Law and Order: SVU is the intellectual property of Dick Wolf. The use of the characters, settings, and plotlines is not malicious. This is a work of fiction.

The human condition. It's what made people laugh and cry, gave them hope and despair, made them feel sympathy or apathy, caused them to swell with pride, swell with lust, or swell with fury. At this moment, Olivia mentally cursed the human condition. She had never felt so many different emotions at once, not like this. She was pissed off beyond belief, she was confused and hurt, she had fallen in love with Elliot all over again and something in the way he twitched and growled when he was infuriated made her entire body ache with need. She smirked at him, watching out of the corners of her eyes as he loomed threateningly over Brian Cassidy, like a lion stalking his prey.

"Once again," Elliot said coolly, despite the fire in his eyes. "From the beginning." He cracked his knuckles. "It may be the deciding factor in whether or not you leave this room in one piece or in a body bag."

Cassidy heaved a sigh and rubbed his palms over the knees of his jeans, trying to wipe away the sweat. "I knew you'd get the message, that you two would take the case," he said first, and then he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'm, uh, in a bit of a bind, here, and the only one…well, two people, who could get me out of it, are you and Benson."

"I need you to tell me why, again, because I'm trying to wrap my head around it, and I can't," Elliot fumed, his nostrils flaring and his fists clenched.

Brian looked over at Olivia, the expression on her face unreadable. "Mason Harding," Cassidy said, "My boss. He needed me to take this case, deep cover, and this one guy…man, he found me out, told me he wouldn't blow my cover if I did him a favor. A couple of favors."

Elliot inhaled, let it slowly as if trying to keep himself from exploding, and he said, "Frame me, implicate Liv, attack an ADA."

Brian nodded. "I left those tags behind, not to frame you, man, to tell you I was in trouble. I knew once your unit got wind of it, you'd take it. I mean, it's Novak. I hoped that when Casey started talking…she would tell you…well, that it was you, and I knew you had an alibi, so you'd figure it all out." He blinked twice and looked up at Elliot. "Man, this guy…he's dangerous, okay? I had to do what he asked…I couldn't risk blowing my cover. He said he'd...he'd kill me, and then he'd go after…" his eyes drifted toward Olivia.

Elliot narrowed his eyes before following Cassidy's movement, and then his heart stopped. He tugged at his tie, loosening his collar, and snapped back toward Cassidy. "His name," Elliot barked. "Now."

Cassidy shook his head firmly. "No, no way," he said, rising from his seat. "You got this far, you were given the green light to get in on my investigation, but, Stabler, man, if I tell you, my cover is down the shitter, and everything I worked to build up with this case is…"

"What the fuck," Elliot snarled, grabbing Cassidy's collar, "is his name?" He tightened his grip on Cassidy, pushing him up against the wall. "I don't give a shit about your case, you son-of-a-bitch, who the fuck put you up to this?"

Cassidy flinched, but then worked up the nerve to push Elliot away. He pulled down his sleeves and cursed under his breath at Elliot. "Dirty cop," he said.

Elliot didn't miss a beat. "Like you?"

Cassidy took a step toward Elliot. "And you, right? You've done your share of shit! I don't think there's a single rule in the fucking department that wasn't bent or broken to save your ass. You and your precious partner got away with more than any other crooked cop I've ever seen!"

Elliot shot up a lewd gesture and turned to punch the wall beside him, rather than hurt Cassidy. He gave himself a moment, harsh breathing and tightly closed eyes. "Cassidy," he said, his voice wavering, "This is my life you're fucking with. Mine and Liv's. Just please tell me who the hell…"

"Voight!" Cassidy snapped. "Fuck…man, it's Hank Voight."

The room went silent. Olivia gasped from her spot on the chair in the corner. "Is he…part of the…"

"Investigation?" Cassidy finished. He watched Olivia nod. "Yeah. But not…not in the way you want him to be. I didn't know, when I took this case, that he spent time at the Sixteenth. That he knew you, and that he saw…" he cleared his throat. "Well, that's how he recognized me, but he doesn't know that he's the target, and I need it to stay that way."

"So, what," Olivia said, finally rising and acting on one of the tumultuous emotions she'd been harboring all day. She lunged for Cassidy, but would up in Elliot's protective arms. She clawed at him as she spoke, hoping he'd cave and let her go. "I'm supposed to just let you get away with this? Walk away, after knowing you were paid off for raping one of my…"

"Nothing happened," Cassidy said, holding up a hand. "You don't want to believe me, I got it on tape. Okay, I drugged her, I carried her out through the back of the place, I left as much evidence as I could to lead you right to me, but I swear, she was never…I mean, I never…" He rubbed a hand down his face and rushed over to a shelf near the door. He grabbed a memory card, held it in his hands for a while, and then held it out it to Elliot. "I recorded this, for you, in case Voight…in case anything happened to me. Show it to Casey, too, please? I don't want her to think…" he stopped himself. "I needed her to end up in the hospital, make headlines, I needed it to look legit so that Voight would think I did what he wanted."

"You traumatized an innocent woman," Olivia said, "Made her think it was Elliot. I don't know how you can't expect us to just ignore this until you…"

A knock on the door interrupted her. Brian moved fast, looking through the peep-hole. "Shit," he spat. He turned and whispered, "You can't ignore it, now, anyway." He looked back at the door, fear and worry in his eyes. "It's Voight."

Peace and Love

Jo