Author's Note:There is some offensive language in this chapter. I wrestled hard with it, and ultimately decided that it's the kind of language these guys would use. Personally, I abhor that kind of language. I ran it by my beta and asked what she thinks, and she felt like it was more impactful story-telling to leave it in. So, I apologize in advance! It's not what I would normally write, but here we are.

The room was black. Carisi was duct taped to a chair, his arms behind his back and feet tied to the wooden legs. For good measure, they had secured the back of the chair to a support beam in the middle of the room. He had tried his best to convince them that the man in the newspaper wasn't him, just an uncanny coincidence, but they hadn't bought it for a second. I didn't even want to go to the damn party in the first place, he thought to himself sourly. He had wanted to cook something for the two of them and spend a quiet evening at home. But Rafael had convinced him it would be good for both of their careers, and he had reluctantly agreed.

Sure, it had been absolutely great for his career, weeks later.

They had roughed him up, but not badly. A dark gleam in Connor's eyes said clearly that he wanted to, but Andy reeled him in. If they killed or seriously hurt Sonny, they lost any negotiation power they might still have. Clearly the cops were on to them, and when their detective didn't make contact, they would descend and try to rescue him. They would need every bit of leverage they had left.

Grumbling, Carisi squirmed and tried to shift in the chair. His jaw ached, as Connor had cracked off two solid punches before Andy forced him to stop. Likewise, his stomach ached as Andy himself had landed a few solid hits of his own in Sonny's gut. His shoulders were starting to seize from being tied up so long; his hips were complaining from being immobilized for hours. And if he was being honest, he was hungry and really had to piss.

All in all, this was turning out to be just a peachy assignment. Next time, Fin can go undercover, he thought.

Sighing, he leaned his head back and sought to find a remotely comfortable position to try and doze. He clearly wasn't going anywhere for a while, though he had hope in the fact that he had missed his meet with Benson. She would be looking for him. And he had to believe she would get here before Andy's patience ran out.

He heard the door click open, and a thin stream of light from the main warehouse floor spread across the floor. Carisi looked up and squinted to try and make sense of the shadow that filled the space.

"Hello Detective."

Connor.

Light abruptly flooded the room, and Carisi blinked against the sudden brightness. "Hello Connor," he greeted pleasantly.

Connor grabbed a spare chair from across the room, spun it backwards in front of Sonny and straddled it. "How are you liking your accommodations?"

"To be honest, it's a little lackluster in the hospitality department," Sonny replied. "I don't suppose you'd let a guy use the bathroom?"

He grunted when Connor's hand shot out and slapped him across the face.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Connor asked. "We have worked for years to build up this operation to what it is. You have ruined everything we have worked our whole lives for."

"I keep telling you guys," Carisi shot back, "that is not me in that newspaper."

"Cut the crap, pig," Connor said. He shoved the chair away, and yanked Sonny's head backwards by his hair. "I did a little digging once I saw that article. Read up on you." A cold glint entered his brown eyes. "On your pretty boyfriend."

Don't react, Sonny told himself, shoving any mental images of Rafael out of his mind. Don't give him anything.

"Did you now?" he asked calmly.

Connor's fingers tangled tighter in his hair, and he fought not to react to the pain. "He's a good-looking man," he said with a wicked smile. "According to everything I've read, he's a fantastic attorney."

Sonny met his gaze, but for once in his life kept his mouth shut.

"What would you do, Detective, if something happened to that fantastic, sexy attorney of yours?" he asked, moving down into Sonny's face. "If his pretty face was cut? Or a knife found its way past those snazzy suits and into his gut?"

He told himself not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but the idea of something happening to Rafael because of him was too much. "Don't fucking do it, Connor," he snarled between clenched teeth. "It won't get you anywhere. If you hurt even one hair on his head, you will be assaulting an officer of the court. You'll make it a thousand times worse for all of you."

"But that's not you in the newspaper, is it Carisi?" A self-satisfied smirk spread over Connor's face. He let go of Sonny's hair, shoving him away as he did. "What I don't understand is how we didn't see it?" The conversational tone returned, and he retrieved the discarded chair and returned to it. "How did we completely miss for all these weeks that a dago had wormed his way into our organization?"

To his credit, Sonny allowed the slurs to roll off his back. "Not very observant?"

Connor backhanded him across the cheeks and he immediately saw stars. He blinked rapidly to clear it and fought to keep his balance on the chair. Before he had completely recovered, Connor had again heaved up from the chair and advanced, but this time grabbed Sonny by the face. Fingers dug painfully into his already bruised cheeks as Connor forced him to look up at him. "You are awfully mouthy, you know that?" Slowly, a cold grin spread over his face that sent an icy spear of fear into Sonny's gut. "Maybe I should find something for you to do with that mouth to shut it up."

"Connor!"

Sonny never thought he would be so happy to hear the sound of Andy Ryan's voice. Connor's gaze lingered on Carisi's, but abruptly he let him go. "Yeah, boss?"

"What are you doing?" Andy asked, striding over to the two of them with suspicion in his eyes. He glanced away from Connor and surveyed Carisi, taking in the fresh bruises blooming on his face. "Connor, the fuck did you do? Didn't I tell you if we damage him too much we're screwed?"

"Yeah, yeah," Connor retorted. "I was just messing with him a little."

Andy stared him down. "Get out there and help get the merchandise packaged up to move," he ordered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He kept his stare fixed on Connor as the man held up his hands in surrender and sauntered to the door. "And you," he said, turning to Carisi. "You better hope that boyfriend of yours gets something moving quickly, for your own safety."

Over Andy's shoulder, Carisi caught sight of Connor shooting him a parting smug, grin.

Liv, you gotta get me outta here, he thought desperately as they once again left him in the black.

"We are up against the clock," Liv said to the bullpen at large. She had a board behind her, outlining their attack plan and a map of the warehouse. The ESU chief stood by her side, ready to hand out orders to his officers. Rollins and Fin sat side-by-side, already dressed in their vests. "The DA's office is buying us as much time as they can, stalling on giving Ryan's lieutenant an answer. But the longer we leave Carisi in there, the more danger he is in."

In the corner of the room, Barba leaned against the wall, his arms folded over his chest. She caught sight of the look that crossed his face when she brought attention to the danger they both knew Carisi was in. Her gaze met Rafael's. "We are going to do everything in our power to get our detective out of there." She said it to the room at large, but it was Barba's eyes she focused on. "We will get Carisi out." He bit his lip, gratitude and worry in his green eyes.

She forced her attention back to the officers. "You all have your assignments, and the DA's office has gotten us arrest and search warrants. The ops van will be heading out in five. Everyone be ready to move in."

"Liv," Barba made his way through the crowd towards her. "Where can I be?"

"Oh no," she retorted, slipping her own vest on over her blouse. "McCoy already pulled you off of this case because we can't compromise it. O'Dwyer is meeting us at the van. You know I can't let you in on this."

"Please," he begged. "Let me go."

She sighed. "Rafa," she said, her voice filled with empathy. "I know you are worried out of your mind. But I cannot bring you in."

"Then what the hell do you expect me to do?" he burst out, the cracks in his calm rushing to the surface. "I can't wait here at the precinct, wondering what is happening. I can't go back to my office and pretend nothing is happening. And I can't go ho-home…o our empty apartment, and wonder if—"

"Hey, hey," she cut him off. The break in his composure tugged at her heart, and she put a hand on his arm and guided him into her office for a moment of privacy. A flash of memory flashed through her mind as he stumbled behind her, of Rafael enveloping her in an embrace when her son had been kidnapped by his insane grandmother months before, Olivia dissolving into tears as Rafael murmured reassurances. Within the safety of her office and the door shut, she spun around and returned the favor, pulling her best friend into a tight hug. She felt a shudder go through him as they stood for a moment.

"We will get him out of there, Rafael," she said softly. "Fin, Rollins, and I will do everything in our power to get him to safety."

"What if it's too late?" he whispered.

She stepped back and held him by the arms. "We can't think that," she said to him. "If anything had happened to Carisi, Ryan wouldn't be fighting so hard to negotiate with the DA's office. We're going in there with every confidence Sonny is safe."

Rafael closed his eyes and blew out a breath. "Okay," he said quietly. "You're right." He took another shaky breath and looked up at Olivia. "Please let me go."

She studied him, already feeling herself relent. "You do not leave the van," she instructed, poking a pointed finger into his chest. "You stay there in ops and you listen, and that is absolutely it Rafael. I mean it," she cut him off as he tried to speak. "I will handcuff you inside that van myself if I have to. Because if something happens to you in all of this, Sonny will never forgive me." She bit her lip. "And I will never forgive myself."

"In the van," he agreed hoarsely. "I promise."

"Okay," she said. "Let's roll."

"They're yanking our chain, Ryan," Connor said, pacing his office agitatedly. "We should cut our losses, drop Carisi, and split while we can."

"And go where?" Andy shot back. "We've started moving our operations out of the city, but that can't happen overnight. We need new ID's, and they are on the way, but we need time." He glared at his lieutenant. "As my second it's your job to cover some of these things. You should have had plan B in place already."

"Oh, don't blame me for your short-comings, Ryan." Connor planted his hands on his hips and glared at him. "You're the one in charge. As you have told me a hundred times, my job is to take orders and don't question them."

"Okay, let's not turn on each other," Ryan said quickly. "We're in a corner. Now is when we need to stick together. Come up with a plan."

"I told you what I think," Connor said, casually. "Get rid of the cop and cut our losses. Dump the merchandise if we need to, start over somewhere else."

The two men stared at each other, Ryan considering Connor's statement.

"Boss, we got problems!"

One of their men burst into the room, interrupting both of their trains of thought. "This better be good," Ryan said without breaking Connor's gaze.

"Cops are surrounding the building."

"Fuck."

"I told you, Andy," Connor said.

Ryan glared at him and turned to the other man. "Go get our guest out of the storeroom. Bring him in here," he ordered. The man scuttled out of the room and he turned on Connor. "We are down to our last prayer of getting out of this alive," he growled. "Keep the detective breathing. That may be the only thing that keeps us alive."

"Remember, Barba," Olivia said as she checked the straps on her vest. "Not one step outside of this van."

"I promise," Rafael replied, holding up his hands in surrender. "Right here."

"If he makes for the door, you have my permission to arrest him," she said to the ops officer running communications.

"You've got it, Lieutenant," she replied with a slight smile.

O'Dwyer glanced back and forth between Barba and Benson. "I guess she told you," he said to his colleague.

"Shut up," Barba shot back, grumpily.

Shaking her head, Olivia approached Fin and Rollins. "Ready?"

Fin checked his weapon. "Let's move it."

ESU led the charge into the building, with Olivia, Fin, and Rollins following in their wake. The warehouse was dark, the bleak effect made worse by the sweep of flashlights from the lead officers. "Ryan," Olivia called into the darkness. "This is NYPD! We have warrants to search and arrest!"

The silence that surrounded them was deafening. Olivia strained to listen for any sounds, any clue that would lead them to the men they were trailing. "Rollins, you take ESU squad one that way. According to Carisi's intel, that should be where they are keeping the victims."

"Got it." Rollins motioned for the squad with their riot shields to move in, with her falling into step behind them.

"I see a light over there," Fin said, nodding to a corner at the end of the corridor.

"I see it, too." Slowly, they crept down the hallway, their footsteps echoing off of the walls around them. "This is NYPD," Olivia called as they neared the corner. "We have warrants for search and seizure. The building is surrounded, Ryan. You may as well surrender."

A single shot fired from somewhere in the darkness out into the corridor and into the wall opposite the corner.

Instinctively, Olivia and Fin fell back against the wall. ESU moved in to the doorway, crouching behind the bullet-proof riot shields. "They don't seem like the friendly sort," Fin commented.

"You might as well give it up, Ryan," Olivia shouted. "We can do this one of two ways: my way, or the hard way."

"The way I see it, we've got more options than that," a voice called back. "I've got something back here you want."

Benson and Tutuola glanced at each other. "What are you talking about, Ryan?"

"Don't play dumb," he shot back. "I'm talking about your detective. Carisi."

She paused, calculating. "I want to talk to him."

"Why the fuck would I let you do that?"

"How do I know he's alive?" she asked. "I want to know he's in one piece before this goes any further."

In the other room, they heard muffled discussion and shuffling. A few moments later, relief filled her when a familiar voice called out. "Lieutenant?"

"Carisi?" she called back. "Are you okay?"

Olivia heard a small grunt. "Mostly," Sonny replied. "I'm a little banged up, but nothing too serious."

"We've been reaching out to his pretty boyfriend to negotiate for his release," Ryan added. "But we haven't gotten an answer. It'd be a shame for something to happen to the detective here because your ADA won't get involved."

"ADA Barba has been taken off of this case by order of the DA's office," Olivia said. "They aren't going to negotiate with you, Andy, and Barba isn't calling the shots on this one. I have ADA O'Dwyer standing by to talk to you."

"No." Andy's voice was firm. "I'm not talking to O'Dwyer, whoever the fuck he is. I said I want to talk to ADA Barba, and I meant it. You want your detective out of here safely, you get the lawyer here now."

"Don't do it, Liv," Carisi interjected. "Keep him out of here. I don't want him in the middle of this."

"Shut it, Detective." Olivia winced when she heard a solid punch, followed by a grunt. "If you can't keep your mouth closed, I will do it for you."

"Best I can do, Ryan, is getting ADA Barba–with ADA O'Dwyer–on the phone." Olivia brought her shoulder up to wipe the sweat from her forehead and keep it out of her eyes. "But you need to understand, Barba has no decision-making power on this case anymore."

Silence hung heavy for several moments. Olivia glanced at Fin, her heart pumping in her ears.

"Get him on the phone," Ryan finally agreed.

"Let me and my sergeant come in there, so we can see our detective is okay, and so you can talk to Barba."

"Fine."

She and Fin nodded to one another and signaled the ESU team to let them by. Slowly, guns still drawn, they rounded the corner and faced Ryan for the first time.

He stood with his own weapon drawn, feet planted on the ground. Next to him a shorter, stockier man stood, holding Carisi's bound hands behind his back and a gun to his side. Olivia's eyes traveled over her detective, taking inventory of the bruises and abrasions on his face. She didn't want to think about the ones that would lay under his clothes.

"You okay, Carisi?"

"I'll do, Lieu," he managed.

"I'm Lieutenant Olivia Benson," she said. "This is Sergeant Fin Tutuola." She held up her phone. "I'm ready to call the ADA."

"Put it on video," Andy ordered. Next to him, Connor moved the gun from Sonny's side to his neck.

Olivia nodded and scrolled through her contacts. "Barba," a familiar voice responded a moment later.

"Barba, I'm inside," she said. "I'm talking with Andy Ryan right now, and he wants to speak to you. I've explained that you have been removed from this case, but he insists that he won't negotiate for my detective's release until he does."

"Okay," Rafael responded, nodding. "I'm with O'Dwyer. He's ready to assist."

Olivia turned the phone so both she and Ryan could see it, and Andy smiled at Barba. "Hello, Counselor," he said. "I believe we have something of yours."

To his credit, Rafael's expression was mostly impassive. "I think the Lieutenant already told you my hands are tied," he replied. "I have my colleague here, if you want to talk to him—"

"I don't think your colleague will be nearly as invested in getting Detective Carisi out of here in one piece," Ryan replied casually. He reached over and wrenched Sonny out of Connor's grasp and pressed his own weapon to the detective's chin. "How badly do you want him free?"

Olivia heard Rafael suck in his breath. Keep it together, Rafa, she thought.

"You're right," Barba said, his voice shaking only slightly. "He won't be as invested, which is exactly why the DA took me off of this case." He bit his lip. "All I can do is hope you let him go. Dominick, are you okay?"

Sonny nodded briefly, his gaze fixed desperately on the phone. "I'm okay, Rafael."

"Touching little reunion," Ryan said with disgust. He shook his head and shoved Carisi back to Connor. "Take him back to the office."

"Absolutely, boss," Connor said. He grabbed Carisi and began to haul him towards a room in the back. Over his shoulder, he caught Rafael's eye on the phone and offered a wicked, chilling smile. "Say good-bye to your sweetheart," he ordered mockingly, and shoved a protesting Carisi through the door.