A/N. Thank you for reading and reviewing. It warms this wannabe writer's heart to know you are enjoying the story so far. Now all I have to do is fix the plot holes ;-)

Chapter 4

Sid unclipped his glasses as Jo and Sheldon made their way into autopsy. He pulled the sheet further down the body to reveal the man's chest. "Allow me to present Ali Hanin." He re-positioned his glasses and placed his gloved hand over the victim's throat. "Bruising on the neck." Sid then lifted the man's arm. "More bruising on the arm as though he was restrained. A single blow to the abdomen." Sid simulated the potential blows that had caused the bruising. Sheldon looked quizzically at Sid unsure what was coming.

Jo thought for a moment. "So cause of death was strangulation?"

Sid shook his head, "Natural causes." At their look of surprise. "He suffered from angina. He was taking various medications and had nitroglycerin tablets in his pocket. His heart gave out."

"Time of death?"

"Between 3pm and 5pm." replied Sid as he consulted his notes. "He was found dumped on waste land out by the airport by a man walking his dog at 9:15pm."

"I was on duty and got the call. I arrived at 10.52pm." added Sheldon. "No witnesses. Very little evidence at the scene that hadn't been compromised by the rain. I've got Adam running trace."

"Any clues to how he got there?" Jo raised an eyebrow.

"Let's ask Adam. He's checking traffic cams and surveillance systems." Sheldon smiled at Jo.

Sid looked confused. "I thought he was running trace?"

Sheldon grinned "He's multi-tasking!"

"What about Danny and Lindsay?" Sid peered at Jo over the top of his glasses.

"Oh they've gone shopping!" Sid looked confused but didn't get the opportunity to ask as Jo left with a jingle of jewellery and an enigmatic Mona Lisa smile.

A short while later Jo tip-toed quietly into Mac's office and watched him for a few moments. Mac had promised that he would get a couple of hours rest before Marsh turned up, but judging by the light sheen on his forehead and the rapid movement under his eye-lids this wasn't to be. Jo frowned as she noted his breathing increase in rapidity. As Mac suddenly inhaled and held his breath, Jo felt her heart clench. She watched as a sudden look of intense pain crossed his face. His eyes flew open and Jo jumped as he suddenly sat up, his hand gripping the back of the sofa until his knuckles showed white. She quickly calmed herself and sat down on the edge of the sofa just as he had done some hours earlier. "Mac?"

Mac turned his face to look at her but his unfocussed eyes immediately told her he was somewhere else. "Mac you were dreaming." she said softly placing her hand on his arm, the haunted look on his face momentarily scaring her.

"Jo?" Mac glanced around his office as though he had no idea where he was, and then just as suddenly. "Sorry! What time is it?" He ran his hand over his face and inhaled deeply.

"It's okay. It's not quite two." she answered as she got up allowing Mac to swing his legs off the sofa. He buried his head in his hands. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine. Excuse me." Mac got up and headed straight for the rest-rooms. Jo sighed deeply as she watched him disappear down the corridor. She knew that many veterans were plagued by their dreams, often waking up screaming from th eimages that haunted them. It scared her to think about what plagued Mac's dreams and she shivered as she realized what perhaps scared the most was that Mac hadn't uttered a sound.

Stepping up to the wash-basin, Mac ran the cold water and splashed it onto his face. He stood for a few minutes, his hands gripping the side of the basin with his head bowed. He watched the drops of water trickle away into the sink and allowed the water to cool him, washing away the memories of the dream. He cupped his hands under the running water and scooped up a mouthful, letting the liquid run down his throat in an attempt to remove the dry taste that seemed to have penetrated his mouth. As he slowly raised his head to look in the mirror, it wasn't the reflection of a fifty year old head of the crime lab he saw but that of a younger version, dressed in battle-stained combat fatigues. He looked down at his hands covered in blood and ran them under the water watching it turn pink … "Captain sir… are you all right?" The echo of the past reverberated through his head. "Captain! … Mac!..."

"Mac..?"

He spun around. "Adam...?"

"Er … I'm sorry … Are you okay?" Adam stammered. "I've got something you might like to see."

Mac switched off the water and reached for some paper towels. Drying his face, he answered. "Yeah, that's great Adam. I'll be right there." As Adam backed out the door he looked back at the mirror. The Marine had disappeared and with him the memories. He closed his eyes for a moment, straightened up and rolled down his sleeves hiding the scar on his left arm just above the elbow. He did up a button on his shirt and straightened his collar. He checked the mirror once more. The head of the crime lab was back. He left to see what Adam had found.

"Okay, I haven't asked for the storage unit's surveillance camera footage because we're not supposed to be touching this case and there are no cameras where Ali Hanin's body was dumped. But I do have footage from the NYPD surveillance camera across the street from the storage unit that Ali Hanin was renting. This is 11 o'clock yesterday morning." Adam turned to the big screen and tapped 'play'. Jo, Mac and Sheldon watched as a blue pick-up rolled up outside the storage facility. The same young man they had seen in the photograph jumped out of the cab and went round to the passenger side door. He helped Ali Hanin down from the truck and they saw him assist Hanin into the storage unit. After several minutes the young man came back out with a crate which he loaded into the back of the truck. He made several more trips then came out again helping Hanin who was leaning heavily on his arm. They both got back into the truck, and drove away. "That's all there is. Now if I had the storage unit's footage ..." Adam left the question hanging.

Mac shook his head. "No, not yet. You've done enough Adam." Mac patted him on the shoulder. "I couldn't ask for more."

Adam beamed at the praise. "Oh oh! Men in suits!" Mac turned to see Marsh still accompanied by the younger Henley enter the building. He glanced at his watch. 2 o'clock. Well at least they were on time. He went out to greet them and showed them into his office closing the door behind him.

"Please take a seat. So Agent Marsh, what can I do for you?" asked Mac as he eased himself into his chair.

Marsh cleared his throat and placed a file on Mac's desk. "These are our preliminary findings. The pick-up was registered to Ali Hanin, a former acquaintance I believe?" Mac nodded as Marsh continued. "The bomb was a crude home-made device, rigged to a simple timer set for 7pm. Our autopsy findings confirm the driver to be a young man of 18 to 20 years of age. This is a photograph from your traffic surveillance system." Marsh placed a photograph similar to the one Adam had shown him a few hours earlier on top of the file. "Do you recognise him?" Mac made a pretence of looking at the picture and shook his head. He was aware of Jo watching him intently through the glass partitions, Sheldon and Adam standing at either side of her like bodyguards.

Marsh didn't seem surprised and placed another photograph on the table. "Have you had any contact with any of the men in this photograph?" Mac picked up the second picture arching an eyebrow in surprise. The group of soldiers were loosely gathered around a Jeep painted in desert camouflage. Mac immediately recognized himself standing next to his second-in-command. His 3 platoon lieutenants were all in the picture in various poses of combat readiness as was his gunnery sergeant, his medical and administrative officers and Ali Hanin.

Mac contemplated the picture for a moment and replaced it on the table for Marsh to see. His finger moved across it as he spoke. "The only person I see on a regular basis is my gunnery sergeant. My XO died some years ago. I have not kept in touch with any of the others." Mac glanced at Marsh expecting more questions but Marsh looked at him strangely for a moment.

"Your gunnery sergeant?" Mac nodded. "You haven't seen any of the others?" he reiterated.

"No. May I ask why you are so interested in the men from my company? If you were to give me an idea what is going on here perhaps we can work together." Mac leant forward in his seat and placed his elbows on his desk linking his fingers together. He stared at Marsh but Marsh merely pursed his lips deepening the sneer on his face. Marsh sniffed shook his head giving Mac the impression that he wouldn't stoop so low.

"The only person I'm interested in is Ali Hanin." Marsh rose from the chair and turned to leave.

"Then you should speak with my ME as Ali Hanin is currently lying on a slab in our morgue." Marsh spun around to glare at Mac who kept his face as neutral as possible. Marsh looked as though he was about to explode as Mac continued. "He was brought in last night while I was … er ... detained with your fellow agents." Mac placed a folder on top of the ones Marsh had placed on his desk. "He was found on waste ground late yesterday evening. It seems he died of a heart attack."

Marsh grabbed the file. He glanced at the summary page and threw it back down on the desk. He glared at Mac for a moment, muttered something that could have been either "thank you" or a somewhat cruder insult. He span around and left without a word flinging open the door to Mac's office. Jo, Sheldon and Adam stood open-mouthed as he stormed down the corridor. His young companion who had still not uttered a word followed him but was looking back at Mac, a curious expression on his face.

As Mac watched them leave, Jo came into his office, an amused look on her face. "What on earth did you say to him?"

Mac put on his very best innocent look which caused Jo to grin even more. "I simply told him that he could find Ali Hanin in autopsy. He didn't take it too well."