Infamous
Disclaimer: I wish I could take the credit but if I did then Dick Wolf would probably sue my ass off. So since I have very little money and I like my ass where it is, the credit goes to him (except for Jenna and the other original characters)
She heard someone behind her, her head ached where it had been hit. She tentatively turned her head and saw a little boy standing there.
"Hey, are you okay lady?" the boy asked as he came closer and picked up the baseball that had ricocheted off the back of her scull.
"Yeah," she answered, getting up off the ground.
"Are you mad?" the boy asked shyly.
"I'm not mad at you," she told him kindly and then something occurred to her "What are you doing here?" she asked the boy.
"My sister Karen and I came here to train," the boy said.
"Train for what?" Olivia asked, kneeling in front of the small boy.
"Little league," the boy answered "Karen wants to play but she's a girl so she and I came into the woods to train in secret."
Olivia felt for the little girl instantly. Wanting to succeed in a male dominated area of expertise, then she remembered that White could possibly still be in the woods and this boy and his sister could be in real danger "Where's your sister now?" she asked, the urgency evident in her voice.
"Over there," the boy pointed behind him but all that was visible was trees "Hey where'd she go?" the boy ran towards the trees "Karen!" he yelled.
"Wait!" Olivia said running after him frantically, not wanting to lose sight of him. She caught up with the boy "Be careful."
The little boy had tears in his eyes "I don't understand," he said "she was right there. The man said he'd keep an eye on her."
Olivia's heart stopped "What man?" she asked through the lump in her throat.
"Nice man," the boy said through his tears "He said he was a doctor. He showed Karen and me his stethoscope. He was showing Karen how to pitch and he threw the ball really far really fast. When we saw the ball hit you, he told me to go see if you were alright and that he would keep an eye on Karen for me."
Olivia's stomach turned, White had used her as a distraction so that he could get away with the little girl. To him she was just another bargaining chip, insurance. But why did this boy leave his sister alone with him, what exactly did parents teach their kids about strangers these days and for that matter, what kind of parents let their kids go into the woods alone? She pulled the crying child close to her "What's your name sweetie?"
The boy wiped his eyes on his sleeve "Byron Munson," he sniffled.
"Byron," Olivia smiled at the boy "that's a nice name. Don't worry, my friends and I will help you find your sister."
Byron began to cry again "We half to be back soon or Grandpa will be mad."
Olivia hugged the boy close and stroked his back "No he won't sweetie. I'll explain it to him."
Byron shook his head "No, Grandpa will be mad and then he'll…" Byron trailed off and buried his face in Olivia's shoulder.
"He'll what Byron?" Olivia asked softly. She was pretty sure that she knew the answer.
"When Grandpa wakes up," Byron began "He gets mad and he…" he paused and leaned in close to Olivia's ear and whispered "he hurts us."
Olivia felt tears come to her own eyes. She didn't want to know just how their grandfather hurt them, she could save those details for after they found Karen "How old is Karen?" she asked.
"She's six," Byron answered "I'm ten," he added proudly, holding up his tiny hands and displaying all of his fingers.
Olivia was shocked she would have guessed based on the boy's size that he was more like six or seven. It was evident that their grandfather didn't take very good care of them.
"Olivia!" a new voice invaded the forest. Olivia turned to see Elliot running towards them.
"Elliot, what are you-" she began but was cut off.
"Are you alright?" Elliot asked, out of breath. It was obvious that he had run the whole way there.
"I'm fine," Olivia said, standing up and taking a step toward Elliot "but we've got a new problem."
"Your name is Olivia?" Byron asked.
Olivia turned to the boy "Yes it is and this is my friend Elliot. We're police officers."
Byron looked conflicted all of a sudden "Grandpa says that policemen are bad. That they'll come in the middle of the night and take Karen and me away."
Olivia felt a lump in her throat again. This boy had definitely been through a lot of stuff in his short life. She knelt in front of him again "We won't take you away unless you want to go."
Byron smiled at her "Grandpa was wrong, you're nice," he paused again "My mommy's name was Olivia."
"I hate to interrupt," Elliot said leaning over and speaking just a few inches from Olivia's ear "but what is this new problem?"
"My sister is missing," Byron answered for Olivia "Olivia said that you would help me find her."
Olivia turned and whispered into Elliot's ear "White grabbed her," the color drained from Elliot's face immediately.
"I'll call Munch and Fin," he whispered back "Get our whole force of country cops on the case."
"The girls name is Karen Munson," Olivia told him as he opened his phone "Six years old."
"She has brown hair and blue eyes," Byron told Elliot.
Elliot finished talking on the phone and turned back to Olivia "Munch wants to know if we have a picture of her."
"Byron honey," Olivia put her arm around the little boy's shoulders "Are there pictures of Karen back at your Grandpa's house?"
Byron nodded somberly "Grandpa doesn't like it when people come to our house," he said, looking at his shoes.
"Well," Olivia said in a cheerful tone "This is important so I bet he'll make an exception."
"I'll come with you," Elliot said and the three of them joined hands and started off towards Byron's Grandfather's house.
"Shut up you little brat," White growled at the little girl who lay in the back seat of the car.
Karen continued to cry. She was very scared, she was even more scared than the time that her Grandpa had held her head under water for a long time because she had wet her pants and she had been really scared then.
This mean man had taped her wrists together really tight and they hurt and he had taped her feet together really tight and he had put tape over her mouth. She missed her brother she didn't like being away from Byron. At least when Grandpa locked them in the closet Byron was there and he told her stories and then she wouldn't be so scared.
"Stop crying now!" White commanded the child.
When she wouldn't stop White pulled over to the side of the road. He assessed his location. He was still an hour and a half away from the city but he could afford to lose the excess baggage.
He pulled the little girl out of the back seat and walked a few yards into the woods. He dropped the child hard on the ground then turned around and headed back to his car.
Karen lay in the woods, more alone and scared then before. Where was her brother? Was she going to die? If she did that would mean that she'd get to see mommy again but she wanted Byron. She was scared to die.
"Is this where you live Byron?" Olivia asked. They stood in front of a disheveled cabin that didn't look big enough for one person let alone an old man and two active children.
Byron nodded "We go to school in town," he said.
Elliot climbed the two stares to the small porch and was about to knock on the door when Byron stopped him.
"No," Byron whispered urgently.
Olivia looked down at the boy, he was shaking "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked, pulling him close to her.
"You'll wake him up and then he'll be mad," Byron clung to Olivia's leg for dear life.
Elliot turned and knelt in front of the boy "He won't hurt you as long as Olivia and I are with you. Okay?"
Byron nodded and smiled at Elliot.
Elliot turned and knocked on the door "Mr. Munson?"
There was no answer from inside. Elliot knocked again "Mr. Munson?" he called again, still no answer. The third time Elliot knocked the door came off its hinges.
Elliot went inside cautiously, followed by Olivia and Byron.
"Oh my God," Elliot exclaimed as he stopped dead in his tracks.
TBC
A/N: Another evil cliffy WHAHAHAHAHAHA! Please review? By the way, the little boy is named Byron because his mother Olivia Munson was a fan of Lord Byron's poetry.
