Yet another chapter posted. Yeah me! Lol. Again I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I promise that the end in near. Thanks for the reviews again. Enjoy!

I own nothing dealing with CSI NY or Walker Texas Ranger

Chapter Twenty Four

Trying to protect herself as dust rained down; to far from the corner of the room he'd rigged to have debris landing on them; the young ranger never saw him coming. Never knew what was happening until she felt the solid weight of his foot as it landed on her side. More specifically the one that held the stab wound. Staggering back while trying to find her footing was so mind consuming that she forgot for the second time who was with her in the room and what he was capable of.

Unfouratently for her body she was reminded as he never let up; getting close enough to land a one two punch combination on her face. Head whipping back she lost her battle with gravity and feel to her knees. Blackness threatened to consume her as the edges of her vision became fuzzy; as if someone was slowly putting a mask over her face. Reflexes and timing off she was barely able to put her hands out in front of her in order to get up when he landed his foot into her side. Once then twice and on that second time she realized with a strange twist that he was wearing steel toed boots. To inflict more pain no doubt.

Deep inside her the urge; the knowledge that she had to fight back in order to survive started to surface. Started to pump more adrenaline into her blood stream; into her limbs. Reaching out she grabbed his foot as he aimed another kick at her ribs. Obviously he must've forgotten his finer fighting techniques over the years. Or he was going for the balls to the wall brawling style. Either way she wasn't going to deal with it anymore. Tugging on the limb she sent him sprawling on his back; arms and legs wide as he struggled to catch his breath.

Springing to her feet; more like scampering as she fought to find purchase on the shiny dance floor; Arianna ignored the fire that roared through her ribs at every breath she took. Cautiously she sidled up to where her enemy lay prone on his back; eyes closed like he was unconscious. Despite all the warnings screaming in her head to the contrary the young ranger reached down; placing her first two fingers on the pulse point at the base of his throat. Feeling the steady beat under her fingers she was surprised to say she had mixed feelings knowing that he was still alive.

The dark part of her; the one that had laid dormant until his attack on those she cared about had wished he'd knocked his head so hard on the floor that it had killed him instantly. The other part; the part that fought for justice; for the good in people was glad. Taking lives was the part of her job that she hated the most. A part that she only played when necessary.

Of course there was also the fact that prison would be much worse then death for the drug lord that made her smile.

Knowing she'd stood over him for too long she went to stand only to feel resistance. Looking down she saw Mandala's eyes fly open as if from something out of a bad horror movie. Saw his hand clamped in an iron grip around her wrist and knew she was screwed.

"Did you really think I'd give up that easy?" His grin the same evil one he always wore.

Stalling was the best option she had right now until she could figure out how she was going to get out of this clusterfuck. On any other given day; without all her injuries dragging her down; she'd be able to wrench her limb from his grip with little effort. But those combined with the other beatings and excitement her body had already been through that week the odds were against her. However that'd never stopped her before.

"No but a girl can dream can't she?" Arianna was all sweetness and light behind her pain.

"Well your's are about to come to an end." Mandala informed.

Blocking his other hand as it reached out for the second time that night and clasped it's iron grip around her neck was futile. Again her movements were slowed and she wasn't able to register anything past his arms lifting her up over his head so that she went sailing through the air.

Thinking she was going to land on the ground she tucked her body in; trying to get it so that she would roll once she hit. As with all things that night though it didn't go as she hoped and she landed on one of the solid wood tables. Heard it splinter underneath her as her back protested; as her spine felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces. Even through the haze that seemed to fog her brain she could hear footsteps; could hear him yelling to his men in Spanish. Which told her one of two things. Either they'd been able to get out of their bindings or he was pissed as all hell that they'd been taken down.

Shaking her head Arianna turned it to the right as she shakily got to her feet. And as if her mother was looking over her there was her utility belt about ten feet from where she stood; beckoning her. Head feeling like it weighed fifty pounds she saw the drug lord coming towards her; saw that he realized where her gaze had been focused moments earlier. Scanning the room she saw all his men still unconscious on the ground; relieved that he'd only bee yelling at them for their stupidity.

"It looks like one of my dreams has yet to play itself out." Arianna spat out blood she could feel in her mouth; thanking the lord there weren't any teeth in that mix too.

"And what dream would that be?" Mandala cocked his head in wonder.

"You lying dead on this floor." Arianna growled.

Kicking into high gear at her words she made a bee line for her savior. The black belt a welcoming sight. Thankfully the adrenaline in her system was enough to get her ahead of her attacker; his footsteps just seconds behind. Skidding to a stop on her knees the young ranger yanked one of her Sig Suaers out of the holster; knowing by the weight of it that there was a full clip still in it. Racking a round in the chamber she was just about to dig around for her knife when pain seared through her hand.

Gun flying she didn't have time to pay attention to it as she turned just in time; hand raised to block the fist coming at her face. Still on her knees using her feet was out of the question at the moment so she lashed out with a punch; all of her force behind it. Feeling it land solidly on his stomach she couldn't help but get a small bit of satisfaction as he staggered back; effectively freeing her to get her bearings.

But he came at her again and there was no time to run for her weapon again. Lashing out with a right kick she hit him square in the jaw. Saw the blood fly as his body did a one eighty; putting them in the direction of where her gun lay. Not the way she'd wanted it to play out but good enough to get the job done.

Wiping the blood from the side of her face the rage in Mandala over took as he came at her again; this time no finesse or grace to his movements. There was just one thing on his mind and that was to kill her. Parrying to the right at his left hand swung at her she grabbed the appendage at the wrist; pulling it taunt before ramming her elbow into it. Effectively breaking his own. Not one to cry out she could see the pain flit over his face for the briefest of seconds before it was gone.

Slowly she could feel herself coming back to life. Could feel the fight make it's way back into her body and welcomed the warm feeling it gave her. All those times when he'd had her; when he'd could've killed her or her injuries could've taken their toll on her even more then they had she thought she was a goner. Not just in the physical sense but in everything else that made her who she was. All the training she had; the senses and reflexes that people seemed to think were super human. That she even thought were sometimes a lot sharper then normal.

Keeping hold of the broken limb she let loose. Let all her anger; all the rage she'd been feeling over what had been going on the last week or so. A high kick to his face followed by another to his chest. Repeating the process several times she finally let go of him; his body sliding to the floor in a bloody heap.

Tears streamed down her face even as she picked his body back up. As she landed once punch after another on his face. Something other worldly came over her and all she could think about was beating the man to a bloody pulp. About making his face unrecognizable so that they would have to have a closed casket at his funeral.

Feeble attempts were made on his part to try to stop her; to try to get his own licks in. So consumed with what she was doing one of those actually made an impact; landing on her already too injured side. That caused her grip to loosen and him to be able to get away. More like scramble as his body refused to stand up straight; swaying from the blows he'd taken.

Cradling his injured arm against his side Mandala stood tall; wincing ever so much with each movement. "I was beginning to think you didn't have it in you anymore Ranger Walker. For once you've proved me wrong."

Not to her surprise the sick bastard was actually enjoying the beat down he was getting from her. In all reality this was a no win situation for her. Whether he went to jail or she put a bullet through his head made no difference to him. Jail was just a luxury; he had it as hotwired as he had the outside world. And id she killed him she would be just like him. Killing someone out of revenge rather then self defense even to those on the outside it wouldn't seem that way.

"I plan on doing much more then that." Arianna promised.

Somehow in all this they made it to less than a foot from her gun; the silver and black of it gleaming in the dim lights over head. If she could get to it all of this would end. He'd be gone and her world could go back to normal. Gaze going back and forth between the weapon and the man who was staggering towards her now she knew what had to be done. She wasn't one of them. She wasn't a killer because it suited her needs or taste. It was done when there was no other way. When there was no other alternative out of the situation she was currently in.

"Somehow I doubt that." Mandala rasped. "I can just see the look on your poor fiancées face as he comes rushing back in here with back up just time to see you die. Can't wait till I can get my hands on him and the rest of your family. It'll be a pleasure watching them take their last breath."

At the same time that he drew a small gun he'd hidden some where in his now disheveled and dirty clothes images of the people he'd been talking about flashed before her eyes.

Her father and sisters; all the danger they already dealt with. Alex; a woman who had stepped up to the plate when she didn't have to and became the mother they'd all lost.

Mac, Stella, Hawkes, Flack, and Adien. None of them had asked for any of this but were dealing with it in stride.

Gage and the ultimate sacrifice that he'd made. His face as he cheered her on; telling her it was time to give this bastard what he deserved. Giving her his silent permission to move on with her life.

And finally Danny. Sweet, sensitive, tough as nails on the outside so no one would know how big of a heart he really had on the inside. A New Yorker through and through who was willing to give up everything he had here for her. Was willing to move all the way to Dallas; take up a job as a CSI there in order to marry her.

As the realization hit her that she couldn't allow him to do so. That this was going to be a never ending cycle of one danger after another that Arianna would never allow him to be a part of. It hit her so hard that she felt like she couldn't breath; couldn't move. Like her whole world had just shattered into a million pieces. Then at the same time it gave her the extra push she needed to end this. Because even if she wasn't able to be with him the young ranger would be damned if he died tonight without having the chance to move on and find someone who wouldn't constantly put his life in danger. That he'd be able to have a normal relationship with.

Knocking the gun aside just as it went off she could feel the bullet graze her skull but kept moving; the pain of that nothing compared to the pain of her shattered heart. Using her momentum as an added force she lashed out with a roundhouse once again; sending Mandala flying backward to land on the floor; unmoving.

Breathing labored despite the little amount of energy she'd actually had to exert with that last move Arianna didn't even bother to check and see if he was still alive. Personally after all the hell she'd been through the young woman didn't give a rats ass.

Adrenaline was a wonderful thing. It could keep a person going when they wanted to quit. Problem was that when it was gone it was gone and you had nothing left. And her tanks were way beyond empty. So much so that she let her knees buckle like they'd wanted to for so long. Not bothering to brace herself for the impact the wood would have on her already battered body the young ranger never felt it come. Instead a pair of arms; flesh and blood warmth; wrapped themselves around her waist.

Cradled against the person's chest she turned to see Danny smiling at her; his blue eyes a welcome sight from Mandala's cold brown ones.

"No offense Texas but you look like hell." He told her.

Laughing would take too much energy at that moment so she settled for turning around to rest her head against his chest. Aware of movement and activity around her she looked up to see cops and a SWAT team swarming the room. Saw the group standing back a couple of feet; not sure if they should move forward or not. Again the pain of having to lose them all as friends. Of having to lose the one man she'd come to love since Gage's death.

Feeling her body start to shake with silent sobs Danny held her as tightly as he dared; knowing she was hurting like hell. He on the other hand had finally started to feel human again. They walked in just in time to see Arianna deal the drug lord the final blow. Part of him had wanted to cheer at the top of his lungs. However the rational part made him keep it shut; knowing that wasn't the best idea at the moment.

"Is everyone okay?" She finally spoke.

Gently pulling her back he brushed a strand of hair from her face; placing a kiss on her forehead. There were no words to express how he felt at that moment. The whole night he'd been on edge; not knowing whether or not she was alive. And if she was how badly she'd been hurt.

"Everyone's fine." Danny assured. "I'm not worried about them right now though. We need to get you to a hospital."

Gently pushing off his chest Arianna tired to steady herself; to show that she was perfectly capable of standing on her own two feet instead of collapsing like she almost had moments ago.

"I'm fine; see?" Arianna told him. "I won; he lost. That's all that counts."

Suddenly a commotion broke out followed by a voice that sounded as if it risen from the grave.

"I'll never lose. I say when it's game over."

Though she hadn't turned around Arianna knew from all the mumbled shouts that he had a gun in his hand; another one she hadn't found during their struggle. Acting on instinct she reached her foot out; getting the toe of her boot underneath her own weapon. Moving her leg just slightly she tossed the gun up in the air. Grabbing it with her left hand she aimed in Mandala's direction; firing off two rounds.

Body convulsing before falling to the ground one of the SWAT guys knelt down to check the drug lords pulse.

"He's dead." He announced.

Dropping the gun she walked over to where Mandala lay; needing to see the body for herself. Needed to know the bastard wasn't going to be coming back to the land of the living ever again. Wiping her hands on her pants because they suddenly felt clammy she crouched down to touch the pulse point at the base of his throat. When nothing beat back against her fingertips she let her breath whoosh out.

"Game over." Arianna whispered.

The last thing she heard before darkness consumed her was Danny calling her name.