Fearless

(Chapter One: Taken)

It was a mess that had been completely out of her hands from the start, but that didn't keep Olivia from feeling guilty. She was still partially in shock from the events that had taken place that afternoon, it hadn't really sunk in yet. And now as she sat in the floor of the locker room showers fully clothed hoping that somehow the steamy water would wash away not only his blood, but her own guilt. She could feel her world crashing down around her. She had lost her focus for a moment and in that moment she felt her life begin to spiral out of control.

TWENTY FOUR HOURS EARLIER

"He didn't do this the last time," Elliot said handing her a file across the desk.

They had been working for over two weeks tracking a rapist and serial killer who had claimed the lives of seven women and was still on the loose.

"Maybe he knew this was how we would find him so he changed his M.O." Olivia said rubbing her temples with her fingers.

Her head was pounding and her body aching, it had been a long couple of days and this guy was way ahead of them.

"Serial killers don't change their M.O. Liv, these murders were planned out in detail carefully. He chose each of these women, for a special reason. We figure that out, we'll know what makes him tick."

"Elliot, the only M.O. here is that there is no M.O. We can only pin these three on him because of DNA he left in the victim, we don't even know if the other four are his! I say we arrest him on these three before our statute of limitations times out on them!"

"Trenton Morris has an air tight alibi for the nights two of those women were murdered, Liv. And the third sample, from the Jessie Tate case was contaminated. Not to mention that she, our only victim who actually saw the man's face jumped state before the trial and no one has seen her in years."

Olivia growled in frustration at him and slammed the files down on her desk, "Jessie Tate is not the first rape victim ever to disappear before a trial. Maybe she got spooked. Or maybe she didn't run at all!"

"What are you talking about Liv?" Elliot gave her a blank stare.

"I am talking about the fact that lately all of our victims have been not just raped, but murdered as well. What if Jessie Tate was the first."

She locked her big brown eyes on his and waited for him to catch up to her so that they were at least on the same page. The last few days had really drained the entire department, with all of the extra man hours and no people to work them they had found themselves working eighteen and twenty hour shifts lately.

This, combined with the lack of sleep and the physical demands of the job had them all running on caffeine and adrenaline in an attempt to hold off the shear exhaustion that lie underneath. They were all beginning to find it difficult to focus starting to snap at each other. But they were determine to catch this guy and put him away.

"He didn't start killing them until number four and we are not even sure this one is his. No DNA, different cause of death… she doesn't even match these three," Elliot said spreading out the files of the most recent three victims across his desk.

But Olivia, knew they were his, somehow she could just feel it. She had to find a way to tie this man to these crimes before this entire case fell apart and time ran out. She took a deep breath and closed the file in front of her as she rubbed her tired eyes and poured herself another cup of coffee.

"I don't know, but it is almost two o'clock in the morning and we are running on two day old stale pizza and this shit," Elliot snapped pouring himself another cup as well. "If we are going to continue this, we are going to have to get some real food. I'm starving."

"Food sounds good," Olivia replied as her stomach growled.

"I was thinking Greek. Sound good?"

"Elliot, right now the greasy wrapper from the gyro sounds good."

"Greek, it is." He picked up the phone book and dialed the number. "Liv, the man says they wont deliver. It is after midnight and one of their drivers got robbed last week."

"It's a freakin' police station," Fin said. "You'd think they could feel safe delivering here."

"We could order from Mr. Choo's," Elliot suggested.

"No, it's not a problem. I'll go pick it up," Olivia replied.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it is just across town and I could use the fresh air anyway. And now you really have me wanting a gyro."

"And we had Mr. Choo's last night," Munch announced. "A man can only eat so many noodles," he said patting his stomach.

"Alright," Elliot continued to read their order off to the man over the phone.

"Hey, Liv, how long you been here anyway? Am I mistaken or did I hear Cragen specifically tell you to head home and get some sleep? He didn't want you working on this anymore tonight."

"Twenty eight and a half hours," Olivia replied. "And first of all with the amount of coffee I have consumed to stay awake I wouldn't be able to sleep if I did go home. Second of all, I am not really working on the case, since we are stuck at a dead end. Third of all, I fully intend to be out of here before Cragen returns in the morning, so how is he going to find out?"

"Anything else?"

"Yes. Fourth of all, mind your own business, Munch!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for ya, that's all. I for one happen to enjoy your company."

"Sure you do," she replied. "You just want me to pay for your food. I know how you operate, John Munch," she said poking him in the chest as she grabbed her car keys from her purse and slipped on her jacket. She walked over and filled up her travel mug with coffee and headed toward the elevator. "I'll be back in half an hour."

She exhaled deeply then took a deep breath letting the coffee aroma fill her nose as she pressed the button for the ground level. She fumbled with her car keys as she walked across the parking lot humming a tune to herself trying to find some sort of energy.

A chilly wind began to blow as she heard a rustling sound. Olivia stopped for a moment to listen as the wind began to howl once more. She tipped her head and looked around her certain she heard the faint whisper of her name.

"O-L-I-V-I-A," she heard again softly as a chill shot up her spine.

"Is someone there?" She asked feeling as if someone was watching her every move.

She slipped her hand to her side and unsnapped her holster placing her hand on her service weapon.

"O-L-I-V-I-A," she heard on the icy wind once more as she walked slowly toward the dumpster.

"Hello? Who's there?"

Her heart was pounding a thousand times a minute and she could feel it in her throat. Goose bumps began to appear on her arm as she tightened her grip on the glock she carried at her side.

"Is someone there?" She asked standing only inches from the dumpster.

"BENSON," she heard whispered sharply as a gush of wind rushed her almost taking her breath away.

She looked back at the pile of garbage as the wind blew her hair from her face. Just as she leaned forward a cat screeched and leaped out of the dumpster at her. Olivia screamed and stumbled backward and before she had fully processed what was going on in front of her she had pulled her gun and aimed it at the animal.

She stood for a moment trying to catch her breath and calm herself as she watched the cat scamper off into the night.

"It's a God damned, cat!" She said aloud to herself. "Yeah, Liv. Shoot the cat."

She drew a deep breath and tried to cam herself as she slipped her weapon back into it's place and walked back to her car. She pressed the button on her key ring to disarm her car alarm and unlock the car as she climbed inside.

Half an hour later she returned to the precinct and parked in her usual spot, next to Elliot's car. She picked up the drink carrier full of sodas and placed the bag of carry out containers on top of it. She juggled the pile of food as she pushed the car door shut with her foot and pressed the button to reactivate the alarm.

Olivia walked back across the parking lot as she heard a rustling noise from the dumpster area again. She stopped and focused on it for a moment instantly feeling the hair on her arms stand up once more.

"Kitty, kitty, kitty," she called softly to try and lure the animal from his hiding place. But she saw nothing.

She shrugged and turned to walk back toward the front of the building as she heard her name once more.

"O-L-I-V-I-A B-E-N-S-O-N."

But this time when she turned around, it wasn't a cat that she saw. A man wearing a black mask rushed her. He clamped one hand firmly over her nose and mouth holding a cloth over them until she could barely breathe. Olivia dropped the food and drinks scattering them across the parking lot as she struggled with the man.

He backed up moving her quickly back toward the shadows of the alleyway. Olivia tried to scream. She struggled the best she could, but the man had already tossed her weapon in the parking lot and her eyes and legs were beginning to feel so heavy from the chemical on the cloth. She clawed at him and tried so hard to free herself, but the last thing she remembered was the sound of the panic alarm going off on her car.

Elliot rubbed his hands over his face as he poured himself another cup of coffee. "Munch, what time is it?"

Munch looked down at his watch, "three fifteen."

"Olivia should be back by now. I wonder what is keeping her," he said pressing the speakerphone button on his desk phone and calling her cell.

"They probably screwed up the order again and she had to wait for them to fix it."

"Still, she should have at least called by now." They sat and listened to the ringing of Olivia's cell phone as they talked.

"Hello?" A man's voice said from the other end of the line.

Elliot looked up at Munch with a strange look as they could hear racket in the background. "Yes, this is Detective Stabler with the NYPD, who am I speaking with?"

"Detective Stabler, this is Officer Kade we got a situation down here in the parking lot."

"A situation? Let me talk to Detective Benson."

"Detective Benson, isn't down here. Just me and two other officers trying to figure out what the hell went on out here."

"What do you mean? Where is Detective Benson? Where did you get her phone?"

"The phone was laying in the parking lot. It was ringing, I just picked it up. We got a mess down here. Take out scattered all over the parking lot and this damn car alarm. They are trying to figure out how to shut it off."

"The car, it is a silver Camry?"

"As a matter of fact it is."

"That's Olivia's car," Elliot said hanging up the phone and rushing down the staircase toward the parking lot.

BUM….BUM….BUM…..

LOL, THERE IS YOUR FIRST TASTE OF MY NEWEST STORY. I KNOW I LEFT YOU WITH SEVERAL QUESTIONS, BUT THEY WILL ALL BE ANSWERED IN TIME, I PROMISE. LIKE IT? HATE IT? HIT THE REVIEW BUTTON AND LET ME KNOW!!! ;0P