Olivia nodded, knowing the first 48 hours were the most crucial and sighed in anxiety and frustration. She had never felt so helpless before.
"Fin, thank you again for coming. I hate that there is nothing more I can do for them." Olivia said, walking Detective Tutuola to the front door of her apartment and nodding in the direction of Elliot's two oldest children. The girls were still sitting on the couch; Kathleen leaning into Maureen with her head on her sister's shoulder. Maureen was staring into space, her mind miles away as she unconsciously stroked her sister's hair.
"Just be with them, Liv. In the past few weeks their foundation has been ripped out from underneath them with Elliot and Kathy's separation and now with the twins and Kathy missing, who knows what is going through their minds." Fin shook his head in astonishment at the strength of Elliot's family.
Tears formed at the bottom of Olivia's eyes and she blinked a couple times in an attempt to shake them off. Fin noticed though, and pulled her into a hug. This rare moment of affection from her colleague almost broke Olivia but she reminded her self that she had to be strong and shuddered through the sobs that threatened to wrack her body. She could cry later. Right now, she had to be steady, predictable, and unemotional.
"Thanks, Fin. Really." Olivia said, pulling away from him gently and sniffing as quietly as she could.
"Anytime, baby girl. I'll try to keep you as updated as I can. Call if you ladies need anything." He turned slowly and opened the door, letting Olivia shut it gently behind him.
Olivia made her way back to the couch where Kathleen and Maureen were still sitting in stunned silence. She sat on the coffee table in front of them and placed a hand on Maureen's knee. "Mo, this is our job. This is what your dad, Detective Tutuola, Munch, and I do for a living. We're good at it, damn good at it, but I will be honest with you, it's not going to be an easy road for your dad. I don't know why they haven't sent him home yet, actually. He shouldn't be working this case. We will find them. No one under Captain Cragen's watch will give up on them. You have to believe that and I need you both to promise me that you won't give up on them either, okay? Hope is all we have sometimes but it is a powerful, powerful thing."
The girls looked at Olivia in quiet awe and desperation. They were exhausted and simply nodded. Kathleen choked back a sob and buried her face further into Maureen's chest. "I'll grab you both some water and order some Chinese for lunch. You can have my bed tonight if you don't mind sharing so if either of you want to go lie down, you're more than welcome to. I just changed the sheets, I promise." Olivia said with a smile, trying to instill a sense of normalcy and steadiness into the girls' day.
Maureen nodded her thanks; it was all she could manage. Kathleen, however, untangled herself from her sister and threw herself into Olivia's arms. They held each other for a few moments, Kathleen quietly sobbing while Olivia rubbed comforting circles on her back. Kathleen motioned for her sister after a few moments and Maureen stood shakily and joined them. Together, the two young women cried in Olivia's embrace while Olivia stared up at the ceiling praying to whatever god was listening that everything would be okay.
Elliot was seated directly across from Judge Donnelly in Captain Cragen's office. Cragen sat at his desk with his hands folded, waiting for Liz to begin. He nodded at her, giving her the okay and she turned to look Elliot directly in the eyes.
"Elliot, what I'm about to tell you is going to be difficult to hear. Don and I have worked for years to ensure that something like this never happened but we obviously failed. The man that we believe has your children is very dangerous and we need to get to them as soon as possible. I understand you've already met him but you probably had no idea exactly who he was."
Elliot shifted uncomfortably. "What do you mean 'already met him?' I have no idea who took my kids!"
"I know, but you will after I'm done and hopefully, you will understand why we had to do what we did for so many years." Liz was tired. Her eyes were red with dark circles underneath. Her voice was breathy and hoarse and her movements strained. She was totally drained and Elliot could tell so in that moment, he decided that no matter the circumstances, he would try his best to be civil. Liz had always been there for him, after all, and had helped in out a great deal in the past.
Liz began again, slowly, with Cragen watching Elliot's every reaction. "Elliot, the man who took your children is named Greg Hollister. He's the man you met at the restaurant with Kathy." She paused and watched the emotions flicker over Elliot's face; confusion, rage, uncertainty, disbelief, and back to rage again. She braced herself but he remained stoic and didn't lash out.
"Elliot," Liz sighed, "he is also Olivia's half brother."
Hours had gone by since Katie and Maureen had arrived. The food they had ordered sat on the coffee table, barely touched. It was close to 4 p.m. and Olivia had still not heard a word from Elliot or anyone at the precinct. She watched the girls pretending to be interested in the movie that was on but she knew better. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore and reached for her phone. Finding Elliot's name under favorites, she speed dialed his number and waited while it rang in her ear. She stood up and paced the living room, phone to her ear and her other hand on her hip. She studied the floor boards while she waited for Elliot's voice.
He didn't answer.
She left him a pathetic "Hey, it's Liv. Give me a call" kind of message and hung up dejectedly.
Her phone rang in her hand before she had a chance to walk back to the couch where Kathleen and Maureen were sitting and she jumped. It was Fin.
"Hey, Fin." She answered on the second ring. "Any news?"
"None. El was in with Cragen for a while and then disappeared with Judge Donnelly. They haven't been back since they left this morning."
"Why are you at the precinct? Shouldn't you be out in the field looking for the twins?" Olivia asked, almost incredulously.
"Captain benched me and Munch. Said he was working this case with Elliot and Donnelly and that was it." Fin sighed, sounding as frustrated as Olivia felt.
"What is going on, Fin? Why is Donnelly in the middle of this?"
"I have no idea, baby girl. But I will let you know as soon as I know something." Fin said. Olivia could tell that he was at he end of his rope and needed some sleep.
"Okay, Fin. Take care of yourself." She said kindly. "Thanks for everything."
"Talk to you soon, Olivia." Fin replied and hung up the phone.
Olivia pushed her hair out of her face and sighed. What the hell was going on?
Elliot and Liz Donnelly walked into her darkened office alone. He shut the door behind him as she rooted through the files on her desk. Bringing a stack of manila folders to the dark mahogany table next to the door, she ushered for Elliot to take a seat.
"These" she pushed the stack of files towards the detective "are all the files I have on Greg and his twin brother Sam."
"Twin brother?" Elliot questioned, locking eyes with Liz over the files. The room was hot and uncomfortable and Elliot felt the emotional exhaustion begin to take hold of him.
"Yes. You've met him too, Elliot. He's the one that shot Olivia at the bar the night of the undercover operation. The apple didn't fall far from the tree and he turned out just like his daddy, a serial rapist. I believe, however, that his stint in New York was entirely a ploy to draw Olivia out. I believe he targeted her during the rapes and that night."
Elliot continued to stare stonily at Liz.
"Think about it" she continued. "Each rape was in your jurisdiction. Each rape a little more dangerous, more high profile than the last, which was sure to draw the attention of the NYPD's finest SVU detectives. Olivia was supposed to be safe that night in the bar because he only went after blondes, right? So why did he ignore the other cop and go straight for her? Vicious? Yes. Smart? Not so much."
Elliot put his head in his hands. Internally, he was screaming for Liz to stop talking. It was too much to think about. Too much to deal with.
"And then there's Greg. He got a job at the hospital where Kathy worked and two weeks later, they were dating. He strung her along for a year while his brother raped his way through Manhattan. You know what they say - 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.' I think that's what they were doing."
"Liz," Elliot interrupted. "All of this is theory and none of it makes sense. What does Kathy have to do with Olivia? Why was my family brought into this?" Elliot asked, exasperated.
"Plan B. Olivia wasn't supposed to survive the shooting but they needed a way to make her disappear in case they messed up the first time. They're expecting Olivia to go after Lizzie and Dickie and Kathy. It's a trap, Elliot. They don't want your kids or your ex-wife. They want her and they want her dead. They know she cares about your family and apparently, they know her well enough to know that she'll go after them. That's why she's at home and that's why she needs to stay there." Liz finished, almost breathless and flushed. She was hot with anger. Elliot was just plain sick.
Elliot arrived at Olivia's apartment around 1 a.m. the next morning. He and Liz had reviewed the files on Sam and Greg for a few hours and then they had gone back to the precinct to meet with Captain Cragen. Cragen had sent a team of unis out to search areas of the city where Sam had raped his victims in the hopes that Greg had used one of those areas as a holding point. By the time Elliot and Liz arrived back, half of the teams had checked in with Cragen. A couple hours later, all of the teams had checked in and none of them had found a single thing. It was at that point that Elliot decided to call it a night.
Cragen insisted on driving him home and was not at all surprised when Elliot gave him Olivia's address.
"Kathleen and Maureen are staying with Liv." Elliot said into the quiet of the car, answering the Captain's unspoken question.
"I didn't ask, Elliot. You and Olivia need each other right now." Elliot stared straight ahead, making no indication that he had even heard Cragen.
"Captain, can I ask you a question?"
Cragen nodded.
"How is it that you figured all this out? How could you possibly have known that Greg and Sam were related to Olivia when she has absolutely no idea they even exist?"
Cragen was silent for a moment and then took a breath. "Olivia ran her DNA through our familial match database. I was notified of this but never told her that I knew. She received only the results that came in first. Sam and Greg popped up in our system later when they were both busted on a voyeurism charge and ever since, I have kept an eye on them for Olivia's sake. She's like a daughter to me, Elliot."
"I know." Elliot nodded. "Thanks, Captain." He opened the door and got out of the car.
"Elliot!" Cragen called. Elliot turned around to face his Captain. "She can't be involved until it's over. They'll kill her."
Elliot nodded weakly. It was all he could do just to stay standing at that point.