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Release	By : KaticaLocke Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 3499 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Alex sipped her rich, steaming coffee while Bobby sat in the passenger seat beside her, his elbow resting on the bottom edge of the window, knuckles pressed to his lips, as he stared out at the entrance to his apartment building.

�Do you want me to go in with you?� she asked again.

�No, that�s all right, I can ... manage.� He didn�t move. Reluctantly, she set her cup in the cup holder between them and unbuckled her seatbelt.

�C�mon,� she said, checking traffic before she opened her door into the street, �I want to see if you�ve got any new books I can borrow.� He laughed, a short, tense sound. They both knew that she would never voluntarily read anything in his library, but it got him out of the car. �It�s three o�clock in the afternoon, she�s probably at work.� Or too traumatized to leave her apartment, she added silently, though from the look he gave her, she might as well have said it out loud.

They climbed the front steps in silence, slipped inside and started up the stairs to Bobby's third floor apartment. "What did you make of Tarak?" she asked after a moment, glancing over her shoulder at him. "There was something - you got that look. What was it?" He paused on the step below her, wearing that thinking frown again.

"You remember how he said he worked for Animal Control?" Alex nodded. "I've seen him working at the Library, shelving books."

"So? Maybe he has a second job." Bobby shrugged one shoulder.

�He was wearing three hundred dollar shoes,� Bobby pointed out. �His shirt was tailored to fit him.�

�Two jobs,� Alex countered. �He can afford nice clothes.�

�Did you see the scars on his left forearm? They were old, faded, but looked like ... claw marks.�

�He works in Animal Control, Bobby. Animals have claws.� She wasn�t necessarily defending Tarak - there was something about the guy that she didn�t trust - but so far nothing Bobby had said was proof of anything.

�There was something else up on that roof, Alex, and it came with him.� She didn�t say anything for a moment.

�I almost saw it,� she said. �It was like the wind - every time I tried to look at it, it wasn�t there.�

�Everyone else was seeing it, too, you - you heard them. It�s wasn�t a trick of the light.�

�Then what was it?� He opened his mouth, then closed it again, his eyes shifting from her face to the landing above them, and she watched his face shut down. She glanced back, into the pale face of Katrina Anderson. Smoothing her jacket, Alex mounted the last few steps, stopping on the landing. Katrina didn�t even seem to see her, her eyes never leaving Bobby. �Miss Anderson,� Alex said, making her jump, �just who we were hoping to see.� A complete lie, but ... oh well. �We thought you might like to know that the person responsible for the situation you and Detective Goren found yourselves in has been caught and will be dealt with.�

�I know,� Katrina said, her voice barely more than a whisper, her eyes finding Bobby once more. He hadn�t moved.

�You do?� Alex asked. �How?�

�A detective called this morning, Detective Tutuola, I think. He explained what happened.�

�Oh. Yes. Of course,� Alex said. Would have been nice if Fin had told them what was going on. Katrina watched Bobby for a moment more, then stepped past Alex and slowly made her way down the stairs toward him. She stopped on the step above him, so that they were nearly eye-to-eye.

�I�m sorry that I thought it was you,� she said, �I was just so ... I should have known that you would never do something like that.�

�I�m sorry I got you involved,� Bobby said quietly, �I�m sorry I walked past your door.� I�m sorry I didn�t eat my gun as soon as I realized something was wrong. Alex blinked at the sudden strange thought. It had sounded like Bobby�s voice, but ... he would never even consider suicide. What was she thinking? There was an awkward silence between Katrina and Bobby.

�Well,� Alex said, �I guess we better let you go. Thank you for your time and understanding, Miss Anderson.� Katrina glanced up at her, then nodded to Bobby before continuing down the stairs. She stopped on the next landing.

�I always felt safe living here,� she said, �knowing that one of New York�s finest was living just upstairs. I still do.� She turned the corner and disappeared. Bobby climbed the last few stairs to the landing where Alex waited.

�That wasn�t so bad,� Alex said, receiving an �I�d rather have eaten broken glass� look from her partner. �I wonder what Fin told her.�

~*~*~*~*~*~

The SVU squad room was bustling with unfamiliar faces as Alex and Bobby walked in. It was almost like a different place, so full of light and sound and motion. It was Alex who spotted Munch seated at his desk, bent over a big, leather-bound book, an expensive looking silver pen in hand. He didn�t look up until she and Bobby had come to a stop beside his desk.

�Good, you�re here,� he said, setting down the pen and closing the book. �Raum�s been moved -�

�What is that?� Bobby asked, reaching out to run the fingers of one hand over the blank cover of the book. His other hand was clutching his brown binder tightly to his side, as if never wanted to let go of it again.

�Do you have to touch everything?� Munch asked, picking the book up and slipping it into the top drawer of his desk. He glanced around the room, then stood and leaned toward them. �That is my Book of Shadows. It�s kind of a magickal diary/recipe book. Everything I�ve learned is in that book.�

�Really?� Bobby asked, raising his eye brows. Alex laughed.

�A book you haven�t read; now I have seen everything.�

"Where's your partner?" Bobby asked suddenly, tapping his fingers against the edge of the unoccupied desk.

"He said he was going home," Munch answered. frowning slightly. Alex was used to her partner's seeming random line of reasoning. She quickly jumped aboard his train of thought.

"He called Katrina Anderson this morning," she said. Munch nodded.

"I asked him to," he said. "I figured you might run into her at some point, and decided it was best if all the victims were told the same story, just in case."

"What story?"

"You know, just your average 'murdered scientist working for secret agency, chemical weapons stolen, one heroic detective saves the city but is unknowingly contaminated' type of story."

"Ooh, we've already used that one this week," Alex said with a snarky quirk to her lips. "Did they really buy it?"

"Miss Anderson did. She was so desperate for answers, she'd have believed it was aliens. The other two were harder to convince. I'll have Fin check up on them in a day or two to make sure."

"You're having him do it because you can't lie," Bobby said. Munch took a slow breath, hesitating.

"I'm having him do it because I prefer not to lie. I can lie, when I have to. Say, how's Detective Sledge?"

"How should we know?" Bobby asked.

"We haven't seen him since dawn. Why?"

"Well, it's just ... You two haven't noticed any ... side effects, have you?" Alex arched one eyebrow.

"Side effects?"

"Yes, the powers that we were channeling can have unforeseen consequences. Any unusual feelings, strange dreams, weird things happening?" Alex glanced at Bobby, remembering her dream. It hadn't been that strange, just your typical fear of inadequacy nightmare. She shook her head.

"No, nothing like that. Will there be?" Munch shrugged.

"They're called 'unforeseen' consequences for a reason. C'mon," Munch said, motioning for them to follow with a jerk of his head. "Raum was eagerly awaiting your arrival. It'd be a crime to keep him waiting." They made their way down the hall to the observation room overlooking the empty gray box where Raum was seated, his hands cuffed in front of him and resting on the scarred metal table top.

�Are cuffs going to hold him?� Alex asked.

�Oh yeah,� Munch replied. �Without his magick, he�s practically harmless.� They stood a moment and watched Raum. He certainly didn�t look like someone who could have caused them so much trouble. His shaggy hair was an unremarkable shade of dark brown. He wore a plain, inexpensive pale gray polo shirt and black slacks. Small, round, wire-framed glasses still masked the true color of his eyes and gave him an intelligent, observant look.

�Harmless,� Alex repeated. She took a calming breath. �Let�s see what this guy�s made of, shall we?�
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