After their shower, Danny and Mary slept the rest of the afternoon. In fact, the sun was just setting behind the horizon when Danny's cell phone vibrated on the nightstand with a message from Ed that they might have some information about the case. He softly kissed Mary and urged her to sleep before leaving their bed to dress.
Thirty minutes later he softly pulled the bedroom door closed and brought his index finger to his mouth, indicating to the others that they needed to be as quiet as possible. Ed, Mike and Frank all nodded their understanding as Danny moved to join them in the living room.
"She doing okay?" Ed asked, concerned.
"Yeah, but she needs her rest. And thank you guys for meeting up here. I'm just not ready to leave her yet." Danny took a seat in one of the side chairs and turned to them with a serious expression. "So, what did you find out?"
"A possible connection," Frank said as he leaned back against the couch. "All these guys were in the military at some point and at least two of them were discharged."
"Yeah, so was I," Danny told him.
"Not for 'conduct unbecoming'."
"What?" Danny asked in disbelief before Ed picked up the next part of the story.
"These guys were good soldiers, but that's all they were—soldiers. They were completely dedicated to the service—highly trained, sent into extreme situations and then sent home to pretend like everything was okay. You know how hard it was to readjust, Danny. And you also know how important it was for you to have someone to come home to. These guys didn't have anyone. After their return, they encountered various psychological problems, drinking problems, drugs--until they'd used up all their chances."
"But if these guys were dishonorably discharged then why didn't anyone notice? It's damn near impossible to get a job with something like that on your record—you might as well have a felony conviction."
"Because they weren't dishonorably discharged. The military has so much to deal with right now they probably just wanted to cover up the fact that they let these guys down. These were highly decorated servicemen. They gave them an out and swept it under the rug."
Danny rested his elbows on his knees, processing all the information Frank and Ed had laid out. He'd known guys who had nothing but the Corps and they could be pretty diehard. He could only imagine what might happen if the only thing you'd ever known was suddenly yanked out from under you and these guys were forced into the real world with no idea how to function as civilians. Add to that the fact they most likely had a chip on their shoulder the size of Mt. Rushmore and that could make for some pretty pissed off, highly trained security personnel.
"What about the third guy?"
"We haven't been able to get access to the Royal Air Force service records, but I'm betting that he had similar problems."
"Okay, so that's what we know about the inside guys. That still doesn't really explain why they end up dead," Danny's mind was racing with possibilities, but Frank was quick to voice his thoughts.
"Well, I have a couple of theories on that. I don't think they really knew what they were getting into until it was too late. At some point that duty, honor, country thing is bound to kick in and they start regretting what they've done—maybe arguing a bit too much with whoever is in charge and so they have to be eliminated."
"There's something else that's been bothering me though," Mike interrupted. "I keep thinking about what the guy said to you on the phone, Danny. About wanting you to feel weak and helpless. These guys are on some sort of power trip. Maybe it's in their plans all along to use these strong, military guys and then get rid of them. It certainly would add to the rush—bringing a whole other level of pawns to the playing field."
"That's a pretty elaborate theory, Mike."
"Yeah, well, I'm speaking from the perspective of a computer nerd who spent the majority of his high school career being tormented by jocks."
Danny nodded his head. He wasn't exactly sure how it was going to help them track these guys down, but it was an interesting observation. "These are all great theories, but right now I'm concerned with finding out who the inside guy is at the Montecito. Almost everyone on our security staff is former military—going through all those classified records could take weeks and the clock is ticking. We know he's still here so how the hell do we figure out who he is?"
Every one of them looked down at the floor. The truth was while they may have some great ideas as to why these guys were chosen, it really didn't help them narrow their search down. They needed a break and it just wasn't forthcoming.
"Look, there's got to be something else," Ed told them all. "Let's keep digging and we'll meet again in the morning."
Danny closed the door behind everyone and swiped his hand roughly over his face. A glance at the clock told him that it had probably been almost twelve hours since Mary had eaten and he headed towards the kitchen. After preparing his specialty—grilled cheese and canned chicken noodle soup—he found a tray and carefully carried the items, along with a tall glass of orange juice to the bedroom.
"Wake up sleepyhead," Danny set the tray at the end of the bed and reached to switch on the lamp. He immediately noticed that Mary's peaceful slumber had turned into a restless sleep. Her eyes were still closed, but the smoothness of her forehead was creased in concern and her right hand had curled into a tight fist.
"Mary," Danny softly ran his hand across her face, trying to soothe whatever dream seemed to have her so upset. When he heard the first sounds of her soft whimpers and saw tears slipping from closed lids, he leaned down and ran his hand through her hair, coaxing her back to consciousness.
"Wake up, sweetie. It's okay, you're safe."
Mary finally did open her eyes, but she didn't seem to focus on Danny at first and that scared him. Even though she was awake now, she still seemed lost in the nightmare.
Danny peppered her hairline with soft kisses until he felt some of her tension ease and her arm reach around his neck to pull him closer.
"He's here, Danny," Mary's voice startled him.
"It was just a dream, sweetie. You're okay."
Mary shook her head vigorously from side to side. "I remember now, Danny."
"What are you talking about?" He leaned back so he could look into her face, gently wiping her tears with the pads of his thumbs.
"It's him. He's right here and he's been helping them all along," she couldn't contain her sobs anymore and Danny held her head tightly to his chest.
"Mary, baby, you're scaring me. Who do you remember?"
"Mark. Mark Benton."
---
Jillian's surprise visit couldn't have come at a better time and despite Mary's insistence that he wait for the FBI, Danny was currently headed down to the security room. His blood boiled as he thought about the day he'd seen this guy flirting with Mary. That little scene had probably been his downfall. If Mark hadn't chatted her up that day, Mary might not have ever recognized his voice as that of one of her kidnappers.
"Hey, Mark. Wanna help me interrogate someone?" Danny grabbed the man firmly by the shoulder, his rage barely contained.
Oblivious to Danny's anger, Mark stood up and followed, "Sounds like fun."
Danny ushered him down the hall towards the interrogation room, but once inside Mark looked around, confused.
"So, where's the guy?"
"You're the guy!" Danny told him and without missing a beat he head butted Mark hard. It didn't take Mark long to recover and soon he was striking back at Danny, delivering a swift punch to his jaw and sending Danny stumbling against the wall. The two men traded blows, neither one gaining the upper hand until they were both pulled apart--Ed taking Mark while Mike tried to restrain Danny.
"That's enough!" Ed yelled. "What the hell is going on?"
"He's crazy. He just attacked me!"
"You know exactly what's going on you son of a bitch," Danny said, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Why don't you enlighten me, McCoy," Mark spat, clutching his ribs and trying to catch his breath.
"She remembered his voice, Ed. She's positive he's one of them."
"Mike, call the FBI—NOW." Mike released Danny and bolted from the room as Ed grabbed Mark and forced him into a chair.
"You got something you want to tell us, Mr. Benton?"
"I don't know what the hell he's talking about, Mr. Deline."
Ed pulled a chair close to Mark so he could look him in the eye. "Mark. I can call you Mark, right?"
"Call me whatever you want. Look, I'm not afraid of you people. I haven't done anything."
"My buddy Danny thinks that you have."
Mike reentered the room and handed Ed a few pieces of paper and he looked at them for a moment before turning his attention back to the suspect.
"Mark, you were in the Navy, right?"
"Yeah, I've been out for a little over a year. So?"
"Did you leave on good terms?"
"I was discharged."
"This says here you had some problems with your commanding officer."
"How the hell did you get that? Those records were sealed." Mark tried to grab the papers, but Danny pulled him roughly back into his seat.
"How did you feel about leaving the service, Mark? I mean, you enlisted right out of high school; looks like you thought you were in this for the long haul. There are a lot of commendations in here. Must have been pretty devastating to be kicked out?"
Mark turned away from Ed, his hands clenching into fists.
"It wasn't my fault. That shithead Ensign, right out of Annapolis... thought he was a bad ass. Thought he was better than me. He was in diapers when I joined up."
"So you got yourself all liquored up and thought you'd take a joy ride."
"No, it's not like that...," Mark tried to argue, his anger rising, but Ed pressed on.
"Thought you'd crash through the gates--threw away your whole career."
"Stop! You don't know anything." Mark paused in an attempt to regain his composure. "You don't know anything," he whispered. "After everything I did. I devoted my life to the Navy."
"So naturally you were pretty damn pissed. You'd forgotten what it was like to live in the real world. You had no family, no savings, no future and then some people came along and gave you a chance to do what you do best."
"I didn't know..." If Mark realized he'd slipped up he didn't show it.
"This covert operation must have seemed like a dream, didn't it, Mark? I bet they told you how much they needed your expertise and your military training." Ed was relentless, trying to push him to the breaking point. "I bet they told you what an asset you were going to be to their organization. I bet they told you how much they needed you, didn't they Mark?"
The younger man slammed both his palms down on the table and screamed in frustration, "I didn't have anything to do with what happened to Ms. Connell."
Ed and Danny exchanged knowing glances. "How do you know we're talking about Mary?"
Mark flinched, but tried to keep his cool. "McCoy's just jealous because I was talking to her the other day."
"Nice try. Only a few people besides the FBI know anything about the events of this past week and I'm pretty sure none of them told you. Now, I'm going to ask you again. How do you know we were talking about Ms. Connell."
When Mark still didn't answer, Ed tried another approach. He nodded for Danny to take a seat on the other side of the table and once he was in place Ed grabbed Mark's arm and twisted it hard—just as they'd done to Mary. When the he tried to fight back Danny held him down.
"Mr. D," Mike pleaded, suddenly nervous at the tactics his boss and friend were using on this guy.
Ignoring Mike's protest, Ed spoke again—this time with Mark's full attention.
"Mr. Benton, we've been doing a lot of research on the Masquerade Group—I know you're familiar with them," the sarcasm and disdain dripped like honey from Ed's tongue. "And one thing we've discovered is that in every heist they've managed to pull off the inside guy always ends up dead. So, my question is, what makes you think this job will be any different than the last?"
Mark gritted his teeth in pain, summing every ounce of strength he could muster, but he finally realized it just wasn't worth it anymore.
"They said they weren't going to hurt her," he screamed and Ed immediately released his grip. It took him a moment to recover, but after a few deep breaths Mark started again, "Look, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I never would have gotten involved if I'd known they were going to hurt her—I swear."
"If you were so worried about her then why didn't you tell someone what was going on?" Danny stood up and began furiously pacing the room.
"Self-preservation, I guess. I'm only human. I didn't want to get caught."
Mark's smug tone sent Danny into a rage again and he yanked the man up by the collar. "You're not human! You're an animal just like them!"
"Hey, I'm the one who told them to speed things up. I knew how sick she was and that there was no way she would last until the end of the week. I was trying to help her."
"Danny, enough!" Ed put a hand on his protégé's shoulder and Danny roughly pushed Mark back into the chair.
Just then, Mike heard a knock at the door and opened it to reveal Agents Davis and O'Dell.
"Mr. Benton, I'm sure you know Agents Davis and O'Dell of the FBI. They're going to ask you some questions and I suggest you cooperate with them."
His bravado having returned, Mark rolled his eyes at Ed's statement and the older man reached down and grabbed his little finger, bending it back until he heard it pop out of joint. Agent Davis moved to protest, but his partner grabbed his arm, indicating they should let Ed finish. The former CIA operative leaned close to Mark's ear and whispered menacingly as the man grimaced in pain, "I know you think you're hot stuff, but you will tell these men everything you know and help us find your friends or what they had planned for your sorry ass will seem like a walk through Candyland compared to what Danny and I will do once we get you alone again. Do you understand?"
"Fine," Mark told him through gritted teeth. "I'll tell you what I know."