Danny sighed heavily and closed his locker. Another day. Another case. Something felt inherently wrong today, but Danny knew he had to keep going. He couldn't afford another screw up and, if something did happen to him tonight, well maybe the lab would be better off without him.
~*~*~*~*~
"What've we got?" Danny asked emotionlessly as he walked into a particularly bloody crime scene. Don walked over to him and looked down at his notebook.
"Three dead. Two here and one in the bathroom. All of them were shot and it looks like the same weapon."
"Apartment clear?"
"Uniform did a sweep through, everything looks fine."
"Alright," Danny sighed. "I guess I'd better get to work."
"Which means I get the riveting job of talking to the neighbours," Don replied sarcastically. Danny smiled weakly as Flack walked out of the apartment and left him alone.
~*~*~*~*~
Danny looked up quickly when he heard a sound behind him. Don hadn't come back yet, and the room was supposed to be clear. Abandoning the fingerprints he was about to lift, Danny stood up slowly and drew his gun.
"Flack?" He called out cautiously as he walked towards the bedroom door. There was another muffled sound and Danny raised his gun slightly.
"Hey. If there's anyone in there you'd better be a cop. This is a crime scene." Danny was about to reach out to push the door when it was opened from the other side and he was staring down the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun.
"Don't move! I swear to god I'll blow your head off! Drop the gun. Drop it!"
"Whoa! Slow down buddy. You need to make a decision here. Do you want me to freeze or do you want me to drop the gun. I can't do both."
"Save the sarcasm."
"That wasn't sarcasm, man. It's physically impossible for me to do both. I should know; I'm a scientist."
"You're not a cop?"
"Crime Scene Investigator." The assailant sighed lightly, seeming to relax.
"Drop the gun."
"Alright," Danny said quietly before crouching to place his gun on the floor. He stood back up slowly, raising his hands to head level.
"Now you got a choice here. You can either leave now, no harm done, or you can do something stupid."
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"Not unless you're planning on killing me. The cop in charge of this scene is just down the hall and there are plenty of other CSIs that can prove you did this. To be honest, another body is just gonna make their job easier."
"How do you know I won't get rid of the evidence?"
"How do you know you'll get everything," Danny replied seriously. "The biggest mistake people make is thinking they're in the clear." The assailant seemed to think about this for a moment before getting a dangerous look on his face.
"Then maybe you should do it for me."
~*~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you got everything?" The assailant demanded, pressing the shotgun to Danny's back.
"Yeah," Danny replied immediately. "Yeah, I got everything. There's nothing left here that ties you to the crime scene."
"Nothing besides you." Danny sighed.
"You're right. I'm all that's left." Danny felt the gun barrel press harder against his back.
"Into the bedroom," the assailant ordered, turning with Danny as he complied. Danny remained silent as they came to a stop. He closed his eyes slowly; there was nothing he could think of that would get him out of this one. A quiet calm overtook Danny's body and a moment later a shot rang out through the apartment.