AN: I don't own any of the CSI:NY Characters or any of the show's storylines that I may refer to from time to time, but the rest of the plot is mine.

6. The Interview

After leaving Laura in the locker room Stella rejoined the team in the breakroom, wishing they could find something which would help get to the bottom of this case. They now had 3 bodies, one NYPD cop and 2 Feds, Mac was having to play politics, which she knew he hated. What bothered her was the distinct lack of information which surrounded this case. It had to be linked to the undercover operation, but they still hadn't made the connection.

Stella entered the room and Hawkes looked up asking if Laura was alright. Stella sighed, "They got her partner and 2 other undercovers, lets nail these guys before they get her."

Danny flicked through a file and looked up at the board. "All the cases are connected and all on the job, what blew their cover?"

"And why the different murder methods?" added Lindsay.

Hawkes looked at the assembled group. "Different motives, they wanted information from Mark, which going on the injuries he refused to give up ... James Ambrose, just had to be eliminated, Charlotte also took a beating before being stabbed, they wanted something from her"

Stella tapped her pen on her hand a moment as she thought, then she screwed up her face as she had a spark of realisation. "That's it! Charlotte was killed first, she probably gave them the bar, Mark was the one holding the cards, stands to reason they'd want whatever he had, Hawkes I think you're right he didn't give it up. The only one at the moment that they can't get at is Laura. She's the key to this whole thing and doesn't know it, that also makes her top of their hit list."

Adam joined them. "I just got through the CCTV, its all on tape, 3 guys, balaclavas, assorted weapons, arrived around 0230 right after Laura left, they never found the camera, ... it wasn't pretty"

"Tell Flack and don't let Laura near it, where's Mac?" Stella took charge.

"Mayor's office with the DA and FBI arguing over jurisdiction and working up a strategy to handle the media." Hawkes replied.

Stella looked at Danny, "Danny, beep him we need him here". The assembled group nodded their agreement with the assumptions she had just made. It felt like progress, but they still didn't know any hard facts.

Meanwhile, Laura had left the locker room and made her way to Stella's office where Don was waiting for her. She pushed the door open and entered, Don looked her over, he could see her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, a clear sign she had been crying. He noted the effort it took her to open the door. She was still exhausted, after all she had only slept for a couple of hours. "You sure about this?" he asked, hoping she'd ask to postpone this. He wished he could protect her from everything that was happening, but it was beyond his control, she had to make a statement and he was grateful that Mac had kept IAB out of things for the moment. Laura looked up at him.

"I'd rather get it over with" she answered her voice soft, full of emotion and exhaustion. He nodded, "I have to put it on record" he advised her gently. "I know … where do you want me to start?" Before he had a chance to reply Angell arrived and took charge.

"Detective Stevens? … When did you last see Mark Hendry?" She immediately directed at Laura, not even acknowledging Don.

"About 2.30 this morning, we closed the bar around 2. Mark was doing the books in the back office, I helped the staff clean up. They left around 2.20. I spent a few minutes with Mark, we agreed to …. We were … going to have lunch today" Laura struggled to retain her composure. "I left just before 2.30"

"Where did you go then?" asked Angell, Laura took a breath "the precinct, I took a cab from Lex and 53rd, arrived around 2.45 and stayed till around 5.30, then started to go home"

"What do you mean starting to go home?" Angell pushed. Don barely formed a question before Angell had jumped in again, "I got the call on my way home, I was the nearest detective to Tribeca to take it. I was on the scene when Detective Messer and Dr Hawkes arrived"

"When did you last see Charlotte Ambrose?" This time Don got a question out. Laura looked up kind of grateful that he'd stepped in she was beginning to dislike the other woman. "About midnight in the bar, she left a few minutes later, one of the staff saw her get into a dark coloured sedan, they didn't take any more notice, we saw each other a couple of times a week, mostly at the bar, occasionally we would run into each other on the street, I only found out she was undercover about a week ago, I got suspicious of how she was acting and confronted her."

"Where did that run in take place?" Angell again. "The ladies room at the bar, we were the only ones in there" Laura answered. She ran a hand over her face. Don saw Adam outside and excused himself.

Angell continued bombarding her with questions about her relationship with Mark. Laura nodded, "Mark was my partner for 2 years… We'd been undercover on this case for 4 months, I was his girlfriend." "Were you seeing other people?" Angel shot back, Laura nodded "Mark was married, they live in Westchester, when this case ended he was switching to be closer to home." Don re-entered the room and his stomach dropped as he heard Angell's next question. The subject was bound to come up at some point. "You have a boyfriend Laura?" Laura looked up at her, she chose her words carefully. "Yeah I'm seeing someone, the case has been pretty full on for a couple of weeks now, so we haven't seen much of each other."

"What have you told him? Does he know about the case you were working?" Angell felt that Laura was holding back, she could tell she was tired, but they needed answers and right now she was looking a pretty good suspect as she knew them all and was the last one to see at least 2 of them alive.

"A little, he knows about Mark and that I'm undercover if that's what you mean" Laura put some confidence into her voice that she didn't feel, she knew Angell was baiting her.

"What gave you the impression your boyfriend could be trusted not to give up that information? What was he doing last night?" Laura glanced at Don before looking at Angell again "He can be trusted, he's in the job, and no I don't know where he was last night, I've not seen him in a couple of weeks, due to the case"

Angell decided that they needed more. "We'll need to check who is it?" Laura paused, Don decided to take the heat a little "Still the same guy Laura? … I'll talk to him." Laura nodded weakly then put her head in her hands. "A name would be nice" Angell pushed again. Don replied "I know who it is … Laura do you need a break?" He tried to give her an opportunity to delay anything else. She shook her head. "No, what else do you need to know?"

Angell asked about the last time she'd seen James Ambrose. Laura told her it was a few days before when he collected Charlotte from the bar. "Did you talk to anyone about the case last night?" Angell asked, a little irked that Laura was not offering much additional information. What really annoyed her was the negative response from Laura. "No one at all? I find that hard to believe if you were up all night working on it!"

"Charlotte and I only had a brief exchange last night, Mark was busy with the bar accounts when I left, which is why we arranged lunch today" Laura told them. Angell leant over the desk and had her face close to Laura's "Did you make any attempt to contact James Ambrose, warn him about where Charlotte was going?"

Laura rubbed her face again, trying to stop her eyes itching, she wanted to lay down and sleep, Angell was impatient "Did you contact James Ambrose?" Laura looked her in the eye "I had no reason to … I don't know where Charlotte was going or who she was meeting, I'd assumed she was going home"

"So you did talk to her?" Angell was determined to get answers. Laura shook her head before answering "I arrived a few minutes before she left we acknowledged each other, she finished her drink and left." Cop or not Angell had had enough, Laura was stalling and it was time to end it.

"You didn't talk about anything at all? You don't know where she went, you didn't warn her husband about her meeting? What did you do Laura? Call the gang and tell them who you were working with? Did you sell them out? Is your boyfriend in on it?" The tone in Angell's voice made Laura mad.

"No! I had nothing to do with them being killed!" Laura yelled back, then sank into a chair.

That was enough for Don, Angell had pushed enough. He could tell Laura couldn't go on he could see her trying to follow the list of accusations thrown at her, but hadn't really heard them.

"Angell! Enough outside, now!" he growled at her. She looked at him, she couldn't tell what had made him so mad all of a sudden. She complied with the demand and left the room. Don glanced at Laura then followed.

AN: What happens between Don & Angell outside? Answer coming up in next chapter…..