Disclaimer: I obviously do not own CSI: NY. I just own my car, my laptop and my crazy muse who seems to want to write 4 different stories at a time. I also do own any characters that you do not recognize. You can borrow them if you ask permission first!

A/N: Here's the next chappie!! Thanks to all who reviewed. As always, please R&R. My muse loves the attention. :D Okay...I'll warn you...This is a cliffhanger!

Chapter 22.

The Raid

Over the following week, Cory worked hard trying to coordinate the joint raids. Finally, she decided that it was time to meet with everyone together. She made a call to Homeland Security to speak to Ellen Fielding, the agent in charge of their raid as well as to Flack. They set the meeting for Friday, late in the afternoon. Cory suggested that they have the meeting at FBI headquarters and to bring all the officers that they wanted involved in the raid that they wanted. The way she figured it, the more minds the better.

Cory sat down at the conference table, awaiting the arrival of everyone. She was surprised when Danny walked in with Flack and Mac. "Danny? What are you doing here?"

Danny shrugged. "I figured that if I was going to be part of the raid, then I wanted to help plan it."

Cory furrowed her brow. "But you're a criminalist. You're not involved in raids! You handle the aftermath!"

Danny didn't like her response since it mirrored exactly what Mac had said. "Cory, I was a cop before becoming a criminalist. I'm doing this."

Cory just sighed as Agent Fielding walked in. All together, there were fourteen people in the room. As everyone got settled in, Cory stood. "Alright, y'all. For those of you who don't know me, I am Special Agent Corrine Reid. Please, call me Cory. I'm the one that has been handling to Martinez Brothers case. We are here due to the fact that Gabriel Martinez has decided to flip on his supplier, Javier Montoya. He has given us the location of three warehouses that Montoya is running guns out of."

The group nodded as she handed out the sheets with the warehouse information. "Each group is going to take one warehouse. I have listed the assignments down. I called his meeting to try to set up a group operation. I want each of these hit at the same exact time. That way, Montoya doesn't have a chance at co-opting any of these. Any questions?"

Agent Fielding raised her hand. "What type of weapons do you expect to find?"

Cory shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I have no clue. The way that I am preparing my team is to hope for the best and plan for the worst."

Flack raised his hand. "When do you want us to be ready?"

"As soon as possible. Montoya must know by now that we have Gabriel in custody."

The group discussion continued for a few minutes. It was decided that the raid would take place Sunday morning at six.

Cory smiled as everyone filed out, pleased that they were able to cooperate. Her smile faded as Danny lingered behind. "Yes?"

Danny looked at her. "Why are you mad at me?"

Cory thought for a second and chose her words very carefully. "Danny, I'm not mad at you, per se. It's just…you're not in the field as a cop anymore. It's not your job. Why are you so eager to put yourself in harms way?"

Danny looked at her. "I just have to do this."

Cory just shook her head. "Go back to the lab, Dan. I'll talk to you tonight."

Danny left and Cory stood to look out the window. She didn't hear Lydia come up behind her.

"Cory?"

Cory turned. "Yeah."

"You okay?"

Cory shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not happy with Danny insisting on being part of the raid. It's a distraction that I don't need. He can't even tell me why it's so important to him to be part of it."

Lydia smiled. "I'm no professional, but I think he feels the need to prove something to you."

Cory looked confused. "Huh?"

Lydia laughed. "Let me put it this way. You go out on raids all the time. You are catching the bad guys. Maybe he feels like he doesn't do enough."

"But," Cory objected, "He does! He is responsible for keeping the jerks behind bars."

Lydia raised her eyebrows. "I know that, you know that. He knows that somewhere deep down, but it seems to me like his pride is on the line here. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. He'll be with the NYPD team, so he's not your problem."

Cory just sighed. "You're right. I won't try to get him to change his mind. But if he gets shot, I may kill him."

When Cory got home about nine o'clock that night, Danny was waiting for her. He looked ready to fight for his right to stay on the raid. Cory took one look at him and held up her hand. "Don't start. I have no right to tell you what you can and can't do, but I'm not happy with you insisting on putting yourself in danger. I would expect you to show a little more sensitivity to my feelings after just losing my dad."

Danny sighed. "Look, Cory. I'm not doing this to prove anything. I just have a gut feeling that I have to be there. Please understand."

Cory just shrugged. "Do what you need to do, Dan. I'm going to bed." With that statement, she turned abruptly and walked into the bedroom.

Danny sat down on the couch, trying to control his emotions. Damn it! Why does she have to be so difficult? I'm expected to accept every one of her "gut feelings". Why can't see do the same thing for me? Gawd…She can be so damn stubborn! Danny nearly growled in his frustration. Trying to calm himself, he began to flip through the stations on cable. Soon, he had fallen asleep.

Sunday morning, Cory and Danny awoke at three a.m. They had spent Saturday staying mainly out of each other's way. Silently, they both got ready. Cory wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans with running shoes, Danny wearing jeans and an NYPD T-shirt.

When they were both dressed, Cory looked at Danny. "We should go," she said quietly. He only responded with a nod as they both grabbed their guns.

The ride was quiet, with only the morning radio for company, during the drive to the staging area. Cory looked out of the window, contemplating everything that had happened over the previous couple of months. She acknowledged to herself that she was still a little upset with Danny, but she knew that she had overreacted. She just couldn't bring herself to apologize.

When they arrived, Flack and Mac were already there. Cory walked over to them to begin the final plans, while she put her gear on. In light of what had happened to Liz at the last raid, she was requiring that all people participating in the raid had to wear full SWAT gear. She was going an extra step. In addition to the Kevlar vest and her standard firearm, she also strapped two additional 9mm Glocks and loaded up a rifle. When everyone had finally arrived, she was surprised to see Hawkes there, carrying a doctor's case.

"Hawkes?" she questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Hawkes nodded to her. "I thought it would be useful to have a doctor on site in case anyone is wounded."

Cory smiled, for the first time in two days. "Brilliant idea. I don't know why I didn't think about it!"

Hawkes just smiled as he set up a work area.

Glancing at her watch, she realized that it was time for the plan to go into action. She quickly called a final meeting between her, Lydia, Flack, Mac, Agent Fielding and her second in command, Agent Harvey. "Okay, y'all. It's go time. Have you made sure that we are all on the same frequency?" At the nods, she continued, "Okay. I'll count it down once everyone is in place. The FBI is team one, NYPD is team two and Homeland Security is team three. Let's lock and load."

The group of cops and agents quickly dispersed. Within minutes, everyone was ready.

"Team two, ready."

"Team three, ready."

Cory drew a breath. "Okay, Team One is ready. On the count of three, let's break 'em down, boys. One, two, three!"

Jointly, all three forces burst into their respective warehouses. Cory and Lydia took point for the FBI.

"FBI!" Cory yelled. Inside of her location, five men jumped up at her yell. They quickly drew their guns and a full firefight began. Her agents quickly jumped behind cover as they tried to stave off the men.

Within minutes, it was over. Three of the gun runners were dead, the other two, lying on the floor after discarding their weapons. Over the radio, she heard similar sounds of victory from the other two teams.

Looking around the warehouse, she began to open up the crates. "I've got a case of AK's here. Looks like a lot of assault rifles and loads of side arms," she called out to the rest of her team.

"Team three checking in. We have captured three terrorists. Proceeding to inventory the weapons now," Agent Fielding's voice called over the radio.

"Team two as well. We captured six terrorists and have begun our inventory as well," said Flack.

"Team one, copies that. We have three casualties, all terrorists and have found crates of assault rifles so far," Cory responded.

Six hours later, the different groups had reconvened at the staging area. The multitude of weapons were on their way back to the respective groups secure weapons area, to be tagged for destruction once the case was closed.

Cory nodded to everyone, tiredly. "Great job today, y'all. This is one of the biggest weapons busts in history. Let's head back, do our paperwork and then go home, to enjoy what's left of the weekend."

The group nodded and dispersed.

Several hours later, Cory looked up as Lydia, Flack, Danny, Mac and Hawkes walked into her office. She smiled softly. "Thank you for the help today," she said.

They nodded. Mac smiled at her. "It was good. You run a tight ship."

Cory laughed. "After what happened with Travis? You bet I do!" She quickly shut down her computer and grabbed her purse. They had all decided to go out to Ray's after the raid, to unwind. "Let's go."

The group walked out of headquarters, with Cory and Danny lagging behind a bit.

"Cory?" Danny began hesitantly. "We okay?"

Cory squinted as the bright sunlight momentarily blinded her. "Danny…" she began. She turned slightly, to look him in the eyes. As she made the turn, a shot rang out.

The team reacted instantly; all drawing their guns. Cory looked at Danny, seeing a look of horror on his face. "What…" she trailed off as a wave of pain assaulted her. She looked down to see her white shirt turning bright red with her blood as it gushed out of her.

Danny caught Cory as she fell to the ground. "CORY!" he screamed in panic. "NO!"

The rest of the group turned around at the desperation in his voice. Flack looked back up, searching for the sniper. Getting lucky, he saw a gleam of light from a building that was being remodeled across the road. He looked at Mac and they both took off at a dead run.

Lydia, in the meantime, had run back into the building, screaming for help that an agent was down. Hawkes ran to Danny's side and quickly opened his bag.

"Danny," he said urgently. Danny ignored him. "Danny! Get it together. Take off your shirt. I need it to make a compression bandage."

Danny seemed to break out of his trance. Quickly, he stripped off his shirt and handing it Hawkes, who place it over the gut wound. "Hold it there," he instructed. Danny did as he was told.

"Cory? Bella? Please say something," he begged as Cory's eyes fluttered.

Hawkes ignored the commotion around him that increased as enraged FBI agents swarmed out of the building. The followed the path of Flack and Mac. Hawkes took out his cell phone and quickly dialed 911. "This is Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. I need a bus in front of the FBI Headquarters. Officer down. Also, please alert Queen of Mercy Hospital to prepare for emergency surgery."

Danny stopped listening to Hawkes as he continued to detail Cory's condition to the operator. He kept pressure on the wound, disturbed that his shirt was already bright red. Tears shining in his eyes, he leaned over as Cory opened her eyes. "Bella?"

"Chere," Cory rasped. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch." She closed her eyes again as another wave of pain threatened to overwhelm her. She felt a wave of dizziness take over her as her vision faded. "Ti amo," she whispered as blackness descended.

AN: (Hiding behind my dragon muse, who is protecting me from hurled objects by burning them) Please don't kill me!!! Please???? Okay. I'll make a deal with y'all. If I get 10 reviews I will post the next chapter before next week. K?

mj - As usual, your spidy sense is right...Was this the twist you were anticipating??? Please don't kill me!!!

CSI junkie - I'm sorry your back at school...especially with this chapter! But I'm glad that you could have some fluff to start off school with!!!

brainDamage - How can I not try to quench my reader's thirst??? I warned you that there was a twist coming up...Just promise me you won't kill me! If you do, you'll never get to see the next chapter!!!

Axellia - That's okay that you bailed...I got media player working right again!!! Hum...maybe it made you hungry b/c you did eat???? I'll admit that the spread that Cory and her mom prepared, made ME hungry!!! Still looking forward to it and you've read it??? Nice. Btw...Bleed it out is on again!!! I'm singing along...:D