Title: The 6th Day
Author: loozy
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but what you can find in my humble abode in Galway...
Summary: On the sixth day, Martin reads something about damnation and humanity's lack of salvation in the paper. It gives him a queasy feeling in his stomach that, combined with a cup of coffee, makes me feel nauseous.
Rating: M/ NC- 17
Pairing: D/M
Warnings: implied character death, depending on reader's interpretation
Beta: no beta
Spoilers: none
Timeline: up to s4, no specific timeline
A/N: Wrote this a couple of years back, as one of the first WaT- fics that I ever wrote and did not publish... Seeing as I am slowly getting back into the WasT- groove *avoiding Elena like the plague ;)* I thought I might dig up this babe J
Feedback: Yes, pretty pleeeeeeeeeeease...
The sixth Day
Close your eyes so your don't hear then
They don't need to see you cry
I can't promise I will heal you
But if you want to I will try
I'll sing this somber serenade
The past is done
We've been betrayed
It's true
Someone said the truth will out
I believe without a doubt, in you
You were there for summer dreaming
And you gave me what I need
And I hope you find your freedom
For eternity...
For eternity
Yesterday when you were walking
We talked about your mum and dad
What they did that made you happy
What they did that made you sad
We sat and watched the sun go down
Picked a star before we lost the moon
Youth is wasted on the young
Before you know it's come and gone to soon
You were there for summer dreaming
And you gave me what I need
And I hope you find your freedom
For eternity...
For eternity
For eternity
I'll sing this somber serenade
The past is done
We've been betrayed
It's true
Youth is wasted on the young
Before you know it's come and gone to soon
You were there for summer dreaming
And you are a friend indeed
And I hope you find your freedom
For eternity
You were there for summer dreaming
And you are a friend indeed
And I know you'll find your freedom
Eventually
For eternity
For eternity
(Robbie Williams- Eternity)
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"That's probably one of the worse idea you've ever had! No, scratch that. It IS the worse idea!"
"Martin-"
"This is suicide, Danny. You can't do that."
"It's the perfect opportunity!"
"But-"
"Do you wanna go in there? Act as if you are the bad guy from the Bronx?"
Silence.
"Right. I'm the only one who can pull it off. Neither you nor Jack could."
Resigned sigh.
"I know that. Doesn't mean I have to like it."
A soft smirk from the other man.
"And I understand. If the cards were reversed I wouldn't like it either."
"Promise you'll be careful."
"I can't promise you something like that."
"Just humour me, okay?"
"I'll do my best."
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It's the second night that Martin has to sleep alone and he doesn't like it any better than the first night.
He misses Danny.
Misses his warmth, his body, his arms, his legs, his smell, this special mix of shower, cleanliness and Danny that he has grown way too used to in the last two years. Now he realizes that he can't sleep without Danny by his side or at least having spoken to him recently. He can't recall how many times he has reached for his phone and dialled Danny's cell and land line in the last two hours, only to reach the mailbox and then remember that Danny can't answer. But it soothes him a bit to hear his voice, even if it's just a recording that tells him to leave a message. He doesn't say anything, even though he wants to. Wants to tell Danny's answering machine about his day, wants to tell Danny that he misses him and that he's thought about him a lot. That Danny has occupied his mind every second that Martin lost control over his thoughts.
Which was practically all day.
He doesn't know if that makes him pathetic or sappy, but he certainly isn't the kind of man his father wants him to be.
Martin's a man in love, though, and as far as his father is concerned, he can go and screw himself.
What a nice thought late at night.
Martin smiles into the darkness and wishes for Danny by his side to share that with him.
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"Anything new?"
"Viv and I are headed out to interview his sister one more time. Maybe she remembers something now."
Martin doesn't have to look at Sam to know that she is smirking.
It's not the first time they have tried to interview the sister.
"Good. Martin and I have an interview scheduled with Inmate 1300265 about his case. Hopefully he can tell us something."
"Give him our love."
"Will do."
With that, they all leave for their respective destinations.
Vivian and Sam are off to Queens to talk to the missing persons' sister.
Martin and Jack go out to County Jail to talk to Inmate 1300265, Danny Taylor.
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It's not the first time Martin's in a prison, waiting to talk to a prisoner, but it's certainly the first time that he waits to talk to someone he knows, loves even, and he has a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Jack doesn't look too happy, either, as they sit in the private interrogation room and wait.
The cameras are turned off at special request, and the guard in the observation room won't be able to hear them and they just hope that he can't read lips.
"Did you get any sleep last night?"
Jack's question surprises him and it takes Martin a moment to answer.
"Not really."
A wry smirk graces his superior's face.
"Me, neither."
All he can do is stare.
"You're not the only one worrying, Martin."
And then the steel door on the far side of the room opens and, watched by a bulky guard, hands cuffed in front of him, wearing a dark blue jump suit and sporting a black right eye that wasn't there yesterday, Danny comes in, and Martin's heart skips a beat.
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Martin closes off his every emotion the moment Danny makes eye contact, or at least he tries to.
Out of the corner of his eyes he can see Jack quickly masking a look of concern.
Danny sits down on the other side of the table, inclining his head towards the two in a greeting motion, sprawling on the hard plastic chair, an arrogant smile grazing his face, as he plays his role.
Jack nods towards the guard.
"That's okay, we got him under control."
The man looks reluctant, but another pointed stare of Jack and he leaves
They are alone.
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"How did you get that eye?"
"Met a nice guy in the yard."
"Damn it, Danny. We told you to be careful."
"I know. But there was no way around it, Jack. Believe me."
"Details, please."
The cocky manner and smile that Danny is displaying don't fit with the seriousness with which he relays the story to them.
"I was in the yard, trying to get close to our guy when this beefy Nazi comes over. Tattoo- ed from head to toe, and I mean that literally. He had his jumpsuit down to his hips and the legs rolled up so I could see them. He walked over and told me that he didn't like my face. I told him that I was sorry for that and that if he didn't want to see my face, he could just as easy look another way when I was around."
"You provoked him?"
"No. Hell. I didn't. I'm not nuts."
Martin can't help it, he has to snort. Danny rolls his eyes at him and Jack smiles.
"He's an easy guy to annoy. He told me that if I planned to be around, I better try to stay on his nice side. The next second, his fist is in my face. Then he tells me that I just fucked up and can forget about being on his good side."
"Did anything else happen?"
A shadow flashes across Danny's face. Then he's closed off again.
"No."
Martin knows that Jack saw it, too, but neither of them mention it. It's something to worry about
later.
"Did you get close to Parcello?"
"Yeah. Came with the shiner. When the matter was settled, Parcello came over and helped me up. Told me that he could teach me the deals of this place if I just stuck around with him."
"Got anything out of him?"
"Not yet. I'm working on it."
"How much longer do you think you'll need?"
"Couple of more days."
"Time's running out, Danny."
"I'm aware of that. And I am doing my best. But this is only my second day here."
"And already you got a shiner."
Jack gives Danny a dark look.
"And judging from your careful breathing, he got few kicks in as well."
In a matter of seconds, two pairs of startled eyes are on their boss, only one of them with a guilty hue to them. And Martin curse himself for not noticing earlier.
"Pull down the upper part of the suit."
"Jack-"
"Danny."
Staring contest. Danny relents.
"How do you want me to pull it down?"
Holds up his cuffed hands.
"Right. Martin, could you get the guard's keys, please?"
Once Martin's got the keys and released the cuffs, Danny unbuttons and shoves his suit down and pulls up the white tee beneath.
Both Jack and Martin hold their expressions in check and suppress a simultaneous gasp upon
seeing the dark bruises on Danny's ribcage.
"They did you good."
"Yeah."
"Have you been checked out by a doctor?"
"Yeah. Just bruised, nothing broken."
"Be careful, Danny."
"I am."
"Promise."
A soft smile plays on his lips at hearing Jack's paternal tone.
"I promise."
Martin and Danny can both see what Jack's going to say next and Danny's quick to add.
"And I will try to keep that promise. But that's all I can do."
They sit in silence, Jack watching Danny watching Martin watching Danny.
"Listen, when will you be around Parcello again?"
"Later. I share the cell with one of his closest buddies."
"Did they take you under their wings?"
"Not yet. Not really. Working on it."
"Good."
They have nothing else to talk about, at least on a professional note, but neither Jack nor Martin want to leave, and judging from the twitch in Danny's good eye, he doesn't want them to, either.
"We'll come back later. Talk to you some more."
Danny smiles, his eyes glinting with sincerity.
"Okay, I'll see you then."
"Oh, Viv and Sam told us to give you their love."
"Right back at them."
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In the car, they both sit in silence, staring at the prison facing them.
"I don't like it, Jack."
He doesn't answer, just pulls out his cell and calls Viv to ask how their interview went.
"Nothing came out of it. Danny's our last hope to finding them."
And there goes his chance to convince Jack to get Danny out of there.
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Their afternoon visit doesn't bring up anything new out in the open, except that Danny misses Martin as Martin misses Danny. It's only the two of them this time, Jack opted to stay back in the office and go over their data one more time.
After the interview Martin schedules a meeting with the prisoner's director and head back to Federal Plaza where they discuss their next step.
"We can't just rely on Danny. If he pries too much, his cover could be blown."
Nods from all of them.
"What do we know about the girls Has anyone we talked to given them a good description of them? Who they are, what they are like?"
"Except for Parcello, no- one can. That's the problem. He is the only who knows them well enough."
"Have we ever thought about bringing in a psychologist?"
Jack's only answer is to throw Viv a dirty look.
"I mean someone who specializes in kids."
Sam voices their doubts.
"How could that help us?"
"Maybe they weren't taken, maybe they ran away."
Silence.
"Think about it. They are thirteen and nine, their mother is always off to somewhere, their father in jail and their aunt less than forthcoming. I'd say it's a good possibility."
"Viv, you know we already considered that option. We didn't find any trace of the girls leaving at their own will."
"And we didn't find anything to contradict it."
"And what would we need the psychologist for? We are profilers, we know how to read people and what to make of what they do."
"We could ask her to determine where they may have run off to."
"Viv, we can do that, too."
There is always a bite to Viv when she gets into an argument with Jack.
"Please, Jack, the only one who can really profile children is Danny, and it's not like we can ask him, can we??"
Jack stares at her, and she stares back, not wavering. Neither Martin nor Sam dare say something.
Viv wins. She's probably the only one who can.
"Okay. I'll call someone and set up a meet first thing in the morning."
Viv doesn't even try to hide her triumphant face.
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On the third night, sleep doesn't come any easier than in the other two but in the end Martin succumbs to the pull of exhaustion and falls into a dreamless sleep.
Their psychologist is already sitting in one of the chairs, talking to Jack and Viv when Sam and Martin arrive. Jack nods in greeting before introducing them.
"Sam, Martin, that's Doctor Tanya Graesser. She's a specialist for paediatric psychology. Dr Grasser, meet Special Agents Spade and Fitzgerald."
After telling her roughly about the file and the interviews they have already conducted, she asks to be driven to the apartment where the girls lived with their mother.
Martin is the designated driver, and he's not too happy about it, a fact that he lets the young woman know.
And of course she picks up on his mood.
"What exactly do you need me for?"
Martin can just about stop himself from commenting that this is a question that he has asked himself, but only shrugs.
"Maybe you can see something that we haven't."
She snorts.
"Yeah, right. You do this on a regular basis, and you wanna tell me that you can't grasp those girls?"
"Something like that."
She looks around the children's room in the clutter of toys, books and dolls.
"What can you tell me about them that I can't see from here?"
For a moment Martin's thrown.
"What do you mean?"
"You briefed me on what you did, but you never told me anything specific about the girls."
"You were given a case file, right? I mean a copy with everything that we know about them in it?"
She blushes.
"I had just finished a child abuse case when the call came in. I didn't really have the time to read over the file."
"Oh… What do you wanna know?"
"Do they have a history of running away? Have they been reported missing before?"
"No."
"Were they ever suspected of being abused?"
"No. At least no complaint has been filed."
"So. Okay."
She crunches up her forehead in concentration for a moment, a hand absent- mindedly wanders up to ruffle her short spiky blonde- streaked hair.
"They are just two young girls, living with their mother, right? Then, all of a sudden, they vanish of the face of the earth. They are nowhere to be found. Their mother reports them missing and then the day after disappears, too."
"Probably to her pimp."
"And the pimp is gone. Of course he's gone."
She groans, rubs her forehead a bit more forceful as though trying to get rid of a headache.
"Something's foul in the state of Denmark."
Wry smile thrown in Martin's direction.
"Or New Jersey."
"Haha."
A moment of tense silence.
"Do they kep diaries?"
"No, we went through the hole place and couldn't find anything of that nature."
"Calendars? Notebooks?"
"No."
"Dang it."
"The mother took her purse with her. She said that the girls had the school bags with them."
"So personal effects, like wallets and watched were with them?"
"Yeah."
"Kidnapping has been considered?"
"Of course."
She notices his irritation in his exasperated voice.
"I'm just covering all my bases. I don't want to offend you. I just have a list in my head and I am going to through it. It's how I work."
"It's okay. It's just…"
He trails off, unable to continue without outing himself to the psychologist.
"You're worried about Agent Taylor."
Or he could have just told her. Result would have been the same.
He sighs.
Where's the point in denying it? Plus, they're all worried, doesn't matter if he's involved with Danny or not.
"We all are."
He gives nothing away, face closed off.
"Parcello's not saying a word?"
"No. We tried, but he says he doesn't know a thing."
"Do you believe him?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he was sincere. I know it."
He would launch into recapturing the whole interview that he did with the father a couple of days ago, but he's too tired for that. Instead, he and Graesser exchange looks for a couple of moments that Martin's can't define.
"Did you protocol the interview?"
"Of course."
"Could I take a look at it?"
"What for?"
And maybe that wasn't the politest voice, but Martin feels the strain building and there's nothing he can do against it.
"So that I can get an overview, that I know the details of the case. I wanna know everything. The more the merrier."
She smirks at her wrong use of the expression.
He doesn't smile back.
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This time, Viv and Sam go to visit Danny, and Martin can't help but feel left out. Of course he knows that if he came every day to visit Danny, it would arouse suspicion, but don't they do that anyways by taking such an interest in Danny's case?
He and Jack stay in the office, waiting for the women to come back. Tanya sits at a desk, sifting through files and interviews, furiously scribbling notes on a legal pad.
"How are you today?"
"Good."
"Any changes?"
"Parcello started talking to me."
"When?"
"Last night. Started going on about the girls and the mother. How much he loves them and that he can't wait to get back so that he can see them."
"Hmm…"
"Apparently today was her visiting day."
"And she didn't turn up."
"Nope. He's worried. Says she is always there. Never misses a day."
"Doesn't sound like her."
"He says that she might lack in some areas, like taking care of the girls, but this was one thing that he could always count on."
"It's fascinating that he trusts you."
"Oh, Sam, you know me…"
Drawled out with a smirk.
"I do. That's why I said it."
"What are you implying?"
"Nothing."
"I know you, Sam. Do you really think that I would do that?"
"I have no idea. How far would you go?"
"Certainly not that far."
Loud and angry.
"Danny, calm down."
"Viv-"
"Sam, leave."
Slam of the door, blood boiling.
"How could she imply that?"
Weary voice.
"Danny, we are all distraught. Maybe with Sam all the stress needed an outlet."
"But not in that way! I'd never do that. She knows that."
Defeated sigh.
"Or at least I thought so."
"I doubt that she believes that. Emotions are running high. It was said in the heat of the moment."
"Still-"
"We're worried. Not only about the girls. And the mother. We also worry about you."
"I'm okay."
"How did you manage to get so close to him so quickly?"
"My name helps."
"Alvarez."
"Yeah. And you know me… I can act."
She smiles, lips twitching to form a grin.
"Never doubted that."
"But it's not what Sam thinks!"
"I know… Can I ask something?"
"Sure."
More relaxed than moments before, though there are still lines of tension on his face.
"Alvarez. You seem oddly comfortable with it. I know you changed your name. Is that the original?"
Wry smile.
"What do you think?"
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That night, Martin sleeps.
Though it is not because his worries have been laid to rest, but because exhaustion's pull is stronger than his wish to remain awake and angst about Danny.
They'll never really know how he did it, but Danny worked his magic on Parcello and got him to open up about the girls and the mother and what he knows. He hints around at the mob that may have gotten a hold of them to teach him a lesson.
And apparently they got it all wrong.
Parcello's not just a small fish among the sharks in the pond, but it's more like he is the shark pretending to be the guppy. And as he has managed to blend everyone so far, his cove works pretty well. Sadly, Danny can't tape the quasi- confession, but that's not what they are concerned about.
They look for the missing persons with the help of the NYPD, without hope of finding them alive.
At night, Martin still worries about Danny, but he can see the others' eyes and the bags beneath all their eyes that he is not alone.
It helps a bit.
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On the sixth day, Martin reads something about damnation and humanity's lack of salvation in the paper. It gives him a queasy feeling in his stomach that, combined with a cup of coffee, makes me feel nauseous.
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On the sixth day, a postman discovers the bodies of two girls and a woman in an alley. Later, they will wonder what the postman did in an alley that wasn't even in his area, but for now shock dominates. Tanya's devastated, as are they all, but she's hit particularly hard and spends two hours non- stop crying. She can't say why she's so very upset, she simply is. And it has nothing to do with her failing professionally and not coming up with a good profile, a blame that she solely rests on her shoulders, though no- one has voiced anything along that lines.
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On the sixth day, they visit Danny once too often in prison. It's been decided that he stays put to tickle more out of Parcello. It reminds them of Sam's undercover mission, and Martin now feels the constant urge to vomit. Judging from the team's expressions, he is not the only one.
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On the sixth day, during dinner, one of Parcello's goons shoves a knife seven times into the chest of a snitch.
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On the sixth day, just after having convinced the board to pull Danny out in two days' time, Jack Malone gets called to the Angel of Mercy Hospital.
He takes Vivian, Samantha und Martin with him.
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On the sixth day, Danny Taylor is brought into the emergency room of the Angel of Mercy Hospital with seven stab wounds to his chest.
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On the sixth day, at 11:59pm, he is still in surgery.
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People say that things change the next day.
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On the seventh day, at 1:30am, he flat- lines.
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And all that is, is silence.
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You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love
For to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
Among the fields of gold
Will you stay with me will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold
I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold
Many years have passed since those summer days
Among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down
Among the fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
(Sting- Fields of Gold)