3
Elliot was frustrated and impatient. They didn't have a single clue to go on. There had been no prints on her phone besides hers and of course his own, no clues on the ground and no one in the area admitted to seeing or hearing a single thing. She had apparently just vanished into the night without a single trace. It had been almost sixteen hours now since he'd found her phone. Time was slipping away fast and they were no closer to finding her.
Munch came in with another cup of coffee, which Elliot accepted gratefully. He could see the worry etched onto his colleague's face. They had all worked in this office for far too long and they were all painfully aware that things weren't looking terribly good. For all they knew she could already be dead. It wasn't something any of them wanted to consider, but eventually they may have to. It was hard to force all the images of the end results of previous abductions they had dealt with from their minds. There was always the chance though that they could reach the victim in time and Elliot clung on to this hope. If he didn't, he knew he would break down.
He stared at the photo of him and Kathy on his desk. He missed her. He hadn't been home since Olivia had been taken and there was no way he was leaving until he found her. He still longed for normality though: the alternate universe where his partner and best friend was safe. It suddenly hit him just how much of a void her disappearance had left. Staring at her empty desk he could almost hear one of the frustrated sighs she would let out subconsciously as she ploughed through her paperwork. She would flick her hair out of her eyes and he'd sneak a glance at her, briefly entertaining the thought that had he never met Kathy and got married….
These thoughts scared him though. He was married. He loved his family and he would never do anything to destroy that. He knew he felt maybe a little more than he should towards Olivia but he was determined to translate it into friendship. It was understandable that being partners they would grow close. He thought of her as family. He would do anything for her, just as he would for one of his kids or his wife. As he acknowledged his feelings, he felt the determination run through him. She was out there alone, suffering goodness knows what horrors while he was sitting there reminiscing. He needed to do something. He decided he would go back to the crime scene again. Maybe they had missed something? Maybe a witness would come forward? It had to be better than sitting in the office twiddling his thumbs. He stood and went to grab his coat.
...
Elliot returned a few hours later feeling deflated. He had found no further clues or information and the frustration and despair were threatening to overwhelm him. He felt the familiar ripple of anger running through his body as he forced himself to sit in his chair rather than start smashing everything in sight. He noted that the others kept a safe distance, recognising his mood and need for space as a result of years of working together. His boss, however, felt less compulsion towards accommodating his emotional outbursts.
"Elliot!" he called from the doorway of his office.
"Yes, Captain," Elliot replied reluctantly.
"Can you get in here for a minute?"
With an expression like thunder on his face, Elliot stomped over towards his superior's office and slipped inside, only just refraining from slamming the door behind him.
"What's up Captain?" he asked.
"Anything?" Cragen asked, ignoring his junior's questionable attitude.
"No, absolutely nothing," Elliot replied sullenly. "How can she have just disappeared like that? She's a cop? She would have done something surely, anything to give us a hint as to where she was?"
Cragen didn't reply. He didn't think Elliot was quite ready to deal with the fact that the likelihood was high that she had been incapacitated and had been physically unable to leave them any clues when she had been taken. He watched as Elliot sank defeated into one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Maybe it's time to start searching for a body?" said Elliot heavily.
Cragen looked at him sharply. He had already decided that hours ago, but Elliot admitting it now was significant. Up until this point he had been convincing himself that they'd find her alive. It seemed now he'd given up.
"There's still a chance," Cragen said soberly, "But I have already ordered searches of nearby parks and abandoned buildings.
"Right, of course," said Elliot dejectedly.
"Look, it's been a long day. You should go upstairs and get a couple of hours."
"As if I could really sleep!" replied Elliot quietly. He was too subdued to even get angry at the suggestion.
"All the same, you should try and lie down for a while."
"Maybe in a bit," replied Elliot.
Just then the phone rang, giving Elliot the perfect excuse to leave. He got to his feet and started towards the door. He turned to nod at his Captain, but stopped in his tracks as Cragen started gesturing frantically at him.
"You want to speak to Elliot Stabler?" Cragen said pointedly, his tone immediately giving Elliot hope that it had something to do with Olivia's disappearance. "Just a moment…" He handed the phone receiver over.
Elliot took the phone and raised it to his ear nervously.
"Stabler," he said gruffly, hoping his voice wouldn't give away the fear that had gripped him.
"She's alive… for now," an unsettling male voice echoed back at him. The relief hitting him immediately, Elliot immediately stood up straighter and beckoned for a pen. Cragen was already on it and thrust the pen and pad into his detective's free hand.
"Who is this?" Elliot asked, knowing that it was vital to get this guy talking as much as possible.
"All in good time," replied the caller. "Just stand by. You will be contacted." The caller hung up.
Elliot and Cragen locked glances in a brief moment of combined concern and relief.
"She's alive!" Elliot repeated, suddenly realising his knees felt shaky.
"A kidnapping?" asked Cragen. "What do they want?"
"They didn't say, just that they'd contact us again soon."
Cragen led the way out of his office and informed his team of the call they had just received.
"I'm on it," said Munch almost unnecessarily, referring to the standard call trace that he would now attempt to carry out. Elliot heaved another sigh of relief. Contact in any form was a huge positive step. It meant she was more than likely going to be kept alive and that her safe release was potentially negotiable. It was now just a matter of time. Hopefully the call trace would reveal something helpful, although something told Elliot that they weren't dealing with amateurs here. All the same they finally had something to go on. Now it was just a case of working out who had her, why and how they could go about getting her back?
...
Olivia moaned. Her body was hot and aching. The pain in her head, shoulders and bruised hand seemed to be getting worse. Her throat was dry and she needed to pee so badly that she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold out. She barely even noticed the sound of the door being unlocked and the person entering the room, coming down the stairs and heading towards where she lay. She started when she felt someone touching her head and roughly removing the blind fold. She immediately winced as even the dim light hurt her eyes after being in the dark for so long. She was able to make out that there was a man standing there and that she didn't recognise him at all. He certainly wasn't the man who had been in the car, or at least she didn't remember him anyway. She couldn't rule out the possibility that the drugs had negatively affected her memory though. He lifted her head up slightly and placed a small cup of water to her lips. Despite her repulsion at being in such a vulnerable situation, she gulped it gratefully, some water spilling down her chin.
"Slowly." he instructed her. Embarrassed at her helplessness, but wanting the water more, she complied, sipping the water carefully until she finished the whole cup.
"You're burning up" said the man, with a slight touch of annoyance apparent in his voice. It seemed his prisoner being sick was not something he had been prepared for.
"If you promise not to try anything silly, I will untie you," he offered. He must have taken pity on her.
Her arms aching, Olivia promised and she meant it. Anything to be free of the torturous position she was currently being kept in. To be honest she didn't think she had the strength to resist anyway. The man gently untied her hands and then helped her to sit up. He rubbed her arms for her, ignoring her flinch at his touch, allowing the blood to flow properly again. He grunted with disapproval as he inspected her hand more closely.
"Idiots," he snarled. "I told them not to hurt you; just to bring you here".
"Why?" whispered Olivia, cradling her injured hand, but glad to feel the blood in her finger tips again.
"That's my business," replied the man harshly. Olivia looked into his eyes and saw a glint of hardness in them. There was no emotion. Was he a sociopath? She inwardly shivered, wondering what fate these people were planning for her. For now she would do her best to try and stall for time, which would hopefully give the guys enough time to find her before it was too late. She was pretty sure that a rescue was the only way she was coming out of this alive. There was just something about this man that screamed ruthlessness. He seemed the type to take what he wanted, and then discard any obstacles in his path, with a witness no doubt being one such obstacle.
"I need to use the bathroom," she stated. It was true, but it might also prove useful in helping her learn more about her surroundings. If he took her upstairs to use a toilet, she might be able to discover what kind of building she was in, maybe even get a peek out of a window and work out where she was. She hoped she was still in the city at least. The traffic noise level suggested she might be.
The man stared at her silently for a few moments, trying to decide if her request was genuine. Then he spoke.
"I'll bring you a bucket.
With that he stood up and left. Her heart sank as the humiliating notion of her new bathroom arrangements sank in. Even in her weakened state, she briefly contemplated escape. However, she decided it was best to bide her time and instead watched him intently as he climbed the stairs and left the room. Her chance may come later.