It was twelve by the time we left court. Alex and I decided to get some lunch and coffee. Coffee was needed. I was wired from the case, Marsha made a hell ova last line. "'Lets not punish her anymore.'" It was stuck in my head replaying over and over again. I didn't want to see Natasha put through anymore. I wanted her to go home with her parents; but at the same time I wanted her sent away, treated and cared for and off the streets. I was conflicted, I feel sorry for the jury.

Alex and I headed towards a small coffee stand, I bought us both a tall coffee and we planted ourselves on a nearby bench.

"Are you worried?" I asked Alex, she'd barely said a word since we left the courtroom.

Alex shrugged and sighed deeply, "What would you do?" she asked me exasperated.

"I have no idea. Marsha didn't put a diminished capacity plea; I think she thinks she's got this in the bag."

Alex sighed more frustrated this time, "She's confident; I just hope the jury remember, one girl abused forty nine girls."

"They will." I assured. I was expecting a call any minute saying the jury was back and we had to go and hear that 'not guilty' in person.

After an hour of waiting around, I suggested Alex goes back to the office to start working on her next case. Anytime she was reading and investigating she was completely focused. Work was her escape from work. Crazy, but it works for her.

I went back to my desk. I felt like I'd neglected it lately, and by the looks of everything piling up, I had.

"Nice to see you again Olivia." Cragen said.

I was hovering in a half seated position an inch from my seat. I got back up and followed Cragen into his office. I closed the door and took a seat.

"How's court going?" he asked.

"Closing arguments finished at twelve. I honestly couldn't tell you where this is going to end."

"Who's the defence?"

"Marsha Paxton."

"I've met Marsha many times in my career. She's smart and scrappy. How's Alex holding up against her?"

"Alex did great, not that she believes it." I looked at Cragen, he was conflicted too. It was like a wave had hit the One – Six and knocked everyone down.

"Marsha's cocky, she's lost a few big cases lately. Alex should have more confidence." Cragen paused, he looked at me from behind his desk. "Olivia, Duncan took a child last night."

"How do you know it was Duncan?"

"We were sent this, this morning." Cragen put a disk in the DVD player and pressed play on the remote.

I couldn't believe what I was looking at. It was like a hotel for kids. Bunk beds filled a windowless bunker. Cartoon characters poorly painted filled the white painted walls but the bunker was still just as abysmal. A little girl was crying, one arm restrained to the bottom bunk.

"Isn't she beautiful? Detective Benson, you have taken my love. I want Natasha back, so you need to do everything you can to get her to me." The voice stopped talking and a man appeared on the screen, he bent down next to the crying girl and stroked her hair.

"For every day Natasha is not with me, I will take another little girl in her place. But I only have sixteen beds. Natasha knows how to find me. Let her go and everything will go back to normal."

The screen went black. My stomach dropped to the floor. "If he sent that this morning, it means today is the second day."

"I've already got Adam analysing the video; nothing yet. We're also running his voice against every nine – one – one call we've had in the year. Again, nothing yet, it's going to take a long time. Munch is in touch with every PD across the East Coast to see if they've had any similar cases. Fin's taken the West Coast. Nick is out with Amanda collecting all security footage in the area and surrounding areas of the kidnap."

I looked at Cragen, he had everything under control. "So what do you want me doing?"

"I need you to talk to Natasha June. I need you to try and get her to tell you about Duncan, does she have any photos? We need to find him before he takes another little girl."

I stood up, "I'm on it."

The first thing I did was call Alex, I had no one on my side right now. I had no idea where Elliot was and I couldn't go to see Natasha without Alex. Or Marsha.

Marsha agreed to the meeting after she heard it might go in her favour. Anything to get her client off, and get her a win, Marsha was there waiting.

Alex, Marsha and I entered the visiting cell. Natasha was sat in an orange jumpsuit on the other side of a mental table, bolted to the floor.

"Natasha, we're here because Duncan has asked us to do something." Marsha said.

"You have Duncan?" Natasha seemed scared, completely overcome with fear.

"No sweetheart, he called Detective Benson this morning. He made a deal with us, he would like to see you again. He wants to go home, and be with you. If that's what you want." Marsha said sweetly.

"Yes, yes I want to go home, please let me go home!" Natasha begged. She turned to face Alex and stared at her, "What do I have to do?"

Alex leant forward, "I want you to see a art hypnotherapist. Just two hours of your time, then I will talk to the Judge."

"I'll do it! Deal." Natasha snatched the pen and document from Alex's hand. She signed her name; "I want to do it now."

Alex looked at Marsha, "We have someone who can see her now."

"Fine, but I'm coming too." Marsha said.

Alex stood up, all appropriate documents had been filled out before Alex had called Marsha. She had a feeling Natasha would want to go home. And not back to her parents house.

Alex and I waited outside the hypnotherapist's practice room. She had a two way mirror that we could watch from. A nurse sat in with Natasha keeping an eye on her blood pressure and heart rate. It was all a bit overwhelming to look at; Natasha was in a doctors office filled with kids paintings, laying on a red couch. She looked peaceful but the heart rate monitor wires made it wrong.

"It looks like I should be investigating this place." I said.

"Doctor Georgette is the best at this. The case I worked last year was blown open by her."

I trusted Alex's judgment, but the office still gave me the creeps. "What is it exactly is she going to do?"

"Doctor Georgette puts patients under hypnosis, then asks them to visit a place, and see a person they most want to see. Then whilst their still under hypnosis; she tells them to open their eyes and draw exactly what they see. Every detail on that persons face, she says when you're told to draw what you see, you're obedient, and the portrait is almost always an exact match to the person you're looking for." Alex explained.

"I hope we get an exact match of Duncan, I'm going to call Cragen now and fill him in. He's been running Duncan's eyes and mouth through facial recognition to try and get a partial match. If Natasha draws his eyes and mouth, we might have a chance."

I walked down the hall, I passed Marsha who had been on the phone almost the entire journey here. I took my phone out as I got outside the building and within seconds of me asking for a photo of Duncan's face in a ski mask, I had it and Cragen was gone again. I knew Alex felt like she'd already lost the case against Natasha; so now she was going after Duncan with everything she had left.

By the time I got back Marsha and Alex were were watching intently as Natasha started to draw. As a male's face came together, I tried to see if the eyes she had drawn were the same that threatened me earlier. Doctor Georgette asked Natasha who she had drawn, she spoke clearly, but lovingly, "Duncan."

A nurse brought the portrait to me, finally I had it in my hands and it looked like a work of art, twisted evil art. The face looking back at me was Duncan, Natasha had even drawn the scar on his lip that reached round under his jaw line.

"Well? Is this enough for you to talk to the Judge Miss. Cabot?" Marsha asked.

Alex looked at me, I nodded back. "I need to know all his hide outs, all the sworded prisons he takes girls to."

"Lets go and talk to Natasha, and let me do the talking." Marsha instructed.

We followed Marsha to a recovery room, Natasha was sitting up looking very tired. Marsha gave her some water and sat next to her.

"Natasha, you did so well in there; but I need you to wake up sweetie so you can tell us where Duncan is."

"He didn't tell you?" Natasha said sitting bolt up right.

"He said you would know where he was, so if you give us the address, we can take you to Duncan now." Marsha said.

"Oh." Natasha relaxed. "But he has so many, he could be anywhere."

"It's O.K, we will take you to all of them until we find him. We'll all go together." Marsha smiled and gave Natasha a chocolate bar. "Keep your sugars up honey."

Alex and I turned our backs to Marsha and Natasha, "She's good! Very convincing." I said.

"That's how she plays in court." Alex looked back, "She's an actress, not a lawyer."

"If she gets us those addresses, I'm willing to play along." I said. "I'd better call for some back up."

I went and made the phone call to Cragen to set up a task force; I told him we may have a few locations, but I needed backup. My gut screamed at me this guy had hidden depths; something worried about me, it was deep and dangerous.

"We have an address," Alex said grabbing my arm. "who's Cragen sending you?"

"The whole team; Cragen wants this one." I called Munch and told him no sirens or lights. It had to be done seamlessly; Natasha didn't need to know we played her the entire time. It's not convincing, even I don't believe it; she has every right to know what we were doing; but this was one girls feelings verses God only knew how many more victims.

Alex coordinated with the rest of SVU, I pulled up to the house five minutes after everyone had placed themselves around the outside of house; unseen to Natasha.

I turned off the engine and turned to face Natasha in the backseat, "Natasha, I'm going to go and knock and see if he's in. He wanted me to bring you to him, so I'll go first."

I got out the car and walked up the path to the house; it was surrounded with overgrown bushes. I saw Amanda at the side of the house crouched down waiting for me to make my move. I knocked on the door. Nothing. I took out my phone and called Alex, I told her I was going round the back. A plan we'd thought of seconds before turning up. As I went around the back, Nick stormed the backdoor; he went in followed by Fin, Cragen and me. Amanda stayed outside, eyes glued to the front door, and Munch kept an eye on the street from his car.

We cleared each room, there was no sign of Duncan or any girls anywhere. I called Alex again and told her there was no sign of Duncan, but of course Natasha didn't believe us. She wanted to see for herself; so the SVU team piled out the front door as Natasha walked around to the backdoor where I was standing. She searched the whole house and saw for herself he wasn't there. This happened at the next six locations she told us to go to. Cragen called in the night shift early to cover us, things weren't looking good, we only had one address left.

Natasha could barely contain herself convinced he was going to be here, so even though I shouldn't have, I was almost convinced myself. I think we all felt it, we could actually get him.

I got out the car, I went to the front door and knocked. I knocked again, but again I heard nothing. I signalled to Alex who told Natasha and Marsha I was going around the back. Nick took the lead again, we cleared the house. It was empty. Everyone sighed in frustration; I caught Amanda shaking her head looking lost. She looked at me for an answer I couldn't give her.

I called Alex in, within seconds Natasha was in the house faster than Amanda could get out. I pulled her behind me. Natasha didn't care about us, she was heading somewhere specific. I followed her gun drawn, Amanda pulled hers and followed me.

Natasha lead us to a bricked up wall, she pulled out a brick, and as she turned to see us behind her she set off a trip wire.

Natasha dropped to the floor; blood spilled down her lips. I was horrified, I could barely hear Nick shouting my name. I went to Natasha's aid, I tried to stop the bleeding; she took hold of my wrist with tears in her eyes and said between breaths, "I don't want this life."

Suddenly it hit me, all of it made sense. I put more pressure on Natasha's chest but she was losing too much blood. Amanda put her hand on my back, she'd knelt down next to me, "She's gone Olivia."

I stared at Amanda, then my eyes fell on the pale faced girl who fell in love with her captor and died fighting to be with him. I took my hands off Natasha and stood up, my hands were covered in blood, and that's exactly how I felt. Natasha's blood was on my hands, and it will stay there until I catch the bastard who stole her for his sick little game!

I went to clean my hands when I found the same thought coming back into my mind. Natasha was guilty, but she was also a victim. And to say brainwashing, that's understatement. Does it make what she did to those little girls any less important? No, but rather than go back to her parents who would love and protect her, she chose to go back to the man who kidnapped her, raped her and abused her for years. Imprisoned in a world of silence; the man she thinks she loves, the only person she can really depend on. The only person she has. The man she would die for, the man she did die for. I've never been that sure of anything in my entire life; she was. How much brainwashing did Duncan have to do to get her to give up her right to live? Her right to think? Her right to be herself and have a voice? I couldn't stop the thoughts running through my mind, each one leading to another unanswered question. I don't understand why she did what she did, but I think I know why.

A/N: O.K so I completely changed what I was going to do with Natasha, but I won't leave the jury unheard, I'll give you answers. I have made a very big change in this story, as in the direction of it now because I have an unexpected twist that sets this story up perfectly for the chapters of kidnapped I've had written for about a year now, that can't happen without these events that are coming up over the next few chapters. I don't want to give too much up because it's still all being pulled together, but I'm really looking forward to getting it written down. Please review if you have the time and enjoyed this chapter. :) Thank you.