Disclaimer: I don't own Law and Order: SVU. I just want to write stuff about the show.
Author's Note: Hello! This is my first SVU story ever. I usually write wrestling fanfiction, but I've been wanting to venture into SVU for a long, long time now. I've been working on the idea for the story for a while as well and I finally got what I wanted to put into the first chapter ready. It seems that many of the SVU episodes always feature someone trying to take Benson from Stabler, and rarely the other way around. I'm not saying that it hasn't happened the other way, but in most cases, you know? So, I figured I would write this. It's post Season 10... hmmm, what else to say? I don't know cop lingo as well as I probably should (considering I watch SVU any chance I get) so work with me. I'm writing best I can. And yeah... so that's pretty much it. The first chapter starts the story and I think some of you might just figure out who the person is by the end of it, if not, whatever. The person will be revealed within the next few chapters. So, yep. Please review (I love reading reviews). Enjoy!
Olivia Benson yawned as she grabbed her coffee off the Starbucks counter, throwing a quarter into the tip cup while she turned and walked toward the door. Normally, she wouldn't pay the two fifty for the manufactured drink and instead made her own cup at home, but she oddly had a craving for overpriced coffee that day.
The cold air whipped at her face when she opened the door, leaving the aroma of coffee grinds behind and the scent of New York City in its place. She shook her head at a bum sleeping near the door, his filthy hand clasping what seemed to be an empty bottle of Vodka. People looked down distastefully at the man as they walked by, but she only found pity. It could only take a few months to get that man a home and clean from what was probably an addiction to alcohol.
Benson flipped open her cell phone, checking the time. It was almost eight thirty, which meant she was already a half hour late getting to the station. She had called Cragen an hour before and alerted him that she overslept (probably the reason she felt the need for overpriced coffee that day). In her head, she imagined the workload and paperwork awaiting her at the large building. While most of their cases had cleared up in the past month, there was still a heavy amount of desk work that needed to be done. The only relief she found in that would be that the New York streets were just a little safer because of her.
In a few minutes time and driving, she pulled up in front of the station house and killed the engine to her car. She tossed her keys into her pocket and took a look at herself in the car mirror. Her make up was a little runny, probably because she rushed through it that morning, and her hair was a little flat – a problem she found a little too often.
"Oh well," she muttered, taking a sip of the hot coffee and opening the Special Victims Unit door. There was only a few seconds of silence before she was met with the daily chaos of her job. Scattered around the upper office, some civilians were telling police reports to other cops while Fin and Munch were sipping their own coffee and chatting by one of the windows.
Munch looked up when Olivia dropped her bag near the foot of her desk. His strange expression puzzled her. "What?" she demanded. "I know I don't look my best, but do I look that bad?"
He shook his head. "You look fine," he said, rolling his eyes at Fin. "Where's Stabler?"
"I don't know," she answered. "Where's Stabler?"
Fin explained, "He said he was getting a ride to work with you. I found it pretty strange that you were both late this morning."
"Elliot didn't get a ride with me," she countered. "I haven't spoken to him since last night when I left. When did he say this?"
"Like an hour ago," Munch spoke. "Did you check your phone? Damn technology probably didn't tell you that he called."
"I checked my phone," Olivia muttered. She pressed her brain for a conversation where she said she would be picking up Elliot for work that day. What happened to his car? She asked that question.
The two partners shrugged.
"Let me call him," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "I don't know what the hell happened, but he never told me to pick him up." Quickly, she pulled out her cell and hit the speed dial button number four. It rang several times and then went straight to voicemail. Slowly, she closed her phone. "Voicemail… that's odd."
At that moment, Cragen came into the room, wearing an expression of annoyance, seeing his detectives not at work. "What's going on?"
"Stabler isn't here."
"Well, where is he?" Don asked, folding his arms. "He's nearly an hour late."
The detectives filled their Captain in on what had happened over the last ten minutes or so. He seemed confused as Olivia did when the story was over. Cragen sighed. "Liv, go check up on him. Maybe he's got a flat tire or something. Just try to be back soon, okay? You've got enough paperwork to sink the Titanic!"
About a half hour later, Benson pulled up in front of Elliot's house and saw his work car still parked in the driveway. She once more shut off her own car and closed the door. She made her way up the long driveway, noticing that Kathy's car was also still in the driveway. Then, with a frown, she walked up to the steps and saw that the door was open. Before she could control herself, she gasped and feared the worst.
Quietly, she opened the door a little and pulled out her gun, stepping inside. An awful feeling of dread came over her as she stepped inside and closed the door, finding the living room empty. Inching forward, she saw something that nearly made her heart drop in her chest. There seemed to be what could be considered a blood trail leading toward the kitchen.
The normally bright and airy kitchen taunted her darkly as she inched forward, checking the house as she went, her hand firmly on her gun. As she came into the kitchen, once more she had to swallow a gasp. On the floor was Kathy, her head covered in blood.
"Kathy," she choked out, dropping to the floor. She pulled out her cell phone and called 911. "Yes, I'm Detective Olivia Benson from Manhattan SVU and I've got a cop's wife down. I need a bus." She quickly gave the address and felt for a pulse on Kathy's neck. It was surprisingly strong.
She changed her footing and got up, looking around the house. She didn't want to leave Kathy but she wasn't sure if Elliot's kids were still in the house or instead in school and safe. Olivia got to her feet and pulled the gun closer to her, searching the dining room quickly and then made her way up the stairs. In only a few minutes she deemed the house safe and went back down to Kathy.
"Wake up," she muttered, seeing that Kathy looked as if she was hit with a blunt object, even though a weapon wasn't in sight. "Come on, Kathy, wake up…"
"Hmmm, what?" Kathy's eyes flickered but it was obvious to Detective Benson that she was not really awake. Before she could reply to her however, the paramedics arrived, as did her own squad, which she had called shortly after calling for help.
"Where's Stabler?" Munch boomed, coming into the house with Fin.
"Elliot," Olivia whispered, almost forgetting. "Elliot, oh God… where is Elliot?"
Fin was quick to comfort the scared detective. "Try to relax. Munch called the schools on the way here. All their kids are safe and Eli is at the sitters already. I'm sure Elliot is fine."
"Where is he though?" Benson muttered. "Kathy was assaulted and he's no where to be found."
"Do you think he did it?" Munch wondered.
"Stabler's a head case," Fin said, showing the tension that was still sometimes displayed by the two, "But he wouldn't do something like this and we all know it."
There was a brief silence before Munch called out, "Hey, Liv, I got something! Come look at this."
She wandered over to where Munch was, hovered over the Stabler computer. On the screen was an open document and in bright, red letters was the following:
Dear Liv,
Careful who you cross. See what happened to Kathy? Well, if you don't play your cards right, Elliot will end up much, much worse. And we all know you don't want to see that, do you? So here is the game. You have 24 hours to find Elliot, or I'll kill him. You get one phone call for help. Let's hope you find this message before noon, or else the call is off the table. Good luck, Liv. I'll be watching.
Payback's a Bitch
"Liv, look."
"What?" Her entire body was shaking. Someone took Elliot… someone was possibly hurting Elliot.
She turned her gaze to what Munch was staring at: Elliot's cell phone. It was vibrating. She grabbed it with her gloved hand and stared at it for a moment. If Elliot was in danger, she would not waste her one phone call. Munch nodded at her and whispered, "Answer."
"Hello?"
"Why hello, Liv."
"Who is this?" The voice was disguised with some kind of voice box.
"That's not important, Liv."
"Let me talk to Elliot," she growled. "Now."
"Relax, Liv. First you listen, you hear?"
Olivia looked at the team searching Elliot's home. One was setting up to trace the call she was receiving. She knew she had to keep this person on the line for at least five minutes so the machine could calibrate and then find the person calling.
Liv swallowed, "I'm listening."
"Payback is a bitch, isn't it, Liv? You think you can prance around as an almighty cop and never get away with anything. You know you do. We all know it. But what happens when you're suddenly no longer in control. It's time you find out. You've already got enough clues to last you. This is all you get."
The person trying to trace the call glared at her, as if to say "keep them on the line".
"Wait," she said. "I want to speak to Elliot."
"Elliot?" the person chuckled. "Oh. Yeah, him. Well, let's just say, he's a little busy right now." There was silence then a loud, muffled scream.
"ELLIOT!" Benson screamed, her heart racing. "ELLIOT!"
"Goodbye, Liv," the person said and the line went dead.
"SHIT!" she yelled, slamming her hand down on the table. "Did you get the location?"
The man sighed. "We could only zero in on Manhattan."
"So, basically… not much help." Benson sighed as well.
Munch put his arm around her shoulder. "Let's get back to the station and fill Cragen in. We need to start on this right away. Don't worry, Liv. We'll find him."
I hope the chapter hooked some people to the story. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Review!