hey guys heres another chapter with a little bit more action in it for you. thanks for reading and keep the reviews coming i really appreciate it! same disclaimer applies as before. I own nothing having to deal with CSI:NY or Walker, Texas Ranger. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

"I never thought I'd fine a place that had ribs as good as back home but I was wrong." Arianna confessed.

They had just finished dinner and were headed back through the mall towards their vechicles. Plans had already been made for the everyone to meet at the Messer house tomorrow to get ready. Maria had called to see how everything was going and when she had mentioned that they were going to make hair appointments and get ready at their indiviual places she had insisted; saying it be nice to see everyone getting all excited and running around.

They were in the process of saying their goodbyes when a young man approached them. He was in his mid-twenties, lanky with brown hair and green eyes. He had a UPS uniform on and was carrying a manila envelope in his hands.

"Texas Ranger Arianna Walker?" The young man asked.

"Yes?" She answered.

"I have a package for you." He held out the envelope he was holding.

Signing the clipboard he held out she took the package and thanked him for it. There was no return address; just her name written across the front in black permanent marker. An uneasy feeling was starting to form in her gut as she ripped it open. The second her eyes landed on the photos she'd pulled out her heart began to race and all the blood drained from her face.

"Oh god! No!" Arianna whispered.

Catching her white knuckled grip on the photos and seeing the look of utter fear in her eyes Danny knew something was wrong. Gently prying the pictures from her hands he scanned them quickly; his own gut roiling at what he saw. There were pictures of him and Arianna, of her with different members of their group. Some of them as early as when she'd first arrived. Which he didn't see how that was possible because he had just broken out of prison about a week and a half ago. When his eyes landed on the last picture he just about lost his dinner. In it was a body; placed on a bed of hay and propped up against a wooden wall; almost unrecognizeable. Whoever it was had their face beat to a pulp; guts hanging out for the whole world to see.

"What the hell..." Flack trailed off as he peered over Danny's shoulder.

"It's Gage; the way he was when I found him." Arianna finally spoke. "Mandala's behind this; I know it."

"We need to find that delivery guy. Where'd he go?" Mac demanded.

Everyone except Danny scanned the crowad; looking for the man who had delivered this horrible present; making their way down the street in hopes of catching him. He was more concerned about Arianna. Shoving the photos back in the envelope he threw them in the truck and turned to her; noticing that some of the color had come back to her face. Asking if she was okay was a stupid question at best so he opted for trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Some of those pictures were taken before he escaped from prison. Are you sure it's him?" He questioned.

Her fear had turned to anger by this time and it took everything she had not to snap at Danny. It wasn't his fault that this was all happening; it was hers and hers alone. Just when she thought things were starting to look up; that she would get a chance to tell him how she felt something like this had to be put in their way.

I will not let this bring me down. Will not let this bastard control me again, Arianna vowed to herself.

"Positive. This is all part of his plan." She said aloud. " Just when I was beginning to think that things were off with him he does this. Plus he has contacts that would do anything for him for fear that he would kill them."

Slowly the rest of the group started to make their way back; shaking their heads in defeat.

"There's no sign of him. " Stella told them.

"But I did find this." Adien held up the uniform the young man had been wearing along with the clipboard she had signed.

"Son of a bitch." Arianna muttered under her breath.

"Danny; take Arianna back to your parents house. Have Stella and Hawkes go with you. Adien and I'll go back to the lab and she if we can't get anything of the clothes." Mac ordered.

"And I'll head to the precint and get one of our artists to draw a sketch of the guy. See if we can't get a hit off the picture." Flack chimed in.

Parting ways; Hawkes and Stella deciding to follow Danny instead of riding along; Arianna was climbing in when she remembered the envelope. Snatching it up she hopped back out and caught up with Adien.

"Take these as well. He's usually too careful to leave anything behind but you might get lucky." She explained.

Noting the stress and fear in her eyes that hadn't been there before the other woman took the envelope carefully between her fingers and deposted it in the bag she had managed to find in her car. Placing it in the passenger side she turned to the young ranger and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"We'll get him; don't worry." She reminded.

For the first time since Mandala had decided to come back into her life Arianna didn't feel she was alone in all of this. The gang as well as Danny and his family had been there for her right from the start; taking the place of the support system she would normally have if she was back home. Adien's words rang true to her. Going at it alone; as much as her guilty concious wanted her to; wasn't the way to go about handling the situation anymore. They had always been there in silent support for when she was ready to call on them for help. Leaning on people; even her family; was something she had never liked to do. But there was no time like the present to start getting use to it.

"Come hell or high water." Arianna promised.

"You mean to tell us that he's known where you were the whole time?" Frank couldn't belive it.

They had just returned from the city ten minutes ago; exhausted and a little pissed off. Right now Maria was in the process of making coffee for all of them; Stella and Hawkes offering to keep the kids busy while they rest of the family talked. On the way back Danny had been worried that Arianna was going to start pushing him as well as the rest of them away. But so far nothing like had happened; in fact she was silently looking to him for strength; making sure that he wasn't never too far away.

"The pictures he left don't lie. He's been having someone watch me until he broke out; then after that he took up the task." Arianna explained.

"Why not make a move once he found you? From everything you've told us he'll do everything and anything to get to you." Louie couldn't understand it.

"Because it's all part of his plan; has been from the beginning." Arianna confessed. Sighing she rubbed the back of her neck; hoping to get rid of the suddenly tense muscles there. " Mandala's been watching me ever since I joined the rangers twelve years ago. But he never actually made his prescence known until the case that brought us to his doorstep."

"None of this makes any sense." Kyle spoke up.

"That's because you don't know him like I do. Mandala likes to toy with people. Stalk them; wait a little while to make his presence known; then BOOM!." Arianna smacked her hand down on the counter. "Then he'll back off again just see you suffer because of what he's done."

"And now he's getting ready to repeat the whole process over again." Kevin finished.

"Exactly. This time he wants it to end with my death. That's what was suppose to happen the last time we met; but I beat him." Arianna told them.

"And you'll do it again." Danny encouraged.

All she could do in response was take his hand and give it a squeeze. Her emotions as far as the particular part of the topic was concerned had been on a rollercoaster ride since the beginning. When she'd first received the phone call from her father to tell her that the bastard had escaped in transit to Huntsville it felt like her whole world had collapsed around her. The man in question had put her through hell and back again during the last five years. She had survived it once with the help of her family and freinds but to do it again would destory her. Especially because she was so far from home.

Or so she'd thought until she had gotten to spend more time with Danny and the team; as well as the Messer family. Each day with them made her feel more and more confident in the fact that she could take anything Mandala decided to throw at her; that she'd be able to protect them. As much as she been adimant in the beginning about not putting anyone else in danger her feelings had changed greatly in the past couple of weeks. Pushing everyone away; especially Danny; was just going to make them try harder to be there for her; to help in any way they could. Plus it felt like she didn't have the energy some days that it would take to try and argue her point.

Then she'd received the pictures of herself with them; of Gage the way she'd found him the night he'd died and her resolve had started to crack. It was holding but just barely. If she was to be honest with herself; which at this point there was no reason not to be; she'd needed all the help everyone was willing to offer. So pushing them away wasn't going to happen. However she was torn between tracking Mandala down and going all Texas Chainsaw Massacre on his ass; or dissolving into a puddle of tears; crying until there was nothing left.

For one thing she didn't want to be like him; killing her enemy by any means other then her own hands. He deserved a good old fashioned one on one beat down; something she planned on giving him. Killing along with seeing the senselessness that was the human pshyci were the two things she hated most about her job. Both however were a constant companion; one that you learned to deal with over time. And dissolving into tears would give him something he'd wanted all along. To see her break; to see her spirit shatter like it had the first time all those years ago. So she'd settle for the one thing that had never let her down; justice.

Before she was able to gather her thoughts to answer him her phone rang. Reaching down she pulled it from the holder and checked the caller id. It was Mac; hopefully with some good news.

"Walker." Arianna answered.

"Hey; I have some good news and some bad." He confessed.

"What the hell; give me the bad news. It's turning out to be one of those kind of days." Arianna grimaced.

"You were right about Mandala; not a trace of him on anything." Mac told her.

"Dammit." Arianna muttered under her breath. "And the good news?" She stated out loud.

"We were able to get some prints off the envelope and straced them back to Zach Hunter. We also ran the sketch that Flack had drawn through the PIMS program for an added percaustion. He's on his way to pick him up." Mac explained.

"Good. I'll be there as soon as I can." Arianna's tone dared him to argue with her.

"All right." Mac hung up.

Placing the phone back in it's holder she rested her head on her arms on top of the counter. Whether or not she was up for an interrigation at this point would be debateable; but as this was for all intents and purposes her case. Even if it wasn't an offical investigation.

"I take it that was the boss." Danny piped up.

"Yeah; they got a hit off of prints they lifted from the envelope." Arianna started.

"Mandala?" Melisaa interupted.

"No; the guys name is Zach Hunter. Flack's bringing him in now." Arianna finished.

"We should get movin' then." Danny stated.

"I'll go get Stella and Hawkes." Arianna offered; moving towards the door.

As soon as he was sure she was gone Danny let the anger he'd been keeping bottled up since they'd been at the mall loose; slamming his fist into the wall. No one in the room seemed surprised at what he'd done; knowing that his rage was warranted and justified ten fold. It took a minute for the haze to clear and for him to realize what he'd done. By that time the extra adrenaline he'd had pumping through his veins had worn off and his hand was throbbing like a bitch. Carefully extracting it from the wall he wasn't surprised to see that it was covered in blood and his knuckles were banged up pretty bad.

"Whoa! What'd the wall ever do to you?" Stella exclaimed as they stepped into the kitchen.

Breathing a sigh of relief that Arianna wasn't with them at the moment Danny took the towel his mom offered him while Sandra went to the get the first aid kit.

"Nothing. Where's Arianna?" Danny demanded.

" The kids wanted to see her for a couple of minutes." Hawkes paused. "So you just go around punching holes in walls for the fun of it?" He raised an eyebrow at the other man.

"It's just...arrgh...If I get my hands on Mandala I swear to god I'll kill him for putting her through all this." Danny growled.

"If there's anything left when I get done." Arianna said from behind them.

The smile on her lips was mixed with pure hatred and Danny suddenly felt like an idiot. Through this whole thing that was the only action cocerning violence that she'd shown. Gonzalez didn't count because that was a matter of survival. And here he was punching a hole through the wall. All he had to say though was that he was glad he wasn't going be on the recieving end of her wrath because it'd be a trip to hell and back; that was for damn sure.

"We'll make sure to have a body bag ready." Danny told her.

Finding macrabe humor in his comment she walked over and gently cradled his injured hand in hers. "That must've been some punch 'cause you really did a number on your nuckles." She observed.

"Sorry 'bout that." Danny sheepishly told his dad.

"It's okay son. Though I was expecting Arianna to do it before you did." Frank grinned.

"Believe me I've wanted to. But I figure I'll leave all my pent up anger for Mandala. He's the cause of it all to begin with." Arianna shook her head at Danny; chuckling all the while.

Hissing a little as his mom applied alcohol to his cuts Danny couldn't help but find the humor in the situation as well. Maybe his parents would keep the hole there as a reminder of what they'd been through; of the fact that they'd made it out alive. If they made it out alive.

"What the hells takin' them so long?" Danny grumbled.

"It's gonna take a while for Arianna to get the information the Captain had to fax. Their trying to be as secure about this as possible." Hawkes reminded.

"I don't know why? Obviously he already knows where she is." Stella huffed.

Pacing the little room that allowed people to watch what was happening in interrigation through the one way mirror Danny had to agree. At this point all the cards were on the table and there was nothing left to hide. Not to mention that the perp was getting restless; Flack trying everything he could do to stop him from leaving except handcuffing him to the chair. What seemed like hours later to him but was really only about ten minutes the door opened; Mac, Adien, and Arianna walking in.

"Ready?" Danny asked her.

"Definetly." Arianna smirked.

Placing the file folder down on the table she proceeded to slip off her coat; moving her gun and knife to the back of her belt. Coat placed aside she reached up and pulled the pins from her hair; letting it fall freely down around her face. Assesing herself quickly in the mirror she decided she'd acheived the desired affect. The tank top she had on was plain and spaghetti strapped but hugged her every curve perfectly; pushing her breasts up ever so slightly to make a man drool. As much as she hated it sex appeal usually worked more in this case then brute force or playing bad cop. Taking a deep breath she scooped up the folder; heading for the door when a hand on her arm stopped her.

"Are you really going to go in there looking like that?" Danny couldn't believe it.

"Yeah; why?" Arianna questioned.

"I thought you wanted to get some answers; not for him to try to jump your bones." Danny reminded.

"Sometimes you have to use means other then those you were trained with." Arianna kissed him lightly on the lips. "Don't worry; I'll be fine."

And with that she was gone; leaving Danny to worry about and lust after her all at the same time. Shaking his head to get his thoughts under control he turned to the one way mirror; watching as she exchanged some words with Flack before turning her full attention to the suspect. By the small smile that crossed her lips and the snake like smile on Hunters face she'd gotten the result she'd been looking for.

"Damn darlin. Heaven must be missin' an angel right now cause you is heavenly lookin'." Hunter drawled; accent southren; defiently not Texan.

Chuckling Arianna leaned against the wall; arms crossed over her chest. "Does that line really work? Cause I gotta say I'm not feelin' it."

Sneer on his lips and menace in his eyes Hunter leaned forward. "Well if it's the feelin' mood you're in sweetheart I got the perfect thing for ya."

Pushing off the wall Arianna went to stand behind him; leaning so that she was a whisper away from his ear. "You couldn't handle me if you tried."

Hunter turned to look her in the eye but she was already gone; standing on the oppostie side of the table. Damn she was good; he hadn't even heard her move. He hoped to hell Mandala knew what he was doing; and that he didn't get killed in the process.

"Why don't we go someplace a little quieter and find out." He propositioned.

Sick of the twisted banter that he seemed to want to keep going Arianna decided to cut to the chase.

" I didn't know cops were your type. Figured with your record you'd stay as far away from them as possible." She feigned disbelief.

Fake innocence was plastered all over his face as he spoke. "You're a cop? Seriously?"

Patience wearing thin to begin with Arianna slammed her palm on the table; anger flashing in her blue eyes." Enough of the bullshit Hunter. It's one thing to deny knowing me when I'm not all bundled up in a winter jacket. But when my badge is in plain veiw? That's just a little bit pathetic; even for you."

Behind the mirror Danny silently cheered her for catching him in a lie. He'd always wondered what she'd be like in an interrigation; and now he knew. He was glad he was never planning on getting on her bad side.

"But..." Arianna continued. "I'll play along."

Pausing again she sat down in the chair on her side of the table. Opening the folder she place a picture between them. "You may not remember me; but do you remember this man?" She slide the photo of Mandala that the Captain had faxed her across the cold steel.

Watching as he tried to act like he was studying the picture; clearly trying to dupe her she knew she had him. The signs were barely noticeable but were still there. His pause before answering. Eyes dilating in fear as he realized that he was made and needed to come up with something a little more believable then the average "never seen him before". To anyone who wasn't trained to read people for a living Hunter would be perfectly innocent. Picked up on unpaid parking tickets and was now being harrassed by the police. For her they were as clear as the wide open Texas skies.

"What's wrong hunter? Cat got ur tounge? Or should I say Javier Mandala got ur tounge?" Arianna quipped.

"I don't know who or what you're talkin' about. And I've never seen this guy before." He pushed the picture away; refusing to meet her gaze.

"Now didn't your mama teach you it's not nice to lie?" Arianna chided.

"I'm not lying!" Hunter lashed out.

Unflinching at his outburst she leaned across the table; loathing dripping from every pore in her body. "Yes you are. Mandala hired you to take those pictures and deliver them to me; to make sure that I got his message." Arianna hissed.

"And did you?" Hunter growled; finally giving up the charade.

Lips curling over her teeth in a ruthless smile Arianna sat back. "Loud and clear. Now I have one for you to give him."

"Really? Do tell?" Hunter had gone from trying to be a player to pissed off to pain right in her ass.

"To stop being such a pussy and make a move. If he want's me so bad why hasn't he come himself? It's time to quite playing games . Tell him that when he comes I'll be ready for him and he better pray to god then when I get done he doesn't look like this." Arianna slid the picture of Gage under his nose.

As she had expected threatening his boss got to him and he snapped. A growl rose up from his throat as Hunter lunged across the table at her; too quick for her to move out of the way.

Hitting the ground with a thud; the wind knocked out of her; Hunters added weight not helping matters any. Before she could stop him his hands were around her throat; squeezing her windpipe. Stars danced in front of her eyes as she started to fade. Trying to focus she grabbed hold of his wrists; bringing a knee up to his groin at the same time.

Face contourted in pain Hunter eased his grip on her throat enough for her to pry his hands off the rest of the way. Pulling back as much as she could Arianna let loose with a right hook; all her force behind it. There was a sickening crack as his cheekbone broke but she didn't have time to celebrate as he was coming at her again. Using the distance that had been put between them due to her blow she brought both legs up; planting them in his stomach. Pushing as hard as she possibly could; the top of the chair and butte of her gun digging into her back all the while; she felt his weight lift off her like a black cloud as he smacked up against the edge of the table.

Rolling into a crouch Arianna took a moment to catch her breath; watching as Hunter slowly regained his footing. This time there was a knife in his hand; blade gleaming under the harsh lights. It was at least eight inches; serrated with a curved wooden handle. If she let him get too close that would cause some serious damage.

"Come on ranger. I know you've got more then that up you're sleeve or Mandala wouldn't be after you in the first place." Hunter coaxed.

Circling each other; her gaze trained on the knife more then him Arianna was tempted to take out her own but decided against it. One weapon was enough even if it wasn't in her hands at the moment.

"Mandala's been obssessed with me since I tore his drug operation all to hell and shipped him off to prison. Greed and anger tend to do that to a person." She explained.

There was no response as he lunged for her; knife ready to slash into her flesh. Sidestepping she didn't get out of the way quick enough; the blade putting a nice gash in her upper left arm.

That's gonna go great with my dress, Arianna inwardly grimaced.

Hunter came at her again; this time knife raised in a stabbing motion. Blocking with both hands she grabbed the weapon hand; straightening it out before crashing down with her elbow; effectively breaking his own. Crying out in pain he let go of the knife; the sound of it clattering to the floor the only noise besides their heavy breathing.

Undettered he came at her again. Lashing out at his throat she placed a karate chop to his trachea; following through with another elbow to the face. As his nose started to bleed she moved behind him; grabbing his neck in a figure four manuever. Seconds passed as she tightened her hold before Hunter finally slumped to the ground; unconcious. Adrenaline gave out as her legs buckled; causing her to fall into a heap next to her attacker. Pain shot through her arm as she realized how badly she was cut; blood gushing from the wound and making her dizzy.

Pounding was heard right before the door to the interrigation room flew open; the gang rushing towards her. In the midst of everything she'd forgotten that she'd locked the door to prevent Hunter from escaping. Arms enveloped her as she was picked up and carried away. Mac and Flack close behind with Hunter. Once the air conditioning from the hallway hit she realized where she was and felt for the first time the warmth of the familiar arms wrapped around her. Wanting to know that she was okay. To feel the ground beneath her feet and walk on her own Arianna finally brought her head up from Danny's shoulder to look him the eye. Tears glittering there; worry and fear belieing the steady rise and fall of his chest. The death like grip he had on her a testament to how afraid he'd been.

"Danny you can put me down now. I'm okay." Arianna whispered.

"I know; but I don't wanna let go." Danny confessed; a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"But I'm gonna get blood all over your shirt." Arianna pointed out.

"I can fix that." Hawkes stepped forward with a white hankercheif.

Giving just enough to let him wrap the temporary bandage around Arianna's arm Danny tightened his hold again as soon as he stepped away. Thankfully she didn't argue with him; just wiped away the stray tear and leaned her head back against his shoulder; content to stay there.

"Why did Flack let him in there with a weapon?" Aiden fumed; everyone else wondering the same thing.

"I told him to." Arianna spoke up.

"Why?" Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Because letting him think I'm intimidated just because he has a weapon plays right into the whole scheme of things." Arianna explained wearily.

"But he almost killed you!" Danny exclaimed.

"Believe me I know. But what happened would've gone on with or without a weapon present." Arianna reminded.

Arguing with her wasn't going to do any good. Plus there was the fact that she was right and he knew it. But almost losing her twice in just a weeks time was more then he could handle at the moment; if ever. More then one tear threatened to fall as they made their way through the precinct. When he'd seen her in their with Hunter's hands around her throat he'd wanted to scream in horror; burst through the door and help even though he knew there was nothing he could do. People stared as they walked towards Flacks desk; probably because Arianna was still cradled in his arms; blood from her wound evident on her arm as it began to dry.

"We arrested Hunter for assualt with a deadly weapon and assualting a police officer. He's been processed and thrown in the cage." Mac explained as they came to a stop.

"Good. Now Danny can get her to the hospital to get bandaged up." Stella ordered.

"No." Arianna spoke-up.

"No; what?" Hawkes asked.

"I'm not going to the hospital. Danny's mom or Hawkes can patch me up." Arianna refused.

"That wounds pretty nasty." Flack pointed out.

"I've had plenty of wounds like it before. All it needs is to be cleaned, stitched, and bandaged." Arianna argued.

"Arianna..." Danny started to say.

"Baby please; don't make me go. I've seen enough hospitals to last me a lifetime." She pleaded.

When she looked at him like that; tears shining in her big blue eyes; fear in her voice he couldn't do it. Couldn't make her go to a place she obviously wanted to avoid. Kissing her forehead gently he shook his head in agreement and turned to the rest of the group.

"We're taking her home. We have to take Hawkes back to get his car anyway so he can take care of it then." Danny ordered.

Arguing with him when he was trying to protect the woman they all knew he loved was like trying to get it to snow in the Sahara deseret; not gonna happen even if hell froze over. So knowing their was only one thing to do they all followed him out; hoping against hope that they never had to see Arianna in such a vulnerable state again; cradled in Danny's arms. It was one of the most heartbreaking things any of them had ever seen. Unfourtanetly they all had a feeling it wasn't going to be the last or worst time that they saw what Mandala was capable of reducing the young ranger to.