Disclaimer: Go look at the one from last chapter. I still don't own CSI: New York.

A/N: This is being updated out of response for the episode next week. Danny cries on Mac's shoulder. It made my day to see that and I've been impatiently waiting for when Tanglewood would come up and strike again. Anyway, this will eventually be a Danny/OC fic. There will be slight Stella/Mac and maybe a bit of Danny/Lindsay.

"What have we got?"

Mac Taylor stood next to one of his colleagues, Stella Bonasera. He'd been sleeping when he got the call. Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

Stella yawned, barely moving a hand up to try and cover it. "All I've gotten from anyone is that a girl just stumbled upon some sort of fight. She heard the victim scream and hid. The suspect ran past, she didn't see him, and tried to help."

"Sounds like you've gotten a lot, so far." He squinted a little. "Did she hear anything?"

His gaze landed on a young girl, barely in her teens, talking to a couple of female police. She was too distraught to actually talk to any of the men.

"Yeah, actually." Stella pinched the bridge of her nose as the hint of an oncoming headache threatened. She already wanted two Tylenol and a glass of water. "She said that a couple of seconds after the scream, the suspect giggled. 'It sounded like a little kid's "got-a-new-toy" giggle', is what she said."

Mac just nodded his head, looking around. He wanted coffee, and badly. There hadn't been enough time to start a new batch after cleaning out the old grounds. Hopefully, by the time they got back with evidence, someone else would have one.

Maybe Lindsay.

"I haven't any idea how much she'll help anymore. She had her eyes closed; no use to have her do a line-up. I doubt there will be enough of a fingerprint for AFIS."

Mace turned his gaze back to her with a very grim smile.

"We've got more than you think."

She frowned in confusion. His tone of voice managed to distract her from the growing migraine.

"What are you talking about, Mac?" she asked, trying to hide her annoyance and frustration.

He pointed at the camera hanging from the corner of the shoe store. Stella followed his finger, before smiling a little.

She glanced at him. "I'll get the tape."

Before he could respond, he heard Sheldon's voice calling his name. He nodded at her, before crossing the sidewalk. He lifted the yellow tape and ducked under it to begin his way over the coroner-gone-CI.

"Yeah?"

"I think you'd better see this."

He waited until he was level with Sheldon, barely an inch from the man's hand.

"What've we…" he trailed off, an eyebrow rising in surprise. "Interesting."

On the man's neck, close to his jaw, was a strange symbol cut into the flesh. He'd recognized it immediately. Most CI's in New York would.

"This isn't possible," he murmured. "Did you take pictures of this yet?"

"First thing," Sheldon said proudly. "Do you recognize this? Is that what you mean?"

He gave his friend a look. "How are you awake?"

"Old habits die hard, I guess," he said with a sheepish grin.

Mac nodded. "When you finish up here, bring this back to the lab. I've got something to look into."

Sheldon nodded, before hunching back over to continue looking for major evidence. Mac didn't hesitate long enough to find out what he was checking on. The image of the tattoo burned fresh in his mind.

The ride back to the Crime Lab, while quiet, was full of thoughts.

It wasn't possible for it to really be who he thought it was. That person was locked up almost a decade ago. It simply was not possible.

Was it?

Getting out of the car, he was surprised to see that the other vehicles were still there. Surely there was another case, somewhere, already. It was NYC! There were thousands of crimes a day.

It didn't surprise him that the first thing he saw upon reentering was Danny Messer yawning. Still wiping the sleep from his eyes, Danny waved a greeting at Mac. He wasn't in the mood to be lectured, but the look on his boss' face told him he was going to get it anyway.

"Morning." The voice of Lindsay startled them both.

She just smiled quickly at Danny, before directing her full attention to Mac.

"There's a pot of coffee brewing." She held up a hand to stay his questions. "I figured you didn't have time to make one from the time you got the call. If we didn't want you down our throats until lunch, then I figured I'd better get you some caffeine. I watch you, Mac, and I take notes. It's what I do."

Danny took the momentary distraction of Mac's attention to slip away. He hadn't been on his good side recently. Things outside of work had not been going smoothly he'd been good at gut feelings; something told him that someone was keeping major secrets from him. It was getting on his nerves, so he'd been irritable and more "hot-headed" than normal.

"So, what is it this time, Mac?"

Danny paused in his attempted getaway, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Mac sighed, glancing away. It was natural for Lindsey to be curious since she wasn't used to the big crimes of a major city. He didn't really mind the curiosity, either. It proved she was dedicated. If only everyone was as dedicated.

He glanced at Danny.

"We've got a homicide. The curious thing is, there's a tattoo on the victim's cheek that matches one on the bodies of those murdered by a convict, as well as on the convict them self."

Lindsey frowned. "But, shouldn't that person be off the streets?"

"Unless someone who was close to them and knew wanted to help."

Danny's heart froze.

It couldn't be possible.

"No, he murmured softly, before hurrying down the hallway. He didn't care what Mac, or Lindsay, thought.

However, he did know that he owed Lindsey a big thank-you. She'd distracted Mac and gotten information out of him on the newest case. That was a lot harder than one could imagine.

Mac Taylor was practically a brick wall.