"Mate on the Move"

Introduction and Disclaimer: This story is a crossover between The Sopranos and the Law & Order franchise. It uses characters which are owned by HBO Original Programming, Brad Grey Television, Chase Films, Wolf Films, and NBC. The authors did not write this story for profit.




“Mate on the Move”
by
Tony Perodeau, Walt Parker
and
Jennifer Searle

Chapter 1



Manhattan, New York City
2:16 PM Thursday, August 25


Part of Carmela’s ring finger itched, as if it wanted its metal back.
No way, she thought as she drove her Cadillac Escalade
south along West Broadway. I’ve washed my hands of you,
Tony Soprano.

The itch told her that she had not washed well enough.

She was approaching Leonard Street, among older low-rise buildings.
Larger (but still old) buildings stood just beyond the intersection
with Worth a block ahead. Not too many years ago, this part of
town was largely industrial, and almost deserted outside of working
hours. Some of the industries remained today, but other factories
and warehouses had been converted to upscale accommodations;
the businesses reflected this and stayed open well into the
evenings. Meadow and her friends sometimes shopped there.

Carmela hoped that Meadow knew where A.J. (short for Anthony, Jr.,
her younger kid) was staying. A.J. was as rebellious as any teen
and had many of Tony’s bad traits, but few smarts. Part of Carmela
wanted to wash her whole self of A.J., but he was her child, spawned
from her body, and the thought that she might never see him again worried her.

Thoughts of Tony and A.J. stirred her mind so much that she failed
to notice the silver Mercedes roadster until its brake lights glared
like red bull’s eyes. Carmela stamped on her own pedal with
stomach-rising awareness that she was acting too late to prevent impact.


Carmela's car was totalled in the front, and she was barely
moving as the two cars were on Broadway between Leonard and
Worth Streets going south. Alexandra Borgia, who was on her way
to a late lunch and had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit
by Carmela herself ran over, sans the shoes that came off when
she fell to the ground at Leonard Street and with both scrapes on
both of her knees and a slight limp, favoring her left foot, calling
911 as did others, including the driver who was rear-ended. Also
rushing over were Joe Fontana and Ed Green, who happened to be
having lunch at a deli that had a full buffet on Worth Street and
Broadway when the accident happened.

"What happened to you?", said Joe to Alexandra, seeing her
knees scraped and her being completely barefoot, her shoes
still where she had left them at the corner of Leonard Street, with
Ed retrieving them.

"I had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit", said Alexandra
to Joe as she was handed her shoes by Ed, though with her knees
a bit sore, Alexandra doesn't put them back on. After being handed
her shoes, Alexandra says to Joe and Ed, "Traffic seemed typical for
this time of the day, only sudden the Cadillac that rear-ended the
Roadster was right in front of me and ran a red light. If I hadn't be
watching more carefully, I might have been killed."

With that, Alexandra calls Jack McCoy to tell him what happened
and that she was going to be checked out because of some pain
in her knees while Joe and Ed investigate what happened.

"Carmela Soprano", said Joe to Ed upon seeing her ID.

"Tony's wife?", asked Ed.

"You're right. I forgot she's the wife of that guy in Jersey", said Joe.


NYU Downtown Hospital, Lower Manhattan
3:30 PM, Thursday, August 25

While uniformed officers and others from the 2-7 handled talking
with witnesses who saw the attack, Joe and Ed went with Alexandra
to NYU Downtown Hospital, on Spruce Street right next to the
Brooklyn Bridge, as Carmela was rushed there for emergency
surgery as well as the driver of the roadster, who had minor
injuries as it turned out. Jack had also come to the hospital to
check on Alexandra, also bringing her a pair of red, sequined
Indian slippers from her desk she asked him to as her knees
and left ankle were too sore for her to try and wear heels. Also
there was once of Alexandra's closest friends, Susanne
Chambliss-Gorton (Neal Gorton's second ex-wife), who briefly
was Jack's assistant on an interim basis after Serena Southerlyn was
fired before Alexandra was able to take over (Susanne is
second-in-command in the Homicide bureau of the DA's
Office to Tracy Kibre).

"God, you're knees look awful, Lexi", said Susanne to
Alexandra upon seeing bandages on her knees as Alexandra
came out in a wheelchair with a set of crutches she would
need to use due to her injuries, with them walking
towards the exit.

"At least it's only my knees and ankle. Good thing I opted
for a skirt today, because any pants would have been ruined",
replied Alexandra, who was wearing a dark blue, above the
knee skirt suit with a white, sleeveless turtleneck underneath.

"Your health is the most important, Lexi. At least you were
alert enough to avoid being killed by that car", then said Jack.

"True. Luckily, it's not too serious, though the Doctor wants
me to limit how much I'm on my feet for a few days", then said
Alexandra.

"And one thing you are going to do is stay with me for a
couple of nights. I don't think the Doctor wants you traveling
back to Brooklyn on the subway if you can avoid it", then said
Alexandra, who knew Susanne would offer that.

"Guess I don't have much of a choice", then said Alexandra,
pausing for a moment to put the slippers on that Jack brought
over for her before telling him as they reached the exit and she
got out of the wheelchair and setting up the crutches, "This makes
sense since Susanne lives only a few blocks from the office at
Lafayette and Worth Streets in the new building there."

"I forgot that", then said Jack as Meadow Soprano came
running into the waiting area in a panic, with the group heading back into the hospital.

"Can anyone help me? I was told my mother was in surgery
here!!", yelled Meadow to the front desk at the hospital, with Joe,
Ed and Alexandra going over to see her.

"You mean Carmela Soprano", asked Joe to Meadow.

"Yes. She's my mother!! Where the hell is she?!", then yelled Meadow.

"Calm down! I'm Detective Fontana, and this is Detective Green", said
Joe as he introduced himself and Ed, with Alexandra then introducing herself by
saying, "And I'm Alexandra Borgia, but most people call me Lexi. I'm an
Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan DA's Office and was on my way to
lunch when your mother's car ran a red light at Leonard Street and Broadway. I
had to jump out of the way or I would have been hit, which is why I'm on
crutches with my knees and ankle bandaged. Your mother's car then rear-ended a
Roadster, and when I ran over before coming here she was barely moving."

"So you saw what actually happened?", asked Meadow to Alexandra.

"Not the collision, but her running a red light", then said Alexandra.

"She's still in surgery as far as we know", then said Joe to Meadow, who
clearly looked worried.

"Why are you here, Detectives?", asked Meadow.

"We happened to be having lunch near where the accident took place",
replied Ed to Meadow.

"Thanks, and I'm sorry for my outburst. I'm so sorry Lexi my mother did
this to you, but I'm suspecting she was severely distracted. She and my
father are going through a divorce, and she had called me wondering where my
brother A.J. might be, as he never came home this morning after leaving late last
night. A.J.'s been having a lot of problems of late", then said Meadow as a
doctor came out, walking over to where they were.

"Are you Mrs. Soprano's daughter?", asked the doctor.

"Yes, Meadow", she replied while shaking the doctor's hand.

"I'm Dr. Lyman. It appears your mother will recover from this. She does
have a broken right wrist and deep bruise of her right ankle along with a
deep concussion, however, and we would like to keep her here for at least a few
days."

"Thank you!", yelled a relieved Meadow, then asking when she could see
her mother, and he said, "You can right now, but only for a few minutes."

"If it's OK, we would like to talk with her as well", asked the
Detectives, with the doctor saying it was OK.

"Not without a lawyer present will you speak to her!!", then yelled
Meadow as she knew the Detectives probably would have to arrest Carmela for
reckless endangerment that included the injuries to both the driver and
Alexandra. At that point, Meadow went to see her mother while Alexandra and Susanne
were driven by Joe and Ed to Susanne's apartment and Jack returned to the DA's
Office.


Joe stood from behind his desk and said, "Let's go back to NYU. Maybe Carmela will feel
like talking."

"She's not our department," Ed replied. "Let Traffic handle her."

"Won't hurt to recce. Maybe she'll give us a tidbit we can pass on to the Feds, or use
ourselves."

Ed shook his head. "You got a hard-on about this 'cuz the car she hit is the same color
and model as yours."

"Never crossed my mind."

"Good thing you're not Geppetto's son, or you'd have such a long nose." Ed grinned. "Man,
if that daughter tosses you out on your ass, it'll make my day."
By 6:20, the detectives arrived at Carmela's room. Joe had planned to
wait if anyone was with her, but he was so surprised at the familiar
face that he rushed in.

"Nick! What the hell..."

The man's eyes glared like windows to a live volcano. He was not
Detective Nick Falco ... sure looked a lot like him, though. Except for
the eyes ... and the hands, which were harder than Nick's.

"Who the fuck are you!" the man shouted with a shrill tone that Nick
could not have matched.

"He's a police detective," Meadow said, rising to her feet with the
magma in her eyes dimmer than the man's, but not by much.
"He and his partner are fishing in a pond where they're not welcome."

"Fucking-A!" the man yelled.

Meadow said, "Easy, Chris. Let me call Security."

"That's okay, ma'am," Ed replied. "We know the way out."

Joe shrugged and turned away. Carmela had opened her eyes, but
couldn't seem to focus. Joe guessed that she was seeing two of
everything. Four detectives at her side would be a few too many right now.

"You leave Mrs. Soprano alone!" Chris shouted as Joe and Ed walked to
the exit.

Joe replied, "Sure thing, sir."

"You don't sound sincere," Ed whispered.Carmela struggled to make sense of what she was seeing -- two Meadows and two
Christophers. The Christophers were cussing out a pair of sharply dressed, gray-haired
wiseguy types. Carmela realized that she was supposed to see only one of everything, but
she stayed still so as to avoid the stranger's attention. Meadow said something about
police detectives fishing where they weren't welcome. Chris yelled some more, and
Carmela noticed that the wiseguys, or detectives, were gone.

With an effort, Carmela focused on Meadow and Chris, turning their two images into one.
She said, "Good work, both of you. Who were they?"

"Oinkers," Chris said. "When the lawyer gets here, I'll have plenty more to say. Where the
fuck is she?"

Footfalls approached the room, then a young blond woman peered in the doorway. She
said, "Carmela Soprano?" Her voice sounded flat, almost wooden.

Meadow stepped forward and said, "You must be..."

"Serena Southerlyn."

"Yes, please come in."

Serena walked into the room as asked, though very slowly since she was
wearing pumps (with a pantsuit) and didn't want to have the shoes make too much
noise and disturb Carmela any more than necessary.

"Nice to meet you" said Meadow and then Christopher to Serena as both
shook her hand.

With that, Serena then got down to business by saying, "I understand Ms.
Soprano your mother was involved in an accident."

Meadow then said, "Yes, and please, Meadow. Anyway, from my
understanding, she was driving downtown on Broadway, I'm sure wanting to talk to me
concerning my brother A.J. He never came home this morning after leaving the house
late last night to go to a party of some kind against her wishes. She
thought he might be at my apartment near Columbia University, but he never came
there. Someone who says she's an assistant DA said she saw my mother's car run a
red light at Leonard street, and she had to run out of the way to avoid
being hit, hurting both her knees and ankle in the process. She was on crutches."

Serena then replied, "You said something about that on the phone,
Meadow, also saying there were two Detectives who were here."

Meadow then replied back, "Yes, Detectives Fontana and Green. After I
called you, they came in here again trying to get information."

"I know those Detectives, as before I was fired from the DA's Office, I
had worked with them on several cases", then said Serena.

"OK. They were with an Assistant DA who they seemed to know very well",
Meadow then said.

"Did she by any chance have dark hair, a little shorter than me?", asked
Serena.

"She did", then said Meadow.

"Oh, I know who she is. Lexi Borgia", then said Serena.

"And you know her how?", then asked Meadow.

"She basically replaced me as the assistant to whom I worked under",
then said Serena.

"OK", then said Meadow, with Serena then asking Carmela what she could
remember.

"I think my daughter described it very well. It basically was what she
said", then said Carmela, who's voice was slurred a bit, with her then moving
her hands to her head as it was hurting, with Serena and Meadow then moving
outside the room, with Serena again walking very gingerly to avoid making
noise from the shoes she was wearing, as was Meadow even though she was wearing
running shoes (with a t-shirt and shorts).

"What do you think is going to happen?", then asked Meadow once outside
the hospital room.

"I'm suspecting your mother is going to be arrested for the accident and
reckless endangerment, since there were a couple of injuries. Anything else
we'll know better once she's able to talk for more than a minute", then said
Serena.

"Thank you", then said Meadow, with her again shaking Serena's hand with
Serena then leaving.Serena headed straight for the 27th Precinct, where Anita Van Buren was
surprised to see her.

"Nice to see you, Serena", said Anita with Serena replying, "Nice to see
you too."

"What happened to you?", asked Anita.

"Branch fired me from the DA's Office in January as I think you
remember. Turned out to be for the best, as I was not even out of a job for 12 hours.
Big firm went after me the minute they found out what happened. They
actually wanted me because I'm a lesbian, as they have a lot of clients who feel
more comfortable dealing with 'their types'. I'm making six times as much as I
did in the DA's Office", replied Serena.

"At least you bounced back real fast. Anyway, what brings you here at
this hour?", asked Anita.

"I needed to see Joe and Ed on something", said Serena.

With that, Serena headed for their desks.

"What are you doing here, Serena?", asked Ed.

"I came here to see the two of you on the matter of Carmela Soprano. I
understand you were at the hospital with Lexi Borgia, A.K.A. my replacement as
Jack's assistant?", asked Serena.

"We were. When we got to the scene, Mrs. Soprano was barely moving in
her car, and Lexi had run over even though she had what turned out to be
considerable soreness of both knees and a very sore left ankle, caused by having to
run out of the way of Mrs. Soprano's car when she ran a red light. We wound
up taking Lexi to the hospital since Mrs. Soprano and another victim had also
been rushed there", then said Ed.

"Then my client is going to be arrested?", asked Serena.

"As soon as she is able to understand what happened. We're not rushing
it only because we know she isn't going anywhere for a few days, and if she
did try anything, there's a uniform stationed outside her door with orders to
arrest her immediately", then said Joe.

"OK. My client will have nothing further to say for the time being.
Other than to arrest her, you are not to come near her again, and if you try to,
I'll have a Judge issue a restraining order.", then said Serena in an
increasingly serious tone.

"Understood", then said Joe, throwing his hands up in the air before
saying to Serena, "You know, I liked you much better when you were McCoy's
assistant", with Serena not pleased at all as she walked out of the 2-7 with an
annoyed expression on her face, heading back for the hospital when she got a
phone call from Meadow that her mother could now talk for a bit longer without
dealing with headaches, which also sent Joe and Ed over to officially arrest
her for reckless endangerment that caused the injuries to Alexandra and the
driver of the Roadster.

"Don't worry," Serena said after the detectives left. "Tomorrow morning there'll be a
bedside arraignment and you'll either be ROR'd or granted bail. I'd be very surprised if you
were to spend so much as a minute in jail."

"World's full of surprises," Carmela replied, favoring the finger again. "I don't think my
family can circle the wagons like it used to."

"Your husband..."

"Ex."

"I think he'd want to be at your side."

"Chris tried to reach him. No luck."

"You need to rest. Give me his number and I'll try."

Carmela could not remember Tony's cell. She'd have to ask Chris when he came back ...
if he came back. Ever since his Adriana disappeared lasy year, Chris had become a
haunted, hard man, with the look of someone who makes trouble and lets it follow him
around. But Serena didn't need to know that.
Serena then left the hospital, and feeling very wired decided to walk even
though it was now close to midnight. The streets in lower Manhattan, though
still somewhat active were nothing like they are in the daytime, and the
relative quietness of the streets allowed Serena to think, with Serena deciding to
walk by the scene of the accident at Leonard and Worth Streets on Broadway,
though approaching Worth Street, she suddenly felt the heel of one of her
shoes become loose.

"Damn!!!", yelled Serena to herself as she lifted up her left foot,
seeing in fact the heel on her shoe had become loose, with Serena then taking her
shoes off. She then walked barefoot over to the crime scene when a woman who
like her was a blonde, but with longer, thicker hair than Serena came over
wearing a t-shirt, running shorts and running shoes having been out on a run.

"Susanne?", asked Serena, recognizing it was Susanne Chambliss-Gorton.

"Hello Serena. What brings you here at this hour, and why aren't you
wearing any shoes?", asked Susanne.

"I hadn't had a chance to survey the scene for myself earlier, and as
far as my being barefoot, the heel on my shoe became loose just now", then
said Serena, showing Susanne that actually was the case with her shoe
before Susanne asked, "You're council for Carmela Soprano?"

"Of course you'd know about that case. I know Lexi was injured trying to
get out of the way of Mrs. Soprano's car, and that you are very close
friends with her. Yes, I was retained as council for Mrs. Soprano. How did
you know that?", then said Serena.

"I didn't, I just figured you were, or you wouldn't have come over here
looking at the area at this hour", then said Susanne.

"No wonder Jack wanted you to replace me when I was fired by Arthur",
replied Serena.

"Jack certainly did, but as you know I had just been promoted to replace
Maxine Greevey when she left for the Queens DA's Office where she's now
Homicide Bureau Chief", then said Susanne.

"That's right. You're now second-in-command to Tracy Kibre", replied
Serena, then asking Susanne what she was doing down there.

"I live here, right across the street in fact", said Susanne, pointing
to the high-rise on the northeast corner of Broadway and Worth Street, with
Serena replying (and hitting herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand
as she said it), "Of course, I forgot that's why I used to see you go home
and come back a lot."

The conversation went along those lines for bit before Susanne
went back to her apartment, with Serena appreciating Susanne's
concern about her being barefoot, but Serena saying she could manage
without a problem, and Susanne also mentioning Lexi should be OK
in a few days and that she was staying with Susanne when asked by
Serena.

Serena then continued to look at the area, for herself before then
walking back over to Worth Street and then west to Church Street,
where she would then get a cab that would take her to her home on
Washington Street between 13th and 14th streets (on the north end
of that street between 9th and 10th avenues) in the northernmost
end of the West Village.

12:39 AM Friday, August 26

The taxi which Serena hailed was driven by a burly, friendly-looking
woman whose face was coal-black and well-lined. Her first words
were, "Looks like you bought counterfeit footwear, hon."

"Yes, and I remember where."

"Give 'em hell. Now where can I take you?"

Serena gave her address and added, "In the building which houses that new club."

"Bungalow North?"

"Right," Serena said, pleased that she'd found a cabbie who knew her
part of town. At least her night would end well, she thought.

******************************************************************************

Christopher Moltisanti was pissed about a lot of things, especially
Carmela's accident and arrest. He was ready to raise hell, with help
from Paulie Walnuts, Bobby Bacala and almost a dozen soldiers. Their
target was Bungalow North, which was said to be flush with cash even
though it had only been open since Independence Day.

BN was owned by "Little" Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr (aka "Brainless the Second").
Long considered a weakling and a dullard, Little had, until recently,
spent much of his time in Florida -- mostly Miami. His club was designed
like a garish Florida beachside bungalow.

He was staying in New York a lot more now that his pop was dead ... and
he was gaining more power and wealth than anyone in the Soprano family
would have thought possible just a year ago. It was as if there really was
something to his veneer of sophistication.

He needed to be nipped in the bud, fast.

And Walnuts wanted to try his new Kalashnikov AK-47 -- not to
massacre, he said, but to give BN a good spraying.

That fitted Christopher's two-pronged plan. One: terrorize the staff
and customers. Two: rob the place, fleece it thoroughly.

Christopher guided his plain gray Chrysler van north along 9th Avenue.
The radio was playing Little Richard's Long Tall Sally and Walnuts
was singing along. Chris felt too angry to sing. Angry, and just a little
scared. An op like this could get fucked any number of ways. But Chris
felt that if he didn't do something, his fury would eat him away.

He turned left onto West 13th. Bobby, who was driving an identical van
loaded with soldiers and their gear, was right behind. At the other end
of the block was the Washington Street intersection. There, they would
back north along Washington (where traffic was one-way southbound,
but light at this time of night) and strike BN, which was
housed in the southwest corner of Washington and West 14th.

Walnuts was already cradling his AK-47.

Go to The Alternate Universe Group.
Go to Chapter 2.
Go to Chapter 3.
Go to Chapter 4.
Go to Chapter 5.
Go to Chapter 6.
Go to Chapter 7.
Go to Chapter 8.