Notes on An Aftermath
Chapter Nine: Reckoning
Elliot wakes up when he hears his nine month old son. Eli is quite the early riser, and he often wants his parents to get with the program and become early risers with him. Having a baby in the house after many years has been quite an adjustment, and there are some days when both he and Kathy are completely exhausted.
Eli whines a little louder, and Elliot sits up, rubbing his hands over his face.
"Alright I'm up," he groans. "I'm comin' buddy."
He throws the covers off of him and he gets up, going over to the crib and pick up his son, who immediately calms down and rests his head on his father's shoulder. Elliot bounces his son as he smoothes over his curly blond hair. Eli is a miracle, and Elliot is glad that he's been given a second chance to be the husband and father that he hasn't been in a long time. He'd taken everything he had for granted for so long, that when both Kathy and Olivia had been in that car crash, he thought he was going to lose everyone he loved in one afternoon.
If it weren't for Olivia, his wife and his child would have died. He's not afraid to admit it anymore; he loves Olivia for what she did for his wife and son. She'd been a calming presence for Kathy and stayed with her when she gave birth to Eli. Words couldn't describe how incredibly thankful and appreciative he is for Olivia.
The phone rings and Elliot rushes over and picks it up before the second ring wakes Kathy.
He answers it.
"Stabler."
He stops bouncing Eli and furrows his eyebrows at the news he hears.
"Jesus," he says. "Yeah, I'm on my way now."
He hangs up and he goes over and gently wakes Kathy, much to her chagrin because she'd been enjoying a deep sleep.
"What?" She asks, turning onto her back.
"I've got to go honey," he says.
"W-what?" She asks, sitting up and taking Eli into her arms. "What's wrong?"
He doesn't answer her as he pulls on a pair of jeans and he goes over to his dresser and grabs a shirt.
"Elliot," she huffs. "What's wrong? Today's your day off…you're not going in, are you?"
"I'll call you later, okay?" He says as he comes over and kisses her cheek before leaving.
Kathy sighs and holds Eli close.
/\/\/\/\/\
Elliot drives up to Casey's home, which is engulfed in flames. He parks the car and gets out, rushing over to Olivia. Fin and Munch are already at the scene, helping CSU bag some evidence.
Cragen is standing outside as well.
"Liv!" He calls and she turns to him. "What the hell is going on?"
"I got the call from another department," she says, a little panicked. "I heard Casey's address…her car's still in the driveway…she's in there El. I called Chester, so he's on his way."
The fire chief approaches them, and Elliot flashes his badge.
"I'm Detective Stabler, this my partner, Detective Benson!" He introduces loudly over the noise of the raging fire.
"Chief George Manson," the chief says loudly. "I called you guys when I got word this is your ADA's house."
There is a loud snap and then an explosion, and Elliot, Olivia and the chief shield themselves as more windows break and part of the roof collapses into the second story of the house.
"Oh my God," Olivia gasps.
"This ain't no ordinary house fire," Chief Manson explains, holding up the gasoline jug and paint thinner. "Accelerants were used, that's why the whole damn house is burning like a goddamn inferno from hell. We found three more of these jugs and several cans of paint thinner. This was intentional."
Chester drives up to Casey's burning home, and his car screeches to a stop. He gets out of the car and he rushes up to the fire chief and Olivia and Elliot.
"Jesus," Chester says, taking in the burning house. "Casey's in there! You gotta get her out!"
Elliot holds him back.
"I just sent three guys in there," Manson says. "They're looking for her right now."
Chester rubs his hand over his face, his heart pounding in his chest. He can't lose Casey and the baby. He prays to God that the firefighters will find her in time. There are neighbors and onlookers behind the yellow tape, all of them in a state of shock at this event happening in this quiet neighborhood.
Meanwhile, inside, the fire fighters are going through the house, battling the fire all while trying to find Casey Novak, that is if she even survived. Chances are she may have already died from smoke inhalation.
"I'm heading in the basement!" Palmieri says through his radio. "That's where she's gotta be!"
"I got your back Johnny!"
Palmieri uses his ax to break up the burning wood of the door, and blazing bursts out, taking advantage of what little oxygen is left in the air.
The stairs are burning, and a few have already collapsed to the partially burning floor, but the room is full of smoke, and he can hardly see. He has to jump down onto the floor from the platform of the steps.
"Chief! We got nothing upstairs!" Thompson repots over the radio.
"Thompson, get your ass downstairs," Manson commands. "The rest of that roof is going to cave in any moment!"
"Chief, I'm in the basement," Palmieri says.
He hears a loud snap, then the platform collapses to the floor as well and he hears himself screaming.
"Johnny!"
"I'm alright!"
"Do you see anything, Palmieri?" Manson asks.
Palmieri is panting and trying to spot anything that looks like a body through the smoke.
"No sir," he reports. "I got nothing down here! The stairs are destroyed, so's the platform…"
"All of you get your asses out of there now!" Manson commands.
Chester goes over to him.
"They have to find her!" Chester yells. "You can't just leave her in there!"
Chief Manson sighs. "I'm sorry…I can't lose three of my men for one life."
"Two," Chester corrects, feeling his chest tighten. "Two lives."
Inside, Vince is at the doorway, and he and Mike help Palmieri up from the basement.
"Chief wants our asses out of here pronto! This fucking house is coming down!"
The two other men pull Palmieri up out of the burning basement then they head out the back way of the house. When the men appear walking past Casey's car, Chief Manson waves the men over as they take off their masks.
Olivia runs her fingers through her hair and she and everyone else watch in part horror, part shock as the fire ravages the house. Chester can barely breathe, he's so afraid that he's just lost Casey.
Olivia puts her hand on his shoulder. "Chester, you-you shouldn't watch this honey."
He shakes his head and steps away from her, trying to catch his breath.
There is another explosion, and the porch collapses, as does the roof, and the entire second floor caves in and there is the loudest, unnatural snap and crash. Windows are breaking and the fire becomes even stronger because of oxygen and ample enough wood and accelerant.
Chester goes over and he sits on the curb, covering his face.
He can't believe this is happening.
His cell phone rings, and he looks at the ID. It is Casey's cell number and he gets up, relieved.
"Thank God," he says before answering it.
"Casey I'm so glad you called," he says.
"I'm sorry," a man says gruffly. "But your girlfriend is indisposed at the moment, Lake."
"Who is this?" Chester asks.
"Bill Janssen."
Chester feels anger beginning to course through his body, replacing the fear he'd felt just moments before.
"If you hurt Casey-"
"Listen Lake," Bill interrupts. "We're in an abandoned warehouse near the bay…"
"Where?"
"Lennox and 9th," Bill says. "Come alone, Lake. No other cops or I'll kill your little whore."
"Okay," Chester says. "If I come, let Casey go. This is between you and me."
"No," Bill says. "This is between all of us, Lake. Your ADA slut is no exception. Don't show up, or come with the police and she's dead."
Chester hangs up.
"Captain," Chester says as he approaches Cragen.
"What?" Cragen asks.
"Casey's alive," Chester explains. "She's not in the house."
"Thank God," Olivia says. "Where the hell is she this late?"
Chester doesn't have time to explain everything, he just wants to get to Casey.
"I have to go see her," he says, heading to his truck.
"Detective Lake, you better tell me what the fuck is going on right now," Cragen demands.
"I can't explain this right now," he says. "This whole thing is my fault and I have to fix it."
With that, he gets into his truck and he drives off.
Cragen turns to his other detectives.
"Do either of you have a goddamn clue what the hell's going on?" He asks.
Olivia and Fin look at each other.
"Captain," Olivia begins. "I don't know much, but I do know that Chester and Casey have been seeing each other for over a year and she's pregnant now. She's known about the Hernandez case for months, that's why she wanted to win the trial so badly."
"Chester was released from prison," Fin continues. "So he didn't off Crane, even though his dumb ass tried to take the fall. I'm guessing whoever else is involved, wanted Casey out of the equation too."
"That mean's they've both gotta know something that we don't," Olivia says.
O'Halloran over hears the discussion and decides that now might be a good time to tell them what he knows.
He approaches the detectives.
"Don, I was the last person to speak with Casey," he explains.
"What did she say?" Cragen asks.
He sighs, knowing that he's going to get his ass kicked by the department.
"I let her look at the evidence from Crane's murder," he admits. "A few days before that, she came to me. She asked me if she could look at the evidence for herself because she believed that Lake was innocent. I called her this morning and told her that I emailed all the photos and documents to her. I think she figured out who really killed Thomas Crane."
Cragen sighs. "Well that's just fucking dandy…"
"We gotta get a hold of IAB," O'Halloran says.
/\/\/\/\/\
Casey wakes up, and she blinks a few times and turns away from the bright light. She has a headache, and she is nauseous. She is lying on a small twin bed and she can smell the stale moldiness of it. She tries to get up but her wrists are restrained above her head and she whimpers as she tugs at the headboard. She finds that she is gagged too, and she looks around the room frantically. She's in an abandoned room somewhere, she can tell. Near the water because she can smell a combination of fish and saltwater. She can smell everything now, and it is driving her crazy.
It is cold, too.
She wonders if she's still in New York. She's got to be.
The walls are dingy and moldy, and there is trash littering the floor.
The door creaks open, and a man walks in.
"Hey there," he says, giving her a once over. "You put up quite a fight…you're even hotter than your picture."
She regards him suspiciously.
Dave Foster comes over to her and he caresses her cheek and she turns her face away. His hand slides down her neck and over her breasts, which are very sensitive and tender, and he cups one and squeezes it, causing her pain. In response, she kicks the side of Dave's head with her left foot and he grunts as he stumbles back a bit. She pulls against the headboard even more, trying to free herself.
"You little bitch!" He growls as he comes over and slaps her across her cheek before he gets on top of her. He pushes her legs open and settles between them and she struggles against him.
She wraps her legs around his trunk and she locks her ankles together and squeezes around his rib cage, making it difficult for him to breathe. He is becoming dizzy and trying to release himself from her grip, but she squeezes harder and his face turns red. She releases him then she kicks him in the stomach with both feet and he falls off the end of the bed and onto the floor. He is coughing and gasping pathetically on the floor.
He gets onto his knees, supporting himself on the bed as he holds his ribs.
After she'd been attacked in her office several years ago, once she got well enough, she immediately began taking self-defense classes and Krav Maga, which Olivia took with her. She never wanted to be in that situation again. She hadn't been armed with the knowledge of how to defend herself the first time, and she had decided then that it would be her last.
The door opens, and another man walks into the room and he sees Dave leaning up against the wall, trying to catch his breath.
"What the fuck, Dave?" Bill Janssen asks.
"She fucking tried to choke me," Dave says, still trying to catch his breath.
Bill frowns. "You're a pussy, Foster."
Bill comes over to her.
"You're feistier than I thought," he says, leaning over her. "No wonder Lake's fucking you…she looks like a real wildcat in bed, doesn't she Foster?"
"Yeah, she's a real goddamn sex kitten," Dave huffs, bitter at her for her choking him.
"I'll bet she is," Bill grins. "And I'll bet Lake is willing to do anything to save his whore."
Casey shakes her head.
Who are these men? She asks herself. What do they want with me? What do they want with Chester?
Bill leans over and un-cuffs one of her wrists and he pulls her up, cuffing her again and taking her arm in his. He opens the door and he takes her down the stairs, and she fights him all the way, growling her frustration.
He pulls her harshly to him and he puts a gun to her head.
"Stop fighting me or I'll kill you," he threatens then he takes her the rest of the way downstairs. "Let's get this show on the road."
/\/\/\/\/\
Chester is beyond worried about Casey now that Bill Janssen has gotten a hold of her. He prays to God that she is alright and that Bill hasn't hurt her. He knows that she's capable of defending herself, but still, she'd be no match if Bill Janssen is hell-bent on really hurting her.
He doesn't know what will happen at this point. He's got no backup, and he can't predict his actions, nor can he anticipate Bill Janssen's moves.
/\/\/\/\/\
Agent Tucker, Mila and Ham are all now in the SVU squad room at the 1-6.
Mike shakes his head. "Boy Don…you've managed to really fuck up this time. You've got a cop who obstructed justice, and now your own ADA is missing?"
"This isn't the time to get on my fucking nerves, Tucker," Don growls. "What I want to know from your agents is who the hell we might be dealing with."
Mila clears her throat.
"Well, first off, as it turns out, everything's been all wrong from day one," she begins, holding up the pictures of Thomas Crane and Bill Janssen. "When we talked to Lake, we figured out that Cecelia Cruz's ID was almost right. She was really identifying Bill Janssen but she thought it was Thomas Crane because of the resemblance. ME Warner told us that the DNA she tested again didn't match Thomas Crane's…we're looking for a close male relative. We believe Bill Janssen is that male relative."
"Okay," he says. "But where the hell does Thomas Crane fit in to all this?"
"We found a lab tech that botched the DNA evidence," Mila explains. "She switched the names for her friend, Brea McKenna, Bill Janssen's girlfriend at the time, who is now deceased. Someone paid up her bills for two years after she did it."
"So Lake's been on the wrong trail for ten years," Olivia says. "Bill Janssen and Thomas Crane were on the fugitive apprehension team…if Bill Janssen knew that Lake was investigating again, it stands to reason he'd want Lake dead."
"So the only connection we're missing is Casey," Cragen mentions. "O'Halloran said that Casey figured out who killed Crane…whoever it is might have taken her, and now Lake is out there with no backup…I've got every sector car and every department notified."
"Tucker, we need the Crane file," Olivia says. "Maybe if we look at the evidence and try to see what Casey saw, we can figure out who it is."
"I'll notify the captain of the fugitive apprehension team," Cragen says.
/\/\/\/\/\
Dave Foster shoves Casey into another dimly lit room.
"Get your hands off me!" She yells, punching him.
He grabs her and pushes her into the wall next to the old, rusted out furnace. She turns and she tries to hit him again, but he catches her arm and he cuffs her wrist, then he cuffs the other bracelet around the pipe on the furnace. He presses her up against the wall with his body and he licks her neck.
"You're a fiery little thing, aren't you?" He growls, smirking.
She twists his balls with her free hand and he yells out in pain and backs up.
He charges for her again but she jams her knee into his stomach. She will not let this bastard touch and violate her any further. He falls to the floor and she kicks him in the face, and he falls onto his back, his nose bloodied.
"Foster! What the fuck are you doing!" Bill shouts. "I said take her in here and cuff her, not cuff her and get your ass kicked again, Dave!"
Bill comes over and picks up Dave and pushes him toward the door, then he gets in Casey's face.
He gives her a once over.
"Hmm," he smirks, tracing a finger over her cheek. "I'd take some time to fuck you, but you're not my type, sweetheart."
She spits in his face and he slaps her and she stumbles to the floor.
"Sit tight, ADA Novak," he says before he walks out and closes the door.
When Bill and Dave are out of sight, Casey retrieves the cell phone she took from Dave and subsequently dropped and shoved under the furnace. She flips it open and turns it on. There's barely any reception on it.
"Dammit," she huffs.
She looks out the large windows and Bill and Dave are sitting at a table, discussing something. She looks at the screen again, and the phone is starting to pick up some reception. She looks again and the two men are now gone. Her heart is pounding within her chest as she looks at the screen again. It has full reception now.
She bites her bottom lip and she dials Cragen's cell number, because she knows that he will be able to handle this best.
"Donald Cragen," he answers.
She looks out the window again and she doesn't see the men. She sits down and she turns the volume on the phone up a little higher then puts the phone on the floor next to her and out of sight.
"D-Don," she begins quietly.
"Casey?"
"I've been abducted from my house," she says. "By two men…one's name is Dave Foster, I think, and the other one's name is Bill…"
"Casey, do you know your location?"
"No," she says. "But it's by the bay…I can smell saltwater and fish. I think I'm in an abandoned factory…can you trace my call?"
"We haven't gotten that far yet," he says. "Just hang on, okay? Where are the men now?"
"I-I don't know."
/\/\/\/\/\
Mike is on the phone with the FBI, and Olivia is listening in on Casey.
"Sweets, how are you feeling?" She asks. "Did they hurt you?"
"I'm a little bruised up," Casey says in a shaky voice. "But I'm otherwise fine…"
"We need a trace on this phone now," Tucker almost yells into the phone. "We've got an ADA out there, so drop whatever the fuck you're doing…"
"They're both fucking pervs," Casey mentions. "Shit, one of them is coming… it's Foster…"
"Casey-"
"Where the hell is my phone!?"
Cragen hears a slap and Casey yelps. "GET OFF ME!"
The detectives hear a struggle over the phone and another slap, then a growl from a male, then everything is quiet.
"Who the hell is this?"
"This is Captain Donald Cragen."
Before anything else can be said, the line goes dead.
Cragen looks at Tucker.
"Were they able to trace the call?"
"They only got within a ten mile radius," Mike says. "She wasn't on long enough."
"Shit," Olivia huffs. "Casey's pretty tough and she can hold her own for a bit, but if it's two against one, I don't like her odds."
"Well I'm running the names she gave us," Elliot says. "Dave Foster…fifteen years with NYPD…works at the 1-9 in the burglaries unit. And of course Bill Janssen."
"Chester won't answer his phone, Cap," Fin reports.
/\/\/\/\/\
Chester pulls up to the address Bill Janssen provided. He parks his truck then he gets out and he finds an open door and walks through it into the darkened building. He draws his gun and aims his flashlight. He walks carefully, cautiously down the hallway, until he sees dim lights. He turns off his flash light and he walks into the open area. There is an old, rickety table and a couple of equally rickety chairs.
Casey stands up, that after hearing nothing but silence for the last fifteen minutes. Foster had turned the light off in the office, so she has been sitting in the dark as well, save for the very dim lights from the open area outside the room she is in. She looks out the window and she sees Chester.
"Chester!" She yells. "Chester!"
He continues to look around.
Another problem has presented itself: he cannot hear her through the glass, apparently and her eyes begin to water with frustration.
She looks down at her cuffed wrist, and her eyes follow the pipeline. The ceilings are exposed, and she prays that the noise she makes will carry.
She begins to clank the handcuffs against the old, tired metal. She clanks quickly and as loudly as she can.
Chester hears the clanking, and he furrows his eyebrows.
Before he can begin to follow the clanking, there is gunfire.
Chester ducks and runs behind a piece of machinery.
"Lake!"
Chester peeks out from behind the old machinery. He doesn't see the shooters.
"Detective Lake, come out, come out wherever you are," Bill Janssen taunts.
Chester peeks again.
"First tell me where Casey is," Chester says into the expanse of the factory. "Let her go, Janssen. She doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Nah, I think I'll let her stick around to watch you fucking die, Lake," Bill chuckles.
Where the fuck are you? Chester thinks to himself as he slowly gets up, but still crouched low.
There is more gunfire, and Casey ducks as the windows in the room are shattered by the gunfire. Chester runs, but he's hit in the shoulder and he is hit in his right leg. He falls to the floor, growling in pain. Just as he is sitting up, a few moments later he feels something hard being bashed over his head and he back on the ground, dazed and now with a sharp, searing pain surging through the back of his head.
In the room, Casey is panicked as she watches Dave Foster push Chester over onto his back with his foot.
"Chester!" She yells.
"Shut up!" Janssen yells over to her.
Dave comes down the steps to the catwalk and he approaches Bill.
Bill takes out a cigarette and a lighter. He puts the stick between his lips and he lights it, taking a long drag then slowly releasing it.
"The time has come, the walrus said," Bill begins. "To talk of many things…many fucking things, Lake."
He turns an gestures to Casey. "And to you, Ms. Novak."
He takes another drag of his cigarette and lets out the smoke.
Chester looks up at Bill.
"You're one stupid bastard, you know that, Lake?" Bill chuckles maniacally. "You just couldn't leave well enough the fuck alone, could you? I mean…ten years, and you still have no clue what the hell's going on…"
He grabs Chester's collar and pulls him up and turns him to look at Casey.
"And your little ADA, who by the way, is one hot piece of ass, has no idea what she stepped in," Bill says.
"If you do anything to her…" Chester begins.
"What?" Bill says, letting go of Chester's collar before he brutally kicks Chester in his back. "What're you gonna do? You've got to realize that you've fucked up her life just as badly as you've fucked up yours and mine…"
Chester gets up. "And just how the hell did I do that?"
Bill comes over and he punches Chester in his stomach and Chester retaliates by jabbing his elbow into Bill's back. Dave jumps into the fight and he kicks Chester in his wounded leg and then punches his injured shoulder, causing him to shout in pain and he falls to his knees. Bill takes another drag of his cigarette before he punches Chester across his jaw.
Chester falls onto his side, and he spits blood from out of his mouth.
Dave kicks Chester in his stomach over and over, and stomps on his side. Chester rolls onto his back, coughing violently, trying to catch his breath.
"Get up," Bill commands.
Chester gets onto his side and he slowly pushes himself up.
"If you want me to I can solve your case while I kick your ass," Bill says, flicking his cigarette away.
Chester tackles Bill and begins to punch the man over and over again.
Dave comes and pulls Chester off of Bill and he punches Chester in his ribs and throws him onto the ground again.
The men are no longer in her view, but she can hear the brutal beating that Chester is receiving. She hears Chester grunting and shouting in pain, and she feels completely helpless at the moment. She hisses at the burning pain as she twists her wrist in the handcuff.
She jumps when she hears a gunshot and then the tears come when she hears Chester shout in pain again.
/\/\/\/\/\
"ARRGH!" Chester shouts as he holds his elbow.
Dave aims the gun at his head, but Bill emerges again, this time with a bat.
He swings the bat and it collides into Chester's side and he growls.
"What…do you…want from me?" Chester asks, his voice strained from the pain.
"I just want you to shut the fuck up and listen," Bill says. "I burned down your girlfriend's house to the ground…I wanted you to suffer for a bit…I wanted you to know what it's like to lose someone important to you."
Chester shakes his head. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Dave kicks Chester a few more times before punching him in his shoulder again.
"What am I talking about?" Bill chuckles. "You believe this fucker, Dave? Still doesn't have a goddamn clue. What kind of shithead detective are you? I'm talking about revenge, Lake. I'm talking about making you pay for killing Thomas Crane…you killed my little brother, you son of a bitch!"
Both Dave and Bill beat Chester mercilessly for a few more minutes before they weaken him to the point where he can barely walk.
Bill drags Chester back into Casey's view, then he grabs Chester by the hair and pulls him up, forcing him to look at Casey. Chester looks into her eyes, and he sees her, he sees her face, he sees her crying. He hates himself in this moment, for putting her through all of this, and for putting himself in a situation where he might never see her again, or his child. He's determined not to lose her because she's carrying his baby inside her. He knows that she's smart, and that she's a survivor…if he dies as she escapes, he'll be grateful because she will have a life, and have his child.
"Would you look at that," Bill says. "We got a couple of love birds…"
Dave chuckles. "I gotta go take a piss."
With that, Dave walks out of the area.
"Well, I guess this is mono-a-mono," Bill jests. "Now it's a little more fair."
Bill kicks Chester once again in the stomach, and he coughs, trying to get up, but there is pain in his side and his head is throbbing.
"What's the matter Lake?" Bill taunts. "Can't take a hit!"
He kicks Chester again and he is flatted on his back.
Bill steps on Chester's wound on his leg.
Chester growls in pain.
"You can't take a little pain," Bill says angrily. "After you had the balls to kill my little brother in cold blood, you're going to cower like a little bitch in pain?!"
He hits Chester across the face with the butt of his gun.
"STOP!" Casey yells furiously. "STOP IT YOU BASTARD!"
"SHUT UP, BITCH!" Bill yells.
"You're a fucking dumb ass, Janssen!" Casey yells. "Chester didn't kill Crane! Listen to me!"
Bill kicks Chester again. "Now you've got your slut trying to save you…piece of shit!"
Bill stomps on Chester again.
"No matter what I've done, or what you're going to do to me," Chester grunts through his pain. "You're the piece of shit, Janssen. You'll always be a piece of shit. All four of you…Kralik, Crane, Foster and you."
"Shut the fuck up!" Bill says, drawing his gun and aiming it at Chester's head. "Your girlfriend's hot…she's got a great ass. You're a lucky man, Lake. First, I'm gonna splatter your brains all over the floor, then I'm gonna drag your girl down here to see you. I want her screaming while I rip off her clothes and do her like the slut she is."
"You're one sick fucker," Chester grunts. "You know…what you're biggest problem is?"
"What?" Bill asks, humoring Chester.
"You talk too damn much," Chester says then he somehow finds the strength to use his uninjured leg to swiftly knock Bill off of his feet and onto the floor with a grunt. Chester then gets himself up and he stumbles off to a darkened hallway. Bill gets a few shots off, and Dave rushes back in.
"Bill, what the fuck!"
Bill gets up and he rushes over to Dave. "Go take care of that little bitch."
"With pleasure," Dave grins.
Bill heads off into the hallway.
Casey sees Dave approaching, and she stands still. He smiles at her when he makes it to the room, through the frames of where the windows used to be, and then he opens the door. He saunters to her slowly, and she follows his every move with her eyes.
/\/\/\/\/\
"I've narrowed down the location," Morales says.
"What have you got?" Cragen asks.
"I isolated the radius Tucker's people gave me," Morales explains. "Now, within the radius of the bay, I've found five abandoned factories in the area."
"Morales, we don't have time to storm all of them," Cragen says, now frustrated. "Give me something I can use."
"Two of the factories are being remodeled and have night watchmen," Morales says. "One was gutted out by fire, and the fourth is where homeless people hang out. That leaves this one. Moorehouse Steel Factory. It's our best bet, Captain."
"Thank you," Cragen says.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Lake! You can't run from me!" Bill yells as he slowly follows Chester. "There's no where else to run, Lake."
Chester can't orient himself in the darkness that shrouds him and he makes a left turn, leaning against the wall when the pain in his leg becomes too great. For a moment, he stops, lamenting that just weeks ago he'd been injured in the opposite leg, only to get injured in his other leg. Breathing is difficult and he knows that he's got some fractured ribs.
He continues to hobble down the darkened hallway for what seems like hours, but was really only minutes. He feels like he is in a maze, and he is trying to find his way back so that he can get to Casey. The lights above are flickering on and off, providing very little light, and he can barely see what is in front of him. He stops and leans up against a wall to rest his leg a bit. He hears footsteps and he pushes himself up and continues to make his way down the hall. He walks for a bit before he sees the closed off wall in front of him. He turns around, and he sees Bill Janssen down at the juncture of the two hallways.
Bill turns and he sees Chester in the dim light.
"There's no way out, Lake," Bill says, his voice echoing a bit as he slowly walks down the hallway. "You better start saying your prayers, Lake. You're trapped. Look at you, you're a disgrace. I'm doing you a favor, killing you 'cause you're never going to get your badge back. If you're not a cop, you think your little girlfriend will stick around?"
Bill walks toward Chester, aiming his gun at his head once again.
Chester wills himself to stand up straight, ignoring the pain and he looks Bill in the eye.
"Ah, so you're going to take it like a man," Bill says. "Die with a little dignity."
"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of anything less," Chester says, his voice a bit strangled from the pain in his ribs.
A diabolical smile crosses Bill's face before he speaks.
"Any last words?"
Chester nods. "Yeah. Look behind you, asshole."
Bill turns round and before he knows it, a bullet collides with his skull right between his eyes.