10 years later.
"Hey, did you guys hear about that couple found this morning?" Munch asked as he walked in to the one six.
Olivia looked up from her computer screen, Elliot turned to face Munch, "Yeah, they were the ones on that day time TV show right?"
"They sure were, there were fan battles all over the internet, who should be with who. Flippers."
Olivia laughed, "You mean shippers."
Munch looked at her, "That's what I said," he paused, "What are shippers anyway?"
"Shippers are fans who want to see certain characters on TV shows hook up." Elliot informed. "You know like Bones and Booth. Powerful people these shippers, run half the internet."
Olivia looked at Elliot with shock, she was surprised to see he knew what he was talking about. A grin appeared on her face, Elliot shrugged. "What, my kids ship things. Mostly Edward and themselves." he confessed.
A humorous silence fell over the squad room, Munch sat at his desk, he punched in a few words on his key board to further investigate the couple's murder when Cragen made an appearance. His eyes rested upon Olivia, then Elliot.
"I'm glad you've seen the news, the case is yours."
"Why is it ours?" Elliot asked, "It's a homicide."
"It's not that simple, both victims have been sexually assaulted."
Olivia shot a look at Elliot, she stood up and put on her jacket. "They weren't a couple offscreen were they?"
"No." Munch started, "It says here that actress Philippa Williams was due to get married three days before her disappearance, her costar George Vandabelt was single. They were rated seventh on TV's hottest couples list."
"I didn't think their characters were an item either." Cragen notioned.
"They weren't," Munch stated, his eyes scanned the blog in front of him, "This fan says, 'Their sexual tension is created by the sexual chemistry, they would make such a good couple, what the hell are the writers doing? Destroying something beautiful, that's what!' It's followed by a lot of exclamation points."
Olivia's mind ran away with her as the thought train left the station, "Sounds like the fans didn't like the writers, so why kill the actors?"
/
The decomposing bodies of Philippa Williams and George Vandabelt lay hand in hand in a cold, secluded warehouse. The warehouse had been empty for months, it was used frequently as a dumping ground for trash, and unwanted furniture. Homeless people would often find a corner and camp down for the night, never staying long enough to be noticed, or evicted.
Flies swarmed the bodies, nesting in the noses of the victims. As Olivia and Elliot entered the police occupied building, the pungent smell of death crashed in to them hard. Olivia gasped, and instinctively pulled her hand to her mouth as she saw the decomposing vessels that were once appreciated, loved actors. Philippa's right eye had been snatched, an empty socket remained, the lateral rectus muscle that once held the eye in place was rotting and had adopted a black colour.
"Rats." Warner said as she stood up.
Olivia's stomach churned deeply creating a void of sickness, "What?" she asked as Warner's words fell on deaf ears.
"Rats, they've eaten her eye, or at least chewed it out of her socket."
"Nice." Elliot said, he turned on the ball of his feet needing a minute to take in the sight.
Olivia looked at the faces of her victims, their skin had paled and sunk, their insides slowly perishing; she walked around the deceased, "They're holding hands." She said aloud, "Or were." she corrected herself. Raw flesh wounds on Philippa's finger tips had lead the skin to peel back, retracting her bones as it did so.
Elliot forced himself to look at George, his face a picture taken straight from a horror movie, the fear still etched in his dark brown eyes. "Captain said they were both assaulted, he missing his manly hood?"
Warner looked at him, "No, he's been burnt several times around his," she paused, "Manly hood, when he was found he had a remote." Warner looked at Elliot, "He had been sodomised by a remote."
Elliot's eyes suddenly seemed to widen, "A TV remote?"
Warner nodded confirming, "I've bagged it, it's over there." she said pointing to a blue box with various bags in it.
Olivia frowned, she looked at the two bodies, her brain regained power over her stomach, and her thought process began working quickly. "They still look intimate." Her voice was soft as she was unknowingly sharing her thoughts. "They're laying on their backs, but still looking at each other, holding hands."
"I was wondering when they'd turn up." Olivia looked at Warner as she spoke, "I didn't believe they'd run off together, contrary to popular rumours."
"You followed this?" Olivia asked, she placed one hand on her hip.
"Yeah, it was big news, where they'd turn up, if they'd turn up together. Celebrity deaths are always big in the underworld."
Elliot rejoined Olivia and doctor Warner, "Liv, you ready to go?"
Olivia nodded softly, she gave one last sorrowful look to the dead before walking away.
/
"What's the news?" Munch asked as Olivia and Elliot breached the doors of the one six.
Elliot raised his eyebrows, his forehead creasing slightly, "He had a remote up his." Elliot couldn't finish his sentence, Munch looked disturbed, yet slightly satisfied.
"I bet it was those flippers, payback to the writers. I'd put my life on it."
"Put your lunch on it, then we're really talking." Fin joked.
"Never gamble with food, it's bad karma." Munch replied.
Olivia's eyes crossed to Munch, "I think you might be right." She briskly walked to her desk, she pulled out the chair with one hand whilst typing with the other. Munch smiled slightly, he relaxed back in his chair;
"I'm rarely wrong." Olivia paid no attention, she was busy searching the internet.
"What're you looking for?" Fin asked.
"This could be a revenge killing, if these shippers feel so strongly about the writers doing a bad job, they could have killed the main characters to cancel the show."
"That's a little extreme don't you think?" Elliot asked as he leant over Olivia's shoulder to see what she was looking for. "Liv, what are you trying to find?"
"I don't know yet, but when I find it, I'll tell you."
/
As darkness filled the streets of New York, Sabrina Brooke stood on her mark. She listened to the director as he told her where the light was, she ran over her lines in her head. She took a deep breath in before the director shouted action. She looked around facing her costar, she smiled brightly as she embraced him. The hug that united the characters, and would be a defining moment in fan history.
"CUT." The scene was over, people flooded in from every direction, camera men put their cameras away, lights were taken down, personal assistants ran to their bosses. "Great scene guys, this will really rattle the fans! Good work everyone!" The director walked off set, a young female following him carrying his phone and clip board.
Sabrina walked back to her trailer, she sighed a little and looked up at the glowing sky. "You ever wish there was a black out? Just so you could stare at the stars."
"Sometimes, but then it wouldn't be New York, the city that never sleeps, can't take a day off." Her assistant offered.
Sabrina nodded, "I guess so." her voice defeated, she was tired, it had been another sixteen hour filming day.
"Here's your tea, green today. Got to keep your strength up."
The actress smiled half heartedly, "Thanks chick, I'll be sure to mention you in my Emmy speech." She smiled again, this time it seemed slightly more effortless. As Sabrina swigged her tea, she felt an overwhelming heaviness grip her legs, her head swimming in the light pollution. "What's in this?" Her legs cut out before she could mumble anything else. As she lost all control, a figure in black appeared, his eyes cold, she tried to scream, but nothing but murmurs formed in her throat.
"Put her in the van." The assistant demanded.
The man said nothing, he picked up Sabrina with an effortless intent. The mini van door slid open creaking on it's rusty hinges. "And the guy?"
"Walk with me."
Again, a big thank you to Laura who helped me develop this idea.
Keep reading to find out if the SVU detectives find their guy, or girl. How many more celebrities will end up dead before Elliot and Olivia discover who really is behind all of this... Please review.