Finally, the next chapter! Let me know what you think! Thanks to fruitbat for correcting my English!

Chapter Eleven: Deal or No Deal

None of the viewers were exactly sure how they felt after they had watched the video. The DVD began with the same white letters as the first one, the big difference being Stella was the one it was being addressed to this time instead of Danny.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL STELLA

DO YOU MISS YOUR BOSS?

OR IS HE SECRETLY MORE THAN YOUR BOSS?

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

YOU BETTER HURRY NOW

THE DEADLINE IS AT 7 AM TOMORROW

DETECTIVE FLACK MUST BRING THE KILLER TO YOUR BOSS' APARTMENT

ALONE!

YOU WILL RECEIVE A SMS AFTER THAT

AS TO WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE DETECTIVE

IF YOU'LL ALL BEHAVE

HE'LL BE ALIVE

OR ELSE…

They all just stood there in silence. After a minute, Adam was the one who asked the question out loud everyone was thinking of.

'What should we do?' A tremble could be heard in his voice. They all turned away from the screen and looked at him. Adam wasn't the bravest man in this room, but he was the most experienced when it came to knowing what the kidnappers were doing to Mac right at this moment. When he had been a child, living with his dad had felt like being kidnap victim to him. Day after day went by when his father had beaten him till he was unconsciousness. Nobody could have saved him those times, but now he could save someone else. He knew what was happening to Mac right now, and they had to save him as fast as possible.

Danny saw Adam standing there in the corner of the room, trembling. He remembered that Adam had told him once that his dad was a bully. That's what shaking him up, Danny thought. He knew Adam was right, they had to free Mac, and soon.

'So, what is the plan? Flack? Isn't there some sort of strategy for this?' Danny asked his friend.

'There are a few options I guess. Option one: we let the guy go to Mac's apartment, but we surround the place in the meantime and catch the kidnapper or kidnappers. Of course there are a lot of disadvantages to this option.' Flack tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible, trying to keep a professional detachment, trying hard not to remember it was one of their own that they were trying to save.

'We still don't know where Mac is, they could figure out they're surrounded and kill Master, or us, and we could end up only catching the accomplices and the real perpetrators could go free.' Stella said, who had finally managed to focus her thoughts.

'Option two?' Danny asked, getting a little impatient.

'Option two: we let Master go, but wearing a wire.

'There's a big chance they'll kill him instantly, they could find the wire, Mr. Master has to cooperate and we still wouldn't know where Mac is.' Lindsay sighed.

'There has to be some way to get these guys!' Hawkes said. The rest looked at him, a little annoyed now.

'Option three, Flack?' Danny continued.

'Option three: someone goes undercover and we let them take him away, the rest of us following at a safe distance and we strike when the time is right.' Flack said, looking Danny straight in the eyes.

'They know all of us. They would see through that trick right away.' Danny was the one who argued the option this time.

'That's the problem. And it has to be someone who was with us when we interrogated Master, someone that knows the whole story behind the murder.' Flack said. 'He probably looked us over before he started this…. This madness.' Everyone was looking at the ground now, not knowing which of the options they should choose. All of them were dangerous and they weren't even sure the kidnappers were planning on giving Mac's location at all.

'Let me do it.' Everybody faced the direction where the words came from.

Adam stepped forward. 'I was standing behind the one-way mirror when you guys spoke to the guy. I know his motives and the way he did it. The perpetrators don't know me. Let me do it.'

'No way, you are not going to do this Adam! You are not trained for it! They could kill you!

'It's Mac's only chance. You can give me instructions.' Nobody had seen the lab-tech so certain as he was now. They all just stood there , looking at their friend and only option left to save Mac. Danny couldn't believe what Adam just suggested. He was now trapped between two impossible choices: to let Mac die or to let Adam be kidnapped… None of which were right. No person should be forced to choosebetween such things. Danny looked down, defeated. This was the second instance in a short period of time that he almost lost himself and was at the point of crying, no way was he going to speak now and everyone could notice him weakened. He had to be strong now. He said nothing.

Lindsay only could look at Danny. For her, the whole situation was a complete nightmare, but for her boyfriend was it far worse. His boss and friend was being held captive somewhere, in horrifying circumstances his fate hanging in the balance and now the nightmare was getting worse… the only person who could save their boss now, was one of his best friends. Lindsay walked over to Danny and squeezed his hand tightly, only to let him know he was not alone in this. Danny didn't look up at her, but she felt his hand tighten in hers. They were not alone.

Flack and Hawkes exchanged looks before looking back at Adam. Flack was trying to rationalize, but couldn't get his mind working properly. All kinds of thoughts and feelings were churning randomly in his brain before one feeling forced itself to the forefront… Guilt. He felt guilty. He looked to all the people in this room. They all used to be so confident, so smart. Now they looked scared and defeated. He felt responsible for all their pain. He should have foreseen all this, he should have stayed with Mac, he should have saved him. But he had done nothing and now he had to make a choice that could save one life or cost two. He was at the point of making the most important call of his life and he couldn't think straight.

Flack took one last glance around the room and finally spoke.

'Adam's right. He's our only chance', he said. A lot of panicked eyes flicked between himself and Adam. One question lingered in all their minds…

What should we do? No one knew, until…

The TV emitted a high pitched scream, for all the world like heart monitor flatlining in a hospital. Everybody turned to the screen instantly.

The sound grew louder and louder… the black screen slowly coalescing into a picture. A picture of Mac, totally unrecognizable as their boss and friend anymore. He was covered in blood and half-sitting in an abnormal position. He looked like a rag doll as if every bone in his body had been broken. They all hold their breath when they saw movement of his chest. He was alive, Mac was alive… The excitement of their first discovery was soon replaced with unimaginable fear. The frequency of the movement was almost too shallow to acknowledge.

Stella walked over to the screen, not hiding her tears anymore. Her hand reached up to the place where she thought his face was. The face she was so found of, she dreamt of at night, every night. After almost a minute, the screen went black again and the DVD-player automatically opened and revealed the disc again.

Stella turned around and walked over to Adam. She grabbed both his hands.

'Are you sure you want to do this?', Stella asked him, almost disgusted by how weak she sounded to her own ears.

After the sight of Mac, Adam had no doubt anymore. Confidence had taken the place of absolute fear. 'Let me do it. You got me covered, it's okay. I can handle it.' Adam looked in her eyes. Stella looked back and nodded. 'Alright. Get him ready, Flack.'

The night settled in and continued just like any normal night. Only, in the crime lab everything was far from normal. Since Adam had offered to help them by going undercover, Flack and Danny had helped him with all the necessary equipment. Almost half a police corps were collected in the small break room. Flack took the lead. He made sure every cop in the room had their task completely straight in their head. On every corner of Mac's apartment building he was putting an undercover car. Some would follow when the perps took Adam away, some would stay to gather information, some would go into Mac's apartment to search for trace. When everybody knew what they had to do, he demanded them to rest and gather in the room a 5.30 am again. Soon he was alone with Danny and Adam in the room.

For a couple of minutes they were silent. They heard Hawkes arguing with Stella and Lindsay. He wanted them to get some sleep, but Stella and Lindsay were determined to stay awake, so there was no chance the others left them sleeping at 7 am. Danny felt sorry for Sheldon and knew it would help when he assisted him. Danny turned to Adam.

'It looks like Hawkes can use my help.' Both Adam and Flack forced a smile. 'You can do this Adam, you know you can. You'll never be alone in this whole situation.' Danny put his hands on his friends' shoulders. 'We have faith in you.' Adam nodded. He already doubted his suggestion from the minute he had voiced it, but he knew there was no way back. Mac would have done the same for him, probably even more. They all needed his help right now, this was the time to show what he's worth.

Danny left the room, leaving Adam with Flack. He saw Adam sitting down and Flack was starting to walk the plan through with him. I really hope we made the right decision… Danny turned around and walked towards his friends. Hawkes took Stella in his arms, he took Lindsay. Within half an hour, all four were asleep…

At 6 o'clock in the morning the first undercover cars left to Mac's apartment. They would drive around till it was time, so they wouldn't be as conspicuous. At 6.30, it was time for Adam to go. He didn't wear a wire; with the thing on he couldn't relax for a second. Flack tried to convince him, but he lost. Adam wanted to go without the wire. Flack left alone with Adam in a police car. In the car they repeated the situation one last time.

Adam rhymed off all the rehearsed answers Flack had taught him. 'I'm Frank Master, I'm a stupid guy, I know a lot about bikes, especially Yamaha, my brother's name is Jude, killed Trisha because of him, first with a knife, next with a gun and I just left here. I'm sorry because of it and have no idea what I'm doing here. Other questions, I'll improvise.' Adam looked to his right. The world was driving by. Please, please, let me stay alive. His mind wondered off but snapped back to reality when Flack spoke to him. In those hours they were alone in that room, they had become good friends, even though they really hadn't a lot in common. They came up with two things: Mac and courage. It was enough.

'Are you ready? You can still back off. You only have to say so.' Flack looked in his rearview mirror into the pale looking lab tech. Hopefully we're right about this. Otherwise… If it wasn't this kind of situation, he wouldn't even thought about letting the guy go undercover. But this was about Mac and when it's Mac, rules are no longer rules. Exceptions have to be made.

'I'm ready, Flack. Let's do this for Mac.' Adam said resolutely, almost scaring himself because of the sharpness in his voice.

Flack parked the car in front of the building. He stepped out and walked over to the other side, letting out a cuffed Adam. Holding his arm, they both walked towards Mac's apartment. Flack sat Adam down on the couch in Mac's living room and removed the handcuffs. He caught the man's gaze and quickly turned around before Adam saw him shaking. He left the front door ajar and headed back to his car, only to pull his car out of sight a couple of blocks away so he could walk back to the scene without being seen. Halfway down the street, he met Danny and Stella, both dressed in a bulletproof vest. Lindsay and Hawkes weren't trained enough to go with, so they stayed at the crime lab, kept informed by one of the three. Flack, Danny and Stella watched when they saw a car pull down next to Mac's apartment. Two men stepped out and cautiously scanned the area. When they thought they were safe, they took the stairs to Mac's apartment.

'Looks like they are to trusting. Luckily for us.' Flack whispered.

'I would love to catch those guys and beat them to death.' Danny said, biting his lip in a attempt to temper his anger.

'Poor Adam.' Both men went silent again after this comment from Stella.

Two minutes later they saw the two men coming out of the building again, Adam in front of them. They walked back to their car and drove off. Flack talked to the other cops through his walky-talky.

'Follow them, but not too close.' When all three headed back to another car, Danny began to curse.

'O damn it, shit!'

'What?! What is it, Messer?' Flack turned around, clearly irritated.

'Does Mac have pictures of Adam in his house?' Danny asked more to Stella than to Donald.

'I… I don't know… damn it.' Stella said. 'Tell the guys who are going to search his place, to check it out. I don't think Mac has one of him, not yet, at least…' Danny wasn't relieved by the answer.

'Let's not think about that. We have to go through with it.' Flack said.

Both Danny and Stella nodded and walked towards the car. As unnoticed as possible, they followed the car with their friend in it, not sure about his destiny and future and the destiny and future of the other man that was resting on his shoulders…