JUSTICE FADED

by lobella aka crissella

Chapter 1

15 hours missing

Elena stood at the familiar door and took deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself. It's alright, girl … you have to take this like another case. It's no big deal … you just have to concentrate on your job and forget everything else. She told herself as she slowly grabbed the doorknob and froze when a smiling face of their missing person appeared behind her closed eyelids. " Oh god …" she gasped as she leaned her forehead against the door and remained standing there without making an effort to make herself to go in.

" Danny …." She whispered as she closed her eyes again and let her tears fall free from her eyes.

Elena didn't move when she heard footsteps approaching her. She didn't react when a familiar voice called her name. She did however jump when a hand touched her shoulder and she quickly turned around to glare at the man " Sorry …" Martin said softly " I didn't mean to scare you …" he said and Elena smiled a little " It's alright …" she said " I was just … um … " she said and gasped when a finger brushed her cheek. They made an eye contact and then the woman turned away. She then grabbed the doorknob again and was about to enter the door when Martin stopped her.

" Why don't you go home, Elena ? " he asked and when the woman turned to look at him he cleared his throat "I mean … Viv is coming to meet me here … you don't have to …" he wanted to continue but Elena interrupted him " If I didn't let Jack to cut me off from this case, what makes you think that you can ?" she asked and when Martin didn't answer she nodded " Danny is my boyfriend … and I will find him. Ok ?!" she asked and marched into the apartment.

" Ok … " Martin answered softly to himself and then followed her in.

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10 minutes later

" Who is that ?" Vivian asked as Elena showed Martin and her the pictures she found from Danny's bedroom. " That's the point ! I have no idea … but if you keep looking the photos … you'll see him on every single one of them." She said and Martin nodded " You are right … here he is standing right in the background … by the cabin … at the bar … at that monument …" he said flipping through the pictures of his friends and then he looked up to Elena " You think we have a suspect" he stated more than questioned and Elena shrugged " Don't you ? I mean it's quite obvious that that man followed us around … and now Danny's is missing … you've got to be blind to not see some kind of a connection " she said and Vivian raised her hand

" Now hold on a minute" she said " Aren't these pictures taken from your vacation trip to Switzerland ?" she asked and Elena frowned slightly " Yeah … so ?" she asked and Vivian leaned in a bit closer to her " So … it's a public skiing resort. People move around … do the same things everyone else do … don't you think it could be just a coincidence that this man is at the same places that you chose to take pictures in ?" she asked and Elena's frown deepened as she glared at her.

" There's no such thing like coincidence …one would think that you as a more experienced agent on this field would know that …" she said, grabbed the pictures from Vivian's hand and rushed out of the apartment. Martin exchanged looks with Vivian and then ran after her.

" Elena ! Wait !" he yelled and the woman already standing at her car looked at him

" You should get back in there … find more clues" she said calmly and Martin frowned " Where are you going ?" he asked and Elena shrugged " I'm going to find Danny" she said and without letting Martin to reply she sat at the wheel and drove off, leaving her friend worriedly stare after her.

The young Fitzgerald stood there for a while and then dialed a number on his cell phone " Jack … it's me. I think we may have a problem" he said.

45 minutes later

" Where is he ?!" Elena asked pointing her gun at the ex-policeman who was standing at his car his hands now raised high. " You know if my parole officer sees you here … we are both in trouble. We aren't supposed to be this close to each other … court order, remember ?" Carlos said and Elena frowned. " Where is he ?!" she demanded and Carlos now frowned as well " Who ? My parole officer ?!" he asked. "No ! You idiot! Danny ! Where is he ?!" she asked taking few steps closer to her ex-husband, the gun firmly in her hand.

" Danny ?!" Carlos asked in confusion and Elena nodded " Yes … Danny … he is been missing for almost 16 hours and I know that you had something to do with it. So I am going to ask you again … Where the hell is he ?!" she asked and Carlos seemed taken back by that and he shook his head in disbelief " Missing ? Danny ? No way …" he said laughing.

Elena growled and pushed her gun into Carlos' chest " You think this is funny ?!" she asked " You think you made a huge joke by kidnapping the man I love ? Well … ha ha … you got your laugh … now tell me where he is ! " she yelled angrily and Carlos' face clouded over and he slowly let his arms fall down on his sides " I can't believe this. You seriously think I did something to Danny " he stated more than asked and Elena pressed the gun even harder on his chest as she leaned in closer to him " Why shouldn't I? You've got a motive " she hissed and Carlos just stared at her and then let out a startled bark of laughter " Jesus Christ … You think I 'd hurt my old buddy just to get back at you ?!" he asked and Elena pulled back a little and just stared back at him

" You kidnapped our daughter to get back at me ! Now you can't touch her and you pick the next person in line that I care about ! " she accused and Carlos chuckled shaking his head in disbelief again " In your mind … the world actually turns around you, doesn't it ? Never occurred to you that I may have something better to do than plan the ways how to get my revenge on you ?" he asked and Elena just stared at him.

" Get in the car" she said softly and Carlos frowned at her " What ?" he asked and Elena's eyes darkened " You're coming downtown with me … get in the car" she repeated waving her gun a little towards the vehicle behind them and she got a lot angrier when the man didn't move " Get in the god damned car. Now !" She yelled fully pointing her gun at the man she used to love and after a moment of hesitation Carlos finally did as he was told. When Elena had made sure that Carlos was buckled up on his seat and knew better not to try anything she gave a short nod and then careful not to loose her guard she turned and walked around the car to sit down on the passenger's seat.

" Drive" she ordered. At the feel of a cold metal pressing against his temple, Carlos swallowed down his objections and once again reluctantly complied.

60 minutes later

" Agent Delgado" Jack said loudly standing at the glass doors " In my office … now" he growled when the named woman sitting in the bullpen looked up to him. He was angry with her, Elena could tell. She shared a look with Vivian who had stopped analyzing the evidence she and Martin had found from Danny's apartment for a while and was now observing the scene before her. Then the taller woman sighed, stood up and slowly made her way towards her boss who was waiting for her to get a bit closer and then disappeared into his room, Elena soon followed.

" Close the door and sit down" Jack said without turning to look at her. Elena did like she was told. The silence that followed after that made the woman feel uncomfortable and she sighed again " Look … Jack … I " she wanted to explain her actions but the man cut her off " Shut up" he said " You are now officially embezzled from this case" he added and Elena looked at him in shock.

" What ? No …Jack … you … you … can't do that ! I brought you a suspect ! I …" she was not allowed to finish her sentence since Jack interrupted her again " What you did …" he roared " Was entirely unacceptable. We have absolutely nothing to lead us to believe that your ex-husband is responsible for Danny's disappearance." He said more calmly and when Elena was about to protest he raised his hand to give her the sign that he wasn't finished "And even if we did …" he continued slowly " You had no right to act the way you did" he said and Elena frowned.

" Why ? Because I used to be married to that jerk ?" she asked and Jack sighed " No … because FBI agent's don't act like this … yes … we threaten asshole's who are uncooperative … we use some violence when they think they can escape us without giving us the information we need… we mock them when they think they can outsmart us … but we do not … I repeat … we do not … kidnap people who we believe are guilty in crime. You hear me? On no matter what circumstances we do not lower ourselves on their level and we do not kidnap anyone" he said and Elena looked at him in disbelief.

" Jack, what are you talking about ? I didn't …" she started to say but Jack once again stopped him.

" You pulled out your gun and forced Carlos into his own car ! Sounds like a kidnapping to me!" he yelled angrily and Elena was shocked by that accusation. She never realized how her actions would look to other people. While standing there face to face with the man she had learned to hate, she wasn't able to make herself to care how it looked to others. All she had cared about was Danny. All she still cared about was finding him as soon as possible.

" At least I did something …" she muttered and when Jack heard that he raised his eyebrow " Excuse me ?!" he asked and Elena raised her lowered head to look at him

" You want me to apologize for what I did ? I can't do that … because I didn't do anything wrong. Carlos did something to Danny … just give me few minutes with him and I'll make him talk … I'll …" she was cut off like seemed the hundredth time to her " At this point … I am sure you are able to make him confess and take the guilt for every little thing that has gone wrong in this world. " Jack said and when Elena looked at his decision expectingly he shook his head " Sam and Martin are dealing with him as we speak. You … go home." He said softly and Elena frowned again.

" Jack …" she started to protest " Just do what I say !" Jack yelled and then rubbed his brow tiredly as he softened his face and voice again " I sent an agent to pick up your car, it's waiting for you in the parking lot. Just … go home, Elena … go be with your daughter. She needs you more than we do right now" he said and Elena just stared at him and then let out a resigned sigh "Fine" she said as she stood up " Just don't blame me for not trying to make you see what happened to Danny when you find him too late. Alright ?" she said coldly and then without letting Jack to reply she stormed out of his office and finally out of the building.

In the interviewing room

" This is the first time I see the guy" Carlos said sliding the picture back towards Samantha who was sitting on the opposite side of the table from him. " Are you sure ?" she asked and Carlos snorted " Yes I'm sure. A face this ugly would be hard to forget" he said and then looked at Martin who was standing by the window " I don't understand … If this man took Danny. Why are you wasting your time with me ? Why aren't you chasing down the bastard ?" he asked.

Martin shrugged " Let's just say you haven't really convinced us that you didn't hire this man to spy on our mutual friends and then pay extra to have him kidnap or even kill Danny." He said as calmly as he could force himself to be. Carlos looked at him and then at Samantha and then chuckled " Wow …you guys are lost" he said " Having Elena as a guide might not have been the brightest ideas of yours. Seriously … she's pushing you off the tracks … makes you take a wrong turn … leads you to a swamp and leaves you there sinking fast" he said and Samantha smirked.

" Oh how very poetic. Care to explain what the hell you mean by that ?" she asked and Carlos smiled " What I mean is … whatever she tells you … No matter what kind of facts she brings up against me … I didn't do it. I didn't kidnap … or kill Danny … and I certainly didn't hire anyone to do it for me. " he said and Martin nodded.

" Then you have no problem with us looking around in your house" he said and Carlos looked at him "Of course not … be my guest" he said already picking his keys out of his pocket and throwing them at the FBI agent who caught them from the air. The ex-policeman chuckled then " Hell … I'll even take the lie detector if it would make you feel any better …" he said and Samantha and Martin shared looks and then the woman shrugged " Couldn't hurt" she said and Carlos just smiled at her and then let out a satisfied sigh as he leaned back in his chair. Martin and Samantha just kept staring at him and then they left the room.

" Well … as much as it pains to admit this … I believe him." Samantha said as soon as the door fell shut behind them and they started to walk down the hall. Martin sighed

" Well I'm not convinced until I have had a thorough search in his house. He might hide it well … but I know he still feels like Danny has betrayed him … and I know he's still angry at him … " he said and speeded up his walk a little when his friend stayed behind he stopped and looked over his shoulder " You're not coming ?" he asked and Samantha sighed taking few steps closer to him.

" I just remembered Rafael … he has no idea what has happened to his brother, has he ?" she asked and Martin fully turned to face her. " You want to go and talk to him first ?" he asked and Samantha shrugged " Don't you think he has a right to know ?" she asked and Martin let out a sigh as well " Of course he has a right to know but …" he said and Samantha nodded interrupting him. " You go ahead … I'll talk to Jack, ask if he wants to take the prison visit and then I'll meet up with you at Carlos' place, ok ?" she asked and after a moment of hesitation Martin nodded. " Ok" he said and they smiled at each other before turning and walking on opposite directions.