Watching

Part 4

4.

The men left the main streets and made their way through some alleys. Finally, they entered the backyard of an old house on the corner of the street. He waited until they had entered the house and had closed the door behind them. He stayed low while going into the backyard and up to one of the windows of the house. He peeked inside and saw a few people walking in and out of the kitchen. He made his way around the house to the front and peeked in again. He stopped breathing for an instance when he saw her. She was sitting on a sofa in the living room with a man and another woman. He ducked when two other men came into the room. When he peeked in again he saw her flirting with one of the men. The other woman, a young blonde, was doing the same. They were both in short skirts and made sure the men noticed. This had to be an undercover operation. By now, he certainly was hoping it was. Why else would she behave like that?

Both women got up and it looked like they were getting ready to leave. The men pleaded with them to stay but they seemed adamant. The man with the beard pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back and smiled. The blonde had retrieved their coats and they headed for the front door. He hurried around the corner to the side of the house, so they would not see him lurking there. When he heard their high heels clicking in the streets and the front door closing, he carefully made his way to the street as well and started strolling along on the other side of the street.

A few blocks down, the women said goodnight to each other and each continued in a different direction. He followed her, of course. She arrived at an apartment building and she used a key card to get in. Once she was inside, he quickly accelerated his step and managed to catch the door before it closed again. He slipped in and waited, listening for footsteps. He heard no high heels clicking and looked at the elevator. The numbers above the elevator doors indicated it was stopping on the 5th floor. There was no point in following her up. Once he would get up to her floor she would be in one of the apartments and there was no way to find out which one. And it wasn't like he was going to knock on her door. At least now he knew where she was staying. It had to be an undercover operation.

After making a note in his phone of the address of the building and of the house he had found her at, he walked all the way back to his car. He drove it back to the street of her building and settled in for the night. He set an alarm on his phone for 7 am. That should be early enough.

...

He was yearning for a cup of coffee but he was afraid to leave the car. His wanted to stretch after an entire night in the seat of his car but he could only manage flexing his shoulders and the muscles in his neck a little. Then she came out of the building. It was a little past 9.30 am. She was dressed casually now, in jeans and a white hooded sweater and she was carrying a grocery bag. He waited and after a while she returned with some groceries. An hour later, the bearded man arrived. He sat up in his car. That guy again. When he came back out, she was with him. She was wearing a more formal outfit now, a nice dark blue suit with a skirt just below the knee. She was wearing matching blue high-heeled pumps. Where was he taking her now?

...

They drove for a while and ended up at a restaurant near the Brooklyn Brigde. The place wasn't very busy yet and he did not feel comfortable going in. When more guests were starting to arrive for a brunch, he finally scurried inside behind a group of older people and found a small table near a dividing wall in the room. He spotted them quickly and saw they were already finishing up their meal. Her back was turned to him but he could see the man clearly now. He did not seem pleased and they looked like they were arguing. She stood up and the man quickly followed suit. He grabbed her arm and continued talking with her in a low voice. Then he pushed her towards the restrooms, along the dividing wall where he was sitting.

He slowly sat up and followed their movements with his eyes. When they disappeared from his view he got up and strolled towards the spacious restroom area. He saw the man push her up against a wall. She was clearly uncomfortable and was pleading with the man. His gut told him she was in trouble but he couldn't interfere with an undercover operation. If that was what it was. She was squirming to get free and this actually confirmed to him that she was undercover. If not, she would have had the man on the ground by now. Still, he could not just let this happen. They did not notice him watching from a distance and the man put his hand under her blazer and over her breast. She pushed him away with more force now and the man gasped. Then he was on her again, trying to pull her blouse open.

Before the man realized what was happening, a strong hand gripped his wrist and pulled him away from the woman. The bearded man was stunned. The man who had stepped in looked at the bearded man and then at the woman and asked her:

"What is going on here?"

He saw a multitude of emotions flitting across her face before she said with a steady voice:

"Who are you?"

Their eyes locked briefly. He understood.

"Just a concerned citizen, ma'am. Are you alright?"

The man stopped resisting his grip on his wrist and he let go of him.

Olivia said: "The gentleman seems to be a little confused about the terms of our arrangement." Her eyes were fixed on the man now.

"If you can't agree on the terms, find another woman to accompany you," he said roughly, also keeping his eyes fixed on the man.

The man looked at the two determined people in front of him. His voice sounded less confident than he had intended when he said, "I want this woman."

He looked at her briefly, smiled, then told the man: "I don't blame you man. But she said no."

The man seemed to realize he was in over his head. The concerned citizen had a lot of muscle and he did not want to get punched in the face. So he decided to admit his defeat and retreat.

"Then you can pay the bill," he muttered before rushing past him and bolting out the door.

...

He turned around to face her but avoided looking directly at her.

"You were under?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I didn't want to blow your cover."

"You didn't."

"But I couldn't let him grope you, either. Or worse."

She glanced at him and asked him "What are you doing here?"

He did not know what to say. He turned around and said he would pick up her tab. She followed him to the table where she had been sitting with the man.

"Stop!" she said and he turned around to face her again. He finally looked at her. She was as confused as he was. No, more so.

"Sit down," she said and he nodded. They both sat down and just looked at each other. He had made sure that the man was nowhere to be seen and he knew she had done the same.

...

She had been caught completely off guard.

She had been immersed in this paedophile ring for almost a week now now as an escort, together with Rollins. The men needed women on their arms to mask their real sexual preference. The man who had hired her was clearly into adults as well and was getting a bit touchy, but she could handle him. Besides, Fin was usually somewhere in the background, listening in through her wire. They were about to sweep up the entire gang and she had not seen any harm in having brunch one last time with her date. Alone.

And then he had stepped in.

Of all people.

Him.

Her partner of 12 years.

Former detective Elliot Stabler.

...