Olivia looked up sharply when she heard the tentative voice of Katie Monroe through the speaker.
#John, please talk to me…# she said quietly.
She turned and walked towards the voice so that she could hear more clearly.
#John, you want to talk to me. We don't need ADA Barba or Noah here for that…# She tried again.
Olivia's heart broke for her, she had watched Katie rebuild her life brick by brick over the last few months - yet here she was metaphorically stepping forward to try and talk Coren into releasing Barba and Noah. Releasing them and leaving her to deal with her own darkest nightmares.
Coren sat down in a seat near to Katie and smiled, "Want me alone, do you?"
Katie looked away from his burning gaze and swallowed hard, "They have nothing to do with this, John."
"Barba has everything to do with this!" Coren barked furiously looking over at the ADA and seeing the way Noah clung even tighter to him in fear.
"He was just doing his job…" Katie maintained tearfully, "…acting on…" she took a shaky breath, "…acting on my orders. Everything…everything he did or said came through me."
"Katie, don't…" Barba started.
"Shut up, counsellor! Did I ask you to comment? This is a private conversation! You know all about those right? Those private little huddles you have with the kid's mother!" He stood and walked over towards them. "Noah, do you know about those private little chats? I watched one of them this morning. You know what? I think Mommy might have a thing for good old Uncle Rafa!" Coren laughed.
"John! Leave them alone!" Katie cried out tearfully.
Coren turned and glared at Katie, then looked at Noah. He was sat in Barba's lap, holding on to him firmly with a confused and fearful look on his face. "Have you been taught about the birds and bees, yet?"
Noah frowned and moved closer to Barba, he didn't like this man and felt even more uncomfortable when he spoke to him directly.
"Coren, you don't have to do this…" Barba hissed angrily.
"I don't have to…" he smirked and walked back towards Katie, "…but allow me a little fun."
"I don't see the appeal personally," Coren said casually and sat down near to Katie again, "…but then she's a stuck-up prickly bitch, I guess you could argue that they're a match made in heaven."
Olivia bristled and looked over toward her friends, who were focusing on their work and making a point not to look over at their boss.
#What do you think, Katie? Think they're doing it?# Coren asked teasingly.
#He's just a little boy, John, you're confusing him…# Katie hissed.
#What do you think, Noah? Think you'd like a new daddy? I mean, I assume that you haven't already got one…or the whole conversation just got extremely awkward,# Coren laughed, he was genuinely enjoying himself now.
Olivia growled a little under her breath and stood.
#We're friends, Coren…# Barba spoke calmly.
#You know what I think, Barba? I believe that the tough-talking ADA thinks that the Lieutenant is out of his league. He presumes that Olivia Benson could do better…# He laughed a little and then added, #What do you think, little man, do you think your mommy could do better?#
#I don't understand…# Noah said tearfully.
#Just leave him alone, Coren!# Barba hissed and Olivia tensed, she could understand his frustration but was terrified that he'd tempt him into lashing out again.
#Would you like Uncle Rafa to be your daddy?# Coren continued mercilessly.
There was silence in the room and in the van for several long seconds before Noah replied resolutely, #Yes.#
Rollins looked up sharply at Olivia and saw the shock on her face, "Boss…" she started but then stopped when the lieutenant turned and looked at her.
"It's fine, Amanda. We get them out of there…we get them out of there so that I can have a discussion with them about this later. Okay?"
Everyone looked down a continued their work, pointedly not acknowledging when Olivia turned and furiously swiped the tears from her eyes.
Even Coren seemed to be surprised by Noah's answer and stepped back a little from that line of questioning.
"I don't understand the appeal myself," he repeated and then looked over at his ex, "…what about you, Katie? ADA Barba, do you see it?"
Katie looked over at Barba and flushed a little with embarrassment. "He's a little…well, I'm a little young…but…" she smiled weakly at Barba in spite of her fear and then looked at Coren, "…he's a good man, something that you would know nothing about."
"A good man?" Coren repeated as though working through the concept in his head.
"A good man," she confirmed bravely. "He talks to people with respect, his job is basically to fight for victims, he's a….loyal friend…" Coren frowned at her now, but she ploughed on, "…he's kind…he was kind to me…and he came into this room with you, not knowing what would happen to him, because he loves that little boy. He's a good man."
"So it's official, you're all fucking members of the ADA Barba Fan Club?" Coren growled out angrily.
"Can you just…" Barba paused and then continued undauntedly, "…attempt to control your language?"
Coren laughed, stood up and walked towards the window, "He's a fucking saint!"
Barba was silent for maybe five minutes and then quietly spoke to Coren, "I can promise you that I'm far from a saint. Everyone makes mistakes. I've done things that I regret deeply - I've been selfish, mercurial, even cruel. It took me years to look past my own ego and see that my career goals counted for nothing when weighed alongside…everything else."
"Everything else?" Coren asked impatiently, not even sure that he wanted to know the answer.
"People…human connections that run deeper than consideration for what they can do for you…for what you can get out of it," Barba replied simply.
"It's easy for you…" Coren dismissed him outright.
"Not easy, but the most important truths are hardest to come by," Barba said simply. "I was taught the importance of family from my mother, the importance of learning when to keep my mouth shut from my father…then received a good education on my own merits before being left to manage my own life with pride and conceit. A road I might still be on…had I not had the good fortune to meet this little man's mother." Barba smiled at Noah and then winced and brought the hand not holding him up to his face. "Damn…I think you broke my cheekbone."
"How the hell would you know that?" Coren asked impatiently.
"Because I've been on the receiving end of enough blows in my life and I know what a broken bone feels like," Barba snapped with frustration, then took a breath and smiled apologetically at Noah, "…I'm sorry, Noah, I didn't mean to shout, I guess my poorly face is making me a little crabby."
Noah looked at him unhappily and turned to bury his face against Barba's chest, "I wish we could go home now, Uncle Rafa, I want my mommy."
Barba wrapped his arms around the boy and leaned instinctively to kiss the top of his head, "Soon, Noah, you're going to see mommy really soon."
Coren walked over, grabbed Noah's arm and pulled him away. The boy reached out and gripped hold of Barba's shirt, he held on tightly and refused to let go.
"I said that you could see him, you've seen him, now let go!" Coren shouted.
"No! Uncle Rafa!" Noah screeched as his hand was painfully pulled free and he was tugged to the other side of the room and dumped on the floor next to Katie.
Katie reached out and brought Noah into her arms, hugged the sobbing boy tightly. "Why would you do that? It's just cruel!"
"'Cruel and manipulative behavior'? Isn't that what he told the jury?" Coren smiled back at Barba who looked shellshocked by Noah's sudden and unexpected removal from his arms.
"This is just a game to you? He's a child!" Barba seethed.
"From what you've told me we both learned at the knee of masters," Coren smirked.
"I've spent my life working to avoid becoming my father - it seems that you've probably strived to surpass yours," Barba retorted sharply and then felt a skull-shaking pain as something heavy once more collided with his face.
After a few moments, Barba opened his eyes and blinked until the world started to come back into focus. He didn't look at Coren, or the small child's chair that was hanging loosely from his hand, he moved his focus slowly to Noah, who was now sobbing uncontrollably in Katie's arms. "Are you okay, Noah? Did he hurt you?"
Noah turned and held Barba's steady gaze and shook his head, "My arm hurt, but I'm okay. Uncle Rafa…are you okay?"
Barba nodded and managed a small smile, "I'm fine, little man, you just stay down there with Katie for a while, okay?"
Noah bit his lip tearfully, "Uncle Rafa, your mouth…it's bleeding…"
Barba ignored the pain and smiled genuinely, "I'm fine, I promise…I'm sure it looks worst than it is."
Noah smiled weakly and nodded.
Coren walked towards the phone and picked it up.
Olivia had barely even begun to recover from the sound of the latest sickening blow when the phone rang. She walked straight over this time and answered it directly, "You son-of-a-bitch, if you lay one more hand on him I swear to God I will make sure you regret it every day for the rest of your life!"
Coren smiled over at Barba, "Ooooooo, buddy! Your girlfriend is mad now…you should hear her! Sounds like she wants to rip my head off and mount it on a pike!"
Barba glared wordlessly.
"That would be too good for you, Coren, right now I'm imagining you hung, drawn and quartered…" Olivia seethed furiously and was only glad that Noah couldn't hear her.
Coren raised his eyebrows and sat down so that he was facing the ADA, "Beats me why you think this woman doesn't want you, Barba, you want to hear the things she's threatening to do to me in your name. It's unladylike."
Barba closed his eyes sadly and didn't reply.
"You want ladylike?" Olivia growled. "Let me in there myself and I'll show you how a real woman deals with a ballless sack of shit like you!"
Coren smiled over at Katie, "You're friend Olivia wants to visit, should we let her?"
"No!" Katie and Barba both sat up alertly and yelled in unison.
He smiled back into the phone, "Well, you seem to be very unpopular in this room, Benson. It seems that none of your friends wants you to visit!"
Barba stared at him coldly.
"What do you want, Coren? You must want something, you can't be planning on just playing this game indefinitely…" Olivia said with calm yet seething resentment.
He hummed, "Well, now we're getting down to it. I want a car and unrestricted passage out of here. I'll leave the boy as a gesture of goodwill and if we make it outside of the city without being followed I'll leave Barba on the side of the road somewhere. He'll probably be breathing…" he paused and then added, "…it really depends on how annoying he is. He is pretty annoying."
"There's no way in hell I can do that," Olivia replied firmly.
"You'd definitely get the boy," Coren pointed out.
"And you drive off with your victim and a city ADA in your car?" Olivia responded. "You must know that can't happen."
"So I'll leave your boyfriend and the boy?" Coren bartered.
"Not going to happen," Olivia replied quickly, silently rebuking herself that at that moment she actually found that deal terrifyingly tempting. The fact was that if she and Barba were in a relationship she wouldn't be allowed to be on this call. She could almost feel that the people in the room with her were starting to doubt that she should be now.
"Okay…" Coren paused and tried again, "…I want the vehicle and Katie…or I kill the ADA right here and now."
Olivia felt sick and swallowed hard, she looked around at a sea of concerned faces and then quietly and calmly responded, "If ADA Barba does not make it out of that room alive then I can promise you one thing - you will not survive the day."
Coren gasped in mock horror, "I'm not sure that threats of murder are in the hostage negotiation handbook, Lieutenant Benson!"
"I want to talk to the ADA," Olivia said firmly.
Coren held up the phone, "Your girlfriend wants to talk to you, are you in?"
Barba didn't answer, he just looked at him blankly.
"You know, I'm not sure he wants to talk to you…" Coren said as he brought the phone back to his ear.
"You know I do…" Barba said hoarsely, the broken bones in his face now really starting to affect his speech as the swelling began to kick in.
Coren stood and slowly walked towards the lawyer, he held the phone to his ear and waited.
"Liv…?" Barba croaked out.
Olivia gasped, "God, Rafa…you sound awful!"
"I promise I'm better than I sound, I think I have a couple of broken bones…" He assured.
"I'm going to work on something, I swear," Olivia assured.
"It's all going to be fine, Liv," Barba hissed and then coughed.
"Since when did you become so optimistic?" Olivia teased with warmth, humor and desperation in her voice.
"You must be having an effect on me…" He observed and closed his eyes at the pain of talking.
Olivia looked around the room and then let out a long sigh, some things were more important than professional protocol. "Rafa, I'm going to see you soon and we'll talk more about this then…but while you're in there…while this is happening…I can't bear for you to doubt this for a moment. Rafael Barba, I really do love you…very very much."
A tear escaped Barba's swollen eye and he was just about to speak when Coren turned and walked away with the phone, "Well, that's about enough of that! Enough to make a man sick…"
TBC...