"So what's this meeting about, El?" Olivia asked her partner as she got into the sedan.
"I honestly don't know, Liv. All I know is that Hammond wants to see us."
Olivia started to get butterflies in her stomach. It was always bad news whenever they met with the agent. Oh god, something must've happened to Alex. She attempted to calm herself down, but the panic was evident in her eyes. Elliot tried to concentrate on the traffic, but the panic look on his partner's face tore his attention away from the crawling cars around them.
"What's wrong, Liv?"
It took a moment for Olivia to realize that her partner was talking to her. The words left her mouth before she could even think about them.
"What if something had happened to Alex?" She didn't wait for a reply from her partner. "What if they're gonna tell us that she's dead?"
Elliot pulled up to a parking spot and switched off the engine. He wasn't sure what to tell her. It never occured to him that was what Hammond wanted to see them for. He turned around to face her, his blue eyes boring into her chocolate brown eyes.
"I'm not gonna tell you that it's not true, Liv. We don't know anything yet, and until we do, I'm not going to speculate on anything."
Olivia had to force herself to fight back the tears. She was so certain that it would be bad news her heart ached at the thought of losing Alex once again. Hands trembling, she followed Elliot into a building that looked all too familiar. With every step that she took, Olivia felt her soul dying a little bit more.
"Detective Stabler, Detective Benson," Hammond greeted them as they walked through the door.
"What do you want from us, Hammond?" Elliot snapped unneccesarily.
"You may want to sit down for this," the federal agent gestured toward the conference room.
Something must be really wrong if he's dancing around like that. As both detectives sat down, Hammond handed Elliot a file. Instantly both detective's mind went into overdrive. This can't be happening. She can't be dead. Olivia tried to calm her thoughts, but her detective skills got the better of her. She had half expected to see photos of Alex's blood smeared body, but pushed the thoughts away just as quickly.
Elliot hesitated for a second, not sure if he wanted to know the contents in the file. He opened it slowly, only to find shots of him and his partner at a crime scene a few days ago. The veteran detective shot Hammond a confused look. Were they investigating us?
"I don't get this, Hammond," Olivia too was feeling a little agitated.
"We have credible information that Velez is on the run," the agent said matter-of-factly. "According to our sources one of Velez's men sold him out. Velez found out and wanted to clear house but it was too late. Most of his men have either gone down or are working for the traitor now."
"And?" Olivia was anxious. What about Alex? When will she be able to come out of hiding?
"He also seem to be head hunting every cop and agent that was involved in his case," Hammond didn't flinch. "So far two of our undercovers have been killed, and god knows how many more to come. It's a mess out there."
"Your mess, not ours," Elliot said out loud. He had a rough idea where this conversation was headed, and he didn't like it one bit.
"As of right now it is your mess too," Hammond paused for a moment. "You're next on his list."
"How long have you known this?" Elliot could hardly contain his anger.
"Two days ago."
"And you just only tell us? Why not wait till we're in the hospital, or better yet, in a body bag?" Elliot slammed his hands on the table, his anger overtaking him.
"We needed to verify the authenticity of the information," the agent explained. "Besides, we had agents follow both of you. I would never put anyone in a position where they might be in danger."
"Well you just did," Olivia could barely control her anger as well. She grabbed Elliot's arm, preventing him from taking a swing at the agent.
"Look, this is not the time to pout and sulk. From this moment onwards, you both will wear a vest at all times and there will be agents tailing you until Velez gets caught."
"We don't need the DEA to babysit us," Olivia said coldly.
"That's not up to either one of you to decide, Detective," Hammond said as another agent walked in with two Kevlar vests and placed it in front of them.
-----
"We've had this argument before, Kat. The Michigan legislature will never pass a law on capital punishment and you know it," Conroy Meade said in between sips of coffee. "The state government is the oldest government entity in the world that does not recognize the death penalty."
"I can't argue with you anymore, Con," the blonde sneered at her defeat. "Next time, we argue about the First Amendment."
Katherine's breakfast companion laughed at her remark. "Ok, but I get to pay for dinner. Pick you up at 7 tonight?"
The blonde silently laughed at her colleague's persistence. Conroy Meade was a professor in the law department as well, teaching international law. His thick British accent had wooed many women, both students and colleagues alike, but he only had eyes for the mysterious blonde. Since the day she started teaching at the university he became her shadow. Soon rumors had gone round that they were dating. Katherine didn't see the reason why she should explain herself, and Conroy never made an effort to do the same either.
"Actually I think I'll pass," the blonde answered.
"Oh," Conroy's voice was filled with disappointment.
Katherine knew he was interested in her. It wasn't hard to notice. The way he gazed into her eyes, the way his face glows whenever they cross paths on campus. She didn't want to lead him on. It was too dangerous, and she didn't want to jeopardize anybody else's life anymore. Flickers of Agent Donovan's face came into mind, and she quickly squeeze her eyes shut to force the images out of her mind.
"Kat? You ok?" Conroy was worried. He had never seen her this way before.
She opened her eyes slowly and flashed him a smile. "I'm fine. Just a little cold, I guess."
"Are you sure? 'Cause you looked like you saw a ghost just now."
"I'm fine, Con. Really," her voice was stronger now. "I've got something to do tonight. Maybe some other day."
They both sat in silence and did nothing but enjoy the other's company. Katherine's mind drifted away to a certain detective at the 1-6. She wondered briefly what the brunette would be doing on a Saturday morning. She must be having breakfast now at that deli. Katherine smiled at the thought. She remembered the first time the two women had had breakfast together. She had teased Olivia about the detective's version of breakfast. Coffee. Just then something on TV caught her attention. She didn't need to hear the news to know what had happened. Mugshots of two agents plastered across the TV screen, followed by a press conference held by Agent Hammond.
"Shit!" Katherine stood up abruptly and gathered her things, puzzling Conroy.
"Kat? What's wrong?" the Brit was worried.
"I gotta run, Con. I just remembered I'm suppose to meet someone. I'll see you next week."
Katherine got in to her car and started the engine. With a practiced motion, she dialed a familiar number.
