Here you go, chapter nine. I think this story will last another 5 chapters or so.

Thank you again, Fruitbat!

Review people, review!

Chapter Nine: Deny

Mac didn't exactly want it to get to 8 am. The guys had talked about things happening to him from that time, and he was sure they weren't on planning giving him food or something to drink. Mac had become weak from the loss of blood and the fact that he forgotten to eat the whole day yesterday, didn't make it any more comfortable for him now.

He had managed to get himself in the less painful position leaning back against the wall. He was so tired, he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He was expecting the Flower guy to get to him and make him stay awake, but to his surprise, the guy was sleeping himself. They were all too relaxed and too sure of themselves, so they must have organized this thing very well. Those facts made Mac worry even more, both for himself and for his team. They sure had a lot of weight on their shoulders. With one man down, they had to find a killer under a lot of pressure and at the same time they had to try to figure out where he was.

While thinking of his team, his mind drifted off into a muddled sleep. His sleep was roughly interrupted when Flower poked his head.

'8 am, mister. Here we go.' The Flower guy looked on a list he was holding and grinned.

'Your leg first'. Fear came over Mac when he heard that. With a huge force, Flower planted his foot on Mac's lower left leg. A strangled scream escaped him as pain exploded up his leg. It hurt like hell. Flower headed to his chair again. Mac was still groaning in pain. He didn't have to look down, he could tell by the pain his lower leg was definitely broken. He puffed in and out to make sure he wasn't going to faint, because he was not far from it. Damn it, Danny, hurry up. He thought while he was trying to recover from his injury.

Every 30 minutes that passed by, Flower looked on his list and came towards Mac and every time, Mac became more afraid. This guy really didn't know what he was doing. He was just following orders and that made him even more dangerous. Luckily, not every time was hard. One time it was just an 'ordinary' blow to the head, the other time Flower twisted his arm. But every blow made Mac weaker and weaker.

Around 3pm, he guessed from the number of beatings he had taken, 14 to be exactly, Mac shifted position and tried to ready himself for whatever Flower had in mind next.

Flower approached Mac with a tube of water placing it on the floor in front of him. He grabbed Mac's hair and forced his head under the surface for 2 minutes. Mac wasn't prepared for this and was almost suffocated, when his head was tilted out of the water again. Just after that, the 'boss' came in and walked straight up to him, patting Flower on the back on his way.

'Hello detective, enjoying your stay here?' The boss put on a sad face when he watched Mac struggling for some air.

'It is breathtaking here, especially the view, I know.' The boss laughed at his own comment.

'I really hope your guys have something to tell us, otherwise you will end up in an even worse condition than you are in now. And you know, that curly woman who works for you, she is so pretty, you know that?' The boss was trying to provoke Mac. Watching him struggle was becoming a hobby for him.

Mac's eyes almost stood on fire when he heard that bastard talking about Stella, HIS Stella. With all force and strength he had left, he spat into the guys face. The 'boss' wiped the spit, filled with blood, out of his face and spread it out on Mac's face instead.

'It's not a good idea to do that again, you understand? Maybe I have my orders too, but they can easily be broken, just as you. And when I'm finished with you, that woman will be next, so you better restrain yourself, detective.' Mac realized the guy had not only power over him, but also over others now. Others Mac cared about. These thoughts made Mac wisely calm down again.

'Well, let's post another package for your little friends and hope for you they work fast, uh?' The guy gave Mac a pat on the clean cheek and reached up and ruffled through his hair. 'Good boy'.

The guy walked away with Flower and left Mac alone in the room. When they were out of Mac's hearing range, the 'boss' spoke to Flower.

'It's your turn now, Ed. Deliver the package when nobody's around at the front of the building. Make sure no one sees you there and do not come back here again. If they do see you, they will follow you and everything will be shot to hell. We keep in touch on the phone. Now, go.' The 'boss' handed Ed the package with a note on it.

On that paper was written: Det. Bonasera, CSI. Ed nodded and made his way out of the place. The 'boss' got himself some food, headed back to the room where Mac was and began eating in front of his prisoner.

Flower did as he was told and was in the subway on his way to the NYPD. He walked into a bar at the other end of the street with a clear view of the building, his package in a bag on the table. He watched as the building was slowly emptying. Ducking into the bathroom , he took out the pictures of the CSIs that Derek, his boss, had given him and studied them carefully. When it was 9 pm, he saw two of them, the guy with glasses and the younger girl, standing outside for a while, hugging and kissing. The guy was trying to cheer her up, so it seems. Flower grinned and was already excited to tell Derek about this.

When they were walking inside again, he took his chances and walked towards the building. In an alley he waited till nobody was there and quickly ran along the building and left the package near the sliding doors. When he was out of sight, he called his boss.

Derek felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, just as he had finished with Mac again. He took the call.

'Hey. Really? Good. Nobody saw you of course? Good. You did what?! Are you serious?' Derek turned around and smiled at Mac. 'Thanks.' He hung up and walked back to Mac.

'It will not take long anymore now, darling. Although I'm not sure if it will do them any good you come back. The two young persons are really into each other you know.'

Mac couldn't help but look surprised after he heard the guy speak about Danny and Lindsay. He was in to much pain and to out of it to realize he had made a mistake.

'You didn't know that yet? I got a scoop, woohoo. I'll keep that in mind, you never know when it could come in handy. I'll leave you for a while now. Tomorrow I'm going to make it even more memorable for you here. ' The boss walked away for a second time and got some sleep.

Mac had become extremely weak after the things the boss had done to him. Especially when the guy had shot him. Mac shuddered as he thought back….

When the guy had finished his meal, he had studied the piece of paper which was lying next to him on the floor, for a while. Mac had never thought a piece of paper could determine his pain and life. The boss's reaction after he read the piece of paper was very similar to Flower's reaction. First a concentrated look at the paper, then a look at him, and then a smile. Hurting Mac was just part of the setup, but they seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. The smile didn't disappear after the guy stood up and headed towards Mac. No, it got even wider with every step he took. Mac wasn't planning on showing his fear again, so he locked his eyes onto the eyes of this 'boss'. It didn't work, the boss kept on smiling. Mac's heartbeat raised more and more with every inch the guy came closer. He stopped when he was two feet away from him. Their eyes were still staring at each other. Two eyes were filled with joy, two were filled with anger and determination. No fear escaped Mac's eyes, even though his whole body was filled with it. He had been trained to be determined, no matter what the situation was. And he had been in a lot of strange and bad situations.

So his eyes sent out determination, even when the guy stopped within a two feet distance. The smile on the guy's face was still there. Very slowly, he pulled his gun out of the holster and aimed at Mac. First at his head. No, he couldn't shoot his head, he would be dead. Then he aimed at his leg, then his stomach. No, no, all too risky. And there he had found it. The right spot. The 'boss' put his index finger in position aimed and fired ….

All Mac remembered was white hot pain exploding through his right arm……

The bullet had gone straight through his arm. After the shot, the boss had bandaged the wound, to ensure Mac wouldn't die from blood loss. Mac thought the whole situation was so surreal and terrifying, shivers ran down his spine. He had never felt so weak and powerless. A great deal of Mac's body wasn't functioning as it should and his mind was starting to wander, not only because of his injuries, but also because of his desire for food and water right now.

For the second time Mac drifted into a light sleep full of nightmares, but it wasn't going to be a long sleep…