Chapter Title: A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot
Disclaimer: I don't SVU or Cold Case, which means, sadly, I do not own Danny Pino or Chris Meloni...
a/n: Thanks for all the reviews. Remember, all feedback is appreciated! This is a bit like two chapters in one, the first part being Elliot and Cragen, and the second part being Olivia.
"Hey, Cap," Elliot Stabler said, approaching Don the next day at work, "any news of Olivia?"
"No, I've been calling, but no answer," the captain replied, frowning. "I'll try again later."
"Okay," Elliot sighed, anxious for information on Olivia's wherabouts.
"But I think we've found a partner for you," Don said, delivering the news to Elliot. He braced himself for Elliot's response. He knew that he had been holding onto the hope that Olivia might come back. "He'll start tomorrow."
"I told you," Elliot said, annoyed. "I'm fine without a partner."
"Just," Cragen said, searching for the right words, "be nice to him, okay?"
"Whatever, Cap," Elliot said, quite pissed off that he had to get a new partner. Liv was still his partner. Or at least to him, she was.
As Crager watched Elliot leave his office, he felt a little sympathetic for Elliot. He knew how close he and Olivia were.
He turned to face his desk and hit redial.
"Hello?" the person on the other end of the line answered. Finally, John Stillman had answered his phone.
"Hi, John" said Cragen, "this is Don."
"Oh, hey, Don!" John replied. "So, how's it been?"
"Pretty good, but I'm actually calling to see if you can give me some information," he said. No small talk for Don today. He wanted to get straight to the point.
"Well, that depends on what kind of information we're talking about," John told him.
"Do you know if an Olivia Benson has been hired recently?" he said, hoping that John would give him the answer that both he and Elliot were looking for.
"Benson? Yeah, she started here yesterday. Funny, though, she didn't show up today," Stillman said.
"She works for you?" Cragen said, surprised and relieved.
"Yeah, but, like I said, she didn't show up today, which is a bit odd. I mean, it's only her second day on the job and already she's playing hooky," he said. "Why are you asking about her?"
"I was just wondering," he said. "I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye." Cragen hung up the phone without even allowing time for John to say good-bye. He grabbed his coat off the rack in his office, rushed out the door, stopping only to get Elliot to come with him.
"Elliot, you're coming with me," he said, rushing out of the building.
"Wait, what's this about?" Elliot asked, confused.
"I'll tell you on the way," he said. "You might want to call your wife; we could be gone for a few days."
"What? I'm not going anywhere without you telling me what the hell is going on," he said. There was something in Cragen's voice that suggested that this was urgent, but he still wanted to know where he was going. Elliot was never one who liked being left in the dark.
"I know where Olivia is," he said. "She's working for my friend in Philly, but she didn't show up for work today. It's only her second day."
"She didn't even call in sick?" Elliot said. It wasn't like Liv to just not show up for something.
"No. And that's why we're going to find her," Cragen said. Before he could even get his words out, Elliot was in the car, ready to go.
The drive to Philadelphia was very quiet, the silence only broken by the occasional traffic report.
When they arrived at Olivia's new station, they were met by probably ten security guards who tried to stop them from getting in. Each time, they flashed their badges and were let through, only to be stopped again.
"Where is Lieutenant Stillman's office?" Cragen asked a blonde woman wearing a three-quarter sleeve blue blouse and black slacks, a gun holster on her hip the only thing to suggest she was a cop.
"Right over there," she replied, pointing towards the door on the far end of the room.
"Thanks," Elliot said, before nearly having to run to catch up with Cragen who was already making his way through the maze of desks and filing cabinets towards the office.
When they reached their destination, Cragen took a deep breath to help him calm down, and knocked on the door.
"Come in," said the voice from behind the door. When he realized who it was, he said, "Don? What are you doing here?"
"What do you know about Olivia?" he asked. "What was the address she listed on her papers?"
"Um, hold on, let me check," he said, turning towards a large filing cabinet in the far right corner of his spacious office. "What is this all about, anyway? I mean, she just didn't show up for work."
"Liv wouldn't do that. She hasn't even taken a sick day in the past six years," Elliot said, his face giving the impression that he could probably use one.
"Who are you?" he asked, looking up from Olivia's file.
"I'm Detective Elliot Stabler, Olivia's partner," he said.
"Wait a second," John said, something clicking in his mind. "Her partner didn't show up for work, either."
"What's his name?" Elliot said, his voice growing louder as he leaned over the desk.
"Filiberto Ferndez; he started yesterday as well," he said.
"Ah, here it is," John said, pulling a piece of paper out of Olivia's folder. "She has down that she was staying at The Holiday Inn over on Ripperton Street."
"And this Fili-whatever guy?" Elliot said intensly.
"Um, 137 Redford Avenue; it's about four blocks from here," John said. "Look, I'm sure there's no reason to worry."
"No, Elliot was right, it's not like her to not show up," he said. "She's in trouble."
"Well, I'll get two of my detectives, Lilly Rush and Scotty Valens to check out her hotel room, and we could take a ride over to Filiberto's place. I'll also have Will and Nick look over phone records from the past two days."
"Actually, I'd really like to go to Liv's hotel room," Elliot said, surprising both Cragen and Stillman. He just wanted to feel closer to Liv.
"Okay, let's go," said Tom.
"Ah, good, you're up," Luigi said, noticing that Olivia's eyes were open. Well, as open as they could be since her entire face was practically two times larger than it had been the previous day. "Alonso, you can take those socks out of her mouth now." Alonso Mancos, another man who worked for Luigi, came over and removed the socks from Olivia's mouth, allowing her to speak.
"What do you want?" asked Olivia in a barely audible whisper. "Why am I here?"
"I just need a bit of information from you, that's all. And I heard from Filiberto that the sex is great, too," Luigi said.
"Just let me go!" Olivia said, her voice a little louder than before.
"Tell me, Detective, do you happen to know the whereabouts of a certain Alexandra Cabot?" Luigi asked, ignoring Olivia's pleas. A flash of recognition went through Olivia's eyes, and Luigi noticed it. "So you do know where she is? Good, good."
"I don't know where she is," Olivia said weakly.
"Your eyes are telling me a different story," said Luigi, proving himself to be smarter than Olivia had originally thought. "So, where is she?"
"Even if I did know, which I don't, why would I tell you?" Olivia asked.
"We just have a bit of a beef with her. Does the name 'Rafael Zapata Gaviria' mean anything to you?" he asked. Again, a flash of recognition crossed Olivia eyes. When Olivia didn't answer, Luigi rose from his chair. "This can be a lot easier for you."
He approached the chair that Olivia was tied to and said, "It's your choice."
"I dont' know where she is," Olivia said, telling the truth.
Luigi slapped her across the face. He punched her repeatedly. After each blow to the face, he asked, "Now do you know?"
"No! Stop, please, I don't know," Olivia said, trying to hold back her tears. She was a cop; she was supposed to be tough. She wasn't supposed to cry. "She left and she didn't tell us where she was going, I swear."
"Maybe this will jog your memory," Luigi said, pulling down his pants. And like Filiberto, he raped her, although he didn't cut her, he punch her in her face the entire time. When he was done, he asked once again, "Now do you remember?"
"She is in Witness Protection. She came back to testify, but she left. I don't know where she is," Olivia said softly, praying that he wouldn't hurt her again. "Please, I don't know."
"Fine, then," Luigi said. "Alonso, get the car ready. I believe we have to let the bitch go."
TBC...