A/N: Only an epilogue after this, and then onto the next fic. Points if you catch the old Munch quote from H:LOTS.

"David Bennett is going back down to Baltimore on a first-degree murder charge."

It wasn't exactly what one would call a standard greeting, but no one sitting there in the Special Victims Unit squad room particularly cared. The news was one of the few good things they'd heard over the past few days. John took off his jacket and left it across the back of his desk chair as he sat down and went on.

"I take it none of us actually has a problem with this," he said, and was met with half-amused looks from the other three.

"Why should we have a problem? Whether he hangs here or there, he's still going to hang," Olivia replied. "Yet another example of a criminal who can't keep his mouth shut."

"Stupid killers are a gift from God," said John, and then, "So, we found the other two kids we were looking for?"

"One got picked up on a shoplifting charge in Brooklyn; the other one got nailed trying to buy drugs off someone from Narcotics," said Elliot. "They're sending them down to headquarters now."

"Guess it wouldn't have looked right if they'd sent 'em over here," said Fin. "Major Case is gonna find out what they know and pass it along."

"Any of you hear from the Feds yet?" John asked. Olivia shook her head.

"Nothing," she replied. "Porter said he got hold of a contact in the Baltimore field office and they were going to try for a local warrant, but he hasn't called me back."

"I heard from Baltimore," said John, "They got their warrant, and they were moving in when I talked to them. They're supposed to call me when it's over and done with."

"You sound nervous," Elliot remarked. "Something wrong?"

"No. Well…not yet, anyway." John trailed off and leaned back in his chair. "I'm just wishing I'd stayed down there."

"What, you were gonna go storm the place with them?" Fin asked. John cast a half-amused look in his direction.

"If I had to, then I would have," he said. "It's just that the last time my old shift walked into an apartment building to look for someone, we didn't know where we were really supposed to be going, and we got ambushed."

"You worried it'll happen again?" Olivia asked.

"Well, yeah, I'm worried it'll happen again," said John. "It wouldn't be the first time any of us were shot at, but it doesn't exactly bring back the greatest memories."

"I would think not," said Elliot. "You worry too much about it, you're going to jinx them. They're going to be fine."

But there was no real way to tell this until the call came up, and all of them knew it. Even so, it was somewhat comforting to know that they still had each other to bounce ideas off of.

"So, the DA's office let go of Bennett, huh?" Olivia said finally, changing the subject to what they had originally been discussing. "How'd that happen?"

"Apparently, the Baltimore State's Attorney is better at figuring out our dear District Attorney than I thought she was," said John. "Abby's known Jack McCoy for a while now. Guess he didn't think it was worth the breath it takes to argue with her. Can't say I blame him."

"Either way, it gives us one less person to worry about; he hangs down in Baltimore, it's not going to matter whether he hangs here or not," said Fin. "He's still gonna serve time, even if he doesn't answer for everything he did."

"Oh, he'll answer for it. Abby's not one to leave anything out when she takes something to trial, and I doubt she'll offer a plea," said John. "Not for something like this."

"Do they have enough to make the charges stick?" Elliot asked, but before John could answer, Olivia nodded.

"They've got Bennett's confession," she said. "He didn't ask us for a lawyer at any point in the conversation and as far as we know, he didn't have one."

That was certainly a relief. The unit had been tripped up by something like that two years ago. It had made them more than just a little bit careful in finding out whether or not people they hauled in had managed to retain a lawyer beforehand, whether the charge had anything to do with what the unit had them for or not.

"What've we got on these two kids that Major Case is getting?" John asked after a moment, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Elliot reached for one of the files on his desk and flipped it open.

"Kellen Graham has a record," he said. "Twenty-four years old, served five years' probation for an assault charge when he was seventeen. Ever since probation wore off, it's been minor stuff like shoplifting, but since he always made amends, no one ever bothered to press charges."

"Adam Fannin is Jake's little brother," said Olivia, picking up where her partner left off, "He's eighteen. Has a drug problem, served time in the juvenile detention center for a possession charge when he was fourteen, got out six months ago."

"I don't get it. These kids haven't done anything even remotely close to this level, and all of a sudden, they decide they want to take up with Sam Garret?" said John. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Probably looking for a laugh," said Fin. "Tony Martin might not have been lying when he said they thought it was a joke."

"Who the hell does something like this as a joke, though?" said Olivia. "That's what doesn't make sense to me. Yeah, they might have thought it was a joke, but when they got there, why the hell didn't they just leave?"

"Once you start following someone like that, it ain't always easy to walk away. They might have thought they couldn't. Martin never mentioned what it was that Garret held over their heads to keep them there," said Fin.

"And they're not likely to, either." Elliot trailed off, an exasperated look crossing his face before he went on. "Not one of those kids is going to tell us what Garret told them to keep them where they were."

"It's most likely that he told them they were going to take the fall for it just for being there even if they hadn't done anything," said John. "The whole 'guilt by association' thing. They were there, therefore, they had something to do with it, even if they didn't know what was going on."

"You can't tell me they were really that stupid," said Olivia. "They had to have known that if they changed their minds and walked away before anything went down, we couldn't touch them."

"Whether they knew it or not doesn't matter anymore," said John. "The point is that they didn't change their minds."

"And now they're going to hang." Elliot trailed off and sighed. "We still don't know what Kari Applegate had to do with anything."

"Trust me, we'll know by the time Baltimore is finished with Bennett," John told him. "Might not help, but we'll know."

Silence fell between the four of them at this point. In the morning, everything would be out of their hands. There would be a grand jury, indictments, and later, trials, and hopefully, convictions. But either way they looked at it, once morning came, there was nothing to do but wait.

"Who's going down to Baltimore with Abby?" Olivia asked finally, and John looked over at her.

"Two of the guys from Major Case," he said. "Would that it were two of us, but Casey's got us all scheduled for court in the morning."

"What time did she say we had to be there?" Fin asked. Elliot looked down at the message that had been left on his desk.

"Eleven," he said. "We've got to be there by eleven."

Olivia looked at the clock and sighed. "Now all we can do is wait."

"You know, it's actually incredibly stupid that he'd come back here."

Plans had been changed when they'd gotten to the building. Seven had gone in, including Jen; they'd split up, with two cops taking a floor and a Fed on the top floor, barring anyone's access to the rooftop. At present, Mike and Jen found themselves right in the middle, on the third floor. The door to the apartment they'd just left closed behind them as Jen continued.

"He had to have known that this would be the one place in Baltimore the cops would think to look," she said. "Out of all the places in the city that he could have gone…"

"There's something to be said about familiarity," said Mike. "This is a safe place for him. Kinda like…oh, I don't know, Mel and the boat, maybe."

"You two spend too much time on that boat." Jen knocked on the next apartment door and went on. "What exactly d'you two do, anyway? It's not the most interesting place in the world."

Mike smirked. "We have five kids, Jen," he said. "Think about it."

She made a face at him. "I'm starting to wonder why she isn't tired of you yet, Mikey."

"You should've seen us in '91. Knock on the door again."

Jen did. There was still no answer. She frowned. "Who's got the lease on this place?"

Mike flipped open the notepad he was holding. "William and Claire Stanton," He said. "Doesn't look like they're home."

"Warrant says we can search anywhere," said Jen. She pulled a card out of her pocket and bent down; Mike cast an amused look at the back of her head.

"What are the odds that they have a chain on the door?" he asked.

"We don't have time to wait, especially when…" Jen trailed off and leaned closer to the door. "I hear something. Call the others down here."

Behind her, there was the sound of a radio crackling, and then Mike's voice. The door came open with a quiet click, and Jen drew her gun. Mike put the radio back in his jacket and did the same.

"They're on their way," he said. "Kay and Meldrick will probably get down here first."

"We can't wait," Jen replied, quietly, "Let's just go."

They stepped into the apartment. All of the lights were off, but it did nothing to muffle any sounds coming from the back.

"Place smells like a gas station," Jen remarked, careful to keep her voice low. "Careful with that gun; one spark and the place goes."

"I know."

Everything went silent. Footsteps made Mike whirl around; a few seconds passed before he lowered his gun, realizing that he had it in Kay's face.

"Sorry," he told her, and then, "They're in the back."

The sounds had started up again. Jen was already halfway down the hall. Mike followed, and behind him, Kay and Meldrick. Once again, the sound stopped, but in its place came a muffled cry that none of them could mistake. Mike leaned forward and slowly tried the doorknob. The door was locked. Jen moved back, and Meldrick moved forward in her place.

"On three," said Kay, from the opposite side of the hall. "One, two…"

The door flew backwards and landed against the wall with a resounding crash. There were two people already in the room; one of them had already gotten up and pulled on clothes. The other had pulled the covers up to right beneath her chin.

"On your knees and get your hands where I can see them," Mike said, to the standing figure. "Move, now!"

The person laughed, but turned and did as he'd been told. "Well, well, Katie. It looks like you were right."
Sam Garret's eyes flashed with something akin to annoyance as he went on. "I guess the only question now is whether or not your detective will still want you after this."

"Shut your mouth," Mike snapped at him. He crossed the room to where Sam was and took a pair of handcuffs off of his belt. "Samuel Garret, you are under arrest for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping and rape."

Meldrick picked up where he left off. "You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford one, one will be provided by the courts…"

"Get him the hell out of here," said Kay, "Now."

"Gladly." Mike yanked Sam to his feet and pushed him towards the door as Tim and Melanie came sliding into view; Meldrick followed after them and so did Tim; Melanie remained behind.

"It's over now," Jen was saying to the figure still huddled underneath the covers. "He's gone, hon. We've got him now."

Slowly the covers came down, revealing a tired face. "He's really gone this time?" Kathy asked. "He isn't coming back?"

"Not if our boys have anything to do with it. You're safe now," Kay replied. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

Melanie crossed the room and started picking clothes up off of the floor. "Here, hon. We'll be waiting in the hallway."

And with that she turned and walked out. Kay and Jen followed after her, and flipped on the lights as they did.

"She's gonna have to go to a hospital for at least a few days," Jen remarked, already going for the radio she had. "I'll call for an ambulance."

"And I'll call New York," said Kay. "Mel, if you don't mind, grab Bayliss and go through the place. I didn't see that necklace New York told us Mrs. Stabler wears."

Melanie nodded and disappeared from view as she left the apartment.

"Ambulance is on the way," said Jen. Kay nodded, and pulled out her cell phone.

"Looks like this part is over."

After leaving the precinct, the four of them had gone in separate directions, presumably home, as they'd been ordered. Ironically enough, unlike other times, this was exactly where John found himself, staring at the phone. Rowan had long since fallen asleep, having remarked that staring wasn't going to make the phone ring. She'd had a point, but he hadn't wanted to listen, and so he was still awake…partially, anyway. But just as he thought he was about to give up waiting, the phone rang. He reached for it at once.

"Is everything all right?" he demanded, by way of greeting. "How is everyone?"

"Pissed, but fine," said Kay. "We were right, John. We've got him."

"And Kathy?"

"Whitmore's riding with her to the hospital, we'll probably have to keep her for a few days."

"But she's all right?"

"She's fine. I'll bet it's more for observation than anything else."

"And you have Garret?"

"Mike and Meldrick do. They took him down to Central Booking."

"We're going to want him back here in New York."

"Good. He can fry in two places." Kay trailed off and sighed. "I won't say we were lucky to find him when we did, but I'll tell you that if we'd been even two minutes later, the place would have been burning."

"So he was going to light the place?" John asked.

"Yeah, he was going to. Didn't look too happy to be interrupted, either," said Kay. "Hey, listen, that necklace you were telling us about…What was on it?"

"Two rings," said John. "A high school ring and a police academy one. Both are Detective Stabler's. Why? Is it missing?"

"Yeah. We're looking for it now, but I wanted to make sure we knew what we were looking for," said Kay. "If it's anywhere in the apartment, we'll find it."

"Let me know when you do. Any word from the State's Attorney's office?"

"Michelle says Abby will be back in Baltimore in the morning with the two guys from your Major Case Squad and David Bennett. She's looking to get him arraigned and indicted as soon as possible and set a trial date."

That was certainly good news. The sooner the trial dates, the sooner this was over for everyone involved. A beeping sound cut Kay off as she went on; John glanced at the caller ID and sighed.

"Kay, I'm gonna have to call you back," he said. "Someone in my unit is trying to get a hold of me."

"All right. I'll let you know what turns up."

There was a click, and he knew that Kay had gone to rejoin the search of Sam Garret's apartment. The beeping sound came again and John pushed the button to switch lines.

"Liv, they found her," he said. "They're taking her to a hospital to get checked out, but other than that, she's fine."

"And Garret?" Olivia asked.

"In custody. They're going to arraign him in the morning."

"Good. Hope you told them we're going to want him back here."

"That I did. Listen, you wouldn't mind telling Elliot, would you? There's still coordinating left to be done between us and them."

"I'll let him know. He'll probably want to head down there straight off."

"Ask him if he'll wait and meet me at the precinct; I'll go with him."

"I'll ask, but I don't know if he'll wait. In fact, I'd bet he won't."

"Tell him to call me, then, if you get a hold of him. I'm on my way to the precinct now."