The station was unusually busy for 8:30 AM due to the escape of Terry Paige. Detective Elliot Stabler looked up from the file spread over his desk as his partner, Detective Olivia Benson, large coffee in hand, sat heavily down at her desk without greeting anyone. He immediately felt the shockwave of the outburst that was approaching before she opened her mouth. He attempted to cut her off before she got going, but barely got her name out.

"Liv..."

"How the hell did he manage it? Armed guards, cuffs, the works and he still manages to get away. Is he fucking Houdini or something?"

"Liv, relax, we're gonna get him again."

"How many people do you think he's gonna kill before we do? This is our fault, Elliot. No, no. This is my fault. I had to go and dig up the evidence that connected him to an unsolved rape-homicide. Death row just wasn't enough. I had to make the bastard pay some more. I couldn't just accept that he was locked up for good and never coming back." She slammed her fist against her desk, causing papers, pens, and Detectives John Munch and Fin Tutuola to scatter. "Oh, not to mention my sorry-ass theory that he might give up the name of his partner if we tried to get him on another charge. What the hell was I thinking?"

Elliot sat and allowed her to vent her anger before interrupting, "You did your job and you did the right thing, Liv. Emma Anderson's parents need this. They need to see the man who raped and killed their daughter pay for his crimes. We were just making it official. This isn't our fault. It sure as hell isn't yours. Paige is the perp here, he's the one responsible for all this crap."

He looked at her steadily while speaking, trying to calm her down a little with the intensity of his gaze. Still maintaining eye contact, he rose and moved toward her, sitting on the edge of her desk as he reached out to touch her shoulder in a gesture of support and comfort. It seemed to work. She lowered her voice when she spoke again, "He wouldn't have been coming into the city today if it weren't for me. He wouldn't have gotten away."

"And if you hadn't seen the link between Paige and Anderson her parents would never have known that the man responsible for killing their daughter was getting what he deserved." He couldn't believe how much it affected him to see her in such emotional pain, and felt willing to do anything to relieve her of at least a portion of it. "You did what was best for them."

"Yeah, now they know who did it and they're about to find out that he's back on the street. Real comforting, El."

Elliot smiled and replied, "If Paige could have been here to see what I just saw I think he'd turn himself in out of fear. I would not want an angry Olivia Benson after my ass."

She tried to hide the small smile playing across her face and Elliot wondered if there were some kind of Olivia Benson he really would mind chasing his own ass. He immediately dismissed the thought as his wife's face popped into his head and tried to focus on what his partner was now asking.

"Why were they bringing him down so early? He wasn't due before the judge til this afternoon."

"I dunno," he answered honestly as he stood and walked back to his own desk, feeling good that he'd been able to cheer her enough to elicit some sarcasm. With so little to go on until Cragen got off the phone with details from the prison, he decided to distract her and reduce her frustration by trying for another smile. "But think of it this way, when shit like this goes down early in the morning, you have a great excuse for letting your hair look like that."

She self-consciously ran her hand through her short locks, which were a little less perfectly arranged than usual, he noted to himself. He was rewarded a moment later by a sarcastic raised eyebrow and a smile that told him he'd gone just far enough to elevate her mood slightly again. She even managed a biting reply, "So do you think I should go for the patented Elliot Stabler receding hairline?"

He rubbed the top of his head and feigned hurt. "Ouch. That was below the belt, Liv."

"You're a big boy, you'll get over it," she said as she maintained the arch of her eyebrow the way she always did to shove her point home. "Just once though, I think I'd like to get a call at 7 AM from someone trying to sell me new storm windows or life insurance, instead of being called to a crime scene or the station."

Munch, apparently seeing that it was safe to join the conversation, replied with characteristic dry wit, "Haven't you heard? Perps have the same motto as the Army. They commit more felonies before 6AM than most people commit all day."

"Alright, cut the snappy patter people. The Marshals are on their way and I don't want them to find us dragging our feet."

All eyes turned to Captain Donald Cragen as he silenced his squad and directed them to gather around the board behind Elliot and Olivia's desks. Elliot watched as his captain taped up Paige's picture and along with those of potential new victims, but his attention was on Olivia, who had given a strange start at the mention of the Marshals' involvement. They both knew that escaped cons were in the Marshals' jurisdiction. He filed her response away to ask about later as he refocused on Cragen. "We're starting by looking at potential targets for Paige's revenge since it's gonna be damn near impossible to start by looking directly for Paige, as he has no family, no apartment and no known safehouse."

"Yeah, not that we ever found," Olivia interjected, upset enough about this hole in the case to get over her momentary flinch. "We still don't know where his damn 'farmhouse' is."

"All the more reason to start with what we do know," Cragen continued. "Paige vowed revenge in open court, so it's a pretty fair bet that he might go after some of the people he threatened. The warden at Sing-Sing sent over his notes on Paige's conduct in prison when he found out that we were going to trial on the Anderson murder. It seems that our man began focusing on more specific targets about 18 months ago. He's been telling anyone who will listen that he's going to kill Judge Petrovsky, Trevor Langon, Marcia Baron and you two." Cragen finished by looking significantly at the two detectives sitting in front of him.

"Why's the dumb son of a bitch want his lawyer dead?" Fin questioned. "Langon's been running his appeal and was supposed to defend him again in the Anderson trial. Even if he is scumbag defense attorney, Langon ain't stupid enough to risk his own life for money, just his client's."

"Further proof that we poor shmucks on city salaries can't even fathom the kind of cash Langon rakes in from guys like Paige," Munch cracked, looking critically over the rims of his glasses at his partner.

"We'll look at why once we have Paige in custody. Huang should be back from vacation next week, so he can have some fun with him then. For now I want us to start checking in on these potential vics. Munch, Fin, go talk to Langon."

"Did we ever figure out where Paige got the money to pay for a high-price mouth piece like Trevor Langon?" Munch questioned as he slipped into his coat.

Before anyone could answer, a blonde woman built like a linebacker in a pantsuit, interrupted the meeting, "I thought your report claimed it was with money he'd stolen from his victims' accounts, even though it was never conclusively proven and it seems strange that he'd still be using the money you haven't been able to trace." She paused to smile expansively. "Liz Healey, US Marshals. This is my partner, Andy Eckerson. Captain Cragen..." She paused again to allow Cragen to identify himself.

"We've met your partner," he stated, reluctantly reaching out to shake Healey's hand before turning to address Andy coldly, "Didn't get enough of us last time, Marshal Eckerson?"

Elliot fixed his eyes on the man who had almost gotten his own partner killed three months earlier. That must have been the reason she'd reacted to the Marshals' involvement; she was afraid this jerk would be back to screw things up again. Elliot continued staring, wondering if Eckerson had volunteered for the case in order to get another chance at Olivia. Internally, Elliot grinned over the lack of effect the giant bouquet of roses had had on her three months before, but maintained his icy stare, hopeful he was communicating the contempt he felt for any person who would put his partner in danger. Eckerson at least seemed to have the presence of mind to look a little embarrassed and ashamed as he answered Cragen, "Sir, I truly regret the events that occurred the last time I worked with SVU, but I hope that they will stay in the past. All I'm interested in is getting Paige back on death row where the son of a bitch belongs."

No one spoke as Eckerson looked at each detective in turn, daring someone to question his dedication to the job. Elliot engaged him in a staring contest until they were interrupted by a serious looking uniform, who walked over and broke the temporary silence. "Captain, you'd better take a look at this." He led them over to the TV in the corner. "It looks like the media has already picked up on this."

Fin let out a low whistle, "Man you know this shit is heavy when the Today show is all over it."

On the screen, Katie Couric was describing the details of Paige's escape and violent history. "...convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for the rapes and murders of five area college students, Paige was scheduled to appear in court today to face charges for a sixth rape-homicide. Police are warning the public that Paige is very dangerous and should not be approached. Any contact should be reported to the NYPD or US Marshals." Paige's picture and a hotline number appeared on the screen. "Now back to our continuing series on low-carb diets in..."

Cragen snapped the TV off. "Ok, people, let's get our asses in gear before Tom Brokaw joins the investigation. If you two Marshals don't mind, I'm going to split you up. Healey, you're with Stabler, Eckerson, with Benson." Two voices rose to protest as the group returned to the detectives' desks.

"Captain, I don't really see the value in splitting up partners who are used to..."

"Cap, what's the point of this, especially since..."

"...working together and familiar with the protocols of different agencies and..."

"...he's the one who got her taken hostage the last time he barged in..."

"...not even under your jurisdiction."

"...and I'm not sending my partner off with some creep who's gonna get her killed."

After waiting for the tirades to finish, Cragen began speaking in what Fin had named his 'dad' tone, "Marshal Healey, when I spoke to your boss this morning he clearly stated that you two would be working for me for the duration of this case and your assignments were up to my discretion. Elliot, in case your memory has gotten foggy, let me remind you that Paige threatened both Olivia's life and yours in open court. If he comes after either one of you, I don't want to make it easy for him by having you both together." He paused to hand out file folders. "You have your assignments. Go get this guy."

Healey directed a hard stare at the two detectives. "We need to get some stuff out of the car. We'll meet you outside." Eckerson followed slowly. Elliot could have sworn the man looked back at Olivia, who was studiously staring down at her desk, as he passed through the door. He was going to have to keep an eye on him.