A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, they are really inspiring! Okay, so I thought it was about time for some revelations on the mystery part of this story. Here goes.

Chapter ten

Nico glanced at Dani out of the corner of his eye as they walked across the street that separated them from SBG. Her face had taken on the determined expression he'd come to know so well over the last few years. The look that said, I want answers and I want them right now. Her stubbornness never ceased to amaze him, but it also worried him. That side of her had her throwing caution to the wind and walking into volatile situations without giving so much as a single thought to her own wellbeing. Like this morning in her bedroom. And right now, of course. She had to know being here was dangerous, but that didn't stop her. Just like she had to at least suspect now how dangerous Nico himself was, yet that hadn't stopped her from touching him, trying to get closer to him physically as well as emotionally. He knew how to protect her from the physical dangers that lurked at SBG, but he'd be damned if he knew how to protect her from himself. Yes you do, Careles, his mind promptly insisted. And of course he did. What he didn't know was if he had it in him to pay the price of keeping her safe from him…

"Yo, Doctor D! What's up?" Startled, Nico looked up to see TK coming out the door to SBG. Beside the wide receiver a pretty girl smiled at them, blushing. Nico thought he'd seen her at V3 a couple of times. Wasn't she a physical therapist or something? If so, then what was she doing at SBG now? He blinked when his mind caught up with what his eyes had registered a second ago. TK and the girl had been holding hands when they'd come out, then quickly let go when they caught sight of Dani and Nico. Why did TK suddenly feel the need to hide who he was dating? Nico wondered.

"Hello, Terrence. Hello, um…" Dani's voice trailed off while she tried to come up with the name of the girl.

"India. My, uh, PT," TK supplied.

"Right. Hi, India. Sorry, no time to chat!" Dani hurried into the SBG lobby.

"Doctor D, wait! We… Oh, hey Sneako! Why you guys in such a hurry?"

"Not now, TK." Nico walked right past the wide receiver, following Dani inside, making a mental note to check up on this India. She had after all worked at the V3 Clinic, which put her right in the middle of the IGF-1 scandal…

Dani once again sat at the conference table across from Abby Bruce, while Nico had opted to stand by the door of the office as if he were some kind of guard or something. Dani looked at Abby, noting the hint of dark circles under the woman's eyes that make-up hadn't been able to conceal completely. There was no trace of the warm smile she'd worn a few days ago. In fact, Abby's face didn't reveal any emotions whatsoever, as if she'd put on a mask. Dani gave her a stern look. "So, Abby, this would be the time where you start telling me exactly what's going on here."

"Well, it's actually quite simple, Doctor Santino. You will have to start looking for another job, as the job I offered you will probably be no longer available." Abby looked away as Dani crossed her arms, frowning.

"Really. And why is that?"

"Because I'm going to sell SBG. And I suspect the new owner will not want you around." Dani blinked. Where had this come from?

"Well, that's quite the curveball."

"Not really, just the way business works. Someone… made an offer I couldn't refuse. I'm sorry." Abby suddenly stood up. "So, Doctor, if you don't mind, I have business to attend to now…"

"Well, actually I do mind, Abby. Sit down." Dani allowed some of the fury that was still raging around inside her to seep into her voice. Abby's eyebrows shot up when she heard it, and she sat back down immediately. "Good girl. Now, I want you to listen to something and then tell me a name." Dani took her phone out of her purse and put it on the table between them. She dialed voicemail and the message started playing. Dani saw Abby's face grow paler with every whispered word, heard her quiet gasp as the man talked about Lindsay. "So, Abby…" she said when the message had ended. "Care to tell me who this is and why he apparently felt the need to run over my daughter? Because, you know, I would really like to get my hands on that bastard." Dani smiled sweetly, leaned back and looked at Abby expectantly.

"Son of a bitch…" Abby muttered.

"My thoughts exactly. So, a name would be nice."

"Troy Cutler."

Dani's couldn't keep her jaw from dropping. And not just because of the name itself. Adding to her shock was the fact that the answer hadn't come from Abby. Judging by the woman's flinch however, it was still the right answer. Dani snapped her eyes to Nico as he continued, "I knew I'd heard that voice before somewhere." He walked across the room and took a seat next to Dani, leaning forward to fix Abby with his stare. "Now I suggest you tell us exactly what's going on here, Miss Bruce." Abby sighed heavily and looked down at the table for a few seconds. Then she looked back up at Dani.

"Two weeks ago, Troy Cutler called me. Said he wanted to do business with me…" Dani held up a hand to stop her.

"Wait. Last time I checked, Troy Cutler was in jail. Right?" she asked Nico, who nodded.

"Yeah, well, he got himself released somehow. I don't know how, okay? And trust me, I'd rather see him rot in jail than sell my business to him," Abby snapped.

"So… Troy is the one you're selling to?" Dani felt more confused by the minute.

"Well, not exactly. But he has a… business partner or something, that wants to buy SBG. I suspect that he'll make Troy CEO or something." Abby shrugged. "Great way to get back at me, right? For betraying him to the FBI. Oh, and to Connor, let's not forget that. Ugh, I knew I should have stayed away from V3…" Dani rolled her eyes at the sound of self-pity in Abby's voice. But something didn't add up here.

"I still don't understand. If you don't want to sell, he can't make you, right?" she said. Abby suddenly tensed and dropped her eyes.

"It's like I said… He made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Miss Bruce." Nico's voice was quiet yet demanding, and Dani watched Abby reluctantly raise her eyes to meet his. "What exactly is in this deal for you?" A tense silence followed his question. Then Abby closed her eyes on a heavy sigh.

"My sister, okay? He promised to let her go the moment the deal is done." What the hell? Dani was at a loss for words, and a sidelong glance at Nico told her he hadn't seen that one coming either. She looked back at Abby, who continued, "So, as I was saying, Troy called me two weeks ago to say this guy, Yuri something, wanted to buy SBG. Of course, I laughed. Then he got mad, saying I owed him for ruining everything. I said I owed him nothing and hung up. The next day, the first package came…" Abby's voice trailed off and her eyes took on a far away look.

"What package?" Dani asked.

"A framed picture was delivered to my mailbox at home. It was a picture of Jenny and me… Jenny's my sister… a picture of us walking in a mall. We went shopping there the saturday before, he must have followed us or something… Anyway, there was a note with it, asking me which I loved more, SBG or my kid sister… A few hours later he called again, asking if we could do business now. I told him no again, and said that if he contacted me again, I'd go to the FBI. He hung up."

"So did you go to the FBI?" Nico asked. Abby shook her head. "Why not?"

"Well, you know Troy. He likes to bluff…"

"He threatened you and your sister!" Dani couldn't help but interject. She really couldn't understand why Abby hadn't gone straight to agent Bennett with this.

"Look Doctor, of course I seriously considered going to the FBI. But Troy seemed to back off after that. I didn't hear from him again for days. Then the second package arrived. Right here, the day after you came to see me."

"What was in it?" Nico asked. Abby nodded in the direction of her desk, where a photo frame was sitting. Dani got up and went to look at the picture. It showed a young girl sitting underneath a tree while holding an iPad. She showed it to Nico. Abby reached out and took it from her, looking at it while she continued talking.

"Jenny on campus. Columbia. The note said this picture would be the last I ever saw of her if I went to the FBI. I tried to call her all day, couldn't reach her. I went to her dorm that night, but no one had seen her that day. I tried to tell myself he was bluffing, that he didn't, couldn't have taken her. I tried calling Troy too, must have tried a dozen times, but he didn't pick up. Then I started calling all Jenny's friends, asking them if they'd seen her. One girl said she'd heard Jenny mention something about going on some camping trip and I just… Grabbed on to that, telling myself that that must be it, you know? She went on the trip and forgot her phone..." Abby put the photoframe down on the table and rubbed a hand over her eyes. Dani watched her as she took a deep breath and visibly tried to compose herself. Abby looked up again. "I lay awake all night, hoping and praying Jenny was safe. But the next day, Troy called. Said he had something of mine and that if I wanted it back, I'd better be prepared to make a trade." Abby's eyes went from Nico to Dani as she shrugged and said, "So, to answer your earlier question, doctor… Yes, Troy Cutler can make me sell SBG even if I don't want to." Dani looked from Abby to Nico and saw her own questions reflected in his eyes. Then Abby released a sigh. "Look, I know what you're thinking. And no, I can't be sure that Troy will really let Jenny go… But don't you see? As long as there's even the slightest chance that he will, I can't risk going to the FBI…"

"So now what do we do?" Dani asked Nico when they were back in the car. They'd tried to make Abby see that she should go to the FBI no matter what, but hadn't been able to convince her. And Dani couldn't even blame her for it, since she wasn't sure she would have gone to the authorities had she been in Abby's situation.

"We do nothing. You're going home and let me handle this." Dani rolled her eyes at Nico's reply. She should have seen that coming.

"Okay, let me rephrase my question then, what are you gonna do?"

"Drive you home." He put the car in Drive and pulled into traffic.

"Nico!" She crossed her arms and gave him a stern look, but it was wasted since he didn't take his eyes off the road.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. After he'd parked in her driveway, Nico surprised Dani by shutting down the engine and getting out of the car too. "I thought you were gonna handle the… situation now?"

"I am. Just want to make sure you're safe first." He took his phone from his pocket while he walked her up to the house. "Xeno, I need you at Doctor Santino's house." He listened for a moment, then ended the call and pocketed his phone again. "He'll be here in fifteen. Now unlock the door. I want to check the house before I leave."
Dani followed Nico around the house nervously, as he checked every room and closet without finding anything out of the ordinary. When they finally got back to the kitchen, she heard a car coming up her driveway. Nico looked outside. "Xeno's here." He walked to the front door, reaching out to open it.

"Oh no you don't. Hold it right there, mister." Dani leaned against the bar, crossing her arms and frowning as he looked back at her.

"What?"

"You thought you could just leave?"

"I've got things to do."

"Yeah. I know. But we have some unfinished business too. You do realize we need to talk about this morning at some point, right?" She watched him look down at the floor. He raked a hand through his hair and looked up at her again, releasing a sigh.

"We'll talk later." He turned to the door again.

"Not so fast!" She walked up to him this time. When he looked at her again, she smiled. "Don't I get a kiss?" He froze for a moment, then leaned in to drop a quick peck on her lips. Before she could pull him closer, he pulled away and walked out the door. "Hey… Hey! So we'll talk tonight?" she called after him, but he didn't respond. She saw him exchange a few words with Xeno, who lifted his hand to her in greeting. She waved, then watched Nico get into his car and drive away without looking back. Dani sighed heavily and leaned against the door. When she saw Xeno giving her a questioning look, she shook her head and went inside.

Nico used the drive to his next destination to call Stanzi Palmer and ask him to find out everything he could about Troy Cutler. Then he arranged for one of his employees to stand guard outside Lindsay's hospital room. Although he didn't really think Cutler would go there to finish the job, he didn't want to take any chances either. He parked the car and got out, then did what he was trained for. He stayed out of sight until his prey came out of the building, phone pressed to his ear. Nico followed the man as he walked down the street. When the guy was done with his phonecall and walked around the corner, Nico caught up with him and grabbed him by the elbow. "Hello, agent Bennett. Let's take a walk," he said in a low voice. Bennett tried to pull his arm away, but Nico didn't let him. He steered the fed into an alley.

"Careles. What do you want?" Bennett grimaced as Nico tightened his hold for a moment, then let go. Rage bubbled up inside him.

"You. Let. Cutler. Walk?" He managed to keep his voice low, but he couldn't keep his fury out of it. Bennett swallowed hard.

"Mr. Cutler was bailed out. He wasn't a flight risk."

"How do you know?"

"Well, not that it's any of your business, but we offered him a very sweet deal in exchange for him taking the stand against MacLane. He'd be an idiot to jeopardize that by running."

"Who bailed him out?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Was it a guy named Yuri?" When Nico mentioned the name Abby had given him and Dani earlier, he saw Bennett freeze for a fraction of a second. The fed recovered quickly, but it was all Nico needed. "Who is he, Bennett?"

"None of your business. Where did you get this information?"

"From a woman whose sister was kidnapped a few days ago. By Yuri's friend Cutler."

"What? Cutler didn't kidnap anyone! We…" Bennett sighed. "We would've known."

"So you're following him?"

"Not much to follow. Guy hasn't left his apartment for anything else then grocery shopping for weeks."

"Yeah, well, that's not what I hear, Bennett. As a matter of fact, Cutler seems to have been all over town lately. Doing what he calls business. You know, making deliveries, kidnapping one girl, putting another one in hospital…"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Jesus Bennett! You need to go see a doctor."

"Huh?"

"There seems to be something wrong with your ears. Or maybe it's your brain…" The fed narrowed his eyes, his face slowly turning red. Nico held up his hands before the guy could explode on him and sighed. "Look, Bennett. I have information on what Cutler and his friend are up to. You want to hear it, you're gonna have to give me something in return. A name would be a nice start." Bennett seemed to weigh his options.

"You will stay out of this," he stated eventually.

"If I can."

"Promise me. Or I'll have you arrested for obstruction of an ongoing investigation." Nico shrugged and just stared at Bennett. He was counting on the fact that the fed wanted the information. And that Bennett was smart enough to realize that giving Nico what he wanted was the fastest way to get it. Eventually, the guy seemed to reach that conclusion too.

"Yuri Chernikov. That's all you're getting, Careles. Now talk to me."

Dani spent a lot of time thinking about Abby's revelations. She just couldn't figure out what it was that Troy Cutler was trying to achieve, and it was driving her nuts. Why did he want SBG? Was all of this really just about getting back at the people he blamed for his downfall? Then why hadn't he gone after Paloma or Dani herself? Of course, Paloma did work at the company he was trying to take away from Abby, so maybe he was killing two birds with one stone there. But he only went after Lindsay when he found out about me meeting Abby… she tried to ignore the feeling of guilt that came with that thought. If I would have just stayed away from Abby and SBG, Lindsay would be fine now… Stop it, Santino! All things considered, she couldn't shake the feeling that there were bigger things at play here than just Troy extracting some revenge. Could it have anything to do with V3? And who was this mysterious business partner that Abby had mentioned? Dani sighed and massaged her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She wanted to do something, instead of just sitting around and waiting to hear from Nico. But she knew she couldn't really do anything about Troy Cutler now, so she decided to go visit Lindsay instead.

When she walked out the front door, her phone buzzed. It was Jeanette. "Soooo? Was it… good?" her friend asked.

"Oh, hey Jeanette. Well…" Dani's voice trailed off. Where to start?

"Uh-oh. Don't tell me I have to come down there and kick this mystery man of yours! I have a spa appointment in two hours that I really don't wanna cancel..."

"Uh, no… That won't be necessary. I think. Look, Jeanette, I'm on my way to the hospital, so…" Dani winced as she heard Jeanette gasp.

"Hospital? What hospital? Why? What's wrong, honey?"

"Um, well, it's Lindsay, Jeanette. She… Hold on a minute, will you?" Dani knocked on the window of Xeno's car. "Hi. Um, I know you're here to protect me, not to drive me around town or anything, but… could you drive me to the hospital please?" He nodded and she gave him a grateful smile before walking around the car to the passenger side. She brought the phone to her ear again and cut off Jeanettes stream of worried questions. "Okay. Here's what happened…"

A/N: I said some revelations, not all of them… ;) As for the identity of Grey Eyes, did you guess right? And if you did, at what point did I give it away? Please keep telling me what you think, I love reading your opinions!