Disclaimer: Everything Law & Order related belongs to Dick Wolf and company, as in the show idea and known characters. But I do own the abstract created characters and plot line.
Disclaimer 2: The characters Sherlock Holmes and John Watson belong to Arthur Conan Doyle.
Disclaimer 3: The character Catwoman belongs to the D.C universe, original creator, company and present owner(s).
Disclaimer 4: CSI belongs to Anthony E. Zuiker and company, as does the character Sara Sidle.
A/N: I own a couple of chickens…that's my fortune.
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"Hey guys, me and the boys are going to go to Vasquez's after hours to play darts, wanna come?" Detective Antonio Moretti laughed full hearted at the recently hospital released officers; Olivia and Elliot as they walked into the squad room.
The two locked eyes briefly, communicating with expressions, then both shot Moretti the finger and a harsh, "Fuck you." In unison.
Moretti laughed it off as the two made their way to their desks and start to write up the report on what happened at Monty's apartment.
Jude Hospital was busy as usual when the two detectives arrived by ambulance, later given a clean bill of health after various tests, blood work and urine just to name a few.
The drug in their systems was poison extracted from a certain type of puffer fish found in the Pacific Ocean. Perfectly harmless and would cause no permanent damage just as Cate Monty assured them.
Later the doctor had private conference with Olivia, very discretely so her partner wouldn't notice. But Elliot did notice her change in mood later that day; worry.
When he asked about it she shrugged it off on the case. He had a strong feeling she was only partly telling him the truth, but choose not to push it.
Olivia's desk phone rang while she was typing up the Monty report, "Special Victims, this is Benson," Elliot cut his eyes at her while he was typing up his own version of the events at forty-six twelve Berenger.
"Alright, thanks I'll be down in a minute." Olivia hung up and saved her report, "That was Rosarian, he's finished examining my gun and I'm going to run and pick it up. Wanna come with?" She asked knowing Elliot's eyes where on her from his side the desk.
"Do you want me too?"
She shrugged slipping on her jacket, "It's no biggie. Just a run down stairs."
Elliot paused thoughtfully; he knew something was bothering her, but he would close himself off to her too, When she's ready she'll tell me…or I'll just pester her about it later.
"Naw, I'm almost finished with this." He turned back to the digital screen.
"'K." Olivia murmured and headed toward the elevators.
After a short elevator ride and various comments from other officers about darts she finally arrived at the ballistics lab.
"Hey Detective," Rosarian called with half a bear claw caught in his mouth, only it sounded more muffled and food coated.
Olivia pocketed her hands and thrust her chin in a 'what's up' gesture and approached his lab area, "Tell me something good, Rosie." She teased his name and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Be nice and maybe I will." He smiled taking a swig of fresh coffee, "Yours is the .three fifty-seven Glock right?" He asked shifting carefully through various weapons, both legal and illegal, both evidence and maintenance.
"Yeah, I just dropped it off." She said in false surprise, "Falling down on the job, Rosie."
"At least I didn't get darted."
Olivia was taken aback, "That was low. Does everybody know?"
"No, there's some rookie in the twenty-third precinct who doesn't." He chuckled and lifted the tagged black .three fifty-seven, carefully, first rule of gun safety, treat every gun like it's loaded.
"Truce, ok." Rosarian added feeling the embarrassed and slightly pissed tension seeping from Olivia; he laid the empty clip next to him on the table and pulled the chamber back to make sure it wasn't loaded.
"Ok, I ran ever test on your piece that I know, fired nearly ten rounds threw the barrel, took it apart, its very clean I must add," he complimented looking into her lovely eyes, she nodded as thanks, "and tested the firing pin. There's nothing wrong with it. I don't why it misfired, but it shouldn't have."
Rosarian looked up at her over his black rimmed glasses, "The shell had a bad primer then?" Olivia deduced.
He tilted his head slightly, "That's what I thought at first too, so I ran in though the test .three fifty-seven here, hid behind my little shield and let her rip." He started as hopped of his stool and wandered over to another area of the lab and picked up an evidenced bag and tossed it to her.
Olivia caught it and broke the seal pulling out the copper shell with gun powder burns at the edges, it had fired. She noted the two distinct pin marks on the primer now, one hers the other from the test gun.
"Olivia, the primer was fine. I don't why your gun didn't fire, it should have. " He was at a loss for an explanation and spread his arms in a stupefied manner.
She looked up at him and shrugged at the evidenced, not sure what to believe.
"They say everyone has a bullet out there with their name on it…This one wasn't hers." He tried to console somewhat, the police myth didn't comfort much.
She didn't reply and looked back down at the bizarre omen, the twisted fluke.
"Thanks, Rosarian. Can I keep this?" She gestured at the bag.
"Yeah."
Olivia smiled but her heart wasn't in it and reloaded the empty clip into her side arm, then left.
"You ain't gonna stop her, don't you know that? She's sent by God to do what you can't, but what you dream of."
The old woman's words were haunting as she stepped into the elevator, the wicked laugh echoed in her mind.
Next time…Olivia thought head strong.
Next time.
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Captain Donald Cragen carefully read Elliot's account of the events at Cate Monty's apartment, closed it, then began on Olivia's version.
The two reports were virtually identical he noticed as he closed Olivia's report, leaned back in his chair and eyed the empty wall before him.
CSU didn't find anything of use at Cate Monty's apartment, it was fairly a below average apartment to begin with. Cheap toiletries, low cost foods; rice mainly, no clothing, or weapons other than the two kitchen knives and one was a butter knife, no reading material and no sign or indication of who she was going after next.
She has another place. Cragen knew it; She has a back up pad somewhere else.
She wasn't coming back to forty-six twelve Berenger, but just in case, surveillance was in place at the slum.
Statements and accounts had been taken at forty-six twelve Berenger from the other building's tenants, everyone said the same thing; that she was very nice and respectful, kept to herself mostly….
…their all playing dumb. Cragen felt for sure that was the situation.
Didn't matter now, she was gone again, out there somewhere in the city. Cragen got up and walked over to his window, viewing part of the setting sun behind a nearby building.
She was waiting, healing, stalking…
How many more people was she going to kill?
Cragen recalled those disturbing words from Elliot's report when he asked her why she was doing this.
"They murdered my children, then destroyed me and so I'll kill them. Two wrongs do make a right."
How many people had been involved in this so called murder?
How many people would actually be needed to murder two small children and nearly kill a woman?
If what Cate claimed was true.
They had been so close today.
More tips where filtering in as he stood there, staring at the glowing sky through the mini-blinds, more eye witness accounts and bounty hunters being booked for participating in illegal activities.
While Cate Monty roamed free.
Cragen leaned forward some against the blinds; they creased against his forehead as he shut his eyes.
I need some sleep.
He swallowed and leaned back focusing on the darkening sky, What's sleep?
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Olivia rubbed her eyes wearily; it was now ten p.m in the station the same day she and Elliot had been, well, darted.
Elliot was down in lock-up talking to some person who claimed had he shot Cate Monty in a shoot out on the north subway while he was attempting to apprehend her, illegally.
If he did shoot her, that remained to be seen, but he did mange to shatter some fluorescents attached to the ceiling of the subway port and launch a fire extinguisher with a bullet into an adjoining tile wall, what a mess. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt, just a few surface cuts from the falling glass and flying tile.
Olivia chewed on her lip and glanced at the evidence bag with the fired shell in it, it still bothered her. She focused back on the computer screen running more background checks on the deceased, Jack Kershaw, Mark Garston, Christopher Harris and Benysn Connors.
Looking for some sort connection, some name or names that connected them all, hell a fraternity would have worked, something they where all apart of.
John yawned, removed his shaded glasses and rubbed his eyes near by.
Fin coughed then cleared his throat as he read over another report about Cate Monty.
Andrew was on with another lead with Nadia and Cragen was dealing with various authority figures in his office, they where all burning the midnight oil tonight. Along with other detectives too, in their precinct and connecting others, all coordinating to capture public enemy number one.
Olivia finally discarded Mark Garston from her search, he didn't have any other felonies on his record other than the three counts of child molestation and he never even had a late movie rental or overdue book.
He wasn't connected to the bigger picture, he wasn't apart of Cate Monty's revenge.
She focused on the other three names, the ones she was ninety-nine percent sure where premeditated, the murders with the calling cards, 'ITS JUST BUSSINESS', written in blood.
'Jack Kershaw, known affiliations: Bale Braddock, Anita Garcia, Lengsfield Philips and Nick Hebel.'
Olivia read the screen again, wiped her eyes as they blurred some, she looked at the screen once more, she had looked his file up a few days ago and there was another name listed under the affiliations.
She was sure of.
Olivia opened another window and brought up Christopher Harris file.
'Christopher Harris, known affiliations: Kim Ong, Lengsfield Philips.'
She read it again; This file has been tampered with.
Lengsfield Philips, ok, he appears on both flies, but there was another name here, I know it.
Olivia opened another window for Benysn Connors; he had huge slue of affiliations, but no mention of Lengsfield Philips, Harris or Kershaw.
She leaned back, racking her brain for that name she had noted on both Harris's and Kershaw's file, it had been deleted, she was sure of it.
Olivia closed all the windows and opened another typing in Lengsfield Philips; it gave her the sign for searching. She picked up a pen and began to finger it as she waited.
FILE NOT FOUND, flashed on the screen.
Bullshit.
Someone was covering their tracks, What was that name…Jon…Jon something.
Olivia twirled the pen again.
Jon Rans, no…Jon Rams...no that's not it…Jon Risce…like that…Rice! That's it Jon Rice!
She typed the name quickly…searching…she felt a rush of anticipation, That was it, has to be.
FILE….the screen went black, along with the rest of the station.
"Oh what the hell?" Fin hissed as his laptop shut down, the room's power shut off, the only light coming from the glass windows and red EXIT signs around the squad room.
"Ok, everyone stay calm." John voiced, Olivia looked out the window just to the power in the next building disappear like a candles flame.
Olivia felt a choke in her throat, the power was disappearing around the city, this meant only one of two things, it was a power outage/surge or that the city was under attack.
Her cell rang just then as Cragen was talking to the group of detectives in the dimly red EXIT sign lit up squad room.
"Benson,"
"Do you have power over there?"
It was Elliot.
"No."
"Shit, I'm stuck in an elevator."
"Well, try to stay calm."
"I am calm!"
Olivia had to hold her mouth to stop the near giggle.
Just as Elliot was about retaliate again about her comment the lights in room flickered and came on. Olivia squinted her eyes so they could readjust and listened to the hum of computers rebooting around the office.
"See you in a minute." Elliot hung up.
Olivia shrugged and put her phone back her pocket as Cragen was saying various instructions and slipped back into office to answer his ringing desk phone.
Elliot arrived placing a hand on Olivia's back, "I was calm."
She cut her eyes at him and sat further back at her desk chair waiting for the computer to finish rebooting.
"Did our Gunslinger know anything useful?" She asked as the screen went though a color test, then various diagnostics.
"No, he gave us a urine sample from a few hours ago, he had a lot of heroin in his system. He probably saw the Lee Harvey Oswald and the second gunmen while he was shooting at city property."
Olivia nodded, cutting her eyes discreetly at the fired shell casing, then back at Elliot.
"You find anything?" He questioned.
She paused, "Yeah, sort of." Olivia leaned in, drawing Elliot in from his own desk, "I think someone been tampering with the files." She whispered.
"Careful, someone might think you've been hanging around with John too long." He replied with a slight smirk.
"I heard that." John voiced from across the room, Elliot shrugged at him then turned back to Olivia, "What makes you think that?"
Olivia realized he was now taking her seriously, "Before the blackout I noticed some of the files had been tampered with, Jack Kershaw and Christopher Harris."
Elliot nodded.
"One of the known affiliations had been deleted from both of them, it was listed a few a days ago, I know it. Then some other files can't be found."
Elliot nodded understanding, "We can get Chastity to check it out."
Chastity Cherri Chambers, ex-prostitute turned computer genius and hacker extraordinaire.
Her parents must have hated her naming her something like that and then she turned into a hooker, talk about irony. Olivia thought the first time meeting Chastity.
But one thing was certain, Chastity knew her stuff and if someone had been tampering with the system, she'd find them; she'd find everything they had done too.
"The black out was only in the twenty-third block of the city." John announced as his police radio clicked with static.
Cragen stepped hostilely out of his office just then attracting the attention of everyone in the room, "You two and you two." He pointed to John and Fin, then Olivia and Elliot, "Get to 701 Blue Crest Apartment building, Monty's fifth victim is there."
That's in the twenty-third block, Olivia realized.
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"ITS JUST BUSSINESS"
The declaration of another one of Cate Monty's calling cards stood out the most at the newest murder scene.
It was obscure, but Fin read it clearly, the statement seemed louder this time, bolder.
Maybe because it's written on a mirror, he observed.
It was streaky and agitated just like all the others but this one seemed…
…like she took more pleasure in it.
The electrical odor and smell of blood was very strong in the indoor hot tub room but wasn't anything like the Bensyn Connors murder scene where blood was everywhere, painted in all the nooks and crannies of that lovely bathroom.
The hot tub room smelled more like an electrician's shop after a burnout; Fin noted the floating stereo in the full hot tub, the cause of the blackout in the twenty-third block of the city.
The stereo cord had been wrenched out of its socket in the tiled wall across from the hot tub with a short wooden stool.
Monty shoved the stool to knock out the cord out, after he had fried to her fullest satisfaction.
Fin stared at the fully dressed body floating in the hot tub severally lacerated, face up, eyes open and grayed slightly from the water electrocution, his skin was a shinny red and cooked.
"Something smells good." John called as he entered the room.
"You're a sick man, John." Fin replied his eyes never leaving the body.
John didn't reply as he took the scene in, the cooked body, the bloody statement, the stereo floating the water and the smashed sliding glass door behind the hot tub leading out to the roof deck.
"Do we know who he is yet?" Fin asked finally looking away from the red body.
"Penthouse belongs to a Bale Braddock. Olivia nearly choked on her coffee when some beat officer told her that." John began.
Fin looked over at him in confusion, "Don't tell me she dated this guy or something." He gestured at the lobster like bag of flesh.
"What? Why wouldn't she? I bet he was a real looker before Cate flash fried him." John replied sarcastically.
Fin rolled his eyes, "Did she know him or what?"
"No. Not personally, Bale Braddock is listed under Jack Kershaw's known affiliations. A coincidence? I think not." John answered returning to professionalism.
Fin nodded starting to piece together the order of events at the crime scene, moving out of the hot tub room to the living area, "Ok, Cate entered through the front door…"
"Looks like it, the door knobbed was recently picked."
"Attacks Braddock in the living room, over turning the arm chair, then flipped him into that glass coffee table."
"Explains all the blood from there to here."
"Continued the fight through that glass door over there," Fin moved toward the door, John nearby. They walked though the broken sliding glass door leading out to the rooftop pool.
"Braddock most likely pushed Cate though it judging from all the black fibers on the glass, they look consistent with one of her hoodys." John pointed out.
"Rolled around a bit," Fin voiced gesturing at the scattered glass and blood smears on the tiled walkway near the pool.
"The fight became vertical again, someone was smashed up against the wall," John pointed at the massive blood smear on the penthouse wall, it was broad.
"Probably Braddock judging by the width of the smear, can we get a picture of this, please?" Fin called to the nearest CSU photographer who quietly approached and photographed the bloody wall.
John followed more blood streaks and footprints as the walkway turned some around the penthouse leading to another broken sidling glass door, bloody hand prints here and there and slathered along the rooftop handrail.
"I wager my dear Watson that Cate pushed Braddock through this glass door." John folded his arms across his chest looking expectant at Fin as he stood in front of the other shattered sliding glass door leading to the opposite side of the hot tub room.
"No, shit Sherlock." Fin voiced in false admiration.
John shot him the finger and entered the though shattered door, "Shoved him the full hot tub, kicked the stereo in, turning him into bar-barbecue."
Fin paused, "Well, it's not like he just sat there and waited for her to fry him." He moved in and crouched behind Bale Braddock's partially submerged body and carefully tilted his head forward with blue latex gloved fingers.
"Have you been watching CSI again?" John asked crossing his arms as Fin observed the skull.
"Yeah, that Sara chick is hot." Fin retorted, Braddock had a small crack in the back of his skull, just enough to incapacitate him even for a short period of time.
Fin glanced around the room, searching for the weapon used against his skull then saw it.
A wrenched towel rod was hidden behind a lien closet door. Fin gently rested the head back up against the hot tubs' rim and moved the lien door aside revealing the discarded towel rod.
The rod was bent where it connected with Braddock's skull and had a turned a dark red at one end.
"Whoa, that was anchored in concrete." John observed on the opposite side of Fin as he moved the other side of the folding lien door.
Fin looked up at the damaged concrete; a thick steel anchor was twisted clean off when Cate wrenched the rod off the wall, it protruded uselessly in the tile and concrete.
"Adrenaline, it does charge the body." Fin muttered.
"So does heroin." John replied.
"You think she's a fiend?" Fin questioned standing erect now.
John shrugged, "I don't know, I do know I'm tried."
Fin nodded, he too was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation.
"John? Fin? Where the hell did you two go?" It was Olivia's soft voice from the opposite end of the hot tub room.
"In here." They said in unison.
Olivia approached, careful of the glass and leered around a wall till she found her two counterparts.
"What's up?" Fin questioned as her face scrunched from the pungent aroma.
She waved her hand at her nostrils and finally covered it, she couldn't take the smell anymore, "You two are going to have to see this for yourself." Olivia said quickly and left the room in a rush, nearly gagging.
"You think she's ok? Seems like lately she can smell everything stronger then we can." Fin asked John as they started to step around the large tub.
John shrugged and whispered, "Maybe its PMS or something."
"PMS? PMS does not do that to chicks."
"Ah huh, she's been kind of moody lately too. I'd think I'd know, too. How many times have you been married, again?"
Fin scoffed at him and the conversation ended abruptly when they entered the living room and Elliot motioned for them to follow him into a large bedroom, CSU camera flashes could be seen and harsh voices could be heard.
"That is disgusting."
"Sick fuck."
"I wonder if he was even a registered offender."
"Bastard."
John and Fin entered the massive bedroom to find a few CSU analysts, Olivia and the newly arrived Captain Cragen, they where all grouped around what looked like a trunk.
Cragen turned some when he noted John and Fin and moved aside so they could see.
Child porn.
An entire trunk filled with child pornography, photos, magazines, VHS to DVD.
Fin felt his stomach turn with disgust and John clenched his fists.
"I really hope Monty took some of his teeth." Olivia voiced.
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The Sixteenth Day
August 25, 2005 Thursday
It was 6:45 a.m, the next day, a new day.
A sunny day.
A warm day.
Another day Cate Monty was free.
After last night's crime scene in Bale Braddock's apartment Cragen ordered that everyone to just go home and get some sleep. They couldn't do anything yet until CSU was done analyzing everything they had found in the apartment and M.E Warner was done with Bale Braddock's autopsy.
But they all were pretty sure they knew what had killed him already.
The buzz was incessant and persistent.
No…Not yet…
Olivia rolled on to her stomach, shoving her tired head beneath her pillow and flayed her hand at the digital clock/radio.
She clipped one of the buttons with a finger and the alarm switched to a morning radio station.
"…that's right folks. Cate Monty has struck again. This time she killed some pervert living the rich life with a damn trunk filled with kiddie porn."
Olivia lifted the pillow off her head some and focused on the conversation, Shit, how do they know? When I find out whose leaking information…
"Sick bastard, Ricky. Cate if you're listening, you did the city a service, again. Thanks."
"Sarah, what do you think about Monty?"
"I think she's in the wrong, she shouldn't be doing this—"
"What? Dude, come on. She's doing what so many people have wanted to do! Hell, she's doing what a badge can't!"
"Ricky! Listen to yourself. She's a killer. She's been right so far, but sooner or later she's going to kill someone who didn't do anything."
"Ok, we're going to take a short break. If you have something to say about Cate Monty call in. We want to hear it."
Olivia fumbled against the radio button to shut it off and it switched back to the annoying alarm.
She snapped.
Olivia sat up, jerking the digital/clock radio out of its wall socket, shifting her nightstand violently, dumping various items onto the fine wooden floor; a cheap paperback, a coaster she jacked from a bar, a scribbled memo pad and some pens, then threw annoying device against her bedroom wall. It cracked and split against the uncovered red brick, then crashed to the floor, a mesh of broken circuits and plastic components.
She collapsed back against her mattress, "I can't keep this up." She murmured rubbing her face and ran a hand through her hair while staring up at her bedroom ceiling. Then she noticed for the first time the yellowing stain, there was a leak up there, somewhere.
She'd have to tell the super about it.
Just then her cell phone rang; Olivia cut her eyes at the dratted device that managed to stay on the now crooked nightstand and had a quick vision of her liberating her life of the dreaded machine by throwing it against the bedroom brick wall.
Olivia smiled at the thought then shook it off answering her cell, "Benson,"
She sounded groggy and slightly pissed.
"Whoa, did you wake up in someone else's bed?"
It was Elliot.
Olivia smiled at his attempt at John Munch like humor, "I was wondering where this third arm came from?"
Elliot chuckled at her reply, "Are you dressed for work?"
"No. And why do you sound so cheery? How much sleep did you get last night?"
"You mean this morning?" He corrected, "Probably the same as you but I made some of my famous Marine coffee to wake me up on this lovely morning. It also gets oil stains off of concrete. I got a full thermos with your name on it."
She laid there for a moment, allowing his words to register in her mind, "Elliot, where are you?"
"Outside your apartment door now get up and open it for me."
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut when he said that.
"I gave you a key." She mumbled they went through that partner bonding-like ritual some years ago exchanging keys, just in case, a way of sealing the promise that one always had the others back.
"It's in my other pants. Now get up and open the door for me."
"How do you know I'm lying down?"
"I heard you kill your clock/radio."
Olivia rolled her eyes, tossing her sheets and finally stood wearing faded green plaid pajamas bottoms and a thoroughly worn tank top, clothing of total comfort, "See you in a minute." She said before he could answer, ending the call and tossing her cell on the very messed up bed.
She stumbled out of her bedroom, rubbing her face and started working on the locks on her apartment door and swung it open for her partner.
"Whoa, you look like shit." Olivia observed taking the thermos from him; Elliot had soft purple circles around his eyes and a shadowy look to his overall appearance.
"So do you." Elliot replied stepping in to her apartment as Olivia moved aside.
Olivia rolled her eyes and headed to her kitchen to grab two ceramic coffee cups.
"Did you hear about our rookies?" Elliot voiced as he removed his jacket and took a seat on the end of her couch.
"No. What's happened?" She asked in genuine concern as she returned to the living room with two ceramic cups and the thermos tucked under her arm.
Elliot took the cups from her as she sat down, "Last night—this morning they where side-swiped by a meat truck, totaled the unmarked."
"Screw the unmarked. Are they ok?"
Elliot nodded pouring her a cup of coffee, "Yeah, all the airbags deployed. Nadia has this real big cut on her temple and popped her shoulder out of place and Andrew broke his nose."
"Oh, damn. What about the lead?" Olivia asked taking a sip of the still steaming and freshly scented coffee.
"Another bust, I called Chastity a little bit ago about the file system. She said she could come at oh, nine and take a look."
Olivia nodded, "Looks like you've got it all under control."
Elliot noted the subtly in her tone and finally chose to purse whatever was bothering her.
"'Liv, are you ok?"
She looked over at him in question, "Yeah, why?"
"It's just, you seem really worried and kind of off lately."
"It's the case."
"No its not, 'Liv." He said sternly.
"Yes it is, Elliot." She replied in equal stern.
"'Liv,"
Olivia stood up abruptly nearly spilling her coffee, "You want to know what's bothering me?"
"Yes I do." Elliot replied his eyes never leaving hers.
"Cate Monty."
Elliot looked taken aback, he knew that was only part of the equation, It's a place to start.
"She bothers me too."
"No, Elliot. I don't mean like that." Olivia had now sat her cup down on the peeling wood finish coffee table and began pacing.
"Then what?"
Olivia paused and bit her lip, "She killed Jack Kershaw, a rapist, right," he nodded. "Trash, Elliot, he was scum and you know that as well as I do. Then Garston, a child molester, even lower! Then Harris a drug dealer, fuck him, we could do with out him. Then Connors, a drug lord and gun runner and now Bale Braddock who—who I know nothing about but had illegal child pornography in his possession…Elliot—she—ugh! This is so frustrating!" Olivia gripped her hair and paused.
"Elliot, what if it's true." She said quietly, now she was focusing on a knot in the wood of the coffee table.
"What?" He asked knowing full well what she meant.
"What if they did kill her children? What if—maybe she is a vigilante. Then that old woman in the slum—you heard what she said, 'She sent by God, to do what we can't but what we dream of.' Elliot—Ugh!" Olivia felt her mood change dramatically again and tears well in her eyes; Elliot was up abruptly and embraced her.
Whoa…Olivia hesitantly embraced him back, feeling childish and odd. They rarely hugged, this was different, new, but she welcomed the contact.
"Olivia, as far as what that woman in the slum said, she was screwing with us. Cate Monty is a murder. It maybe true about her family and it might not be. But you know as well as I do that people, ordinary everyday, average people can't take the law into their hands."
Elliot pulled back looking into her deep, dark eyes, "And it's our place to stop her."
She nodded trying to wipe the redness from her eyes, "Now, go take a shower and get dressed. We've got a lot to do today." Elliot felt he brought her back to earth as she walked toward her bathroom without another word, but also knew that she was still hiding something from him. That worry he felt from her yesterday, it wasn't the case and the changes she was going through…
…it's not just the case…'Liv why won't you talk to me?
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"What are you doing here?" John called to Nadia as she walked in the squad room with the noticeable stitching at her temple and dark bruising surrounding it.
"It takes more then just a meat truck to stop me." She purred taking her maroon fringe jacket off careful of her sore shoulder and hung it over her desk chair.
"I bet." He replied shifting through some manila folders.
"So, who'd she kill this time?" Nadia questioned sitting slightly on the corner of his desk.
"Monty?"
"No, the Easter Bunny. 'Course Monty, I heard she took another sick pervert out last night and she caused the blackout doing so."
John nodded reaching for his memo pad from the inside of his jacket; he flipped it to the appropriate page, "A Bale Braddock."
Nadia choked.
"Oh what the hell? First Olivia chokes on her coffee when she hears his name and you do it on air! What is with this guy?" John said in disgust as Nadia regained her composure and shook her hand at him.
"Do—do you have a picture of him?" She asked over her air sobs and the slight tearing in her eyes.
John moved over to Fin's unoccupied desk and retrieved a manila folder and handed it to her.
She thumbed it and carefully opened it to several color 8x10's of the deceased Bale Braddock.
"Oh dear God. What did she do to him?" Nadia murmured in slight revulsion.
"Water electrocution." John replied, Nadia didn't look up her eyes where locked with the bright red and burnt flesh at Braddock's his collar.
"Told you you'd get yours." She whispered to the photos.
John furrowed his brow in confusion, "You knew this guy? Personally?"
"Yeah, I knew this guy. Have you got the background file on him yet?"
"Yeah, hang on." He shifted his mouse to wake his computer up again and opened the window with Bale Braddock's criminal history.
"Bale Braddock, two DWI's and did some time in Crusoe's Minimum Security Prison for a jewelry theft." John answered.
Nadia shook her head, "Identifying marks?"
John scrolled some, "Yeah a 'blue cougar' tattoo on his back."
Nadia leaned in and looked at the image of the massive tattoo that engulfed his back.
"It's not a cougar it's a puma. That was his handle, The Blue Puma. He was an art thief too, I don't know why that's not listed. You where at his apartment, right?"
John nodded.
"I bet there was a lot of odd paintings and sculptures there?"
John recalled the penthouse and did remember some of that.
"Yeah, come to think of it there was."
"Most of its hot, bet you lunch it is." Nadia wagered.
"You're on. So, what did you like date this guy when you were playing Catwoman?"
"Eww, no. Word among the thieves is that he liked children, especially little boys. Didn't you find kiddie porn? I heard that some was found?"
John recalled the trunk filled with the illegal items and felt his stomach roll with disgust.
"Yeah we did…What did you mean earlier 'Told you you'd get yours.'"
Nadia remembered her words, glanced behind her to see how many people were in the office then moved over to the opposite side of John stealing Fin's chair in the process.
She undid a few of the lower buttons on her shirt top, "Am I going to have to pay for this?" John asked with dry humor and a wirily smile, she shot him a death stare and revealed her lower stomach.
Scaring.
Five deep, wavering parallel lines where etched over her lower abdomen.
"God, did you slide on a rake!" He asked in shock as buttoned the top back together.
"You outta see the one on my back. One of the reasons he was called The Blue Puma, he wore these specially made gloves with razors attached to the fingertips." She glazed her fingers over her shirt covered scaring recalling the memory.
"Eastern France spring 'ninety-two, we where both after a certain Faberge Egg. Yadda yadda yadda, a fight ensued. He tore my back and stomach opened and I shot him in the back, shouting at him 'You're going to get yours!' He was a dirty thief, took my egg." Nadia finished as if it was a bar story.
"I never know when you're telling the truth, you know that?" John said in disbelief.
"You're a detective. Run your own little investigation about me, if you don't believe me." She murmured as her partner arrived, Nadia took her leave and greeted an Andrew Gage with a broken nose.
"Maybe I will." John called aloud.
"You do that." She answered across the room as the two rookies left.
"Aw, are you two having a lover's tiff?" Fin asked catching the tail end of the conversation pulling his chair back to his desk.
"No, I reverse all my tiffs for you."
"Oh, that's so touching, thank you." Fin replied in genuine sarcasm, touching his own chest gingerly to emphasize.
John rolled his eyes, the two began to bicker back and forth as Olivia and Elliot arrived and took their own seats at their desks.
They had just returned from the morgue, Bale Braddock's autopsy report still fresh on their minds.
Braddock had lost quite a lot of blood and had several glass lacerations all over his body, two shattered ribs and a crack in the base of his skull, cause of death was water electrocution.
He cooked in his own fluids.
Just like on all the other bodies, Cate Monty left behind DNA, blood and lots of it. CSU found traces of her deep blush all over the penthouse and several thread fibers from her clothing.
It was widely speculated that she was hurt bad this time, maybe even fatally lacerated by all the broken glass. CSU did pick up on her blood trail leading out of the building; she escaped a few floors below the penthouse, down the fire escape of a renovated apartment. The metallic ladder was slick with blood and dark spatters had been found all around the concrete alleyway and faded into the street, where the bloodhounds lost the trail.
No one saw her enter the building or leave it, no security footage of her this time.
She faded away like a ghost again, but had been deeply wounded and maybe even dead this time.
"Hey Detectives." Chastity Cherri Chambers called sweetly as she was escorted by a uniform into the squad room.
Chastity had dyed her hair again since her last visit to the station, that time she was chasing a trojan through Detective Antonio Moretti laptop, it was pale blue then, now it was a near neon green.
"Hey Chasstiityy." Elliot stretched her name as she shook his hand firmly; she always had a strong grip.
"Elliot," she purred and turned to Olivia, "Detective Benson." Chastity always felt a slight tension in the older woman's presence.
Olivia nodded at her, a small smile on her lips, "Miss. Chambers."
"Alright then," Chastity intertwined her fingers then popped her knuckles. "You weren't clear on what you needed….So…" She directed at Elliot.
"I'm the one who needs your services." Olivia cut in.
Chastity turned to her un-phased, "Name it."
"I think someone has been tampering with our criminal files," Olivia started.
"You have to have high verification clearance to do that." Chastity toned before she could stop herself.
Olivia nodded slightly, "Yes, I know that. Just have a look."
Olivia moved out of her seat, Chastity quietly slipped into it and adjusted herself at the laptop keyboard.
She tapped away at the keyboard faster than most, entering the system deeper than anyone in the room could at the speed she was moving.
"What exactly what was tampered with or what file is missing?" Chastity asked still etching at the keyboard quickly glancing up at Olivia.
"Lengsfield Philips."
Chastity involuntarily bit her tongue at the mention of his name, moaned with discomfort and pushed back from the desk cupping her mouth to staunch the blood.
Elliot quickly handed her a tissue and she took it mumbling a distorted thanks.
"Guess you've heard of him." Olivia stated as she stole a nearby chair.
Chastity nodded holding the stained tissue, "Why on earth are you after him?"
"Who is he? I've never heard of him." Elliot directed at Olivia totally ignoring Chastity's last question.
Olivia shrugged, "His file was deleted. But he's someone important isn't he?" Olivia observed from Chastity's reaction.
Chastity nodded then dropped the tissue in her lap and continued to type away at the keyboard, "He's… ah…I know most people think that kingpins like Derek Michaud, Natalie Bonds, Orson Masters and even the late Bensyn Connors look like they run the show, the underground you know." She moved her fingers quickly along the flat keys, pausing at a window; her eyes read it quickly before she bypassed it.
"They supposedly control the money laundering, the prostitution and gambling, the drug flow and illegal weaponry…But it's Lengsfield Philips who's really in control of everything. He even has some cops in his back pocket." She wasn't looking at them now; she skimmed more digital text, slightly perplexed.
"They say he beat a man to death with a dictionary once…Yeah, someone has been in here. Two files have been deleted and forty-six others have been edited." Chastity reported.
"What ones?" Olivia questioned.
Chastity turned back to the screen, "Lengsfield Philips and Jon Rice."
"Can you restore them?" Elliot asked leaning forward at his desk.
Chastity bit her lip, "No. Once their deleted their deleted. I thought there were hard copies of all of these." She gestured at the laptop.
"There are," Elliot nodded. "There just not updated as frequently."
"Can you create a list of the modified files?" Olivia interjected.
Chastity turned back to the screen to fulfill the desired task.
"How is it—well you have heard of this guy and we as cops," Elliot gestured to himself and Olivia, "never have. I heard of everyone else you mentioned, but not this Lengsfield Philips guy. Have you met him?"
Chastity continued to type, "My pimp use to whore me out to his number two man, Pedro Mendez. He's dead now, supposedly Lengsfield killed him, cemented his feet in concrete blocks and dumped him off Ellis Island, as the story goes. I don't know why he killed him. But I met him only once, in passing and that was enough."
"There ya go." Chastity completed the list and turned the laptop slightly for Olivia.
She scanned the list recognizing the various names from her pervious search last night and the days prior, each one edited to remove the names Lengsfield Philips and Jon Rice.
Who are these guys? Olivia bore her eyes hard at the screen as if her stare would cause the laptop to regurgitate the answer.
It didn't of course.
"Chastity, could you describe what these guys look like to a sketch artist?" Olivia asked with softness in her voice, turning her head slightly toward Chastity.
"I've never seen Jon Rice, or I have and just don't know it. But when I saw Lengsfield Philips…It was dark and several years ago. I don't know how much I could even tell your artist." Chastity replied.
"Rough idea would work," Elliot murmured picking up his desk phone and dialing, "Hello, Missing Persons please…Hey Jenny…Yeah, oh that's fantastic, glad too hear it's a boy, yeah…Well could you put me though to Mickey Blue? 'K, thanks….Mickey? Hey it's Elliot Stabler. Yeah, I got a job for you, yeah, yeah see you in ten minutes or so. Thanks." Elliot re-cradled the phone, "Can you hang around some, Chastity?"
Chastity smiled lopsided and thumbed a finger against her lips, "Its going to cost ya."
"City taxpayers are already footing your bill." Elliot played back.
"Yeah, for the hacking. This is going to cost you."
"What do you want?" Elliot asked interlacing his hands on his desk. Olivia watched the two in slight flirt; she fought the shred of jealously in her throat.
"Kilroy's Apple Brandy. I need an entire case, I have a Halloween party coming up."
Elliot's head dropped some, "An entire case? You've got to be kidding me."
"You've got connections with Quincy, still. Right?"
"Yeah but, hell you better give us a fantastic rendering." Elliot pointed at her.
She spread her arms and smiled wickedly, "Don't you know I have a photographic memory."
(End Chapter Eight)
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