Chapter two, quicker than I expected! Hooray for me!
It was 4:09 AM when Elliot rushed into the1-6 in his NYPD sweats and a t-shirt, his untied shoelaces tipping against the floor in his movements. Cragen paced in front of his office, where two middle-aged, well-built FBI agents stood gravelly, flanking a tired but anxious looking John sitting in the chair across from Cragen's desk. Elliot hurried over and opened his mouth to speak, but the captain held up his hand to cut him off, waving him inside. He continued to pace outside the door as Fin bolted around the corner, worry etched across his face. Casey and Huang came close behind and they we all herded into Cragen's office, the door shut soundly behind them.
"What happened?" Elliot demanded as soon as they were all situated inside. "What happened to Olivia?"
One of the federal agents, Agent Jimson according to his badge, coughed under Elliot's intense glare and smoothed his tie before speaking. "Detective Benson, under the codename "Persephone Free James" was caught in the blast of the Eco-terrorist group EDG's "nature-friendly" explosives as they carried out their plan to demolish a clothing factory that used real animal fur instead of the synthetic faux fur most companies use." Shock reverberated through the room. Casey covered her mouth and her eyes filled with tears while George stuffed his hands in his pockets and retreated to the blind-covered windows, resting his forehead against the wooden paneling; Munch buried his face in his hands and Cragen plopped in his chair; Fin clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, but Elliot did nothing. He was stunned to the very core. His lips moved but no sound came until, finally, "How?"
The second government worker, Agent Bailey, stepped forward. "We don't have the information as of now, that rests with Agent Lewis. She'll be arriving via air with Detective Benson at 0700 hours. They'll be taking her to St. Vincent's where she'll be stabilized and be submitted to any procedures or treatments they deem necessary."
The phone broke through the stunned silence and Cragen picked up and answered with a snappish, "Hello?" He listened for a few minutes, nodding and muttering affirmations before bidding a short goodbye and dropping the phone in its cradle. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back as he exhaled. "That was Star," he said solemnly. "They've just taken off. She said she'll call again when they've landed."
"Where are they that it's going to take them that long to get her back here?" Fin asked, pacing in short, angry steps behind John's chair.
Don sighed. "I can't say."
"The hell you can't!" Elliot bit out vehemently. "What's Olivia doing that's got her around explosives and Eco-terrorists?"
The first federal officer stood firmly in front of Elliot, a frown creasing his already lined face. "That's really none of your business Detective," he replied, his tone much too condescending for the situation. The others must have thought so too, because Cragen pushed himself to his feet, Casey and George stepped forward, and John and Fin flanked their friend, who was staring down the FBI agent with an icy intensity, the vein in his jaw pulsing rapidly in his anger.
"You bet your confidential ass it's my business, Special Agent Jimson. That's my partner, my friend. I haven't seen her for months, now you tell me where she's coming from and why she was there." Elliot was shuddering with suppressed rage, and his blue eyes burned with a fire that hadn't been seen very often since Olivia had gone without a word.
"Elliot," Cragen said wearily. "Back off."
Breathing heavily, Elliot stepped back and was gathered into the circle of friends behind him. They continued to glare at the out-of-line agent, who smirked but said no more, merely turning to Cragen and handing him a standard blue folder.
"In here are the badges you'll need to get in to see Detective Benson," he began, nodding to his partner and heading towards the door. "As you know, Agent Lewis will be in touch." And with that they were gone, leaving the door open wide behind them.
Silence reigned as they struggled to deal with the load of bad news dumped on them when at the worst possible moment, Olivia's replacement Dani Beck sauntered in, a cheery smile on her face. "Hey all," she greeted them. "What's going on in here?" Their eyes cut to her, speaking volumes of things she couldn't understand. "Um…bad time?"