Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All characters owned by Dick Wolf and NBC. No money was made by me on this work.

"Hello?" Harper Anderson-Smith came to the door. "What do you want?"

The detective sighed. "Listen, are you married to a Mr. Peter Smith?" he asked.

"Why does it matter?"

"You have earned a bit of a... reputation for dealing with rapists."

"Well, I managed to shadow the guy who raped me if that's what you mean. It's not my fault he attacked his wife and she shot him dead, is it?"

"Well, we're just looking at all of the angles here. A rapist you might have a beef against was recently attacked."

"I only had a beef with one rapist. And he's dead."

"Well, then a rapist your husband might have a beef with."

"Who are we talking about?"

"Amelia Chase."

"She's in prison. Where she belongs. So's Ms. Adler. Why would I need to attack them? How would I attack them? Oh, maybe you want to accuse me of the murder of Sydney Green?"

"She was attacked by another inmate. We think someone else planned it. We're just covering all of the angles."

"Well, I haven't been near the prison. So look somewhere else!"

"Can we talk to your husband?"

"Peter? Can you come out here a second? Someone attacked Bitch Number Two!"

"What?" Peter had been watching a TV show in the living room. He walked to the door. "What happened?"

"Bitch Number Two was attacked in prison," stated Harper.

"Ms. Chase? By whom?"

"By someone in the prison. We're looking at anyone who might have had a reason to hire someone to knock her off."

"I'd try Bitch Number One," stated Harper.

"She means Pam Adler," explained Peter. Harper moved toward him and hugged him protectively.

The detective looked at the couple. "Well, we're trying every angle."

"Well, I haven't worried about her since the rape," explained Peter. "And I'm sure that my wife hasn't given it any thought. Right Harper?"

Harper shook her head. "I thank God every day that she's in prison. And I'm not going to do anything to get her out, including getting her out in a pine box."

The detective nodded. "Okay," he said, and left.

Meanwhile...

Elliot was in the office when he heard the news on the phone.

"What? She was? Thanks for the heads up."

"What was that?" asked Olivia.

"It was a friend of mine at corrections. Apparently, Amelia Chase was attacked in prison."

"Attacked? How?"

"Well, the inmates were playing softball and someone attacked her with a bat. She broke an arm, but is otherwise okay."

"Wow, I'll have to tell Casey when I see her."

"Yeah. Sort of strange, isn't it, that this happens right after we discover she's related to Casey."

"I guess it never rains but it pours, Elliot."

"I guess so. Oh, another interesting factoid; they are moving her using the same transport that they are using to move Sebastian Ballentine. They are both being moved across the state, and budget cuts made them decide to double up."

"He was a creep, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. Raped and murdered virgins. Used his litle talent for face reading to play psychic and to torment his victims' families by telling them about the crime. A manipulative little snot. But you know what gets to me, Liv?"

"What, Ell?"

"We couldn't shake him. He got upset at his 'wife,' if you could call her that, but when we confronted him he would just smile that little smile of his and not let us shake him at all. He enjoyed the whole thing. How can you get to a creep like that?"

"I don't know, Elliot. I hate them when they are unshakeable as well. Remember that pseudo-messiah character? We couldn't get to him, either. Of course, the little girl he got pregnant shot him."

"Yeah, well. I don't like to think about that case. I got taken off active duty and put behind a desk, remember."

"Yeah. Oh, do you know what I heard about Ballentine? Anytime a guard gets near him, they put on a mask so he can't see their face. Limited talking, as well. Apparently, he would creep out the guards too much by asking them about their personal life."

"Wow. I wonder how you get to a creep like that."

"I don't know. I don't know."

Elliot slammed his fist against the desk. "You know, occasionally, just occasionally, I'd like to see a case where everyone isn't scarred. We don't prevent these crimes, we just avenge them. And the rapists just keep coming."

"Well, I'm sure we've stopped some rapes. Caught some people and prevented them from raping ever again."

"Yeah," said Elliot. "I suppose so."

Meanwhile...

Richard Adler was talking to his daughter in her prison.

"So, you hear about what happened to Ms. Chase?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Too bad, isn't it. After all, she was so nice. I guess we're just lucky she wasn't killed."

Pam Adler harrumphed. "Oh well, there's always tomorrow."

"Yes, there is. Listen, why didn't you let me help you when you were on trial?"

"Dad, I have to stand on my own two feet. Besides, a female attorney looked better for the case. Kept the feminists on my side. You always taught me it's all about politics."

"Yeah. It still bothers me. You could've asked for help."

"You defended yourself when you were charged with... similar indiscretions. And you got off. If you can do it, so could I, I thought. Except you didn't make the mistake of choosing your friends poorly - or choosing friends who chose friends poorly. You know, maybe I should've asphyxiated Ms. Chase as well - I can see it now - Sydney Green, nee Sydney Lehman, and Amelia Chase - Lesbian lovers' suicide pact. Leave 'em both hanging by a rope and in their lingerie, no one to finger me in either crime."

"Like father, like daughter. Listen. I don't care what anyone says. I'm proud that you had the initiative to protect yourself. To take out the person who would've fingered you. What people don't understand is that certain people have - privileges that don't apply to the rest of society. We Adlers are a breed apart. If we have some fun, that's our right. And we don't need to turn it into some gender-political statement like that strangling pervert of a stockbroker. You saw what you wanted from Mr. Smith, and you took it. I'm proud of you. People don't understand that those who refuse to take get taken." Richard Adler smiled with a perverse pride at his daughter. So much like a female version of him. So much. Right down to the belief that she had the right to impose herself on anyone else, in any way that she desired. Her aggressive attitude had served her well as an attorney. Unfortunately, it also had gotten her into several sticky situations in her personal life, including the rape of Peter Smith that had led to the murder of Sydney Green and thus her incarceration.

As he walked out, he got on his cell phone. "Billy? Listen. Interstate 90, tomorrow. I have sent you the description of the vehicle. It will be passing through Stafford at 9:30 pm. Now, you know what I want done. Do it!"

A/N If it hasn't been made clear by now, I have assigned "Lehman" to be Sydney Green's maiden name. I noticed in the episode "Ridicule, she was always referred to as "Sydney Green," and her husband's last name was "Green," suggesting that she either married someone with the same last name as her, or that she had changed her name upon marriage.