29th March. 03:20
Getting the chance to talk to a dangerous gang leader at this hour wasn't easy. Danny had waited for a long time, but now he finally sat face to face with the man who had organized the murder of Magie and Greg gand had caused Milton to go crazy.
"Marquez Gonzales, leader of the Black Mamba gang." Danny said, "You and Fredrick Miles were convicted for drug smuggling and attempt to commit murder of a woman named Cindy."
"Yeah I know why I'm here, I don't need to hear it again." Marquez sighed.
"You were convicted because Jerry Fiennes gave you up as he was arrested for selling a ring on the black market and he admitted to selling human organs as well, but that could never be proved."
"Exactly."
"What I'm wondering is why you decided to frame Milton Haynes for the murder of Maggie and Greg Brook." Danny said, "You framed an innocent man, who became so obsessed with proving his own innocence that he kidnapped two people to get our attention."
"So? That doesn't bother me."
"It does actually. Because until we catch the real killer, he won't give up." Danny said, although he had a gut feeling that finding the real killer still wouldn't stop Milton from committing crime.
"What's in it for me?"
"I can make your sentence shorter. I can tell the judge you cooperated."
"So you want a name huh?"
"A name and the whole story about the murder." Danny said.
"Alright. Greg wanted out, but he knew too much for me to just let him leave. He had to die and that bitch of his happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Marquez smirked, "And Milton? He was perfect. He was a druggie and wouldn't even remember the murder he supposedly committed. So we framed him. Put the murder weapon in his hands and the blood-covered clothes on him."
"Who really killed Maggie and Greg?" Danny asked.
"A guy named Mark Felton. He's probably hanging around somewhere in my old place." Marquez smirked, "If he's not there, then I don't know where he is."
"Did you know about the ring that Jerry sold?" Danny asked.
"No, I didn't. If I had I would have taken it from Milton as we put the clothes on him." Marquez said, "Jerry showed up a week later with 200 000 dollars and told me how he had sold it. It's not like a cared about the fact that he faked a coroner's report to get the ring, that's his problem."
"Thank you Mr. Gonzales for your help." Danny said and stood up to leave.
"Hey, you'll tell the judge I cooperated?" Marquez asked.
"I will." Danny said as he stepped out of the interview room.
He walked out of the prison and just as he reached his car, he got a phone call from Don.
"Messer." Danny answered.
"Danny, Angel and officer Heard, just got shot!" Don exclaimed.
Danny paled. He could hear that Don could barely keep it together.
"Are they…?"
"Angel is still alive, but not Heard. That bastard Springer shot them so he could escape. He shot her in the head Danny." Don said, on the verge of tears.
Danny could hear the sirens of the ambulance and understood that Don was inside the ambulance with Angel.
"She'll make it Don, she's strong." Danny said.
Don told Danny which hospital they were going to and Danny promised to hurry there.
-I-
03:40
"Boss! How's Angel?" Adam asked as he entered Mac's office.
Mac had just gotten off the phone with his boss Damien Devon. Every police officer that could be used was being called in to catch Springer.
"She went in to cardiac arrest in the ER, but they got her back. They're taking her to surgery. Damien Devon is pulling in every cop he can to find Gabriel Springer."
"I found something very interesting about him." Adam said, "He's been treated for schizophrenia. But he constantly ignored his medication. He switched mood like a pregnant woman, or worse. I think that's why his wife went out to take a walk the night she was killed. They had a fight and she was tired of his mood swings and behavior."
"And she simply happened to run in to O'Malley." Mac sighed, "I'll have a talk to O'Malley."
"What should I do now, boss?" Adam asked.
"Danny called and said we had to locate a man named Mark Felton, you do that. Call me when you find him." Mac said and stood up to leave.
He walked to the interrogation rooms and opened the door to the room O'Malley was in. O'Malley jerked awake. He was tired of course and still shocked about what he had been through.
"I have you on the murder of Melissa Springer." Mac said as he sat down across the table from O'Malley.
"I know."
"Tell me why you killed her."
O'Malley smirked evilly and Mac saw in his eyes, his true nature. A psychopath with a severely huge ego.
"I tried to get in bed with her, but she refused. I was just going to scare her a little bit, but when I saw the fear in her eyes, I couldn't help myself. So I killed her." O'Malley confessed, "I raped her and it was good."
Mac stood up and slammed his hands down on the table. He glared at the man in front of him.
"You murdered an innocent woman and forced three young girls to watch." Mac growled.
"They wanted better grades and told them that it was the only way. Then I made sure they never forgot. Every week I sent a photo of Melissa's face to them." O'Malley said, "It wasn't until her husband Gabriel showed up, that I realized I had fucked with the wrong person. If I had known that he was crazy, I would have picked another girl."
Mac grabbed O'Malley by the collar and shoved him towards the wall. O'Malley winced as his head hit the wall.
"Tell me what happened this week." Mac growled.
"Jesus man, um… that PI broke in to my house and saw the video of the murder. I had to kill him and I buried him in my bath tub, I was going to take care of him later on, but then Gabriel kidnapped me." O'Malley said, "I got to watch as he raped and murdered Barbara and Tina, it was good. He got rid of the only witnesses against me."
Mac growled.
"You ruined the lives of three young girls and a man." Mac said, "What about the pictures?"
"I got them sent to me, before my kidnapping. I burned them to hide them." O'Malley shrugged.
Mac let go of O'Malley and they both sat down again.
"I love women and especially when they fight me." O'Malley smirked, "I know I'm making you pissed right now, because you keep clenching your hands in to fists."
"You are a sick man you're finally going to the place you belong." Mac said and stood up to leave.
"What, am I going to heaven?" O'Malley teased.
"Even better. Jail." Mac smirked and left.
Mac took a deep breath outside to calm down. He could feel his patience slipping. He was tired and worried. He had one friend missing, two other in the hospital and his wife in the hospital as well.
-I-
06:00
Don was sitting in a chair in the waiting area with Danny on one side of him and Mac on the other. All three men were tired of the tragic events that kept on coming. They looked up to see a doctor approach them.
"Are you here for Jennifer Angel?" He asked.
"Yes, we are." Don said and stood up with his friends, "Is she going to be okay?"
"Hopefully in time, however we can't tell until she wakes up. She's slipped in to a coma. She got through the surgery perfectly fine and we managed to retrieve the bullet for you." The doctor said and handed Mac the bullet, "The bullet did some damage to her nervous system and I fear that she might have some trouble feeling on some parts of the body, especially the right side of her face."
"But that can be fixed, right?" Don asked.
"Maybe. On some people it can and some others I can't." The doctor said, "She's in room 214 if you want to see her."
Don nodded and sighed. He walked towards the room with Danny and Mac. When he opened the door, his heart broke. He saw his girlfriend, the woman he loved more than anyone else in the world, lying in bed with a tube down her throat and her face covered in bandages. The doctor had been forced to shave off her hair for surgery. Don felt tears slide down his cheeks as he sat down next to her and grabbed her hand.
"I was going to ask her to marry me this weekend." Don said quietly, "I had bought a ring already."
"She would have said yes and jumped in to your arms." Danny said.
"Yeah, that's typical Angel." Don smiled, but his smile faded quickly again.
"Don, We're going to leave you alone with Angel for a while. I'm going to check on Stella and then process this bullet." Mac said, "Although, we already now it's from Angel's gun."
"I'm going back to the lab to find Springer and Milton." Danny said, "Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine." Don said.
Danny and Mac left and Don kissed Angel on the cheek.
"Hey baby, it's me Don. I love you so much and I really want you to wake up." Don whispered in her ear.
Meanwhile, Mac opened the door to Stella's room only to find her still asleep. It was good for her. She needed all the sleep she could get. Mac gave her a soft kiss on the lips and then left. Danny was waiting for him outside the room.
"Mac, how do we find Springer?" Danny asked.
"We use O'Malley as bait, we tell the press that he was released and sent home. Springer won't be able to resist the chance to kill him." Mac growled.
"What about Milton and Sheldon?" Danny asked.
"If nothing happens in and hour or two, we're going to search every room in that hotel for them." Mac said, "I'm tired of playing games, it's time to end this."
-I-
06:40
Mac had talked to the press and said that O'Malley had been released. O'Malley was sitting in his apartment with cops surrounding the place on the outside and inside. They were hiding in every spot possible and just waited for Springer to show up.
"Adam tell me you got something." Mac said.
"I got the location where Mark Felton is hiding." Adam said and gave a note with the address to Mac.
"I can take that." Danny said, "I'll take a bunch of officers with me and arrest this SOB."
"I'll go to the hotel and… Don?"
Danny and Mac looked confused at Don, who was standing in the doorway.
"I'm going to O'Malley's place, I want to catch the man who shot Angel." Don said with a tone that said it was no point in arguing with him.
"Alright. Let's do what we do best." Mac said and everyone left in different directions.
Adam looked around in the empty lab, "Guess I can do… nothing." He shrugged.
Danny drove a deserted part of NYC and then to the only house that looked like it was about to fall apart. It wasn't a house you should live in, but Adam had tracked Mark Felton to that place by his cell phone. Danny and four officers carefully burst through the door to the house and interrupted six gang members as they were switching drugs. They jumped up and ran towards different rooms in the house.
"NYPD, come you with your hands in the air!" Danny growled.
Nobody showed themselves and Danny and the officers split up. Two shots were heard as two gang members committed suicide by cop. Danny opened the bathroom door and saw Mark and another gang member.
"Hands in the air and drop to the floor!" Danny said, "Do it now!"
The unknown gang member jumped forward and knocked Danny to the ground, Mark took the chance to escape through the bathroom window. Danny pushed the other guy off and he ran towards the officers down the hall. He was knocked down and arrested. Danny climbed through the bathroom window with officer Jackson close behind him.
"Mark Felton!" Danny called as he saw Mark disappear behind a corner, "Stop!"
Danny and Jackson followed Mark to an abandoned warehouse and saw Mark climb up the emergency stairs and in through a window. Danny took the same way, while Jackson decided to use the front door and hopefully surprise Mark.
"Felton!" Danny called, once he was inside the warehouse, "You're under arrest!"
From out of nowhere, Mark appeared and hit Danny in the face with a shovel. Danny felt his nose break but that didn't stop him from running after Mark. Mark took some stairs down and ran straight in to Jackson. As he fought with Jackson, Danny grabbed his jacket and dragged him off Jackson.
"Mark Felton, put your hands in the air!" Danny growled, "You're under arrest for the murder of Maggie and Greg Brook, drug smuggling and assault on two police officers."
"I haven't done shit, man!" Mark said, "I'm innocent."
"Shut up asshole, Gonzales gave you up." Danny sighed.
Jackson handcuffed Mark and led him away. Back at the house there were two ambulances waiting for anyone who was injured, only Mark and two other gang members had survived, the rest had been shot. Danny was treated for his broken nose.
"Can you just fix my nose right here?" Danny asked the EMT.
"I would really like to take you to the hospital." The EMT said.
"Alright, alright." Danny sighed and sat down in the ambulance.
-I-
07:20
As expected Gabriel Springer showed up at O'Malley's house. He was at the front door and tried the door handle, it was open. Don was hiding in the kitchen and tried to keep his rage under control. He just wanted to shoot Springer in the head like he had done to Angel.
"O'Malley!" Springer growled and aimed his gun at O'Malley.
Justin O'Malley stood up from the couch and raised his hands.
"Look man, I have nothing to do with this shit." He said.
"Shut up, you murdered my wife and the cops let you go!" Springer growled, "Down on your knees."
O'Malley obeyed and wondered when the cops were going to show up. Just then Don and the others burst in to the room and aimed their guns at Springer.
"Drop your gun Gabriel." Don growled, "Or I'll put a bullet in your head."
"He's guilty of murder!" Springer exclaimed.
"And he'll get his punishment. We used him as a bait to get you." Don said, "Now drop the gun."
Springer sighed and lowered the gun, just as an officer stepped forward to cuff him, he raised it and turned to aim at Don. Don didn't hesitate as he shot Springer in the chest. O'Malley was handcuffed and led away and an officer called for an ambulance for Springer, but by the time it got there, he was already gone.
Don decided to go back to the hospital and see Angel again. He sat down by the side of her bed and squeezed her hand gently.
"Springer is dead. I shot him when he tried to shoot me." Don said quietly and just watched Angel for a while.
On the other side of town, Mac and SWAT were waiting for Milton to show himself. If he didn't soon, they would search through the every single room in the hotel.
Meanwhile, Milton was getting tired in the hotel room he had forced himself inside. The man who he had as hostage was sitting on the couch. Sheldon was lying in the bathroom, after going through another beating.
"I have to work." The man said.
"What's your name?" Milton asked.
"Lucius Marble."
"What do you work with?"
"I'm a professor at chemistry and I have a seminar in two hours." Lucius lied.
He had already had a seminar two days earlier, but he had to get out of the room and call the cops somehow.
"Well, Lucius, I don't really know if I can just let you leave." Milton said and then yawned.
"I won't do anything stupid."
"And how can I trust you with that?"
"Well, if I do anything stupid you could kill the man in the bathroom. I don't want to risk his life."
"True." Milton yawned, "You're not going anywhere."
"But…"
"No buts!" Milton growled and pulled the cable from the TV to the wall out and tied Lucius to the bed leg. Lucius sat on the floor and watched as Milton slowly fell asleep. When he heard Milton snoring, he tried to pull his hands lose.
"Come on, come on." He growled low and managed to get one hand free.
Once one hand was free it was easy to get the other one lose as well. Lucius carefully stood up and walked towards the door. He opened the door and peeked outside. As he closed the door, he could hear Milton waking up in the room and cursing. Lucius hurried down the hallway to the elevator and took it down to the first floor. He ran to the check-in-desks and told them to call the police. Since they knew the police were already there, they simply waved a few undercover cops over.
"Mac, a man named Lucius Marble says Milton is in his hotel room, number 313." The SWAT leader said.
Mac and SWAT, who had seen Lucius run to the elevator on the surveillance cameras, quickly took the elevator up to the right floor. They approached the room with their guns raised and kicked the door in.
"NYPD! Milton Haynes if you're in here, show yourself!" Mac growled and walked towards the only closed door in the room, the bathroom. When he opened it, he saw Sheldon lying on the floor, covered in blood.
"Call an ambulance!" Mac said, "Sheldon, wake up."
Mac gently shook Sheldon, but he didn't wake up.
"Any sign of Milton?" He asked the SWAT leader.
"No, he went out the window and used the balcony to climb either up or down. And from there he can use the stairwell to escape."
"Search every floor and every room. We can't let him escape again." Mac said firmly, "Sheldon, come on, wake up."
TBC…
AN: I'm not sure if Angel's first name is Jessica or Jennifer, so I decided to use Jennifer. Please review!