a/n: written as an intellectual sacrifice to Ranowa Hikura; also, to Ranowa Hikura, there is a secret message hidden in here for you that I doubt you will find, but it is there. For everyone: this one is a bit long, but read it if you like it, and if you like it review it please! Okay, here we go!
A man clad in black approached the end of an alleyway in the evening, a wide black hat rimmed across his forehead, concealing his eyes. The man paused in the shadows, as if reluctant to let the lights of the streets illuminate his presence. Solitary walkers periodically passed the man's hiding place, hurrying along on some late business or else returning home; there were few who wandered these streets leisurely at this hour. But to these individuals, who were generally alert and wary as a rule, still the man remained invisible. It was as if upon ceasing to walk he blended into the shadows, and his jacket, although jet black, seemed to meld into the color of the dark and beaten concrete wall to which his back was pressed. Microscopic breaths passed in and out of his nostrils, and he was perfectly still; waiting, watching. Only a keen glance from the most trained of eyes could have perceived the glint of his sharp eyes as they roved the dim street, the only faint indication of his presence.
Despite his stealth and skill, one thing had eluded the man's awareness. Another pair of indistinguishable eyes was present on this very street corner, a pair of small and young blue eyes that peered out from a window nearby. These eyes had been wet with tears but a moment earlier, until they had noticed the unexpected silhouette of a man across the street, briefly illuminated by a flash of passing headlights. The owner of the eyes had become intrigued, and, his prior sorrow instantly forgotten, he pressed his face to the cold clear glass of his window and stared down toward the darkly clad individual. Since the man had melted into the darkness his eyes were the only remaining clue to his existence, to which the boy's eyes were fixed. He watched intently, mesmerized, feeling that something ominous or dreadful was about to occur, but yet at the same time being too young to even properly know that this is what he felt. He was merely curiously fascinated, as any young child is at some curious and unexpected fact, and he sat at once vigilant but also relaxed.
The dark man's eyes continued to rove, transfixed on the ground level and unaware of the watcher above. He had remained in this position for a succession of minutes now, and although he was beginning to become anxious would not dare to withdraw his hand to consult his watch for the time. It was too dangerous and he could not risk giving away his position, for he knew not who else might be watching. The Easter Bunnies, as they had been so frivolously called, would likely be much more circumspect tonight, if indeed they attacked tonight. Their prior excursions had been rash but successful, and they knew their luck was diminishing as they left more and more clues behind them due to their haste. So he could not risk it. He was hidden well enough already and he had endured more difficult periods of inactivity than this before.
Although physically still, the man's mind continued to ruminate on these uncertainties very energetically for some time, and to weigh again the various possibilities that had been so carefully weighed already. He hoped and dreaded that he had been correct, for he was fearful of what might happen to one of his companions if their site was instead the target. He was alone, and so were they, for they had been drawn apart by necessity and urgency, and there had been no time to gather in numbers. So there he stood, torn like a stalwart oak in a hurricane, one that stands tall and endures the harshest of winds, except in this case the winds were invisible fears that tormented his mind.
The companionable pair of blue eyes had begun to dose, not being accustomed to such patience as those of the dark figure. The boy's head drooped and his eyelids were heavy, but it would have been a woeful evening indeed if sleep had overcome him. At the last second, just before his head dropped to a resting position on the sill and he became engulfed by the sweet silence and forgetfulness of somnolence, a swift rush of movement occurred outside and below. This he did not see, for his eyes were now closed entirely, but the sound that followed from it penetrated his still sensible ears and jerked him awake again. The boy pressed his face back against the glass and stared aghast as a host of darkly clothed men rushed out of a car and through a gaping hole in the building it had just crashed into. Soon all four of the men had entered through the destroyed wall, and now the boy recalled what had previously held his gaze- the dark figure. He swept his eyes back to the alley but could perceive nothing, no glint of keen eyes, no swish of dark jacket. The man had disappeared. He was gone.
The boy looked back to the adjacent building with the car jutting out of the first floor. He could see nothing more interesting there so he slowly lifted his gaze upwards, letting it trail by the windows to see if he could discover the meaning of this strange intrusion and the whereabouts of the intruders. A series of silent moments passed, and sleepiness almost began to creep again over the boy, but then he started at another sudden occurrence. A window had burst asunder high above him, sending glass shards scattering like starbursts through the night sky. One of the darkly clothed bodies had been hurled through it and now came tumbling violently down to the earth, drawn inexorably to his grim fate. His body splintered across the hard pavement, and soon came to be still. The boy's mouth hung ajar, horrified, and as a pool of blood formed around the poor man the boy thought he could discern small colorful containers rolling about him, apparently having been dislodged from his person as he hit the ground.
More noises drew his gaze up to the window again. The light inside was on, and another window was intact next to the broken one. Dark shadows struggled against the ceiling of the room, and all the boy could make out was that some awful and bitter battle was taking place. Another sound reached his ears. A woman's scream, terrible and shrill, came cascading through the night sky. One of the shadows froze, and then was quickly embroiled in combat again, but before long the struggle ceased. It appeared that one of the individuals had been overcome, and now only one shadow moved, but soon disappeared from view, and the room went dark.
Again, silence. The boy stared, frightened but fully alert. Sleep was to come no where near him again that night. Another short gap of time passed and then two of the darkly clothed men reemerged from the hole in the wall near the base of the building, but with them they dragged a reluctant female figure, who was struggling desperately against her captors. She fought valiantly but they soon slammed her against the car and her body went limp. One threw her in the back seat and the other entered the driver's side. As the first rushed around to sit next to him, something else happened. The boy did not perceive how it happened, since it happened so quickly and was so unexpected, but he immediately saw yet another dark form appear on the street corner, except this one came not through the wall but from the sky. Yes, it was the dark figure from earlier, the watcher of the street corner, who had seemingly plummeted from the building top down upon the car, crunching its roof upon impact. The boy thought he saw also a thin cord stretching up towards the room with the smashed window.
The other man who had yet to enter the car leapt backwards, taken aback. But he was too slow in his wits, for the dark figure himself took a leap, and came down directly upon the other, sending him into the ground and soon dispatching him. But the last remaining of the intruders did not appear to have an appetite for blood any longer, and he swiftly backed his car out and into the street. The dark figure, however, was not through yet, and valiantly blocked his path, drawing a firearm from his side and pelting the car with rounds, but the car advanced undeterred and the dark figure only managed to avoid being hit directly by it, but nonetheless he was still hit, and to the ground he fell. His body gave a final shudder of pursuit, and then collapsed in agony and fatigue. The glinting lights of the car soon faded away down the dark road.
For another moment the boy sat motionless, unsure of what to do. It was clear enough to his young mind what had just occurred, and yet his bones still seem to be glued together and made of concrete. But he knew he must act. The hour was later, perhaps, then he had thought, and he must have dozed for a much greater duration than it had seemed, for during the entire incident no other individuals had appeared on the street, which meant that it was late indeed. Finally in a flurry the boy pealed himself from the window and went hurtling out of his room.
"Mom! Mom!" he cried. "Mom wake up! Someone got hurt outside and those bad men are getting away! Mom!"
SVU SVU SVU
As Detective John Munch slowly opened his eyes they were flooded with bright light. He blinked repeatedly, allowing them to readjust before judging what he saw before him. Odafin Tutuola was sitting in a chair near him reading through some papers from a file, and Munch had the feeling it was late. The memories of the previous- if indeed if was the previous- night rushed back into his mind. The dark corner, and car and the four individuals. The flight up the building and the struggle in Sonya's room and then his plunge out the window, and then a pair of deadly headlights bearing down upon him.
"Shit," he said.
Fin looked up, having been unaware of Munch. "Welcome back to Hell," he said in jest.
Munch cracked a smile, glad to know his partner was still as brutally sarcastic as ever. "Shit," he repeated, knowing that the Easter Bunnies had gotten away with Sonya and he hadn't prevented it. "Well, go on then, tell me how bad I fucked up."
Fin knew Munch should rest longer. It was only the early morning after he had been hit by the car, and the doctors hadn't expected him to wake up for at least a day. He was very much fortunate to be alive at all. But Fin knew also that Munch was pretty damn tough, despite his scrawny appearance, and he knew what Munch was probably feeling and that telling him what they knew was better than any painkillers the doctors could inject in him.
"Well, man, you busted up those damn Bunnies pretty hard. We've got three of him, Elliot and Liv are drilling them now, but one did get away. We don't have anything solid on him yet, but I doubt he'll get far. We've had NYPD secure all the major exits to the city and many of the minor ones, and we've radioed out the description of his car."
"Wait, how the hell do you know what his car looks like?" Munch asked incredulously.
"Same reason your ass isn't dead right now," Fin replied. "Some kid across the street saw the whole thing and called for an ambulance just after you had been hit. Saved your sorry ass seeing as how you forget to call in that the Bunnies showed up at your location. We wouldn't have known for hours otherwise."
"Oh…shit," said Munch, stunned. He had completely forgotten to call in to confirm after the car smashed through the wall. He had been too absorbed in acting.
"Anyways, the kid saw the whole thing and gave Liv a pretty clear account of it. Course that was only just a while ago, so I'm sure you might be able to give us some more detail."
"Just a while ago, wait, how long have I been out?"
Fin looked at his phone. "It's six in the morning now, so about five hours. You're tougher than you look."
"Oh… damn, it feels like days."
"Maybe because the doctor said it would take days before you woke up again."
"Maybe he was fucking right," said Munch as his head collapsed back onto his pillow and he slipped back into unconsciousness.
SVU SVU SVU
Olivia slammed the folder down onto the bare table and bent over to stare Chris Durton in the face, her eyes blazing.
"Look, you son of a bitch, you either tell us where your pal is, or you get life- at best- but probably death row." The seriousness of Olivia's tone seemed to convey more to the man sitting across from her than her words. He was young and foolish, and didn't know much about criminal offenses, lawyers, trials, courts, justice, or prison. To him Olivia was probably lying, but her fearsome eyes told him that even if she was lying he was going to want to help her. All the same, he was young and foolish.
"Look lady," he drawled, "I don't know shit about where he went. It's not like I went with him! So who the hell are you gunna come in here and ask me where he is?"
"You know at least where he lives, or where you've meet him before, or where you've taken the other three women you've kidnapped, raped and murdered!" Olivia's voice rose successively as she spoke them.
"I don't know shit about none of that stuff, woman!" the perp objected, "I was just helping them out to get some cash, that's all-"
"Well then we'll run into some trouble matching up the four sets of DNA found among the victims, you lying asshole."
He stared blankly back at her, blank faced.
"Look, Olivia pulled the chair back and sat down. "The choice is simple. You are screwed and you're going down with at least three counts of abduction, rape, and homicide against you, if not more for all of the property damage you fools caused. That's going to end your life as you know it. If you help us, we will cut you a deal and save your ass from death row, so long as Sonya is found alive. Otherwise, you can kiss your sorry life goodbye." Olivia's mouth was set in a grimace as she said this. Yes, she needed to be as harsh as possible to try to save Sonya, but this kid was really racking her nerves. She couldn't stand the indifference of some people as they ruined other peoples lives, as if they had merely bumped into them on the street and a terse 'my bad' was sufficient to make amends. No, this kid was made of real low stuff, and Olivia would have the truth out of him at any cost. Besides, he was one of those responsible for nearly killing Munch, and for that Olivia couldn't easily forgive him.
But her tirade may have succeeded, because Chris Durton was silent finally, apparently thinking it over.
"Fine, lady, fine. But what proof do I have you are not gunna walk the fuck out of here and trade me over to old Sam afterwards?"
"Olivia whipped back the cover of the folder in between them violently. "Read it, sign it," she said. "Justice is written in ink nowadays."
Olivia burst out of the interview room moments later and almost collided with Elliot, who had been rushing to find her. They both had cracked their guys, and to their great relief extracted independently the same address from them.
"That's one hell of a comfort," Olivia said, sighing and actually feeling relaxed even though she hadn't sleep for over a day.
"You're telling me," said Elliot, "I tired of these damn goose chases." Olivia laughed, because, really, that's almost what it had been. The Easter Bunnies, as they were called, had been targeting young female workers of a Christian Publishing Company and leaving small Easter eggs containing slanderous invectives about the employees and the company littered across the crime scenes. Their elusiveness caused Munch to coin them the 'Easter Bunnies' after finding the eggs at the first abduction, and the name had stuck.
The criminal profile very clearly indicated that these men had some personal vendetta against the publishing company, and Huang confirmed this. The Easter eggs contained not only derisions of the victims but of the company as well, and the media had quickly picked up on this and was treating it as a miner treats gold. The compounded effect of the Easter eggs was that it threw a sour light on the company's religious affiliations, and since the second abduction two weeks ago three employees had resigned and the company had lost a substantial portion of its business. The public was even beginning to turn against them. The Easter Bunnies, if their goal had been to destroy Spread the Word Publishers, had been successful. Despite all of these clues the detectives could find no conceivable reason why anyone would be so hateful of Spread the Word. The company had fired no one in the last year, it had received no hate mail, and none of the employees as far as SVU could discern knew anyone who would be so spiteful as to become embittered against the whole company. It had taken a full three abductions and murders for the detectives to narrow down their prospective victim list well enough to actually catch the Easter Bunnies, although even this had turned out to be a very unsure affair.
Spread the Word was a vast company, publishing authors from across the country and delivering books across the world. Its main center was in New York, but it had various satellite publishing houses along the northeastern corridor and its New York headquarters alone had over a thousand employees. This is why the detectives had been spread so thinly across the city the night before, each of them, even Huang and Cragen, being staked out near the residence of a different employee. But Munch had been the lucky, or unlucky, one, as if were. And god, Olivia thought, if it hadn't been for that boy, he would be dead now. How such small things change the course of events.
"Liv, you ready?" Elliot called, returning from the other room wearing a bulletproof vest and brandishing a gun, sliding and locking it.
Olivia snapped back to her senses and replied with affirmatively that she was. They turned to leave but then Olivia remembered that she had left her phone outside of the interview room. She told Elliot to go on to the squad car and that she would meet him on the street. She ran back to the interview room and grabbed her phone, checking it quickly. A text from Fin informed her that Munch had woken up a little while ago and seemed to be doing all right, except he promptly passed out again. And, Jesus, Olivia thought, it was already 7:30 in the morning. She glanced out the office windows as she turned to leave again and saw the morning sunlight streaming across the city in sheets, blazing the buildings in brightness.
"Olivia!" cried a familiar voice.
Olivia turned and was started upon seeing none other than Casey Novak. The lawyer had just strolled into the office and exhibited such freshness and liveliness that Olivia was reminded of how tired she herself really was. Casey noticed this keenly and inquired why she had not sleep.
"Er- oh," she stuttered, realizing that Casey had no idea of everything that had happened. Huang had only just made a breakthrough in his analysis of the Easter Bunnies after Casey had left the day before, and she had no knowledge of their precarious adventure just seven hours earlier.
"Casey, Jesus," said Olivia. "Look, there isn't much time," she said hurriedly. "We found the Easter Bunnies, sort of. Munch was injured badly but is all right and Elliot and I are just now going to where we think the final one is staying. I- I have to go."
Casey's expression had changed from surprise to alarm to comprehension, and immediately her quick wits took over and she urged Olivia to make haste and wished her luck. Olivia rushed off, afraid she had kept Elliot waiting too long, but she was glad in a way of her short and business-like interaction with Casey. She had had mixed feelings toward the lawyer lately, and although seeing her had filled Olivia with joy she didn't think she would have been very glad to have a more personal conversation with Casey just then. She pushed these thoughts out of her head and ran out of the precinct, throwing herself into the squad car and apologizing to Elliot and the same time. The car raced off into the busy traffic of another New York morning, with one destination in mind: 148 Newcastle Road.
SVU SVU SVU
Olivia sat in the car tensely. She was exhausted, and it showed in her drooping shoulders and heavy eyelids. She was sitting quietly, and had barely spoken to Elliot after getting into the car. She knew it was not anger that stayed his voice however, she had been partners with him long enough to notice the telltale signs of his own weariness. The way his mouth was slightly open and the tilt of his head told her that much. But it was not fatigue that was on Olivia's mind. She was thinking about her unexpected meeting just before leaving the precinct.
The squad car blurred past the broad foundations of buildings and the glowing and colorful signage of street vendors. Olivia saw kids running through sprinklers at the West Plaza but they soon disappeared and were replaced with the monotonous stroll of New York walkers that seemed to fill the sidewalks of the main streets without end during the daytime. The sun had now climbed further into the sky, and shone through the city like the beacon of a lighthouse illuminates a fleet of ships. Thick shadows were projected backwards from the large buildings, and this cast the cross streets the car was driving past into an ominous darkness and gloom.
"Newcastle. This is it," said Elliot, pumping the brakes and bringing the car to a near screeching stop as he whirled around the corner. Elliot proceeded to reiterate how there was without a doubt one criminal and one hostage, but there could be more of either, and they would have to act with extreme caution, but Olivia knew these things already, and knew that Elliot was repeating them only perfunctorily. While he spoke Olivia thought back to her fleeting meeting with Casey Novak, and contemplated her mixed feelings about the redhead.
The disaster with John had impressed again upon Olivia the risk of her job, and she had felt dread and longing when leaving Casey. She knew she had feelings for the lawyer but they were so ambiguous that while she would be daydreaming about Casey one moment the next she could have completely forgotten about her. Nonetheless she felt fear upon leaving Casey, after seeing how close John had come to dying, but despised herself for this. She hated mixing her feelings for things and letting mere paranoia color her other feelings. She had felt very attracted to Casey at that moment but was simultaneously skeptical because she knew the cause due to fear inflaming her affection. She curled her lip at the unfathomable intricacy of her feelings and grimaced. She felt hopeless against ever understanding them well enough to even think about mentioning them to Casey, as far as she could tell she was just as important to the redhead as Dani Beck.
"Liv, you ready?" Elliot's voice broke into her thoughts emphatically.
Olivia jerked her head back up and looked at him. They had reached the house and it appeared as if Olivia had completely lost track of what Elliot had been saying.
"Um, yes, yes, let's go," Olivia apologized quickly. Elliot nodded in agreement and the pair stepped out of the squad car and began to pace down the sidewalk to house 148.
They approached the door and Elliot rapped his knuckles against the glass, his other hand resting near his gun.
"Police, open up!" he hollered. They waited a moment, heard nothing, and looked at each other. Elliot stepped back and kicked down the door forcibly with his foot. The door swung open jarringly and the two detectives rushed in and swept through the rooms mechanically. Olivia's black jacket whipped the air as her body moved fluidly but efficiently through the rooms, her straight arms aiming her gun without tremor, but no one was there to greet them, nor had they heard any sound so far.
They cleared the first floor and moved up the stairs to the adjoining level. It was smaller, with four rooms branching out from the top of the stairs and one other which appeared to be a bathroom. The door to the left was swathed in what looked like blood, and slightly ajar. Elliot motioned to it with his gun and they moved towards it. The door creaked open, lead by the side of Elliot's hand, and the detectives were met by an awful sight.
Sonya Mully was tied against the back wall, bloody and bruised, covered sparsely in the tattered remains of her clothes. Although her appearance was gruesome she seemed to be fully conscious and functionally mentally. Her wide eyes embraced the detectives and spoke of alarm and warning for her mouth was wrapped tightly shut in duct tape. She shook her head violently, as if to dissuade Elliot and Olivia from entering, who now proceeded cautiously.
Immediately their gaze was drawn to the wall that had been previously hidden by the door. Written upon in, again in blood, was this message:
You tampered with our plans
And now my brother is dead.
Easter is over, my friends,
But Independence Day is coming-
When the sky will burn red with blood.
Not just yours, but your Lawyer's too.
The teeth of both detectives bit down hard upon reading the last line, but it was Olivia's heart that burned the most painfully.
"Casey!" Olivia cried. "I'm going to call Cragen and warn him now," she said pulling out her phone and dialing the number. "But, Jesus! Elliot come on we've got to help Sonya for god's sake!" She stepped forward but was tackled by Elliot and thrown to the ground.
"Errrah!" she groaned, struggling.
"Liv, Liv, shhh…. Stop, stop," he coaxed, relaxing her. "Before you try to save Casey you might want to a little more closely at the rest of that line." Elliot stood up and Olivia looked back up at the wall, reading the not only yours.
"Not just that line," said Elliot, motioning to the script on the wall, "but this one too." He moved his finger again and held it level in the air, seemingly in front of nothing and pointing to nothing. Olivia stood up gingerly and then, there! she could see it! Faintly, almost imperceptibly save for the handful of dust particles in the air shone a dim red light, a beam that forebode only one thing. Olivia followed it back to its lethal source, a small black device strapped to the far corner of the room in a closet where they would have never seen it were it not for Elliot's sharp reaction. The device was linked to a tightly wound pack of explosives, a gift of fireworks just for the detectives.
"Damn, El, thanks," said Olivia.
"Don't mention it," he said casually. As he checked carefully to make sure the laser tripwire was the only detonation device Olivia noticed that Sonya had relaxed now that the detectives had avoided eminent death.
Olivia's phone buzzed, startling her. It was still on the floor where it had been discarded as Elliot tackled her.
"Oh, oh! Olivia exclaimed, remembering. She picked it up hurriedly. "Cragen- Cragen, yes, we're fine, sorry just had to have my life saved. Anyways, look, listen! We're at the house, and Sonya's safe but there's a threat on the wall against Casey, it looks like he's out to get Casey and he would have had us finished too if it wasn't for a bit of luck on Elliot's part." At this Elliot looked up in questionably. "Just, just make sure she's safe." Olivia implored. "We'll have Sonya back as soon as we can, and send an explosives team out here, we've got a tripwire rigged to explode."
Now convinced that the one laser was the only threat, Elliot finally ducked under it and began to untie Sonya's binding. Olivia advanced and tenderly removed the duct tape across her mouth. The tears in her eyes conveyed the gratitude that she was unable to express with words. Her tired and hurt body collapsed into Olivia's arms and Olivia and Elliot both supported her cautiously past the tripwire and outside, returning to the precinct in silence.
SVU SVU SVU
"Fin, I'll telling you've we've got Casey secure in her office with two guards outside her door. No one is getting in there."
"Look, man, all I'm trying to say is that Sonya in there won't quit talking about how this guy that kidnapped her is worse than we can believe," Fin persisted, crossing his arms. He had returned about an hour ago from the hospital, summoned by the urgency surrounding Casey. "She keeps going on about 'we don't know what we're up against,' and 'nothing you can do will stop him.' He scared her pretty badly."
Cragen turned back to Fin. "Well, we appreciate her advice, but if we tighten security anymore then Casey's going to be safer than the president!"
Fin shrugged, "just relating what she told me man no need to get your balls up in a knot."
It was just before noon and everyone was sleep deprived and emotionally drained from the day's, and night's, events. Tension was high and it could almost even be felt in the static air of the room. Casey was locked in her office with Olivia, who had volunteered for that role, while everyone else frantically tried to track down any leads concerning their mystery Easter Bunny.
The search was dismal. The two captured Bunnies had divulged no more useful information, although they had provided a swarm of Easter eggs, and having been coerced into releasing the location of the leader's house were now stubbornly resilient to saying anything else, if they even knew anything else. The Leader's blood message had indicated that the Bunny Munch had felled was his brother, but SVU could find not identify the deceased individual. No prints, no identification on his person, and the two in captivity refused to say anything about him. Just a no named blank face leading nowhere. Without that link they could find nothing else.
The bomb squad had scoured the house on Newcastle Road but found no helpful clues and even very faint signs of habitation at that. The trails had run dry, and the desperate detectives were beginning to accept it. Silence fell across the precinct, telephones rang in the distance, footsteps of unconcerned others could be heard, but in Cragen's office Elliot, Fin and Huang stood quietly, having reviewed everything once more and reaching the dismal conclusion that the only thing to do was wait. None spoke; they all recoiled from the thought of waiting dumbly for Casey's murderer to make a first move.
Not only was this resignation disheartening, but it had begun to dawn on the detectives that the Leader of the Easter Bunnies was no ordinary individual. The investigation had been thoroughly foiled, and Sonya's admonitions weighed heavily on everyone's minds. Additionally, the only pertinent piece of information gained from Newcastle Road was that the tripwire bomb was of exceptional caliber and rigged with expertise, an expertise that no low-level gangster or pyromaniac could have achieved, not even from the black market.
SVU SVU SVU
Olivia stood in Casey's office, stressed out and scared, but was trying to appear relaxed. Casey had been with them for six months and had never been in danger before, although it wasn't uncommon for SVU ADA's to be catch in the crosshairs of their cases from time to time. Casey also was trying to remain calm, but she was frightened, to say the least.
"Casey," Olivia began, unsure of what to say, but Casey interrupted her.
"Olivia," she said. "How was I threatened?"
"You…" Olivia was glad to speak strictly of facts, even if they were grim and ill-omened. "He wrote a message in blood on the wall of the house were Sonya was that indicated you as his next victim."
"Jesus…" Casey said quietly. "How did he even know about me?"
Olivia hadn't thought of this yet, and it was a potent question. She could not think how the Leader had known about Casey. He must have been inquiring into SVU somehow, although Olivia could not imagine how. She told Casey honestly that she did not know, and that she had the feeling that they were dealing with an exceptional individual, as far as criminality went. Suddenly Casey's face contorted into an expression of pain and tears came to her eyes, but she turned away quickly, bringing her arms up to cover her face.
"Casey, Casey," Olivia said compassionately, moving towards her as she heard the lawyer whimper quietly. She reached around and held the redhead, comforting her and insisting that she was under the best of protection and that there was no way in hell she was going to let anyone hurt her.
"Casey honey, it's going to be okay, I promise, you needn't worry at all," Olivia consoled, rubbing her back. Casey was breathing heavily but had composed her tears. She hadn't spoken yet, and focused only on her breath. Her tears had come not from fear of being hurt but rather from fear of seeing Olivia hurt on her behalf, a sorrow that caused her heart to shudder.
Olivia was also breathing heavily. Her heart was touched upon seeing Casey so vulnerable and exposed, and this served only to enflame the feelings that had already been swirling inside Olivia since she saw the fearful message on the wall. She wanted Casey, she wouldn't let her be hurt, and she had resolved that after this was over she was going to throw all chance to the wind and tell Casey how she felt. Would that she could know that the same thoughts were running through Casey's mind at the moment, but alas, these thoughts remained private and caused only distress and distraction to them both, preventing the two females from noticing the dark shape that had just coalesced outside of Casey's window.
Casey's breath caught in her throat just before the window was shattered to pieces sending sharp glass across her office and onto her desk. Instantaneously the dark figure leapt down onto the floor and lunged at the two women, knocking them apart. Olivia slammed against the bookshelves on the right and before she could draw her weapon she was bludgeoned in the stomach by a thick fist. The breath was drawn out of her and she collapsed to the ground; that one blow had been harder than any she had ever felt before. She winced in pain and looked up to see the Leader snatch Casey and slap her across the face harshly. He encircled his arms around her body but she struggled bravely so he was forced to slam her against the other wall, rendering her unconscious.
Olivia bite down hard and forced herself to rise in a surge of hatred and fury against the Leader. She lunged at him and drew her arm back to strike him but while still holding Casey he grasped her arm and kicked her back against the wall sending a cascade of books crashing to the ground about her. Olivia lay limply on the floor and the Leader leapt back up to the windowsill holding Casey's sagging body just as the locked door was forced open to reveal Olivia's fellows, but they were too late.
All they caught was the wicked smile of the Leaders face as he was swept out of the window, and the shiny teeth and the gleaming eyes of his face- mere slits filled with wrath. His head was wrapped in a black cloth upon which his black hair shot out of, but he was quickly whipped out of sight as he left the threshold.
Elliot and Fin rushed forward guns drawn but withheld their fire, knowing what a fatal bullet could mean for the captured Casey. They saw the wings of a flying device burst out of the thin backpack the Leader was wearing, and watched as he was whisked away between the buildings of the sleepless city.
Cragen stood at the door and lowered his head, horrified at what had just transpired. Elliot gripped the windowsill momentarily but then spun around and rushed to Olivia's side, who was lying motionless on the ground. Fin remained near the window with one of the foulest expressions ever seen on a man's face as he glared after the trailing form of the leader.
Then, suddenly, Fin let out a small gasp. Another form had appeared on the horizon, one smaller and much higher than that of the leader's. Fan's gaze was diverted by this new player and his eyes widened. He leaned forward attentively and peered into the sky, drawing Cragen's attention who then joined him.
"Fin, Fin!" Cragen exclaimed, upon seeing the second flyer. It was, indeed, a second flyer, perhaps one hundred or so feet above the leader but slowly and steadily pursuing him. The figure seemed to glide along the lofty air currents, and sported a deathly red pair of wings, similar to the pairs that supported Casey and the leader. He drifted casually, but it was clear he was intent upon the leader, and maintained his distance out of prudence.
"Cragen, what the hell?" asked Fin, incredulous.
"Fin, don't even ask. This is beyond me, I don't even know how the Leader got in here to grab Casey in the first place." He shook his head, "I've seen more wild things in the last 24 hours than I've seen in my whole career."
Just then the red-winged figure drew in his broad wings and plummeted swiftly downward, breaking through the streams of air as he pelted toward the Leader. They were now so far away that they only appeared as small dots to Fin and Cragen, almost like birds. The red figure continued its dive, streaking through the sky so rapidly that he appeared to leave a trail of red flame behind him. The red flyer dove below the Leader and shot up again in an inverse parabola, colliding with the Leader from below with an accuracy that astounded the pair of observers.
This collision dislodged Casey from her carrier, and sent the three wildly thrashing about for a moment. They were now so distant that Cragen and Fin had a great deal of difficulty discerning what followed.
The Leader had noticed at the last moment his approaching enemy, but was unable to prepare for the impending impact, which sent him careening upwards. Casey was suspended perilously for a moment, but the red figure managed to embrace her and despite their chaotic movement restore his flight. The Leader was also able to reestablish himself in the air, but now the two were separated and Casey had changed hands.
The Leader let out a bitter cry, and made to overtake the red figure, but the latter dove yet again and made for the nearest rooftop. The red figure landed roughly but safely, and set Casey down against the far edge. She stirred gently but remained unconscious.
"I don't know who the hell you are but you're going to pay for that!" called the Leader menacingly.
The red figure turned and whipped his wings back which now surrounded him more like the cape of a warrior and said boldly, "if you want her, come and claim her!"
To this the Leader stripped himself of his backpack and wings and withdrew simultaneously two vicious looking knives that gleamed in the midday light of the sun. He slammed the blades together and they clanged threatening, but the red figure was undisturbed.
"Tell me," said Casey's protector, "at least tell me your name before you meet your doom."
"It is you whose doom is near!" spat the Leader, "and I don't see the need of telling my name to one who is about to die!" He ripped the knives apart, their blades screaming miserably. The awful sound aroused Casey, who know looked up in astonishment to see a man standing over her shrouded in a red flowing cape, but then slowly understanding dawned upon her face.
The Leader charged at the red figure, whose face was now devoid of jest and consumed by a grave focus. His left hand shot to his waist and titled the hilt of a previously hidden sword forward as his knees bent, and then he sprung forward to meet his adversary drawing the dark blade in a blaze.
The cold steel clashed like bitter lightning, and struggled against one another. Both the Leader's knives were crossed to parry the draw of the red figure's blade, and they held the deadlock grudgingly. Then the Leader leapt back and made to attack again, but the other was too swift and avoided it by lunging to the left and bringing his sword around in a fatal sweep that would have hewed the legs of he Leader had he not jumped. The leader's daggers came down with his body and met the resistance of the long sword, which caught them and threw them aside. The sword continued in a slashing arc backwards and then around to strip the cloth on the Leader's chest as he sprang backwards to avoid the full force of the blow.
The Leader let out a terrible cry more in rage than pain and whipped his right arm back, slinging it forward and releasing the knife to seek out the red figure's heart, but the red figure would not tolerate this treachery. With a cry that would have stilled a host of men he drew his sword forward in a terrible swing and sliced the opposing knife straight in two with a crack like thunder. The ruined pieces ricocheted across the rooftop and clattered about harmlessly.
"That was a poor move," mocked the red clad figure. "You're short a knife now and your fate is sealed."
"I don't need that knife to finish you," retorted the Leader in boorish obstinacy although he was clearly outmatched. "Your end is here!" he cried, rushing forward brandishing his knife.
The red clad figure leapt backwards dodging the attack with a swirl of his cape and rapped the flat of his blade against the Leader's arm, causing him to release his knife. The red figure then slammed the hilt of his sword into the Leader's stomach and shoved him backwards, holding his neck with the point of his sword.
"Now that our differences have been revealed why don't you tell us who exactly you are," he ordered decisively. The Leader mocked him in refusal, but before the red clad figure could press him there was an alarming crack and the Leader's body thrashed about, falling to the ground in a twisted heap and spilling blood and Easter eggs upon the concrete.
"Damn it Casey!" The red clad figure exclaimed, following the thin bullet trail back across the rooftops to the SVU precinct. "That hothead just can't keep still can he!" he said, referring to Elliot, who had just shot down the Leader from the window of Casey's office. "Well, never mind it, then, he probably wouldn't have told us anything anyways." He then ran over to where Casey was sitting, now curled up in a small ball.
"I told you I would come back sooner than you thought I would," he said, "are you okay?"
But then the door leading to the rooftop burst open and Fin, Munch and Olivia streamed out followed by a host of SWAT team agents and then Cragen himself.
"Whoa, whoa guys, it's all under control, your belligerent friend already took care of that one," the red clad figure said motioning to the Leader's collapsed form.
The SWAT team poured across the roof all the same and scoured it. Casey stood up now and was embraced by Olivia who had rushed straight towards her.
"Casey!" Olivia gasped, "I was so… I was so afraid for you," she sobbed into her shoulder.
"And I you," Casey said in return.
The red clad figure stood off to the side, and was approached by Munch, Fin and Cragen.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," said Cragen.
"Yeah man, that was sick," said Fin. "But, who the hell are you?"
"Me?" he responded quizzically. "Don't worry about me, I'll just be leaving now."
"Like hell you will!" Cragen objected. "You're coming back with us to answer some questions!"
"Err… right," he said backing up to the edge of the roof.
"Damn, son, at least tell us your name!" Fin insisted.
The red clad figure was now standing on the side of the building, and he sheathed his sword. His red cape flared about behind him. "My name," he said, and seemed to stopped for a minute to ponder the question. As he stood still he appeared abstrusely heroic as his cape billowed out behind him framing him against the massive silhouettes of the skyscrapers that stood behind him. "Just call me Lucretius," he finished suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to him. And with that he turned and leapt from the building, his wings simultaneously spreading out around him. Immediately he took flight and was soon borne between a pair of adjacent buildings and out of sight in a rush of red.
"Casey, who was that?" asked Munch.
"John!" Casey said happily, hugging him. "I thought you were stuffed up in the hospital!"
"Well I wouldn't miss a chance to save my favorite lawyer," he said, scratching his head, which caused his shirt to stretch and reveal the layers of bandages that were wrapped around his torso.
"Aww, how sweet of you! And, that was my brother."
"Your WHAT!" They all exclaimed in unison, thoroughly astounded. None knew Casey had a brother, and the thought that the red clad figure was related to her had never even entered their minds.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see him today though. And don't get mad that he ran off like that, if you took him in you might run into some trouble. I think the government is kind of… looking for him…" Casey trailed off.
Munch did a double take, as this registered with the compendium of conspiracies stored in his mind. "No way…"
"Hey, captain!" called one of the SWAT team agents, who was crouched over the lifeless body of the Leader. "You're going to want to see this!"
Cragen rushed over, followed by Fin and then Munch, who was slowly working out the implications of his new discovery. Only Olivia and Casey remained.
It was now Casey's turn to reciprocate the budding feelings Olivia had already expressed to her. She turned and moved to stand within an inch of Olivia's body.
"So…" she said, "what do you say the two of us make for an escape before Cragen remembers that I need to be checked out by a doctor."
Olivia murmured pleasantly, "I was hoping you would say that. It is Easter, and we could have our own little Easter celebration."
"Mmhm, that sounds wonderful," Casey said.
They then pressed their bodies together and enjoyed a short but sweet kiss. Then they hurried off the rooftop, Olivia leading and Casey eagerly asking if Olivia had her handcuffs with her and how close her apartment was.
Two miles away brooding Elliot Stabler sat back from the scope of his sniper, through which he had been observing the preceding affairs. He gave a whistle, and then said to himself, "well I guess I won't ask Kathy for that divorce after all."