Author's Note – Once again, thank you for the reviews. I'm glad people seem to be enjoying this story.
Disclaimer – I own nothing associated with CSI NY, unfortunately.
Once again, thank you to the amazing Axellia for being a brilliant beta.
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"So James, on a scale from one to ten, what are the chances of getting a solid conviction on this bastard?" Danny asked Adriana.
"Eleven," she said simply.
The case focused on a young woman who was attacked and killed inside of her apartment. The CSIs had managed to narrow it down to her ex-boyfriend. Now all that was left was to get a solid conviction, which of course was where Adriana came in.
Most people looked at the cops as the ones that put the bad guys away. Adriana however knew that there was a lot more to it. That was why she decided to become a prosecutor. She never wanted to be a cop but she knew that she wanted to promote the justice through good old fashion crime and punishment. The detectives found out who committed the crime, and she made sure they got their due punishment.
After going over the details of the case, Mac and Sheldon got called out on another one, leaving Danny and Adriana alone in the conference room.
"Really? I'm that good of a CSI, huh?" he boasted.
"No, it's more like I'm that good of a prosecutor," she told him.
"Okay, okay. I see how it is," Danny said with a chuckle.
Adriana offered him a smile as she stood from her chair. "No but seriously, with all the evidence you guys found, a conviction is gonna come like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "I mean between the DNA, fingerprints, strong motive, and lack of a decent alibi, this guy has no chance in hell of walking."
Danny nodded satisfactorily. "That's what I like to hear."
"You and me both," she added.
Just then, Danny's phone began to ring. He let out a small groan before flipping open his phone. "Messer."
Adriana began to put all of her papers back into her work bag while Danny continued his conversation. She let out a small chuckle when he closed it shut with a frown on his face.
"I take it that that wasn't happy phone call," she observed.
"When I woke up this mornin', I was off. Then I was off, with a meeting in the morning. Now I'm off, with a meeting in the morning, and a new case in the afternoon," he complained.
"Sorry about taking your morning," she offered.
"Ah, don't worry about it," Danny said with a shrug. "It comes with the job."
Adriana understood exactly what he was saying. Once the trial started, she would constantly be busy. However, she would be a liar if she were to say she wasn't excited.
"So, I guess I'll see you later James," Danny said as he headed towards the door.
"I guess so," she replied with a smile.
After he left, Adriana let out a content sigh. She had to admit, they were good. First, Mac always seemed to speak with confidence, which also translated into the confidence that she knew he had in his team. Then there was Sheldon. If Adriana knew nothing else about him, she knew that he was smart. Whenever he was explaining something scientific, she could tell that the man knew what he was talking about. And last was Danny. When she first met him, he didn't seem like the typical CSI. But he surprised Adriana with the way he presented the evidence he collected. He also showed her that he knew what he was talking about.
Adriana immediately felt that she could trust these CSI's when it came to bringing them up to the stand. And at the end of the day, they were her main tool when it came to winning the conviction.
"Excuse me,"
Adriana turned around at the sound of the voice to see a young woman with short brown hair and big brown eyes standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a lab coat over her blue shirt and dark brown pants.
"Hi, I was looking for Danny Messer. He was supposed to have a meeting in here," she said.
"Oh, he just left like a couple of minutes ago. He got called out on a case," Adriana informed her. "Sorry," she added when the woman's shoulders dropped slightly in disappointment.
"It's okay. It happens all the time with this job," she said with a small smile.
"Tell me about it," Adriana said in agreement.
The woman eyed her for a minute, taking in her appearance. "You must be the A.D.A."
"Yeah," she confirmed. "CSI?"
"Yup. Lindsay Monroe."
"Adriana James. Nice to meet you."
"You too," Lindsay said with a small smile. "So, how are you liking New York so far?" she asked.
"How did you know that I wasn't from the city?" Adriana asked curiously.
"Adam told me."
"Of course he did," she said with a small smile, "but New York is great."
"I know what you mean. I'm from Montana and while I do miss it, I definitely have come to love the city."
"Wow, Montana? That's certainly different from New York. A lot more..." she paused, searching for the right word.
"Country," Lindsay offered with s small smile.
"Yeah," Adriana said in agreement. "How long have you lived here?"
"A couple of years," she told her. "Look I have to go, but if you ever need anything let me know. I know what it's like to be the new girl in the city."
"Thanks. I definitely will," Adriana told her with a genuine smile. "I only know Adam but it's nice to know I've got someone else."
"Good. I'll see you later," she said before heading out of the room.
Adriana smiled to herself as she grabbed her bag and did the same. She immediately liked Lindsay. She seemed like a nice enough person in Adriana's opinion. It was nice to start meeting new people in the city.
Adriana left the conference room and went towards the elevator to head to the ground floor of the building. When she reached her destination, she walked through the lobby and outside to the busy sidewalks.
She crossed through the crowd and stood on the edge of the sidewalk and began to scan the traffic, searching for a taxi. After a week in the city, Adriana still found it difficult to hail a cab. She never knew what she was doing wrong but it seemed like each attempt took twenty minutes.
This was one of those moments. After failing miserably to stop two empty cabs that whizzed pass her, Adriana seriously contemplated giving up. Then she saw a cab slow down in her direction. She smiled at the fact that she finally succeeded until she saw that the cab actually stopped for a woman about five feet away from her.
The busty blond gave her smug look as she climbed into the awaiting cab.
"What the hell," Adriana said to herself as she watched the cab and its passenger drive away.
"You okay?"
Adriana spun around to see Flack standing behind her.
"I can't seem to get a stupid cab," she said with a frustrated sigh.
"Having a little trouble, huh?" he asked with a smirk.
Adriana couldn't help the grin that formed on her face. "I guess you could say that I haven't quite mastered the 'New York City Hail a Damn Taxi Cab' method yet," she told him.
Flack chuckled at her statement. "I've never heard it called that before."
"Oh it exists," she said.
"Really?"
"Yup. But see, since you're a native New Yorker, it's a natural ability for you. Us foreigners have to learn it," she told him with a smile.
"What makes you say I'm native?" he questioned.
"Maybe it's your accent."
"I guess that will do it," he said with a chuckle.
"Yeah," Adriana agreed.
Flack laughed again before moving closer to the street. With the quick raise of an arm, a cab seemed to come out of nowhere and pull up right in front of the pair.
He turned around to see Adriana watching in disbelief. "Now why can't I do that?"
Flack laughed as he reached and opened the door to the cab for her. "I guess you have to work on your 'New York City Hail a Damn Taxi Cab' method a little more."
Adriana just shook her head and laughed before moving towards the awaiting cab. "Well, thank you Detective."
"Don't worry about it," he replied.
She smiled at him once more before getting in the cab. Flack closed the door once she was in and stepped back as the cab merged into traffic. He smiled to himself before turning around and heading to his own car.
************
"How much stuff do I have?" Adriana asked herself.
After leaving the crime lab, she went back to her office to prepare more for the arraignment for her case that was on Thursday. She got home later that evening and decided to do some unpacking. After about two hours of working, she looked back at all the boxes she had left. Even though she emptied a good amount of boxes, it still looked like she hadn't unpacked a single one.
Letting out a frustrating groan, she moved to sit on the couch in her living room. She thought about watching TV but sighed when she realized that it was obscured because of the boxes.
Just then the telephone rang. She went into the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone that sat on the counter.
She glanced at the screen on the phone and let out another groan when she recognized the number.
"Hello," she said in a fake cheery voice.
"Is that you, Adriana?"
Adriana rolled her eyes at her mother's question. Who else would it be? she thought to herself. "Yes, Mother."
"Oh, okay. So, how's your new life?" she asked.
Adriana bit her bottom lip to keep from saying something she would regret. Lynette Harrison always knew how to upset Adriana. Somehow, her questions always seemed to come off as rude and demising.
"It's great, Mom."
There was a slight pause on the other line. "Really?"
Adriana couldn't keep the smile that spread across her face at her mother's reaction. "Yeah, it's great. Oh, and you'll never guess who I ran into."
"Who," Lynette asked, her voice full of disinterest.
"Adam Ross. You remember him right?"
"Wasn't he that weird kid you use to hang out with for some reason?"
"Yup. Well now, he's really hot and sexy and we're going out," Adriana joked, knowing it would upset her.
"Adriana Marie James, stop joking around with me," he mother scolded. Though Lynette and Adriana didn't always get along, they knew each other well enough to know when one of them was joking.
"Sorry," Adriana said, just as a knock sounded at the door. "Listen mother, I have to go, someone's at the door."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know seeing as how I'm still talking to you."
Lynette scolded her once more for her response but eventually said goodbye, promising to call again soon.
Adriana placed the phone on the hook before heading towards her front door. She looked out the peephole and saw Adam waiting patiently on the other side.
"Hey Adam," she greeted as she swung the door open.
"Hey," he replied.
Adriana stepped aside to let him come in further. He walked in, looking around the apartment. "Nice place."
"Thanks," she replied. "So Adam, though I enjoy your company and everything, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to kidnap you," he told her.
"Kidnap me?"
"Well not kidnap in terms of like hitting you with a blunt object, and tying your hands and feet, and dragging you out of the apartment and downstairs…"
"Adam," she interrupted, "I get it."
"Oh right, sorry. I mean to say I'm here to take you out."
"Out where?" she asked.
"To Sullivan's."
"Who's Sullivan?"
"It's a bar," he told her.
"A bar?"
"Yes, a bar. And stop with those little question replies you keep giving me," he said.
"Sorry," Adriana said with a chuckle. "So, why are we going to Sullivan's?"
"A couple of guys from work were gonna meet to watch the Rangers game."
"Rangers as in hockey?"
When he nodded, Adriana let out a sigh. "Come on Adam. You know I hate hockey," she complained.
"I know but consider this trip to be more for the company instead of for the game."
Adriana glanced around her apartment. She knew that if she stayed, the only company she would have would be all of the boxes. She turned back to Adam and let out a defeated sigh. "Fine."
She looked down at the sweatpants and tank top she was wearing. "Give me five minutes to change," she told Adam before heading off towards her bedroom.
She was halfway down the hall when she suddenly stopped and turned around.
"What?" Adam asked, seeing the confusion on her face.
"I just realized that I never gave you my address. How did you know I lived here?"
"Come on AJ. I work in a crime lab full of high tech computers equipped with all kinds of databases. Finding one little address doesn't take much," he explained.
"Should I be worried?"