A/N: Once again, thank you for your reviews! Thanks also for the advice, TheSmallOne8806! Yes, Elliot's other kids will be making an appearance; I just haven't found the opportunity to throw them in yet (though Maureen is in this chapter.) And I apologize for making it unclear last chapter, Elliot is more concerned for Riley, which is why he remains in New York once they find out Olivia isn't undercover. I think this chapter and the next will help clear up any confusing points, as Elliot will have more of a part in them. Last chapter was mainly about Olivia.
Disclaimer: SVU and its related characters aren't mine. Obviously. However, I own the plot and the characters that aren't in the show! That's something at least.
Olivia could feel her heart start to hammer against her chest as she gazed at him in barely masked shock. How had he figured out who she was? His fiercely green eyes held no sign of lust or treachery, but you could never be sure. Olivia opened her mouth to deny his assertion, but felt the cold touch of Hunt on her waist. "Devon, I am sure you will let me have my wife back for this dance?" Hunt questioned the man, who bowed politely, though his eyes never left Olivia.
"The camera's loving you, baby!" came a shriek, and Olivia turned to see a young man holding a video camera. He grinned at her and gave her the thumbs up.
"Come on. Show him how you can dance." Hunt exclaimed, pulling Olivia into position. She reluctantly spun out, moving gracefully despite her sore body. Hunt was not a very good dancer and Olivia had to overcompensate for a lot of his mistakes. He let her call the shots, probably due to the fact he had no idea what he was doing, and she found herself falling into the dance she and Elliot had given at the Christmas ball all those years ago.
She was about halfway through when she came in from a wrap out and Hunt grabbed her lower back and pushed her hard against him. He then used his other hand to trace down the center of her chest. Olivia gulped back a cry of disgust as she remembered how wonderful it had been when Elliot had done that to her and how horrible the comparison now. She managed to continue on with the dance until Hunt lost all self control. He made the mistake of putting both his hands on her chest and she gasped in anger, punching him as hard as she could in the jaw. He seized her hand, dragging her down onto the floor with him. Olivia scrambled to get up but he had to tight of a hold. Hunt struck her twice on the face and hauled her too her feet. She kicked him in the knee and slammed his fist into her abdomen. Olivia doubled over and he threw her backwards. She collided with a table and felt a sharp pain in her calf. She had fallen onto a shattered beer bottle, the fragments now embedded in the muscle. Olivia bit her lip and struggled to her feet. Hunt jumped forward, ready to hit her again, but this time Devon stepped in. He swung a very experienced fist to Hunt's jaw and hooked a kick around to the back of his knee. Hunt fell backwards and Devon kicked him in the side several times. He then turned to Olivia and ran over to her.
"Are you alright?" he questioned, looking at the blood seeping out onto the floor. Olivia nodded, though Devon knew she wasn't. "Come on, let's get you out of here." Devon said.
Olivia suddenly leapt forward, dragging Devon down to the floor with her. A loud gunshot ripped through the club, and several people screamed. The bullet was embedded right where she had been standing. Devon's eyes widened and Olivia pulled him underneath another table as several more shots went off. Olivia looked and saw Hunt lying on the ground, a bullet through his chest. "We have to hurry!" whispered Olivia, and she and Devon sprinted out from underneath the table. They ran out the doors and the glass shattered behind them. Olivia fell into a horrible limp after they went down the stairs, blood pouring down her leg. Then all was silent. Devon turned and immediately scooped her up into his arms, running to a dark pick up parked outside. He deposited Olivia into the passenger seat and called the police as he got into the drivers seat.
Olivia leaned back against the window, watching as Devon talked with the operator of 911. She could feel her heart pounding furiously in her chest and warm blood oozed down her leg. Her stomach hurt far more than the rest of her however, and she held it gently, trying to ease the pain. Her vision then became blurry and she collapsed, unconscious.
She awoke to the feeling of an oxygen mask pressed over her face. As she blinked up at the faces of the paramedics over her she saw Devon standing looking very worried nearby. "I am alright." she muttered, and they slowly removed the mask. Olivia sat up slowly, shaking her head to clear it.
"We bandaged your leg, but you are going to need to see a doctor." one of them told her, and she nodded.
"I will take her to mine." Devon said quickly, hurrying over to Olivia as she got up and began to climb out of the ambulance. Olivia turned and handed the paramedic the blanket she had been wrapped up in, but he shoved it away.
"Keep it. You look cold." He said with a kind smile. Olivia thanked him and pulled it tight around her. Devon took her arm and helped her through the crowd.
"No one else was hurt?" Olivia questioned.
"Nope, no one but Hunt. He was killed of course. They can't find the shooter though." Devon answered, opening the door to his truck.
"Great." sighed Olivia, climbing into the seat of his truck.
Devon looked at her intensely and said, "I had to tell the police your name. It's going to be all over the papers that you were found. But they are allowing you to go with me for the time being."
Olivia stared in surprise, but Devon immediately questioned, "Which hotel were you at?"
"The Marriott. Why?"
"You are going to get your stuff. And then I am getting you the hell out of Denver." Devon answered easily, starting the engine and immediately stepping hard on the gas.
"Wait a minute. How do you even know who I am? And why should I trust you?" Olivia exclaimed, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"You can't tell me you haven't picked up a paper in the past week." Devon said, raising an eyebrow at her, "Your picture has made the inside cover every day. I just realized it was you this morning- the hair and contacts were a good disguise, but you can't fool me for too long. And, my dear Detective, there is absolutely no reason why you should trust me other than my word that I only want to help you. Hunt introduced me to one of his older friends a couple days ago- and let me tell you, I was scared stiff. I knew that was the man he was going to turn you over to, when he was done. And the way that man was watching you… it sent shivers down my spine, and I do not frighten easily, Mrs. Stabler."
"How did you notice all of this?" Olivia questioned, staring at him incredulously.
Devon smiled and reached into his pocket. He tossed her over a badge. "I was FBI until a couple years ago. Old habits die hard."
Olivia traced her hands over the smooth metal, reading the ID beside it. Devon Jacob Masters, it said, and then Olivia handed it back. "And so, now you are going to send me back to New York?"
"No. You are coming with me. It is not safe for you too leave. We cannot move too quickly. Your husband has to find your daughter before you go back. The man in charge is going to alert them that you have escaped Hunt's grasp, and if you show up there they have no reason too let her go. Okay, here we are." Hunt said, jumping out of the truck.
They hurried upstairs, Devon carrying Olivia despite her protests, and ran into their room. Olivia went about throwing her stuff in her bag with haste.
"The real question is this- why did the shooter kill Hunt?" she said as she tossed some of her dresses into the bag.
"Because he doesn't want Hunt to go blab to the police about his involvement- and I would bet my life that it was Mr. Lucius." Devon said immediately. Olivia nodded, very impressed with the man's reasoning. She wasn't very inclined to trust anyone, but as of now she had no other choice.
"Your life is not a good thing to bet with, Mr. Masters. And who is Mr. Lucius?"
"He was the man whom Nicholas Hunt introduced me too. It was so obvious he was the head guy in charge. And the way he looked at you."
"I never saw him." Olivia said, furrowing her brow in thought.
Devon smiled and answered, "He did his best to stay hidden. You look adorable confused, by the way." Olivia playfully slapped his arm and went back to packing. "Do you have any… ummm… winter clothes? Pants maybe?" Devon asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched.
"No… Hunt didn't exactly want to cover me up." Olivia answered, turning to face him.
"Alright. Well we are going to get you some clothes. In the mean time, you can wear my coat." Olivia smiled gratefully as he threw her his thick down jacket. As she slipped it over her shoulder Devon had walked over to the bed, finding Hunt's gun. "He hit you with this, didn't he?" Olivia turned and nodded, noticing the blood smeared on the barrel and the white sheets. Devon gritted his teeth angrily and then held it out to her. "Why don't you keep this- just in case you need it."
Olivia took it from him in surprise. He wasn't armed and yet he trusted her enough to have the powerful handgun. Devon didn't notice and within a couple minutes they headed out.
Olivia sat quietly in the front seat, her eyes half closed from exhaustion. Devon reached into the glove box of the truck and grabbed a bag of beef jerky. "Hungry?" he questioned and Olivia nodded, catching the bag as he tossed it over. She decided that food had never tasted so good and finished off the bag in a hurry. "Dear lord, missy. Have you eaten at all since you got here?"
Olivia thought about it for a second and then answered, "Not much." Devon shook his head angrily. She then sat in contented silence as they clipped down the highway towards the mountains. After a while Olivia watched as Devon seemed to get very sore driving. He switched from his right foot to using his left to hit the brakes and turned on the cruise control. "What happened?" she questioned suddenly.
Devon looked over at her and smiled, gingerly rubbing a hand over his right knee. "I got caught." he began slowly, and then continued after a moment, "Three years ago I was one of the FBI's most involved agents. A couple of the criminals I put away escaped and came after me. I was out jogging and they shot me four times with a rifle. Two of the bullets went through my knee, one through my hip, and the last nicked my spine. They left me for dead, but some girl out riding her horse found me. That was the end of my career. I was forced to retire as soon as I woke up from anesthesia."
Olivia stared at him and then said, "I am sorry."
"Don't be. I was lucky. If that bullet would have been a fraction of a centimeter closer to my spine I would be paralyzed. Besides, at first I thought my life was over, you know because I had been an agent for twenty years and didn't know anything else. But then I met my wife and we bought some land in the mountains. I owe my recovery to her."
Olivia smiled at him and asked, "Do you have any kids?"
"Yep. Twins, one year old." Devon answered with a grin.
"I have twins too." Olivia said quietly.
Devon looked over at her. "Really? How many kids do you have?"
"I had six." Olivia responded, and Devon's eyes widened. Olivia laughed at his expression and said, "Well, technically four are from my husbands first marriage, and we had two of our own."
"Had?" Devon questioned.
"My daughter, as you know, was kidnapped and I don't know where she is. And my son died before he was six hours old." Olivia said, taking a breath to hold back tears.
Devon looked at her in sorrow and said, "I am sorry, Olivia. But you will find your daughter, I am sure of it." Olivia held his gaze briefly, and the assurance in his brilliant green eyes was comforting. She then turned back to watch the landscape. A light snow had begun to fall and the sky was a brooding gray. And in the distance the great mountains watched their approach with a quietly majestic air. Olivia leaned up against the window, for the first time in weeks feeling a peace that she would have thought impossible.
Elliot had just come in from the field when he was called into Cragen's office. As he walked in he saw a young woman with long blonde hair sitting in a chair next to the door. "Maureen!" he exclaimed, and she smiled broadly while jumping to her feet and throwing her arms around his neck. When she let go Elliot brushed a hair away from her cheek and then asked, "What brings you here?"
Maureen's face grew somber and she said, "I just wanted to see if you had made any progress on finding Riley."
"All we have managed to get is that she's alive. I guess that's something." Elliot mumbled bitterly, greatly displeased at the lack of advancement in the case. Maureen put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
They both jumped when Cragen's phone rang. Cragen immediately picked it up and Elliot watched as his expression changed to one of great intensity. After a moment he hung it up and indicated to the TV overhead. "Elliot, there's something you are going to want to see."
As Elliot flipped on the TV and changed the channel according to Cragen's directions, Huang walked in. He was about to say something, but immediately stopped when he saw what the three were so transfixed on.
The partygoer that had shot the film of Olivia dancing had caught the entire shooting and had turned the tape over to the media. Elliot watched in worry for Olivia and a tiny bit of jealously as she danced her very beautiful but rather provocative Latin ballroom with Hunt. He was however, gloating with pride that he could dance far better than Hunt, and this brought a slight smirk to his face. Then quite suddenly Hunt decided he would like to feel her up and Elliot watched as Olivia hit him- hard. "That's my girl!" he exclaimed, but his enthusiasm was cut off when Hunt proceeded to strike her in response, sending her flying into a table.
Elliot just about passed out in fear when the tape showed the shooting. All of it was very blurry and dark, but he could vaguely see Olivia and the man who had helped her racing to the door. The tape ended shortly after that, immediately feeding into the newscaster interviewing people on the scene. When the face a green eyed man with dark hair appeared, Huang inhaled sharply. Elliot turned and looked at him, but Huang waved him away.
They were all silent after the news was turned off until Huang said, "Well, Elliot. I wouldn't be too concerned for Olivia's safety anymore."
Elliot turned to glare at him. "Why not?"
"The man they showed with her was Devon Masters. I know of him. He was FBI a few years back. One of our most talented agents, he was incredibly perceptive and an amazing fighter. He was well known and revered by many in the bureau."
Elliot looked at him and asked, "What happened?"
Huang got an almost haunted look and answered, "A couple of criminals he put away escaped and caught him. He was shot multiple times, beaten, and then left to die. They had one of my colleagues see him for months after. He had trouble handling the reality that he could never do the same work he once did. However, I know that Olivia will be safe with him. "
"Oh." Elliot said, feeling very sorry for the man. He didn't know what he would do if he could not work at SVU.
Cragen's phone rang again. "He will be right there." Don answered, hanging up the phone quickly. "Elliot that was the S.W.A.T. team. They need you right away at the complex on 87th. There has been an incident."
Elliot turned to him. "What kind of incident?"
"They found Riley, but something went wrong when they tried to save her..."