Volume Two
Chapter Two: Shadows and Signals
The city's pulse raced with urgency. Each team scattered across their territory, chasing leads and fighting the dread that time was running out.
INT. BOSTON – RIZZOLI & ISLES SQUAD ROOM – NIGHT
Jane Rizzoli paced, phone pressed to her ear. Maura Isles examined the festival's guest list, cross-referencing it with medical records.
MAURA
The missing girl's name is Lily Tran. Her medical file was altered this morning—someone erased her allergies and changed her emergency contact.
Jane's jaw clenched. "So the kidnapper's already inside the system."
A new email pinged. The subject: "Princess." Attached was a photo of Lily, eyes wide with fear, holding a lotus flower.
INT. NYPD – SVU SQUAD ROOM – NIGHT
Olivia Benson and Fin traced the festival's security footage. Every camera facing the abduction glitched at the same moment.
FIN
This is pro-level hacking. They knew exactly when to strike.
Amanda Rollins scanned the crowd. "Look—this woman here. She's in three different places at once."
Olivia leaned in. "That's impossible… unless the footage was looped."
INT. LAS VEGAS – CSI LAB – NIGHT
Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes ran DNA from the blood-stained note. The results matched a missing girl from Chicago—gone for over a year.
SARA
This isn't just about Lily. They're moving victims across state lines, changing their identities.
Nick tapped the lotus symbol on the note. "Whoever 'Six' is, they're taunting us."
INT. WASHINGTON D.C. – LIE TO ME GROUP – NIGHT
Cal Lightman replayed the Morse code video. He scribbled the decoded message: "NOT FBI. TRUST BLUE."
GILLIAN
Blue… as in police? Or something else?
Lightman frowned. "Or someone on the inside who's still clean."
INT. CHICAGO – POLICE HQ – NIGHT
Hank Voight met with Robyn McCall. She handed him a burner phone.
MCCALL
Anonymous tip line. Someone called in a location—'The Lotus Room'—but said only 'the princess' can open the door.
Voight's eyes narrowed. "Then we find the princess."
INT. SVU HQ – WAR ROOM – NIGHT
The teams regrouped via video link. The evidence was mounting:
The lotus symbol appeared in every clue.
The abductor manipulated digital and physical records.
The Morse code warned of a mole.
The "Lotus Room" was the only lead.
OLIVIA
We need to move. If 'Six' wants a game, we play to win.
JANE
We'll take Boston. Maura and I will check every hotel, club, and spa with 'Lotus' in the name.
VOIGHT
McCall and I will hit Chicago's Chinatown—there's a Lotus Room above an old teahouse.
SARA
Nick and I will keep running the DNA. If the victims are being cycled through, we'll find the pattern.
LIGHTMAN
I'll keep working the video. If the princess is a code name, maybe it's for a survivor—someone who can unlock the next clue.
OLIVIA
And I'll check every foster and shelter record for girls named Lily or with lotus tattoos.
The clock ticked down. The city's lights flickered. Somewhere, Lily waited, the lotus flower trembling in her hands.
The team moved—fast, focused, united.
The princess was in play. And the Eye was watching.
End of Chapter Two