A/N: This chapter was a bit tricky. The problem lay not so much in how one would react to seeing a picture of themselves with a knife at their neck, but how Danny would react. The episode 'On the Job' was very helpful in figuring this aspect. Danny looked ready to puke about half the episode.

Ch. 17

Twisted

" Who brought this, Aiden?" Danny asked again in a cracked and tremulous voice. The expression on his pale face as he stared at the picture was one Aiden had never seen on him before, or thought she would ever see. It was naked horror, pure and unfathomable, like a visible representation of the shock slowly splintering his mentality.

He took a small backward step in an attempt to move, stumbled, then fell against the lockers behind him with a loud bang. He began sliding down the locker, his jaw slack, and his hand gripped the picture so tightly it shook.

" Danny?" Aiden said again. She was at a loss. She knew what she needed to do -to go get Mac - but could not follow through. " I didn't see anyone…"

She finally moved numbly over to him as he continued to slide down until he made contact with the bench. She placed her hand on his trembling arm, and when she did he stood so abruptly that she flinched back in surprise. Danny hurried from the locker room, and Aiden followed close on his heels.

" Danny, where're you going?" she asked nervously. Aiden may have enjoyed bragging to Danny about how well she knew him, but the truth was that the man could be all-out unpredictable at times. She had never seen him frightened before. Nervous, yes, but never this terrified.

Danny began looking wildly around in searching, turning, acting like a man who had no idea where he was. He headed to the front of HQ, to the desk, and slapped the envelope down so loud it caused the lady working the desk to jump.

" You know who sent this?" Danny asked in a tight and unsteady voice.

The young blonde woman shook her head stiffly, " S-sorry, Danny, I don't…"

But Danny moved on before she could finish. He began searching again in panicked urgency. He snagged the arm of a young brunette woman by the name of Adelle who was in charge of overseeing data entry personnel.

" Adelle, who handles the mail? Who passes it out?"

Adelle looked at Danny in bewilderment. " Uh, um, Chris, Chris Johnson, I think…"

" Is he here? Where is he?"

Danny's wild exigency was infecting the poor woman and she could hardly get a word out.

" He… I … I don't know… Why?"

Danny moved on, stopping those CSIs who worked the morning and evening hours along the way and holding the envelope up to them. He asked each of them, in an almost pleading tone of voice, if they had seen who dropped off the letter or shoved the letter into his locker. He made his way to the office with its sea of desks and moving bodies, loud with ringing phones and voices. Aiden followed him though she did not know why. She needed to stop him, to try and calm him, but he was moving too fast. She felt sick with worry, but it was probably nothing compared to what Danny was going through.

" Jansen, I saw you coming out of the locker room this morning. You see someone stick a letter in my locker?" He asked the tall, brawny detective. Jansen shook his head.

" Sorry, man…"

Danny moved on, going from person to person, asking with more fervor as he received one negative reply after another. He eventually came to Chris, but the kid said he only placed letters on desks, not in lockers.

Aiden, practically running to keep up, was at last able to place her hand on his shoulder. " Danny, calm down. Let's find Mac…"

But Danny wasn't listening. He had become lost in both the search and his own terror, having given way to panic, asking anyone who came into range for him to grab. His actions weren't going unnoticed, and people walking by, sitting at desks, doing busy work, were slowing and pausing to watch the agitated CSI in concern.

" Did you see someone put this in my locker? Did anyone see someone put a letter into my locker…"

More No's, more shakes of the head. Danny's breath was coming fast, and he looked on the verge of wanting to tear everything around him apart.

" Did anyone see who dropped off this letter?" He asked, raising his voice. Danny then took a deep shuddering breath.

" Who the hell sent me this letter!" he screamed in rage. Now he had everyone's attention, and the noise level of the building dropped as it never had before, only to resume a second later, but more subdued and hesitant.

Aiden grabbed Danny's arm and forcefully guided him to the nearest empty chair. She gently shoved him into it, and he dropped without a fight, panting and shaking. For a moment, Aiden believed that Danny would start shedding tears. She had never seen him cry; yet even at this moment he had yet to do so.

" Danny, calm down," she whispered. Her eyes darted about, landing on those staring in their direction. She had never considered herself overly self-conscious, but suddenly felt, more than saw, every eye in the room glued to both her and Danny. It wasn't herself she was worried about, though. Danny didn't need this kind of attention that would later turn into rumor and spread like a virus. There was already enough talk going on behind his back. She had never heard any of it for herself - not directly - but she knew it was there by the way some people would glance at Danny askance or bring up his name in conversation. Curiosity made her want to listen in, but her respect for Danny made her turn a deaf ear or defend him when she could.

Danny still held the envelope in one hand and the picture in the other. He was staring at the picture again as though trying to figure it out, but the longer he looked the more confused he became.

" Danny, listen to me…" when he didn't look at her, Aiden snatched the picture from Danny's vice-tight grip, nearly ripping it. As though finally freed, Danny closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut.

" Danny, you need to chill. Freakin' out isn't going to get you answers, you know that. If - if whoever took this wanted you dead, then you'd be dead, but you're not. It must just be some kind of warning or something. So take a deep breath and… I don't know… focus. Get your head together."

Danny dropped his head onto his upraised, tightly clasped fists.

" I think I'm gonna be sick," he whispered. Aiden quickly searched around and grabbed the nearest wastebasket, dragging it over in front of Danny. He didn't move to puke, but he was shaking bad. Aiden knelt to his right and began rubbing his shoulder, trying to be comforting. But her eyes kept wandering back to the picture, to the knife pressed against Danny's throat. She wanted to ask him how he had not felt that and woken up to it. That knife had to have been cold. She wanted to ask a lot of questions, but kept her tongue still and her voice silent. Besides, she recalled how exhausted he had looked the other day. Fit to sleep through anything.

She looked at the picture again and shuddered. Had that been her, she would have been vomiting by now.

" Aiden?" said a familiar female voice. Aiden looked up to see Stella approaching. She slowed as she neared, looking from Aiden to Danny. " What's going on, I heard someone yelling and people were saying something about someone losing it."

" Where's Mac?" Aiden asked, still rubbing Danny's shoulder and along his arm.

" I'm pretty sure he's coming. I heard someone tell someone else to go get him. What's wrong? Danny?"

She placed her hand on his back, and her eyes widened. " Why's he shaking like that, what happened?"

Instead of answering, Aiden handed her the picture and she took it. Stella's jaw dropped and she moved her hand off Danny's back to cover her mouth.

Mac arrived in less than a minute later. " What happened?" He asked immediately as he approached and his gaze fell on Danny. Stella handed the picture over to him. Mac's usual no-nonsense composure wavered, something else Aiden had never seen before.

" Danny, what is this?"

" He doesn't know?" Aiden replied for him. " He found it in his locker, with the same return address as the last envelope," she gestured at the picture in Mac's hand, " and that was in there."

" Where's the envelope?" Mac asked.

Aiden looked at Danny's clenched hands but didn't see it. She looked down and found it by the wastebasket. She picked it up by the corner and handed it to Mac who took it using a Kleenex. Stella then snapped on some gloves and took both picture and envelope from Mac.

" I'll see what I can find," she said, and hurried off to the lab.

Mac dropped the tissue into the basket then lightly placed his hand on Danny's other shoulder. " Danny. Danny!"

Danny didn't respond. Mac looked up and around, and Aiden followed suit. People were still staring and whispering, with some trying to mill closer to listen in.

" Let's see if we can't get him someplace more private."

Aiden nodded and stood. " Come on, Danny, let's move. Too many people are lookin' at us funny and, personally, I don't like it."

It must have done the trick. Danny lowered his hands onto the arms of the chair and gradually pushed himself to his feet. But his eyes were distant and glassy, looking at nothing. He was reacting mechanically as he followed Mac and Aiden all the way to the break room. Mac commandeered it by telling the few people inside that some privacy was required. Once out, he shut the door as Aiden guided Danny to one of the chairs. As an after thought, she pulled one of the metal wastebaskets over to stand at the ready by his feet.

Danny had resumed keeping his head lowered on his upraised hands, but was now digging the heel of both hands into his eyes with his glasses raised on top of his head.

Mac pulled up chair on Danny's other side and sat down. " Danny? I know what you saw was a shock, but I need you to pull yourself together. We're going to do something about this…"

" He was in my apartment," Danny spat between clenched teeth. " And I didn't even know it. How do you not know something like that? How do you not feel…" he pulled away one hand and began rubbing the side of his neck almost hard enough to take the skin off. It gave Aiden the impression that he was trying to rub away the feel of the knife. Then, suddenly, he jerked forward and to the side, grabbing the wastebasket and issuing a choked, gurgling gag as he vomited.

Aiden jumped back in alarm. When Danny finished, he dropped the basket with a clang, but kept his head down, taking in long heaving breaths.

" Sorry," he said hoarsely between breaths.

" Sorry?" Aiden said a little taken back. " I'm surprised you held it in this long. I would've puked the moment I saw the picture."

Danny shook his head. " I didn't leave that window open. I knew I didn't. But I was too tired to care…" Danny finally raised himself up. His gaze was still distant, but in his eyes was something like fearful desperation. He lowered his hands that would not stop trembling and looked over at Mac.

" So - so what'd you think it means?" He took a deep breath, and it became apparent to Aiden that he was finally calming down, at least enough to be rational. " I mean - how worried should I be here? Is this just a game, a joke or… something else we don't even know about yet?"

Mac shook his head. " I don't know. But you can't go home, not to stay."

At this, Danny sat up straighter. " So, what, I have to stay in some motel until we finally catch this guy? Mac, at the rate we're going I might as well move."

" Maybe you should," Mac replied seriously. " This guy knows where you live. Granted, with the last case nothing like this has happened. But we did have a cop get killed. You don't have much of a choice right now."

Danny looked away to stare at the table in front of him. Aiden thought she caught a glimmer of anger within the fear, but it was fleeting. He finally nodded his head in assent.

Mac looked over at Aiden. " I want you and Flack to go to Danny's place and look it over. See what else the Hangman might have left behind."

Aiden nodded. Mac then looked back at Danny. " Danny, I'm going to handle Jake. I know the interview was supposed to be yours but - and don't take this the wrong way - I highly doubt you're up for it, especially having to deal with Mavin on the side. You need something to do then go help Stella. If not then stay here, in the building. Do not go anywhere. We may have to set you up with protection."

Danny's expression darkened. He was not the kind of guy who would take well to being baby-sat. Aiden knew since she shared the sentiment. But he nodded, though stiffly.

Mac clasped his shoulder, then stood. " I'll talk to Jake, see what I can get from him. If we learn anything you'll be the first to know."

Danny nodded again, then Mac left. Aiden watched her boss go then looked back at Danny.

" You gonna be okay?"

Danny's hand had strayed back to his neck, massaging the area where the knife had touched. He shrugged. " I don't know."

" Don't act tough, Messer, whatever you do. If anyone has a right to be freaked, it's you."

" You tellin' me I should be crying or something?"

" No, but feel free to puke all you want."

Aiden grinned, but Danny did not even so much as glance her way and she felt an onrush of guilt at trying to joke. She placed her hand on his shoulder that was rock solid with tension, and felt the periodic tremors that still coursed through him. She could imagine, and in imagining almost hear, his heart beating a mile a second.

" It's gonna be all right, Danny," she said, sounding more confident than she felt.

Danny just nodded in reply, still rubbing at his neck.

CSINY

Mac was worried, but not the usual worry that was more simplistic, which most would call concern. This was a more heightened worry that was verging on fear. The Hangman was getting strangely creative, even brave, going into the home of a CSI like that. If anyone ever held it against Danny for becoming sick and panicked as he had, then they would be an idiot. The sadistic twist of it was making Mac's own stomach knot up. The guy was taunting them, shredding their perceptions of the entire case, and succeeding flawlessly.

As Mac stared through the two-way at Jake and the dark-haired young man brought in to be his lawyer, he told Farrone standing across from him every detail concerning the picture. The picture had been so clear, the flash lightning bright, and yet Danny had not woken up.

" Was he tired?" Farrone asked, leaning against the wall with folded arms. She was wearing a brown dress-suit today, with a tan silk scarf around her neck and her hair pulled back in a tail.

" Dead-tired."

" There you go then. I have these neighbors who fight non-stop, and one time I was so worn out I slept through another tirade plus police intervention that supposedly ended in someone getting punched. You'd be surprised what you can sleep through. So how's Danny handling it?"

Mac leaned his shoulder against the frame of the two way. " He threw-up."

Farrone nodded thoughtfully. " I would be more concerned if he didn't." She then dug two fingers through her hair to scratch her scalp. " I don't quite know what to make of it, though. My immediate thought goes along with yours; that this is some kind of warning. Probably from another ego…" Anita scrunched up her nose, shaking her head.

" What?" Mac pressed.

" I don't know. I've dealt with multiple personality types before, and a lot of them have a way of tripping over themselves, especially if one ego doesn't like what the other is doing. It's multiple personalities, meaning that there is usually more than two, even more than three. Sometimes, deep within, there's a good-guy who tries to make things right. Our guy is too perfect, too precise, and too trip-up free. But, then, maybe he has no good guy deep inside. That happens too."

" Should Danny be worried?"

Anita glanced at her feet, then looked up to flash a timorous smile at Mac. " If he isn't already, then yeah, he should be."

They fell silent for a moment to lose themselves in thought, and it was at that moment that Mavin finally arrived. He was walking fast but slowed on raising his eyes to find Mac in place of Danny.

" Where's Messer?" he asked with a look of surprise that screamed façade. " He forget about today?"

Mac made a glance at Farrone in a silent exchange of words telling her not to say anything about Danny and the picture. She gave a small nod in reply.

" Don't worry about Danny," Mac said. " I'm having him reassigned to another team."

Mavin's lips began to spread into a smirk, but he dropped the smile before it had yet to even form. " Oh, no way, man. Don't tell me you believed that little prick about me wantin' to shoot him."

The heat of anger shot up Mac's spine into his brain, causing his blood to pick up a quicker run. But Mac had a tight control over his emotions that made some people wonder if he had any emotions at all. He let enough of his anger show to let Mavin know he wasn't happy, but reigned in the rest to keep the situation the way he wanted it.

" Actually, I do believe him. But my line of work forces me to take the side of evidence, and there isn't any. But - if I ever hear of something like this happening again, to anyone of my CSIs, or if I even hear you calling any them some kind of derogatory name, I will make it known to the right people and ensure that you're taken off this case. Even stripped of your badge."

Mavin's only reaction was a twitch of his jaw muscles and the cold glare of hatred in his eyes aimed directly at Mac. Mac met his gaze, then moved to the door of the interrogation room. The three entered, with Farrone staying back behind the two men until ready.

Jake's lawyer looked fresh out of law school, but his brown eyes held a sharp cunning to them that Mac spotted right away.

" My client wishes protection," the lawyer stated before Mac could even pull out a chair.

" What!" Mavin almost laughed. " You that scared of me, Jakey?"

Jake clenched his fists on the tabletop. " Not from you, you freak!"

The young lawyer placed his hand on Jake's shoulder. Mavin stepped forward as though making a move for Jake, but Mac thrust out his arm to stop him, pushing the detective back.

" Why?" Mac asked.

" There have been recent developments that have my client concerned."

Mac looked over at Jake and studied the man for a moment. He was tense, sitting stiffly and fidgeting constantly. His eyes also kept darting about yet stayed lowered as though trying to avoid all other presence in the room. Jake was scared; which was always a nice advantage to an interrogation.

Mac slowly sat down in one of the chairs, while Mavin remained standing.

" You know we can't do that without an exchange," Mac said. The young lawyer inclined his head.

" We know. My client is prepared to offer you information in return for protection."

" It's a deal if we're satisfied with the information. Is it useful?" Mac looked over at Jake. " Or are you just going to jerk us around?"

Jake began clenching and spreading his fingers to flex them. " From the progress I here you're making, I would say pretty d--m useful."

Mavin grinned. " What's the matter, Jake? Not the favorite anymore?"

Jake glared up at Mavin. " Yeah, Mavin, not the favorite."

At this point, Farrone walked forward into the light. " How do we know this isn't part of another trap setup?"

Jake's eyes flicked in her direction. " Because I wouldn't be here with a lawyer, asking you for help."

" What happened, Jake?" Mac asked next. Jake looked at him.

" I got this letter, no return address. But I already knew who it was from. I can sniff a letter out before it even comes. And you know what it said? Don't bother. You know what that means? Sit you're a-- where it is 'cause we don't want you anymore. Usually if I got a letter it told me where to go, where to find the delivery. You know what was on the letter I got? Blood, which means not only am I out of the game…" He fell silent, his eyes tightening, his hands clenching until the knuckles turned white.

" He don't like you no more," Mavin said with a small trace of glee. Jake's lip curled in a sneer of contempt and he looked away.

" What can you give us in exchange for providing protection?"

Jake did not look back. " What'd you want?"

" Location of the letter pick-ups," Mavin said.

" They varied. It was like a scavenger hunt. You find one note and it led you to the next that led you to the final one. Meant to keep you guys on your toes when you tried following me."

" How about the letters meant for you?" Mac asked.

" Burned 'em."

" You're really not helping us out here, Jake," said Mac. " What about the Hangman? You ever meet him personally?"

Jake began shaking his head slowly from side to side. " I'm gonna get killed for this. They know, man. They always know. I would've been fine if this SOB," he jerked his head at Mavin, " hadn't of come stickin' his nose back into things. They're gonna kill me for this."

" You're certain of this?" Mac asked. Jake just snorted out a derisive laugh.

" Wait a minute!" Farrone said suddenly, moving a slow step forward. " Go back here. You said they."

Jake did not reply, just kept his face turned away. Mavin slapped the table so hard and loud that Jake, the lawyer, and Farrone all jumped. " Wake up, Jakey! The lady's making an inquiry."

Jake turned abruptly back around. " Yeah, they. They, as in them, as in the hangmen. There's two of 'em lady. Yeah I saw 'em. Not their faces, no, but I saw two bodies standing in the shadows outside my place, holding two guns, saying they would blow my head off if I tried to get a good look at 'em. That's the only time we ever met and since then it's been nothin' but the letters. You're dealin' with two killers, not one, and that's my info. That good enough for you? We have a deal now?"

For a moment, no one spoke, and the silence became thick enough to feel. Numerous thoughts were already pouring through Mac's head. He glanced up at Farrone who was wide-eyed and already processing this. Mavin's face was more unreadable. Mac could not say whether he was shocked or amused, but his silence was saying quite a lot. Not even he had been prepared for what Jake had said.

Finally, Mac nodded. " Fine, you gave us something, we'll give you something in return, provided you present yourself as a witness and give us anything else you may have."

Jake held up his hands. " Fine, whatever, just keep the two freak-shows off my back."

Two. Mac had the feeling that that was going to explain a lot.

NOTE

Sneak Preview - None. Don't want to give too much away:)