A/N: So, I think muse might have figured a few things out, which is always good, because it means I'm finally going to get to where I wanted to go. In any case, that's about all for now, so have at it.

On the other side of town from where Mike and Melanie were, however, there was a completely different scene going on. Yellow crime scene tape cordoned off a wide area, and flashing lights lit everything up. Outside the tape, there was a group of people, all of them watching, and talking amongst themselves. Uniforms held them back, allowing no one to cross the tape besides those who could show the proper ID.

"This is just like Manhattan," John remarked, pinning his shield onto his coat as he followed Kay through the crowd. "Everyone wants to see what's going on, but no one wants to admit that they know anything."

"Of course they don't. Admitting they know something means that this could happen to them," Kay said dryly. "Call it a twisted kind of self-preservation."

"I have other things to call it, none of which are fit for a lady's ears," John replied, smirking. Kay rolled her eyes.

"That's never stopped you before," she said. "I can think of worse things that you and the rest of the guys have said in front of me."

"True, but then, you are one of the guys, or at least, you are to us. Even so, I won't tell you what I was thinking." John trailed off and ducked under the tape after her, ignoring the slight frowns that crossed two uniforms' faces when they noticed that he wasn't wearing a Baltimore shield. He glanced towards the center of the perimeter, where two familiar figures were standing, and went on. "Shift lieutenants are picking up cases now?"

"First shift ended; second hadn't started coming in yet," Tim replied. "Meldrick and I were in the office when the phone rang; figured we might as well."

"We've got a problem," said Meldrick, and at the questioning look that crossed Kay's face, he went on. "Our victim is a cop."

"A cop?" Kay asked. "You find an ID?"

"Yeah, but she's not one of ours," said Tim. He held out what appeared to be a leather wallet; John took it and flipped it open. A few seconds later, he shook his head.

"Damn," he said. "She's one of New York's. Her name is Kari Applegate; she was only six months out of the police academy up there."

"You don't think she has anything to do with this case, do you?" Meldrick asked. John sighed.

"She does," he said. "She was one of the two uniforms that responded to the 911 calls coming from the Stabler kids and their friends, the day they were taken. We were looking at her partner for a while, but nothing ever turned up."

"Anything turn up against her?" Tim asked.

"Detective Stabler and his partner went down to Internal Affairs, to see if there was anything that they could tell us," said John. "Turns out that Officer Applegate was one of their plants. They took her straight out of the academy and put her in the Stabler family's home precinct to find out what was going on there."

"Did she get anything out of it?" Kay asked.

"Not that we know of. At least, not yet. We talked to a friend of hers in the Bronx; she told us that Officer Applegate had mentioned something about her partner," John replied. "Unfortunately, we're no longer sure of how true that is; this friend turned out to be the mother of a kid being held in relation to the home invasion part of this."

"Oh, that's lovely," said Tim. "Any indication that this friend might have only said that to throw you off?"

"Don't know. This friend is a fellow cop, so for all we know, she might have been telling the truth." John trailed off and looked after the medical examiner and her assistants. They had already moved the body and were leaving the scene. Another moment passed before he continued on where he'd left off. "This doesn't make any sense. Besides the strange behavior after the family disappeared and the thing with Internal Affairs, there was no indication that Officer Applegate knew anything."

"Then why would she be here in Baltimore?" Meldrick asked. "Why would she up and leave New York to come down here if she didn't know anything?"

"Maybe she'd stumbled across something. I don't know what she'd have been doing here," said John. "If she did know anything, it's going to take us a lot longer to find out now that she's dead."

"You're going to have to call your lot up in New York and let them know what happened," said Kay. "Maybe they'll turn something up."

Silence fell between the four colleagues at this, broken only by the sounds of people chattering away outside the taped perimeter. After a while, Kay ran a tired hand over her face, a low sigh escaping her before she picked up where she'd stopped.

"All right, here's what we're gonna do," she said. "I'm gonna talk to Whitmore and Kellerman later this morning, see if they talked to Narcotics about finding a way into that apartment building. Tim, Meldrick, you two stick with this, and whatever you do, don't release to the press the fact that our victim is a cop. Munch...you stick with me and keep the lines open between here and New York; anything they know, we need to know."

It sounded easy, but all four of them knew that it would be anything but. It wasn't exactly a secret that the ASA who worked with Narcotics was a lot more by the book than anyone else in the State's Attorney's office. While it worked most of the time in the way of getting convictions and not having them overturned, other times, it was just annoying, especially when the Narcotics squad had what they thought was a good enough reason to move in, only to be told that it wasn't.

"Do either of them know anyone in Narcotics?" Meldrick asked finally. "Whitmore and Kellerman, I mean."

"Yeah. Kellerman's old partner got rotated in from Arson last month," said Kay. "She's already agreed to help us out. I'm just hoping that means sooner rather than later."

"Well, either way we look at it, we're going to have to wait until we get an answer from them," Tim pointed out. "We don't have a reason to go into that apartment building on our own, do we?"

"Not yet, but we will." John looked up from the message he'd just gotten on his phone, an almost relieved look on his face. "The Feds have officially given up on me."

"About time," said Kay. "They never had any real evidence against you in the first place."

"Nah. They just didn't want to bother calling the field offices down here to get them to find you," said Meldrick, smirking. "Guess you ain't really worth the trouble."

"Those days of mine are long over," John retorted, amused. "But that's beside the point. Now I don't have to worry about looking over my shoulder to make sure they're not there."

"The day you give that up is the day I hand in my shield," said Tim, and then, "That is, if it happens before I'm made to retire."

Faint laughter came in reply to this. The crowd around the crime scene tape had not yet started to thin itself out. Kay glanced over at the people still standing there and then at her watch.

"We might as well get moving on this murder while we can," she said. "Let's find out if anyone saw anything."

Hours later found two members of the Special Victims Unit standing in the Major Case Squad's observation room, with one of their fellow detectives. Tony Martin was once again in the interrogation room, with his lawyer. He'd finally cracked. Being stuck in a prison cell had finally gotten to him, and now he was willing to talk...under certain conditions.

"We wouldn't have made any concessions at all if our ADA hadn't insisted on it," Mike Logan remarked, leaning back against the two-way mirror. "The kid wanted immunity."

"Tell me you didn't give it to him," Olivia started, but Mike cut her off, before she could get any further.

"Hell, no, we didn't give it to him," he said. "Carver wouldn't go that far. Tony Martin is going to plead out on conspiracy and a couple of assault charges. He gives us what we need to know, he'll be out before his thirtieth birthday."

"Somehow, I don't think that's gonna sit well," Fin remarked. Mike sighed.

"I know it won't," he said. "But it's all we've got. This kid isn't gonna give an inch unless we give him something in return. Being stuck at Rikers for the past two weeks scared him, but not enough to talk without some kind of deal."

"He's got a record," said Olivia. "He's been through the system before; he knows exactly what he's doing."

"Yeah, but Rikers isn't exactly the juvenile detention center," Mike pointed out. "He's crossed into the big leagues now, and he knows he's gonna learn the hard way if he doesn't talk to us now."

"What's he offering to tell us?" Fin asked.

"The names of the other three guys he brought with him to invade Elliot's place," said Mike. "That, and some of what Sam Garret's plans were. He doesn't know everything, but we're hoping it's enough to help."

But even if it wasn't, it would have to be, because the deal had already been made, and now there was no going back. It seemed more than just a little bit wrong to the two SVU detectives that the punishment for this crime would be so light, but then again, they had the feeling that it only seemed light to them. There was no denying that they were somewhat biased, but then again, it was a member of their squad whose life had been turned upside down. At present, they were just glad that they wouldn't have to let it slide completely.

"Does he know we're here?" Olivia asked, finally, and Mike nodded, smirking.

"Yeah, he knows. That's why he keeps looking towards that door over there," he said. "He thinks he's going to have to talk to Elliot. I think the idea of that scares him more than Rikers does."

"It should," said Olivia, amused by this. "He's lucky; Elliot took the day off to be with his kids."

"Yeah? That's good," said Mike. "How're they doing?"

"Better than they were, but it's still going to take a while," said Olivia. "You mind if we go in there and talk to him?"

"Be my guest," Mike told her. "I don't mind at all. I'll be in the squad room if you need me, but just know that Captain Deakins will probably be in and out of here to keep an eye on things."

"Yeah, that sounds like something he'd do," said Fin, amused by this. He reached out to pull the observation room door open and walked out; both Mike and Olivia followed after him. Mike wandered back into the squad room as the other two detectives pushed the interrogation room door open and walked in. The door swung closed behind them, loudly enough that the sound echoed down the hallway.

Inside the room, Tony Martin looked up, and his lawyer, a woman by the name of Margo Fuller frowned.

"You're not from Major Case," she said. "What happened to Detective Logan and his partner?"

"They had something else to take care of," Olivia said flatly. She leaned back against the other side of the two-way mirror and went on. "I'm Detective Benson; this is Detective Tutuola. You'll be dealing with us from now on."

"It figures," Margo said dryly. "You lot from Special Victims just can't keep your noses out of this, can you?"

"This was our case from the beginning," said Fin. "You got a problem with it, there's the door."

"I don't think so, Detective. It's not going to be that easy for you. ADA Carver might have agreed to a deal, but I'm starting to think it wasn't his right to offer one," Margo retorted. "What do you want?"

"The same thing the Major Case Squad's looking for," Olivia said bluntly. "Answers. The names of the other three people who stormed Detective Stabler's house two months ago and took his family. A reason why they did it. You know...the usual."

Her sarcasm was not at all lost on Fin, nor was it lost on Margo, who glared at her.

"I want the same reassurances from your ADA Novak that I got from ADA Carver," she said. "Until then, no dice. My client doesn't say a word."

"You know that's not how it works. He doesn't get anything until he gives us something. Right now, he's facing at least ten years, and that's only conspiracy and assault alone," said Fin. "Don't give us a reason to look for anything else, Ms. Fuller, or you're not gonna like what happens."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's a promise."

Silence fell, and lingered. Tony glanced at Margo and leaned towards her to say something, quietly enough that the two detectives couldn't hear. They, too, exchanged glances, and waited. After a while, both Tony and Margo looked up again.

"He doesn't want to go back to the general population at Rikers," Margo said. "He gives you what you want, without my talking to ADA Novak, and you get him into protective custody."

"That depends on what he tells us," said Olivia. "It also depends on whether or not he's telling the truth. If he sends us on a wild goose chase, all bets are off."

Her voice came out more coldly than she'd thought it would. While it startled her, it was enough to let both people sitting at the table on the opposite side of the room from her that she wasn't playing around. Fin glanced at her, and then turned back to where Margo and Tony were sitting.

"We'll talk to ADA Novak and see what we can do about protective custody, but he's gotta talk," he said. "If he doesn't, there's nothing we can do."

"He's ready to talk," said Margo, and looked at Tony again. "Tell them what you know."

He looked back at her, an almost fearful look crossing his face, though it disappeared as quickly as it had come and both Fin and Olivia knew he'd never admit to it having been there. When he turned back to the detectives, his face was blank.

"We thought it was a joke," he said. "Like this guy just wanted to have some fun and scare them, y'know? We didn't think he was serious."

"So you went along with him," said Fin. "Followed him out to Queens, to Detective Stabler's place."

"I was headed there anyway," said Tony. "To talk to Kathleen. Everyone else followed me.

"But you didn't know what this guy was planning," said Fin. Tony shook his head.

"No," he said. "Like I said, we thought he was kidding. Then we get there, and he started saying if we wanted to it right, we all had to go in."

"And you hadn't figured out yet that it was serious?" Olivia asked incredulously. "What tipped you off?"

"He came up behind me and knocked Kathleen backwards after she told me off," said Tony. "That's what tipped us off, but by then, it was already too late."

"Meanin' that you were already in, so you couldn't go back," said Fin. "You had to go along with it."

"If you'd seen this guy, you wouldn't have walked out on him either," Tony replied. "He was nuts. Threatened to kill everyone if they didn't cooperate with him."

"So what happened then?" Olivia asked. "After you'd already broken in, I mean."

"Nothing. We just stood there. Sam kept saying that he knew people were missing and that everyone was going to die. Then the twins came downstairs with the baby."

"Did Sam do anything then?" Fin asked. Tony shook his head.

"No. Not until those two cops showed up. Sam made Kathleen's mom answer the door and tell them that nothing was wrong. He was talking to the guy for a while. Next thing anyone knows, he comes in and tells two of the other guys, take the twins upstairs, teach them a lesson about keeping their mouths shut."

Both detectives looked at each other over Tony's head, but said nothing. Neither of them were particularly keen on finding out what exactly this lesson was, but they knew they had to.

"What'd these other guys do?" Olivia said finally. Tony shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't go upstairs, but after that Maureen's boyfriend called. Sam made her tell him that they had family from Baltimore visiting. That's when he figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"That he was gonna put you guys on a wild goose chase. Get you going all over the city and then go to Maryland. He said he was going to start it all over again, right where he'd left off."

"He give you any specifics?" Fin asked.

"Not really. He just said that they were going to Baltimore, and that she was going to burn, but he didn't say who. That was it."

Silence fell and lingered. After a long moment, Olivia pulled a notepad from her pocket and put it on the table, along with a pen.

"Give us the names of the other guys, and we'll see what we can do."

"What do you mean, she's dead?"

The news of Kari Applegate's death, needless to say, was quite a shock. Ignoring the startled looks that had crossed his children's faces, Elliot pulled open the back door and stepped out onto the deck. The door fell closed behind him as he continued. "When did you find out?"

"A few hours ago, but don't say anything. We're trying to keep it out of the press that she was a cop," John replied. "Have you talked to Liv or Fin?"

"I took the day off, but Liv called, said she and Fin were headed over to talk to MCS about something."

"Lovely. Listen, when you talk to them again, tell them to find David Bennett."

"Is he a suspect?"

"Maybe. I need to know if he's taken time off within the past two weeks."

"How long ago did Applegate die?"

"We're not sure. Medical examiner's doing the autopsy as we speak; with any luck, we'll know in another couple of hours. How are you for leads up there?"

"Don't know. Liv's gonna call me. Fin tell you the Feds finally gave up on trying to charge you?"

"Yeah, he told me. They've gotta stay in the loop, though; we're officially interstate now."

Elliot felt his heart skip a beat, and leaned back against the railing. "You know where Kathy is?" he asked. John sighed.

"We think we do. We're waiting on Detective Kellerman's old partner for a warrant to go in; she rotated into Narcotics, and they think they might have a case where we're looking."

"Any chance you could be wrong?"

"There's always a chance. We're trying not to think about it; right now, this is all we've got."

It wasn't enough. Somehow, it would have to be, but even so, Elliot highly doubted that either one of them would be able to make it that way.

"I need you to get a hold of Liv and Fin, and tell them to turn their phones back on," John was saying, when Elliot started paying attention to him again. "I've already talked to my lot down here; if we get the warrant, we'll call you and wait until morning to give you three a chance to get here."

"When do you expect to have the warrant?"

"Hopefully by the end of the week, but there's no way for us to tell for sure. Detective Scott's going to try for sooner. I can't make any more promises than that."

This, too, would have to be enough. The end of the week was five days away; it was only Monday. Already, it was starting to feel like an eternity.

"So, find David Bennett and find out if he's had time off lately, then?" Elliot said finally. On the other side of the line, John nodded, and then remembered that the other man couldn't see him.

"Yeah, that," he said. "Do you have any way to find out about time off without tipping him off?"

"I've got an old friend in Internal Affairs. She should be able to help me with that. You need anything else?"

"No, that's about it for now. Just let me know if anything turns up."

"I'll do that. Let us know when you get that warrant." Elliot flipped his cell phone closed and turned to look over the railing. Suddenly, it felt like the ground was rushing up at him, and he closed his eyes. Behind him, the door opened and closed again.

"Dad?" Maureen's voice sounded, tentatively, and she trailed off for a few seconds before going on. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine, honey, why?" Elliot replied, without turning around to face her.

"You weren't talking about Mom just now, were you? She's not...she isn't dead, is she?"

Elliot opened his eyes and turned to look at her. "No," he said. "No, she's not...Your mother's alive. Munch and I were talking about someone else."

"Oh." The look of relief that crossed Maureen's face was unmistakable. "We thought...we thought it was Mom you were talking about, but...never mind."

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Elliot asked, but Maureen shook her head.

"No. It's not that important," she said. There was a brief pause, and then she changed the subject. "We were going to head down to the park. You wanna come with us?"