Hey,

Thank you so much to everyone that has read and reviewed so far.

Here's chapter Five for you all.

Chapter Five

"Morning, Mac."

"Morning Stella." He didn't look up, his attention held by the paperwork scattered across his desk, lab reports and crime scene photos bleeding together into one tattered, tangled mess, a bloodstained reminder of a wasted life.

"Gerard wanted to know where you were at the briefing yesterday."

"Did he?"

"Yeah. I told him you were with the Deputy DA preparing for the Cassidy trial. He shut up pretty damn quick." She smiled, stepping into his office, glancing around the darkened room. "Mac, have you been here all night? Again?"

"I had some paperwork to catch up on." He shifted, uncomfortable, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Anyway, I got some sleep."

"Where?

"I went to the crib upstairs."

"You slept on the couch, didn't you?"

He shrugged, still rubbing at his neck. "It's a comfortable couch. Besides, its not the first time I've slept on it…"

"How many nights, Mac?"

"It doesn't matter, Stella."

"How many nights?"

"A few." He forced his hand away from his neck, lifting his coffee cup. He took a mouthful of the semi cold, turgid liquid, grimacing as it slid down his throat, trying to look away from her piercing gaze. "Since I came back from London."

"Why?"

"What else did Gerard say?"

"Mac…"

"What else did he say, Stella?"

"Nothing." She sighed heavily. "He just wanted to make sure that the lab kept functioning and that everyone was up to date with their case loads. He said he didn't want anything to slip while this trial was on."

"Make sure it doesn't."

xxxXXXxxx

"Liam Given?"

"Maybe." The old man half turned on his stool, smiling as he looked Angell up and down. "Who wants to know."

"NYPD."

The smile disappeared as quickly as it came, and he turned back to his breakfast. "I got nothing to say to you guys."

"Yeah?" Hawkes stepped to the other side of him, leaning against the diner's breakfast bar. "Well, we got plenty to say to you."

"We want to talk to you about James Quinn."

"What about him?"

"He was murdered last night."

"Murdered?" Liam dropped his fork, almost unnoticed in the clang and noise of the dinner. "Oh sweet Jesus." His hand moved quickly, jerking through the motions of crossing himself. "May you rest in piece, old friend."

He bowed his head, thin, bloodless lips moving in silent prayer.

"You know anyone that would want to kill your friend?"

"James? No." Liam brushed a trembling hand across his eyes. "He ran that bar for so long….dammit!" He balled his fist, hammering against the bar with surprising force. "I warned him! I warned him not to get involved with those sonsofbitches. I warned them they'd eat him for breakfast. I warned him."

Silence fell quickly across the diner, customers glancing around to see what the commotion was.

Lindsay glanced quickly at Angell and leaned forward, keeping her voice low and even. "Who'd you warn him about getting involved with?"

"The McCanns." He shook his head slowly, sadly, unshed tears brimming in his eyes, hidden behind thick glasses. "I warned him those bastards would be the death of him."

xxxXXXxxxx

"Morning, Charlie."

"What the fuck do you want, Detective?"

Flack leaned against the wall, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his overcoat, his shield displayed prominently on his lapel. "Just to talk."

"Just to talk? Talk about what?"

"Samuel McCann."

"What about that piece of shit?"

"Someone put a bullet in his knee." Danny laughed, the sound bitter and cold, his shoulders hunched against the chill. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

It had been in a place like this. He grimaced, phantom pain shooting, stabbing along his fingers. He could almost hear the sharp crack, like a fragile, frozen stem of a rose, broken beneath an uncaring step.

"Not a clue." Charlie turned away from them, his shoulders hunched defensively, dismissively.

"Is that right?" Flack pushed himself away from the wall and started to pace around the warehouse, each strep bringing him closer and closer to Charlie. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Danny move closer to him as well, tightening the noose around their suspect. "Why do I find that so hard to believe?"

"I don't know, Detective. but I swear to God, I had nothing to do with that piece of shit getting done."

"You hear that, Flack?" Danny chuckled again, low and menacing. "Seems Charlie's a changed man."

"I hear it." Flack stepped next to him, his eyes cold and hard, glittering with frost and anger. "I just don't believe him. Charlie seems to forget I know what type of man he is."

"I aint that type of man anymore, Detective." Charlie held up his left hand, a simple gold ring gleaming, innocent and pure on his ring finger. "I got other things to worry about. The Auld Man cut me out."

"He cut you out?" Flack raised his eyebrows. "The Auld Man cut you out?"

"Yeah." Charlie turned away from them, lifting a box from the floor of the warehouse, grunting with the effort. "He's got someone new handling things now, with me and Declan out of the game."

xxxXXXxxx

"I'm not sure I can do this, Mr. Steele."

"We need you to." Jim leaned forward, fixing the witness with his eyes. "We need you to do this. All you have to do is get on the stand and tell the jury what you saw that night. With that, we can put this bastard away for the rest of his life."

He sighed, his eyes drawn across the room to the window of the small apartment. To the young girl, to the child cradled in her arms, the weak rising sun bathing them in its fragile glow.

Jim followed his gaze, recognising the expression painted across his eye witness's face. "We can protect them. We can protect you all."

"Its not me I'm worried about. It's my family, Mr. Steele. I don't want to put them in danger."

"I'll leave an NYPD unit here with you. They'll stay right the way through until the final verdict." He raised his hand, signalling at the uniform cop. "There'll be a uniform outside your door and a radio car outside your building. I promise."

"Thank you, Mr. Steele." He stood up, walking quickly across the cramped apartment to the window, to his family.

Jim watched him put his arms around his girlfriend, the secret, gentle smile painted across both their faces as she nursed their child. So fragile, so vulnerable. So beautiful. He couldn't let….

He shook his head, brushing the distracting thoughts away. The case. Focus on the case. He lifted his coat and walked out of the apartment, stopping in the hallway outside to pull it on. Away from the delicate family warmth, he could feel the chill, seeping and insidious, crawling up the stairs, through the windows of the antiquated building.

Nick Potter stood outside, talking with a couple of uniform cops. He glanced over at Jim and hurried across to him.

"I want you to walk him through his testimony. Make sure he's rock solid on the details and that this bastard doesn't have any wriggle room."

"Okay, Jim. I'll go get started."

"No." Jim glanced over his shoulder, at the closed door, the tempting thoughts of warmth and normal family life. "Give him a few minutes."

xxxXXXxxx

"Michael Caffee?"

"I swear to fuck, Uncle Jimmy. That's what he said his name was." Samuel McCann coughed, shifting on the uncomfortable bed, trying to ease the stress on his knee. "He said to tell you he was in town."

"Michael Caffee."

"You know him, Uncle Jimmy?"

"Once. A long time ago." He shook his head, leaning against the window sill, staring out across New York, the cold and chill still holding it close like an embrace. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"He's working with The Auld Man."

"I know." James McCann tightened his hand into a fist, drawing a deep breath, his face contorted in anger. "The Cassidys and the Caffees go way back."

xxxXXXxxx

Flack took a mouthful of beer. "Did you watch the game last night?"

"Yeah." Danny popped a handful of peanuts into his mouth, lifting his own drink. "I thought the Rangers had blown it when they let them back in the game in the third."

"Tell me about it. But then it wouldn't be the Rangers if they didn't try and give the fans a fucking heart attack every game."

"Yeah." Danny glanced at his watch, and took another mouthful of beer. "Listen, man, I gotta run on. I got to go see…"

"Yeah, I know man." Flack waved his hand vaguely in the air. "I'll catch you in the morning."

"Seeya later Flack."

He watched his friend walk out of the bar, his stride quick, hasty and eager. Then sighed, leaning back in the booth, reaching out to toy with the glass sitting in front of him, the noise of the bar drifting unnoticed and forgotten across him.

Alone again.

xxxXXXxxx

"Did you get them?"

"Yeah." He smiled coldly, his eyes dark, hard, uncompromising, emotionless. "Yeah, your boy came through."

"He's a good lad." The Auld Man smiled sadly, his eyes lost in memories. "I knew his father well."

"Yeah." He shifted, rolling his eyes, waiting until The Auld Man found his way back to the present.

The Auld Man seemed to shake himself, pulling him from his daydreams. "You know where the McCann's bar is?"

"Yeah. We're hitting it tomorrow."

End of Chapter Five.