"This man shot Julia," she announced in a shaky, hoarse voice. "His name is Kyle Turner, but in prison, they call him Bull."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They could almost feel Cragen's astonishment as he stared at the paper in his hand. Slowly, he looked up, eyes wide, and countless questions seemed to be running through his head as he asked tentatively:

"How… How do you know this?"

Without saying a word, Olivia turned her computer screen towards her captain and pressed play. The video started again, Cragen's jaw dropped, and when the video ended, he stood in silence for a few seconds, staring at the screen, before slowly asking:

"Um… First of all, who sent this?"

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know, it was sent from an unknown address. However, there was a message with it, wait..." She scrolled the message into view. "... "The grapes are from France." I don't know what it…"

But then her heart skipped a beat when she realized it. Of course. She should have realized it immediately.

"The bartender," she stated in a hoarse voice. "That's the bartender from the club."

Cragen frowned. "Okay… But why would he send the real video to us? In my opinion, all persons associated with the club are more or less involved in criminal activity. Can we trust that this is genuine? What if they are just trying to mislead us?"

Olivia bit her lip and turned her gaze back to the frozen screen. Of course, they had no way of knowing if this too was just another new, edited version of the situation, but for some reason she felt that this time it was her partner on the video. His reactions, his movements… They were more of the Elliot she knew.

"Well… How well do you know this bartender?" A strange voice beside her made her snap out of her thoughts and turn her gaze. "What motive would he have to send you this video?"

It wasn't until looking at the unknown man that Olivia remembered that Cragen had been accompanied by another person. She blinked and tilted her head.

"Sorry, who are you?"

That was when the man grinned and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Robin Bailey. And I assume you're Olivia Benson?"

Oh. Right.

"Your new partner starts tomorrow."

Slowly, Olivia grabbed the man's outstretched hand and squeezed it. Robin's grin widened even more as he continued: "So, you are my new partner. Pleasure to meet you."

"Hi," she greeted, but when Robin didn't let go of her hand right away, the anxiety inside her started to grow exponentially, and she pulled her hand away. Her heart had begun to pound wildly, and when she blinked, she suddenly felt Reed's hand lifting her hand to kiss it, saw his green eyes, and she had to take a deep breath and swallow the panic that had begun to grip her throat.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she forced herself to answer, trying to sound casual, and apparently succeeded well enough, because Robin turned his gaze back to her computer.

"So, um… What's the case? I…"

"My partner is in prison," the words escaped Olivia's lips before she could stop them, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Cragen give her a warning look. "Sorry, I mean…"

Robin didn't seem bother, though, just waved his hand. "Don't worry, I get it. I heard from Captain Cragen that your ex-partner has apparently been framed for murder. So, this is him?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, this is him. And…"

But she didn't have time to explain any further, because then Fin rushed in, out of breath and obviously in a hurry.

"Why isn't anyone answering the phone?" He exclaimed irritably, but without waiting for an answer, he continued: "The homicide unit called; they succeeded to locate the call to Jacob Hall's phone. They want us to come along."

"Why?" Cragen asked, even though everyone already guessed the answer.

"They suspect that the place is Reed's base."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is everyone ready?"

Cragen's voice from the earpiece made Olivia take a deep breath and direct her eyes to the light-colored detached house, which the uninitiated could have easily mistaken for just an ordinary home of an ordinary family. They couldn't be completely sure that they were about to search the right house either, but the evidence was strong enough that they had gotten a search warrant.

Olivia took another deep breath and tried to calm her furiously pounding heart. Breaking into the house was just as unnerving every time, you never knew what was waiting behind the door, but this time the situation was even more stressful.

They were going to arrest Mr. Reed. The same man whose green eyes, sweaty hands, and lust-glowing eyes still found their way into her nightmares, lately in increasing numbers. It was as if her mind was just beginning to properly understand what had happened, what had almost happened, and deep down she knew what she should do, because she had said the same to countless victims.

She needed to get help.

Second, Elliot wasn't here. She had a new partner with whom she had barely managed to exchange a few words, and now they were going on a difficult mission, assuming they could trust each other. She knew Fin, Munch, and Cragen would be there too, but right now, as she was about to potentially confront the person who had almost raped her, she would have needed Elliot more than ever. She longed for that trust, that certainty that the other knew, even without words, what the other intended, and the safety that her partner's presence gave her.

Knowing that even though they were arresting criminals, having her back was his number one priority.

"Detective? Detective Benson?"

A voice beside her snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned her gaze towards it. Robin was looking at her with a questioning look on his face, gun ready in his hand.

"Uh… Sorry, what?"

"Are you ready? Others are waiting for our signal."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready," Olivia lowered her head to take her gun from her waist, while hoping her new partner didn't notice the slight blush that spread across her cheeks.

I really need to focus now.

But when they got the signal to go, "Great, he doesn't even know what to call me" was the last thought that lingered in her mind for a moment before they jumped out of the car and began to approach the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bull surreptitiously glanced around and made sure that everyone was in the agreed places. The warders were leading them back from the shower, and completely unaware of the plan, stood looking bored by the passageway.

Normally, Bull would have also just walked along, not paying attention to his surroundings, but this time he was alert, observing his surroundings and waiting for the right moment.

Because he had a plan. A plan that, if successful, would give him so much money that he could then leave the prison gates behind, acquire a new identity and flee the country, without having to work for years. Murdering Julia Yellowstone had been almost as easy as stealing a lollipop from a child, this time the plan had required a little refinement, but succeeding was close.

And then he heard it.

A loud clatter from the adjacent corridor caught the attention of the warders.

The first phase of the plan.

With lightning speed, he grabbed a knife from his sock, aimed it at the first warder, and stabbed him squarely in the stomach. The situation caused general chaos; it was a signal to the other prisoners he had recruited into the plan. They attacked the warders, the alarms went off, but it was too late, next the power went out, just as he had planned, and the prison fell silent. Some of the prisoners went to free others, the screams of the warders could be heard from the corridors, but the prisoners, intoxicated by the chaos, were like an unstoppable force of nature that grew stronger as they advanced.

Bull glanced around, swiped his bloody knife to the pants of the silent warder in front of him, and spat on him. Then he beckoned the two waiting prisoners with him and purposefully set off walking towards his main target.

Detective Stabler's death was his ticket to freedom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"NYPD!"

The door to the house slammed open on the second try, and Olivia and Robin entered the house, following the other police officers. Fin, Munch and Cragen had gone around the other side of the house and were securing the back door while she and Robin were supposed to check the rooms inside the house. However, due to the circumstances, Cragen had ordered them to stay together instead of going separately as they usually did for enhancing the search, and even though Robin was an experienced detective and the situation was by no means new to him, for some reason moving inside the house with him felt clumsy and unsynchronized despite the precise instructions.

And then, just as they were checking out the large, messy room, Olivia saw a dark figure flash in the corner of her eye. She quickly turned around, holding her gun, but saw no one. Listening to her instincts, momentarily forgetting who she was working with, she nudged Robin lightly with her elbow, intending to wordlessly indicate to him that they should head in the direction she had seen the figure move, but he turned quickly, a questioning look on his face.

"What?"

For a couple of seconds, Olivia just blinked in confusion, as if her task-oriented brain didn't understand why the man standing in front of her hadn't understood her instructions. But then she slightly shook her head and answered quietly:

"We should move..."

However, she didn't have time to finish her sentence before Robin nodded and started moving in the opposite direction. With a frustrated groan, Olivia took a few quick steps towards him and poked him in the arm again.

"What?" Robin's voice was suddenly strained, and it made irritation grow inside her.

"I saw something, we should check that room again," she answered quickly and pointed to the door in the opposite direction. Robin lifted his gaze for a moment, directed it to the door, but then the information about the arrested people on the earpiece interrupted his thoughts, and he shook his head slightly.

"No, we already checked it. Come this way."

And without waiting for an answer, he turned and started moving, leaving a dumbfounded Olivia standing in her tracks. And then anger flared up inside her, and without a second thought, she turned and started heading in her own direction, not checking if her partner was following her. And suddenly she didn't even care, anger throbbed in her veins, and her only thought was to catch Reed so she could get her real partner back.

She stepped into the room, glanced around and started walking forward, but then she heard it. The door closed behind her, she quickly turned around, and there he was.

Ralph Reed.

"Hello, Sharon," his voice was sweet, his grin ominous, and he licked his lips as he stepped closer. "Or should I say, Olivia."

The wild pounding of her heart was humming in Olivia's ears as she stared unblinkingly at the man she had only seen twice, but who had since arrived unbidden countless times into her dreams, she had seen his green eyes on her retinas when she had closed her eyes, felt his hot breath on her neck when someone had touched her.

And there he was now standing before her, unarmed, but the same lustful look hadn't left his eyes as his gaze traveled down her body.

"I heard what happened to your friend Detective Stabler. Pity," he shrugged and took a step closer, causing Olivia to take a step back. "He seemed like a good guy, too bad he came to interrupt us at the best moment."

Nausea started to rise in her throat, but she forced herself to focus. She didn't understand where Robin had gone.

"It's over, Ralph," she was surprised that she managed to make her voice sound so steady even though her whole body had started to tremble. "We know what you've done. And we know who killed Julia."

Something vague flashed in Reed's eyes before he tilted his head and asked: "How did it feel to see your beloved partner shoot my girlfriend? My sweet…"

"It wasn't him," she suddenly heard herself say, as if someone else had started to speak. "We saw the real surveillance camera video. Tell me how is it possible that a man in prison was in the bathroom of the club you own that night? How is it possible that he was not reported as an escapee?"

For a moment Reed seemed to be hesitating, weighing his options, but then an unpleasant amusement spread across his face as he shook his head. "Oh, you cops and your gullible faith in the execution of justice. I don't know what you've seen, but I can also tell you that the prison system is not quite as watertight as you might think. All it takes is one warder to wrap around your finger, and after that the possibilities are endless."

"So, you admit that he broke out of prison and shot your girlfriend," Olivia knew she was treading on dangerous waters, because Reed's expression had started to harden, become more unpredictable, but she couldn't let his weak moment pass. He knew that his game was over, his being had revealed that they had indeed found out the real shooter, and therefore his current state of mind was conducive to questions.

But there was only one additional variable in the situation.

Herself.

Because the moment Julia's shooter's identity confirmed, for a split second her own reflexes slowed down, and Reed was ready. He stepped forward, and before Olivia could do anything, he knocked the gun out of her hand with a swift movement and pushed her violently against the wall. The movement made the air escape from her lungs and panic exploded inside her, numbing her mind and preventing her from making a sound. All she could do was stare into his eyes, where the simultaneous flames of anger, lust, and revenge coalesced into a single, insane bonfire.

"I can feel your heart pounding," his voice had dropped to a low, rough murmur. "Don't be afraid, I guarantee that you will enjoy this as much as I do."

Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes as she feebly tried to wriggle free, but her panic-numbed body didn't obey her commands, and Reed's weight against her was too strong. She felt his hands slip under her shirt and vest, had to work to get higher, but then he grabbed her breast, moaned and leaned down to press his lips to her neck.

Olivia felt like there was simultaneously deathly quiet and all the alarms going off inside her. She couldn't breathe or make a single sound as Reed began to push his hips against her, and she closed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Where is everyone?!

Where is Robin?!

Elliot…

"Too bad your partner isn't here this time," she felt Reed's lips move along her neck. "I didn't love Julia, I knew she would betray us at some point. She had to die. But oh God, what nights of passion we had. I really miss them. And in revenge for her death…" She heard him start to unbuckle his belt with his other hand. "You and your partner get to know what it's like when someone hurts your loved one. You might think that he's safe in solitary confinement is, but you surely know when the prey is easiest to kill?"

When it can't escape.

And that was when Olivia's eyes snapped open. It was as if Reed's words had woken her from sleep, broken the enchantment, and since he was so focused on opening his belt, she got her chance. Gathering all her strength, she kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could, Reed automatically doubled over, and she kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall onto his stomach. She pressed him to the ground with all her weight, handcuffed him with furiously shaking hands, and with the last of her strength began to speak:

"Ralph Reed. You have been arrested…"

And then the door to the room slammed open, and she met the alarmed looks of Fin and Robin.

"What the hell…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Olivia was pressing her fists against her thighs and tried to take deep breaths as the police car raced through the busy streets of New York, sirens wailing. Cragen was sitting behind the wheel and cursed as careless drivers cut in front of him, Robin was sitting in the co-driver's seat and clenched the door with one hand, his knuckles white, as the car hurtled down the road. What had happened with Mr. Reed had been put on hold for a while, to wait for a better moment, for now they had no time to waste.

They didn't know if Reed had revealed his plan to kill Elliot on purpose or by accident, but that didn't matter. It went without saying that Bull was his puppet, and the sooner they could get him in for interrogating, the sooner they could get Elliot to safety.

A sob was rampaging inside Olivia like a volcano which was about to erupt at any moment, but she squeezed her eyes shut and forced it to stay inside her. Now was not the time to break down, not now when they were so close to success. Reed's eyes were flashing across her retinas as if he was watching her inside her head, and she had to use all her strength to keep the panic from rising in her throat again. Instead, she tried to think of something else.

Familiar, blue eyes which sparkled like the sea on a warm summer day, and which calmed her like a warm breath of wind had passed through her.

And then they were at the prison gate, and Olivia shook her head to focus her thoughts on the moment. But suddenly she realized they weren't the first. There were several heavily armed police at the gate, police car lights flashing, and Cragen frowned.

"What the…"

Nervousness began to grip Olivia's chest, and she jumped out before their Captain could even properly stop the car. With long strides she leapt to the warders standing at the gate, flashed her badge and asked:

"Detective Benson, Detective Bailey and Captain Cragen, SVU. What's going on? We have orders to pick up a prisoner suspected of a murder for interrogating."

"Yeah, well," the warder rubbed his hands together and glanced nervously at the prison. "That's not possible right now. The prison is closed due to a riot, the situation is not under control at all."

No.

This is not possible.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The determined footsteps of Bull and the two inmates following him echoed through the empty corridor as they made their way towards the solitary confinement section. Moving ahead was easy as all the warders were busy upstairs, and no one expected the rioting prisoners to come down here.

There would be only one warder, and with a surprise one-on-three encounter, it should be a piece of cake.

But just before the door, Bull slowed his steps, because from somewhere the smell of smoke began to waft into his nose. He stopped for a moment, without saying a word turned to his henchmen and first pointed his finger upwards and then pointed to his nose. The prisoners nodded and Bull frowned, thought for a moment, but then the fire alarms went off, and almost at the same moment the warder guarding the solitary confinement opened the door.

And Bull wasted not a moment but gathered all his strength and hit the warder with his fist so hard that his head struck the edge of the door with hard force, and he fell to the floor. Grinning in satisfaction, Bull stepped over the warder and beckoned his henchmen to follow, but then a cloud of smoke puffed out of the air duct, and it started sting their eyes and throats, causing them to cough. For a moment he considered his options, but as the amount of smoke began to increase in the corridor, he made a decision, cut the warder's throat and coughed:

"Come on, let's go. Why getting our clothes dirty when they will soon become smoked meat."

Next to the wall, he found a loose iron pipe, which he grabbed, closed the door from the outside and barred it with the pipe he had found. Then he coughed, smirked, and the three of them started jogging towards the exit.

"Good night, Pretty Boy. See you in Hell."