1-2-3 Years...
Chapter One
2004
The want you feel when you have a majestically striking beauty only half a feet from you, with only a thin sheet casually thrown on her already natural body as she peers through her papers. Oblivious to your roaming eyes that still can�t help but gawk at the exposed parts of her skin that the sheet did not hide. That want is not what you would call an animal lust that takes complete control over your mind and body and drowns you with nothing but insane desires. But it is like a slow high of a fine wine that somehow enters your bloodstream and makes its way slowly but steadily through out your nerve endings. There is no haste you feel no heat that is unbearable. But it is the warmth that soaks inside you like the mild rays of tropical sun. Your body inches magnetically towards hers and you find yourself yearning for her soft skin against yours once again. Even though the smell of the sweet love you had made earlier is still fresh in the room. And the bed that both of you have refused to leave, is still crumbled from evidence of your last lovemaking only few minutes ago.
�Don�t even think about it.�
The temptress on the other hand knew exactly what effect her hardly covered self was having on her lover. She didn�t need to look up to feel her lover�s eyes on her skin as she pretended to be concentrating on the papers. Her warning was said with a hope that her words were discarded and it was.
�No.�
She tried to protest once again knowing that she had already given in. She parted her legs for easy access for her hands to slip in on residual wetness from before and the wetness that was quickly forming as she felt the warmth of her tongue heating her entrance. Before another recognizable word formulated in her brains, the papers that she was cheating her lover with were already in the mid air making its way down wards. In the same speed as her own body was arching upwards floating with the heat that was quickly filling every part of her. With every lap of the tongue in between her, her head lifted higher and her eyes closed harder, her mouth gritted tighter. Every finger and toe curled up as the sheets once again found themselves squeezed inside her fists. Her body ceased every function for just a moment. And in just that moment she let go and reached heaven.
�Oh GOD�� was all she could say, as she collapsed back to Earth.
�If you keep doing that I�ll never be able to finish reading the case file.� She said as she felt her lover fall beside her.
�If you really wanted to work on a Saturday morning�� Detective Olivia Benson took a quick look at the clock on the wall and corrected herself. �Or afternoon, you would get your lazy but sexy ass off the bed, get dressed and sit yourself down on a chair in front of a table. Now pretending to work nude in front of me on our bed is not what I call having incentive to work.�
�Look who is talking about incentive, I thought you had a lot to do in the morning. Isn�t that what you said last night?�
�So, I changed my mind. What are you going to do? Sue me?� Olivia said challenging her lover.
�Watch it, or else I will sue you, try you, and then even sentence you.� ADA Cabot warned as she approached the fallen body of her Detective.
�What do you think my sentence�Ahhhh��
Olivia�s sentence remained unfinished enduring the sentencing via Alex�s mouth on her body.
BANG couples of seconds later � BANG.
The two women who were taking a smoke break looked at each other in shock. The first one threw her smoke and rushed inside and the other followed right behind. As soon as they reached the room that they assumed to be the source, both of them screamed at the same time.
�911 Operator. How can I help you?�
�There has been a murder� shooting.� The woman said crying on the phone.
Olivia flipped her phone close and apologetically looked at Alex. Her girlfriend of only four months recognized the look immediately.
Four months had passed since Alex had come out of hiding. And just as Olivia had walked right up to her and kissed her the moment she saw her, their relationship had taken the same pace. Since they both had spent almost a year with numerous �what if�s, the moment they were together, they forgo dating, forgo everything pre-relationship and jumped right into one. In such a hurry that when Alex was offered a job once again by the DA�s office, Olivia had immediately asked her to move in with her since finding a place in the city would take forever.
�You have to go?� She asked even though she knew the answer.
�Yeah. A shooting at a summer school in the Upper East Side. Elliot is already on his way.� Olivia explained but hating interruption as well.
�If you got to go� you go.� Alex said getting out of the bed and walking towards the bathroom. �I have to swing by the office too. G said she has some developments that she wants to brief me about.�
�So are you or are you not back?� Olivia asked still a little confused about the work Alex was doing in the New York City DA�s office.
�I am not back as in for persecuting any case on behalf of the city. But I am working for the DA�s office and the FBI on the Valez case. And we are finally getting a full time Federal Prosecutor who will be working with us. But she is on a vacation right now. She should be in the city by the end of this week, and she�ll start next Monday.�
�The guy is dead� but his case is still alive huh?� Olivia asked again.
Just after Alex was attacked in Gina and Chris� home, to the shock of everyone the entire Valez family or crime family was killed. That was one of the main reasons why it was deemed safe for Alex to come back. But regardless the killings had only opened up more questions. FBI was now not just looking for the particular ring that killed Valez but also the one that tried to kill Alex. As Gina successfully proved that it was the one and the same. That is why the FBI took Gina out of secret service and made her field agent in charge of that particular case. Gina started to extensively working with narcotics department of every major city, trying to find the one responsible. She made New York her focal point knowing that the answer lied as much in her past as it laid in the illegal narcotics business. And her past was in New York.
�He is dead, but the case is far from over. And G is going over every theory in the world. Last week she was thinking that may be the shooter didn�t miss me by accident.� Alex shared one of few outrageous ideas her friend came up with when she got frustrated with dead ends.
�I thought the shooter didn�t miss. He did shoot you.� Olivia added remembering that Alex was hospitalized for couple of weeks before she came out of hiding. And she still bore scars from both the shootings.
�Yes, but his gun was right on my face and he shot my neck. Actually the bullet grazed below my neck and my collarbone.� Alex softly touched the scar that still reminded her of the cold eyes that were ready to kill her. �So, G was thinking that maybe whoever his boss was that he was talking to over the ear piece, told him to miss.�
�If that CAU sharp shooter hadn�t killed every one of them when they left the house then may be in custody you could have made them talk.� Olivia said still thinking what a stupid move that was. To shoot and kill everyone of the suspect certainly wasn�t what she was taught.
�That is another piece of the puzzle. None of the CAU guys take responsibility for the shooting. Even though it was from one of their guns. And we got to believe them because they were all shot with tranquilizing darts and they were still out when another unit arrived.�
�I wonder what kind of a profile you have of this guy. I mean he shoots the CAU with tranquilizers. So that means he is careful not to kill more people that he should. That means a man with a conscious. But then he kills all his men. For what? For missing? But how did he know that you were alive? Then did he kill his men for killing you? Or� was it another guy altogether. Two different people with two different reasons. I can understand why G might be going crazy with theories. But it might be easier to get the profile of the shooter� with the way he shot.�
�G thinks that the shooter should have had some kind of training to be able to make such clean shots from the roof that was three houses away. Since that is where the gun that was fired was found.�
�Some are just natural shooters, too. I had a girlfriend once, who had absolutely no training what so ever and she could shoot more accurately than anyone I knew. Except for Adam, he was the guy who topped our Academy class; he was a hell of a shooter.�
�I thought a woman topped your Academy Class. I read it when we were trying to narrow down the list of suspects.� Alex commented.
�Oh! Yeah Jaq did officially top the class. That is because Adam had to withdraw his credits. Didn�t Chris tell you what happened with Adam?� Olivia who was now fully dressed asked surprised that Gina and Chris hadn�t told Alex about Adam.
�You mean the whole fight and the stabbing thing� yes they told me that. Chris still blames you, you know that?� Alex said realizing that Chris� brother Adam and the Adam, Olivia was talking about was the same.
�She can blame me all her life. I don�t care.� Olivia replied honestly.
�You don�t want to be like that.�
�Of course I do. Look I am eternally grateful to them for what they did for you. But I stopped caring about what they or the other people think of my decisions long time ago.� That was the decision she had made when she walked out of her graduation to see Jena, and she had lived by it.
�And I applaud you for not caring but it has been almost 14 years, don�t you think that it�s time you let it go.� Alex said joining Olivia in the kitchen where Olivia was gulping down some juice before she left.
�I am not the one holding on to it. They are the one who is still blaming me. Now, I could blame them too. After all they thought about everyone except me. Adam and Gina were going to loose their careers. Chris� family is going to be devastated. Not once did they think what fuck that did to my life. God! They blindsided me to such an extent that instead me thinking about Jaq who was dying, I was actually thinking about my stupid career. Not to forget the fact that Chris jumped on me just before I went to testify. She freaked me out saying that I was as much to blame. Then I ended up lying and digging up my own grave. I went through hell in that twenty-four hours and I could easily blame them for it. Blame G for being the homophobic prick that she was and no matter what you say I think she still is. And Chris for being the manipulative bitch that she was� or is.� Olivia blurted out in one breath.
�For someone who is not hanging on to past, you sure seem to have a lot to say.� Alex said simply with a smile in her face. "But sweetheart... let me give you an objective point of view from someone who was not there. It seems to me like you all were just caught up in an impossible situation. At that moment no mater who did what, it would have rocked the boat and it would have sunk. And the boat did sink. Much of the worse did happen. Chris and her family lost the most so she is still bitter. And you also lost faith in your friends and you are bitter. But it was fourteen years ago. Do I have to emphasize again that it was fourteen years ago?" Alex repeated in an attempt to signify the importance of passage of time.
As serious a matter as Chris and Olivia made their past seem, she knew that it was time it became water under the bridge. So, she mentally made a note to bring the two together and get the bad air out. She didn�t like that her friend and her girlfriend had a bad history and she wanted to change that.
�Forget it Alex. We lost touch long time ago and it was for the good.� Olivia said before she left.
�Two men, one is dead and the other is in the hospital.� Elliot said as soon as Olivia arrived at the crime scene. �The one who is dead is the teacher and the one who shot him is a parent of one of the kids.�
�Were the kids present?� Olivia asked seeing that blood had managed to splash everywhere.
�Yes, they were.�
�That is why this is ours?� Olivia asked.
�That and�� Elliot walked over to where the dead body of the teacher was and lifted up the white sheet to reveal half nakedness of the man from the waist down. �This.� Elliot completed.
�What was he teaching?� Olivia asked a little shocked by the scene.
�I don�t know. My theory the father walked into the class to find the teacher doing something wrong and he flipped. He attacked and in the struggle both got shot.� Elliot summarized pointing to the fallen chairs and desk around them.
�But why would anyone have a gun in a classroom. Whose gun was it? The father�s or the teacher�s?� Olivia asked.
�Don�t know. We have sent it to see if it is registered. And kids are all going to be in the hospital for one night for psych evaluation. Dr. Huang is going to take their statements there.�
�What kind of a summer school is this?� Olivia asked seeing that there was only couple of classes.
�It�s not a summer school. It is basically a day care for those parents who work on weekends, run by nursery school teachers for extra money. The other room is for toddlers, whom three women teachers take care of, and this one is for the older kids. They usually have two teachers for this room too but today there was only one because there were only five kids.�
�Have you talked to them yet?� Olivia asked referring to the other teachers.
�No� I was waiting for you.� Elliot said pointing to three women who were grouped up and talking to a uniformed policeman. �Take your pick.�
�I�ll take the dark short haired one.� Olivia said.
�And I thought blonde was your type.� Elliot teased as the two partners walked to their witnesses.
�So now you think that it is not the work of a drug ring?� Alex asked hearing another of Gina�s theory.
�This is not my theory. It is actually the theory of a brilliant Narcotics Detective that I am working with in Massachusetts. He has been tracking a particular person. He says who has been working like a free lance for the many major drug rings. Now, you know how drug lords are very possessive about people who work for them. But not with this guy. This guy is his own boss, and works only when he needs to. And he does various jobs from transporting drugs to hiring killers. So, Detective Monahan thinks that he may be the guy behind Valez massacre.�
�But why?�
�That we need to find out.�
�G as much as I like all the inputs we are getting from everywhere you know that we are just branching out into too many theories with no proof. We need to narrow it down soon and start working on at least couple of them before the Federal Prosecutor comes next week.� Alex pointed out the deadline that was looming on top of their heads.
�I know and first thing tomorrow morning I�ll grab the two or three most probable theory to start work on.� Gina admitted her fault.
�Why not tonight?� Alex knew that Gina was living and breathing that case. So she was surprised that she was putting it off for the next day.
�Tonight Chris is coming to the city so I was taking her to dinner.�
�Chris is coming to the city. Why didn�t you tell me about it? Is Sarah coming too?�
�No, Sarah is off to the camp. That�s why Chris is coming down here. And I didn�t tell you because you have been �busy� lately.� Gina said referring to the fact that Olivia was filling Alex�s time more than anything else.
�That doesn�t mean anything. Actually now that she is here, why don�t you two come for dinner at our place? I�ll order something good.� Alex said inviting her friends.
�Are you out of your mind? I have been in the city for nearly four months and Olivia has talked to me like two times; that too because I was in her face. And you want Chris and me in the same room with her?� As much as Gina wanted things of the past to be forgotten, the two people who got hurt the most by the incident still bore scars and she knew of it too well.
�It has to happen some time, why not now? I am telling you, dinner at our place tonight at 7pm. I am ready for this to happen.� Alex said determined that she was going make the old friends be friends again.