson as she entered the squad room. Surveying the floor, she noticed that her Sergeant and detectives were all accounted for. All except one. Amanda Rollins. Her, at times, unpredictable detective was not at her desk. It was a little out of the ordinary considering the almost ritualistic routine Rollins had been keeping since returning from maternity leave; first one at her desk, fresh coffee placed on each detective's desk, Liv's included, and a sugar doughnut for Carisi as an extra treat for all the support he had given her during her pregnancy and in the months since she'd given birth to Jessie. Amanda figured it was the least she could do- they were her family after all.

Liv mused that this new routine was Rollins' way of finding calm among the chaos of raising a newborn. Liv knew that a lack of stability and chaos were not friends to Rollins and, in times of great turmoil, she often found her younger detective becoming dependant on less favourable " routines"- nightly trips to the casino being one of them. Rollins' earlier than early bird routine was a little excessive, Liv thought, especially considering she had a four month old at home and was probably only catching a few hours sleep at most each night. She had to admit, though, that it was endearing to see Rollins put her best foot forward each and every day. It was a little disconcerting, therefore, to find Amanda's chair empty at almost 9:15 the morning after the detectives caught a break in their latest case.

Earlier in the week, a young woman named Caroline Fletcher had arrived at the ER of Mercy General after a club patron had noticed her slumped over and barely conscious outside the men's room of the popular Bijoux nightclub in Hell's Kitchen. It had later been discovered by the detectives that she had been drugged and gang raped. Unfortunately, this was not the first time a woman had been drugged and raped at the nightclub and people were now beginning to question why the club was still allowed to be open for business. To date, there were five previous cases, all with the same M.O., and the detectives were now feeling the heat from the top brass to find the perps and close the cases.

Three of the five previous victims had since moved state. After re-interviewing the other two victims and chasing dead-end leads, the detectives discovered a six victim who was able to identify her attackers. Denise Highsmith was, most likely, the first victim which is why her attackers had been a little sloppy. The first attacker didn't drug her before luring her to the men's room where the second attacker was waiting. After they had finished, they left her there in the men's room and threw two hundred dollars at her as payment for her "services". Denise, distraught and desperate, took this as a sign that they were buying her silence. That, coupled with the shame she felt, kept her from coming forward until she read about Caroline's ordeal in the newspaper and read that police were appealing for witnesses. Denise had been able to name her attackers because she knew one of them from college, Lee Huntly. Huntly, a 25 year old art student, was known to make ends meet selling cocaine at Frat parties. His partner in crime, Josh Harkins, was a 27 year old socialite who lived off daddy's money while attending college "for the fun of it". Unfortunately, Josh's father had connections at the DA's office. Considering the fact that all of the victims, not including Denise, had been intoxicated and subsequently fuzzy on the details of their attackers, the DA was reluctant to prosecute and Harkins' father took full advantage. Rollins had worked the case from day one and, it hadn't slipped Liv's attention that she was growing more anxious and frustrated by the day. Upon receiving orders from the DA, Harkins and Huntly were released. Unless they were caught in the act, they were free agents. Barba was scheduled to meet with Liv and Sergeant Dodds to discuss the case and how they would proceed at 9:30 that morning, the very morning that Rollins was now late for work