Chapter Twelve- Technical Problems

Thanks to Lily-Starbuck, fallinidentity, tylerhiltongrupie53, obsessedwithstabler, cgfan, Isabel Juno, KWillows, DrusillaBraun, Maggie Doyle, ACertainJustice, myfairlady, csiwillows, and soliz for their reviews.

Sergeant…seriously man…what is it with you and mental break downs?

Disclaimer: I love both these shows, but why can't I own them too?

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"You ready?" Elliot asked softly in the squad car as the two of them drove toward the site where Catherine had been kidnapped.

Olivia drew a sharp intake of breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." She said only slightly nervous.

Olivia Benson wasn't worried about her own safety, but she knew in a case like this, if she screwed up or made even the slightest error, lives could be lost. She fingered a small string bracelet on her wrist.

Flashback

Olivia had been in the squad room, getting ready for this undercover job.

"Here. We can trace your location through satellite at all times if you keep this on." Warrick said, handing her a microscopic chip.

Olivia clipped it to the back of her ear. "Earpiece?" she asked, looking up.

Warrick shook his head. "Too risky. If he hears any of that static…case over before it even begins."

Olivia nodded. "Right."

She was suddenly hit from behind. She bent forward to accept the weight. A little blonde head came into Warrick's view.

"Are you gonna find Mommy?" Lindsay Willows asked looking at Olivia with blue eyes much like her mother's.

"I'm gonna try sweetie." Olivia said gently.

Lindsay looked up at Olivia with pleading eyes. She slipped something off her wrist. It was a thin sliver bracelet with the initials LW two small icons on the chain. She handed it to Olivia.

"Mommy gave me that lucky bracelet. She said no matter where I was she would be able to find me." Lindsay said with a small smile. Her mother always worried about her.

Olivia ruffled Lindsay's hair. "Thank you honey. I'll find your mother. You have my word."

Lindsay seemed satisfied. She ran out of the room, her blonde hair bouncing behind her.

"Cute isn't she?" Warrick asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Very." Olivia replied, turning back to the case before them.

Warrick glanced at the detective, wondering if this woman really had the guts to do this.

"Liv?" Came Elliot's voice at the door. "You're on."

Olivia smirked slightly. "Let's party." She said with more confidence than she was feeling.

End Flashback

Elliot gave her hand a squeeze and then a kiss on the cheek, trying to keep their relationship under the wraps in front of Cragen. "Be careful." He whispered in her ear.

"Always." She replied softly. Then she was gone, walking along campus like any other college student.

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The SVU unit and the CSI team were all in a huge van, parked not far from where they had dropped off Olivia. Even the DA's were present, there for moral support. Elliot was counting down the time frame and the possibilities of something going wrong over and over again in his head, trying to ease his fear, but only managing to worry himself even more. Warrick and Nick were working as fast as they could, checking the tracking system making sure, nothing electronic was going to give them problems. They didn't like the odds as it was. Casey and Alex were talking quietly in the corner, working on their opening argument with the evidence they had already obtained.

"We're all set." Nick announced a moment later, with a slightly stronger southern twang in his voice than usual. It seemed to get stronger as he got more nervous.

Alex gave him a slight smile, before turning back to Casey.

Elliot wringed his hands. "Let's hope nothing goes wrong."

Grissom sat in the front seat, not saying anything. He knew his team was perfectly capable in eliminating as many unstable factors as they humanly could. His own mind was a mess of worry, fear, and nerves. Within that combination there ws a trace of excitement. He had couldn't wait to get Catherine back, if everything went right. He knew what he had to do. He couldn't lock away his feelings forever. He could barely lock away his feelings for the time being.

"Catherine, come back to me." He whispered softly under his breath.

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Catherine whimpered in pain softly. She hated being broken in the few times that she had been in her life. The man she had come to hate with a passion kissed her on the lips as she prayed for an end or death, whichever. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted it to be over. Smith kissed her again and walked out of the room, leaving her lying on the floor, torn and broken. Tears filled her eyes, but didn't leave them. She felt weak and found it impossible to stand. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep the small hope in her heart that Grissom would find her.

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Olivia walked back toward the former crime scene where Catherine had been taken. This man no doubt liked to hunt in the same place. She would find out why later. Her sharp heard a soft rustle of leaves behind her and willed herself not to turn around. The perp was expecting an unwary college student, not a trained cop, who noticed things that most people wouldn't. She felt a hand clamp over her mouth.

Here we go. She thought before she felt the hit on the back of her head and she slumped to the ground.

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Back in the van, Olivia's movements suddenly became faster. Clear sign she wasn't walking anymore.

"We've made contact." Nick announced, sitting down at a computer screen and staring at the beeping signals.

Grissom moved to the back of the van and stood beside him. Elliot eased the car into motion and they slowly began to trail the dot on a map of Manhattan.

"Don't you dare lose them, Nick." Grissom said softly to his CSI. "This is the only way to find Catherine."

Nick nodded solemnly. "I won't." he said with determination.

"I know." Grissom replied.

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Smith drove an hour, taking various turns in random directions, making sure no one was following them. He had thrown Olivia's cell phone out the window already. He finally headed back toward his hideout and dragged Olivia's limp body in, tossing her into the same room as Catherine.

Catherine looked up as the door opened, but jumped back as something as tossed carelessly into the room. It took her a moment in the dark, but she realized it was a human. She moved toward the still form, her law enforcement protective instinct kicking in, despite her weakened state.

"Hey." She said softly, moving to support the woman's head. "Wake up."

Olivia groaned but opened her eyes. "Catherine?" she asked.

Catherine's eyes grew wide. "Olivia?" she stammered.

Olivia forced herself up to a sitting position and rubbed her head. "Ouch." She muttered. Then it clicked. "Holy crap you're alive."

Catherine nodded, "In the bruised and aching flesh." She muttered softly.

Olivia could barely make out the outline Catherine the dark, but it seemed to Olivia that she was okay. That is physically for the most part. She moved her hand to support her weight better. Her hand touched something wet. Instinctively she moved her other hand to the back of her skull. No blood. She turned to face Catherine in the darkness.

"What did he do to you?" she asked gently.

Catherine turned away. "Nothing." She muttered, not really wanting anyone to know about what had happened.

Olivia moved closer. "Catherine, we have to know. This is the only way we can get this guy in court."

Catherine felt tears fill her eyes once again and for once was grateful for the darkness. "He just did what he did to the other girls." She said softly, not wanting to reveal detail to the torture she had been subject to.

Luckily, Olivia had been a detective long enough to know not to push it at the moment. She dropped it.

Olivia wrapped her arm around Catherine's shoulders. "We're gonna get you outta here. That I can promise. You're daughter wants to see you." She comforted.

"Yeah, Lindsay." Catherine said softly as a sad smile crossed her face. "Lindsay." Her mind also drifted to another person. Someone she wanted desperately to see one last time before she could ever even think about giving up.

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The van had trailed the perp's car for about forty five minutes before losing them.

"Uh we have a technical malfunction." Greg pointed out.

"Where is the damn signal?" Elliot demanded, slamming a fist against the side of the car, making everyone jump.

Grissom wasn't fairing much better in controlling his temper. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" he yelled at Nick and Warrick.

Nick and Warrick were rapidly typing on keys while Greg was yelling into the phone to one of the techs back at the police station.

"I don't know!" Warrick yelled. "It was standard police equipment. Always worked before."

"WELL IT'S NOT WORKING NOW!" Elliot roared.

Alex flinched. His tone was not making anything better. She moved out of her corner and placed a gentle hand on this shoulder.

"Elliot calm down. You hollering is not gonna make anything better." She reasoned.

Elliot was breathing hard, but he calmed down at his 'sister's' words.

Greg clicked off the phone. "Looks like they entered a government flight testing zone. The signals from all over the place clash here, making it impossible for our little trackers to obtain signal."

Grissom felt like the wind was just knocked out of him. His only hope had been in his grasp and just like that, it had slipped away. Gil Grissom had always been a pessimistic man, but this time he wondered if he could even survive without Catherine by his side. Deep down he knew the answer was no. Not a chance.

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Warrick felt like it was his turn to step up to the plate. "Get in there. Head to the last known location they were, and we can go from there. I'm gonna call Archie and see what he and I can work out from here."

The team did not feel an ease from these words, but his plan was the best they had so far. None of them voiced it outloud, but all were wondering if they would ever see the two women that were the heart of their teams ever again.

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Sorry this update took so long. I've been in a bit of a pickle.