This story takes place during the episode Ghost. Picks up right after Alex and Casey's meeting in Casey's office. Things went...a little differently. I've had this story in mind for awhile and I promise it will be good! Told from Alex's POV. There are some graphic scenes. And of course I don't own SVU or Casey or Alex. I'm just playing with them for awhile.

The first thing I am aware of when I open my eyes is that I have a splitting headache. I open my eyes slowly and find myself staring up at a stark white ceiling.

I sit up quickly, my head spinning. A mild panic starts to rise up in me when I realize I don't know where I am. I'm sitting on a twin size mattress on the floor. No sheets, the mattress is stained a yellowish color from age.

I look around frantically. There is another mattress on my other side, and someone is laying on it asleep, their shoulders rising and falling with sleep. Their back is to me but the clothing is vaguely familiar.

There is nothing else in the room except a small open door to the left. No windows. I get up quickly and run to the open door. My legs feel heavy and I almost fall down in my haste.

It's a bathroom. A small old dirty sink, a grimy bathtub and a toilet. 2 towels folded on the countertop. Nothing else.

I quickly exit the bathroom and go over to the other mattress, kneeling down. It's then I realize why the clothing was familiar; it's Casey Novak.

My mind spins, trying to remember the last thing I can. We were in Casey's office prepping my testimony for Liam Connors' trail. And then I woke up here. I remember nothing after that.

"Casey," I whisper quietly, gently shaking her awake. "Hey, wake up."

She blinks her eyes open and sits up, seemingly in the same condition I am. She scans the room and then stands up quickly. "What the hell..."

"I don't know," I answer, standing as well. "Do you remember anything?"

She looks at me, blinking rapidly and shakes her head. "No. We were talking. Antonio had just left..."

"That's the last thing I remember too."

What in the world has happened? We were in one of the safest buildings in New York, Olivia and Elliot had been outside in the hallway and so was there my handler. Were we abducted? If so, how? Who did it and how did they get away with it?

"Your nose is bleeding," Casey suddenly says, and I instinctively reach up with the back of my hand. Sure enough there's dried blood. Was I hit? My nose doesn't hurt at all.

Casey moves to the heavy metal door and tries in vain to open it. I stand there and watch, not sure what to do. For the first time in my life I'm not in control of a situation and I'm at a loss as to what to do.

"I wouldn't make too much noise," I tell her, not exactly sure why really. If someone is holding us captive I guess I'm in no hurry to alert them to the fact that we are awake.

Casey looks at me but doesn't say anything. I watch her go into the little bathroom and I let all the scenarios dance through my mind. Is this someone from the drug cartel? Why would they take us both?

Casey comes out of the bathroom. "We have to figure out what is going on and get out of here. This is serious."

I look around. That's easier said than done. The large heavy metal door which is locked from the outside is the only way out. There are no windows or vents in which to escape.

"I'm well aware how serious this is, but I'm not sure what we can do."

I don't know Casey - I know nothing about her except that she was hired to replace me from White Collar Crimes. I did a little research on her before returning to New York, just to see who I was going to be dealing with. I've known her less than two days but she seems a very driven and determined person.

I don't know how much time passes, but we barely speak to each other. We're both lost in our own thoughts. I'm sitting cross legged on the stained mattress I woke up on and Casey has been pacing around the room as if looking for any possible route to escape.

She calls to me from the bathroom and when I enter to see what she wants, she's holding onto the dirty lid of the toilet tank. She pulls it upwards quite hard. "Help me get this off. It's bolted but they are rusted. We can get it off."

"Why?"

"It's the heaviest thing in here. We can use it as a weapon." She struggles with it for a few more minutes before shooting me another look. "Help me with it."

I still don't move. I'm tired and dizzy and in shock and not able to function.

"Alex! Help me!"

I finally snap out of it and crouch down down to where I can get a good hold on the lid. It's so dirty that it makes me cringe but I figure that is the least of our problems right now.

It takes us about a half hour to get the lid off. The rusted bolts don't give easily and Casey cuts her hands trying to pry the lid off. Plus I'm not very strong, so I figure my assistance doesn't amount to much. Casey however is very determined to get it off and when it finally comes off she falls backwards with it. Given a different situation it would be humorous, but neither of us are in the mood for humor right now.

I peer into the open tank of the toilet and wrinkle my nose. The water is discolored and has an odor. I wonder if the toilet even works and if so, would I even want to use it?

Suddenly we hear the large metal door being opened. It startles us both and we both look at each other and run back out into the main room. I sit back down on my mattress and Casey sits back on hers. I see her slide the lid under the side of her mattress. She looks at me again. I wonder if I have the same look of panic and fear in my eyes that Casey has in hers.

The door opens to reveal two men. Both appear to be in their mid thirties and I don't recognize either. I'm assuming Casey doesn't either, as I'm sure she would have vocalized it if she knew them. They are both clean cut; one is dressed is tight blue jeans with longer brown hair and the other has black jeans and short cropped black hair.

"Well, hello Miss Novak and Miss Cabot. I see our guests are awake."

So they do know us. They know us both.

"Where are we? What are you going to do with us?" Casey finds her voice before I do.

"That depends on you," black jeans says. "If you're cooperative and good we will give you everything you need and your stay here will be pleasant. If you aren't...well, let's just say we have the means to make sure you're pretty miserable."

I don't get scared easily or often but I'm terrified right now. I can feel myself starting to shake and I wrap my arms around my knees to keep the shakes at bay. I don't want these men or Casey to see how frightened I am.

"Where are we?" Casey repeats. "What do you want from us? If you're looking for money - "

"You'll know when the time is right," this time blue jeans answers. "You don't need to know any more, except that you'd better cooperate."

"You won't get away with this," Casey says defiantly. "You obviously know who we are. And I'm sure you know who is already looking for us. It would be in your best interest to let us go."

Black jeans steps forward menacingly and my blood runs cold. He steps in front of Casey's mattress and says, "and it's in your best interest to shut your mouth immediately."

I look at Casey and try to tell her to shut up, that now is not the time to test these men. She's doing us more harm than good by challenging them.

"If you think we are just going to let you do this to us, you have another thing coming," Casey tells him, looking him straight in the eyes. Blue jeans steps forward now and reaches out and grabs Casey's arm.

I look away. Whatever is going to happen, I don't want to see it.

It all happens so quickly. I hear one of the men shout out and when I turn my head back around I see Casey on her feet with the lid on her hands. Blue jeans stumbles away from her mattress, holding his head in his hands. I see blood dripping out between his hands and I know without a doubt that she hit him. Unfortunately not hard enough to knock him out.

I quickly get to my feet too, knowing I need to do something to help but not knowing what that something is. Casey grips the lid tightly and she swings back to hit black jeans this time but he is too quick and grabs it before she can hit him. He's swearing at her, calling her every name he can think of while he struggles to get the lid away from her. When he finally does he throws it at the door and I have to move out of the way to avoid getting hit.

"You bitch," he rasps, out of breath from the struggle. He has Casey restrained and blue jeans is coming to. When he takes his hands from his face I notice one side is all blood, obstructing his eye. She got him good.

"You are going to pay for this. Really pay for this."

They both take one of her arms and start dragging her towards the door. She's fighting all the way, trying to kick them and squirm away but it's to no avail; they have her tight.

I eye the lid lying by the door and wonder if I have enough time to grab it and hit them. I can't just sit there and watch this happen.

I quickly jump to my feet and rush towards the toilet lid. Black jeans holds one hand up and says, "You even pick that up and you will get what she's about to get."

I'm willing to take my chances if it means us getting out of here.

I make a desperate grab for the lid but before I can grab it black jeans has released his grip on Casey and he pushes me out of the way. I loose my balance and fall backwards onto my butt and watch helplessly as he grabs the toilet lid.

I flinch away, fully expecting him to hit me with it as hard as he can. Instead he holds onto it tightly and turns to his cohort, who has Casey pressed up against the wall and is holding her there.

"What do you want to do to her?"

"This one?" Blue jeans grunts, fresh blood running down his face. He knees Casey in the back and she flinches but doesn't stop fighting him.

"No - blondie here."

"Get her up. Make her watch. Teach her to keep her mouth shut."

Both men laugh evilly as black jeans roughly pulls me to my feet. He pulls a phone from his back pocket and hits a speed dial, holding me tightly with his other hand. "Yeah. Bring Matilda." I hear a voice on the other end but can't make out what it's saying.

If I could only twist around and grab the phone...I'm so close. But if I fail I know they will most likely beat us to death with the toilet lid. Is it worth the risk?

Casey finally stops fighting and falls to her knees, blue jeans still holding onto her. I don't know if she ran out of strength or if he was hurting her.

A few minutes later I hear the metal door opening again. Black jeans moves me out of the way and tightens his grip on me, as if he's afraid I'll try and run out the door. The possibility crossed my mind briefly.

A man dressed in black enters. He has a black ski mask obstructing his face, a black hoodie drawn down over his head. For some reason it's important we don't see his face. Why? Why do the other two not disguise themselves?

Then it occurs to me; what if one of us - or both of us - know this person? The thought sends a shiver down my spine.

He says nothing; just looks at me and then Casey and moves forward to hand black jeans the object he had in his hand, the object I couldn't make out until now. It's a whip.

I feel my stomach drop to my feet when I realize what they are about to do.

Blue jeans suddenly lets go of Casey. "Stand up - and take your shirt off."

I start to object, but black jeans and the man in black hold me back tightly.

Casey stands up and faces black jeans. She shakes her head and he repeats his request again. This time Casey says, "fuck you."

Blue jeans didn't like that answer. He takes the whip and snaps it in his hands and it makes me stiffen, anticipating what we're about to get.

"Take your shirt off now, or I'll kill both of you."

I know he means it. He is certainly capable, and there are certainly enough of them to make sure the job is done.

But I don't want her to do it. I don't want her to give in to them. "Casey - no! Don't do it!" I don't want to watch them hit her with that whip, and I don't want to be hit with it either.

Casey shoots me an apologetic look and then slowly takes her shirt off. I object again, and black jeans knees me in the stomach. The sudden pain startles me.

Blue jeans nods in triumph. He instructs Casey to kneel, which she does. I close my eyes and try to turn away, but the men hold me tight.

It's hard to put into words the next few minutes. Blue jeans whips Casey repeatedly, and I have to squeeze my eyes closed once I see blood. I can't watch this. Casey is screaming for him to stop but he doesn't. The sound of the whip connect to flesh is a sound I will never forget.

When he is finished he tells black jeans and the man in black to let go of me. I stumble to the floor, crying in panic, expecting the same torture that Casey got.

He kneels down to my level, forcing my back against the wall. My breath is hitching in my throat and I'm absolutely terrified. He takes my arm and squeezes hard, making me winch.

"Let that be a lesson - don't step out of line. Don't try anything stupid. We're in control here - not you."

Then all three of them leave the room, the sound of the heavy metal door closing and locking behind them making me jump. And then the only sounds I hear are my panicked breathing and Casey crying.