Roller-Coaster Ride: PART II
~"Liv smiled and left for work"…That's where the first part of "Roller-Coaster Ride" stopped. A sort of cliff-hanger. I bet you're wondering what happens next…"Is that the end of the Benson-Stabler roller-coaster? That's it?"…No! Now, buckle your emotional seatbelts and get ready for the twists, turns, bumps, and curves of "Roller-Coaster Ride: PART II"…Enjoy!~
Chapter 1
"Stabler." Liv answered the phone and looked at her desk clock…10:59. Had she really only been at work for three hours? It felt like it was eleven p.m. Everyone at CPU was busy, except her.
"Hey baby girl." Elliot smiled when he heard her voice on the line.
"Hi Elliot."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Listen, I'm taking Casey to see that movie she's been wanting to see. Do you want to come with us?"
"No, I'm really tired. I'm sorry babe."
"It's fine sweetheart, just go on home after work. We're probably gonna grab a bite to eat before and after, maybe go to the park or something."
"Okay."
"I'll call you when we're on the way home."
"Okay Elliot. Have fun." Liv let out a sigh of exhaustion and rubbed her forehead. She had been tired for a few weeks now, and had other issues, so she called, and scheduled an 11:30 appointment that morning. Elliot heard the exhaustion in her voice and became concerned.
"Babe, maybe you should come home. I can cancel the plans with Casey tonight, and tell her it's because you're not feeling well. She'll be fine."
"No, Elliot, it's fine. Go with Casey tonight, don't upset that baby. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure Liv?"
"Yes, I'll live. Go and have a wonderful time. I love you both and I'll be home when y'all get back."
"Okay sweetheart. We love you too."
"Bye El."
"Bye Liv." After Elliot hung up, Liv went back to work.
Chapter 2
Finally, after one doctor's appointment, and many hours of work, it was 7:00. Liv turned her computer off and leaned back in her chair. Elliot and Casey would be eating supper and the house would be empty.
"Hey." A man poked his head around the wall that was at the side of Liv's desk.
"Hi Austin." Liv managed a half-hearted, tired smile and sat up.
"Are you doing anything tonight?" Austin was a cute, single guy, who had his eye set on a date with Liv.
"Yes, sleeping."
"I was thinking we could go out for drinks."
"Austin, listen," Liv started, as she stood and grabbed her coat and purse. "I'm married, okay? I love my husband and little girl very much. And even if I didn't, I already cancelled plans with them, because I am exhausted and extremely stressed out. So, again, for the fifteenth time, I will not go on a date with you to get drunk." She put on her coat and, with purse on shoulder, started for the door.
"Why won't you come with me? It's only one drink." Austin pleaded as he followed her out.
"Are you like, deaf? I just spent five minutes explaining to you why I haven't, nor ever will consent to going with you. Now, I'd love it if you would just drop it and leave me alone about it."
"Maybe I didn't get you this time, but I will one of these days." Liv sighed and got into her car.
"Yeah, sure, whatever Austin. Goodnight." With that, she shut the car door and went home. As she figured, Casey and Elliot were gone, and the house was dark and quiet. Liv yawned and walked upstairs. When she got into her room, she looked up, dropped her purse, and gasped as she saw an unexpected character sitting on the bed, waiting for her.
Chapter 3
It was about 9:30 when Elliot walked through the front door, holding Casey, who, on the way home, had fallen asleep. Elliot went up to her room and tucked her into her twin-sized bed. Then, he kissed her cheek and walked into the master bedroom. When he saw that the bed was empty, he assumed Liv was taking her occasional, relaxing, Liv-time bubble bath. He checked the bathroom, but didn't find what he expected to see…The bathtub was empty.
"Liv?" Elliot walked downstairs and into the living room. But, no matter where he went, he just couldn't find her. He clicked the button on the answering machine to see if she had left a message, saying that she got caught up at work or something. Elliot paused when he heard Liv's voice come on the machine. She sounded worried…And not in the normal way. He waited and listened to what the message had to say.
"Elliot? Listen, I know I said I'd be home when y'all got back, but there's been a problem. Some strangers came to the house and took me with them. They said that you have to listen to them, if I'm gonna be able to see you and Casey again. Please save me. I love you and Casey. Bye El." Elliot stood there, unable to think for the time being. Yeah, people had taken hostages on him before, but it was never his family…As he stood there, he heard another voice come to finish the message.
"Do what I say, or you'll never see your gorgeous, sexy, enticing wife again." He could hear Olivia refusing to obey, as she screamed and then fell silent after a loud thud. The voice mocked Liv and spoke once more. "Bye Elliot."
"End of new messages…" Elliot enraged and threw the answering machine on the floor and watched it bust into pieces…He'd fix that later. Right now, he had to find a way to get his wife back. This would not go down without a fight, and Elliot was willing to risk anything (pardoning his daughter) to get Liv back. Casey, awoken by the busting of the machine on the floor, walked to the top of the stairs and called down.
"Daddy? Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Elliot sighed and kept talking. "Yeah baby, I'm fine."
"Is Mommy home?"
"No honey, Mommy's not coming for a bit." Hearing that, Casey trotted down the stairs and stopped short. She looked Elliot in the eyes, with the most innocent face he'd ever seen.
"Why isn't she coming home? Is she okay? Daddy, where's Mommy?" He picked her up and took her to the couch and sat down with her. This was gonna be hard explaining what happened to a six year old. She wouldn't understand. This, was gonna be hard.
"Casey, do you remember the time I had to work for a really long time, because this girl was taken from her mommy and daddy? And they couldn't find her?" Casey nodded slightly, not sure of which direction this story was going. "Well baby, that's what happened to Mommy…"
"What do you mean Daddy?" She titled her head, more confused than when he first began talking.
"Some bad guys came home and took Mommy away from you and me. She's not coming home until we find her." Hearing those very words come out of her father's mouth, the little girl teared up and anticipated the following answers from him.
"Huh? Why would bad guys do that to Mama? Is it because they don't have a mommy?"
"No honey, they took her because they want to make Daddy very sad…Because they don't like Daddy."
"What?! Why don't they like you? What did you do wrong to them?"
"I probably made them go to jail for being bad. I don't know sweetheart." Casey, not sure of what else to say, just cried. She cried and cried and cried. This wasn't a good situation, and she didn't like it one bit. She wanted her mother, right then and there. No matter who had to pay.
Chapter 4
"Elliot" Cragen called as soon as he saw Elliot walk in.
"Coming Cap." Elliot dropped his stuff off at his desk and walked into Cragen's office.
"What's going on?"
"What are you talking about?"
"This is the 8th time you've been late this …You're never late. What's wrong? Are you having problems at home?"
"Captain, I'm fine. It won't happen again." Elliot opened the office door and started to walk out, when Cragen started talking again.
"Okay…I'm hanging up my captain profile for a moment…I'm gonna play the old guy you tell everything to. What is it? Something's wrong…" Elliot shut the door again and sat on the table in front of the window. He looked down at the floor and began spilling.
"About a week ago, last Thursday, Casey and I went out to the movies…Earlier that day, I called Liv and asked her if she wanted to come with us…She sounded so tired, but something else was wrong…I should have stayed home…" Elliot shook his head, still looking at the floor. He felt his heart grow heavy, for this was the first time he actually felt like he was going to die from heartache. This was the first time that he truly realized that his life was nothing and worthless without his gorgeous, amazing, loving, wonderful wife. And he surely wouldn't make it without her. That was for sure. He missed her like nothing he'd ever missed. "I shouldn't have gone out that night…It's all my fault."
"What's all your fault?"
"When Casey and I got home…I put her to bed and looked for Liv…But there was the problem…She wasn't there…I listened to the messages, thinking I'd get one from her, saying she got caught up at work…That wasn't it…She was taken Cap…Some guys came and took her from me…I have to find her…I'll find them too…I'm going to kill them. And you can't stop me."
"Elliot, if you go in this alone, you're gonna get yourself into trouble. We're gonna help you. She was a part of this squad…Go get Casey and bring her here. I don't want you two staying at your house. That's too much of a risk."
"I don't need protection Captain. I can take care of myself and my family."
"That was an order. I'm not losing my best detective to stubbornness. Go. Now. Berallis is going to pull up the message and see if we can get something from it." Cragen gave Elliot a reassuring look and nodded slightly.
"Thanks Cap. I appreciate it. I owe you, and I'm sure Liv would be grateful. I'll be back in an hour." Elliot turned, and this time headed out of the precinct.
Chapter 5
A couple of days passed by, but there wasn't any word on the progress of finding Olivia. With every, single night that passed, Elliot was growing more distant, and losing weight and sleep. No matter how many times he was told to, he refused to eat, sleep, and do anything than look for his wife, and constantly stare at the phone, as if she would call him at any moment. Casey, being only six, could notice her daddy fading away from her.
"Daddy?" She cried out one night, laying in one of the bunks in the cribs of the precinct.
"I'm right here sweetheart." Elliot laid on the bed under her, and she climbed down and laid next to him.
"Daddy, Mommy's been gone a long time…Can the bad guys bring her home now?" She looked at him with her beautiful, brown eyes that looked just like her mother's. And, for just a moment, Elliot thought he was looking into Liv's eyes again.
"I don't know if they're going to bring her back to us Casey."
"But she's my mommy. They can't have her. Jesus gave me to you and Mama, so they have to give her back." Elliot smiled at the innocence in their little girl.
"Who told you that?"
"I heard you and Mommy talking when you thought I was asleep. Mommy said that I was a miracle baby from Jesus."
"That is exactly right sweetheart. You're our miracle."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you when you're older. Get some sleep honey."
"Goodnight Daddy."
"Goodnight baby. I love you." Before Elliot said 'I love you', Casey was already snuggled next to him, fast asleep. He kissed her head and stared into the darkness, haunted by his bad thoughts, unable to sleep.
Chapter 6
The truth about Casey and why she was a "miracle baby" was that Elliot and Olivia went down a dark road before getting pregnant with her. About a year before Olivia became pregnant with Casey, she had found out that she was pregnant with a first child. They were so happy. This was the one thing that Olivia had always wanted. A baby. She glowed for 3 weeks, thinking about how she would love the child growing inside of her.
The third time that she went to the doctors, it was for an ultrasound of their little child. But the news showed different. There was no baby. The child had died somewhere along the three weeks that Olivia was first pregnant. They were devastated. Elliot soon after coped, but Olivia never fully got over it. She cried for weeks and weeks. She said that she didn't want to get pregnant again, because she didn't want another broken heart.
A year later, Olivia had forgotten to take her birth control pill. She didn't think it would matter, cause she didn't plan the night that ended up happening. Her and Elliot had a wonderful night. Sure enough, the one day that Liv forgot her pill, was the day that they had sex, and she became pregnant once more. This time, she didn't have hope. She had lost hope the year before when she had her miscarriage. But, neither her nor Elliot believed in abortion, so they decided to see what happened.
About 9 months and a bunch of weird cravings later, Casey was born. Olivia wanted to name her Miracle, but Elliot remembered his grandmother and how much him and Liv both loved her so much. Her name was Casey Elizabeth Stabler, she was a much loved, kind, and beautiful woman…So, they both decided to name the precious newborn, Casey Elizabeth.
The name Miracle never left Olivia's heart, so instead of naming her that, she always thought of Casey as their "Miracle Baby." She was the light of the couple's world, a beautiful angel that showed her mother's traits fully. Whenever she was born, and Liv would get up in the middle of the night to rock her back to sleep, Elliot would stand quietly at the door and watch Olivia.
She sang softly to her and held her like she would never let her go. Seeing a once broken heart with a new child, Elliot was then convinced that Olivia was going to be alright. That she wouldn't let the miscarriage tear her down. Yes, she would always have a special place in her heart for the unborn child, but she would live her life with her amazing husband and sweet, baby girl.
Chapter 7
Three weeks later and the emotions were almost completely drained from Olivia. She was being held at an abandoned shack in upstate New York, and being raped and tortured every day. She wanted to die. Every second, she longed for Elliot to barge through the door and embrace her in his arms as he had done so many times before. She wanted him to save her.
Sitting, strapped to the chair, alone…She began to think about all the times that Elliot had come in at just the right moment. A couple years ago, when Rojas had a gun to her head, Elliot saved her…Dean may have been the one to shoot him, but Elliot was the one who held her.
And when she had gotten her throat cut, Elliot held her in his arms…That counted, even if it was only for a few seconds. He had done at least 100 things for her…What had she done for him? Yeah, she was with him when he got shot in the shoulder, but that didn't count. Elliot-100+…Olivia-0…
Liv sighed and once again, tried her best to break free from her restraints. She couldn't…Her strength was gone, as well as her hopes. She should just stop trying…Give up and not hope. No one was coming for her…After all, that's what she had been told since day one, when the guys took her away.
"Your family doesn't need you, Olivia…Why are you still trying?...Give up, no one even loves you…" She told herself. Then, she screamed. All of the frustration, anger, hate, everything she had always held in, came out…She needed to stop this. All of the bad thoughts, the giving up hope, she needed to stop all of it.
She struggled more and more, hoping that she could break free. She searched the room with her eyes. Maybe she could find something that would help her get out of the hard, wooden, jagged chair. Something caught her eye. In the shine of the sun in the room, she saw a knife. It didn't look very sharp, but it could certainly get the job done.
Chapter 8
After about 12 minutes of trying to stand up (while strapped to the chair), she managed to stand. She stealthily made her way over to where the knife was and turned around. She decided turning around wasn't a good idea, because when she did turn, the chair hit the wall and she fell to the ground. Thankfully, she didn't her herself too bad, though she had a cut on the side of her forehead where she came in contact with the floor.
As Olivia started to retry her attempt, she heard a car door shut. Oh no…He was back. No, no, no! He would see her there and she would be dead for sure. She prayed that he wouldn't kill her…She closed her eyes and waited…
The door opened and the man walked through it. He slammed it and stumbled into the kitchen. The smell of fresh smoke swept into the room where Liv was. She tried not to cough and disturb the man…She didn't want to cause any more trouble than she already had.
Liv waited about 10 minutes, thinking that the tall drunkard would stumble into her room at any minute, but he never came. Instead of entering the room, he just plopped himself onto the torn, fabric couch and turned on the tv.
The sound of a beer top opening popped in Liv's ears. That sound meant that it was going to be a much longer night than usual. In about 45 minutes, after 3 or 4 beers had been consumed, she could hear the man snoring quite loudly on the couch.
When he was like this, she knew that she had another chance at escape. He rarely passed out like this, but in the 2 weeks that she had "shared" with him, he had done it twice. It took him half a day to wake up.
A slight feeling of relief passed through her body. She had twelve hours to accomplish her plan. She tried getting up again, and this time, managed to grab the knife. It took her about an hour to cut through the rope that bound her hands.
When she did, she thanked God that it wasn't over, that He had given her another chance at her life. She quickly cut through the rope on her feet and got up. Her body ached from being in that chair for so long.
Chapter 9
While Olivia attempted to break free, Elliot was still in complete misery. He had begun to drink more than he ever used to, and with that…Came consequences. On many occasions, he would get so drunk, that Casey became scared of her father. Every night that drug by, she had to live with the fear of her father getting drunk. Some nights, he would beat her and blame her mother's kidnapping on her.
She worried that if she told anyone, that they wouldn't believe her. Even if they did believe her, it would infuriate Elliot. He wasn't a daddy anymore…He was a monster and she hated him.
One night, Elliot came in the precinct, into the cribs, and he was already drunk. Casey could tell that he was at a bar since a couple hours ago, just by the way that he stumbled and ran into everything possible.
"Casey. Come here." He muffled out. Instead of obeying, she quietly tiptoed in the darkness of the cribs and hid under the furthest away bed. Maybe he wouldn't find her…
"Hey! W…Where are youuu…?" Elliot could barely make out words under the influence of the previously partaken alcohol. Casey just stayed under the bed and kept quiet.
"Mommy, where are you? I need you." She whispered to herself. The only thing that she wanted was Olivia. She missed her more than a little girl could ever miss someone.
"Casey…Elijah…Wait…Erin…Erika?...Elizabeth! Casey Elizabeth Michael…What? Who's Michael? Do you know a Michael?" Elliot pointed to the pillow, as if it were alive and it was going to answer his question.
"Bah…What do you know?...Hey…You. Come here." After the pillow, he picked out a bunk rail…He was definitely in the category of "Way Too Drunk."
Chapter 10
Casey hid under the bed and after listening to the man slur his words, fell asleep on the cold, hard floor. Elliot soon fell onto another bed, passed out.
The next day, when Casey woke up, she wasn't under the bed anymore…Where was she? She looked around and realized that she was in one of the interrogation rooms, on the couch, with a soft blanket and a big NYPD jacket. She wondered how she got there…
Just then, the door opened and a sweet voice spoke. "Good morning sweetheart." It was Amanda. She walked in and sat on the edge of the couch.
"Did you sleep okay?" She asked.
"How…How did I get here?" Casey asked, suited with a confused look.
"Well, I went to go check on you and I couldn't find you. Then I saw your father on the bunk, out cold. I figured last night didn't go so well. When I was little, I used to have to hide under beds too. So, I looked where I would've hidden…I found you and you were shaking, so I brought you down here, gave you my jacket. It didn't help, you were freezing, then I grabbed a blanket and put it over you. And that's how you ended up here." Amanda gave her a reassuring smile and decided to embrace her with a hug, when she saw Casey start to tear up.
"Why does he do this?" Casey asked, the sound of sadness on her voice.
"I don't know honey. But it's gonna be alright, I promise."
"I want Mommy…" Casey, gave up on holding tears back, and cried.
"I know you do. We're gonna find her, okay?" Casey nodded and wiped the tears from her face.
"I'm hungry."
"Then why don't we go get some pancakes, huh?" Amanda smiled and got up from the couch. Casey got up as well, still wearing the NYPD jacket, and followed Amanda.
Chapter 11
Back at the shack, the only thing Liv needed was a phone and a shower. She figured that the shower could wait a little bit, she didn't want to waste any time. So, that left the phone. She looked all over the place, but so far…Nothing. Liv couldn't find a phone anywhere. After about half an hour of searching the place, up and down, Liv finally found a cell phone. She hoped that it would work, and that it wouldn't be dead.
She flipped the top up and a little light came on. No…It was almost dead and the shack had zero reception…Wait, wouldn't it still call 911? Liv dialed the number, and just as she did so, the couch drunky started moving. She froze and looked at him.
"I can't do this…Not again." The last time she froze, her child almost got killed. That was a year ago, Olivia had taken Casey to the bank with her and, just their luck, a man had decided to rob the bank the exact moment the mother and her child were leaving.
They were forced back inside and for the time being, Casey was held as the main hostage. With a gun to her daughter's head, Liv didn't know what to do…She tried negotiating, but that only made him madder. Finally, just before he pulled the trigger that would've killed an innocent 5 year old, the police showed up and shot him.
She blinked and came back to the reality of that moment. If she ran, she might be able to make it out of the shack and a couple miles down the road. If she stayed, she could end up with her very own tombstone. Liv decided to take the smarter choice. She tiptoed around the back of the couch, hoping the man wouldn't hear anything, but her foot caught a nail and she lost her balance.
"Thud!" She fell to the floor and the man became super alert. It took him a minute, but he then realized that his hostage was gone. He jumped up and went to grab Olivia, but she managed to get up and bolt out the door. She was running as fast as someone with a nail in their foot could run.
"Hey! You come back here!" The man, Hugo, called out after her and ran as well. Of course, he could run much faster than Liv could, so he eventually caught up to her and tackled her to the ground.
Chapter 12
After a couple punches and unwanted sexual penetrations, he dragged her back to the shack. When they returned, you would have thought that Liv had been in a car accident. She was covered in blood and dirt from head to toe and weaker than an unsturdy board.
Hugo attached his prisoner back to the bed and got on top of her. He placed his hand on the sides of her mouth and squeezed.
"You think you're so smart, don't you?" He chuckled at the thought of how "stupid" she was.
"Get off of me." Liv barely made out the words, because her lips were squished together.
"Oh, being a little resistive aren't you? Hmm, I'll fix that right up. He replaced himself in his earlier position and removed his pants and underwear.
"You'll burn in Hell for this, you disgusting dirt bag." Liv tried her best to not look weak and scared, but to look strong and fierce. At least she thought it was working a little.
"Ha! Honey, I'm best friends with Satan himself. Your words mean nothing." Hugo then chose to remove what was left of Liv's clothing. She tried so hard to look like she wasn't scared, but the truth was that she was dying. She couldn't take this anymore. She now felt like the dirty whore that she had been told she was. Hugo duct taped her mouth shut and proceeded to traumatize Liv once more.
Chapter 13
"Amanda?" Casey cried out in the middle of the night. It had been approximately 15 days and 6 hours since her mother had been taken. Her heart ached from missing her and being so lonely without her.
"I'm right here darlin'." Amanda had stayed with Casey every night, ever since that night in the cribs. While Casey slept on the comfy couch, Amanda sipped her coffee, reclined in a chair with her feet on the coffee table.
"When is Mama coming home? I miss her a lot…She's been gone too long."
"I don'-
"Where is she?!" Elliot barged down the stairs that lead to the cribs and into the squadroom. He was, again, drunk off his rocker and obviously enraged about "her" being gone.
"Hold on baby." Amanda quickly got up and placed her NYPD coffee mug on the table that previously held her feet and walked out of the room.
"What are you doing?"
"I can't…Find her!"
"Who are you looking for?" Amanda was irritated at the entrance of detective Stabler and the fact that he was drunk yet again.
"My girlfriend!...Wait…My daughter! Do I have a daughter?"
"Yeah, you have a beautiful 6 year old, but you're not going to see her anytime soon. You're scaring her being drunk and outrageous like this. You need help Elliot."
"I need….Woah…I need my daughter." The intoxicated man stumbled from desk to desk, back and forth, trying to maintain balance.
"No. Go back to the cribs and stay there. Before I have to arrest you. Now."
"Okay mayor….You got it sergeant picklehead...Roger that captain crunch…" Elliot started laughing at himself and Amanda gave up. She grabbed his arm and took him up to the cribs again.
"Stay here and don't leave. Got that?"
"Mhmm."
"Good. Go to sleep."
Chapter 14
Raped. Tortured. Beaten. Cursed. Olivia tried and tried to keep her composure and survive the Hell she was living. She was determined not to let her kidnapping ruin her. When she got out, she would get help for the P.T.S.D. and try not to act different around her precious baby girl. She wasn't going to let this break her…Not completely.
"Mhmm. How do you like that baby? Feel good? I bet it's the best you've ever had, huh? Yeah." Liv spit in his face and he slapped her to return the favor.
"I think someone needs a few more lessons taught to them. I'll take care of that. Stay here," Hugo chuckled as he removed himself from her and spoke again. "Oh wait…You can't move."
"I don't need you, or anything you have to teach me a 'lesson'. I'm a big girl, who knows damn well how to take care of herself. So screw you. You're just a pathetic bastard who rapes because you can't get a girlfriend. You think you're so powerful, but you aren't. You're just a low-life, slimy piece of street scum who should be cleaning the toilets at McDonald's."
"My, my, my…You have a big mouth with a lot of shit to say. Now, maybe, just maybe, you have said mouth, because you open your legs to every guy that knocks on your fucking door. And none of them take you seriously, because all you want is sex. But that shouldn't be a problem anymore…Cause you're my bitch now."
Chapter 15
A week and a half later and Casey still refused to see her father. No little girl would want to see their drunken daddy who always beats them. No sir. He could rave and rant all day long, but all that did was make her grow closer and miss her mother more.
"I want to go home…" Casey stood at the window and peered out at the lively city, silently hoping that her mommy would be out there waiting for her…Sad, because she wasn't.
"I know honey, but you can't." Over the course of time that Amanda was caring for little Case, she had tried to comfort her, but she could tell that the little girl wanted to leave.
"Why not?" Casey turned around and gave the blonde detective a look that reminded Amanda of Liv herself.
"It's not safe there."
"But I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to wake up in a police station every day. Isn't there anywhere I can go?"
"Hold on. I'll be right back, okay?"
"Yeah…" Casey turned back to the window as Amanda walked out and, after knocking, into Cragen's office. She shut the door and faced him.
"What is it Amanda?"
"Casey needs out. She's dying in there Captain. Is there any place at all that she can stay, besides here?"
Cragen sighed and sat down. "There is one person that Liv trusts more than anyone."
"Who?"
"Alex Cabot."
Chapter 16
A few phone calls later and Casey was on her way to Alex's house. When she got there she, still in the car, turned to Amanda. She gave her the biggest hug someone in a car could give.
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome sweetheart. I'll be at the precinct if you ever need me, okay?"
"Okay." Casey smiled a grateful smile.
"Alright. Now, I think someone is waiting for you."
"Yeah, that's Auntie Alex…Bye!" Casey opened the door, grabbed her bag, and bolted up the stairs into Alex's arms. Alex waved at Amanda, thanking her for bringing Casey, and walked inside with her. Amanda waited until the front door closed before she drove back to the precinct. She was gonna miss having Casey's company, but she was glad that she was somewhere that she wanted to be.
Chapter 17
Liv coughed and spit up some blood. This was the third time that day she had done so. Hugo was gone, again, out with his "buddies." For a kidnapper and rapist, he wasn't really smart, leaving his victims alone.
Again, Liv was tied, but this time, to a bed. Somehow, she had managed to hide the cell phone with her the whole time. She opened it again and saw that she had reception. The first number that she called was Cragen.
"Cragen."
"Captain?" Liv was so relieved to hear his voice on the line.
"Olivia?!"
"Yes, it's me."
"Where are you?"
"I don't know. Some shack…I don't have very long, Cap. Is Casey there?"
"No, she left for Alex's about an hour ago. I'm tracking your phone now."
"This isn't mine. It's Hugo's burner."
"I can still track it. Hang in there."
"I can't. the battery is about out. Please, I need you to tell Casey something for me."
"Anything. What is it?"
"Please tell her that I love her so much and I miss her more than anything in this world. But, to keep her chin up, Mommy will be home soon…Can you tell her that for me?"
"Of course I can Liv."
"Thank y-…Oh no. He's back. I have to go!" Liv closed the phone, and threw it behind the bed. She tried to look like she didn't just talk to someone on the phone.
Hugo came in the house, but something was off…He was talking. To men. It sounded like there were at least five of them. Liv hoped and prayed for fifteen minutes that they would leave. Then, the worst possible thing happened…All of them, including Hugo, walked in the room where she was, and locked the door. No. this was going to be a very long, and one hell-on-earth night.
Chapter 18
"Fin, Amaro!" Cragen called out to them as he stood and ran out of his office.
"What is it Cap?" Nick and Fin both stood and looked and looked at Cragen.
"Let's go!"
"What's up Cap?" Fin asked as he started following Amaro and Cragen to the filing cabinets.
"Olivia."
"What about her?"
"She just called me. She wasn't on the line long, but it was long enough for me to get a tap on the location."
"That's great. What are you looking for though?"
"Files. We know this guy. He was arrested by our team 6 years ago."
"For what?"
Cragen paused and looked up. "Rape, torture….And murder."
"Oh my God. Captain, we don't have time to look for these files. He could kill her at any point in time. We need to save Liv."
"Found them! Hugo Montague. Lives in a shack upstate. Let's go!" Cragen ran out of the room and outside, just as Amanda arrived back at the precinct. She looked confused at the commotion.
"Hey, what's going on?" She turned around and followed Cragen, Nick, and Fin into the elevator.
"We're going to get Liv."
"You know where she is?!"
"Yeah. Upstate. It's going to take about 2 hours to get up there…But we can pull a few strings and get there in an hour and a half."
"Great. Wait…What do we do with Elliot?"
"He'll be fine. I checked up on him about 20 minutes ago. He's out."
"Alright. Should last until we get back." The elevator dinged and the crew walked outside. They got in there cars, walkie-talkie radios in hand for immediate directions. Cragen buzzed over the radio and told them to follow him.
"Let's do this."
Chapter 19
Sure enough, an hour and a half later, they arrived at the shack. It looked like there were still people there. Two beat up trucks occupied the gravel driveway, and lights were on in the house. Amanda looked at her watch, then at Fin.
"10:34. She must be in Hell right now…"
The radios fizzed and Cragen came on the line. "Listen up everyone, this guy is smart. He knows how to handle cops…Only when he knows where they are. Fin, Rollins. You take the front. Act like state troopers. You're warning him about a noise complaint filed by a passerbyer. Amaro and I will take the back. Our only mission is to get Olivia out of there. We don't have much time. The ambulances are on their way, but I told them to hold off on the sirens. They'll be here in 15 minutes. That's our time window. Let's go crew."
Fin exhaled a breath of stressed air and looked at Amanda. "Action time."
The detectives got out of the car and walked up to the front door, while Nick and Cragen quietly made a stealthful trip around to the back.
Chapter 20
Hugo watched as his friends took turns on the damaged woman. Liv cried and tried to move, but she knew there was no use. She had no strength left. She hurt. She was hungry. Thirsty. She wanted to die. Every second was worse than the one prior. Then, she heard something. A knock. Who was it? Was it more friends of the evil culprit? Liv looked at Hugo as his expression changed from smug, to confused. He didn't know who was here either. He motioned for the guys to continue their "fun" and walked out of the room.
"Who the hell are you?" Hugo demanded as he opened the door.
"State troopers. We got a noise complaint call from a couple passerbyers. Came to warn you about the sound…Keep it down." Amanda paused and listened…She looked at Fin and continued to talk to the obviously drunken man that stood before her.
"Sir, do you have someone else in this house?"
"Just a couple of buddies chillin'. Is that an issue miss?"
"I heard a scream. Do you have anyone else here?"
"What's it to ya?" As Amanda and Fin stalled, Amaro quietly opened the back door and walked in, accompanied by Cragen. Fin saw Cragen's motion and interrupted Amanda.
"'scuse me…I need a word with my partner." Fin took Amanda to the side and told her their order. He whispered as he talked. "Cragen and Amaro are in…They want us to stall for about 2 more minutes, then they'll get em. K?"
Amanda nodded, and they returned to Hugo. She was good at stalling. She continued to talk, until they heard a racket coming from the bedroom. That was their cue.
Chapter 21
"Olivia? Olivia, can you hear me?" Cragen covered the naked victim and untied her from the iron posts of the bed. He ordered Fin to get the ambulance in there, but stayed by Liv's side.
"It's gonna be okay. I promise. You're gonna be just fine. Hang in there." Liv was obviously unconscious, but he talked to her anyway.
The ambulance came in, wrapped Liv in a much bigger, cleaner blanket, and carried her out to the ambulance. Twenty minutes later, Rollins and Cragen sat in the waiting room as Amaro and Fin hauled all of the guys to the precinct.
"Detectives? You can see her now. She's damaged. Bruises and cuts on her face, hands, and all over the rest of her body. I wouldn't advise touching her."
"Is she awake?" Amanda asked as the doctor lead them to her room.
"Yes, but she's tired. Also dehydrated. It's a miracle you found her when you did. A couple more hours, she wouldn't have made it." The doctor ushered them in the room and closed the door, leaving them to privacy.
"Hey Liv. How ya holding up?"
"Ii've bbeen bbetter."
"I'm sorry this happened to you."
"Nno. Iit's nnot yyour ffault. Bbut tthank yyou sso mmuch ffor ccoming ffor mme." Liv teared up and looked away. She couldn't face their stares. They didn't mean to look at her like she was a victim…But she still saw it in their faces. Amanda slowly walked over to Liv. She gently put her arm around her and Liv flinched and tensed up.
"Ii'm ssorry…" Liv relaxed a little and let Amanda hug her gently. Something about the embrace made Liv feel safe again. But that didn't stop her from crying anyway.
"Wwhere's Elliot?" She looked up at Amanda.
"He's back at the precinct. But we can get Fin or Nick to bring him up here. And Casey too, if you want."
"Nno. Nnot Casey. Ii ddon't wwant hher tto ssee mme llike tthis. Ii'll ggo tto hher wwhen Ii gget rreleased ffrom tthis sstupid hhospital. Bbut please hhave Elliot ssent uup hhere. Ii nneed mmy hhusband."
"Okay Liv. I'll go call him now." Amanda gently let go of her and got up. She walked out and left Cragen, standing. Liv looked at him with her sad, brown eyes.
"Liv. I know what you're thinking. And I won't let you. You're not blaming yourself for this."
"Ii sshould've ggone wwith Elliot aand Casey tto tthat mmovie. Tthis sshouldn't hhave hhappen…Iit ddidn't hhave tto hhappen."
"Olivia stop. You had no idea he'd be waiting for you when you got home." Liv sighed and looked down. All she wanted was to go home. To be with her husband and child. She wanted to be okay. But she knew that she'd never be the same again…Olivia was on a roller-coaster. And the ride had just begun.