In My Enemy's Hands

James walked over to the foot of the stairs and looked up at the basement door. “I`m sure the cops are here by now.” Olivia gave no response; she had not moved or spoken since he had raped her. “They should be coming down here soon. I`m sure your cop friends want to come rescue you, don’t they?” He sauntered back over to where she lay and unbuckled the belt that held her hands behind her head. Olivia brought her arms down and crossed them over her chest. The links of the handcuffs and the remnants of her shirt passed under her chin, where she balled her hands into fists. “Unless they don’t want you back. They know what’s happened here – they know what a dirty, filthy whore you are.”

“No.” Olivia whispered, willing her tears to stop. “No, that’s not true. They’re… they have to take care of the girls first – get them to a hospital. Maybe even wait for a hostage negotiator. Then they will come for me.”

“Maybe.” James knelt beside her and petted her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “Maybe not.”

Moments later, a loud boom shook the ceiling above them. Olivia jumped to her feet, startled. James laughed. “I think your cop friends just found my little security policy. After all, I couldn’t afford for just anyone to find their way down into this room.”

Olivia turned on him, “What the hell are you talking about? What did you do?”

“This basement wasn’t protected by lock and key alone. I also had explosive charges around the house. In order to enter the basement, I had to enter a code to momentarily disable them. Opening the door from the inside also temporarily disabled the system. But inserting a key in the outside lock without the proper code?” James made a soft tsk sound. “Well, I think you just heard the results.”

Olivia gazed at him in horror.

“I wonder if they had gotten the girls out already? Or maybe they were inside still, sitting on a couch, talking with some detectives… Maybe your partner was up there – Stabler. Maybe it was him that tried to rush in and open the door. Who knows – maybe there’s a nice, crispy Stabler-hand still holding onto the doorknob, thinking he can come rush in to save you.” James taunted her, moving close and closer until Olivia snapped.

“That’s enough!” She rushed at him but he just hopped backward. He chuckled as the chain around her ankle snapped taut and she fell.

Before she could rise again, he was on top of her, his chest to her back, his hands crushing down on her arms, legs straddling and pinning hers. “You know,” he whispered in her ear. “There’s something kind of nice about that thought, isn’t there? You see, right now, upstairs, there might be a fire from residual accelerant. Cops are burning, some probably killed by the blast. The whole bottom floor might be gutted. And we are here, nice and safe, protected by a concrete roof and a steel-reinforced locked door. Even better – any other cops on their way will have to wait for the bomb squad to clear the house before they can even come in. Which means…” He rubbed his crotch up and down the curve of her ass. “You and I still have time to play.”

~~~

Elliot and Fin were about twenty minutes away from the house when they got a call from Cragen. “Stabler.”

“Elliot, I just talked to the local guys on the scene. The girls are all out of the house, on their way to the hospital. They tried to get into the basement, but there was a bomb with a detonator somehow wired to the door. When they tried to unlock it, it blew. They told me that there were explosions in at least three separate rooms that took out a good bit of the first floor. One officer is dead and two more on their way to the hospital.”

“Has anyone gotten down to Olivia?”

“No, the house has been sealed off until a bomb squad can check it out. Cameras are still running live: it doesn’t look like the blast even touched the basement.”

Elliot was scared to hear the answer to his next question. “How’s she doing?”

Cragen paused. “He raped her, Elliot. And it looks like he’s about to try again.”

Elliot hung up and pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor. The speedometer shot from 95 mph to almost 120. The sirens wailed as they sped on toward Olivia, pushing the small car to its limits.

~~~

James licked and nibbled the back of Olivia’s shoulders. She shook beneath him, but his body spread over hers and held her down. He held her arms down with a single hand and groped her with the other. He slid his left hand down her stomach and underneath, forcing its way down to her core. Olivia thrashed underneath him and he bit down on her shoulder, drawing blood. She cried out and he released his hold on her hands to bring his arm up around her neck. He pulled her upward onto her elbows and knees and she had to brace on her forearms in order to breathe. His legs were outside hers again, holding them in together. His penis was hard and pressed uncomfortably against her backside as he leaned over her. His fingers sought her clit and rubbed harshly.

“No!” Olivia gasped, her eyes shutting as pain shot through her. The entire region between her legs was sore from his previous assault and he knew it. He pressed and pinched and squeezed, knowing that it was causing her pain but also knowing that the continued stimulation would have an effect whether she wanted it or not. He drew back for a moment and slid into her, her opening slick with his own juices. Her knees were trapped together between his and he grunted as he felt her tightness around him. He straightened, his right arm leaving her throat and instead seizing a lock of her hair, pulling back on it as he thrust into her; his left hand continued to work her clit.

He pounded against her core; his fingers continued to torment her and, with each thrust, his balls swung in to tap against her sensitive clit. Within a few moments, Olivia arched and her internal muscles clenched around him as he continued to pound her. He did not stop his ministrations. Olivia rode wave after wave as she screamed and sobbed. Every time she thought it would stop, he would continue to massage her and, as much as she hated it, his actions caused an immediate release of chemicals flooding into her brain. Even worse than the pain of him moving inside her, his hand yanking on her hair, the bruises covering her body, or his hand scrapping along her clit was the emotional pain of knowing that her rapist had brought her to orgasm.

He didn’t remove his hand from her until the moment before he came. When he felt his balls tighten, he brought his hand around to her face and smeared his fingers across her lips. She tried to bite, but he held her head back by the hair. Her neck was pulled taut and he continued to drag her back, bending her head as far as it would go. Olivia had no choice but to open her mouth and he dipped in. As his seed once again released inside of her, Olivia tasted both of them on his fingers.

He collapsed on top of her once he finished and she felt him grow soft within her. She lay flat, crushed beneath him. James panted heavily against her ear, but Olivia was too exhausted and disgusted to even muster the energy to shudder in revulsion.

~~~

Elliot and Fin jumped out of the car as soon as they arrived on the scene. They flashed their badges at the police on scene as they ducked under the tape. “What’s the status?”

A young cop almost jogged to keep up as they strode toward the house. “Can’t go in there, detectives. We’re waiting for the house to be cleared first. Suspect is reported to be armed and holed up in the basement with a hostage. The explosives blew when they tried to unlock the door twenty minutes ago.”

“Has anyone tried to go in since then?”

“Sir, we lost a good officer on this and two more are in critical condition. We know the danger involved and we know that the hostage is an NYPD detective, but we have to wait for a hostage negotiator and the bomb squad.”

Fin saw the tell-tale tightening in Elliot’s jaw and reached out a hand to stop him before he could say anything else to the young cop. He dialed Cragen and held the phone up to his ear, still keeping an eye on Elliot.

“Hey Captain, you still watching the cameras? Can you tell me if there are any windows into the basement?”

Cragen and Munch both leaned over the computer, peering closely at each of the six windows. In the top of one of the frames, they could just barely see the indentation of a window sill with a sliver of light peeking through. “Yeah, it looks like there might be one alone one of the long walls.”

“Thanks.” He turned to the local cop. “Have your guys start going around the building looking for windows into the basement. Check behind bushes and anything that might be shielding an entrance. I wouldn’t think there’d be any more bombs hidden around, but have them keep an eye out for trip wires and such. Keep’em quiet while they search and just tell us when you find it.” He reached out for Elliot’s shoulder. “Let’s start around that way.”

~~~

James got off Olivia and stood leaning against the back wall just above where her ankle restraint was connected. She scooted over to the side wall and sat next to the pallet, though pointedly not on it. She pulled the sheet off and started to cover herself with it, but James yanked it away, balled it up, and threw it across the room.

Olivia was still trembling from head to foot. She was sore, bruised, emotionally scarred, and terrified. She hugged herself and shook, occasionally sneaking glances in James’ direction just to reassure herself that he was not coming for her again. Her tears were finally beginning to dry and as the weeping subsided it was replaced by a cold-burning rage that started to wrap itself in the pit of her stomach.

~~~

Fin and Elliot were checking behind the bushed along the side of the house when they got a call on the radio from the local cops. “Detectives, found the entrance: along the back of the house, near the south corner. Three windows, about 2.5x1.5 feet, covered with black paint or paper so we can’t see in.”

“Alright, we’ll be right there.”

As they ran around the building, Elliot called Cragen. “Cap’n, Fin and I are going into the basement through the windows. Give us the update on what’s happening in the room.”

“Olivia is sitting leaning against the wall with the windows, though it doesn’t look like there are any directly above her. Perp is standing against the back wall. You come in through the windows, he’ll be to your left. The gun is on the floor, about 10 feet from Olivia and 15-20 feet from the perp. He’d have to cross right in front of her to get it. I’d say you’re clear to go in, just make sure you get a gun on him before he can get that gun on you.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” He hung up and looked at Fin. “Let’s go.” They looked at the three windows. “Right, Olivia and the perp are on that side, so this is the window closest to them.”

Fin picked up, “I`ll bust through that one and get a gun on him, you go in through the center one.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

~~~

Olivia’s head whipped around when she heard something bash against the glass. There was a splintering sound, but it did not break. James was frozen, his eyes locked on the window nearest to them. He lunged forward toward the gun and Olivia leapt at him. Her handcuffed hands came down around his neck from behind and she pulled back, jerking him away from the gun.

James fell to the floor, his hands reaching up to try to free himself. Olivia dropped down and anchored one knee in the center of his back. She continued to hold pressure on him as she ground the familiar words out through her teeth – “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You that the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you by the state. Do you understand these rights?”

“Yes, yes!” James gasped out the words as they heard the window finally bust out of place and Fin’s familiar voice shouted for them to freeze.

Olivia looked up at him, “It’s about time you got here.” The center window also shattered and Elliot squeezed his way through, his hands wrapped in his coat to protect him from the broken glass.

He drew his gun and walked over toward Olivia and James. He kicked Olivia’s gun to the other side of the room and held his own trained on James’ head. “Its okay, Olivia. We’ve got him.”

Olivia looked down and realized that she was pulling so tightly around James’ throat that he was on the verge of unconsciousness. She released him and stepped away as Elliot moved into her place and cuffed him.

Once James was secured, Elliot shrugged off his coat and draped it over Olivia’s shoulders. Her eyes were red from crying, but there were no tears in them anymore. She glanced down at the cuffs that still bound her hands together, “All the keys are on the same ring with the one that opens the door. And if you can get the keys down here, opening the door from the inside will disable any other charges he might have set.”

Elliot nodded and relayed the message up to Fin, who disappeared from the window as he went to get the keys. Elliot started to reach out toward her, but stopped when he saw her flinch away, just a fraction of an inch. It was a small movement, barely noticeable, but they both knew that he had seen it. “Olivia, we’re here now. You’re safe.” His eyes searched her face, making note of every bruise. Her body was now covered with his coat; from what he had seen, her whole body was like this – more purple, brown and blue than anything else.

Olivia felt his eyes on her and looked up to meet his gaze. “I`m fine, Elliot. I don’t need you to treat me like a vic.”

“Okay.” His voice was still the calm tone he used when speaking with victims. Olivia hated it.

“Hey!” Fin’s head appeared in the window. He tossed the keys in; Olivia caught them in both hands and quickly found the keys to unlock the handcuffs and then the ankle restraint. “Had to go into the building to get ‘em; local uni’s threw a fit. Just be careful when you’re walking out. It is ground floor, but it looks like some of the supports holding up the second floor might have been compromised. ‘Livia, brought you some clothes.” He tossed a clean, fresh pair of scrubs down and Elliot caught them. “Some of the ambulance guys had extras on hand. And got some pants for that scum too.” He dropped the pants from a pair of old and ragged scrubs down onto the floor. “Dropped it at some point, got a little dirty. Don’t think he’ll mind. Need anything else or should I just meet you at the front?”

“Thanks, Fin. We’ll be up there in a second.”

Elliot took the coat as Olivia turned her back to him and shrugged it off. He held it up as a barrier while she donned the scrubs. Then he roughly manhandled the pants onto the perp. James was dazed still from being brought down by Olivia; he offered no resistance as Elliot hauled him upright. “Let’s go.”

Olivia handed him the keys and he went up the stairs first, accompanying James. Elliot unlocked the door and walked out into the house. The two men went first; Elliot stepped carefully, making sure that the areas were stable before Olivia followed. He walked out the front door and James caught sight of the ambulances and cop cars stationed in a semi-circle around the front of his house with their headlights on to combat the growing dark of the evening. There were almost two dozen cops and medical personnel on-scene. “All this for me?”

Elliot pushed him forward toward the stairs down off the front porch. He was not sorry when the perp tripped and stumbled down the first few. “Not for you, you bastard.”

Olivia appeared in the doorway just as Elliot and James finished descending the stairs and Elliot pushed him into the back of a squad car. Fin was standing by the side of the door waiting for her. Olivia stood in the door frame blinking against the light as all the police started to clap. Fin spoke as he came to stand right beside her, “Local detectives on scene got preliminary statements from the girls. They all said that you saved them, took care of them, got them out of there alive. Story getting around says you’re a hero.”

~~~

It was well after one in the morning before the local hospital had finished the rape kit and inventoried all her bruises, bites, and marks. Elliot had stayed at the hospital with her – Fin had escorted all the girls except Isabella back to the city after the hospital released them around 11pm. Isabella had required surgery to remove the bullet from her shoulder and had to stay overnight. Her parents had arrived around 10:00 and were in the room with her, waiting until morning to be able to take her home.

Local police lent Elliot an unmarked car to take Olivia back to the city. Olivia curled up in the passenger seat and pressed her forehead to the window. She was still wearing just a set of scrubs and had a hospital blanket draped over her legs. Her mind was spinning with the events of the past twenty-four hours.

They didn’t speak during the ride home. Elliot pulled up to her apartment building and pulled her keys out of one of his pockets. “I got copies made before yours went into evidence. Figured you’d be needing them.”

Olivia reached out and took it, but did not get out of the car yet.

“Want me to walk you up?” She nodded, embarrassed at her hesitancy to go into her own apartment building.

They exited the car and went up the elevator. Olivia unlocked the door and flipped on the light switch. She walked straight over to pick up her secondary gun from its usual hiding place and then walked through the apartment, checking to make sure that all windows were locked and her place secure. Elliot stood in the doorway and watched her. “Do you want me to stay? I can camp out on the couch.”

“No, no, I`ll be fine. Thanks though.”

“Okay, just come by the station sometime tomorrow and we’ll get your statement.” He headed to the door and paused, shifting his weight between his feet. Olivia looked at him, waiting for him to say whatever was on his mind, but he sighed and turned to walk out. “Good night.”

Olivia locked the door behind him and went into her bedroom. She pulled out some clean underwear, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and then carefully stripped off the scrubs. It hurt when she moved her arms up over her head, but she ignored the pain. As she stepped into the bathroom, she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

Her body was a mass of bruises. Her arms and neck were covered in his dark handprints; both her eyes were blackened and she had a split lip and a gash across her cheek from where he had hit her with the gun. There were hickeys and bite marks across her neck, shoulders, and collarbone. Her stomach was purple from the various times he had kicked her and her breasts were bruised from his fondling. She turned and looked over her shoulder. Her back was not as bad – there were a few marks over her shoulder blades where there was less padding to cushion the blows from the times he had slammed her into the wall or against the floor. The bite mark on her left shoulder was covered with gauze from where the doctors had applied antibiotics. She didn’t dare to look below her waste and see the bruises that his body had left on her inner thighs.

Olivia soaked in the shower, scrubbing every inch of her skin as the scalding water beat down upon her. The room filled with steam and still she scrubbed. When she finally finished, she dried off quickly, glad that the mirror was fogged so that she didn’t have to see herself again.

She turned back to the bed and swept up her clothes, hastily putting them on. Olivia crawled into bed and placed her gun on the bedside table next to her. She left the light on and turned over, pulling the blankets up to her chin. She stared at the wall and waited for morning.

The sun streaming in through the windows woke her at around 7:30. Olivia was surprised that she had slept at all, but somehow she had managed a few hours of restless sleep. She got up and dressed quickly, making sure to choose a long-sleeve turtleneck that would cover most of the marks. She went into the bathroom, reached for a box of make-up and began the work of covering up her bruises as much as possible.

Everyone looked up at her when Olivia walked into the squad room just before nine. She ignored their questioning looks and walked straight over to her desk; Elliot was sitting at his own desk reading a file, which he closed as soon as Olivia neared. She pretended not to notice that. “What have we got?”

“You in here to give your statement?”

“Yeah, and to do my job.”

Elliot looked over at Cragen, unsure. “Alright, let’s go somewhere and sit down so you can tell me what happened.”

Olivia grabbed a cup of coffee for herself before they went into one of the side rooms. Elliot put the pad of paper on the table and sat, angling his chair toward hers. “So, let’s start at the beginning.”

Olivia went through the story, giving the specific details as much as she could; her police training had taught her to make note of everything and her report was amazingly accurate. She spoke without pause, her voice emotionally unattached and in complete cop mode. Elliot didn’t know quite how to respond to this, so he just let her talk. She knew all the questions he would ask, so he didn’t need to prod her. She described the events exactly as she had reported hundreds of other abductions and rapes, with clinical terminology and precision. Elliot wrote hurriedly to keep up with her and his hand was cramping by the time she finished.

“Now it’s your turn. Tell me what you have on the case.”

Elliot hesitated, “’Liv, I`m not sure if I can.”

“What do you mean?” Olivia didn’t need to wait for a response. She whirled out of the room and, sure enough, Cragen was standing by the entrance to his office, waiting for her to come out.

“Benson, my office.”

Olivia waited until the door was closed behind her before speaking. “Am I off this case, Captain?”

“Yes. You’re not just a cop on this case; you’re one of the victims too. You can’t work the case without seriously compromising it. Why don’t you take some personal time; God knows you work hard enough, you deserve it.”

“I don’t need personal time, Captain, you know me. All I need is to do my job. I can do this and I want to help nail this bastard.”

“He’s already nailed. Trust me, we’ve got him solid and there is no way he can squirm his way out from under the needle.” He saw that Olivia was not going to budge and sighed. “Go talk with Huang.”

“I really don’t think that’s –”

“That was not a suggestion, detective. If he clears you to return to duty, fine. But understand this: you are eyes-only. You don’t touch anything, don’t talk to Archer, he doesn’t see you, you don’t see him. Got it?”

“Got it, Cap’n.”

“Good. Huang’s waiting for you.”

Olivia smiled. “Thought you’d been planning on sending me home.”

Cragen shrugged. “I knew you’d be coming in here and that you’d be too much of a pain in the ass to just go home. I figured it would be best to have Huang on stand-by for when you showed up.”

Cragen went to open the door for her, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “Olivia… we’re glad to have you back.” He saw the brief moment that her confident mask slipped and revealed the contorted emotions writhing beneath. But then Olivia put her cop-face back on.

“Yeah, me too.”