G
Guest
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Title : Set Me Free, aka Tanglewood 3
Ship : Duh……….Danny & Lindsay
Disclaimer : Character’s aren’t mine. This is used to pass through the torrid drought of summer in which my water is that of CSI:NY
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In the dead of the night, the city slept. It was a clear night in New York, the stars shone brightly within the blue glow of the moon. The cityline shone it's own stars, within the downtown core.
Within the city's cemetary, within the headstones and masoleums there is a broken soul. The cries from this man, mourning for his love, shadowed by the songs of the night.
“Till this day, my life was just turning around. Everything good was coming my way. You were the everything good. I’d never imagined anybody like you, would cross paths with me. You were the one of a kind. You’ve helped me like no other, you’ve reformed me, you’ve saved me, you’ve loved me. You are the salt of my earth.
If I could’ve changed what had happened, I would do it over and over till the end of time.
Instead, you’re gone. You’re gone because of me. You knew the risks, but you didn’t care. You’ve made me think of things, that I would never contemplate thinking of in my lifetime. White picket fences, 2 dogs, bungalow in Jersey. See? Now you know. It’s a shame that I couldn’t ask you earlier. I was beating myself, waiting for the right moment to tell you. I wanted to ask you if you would ‘Vorresti Sporsami?’ “
I stopped to think to myself, a small chuckle left my trembling mouth.
“Hey…I guess I wanted to see if you understood Italian. You probably didn’t. I wanted to ask you to marry me.”
The small smile flew away with the cotton floating through the graveyard.
“There’s nothing left for me here, this would just be easier. It’s this, or I let them come finish me off. It’s no use fighting. “
Ever since that day, I’ve been coming here at lunchtime, after work, every chance that I could. I thought that I could move on, but my life has been deteriorating ever since.
Mac and Stella were extremely accommodating, giving me extra days off, lightening my case load.
But there was that constant reminder, the essence of you was everywhere. In the office your empty desk sat across from my own, our photo sitting prominently on mine. I kept thinking that you’d be walking through that door, proclaiming what new thing New York has that Montana doesn’t.
I take off my glasses, rest them on the lush green grass at my knees just at the base of the headstone.
Lindsay’s parents gave me the honor of writing her epitaph. It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.
“Lindsay Anne Monroe. She loved life, put everybody else before her, beloved daughter, sister, kindred spirit, friend.” I wanted to get it right, respect her memory of who she was. Was.
I dusted her headstone for one final time. I made sure that it was perfect.
I removed my dogtags, and draped them over the headstone. Wiping the tears from my eyes, and my now raw face so that I could see. I reach into my holster, and withdrew my weapon.
Closing my eyes, I empty my lungs and fill them deeply for the last time.
Turning off the safety, I load the chamber. Raising the muzzle to my head, I press the cold metal to my temple. My hand shaking, I put my finger on the trigger.
"I’ll see you soon Montana, I love you."
BANG
----------
1 WEEK AGO
“Wow. Now this is some party.”
2 DB’s were found @ the Four Seasons Hotel. It looked like a party taken too fast, too far. Very very Belushi. It had been an extremely slow week, this being our 2nd case in 3 weeks. Now, that’s a first in my career. If only it could happen more often.
“Whoa..Lindsay! Look here. This bottle, $2000. 5 of them!! Now I know that the NYPD don’t pay enough to let me afford a glass of this.”
“Danny. You don’t need to enjoy yourself with a $2000 bottle of wine. I’m quite content with your rendition of a London Fog.”
Lindsay had been her gleeful self, she had really opened up herself since she told me about Jake. We finally took that step of starting a relationship, albeit trying to keep it quiet from the rest of the group. They didn’t need to know, they didn’t need anymore distraction.
Guess who knew? Without us even telling?
That sly dog, Hammerback. Good thing he knows how to shut up when he needs to.
We had been together for 3 months now, and everything was going well. I’ve never had a ‘real’ relationship before. I finally got off my ass after seeing her almost blown to smithereens, after the bombing that nearly claimed Mac and Flack’s lives. Everything was falling into place.
We were taking it slow, doing it right. We made sure that it didn’t affect our working relationship, with ourselves and the team. I wonder if anybody else suspected?
More-so, my application for Level 2 CSI had been long overdue and had been approved by Mac. He just needed word from the top brass to make it official.
“Danny?….Hey Danny!!”
“Hm?”
“Daydreaming? Come on, I’m done processing. Let’s go.”
As packed our kits into the truck, my cellphone rings.
“Messer”
“It’s Mac, I need you to come down to the Brooklyn bridge. Just next to the river on the south side, as soon as you can. “
His voice sounded serious, it made me wonder what was going on.
“What’s up?” Lindsay asks.
“Mac wants us at his scene. I wonder what’s going on. Maybe he needs our help.”
-----
We drive up to the gamut of yellow tape, police sedans, and we park the truck. Mac was the only CSI on scene, which was odd. Lindsay and I grabbed our kits, and we made our way down to where Mac was.
“Our vic, male. Was found in the vehicle, bound. Beaten beyond recognition. We received a call about a car going into the river, last night. We pulled the car out, and there wasn’t any sign of a driver. Even if there was it would’ve been washed away"
Confused as to why Mac called us here, we proceeded to walk to the wreckage.
“The reason why I called you here.”
He lifts the trunk, and I see a familiar sight.
“The position, the rag, the duct-tape. Typical Tanglewood style. The vic’s wallet” He hands me a wallet.
“Open it.”
Opening it, I read the name. “Michael Messer”
Frozen, I do a double take of the body in the trunk.
“This can’t be.”
“Danny, somebody is sending you a message. They’re back. It doesn’t matter that Sonny is in jail, someone’s put out a hit on you.”
I step back to absorb all the information coming to me, trying to piece together my troubled past. Lindsay, who had remained silent until now had taken hold of my hand out of view from Mac.
“Danny….”
“No…Not Michael. He didn’t want to be near a Tanglewood Boy, he didn’t want any affiliation. He wasn’t affiliated. I’m pretty sure none of them knew him, this can’t be. He had nothing to do with them” Though my fear hadn’t settled in yet, my rage had boiled up to my chin.
“Are they out to get you?” Lindsay asks in a soft concerned voice.
“Tanglewood………they don’t’ just kill you. They start out by killing your family, your closest friends, the people you….” I couldn’t continue, and Mac and Lindsay tried to squeeze out the rest of my answer.
The whole time not taking my eyes off Lindsay, I take a nervous breath.
“The people you love.”
--------
This time, Lindsay drove.
Yet even more of the quintessential silence we normally shared, was exchanged. This time, the air was so thick around me, you needed an axe to cut through it. I’ve never felt this vulnerable, the one place I never let myself go. The lump in my throat grew and grew, my tears held back by every bit of strength left in my body.
I felt ultimately responsible for my involvement in all of this, though my role was small. Now my past has come full circle. Threatening to collide with the life I have known for the past 8 years, threatening to destroy the new life that I have known since I’ve met Lindsay.
I’m finding myself breaking, breaking into the Danny Messer before he became part of the NYPD.
As Lindsay pulled into the underground parking lot to the lab, I didn’t even wait for her to finish parking.
“Hey Danny!..”
I wanted to hide from the world. I was a 31 year old man, reduced to a 10 year old hiding under his bed with his favourite dinosaur toy. Hiding from a monster known as Tanglewood.
I beelined through the hallways of the lab, ignoring Lindsay’s constant protests behind me when Adam stopped me in my tracks.
“Hey Messer, I got your trace on the Belushi victim.”
“Later” I push him out of my way.
“Last time I do you a favour. Which side of the couch did you wake up on?”
“Just stop.” I hear Lindsay stop Adam from following me.
Locking the door behind me, I turn on the security glass to my office and I just let myself go. I did whatever I could to vent the fear, rage, anger, frustration, every conceivable feeling that I had encapsulated since seeing Michael.
I stop when I realized my fist was bleeding, and that there was a gaping hole in the wall of office that’ll probably come off my paycheque. Falling into the corner of the floor, I release the little 10 year old boy and let him cry.
“Danny…..”
It was Lindsay. Her voice laced with concern, and worry.
“Go Away.”
“It’s my office too. Not to mention, I have a key. I’m coming in……don’t throw anything at me.”
Lindsay comes in, locking the door behind her. She was the only other person to see me this way, the other being Mac. Nobody else see's Danny Messer this way.
"I don't know what to do." The cries escape from my lungs, as Lindsay takes me, comforts me.
I bury my head into her shoulder, her hair gently wiping my tears from my face.
"You give up, they win Danny."
-----
She gazed at this vulnerable boy, sharing the secrets from his shady past. There we many times where she would ask about this boy’s past, and there were many times where the boy would run and hide underneath that bed. He knew she was the only one who could break through this strange barrier, slowly but surely.
“Michael was my cousin, though he felt more like a brother. He took care of me when Louise was with them, he made sure to keep me away from them.
He kept me away from them as much as he could. He gave me work, he gave me a place to stay. Mom and Dad threw us out when we both started following them, it didn’t end well. Michael made sure my head was screwed on straight, one of the few reasons why I became a cop was because of him.
It hurts, and I’m scared”
We sat across from each other on the floor, in our own little world.
“I’m not scared.” Lindsay protests.
“Look, you’ve seen what they did with the end zone victim. You’ve seen what they’ve done with Michael. I don’t want that happening to anyone else in my family, including you.”
“Danny…I‘ve seen what they‘ve done, yes. I‘m here 90 hours a week surrounded by cops, I‘ll be fine. Don‘t forget, I used to be in a uniform.”
“We have to tell him. It’s the only way to keep you safe, we have to assume they know. They will come for me through you, after they‘re done with my family.”
----------
“No Mac, I need to work. I need to fix this”
Mac had called me in after Lindsay and I finished our little conversation, after giving me some time to absorb what was happening to me. He had yet to make a descision on what to do with me. He had 25 case files on his desk alone, and yet this took obvious priority.
I guess I was ignorant about the fact that, when Sonny was put in Rikers that all my problems would disappear.
“This is a serious problem, obviously we didn’t take into play about the unresolved issue about your previous affiliation. Thus we do need to put your immediate family into protective custody. I’ll arrange for them to be moved into safe houses out of state. We're going to do this as quick as we can. As for you, I know you will refuse and I can’t make you go. You are though, valuable in that you’ve dealt with them long than I. There’s no use for me to be one man down. I'll make sure to ask the Director to allow you to stay."
Mac then breathed a sigh of uneasyness, putting head into his hands.
It was unlike him reacting this way. I remember seeing this Mac Taylor a few years back, when he was at Claire's bedside.
"Do we need to put anybody else under watch?”
I paused to think whether this would be the time to tell Mac.
“You need to call Lindsay in.”
Mac’s eyes furrowed, followed by his intuitive all-knowing stare.
He picks up the phone. “Lindsay, could you please join me and Danny in my office.”
Moments later I see Lindsay through the glass walls, making her way to the office. She meet’s my gaze, she knows.
Opening the door but not walking through, she asks. “What’s up?”
“Come in”
Mac turns on the privacy glass, and is quiet for a bit.
“There must be a reason, as to why Danny has requested that you come by to tell me something.”
Lindsay looks back at me, after hearing this statement. I lean in, whispering into her ear. “We have to tell him….now”
She nods, her eyes speaking volumes of eventual relief of not hiding our relationship from everybody anymore. Even I was tired, tired of the game that we played. The stolen stares, underneath the table contact, the deliberate late nites at the lab.
I then take hold of her hand in my own, ‘perfect fit’ from the start.
Mac’s demeanor didn’t change at all, looking at our hands together. I was a bit surprised by his cold non-answer. He was intuitive, observant, and I expected a bit of a reaction from him.
“You’re telling me now that Tanglewood is coming after two of my CSI’s?”
----------
A woman in her forties, sitting on her balcony is attempting to battle the war known as the NY Times Crossword puzzle. She sits idle, stuck on one of the 15 letter word that eludes her so dearly.
This woman is content, the lines on her face tells the story of a great battle with one known as harlem. She is strong, she let's nothing past her thick skin.
The neighborhood folk is familiar with everyone, like one in an extended family under one roof.
A knock on the door disrupts her line of thought. "I'm coming, hold your horses. I"m getting money"
But nothing changes really, of a New York born, New York bred when it comes to a good slice of deep dish pizza.
Opening the door, she is greeted with quite an attractive Italian-American New Yorker. Not her usual delivery man
"Well....where's Adam?" She asks.
"He's sick." The Delivery man says.
"Should I be glad that Adam's sick?" She checks him out.
"You should be." He hands her the box of pizza.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Sonny sends his regards."
"Sonny? There's no Sonny at Nat's Pizza."
This lady's smile falls to the earth, her eyes widening in a moment of terror. She didn't have time to register this into her thoughts, until she felt the cold metal rip through her body. Tearing through her heart.
"Say hi to Louie Messer for me."
------------
“I’m so sorry Danny.”
“Did she go fast?”
“She didn’t feel a thing”
This man’s head hangs low, never this much though. The world has suddenly no place for him to hide, no bed to hide under away from the monsters.
He now reaches for the one thing that he knew would now dull his pain, at least temporarily.
------------------------------
“How did this happen!! You were supposed to report to the residence to take her into protective custody. Tell me, how does feeding your caffeine fix put priority upon a direct order from your chief!. A woman is dead now because of your dull sense of service and urgency. Trust me on this, I will put you onto traffic duty and you will never ever see the beat again."
Mac’s demeanor erupted from control to near explosion. His attempts to catch the ghost asssassin, came up short. Trace evidence were next to nothing, prints, any grain of sand, dirt speck, nothing.
“Yes sir.”
The pair of officers were then dismissed, the concience of a murder that could have been prevented looms above their heads.
Stella who was making her way down the hallway, dodging neighbors and officers. Her walk was mired with a sense of urgency and concern for Danny’s well-being.
“Mac…How did this happen?”
“A lapse in judgement. A lapse causing the death of another in the Messer family.”
“Did you call Danny yet?”
“Yes, I did. It’s best that he doesn’t come to the scene, it’ll set him off.”
Mac paused, observing the scene for any kind of disturbance.
“He’s changed his MO. Went from beating to straight on shooting. The bit of trace that we had from Michael came out negative on APHIS.
“Mac, how do we catch someone who leaves next to no trace?"
“We have to Stella, or this Danny we know will be no more.”
-------------
You brought that bottle home in a paper sack, drew the blinds and locked the doors
This man is silent, unable to think about anything else but dulling this pain down. He pulls the line to his phone, turns off his cellular. He grabs a glass from the cabinet, and collapses onto the plush sofa.
And there's nothing but empty there inside that glass, so you pour a little more
Glass after glass, the warm liquid flows down his throat freely without restrain.
And there's no one there to judge you, at least that's what you tell yourself
A soft knock echoes from the door, and a familiar voice followed.
“Danny. It’s me. Mac called me, he was worried about you.”
She opens the door, letting herself in. Takes off her jacket, and places her keys on the counter.
Don’t you know? Nobody drinks alone.
“Aren’t you going to share?”
Silence restrains this man.
Every demon every ghost from your past, every memory you’ve held back follows you home.
She sits herself next to this stoic body, she takes his hand in her own.
“Danny. I need you to remember, that I’m here to help you. No matter the fact that they might be after me as well. You need to try and remember anyone, any particular person you’ve dealt who carries out his hits in this fashion.”
“I can’t. It‘s been 15 years.”
“You need to.”
-----------
Okay...just a disclaimer....
Character "The Ghost" Belongs to L&O:SVU, NBC and it's affiliates. Not Mine...
---------------------
“I can’t think”
“Danny…”
“Stop, Please…..Lindsay”
“The more time we we wasting sifting through the miniscule pile of trace, another o--”
“Another what!?!”
It was a bad mix, the alcohol in my system doubled with Michael and Amie’s deaths. So much though, I threw my glass just shy of Lindsay’s head, breaking into a million pieces behind her. She didn’t even flinch a bit, though her expression on her face wore excruciating sadness. Something I saw in her eyes, told me the story of living through this moment before.
Time didn’t forgive this, and I sensed it.
I came to a conclusion then, something that would be better for her safety. Hopefully.
“Get out.”
“Excuse me?
“You heard me.” As that was said, I finished what was left in the bottle.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, shutting me out won’t help. I’m only worried about you, we all are.”
“Another thing, I think it’s best that we don’t see each other anymore Lindsay.”
“Let’s get rational here Danny.”
“Again, You heard me. Now please leave, I asked nicely.”
I’ve crossed a bridge that I didn’t ever want to cross with her. A love, changing for the better good of her safety. What I’ve built with her, eroded before her eyes and came tumbling down. Afraid to see her face, and what it would further do to me, I notice then the teardrop that fell onto my knee. I’ve finally descended into a place that I swore I never would, a mindset of revenge.
But I’ve never been the kind to lever let my feelings show, I though that being strong was never losing self control. But I’m just drunk enough, to let go of my pain, to hell with this pride, let it fall like rain, from my eyes……
She walks away, I see her feet…oh her beautiful feet, slowly moving towards the door to my apartment.
Lindsay turns around once more, “I love you, Danny. I hope you know that, you know? I hope you heard me.”
Those words tore through my heart, through the very person that I wanted to be with her. I was on the floor, unable to move. I just wanted to tell her too--that I ‘Loved Her’. Though this was for the best.
Then the door closed, and she was gone from me.
‘What have I done?….’
Tonight I wanna cry.
-----
“We finally have a possible hit on the Ghost.” A relieved Stella held up a file, albeit a thin one and placed it onto Mac’s desk.
“Lucas Pavrosa. Born in Italy, his parents moved him to Ireland. Joined the IRA when he was 16. Known as “The Ghost” to local authorities. Leaves no trace after each hit, it’s like he wasn’t there at all. Dissapeared after the IRA raid in 2002. I can’t find anything on him after that. Nothing.”
“Well, it’s as close as we’re going to get. At least we now have a name. We need to find him Stella.”
She looks at Mac, inspecting his tired face. “It feels the same doesn’t it? First Aiden, now it’s Danny”
“Not just Danny.” Speaking from his face in his hands, which has now become a habit in the last few days.
Stella’s face smoothed from confusion, to an epiphany.
“Lindsay.”
-----------
Flipping through the massive stack of unfinished paperwork, I find a lost photo of Lindsay and I. Pleasant memories of that day in Central Park, they burn off the dark clouds that hang above me. It’s one thing using those issue Nikon D70’s, but taking self portraits is one skill I never managed to grasp.
“Just ask someone to take it for us!!” Lindsay proclaims, within a fit of laughter.
“I got it..I got it…I just have to adjust the F-Stop to match the Shutter Speed.”
“F-Stop….pfthhh. Stop trying to sound smart.”
“You know Lindsay, these consumer models….user-friendly my ass.”
She rips the camera out of my grasp, and motions me to join beside her. “Here”
Lindsay holds up the camera, after making a few adjustments.
“They didn’t just teach me to scrape cow off the road in Bozeman, you know?”
Aiming the camera up, she grabs me by the waist and cuddles up close.
“Just use the lens to ‘see yourself’ okay?”
“I see, I see…..SmartyPants” I give her a playful slap.
“Okay..Danny…smile big now!”
The flash of light erupts, and captures a moment in time of our lives that brought us long due happiness.
“Lemme see Montana..” I try to reach for the digicam.
“NO…I look terrible…”
“Now how can that be? You always look beautiful, even when you’re all sick and drippy.”
“Awww…”
Her lips pursed, beckoned for mine. I kiss her, unaware of the things to come that would test us so dearly.
------
“--Ring, Ring, Ring---”
“Come on Danny, pickup your phone”
“Hi, You’ve reached Danny Messer, leave a--” “Click”
It had been almost a week since their breakup, she wasn’t even sure if it was even official or not, or out of rage. Her calls still remain unanswered.
------
I gave into protective custody, only to keep me away from her. Nobody knew where I was, they think I’m on modified assignment in Jersey. Only Mac knew though, as we corresponded through secure lines while they find the person after my family. God knows how many times I’ve been though this ‘reassignments’. Mac always was in my corner, no matter what.
It was extremely hard, many times I wanted to call her, meet her, to tell her that I’m sorry.
The fight almost lost it’s meaning, as now I have 4 members of my family to bury. I needed her so much. The frail walls holding my rage eroded, frustrated, I throw the files off my desk.
“I need to do something.”
My cell rings, it’s Mac. “Yeah Mac.”
“Danny, how’s it going?”
“Not so good you know?”
There was this beat, a long beat.
“It’s not my perogative to pry, though I do notice these things. About Lindsay. I think you shouldn’t have pushed her away like this. She’s useless to me this way.”
“Useless?”
“She hasn’t left the lab in the last 3 days. She’s locked herself in her office, along with dozens of boxes of files with the mere mention of ‘Ghost’”
“I’m sorry, Mac. It has to be this way until we catch this guy.”
“I’m sending a fax over. We found something that might crack this wide open. “
“Lucas Pavrosa. Does that ring a bell?”
“Maybe…..I knew one that went by Luka..”
Then it all came in in one fell swoop. Memories and names, events, the dame gave way to everything that started to make sense.
“I’m sending an officer over to take a statement, Danny. Don’t go anywhere”
“Not going anywhere Mac.”
------
She felt unnecessarily discarded, pushed aside.
Her stride became labored, losing the glide she had while she had finally been “accepted’ by the lab-folk. Followed so closely by the familiar thunk of NYPD issue boots.
“Damn Bodyguard……” She muttered to herself. “Do you mind giving me some space?”
He just stared blankly at her.
In her hand she carries one of the many boxes of files with the mere mention of the word “Ghost”
Her frustration is evident, not able toa actively go out and track this person down. This one person, that had actively burned the bridges to the one thing that meant most to her in this tirade in New York. Danny.
She is now alone in the office, her and the big hole in the wall.
It had been a tough few days, the police guard was driving me nuts.
I just spent a good 4 hours in the interrogation room, and I was sitting in the other chair. Not fun. I told the investigator everything I knew about Luka. From his favorite pizza joint, to when he purchases his Calvins.
“You don’t find the guy….HE finds you”
My cellular rings, pulling it out of my pocket I find out that it’s Lindsay. I couldn’t help but to just stare at her name on the Caller ID. I let it continue to ring.
This time, instead of hanging up she leaves a voicemail. Instinctively, I dial into my mailbox.
“Danny, please hear me out. I’ve found a possible location on this Lucas. Meet me in Central Park, near the Columbus statue @4pm. Remember to ditch your guard.”
----
“We ran the photo through CODUS, we didn’t get a hit. Though I ran it through DMV to see if I could get anything, photo recognition software came up with one. A Frank Minetti. Moved here from California 3 years ago. No trace of this man exists before that.”
Mac and Stella stood in the dark, dark room littered with super servers and large LCD panels that adorned the walls.
“We’re getting closer, Stella.”
“It’s about time. How ‘s Danny doing?”
“Not so great. His temper blow-ups would shake up the precinct from time to time. He’s not getting anything done at all.”
“Why won’t you just put him on forced vacation Mac?”
“I’m afraid of what he might do if he’s not up to his eyeballs in work.”
“Lindsay?
“I’m worried about Lindsay, Stella.”
“I am too.”
“At least this way, she’s safe.”
Both of the 1st Grade Detectives nod at each other, in agreement of the progress that they have made. Though, in both, lies and anxiety to close this case that hit so close to home.
----
I needed to get out of here fast, and quick.
“I need to go to the washroom”
“I still have to go with you Detective Messer.”
I close in onto him, whispering into his ear.
“I ate a really really big bean burritto, I’m gonna need some privacy.”
He nods and reluctantly follows me to the loo, but waits in front of the door leading into the washroom.
“I’ll be a while.”
“I’ll be waiting, Detective”
As soon as I made sure he was waiting outside, I turn on the tap and dryer to muzzle any sound that would tell him that I was leaving.
The window was just wide enough, that god the ‘officer only’ washroom didn’t have a security gate installed. I shimmy outside, and down the descending ladder, glancing back at window to see if the oaf saw me.
As my feet touched the ground, I made my way to the subway as quickly as possible.
----
Meanwhile back at the Precinct.
“My wife…when she gets mad..whoah…get out of her way..she’s like a mad Italian with a corn-stick broom, and we aren’t even Italian…heh..”
----
Walking through Central Park, didn’t have that nice fuzzy feeling that it had before. This time there was purpose. As I neared the statue, I see her there standing behind the structure. Nervous. Lindsay..Nervous?
“Montana…”
My hand instinctively reached out to her, I had to muster my strength to keep from touching her again.
“I’d thought I’d never hear you call me that again..” She paused a moment, to take in my appearance.
“You look terrible. When was the last time you slept?”
“Not in a while…a few winks here and there. So..you brought me out here to give me some info.”
“I wanted to come to you before Mac eventually finds out. He will, so you don’t have much time. Lucas Pavrosa, or known as Frank Minetti. Quiet individual, job in Queens as a butcher. Squeaky clean. I canvassed his co-workers, no Tanglewood tattoo that they know of. No unusual behaviour, and he lives alone. There is the possibility of a girlfriend, according to one.”
She took a deep breath.
“I came to you first, because I knew you needed closure. Before I give this to you, I need you to promise me that you do this by the book.”
I try to swipe the file from her hands.
“Promise me Danny.”
“Mac finds out about this,…”
“Danny..I don’t care. I thought you didn’t care anymore.”
“This still doesn’t change anything between us, Lindsay.”
She hands the file to me, and as I grab it, I feel the touch of her goosebump ridden skin brush up against mine. Lindsay really was nervous.
“You do your thing, we will find a way to make him pay for what he has done to you. Remember, everything’s connected. Don’t do anything stupid. Call for backup, I’ll vouch for you.”
“Promise me Danny.”
“Yeah.”
----
From the darkness, under a massive Oak tree a figure watches them with intense scrutiny. Studying, documenting each and every move of their bodies, their lips. Body language.
“You’re smart Messer, Though not by much. Frankie Minetti thanks NYU”
----
Then and there, I wanted to take her and hold her tight. To smooth away her anxiety and nervousness.
‘Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay” I close my eyes, and entertain the thought.
Just as fast as it crossed my thoughts, I open my eyes, and she is gone from me yet again.
----------
“Lindsay, Please meet me in my office.”
Mac’s voice was as stern unlike anything she has ever heard in the nine months of being on his team. It scared her to pieces. ‘He knows” she thought. She slowly made her way to his office, and with every step taken, her fear stepped it’s own way up to her ears.
“Yes Mac.”
“Please close the door.”
He takes a deep breath, exhales.
“It’s one thing to want to help a colleague, a close friend. It’s another thing when you hand ammunition to an emotionally unstable vengeful man. This is the second time you‘ve done this, the first time I‘ve let you go. I don’t want to fire you, you’re one of my best CSI’s. Though, I’m sorry to say this but I‘ll have no choice but to downgrade you to 3rd level. ”
2 years of hard work, lost.
The answer went through roadblocks as they tried to escape from her mouth. She tried to explain herself.
“Mac, I..I’m trying to give him closure, setting him free Mac. I made him promise to call after he’s done his bit, to do everything by the book.”
“To do his BIT!? What makes you so sure that he won’t kill him?” Mac slams his fist into the table.
“Mac…” She looks down at the floor, not regretful of her actions.
“I did what I did, and I’ll take full responsibility”
“Where is Danny now?”
“I don’t know”
“Location of Lucas Pavrosa…NOW”
“5652 E 53rd Street.”
-----
The neighborhood was quaint, quiet. Perfect place to raise a family. Away from the tidal wave that was downtown New York. Somewhere Lindsay and I could have…could have. I shake my head to focus on my task at hand. I withdrew my weapon, and made my way up the stairs to the address Lindsay gave me.
I peered through the window, trying no to catch any attention from the neighborhood folk. I see lace, photo’s decorating the walls, books, ugly furniture. “Relative.” I thought.
“NYPD. Open up!!”
Silence continued to prevail within this home, so I went with my gut.
I circled the building and found an open window that I could shimmy through, though breaking down the door could be so much easier.
“Luka come out you bastard, I know you’re here. I can smell you.”
Room by room, I clear it. Swallowed by the pent up rage within me, I get closer and closer. I felt it through my bones. I wanted to get him quickly, and to end it quickly.
Then I froze as I passed by the bedroom study.
Photos littered the walls like the musings of a crazy man, his obsession taking over his well-being. My family, became his obsession.
Michael, Aunt Amie, James, Uncle Joe. The ones who have helped me stay away from Tanglewood, and it’s lures.
Then, there in a special area on this montage, prominent in it’s size. Surrounded by bright red tape, were photos of Lindsay and I. Photos of her at the gym, on scene with me, at her doctors office, her home, and several of us on our various dates.
“Son-of-a-Bitch was watching us the whole time since the beginning.”
“NYPD!!…” That voice sent chills down my spine as I knew that I was in trouble. It was Mac.
Then right after the blood drained from my face I hear, “Danny!”
Coming from the kitchen, I hear Lindsay’s voice and followed my a muffled yelp.
“Lindsay!!” I run out to the kitchen only to find Luka with a knife to Lindsay’s throat.
She’s struggling to get to her feet, in a bid to give herself space between her neck and the knife that was know drawing warm blood down her neck. He slowly backs away from the wall of NYPD’s finest through the rear door.
“You’re a dead man Luka, I promise you.”
Lindsay’s soft brown eyes never left mine once, continuously mouthing the words ‘I’ll be okay.’
Who was I kidding to try to push her away. It was for that reason, that she fell into Luka’s hands, and now she could lose her life because of me. I can’t lose her.
“I should have known it was you. Why? How could you do this to me?”
“Why Messer? You know why.”
Step by step, 4 against 1. In the backyard, in the wide-open space, for everybody to see. The only thing stopping us from taking him down was Lindsay, as his human shield.
“Mac, we can’t let him taker her.”
“I know Danny.”
He puts her into the drivers seat in the Escalade, shuffling over so that he remained in control of her. The knife on her throat, and her gun aimed at us.
“Drive Bitch..”
The vengeful spirit within me swallowed the rest of what remained of me whole, as Luka showered us with bullets from Lindsay’s gun as she pulled away.
“No!!” I fired my weapon at the van erratically, not taking notice of the bystanders.
“Stop!!” Mac lunges at me, placing me into a chokehold. Subduing me.
When he finally released, I turn to face him and my awaiting punishment. I expected to lose my position, career, everything right then and there. It doesn’t really matter anymore, now that he has Lindsay.
“I should fire you here and now. You’ve disobeyed a direct order, broke protocol. Now because of you, Lindsay’s life is in direct danger.
“My fault?” I felt ultimately vindicated for no apparent reason. “She didn’t come here with you?”
“No, I told her to stay put in the lab”
She must have come here to warn me, warn me of Mac’s arrival.
Then the truth hit me, the one thing that I thought I would never let somebody in like this. I’ve surrendered myself to her, and it takes this to realize it now. That I’d fell in love with Lindsay Monroe.
I need to make this right.
----------
“This is Detective Taylor, put out a call for a 2006 Escalade. New York plate AEA 534, headed west on E53rd Street.”
The two uniforms quickly made for their squad car, when Mac motioned for them to stop.
“No, we must make him believe that he’s going to get his way. He’ll find us”
“Mac, what the hell are you doing? He HAS Lindsay.”
“Ultimately, he WANTS YOU. That’s his assignment. He won’t kill Lindsay. He’s going to use her to get to you Danny. We'll get her back, and I'll need you to keep your head on straight. Though everything tells me to fire you right here, now. 6 years ago I went with my gut, and I'm going with my gut now.
--
Lindsay pulls into a parking lot, and continues to drive her way to the rooftop per Luka’s direction.
Her demeanor remains the same, though an underlying current of fear is evident. No gun, except for her knife hidden in her pocket. Her knowledge of Tanglewood was certainly limited, and by that he wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon.
“Get out.”
She switches off the car, and exits under Luka’s watchful eye. “Throw the keys off the side”
Lindsay instinctively does what she is told.
“Why Danny?” She asks him.
“Why Danny? Why you?” Luka proclaims.
“The name’s Lindsay, Lindsay Monroe”
He motions her with her own service pistol. “That way, the blue focus. We’re going for another drive”
--
Back in the lab, Mac, Stella, Hawkes, and Flack were in the briefing room with me, sifting through info on all of Luka’s possible holdings. As well as possible family members who may have made it into the States from Ireland.
Flack’s phone rings. “Yeah..Okay..Thanks.”
The rest of the team looks up to him, hopeful for any kind of news on their kidnapped Detective.
“How’s the tail on the Escalade?” Mac asks.
“Cold. Doesn’t help when you have about 5 black Escalades for every 20 cars out there in NY.”
I felt ultimately helpless, I tossed the files that were in my hands, and stormed out of the room to get some air.
“Danny..” I hear Stella call out, but I ignore her needing time alone.
Mac takes hold of Stella’s hand, shaking his head. “Let’s keep looking”
Lindsay and Luka are driving yet again, driving out of the city. Having a cold-blooded killer breathe down her neck brought back memories of Bozeman, though this time it was obviously different.
She chose her words carefully, in order not to set him off.
“You’ve only been in NY for 3 years. It seems as though Danny knows you for much longer than that. How can one not exist before 2003 and know him before that?”
Luka remains silent
“What nobody knew, was that Sonny sent you to California to start up a new Tanglewood there. Am I right? What I don’t understand is why Sonny brought you back here.”
“Sonny’s my man. He tells me, I do.”
Lindsay takes a laboured breath.
“What has Danny done to you? Why him?”
--
Once again I was powerless as to the happenings that I brought onto Lindsay. I pushed her away, now this is how I’m paying for it. Going through the mess in my head, I try to think of where and when we used to run together, of where I’ve seen him all those years ago. Sonny’s or Louie’s mere mention of Luka.
I was interrupted from my thoughts as Mac came out from right behind me, startling me.
“Go home Danny.”
“I need to stay here, just incase I figure something out.”
“I wasn’t asking you. This time, don’t do anything else stupid.”
---
They pulled up to an abandoned warehouse off the beaten path. Getting out of the vehicle, Luka pulled her inside the building.
“Move”
He draws her into an open space, and pulls out a chair. “Sit down”
Luka straps her in with her own handcuffs, and plastic cuffs. As he was done, he went on, pacing back and forth mumbling to himself.
“You’ve exposed your identity as ‘the ghost’, soon as they come for me, they’ll be able to tie you to the rest of the murders. You’ll rot in jail.”
“Oh no….I’m so scared!!!” he says sarcastically.
Luka jumps onto Lindsay’s lap, getting into her face until they were millimeters away from each other.
“As Sonny would say, I’m not worried.”
Lindsay doesn’t flinch one bit.
“Soon enough, loverboy will come to your rescue..and my job will be done. Splat, splat”
“Don’t count on it, Luka”
He takes the badge off Lindsay’s belt, his hands groping her thighs when he feels her last tool for escape.
“Oh now, what’s this?”
Luka pulls out the knife, and marvels at it’s design
“Wow…I’ve never seen anything like this..”
He flips open the blade.
“Only in Montana” Lindsay quips.
He marvels at the craftsmanship, the build, the quality of the steel. Right before he plunges it into her thigh.
Lindsay screams.
---------
It had almost been a full week since this hell came upon me. My body was aching from working and barely sleeping, only getting about 8 hours this week so far. I get out of the clothes that I had been wearing these 4 days straight, and I climb into my bed.
For 3 hours, I stared at nothing but the corner of my bed next to the window. Her scent still remained on that side she fancied so much. Those nights that she came, after a simple phone call and three words said. “I need you” were a many. Yet this comfort is now in jeopardy of ceasing for all of eternity.
I held it in as much as I could, though now knowing I was in private I could let it out.
I clutched the pillow in my hand, muffling the cries that escaped from my throat, taking in what I’ve lost so dearly, the tears soaking up the sheets.
My heart broke bad, though never in this way.
The phone rings then, bringing me back into reality.
“Danny. We have something. Meet me at your brother’s grave”
---
Everything went through my head as I walked past the headstones. From bracing myself to finding Lindsay dead, to Louie’s grave being defaced or even worse.
I find Mac, and a few other CSI’s milling around my brother’s headstone.
Looking down, I see not a body, but blood and an NYPD Detective’s badge. Lindsay’s badge. Lindsay’s knife was laid there, covered in blood.
“It’s her knife Mac, he hurt her. It’s her blood, I know it.”
“We also found this note. I’d guess you’d know what this means”
Opening the note, I read.
“Shelby, Lou, Daisy, Marie, we loved them and we had to leave them. Alone. We need to finish this.”
“Chop shop?” Mac asks me.
“No. That one year he came by to stay for the summer, we went on….well..” I felt ultimately embarrassed.
“Go on..” He pushes.
“We had a bet who could have the most one night stands, during the summer and we’d bring them to this warehouse just out of the city.”
“Alright, now we’re getting somewhere.”
“I need to go alone Mac.”
He finally agrees, though obviously I knew that there was going to be a contingency plan in place.
“We’re going to get Lindsay back.” He puts a reassuring hand onto my shoulder
--
“Remember, we need him alive. Detective Monroe is somewhere inside. Take due care of your shots, if you have a clear shot to disable him, don’t take it until I give the green light. Detective Messer will enter the building from the north corner, and as soon as he has her, you will move in. Not before. Got it?”
Swat and the other uniforms nod in unison.
I sat down in the Tac van, letting the tech wire me for sound. Knowing Lindsay was only a few hundred feet away, I itch for this nightmare to end. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mac approaching me.
“Danny, make sure you get her out safe. Let swat do their job, don’t do anything heroic.”
I shake out the last bit of nervousness in my body, and I head inside.
--
“--Lindsay!!”
Memories of my days of being immature, stupid, come back to me in a horrid faded dream, the further I walk into this building. Memories I wish I didn’t inhabit at all.
“--Danny!! I’m over here”
I find her sitting in a chair, her leg soaked in blood. She looked exhausted beyond hell.
“You’re hurt.”
I take the keys to my cuffs, and begin to release her. Lindsay holds on to me tight, with the last bit of strength in her body.
“Danny Messer!! Nice to see you again!!. I was just telling her the stories of our summer here with the girls”
Luka comes out of the darkness, with Lindsay’s gun pointed at me.
“She’s got nothing to do with you”
“She’s got EVERYTHING to do with you Messer”
When she was finally free, Lindsay opted to remain in the chair. I stand between her and Luka.
“We finally know how to get to the great Danny Messer. Tanglewood’s unofficial member….True..his family is up there, but HER.”
Like a cliché’d scene in a Hollywood movie, he circles us weaving a story of memories in the past.
“Since when did YOU, Danny Messer ever cared about a woman? You’re a love ‘em leave ‘em kind of guy. What makes this broad so special?”
“She is.”
My voice trembled at the vulnerability she gave me. I keep my eyes on him, knowing that he could start shooting at any second
“Danny.” Lindsay calls me, I look back at her, and that was my mistake again.
Luka barrel swiped my head as I turned away. I fell to the ground, like a train went over me.
“Bad move Messer.”
I shake myself back into reality, not caring about the trickle of blood coming down the side of my face.
He had her in a choke-hold with the gun pointed at her head. Lindsay looked tired, wanting this to end. Her eyes were closing shut as he dug the gun deeper and deeper into the side of her head.
“You have a better change of living if you let her go. SWAT will take you out, no doubt. You’re holding one of NYPD’s finest Detectives. They don’t have a liking for that.”
“You’re bluffing”
Seeing her like that made me hurt so bad, that I fell to my knees.
“Danny….no.” Lindsay protests.
“Please…I beg you. Just..Just let her go. You want me.”
Luka releases a roar of laughter, obviously marveling at the sight presented in front of him.
“Danny Messer!!! Begging!! Oh…what Sonny would give to see this”
When we hear.
“NYPD!! Don’t move!! Don’t move!! Don’t move!!” Luka turns to fire at the forthcoming SWAT members.
In a heartbeat, I see Lindsay break free. I run to her, I kiss her, I comfort her.
“I’m so sorry Lindsay…I pushed you away when I shouldn’t have. I brought this on you.”
Her embrace was like a drug, I missed it so much. I hold her like tomorrow was never ever going to come.
‘She’s safe.’ I thought, when her hold tenses. That’s when I realized too late what was happening.
“NO!!”
“Danny!!” Lindsay breaks from our embrace, and with everything that was left in her, she turns me around.
“BANG”
Ship : Duh……….Danny & Lindsay
Disclaimer : Character’s aren’t mine. This is used to pass through the torrid drought of summer in which my water is that of CSI:NY
-------
In the dead of the night, the city slept. It was a clear night in New York, the stars shone brightly within the blue glow of the moon. The cityline shone it's own stars, within the downtown core.
Within the city's cemetary, within the headstones and masoleums there is a broken soul. The cries from this man, mourning for his love, shadowed by the songs of the night.
“Till this day, my life was just turning around. Everything good was coming my way. You were the everything good. I’d never imagined anybody like you, would cross paths with me. You were the one of a kind. You’ve helped me like no other, you’ve reformed me, you’ve saved me, you’ve loved me. You are the salt of my earth.
If I could’ve changed what had happened, I would do it over and over till the end of time.
Instead, you’re gone. You’re gone because of me. You knew the risks, but you didn’t care. You’ve made me think of things, that I would never contemplate thinking of in my lifetime. White picket fences, 2 dogs, bungalow in Jersey. See? Now you know. It’s a shame that I couldn’t ask you earlier. I was beating myself, waiting for the right moment to tell you. I wanted to ask you if you would ‘Vorresti Sporsami?’ “
I stopped to think to myself, a small chuckle left my trembling mouth.
“Hey…I guess I wanted to see if you understood Italian. You probably didn’t. I wanted to ask you to marry me.”
The small smile flew away with the cotton floating through the graveyard.
“There’s nothing left for me here, this would just be easier. It’s this, or I let them come finish me off. It’s no use fighting. “
Ever since that day, I’ve been coming here at lunchtime, after work, every chance that I could. I thought that I could move on, but my life has been deteriorating ever since.
Mac and Stella were extremely accommodating, giving me extra days off, lightening my case load.
But there was that constant reminder, the essence of you was everywhere. In the office your empty desk sat across from my own, our photo sitting prominently on mine. I kept thinking that you’d be walking through that door, proclaiming what new thing New York has that Montana doesn’t.
I take off my glasses, rest them on the lush green grass at my knees just at the base of the headstone.
Lindsay’s parents gave me the honor of writing her epitaph. It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.
“Lindsay Anne Monroe. She loved life, put everybody else before her, beloved daughter, sister, kindred spirit, friend.” I wanted to get it right, respect her memory of who she was. Was.
I dusted her headstone for one final time. I made sure that it was perfect.
I removed my dogtags, and draped them over the headstone. Wiping the tears from my eyes, and my now raw face so that I could see. I reach into my holster, and withdrew my weapon.
Closing my eyes, I empty my lungs and fill them deeply for the last time.
Turning off the safety, I load the chamber. Raising the muzzle to my head, I press the cold metal to my temple. My hand shaking, I put my finger on the trigger.
"I’ll see you soon Montana, I love you."
BANG
----------
1 WEEK AGO
“Wow. Now this is some party.”
2 DB’s were found @ the Four Seasons Hotel. It looked like a party taken too fast, too far. Very very Belushi. It had been an extremely slow week, this being our 2nd case in 3 weeks. Now, that’s a first in my career. If only it could happen more often.
“Whoa..Lindsay! Look here. This bottle, $2000. 5 of them!! Now I know that the NYPD don’t pay enough to let me afford a glass of this.”
“Danny. You don’t need to enjoy yourself with a $2000 bottle of wine. I’m quite content with your rendition of a London Fog.”
Lindsay had been her gleeful self, she had really opened up herself since she told me about Jake. We finally took that step of starting a relationship, albeit trying to keep it quiet from the rest of the group. They didn’t need to know, they didn’t need anymore distraction.
Guess who knew? Without us even telling?
That sly dog, Hammerback. Good thing he knows how to shut up when he needs to.
We had been together for 3 months now, and everything was going well. I’ve never had a ‘real’ relationship before. I finally got off my ass after seeing her almost blown to smithereens, after the bombing that nearly claimed Mac and Flack’s lives. Everything was falling into place.
We were taking it slow, doing it right. We made sure that it didn’t affect our working relationship, with ourselves and the team. I wonder if anybody else suspected?
More-so, my application for Level 2 CSI had been long overdue and had been approved by Mac. He just needed word from the top brass to make it official.
“Danny?….Hey Danny!!”
“Hm?”
“Daydreaming? Come on, I’m done processing. Let’s go.”
As packed our kits into the truck, my cellphone rings.
“Messer”
“It’s Mac, I need you to come down to the Brooklyn bridge. Just next to the river on the south side, as soon as you can. “
His voice sounded serious, it made me wonder what was going on.
“What’s up?” Lindsay asks.
“Mac wants us at his scene. I wonder what’s going on. Maybe he needs our help.”
-----
We drive up to the gamut of yellow tape, police sedans, and we park the truck. Mac was the only CSI on scene, which was odd. Lindsay and I grabbed our kits, and we made our way down to where Mac was.
“Our vic, male. Was found in the vehicle, bound. Beaten beyond recognition. We received a call about a car going into the river, last night. We pulled the car out, and there wasn’t any sign of a driver. Even if there was it would’ve been washed away"
Confused as to why Mac called us here, we proceeded to walk to the wreckage.
“The reason why I called you here.”
He lifts the trunk, and I see a familiar sight.
“The position, the rag, the duct-tape. Typical Tanglewood style. The vic’s wallet” He hands me a wallet.
“Open it.”
Opening it, I read the name. “Michael Messer”
Frozen, I do a double take of the body in the trunk.
“This can’t be.”
“Danny, somebody is sending you a message. They’re back. It doesn’t matter that Sonny is in jail, someone’s put out a hit on you.”
I step back to absorb all the information coming to me, trying to piece together my troubled past. Lindsay, who had remained silent until now had taken hold of my hand out of view from Mac.
“Danny….”
“No…Not Michael. He didn’t want to be near a Tanglewood Boy, he didn’t want any affiliation. He wasn’t affiliated. I’m pretty sure none of them knew him, this can’t be. He had nothing to do with them” Though my fear hadn’t settled in yet, my rage had boiled up to my chin.
“Are they out to get you?” Lindsay asks in a soft concerned voice.
“Tanglewood………they don’t’ just kill you. They start out by killing your family, your closest friends, the people you….” I couldn’t continue, and Mac and Lindsay tried to squeeze out the rest of my answer.
The whole time not taking my eyes off Lindsay, I take a nervous breath.
“The people you love.”
--------
This time, Lindsay drove.
Yet even more of the quintessential silence we normally shared, was exchanged. This time, the air was so thick around me, you needed an axe to cut through it. I’ve never felt this vulnerable, the one place I never let myself go. The lump in my throat grew and grew, my tears held back by every bit of strength left in my body.
I felt ultimately responsible for my involvement in all of this, though my role was small. Now my past has come full circle. Threatening to collide with the life I have known for the past 8 years, threatening to destroy the new life that I have known since I’ve met Lindsay.
I’m finding myself breaking, breaking into the Danny Messer before he became part of the NYPD.
As Lindsay pulled into the underground parking lot to the lab, I didn’t even wait for her to finish parking.
“Hey Danny!..”
I wanted to hide from the world. I was a 31 year old man, reduced to a 10 year old hiding under his bed with his favourite dinosaur toy. Hiding from a monster known as Tanglewood.
I beelined through the hallways of the lab, ignoring Lindsay’s constant protests behind me when Adam stopped me in my tracks.
“Hey Messer, I got your trace on the Belushi victim.”
“Later” I push him out of my way.
“Last time I do you a favour. Which side of the couch did you wake up on?”
“Just stop.” I hear Lindsay stop Adam from following me.
Locking the door behind me, I turn on the security glass to my office and I just let myself go. I did whatever I could to vent the fear, rage, anger, frustration, every conceivable feeling that I had encapsulated since seeing Michael.
I stop when I realized my fist was bleeding, and that there was a gaping hole in the wall of office that’ll probably come off my paycheque. Falling into the corner of the floor, I release the little 10 year old boy and let him cry.
“Danny…..”
It was Lindsay. Her voice laced with concern, and worry.
“Go Away.”
“It’s my office too. Not to mention, I have a key. I’m coming in……don’t throw anything at me.”
Lindsay comes in, locking the door behind her. She was the only other person to see me this way, the other being Mac. Nobody else see's Danny Messer this way.
"I don't know what to do." The cries escape from my lungs, as Lindsay takes me, comforts me.
I bury my head into her shoulder, her hair gently wiping my tears from my face.
"You give up, they win Danny."
-----
She gazed at this vulnerable boy, sharing the secrets from his shady past. There we many times where she would ask about this boy’s past, and there were many times where the boy would run and hide underneath that bed. He knew she was the only one who could break through this strange barrier, slowly but surely.
“Michael was my cousin, though he felt more like a brother. He took care of me when Louise was with them, he made sure to keep me away from them.
He kept me away from them as much as he could. He gave me work, he gave me a place to stay. Mom and Dad threw us out when we both started following them, it didn’t end well. Michael made sure my head was screwed on straight, one of the few reasons why I became a cop was because of him.
It hurts, and I’m scared”
We sat across from each other on the floor, in our own little world.
“I’m not scared.” Lindsay protests.
“Look, you’ve seen what they did with the end zone victim. You’ve seen what they’ve done with Michael. I don’t want that happening to anyone else in my family, including you.”
“Danny…I‘ve seen what they‘ve done, yes. I‘m here 90 hours a week surrounded by cops, I‘ll be fine. Don‘t forget, I used to be in a uniform.”
“We have to tell him. It’s the only way to keep you safe, we have to assume they know. They will come for me through you, after they‘re done with my family.”
----------
“No Mac, I need to work. I need to fix this”
Mac had called me in after Lindsay and I finished our little conversation, after giving me some time to absorb what was happening to me. He had yet to make a descision on what to do with me. He had 25 case files on his desk alone, and yet this took obvious priority.
I guess I was ignorant about the fact that, when Sonny was put in Rikers that all my problems would disappear.
“This is a serious problem, obviously we didn’t take into play about the unresolved issue about your previous affiliation. Thus we do need to put your immediate family into protective custody. I’ll arrange for them to be moved into safe houses out of state. We're going to do this as quick as we can. As for you, I know you will refuse and I can’t make you go. You are though, valuable in that you’ve dealt with them long than I. There’s no use for me to be one man down. I'll make sure to ask the Director to allow you to stay."
Mac then breathed a sigh of uneasyness, putting head into his hands.
It was unlike him reacting this way. I remember seeing this Mac Taylor a few years back, when he was at Claire's bedside.
"Do we need to put anybody else under watch?”
I paused to think whether this would be the time to tell Mac.
“You need to call Lindsay in.”
Mac’s eyes furrowed, followed by his intuitive all-knowing stare.
He picks up the phone. “Lindsay, could you please join me and Danny in my office.”
Moments later I see Lindsay through the glass walls, making her way to the office. She meet’s my gaze, she knows.
Opening the door but not walking through, she asks. “What’s up?”
“Come in”
Mac turns on the privacy glass, and is quiet for a bit.
“There must be a reason, as to why Danny has requested that you come by to tell me something.”
Lindsay looks back at me, after hearing this statement. I lean in, whispering into her ear. “We have to tell him….now”
She nods, her eyes speaking volumes of eventual relief of not hiding our relationship from everybody anymore. Even I was tired, tired of the game that we played. The stolen stares, underneath the table contact, the deliberate late nites at the lab.
I then take hold of her hand in my own, ‘perfect fit’ from the start.
Mac’s demeanor didn’t change at all, looking at our hands together. I was a bit surprised by his cold non-answer. He was intuitive, observant, and I expected a bit of a reaction from him.
“You’re telling me now that Tanglewood is coming after two of my CSI’s?”
----------
A woman in her forties, sitting on her balcony is attempting to battle the war known as the NY Times Crossword puzzle. She sits idle, stuck on one of the 15 letter word that eludes her so dearly.
This woman is content, the lines on her face tells the story of a great battle with one known as harlem. She is strong, she let's nothing past her thick skin.
The neighborhood folk is familiar with everyone, like one in an extended family under one roof.
A knock on the door disrupts her line of thought. "I'm coming, hold your horses. I"m getting money"
But nothing changes really, of a New York born, New York bred when it comes to a good slice of deep dish pizza.
Opening the door, she is greeted with quite an attractive Italian-American New Yorker. Not her usual delivery man
"Well....where's Adam?" She asks.
"He's sick." The Delivery man says.
"Should I be glad that Adam's sick?" She checks him out.
"You should be." He hands her the box of pizza.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Sonny sends his regards."
"Sonny? There's no Sonny at Nat's Pizza."
This lady's smile falls to the earth, her eyes widening in a moment of terror. She didn't have time to register this into her thoughts, until she felt the cold metal rip through her body. Tearing through her heart.
"Say hi to Louie Messer for me."
------------
“I’m so sorry Danny.”
“Did she go fast?”
“She didn’t feel a thing”
This man’s head hangs low, never this much though. The world has suddenly no place for him to hide, no bed to hide under away from the monsters.
He now reaches for the one thing that he knew would now dull his pain, at least temporarily.
------------------------------
“How did this happen!! You were supposed to report to the residence to take her into protective custody. Tell me, how does feeding your caffeine fix put priority upon a direct order from your chief!. A woman is dead now because of your dull sense of service and urgency. Trust me on this, I will put you onto traffic duty and you will never ever see the beat again."
Mac’s demeanor erupted from control to near explosion. His attempts to catch the ghost asssassin, came up short. Trace evidence were next to nothing, prints, any grain of sand, dirt speck, nothing.
“Yes sir.”
The pair of officers were then dismissed, the concience of a murder that could have been prevented looms above their heads.
Stella who was making her way down the hallway, dodging neighbors and officers. Her walk was mired with a sense of urgency and concern for Danny’s well-being.
“Mac…How did this happen?”
“A lapse in judgement. A lapse causing the death of another in the Messer family.”
“Did you call Danny yet?”
“Yes, I did. It’s best that he doesn’t come to the scene, it’ll set him off.”
Mac paused, observing the scene for any kind of disturbance.
“He’s changed his MO. Went from beating to straight on shooting. The bit of trace that we had from Michael came out negative on APHIS.
“Mac, how do we catch someone who leaves next to no trace?"
“We have to Stella, or this Danny we know will be no more.”
-------------
You brought that bottle home in a paper sack, drew the blinds and locked the doors
This man is silent, unable to think about anything else but dulling this pain down. He pulls the line to his phone, turns off his cellular. He grabs a glass from the cabinet, and collapses onto the plush sofa.
And there's nothing but empty there inside that glass, so you pour a little more
Glass after glass, the warm liquid flows down his throat freely without restrain.
And there's no one there to judge you, at least that's what you tell yourself
A soft knock echoes from the door, and a familiar voice followed.
“Danny. It’s me. Mac called me, he was worried about you.”
She opens the door, letting herself in. Takes off her jacket, and places her keys on the counter.
Don’t you know? Nobody drinks alone.
“Aren’t you going to share?”
Silence restrains this man.
Every demon every ghost from your past, every memory you’ve held back follows you home.
She sits herself next to this stoic body, she takes his hand in her own.
“Danny. I need you to remember, that I’m here to help you. No matter the fact that they might be after me as well. You need to try and remember anyone, any particular person you’ve dealt who carries out his hits in this fashion.”
“I can’t. It‘s been 15 years.”
“You need to.”
-----------
Okay...just a disclaimer....
Character "The Ghost" Belongs to L&O:SVU, NBC and it's affiliates. Not Mine...
---------------------
“I can’t think”
“Danny…”
“Stop, Please…..Lindsay”
“The more time we we wasting sifting through the miniscule pile of trace, another o--”
“Another what!?!”
It was a bad mix, the alcohol in my system doubled with Michael and Amie’s deaths. So much though, I threw my glass just shy of Lindsay’s head, breaking into a million pieces behind her. She didn’t even flinch a bit, though her expression on her face wore excruciating sadness. Something I saw in her eyes, told me the story of living through this moment before.
Time didn’t forgive this, and I sensed it.
I came to a conclusion then, something that would be better for her safety. Hopefully.
“Get out.”
“Excuse me?
“You heard me.” As that was said, I finished what was left in the bottle.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, shutting me out won’t help. I’m only worried about you, we all are.”
“Another thing, I think it’s best that we don’t see each other anymore Lindsay.”
“Let’s get rational here Danny.”
“Again, You heard me. Now please leave, I asked nicely.”
I’ve crossed a bridge that I didn’t ever want to cross with her. A love, changing for the better good of her safety. What I’ve built with her, eroded before her eyes and came tumbling down. Afraid to see her face, and what it would further do to me, I notice then the teardrop that fell onto my knee. I’ve finally descended into a place that I swore I never would, a mindset of revenge.
But I’ve never been the kind to lever let my feelings show, I though that being strong was never losing self control. But I’m just drunk enough, to let go of my pain, to hell with this pride, let it fall like rain, from my eyes……
She walks away, I see her feet…oh her beautiful feet, slowly moving towards the door to my apartment.
Lindsay turns around once more, “I love you, Danny. I hope you know that, you know? I hope you heard me.”
Those words tore through my heart, through the very person that I wanted to be with her. I was on the floor, unable to move. I just wanted to tell her too--that I ‘Loved Her’. Though this was for the best.
Then the door closed, and she was gone from me.
‘What have I done?….’
Tonight I wanna cry.
-----
“We finally have a possible hit on the Ghost.” A relieved Stella held up a file, albeit a thin one and placed it onto Mac’s desk.
“Lucas Pavrosa. Born in Italy, his parents moved him to Ireland. Joined the IRA when he was 16. Known as “The Ghost” to local authorities. Leaves no trace after each hit, it’s like he wasn’t there at all. Dissapeared after the IRA raid in 2002. I can’t find anything on him after that. Nothing.”
“Well, it’s as close as we’re going to get. At least we now have a name. We need to find him Stella.”
She looks at Mac, inspecting his tired face. “It feels the same doesn’t it? First Aiden, now it’s Danny”
“Not just Danny.” Speaking from his face in his hands, which has now become a habit in the last few days.
Stella’s face smoothed from confusion, to an epiphany.
“Lindsay.”
-----------
Flipping through the massive stack of unfinished paperwork, I find a lost photo of Lindsay and I. Pleasant memories of that day in Central Park, they burn off the dark clouds that hang above me. It’s one thing using those issue Nikon D70’s, but taking self portraits is one skill I never managed to grasp.
“Just ask someone to take it for us!!” Lindsay proclaims, within a fit of laughter.
“I got it..I got it…I just have to adjust the F-Stop to match the Shutter Speed.”
“F-Stop….pfthhh. Stop trying to sound smart.”
“You know Lindsay, these consumer models….user-friendly my ass.”
She rips the camera out of my grasp, and motions me to join beside her. “Here”
Lindsay holds up the camera, after making a few adjustments.
“They didn’t just teach me to scrape cow off the road in Bozeman, you know?”
Aiming the camera up, she grabs me by the waist and cuddles up close.
“Just use the lens to ‘see yourself’ okay?”
“I see, I see…..SmartyPants” I give her a playful slap.
“Okay..Danny…smile big now!”
The flash of light erupts, and captures a moment in time of our lives that brought us long due happiness.
“Lemme see Montana..” I try to reach for the digicam.
“NO…I look terrible…”
“Now how can that be? You always look beautiful, even when you’re all sick and drippy.”
“Awww…”
Her lips pursed, beckoned for mine. I kiss her, unaware of the things to come that would test us so dearly.
------
“--Ring, Ring, Ring---”
“Come on Danny, pickup your phone”
“Hi, You’ve reached Danny Messer, leave a--” “Click”
It had been almost a week since their breakup, she wasn’t even sure if it was even official or not, or out of rage. Her calls still remain unanswered.
------
I gave into protective custody, only to keep me away from her. Nobody knew where I was, they think I’m on modified assignment in Jersey. Only Mac knew though, as we corresponded through secure lines while they find the person after my family. God knows how many times I’ve been though this ‘reassignments’. Mac always was in my corner, no matter what.
It was extremely hard, many times I wanted to call her, meet her, to tell her that I’m sorry.
The fight almost lost it’s meaning, as now I have 4 members of my family to bury. I needed her so much. The frail walls holding my rage eroded, frustrated, I throw the files off my desk.
“I need to do something.”
My cell rings, it’s Mac. “Yeah Mac.”
“Danny, how’s it going?”
“Not so good you know?”
There was this beat, a long beat.
“It’s not my perogative to pry, though I do notice these things. About Lindsay. I think you shouldn’t have pushed her away like this. She’s useless to me this way.”
“Useless?”
“She hasn’t left the lab in the last 3 days. She’s locked herself in her office, along with dozens of boxes of files with the mere mention of ‘Ghost’”
“I’m sorry, Mac. It has to be this way until we catch this guy.”
“I’m sending a fax over. We found something that might crack this wide open. “
“Lucas Pavrosa. Does that ring a bell?”
“Maybe…..I knew one that went by Luka..”
Then it all came in in one fell swoop. Memories and names, events, the dame gave way to everything that started to make sense.
“I’m sending an officer over to take a statement, Danny. Don’t go anywhere”
“Not going anywhere Mac.”
------
She felt unnecessarily discarded, pushed aside.
Her stride became labored, losing the glide she had while she had finally been “accepted’ by the lab-folk. Followed so closely by the familiar thunk of NYPD issue boots.
“Damn Bodyguard……” She muttered to herself. “Do you mind giving me some space?”
He just stared blankly at her.
In her hand she carries one of the many boxes of files with the mere mention of the word “Ghost”
Her frustration is evident, not able toa actively go out and track this person down. This one person, that had actively burned the bridges to the one thing that meant most to her in this tirade in New York. Danny.
She is now alone in the office, her and the big hole in the wall.
It had been a tough few days, the police guard was driving me nuts.
I just spent a good 4 hours in the interrogation room, and I was sitting in the other chair. Not fun. I told the investigator everything I knew about Luka. From his favorite pizza joint, to when he purchases his Calvins.
“You don’t find the guy….HE finds you”
My cellular rings, pulling it out of my pocket I find out that it’s Lindsay. I couldn’t help but to just stare at her name on the Caller ID. I let it continue to ring.
This time, instead of hanging up she leaves a voicemail. Instinctively, I dial into my mailbox.
“Danny, please hear me out. I’ve found a possible location on this Lucas. Meet me in Central Park, near the Columbus statue @4pm. Remember to ditch your guard.”
----
“We ran the photo through CODUS, we didn’t get a hit. Though I ran it through DMV to see if I could get anything, photo recognition software came up with one. A Frank Minetti. Moved here from California 3 years ago. No trace of this man exists before that.”
Mac and Stella stood in the dark, dark room littered with super servers and large LCD panels that adorned the walls.
“We’re getting closer, Stella.”
“It’s about time. How ‘s Danny doing?”
“Not so great. His temper blow-ups would shake up the precinct from time to time. He’s not getting anything done at all.”
“Why won’t you just put him on forced vacation Mac?”
“I’m afraid of what he might do if he’s not up to his eyeballs in work.”
“Lindsay?
“I’m worried about Lindsay, Stella.”
“I am too.”
“At least this way, she’s safe.”
Both of the 1st Grade Detectives nod at each other, in agreement of the progress that they have made. Though, in both, lies and anxiety to close this case that hit so close to home.
----
I needed to get out of here fast, and quick.
“I need to go to the washroom”
“I still have to go with you Detective Messer.”
I close in onto him, whispering into his ear.
“I ate a really really big bean burritto, I’m gonna need some privacy.”
He nods and reluctantly follows me to the loo, but waits in front of the door leading into the washroom.
“I’ll be a while.”
“I’ll be waiting, Detective”
As soon as I made sure he was waiting outside, I turn on the tap and dryer to muzzle any sound that would tell him that I was leaving.
The window was just wide enough, that god the ‘officer only’ washroom didn’t have a security gate installed. I shimmy outside, and down the descending ladder, glancing back at window to see if the oaf saw me.
As my feet touched the ground, I made my way to the subway as quickly as possible.
----
Meanwhile back at the Precinct.
“My wife…when she gets mad..whoah…get out of her way..she’s like a mad Italian with a corn-stick broom, and we aren’t even Italian…heh..”
----
Walking through Central Park, didn’t have that nice fuzzy feeling that it had before. This time there was purpose. As I neared the statue, I see her there standing behind the structure. Nervous. Lindsay..Nervous?
“Montana…”
My hand instinctively reached out to her, I had to muster my strength to keep from touching her again.
“I’d thought I’d never hear you call me that again..” She paused a moment, to take in my appearance.
“You look terrible. When was the last time you slept?”
“Not in a while…a few winks here and there. So..you brought me out here to give me some info.”
“I wanted to come to you before Mac eventually finds out. He will, so you don’t have much time. Lucas Pavrosa, or known as Frank Minetti. Quiet individual, job in Queens as a butcher. Squeaky clean. I canvassed his co-workers, no Tanglewood tattoo that they know of. No unusual behaviour, and he lives alone. There is the possibility of a girlfriend, according to one.”
She took a deep breath.
“I came to you first, because I knew you needed closure. Before I give this to you, I need you to promise me that you do this by the book.”
I try to swipe the file from her hands.
“Promise me Danny.”
“Mac finds out about this,…”
“Danny..I don’t care. I thought you didn’t care anymore.”
“This still doesn’t change anything between us, Lindsay.”
She hands the file to me, and as I grab it, I feel the touch of her goosebump ridden skin brush up against mine. Lindsay really was nervous.
“You do your thing, we will find a way to make him pay for what he has done to you. Remember, everything’s connected. Don’t do anything stupid. Call for backup, I’ll vouch for you.”
“Promise me Danny.”
“Yeah.”
----
From the darkness, under a massive Oak tree a figure watches them with intense scrutiny. Studying, documenting each and every move of their bodies, their lips. Body language.
“You’re smart Messer, Though not by much. Frankie Minetti thanks NYU”
----
Then and there, I wanted to take her and hold her tight. To smooth away her anxiety and nervousness.
‘Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay” I close my eyes, and entertain the thought.
Just as fast as it crossed my thoughts, I open my eyes, and she is gone from me yet again.
----------
“Lindsay, Please meet me in my office.”
Mac’s voice was as stern unlike anything she has ever heard in the nine months of being on his team. It scared her to pieces. ‘He knows” she thought. She slowly made her way to his office, and with every step taken, her fear stepped it’s own way up to her ears.
“Yes Mac.”
“Please close the door.”
He takes a deep breath, exhales.
“It’s one thing to want to help a colleague, a close friend. It’s another thing when you hand ammunition to an emotionally unstable vengeful man. This is the second time you‘ve done this, the first time I‘ve let you go. I don’t want to fire you, you’re one of my best CSI’s. Though, I’m sorry to say this but I‘ll have no choice but to downgrade you to 3rd level. ”
2 years of hard work, lost.
The answer went through roadblocks as they tried to escape from her mouth. She tried to explain herself.
“Mac, I..I’m trying to give him closure, setting him free Mac. I made him promise to call after he’s done his bit, to do everything by the book.”
“To do his BIT!? What makes you so sure that he won’t kill him?” Mac slams his fist into the table.
“Mac…” She looks down at the floor, not regretful of her actions.
“I did what I did, and I’ll take full responsibility”
“Where is Danny now?”
“I don’t know”
“Location of Lucas Pavrosa…NOW”
“5652 E 53rd Street.”
-----
The neighborhood was quaint, quiet. Perfect place to raise a family. Away from the tidal wave that was downtown New York. Somewhere Lindsay and I could have…could have. I shake my head to focus on my task at hand. I withdrew my weapon, and made my way up the stairs to the address Lindsay gave me.
I peered through the window, trying no to catch any attention from the neighborhood folk. I see lace, photo’s decorating the walls, books, ugly furniture. “Relative.” I thought.
“NYPD. Open up!!”
Silence continued to prevail within this home, so I went with my gut.
I circled the building and found an open window that I could shimmy through, though breaking down the door could be so much easier.
“Luka come out you bastard, I know you’re here. I can smell you.”
Room by room, I clear it. Swallowed by the pent up rage within me, I get closer and closer. I felt it through my bones. I wanted to get him quickly, and to end it quickly.
Then I froze as I passed by the bedroom study.
Photos littered the walls like the musings of a crazy man, his obsession taking over his well-being. My family, became his obsession.
Michael, Aunt Amie, James, Uncle Joe. The ones who have helped me stay away from Tanglewood, and it’s lures.
Then, there in a special area on this montage, prominent in it’s size. Surrounded by bright red tape, were photos of Lindsay and I. Photos of her at the gym, on scene with me, at her doctors office, her home, and several of us on our various dates.
“Son-of-a-Bitch was watching us the whole time since the beginning.”
“NYPD!!…” That voice sent chills down my spine as I knew that I was in trouble. It was Mac.
Then right after the blood drained from my face I hear, “Danny!”
Coming from the kitchen, I hear Lindsay’s voice and followed my a muffled yelp.
“Lindsay!!” I run out to the kitchen only to find Luka with a knife to Lindsay’s throat.
She’s struggling to get to her feet, in a bid to give herself space between her neck and the knife that was know drawing warm blood down her neck. He slowly backs away from the wall of NYPD’s finest through the rear door.
“You’re a dead man Luka, I promise you.”
Lindsay’s soft brown eyes never left mine once, continuously mouthing the words ‘I’ll be okay.’
Who was I kidding to try to push her away. It was for that reason, that she fell into Luka’s hands, and now she could lose her life because of me. I can’t lose her.
“I should have known it was you. Why? How could you do this to me?”
“Why Messer? You know why.”
Step by step, 4 against 1. In the backyard, in the wide-open space, for everybody to see. The only thing stopping us from taking him down was Lindsay, as his human shield.
“Mac, we can’t let him taker her.”
“I know Danny.”
He puts her into the drivers seat in the Escalade, shuffling over so that he remained in control of her. The knife on her throat, and her gun aimed at us.
“Drive Bitch..”
The vengeful spirit within me swallowed the rest of what remained of me whole, as Luka showered us with bullets from Lindsay’s gun as she pulled away.
“No!!” I fired my weapon at the van erratically, not taking notice of the bystanders.
“Stop!!” Mac lunges at me, placing me into a chokehold. Subduing me.
When he finally released, I turn to face him and my awaiting punishment. I expected to lose my position, career, everything right then and there. It doesn’t really matter anymore, now that he has Lindsay.
“I should fire you here and now. You’ve disobeyed a direct order, broke protocol. Now because of you, Lindsay’s life is in direct danger.
“My fault?” I felt ultimately vindicated for no apparent reason. “She didn’t come here with you?”
“No, I told her to stay put in the lab”
She must have come here to warn me, warn me of Mac’s arrival.
Then the truth hit me, the one thing that I thought I would never let somebody in like this. I’ve surrendered myself to her, and it takes this to realize it now. That I’d fell in love with Lindsay Monroe.
I need to make this right.
----------
“This is Detective Taylor, put out a call for a 2006 Escalade. New York plate AEA 534, headed west on E53rd Street.”
The two uniforms quickly made for their squad car, when Mac motioned for them to stop.
“No, we must make him believe that he’s going to get his way. He’ll find us”
“Mac, what the hell are you doing? He HAS Lindsay.”
“Ultimately, he WANTS YOU. That’s his assignment. He won’t kill Lindsay. He’s going to use her to get to you Danny. We'll get her back, and I'll need you to keep your head on straight. Though everything tells me to fire you right here, now. 6 years ago I went with my gut, and I'm going with my gut now.
--
Lindsay pulls into a parking lot, and continues to drive her way to the rooftop per Luka’s direction.
Her demeanor remains the same, though an underlying current of fear is evident. No gun, except for her knife hidden in her pocket. Her knowledge of Tanglewood was certainly limited, and by that he wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon.
“Get out.”
She switches off the car, and exits under Luka’s watchful eye. “Throw the keys off the side”
Lindsay instinctively does what she is told.
“Why Danny?” She asks him.
“Why Danny? Why you?” Luka proclaims.
“The name’s Lindsay, Lindsay Monroe”
He motions her with her own service pistol. “That way, the blue focus. We’re going for another drive”
--
Back in the lab, Mac, Stella, Hawkes, and Flack were in the briefing room with me, sifting through info on all of Luka’s possible holdings. As well as possible family members who may have made it into the States from Ireland.
Flack’s phone rings. “Yeah..Okay..Thanks.”
The rest of the team looks up to him, hopeful for any kind of news on their kidnapped Detective.
“How’s the tail on the Escalade?” Mac asks.
“Cold. Doesn’t help when you have about 5 black Escalades for every 20 cars out there in NY.”
I felt ultimately helpless, I tossed the files that were in my hands, and stormed out of the room to get some air.
“Danny..” I hear Stella call out, but I ignore her needing time alone.
Mac takes hold of Stella’s hand, shaking his head. “Let’s keep looking”
Lindsay and Luka are driving yet again, driving out of the city. Having a cold-blooded killer breathe down her neck brought back memories of Bozeman, though this time it was obviously different.
She chose her words carefully, in order not to set him off.
“You’ve only been in NY for 3 years. It seems as though Danny knows you for much longer than that. How can one not exist before 2003 and know him before that?”
Luka remains silent
“What nobody knew, was that Sonny sent you to California to start up a new Tanglewood there. Am I right? What I don’t understand is why Sonny brought you back here.”
“Sonny’s my man. He tells me, I do.”
Lindsay takes a laboured breath.
“What has Danny done to you? Why him?”
--
Once again I was powerless as to the happenings that I brought onto Lindsay. I pushed her away, now this is how I’m paying for it. Going through the mess in my head, I try to think of where and when we used to run together, of where I’ve seen him all those years ago. Sonny’s or Louie’s mere mention of Luka.
I was interrupted from my thoughts as Mac came out from right behind me, startling me.
“Go home Danny.”
“I need to stay here, just incase I figure something out.”
“I wasn’t asking you. This time, don’t do anything else stupid.”
---
They pulled up to an abandoned warehouse off the beaten path. Getting out of the vehicle, Luka pulled her inside the building.
“Move”
He draws her into an open space, and pulls out a chair. “Sit down”
Luka straps her in with her own handcuffs, and plastic cuffs. As he was done, he went on, pacing back and forth mumbling to himself.
“You’ve exposed your identity as ‘the ghost’, soon as they come for me, they’ll be able to tie you to the rest of the murders. You’ll rot in jail.”
“Oh no….I’m so scared!!!” he says sarcastically.
Luka jumps onto Lindsay’s lap, getting into her face until they were millimeters away from each other.
“As Sonny would say, I’m not worried.”
Lindsay doesn’t flinch one bit.
“Soon enough, loverboy will come to your rescue..and my job will be done. Splat, splat”
“Don’t count on it, Luka”
He takes the badge off Lindsay’s belt, his hands groping her thighs when he feels her last tool for escape.
“Oh now, what’s this?”
Luka pulls out the knife, and marvels at it’s design
“Wow…I’ve never seen anything like this..”
He flips open the blade.
“Only in Montana” Lindsay quips.
He marvels at the craftsmanship, the build, the quality of the steel. Right before he plunges it into her thigh.
Lindsay screams.
---------
It had almost been a full week since this hell came upon me. My body was aching from working and barely sleeping, only getting about 8 hours this week so far. I get out of the clothes that I had been wearing these 4 days straight, and I climb into my bed.
For 3 hours, I stared at nothing but the corner of my bed next to the window. Her scent still remained on that side she fancied so much. Those nights that she came, after a simple phone call and three words said. “I need you” were a many. Yet this comfort is now in jeopardy of ceasing for all of eternity.
I held it in as much as I could, though now knowing I was in private I could let it out.
I clutched the pillow in my hand, muffling the cries that escaped from my throat, taking in what I’ve lost so dearly, the tears soaking up the sheets.
My heart broke bad, though never in this way.
The phone rings then, bringing me back into reality.
“Danny. We have something. Meet me at your brother’s grave”
---
Everything went through my head as I walked past the headstones. From bracing myself to finding Lindsay dead, to Louie’s grave being defaced or even worse.
I find Mac, and a few other CSI’s milling around my brother’s headstone.
Looking down, I see not a body, but blood and an NYPD Detective’s badge. Lindsay’s badge. Lindsay’s knife was laid there, covered in blood.
“It’s her knife Mac, he hurt her. It’s her blood, I know it.”
“We also found this note. I’d guess you’d know what this means”
Opening the note, I read.
“Shelby, Lou, Daisy, Marie, we loved them and we had to leave them. Alone. We need to finish this.”
“Chop shop?” Mac asks me.
“No. That one year he came by to stay for the summer, we went on….well..” I felt ultimately embarrassed.
“Go on..” He pushes.
“We had a bet who could have the most one night stands, during the summer and we’d bring them to this warehouse just out of the city.”
“Alright, now we’re getting somewhere.”
“I need to go alone Mac.”
He finally agrees, though obviously I knew that there was going to be a contingency plan in place.
“We’re going to get Lindsay back.” He puts a reassuring hand onto my shoulder
--
“Remember, we need him alive. Detective Monroe is somewhere inside. Take due care of your shots, if you have a clear shot to disable him, don’t take it until I give the green light. Detective Messer will enter the building from the north corner, and as soon as he has her, you will move in. Not before. Got it?”
Swat and the other uniforms nod in unison.
I sat down in the Tac van, letting the tech wire me for sound. Knowing Lindsay was only a few hundred feet away, I itch for this nightmare to end. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mac approaching me.
“Danny, make sure you get her out safe. Let swat do their job, don’t do anything heroic.”
I shake out the last bit of nervousness in my body, and I head inside.
--
“--Lindsay!!”
Memories of my days of being immature, stupid, come back to me in a horrid faded dream, the further I walk into this building. Memories I wish I didn’t inhabit at all.
“--Danny!! I’m over here”
I find her sitting in a chair, her leg soaked in blood. She looked exhausted beyond hell.
“You’re hurt.”
I take the keys to my cuffs, and begin to release her. Lindsay holds on to me tight, with the last bit of strength in her body.
“Danny Messer!! Nice to see you again!!. I was just telling her the stories of our summer here with the girls”
Luka comes out of the darkness, with Lindsay’s gun pointed at me.
“She’s got nothing to do with you”
“She’s got EVERYTHING to do with you Messer”
When she was finally free, Lindsay opted to remain in the chair. I stand between her and Luka.
“We finally know how to get to the great Danny Messer. Tanglewood’s unofficial member….True..his family is up there, but HER.”
Like a cliché’d scene in a Hollywood movie, he circles us weaving a story of memories in the past.
“Since when did YOU, Danny Messer ever cared about a woman? You’re a love ‘em leave ‘em kind of guy. What makes this broad so special?”
“She is.”
My voice trembled at the vulnerability she gave me. I keep my eyes on him, knowing that he could start shooting at any second
“Danny.” Lindsay calls me, I look back at her, and that was my mistake again.
Luka barrel swiped my head as I turned away. I fell to the ground, like a train went over me.
“Bad move Messer.”
I shake myself back into reality, not caring about the trickle of blood coming down the side of my face.
He had her in a choke-hold with the gun pointed at her head. Lindsay looked tired, wanting this to end. Her eyes were closing shut as he dug the gun deeper and deeper into the side of her head.
“You have a better change of living if you let her go. SWAT will take you out, no doubt. You’re holding one of NYPD’s finest Detectives. They don’t have a liking for that.”
“You’re bluffing”
Seeing her like that made me hurt so bad, that I fell to my knees.
“Danny….no.” Lindsay protests.
“Please…I beg you. Just..Just let her go. You want me.”
Luka releases a roar of laughter, obviously marveling at the sight presented in front of him.
“Danny Messer!!! Begging!! Oh…what Sonny would give to see this”
When we hear.
“NYPD!! Don’t move!! Don’t move!! Don’t move!!” Luka turns to fire at the forthcoming SWAT members.
In a heartbeat, I see Lindsay break free. I run to her, I kiss her, I comfort her.
“I’m so sorry Lindsay…I pushed you away when I shouldn’t have. I brought this on you.”
Her embrace was like a drug, I missed it so much. I hold her like tomorrow was never ever going to come.
‘She’s safe.’ I thought, when her hold tenses. That’s when I realized too late what was happening.
“NO!!”
“Danny!!” Lindsay breaks from our embrace, and with everything that was left in her, she turns me around.
“BANG”
