Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been, never will be.
Thanks for the reviews! And a huge apology for taking so long to update! Must have been months, eh? Whoops… so sorry… sheepish grin.
This is Jolene's chapter, got it? Jolene's!
Ok… we haven't been updating for so long and now our Tanglewood theory has been thrown out the window, thanks to Run Silent Run Deep. But too late to change… so just say that there's no Louie in the picture, okay? This story is our own theory about how Danny was involved in Tanglewood. (which turned out wrong… darn… ;-b)
Chapter 3: Developments, or is it?
Danny slammed down the receiver. He had known it all along. The Tanglewood Boys wanted revenge after what he had done, and they're not stopping until they have accomplished it.
They knew it was his weakest point, so they took Haylie away. After all that had happened in the past, the Tanglewood Boys wanted him to suffer.
The second Aiden stepped into the hallway, she knew something was amiss.
"Danny, who called you just now?"
Danny could not hold back his tears. His heart was about to burst into two, having all the feelings crammed in it.
"Aiden, it was the Tanglewood Boys. They took Haylie. I'm sure of it," replied Danny as he banged his fists on the table.
She knew that her husband was telling the truth. He would not lie about a thing like that. Although Aiden herself was feeling so horrible, she put on a strong, reassuring face. Aiden gave Danny a soft peck on the cheek. His forehead was cold and wet. His blue eyes had also lost all the glimmer they once had. Aiden squeezed his hand and whispered into his ear.
"Let's go to sleep, okay?"
Danny pushed up his glasses. "Okay."
But both of them knew that nothing in the world could make them sleep at a time like this.
Detective Mac Taylor had called his colleagues to the lab extra early that day. A teary eyed Danny had explained the story to them all, but he left a little stuff out, like why the Tanglewood Boys were involved. He hoped they won't ask.
Seeing Danny so broken up, all of them immediately resolved to help him get his daughter back, no matter what.
Even Stella got teary as Danny told his side of the story, while Hawkes and Flack offered their deepest sympathies.
Only Mac remained quiet and stony-faced. Something that Danny was quick to notice.
Mac turned to Danny and said, "Your house phone has caller ID."
It wasn't a question.
Turning to Stella, "We can get the number and trace it."
Stella nodded, "Yeah. Let's go. Coming, Danny?"
Danny nodded as well, and followed suit.
Soon they were crowded in front of the computer, with Stella typing away at the keyboard. Soon, she made it into the software, allowing them to locate where the caller came from with just the phone number provided by Danny.
"How did they get Danny's phone number and more importantly, why are the Tanglewood Boys after Danny?" asked Stella as she typed in the mystery number into the computer.
Flack asked, "Revenge? For getting Sonny Sassone into jail last year?"
Stella frowned, "That can't be… Mac and I were on that case. Not Danny…"
Feeling his body go hot, Danny quickly said, "There are a lot of possibilities. They could've just looked my number up in the phone book." He chose not to answer Stella's other question. He never told anybody about his involvement with Tanglewood and he hoped they won't find out…
"I don't think so," said Mac, but he did not elaborate.
Danny frowned, what did he mean by that?
Stella paused for a moment, and was about to say something but the computer suddenly beeped.
Stella leaned forward, "Damn… the number came from a pay phone…"
Mac asked, "The address?"
"Some deserted place out of town…"
"Bring out the map."
A few clacks from the keyboard, and a map of the area around the pay phone appeared.
"Funny… the area's deserted. Only an old abandoned junkyard said," Stella, "Previous owners were evicted 2 years ago…"
Mac said, "If they got Haylie to speak on that public phone, they had to be somewhere deserted," He pointed at the address on the computer screen, "That's where we need to be."
Flack said "I'll get a team together."
As they rushed out, Danny felt renewed hope.
Stella said, "Come on, Danny. Let's go find Haylie."
Soon enough, Danny, Mac and Flack, along with two patrol cars were careening down the road, sirens blaring, blazing through traffic.
Flack was driving the first patrol car, carving the path through New York's vehicle ingested street, leading the way. Danny and Mac had their own unmarked car to themselves which Mac was driving, expressionless, eyes focused on the road.
They were really going fast, except a few furious brakes thanks to uncooperative drivers, but the speed did not register in Danny's mind. A million different thoughts weaved in and out, kind of like how their car was weaving through traffic. Haylie, Mac, Haylie, Aiden, Mac…
Danny shifted in his seat and he felt an unfamiliar rustle in his jacket pocket. He put his hand into the pocket and pulled out a yellow piece of paper.
His heart wrenched in pain when he read its contents. It was the invitation letter to Haylie's kindergarten's singing competition. She was supposed to be at school right now… happily awaiting her turn to come on and sing.
Danny could see it in his mind's eye… Haylie coming onto stage, looking very nervous, her eyes searching the audience for her parents. Once she found them, Danny and Aiden will shoot encouraging smiles her way and Haylie will smile back, confidence renewed, the very same cheeky grin Danny has. She sings, looking absolutely beautiful with her dark curls and bright blue eyes.
Danny gripped the paper tightly and looked out the window. He did not want Mac to see the tears that were suddenly pooling in his eyes. Danny was surprised with himself. He hadn't cried for years. He didn't even cry when his father died when he was sixteen. And here he was, crying two days in a row…
Mac's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, and for once, in many days, his tone was light, almost friendly. Very unlike the angry tone he had been using on Danny the past few days. "Haylie taking part in a singing competition?"
Hastening to dry his eyes and hoping that his voice was clear, he answered, "Yeah… it's supposed to be today…"
Out of nowhere and totally unexpected, Mac's voice turned hard, "You lied to me, Danny."
Surprised at the sudden change, Danny asked, "What?"
Not taking his eyes off the road, Mac repeated, "You lied to me,"
Danny asked, "What do you mean?" although he had a pretty good idea what he meant. Here it is, the reason why Mac had been so royally pissed with Danny the past few days… what could it be?
"You know darn well why Tanglewood has taken your kid, don't you? This isn't just a random kidnapping."
Oh. That.
Danny inhaled slowly. Mac knew… Mac had found out about the past he tried to bury 10 feet underground…
"Sonny Sassone mentioned you in an interrogation. Remember the Paul Montenassi case awhile back? I did some digging and found out that you were doing more than playing baseball with the Tanglewood Boys."
Danny wasn't even going to ask what kind of digging did Mac do, instead, he said, "This is why you were angry at me this whole time?"
"You lied about not being in Tanglewood, Danny. 'I didn't want to get mixed up' were your exact words, I think." Said Mac, sounding spiteful.
Danny flared up, "Ok! Fine! So I went with them for awhile. There, I said it! Is that what you want to hear?" He took a deep breath. He hadn't admitted this to anyone in a very long time. Years.
"But do you think I had a choice? I was born into it. I said it before. All the father's were connected in Tanglewood. My dad was a Tanglewood Boy, his dad was a Tanglewood Boy. It was pretty automatic that I was to become one of them. I wasn't like you, Mac. Didn't ever have the courage to say no… and when I finally did, it was too late."
Danny stared out the window, but not really seeing anything. When Mac made no reply, Danny continued softly, "And because of me being too much of a coward, I put my family in danger. My wife is home worrying herself sick because of me. My daughter's life is in danger because of me. Tanglewood is angry that I quit. And now they are making me pay."
Mac slowly said, "I trusted you, Danny. I gave you the job even there were others who recommended against it. Now I know why. You broke that trust, Danny. You lied all about your involvement in Tanglewood… Look, I was disappointed when I found out, Danny. I-"
The two cars in front screeched to a halt outside the junkyard. Mac and Danny looked out the windscreen and saw a lone trailer parked in the middle of it.
Danny ha the last word, "Guess I'm a big disappointment after all, huh, boss." And he got out of the car.
All was quiet as the officers surrounded the trailer, guns drawn.
Flack stood by the front door, Danny and Mac behind him. Doubt was starting to creep through Danny's mind. It was too darn quiet… was a trap waiting for them inside? Were they at the wrong place? Haylie could be miles away… cold and scared…
Flack must have noticed Danny's sudden pale complexion because he murmured quietly, voice hardly a whisper, "We'll get her, Danny. We'll get her…"
Danny nodded but it sounded a lot like Flack was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Danny.
Flack knocked on the trailer door, "NYPD! Open up!"
No answer… Seconds seemed like hours to Danny, sweat dripping down his back. His ears were picking up every rustle of an officer shifting position, every short gust of wind but he couldn't hear anything coming from within the trailer. All he wanted was to hear Haylie… to know she is alive…
Flack nodded to an officer nearby, who was armed with a large battering ram.
The door burst apart in splinters and they rushed in, Flack leading. The moment they got in, the first thing that struck them was the silence. There was only one room in the trailer. And it was completely empty.
There was no sign of Haylie anywhere. Not even a single scrap of furniture. This trailer hadn't been used for years.
After doing an initial scan, Flack lowered his gun and said morosely, "Clear."
That's when Danny saw a tape recorder lying on the dusty floor. Brain still numb from the fact that they had just lost their only lead, he pointed at the recorder.
Mac slipped on a glove and pressed the play button.
"So, Messer, we knew you could find us. But we are one step ahead. Haha… better luck next time… wait… there is no next time, is there?"
Silence followed and Danny felt like something in him went 'snap'.
"Why did they have to take Haylie?" Danny yelled to his colleagues, "They could have just shot me instead. She's so young- WHY?"
"Danny, it's not your fault! If anyone's to blame, it's the Tanglewood Boys, not you!" Flack tried desperately to convince Danny.
"Don't you get it? It's my fault Haylie's missing. Maybe I shouldn't have quit them in the first place!" Danny snapped back. There, another person he just spit the truth out to. Two in a day…
Flack looked surprised for a second at this piece of news. But now wasn't the time to ask questions, "Danny, if what you say is true, then you didn't do the wrong thing, you chose the right path. Don't go blaming yourself for this!"
"Oh yeah?" Danny retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he spat out the words like venom, "Then why don't I see you- or anyone of you pat my back and tell me 'Danny, I've got your back?' Why don't I see you stand up for me or guide me?"
"Because it isn't true!" Mac spoke up after remaining silent for awhile. "Danny, I've always got your back-all of us do. I just want to get Haylie back safe and sound,"
"He's right, Danny. You can always count on us," said Flack with a small grin.
Danny's stony face softened, but only a little. He was still fuming inside.
"Oh? And what's that for?" asked Danny, "After all that me being a disappointment to you and-"
"Danny, do you remember Claire, my wife?"
"Yeah… but what does that have to do with this?"
Mac blinked back tears, "Danny, it's just that I've already lost a loved one, and I don't want to see you lose yours."
A tear trickled down Danny's cheek, "I just don't want to lose her, Mac. I'm sorry… about the whole Tanglewood thing… I promise, no more lies."
Mac just smiled, "Good to have you back, Danny. Good to have you back." And Flack gave Danny a pat on his arm.
About then, the tape recorder crackled to life again. There was something recorded on the other side…
They all stood still, listening…
TBC
Ok, review as always. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long this time.. hehe…
Kudos, MUAKS!