Chapter 8

Travel

The rest of the week went by quickly. Alex had poured herself into open cases with Casey, and all of the detectives were working their asses off trying to catch up with their own cases, as well as still trying to track Carlson. Alex had thought about the suspect, but hadn't heard anything since Tuesday when Olivia entered her office. So, on Friday night when Olivia Benson knocked and entered Alex's office, the ADA was surprised to see her.

"Detective. What can I do for you?" She immediately noticed Olivia's businesslike attitude.

"I need a warrant. We've got him. He took that girl from the Upper East Side. Our tracking detail lost him for a few hours. CSU found the car he used to pick her up and all of the fibers match, his DNA is in the car, and there's blood in the back."

"Ok—so what are you asking for a warrant to search? Seems like you have already searched the car…" Olivia understood that tone. "And why am I just now hearing about this?"

"It was an abandoned car, Alex. There was a bloodstain on the bumper and in the backseat. The search was in good faith." Alex could hear the strain and defensiveness in Olivia's voice. "This all just happened today. Mom came in again and was on us because her daughter is still missing-she has history with the suspect. She was a student in one of the classes he is subbing for right now while the teacher is on maternity leave. Mom has had complaints already to the school board for inappropriate comments to the daughter. We have information that he will take the girl out of the city—far out. Possibly to his residence outside Rochester."

"Rochester!?" Alex belted out. "You expect me, at 9pm, to knock on a judge's door and get a warrant for a house that's 5 hours away that may or may not contain a crazy kidnapper and his victim? Where is your proof, detective?"

Olivia had always hated the way that Alex said 'detective' like that—it always sounded so degrading. But, Olivia answered. "We have already contacted the local police and they are willing to cooperate, but they need our info, and our resources. I'm going either way, and I thought that since the original crime was perpetrated under our jurisdiction, it would be easiest if I already had a warrant for the residence when I got there…counselor." It was tough for Olivia to not sneer or curl her lip exactly like the way Alex did when she said 'detective' in that tone. "If you can't get me a warrant, it's whatever. We are planning to pursue the suspect anyway, but it would be stupid to have to turn around without even checking anything while we are there!"

Alex sat back in her chair and thought. She knew that Olivia was getting frustrated, and with every minute that passed, Carlson was probably driving further and further away from the city. She knew the detectives would never come to her and ask for a warrant if they didn't honestly believe that something good would come of it. Alex was sure Olivia was right, but how was she going to prove that to a judge?

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An hour later, Olivia's phone buzzed on the desk.

You owe me. When are you guys leaving? Donnelley is demanding that I come with—to make sure things go by the book.

Olivia stared at her phone. With mixed feelings of daze and shock, she didn't know how to respond.

Wow. Thanks. Don't think that's a good idea. Suspect is armed and unstable. Leaving ASAP. Girl is probably in trouble already.

"El. Wake up. We got it." She pushed him on the shoulder and his chair leaned back a little further. "Elliot. Get up."

Cragen walked into the squad room with purpose. He nodded towards Olivia. "Wake him up—Cabot's got the warrant." Knowing this information already, Olivia tried harder to wake her partner.

"Yes sir. Elliot, wake up," she patted her partner again on the chest. "Elliot. Don't make me say it…" He leaned back a little further, letting out what sounded like a snore and a sigh put together. He flapped his hand at his partner, who was obviously scrounging up the courage to say what she had threatened.

"Richard Elliot Stabler!"

With this, Elliot snapped up out of his chair and glared at Olivia.

"I told you I'd do it. I knew it would get you up…Cabot's got a warrant. Let's go."

"Yes, let's," came a voice. Alexandra Cabot was standing in the entrance of Cragen's office, clad in jeans and a black jacket.

"Not a good idea," Olivia and Elliot said together as they grabbed their weapons, badges, and crisis bags, complete with their bulletproof vests and walked right by her.

"Not your call, guys," Cragen commented, walking out of his office, and throwing Olivia a pair of keys. "The four of us are going. You and Cabot in one squad car, and Stabler and I in the other—both Cabot and I need to be briefed about this case, so you both can do that on the ride. The more detail you two can give, the better. We are really trusting you two on this." He leaned down into the supplies in his office desk. "Alex, what size are you? Small?"

Alex blushed and laughed a little. "Actually, yes, captain. Why?" But before he could answer, she was carrying a heavy vest. She understood now why Olivia was so persistent about getting that warrant—this was obviously a dangerous situation. The four of them hustled downstairs, splitting into separate cars.

"Meet you there. Be careful," Elliot said. For some reason, the emphasis on careful forced Olivia to think that he had meant something other than with the case—something about being in the car with Alex. She squinted her eyes over the squad car and replied.

"Thanks El. You be careful too. I'll call you when we are 10 minutes out, and we'll convene with the local PD."

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Olivia took both vests and her service weapon, along with the assault weapon they had to carry, and put them in the trunk. She walked around to the driver's side and got into the squad car. Before she put the keys in the ignition, however, she looked at Alex with a very serious look on her face.

"Ok, I've wanted to keep this quiet, so just don't say anything. Cragen and Elliot know, but no one else." Alex had no idea what she was talking about, but hoped it had something to do with a long overdue confession of love for Alex. It didn't.

Alex watched as Olivia reached down into the center console and pulled out a black leather case. She grabbed a hair tie and pulled her brunette locks out of her face in a loose, short ponytail and slipped the glasses onto her face. Alex had never seen anything sexier. Olivia noticed the investigative look on her face.

"I misidentified a suspect a few months ago and Cragen made me get my eyes checked. I'm ok except for when I drive at night. I guess that comes with old age."

The words were caught in Alex's throat, and when she spoke, only pure desire escaped her lips. "Oh, please. You are not old."

"Easy for you to say. I'm much older than you."

"Not much. I was born in '75, detective."

"Wow. That makes me feel great. Anyways, I know how old you are, counselor."

With that comment, and the start of the engine, Alex leaned back and put on her seatbelt. She decided not to push the subject very far, so she just readied herself for the long ride to Rochester.

"Anyway, by '75, I was already in the second grade. Nice try," the detective said, casually, as they pulled out of the parking garage.

Alex didn't hear her. Olivia was a vision: her loose side bangs swept softly over the glasses, beside her ear, and fell onto her cheek. The tortoise color of the frames was a beautiful contrast to Olivia's skin, and the larger frames looked wonderful on her face. Alex was surprised to see the detective wearing glasses, but was happy that she did. Her right hand gripped the top of the steering wheel while her left hand was resting in her lap. Alex could still see the faint outline of the stitched skin from weeks before.

Olivia settled back into the driver's seat and handed Alex her iPhone.

"Here—you can play DJ."

Alex quickly navigated to Olivia's music, remembering the type of music the detective used to listen to—a mix of 70's and 80's rock, folk, and Olivia's guilty pleasure, hip hop and R&B. She saw that Olivia's music collection would last them about 4 hours, so she just decided to choose the shuffle option, and listen along-eventually they would hear every song anyway.

Olivia warned Alex to be very cautious and to stand behind her, Elliot, or Cragen the entire time when they were in Rochester. She wasn't exactly sure what they would encounter, but she knew it might be dangerous. Olivia wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was terrified when Alex was shot before she went into WITSEC, and she didn't want it to happen again.

Alex couldn't help laughing at some of the songs that came through the stereo on the ride. Olivia's taste in music hadn't necessarily changed, but Alex never expected her to listen to this much rap and R&B.

"Sorry," Olivia said, as she noticed that Alex was amused by her musical tastes. "I've been really into R&B lately. If you don't like it, you can just skip them."

"Oh, no it's fine. I just think it's funny—I don't remember you listening to a lot of this before."

Alex laid Olivia's phone on her lap, allowing the music to flow freely through the shuffled playlist. A minute later, she felt a vibration and looked down at the phone. On the locked display, she saw a notification for one new message from Hope McNamara. Remembering the last time she mentioned a message from her, she politely told Olivia.

"Hey you have a text."

Olivia wondered who it could be from—the only people that ever texted her were travelling either with her, or in the car in front.

"No texting and driving in New York, counselor. Who's it from?"

Alex leveled her voice, trying to remove all emotion. She was still insanely jealous of the young blonde, and had no idea if they were still seeing each other, but the rift she caused between Alex and Olivia earlier wasn't the greatest. "Hope McNamara."

"Oh, that's weird. What's it say, if you don't mind?" Olivia asked.

Alex unlocked the phone and opened the message, reading to Olivia.

"She wants to know what you've been up to." Alex scrolled up and read a message from seven weeks ago. She guessed that they weren't seeing each other anymore, judging from how long it had been since they texted each other. Seems like Olivia had broken it off.

"Working." Alex typed and sent the message, exactly as Olivia had said. Alex noticed the twitch in Olivia's eye and flexing of her jaw. She could tell that this woman had either hurt her, or was annoying her.

A minute later Hope texted back, and Alex read. "She says that her and John are working things out and she just wanted to thank you."

"Yeah, I figured that's where this was going. Just text her back and say 'no problem. Hope things work out.'"

Alex did as she asked and immediately started the conversation, with certain vulnerability in her voice.

"Hey…I just wanted to say sorry. I know I apologized for the incident in the doctor's office before, but I really just wanted to tell you in person. I overreacted and thought I could just jump in where I left off, and I'm sorry that I did that. It was presumptuous of me."

"It's ok. You don't have to apologize. You helped me see something that I wasn't addressing—you and Elliot. That whole thing was a bad decision." Olivia seemed to be opening up. Alex wasn't sure what made her do this, but she was happy and eager to hear more.

"So, is this the woman you were with at the club when I saw you?" Alex asked, almost knowing the answer.

"Yeah. She liked to dance."

"How'd you meet her?"

"Well, we've got a drive ahead of us, so I guess we'll have to talk about something," Olivia smiled and started speaking. "She actually came into the squad room as a witness to a hit and run that ended up being connected to a rape. Elliot interviewed her, but she was very flirtatious with me when I escorted her in and out. She touched my hand as she was describing what she saw and kept eyeing my gun…I knew she was a badge bunny." Olivia shook her head and looked out the driver's window before continuing.

"She wrote her number on my notepad on my desk and I actually ended up texting the number because I wasn't sure whose it was." She chuckled a little bit at that part, but continued. "I knew she was young and I knew it was a bad idea, but it was easy—until I found out she was married—to a man."

Alex could feel her mouth fall open. Olivia was making horrible decisions, but she quickly shut her mouth so the detective could continue.

"So, that was a surprise, but she seemed really into me. I hated to think about that guy, but he worked all the time, so I sort of forgot about him. She didn't seem too concerned. It was fun while it lasted."

"Well," Alex started. "She seemed really into you at the club. Everyone has a guilty relationship Olivia—it's no big deal."

"Yeah. Well, that's it, pretty much," Olivia said. She adjusted her glasses and took her hair out of the ponytail, massaging her scalp. Alex couldn't take her eyes away from the detective. In that moment, she thought back to many years ago, and the night that she spent in Olivia's bed after they went out with the guys. Alex always wondered if Olivia had thought of that memory fondly, as Alex did, or with guilt. After all, Olivia was always hesitant with Alex because she thought the attorney was straight.

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The next two hours passed with little conversation. Alex wasn't sure if Olivia had backed off because she felt too vulnerable, or if she just didn't want to talk to Alex. The attorney turned her attention to the case.

"So, I know this guy is a substitute teacher—were both he and the girl reported absent from school today?"

Olivia turned her head and blinked her eyes quickly, as if being pulled from a trance. "Um yeah, both were missing today. We found the abandoned car with matching fibers from the girl's coat in the back, with a blood smudge on the back of the car. When he abducted Kara Paxson last year he took her out of her last period class, saying that she needed to see the principal. He led her to the parking lot, used chloroform to sedate her, and put her in his car. He then drove upstate and hid her away for 4 weeks, repeatedly raping and torturing her. Her body was found in the woods outside Essex County two months later. Carlson was suspected, but the police couldn't get any leads or matches for DNA or evidence. They let him go." Olivia's voice trailed off, as it normally did when she was feeling guilty, sad, or sorry for a victim.

"So, then, a few weeks ago, we had a girl, 17 years old, come into the precinct. She told me that when she was 14, her teacher took her from school and put her in a house away from the city. He raped her and left her in the house while he went out running errands. He told her that if she left, he would find her and kill her and her whole family. Understandably, she didn't leave, until one day she got up enough courage. He had left for the day and she was able to free herself from her lose rope restraints and leave the house. She limped to the main road and flagged down a truck driver. She refused to disclose any information to her parents, the state, the truck driver, or anyone else. Her mother wasn't around much, and she didn't have a father, so her mother was just happy that she was home. The police launched a small investigation, but were never able to find any information—the girl, Alicia, wouldn't cooperate for fear of retaliation."

Alex was listening closely, understanding all of the details Olivia was relaying. "So, you've been tailing him and you think he's taken another girl," Alex said.

Olivia nodded. "Yeah-I just really have a bad feeling about this guy. But I'm convinced that he has no idea we are onto him. I think he's taken two girls in the past 10 months. We haven't caught him yet, so I'm sure he thinks he is untouchable. Hopefully we surprise him this time."

Alex noticed the same determination in her voice that she had always had, and she couldn't help but notice how sexy the detective was. Alex definitely had it bad for Olivia, probably worse than before, but she was determined to keep the relationship professional, because she knew Olivia wanted that.

"We'll catch the bastard," Alex said. Olivia looked over at her and crossed her fingers, displaying them to the lawyer. Olivia couldn't help but notice that look in Alex's eyes—pure Ice Queen. The detective was always turned on by the lawyer, especially when she was revved up like she was tonight. At that moment, Olivia wished she hadn't sent that email to Alex. She wished she could reach over and touch the blonde's hand, caress her leg, and speak lovingly in her ear. But, she knew she couldn't do that, so she changed the subject.

"Alex, you'll have to be really careful tonight. I have a feeling that once this guy feels threatened, he will do whatever it takes to get out of the situation. Just stay behind Elliot or me when you get out of the car. He will take the lead on this, because we think Carlson has a thing for dealing with women. So, just stick by me."

With those words, Alex's heart melted. 'I'll stick by you, forever, wherever,' Alex thought. "Ok. I will."

"Good," Olivia said, "I don't want to relive O'Malleys."

Alex's heart sunk. She had thought about that night so many times. She remembered feeling Olivia's cold hand pressing into her shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Yeah, I never really said thanks for that," Alex said as she looked at Olivia, passionately meaning the words she had said, however Olivia's face hardened.

"Thanks!? Alex, you basically died on that sidewalk. The last thing you should be saying to me is thanks."

"No, Olivia. When I was out of surgery, the surgeon told me that I probably would have bled out if it weren't for your quick reactions. You," she paused, "and Elliot saved my life."

Olivia shifted in her seat, and readjusted her hold on the steering wheel. She didn't like thinking about that night, and rarely did. She adjusted her focus back on the road and changed the subject.

"So, are you still as fond of road trips as you were before?" Olivia smirked as she asked this question, knowing the answer.

Alex cleared her throat and worked through a strain in her voice, tears in her eyes from the previous conversation. 'How could Olivia think that she was responsible for me getting shot?'

"Ha!" Alex laughed. "Right. But, being in WITSEC, I sort of had to get used to moving around. The real question, though, is, why couldn't we fly to Rochester?"

"Well, even if the NYPD had money for that, the next flight from JFK doesn't leave till tomorrow," Olivia glanced at her watch, "actually, today at 8AM. We just can't wait that long. I don't want to give him any more time than he already has to do anything to Kaley."

Alex understood. She looked out the window and relaxed for the next hour or so, until a familiar song made her turn towards Olivia. Alex had heard this song earlier that week, streaming through her Bluetooth speaker at her apartment. The detective was relaxed, mouthing and singing quietly along with the music.

"I actually like this song," Alex said as she watched Olivia's lips move to the music, wishing the detective was saying those words to her, and not just reciting the music.

These lips can't wait to taste your skin/And these eyes can't wait to see your grin/Just let my love/Let my love adorn you...

Olivia smiled and laughed, as she took a break from singing. "Yeah, it's a good one. I'm surprised you've heard it. It's fairly new." Olivia remembered the night at the bar so many years ago and distinctly remembered a song like this playing when Alex propositioned her. She smiled at the memory. "It's one of my favorites." Olivia continued singing softly, allowing the music to calm her, clearing her head, but she couldn't help the feeling that Alex was watching her.