Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Release	By : KaticaLocke Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 3500 -:- 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
- 60
- 61
- 62
Alex nearly put her foot through the floor as she stomped on the brake, the big SUV coming to a screeching halt halfway into the oncoming lane of traffic. Luckily, they were the only car on the road. Heart pounding in her throat, Alex slammed the heel of her hand into the horn, sending three, six foot tall gray birds dashing into the ditch, bleating in fright.

"Could you explain to me," she said calmly, pushing her hair out of her face, "what three ostriches are doing standing in the middle of this road?"

"I think they were emus," Bobby replied. Alex rolled her eyes.

"I don't care if they were parakeets, they're not indigenous to New York, so what are they doing here?"

"Beats me," he said with a shrug. "Maybe they escaped from somebody's emu ranch. With the rising fear of mad cow disease, raising emu for slaughter should be a profitable business. Emu meat is very lean and supposedly tastes just like chicken."

"Everything tastes like chicken," Alex muttered, straightening out the SUV and creeping past the nervous birds. "Let's hope it's nothing more serious than fugitive livestock; the sun has just about set."

"He'll wait for us," Bobby said, one hand absently reaching out to rest on the box between them. "I don't care how far he's fallen, if he ever loved his sister, if there's even a trace of humanity in him, he'll wait." Alex didn't respond. Raum gave her the impression of a man who didn't care about much, if anything at all.

"Oh, great, what now?" Alex asked as they turned a corner and a line emergency flares appeared in front of them. She slowed down, rolling down her window as a county sheriff stepped out of the twilit gloom.

"A truck carrying a couple dozen emus jack-knifed up ahead," the sheriff said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Damn things are everywhere. You folks'll want to go back and take the old highway out to the interstate if you want to get back to the city any time tonight." Alex sighed and popped the SUV in reverse.

"Thanks," she said. "If you're missing any, there's three more birds back up the road about five hundred yards." The sheriff nodded in reply and stepped back so Alex could turn the SUV around. "Tell me this kind of thing happens all the time out here," Alex said, "'cause I'm starting to think somebody doesn't want us to make it back in time."

"It's one detour - twenty minutes - that hardly qualifies as suspicious circumstances."

"Bobby, they're emus," Alex said, slowing down as they passed by the trio of wandering birds. "Emus," she repeated in case he didn't get the strangeness of it. A car bomb or a gang war she could see, but emus? "If this turns out be the work of some witch, or warlock, or werewolf, or space alien, you are so going to get an 'I told you so'."

"Come on, Eames," Bobby said with a laugh, "everybody knows werewolves don't exist."

~*~*~*~*~*~

They were halfway back to the city before Alex remembered to call Elliot. The sun had fallen behind the Manhattan skyline, the smog glowing like a bed of embers between the black silhouettes of the buildings. She urged the SUV upwards of seventy as she waited for Elliot to answer his phone. It went straight to voice-mail and she hung up.

�Elliot�s not answering,� she said. She had no better luck with Olivia. �You don�t think ...� She couldn�t even say it.

�Call Sledge,� Bobby said, but she was already dialing his number.

�Hello?�

�Edward, it�s Alex. I need you to - Are you okay?� She suddenly realized how edgy and wary his voice had been. She heard him draw a ragged breath.

�I�ve been better. What�s up?�

�Can you head down to the one-six? I can�t get through to Benson or Stabler, and I�m afraid Munch might be making a big mistake. If he�s there, you have to keep him away from Raum.�

�Me and what army?� Edward asked. �He�s a warlock - they both are - and ... I�ve got enough problems as it is.�

�Edward, what is wrong?� Alex demanded, changing lanes to go around some old lady in a Volvo. �Has ... has anything unusual happened to you since this morning?�

�You could say that,� he replied with a bitter laugh. �My darling cat left a dead mouse on my doorstep and I couldn�t come within five feet of the thing without having some sort of seizure/flashback/episode/thing. It was this horrible mess of feelings and - and sensations; sun, wind, rain, hunger, pain, fear, cold, darkness ... death. I could feel the mouse�s death like a shadow inside me, a cold, quiet place that I�d never noticed before, or that had been hidden. Alex, it was the most awful thing ...� His voice trailed away in a note of despair.

�Oh God, Edward, I�m so sorry,� she said, glancing over at Bobby. He was staring out the window, pointedly ignoring her side of the conversation. �This is all my fault, I never should have asked you to get involved.� He didn�t argue. �Assuming the worst hasn�t happened, when we find Munch, I�ll see if there�s anything he can -�

�No! Thank you, but I think he�s done quite enough. I�m just going to wait and see if it goes away. It�ll go away. It has to.� The desperation in his voice was like a knife in her heart. Don�t blame yourself, this is all Raum�s fault. She could hardly argue with the thought, but still, if it weren�t for her, if it weren�t for his feelings for her ... Serves him right, stupid bastard. Alex had to hit the brakes as some jackass in a Jaguar cut in front of her to take the interchange at the last minute. She hit the horn and he flipped her off. �Alex, where are you?�

�Approaching Manhattan. We had an ... errand to run. I gotta go - you ... be careful.� She hung up before he could reply. �Bobby, did you say something a moment ago?� she asked. He glanced over at her.

"No ... Why?"

"I could have sworn ... never mind. It seems those side effects Munch was talking about are starting to show up. Edward had a - a thing this morning with a mouse." As she explained, Bobby's face grew increasingly more alarmed.

"You don't suppose," he said, rubbing a hand along his jaw, "Benson, Stabler - their ...predatory behavior this afternoon ... Munch disappearing, now Sledge ... What's going to happen to the rest of us?" Alex had no answer to that.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The street lights were on by the time Alex slammed the SVU into park and threw off her seatbelt. Bobby was already halfway up the steps, his long legs taking them three at a time, as Alex jogged around the front end of the vehicle. She didn't know why they were bothering. The sun had set nearly half an hour ago; they were too late.

"Where's the fire, Detectives?" Alex spun around, her jaw dropping open at the sight of Raum and Nicole calmly crossing the street toward her. Bobby came clattering down the stairs behind her, taking a stand directly to her left. Raum smiled, looking extremely pleased with himself. "I see you have the box. Are you here to give me what I want?" Bobby hesitated only a moment before holding out the box to Raum. The warlock took it from him, slowly turning it over in his hands. "Exquisite piece of work, isn't it?" Alex found herself holding her breath as he sought out one pressure point after another until the box gave an audible click. One of the squares on the front had sunk in, leaving a depression. Raum skillfully began sliding the wooden panels around, like a child's puzzle game, until the gleaming squares of ebony aligned into a perfect X.

"X marks the spot," Alex whispered. Raum smiled again and pressed in the center of the dark X. Twin strips of wood, about half an inch wide, sprang free of the box top. Raum switched them, pressing them gently back into place. He turned the box over, slid one panel to the left, another to the right, and lifted up the door to the secret compartment. Alex craned her neck to see what was inside. She caught a glimpse of yellowed cloth as Raum turned the box over, dumping the contents of the compartment into his hand.

"You can have this back, Detective Goren," Raum said, tossing the box back to Bobby. He caught it on reflex only, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the item in Raum's hand. It was a yellowed handkerchief, probably linen, definitely old, with the initials TK embroidered in the corner. Alex edged closer, for a moment forgetting who it was standing across from her, as Raum began to carefully pull back the corners of the handkerchief. Bobby stepped up beside her, one hand resting on her shoulder. Raum drew back the final corner and they all stared down at the desiccated gray and white rabbit's foot. "I would like to know," Raum said quietly, "what sadistic idiot decided that these were lucky, because it certainly wasn't the rabbit. Thank you, it's been interesting." He handed Alex the handkerchief and foot and began to walk away, Nicole at his side.

"That's it?" Alex asked. Raum turned back.

"What more is there? That is not the amulet my Master promised me. It appears that was the wrong box after all."

"So this foot is ...?"

"Just a piece of a long dead rabbit. Keep it though, as a souvenir. And don't worry, I'll never trouble you again. Whether you intended to or not, you gave me exactly what I wanted." He smiled and took Nicole's hand. Alex watched them walk away hand in hand, her mouth hanging open. Their conversation with Raum played back though her head like a recording.

Let me give you a hint, Detective Goren, it�s what ultimately interested me in Nicole�s little vendetta against you. I would never have gotten involved if not for ...�

"Nicole," Alex whispered. Nicole was his apprentice. Why hadn't she seen it sooner? This was never about the box. He had used the box as a distraction, let them fill in the blank, when all he really wanted was Nicole ... or rather, her surprising magickal powers. He was going to kill her. Bobby stepped around her, jogging down the sidewalk after them. Alex followed on his heels.

"You don't seem that upset about not finding the cure to your sister's illness," Bobby said, stepping in front of them. "And here I thought that there might still be a shred of human decency left inside you."

"You're wasting time trying to play on my guilt, Detective Goren. My sister has been dead for almost a hundred years. I hardly think it would do her any good now." Bobby faltered as that sank in, but only for a moment.

"So after all you gave up, all you ... sacrificed, you were never able to save her. You're damned because of - of her."

"No, I'm damned because chose to take Balam's power. I could have just killed him, but I didn't."

"Because it would have been a - a crime to let that much magick go to waste. You thought, I could do so much with that power, but Raum ... did you? Did you do any of things you thought you would?" Alex watched the faintest shadow of sorrow and regret creep across Raum's features.

"Everything changes so fast," he said quietly. "All the good intentions in the world can't stop that slow slide down into darkness. The temptation is too great and soon, there's no going back." He looked up sharply, his gray-green eyes finding Alex's, and the small stirrings of pity that she had been feeling quickly turned to disgust and hatred. "Everyone has their price, I just got a better deal than most. I may have sold my soul, but I got front row seats at Kittyhawk. I watched a man walk on the moon. I�ve seen seven wars and fought in three. I was there when they built the Berlin Wall and when they broke the sound barrier. I met Hitler and Gandhi and Marilyn Monroe. So no, I never brought about world peace, or stopped a hurricane from devastating a nation, or even saved my sister, but I wouldn�t say I�ve done nothing, either.�

�You�re right, you�ve done a lot of watching,� Bobby replied, then he turned to Nicole. "Very clever, joining up with this guy in order to exact your revenge against me. The incubus curse was ... diabolical. Was that his idea, or - or did you discover it on your own?"

"I am certain I have no idea what you are talking about," Nicole said.

"Oh, come on, Nicole, give it up. You won, okay? Time to gloat a little. Tell me, how hard was it to give up your passion, your lust, your love?" He laughed and turned to Alex. "Oh, that's right, she never did know how to love."

"Not if she could murder her own child," Alex said. "And poor Ella, had her throat cut by a woman she thought loved her. Nobody's safe with you around, are they, Nicole."

"My client and I are leaving," Nicole said, stepping past them. "May I suggest the two of you take some time off. You've obviously been working too hard." Bobby planted a hand in the middle of Raum's chest to keep him there.

"Does she know?" he asked. "Have you told her what's to become of her once she grows strong enough?" Raum didn't answer. "I'll take that as a no." He turned back to Nicole. "You of all people should know that nothing is free. In exchange for helping you, he's going to take you magick. And your life. He's done it before - how do you think he's gotten so powerful? How else could he have done the things he did for you? Tell me that." Nicole glanced over at Raum, her passionless face like a mask, but her eyes betrayed her. The gears were turning. Alex cursed inwardly as she cell phone rang. She wanted to finish this. Stepping back, she answered,

"Eames."

"Detective, this is Michael at the crime lab. Two things - First, I got a hit on those prints you sent me, the ones on the water glass."

"And?"

"They belong to a Satrina Lilly Anastasius, birth date -"

"W - wait, say that again," Alex interrupted.

"Satrina Anastasius, born six seven of sixty-three, she's registered as an attorney with the state bar association." Alex tried to take a breath and couldn't. This didn't make any sense. "Detective Eames, are you still there?"

"Uh, yeah ... yes. You had two things to tell me?"

"Right. We just got word from the Delaware Coast Guard that an unidentified female that washed ashore last week has been identified. It was Nicole Wallace. I thought you and Goren would like to know."

"Yeah ... thanks Michael." She hung up and stared blankly down at the pavement in front of her. How could they be so wrong?

�Alex, what is it?� Bobby asked. She looked over at him, then at Raum and Nic - Satrina.

�That was Michael,� she said, her voice almost too toneless to recognize. �He says that Nicole�s body washed up in Delaware and this -� She nodded at Ms. Anastasius. �- is Satrina Anastasius.�
- 60
- 61
- 62
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Release