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: Okay, I'm back!! Expect regular updates (at least once a week) for now. My muse is back with a vengence and I already have up to 5 written! Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed! Here's the next chapter!! Many thanks to Aphina and Axellia for the beta. I don't own the chapter title either. That belongs to Alanis Morissette. Also, I have a poll on my author page on what you think the sex of Flack and Lindsay's baby will be! Please vote!
Chapter 3.
Forgiven
Lydia was sitting at her desk, a few days after receiving the second note referencing a possible school shooting, staring at her phone nervously. She had told Cory that it wouldn't be a big deal to call Morgan, but now that she was about to do it, she was uncertain. Okay, Lydia. You can do this, she thought. Taking a deep breath, she dialed the once familiar number.
"Morgan," a deep voice answered.
"Hey, Derek. It's Lydia," she responded, not allowing her nervousness to show.
Two thousand miles away, Derek Morgan, profiler for the Behavior Analysis Unit stared at his phone in shock. Why is Lydia calling me, he thought in confusion. "Lydia?" he said, a little bit of shock showing in his voice.
Lydia furrowed her brow, misinterpreting his question. "Lydia Sanchez," she said softly.
"I know who you are. I just never expected to hear from you again. We didn't end things on the best of terms."
Lydia sighed. "I know, but that was two years ago, Derek. I've moved on with my life and I am dating a wonderful man."
Morgan felt some sadness at her calm statement, not sure he was completely over her, but willing to put the past behind him just as she had done. "All right. What can I do for you?"
Lydia drew in a breath. "I need your help. My boss has been getting letters that seem to indicate that we might have a school shooter, but something seems off to the both of us."
Morgan listened intently. "What are these letters saying?" he asked, all business.
"The first one referenced Columbine." Morgan drew in a quick breath, knowing how hard that had to have been for her. "The second," Lydia continued, "actually referenced the Tower massacre at the University of Texas in Austin in 1966. But both of them stated that this was just a beginning."
Morgan thought for a moment, walking away from his crime scene so that he would not be distracted. "Do you know if they were written by the same person?" he asked finally.
Lydia sighed. "We don't know. My boss, SSA Corinne Reid, sent all the evidence to Quantico for analysis, but you know how long that will take. I was hoping that maybe you could take a look and then get back to me with your impressions. I know you won't have anything concrete, but just a general idea of what you feel would be greatly appreciated."
Morgan sighed. "I can, but I'm in Nevada on a case right now. It will have to be when I get back." Lydia sighed in disappointment, her gut telling her that there was no time to waste. Morgan heard her sighed and made a decision. "Tell you what, I'll have my tech review the file and see if she can shed any light on it. She reviews a lot of stuff like that and may be able to forward it to me. Just give me a couple of days."
A smile broke across Lydia's face as relief washed over her. "Thank you, Derek. I really appreciate this. Do you still have my cell number?"
"I do and you're welcome. I'll talk to you later," he replied as he hung up the phone. He turned to look at his colleague, Dr. Spencer Reid, who had come up beside him. "Reid?"
Reid just shook his head. "We're getting ready to leave. Hotch thinks that he might have an idea to where the UnSub is keeping the women," he replied calmly before staring at Morgan. "Bad news?"
Morgan sighed. "No, just a friend needing some help. I just never thought that I'd ever hear from her again," he answered as he hit his speed dial."
"Hey sexy. What can I do for you today?" tech Penelope Garcia answered.
Morgan smiled. Garcia always put him in a good mood. "Hey baby girl. I need a favor."
"Anything for you sweet cheeks," Garcia replied while playing with her pen.
"SSA Corinne Reid submitted some evidence to the lab at Quantico. I need you to see if it's been processed and if you can get me copies of it."
"Done and done. Is this for the missing girls?" she asked curiously.
Morgan shook his head while responding, "No it's for a favor. Just hit me up when you get the info."
"Always," Garcia replied as she hit the release button on the phone with her pen.
--
Danny shivered as he walked into the fast food restaurant's freezer to gaze at the dead woman on the floor. A layer of frost covered her body, giving a white cast to her dark brown hair, making her look like a ghost. He looked at Angell who was stamping her feet lightly, trying to keep warm. "What do we have?"
Angell nodded as she gestured to the huddled group of employees who wore expressions ranging from shock to disbelief on their faces. "The morning shift came in to open up the store for breakfast and found her." She flipped through her memo book. "Angela Cummings, night shift manager. According to the employees who were on shift when she came in yesterday, she was in a good mood. No problems that they know of, but we haven't gotten in touch with the night shift that was here last night."
Danny nodded and looked around. "I don't see signs of a struggle in here, so she must have been killed elsewhere and this is just where they hid the body. Sid's probably not going to be able to give us a good TOD."
"That would be correct," Sid said from the doorway. "With her body being put in a freezer it's going to be nearly impossible for me to pin down a time of death. I suspect that you will get a more accurate assessment from your investigation. I should be able to give you a preliminary cause of death, though," he said as he knelt down next to the body.
Danny smirked. "Cause of death would be helpful, since I have no idea where she was killed." He sighed as he made a realization. "Damn. I'm going to have to process the entire restaurant by myself. I wish Lindsay was still in the field, but she's stuck in the lab until the baby is born and Mac, Stella and Hawkes got called out to a multiple homicide in the Bronx." Danny turned and looked at the door when he heard a throat clearing.
"That's why I'm here," Adam said nervously, thinking back to the last time he processed as scene and became a hostage. "Mac called and told me to meet you here."
Danny nodded in gratitude as Sid stood up. "From my preliminary assessment, I'd say she was strangled from the bruises around her neck, but I'll know more when I get her back to the morgue," he said while motioning to the two men in the standard issue coroner's overalls to load her onto the stretcher.
"Thanks, Sid. Just let me know," Danny replied as he began snapping pictures of the scene without the body in them. "Adam, start in the dining room and began processing the front of the restaurant. I'll take the back."
Adam nodded before heading out of the freezer.
Danny finished photographing the scene, then closed the freezer door and pulled out his flashlight. Methodically he moved through the small area, looking for signs of anything unusual. Occasionally, he stooped down a picked up a hair that was stuck to the floor, bagging it. Once done with the floor, he moved on to the boxes of food on the shelves. He slipped on his goggles, looking for signs of biological matter, hoping to find signs of blood.
After fifteen minutes of searching, with his nose freezing, he was ready to give up. Other than a few drops of blood around the body, there was nothing else present. He stood up, pushing his goggles on the back of his head, before beginning to walk back to the freezer door. He was almost to the door when his foot slipped. He dropped his case and put his hand out to catch himself, causing the box that he had landed on to collapse.
Puzzled, he picked himself up and looked into the box, only to find it was empty, but there was an unusual black residue coating the inside the box. Carefully, he rubbed his finger in it and carefully sniffed it. His eyes widened as he recognized the scent. What the hell is gunpowder doing in this freezer?
--
Cory was staring down at her reports in shock. Okay, I get an overall increase in gang activity. It's to be expected since Montoya is out of the picture, but a drop in inter-gang warfare? That's not right, she mused as she tried to process the news. A knock on her door interrupted her train of though. "Hey, Lydia. What's up?"
Lydia smiled as she walked in and sat down. "I just got off the phone with Derek," she started and then looked at Cory's confused look. "He's my ex from the BAU."
"Oh, okay. So what did he have to say?"
"Well, he's in Nevada on a case right now, but he said that he would have his tech get copies of what you sent and try to get back to me in a couple of days."
Cory sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I just don't have a good feeling about this. It's too random."
Lydia nodded. "I know what you mean and I agree with what you said when you got the first note. Most school shooters don't advertise what they are going to do, because then they get caught before they can complete their revenge and usually commit suicide. Why do they want attention and more importantly, why do they want your attention."
Cory shook her head. "I know. That's what is puzzling me. How would a typical school shooter know me enough to address the note to me?" She exhaled in frustration. "But, that's the least of my problems right now."
Lydia caught the edge in her voice and scooted forward in her seat. "Okay, what's going on?"
Cory looked at the younger woman, with an unreadable expression. "Gang violence is up."
"Okay, but that's to be expected as the remaining gangs wrestle for control of Montoya's empire."
Cory sighed. "But that's just it. There should be more gang warfare as the different gangs should be fighting each other to get that control. That's what happened when I took down Ortiz. But there's not. The inter-gang wars have all but ceased."
Lydia drew her brows together. "You're right, that is unusual."
Cory shook her head. "And I don't have any good informants right now. Somehow, all of them have been killed in "accidents". Someone is getting control of the gangs and I don't like that. Who could possibly be powerful enough to stop gang rivalries?"
Lydia just shrugged. "I don't know, but is this unique to New York or are other cities experiencing the same thing."
"So far, it's just New York, but I did send emails out to the other agents in charge across the country, so they can get back to me if they see any signs of change." She exhaled. "But, onto happier topics. Are you going to be able to come to Lindsay's baby shower? It's in two weeks."
Lydia smiled. "Of course and I have the cutest gift so far! Has she told anyone if it's going to be a boy or a girl yet?"
Cory shook her head. "They decided to be surprised, so I'm going with neutral gifts, including a good supply of diapers."
Lydia laughed. "That's always a good gift," she began as Cory's phone rang. "I'll let you get back to work. Let me know if you have anything for me."
Cory nodded as she picked up the phone, her mind already racing ahead to what she was going to do about the unusual gang activity. "Thanks."
AN: Okay. Thanks so much for all the reviews! My HP story is done and I've finished my 6 chapter uber angst filled DL story (if you haven't read it, please check it out! It's called Heartbreaker) and now I think I'm back to this full time (barring any progress I make on my original story). :D
katydid13 - I think I'm back to crime full time! I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and I hope things stay interesting! Thanks!
Soccer - Thanks! I hope that you like this!
CSI junkie - I hope I made this day for you! I'm glad that you are liking it so far. Thanks!
Evans12 - Thanks! I hope this makes up for the lack of updates in the last 2 months!
nikkilou - Thanks! I hope the wait didn't kill you!
Maddy - LOL. I'm glad that you did a happy dance. You should jump genres! I think that you might like the HP story. I'm back to this full time, so expect some regular updates. I finally got your cool vibes (after hitting 107 a couple of times). It's raining and hasn't even hit 90 in two days! That makes me so happy! (and my electric bill will hopefully be a little less this month!) Thanks!
TiggerTaylor - No worries about the awards! I actually won 3 catagories (which surprised me) and I feel loved that people like me! (doing my best drama queen here: They like me! They really like me!) I know this wasn't a soon update, but I promise to do better!
Aphina - And you get the chapters hot off the press! :D I loved that line b/c really, what would either Flack or Danny do if it was one of their loves? Danny might lose it, but at least he'd know how to hide the body! That was a fun case to write--just for the sheer hilarity of it and the way I could bring it home to them! I hope your loving 4 and 5...C said that she thought something was missing from 4, so if you figure it out, let me know. I think something is missing from 5, but C thought it was fine. shruggs. :D
Axellia - No worries! You got caught up, that's all that matters! I swear, if you do end up here, shoot me an email and I'll make plans for a visit to Cowboys! :D
Babes - Thanks! Here ya go!