AN: Sorry for the delay. I had a family lost to cope with. :(

D: Law and order SVU and all its characters are not mine.

Warning: This chapter contains violence and death.

CHAPTER 5

A little too late

Olivia, resigned, sat in her old chair for a whole hour. The call of Witnesses Protection did not arrive, a situation that did not surprise her. After all, the job of that department is, as its name says, to protect witnesses, in this case, to protect Denise. From the moment the woman was entered into their program, Olivia knew that she would never see her again. Once the Witness Protection department accepts a person and decides that they should hide them until the judge officially requests them for trial, it is impossible for them to reveal the location of that person. They couldn't risk doing their job wrong.

Olivia knew those protocols perfectly well, and so did her captain. If Witness Protection really returned the call to Special Victims Unit and allowed Olivia to talk to Denise, even by phone, it would be the furthest they would go. Olivia would have to settle for that. But the lack of news from them made Olivia think that her suspicions were true, that Captain Donald Cragen was only making time to keep her at the station, safe. She understood, they cared for her, that even moved her. However, she couldn't help feeling annoyed at the situation. She couldn't silence the voice in her mind that made her feel incompetent. 'I am not a damsel in distress. I never have been and never will be.'

To add insult to injury, seeing Melinda Warren show up in the unit only to lock herself in with the captain after casting a concerned look at her made Olivia even more insane. She kept thinking that having all the information that they seemed to be hiding from her would be much better in order for her to be able to do her job. As she debated breaking into that office and demanding a more professional treatment from her captain, the phone on her desk rang interrupting her actions.

"Benson." She answered her phone promptly expecting to hear the Witness Protection officer on the other end of the line.

"Olivia." But, to her surprise, the soft, weak voice belonged to someone else.

"Denise? Hello." Well, Witness Protection surprised her this time. The witness had apparently been allowed to communicate with her... Directly?

"Olivia." Her cracking voice carried obvious fear. "I need you to help me."

"Denise, what's wrong?" Olivia's heart immediately started pounding. Her instincts kicked in and her eyes flew to the window of her captain's office but no one was paying attention. Cragen and Warren remained focused on their conversation.

"He found me." Denise's weak voice was barely comprehensible and was soon supplanted by another voice.

"Witness Protection is more incompetent than I thought, detective." The voice on the other end of the line managed to freeze Olivia's blood. "Don't be foolish, Olivia. I know you're a smart woman who doesn't want anyone else to get hurt."

"Who is this?" That strange voice did not belong to Mathew. Apparently she was right and it was an accomplice.

"Oh, that doesn't matter." The man replied calmly. "The important thing is that you do exactly what I instruct you to. Otherwise more than one person could end up dead." A cry of pain that evidently belonged to Denise was heard in the background of the call giving strength to the stranger's words.

"Don't hurt her. I'm listening." Olivia agreed, looking to the papers in front of her trying to seem calm.

The stranger gave her clear instructions. She received a call direct to her mobile and the same voice instructed her to leave the building alone and not to hang up, or else Denise would pay. Olivia doubted for half a minute before deciding to do as told. She left her desk and went through the door giving a last glare towards her captain's window noticing he was oblivious of what was happening out of his office. She let out a sight and drove the elevator alone her hand unconsciously looking for her gun in her hip.

"Good." The voice approved once she was out in the street. a taxi. "Get a cab." He ordered.

She walked down the street watching the dark heavy clouds above her. 'More rain.' She thought to herself keeping a fast pace. Without withdrawing her mobile from her ear, she tried to get a taxi failing a couple of times until finally one stopped just in time.

"Where to?" The drives asked looking at the detective through the rear view mirror. She was about to ask for the instruction but the voice was faster.

"Your house, Olivia." Olivia stomach fell at the command. "Now." Denise cry at the background encouraged her to do as told.

The old taxi driver tried to make conversation and Olivia just answered trying to be the most polite she could. The rain began to drop lightly when they finally reach her building. She paid to the old man and hurried to get out of the taxi running into the rain and slight to her building's entrance.

"Get in here." The voice commanded. Shakily she reached to her keys inside Elliot's hoodie and took them out as quick as she could opening the front door. She took a deep breath and clutched her weapon determined to get in ready to face the stranger.

"Detective." A raspy voice called her from behind. Then… it all went dark.

Elliot and Munch took more than expected and turned back to the precinct without much information. The video had shown the man as they've expected but he wasn't recognizable. The tech guys ran the face through the system by Elliot's instructions but it had about fifty matches. For any other person he could be just one of the thieves that existed out there in the streets but, for Elliot, that was the man that had the match with Mathew. The man that could finally get them the piece they were missing to put him behind bars.

He got inside the precinct trying to hide his attitude already not wanting to worry Liv.

"W'll catch him." Munch walked behind him and tried to encourage his colleague. Elliot's eyes turned to the cribs' door feeling bad for having to tell her the news. They had to go and find all the matches to interrogate each one of them. 'Well, better than nothing.' He thought to himself. Elliot walked up to the cribs hesitating before opening the door slowly.

"Liv?" He muttered thinking that maybe she would be actually sleeping again. He entered the room cautiously letting his eyes look for her. "Liv?"

His eyes run through the room only to notice there was no one around. He turned back out and, from upstairs, he inspected the squad looking for her among the few other detectives but there was no sign of Olivia.

His heart started beating faster but he forced himself to calm down as he hurried downstairs towards the ladies room. He looked towards the captain's office noticing Melinda was about to get out of it followed by Cragen. But there was no Olivia. He hurried and, without even thinking twice, he entered the ladies room which was completely empty.

"Elliot?" Munch called him from his desk noticing the evident concern in Elliot's face as he came back from the restrooms area.

"She is not here." Elliot stated as he kept walking around looking for her. Cragen and everybody else noticed his heavy mood and looked at each other wondering what to do.

Munch acted first taking his phone and calling Olivia's number but it went stringy to voicemail. "Her phone is out."

Elliot looked in every interrogation room, the cribs and the restrooms… again. Nothing. Cragen immediately ordered to look for her in the whole police building. Elliot hurried to the main entrance and asked for her to the officer in there.

"Detective Benson?" The man doubted clumsily.

"Yes." Elliot pressured giving him a withering look.

"She is the brunet one, right? I think I saw her getting out like an hour ago."

"You think?" Elliot's voice was threatening and his fists tightened every second.

"Yes, she took a taxi. I should have help her, taxis are difficult to get with this weath…"

"Was she alone?" Elliot pushed for more useful information. Cragen was soon at his side.

"Yes. She was on the phone." The officer answered as fast as he could. "We have cameras if you want to..."

Elliot didn't bother to listen to the man he hurried to the street direction and made the next taxi stop showing his badge. "Oh that would have been helpful to her." The officer continued looking at the detective on motion.

"The security videos, I need to see them." Cragen didn't hesitate to give the order.

Elliot asked the driver to go as fast as he could claiming an emergency. "You better be home Benson." He muttered trying to control his nerves and really hopping her to be save in her apartment… save.

The taxi drove really fast running red lights earning some honks from the few cars on the road. They reached the building in less than five minutes and Elliot got out the cab running to the main entrance. He pressed her bell insistently getting no answer at all. "Come on, Olivia." he tried again.

"Can I help you detective?" A young woman's voice sounded behind him. He barely recognized the teenage girl which had been Olivia's neighbor for almost a year by then.

"Have you seen Olivia?" He asked not even trying to hide his desperation.

"Nope, I think she didn't sleep here last night. Actually she barely spends a night here." The girl answered taking out her keys from her jeans' pocket. On any other day Elliot would had been worried for that young girl being so late out of her house all by herself, but that night wasn't an ordinary night. The blond teen opened the door and complain as Elliot passed her roughly.

"Someone really wants to get some." She said laughing at her own dirty thoughts.

Elliot reached the fourth floor as fast as he could and hurried to Olivia's door but before he could knock he noticed a little paper pasted on the wood. He took it and read the printed message carefully.

'A little too late detective…'

His all body froze feeling the rage all over him. Fear seizing him.

The rain fall heavily on her body. Opening her eyes seemed the most difficult task at the moment. She was getting conscious and trying to understand where she was. She moved her hands inspecting her surroundings. It was wet and muddy, extremely cold… she was feeling extremely cold.

She focused on her breathing. It was heavy, as if something was pressing her down by her chest. She tried to move more and then she notices the tight shackles on her limbs. She finally managed to open her eyes and tried to get used to the dim light, the water insistently falling on her face didn't help at all.

Her detective instincts started working immediately. She tried to get what was the last thing she remembered. Flashes of last night appeared on her front mind; waking up that morning on his bed; the reason why she had sleep there; Denise voice and the taxi drive. Her whole body chilled at the memory of that raspy voice.

She looked around trying to find out where she was. Trees, all around her was trees, which seemed enormous from her position at the floor. Trees and nothing more. The rain was getting heavier. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on the noises, but she couldn't hear more than the falling water, the strong air blowing moving the trees' branches and… steps. She tried to get rid of the strong ties without much success.

"You've awaken." The familiar voice said looking at her. Olivia dared to open her eyes to recognize Mathew standing in front of her with a twisted smile on his face. His voice was not the same as before. She noticed. She had swore he wasn't the one on the phone. But he was right in front of her right now.

She swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat and tried to maintain calm. He just walked around moving some stuff that she couldn't see from where she was lying.

"You know what Olivia. Detectives are so predictable." He would make monologue of his own plan. She was ok with that, she needed time to think on how to get out of the situation. "When I was with you both on the interrogation room… it was really easy to read you."

She looked around trying not to pay any attention to his words. He wanted to scare her. To get into her. Thought she was already scare she had to hold to the control she still had.

"He cares a whole much for you. He is overprotective with you." Elliot he was talking about Elliot. The only man she couldn't avoid to care about. "and you… you have feeling for him." He moved around on purpose wanting her to look at the cup of coffee on his hand. "First of all… the coffee accident." And he achieved to gain her attention with that. "It wasn't difficult to deduce about your lack of clothes. You had been on the same case for months and I didn't see you going to your apartment. It was easy to make that man pass as an officer." She was listening even when she kept looking around. "Those uniforms are too easy to get."

´He had planed it all. Since when?´

"Second, the laundry shop. You finally went home and got out with a huge green bag." He laughed slightly changing the cup of coffee for a big green ecological bag. Her big green ecological bag. "A lot of clothes you had there. I just pay a young child to get in and take the two blouses I needed; the one with the stink of course and… your favorite one. You didn't even notice him passing by your side." He moved again trying to have all her attention.

"This one, I have to admit this one wasn't easy at all." She couldn't help but turn to see the big NYPD shirt on his hand… Elliot's. "It still smells of your perfume." He said putting it on his nose to slowly exhale her sent. She felt sick, and… terribly horrified. That shirt was on his apartment this morning. Was it that morning... she started to doubt about how much time had actually passed since her taxi drive.

"Where is Denise?" She decided to speak feeling horrified at how harsh her voice sounded.

"Dead." He confessed without a doubt. "And it is your fault. You know what Olivia?" He jumped on top of her getting extremely close to her face. "You don't mess with me without getting hurt." Her tears filled her eyes even when she tried to pull them back.

"Don't." Her plea came out her throat instinctively as she tried to push the horrifying images off her mind.

"They will never know what happen to detective, Benson." He stood up pushing his foot down as hard as he could right on her calf which made a loud crack followed by a shattering cry from her throat. "You would chase me to end of the world wouldn't you?" He said paraphrasing the same words she had told him on the interrogation room.

'I need to know you can do your job and not wait for me to come to your rescue.'

Elliot's voice echoed inside her mind.

The thunders of the storm appeared muting her shattering shouts. The man began his torture on her and no one could hear her desperate cries. No one could save her, not Elliot… not even herself.

"Where the hell is he!?" Elliot shouted desperate not knowing what to do or where to go. The police building security cameras had Shawn them Olivia leaving the building alone as the officer had said.

When they tried to reach Detective Tutuola to see if Mathew was still at his home they only discovered he had been attacked outside Mathew's house. They immediately contacted Witness Protection which attempted to contact the agents that were supposed to guard Denise safeness without success.

Elliot couldn't stop thinking what he might be doing to her. He couldn't help but picture her on the victims situation.

"We are trying to get his location but his car is still at his house." Munch said.

"He could get any other car!" Elliot exclaimed furiously. No lead to chase… not even a little one. "The street cameras? What we have on that?" He asked another detective that was already going through the videos.

"The rain isn't helping here." The young detective shouted from her position searching for something in all the security videos they could get.

They were all freaked out for the situation but they didn't stop, not even a second. Elliot felt helpless, there was no much he could do. He had promised her to protect her, to have her back and he had fail.

"Why did you let her out of your sight!" Elliot finally said the words he had been thinking all night. "Why you didn't pay attention to her." He didn't care it was his captain he was talking to.

"This is not my fault Stabler!" Elliot breath heavily letting out a big sight.

"I know… it's mine."

"No! This is no one's fault! We will find her… We have all the police out there searching!"

"Captain, I got something!" The whole squads turned towards the young detective. "This is from Olivia's next street. I think he is driving that car."

"Do we get the plate's number?" The woman worked as quickly as she could to zoom the image and clean it a little to get a perfect number. Elliot went to the computer and looked for a match.

"It is a rented car." He announced.

"It's better than nothing. Munch go see how is Tutuola doing. Rowling, keep watching the videos, whoever attacked detective Tutuola is working with him. All rented cars have a GPS locator, Elliot call the agenncy. We'll have all precincts following that car!" Cragen was a really good captain. Though he was scared as hell he wouldn't freeze at any situation… less when they were talking about Olivia's life.

She was there on the ground, all wet, all hurt. The pain on her both broken legs was horrible but she couldn't even speak. She could hardly even breathe without pain. She was tired of shouting without an answer. He had left her there after making her drink a nasty liquid from her own cup of coffee.

He hadn't hurt her much after that, which she appreciated. The damage in her body was already enough for her to handle. He had been precise about the time he took with her. Enough time to practically kill her, to inflict the exact amount of pain he wanted to.

"You should be glad there is no time left for me to make love to you my pretty doll." He said to her as she saw her swallow the liquid.

"Do not hurt him, please." She had begged. He just laughed and said he will come back for her body later.

She remembered Denise talking about that liquid. He had tried to make her drink it as well. She knew it was some kind of poison. She knew she would die. He would come back for a body. And, at this point she begged to die.

She didn't want to face him again; she didn't want to feel the pain of her broken legs anymore… she just stayed there, trying to breath as low as she could so her lungs would stop hurting. She felt the cold rain on her skin as thoughts of her life invaded her mind. Her mother, her friends. Elliot.

And right then, when his face appeared on her mind, the physical pain was nothing compare to her internal pain. What if they never find her body? What if it was the other way around? She knew she couldn't live with the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to Elliot… and she knew he couldn't either. Her tears abandoned her body mixing with the cold water of the rain on her cheeks. The guilt invaded her heart and a low and heavy sob abandoned her lips. "I'm... sorry."

She felt her heart beats slowing, her breath getting heavier, her eyes closing… she was dying. A few steps were heard. She barely noticed someone's presence and she only begged not to be him. The stranger approached her slowly and picked her upper body up the cold ground slightly. Her head fall heavily on the air as the next thing she felt was a stabbing pain on her neck.

TO BE CONTINUED...

AN: Thanks for reading.

NEXT: She wanted to shout for help… she felt burning. "Hell" she thought… that should be the explanation. She had never believed on heaven but for sure this was hell.