Chapter 1 - 6 | Chapter 7 - 10 | Chapter 11 - 13 | Chapter 14 - 15
Chapter 11Jack rubbed his temples and wished he had taken Sam up on the offer of black sludge or what they called coffee. It should come with a health warning, Jack thought, along with all forms of instant coffee. In the hours Jack had been sitting here, Danny had only briefly returned to the land of the living. He had opened his eyes and had looked bleary-eyed at Jack. Before he had inquired about Jack's well-being, Jack had managed to reply before Danny had promptly fallen asleep again. But had he expected anything less? The poor kid had been shot, had been through hours of major surgery, was now drugged up to his eyeballs and had been through god knows what before all of this started. Did he really expect a full on conversation that would detail every event that had taken place in his agent's life over the last ten months? He glanced across to see the person in question stirring.
Danny felt a flash of pain across his chest, as he began to leave the security of his drug-induced sleep. He vaguely remembered waking up briefly before and talking to Jack - but he couldn't be sure. He didn't want to return to reality-to the questions. He really didn't want to endanger the team any farther than he already had. But considering he could barely keep his eyes open - running wasn't an option. In a strange, possibly drug-induced way, he was glad he had gotten himself shot. Because under all of the uncertainly-under all of the fear, he knew Jack would do everything in his power to sort the mess he had got himself into. The time he thought he had woken up earlier, he hadn't seen an angry Jack, but an extremely concerned looking Jack. After their last words before the shooting, Jack had been furious with him, but he understood why.
He opened his eyes to slits; letting the rest of his senses guide him back to reality. He opened his eyes fully to see the same extremely concern looking Jack smile slightly. It was time to try and explain why he was forced to let them believe he was dead. It was time to tell Jack that he may be considered a terrorist. It was time to tell Jack that he was behind the hit on a team member's father. He just hoped that after all of this, he wouldn't be abandoned again.
"Ah Danny, you're finally awake," Jack said smiling; he soon frowned in concern when he saw pain flash across his agent's face. "Are you ok? Are you in any pain?"
"I'm fine," Danny replied. He wasn't fine, but he needed to stay alert for when Jack questioned him. He smiled slightly despite the pain. He couldn't tell Jack or anyone else for that matter, how much it meant to him to be called Danny again. But for how much longer would he be called Danny Taylor? Or would he be called Danny Taylor, but staring at four grey walls? Jack had always fixed the messes they had gotten themselves into - but was this a step to far?
"I need to talk to you-I want to-I'm sorry Jack b-but I can't," Danny finished suddenly losing his nerve.
"You can tell me. I know you and you know I won't judge you," Jack said. But silently he was screaming; `you have to tell me Danny. I owe it to you. I owe you my life. I need to make it up to you'.
"Who am I?"
Jack stared at Danny in disbelief, had whatever he had been doing for the last ten months really messed with him to such an extent that he didn't know who he was. Or was it that he believed that he would have start his life over again, for the fourth time. Jack had so many questions that he needed to ask Danny about the last ten months, but right now he had reassure Danny that he didn't have start his life again. That he could go back to his previous one, as Danny Taylor an FBI agent who worked at the violent crimes department, New York branch on his team.
"Your name is Danny Taylor; you were born in Hialeah, Florida, on the 1st November 1972. You graduated from Columbia University in psychology. Then you went to law school and later joined the FBI for two years before I recruited you to my team. That's what your file says. What your file doesn't say is that you are an incredibility gifted agent with huge charisma especially towards kids. Do you want me to continue?"
"Jack I am so sorry," Danny said suddenly finding his hands fascinating. "I am really sorry; I never wanted any of this to happen."
"Danny, answer this one question. Did you have a choice?"
Danny looked up at Jack and tried to look him in the eyes. "No, I didn't. But they…they…" Danny stopped as he remembered the photographs.
"Danny who are `they'." Jack asked
"Jack I can't, I am really sorry but I can't."
Danny closed his eyes as he felt himself break down. He didn't want to disappoint Jack farther but he had no choice. He would just have to disappear and start his life again. "I am sorry. You have to believe me, but I can't tell you."
Jack looked down at Danny. He felt the lump grow in his throat. His agent was genuinely scared. He sat down next to Danny. "I know you and I believe you, but you can trust me."
"No, Jack. You may have once known me, but I am different person now. You don't want to know me now," he replied in a desperate, lost tone.
"You may have changed slightly, so have we all, but you are still Danny Taylor. " Jack paused, as he tried to think of a way to reassure Danny-tried to think of away to get Danny to tell him about the last ten months. "Danny whatever happened, whatever you were forced to do, I will work it out, I promise. I need to know, so I can protect them. So I can protect you."
"I want to tell you—believe me—I really do, but I can't." Danny said his eyes wildly looking around the room. "I'm sorry Jack, but I can't. T-they said that if I-I did t-they would kill you and your family. They would kill Sam, Martin, Viv and their families-they would kill my family. They said they would start with the kids first. I'm really sorry Jack, to bring this threat to everyone. But you have to understand why I can't tell you anything; I don't want to put you guys at risk. I'm sorry."
Jack clenched his fist in anger. These people had really known how to get to Danny. They knew that Danny didn't really care much for himself, but deeply for the people around him. They knew that threatening kids-that hurting kids was like torture for Danny Taylor. These bastards had not only threatened Danny, but had also threatened his family. They had threatened Hannah and Kate-they would pay for they actions. "None of this is your fault. But I don't want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, and I doubt you do as well. So tell me what happened, so I can work it out and so I can have you back on the team."
"You're not abandoning me?" Danny asked in a surprised tone.
"No, why would I do that?" Jack replied, looking at Danny in concern,
"Because everyone else did."
"I'm not everyone else, nor is Sam, Viv or Martin. I said I would sort it out. I said I was watching your back. I said I would protect you. You know I don't go back on my word. So tell me what happened, so I can do what I said I would." Jack said, watching Danny. He watched as fatigue began to sweep over him. He hoped that he could help Danny. He hoped that when Danny was protecting them, he hadn't got himself into a hole from which there was no escape. "Danny I owe you my life. Please tell me what happened so I can help you. It's the very least I can do, especially after you saved my life." Jack said as he continued to plead with him.
"You don't owe your life to me, Jack. I was just doing my job. I-I had to protect you guys; I-I brought the threat to you. I-I'm so sorry that I did. I-I mean, I-I." Danny looked at Jack and knew he was telling the truth. He knew that Jack and the rest of the team weren't like everyone else he had known. He felt fatigue sweep over his body. He had to tell Jack now; he didn't have a choice. The longer he waited, the longer the team and everyone else would be in danger.
"You saved my life. And even if you didn't, I'm your boss and therefore I am responsible for you. So please Danny just tell me, so I can protect everyone and deal with bastards that did this."
"Ok-ok, a-about a week before the ambush, these CIA agents approached me and told me that I had to meet with them the next day. I-I stupidly told no one and met with them. That's when it started." Danny paused and then started to tell Jack about the undercover op, the drug cartel, and the weapons. He told Jack everything, just leaving out the parts that concerned Lucia - not believing it was necessary for Jack to know about her. He waited for Jack to walk out and abandon him. He waited for Jack to yell at him, like he did outside the motel. He closed his eyes and waited for the onslaught of words.
Jack listened in disbelief as Danny told his story, he just hoped he'd get Danny out of this mess he had been forced into. It wasn't Danny's fault - he had been threatened into a CIA op and then threatened by this drug cartel. And after all of this, he could bet that the CIA was setting Danny up to take the fall. He saw the fear and guilt in his agent's eyes. He had to fix this, he had to make sure the CIA wouldn't let Danny take the fall, he had to make sure had this drug cartel wouldn't come after any of them. He gently squeezed Danny's good shoulder, wincing as he felt the tension.
"Danny can you tell me the name of the CIA guy who set this up?" Jack asked.
Danny felt Jack squeeze his shoulder, he couldn't believe after all of what he had just said Jack was sticking by him. But should he really be that surprised, Jack was a damn good boss. He was hard on them at times, but he always protected his team from outsiders. He heard Jack asking him for Michael Clarke's name.
"His name is Michael Clarke." Danny paused, as he remembered what his suspicious nature had led him to do. "I recorded all of the meetings, including the set up and when he told me to carry out the hit."
Jack smiled; of course Danny would have an ace up his sleeve. He now had the evidence that Danny had been set up, that Danny had been forced to try and kill the Director of the DEA and Victor Fitzgerald. That Danny in fact had saved their lives. "Nice one Danny." Jack congratulated. "Where are the recordings?" "Most of them are in my backpack." Danny said looking around franticly. He saw Jack move his backpack into his line of vision. He breathed a sigh of relief. "The set up one is buried in a box, on the waste land outside my apartment. If you line up the two white posts, and walk six paces in, it should be there."
Jack grinned. "That's brilliant Danny. I am going to make some backups and then I am going straight to DC to sort this out."
Danny was too exhausted to argue. He really didn't want Jack putting himself at risk like this, but he doubted he could talk Jack out of it. "What do you want me to do?"
Jack looked at Danny; he looked exhausted, scared and lost. But there was something else there that wasn't there before. There was hope and determination. Trust Danny to ask if there was anything he could do when he was in pain and exhausted. "Yes there is something you can do for me. I want you to rest and not to worry about anything. Let us do the worrying now." He watched as Danny finally began to fall asleep again.
"I'm scared."
The words stopped Jack; he doubted Danny had been conscious that he had said them. "I know Danny, I know. But next time you see me, you will officially live as Danny Taylor, you will officially be back as a FBI agent on my team and I will have sorted all of this crap out. So relax Danny and get some rest, and enjoy being fussed over."
Jack picked up the backpack and stood up; he had his work cut out for him. This was his most important case he had ever had to work on, and he was determined to see that this case had a positive outcome. He walked out of the room and pulled out his cell phone. "I need the next flight out to DC."
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Jack leaned back and massaged his temples. He had just listened to all of the recordings Danny had made. His cell phone rang, glancing at the caller ID; he threw it against the wall. He couldn't cope with talking to Van Doran right now. He couldn't cope with talking about Danny's replacement right now - even though Danny was alive. But after listening to the recordings, he didn't know if he would even get Danny back on his team. But he owed it to Danny to work it out, he promised Danny he would fix it, he was going to do his best. He picked up the phone and dialled Viv's number.
"Viv, its Jack."
"Is Danny alright? Has anything happened to him?" Viv asked urgently.
"No-no Danny's fine, but I need to see you in my office."
"Jack, I was just about to go to the hospital to see Danny." Viv replied.
"It concerns Danny and it will only take a couple of minutes."
"Sure, I will see you in a couple minutes." Viv said, knowing this was probably about Danny's last ten months.
Viv stepped into Jack's office, noticing the shattered cell phone that lay on the floor. She moved her glaze to Jack, who was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. "Whatever did that poor cell phone do to you?" Viv asked light heartily.
"Van Doran." Came the reply.
"Oh. What do you want me to do?" Viv asked.
"First, look after Danny. He feels really guilty about the last ten months even though it's not his fault. Second." Jack paused, and handed Viv the digital backup of Danny's recordings. "Look after this. Guard it with your life. If anything happens to me, listen to it and take it to whoever you believe is necessary."
"Jack, of course I will look after Danny. We will fuss over him and make sure he knows we don't blame him." She paused, as she fingered the USB memory stick. "Jack what's this about. What did Danny get forced into?"
Jack stood and put on his coat. "Sorry I can't tell you. I've got to go to DC now, please look after everyone, especially the boys."
Viv looked at Jack. In the years she had known him, she had never seen him look this tense. "Of course I will." She watched as Jack walked out of the office. She called after him. "Look after yourself. We've only just got Danny back; we're not going to lose you now." She watched Jack smile and nod before he walked into the elevator. She hoped whatever Jack was doing for Danny, he would complete his task and the team would be complete again. But she had she task to complete, but unlike Jack her task was easy. She smiled and got her coat and headed towards the hospital to fuss over Danny.
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Viv slowly opened the door, and smiled. Danny looked so young and worn out, but he was definantly her Danny. The same Danny, that was so cruelly taken from them ten months ago. The same Danny, who so bravely spent ten months protecting them. She quickly crossed the room and stood over him, noting the dark circles under his eyes. She hesitantly moved her hand over his forehead. Trying to bring herself to touch him. As her hand met his warm, alive skin, she felt tears fall. Her Danny was alive; she gently pushed his untamed hair off his forehead. She took his hand in hers and lightly kissed it. She collapsed into the chair next to Danny, not letting go of his hand, as if was her only connection to Danny's living, breathing soul. She would stay here until he woke; she would stay here until her got a smile that reached his eyes. He didn't deserve any of this; he deserved to be loved.
Viv didn't know how long she had sat there holding Danny's hand. She hoped her gestures were comforting; they certainly were to her. Just to sit there and hold Danny's hand knowing he was alive, knowing that he was going to be ok, was one of the best things that had happened to her all year. She had never realised how much the boys had meant to her until that day in May. But god forbid Reggie was taken from her. She knew she had some idea what it would feel like. She never knew why the boys drew out her maternal instincts - maybe it was because of their childhoods. She had tried to look after Martin after Danny's `death'; she hoped she had made a difference. But she was going to look after her Danny. She was going to be beside him through every step of his recovery.
She felt Danny stir next to her, she squeezed his had and gently stroked his forehead. "Hey there Danny."
"Vivie," Danny said slightly smiling. He was so glad to see Viv looking a picture of health. The last time he had seen she was about to undergo major heart surgery. But she was ok now and she appeared to like Jack, be sticking by him. He had to apologise. He had to make sure she knew that he never wanted to put any of them through this. That he loved them and what he had put them through would haunt him to his dying day. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he had been alive when they had thought he was dead. "Vivie, I am so sorry, you know that don't you. I never wanted to put you guys through this."
Viv tighten her grip around Danny's hand and stroked his cheek. This was the guilt Jack was talking about. Danny was the kind of person that would blame everything on himself. He would feel guilty if he thought about himself for a second. But there was nothing he should feel guilty about. He had been out there alone - protecting them. Now it was their chance to repay him - although Viv believed she like the rest of the team would feel indebted to Danny for the rest of their lives. Jack was sorting out whatever Danny was forced into, which left the rest of the team with an equally important task - protecting Danny.
"Oh sweetie, I know you are sorry. But there is nothing to be sorry about. It's us that should be thanking you." She looked at Danny's confused face. "Sweetie I know you only did it to protect us. So there is nothing to be sorry about." She lightly kissed Danny on the cheek, and started to fuss over him.
Danny shifted slightly, flinching as he moved his shoulder. The small movement brought tears to his eyes. He tightly closed his eyes and tried to will the pain away. He tried to relax and concentrate on something other than the pain, but it was near impossible as it overwhelmed his body. He felt and heard Viv fuss over him. He tried to concentrate on it. Viv's comforting gestures seemed to draw the pain away. If he closed his eyes tight enough and thought hard enough, he could imagine himself as a five-year-old kid again, with his mother fussing over him. He could think passed his father, he could think passed the hell that consumed his childhood home. Maybe this was the reason he found Viv's gestures so comforting. Or maybe it was the feeling that someone cared-that someone loved him. He let Viv's comforting actions draw him back to the security of his drug-induced slumber. He let her draw him away from his fear and guilt ridden reality.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Martin sat in his car mesmerized by the snow that fell before him. He watched as the snowflakes swirled around the car. He needed to concentrate but he could not. He couldn't understand how or why Danny was alive. After Jack had told them about Danny, he had gotten into his car and drove - not caring were he ended up. He just needed to think. Jack wasn't the kind of person to joke around - especially not with something like this. So Danny was alive - but how? Jack had been covered in Danny's blood. What the hell had happened out there? Judging by the amount of blood it was serious. Was Danny still alive? Martin punched the steering wheel. How the hell could he have taken off like that? Something had happened to his boss and his friend, and he had just taken off like the pathetic wimp he was. After his behaviour today he doubted that Jack wanted him of his team anymore. Why would Jack want a pathetic wimp like himself, when he had Viv, Sam and-Danny. At a time when they should have stuck together he had taken off. He was scared of the team's reactions to his stunt. He waited for them to disown him. He wondered if that job was still going available in DC - he would need it especially now he doubted he had a job here in New York. But it wasn't totally his fault - it was Danny's fault as well. If Danny hadn't faked his own death. If hadn't let them believe he was dead - none of this would have happened.
Martin pulled his car into the FBI building's car park. He rested his head on the steering wheel, and tried to think of his next move. He jumped when he heard a bang on his window. He looked up to see, an annoyed-looking Sam standing outside. He tried to put on a natural face, despite his confusion and anger. He slowly opened the door and stepped out, not knowing how Sam would react.
"S-Sam" Martin said nervously.
"How the hell could you have done that to us Martin? How could you of done that to Jack-how could you of done that to Danny?" Sam asked coldly, no longer trying to suppress her anger.
"Ok I'm sorry about walking out on you guys. I'm sorry I walked out on Jack. But - But Danny!" Martin growled. "Well if he hadn't pissed around in the first place, then none of this would have ever happened."
"And I thought you weren't like your father. But why should you be any different, you share the same DNA. You're just as arrogant and pig-headed as he is." Sam yelled.
"Oh that's rich coming from you" Martin said coldly. "Don't dump this shit on me, when we all know the person who we should blame. He was a screw up from birth, and nothing will change that - not even a new name."
Sam couldn't take it anymore. She lifted her hand, and slapped Martin across the face. She hoped to god it would leave a mark. How dare he talk to her like that? How dare he talk about Danny like that? "If you understood just one tenth of Danny's childhood, if knew he put himself through high school, collage, law school and the FBI without the slightest bit of support. You would know he is ten times the person we are." She paused as she felt tears threaten. "He saved Jack's life; Danny took a god damn bullet for him. Danny has spent ten months protecting us. He never wanted any of this to happen. He feels so damn guilty about it, especially about you. He damn near died. The very least you could do is listen to his side of the story." Sam turned and quickly walked away as she felt tears begin to fall. She didn't care about Martin, if he was going to behave like that. She was now going to see her Danny, the person that had always been there for her. He always made time for her. If she was any kind of trouble he would drop everything to help her. Now it was her turn.
Martin watched at Sam's retreating form. He was still searing with anger. Was he the only one that saw Danny's actions for what they were - cowardly? He jumped slightly as he heard a car's window shatter behind him. He saw one of the car park pillars explode. He dove behind a wall, dragging Sam with him. Pulling out his gun, he tried to look around the wall to see who was shooting at them.
Sam felt Martin come up behind her and pull her behind a wall. She was just about to yell at him, until she saw the shattered windshield and partially destroyed pillar. Someone was really trying to kill them. She glanced across to Martin, to see him trying to look around the wall. She grabbed him and pulled him back. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" She yelled, not out of anger but concern.
"No, I'm trying to kill the person who wants us dead!" He yelled back. He looked down at his hands and noticed they were shaking. "I'm sorry Sam I didn't mean to yell at you-I-I just saw Danny's death or whatever it was, all over again!"
Sam blinked in shock a couple of times as she tried to process Martin's last words. Jack's fears that they were in danger finally registered. But it wasn't just Jack's fears - it was their reality. Danny had been forced into something. He had only done it to protect them and if he had any choice in the matter he would've disappeared again. He would've never wanted this, Sam thought, but she was glad to be a target if it meant Danny was back with them. She felt Martin tap her shoulder.
"Let's move. We're too exposed here. Stay close to the wall." Martin said urgently.
Sam nodded and started to follow Martin. As they reached the door, a glint of metal caught her eye. She bent down and picked it up. Feeling Martin close the door behind her, she started to examine the metal object. Unless she was mistaken, it was the bullet.
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Jack stood outside Reagan International, trying to find his rental car. He hadn't cared about the cost of the flight and he didn't care about the cost of the car or the hotel. He had his team to protect and Danny's life to get back. He never liked DC, probably because he could never deal with the bureaucrats that ran it. Now he was going to drive out to Langley - the CIA HQ - and sit down with a couple of spooks. He was lucky that one of his ex-army friends worked for the company and had agreed to meet him. He clutched the bag containing Danny's recordings tightly to his chest.
He eventually found the rental car, and slipped into it. He knew he shouldn't have flipped out on Martin like he did. He knew the poor kid was trying to deal with it-just trying to understand. But he couldn't help it. He had become very protective over his team over the last ten months. To an outsider-to someone that didn't understand, would consider him overprotective. But Jack didn't believe he was overprotective, in his mind he was just doing his job. The people on his team were his responsibility; it was his duty to ensure that they weren't put in any unnecessary danger. But that still didn't excuse his actions. He would apologise to Martin once he got back. But right now he had to fulfil his duty as a boss to Danny Taylor. He slipped the car into gear and headed towards Langley.
He found the gently winding roads through the Virginia countryside strangely relaxing. Although he didn't believe his meeting with David James - his ex-army friend would be at all relaxing. But he didn't care as long as the outcome was positive. After all his team had been through - didn't they deserve some positive news? He looked ahead and saw the meeting place. It was a roadside café, a café that wouldn't ask any questions. He pulled over and walked into the café. Always looking about, as though he expected another sniper to try and take him out. He wondered how much this op had cost Danny's soul. He wondered what the fallout of this op would be for everyone.
As he waited for David James to arrive, he nursed a mug of steaming black coffee, hoping that the outcome of this meeting wouldn't be as black as his coffee. He glanced up to see David had arrived, wearing a simple suit, nothing too flashily or expensive. He silently laughed as he tried to imagine Danny in a conservative suit; it was so unlike Danny. He stood up as David approached his table. Extending his hand, he greeted him.
"Long time no see, David. How's the company been treating you?" Jack asked.
"Good, and how is our sister agency treating you?" David paused, as he looked Jack up and down. "By the look of things, not that well."
"It's been a tough ten months." Jack replied.
David paused as he tried to remember something that happened ten months ago that would affect his friend. "Did you know the agent that was murdered by terrorists?"
"Yes I d-"Jack stopped himself just in time. "Yes I did, he was on my team." Jack finished sadly.
"Jesus Jack I'm sorry. So Fitzgerald's kid is on your team as well."
"Yes he is. Look David I would love to chat, but I need to ask something." Jack replied tensely.
"Ok, sure fire away." David said, judging his friend wanted information. He guessed by his haggard look it was personal.
"Does the CIA employ an agent that goes by the name of Michael Clarke? And if so, do you have any information you give me on him?" Jack asked, trying to engage David's reaction. But he expected none from the CIA agent, who had been long trained to give no body language away.
"Michael Clarke?" David asked. "Yes he's a CIA agent. Why do you want to know about him?"
"Because he-he." Jack paused. "Because he messed with one of my agents."
David raised an eyebrow. "Really, do you have an evidence of this?"
Jack eyeballed David. "Yes I do have evidence on this matter. Why?" Jack asked.
"Because we believe he has been acting outside of the CIA." David looked at Jack's frown. "You know illegal ops; sometimes they have a terrorist slant."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, if it was my agent, I would get him the hell away from all of this. You don't want see him hanged for it." David replied.
"But he didn't have a choice! Da-," Jack stopped himself, and took a moment to try and calm down. "My agent would never knowingly participate in terrorist activities."
"I'm sure you're right, but it doesn't change the fact that - the op was not a CIA op. Your agent whether he knew it, or not, took part on in a terrorist attack."
Jack stared at David in disbelief, before just at his coffee mug. His thoughts and hope was as dark as the coffee he was staring into. He vaguely heard his cell phone ringing and answered it on autopilot. "Malone."
"Jack, u-mm." Martin paused. "There's no easy way to tell you this, but someone just took a shot at Sam and me."
"WHAT!" Jack exploded, then softening his tone. "Are you guys alright? Do you know who did it? Where are you now?" Jack said firing off questions that he hoped to be answered.
"We're both fine." Martin quickly reassured. "We're in the office, and the bullet, I got a friend to run it off the books."
Jack sighed in relief; he really couldn't bare to lose an agent, all over again. But he wasn't about to throw Danny to the wolves.
"And?" Jack asked.
"It's a military grade, unmarked, bullet that was in a plastic sleeve." Martin said referring to the type of bullets that were coated in plastic. Therefore making it near impossible to identify the gun it was fired from. "It wouldn't hold up in court, but I am pretty sure the person that shot Danny was the same person that shot at Sam and I. I mean how many people carry military grade, plastic sleeved bullets in their back pockets. Whoever this guy is, he is a professional with a lot of backing."
Jack tightened his grip around his new cell phone; he had a feeling that he would need a new phone before this was over. He took a deep breath before he relayed his instructions to Martin. "Martin I want you to leave the investigation as is. Do you think you can make a plausible explanation for the bullet, that doesn't include the bullet? Also make sure you all look out for each other. I will be back soon and hopefully this will all be worked out."
"Will do." Martin replied. "Oh and Jack, I'm sorry about before, I don't know what happened there. I'm-I'm sorry ok."
"Don't worry about. Martin, I've gotta go. Bye." Jack said as ended the call. He turned to David. "Someone is trying to kill my team. Someone has tried to destroy one of my agent's lives. And I believe one of your people is behind it. You want to bring down Michael Clarke, so do I."
"Jack" David said quietly but in an angry tone. "Firstly none of my people would do that. If you're referring the CIA then sure, Clarke has his followers. I will do very thing in my power to help you-to protect your agent. But you're going to have to give me something in return."
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In her dreams, she had been through this moment over and over again for ten months. In her dreams, she believed it would happen, but knew it couldn't happen. But because some sort of miracle - well a CIA op - this moment was about to happen. She walked into the room, and saw Danny smile at her. She found herself break into a run and throw her arms around his neck. "Oh Danny, I've missed you, like you won't believe." She said in between tears.
Danny winced as Sam hugged him. But it felt so good; it felt so good to be around the team again. Maybe he could go back to his life before the CIA had destroyed it. But there was one thing he would, well two people he would want to bring back from his life in Colombia. He loved being back with the team, but he missed Lucia and Chris. He inhaled sharply. "Hey Sam." Danny said as he tried to put on a brave face.
"Oh Danny." Sam repeated, as she tried to wipe away the tears but found she could not. She did not want to let go of Danny. She didn't want to lose him again. "Do you know how much I missed you? How much we all missed you?"
Danny gently wiped the tears from Sam eyes. He hated seeing her cry, he so badly wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't come up with the words. "Sam if you missed me half as much as I missed you guys-how much I missed you, then I understand."
"Danny, oh god, Danny." Sam said, as she felt the tears continuing to fall. They weren't tears of pain that so often fallen over the last ten months but tears of joy and confusion. "I never thought I'd see you again." Sam finished. She couldn't tell Danny, what his `death' had done to them. She couldn't tell him about the attempts on their lives. She knew the guilt he laid on himself.
"Sam what aren't you telling me? Did something happen to Martin? Please Sam tell me." Danny pleaded.
"Danny calm down, Martin's fine." She looked to his eyes; she owed it to him to tell him. But how? How could she tell him what had happened over the last ten months, how could she tell him about the attempts on their lives, how could she tell him all of this and not add to the guilt he already laid on his shoulders. "Danny I can't imagine how hard the last ten months has be on you. It was also hell for us, god Danny we thought you were dead. And- and well Martin has been having a really hard time dealing with it-"
"Sam you know I'm sorry. You know I never wanted any of this to happen." Danny said franticly.
Sam laid her hand on his shoulder. "I know Danny, I know. We all know that Danny, you saved Jack's life-"
"Sam what are you not telling me? I need to know, please tell me." Danny said he hated being left in the dark.
Sam looked around; she didn't know how she was going to phase the next part. "This isn't your fault Danny, but as well as the attempt on Jack's life, someone took a shot at Martin and me."
Danny looked at Sam and felt tears sting his eyes. He should never on gone to get food. He should of left New York as soon as Clark had dumped him. Then none of this would have ever happened. "I'm sorry Sam, you know I never wanted this to happen."
"I know and it's not your fault. It's-" Her sentence was cut short by her pager. She picked it up and read to the display, it was from Martin. She almost dropped it--no this couldn't be happening. Why couldn't they leave them alone? She closed her eyes and reread the pager. But the message was the same.
Lost contact with Viv.
Chapter 12
"Sam, what is it?" Danny asked frantically.
"Nothing. Its nothing," Sam lied. She couldn't tell him that they'd lost communication with Viv, and she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily. For all she knew, Viv's cell phone battery had died. She hoped that was the reason, but after recent events, her thoughts were going in a somewhat darker direction.
"What aren't you telling me? What are you hiding from me? Please tell me." Danny pleaded. If something had happened to one of them because of him, then he needed to know, so he could make it right. He needed to know, so he could tell them how desperately sorry he was. "Please, Sam, don't keep me in the dark."
Sam looked at Danny and saw the tears that stung his eyes. She didn't want to upset him, but he didn't deserve to be kept in the dark like this. She looked into his soft brown eyes and tried to think of away to break it to him. That it was probably nothing and that it wasn't his fault. That they all loved him. That when he had returned to them, it was one of the best days on her life. She ran her hand down his stubbled cheek as she tried to come up with the words. She eventually found herself holding his hand, staring at his long elegant fingers.
"It-it's probably nothing, but u-umm, we haven't been able to get a hold of Viv. After what's happened in the last ten months, we automatically think the worst." Feeling Danny become restless, she looked up to see he was sitting up, and trying to pull the IV line out of his hand. "Danny, what are you doing?"
Danny winced and inhaled sharply, before replying. "Helping you find Viv."
"No you can't do that. You'll be a liability." Sam looked at Danny's downcast eyes and instantly regretted her words. She leaned forward and gently hugged him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. But you're injured and I'm not going to let those bastards take another piece of you."
"But Sam" Danny started. "I have to help or maybe even better, I will just disappear and then all of this will stop and you can go back to the way it was before…when I was gone. You were all safe then."
"What are you talking about? Do you really think anyone of us, are going to let you out of our sight?" Sam smiled slightly despite her fear. "You are the closest I have ever had to a brother and I'm not going to lose you again." She finished looking into his eyes.
Danny frowned; he knew Sam and him were close. He thought of her as his sister and, considering how protective he felt over her, maybe his little sister – but he never thought Sam considered him as her brother. But it didn't change the fact that someone was trying to kill the people he loved. He felt so useless that he couldn't be out there protecting them. He needed to protect them… it was his duty.
"You are like the sister I never had. The team is like the family I never had. I don't want that family to be in danger. Let me discharge myself so I can get Viv back for you."
"No Danny" Sam said softly. "I'm not going to let you go anywhere. For all we know, Viv's cell phone battery died and she hasn't realised it yet. I'm going to make a couple of phone calls and you are going to stay put." She leaned forward and hugged him again before she walked out and dialed Martin's number.
Martin picked his phone up after the first ring. "Sam, I'm sorry I had to tell you like I did, but after what has happened I thought you would want to know asap." Martin said as he drummed his fingers on the table. At the moment he really didn't know what to think. Danny was alive and suddenly someone was trying to kill them. He wasn't blaming Danny; he knew that Danny would never do something like this. Danny was his friend and he had blamed all of his problems on him. His problems weren't Danny's fault they were his.
"Martin, Martin – what's happened to Viv? Martin-Martin." Sam asked as she tried to get Martin's attention.
Martin heard a voice that was pulling him out of his thoughts. Sam, he thought, Sam had rung him about Viv. "I tried her cell and home numbers and got no response. So I drove out to her place and she wasn't there. What if-"
"Don't even think about it!" She paused. This couldn't be happening – where was Jack – had something happened to him as well? "Do you know where Jack is?"
"No, but he's fine. I spoke to him recently." Martin paused. "God, this is such a mess. How's Danny?"
Sam smiled slightly because she thought he would never ask. "He's better but, he's worried about Viv. Do you need me to come back and help you look for Viv?"
Martin was just about to reply to Sam's question, when he saw Viv walk into the office, "Oh thank god. Don't worry, Sam. Viv just walked in. I'll see you later, bye." Martin said as he quickly finished the phone call and strode across the room. "Viv, you're ok. I was so worried."
Viv frowned at Martin. Why had he been so worried about her? She had only been out of the office for less than an hour; he could have always phoned her. She reached into her pocket. "I had my cell phone with me." She looked at the display to see it was blank. "Oh no. I'm sorry. It must not have recharged. It's been a mad couple of days."
"I'm sorry to have panicked, but with everything that has happened, I automatically thought the worse. I-I was just so worried after what happened to Jack and Danny. And then Sam and I-"
"What? What happened to you and Sam?" Viv asked frantically.
"Someone took a shot at us. We believe it was the same person that shot at Danny and Jack. Where is Jack, anyway?" Martin asked feeling relieved that he could talk to someone.
"Oh god! Are you both alright? Where's Sam?" Viv asked urgently as she hugged him.
"We are both fine. She's at the hospital with Danny."
Viv smiled in relief. "Jack's dealing with something in DC. How's Danny?" Viv asked. "I thought we could `borrow' a computer for `work purposes'." Viv said smiling. "I brought Danny a couple of DVD's. He's probably bored at the hospital already."
"You're going over to the hospital?" Martin asked, knowing that if Viv did go, he would have to go too. He wasn't ready to see Danny yet, and he doubted they would let him hang around the hospital until he was ready. But he didn't have a choice.
"Yes" Viv replied. "Are you coming?" She knew he would, she knew that they had to stick together.
"Yeah, sure" Martin said reluctantly as he grabbed his coat and followed Viv out.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jack sat looking out into the rain, lost in his own thoughts. He was taking a dangerous path, but what other choice did he have? Someone was trying to kill them; but he wasn't about to destroy one of his agent's lives. His CIA friend had agreed to help him bring Michael Clarke down; in return he wanted to take credit. The problem was clearing Danny's name. Even though there was evidence that Michael Clarke had threatened Danny's life, the lives of several FBI agents, including the Director Deputy of the FBI, and their innocent families, Danny still may be convicted and this thought plagued Jack as he drove to DC. He wanted to put it off, but the longer he did, the longer his team would be in danger and the worse it would be for Danny. He didn't care how long he was forced to wait outside the director's office; he would sleep there if he had to. He knew Victor Fitzgerald would have briefed the director and he knew Victor wouldn't have been all that polite. But this wasn't his career… his life at stake, it was Danny's. Danny had never really done anything wrong. Sure he had made a few mistakes when he was younger. Considering Danny's childhood, he wasn't surprised that Danny had gone off the tracks slightly.
Realising he had somehow navigated the DC traffic including the infamous beltway to reach the Hoover building – pulled him out of his thoughts. Flashing his ID at the security checkpoint, he started to walk towards the director's office. He hoped he would walk out of this building with a spring in his step but he feared the worse.
He sat down on one of the couches outside the director's office and waited. He waited to talk to the man who may have the final hand in destroying his agent's life. He knew he should've waited. He knew he should've waited until Danny had recovered, but the presence of snipers had changed that. Danny was his responsibility and after Danny had saved his life, he felt a dept of gratitude that no one could touch. That maybe if he got everything worked out for Danny and Danny was back on his team, then maybe his debt would be paid.
Jack didn't know how long he had been waiting outside the office before he was finally summoned in. He needed to deal with this matter right now, but he didn't think he could. As he walked, he noticed several people surrounding the director. Suddenly feeling very alone, he wished he had brought some backup.
"Agent Malone, please have a seat."
Jack heard the director's words and felt his body cooperate, but he didn't know how. He looked around at the other people and tried to work out who they were. He heard the director introduce the people around him. He heard the names of FBI, CIA, and DEA agents, a couple of lawyers. Again, he couldn't help but feel outmanned.
"We are here to discuss Agent Taylor's actions." The director paused. "I would like to start by looking at his file, at the years before he started working at the FBI"
"I don't know how that is relevant." Jack replied.
"It shows the type of character he is." A lawyer replied. "I would like to look at his juvenile record; we have a couple of offences here. Do you care to explain them?
"I guess. At twelve years old, when you and I were picking school yard fights, Danny was trying avoid his brother's drug dealers. When you and I were deciding what posters to put up, Danny was trying to find a roof to sleep under. You have that childhood and try not to mess up slightly." Jack took a deep breath as he tried to control his anger. "If you think asking about his history will help you understand his character, then I don't know if I can help you. This Danny Taylor I know is of very strong character, and he is most definitely not a killer."
The director raised his eyebrows at Agent Malone's strong, compassionate defence of his agent. Victor Fitzgerald had told him that Agent Malone was tricky, stubborn and rude. But the director saw a man that been to hell and was now backed into a corner trying to defend his agent. He knew that Victor's kid was on Agent Malone's team and had been caught up in all of this. He knew that Victor had set up a job in DC for his kid, but Agent Malone had refused the kid's resignation. Seeing Agent Malone's defence of Agent Taylor, he knew it had probably been the best choice for Victor's kid. He glanced across to see the lawyer continue with the questions.
"I would like to talk about Agent Taylor's actions when he was with the FBI, particularly the Weisberg case. Do you remember it?"
Jack leaned back in the chair. The Weisberg case, how could he forget it? A sick SOB had posed as an ice cream vendor, he had kidnapped kids and murdered them, but not before he had tortured and raped them. The missing kid – Mary-Ann Weisberg – had died in Danny's arms. So when they had found Jones, Danny had understandably lost it and had delivered a sharp right hook to the Jones's jaw – breaking it. The fact of the matter was everyone had wanted to do the same thing and had backed Danny. So forty law enforcement officers stated that Danny had acted in self-defence. Jack looked up at the lawyer. "Do you have kids?" He asked.
"Yes, one girl." The lawyer answered.
"Would you be asking the same questions if your little girl was one of that bastard's victims?" Jack paused. "We had been looking for the missing girl – Mary-Ann – for three days, when we found her, she was in such a state that even the most harden cops were shocked.. But it didn't faze Danny; he just walked over, wrapped his coat around her and held her. He just reassured her until she died in his arms." Jack blinked back tears. "He was so god damn amazing that day, I felt so proud to even be associated with him." Jack paused and pulled himself back to reality. "Are you telling me that you wouldn't have hit that SOB? If Danny hadn't, there were forty other cops and FBI agents that would've been more that happy to slug him."
"That is beside the point." The lawyer started but was soon cut off.
"I would've hit him." The director started. "Agent Taylor was incredibly re-strained to just hit him once."
The lawyer glared at the director, while Jack smiled slightly because he knew he was winning the director over.
"Anyway" The lawyer continued. "Back to Agent Taylor's actions, we have established that CIA Agent Michael Clarke was acting outside the CIA, but Agent Taylor still carried out the hit."
"Okay, first of all, he had been threatened" Jack started. "Second, the cartel had a hit on the Director of the DEA and the Deputy Director of the FBI. If Danny hadn't carried it out, someone else would have. And that person wouldn't have deliberately missed like Danny did. So in a nutshell, Danny saved their lives."
"Thank you, Agent Malone. We have all we need. Now if you will excuse us, we have a decision to make." The lawyer said coldly.
Jack rose and tried to read the body language of the people around him but found he could not. He thanked them before he walked out. He did not stop in the reception area but continued down corridor after corridor. Finally he slumped against a wall, letting his head fall into his hands. The decision was out of his hands now; Danny's life was out of his hands. And for the first time in years, he prayed.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Martin paced up and down the hospital corridor. He couldn't walk in and talk to Danny as though nothing had happened because something had happened and the emotions were still too raw. The rest of the team had a hard job containing their joy that Danny was alive. But Martin didn't know what to think, his friend was alive and he didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to blame himself, Danny or a third party for the events. He had and still did to some degree blame himself. Now that he knew Danny was alive, he'd even begun to blame Danny. But then someone had tried to kill them, so now shouldn't he blame the third party? He wanted to see Danny, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't know if it would start the flashbacks that he'd tried so hard to stop. But it didn't change the fact that Danny was his friend and to believe he was alive, to try and rest the demons of the last ten months. He needed to talk to Danny and hear in his words what happened ten months ago. Taking the last swig of cold coffee, he started to walk towards Danny's room.
After walking down many wrong corridors, he eventually arrived at Danny's room. He paused before entering; he knew he couldn't put on the manic grin that the rest of the team were wearing. He slowly opened the door and stopped. He was shocked to see his friend who was usually so full of life look so pale and fragile. It was then, he realised that Danny was as much as a victim of this mess as he was. He silently crossed the room and sat next to Danny, he was glad Danny was asleep; it gave him more time to think of what to say. He leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes, as the caffeine that he had drank throughout the last couple of days began to lose it's effect.
Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked around. His eyes stopped when he saw Martin asleep in the chair next to him. The rest of the team had said that Martin had taken his `death' hard, but it didn't prepare him for the state Martin looked. He looked pale, tired and thin. It looked that he hadn't been eating. The Martin he knew ten months ago ate more that he ate in a day in one meal. Martin was his friend. So why couldn't he think of anything to say to him? It hadn't been Martin's fault, so maybe it was the fear of Martin's reaction.
Martin yawned and tried to work the clinks out of his back. He had fallen asleep in the office again, but as the smell and the sounds invaded his senses, he opened his eyes. Why was he in hospital? He looked around to see someone lying in a bed across from him – Danny? But Danny was- then the events of the last two days came rushing back to his memory.
"Hey" Danny said as he noticed Martin was awake.
"Hey" Martin replied looking at his feet.
There was a tense silence between the two men, before Danny broke it. "You look like shit."
Martin jumped slightly before he looked up at Danny. "Have you looked in a mirror recently?" He said smiling.
Danny smiled. "Ok fine. But I have an excuse for looking like hell. I was shot. Therefore under the rules of getting shot, I am entitled to look like hell. What's your excuse?"
Martin raised an eyebrow. "'The rules of getting shot', so under this Danny Taylor rules of getting shot, does it include beautiful ladies?"
"Funny, Fitzy funny." Danny said, but he didn't fail to notice Martin's obvious avoidance of his question. "Hey man I'm really sorry. If I knew that it was going to happen that night… Firstly I would've some how done the transport alone and secondly I would have some how told someone. You gotta believe me when I say I never wanted any of this to happen."
"I know you didn't want it to happen anymore that any of us did and I know it's not your fault. But ten months ago, I watched you die and now you're alive. I know it's not your fault but I'm having a hard time dealing with it." Martin said as he held his head in hands, unable to look Danny in the eyes.
Danny closed his eyes. He had to tell Martin about his father because Martin deserved to know. But how do you tell a good friend that you tried to kill his father? He looked down at his hand and noticed it was trembling; his shoulder hurt like hell and all he wanted to was sleep for a week. But he had to tell Martin. "Hey, I gotta tell you something."
Something in the tone of Danny voice made him look up. Danny looked so nervous and lost, he was scared of what his friend was about to tell him. But Danny was burdening this secret; surely he had the strength to listen to his friend and try to help him out. "What is it Danny?"
"You know- for the last ten months I was undercover in a Colombia drug cartel, it was a CIA op." Danny paused as he tried to work out how to tell him. "Anyway, the CIA threatened me and forced me to cooperate with the cartel. U-mm, they had a hit out and well-"
Martin stared at Danny; he could not believe what he was hearing. "It was you that tried to kill my Dad?"
"Yes, but you've gotta under-"
"I think I do understand," Martin said feeling an uncontrollable anger boil inside of him. "Your life is screwed up, so you thought you would fuck up mine, too." Martin yelled.
"No man, no way. It wasn't like-." Danny tried to finish explaining, but Martin stormed out. He felt a tear roll down his face; he never wanted to hurt anyone. He had done that enough in his life. He hadn't wanted to screw up Martin's life. All he wanted was for his friends to be happy.
Martin walked out and slammed the door. He didn't understand, or get why Danny would try and kill his dad even if he was ordered to. He carried on walking until he found himself standing by an open fire exit. He walked out and sat on the steps, trying to gather his thoughts. Something happened ten months ago, they believed Danny was dead but in fact he was working for the CIA, now Danny was alive and he had just told him he was the shooter. He felt the warm spring sun on his face as he allowed himself to get lost in his own thoughts.
He didn't know now long he had been sitting there before realisation hit him. There was a cartel hit out on his father, he was pretty sure Danny didn't have a choice. But there was a cartel hit on his father and if Danny had done it someone else would have. Danny had saved his life, Jack's life and his father's life. He had been a complete bastard and walked out on his friend when he hadn't had to tell him about his father. Martin stood up and started walking towards Danny's room again, only stopping briefly to buy more coffee and chocolate. He walked into Danny's room to see him staring out of the window. "I am so sorry. I really am. I know it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry I freaked out like. It's just…I was so surprised. I didn't expect to hear that from you. But I know you saved my dad's life. I'm so sorry."
Danny turned and looked at Martin. Martin was apologising to him but for what? He understood why Martin had walked out; he probably would've done the same thing. But did this mean that Martin had forgiven him for everything he had done? "It's okay. I understand. It was a lot to take in. Hey do you" Danny paused and looked away. "I need to know that we are okay, Martin. I need to know that you forgive me."
Martin took a swig of coffee and opened the chocolate. "What's there to forgive? It wasn't my fault. It wasn't your fault. It was the fault of some sick CIA dude." Martin held up the chocolate. "You want some."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jack pulled into the hospital parking lot and rubbed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't be driving – and under normal circumstances he wouldn't have – but these were not normal circumstances. The sick CIA Agent Michael Clarke had been dealt with, but how—he didn't know. He didn't really care as long as Clark left his team and everyone he knew alone. He took one long last swig of cold coffee before he chucked the empty coffee cup into the passenger seat. He opened the car door and hoped the cold wind would wake him up. He had gotten updates from the team, apart from shooting at Sam and Martin, it had all been quiet. Even Martin had eventually visited Danny. Viv said she was nearly in tears when she saw her boys joking together.
He eventually made it to Danny's room, trying to come up with away to tell Danny. He didn't know how to break this latest piece of information to him. He slowly opened the door he see Danny sitting up watching TV.
Danny heard someone opening the door and moved his gaze towards the door, to see Jack. He didn't know whether to smile or cry. "I never realised how crap daytime TV, if I watch anymore of this crap, I will go mad."
"Danny." Jack said sitting down next to him.
Danny looked at Jack. "Oh god Jack, please no, please."
Jack broke into a smile and handed Danny a leather wallet that contained the gold shield. He watched as Danny opened it with trembling hands. "Welcome home, Special Agent Danny Taylor."
Chapter 13
Danny stood nervously outside the federal building. He hadn't stepped foot in the building for almost a year; the majority of the people that worked there probably thought he was dead. This building that just eleven months ago felt more like home to him than his apartment, now felt foreign to him. He found himself just standing there in the warm spring sunshine trying to gather the courage to walk in. He didn't believe this moment would happen, but now that it had, he didn't know what to do. He had vaguely noticed a few strange looks he was getting. He didn't know whether that was from him standing, staring at the building or if it was that they thought they recognised him. He couldn't walk away now, but he didn't think he could take another step forward.
As Jack walked through Federal Plaza, he noticed the solitary, statuesque figure of Danny Taylor. He hadn't forgotten it was Danny's first day back after nearly a year-long absence. Jack smiled as he thought about how good it would be to have Danny back on the team. They had defiantly missed his presence. During the last year, missing children cases had been more emotionally hard than usual for the team. Not just because it was a child that was missing, but because it always highlighted who else was missing.
Jack quietly approached Danny, who appeared to be lost in thought. "Are you coming to work, or are you just going to stand out here all day?"
Danny jumped slightly and spun around. "U-mm," Danny said as he tried to put a sentence together.
Jack turned to face his obviously nervous agent. "It's alright, Danny. You belong here." He paused as he looked Danny up and down. "Shall we go in?"
"If you say so." Danny managed to say as he tried to put one foot in front of the other and walk into the building. "So how many people know?"
"How many people know that you are alive?" Jack asked smiling, "well, a part from you, me, the director of the FBI, a couple of high level FBI, DEA, CIA agents, Sam, Martin and Viv, no one else knows."
"So no one in this building, a part from the team, knows I am alive?" Danny asked in shock.
"That's right. Pity it's not Halloween, `cos you'd have a damn good costume" Jack said as he entered the building. He smiled as he saw the confused expressions around him. As he entered the elevator, he saw Danny hanging back with a wide-eyed look. "Danny it's going to be alright. I promise."
Danny slowly slid into the elevator next to Jack. "Sorry," Danny said remorsefully. "It's just-"
"You just have a bad case of nerves, which is understandable." Jack looked at Danny and still felt guilty. The guilt that he hadn't helped Danny from the beginning. The guilt that Danny had been shot because of him, the guilt that still was eating away at his soul. "How's the shoulder?"
"It's fine" Danny lied.
"Danny!" Jack chastised lightly.
Running his hands through his hair, Danny tried to lie convincingly to Jack. He didn't want to add to the guilt that he knew Jack was already carrying; Jack had already done more than enough for him. The fact that he was about to start his first day back at work was evidence enough.
"It hurts from time to time, but its getting better" Danny replied hoping Jack would be convinced.
"Good" Jack replied sceptically. "Look, you can always crash on the couch in my office if you start feeling tired or in pain or even if it's just to get away from everything. You know that, don't you?"
Danny was just about to reply when the elevator stopped. The agent who got in glanced at Jack before staring at Danny in complete awe. Feeling intimidated by Jack's glare, the agent looked down at his feet for the rest of the ride. The elevator stopped again and the newcomer quickly exited.
Jack smirked. "Well I guess counter terrorism is taken care of."
Despite his apprehensiveness, Danny found himself grinning. "You can see him telling his boss that he just saw Danny Taylor." Danny said chucking, "and his boss sending him down to the psyche department to be checked out."
Jack laughed. As the elevator stopped he turned to face Danny. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I will ever be." Danny replied as he took a deep breath and stepped back into his life. He found the familiar hustle and bustle of the violent crimes comforting. He was home again; he had missed this since the day he'd left—eleven months and two weeks ago. Even thought he knew he was home, he still felt a little lost. Feeling Jack's supportive tap on the back, he followed him as though he was in a daze.
Viv stood up as she saw Jack and Danny enter. She quickly strode across towards them and gave Danny a meaningful hug. Despite everything, he still looked well, skinny, but then she thought both boys were too skinny. "Welcome back Danny."
Danny returned Viv's hug. "Thanks Viv." He replied before he took his place at the table between Sam and Martin.
"Nice to have you back, man. Viv and Sam have been ganging up against me." Martin joked.
"Poor little Fitzy. Don't worry. I won't let the nasty, evil Sam hurt you." Danny said as he continued with the banter.
"Hey, I'm right here," Sam scolded shaking her head. She smiled and wrapped her arms around Danny's neck. "I've missed you so much."
"Sam, you saw me about two hours ago." Danny replied. Since he had been believed to be dead, he had no apartment. The team had refused to let him check into a motel. Telling him simply it would be easier if he stayed with one of them, as they'd be at the hotel every five minutes anyway. He ended up staying at Samantha's. He was surprised how many missing people had links to Queens, especially Sam's area. True to their word, someone from the team seemed to visit him for what felt like every five minutes—always using the excuse that they had a case in the neighbourhood.
"I know Danny, but- " Sam was just about to continue when she saw Jack walk towards the table with a file in his hand.
"Have you three stopped arguing?" Jack asked smiling. Watching them nod, he continued. "Karen Chappelle, 39, went missing two days ago, reported by her boss. She works at an IT support company downtown. She's not married and has no kids. I'm going to interview the boss. Viv, Sam I need you to go to her apartment. Martin… Danny I need you two to do background checks."
After Danny watched as the rest of the team filed out to their various assignments, he turned to Martin. "How long do you think before he lets me out into the field again?"
"Once you've been cleared, add two more weeks. Then you will only be out in the field with Jack—and that will last for about a month—if you are lucky. If anything happens in that month, no matter how small, you start the process again. Then he will allow you out with Sam and Viv. Going into the field alone is out of the question; none of us are allowed to do that apart from Jack. Its part of the new and improved `Jack Malone protection policy'." Martin answered with a hint of sarcasm.
"The Jack Malone protection policy" Danny repeated with a raised eyebrow. "What about you and me paired up in the field?"
Martin laughed. "Me and you… the field… without Jack or a fully armed SWAT team?" Martin paused, "Maybe when we retire."
"So I guess I will paired with the desk or Jack" Danny laughed. But in reality, right now, he didn't care. He was back on the team working cases. Maybe a month or two down the line he would care, but then he would just think of but it might have been. He looked over at the stacks of paper and groaned, as they started to work their way though it.
Twelve hours later, the case was still hot, but Danny was tired and in pain. He was tired of everyone coming up and telling him that they thought he was dead. It had been nice, even funny at times, but now it was grating on him. He took a deep, slow breath and tried to ride through the latest wave of pain. He tried to concentrate on the papers in front of him, but fatigue and pain had other ideas. He might just take Jack up on his offer; at the very least it would offer him peace that he so badly needed to rest his haggard brain.
Picking up his notes, he crossed the room to Jack's office and slipped inside. Making his way to the couch, he collapsed and held his head in his hands. Another wave of pain travelled through his shoulder and he bit back the tears that threatened. He wished, at that moment, he hadn't thrown away the pain-killers. He felt like he had to because of his and his family's history with addiction. His father was a violent alcoholic. His mother was an alcoholic, who drank to numb the pain of his father's abuse. His brother was a junkie and an alcoholic, and he was an alcoholic. If he took those pain-killers, he was only one step away from becoming his brother, so he had tossed them. But now he really needed them. He lay down and closed his eyes tightly, hoping the pain would go away.
Jack entered his office. After not seeing Danny in the main office, he had expected to see him here. He was concerned, as he knew that Danny would only take his offer as a last resort. He looked over at the couch to see Danny looking very pale and fatigued. As he approached, he noticed the slight grey tingle to Danny's skin, the beads of sweat on his forehead and haggard breaths—all of which didn't bode well. Bending down, Jack was relived to find a strong but slightly too fast pulse.
"Danny" Jack called as gently tapped him on the face. "Danny."
Danny groggily opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but found the room spinning violently. "J-Jack I'm sorry. I needed a rest, but I did get a chance to make some notes on the case." Danny said while fighting the urge to vomit.
Jack quickly glanced at the notes before returning his concern back to his agent. "That's great, Danny. Now where are your pain-killers?"
"I-I don't have them" Danny swallowed, "I tossed them."
"You did what!"
Danny leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes as he tried to stop the room from spinning. "You know why, Jack. I'm an addict; I couldn't take the risk."
Jack sighed, but it wasn't a sigh for anger or frustration but a sigh of concern. "You wouldn't have gotten hooked on them. I – we wouldn't have let you. I think I have some Ibuprofen lying around. You are going to take that and then you are going to rest."
"But Jack" Danny protested.
"It's you first day back, you're not a 100% and you shouldn't be working twelve plus hour days yet." Jack said as he walked over to his desk fletching the ibuprofen and a bottle of water. He stood over Danny as he took them, noticing now much his hands were shaking. "Now lie down and get some rest. You did a good job today Danny." Jack said as he watched Danny reluctantly closed his eyes. Once he was satisfied Danny was asleep, he walked over to the cupboard and pulled out the blanket he had for when Hannah and Kate stayed over. Gently laying the blanket over Danny, he picked up Danny's notes and walked over to his desk to read them.
Jack finished reading Danny's notes and immediately picked up the phone. There was an answer on the second ring. "Martin, are you at Chappelle's work place?"
"Yes" Martin replied.
"Go to the basement. Down there, there should be a room where all the computers are networked to."
"Sure I'll ring you when we get there." Martin said as he was just about to end the call.
"Oh and Martin be careful." Jack said ending the call. After about ten minutes his phone rang again and quickly answered so not to wake Danny. "Malone."
"Jack, we've found her. She's fine but can I ask how you knew that?" Martin asked.
"Don't ask me. Ask Danny." Jack replied smiling.
"He hasn't lost his touch. Anyway, Sam and I will tie things up there and we will meet you back at the office." Martin said as he ended the call.
Jack put down the phone and smiled. After damn near a year away from the job that he so obviously loved, Danny Taylor had certainly not lost his touch. He looked over at the sleeping agent, his first case back, his first day and he had cracked it.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6 weeks later Somewhere in NY city
As Lucia woke up, she could almost smell freedom yet it had still never been so far away. The cartel had seen an opening with a rich American banker named Richard Curtis, hence the reason she was in New York City. She wanted to just run and a start a new life in this beautiful city but she couldn't. Her father's men had her son, Chris. Her father had told her that if she made the slightest wrong move that Chris would die.
Her spirit had been slowly crushed since the day AJ had left. It had been two months since he had left, and even though the possibility of him returning had dwindled, it was the only thing that kept her going through these dark days. She missed his strong arms wrapped protectively around her. She missed the nights of passion and their intimate talks. She missed his beautiful soft brown eyes. She missed him so much it hurt. She wrapped her hands around the necklace that AJ had made her and drew it to her heart. It was plaited leather with a coin threaded through it, worth nothing in monetary terms – but to Lucia it was the most valuable thing she owned.
There was a knock on the door and Lucia jumped. She quickly checked the drawer, inside was a small calibre gun. AJ had gotten it for her when they were together. She bit back tears as she checked it was loaded. She felt a tear fall as she remembered AJ teaching how to use it. How he stood behind her using his strong, protective body to support her when she fired the first round. She remembered laughing as he stroked her arms to help her relax. How he held her and told her that he was her protection, but he wanted her to feel safe when he wasn't around. She wiped the tears that had fallen, as she opened the door.
"Good morning Mr. Curtis. Shall we get down to business?" Lucia said as she let him into the room and tried to brush away her fears.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Richard Curtis – 24 hours missing NY FBI HQ
Jack walked passed the table towards the whiteboard and put a picture of a smiling 45 year old man up. "Richard Curtis, 45 year old banker. Made the top ten rich list for people under 30 in 1990, and now is in the top ten rich list. He was last seen by his wife yesterday morning at 7 o'clock as he left for a meeting." Jack looked at his team as they started to make notes. "Martin, Sam I want you to check his bank. Viv I need you to do background. Danny you're with me."
Danny quickly stood up and grabbed his coat as he followed Jack out. "Where are we going?" Danny asked as he quickly fell in line with Jack's pace.
"We're going to interview the wife." He replied to the smiling Danny. He knew Danny was happy to back in the field, he was glad Danny was back the field; he hadn't known how much more of the cabin- fevered Danny he could take. Sure Danny had been cleared for field work, but that didn't mean he was ready. He knew Danny saw it as some form of punishment but he couldn't lose him again.
"Ok" Danny replied as he got into the car.
As they ended the interview with the wife, Danny's cell phone rang. "Taylor" he said as he answered the phone.
"Danny it's Viv, Richard Curtis made a credit card payment to the Hilton Hotel for the day he disappeared."
"Thanks Viv. We'll check it out now. Want me to nick any shampoo, towels etc?" Danny joked.
Viv laughed. It was good to have lighted-hearted side that Danny brought to the team back. "No just the pictures and the bed."
Danny laughed, "See you later Viv." Danny said ending the call. "That was Viv. Curtis paid for a room at the Hilton the day he disappeared."
"Anything else?" Jack asked.
"Nope. The last movement on any of his bank accounts was the day before he disappeared, but that was only a couple hundred dollars – for a guy like him that's small change." Danny said getting into the passenger's side knowing Jack wasn't going to let him drive yet. He was annoyed but understood Jack's overprotectiveness, but he just wanted for things to go back to what they were before everything happened. Except for one thing, well two people specifically. He still wanted Chris and Lucia in his life, but he still hadn't told anyone about them. He still feared for their safety if her father found out about them.
He shook his head as he tried to refocus on possible suspects on their latest case, pushing Lucia and Chris reluctantly to the back of his mind.
When they arrived at the Hilton, Jack was irritable and moaning something about people's ability to drive. Danny watched Jack walking in and started to question the desk clerk as he looked around. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the lobby, but he hadn't expected there to be, it was just a useful time filler.
"Once you have finished looking at the pictures, Michelangelo, we have some work to do." Jack quipped as he passed the younger agent.
Danny smirked and quickly followed Jack into the elevator. Stepping off the elevator, they quickly made their way down to room 6786 – Curtis's room. He efficiently cleared the room with Jack establishing there was no one there apart from themselves and a large blood pool—definitely enough blood to be fatal if it was from the same person. As Jack was on the phone calling the forensic unit, Danny searched the room. As the late morning sunlight shone across the room, it caught something its rays. He bent down to find he was looking at a small calibre handgun that looked very familiar to him. He'd hoped she would never have to use it. He stood up and called Jack over. "Jack I think I may have found the weapon that caused that blood."
Jack walked over, looking at the gun. "The area is secure. Forensics are on their way. There's nothing we can do here so let's head back to the office." Jack said as he turned and started to walk towards the elevator.
After another frustrating drive which left Jack cursing, Danny was relieved to arrive at the office in one piece. They both believed that Curtis was dead, but until the blood pool in the hotel room had tested positive for his blood, it was still their case. Danny walked up to the table to see the rest of the team sitting around it. "Find anything interesting?" Danny started not wanting to dishearten them with his and Jack's finding.
"His office had traces of what we believe is cocaine and this logo." Martin said as he held up the evidence photo for Danny to see.
Danny felt as though the air had been sucked from his lungs. He tried to calm himself as he turned to Jack. "Jack, I...I…I think we need to talk."