--

Beyond the external noises of a prison going about its business, the cell had remained relatively quiet for the afternoon. Every so often, Nikki would look up from her studies to check on Olivia, who had remained unmoved the entire time. An hour after she had told Benson to sleep, Dominic McAllister had shown up in the doorway.

"Hey," he greeted, then seeing the sleeping American, lowered his voice to a whisper. "What's going on?"

"She's sleeping," Nikki replied as if it was obvious.

McAllister made a face, acknowledging her sarcasm. "I mean, when I asked around for you, the two Julies told me Olivia had sprained her wrist." He tilted his head in Benson's direction. "She all right?"

Her face softened, a silent apology to the guard. She knew his concern was a genuine one. "I think she just over-did it in the gym. And the pain in her wrist was making her feel ill."

"Did you try and get anything for it?"

"Well," Nikki smiled, "let's just say I have ways."

The guard couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "It's probably for the best if you don't say anything else. If she isn't feeling any better by tea, let me know. I'll help you bring some up."

"Thanks, Dom."

He didn't correct her use of his Christian name. Instead, he simply nodded and left.

--

Twenty minutes to dinner, Nikki softly sat on the edge of the mattress and gently squeezed Olivia's shoulder. It must have been some kind of ingrained police training that caused the cop to jerk awake immediately.

"What is it?" she managed to ask as she lifted her head.

Nikki held her hand on Benson's shoulder. "There's no rush. I wanted to wake you before tea, that's all."

Resting her head back on the pillow, Benson groaned. "God, I feel like hell."

"Well, you did go 12 rounds with someone's fists. And I suspect, their boots as well." She gently turned Olivia onto her back. "Come on, let's have a look."

Olivia dutifully did as she was told. Nikki lifted the damp towel from Benson's ribs and pushed the t-shirt up for a better look. If there was a silver lining to be had, it was that Nikki was allowed long lingering looks at all that exposed skin. Trying her best to maintain a detached façade, she frowned and admitted, "I'm no doctor; I don't know if this is good or bad."

"Is there any yellowing?"

She scrutinized the large bruise. "I think so. In little spots everywhere, yeah."

Olivia nodded. "That's good. It means it's starting to heal already."

"I'll pretend your knowledge is based on being well-informed and not because you're speaking from years of experience." She glanced down at the bruise again and winced. "And how are you feeling, really?"

Benson closed her eyes as she took a mental inventory of her body. "It's easier to breathe than it was earlier." Running her fingers up her ribcage, she went on, "It's tender; really sore in some spots." She reached for Nikki's hand and went over the tender trail again. "This is okay and here is okay," she explained as she directed Wade's fingers with her hand. "But between those two ribs –God, that's sore."

Somehow, Nikki found her voice. "How's… how's your head?"

Benson squeezed her eyes tightly. "I think the headache's worse than anything, to be honest." She was savouring the feel of Nikki's cool fingers on her hot skin when she heard a small hum of pleasure from the lifer. Olivia could only smile at the synchronicity.

"I had a cat once who had that same expression after I gave her a bowl of cream," Nikki observed and Olivia laughed. "Come on, you can take those last two tablets and we'll go eat."

It was the jolt of pain through her side as she stood up that reminded Benson she had serious business here other than Nikki Wade.

--

"You all right, Olivia?"

She turned in the food line at the question. "Yes, sir," she answered when she saw McAllister. "I just wasn't feeling well."

"I heard," he replied. "Maybe you should stay out of the gym for a while, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And if morning comes and you still feel poorly, let me know and I'll take you to the doctor." He slid a glance at Nikki and good-naturedly added, "A real one, I mean."

"Hell," Nikki quipped, "by the time I get out of this place, I could have my medical degree."

"You could open a clinic here, Nik," Benson suggested. "I'm sure you wouldn't have problems attracting patients."

The guard blushed and he held up his hands. "That's enough for me, thanks!"

"Thanks, Mr. McAllister," Benson said.

"Cheers."

The young man left them just in time for their turn at the counter. The grinning face of Shell Dockley was there to greet them.

"Liv, you're looking a bit rough," she sympathized facetiously. "You okay, love?"

Benson could feel the rage emanating from Nikki and she surreptitiously put out her arm to stop Wade from doing anything rash. "I'm not too bad, Shell, thanks for asking." Leaning forward, she said, "Better than some people will be if something happens to Mr. Weston's newfound money train, wouldn't you agree?" When the blonde did nothing but blanch, Benson looked down at the selection of the day and commented, "I was too sick to keep my lunch down today; I think I'll have two servings tonight. Is that all right with you, Shell?"

Dockley nodded her head more times than necessary. "Yeah, yeah," she finally stuttered out. "Here you go, Liv."

"Only my friends call me 'Liv'," Benson reminded her. "And I think certain events have made me question our friendship, Shell. You can understand that, can't you?" As Shell nodded again, Olivia reached under her shirt and pulled out the bag of peas. "And put these back."

Benson and Wade walked away as Dockley picked up the bag.

"Eh?" she called out after them.

--

"You ate both servings," Nikki noted as the two women cleaned up after dinner. "That must be a good sign."

Olivia dried her plate and put it on the shelf in the cell. "Yeah," she replied, "and those pills must have kicked in because my headache's gone."

"Good."

When they were finished, Wade held up a thin piece of plastic between two fingers. "Thought you might want to phone that partner of yours in the States."

The cop smiled and took it. "I owe you."

"Careful, I might collect. Come on, let's go."

As Nikki ushered her to the door, Olivia asked, "You going to be my bodyguard?"

Shaking her head, Nikki smirked, "Maybe later. Right now, I have other business to attend to." She saw the look on Benson's face and shook her head. "Just paying a little visit to a mutual friend."

The sarcastic drop of the last word hinted at the truth. "Stay out of trouble," Olivia warned, "for my sake if not your own. I mean it."

"Yes, Mother." Though she rolled her eyes at the admonishment, she tempered her attitude by squeezing Benson's arm. "I promise."

"Okay. I'll hold you to it." She looked at her watch. "If you're not back here in fifteen minutes, I'm coming to look for you."

--

She took the steps two at a time, determined and driven. Though willing herself to remain in control, Nikki kept a sliver of anger on the surface; just enough to keep her edgy. When she got to the top level, the first person she saw was Yvonne Atkins, who was leaning against the railing, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, Nikki," the older woman greeted. "What brings you all the way up here?"

She got straight to the point. "Is Dockley here?"

Atkins exhaled and peered at Nikki through the smoke. "What's going on?"

"Is she here?"

Having no love lost with Dockley herself, Yvonne said, "Yeah." However, she did have a soft spot for Nikki. "Be careful. The last thing you need is for one of the screws to catch you doing something stupid."

"That's why you're here, innit?" Nikki smiled without humour. "You're going to make sure I don't get caught."

"But you are going to do something stupid."

Her tone was hard and cold. "I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for ages. You with me?"

Atkins stubbed out her cigarette. "Damn straight I'm with you, love."

The two women marched towards Dockley's cell, and Nikki unceremoniously pushed the door open.

"Oi!" Dockley swore as she stood up to protest.

"Oh, that's the best thing you could have done, Shell," Nikki said.

With the blonde upright, it was nothing for Nikki to step forward and grab her by the throat. Yvonne quietly closed the door, leaving only a small crack in case she had to get Nikki's attention. Inside, Wade ran Dockley into the far wall, bouncing Shell's head off the concrete, but holding her fast around the throat. Having an extra inch or two on Shell helped, as the pressure on the blonde's throat forced her to look up right into Nikki's eyes. Wade bared her teeth and squeezed harder.

"Do you know how easy it would be for me to crush your windpipe, you worthless piece of shit?"

Dockley couldn't answer because of the pressure, and she didn't dare try to move her head for the same reason. Her eyes, as huge as saucers, tried their best to answer for her.

"You know, I generally like to inflict pain with something sharp and jagged. And I'd love to have something like that right now so I could mess up that pretty little face of yours. Bet that would put Fenner off you for a while, wouldn't it? Or maybe not. He probably doesn't even look at your face when he's got you down on your knees, does he, you little slag?" Nikki's eyes were nearly black with fury and her gaze bore through Dockley. "You don't have to answer that, darling, I'm not here to ask questions. I'm here to state facts. And the fact is, it could be another fifteen years before I get out of this shit hole, and by that time, I'll almost be fifty. So what's another five or ten years added on for assault? And that's the best case scenario for you if you try that bullshit with Fenner again. Keep your pit bull at bay in the future, or I'll make sure he has no further use for this gob of yours ever again." She roughly pushed Dockley away from her and didn't bother to watch her slide down the wall and gasp for air.

"Everything kosher, Nikki?" Atkins asked as the tall brunette came out of the cell.

She nodded. "Right as rain."

--

"You've got the office bugged or what?"

Benson laughed. "Hello to you too, El. Weston must've called."

"About ten minutes ago." He knew she had been waiting for this as much as he had, so he got right to it. "Deal's been set up for Thursday. His guy's going to call us when he gets in and we agree on a meeting place from there."

"Anything more specific about the time?"

"We got it down to sometime in the early afternoon. It doesn't sound like much help, but we don't figure he's going to want to be in New York too long with a kid, so we're checking incoming flights with a six-hour window at LaGuardia and JFK."

She thought about this for a moment before asking, "What's your gut instinct on this?"

"My gut?" he repeated. "My gut is, we've got a good chance here, Liv. We get the passenger lists of every flight coming in from London, narrow it down from there. An adult and a kid traveling together? Even without knowing the exact time, I like our odds."

"And you've got the late booking of the flight," she conceded.

"And we got that. Anyone who's booked a ticket in the last four days is gonna be a red flag."

Taking a deep breath, she admitted, "I feel a bit better now."

"It's gonna be all over soon, Liv. Either way."

"I know."

There was something in her voice that caught his attention. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just tired." She rested her head against the phone. "I won't be able to call you on Thursday. Lock up here's 9 o'clock, and with the time difference…"

"Call me first thing Friday, okay?" he offered. "I don't care what the time is here, just call."

"Okay. Be careful."

"I will. And I'll talk to you on Friday."

"Okay."

"Look, I know it's gotta be eating you up inside to be there when it's going down here, but I want you to try and not think about it until Friday, until the dust settles. I know I might as well tell you not to breathe, but give it a shot, okay?"

Her tired chuckle rolled down the line. "Okay. Take it easy."

He said his goodbyes and she held onto the receiver long after the line went dead.

--

"Any word?" Nikki immediately asked when Olivia returned to the cell.

"And here I thought I was going to have to go looking for you."

Wade smirked. "Oh, no, it didn't take long at all."

"I'm just glad you're on my side," Benson remarked.

"Go on." She sat down and gestured for Olivia to do the same. "Did you find out anything?"

Olivia took a seat in the opposite chair. Leaning forward to keep her voice down, she said, "Thursday, early afternoon, Weston's guy is going to call my partner and set up a meeting place."

"You can't catch this bastard before he leaves England?"

"No," the cop answered, "we need to catch him with the kid, and there are just too many ways that can go wrong here. If we catch him out of the country, we've got him by the balls."

"Will he get prosecuted there or here?" Nikki queried.

"The supplier will get prosecuted in the States. Weston will more than likely get prosecuted here. It's going to be a legal nightmare trying to get both countries to work together, but I think crime scene photos of the kids will spur both legal systems to co-operate."

"No doubt. So what now?"

Benson propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. Sighing, she said, "We wait. The deal goes down Thursday, but with the time difference, I won't find anything out until Friday morning."

"Should I reserve the pool table for you?"

Olivia laughed. "Yeah. And maybe we'll finish plotting those flowers."

Nikki smiled in return. "I'd like that."

There was a soft rap on the door, and when Nikki called out an invitation, the two Julies popped their heads around the frame.

"Everything all right, girls?" Nikki asked.

"We was just going to ask you the same," the taller Julie said.

The shorter one piped up, "How you feeling, Liv?"

"Better. Much better thanks to you two," the American thanked.

"Aw, it was nothing –"

" –nothing."

"We brought you these, just in case." Julie J put two small pills on the table. "We would've got more, but we didn't want to cause Angie any aggro."

"I made her a pretty little patch to replace that horrible black thing she's wearing," Julie S said.

Both Olivia and Nikki laughed, and it was Wade who stood up and walked over to the small cupboard. Shaking her pack of cigarettes, she took out three and handed the rest to the Julies. "Take one each and give the rest to Angie. With my thanks."

"Ah, cheers, Nikki!" praised the two women in unison. The shouting of the guards caught their attention, and tall Julie said, "Looks like lock-up. We just wanted to drop those off and tell you we was glad to help out –"

" –glad to help out."

"Thanks, Julies," Olivia and Nikki chimed together, and as the two women left, Nikki groused good-naturedly, "Christ, we're getting as bad as they are!"

--