Content

by MorbidPet17

A Finanda love story. It follows our favorite detective team Rollins and Tutuola as they go through the ups and downs of being partners with benefits so to speak. Trying to keep their relationship a secret is straining. They will encounter two major life crisis and a few hiccups along their way can they make it work?

28. Risky Operation part 2

It wasn't the best way to start the night but she managed to shake it off quickly. Liv gave her yet another compliment about her dress and Nick's entrance made her feel even better. He stepped in a little later with a light green shirt underneath his jacket and tucked into his sharp black slacks. He'd chosen the shirt with yesterday's dress in mind which made him feel stupid now but it did go well with her deep purple dress as well. He wasn't sure what he felt about her bare shoulder though, he feared it would draw his attention the entire night as he had a hard time looking anywhere else right now. Her hair was if possible even prettier tonight and her make-up was beautifully done just as yesterday. Tonight no dress color or make-up was playing tricks on her eyes though and those blue eyes of hers were magnificent. He couldn't wait to get going.

They'd made reservations for another restaurant tonight but started with circling the block by foot first. He held her hand the entire time and at times they stopped to look inside a store window or something else on the street and he took the opportunity to touch her bare shoulder, swipe her hair behind her ear or something else that let him touch her. It all felt very familiar even if they'd only done this the previous night and Amanda seemed more relaxed tonight for some reason. The detectives following them spotted two suspicious males though that seemed to be following them, taking turns. They were white Caucasian, in their thirties, with the average body size just as the witness had stated. No hoodies turned up though and no bandanas anywhere to be found. They did however seem to be watching Nick and Amanda from a far which made the detectives having to fall even further back. They made no attempts though and Liv told them to head towards the restaurant.

They got a table by the window tonight as well. Both suspicious characters walked on though, Liv had the detectives follow them but it turned out to be futile and she called them back. Meanwhile Nick and Amanda had ordered. This was yet another restaurant with a Spanish menu but Nick was happy to help out. They both got different types of pasta dishes and they settled on a red wine for the night. Once the threat outside had been cleared they could relax a bit and the conversation started to run as smoothly as yesterday. Tonight though he got her to talk at least a little about her college years and her softball career. It seemed she'd been on the Georgia state team and everything so he knew she had to have been good.

Nick had played a variation of sports and Amanda was interested in hearing about it. He thought it was a little to get off the topic of herself though, she'd always seemed a little reserved to him. A bit secretive which made her, at least in his eyes, even more attractive. All through dinner they touched each other's hands or arm, entwined their fingers and when he visited the bathroom he planted a slight kiss on top of her hair. It just felt like something he would do if he really was in love with her.

Again Nick used the same excuse as yesterday when the waiter asked if they wanted dessert and they got back out onto the streets. No one seemed to have been watching them through the dinner but Liv made sure everyone stayed alert. She told them to walk towards the park and Nick steered them that way. A car with happy young folks heading out for a night at the town drove by and made sounds at them, probably more directed at Amanda and when she gave them a wave she earned some extra shout-outs. Nick laughed and brought her down onto the street so they could cross it by snaking his arms around her waist. They hustled across since another car came rolling towards them and they ended up all giggly on the opposite curb. Neither really knew why they felt so liberated all of a sudden.

Fin didn't get it either. He was watching them from a far. Had it been yesterday he would probably have sighed but today he felt bad. He'd heard Amanda, really heard her and even though he didn't want to he thought she had a valid point. He was acting like a big baby and he didn't like it but wasn't able to shake it. Why did he have such a problem with this operation? She'd been undercover before. He'd seen her flirt to get information, sweet-talk the most obnoxious people and get slapped in the ass by no other than Cassidy. Nothing had ever made him feel like he did right now. He felt like a bum.

Nick had grabbed Amanda's hand meanwhile and they were further down the street, coming close to the park that drew many romantic couples during a hot summer's day. It was still too early in the season to draw a large crowd but they were far from alone out on the streets. Nick usually didn't pay much attention to couples, it mostly just reminded him of what he had and lost, but tonight he was very aware of everyone around him. Not just had his eyes on possible suspects and alleys but also couples they met and it didn't go unnoticed to him that they checked him and Amanda out too. They made a lovely couple for sure.

Suddenly a scream was heard and it caught everyone's attention. It sounded like a woman in despair. Liv told someone to check it up but not lose track of Nick and Amanda. Fin was on the street with Dan, another detective. Fin let Dan know the sound came from somewhere behind them and that he would stay with Nick and Amanda so he could check it out. Liv told Nick and Amanda to stay on the outskirt of the park and not enter until Dan was back. Dan reported back he'd found a woman knocked down saying someone stole her purse. This was a hard call for Liv to make, getting a patrol car might scare away the perps if they were in the area but it didn't feel right leaving the distressed woman on her own.

Liv didn't have to make a call though when the situation went from bad to worse. Fin had been concentrating on what was being said between Dan and Liv when he turned his head as a car skidded passed the intersection further down. He realized he didn't have Nick and Amanda in his line of sight and he felt a chill go through his body. And then came that sound over the air as Nick and Amanda got jumped and forced into an alley.

The car had made them turn their heads, and as it drove up onto the curb Nick pushed Amanda forward to get her out of the way. They ran but with their heads turned they missed the men that emerged from an alley in front of them. The car stopped and two men jumped out of the car and quickly approached them. Hoodies pulled over their heads and red bandanas covering their nose and mouth. Nick and Amanda both backed up only to get grabbed by three men from behind, they wore the same outfits as the two in the car. Nick got a blow to his head of a brass knuckle right before two men grabbed him. One man grabbed Amanda underestimating her ability to defend herself and she got an elbow to his nose and then a fist to his stomach before the two men from the car came to their friend's aid and the two pulled her further into the alley.

Nick had slumped down by the hard blow to the head that left a gash in his skull that started bleeding. The two men pulled him by his arms in after the others. The man Amanda managed to get a few punches to, came after complaining his nose hurt. Blood came pouring out of it.

Nick received two hard kicks to his gut as the men let him go, he tried to cover his head as one of the men started aiming blows with his fists that way. Meanwhile the other two men struggled to get Amanda down to the ground. She'd already lost both shoes fighting them. The bleeding man stepped in, looking like he wanted revenge. Nick peeked through his own arms and saw the man step in and put his foot right onto Amanda's chest knocking her head to the ground at the same time. Her face crumbled briefly with pain.

"Where's the back-up?" Nick managed to grunt wondering why this hadn't stopped yet. The men heard him say something but not what.
"What the fuck are you saying man?" one of the guys said and got down on his knee right next to Nick's head.
"You pleading for mercy mojado"? There's no mercy for wetback fucks that dip their cocks where they don't belong." He had the brass knuckle on and it landed on Nick's arm making him scream out in pain as the bone took the blow and the pain radiated throughout his entire arm.

Nick heard Amanda cry out and when he was able to throw a look past the man with the brass knuckle he saw the bleeding man show his hand up her dress while the other two still struggled to hold her down.
"We're cops," Nick screamed out hoping it would make them stop. The men closest to him looked at each other with a worried look.
"We're cops, back-up is on its way, you better run," Nick shouted.

And it was coming. Fin was right behind the corner, gun raised. He was grateful the men had their car otherwise he hadn't known which alley to head towards. Dan wasn't far behind him, he had visual on Fin's back. Liv had jumped into one of the blank cars and they were on their way too but still blocks away. What they didn't know though was that the perpetrators wasn't only equipped with brass knuckles and bats, these days they were packing too. They would learn this as Fin came around the corner with his gun raised, yelling 'police' at the top of his lungs. He'd heard Nick's grunts but foremost Amanda's cries and felt the panic in his chest.

One of the perpetrators that were packing had gotten his gun up and he fired once Fin's way. Thankfully his aim was off but Fin's instinct still made him duck out of the alley again.
"Grab her," the leader of the pack yelled out making the two trying to hold Amanda down instead lifting her up.
"Try the door," someone yelled frantic. Nick tried to grab for a leg that passed him and managed to trip him. When he landed though he managed to give Nick a hard kick to his head and for a few seconds he saw bright lights flickering before his eyes.

Unfortunately the alley door was open and one of the guys held it open so the other two could hoist Amanda inside. The man with the gun shot a second bullet out the alley as Dan showed up and tried to make his way inside the alley with Fin by his side. They both ducked but jumped right back as they heard the alley door close shut, the empty brick walls making that sound even louder. Dan reached Nick first and checked on him. Nick was unable to talk but pointed obviously agitated towards the door wanting him to go after Amanda first and foremost. Fin ran past Nick trusting Dan to have Nick as he wanted to go after Amanda.

Dan jumped up after Fin though and they made eye-contact before Fin got the door open only to be presented with an empty staircase.
"Move," Fin urged as Dan hesitated and Dan got going down the stairs. Nick had trouble focusing his eyes but saw the door close shut behind them. He tried to get up off the ground but fell back down with every new attempt. Finally he just stayed down and he might have passed out for a few seconds.

He jolted back to consciousness as he heard Liv calling his name at the same time as she was shaking his shoulder.
"Amanda," he mumbled as he managed to get his head up.
"Where is she?" Liv asked. Once their car reached the alley all they'd seen was Nick's still body further in. Liv had noticed one of Amanda's shoes as she sprinted inside and then the other one. Not far from Nick she spotted her purse. But no Amanda, and Fin and Dan was gone too as were the perpetrators.

"Nick where are they?" Liv asked but as she saw him struggle to sit up she saw the gash in his head and her concern grew he was worse than she initially thought.
"Maybe you should stay down Nick," she said but at the same time she was missing half her detective team. She heard nothing over the intercom. Neither Dan nor Fin had checked back since the assault started and Amanda's strained breath as she struggled against the perpetrators had been gone for at least a minute.

"Get a bus," Liv turned to one of the detectives behind her, "and back-up." Nick reached out and got a hold of Liv's arm, getting her to turn back to him.
"Down… there…" he managed to say and pointed towards the door. Liv was about to stand up when he grabbed a good hold on her arm. She got back down.
"One has a gun, two shots fired," Nick managed to say and Liv nodded.
"One with me and the other one stays with him," Liv said to the two detectives and headed towards the door Nick had pointed too. The other detective got the door open and they stared down the same staircase that Dan and Fin just a few minutes ago had gone down. And before them five perpetrators, two of them carrying a struggling Amanda.

Fin and Dan hadn't called in because the building cut their connection. Once down the stairs they'd stared down a long, straight underground. It was empty though and they heard or saw no signs of the perpetrators. Not knowing what was waiting for them further down they had to move slowly with their guns raised. Slowly right now didn't work well for Fin. As they reached the very end the realized they'd come to a t-cross. They had two ways to go. Fin was about to suggest they'd go one way each when they heard sounds from the left side. Dan nodded and they started moving down towards a heavy looking door. Dan made sure he had Fin behind him before he slowly got the door open. They could still hear a sound but Fin wasn't sure what type of sound it was. They moved passed the door only to be presented with three ways to choose from. Fin swore.

"I think the noise coming from there," Dan whispered and pointed one way. Fin nodded and took the lead. As they got closer they slowed down. The noise was just around the corner. Fin looked back to make sure Dan was right behind and then carefully looked around the corner.
"Fuck," Fin said as he saw what was making the sound. He stepped into the middle of the hallway and defeated lowered his gun. Some piece of cloth was stuck in a vent and every time wind past through it the cloth hit some of the debris left by the wall.
"We have no idea where she's at," Fin said out loud. Dan felt cheated too but knew they couldn't give up and he told Fin they had to get back, search every inch of this basement. The moved back out, slowly and still on alert. The perps could be anywhere. They heard a noise down the hall and soon stood gun to gun with Liv and another detective. Liv sighed loudly as the tension left her the moment she realized it was Fin and Dan.

"We lost them," Fin said quickly. Liv couldn't help but show what she felt about learning this. But she contained herself quickly, knowing they had to work quickly.
"Okay, back-up is on its way. Let's get out, get a floor plan, get the janitor or the house owner, get all the lights on down here. We'll find her," Liv spoke quickly and as soon as she was done she turned and expected them to follow which they did.

Once they got out Nick had managed to get himself up to a sitting position. The detective with him had handed him a napkin to press against his head wound. It wasn't bleeding that much.
"Do you have her?" he asked as he saw Liv. She shook her head though and he took a quick breathe.
"We have to go back down," he said and tried to get up.
"We are but you're going to the hospital," Liv said and held up her hands towards him.
"No way Liv," Nick protested even though he needed aid to get upright.
"The bus is on its way," Liv said.
"And she might need it more than me Liv. I'm not leaving until she does," he said and Liv could tell by his tense tone he wasn't giving in.
"Okay, but let them at least have a look at that gash. You'll need two hands when you go down there," Liv said and gave him a serious look.

Meanwhile Fin had already ordered Dan to find someone in the house that could get them access to every single space downstairs. Then he told the newly arrived uniforms to find the exits and make sure no one came through them. Liv got a hold of their technician in the bus and asked him to find the floor plan and head over there asap.

It took twenty long minutes with Fin multiple times airing his irritation before they had a floor plan in front of them, a man with a bunch of head keys and enough uniforms to head back down. The basement was literary a mace and Liv gave strict orders she didn't want any cops shooting at each other. Every inch would be searched. They learnt that the basement was shared with the house next door and Liv got uniforms to guard its exits too but she feared they could have slipped through their fingers and in that case she feared Amanda would be hard to find. Either way she knew Amanda was in a very sticky situation and they needed to get to her as soon as possible.

They had a CSI team coming to collect traces from the car but according to the license plate the car was stolen. All Nick could give them was that they were five and it was white males, no question about that. He'd been seen to by one of the paramedics, his gash momentarily plastered with some tape and he would be going to the hospital once they'd found Amanda.

Liv sent half the group to enter from the other building and then led the rest down the staircase again. They were divided into three teams, Liv, Dan and Fin taking one group each. Nick went with Liv since she wanted to be able keep her eye on him. They each had a roll of police tape with them and like the kids in the fairytale they left a piece of tape on every door they cleared. It would take time though. Minutes passed and soon it had been an hour since Nick saw Amanda being hoisted down the stairs.

Then finally a sign. The connection down below was bad but through a raspy line they heard a uniform call in that three men was seen running from the neighboring house. They'd left through the main gate, no hoodies or bandanas, but the uniform had still wanted them to stop so he could check their ID's. This had made them shove him and then run across the street. Uniforms on foot and by car had taken after them as they ran through the park. Liv shouted through the inter-com to not lose them and to not leave exits unguarded since they were still missing two of them. And they were still missing the most important one, Amanda.

Fin had come to the very end of his mapped out route and he headed back up since he wanted to get his hands on at least one of those bastards. He'd make him tell him where Amanda was at. Dan and Liv finished their search and found nothing. As Liv headed back up she got word they caught one of the men and were still in pursuit of one of the others. They'd lost the third one. Liv checked in with the uniforms guarding the doors, no sign of the two missing.

She aired her concern they were hiding somewhere up in the buildings since the three men had left through the main entrance. Nick nodded. This meant they could have more hostages than Amanda at this point. The rage they seemed to harbor against Hispanics made it all more serious too since the building they were at had a high rate of occupants from that part of the world and they feared the violence could turn fatal if they weren't careful.

Meanwhile Fin had been by the curb as a patrol car came back with one of the perps in custody. He was cuffed behind his back when Fin pulled him out only to shove him up against the back of the car. Liv came around the corner as Fin got his fist up against the man's chin and she hurried her steps a little to get there before things possibly escalated.

"Tell me where she is," Fin shouted into his face, anger flaring through his eyes and knuckles pressing into his jaw as his other hand held him hard around his collar. The man tried to smile but he didn't manage to cover up the fear that was also on his face. Of course Fin spotted it and knew he could get him to crack.
"Fucking tell me where she's at or I'll have you lick your own blood off the pavement in a second," Fin threaten as Liv reached the car. The man's eyes flared her way but then came back on Fin.

"Tell me," Fin hissed and pushed the knuckles even harder up his jaw.
"I don't know," the man said while trying to keep his face straight and not showing how scared he really was.
"Fuck that. You three cowards ran. The others? They still have her inside?" Fin asked and the man nodded.
"Where?" Fin screamed.
"I don't know, in the tunnels somewhere, we were told to get out," the man said.
"By who?" Fin asked but the man looked confused.
"Who told you to get out?" Fin asked and saw the man's lips tighten. He was clearly covering for whoever was in charge of this group of crazy avengers.

"If you want to get out of this mess a little smoother you better tell us," Liv said and gave him a serious look. The man looked her over and his face changed as he did.
"Screw you puta," he said and Fin immediately pushed him harder up against the car. The man grinned as his back bent uncomfortably backwards. He'd apparently in his ignorant mind and perhaps in the shady light where they were at mistaken Olivia for Hispanic. She didn't mind and didn't care. He was the one carrying cuffs at the end of the day but they needed to find Amanda quickly.

An unfamiliar voice came over the police scanner letting them know they had another guy in custody and was bringing him back. Liv looked back to the man in front of him.
"So it's now or never, are you going to speak or are you going to give that opportunity to your so called friend?" Liv asked him. The man tried to look if possible even angrier.
"He'll never talk. We're brothers, not rats," he hissed.
"Well you were crawling in the basement like rats weren't you?" Liv couldn't help herself. The man growled.
"Let me punch him Liv, I'll get him to talk," Fin said and Liv seemed to consider it for a while as she eyed the man with her narrowed eyes.
"Save it for the next guy," she said and told him to put him back in the car.

"Just holler if you change your mind buddy," she said before she turned to look at the patrol car coming down the street with lights on, hopefully it held the second suspect. She heard the man grunt as Fin viciously put him back inside the car he'd moments ago been dragged from.
"Screw you all," he yelled as Fin shoved the door shut behind him. Fin hurried over to the other car, Liv had already opened the back door and told the second suspect to get out. He seemed reluctant to and Fin grabbed him and hoisted him out. He tripped and landed briefly on the pavement, face and chest taking most of the blow since his hands too were cuffed behind him.

"Oops," Fin said loudly and then dragged him back up. This time Liv helped Fin push the suspect up against the car.
"You are going to tell us where you saw our partner last or we are going to put you outside on the curb of that house you ran from a while ago with a big sign around your neck pointing you out as the one that beat up at least 16 Hispanic men over the course of a couple of weeks. And we'll leave you there cuffed and alone for the rest of the night," Liv had a finger on the man's chest that she poked hard at him. Her voice icy and leaving him no reason to doubt she was being honest. He'd already looked scared before she started talking and didn't look any less as she stopped.

"Jeff told us to split. She was with him and Lance last I saw her," he spurted out.
"Jeff? Last name?" Liv asked and the man gulped.
"Hayes."
"And Lance?"
"McFarland."
"Good. And when you left she was… okay?" Liv asked but the man hesitated. Fin yanked him a little and he wet his mouth as he nodded.
"Yeah I guess," he said.
"You guess? Either she was or she wasn't?" Fin screamed, again his spit flying all over the guys face.
"Well she fought you know, hard. We had to control her. Sean had duck tape but she struggled, Jeff had to punch her out. But surely not enough to kill her you know," the man's eyes were wildered in a way. Fin felt like punching him out. Liv had to bite her tongue, looked away briefly but found her bearing and turned back.
"Where?" she asked, "Where did you leave them?"
"I don't know, downstairs somewhere," the man seemed truly unknowing, "he took her further down as we went up a couple stairs."
"He? Jeff?" Liv asked and the man nodded.
"And Lance stayed with him?" Another nod.
"Who had the gun?" Liv asked and when the man hesitated Fin yanked him again.
"Lance fired but Jeff has one too," he let them know looking defeated.

"We have a runner," someone yelled suddenly. Liv immediately broke away as Fin had to wait until a uniform could take the man from his hands.
A single shot rang out and it made Liv start to run towards where the shouting had come from which just happened to be the same direction as the fire came from.
"Where? Who?" she shouted to any anyone who would answer.
"Around the building, through a fire exit, a single suspect with a hood," a uniform told her. They both had their weapons drawn as they hurried towards the building.
"Who fired?" she asked as she saw another couple of uniforms.
"The suspect, he ran down that alley," a uniform told her and pointed which way.
"Someone's in pursuit?" Liv asked and he nodded. A shot, then two others rang out somewhere inside the building it sounded like. They moved closer to the wall as they made their way around into the alley.

"We have another one," someone yelled by a door as they entered the alley and Liv ran up to him. Fin was right behind her. They were back at the door where they'd first entered after the assault.
"They got him right down there," the uniform said and pointed them down. They managed to get through a large number of uniforms, the scene was hectic and blood had obviously been shed. A uniform was down, his partner had pressure on the wound. It looked as it capped his leg but the uniform would live even though it obviously hurt.
"There's a bus right outside," Liv said and looked further down the hall. The suspect was further down the hallway, screaming in pain as the uniforms after had cuffed him got him up to a sitting position. He'd been shot too. Blood was seeping through his hoodie but since he'd continued to fight they had to cuff him before they could check him out. Liv didn't care so much about the wound at this point though.

"Jeff? Lance?" she tried but as she got a reaction from both names she couldn't be sure.
"Fuck you," was the response though and she couldn't care less about his name right now.
"Where is she?" she asked.
"She's dead bitch," he screamed without looking at her. He was still fighting his restraints, making the pain from the gunshot wound to his side hurt even more. Fin came up and put a fist and pressure against the blood drenched area on his stomach. The man cried out in pain but then started growling.
"Fuck you," he yelled.
"No, fuck you, tell us where she's at," Fin said and pressed a little harder. The man tried to get to him and the uniforms held him back. When the man realized he wouldn't be able to fight Fin he started laughing viciously instead.
"We fucked her till she died nigga, sliced her open," his voice was just as vicious as his laugh but it soon changed as Fin punched his wound.
"Fin, common," Liv said and tried to pull him away with a hand on his shoulder, "he's not going to talk, let's go find her instead." Fin held the man's eyes for a while but realized Liv was right. He wasn't going to talk. Fin let the pressure go, hoping it would make him bleed to death and backed up. The man sighed in relief but then started laughing, yelling profanities directed at Fin and what he'd done to Amanda as they hauled him out of there.

"Make sure he gets the first bus," Liv said to the uniforms taking him out and pointed to the uniform further down the hallway. She then turned to Fin who'd just punched the wall with his fist making some of the suspect's blood stay there and some of Fin's own emerge from cracks he'd just made in his own knuckles.

"He said further down, could there be another level underneath?" Liv asked. Nothing on the floor plan had shown a lower level though but they were a couple of years old so perhaps something had been added Liv thought. But it was the other way around, the new floor plans had left a lower level out since the construction of it had been shut down after safety inspectors found safety violations. No further developments of the sublevel was granted. The owner had simply covered the entrance up since he couldn't afford to pay for what they wanted to shut it properly up. Over the years kids in the building had found the badly blocked entrance and managed to open it up, making it their own little private hang out. For the past couple of years a homeless man had occupied it though which only a few residents in the building knew about, none of them having a problem with it and therefore not reporting it to either the landlord or the janitor. And the janitor didn't do much, he was rarely down there much and didn't even know about the lower level.

Liv got a hold of Nick, who was still down there desperately seeking for Amanda, over the radio. The connection was bad but they managed to mostly make sense of each other.
"Where are you?" she asked. He gave her a vague description since he wasn't all that sure himself.
"Look for a way further down, it should be somewhere near a stair that goes up to the second building. One of the suspects said 'they took her further down' so it could be down stairs or just down a hall but they headed up and out as they split up," Liv tried telling Nick as she half ran, half walked towards the intersection that took them from house one to house two. Fin was right on her tail.

"Okay," Nick relayed and remembered the stair that took him up to the ground floor of the second house. He found it quickly but couldn't find a way down anywhere near it. You had three ways to go when standing by the stairs and one of them slanted a little. Nick decided to check that one first. He didn't get far until he heard a low pounding. A steady sound that disappeared for a few second but then another five or six pounds were heard. He couldn't be sure but it sounded irregular enough it could be human made.

"Amanda" he called out. He wasn't afraid any longer to shout since he knew all five men had left the building. He wasn't sure but it did sound as the pounding became a little more frequent after he'd shouted her name. He suddenly felt a bit of a draft and he went behind what looked to be a wooden trellis of some sort. He saw by the moved dust on the floor that it had been recently moved and when he pulled it it rather smoothly fell open. On the inside there was a handle so it was obviously used as some sort of door to something. It was dark right inside but further down he could see light. He got his flashlight on and could see a slope instead of a stair going downhill rather steep.

He called out her name again and this time he was sure it was a response to his shout. He hurried down, gun still drawn just in case. The relief once he spotted her was greater than any he could ever remember, at least right now. And she was moving. Her feet was bound together and her mouthed taped shut. Her hands were taped too, above her head and taped to a pipe. She'd still managed to move around so she could clunk her feet against a chicken net with a plank behind it and that was what had caused the low pounding Nick had heard.

She slumped to the ground, feeling just as relieved when she spotted him. He raced towards her and slid the last bit on his knees, ending up right beside her. She was roughed up, dirty, her dress was hitched up. He spotted a bandana in her mouth with two pieces of duck tape over it all. Her eyes still looked a bit scared but he could see relief down there too.
"I got you, hold on," he said as he looked her over quickly. He spotted blood stains on her dress and feared she was even more injured than it first appeared.

"Let me get this off," he said and tried for one of the pieces of tape covering her mouth. He knew it could hurt to get this off but getting her airways cleared was more important. He could tell she already had a hard time breathing through her nose, probably the exhaustion from trying to make the outside hear her and the fear knowing the suspect could come back at any second to finish off the job. He got the first tape off rather easily but the second one he knew would hurt.

"Bare with me," he said as he saw her eyes crumbled shut with pain as he pulled the tape that had gotten stuck in her hair as well. He pulled the rag out of her mouth as soon as he was able to and she dry coughed a couple of times as he removed the entire piece of tape. She gasped for air and he helped her sit up just slightly to make it easier for her. He had his hand around the back of her neck as he rubbed her back gently with his other hand.

"You okay?" he asked and she quickly nodded.
"Is it your blood?" he asked but she shook her head.
"It's his," she said with a raspy voice and just slightly nodded her head towards a wall to their right.

Once Nick could focus his eyes in the husky room he was surprised to see a rough looking man in the midst of the garbage that invaded the room. Apparently a homeless man had unluckily crossed the suspect's path. He didn't look to be breathing and frankly Nick didn't have time to check on him. He wanted to get her out of there and checked over as soon as possible. She'd surely taken a bad beating. He grabbed the tape that held her to the pipe to see if he could rip the tape off. He couldn't get through it and he looked around for something he could use to cut with but he saw nothing but garbage. He took another look at her hands and found a gap where it went around her arms. It took some effort but he managed to pull it apart enough to get her hands out of it. A second layer underneath had her hands still bound them together though and as he moved her arms down from above her head he could tell it hurt her.

"Let's get you out of here," he said and helped her to sit up even further. He got a clearer look at her feet as she pulled them to her and he spotted some fabric wrapped around her ankles along with the duct tape. Her dress was hitched up so far he could see what fabric it was. He gave her a worried look and wasn't sure how to interpret the embarrassed look she got over her face. He helped pull down her dress a little and once he got her up enough so she could put some weight on her own feet he pulled it down as far as it went.

He had already seen that her arms hurt so he didn't ask her to put her arms around his neck and instead he got a good grip around her back and then swiped her off the ground with the other arm underneath her knees. He felt her body tense up against him as he started to move them towards the exit, she was in obvious pain and surely felt unsafe not being able to hold on to him properly. She was completely and literary left in his hands and it wasn't comfortable for a person who was used to trust only herself. And at times her partner.

She winced a little as his hand seemed to hurt the way he held her. Once they got up the slope and through the trellis he put her down briefly. He got his flashlight back up and, while holding on to her, bent down and left it on at the ground. He wanted the others to be able to find their way in there and check on the man.

"Let's try again okay?" he asked and looked at her as he tried his arm at different levels on her back. He finally seemed to find one that didn't hurt as bad and he got her back up in his arms again. She leaned into him and he had no problem guiding himself and her slim form through the basement's paths. He was aiming for the stairway straight up into the second house but heard steps coming down the hallway and a shouted out; "I got her," as he saw Liv and Fin coming towards him. Of course it was obvious for them to see but it still felt good saying it and the look on Liv's face told him it did her good too.

"How is she?" Liv asked worried though as Amanda didn't move.
"She's okay," he said as Liv reached them and could see for herself that Amanda's eyes were slightly open. Amanda had wanted to but been too tired to get her head up as she heard Nick shout out and then Liv's voice. She tried to shot Liv a smile though and it became just a tiny bit wider as Fin's face showed up right next to hers. He placed his palm against her cheek. He felt warm against her. She felt cold and clammy towards his and he told them all to get her upstairs.

"There's a homeless man down there where I found her. He took a bad beating, she has his blood on her," Nick told them as they all went up the stairs. Fin took lead holding the door open and Liv stayed behind Nick helping him as best she could. He told Liv about the flashlight left on and she told him she'd send people down to the beaten man.

"We need a bus," Liv yelled as they got upstairs greeted by a couple of uniforms.
"It just left with the officer that got shot," a uniform informed her.
"Well there's another one coming right?" she asked and when he nodded; "get it here ASAP."

Fin and Nick had made it out into the lobby meanwhile.
"Help me get the tape off," Nick asked Fin as he sat down and gently placed Amanda down on the floor. He placed himself behind her so she could lean into him. He could still see her chest rise and fall heavily but it had slowed down a little, the air up here was much better and he hoped it helped out her breathing. Fin had gotten his keys up and tried sawing the tape off but the key hardly did any damage.

"Anyone got a pocketknife or something? A scissor?" Fin asked loudly while he kept trying to gnaw the key to not much result.
"I have one," a uniform said and stepped forward as he got his pocketknife out of his jacket pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to Fin. It worked much better. Fin made sure he didn't get close to Amanda's skin and soon cut through the tape. Liv had sat down next to them and helped unwind the tape around her hands as Fin moved down to free Amanda's feet. As he noticed it was her panties entwined in the tape down by her ankles he shot a worried look upwards. Amanda had her eyes down on her hands as she tried to get them moving again as Liv had gotten the tape off. He met Nick's eyes though, they seemed as concerned as Fin's. Fin continued to cut through the tape and when he was done he handed the pocketknife back to the officer and then carefully freed Amanda from the tape.

"We need to bag this," Fin said as he had the tape in his hands.
"No," Amanda said. Liv shot her a look not getting why she said no. Liv followed Amanda's eyes down to Fin and she spotted the fabric entwined in the tape.
"Don't," Amanda begged with a weak voice not wanting her panties in some evidence box for anyone to see for years to come.
"We have to," Fin said simply and took the evidence bag that was handed to him.

"Nothing happen," Amanda said and turned to Liv, "they just left me down there."
"It's going to be fine Amanda, let's just get you to the hospital," Liv said and grabbed a hold of her hands.
"I'm fine," Amanda whispered. Nick placed the other bundle of duct tape in another evidence bag and they handed them over to the uniform.
"I'm fine," she repeated as she felt her own eyes dropping shut. Right then two paramedics charged through the door again and her eyes jolted open again as Liv and Fin moved away so they could get access to her.

"I'm fine," she said a third time and started to sound like a broken record. Nick hushed her a little as he stroked her arm gently.
The paramedics worked quickly and methodically, found her vitals to be weak but good and let the rest know so they could worry a little less. Officers helped to fetch the gurney, Amanda kept saying she didn't need to go to the hospital but her inability to fight them off physically, or even move, told them she needed to be thoroughly checked over. Liv let the paramedics know they were taking Nick in the ambulance too since he needed a check-up and she would follow with Fin as soon as they had the situation on site under control.

They had four of the five men in custody, one of them with a gunshot wound to his stomach area so he was brought by the hospital before he was taken to the station. His life wasn't in any danger, the bullet went through and through. The man that had talked to Liv and Fin earlier had given them the fifth man's name and they would soon have him in custody too.

The homeless man in the lower basement was unfortunately dead when the uniforms got to him not long after Nick had left the room. The coroner would later rule he died from one of the first blows he received to his head and they wouldn't have been able to save him even if they got to him faster.

Liv had of course woken up their captain and let him in on everything. Once Cragen was convinced Nick and Amanda was okay he listen to Olivia and wouldn't come in until the morning. Liv wanted to go to the hospital so they wouldn't hear the suspects until the morning anyway. After that phone call and after Liv made sure Dan got all the evidence back to the station she let Fin drive them over to the hospital. They found Nick in the emergency area, newly stitched up. The doctor thought he suffered a mild concussion but wouldn't have to stay overnight. He had received a few abrasions caused by the knuckle brass and they were also patched up to stop the slight bleeding, most of them were on his arms. By the morning he would feel the abrasions and bruises even more then he did tonight.

They learnt Amanda had been taken upstairs, nothing serious they'd just told Nick they wanted to take her to a more secluded area. Liv and Fin asked around and were then taken upstairs to where she was at. The nurse that had guided them slipped inside a room and asked them to wait outside meanwhile. She came back out and let them know Liv could go in and hinted without words perhaps Fin should stay outside. Liv promised to come back out as soon she knew what was going on. Once she got inside she found Amanda upright, they'd put her in a gown that wasn't fully closed as a nurse was helping to get her cleaned up. Liv could tell she was rather badly bruised just by the quick glimpse she got. Amanda pulled the gown a little closer to her as she spotted Liv and she tried to give her a smile. Liv could tell she was in pain though.

"How are you doing?" Liv asked and stepped over to her. Doctor Abigail Winter introduced herself and let Liv knew they'd just gone through a first examination and nothing seemed to be broken at least. Abigail went on to tell Liv that the nurse was cleaning her up a little so they could get a better look on Amanda's exterior. Abigail also told Liv they'd put Amanda's dress in a paper bag in case they needed it for evidence and she asked if they would need anything else for the case. Liv gave Amanda a quick look, she knew Amanda wouldn't like it but it was procedure.

"Photos would be good," Liv told the doctor without letting her eyes off Amanda. Amanda's face immediately told what she thought of the suggestion.
"We have to Amanda," Liv said before she could object though. The doctor nodded and asked the nurse to set it up when she was done. The nurse seemed to be done and hurried next doors to fetch the camera for the doctor.
"Let's get you up on that bed for a while, you're looking exhausted Amanda," Abigail said and helped Amanda up. Liv had taken the few steps over to the bed also but her help was not needed and she remained just standing there.

While Amanda leaned back on the bed Abigail looked over her arms. Her elbows were scratched up from when she tried to fend the men off in the alley. Abigail moved her arm and shoulder a little and saw Amanda flinch.
"Are you sure you don't want us to take an x-ray of that?" Abigail asked and Amanda nodded.
"They dropped me once, I landed on my side, it's just muscles, no bones," Amanda said and sounded secure enough. Abigail opened up her robe and Liv turned her back a little to give Amanda at least some privacy seeing how she was naked underneath. It wasn't anything Liv hadn't seen before, she'd been there during Fay's birth and there wasn't much you didn't see during a birth Liv could tell you. But this time things felt different so Liv looked away.

Abigail got going with the camera and Liv saw flashed lit up the room from time to time. She heard Abigail give the nurse the specifics so she could get them down on what would be the medical report for Amanda's injuries. There was beginning bruises to her face, throat, scraped elbows, a couple contusions around her arms and wrist that looked to been made by a human hand, a two inches oval shaped contusion on her stomach area. Then they apparently moved around to Amanda's back and Liv heard the doctor mention several minor contusions and an irregular laceration above her right hip. Abigail asked if Amanda knew what had caused it but Amanda didn't seem to know. Abigail told the nurse to make sure it was cleaned out thoroughly so it wouldn't get infected and then tape it up.

The doctor asked if Amanda felt able to stand up as they went through her lower body and Liv had to smile as Amanda answered 'of course'. As always not able to accept she'd been beaten down. Liv saw another flash light up the room and heard the doctor mention abrasions to the knees. Another flash and the doctor's voice added three smaller contusions to the outside of the left leg to the growing list. Abigail asked the nurse to help cover some of Amanda's behind with the robe as she took a photo of an abrasion on her lower, left hip. There was a slight pause and Liv heard Amanda moan just a little. The doctor asked Amanda to open up a little and then there was a flash. The doctor then mentioned a two inch wide and a second inch wide contusion on her inner right thigh.

"Amanda do you need us to do a rape kit?" the doctor suddenly asked and Liv held her breath.
"No," Amanda quickly complained and Liv had to look over her shoulder a little. Amanda had her back slightly towards Liv, her robe drawn to one side and Liv could easily spot the abrasion on her hip. The doctor shot Liv a quick look.
"Are you sure? Were you conscious the whole time?" Abigail asked. Before Amanda could answer Liv did if for her.
"No she wasn't." Amanda quickly turned her head and shot her an angry look before her face crumbled with pain as she'd moved to hastily and her neck and back ached.
"I know I wasn't raped," Amanda said as she held on to the side of the bed with her head down.
"You had your panties around your ankles Amanda," Liv told her and tried to sound as compassionate as possible.
"I know," Amanda quickly shot back, "that was just cause they needed something to tie my feet with and since I didn't have any stockings..."
"You didn't have stockings?" the doctor asked and Amanda shot her a weird look.
"No, I don't like 'em," she said but wasn't sure why she had to defend that. This was stupid Amanda concluded. Liv had turned around completely.

"You were unconscious Amanda, you have bruises on your inner thigh, the men have tried it before," Liv said.
"I would know if I'd been raped," Amanda sounded agitated.
"But wouldn't it be best if you could find out for sure you weren't?" Liv asked. Amanda sighed and closed her eyes for a moment or two. How did this happen? It was supposed to be an easy operation. Lure them in, avoid getting punched, perhaps being able to throw some punches yourself and then bring the bad guys in. That was what was supposed to happen. This night shouldn't end with her having to go through a rape kit.
"Amanda," Liv tried.
"Okay, okay, if it will shut you up but I'm telling you I wasn't raped," Amanda said and again she'd moved to quickly and her body screamed out in pain and she bit her tongue to not let it out. The doctor gave Liv a quick nod and then told the nurse to set it up. The doctor tried to help Amanda up on the bed again but she wouldn't accept the help.

"Amanda I have to ask, have you had sex the last 24 hours?" Amanda suddenly felt lucky Fin had been in such a pissy mood last night otherwise she couldn't so firmly answer no to that question. And with Liv in the room too? Amanda could not think of a lower moment if she'd had to answer yes to that question, and before she had to go through a rape kit, with Liv in the room.
"Could you step out for this?" Amanda asked Liv as she felt she couldn't go through this with her in the room. Amanda hoped she wouldn't take it personally.
"Of course," Liv said and gave her a tiny smile before she ducked out of there.

Fin had been pacing the hallway outside meanwhile and was a little further down when he heard the door open. He hurried up to her and eagerly asked;
"So? How is she?" Liv thought it over quickly.
"Bruises and scrapes, she's obviously soar all over," Liv took a brief pause to take a breath, "they're doing a rape kit now." She could tell by his eyes that grew almost double their regular size he didn't like this piece of information.
"Was she...?" he asked and wet his lips nervously as he couldn't finish the sentence.
"She believes she wasn't but she was unconscious and she has bruises on her inner thigh," Liv let him know everything she knew.
"Fuck," Fin whispered as he swiped his hand over his clean-cut head. Liv wasn't sure what to say and stayed quiet.
"I shouldn't have let them get so far in front of me, if only I'd gotten their earlier," Fin said.
"Don't go there Fin. Circumstances, just stupid circumstances," Liv said and placed her comforting hand on his arm. Fin blew out air harshly and raised his hands on top of his head as he turned and started pacing the hallway again. Liv turned her head to the door she'd just exited. She wished Amanda had let her stay in there.

Behind the door the nurse helped Amanda get her legs up in those bloody stirrups. Amanda hated them. They had obviously have to been invented by a sadistic man. She tried to relax but realized she wasn't doing a good job when the doctor asked if she wanted something to calm her down a bit.
"Just get it over with," Amanda sighed not having much patient for anything right now.
"This would be more comfortable for you if you were able to relax more," the doctor tried but Amanda cut her off quickly.
"This can't get close to comfortable, just get it over with," Amanda said and tried to get her arms up to cover her eyes from this damn bright light but of course her shoulder started hurting. She was able to raise the other arm though and folded it down over her eyes to block everything out. She was sure she hadn't been raped. She would know wouldn't she? She would feel it right? There were pieces missing from the night though and that time in the basement and it freaked the hell out of her.

She remembered the speeding car, Nick's hand on her lower back as he tried to get her to safety as the car speeded up on the curb. And then she'd seen the blow to Nick's head, the silver of the knuckle brass glistening in the street light. She'd heard Nick's huff as he went down. And before she did anything but stand there as some stupid damsel in distress someone grabbed her from behind. That had got her moving though. She'd felt his nose crack behind her elbow and she'd managed to get a punch in as well. But then she hadn't been ready for the men coming from the car. They'd grabbed one arm each and she'd felt herself being picked up from the ground. As she tried to get some kicks to them she'd lost one shoe and then the other one dropped off right before she crashed to the ground.

She landed on her stomach but managed to get around before the two men more or less sat down on top of her. She'd tried fighting them off and she'd seen or heard nothing else than what she had before her hands. Then the shoe had come crashing down on her chest and she'd hit her head on the hard ground as it struck her down. Once her eyes could focus again she'd managed to see whose foot it was. He'd pulled down his bandana and she could see blood pouring out his nose. For a second she felt like laughing at him, saying 'Got you good' or something but as she wasn't really the one who could gloat right now it had to wait until back-up was here and she was able to get up from there. But back-up didn't arrive as fast as she'd liked it to and she felt someone grope her underneath her dress as the foot was removed. A face hovered above her, called her a slut, a wetback lover and he would show her. She didn't like his hand up her dress and she began fighting them off again.

Then she'd finally heard someone yell out police and for a brief second she felt relief. But it washed away just as fast as she heard a gun being fired and realizing the shot came from right above her. Then everything just seemed to speed up for a minute or two. She heard 'grab her' and suddenly she was off the ground again. She did her best to squirm, to make it difficult for them but they seemed to notice nothing of that and suddenly she was going down a steep stair or something. She remembered the stench of the man that held her top part. One of the worst BO's she'd come across. Her arms were held close to her body and she seemed stuck, her legs were a different story though and she concentrated at them as she was whisked down a muggy corridor.

Every now and then she managed to get a leg free but even though she managed to get a kick or two right at whoever was holding her legs it didn't seem to do enough harm and soon she was locked in again under his arm. They stopped for a while and she was pressed up against a cold door. The men were obviously stressed. She hadn't heard herself scream or anything but maybe she was because one of the men said to shut her up and suddenly she was down on the ground with a knee harshly planted to her chest. The man above her ripped his bandana off and shoved it in her mouth. She managed to bite down on him and he swore. She felt a harsh grip around her throat and it forced her to release the man's fingers.

"Tie her up," someone said, "use her stockings or something." And then she felt the hand going up her dress again.
"She's not wearing any," someone said as she felt her panties being pulled down.
"The duct tape," someone said.

They were talking low and Amanda figured police might already be down there hunting them so she tried to scream. The man with the knee on her chest, the ones whose bandana she had stuffed in her mouth so she could see his face clearly, put his hand over her mouth and pressed down. For a while both her mouth and nose were covered and she felt a bit of panic. But then it was removed and a piece of duct tape was placed over her face making it impossible for her to spit the bandana out as she had planned to do. The knee was removed and he instead got a hold of her wrists and held them together as the man with the tape roll started to wind the roll around them. When they were done with the hands she felt her ankles getting the same treatment. And then she got lifted off the ground again.

Even with her arms and legs bound she tried getting free and she'd succeeded once. Unfortunately this had landed her on the hard ground, shoulder and hip taking the hardest blow and it had knocked the air out of her for a few seconds. She'd been more or less dragged into what looked like a storage space and two of them had literary sat down on her. When Amanda had enough of being a human chair she started wiggling around again but that had only made the man closest to her head grab a hold of her hair and harshly press her down. She stayed still for a while, tried to save her energy since she was obviously not getting out of this particular situation.

"They're coming round the corner," she heard someone whisper and she realized help was nearby. With everything she had left in her she tried to get free and also to scream. Even with the bandana she managed to make sounds and someone hissed at her to stay quiet. When she didn't she felt the man with the grip in her hair raise her head up and then down hard into the ground. And then a second time and it made her pass out.

Once she woke up again she wasn't sure how long she'd been gone or what had happen but she was on someone's shoulder and her entire body hurt the way she hung. All she could see was the back of a man's legs and shoes. They rushed down the same or another passage.

"I feel a draft," she heard. She could only hear two sets of footsteps though. She heard a door or something open and then they were going down another steep, no not stairs, a steep slope and it went completely dark for a short second until a more soft light lit up their surroundings. She felt the man that carried her suddenly stop and as he backed up a little the following man crashed into them. The man behind them took a few steps around them and then she was hoisted down to the ground. Not so hardly, the man more sat her down and she managed to quickly scan the scene. They were in a smaller room, looked like a garbage room with all the filth and debris all over the floor and piling up towards the walls. Only two of the men with bandanas were with her. And what looked to be a homeless man whose home they'd just invaded stood speechless in front of them.

"Just relax man," one of the men said to the homeless man, "we just need to hide out here for a while." The homeless man didn't seem to like the idea though and charged the closest man to him. Armed with only his arms, and they were weak arms too, he didn't stand a chance once the man pushed him back inside the room. He charged again but now the man that had carried her earlier had grabbed a plank and he swung it in the air hitting the homeless man in the head once he came at them. The homeless man went down but jumped back up and the man swung the plank the other way this time and the man landed on all his four right next to Amanda. For a few seconds they held each other's eyes. She probably looked as terrified as he did.

The homeless man that hadn't made a sound up till now suddenly screamed on top of his lungs as he tried to get back up but he got struck with the plank again and fell slumped to the ground right next to Amanda. The plank came down once more, blood from the man's head splashed over Amanda and she turned away to get away from the blood and the awful sight. She heard the plank land again though, and again, and again. Then it stopped and when she dared to turn back around she saw the man without the plank dragged the now dead man by his leg to get him away from them. The man with the plank grinned at her as she looked up at him. Pure evil seemed to pour out his eyes. He tossed the plank to a wall and approached her. She tried to crawl away from him but of course he caught up to her easily. He grabbed a hold around her throat and stared down her face.

"A fucking cop," he sighed and didn't look so happy any longer. She saw his eyes wander down her body and then back up again.
"Didn't know they made you so good looking these days," again he got a slight grin on his face.

The other man had been up by the entrance again to have a look and now came back down.
"What the fuck do we do Jeff?" he asked his partner and Jeff let Amanda go by tossing her backwards as he got up on his feet.
"Relax. We stay put for a while, let the other's get a way and then we run too." This Jeff character seemed to think he had everything under control. Amanda figured he was the brains, the instigator probably a better word for it cause bright he wasn't.

"And what do we do about her?" The still unnamed man pointed towards Amanda and she tried to just keep calm as they both looked her over.
"I'm not sure," Jeff said and seemed to think about it a little more.
"She's too fine to just give up don't you think?" he grinned and approached her again.
"But we can't run for it if we have to carry her out of here," the man still standing complained.
"Maybe we come back for her then," Jeff said as he kneeled down beside Amanda, "let the feistiness in her wear out a little and then come back and have some fun with her." He put his finger against her cheek and she tried to shake him off. He grabbed her chin harshly though and made her face him again.

"You'd love that wouldn't you?" he smiled down her face, "or do you prefer gringos? Maybe it wasn't just a game to you? You letting your partner up there screw you a little on the side perhaps?" His eyes got darker again as he seemed to grew angrier by something going on inside of him. He was obviously carrying a huge grudge.
"Yes? No?" he snickered a bit and again let his eyes go up and down her body. She tried to get her head out of his grip but that just made him grab a hold at the back of her neck and he held her head face just a few inches from his own.
"What does he have that I don't?" he hissed and she thought she saw sadness wash over his face for a second. But it disappeared just as fast and back was that dark cloud in him. He pushed her to him and planted a kiss right above her eye. Her hands came up to push him away and he chuckled at her lame attempt. She knew she was overpowered, that her odds weren't good, but that did not mean she wouldn't put up a fight if he tried anything.

And he would. He kept one hand behind her neck as the other one went down inside her dress. She got her hands up again and forced him back out which made him chuckle again. He moved his hand from the back of her neck to the front and pushed her down. She tried to stay upright but couldn't and she felt his hand go up her dress. She managed to roll around to the side, blocking him from getting further up. He had to use both hands to get her back down on her back again and he seemed to get angrier, making him handle her even harsher.

"Common Jeff, we gotta get out of here," the other man said.
"Give me a minute," Jeff said as he straddled her to keep her down. He leaned in and smiled close to her face; "Or two."

She felt his booth by her knee, trying to push her knees apart. His own doing, with the tape around her ankles, made it harder for him to accomplish spreading her legs though. And she kept trying to fight him off, making him even angrier. It was her downfall. She knew that at times she shouldn't fight so hard, at times she even caused a bigger scene that she could have gotten out of if she'd just played it cool. She knew it but couldn't stop. She would never surrender, never be anyone's victim. She would stand no chance if she ever came across a bear. Lay down and play dead? No way. She would die fighting. She hoped at least there would be something honorable about that.

She'd thought about that bear and maybe she would do better with a smarter strategy against this threat but then she'd felt his hand up her dress again and she knew she couldn't just take that. She managed to get her hands up between them and she got a good jab at his jaw making him swear loudly. Jeff's friend hushed him but Jeff told him to shut up, turned to her and called her a bitch. And then he'd knocked her out. She had no idea how long she'd been out or what had happen during that time.

She'd remember that awful stench being the first thing she noticed as she woke up. A stench of filth and garbage but also the smell of blood. And death. Everything that had happened that night came flooding back within seconds and she jolted awake. Eyes sprung open and she tried to sit up even though every inch of her body hurt. She fought for air as she looked around. She was alone, well except for the dead homeless man a few yards away. She felt as though she couldn't get enough air through her nose down her lungs and her eyes teared up as panic set in. She looked down her own body, her dress was hitched up, her legs were filthy and her knees bloody. She tried to get a sense of her lower regions as she remembered the last few moments before she was knocked out. What had happened afterwards? It didn't feel as anything had happen to her that she wasn't aware off but she wasn't sure.

At least her brain activity had made her focus on something else than her breathing and she realized she was breathing just fine now. She moved her hands and realized she was even more taped up now. Her wrists were taped to a pipe right beside her. She tried tugging a little to see if she could get free but it was useless. She was stuck. She stayed still for a while, tried to listen for any sounds out there. She realized they could come back, if not now, later as Jeff had suggested. But they had fled the scene for now right? And Fin, Liv and Nick must be searching for her right? They must have seen her go down the basement, the men had been hiding from someone. So allieds would be out there right? She had to try and help them find her. But how?

They'd been smart when they taped up her hands, they hadn't just ran the tape around her wrist but also around her actual hands and fingers making it impossible for her to remove the gag from her mouth. She tried doing it by rubbing her face against the floor but it wouldn't work she figured out quickly. She looked around for something she could use to cut her tape off but there was just unusable trash around her, PET bottles, other plastic containers, paper, ripped fabric. She looked over to the homeless man and wished he could have collected something she could have used instead of this trash. She had to stop looking at him though as the sound of his skull being crushed underneath that plank brought tears to her eyes.

She took another look around the room. She felt thankful they'd left the light on at least, she hated the dark. If she had something metal she could use it to punch the pipe she was taped too but she didn't. Above her head was just a concrete wall. Below her though some chicken fence that held up some wooden boxes. She tried getting herself further down. When she got as far down as she could, her shoulder hurt like hell, her bent legs touched the wired fence. She got her feet up and tried carefully kicking it with the sole of her feet. She'd feared it would all come crashing down on her but it didn't. She could feel the fence was at least somewhat securely attached to something and the boxes seemed to be packed good. She tried hitting it again and it did make a noise, if it was loud enough she wasn't sure though.

She tried kicking it over and over again for a while but she tired herself out quickly and realized she needed to save some energy in case she needed to keep doing this for some time. She kicked five times in a row and then rested as she counted to three slowly. She kicked five times, rested three. She went on like that for a while but started to worry as she had a hard time counting to five. She felt tears burning behind her eyes and wish she could bit down on the inside of her lips as she used to do as she tried to keep it together. Biting down on the bandana didn't work as well but it had to for now. At least they would find DNA on the bandana if they hadn't caught the men fleeing the building. And in case they wouldn't find her in time.

She tried not to spiral down in her mind but she started to worry they wouldn't find her. She would die of starvation or dehydration. Or the stench would kill her. She looked to the side and spotted the man's feet. The soles of his shoes were scuffed through so she could see the bottom of his feet. She kept looking at the man's feet as she punched the fence a few times. Maybe there were rats down here she thought to herself. She kicked the fence. Maybe the light would go out? Fuck she hated the dark. She kicked the fence. Her mom had used the closet in their old house as a time-out area. The light switch had been on the outside. Usually she left the light on though but there were times, only with Amanda never with Kim, where she turned it off to increase the punishment a little further. She knew Amanda didn't like the dark.

She kicked the fence five times. She'd tried to take it, take the punishment to in a way remain stoic, but there were sounds in there in that closet. Tiny creeks further in, ghostly sounds that she as an adult understood were just pipes or wires throughout the house but then it had freaked her out. Five kicks. Maybe six. She tried to stay strong but the dark had scared her and there were times when she punched her little fists against the door, begged her mom to let her out but it never worked. Quite the opposite. It had made her mom leave her in there longer, sometimes overnight and Amanda stayed awake scared shitless the entire time.

"Amanda," she thought she heard her sister whisper her name through the door as she did sometimes. That always made her feel a little better, her sister voice calmed her a little and sometimes she managed to turn the light on without their mom noticing for at least a while.

"Amanda." There it was again and she realized it wasn't coming from inside her own head. She forgot briefly she had a gag and tried calling back. She kicked the fence a couple of times. Took a break and heard her name again. She answered by kicking and when she heard her name again it was closer than before. Someone had found her and it was the best feeling in the world. When Nick's face showed up through the dark she felt like crying for a whole other reason than before.

And now she felt like crying again. Jobwise perhaps going through a rape-kit was a good thing but right now she couldn't really see it like that. It was one of the most humiliating things she'd ever had to go through and she'd been through quite a lot in her life time. Getting the news the doctor found no tearing or semen present though was a relief and at least something to feel happy about.

"Told you so," was all she could say though as the doctor gave her the information. She wouldn't even say that to Liv once she got back in the room. She kept quiet for the rest of the night. She got some clothes and some painkillers from the hospital. Liv told Amanda she should go home and they would take her statement on Monday. Liv would call if they needed anything tomorrow but she would try and give Amanda the day off to rest. Fin volunteered to drive her home and Liv said she would take a cab back to the station. Nick was waiting for her. Liv had tried to get him to go home but he was set on making sure she could handle whatever was waiting at the station.

They would be able to go home soon though. Four men in custody that would be interrogated within the next couple of days. The fifth man would soon be in custody too and a sixth man would later be arrested. He'd taken part of the first couple of assaults but then withdrew as he thought the violence got out of hand.

Jeff had been the instigator and he'd gotten his friends rattled up in participating. He was a divorcee with two kids living with his ex-wife. A few years after his bitter divorce he'd met this beautiful blonde femme fatale and they had two rather good years together. And then she'd left him for a wetback. That was the story he'd give the police. He wouldn't tell the part about how she made him feel changed, like the love he felt and got from her got his angry side bottled up. He started to believe in a bright future together with her and was thinking of proposing. But then she'd left him for a man from Mexico. It had all tumbled down quickly for him. Life crashed and his anger grew. He kept driving past the restaurant she worked at, saw them together outside his place that she moved into a little too fast. He hated it. He hated them. Mostly him but he started to hate her too.

Jeff's friends would tell the rest. Jeff and Lance had been alone on the first assault. They'd waited outside the restaurant. Lance had come up with the bandanas, it would lure the cops off, think it was some Mexican gang war or something. They'd seen a blonde come out of the back of the restaurant along with a Mexican looking fellow. They'd driven behind them for a while, riled each other up and then jumped out and beaten up the man. It had been the wrong couple though, a good thing probably since the cops perhaps could have linked it if it had been Jeff's ex.

Even though it was the wrong couple it had felt great. Even Lance thought so. They'd bragged a little about it at the weekly barbeques with the guys and soon everyone had been talked into joining. They all had families, ex's, girlfriends, kids so they'd used their Friday night poker game time and then extended it to Saturdays as well as they got hooked on the thrill. All though at least four of the six men had no problem selling everyone out it had been a good thing they stopped them when they did, it would have escalated otherwise. They had no intention to stop what they were doing.

In a week or two this would be of some relief to Amanda but as Fin drove her home that early morning she had trouble seeing anything good coming out of this past night. Fin was worried about her as she kept silent and he felt unable to do anything for her. When he asked how she was doing as they got into the car she'd just given him a nod and something that could be mistaken for a smile. Maybe.

They were driving across the bridge to her borough when she suddenly said she wanted to go pick up Fay. He gave her a questionable look and then looked at the clock at the panel.
"It's 3 am Amanda, she's asleep," he said. She kept quiet for a while. He kept giving her concerned looks, he could see and hear she was breathing heavily. Even in the dark of the car he could see, with every passing street light, the red line on her face where the tape had been. He could see the beginning shiner on her left eye, her graced knuckles as her hands laid fidgety in her lap. As they walked out of the hospital he could tell every step hurt, he knew the bottom of her feet were banged up from kicking the fence for a long time. That combined with all the rest of the cuts, scrapes and bruises covering her entire body made every move to say the least uncomfortable.

"Can we just go over there please," she begged and as their eyes met briefly he could see tears in hers.
"Okay," he said and he found the first turn-off so he could drive back over the bridge again.

Ken and Alejandro lived in the upper Manhattan and with the empty streets the drive over went smoothly. He parked out on the street but left the key in the engine. He still didn't think it was a good idea to wake up Fay at this hour, especially not since Amanda didn't seem all that stable at the moment. He relaxed a little as she remained in the car though. He could see her peaking up at their windows. Their apartment was completely black.

Amanda felt a little better now that she was at least closer to her daughter. While stuck in that basement she hadn't thought of Fay at all and she'd started to feel bad about that as she a little later realized this. She felt safe knowing Fin would have her though if anything happen to her, and if not Fin, Ken and Alejandro would be great for her. She leaned back in her seat. Closed her eyes as she took a few deep breaths. She heard Fin remove his seat belt. She'd gone without, they made her feel contained and she had to remove them on the drive home. She felt her tears flooding over and she didn't try to stop them. She heard Fin take a deep breath, she knew this was freaking him out. He couldn't handle her tears, her emotions. She knew but right now she didn't care. She opened her eyes as she turned her head towards him. He looked sad, perhaps a bit terrified. He reached out though and placed his hand on her cheek. She leaned into it and closed her eyes for a while. Her tears fell down onto his wrist, they burnt a little as they hit.

He wasn't sure what she was doing when she suddenly moved and started climbing over to his seat. He moved over a bit towards the door as she sat down and he got his arm around her. She quickly escaped into his arms and buried her face in his chest. Her legs came up over his and he put his other arm around her so he could hold on to her properly. He still wasn't sure what was going on but it felt good holding on to her.

She wasn't sure why she was crying either. Surely some of it came from what she'd been through tonight, it at least contributed to how worn down she felt. Her defenses were completely down. But it wasn't just tonight and the basement. It was everything. Everything with Fin and the argument they had earlier tonight. It was about Fay and the inability for Amanda to give her a real father. She had a father figure but no one she could call father. Amanda wanted to give her that but she knew Fin wasn't ready. She didn't know if he ever would be and she wasn't sure she could go on like this any longer. Everything felt like a lie. Like a burden. For many years now she'd felt content. Like she had everything she needed. But not any longer. She wanted to be more than content. She wanted to be happy. And the thought that he couldn't make her happy scared her more than any ignorant SOB holding her prisoner in a basement. At least in this moment in time. Tonight, in this car, with him by her side but still so out of reach.

They fell asleep somehow, not even the morning sun woke them up but an officer had to. Fin woke by his billy hitting the driver's side window. He'd rolled down the seat a little as he felt Amanda drift off to sleep a few hours ago and now he struggled to hold himself up as he tried to remember where he was and why and everything. When he realized a cop was tapping his window though he got his badge up and it made the officer keep walking. Not without throwing a few concerned looks over his shoulder though as he went back to this car.

Amanda squirmed a bit by his side and then let out an ouch as something hurt a little more than the constant soreness she'd felt since she started to come awake. They both yawned loudly and Fin tried to rub some life in his face.

After a while and after Amanda had found a pair of his spare sunglasses in the glove apartment they went upstairs. Fin, knowing they were early risers even on weekends, had texted his son and gotten a reply so they knew they were up. Fin knocked rather soft on the door as Amanda kept in the background. Ken came to the door and the 'oh my god' that escaped his lips when he saw Amanda told her she hadn't done a good job trying to cover up her injuries. She had Fin's sunglasses covering most of her face and put his jacket on over the sweater and hoped it would swallow her. But the shiner shined through, Ken saw bruises on her neck and her whole demeanor told him she wasn't doing good at all.

Fin just gave him a look though that told him to not ask. Ken struggled not to though as he leaned in to greet Amanda with a kiss on the cheek. Fay's shriek came down the hallway as she ran to them. Fin grabbed her before she could reach her mom though and brought her up for a quick hug. She clearly wanted her mom though and Fin brought her over with a 'be careful with your mom okay'. He held on to her as she gave her mom a kiss and a hug. Amanda tried to keep the pain from her face as her daughter's arm came around her neck and squeezed a lot of the sore spots but both Ken and Fin spotted the grin. Fay struggled to get Fin to let her go but he held on.

"Mommy had a boo-boo okay, so you need to be careful with her," Fin said and brought her back into his own arms.
"A boo-boo?" Fay asked and looked from Fin to her mom.
"Mama's going to be fine don't you worry," Amanda smiled, "let's get you dressed okay?" Fin put Fay down and she immediately grabbed her mom's hand and pulled her inside. Ken met his dad's eyes as he shut the door behind them.

"What happen?" he asked with a low voice as Fay and Amanda got further down the hall.
"I'll tell you later," Fin said and touched his arm before he followed the ladies inside.

Alejandro's 'Oh my God' wouldn't be as subtle as Ken's though. Ken was quickly there though and with a look and a hand gesture he made sure to tune his fiancé down. Amanda struggled to just keep a straight face as they tried to get Fay ready to head out of there. She wanted to show her mama something she painted and then it was something in the kitchen and then a DVD folder of the movie they'd seen last night. Amanda tried her best to keep up and meanwhile get Fay a step closer to dressed meanwhile. Both Ken and Alejandro did their best to help out while Fin just sat down on the cough figuring it was best to keep out of the way.

They had been in the middle of breakfast and Ken packed some of her food that was transportable in a bag and sent it with them.
Ken made sure Fin got that he had to call later before they said their goodbyes. Amanda carried Fay downstairs even though it hurt. Fin tried to take her but Fay insisted on her mom carrying her and Amanda said it was okay. She could bear through any pain for a chance to hold her daughter.

Fay kept up the conversation in the car and kept talking as they got home. Fin played with Fay so Amanda could have a shower. Amanda did her best to stay up but by lunch Fin sent her to bed with some painkillers as he went out to have lunch with the kid. She kept sleeping until late and Fin and Fay kept busy meanwhile. When she finally woke up though she said she felt better and insisted he'd go home to get some sleep himself. He had a long night too she said. He was tired but he still didn't want to leave. He could feel something was different. Something had changed and it wasn't just the wetback hunters and the basement and all that. Something else was different about her. About them. And he didn't like it. As she closed the door behind him it felt as though she closed the door to something else too.

XXX

Phew. Okay we are in a bit of slump. And believe it or not it will get worse. I feel the need to give you a bit of warning. You might think Fin can't get any lower but in a chapter, or two, he actually will. He's going to do something really – really – stupid and repulsive but please don't hate on him too much (or me for that matter). I really do love Fin but I can't figure out if he's just a very simple character or a very complicated one. He goes with his gut, acts on emotion but rarely speaks of any. I do think he comes from a good place though and I hope by bringing him down, well I guess I feel he needs a big wake-up call and the only way to do that is to, in a way, bring him to the gutter. I'm not sure where this will end tho, it's mostly in my head so far but I'm hoping to be able to bring it around to a happy ending. Keep reading and you'll find out… ;)
Oh yeah and that bruise on her thigh was a total rip-off from one of the most excellent ER episodes ever, the one where Abby gets assaulted by that neighbor (A Simple Twist Of Fate S08E14)
Oh and a big thank u to killerQueen32 for your awesome reviews, they keep me going right now!