Episode: S05 E04, “Conflicts”
Premiere date: 19 June 2025
Written by: Scott Andrews
Guest starring: Mariska Hargitay (as Beth Reynolds)
Warning: This episode contains explicit language
LIBERTY CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
LIBERTY CITY, NEW YORK, 01948
The hustle and bustle of the Liberty City Police Department is abnormally quiet, as paperwork can be heard being tossed around, and telephones are ringing on multiple desks. As the clock strikes on the hour, Garrett Gregson makes his way through the main doors of the police station. Removing his jacket and placing it on the back of his chair, he sits down and immediately begins to check over the stack of mail and paperwork welcoming him for his shift.
“Garrett,” a female voice says in a rather loud, alarming tone. Turning his head and looking at the upper part of the department, he sees Lieutenant Beth Reynolds peering down at him. Having caught his attention, she demands, “In my office, now,” while signaling for him to come up and join her in her office. Acknowledging his boss, Garrett stands up and immediately makes his way towards the Lieutenant’s office.
As he walks into the office, with the door ajar, Beth requests, “Shut the door and have a seat.” Shutting the door to Beth’s office, Garrett hesitantly moves towards the desk and sits in one of the front-facing seats. “I’m sorry if I seem a bit standoffish, but I don’t understand what it is I’ve done to be called into your office this morning, Lieutenant,” Garrett states, in the hopes of breaking what feels like an icy tension in the room. Shuffling through the paperwork on her desk, Beth responds, “I’m sorry to worry you, Garrett, but this could not wait. As you are aware, the P.D. has been under extreme scrutiny for the past few years now, and considering the restructuring we’ve been undergoing, there is a fine line between knowing who to trust and who is not trustworthy.”
“Well,” Garrett pauses in response, “I hope that I have proven my trust and loyalty, both to you and to the P.D.” “Of course you have,” Beth responds as she stands up from behind her desk. Lessening the tension by becoming a bit more personable, she makes her way to the front of the desk, leaning against it directly in front of Garrett. “That’s why I’m making you the Lead Detective of the LCPD.”
“Lead, as in the Head?” Garrett questions in a state of shock. Warming her demeanour even more, Beth lets out the slightest hint of a smile and responds, “Yes, as in the head. I know you’ve been very dedicated to your position; everyone respects you and looks to you for guidance. And with Officer Smithson out on extended personal leave, you’ve really stepped up and taken a lead, without even being asked to do it. And I know your natural-born leadership will assure me that this is the right decision to bring the P.D. back to its reigning glory and respect.”
Shaking hands with each other, Garrett extends his heartfelt gratitude, “Thank you, Lieutenant, for this exceptional opportunity. I promise you that I won’t let you down.” “I know you won’t,” she responds before continuing, “And please, call me Beth.”
Abruptly, a knock on the door echoes. “Come in,” Beth welcomes. Opening the door, a young female enters into the office and greets, “Lieutenant Reynolds, I presume?” “Yes,” Beth responds, “How may I help you, Miss…?” “Bouchard, Lauren Bouchard.” “Oh yes, I’ve been expecting you. You’ve come at the exact right time. Ms. Bouchard, please let me introduce you to Mr. Garrett Gregson, our new Lead Detective at the Liberty City Police Department. Garrett, this is Ms. Lauren Boundary, our newest recruit.”
Shaking each other’s hands, the pair exchange pleasantries. As Beth makes her way back around to her chair, she dismisses them both, “Well, why don’t the both of you get acquainted? And Garrett, I’ll draw up the paperwork. I’ll need you to sign it by the end of the day, today.”
“Of course, and thank you again,” Garrett says, as he and Lauren exit the office.
LIBERTY CITY APARTMENTS
LIBERTY CITY, NEW YORK, 01948
As the brisk morning sun shines directly through the shaded window of a quiet apartment, Natalie Smithson walks into the apartment’s living room parlor. Opening the blinds, she happily basks in the warmth of the sun’s rays as they project in. Enjoying the brief, momentary quiet, the immediate sound of stomping feet sound throughout the apartment.
“Mommy, mommy, mommy,” a young voice exclaims as its intensity booms as the footsteps approach closer. Shaken out of her own state of mind, Natalie turns around to see her son, now seven years of age, standing behind her. “What is it, sweetie?” Natalie sweetly asks of her son. “I can’t go today, I’m too sick,” the young boy responds, coughing a suspiciously unrealistic, forced cough. Letting out a sweet chuckle, Natalie crouches down and responds, “Nice try, big guy. But you know you’ve got to go today.”
“Why?” He asks. “Because, I am the parent and you are the child. C’mon now, this has to be exciting. Your first day of summer camp; you were so excited about this last night, and now you’re already acting like a teenager who wants to do nothing but stay home all-day long.” “But mommy, I want to stay home and hang out with you,” the boy unsympathetically responds. “Well, you can’t do that, because mommy has work and things she needs to do today. Plus, you can play with your friends.” “I play with them all the time.”
Letting out a slight sigh in a light manner, Natalie responds, “I love you buddy, but sometimes you can be a handful.” “What if the kids are mean to me?” The boy asks. Unsettled by her son’s question, Natalie reaches out and holds his hands firmly in her own, and states, “I promise you, not a single kid is going to be mean to you. And, if by chance they are, then you just need to keep your head up and ignore them. You are Joshua John Smithson, and you are the greatest little boy,” “Big boy,” Joshua interrupts. “Sorry. My apologies. Please forgive me… You are the greatest big boy a mother could ever hope to have, okay?”
“Okay mommy,” Joshua responds while giving her the biggest hug tightly around her neck. Hugging her son back, Natalie suggests, “Okay, then. Let’s get going to summer day camp, all right? You’re going to have a great day and once it’s over, I’ll be there to pick you up, and then we can come home, and have ourselves a night with just the two of us. How’s that sound?”
Excited by his mother’s words and suggestion, Joshua grabs his backpack for the day, and puts it on with Natalie’s assistance.
“Okay, let’s go mommy,” Joshua excitedly exclaims. As Natalie takes Joshua’s hand into her own, the exit the apartment, and immediately begin on their day of adventures together.
JOHNSON FAMILY HOME
LIBERTY CITY, NEW YORK, 01948
Descending the main staircase of the home, Rebecca makes her way to a side table, where her Prada handbag is sitting. “Going to work?” Michael questions. Noticing her husband’s presence, she places her phone down beside the bag and walks towards him, responding, “I thought I’d go in for an hour or two and take care of some housekeeping on my end.”
Noticeably upset by his wife’s decision, Michael snaps in response, “Why can’t Diane take care of it? Isn’t that the point of having a partner in the firm?” “Of course,” Rebecca agrees, before continuing: “But, she’s not in the office today. Adam’s been under the weather the past few days, so she was taking him to the hospital to be checked out. So I agreed to pop in, check in on the associates, and do the housekeeping. I shouldn’t be more than an hour, two tops.”
“If I were sick,” Michael rebuts, “Would you be staying home, too?” Pausing for a moment at her husband’s question, Rebecca braces and responds, “Of course I would. How could you even question whether I would stay home or not? You really think I wouldn’t stay home?”
Coldly, Michael responds, “I think you would do anything to avoid being home with me voluntarily.” Irritated, Rebecca scoffs and refuses to respond to her husband’s accusation. “Just as I thought. Your answer, or lack thereof, is all I needed to know.”
“All you needed to know? All you need to know is that I love you, and in the same way you go to your job to help people, I have to do the same thing. You help them medically; I help them legally. There’s no difference aside from the paths we’ve taken in our careers. I don’t see why now it’s such a big problem. Just the other day, you left for work and fed me the whole ‘we also have obligations to our patients and our clients and our jobs’ line. How does that not apply now?”
“That was different,” Michael argues, with Rebecca rebutting, “How is it different? Because you are the man and I am the woman? Are you really playing the whole ‘gender roles’ card with me?” “I have never once played those roles; we’ve been equal since day one!”
Staring down her husband, Rebecca emotionally responds, “Until today, when I am the one who has to go to work, and you are the one staying home. I told you, I’d be back.”
As Rebecca begins to walk back towards the main entryway of the home, Michael softly calls out, “You’re the one,” he pauses before continuing, “who told me we communicate, make plans and then never follow through. How is this any different?” Walking back to her husband, Rebecca responds in equal tone, “It’s different, because unlike you, I’m not running from our plans with every single moment I have. My business partner needs me to do this, without even asking me to. In the same way your fellow doctors need you to show up to the hospital, and consult on patients. It’s as simple as that.”
Standing there quietly for a moment, Rebecca approaches Michael and states, “Now, I’ve got to go into the office,” she pauses to kiss Michael’s right cheek before continuing, “I’ll be back in an hour or two. I’ll call on my way home, see if you want me to pick up dinner.”
Rebecca turns, picks up her handbag and phone, and proceeds to exit the home, leaving Michael standing there, in the same way he’s done to her many a time before.
LIBERTY CITY COURTHOUSE
LIBERTY CITY, NEW YORK, 01948
Sitting at his desk, D.A. Nicholas Robinson looks over the extensive case concerning the rape of Theo Johnson. Flipping through the various pages, he thinks out loud, “How am I going to prosecute this crime when it’s been closed shut to the naked eye?”
Just then, the door to his office immediately swings open, with Mayor Hillary Davis standing in the doorway. “Don’t you knock?” Nicholas questions with a raised eyebrow. Unimpressed, Hillary responds, “I only knock when it’s warranted, and right now, it is not.” Shutting the door, she continues, “I need to know the status of the Theo Johnson rape case and where you are at with it.”
Slightly closing the folder, he casually lifts it up and responds, “I’m right here with it. Imagine that.” “Ha ha,” Hillary mockingly responds, “Have you made any kind of headway with it?”
“I mean,” he begins to respond, “I’ve read it over, and it seems like this is an open and shut case, with not much else to be done. Especially with the limit of the statute, and I have yet to see where this so-called ‘illicit behaviour’ concerning the investigation may be that Mr. Johnson has brought up.”
Crossing her arms, Hillary responds, “Well then, I guess that’s for you to figure out, isn’t it? You need to go through the file again and again until you find something.” Perking his eyebrow, Nicholas closes the file, leans forward, and questions, “What is it about this case that has you so riled up, Madame Mayor?”
“I am not ‘riled up,’ Mr. Robinson; I am merely trying to do my job to ensure the residents of this city, my city, are protected and given the justice they’re deserving of.”
“Or,” Nicholas retorts, “You are worried about the upcoming re-election season; you may not win your bid if this case isn’t settled once and for all.” “No,” Hillary scoffs at the ridiculousness of Nicholas’ claims. “That is not it.”
“Do not bullshit a bullshitter, Ms. Davis,” Nicholas bluntly responds. “I am not buying what you are selling.”
Snapping her head to Nicholas, she pulls herself forward, leans over the front of his desk, and adamantly responds, “I am not bullshitting you. The safety of my constituents is of the utmost importance to me; to be a better, safer city. And if a rapist is walking free out there, all of these years later, then I want them caught.”
“Fine, then. I will keep looking and see what I might be able to come up with. Of course, I will need access to the investigators, some of whom I know were from other jurisdictions.”
“Perfect. I will be sure to contact the police department and get the appropriate paperwork filed for you to achieve that. Someone from my office will be in touch within the next business day.”
As she sashays her way towards the door to make her exit, Nicholas drops one last quip, “Oh, and by the way,” as Hillary turns around to face him as he finishes his statement. “The pleasure is still mine.”
“Of course it is, Mr. Robinson.”
As she exits the office, Nicholas ponders for a moment, letting out the slightest bit of a chuckle, before resuming his examination of the Theo Johnson rape case files.