Law and Order: SVU FanFiction

Whatever the Case May Be

Chapter 1: Now it's Personal

"I pray you'll be alright, and watch us where we go. And tell us to be wise, in times when we don't know. Let this be a prayer, as we go away...lead us to a place, guide us with your grace, to a place where we'll be safe..."

TUESDAY DECEMBER 2

"Stabler, Benson, can I see you in my office?"
Elliot and Olivia had started their own conversation a few minutes earlier, but they ceased their talking under the captain's command. They followed Captain Cragen down the hallway. Elliot held the door open for Olivia, who exchanged his gesture with a smile. The two of them seated themselves across from Cragen's mahogany desk chair.
"What is it?" Olivia asked both concerned and excited for a new case. It was moments like this that made her life as adventurous as it was; this is what she lived for.
"We've just received a call from 872-5443," Cragen stated, his eyes reverting to Olivia.
"What...?" she questioned. Her face became pale like a ghost after hearing Cragen's statement.
Elliot gave her a look of confusion. "What's wrong Liv?"
Olivia became quiet and spoke in what seemed like a whisper. "Kristin..." she said wearily, a lump formed in her throat and literally gagged her. She slowly rose to her feet and bolted out the door. Elliot quickly followed after her.
He opened the door quietly, so she wouldn't notice he was there. The sound of a phone hanging up was the first thing he heard; then he watched as she sat atop her desk, resting her forehead on the heels of her hands. She smoothed her palms over her face, already frustrated with the new case. This wasn't going to be like the others...this was going to be different; this was her case...now it was personal.
"Hey," Elliot said sleepily, squatting down until his eyes were in line with hers.
She didn't respond to him, physically or mentally. In a matter of minutes, her soul had been crushed. She felt like everything she had worked for was gone; gone for forever. She felt insanely hollow--however, she was wrong; she still had him and he wasn't going to leave her like this. He couldn't imagine it.
"Liv," he whispered, rolling her name off his tongue. "It's going to be OK...they can't get you...I won't let them..." he gingerly took her hands and held them between his, "I'm here Liv, and I'm not going anywhere...ever..."

Olivia had been staring out the window for fifteen minutes when she finally saw a navy blue Jetta pull into the parking lot. She was relieved to hear the sounds of footsteps ascending the stairs beneath her. Then she let out a long sigh when she saw the figures of her neighbor, Mrs. Peterson and Kristin, her daughter appear in the doorway. Mrs. Peterson was carrying the ready-to-collapse girl down the hallway. Olivia tore past Elliot and took her daughter from Mrs. Peterson and into her arms. Kristin wasn't crying now, however, her eyes were red from wiping her eyes only moments before.
Olivia put an arm around her shoulder and led her daughter into her office. She opened her closet door and stood on her tiptoes to reach the top shelf that held blankets. She grabbed a light pink one and wrapped it around Kristin's shoulders. "Is that better?" Olivia asked, taking a seat atop her big oak desk.
Kristin sat down in front of her in a fluffy armchair. "Yeah..." she told her mother. Her eyes turned away from her mother and rested their gaze on her hands that were still shaking with fear. They all sat muted, in fact, not another word was spoken until a worried Elliot opened the door.
He stuck his head in and saw the two of them sitting by Olivia's desk. "If you want me to leave, I understand."
"No...it's fine," Kristin replied, her voice still shaking. The events of the last hour still replayed through her mind like a horror movie that continually terrified her. The worse part of the situation was the fact that she would have to retell the entire story over again; she would have to relive every minute of it. Then it hit her with sudden force-- her attacker was still out there; waiting.

"I was practicing my violin when I heard the window break," Kristin stated. She spoke as if she were a nervous girl giving a speech in front of her entire class. Her knees shook and banged together, her face became warm and pink, and to top it all off, her head was pounding with searing pain.
"Then what happened honey?" Her mom asked her gently, trying to be as comforting as she possibly could be.
"I stopped, but I didn't hear anything else...so I wandered out to the kitchen to get something to eat. Once again, I swore I heard footsteps and turned around abruptly, however, no one was there. Then someone grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth with their hand. It was really strange. Another person appeared out of nowhere...it was a woman with blond hair and brown eyes..."
"Did she have any other distinctive features?" Detective Elliot Stabler questioned, who was now standing nearby.
"She had a really high pitched voice, and a tattoo of what looked like a devil on her right bicep. She was about my height...so I guess she was about 5'7". The other man called her Angie."
"What about the man who grabbed you?"
"The man behind me was masked; I could only see his brown eyes. He had a low voice...'Angie' called him Jeff...he's about 6'4" I guess...just a little taller than you, Mr. Stabler."
"You can call me Elliot," he said in a friendly manner, trying to lighten the mood. He swallowed and continued, "I know this is scary to think about Kristin, but you need to tell us what happened today."
Kristin's lip quivered, but she answered him, hoping to hide her obvious fear. "I tried to scream, but I couldn't...I kicked the man and ran for the door, although I knew I wouldn't get far...she reached for my hoodie and threw me against the wall...I began to feel nauseous, but I could still hear the two of them clearly. He was having second thoughts about their plan...she pulled me to my feet and held a knife to my throat...she said she would kill me if I tried to fight back or call for help...she then took me and pushed me down to the floor. I smacked my ribs on the coffee table and my head hit the floor with such force that I blacked out. The next thing I remember was seeing that mask...and feeling someone holding down my legs...that's when I realized...I...I..."
"Kris, it's OK," Olivia assured her taking her hands and holding them between hers. "You're doing a great job..." she added, and Elliot nodded with reassurance.
"I realized," she started in a small childlike voice, "that I wasn't...I wasn't..." Elliot and Olivia exchanged worried glances; they knew what she was going to say, but neither of them expected this could happen to someone so close to them. "I can't do this..." she finally said, as all the frightening memories poured back through her body, and choked her to tears. Olivia took her daughter into her arms and tried to give her a sense of security and protection, but the damage had already been done. The only thing she could do was catch the people responsible for this.

The three of them arrived at the doctor's office as quickly as they could. The pain came to Kristin and hit her like a freight train; the sensation literally blew her off her feet. She knew several of her bones had to be broken, and her muscles ached with immense soreness.
They were seen almost immediately by Dr. Yei, the mother of one of Kristin's friends. She was glad that the doctor was both a female and someone she knew; she wanted this experience to be as painless as possible.
Dr.Yei was as nice to Kristin as she could be. There were other times she had dealt with rape victims, and she learned from previous interactions how to deal with these patients. She took several x-rays to see which bones were broken during her attack. One showed three fingers-- two on her left hand and one on the right-- were fractured. The other displayed that two toes on her right foot were also broken. The bruises from the attack, most of them rather large, covered the majority of her neck, ribs, and vaginal areas. Her left wrist was also swollen, as well as her right ankle, which was slightly sprained. The entire process took about three hours out of their already hectic day.
On the car ride back to the precinct, Kristin and Olivia were quiet. Elliot had tried to add some life to the trip, but it seemed that neither of them wanted to respond. Kristin wasn't crying anymore, but she didn't feel like speaking. Olivia wore an expression that scared Elliot; she looked ready to kill.
Olivia and Elliot helped support the weak Kristin through the hallway until they met up with Casey, who came to see Olivia after hearing what happened. "Hey," Casey said, "Olivia I'm so sorry about this whole thing...it really sucks." Casey felt a terrible pang of sorrow for her friend.
Olivia hugged Casey and asked her a simple question, "Can Kris stay here with you? Elliot and I need to go back to my appar...I mean the crime sce...oh you know what I mean..."

Olivia rummaged through her purse until she successfully located her key ring. After fumbling to find the right one, she shoved the gold key into the keyhole and turned it to the right. She heard a clicking sound, then pulled it out and stuck it back in her bag. She flung open the door, silently scanning the area. Elliot watched her with care, until she noticed he was staring at her. "Let's just do this, OK?" she told him, already wiped out from the anxiety she had been feeling all day long.
The first thing they saw was the blood on the wall, like Kristin had described. Elliot carefully collected a sample of it to send to the lab, though he knew it was Kristin's. They also spotted the coffee table, which had been moved slightly (probably from the fall) and had a small trace of blood on the edge of it. Then there was the rug, which had its own considerable amount of blood stained with in the fibers. It was all Kristin's blood, for she was the only one who suffered, but it wouldn't stay that way...once they caught her attackers, she wouldn't be the only one in pain.
They moved on to Kristin's bedroom, which terrified Olivia. She could see the scenes of her daughter's attack playing through her mind. She felt her pain, her struggle to break free. This room of sea-foam green would forever haunt the two of them; she knew it from the moment she stepped through the doorway.
Her eyes drifted to the bedspread that had been ripped in the struggle; she also found that her lamp had been knocked off the night stand. When she bent over to put it back in its place, she saw something on the night stand-- fresh prints...hopefully the perpetrator's. This was the only time she actually was happy that her daughter did not dust her room every week like she was supposed to. Elliot also found a small section of someone's shirt stuck in between the two closet doors. Just a few tests stood in their way of finding out just whom "Angie" and "Jeff" were. But was this evidence enough?
Elliot continuously watched Olivia through his sky blue eyes. He asked her several times if she was OK, but he received no response. She seldom said a word the entire forty-five minutes they were there. A few times, she caught his eyes lingering over her; she quickly turned away though, so he couldn't see the walls of water building in her eyes. The window blinds shattered the sunlight, but Elliot could still see the silver reflected in her chocolate eyes. She noticed he was still watching her when her tears began to fall gently down her cheeks. He gingerly took hold of her wrist, and brought her crying body softly into his arms. Tears streamed down her face and plummeted silently onto his jacket.

"So what did you find?" Elliot asked Dr. George Huang. Olivia had gone to interview her neighbor, Mrs. Peterson, and he had agreed that he would see what George could do with the evidence.
"Yeah, I think you'll be happy with what I found," Dr. Huang smiled.
"Impress me George."
"The prints on the night stand belong to a male, Jeffery Meyers; the cloth from a woman, Angela Meyers."
"Relatives...?"
"Married, actually..."
"A criminal couple...how charming..."

She went through the door to Elliot and her office, and found that Mrs. Peterson had already been waiting there. Olivia shut the door and inhaled deeply through her mouth, attempting to calm herself down. She sat down across from the witness; her hands scrambled around the desk at rapid pace, searching for her paperwork and a pen. At last she had located her materials and had somewhat calmed herself down.
"Mrs. Peterson, Kristin said that she came to your apartment after her attack, I need to know if she told you anything..."
"Ms. Benson...your daughter was in a state of shock...she hardly said a word...she told me she had been badly beaten, but managed to reach my door. I carried her inside and immediately called your office...she was crying the entire time...she really didn't say anything else..."
"Did she say anything about her attackers?"
"Ms. Benson, I'm sorry, but I really don't think I can help you very much..."
"It's OK, thanks for coming in. You can go home now, if you'd like."
"I'm sorry I wasn't of any help..."
"It's OK," Olivia repeated, leading Mrs. Peterson out the door. She sat back down in her desk chair and tipped her head backward, letting out a long, heavy sigh. She never slept during a major case, and this one was no different. In fact, this time she was going to work harder because this was her daughter, her life...nothing was going to stop her.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 3

"Hey Livie," Casey was in an overly optimistic manner, "guess what?" she added, excited to share her news.
"What is it Case?" she asked, both tired and annoyed.
"We've got it!" she exclaimed.
"Did I miss something?" Olivia asked confused.
"The search warrant for Jeff and Angie Meyers."

Detectives Odafin Tutuola and John Munch pounded on apartment 182 in Manhattan's Elmsford Apartment Building. There was no answer at the door, so they decided to enter anyway. "Special Victims Unit, we have a warrant!" Fin shouted to what seemed like an empty apartment.
The place was a mess: papers thrown across the floor, clothes lay over furniture as well as on the carpet, and garbage poured out of the trash can. They slowly wandered through the kitchen and living room before hearing noises coming from the bedroom. The two detectives silently crept up to the door, listening to the noises inside. Munch instantly recognized the sounds of a female and a male voice. They burst open the door and found the two in bed. "Angela and Jeffery Meyers, you're under arrest for violating Article 32 Section 25, you'll be coming with us. Oh and...put some clothes on..."

Olivia was waiting for the suspects in the Interrogation Room. Her hands were sweating and her heart skipped a few beats. She found that she had a hard time breathing. She was so close to catching her daughter's attackers; however, she couldn't find a way to settle herself. Her head popped up when the door opened. Elliot first entered the room.
"You want me to do this?" he asked her, concerned about the way she would handle the interview. Olivia could control her actions, unlike Elliot who usually over re-acted.
"We can do it together..." she stated wearily.
"OK, if you're sure about this, but Liv I really..."
"El, I'm gonna be alright."
The two suspects entered the room and were seated across from Elliot and Olivia. She glared at the two as they took their seats. They both gave the detectives an "I-don't-give-a-shit" expression. Their nonchalant attitudes boiled Olivia's blood, but she tried to simmer herself down. She couldn't lose it; she had to prove they were guilty first.
"So, where exactly were you last night Mr. and Mrs. Meyers?" Elliot questioned.
"We were at home, obviously," Angie told them. The two suspects were already acting like they were bored with the detectives.
"Doing what exactly?" Olivia asked.
"What do you think we were doing?" Jeff said smartly. Their attitudes were also getting to Olivia. She couldn't hold herself back much longer.
"Do you recognize this girl?" Elliot held up a picture of Kristin that had been taken at the hospital. Her body was covered in disgusting purple bruises, and her eyes were closed.
"No," Angie started, "we've never seen her."
"Is she dead?" Jeff inquired.
"Maybe this will bring back more memories:" Elliot showed them another picture of Kristin. This one, however, was before the attack. Kristin was smiling and unharmed.
Angie shook her head, "Never seen her," she repeated her statement again.
Olivia rose to her feet and leaned over the table, staring into Angie's eyes, then Jeff's. "Oh really...well I guess that's it then..." She stood up straight and began to pace around the room. She stopped on the other side of the table; bending over she whispered, "You know what, usually I'm the calm one when it come to cases like this, but...YOU RAPED AND TORTURED A LITTLE GIRL...MY LITTLE GIRL...YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING KILLED HER TOO IF SHE DIDN'T GET AWAY! YOU PEOPLE ARE SICK!" she shouted furiously in their faces. "AND IF IT WERE UP TO ME, YOU WOULD BE FUCKING DEAD BY NOW! HELL, IF I HAD MY GUN ON ME I'D..."
"Liv," Elliot said, grabbing her arm, "let's step outside for a moment..."
Olivia watched Angie and Jeff through the glass window. Her eyes were fixated on the two criminals. Elliot stood next to her, studying her inattentively. "What happened in there."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost control like that...but those people hurt my daughter; I couldn't let them get away with what they did."
"I understand..."
"Why don't we let Fin and Munch finish with them?" Cragen added.
"Alright..." she responded.
"Oh and Olivia..." Cragen started.
"Yeah..."
"You used your 'Get out of Jail Free Card' on this one...and I've got news for you, there's only one in the pack." Cragen stated before leaving the two detectives alone by the glass window.
"Don't worry about them," Elliot told her gently, as Munch and Fin entered the Interrogation room from the corner of his eye.

Olivia had been sitting in her office with Elliot, when her phone began to ring. "Special Victims Unit, this is Benson."
"We've got a little problem Olivia," Dr. Huang stated.
"What do you mean?" she asked. Now what was wrong? Everything had been taking a turn for the worse that day. How could this situation get anymore complicated?
"Kristin wasn't uh...protected...we um...ran some tests...and it looks like Angie and Jeff weren't the only ones there this morning."
"We'll be right over," she told him, looking up at Elliot.

Kristin soon realized that she was back in the hospital, where she had been only hours ago. This time, Dr. Huang was going to help her instead of Dr. Yei. She didn't like the idea of having a male doctor, especially after what had happened today, but she felt secure with her mother and Elliot in the same room. Dr. Huang was, after all, part of the team her mom belonged to, so maybe she could trust him...
"So why don't you just tell us why you brought us here..." Elliot stated to George. Their search for the perpetrator had only just begun, but he was already exhausted. The main reason he felt this way was not because the case was physically wearing him out, but the fact that he had spent the entire day worrying about Olivia. As his thoughts played in his mind, he looked over at Olivia, who appeared just as worn out as he was.
"The DNA taken from Kristin," George started, placing a blowup picture of a DNA molecule on the white board beside him, "doesn't match either of our suspects," he concluded, joining the other picture with two others; one from Jeff and one from Angie.
"So who's is it then?" Olivia asked rising to her feet. The case was getting more and more complicated. Many were difficult, but none of them had ever made her as tired as this one did.
"The DNA sample belongs to twenty-year old; Jose Planco...according to the evidence file collected from the crime scene, there is no sign that Planco was even there that day."
"So...what are you saying?" Olivia questioned.
"I'm saying there's a possibility that Planco could have raped her days before we got the phone call..."
"UGH!" Olivia angrily sighed in response. She pressed the palms of her hands into her forehead and deeply inhaled. "Can I talk to Kristin...alone please...?"

She was sitting at her desk, her feet on the top of the table, hands folded across her chest; she was not happy about what George had found out only minutes later. Jose had to have been in her apartment earlier this morning. She would not let herself believe that Kristin was like other teenagers these days. Was it really possible that she didn't know her daughter anymore? Could she really be hiding something from her?
Kristin cracked open the door slowly. "Sit down..." Olivia ordered.
Kristin silently flopped down into the chair across from her mother. "What's up?"
Olivia lifted her legs off the desk and turned her chair to face her daughter. "Did you ever..." she started, "Kristin have you..."
"Mom, what is it?"
"Have you ever done anything behind my back...anything that would really upset me..."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Kristin, have you ever had sexual relations...and, and didn't tell me about it?" Olivia stumbled over her words, afraid of the answer she would receive in response; she didn't want her daughter to be like the others.
"Mom," she replied, almost in a whisper, "I would never do anything like that...I promise..."
"Kristin...I'm sorry," she stated, apologetically, "come here." She stood up, wrapping an arm around her daughter and leading her out the door.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 4th

Elliot woke up and drove to the precinct before the sun was even up. The moon's milky white light still flooded the sky above him, guiding him through the midnight black all around him. Street lamps gave off a dim ambience along the side of the road. Silence surrounded him; the only audible sound was the soft hum of his car inching through the city.
He skidded to a stop in front of the office building. He climbed the stairs to the precinct; his footsteps echoing within the walls. His pace quickened as he reached the third floor. Anxiety took the best of him, and forced him to walk faster, until he was almost jogging through the hallway. He opened the door, literally stopping in his tracks to catch his breath.
He stood up and turned on the lights, which flickered several times before turning completely on. Half-blinded by the bright lights, he wearily groped for the doorknob to the office he shared with Olivia.
"What the hell...?" He was shocked to find Olivia asleep in her desk chair. They both stayed late last night to work on Kristin's case, but he left first. She told him that she was going to head out shortly after him, but he should have known that she wasn't going to leave unless someone physically took her home. She always worked hard on a case, hardly sleeping until she was finished.
She had told him to take Kristin to Mrs. Peterson's until she came home, which also should have proved to be a hint. He shouldn't have let her stay here alone; in his mind he was slapping himself across the face. How could he be so stupid?
Across the room, Olivia was squirming in her seat, trying to find another comfortable position. He stood in the shadows watching her chest rising and falling. Her lips were slightly parted, her hair was a mess, and several times he swore he heard her snoring, which made him gently chuckle. There was still something about her that seemed almost irresistible. Even when she was snoring and exhausted, her beauty was captivating. His eyes watched her with great interest and he asked himself again, what did he see in her that constantly held his attention? Even Kathy hadn't made him feel that way.
She tipped back too far in her chair, knocking herself on to the floor. Elliot was quickly aroused from his daydream, and rushed to her side. "O my god, are you ok Liv?" he asked her greatly concerned. He offered her his hand and helped her to her feet.
"Well I'm awake now," she stated sarcastically with a weak smile. "Oh..." she moaned putting a hand on her head.
"Liv..." he started, placing a hand on her cheek, "I told you to go home."
"I know, I know."
"Look at you Liv...you're a mess."
"Thanks, I feel so much better," her headache had started to ease, and she had just started to realize how close the two of them were. Inches separated her face from his; she could feel his breath on her neck, his hand warm on her face. They had their share of awkward moments, but never could she remember being this close to him.
Before she could think she gingerly took hold of his wrist, feeling his gaze resting on her face. "El..." she whispered, focusing her chocolate eyes on his blue ones. She didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted something to happen, but the rest of her knew that they could be in serious trouble if somebody found them like this. She reluctantly made up her mind. "El...Cragen's going to be here any minute now..."
"Right..." he responded, turning his head away from her's and slowly pulling his hand away.
He reached for the notes that were scattered across the desk. He quickly shuffled them into piles according to what type of information the held. Olivia was still standing against the wall watching him. She knew he was only pretending to be absorbed in his work; she had officially blown her chance. Did it have to be over though?
"Elliot...I'm sorry..."
"For what?" he asked still reflecting over separating files.
She sighed deeply and walked over beside him, staring over his shoulder, watching his eyes move across the papers. He knew she was staring at him; he wanted to say something. He wanted to tell her how she made him feel, but he kept to himself.
"Hello? Elliot? Olivia?" A voice called from a distance. Cragen had arrived just like Olivia had predicted.
"Be right there," Olivia replied to the Captain. Then to Elliot she said, "Thanks...for everything..." She gave him a smile and kissed his cheek softly before heading out the door.

"So, what are we looking at here?" Olivia was still a little dizzy from the fall, but she was more than ready to beginning working. This morning had been strange enough without the case; her encounter with Elliot had been rather awkward, and yet she wished that Cragen had been late. She could only imagine what may have happened if he had arrived just ten minutes later. 'Elliot doesn't feel that way about you,' she had told herself, but what if he did? 'Oh please... life's nothing like that...'

Her life had been a series of ups and downs, which altered the way she looked at life, especially when it came to love.
"First the good news; we've gotten some information on Jose Planco...and we may have a slight problem..."
"Now what is it?"
"Records say that Planco died 5 years ago in a car crash..."
"So we're cold...damn it..."
"I don't know if it's exactly a dead end though...this guy is still out there...he may not be 'Jose Planco' anymore, but he's there..."
"So how to we go about finding him?"
"I think a little chat with Angie and Jeff could lead us in the right direction..."
"So what's the bad news?"
"Angie and Jeff were released last night."
"What? Why?"
"Fin and Munch arrested them for violating Article 32..."
"And they didn't actually rape her..."
"Jose did...so the only thing we can do now is find them."
"Right...ELLIOT!"
Elliot stuck his head out of the office, "What?"
"Let's go," she smirked.
Elliot got up off his chair, "Right behind you."

They found themselves staring once again at the Elmsford Apartment Building. They climbed the stairs in silence, anxiety floating through their bodies. Olivia felt her skin warming up; heat rose to her cheeks with step she took.
Alas, they were standing in front of apartment 182. They were going to find out where Jose was; Angie and Jeff would tell them, they had to tell them, and when they did, Jose would finally be in jail where he belongs.
She grasped the doorknob with a shaky hand and found that the door was locked. She looked at her partner and silently nodded before kicking open the door. The two of them stared through the doorway as the door swung open; they couldn't believe what they were seeing, what they saw was unbelievable. "No...no...this isn't possible..." Olivia whispered to Elliot. "This is fair! This is fair Elliot," she cried, half screaming.
"What are we going to do now...?" Elliot asked speechless at the sight of all the blood around them. "I guess I'll call Cragen..."
"Yeah...I guess..."
Their only lead on the case had been shattered or slaughtered rather. Jose had to have killed them; he was the only one with a motive, for now at least. Olivia was disgusting by the work of this sick man. The Meyers' bodies lie motionless on the floor, another case of R D K; rape, dismembered, killed. Jose had done all three; the rape of Kristin Benson, then the dismemberment of the Meyers' fingers, and then their tragic deaths, probably caused by a knife or another alike object. Blood was everywhere, even more than there was in Olivia's own apartment. Angie had bled out on the couch, her blood staining the old piece of furniture and the rug underneath it. Her fingers, which lay scattered across the room, had left their own trials of blood throughout the wood flooring and beige carpet. His body was as messy if not messier than hers. There was evidence he had been dragged through the small apartment before being slammed in between the screen door of the balcony. His body was a mangled mess, torn almost in half by the unfortunate accident.
Olivia heavily dropped her shoulders and effortlessly sat down in the chair across from Angie Meyer's body. She stared at the woman, disgust on her face. "She had it comin..." she said to herself. After all she did hurt her daughter...if Jose hadn't done it, she would have. "I wouldn't murder her," she whispered, just loud enough to hear.
"What?" Elliot had been on the phone with Cragen, telling him about the roadblock in their quest for solving this case. He heard Olivia says something as he hung up the phone, but he wasn't sure what it was. He slowly walked around the blood stains and came to her side. "You OK?" he asked staring over her shoulder.
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine..." she told him, rising to her feet. "Let's just get out of here."
"OK that's fine...we'll just let Munch and Fin finish this up." He led the way through the maze around the blood, and then out the door.
She shut the door behind her and deeply sighed. "I'm so glad that's over…"
"Yeah," Elliot chuckled, "I can tell." He replied opening the car door for her.

She nodded and smiled before taking a seat on the passenger's side.
The car ride back to the precinct was rather quiet. Olivia fell asleep after only five minutes of Elliot's driving. His eyes had a hard time staying on the road. Her head was resting against the window, her body was curled up uncomfortably, like a cat, and she was softly shaking in her seat. Elliot stopped at the traffic light and draped his jacket across her. When the light turned green, he took a right and followed the setting sun back to the precinct.

"Olivia, Elliot, what happened?"

Elliot took Cragen's arm and pulled him aside, "Listen, we found Angie and Jeff," he whispered.

"OK…"

"They're dead Don…there's blood everywhere."

"Oh…"

"Liv just…freaked out…we couldn't stay there…"

"I understand…we'll just wait until Munch and Fin get back."

"Let's hope they find something."

"I have an idea," Olivia said, joining the two of them. She casually sat down in her desk, making the two men wait for her response.

"Well let's hear it Benson," Cragen was impatient and Olivia loved it. She enjoyed watching them almost beg for her to tell them.

"I say we go through the Meyers' phone records and see what we find. I suggest we call Munch and Fin to make sure they look for any mail from 'Jose,' that includes the internet… anything that could possibly help us find this guy." Olivia was surprised they hadn't already thought of this before. It wasn't like she was coming up with something they've never dealt with before. She propped her feet on top of her desk. "I'll get a start on with the phone line."

"Yeah…Elliot you call Munch, I'll check up on the Meyers' bank records to see if they made any 'unexpected' big deposits."

"Hey Elliot, look at this," Olivia called to him, breaking the silence that had been going on for a half an hour at least. They were all working hard to find any information suggesting who "Jose" could really be. Olivia finally found something interesting in the Meyers' phone line that could possibly support their case.

"What'd you find?" Elliot asked, happy that she was having some success. Elliot called Munch to tell him to search through any mail they could find back at the apartment, but other than that, Olivia and Cragen took charge down at the precinct.

"Four calls to Diego Rivera on December 1st, the day before the rape. One at 3 AM, another at 6 AM, then 4 PM, and finally 11 PM. Sounds like this is our guy, don't you think?"

"I'd say so… what were the conversations about?"

"Let's see…. 'I don't know about this man, we could get caught…' 'No we're gonna do this, you hear me.' 'I have to agree with Jeff, I don't think this is a good idea either…' 'Listen to me bitch, we're gonna do this or I'ma come to your house and make your live a living hell.'"

"Sounds like Angie and Jeff didn't want to go along with it."

"Yeah, seems like Diego was willing to take it out on them too."

"Were the calls long enough to trace?"

"Um, let's see… yeah. They were all from a payphone outside their apartment to a warehouse on 34th Street. Diego's workplace most likely…what do you think?"

"I think we better go." Elliot smiled down at Olivia, taking her hands and pulling her up off her chair. "I think we've got him Cragen. Make sure we have backup, this guy's not going anywhere without a fight."

"Just watch yourself; I'll be behind you the whole time." Cragen replied. "I'll tell Munch and Fin to get down here too. Oh, and have fun."

Elliot winked, "You know we will."

Olivia and Elliot ran down the stairs, smiles spread across their faces. They hustled into their police car and started the journey to 34th Street. Olivia took Elliot's hand in hers, "Are you ready for this?"

He laughed, "Bring it on."

"I can't wait to see what kind of tricks this guy's gonna pull," she declared, as the two of them got out of the police car, "He seems like a real nutcase."

"Oh I don't know… he'll probably just fire a few shots at a certain policewoman, and then he'll run away like an ass until the other policeman comes to her rescue and kills the bastard." He replied chuckling.

"Or maybe the policeman will trip and get shot, and the woman will end up chasing after the jerk with a baseball bat." She affirmed, playfully punching him in the arm.

"Olivia, Elliot, you there?" A muffled voice came from Elliot's walkie-talkie. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah we hear you Fin, we're ready and in position," Elliot answered.

"Just tell us when… we got your back on this one."

"OK, we're going in."

They jogged up to the warehouse as quietly as they could. The warehouse was a surprisingly small building, in the middle of a huge construction yard. Red-orange dirt surrounded the police squad, and dust clouds shielded Elliot and Olivia's vision as they came closer and closer to their destination.

"I'll go around back," Olivia told Elliot, "you can take the front entrance."

"I don't think that's a good idea, we should stay together."

"OK, let's go then." She grabbed his arm and led him around to the rear of the building where they could sneak in unnoticed. Olivia was focused, Elliot could hear her breathing get faster and assumed her heart rate was also accelerating. He was also responding in the same manner; they both knew that this was it. They would finally catch this guy and lock him up where he belonged.

They opened the small door that lead into the storage room and quietly entered the building. "We're in," Olivia whispered to the rest of the squad. She pulled out the picture of Diego that they found by researching their database and opened the door just enough to spy on the workers.

"I think that's him…" Elliot stated as softly as he could.

"Munch, the suspect is in sight…we're preparing to move in. Get the squad ready…this is it." Olivia radioed back to the rest of the team.

They waited only a minute, but it felt like eternity to them. Soon Diego was in arm's reach of the officers. Elliot jumped the gun and burst out of the storage room, lunging at the man.

Diego saw him and took off toward the front of the building, shoving over other workers and anything else in his path.

"Suspect is on the run and heading for the exit! We need backup, I repeat we need backup!"

"We hear you Olivia, we're on it."

Elliot tore after Diego, trying to keep up with the man and dodging around the debris in his path. Diego ripped the door open and ran into the sunlight, only to find that he was surrounded by cop cars. Elliot took the liberty off cuffing the man, who tried to break free as he did so. "Diego Rivera, you are under arrest for rape in the second degree as well as murder in the first degree. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be given to you…."

MONDAY DECEMBER 8

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have your Honor."

"And for the charge of murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty."

"And for the account of rape in the second degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant…..guilty."

"Great job today Casey," Olivia said, congratulating her friend.

"I'm just glad the two of you can go home and sleep tonight, knowing that this is all over." Casey replied hugging Olivia.

"Yeah I'm looking forward to it."

"Hey mom," Kristin called racing towards her mother.

"You did an awesome job on the stand today kid," Casey told her.

"Omigosh, I was so nervous," Kristin stated with a smile.

"Well we all get like that, don't we Casey?" Olivia responded pulling her daughter close to her.

"Yeah…but anyway…I think it's time you go and get some rest Livie, you look like you could use a little beauty sleep."

"Thanks, I'll enjoy it…"

"Liv!" Elliot shouted from the end of the hallway.

"Hey," she said turning around to face him.

"I wanted to know if I could treat the two of you out to dinner."

"That would be nice," Olivia told him smiling.

They walked out of the courtroom, all three of them smiling. Kristin waved to Casey as she got into Elliot's car. Casey beamed and waved back to them as the car sped away. It was over now, all behind them. Kristin was safe, and the man who hurt her was locked away. Everything was going to be alright.