Greg sat in the passenger seat of Danny's car.
"You know I could have driven." There was a long pause, and they both laughed.
"Thanks for helping me get the entertainment system up and running. I wanted it finished before Jack got back from college, and Sean's been busy." Greg waved him off.
"It was nice getting out of the house. Ethan and Alison were having a late playdate with Lindsay and Lucy while Messer was working at the lab, so I would have been by myself." Danny tapped his thumb on the wheel.
"How's that going." Greg looked out the window.
"Alison has it down to a pattern. The weeks leading up to the days she was taken are bad. She doesn't sleep much. But after the day has passed, she's back to normal. Or as normal as she will ever be." Greg rested his head on the back of his hand.
"What about you." silence again filled the car, but this time it was interrupted by Danny's phone ringing. "Reagan."
"This is Isabel Delgado. I think someone's here to kill me." Greg's head snapped over to look at Danny.
"Okay, where are you?" Danny asked, pulling the phone on speaker so he focuses on the road.
"At my house!" Isabel screamed." Danny turned the car around, heading in her direction.
"Did you call 911?" Danny asked. Greg was already on the phone with the dispatcher to ensure that they had someone heading to her house.
"I already did." Danny glanced over at Greg, and he nodded as the dispatcher gave the confirmation. "They said they were on their way," Her breathing started to come in gasps.
"It will be alright, just breath," Danny said. Greg balled his hand into fists, and her panicked voice turned more into screams. "Where are the boys?" A gut-wrenching scream shot through the phone, and Greg had to close his eyes.
"Isabel," Danny called out, trying to get her to respond. Her screams grew distant as she was taken from the phone until they were cut off and the line went dead. Danny slammed his hand on the wheel, causing Greg to jump.
"Officers are 3 minutes out," Greg said, his voice shakier than he would have liked.
"It will be too late."
Alison pulled up to the bar with a small team. Eddie met her at the door.
"We got one guy taken to the hospital after being stabbed and about 20 others asking for a lawyer." She explained. Alison pulled out the paperwork.
"Alright, guys, this is going to be a fun one. Everyone here pays their lawyers more than what we make in a year. So, we need this to be a clean as possible. Trust me, you don't want to get called out in a courtroom because you forgot to mark a bag." Alison's team nodded and headed into the bar.
"Jamie took our main suspect to the station already." Alison nodded.
"Right, what are you doing." Eddie shifted slightly.
"I need to go to the hospital where the victim is…." Alison looked up from her notes.
"But…"
"I need a CSI to go with me. Alison pinched the bridge of her nose."
"Messer." She called out to him as he pulled up. "I need you to take the scene. I have to go with Eddie to collect evidence from the victim." Messer glanced between the two of them.
"Sure, thing let me know if you need anything." Alison pointed toward her SUV.
"Come on, I'll drive." Eddie nodded, getting into the passenger seat.
"I could have asked Messer." Eddie said, her voice quiet. Alison gripped the wheel, causing her knuckles to turn white.
"No, he can handle the scene. It's fine." There was a long pause.
"I'm sorry." Alison ignored her comment. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Stop talking about the hospital and hand me my headphones. There in the glove box." Eddie did as she was told. Alison grabbed them, stuffing them into her hoodie pocket. They probably wouldn't be anywhere near the victim if he was in surgery, but she wanted to be safe. "Thanks."
"Let me know if you need anything else."
Greg got out of the car when they pulled up to the large house. He grabbed his crutches out of the back. An officer met them at the front door.
"Where is she," Danny asked, knowing that Isabel was already dead.
"The living room." The officer showed them to the room. Isabel lay on the ground in her nightgown. Dark busing was already forming around her neck. Danny shook his head.
"Where are the boys." The officer looked between the two of them.
"Boy?" Danny ran his hand over his face.
"Delgado has two sons; where are they?" Greg repeated the question.
"The house was empty when we got here." Danny shook his head.
"Greg, get a team down here. I'm going to search the house." Greg nodded, pulling out his phone moving away from the body.
"Taylor," Mac answered on the first ring.
"Delgado's wife was killed. We need a team out here."
"Do we know who killed her?" Greg glanced around the house.
"Not yet; Isabel called Danny while he gave me a ride home." Greg took a deep breath. "I can run the team if you need."
"I'll take you up on that. Messer is stuck at that a stabbing on 3rd." Greg could hear Mac typing in the background. "The team should be there in about 15. I told them you would meet them out front. Keep me posted." Greg walked out front to wait for the team. He got a message from Danny saying that he found the kids in the basement hidden behind a vent, and he was bringing them out the side entrance so they wouldn't see their mother. Greg made his way down the front steps to wait for them. A car pulled up in front of the house, and adrenalin shot through him at the sight of Luis Delgado.
"Hey! Hey! Don't move. Get your hands up." Greg called out, dropping his crutches and running over to him with his gun drawn. Luis raised his arms.
"I'm unarmed." He called out.
"Dad!" Two of you boys called out to Delgado. Greg could hear Danny talking to the boys. Greg quickly patted the man down, giving Danny a nod. He let the boys go, and they ran over to their dad. Danny followed closely behind, handing Greg his crutches. "Where's Mom?" One of the boys asked their dad. Luis looked up at Danny.
"Where's my wife." Greg cleared his throat.
"Boys, why don't you come with me for a minute." Greg offered. Luis looked at him and nodded.
"Go with him just for a minute. I'll be right here." The two boys protested for a minute, but eventually, they followed Greg down to the end of the driveway.
"What happened to your leg." One of the boys asked. Greg was watching Danny talk to Luis.
"I busted it a few years ago." Luis ran into the house, and Danny followed slowly behind. It was going to compromise the scene slightly, but Greg understood.
"And you still have crutches." Greg looked down at them.
"Yeah, only because somedays I forget that it's hurt." The CSI and Corrine's van pulled up, and Greg signaled for them to head inside. Sid walked up to him. He eyes the boys.
"Just one," Sid asked.
"Just one."
Alison stepped out of the hospital, needing some air. Eddie was still inside. Pulling out her phone, she took a deep breath. This was not going to be a fun call to make.
"Sargent Regan," Jamie said, his voice gruff.
"Hey, boss." She said, trying to lighten her voice and the mood.
"Alison, thank goodness, do you have an update." Alison closed her eyes.
"I got a call from Messer. They were unable to find the weapon." Alison let out a sigh. "And the victim didn't make it off the table. This is now a homicide case."
"Have you gotten the evidence from the victim yet?" Alison glanced back at the door.
"No, Eddie and I are still waiting for the hospital to give us the all-clear. The ME should be up for the body shortly."
"Is it Sid," Jamie asked.
"No, he got called to a scene earlier this evening. But the ME we got is good." Jamie let out a deep breath.
"Okay, thanks, Al."
"No Problem, I'll keep you posted."
Greg walked over to Danny's desk, passing over a cup of coffee.
"You could have let one of the other officers search Luis." Danny said as Greg eased into the chair next to him.
"I know I wasn't thinking." Danny eyed him.
"Like how you chased down the shooter a few weeks ago. You know too many of these, and Taylor is going to pull you out of the field."
"I heard the DEA came by to see you," Greg said, ignoring his statement.
"Yeah, but don't worry, we get him first." Danny pressed his lips together.
"What's up," Greg asked.
"Delgado said he's willing to flip, but he will only work for me." Greg crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "What do you think." Greg clenched his jaw.
"I'm not the best person to ask. You forget that he is the reason I missed Ethan's birth." Danny nodded. "But I also think he's our best shot. So if you're going to work with him, I'm not going to let you do it alone."
Alison slammed her phone down on her desk.
"Something bothering you." She glanced up at the door where Messer was holding an iPad.
"Erin dropped the bar stabbing." Messer lowered his arms to his sides.
"Seriously." Alison nodded.
"Yeah, she was called Jamie. She wanted to give me the heads up." Messer looked down at the iPad.
"Do you still want me to finish that report you sent over?" Alison tapped her pen on her nose.
"You never know something might come up, so you might as well. I feel like there's a good chance that Jamie is going to stop by to look at what we got."
"Yeah, a whole bunch of nothing." Alison shrugged her shoulders.
"I mean, the guy told him to his face it's only a bummer that he had a blood alcohol of 12. I wouldn't want to testify to that."
"But you would?" The phone on Alison's desk rang.
"It's my job." She picked the phone up. "Hello, Jamie."
Greg sat in front of the computer setting up the tracking equipment. He gave the nod to Delgado. Signaling for him to make the phone call. Greg couldn't look him in the face. He was glad his hands were busy because they might have started to shake the longer he sat across from him.
"Hey, it's me, Luis. I need to meet." Delgado said into the phone. "I have some information about a DEA takedown. No, no, not-not over the phone. I want to do it in person. Yeah, okay at the club. I'll be there." Danny, who had been leaning against the wall, pushed off, walking over to Greg.
"You got a location." Greg didn't look up from his computer. Focusing on the task at hand.
"Yeah. According to this, the middle of the East River." Baez shook her head.
"We really going to take a chance on this guy, or is he gonna take off again like he did last time."
"Yes, we are," Danny answered. "He'll be wired, and we'll be sitting on the place." Delgado shook his head.
"No, I can't be wired. That's the first thing he'll look for." Greg took his headphones off, forcing himself to look at the man.
"That's why we're gonna modify your phone. It will act as the wire. You say the word, and we'll be there." Greg stuck his hands in his coat pockets. Danny glanced over at him.
"I'll take him back to the cell. Be sure Adam gets that phone set up."
"Sure thing."
Alison sat down next to Greg at the dinner table. The tension was high between Jamie and Erin.
"Okay, who's saving grace," Frank called out, trying to ignore the cold glances that Jamie was giving Erin.
"Jamie," Henry said, looking to his left.
"Uh, Not feeling so grateful today, Pop," Jamie said, fulling his hands together.
"Nonsense." Henry dismissed his comment. "You've got every reason in the world to be grateful." He pointed at Eddie. She smiled, nodding her head.
"Except for having to tell a young woman that her fiancé was murdered in a bar fight and the guy who confessed to it is still walking around." Alison winced at his statement.
"You really gonna do this right now?" Erin asked, looking over at him. Her voice showing that she was ready for a fight. Jamie met her gaze.
"Yeah." Danny waved his hands.
"Oh, wait. It's because of her that your prep got bail?" Danny asked, trying to get up to speed on the fight.
"He didn't get bail; the charges were dismissed." Alison said, staring at her plate. Danny leaned forward.
"Let me guess you were the CSI lead."
"We can bring charges again once you have some actual evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," Erin explained.
"You mean more than a confession?" Eddie asked.
"Since when does a confession matter to her?" Danny said, pointing at Erin.
"Come on, Danny," Frank said, the disappointment filling his voice.
"Well, Dad, I'm just saying that you know, how many times have I had to argue with her about the legal technicalities of a case that allow one of my perps to walk, and Harvard over here has taken her side? about the law every single time." Danny said, pointing at Jamie.
"I understand the Law, but ADA's have at their discretion to take a cop at their word."
"This isn't about taking your word. It's about facts." Erin said, her voice starting to rase.
"Jamie, I was the one that couldn't find the tapes or the weapon. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me." Alison called out at him.
"Come on, he confessed." Jamie shot back.
"Yes, but I do this for a living. A confection in this situation is far less concrete than evidence." Alison said, taking a drink of water after taking one of her meds.
"Yeah, but your head is so full of science it's barely a cop." Danny said Alison nearly spit her water out.
"Don't talk to Alison like that." Greg slammed his hand down. Causing Alison to jump.
"The dinner table is meant to be a demilitarized zone." Henry said.
"Really?" Nicky asked.
"I mean, it never feels like that."
"What? You think they argue too much?" Sean asked.
"No, I just mean that you guys are not shy about disagreeing at all."
"Well, you assume your family's gonna have your back." Jamie said.
"And you're right to assume that," Frank said.
"Maybe, but sometimes your family can work against you." Eddie pointed out.
"Oh really." Erin looked at her.
"I didn't mean you. I was talking about me."
"Your family doesn't like you?" Nicky asked.
"They love me, but it's complicated."
"I get that. Family can be embarrassing." Sean said.
"Like when your dad gets into it with a guy, and that guy turns out to be your crush's father."
"Or your mom shows up to your apartment unannounced." Nicky added.
"Or you get arrested for truancy, and your dad tells the cops to keep you in a holding cell," Danny said.
"Hey, you never did it again." Frank pointed out.
"Or you have to go back to your presence and tell everyone that your sister threw out your confession." Jamie circled back to the original topic.
"The Judge threw it out; I didn't. I can't believe I have to explain this to my brother, who has a law degree." Henry held up his hands.
"Please can we argue or disagree or whatever it Is your gonna call it after we say grace?"
Greg sat in the van, looking over the cameras. It was dark outside, and they were just waiting for Delgado to finish being briefed by Danny.
"Good to go up here." He said into the radio. "21-15, are we a go?"
"Good to go up here," Danny responded. Delgado opened the car door and walked down the street toward the bar. It was about 10 minutes before the conversation started.
Greg listened closely, waiting for the safe word.
"The DEA is planning a raid on your stash house in the Bronx." The hair on the back of Greg's neck stood up.
"We've been made," Danny called out over the radio. The DEA agent standing next to Greg grabbed the radio.
"Give it another minute." The conversation continued.
"Are you sure about this," Greg asked, keeping his voice low.
"I call the shots out here, not you, Sanders." He replied. Static came over the line, and Greg grabbed the radio out of the DEA's hand.
"The wire dropped out." Greg scanned the camera and spotted Delgado running out of the cub, waving his hands at the car where Danny was. Suddenly two men pulled out guns and unloaded them on the vehicle where Danny still sat.
"Shots fired," Greg called out over the radio. Grabbing his gun, he and the DEA jumped out of the back of the van, taking down the two shooters. Greg spotted Danny get out of the car and nod that he was okay before heading into the club. Greg confirmed that the shooters were dead. Looking over where Delgado had been standing, he found the street empty. Taking a deep breath, he ran around the back of the club. Spotting an open door. He pulled his gun, slipping in through the opening. Graffiti covered the wall, and music from the club filled his ears as he walked down the hallway.
"Shot him." He could hear Delgado call out. Rounding the corner, he found Jose Rojas and Delgado on the floor with Danny standing over Jose with his gun pointed at him.
"Danny, you good." Greg called out. There was a long pause before Greg lowered his weapon.
"Yeah, cuff him."
Alison walked over to Greg, handing him an Ice pack and a cup of coffee. He was sitting on the floor in front of the large window that was in their bedroom.
"Who were you on the phone with," Greg asked, setting the ice on his knee.
"Erin, I wanted to let her know that we found the weapon. The blood and prints with the confession should be all she needs." She said as she sat down next to him.
"Did you tell Jamie?" She shook her head.
"No, I'm letting Erin do the honors." She took a sip of her coffee then moved, so she was looking at him. "What's bothering you. I can see it in your face." Greg didn't look at her keeping his gaze on the city lights. "I know it has something to do with Danny. Was it the case you were working? I never did get a chance to ask you what it was."
"Delgado's wife was murdered. He was helping us bring the mad that ordered her, and Linda's died down." Alison stiffened.
"You were working with Delgado." He looked over at her. The water in his eyes reflecting the lights.
"Yeah, I didn't want Danny doing it alone." Alison took a deep breath, trying to bush the anger at her brother down.
"I'm sorry that couldn't have been easy," Greg smirked.
"The hardest part was seeing him with his sons. I have hated and feared that man, but, in that moment, he was a dad just like me. He loved his kids just like I love Ethan." He shook his head. "I know the nightmares are going to come back, but I'm also glad I was able to do this." His face shifted into his customary crooked smile. "I think it was good for me to have to see him like this." He glanced up at Alison. She wasn't hiding her emotions. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when Ethan was born. I know I've said it before. I'm sorry you had to be in that hospital alone. I promised you that I would be there for you in the hard times, and I wasn't there for you at that moment." Alison kissed him.
"It wasn't your fault we have Ethan, and that's all that matters." She moved back so she could look out the window. "Now, if you miss the next one, then we are going to have issues." Greg laughed.
"So, you want another." Alison shrugged her shoulders.
"Maybe one day." Greg kissed the top of her head.
"One day sounds nice."