A/N: Hi Guys! Hoping to wrap this up soon, so thanks for sticking around this long! It gets a little rough near the end, so fair warning to this sensitive to strong, potentially violent language. Thanks again and feel free to review/check out my other stuff if you so choose!

Window

Chapter 12: Off the Handle

"Are they ever actually going to do anything? It's been almost thirty minutes." Eliot pressed his palms to the tempered glass looking into the interrogation room. "I know you said Liv was our smoking gun, but she's more like a sleeping cat at this point."

Eliot had a point. Olivia was practically lounging in the interrogation room. She had spent the first few minutes cleaning her nails while Newsome filled the silence with lude chit chat, at which point, Olivia let him know she would be happy get him a lawyer, but refused to talk to him if he couldn't be respectful. Since then, she had picked at her cuticles, slowly sipped a glass of water, and painstakingly tapped out a text message on her flip phone. Alex blushed as they watched Olivia hit send and immediately heard her own phone rattle loudly as it vibrated on the captain's desk.

"She wants to know if there are any magazines up in the crows nest." Alex left out the "I love you, by the way" at the end of the text, saving that for herself. Finn had snagged her a magazine and now Olivia sat leafing through it as Newsome eyed her, sneering.

"Give him a few more moments. He won't want to concede the high ground, but his need to confess, to brag about his dominance, will win out." Huang coaxed Eliot into calm submission and the detective settled back against the desk, next to Alex.

They watched Live flip a few more pages then take a pen out and start on the crossword. She had just asked Newsome "What's a ten letter word that can mean both confused and apathetic?"

"Fine."

Olivia didn't even bat an eyelash, "Nope, that's four letters. Ah! Nonplussed. Perfect!"

"I said 'fine' to this nonsense, Detective." Newsome raised his voice slightly. "I can be civil, polite even, so long as I don't have to sit here watching this inane parade any longer."

"You're not under arrest, Newsome. No one's actually making you do anything." Olivia filled in another row on the puzzle and looked up, meeting Newsome's narrowed eyes. "You can leave whenever you want."

"Yeah, yeah," He gesticulated, leaning back in his chair. "But if I don't clear my good name," He punctuated "good" with a light fist on the table, "your boys out there are just going to keep harassing me and my family."

"I wasn't aware that you were being harassed, sir. My apologies." Liv lowered her eyes back to the page. "What's a three letter word for a revolutionary beverage?"

"If you're going to be a stickler for manners, you might try showing me the same level of respect you've requested." Newsome folded his hands and rested them in front of him. His face was wide and blank, his thick, dark eyebrows neutral, his black hair slicked and shining. "The answer is 'tea' by the way."

"Thanks!" Liv flipped the magazine closed after writing in the answer. She folded her hands, mirroring Newsome's posture and raised her eyes to meet his once more. "And I concede to your request. Respect requested, respect given. Seems fair."

"So."

"So, why are you here Mr. Newsome."

"I've been asking myself that same question for the last hour."

"It seems the gentlemen responsible for the murder of the young girl we've been investigating were on your payroll."

"I find that hard to believe." Newsome shuffled in his seat, not uncomfortably, just adjusting.

"To be fair, they were employed by a company owned by another company, owned by a shell company, owned by you." Olivia quirked an eyebrow up, wanting to see if Newsome took the bait or played it cool. He opted for the latter.

"How does the NYPD expect me to keep track of employees of a company with which I have virtually no involvement? My accountant likes to take my money and reinvest it, purchasing businesses, making partnerships, spreading my money around so it can grow and make it's way back to me. You see?"

"I do." Olivia nodded, straight-faced. "Your accountant, he's a smart guy."

"He is."

"He also keeps impeccable records."

"I would hope so."

"Then maybe you can help me with something your accountant showed me."

"I'm always happy to help the boys in blue, especially when they happen to be attractive women." Newsome loosened his tie slightly.

Olivia slid a manila file in front of her and opened up to a spreadsheet. She was either willfully ignoring or genuinely didn't hear Newsome's comment. "We found this record of money transferred from your business account to a charitable organization called NYARS, New York Addiction Recovery Services the day before Tawny Davis was killed."

"I give to many charitable organizations, hundreds even, all throughout the year. The date is of little consequence. Who should this matter?" Newsome lowered his gaze as Olivia slid the manila folder toward him.

"Because we checked and NYARS doesn't exist. It was set up using a false ID and its address is the middle of the Hudson."

"Look, Detective, I respect that you have a job to do. I appreciate that you look good doing it. But this is just another case of affirmative action at work. You're clearly grasping at straws and while I'd love to help solve this case for you, why don't you send the men back in so they can clear me and I can go home."

"That all sounds fantastic." Olivia replied coolly. "I myself have a million other things I'd love to be doing, knitting, making sandwiches, ironing, but unfortunately we're both stuck here, doing this for the time being."

"Well, the least I can do is enjoy the view."

"Let's get back to your accountant, shall we?"

"If we must."

"I'd like you to take a look at the paperwork in front of you and see if any of it makes sense."

"I already told you –" he slid the papers toward Olivia.

"Look again." Liv pushed her bottom lip out ever so slightly and stood, settling into her right hip as she slid the papers back over to him, "for me?"

"Fine"

"Because, Newsome, I gotta tell you," She crossed her arms, "your accountant is smart." She paused for dramatic effect, "But ours is smarter."

"Alex," George rested a gentle hand on the counselor's bicep as they watched from outside the interrogation room.

"Mm?" She responded absent-mindedly.

"I think it's time we tested Newsome's ability to handle rejection."

"How? He's lobbing easy pitches and Liv keeps letting them sail right over the plate, he seems like he's handling it just fine."

Huang smiled at the analogy. "He isn't phased by Liv because she still hears him, he still believes he has power, has a shot."

"Then he obviously doesn't understand what he's reading." Alex quipped.

"The evidence that he paid the hit-men is not enough. He can argue that his accountant was acting without his consent." George turned his eyes back to the interrogation room. "We need to get a rise out of him. He needs to lose his temper."

"How do you expect to manufacture that opportunity?" Alex chuffed, incredulous.

"Every woman we interviewed said he became enraged when they proved that they were unattainable. Newsome has gotten into fights with strangers when he's found the woman he'd been wooing –,"

"Harassing"

"Right," Huang conceded, "when the woman he'd been harassing was claimed by another. He views it as stolen property."

"So what do we do."

"I want you to go in and pull Liv aside. Stay in the room."

"Okaaaay," Alex drawled.

"Touch her on the arm, invade her personal space, create the illusion of intimacy."

"You want me to claim Olivia in front of Newsome."

"Essentially," Huang raised his dark eyebrows, "yes. Eliot will be right outside if anything should escalate too quickly. But we need to take Olivia away from him and then try and draw him out."

"And having me do it instead of a man..."

"Is going to get him there faster."

"This sounds like it could go wrong about a million different ways."

"Or it could lead to the confession that'll lock in the case. He's declined a lawyer several times."

"As a person of interest, not a suspect." Alex crossed her arms and let her gaze drift to Olivia, "But it's worth a shot." She turned to Eliot. "Promise me you'll keep her safe, Stabler."

Eliot flashed a cheesy grin, "You know me."

"Right." Alex squared her shoulders and walked up to the interrogation room door.

Olivia was ready to settle back into her seat when she heard a light rap over her shoulder.

"Just a second." She rose and crossed to the door.

"Take your time, honey." Newsome grinned.

Olivia turned the handle as Alex slipped into the room and pulled Olivia close.

"I need you to trust me right now, Liv." Alex hissed out a low whisper, Olivia had to strain to hear it. "Do you trust me?"

Olivia nodded and Alex snaked a lithe arm around the shorter woman's hip and rested it at the small of her back. They were turned away from Newsome, but the detective had no doubt in her mind that he was watching both of them with keen interest.

Alex leaned in close and drew her lips close to Olivia's ear, whispering instructions to stay close and to relax. To smile occasionally. To touch her casually. They shifted so they were practically forehead to forehead, speaking lower than Newsome could perceive. Olivia smiled and laughed quietly, Alex's hand still resting at the small of her back. The detective brought her hand to the ADA's forearm, letting it drift down, down, down, until their hands caught. She let their fingers tangle briefly and Alex laughed lightly before letting them go.

"Okay, we should be good." Alex murmured. "We're just trying to rattle him a bit."

"Oh, are we?" Olivia smiled. "I could get used to this tactic."

Alex laughed and pulled briefly away from the detective. Olivia reached up and tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind the ADA's ear, letting her hand linger slightly as she held Alex's eyes with her own.

"I'll see you later tonight." Alex said, softly, but just loud enough that Newsome might overhear.

"Sure." And with that the tall blonde slipped from the room.

"Oh my God, Cabot!" Eliot's face was a bit pink around the edges as Alex emerged from interrogation.

"Did it work?" Alex crossed to him.

"Newsome's got steam coming from his ears. I mean," Eliot made a string of unintelligible noises, "how could he not?"

Alex felt her cheeks grow hot and she allowed herself a small smile.

"You better at least buy a girl dinner after that."

"Oh I plan to, detective. And more than that." Alex let the smile split her face into a full-on grin. "If she'll let me."

Alex watched the tension melt from Eliot's shoulders and he scooped her hands into his own. "Really? Oh thank God! I can tell Kath to stop lighting candles every Sunday."

Alex laughed.

"Guys, let's keep the focus on the pressure cooker in the room with Liv, huh?" Cragen chastised lightly and they all turned back toward the interrogation, though not before Eliot gave the ADA a light chuck on the arm.

Olivia strode back toward the table, unable to help the stupid grin plastered across her face.

"So," Newsome started, his face obviously red. "That's the ADA, right?"

"Oh. Yeah." Olivia sat and shuffled some paperwork. "She just had some info on another case we're working, sorry for the interruption."

"Another case. Right." Newsome shuffled his own papers, though quite obviously neglecting them. "So."

"So."

"You're a –"

"I'm a?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"You. You an' her?"

Olivia nodded. "Me and her."

Newsome let his head drop and Olivia could see the tips of his ears, red and hot. "That's a shame. What a fucking waste." He raised his chin and Olivia was stunned at the sudden outbreak of malice she found across his face.

"How is it a waste?" She knew she was baiting him.

"Two fine pieces of ass not only off the market, but you're spitting in the face of every good man who could've had you." Newsome's voice cracked slightly, "This is not how it's supposed to be. It's not God's plan."

"I had no idea you were so devout, Newsome," Olivia quipped, tensing the muscles in her legs as he started to boil.

"My constituents trust me to uphold their beliefs. How can I possibly hope to be re-elected if I don't represent everything they stand for?"

"That's right. Who needs respect for women when you can perpetuate bigoted zealotry?"

"There's power there, you wouldn't understand. When ten thousand people are shorting your name at a rally," Newsome started to rise from his seat, "When women fall at your feet and throw themselves at you, who fucking cares what you have to do to keep that power."

"Like condemn homosexuality."

"Fuck them anyway, they chose the path of sin. Those women," Newsome started sidestepping the table and Olivia rose. "You women. Throwing away your chance to be with men. Powerful men."

"Men like you."

"Men like me. You'd be lucky to be with me. And maybe that's all you need. A good man to straighten you out. To set you right."

"Is that why you sent those me to Tawny? Is that what she needed? A good man?"

"Those men were lower than dogs, they were paid to keep me where I belong." Newsome's eyes widened, wild, and he made his way around the table. His hands were shaking and he advanced slowly as Olivia backed toward the door.

"You couldn't afford to have some girl –"

"Some dyke."

"Ruin your political career." Olivia swallowed hard and spoke slowly, deliberately, "even if she were your own daughter?"

"ESPECIALLY if she were my daughter." Newsome was shouting now. "Her mother did for me what all woman should, she yielded. But Maureen was stupid enough to carry that girl to term. And then, she came looking for me."

"And you couldn't have that."

"The fanfare, the shouting, the power, that would all stop if I had to accept this girl into my life, this abomination would ruin me."

"So you sent the men."

"I did."

"They took from her the only thing worth taking from any woman and when she was used up, they took the only thing she had left." Newsome had backed Olivia into the corner of the room, a few feet from the door. "And for this, I paid them all they were due."

Olivia crouched low, counting on her partner to come barreling in any second.

"And now, I will take the same from you, detective." Newsome suddenly lunged at Olivia and the interrogation room door flew open. Eliot burst in and caught Newsome by the arm even before he could touch Olivia. Another uniformed office caught his other side and together they cuffed and Mirandized Newsome while he fumed, practically foaming at the mouth.

"What the hell happened?" Olivia pushed a hand through her short hair as Alex rushed to her side.

"We knew you'd want to wait 'til the last minute and get the confession before having Eliot jump in." Alex supplied.

"No, not that. I knew you were all there, waiting. I mean Newsome. I knew he was a womanizer, but this? This is something else. Something more."

"What, are you starting to build his defense, now?"

"Oh hell no, I just wasn't expecting that level of crazy."

"I don't think any of us were." The ADA blew a tense breath, trying to release some of the tension she'd been holding during the interrogation. "But it's over, you're safe, and we have a full, crazy confession."

"I'm so ready for this to be over." Olivia leaned against the taller woman's shoulder and exhaled deeply.

"You said it." Alex agreed.