Whelan—-Jet
W: Having fun yet?
J: Meh. Bored.
W: Not boring here…
J: I'm not going to beg you for details so you should just tell me.
W: You're no fun.
J: Nope none at all. Now tell me.
W: Benson pushed herself in the interrogation room and Bell went with her.
J: This isn't any more exciting than staring at Stabler sleeping.
W: Shut up or I'm not telling what's going on.
J: Fine. Whatever.
W: This dude decided to bring up the brotherhood shit.
J: That's getting old. How the hell do people still think he's dirty after everything.
W: People are idiots.
J: Preach. I'm sure that didn't sit well with Bell or Benson.
W:Oh it went fine until the dude asked if Benson was still sleeping with Stabler or just pining for him.
J: Shit
W: Yeah
J: How'd Benson take it.
W: Uhhh well. Bell basically pushed her out of the interrogation room, so I'm guessing it didn't go great for the guy.
J: He's lucky Bell didn't let her beat his ass.
W: No kidding. Captain Benson though. That woman is the personification of calm and stability, but damn, she looked like she might tear the guy apart.
J: Don't blame her.
W: Guess I know now why I should never ask about that relationship.
J: Good call.
W: Anyway. Reyes popped in, and now I'm trying to keep Benson from going back in.
J: How's that going for you?
W: Not great. She's pissed… She's pretty damn terrifying when she's pissed…
J: Good luck with that one.
W: Yeah thanks.
-000-
"What's Whelan got to say for himself?" Elliot mumbled.
Jet's eyes darted away from her phone and back to Elliot. "What?" She asked, but he knew she heard him.
"Whelan. That's who you're texting. What's going on?"
Her cheek flushed. He could always tell when she was talking to Jamie. It was subtle, and she overcompensated by treating him like an idiot, but there was a small smile there, and she could never keep it in.
"Uh, he's just updating me in the interview and stuff." She was being evasive.
"Okayyyy…." He waited for more details.
She groaned a little, "Your…partner… was apparently seconds away from beating the shit out of the guy."
He wasn't sure why it was funny, but a laugh escaped his lips. For years, she'd get completely pissed when he slammed someone against a wall for threatening her…it was comical that she was now doing the exact same thing.
"What did he say that set her off?" There were a few tender spots that would trigger her like that. Very few things got under her skin.
"He brought up the brotherhood and said you were a dirty cop." Yup. That would be one thing to set her off. She would defend his honor to the death, and he would do the same.
"That it?" That would piss her off, but he doubted it would actually push her over the edge.
Jet's large dark eyes widened a little, and he knew there was more…but she didn't want to say anything.
"Oh come on. Take pity. I'm stuck here and I can't move. What did the guy say?"
"He brought up your partnership…" he knew where this was going, but even the mention of their partnership was sacred ground between them. Jet watched him nervously, but dropped her eyes and tried to keep her voice casual. "He asked her if you two were still sleeping together or if she was just pining for you." Jet didn't even look up to gauge his reaction.
He expected that. She generally handled that question well. He had a brief flashback of his own son asking her a similar question. The answer was simple then…now though…
Jet hurried through the rest of the story, "Bell got between her and the perp before she could even make a move. Jamie is stuck with her outside the interrogation room and she's apparently pretty pissed."
He almost felt bad for Jamie…almost. Olivia could be the softest, most empathetic person on the planet, but she could also kick some idiots ass if necessary. If she was kicked out of interrogation, she was probably livid.
"Toss me my phone," he reached towards Jet. She grabbed it from the counter and handed it to him.
"What are you doing?" she asked nervously. "Don't tell her we were talking about her. She might actually kill Jamie."
Elliot rolled his eyes. "She's not going to kill Jamie. She knows that it's not his fault he got stuck on babysitting duty."
Jet still looked wary, but she had at least a basic level of trust in Elliot.
Elliot—-texting Olivia
E: Get yourself kicked out of interrogation?
O: Shut up.
E: Aren't we getting a little too old to be tossed out of interrogation rooms?
O: Tell Jet to stop texting her boyfriend.
E: He's not her boyfriend…I think. I don't actually know for sure.
O: I can't help it if the guy is a total ass.
O: It bugs the shit out of me that you took down a corrupt coo organization and people STILL think you're dirty. I hate it.
E: Just let it go.
O: The man tried to kill you. You can't tell me you didn't want to kill the guy who greenlit me and Noah…
E: That's different.
O: No it's not
E: You going to get back in that interrogation room?
O: Yep.
E: Keep your hands to yourself.
O: That's rich coming from you.
E: Eh. Do as I say not as I do…
E: I love you.
O: I know
E: ….
O: I love you okay. I'm just pissed right now. Not at you.
E: I'll take what I can get.
-000-
"Liv," Ayanna tried to reason with her as a sort of friend. "He has nothing to give us that's worth talking to him about. He's only doing this to push our buttons." She sighed. "Let's just book him."
"You can book him after I speak with him," Olivia insisted.
Ayanna wasn't sure she wanted to pull Benson from the interrogation room again. She would have been more than happy to let Benson beat the shit out of the guy, but she did care what happened to her career. Letting her in there again felt like tempting fate.
"What could you possibly need from him now?" Ayanna tried, but the somewhat icy glare threw her.
She softened before she asked one more time. "Five minutes. At the most. I'll be in and out. I have one thing to say and I'll let you process him however the hell you want."
Ayanna chewed on the side of her cheek nervously. She should stand her ground but Olivia was not backing down, and she would probably lose the argument in the long run anyway.
"Fine. I'll come in too, but I swear Liv…you know as well as I do that there are cameras so keep it cool please."
She seemed mellow enough. "Thank you." She seemed a little less irate, more reasonable, and more like herself. Maybe the encounter would be smooth.
Ayanna followed Olivia back into the interrogation room, noting their perp's smile when she entered. Ayanna knew the man was just thrilled to take more stabs at the NYPD.
Rather than tucking herself back into the corner, Ayanna opted for the chair across the table from Alexander. It would be much easier to intervene or cut things short if she sat close.
Olivia pressed her hands onto the table and leaned in so her face was practically in Alexander's space. "I have one more thing to say. One thing. You're going to prison because your dumb ass couldn't even plan out a successful crime. You will rot and I won't give you a second thought. Your life is over as you know it." Her voice stayed low, and Ayanna knew she was trying to avoid any audio picking up her words. "Here's the thing though." Ayanna watched Olivia's eyes fill with the fire that felt so familiar…a fire that matched Elliot's …the fire one has when fiercely protecting their own. "If you are stupid enough to try to get to my partner. If you are stupid enough to work another hit out of prison, I will know." Her voice smoldered at her next statement. "I swear to God if anything happens to my partner, I will make sure you are shivved before you even have time to blink." Alexander's eyes were wide as saucers. "Am I clear?"
Ayanna was taken aback by the intensity of the threat, and reminded herself never to truly piss this woman off. She surely had the means to follow through on the threat…and never get caught.
A bead of sweat dripped down his face as he nodded his head slowly.
Olivia leaned back and lifted her hands off the table. "Good," she said with a satisfied smile. Her eyes moved back to Ayanna who was still a little shocked over the whole interaction. "See? Five minutes." She smiled like she didn't just threaten to brutally murder a man in prison. "I'm good," she motioned for Alexander whose complexion had thoroughly whitened. "I think we have an understanding. Ready to book him?"
Ayanna nodded, still a little speechless. It was clear from her demeanor that Captain Benson would adamantly deny that this conversation ever took place. That was fine by her. If this idiot came after Stabler again, he deserved whatever shitstorm rained down on him.
"Reyes!" She called, knowing that her entire team was attempting to listen in.
Reyes popped his head in, "Sarge?"
She leaned her head toward Alexander, "Let's get him processed."
"Yes ma'am," Reyes hurried into the room to complete the task.
Reyes walked the man out of the room and Ayanna and Olivia followed close behind. Once the door shut and Reyes was a few steps ahead of them, Olivia grabbed her arm.
Her hand dropped when Ayanna turned to face her. "We're pretending that didn't happen right?" Her brown eyes held hers seriously.
"What happened? We just tried one more interview with the guy…"
Olivia smiled and they started their walk back to the squad room. "Mind keeping this from Elliot? Apparently he's the only one allowed to threaten people on the behalf of others."
"I got you. If I had a dollar for every mob boss he's threatened…"
Olivia chuckled lightly. "I was partnered with him for more than thirteen years. If I had a dollar for every threat…God, I could have retired years ago."
Ayanna laughed. Stabler was a hothead now. She couldn't imagine a younger, more temperamental version. "Headed back to the hospital?" She knew she would, she didn't even have to ask.
"Yeah, I'll send Jet back your way when I get there. Thanks for sending her down there for me." Olivia said sincerely.
"No problem." And it wasn't a problem. Just as Olivia cared for her own, Ayanna did the same for her team. She would never let anything happen to him on her watch. Never again, because she was fairly certain Olivia would kick her ass if she did.