Chapter Five: Close Call
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Olivia and Elliot reached the hospital room where Jordan was being treated. Huang was with her now, but she wasn't talking. Captain Cragen paced outside the door.
When Olivia got to the door, she was in cop mode. She knocked on the door, and motioned Huang out, shutting the door quietly behind him. He began instructing her quickly.
"She's extremely traumatized from the assault, and I think she's been threatened by the perp somehow. She refused to speak to me. The only phrase I managed to get from her was 'I have to tell Benson.' We probably looking at RTS, so be gentle."
"Thanks," Olivia mumbled. With a deep breath, she entered the room, shutting the door behind her.
As Olivia slowly approached Jordan with her hands visible and her face kind, Elliot heard Cragen sigh haggardly.
"I can't help but be thankful she wasn't one of mine. And I feel horrible about it," the Captain admitted with difficulty.
Elliot gave him an intense look. "As bad as it sounds, I'm sure as hell glad she's not Olivia, too, Captain. And we have to stop him before he gets to her. Or any other women."
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Olivia had six years of experience of dealing with rape trauma syndrome. Women who suffered it were uncomfortable around men, jumpy, and suspicious of everyone. And paranoid.
She saw how battered the poor girl was. She was fresh from college, with a load of confidence and hot air. A sharp-eyed smart-ass. Now she reduced to a trembling, terrified girl just like her other victims.
Only, this time, it was her fault.
"Benson…!" Jordan breathed, relief flooding her features. She lifted a trembling, bruised hand. Olivia took it, sitting down slowly.
"It's okay, Jordan. I'm here. No one can hurt you."
Jordan's eyes were slightly dilated, but she gave a genuine if shaky smile. "You stopped him from putting a slug in me, Benson. Thanks."
Olivia knew this girl was not ready to give a statement. She was extremely damaged by the attack. But she had to ask.
"Okay, Jordan. What is it you have to tell me?"
The young crime scene investigator took a deep breath. "I know I have to give you guys a detailed statement at some point, so I might as well get a jump on it. This guy jumped me from behind as I was leaving a burglary crime scene. He pulled me into a dark alley, so I never saw his face.
"When he was… raping me…he kept telling me over and over, 'Is this too rough for you, Officer? I wouldn't want you to be too worn out to come after me!'" She shivered. "He must have said it twenty times. Then, he started adding on the end, 'Tell your colleague Olivia Benson the same thing when you wake up. Don't forget to tell her.'
"When he was finished with me, he called you. After he hung up, I was pretty out of it. Head injury, like you saw. But I distinctly remember him leaning over to whisper in my ear. He said, 'Don't worry, Officer McKinley. You'll never see me again. Officer Benson and I, however, are just getting started. In fact, you might tell her to watch her back when she gets here. If you get a chance.'"
Olivia felt a chill run up her back and into her hair, but she fought to keep her cool. "It's true he intended to kill you, Jordan. But don't worry, he won't be able to harm you again. You're going to be under constant guard and we're going to get this guy. Besides, I'm not sure he's interested in harming you," she added dryly, under her breath.
Jordan grabbed Olivia's hand and gripped it with a strength one wouldn't attribute to a weak, battered victim. Her eyes were glowing with fear and warning. "Listen, Benson. I get stitches in my head, a bunch of bruises that will go away, and some long months of some serious therapy, and then I'll back to work, annoying the crap out of you guys at the crime scene. But if this guy gets a hold of you, Benson, it sure as hell isn't going to be you telling me to shut the hell up."
Just then her cell phone rang. And against all RTS procedure, Elliot fairly jumped into the room, but Jordan didn't seem to care. Olivia answered the phone.
"Benson." Her face fell with relief. "It's Fin," she said. "Hold on a minute, Fin." She turned to Jordan. "Jordan, one of my colleagues will take your statement, and Dr. Huang will probably come back to talk you about the attacker. It'll be rough, but I know you can handle it."
Jordan shrugged, a bit of a spark returning to her eyes. "Hey, don't sweat it, Detective. I'll handle this like he handled me."
When they were out of the room, Elliot winced at the pun. "Yeah, she'll be fine."
Olivia returned to the phone call. "Sorry, Fin. What'd you have for me?"
Odafin Tutuola's voice was suspicious. "Munch and I are on the roof of your bakery with the binoculars."
"Great cookies!" Munch interjected. Olivia gave a tight smile when Fin told him exactly what to do with his cookies.
"Anyway, Olivia. I didn't see any uniforms. Until I took a closer look at the hardware store next to your building. Apparently this place has some high-tech stuff, because there's a round the clock security guard."
Olivia frowned. "Thanks, Fin." She turned to Elliot, whose face was scrunched pensively. "Security guard isn't always the same as cop. I could have been wrong about him watching the other victim."
"I don't think so."
Olivia turned. "Dr. Huang."
The oriental man was slightly winded from following the two of them at their agitated pace. "I wanted to catch you before you left. I think you're right. Everything about this guy, how he calls you, tells you where to go and what to do, how he treated Jordan, it's all about control. I think he would want to have both you and his next victim in sight when he called you."
Olivia glanced at Elliot. "So we should check into the security guard at the hardware store next to my building."
Huang nodded. "Cop is probably generally defined for him." He took a deep breath. "There's something else."
Elliot noticed the concern in the doctor's eyes. He stepped forward, partially in front of Olivia. Huang noticed but didn't comment. "What else, Doc?" Stabler demanded.
"I'd say he's probably following you. His MO says it. He'll want to make sure you're on the right trail to his next victim but he'll still want to know where you are at all times so he can beat you to her or throw you off the trail somehow so he can still harm the victim."
Olivia crossed her arms, and walked a semicircle, like she usually did when making a hard decision.
"So… what should I do? My presence hinders the investigation, but I don't want to back off."
"Maybe you don't have to. What was the message Jordan gave you? It looked like you understood it."
"She said the perp told her to tell me, "Is this too rough for you? I wouldn't want you to get worn out.' I thought it might be another clue to his next victim."
Huang nodded. "I think you're right. What's another word for rough?"
Olivia frowned. "Coarse."
"Sure, but in the context your perp was using it, it probably meant hard, difficult, or violent. And worn is the past participle of the word 'wear.'"
Olivia threw up her hands. "Hardware. It was a clue. So now what? I can't go to the scene. That tells the perp we've figured it out."
Huang nodded. "Yes, but he'd only know if you were at the scene. You're his link, so he'll be following you. And he can't be at two places at once."
Olivia nodded, slowly, understanding. "So I lead him away from the scene, give him a false sense of security, he comes after the night guard and we catch him." Suddenly, she smacked her forehead. "The night guard. That's what he was talking about. He said the victim couldn't sleep. I was thinking insomniac. But she's a night shifter."
Elliot shook his head, disbelieving, then interrupted. "Hold up, here, Doc. You're saying Olivia should be like live bait for this guy! What if his plan changes or something? He could come after her! Or we could be wrong about the hardware security guard thing. This could just be an elaborate hoax to get to Olivia."
Huang gave him an understanding look that flew over Olivia's head. "His MO says no. So do the two corresponding, planted clues. But you'll be with her, Elliot. And stay in public places. He'll probably stop tailing you with at least two hours to commit the crime."
Elliot looked skeptical. "So you want the two of us to just screw around with this guy for six hours while the rest of the squad does the work. What if he's listening right now?"
Olivia shivered involuntarily, but George Huang shook his head. "Too dangerous. Too many security cameras, cops, eyes… your perp is smart. He's probably waiting for you outside. So you can't just screw around. You have to make it look like you are frantically investigating."
Olivia nodded. She glanced at Elliot. Elliot threw up his hands in frustration, but said, "What the hell."
Huang nodded seriously. "I'll tell Cragen all about the plan. He'll get Munch and Fin on the scene to figure out who the night guard is. With the perp not watching, we can set up surveillance all over the hardware store to make sure this woman does not get raped. The place will be covered. You two will be called in when it's likely he's off your tail."
Olivia gave a dry snort. "And I'll bet I won't be called in by a member of the SVU squad."
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SIX HOURS LATER
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"He's gotta be off our tail by now. It's almost ten o'clock!" Elliot insisted, annoyed, as they drove from yet another precinct after warning more female cops.
Olivia nodded. "By now, the rest of SVU and some snipers are ready on-scene, waiting. Munch said that tonight's security guard at the hardware store is the same as last night's. A woman named Latisha Jackson. She's probably the safest woman in the city right now."
Elliot sighed, angrily, as his frustration built. "Liv, this is absolutely insane."
"Yeah."
He visibly fought his temper down, and lowered his voice with effort as he drove. "Liv. I've been thinking about how Kathy and I are getting divorced."
She looked at him, concerned, out of cop mode for a single, precious moment. "Yeah?"
Elliot looked away, tapping his fingers agitatedly on the steering wheel. "I was wondering—,"
He was cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. This time, she put it on speakerphone. Her finger trembled on the button.
"Benson."
A long pause. "Hello, Olivia. I'm sure you know what time it is. And I'm sure you realize you are running out of time."
Olivia's face twisted in anger. She did not answer.
"You know, Olivia. I grow impatient. I don't think I'll wait until midnight. I want her under my control now."
Click.
Olivia looked at Elliot. His face was twisted with rage. Olivia touched his hand, then quickly dialed Munch's phone. While it was ringing, she quietly ordered, "Let's get to that computer store, El."
Munch answered almost instantly. "Yeah?" he asked tersely.
"Munch, its Olivia. The guy just called me and said he isn't going to wait until midnight. Are you guys all set? Can you see Latisha?"
"Yeah, we're all set. Out of sight and everything. We can see her. But Novak got wind of this, and she says we can't touch the perp until we see he intends to harm Ms. Jackson."
Olivia bit back a foul word. "That's a little risky for her, isn't it?" she demanded, her voice rising. "We have those clues!"
"They're obscure. But listen, we're all over this place. He won't hurt her."
Olivia took a deep breath. "I'm more worried about what he'll do if he sees you guys. He's clearly unstable, and not an idiot."
"Relax, Olivia. We've got this covered. You guys can come over and get a vest if you want. I'm sure it's okay now."
"All right, we'll do that."
She hung up, frowning. "Elliot, put the light on. I've got a really bad feeling about this."
Elliot reached for her hand, his eyes darkening. "Me too." He slapped the light onto the dashboard, and sped up as its wail filled the darkness of the New York night.
When they got there, the place was swarming with people. "Shit," Olivia muttered. "Something went wrong."
The two of them leapt from the car. Olivia saw Captain Cragen anxiously barking out orders.
"Captain!" she yelled over the frantic voices around her.
He whirled at the sound of her voice, and left the people he was talking to in mid-sentence to get to her. "Get out of here, Liv," he ordered tersely. "This guy is a ticking bomb."
"No way. What happened here?" she demanded.
Cragen sighed, massaging his temples. "We caught him going in the store, approaching Ms. Jackson. He saw us. I don't know who he saw, but he realized he was trapped. So he pulled out a gun, grabbed the security guard, and locked himself in the inventory room in the back. With Ms. Jackson."
Olivia threw up her hands. "Great. I'm surprised he hasn't called me yet." She winced, as the sudden movement tugged at her stitches.
Cragen put a hand on her shoulder. "Remember? You were shot two days ago, Liv. I think you can stay right here."
Meanwhile, Elliot was hunting down Munch and Fin. He put a vest on, and found the two of them barking out orders within the hardware store. There had to be at least ten laser points on the door to the inventory room.
"What's going on!" Elliot hissed, holstering his gun.
"He's not talking to us. We're waiting for a negotiator," Fin answered shortly.
Elliot felt his gun turn to fire in his hands. "I can't believe I'm like ten feet away from this bastard…" he whispered, his grip tightening.
Then, he quickly ran back outside to find Olivia. And to stop himself from killing someone.
He found her outside with Cragen leaning in close to hear a phone call she was receiving.
She hung up as he reached her. Cragen looked grim.
"He wants to talk to me," Olivia stated, strapping a vest over her chest, and fastening a gun at her back, then covering it with her shirt and bullet proof vest. "I have to go in. We don't have time to wait for a negotiator, and I've been in hostage situations before."
Cragen sighed, his dislike for the situation flaming in his eyes. "And you weren't there, Elliot. If it wasn't for that hotheaded US Marshall, everyone probably would have come out unharmed."
Elliot waved the facts away. "You aren't possibly considering letting her go in there, Captain! It's a death trap! This guy has it in for her, he's armed, and there's only one way out! And she's already got one hole in her from this guy!"
"Which wasn't intended for me!" Olivia snapped back. "He's not going to hurt me, Elliot. We have to get the victim out of there, and there's only one way in and no windows. I'm his link; he'll feel more comfortable with me in the room. I have to do this!" She took both his hands in her own. His hands were shaking.
"I'll be fine, El! I promise!" she whispered, her eyes imploring.
Elliot sighed haggardly. "If he touches you, Liv, I'll swear I'll kill him."
With that, Olivia was escorted to the door of the inventory room by SLED officers. Elliot moved to follow, but Cragen grabbed his arm.
"What was that about, Elliot?" Cragen asked, his eyes understanding.
Elliot clenched his fists, and continued walking. "I love her," he said simply. "Satan himself couldn't stop me from being on the other side of that door."
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Olivia stood at the door. She'd taken the time to put the bulletproof vest under her jacket so she'd look as natural as possible. Fin and Munch were on either side of her, and Cragen and Elliot had their guns cocked and were right behind her. Sniper lasers danced around her on the door.
She took a deep breath, and raised her fist to knock on the door.
"It's Olivia!" she called calmly, her voice strong. "Let me in. I'm coming in alone and I'm not armed." She held up both her hands to prove it, despite the hidden firearm at her back. She heard the door unlock.
"Open the door slowly. Come in alone or I'll shoot her."
With another deep breath, and a squeeze on the shoulder from Elliot, she opened the door, stepped inside, and shut it slowly behind her.
He was wearing a ski mask, covering his face, hair, and neck. His clothes were dark. She didn't recognize him, but his dark, piercing eyes were oddly familiar.
Olivia gave the hostage Latisha Jackson a once over. The slender black woman was in uniform and didn't seem harmed. She looked confused and terrified, but she was remaining calm, despite the loaded pistol jammed against her temple and the iron grip around her waist.
Olivia held her hands up and moved slowly to the middle of the room across from the pair. "Are you both okay?" Olivia asked cautiously, slowly lowering her hands.
He answered. "We are both fine, Olivia. How nice of you to ask."
He was nervous. That was definitely not good.
"Okay. What do you want? What's it going to take to let Latisha walk out of that door?"
He snickered. "I want you, Olivia."
Even though Olivia knew Elliot was just outside the door and that he and Captain would kill her, she held her arms open wide. "Here I am. You don't need her. Put the gun down."
"I've gotta hand it to you, Olivia. You really had me going. I never thought you'd get to her before me when you and Stabler were parading around all the police stations warning all the lady cops. I was sure I was way ahead of you. But you are clever, Olivia. Very clever. I bet you have a bulletproof vest on."
He began inching backward with Latisha. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a sudden breath, but she kept her cool.
"There's no way out. Let Latisha go. I'm the one you want." She matched his pace, keeping her eyes on the hostage. Get ready, she mouthed to Latisha.
"Yes, I see it. You can't hide those bulky vests. You know, Olivia, I've been watching you for a long time. I know everything about you. Even in the dark, you can never hide from me."
Just as she realized what he was doing, the perp turned his gun on the power generator switches of the building and fired, killing all the lights.
Shouts and a violent kick opened the door. Olivia couldn't see a thing, but she screamed, "Latisha!" and dove for the last place she'd seen the woman.
"I'm here, I'm fine!" the woman yelled.
Olivia heard a door opening far from her. "The hostage is right here!" Olivia screamed. "But there's a back door somewhere! I'm in pursuit of the suspect!"
She saw a glow from the city lights leaking from between some boxes. She ran towards it, and when she broke from the building, she saw no one.
"Liv! Wait!" Elliot called frantically.
Just as she prepared to run straight ahead, an arm shot around her neck. She reacted instantly, and grabbed the arm, and threw the body of her attack over her shoulder onto the ground. But he was quick. He rolled over before she could pounce on him, then swept her feet out from under her. She fell, but used her hands to roll over her head and back to her feet in one fluid motion. When she got to her feet, she was met with a wicked right hook to the eye.
She winced, and staggered back, but managed to throw a high kick to the man's chin, sending him crashing to the ground. She was still wobbly from the blow to her head. The man leapt back to his feet and threw a wicked kick at her injured arm. She gave a cry of pain, but furious at her vulnerability, she threw her signature move—a sudden palm jab at the nose.
She felt the crack as his nose broke, and he bellowed in pain. He staggered off as Elliot reached her side, grabbing her with fierce relief. The perp ran off, his pace now steady, but he turned and fired a shot, sending Olivia flying back against Elliot, both of them crashing to the ground in a heap.
"Liv!" Elliot cried as they were surrounded. He cradled her.
"Vest!" Liv gasped heavily. "It just hit my vest. I'm fine. Bastard nailed me good in the arm, though. Probably hit my stitches. Got a nice black eye coming in too. Help me up."
First Elliot ripped off her jacket, and carefully took off her bulletproof vest. No blood, so the slug had been stopped. Probably hurt like hell though. Then, he helped her up, looping her good arm over his shoulders like he'd done only days before.
"He meant to shoot you that time, Liv," Elliot said intensely, leading her through the swarms of police officers back their car.
She was still winded. "He knew I had on the vest, Elliot. He saw it. He knew I had on the vest. What does this guy want from me! If he knew I had on the vest, why not aim for my head?"
Elliot stopped walking, and swept Olivia up into his arm, and jogged the rest of the way to the car. He set her on the hood, barely breathing hard from the effort due to his Marines training.
"I heard everything, Liv. I don't know what to think. But you were just shot right there in my arms, and if I don't tell you this now, I'm afraid I'll never get to."
He heard Cragen and the others approaching, but they were out of earshot. He grabbed Olivia's shoulders, one hand trailing up her neck to her cheek.
"Olivia. I've been waiting seven years to tell you this. I love you!"