Marrow

Marrow. Part Ten.
By BrightEyes
Fandom: Oz/Law and Order: SVU/X-Men. Spoilers through season four of Oz.
Summary: Two new inmates at the Oswald State Penitentiary cause scandal and angst inside and outside the walls.
Thanks to: Mayalaen and Willow for the Beta.
Warnings: Slash (m/m), Angst, Underage Character Sex, Descriptions of Abuse, Issues of Consent:
non-con and rape, Violence, Adult Language and Situations.
Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me. Oz belongs to Tom Fontana, X-Men to Marvel, SVU
to Dick Wolf. I’m not making money. Don’t sue me, please. This is fantasy adult fiction: rape and
sex with minors is NOT OKAY in the real world, got it?
Feedback: Please. To brighteyedjill@yahoo.com.
Format note: If line breaks are funky, click the “englarge text” or “shrink text” button at the top of the page until it looks right.


Part Ten

Oz: The Gym

Benjamin Landry watched Keller pin Beecher for the second time in a row. “Why
do you always let him win?” Landry asked in mock-disgust.

“I don’t let him win,” said Beecher with dignity. “I just… Just…”

Keller laughed. “Again?” he asked, getting into position.

“Yeah,” Beecher agreed, and crouched to face his opponent.

Landry wandered to the other side of the gym, taking careful stock of who was
where. He installed himself unobtrusively by the free weights and half-heartedly began
lifting, letting his mind wander as he watched the O’Reilly brothers boxing a few yards
away.

“Well look, Aaron. Someone’s trying to become a real man.”

Landry turned slowly at the sound of the mocking voice to see Adler and Loewe
sneering at him. “What do you want?” Landry asked, working to keep his voice calm and
level.

“Aw, just to see how you’re doing, Benny Boy. I’ve missed you,” said Adler. He
flashed a wide, insincere smile. “How do you like being out from under Vern’s… wing?”

“I don’t need his protection.”

Loewe laughed. Adler said, “You and your retarded girlfriend are in for some
unpleasant surprises. And I know Ryan O’Reilly isn’t ever gonna to come riding to your
rescue, sugar.” He raised a hand to brush Landry’s cheek.

Landry stepped back quickly. “Don’t touch me.”

“Ooo. I’m scared, Benny.” Landry’s eyes flickered over to the corner where Cyril
and his brother were working the punching bag. “Call Cyril. Go on. See how long you
last if he goes to the hole for fighting.” Landry opened his mouth to reply, but stopped
when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder.

“Hey Landry. Come here.” Finnessey cast a look of disdain at the two Aryans
before steering Landry away.

“I don’t need you to baby-sit me,” Landry hissed as they walked.

“Fine,” said Finnessey. “We need to talk.”

“Okay,” said Landry warily. “What?”

Finnessey leaned casually against the chain link partition that bisected the gym. “I
see you’re still having Nazi problems.”

“What’s it to you?” Landry snapped.

“Look. I know that we’re not best buddies. That doesn’t mean I can’t help you.
Now that you’ve publicly separated yourself from Schillinger, you’ve got a big fat target
painted on your back.”

“Thanks for the news flash, Mr. Wizard,” said Landry, and tried to pull away.

Finnessey tightened his grip on the younger man’s shoulder. “I know you don’t
want to go to Protective Custody. You probably have your reasons. But I want Schillinger
to get what’s coming to him, and you’re the one who can make it happen.”

“I’m not going to kill him.”

“I don’t think you should try.”

“What, then?”

“He raped you, right?” Finnessey asked pointedly. Landry said nothing. “If you
prove that, Schillinger’s in deep shit. He’d be gone from Em City for sure, out of your
hair. They might even put him in solitary. Go to McManus.”

“He won’t believe me. I’ve never told him the truth about anything.”

“Like I said: find a way to prove it.”

Landry caught a glimpse of Cyril out of the corner of his eye. He was laughing
easily at something his brother had said. “I might need some help.”

“Just let me know.”
*************

Highway 16

Jean clicked her cell phone shut and returned it to her purse.

“Who was that?” Scott asked without taking his eyes off the road.

“Edward Mandelia. He’s their defense lawyer.”

“Oh.” Scott waited for her go to on. Instead, she sat looking out the window and
fuming. “So, what did he want?”

“What good would it do to settle out of court anyway?” Jean burst out. “It’s not
about damages; it’s about showing everyone that mutants can’t be treated like cattle.”

“So they offered a settlement?”

“Yes.”

“Just money?”

Jean hesitated. “No. They said they’d discontinue manufacturing Smart Collars.”

“And the ones already in circulation?”

“They said they’d issue warnings. I bet I could get them to agree to recall them.”

“That’s what you wanted, right?”

“I wanted to make sure no more mutants would have to experience Smart
Collars.”

“And this would make that happen, right?”

“I suppose. But they haven’t admitted any wrongdoing. Someone could do the
same thing next year, next week.”

“How soon would Smart Collars be off the market if you take the settlement?”
Scott asked.

“Immediately. If there’s a recall… They should all be out of use within six
months.”

“And in a trial?”

“I see your point,” Jean said glumly.

“It’s just one more thing to think about. I don’t know what we should do.”

“I don’t know how to make this decision.”

“Well… Why don’t you ask someone who has a personal stake?”

Jean was silent for a moment. “I’m not sure what Finnessey would say.”

Scott shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”
**************
Oz: Em City

Landry closed the door to the office behind him, shutting out the hack who stood
on the stairwell. “McManus, I need to talk to you.”

“What is it, Landry?” McManus snapped without looking up from his papers.
“I’m not in the mood for games.”

Landry took a deep breath and then said clearly, “Vern Schillinger raped me.”

McManus looked up at his youngest inmate, standing in front of his desk with
hands clasped behind his back and eyes downcast. For a moment McManus said nothing.
Years of hearing inmates avoiding ratting anyone out, and now it comes from this
kid? He’s got to be playing me. I hope he’s not. “Do you have proof?” he asked.

“I can get it.”

McManus squinted, trying to puzzle it out. “Do you want to move to Protective
Custody?”

“No,” said Landry quickly. “I can’t get proof if I’m not in Em City. And it’s not
like he knows I’m telling you. He won’t know unless you tell him.”

“Right. So what do you want me to do?”

“Just believe me,” Landry said, training his wide brown eyes onto McManus. “I’ll
bring you proof.”
***********

SVU Squad Room

“Mister Evan Haslet hasn’t been to work at East West Plumbing and Heating
since the twentieth,” Munch reported to the room at large. “He’s not at his apartment, or
at his parent’s house in Jersey.”

“But at work we found his job log, and guess what? He was at Tae Finnessey’s
house the day of the murder,” said Fin.

Elliot grabbed a pen and moved to the crime scene time-line written on the
bulletin board. “When?”

“According to the work log, he arrived at Finnessey’s apartment at 3:45, and was
at his next job by 5:10,” Fin said. Elliot wrote “Evan Haslet 3:45-5:00?” on the time-line.

“Wait a second. Something’s coming back to me. Notes.” Munch rummaged
through the pockets of his jacket until he came up with a little notebook. “From when we
interviewed that doctor. What was-?”

“Grey,” Fin supplied.

“Yeah, look. She said she got the call from Tae Finnessey sometime between four
and four-thirty.”

“So Mr. Haslet was probably in the apartment when Finnessey made the call,”
Elliot said.

“Was the daughter there too?” asked Hwang.

“Mindy Sabin didn’t pick up Becca until seven-thirty,” Elliot read from the time-
line.

“So Becca must have seen him,” said Benson.

“She’s never said anything about that,” said Hwang. “Unless…”

“Unless?” Cragan prompted.

“Unless she said something about it when I was out of the room,” Hwang said
hesitantly.

“But wouldn’t Finnessey have told you if she said anything that might help?”
Elliot asked.

“Of course he would,” Benson said.

“Unless he wanted to take care of it himself,” suggested Fin.

“What do you mean?” Hwang asked.

“I mean take care of it the way he took care of his wife’s killers,” Fin said.

“Oh,” said Hwang, suddenly anxious.

“Yeah oh,” Fin said.

“I think we’d better find out if Becca told her father anything we don’t know,”
Cragan said firmly.
************

Oz: The Infirmary

Landry gripped Finnessey’s arm and whispered intensely, “Give it about five
minutes after I leave. No less than that. Then go get him.”

“Right.” Finnessey pushed Landry’s hand away. “Got it.”

“This is it.” Landry said. He took a deep breath.

“Break a leg,” said Finnessey.

Landry left the infirmary with a friendly wave to Holtz, who was on duty at the
door. As he walked down the hall, he slipped a hand in his pocket and fingered the
condom he’d gotten from one of the gays. When he got to the post office, he pushed open
the door without pausing, and went right to Adler, who was sorting packages by the staff
mailboxes. “Where’s Mr. Schillinger?”

“Ben!” said Adler with a chuckle. “What a nice surprise.”

“I need to talk to Mr. Schillinger.”

“You in a hurry or something, sugar?” Adler crooned. “No time for your
old friends?” Landry tried to walk past, but Adler moved to block him. “Come on. You
don’t want to have a little fun for old time’s sake?”

“What do we have here?”

Adler and Landry both looked to the source of the voice: Schillinger himself
stood in the doorway to a storage closet, a smile slowly spreading over his face. “Look
who’s come to visit.”

Landry swallowed hard. “I need to talk to you, sir.”

Schillinger looked at his watch, feigning indifference. “Gosh, sugar. I’m real
busy. Why don’t you run on home to your Mick.”

“Please,” Landry said softly, allowing a note of desperation to creep into his
voice.

Schillinger and Adler exchanged glances. “Well, when you’re so polite. Step into
my office.” He stood aside and gestured to the closet. “Watch the door,” Schillinger told
Adler. “This shouldn’t take long.” He followed Landry into the room and closed the door
behind them.

Landry leaned heavily against the back wall, gathering his strength. “What?”
Schillinger asked impatiently.

“I miss you,” Landry said very softly.

“What?”

Landry crept forward, closing the distance between them in a few steps. “You
want to punish me. I understand. I didn’t live up to your expectations.”

Schillinger narrowed his eyes, trying to see what angle his ex-prag was working.
Damn. I should have had Adler pat him down. Not that he needs a shank. “Get to
the point, Ben-ja-min,” he said in imitation of Cyril’s pronunciation.

Landry didn’t miss a beat. Instead, he laid his hands carefully on Schillinger’s
chest, leaning into him like an affectionate cat, and turned his big browns up into his old
master’s blue eyes. “I need you,” he purred.

Schillinger quickly shoved Landry away, sending him sprawling to the floor.
“What’s your game, sugar?” he snapped.

Landry pulled himself to his knees and looked up at Schillinger. “I’m not playing,
sir,” he said seriously. “I tried to stay away.” He reached out to touch Schillinger’s leg,
but drew his hand away at the last moment. “I can’t do this without you.”

“What the hell you talking about? Can’t do what?”

“Can’t… can’t anything. Can’t sleep at night. Can’t be here. Here in Oz. You’re
the best thing about this place. The only thing for me here.” Slowly, Landry laid his head
on Schillinger’s boot.

Schillinger shook him off and took a step back. “You’re on drugs, aren’t you?”

Landry shook his head. He sat up, hugging his knees to his chest, but kept his
eyes trained on Schillinger’s. “I thought I would be okay with Cyril, that he could give
me what I want.”

“Adler says you look enthusiastic enough when he fucks you.”

Landry cringed. “I have to. Or his brother will kill me. But it’s not… I hate it. I
need you. And I know you don’t owe me anything, and I don’t have anything to bargain
with, so I’m just here to beg.”

Schillinger frowned. “I’m not taking you back.”

“No, I know. I fucked that up. I just want… I mean, Cyril just can’t…” Landry
looked away, to a point on the floor. “He’s nothing like you. I’m not satisfied.”

“What?”

“When I was with you, everything was… right. You took care of me. Now it’s not
the same. Cyril can’t own me like you do.”

Schillinger shook his head. “What are you trying to say?”

Landry forced his eyes up to Schillinger’s again, his boyish face open and heart-
breakingly serious. “I can’t think about anything else. I need you.”

Understanding, and a cruel smile, crept onto Schillinger’s face. “You little slut.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You came here to beg me to fuck you?” Schillinger asked incredulously. Landry
nodded. “You are a piece of work, sugar.”

“Please, Mr. Schillinger.” Landry crawled forward to kneel again at Schillinger’s
feet. “Please. I need this. I need you.”

A smile played at the corner of Schillinger’s mouth. “Why should I?”

“Please. Oh, please. Look.” Landry fumbled in his pocked and came out with the
condom. “I know you don’t even want to touch me, but please. I’ll make it good for you,
I promise.”

Schillinger watched the young man cowering in front of him, felt his cock jump in
anticipation, and couldn’t imagine why Landry didn’t know how irresistible he was. “All
right,” he said with a mock sigh. “I guess I’ll do you a favor.” He watched Landry’s eyes
light up suddenly like a kid with a new toy. “But I’m a busy man, so don’t waste my
time.”

“No sir,” said Landry quickly. He reached up to undo Schillinger’s pants, pulling
out the man’s dick with a familiar, practiced motion.

Schillnger cleared his throat loudly and looked significantly at the condom lying
forgotten on the floor. With a slight blush, Landry picked it up. He tore the wrapper,
removed the small piece of latex, then hesitated.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Schillinger snapped. He grabbed the condom from Landry
and put it on, rolling it carefully down his hard length. “Useless. You’re completely
useless,” he muttered. “Get up.”

Landry scrambled to his feet, eyes trained on Schillinger waiting for some cue as
to what he wanted. Schillinger slowly stroked himself and watched Landry for a moment,
reveling in the younger man’s confusion. I think I should give him something special
this time, since he came to me so willingly. Gently, almost affectionately, Schillinger
buried one hand in Landry’s curly tresses. Landry smiled unsurely. Stupid prag.

Abruptly, Schillinger spun Landry around and ran his face into the wall. Landry’s
head bounced back with a dull *thud*, and he began to collapse. Schillinger wrapped his
free hand under the smaller man’s arm, across the chest, and leaned against Landry,
effectively pinning him to the wall. “Is this what you wanted, sugar?” he snarled
into Landry’s ear.

“Don’t stop,” Landry slurred. He fumbled with the fly on his jeans as best he
could with his body pressed to the wall, and pushed his pants and boxers down to bare his
ass to Schillinger. “Come on.”

Unbelievable. If he wants more, he’ll get it. Dick in hand, Schillinger
aligned himself with Landry’s hole and thrust forward, battling past the resistance of
tensed muscles. Landry braced his hands against the wall and gasped in pain, arching his
back to press himself as close to the wall as possible.

Schillinger loosened his grip on Landry’s chest and instead reached a rough hand
down to grab the smaller man’s cock. Let’s see how he likes me now. He
squeezed cruelly, sending Landry jerking back to impale himself onto Schillinger’s
erection, then forward again into the painful grip, then back, frantically seeking a less
painful position. “You like it, don’t you Benny Boy?” Schillinger crooned. Landry
responded with a pained whimper.

Schillinger began to thrust savagely, squeezing Landry’s cock tighter to make him
writhe. It was so warm, and wetter than it should be. More blood than there should
be. Must have torn him up good. The sounds that Landry made with each thrust
sounded pained and frantic. Schillinger leaned close to Landry’s ear and panted, “Do you
want me to stop?”

Landry threw back his head, narrowly missing Schillinger, and yelled, “No!
Don’t! No!”

The sound of the door bursting open took them both by surprise, and their heads
turned simultaneously to see McManus and Finnessey standing in the doorway, with
Adler behind them.

For a moment, there was only the sound of labored breathing. Then Schillinger
pulled out of Landry’s ass with a wet squelch and stepped away, tucking his dick in his
pants as he did. Landry sank to the floor, pulling up his pants absently.

McManus spoke first. “Guard!” he yelled over his shoulder. A hack came running
from the mail sorting room. “Take Schillinger to Ad Seg, please.”

Schillinger looked at the men in the doorway, then down at Landry, who was
cowering, face in his hands. With a sudden, savage movement, Schillinger kicked out at
Landry, catching him in the side of his face and sending his head slamming into the wall
with a loud crack. The hack surged forward and grabbed Schillinger by the arms. “Let’s
go,” he said firmly, and half-steered, half-pulled Schillinger out of the room.

“Get out,” McManus said, waving vaguely to Finnessey and Adler. He watched
the two inmates to make sure they shut the door after them. Landry pulled himself up to
sit with his back against the wall, and buried his face in his knees. McManus crouched
next to him, and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“No,” came Landry’s muffled reply.

“We should get you to Doctor Nathan.”

“No.”

“Can you walk?”

Suddenly Landry’s head snapped up and he faced McManus with tear-stained
cheeks and pleading eyes. Blood dripped sluggishly from a cut over one eye. “McManus,
I changed my mind.”

“What?”

“Forget about pressing charges. It didn’t happen.”

“It’s too late, Benjamin. You know it’s too late.”

Landry let his head drop back to his knees. “I know.”

“It’s alright now.”

“No it’s not.”

“No, I guess it’s not. But you did the right thing, telling me.” McManus reached
out hesitantly to pat Landry’s shoulder.

“No I didn’t.”

McManus stood and extended a hand. “Come on. Get up.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can.”

“I don’t want to go to the infirmary. I’m always in the infirmary. I hate it.”

“Too bad.”

“It doesn’t usually hurt this bad,” Landry said thoughtfully. He pushed off the
floor and tried to stand. McManus caught Landry’s arm as his legs buckled under him. “I
don’t feel so good.”

“Finnessey!” McManus called.

The inmate opened the door immediately and took stock of the situation in one
glance. Finnessey knelt next to Landry and took his hand. “What’s wrong, kid?” he
asked.

“Why is there so much blood?” Landry asked, and leaned his head against the
wall.

“McManus, can you have someone call the infirmary for a gurney, please?”
Finnessey asked. McManus dashed out the door. “Ben, can you hear me? Hey, look at
me.”

Landry looked. “I did it.”

“I see that. You’re going into shock.”

“I don’t usually do that,” said Landry fuzzily.

“Shut up. Everything’s going to be fine. You did what you needed to do. Just shut
up, and I’ll take it from here,” said Finnessey. This had better be worth it.
***********

SVU Squad Room

Dr. George Hwang knocked on Cragan’s open office door and waited for a nod
before saying sheepishly, “I talked to Becca Finnessey.”

“And?”

“She wouldn’t talk to me, but she gave me yeses and nos. She saw Evan Haslet
that day. He was there when Tae Finnessey made the call to Doctor Grey, and yes, she
told her father the same thing.”

“So now the question remains; why didn’t he tell you what she told him?” Cragan
stood and strode out into the squad room where Alex had just arrived. Hwang followed him.

“Alex. You’re just in time for some bad news,” Cragan greeted her.

“It had better not be about the Castille trial.”

“Which began today, right?”

“Yes. And the defendant is a charming southern gentlemen, that’s for sure.”

“It’s not about Castille. We’re just worried that the perp in the Finnessey murder
might be in mortal peril.”

“Not in any way that’s our fault?” Alex asked hopefully.

“I may have mishandled a witness,” Hwang said miserably.

“Which witness are we talking about?” Munch broke in.

“Becca Finnessey,” Cragan explained. “She told her father the name of our
missing suspect.”

“And?”

“And he murdered his wife’s murderers. He might want to give his sister’s
murderers the same treatment,” said Cragan.

Alex frowned. “I see. But we don’t know where this suspect is?”

Cragan shook his head. “Fin and Olivia are out there chasing down our best leads,
but so far, we’ve got nothing.”

“Well,” Alex sighed. “Just find him before something happens, and there won’t
be a problem.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Cragan grumbled. “George, let’s talk about your
interview with Becca. Excuse us.” They retreated into the office, leaving Alex with
Munch.

“So you’re in court tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yep,” replied Munch. “To tell the thrilling story of the arrest of Remy Castille. I’ll try
not to make him seem like a charming southern gentleman.”

“I’d appreciate that.” An insistent, tinny beeping rang out from her purse. “Hold
on.” She flipped open her cell phone. “Cabbot. Oh, hello Mr. McManus. How are-… No,
what?” John watched the expression on Alex’s face change from polite indifference to
tightly-reined frustration in the space an instant. “How is he? ...Which hospital?
…Well we can’t just delay the trial… I see… I’ll talk to the judge… Thank you for
calling.” She hung up and swore. John raised a curious eyebrow.

“Benjamin Landry was sexually assaulted earlier today. He’s in the hospital.”

“There goes our star witness,” said Munch.

“Not if I can get the judge to grant us an emergency recess. McManus said Landry
might even be okay to testify by tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but how good of shape will he be in?” Munch asked. “Sexual assault isn’t
just something the mind or the body bounces back from in twenty-four hours.”

“We don’t have a lot of choice. Without his testimony, our case is only half a
case,” she fumed.

“You could always go visit him in the hospital. I bet no one else is bringing him
flowers.”

“Very funny. I wanted to review his testimony with him anyway.”

“Want me to go with?” Munch asked.

“Where’s Olivia?”

“You want Olivia to go with you?”

“She’s talked to him several times since he’s been in Oswald. They have a
rapport. No offence, John.”

“None taken. I think she’s chasing down our suspect’s ex-girlfriend down in the
Village. Eliot’s around here somewhere,” Munch said, waving vaguely to the hallway.

“Somewhere where?”

“I’ll get him,” said Munch resignedly.

“Thank you.”
**************

Oz: Em City

Ryan O’Reilly nodded to Finnessey when he saw him returning from afternoon
work detail, and followed him into the laundry room. “So how’d it go?” he asked eagerly.

Finnessey leaned against the row of dryers and said shortly, “McManus has his
evidence.”

“Great.”

“Yeah, great.”

Ryan took a closer look at Finnessey. “What’s wrong with you?”

He shrugged. “You didn’t see him afterwards, Ryan. He looked like shit.”

“Well what did you expect?” Ryan asked with an indifferent wave of his hand.

“I saw him after that beating he took in the gym, and even then he didn’t look
like…” Finnessey trailed off as he thought about the scene in the post
office.

“Like what, Finnnessey?”

Finnessey shook his head. “I don’t know. Forget it. Are you ready to do
business?”

“Yeah. I’ll give my guys the go-ahead.”

“You need to make it fast, O’Reilly.” Finnessey lowered his voice. “The police
know who this guy is. It’s only a matter of time before they bring him in.”

“Don’t worry,” Ryan said confidently. “My people will get to him faster than you can say ‘give that Irishman another pint.’”

Finnessey gave O’Reilly a skeptical look, but hadn’t formulated a reply when
Cyril tore open the door to the laundry room and ran to Ryan’s side. “Ryan, did you
hear?”

Ryan grabbed his brother by the shoulders. “Woah, slow down. Hear what, bro?”

“Benjamin! He’s in the hospital!” Cyril hollered.

“Calm down,” said Ryan. “Quit screaming. Jesus, I thought something bad had
happened.”

“Rebadow said that someone hurt him,” Cyril went on, ignoring his brother’s jibe.

Finnessey gave Ryan a significant glare. The Irishman ignored it. “People get hurt
all the time, Cyril,” said O’Reilly. “He’ll come back, don’t worry.”

Cyril rounded on Finnessey. “Did you see him, Abel?”

Finnessey ignored the adamant gestures Ryan was making behind Cyril’s back.
“Yeah, I saw him.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine. He just had to go to the hospital to have a procedure done that we
couldn’t do here.”

“Is he sick? Like when Ryan had to get an operation?” Cyril asked anxiously.

“No,” Finnessey said hesitantly. “He got hurt.”

“See, I told you,” Cyril told Ryan tersely. “Who did it? I’ll kill them.”

“I don’t know,” Finnessey lied.

“Let’s go Cyr,” Ryan said. “Come on. You can make him a get well card.”

“Yeah,” said Cyril unhappily. “I guess.”

Ryan steered his brother toward the door, but turned back to Finnessey. “I’ll take
care of that thing. Stop worrying.” Then he and Cyril were gone.
**********

Benchley Memorial Hospital

“Hi Benjamin.”

Landry opened his eyes slowly to see two muzzy figures swimming in his vision.
They came into focus slowly. “Hey Miss Cabbot.”

“You remember Detective Stabler?”

“Mmm hmm. What happened to the lady detective?”

“She’s on another case,” Stabler said.

“Have the doctors said when you’ll be ready to leave?” Alex asked.

Landry concentrated hard on following Cabbot’s words, and finally formed a
response. “They haven’t told me. Sorry”

“I’ll go ask,” said Alex, and went in search of a doctor.

Landry pulled himself up as much as he could and leaned back against the
pillows. He stared at Stabler through a drug-induced haze. “Do you want to fuck me?”

“Excuse me?” Stabler asked.

“Sorry,” said Landry quickly. Then, “Do you?”

Stabler crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”

“They all do,” said Landry, waving his hand weakly. “It’s what I’m for.”

“This wasn’t your fault,” said Stabler firmly.

Landry let out a short burst of laughter, then clapped his hand to his mouth. “Yes
it is. So what’s wrong with me? Why don’t you want to fuck me?”

Elliot tried to sort out a correct response to this from his victim’s services
training, and came up blank. “I think sex should be one of the best parts of life,” he said
finally. “I’m sorry that hasn’t been your experience.”

“You’re wrong about everything,” Landry said softly.

Cabbot came back into the room. “The doctor tells me you have a nasty
concussion, on top of… everything else,” she said to Landry.

“Well, someone hit my head with a wall,” he said.

Cabbot hesitated for a moment. “He also said that it’s hard to tell when you might
feel better.”

“The trial,” Landry said with sudden lucidity. “I forgot…”

“The judge doesn’t want to delay Castille’s trial more than forty-eight hours,” said
Cabbot.

“So I need to be ready to testify soon.”

“The day after tomorrow is our only chance,” Alex said slowly.

Elliot jumped in. “But if you’re not feeling well, you shouldn’t testify.”

“I will. I’ll do it,” Landry said and glared at Stabler.

“We’ll see,” said Cabbot. “Detective Stabler will come see how you’re feeling on
Wednesday morning. If you feel up to it, he’ll escort you to the trial with your
Corrections Officer. If not, you can stay here. All right?”

“I’ll be at the trial,” said Landry.

“All right,” said Cabbot. “In that case, I suppose we should go over your
testimony one last time.”
**********

Xavier School

“Why are you asking me?” came Finnessey’s voice over the phone. Jean winced
at the muted anger.

“You have a personal stake in the lawsuit, Abel. I wanted your opinion,” she said.

“I have other things to worry about right now,” Finnessey snapped.

Jean shifted the phone to her other ear and looked to the ceiling for guidance.
“There are 400 other prisons in the country using Smart Collars,” she said, stalling.

“So you’ve said.”

“You don’t have any opinion at all?” she asked, trying to keep the frustration
from her voice.

“Do whatever you want.”

“What do you think your sister would have wanted?” she burst out. A dial tone
sounded in her ear. Damnit. Jean set the receiver gently in its cradle and sat thinking for a
moment. When a knock sounded on the door, she said nothing.

After a moment, Scott came in and closed the door quietly behind him. He sat
down next to Jean. “Well?” he asked after a moment.

“I’m going to take the settlement.”
***********

SVU Squad Room

Stabler came back to a squad room bustling with activity. He found Olivia filling
out a crime scene report at her desk. “You missed the excitement at the hospital earlier,”
he said. “Alex and I went to visit your favorite federal prisoner.”

Olivia looked up and squinted in confusion. “What?”

“Benjamin Landry,” said Stabler. “He’s in the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll fill you in later. What’s going on here?” Stabler gestured to the humming
squad room.

“Fin and I found Evan Haslet,” Benson said.

“Great!” said Stabler, then raised an eyebrow at his partner’s reaction. “That is
great, isn’t it?”

Fin wandered up. “Our boy was dead when they found him,” he said. “Shot
execution style.”

“And we’re sure he was the perp?” asked Stabler.

“The CSIs turned up blood-stained clothes and the murder weapon,” said Benson.
“How much more evidence could you want?”

“Well if this guy’s so incompetent, why didn’t we catch him before this?” Stabler
asked.

Munch hung up his phone and joined the conversation. “We didn’t have the right
contacts, I guess.”

“What do you mean?” asked Benson.

“I mean the Westies knew where to find him,” said Munch.

“Woah,” said Fin. “This was the Westies?”

“Says my buddy in homicide,” Munch said.

“Who the hell are the Westies?” asked Stabler.

“Westies. The Irish mob,” said Munch. “They used to be a Boston phenomenon,
but in the last five years or so they’ve moved into our fair city.”

“If it was the Westies, then Abel Finnessey didn’t have anything to do with it,
right?” Benson said hopefully.

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Fin. “The Westies have been known to take on jobs
from time to time.”

“Homicide said they’d let us know if they turn up anything we should know,”
Munch reported.

“Which means we’ll never hear from them,” said Stabler.

“So, case closed, then,” said Benson. She went to the bulletin board plastered with
pictures and information about the case and took down a picture of Becca Finnessey.
“And we’ll never know why.”

Fin shrugged. “Maybe we don’t want to know.”
**********

Oz: Em City

Ryan O’Reilly leaned against the railing, looking down at the scurrying ants of
Em City.

“Hey Ryan.”

O’Reilly saw Beecher take up a position next to him, casually bracing himself against the
railing. “Hey what?” Ryan snapped.

“I hear you master-minded the sting that’s got Schillinger facing a disciplinary
committee.”

“Maybe,” Ryan half-smiled.

“Lord of the Dance, right?”

“Yeah.”

Beecher stood in silence for a moment. “How’s Cyril?”

“What do you mean how’s Cyril?” asked Ryan, and shot Beecher an angry glare.
“He’s fucking fine.”

“I just…” Beecher took a deep breath. “I mean I don’t know if you know how
much he means to Landry.”

“Don’t start that shit with me,” said Ryan. He pushed away from the railing and
strode off down the deck.

Beecher followed. “Listen, Ryan. He really cares about your brother, I promise.”
He grabbed Ryan’s arm to stop him. O’Reilly allowed it, and turned impatiently to face
Beecher. “Listen. He wanted me to sabotage his appeal so that he could stay in Oz to be
with Cyril.”

“No he didn’t,” Ryan said with a sneer.

Beecher just shrugged. “Think whatever you want. But it’s true. You should quit
giving him such a hard time.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not my fault he’s in the hospital.”

“The hospital?” Beecher narrowed his eyes in concern.

“Yeah. Guess Schillinjer got a little rough with him.”

Beecher was silent for a moment. “How’d Cyril take it?”

“He’s fine,” Ryan snapped. Then, “Terrible. He’s a mess.”

“I thought so,” said Beecher softly. “Know when Landry’ll be back?”

“No idea. Even Finnessey doesn’t know.”

“Well. The kid’s got a good chance of getting his appeal. You’d better think of
what you’re going to tell Cyril if Landry doesn’t come back.”

“Yeah. Shit.” Ryan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, thinking. Then he
glared at Beecher, who stood watching him. “I can handle it, okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” said Beecher, and backed up a step. “But if you want any help.
Well. You know where to find me.”
*********

Benchley Memorial Hospital

Landry’s hospital room was empty. After an anxious check of his watch, Elliot
Stabler inquired at the nurse’s station and was waved down the hall. He saw a
corrections officer standing outside a door. “Where is he?” he demanded, flashing his
shield.

The CO blinked. “Still in the shower,” he said, and jerked a thumb at the door
behind him.

Stabler raised an eyebrow. “You left him alone?”

“Look, the kid’s been through a lot, okay?” said the CO with a touch of
defensiveness. “He seemed uncomfortable with me watching him, so I gave him some
privacy. I checked the room before I let him in there.”

“Right,” said Stabler, backing down. “Of course. But we need to leave soon.”

“Okay, relax,” said the CO. “I’ll get him out.” He unlocked the door to the shower
room and disappeared inside. He came running out almost immediately, pushed past
Stabler and ran down the hallway. “Nurse! We need you!”

Stabler rushed into the bathroom, struggling to make out details through a wall of
steam. He took a few quick steps until he saw Landry kneeling on the floor under the
spray of the shower, which was turned up to highest heat.

“Don’t touch me!” he rasped when he saw Stabler approach.

“Okay, okay.” Elliot held out his hands peacefully and reached slowly to the wall
to turn off the spray. He saw blood mixing with the water on the floor, turning the flow
pink on its way to the drain.

“I think I ripped my stitches,” Landry said, then dry heaved violently.

“It’s okay,” said Stabler soothingly. “A nurse is coming.”

Landry shook his wet hair out of his eyes and wrapped his arms around his naked
chest. “I’m not going to make it to the trial, am I?”

“Probably not.”

“Ms. Cabbot will be mad.”

“No she won’t.”

“I’m sorry,” Landry said weakly, and pushed himself into the corner of the
shower.

“It’s okay,” Stabler repeated. “We’ll just get you back to your room.”

Landry took a deep breath which came out as a sob. He began to shiver.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t get warm.”

Stabler knelt beside the crying prisoner, ignoring the water soaking through his
clothes. He reached out slowly to pull Landry to him. “It’s all right,” he said gently.
Landry cuddled in close to the detective.

The door burst open with a loud bang, and Stabler turned his head sharply to see
the nurse and CO. He felt rather than saw his gun being lifted from its hip holster, and
looked back just in time for Landry to kick him in the chest, sending off his feet into the
water puddled on the cold tile. With quick movements belying his condition, Landry
released the glock’s safety, aimed quickly, and pulled the trigger.
*************

Oz: Warden’s Office

Warden Glynn watched closely as the members of the disciplinary committee
filed into the room and took seats at the long table placed here for this occasion.
Schillinger stood facing them, face fixed in a mask of indifference; CO Bradley held him
by the arm. One member of the committee, a grey-haired and bearded retired judge,
handed Glynn a folder.

Glynn turned to Schillinger. “Do you have anything to say before we announce
our findings?”

“No,” said Schillinger tersely.

Glynn opened the folder and read, “Vernon Schillinjer. This board has found that
you conspired to and participated in the rape and beating of Benjamin Landry. You are to
be transferred to solitary confinement effective immediately.”

Bradley pulled Schillinger toward the door. He followed placidly, maintaining
his bored expression. The room remained silent until inmate and CO were gone. Then the
committee members stood and began filing out.

Glynn turned to Tim McManus, who’d been sitting to the side watching the
proceedings. “Well?”

“This won’t change anything,” said Tim, voice heavy with fatigue. “The damage
is done.”

“At least he can’t hurt Landry any more,” Glynn said.

“Yeah.” McManus shook his head. “At least there’s that.”
*************

SVU Squad Room

Detective Olivia Benson finished cutting out an article from the day’s New
York Times. She dropped the article, entitled “New Orleans Businessman
Acquitted,” into her file on Castille, and then tossed the scissors into the first open desk
drawer. She looked around her work space for something else to do while she waited. Her
eyes settled on the well-worn transcript packet of Landry’s first police interview. She
picked it up and flipped to a random page.

Tutuola: Where did that cut come from?

Landry: Oh, this? Henri hit me. Back home.

Munch: Why?

Landry: He was scared. After what happened, he wanted to go, but I sat down in
the road. He kept telling me to get up, and I wouldn’t. Then he hit me.

Tutuola: And you went with him.

Landry: Yeah.

Munch: Why?

Landry: It was more effort to stay than to go.


Olivia heard the door from the locker room open; she turned around to see her
partner standing in the doorway, outfitted in the rumpled spare suit he kept in his
stationhouse cubbyhole. “You didn’t have to wait,” he said.

“I know,” said Olivia. She stood and walked over to him. “I just thought you
might want to talk.”

“I don’t,” said Stabler, and pushed past her.

“What happened wasn’t your fault, Elliot” she said.

Stabler dropped into his desk chair. Olivia followed him and sat on the edge of his
desk. “I should have known better,” he said softly.

“You were just trying to do the right thing,” said Olivia. She reached out to put a
hand on his shoulder.

“Tell that to Benjamin Landry.”

“He made his choice,” said Olivia, shaking her head. “We did everything we
could to help him.”

“Yeah. Even put a gun in his hand.”

Benson recognized the hard edge of guilt in Stabler’s voice. “Stop it. Elliot. Just
stop it. It’s done. Let it go.”

“It’s not right. We did everything we could. You did more than anyone.”

“Elliot, he made his own choice.”

Stabler was silent for a moment. “I wish it could have been different,” he said at
last.

“All life ever offered him was pain,” said Benson. “I guess after a while, you just
can’t make the effort any more.”
********