When his day was over and all was sorted out, Danny left the precinct early to head home to his wife. The whole experience had been a trying endeavour for the both of them, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He could feel his concern and guilt rising as he drove. He regretted ever asking her to talk to her father. Watching her sit there and squirm, watching the tears fall down her face as she spoke, watching how much pain it was causing her just the speak to him let alone say the words she was forced to say. That was all because of him; and that fact wasn't sitting well with him. No matter how many times his sister told him that she would be fine, and that if she wasn't okay she never would've agreed, he still felt terrible. So there he was, jumping out of his car the moment he reached the house, and ran inside to see her. He opened the door, and was instantly greeted by his father sitting in the living room reading a book with a glass of scotch sitting on the table next to him. The sound of the door closing and the rush of which he entered the room made the commissioner lift his view from the pages to his son.
"Hey," the older man greeted him.
"Hey," Danny said in urgency, "Where's Linda?"
"She's upstairs," Frank said watching him closely after his response. He watched look up at the staircase, but never ascend it. It was as if his fears left him bolted to the floor.
"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Frank asked, trying to get to the bottom of his turmoil.
"It's nothing dad," Danny insisting, afraid of telling him that he involved his wife in his insane endeavor, "Really it's nothing for you to worry about."
"Really?" Frank questioned, not believing his claim.
"Yeah," Danny continued, "I'm gonna go look for Linda." And with that he trekked up the stairs in search of his wife. He entered the room they were staying in and found her sitting by the window. She didn't move at all from when he entered or even look his way when he walked over to her. He was so nervous that when he sat down next to her, he found himself struggling to say anything.
"Hey," he finally spoke, "Are you okay?" She looked at him with tears brimming in her eyes, and the very sight made Danny's heart shatter in two. He pulled her in close and held her tight as she shook in his grasp. He wanted to ease her pain and banish all her fears, kicking himself for being the cause of them in the first place.
"I'll be okay Danny," she said her voice shaking from emotion, but there was some part of him that found it hard to believe.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into his shoulder, "I shouldn't have asked you to do that."
"It's okay Danny," she said, and soon she was consulting him instead of the other way around, "I'm okay. You can stop apologizing to me. I'm okay. Really."
"Okay cause I'm not," he partially joked holding her tightly and he felt her arms tighten around his waist. His nerves had been eating at him all day, and that was the first time in a while he actually felt relaxed. He felt his nerves subside and focused on steadying his breathing as he found comfort in his wife's arms. He relished in the moment, as it felt like it would be the only ounce of calm he would receive before the storm.
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Soon the next day had arrived and everything was about to happen. Linda had put things in place; in the car ride back to the house, she had told her father about Danny's plans to have drinks with a few friends after work and this hole-in-the-wall bar in Manhattan and they all knew that Michael had every intention of following Danny there. And what he was going to see was not Danny with friends, but Danny alone with his partner in a bar. They knew that that would put the final nail in the coffin, placing Michael right where they wanted him. Knowing very well how the day was going to end, Danny spent the morning with his wife and his sons, telling his boys what was to come and that he was going to be just fine. That the plan was going through and that they need not worry. But even though he spent the whole morning calming his family's nerves, it did nothing to help his own. Danny spent the rest of his morning and the entire afternoon going over the final details with his partner and trying not to freak out. This was the night that he was going to be willingly kidnapped by a known killer that was out for blood. His blood in particular. And he was going to hand himself over to him, regardless of how badly he felt like panicking at the very idea of it. But nevertheless he had to do it. For the case, he had to do it. There was so much craziness going on around him that it felt like time had frozen. At least it did for him. But when they find time creeping on them, Danny starting wishing that time had frozen. Because now they were pulling up to the bar in their surveillance van, preparing to start their act.
"Alright you guys ready to go?" Lieutenant Carver asked.
"Yeah," Maria answered.
"Any sign of our guy?" Danny asked putting away his badge and gun along with his partner.
"Not yet," one of the surveillance officers informed, but that fact changed a second after the words left his mouth, "Wait...van fitting the description just pulled up out front." Danny moved from his spot and over to the monitors to see what they saw. And before him, a car that matched Michael's parked in front of the bar.
"Same license plate as before," Danny pointed out, "That's him. Everyone set?"
"Yup. Ready when you are Reagan," the officer replied, as Baez and Danny put on their wires.
"You ready?" she asked him.
"Let's do this," he said simply and the two exited the surveillance van. Dressed in their regular street clothes they took a deep breath and moved into position. Walking up to the door, Danny pulled it open and let her go through it. She headed towards two open spots at the bar as he followed. He did a small survey of the room trying to spot Michael without making it obvious that he was looking for him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a man surveying him as he walked in, trying to seem as innocent as him. And he knew the moment he saw him that that was Michael. Danny casually moved to sit next to Baez and ordered two drinks for them at the bar. They sat in silence for a while as the drinks where brought and simply focused on each other. Meanwhile on the outside, an officer secretly walked out of the van and over to Michael's car, placing a tracker on the car so that it could never be found.
"Is he watching?" Maria asked him, back in the bar.
"Yup," he said, "He's been clocking me since I walked in. So let's give him something to look at."
"Meaning?" she asked questionably.
"We're supposed to make him think I'm out here cheating on my wife," Danny further explained moving his chair closer to hers and turning his body to face her completely, "So let's give him a reason to. Don't freak out okay?" As those words left his mouth, he moved his hand from his lap and onto the counter inching it closer to hers until they were both intertwined. He held it in his and rubbed his thumb back and forth on the back of hers, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Is he watching?" Danny asked.
"I can't just turn and look," she protested.
"Try now," he said as he raised his hand and brushed her hair behind her ear, without moving his gaze. She tilted her head moving it closer to his hand as he brushed her cheek and moved her eyes to the corner where Michael was seated. She flashed a smile to keep up the act, and placed her hand on top of his.
"Yeah," Maria whispered, "He doesn't look too happy."
"Good," Danny replied as he shifted closer, "Then it's working." Soon she shifted her chair closer and placed a hand on his leg. He let go of her face and grabbed his drink to make the moves less calculated and more natural. They didn't want him to catch onto them.
"You guys got a good visual?" Danny questioned the crew outside, speaking into the microphone hiding in his sleeve.
"Yup," one of the officers said, "Got full visual."
"How's it looking?" Baez asked into her mic.
"Pretty good just keep it up," the man responded, "What do you wanna do when he leaves?"
"We got a follow car ready," Danny informed. "Follow him and see where he goes."
"Copy that," the officer finalized. Danny and Baez proceeded to then hold each other's hand in full view of their suspect, talking trying to seem completely casual, when a voice was heard in their earpieces.
"It doesn't seem like he's leaving there anytime soon," Lieutenant Carver spoke up, "He seems too calm. You gotta do something that pushes him over the edge." Danny sat in thought, trying to figure out what to do, feeling like their plan was going to fail. He was already feeling slightly uncomfortable having to flirt with his partner while his wife was at home, regardless of whether or not it was real. She still wasn't Linda. And soon that uncomfortable knot in his stomach was about to get bigger.
"I have an idea," Maria told him, "Don't freak out okay?" He watched as she moved much closer to him than before and grabbed onto his jacket collar with one hand while the other still rested on his leg.
"What are you doing?" he asked his nerves growing as her grip grew tighter on his coat and her breath was now resting against his neck.
"Just relax," she whispered into his ear and soon, he practically feel himself shaking. Soon she rested her lips against his ear lobe. Then she proceeded to kiss down his neck pulling him in closer. Danny could feel his heart rate quicken and his body stiffen as she went on. He didn't really know how he felt about it. Was he uncomfortable? Did he like it? No, he knew what that felt like, and this felt like all the heat in his body disappeared. He felt like now he truly was cheating on his wife. She pulled away, their foreheads touching as if they were going to move in for a kiss. But everything in Danny was pulling back, leading to him turning his head back to the bar and putting a hand gently yet protectively around her waist. She put her arm around his shoulders, sat on his lap, and brushed a hand through his short, cropped hair. And that's when they heard the sound of a chair rubbing against the floors and soon the sound of the officers outside in their earpieces came next.
"Our guy's heading out," one of them said, "We heading into position. We'll stay on him."
"Good work you two," Lieutenant Carver spoke, "Now head back." The two detectives stepped back from each other and just stood there watching each other. Danny couldn't think of another time he felt this uncomfortable and weird. So much of him was happy that this was finally over.
"After you," Danny finally said with a slightly strained voice, breaking through the silent tension in the air. They exited the bar and went back into the surveillance truck to remove their microphones and earpieces. They stood across from each other in silence, and while Baez watched her partner, aware of his nerves, Danny refused to make eye contact with her. She noticed his quivering hands as he removed the wires covering him.
"I guess your plan worked after all," Maria spoke up.
"Yup," Danny said simply not even looking her way.
"What's up Reagan?" she finally asked.
"Nothing," he stated.
"You expect me to believe that?" she questioned, "Seriously what is it?"
"Nothing just...wasn't expecting you to actually kiss me," Danny confessed.
"Seriously," she said, rolling her eyes, "That's what's bothering you?"
"You like...made out with my neck," he semi joked, "Kinda feel like I just cheated on my wife."
"I thought that was whole point," she pointed out.
"He was supposed to just believe it I wasn't supposed to actually do it," he defended.
"You're ridiculous," she scoffed, "It was nothing."
"I know it just caught me off guard," he finished but immediately changed subjects when he caught her giggling at how uncomfortable he was, "Let's just finish this up alright?"
When all was done at the sight, Danny and Baez headed back to the precinct to tie up some lose ends regarding the case. Just as they were almost finished with their paperwork, their Lieutenant returned with news about the case. And it wasn't going to be to their liking.
"Did we get what we wanted?" he asked her, eager for good news.
"Not exactly," Lt. Carver said.
"What'd you mean not exactly?" he asked.
"He didn't lead us to the location," she continued, "He went back to his house."
"So what do we do now?" Baez asked, astonished that their plan failed.
"Well we have a unit sitting on his house now, but we might pull them back," their boss told them.
"Why?" Danny questioned, his agitation growing with every word.
"Because we don't have enough on him," she said, shutting him down before he could even start, "And we can't catch him if we're dealing with a harassment suit."
"Great so we're just supposed to wait until he makes a move?" Danny questioned annoyingly.
"Yes, because he will," Lt. Carver spoke sternly, "He has a new target, and he's gonna go after you. And we'll be there when he does. And as for you two, you've done your part. Go home and get some rest. See you back here tomorrow morning." She left the two of them to do as she ordered, but Danny wasn't pleased at all with the results. He had hoped that everything would be over that night; that maybe they would catch him before he did anything, but now they had to do exactly what he was trying to avoid. Wait. And Danny was never a huge fan of waiting. So there he was driving down the highway on his way to his father's house, slightly fuming and completely ready for the day to end. He trudged up to the front door and walked in to see what seemed like everyone having a better night than him.
"Hey," his wife approached him at the sight of his arrival, "How'd you're case go?"
"Terrible," he admitted, "We didn't get him."
"What're you talking about?" She asked him as he took a seat on the couch next to her.
"He didn't lead us to the location and now my boss thinks that we should just sit and wait," he vented, "Which is exactly what I didn't want to happen." He moved closer to her and they sat together for a moment in silence as she placed a loving hand on his back rubbing it with circular motions.
"I seriously wanted to be done with this case," he finished.
"Don't worry it'll be over soon," Linda reassured him.
"You don't know that," he said.
"Did you're initial plan work?" she asked him, "The baiting?"
"Somewhat," he admitted.
"Then not all hope is lost," she finished, trying to really get him to see her side, "Come on, why don't you go get some rest." He agreed with her idea, and headed up the stairs to do what she had suggested. He changed his clothes and lay down in his bed, and moments after his head hits the pillows, he fell asleep. The next time his eyes opened, they were opened by the found of the knock coming from downstairs, and his wife was sleeping soundly next to him. He got out of the bed, and headed towards the door, a movement that woke up the sleeping woman next to him.
"What's up?" she asked him groggily.
"Someone's downstairs,"
"Are you sure it's not your dad or your grandfather?"
"No there both staying out late," he pointed out, before heading into the hall. But not before grabbing his cell phone. He snuck through the hall and down the stairs, stopping himself before he ever got close to the landing. He peaked around the corner, keeping the rest of himself hidden behind the wall to get a good look at the intruder. And when the he spotted the man, he turned back up the stairs. He couldn't figure out why but then something, something he forgot, clicked in his head leading him to dial his partner's number.
"Baez it's me," he said when she answered, "Listen when we sent out that unit to follow Michael we forgot something."
"And that is?" she said, not following where he was going.
"He attacks them from their homes," Danny went on further, "He offered to take Linda home for a reason. So she could find the house. He knew we weren't in our regular home so he had to find out where we relocated to."
"What're you going on about? What're you trying to say?" she asked, eager to get to the point of his phone call.
"I'm saying he's in my house," he whispered into the phone, his nervous energy travelling through the phone.
"Can you see him do you know where he is?" she questioned with a new sense of urgency in her voice.
"No I can't see him," he admitted.
"I'm sending a unit to your dad's house right now," she said, her hands dialing the phone sitting next to her, "I'm notifying the Lieutenant."
"Do you still have the tracker on the car?" Danny asked, his wheels turning.
"Yeah why?" she asked.
"Tell the unit to follow him to the location after he gets me," he announced and now it was her turn to be nervous.
"Danny," she started, but he halted her train of thought.
"The plan was for him to come after me and he has," he continued, "If we wanna catch him in the murders, he needs to lead us to the location. And that's only gonna happen if we let this happen."
"And what if something goes wrong? What if he hurts you or worse?" she pondered.
"He won't. You'll get there in time," Danny said frankly, "I trust you." There was silence at the other end of the line, and he wanted it to be very clear what he said, he meant it.
"If the tracker doesn't work I'll keep my phone on me," he finished, "I gotta let you go okay?"
"Okay," Baez agreed, "And Danny...be careful."
"I will," and those were his final words to her before he hung up the phone. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to head downstairs and face what felt like his inevitable fate. That was until a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Danny?" Linda questioned, her frame poking out into the hallway. He turned and looked at his wife, and his heart instantly snapped in two and the thought of not being able to see her again if this plan went south.
"Go back to bed babe," he simply said, his words holding the catch in his throat.
"Danny is it..." she asked, afraid to finish the sentence at the realization of the situation.
"Yeah it is," he answered, "Go back to bed."
"Danny," she called to him, her emotions rising. She didn't want him to do this. She really didn't.
"I'll be careful," Danny told her, "I promise you." He turned to head towards the stairs, but something strong in him caused him to turn back, and he marched straight towards his wife and kissed her, as if it were the last time they would ever get to hold each other.
"I love you," he whispered to her as they pulled away from each other.
"I love you too," she responded with tears in her eyes, as she released her grasp and watched him walk away. He moved towards the stairs and slowly descended, trying to make it seem like he was unaware of the presence in the home. He took simple steps in the main hallway and looked around the main living room, unaware that the man they had been looking for and who was coming after him was creeping up behind him. But he learned it soon when he felt the shock from the taser pulse through his body, sending pain and shock waves throughout him and sending him crumbling to the floor. He moaned in pain at the action, and could feel his mind growing fuzzy. But he was still coherent enough to see the man standing above him, watching him over with terrifying determination and a fire in his eyes.
"Hello Daniel," Michael said to him in an extremely chilling tone, "Long time no see." And before Danny could even make a move, Michael raised his hand and swung down at him. He felt something hit his head and the sting of pain that came from it, before everything around him just went black.