A/N: Okay, I do believe that this will make some readers very happy... Thanks again to all who read and comment!
A Bullet for Danny: Dead Man Talking
Lindsay held her hands in a praying position as she paced the waiting room. It had been nearly two hours since Danny had been whisked back into surgery following an attack by an unknown assailant.
But how? Danny hadn't been hit by a stray bullet had he? And the fact that Lindsay knew the attacker had never laid hands on him baffled her even more. She didn't know how much more worry she could take. Every passing minute was like a new type of torture for the young CSI.
Mac, Stella and Flack were nearby assessing the corridor and the emergency exit in which the intruder had escaped. Luckily this time, he was bound to have left prints.
"Hey, Lindsay" Stella came up behind her, "I hate to do this to you but I need to hear that description again"
Lindsay pushed her hair back with her left hand and sighed. "About six feet, muscular build, dark hair, brown eyes maybe?" It had all happen so fast that the young CSI wasn't certain.
"That's it?"
"That's it?" Lindsay repeated whirling on her friend, "Well excuse me for not having a photographic memory. I was a little busy dodging bullets" The rookie watched Stella blink at the sound of her harsh tone and instantly apologized. "I'm sorry, Stell, I didn't mean to snap at you. I just…I can't do this right now"
"I know" Stella smiled sympathetically as Danny's doctor can into view. "he's out" she said looking over her shoulder to Mac who was nearby questioning the night security.
Mac caught her gaze and nodded crossing over to the two CSI officers. "How's Danny?"
Seeing that he had a captive audience, the doctor crossed his arms over his chest "Lucky to be alive. I hate to admit it but his intruder may have save his life"
"You're kidding?" Stella deadpanned.
I'm happy to say I'm not" the doctor replied trailing into a lengthy explanation as his eyes fell upon Lindsay. "The blood you saw came from aneurysm that burst up through Danny's tracheotomy tube. Had you not awoken when you did, chances are he would have chocked to death on his own blood"
"I take it you were able to repair the aneurysm", Mac added softly.
The doctor nodded. "For the moment, but as I told you earlier everything with detective Messer is touch and go. We've put him on some clot reducing medication and blood thinners to try and prevent another aneurysm but we've got no guarantees. All we can do is wait"
"Thank you Doctor," Mac said looking around to see that both Stella and Lindsay's faces were mirroring what he was feeling. Somber he turned to Flack who had joined them midway through the conversation.
"Danny needs protection. I want a uniform with him at all times"
"I'm already on it" Don threw up his hands. "I'll have a plain clothes detective stationed inside the room 24/7 and a uniform outside. No one gets in or out without security clearance from me"
"So what now?" Stella questioned rolling her light green eyes upward at the ex-marine team leader.
"We take the prints back to the lab and hope that Danny's shooter got sloppy" Mac answered watching the others nod.
"Back to the lab" Stella smiled tightly following in Mac's footsteps until Lindsay called her back.
"Hey Stella"
"Yeah" Stella turned back.
Lindsay started to fidget picking at her cuticles, "what I said earlier about Danny and me I-"
"Your secret is safe with me," the older CSI smiled.
Stella's fingers snapped the enter button on her flat screen watching formations of fingerprints dance across the screen until a shadow completely covered the image of the print she'd found: An image of a balding white man in his early forties appeared.
" Bingo. Curtis Mayer. A well-known hit man for the mob. Did five years in Rikers for assault back in 98" Stella gazed over the man's picture making a mental note before reaching for the phone. "Well guess what Dude you're about you go back for a long time".
"Curtis Mayer! NYPD!" Flack shouted pumping his arms in front of him like a marathon runner as he and Hawkes gave chance down the of streets Queens. They'd found Mayer near his home of residence and naturally the man bolted when he saw them coming.
"Geez what was this guy, some sort of track star in college?"
"I don't know" Hawkes panted pushing past his friend, "But I was cross country all city in high school" The pursuit lasted a few minutes more until Hawkes and Flack cornered the man in an ally trying to shimmy his way up a chain link fence.
Flack reached for his handcuffs as Hawkes tackled the man, pulling him off the fence, "Curtis Mayer You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Det. Daniel Messer". Flack pulled the man roughly to his feet and then gave him a mighty shove into a set of trashcans. He then rounded on the man backhanding him with the barrel of his gun as he suspected the man had done to Danny.
"How does it feel you sick bastard?"
A trickle of blood started to run down the man's face where Don had broken the skin.
"What to shoot a one of New York's finest?" Mayer quipped gathering some spittle at the top of his throat so that he could hurl it straight at Don. "I rather enjoyed it"
"Why you-" Flack started to forward, only to find that Hawkes arms were solidly wrapped around his chest pulling him back
"Flack…Flack…this is not the way" Hawkes held the detective tightly until Flacks struggles ceased. "This is not the way"
"You're right" Don sighed as two beat cops with an awaiting patrol car rounded the corner to join them. "Get this guy out of here"
Back at the station house, Mac leaned over a small Formica table staring down at the man who'd shot Danny. The look in his eyes was intense. Back in his days with the marines it would have been easy for Mac to have torn the guy to pieces but now was a different story. Mac's voice remained calm and smooth, almost taunting.
"So what'd they pay you?" he grinned reaching for a cup of coffee sitting on the corner of the table.
"A hundred thou" Mayer replied in a thick Bronx style accent. "Fifty up front, fifty when the job's complete"
"One hundred thousand" Mac almost smiled at the amount of money that had been placed on Danny's head. "Who paid you?"
"Don't know," Mayer shrugged working his arms against the handcuffs that had yet to be removed. "I get contacted anonymously by a pay as you go phone that's dropped off at my house and pick up the money at locker in a bus station down in Queens."
A slow and easy grin spread to Mac's face as he processed the thought, adverting his eyes to Flack who remained claim and silent in the background, acting like a fly on the wall. "Well then it looks like it's time for you to finish the job you were paid to do"
Pulling out his cell, Mac punched in a familiar number and waited for a response. "This is Taylor, can you please have public relations inform the media that Det. Daniel Messer has just died from the wounds he received in Wednesday nights shooting. Yes, I'm sure I want to make it public"
Once the word of Danny's supposed death had gotten out all Mac would have to do was to post someone at the bus station and wait for someone to drop off the money.
A day and half later, Lindsay entered the morgue of Queen's memorial hospital. She padded quickly over to the desk and flashed her badge. "New York Crime Lab. I'm here to I.D. the body of Det. Danny Messer"
The man at the desk nodded and buzzed her inside to where she made her way toward a makeshift ICU unit that had been set up in a special room off the hospital morgue for Danny. Inside the walls were grey and dreary not that Lindsay cared. All she was concerned about was that the man she loved was safe.
Lindsay smiled at the plain-clothes policewoman who standing guard beside Danny's bed. "How is he?"
The woman smiled back and promptly closed the cover to the book she'd been reading.
"Running a low grade fever unfortunately," the woman gathered he purse and glanced at her watch. "I'll be back in a few hours"
Lindsay nodded a cordial response waiting for the woman to exit before turning her attention to Danny.
"Danny…you'll do anything for attention from a pretty lady won't you?" she quipped letting her hand fall into Danny's soft gold colored hair. She waited a moment letting the feel of his locks bring a silent pleasure to her fingertips. "You know you're killing me here don't you?"
Retracting her hand she slowly bent down and gently kissed his warm forehead. "You've got to come back to me Danny cause I don't know how much more of this I can take" For Godsakes, Mac was actually going to hold a mock burial tomorrow. Straightening she stared at him for several seconds hoping her words would have some sort of magical effect.
"Okay, I made you wait " she sighed tucking a strand of hair behind one ear, "And now it's mine turn. I'd like to say that I understand but this just about the cruelest the thing you've ever done to me" Not surprising tears sprang to her eyes as she slumped into the chair next to his bed and gave into defeat. Huge sobs racked her body as she rested her head on his chest. She continued to cry until she thought she felt something land in her hair. It was Danny's hand.
Danny? Her head instantly jerked up to find a set of tired and sick blue eyes staring back at her. At first she stared at the sight of his slack lips as he attempted to speak trying to form audible words. Lindsay squinted her eyes as she stained to hear and leaned forward, so that his lips were almost upon her ear.
"Don't be such a wuss Montana," he hissed softly letting the words flow out in slow raspy sound.