WARNING! Chapter contains dark content and scenes which some may find disturbing. Read at your discretion.

Purgatory: 'A place or condition of suffering, expiation, or remorse'

It was completely dark. No matter how much she moved her head there appeared to be no light source whatsoever in wherever she had been taken. It smelt weird too, almost musty, as though the place had not been exposed to fresh air in a very long time. There were no discernible sounds, no matter how much she strained to hear. It was as though she had been plucked out of the noisy, bustling city and taken to the middle-of-nowhere. Although she would never admit it Stella was terrified. She knew all about the purgatory that the Taunter's victims endured before he finally ended their suffering and she was petrified to know that she would undoubtedly suffer the same. The anticipation of what was to come was unbearable and yet through it all Stella could only focus on Mac. She should have told him where she was heading; he would have had her back. But being her usual stubborn self she had let her emotions rule her and now she would suffer for it. A shuffling noise alerted her to the fact that she was not alone and she stiffened.

'Well Detective, I see you are awake.'

She jumped at the sound of the diabolical voice.

'Where am I?' By some miracle her voice remained calm and steady.

Instead of a vocal reply, Stella stiffened at the touch of fingers on her head and the blindfold was ripped from her eyes. It took a couple of seconds for her eyes to adjust to the brighter room before she looked on in horror at the fiend who stood before her.

In front of her stood a man who looked as though he had been through the fires of hell. His face had obviously been badly burned due to the blistering and scarring that covered his face, pulling his mouth sideways in angle almost into a macabre grin. He was completely hairless as the hair follicles had been destroyed in the blaze that had engulfed the car he had been travelling in. Stella could see that like his face, his arms were burnt beyond recognition, blackened and blistered over the skin. Although she could not see the rest of his body, she knew it was a similar situation for the rest of his flesh, particularly his legs which caused the strange shuffling movement that was his walk as he advanced on her. After the scale of his horrifying injuries, the thing that struck Stella most was his piercing green eyes which were full of malice and hatred.

'Detective Bonasera.' The man drawled, his cold voice sounding hoarse due to the mutilated condition of his throat.

'Damian Thomlinson I take it.'

The malevolent mouth twisted into a grotesque smile.

'You know who I am.'

'Yes I do. You're the psychopath who calls himself the Taunter. You're a maniac who has murdered twelve women in cold blood.' Stella stated simply, doing everything she could in order to keep her voice controlled. She would not give this psychopath the satisfaction of seeing her fear.

The disfigured grin slipped from his face. 'You should be very careful how you speak to me Detective.'

'Why did you do it? Kill all those women. They were strangers to you. What was your motivation behind it?' Stella was not sure if this was bravery or stupidity but if she was going to die then she at least deserved some answers.

'They deserved to die. All of them. All those women.' He spat it out angrily. 'All you women think you're better than me. You think you're too good for me but not for Anthony oh no, Anthony doesn't ever have that problem.'

'Is that why you killed them all? Because you couldn't get laid?' Stella taunted him.

Damian lost his temper in a fiery outburst. 'I KILLED THEM BECAUSE THEY DESERVED TO DIE!'

Stella tried to breathe calmly, knowing that she had to keep the Taunter talking; try to bide time so that hopefully someone would find her. If, of course, anybody even knew she was missing. After all that happened between her and Mac she knew that there was no way he would be the one looking for us. He didn't care for her. Why should he, after all that she had said about Claire? She had broken protocol and she would pay the price for it. But despite this, Stella could not help but just hope that somewhere, somebody knew she was missing and was searching for her.

'So Damian tell me about Anthony? Did he hate women too?'

The mouth twisted again in a grotesque smirk. 'Oh yes he did, including his own wife. But women…women would always be interested in him. He too deserved to die.' If Stella had not already been convinced of his insanity then she had just been by nonsensical ramblings.

'I take it Anthony was the one who killed those women in Las Vegas? So what, did you just copy him? Use what he scarred onto poor Maggie's back as your signature? No wonder he was so mad at you! And then you fought didn't you and the car he was driving spun out of control and he died and you were burned.'

Finally Damian spoke. 'I so enjoyed his reaction when he found out I had stolen his plan. So very mad.' The hideous laughter sounded once more and then the smile quickly dropped from his face.

'No more stalling Detective. It's time for you to pay.' And he began to advance on her.

He grabbed her struggling limbs with a force that seemed too great to have come from his mutilated body.

'You really think you're going to get away with this? I'm a cop- my people will be looking for me. They'll know I went to your address and then they'll trace you here and you're going to spend the rest of your pathetic life in prison! You're nothing but a common murderer.' Stella spat at him as she continued her struggles. However the Taunter proved too strong and soon she was chained; face down on the metal table. It was time, Stella knew and she silently prayed for somebody, anybody to find her. A scream escaped as she felt the cold blade pressing into her skin, scarring her with the poisonous words as Damian began to screech at her all the obscenities he could muster. Agonising pain flooded through her as another knife stroke was applied- and then another and then another and Stella's screams echoed throughout her prison.

All she could do now was pray for a miracle.

News of Stella's disappearance had spread quickly and soon most of the NYPD had been mobilised to search for her. Adam had worked non-stop and eventually had managed to reduce the search grid for the phone call to a twelve mile square radius. Although it was a massive area to search, all personnel had been split into four groups and, accompanied by specialist search units, were combing their designated areas thoroughly, looking for any possible sign of Stella.

For those who were friends and who loved her, it was a trying time and all CSIs- with the exception of Adam who remained at the lab- had thrown themselves into the search, promising not to stop until Stella was found. Adam remained in regular contact with Mac as he scoured the electronics of New York, trying desperately to find the Taunter's phone through the millions on the streets. Sid had joined him after finishing his latest autopsy and joined in searching through bank accounts and social security for anything on Damian Thomlinson. However the search was proving fruitless as there seemed to be no trace of the Taunter anywhere. It was as though he was a ghost and living completely off record.

Chief Sinclair had appointed Mac head of the search mission, knowing his close relationship to Stella and Mac was busy coordinating the rescue, whilst himself joining in with searching the metropolis of buildings in the search quadrant; knowing that Stella could be anywhere within this maze.

'Mac.' Danny called as he ran to catch up. 'Uniforms have started searching the eastern area of the search grid; warehouses, storage units you name it but there's been no sign of Stella so far. I'm gonna join Lindsay and Flack over there.'

'Yeah that's fine.' Mac nodded and Danny hurried off.

Mac sighed in absolute frustration as he glanced to Jo. 'Adam's still only got a rough fix on the cell's location and he's found nothing in his other searches yet. Stella may not even be anywhere here. We're running out of time.'

'Uniforms and CSIs are scouring every inch of this area. We'll find her Mac.'

But the question on both of their minds was whether she would be alive.

It was as though her skin had been ripped off. The pain was unimaginable and Stella was barely conscious as the Taunter continued his relentless carving of her. She had tried to fight; straining against her chains so tight as to leave deep calluses in her wrists and ankles but her attempts at been useless as she was ever weakening under the Taunter's brutality. She knew the blood loss was bad and her vision was beginning to deteriorate under the pain. Her throat was now hoarse from the agonised screams.

For the first time in her life Stella had lost the will to fight. All she wanted now was for this purgatory she found herself in to be over. She was ready to welcome death. She could not wait until the Taunter tired of his torture of her and ended her life with a javelin tip. Her hope had long since disappeared. It had been hours and nobody had found her. And if she was honest with herself she knew that nobody ever would.

They continued their search as precious time ticked by. Mac's desperation and hopelessness only increased with every minute of Stella's captivity. He would never forgive himself for this. He should have done more to protect her; he should have shown she would be stubborn and go alone when following a lead. They both knew the Taunter had been watching Stella and it had only been a matter of time until he had acted towards her. A feeling of anger washed through Mac. He was a trained Marine; he should have protected Stella regardless of her protestations. He knew better than to let emotions cloud his judgement- so why had he? The truth was he had been scared to anger or upset Stella in any way in case she left again. He couldn't bear the thought of that happening again; he had become too needy and reliant on her, as she was the only thing in his life that in the end really mattered. He would never survive losing her.

At this thought Mac's determination to find her only strengthened and he followed Jo, Hawkes, Angell and uniformed officers into the next building needed to be searched.

Time seemed to have ground to a halt. Stella had long since lost track of the minutes and hours she had spent in the Taunter's brutal captivity. She no longer had any energy to scream from the torture he was inflicting upon her skin and she no longer resisted the Taunts he screeched at her; beginning, instead, to just accept them. The tears which flowed from her eyes had begun to intermingle with her blood and her entire body was numb from the position she had been forced to endure for the interminable period she had been tortured for.

Out of all the possibilities that had she had ever thought about how she would die, this was not one of them. The most likely scenario would have been a gunfight against a suspect or an accident in the lab- anything except this. The situation she found herself in was beyond being in hell, it was sheer purgatory and she was desperate for it all to end and to finally be allowed to die. But yet the Taunter showed no signs of ending. Damian Thomlinson had remarkable strength for a man so badly burned. It was almost as though he was possessed; in the way he was able to perpetrate such vicious and excruciating torture on his victims.

A whimper escaped as he pressed deep into her wounds and more tears fell as Stella again prayed for it all to end. She wanted death; she welcomed it and it could not come sooner. Through the pain which had begun to disorientate her, she almost thought she could see Mac in the distance, smiling at her and she smiled back; content to let her delusions override her sensibility as she became swept up in the thoughts that Mac was here with her. As wave after wave of pain hit her, she kept what little strength she had left on focusing on Mac's beautiful features as she neared oblivion.

'NYPD!' The shout went up as yet another building was raided- again providing the same fruitless results as the last search. Time was ever marching on and with it so was the optimism of the CSIs. For Mac every minute was purgatory. The thought of Stella's torture was utterly destroying him and he had never before felt such desperation. She was everything to him and the thought of losing her was unbearable. Another area of the search grid had been deemed clear and yet they were no closer to finding any trace of her. She could be anywhere in the whole of New York City, which was a dauntless task to face. But Mac would not stop his search- no matter how many days or even years it took him. He would find Stella and bring her home.

'Mac.' Jo approached him.

'Flack thinks he may have spotted something a little strange.'

Mac's brow furrowed. 'What?'

'He says there's a tow truck sitting outside an obviously derelict storage warehouse so he ran the number and it's not registered but the condition of the vehicle shows that it's obviously in use.'

'Why would there be a truck out here?' Mac questioned.

'I don't know but Mac, we've never figured out how the Taunter was able to transport his victims across the city. A tow-truck would give him the perfect cover- nobody blinks twice when you see one. He was hiding in plain sight all along.'

'Ok, let's check this out.' He turned to the nearby uniforms and SWAT officers. 'We may have a possible. Coordinates are being sent to you right now.'

Stella was not strong enough to fight anymore. Every breath she took caused a mountain of pain. It was too painful to fight anymore. It was time to let go. She had lived a better life than some and she achieved so many things. Naturally she had many regrets; none more so than the current state of her relationship with Mac but there was nothing she could do about it. Mac had his own life; he would forget her in time. Another, deeper, wave of pain flooded through her and she cried out, her tears further mingling with her blood. Oh how she wanted it all to end. She closed her eyes, willing for death to claim her soon. But as she did she heard Mac's voice, calling her from a long ago memory.

'You're the strongest person I know Stella.'

It was as though a fire had been lit inside her. A fire ignited the determination she was renowned for. She was not going to submit like this. She would not give this psychopath what he wanted- seeing her break. She was not a damsel in distress. She was a NYPD detective; a CSI who had hunted some of the most ruthless criminals in the city. Throughout her life she had overcome the harshest odds as shown by her rise from the care system to being the second in command of the forensics lab. If there was one thing Stella had always strived to be then that was to be a fighter and she was not going to give up now. Adrenaline rushed through her and seeing that the Taunter had momentarily turned his back on her, Stella seized her chance and pounced.

The sound of a gunshot came from the warehouse and the CSIs immediately froze. A feeling of deep-rooted fear overwhelmed Mac and blindly he turned to face the others' who wore matching expressions of panic. 'Let's Go!' The next minute passed in a blur for Mac as all he could focus on was the relentless fear which had manifested itself at the sound of the gunshot. There was only one explanation for it and it was something which he had feared above all others. He barely noticed the cries of 'NYPD' as the contingent of SWAT and CSIs stormed the warehouse.

The first thing he registered on entering the large interior that comprised the warehouse was Stella and another man grappling as they tried to grab hold of Stella's gun. When Stella had pounced she had managed to knock Damian and was able to grab her gun which lay on one of the workbenches. But before she could shoot her captor he had regained his footing and had launched himself at her, grabbing the gun and causing it to accidentally fire. Now, both parties were locked in a battle to gain control over the weapon.

'NYPD.' Both parties stopped at the sound of Mac's voice and Stella turned towards him, her eyes wet with tears of relief. Using what little strength was remaining she managed to knock the gun out of the Taunter's grasp and it fell to the floor with a clatter, but she remained locked in his tight hold.

Mac and the others were horrified by the scarred appearance of their murderer but in that moment all he could fully concentrate on was Stella's terrified eyes. He noticed that she could barely stand and that blood was flowing from her back, staining her blouse. It took all of Mac's willpower not to shoot the man there and then. 'Do not move! Damian Thomlinson you're under arrest for the murders of...' But before he could continue, the Taunter leaped with uncharacteristic speed and grabbed the javelin sitting on the work bench and thrust it straight into Stella's side.

'NO!' Mac screamed as Stella gasped and began to fall.

It was as though everything was going in slow motion. Mac had started to run to Stella's side when a shot rang out from Flack's gun and hit Damian in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground where seconds later SWAT had him neutralised and in handcuffs. Mac dropped to his knees by Stella's side, placing his hands on her wound and exerting pressure as he desperately tried to stop the blood loss.

'Mac...' She croaked out.

'It's alright. It's ok. You're going to be alright.' Mac reassured desperately; both for Stella and himself.

Her eyes began to droop slowly and Mac's panic increased. 'Stella stay with me! EMTs are on their way.'

Stella gasped from the overwhelming pain as her eyes continued to flutter as she fought to stay awake. 'I'm...sorry Mac.' She eventually croaked out.

'Stay with me Stell. Come on, stay with me!' But Stella was unable to do so and Mac watched in horror as she succumbed and closed her eyes. The last thing Stella heard before darkness overwhelmed her was Mac's anguished sobs and then there was nothing.