Another chapter posted. I completely forgot I even had these two done! Again I'm having some serious writers block so bare with me; a conclusion is coming I swear. Thanks again for all those who've read and reviewed. Enjoy!

I own nothing dealing with CSI NY or Walker Texas Ranger.

Chapter Fifteen

If it was possible to do so Arianna was hating and loathing Mandala even more then she had before. Making her way into a room that happened to be unoccupied at the moment; with a little help from a master key she had swiped from the reception desk when no one had been looking; the young woman closed the door before leaning against it.

Going from the first to the fifth floor where she now rested had been a peice of cake. No one or nothing had stopped her along the way. Not for the first time was she furious as all hell. She should've known though from when she'd first listened to the tape that he would tell her one thing but the game he was playing was something completely different.

Honestly she was at war with herself at the moment. Part of her was glad for the breather after the beating her ribcage had taken. The other part just wanted to get this over with. For longer then she could even remember anymore the sick bastard had taken pleasure in making her life a living hell. When she'd testified against him after Gage's death and put him behind bars she had hoped and prayed that he was out of her life for good.

"So much for wishful thinking." Arianna murmured.

Wincing as she stood up the young woman caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she turned to the lock the door. Her right eye was turning black and blue; as was her cheekbone. The cut on her lip had finally stopped bleeding and was now crusty with dried blood. Hair fell loose from her bun in all sorts of places. The rest of her face was streaked with dirt and sweat. Knowing that she needed to clean herself up and try to doing something about stabilizing the ribs that she knew were fractured she headed towards the bathroom; hoping that she would have enough time to do what she needed before Mandala's men decided to come looking for her.

Taking off her utility belt she placed it on the vanity; her turtle neck following suit. What smiled back at her was a nasty bruise that covered half of her stomach and abs. The majority of it was still red but some spots had turned black and blue. Reaching into one of the bigger pockets she extracted a large ace bandage and some saftey pins. Pulling up her tank top she made quick work of binding her ribs; hating the fact that though it would slow her down some she needed to do so or it would be worse in the end.

Once that was done she put her clothes back on; proceeding she clean up her face and put some peroxide on her lip. Fighting the sting of the chemical on her open skin she placed everything back in her utility belt; strapping it back into place. As she reached up to shut off the lights her engagement ring winked at her as the lights played off it. Though she'd only had it on for a few short hours she had gotten so use to it that she had forgotten it was there.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she thought about what Danny must be going through right now; what he must be thinking. Since the moment they'd met she had literally and figuratively put him through hell and back. And he'd been by her side every step of the way; never backing down. He'd been her life line through all this and she knew that she would never be able to repay him for that. Hopefully being his wife for the next fify years or so would do the trick.

Slipping her hand into on of the smaller pockets of her ulitiy belt Arianna extracted her cell phone; fingers itching to call Danny and find out if the Davidsons had gotten to him to tell him that the first floor was okay to be swept by a team of police officers. If she was honest with herself however she would realize that it was only because she wanted to hear his voice. To know that he was still doing okay; at least physicaly.

Then the rational part of her brain took over and she placed it back where it had been. Though she highly doubted it there was the remote possability that he had equipment to be able to track her signal down to the exact floor if she made a call. Maybe even track down Danny; if he didn't already know where he was; and use him as bait to draw her out even quicker. So far nothing had been what it seemed on this little expedition and there was no way she was going to take any chances with anyones life. Especially her fiancees.

Shutting off the lights as she had orginally intended before her thoughts had strayed else where she had one foot on the carpet in the bedroom and one still on the tile of the bathroom when she heard the rattle of metal against metal. Someone was picking the lock in an attempt to get inside. And that was never a good thing.

As silently as possible; thanking whatever gods happened to be looking down on this very fucked up situation and the people who designed the hotel for giving it plush carpeting; she made her way to the door that seperated the bedroom from the rest of the suite. Peeking through the crack in the open door she spotted what she had hoped she wouldn't.

Two men; both dressed like they had just stepped off the set of Miami Vice; loud silk shirts tucked into high waisted black pants. Slicked back black hair; brown eyes as evil as they came; Mexican in heritage just like their boss. Each had holsters containing Smith and Weston .45 hand guns and AK-47 slung over their shoulders. One was keeping guard in the living room of the suite while the other was checking the other bedroom and attached bathroom.

This oughta be fun, Arianna grimaced.

Either way she knew that there was going to be a lot of bullets flying and someone was going to get seriously hurt. As much as she didn't want it to be her she had a strange feeling that was goning to be the case. But there was the possability that the element of surprise would work at least a little in her favor. It seemed like forever before the other guy came out; nodding his head to signal that the room was clear. Then much to her horror he signaled that he was going to check the very room that she happened to be hiding in.

Crossing quickly to the other side as she heard the sound of his muffled footsteps on the carpet Arianna made herself as flat against the wall as possible; hoping that he wouldn't decide to swing the door wide open. Reaching down she withdrew the gun from her right thigh holster; unclicking the saftey as she did so.

The same carpeting that she was praising moments ago was now at the top of her most hated list. Without being able to see where the two men were now going; if the one was still headed towards her hiding spot or not. Her question was answered when the beam of light that had been shining through the door hinge a moment ago was blocked by a solid mass. Taking a deep breath she counted to three; waiting until he was completely in the room before making a move.

Pressing the gun barrel against his head she wrapped her free arm around his neck. "Make one sound and I'll blow your brains out; understand?"

Nodding his head as best he could there was no struggle as she pulled him back into the corner of the room where they couldn't be seen. As quickly as possible she relieved the man of his gun; checking for other weapons before tying him up with the zipties she had in her utility belt. Reaching out she placed her finger on his neck; hitting a pressure point that would knock him out while she took care of his partner.

Gun drawn; safety off she made her way through the door and into the sitting area where she could hear the man in question opening the doors in the kitchen just off that. Stopping she flattened herself against the wall as he turned; headed directly towards her. Slowly so as not to make any noise she placed her gun back in it's holster; deciding that this was going to be another down and dirty situation.

Putting her right arm out to clothesline him Arianna reached with the other one to grab the mans semi-auto before he had a chance to use it. Slinging the weapon over her shoulder while her attacker struggled to get back up she slammed her foot down on his head.

Either this man had a high threshold for pain or Mandala's people were becoming stupider and stupider because he got back up. Shaking his head as if to make the ache he surly had go away he charged at her again. This was the second time that someone had tried to ram her into something. There was no way she was going to let them succeeded. Unfourtantely her body had a mind of it's own and instead of fighting back let her be propelled backwards. Right into the door frame.

Pain rocketed up and down her back; so intense that it caused her to collpase in a heap on the floor. Wasting no time he started kicking her; putting his whole weight into it. Before she was able to get past the pain in her spine he'd landed one good blow or two to her already damaged ribs. Placing one arm in the way of his feet she reached with the other to her back were her hunting knife was. In one swift motion she pulled it out; rearing up and slamming it into the Latino mans stomach.

As sick as it was she got a small amount of satisfaction at the look of shock on his face as she twisted the knife further into his gut. Ignoring the hands that clawed at her as she stood the young woman let the body fall to the floor. Pulling the knife out she didn't bother to wipe it off before placing it back in the holder. Not needing to check for a pulse she left the body to spasm one more time as she walked back through the suite to the one person she'd been able to keep alive in the hopes that he could tell her where the hell the bastard was.

Kneeling down she touched the same place on his neck she had moments ago. This time reviving the man instead of knocking him out. Hearing him groan she watched as he started to come round; shaking his head to try to get rid of the headache she knew he could feel forming. Sick of listening to him moan; way past the point of compassion for him or any of his companions that worked for the scum who was after her Arianna reached over and slapped him on the face a couple of times.

"Come on their darlin'. Rise and shine." She ordered.

Waiting as he moaned and groaned; eyes slowly opening she gave him a moment to freak out before he got his bearing and realized where he was. Once his eyes landed on her they became cloudy with rage and he flew at her; not very effective seems how he was hog tied like a calf. All he succeeded in doing was falling on his face; cursing like a salior into the carpet.

"I'll get you for this bitch." He snarled.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that I'd be the next Donald Trump." Arianna rolled her eyes.

"I can't wait to see the look on your face when El Jefe kills you." He spat.

"As much as I wish I could make that happen for you I'm gonna have to pass." Arianna shrugged. "I will however take any information you have on where El Jefe is."

"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to do that?" He looked at her like she had three heads.

"Well you have undying alligance to a man who kills people for fun so I'd say yeah." Arianna agreed.

"All I have to say is I hope you got a chance to tell Detective Messer goodbye." He grinned.

Hauling off she punched with what little energy she had left. Which at this point in time wasn't much. Dragging them both she shoved them in the bathroom; locking the door so that they wouldn't be able to get out. Tossing all the weapons she'd taken from them in a potted plant the young ranger headed out the door. Closing it behind her she took an extra badge she'd brought with her and using a zip tie attached it to the door handle as she had with every floor. Descreet enough so that if Mandala or his men were to come through none of them would see it. But Danny being the kind of guy he was would immediately pick up on it.

Gun drawn once that was done she proceeded to the other end of the hall towards the fire exit. Now that she was alone it was hard to not let her fear get the best of her as she flew down the stairs; hoping that she would catch Danny before Mandala got a hold of him. Because if he did no one would ever see him alive again. And as the tears poured down her face; blurring her vision she knew in her heart that if that happened she would never recover.