Deadline

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Without a Trace characters.

Note: This fic is initially written in French, which is my mother tongue, and it is unbetaed. I hope you will understand all the same, despite of the mistakes.

6h00. a.m.

Danny massaged his neck smiling, his mind filled with nice daydreaming thoughts. The slight jolt of the elevator made him understand that he had reached the MPU floor and in the same time brought him back to reality. The elevator doors opened and he headed slowly towards the bullpen where Martin was waiting for him.

"Hi bro! " he greeted him cheerfully.

"Morning Danny, late night last night?" Martin replied laughing.

Danny shot him a meaningful look, smiled and sat down on the edge of his desk. It had been a week now since Kate, his girlfriend, had moved into his apartment.

"So tell me, how are things with Kate?"

"Things are good man. We're still maybe a little awkward sometimes. We need time to, you know, get our bearings. But it's great, she's...I mean, I'm happy," Danny told him with a large grin.

"I see that! I'm glad for you, you deserve it."

"Thanks. What about you? Nobody since your split with Sam?

"Eeh you know how it works...I met some girls but nothing serious," Martin shrugged.

"I see, but if you want, my neighbour is looking for a nice and responsible man. I can phone her and tell her you're interested. Alright, she's 50 years old but..." he laughed as Martin cut him off with a friendly little tap.They kept talking about their respective love affairs during a few minutes and then focused on their new case. A young woman called Emily McNamara had been missing after spending the night in a dancing.

"Apparently somebody grabbed her and pushed her into a red pick-up. NYPD called us on the spot. Jack and Sam are on the scene and Viv is on the way to talk to her parents," Martin briefed Danny.

"Why did she get abducted so early?" he said stifling a yawn.

"Don't complain, Jack called me before you."

"What do we know about her?"

"Her parents are rich... fabulously rich. Her father runs a big property company and her mother is Eva Mariah Lange!" Martin answered emphasizing the name of the mother.

"Eva..you mean The Eva Mariah Lange?"

"Herself. Since when have you been interested in celebs?" Martin laughed.

"Hey everybody, at least everybody in New York City knows who she is. The press nicknames her 'The Tornado Eva' "

Martin smiled picturing Danny buried in a society magazine. He was not really this kind of guy. But he was right: Eva Mariah Lange was incredibly famous in the city. At his father's death, a rich industrialist, she had inherited of his fortune and had managed her wealth with a firm hand and a bright mind to become one of the richiest and most powerful women of the state of New York. She always achieved her aims and she was very generous, that's why people respected and liked her so much. If her only daughter was missing, the reason seemed obvious. A ransom. Danny raked a hand through his unruly tufts and settled down in front of his computer. " So who are you, really Emily?" he said tapping on the keyboard. The two agents spent the morning delving into her life and found out that she was in with a bad crowd. She dated a second-year student who had as extra activity the sale and purchase of illicit substances. He owed a gang a big sum of money and, when the McNamara received a ransom demand, all the suspicion fell on him. However it turned out quickly that he had nothing to do with Emily's disappearance and they had to refocus the investigation on other suspects. Unfortunately there were plenty of them considering Emily's parents' wealth. Anybody could have kidnapped her and asked millions of dollars for her release. It was an easy target. She hung around seedy places at night and refused to be protected by bodyguards.

As Emily's father was home with Jack, her mother came in the Federal Plaza. She really needed a change of air, she could no longer stand the wait.

"She wants to have the same life as her friends', she wants to be normal, you see... I should have persuaded her to be with a bodyguard when she goes out at night. I haven't been able to-to-to protect her and now look what happened, " Eva said crying her eyes out.

"Mrs. Lange, this is not your fault," Danny replied gently giving her a handkerchief, "your daughter is of age and you can't protect her from everything. You are rich and influential, which exposes her to some dangers, but you're not responsible for those."

He looked at her carefully. She was completely different from the woman he used to see in the magazines. "The Tornado Eva" had just showed her biggest weakness: her daughter. She loved her undeniably and knowing she was in danger drove her mad .

"I know it's not easy ma'am but you have to stay strong for her," Danny went on, "we have proof that she's still alive and the FBI is used to dealing with this kind of situation. You have to keep faith, we're gonna find your daughter."

"I trust you and whatever they ask us for her release, we will pay. I'd give everything I have just to see her face again. She's my little...my-my-my..."

She was unable to finish her sentence as she started sobbing again. Danny rubbed her back gently and then left her alone for awhile. Just the time for her to calm down. It was a broken mother, broken by her child's absence. He headed towards Martin's desk. Frowning, he seemed fascinated by something on his computer screen.

"Something interesting?" Danny asked leaning over him.

"Looks like, indeed. Do you see this guy?" Martin answered.

"Yep, who's this?"

"The former McNamara's gardener and guess what?, he got a record."

"They fired him?"

"Yes, seven months ago. They had caught him stealing their silverware."

"You got his address?"

"Yeah, Jack is in the surroundings. He's bringing him in."

2:00 p.m.

Jack and Sam took Tyler Waits, the former gardener, to the interview room. Samantha sat down in front of him while Jack was standing with an impassive face.

"So, tell me, Mr. Waits, since when have you known the McNamara's?" she asked.

"I worked for 'em during two years"

"And you were dismissed for stealing in their..."

"They lied! They never were able to prove my guilt," he cut her off with angry voice, "but you can't fight against those people. You know how it works, the rich rule this world. They don't give a damn about guys like me, I was just an innocent victim."

"An innocent victim with a very, very long record," Sam replied looking him straight in the eye.

"Youthful indiscretions" he looked away.

"And, of course, you didn't talk to your employers about those..."

"Coz you truly believe they would've let me work for them with such a record?" he laughed bitterly, " I considered I deserved a second chance, that's all" he added.

"Or rather, it would be a sixth or a seventh chance," Jack said, "You haven't wasted your time these last years: thefts, fraud, blackmail..."

"Hey! I have paid my debt to society, I'm clean, so give me a break!!"

"I'd like to believe you, but you tends to reoffend. "Jack said stepping forward, "Is the expression 'Learning from one's mistakes' vaguely familiar to you?" he added with a little smirk.

"Why am I here?"

"You really have no idea?" Sam told him.

"It's for Emily's kidnapping, isn't it? It's all over the news. I know what you think but I have nothing to do with that" Tyler replied blinking nervously.

"Where were you last night between 4 and 6?" Jack asked.

"In my bed, sleeping peacefully is that alright!" he answered aggressively but his eyes lied.

Martin was watching the questioning through the two-way mirror. Jack knew that Tyler was guilty. Martin could read it on his boss's face but for the time being they hadn't enough proofs to confound him, moreover he had asked a lawyer.

3:00 p.m.

Tyler Wait's lawyer had arrived and had spoken to his client. The ransom was scheduled to be delivered at 8:00 p.m. Lucky for them, Tyler Waits wasn't really gifted in kidnappings and they found quickly the proofs they needed. He had used his own pick-up to abduct Emily. He also had an accomplice and in order to improve his situation, he didn't wait to be asked twice before giving him away. Jack and Danny took their coats and drove fastly towards the building where Emily was detained. They unholstered their guns, broke down the door and ordered the accomplice to kneel down and cross his fingers behind his head. As Jack cuffed him, Danny headed towards a little room. There she was, gagged, her hands bound to the heater. Danny set her free and she threw herself into his arms crying and shaking. He held her protectively and waited for her to calm down. He then wrapped his coat around her frail shoulders and they got out of the apartment.

Mr. McNamara had joined his wife and they waited impatiently for their daughter to come back. When they saw her, a smile lit up their face and they ran to take her in their arms. Danny smiled, glad that this case had a happy ending. He knew it was not often the case. As he was headed towards his desk, he heard someone hailing him.

"Agent Taylor?"

"Yes?" he turned round.

"Thanks so much, I was right to trust you," Eva Mariah Lange said truthfully.

"You're welcome, ma'am."

"Call me Eva"

"Alright Eva. This way I'll pride myself of knowing a celebrity," he grinned as she smiled back at him. It was a good day in the end. At least, that's what he thought...

The team spent the rest of the day doing paperwork. There were lots of reports to complete and Jack had to talk to the press about the kidnapping. Danny went home in the evening.

"Kate, are you there?" he said hanging his coat on the coat rack.

Silence. She was probably still at work. Entering the kitchen he noticed she had left a note on the fridge.

Hey Danny, you left early this morning. I could have used a kiss (or maybe more) before going to work.

Longing to be tonight, I already miss you. Hope you had a great day at work.

Love you.

K.

He smiled and went to the bathroom to take a long and relaxing shower. As he came back in the living room with bare feet and wet hair, he heard his telephone ringing. He picked it up.

"Danny Taylor?"a strange voice said.

"Yes?"

"At last, you're back"

"Yeah, who's this?" Danny replied puzzled.

"Can you tell me what time is it?"

"7:45 why?" he answered frowning.

He then heard a loud banging, like a metal door being shut.

"In two days, same time, your girlfriend will be dead."

TBC?