Friday, September 26th, 2008
1:15pm – Office of ADA Casey Novak
Casey sat on the floor of her office in the dark, leaning against the base of the couch. Once the storm kicked into high gear, for some reason, it was just more comforting to sit there. At least here it seemed a little less likely that the building was about to get blown over, she reasoned.
The lack of power and lack of contact with the outside world only made matters worse.
But hell, this wasn't exactly a passing summer thunderstorm, Casey thought.
x x x
She recalled a few times while visiting with her relatives in Texas, when they would have to go down to the basement after a tornado warning was issued. Her two youngest male cousins who couldn't quite get enough of these storms would watch the sky until the last possible second before going downstairs.
No one ever had to tell her twice, though.
Two tornadoes that struck near her aunt and uncle's house back in the 1990s had been enough. Most of the time, tornado watches and warnings didn't even amount to a passing shower.
Still, there was something about the noise and heightened storm alerts that instantly sparked panic in her.
The damned siren was only a block away from her aunt and uncle's house, and it was loud enough to wake the dead. She'd practically jump out of her skin whenever it sounded.
And there was nothing quite like being taunted by friends and family whenever, unbeknownst to her, the siren was being tested.
x x x
Casey nervously rolled the flashlight between her palms. Unsure of the battery life, she tried to use it sparingly. She already knew she could find her way around her office in the dark. Outside of that, she didn't know what she'd be facing.
Right now, storm or no storm, she had to go to the bathroom.
Casey pushed herself up with her hands until she was standing, and then slowly made her way to the door. The closest bathroom to her wasn't working, but there was another one on the opposite side of the building.
She clicked on the flashlight and counted to ten before slowly twisting the door knob. I can do this, she calmly reassured herself. I can do this. I-
Well… Damn.
The crashing and wailing sounds she had heard from inside her office were magnified the moment she opened the door.
Casey took small steps out of her office to survey the area. She aimed her flashlight through some of the open offices, noticing that most of the outside windows had been broken at the hinges, or at the very least, the glass had been shattered. Wind gusts carried heavy mists of rain through the open windows.
Her gaze followed the flashlight beam as she observed papers and files strewn all over the place. The furniture and floors were soaked, and standing water had even begun to collect on the floor beneath the windows. It was difficult to tell what the damage was like outside, because she couldn't see much beyond the hazy mist coming in through the windows, and there was hardly any daylight left.
Casey moved quickly toward the restroom, went inside and was back in her office within a couple of minutes. She closed the door, leaning her head back against it, and released a heavy sigh.
That's it. She would stay put until someone came looking for her. The problem was that she had no idea when that would be.
No one really even knew she was there.
After a few deep breaths, she resolved not to lose it. At least not for the time being.
Her next thought was of the emergency liquor stash belonging to Mike, her coworker. He kept a few bottles in his file cabinet, buried beneath a pile of spare clothes, and it's doubtful that he remembered leaving it behind.
Well if this wasn't an emergency, then what was?
A gratifying smile soon appeared. "Mike, I'm raiding your cabinet!"
x x x
3:00 pm – South Street Parking Garage, Lower Manhattan, NY
It took Elliot a few minutes to orient himself after he re-entered the garage. The vehicle entrance was now partially blocked by the surplus of building materials, which only made it darker in some places.
He stood about four car lengths away from the entrance, while he began taking in his surroundings again and adjust his eyes to the diminished light. Just then, another thought occurred to him.
Vincent.
Elliot turned abruptly toward the attendant booth where he had brought the older man to just moments earlier.
In his attempt to get Vincent to a warmer, less hazardous place, he unknowingly placed him in a direct path of the surging debris from the fallen building, which was adjacent to the garage's vehicle entrance.
Elliot moved briskly toward the door of the booth, which he estimated at about twenty feet away. Because of the direction of flow from the rushing flood waters, the building scraps seemed to be concentrated around the parameter of the booth, making it difficult to actually get to the door. He tried to shove a few of the larger scraps aside, but most of the pieces he couldn't move at all because of their size and weight, or the way it was all becoming compacted into piles.
Soon it became like a maze, as each path he took almost inevitably led to a dead end where he couldn't move in any direction. Rather than work backwards, Elliot tried to work his way between the large metal scraps, posts and car parts to get closer to the booth. Heavier scraps sank below the surface and created more obstacles.
Once he got a little closer, he noticed that a thick, metal post, a little less than a foot in diameter and about eight feet long had smashed through the side of the booth. It shocked him to see it petruding out that way, although it probably shouldn't be much of a surprise, given the force of the water flowing in, and the mass of the objects behind it.
Although Vincent was entirely too close to that side.
Elliot quickly ducked under the larger scraps in his way, but when he stood up, another metal post held loosely in place by several pieces of roofing material had shifted under the inflow current and suddenly slipped, falling directly toward him.
He realized it was coming, but there was no place for him to go. He shielded his head with his arms the best he could but the heavy post struck his left arm forcefully, causing him to fall backward. Elliot slipped down between a pile of aluminum scraps and sheetrock into the flood waters.
After a moment he resurfaced again, holding his left elbow and seething from the pain he was now in. A piercing sensation shot through every nerve between his elbow and wrist, although there was almost no feeling at all in his hand.
Elliot clenched his back teeth together tightly, shielded his arm, and then tried once again to make his way toward Vincent. The falling pole had somehow managed to shift a few of the scraps aside, clearing some of the debris away from the door.
He noticed that the door had been damaged by the large post and would not open. Fortunately, there was a large enough gap in the door, which Elliot attempted to widen so he could get into the booth.
When he could fit his upper body through the space, he looked in at Vincent and immediately discovered that something heavy was crushing his chest. Elliot reached for his wrist and found no pulse.
Vincent couldn't hear and couldn't move in order to protect himself. Elliot silently berated himself, realizing he should have tried to get him to the shelter when he had the chance.
At least then Vincent might still be alive.
He slowly backed out from the gap in the wall of the booth. "Dammit!" he yelled. A combination of stress, fatigue, and pain hit him hard right then. Feeling mostly defeated, he slumped down against the wall of the booth.
x x x
3:16pm - SVU bullpen
John sat back in his chair with his feet propped up on the edge of the desk, while the storm continued its fury outside the windows of the bullpen.
Several of those windows had already been broken open. He and Fin worked, fruitlessly at best, trying to seal them off temporarily. They finished off a roll of duct tape that had been there almost as long as Fin, just trying to close off some of the gaps. After Cragen joined in, they managed to block off a number of windows, reducing some of the rain that was coming in.
It kept them busy anyway. They were all concerned about Elliot and Olivia.
About an hour ago, they learned from Sergeant Marksen that Elliot had found Alina, but that he and Liv had split up in the garage. Elliot was looking for her and everyone knew, come hell or high water, he wouldn't quit until he found her. Although the later it became, the worse it began to look for them.
Until the power went out, they had the major news networks to fill their already troubled thoughts. The media, in its usual manner, was preparing everyone for the worst. The death toll, the clean up, the financial district and long-term impacts. And of course, the future had never sounded more grim.
John and Fin were willing to try and go down to the garage, but Cragen put his foot down. There was no way he would risk two more detective's lives. He was already beating himself up because he allowed Elliot and Olivia to leave in the first place.
All they could do was sit in the bullpen waiting for the storm to let up.
Fin, Kaleb and Cragen had opted to try and sleep through the worst of this, but he couldn't relax enough to even bother treking up the stairs to the crib.
John mindlessly picked at his cell phone, flipping it open and closing it back again.
He eyed the display and for a moment he thought he was hallucinating. A signal? He actually had a signal? He stared in disbelief at the missed call and text message from Mike Logan. Mike, he already knew, was in Philadelphia. So he figured Mike might have called if he couldn't get back.
And then he read the text message.
x
Can't reach Casey. Probably at her office. Pls send help if you can. – ML.
x
Casey hadn't left? he pondered. Why?
She probably didn't have anything in the way of supplies either, he assumed. He was worried, but there wasn't much he could do.
When he looked back at the LCD screen once more, he sighed.
Signal was lost again.
x x x
3:26 pm – South Street Parking Garage, Lower Manhattan, NY
Elliot stirred out of his momentary haze and his mind was on his partner again.
He had been everywhere searching for her except lower level 2. If she was there it was too late. Hell, if she was even below ground it was too late.
If he had to consider her alone in any other given set of circumstances, he'd almost always know how to find her.
It was his knowledge of her, their partnership, and the way they were always insync. They responded very similarly in emergency situations too and he had complete faith in her survival capabilities.
He would have found her, had she been on the other levels. But she opted for the lowest levels and knowing Liv, she wouldn't leave there until she knew Alina was safe.
As far as she knew, Alina was still out there.
Damn the storm, damn their lack of communication, he groaned.
He dismissed those thoughts and poured over other possiblities, allowing the detective in him to take over while pain and exhaustion rendered the rest of him almost useless.
In his mind, he retraced his steps through that garage for about the twentieth time, carefully considering the layout. He and Darnell discovered Alina on level five. Marksen went on ahead with Alina, and he and Darnell took the vehicle ramps down.
After eliminating a few fleeting options, a thought suddenly occurred to him. There was one place he hadn't completely covered.
"Dammit," he hissed. The back staircase!
Elliot's heartbeat began to escalate as he thought back to the times he had been there and realized it had hardly been checked at all.
The front staircase was open to the outside and he and Darnell had already been up to the third parking level. His assumption was that if Olivia was in either of the two staircases, she would have reached one of the levels eventually and they would have found her. He also soon recalled that Olivia could only access the lower levels from the back staircase or the vehicle ramps. She may have tried to escape that way when the flood waters started to rise, he thought.
Then he remembered the slippery steps and how difficult it was to stand with the current coming down them. He wouldn't have thought to look any further because no one could be in there for very long with that current and those slippery steps.
Unless she had slipped.
Elliot gripped the side of the attendant booth with his good arm and pulled himself up. He instantly felt a wave of nausea hit him once he was standing, but he willed himself through it. Once he was fairly certain he could stand, he shielded his left arm and then moved as quickly as he could through the mess of floating building debris and car parts.
His eyes had finally adjusted to the reduced light in the back of the garage, when he discovered that the door to the stairs was wide open, allowing the floodwaters to flow downward from the other levels, carrying anything and everything along with it.
Elliot forced his way through mess of scraps at the base of the stairs. He finally ducking below the water surface and entered the staircase to the two parking levels below ground.
He didn't have a good feeling about this, but tried to push it aside. Just focus on Liv, he continually told himself. At least he'd give his latest theory a chance.
The stairwell became more compacted with trash, the further down he went. He couldn't see much and really couldn't stop for a breath, making it near impossible to stay down there for very long. Elliot worked quickly down both levels, but found no evidence of her. The sad thing was, he really couldn't see enough to be sure of that. He returned to the first floor, coughing and gasping for a moment until he felt the air return to his lungs again.
Once again, he willed away the places his thoughts tried to take him. His eyes followed the trail of trash that littered the steps to the next level up; parking level 2. Maybe she tried to head upward a few levels when the wave hit, he considered.
Elliot worked quickly, using his good arm to dislodge a few pieces of PVC piping, cardboard, cups, bags, trash and smaller scraps of different materials, tossing them aside as he climbed the steps. It may have created more of a hazard when he tried to go back down the stairs, but he was more concerned with finding Liv.
The steps were still slippery, but they were easier to navigate through with the slower current. Whenever possible, he'd secure his footing on a piece of cardboard or something sturdy and less slick. He soon reached the landing.
Daylight suddenly hit him, almost like a spotlight as he rounded the corner. It afforded more light to the staircase, allowing him to find the larger objects easier. Several of those random objects he had already found by accident. He'd be in a hell of a lot of pain when all of this was over.
Elliot rummaged through more of the stairwell debris. Even a sign that she might have been there, would make him feel better at this point. He was about to the second level when he shifted some plastic bags, fiber glass, and a piece of cardboard aside. He glanced down and gasped.
"Olivia!"
He immediately saw that there was a jagged scrape across her cheek and she looked pale. His attempts to call to her and stir her into some state of alertness were unsuccessful. He couldn't tell what had happened so he proceeded cautiously.
Elliot immediately moved beside her and checked her vitals. Her heart rate was slow and breathing was steady. He exhaled slowly. She appeared to be holding on.
Of course she would. She's Liv, he thought, as he carefully guided her head toward his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. He held onto her for a moment, releasing some of the emotions he had been holding in. He gave himself a moment to collect and then brought his focus back to where they were.
They weren't safe by any means, and he didn't know what kind of medical help she might need. He tried to think of a way to get them out of there. He released her from the hug, guided her until she was leaning against the side wall while still making sure she was out of harms way, and then tried his best to clear some of the scraps in the stairwell.
Only a few steps from the second level, curiosity got the best of him. Elliot looked out to see what the storm was doing.
He stared toward the sky in disbelief. Was it actually over? Strong wind gusts persisted although not like before. He could actually see the sky. In fact, it was the most brilliant shade of deep blue that he had ever seen in Manhattan. Maybe even in New York state. It was almost as if all the smog had been washed away. It was absolutely breathtaking. Although it couldn't never make up for the destruction and lives lost, he couldn't seem to take his eyes away.
Elliot sat back down on the steps beside Olivia and checked her vitals again.
He couldn't wait much longer, he had to get her to safety and see that she was checked out by an EMT. Elliot sighed, offering up a prayer of thanks and then pulled her toward him again. He gently touched his lips to the top of her forehead.
"Let's get the hell out of here, partner."
Next chapter: EYE OF THE STORM