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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.

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�What did he say?� Logan asked.

�Who�s a witch?� Bobby reached for the phone, but she stepped away from him.

�Say that again?�

�The woman, the blonde with the glasses, Raum�s lawyer; she�s a witch. What are you looking at? Mind your own business.�

�John, where are you?� Bobby made another attempt at the phone, but she swatted his hand away. She quickly turned up the volume so Bobby could listen in, since he was clearly too impatient to wait. Not to be left out, Logan leaned in, close enough for her to smell his aftershave, hair gel and the coffee on his breath.

�I�m on a train, about halfway to DC, I think.�

�What�s in Washington?�

�Goren, is that you? Good, you two listen carefully. She�s a witch, not real powerful, but good enough to bewitch me. I was exhausted and not expecting something like ... this, but still, she could be trouble. Since I�m back to my old, charming self again - Don�t you have anything better to do? Look, scenery. - Anyway, she must have stopped concentrating. Where is she now?�

�She left,� Alex said. There was silence on the other end of the line. "It wasn't like we could hold her."

"You still have Raum, though," Munch said. Alex licked her dry lips. "Alex, tell me you still have Raum in custody."

"That's the thing, John -"

"Merciful Lord and Lady among us," Munch groaned.

"It wasn't him, though. He told us that his lawyer was Nicole Wallace, but we ran her prints. She wasn't. He lied, John, flat out, to our faces, lied." Silence again.

"That's not possible," he said at last, "not without rewriting reality."

"What does that mean?" Logan asked.

"Logan? What, is the whole department listening in?" He didn't wait for an answer. "If Raum were to lie, the truth would change to fit the lie. If he said the woman was Nicole Wallace, she would be Nicole Wallace, even if she wasn't before."

"But she didn't change," Bobby said. "We were watching her when he said it. She - she didn't change."

"She had to; there's no way she couldn't have. I - I - This is all my -� He groaned, then sighed. �It�s too late now. What�s done is done. The train stops in Philadelphia soon; I should be back in New York in a couple of hours ... How is everything else? Did you speak with Sledge?"

"Yeah, he's not too happy with you right now."

"I was afraid of that. What happened?" She repeated what Edward had told her. "Great Goddess, that's necromancy. Oh, of course," he said with a bitter laugh, "that makes perfect sense. You remember when we were playing schoolyard pick 'em with the herbs and leaves?"

"Edward chose the yew."

"Right, and I said it's quality was communication. I lied."

"That's why Bishop said it wasn't right," Bobby murmured. "But ... why the lie?"

"As hard as it was to find enough people to pull that off, I didn't want Sledge backing out once he learned that yew is used to raise the dead."

"Yeah, I could see how that might upset him,� Alex said, glancing up at Bobby. He was watching her again, that intense observation that bordered on scary. "So, when you lied, raising the dead became communicating with the dead. It'll go away, right?"

"Not without magickal intervention," Munch said after a pause, "but, honestly, more magick has a good chance of making it worse. He should be glad it wasn't something serious."

"He's driving down the street and road kill sends him into a seizure - How can you say that's not serious?" Logan asked. �What happens the next time he�s called to the scene of a homicide?� There was a moment of silence as that thought sank in. Forget forensics and evidence and witnesses, Edward could just step up to a body and it would tell him the who and the why and the how.

�It�s up to Sledge to decide what to do with this new ... ability,� Munch said, as if he�d read her mind. �In time, he�ll learn to control it, either to use it, or to block it. It�s his choice.� The front door of the station suddenly swung open and a uniformed officer stepped inside, stopping short at the sight of them huddled around Alex�s phone.

�Conference call,� she by way of an explanation, backing against the wall to the let the man pass. He continued on into the squad room, but not without a backward glance. �I think anything else can wait until you get back here. I really can�t take in any more right now anyway.�

�Good idea. Apparently, no one has taught today�s youth that eavesdropping is rude. See you in a couple of hours.�

�We�ll be waiting - Oh, John, call your partner; he was worried about you.�

�No, he was worried that he wouldn�t get to go on that broom ride I promised him,� Munch said with a self-depreciating chuckle. The guys stepped back as Alex hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket.

�Something still isn�t right,� Bobby said, rubbing the back of his neck as they made their way into the squad room. �He says she�s Nicole. His word is law. She doesn�t change. She�s Satrina. He lied. He�s not Raum. She�s a witch. She -� He stopped short and Alex followed his gaze across the room to where Elliot and Olivia sat, him perched on the corner of her desk, both of them with pale, horrified looks on their faces. Neither spoke.

�You two okay?� Logan asked as they approached. Elliot looked up, then dropped his head again.

�What have we done?� Olivia whispered. �What ... what were we thinking?� An icy lump settled in the pit of Alex�s stomach. She and Bobby hadn�t been the only ones to make a mistake. The memory of Kier's face, gray with pain and slick with sweat, made Alex throat tighten with nausea. She waited for the cold hatred, the righteous anger to drive that sickened feeling away, but it never came. She just felt cold.

�Hey, it wasn�t your fault,� Logan said into the silence. �We all make mistakes, and he�s free now, so there�s no harm done. I mean, we all thought he was guilty.� Elliot and Olivia slowly turned to look at him. �What, didn�t you guys hear?�

�We .. hadn�t had the chance to - to tell them,� Bobby said quietly. �Raum really was Leland Kier.� Olivia rose slowly to her feet.

�Excuse me,� she said, her voice tight. They watched her disappear into the restroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex found herself repeating the details of their mistakes again and again, not because she hoped to find some small detail they overlooked before, but because her mind would allow her to think of nothing else. No one seemed to care though, if they were listening to her at all. Elliot and Olivia had not spoken since she returned from the restroom, listening silently as Alex recounted the run-in with Kier and Ms. Anastasius outside. Once Alex had finished talking, there was nothing left to say. The evidence could hardly be argued with; fingerprints did not lie.

When Fin arrived back at the station he took a seat near them to wait for his partner. From the scowl on his face, Munch had obviously filled him in. The other detectives and officers gave their solemn group a wide berth, especially after Elliot suddenly and without warning kicked a small metal garbage can into the side of the desk across the aisle from them. Olivia apologized mechanically and without raising her eyes from the floor.

Alex felt like crying just looking at her, at the crumbling shell that had once been a strong, vibrant woman. Olivia could have witnessed any horror known to man, could have fallen victim to any depravity, and nothing would have crushed her soul like this, because all the darkness in the world could not compare to the shadow inside a person.

They did little more than glance up when Munch finally appeared at a quarter to midnight. He looked tired and disappointed, but not nearly as melancholy as she felt. Maybe he had some good news. God knew they needed some. He stopped beside her and leaned against the desk she was sitting on, his shoulder coming to rest against hers. Just that simple physical contact made her feel better.

�You got the fax, I take it,� he said, glancing at each of them. Alex frowned and, across from her, Bobby did the same.

�What fax?� she and Elliot asked in the same breath. Munch raised his eyebrows.

�I asked the council to fax over a photo of Raum, to prove we had the right guy.�

�Haven�t seen it,� Logan said, �but I�ll go see what I can find.� He headed off toward the fax machine. Munch glanced down at Alex.

�So, what are long faces for, if this isn�t about letting the guilty party get away?�

�The interrogation ...� Alex said. �It got a little ... carried away.�

�I dislocated his shoulder,� Olivia said quietly. �I wanted him to scream, but he wouldn�t, he didn�t make a sound, so I had to hurt him more ... I hated him, hated him so much for what he did, he had to suffer ...� She closed her eyes, looking like she was close to vomiting, and took several slow breaths before she spoke again. �What happened to me, John? I�m not - I�m not that person ... am I?�

�No, Liv, you�re not,� John said, crossing over to put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and the dark lines of sorrow eased into a softer sadness. It had to be Munch, Alex reasoned, something about the touch of a warlock making you feel better. She�d have to ask later. �Neither is Elliot, or anyone else who laid a hand on that man. He brought it upon himself.� Alex couldn�t believe her ears. �He was asking for it� stopped being a legitimate excuse in the third grade.

�You can�t be serious!� Alex said, rising to her feet. �You actually expect us to believe that he deserved what he got?�

�I didn�t say that,� Munch said, stepping away from Olivia. �I said he brought it upon himself. He believed he deserved it.�

�What does that -�

�Remembered what I said about what happens when a witch or warlock lies? If they have enough power, reality changes. Well, Raum is so powerful, he can affect reality with his thoughts, feelings, subconscious beliefs. He told you he was damned, right?� Alex nodded slowly, beginning to understand. �He wouldn�t be, if he didn�t believe it so strongly. He also believed that you all hated him, that Elliot and Olivia would make him pay, and he believed that he would walk away from his captors once again.� Alex glanced over at Bobby, seated on the edge of Olivia�s desk. Something still wasn�t right.

�I�m sorry, but none of that ... matters. The man we had in custody was not Raum.�

�Yes, about that,� Munch said, crossing his arms over his chest. �You must have asked the question in such a way that he was able to infer that the lawyer was Nicole without ever saying it.�

�I pointed to her and asked if she was, or ever had been, Nicole Wallace,� Bobby said flatly. �He said yes.� Munch rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

�Not a lot of wiggle room in that, I guess,� he said. �Still, there has to be an explanation.�

�Yeah,� Alex said, �he�s not Rau -� Logan came barreling across the room at a near run.

�You guys are never going to believe this,� he said, slapping a sheet of paper down on the desk between them. Alex leaned closer. The picture was grainy, even for a fax, and it looked like the photograph that it had been copied from had been torn and taped back together at one time, but there was no mistaking either profile; Leland Kier was shaking hands with Adolph Hitler.
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