Memories that Live On
AN: Here is Chapter 2 I hope you all enjoy! Please read and review so that I know I've got someone intrigued.
What was that noise? Was that ringing? Olivia thought as she began to stir from the nap that she was thoroughly enjoying. As she began to become more aware of her surroundings she did indeed discover that it was indeed ringing that she was hearing. Someone was attempting to reach her. She quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes with one hand while the other reached to pick up the phone of the receiver and bring a stop to the incessant ringing.
She cleared her throat before beginning with her trademark "Benson." as she began to prepare herself for the lashing or horrific description of a crime that she was normally welcomed with in the mornings. That of course was if she was lucky enough not to be on the phone with Deputy Chief Dodds, she was beginning to think that the man enjoyed putting her through the ringer even more than Tucker did.
Thinking back to when she first joined SVU she never thought that she would reach this point. She never thought that she would be in a position of authority. In fact she had never imagined any of this. It never occurred to her that Elliot would leave her the way that he had. Never in a million years did she think that she would've stayed. She never thought that she could respect another man as her partner like she did Nick Amaro. She never thought that she could've survived what she overcame last year. She had walked through the fire, but like a phoenix she had risen from the ashes stronger than ever, destined to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep living.
"Hey Liv, its Erin. Did I wake you?" the young detective asked as she slowly began to feel even guiltier than she already felt. She woke a woman who she had come to admire from her dream only to bring her the news of a living nightmare, her living nightmare.
Olivia had been having a nice dream. She had dreamed of Brian as they had gone to an adoption agency for the last time to sign for custody of their little girl, but Olivia saw that there was no point in relaying that Detective Lindsay at the moment. "No- um you're fine Erin. Something I can help you with? Don't tell me Voight misses me already," Olivia said with a laugh as she remembered the playful banter he and Voight had grown accustom to during their meetings.
Erin smiled and let out a remorseful sigh, knowing that her next words would bring an end to the laughing. "Liv, I – you should sit down." She said dejectedly. Erin felt as though her throat was closing up at the very thought of her next words.
"There's a case here in Chicago that raised some flags in California and New York." Another pause as Erin attempted to form the words that she knew would ignite a fire.
"There was a case that you tagged that seemed to match the M.O of our perp here, but seeing as how you were on the case I thought it best to get your opinion before continuing to investigate my theory."
"You know Erin taking into consideration the fact that we have worked together on multiple occasions, you seem to very nervous in your approach. Lay it on me I promise I don't bite." Olivia bit her lip. She figured that Erin was struggling to talk to her because of what happened to Nadia, but the multiple moments of silence that Erin was taking and the amount of apprehension in her voice, Olivia was starting to worry.
"I-
"Is everything okay? You've been through a lot lately. If you need someone to talk I'm here I'll listen," Olivia said in an attempt to easy the young detective's fear.
"I'm fine, it's you I'm worried about to be honest." Erin said hoping that the woman was in the dark about her most recent actions. Sitting back at her desk in intelligence she physically trembled as she remembered how bad she let things get.
Olivia paused for a moment wondering why on earth Erin would be worrying about her. Olivia wasn't the one that just lost a friend in a horrific way. Yes, Yates had brought up memories of Lewis but- Olivia paused as she played back the conversation she was having with the detective. The "you better sit down speech" the nervousness and apprehension it all made sense. No! She forced her not to go there. She forced herself to reason that this case wasn't related, after all Lewis was dead. He couldn't hurt her anymore, or anyone for that matter. She told herself that she was just being paranoid, but then again it was that exact thought that ran through her mind in that moment when she hesitated to reach for her gun.
"What do mean detective?" Olivia asked slowly hoping that she was in fact just being paranoid.
"Olivia this case that we are working on we came across I think this guy might be a copycat. The details and aspects of the crime seem to coincide perfectly with a case you worked two years ago. The vic was tortured, beaten, and raped. The son of a bitch left her for dead..." Another pause.
Olivia took a deep breath as she prepared herself for what she knew was coming next.
"Olivia I think that our copycat might be mimicking the patterns of William Lewis." Erin finally bit out. There it was, out in the open, the fear of what had been plaguing her all night.
"Is the victim alive?" Olivia asked, praying to God that the poor woman was.
"Yeah she survived. Thank God. She's currently in the ICU at Chicago Med, but the doctors are hopeful that she will heal." Erin said, hoping that the prospect of the victim being alive would comfort the older detective.
"Physically," Olivia muttered partially under her breath.
"What?" Erin asked.
Olivia sighed slightly annoyed by the young detective even though she hadn't meant to be. At this point in time Olivia could care less about reigning in her emotions at the expense of protecting feelings. "I said physically. She will be ok physically, but mentally she won't be ok for some time. She will never be the same." Olivia finished, not sure if by then she was talking about the victim or herself.
"Olivia I'm so sorry. I was hoping that I was wrong and that I wouldn't have to call you, but by the looks of it I'm not. I completely understand if you don't want to immerse yourself into this investigation. Hell, I didn't want to take this case because-"Erin swallowed as she felt her mouth grow dry as she prepared to speak her name. "This case reminded me so much of what happened to Nadia. But Liv I could really use your help with this one."
"Did the victim say anything?" Oliva asked. There was no way that she wasn't going to be on the case. If there was a copycat they would undoubtedly need her to decipher which details belonged to Lewis and what details belonged to their perp. That was the thing about copycats. No matter how well they tried to imitate the person they were copying there was always something that didn't quite fit.
"Yeah she said that he kept saying one move lights out every time she started to give him a difficult time. Apparently he told her not to worry that he wasn't going to kill her, but by the time he was done she would wish that she was dead." Erin said wondering if any of those details either further confirmed her suspicions or not.
"Anything else?" Olivia asked as it slowly became harder and harder to keep the memories that were trying to force themselves into the forefront of her mind at bay.
"The son of a bitch left a message on the wall. I think he's taunting us- or you. Does the phrase its coming baby mean anything to you or Lewis?" Erin asked.
"How original." Olivia said sardonically. "Lewis would say that whenever I taunted him. Whenever I was trying to get in his head by emasculating him he would "reassure" me with the promise that it was coming." Olivia took a deep breath. There was no denying that this guy was definitely copying William Lewis.
"So-
"I'm on my way Erin. I will be on the next flight out to Chicago. Does Voight know about this?" Olivia asked hesitantly.
"No I thought that I should talk to you first before taking it to Voight." Erin said, happy that the thought had crossed her mind earlier that morning.
"Ok good. Has anyone else seen the file on William Lewi?" Olivia asked. Hoping that the information contained inside that file had not made its way around the entire precinct. She really did not feel like being on the receiving end of the pity train today.
"No. Just me." Erin said hoping to provide the woman with even the slightest bit of ease.
"Is my file attached?" Olivia asked although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer to the question that she was asking.
"Yes." Erin already knew where this conversation was headed and she had no qualms with keeping it under wraps until Olivia was ready.
"Do me a favor and keep that file and its contents to yourself for the time being. Go ahead and fill the team in on Lewis, but if they ask about me tell them that the victim is a jane doe and that you are working on getting her to come forward. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to open this can of worms again just yet." Olivia asked even though she was certain that the young detective would abide by her wishes.
"Of course. This is your story to tell not mine. Just open up to them when you're ready ok?" Erin said.
"Thank you. Erin before I let you go I want you to know that if you need anyone to talk to I'm here. I know this case must be rough on you." Olivia said gently remembering that the young detective had been the victim of a psychopath's sick mind games recently too that had resulted in her losing someone that she cared about.
Erin smiled and couldn't stop the water that began to fill her eyes as she remembered Nadia and realized that even though Olivia was battling her own demons she still took the time to make sure that those around her were doing ok.
"Yeah Liv I'm ok let's just catch this son of a bitch." Erin said as she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. She knew that if any of her coworkers saw her crying that she would be screwed and that they would start to hover again, and that was the last thing that she wanted.
"Ok. See you soon. We're going to get him. Trust me I'm a magnet when it comes to psychopaths" Olivia said sarcastically even though she knew the statement was more or less true.
Erin laughed softly at the small joke and frowned. "Me too," she thought to herself.
"See ya soon Liv." She finally said as she was finally able to form a coherent thought let alone a sentence, and with that the sergeant hung up and the phone went dead. Erin sat there for a moment letting the phone drop to the desk. This was going to be hell, she thought.
Olivia sat at her desk for a moment while she attempted to collect her thoughts. Lewis was alive and kicking once again inside her head as she found herself being the target of yet another sick psychopath.
Olivia didn't know how long it was until she finally stood and collected her things as she made her way to the bullpen.
"Fin, Rollins! Pack your stuff and gather anything and everything that we have on William Lewis. We're going to Chicago." Olivia said as she took her coat off the rack.
Fin looked up alarmed. William Lewis? Chicago? Oh hell this is big, he thought. He looked at Amanda to see if she had any clue what was going on and was surprised to see that she didn't look shocked at all.
"Why are we gathering information on William Lewis? He's dead. Why are we going to Chicago?" Finn asked even though he had a feeling he knew.
Olivia closed the door to her office and locked it before turning around to respond.
"Because Finn, they have a beast of their own that is loose."
AN: Please leave your comments and opinions and let me know what you think and if I should continue. Also if there is anyone out there who would like to be my beta please message me and let me know.