Chapter 9
"My name is Richard," Lewis's cellmate told him, "but my friends call me Rick."
"I'm William Lewis," Lewis grinned charmingly, "but usually I'm just called Lewis."
Lewis could have sworn that he saw the slight ghost of a grin play on Rick's lips, but as soon as he saw it, it was gone, and Rick's face was as neutral as ever.
"So what are you in for?" Rick asked, not taking his gaze off of Lewis.
Lewis shrugged. "Oh, y'know, this and that." He rested his head on his hands as he stared down at his cellmate on the bunk below. "Actually, I haven't had my trial yet. They apparently 'ran out of holding cells,' and had to move me to here to Rikers." Lewis smiled. "And now, here I am."
"Interesting."
Rick sat up in his bed and took put his phone. As he began to type, Lewis furrowed his brow.
"Where did you get a phone? I thought all of your stuff got taken once you were locked up."
Rick shrugged, but didn't look up from his typing. "I've been here a while, and I've got people that owe me favors."
Lewis quirked his eyebrow in interest. "And what did you do to earn those favors?"
This time, Rick smiled and looked up at him. "Oh, y'know, this and that."
Lewis smirked.
Finally, Rick finished typing on his phone and put it in his pocket.
"What were you doing?" Lewis asked.
"Texting a friend," Rick answered. "Why? Is there someone you would like to text?" He smiled as if he already knew the answer.
Rick handed him the phone and Lewis grinned wickedly. "Oh, you bet there is."
Olivia watched Alex's expression as she told her her story. At first it had been hard to talk about what happened to her, but once she'd started speaking, the words had just seemed to tumble out of her mouth, and Alex was drinking up every word.
Cragen was paying close attention as well, though checking every few moments to make sure that the tape recorder was still going. At first Olivia had refused to let Cragen listen in while she talked to Alex, but Alex told her that it would be easier to tell them both at once, as opposed to having to tell the story multiple times. After that, Olivia had agreed to allow Cragen to listen in.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Cragen, but that she didn't want him to see her fall apart again. It was already humiliating enough that he had seen her curled up in the corner of her bedroom, clothed in nothing but her bathrobe and her shame, but she didn't need him to see her broken up again at just the memory of it. But at this point, she realized that she didn't really have a choice.
She finished up her story and watched Cragen shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. Alex's mouth was slightly open, and she was staring at Olivia as if she could hardly believe what she'd just heard.
"Olivia," she began slowly, "I am so, so sorry."
Alex quickly pulled her friend in for a tight hug, and it took Olivia a minute to realize that she'd been crying. She dried her cheeks with her sleeve and shrugged. "It's over now. All that's left to do is put the bastard away."
Cragen only nodded, examining the tape recorder as if it was the most interesting thing in the entire world.
"Well, we've got plenty of hard evidence that will make sure that he never sees the light of day again," Alex promised. She turned her attention to Cragen. "Let's put this together with the rest of the evidence."
Cragen nodded and turned to Olivia. "We'll be right back, okay? Just hang tight."
The two got up, grabbed the tape recorder, and left the room, closing the door behind them. Olivia pulled her knees to her chest and took out her phone.
Well, she thought to herself, I may as well just find a way to pass the time.
But when turned her phone on, it immediately began to buzz, telling her that she'd been left a video message. Olivia hesitated, fearing what she would find once she opened the message, but opened it, deciding that she was being silly. The only person she had to be afraid of was Lewis, and he was locked up, right? She'd already beaten him, and now he was on Riker's Island, waiting for his trial. She wouldn't even need to see him until the trial, and even then there'd be plenty of security guards and cops that would make sure that he didn't come within ten feet of her.
So why did she feel so afraid?
She opened the message and immediately regretted her decision.
"Hey Liv!" Lewis's grinning face greeted her. "I know you haven't heard from me in a while, but that's okay! I'm making lots of new friends in prison, and I can't wait until I get out so that we can catch up!" He grinned evilly, and Olivia's heart dropped down to her feet. "I've been thinking about you a lot, and I know you've been thinking about me too. I bet you can't get me out of your head." Olivia was frozen in place. It was only a recorded message, but it was almost like he was reading her through the phone. His gaze was still boring into her, exposing her. "But don't worry Liv, we'll be together again soon. Soon I'll be able to hold you close again, just like before." He paused, as if mentally patting himself on the back. "I'll see you soon." He blew her a kiss, and then the message was over.
Olivia locked her phone and threw it across the room, trembling. How did he do it? How had he gotten in touch with her? In the video he'd still been in his prison garb, meaning that he was still in jail. But that was little comfort. He could still get ahold of her, and he could still terrorize her. She timidly went over and picked up her phone again, as if she was afraid that it would bite her when she touched it. But when she went to look at the message again, it was gone. As much as she looked, she couldn't find any sign of there being a message from the restricted number.
Olivia felt her knees go weak, and to keep herself from falling, she took a seat on the floor. With one hand over her mouth in horror and another frantically searching through her messages, she scoured for anything to tell her that she wasn't just seeing things. But there was nothing. Whatever she had seen, it was now gone.
She was still sitting on the floor trying to comprehend what had happened when Alex and Cragen walked in.
"Olivia!" Alex cried, running over to her friend. "Are you okay?"
Olivia shook her head. "No," she replied, "I am anything but okay."
Notes: Things are going to start picking up within the next few chapters, so I hope everyone's excited! :) Don't forget to leave a review, and to let me know what you think!
