As always huge thanks to anmodo for betaing this chapter and thanks to everyone that has reviewed.

Disclaimers see chapter 1

Chapter 2

Martin felt as though an invisible bond had wrapped itself around him securing him to his seat. A couple seconds had passed before he found he was able to react. He kicked open the door and pulled out his gun in one smooth action glancing quickly to his right to see Danny had done the same. They exchanged glances before they both opened fire. Martin was so intensely concentrated on eliminating the threat that stood before him and Danny that he didn't notice the two goons that came up behind them, armed with syringes. He felt a sharp prick on his neck and then everything went black.

Danny smiled. At least today was going to end on an 'up note' or so he thought. He looked out of the windshield into the rain, and his thoughts of this day ending on an 'up note' rapidly changed. His first instinct was to duck; his second was to fight back. Quickly opening the door, he rolled out onto the cold, wet tarmac. He pulled out his gun and prepared to open fire on the two men who had started to shoot at them. Who was he kidding? He knew both he and Martin were very good shots, but against automatic weapons? Fourteen bullets against the terrorists eighty: you do the math, Danny thought. Before he started to shoot, he quickly looked over at Martin as if to say, 'Good luck, man. I hope to see you on the other side of this.' He moved his finger to the trigger and was surprised to see his hands were not shaking. He certainly felt they should be. He was coming rapidly to the end of his clip, when he felt a sharp prick in this neck and then everything faded to black.

Dornvald quickly ceased fire as he saw two his men drug the two agents. He signalled to driver of the van to back up before signalling to the two goons to throw the two agents into the van. He then quickly got into the van.

"Drive!" he yelled at the driver. He felt himself been slightly thrown back into his seat as the van sped off. The blue van made a few quick turns out of the 'crime scene' before it slowed down, passing several police cars with their sirens, as it drove to its destination. After a 20 minute drive, the van arrived at an abandoned warehouse. It slowly drove in, while two goons hurriedly closed the doors, so that their valuable cargo would not be discovered – yet. Once they were sure that the building was secure, Dornvald opened the van's doors and tossed the two still unconscious agents out. "Put them in the corner," he said in a quiet menacing voice, "and set the video link up."

While trying to ignore the pounding headache, Danny slowly opened his eyes. He quickly glanced around him and guessed he was in an old warehouse. He vaguely questioned himself whether or not this was the same warehouse Adisa and his crew had used earlier and then nearly laughed. The drug must have done more damage than he thought. 'Adisa's warehouse' was still crawling with FBI agents and other law enforcement agencies. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, and it was then he remembered about the firefight. 'Martin!' he thought. Danny looked around again, slightly panicking as he tried to find Martin. He heard a low groan to the left of him and glanced across to see Martin stirring. On his quick visual assessment, he didn't think that Martin was injured, but it had only been a quick glance.

In a low voice so not to draw attention to them, Danny tried to get a response from Martin. "Martin, hey man, are you ok?"

Martin blinked his eyes a couple of times and turned towards the voice to see Danny. "Danny, where the hell are we?" he asked as looked around.

"Man, I have no idea, some kind of warehouse. But you're alright?" Danny questioned again.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What about you?"

Before Danny had a chance to respond, he was being dragged away by one of Dornvald's goons. "Enough chat, the boss wants to see you," the goon rasped at Danny. Danny felt himself being dragged over the cold, rough cement floor to where Dornvald sat. Danny, only using his eyes, looked around at his new location. To one side there was video camera hooked to a laptop with some sort of cell phone attached. He felt a cold shiver down his spine; he didn't like the look of this. He quickly shifted his brain into gear. Maybe there was a possibly to negotiate. Well at the very least, he thought, he could try and negotiate Martin out here.

"So FBI agent, do you know why you are here?" Dornvald asked slightly chuckling.

"No I don't. Please can you tell me?" Danny replied with an edge of sarcasm laced in his voice.

"We are going to kill you," Dornvald said smiling, "Unless we get two million dollars and that lovely girl, Paige, that you were looking for earlier today."

Two million dollars and Paige, Danny thought, sorry the US government would never agree to that. If he could just stall them for a few hours, then maybe Martin would have a chance. Not that he cared about politics, but the political ramifications would be much greater if Martin died than if he died. If they murdered Martin, then they would be hitting the government indirectly and the government would be forced to take action. If they killed him, then he would be just another FBI agent tragically killed in the line of duty. If Martin died, who knows what the consequences would be. If I died, Danny thought maybe I would get a funeral with full honours and a small article in the paper. Martin was also his friend, and he would do anything to get him out. "Two mill and Paige. Is that a package deal or a special offer?" Danny said sarcastically. The comment earned him a swift kick to the chest. "Ok I guess not," Danny replied with a wince.

"Agent, I am being serious."

"So I am," Danny replied. "Look, you don't need both of us. You don't need him," Danny said indicating to where he believed Martin was.

"Why?" Dornvald questioned, "Because his father is the deputy director of the FBI," he said answering this own question.

Danny was a little taken back. He didn't think Dornvald knew who they were; this put a whole new slant on their situation. "Yes, because his father is the deputy director of the FBI. If you think that it will be the ace up your sleeve, you are mistaken. It will bring nothing but trouble. So just let him go. You will still have me," Danny said hoping he was persuading Dornvald.

"And why would you want to help me?" Dornvald asked, trying to hide his smile. He was enjoying watching Agent Taylor beg for his partner's life.

"Because, if you let him go then it would send a good signal to the negotiating team. Negotiations may go better, and I would have a good chance of getting out of this alive," Danny answered. He didn't care how cocky it sounded, but if it drew attention away for Martin, then he was doing the right thing.

Dornvald laughed, "Agent Taylor, I don't why you're in the FBI. You should quit and do stand up comedy. But I have had enough comedy for one night." He signalled to one of his goons. "Good night Agent Taylor."

With that Danny was dragged to the far side of the warehouse. Once left alone, Danny started to think just how he and Martin could get out of this situation alive, or if it all went to hell how he could get Martin out alive. He thought of his family and how his relationship with Raphi had changed for the better. And how, if he died, Sylvia, her unborn child and Nicky would alone in this world. How he loved his job and the people he worked with and although his love life was non-existent, he had never been so happy. Finally he felt he belonged somewhere. After a lifetime of searching, he had found home.

On the opposite side the warehouse, Martin was thinking of similar things. He drew his knees up to his chest as a vein attempt to conserve some body heat. He wondered if Jack knew about this yet. He looked out the small window at the top of the warehouse. There was no mushroom cloud rising over New York, which meant Jack didn't know. He thought of how he and Danny could escape. Maybe he could cause a distraction and buy Danny enough time to get out of there. But he didn't know how many goons there were so this action could very well send Danny to his death. He thought of what he would do if he got out of there alive. He thought of how happy but stupid he had been. Why hadn't he listened to Sam, and understood her reasons to not going public with their relationship? He thought of the team and how much he enjoyed working with them. He thought of his family and how disappointed his father had been when he had taken Jack's job offer. He belonged in New York; it was his home, not Seattle or DC. He heard Danny being dragged to a far corner of the warehouse and hoped he was all right. They would be ok; Jack would find them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday 0830 – 11 hours since the ambush

Jack walked out of the elevator. For the first time in ages, he had slept well. Today was going to be a good day, he thought, but in the back of his mind he knew otherwise. Coffee in hand, he walked through the various offices before he came to his. He stopped and looked over at Sam with raised eyebrows. Danny and Martin were usually in before Sam - not that it mattered. It was just an observation. "Morning" he said as he approached her, "Danny and Martin in yet?"

Sam looked up and smiled at Jack. "Morning. And no, the boys aren't in yet. It's amazing I got in before them."

Jack was just about to continue his conversation when Van Doran rushed up. "Jack, were any of your team transporting Adisa last night?"

"Yes. Danny and Martin were. Why?" Jack asked in concern.

"Well, the police found the car that they signed out."

"And?" Jack said trying control himself, just what was Van Doran not telling him?

"It was found at an intersection. Jack, it was completely shot out. Have they come to work or left any messages?"

"No. No they haven't. WHY THE HELL IS THIS THE FIRST I AM HEARING ABOUT IT?" Jack yelled at Van Doran finally losing it.

"Jack, calm down," Van Doran said looking around at the agents who had stopped work and were now looking in their direction. "I only found out about it 20 minutes ago."

Any grip that Jack had on restraint was now lost. "20 minutes! It took you 20 minutes to tell me. 20 minutes that Danny and Martin don't have!" Jack looked around. He didn't care that the whole office was staring at him; he just wanted his agents found, unhurt.

"Jack!" Van Doran exclaimed

"Don't tell me to calm down. My agents are out there, probably in the hands of some psycho. They could be bleeding to death out there and you want me to calm down. Do you have any feelings?" Jack said still yelling at Van Doran.

"Jack!"

"Fine, I will stop yelling, but I won't calm down. Do we have any leads?" Jack said.

"Not yet, but if we do--you will be the first to know," Van Doran said, as she turned walked towards her office.

Jack ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Why the hell hadn't he made them take back up? Why the hell hadn't he gotten someone else to do it? He could cope and work if it was someone else, but this was his people, his family. It was impossible not to become emotionally evolved. A hand on his arm pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Sam, strong and calm as ever.

"Jack, you have to calm down. You're not going to help Danny and Martin like that," she said, handing him a file. "Here's the case file on our last case. I don't know if it will help, but it's a start."

Jack looked at Sam and took the file. "Thanks, Sam. How can you be so calm?" he asked her.

"Jack, you think I didn't want to yell at Van Doran? My friend and my-"she stopped herself, "and Martin are out there. I love them. I can't think of life without them. But we have to stay calm, for Danny and Martin." Sam said as she tried to reason with Jack.

"I guess you're right," Jack said as he sat down and started read through the file.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Martin stirred as the sunlight streamed through the small window in the warehouse. He groaned as he felt his muscles protesting from a night on a cold, damp cement floor. Not moving he looked around to see if he could see Danny. Finally, he saw Danny in the far corner of the warehouse. Although he looked unharmed, Martin could not be sure.

"Good Morning!" He heard an enthusiastic voice call out; he turned to face the voice. He looked up at Dornvald who looked like he had at least six mugs of strong coffee. "So Martin" Dornvald said, grinning manically, "how are you on this beautiful day, which may well be your last?"

Martin squinted against the light. "I would be a lot better if I wasn't here."

"Wrong answer," Dornvald said, almost skipping. He signalled to a couple of goons who dragged Martin to a different area of the warehouse.

Martin knew this was his opportunity to try and get him and Danny out of there, at the very least he could get Danny out. And for the first time in his life, he was willing to use his father. "You don't want Danny. He's not worth much. I, on the over hand…well I can be of great value to you. If you release Danny, it will be a sign of good will," Martin said almost wincing when he heard how arrogant he sounded.

"And why is that?" Dornvald asked already knowing the answer.

"Because," Martin paused, "because my father is the deputy director of the FBI and there is nothing he wouldn't do to bring me home," Martin replied hoping he sounded convincing because he was sure that his father wouldn't do what he had just said.

"Maybe, I think you're right," Dornvald responded as he signalled a goon who started mucking around with the video camera.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Jack, we have contact," Van Doran yelled across the office space.

"Where? Who?" Jack asked desperately

"The video conference room. Follow me."

Jack and Sam quickly stood and at a near run followed Van Doran. They had looked through the file for hours but had found no leads, but they were both convinced that it had been Dornvald's men or some connection to Dornvald that had taken Danny and Martin. After taking an elevator and walking down several corridors, they finally reached the video conference room. It was a small room with a table and several chairs around it.

At the end of the room, set in panel wood, was a large television screen. It was what was on the screen that made Jack and Sam stop and grasp the table. On the screen, they saw Martin held at gunpoint by a masked man.

"Two million US dollars and Paige Hobson or he dies," growled the masked man before the screen went blank.

Jack looked desperately at Van Doran.

"Jack I am sorry but you know our policy. We do not negotiate with terrorists."

Jack stood there and looked at Van Doran in disbelief unable to come up with words of shock… words of anger… words of fear.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well done," Dornvald's sadist voice came from behind Martin. "Well I guess I will listen to you. We have you, and as you said, we don't need Danny."

Martin looked at Dornvald in confusion. Had he said what he just thought he had said? It was too easy. He wanted to shout out a warning to Danny, but he was quickly gagged and moved to another part of the warehouse.

Danny was roughly grabbed by two goons and dragged to where he had his first conversation with Dornvald, but the video camera was on this time. They forced him to his knees as he stood directly in front of the camera.

Danny heard Dornvald's voice saying, "Hello FBI, just to show you we are serious." He heard a loud bang, followed by a bitter taste in his mouth before everything went black.

Jack jerked back as he watched Danny's body fall to the ground. He was vaguely aware of Sam running out. He didn't feel he could breathe. He didn't believe he could do anything but stare at the screen. He just watched the silent but shocking images.

Dornvald placed a gun at Martin's head. "Check him," he said pointing towards Danny's body.

Martin approached Danny's body. He hadn't moved since Dornvald's goon had shot him…since that possibly fatal gunshot had rung out through the warehouse. Martin slowly knelt down next to Danny, not noticing that the blood that had pooled around Danny had soaked into his pants. He stopped. He knew Danny was dead. Anyone with the slightest amount of medical knowledge could see that, but checking for a pulse would confirm his fears. When he checked for a pulse and found none then Danny really would be dead, and it would be his fault. If he had just shut up, then maybe they would both still be alive, or at least Danny would still be alive. Why the hell had he mentioned that his father was the deputy director of the FBI? Why the hell had he told them that they didn't need Danny? That he was the only one they needed?

Jack stood in the video conference room, staring blanking at the video image. He closed his eyes hoping that when he opened them he would be in the office debating theories with his team, the whole team. Jack opened his eyes again; the same shocking image confronted him. He must be in shock, he thought, as he could feel no emotion to the events that just unfolded. For god sake, someone had just killed one his agents and another was still in the hands of these animals. Why couldn't he feel any emotion? He watched as though he was in a trance as Dornvald held a gun to Martin's head. He felt powerless. He watched as Martin knelt next to Danny, as Martin knelt in Danny's blood. He noticed Martin hesitate before he took Danny's pulse, before Martin would confirm that all hope was lost.

Martin slowly moved his trembling, numb fingers towards Danny's neck. He was surprised when his fingers met warm skin. He waited. He felt a lone tear make its crooked path down his cheek. Danny was dead.

"I'm so sorry, man, I'm so sorry," he heard himself say. Feeling a gun being jammed into his back, he heard a voice demanding information. He heard a weak voice answer. "He's dead." He didn't realise that voice was his own.

"He's dead." Those words sent shock waves through the small video conference room in New York. The words that confirmed what they already knew, but with those words all hope that Danny was alive were gone, leaving them with Martin's words of guilt.

TBC

Author's note – Anyone who is reading my other fanfic, just a note to say I am writing another chapter.