I've struggled with this chapter a little bit and unfortunately it is not as good as I had hoped it would be but hopefully the next chapter will be better. Enjoy and please let me know what you think!
The beginning of eternity
The end of time and space
The beginning of every end
And the end of every place
Elliot looked at the note which he had stuck to the dashboard with a piece of chewing gum. He didn't understand what it meant, he knew it was a riddle but it made no sense as to why Olivia would leave him one or as to why she would leave her front door open for him to find it. He picked up his cell phone and hit speed dial one.
"Liv, where the hell are you? I thought we were okay?" He asked before she could even say hello.
"Ah Detective Stabler I wondered how long it would take for you to contact us. You thought you were okay? Oh dear have you two been fighting again?"
"Who the fuck are you? Where's Olivia?"
"You don't recognise my voice Elliot?"
Elliot let the words run around his head for a second, over analysing every single one just trying to remember where he knew that voice from. He prayed it wasn't a past perp with a grudge, he knew how dangerous they could be.
"Just tell me if she is okay. Please."
A laugh came through the phone before some background noise then an answer.
"Detective Benson is a bit tied up at the moment and quite frankly we are getting bored waiting for you. Time is running out Elliot. Time to stop being a sheep."
Realisation suddenly set in. He knew that voice.
"Merritt you fucking bastard, if you touch her I swear to God I will kill you."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you Elliot but you don't get to make the rules. I suggest you hurry up and decipher your partner's riddle, there's a lot at stake here. In fact her life depends on it. Her life depends on YOU."
"Why, why are you doing this?" Elliot was crying and frantically driving through the city without a destination in mind.
"Firstly I wanted to take last time a step further. I asked you how far you were willing to go to save your partner and you proved yourself to a certain level. This time I want to see how far you will really go. I'm helping you out here and you have to agree that so far I've been nice. I left you a clue, an easy one at that. The rules are simple Detective Stabler, you stick to the rules and it's a fair game. Unfortunately for you Detective Benson didn't do as she was told, she tried to help you out when she was writing that riddle for me and when you break the rules you have to be punished. It seems shes a little unstable without you Stabler." Merritt laughed at his own joke and listened to Elliot's sobs echoing through the phone.
"Well I must go now. I'm giving you fifteen minutes and then we're starting without you. Goodbye Elliot."
The phone went dead. Elliot slammed his hands against the steering wheel and pulled over to the side of the road, ripping the riddle off the dashboard he screamed out her name.
The beginning of eternity
The end of time and space
The beginning of every end
And the end of every place
Come on Elliot you can do this, just think….
Think….
You don't have much time, stay calm, just stay calm.
The beginning of eternity…the end of time and space…E….
The beginning of every end….the end of every place…E…
The answer is E.
Elliot grabs his cell phone and hits redial. Merritt's voice once again comes through the phone.
"Well, well wasn't that quick. You have an answer for me?"
"E. The answer is E." Elliot shouts.
"I think I may have underestimated you detective Stabler, I really thought it would take you a little longer. Ready for part two?"
"Part two? No way arsehole you tell me where she is."
"My my what a temper we have today. Part two is going to give you her location Elliot but only if you are clever enough to work it out. So listen carefully."
What force and strength cannot get through,
I with a gentle touch can do.
And many in the street would stand,
Were I not a friend at hand.
What am I?
"Tick tock, tick tock, the time is running out on my clock."
"Let me speak to her. Put her on, I need to know she is still alive. That this isn't another one of your stupid tricks."
"The thing is Elliot, you can not afford to disbelieve me. If you are right then everybody gets away from this unharmed but if you are wrong what happens to poor Detective Benson? You know she reminds me very much of my wife especially in her condition. Wouldn't it be a shame to let your partner and her child die because you were too busy being a sheep?"
"Fuck you! You fucking bastard. I will find you, you can count on that."
"Ten minutes Detective Stabler."
The dial phone sounded in his ear and he fought to remember the words of the second riddle.
Force...strength....street....friend...
What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do. And many in the street would stand, Were I not a friend at hand.
God I wish Liv was here, she'd get this in a heartbeat.
Elliot pulled open the glove compartment to get his badge and gun. He quickly put them in his pocket and went to close the compartment when something golden caught his eye.
What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do. And many in the street would stand, Were I not a friend at hand.
KEY!
He leant forward and grabbed the key. It suddenly made sense to him, a place beginning with E that he had a key to. Merritt had Olivia at his own house, the house he used to share with his wife and kids. He quickly started the car, pulled out into the road and completed a u-turn, narrowly missing an oncoming car. The house had been empty for months as Kathy decided she could no longer live there and Elliot had no intention of living in a house with so many memories but part of him couldn't get rid of it.
As he pulled up outside the house he noted that the living room light was on and that the rest of the house was in darkness. Olivia's car was in the driveway and immediately his heart sank, Merritt really did have her and he was at least five minutes late.
He ran to the door and was surprised to find it unlocked, he made his way to the living room too frantic to be paying attention to anything around him. Unfortunately that was his downfall as he didn't see the figure behind the door or the long needle in his hand, in fact he only realised his mistake as he felt a small prick in the neck.
****
"Fin where the hell are Benson and Stabler?" Don Cragen shouted as he entered the squad room the next morning.
"No idea cap. I tried ringing Liv but her cell phone is off. Munch is trying Elliot's."
"He isn't answering." Munch called from across the room.
"Well you better pray that one of them answers soon or neither of them will have jobs to come back to. I've had it with their constant disregard for the rules."
Just then Elliot's computer let out a loud ping informing the room that he had received a new email message. Fin walked to the computer and opened the email.
"Omg. Munch, Cap you better come here quickly."
Don and Munch ran to the screen. A live video feed was attached to the email and now filled the whole computer screen. They could see Olivia tied to a chair in one corner of the room and Elliot tied to one on the opposite side, neither of them were moving. Fin slammed his fist against the keyboard and cussed out loud. Suddenly a voice came through the speakers.
"I'm glad that you could join us detectives. Olivia, Elliot and I are about to play a game and you get to watch. I have rigged the building with cameras and I have planted a bomb at a nursery school nearby. If any of you leave the building I will detonate the bomb, further more Olivia dies. So it is entirely up to you what you decide to do but you can't say I didn't warn you. Now why don't you sit back, relax and enjoy the show."
He paused and looked over to Olivia.
"Don't worry, they aren't dead. I injected them both with Flunitrazepam, a high enough dose to put them to sleep. It's perfectly harmless although I'm not sure of the effects on pregnant women."
Merritt smiled at the camera then stepped back to sit on the desk.
"That son of a bitch. Cap we can't just sit here, we need to go look for them."
"Fin, we have no choice, I will not risk Olivia's life and neither should you."
"This arsehole likes to play games, what is the likelihood that he got cameras in here?"
"Highly unlikely but are you willing to take that risk?"
"No." Fin answered as he looked back to the screen and to Olivia's limp body.
"I'll call CSU and get them to comb the building but the best thing we can do is to sit and wait and pray that he lets them go."
****
Elliot woke up and groaned slightly as he felt the skin on his wrist pinch, looking down he realised he was taped to a chair. His vision was a little blurry and he wished more than anything that he could rub his eyes to clear them. He finally regained some focus and spotted Olivia across the room. Her hands were tied to the arms of the chair just like his own and her feet strapped to the chair legs. Her shirt had been cut open with her chest clearly on show, Elliot shuddered then panic rushed through him as he noticed the blood. There was one more cut in her shirt, just over half way up her stomach and blood had heavily stained the edges of the material. He couldn't see from his position how badly hurt she was or how deep the cut went. He was too wrapped up in Olivia to notice the wires attached to him or Merritt glaring at him from across the room.
"LIV!!!!! OLIVIA."
"Ah Elliot finally you decided to join us. Let the games begin!"
"What did you do to her? You won't be walking out of here alive this time, you hear me?"
"I suggest you shut up before I do something else to her. Now as you've probably figured you are connected to a lie detector. I'm going to ask you a series of questions and you are going to answer me honestly. Every time you lie, I'll add another cut to that pretty partner of yours."
Elliot heard a muffled cry and looked up to see Olivia's dark brown eyes staring back at him. He noticed for the first time that she was gagged and he fought with his restraints trying to get to her.
"Liv it's going to be okay, I promise. Just hold on sweetheart."
"Now this all very cute but I don't have all day."
"Fine let's play your stupid game. The sooner we finish the sooner I get to kill you."
Merritt laughed.
"Oh and just so you know, I took the liberty of directing a live video feed to your precinct so that the rest of your team can watch. Don't get your hopes up though, they can't save you, if they leave the building heads will roll."
Merritt laughed once more and picked up a knife on his way over to Olivia, he pressed the knife against her stomach and looked back to Elliot.
"Okay question one. Is your name Elliot Stabler?"
"Yes." Elliot answered while praying that all the questions would be that easy.
"Do you work as a detective for the special victims unit?"
"Yes."
Elliot looked to Olivia and could see panic in her eyes, he tried to compose himself as he had to stay strong for her. He knew calling out to her was too risky, Merritt could easily become annoyed and cut her. If he could somehow tell her with his eyes that everything was going to be okay then maybe she would be able to believe him.
"Do you have five children?"
Elliot stole another quick glance at Olivia before glaring at Merritt.
"No."
"Oh the look on your colleagues' faces right now is priceless but not as priceless as its going to be after the next few questions."
"Please Merritt, I'll do anything you want just let Olivia go."
"Now where's the fun in that Elliot? Huh? You know I used to like Detective Benson until she went and got herself pregnant with that bastard child."
Merritt waited for Elliot's body to tense before he carried on.
"Isn't it true that having a baby out of wedlock is a sin?"
Elliot allowed the tears to fall as he stared directly into Olivia's eyes.
"Yes." He whispered.
"I'm sorry Elliot I didn't quite hear that. You're going to have to speak up."
"YES!"
"And isn't it also true that sins should be punished?"
Merritt grabbed Olivia's neck and yanked her head backwards. She tried to scream but the gag was too restricting so she closed her eyes and prayed that it would be over quickly.
"You get the hell off her. Leave her alone! You fucking bastard don't touch them."
"Why so riled Elliot? Anybody would think that the bastard child was yours."
Merritt smirked and Elliot rocked in his chair frantically trying to break free.
"I'll repeat the last question beings you failed to answer me and this time if you don't answer I'll cut her. Isn't it also true that sins should be punished?"
"Yes." Elliot choked out.
"So maybe I should rape her, would that be a good punishment? I'll even let you watch."
Merritt ripped Olivia's shirt open even more and pulled the two halves apart, the material only left covering her arms.
"Stop it, please." Elliot began to sob. "I'll do anything."
"Next question Elliot. Is Detective Benson carrying your child?"