Authors Note: Next chapter is here, a little bit sooner than I was expecting to get it done. Special thanks to CSI4lyfNCIS13, lily moonlight, Runner043 and afrozenheart412 for their reviews on the previous chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11

The letter had arrived on his desk that morning and Mac had recognised the hand writing immediately as Stella's. As usual his heart rate had picked up as he'd opened it, he knew Stella would only contact him for one of two reasons, she had found something or she was in danger. He had been only slightly relieved when he had read her words, they'd been written hastily, her handwriting not as neat as usual and he wondered what risks she had taken just by writing the letter. It had been short and to the point, she had found something and needed to meet with him, she gave a location and a time, no doubt a couple of days after she had actually written the letter to be sure it reached him in time. The meeting had been that afternoon and he hadn't been able to concentrate on anything else all day.

Mac looked at his watch; it was a minute until the time the letter had said she would be here. He had parked his car just outside of the alley, across the road so that he wouldn't catch the wrong people's attention. He finally spotted her coming down the street but instead of going into the alleyway she walked into the music store. He waited a moment and spotted two of Frankie's men that had to be following her. He smiled slightly to himself; she was far smarter than Frankie gave her credit for.

He drove the car down the alleyway and waited, if she could get away she would come looking for him, if she couldn't she would get in contact with him again later. It was less than a minute before she came around the corner; casting glances behind her to be sure she wasn't still being followed. Mac didn't get out of the car, it would be best to stay out of sight, in case Frankie's men came around the corner. Instead, he leaned across and opened the passenger door, a gesture for Stella to get in the car, at least then they would be out of sight and if the need arose, they could get away quickly, he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Stella slipped into the car, closing the door behind her and letting out a heavy sigh. "I've been trying to lose them for the last half an hour. I'd swear Frankie had told them not to take their eyes off me for even half a second."

"Is he suspicious?" Mac questioned worriedly but she shook her head.

"No, but he's nervous, I've never seen him this agitated before," she replied. "We should make this quick, it won't take them long to find me."

"What do you have?" Mac questioned when she looked through the back window of the car nervously, clearly Frankie wasn't the only one on edge, he hadn't seen her this nervous since she had first agreed to be his informant.

"Not much but hopefully enough," Stella told him diverting her attention back to him. "Frankie's been worried, like I've never seen him; he's been on edge, angrier than usual. I overheard him talking to Mickey the other day. Frankie was mad, said that Mickey was supposed to have taken care of something, a man who Frankie says has evidence on him."

"Go on," Mac urged.

"Mickey said the guy had taken off, gone on the run so he must have know Frankie was going to come after him and for Frankie to be this riled up, it has to be something big," Stella continued. "All I got was a name, Hanson, and that he's a factory worker. Mickey said he'd spent his life working in Greenways."

Mac grabbed his notebook and wrote down the details even though he knew he would remember them, they were burned into his brain now. He put the notebook back into his pocket and looked at Stella, she was still looking nervous, once again looking out of the window. He put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her attention back to him.

"This is good work Stella," he told her. "We'll find this guy and bring him in. You're done now."

"No, if this doesn't work out you're still going to need me," she replied and he shook his head.

"You've taken a big risk bringing me this Stella, if I start poking around in this Frankie is going to find out about it and he'll wonder who leaked the information. I'm willing to bet there aren't more than a handful of people who know about this, that's not a long list of suspects for him," Mac explained. "Stella you have done great work, I've gotten more from you than I ever thought I would get when we went into this. It's time to pull you out."

Stella looked hesitant for a moment before she nodded.


Lindsay had been marking essays for over two hours when she finally decided to call it a night; she could finish the rest tomorrow. She left her room, her father was in his study and she stuck her head through the door to find him sat behind his desk, surrounded by papers.

"I'm going for a walk," she told him and he looked up at her and the clock.

"It'll be dark soon," he replied and she nodded.

"I know but I could do with some fresh air," she stated. "I won't be long; I'll be back before it gets too dark."

"Alright, be careful," he said and she smiled as she left, grabbing her coat from the hallway before venturing out. It was a cold day but she found it refreshing and she knew when she got back the warmth of her house would feel that much nicer. There was a park nearby so she decided to head there, at this time there would still be a few people around but many would be starting to head back to their homes, it would be fairly quiet.

She passed one of the teachers from the school, saying a quick hello and offering a smile as he passed her. The park was as she'd expected, almost empty but she soon spotted a familiar face sitting on one of the benches, she couldn't help but smile as she walked over.

"Hello Danny," she said as she reached him and he looked up at her with a smile. "Mind if I sit down?"

Danny moved to the side to make room for her. "It's nice to see you again Miss..." he began but Lindsay raised an eyebrow at him. "Lindsay."

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" she questioned and he shook his head and smiled. A woman walked passed them, a small child following behind her with a miserable face complaining that he didn't want to go home yet.

"What brings you here at this time; you know it will be dark soon?" Danny questioned and Lindsay laughed.

"Worried about me?" she asked him, not expecting an answer. "I needed some fresh air; I've been grading papers since I got back from work. How about you?"

"Just wanted to take a walk, clear my mind," he told her and she nodded her head understandingly.

"Walking is good for that," she stated as she watched a couple walk by in a hurry. She caught sight of someone else she recognised, one of the students at the school, not one of hers but she remembered seeing his face around. He was not alone; he was with several others boys of varying ages. She wondered if they were part of a gang or if they were simply boys hanging out in the park, it said a lot about her life now that when she saw a group of boys together she automatically started to wonder if they were a gang.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked her and she turned her attention back to him realising that she had been staring.

"Yes, I'm fine, sorry," she said. "My mind wondered for a minute."

"Anything you want to share with the class?" he questioned and she raised her eyebrow at the bad joke and he shrugged.

"Nothing important," she told him just as the wind began to pick up. She looked up at the sky; dark clouds were moving in, it was probably going to start raining soon. "Looks like it's going to rain, I should probably go home."

"Probably," Danny replied as she stood up. He stood beside her and looked at her for a moment with a thoughtful expression, as though he was trying to decide something. "This may sound a little forward to you but would you like to have dinner with me?"

She was stunned into silence for a moment, not sure if it was a good idea. "I... I'm not sure if... actually yes, I would," she finally decided and Danny smiled.

"Good, erm... how about Saturday, there's this restaurant, Leon's," he told her and she nodded her head.

"I know that place," she told him, she'd been there for dinner with her father a few months ago. "I can meet you there."

They had a quick discussion over what time they would meet before Lindsay smiled and left. It was unlike her, to accept dinner invitations from men she barely knew, she rarely accepted them from me she did know but she couldn't help feeling excited as she left the park and made her way home. Her father came out of his study to greet her as she walked in and she could tell that he had noticed her good mood but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what he would think of Danny, he wasn't like any of the men her father had introduced to her in the hopes that she would get married and live the life women were expected to. She would just keep the date to herself for now, it might not even go anywhere, no sense in rocking the boat before she even knew what was happening.


It had been unusually hard to find him, normally when a person wanted to disappear they couldn't help but leave behind a trail, breadcrumbs that would lead others right to them. Hanson had been smarter than that, there had been hardly any breadcrumbs to follow, he'd been careful, very careful. Mac and Don had finally tracked him and his family to a motel, Mac had informed the detective of what Stella had told him almost as soon as he had gotten back to the station. Don had been surprised to learn that Mac had an informant close to Mala though he hadn't told him who it was, not yet.

They knocked on the door of Hanson's motel room and immediately heard people moving around inside, no doubt panicking as to who might be at the door. There was silence then and Mac gestured to the motel owner to open the door. They walked in quickly to find a woman and two children huddled together at the back of the room. Hanson was stood in front of them, shielding them with his own body.

"Please, don't hurt my family, they don't know anything, I'll come with you," Hanson said quickly, holding his hands up when he saw the guns the two detectives were carrying.

"We don't work for Frankie Mr Hanson," Mac stated, if they had worked for Mala the man's pleas wouldn't have done any good, the wife and kids would have been killed as well, no witnesses. "I'm Captain Taylor, this is Detective Flack, NYPD."

Hanson seemed to relax for a moment, relieved that it had not been Frankie that had found them but then he quickly tensed back up again. "I can't help you, I don't know anything."

"We know that's not true, you wouldn't be hiding here if it was," Don stated. "We can protect you, you and your family."

"No you can't, not from him," Hanson backed away from them.

"Frankie will find you, it's just a matter of time, if we can find you then he can as well, you'll be safer with us, we'll take care of you," Mac told him and he could see the man weighing up his options. "Your family will be safer with us Mr Hanson; we can put them where Frankie won't ever find them."

Hanson bit his lip and glanced back at his family for a moment. "Okay, I'll go with you but you have to promise my family will be safe."

"They will be," Mac assured him.


Hanson's family had been brought to the station along with Hanson and a team of people were already preparing to send them somewhere safe. Don looked through the glass door to the room Hanson's wife and kids were sitting in. They'd been given food and another detective had brought some toys in for the kids to play with, the older of the two looked to the be about four years old, too young to really understand what was happening but both kids would have understood that their parents were terrified.

"They'll be sent out of the city," Mac told him. "They'll be given new names; if we get what we need on Mala they'll be safe."

"What if we don't?" Don questioned.

"Then they'll be as safe as we can make them," Mac replied. "Let's just make sure we get what we need to put Mala away for life, otherwise they're not the only ones in danger."

"You mean your informant, you still haven't told me who it is you know," Don pointed out and Mac smiled.

"I know," he told him and then headed for the interrogation room where they had left Hanson.

The man was clearly still afraid, he was sat in the chair, leaning forward as though trying to make himself as small as possible. He kept glancing at the door, expecting someone to come through it at any second to hurt him. He jumped out of his chair as the two men entered, taking several steps backwards until his back hit the wall.

"Relax Mr Hanson," Mac told him. "We're not here to hurt you."

"Where is my family?" Hanson questioned.

"They're here, they're safe, we're taking care of them," Mac reassured him and Hanson came and sat down again. "If you want them to be really safe, you'll tell me why Frankie Mala is after you."

"Because of this," Hanson took something from his pocket and pushed it across the table. "It was a photograph of Frankie shooting Gregory Wilder, a restaurant owner that had been found dead in his restaurant weeks ago. It had been all over the news papers for days, Wilder's restaurant had been massively successful and he'd been a well known man because of it.

"Where did you get this?" Mac questioned.

"My cousin had a camera, he worked for a newspaper, I always wanted to do that, to do what he did, and he knew it, he teased me about it all the time. Then when he died six months ago, he left the camera to me; I would never have been able to afford one on my own. I started doing the odd job here and there, the night the restaurant owner was killed I was at the restaurant taking pictures for a newspaper article that was being written about Gregory Wilder. After closing, he invited me to take some more pictures without all the customers in them, just the restaurant," Hanson trailed off, looking at the door again, still waiting for Frankie to come through it.

"Keep going," Don encouraged and Hanson looked back at the two detectives.

"I went into the kitchens to take some pictures, it took me a while, I'm not that good with the camera yet. When I finished I went back to the front of the restaurant to tell Gregory I was done. There were men there with guns, I kept out of sight, I knew who they were, everyone knows who Frankie Mala is. I don't know why I did it, maybe I thought it would get me somewhere in the business, that people would pay big money for it, I don't know, but I took a picture, Frankie just happened to shoot Gregory as I took it," Hanson explained, dropping his head into his hands.

"Alright Mr Hanson," Mac stated pushing a piece of paper and a pen across the table. "We need you to write all of that down, and we need you to testify against Frankie."

"He'll kill me," Hanson shook his head.

"No he won't, we won't let him," Mac stated and Don looked at him for a moment, wondering if that was a promise they would be able to keep.


Stella walked into her apartment, she had mixed feelings as she looked around the place. She'd lived here for years now but she'd spent so little time here. She'd met Frankie within months of moving in and before she knew she'd been spending more time at his place than hers, more time being 'Frankie's girl' than Stella. If everything went well today, if Mac found Hanson and got what he needed then she would never have to be 'Frankie's girl' again, she would be free of him.

At the same time though, once this was over she would probably never see Mac again either. She would no longer be his informant; he would have no further use for her. She had come to consider almost a friend since she had begun working for him; she had never done anything worthwhile with her life until she had met him. When this was over, she would have no one again, the thought terrified her.

Still, it would be a relief when all this was over and a very dangerous man would be off the streets and behind bars where he couldn't hurt anyone else, that was the important thing. She hung her coat up next to the door and walked through to the kitchen to get a glass of water. What would she do with her life now? Frankie could no longer dictate things to her, she could do anything she liked, go anywhere she liked and no one would be following her, no one would be watching her every move.

"Hello Stella," she heard a familiar voice say as she left the kitchen. She dropped the glass of water from her hand, not even paying attention to it as she turned to face the man standing behind her, she had forgotten he had a key to her place, he'd rarely had to use it, she was never here.

"Frankie," she attempted to cover quickly. "You startled me; I didn't hear you come in."

"Then perhaps you should pay more attention," he replied, she could tell he was angry, behind his mask of calm she could see his temper only just being controlled.

"Probably," she replied with a forced smile. "Is everything alright?"

"You tell me," he said as he took a couple of steps closer to her, she could feel her heart thudding in her chest. "I got word a few hours ago that a couple of cops were sticking their noses into my business, looking for someone."

"Who?" Stella questioned as though she didn't know the answer, she was keeping the fear out of her voice but she knew it was showing in her face, in the way she held herself and she tried to relax, to appear as though nothing was wrong. "Frankie the cops are always sticking their noses in your business, it never bothers you like this, what's going on?"

"Don't," Frankie shouted but then got his voice back under control, Stella flinched and stepped back from him, "play games with me Stella."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stella replied, keeping her voice even.

"I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out who could have told them about Hanson, how they could possibly have found out. The only people who knew were me, Mickey, Damien and Josh, I thought maybe one of them had talked but Josh and Damien are too cowardly to go against me and Mickey would never betray me, he's been with me since we were kids, I couldn't figure it out," Frankie said, he took a few steps closer to her, all but closing the distance between them. "Then I thought to myself, who else knows all my business, who else could have overheard us talking, could have been right there listening and we wouldn't even have noticed."

"Frankie..." Stella began, ready to come up with excuses, believable stories, lies, adamant declarations of loyalty to him but he cut her off before she could say a word of any of it.

"You Stella, you are the only other person that could have known," Frankie shook his head. "That's when I thought about all the times you disappeared, when the men that were supposed to be watching you lost sight of you. They way you would hover around whenever we were talking business, the way you would ask me questions you knew you shouldn't have."

"Frankie, I swear I never..." Stella began only to be cut off by Frankie's increasing anger.

"Don't lie to me Stella," he shouted and she flinched back from him again. "It was you, you went to the cops, you betrayed me."

TBC