His voice is the last thing in her head, before she falls asleep. His face is the first thing that she sees, when she jerks back into consciousness. He hovers over her, just watching her sleep.
He wakes up, with a knot in the pit of his stomach. It takes him a moment to realize where he is. He sits up, and looks around the room. Everyone around him is working. He is sitting at his desk. He looks up at the clock, to see what time it is. He is unsure when he nodded off. Amanda makes her way to his desk, and places a cup of coffee in front of him. He smiles, weakly, but graciously.
"Thanks."
"Nick, we're going to find her," she promises.
"Are we any closer than we were yesterday?"
"We're going to catch a break, any minute. I can feel it."
"That isn't the feeling that I've got."
"What do you mean?"
"I just have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach."
"You can't think that way," Amanda warns.
"She's been missing for more than twenty four hours. Anything could have happened to her in twenty four hours."
"Nick, you have to stay positive. We are going to find her."
"I don't doubt that at some point we will find her."
"Then what is your problem?" she raises an eyebrow.
"We'll find her, but in what condition? We don't know."
She doesn't say anything. She just looks at him, knowing that he's right.
He shakes his head, "I don't want to talk about this, anymore."
She nods, and walks away, allowing him his space.
She sits up, and looks at him. She wonders how long he's been watching her, not just this morning, either. She wonders if he had been watching her, before that. Had it been days, even months since he became fixated on her? Why her? He stands in front of her.
"How long are you going to keep me here?"
"Until you give up," he reveals.
"Until I give up?" she raises an eyebrow.
"One person can only take so much," he reminds her.
"Who hurt you?" she tries to get him to talk.
"Nobody," he insists.
"Who turned you into this monster?"
"Nobody. Look," his cheeks turn red, and his nostrils flare, "I am not a victim. Do not try to turn me into one."
"Did I strike a nerve?"
"Nobody ever did anything to me."
"I don't believe you."
"You heard what you just said."
"And, I saw how you reacted. Who was it? A teacher, a family member?"
Without warning he snaps. His hand wraps around her throat. He grips her throat, until she's sure that she's going to pass out. Then, just as suddenly he stops. She tries to catch her breath. He stands there, with his arms folded across his chest. She studies him, in silence. He stands tall, and still. He is average looking, average build. There is nothing special about him.
"You know who I am, who are you?"
"That isn't important."
"You can't even tell me your name?"
"I didn't come here to make small talk. I didn't come down here, to talk about my feelings, or my past."
"Then why did you come down here?"
"To get what I wanted all along."
He sits in an empty room, at the precinct. There is a table, a chair, and some filing cabinets. There are boxes full of files. There are papers spread all over the table he is sitting at. He is interrupted, by someone opening the door. He looks up, and finds Amaro standing in the doorway.
"You need any help in here?"
Elliot looks up, "Nah, I'm ok."
Nick points to the object in Elliot's hand, "Whatcha got there?"
Elliot looks down at the picture, and then looks up at Nick, "I found it in some old case files. It is a picture we had taken, for an undercover operation we worked. We went undercover as a married couple."
Nick doesn't say anything. Elliot hands him the picture. Nick closes the door, as he takes the picture. He studies the picture, and instantly he sees it.
"You guys look happy here."
"We were at each other's throats a lot. We didn't always see eye to eye, but she was my partner."
"You could pass for a married couple," Nick admits, avoiding asking the obvious question.
"We could have passed for a lot of things," Elliot admits.
Nick goes for it, anyway, "Did you ever..."
Elliot cuts him off, "She would never."
"But, you loved her."
Elliot doesn't answer. A thought pops into Nicks head.
"I never called her boyfriend. He doesn't know that she's missing."
"Her boyfriend?"
She stands up. He doesn't flinch, even though she is only a couple of inches from him. She can see he is used to having someone in his face. He looks directly into her eyes.
"We're evenly matched. I have no weapons. No belt, no knife," he reveals.
She doesn't say anything.
"How does your neck feel?"
She doesn't answer.
"And your back?"
She tries not to think about being lashed with a leather belt, the night before. She remains alert, ready for his next move. His nostrils flare, in irritation, clearly he's still irritated that she's challenged his manhood. The look in his eyes tells her that she is going to regret it.