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 The song title is from Metallica again...Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for betaing this!

Chapter 40.

Nothing Else Matters

Taylor was staring at her computer in shock. I don't believe this. I've got to let Cory know! She was picking up the phone when she realized that she couldn't call her because she was meeting with her informant. Damn. I'll just send her a text message and tell her we need to meet. She quickly sent the message and just as she sat back down at her computer, she felt the temperature drop in the room.

She turned to see the same ghost staring back at her again. She looked at the Hispanic man, a couple of inches taller than her. He stood there, staring at her.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Don't you have some sort of cryptic message for me? Help me or something?" she said sarcastically when he remained silent.

"You have to stop the bomb," he said.

"What bomb?" Taylor asked, concerned.

The man tried to answer, but he vanished instead. Taylor turned to Maddy, who was looking at the air in question. "Maddy? What just happened? It was like he was torn away from here."

Maddy looked at her. "I'm not sure. I need to consult with The Powers on this," she stated as she vanished.

Taylor looked at the vacant room. "Okay. All those confused, say I…" She turned as began to get ready to go to the lab.

Stella stalked back into the lab, still upset over Mac's decision. She walked up to Hawkes, who was processing the guns. "What do you have?"

Hawkes shook his head. "Neither gun has been fired. The Glock still has a full clip with one in the chamber and the Smith & Wesson still has six shots. Whoever took her, caught her by surprise," he stated.

Stella nodded. "I need you to go to the hospital and see if you can get some info out of Cruz." She sighed. "He gave Cory some info. There is a bomb on the subway. As of now, that is top priority."

Hawkes stared at Stella in shock. "So we're not going to find whoever kidnapped Cory?"

Stella shook her head in response.

"Okay. I understand; I don't like it, but I understand," he stated simply before turning around to leave.

Stella watched Hawkes leave the lab and then turned to fill everyone else in, including Flack, who had just shown up.

"All right! Listen up. We have a top priority case. There is a bomb somewhere on the subway system. We need to find it before it detonates. As of now, all other cases are set to the side. We are working with the FBI on this case, so please make sure to share the information either with Agent Wells or Agent Sanchez. Any questions?"

Lindsay and Flack looked at Stella. "What about Cory?" Lindsay asked quietly.

Stella's face showed regret. "We can't spare the manpower right now. As Mac pointed out, she would be pissed if we wasted manpower to find her when we could have been looking for the bomb. Lindsay, I want you going over all of Cruz's clothes. We need to find out where he's been and see if maybe we can catch a break to find the bomb."

"I'm on it," she stated while turning into the lab. "Hey, Stel? Have you told Danny yet?"

Stella cringed. "No. I'm not looking forward to that conversation, but I wanted to get everything all set up before breaking it to him."

Lindsay nodded her understanding as Flack put a comforting hand on Stella's shoulder. "I'll take care of telling Danny, Stella."

Stella looked at Flack with gratitude shining in her eyes. "You would? Bless you."

Flack nodded as he gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. "I'll go right now," he said as he began to walk away.

As Flack walked away, he grabbed his phone. After dialing a number, he waited patiently for the person to pick up the phone. "Hey, it's Flack. I need a favor."

Danny was still sitting in his seat an hour after Stella had left. He felt like he was in shock. He couldn't believe that she was missing. He replayed the last time he'd seen her over and over in his head. Finally, his shock began to wear off and he picked up the phone to notify her family.

"Hello?"

"Alexis? It's Danny."

"Hi, Danny. How are y'all doing?"

Danny sighed. "That's why I'm calling. Cory's been kidnapped," he stated bluntly.

Alexis gasped in her shock. "What? How? When?"

"Tonight. She was meeting with her undercover agent and she just disappeared." Danny choked up a little bit. "The lab is working on it. We'll find her."

Alexis whimpered under her breath, "No. This can't be happening again."

Danny heard her quiet words. "What do you mean?"

Alexis realized the slip she had made and quickly went to deny her words. "Nothing. I mean, she just got back from being shot and now she's missing? What else can go wrong?"

"Alexis? It's more than that, isn't it?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"No," she replied quickly. "She just had so much bad stuff in her life recently. That's all it is."

Danny felt her rebuff and his emotions overwhelmed him. He snapped, "No. That's not all it is. What aren't you telling me? Does it have to do with the fact that she's being having dreams about being kidnapped as a child? Don't lie to me, Mrs. Reid. It won't do anyone any good."

There was silence on the other end of the phone before Alexis began hesitantly. "I'm not going to discuss this with you, Danny. It's none of your business. I'll be in New York tomorrow," she stated simply.

"What do you mean it's none of my business?! We're talking about my fiancée here!" he yelled into the phone.

Alexis ignored him. "I'll call you when I get to the city. Good-bye."

Danny threw the phone across the room as Alexis hung up on him. "Damn it!" he exclaimed as the phone shattered into several pieces.

Flack walked into the small café, looking for the familiar head of dark hair. When he finally spotted the woman, he made his way over to her. "Hey, Elena. Thanks for meeting me," he said, greeting his ex-girlfriend who happened to work for the FBI Missing Persons Squad.

"No problem," Elena Delgado responded. "How can I help you?"

Flack nodded to her as he ordered his coffee. "Did you hear that Agent Reid was kidnapped?"

Elena's eyes opened wide. "What?"

Flack nodded. "Yeah. That's where I need your help. The NYPD can't look for her because we have to find a bomb on a subway, and the other FBI teams are dedicated to that, I was hoping that your team could work on it."

Elena thought for a moment. "Well, we did just close a case and since it's for an FBI agent who is friends with Jack, I know we'll take it. Just send us all the information."

Flack shook his head. "Okay. I'm also going to send Danny over. He can't be in the lab with all the trace evidence. But he can give you information and by doing that, keep him out of trouble."

Elena nodded with a smile. "He is very apt to get into trouble if left alone. Listen, why don't I send him to the office? I have faith that you can keep him under control." Flack quickly finished his coffee and put some cash down on the table. "Thanks, Elena. I've got to get back and see if I can find a bomb."

Elena nodded as well as they both got up to leave the café.

When Cory regained consciousness, she was overwhelmed by the darkness. Gingerly she moved around, trying to figure out where she was. What happened? I was at the zoo, meeting with Cruz but he'd been shot. Shit! There's a bomb on the subway!

As the memories returned, Cory tried to sit straight up, but quickly realized that it was impossible and chains bound her to a mattress. Gingerly, she pulled on the chains, trying to determine if she could work them off. Sighing in frustration, she gave up. Okay. Take stock here. I never saw the attacker, so I'm going to assume that it's part of Montoya's gang. I don't know what time it is or how long I've been out, but the lab must know that I'm gone by now since I called in Cruz's gun shot. So they've got to be looking for me.

Cory felt a sense of relief at that. She knew that Lydia would be working on trying to find the bomb, then the lab would be working on finding her. All I have to do is wait. Try to figure this out. Why does Montoya want me dead?

She continued to muse along that line until she heard footsteps outside of the room she was kept in. Suddenly, the door opened up and light flooded in, blinding her. With tears streaming down her face, she blinked a couple of times to try to focus. When her sight came back, the only thing she saw was two men, in ski masks, holding automatic weapons. She studied the guns carefully and determined that they were most liked M16 assault rifles. "What do you want with me?" she asked belligerently.

The men didn't say anything to her. One of them moved towards the bed and unhooked her chains. Cory was planning on striking out at the man as soon as her arm was free, but he kept a tight grip on them. Leaving her legs shackled together, they led her to a small bathroom.

Once inside, Cory quickly took care of her personal business and looked for anything that she could turn into a weapon. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything available. Damn, she thought, these guys are professionals. Sighing in defeat, she made her way to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Furrowing her brow, she cautiously knocked.

The door opened slowly and Cory looked out to see the two men standing there with their guns pointed at her. They motioned towards the door she had come out of, so she walked back to the room. When she got back in, she noticed that the chains on the bed had been replaced with longer chains that would allow her a little freedom of movement.

They buckled her back in and left a tray of food for her to eat. Sighing, she ate her meal quietly and pondered exactly what the kidnappers had in mind for her. Danny, I hope you have some clue of where I am, because I am completely lost.

AN: Okay guys! Here ya go. Once I get 6 reviews, I'll update the next chapter! If I don't update before Christmas...Merry Christmas!!!! A new chapter of Gotham's Heroes is up...Please read and review it!!!

Soccer-Bitch - I think you'll be pleased with how the story progresses. I've had a lot of help from by bff and my betas working out the plot line, so I think it's cohesive! Did you get any sleep?

Axellia - I'm still trying to plan out the remaining plot line! (I may pick your brain about it later). I know it won't be neverending, but sometimes it feels like it. I'm glad you got destresses and I want a picture of the one that sleeps in your hand! I'll admit...Stella's line is my fav from that chapter!

CSI junkie - So where do you think it's going? I'd be interested to see what your take on it is. I try to keep it interesting, so there are a couple of more twists coming up! I have about 9 more chapters written, so you'll be good for a while!

Aphina - I love the play between Stella and Mac in this chapter, too. They are the hardest 'ship for me to write, so unfortunately, I let them fall by the wayside a lot. I'm working on writing them more, though! That is a ball dropping moment. It really emphasizes the gravity of the situation!