Close Calls
Summary: See ch1
Disclaimer: Not mine
A/N: Loving the reviews, keep em coming! There is a major plot twist in this chapter. Sets up the action for the coming ones!
Almost Taken
"Special Victims Unit, Detective Tutuola." Fin said into the phone on his desk.
"Hello, my name is Detective Miller. I'm from Robbery over in the 2-7. I was just calling to enquire about a little bet you guys have going over there." An unfamiliar male voice said over the receiver.
Fin turned his chair to make sure he was out of earshot of Olivia. Fortunately for him, she looked busy searching through lugs. "What bet would that be?" Fin asked quietly, needing to make sure this wasn't a trick, after all, he had never heard of Detective Miller.
"The one concerning Detectives Benson and Stabler." The man answered. "I heard some guys talking about it in O'Malley's a few nights ago." He added.
"Okay. What about it?" Fin asked, still wary of this person.
"Look, I've known Elliot for some time now, and I figured he had something for his partner, being that he's been talking about her nonstop since the divorce. It's about time someone tried to make some money off of whatever they seem to have." The man laughed. "I just thought I'd try my hand. Besides, that guy owes me so much from the poker games we used to play."
"Alright." Fin laughed. His gut told him that he could trust this guy, and his gut was usually right about people. "It's fifty to enter, and twenty each time you wanna add a bet." Fin explained.
"Can I bet on a day that has already passed?" Miller asked.
"You can, but I wouldn't." Fin answered. "Liv's seeing someone, there's no way those two have been shackin up." He explained honestly.
"If you don't want my money…" Miller began.
"No, no man, if you wanna throw your money away, don't let me stop you." He laughed. "Just givin you a fair warning."
"Thanks, but I have this gut feeling, and my gut's never been wrong before." Miller answered.
"Whatever man." Fin breathed. He inconspicuously pulled out a notebook from his desk. "What's your bet?" He whispered.
"The 14 of this month." Miller said.
"Last week?" Fin asked, a little surprised.
"Yes, last week." Miller said. "Now, when do you need this money by?"
"Earliest you can get it to me." Fin answered, writing his bet in the book. This guy clearly didn't know Elliot as well as he thought he did. There's no way those two did anything in the past week. He's been too sore, and she's in a relationship.
"Well, I'm pulling a late night shift tonight; can I drop it by your precinct tonight when I leave?" Miller asked.
"Sure. I'm over in the 1-6. Just put it in an envelope and bring it up to the fourth floor. My desk is the one that says "Tutuola" on it." Fin informed him.
"Thanks man." Miller said, and hung up the phone.
Much eyed his partner curiously. He had heard most of the conversation.
"You think this guy may be right?" Munch asked.
Fin just looked over to Olivia, who was still thumbing through her lugs. "I dunno. I don't think so, I mean, we called her on having a new boyfriend. You say how red she turned." He said. "Whatever though, winner will just be fifty dollars richer." He concluded before going back to his own work.
The phone on Olivia's desk suddenly rang. "Detective Benson, Special Victims Unit." She said into it. "Hello?" She asked after not getting a response. "Hello?" She asked again, growing irritated. "Is anyone there?" When there was still no answer she slammed the phone back onto the cradle.
"Damn prank callers. That is the third time today!" She shouted to herself. "And where the hell is Elliot! He's supposed to be helping me sort through all of this!" She added, tossing the piled of lugs across her desk.
At this point Munch and Fin were staring at her. "Are you two going to keep staring at me, or make yourself useful by telling me where my partner went?" She demanded when she caught them.
"I think he went to see if IT had anything that would help you guys narrow down those lugs." Munch answered.
"Thank you." She said politely as she pushed her chair out and rose from her desk to find Elliot.
"I do not want to be Stabler right now." Fin said honestly. "And to think, that guy just put fifty bucks on them sleeping together!"
Olivia stormed out of the bullpen, and into the hall, searching for Elliot. She almost collided with him when she went to turn a corner.
"Whoa, sorry Liv." Elliot said, as he placed his hands up to brace himself against her.
She didn't respond in the way he had thought she would. "Where the hell have you been?" She demanded.
"I just went to…" He began, but was cut off.
"Do you realize that I have been sitting there for nearly twenty minutes looking through one hundred pages of cell phones lugs… by myself?" She demanded.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I was coming back." He said in defense. "If you want to go to take a break, I'll take over for a while."
Olivia just took a deep breath. In the past week, since she and Elliot had moved "to the next step" with their relationship, Olivia had been going through a lot.
First there was the fact that she had enormously strong feelings for Elliot. She finally knew what people meant when they said that 'the earth moved'. It was great for her, but it was also difficult. She was known to run from relationships when they got too heavy, and she was fighting those urges desperately now. She wanted to be with Elliot so badly, but was scared that this relationship would end up like all her others, even though he assured her it wouldn't.
Then there was the fact that for the past week she had been receiving weird phone calls at all hours. Sometimes someone would call and just hang up, other times she would hear heavy breathing, and still other times there would just be silence, even though she knew that someone was there. It was bizarre, but she didn't want to worry anyone about it, so she simply kept it to herself.
Finally there was the fact that Andy had called her to tell her that the only way Richards would testify without immunity was if she agreed to sleep with him; which was of course out of the question. So now any chance of ever prosecuting him was gone.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you El." She apologized. "I've just been… a little stressed lately." She admitted.
"Is it something... I'm doing?" He asked quietly, afraid he may have pushed her to move a little too quickly.
"No. No of course not. You have been my one saving grace this week actually." She smiled, happy that it was the truth. As much as she may have wanted to run from the relationship, she didn't want to leave him. For the first time ever, she had found someone strong enough to keep her from running from love.
"Look, let's just, get back to work so we can get finished." She sighed before turning and leading the way back to their desks.
Since it was Elliot's night to be with his kids, Olivia opted to stay late at the precinct, and finish up their work. He promised her that he would stay late the next three times if she wanted. Of course she wouldn't make him, but at the moment, it was sounding pretty good.
She'd been doing so much paper work, that her eyes were going crossed. Fortunately for her, and even more fortunate for the person at the other end, she hadn't received any more prank calls that day.
When she finally finished her last paper, she took a sigh of relief, and quickly gathered her things. All she wanted to do was to get into a warm bed, and sleep.
She packed up her desk, and left the building. It was a little chilly, so she hauled a cab to take her back to her apartment.
She rode in silence, desperately fighting the urge to fall asleep in the back seat of the cab. When they had arrived at her destination, she paid the driver, and made her way to the stoop of her building.
It was late, so she had to unlock the door to gain access into the lobby.
As she fumbled with her keys in the cold air, she hadn't heard the man come up behind her. Perhaps it was because she was so tired.
She managed to get the key into the key hole, but before she could turn it she felt a cool blade press against the think skin of her neck, and a gloved hand cover her mouth.
Her eyes dilated and her body tensed when she realized the danger she was in. Her immediate thought went to the gun resting at her hip, but then her mind went to the sharp blade at her neck.
"Don't even think about screaming or going for that gun of yours Detective." A male voice whispered into her ear. "Think about it. To shoot me, you'd have to get the gun out, turn off the safety, managed to turn around without me cutting you, and then shoot me. I'll slit your throat before you even get to step two." He smirked.
As much as Olivia hated to admit it, she knew that he was right. Her main focus now was getting away without being killed.
"I'm going to take my hand off your mouth since you seem to be so cooperative." The man said. "You scream, and you die." He warned.
Olivia was happy that he seemed to be letting up, but her heart stopped once again when the hand that was once covering her mouth snaked around her waist, and held her firmly in place.
"Now Detective, let me tell you what we're going to do." He began. "Since you seem to want me so bad, I'm going to let you have me. But you're not going to make a sound, or you will die. Do you understand?" He asked.
Olivia was confused. Who was this man? How did he know she was a detective? And, what was he talking about, 'that she wanted him'?
"What do you want?" Olivia asked. She recognized the voice, but couldn't seem to place it.
"I want you. I told those Marshalls that, but they wouldn't deliver. Said you didn't want me." He answered, giving Olivia the clues she needed to realize who this man was. It was Richards. She had told Andy letting him walk around free was a bad idea. "Now... I'm confused though, because from what I hear, you've been trying really hard to get me back." He smiled.
"I only wanted you back to that I could arrest your disgusting ass." Olivia scoffed.
"Well Olivia, it looks like one of us is at least going to get what they want tonight." He smiled, licking his lips as he took in the scent of her hair.
"You really think that I'm going to let you rape me?" She asked, not letting Richards sense her fear. Olivia swore her entire life that she wouldn't end up like her mother, and now it looked as if she might. Everything had been going so well, she should have known something like this was bound to happen.
"Well, you can either lay there and take it, or you can die. It's your choice." Richards answered cockily.
"You killed Cynthia after raping her. What makes me think you won't do the same to me?" She asked, still acting calm, while inside she was terrified. What if these were her last final moments on this earth? She wasn't ready to leave yet. She wanted more time with to be with Elliot. She had just now started living, and she wasn't ready to leave yet.
It was at that moment that she realized that she had to do whatever it took to survive, and if that meant letting this man rape her, than that was what she had to do, but only as a last resort.
"You, my love, are different. You see, Cynthia didn't want to die. It was her biggest fear. Your biggest fear is to have control taken away from you. To be used and abused by someone else, much like your dear mother." He revealed. When he felt Olivia tense more in his arms he added, "Its scary how much one person can learn about another with the Internet these days isn't it?"
He began pulling her into the alley besides her building.
"Raping and killing a civilian is one thing Billy. Do you really think that the Marshalls will be as kind to you if you rape a cop?" She tired reasoning.
"Don't be so naïve Olivia. They need me. Without my testimony, they have nothing on a man who killed fifteen innocent people. And I won't testify without full immunity on all my… mishaps." He smiled. "So you see, Liv, I think that they will."
As Richard's continued walking backwards, pulling Olivia farther and farther away from her building, she devised a plan of her own to fight back. She carefully snaked one of her feet behind his leg. As he picked up that leg to step back, it got tangled in Olivia's and the two went plummeting to the ground. The knife just barely cut Olivia. Her neck began to bleed, but she decided it wasn't enough of a wound to kill her.
When she regained her composure, she lifted herself off the ground, and grabbed the knife for herself. As she ran for her building she felt Richard's arm grab her ankle, and she went back down onto the pavement. He straddled over her.
"Not the smartest move Olivia." He said out of breath as his fist collided with the side of her face, causing her lip to split.
Olivia wasn't done fighting yet. "The Marshalls may look the other way if you rape me, but are you really that naïve to think that I'm just going to let it happen?" She spat back at him, truly wondering if this man really thought that.
Before he could answer her, she used the knife to stab Richards in the thigh. He let out a yell of pain, and lost his focus for long enough to let Olivia push him off of her.
She forcefully pulled the knife out of his leg, making Richards cry out in pain once again. While he was rolling around, holding his leg, she made a B-line for her building.
The key was already in the lock, so all she had to do was turn it and push her way in. When she was in, she frantically pulled the key out of the lock, and slammed the door shut.
When she was safely inside she realized just how out of breath she was. She collapsed against one of the walls as a few tears made themselves known. She hadn't realized how scared she had been until now. Of all the years she had worked at SVU, she had never been that close to becoming a victim herself. Sure there had been guys who had stalked her, and made her life miserable, but they had never gotten her before.
She knew that she probably should have arrested Richards right there for assault and attemptive rape of an office. She didn't though. How was she supposed to explain that one to the squad with out them thinking any less of her? She had worked hard to become one of the boys, and wasn't about to give that all up now. Besides, Richards was right, the Marshalls needed him, they would just usher him away again if she had arrested him.
When her nerves calmed enough, she picked herself up, and made it the rest of the way to her apartment. After securely locking the doors, and drawing the curtains, she was ready to survey the damage.
It wasn't as bad as she had thought. The cut on her neck was small, and on the side, it could easily be covered with her hair. Her lip, on the other hand, would be a little harder to hide. It was swollen, and split down the middle. Her cheek was bruised from the punch as well. As far as the rest of her, her entire front was scrapped from being pulled to the sidewalk, but that was okay, because her cloths would hide all of that.
Olivia was too tired to deal with it now. She placed the knife in a plastic bag, and simply tossed it under her bathrrom sink. She didn't know what she was going to do with it yet, but decided it was best if she held onto it, and preserved the evidence.
The she stripped out of her now bloodied cloths, and left them in her hamper. She ran the shower as hot as she could stand, and scrubbed herself until she was almost raw. She felt so dirty.
After over an hour in the shower, she finally slipped into a pair of flannel pants and a tank top, and climbed her aching body into bed so that she could pass out.
TBC... like i said, a twist! Keep reviewing and reading!