Subjugated
Chapter 2: Doubt In All Forms
Alexander dropped softly onto the floor of Olivia's room. He had seen her place the key on her bedside table before she went to bed; he knew he had to get that key back. In the dark his hand groped along the wall until he found the nightstand. Carefully he ran his fingers over every object that was there. His fingers found first the phone then a notepad and pen close beside it. He felt along a smooth metal object that he couldn't identify at first but soon the answer came to him, it was a gun.
For a moment he considered using it to force the woman who lay just inches from where he stood to get up and come with him. He thought better of it however, he couldn't force her to go down the drainpipe; he'd have to use both hands and wouldn't be able to hold a gun on her. And just walking out the front door of the hotel was absolutely out of the question. He didn't want to risk being spotted by the hotel employee that the woman had spoken of on the phone.
His fingers closed around the key and he quickly pocketed it. He was turning to leave when the woman in the bed began to stir. He reached for the gun. If she woke up he would have to eliminate her. He couldn't risk leaving a witness. But there was nothing that said he couldn't have his way with her first. He watched mesmerized as she moved in her sleep.
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"Leave him alone!" she cried out. She stood in a dark room, watching as a shadowy figure advanced towards Elliot. Clearly visible in one of the figure's hands was a knife.
The figure turned towards Olivia. It wore a large hood that obscured most of its face but still a large sinister grin could be seen. It turned back to Elliot and put the knife to his throat.
"Olivia, run," he said in a voice that tried to sound calm.
"I can't," she whispered as tears poured down her cheeks. She attempted to lock eyes with the figure "Please no," she begged the unknown apparition.
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Alexander's cell phone began to vibrate. Instinctively he crept back out the window for privacy to answer his call, leaving the gun where it had been lying. He took one last glance at the bed which was illuminated by soft moon light. He would get her alone again one day. He slid the window closed and flipped his phone open "Yeah?"
"Did you get the key?" Giovanni's voice sounded raspy over the phone.
"Yeah," Alexander answered. Giovanni had some timing that was for sure. If it hadn't have been for the phone Alexander was pretty sure that he would be having the best sex of his life at that moment.
"I want you to get back here," Giovanni told his friend.
"Why?" Alexander asked mockingly "I thought big bad Giovanni had everything under control."
"I do," Giovanni spat "Just get back here," he knew that Alexander thought more often with one head than the other and he knew that it wasn't time yet for such things. The time would come. Yes the time would most definitely come but not now, not yet.
"All right," Alexander begrudgingly ground out "See ya," he scooted to the drainpipe as he flipped his phone closed and slid it into his pocket. As he swung himself off the ledge, his cell phone flew out of his pocket and landed on the spot where Alexander had been before. He felt his phone leave his pocket and reached for it at the same time that he was holding onto the drainpipe. His hand slipped and Alexander hit the pavement head first with a sickening thud.
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"Don't," Olivia repeated but the figure wasn't listening to her. It drew the knife across Elliot's throat in a slow, deliberate motion that was intended to inflict as much pain as possible "No!" Olivia screamed as the blood poured from the cut. She ran towards Elliot but the figure stopped her "No! No! Let me go!" she tried to fight it off but it dragged her away.
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She shot straight upright in bed. It had all been a nightmare. She peered fearfully into the dark corners of her room. She got out of bed, flipped on the light and picked up her gun. She patrolled the room, looking for anything out of place. Everything seemed to be fine until she noticed it. It wasn't the presence of something; it was the absence of something. She probably wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been on high alert at that moment. The key that she had put on the bedside table was gone. To most people this wouldn't be anything to be concerned about but Olivia remembered putting it there. At first she thought that perhaps it had fallen when she grabbed her gun but after thoroughly checking the floor around the table she still hadn't found it.
This made her nervous and she moved to the window. It was unlocked; being as high up as it was, she didn't think that it was necessary to lock it. She cursed herself for not thinking about locking it when she had first found the key. She slid the window open and crawled out onto the ledge. The light that came from inside her room as well as the light from a single street lamp below provided enough illumination that she could see something near the drainpipe. She reached for it, not wanting to go back inside for gloves and found that it was a cell phone.
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"What are you talking about?" Chegwidden asked Cragen. He would like nothing more than to help his friend but this just didn't sound like something that JAG usually handled.
"One of my best detectives was kidnapped in Naples," Cragen repeated "I don't trust the police there to handle it and they won't allow my other detective who is there to assist in the investigation. I would send my own people but we are just swamped with work here."
"Don, I'd love to help you but JAG lawyers aren't vigilantes. Besides this doesn't sound like a Naval matter," truthfully Chegwidden felt for his friend and wanted nothing more than to be able to help the missing detective.
"AJ I have no idea what to do," Cragen's voice cracked "These people they're like family, you know."
Chegwidden knew exactly what Cragen was talking about. His people were like family to him too and he would do anything for them if he could. And if he couldn't do anything himself, he would do exactly what Cragen was doing now, ask for help. Chegwidden knew just how much it had taken for Don Cragen to be able to come to him; they were both very proud men who found it difficult to come to anyone. The burden of command was heavy indeed "I'll see what I can do," he told his friend.
"Thanks AJ," Cragen said gratefully "I owe you."
"Don't worry about it," Chegwidden was still worried that he might not be able to do anything "Bye Don. I'll call you back in a few hours."
"Thanks again AJ," Cragen couldn't find words to express how grateful he felt "Bye," he hung up the phone and turned back to the mountains of paperwork that sat on his desk. He looked through the open office door into the squad room. It was empty; Munch and Fin were out chasing down leads. His eyes fell on Elliot and Olivia's conjoined desks; his mind wandered and he could almost see Olivia smiling up as Elliot appeared at her side with a fresh cup of coffee. He sighed and turned back to his paperwork.
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Chegwidden picked up his phone once more and dialed Commander Rabb's home number. If anyone could get this mission accomplished Rabb could.
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Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. sat next to his partner Colonel Sarah MacKenzie on the couch in his apartment. They had been silent for some time now. They sat simply enjoying each other's company.
Mac shifted positions on the couch so that she was leaning against Harm's shoulder. She sighed contentedly "This is nice," she mumbled dreamily.
Harm wrapped an arm around her and smiled, silently agreeing with her as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, letting the peace of the moment wash over him when the shrill ringing of the phone pierced the quiet atmosphere. He nudged Mac gently because she was closer to the phone. She grumbled and stretched before reaching for the cordless phone and handing it to him. He pushed the button on the phone "Yeah," he answered a bit irritated.
"Harm," Chegwidden's voice came over the receiver causing Harm's attitude to change instantly "You and your partner get over to my place as soon as you can."
"Admiral," Harm began "With all do respect, its 10:00 at night."
"I am aware of the time Commander," the admiral told him "I assure you that this is important."
"Yes sir," Harm answered as he stood up and reached for his coat which lay on the back of the couch "We'll be there in ten," he pushed the button to end the call and handed the phone back to Mac so that she could return it to the cradle.
"What was that about?" Mac asked, standing up as well.
"I'm not sure," Harm pondered "He sounded pretty urgent. I guess we'll find out."
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"Elliot Stabler," Chegwidden said as he placed a folder on the coffee table in front of him. He pointed to the folder "I was able to dig up his Marine service record."
Mac reached for the file and flipped it open. She scanned the information and the woefully out of date photo "Sir this information hasn't been updated since 1984."
Chegwidden nodded "It's the best I could do on such short notice. If I manage to get my hands on his NYPD records I'll fax them to you in Naples."
"Naples," Harm and Mac exclaimed simultaneously, exchanging puzzled looks with each other before turning their attention back to the admiral.
Chegwidden coughed, realizing that he had gotten ahead of himself "Detective Stabler," he made sure to use the man's current title "Has gone missing while working a case with his partner for the Manhattan special victims unit. He and his partner Olivia Benson were in Naples, trailing a suspect in a string of homicides when he went missing. The evidence suggests that he was kidnapped"
"How is this a JAG investigation sir?" Harm asked.
Chegwidden paused, trying to find a way to tell these two that he was sending them on a personal favor and not an official investigation. He took a deep breath "Detective Stabler's commanding officer, Captain Donald Cragen, is an old friend of mine and," he made sure to stress this next part "After much deliberation I decided to help him out," he gauged Harm and Mac's reactions to what he had just said. Mac looked surprised and he thought perhaps a little standoffish. Harm on the other hand looked more than ready to jump on the next flight to Naples. He continued "You will fly to Naples tonight, the police there are expecting you. It was easy to convince them that this fell under our jurisdiction."
Mac had continued to flip through the file in an effort to learn more about this man. She looked up suddenly "I think it does fall under our jurisdiction," she said, removing a piece of paper from the file "It seems that Corporal Stabler," she referred to the paper once more to check her facts "Was called to service in late 2004," she looked up again "He never showed, our missing detective has been AWOL for two years."
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Olivia sat bolt upright on the bed, her back against the wall, her shoulders squared as she stared at the now locked window. The lamp beside the bed brightened the room but did little to cheer her mood or alleviate her fear. Her gun was poised to fire at anyone or anything that moved. She had no doubt in her mind that the key had something to do with Elliot's disappearance but now that it was gone, she had nothing to go to the police with.
She had the cell phone of course but she had already looked through it. The guy had been smart and had made it so that no one could access it without a code. If she took that to the police she was sure she would be perceived as even more of the foreign interloper than she was positive that they already saw her as.
She was so on edge that a scratching sound in the corner of the room caused her to react instantly. Perhaps she… over reacted she would later think. She took aim at the source of the noise and fired. Seconds later she saw a very frightened mouse rush out from the baseboard, leaving behind a trail of urine.
She breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves. This was no good. She couldn't be so trigger happy. She had to calm down. If she didn't, she could very well shoot at the phone if it rang or even worse, shoot the house keeping people when they came to the door. She took another deep breath and set her gun on the bedside table again. She could easily grab it if someone entered the room.
The phone rang and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Her hand was reaching for the gun when she stopped herself 'It's just the phone," she told herself as she picked up the receiver "Benson," her voice was shaky but strong.
"Olivia," it was Cragen and upon hearing the way she answered the phone, his voice had gone instantly to one of total concern "Is everything all right?"
"Yeah," she answered as her voice slowly regained its composure. Somehow it was comforting to her to hear a familiar voice. She took yet another deep breath as she felt a little more of the fear dissipate "What's up Cap?"
"I just wanted to let you know that you're gonna be getting some company," he began in vague terms.
Olivia tensed instantly "What kind of company?" she asked, her voice picking up just a bit of the shakiness that it had before.
"Lawyers," Cragen began "Two JAG lawyers."
Olivia relaxed but her confusion only grew. What business did JAG lawyers have with this matter? "Cap," she began slowly "I'm gonna need the long version here because I am just totally lost."
Cragen chuckled and then remembering what time it was in Naples "I'm sorry Olivia. Did I wake you up?"
Olivia paused "No," she dismissed his question quickly before attacking the previous topic "Why are JAG lawyers coming here?"
"I…" Cragen paused "Called in a favor."
"From who?" Olivia asked, interested.
"The Judge Advocate General," Cragen admitted sheepishly.
Olivia couldn't help being impressed. She had known that Cragen had friends in high places but it never ceased to amaze her, the things he could get done by 'calling in a favor' "When are they getting here?" she asked.
"Noon your time," he told her "They're expecting you to meet them at the airport."
"I'm supposed to play chaperon to two lawyers while my partner," she began to lose it again "Is God knows where and…" she trailed off, not wanting to think of what his abductors could be doing to him if he was even still alive. She hated to think of the possibility that he might be dead but it kept sneaking into her conscious mind anyway.
"Olivia," Cragen attempted to soothe her with his gentle tone "They're coming to help."
"Help!" she was indignant all of a sudden "How can they help!"
"Olivia," Cragen tried to break in to explain but she kept talking, her voice growing louder.
"No one is telling me anything!" she began to pace the room "I'm feeling like a child! I'm cooped up in this hotel room with nothing to do except obsess about my kidnapped partner who might be dead at this moment and how its all my fault!"
"Olivia," Cragen tried to break in again and still Olivia refused to cease her tirade.
"And on top of all that!" her tone became sarcastic "Some creep snuck into my room when I was asleep!" she stopped. She hadn't wanted to let that slip; she didn't want to make anyone worry about her when they didn't need to.
Cragen finally had a window of opportunity to speak and he took it "Olivia," he began, glad when she didn't try to cut him off again with another guilt ridden and frustrated speech. He was about to explain more about how the JAG lawyers would be able to be more involved in the investigation under the guise of a military matter when suddenly it hit him "Did you just say…" he trailed off having been stunned into silence. Finally he managed to get the rest of the sentence out "Someone snuck into your room?"
She nodded even though she knew Cragen couldn't see her "I didn't lock the window," she admitted "I was a damn idiot."
"Are you all right?" Cragen asked, ignoring the fact that he had asked that question several times already over the span of several different phone calls and he had always and probably would continue to get the same formulaic answer.
"I'm fine," she almost spat at him. Then her anger dissipated and she sank onto the bed "So I'm supposed to pick these people up at noon?"
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"This doesn't make any sense," Mac rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she set the file down in her lap. She had gone over Elliot's records again and again. She could probably recite the whole thing from rote by that point.
"It's a long flight Mac," Harm handed her a blanket and a pillow "Try and get some sleep will ya?"
She looked at him straight on "I just can't figure this out," she told him "Someone must have screwed up."
"Yeah," Harm said grumpily as he settled into his chair "He did. Look Mac, he was a kid when he joined. He had a wife and kid. He decided to leave. No one noticed it until two years ago."
"You must be really tired," she noted.
"That's right," he responded "I'm really tired and I'm waiting for you to turn off the damn reading light so I can get some sleep."
She chuckled and reached up to turn the light off "Good night," she whispered as she took the blanket and pillow that he was still holding out to her. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips before settling in and laying her head on his shoulder. They lay in silence for a while before she spoke again "When does that ever happen?"
"Mac," Harm groaned.
She sat up and flipped on the light again "I mean have you ever heard of someone not being missed for twenty years?"
"No," he answered, throwing an arm over his eyes to shield him from the lights. For a moment he thought about asking the stewardess for earplugs.
Mac thought of something "Remember? We had a bunch of cases a couple of years ago that had to do with those Marines that thought they had been discharged but they'd been called back to active duty."
"Yes, I remember," Harm said "Now can we please go to sleep?"
"What if he was one of those?" Mac hypothesized. She reached up and turned off the light again "Good night," she kissed him again.
This time it was Harm who sat up a few minutes later and turned on the light "If that was the case," he began, picking up the conversation in the exact place that it had been left off "He should have come to us. He didn't. Therefore he's been AWOL for two years," he turned off the light again "Good night."
"Good night," Mac returned and they both drifted off to sleep.
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Elliot's throat was impossibly dry and his bladder was impossibly full. It was an incredibly painful combination. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink in what had to be almost a whole day although he couldn't be sure. The room where he was being held had a very small window high up in the back wall and he could see the very earliest rays of the sun starting to make there way through.
His captor came in occasionally to ask him sometimes meaningless questions such as if he killed anyone while he was in the Marines. The answer had been no. Elliot had been one of those who hadn't seen combat. Sometimes the questions he was asked had to do with the security at Marine and Naval bases in the area. These things Elliot didn't have a clue about but that answer hadn't sufficed for the man. He had beaten Elliot, threatened him, threatened Olivia by name, he had even described in great detail how he would slowly murder each one of Elliot's children. When Elliot wasn't feeling compelled to throw up from the pain and the revulsion, he was praying for death because of the pain.
He only hoped that Olivia would leave the country before this jackass and whatever cohorts he had decided that they needed to follow through on some of their threats. He wanted her to be safe. He knew that she would never leave it up to the police in Naples to find him and he cursed that determination and stubbornness of hers. He cursed it but at the same time he loved it. Still she would be a lot safer if she left the country.
He heard the door creaking open; he had come to hate that sound. Classical conditioning, that sound was followed always by pain of either a physical or psychological nature, therefore the sound of the door opening alone was enough to cause him pain. He saw the man approach and clenched his jaw. If he ever got out of there, he was going to hurt that man he might even kill him.
The man took his now familiar seat across from Elliot and folded his arms across his chest. He opened his mouth, the words that fell from his lips only serving to make Elliot want to wrap his hands around that little neck and squeeze until the demon stopped breathing "How are you feeling?" the tone was condescending, the man was enjoying Elliot's pain.
Elliot hissed a low "Just peachy."
"So glad to hear it," the man smiled. Giovanni took pleasure in making this man suffer but he did wish that he could get the information he needed from him. He hadn't heard from Alexander since he had called him to ask about the key. He would have been worried if he cared but the truth was he really didn't. He was paid to do a job and Alexander had simply been an assistant. If necessary, he could be easily replaced. His attention turned back to Elliot who was studying him interestedly "What are you looking at?"
Elliot had noticed how the man had gone into deep thought "What are you thinking about?" he asked.
Giovanni slapped Elliot across the face but compared to some of the blows that Elliot had taken over the last day, this one barely registered "I ask the questions around here," he hissed venomously.
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Olivia checked herself in the mirror one last time as she holstered her gun. She had to keep up the appearance of professionalism even though she didn't feel professional at all anymore. She made her way to the door of the room, pocketing her wallet as she went and headed down to the lobby.
On the elevator ride down she kept repeating in her mind 'Rabb and Mackenzie, Rabb and Mackenzie,' those were the two names that Cragen had given her. One of them was a man and the other was a woman, the problem was, she couldn't remember which was which. At least she wouldn't have to worry about picking them out of the throngs of travelers. That responsibility lay with them. They had a picture of her that Cragen had faxed to them, with her permission of course.
She walked out of the elevator and made her way towards the exit. There were, she noticed, an unusually large number of people just outside the doors to the hotel. As she drew closer she noticed that they were all looking at something. She had a bad feeling that it was some type of crime scene. She suspected that it was probably some sort of car accident of vandalism but when she managed to push her way through the crowd, which she had to do to get to the garage where the rental car was parked, she saw that a group of Naples police officers were trying to get people to back away from what looked like a dead body.
The detective in her wanted to stay and ask questions, to find answers but as she looked at her watch, she knew that she didn't have the time. She hopped in the junky rental car which looked like it had been rescued from a chop shop and prayed that it would get her to the airport without breaking down.
One of the police officers who stood by the body pointed up the drain pipe that ran up the side of the building and to the windows next to it. In Italian he said to his colleagues "I'd like to interview the people who are staying in those rooms."
TBC
A/N: Okay so I'd like to take this time to remind people that this is fiction. I did my research as best I could on the military stuff but if I got things wrong, I'll just chalk them up to 'fictional license' and as for the JAG thing… I'm remembering them the way I want to remember them LOL which means that I kind of chopped canon apart and pieced it together to suit my own needs but like I said, this story is kind of AU. I would greatly appreciate feedback on this chapter.