CSI:New York : Who Are You? (Don Flack/OFC fanfic)

The Lion's Den

Morningside Heights was the academic quarter of New York City, bound by the Upper West Side of Manhattan and home to institutions such as Barnard College, Columbia University, the Manhattan School of Music and St. Luke's Hospital to name but a few. An integrated community, the Heights prided itself on having the second-lowest crime rate in Manhattan, thus making it a safe and desirable, residential neighborhood; and because of that the Sheridan case had already become high profile.

The media vans were lining up outside, while police officers were trying their best to keep the reporters behind the crime scene tape which had since been moved to surround the entire perimeter of the house. Mac hadn't wanted anyone trampling over the gardens and risk destroying evidence that they hadn't yet had a chance to get to, so he'd ordered the officers to move the tape as far back as the driveway.

Flack also had his hands full. The media had caught on that he was the Detective in charge and had immediately assaulted him with a barrage of questions and popping flashbulbs. Flack despised reporters; they were second on his list to bad guys. He was beginning to lose patience with them. 

The squawking of police radios filled the air, the static of transmitted messages from PD to the field, passing from one receiver to the next. It had been another busy night in New York City, but it seemed this case had taken precedence with many beat cops on the force. The officers worked well to keep the mass of reporters at bay. It seemed the media had become more and more oblivious to the crime scene tape as they worked to inch closer, hoping to get a unique angle on the story.

Flack could hear the heightened volume of the press as they swarmed the area, reporting the scarce information that they could gather from police scanners and the few residents willing to be interviewed. Questions were brutally thrown his way as he marched to the front of the driveway.

'Stay behind the tape,' he ordered them. 'I don't wanna see so much as a big toe over here.'

Detective what can you tell us?

Is it true that an entire family were killed here tonight?

Do you have any suspects? 

Did anyone have a grudge against the family?

The questions were routine and predictable and Flack answered as honestly as was possible given the early stages of the case. He couldn't give them any information at this present time, but could confirm that three members of the family had indeed been murdered.

Detective, can you tell us if -

'I can't give you any more information,' Flack interrupted the reporter. 'Because we don't have any more as yet.'

'Comin' through! Comin' through!'

Through the frantic noise, Flack heard the familiar voice and twisted his head to the right to see Danny forcibly pushing his way through the throng of reporters. The CSI was gritting his teeth and waving a hand at the flashbulbs and microphones that were shoved in his face.

'Hey, move it back!' ordered Flack. 'Let him through!'

Moments later Danny cut through the crowd and ducked beneath the crime scene tape. 'What the hell...?' he said to Flack, clearly affected by the frenzy on the other side of the tape.

'Keep an eye on them,' Flack instructed the two officers guarding either side of the driveway. 'It's been like this all night,' he told Danny as they walked up the driveway towards the house. 'Had a feeling Mac would call in extra troops.'

'Yeah, I was busy with a shooting over in the Village. Had to leave Lindsay on it,' he explained. 'Couldn't even find a nearby parking space. Had to park way over on 110th and hoof it. So what do we got? I heard bits on the radio.'

'It isn't good,' said Flack as they reached the front door to the Sheridan house.

Danny sighed heavily and nodded. 'When is it ever anything else?'

*

After Danny's arrival, Mac had gathered the team together to go over a few things. He and Olivia were in charge sweeping the upstairs, while Hawkes and Danny were responsible for downstairs and the perimeter of the house. The bodies of the family had since been bagged and taken away by the Coroner to an onslaught of popping flashbulbs.

'I want to know how our killer got in and how he left,' Mac had told Hawkes and Danny. 'And when you venture outside, I don't need to tell you to stay away from the press. Nobody talks to them, got it?'

They all knew the rules. But knowing how high profile and delicate this case was, Mac had wanted to be double sure. They all nodded in consensus.

'Got it, boss,' Danny had said, his blue eyes bright with the determination his job brought on. Moments later, he and Hawkes had set to work.

As the investigation proceeded, Mac set himself two jobs. The first, to solve the case and the second, to keep a close eye on Olivia. She was a highly qualified investigator, he had total confidence in her abilities, but the similarities to the Sheridan case and her own personal history gave him every reason to be concerned. He had wanted to remove her. Discovering Gracie Sheridan in the closet had been more than enough to convince him that he should. But she had insisted, begged, to be kept on and even though he knew he should have pulled rank on her, she was already way too involved for him to cut her out.

He owed it to her, and she needed to know that he had confidence in her. He couldn't take that away from her regardless of his mounting anxiety. Olivia wasn't one to run away or back down from difficult situations. Given her history, she'd always had to face them alone.

She had taken it upon herself to be the one to search the little girl's bedroom after becoming increasingly aware of Mac's guarded eyes on her as they worked the parent's bedroom together. It annoyed her, frustrated the hell out of her and although she knew he had confidence in her, it still made her feel as if he wasn't entirely sure of her capability to do her job.

But deep down she knew it had nothing to do with that, either.

He was waiting for the cracks to appear. For her to break. To admit that it was all too much. To take herself off the case. She wondered if he was concerned with protecting the department's reputation, if eventually he would have no choice but to remove her. If Chief Sinclair would give him no other alternative. Next would come the tactful reminder about the department therapist... 

So she had adopted her usual defensive stance, practically daring him to attempt to replace her with Danny or Hawkes, which of course he didn't. Because when all was said and done, it had nothing to do with the department. Keeping Olivia's trust ranked higher in Mac's priorities.

He'd tried to reason with himself. Maybe she needed this. Maybe she needed to be on this case. Remembering something Stella had said to him, how the only way to let go of the past was by facing it and that sometimes throwing yourself into the lion pit was exactly what a person needed to move forward. He had to let her find her own way. Handling her with kid gloves was not the way to go. She would only fight him. What he feared could be her undoing, could turn out to be the thing she needed to finally enable her to let go of her past and embrace her future.

Which was why when she picked up her field kit and declared she was going to make a start on the little girl's bedroom, he didn't stop her.

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Copyright © 2006 [Debra Jay] All Rights Reserved