A/N: I own absolutely, positively...nothing. Oh, except for my ideas. I guess I'll always have that satisfaction. :D
A/N: I was going to update last night - I really was! - and then the site wouldn't let me access my profile page. So that sucked. On the plus side, I'm updating now. Yay! Thanks to Dramawitsvu17, KaydenceRei, onetreefan, estrelita lovesSVU, Earth2Rosie, iheartsvueo, obsessed with stabler, WuHaoNi, DaniIsNotHere, Kelly of the midnight dawn, Kelly, AliasCSINYFriendsER, and Odakota for being my awesome reviewers last time. Thanks guy; you are all wonderful!
As for the trivia last time, congratulations to onetreefan, WuHaoNi, and Kelly of the midnight dawn for remembering the RDK acronym: Rape, dismember, kill. Mad skills!
This chapter is for LIVE FOR MUSIC for giving me inspiration during my plauge of writer's block. You all should read her story Before I Had Known...it's a casefile, and of course it's EO!
Sirens pierced the night sky as several squad cars raced for Eric's house. Elliot jumped out of the car as soon as the engine had been turned off, watching as the officers swarmed the building, weapons trained. Elliot watched grimly as Abby and Carter emerged from another car feeling the night air blow onto their faces. Elliot nodded gravely at Carter.
"All right, people," Captain Cragen called, signaling the group's attention. "We all know what we have to do, correct?" There were nods and murmurs from the gathered group. "Right," said Cragen nodding. "Now, while we all want Olivia returned safely to us, it does not mean I want any of you to put yourselves into the line of fire and go to extreme lengths above the call of duty. Is that understood?" Cragen's eyes found Elliot's and he held his gaze for a long time.
"Yes, sir," Elliot muttered.
"All right," said Cragen. "Now, let's just-" Cragen was cut off from the sharp ring of Elliot's cell phone. Elliot pulled it out of his pocket, and frowned at the caller ID. His face drained of color.
"Who is it, Elliot?" called Cragen.
Elliot was shaking his head in disbelief. "It's…Liv." Elliot could hardly believe what he was reading, but the caller ID had never shined more brightly in the night shadows: OLIVIA BENSON.
Cragen also looked stunned. "Answer it, Elliot," said Huang. Cragen nodded, lost for words.
"Stabler."
There was some faint laughter on the other end of the line. "Hello, Detective Stabler," greeted a male voice smugly.
Elliot froze. Bloomberg! The rest of the group waited with bated breath, listening intently to Elliot's phone conversation.
"Well, well, well," Bloomberg continued, "looks like you are indeed very good with riddles. I can see you have all gathered outside what used to be Eric's house. There seem to be a great deal of you; I'm not sure you all will fit inside."
"What are you saying?" Elliot asked impatiently.
"I'm saying that I'm limiting the number who get to come in; only three of you."
Elliot nodded. "Fine, only three officers will enter-"
"Ah, ah, ah," interrupted Bloomberg silkily. "I get to pick. And I think that you, Abigail Lockhart, and John Carter would be perfect for the occasion, don't you?"
Elliot frowned even deeper. "I don't, actually," he answered sharply.
Bloomberg laughed. "Only you three or Olivia is dead."
Elliot closed his eyes, as the full weight of the words washed over him. This was starting to go from bad to worse. Elliot frantically scribbled a note to Cragen explaining the situation. Cragen shook his head when he read the demand. Huang read it over his shoulder and beckoned Abby and Carter to him. Elliot tried to tear himself away from the look of pure terror on Abby's face.
"Well, Detective Stabler?" Bloomberg snapped.
Elliot looked helplessly at Cragen, who closed his eyes and nodded gravely. It pained him more than anything to do this. He looked at Abby and Carter, watched as they listened to Huang with fear etched in every line on their faces.
"Yes," Elliot answered bitterly. "We'll do it."
"Excellent," said Bloomberg, sounding jubilant. "We're going to have a blast."
Elliot hung up feeling sick. Carter looked at him, determination in his eyes, though Elliot knew that both he and Abby were terrified at the thought.
Cragen quickly told the remaining officers to stand down, as Elliot, Abby, and Carter walked up to the house. Elliot looked back at his Captain as they approached the door.
"Good luck," Cragen whispered. His words were only heard by the wind.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elliot pulled out his gun as he approached the door. He knocked once upon the solid wood. The door was opened immediately. Bloomberg grinned at them manically.
"Get in," he demanded coldly, thrusting them inside. He quickly locked the door and turned around the face them, a gun raised in his right hand. He spotted the weapon Elliot was holding.
"Drop it," he commanded. Elliot didn't move. Bloomberg pointed the gun at Abby. "Drop it!" he screamed.
Elliot did so slowly, feeling as though his last hope, their only chance of survival, fell to the floor with his weapon as it hit the ground.
"Good," said Bloomberg. "Now sit." Abby, Carter, and Elliot sank onto chairs looking extremely nervous and apprehensive.
"You do not know how long I have waited for this moment," Bloomberg began. He started to walk around them in a circle; all three of them followed his movements with their eyes. "To see you all in front of me: helpless, defenseless. To make you suffer for what you have done to me."
"Stop it," Abby interjected suddenly. Elliot shot her a warning look, but she ignored him.
"What did you say to me, bitch?" he asked her, whipping around to face her. He advanced on her with his weapon aimed.
"I said to stop it," Abby repeated. "I'm the one you want; not them." Carter looked at her, terrified.
"What are you doing?" he hissed at her. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"
Abby ignored him too. "I know why you're doing this," she continued. "You don't want them; you don't even want Olivia. The only person you want here is me. So let them go and we can work this out."
Elliot was taken aback. Abby sounded just like a negotiator. Must be that psych rotation.
Carter shot Elliot a warning look. Even Bloomberg looked a little surprised.
"My dear," he said silkily to her. "Yes, it is true that the only person I really want here is you. I guess we can get rid of the others, then, can't we?"
Abby faltered. Get rid of…?
Bloomberg laughed. "Yes, Abigail. I thought not."
"Why are you doing this?" asked Elliot, deciding to intervene. He couldn't bear sitting back while Abby dug her grave.
Bloomberg shook his head. "That, Detective, is a long history that takes me back to some of the less happier days of my life…of course, I suppose they weren't all that bad. I did meet Richard there, after all." He laughed again.
"Where is Olivia?" Carter asked.
Bloomberg raised his eyebrows. "Why, here, of course, in this house."
Elliot looked sternly at him. "Where, exactly, in this house?"
"You're not going to have to worry about that," Bloomberg said calmly. Elliot looked at him uncomprehendingly. "I suppose this is the part where the explanation comes in."
"Please," said Elliot sarcastically. "Do tell us."
Bloomberg clicked his tongue softly several times. "Patience, Detective," he responded. Bloomberg looked at his watch: it was 12: 22. "Where Olivia is should be of little importance to you. I doubt she is still alive, even." Bloomberg paused to savor the horrified looks on Elliot's, Abby's, and Carter's faces. "It is now 12:22. In approximately eight minutes, we will all be dead." Bloomberg laughed manically. "Didn't I tell you it would be a blast?"
Elliot's eyes widened. "You're going to – blow up Eric's house – with us in it?"
Bloomberg nodded fervently. "You see, it is of little importance to me that you and John over there weren't the real reason I brought you all here. The more the merrier, I say. Now we can all die together. Abigail, my dear, do you feel proud of yourself? You've managed to murder not only one person now, but three others – we won't count me, because I'd say that's more of a suicide death, wouldn't you?"
Abby looked at him and tears began to stream down her face. "No," she whispered. "No."
"Yes," Bloomberg laughed. "You really shouldn't have killed Sydney, Dr. Lockhart. Can't you see now how that's coming back to haunt you? It's probably a blessing I'm about to kill you; you'd probably end up killing yourself in a few months anyway out of guilt. Consider your death a blessing."
Abby shook her head as more tears fell. Carter looked at Bloomberg with an angry, piercing stare. "How dare you?" he growled. "Would it have made a difference who was shocking your wife? No. Nothing would have changed if I was holding the paddles, or if the surgeon was, or even if the nurse was. Why have you targeted Abby? Why her?"
"You really are stupid, aren't you, Dr. Carter?" Bloomberg said angrily. Carter stared at him blankly, watching Elliot walk up behind Bloomberg. In Bloomberg's captivation over taunting the two doctors, he had completely stopped watching Elliot, and was therefore unaware of the detective coming up from behind him. With a sharp punch, Elliot slammed his fist into Bloomberg's head, effectively knocking him out cold. Bloomberg crumpled to the ground at Elliot's feet. Elliot looked quickly up at the clock, feeling dread fill his gut as he saw they only had two minutes left.
"Go!" he shouted to Abby and Carter. "Go – run!"
A timer started sounding from somewhere. It screamed loudly making it difficult for them to hear each other.
"What about you?" Carter shouted back at him as he and Abby ran for the door.
"I'm going to find Olivia!" Elliot called back. "Don't wait for me, John! I have to do this!" Carter only looked at him helplessly. No matter what Bloomberg said, Elliot refused to believe that Olivia was dead until he saw it with his own eyes. The timer continued to shriek and Elliot knew he had to hurry. He kicked open every door he reached. Half way down the hall, he finally found what he was looking for. 45 seconds…
He rushed inside. Olivia was lying on the bed, her eyes closed. Elliot couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. The timer was telling him he had no time to check. He scooped Olivia up into his arms and ran with her to the door. 10 seconds…
The bomb exploded in Elliot's ears just as he reached the front door. He suddenly found himself flying through the air, hurtling to the ground, Olivia in his arms.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cragen watched in horror as Abby and Carter came sprinting towards him. "It's going to explode!" Carter was shouting at them, making hand signals for them to move out of the way. "Bomb!" he shouted. "Bomb!" He and Abby tore down Eric's lawn as they dashed toward the sea of red and blue lights. Carter couldn't believe what was happening; he prayed that Elliot was safe, that he would somehow find Olivia and get out safely - and in time.
Cragen's eyes widened when as Carter's yells reached his ears. He quickly ordered the officers to move out of the way. He caught Carter as he ran past him. "Where are Elliot and Olivia?" he asked Carter worriedly. "Where are they?"
Carter only shook his head. "I don't know, sir. Elliot said he was going to try to find Olivia-"
Carter's words were drowned out by the deafening sound of bombs exploding. Carter dove to the ground, dragging Abby with him. He shielded her with his body. Even over the roar of the bombs exploding, he could hear her sobbing.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Elliot listened to the roar of bombs as he lay on the ground. Olivia was still in his arms; Elliot was covering her entirely with his body. He tucked his head under his arm to protect himself from being hit by the large pieces of debris flying around. He could hear fires burning in the distance.
Elliot couldn't hear anything except for the sound of flames greedily licking the wood as it burned. It sounded as though the wood had stopped flying through the air; at least, Elliot couldn't hear any more loud thuds as it hit the ground. He shifted his position so that he was lying next to Olivia, instead of on top of her.
Breathing heavily, Elliot placed his fingers gently on her neck. He held them there for several moments, until a grin unfurled on his face; Olivia was still alive. He quickly scanned her body for signs of other injuries. She had a large bruise on her cheek, presumably where Bloomberg had either punched or hit her. Elliot felt his hatred of Bloomberg deepen. He kissed Olivia's cheek tenderly.
"It's okay, Liv," he whispered to her. "You're safe now." He kissed her again, this time on the lips.
"Elliot!"
Elliot raised his head. He could hear someone calling to him over the roar of the flames. He turned his head to see Cragen running to him.
"Elliot!" called Cragen again as he spotted him. "Oh, thank god." Cragen dropped to his knees beside Elliot. "Are you all right?"
Elliot nodded. "Yeah, Cap'. I am."
Cragen nodded, and then his gaze fell on Olivia. "Oh god," he whispered. "Is she alive?"
Elliot nodded again. "Yes." Cragen rose quickly and alerted the paramedics. They quickly loaded Olivia into the bus and raced to the hospital. Elliot watched them leave, the bright flames dancing in his eyes.
A/N: I know what you're all thinking - yes, no cliffhanger! That's right; cliffhangers are over for now. Next chapter is going to be the last. It will hopefully be up tomorrow or Sunday. And yes, there will be a sequel. :) Don't forget to review!