A/N: If anyone is still reading this fic, thank you. Knowing I have people who are enjoying my fics, especially this behemoth, means a lot to me. Things are going to start coming together and this fic will be coming to a close coming up soon here. I don't own SVU or its characters. Enjoy.

March 20th – 11:45 p.m.

"Security Officer Damien Bradshaw…throat cut from ear-to-ear. Body was thrown down a laundry chute in the maid's closet. Security Officer Jaime Hoose…strangled with his utility belt. He was also thrown down the laundry chute."

"Jesus," Carisi mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Amanda stood silently next to him, arms crossed and eyes downcast. The hotel room was a flurry of activity, Liv still sitting silently on the bed as Dodds spoke to her. The FEDs had arrived, much to their dismay, but this case was now transcending anything they could handle.

Barba was gone, again. Whoever was back, was working quickly and doing his damndest to kill this man for whatever reasons they had. A grudge…personal feelings…past crimes? Barba wasn't a criminal and, even though he had some questionable decision making in the past, he wouldn't ever put his career or anyone else's in jeopardy. He was a hot head, to say the least, but only when it was necessary.

A grudge was more along the lines they were thinking. He was an ADA. He put away people who did very, very bad, horrible things and some of those people, weren't too happy about that. He'd received death threats since he started in that line of work, as he had mentioned many times before, but this was different. This wasn't some stupid little, 'I'm gonna kill you' comment made in passing.

"The security footage we pulled was helpful, but we've been following these guys for years and the fact that we have a license plate and a face doesn't help us any. These guys are masters of disguise."

Amanda shuffled, "How? How is that possible? It's just some street gang."

The man in front of her, dressed in a nice, plain black suit, eyed her over the tablet in his hands, "No. Like I said, we've been following these guys for years. You're deluded."

Carisi glared at him, feeling Amanda stiffen next to him. She clenched her jaw and he knew she was trying to maintain her control over her anger.

"What are you saying? These guys got their hooks in the government?" Carisi crossed his arms, mirroring Amanda. The man, Reynolds, looked them over and sighed, hitting the power button on his tablet and tucked it under his arm, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I'm saying that this isn't some street gang. This is a sophisticated network of criminals in high places disguised as some poor, inner city kids who like to hurt innocent people. It's scary, some of the things I've seen them have their hand in. They've been on our radar since the 90's." Reynolds nodded at their shocked expressions and turned on his heel, heading down the hall where a group of his fellow agents stood in a group, leaving her and Carisi to deal with that bombshell.

"Shit…," Amanda cursed.

"Why are they just standing around? They need to be out there on the streets, canvasing, searching…doing something."

"Carisi," Amanda sighed, feeling a headache forming, "It's out of our hands. We can't do anything but wait now. Unless, that is, they allow us to help."

Carisi shook his head, arms crossed over his chest. He looked back into the hotel room, seeing a few officers thoroughly checking every corner while Lucia paced back and forth in front of the large sliding door leading to the balcony, Noah in her arms, talking to her and holding, what they assumed, was Rafael's phone.

Earlier attempts to get the phone away from him were futile, because each time he would start to cry and no one wanted Liv to have to deal with that now. She was already out of her mind with worry and could only sit on the double bed, head in her hands as she tried to calm herself down.

"I know. Doesn't mean I like it."

"You think I do? Ugh, I don't want to argue. Let's go see what Liv wants us to do."

They trekked back into the room, bypassing an officer who was intently dusting the door handle to the bathroom with powder and a brush. CSU had been down here for hours, scouring every inch of the hotel for any other clues, but nothing had cropped up so far. Hopefully, they would soon.

"Liv," Amanda started, lightly tapping the woman's shoulder, "Hey, what do you need us to do? We've been booted from the street work, but we can always get back to our desks…traffic cams, phone records…?"

Liv sat up, eyes red with emotion but she'd stopped crying hours before. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the harsh light of the lamp lighting up the room. Her eyes found Lucia and Noah, who were now standing out on the balcony, Lucia gently swaying the little boy back and forth.

She reminded herself she was going to have to get Rafael's phone away from Noah to be checked and tagged as evidence. The officers had tried before, and she knew Amanda and Carisi had shut that down to prevent her from having to step in and parent. Luckily, Lucia was there and managed to keep Noah calm for an extended period of time, so she could sit there and be useless.

She appreciated it, but she was tired of sitting still, "Yeah. Yeah, let's do that. Start pulling files for them…they're going to need all the information we have, which is little. They probably have more, but they're going to want all of Raf's personal info as well."

She stood up and rubbed her hand across her face, smiling as Noah waved at her, completely oblivious to the situation going on around him, although he knew something was off by the way he'd been acting apprehensive. He'd asked, more than once, where Rafael had gone and when someone gave him some flimsy excuse, he would knit his brows together and turn away without a word, content to go back to whatever game he was playing.

"I'll meet you back there. I'm going to escort Lucia and Noah to a different hotel and then we can dig into our files."

"You sure you're up to it? We can handle it, if you want to stay with them." Liv wanted to snap at Amanda, her harsh words on the tip of her tongue, but she knew they were trying to comfort her storm of emotions brewing inside her, so she took a deep breath and let it pass.

"I'm sure. Give me an hour."

She excused herself after that, leaving Carisi and Amanda to watch her pluck Noah out of Lucia's arms before they decided to leave. On the way out of the hotel, they saw the body bags of the two dead fellow officers being loaded into the back of the coroner's vehicles, while a few officers stood off to the side, hats off and heads bowed.

They didn't speak the entire way back to the precinct.

March 21st – 12:29 a.m.

Zeke breathed harshly as he clung to the side of the house, feet perched on the sloped roof of the old house while he hung onto the windowsill, peeking into the familiar room he'd been in so many times before.

He could see Diego, hunched over his desk, asleep with a disgustingly thick strand of saliva dripping onto his desk. He felt instantly bad, knowing he was about to throw his friends world upside down, but he had no choice. Diego was going to have to either join him, or kill him and he knew he could be easily persuaded into doing one of those things.

He tapped on the window loudly, the noise echoing into the empty street. He hoped no cars traveled down this way until he was inside, but the good thing about this part of their neighborhood, was all the abandoned houses and crack heads who wouldn't say anything about it. They didn't want cops down this way, lest they get busted.

Diego remained asleep, so he tested with all the strength he had to see if the window would budge and it did, little by little. The cracking noise of the old wood scratching against the metal frame roused his friend from his sleep and before he knew it, Diego was standing in front of him, a knife in his hand and ready to attack.

It took a few seconds for him to rub his eyes awake and take in Zeke's face, but when he did, the angry sneer melted away into disbelief.

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me."

Diego immediately helped to open the window and Zeke crawled in, sighing with relief being in a place so familiar. He was wet from the sprinkling rain that started as soon as he ditched the damn car outside of the city, dumped Coco off at a dog rescue, jacked some shoes and clothes from a second-hand store and walked all the way here.

Here, being Diego's mother's house, where he lived on the third floor.

"Just shut the fuck up and let me rest."

"How the fuck did you get here?! I thought you were in Connecticut or some shit!" His words were whispered as he helped Zeke off the floor and grabbed the laptop that had been hidden under his hoodie the entire time.

"I was. Until a couple of skulls blew the up the house I was staying in. I grabbed my shit, jacked their car and came here."

"Don't tell me their car is parked outside this house…"

"You think I'm dumb? Get me a towel," Zeke cursed, shucking off his hoodie and letting drop to the floor with a wet thump. He took the old t-shirt Diego handed him and dried his hair before he dried his upper body.

"I need you to transfer all those files you hacked into a USB I can give to the NYPD."

Diego scoffed, "You're fucked in the head. The NYPD? I'm bangin' BX, I can't be helping the cops!"

"Say it louder," Zeke said, shaking his head as Diego realized his mistake. He rolled his eyes and walked past his friend, who was having a mental breakdown, and over to his closet to retrieve a new shirt and hoodie. They were roughly the same size, so he wouldn't be stuck in clothes too large or too small. Not that it would matter in that moment. He was cold, wet and all he needed was some dry clothes and food.

"You won't be helping the cops," he cut him off, grabbing random clothing off the hangers, "You'll be helping me. You owe me, anyway."

Diego growled angrily and sat down in his computer chair, the wheels sliding over his carpeted floor, "Not this shit again."

"Diego, this is bigger than BX, ok? And I'm not just saying that because I could be blasted at any moment. This entire gang goes beyond the streets and if you were smart, you'd get out, too."

"Easier said than done." Zeke understood that and he silently changed into the dry clothes while Diego hid his hands in his face. He felt bad for adding more stress onto his friend's shoulders, but he had been the only one to actually reach out to him after he'd been shipped out of state under police protection. Add to that, he'd been friends with the guy since they were in diapers. If there was anyone he could save from this way of life, it would be him.

"I know, man. But, I have to tell you…the moment you're, you realize just how shitty gang life is. You don't realize that you're one of the smartest people I know. You can go to college and do that computer shit and live like a fucking king…you can buy your mom and sisters a new house. Get them out of the projects…," he reached over and nudged Diego's leg with his foot, "But that shit won't happen while you're bangin' BX."

Diego sat silent for a moment, staring at him, before he rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned around to his impressive computer set up and rolled up his sleeves. "Give me that laptop and ten minutes. Your ass better be down in my car, hiding in the backseat."

Zeke managed to suppress his excited smile and handed over the phone and laptop, grabbing a handful of chips out of the bag on the desk before he shuffled back to the cracked window. He opened it as far as it could go again and slide out, not bothering to say another word, too ready to get back to the safety and warmth of the police precinct.

He just hoped what he had could help and that they were receptive to him being there.

Time Unknown

When he woke up this time, he was in a room with tape over his mouth.

His head was heavy and his mouth was dry and his arms and feet were cuffed to every corner of the bed he was lying on. His first thought was to struggle against the bounds, his flight instinct taking full effect and he stopped after he realized he was making far too much noise.

The room was dimly lit with a subtle glow, sparsely decorated with only a chair in the corner and an old dresser with a mirror that hung above it. The metal of his cuffs clinked against the rusted metal bedframe, and he could see, from where his blurry vision allowed, the mattress was old and dirty, with large yellow and brown stains seeped into the fabric.

In fact, there were a plethora of stains and holes that littered the old walls, along with the peeling paper that once resembled a light pink floral pattern, but looked yellow from the years. So did the furniture. It smelled like it had been abandoned for years in there, too.

The door directly across from him swung open, light seeping into the dimmed room and he blinked his eyes as he turned his head. A dark figure hung in the doorway, the silhouette oddly familiar to him. His senses tingled to him from a distant, far off place still hazy from the drugs that he'd been forced to take however long it was ago.

He watched with narrowed, bleary eyes as the figure just stood there, face and body obscured in the shadows. It lasted for a terrifying few minutes that stretched for seemingly hours before the door shut again, leaving him alone.

Rafael moaned and groaned against the tape, trying to get the figure to come back, but he coughed violently, his saliva wetting the tape enough around his lips that it puffed up when he breathed. He looked back at the closed door again, taking in the cracked white paint and the rotting wood of the door frame. He prayed, over and over again in his head that the person, whoever it was, would come back.

He needed to get out of here. He could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest as he began to panic. His limbs were restricted and the fuzzy feeling in his head wouldn't go away. All he could think about was leaving Noah in that bathroom, by himself and Liv, who should have found him by now.

He had to get out.

He looked around for an exit, but his gaze stopped short on the wall next to him, giving it his full attention when he noticed a good portion of it covered with glossy pictures. Glossy pictures with familiar scenes and people in them.

He breathed harshly, swallowing the lump in his dry throat with difficulty.

All the pictures that had been collected over the past few months, featuring mostly candid photos of himself in all states of dress, during the day in Liv's apartment or his office or at the coffee cart on his way to visit Liv in her office. She and Noah were also displayed in a number of pictures, along with the rest of SVU, also captured in candid, everyday moments of their lives.

Amanda playing with Frannie in the park, Carisi with Jesse on his hip in the background. Fin, feet kicked up on the coffee table in his living room, a pair of long legs belonging to a mystery woman sitting beside him. Many group shots littered in between, most of them taken in up close shots of the squad room. But amongst these photos, the one detail only a few of them had in common, were the photos of him and Liv together, hugging or kissing or touching or involved in intimate moments.

He rested his head, a stray tear filled with confusion and fear dripped down the curve of his cheek and onto the pillow under his head.

On every single glossy picture of him and Liv together, her face was scratched out violently, wiped from the photo immediately. Tears spilled down his cheeks until he drifted off to sleep once more.

March 21st – 1:10 a.m.

"Pass me the ketchup."

Zeke rolled his eyes and threw a packet of ketchup up to the front seat, where Diego sat parked down the street, shoving his face full of French fries. He insisted they stopped somewhere to eat and Zeke wasn't surprised, knowing the guy thought about food more than his precious video games and weed.

"That's the last one," he grumbled, taking a bite of his burger. It had taken a little over ten minutes for Zeke to finish uploading all the camera footage and conversations onto a flash drive and then it took another five minutes to wipe the laptop and phone clean, effectively erasing the IP address from existence.

He was happy when they finally left and Zeke was able to breathe easier, knowing he was on his way to safety, but when Diego had offered a hot, shitty, fast food meal, he couldn't help but say no. He was starving and the food was really helping calm his nerves. He was afraid of the possibility that when he went in there, and explained his story, they wouldn't believe him. The charges he already had piled on him would grow and that meant more time behind bars or wherever they going to send him.

"So, like, you're risking your own life to help this guy…why?" Diego eyed him in the rear-view mirror, where he was hunched down in the seat and his knees were pressed against the back of the front passenger seat. Zeke chewed his food thoughtfully, unsure how to answer that question.

He really wasn't sure why, if he was being honest. What made him turn his back on this way of life that day, when he stole their car and drove the ADA to safety? Certainly, it wasn't for personal gain, because look where it ended him up. Arrested, charged, in police custody in a state he'd never been to before and, most recently, in the back of his friend's car and ready to surrender himself and the info he had to police yet again.

He was more than willing to admit he hadn't wanted to help the man, because he made a commitment to these people who could kill him in an instant, but his own moral compass had won out in the end, and he couldn't say that if he could go back in time and change his actions and decisions, that he would.

He was glad he'd done what he did. But he wanted it to be over with now so everyone could move on with their lives. He would serve his time for his crimes, so long as he didn't ever have to hear about BX-9 ever again.

"Don't question it. Just focus on what I said back at your house. Don't get caught up in this shit like I did."

Diego was silent after that, finishing off his food just as Zeke did. They looked at each other silently for a moment, knowing that this was likely the last time they were going to see each other for a while and it was bittersweet. Years of friendship and they'd ended up in such different places…it was crazy to think that this guy who he once saved from drowning in the shallow end of their old high school's gymnasium was now, practically, saving his life.

"Did you mean what you said? That I was smart?" Diego bit his lip, eyes focused on the brick wall of the side of the building he was parked in front of. Just a few feet away from them was the door to the 1-6. He looked so vulnerable in that moment and the joke Zeke had immediately thought of to say was exchanged for much kinder words.

"One of the smartest people I've come across."

It took a second, but Diego smirked at him from the rear-view and Zeke slid out of the backseat just a second later. He didn't turn to watch the car head in the opposite direction, but as soon as he heard the loud muffler disappear down the empty street, he worked up the nerve to walk into the building.

It looked the same as it had three months ago, but the front desk was empty as was the lobby. The only reason he knew there was anyone even in the place were two officers stepping off the elevator, coffee cups in their hands. They didn't pay him any mind as he slipped past them and into the shaft, pressing the floor number with ease.

Zeke wasn't exactly sure what he was even going to do when he stepped out onto the floor and walked down the narrow hallway, but he was going off pure memory from being lead through there last time. He easily bypassed the front desk, that wasn't occupied, and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking around apprehensively. There were officers walking around, carrying coffee and looking dead on their feet, just like he would expect people working an overnight shift would look.

No one bothered to stop and talk to him, so he just continued, biting his lip as he scoured the room.

He spotted the tall blonde detective almost immediately, shuffling through folders in front of his desk while talking to the other blonde chick he'd met before. She didn't seem to like him very much the last time, but he hoped she would give him a chance to talk. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a tall officer decked out in a uniform looked down at him with a suspicious eye and a gruff voice. Zeke cleared his throat and stepped around him.

"You need some help?"

Zeke shook his head at the officer and kept moving towards them. He could feel suspicious eyes turn to look at him, probably trying to scope out whether they needed to help him or pat him down. He stopped a few feet from their desks and cleared his throat, licking his lips when Amanda tore her eyes from Carisi.

She stood, brows furrowed and mouth parted, making Carisi turn to see what had her looking so shocked. He looked taken aback as well, his hands stilled from the shuffling. Zeke licked his lips again and waved hesitantly.

"Hi."

Liv certainly didn't expect to see what she saw when she walked into her office.

It took her longer than she thought it was going to get Lucia and Noah settled, with a hefty police presence outside of the hotel and in, and once she had, she succumbed to a small nap next to her little man in bed while Lucia busied herself with some of her own work. The older woman was out of her mind with worry, but her praying and comforting words were keeping her sane.

She only wished it kept her as sane, because when she walked into her office and saw none other than Zeke, sitting on the couch with baggy clothes and a cup of coffee in his hand, she felt like she had gone insane.

Amanda quickly shut the door behind her and patted her back, "I know this is a shock- "

"I thought he was supposed to be in protective custody in Connecticut." Carisi shoved his hands in his pockets uncomfortably, "Yeah, he was. But he was attacked."

Liv set her own coffee down, "By who?" Liv looked at him down her nose, scrutinizing him with a wary eye. She knew what this kid had done for Rafael and how much he helped the investigation, but having never really met or talked with him, she wasn't going to trust him just yet.

"BX-9 members, ma'am. They killed Officer Bolton and Officer Frey. I saw it." Liv looked to her two other detectives for confirmation and they nodded, confirming it.

"Verified it. Already informed their families."

Four officer's dead within hours…Dodds was going to be a raging mess as soon as he found out what was happening. No doubt, he already had.

"And how did you escape. Seems a little odd you made it out alive but two trained, highly skilled officers didn't."

Zeke shrunk back a little and kept his gaze trained on his coffee, trying not to show them how afraid he was. "I barely made it out of the house. I stole their car and ditched it when I got into the city. I know that you probably don't believe me and you're going to arrest me again, but I have to show you something important."

Liv crossed her arms, "Well, whatever it is you think is important, we don't have time for. Throw him in a holding cell and deal with him in the morning. We have work to do."

"Wait! Please!" Zeke stood up, clenching his cup in his hand and digging around in his pocket for something. Carisi stepped forward, ready to grab his arm when he produced a flash drive from his pants pocket and waved it with a trembling hand.

"I have hours of security footage on this. Faces, names, voices, anything you could think of pertaining to BX and its higher ups. I even have Money Bags voice on this thing."

"Money bags?"

"Yeah. He's the brain behind BX-9. He's in prison, doing time for kiddie porn or something like that. He talks about your friend with another guy who calls himself Athos. They talk in like some code, though, I don't really understand but whatever they have against your friend…they plan on doing something about it."

Liv furrowed her brow, the names striking her as odd and made up, but then again, this kid didn't seem like he was lying. He was shaking, face full of fear and determination to make them believe he was telling the truth.

"Please. You have to believe me. This could bring down BX-9 in its entirety."

Liv sighed, knowing their time was thin and Rafael was out there, but something inside her told her to give this kid a chance. So, she merely nodded and opened her laptop that was sitting on her desk and took the flash drive from him.

March 21st – 2:15 a.m.

Zeke sat uncomfortably in front of Liv, who sat watching the footage. She'd been staring at the screen in utter silence since it had been handed to her, and he wasn't sure what to make of that. The audio was loud as it filtered out from the laptop sitting on her desk and Amanda and Carisi had taken to standing behind her, watching the footage along with her.

He'd pointed out some key spots in the footage, since it was too long to be viewed all the way through with the time they were given. He had them time stamped personally on the video, using the laptop's impressive video maker to his advantage. He listened silently as the familiar audio filtered into the room, noting that the detectives were looking at the screen intently, almost like they were trying to place the voice to someone they knew.

"Sounds familiar. Too familiar," Liv said as she paused the footage and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. Amanda hummed in agreement, "Voice recognition?"

"No," Carisi interjected, "It sounds like there's something layering the audio. Probably to cover their asses if this fell into NYPD hands. They wouldn't be able to decipher it quick enough."

"It's still worth a shot," Liv nodded to Amanda and the woman ran out to her desk, muttering something about getting an analyst on their floor, even though it was damn near impossible at past two in the morning.

"Jesus, they have people in Riker's working for them…God knows how many people in the NYPD, too. Hell, they probably have some in the D.A.'s office and 1PP…," Carisi trailed, loosening his tie. He looked exhausted, from Zeke's point of view, but then they all looked tired. He wondered if now was an appropriate time to ask the question that had been on his mind since he arrived at the station and the memories from last time flooded back to his mind. He decided to ask anyway, as the two sat there silently, waiting for Amanda to come back.

"So…where is he?"

"Who?" Carisi nodded at him. Zeke hesitated, but the name easily slipped out of his mouth, "Mr. Barba?"

Zeke couldn't help but notice the far away, distant look that fell over the Lieutenant's eyes and that unsettled him greatly. There were no further words from him, nor the other two. Not until Amanda walked back in, tying her hair up in a bun on top of her head, breaking the tense silence in the room.

"Next available tech will be here at four. I can call Agent McAllister, see if we can get one of his guys on it- "

"No. I don't want them to know we're working something behind their backs. The files were sent over, that's all they need from us right now."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Liv was about to answer Carisi, although she was unsure of the answer herself when her phone began to ring and vibrate in her pocket.

She nearly dropped her phone when she saw a familiar name flashing across her screen. It was a phone call she'd been waiting on ever since she left the hotel the evening before after learning Fin had been gunned down. She stood, crossing her arm under her chest as she answered.

"Potter! Finally. Do you have anything?"

The man on the other line sneezed a few times and said yes, his voice sounding croaky. He probably had been working on it nonstop since she called in her favor.

"Tell me."

"Well," he wheezed, "Your suspicions on Alex Muñoz's activity was right."

"Good," she said, placing her glasses on the laptop keyboard in front of the paused footage, "Tell me it's suspicious enough we can investigate him."

"You can probably do more than investigate him. Especially with what I found. I swear you're gonna crap yourself when I tell you." Liv felt her nerves starting to get the best of her but she stopped herself from all but yelling at the poor man who had been working on this for hours. She urged him to continue.

"There were three different phones bought, along with a limited number of minutes, under Mrs. Muñoz's name since he was released on the 14th. We managed to get those records from the store they were bought, along with surveillance footage to verify he was the buyer. Anyway, we got in contact with the company, who released the numbers."

"All three of the phone numbers made a total of eight calls to Riker's, to the same inmate, during off hours, which is totally weird, by the way. Anyway, they tried blocking us from getting the information about the inmate, but my brother works there and he snuck in after-hours to retrieve it for me. Don't tell anybody that. I don't want him to lose his job- "

"Ok, I get it!" She felt bad for snapping, but no apology was issued, "Get to the point."

"The inmate number was traced back to…you're not going to believe this…"

Liv steeled herself, "Who?"

"Hank Abraham."