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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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�That�s impossible,� Elliot said at last. �It - it has to have been doctored. It�s two different pictures taped together - you can see the tape!� Munch was shaking his head.

�I�ve seen the original. It's real. It�s also the only picture we have of Raum.�

�But that�s the same guy,� Fin said. �You tellin� us he ain�t aged a day in sixty years?�

�Longer than that. He was born in March of 1823.�

�He�s a hundred and eighty years old?� Logan asked.

�Hundred and eighty-two,� Bobby corrected. Logan shot him an annoyed look. Alex rolled her eyes. Alpha males.

�Yes, he�s old,� Munch said, interrupting before anything could start. �He�s old, and powerful, and very clever. More clever than I anticipated. He made us all look like fools.�

�I hope you�re not including me in that statement.� Alex glanced over her shoulder as Bishop strolled into the squad room, looking refresh, rested and as smug as the cat that ate the canary. �I take it he got away?�

�For now,� Munch replied. �He had unexpected help from a witch named Satrina Anastasius.�

�As in, the demoness Satrina?� Munch nodded. �Great, another crow to worry about. It�s getting so that a girl can�t even fly across the island without running into a shapeshifter these days.�

�You won�t have to worry about her for long,� Munch said. �Raum�s probably planning to kill her as we speak. She�s no powerhouse like our Eames here, but good enough to persuade me to take a trip to DC.� Bishop nodded, but looked like she could care less about Ms. Anastasius�s fate. She glanced over at Logan, who was trying to look casual at her sudden appearance and failing. His grin only widened when she gave him a seductive half-smile.

�Thanks for this morning,� she said in a low, sultry voice. �That was just what I needed.� Alex raised one eyebrow. Apparently, not having to hide her heritage had freed her from all sorts of constraints. Bishop turned to Munch. �So, is Edward okay?�

�More or less,� Munch muttered. �I haven�t spoken with him today, but Alex has.� Alex forced her face into a neutral expression as Bishop looked over at her.

�Let me guess, when he woke up there was ten years worth of dead neighborhood pets on his doorstep.�

�No,� Alex said, making a disgusted face. �Why would you think that?�

�In case Munch hasn�t told you, yew isn�t used for communication.�

�I know, it raises the dead.�

�Well, that isn�t a figure of speech, Eames. I knew a guy could clear a cemetery just by driving past if he wasn�t paying attention.�

�He doesn�t raise the dead,� Alex snapped. Bishop raised her eyebrows, but only to glance over at Munch.

�Sounds like I haven�t been giving you the credit you deserve.�

�I only influenced it a little,� he replied defensively.

�So what has happened to Edward?� Bishop asked, turning back to Alex.

�He�s become a -� Her mind blanked on the word. It started with an N ...

Necromancer.

�Yes, thank you,� Alex said.

�You�re welcome,� Bobby replied.

�He�s a necromancer,� Alex finished. Bishop was looking at her strangely. �You know, he can make contact with the dead, see what they saw, feel what they ... felt ...� Everyone had that strange look on their faces, some watching her, some watching Bobby, with Fin glancing back and forth between them. �What?�

�What were you thanking Goren for?� Elliot asked, frowning.

�I couldn�t remember the word �necromancer� and he reminded me. It�s been a long couple of days, okay.� They were still giving her �that don�t make eye contact and back away slowly� look. It was starting to get on her nerves.

Take it easy, Alex, this is about to get a little weird, said that now familiar voice of reason. Weird-er, I guess, it added with a chuckle.

�Alex, Bobby didn�t say anything until you thanked him,� Olivia said. �Are you sure -� Alex turned her out and turned to Bobby, who was smiling slightly.

Weird-er is right, she thought, the thrill of surprise as his smile deepened short-lived as a rush of annoyance washed over her. And how long have you had this figured out? she demanded. He became serious once again.

Just since you thanked me. I suppose I might have suspected something was going on before that. This has been happening all day, now that I think about it. Alex thought about it, too, about all the little comments that kept popping into her mind. She raised one eyebrow.

Dr. Tyler�s legs? She smirked as he squirmed a bit. At least now I know I don�t have any hidden lesbian tendencies. Bobby laughed aloud.

"Just to let you know," Munch interrupted, "that is considered rude by most people, just like whispering. If you're going to talk around other people, do it out loud, or learn to control your expression better."

"Sorry, we didn't - Wait a minute, I don't remember telepathy being a power of either of our plants, or is there something else you haven't told us?"

"This doesn't have anything to do with the plants," Munch said. "And it's not telepathy. If you were telepathic, you'd be able to hear everyone's thoughts, not just Goren's."

"Oh, come on," Bishop said, rolling her eyes, "it's not like this is a surprise. The two of you have always had a connection; knowing what the other would do before they did it. The magick just made it stronger." Was that a hint of jealousy in those gray eyes? Alex couldn't be sure. It was probably just wishful thinking on her part. "I better go see Edward before his pork chops start talking to him," Bishop said, earning her half a dozen strange looks. "Hey, a dead animal is a dead animal, whether it's on the highway or in your fridge. I'll see you guys later." Alex watched her walk away, trying to ignore the urge to go after her, but gave in before Bishop reached the main doors of the building. She hated leaving things unfinished, unsaid. Grumbling to herself, she wove through the scattered cops milling around the squad room, catching up to Bishop on the front steps.

"Hey," Alex said, stopping a few steps above Bishop, "I never thanked you for your help, so ... thanks." Bishop just looked at her for a moment, long enough that Alex considered giving her the finger and going back inside, but before she could, Bishop spoke.

"I really don't care whether you like me or not," she said. "I can't see us ever brushing each other's hair or anything, but you need to know that I was never 'after' your partner. During your absence, I came to respect Goren, and you - or rather, the role you play in making him complete. I couldn't do that. I thought I could do anything, but I couldn't do that." She was silent a minute, thinking. "When I volunteered to take your place with Goren the second time, I wasn't trying to come between the two of you, I just wanted to feel the magick. I don't have any of my own, you know, I can't do spells alone, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to feel that power.

"Anyway," she continued, "I hope I didn't cause a problem. I respect both of you too much to want to cause you trouble."

"No, no trouble," Alex said, trying to decide if Bishop was for real or not. Gut instinct told her that she was sincere, but this woman was so different from the cold, unsociable detective that had always kept everyone at arm's length, it was hard to believe she was this was the real Bishop, and that other person had been just a cover. Bobby had done that, too, though, for the first few weeks that they'd been partners. Was there something about her, then, that made people feel they had to pretend to be someone else? Did she some off as that judgmental?

No, it wasn't her, specifically, that they'd been hiding from, it was the world at large. Alex had never felt like she had to hide who she was, and she hoped to God she never had to. It looked like a sad, lonely way to live.

"Well, I better check on Edward," Bishop said, turning and continuing down the stairs. "If you guys need me again, don't hesitate to call." Alex watched her walk halfway across the street.

"Hey, Bishop?" Alex called after her. The willowy red-head glanced back. "Thanks." She got a small, but genuine smile in response. Alex waited until she had climbed into her car and driven away before turning to reenter the station. A chill wind whistled past, biting through her light jacket and making her shiver. It was just past midnight - the witching hour. Alex glanced up and down the street, and the scanned the rooftops for good measure. Her heart climbed into her throat at the sight of a bird-shaped silhouette perched on the corner of the building across the street, but she swallowed it back down a moment later, cursing herself for panicking. It was an owl, not a crow.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, speaking mostly to herself. The owl, however, must have heard her, for it's silhouette changed as the head swiveled around, a flash of gold in the dark as the streetlight reflected in its eyes. Alex stared at it, the wild, fierce beauty in those great gold eyes. She jumped as some damn dog up the street began to bawl at the top of it's lungs. The owl took off, winging silently through the orange light of the streetlamp before disappearing between two buildings. That hunting bawl of a hound came again, joined by a second hound's voice, a deeper pitch, almost a roar, and Alex felt the hair on her arms stand on end.

"Pation, Fortion, silence!" The bawling stopped short. Alex stepped back against the face of the building, standing motionless as a figure emerged from the shadows. It was Tarak. He didn't see her at first, and looked startled once it he did. "Oh, hey there Detective ... Eames, is it?"

"Hello, Mr. Tarak," Alex said. He gave her that warm, good 'ol boy smile.

"It's just Tarak," he said. "So, what're you going out here at this time of night - Stargazing?" He laughed and she had to smile. The five stars bright enough to shine through the city's glow weren't even visible between the buildings rising around them. "Seen anything unusual, like an owl, maybe?" He tried to make the question sound casual, and failed.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did," she said slowly. "Why?"

"I've been looking for one. I'm in Animal Control, remember?"

"Oh, that's right," she said, pretending to have forgotten. "For some reason, I thought you worked at the Library." She watched a shadow of unease steal across his features. "So, this owl you're looking for, does it has rabies or something?"

"No, nothing like that, it just doesn't belong in the city. It's going to fly into a high-rise window and break it's neck."

Hey, Eames, what's taking so long? She started to glance over her shoulder, but caught herself in time. This was going to take some getting used to.

"So, you're going to catch the owl and release it into the wild?" she asked. Tarak's here, she informed Bobby.

"That's the plan," Tarak said with a smile. "Where'd you see it?"

Keep him there, Bobby thought, and she could feel, rather than hear, the eagerness in his voice. I'm on my way. Alex blinked, and realized that Tarak was watching her, waiting for something.

"Oh, the owl, sorry. It's been a long day. It was there, on the corner of that roof." As she glanced upward, she caught that same ghostly movement out of the corner of her eye, but this time, she refrained from looking directly at it and it didn't disappear. She still couldn't tell what it was, but something that shimmered with a silvery sheen, like heat coming up off the pavement, was milling about Tarak's knees. The door behind her opened and she glanced over her shoulder, losing track of it.

"Hey, Alex, are you - Oh, hello. Tarak ... what did you say your last name was?"

"Smith," Tarak said, glancing around and taking a step backward. "So, did you get anything out of Raum?"

"Nothing useful," Alex said. "We're still trying to sort it all out."

"I still can't believe I -" Tarak started, but Bobby cut him off.

"He got away." Tarak stared at him blankly. "You may not want to finish that sentence, since he's no longer in our custody ..." A look of barely disguised terror filled Tarak's eyes, and whatever unease she had previously felt around him vanished.

"I seriously doubt he's even in the country anymore," Alex assured him. "He and his witch of a lawyer left here about three hours ago." He didn't seem to hear her, though.

"You know, I should ... I need to ... Damn it, I gotta go." He disappeared into the darkness, the high-pitched whine of a dog trailing off into the night.

"Well, that was interesting," Alex said, leaning back against the front of the building. "Why'd you want to talk to him?"

"He was really scared of - of Raum," Bobby said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. �I just wanted to ... see if he made me as uneasy as he did this morning.�

�And did he?�

�No. Perhaps I was imagining it before. Of course, he didn�t stick around for very long.� He glanced around. Do you really think Raum is gone?

He did promise to leave us alone, Alex thought back with a slight smile. "You know, I think this is going to prove extremely useful."

"Especially during those long, boring conferences the Captain insists we go to," Bobby said with a laugh. Forget about passing notes. Alex smiled, then sobered.

"So ... what do we do now?"
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