Sorry it took so long for this update, but sometimes real life can get you distracted from this magic box we call computer... and actually the next update will take even longer, probably until around Christmas (I'll try to be faster though...)
Thanks a lot to Krista for the beta!
Also thanks to everyone for the nice comments so far, keep 'em coming :)

"Who exactly are you two?" Gus wondered what Danny and Lindsay had been doing outside, running around with guns. "You don't look like cops… did Charlie send you?"

"Charlie?" Danny and Lindsay shortly exchanged a look. They realized it would be safer to play along than to admit that they were indeed police officers. Danny talked first.

"You're right! He sent us to…. uhm…" He had no idea why Charlie would send them… if only he knew who Charlie was!

"To make sure you get everything!" Lindsay finished his sentence.

Gus was suspicious, "That doesn't sound like Charlie…"

"Well, you know him, always up for a surprise."

"Yeh, THAT sounds like him", Gus' sceptical face turned into a creepy but honest smile. He seemed to consider Danny and Lindsay his friends now, or at least he thought they were on his side.

The store telephone rang. The police had finally set everything up outside and was now trying to communicate with them inside. Gus wanted to take the call, he ordered Terry to watch the clerk, in case he tried to escape. Tom was still pacing nervously in the back of the store. While Gus was talking Danny and Lindsay made sure their badges were covered well enough to not give away their real identities.

"Who is this Charlie? You know him?" Danny whispered.

"Everyone in town knows him", Lindsay replied, also whispering. "He's pretty much the boss of every criminal we have here. His real name is Jonathan Miller, but everyone calls him Charlie, because he looks a bit like Charlie Brown… and he has a dog named Snoopy."

"And now this Gus guy thinks we're here to help? Okay… " Danny wasn't quite sure what to think of this, even as the experienced New York cop he was, he'd never been in a situation like this.

"Don't worry, I've got this under control. Just let me do the talking." Lindsay said.

"Yes, mom." Danny couldn't resist, he just had to tease her on that last sentence.

"Cute." Lindsay rolled her eyes. "What were you doing down here anyway? Shouldn't you be in New York?"

"I was working on a case. The guy murdered someone in New York, and then went here and did it again, I followed his traces. When we met I was getting back to my hotel after processing the crime scene." The last few words were spoken almost without any sound, in fear of one of the real criminals overhearing them.

Gus was still on the phone, negotiating with the police. Suddenly he put down the receiver and walked straight over to Lindsay.

"I told them I had three hostages, two men and a woman. Now they want to see you, the woman, so that they know I'm not lying. Could you come outside with me for a second and play the scared little housewive? That would really help fulfilling Charlie's orders."

"Well, you know…." Lindsay was thinking of a way to get out of this, but Gus didn't wait for an answer. He grabbed her hand and held her before his chest, again placing his gun on her temple. Lindsay gave Danny a frightened look, mouthing "help me" to him. Danny didn't understand. He mouthed back, "why?", but it was too late for Lindsay to say anything. Gus went towards the doors, then opened them a bit, just enough to hold Linday's head out so the police could see her.

And that's what they did. They saw her. They recognized her. One of their own was trapped in that store. That's what Lindsay had been so scared of: If only one of them …

"It's Lindsay!" a young officer shouted.

Oh no, it had happened. The guy had blown her cover, and since Gus wasn't stupid he would know what valuable goods he held in his hands. This has to be my personal Murphy's Law Day! , Lindsay thought.

"That's enough!" Gus pulled her back into the store and closed the door again. He threw her back to her place next to Danny and told Terry to watch them both, too. Then he got back on the phone, the detective was still waiting for Gus' demands.

"Lindsay, huh?" Danny whispered, he had totally forgotten about the fake names.

"Yes, Lindsay Monroe. But don't think I don't know you told me a fake name, too!"

"You caught me. I'm Danny Messer, nice to meet you, Miss Monroe!" He wanted to shake her hand, but she moved away a bit.

"How can you be like that? Don't you realize we're in serious danger here?"

"I know, I just want to make the best out of it."

"Oh yeah? Then maybe you should try and think of a plan that gets us out of here…"

Gus stepped in, "Shut up you two!" He was done negotiating. "So, you're really a cop… interesting. That sets me in a whole new position. I assume your boyfriend here is a cop as well?"

"He's not my…!" Lindsay objected.

"I don't care what he is to you, but I want to have your badges, so your friends outside know that I have two of them. Put them on the floor." They did as they were told, Danny clipping his off his belt, and Lindsay taking hers out of her pocket.

"Good. Now I need some more time for a new plan…"

TBC