Time jump: Award dinner
Barba checked his phone for the hundredth time. He was awaiting a text or call, anything that calmed his nerves. It wasn't like Olivia to just go off the radar just like that. Seeing Fin walking towards him he stuffed the phone into his pocket. "Anything?"
"We need to make an announcement." Fin replied. "Liv isn't coming, she's at the hospital dealing with whatever is going on."
Barba sighed. "I'll make the announcement and meet you at the hospital."
"We are going to the general hospital." Fin patted him over the shoulder. "If anything happens before I will call you."
Barba took in a deep breath before stepping up on the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen if I can please have your attention." Gradually the room became silent as all eyes were on him. "Unfortunately Captain Benson will not be attending the dinner tonight. She sends her sincere apologies, but a work emergency has occurred that requires her immediate attention. But please stay and enjoy the dinner and drinks." Steeping back and giving a slight head bow, he stepped down. Ignoring everyone attempting to get answers he didn't have.
Hospital:
Barba stepped off the elevator and into the lobby waiting room. He was surprised to find its lack of law enforcement. There wasn't the usual swarm of blue there would be on an officer down call. In fact, there wasn't any. Walking towards the front desk, he spotted Olivia leaning against the wall. Walking towards her and about to call her name, he stopped himself and pushed himself up against a wall. Peeking his head out he sighed at seeing Stabler pacing in front of her.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" Hitting the wall with the side of his clenched fist, he worked on a plan to get out. One where he won't be noticed by either one. Spotting the door across the hallway, he took in a deep breath and made his move.
"Rafa?"
Barba tensed at hearing his name called out. Turning around on his heels, he braced himself. "Been looking for you." His eyes flickered around the area, relief at not finding Stabler in the vicinity. "What happened?"
"Kathy."
He frowned. "Who?"
"My ex-partner's wife." She muttered. "I-I got a call about an officer down. When I got there, they were wheeling Kathy into the ambulance. I still don't have the full story."
Barba grabbed her arm, pulling her into a hug. "Shh, I'm sure she's going to be fine." Kissing her on the head, he rested his chin on top with closed eyes.
"I don't understand any of this." She buried herself in his aroma.
Holding her tighter he opened his eyes and froze. Storming blue eyes glared back at him with clenched fists. Before he could come up with a move, Stabler got ahead of him.
"Liv." Stabler hadn't meant to startle her, but seeing him here was a shock. Even more so when he was holding Olivia in his arms.
"Elliot." Olivia pried herself off her fiancé, yet remained with his arm around her. "This is Rafa-"
"Rafael Barba." Elliot's voice grumbled. "We've met."
Olivia frowned looking from one to the other. "You two?"
Barba clenched his jaw, taking his hand in a shake. A smirk appeared at Elliot's attempt to show aggression through it. "Rome."
"You assignment?" Olivia asked.
Barba nodded jumping at the sudden ringing of his phone. Reaching into his pocket, he frowned at the name. "I have to take this." Pecking her on the cheek, he walked away.
Elliot watched Olivia as Rafael walked off. It dawn on him that once upon a time, she looked at him the same way she looked at Rafael. Her eyes lit up the entire room. The same ones that no matter where you stood in a room, you could feel them on you. The security of knowing she was there with and for you.
"I never thought you'd go for someone like him." Elliot found himself blurting out.
Olivia raised a brow. "A lawyer?"
"No, a-" Then it hit him. She wasn't aware of his true profession. "Not exactly what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"When we were in Rome, he was sent to-"
"To speak with a client." Barba interrupted. "He was a client of mine from Los Angeles. Got into a bit of trouble in Rome and I was called in to help." He stared at Elliot refusing to look away. "Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do for him."
"You did plenty." Elliot muttered.
"Cap." Carisi paused with pursed lips. He was suddenly feeling the urge to run the other way. "Lots of tension in here."
"Rafa, you going to wait here?" Liv asked.
Barba shook his head. "No, I'll see you back at the station. Meet bases with Fin and the others."
"Okay." Leaning in to kiss him bye, she became hesitant at seeing Elliot's eyes on them. To her surprise Barba pulled at her arm, jerking her into his arms. "Rafa!"
"You weren't planning on leaving without a proper bye were you?" He smirked down at her.
Olivia rolled her eyes pecking him on the lips. "This isn't the proper time for this."
"I know." He sighed. "But if we were to allow every event in our life to control every move, we wouldn't have any time for us." Kissing her one more time, he released her. "I will-" His phone went off once more. "See what I mean."
"I have to go." Holding onto his hand for as long as she could, Olivia turned to leave.
Barba waited until she was out of sight before answering the phone. "What?"
'So, I got the information you wanted.'
"Anything stands out?"
'Beside her being married to Benson's old partner? No. There is nothing that would explain why she would be targeted.'
Stepping out of the hospital he exhaled deeply. "What were they doing here? Stabler was settled in Rome."
'He came back to testify on a case and to...'
"To what?"
'Attend Benson's award ceremony.'
"Anything special about the bomb?"
'Nope, we have someone with the forensic team. Nothing that can point us in what direction to move.'
"Alright, just keep me in the loop. I am going to be at the station most of the night. Keep the chatter to a limit, I already have stabler breathing down my neck."
'Call you later.'
Shoving the phone into the pocket of the jacket, he leaned a shoulder against a pillar. His eyes flickered from pedestrian to pedestrian. Each in their own world, unaware of the occurrence around them. There was a part of him that wished that. That wished he didn't have to deal with the horror humanity did to each other. The blood-stained in his hands or the nightmares of his own sins that invaded his mind. But in the end, he didn't regret any of it. It was something that needed to be done. Sometimes to get what you needed; blood must run.
"This was the last place I believed I would ever run into you."
Barba dropped his head in a defeated gesture. "And here I was hoping to never run into you again."
"Liv doesn't know." He stated.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Olivia always praised your smarts, but with questions like that I believe she may have exaggerated a bit." Barba mumbled.
Elliot clenched his jaw. "What do you want with her?"
"That does not concern you."
"That is where you are wrong, she is my-"
Barba laughed, turning around to face him. "Your what? Partner? Friend? If I remember correctly, you walked out on her. Leaving nothing but a note and a broken woman. You gave up the right to call her your partner and the privilege to call her a friend when you left." Walking up to him he locked eyes with the storming blue ones. "Watch yourself around her. Olivia is not the same one that used to bend at your will. And she isn't alone this time around."
Elliot glared at the retreating man. He just reprimanded him for hurting Olivia, when he himself was lying to her. Rafael truly thought he was untouchable. Elliot scoffed to himself. He wasn't about to let some psychotic killer take advantage of Olivia.
Time jump:
Barba stood in front of the two-way mirror in Olivia's office. Fin and Rollins were currently interrogating a protestor, that had set two patrol units on fire near the explosion. He glanced towards the door at Carisi, Amaro, and Olivia walking in. He gestured to the man being questioned. "Jacob Peters, unemployed, five arrests in the past year all from protests, arson, vandalism, brandishing a gun, and assault on protestors."
"Well, he wasn't wrong about big brother." Amaro said. "I was able to pull his google search history, and he had been going down a rabbit hole of YouTube conspiracy videos for 10 to 12 hours a day for the last five years."
"Yeah." Olivia sat down at her desk with a heavy sigh. "He believes that COVID is a hoax, the election was rigged. I mean, he shows up at these rallies in para militia garb and just tears it up."
"And he thinks he's a patriot." Carisi stated. "He hasn't asked for a lawyer?"
"Not yet." Barba shook his head. "Better for us."
"Anything put him near Kathy Stabler's blast?" Carisi was quick to take the reins.
"No." Amaro quickly followed with. "But he was ID'd by, multiple UCs tonight as an instigator, and they found explosives, zip ties, and a taser in his backpack."
"Uni at the hospital says you picked up a suspect." All eyes turned to Stabler walking into the office.
Barba stepped away from the mirror. "Does the order 'keep your mouths shut' have no effect on cops anymore."
Carisi shrugged. "Suppose not."
Olivia tossed them both a 'shut it' look as she stood from the chair. "Elliot."
"This him?"
"Uh, we just started talking to him." Olivia replied.
Stabler clicked the speaker on, listening in on Fin and Rollins. Barba took a few steps back to stand by Olivia. "You need to get him out of here, now Olivia."
"Rafa..."
"When this case goes to trial, we need this to be done by the book. This will only complicate an already complicated case." Barba whispered, just as Stabler turned the speaker off.
"What's his deal?" Stabler turned to Olivia. "Targeting cops, to protect cops?"
"There's a lot of that lately." Amaro answered. "These guys have been enabled for the last four years, so they're not backing down now."
"Hi, I'm Elliot Stabler. Who are you?"
Amaro scoffed, glancing at Olivia who in return gave him a pleading look. "Detective Amaro."
"Detective Dominick Carisi." Carisi gestured to Barba. "That's ADA Rafael Barba."
"He knows." Barba reached for Olivia's coffee mug, taking a sip.
"You like him for this?" Stabler asked.
Barba shrugged. "You want my honest response?"
Stabler nodded. "Yes."
"We know he is good for two other firebombs on cop cars tonight." Barba began. "But he was wasn't close to your wife's car. But then again, I don't do the investigations I just prosecute them."
"He had a record." Olivia added. "He's been escalating."
"How would he make me or Kathy as cops?" Stabler asked.
"You had a..." Olivia rubbed her forehead willing the headache to go away. "You had a placard in your windshield."
Barba stepped out of the office for a moment. Opening a drawer from Rollins desk he pulled out the bottle of aspirins. Grabbing two pills he turned back towards the office just as his phone went off. Pulling the offensive item out, he stepped into the conference room.
'Jacob Peters is not your bomber.'
"Are you sure?"
'I find your doubt rather offensive agent.'
"Jaime."
'Right. From the footage, I got from the street and local business buildings, he was two blocks away from the explosions.'
"He could have set it off remotely."
'The bomb was armed the seconds she sat on the seat. Detonated when the key was turned. Peters was rioting, using gasoline and matches to set the cars on fire. Based on the footage I found from close street cameras, the Stablers arrived at the hotel around 1 pm. The bomb went off at 9:45 pm. Peters didn't arrive in the area until 8 pm.'
"I get it, Jaime. Someone else planted the bomb."
'Yup, I will call as soon as I find anything else.'
Walking back into the office he found Rollins and Fin, but no Stabler or Olivia. Carisi pointed towards the room with a 'sorry' look. Looking to the mirror he huffed. "Why the hell did you let them in there?!"
"It not like we can disobey the captain's order, Barba." Rollins scoffed.
Barba glared towards her. "On this occasion, you can!" Seeing Stabler make a run for the suspect, Barba stepped into the room. Olivia stood with a hand flat on Stabler's chest holding him back. Barba's eyes bore into the back of Olivia's head, who refused to look at him. "Detectives Amaro and Carisi, please take Mr. Peters into holding until he can be processed."
"I am not don-"
"Yes, you are." Barba snapped. "Now detectives."
Amaro sidestepped into the room motioning to Peter. "Let's go." He refused to make eye contact with Barba.
Something they all learned was that when Barba got angry, it was best to avoid him at all costs and let Olivia handle him. When it was Olivia that angered him, then may god help them.
"You had no auth-"
Barba closed the door behind him, keeping the three of them in the room. "Let me make this clear so you and everyone here understands. You are not a detective of this station anymore. You have no voice here. You have no power in here. You are not to be involved with any interrogations or police work with this case. If I so much as see you interfere with anything, I will have you restricted from stepping foot into this building. You may have been some hot shot back in your day, but as of this moment you are the spouse of a victim. And I will not have you screw this up because you can't contain yourself. If Captain Benson won't put a fucken leash on you, I will."
