Title: My Brother's Keeper, chapter 2
As Louie Messer lay in his comatose state, a male nurse entered the room. He produced a syringe and injected it into Louie's IV port. The nurse deposited the syringe into a receptacle and left the room silently. Moments later, Louie went into cardiac arrest and died.
Danny Messer was enjoying a beer with Lindsay at their favorite pub. Although Mac wasn't playing tonight, this is where Lindsay had first brought Danny to hear him play, and they enjoyed an occasional after-work drink there many times. Danny didn't feel much like talking, but he enjoyed Lindsay's company and the feel of her hand in his nonetheless.. Their comfortable silence was broken by Danny's cellphone ringing. He checked the caller id.
"It's the hospital," he said to Lindsay, looking concerned. He answered the phone. "This is Danny Messer."
"Mr Messer, this is Dr. Stevens from Trinity Hospital. I regret to inform you that your brother has gone into cardiac arrest. He passed away a few moments ago," the voice on the phone said.
"Cardiac arrest? That's impossible! Why the hell would he go into cardiac arrest?" Danny asked in disbelief.
"Rest assured, we will have the medical examiner do a full autopsy and we'll get to the bottom of this. My condolences Mr. Messer," Dr. Stevens said.
Danny hung up the phone and grabbed Lindsay's hand, pressing it to his cheek. "Louie's dead," he said tearfully.
"Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry," Lindsay said, stroking his face.
"I need to call Mac. Somethin's not right. The doctor said he went into cardiac arrest, there was no reason for that," Danny said, reaching for his cellphone again. "Mac, it's Danny. Louie's dead. I dunno what happened. The doctor said it was a cardiac arrest. No there's no history of heart trouble, and nothing that indicated that his injuries were the cause. Alright, Mac. Thanks." He hung up the phone and turned back to Lindsay. "Mac's on his way over to the hospital, he said we should meet him there," Danny said.
"Let's go," Lindsay said, giving him a quick kiss before she grabbed her coat.
By the time they reached the hospital, Louie's body was already on its way to the medical examiner. Mac was in Louie's room with his kit. He greeted Lindsay and Danny.
"Lindsay, I want you to check the receptacle for any hypodermic needles, and be careful. Perhaps something was injected into Louie's IV to cause him to go into cardiac arrest," Mac said.
"I'm on it," Lindsay responded.
"Danny, I'm sorry, but I think it's best you go home. I can't have you processing the scene, there'd be conflict of interest," Mac said. He put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "It's been a rough day for you. Go home, get some rest."
Danny didn't have the strength to argue. He just nodded, and headed out, pausing to squeeze Lindsay's shoulder as he passed her. He stepped outside the hospital and pulled out his cellphone. "Yeah, Pop, it's Danny. Louie's dead. I don't know a lot of details, but it looks suspicious. The doctor said he went into cardiac arrest. Mac's on it now, so he's in good hands. I'll keep you posted. Yeah, you too, Pop. Bye now." Danny hung up his cellphone and was about to start walking to his car when he felt a sharp blow to the back of the head. His cellphone fell to the sidewalk. Two men dragged Danny's limp body to a waiting SUV and disappeared out of sight.
"I'll take these needles back to the lab and start processing them," Lindsay said. She headed downstairs and exited the hospital. As she made her way she noticed a cellphone lying on the sidewalk. She picked it up and looked up the owner's phone number–she recognized it as Danny's. She looked around and noticed there were blood drops on the sidewalk. She reached for her cellphone. "Mac, it's Lindsay. I'm outside the hospital. I think Danny's been kidnapped. He dropped his cellphone and there's blood."
"Bag the phone and collect the blood, I'll be right down," Mac said. He hung up and dialed another number. "Flack, it's Mac. Danny Messer's missing. He was just here at the hospital. He's brother's dead and now it looks like he's been kidnapped. Alright, see you in a bit.
Danny awakened to find himself shirtless and lying face down on a table. He felt a sharp instrument being drawn across his back, like he was being tattoed. He tried to move but he was strapped down.
"Easy there, punk, you'll make me mess up with all you're moving around," a voice said.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Danny demanded.
"Giving you your mark, you're part of the family now," the voice added. The tattoing stopped. "There now, that's a fine piece of work, wouldn't you agree, boss?"
A man stepped forward. Danny recognized him as one of Sonny Sassone's cronies–a thug named Tony.
"Nice work, Joe. A regular work of art," Tony said, clapping his partner on the back.
"Joe?" Danny thought to himself. "Great, I've gotten myself tangled up with the Tanglewood boys again."
Tony pulled a gun on Danny as Joe loosened the straps that held Danny down on the table.
"Don't even tell me you slapped a Tanglewood tattoo on my back, 'cuz if you did, you're wasting your time," Danny said.
"Don't be so sure about that, " Tony said. "We need a replacement for your brother. He wasn't much use to us in a coma, and he's certainly no use to us dead."
"You killed him. You killed my brother you son-of-a bitch!" Danny shouted. He lunged at Tony but was held back by Joe.
"Save your strength, Tiger. You're gonna need it. Besides, I'd hate to have to waste you already. Not smart going after a man with a gun, Messer," Tony said.
"Like I said, you're wasting your time. I want no part of this," Danny said.
Tony nodded to Joe, who sucker-punched Danny in the stomach. Danny fell to his knees.
"You don't have a choice," Tony said. He nodded again, and Joe gave Danny a swift kick to the ribs. Danny slumped over onto his side, curling up into a fetal position, grabbing his stomach. Tony reached down and grabbed Danny by the hair of his head. "Either you cooperate, or people are going to get hurt," Tony threatened.
"Why don't you just get it over with and kill me, 'cuz I'd rather be dead than be any part of your racket," Danny grimmaced.
"That would be a waste. Instead, I'll give you a little incentive. We need you to kill Mac Taylor. You do that for us, and maybe that pretty little girlfriend of yours will get to keep her pretty little head. You fail to cooperate, and Joe and I might just have to have a little fun with her, you understand?" Tony said.
"You leave Lindsay the hell alone!" Danny shouted.
"You do for us, we'll do for you. Now, get up!" Tony shouted, grabbing Danny and hoisting him to his feet.
At CSI headquarters, Sheldon Hawkes examined Louie's body and discovered that he had air injected into his IV, causing an air bubble to form in his blood vessels and cause the cardiace arrest. Lindsay processed all the syringes and found one that didn't have any trace of drugs in it.
"That's likely the murder weapon," Mac said.
"Unfortunately there's no prints on it either. Nothing to tie us to a suspect," Lindsay said.
"Who would want Louie dead? And who would kidnap Messer?" Mac asked.
"You're assuming the two are connected?" Hawkes asked.
"Too coincidental not to be. The two were brothers after all. And both had connections to the Tanglewood gang," Mac explained.
"But Sonny Sassone was arrested," Lindsay protested.
"Yes, but his associates weren't. Run a list of known associates for Sonny Sassone. See who you come up with," Mac said.
"I found here a Tony Scalia and a Joseph Milano," Lindsay said.
"Tony and Joe–they were with Sonny when that Tanglewood wanna-be was killed a couple years ago. Hawkes, you remember, Sonny sanded off his fake tattoo," Mac said.
"Yeah, I do remember. Nasty way to have a tattoo removed. What do you think these two might want with Danny? And why kill Louie?" Hawkes asked.
"Well Louie was beaten up by the Tanglewood boys most likely. He turned his back on the gang, and he's a liability. If he woke up he could testify against Sonny and possibly implicate other Tanglewood members. They probably nabbed Danny to replace Louie and possibly get to us," Mac said. Mac's cellphone rang. "This is Detective Taylor," he said.
"Detective Taylor, we have your CSI Messer. If you want to see him alive you will meet us in Central Park West in two hours–alone. Bring the tape recording you found on Louie," the voice said.
"Let me talk to Danny," Mac demanded.
"You'll see Messer when I see the tape," the voice reiterated.
"Don't do it Mac, it's a trap..." Mac heard Danny yell in the background.
"Shut him up!" The voice demanded. "Central Part West, two hours, with the tape, or Messer's dead." The phone went dead.
"We've got a situation," Mac said.