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. 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 Duran Duran. If you didn't get an alert for 14, you might want to read that one first!

Chapter 15.

Come Undone

Danny and Flack made their way back to the lab wearily. They had not found either Angelica or Misty. According to Misty's neighbors, she had left in a rush a little after eight p.m. with another woman and a young boy.

"Damn it! They're running," Flack growled.

"There's nothing we can do right now," Danny said calmly, thinking over the angles. "All we have right now are suspicions; we don't have any hard evidence. When we get back to the lab, I'll go back over all the evidence and see if I can find anything."

Flack nodded. "Okay. I'm going to head home to check on Lindsay and try to get some sleep. Call me if you get anything."

"No problem," Danny responded as he pointed the car back towards the lab.

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When Cory awoke, she stared at the dark ceiling. Fragments of her dreams were haunting her, teasing her. All she could remember was milling around a building. Frustrated, she tried to remember more, but with each passing minute, the dream faded. Finally, she shook her head and looked at the clock. Five a.m. She touched Danny's side of the bed and the sheets were cool. I guess he didn't make it home, she thought morosely. I really need to start finalizing the wedding plans. We have to reserve the church by the end of June, but I don't know which one he likes. Damn. We really need to talk this over, but with his workload and mine, we haven't even properly seen each other in two weeks!

She let out a sigh and crawled out of bed. As she got into the shower, she decided that she was going to work on the wedding plans, instead of going into work early for once.

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Danny's eyes were gritty when he finally made the discovery. He was so tired that it took him a moment to register that he had a match on the unknown fingerprint that Mac had pulled. With a smirk, he grabbed his phone so he could give Flack the good news.

"Messer, its six a.m. You'd better have something good," Flack sleep roughened voice answered.

Danny's smirk grew. "How about Misty Macgregor's fingerprint on the jar of face paint that the Ricin was in?"

Flack sat up in the bed. "What? How'd we miss that the first time?" he asked in hushed tones.

"It was an unknown print. Since we had our suspicions, I reran the print in the Department of Defense's employee database and it popped up." He smiled as he rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses. "I'm about to call Mac and then we'll roust a judge out of bed to get the search warrant. Then, I'm going home and sleeping for twelve hours."

"I'll be there in an hour," Flack told him as he carefully got out of bed, as to not wake Lindsay up.

"Okay. I'll have everything ready for you," Danny responded as he hung up the phone, blowing out a breath in relief.

Flack tiptoed out of the bedroom to get ready. He left a note for Lindsay, to let her know that he got called back in and then made his way to the precinct. On the way in, he grabbed some good coffee—not the black sludge that often passed as coffee at the lab. He made sure to get some for Danny, along with a dozen chocolate donuts. He figured that his friend needed the sugar high.

When he arrived at the lab, he found Danny half asleep in the break room. "Yo, Danno!"

Danny jumped a bit. "Whadda want?" he said groggily.

Flack teased him with the coffee. "Thought you might want the coffee."

Danny nodded his head as he grabbed the hot Styrofoam cup. "Thanks, man." He took a long sip before continuing, "Mac should be here soon. You gonna see if you can find her?"

Flack nodded. "On my way to my desk now. I'm going to start at her job and see if she's there. I'll let you know if I find anything."

Danny just nodded as he leaned his head back on his hand, half asleep.

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Mac leaned over and gave Stella a soft kiss on her cheek as he got ready to leave. She stirred slightly as she felt his warm lips. Cracking an eye open, she noticed that he was dressed in his clothes from the previous day. "You really need to bring some clothes over here," she murmured sleepily before her mind actually registered that he was dressed. "Is it eight already?"

Mac shook his head. "No, it's around six. Danny made a break in the case, so I'm heading in."

Stella sat up, her hair in tangles. "Give me ten minutes," she said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "I want to go with you."

Mac raised an eyebrow. "Stel? Can you really get ready in ten minutes?"

Stella yawned. "I am a woman of many talents," she said with a wink.

Mac looked at his watch. "All right. Ten minutes, but if you're not done, I'm leaving without you."

Stella just smirked as she leapt out of the bed. He doesn't believe that I can do this, but little does he know… She had learned a long time ago the value of being able to get ready for the day in ten minutes, so she quickly began to get ready. Eight minutes later, she was standing by the front door, completely ready for a long day. "Mac?" she called out when he didn't come to the door. "You ready?"

Mac walked out of the living room, looking at his watch. "Okay," he conceded. "I'm impressed."

Stella just smirked as she grabbed her purse. "Never underestimate a woman who loves a challenge."

Mac just nodded as they left the apartment. When they arrived at the lab, Stella found Danny half asleep in the break room, nursing a cup of coffee. "Danny? Why don't you just go home? You've been here, what twenty-four hours?"

Danny looked up, yawing. "I want to, but I think I'm too tired to drive and definitely don't want to take the subway." He looked at her. "Plus, I kinda want to be here for the interrogation."

Stella just shook her head. "Promise me that you'll have Cory come pick you up when you want to leave."

"Yes, Mom," Danny shot back, with a good-natured eye roll.

Stella laughed as she turned to leave, spotting Flack striding into the lab, a smile on his face. She walked out of the break room and met up with him and Mac.

"Mac, do you have the warrant?" Flack asked without preamble.

Mac shook his head. "I put a call in to Judge Garcia, but he wasn't in yet. It is only seven a.m. His assistant promised to have him call me as soon as he got in."

Flack sighed. "I hope he gets in soon. I called the lab and she is at work right now. I just don't want her to skip out, since we just got the break we needed."

"I understand, Flack. She may not be the one that poisoned Hawkes, but it was because of her that he's in the hospital. I promise that if I haven't heard anything in an hour, I'll call back."

Stella saw the look on Flack's face. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that all the evidence is in order and as soon as the warrant comes in, we'll go pick her up." She patted his arm. "We just have to play the waiting game."

Flack nodded. God, I hate the waiting game.

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Three hours later, the warrant finally came through. Stella checked on Danny, who had finally fallen asleep on the break room couch. She suppressed a giggle as she heard him snoring softly. She grabbed a bottle of water for the drive to Alabaster Laboratories, and then grabbed her kit to get ready to leave. Ten minutes later, her and Flack were on their way to the lab.

When they arrived, the young blonde receptionist efficiently directed them to Misty Macgregor's office. Flack knocked authoritatively before opening the door.

The young redhead looked up in surprise. "May I help you?" she asked, an annoyed edge to her voice.

Flack and Stella flashed their badges, whilst Flack made the introductions. "I'm Detective Flack; this is Detective Bonasera with the New York Crime Lab. Are you Misty Macgregor?"

She nodded her head in confusion. "Yes, how can I help you?"

"Do you know Jackson Webb?" Flack asked.

"Yes," Misty confirmed. "He was my best friend's ex."

Stella noticed the wording and jumped in. "Was?" she queried.

Misty recovered quickly. "She told me that he had died last night," she said smoothly.

Stella looked at Misty, not believing her for a moment, but decided to play it cool. "How well did you know him?" she continued.

Misty looked at her. "What is this about?"

"Mr. Webb was murdered," Flack said stoically.

"Really?" Misty responded, trying to look surprised. "Do you know who killed him?"

"We have a suspect," Stella said dryly. "You didn't answer my question. How well did you know Mr. Webb?"

"I didn't. I just knew of him from the stories Angie used to tell me. He was a real piece of work."

Stella raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then how do you explain your fingerprint?"

Misty's face went ashen before she recovered. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"I'm just wondering why if you've never met him, your fingerprint was found on belongings in his apartment," Stella countered.

"I think I'd like to talk to my attorney," Misty replied stonily.

"Then, I'll have to ask you to come downtown with us," Flack replied. Misty started to protest, but he held up his hand. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said holding up his handcuffs. "Your choice."

Mutely Misty stood and quietly them out of the building.

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When Adam arrived at the lab, he found Danny and Mac talking in the hallway. He took a second look at Danny, whose clothes looked rumpled and slept in. "Danny? Did you even go home last night?"

Danny smiled; the nap he had taken had left him feeling much more alert. "Nope, but I should go and change now," he said as he turned to walk to the locker room.

Adam just shook his head as Danny walked away. He looked at Mac. "Where do we stand with the case?"

"Flack and Stella just went to bring in the best friend," he informed Adam.

Adam nodded. "Cool. I'll get to work on the other cases that I was working on then."

Mac nodded as Adam turned to walk away. "Oh, Adam? Good job," he said to the younger man.

Adam just smiled as he entered the A/V lab, intent on getting caught up so he could see Allison that evening.

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When Cory finally made it to work around noon, she found Lydia sitting morosely at her desk. "You okay?" she asked softly.

Lydia looked up, her eyes a bit red. "Yeah, I just told Sheldon that I wanted to take a break because of my feelings for Derek. I feel horrible," she admitted.

Cory looked startled. "Wow. How'd he take it?"

Lydia shrugged. "He told me he loved me, but if I needed time to sort this out, he was willing to wait for me." She sighed. "I'm just so confused."

Cory patted her on the shoulder. "That's understandable. It'll work out. What's meant to be is meant to be."

Lydia smiled, intent on changing the subject. "So have you heard anything from Alistair?"

"Nope and it's starting to piss me off," Cory said with a half growl. "Okay, I get that he feels responsible for Etienne and he's probably just as mad as me that Etienne is on the vendetta against us, but why is he shutting me out?"

"Maybe because he feels like he should be the one to take him down, but he can't because technically he's in your jurisdiction."

"Maybe, but it's still frustrating. At this time, I've kinda washed my hands of it for now. I'm not going to call him anymore. If he wants to sulk, then I'll let him sulk. I've got other things to think about," she said with a grin. "I've been finalizing wedding plans all morning."

"Really?" Lydia said with a grin.

"Yep. I've chosen the flowers, the caterer—Danny's choice, by the way—and the colors. The only thing that is still up in the air is the church. And I know that Danny wants to be part of that decision, so I'll have to wait until he decides to come home."

Lydia cocked an eyebrow. "He didn't come home last night?"

Cory shook her head. "Nope. He was on his way, but then Flack showed up with something, so I have a feeling he ended up sleeping in the lab."

Lydia giggled. "So, tell me all about your plans."

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When Flack and Stella got back to the lab with the Misty, her attorney was waiting for her. Flack let them have a moment, while Stella gathered all the evidence to confront the woman with. Danny found her in the lab and smiled.

"Stella? Let me in on the interrogation."

Stella winked. "I see that you must have woken up and showered. You sure you're up to this? She's very smooth."

Danny just smirked. "You know that I have a way with the ladies," he said cajolingly.

Stella just rolled her eyes. "Sure. You sure you're not out of practice now that you're engaged?"

"Come on, Stel. I want her. I want to nail her for Hawkes."

Stella nodded as she handed over the evidence. "Go get her."

Danny met up with Flack outside of the interrogation, the file folder in his hand. Flack nodded as they walked in, taking in the two women who were obviously waiting for them.

"It's about time," a black haired woman sneered. "It's positively indecent to make my client wait for this length of time."

Flack just raised an eyebrow, not willing to take the bait. "And you are?"

"Charlotte Woods, from Gorman, Westin and Jamison. Ms. Macgregor's attorney. And you?"

"Detective Flack, Detective Messer," Flack returned. "Ms. Macgregor, do you realize why you are here?"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Because my best friend's scumbag ex died. Trust me, whoever killed him, did the world a favor."

"Misty, I'm advising you not to talk," Charlotte said briskly before turning her glare on to the two detectives. "And the reason that you're holding my client?"

Danny just shot her his trademark smirk. "I'll start from the top. The victim was killed by Ricin. Your client here happens to work at a lab that produces Ricin."

"That's just circumstantial evidence," Charlotte shot back.

"But wait, there's more," Danny snarked.

"You see, when we asked your client how well she knew the victim, she stated she'd never met him," Flack picked up.

"And that is directly contradicted by the evidence," Danny said, dropping the folder on the table. "You see, her fingerprint was found inside the lid of the jar of face paint that the Ricin was mixed in." He shot the attorney a look. "So, you tell me Counselor. How is that possible when she's never met the man?"

"So Ms. Macgregor, how did your fingerprint get in the jar?" Flack asked calmly. "Come on, we have enough to charge you on right now. Why not come clean?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Misty said hurriedly.

"Come on," Danny sneered. "You're best friend was threatened by her ex. He said that he would poison her with Ricin and then your fingerprints are found on the murder weapon? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out." Danny tapped his finger on his lips. "But here's what I don't get. How did you get access to the face paint?"

"Misty, as your attorney, I advise you not to answer that question," Charlotte interjected before she faced the two men. "Either charge my client or let her walk out of her. Those are your options gentlemen."

"Oh, we're charging her," Flack shot back. "What we're trying to figure out is if we need to charge Angelica Piedmont as well."

Misty's eyes got wide as the blood drained from her face. "No. Don't. I'll talk," she finally said. "I was sleeping with him," she said with a shudder.

Flack placed the tape recorder on the table. "Go on. When did you start sleeping with him?"

Misty looked up at him, her face no longer blank but filled with anger and disgust. "On and off for a couple of years now. I had to gain his trust."

Danny looked at Flack in confusion. "But the emails to his ex-wife didn't start until a couple of months ago. Have you two been planning this for that long?"

"Like that stupid whiny bitch could think of this. She has no idea, but my concern is for Jacob. He's really a great kid and he doesn't deserve to lose his mother. Even if she is an idiot." She sighed. "March 14, 1999. It's a day that I'll never forget."

Even Charlotte was drawn into the story. "What happened?"

"My half brother killed himself." She looked up at them. "I know, you're wondering what that has to do with anything, but it matters. He was ten. I was twenty. My mother and father split when I was young. When I was eight, my mom met my stepfather. Two years later, Brandon was born. He was such a great kid. Then that day, I got this frantic call from my stepfather. Brandon was dead. He had slit his wrists in the bathtub and my mother was hysterical."

The other three occupants of the room found themselves both puzzled and intrigued as they watched the play of emotions on her face.

"I flew home from college and walked straight into a nightmare. I'm the one that found the suicide note. It just said, I'm dirty and don't deserve to live. I wondered what that meant for months, until I finally gave in and accessed his email." She shuddered. "God. The pictures and emails on there from Jackson," she sneered, "sickened me. I knew then what had happened. I approached my mom with the information, but she refused to listen to me. To this day, she still says that I lied about it. He was a friend of hers."

"I just wanted revenge. So, I searched for him and found the wedding announcement and was determined to get into their lives. But by the time that I had moved here, they were divorced." She chewed the bottom of her lip. "She told me how sometimes she would see him at the park that she took Jacob to, so I started to go by there and one day, there he was. I could see the look in his eyes as he watched the boys playing and knew that I had to so something. So, I was determined to stop him. The final straw was when Angie showed me the emails. I took the Ricin from work and put it in the face paint."

Flack and Danny shook their heads, not unsurprised by what she had done, but still wondering why she chose to go down that road, but it was Charlotte who looked most shaken. "Why didn't you just go to the police?" she asked.

"I don't know," Misty responded.

Flack looked at her before pushing a pad of paper towards her. "I need to write down exactly what happened and sign it."

Misty shook her head. "You know. I don't regret it. Not one bit," she said unapologetically.

Danny just sighed as he left, looking forward to going home to Cory and putting this case behind him. Like it or not, he understood Misty's reasons for committing murder and he wasn't sure that he wouldn't have killed the victim if it has been his family member.

He looked at Flack. "Why am I actually happy that our victim is dead?"

Flack chuckled. "Because he was scum, but even scum deserves justice," he said philosophically before he proceeded to take Misty to booking, her shaken attorney following them at a sedate pace.

AN: Okay. So I only got 2 reviews for last chapter, but I've been told that y'all may not have gotten the alert, so I'll forgive you! (lol) Please review! My muse is on a roll and I could use some more inspiration!

Soccer - Here's more!

Maddy - I can't believe that you didn't get an alert, but I'm so glad that you updated your story! I'd love to drive to NOLA for Mardi Gras, but alas, since I'm back to my old job, it's busy season and I don't have time! :( You can definitely give Shel a big hug and I'm so waiting for Garcia and Adam to meet! It may be later than I had planned, but they will be in the same room together at some point!