Disclaimer: I am not Anthony Zuiker, Ann Donahue or Carol Mendelsohn. All the characters of CSI: NY are not mine…I'm just borrowing them for a little bit. I promise that I will put them back, exactly the way I found them when I'm done….Oh, Cory Reid is mine and I will take credit for anything she does. :)
A/N: I still don't own Taylor Turner or Maddy….Again, thanks to Axellia for letting me borrow them! As always, please, please, please R&R! My muse loves the attention! Sorry for the long wait, y'all. I tried to update last night, but ff was being...ummm...tempermental!
Chapter 31.
Rescue
Mac and the rest of the team walked into FBI Headquarters. Mac stopped at the reception desk. "Excuse me. I'm looking for Agent Michaels. We are with the NYPD."
The receptionist smiled at Mac and said, "He left word that you would be arriving. Here are your visitor's badges and I'll get Andrew to escort you to his office. Have a nice day."
The team followed the man that the receptionist had pointed out. He led them to an office on the 9th floor. "Here you go."
The six people walked into the office to see Agent Michaels talking on the phone. "Yes. That's what is planned. Please have EMT's standing by. We'll be there in approximately 30 minutes." He hung up the phone. "Detective Taylor?"
Mac stepped forward. "Agent Michaels, good to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances."
The two men shook hands. "Since you called with the location, I've had a team researching the house. It turns out that Ortiz purchased it about a month ago. It was titled under the name James Hogan."
Mac looked at that bit of information. "Cory's dead fiancé? That's morbid."
Agent Michaels nodded. "I agree. I believe that he did that on purpose as a way of punishing her even more. Damn. I should have taken her off the case sooner."
Mac just shook his head. "I don't think that it would have made any difference. He was after her. Taking her off the case would not have saved her. He reached his breaking point where whatever fantasy that he has about her in his mind was not enough. He had to have her."
Agent Michaels shook his head in agreement. "With that said, there is only room on the helicopter for three additional people. Who of your team is going to be coming along?"
Mac looked at the team. He locked eyes with Stella and hoped she understood his decision. "Flack, Hawkes and myself. Hawkes is a doctor, but I hope we won't need that particular talent of his."
Stella looked in Mac's eyes and understood why he had chosen them. Beside her both Lindsay and Taylor were silently fuming as the four men walked out of the room.
Taylor was the first to speak after the men left. "Why are we left here? I don't understand."
Stella looked at Taylor. "Mac was a marine; he has experience in this kind of thing. Flack, also has the experience. He chose Hawkes just in case they are injured. He wants to have more than a paramedic there."
That mollified the other women. Stella began to pace in the office, unable to keep still. "I hope Mac calls soon with information. Otherwise, I might go a little stir crazy!"
(House in Poughkeepsie)
Cory was in shock. She never believed that Ortiz would actually carry out his treat. She tried to get her mind back to working, but she just stared at Danny. He was tied up with his hands over his head. Ortiz had beaten him until he was unconscious. One of the two men with him was behind Danny laughing.
Ortiz turned to Cory and the one man that was holding her. "So, chica. You ready to see your lover-boy die?"
Cory growled in the back of her throat. "Fuck you, Ortiz. I'm going to kill you slowly. I'm going to cover you in honey and stake you to a fire ant bed in the middle of no where. When they find your bones, no one around will care who it was that died."
"Oh, chica, you're all talk and not action. You would never do that. You believe in the system to much to take justice into your own hands." Ortiz turned back to Danny, cracking his knuckles.
Suddenly the air temperature in the room dropped dramatically. Cory looked around and standing to the side she saw the ghosts of James and Michael. "Oh, my. Please help me! Please help Danny!" she cried in her head, hoping that they would understand her and be able to help.
Ortiz, Antonio and Jose looked around at the drop in temperature. "Antonio," he said, gesturing to the man behind Danny. "Go check it out. I want to know why the temperature just changed."
The ghost of Michael followed Antonio out of the room. The ghost of James looked at her. She saw a familiar expression in his eyes as the plan began to form in her head. Cory made sure that Ortiz and Jose were not looking at her as she slipped her hand into her pocket to grab her knife.
All of the sudden Cory saw a chair in the corner of the room throw itself at Ortiz. It knocked him down and the gun he was holding skidded into another corner. She took advantage of the distraction to wrench herself away from Jose.
Jose snarled at her and made a move to grab her again. This time, however, Cory took advantage of her steel-toed boots and lashed out with her foot. He fell to the ground as she struck him in the groin. "You bitch!"
"I may be a bitch, but you will not touch me again. If you do, I'll kill you." Cory was taken by surprise as Ortiz grabbed her from behind. She struggled as his arm tightened across her throat, cutting off the airflow.
Gasping for air, Cory brought up the knife and slashed his arm causing him to lose his grip. Quickly she wheeled around, bringing the knife into a defensive position. "I'll warn you this one time, Carlos. Let me go. Let Danny go. If you don't you may never get the chance to sire children.
Ortiz just looked at her in astonishment. "Never. You are mine. I control you. You're mine."
Cory just laughed. "You lost all say into anything I did the moment you joined Mala Suerte. I've learned a lot in the last seven years. Things that you forced me to learn by killing James."
"I can still take you."
Danny groaned at that moment, waking up. He looked up to see Cory and Ortiz facing each other in a fighting stance. "What the hell is going on?"
Ortiz growled, not sparing a glace at Danny. "Shut up."
Cory just smiled. "Don't worry, mon cherie, I'll have you free in a second."
Danny could only watch in amazement while the two circled each other warily. Each seemed reluctant to make the first move. Ortiz finally moved making a grab for Cory's knife. She lashed out with her foot, kicking his leg.
"You bitch. You will pay for that!" He tried to grab her again, but she evaded his grasp again.
"Is that all you got Ortiz? My grandmother fights better than you," Cory sneered.
Danny looked up at that comment. He had never seen this side of Cory and was intrigued. Vaguely his mind registered how cold in was in the room. He glanced around and saw one of the other two men lying on the ground in a fetal position. "What the hell happened to him?" Just then he felt the rope binding his wrists to the pole come undone. Without its support, he dropped to the ground in too much pain to even stand.
Cory was still watching Ortiz when she saw Danny slump to the ground. She smiled evilly. "Come on, Ortiz. Show me what ya got." This time she decided to take the offensive. She approached him and as he grabbed for her gave him a roundhouse kick to the jaw.
Ortiz staggered back at the blow. Enraged he decided to overpower her with sheer force. He rushed her like a linebacker and threw her to the ground.
Stars appeared before Cory's eyes as her head impacted with the ground. Her defensive training kicked in. Unconsciously she drew her knee up and landed a blow into Ortiz's groin, just as he took the knife from her. In the position she was in, she was unable to get to the second knife in her boot. She hissed in pain as she felt the knife blade enter her shoulder.
The pain just galvanized her. It made her realize that she had to neutralize him before he actually killed her. She brought the palm of her hand up and struck at blow to his nose. This caused him to move enough to allow her to move away from him.
Cory put her hand up to the shoulder where she was stabbed. "You'll pay for that."
She scanned the room, looking for the gun. She saw it in the corner. Quickly she began to circle Ortiz again, to try to bring herself into a position where she could grab it. Ortiz moved in again and she kicked out again. This time she knocked the knife out of hand. It skidded across the floor to stop in front of Danny.
Danny watched in horror when Ortiz stabbed Cory. He was stunned with how quickly she recovered and grabbed the knife when it stopped in front of him.
Ortiz grabbed her again, but this time she stepped on the insole of his foot. He grunted in pain and loosened his hold somewhat. She turned, giving herself a little space and aimed a kick at his head. This time he dropped to the floor and when his head hit the concrete floor he was knocked out.
Cory stood wobbly. She was happy that she had fought him and won and started to make her way to Danny. She was walking like she was drunk and several feet from him she fell to the ground. "Sorry. Can't seem to move anymore…the adrenaline is wearing off." As soon as she uttered those words, she passed out.
"Shit. Bella? Bella, come on wake up. You need to stay conscious." He noticed Jose starting to move and realized that he had no way to defend himself.
Jose looked at the two helpless people and made a move for the gun. His eyes just opened wide when the gun moved across the room to stop by Danny. As Danny grabbed the gun, Jose just sat back down figuring that the gods were against him.
Danny stared at the gun in his hand. "How did that move from across the room? Am I going crazy?" He was not one to look good fortune in the mouth and he held the gun so he could cover both men. "Okay. So how are we going to get out of here?"
(10 minutes previous, outside of Poughkeepsie)
As soon as the helicopter landing the combined FBI and NYPD team got out of it. They ran to waiting cars and jumped in. Soon a caravan of four cars and two ambulances were racing through the city of Poughkeepsie to the address that was a little outside of town. Once they were close to it all of the vehicles turned off the lights and sirens, not wanting to alert Ortiz that they were coming.
The pulled to a stop in front of the house. The local police captain got out. He walked over to the assembled group. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Agent Michaels shook his head yes. "This is where her cell phone is. This has to be the place." Quickly he directed the team into an entry force. Half he sent to the back of the house, while the other half that included Mac, Flack and Hawkes were going in the front.
All of the agents drew their guns. Agent Michaels nodded to each one and they began to walk to the house. Once at the door, he pounded it on it. "FBI! Open up!" At the lack of response he nodded to an agent with a battering ram. "Open it."
The agent made short work of the door and soon it was hanging lazily from its hinges. Agent Michaels and Mac went in first. Three FBI agents took the upstairs while Michaels, Mac, Flack and Hawkes cautiously searched the downstairs.
The came to a room where the door was closed. Motioning for silence Agent Michaels slowly opened it. When he looked in, he saw Danny and Cory lying on the floor. "In here!" The rest of the team followed quickly.
Danny looked up in relief when he saw Mac and Flack. Then he noticed Hawkes and was even more relieved. "Hawkes. Get over here! Cory's been stabbed in the shoulder."
Hawkes quickly made is way over to him, taking note that Danny looked like a walking bruise and was cradling his left arm to his body. Instantly he went into doctor mode. "What happened to her?"
"She and Ortiz were fighting. He stabbed her, but she didn't seem to feel it. After she was done kicking his ass, she just collapsed."
Hawkes examined her carefully while the FBI agents took Ortiz and Jose into custody. 'I think that she just overexerted herself. The knife wound is pretty minor. She's lost a little bit of blood, but not a lot."
At Agent Michaels request the paramedics came in. Hawkes looked at them and requested bandages. He proceeded to bandage her wound and check her head. He noticed to large lumps on the back. "The only things that concern me are the blows to the head she took. What did Ortiz hit her with?"
Danny thought back carefully. "When he kidnapped her? I don't know. I do know that at one point in the fight he tackled her and she hit her head pretty hard on the floor."
Hawkes nodded. "Let's load her onto the stretcher carefully. She might have a concussion." The paramedics did that and started to take her back to the ambulance. "Now, Messer. Let me look at you." Hawkes started to examine Danny. "Man, he did a number on you. The good news is that the only broken bone I found was your wrist. I think your ribs might be cracked and I'm worried about any internal damage. Otherwise, you appear to be very lucky."
Danny looked around as the other paramedics were examining Ortiz. He laughed at how many bruises were appearing on the other man's skin and the bandage on his arm was turning red from where Cory cut him.
Mac and Flack looked at Danny when he laughed. Mac raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's so funny?"
Danny tried to stop laughing but was unable to. "I'm just laughing at how bad he got his ass kicked by a girl! By the way, Flack? Never piss Cory off."
Flack looked at Danny. "What do you mean?"
Danny looked at Ortiz while he responded. "I mean that I was completely out of the picture for the fight. I never laid a hand on him. She did all of that."
Flack looked at Ortiz, his eyes opening wide in shock. "You're kiddin' me, right?"
"Naw, man. It's the truth." Danny grunted in pain when the paramedics helped him onto the stretcher. They began to make their way to the ambulance, Flack decided to ride with Danny while Hawkes was going to ride with Cory. Mac was staying behind to process the scene. "Hey, Mac!" Danny yelled while being wheeled out of the house.
Mac walked up to him. "Yeah?"
"Cory's cell phone is in the air vent in the room that we were kept in. On the second floor. Will you make sure she gets it back? And…what happened to the second guy?"
"I'll make sure I get it. The other FBI agents found him in a locked closet going on about how this house must be haunted since the door closed itself and would not let him out. I think he's trying to go for the insanity plea. Get to the hospital. I'll see both of you guys at the there. I have to call Stella and let her know that you guys are alright."
With that the paramedics loaded Danny into the ambulance and started to drive to the hospital.
A/N:
the little corinthian - Did you friend learn not to mess with Texas or you? I must hear the story now! Cory takes your Woot and raises it to a Woot, Woot with this chapter! Mac being all 007...That's a great image!
chili-peppers- Take a deep breath! Don't hyperventilate in your excitement...and you're right. He thinks he knows her, but he doesn't so that leaves the field wide open for her to be creative! Glad you like her creativity!
pnkrckprncss- Glad you're happy with the extra chappies! I never imagined that this story would reach even thirty chapter and now I'm over that! I guess my muse just likes the story a lot! I'm having a problem thinking of a sequel and I know how the story ends!
tylerhiltongroupie52- So I posted the Flack/Elena oneshot! It's called Fractured. I hope you like it, it's pure angst!
axellia- I like her resourcefulness, too. It's makes her very fun to write. I never would have thought to put a cell phone in a cigarette pack! The X-rated will come soon...She still a little leary of that because of James. I'm glad I can help you get through work!