Notes: Here I go again. This is going to take some time for me to complete, so don't expect daily updates. This case file takes place during season 2, post-Legacy. I don't own any of the WAT characters. Other Characters are from my Never Look Back series.

Downtown Manhattan – 9:00 p.m.

Tracey Simon stepped onto the elevator on the 44th floor. She found herself at the office far too late, once again. As she rode down to the parking level, she thought about the debacle that had become her life. When she stepped off the elevator and headed toward her car, her cell phone rang.

"Tracey Simon," she answered.

"Hello, dear. It's your mother. I just wanted to see if you were coming this weekend."

"I don't think so, mom. I have work…" she answered as she opened her car door.

"Work? You work too much. I wanted to introduce you to someone…"

"Mom…don't start…," she started to answer and then saw a figure come out of the shadows next to her car. At first her breath caught, but then she let out a sigh…before vanishing.

Brooklyn – 3:00 a.m.

Danny lay in the strange bed completely exhausted, but doing his best not to fall asleep. It started at a movie theater several hours earlier. To be honest, it started even before that at the Starbucks across from the Federal Building. Every Thursday, it was his turn to get the good coffee, if they weren't working on a hot case. And every Thursday, he encountered the same perky barista with short, dark hair, a sweet smile and a sexy butterfly tattoo on the small of her back that he couldn't help but notice as she reached up to grab their cups. It started with familiar hellos, and then one morning she engaged him in a conversation about where he worked. He participated in the conversation and even guessed that she was one of the many struggling actresses working at Starbucks. She assured him that she had a line on a soap opera gig that she was waiting to hear about. Over the next couple of weeks, they talked and flirted until Danny finally asked her out because he'd been feeling a bit restless. He knew it was dangerous when he felt like that. Usually, he would go to an extra AA meeting, but sometimes he needed more. Sometimes he needed to not feel so alone, especially after a string of tough cases.

Her name was Heather. He and Heather found themselves at a movie earlier in the evening. He couldn't remember a thing about the movie because she seemed intent on distracting him by nibbling his ear and running her hand up and down his thigh. He gave up on the movie and found himself focusing entirely too much attention on the curve of her neck and playing with her little belly button ring after his hands slipped under her tank top. They ended up leaving the movie half-way through when she whispered in his ear to take her home. He agreed before she told him that she lived in Brooklyn. On their way to her place, Danny already was silently lamenting on how he would get back to his place in time to get ready for work in the morning. He just hoped that he didn't get any late night work calls.

Things happened fairly quickly when they finally got to her tiny apartment. He got the feeling she didn't like to waste time, and she was truly the most energetic person he'd ever met. He felt like he was in an Olympic competition. So by 3 a.m., they had already had sex three times, the first time starting on the stairs of her walk-up and ending against her front door. Now she was asleep…draped across his body. Danny was trying to think of a way to slip out. He'd leave her a note, of course…saying he'd call her, but he had to go. As he looked around the room, he came across the reason for her endless energy. He squinted to read the diploma on her wall. She graduated from high school in 2002…making her around 20 years old. Danny sighed heavily. He figured she was young, but not that young. He made a mental note to start checking IDs. He was getting too old for this.

He wanted to find someone to share his life with. He wanted to get married and have kids, but somehow…he always ended up with women who he could never see himself with forever. Heather was very sweet and funny, but definitely not the future Mrs. Danny Taylor. Just as he was pondering the disaster that was his social life, his cell phone rang. Heather stirred above him, and started to wake up. He felt her soft lips and tongue make contact with his chest as he opened his phone.

"Taylor," he whispered as she started to kiss a path down his chest toward his stomach.

"Hey, it's Martin. We have a case downtown. A 28 year old account executive never made it to her car after work last night. Jack's still in D.C. and Viv is on her way to the missing girl's parents. I'm on my way to the scene, but it will take me an hour. Can you be first on scene?"

"Uh…I don't think so…" Danny answered quietly knowing it would take him at least an hour to get home and ready for work. Heather giggled when she heard the uneasiness in his voice, but didn't stop what she was doing.

"You sure? You live right around the corner from this place. It's the Westmont building."

"Yeah…I know it, but I don't think I can be there soon enough. Samantha lives downtown, too. She can do it."

Martin hesitated and was about to question his logic, but then it clicked. "You're not home…"

"Not exactly, no. But I'll be downtown in an hour," he answered before his breath hitched as he felt Heather going dangerously lower.

"Got it. I'll call Samantha."

"Thanks, man," he said quickly and then closed his phone.

As Danny tried to extricate himself from under Heather, she looked up at him. "Hey…you ready to go again? " she asked sleepily.

Danny smiled, but moved quickly. "No…I can't…uh…I…um…I have work, so I have to head out," he said as he gently moved her off of him and got up from the bed.

"That's too bad. I had a really good time tonight…even though the movie was a bust. We should do this again."

Danny was gathering his clothes and trying to make his way to the bathroom. "Yeah…definitely. I'll…uh…I'll call you."

"Sounds good," she said as she turned over to go back to sleep.

And that was it. That was the one good thing about 20-year olds. Heather wasn't thinking commitment. A few years ago, Danny would have kept in touch with Heather. She would have been a soft place to fall when he needed someone. But he was really trying to stop doing that. He was trying to take his relationships more seriously and not find himself in shallow situations. As he looked at Heather sleeping peacefully before he walked out the door, he knew he had a long way to go.

4:15 a.m. – Seven hours missing, Westmont Building

Danny made it home and then to the scene within 45 minutes. Samantha was already there talking to NYPD. "Hey," Samantha greeted him. "Martin said you were going to be later…"

"I got here faster than I thought," he answered.

"Don't you live around the corner?" Samantha asked suspiciously as her mouth curved into a little smile.

Danny smirked and shook his head. "Why don't you just tell me what we have here…"

Still smiling, Samantha gave him the run-down. "Tracey Simon, 28 years old. She's an account assistant in this building. She left her office at 9:00. Security cameras have her heading to her car. It looks like she sees someone on the tape, and then she walks out of frame. She just disappears."

"Did anyone see her leave?"

"Nope. According to building security, she was the last to leave. Her mother was on the phone with her as she was getting to her car. At some point, the phone goes dead. Her mother kept calling her back, but there was no answer. She finally called NYPD. NYPD called building security. They found her car door open and thought it didn't seem right."

"Nope…it doesn't seem right. Who does she work for here?"

Samantha looked at her notebook. "Mason Industries…apparently they are big in Manhattan real estate. They own this building."

Danny tried not to look too shocked at Samantha's answer. "It's not they…it's he…Robert Mason is Mason Industries."

"Oh…well, I doubt Tracey Simon is really on his radar. She has an entry level job with the company. Listen, I'm going to meet Martin at her apartment. She lives in Queens. Can you stay here and meet with building security? They are going to hand over the security tapes and give us a list of who she worked with here."

"Got it. I'll take care of it. Hey…when does Jack get back?"

"This morning, I think. I'm going to call him once the sun comes up to fill him in."

"Good idea. I'll collect the evidence here and head back to the office to start background."

"Sounds good."

He and Samantha parted, and then Danny went in search of someone from building security. He didn't see any reason to fill Samantha in on his prior acquaintance with Robert Mason. He figured Samantha was right. Tracey Simon was a little fish in a very big pond, and Danny probably wouldn't even encounter Mason.

He approached a man in a security windbreaker. "Morning, sir. I'm Agent Taylor with the FBI. My colleague, Agent Spade, said you had some evidence for me."

"Yes…yes, we do. We called our security chief after NYPD called us. He has the information for you. He's in that office over there," the security officer answered as he pointed to a small office by the elevators.

"Thank you," Danny said as he walked toward the office. He entered the office and called out, "Hello…is anyone in here? Agent Taylor…with the FBI." Two men came out from an inner office after hearing Danny call out. He immediately recognized one of the men as Tom Williams, Mason's chief of security. Williams was with Mr. Mason when he threatened Danny with expulsion from Brentland and losing his NYU scholarship if he ever came near Katie again. It was Williams who told Danny to never cross Mason.

As soon as he and Mr. Williams locked eyes, Danny could tell that he recognized him. "Russell, would you give Agent Taylor and me a minute please," he asked and then his colleague walked out. "Well…Agent Taylor…I gotta say…this is a surprise."

Danny didn't want to give Mr. Williams any satisfaction. "I'm looking for the security tapes and any other information you can give me on Tracey Simon."

"Yeah…I got it right here," he responded pointing to the desk. "You know, actually, I'm not surprised. Mr. Mason will be surprised…that's for sure, but I knew back then…you were a smart kid. You listened…so I could tell you were smart."

"I don't have time for a trip down memory lane, Mr. Williams. I just need whatever information you have on Ms. Simon."

Williams handed Danny a box with a couple of tapes and several files. "There is a copy of her personnel file and a list of her known associates here with contact numbers. If you need anything else, just let us know."

"We'll need access to the building…once people start filtering in this morning. We'll need to talk to her co-workers."

"No problem. We're prepared to cooperate in any way possible, Danny."

Danny looked at Williams sharply when he used his first name, and then asked, "Tell me something Mr. Williams, you're Mason's chief of security for all his buildings, correct? I mean not just this one."

"Right. I handle all of Mason's security for all operations."

"Then I wonder why you are here? I mean we don't know what happened with Ms. Simon yet. She could have just wandered off, and yet you come down here at 4 in the morning….for an entry level employee?" Danny asked skeptically.

"Mr. Mason thinks of all his employees as family, Agent Taylor," Williams answered pointedly.

"So what? Is he domineering and controlling with his employees, too?" Danny asked thinking about the lengths Mason went to keep him and Katie a part.

"Mr. Mason looks out for the welfare of all his employees. He wants the best for them," Williams answered pointedly.

"Right…well…thanks for the information. We'll be back in a couple of hours to conduct some interviews."

"Of course. It is good to see that you are doing well, Danny."

"Yeah…I'm sure," Danny responded as he walked out the door.

After encountering Williams, Danny knew he should tell Jack about his connection to Mason, but he desperately did not want to go into it. So he decided to keep it to himself. Besides, he still didn't think it was probable that Mason would factor into the case.