Here's another chapter. Thanks for all the reviews and alerts you guys have been great! Sorry it's taken me so long to update and I swear I won't make you hold out too much longer for the ending. I just love being evil! If this doesn't quite make a lot of sense it's because it was a really late when I typed it. I just couldn't focus on anything else until I finished his chapter. Again thanks for reading and enjoy!

Again I own nothing dealing the CSI NY or Walker, Texas Ranger.

Chapter Seventeen

There has to be a communications room or security office here some where; Arianna thought as she opened the door to the twentieth floor.

Stopping once she knew the coast was clear she took a minute to catch her breath. There was no question that she was in more then excellent shape but her broken ribs and multiple bruises were making it harder and harder to climb the stairs. She however had no faith in the elevators since this whole thing had started. It would be just like Mandala to rig one of them with an explosive and the minute she decided to chance it she'd plummet to her death.

So instead of waiting for him to jump out and surprise her even more then he already had she was going to bring the fight to him. Enough of the waiting and watching. Of not knowing when or where him and his men were going to jump out. No more worrying about who was next in line to be used as a pawn in his little game of revenge.

Hearing the sound of footsteps; as silent as they were trying to be she felt the vibration of them under her own boots. Which meant one of two things. That there were a lot of them or there were only a few and they were huge ass motherfuckers. The only way for her to go was the direction of those approaching or she'd be stuck in the corner like a rat with a cat ready to pounce and have it's next meal. And there was no way in hell that was going to be happening. Already knowing that every room was going to be locked without a keycard to open them she ran as fast as she could while still being quite; looking at the walls as she did; hoping to find a supply closet of some kind.

"Jackpot." She whispered three quarters of the way down the main hall.

Taking her lock pick set out of her pack she made as quick of use of the door as possible. The floor plan was in the shape of a T and the oncoming footsteps were on her left; closing in fast. Darting inside she locked the door behind her. Unable to turn on the lights for fear of being found she let her eyes adjust to the light while she figured out what to do next.

There was no doubt in her mind that those men worked for Mandala. That they'd been sent to patrol the floor from some kind of command post somewhere in the hotel. Or this thing was a lot bigger then she'd thought and there were men stationed on all thirty five floors of the building; waiting for her to show up so they could either shoot her or rough her up to be delivered to their boss as an extremely sick and twisted present.

One option was sit there and wait for them to finish their patrol of the floor. Once they realized she wasn't there they'd head back to whatever hole they crawled out of. Option two involved her taking them out and trying to get information out of them about the whereabouts of their boss. The second one seemed like the best way to end this whole charade. But it was also the most dangerous. Then again she'd always been a sucker when it came to putting her life on the line.

Placing her ear against the door she listened as the men in question stopped what sounded like a few doors down from where she was currently hiding. So much for getting the jump on them. One thing she'd always been told was that the element of surprise could be your friend in situations like this when the odds that you were highly out numbered had gone completely against you. Unfortunately for this was not one of those time. Then again it was unfortunate for them because she was stark raving mother fuckin' mad and ready to take it out on them. With nothing but pleasure.

When she heard the footsteps start up again she braced herself; taking a deep breath before opening the door. Seeing that they were turned away from her and hadn't heard her come out she swung the door; slamming it with a loud bang. If it wasn't for the fact that the situation was extremely dangerous she would've laughed at the fact that the grown men who had to weigh at least two hundred pounds or more each had actually jumped off the ground a couple of inches at the crash from the door.

"Sorry guys." Arianna shrugged her shoulders in mock apology. "Didn't mean to scare you but now that I have your attention I guess it's as a good a time as any to ask where your boss happens to be hiding?"

All at once four semi automatic weapons were trained on her chest; ready to rip her to shreds if she so much as wiggled an eyebrow. Situations like this were nothing new to her; nothing she hadn't been through before. Hell the day she dealt with anything dealing with work and didn't have a gun pointed at her head would be the day she was out of a job.

"Hot damn gentleman. No need to get hostile." Arianna waved her hands. "I asked nicely."

"You really think were going to tell you anything?" One of them spoke.

Because the other two nodded in agreement she concluded that this man was the leader of the group. About six three he had to weigh anywhere from two twenty to two fifty. Brown hair with blonde tips he had green eyes and a nose that looked like it's been broken a time or twelve. Thin lips smiled over crooked white teeth in a snake like smile; making her want to squirm. He wasn't suave like the other men that Mandala usually employed. But something told her that he was still lethal as all get out. At least he was better dressed in a black pair of cargo pants and matching turtleneck. Not the throwbacks to Miami Vice that assaulted her eyes every time she looked at them.

"No; but it was worth a shot." Arianna confessed.

Having inched her way over next to a nice ornate gold chair with burgundy covering that was placed next to a stand with flowers on it she wasted no time in getting down to it. Either it was now or never. Hooking her foot around it she launched it forward; slamming it right into the chest of the front man as bullets flew at her. Diving for the floor she prayed no one would come out of there rooms if anyone was still here and get caught in the crossfire. Once she was down on the ground; gun drawn as she started to crawl; stupidly; towards the gun fire instead of away she had no idea how she was going to get out of this complete goat fuck of a scenario.

Just as a bullet hit a little too near her head; her new friends apparently highly pissed that she was shooting back at them she remembered the smoke grenade she had in her pack. Reaching for it she popped the pin out and flung the canister. The minute the grey smoke started to curl up in the air she made her move. Running she lashed out with a right hook; all her weight behind it; and took down the guy closest to her. Now that they were unable to see; she wasn't doing too good herself; the bullets had stopped so as not to hit one of their own. Taking the automatic weapon from her latest victim she swung it over her shoulder as she continued on the move. Next was the other two Don Johnson wannabes; rubbing their eyes as the chemicals stung their tear ducts. Over time she'd gotten use to what the canister did to your senses; had been able to get past it and focus on the task at hand. That's what training with the military did for you.

Wrapping a hand around both of their necks she brought their heads together; a sickening crack resounding through the air as bone hit bone. Letting them fall into a crumpled heap she headed straight for the man who'd been in charge by running his mouth moments earlier but was now running towards the other corridor and freedom like his ass was on the fire. Aiming she let her knife fly hitting him in the back of his calf; watching with a smirk on her face as he fell to his knees; crying out in pain.

Thinking she had him down for the count she holstered her pistol; swung the other gun she'd confiscated over her shoulder as she got closer. Then all of a sudden he reared up; turning to bring his gun up so that he could put a bullet in her.

"Son of a bitch!" Arianna grumbled.

Kicking the gun out of his hand she blocked the arm that swung at her thigh as she brought him to his feet. Still struggling she took the limb he'd just swung at her and pulled it behind his back; making him cry out yet again. While he was distracted by the pain she searched him for any other weapons; finding a knife and hand gun that she tossed aside. Once that was done she placed him in a chair just like the one she'd thrown at him moments ago. Another punch to his head stopped him fighting her again. In fact she didn't realize until after she had his arms and legs zip tied to it that she'd knocked him out. Sighing she made quick work of his friends; tying their arms and legs together calf roping style. Stashing the guns in the closet she'd been hiding in moments ago she went back to find her little friend still knocked out cold. Things were so not going the way she'd planned.

Searching him again she found a small disposable cell phone in his thigh pocket. Flipping it open she went through the call log and only found one that was on both the ingoing and outgoing. Finger poised over the send button; ready to end this right now the phone started to vibrate in her hand. The number in question came up on the screen.

"Hey." Arianna smacked the guy lightly across the face a couple of times. "Hey there sunshine it's time to wake up."

Shaking his head it took him a couple of minutes to realize where he was and exactly what was going on before he started struggling against his bindings. But when he saw her his movements stopped he leered at her as if knowing something she didn't.

"As much as I'd love to be in on the joke I'm apparently missing I need you to answer the phone for me and tell your boss that everything is fine. Then you and I are going to have our own little chat." The young ranger informed.

"Go to hell punta." He spat at her.

Luckily because she was standing up it ended up on her stomach and not her face. This was not the way she'd planned things out. In all reality she hadn't really had a plan; but still. She'd wanted this thing to end; to get to Mandala and get it over with. Here was her chance to do just that. Taking a deep breath she pushed the button; placing the phone to her ear.

"Do you have her yet Emilio?" Mandala's baritone voice came over the receiver.

"Emilio's a little tied up at the moment." Arianna answered. "As far as she's concerned I'm just fine. Thanks for the concern."

"I was wondering how long it was going to take before you contacted me yourself." Mandala's voice flared with anger. "Took longer then I thought; you're losing your touch Ranger Walker."

"Well I do have to say that after a while chasing you gets kinda of monotonous." Arianna yawned; not having to pretend because she was in fact dog frigging tired. "I'm about ready to say to hell with it and let the FBI handle it. I'm sure they'd love to get their hands on you."

The tension level through the phone skyrocketed at her words. She knew how much Mandala wanted her. How much he'd love to kill her with his bare hands. Playing with him was quite fun but in the end could give her a lot more then she bargained for. At this point she was so far from caring it wasn't even funny.

"I didn't realize you were giving up so easily. That's not like you." Mandala goaded.

"True." Arianna strode away from her captive. "But after a while chasing cowards like you becomes old hat."

She heard him start swearing in Spanish and couldn't help but smile. Deep down she knew she should just keep her mouth shut and deal with the business at hand. Unfortunately for the young ranger she'd always had the urge to play with fire and see if she got burned.

"How dare you." Mandala started.

"How dare I what?" Arianna was done playing games. "How dare I call you out? How dare I speak the truth? If you claim to not be one then why haven't you stepped forward. Why the whole dog and pony show?"

"Because watching you fight for your life gives me such a thrill." Mandala was the picture of calm once again.

"As much as I'd like to believe that this is all a way for you to get your jollies off I'm going to have to disagree." Arianna spat. "You're scarred and refuse to admit it. Refuse to realize the fact that I kicked your ass once and I can do it again. Only this time I'm sending you with a one way ticket to hell."

"I would think you'd be more concerned about the safety of those still in the hotel rather then catching me. After all isn't that your job? To serve and protect those who can't protect themselves?" Mandala wondered.

Suddenly everything seemed to change. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and despite the heaviness of her clothes and the heat she was still experiencing from her last showdown the young woman suddenly felt chilled from head to toe. Feeling like she had the upper hand seconds ago it was now as if someone was tightening her chest with a vise and she had to take a couple of deep breaths before speaking.

"It is. But everyone's been evacuated so there's nothing standing in the way of me killing you." Arianna growled.

"I'm afraid that not everyone made it out." Mandala was cryptic.

Something about the way he said it made her hands turn clammy and her mouth go dry. All her senses were on high alert. She had no idea what was going on but something was seriously fucked up about this scenario.

"Well you, me, and your merry band of men are still here so I'd have to agree with you for once." Arianna played dumb; because she in fact had no idea what the hell was going on.

What she heard next made her blood run cold; caused her heart to stop in her chest.

"Arianna don't do it! Whatever he's asking say no! Just get away while you still can; forget about me!" Danny's voice screamed at her from the receiver.

The minute she'd heard his voice time seemed to have stood still. Everything that had happened the last month flashed through her head. Meeting Danny; that smirk of his getting her the first time she'd seen it. How he'd been so nice to her; listened to her as she talked about what she'd been through recently. Her own feelings towards him and how she'd tried to fight them. Tried to tell herself that getting him involved in her life would only bring him danger. Giving into the fact that she loved him more then she'd thought possible and was willing to risk it all for a second chance at love because Danny had refused to give up on her. Telling herself that taking extra precautions to keep him safe would be enough.

And now that he was in Mandala's clutches it had all been for nothing. But not just the precautions she'd taken. Not just the believing in Danny when he'd said that everything was going to be okay. That sometimes when you loved someone enough it was worth risking it all. Her hopes and dreams that her past would stay in the past. That her dreams of having a home; a family; would actually come true.

Now that could never happen because the Walker curse had come back full force. If it had happened now it was going to happen again. Another enemy would surface after Mandala was dead. And that exactly what was going to happen. Because even as her heart broke while she tried to compose herself enough to answer she knew this was it. That this was the end of her and Danny. Not because he was going to die because she refused to let that happen. Even though she knew this was the last time she was going to see the New Yorker that had stolen her heart she'd rather die before his life was taken away. If she made it out in once piece after saving him they'd go their separate ways. Amidst the protest she knew were going to come she'd tell him what she'd tried telling him so long ago. That she was meant to be alone the rest of her life. That the curse placed on her and her family wasn't meant to be broken by any Walker other then her father Cordell.

Right now though she had to figure out what to do. Figure out how to end it once and for all.

"I swear to god if there's one hair out of place on his head..." Arianna flared.

"It's nice to finally get a rise out of you Ranger Walker. I was starting to get worried that my fun was coming to and end." Mandala interrupted; clearly please at her reaction.

That's when it dawned on her. How this nightmare was going to stop. Somehow she'd know this was the way things were going to go but she'd hoped that she was wrong. Hoped that getting the upper hand on the drug lord and going at it alone would be enough to get ahead. Unfortunately she'd been wrong and now Danny was going to pay for it.

"If fun's what you're looking for then how about we end this. Trade me for Danny and you get what you've wanted all along." Arianna was already heading towards the stairs.

"And what would that be?" Mandala played stupid.

Fine; if that's how you want to play it then I'm all for it, Arianna thought.

Out loud she said. "You and me in a final show down. No guns; no weapons. One on one no holds barred."

"I get to pick when and where." Mandala fired back.

"No!" Arianna paused on the stairs. "You've already had your say on more then enough of this evenings festivities. We do this my way now."

"And if I don't?" Mandala questioned.

Saying this next part was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. But she had to convince him that she meant business or this wouldn't work.

"Then I walk away. Go ahead and let the FBI take care of you. And as for Danny you can keep him; do whatever you want with him. He means nothing to mean anymore."

Ominous silence filled the line and for a second she had a feeling her bluff had worked a little to well. Then his voice came on the other end and she knew she'd won this small victory.

"Fine." Mandala agreed. "When and where?"

"The ballroom in twenty minutes." Arianna stated. "Bring Danny with you. We finish where it all began. No more playing around. This ends tonight."

With that she snapped the phone shut; throwing it against the wall and ignoring it as it shattered into a bunch of little pieces. The only thing on her mind right now was getting there early; staking out the place so that there'd be no surprises in store for her. This was it; then means to and end. Sending a silent prayer to her ancestors for strength and guidance she hoped she knew what she was doing. Because in the end only one person would left standing and she'd be damn if it would be that sadistic bastard.

Tonight she was going to make good on the promise she'd stated earlier. He had a one way ticket in first class to hell with his name written on it.