--
Taking the position that avoiding the majority of the wing was in her best interest until the entire Benson situation died down, Dockley found solace in her small cell. She was flipping through a beauty magazine when Dominic McAllister knocked on the door before entering.
"'Allo, Mr. McAllister. What can I –"
He had no time for her fake pleasantries. "Save it, Shell. Up and out," the guard directed.
"Eh?"
"Up and out," he repeated as he put his gloves on. The guard her brought in with him did the same. "Cell search."
She slowly stood, bewildered. "But I ain't got nothing."
Dominic picked up a small container of nail polish. "Well, this isn't allowed, is it?" Before the blonde had time to protest, he shook his head. "I don't want to hear it, Shell. I was told to tip your cell. That's what I'm doing."
Dockley complied and stood outside her cell. Watching the two guards meticulously peer through every drawer and into every nook and cranny, she wondered what they were looking for. The screws had to know she wasn't stupid enough to keep drugs in her cell, not after the incident with her bird. Then the light bulb went on over her head. They were looking for a weapon. Someone had planted a bug in Betts' ear and now they were looking to find something on her. 'Probably that bitch, Wade,' Dockley disdainfully thought. Well, they weren't going to find anything –she wouldn't be stupid enough to leave the weapon in her cell. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. With a smirk, she said, "Whatever it is you're looking for, you ain't going to find it here."
Ignoring her, Dominic ran his fingers along the seam of the mattress until he found a small tear. Gently pushing two fingers in, he ferreted around until he felt the hard object. He pulled his fingers out and held a plastic stem, its original white now tinted a faint pink and turning to dark red where blood had dried in the grooves of the handle.
"So what is this, Shell," McAllister asked, "a spoon? A knife? Before you filed it down and turned it into a weapon, I mean."
The supreme confidence that had held her head up only minutes ago dissipated in the blink of an eye. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish caught on dry land. She was finally able to stammer, "That's not mine!"
"No, of course it isn't," he replied, all but rolling his eyes at her.
"It ain't!" she implored. "Do you think I would be stupid enough to keep it in my cell?"
"You really don't want me to answer that, Shell." He placed the evidence into a small plastic bag and handed it to the other guard. "Take that to Miss Betts and tell her I'll be up straight away." Turning back to Dockley, he said, "A DNA test will tell the truth. In the meantime, it's the Block for you."
--
Just as Karen had said, there had been a female guard hovering in the vicinity to take Stabler and Nikki down to the infirmary. When the door was opened, they were pleased to see Olivia propped up in a sitting position. Her eyes were closed, but she was alert enough to catch the sound of the door opening. Lifting the heavy lids, her gaze froze when she saw the two at the door.
With a sleepy chuckle, Benson said, "Man, I am on some good shit."
The pair approached the bed and Stabler touched Olivia's arm. "Hey, partner."
Running a hand through her hair and wincing slightly at the reminder of why she was in the bed in the first place, she asked, "What day is it?"
"Saturday," Stabler answered.
"I missed a day," Benson said. "That explains why I'm confused as all hell. Now maybe you can explain to me why she's gone all quiet." The cop tilted her chin at Nikki, who had stayed back to let the partners reunite.
Stepping forward, Wade replied, "I thought maybe you'd have some secret partner bonding ritual that I shouldn't see. Besides, I got tired of hearing myself talk while you were lying about."
"Is that what that noise was?"
"Very funny. How are you feeling?"
She pushed herself up a bit more and said, "Not bad. Sore. Tired. But I think that's from the drugs. And my head's a bit heavy. I probably feel the way my partner looks."
"Hey!" Elliot objected. "It's 6AM in New York right now. I haven't slept since Thursday."
Reaching out for his hand, she said, "I'm glad you're here, El. Thanks." It was obvious she was still trying to piece everything together. "I remember… Nikki telling me you were coming."
"I'm surprised you remember; you were fairly out of it," Nikki remarked.
Benson looked at Stabler. "How did you know?"
He thumbed in Nikki's direction. "This one here tracked down my number and called me."
Smiling appreciatively at Wade, Olivia whispered, "Well done."
"That's me," Nikki said, "Nikki Wade, private investigator." The three of them laughed. "Unfortunately," she went on, "it was all a bit anti-climatic. I completely failed to take into account that you would have had Detective Stabler listed as an emergency contact. Jumped the gun a bit there," she said to Elliot. "Sorry."
He dismissed her apology. "I'm glad you did."
Benson smiled at the pair. Then, as if it just occurred to her, she asked, "What happened with the case?"
"Long story short, we got 'em at La Guardia," Elliot told her. "They rushed the kid into emergency surgery, but we got enough information on Weston to arrest him. DCI Williams knocked on his door around midnight on Friday."
Closing her eyes in relief, Olivia said, "Thank God. And good work, El."
"Me? I wasn't the one who went undercover in a women's prison. Though now that I've said it out loud, it doesn't sound so bad." The two women chuckled. "And I wasn't the one to get beat up or stabbed." Benson looked over at Nikki, and Stabler saw the look. "Yeah, she told me. You should have told me."
"What could you have done, Elliot?" she asked. "Besides, I had someone watching my back after that."
Nikki groaned. "Let's not start this again, shall we?"
"I take it I have Shell Dockley to blame for this," Benson surmised.
"Yeah," Nikki answered.
"Any evidence?"
"Ever the cop!"
Elliot bent forward and loudly whispered towards Olivia, "That's her way of saying, there's no direct evidence." He stressed the word 'direct'.
Narrowing her eyes, Olivia waited for her cloudy head to clear. "You mean… you're planting evidence?"
"Is this something that perhaps you shouldn't know about?" Nikki queried. "You know, what with you being officers of the law and all."
Stabler groaned and Benson could only shake her head. "I don't know whether I should thank you or throttle you."
"Well, if you're going to thank me, I'll take all the credit. But if you're going to throttle me, I'd like to mention that it was all Yvonne Atkins' idea."
Both cops simultaneously covered their ears and Nikki laughed.
--
The meeting between McAllister and Betts was a short one. With the other guard corroborating Dominic's find, it all added up to one thing.
"Shell stabbed Olivia Benson," McAllister said.
"Let's try and keep this to ourselves until the results come back, shall we?" Karen requested, though she knew full well the minute the door closed behind Shell Dockley, the word got out.
"What's the diagnosis on Olivia?"
"Full recovery," Betts replied. "She's bounced back remarkably well, considering. The doctor went so far as to say she could be released by tomorrow."
McAllister frowned. "Released? Is she getting moved to another prison?"
Betts realized her slip up and sighed. "There are some things you'll find out, Dominic, just not right now, okay?"
--
"So when do I get out of here?" Olivia groaned.
"Can't wait to leave the place, I take it," Nikki playfully remarked, though Benson caught the underlying meaning.
"I can't wait to get out of this bed is more like it."
"Doc says by tomorrow morning at the latest," Stabler said. "Today, if you're feeling up to it."
"Will they let me fly?"
He shook his head. "Probably not for a couple of days, but I figured staying in a hotel, even on the SVU budget would be better than staying here. And once word gets out about Weston…"
"It might not be safe for me to stay here," his partner finished.
"Exactly."
Nikki looked at the two cops. "What? You think they'd try and get you in here?"
"Hard to say," Stabler admitted. "But once word gets out it was a set-up, odds are it'll get worked back to Liv."
"Is your job always like this?" she asked, half joking, half serious.
Benson smiled. "No. It's usually more busting down doors and kicking ass."
"And I get the coffee," Stabler joined in.
"So she's the brawn as well as the beauty," Wade slyly noted.
The joke went by Olivia, but Stabler caught the meaning. "Yeah, all I got was the brains."
When the laughter died away, Nikki said, "Listen, I'm going to leave you two to it."
Olivia frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," the con answered. "I imagine you've got secret police business to catch up on that would bore me to tears. And I've got some business of my own I need to follow up."
"Never mind 'Nikki Wade, private investigator'. More like 'Nikki Wade, kingpin'," Olivia laughed.
"Don Corleone has nothing to worry about, trust me," Wade assured. "Anyway, the girls will want to know how you're doing. I bet the poor Julies haven't slept a wink."
"Tell them I'm fine."
"I will."
"You will be back later, right?"
"Of course." Turning to Stabler, Nikki asked, "Can I ask what your plans are?"
He shrugged. "I'll probably stick around for another hour or so –catch up on secret police business. Then I've got to go see Williams and give him a report on what happened in New York. And then I need to get a couple hours sleep."
"Will you be taking Olivia out of here tonight, then?"
He glanced at his partner and nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I'll leave her in here long enough to enjoy one last dinner, then I'll pick her up."
The thought of food, let alone something from the Larkhall kitchen made Benson's stomach turn. Grimacing, she said, "Gee, thanks, El."
"Don't worry, when we get back to the States, I'll treat you to a nice juicy New York hotdog."
She touched her stomach. "That's not helping."
Nikki smiled at the camaraderie between the partners. "One day it would be nice to just sit down like three normal people, away from all this." The reality of the situation, particularly Nikki's, settled in the room. "Anyway, can you have a guard come and get me when you go?" she asked Elliot.
"Sure."
"Brilliant. Well, I'll see you later, then."
The door closed behind her and before Olivia had time to speak, Elliot coughed and asked, "So… you and Wade. Did you two… you know."
Olivia's mouth dropped and she exclaimed, "I can't believe you'd ask! No, wait, I can."
Stabler shrugged as if he couldn't help himself. "So, did you?"
--
"Nikki!" the two Julies greeted in unison. "We was wondering what happened to you this morning."
"Hello, ladies," Wade greeted in return as she stood at the food counter. "What's for lunch?"
"Lunch?" Julie J asked. "Sod lunch. What happened to you? How's Olivia?"
"And did you hear about Shell?" Julie S finished.
Nikki took a moment to enjoy their enthusiasm. They could always be counted on for a smile. "I went to see Olivia. She's doing well. Shell Dockley's down the Block?"
They nodded. "Got it in one, you did. Word is, she had a cell tip this morning. Found a weapon in her cell."
Nikki expression mirrored the fake surprise of the other two women. "Did they? What a fascinating development. Thanks for the information, girls."
When she picked up her tray to leave, the taller Julie asked, "She really is okay? Olivia, I mean."
"She's really okay," Nikki replied. "The doctor's amazed at her recovery and when I saw her this morning, she was sitting up and talking."
Julie S put a hand over her heart. "Aw, that's wonderful, Nikki. She's a good one, that one. It'd be a shame if something had happened to her."
"A right shame," her cellmate chimed in.
"When I see her later on, I'll be sure to tell her you were asking about her," Nikki promised.
"Cheers, Nikki. And you tell her if she needs anything –"
"Anything at all, all she's got to do –"
"Is ask."
Nikki thanked the women and walked to a familiar table, where Yvonne and Barbara sat.
"Where've you been all morning?" Yvonne asked immediately.
"Hello, Yvonne. Good to see you, Barbara."
"Yeah, all right, whatever," Atkins growled.
Smiling, Nikki commented, "Looks like I missed all the excitement while I was visiting Olivia."
"Oh, how is she, Nikki?" Barbara inquired.
"She's good, Barbara. Should be out of the infirmary soon."
The quiet woman's eyebrows shot up. "Really? That's good news."
"Apparently, a healthy body leads to a faster recovery," Nikki remarked.
"She's definitely got one of those, I'll give her that," Yvonne admitted. When she saw her table mates turn to stare at her, she shrugged a shoulder. "What? I'm just saying that woman's got a healthy body. Don't get any ideas beyond that –especially you," she pointed at Nikki.
The lifer pressed her lips together and tried not to smirk. "I wouldn't think of it, Yvonne."
"Right," the woman said. "So, you've heard about Shell, then?"
"The Julies told me," Wade replied. "So they did the tip after all."
"I take it you had something to do with it," Atkins ventured.
"I might have had a word or two with Betts, yeah."
"Well, I for one am glad that horrible woman is finally getting what's coming to her," Barbara said, with a surprising amount of venom in her voice. Now it was her turn to be on the receiving end of a pair of looks. "I'm sorry, but she's gotten away with too much for too long. It's time she faced at least some of the consequences, and if that means it had to be achieved through underhanded ways, then so be it."
"Remind me never to cross Barbara," Atkins told Nikki.
"It's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for, Yvonne." Wade saw Karen enter the area and whispered, "Nice and normal, ladies; Betts is coming this way."
The women's attention dropped to their plates, and when Karen approached, it was an unusually quiet table. In fact, there was something that seemed just off about it, but Betts couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Nikki," the governor greeted, "I was wondering if I could ask a favour." The con looked up. "Olivia's awake, as you know. I thought we'd get her things together for her."
Atkins ears perked up. "Why? What's happening?"
Karen reminded herself to tread carefully and could only hope Nikki went along with her. "We're transferring Olivia out today."
"What?" Yvonne exclaimed.
"Well, considering what happened, I would say it's obvious," Betts said.
Atkins snorted and declared, "What's bleedin' obvious is that Shell Dockley needs to be booted out of Larkhall before she kills someone. What are you doing about that? Why move Liv, who never hurt anyone, who gets along with everyone, when we all know it's Dockley who's the fly in the ointment."
"I have to say, Yvonne's got a good point," Barbara agreed.
"Look, Olivia is a step away from an appeal that seems assured," Betts began, making up the lie as she went on. "We're moving her to a minimum security facility. She would have been released from Larkhall in a matter of weeks as it was."
"So it's easier paperwork for you lot to transfer Liv than Dockley, is what you're saying," Atkins retorted. She turned to Nikki and noted, "And you don't seem particularly surprised by this bit of information."
"I heard the doctor discussing it with Liv," Wade spun, "but I didn't know for certain. I didn't want to say anything until we knew."
Barbara stepped in and asked, "And what exactly happens to Shell? We heard you found a weapon in her cell."
When Atkins saw the look on Karen's face, the mob wife laughed. "Everyone finds out about everything in here, love,"
"Yes, well. We're waiting for the test results to come back on the blood, but we're fairly certain it's Olivia's."
Nikki leaned back and pasted a fake smile on her face. "That's a brilliant deduction, congratulations. Come up with that one all by yourself, did you?"
"Nikki…," Betts warned. "I didn't tell you to argue with you. I told you because I thought you had the right to know."
"Still haven't told us what you plan on doing with Dockley though, have you?" Yvonne interjected.
Karen took a deep breath and sighed. "Yvonne, when I know, you'll know, all right?"
Under her breath, Atkins murmured, "We'll probably know before you."
Ignoring the jab, Karen continued, "In the meantime, Nikki, when you're finished, find Dominic and he'll help you sort out Olivia's things."
Knowing the woman was doing the best she could given the circumstances, Nikki thought she'd give Betts a break. With a gentle tone, she said simply, "Thanks."
--
She tried to put it off as long as she could, but knowing Elliot would be sending a guard to get her soon, she found Dominic and now stood in the doorway of her cell with an empty plastic bag in hand. The guard had been considerate enough to leave her alone, though as she faced the emptiness of the room she wondered if it would have been better to have him stay. But that option had come and gone and she wouldn't lean out the door to call him back now.
There wasn't much of Olivia's things to collect, though Nikki took extra time, as she pulled out the clothing from the small cupboard and placed them on the table. A walk to the sink gathered the cop's toiletries together and joined the clothing. Nikki looked down at the collection and marvelled at how such a small pile of items could represent so much. And how two weeks could end up feeling like a lifetime. She stood at the table and folded the shirts and sweaters, despite the action not being necessary. It was an adolescent gesture, and a hopeless one at that, she knew, but she couldn't quite bring herself to let go; handling the material was simply a way of prolonging the feeling. She looked up at the small window, the narrow space trying in vain to bring sunlight into the dim room, only serving to remind her of the reality of the place. It was all she had –this narrow space inside her that offered something beyond the undertow of prison life. It was all anyone had in here. Don't let it drag you down. Always look at a positive, however small it might be. Keep your eyes ahead, because looking back will only remind you of what has been. These were mantras she held firm in order to get through another day, another hour, another minute.
The sweater felt soft in her fingers and her mind stumbled over the well-worn phrases. Dropping into the chair, she let the tears fall.
--
