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 I also do not own Taylor, Maddy or any characters from Without A Trace. The next couple of chapters will be similar to a Without A Trace episode. The chapter titles will give you the timeline. Many thanks go to both Aphina and Axellia for betaing this! Any mistakes left are from me changing anything after they sent it to me.

Chapter 41.

Six Hours Missing

Detective Angell stood outside of the intensive care unit at Queen of Mercy Hospital. She sighed as she stared down into her now cold cup of coffee. Taking one last look at the critically injured man, she made her way back to the coffee machine to get a refill.

"You know, you should probably get something to eat, Angell. This much coffee is not good for you."

Angell turned around to find Hawkes staring at her. "Hey Hawkes," she said with a yawn. "Do you have any info?"

Hawkes nodded. "Yeah. I talked to Dr. Jackson to see why such a simple injury was affecting him so severely."

"Really? What's wrong?"

"Well, to start off, it looks like he was almost beaten to death a couple of hours before he was shot. The doctors found evidence that CPR was administered. They also found traces of Scopolamine in his system."

Angell looked confused. "What's that?"

Hawkes sighed. "It was a drug that was used in the 1950's as a truth serum. It's highly unreliable and causes hallucinations. Still it looks like he was tortured. His body is fighting to stay alive, but he keeps coding. Right now he's in a coma, so hopefully his body can recover enough to bring him out of it."

Angell bit her lip. "Let's pray for that. We need all the information we can get. I think he might be the only one who can direct us to where the bomb is."

Hawkes nodded. "I know. Stella and Lindsay are working on his clothes, so hopefully we can get a direction there." Hawkes studied her. "Jennifer? Get some sleep. The nurses have a lounge with a comfortable couch. Have one of them get you if his condition changes."

Angell smiled. "Yes, Doctor," she said in a meek voice, trying to keep a straight face. "Alright. I will. Call me if you get any info."

"Will do," he replied as he began to walk out of the hospital.

Taylor ran into the lab, which was bustling, out of breath. She looked around, looking for either Mac or Stella and was stunned to see how many people wearing suits were standing around. This can't be good, she thought.

Finally, she spotted both Stella and Lindsay in the trace lab and walked towards them. "Stella!" she called as she walked in.

"Hey, Taylor," Stella replied, not looking up from the shirt that she was investigating. "Why are you here?"

"Ghost. Something about a bomb. He just said that I have to stop the bomb." She looked at them. "You don't by any chance know anything do you?"

Stella and Lindsay looked at Taylor in shock. Stella quickly turned to the door of the lab and closed it. "How do you know about that?" Lindsay asked in a deadly manner.

Taylor back up a step at the venom in her voice. "Same reason as always, Linds. When the hell are you going to believe me about ghosts?!"

Stella shot a warning look at Lindsay. "Listen, Taylor. There is a bomb somewhere on the subway. That's why the FBI is here."

Taylor felt the light come on in her head. "Good. I need to talk to Cory about something anyway. Where can I find her?" she asked. Taylor looked at both women when they began to avoid her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked, panic rising in her chest.

Stella exhaled slowly. "Cory's missing. We think that she was kidnapped after she found her undercover agent had been shot."

"Oh, God," Taylor replied. "What do you need? Do you need any research done? I'm good for that."

Stella shook her head, while Lindsay closed her eyes in regret. "We're not looking for her. The bomb is more important right now," Lindsay replied.

"What! How?"

Stella gritted her teeth. "Unfortunately, the threat to many outweighs the threat to one." Stella held up her hand to stop Taylor from ranting. "I know, Taylor. I don't like it either, but it's a necessary evil."

Taylor nodded, understanding the delicate situation. "What about…" Taylor trailed off as her ghost appeared again.

"You have to stop the bomb!" he said urgently.

Stella and Lindsay shivered in the suddenly cold air of the lab while they watched Taylor stare off into space.

"Where is the bomb?" she asked him urgently.

"Subway. I don't know where."

"Look," Taylor said, amazed that he was actually answering her questions. "You've got to give me more than that."

"Please. I don't have much time. C4. The key is the C4," he said desperately as he began to fade way. "Please, you've got to hurry!"

Taylor watched as he completely disappeared. She turned to Maddy, who had appeared where the man had been standing. "Maddy? What's up with him? Normally ghosts give me completely cryptic clues. This one is flinging information at me but why doesn't he stick around?"

"Because he can't. He's not actually dead yet," Maddy explained cautiously. While she had been given leave by The Powers to shed some insight, they had told her to be very careful. She had to just give her the information that she didn't have access to. Everything else, Taylor had to figure out on her own.

"How can a ghost not be dead?" Taylor questioned, drawing amazed looks from both Stella and Lindsay.

"That's all I can tell you right now," the dark haired ghost said as she disappeared.

Taylor growled in her frustration. "You know, I used to like puzzles. Now I hate them!" she exclaimed.

"Um, Taylor?" Stella began. "I might have an answer for you. Taylor's undercover agent is in critical care at Queen of Mercy. Maybe he's the one you're seeing."

Taylor looked at Stella in amazement, the puzzle becoming a little clearer. "Thanks, Stella!" she called as she ran out of the room toward the elevators.

When Elena returned to her office, she quickly filled in her boss, Jack Malone, on Cory's disappearance. "So," she concluded. "I told Don that we would be able to work on the case. I know I don't have that kind of authority, but since you are friends with her, I figured that I was right."

Jack, a distinguished middle-aged man, nodded his agreement. "You are correct. Let me grab the rest of the team and then you can brief us on what information the NYPD was able to give you."

Thirty minutes later, the entire team had assembled. Elena began her story and when she was done, noticed the determined looks all of the assembled agents.

A Hispanic man cleared his throat. "So, we need to retrace her steps," Danny Taylor said, a steely glint in his dark eyes.

Jack nodded. "Yes. We need to get a complete history on her. I know that she was having some problems with a gang leader who had a personal vendetta, but I thought that he was in jail. I'll request a list of open cases that she has from her boss." Jack turned to a younger brown-haired man and a blonde woman. "Martin, Sam; go to her apartment and talk with her fiancé, maybe he can give you some insight.

Both of them nodded and retrieved their badges and guns to begin the drive. When they had left, Jack turned to an older black woman and Elena. "Vivian, I want you and Elena to start taking a look into her finances. See if there has been any unusual activity. Also, check with her family and see if you can get any information there."

"On it right now, Jack," Vivian said as Elena sat down at her own computer and began to pull up the files that they needed.

Danny was startled out of his shock by a knock on the door. Jumping up, he almost ran to the door. Wrenching it open, he was startled by the two unfamiliar people standing outside. "Can I help you?"

"Detective Danny Messer?" the man asked.

"Yes?" Danny asked, confused.

Sam decided to take the lead. "I'm Samantha Spade and this is Martin Fitzgerald. We're from the FBI's Missing Persons Squad. Detective Flack asked us to look into Cory's disappearance, since they are a little overwhelmed at the moment."

"I don't understand," Danny responded.

"They're looking for a bomb," Martin replied.

"What?!" Danny exclaimed.

"You didn't know?" Martin asked in surprise.

"No. Of course, I haven't exactly been in the loop since Stella banned me from the lab." At both agents confused looks, he continued, "She didn't want me to compromise the evidence."

Sam nodded her head, understanding. "Good. That gives you enough time to fill us on Cory." She motioned to the living room. "Can we come in?"

Danny shook his head. "Sorry, I'm a little distracted right now. I just want…I just want her to come home."

Martin nodded. "Fill us in on what's been going on. Does she have any enemies?"

Danny was so startled at the question, he laughed. "Of course she does. She's very good at her job. There is one in particular. His name is Javier Montoya…" Danny sat down wearily as he began to explain the threats that Montoya had made against Cory.

Both Martin and Sam nodded as they began to take notes.

Thirty minutes later, Danny had finished. "Is there anything else you can tell us that might help us?" Sam asked.

Danny thought for a moment before sighing. "There is one thing, but I'm not exactly sure about it. She's been having dreams about being kidnapped as a child, but she doesn't remember anything. I called her mom to let her know that she was missing and Alexis murmured under her breath something like 'This can't be happening again.' Cory did a little research in the FBI files, but she couldn't find anything pertaining to her being kidnapped."

Martin and Sam shared a look before Martin nodded. "We'll definitely look into that. I do agree with you, it looks like Montoya is the most likely suspect. I'll get with her team and get some history on him. Maybe we can find something."

Danny nodded as the three people stood up, feeling hope begin to form in his chest. "Thanks. I'm worried about her. After the mess with Ortiz and then getting shot…this is the last thing that she needs. I do know this, though. She's a fighter. She'll do everything in her power to get free."

The group shook hands as the two agents left the room.

Cory stirred restlessly on the mattress, her head spinning. What the hell? Was I drugged? She tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea forced her to lie back down, her mouth dry. Succumbing to the dizziness, she allowed herself to fall back to sleep, only to be haunted in her dreams by fragments of memories.
AN: Okay guys. I know we are going through the holiday season, but I'd love some feedback about how you like these chapters. I'm getting very discouraged here!! They were very hard for me to write (especially since I don't watch WaT very much anymore), so your feedback would be much appreciated! Okay, guys. 5 review rule. Once I get 5 reviews, I'll update! Happy New Year!

Soccer-Bitch - I'm glad you are liking it! I've actually been getting sleep, so I don't know quite what to do. I've been spending my free time trying to figure out where the story is going after this story arc concludes. I've laid the groundwork for a couple of different ideas, but I'm not so sure.

CSI junkie - Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. And yes, you are right about the dreams. :D

Axellia - Okay. Now you are worrying me! Hmmm...Maybe Tay was dating Cruz! But yeah...I started writing Cory at the end of the 3rd season, when Flack was injured. This story has been a year in the making. I started posting it 12/29/06! I'm impressed. Of course, my muse did take a 4 month hiatus. I think the lack of reviews is because of Xmas.

Note to: brainDamage, magic munchies and mj...I miss you guys! I hope you had a happy holdiay!

Note to all my lurkers...You guys rock!