Diclaimer: Okay, one more time, but that's it. I don't own CSI New York or anything CSIish

Note: Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou a million times over for your many comments. I'm so glad you're enjoying this story. I've had fun writing it.

CSI NY

Ch. 6

The lab was the only destination Mac had on his mind when he left the hospital. He felt anxious and energized enough to work through the night, even two nights, if he had to. He wanted to tear into the evidence, pick it apart down to its individual threads, and finally help Danny in a way other than standing in the background providing moral support.

His hope, however, was suddenly dashed the moment they all arrived back. A CSI from another team gave Mac a message that sent him veering away from the lab and straight to his office. On approach, he saw Detective Ryan through the window, pacing before his desk. The detective had one hand in his pocket, while the other hand deftly manipulated a quarter over his knuckles. With the slightest movements of the man's fingers the quarter seemed to hop back and forth in a silvery flash.

Mac knew of the trick well enough since he was also capable of it, though for him it took a little more effort. Tom didn't even bat an eye, let alone look at his hand, as he made the quarter dance.

Mac stored this information away at the back of his mind, not because he was impressed by the trick, but because the detective was capable of doing such a trick.

When Mac entered his office, Tom twisted his hand to snatch up the coin into his palm, but continued his nonchalant pacing.

" What's the situation?" he asked. Mac went behind his desk and slowly sat down as though this was nothing more than a routine visitation.

" What situation?"

" Messer. How is he?"

The lack of any real concern in Tom's voice bit at Mac's already fraying nerves.

" He's alive."

Tom, still pacing, flipped the coin and caught it. " When's he out?"

Mac folded his hands in his lap and leaned back in his chair. " Tomorrow. He's staying overnight for observation."

" Will he be able to come in for questioning?"

Mac sighed. The energy that would have fueled him in going over evidence was slowly seeping away. " Detective Ryan, you don't seem to appreciate the situation. Danny was attacked – viciously. His life might still be in danger. Tomorrow, I will be the one to pick him up, and I won't even be taking him to his own home. He'll have to stay elsewhere until this matter is resolved. I doubt – very much – that he will be fit to come in and have his life torn apart just because somebody else decided to be stupid…"

Tom tilted his head back, grinning. " You know, it's really nice, you standing by your buddy and all. But we really need to get this resolved. A lot of people are pretty ticked about it – and the wrong people are happy about it. A mistrial has been declared and Ricky's walking free. We're going to have to find something else to convict the kid for. So the sooner we get this little CSI mistake out of the way the better. Wouldn't you say?"

Mac inclined his head slightly to one side speculatively. His initial reaction was to be angered, but it struck him as odd how cold the detective was being. No, not cold. Though Tom's pacing appeared casual, there was some stiffness to it. He paced for something more than out of the simple desire to pace.

There was also the detective himself. He was coming off as a creep, but before the incident with the evidence he had always been a rather tolerable guy. There had been no tension between him or any CSI he had worked with, and that included Danny. Danny, in turn, had never complained about him. Yet the way Tom acted now one would think they had had some nasty differences. Or, perhaps, he was just taking the evidence tampering a little too personally.

" I would say you're jumping to conclusions. When Danny is ready, he'll come back in. But I doubt he'll be ready tomorrow. Now, if you don't mind, I have something important I need to take care of. So are we done here?"

Tom stopped pacing and shrugged again, flipping the coin and catching it.

" Sure."

Without another word, Mac got up from his desk and left his office, brushing past Tom as though he was not there.

Mac was now free to think as he made his way to the lab. Though he could not be directly involved with the initial case of evidence planting, it did not mean he could not have his questions answered.

On arriving at the lab, he did not go in, merely open the doors. Stella and Aiden were both going over everything they had gleaned from the place where Danny had been beaten. Stella was studying Danny's blood-flecked shirt, and Aiden his coat. Mac cleared his throat and both women looked up from what they were doing.

" Pictures are developing as we speak," Aiden said.

" Good. Aiden, come here and talk with me a moment."

Aiden set down the coat and stepped around the table to the door. They stepped away from the lab and the doors to keep from obstructing anyone trying to get in or out.

" You went over the files concerning all cases involving Bruno's gang, right?"

" Yeah. And it wasn't quick either. They've done a lot of bad things over the years, let me tell you. Sad thing is none of them ever lead back to Bruno himself. He's been arrested now and then, yeah, but nothing that stuck. This guy really knows what he's doing."

Mac looked at the doors leading into the lab. " Exactly our problem." He looked back at Aiden. " Detective Tom Ryan handled some of those cases, right?"

" Actually he handled several of them."

" How did they go? Were any arrests made? Any convictions?"

Aiden lifted her brow as though realizing something. " No, actually. In fact, the way I read it, he seemed have a bad luck streak with every one of 'em. It's why he was never assigned to every, and any, case involving one of Bruno's boys. But they weren't easy cases either. Murder for the most part. At first, the trail would lead to Bruno's gang, then it would conveniently trail off and become the act of a rival gang."

Mac nodded thoughtfully. " Bruno's done evidence planting of his own."

" Probably. Hey, and you know what else? I kind of did a comparison. The cases against the Bruno gang that went well - the ones that involved a conviction – a few of those had Danny on forensics. Keep it in mind not all of them, but plenty. The ones that Danny did handle all got convictions. Every one."

Mac was not surprised. Danny had the advantage of gang experience. He knew the world of gangs, the deeper workings, so knew better than most what to look for.

" I went a little farther than that," Aiden continued, " just out of curiosity. Ryan has been involved in other gang-related cases but it's only the Bruno gang he's had trouble with. Everything else he's always managed to close the books on. Now I don't know Ryan personally but if he's got pride issues then Bruno must be sending him over the edge."

Mac looked at the doors to the lab then without a word went in.

" Stella, your turn," he said. Stella looked at him unblinkingly for a moment, then set down the shirt and joined Mac and Aiden outside the lab.

" What's up?" she asked.

" First off, Aiden? I want you to tell Stella everything you told me."

Aiden did so, and by the way Stella's eyebrow quirked Mac knew she was already on the same page.

" Our buddy Tom has more motive," Stella said, slowly nodding in understanding. " A heck of a lot more than Danny. At least Danny had the satisfaction of putting a few of those boys behind bars."

" I was reminded to day," Mac said, " of something Flack said when we were at Danny's apartment, about having learned something useful even if it wasn't for solving a crime. Tom has an interesting talent I'm pretty sure you're familiar with. You know that trick I do with the quarter?"

" Making it disappear or making it go over your fingers?" Stella asked.

" The last thing. Detective Ryan can do that as well. In fact he's better at it than me. It may not seem like something to note, but it's a trick mainly done by those who are excellent at slight of hand."

Now both of Stella's eyebrows quirked and a smile gradually spread on her lips. " Oh, I get it. Magician stuff. He had the means of setting that gun down without anyone seeing it and used it. Bet he had it up his sleeve the whole time. And I bet if we could get his coat and gloves, we might be able to find residue on it. That gun looked like he hadn't seen a good cleaning for a while."

Mac smiled back at her. " Then you'd better get on it. Aiden and I'll will handle Danny's case."

NYNYNYNY

Mac was in a quandary. He had picked up where Stella had left off with the shirt, and found nothing that she had not already discovered. The shirt was ripped at the collar, stained with dirt and flecks of blood, and had a faint imprint of a shoe on the back.

The only item new to discover came when Aiden brought the pictures of Danny's injuries to him. When the print on the shirt was measured it matched the bruise on Danny's back within a centimeter.

Aiden was also looking at the pictures over Mac's shoulder, her face slightly screwed in disgust and anger.

Mac could not help the same revulsion, though he did not reveal it facially. His anger, however, was now directed more at Detective Ryan than at Bruno. Bruno was a thug, and acted as thugs did. Tom was a cop, he should have known better; he should have had more consideration for the consequences of his actions. Most people went through life thinking their actions, right or wrong, only affected themselves, and found contentment in that. The harder truth was that actions went beyond the self, and there was no true way of knowing just how many would be affected, or how far it would go.

Ryan's actions had, thus far, affected only Danny. It was wrong in so many ways that it sickened Mac. He was used to seeing injustices, but that did not mean he was numb to them.

Mac looked from the pictures to the shirt, looking more closely at the areas where Danny had been struck. He found nothing more of relevance, but still he looked. Aiden went back to handling Danny's coat and jacket. After a time Mac joined her and they looked it over together.

" This really bites, you know that?" Aiden mumbled as she studied a clipping of cloth from the coat under a microscope. " Nobody's that good at hiding what they did."

Mac gave up on the coat and picked up Danny's broken glasses lying nearby. He lifted it to eye level, turning it this way and that, then setting it on the table to look at it more closely through a magnifying lens.

" Some people are geniuses at it. The vast majority of serial killers are only caught because they decided to go above the speed limit one day."

" So what we need is our own version of a traffic violation. Or, in other words, Bruno making a stupid mistake." Aiden snorted out a derisive laugh. " I bet he pins speeding tickets on one of his guys too."

" Probably," Mac replied. Two seconds later Stella walked in holding up Detective Ryan's coat triumphantly. Mac looked up from the lens.

" Wasn't easy," she said. " I went to Ryan, got a mouth full. Went to Alecson, told him everything, he went to the DA. She thought, and thought, and thought about it, then agreed and helped get the warrant." She practically slammed the coat onto the table, turning the sleeves and pockets inside out. She wiped them down with four different cloths, performed her tests, and smile triumphantly.

" Got him."

Mac smiled back at her. " Check Danny's coat when we're done here. Then confront Detective Ryan tomorrow."

Stella, still grinning like a cat with a mouse, bagged the evidence, including the coat. As she did so, she jerked her chin toward Danny's glasses.

" What about you two? Anything yet?"

Mac looked at Aiden; Aiden met his gaze and gave a one shouldered, helpless shrug.

" We're still working on it."