A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews. This next chapter is a bit on the short side, but I hope you'll like it anyway. Please don't hesitate to tell me what you think of it!

Chapter thirteen

"Mr. Chernikov is not happy." The voice on the other end of the line sent a chill down Troy's spine. He had been driving back to the city, looking forward to getting some well-deserved sleep before his final meeting with Chernikov, when the call from Chernikov's lapdog had come in. Now his car was pulled over by the side of the road, the city lights already in view.

"And why is that?" He couldn't quite conceal the impatience in his voice.

"We have reason to believe that you have attracted… Unwanted attention. Again."

What the fuck? Then it dawned on him and he sighed. "You mean those feds sitting outside my building. Nothing to worry about. Trust me. They've been there all week and they don't suspect a thing. Everything is under control." His voice sounded as confident as he felt. However, the caller's next words made that confidence dissipate quickly.

"Really? Then why does the NYPD have an APB out for you?"

Troy almost dropped the phone, despite his now white-knuckled grip on the device. "What the hell are you talking about? What APB?" But he already knew, of course. He probably shouldn't have shot the damn gorilla. One of the neighbours must have heard the shot and called the cops. But how had they caught on to his identity so quickly? Unless of course the bodyguard had somehow survived. Or… could Careles have told them? Would the guy really be that dumb, with his girlfriend's life at stake?

"Oh, come on. Do you think we are stupid? You were very busy the past few hours. Shooting a man, kidnapping a woman! What were you thinking?" The man on the other end said in a low voice.

Troy pushed the thoughts on Careles away, focusing on the conversation again. "I… I can explain…" He hated the sudden uncertainty in his tone.

"Don't bother. Mr. Chernikov has asked me to inform you that he will not do business with a wanted man."

Troy felt his stomach drop at the note of finality in the man's voice. "What? No! He can't pull back now!"

The man on the other end snorted. "He can. In fact, he already has. You have had your second chance, Mr. Cutler. This time, the decision is final. The deal is off. Do not contact us again."

"But…"

"Goodbye, Mr. Cutler."

"No! Wait! Please, I…" But it was no use. The connection was broken. Troy slowly lowered the hand with the phone in it and just stared at the device in disbelief. This couldn't be happening, not now. Not when he'd been so close. He stared at the city lights ahead of him without really seeing them for almost thirty minutes, trying to come to terms with the notion that all the hard work he'd done at V3 and after that had been for nothing.

Dawn was breaking, coloring the sky a muddy orange. The world was glistening with dew and one by one, birds started waking up. Nico, pacing on the front porch in a vain attempt to get rid of some excess energy, didn't notice any of that. He felt ready to go to war – but the enemy was nowhere in sight and it was starting to drive him crazy. Bennett had arrived an hour ago and had ordered the agents staking out Cutler's building to go look inside. They had reported back that the asshole's car was still in the garage but that the man himself had seemed to vanish into thin air. Decker had subsequently put out an APB and was now talking to Bennett in the front yard. Nico couldn't make out what they were saying, but their voices didn't sound like they agreed on the best course of action yet. He was just about to go over and ask them what the fucking problem was, when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. It was Stanzi Palmer. "What have you got?" he answered the hacker. He'd called Palmer just before Bennett had arrived, telling him to check if Cutler owned any other real estate than his apartment downtown.

"Jackpot. Cutler recently rented a cabin using his mother's maiden name. Up in the Catskills."

"Text me the coordinates." Nico hung up on Palmer and hesitated for a moment, looking at the two cops. Then he turned and walked inside to get his car keys from the kitchen bar, where he'd left them after moving his car from the middle of the street to the driveway a few hours before.
Walking into the kitchen, he found Ray Jay sitting at the bar talking on his phone. Nico grabbed his keys and saw the kid give him a questioning look. "Hold on, Jules," Ray Jay said, then to Nico, "Where are you going?"

"I think I know where your mother is."

"Gotta go, Jules, I'll call you later." Ray Jay pocketed his phone and slid off his barstool, giving Nico a defiant look. "I'm going with you."

"No you're not."

"Ha. Watch me." Ray Jay started for the front door, but Nico blocked his way. The kid gave him a squint and Nico briefly wondered if he realized how much he looked – and sounded – like his mother. "Come on, man. We're just wasting time here," Ray Jay said.

On that they could agree. The Catskills were a three hour drive away and Nico wasn't planning on wasting any time on arguing with Ray Jay. "You're right. But you're still not coming." Of course the kid still followed him when he walked to the front door. Stepping out on the front porch, Nico turned and glared at him. "Look, kid…"

Ray Jay cut him off, getting right into Nico's face. "I am not a kid. And I am not afraid of you either. I'm coming, whether you like it or not."

"The hell you are…" Nico gave the kid his most intimidating scowl, but Ray Jay didn't back down. Under different circumstances, Nico might have been impressed. Now he was just annoyed.

"And where, exactly, do you think you're going?" They had both been so caught up in their staring contest that neither of them had noticed Bennett coming up to them.

"He thinks he knows where my mom is." Ray Jay was quick to tell the agent, and Nico sighed heavily. So much for going after Cutler and Dani himself.

"Really?" Bennett asked him.

"Yes."

"How did you find out?"

"Trust me, Bennett. You don't wanna know. Now let's go." Nico turned for his car, not waiting for a response. Of course, he got one anyway.

"Hold it right there, Careles. We're gonna do this the right way." Dammit!

Dani only opened her eyes because she wanted to be able to squint at whoever it was that kept telling her to wake up. She had a hell of a headache, and she needed more sleep. She opened her mouth to tell the person trying to rouse her to shut up already, but the words never made it out as she became aware of her surroundings. What the hell? Wooden boards covered the walls and the ceiling of the room she was in. Burgundy curtains partially obscured a small window through which grey daylight filtered in and in the opposite corner from where Dani was lying on what definitely wasn't her own comfortable bed, were a small table and two wooden chairs. A brunette with a slightly familiar looking face was sitting on one of the chairs, staring at her.

"You have to untie me." The girl's voice was hoarse, as if she'd overused it.

"Huh?" Dani tried to ignore the headache as she attempted to make sense of what the girl had just told her. She started to raise a hand to her pounding head, but realized that her hands were somehow stuck under her.

"He didn't tie you to the bed, did he?" the girl asked.

Dani frowned. That was a weird question. Why would anyone want to tie her to a bed? She wasn't into bondage… Then memories suddenly came flooding back to her. "Oh my God," she breathed as she remembered her son being knocked to the ground by Troy. She started struggling frantically, rolling to her stomach and straining to get her wrists and ankles free. It was no use and her head hurt too much to keep her struggling up for long, so she gave up.

"Lady? You alright?" The girl, who Dani realized had to be Jenny Bruce, sounded scared now.

"Yes. I'm fine, Jenny." Dani replied, rolling to her side to look at Jenny. She now also noticed that the girl's hands and feet were tied to the cair she sat on.

Jenny looked at her in apparent surprise. "How do you know my name?"

"Abby told me. She's been looking for you, you know." Dani drew up her legs and stretched them over the side of the bed, then tried rolling herself into an upright position. Jenny was right, she had to get over there to untie the girl. Dani drew a deep breath in an attempt to keep the dizziness at bay that washed over her when she finally sat up on the side of the bed. When it had subsided, she looked at Jenny again and tried for a reassuring smile. "I'm Dani Santino. Your sister and I… we work together. Now, let's see…" Dani looked down at her bound ankles, then back up to Jenny. The room wasn't big, but there was a thick burgundy rug lying on the floor between her and the girl. If she tried to hop over there the thing might trip her up… But first things first, could she even stand up? Dani tensed the muscles in her legs and feet while bringing her upper body forward a little. For a brief moment she stood, and a sense of victory came over her. Then she lost her balance. Acting on pure instinct she managed to twist her body so that she came down on the rug on her side instead of flat on her face, her shoulder and hip taking the brunt of the fall. "Dammit," she groaned.

"Are you alright?" Jenny asked in a small voice.

Dani took stock of the various places in her body that hurt now. She didn't think anything was broken. "I'll live," she muttered. With a sigh, she drew up her legs and pushed at the bed with her feet, making her body slide forward over the rug. It was less hard than she'd feared, because of the satin robe she was still wearing. It made for less friction than, say, jeans and a sweater would have. Still, Dani figured it would take her a while to reach Jenny's side of the room. Especially because she couldn't push herself off against the bed anymore. She painstakingly started to wiggle her way towards the other end of the rug, rolling her eyes a little at Jenny's whispered "Hurry!"

Dani didn't know how much time passed while she made the journey across the room, but it felt like half a lifetime. Eventually however, she reached the chair Jenny was tied to and she allowed herself to relax and catch her breath for a moment. Then she curled up her body and managed to roll herself onto her knees beside the chair.
Jenny's hands were taped to the back of the chair separately with the same tape Troy had used on Dani's own hands and feet. Now if she only had something sharp to cut through the tape with. A box cutter would be great… Looking around the room she found nothing she could use. Dani sighed. Okay, so her teeth it would have to be.

Troy turned his car around the first chance he got. No way was he going back to the city now, not with the cops looking for him. His initial shock had worn off a little, and he was now merely pissed. Chernikov had abandoned him in the middle of a mess Troy would never be able to talk himself out of. So that left him with only one option, really – try to clean up as much of the mess as he possibly could. Starting with that meddling bitch Santino. In the end it was all her fault, right? She just should have stayed away from SBG like he'd told her to…