11

She struggled again to try and free her hands, but it was fruitless. The tape was impossible to remove in this position. She was also loathe to exert herself too much given that she was forced to breathe through her nose thanks to a huge strip of the same tape, preventing her from spitting out the cloth he had shoved deep into her mouth before completing her make-shift gag. She dreaded the moment it would be removed, knowing that it would cause significant pain to have the rough tape ripped from her sensitive skin. She had felt at first like she was going to choke on the cloth, but forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply through her nose she had managed to envelop herself in some semblance of calm, a state she knew she needed to preserve if she were going to get through this. The blindfold didn't help matters. The darkness just made it all seem so much worse, so much more terrifying.

She had recognized him immediately. He hadn't spoken a word, but she had a fairly good idea of what he ultimately had in store for her. The moment he had bundled her into the back of the van, the gun pressed up hard against her side, she had accepted the inevitability of her impending fate. Only he hadn't yet touched her. Instead, he had bound her, gagged her, blindfolded her and then just left her alone in the back of the van - to wait she supposed. She had no idea how long she had been there, although the sensations in her bladder suggested it had been a while now. It was cold. The heat had long since dissipated and she could feel herself shivering involuntarily. She couldn't hear any sounds outside which didn't bode well. She guessed she must have been brought somewhere secluded for whatever it was he planned for her. It did cross her mind that maybe this was her fate – to freeze to death in the back of this van. She could feel the lone and silent tear working its way down her cheek as she fought the feeling of absolute despair that enveloped her.

…

Elliot smashed his fist on the dashboard of his car, frustrated. The face to face meeting with Harris had completely thrown him. He had been convinced he was behind Olivia's disappearance but now he wasn't so sure. Just as he was about to pull away, a call came in from Fin. They had been going through the CCTV camera footage from the street corner and it appeared they had found something on one of the tapes. Unfortunately the camera had been crude and with the picture so blurry, they could only make out enough to tell that the man she had left with was of medium-build with dark brown curly hair visible protruding from his rain hat. They had left the corner heading towards Central Park, disappearing out of view of the camera quickly. Obtaining and searching through all of the footage from the numerous street cameras in the area would take a good while longer, Elliot knew.

He decided to head back to the precinct to take a look at the footage of her leaving with this man himself. Maybe if it were someone she knew he would recognise him too. He was convinced there was no way she would willingly go off with someone she didn't know. She knew the score: don't let them get you alone. She would have struggled or shouted or something had it been a stranger… unless he did have a weapon trained on her after all. Fin had said they could see no sign of a gun or knife, but that didn't mean there hadn't been one hidden from view. Elliot grimaced. Every minute that passed decreased the chances of her being found safely…alive. It was a thought that refused to leave his mind. The fact that this guy had been stalking her too didn't bode well either. Obsession often proved deadly.

Something had been niggling at the back of his mind ever since he had left Harris' place; the fact that he still hadn't managed to get in contact with her boss, Lawrence. He fit Fin's description too, although he had to admit it was a vague one. Even so, despite never really having liked the guy, it was hard to imagine he could have been stalking her and taken her like this. He hadn't come across as your average creep and even though he worked out, Elliot believed that in a fistfight, Olivia would have the upper hand. She knew how to defend herself as well as any guy he had ever worked with and that thought caused him to smile. However, if it was Lawrence, it would certainly explain how she could have been unsuspecting of a sinister ulterior motive. The apprehension churning his stomach, he tried Lawrence's number one more time, but as before there was no answer. The lack of reply only increased his suspicion and he radioed back to the unit to get an address and back-up. Lawrence was now suspect number one in his view.

…

Elliot was seething. Lawrence had been picked up and brought down to the precinct for questioning. He was insisting he had nothing to do with Olivia's disappearance and yet he refused to properly explain what he had been doing that evening. It didn't add up. He was putting on the concerned friend and boss act, but Elliot didn't believe it for a minute.

"You know this will be much better for you if you talk," Elliot said coldly. "Judges and juries don't tend to show much lenience when cops are involved."

"Look, you idiot. I told you I don't know where she is. Why aren't you out there looking for her, rather than wasting your time with me?"

Suddenly and taking Lawrence thoroughly by surprise, Elliot leapt at him, his hand around his throat in a flash, pinning him up against the wall. Lawrence's eyes were wide with fear as he cowered before the stronger man's wrath.

"Where is she?" Elliot repeated threateningly, squeezing his hands tight enough to cause Lawrence to struggle desperately against him, terrified.

Exasperated, Elliot released his grip and watched Lawrence who was panting from the adrenaline and eyeing Elliot nervously as he waited for his next move.

The knocking on the window drew Elliot's attention and frustrated he slammed his fists down on the table before turning and leaving the room without a second glance behind him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cragen asked him furiously, before instructing the accompanying detective to release Lawrence immediately with their sincere apologies.

"You can't let him go! He knows something Captain," Elliot replied angrily.

"I suggest you get your ass into the media room before you start making assumptions, Detective."

Elliot looked at his Captain questioningly, but the older man just nodded reinforcing the fact that this was an order, not a choice.

Reluctantly, Elliot headed away from the interrogation room. He couldn't help thinking that every second he spent away from interrogating Lawrence was another second Olivia was suffering. It was intolerable.

…

Elliot pushed his way inside the small media room and nodded in greeting at Fin who was diligently looking through the footage they had pulled from the streets.

"Elliot! You've got to see this man," his colleague said quickly.

"What is it?" Elliot asked, drawing closer to the monitor and waiting as Fin switched channels.

"See for yourself!" Fin said.

Elliot stared at the screen as the saved image came into view. The computer technicians had expertly enhanced the picture. Elliot stared, for a few seconds puzzled as he didn't immediately recognise the somewhat familiar face. Then it clicked and his jaw fell open in disbelief.

"Shit!" he exclaimed shakily, as the realisation hit. "This isn't even about her. He's after me."

"It would appear so," Fin said slowly.

"How the hell did he get out of prison?"

"Apparently there was an appeal, based on the accusation of police entrapment and no actual physical harm done to the victim and he was released early."

"What? That bastard should be rotting in jail for the rest of his life!"

"You know what it's like. The economy is bad. Prisons are overrun. They are fighting huge cuts…"

"Don't spout that bullshit at me, Fin." Elliot said harshly, holding out a hand to steady himself against the desk, as the impact of what he had just found out began to truly hit.

"There's a unit on the way to his registered address now."

"I'm going there."

"Wait, you're in no state to drive! I'll take you."

"Fine. Just hurry."

…

Elliot flashed his badge and hurried inside. The footage had been enough to get them a warrant and CSU were swarming over the apartment now, checking for prints and anything else that might prove he had taken her there. It didn't look too promising however. Elliot wandered aimlessly, looking for anything that might give them any clue as to where he might have taken her.

The convicted rapist, Ray Schenkel, had been one of his more challenging cases. He had gone undercover as a fellow sex offender in order to befriend the guy hoping to catch him in the act again and he had struggled to deal with the psychological impact of his role; most notably his necessary participation in the compulsory group therapy meetings that Ray had to attend as part of his parole agreement. The plan had been to trick Ray into attempting to lure an undercover female police officer into his van, but things had gone extremely wrong when Ray had stolen his vehicle and abducted an innocent woman off the street. Thankfully Elliot had been able to prevent anything further happening to her, but it had been a close shave. The kidnap and attempted rape should have landed him life with no further risk of parole being granted. It was inconceivable that any appeal had been granted.

Ray must have been holding a serious grudge against Elliot and had decided to make him pay. It seemed that taking Olivia had been the way he had chosen to gone about it. It suddenly occurred to Elliot to ask that the technicians sweep his own apartment, now that he suspected it was he who was the real target. He must have led Ray to Olivia. Munch had contacted him, confirming that records showed that Ray had been released over three months ago and it was likely that he had been stalking them both all this time, waiting for the right moment to make his move. The thought made him feel sick to the stomach. She had absolutely nothing to do with this. If that bastard had touched her…he swore to himself then and there that he would kill him.

…

Knowing who had her had unfortunately brought them no closer to actually finding her. The following lunch time, more than seventeen hours after she had gone missing, Cragen insisted that Elliot go home to rest, shower and change. It hadn't been a choice.

Elliot slipped into his apartment feeling defeated. Earlier the technicians had found three listening devices planted in his place, in similar positions to those that had been recovered in Olivia's. They had been removed, which Elliot knew would have alerted Ray to the fact that they were now on to him. They had tapped into his phone line, ready to start the trace as soon as Ray called, if he did. It made Elliot feel slightly better about being there rather than the precinct, with the knowledge that Ray would at some point probably try to make contact.

He hadn't intended to really sleep, just to lie down for a few minutes, but the first thing he noticed when the banging on his door woke him up was the time and he realised with horror that he had been asleep for almost six hours.

He leapt to his feet and crossed the distance to the door in record time. He was exasperated to see it was his neighbour, an elderly lady, nice enough, but with a slight tendency to be a little nosy.

"Now's not a good time, Mrs Farrey," he told her, opening the door.

"Are you alone?" she asked nervously.

He nodded, his irritation at her persistence growing steadily.

"Then in that case, there's a call for you," she said, thrusting the wireless phone she had been hiding behind her back straight into his hand.

With no time to react, he raised the receiver to his ear and muttered a dazed "hello!?"

"Elliot! It's been a while."

"Ray!" he muttered through clenched teeth. All of their experience and technology and they had overlooked the possibility of the man calling his next door neighbour, whose line was of course not being traced. It was so simple it was nauseating. He felt like an absolute idiot.

"So how have you been, detective?" he drawled the word accusingly.

"Cut the crap Ray. Where is she? What do you want?"

"Tut tut tut. All in good time my dear detective. Okay. We may as well cut to the chase. I think you've worked out the situation. Now, I want you to join the party. The only thing is I really don't want you calling your pals. Now, I know that is probably highly tempting, but, well to be honest, lives depend on it. You get my drift?"

"Let me speak to her. I'm not going anywhere unless I know she is okay."

"She's fine. You'll just have to take my word on that. However, she won't be for long. You have twenty minutes to get here. Any sign of your pals and I pull the trigger. My life is over, Elliot. I have nothing to lose. You, however, have everything."

"Fine," said Elliot resignedly. "I'll go. Just me. Where are you?"

"Where it all began…"

"What does that mean?"

"You have twenty minutes to work it out detective."

Elliot heard the click and the line go dead.

"Everything okay?" his neighbour asked watching him dubiously, clutching the phone he had handed back to her just before he leaned inside and grabbed his keys, wallet and phone and then locked his door.

"Yes, fine," he called behind him as he hurried away down towards his car. "Thanks, Mrs Farrey," he added, leaving the startled woman staring open-mouthed behind him.