Title: The Devil You Know

Synopsis: Spoilers for 'Tanglewood'. To show Detective Mac Taylor that they mean business… the Tanglewood boys kidnap Danny Messer.

Pairing: Danny Messer/Mac Taylor (later), Sonny Sassone/Danny Messer (non-con)

Rating: NC-17 (for language, mentions of rape, and sex)

Author: Princess Tepes

Authors Notes: This is dedicated to Jilly and inspired by the song 'Numb' by Holly McNarland. This story is not for people who like Stella… seriously.

I.

"Ask Danny Messer, he works for you, right? When you see him, ask him, uh… the odds of me going away. He knows all about us, we know all about him." That sentence had bounced around Mac's brain for the rest of the day. It twisted itself around his cerebral cortex like a venomous snake hissing lies into his ears. Not even a cup of coffee and a half hour power nap could dispel the uneasiness that had sneaked into his soul. Then, of course, there was the fact that Danny had been avoiding him, a look of burning shame in his eyes every time they met. And Mac couldn't help but wonder if Danny had been pulling his leg in his office earlier. He wondered if Danny was making Mac the punch line of some cruel joke as he stood in his office, looked him in the eyes, and told Mac that he was proud of what he was doing. Mac rubbed his gritty feeling eyes and took another swig of his whiskey, now that he was safe in his apartment and far away from his work related problems, well… most of them anyways. He had turned off the television hours ago, trying to work through some of the feelings he was experiencing.

He closed his eyes against the bright lights of streetlamps and headlights that kept whizzing past his window. The whiskey had stopped burning his throat after the fourth drink and he knew he should stop because it would do no good to show up for work the next morning bleary eyed and hung over. He rubbed his forehead and stood up, placing the open bottle of liquor on the kitchen table while he moved to the sink to splash some cool water on his face and decide how to deal with this. He definitely didn't want to involve internal affairs because Danny was a damned good CSI and he deserved to be praised and advanced. Mac was sure that Danny would even surpass him someday. He walked away from the kitchen sink and wondered if maybe he should swing by Danny's place and see how he was holding up. Some small voice in the back of his head urged him to go—but the bigger part of his mind screamed no… that it would only look worse if Mac went there.

He sat back on his couch and propped his feet up on the wood stained coffee table. He sat there thinking for a long time, trying to decide what to do still. In that position, he fell asleep, his mind plagued with nightmares about the Tanglewood boys… and Danny.

Danny Messer had completed his, what seemed like, hundredth trip of pacing his apartment. So many emotions warred within him that it felt like the storming of the beaches of Normandy. He finally stopped mid-stride when the phone rang. He walked over to glance at the caller ID and looked at the display:

Taylor, Mac

555-9561

Danny wondered if he should answer it and he wavered with indecision, his hand hanging over the hand set. He let out a resigned sigh and picked up the phone, fixing it between his ear and shoulder.

"Hello?" He said into the phone, trying to sound like he hadn't been contemplating letting it ring. But the tiniest echo of guilt stayed in his words. He wasn't sure whether Mac would pick it up… or rather, he wasn't sure Mac would make a big deal out of it… because Mac noticed everything. He heard a silence on the other line and he wondered if Mac was just as nervous as he was. "You can't prank me tonight, Mac. I saw your name on the caller ID." Danny said he hoped it came off as light-hearted, but he cringed at the heaviness of it. He was rewarded with a soft and warm chuckle.

"Sorry…" Mac's voice came over the headset. "I'm… I'm at a loss for what to say…" Mac admitted after another couple of seconds of silence. Danny nodded, even with the full knowledge that Mac couldn't see it or anything. The silence stretched on for a handful of seconds. Danny could almost feel how uncomfortable Mac was even over the phone. Danny wondered how the best way to end this conversation would be, without seeming rude or anything like that.

"It's alright." Danny finally said, noticing that it seemed to ease Mac's suffering a bit. He wondered when he had gotten so connected with Mac that he could read his emotions just as easily when they were miles apart and Mac wasn't saying anything. "I understand. It was sort of odd today." Danny ploughed on through the awkwardness of the conversation. Danny almost apologized for what had happened, but when he got right down to it, it wasn't really his fault. He had been serious when he had said those things to Mac. He hadn't completely forgotten his childhood with the Tanglewood boys… and despite Sonny's accusation—he had turned down their offer to be an official member of the gang. He had rolled with them for a while, as Sonny's friend… but when Sonny had offered to get him the tattoo and give him an official in date—Danny had split faster than you could say Tanglewood. He didn't want to get involved in that any more than he had been. It was fun for a while… and he was especially glad he had declined when he reached high school and found a love for science and forensics. Danny had sort of gotten lost in his own thoughts.

"… anytime." He heard Mac say and he wondered what Mac had said. He had caught only the last word. He wondered what would be a viable excuse to use but a click on the phone caught his attention. He pursed his lips.

"Hold on, Mac… I got another call." He said and he switched the line over.

Mac waited on the line when Danny had told him to hold on. He was pretty sure that Danny hadn't been listening to him, judging by the silence after he finished his little speech. A feeling of uneasiness passed over him as the phone didn't pick up activity after about five minutes. He figured that manners would at least remind Danny to click back over and let Mac know that the other call was more important and that he would talk to him later or tomorrow. But after ten minutes, the feeling of uneasiness had settled into his stomach like a lead weight and he hung up the phone, hoping that his feeling was wrong.

As he went to shrug his jacket back on, he immediately called Detective Don Flack for back-up. Don had to be one of the most loyal cops he had met and a definite good choice as a person to watch your back in a difficult situation. Don had answered almost immediately and agreed to meet Mac at Danny's apartment.

By the time Mac had pulled up in front of the building Danny lived in, his uneasiness was tangible. He saw Don waiting in front for him, black wool coat pulled tightly around him. Mac walked up and gave Don a small wave.

"This better be serious, Taylor. I was in the middle of a date." Don said a hint of irritation evident in his voice. Mac didn't defend himself, something told him that the situation would explain itself in due time. They walked into the building and Mac led Don to the elevator, Don flashing his badge as the manager walked up. He was a stocky man who looked like the typical slimy businessman. Don figured he was probably charging way too much in rent and charmed his way to getting a key for Danny's room.

Mac and Don headed for the elevator, their strides almost uniform. When they situated themselves in it, Mac hit the button for Danny's floor. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, every minute that passed made Mac's stomach knot even tighter. The elevator bell finally dinged after what seemed like an eternity and Mac all but ran to Danny's door. The feeling turned to dread and his stomach did flip flops when he saw the door open. There was sign of a struggle, but the lack of blood made Mac's blood run a little warmer. He saw the phone hanging off the hook on the kitchen counter, the calm voice of the operator telling someone to please hang up and try again. The voice permeated his brain like a thousand jack hammers and he wished he could hang it up, but he couldn't because that would be like messing with a crime scene. He called Stella on the phone.

Over the phone, he briefed her on the situation and had her pull every available CSI to the scene. She also had her set aside a large number of the evidence analyzers (DNA and trace techs and the like…) aside to work solely on this case. He didn't care what the sheriff or anyone else thought, this was a high profile case and he was gonna treat it like one.

He watched for a moment as Don cleared the crime scene, following responding officer protocol. With a heavy heart, he waited for Stella and the crime scene kits.

Danny awoke, his head pounding like a thousand jackhammers going off in his head. He closed his eyes against the bright lights and stirred a little. Though he had never been a victim of it, he was sure he was suffering from the after effects of chloroform. He moved a heavy hand upwards to rub his eyes. He was glad to find that he wasn't tied or chained up. He sat up, bracing his back against the cold stone wall. He turned his head away from the ceiling, the bright lights stinging his eyes and ingraining his brain with some ungodly form of pain.

He cocked his head to the side and listened to the noises outside the door. He almost felt sick when he recognized the voice outside the door. He placed his head on his knees and started to cry silently… not caring about how it irritated his headache. He took one glance at the door as it was thrust open. There stood the smugly grinning form of Sonny Sassone.

End Chapter I.