I Almost Lost You

"Stuckey?" Olivia said under her breath, taking in his picture on the screen which showed he had been matched for the blood found at the scene.

She looked around then, seeking out O'Halloran. That's when she saw the shoes peeking out from the other side of the counter.

"Ryan?" she said, hurrying over.

There was a knife handle sticking out of his chest, blood pooled underneath his body. She stumbled back, seeing his wide open eyes.

Then, something smacked her in the back of the head, and everything went dark.

...

Olivia protested uselessly against the duct tape as Stuckey came into view.

"Welcome back, Liv," he said in that bright, annoying voice of his, waving his hand exaggeratedly in her face. "You've seen O'Halloran, right? Poor guy would've been a little too pleased when my face came up as a match."

She glared at him, a muffled grunt sounding from the behind the tape. She pulled uselessly at the restraints on her arms and legs.

"Cat got your tongue?" Stuckey laughed at his own joke. "Here, let me take care of that." He yanked the duct tape off, tearing her skin.

Olivia bit back the yelp of pain caught in her throat and took her first, uninhibited breath.

"Why'd you do it, Dale?" she asked.

"You're so stupid. All of you. You didn't have the slightest idea. I was just annoying, clueless Stuckey, right? I didn't know anything."

"This was revenge? For us not taking you seriously?"

"You and Stabler, the two of you think you're so brilliant. You never listened to anything I said, too caught up in your own little love affair."

"Oh, Dale," Olivia said pityingly. "You were jealous?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Olivia. Of course you're gorgeous, but even nerds don't want sloppy seconds," Stuckey said darkly. "How long has dear Elliot been screwing you on the side? How long have you been waiting for him to leave Kathy?"

Olivia didn't deign the question with an answer. "Why did you kill them?"

"Nice job changing the subject," he praised. "Anyway, I had to. Pretty obvious that I couldn't let anyone find out. O'Halloran should've kept his nose out of it, though, trying so hard. He was just collateral damage, and now, you will be, too."

Olivia tried not to react as he stalked over to O'Halloran's body, yanking the blade from the man's chest. The blade gleamed with blood under the fluorescent lights of the lab, and Stuckey held it up to the light, seemingly inspecting the damage.

"Nice, huh?" he said, moseying over to her. "Nobody would've thought it of me, huh? If he wouldn't of been so suspicious, no one would've ever known."

Stuckey jabbed the knife in Olivia's direction, earning a sharp intake of breath. He laughed, stopping just short of sticking the blade in her chest. "Scared, Liv?"

She looked up at him defiantly. "You won't get away with it."

"They'll never catch me. By the time they find you, I'll be long gone. Poor Elliot will come in here and find your pretty body all cut up in shreds, just like all the rest." Stuckey flashed her a smile. "Do you think he'll cry?"

"He'll find you, and he'll kill you, Stuckey. He'll blow you full of so many holes you'll look like swiss cheese," Olivia threatened.

Stuckey laughed, slapping his leg like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Wow, you really do love him, don'tcha? You think he loves you, he'd do anything for you?"