Chapter 14

XXXXXXX

Sam had stayed with Martin for about another hour before Katherine returned. She excused herself saying that she had to get back to work. Which while true, wasn't the only reason she had to leave; she was worried that if she spent any more time with Katherine they might end up talking about her relationship with Martin and that was a conversation she really did not want to have.

So she bolted with her very true but cowardly excuse.

She stopped by Danny's room but the nurse informed her that he had checked himself out AMA. She cursed Danny's stubbornness but couldn't blame him either. If the situation had been reversed she mostly likely would have done the same thing.

So she returned to the office to find Danny seated at the conference table, riffling through papers. If she ignored the bags under his eyes, he looked like regular old Danny.

"Hey," she greeted.

Danny looked up and a guilty expression crossed his face. "Hey, I think I found something." He motioned for her to sit down next to him. "I've been reviewing Dornvald's credit card records and it seems that he's a training to be a pilot. He's been taking lessons over at Smither's Field in Connecticut"

"How did you get his records?" She queried, she wasn't gone that long. "I've been trying all morning."

"They arrived a few minutes after I got here," he replied. Of course, she thought, all you have to do to get a pot to boil is walk away. "I think he might be planning on taking an unscheduled flight back to Makeba."

Sam shook her head before replying, "Jack doesn't think that's where he'll be headed. He thinks…."

"Jack thinks you shouldn't be here," Jack interrupted. Sam and Danny looked over to see him walking into the bullpen not looking very happy. "What are you doing here Danny?"

Sam shot a glance at Danny, who seemed to be formulating the best way to respond. "I'm fine Jack. I need to be here."

"You need to be in the hospital."

"Jack, c'mon, you know you need more manpower on this case. I know this guy, I can help." Danny's voice sounded firm but Sam knew him well enough to hear the silent plea underneath.

She watched the exchange between Danny and Jack, who was waging an internal battle on what to do. She knew what he was thinking: that while they could definitely use the help he didn't want to put Danny at any more risk. Most likely he hadn't even had a chance to process what had happened yet.

"Okay, but if I feel that you shouldn't be working you go," Jack finally replied. "No questions, no discussion. You go."

"Absolutely," Danny replied and she could see the relief in his eyes. "Do you want to know what I've found?"

"Yeah, tell me on the way to the tech room. They pieced together Dornvald's route." Sam and Danny got up and walked with Jack while discussing the case.

Danny explained what he found and Jack admitted it might be an avenue worth pursuing. He called up Agent Turner, who volunteered to help them work the case since VCU could afford to spare him, and told him to grab another agent and head out to Smither's Field to hold surveillance in case Dornvald decided to use that as an escape route.

Jack also took this time to inform Danny that they had discovered the identity of Dornvald's accomplice. It was confirmed when Jack was finally faxed the phone records by the consulate and the last phone call Dornvald placed was to Amadi Jamal.

XXXX

They entered the tech room and James, the tech, was clearly surprised to see Danny up and around.

"Danny, I didn't expect to see you. How are you doing? How's Martin?" The concerned tone in James' voice gave Danny an anxious feeling he didn't want to think about. He did not like being treated like a victim.

So he did what he did best. He ignored it. "What do ya got?"

James looked over to Jack, who nodded at him to do as instructed.

Getting the hint that Danny was taking the avoidance route he replied, "Either this guy is really good or really lucky because the intersection of the shooting usually has constant video surveillance but since the city was doing road work it had been disabled for the last two days. However, thanks to Danny's detail on the license plate, we were able to identify the van. I put together all the video from the street cameras hoping to track where he was going by examining the possible four directions he would have had to take."

James set up the computer and sketchy video footage began to play on the monitor.

"The last time we capture him on video is right before he crosses the Brooklyn Bridge," James explained. "Unfortunately, that's where we lost him. Brooklyn doesn't have as many street cams as Manhattan."

"Well, you know, less crime there," Jack commented sarcastically. "Can you get me a clearer shot of the driver?"

"I've been trying but he must have been aware of the possibility for surveillance because as he nears each light he pulls himself as far back as he can from the steering wheel."

"Damn," Jack replied. 'Well, at least we have a general idea of where they were headed. Thanks."

The three agents headed back out to continue in their pursuit.