Perfect—thank you for sharing the full Episode 20. Since this is the finale of Volume One, and you're now moving into **Volume Two**, Episode 1 should:
- **Pick up the emotional threads** from Garcia and Sylvester's proposal moment.
- **Acknowledge Maeve's public testimony** and its ripple effects.
- **Introduce the darker, more systemic threat** teased in *The Silence Protocol* preface.
- **Set a new tone**—more covert, more dangerous, but still grounded in character.
## **Episode 1: "The First Echo"**
**Volume Two: *The Silence Protocol***
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### **TEASER**
**INT. BAU TECH ROOM – NIGHT**
Garcia sits alone, the engagement ring box still on her desk—closed. She types slowly, eyes flicking to encrypted files labeled: *"Project Orpheus – Redacted."*
A message pings. It's from an anonymous source:
**"You were right to wait. They're watching. Start here."**
Attached: a sealed juvenile case file. The same one from Maeve's hearing.
**CUT TO:**
**INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER – NIGHT**
A young woman, **Case 7-13**, stares at a wall. Her name is **Eva Santiago**. She whispers:
**EVA:**
They said if I talked, I'd disappear like the others.
A guard watches her through the glass. He makes a call.
**GUARD (into phone):**
She's awake. What do you want me to do?
**SMASH TO BLACK.**
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### **ACT ONE**
**INT. BAU BULLPEN – MORNING**
The team returns from a weekend off. Garcia is distracted. Sylvester notices.
**SYLVESTER:**
You didn't open it, did you?
**GARCIA:**
I wanted to. I still do. But something's off. I got a message last night—encrypted, anonymous. It mentioned Maeve's case.
**INT. SVU – SAME TIME**
Benson receives a call from a contact at DHS. A sealed case she flagged during Maeve's hearing has been reopened—quietly. No press. No oversight.
**BENSON (to Fin):**
They're trying to bury it again. We're not letting that happen.
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### **ACT TWO**
**INT. BAU WAR ROOM – DAY**
Maeve, Reid, and Garcia review the file. It's incomplete—heavily redacted. But one name stands out: **Dr. Lena Vargas**, a former NGO director turned whistleblower.
**REID:**
She vanished two years ago. No trace. No body. Just… silence.
**MAEVE:**
Then we find her. She's the key.
**INT. SAFE HOUSE – NIGHT**
Lisa, now a peer advocate, receives a call from a survivor in New York. The girl says she knows Eva Santiago. She's scared. She's being followed.
**LISA (to Maeve):**
It's starting again, isn't it?
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### **ACT THREE**
**INT. FEDERAL ARCHIVES – NIGHT**
Garcia and Sylvester break into a digital vault. They find fragments of "The Silence Protocol"—a directive signed by multiple agencies, including DHS, CIA, and a private contractor: **Orpheus Group**.
**SYLVESTER:**
This isn't just a cover-up. It's a business model.
**INT. SVU INTERROGATION ROOM – NIGHT**
Benson interviews a former Orpheus operative. He's terrified.
**OPERATIVE:**
You think you're chasing traffickers? You're chasing shareholders.
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### **ACT FOUR**
**INT. BAU TECH ROOM – LATE NIGHT**
Garcia decrypts a video file. It's Eva Santiago, recorded in a therapy session.
**EVA (on screen):**
They said I was a threat to national security. I was twelve.
**INT. BAU BULLPEN – SAME**
The team watches in stunned silence. Maeve's hands tremble.
**MAEVE:**
They didn't just silence us. They reclassified us.
**ROSSI:**
Then it's time we reclassify them.
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### **ACT FIVE**
**EXT. CHUUK LAGOON – NIGHT (FLASHFORWARD)**
A drone flies over a remote island. A compound glows in the dark. Inside: children, guards, and a server room humming with data.
**INT. UNKNOWN LOCATION – NIGHT**
A masked figure uploads a file to the dark web. Title:
**"The Silence Protocol – Part I: Orpheus."**
**FADE TO BLACK.**
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### **EPILOGUE**
**INT. BAU TECH ROOM – DAWN**
Garcia finally opens the ring box. She smiles softly, then closes it again—placing it beside a new file labeled:
**"Eva Santiago – ACTIVE."**
**GARCIA (to herself):**
One thing at a time.
**FADE OUT.**
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