In My Enemy's Hands

Elliot’s hands ripped open the envelope and pulled out its contents. “We’ve got two more.”

Olivia peered over his shoulder. “Damn. Send those to forensics to check for prints, I`ll start checking missing persons, see if they’ve been reported yet.”

“Look at this,” Elliot removed a small slip of paper that had been stuck between the two pictures. He read it aloud “‘what’s the matter, SVU? Too scared to come out and play? Come and find me, if you can.’ Sick twisted fuck.”

Olivia took the pictures from him, careful to only touch the edges with her gloves so as not to disturb any prints on the flat surfaces. Like the four other pictures they had received over the past two days, the images were printed in low-quality on standard printer paper. She walked over to the board where they had tacked up pictures of the other four victims and held up the new two for comparison. All six pictures had the same dull cement in the background. The girls all lying on their backs on the floor and were gagged with white cloths. Their eyes were wide and terrified, pupils fully dilated. Olivia’s expression flashed through a series of emotions in a microsecond: rage, heartbreak, sorrow… but in that same flash, it was gone and her face was a mask again.

Elliot gently took the pictures from her and, along with the envelope and the note, headed out of the bullpen toward the evidence rooms. Olivia sat in front of the computer and started to scan through the listings of recently reported missing persons. The images of the two girls were burned into her mind and she flashed through picture after picture of runaways and disappeared teenagers looking for their faces.

By ten o’clock that night, the case had not progressed much further. They had identified the girls and spoken with the families. Anna Perdin was 17 and Jessica Hartsfeld was 18. That fit with the profile of the other girls who had been abducted – all were between 16 and 18 years of age. The abductions had been quiet, all taking place in parking garages or secluded allies around town. The abductor was careful to avoid places with video camera, which meant he had probably scoped out the areas earlier. As of yet, however, they had no way even to identify they type of vehicle he used. Olivia leaned back in her chair, her eyes blurring from looking at the computer for so long. “I`m going to go grab some coffee, El, do you want some?”

Cragen spoke; neither of them had even heard him step out of his office. “No, you two go home. You’ve been here for days working this case. We can start it back up first thing in the morning.”

“Cap, you know he’ll grab more girls tonight! We’ve gotta catch this bastard and put him away.” Elliot’s voice rose, refusing to leave.

“I know that. I also know that I need my two best detectives working on this and you’re no good to me if you turn yourselves into caffeine zombies. Go. Get some sleep and report back here at 0600.”

They both hung around for a while, trying to find a lead before finally they left at almost midnight. They walked together to the parking garage, got into their respective cars, and drove off.

Olivia pulled into her apartment building and got out of her car. She rang for the elevator and leaned with her back against the wall as she waited for the ding that would alert her of its arrival. The faces of the six victims from this case danced before her eyes. Other than all being attractive young women, they had very little in common. There were three white girls, two Hispanics and one black; dark hair, blond, brown, red-head; different eye colors and clothing styles. They had all been taken from different parts of town while walking alone… It made it very difficult to track the perp when he didn’t seem to be too picky on his choice of targets.

The elevator doors opened and Olivia stepped inside, pressing the number for her floor. Her mind was still churning, trying to find the connection that would help them find this guy. When she arrived at her floor, Olivia walked over to her door and drew her keys out of her pocket. Before she could slide the key in the lock, a jolt of electricity seized her. Her jaw locked shut as the current ran through her body. Still immobilized by the taser, Olivia was helpless to resist as an arm reached around her and clamped a chloroform-soaked towel over her mouth and nose.

~~~

Rough hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her awake. Olivia groaned as she came to consciousness; her head was pounding and her mouth was dry. She was lying on her back and her arms were pinned beneath her. She opened her eyes but couldn’t make out anything save a small red light in front of her. A burst of light erupted in front of her and she was temporarily blinded. Then she heard a soft chuckle and a male voice. “Oh, that’s a nice one, detective. I`m sure your friends at SVU will like this picture.” There was a sound of receding footsteps and then he flicked on a light just before he exited the room and locked the door.

Olivia struggled to a sitting position against the wall and looked around. She was in an expansive rectangular room, most likely a basement of a house. There were a few windows set high in the wall, but they were covered by black poster-board. The ceiling lights were bright enough to see everything, but still considerably dimmer than typical houselights. The floors, walls, and ceilings were all made of the same indiscriminate concrete. Olivia was in the back right corner of the room, as far from the door as possible. Along the opposite wall, the long wall that led toward the door, a row of six pallets were evenly spaced approximately a body’s length apart. Some of the occupants of the pallets stirred in their sleep with the lights initially came on, but did not wake. Olivia’s eyes scanned, checking from across the room to confirm what she already knew – these were the girls they had been looking for, whose pictures had been delivered directly to SVU over the past several days.

None of them seemed to be seriously injured. There was no smell of blood in the air, nor any other bodily fluid. She couldn’t see any bruises of cuts on their faces but was too far away to be sure.

Once Olivia had looked over the girls, she turned her attention to her own situation. Her arms were handcuffed behind her and there was a gag tied around her mouth. There was a leather restraint cuff locked around her right ankle and a chain snaked from her leg to an eye-bolt in the wall. There was about four feet of slack in the line, enough to move around slightly and shift positions, but not enough to go anywhere. Just beside her was another pallet, laid out against the wall opposite the girls. Olivia glanced at the thin cushion and threadbare sheets and shuddered slightly at the thought of sleeping in a bed prepared for her by this psycho. She leaned her head back against the wall behind her and kept her eyes open, determined not to let her guard down. Eventually, however, exhaustion and the remnants of the chloroform in her system pulled her into sleep.

Hidden in the walls, numerous cameras continued recording every moment from every angle, instantly relaying their data to a central computer in the man’s room.

The man turned over in bed for the five hundredth time around five am. He was too restless and excited to sleep. He got up and started to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of black socks, then a pair of black slacks and tight black t-shirt. He tucked the hem into his pants and fastened his belt. He picked up Olivia’s gun, which he had taken from her while she was unconscious the night before and tucked it into his belt. A black ski mask and generic black sneakers completed the ensemble. He headed down the stairs toward the kitchen, never turning the light on. He grabbed a sleeve of paper cups and a bag of sliced bread off the counter and tucked them under his arm, then crossed over to the refrigerator. He pulled out a pitcher of water and a pack of individually sliced American cheese squares. The last thing he did before opening the basement door was to turn the thermostat down to the low sixties. It was easy to overheat wearing this much black clothing. He shifted aside a painting that hung on the wall next to the basement door. He typed a six digit code into the control panel and let the painting swing back into place before unlocking the basement door.

The light was still on from the night before. A ring of keys hung on a thin chain around his neck and he tucked them under his shirt before venturing farther into the room. He sat on the stairs and surveyed the room with pride, eyeing each of his captives. The six girls lay docilely on their beds, each of them with one ankle chained to the wall behind them. The detective was sleeping slumped against the wall; her head drooped to one side so her chin rested on her collarbone. “Good morning, my beauties.” He flickered the light several times to get their attention. Olivia’s head snapped upright as she shot to full alert. The gag was still tied firmly in place, but if he had to guess by the look in her eyes, she was mentally screaming obscenities at him.

“Look ladies, we have a new guest.” The girls along the wall were still slowly waking up. Anna and Jessica, kidnapped only yesterday days ago, were emanating both fear and fury with their body language. The other girls, who had disappeared between two and four days ago, had a dull glaze in their eyes. “Would anyone like to explain my rules to her while I pass around breakfast?” There was nothing but silence. “Very well, then, I will.”

He got up and walked the rest of the way down the stairs. He started with the girl closest to the stairs, setting a few slices of bread and cheese on the ground in front of her pallet and pouring water into a cup to set beside them. The girl drew back, sitting and pulling her knees against her as she pressed against the wall, trying to put as much distance between her and her captor as possible. When she sat up, Olivia got a view of her face. Elizabeth: one of the first to disappear, out of a parking garage in Brooklyn.

The man continued down the line, placing the food on the ground rather than stepping close enough to the pallets to hand it to the girls. He did not look at Olivia as he spoke, outlining his rules.

“Rule number one: You may not ask me any questions about where you are or why you are here. Two, you will not fight me or argue with me. Three, you will obey every order I give you. If you follow these rules, I will take good care of you. If you break any of these rules, someone will get hurt. I will decide whether to punish you or one of your companions for your transgressions.” By the time he finished his speech, he had delivered food to each of the girls and gone to place the leftovers on the stairs. He poured a cup of water and walked over to Olivia. “Any questions?”

Olivia glared at him and he smirked. “Oh, right.” He set the water on the ground and stepped closer until he stood directly over her, trapping her knees between his legs. He leaned over and untied the gag. Olivia worked her jaw as the intrusive fabric was removed. He was standing so close; she had to lean her head all the way back to see him towering above her. She opened her mouth to spit a reply but before she could speak, he pulled her pistol out and waved it in front of her face. “I forgot to mention – you don’t get punished. If you break a rule, one of them will pay for it.”

That was enough to stifle any remark Olivia might have made. She shut her mouth and looked worriedly at the girls as she considered her words, not wanting to say anything that would cause one of them harm. “Your pictures and your notes… if you want to play cat and mouse with the police, I am all the bait you need. You have already proved that you are smart enough to capture seven people undetected. There is no reason to keep them anymore; so why not just let them go back to their families?

The man stepped back and motioned with his gun hand for her to rise. Olivia managed to get her feet under her, though her balance was distorted by having her hands trapped behind her. Now that she was standing, she could more accurately gauge his height. He was around 6’3,” and fit, perhaps 220lbs. Underneath the skin-tight t-shirt, she could see clearly defined muscles in his chest and arms. “Maybe. I’ll consider it, depending on how you behave.” He reached for the cup of water. “Now then, bitch, want something to drink? Did that chloroform make you thirsty?” Without waiting for a reply, he seized a chunk of hair at the base of her neck and pulled her forward. He picked the water up as through to give it to her, but then flung it in her face. “Stupid bitch cop. Fucking cops think they’re better than everyone. You fucking whore. I`ll show you. I`ll show all your kind.” He shoved her against the wall and pushed her to the ground. She rolled to the side, but he stood over her. He drew back one leg and kicked her hard in the stomach. Olivia rolled away from the blow and kicked out with her legs, trying to sweep his feet out from under him. The man jumped backward, “unh-unh, detective, that’s not nice.” He crossed to the other side of the room and grabbed one of the girls, a Latina named Maria; he jerked her upright so she stood on her pallet. The chain linking her to the wall was only two feet long, giving her barely any mobility. His left hand dug into her upper right arm and his right hand pulled out the gun again and waved it around. “You’ll learn not to piss me off, detective. Every time you do, someone will get hurt. I can promise you that.”

He slammed Maria against the wall and crushed his body against her, holding her in place. His gun hand rested against the wall next to her head and his left hand started groping upward under her shirt. Maria squirmed and placed her hands flat against his chest to push him away, but he nudged her temple with the gun and she froze. He placed the gun under her chin, one hand still under her shirt, and tilted her face up toward his. He dove in and captured her lips, thrusting his tongue in to violate her mouth. After a moment, he rocked back and Maria sank slowly down to the floor, her hands coming up to cover her face.

The man glanced at Olivia and smirked, then turned on his heel and went to let himself out, locking the door securely behind him.

While Maria wept, the others turned their gaze curiously toward Olivia. The red-head, Hannah, spoke first, “Who are you?”

Olivia had pulled herself back up to a sitting position against the wall. “My name is Olivia Benson. I`m one of the detectives in charge of finding you.”

Isabella, the other Hispanic girl, scoffed. “I can see that’s going well. How’d you wind up in here then?”

Olivia shrugged. “Much the same way you did, I suppose. Now that I`m here, my job is to make sure you all get out of here ok. Do you think you could tell me a little about what’s been going on? Isabella, Elizabeth, you two were the first ones he captured – can you tell me what’s happened, starting with when he first found you?”

Elizabeth spoke for the first time since Olivia had arrived. “Nothing’s happened. I woke up here… three days ago? He was here. He took a picture of me and then chained me to the wall here. Since then…” she shrugged. “He comes down with food and water and people. If we try to talk back, he hits us. If we ask questions, he hits us. Mostly we don’t talk when he’s here – only when he’s gone.”

“Is he gone a lot?”

“Most of the time, yeah. He brings us food three times a day – except day before yesterday. That was the day that Hannah and Maria got here. Hannah said something he didn’t like and he was going to hit her so Isabella kicked him in the balls when he made the mistake of walking too close to her. Did you see how he tends to stay out of range of us now? Anyway, he got pissed that day and we didn’t get any food until late that night, when Anna and Jessica got here.”

“What else? Have you left this room at all?”

“Yeah. Maybe once or twice a day. He comes to get us one at a time and takes us upstairs to the bathroom.”

“Tell me about it.”

“It’s just right up the stairs and to the left. There’s a hallway, but he has everything blocked off with black curtains. He ties our hands behind us and stands with the door open the whole time…” Her voice faltered for the first time.

Isabella picked up where she left off. “He takes us right to the bathroom and then brings us straight back. There’s never a chance to go anywhere else and you can’t see to anything else in the house. And… in the bathroom… our hands are tied up. When I go in… he, he undoes my pants pushes them down for me. Then he stands right there and watches, the whole time. And after… afterward, he cleans me and pulls my pants back up for me and brings me back here.” Now her voice catches too, “It’s just so… embarrassing. It’s not like he’s raped me or anything, but I can feel his eyes on me and…” her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “I feel so dirty.” The other girls all nodded in agreement.

Olivia wished that she could go over there and comfort the girl, but the restraint around her ankle made it impossible to move more than a few feet. “Listen to me. You have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all. You have done nothing wrong – none of you. We’ve all just got to hang on, my team will find us soon and until then, we all just have to keep our wits sharp and look out for each other? Olivia paused before asking her next question. “Besides looking at you in the bathroom and touching you there, has he hurt any of you, sexually or otherwise?”

They all shook their heads, except Maria. “He touched me,” her voice was so quiet that Olivia could barely hear it. “On the way to the bathroom last night, he threw me against the wall and he put his fingers inside of me. But then he stopped and said something about ‘needing to wait for the right audience.’” She looked at Olivia. “I guess that would be you.”