Danny sat alone in the living room of the suite he shared with Delinda. She'd long since gone to bed—on her best behavior since learning of his reconciliation with Mary—but a small part of him yearned for the company of her mindless chatter. He needed something, anything to keep his mind from drifting to the terrible things that could be happening to Mary. He'd done what they asked. Whatever information was contained on the drive had been uploaded and he was pretty sure he'd just given them complete access to the Montecito's security system. He stared at his cell phone willing it to ring, but the call never came.

Danny woke with a start when he heard the shower in Delinda's room turn on and he reached for his phone to see if he'd missed any calls. "Damnit," he cursed to himself. "Why the hell haven't they called?" He felt an insistent buzzing in his ears and his breathing became labored—almost as if someone was sitting on his chest. It wasn't so much a pain as it was a pressure and it took several long moments for Danny to get it under control.

Once he felt able to move he walked to the bedroom and changed his clothes; hoping this was the last day he'd have to spend without his beloved Mary.

---

With Delinda safely delivered to Mystique, Danny made his way across the casino floor. It only took a second for his phone to vibrate in his coat pocket. Recognizing the odd series of numbers, he spoke immediately, "I did what you wanted, now tell me where she is."

"It's not over yet, Mr. McCoy. We have more for you to do."

"WHY! You have the access and I know you have someone on the inside so just take what you want and let her go!"

"That wouldn't be any fun. Tell me—how does it feel?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny turned a full circle as he scanned the multitude of security cameras in the ceiling. He knew they were watching him and he felt his sanity slowly slipping away.

"How does it feel to be weak? To be helpless?"

"You're out of your mind! This is all some kind of sick game to you! I swear to God if you hurt her—if you touch one hair on her head—I will hunt you down…." But Danny didn't get a chance to finish. "HELLO! HELLO!"

---

"I called the airline and the hotel in Miami, Mr. D. Mary never got on the flight or checked into the hotel. I've left messages on her cell, but I haven't heard back."

Mike and Ed walked leisurely through the employee parking lot of the Montecito. To any casual observer they looked like a couple of guys discussing their day, but the two of them had much bigger problems to worry about and they both knew that discussing them anywhere near the casino was not an option.

"Did you ask her assistant?"

"Yeah, she said she got a note from Mary saying that she had a family emergency and was going to have to take some time off to deal with it."

"She may have a heart of gold, but Mary doesn't have any family that she would drop everything to help. I'm pretty sure Danny's all she's got."

"And vice versa," Mike agreed.

"You've been monitoring Danny's movements?"

"I set up secure remote access to the system from my apartment so we can monitor everything without them knowing. Last night Danny launched an encryption program that was designed to scramble all our security data. I've got it quarantined on a mirror server right now so hopefully they don't realize that it's not working yet, but I gotta tell you, boss…this program is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's going to take me awhile to pull it apart and figure out exactly what these guys are trying to do."

"Damn," Ed said in frustration. "We've got to find a way to talk to Danny."

Mike shook his head as they headed out the back gate of the lot and down the narrow alley which led to the Strip. "Don't you think that if he could tell us anything he would have? If we start snooping and messing around it could put Mary in a lot more danger." He'd seen the FBI reports--knew what these guys were capable of--and for Danny to even be considering what Mike had seen him do yesterday, he knew that his friend had to be scared out of his mind.

"Don't you think I know that, Mike," Ed snapped. "Did you find any bugs?"

"Plenty. I found listening devices in your office, Danny's office, the security room, Mary's apartment and the suite Delinda and Danny have been staying in. I didn't check Danny's place, but I'm sure they're there. There's also a device embedded in Danny's cell phone. It can monitor his calls, but it can also pick up sound within a two-foot radius of his person. I'm guessing that's how they've been contacting him so he's sure to have it as close to him as possible."

"You didn't touch any of them, right? Like you said, the last thing we need is for these guys to know we're on to them."

"No sir. They're all still in place."

"Good. I think I've got a way to talk to Danny. Be in the security room around 1:00, okay? I'm in the mood for a burger."

"You got it, boss."

---

The powdered sand tickled Mary's toes as she walked along the beach. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin and it combined with the warmth of the hand she held tightly in hers—enveloping her with a sense of peace. There was no need to look at the person walking next to her—she knew it was Danny. Like always, she could sense his presence in her space, in her life and in her heart. She smiled, watching the gulls dive for food along the windswept dunes, but their cries soon changed to those of a child and the hand that had once held hers so securely began to squeeze like a vice. The pain became too much to bear and Mary turned her head to look at her companion. Where she expected to see Danny all she saw was a grotesque monster, clawing its way up her arm.

Mary screamed in terror; screams that mixed with the wails of the child. She fought away the monster at her side only to be engulfed by another at her back. It wrapped her tightly in a macabre embrace as she watched yet another creature moving away from them— towards the ocean waves. Just before it reached the crest of the surf, it turned back and Mary saw that it was not alone—in its horribly mangled hands it cradled a tiny baby—her baby. Mary cried out in desperation as the monster turned away again—wading out into the sea. She struggled violently in the arms of her captor, but to no avail. She could only scream and watch in horror as her child disappeared with the monster beneath the murky depths.

"Hey, you need to wake up." The voice was loud and insistent, finally breaking through the depths of her dream. Still lost somewhere in the haze, Mary swatted at the hands that grasped her upper arms until they finally released their hold.

"Fine, have it your way, but stop screaming so damn much. You already look like you're sick and freaking out down here is just going to make it worse."

She was able to clear the fog of her brain just enough to see a pair of legs dangle and then disappear back through the opening before the heavy metal door was once again slammed shut. Her shivering was now uncontrollable in the damp hole and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself trying to get the horrible nightmare out of her mind. Her head felt heavy and her muscles ached as she shakily reached for a bottle of water. How long had she been down here? She was sure it hadn't been that long, but for some reason she had no concept of time anymore. Once she had finished her water and forced herself to eat a bite of something, Mary stretched out on the pallet again—pulling the sparse blanket around her in a feeble attempt to ward off her chills. After a few quiet sobs, she fell once again into a fitful slumber, her unconscious thoughts settling at last on the only person who could save them-- Danny.