Chapter 9

Closer To Nowhere

Captain Craigen sat in his office, still trying to reach the girl through the phone number Amanda had given him earlier. Every day, since he received the number, he had repeatedly tried to reach the owner but there was no such luck. It went straight to voicemail. Not wanting to put the owner at risk he never left a message in case a pimp got a hold of it. Sighing, he decided to try once more before he would call it a day.

Four signals went through. Don rested his head against his right hand and was just about to hand up when someone on the other end picks up. Shocked, he was now on full alert and held the phone tighter against his ear. "Hello?" Nothing. He tried again. "Hello, can you hear me?" Still nothing but he could hear interference from the receiving end and became determined to find out who was listening. "Hello? Can you talk? Is it safe for you to talk?"

He could hear breathing now. It was slow and faint but definitely there. "Hello?" He tried again.

A hushed voice finally came through. "Hello." Don could tell straight away that the girl was foreign, possibly Russian.

"A woman gave me this number. A Madame. She wants to know if Kim is safe? Where is your current location? Is Kim with you?" There was a long silence and Craigen thought he had lost her but then she spoke again.

"She is not here anymore. She was taken two days ago. I don't know where. I have to go." The line went dead and Craigen could hear the urgency in her last spoken sentence, like she was close to getting caught.

"Damn!" He muttered and slammed the phone down on his desk. He stood up and rushed out from his office spotting Fin nearby. "Fin, get someone to trace my last call. I might have got something."

"Right on it, Cap."

Olivia felt someone tap her on the shoulder and instantly straightened up in the chair, in full detective mode. She placed a hand over her beating heart as she saw who it was. "Officer Walker! Sorry, you gave me a freight. Guess I fell asleep." The brunette brushed her fingers through tangled hair.

Donna chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that, detective. Why don't you go home and get some proper sleep in a proper bed. I'll take it from here."

Smiling, Olivia moved forward in the seat, ready to get up, when she caught a glimpse of the sleeping blonde's face. Amanda looked peaceful, almost childlike. Her breathing was slow and steady, her hair was adorably toussled and her right hand was hanging over the side, towards Olivia. The detective couldn't leave her like this. She looked so vulnerable and fragile, like she could break any second even from the softest caress. Olivia couldn't bare to leave. "Actually, I'm gonna stay. Its okay honestly. I got orders from my captain telling me not to leave her side until it's safe. I'm sorry I should have passed that on to you before you made your way all the way over here but as uncomfortable this chair is I couldn't help but to nod off. I'm really sorry, officer."

The brunette felt ashamed for lying but looking at Amanda's face there was no way she was leaving. A white lie never hurt anybody. She just had to make up a damn good reason to tell her captain why officer Walker was no longer Amanda's protective detail. That wasn't gonna be easy.

"Oh, okay. That's quite alright, dear. I understand. At least let me get you some coffee before I head out. I'll be back in just a sec." before Olivia could protest officer Walker was already out the door.

Glancing back at the blonde beautiful woman Olivia gently tucked her hand back underneath the covers and stroked her arm a couple of times. The detective didn't know this woman but she could sense a lot of pain and hurt from her past. The way she didn't like to talk about family and how protective and motherly she was about her sister. She got the feeling that Amanda was the one who had raised Kim and that she didn't trust easily or liked asking for help. After so many years working in SVU she could read people really well, specially victims. It made her sad to think about how Amanda, must have missed out on her childhood by growing up too fast.

"Here you go." Her thoughts were interrupted as Donna came back carrying a big paper cup with roasting coffee and a breakfast bagel. "I thought you might be hungry. You've gotta keep your strength up, dear."

Olivia accepted the cup and bagel. "Thank you so much. There was no need really but thank you. It looks delicious."

Donna waved her hand. "Don't mention it, hun. I'll be on my way then. Let me know if you need me again."

Liv took a big bite of the bagel as soon as Walker had left. Crispy bacon, cream cheese and spring onion was one of her favourites. The coffee wasn't bad either. It didn't take long before the bagel was consumed and only a sip or two left of the warm beverage.

"Don't you have someone waiting at home?" Amanda was now watching Liv finishing her coffee. Her voice was full of sleep and her yes looked raw but seeing that Olivia had spent the night and was still by her side felt kind of good, but never in a million years would the small woman admit it.

Liv swallowed and smiled. "Is that your way of asking me if I'm single?" She giggled a her own smart comment, watching Amanda roll her eyes. "If you must know there is no one waiting at home and I'm not dating anyone."

Amanda snorted. "I didn't ask you if you dated anyone. Its none of my business if you are. I just don't want to keep you away from... whoever."

Liv was about to say something back when her phone rang. Fishing it up from her pocket she saw that it was her captain. Not wanting to alarm Amanda she decided to just answer with a simple; "Benson."

"Liv, I got through to a girl with the phone number Amanda gave me. She said that Kim is not with her anymore. She was taken away two days ago but she didn't know where. She wouldn't tell me her location but I got Fin to trace the call. It came from an address in Queens. Fin and Elliot are checking it out as we speak. I'll keep you posted of what's going on."

Olivia nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. Just keep me in the loop." Amanda was throwing her suspicious glances, needing to know what was happening. Liv took a deep breath trying to figure out how to break the news to her. It was good and bad news. At least they had a location for now and that Kim was probably still alive. "That was my captain." She watched as Amanda snapped her head up, eyes wide with fear.

Olivia held her hands up to stop the blonde from panicking. "He got through to a girl with the phone number you gave us. She wouldn't tell us her name but we presume it's the girl you mentioned."

Amanda had stopped breathing and she was trying to listen to what Olivia was saying but it was difficult. Liv moved the chair closer to the bed, trying to reassure Amanda by physical proximity. "She said that Kim is not with her anymore and that she was taken someplace else two days ago but she doesn't know where. The captain traced the call and it came from Queens and they are looking into it right now." Before Amanda could say anything or freak out even more, Olivia grasped a nearby hand. "I want you to focus on getting better and for us to do our jobs. This is good news, Amanda. At least we have an address and that Kim is alive."

The need for oxygen got too much and a strained gasp of air ripped through Amanda's battered body. The air filled her lungs, making them expand and putting pressure on her chest. The next gasp she struggled to take was from intense pain. Her head started spinning and a wave of nausea washed over her. Placing her hand over her mouth Olivia knew straight away that Amanda was going to be sick. As fast as her legs could carry her, Olivia ran into the bathroom, grabbed the small trash can provided and got back to the distraught woman just in time for her to empty the contents of her stomach.

Not much was coming out since Amanda had hardly eaten anything. Clear liquid hit the bottom of the bin with a gushing sound and two seconds later a second wave came. Olivia could see and sense the pain Amanda was in. She knew from personal experience how painful it could be to throw up after a critical injury and she also knew that there was nothing she could do to make the pain go away. The only thing she could do was to place an arm behind quivering shoulders and try to hold her up while she was struggling to regain control of her body.

After about five minutes, after the dry heaving had stopped Liv felt that it was safe enough to remove the trash can. A nurse just passing by took the bin and handed Olivia some disposable cardboard trays instead in case they needed them for later.

Gently lying the shaking blonde back down on the bed Olivia wet a clean facecloth and wiped it softly across her sweaty complection. Her muscles were trembling from the effort and the pain came and went in waves and she couldn't help but to let out a pitiful moan. "Shhh." Olivia soothed and Amanda once again drifted off to sleep, knowing that Olivia would more likely still be there when she awoke. For the first time in her life, or the first time she could remember, she got an insight of what trust ment and felt like but she also decided not to get attached or too emotional. People always come and go. Trust was never a practiced task in her childhood, nor so far in her adult life. Trust led do disappointment, hurt then anger. It was never an option in the blonde's eyes. Never.

Olivia didn't stop stroking Amanda's face with the cool cloth until she was certain that she had gone back to sleep. She found it more difficult to tare her eyes away from the blonde beauty and wondered why she felt this way about a person she barely knew. She fought the urge to kiss the feverish forehead but the pull Amanda seemed to have on her was too strong. Leaning down Olivia brushed her lips gently over Amanda's temple before pulling away. The brunette was then shocked when she felt her hand being taken in a somewhat desperate grip and she thought she heard the word "stay" softly being spoken from pink lips. Even though Amanda was asleep, the firm hold on Olivia's hand spoke of the need of reassurance and comfort. Tenderly Olivia brushed her knuckles over Amanda's cheek and brow several times. "I'll stay. I'm right here, sweetie. I'm right here."

Again, the SVU squad was getting ready for anther bust. Only one block away was the located address and Captain Craigen was there himself since they were now one man short. They moved in quickly. Guns raised, vests on and full backup, everything was being done by the book.

The front door hit the wall with a loud bang and two officers, covering each other from different angles, stepped in. "FREEZE, NYPD! Stay right where you are and don't move."

Screams could be heard from all around the small house. It was fortunately only one level house and Craigen silently said a prayer. A smaller area made it easier to secure the scene and take control of the situation. When all the rooms had been cleared there were eleven girls, five pimps and three probable customers lined up against the wall in the run down hallway.

Craigen made sure the pimps and the sex byers were handcuffed and brought out before he turned his attention to the girls. They were all wearing skimpy outfits, caked in makeup and stilettos too high for anybody to walk in. He fished up a picture of Kim from his pocket, that he had printed of the missing person's report Amanda had made years ago, and held it up for every girl to see.

"I am looking for this girl. Her name is Kim. Does anybody know where she is? Is there anything you can tell me about her?" He walked along the line of girls. No one meeting his eyes and no one saying anything. Craigen knew he wasn't gonna get anything out of them, especially in this environment. It would be best to bring them all to the precinct and question them one by one. It was going to be a long day.