Disclaimer: I only own Matt and Tony but you can borrow them if you really want to.
Tanglewood
Matt looked at the stranger. He didn't seem upset by his comment on the Yankees. He couldn't see that well in the dim bar, but Matt could see the man vaguely resembled someone he had seen on the news, but he couldn't remember whom. Tony didn't look like much of threat, anyway.
"Let me buy you a drink, Matt." The crazy Red Sox fan intrigued Tony, and judging from the bruise over his eye, Matt was not afraid of a fight. The kid might be exactly what the Tanglewood Boys needed to get back on track. Without Sonny, nothing was going the way it was supposed to. Just like his cousin wasn't supposed to go to jail in the first place. He knew they should killed Louie Messer when they had a chance. That rat Taylor and Louie's little brother had screwed everything up. And soon they were gonna pay. But first he needed to gain the Matt's trust. It would make it easier to set the guy up, and if nobody got caught, they would have a new recruit. "Looks like you've had a rough day."
"Sure. Thanks. You wouldn't believe what happened to me at work today."
"Oh, I don't know about." Tony answered. The rest of the Tanglewood boys finished their game and walked over. Matt had a few more drinks, and found he telling Tony about the robbery at work. He wasn't normally the type to tell his life story to a guy he just met, but Tony was someone who could get people to talk. The alcohol helped, too. They all watched the Red Sox beat the Yankees by one run, scored by David Ortiz at the last possible second.
"Listen, my friends and I are have a little business to take care of, and then we all are headed out to Atlantic City. Why don't you join us?" He had a small test in mind before the real deal, to make sure Matt here was what they were looking for.
Matt thought about it. A little trip sounded like just thing to completely forget what had happened, or could have happened at work that day. Besides, he was more than capable of earning a bit of spare change at the Blackjack tables. "Sure. Sounds like a good time."
They headed out the now icy parking lot. Despite Matt's excellent balance, he found himself slipping all over the place. He must have drunk more than he thought. Tony noticed as well. "You'd better leave your car. We'll pick it up on the way home."
Everyone pilled into a large, silver SUV. It was clean except for a bit of rock salt from the streets. The vehicle interior was immaculate. All the windows were tinted, and the tires looked new. The group drove for while in the clear, but still slippery streets. The sun had begun to set and the temperature was dropping. The roads would ice over soon.
They pulled into a large parking garage outside a mall. As everyone got out of the car, a lone teenager wandered by. He was part of the Pelham crew, and just about out of luck. He friends had just left and he was on his way to his own car when the Tanglewood Boys stopped him. Matt watched in the cold, dark, parking garage. It suddenly seemed way to quiet and empty. He could smell gas from a nearby car. Some instinct told him something was very wrong. But with the beer and ice, he wouldn't get very far if he bolted.
"Hey, Matt. Come here for a second." Matthew felt somehow compelled to obey. Tony continued, "This little rat is trying to move in our business. We need to teach him and his friends a lesson." At that, the unfortunate teenager tried to run.
Tony slugged him and continued. "I have an offer to make you. Help us teach him, and you can join our little group. You would never have to work at Dunkin Donuts ever again."
Matt was really scarred now. He knew if he turned them down, they wouldn't just let him walk away. While he hated Dunkin Donuts and the customer service industry in general, he wasn't going to start beating up kids to get out of it. "He's just a kid." He stammered. "What good will beating up a teenager and scaring the hell out him do?" Matt tried to talk his way out of it.
"He needs to learn some respect."
Oh shit. "So it tales five guys to hurt some kid half their size?" He knew he was getting dangerously close to become a victim himself, but he was but buying time. Matt reached into his pocket and carefully punched a few buttons on his cell phone, praying they were the right ones.
"You disappoint me, Matthew." Tony sighed. The kid was not what they were looking for after all. "You boys take care of the little rat over there." He indicated the Pelham kid. "I'll take care of this one myself." Tony punched Matt hard in the ribs. The others sprang on the teenager.
Despite the sudden pain in his chest, Matt held his ground. He was tough as nails and wouldn't give up that easily. He sidestepped the next punch and threw one of his own. It found its mark. "You're gonna pay for that, boy."
His next punch connected with Matt's skull. Matt gave him a dazed look as Tony kicked his legs out from under him. He fell, and was aware somebody kicked him when the sound of sirens filled the air.
"The little shit called the cops. Get the hell out of here. The Tanglewood Boys scattered.
Matt staggered to his feet as a car doors open and slammed shut. Detective Don Flack ran over to him. "You all right, kid?" The uniforms chased after Tony and the others without success.
"I guess so." He said weakly. Matt was having a little trouble breathing, and his head hurt from Tony's fist, and hitting the hard concrete.
Another officer checked out the hapless teen that had been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. "The other one's gone."
"Danmit" Flack swore. To Matt, he said. "Paramedics are all ready on the way. Do you know who did this to you?"
"Only got one of their names. "Tony something. I can tell you what they looked like, though. Seemed like they've done this sort of thing before." Matt was positive they would already be in the system.
"Thanks. Could be helpful." Flack called to somebody who would most likely be a lot more help.
Back at the lab, Mac called Danny and Lindsay. "We've got a murder in a mall parking garage. Flack's waiting for us."
A/N: Hate to stop here, but I need to go to work. Lots more Danny and the other CSIs in the next chapter, I promise. I'm sorry I couldn't finish this sooner, but a new puppy and general mayhem have kept me away from my computer. I really do want to right back to this after work, so expect an update around 2 AM Eastern Time. Thanks for all the reviews. They really help keep me working this faster.