Nolan snorted. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Olivia, Fin, and Peter were waiting on the sidewalk for them, and Peter grimaced knowingly at the look on Nolan's face. "Went well, I assume?" he asked sarcastically.
"Change of lawyers," Nolan huffed. "Again."
"We should've seen that coming," Baptiste admitted.
"And how did they get Judge Ellery on the bench after all you had on him?" Nolan frowned.
Fin snorted. "You have to ask?"
Nolan shook his head in silent frustration. "Paranoia won't help us," Baptiste said, glancing at the commanding officers of SVU. "We'll need your help prepping witnesses. Wheatley's not going down easy."
Olivia nodded in agreement. "This guy doesn't want to spend one more minute of his life in jail."
***
The three teenagers were chatting over each other yet seeming to respond to everything being said, and Frank shook his head. "I will never understand teenagers," he decided.
"Herrmann said something very similar as his kids grew up," Matt chuckled as he found the last bags on the carousel. "Hey, at least they're happy to see each other."
"I'm not sure who's happy to see who more right now," Nolan grinned at Sylvie. "Us, or them."
"Probably them," Sylvie giggled. "This is only their second time seeing each other in person."
Frank made a face. "It doesn't seem that way with the amount of times they're talking with each other."
"How did you even manage to convince the school to let them come out here?" Nolan asked.
"With the promise of virtual attendance," Kelly answered as they headed for the doors, Lily and the Dardens hurrying to catch up to them. "Besides, they've done well enough in school that they can afford to come out with us."
"It just might not happen very often in the future," Matt warned the boys.
"We know," Griffin nodded.
"But how often are we gonna get to watch a trial like this?" Ben bounced on his feet in excitement. "Or, well . . . parts of it, at least."
"With the enormity of the trial, it'll likely be a full room," Nolan warned. "The teams are allowed inside, and Olivia and I can get the Strands, Carlos, and Sylvie into the room. Fortunately, Jack can observe everything from his office, and he's agreed that you can watch from in there if you'd like."
"And it gets the boys out of Wheatley's sight," Sylvie deduced. "And Lily, if she's there, too."
Lily immediately turned to Frank, who held up his hands. "I won't even try to argue," he said. "But after we stayed in Austin and you connected virtually, you'll be going in-person. You can be at the courthouse if there are parts of the trial once you're released."
"Thanks, Dad!" Lily grinned in relief.
"I'm glad we at least didn't miss much," Sylvie said as they stepped out of the airport; Nolan's phone beeped, and he pulled it out to check the incoming message. "How many times can this guy fire his lawyer?"
Nolan stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide as he read the message. "Something tells me he's going to be keeping this one."
"Oh, yeah?" Frank frowned. "Who did he get?"
Nolan swallowed hard. "Rafael Barba."
"Barba?" Kelly repeated. "How do I know that name?"
Sylvie's face drained of color. "He's Peter's predecessor," she answered, and Matt's eyes widened. "He used to be SVU's lead prosecutor."