CHAPTER 9: UNCONSCIOUS
Olivia stepped back unconsciously. She was scared.
"Kathy what are you doing?" Elliot asked much more calmly than he felt.
"I'm getting you back." With that, she pulled the trigger.
"No! Olivia!" he yelled. He ran to Kathy and wrestled the gun away from her. He then ran to Olivia and dropped to the floor beside her.
Olivia didn't look like she was losing that much blood, but she was unconscious. When she fell, her head struck the corner of the granite counter top. On top of that, Kathy had shot her in the stomach; one of the hardest places to fix. He pulled his shirt off and put pressure on the wound.
Elliot still had the gun, so he took out his cell phone and called Don. He answered after one ring.
"Elliot? Is everything okay?" Don asked worried.
"No." Elliot began. "Kathy shot Olivia."
Don was silent for a moment. "What happened?" he asked.
"Just get down here and call a bus." Elliot said and he hung up. He checked Olivia's pulse. When he was sure her heartbeat was even, he stood up.
"Why did you do that Kathy?" he asked.
"SHE DOESN'T DESERVE YOU!" Kathy hollered. "I WAS MARRIED TO YOU FOR TWENTY YEARS AND ALL SHE DID WAS WORK WITH YOU!"
"SHE WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR ME! ESPECIALLY ALL THE TIMES YOU LEFT AND TOOK THE KIDS WITH YOU!" Elliot hollered right back at her. Then it clicked in his mind. "It was you wasn't it? You left the threat in Olivia's apartment and in my file." He was furious, but he fought to keep his temper even. The last thing he needed was to completely lose it.
"Yeah it was me." She said nonchalantly. Elliot got back down on the floor to check Olivia again. She wasn't bleeding out, but she could be bleeding internally – and that's just as bad.
"But how?" he asked checking Olivia's pulse yet again. He grabbed a pillow from the sofa and placed it under her head.
"Easy." Kathy began.
(flashback)
"My friend Carrina lives in Olivia's building. I buzzed up to her apartment and she let me in. I went to Olivia's floor and hid in the hallway. I waited for her to leave. I was doing to kill her then but I decided to have some fun. I saw her put the key in the lamp outside the door."
Elliot was appalled. He started to say something, but Kathy continued.
"There was a small can of paint in the hall closet I was in. I grabbed it and went into the apartment. When I left I made sure the door was locked and brought the can with me. I put the key back in the lamp. She would never know it was me."
"That's Olivia's. Yours was much easier. I went down to the precinct to bring you the bag you left at the house. I knew you were trying to protect her – that's just who you are. I had written the note before I left the house, then slipped it into the top file when no one was looking."
(end fb)
Someone was knocking on the door. "Elliot? It's Don. Is everything all right?"
"Olivia's unconscious." Elliot said through the door.
"Okay. We're coming in." Don said.
"NO!" Kathy screamed. "IF ANYONE COMES IN I WILL MAKE SURE SHE DIES AND I WILL KILL ELLIOT TOO!" She grabbed the gun off the table before Elliot could get to it. She aimed at his chest.
"You gonna shoot me Kathy?" he said stepping forward. "You'll go to jail. Casey will make sure of it. The kids will go into foster care. Even if you do get out, you'll never see them again."
(Olivia's POV)
"Hello Olivia." She said to me while she raised her gun. I stepped back – like it would make a difference.
"Kathy, what are you doing?" I heard Elliot say.
"Getting you back." Then she pulled the trigger. I felt the bullet enter my abdomen. I fell back and felt even more pain. My head cracked on the granite counter top. The last thing I heard was Elliot yell "NO!". Then everything went black.
I was floating in the darkness. I wasn't dead – I was vaguely aware of a dull burning sensation in my stomach. I wanted to call to him, but I couldn't remember how. My thoughts wandered. I let my thoughts linger on each my friends; Casey, John, Fin, Don Melinda. My family. I thought of him last. His face lingered behind my eyelids. His smile, his eyes, all of him.
I was slipping; I could feel it. My thoughts were getting fuzzy around the edges. But I made myself stay put. I made myself think of him. Of every wonderful moment of the night before. All my wonderful memories I had of him when we were still just co-workers. I was going to hold on – I had to. For Elliot.
(narrative POV)
He stepped closer to Kathy.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER TO ME ELLIOT!" she shrieked. Outside, Don heard a gunshot. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. He opened the door. What he saw made his heart ache. He tried to act professional as he signaled for the EMT's to go in. He called Munch and Fin inside. As they read Kathy the Miranda, they tried to ignore the EMT's working over their friends' motionless bodies.
