AN: I know this story has taken some twists and turns. I hope you're still enjoying it! Thanks for reading.

EOEOEOEO

"What's taking so long?" Elliot asked as he paced around Cragen's office. He was anxious to get Noonan talking…to get the name of the man that had put all of this in motion.

"Don't know." Cragen said. "Why don't you go see if the guys have found anything? They're checking up on the guys we dug up as potential suspects from Olivia's files."

"I don't need busywork." Elliot said, stopping to stare at Cragen. "I need Noonan here…right now…so we can find this bastard." He shook his head, braced his arms against the desk and let his head drop. "What do you think he's doing to her?" He said quietly.

"You can't think about it or it'll drive you crazy." Cragen said, standing up. "Olivia is strong. She's trained in self-defense."

Elliot straightened up and nodded. "She's a fighter." He had seen her take down guys twice her size. "But maybe he drugged her or…" All kinds of horrible thoughts were running through his head right now.

"Don't." Cragen said.

"I can't help it. After the things we see every day…" Elliot was interrupted by Cragen's phone. Cragen snatched the phone before the end of the first ring and Elliot watched his expression as he listened. When Cragen hung up, he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Noonan's dead."

Elliot thought he must have heard wrong. "What?"

"CO went to get him from his cell and found him dead in his bunk. Someone had slit his throat." Cragen explained.

"He's our only link to Olivia." Elliot said, the volume of his voice escalating as he spoke. "He can't be dead. Did they try to revive him?" He was frantic for it not to be true.

"He was gone." Cragen said. "He'd been dead for at least a couple of hours."

Elliot pounded his fists against Cragen's desk. "What the fuck are we supposed to do now?" He paced back towards the door and then turned to face Cragen again. "Huh? Where do we go from here?" He didn't wait for an answer and turned towards the door.

"Elliot. Where do you think you're going?" Cragen asked.

"To find Olivia." He yelled without stopping.

"Where?" Cragen asked, coming around his desk and following Elliot out of his office. "Running around the city half-cocked isn't going to do any good." He yelled after him.

Elliot stopped near his desk and turned back to face Cragen. He swiped a pile of folders off his desk angrily, and watched as papers tumbled out of the files and fluttered to the ground. "We're going to sit here and look through fucking files and what? Just wait for her body to show up?" He choked out the last few words.

The rest of the squad stopped what they were doing, watching the interaction between them.

"Where are you going to look? Huh?" Cragen asked. "We have CSU at the hotel. At her apartment."

Elliot let out a sound of frustration. "I can't just sit here. She's out there." His arms pointed out towards the windows. "She's counting on me. I'm her partner." He scrubbed his hand over his head. "I never should have left her with the protective detail. I'm the one that's supposed to have her back."

Cragen walked towards Elliot, and stopped a few feet away. "This isn't your fault Elliot." He said, calmly. "We're going to find her." He looked over at the rest of the squad. "No one is going to rest until we do. So… let's get an update from CSU, and everyone here that's been working on the case and decide what to do next." He looked around the room. "I'm going to go make a call. Everyone pull their info together and be ready in 5 minutes.

EOEOEOEO

Olivia didn't have a watch or a phone, and she couldn't see outside, so she had no idea how much time had passed. She couldn't get Elliot out of her mind. The kidnapper's words haunted her.

"It's not you I want."

She wondered if her kidnapper had found him…if Elliot was lying dead somewhere right now.

No. That didn't make any sense. He had stalked her. Kidnapped her for a reason.

Misdirection?

Everyone was wasting critical manpower by looking through all their files, looking for threats against her. They wouldn't find the kidnapper because they were looking at the wrong men, and that madman was free to go after Elliot. Elliot wouldn't see him coming.

Still. It made no sense…

As Olivia thought about it, she realized she was the bait. Whoever was after Elliot wasn't happy with just shooting him on the street. He wanted him to come after her.

Why?

She couldn't come up with any plausible explanation. That's what happens when you're trying to dissect the thoughts of a crazy person.

Olivia's stomach growled, and she tried to push her hunger and thirst out of her mind. She pulled at the chains in frustration, and looked at them again. There had to be a way to escape, but the chains kept her far enough away from the metal headboard and footrail so she couldn't get a good enough look at them.

Olivia thought she heard a sound and she stopped moving, listening intently. At this point, she really didn't want to see him again. But more worrisome was the thought that he'd never come back and she'd die down here. The thought made her panic for a moment, and she had to force herself to take a deep breath and keep calm. Panicking wouldn't help.

Olivia lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. She tried to replay every minute from when her kidnapper had forced his way into her hotel room until the minute he'd walked out.

It's not you I'm after.

She felt the tears prick the back of her eyes. She thought she'd been doing the right thing…trying to keep Elliot out of harms' way. But it hadn't mattered. She was going to be responsible for Elliot's death.

EOEOEOEO

Cragen walked out of his office after his call, and saw the team assembled, including Elliot. "Just got off the phone with CSU." Cragen started. They've got no fingerprints, no signs of struggle. Just as we were told. The officers on the scene got a brief description from Armstrong. Suspect is white. Middle-aged."

"That's it?" Elliot asked. "A middle-aged white man?" He pushed himself out of his chair. "Christ. That's at least a quarter of the men in Manhattan."

"Sit down." Cragen said, but Elliot crossed his arms and widened his stance. His patience was more than stretched to the limit.

Cragen stared at him for a moment but decided not to push it. "Detective Benson's cell phone was recovered at the scene, as well as her gun and badge. They were all in the bedroom." He looked over at Elliot. "According to Armstrong, Detective Benson had been sleeping, but then came out of her room about 11PM. She said her partner was stopping by to show her a photo…"

"What?" Elliot asked, taking a step forward.

Cragen put up a hand, indicating he should stop. "Armstrong went to the door, and even though she had her gun drawn, when she opened the door, the man bashed it in, knocking her backwards. The suspect then tasered her and she want down. She couldn't move and saw the suspect lunge at Detective Benson, who was standing close behind her. Detective Benson was yelling, but a few minutes later, he carried her out of the hotel room. Armstrong called police as soon as she was able. We can see a man carrying Benson out of the hotel on camera, but he's wearing a hoodie and we can't see his face. She appeared to be unconscious or perhaps he tasered her too."

"Captain." Elliot shook his head. "I didn't go to the hotel. Not at 11PM."

"We have Benson's phone. We see the texts between the two of you." Cragen said.

"No. That didn't happen. I didn't text her."

Cragen let out a frustrated sigh. "CSU has the texts." He repeated.

Elliot pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Check my phone." He said. "I swear. I didn't text Olivia."

Cragen looked at him, and then at the phone. "I'll call CSU." He said as he turned and headed back to his office.

Elliot looked down at his phone. Olivia had been kidnapped because she thought he was the one coming to see her. The guilt over what had happened just tripled. Suddenly, he remembered the burner phone he'd given to Olivia. "Captain!" He yelled out, and he strode across the room to where Cragen stopped. "Did CSU find another cell phone at the scene?"

"Another phone?"

Elliot nodded fervently. "Yes. A small black cell phone."

"No, they didn't mention another phone. But I'll have to double-check with them." Cragen looked at Elliot. "Olivia had another cell phone?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah." He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, knowing what the text messages on that phone would show. But it didn't matter now…nothing mattered except finding Olivia. "I gave it to her."

Cragen furrowed his brow slightly.

Elliot spoke up before Cragen asked the question. "I wanted to be able to communicate without our conversations being…tracked."

Cragen nodded and let out a sigh. "OK." He walked into his office and Elliot followed.

"Captain, we…"

Cragen waved him off. "We'll talk later." He moved behind his desk and turned to face Elliot. "You think Liv has this phone?"

"If they didn't find it, she must. Or else he has it. But either way, maybe we can track it." He pulled his own extra cell phone out of his pocket. "Her phone number is on here."

"It's a burner. The whole point is that they can't be traced."

"Maybe CSU can do something…" Elliot said. He knew it was pointless. He had purposefully picked these phones so he could communicate freely with Olivia. He hadn't planned on needing it for anything else.

Cragen looked at the phone in Elliot's hand. "Maybe our best option is to call her number. See who answers."

EOEOEOEOEO

Olivia woke up, slightly disoriented. She realized that she must have fallen asleep, and she remembered her last thoughts of Elliot, and the tears that followed. Her head hurt, and she realized she was getting really dehydrated. She wondered how long she'd been sleeping…how long she'd been down stuck in this basement.

Olivia scooted up on the bed as far as she could, so she was sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her. She did some stretching…she didn't want to be lethargic if her kidnapper came back. She heard a noise, and she wondered if she was hearing things again. But moments later, she heard a key in the lock and her heart rate soared.

The man walked in, and Olivia saw he had a water bottle in his hand. He closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. "You must be thirsty." He said as he handed the bottle to her.

Olivia didn't reach for it. She was dying to take it, but she didn't have any idea if he spiked it with anything or not.

"It's not even open." He shook the bottle in his hand. "Look, it's still sealed."

Olivia hesitated a second and then she took the water from him. If it was sealed, then maybe she would drink it. She needed to keep up her strength so that if she got the chance to escape, she would have the energy. She set it on the bed next to her…she didn't want to take her eyes off him.

"You still don't trust me huh?" he asked with a chuckle. "I told you already…" He leaned over slightly. "It's not you that I want." He let his eyes roam down her body and then back up until his eyes met hers. "Although I must say, you're a very beautiful woman." He chuckled again. "A big improvement."

Olivia pulled her cardigan closed again and stared at him icily. She didn't know what he was referring to but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of engaging in his game. "Who are you?" She asked. "Am I supposed to know you?"

The man shook his head. "No, you don't know me Detective. We've never met." He held out his hand as if to shake it. "Michael McManus."

Olivia ignored his hand and he dropped it. She watched as he walked over to the door and grabbed a metal folding chair. He brought it over and set it up near the bed and sat down, as if they were old friends about to catch up. He fished something out of his pocket and Olivia saw the cell phone Elliot had given her.

"Your boyfriend just called."

"He's not my boyfriend." Olivia said quickly.

"Then who did you know who I was talking about?" He asked with a smile.

Olivia pressed her lips together. This man wasn't stupid. She would have to be more careful.

"There are only texts between you and Detective Stabler on this phone." He still had that stupid smile on his face. "I wonder why you would have a phone with messages from only Detective Stabler?"

Olivia didn't answer, but she didn't really think he was expecting her to reply. It was more like he was talking to himself. She watched as he scrolled through the texts and she wracked her brain trying to remember the contents.

"It's very interesting really." His eyes flicked back up to hers. "Very sweet." He let out a sigh and stared at her for a minute before he continued. "I've been following you, you know." He cocked his head. "It didn't take very long to figure it out."

"We're just partners." Olivia repeated insistently, but her comment only drew another laugh.

"Anyone can see how close you are…if they really looked." He shook his head. "I was following Detective Stabler at first, but then I saw." He tapped two fingers on his temple. "I saw how he looked at you…how you were when you were together…and I came up with a new plan." His smile turned into a wide grin. "I think my new plan is better than the original." McManus leaned back on the chair. "I bet Detective Stabler is going out of his mind right now." He held up the phone. "What do you think?"

"I think my entire squad is looking for me right now." Olivia said.

"Hmm." McManus said. "I'm sure they are. But that's not what I asked you now, is it?" He leaned forward, the smile gone. "IS IT?"

Olivia didn't want to risk upsetting him, so she shook her head.

"Good girl." He said. "Now. Like I said, your boyfriend just called. And guess what?"

Olivia didn't respond.

"He left a message." He held out the phone towards her and Olivia reached for it. She realized quickly that it was the wrong thing to do.

"What do you think you're doing?" He yelled. "Do you think I'm an idiot? That I would hand you a fucking cell phone?"

Olivia shook her head. "No." She chastised herself. It was in her best interest to keep him calm. "I made a mistake."

"I went to college." He leaned over towards her. "I went to law school!"

Olivia's ears perked up. He was angry and now he was venting…giving her a glimpse of who he was. She didn't look directly at him, hoping he would keep going, but she heard him take a deep breath. He was obviously trying to calm himself down. She looked up and saw him run his hand over his head.

"OK. OK." He was nodding his head. "Let's hear what your boyfriend had to say."

Olivia watched as he hit the button for voicemail. A second later, she heard Elliot's voice through the tinny microphone.

"Olivia. If you get this message…if you can…call me right away…text me…anything. We're looking for you and we're not going to stop."

There was a momentary pause. "And if you're the son-of-a-bitch that took her…you'd better not lay a finger on her…"

Before the rest of the message could play, the phone rang in his hand. McManus pulled the phone back and looked at it. "Looks like someone's anxious to find you." He said. Olivia noticed the smile had returned. He was enjoying this.

He hit the green button and put the phone to his ear. "Detective Stabler." He said. "Olivia and I were just talking about you."