AN - Hello! And thank you very much for the bunch of reviews! I live and breathe for your appraisal ;) Here's the next chapter for you - I hope you enjoy it. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, as well as your reviews. Have fun reading. /K.

New York City, 54th precinct, June 13th
The sky had turned dark this close to midnight and the streets were lit up by the many lampposts and lights from windows. Danny had loosened his tie as he walked the familiar route to his car. He had just parted his ways with Baez, both of them tired after a long day of running down leads on their current cases. The streets were almost empty but it hummed with all the lives there were still awake. Danny unlocked the car and entered the driver's seat with a heavy sigh. He was just about to turn the key, when he saw an envelope on the passenger's seat. He grabbed it, hesitantly, looking out of the windows in search for someone suspicious before he opened the envelope. He glanced into the envelope, creased his eyebrows and tipped the contents out in his hand. A Velcro patch, bearing the insignia of his unit and a note with a phone number, hastily jotted down. Once again Danny looked around, twisting in his seat. He was the only survivor from his platoon, how anyone could have obtained this patch, was a mystery to him. He flashbacked to the moment that had haunted him for years, seeing the faces of his fellow marines. He gasped and snapped out of it by shaking his head and then he dug out the phone from his pocket. With shaking fingers, he entered the digits and clamped his eyes shut for a few seconds. He breathed out, opened his eyes and pressed the call button. After a single ring the line was picked up and a man answered. There was quiet instrumental music in the background.
"Danny," the hoarse voice sounded like rough sandpaper but definitely familiar. Once again he was reminded of his second tour, but he still couldn't place the voice.
"Who is this?" he asked quietly, trying to remember, but the memory kept moving away from him.
"I need your help," the voice said. The accent was non distinct, like a person who had been all over the world and lost his original accent somewhere along the way.
"What do you want?" Danny asked, growing more suspicious. An eerie feeling started to form in the pit of his stomach.
"Scotty's Diner on 336 Lexington Avenue. I'm waiting," the voice stated with a tired sigh. Like all hope had abandoned the person.
"Who are you?" Danny asked again, this time more demanding.
"I need help," the voice stated somberly and then the call was disconnected. Danny was left baffled for a few minutes and looked at his phone again. This time he hit speed dial.
"Hey, Danny, what's up?" Jamie asked, cheerful albeit a bit tired. Danny sighed, he could already feel the tension building up in his shoulders.
"Hey, kid… are you on patrol tonight?" Danny asked his younger brother.
"I am… why do you ask?" Jamie replied thoughtfully.
"All right… listen, Lexington Avenue is in your district, right?" he asked, matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, it is. What's this about, Danny?" Jamie responded, curiousness in his voice. Danny hesitated.
"Do you have to answer all my questions with your own questions?" Danny growled unintentionally and sighed. "I'm sorry… if you're not too busy, can you meet me there in fifteen minutes? Outside Scotty's Diner," he asked and massaged his temples. He already knew he was too tired for this and asking his kid brother for help, it was very much unlike him. Jamie was quiet for a few moments, considering and wondering.
"Sure, we'll be across the street in three minutes," he stated, clearly put on edge by his brother's attitude.
"Thanks, kid," Danny said, sounding a bit relieved and disconnected the call.

Lexington Avenue, midnight, June 13th
"12-David to Central," Jamie called over the radio after he had parked their car.
"Go ahead, 12-David," came the response.
"Central, put us down for a personal on 336 Lexington Avenue," Jamie replied, eying the diner.
"12-David, 10-4 on personal," the command center replied and Jamie turned the volume down on their radio.
"He sounded… weird, like he was spooked by something," Jamie pondered. Eddie had locked her eyes on the front of the diner, which was a 24 hour eating place.
"Is it work or family, you think?" she asked her partner, still keeping her eyes firmly on the front.
"I'm not sure… I guess we'll find out," he said when he saw Danny approach the car in the side view mirror. The two officers exited the car and met Danny on the sidewalk.
"Janko," Danny nodded uptight and twisted his hands.
"Hey," Eddie replied with a calming smile.
"Danny, what's going on?" Jamie asked and looked at his brother, worryingly. Danny looked around, making sure nobody was close enough to hear them. Jamie and Eddie mimicked, although they didn't know what or who they were looking for. Danny dug down into his pocket and handed Jamie the Velcro patch.
"What is that?" Eddie asked curiously and Jamie showed it to her.
"It's an armband for a certain platoon in the Marine Core," Jamie explained. He knew his way around the military symbols and this one made him understand why Danny was on edge.
"It was in an envelope on the passenger seat in my car," Danny explained when Jamie looked at him, questions in his eyes.
"It isn't yours?" Jamie asked surprised. Danny shook his head and glanced over Jamie's shoulder to look at the diner.
"There was a note with a phone number too. I called it and a man answered. He sounded familiar, but there's something about it. He said, he needed my help," Danny said, getting more annoyed by the minute. Jamie's eyes grew big in wonder and then squinted suspiciously. He handed the patch back to Danny.
"You're going to meet him? In there? I don't like it, Danny," Jamie said in skepticism. Eddie was looking from one Reagan to another and she saw the tension in the oldest and the growing strain in the youngest.
"That's why I called you, kid, I don't like it anymore than you, but I can't pass on it and I can't call in the cavalry for a doubtful phone call," Danny replied and sighed. Jamie breathed out slowly and thoughtfully and then nodded.
"All right… where do you want us?" Jamie asked, standing a little bit taller. Danny glanced at the diner again.
"Just wait here," Danny said and moved past the two officers.
"What's going on?" Eddie asked when Danny crossed the street. Jamie followed his brother with his eyes and sighed.
"Danny's a marine, two tours in Fallujah in '03 and '04. On the second tour, his platoon was attacked and only Danny made it out alive. The arm patch was his units emblem… no one should have one like it," Jamie explained just as Danny reached the door.
"Oh…" Eddie mumbled when she realized what was going on.
"Yeah," Jamie countered uneasily.

Danny pulled open the door and the smell of deep-fried food hit him. The long, narrow room looked endless with the kitchen on the right side, stacked with all kind of supplies and booths to the left, fitting two people on each side of the table. Only a few customers had occupied the seats and Danny's eyes glanced over all of them in turn. He nodded to the middle aged guy behind the counter and continued down the aisle. In the last booth on the left he did a perfect double take. A scruffy, jumpy man raised his clear, blue eyes and looked right at him. Danny had to swallow the lump in his throat and remind himself how to walk.
"Danny Reagan," the man said with the same hoarse voice from the phone call and a cheerful yet subdued face. The dark brown, unkempt hair just touched the collar of the dull, grey shirt. Danny hesitated, he had to find support on the chair back because his legs felt wobbly.
"David Garcia?" Danny mumbled in awe with all kinds of emotions running through him. "I…. I thought you died… how..?" he continued and kept starring at the man in front of him. It was David, no doubt about that, a decade older, a bit more weary and… timid?
"You and me both," David agreed and ignored the question. He was sitting straight in the chair and kept his hands in the pockets of the jumper he was wearing, not touching the mug of coffee, someone had planted in front of him.
"What are you doing in New York?" Danny asked, trying to shake of the surprise.
"Walk with me," David only replied and got up in an awkward motion and moved past the still bewildered Danny with a limp on his left leg. Danny set in motion just as one of the other guests got to his feet and almost bumped into David. Almost, because his movements was promptly stopped by David who grabbed the big man's left arm, twisted it around the man's back, kneed him in the stomach and kicked the feet away from under him so the man landed on his stomach. Danny had barely moved, hardly even reacted the first two seconds. David was bending over the man with a knee on the back of him, the man was moaning and whining about the pain in his arm. Everybody's eyes were resting on David. Then Danny reacted and moved forward to haul David of the man. But as soon as Danny felt the fabric under his fingers, David swiveled around, pulled a gun out from nowhere and pointed it straight at Danny's face. That was when the remaining guests freaked out and ran for the door. Danny didn't move, he hardly breathed. It wasn't the first time, he had been in front of a gun, but he was rattled and when he looked past it, into David's wild eyes, he saw another man than the one he knew a decade ago. The only way out was behind David and the last couple of guests and the two workers were frozen behind Danny. The big man David had knocked to the floor scrambled to the door. Danny took a careful step back and lifted his hands to show David that he wasn't going to do anything.
"Hey…" Danny said carefully, warningly. David breathed rapidly and superficial and his eyes didn't even seem to recognize Danny.

"Hey, hey, hey…" Jamie mumbled when he saw half a dozen people running out of the diner. Both he and Eddie had been leaning on the hood of the car, talking and waiting.
"That doesn't look good," Eddie complied when they pushed off the car and crossed the road, ready to draw their weapons if needed. They lined up against the wall and peeked inside, deciding to draw their weapons.
"Not good at all," Jamie replied and pressed the call button on his shoulder mike.
"12-David to Central, requesting back-up at 336 Lexington Avenue to a 10-85 forthwith. One armed suspect, five civilians and a plainclothes detective inside," he reported without moving his eyes from the back of the man Danny was talking to.
"Copy on 10-85 at 336 Lexington Avenue, sending back-up," the dispatcher replied.*
"Who the hell is that?" Eddie asked in wonder. Jamie shrugged and moved his eyes to Danny. His eyes were frantic when they met Jamie's over the man's shoulder and his hand moved discreetly, the universal sign for wait or pause.
"We have to do something," Jamie sighed frustrated, feeling the panic creeping up his spine.
"Jamie... Jamie," Eddie tried to capture his concentration. When he briefly looked at her, she shook her head, expecting him to understand. "You can't just go in there, guns blazing and all… remember what you told Sergeant Mulvey? Remember that, now, and think," she spoke fast and quiet, and she saw the impact her words did on him. He nodded and breathed out slowly, almost counting to ten.

"David, listen to me," Danny tried carefully. Apparently he suffered a much more severe psychological trauma than Danny and he wasn't about to just jump the guy and hope for the best. David moved briskly back and forth on the narrow aisle but the gun didn't waver from pointing straight at Danny.
"Why are you doing this to me?" David cried out, clearly spooked and triggered to somewhere else, sometime else.
"David, I'm not going to hurt you… you're my friend, remember? We were in the Marine Core, we served together," Danny begged, hoping he could generate enough memories. David's eyes flickered hesitantly. "I'm Danny… Danny Reagan… I'm your friend, David, you can relax," Danny continued in a low voice, keeping David's attention on him. Then sirens started to howl and the fury in David's eyes was reignited as he turned around with a roar, heaving the gun around to face the new challenges. Danny launched forward, reaching for the gun, David spun around, dragging Danny around him, both of them scrambled for the gun, they tripped over their feet, fell to the ground and the gun went off between them. People screamed, the door was flung open, Jamie and Eddie burst inside and saw the bundle of limbs on the floor, a pool of blood growing around the motionless men.