CHAPTER 6

16TH PRECINCT
THURSDAY, JUNE 20TH
8:45 A.M.

Cragen closed the door firmly behind him and turned to face the three men who had just walked into his office. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I wish we were, Captain, but the information is right there," Munch replied, sinking into one of the chairs.

"This has to be a coincidence. Elliot wouldn't have..."

Fin cut the captain off, "Look, Cap, we don't want to believe this any more than you do, but like the man said – the info from Albany is right there. First thing I learned in the Academy is 'there are no coincidences.' Besides, you heard what happened with the nun at the hospital and the DNA and fingerprints back it up. We found our perp."

Cragen dropped heavily into his chair and rubbed his temples. His phone rang. "What?" he groused, then softened. "Oh, Elliot... No, not yet... Yeah, that's a good idea... No. Hurry. We think we got a break on Sacred Heart and the other cases, but we need you back here ASAP, got it? NO. We, um, we really need to talk about this in person, okay? Fine." He hung up the receiver and turned back to his team. "Elliot says he'll be in soon. I couldn't tell him on the phone. He should hear it in person..." Cragen trailed off, shaking his head. "I just can't believe he'd lie to us like this."

Dr. Huang pushed away from the wall and crossed the room to rest a hand on Cragen's shoulder. "I don't think he did lie, Don. How many psych evals have I given you guys? A lie like that would have shown up by now. The fact that we're all so blindsided by this indicates a VERY deep-seated repression. I want to be there when you talk to him, Don. If his walls have been up for this long, breaking through them may cause more problems."

"Terrific. We're tearing down walls today. I don't want to think about what kind of rubble we'll be left with," The captain sighed. "Fine, Huang, you're in. Munch, Fin, get back out there and see what else we can dig up until he gets here. And see if you can't get Benson in here too. She's not picking up her cell."

BENSON RESIDENCE
9:15 A.M.

Elliot walked down the hall towards Olivia's apartment with a frown on his face. He'd been calling her cell for over an hour with no answer. Something had to be wrong – she answered that thing in the shower, for heaven's sake! No. Something was not right. His intuition proved correct as he approached the apartment and saw the front door partially ajar.

He quickly dialed the station. "Fin? Elliot. There's a problem at Olivia's. I'm going in but I'll need backup. Hurry." He drew his gun and quietly pushed the door open. "Olivia?" he softly called as he pushed the door open and crept in to the silent apartment.

He froze when he saw her. She was sprawled on the couch, bruised and bloody. Her hands were tightly bound above her head and the remains of a tank top and cotton pants were strewn around the couch. "Olivia!" he yelled as he lowered his gun and started to run towards her.

"Stop right there," a too-familiar voice commanded from behind him as the gun's barrel jammed into the base of his skull. "Good boy. Now drop your piece." The gun dropped to the floor with a loud clunk and Elliot slowly raised his open hands and turned around.

16TH PRECINCT

Huang was just re-entering the squad room when Munch and Fin sprinted past him. "Captain, what's going on?"

"Elliot just called from Olivia's. Told Fin that there was a problem and he needed backup. I think we both have a good idea what the problem is. I was just waiting for you – I have a feeling we're gonna need you. Let's go."

BENSON RESIDENCE
9:20 A.M.

Olivia heard a loud clunk and slowly climbed back into consciousness from the blessed blackness that had engulfed her on and off throughout the morning. She cautiously peeked at the room through her thick black lashes before her eyes shot open and blinked several times.

It was like looking at a mirror. A matched pair of tall, muscular bodies clad in khakis and white shirts. They had short dark hair and beautiful piercing blue eyes that she knew so well. Those eyes... That's where the mirror shifted, changed. One set of blue eyes was full of fear and pain, brimming with shock and confusion. The other eyes were like ice – no sign of pain or life, just a dead hatred that would have been shocking in the familiar face, had she not looked into them pleadingly as he raped her over and over again all morning.

The cold gaze remained locked with the shocked one and he smiled. "About time you showed up, baby brother."

"About time you showed up, baby brother." With those seven words, Elliot's nightmare danced in his mind. Screaming... blood... fear... Stunned, he stared at his own face and realized in horror that it was not a nightmare but a memory that tormented him each night. There's blood, a lot of it. Mommy is yelling, crying, pleading...and then she stops. I find the box where he keeps the gun but before I can pick it up, it's taken from me. And then the shooting, and then more blood, splattering over us both, and then... nothing. A strangled sob caught in his throat as the memories rushed back. "Don't cry, Elliot. Don't cry until I'm done with your girlfriend, here. Then you can cry for us both."

Hearing those words, Elliot's mind cleared and he fully realized what was happening. He suddenly remembered who exactly was holding him. "Leave her alone, Chris. Don't hurt her any more and we'll talk. We'll get through this, okay?"

"Why the hell would I do that? I know you're a cop – you'll have me back inside before we finish saying our hellos. You're a cop – now isn't that ironic?" Chris smirked. "You're gonna have fun explaining ME at the NYPD family picnic, huh?"

"Chris..."

"Shut up! You shut the fuck up. Do NOT talk to me! This all your fault. All your fuckin' fault. You may not remember, but I do, so just shut up!"

Fin, Munch and Cragen were staged in the hallway outside of Olivia's apartment, guns drawn, when the screaming started. "Shut up! You shut the fuck up. Do NOT talk to me! This all your fault. All your fuckin' fault. You may not remember, but I do, so just shut up!" They looked at one another, Cragen nodded and they burst into the apartment.

"Freeze! Drop it. Drop it!" Fin and Munch swarmed Chris, disarming him and none-too-gently cuffing him.

Huang hurried in after them, crossing the apartment to untie Olivia. "Shh. You're going to be all right. It's okay." He helped her into her robe and led her out to a waiting medic squad. All the while, he spoke words of comfort and reassurance softly over her quiet sobs.

Cragen approached Elliot. "Are you all right? We have another bus downstairs if you need it."

"No, Captain. I'm not hurt... not physically. I... I just..." He stopped, his throat clogged with emotion, his eyes squinted against the tears that threatened. "Olivia..." he whispered as the dam broke.

Cragen felt his detective's pain. He pulled him into an embrace, and let him cry. "She's okay, Elliot. She'll be fine."