Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I just own my car, my laptop and my crazy muse who seems to want to write 4 different stories at a time. I also do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first!

A/N: Okay. Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed! Here's the next chapter!!! Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for the beta. I don't own the chapter title either. That belongs to Finger Eleven. Also, in case you don't know, a Monster is an energy drink, kinda like Red Bull (but much bigger). :p

Chapter 20.

Complicated Questions

When Adam got to the lab, he was on his second Monster of the day. He was fairly bouncing out of his sneakers, but he had an idea of how to get the reconstruction done. He started with Preston's computer, methodically searching through the deleted but unwritten data to see if he could find anything.

Six hours later, he was done with all three computers. Looking at the history, he still didn't see anything that connected the shooters, until he looked at the email address books. Smiling, he noticed one common email address. . Smiling, he quickly paged Mac.

"What did you find, Adam," Mac asked briskly as he walked into the lab. "Nothing in the browser histories that connected three shooters, but I did find one common email address. I was not able to find any of the emails that were sent or received by that email, but it might be a place to start," he quickly filled Mac in.

"Do you have a name for the owner of the email address," Mac queried.

Adam shook his head. "Nope, but I'm trying to pin down the IP address of the computer that it was created on. It's going to take some more time since whoever created the email has been bouncing the signal from towers across the world. It would be more helpful if person was active right now, but I'm not finding him online at the moment."

Mac nodded as he quickly pulled out his cell phone to call Cory.

"Reid," Cory answered briskly, reading the in depth background checks that she had one on the three people that she suspected as being involved.

"Cory, Adam may have found a commonality. It's an email address, . Do you recognize that?"

Cory thought for a moment. "No, I don't. But, I have three possible suspects. Do you have a name to go along with it?"

"No. It was registered anonymously. Adam is trying to track the IP address down right now."

"Okay. Tell his to check for the names, Alejo Espino, Tang Lan or Nnamdi Boateng. All three of them work for Port Authority and are connected to the shooters in some way or form. I'm reading the background checks that I did on them, but I'm not finding anything unusual as of yet. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Okay. I'll let him know," Mac responded before quickly disconnecting the call and relaying the information to Adam.

Adam looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, I'll see if I can connect any of them to the email, boss."

Mac nodded. "Let me know. I'm going to help Lindsay and Danny with processing the rest of the clothes from the victims, see if there's anything unusual there," Mac responded.

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At her office, Cory continued to skim the pages of information that she had. She had gotten everything that she could get without having a warrant, since she knew that she had no probable cause yet. Finally, she sighed to herself and went to rouse Lydia out of her slumber.

As she walked into the break room, she discovered that she was awake and smiled. "You have good timing," she said as she sat down at the table. "I didn't discover anything unusual with the backgrounds, so I think we need to go interview all the suspects. See if we can rattle them into slipping up."

Lydia blinked her eyes a couple of time. "Sounds like a plan, who do you want to hit up first?"

"I checked with their employers and the only one not working today is Alejo Espino, so since he lives in Manhattan with the Lords, I think we should start there."

"Let me freshen up a bit and then let's hit the road then."

An hour later, the women were knocking on the door of the Lords' penthouse suite. A butler answered the door and when apprised of what they needed, he led them to a small sitting room. Within moments, their suspect walked in. "Alejo Espino?" Cory questioned.

"Yes," the middle aged man answered.

"I'm SSA Reid and this is Special Agent Sanchez from the FBI. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?'

Espino shook his head. "No, not at all."

Cory smiled. "How well did you know Preston?" she began.

He smiled. "I've known him since he was a baby. Always a good kid, he never looked down on me because my wife is the housekeeper." His smile grew. "When he was nine or ten, he wanted to know what I did for the Port Authority and I explained to him that I moved big boxes around. He was fascinated and so he begged his father to let him come to my work to see that. Eventually, his father wore down and he got to come see me."

Cory looked at the man, struck by how much he genuinely seemed to care about the deceased murdered. "So, was he always like that? Curious?"

"Yeah, I told him that it wasn't a hard job, but it was an important one. That's when he started to realize that if it wasn't for the working class, his life would be a lot harder."

"Did you notice any changes in his behavior the last couple of months?" Lydia asked.

Espino shook his head. "Not really, he was always pleasant to me, but he did become a lot more interested in my job."

"Do you know why?" Cory asked, hoping that her suspicions were correct.

"No, he just always wanted to come up there and look around. I found him one day last week, poking around some crates and I told him that he wasn't allowed in that area because of safety concerns, but he just shrugged it off. That seemed a little strange."

"Do you know what was in the crates?"

"Not a clue, but then again, they don't give guys like me a manifest of the cargo. I just get to move it. The only people that know what's in the cargo are the inspectors. They are the ones that check for illegal contraband."

"Have you heard about anyone smuggling things into the country?" Lydia probed.

Espino laughed. "I always here stories about that, but I could never prove it."

Cory looked at him. "Have you heard anything about smuggling weapons in crates of fireworks?" Cory asked.

Espino thought for a moment. "Just vague whispers, but they were coming from JFK, not Brooklyn. Is that what this is really about?"

Cory wavered for a moment. "Yes and no, but somehow I think that both things are connected. What can you tell me about the rumors?"

"That's all it is. Rumors. It was something about weapons being put in fireworks so that they are undetectable by either the dogs or the scanners, but I've never found any hard evidence to back it up." He cocked his head to the side. "Come to think about it, it's been a couple of weeks since I heard anything about it."

"Do you know how something like that would be possible?" Lydia interjected.

"It'd be easy," Espino confirmed. "All you would have to do is get an inspector in your back pocket. They make the decision on what crates are randomly tested."

Cory stood up, sure that the man had nothing to do with her cases, and withdrew her business card. "Please, if the rumors start back up, don't hesitate to call me."

He looked at the card that she handed him. "No problem, Agent Reid," he responded as the two women stood up. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you more."

"Thanks for your time," she responded. Once outside she looked at Lydia. "Somehow, I don't think that any of our suspects are that high on the totem pole to be involved in the smuggling."

Lydia shrugged. "You never know, but nonetheless, we need to interview them all." As they got off the elevator, she looked at her boss. "So, JFK first?"

"Might as well," Cory conceded as they got back in the SUV.

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Adam was dancing to his iPod when his computer beeped. Amazed he looked at the screen, before rushing to the keyboard and tapping impatiently on the keys. When the information he wanted finally pulled up, he grinned triumphantly before rushing to find Mac. He looked around the lab, but didn't see Mac anywhere. Shaking his head, he had turned to go back to A/V when he spotted Mac at the elevator. "Mac!" he called out.

Mac turned around and saw the triumphant looked on Adam's face. When Adam got close enough to him, he asked, "What did you find?"

"I found the IP address and the computer is currently active, so I triangulated the location and here is the address," he said rushing his words together.

"Whoa, Adam slow down. What's the address?" he asked the excited young man.

"Here, it's in Manhattan," Adam said, handing Mac the slip of paper that he'd written the address on.

"Good job, Adam. I'll call Cory and have her meet me there," Mac said in a fatherly tone.

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Cory and Lydia had just left Staten Island when her phone rang. "Reid?" she answered.

"Hey, Cory. Adam found an address on the location of the email address we found. It's in Manhattan," Mac said.

"Really?" Cory answered in surprise.

"Yeah, do you want to meet me there? I should have the warrant by the time you arrive."

"You have to ask? Give me the address," Cory responded instantly. She quickly repeated the address to Lydia, who wrote it down. "I should be there in about an hour, depending on traffic. I'm just leaving Staten Island. I'll see you there." She grinned as she hung up the phone. "Maybe we'll get some answers."

Traffic was a little lighter than she had imagined as she pulled up to the address that Mac had given her. Cory looked up in shock. "I know this place. We're not that far from my place," she mused. "Why do I know this place?"

Lydia looked at Cory, who was obviously confused. "Maybe you've walked past it before."

Cory looked at Lydia shaking her head. "I never look that the buildings when I walk by. I always look at the people walking. God, this is driving me crazy." She was lost in thought as she got out of the car. As she walked onto the sidewalk it hit her. "Oh! I know where I've seen this!" she cried excitedly. "It was on a surveillance photo that my informant gave me on Etienne. It was of him walking into this building."

Lydia looked at her in shock. "What?! You never told me that."

"It's been crazy," she muttered as she reached over and grabbed her briefcase. "Here are the photos," she said extracting the photos and handing them to Lydia.

Lydia studied the photos carefully before handing the photos back to Cory, who put them in her breast pocket. "Who are these people that he's with?"

Cory pursed her lips. "I don't know and never found out. My informant has been rather silent as of late," she admitted. She was about to continue as a crime lab SUV drove up. Mac, Danny and Stella exited the vehicle, with Flack getting out of the one behind them.

Mac looked at Cory. "Traffic light?" he asked. Cory nodded. "Good, I have the warrant and the apartment number is 1015."

"Okay," Cory said as she checked her gun to make sure that she was ready. "Let's do this."

Flack nodded as they entered the building to get the building superintendent. "I'm Detective Flack with the NYPD and this is SSA Reid with the FBI. What can you tell me about the occupant of apartment 1015?"

The balding man looked at the group. "Not much. Moved in about six months ago, quiet, keeps to himself. Never complains."

Cory looked at him, "Do you know his name?"

The man nodded. "Dominic Caspian."

Flack looked at Cory, who had furrowed her brow. "That ring a bell with you?" he asked dryly.

Cory shook her head. "I thinks so, but I'm not sure," she said before turning to the man. "Can you take us up there and open the door if there is no response?"

He readily agreed and led them to the elevators. The group was silent as they rode up to the tenth floor. When the doors opened, Cory and Flack took point, guns at ready in front of them. Cory looked cautiously at the halls as the super led them to the apartment.

Flack motioned for the super to stand behind them and knocked on the door. "Mr. Caspian! NYPD! Open up." There was no response, so Cory nodded her head to the super to open the door. Once it was open, she motioned for the man to get as far away from the door as possible.

Cory opened the door slowly; it swung open with ease and walked in. The first thing she noticed was the sound of music. Vivaldi? she wondered in amazement. Then she noticed the complete absence of furniture. She looked at Flack who nodded for her to proceed. Together, they cleared the public rooms. Then they walked towards the source of the music, a bedroom off of the hall. Carefully, they opened the door, to find a table in the middle of the room, a computer resting on top of it. Cory walked around to view the monitor and felt the blood rush from her face as she looked at the screen.

"Cory?" Flack asked hurriedly. "What's wrong?"

Cory just pointed to the screen as she moved back from the computer as if it would hurt her.

Flack walked around the table. He looked at the screen, which had a Word document on the screen. "Better luck next time, Agent Reid."

AN: Okay. So work is still insane, but I'm keeping up with posting! Oh, and by the way, the chapter where Lindsay finally gives birth is coming up, so go and vote on my profile on what you think the sex of the baby will be!!! So far, it's 13 for a girl and 10 for a boy!

Soccer - Thanks! it takes practice with ice skating, but it's so much fun!

Axellia - That is totally cool that you got a song dedicated to you! Which song were you talking about with it being sad? My title song or the song that was dedicated to you? I love the fact that it is personal with her now because you can see that she's not superwoman and things are going to affect here (hence the last line of this chapter). And yes, there needs to be mucho Danny love! I sent you a longer chapter!!!! I use the "everything is connected" premise in my stories a lot because that has been a driving force behind the show. :D I just had to have them normal. Yes, I have watched it. It was the eyeball one you were referring to, right?

Maddy - I am trying not to overwhelm y'all with the details and spread them out a bit, so hopefully it won't become too complicated. I will tell you that the ghost story has nothing to do with the overall story arc (at least that's what I have planned, but I wouldn't put it past my muse to try and slip something in). I really want to work on a book deal, and I will tell you that once I finish this story, I'm not going to be writing fan fiction for a while. I'm going to dedicate all my time to my novel (biting nails nervously). I'd be more than happy to send you the chapters (and or book) once I write it! If you want, just PM me your email. :p

angelbaby03usa - I was planning on updating tomorrow, but since you had such a nice review, I'm updating early for you! Thanks!!!

BEG - Where you been? I miss you!!!