Title: l'impero Colpisce Ancora
Summary: Olivia finds herself in a bad situation the night of Fin's non wedding. Will Elliot be able to intervene?
A little idea I had about the season premiere to maybe tide us over for a bit.
Rating: M
Trigger warning: Includes some strong language and violence, including sexual assault. Please be warned.
Please read and review- so appreciated!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The last thing Olivia can remember is leaving Fin's almost wedding. Now she's on the damp ground in the woods in her once-beautiful dress. She wants to get up, but her ankle is turned at such an angle that she can't even figure out how to get her good foot under her without causing excruciating pain. Her previously perfectly manicured nails are bent back and broken off, dirt caking them as if she's been dragging herself along the forest floor with only her hands. Her body rigors. She's freezing, May in New York is somewhat unpredictable and the nights can be cold.
Her brain tries to piece the night together. Elliot had offered her a ride home. Why hadn't she taken it? Oh! That's right, she had to go back to the office. Then what? Think.
It came back in a flash: she never made it to the office. Elliot had bid her goodnight at her car, opened her door for her so she could set the bouquet she caught in the passenger seat. She had made a stupid joke about not knowing if it was good luck or not, since the wedding hadn't ended in a marriage. Elliot had been flirty and warm, he kissed her cheek, told her she looked beautiful, before closing her door. The whole night felt like a dream, not a memory at all.
The wedding location was a secluded spot, outside of Manhattan, a rather long drive from the office through some wooded areas. When she left, the party continued. Carisi and Rollins had left 30 minutes ahead of her, she was going to meet him at his office after he dropped Amanda by her apartment. Elliot stayed back to offer his assistance to Fin- wanting to make sure all of the intoxicated guests made it home safely.
No other cars accompanied her on the road. That's why the sudden bright lights behind her had been such a surprise. The lights had filled the cabin of her car as they got alarmingly close to her. She tried to pull over to let them pass. As she moved, it became clear that the car was targeting her. She wanted to radio for help, but it was a choice between doing so and bracing for impact. She chose the latter. The next thing she remembers is two men pulling her from her car, roughly. She remembers fighting and then running. And then falling. She rolled down a steep hill, her ankle catching on a stump and snapping.
Now here she is, cold, hurt, and helpless. She thinks that her only luck will be if Elliot sees her wrecked car on the roadside. She prays that the men who are responsible for all of this hadn't moved it out of sight. The men. Shit. What if they were still looking for her? She had no idea how far she'd run or how long she had lay unconscious in the dirt. She was clearly missing some pieces. She can't recall dragging herself, but it was obvious that she had done so. She thinks the pain of that action may have been the reason she blacked out in the first place.
The pain, God, it was so bad. Every inch of her body stings. She can't remember hurting this badly since….no, she can't go there right now. She won't. She needs a clear mind to get out of this predicament and thinking of William Lewis will not help her now.
Suddenly, she hears some rustling in the trees nearby, the sound she hears next makes her rate soar.
A man's voice, "Captain Benson, there you are, sweetheart."
Olivia doesn't care how badly it hurts, she starts to drag herself with her hands again, pushing with her good foot.
She hears him laughing and calling out to his friend that he's "found her". She sees the second man pop out of the brush. He's young, clean-cut and wearing a nice suit that is now snagged and covered in little pieces of grass from his hike through the woods. He squats down in front of her. He puts his hand in her long hair to pull her face up to look at him. She feels like he's a hunter about to take a picture with a deer he has just shot.
He speaks to her then, "Aw, ya get hurt trying make a run for it? Serves you right. I scuffed my shoes and fucked up my $1500 suit coming after you. Waste of time too, should've just left you for dead. You don't look far from it anyway."
She summons her inner strength and stares him down, "Who are you and why do you think you'll get away with assaulting an NYPD captain?"
They both laugh again. She can't see the man who is standing, but she can smell that he's lit a cigarette and she struggles to stay in the present. The man in front of her smiles, "Oh, honey, we aren't just going to assault you. We're going to murder you."
She feels the cigarette come down onto her dress, right between her shoulder blades and she completely loses her grasp on reality. The screaming that pours from her lungs is almost as inhuman as the laughter coming from the two men.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dominick Carisi is on cloud nine. He finally sealed the deal with the woman he's been in love with for years. His intention was to drop her off at her apartment and then meet Liv at the office. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions and they have spent the last hour making out in front of her building.
"I feel like we're a couple of kids out here, Sonny." Amanda laughs, resting her forehead against his.
"Yeah, except we're hiding from two little girls instead of our parents." He squeezes her hand and sweetly places a kiss on her knuckles before sighing, "I gotta go meet Liv, I'm sure she's already there."
"I don't know. You get a load of how she and Stabler were cuddled up?" She gives him a questioning look.
"Naw, I wasn't really paying attention to them, ya know I had some other stuff going on." He smiles before kissing her once more.
She caresses his cheek when she breaks the kiss, knowing he'll stay another hour if she doesn't. "You've lost all your detective skills since becoming an ADA." She teases, before turning to get out of the car. "Goodnight, Carisi." She says as her door closes.
"Goodnight, Rollins." He whispers to her as she disappears up her steps.
Yep, this was the best night of his life.
He drives to his office, high on life. He expects to find Liv there, waiting for him, but she's nowhere to be found. Or maybe she got pissed and left. He decides to call her, it rings eight or nine times before going to voicemail.
"Hey cap, it's me. I'm waiting for you at my office, just let me know if your still planning on coming by. Thanks." He hangs up. It's unlike her not to answer, maybe she was on another call.
He has a nagging feeling in his gut, but tries to ignore it. He makes himself comfortable, starts working. After about ten minutes, he tries to call her again. Nothing.
He rubs his jaw. He decides to call Stabler. He probably followed Liv out.
Elliot answers after two rings.
"This is Stabler." He answers professionally, even though Carisi can still hear the party going on in the background. Thank God, she probably lost track of time and her phone is still on silent from the wedding.
"Hey, this is Carisi, I was trying to get Liv, but her phone keeps going to voicemail. If you'll just tell her not to worry and I'll just meet her here in the morning instead." He says, relief in his voice.
"Wait, Liv didn't make it to your office?" Alarm bells are going off. Elliot doesn't even wait for his answer. He grabs his keys and runs to his car.
"No, I thought she was with you." Carisi can hear the panic in his own voice.
"I'm leaving now, I'm going to make sure she's not broke down on the side of the road somewhere without a signal." Elliot silently prays that's what has happened. But knowing what he knows about Wheatley and his organization leaves him paranoid to the nth degree.
"Ok, ok, I'm going to her apartment. Maybe she went home first. I'll call you back." Carisi hangs up. That feeling in his stomach is now full-blown nausea. He swallows it down as he runs to his car.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The sweat is pouring down her brow even though she's freezing. She wants to wipe it away, but her hands are now tied behind her back. Her arms and shoulders are in agony, she can't quit shivering and the restraints pull against every involuntary movement. She's panting for air so loudly that she can hardly hear the men discussing the plan.
"The orders were to take her to the edge of the forest and shoot her in the head, so he'd find her easily. The message isn't quite the same if it takes him two weeks to find her in the middle of the fucking woods." The voice is the smoker, the face she hasn't seen.
"I for one am not answering to Wheatley because this bitch wants to play Usain Bolt through the forest. We can drag her back up. If she dies before we get there, we'll put one post-mortem through her pretty little forehead." The nicely dressed man says, slapping his hands together in a "that's that" kind of motion.
"That's fine, but let's take a little time with her first, huh?" The smoker suggests and Olivia feels bile rise in her throat.
"Whatever, I gotta take a piss first." Says the well-dressed man as he wanders back into the brush.
The smoker makes his way back to Olivia, who is still face down, unable to fully see him. He bends down next to her, tucking her hair behind her ear. She feels his lips on her earlobe as he whispers softly, "Sorry about your back, beautiful. I'm sure you're used to that though, after everything you went through. Probably used to this too."
He pulls up her dress and runs his hand up her inner thigh. She wants to struggle, but her body won't allow her. She can feel his fingers enter her and she lets a sob escape. God, she wants this to end. She wants Elliot so badly. She feels so stupid. All these years of telling herself that Elliot would've saved her from Lewis—how fucking stupid. He's back now and this is still happening. She's not mad at him, she's mad at herself for placing him on such a pedestal. He's not Superman. He hasn't noticed that she's not where she should be. He won't be saving her this time, either.
She's going to die out here, alone and broken in the woods. Her mind goes to Noah, her sweet boy. How would he handle this? How unfair of fate to take away two mothers? Maybe Amanda and Carisi will give him the family he deserves. A mom and dad, two sisters. One day, she'll just be a distant memory to him. The thought is too much to bear. She just wants to run her fingers through his curly hair one more time.
She feels utterly defeated as the man's hands continue their unwelcome assault. She feels his fingers pull out of her and braces herself for what is coming. She hears his zipper come down. A moment passes and he positions himself between her legs.
She's no longer in the woods. She's in a beach house. Lewis is on top of her about to do what he always wanted and she can do nothing. Her one working limb is useless, her brain won't control it.
"You're going to scream out his name, they always do." She hears him say.
He's about to enter her when she screams, "Elliot! Please, help me! Elliot!"
She's not prepared for the gunshot or weight on her back or the warm blood pouring down her neck.
She's trapped somewhere between reality and a time long ago and she's terrified.
Then she hears multiple shots. She can't move at all. Oh my God, what's happening?