Title: Too Tough To Die
Chapter 11 – One Wrong Move
"Okay I want him to know I'm not going home but I don't want him to know which hotel I'm going to either," Danny told the driver as they headed for the tunnel.
"We're all set…we'll lose him in the tunnel. We'll pull into the service bay, swap vehicles and two go one way and two the other and then all four when they exit the tunnel, two on each side will go different directions."
"Let's hope he picks the wrong direction," Danny huffed as looked outside into the city as it zoomed past; his mind eager to know when his wife, son's and niece arrived at the safe house safely. Where are you you bastard! His mind growled as he glanced into the rear view mirror and then down at his watch.
"We're right on schedule detective Reagan."
"'kay…thanks," Danny muttered as he nodded and then pulled out a picture from his wallet and looked down at his family. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he gazed at the picture for a few moments before he shoved it back into his wallet and then dropped his wallet back into an inner pocket. He was now carrying two cell phones, one for his wife and his phone because they wanted Wilder to still be able to call just in case Danny could provoke him into giving up even the smallest ping on his current location.
"He's out there…somewhere…" Danny started. But just before he could get out another word, his phone buzzes and instead of feeling incensed at the incoming words, his mind started to acknowledge that his plan was actually working.
'Like the ball cap detective.'
"Wilder," Danny talked into his headpiece, his father, brother, partner and Agent Parker all listening in. "He saw me…acknowledged the ball cap but didn't say when," Danny relayed the message to those listening. "Any trace on the number?"
"None…it must have been sent from a pay as you go phone," the NYPD computer technician replied to all of them with a somewhat glum tone.
They neared the tunnel and Danny still wasn't convinced that Wilder wasn't on them…somewhere – close by. Suddenly…I'm nervous...what if this doesn't work? What if he finds out where Linda and the boys are? What if he goes after them instead? Does it to hurt me…knowing it woul…"
"Detective?"
"Yeah…ready," Danny nodded as the car he was riding in started to slow. It would have to be timed perfectly. Get in. Duck down. And then…wait. And that part does go according to Danny's plan. Despite some aching in his chest, he remained in a crouched position until they were driving into the underground parking lot of a mall that had a hotel attached to it.
Danny's lips uttered an instant groan as soon as the everyday sedan came to a stop outside the hotel's service elevator and he was finally able to get out and stretch. His fingers instantly headed for his fresh surgical wound and his mind wondered if he should call his wife to tell her it was still feeling a bit warm. Probably from all the excitement…don't worry her for nothing.
So he settled his mind to just call her and tell her he was okay and then get a regular meal and some solid rest.
'Nikki, the boys and I are safe. Worried about you. Love you so much. Goodnight.'
He texted back a simple message to his wife and then put his phone down on his lap. He looked around the quite hotel room and suddenly felt a small pang of lonely despair as it started to consume him. He started to think about Wilder finding his family…hurting them when he promised they'd be safe and then sending him parts of each of their bodies to horrify and cement him as the one in control.
This bastard will not win! With those words Danny slowly trudged into the bathroom, turned on the shower and started to undress. As he got into the show stall and stood under the hot streams, his mind couldn't help but wonder where Wilder was at this exact moment.
XXXXXXXX
"NOT FAIR!" Wilder shouted as his fist came down upon the dashboard of the car he was seated in. He had planted himself outside the hospital and watched Danny leave. He had told himself that Danny wouldn't want to go home so as not to put his family in danger so he decided to watch the hospital entrance and then follow Danny when he left.
However, his plan hit a small snag when he was stopped by an ambulance and fire truck but thought he had enough time to catch up. But when he exited on the other side of the tunnel – in New Jersey, he knew he had zigged when he shoulda zagged and turned around and headed back into New York.
"Where are you!" Wilder hissed as his eyes narrowed and he looked at the traffic before him. As he headed for Danny's home, just in case, the seasoned detective, had decided to try to trick him into thinking that he would go elsewhere. When he arrived at Danny's home and saw it dark and with only a single police car parked out front his lips spewed forth a barrage of curses.
"Where the hell are you!" Wilder hissed again, his temper on the verge of explosive as he pulled back into traffic and away from Danny's home.
"Where to…papa Reagan?"
But once again the House is dark with only a single police car parked out front.
"Baby brother!"
"Big sister!"
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!"
Wilder sat outside the front of the hospital and started to search on his phone for hotels around the hospital. But the results are too high and his agitated soared.
'Come out come out wherever you are Danny boy.'
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Danny quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and reached for his phone as he pulled the bathroom door open to let some of the hot steam escape.
"Ha! Choke on it you bastard!" Danny sneered at his phone as he read Wilder's message and then put his phone back down. He had a plan in place to draw Wilder out, but first he needed to get a solid meal into his stomach and get at least a few hours solid rest.
Hope you like my silence you ass!
XXXXXXXX
"Fine Danny…think you can defy me and get away with it! I'll show you!" Wilder's voice rose to a murderous pitch as he pulled away from the curb, leaving a strip of rubber as his defiant signature. "You think you can call the shots! You think you're the one in control here? You're not! I AM!"
But Danny Reagan wasn't the only one with a plan in mind or in motion…Thomas Wilder had planned things too perfectly, at least in his mind to let it all slip away now. He's not going to care too much if Parker or Janko is taken out…but his partner or…his brother…or…his sister…those he'll care about.
"Yes…" Wilder whispered as a twisted smile slowly spread across his lips. "Yes I think that will work just perfectly!"
Wilder ducked his small car into a dark alley and then stopped it in the shadows. He took a few deep breaths and then closed his eyes; his fingers slowly tightening around the dark steering wheel. When they open his mind had a clear plan in mind.
"Yes…" he smiled as he slowly pulled out of the shadows. "Yes…I think that will work just…perfectly."
XXXXXXXX
'Oh come on now Danny…I thought you'd like her…her name is Linda…'
"NOOOO!" Danny shouted as he woke up in a heated gasp, his heart rate elevated to an almost critical level and his mind agitated with dark images. Images of Wilder killing a young woman while he struggled in vain to get free of his cruel bonds.
He slowly headed into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, resting his palms on the cold porcelain surface and then let his head slump down for a few seconds. But when he looked back up, he saw Wilder's face staring back with a wide smile and then winked before he faded and Danny's faced replaced it.
"Damn you…" Danny growled at Wilder's invisible image before he turned and headed back to bed. He slumped back down and then pulled his phone and looked at the picture of his family – his anchor and the one thing he told himself would help him survive this hellish ordeal.
But as he turned off the light his mind couldn't help but wonder where Wilder was and what he was plotting. Maybe it was better when I was out in the open…I hate this waiting…and as much as he planned to get some solid rest and recover some of his strength, the fact that he was forced to wait in hiding wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he thought of gaining control over his deadliest enemy yet.
XXXXXXXX
"Okay so…if I take them…wait now…" Wilder talked to himself as he sat in the shadows close to his next target. "Work this through Thomas….every…single…DETAIL!"
He closed his eyes and started to chant something in an undertone, his mind calming down as it started to latch onto the words and focus.
"I take them…I draw out Danny…I draw out Danny…he comes either wired with a damn ARMY!"
He took a deep breath and then a swig of something from a small silver flask.
"I take them…I get Danny to…either way…I'll have dead weight," he paused with a small snicker, "and the game will be over because Danny will bring an army with him and even if it's not his pesky brother or his street wise partner the game will still be over!"
Wilder took another deep breath, and then looked straight ahead into the darkness. "But…but if hurt them…tell Danny he has to do what I say or else…yes…yes and when he doesn't listen I'll send my message by hurting someone he cares about…and if he still doesn't listen…the next one after that WILL DIE!"
Wilder's twisted laughter started to fill the dark interior of the car as his mind started to finalize his twisted plan. "Just you and me Danny…till death do us part!"
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This time when Danny awoke, his mind showed him his two beloved sons being mercilessly murdered by Wilder while he once again struggled in vain to get free to save them.
'You failed them Danny! Sean and Jack's deaths are on your hands!'
"This has to end," Danny snarled as he rolled onto his other side; his mind agitated and unwilling to calm down as fast as he wanted. This time when his phone buzzed his lips actually produced a genuine smile and he was quick to answer it.
"Not used to being with the boys somewhere…without you."
"I know…this hotel room is too big for one person. King sized bed…soaker tub…"
"Breakfast in bed?"
"Course," Danny answered his wife with a small smile. "This will be over soon. I promise."
"I know you're doing what you think is best for us…but to me that's always been us together. But to put your mind at ease I understand. Boys are worried about you."
"I know. But I'll draw Wilder out today and…we have a whole team he hasn't seen before. He won't win."
"Promise me you won't take any needless risks."
"Linda…"
"You see a shot…you take it," she told him firmly.
"Yes ma'am," he replied with a small smile. "Love your tenacity."
"Tenacity…big word…" she whispered….echoing the same words she had said to him before they left.
"Love you."
"Love you too."
Danny hung up and then looked at the time, his mind cursing the fact it was too early to do anything useful. Wilder probably didn't sleep at all…too busy scheming.
He'd be right.
XXXXXXXX
Wilder, all dressed in black, with his face painted the same color as his cover up, carefully made his way toward his target. His eyes darted around to make sure that he wasn't to be seen.
His first target…would send a strong enough of a warning to make Danny pay attention and hopefully set him back emotionally once more.
He stopped and waited. His brain paying rapt attention to any sounds in the near distance. Then he made his move. His hands were fast and skilled and he was done his task within seconds. Then he darted back into the darkness to wait; wicked laughter all that clung in the cool night air.
"Let the games begin Danny boy."
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"Thanks," Danny stated as he nodded to the officer who brought his breakfast a few hours later. After talking to Linda he had fallen back asleep and awoke a few hours later at least somewhat rested. Not as much as hoped.
He picked at his breakfast, his mind echoing his wife's words – 'eat your meals…I need to know you're at least making a small attempt to rebuild your strength.' And so he did, until the last square hash brown was gone.
Just as he finished he called his brother to quickly check in.
"All quiet here…he knows you're in hiding right now."
"I know…it'll change when I come out of this damn place but I want it to be on my terms. Just…don't go anywhere alone."
"Copy that."
"We won't let him!" Janko's shrill tone resounded and Jamie groaned; Danny offering them a laugh before he hung up and called his partner.
"Nothing here…just a few drunks and yeah…before you ask we checked them out."
"I'm paranoid but at least I have good reason," Danny reminded Baez before he hung up. And then he called his father.
"Don't take needless risks."
"You sound like Linda," Danny softly huffed.
"There's a reason I like her…that's one of many," Frank replied with a small smile. "Wilder is counting on making you emotionally unstable which is why he's targeting people you care for."
"I'll be okay. Talk later."
Danny hung up and then nodded to the other officer who entered and handed him a vest. He took it and headed into the bathroom to put it on. His eyes rested on the surgical scars on his chest and a heavy frown developed. Those will heal….you need to end this before more lives are permanently taken!
Just as finished dressing, Danny left the bathroom and headed into the hallway, instantly flanked by three heavily armed officers. But just as they reached the elevators his phone rang and it was time to start his plan.
"Here we go…" Danny stated as another officer was on the phone to the precinct to try to trace the origin of the incoming number. "What do you want?"
"Sleep well Danny boy?"
"I'm gonna give you a chance to surrender," Danny started. As suspected he got only a mocking reply in the form of a few seconds of laughter.
"My terms detective. Meet me by the east side docks or…"
"Or what you spineless coward!"
"Or someone you care about…will be …."
"Be what…Wilder! Wilder!" Danny shouted into the dead line and then looked at the officer who shook his head in defeat. "Damn it!" Danny cursed as he quickly phoned his wife. After making sure she was safe he relayed the message to his brother, partner and father – all of them still on alert.
"Okay…so we'll send a small detail to the pier but of course Wilder is expecting that," Danny huffed. "But I can't just sit here and do nothing. Time to get his moving caravan on the road."
"Copy that."
They all fall out behind Danny and file into the elevator and head down into the underground parking lot. "I want him to be able to see me…follow me…let's draw this bastard into our trap!" Danny growled as he got into the front passenger side of the dark sedan.
They exit onto the street and Danny's eyes instantly started to dart around – the hopes of finding something that didn't belong. Of course Wilder wouldn't make it that easy. He already had a few months head start on them to plan this – thanks to his carefully timed and planned death.
"Head toward the precinct but don't stop."
As suspected just before they neared, Danny's phone rang and he was quick to answer.
"Bored? You need to get a real hobby."
"You're not playing by the rules Danny boy."
"This is my game Wilder!"
"You still haven't learned have you! I'm in charge here…my game…my rules! And now you have broken one. Now…someone close to you will PAY!"
The line goes dead and once again he calls his wife to make sure his family is safe.
They are.
Then he calls his brother to make sure he and Eddie are still safe.
They are.
Next he calls his father…wanting to update him and make sure he and his grandfather are safe.
They are.
Then he calls his partner. "Come on Baez…pick up…pick up!" He hissed as the phone just rang and rang. "Where are…"
"Detective Reagan!" The officer in the back interjected.
"What!"
"An accident has been reported…the same location as the GPS in…Detective Baez's car. The 911 call said…there appear to be…causalities."
"WHAT!"
A/N: eeks! To be honest I did change this ending somewhat b/c originally it had been a sniper attack but with the recent shootings I went another route. So for those that knew a bit of the outline my apologies but I thought this might be a bit more sensitive and I hope that's okay. But I still wanted to keep the tension up and start round two of Wilder's twisted cat and Mouse game! What will Danny find? Is Baez one of the casualties? Or…..please do review before you go and thanks so much!
PS: I am so happy that so many are loving this angsty Danny-centric adventure! With summer holidays and all that goes along with family being on holidays and such I wish I could update sooner but right now am going to try to stick to my once a week and hope that's okay. If I do miss a week then please forgive in advance but sometimes the muse hasta take a backseat to family time :) thanks everyone!