A/N: Taking a risk of sticking to the very popular story lines, I had this idea stuck and jumping around in my head and had to get it out on paper. Also, I'm just borrowing the CSI: New York cast and do not own them or the show in any way.

Chapter One: One Day Earlier

He flinched from the loud slam as the door closed and he squinted against the bright lights that were switched on as the four men walked in.

Something was different this time. They had a phone. His brow furrowed as his eyes slowly adjusted to the huge different of light. What did they have a phone for? Surely they weren't going to make him call? They'd already done so much to him and he felt like he didn't exactly have enough energy to keep up his fight with them.

The leader of the group walked over and quickly yanked the ductape off from over his mouth and he flinched at the sting, his gaze not meeting his kidnapper's.

"We're going to make a phone call, and you will cooperate if you want to live longer and keep everyone else unhurt."

The coldness in the man's voice sent a chilling feeling down his spine.

One Day Earlier…

Mac parked the Avalanche alongside Don's car and slipped out, shutting the door behind him. He grabbed his kit from the back of the truck before he headed over and ducked under the yellow crime tape.

"Man, I thought you'd never show up!" Don greeted him teasingly with a huge grin.

Mac smirked. "Traffic on the FDR held me up, plus a stop for another cup of coffee or two added about 20 minutes on to my arrival time according to the GPS," he said as he set down his kit and slid on some gloves as he looked down at their latest victim lying sprawled out on the ground by the dumpster in the alley.

"Uh-huh," Don said, eyeing Mac with the same grin still on his face and a sarcastic note to his voice. "More like two cups and 30 minutes," he said somewhat teasingly.

Mac kneeled down beside the body, smiling. "Alright, alright, you busted me. Lecture me on it later," he said as he looked at the defensive wounds on the victim's hands and arms. "She definitely put up a struggle with her attacker," he added, getting back to the task at hand.

Don nodded. "She had an ID on her. According to her driver's license, her name is Michelle Garcia. She's from…" he paused to yank out his notebook and check his notes, "Jersey, actually."

Mac nodded, now looking at the marks on the victim's neck and at her eyes. "It looks like she was strangled," he commented, brow furrowed. "Then dumped here…" he added as his gaze shifted up to the alley around them.

Don nodded. "Hawkes pulled a body temp, says she died anywhere from 11 to 12 pm last night," he said.

Mac nodded and stood. Something told him that something would be just a bit off with this case. It was a feeling he couldn't shake, but couldn't quite say where it was coming from either. "Alright, get the body to Sid and did you talk to whoever found the body?"

"Yeah," Don replied. "Said they never saw her before," he said.

Mac nodded. "Who were they?" he asked.

Don shrugged and jerked his head in the direction of two teenage boys standing with a few uniforms near the squad cars. Mac observed they looked a little shaken.

"I got the names Andy Washington and Drew Freemore," Don told him.

Mac nodded. "Alright. I'm going to head back to the lab, I have a few things I really need to finish up, including several reports that are waiting for signatures and a few case files that need filed. Plus I need to check results on the Bronx case we brought in yesterday," he said as he looked at his watch, already calculating how much time all of that would take to finish.

Don nodded and smiled a little. "Ouch. Alright, I'll call you if I get anything," he said.

Mac nodded and offered Don a small smile before he grabbed his kit and headed back for his Avalanche, getting in and heading back for the lab.

He still hadn't managed to shake the feeling that something was seriously strange about this case.