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Out of New York

Chapter 11: That's gonna hurt.

The door was open just enough for Olivia to see it from the middle of the hall. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Instinctively she reached for her gun, but it was not there. She had checked it in her gear bag. Her pulse quickened. She knew she had a slight advantage, the element of surprise. She walked back towards the beginning of the hallway. Yanking open the extinguisher box, she pulled the red cylinder from its protective cage. She pulled the pin on the handle as when walked back towards her apartment. Holding the hose at the ready, she kick the front door open. Alex raised her head from the window. As she turned towards the loud crashing noise, Olivia squeezed the trigger. Alex moved, was sprayed by the white foam, tripped over a lamp cord and fell to the ground.

"What the hell?" Olivia flipped on the light switch by the door. She saw the pair of Jimmy Choo's sticking out from the behind the couch.

"Don't shoot. I 'm coming out." Alex said with a hint of laughter. She pushed herself up from the floor. She stood, straightened her shirt and tucked the stray blonde hairs behind her ear. "Well that was not what I was expecting."

"Me either. What are you doing here?" Olivia set the extinguisher on the coffee table and shut the door.

"Looking for you." Alex steadied herself. She lifted her left foot and reach down to touch the heel. "Shit. These cost 500 dollars." She pulled both shoes off and tossed them on the couch.

"You are crazy." Olivia said. The pair looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Well it was either those or a pair of canary diamond earrings."

"Well you do make the big bucks why not get both.?"

"I was not going to spend all of my depression shopping at once!"

"What do you have to be depressed about?' Olivia no longer had laughter in her voice.

"Lots that I care not to discuss with you right now." Biting her lip, Alex asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you shipped out, went on assignment or what ever you call it."

"Its called on assignment and I was on the way out of the country.."

"I thought you weren't leaving for awhile?"

"Change of plans." Olivia began looking for her passport and other misplaced paperwork. Walking behind the couch, she stopped just behind Alex. She could smell the honey shampoo and the hint of lavender. She took a deep breath allowing the smell to engulf her senses.

'Find the passport, Benson.' She told herself. As she reached down to look in the first box she was knocked slightly off balance. The room shook slightly. She reached for the couch to balance herself. Alex quickly turned around and looked at Olivia in fear.

"What is happening?" Alex shouted in a panic. The room shock once more. The molding from the ceiling began to crack and crumble to the floor.

"I…I" Olivia began looking around the room. Her brain going a hundred miles an hour. She searched for a safe place. "Alex quick to the bedroom.

"Seriously!" Alex did not budge.

"For heaven sakes come on get under the mattress not on top!" She grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her over the couch. They sprinted the seven steps it took to get into the bedroom. Not caring about the sheets, Olivia lifted the mattress from the frame and motioned for Alex to help her get under it. The room shook fiercely and the floor began to buckle. The smell of gas began to fill the air.

"Son of a bitch!" Olivia shouted.

"I don't like this Olivia." Alex grabbed her by the arm. The floor cracked just beneath them.

"Get on top of it." Olivia ordered. She grabbed the discarded sheets and blankets and placed them over their heads. They had just secured their position on the mattress when the floor gave.

"Hold on!" Olivia shouted. A ghostly white Alex gripped the sides of the mattress and a balled up section of sheet.

The pair plummeted 5 stories down. They hit bottom, before they could run too far, the floor above them came down on top of them. Alex was trapped under various particles of debris. She was still on the mattress. She tasted the blood has it slowly ran from her forehead to her mouth. She tried to turn her head to the left, but she had difficultly. A large wooden support beam lay near her head. It had her left side well pinned. She tried to move her fingers, but only felt pressure.

"Liv!." She cried out trying to puller arm free. "Liv, I'm stuck." There was no answer. Alex began to panic. "Olivia, I'm stuck, please say you'll help me." Still nothing. Another section of the floor above gave way and came crashing down on them. Alex tried again to free herself. She did a quick assessment of her body. Her Right arm was free,but painful to move. Her legs both had room to move. She was in some kind of void in the mess. The only thing not free was her left arm and shoulder. Her legs seemed to be hanging in mid air. She could feel the mattress still under her head. She had a slight pain from the cut on her forehead and a sharp pain in her left side. But that only hurt if she took a deep breath.

"Olivia Benson answer me." She scanned the area the best she could from her position. He view was blocked by large pieces of concrete and cables. She reached out with her right hand and tried moving some of the small bits of concrete from her view. She was able to reach a rather big chuck if concrete and cable. She pushed it as hard as she could. It only moved a little. She grabbed the protruding piece of rebar and pulled down on it. The chunk of concrete followed. She watched it as it tumble past her legs and feet until she heard it crash to the void below. Alex looked back to where the large obstacle had been.

"NO!" Rang through the now destroyed building.