Boulevard of Broken Dreams

author: BambiBlake007

disclaimer: i do not own csi:ny or the characters. they will forever belong to Zuiker & co.

pairing(s): none really. hints of DL past/present. some hints of a possible relationship b/t Danny & Angell. i kno. i can never decide, lol.

summary: Flack brings Danny some evidence. Danny & Angell look for a suspect. my summaries suck!!

author's note: i take full responsibility of mistakes here. they are all mine!! all mine i tell ya, lol. plz R/R. feedback is love!!


Chapter 5

Flack came into the lab where Danny was testing the branches that had been taken from the park.

He set the file folder in his hand down on the table. Danny looked up from the microscope he was studying the pieces under. He had his glasses tucked high on his head, and his blue eyes were shining mysteviously.

"What's up?" he asked.

Flack pointed to the file. "Found our vic's boyfriend. He's pretty well on the up-and-up, just a few parking tickets and petty theft when he was in Junior High."

Danny pushed his glasses down as he opened the folder to read through the information. "Sounds like our boy here likes to park in the handicapped spots," he smirked. "And steal CD's?"

"That's not all. He's big on fake ID's, too. Probably even owns his own laminating machine."

Danny chuckled. "Bet his buddies owe him big, huh?"

"Yep. And you have a pretty girlfriend like Chloe Phillips on your arm. Could get an itch to steal more than just CD's," Flack smiled, coyly.

"Might even cause a guy to get greedy. Wanna get rid of someone so he can have the money for himself..." Danny agreed.

"You think the boyfriend is the guy?"

Danny shrugged. "I dunno. We need to speak with him. Lindsay got called out with Hawkes. Can you come with me?"

Flack paused. "I can't. I have some loose ends to tie up on Stella's case. Sorry." He looked up, cocking an eye brow. "Maybe you should take Angell with you."

Jennifer Angell was another NYPD Detective that worked with the CSI team. She was young and pretty; Brooklyn-born-and raised, just like Danny. She had street smarts and wasn't afraid to tell anyone off if she felt like it. Danny liked her alright. She was a no-nonsense sort of girl and could hold her own when it came to men. She reminded Danny of an old friend of his that he missed very much and sometimes that did hurt him, looking at Angell and thinking about Aiden Burn. But he liked to work cases with Angell because she got the job done. If he couldn't take Lindsay with him, he couldn't think of any other girl he'd want by his side than Detective Angell.

"Yeah. I guess I could." Danny turned back to the samples lay out on the table.

"You found anything yet?" Flack asked, eyeing him for a moment.

"Nothing specific. I mean, it's just trial and error at this point. I can have Adam deal with this, if need be. He's pretty good at sorting these puzzles out, ya know. My main priority is to talk to this Sean Buckley kid," Danny answered softly.

"What about the friends?" Flack asked.

"I'll deal with them later." Danny shut the microscope off and turned to the Detective. "Angell got her cell?"

Detective Jennifer Angell met Danny at the corner of West 25th Street.

She gave him a cool smile like she did to most men she worked with. While the two of them got along famously and usually worked out their cases along the same lines, she didn't let her guard down even with him.

"Angell," Danny spoke, holding a smaller version of his regular kit in his hand.

"Danny," Angell said back.

She was dressed in a black leather jacket over a crimson colored top with dark-washed boot-cut jeans and black high-heeled boots. Her long black hair was curled down her back in lushious waves. Angell was not your normal looking NYPD Homicide Detective and most people would probably not even know she was a Detective if she didn't have her badge on her belt and a gun on her hip, beneath her jacket. Beside her, Danny looked nothing like a CSI, either. He wore a light blue colored button down shirt, which matched his baby blue eyes to a T, dog tags, a pair of dark jeans which were a little baggy on him through the legs and were being held up by a leather belt that looked as if it had seen better days, which also held his badge in place. He held his gun on his hip and wore a pair of chocolate brown colored boots on his feet.

"Did you get the address from Flack?" Angell asked as she fell into step beside Danny.

"Yeah. It's right up here," Danny pointed as he led the way through the crowded street.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Angell had already gotten most of the details of the case from Flack when he had faxed her the case file on it, but she didn't have to know much more than what he had sent to her, to know that this was a gruesome murder and the perp needed to be caught. She could see in Danny's eyes that he was determined to capture him and she was content in being at his side when he did so.

They came upon an older looking apartment building. There was no door man. The building was dark. And seemed to grow darker with each step the two of them took inside. Danny stepped over to the security guard who set behind a glass window.

"How ya doin'?" Danny asked, his accent thicker than it usually was.

"What'cha need?" the older man asked, without looking up from a small TV set.

Danny smiled at Angell, who smiled back. He was not going to cooperative.

"I'm looking for this kid. He live here?" Danny asked, pulling out a picture of Sean Buckley.

The security guard looked up from his TV set. He frowned, then turned back to the TV.

Danny snickered beneath his breath as he glanced over at Angell. Angell stepped forward and took the picture from him. She pulled her badge out and held it up to the window. The man looked up then.

"My friend here asked you a question, Sir. Do you mind doing me a favor and answerin' him?" Angell asked.

The man stared at the picture for a moment. "I know him. He lives in 45C. He's a smart-ass."

Angell grinned at him. "Thanks."

"That all?" the man asked, eyeing Angell for a moment.

Perv, Danny thought as he watched the man's eyes move over Angell's body, probably undressing her in his mind.

"Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. You did your good samaritan deed for the day," Angell assured him as she put her badge back on her belt.

She turned to Danny. "That's how we do it in Brooklyn, Messer."

Danny thought about mocking her, decided against it and laughed sarcastically as he took the picture back from her. Angell ignored him, grabbing his arm and tugging him along. She knew he didn't like it when a woman showed him up, but it was just so much fun to do. After all, who didn't Love making Danny Messer squirm? It was just too damn easy!

Danny and Angell stood on the elevator, feeling the sway of the old car as it moved upward to the third floor. It was old: most likely unreliable, not the safest ride in the city, and creaked like mad. It made an uneasy feeling drift through Angell, starting in her stomach and moving slowly to reach every other organ in it's path. She grimmaced, more for her own comfort, then looked around at Danny and smiled weakly. The two of them were at eye level, standing only inches apart. It felt nice.

"So, you and Monroe are working this?" she asked.

Danny was taken aback. Angell usually didn't get too personal when they worked together. "Whoa. When did you start caring who I work with?"

"I don't. I just thought--"

"You just thought what?" Danny asked, cocking an eye brow up, trying to intimidate Angell, but there was no way of doing that. No one intimidated her.

Angell smiled slow and sweet like she always did, her perfect lips arching outward and making her even more prettier than she had been only moments before. "Oh, I get it. Monroe's off limits for us to talk about."

"No. I mean, you can talk about whoever you choose, Jenn. I just choose not to talk back," Danny corrected.

Angell nodded. "She ok?"

"She's ok."

"Ok."

Danny sighed heavily. "What now?"

"What? I was just askin', Danny. It's not like I wanna marry you."

Danny tilted his head to the side with a smirk. "You think about that?"

"No! I work. I don't think about marriage." Angell waved her hands out infront of her as if this gave her words more meaning.

Danny chuckled.

"What?" Angell asked. Danny shook his head. "What is it, Danny? Tell me."

"You ever think you might be missin' out on somethin'?" he asked.

Angell shrugged. "Sometimes, I guess. You?"

"I think I would if the right girl came along."

"Lindsay not the right girl?" Angell asked, taking mental note of what he had just said.

Danny realized she had caught it and wiggled his head a bit. "I--I couldn't tell ya that. She's got issues."

"Issues are fun," Angell said sarcastically.

Danny nodded as he pushed his hand through his dirty blond hair. "You on the market, though?"

"You askin'?" Angell winked.

Danny blushed. "You're beautiful and definitely my type..."

"But?"

"But I have a girl with issues, alright," Danny smiled.

Angell nodded. She knew what he meant.

"I don't know. I was thinkin' you might be able to get a date out of Flack--or something," Danny told her slowly.

The bell dinged and he doors slid open. Danny hesitated. Angell stepped through the door. She stopped and turned back to the young CSI.

"You comin'?" she smiled.

"You ain't gonna beat me up?" Danny asked, seriously.

Angell tilted her head to the side. "Get over yourself, Messer. I don't put that much thought into your sorry ass. Sorry to disappoint ya."

She turned and headed down the hall toward the apartment that Sean Buckley lived in. Danny pushed the door back before it closed in on him. He made his way down the hall, catching up to Angell within seconds.

"You want me to put in a good word for ya?" Danny asked, with a slight chuckle.

Angell stopped infront of 43C. She turned to Danny. "You want me to put in a good word for you to Flack?" she grinned.

"Got it," Danny nodded. "You want me."

"I told ya to get over yourself, Messer." Angell leaned over and knocked on the door. She turned back to Danny and winked.

Danny grinned back. He couldn't return a quip of his own, because the door creaked open and a woman stared out at the two of them, holding a cigarette in her mouth; it wasn't lit. Danny noted that she had a lighter in her hand.

"Can I help you?" she asked, chewing a little on the end of her cigarette as she spoke.

Angell smiled pleasantly at the woman who might have been an attractive at one time in her life. Now, she was anything but. Her eyes which appeared to be blue were dulled by years of disappointment, along with age lines around her mouth which smoking only made worse. Her thinning light brown hair was swept up into a messy clip, her frame was small, and she looked like she hadn't eaten in days. An addict? Angell wondered exactly that as she glanced over to Danny, who must of been wondering the same thing, because he was eyeing the woman suspiciously behind his glasses. But they were there for something else. They were there to find Sean Buckley. One perp at a time.

"Yeah. Do you know--uh--Sean Buckley?" Danny asked.

"He's my son. What's Bucky done now?" the woman asked.

Danny glanced over at Angell with a grin. She returned one of her own. They never had to say anything--they just understood each other's body language. It was a Brooklyn thing, they figured they'd tell anyone if they ever asked.

"Bucky?"

"Sean's nick-name. His dad gave it to him," the woman reach up and lit her cigarette. She took a long draw. "Bastard. Only thing he ever gave me that was worth anything was Bucky."

"Well, have you seen Bucky today, Ma'am?" Angell asked.

The older woman reguarded the younger woman for a moment. Probably sizing her up. Most women didn't mess with Jennifer Angell. She could be sweet as pie when she wanted to be and ruthless as nails when she needed to be. Danny waited for the claws to come out.

"I haven't seen my kid, Ma'am."

"Detective Angell. Please." Angell pulled her badge around for the woman to see. The woman glanced over at Danny, a questioning look in her eyes. "This is Detective Messer, CSI," Angell explained, solemnly.

Danny nodded with a smile as way of a greeting. The woman smiled back, seeing his rugged good looks for the first time. She leaned against the door facing. "What do you want with my son?" she asked, eyeing Danny as she took another puff.

"You know his girlfriend?" Danny asked, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a picture of Chloe Phillips. He handed it to the woman.

She gasped, but said nothing.

"This is important, Ms. Buckley. This is a homicide investigation. We need to find your son," Angell told her matter-of-factly.

She handed the photo back to Danny. "Pretty girl."

"She was murdered near the Hudson. Her mom's pretty broken up about it. I need to find the person who did this to her little girl. She needs closure," Danny told her, pleading in his eyes.

The woman nodded, taking another puff of her cigarette. "I don't know Bucky's friends. He's 21--ya know? What can you do? A kid like him wants to go out and stay at all hours, I can't control him. He's a grown man as far as the courts are concerned. All I can do is pray that he comes home. And if he doesn't--wait twenty four hours--and call the police. I don't have any say in what my own kid does anymore."

"So you don't know Chloe Phillips--are you sure?" Danny asked.

The woman shook her head. "Not a Chloe Phillips. Sorry."

"How 'bout Alice Langston? Know her?" Danny asked, his accent thick as he spoke.

Angell waited for the woman to resond. She looked thoughtful for a moment, but nothing.

"Alright. Any idea where your son might be? Got a job? A hang-out he likes? I'm sure you know something... Com'n. Me and Danny, here? We're not the bad guys," Angell spoke softly.

The woman's eyes glossed over for a moment. She might not have known where her son was exactly, but she had an inkling and it made her feel terrible to be the one that was about to turn him in to the NYPD. She moved the cigarette around for a moment, causing the smoke to trail behind it.

"I know a place. He likes to hang out there--good food. He worked there when he was in high school. The owner's name is Maurice; it's on 17th. He likes Bucky. Let's him crash there sometimes. Like a dad, I guess in some ways. Looks out for him. He might be there. I'm not certain, but he might be. And if he's not there... I can't help you any further," the woman told them, seriously.

"Thanks. This is a start," Danny told her.

Angell wasn't so sure the woman was telling them everything she knew. She told Danny this when they entered the elevator.

"Would you rat out your kid?" Danny asked.

"I guess not. But still, this is a homicide investigation. I mean, it's against the law to keep things from the cops that might be crucial in a case," Angell reminded him.

Danny chuckled. "I went through the Academy. I know."

"You think the kid's at the shop?" Angell asked, feeling like she had on the ride up.

"Let's hope so."

"You gonna talk to her girlfriend's today?" Angell asked.

"I'm gonna take Lindsay with me for that. She's gotta face her fears sooner or later," Danny answered.

Angell nodded in agreement. She dropped the subject of Lindsay Monroe and she let the feelings in the pit of her stomach drop with it. Danny was off-limits to her. At one time she had thought maybe there was a possiblity that they might be more than just friends, but he had seemed lost at that time, too. That had been when Lindsay had left for a few weeks to testify in Montana. While Angell had felt the attraction and known that they had grown closer over the weeks, because they had worked a few cases together, it still didn't ease her mind any. She hadn't wanted to take advantage of the situation. She didn't want to be the woman who kept him from being with Lindsay. She wanted him to want her back, not just want a good time. And that would have been all their time together would have been, in the end, just a one-night-stand. A good time memory.

The ding of the elevator cut into Angell's swirling thoughts. They had not spoken, and that had been ok. She stepped out of the elevator and followed Danny toward the front door. She would just have to keep things to herself. There was always a place and time to tell a man how she felt and Angell knew that moment was not now. Maybe not ever.