Title: Instant Karma, Chapter 10

Author: Sorsha711
Fandom/Pairing: JM/OFC; Involves the entire Law & Order universe
Rating: M, for language and references to violence; some adult content
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Dick Wolf. Munch isn't mine, except in my dreams! Sigh!
Summary: A series of random bombings reunites Munch with the woman that has haunted his sleep for years. In the midst of tragedy, can some much needed good karma open the way for true love delayed? JM/OFC

A/N --- I would really appreciate hearing from anyone reading this. Feedback is greatly appreciated!!

Instant Karma, Chapter 10

Elliot Stabler met the ambulance as it pulled up to the emergency entrance to Hudson University Hospital. Blocking the door, he nodded to Munch and Fin. "Hold up a second fellas. Cap wanted me to check the waiting areas to make sure the suspects weren't here looking for Dr. Riley. I took pictures of a couple of guys that seemed to fit the general description."

Smiling at the woman lying on the stretcher, he asked, "Can you look at them before they take you inside, Dr. Riley? It would help us assure your safety."

Clinching John's hand, Sydney nodded. "Of course. Do you really think they would go to that much effort to find me?"

"Standard procedure for a protective detail, Dr. Riley. It's doubtful they would, but we don't want to overlook anything at this point. They killed a lot of people this morning, so they may not want to risk having someone that could ID them talking to us," Elliot replied, a friendly smile taking the edge off of his comments. "I'm Elliot Stabler by the way."

Accepting the cell phone he was extending towards her, Sydney forced a smile to her face in greeting. "Hi Elliot. John's 'home team' seems to be everywhere!"

John chuckled in response to her comment, relieved she was still able to joke. "I told you I was their hero!"

"What kind of garbage has Munch been telling you, Syd. We need to talk so I can set the record straight!" Fin interjected, leaning over John's shoulder to study the pictures on the cell phone's small screen.

"I have not… Syd, what's wrong?" John demanded. "Do you recognize someone?"

Nodding, she continued to stare at the fourth picture in the set Stabler had given her. "I may be wrong… the picture is grainy, but he looks like the guy that grabbed me."

"Number 4?" Elliot questioned, a hard edge settling on his handsome features.

"Yes. How did you know?" she asked.

"The way he was acting… and he looks just like your description." Turning as Olivia and Cragen arrived, he updated the pair. "Dr. Riley thinks I may have photographed one of our suspects during my security sweep. He sent up flares for me when I saw him. What do you want to do, Cap?"

"Have you looked at all the pictures, Sydney?" Cragen asked.

Shaking her head, she began to flip through the rest of the pictures, "No, I got hung up on that one."

After a minute, she offered, "He's the only one that looks like one of the men I saw that night, Captain. The picture is grainy, but… it looks like the bodybuilder. He's the one that grabbed my arm, so I focused on him the most."

"OK, the four of us are going to try to talk to him, maybe get a clearer picture for you to ID. John, look after Sydney." Looking over at the EMT's, Cragen ordered, "Move the bus out several blocks and circle until you get a call from me. I want to rule this guy out or have him in custody before you take her into the ER. Fortunately, her injuries aren't life-threatening, so make her as comfortable as you can while we handle this."

Smiling at the white-faced woman, he soothed, "Sydney, relax. John will take good care of you. You spent the morning in very close proximity to him, so I'm sure you saw his gun at some point. Let him protect you. It may be nothing, but we're not taking a chance, OK?"

"Be careful," she whispered, still holding John's hand in a death-grip.

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"He's still where I saw him… leaning against the wall in the corridor outside the ER," Elliot reported, coming back to join the others. "Not many people in the area, so hopefully, we can take him without incident."

Yanking off his ID and badge, Fin stuffed them into his pocket as he proposed, "Give me something to wrap around my hand… hide my gun. I'll play wounded and try to get on the other side of him so he can't run."

Copying his actions, Olivia added, "I'll go with Fin… act like I'm helping him. Give us time to get into place."

Seeing another ambulance pull up, Stabler jogged over to the back. Once the paramedics had gotten their patient out, he announced, "NYPD. I need to borrow a couple of towels."

"Help yourself," a female EMT called over her shoulder.

Grabbing up the requested items, Elliot returned to his partners. "Here, man; wrap your hand up in these. Liv, stay close and use them to cover up your gun too."

Nodding, the pair quickly got into position. Wrapping an arm around his waist like she was supporting him, Olivia slipped her gun under the cover of the two towels. Fin dropped his head to rest against hers and seemed to slump against her to simulate a wounded man. "Guns hidden?"

"Yeah. Go and be careful," Cragen ordered. "We'll give you a couple of minutes to get into place. Elliot and I will approach him from the front, our badges visible, and identify ourselves as police. We only want to talk to him… send Sydney a better picture before we take any action. He may be innocent, so no guns if we can avoid them. If he shows any signs of pulling a weapon though, take him down. We need to make sure he doesn't take a hostage or hurt any civilians. Are we clear?"

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Leaning against Olivia as they slowly made their way along the corridor, Fin whispered, "I'm getting a bad vibe off his guy. You feel it?"

"Yeah, I do," she murmured back, watching their suspect from under the fringe of her bangs. "He looks just like Sydney's description. I see why Elliot marked him."

"Head for that alcove outside the restrooms. That'll give us a good view of him and still lets us respond to any threat quickly," he proposed.

"Right. I… Damn! He's moving! I think something spooked him," Olivia muttered, tensing in preparation for making a move to apprehend the man.

"Naw… he's trying to get a better look into the treatment area to see the woman they just brought in. He's looking for someone, that's for damn sure," Fin observed. "Heads up… here comes Don and El."

From down the hall, they heard Cragen's voice. "NYPD. We'd like to speak with you."

Without looking at the two policemen, their quarry turned and ran. Unfortunately for him, his escape attempt took him directly toward Fin and Olivia's position. Seeing his actions, the two detectives stepped into his path, pulling their weapons. "Police! Stop and put your hands up!" Olivia instructed.

Jerking to a halt, the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. Before he could bring it all the way up, a bullet from Elliot's gun slammed into his right shoulder. The impact sent him pitching to the ground, his own gun discharging harmlessly into the base of a nearby wall. Panicked screams echoed through the nearby areas as people ran for cover.

Moving quickly, Fin kicked the gun away from his outstretched hand in Cragen's direction before kneeling on the man's back to pull his arms behind him so that Olivia could cuff them. "What part of 'Police! Stop and put your hands up,' didn't you get, asshole," Fin growled. "You pulled a gun on two cops that ID'ed themselves after running from two more that asked politely to speak with you. Not smart, my man."

"Augh… my arm!" he moaned.

"Well, you're in luck. You had the foresight to get shot in a hospital right outside the ER," Olivia smirked, beginning to pat him down. Finding a second gun and a knife, she added, "You meant business didn't you? Like my partner said… not smart, my man."

"I want a doctor," he demanded. "And a lawyer."

"NYPD!" Cragen called, holding up his badge as several armed security guards rushed into the area. "A suspect pulled a gun and Det. Stabler took him down before he could aim his weapon. He fired once and his round hit near the base of that wall."

"What's going on here, Captain?" the first guard demanded.

"I'm Captain Don Cragen, SVU. This man is a suspect in an assault case we're working. We wanted to talk to him and he ran… pulled his gun. Det. Stabler shot him in the right shoulder to prevent him shooting our fellow officers," Cragen neatly summarized. "We're placing him under arrest and Detectives Benson and Stabler will remain with him until we can transfer him to lock-up. Detective Tutuola, read the man his rights."

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"Hi Cap. What's the word?"

Squeezing Sydney's hand, John gave her a reassuring smile as he listened to his commander's update. "What do you want us to do?"

"Got it. Do we need to stop back by for one of you?"

"OK. Let me know what you find out."

Breaking off the call, John looked over at the paramedics driving their ambulance. "We're being diverted to Mount Sinai. Det. Tutuola is on his way there now and will meet us at the ER entrance after he has swept the area for anyone suspicious."

"John… what happened?" Sydney whispered, her face pitched with pain and worry.

Shifting as much as she could, he held her gaze with a reassuring smile. "The suspect tried to flee when they approached him… pulled a gun on Fin and Liv. Elliot shot him in the shoulder before he could hurt anyone. Everyone is fine and they have him in custody. We're going to Mt. Sinai as a precaution. Bellevue it the other hospital the NYPD uses most of the time, so Don's hoping we can slip in without being seen. Hopefully, he will talk and we can wrap this up quickly."

"But…"

"Relax, Syd," he soothed. "I'll be with you all the way, so it'll be ok."

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"Mike… Don. We have one of our suspects in custody," Cragen began. "Stabler spotted someone fitting the description of the first suspect waiting outside the ER when we arrived with Dr. Riley. We approached and he fled… pulled a gun on two of my detectives. Elliot shot him in the shoulder, but it's not life-threatening."

"He demanded a lawyer as we were cuffing him."

"OK. I'll call McCoy since he's riding this one for the DA. Benson and Stabler will sit on our perp until we can get him transferred to Bellevue's prison ward."

"Dr. Riley and Munch have been- rerouted to Mt. Sinai. Tutuola is on his way there with a couple of uniforms. I didn't want to take a chance of his partner figuring we had her there," Cragen explained. "We'll need to move her ASAP to a safe house once she has received treatment."

"If her kneecap is broken like the paramedics think, it will require surgery to set… put in pins to rebuild it. Late today or tomorrow is probably the earliest we can move her, but who knows at this point."

"Munch is staying with her. He's ankle is either sprained or broken, but he can sit with her and keep her company. They know each other and she will do better having a familiar face with her."

"OK… I'm heading to Mount Sinai to see how they are doing. Can you arrange for a sketch artist to meet me there? I'd like to see if we can get a sketch of the other suspect before she goes into surgery."

"Thanks. I'll see you at One PP at 4."

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