AN: Thank you to all of you who have read and especially to those who have reviewed, thank you also for your continued patience with waiting for me to write/upload chapters. Special thanks once again to Mashnut who beta'd this chapter for me - this one was a tough call for me.

Once again any reviews, comments or constructive criticism is appreciated.

Jaxx

Aim Higher – Chapter 3

By the time Eliot re-joined them that afternoon both women were ready for killing someone, their frustration at not having found a solid lead was palpable as he sat down at his desk. Words were unnecessary, their matching expressions spoke volumes.

'No luck then?'

'None whatsoever El, reckon Cassidy's safe as houses with these guys.'

'Yea, he's in with the boss over there.'

'What's the guy's name?'

'Brennan Foley, he married Brando Russo's sister and next thing you know we gotta cartel that could destroy half of New York with a single phone call.'

'Foley… I recognise that name from somewhere…'

Eliot began raking furiously through the not so neat files on his desk. He was sure that name had come up somewhere before… Sure there were probably a tonne of Foley's in New York, Irish names were fairly common but somehow it just clicked. Liv and Jo could only watch in fascination as he searched through his very unique filing system which seemed to be the good old 'stick it on the desk and I'll find it eventually' system. Apparently it worked for him though because after several minutes of rummaging Eliot had found what he was looking for. He held the file aloft triumphantly before flicking it open with a flourish and beginning to read aloud.

'Evelyn Foley, aged 32…'

Jo leapt out of her chair causing the others to jump in surprise at her sudden and rash movement.

'Evelyn Foley…you got her picture?'

Eliot handed her a small passport sized photograph, which had been kept in the file. Even with the size of the photograph it was easy to tell that the woman was simply stunning. Her free flowing dark hair framed a perfect face and green eyes that seemed alert and intoxicating. Jo took one look at the picture and threw herself heavily on the chair once more before giving it back to Eliot who passed it to Olivia.

'Jeez…how'd you get her picture? She ain't usually so careless…'

'She had to come in and help with our inquiries a couple of months back. We had someone here she needed to see.'

'Yea her brother's some piece of work…'

'Not her brother Jo, her baby…'

With that sentence you could have knocked both Olivia and Jo over with the proverbial feather. Jo because she hadn't even known that the woman had had a child and Olivia because she knew without asking whose child it was. During the hell that had been the White and Cassidy fiasco Alex had rescued baby Sophie under strict instructions to make sure she got to her mother again. Had any of the key players of that night known what that would mean in real terms she was certain that her partner would not have given the baby over to her mother. Jo on the other hand looked like she was about to pass out. How could she possibly have missed this? She had lived and worked with that crew for a year, and she hadn't known that Evie had a baby. If she had known that she never would have…

'Jo? Talk to me what's goin on?'

'Whose baby is it?'

'What?'

'Who's the father?'

'Cassidy.'

'I gotta get outta here… just gimme a minute…'

Without another word Jo was out the door and up onto the roof again leaving the two SVU detectives in a confused state. Both of them had known Jo Polniaczek for a number of years, Olivia had been her partner for five years before joining SVU and had roomed with her throughout their time at the academy. In all of that time she had never seen her friend react quite like this. She was torn between going after the Bronx native and letting her be. She knew that whatever was going through her former partner's head was something she needed to work through, but she was still her friend and it didn't sit well with her to just leave her to stew, no matter what Jo wanted. Taking the only decision she could she stood and glancing briefly at Eliot for confirmation that her decision was the right one she followed in Jo's footsteps, uncertain what she would find when she got there.

'Talk to me Jo. What's going on?'

Olivia repeated her earlier question softly, trying not to startle her friend. Jo for her part looked lost; Olivia could see in her face an emotion she hadn't seen there since they had been in the academy together – Jo was feeling guilty. Not your 'I've been caught sneaking out after curfew guilt' but real, terror striking guilt.

'I almost got her killed Liv…'

'What?'

'I had no choice, they were gonna kill me. I didn't tell you the whole story before.'

'Tell me now Polniaczek and this time don't leave anything out ok?'

'I was there when he told Foley about me. He just showed up one night, looked in a real bad way. I was standin next to Evie, she and I got close while I was under…'

At the look that Olivia gave her Jo shook her head firmly. It hadn't been like that, she wasn't stupid and getting involved with the younger sister of a wanted criminal would have been stupid. Apart from that Evie had been pining after Cassidy the whole time. He had been there before she was, had disappeared about a month after she had infiltrated the cartel. Their handler had serious concerns that Cassidy had compromised his mission by getting too close to Evelyn Foley. He had crossed the line that undercover cops knew to tread with caution – he had fallen in love with her. What was worse she seemed to have fallen for him too. Jo had been sent in as his replacement, ensuring that the nine months he had spent under wasn't going to waste. It had meant more or less starting from scratch, but with Cassidy being so accepted by Foley and his wife Abrienne, the sister of Brando Russo one of the biggest fish on the special narcotics hit list and Brennan Foley's partner in crime it hadn't been as hard as it might have been. Of course Cassidy had had to stick around to ensure that they trusted Jo before leaving her alone to finish the job.

'She missed Cassidy somethin awful, I was meant to be his 'friend' and so she and I spent a lot of time just talkin about him whenever she felt down. I talked to her too, it's tough bein in for so long, sometimes the lines between the game and reality blur totally…'

'You didn't tell her anything she could use did you Jo?'

Again Jo looked away, she didn't want to see the disappointment in Olivia's face when she told her.

'I broke the cardinal rule partner. I told her about some things I shoulda kept to myself.'

Jo was being deliberately evasive. Olivia knew that but she let her play things out, seemed she was beating herself up pretty well without getting help from anyone else. Olivia could understand that, she was still beating herself up over what had happened with White and Cassidy.

'How'd you nearly get her killed? You didn't shoot her did you?'

'No, nothin like that. When Cassidy told 'em who I was we were in this warehouse. He whispered in Foley's ear and I knew I was dead. I had a split second to make up my mind and I was runnin outta options, I grabbed her and dragged her with me. I didn't use a gun, just held her arm tight behind her. Foley and Russo were so pissed they came after me themselves… I just made sure she was between them and me…'

Jo was pacing now, running her hands through her hair and trying to keep herself calm but Olivia could see just how much of a toll her experiences had taken on her. It had grown colder since they had last been outside and Jo shivered as she dropped to her knees.

'I'm just like 'em – Russo and Foley. I took a hostage to save my own skin.' Jo was shouting now 'I pretended to be her friend and when it came to it I put her between me and a bullet. What the hell does that make me?!'

Olivia knelt beside her friend, pulling her into a tight hug. She didn't know how to answer Jo's question. Being in a situation like that changed things, nobility didn't always feature in a person's actions. Now in the cold light of day Jo had time to reflect on her actions. Jo had always been deep, just like Olivia she was hard on herself. She needed to be better, faster, more honourable and smarter than anyone. Olivia wasn't sure how she would have reacted in Jo's shoes but she was glad that her friend had gotten out of there alive.

'You were scared Jo…' it sounded lame but it was the best they had.

'It bought me time but Liv… What am I gonna do?'

'You need to talk to Huang.'

'Even if he could help with this, I screwed up big time…'

Olivia pulled out of their hug to look at her friend closely, knowing that this next revelation was going to be major league.

'I told her about Blair…'