When the Walls Come Tumbling Down Chapter 9
I don't own SVU or the SVU characters.
Elliot sat down at the table in the interrogation room, resting his head in his hands. He knew Manny's deal was a lose-lose, but he couldn't help but feel he chose the wrong option. There was no way he would subject Olivia to Hector Johnston in any way. It was bad enough she had already faced Manny Johnston. Now the pressure was that much greater to find Frank.
He knew she was standing in the doorway despite the fact she hadn't made a sound. He didn't turn to face her knowing she wanted to know the outcome of his brief meeting with Manny. He felt he made the right decision for her, but wasn't so sure about the case.
Olivia entered the room and made her way towards Elliot. She sat on the table in front of him and waited for him to look up at her. And when he did, she could see the anguish in his eyes.
"I'm guessing he didn't give up Frank." Olivia's matter of fact statement made Elliot cringe inwardly.
"No, but chances are he wouldn't have either way." Elliot sat up straight in his chair, lowering his hands to his lap. He was wanting to touch her as if somehow his touch could protect her. He hated that he couldn't touch her, not like he wanted to; not here.
"What do you mean, El?" Olivia could tell he was torn. She expected to find him angry, not defeated. She waited patiently for him to give her details.
Elliot suddenly erupted, knocking over his chair as he stood. "Fuck Johnston. Fuck Hector and fuck Frank." Elliot's tone was harsh and his volume enough to bring Cragen and a few other detectives to the window.
Olivia was quickly on her feet and stood in Elliot's line of vision. He looked into her eyes and knew he had to calm down. "I'm tired of him calling the shots. This is bullshit."
"El, what did he say?" Olivia usually had a way with reeling her partner in and Cragen noticed she had succeeded once again. "Tell me what's going on."
Elliot ran his hand over the top of his head and then down over his face. He walked the few feet away from Olivia and turned to face her when he had met the wall. He stared at her wondering if he was out of line for making a decision that rightfully was hers to make. He doubted Manny wanted her to make that decision, which is why he asked to speak to Elliot in the first place.
"Johnston offered up Frank on the condition that you meet with Hector." Elliot carefully watched his partner's expression as she realized Elliot had already told him no.
She let her gaze fall to the floor as she took in a few deep breaths before looking up to meet Elliot's eyes. "Jenna has uniforms at her door…you know, just in case."
"Okay." Elliot braced himself for her reaction, although he wasn't quite sure what that would be.
"I would've done it, El. I would've faced him for a lead on Frank." Olivia's voice was quiet and this worried Elliot.
"No. No way I would've subjected you to him again. No way." Elliot was adamant and finally feeling sure about his decision.
"So now what? Since all the sudden you think you can make my decisions for me, tell me what we are going to do next." Olivia was suddenly angry.
"Liv, it's not like that. I just thought…"
"You just figured I couldn't handle it. I can handle whatever I have to handle to catch this son of a bitch." Olivia was pacing now and Elliot waited for her to continue. Her pace told him she wasn't done yet.
"Sometimes I wonder if you really know me at all, El. I do whatever it takes for victims especially. For Maria." Olivia's voiced cracked slightly as her pacing slowed to a stop.
Elliot got it. He got her. He still felt the decision was his to make at the time and he made the best one. They would be ready for Frank if he came after Olivia. He knew she was in no way ready to face Hector Johnston, so now it was what it was.
Elliot opened his mouth to address Olivia's last statement when Cragen timed his entrance to relieve the awkward tension that suddenly filled the small room. Elliot sighed in relief at the interruption. Olivia kept her gaze on her partner for a few more moments before focusing on her captain.
"I want to do this captain. If there's a chance that Manny will give us what we need to find Frank, then I have to do this." Olivia refused to look at Elliot as Cragen stared her down.
After looking from Olivia to Elliot and back again, Cragen shook his head. "There's no guarantee he'll give Frank up no matter what you do or don't do. Besides, I pulled you from the case. So, it's a non issue."
Elliot couldn't tell if the sudden slack in Olivia's posture was relief, anger, or just plain frustration. "We're not locating him otherwise, what could it hurt?" Her tone was minus the fight.
"It's a non issue." Cragen repeated, his tone matching hers.
Olivia took a deep breath and quickly moved past Cragen and Elliot, making her way out of the interrogation room and towards the locker room.
Cragen looked to Elliot who had taken a seat on the table. "Munch and Fin have been following up a tip. They have been staking out Manny's ex's apartment since late last night. There's reason to believe he'll show up there at some time. Apparently they still have some sort of a relationship."
Elliot nodded. "I don't want her to have to face that monster. She can't handle that, not now."
"I agree, Elliot. She has to feel in control, especially when it comes to him, but not at the price she'd pay." Cragen headed for the door looking back at his defeated detective. Elliot was nothing short of a mess when Olivia was hurt. He literally found he couldn't function without her and that worried Cragen now.
Elliot made his way towards the locker room looking for Olivia. He could feel his pulse begin to race when he discovered she wasn't there. He was confident she understood the level of danger she was in and wouldn't leave the precinct without him, so he headed for the only other place she may have gone.
He made his way out onto the roof, knowing she would be there in their usual spot. So many cases, so many arguments, so many realizations had brought them up here in the past. He paused as he watched the wind kick her hair up and away from her face. Her beauty was constantly taking his breath away, and he wanted to enjoy that feeling before she realized he was there. He felt fairly certain that she was still angry at him.
The air was cool and damp, causing Olivia to wrap her arms around herself. Her gaze was focused on the busy city beneath them. She turned to face him once he was within a few inches of being by her side. He could see she had been crying, so he leaned up against the railing with his arms and waited for her to talk to him. He knew Cragen had a point. She needed to be able to control something, anything when it came to dealing with Johnston.
"We've found perps in half the time as it's taking to find Frank. This is ridiculous, El. We need to be out on the street, running down leads ourselves." Olivia turned to look back down to the street. "Instead I'm hiding out here like a weak coward."
Elliot turned his body so that he was facing her, yet still leaning against the railing. "Olivia Benson, you are anything but weak. And you are definitely no coward."
"Really, El. I'm being babysat around the clock. I can't do my job. I can't leave. I can't do anything."
Elliot watched as Olivia's expression changed from anger, to frustration, to defeat in the span of a few seconds. "What is it you want to do?"
"My god damned job. I want to find the bastard that killed Maria. I want to make him hurt like he hurt her. I want to see her. I want to hear her laugh again. I want to see her smile again. I couldn't protect her." Olivia was completely broken by the time she had finished venting and let herself fall to her knees.
Elliot quickly knelt down next to her, pulling her to him. He encouraged her to cry it out, knowing the little girl's death was threatening her heart. Olivia rested her head against her partner's chest as she worked to calm herself. She slowly pulled away from him and studied his eyes.
"I was only trying to save myself, El. I couldn't shoot him to kill him because of his weight. I shot to stop him…from raping me. Had I killed him, Maria would be alive right now." Olivia held Elliot's gaze, but he could tell she was looking through him.
Elliot placed his hand on her upper arms forcing her attention to be solely on him. "You are in no way to blame for Maria's death." Elliot used his fingers to hold her face still when she tried to look away.
"Elliot, stop." Tears streamed down her face.
"You protected that little girl with everything you had until you…you got her to safety. Then you did what you had to do to protect yourself." Elliot paused as Olivia's eyes fell from his to the ground. "I got to tell you, I don't know that I could've done what you did. I really don't, Liv. It would've been so easy to just give up, but that's not you. Never has been."
Olivia's eyes looked back up as Elliot wiped the tears from her cheeks. He gently pulled Olivia to her feet giving her back some personal space in the process. "Look at me, like I said, a fucked up mess." Olivia let out a muffled laugh.
"You're beautiful." Elliot flashed her a grin. "Don't ever be ashamed for crying over that little girl, okay. She knew you loved her. I know that for a fact."
Olivia couldn't help but react to Elliot's smile by matching it with one of her own. "Is that right?"
"She told me…all the time." Elliot draped his arm around his partner's shoulders and led her toward the roof exit. "You weren't going to jump, were you?" Elliot joked trying to relieve some of the tension between them.
"Maybe," Olivia huffed out trying desperately to compose herself and clean up enough to face her co-workers back in the squad room. "I'm sure the protective detail would've broke my fall." Olivia's sarcasm was a good sign and helped Elliot relax. Even if it were just a little.
The squad room was busy, detectives from all shifts pulling double and triple shifts. Cragen was confident it would only be a matter of time before Frank was taken into custody. He waved Elliot into his office as soon as he and Olivia returned from the roof. Elliot looked toward Olivia who hadn't caught their captain's gesture. She was already involved across the room with another detective, needing to stay busy, to stay involved. Elliot headed in alone and closed the door behind him.
"She okay?" Cragen nodded toward Olivia.
"She will be." Elliot was quick with his response hoping Cragen had something good for him.
"Got an anonymous tip. Possible sighting of our man at the mini mart not far from Olivia's apartment." Cragen pulled up a map of the city on the screen in his office. Elliot's heart dropped as they zoomed in on Olivia's apartment building and then the convenient store mentioned. He was too close, he was definitely looking to make a move.
"I suggest talking to the clerk, then get to her place. Make sure it's secure. I'll have Munch and Fin meet you there." Cragen was talking to Elliot's back.
Olivia saw Elliot leave in a hurry and her confused gaze was then directed toward Cragen who then motioned her into his office. "What's going on, Cap?" Olivia's voice trailed off when she saw the display on the screen. It only took a few seconds for her to realize what was happening.
"It was called in as a tip. Could be nothing." Cragen was sure it was something and he knew Olivia did as well.
Olivia sat down staring at the map. "This guy cannot be this good, Cap. I think we're making this harder than it is. He is intentionally giving us bits and pieces."
"Maybe, maybe not. We have to play it by the book. He will screw up." Cragen's authoritative voice was actually a comfort to Olivia.
"We're missing something obvious. Something he's giving us. This is a god damned game to him." Olivia couldn't ignore her instincts.
She and Cragen both looked up at the loud knock at his door. He motioned the uniformed officer in giving him an irritated glance. "What do you need?"
"I was told to deliver this to you, sir." the young officer handed Cragen the envelope and turned to leave.
"Wait." Cragen ordered. The officer stood nervously in front of Cragen's desk. He glanced back at Olivia once shifting his stance.
Olivia watched the officer with interest. She moved around to get a look at him from the side. He had begun to sweat and clenched his fist repeatedly while attempting to stand at attention. Cragen looked up as he opened the envelope. He watched as Olivia studied the officer. He noticed her demeanor change as the young officer fidgeted under the scrutiny.
Cragen unfolded the paper that was neatly stuffed into the envelope. His eyes widened just as the officer made a break for the door. Olivia drew her gun stopping him when the barrel met his face.
"Down!" Olivia ordered. The officer did as directed without a word. Olivia removed his weapon, sliding it behind her into the waistband of her jeans. She looked up to see Cragen had also pulled his gun.
"He's giving us something right here. What did it say?" Olivia's voice was a mixture apprehension and adrenaline.
Cragen looked up after reading the note to himself and met the worried expression on his detective's face.
"It says: Dearest Detective Benson. Game Over."
And as if on cue, the power to the precinct was cut off.
