Barba looked shocked and shaken by the abrupt ending to the call. "You could have at least let me talk to her…" he said quietly as Coren hung up the phone.
"'At least'? Why do I owe you anything?" Coren looked at him nonplussed and sat back down on his seat near to Katie and Noah. "Or her for that matter?" He added.
"I don't know, basic human decency?" Barba suggested sarcastically.
"What would you have told her?" Coren smirked and suddenly for the first time in over an hour, Barba thought directly of the microphone fitted behind his ear.
The van was filled with deafening silence for several long minutes. Olivia had started to believe that Barba was refusing to satisfy Coren with an answer.
However, when he spoke she could tell that he wasn't talking to Coren - he was talking directly to her.
#I would tell Olivia that she has changed me...brought meaning into my life in a way that I'd forgotten was even possible. Like a beautiful rainbow at the end of the cold-miserable precipitation that was my life. I would have told her that I'm not afraid anymore and if you are going to kill me in this room I would want her to know that she is loved…so completely loved…#
Barba's words trailed off and the whole van remained silent for at least a minute.
"Liv…" Dodds spoke tentatively from the doorway and they all spun to look at him. "We all heard that...you can't continue like this."
"You think that I can't do my job?" Olivia asked, her face wet with tears and flushed with emotion.
"I don't think that you are unable to function with any level of emotional detachment, Lieutenant Benson. That is your son in there, your son and the man that you obviously love…this should have been shut down from the start," he turned and looked at Fin pointedly.
"Please…" Olivia asked with an almost pleading tone in her voice.
"I need you to step down now, Liv. You're not here on the job anymore…" Dodds repeated firmly.
"No…" Olivia tried to argue again.
"Trust me, I get it…but that is your family in there. I need you to allow me to take this one on. It's not just about professional detachment anymore, he's using very real violence in there. You need to put that on me now…for your sake, as well as for Rafael and Noah."
She understood what he was saying, he was telling her that he wanted to take the responsibility for the operation off her shoulders - in case Barba was killed in there.
"I'll do everything in my power to protect them both, Olivia, but you need to leave now," Dodds nodded toward the door.
"No, I'll stay quiet. I won't get involved, I swear…don't cut me out of this. This is already torture, having no idea what is going on in there would be hell!"
Dodds jaw twitched as it tightened and then he nodded, "A silent observer?"
"Silent," she agreed with a nod.
#Wait a minute….# They heard Coren's voice through the speaker… #How the hell did she know that I'd hit you again?#
Olivia looked at Dodds with wide eyes, "Oh, God! I didn't even think…"
Dodds breathed in deeply and nodded. "Okay, I want to get him on the phone..."
Barba glanced at Katie and her eyes widened in fear.
"How did she know?" Coren demanded, reaching to grab Noah by the collar and lift him up off the floor.
"John, no…put him down!" Katie cried and stood quickly to reach out for the boy.
"Wait! Wait! The microphone!" Barba blurted out instantly. "I have a microphone behind my ear…" he reached back to remove it, holding the tiny bud out on his finger, "…take it, take it…please, just put Noah down!"
Coren dropped Noah to the floor and reached out to take the circle of plastic from Barba's hand as the phone began to ring. He ignored it and turned on the ADA, "You lying piece of sh…" he reached out to hit Barba with his gun but was suddenly grabbed from behind.
"No!" Katie screamed and leapt onto his back.
Pulled off balance Coren fell backwards and felt his gun drop to the floor. He spun around and gripped Katie around the neck, pulling her off him, throwing her against a wall and knocking her out cold. Barba stood and grabbed her assailant from behind as he stalked towards Katie, but then Coren threw his elbow back, catching the ADA in the ribs and winding him.
Barba rushed back at him and pulled him to the ground, getting in two solid punches before Coren pulled up his knee and caught the lawyer sharply in the crotch. Coren reached for his gun and couldn't find it, then looked up and saw Noah standing above him holding the weapon between two shaking hands.
"Leave my Uncle Rafa alone…" Noah begged tearfully.
"You're not going to use that, kid, you wouldn't even know how..." Coren smirked and moved his hand to Barba's throat.
Noah looked at them both with uncertain eyes, he saw Coren's hand tighten and Barba's face start to turn red. "Leave my Uncle Rafa alone!" Noah repeated desperately.
Coren laughed and tightened his hand further, but then paused when he saw Noah's finger squeeze a little on the trigger.
Suddenly a shot rang out.
Then Coren fell backwards and hit the floor heavily.
—
Olivia ran in and rushed straight over to Noah, "Baby, baby…give me the gun…"
Noah's eyes were closed and the gun still hung loosely from his shaking hands, "Did I do it? Did I do it? Did I do it?" He asked without opening his eyes as Olivia slipped the gun from her son's hands.
"No, no, no, sweet boy," Olivia rushed to assure him as she passed the gun back to Carisi and then wrapped him in her arms, "…I shot Mr Coren. I'm sorry, baby, but he was a very bad man and I was scared that he would hurt you or Uncle Rafa."
She held her son tightly and turned to look around the room. Katie being treated by the medics near the wall, John Coren unmistakably dead on the floor...and Barba, who was beginning to groan and recover from his oxygen deprivation.
"Baby, we need to move…we need to…" Olivia lifted Noah and moved toward Barba. She kept her son wrapped in one arm and kissed his head as she bent forward and reached to run her hand carefully down the side of Barba's bruised and reddened neck.
"Rafael, can you breathe?" Olivia asked softly.
Barba groaned and tried unsuccessfully to blink open his eyes, "Liv? Noah?"
"You're okay, you're going to be okay…" she looked up and nodded at a medic as she ran over and dropped to his side.
The woman ran through several quick assessments and then looked up at Olivia, "Next of kin?"
"I'm a police lieutenant…and…and his partner...his girlfriend…please, just talk to me?" She asked the woman with clear desperation in her voice. She looked down when she felt Barba's hand reach out blindly near her leg, then quickly slipped her hand into his.
The medic nodded, "Mr…?"
"Barba, Rafael Barba," Olivia supplied a little impatiently.
"Okay, so out of respect for the job I will speak a little more freely than I usually would at this stage. On my initial assessment, I'd say that Rafael is going to be just fine, ma'am. I believe that he has at least one broken bone under his eye and superficial damage to his throat….we'll need to get him to hospital for some tests of course…" the medic clarified.
Olivia nodded with palpable relief, "Okay, good…okay..."
"My Uncle Rafa is going to be okay?" Noah asked, turning from his mommy's shoulder for the first time and opening his eyes.
"He's going to be just fine," the medic said with a gentle smile at the clearly traumatised little boy. Then she looked back at Olivia, "How do you want to do this? Do you want to come with us?"
Olivia looked up at Dodds as he entered the room.
"You're off duty for a few days until we can sort through this mess…" he said solemnly, then he smiled tightly and added, "…go and be with your men, Lieutenant, I'll need to talk to you soon though."
She smiled and then nodded at the medic, "We'll come with you, I think Noah would be happier to stay with Rafael right now and I don't really want either of them out of my sight."
The medic nodded and stood, holding out her hand to help Olivia to her feet with Noah before directing two of her colleagues to move Barba as painlessly as possible onto a gurney.
Fin and Rollins rushed over as they climbed into the back of the bus.
"How is he?" Rollins asked.
"He's okay," Olivia assured with obvious relief, "…thanks to Noah."
Noah looked up with surprise at his mommy's words.
"You saved him, baby, you gave mommy the time I needed to get to you both…" Olivia leaned in to kiss down the side of his face tearfully. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through this, my sweet boy, but you are mommy's hero."
Noah smiled at Olivia's words and then stood a little taller, suddenly feeling a lot less scared and a little proud, "I really saved Uncle Rafa?"
"You did," Olivia said, she pulled him close into her side and they sat down alongside the ADA.
Rollins and Fin nodded at Olivia as the doors closed.
Then as they pulled away Noah felt Barba's hand reach out and slip into his. "My hero," he rasped out softly and a happy tear slid down Noah's cheek.
It was finally over.
TBC…