*This novel takes place directly following the catching of the Cabbie Killer at the end of Season 4. Enjoy!* --RyderBPD

Warning: Contains profanity and suggestive references to sexual content. Also, please note that I personally do not hold the extreme religious viewpoints of my troubled character, Levi Ben-David. I happen to think that both Palestinians and Jews are lovely people. :)

This work is the property of Stephanie J. Hartford and may not be reproduced or reposted without my express permission. All CSI:NY Characters belong to CBS. Liz Ryder belongs to yours truly.

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Prologue

No sounds could be heard in the bathroom as the middle stall’s occupant sat on the closed toilet, staring at a full syringe. The young man’s clothing was slightly rumpled, but that was to be expected at four in the morning. For the millionth time, he pulled the travel documents from his jacket pocket and bored his eyes into the symbol of the squatters. An eagle representing those disgusting peasants who had stolen the land that God gave to his great ancestors. The Palestinian passport gave his name as Karim Abdullah, a dark-skinned communications expert from Rafah. In reality, though, he answered to Levi Ben-David. Son of David. Son of Israel. He looked to his name for courage in this, the moment of truth.

In his mind, Levi heard the words of his leader soothe the fear that was rising within his chest. “Think of the place you shall have amongst God’s heroes, my son,” Rabbi Goldman had said, pausing in the midst of applying Levi’s makeup. “It is you that will bring peace to the Israeli people.” Rabbi Goldman was the Godliest man Levi knew--he could literally see the Almighty shining through the master’s eyes when he spoke. And so Levi would trust the Rabbi—would ignore any nagging fears about a painful death and fulfill his duty to God.

Calmly, Levi placed the falsified passport back in his jacket and gazed upon the syringe one last time. Lifting his white button-down shirt just enough to expose a patch of abdominal skin, the devout youth whispered a short prayer: “Yahweh, give me strength.” Inhaling sharply, Levi plunged the needle into his side and gasped—not in pain, but in rapture as he saw a glimpse of Heaven’s glorious white light that would envelop him within hours. Depressing the plunger until all of the blue liquid was gone, God’s obedient soldier tossed the empty sharp into the seat cover dispenser, stood up and grabbed his shoulder bag.

Exiting the bathroom, Levi went to catch his flight to New York City.

Chapter One: Young Guns

I don’t really care what nobody think
Let’s get crazy tonight
Lookin’ all hot and spendin’ them Gs
We are crazy alright

Bass and rainbow-colored lights both bounced around the club, raising temperatures and heart rates with ease. Full but not uncomfortably packed for a Friday night, Blue was the place to be for Manhattan’s early thirties crowd. Every corner of the joint sported a group of young professionals even more gorgeous than the last. Toward the back of the club, four guys had their eyes transfixed on five fine women dancing before them.

“That,” said Detective Don Flack, “is the hottest thing I have ever seen.”

Doctor Sheldon Hawkes, Detective Danny Messer and CSI Adam Ross could only nod in agreement, struck dumb by the sight in front of their eyes. Perhaps it would have been easier for them to ignore if the women had been strangers, but the five knockouts writhing on and around each other were well-known to the four gentlemen.

Three brunettes, a blonde and a redhead comprised the collection of gape-worthy beauty. Detectives Aiden Burn, Kaile Maka and Jessica Angell accounted for the police presence, while lab tech Kendall Novak added some science speak spice into the mix. Rounding out the pantheon of goddesses was Doctor Elizabeth Ryder, a former Boston Police Department officer turned psychiatrist & psychotherapist. Liz’s bright green eyes were shining as she broke away from the pack and came striding over to the table of men. Dressed in tight indigo jeans and a low-cut emerald-colored shirt, her muscular arms waved in the air as she kept moving to the music. “C’mon, guys,” she insisted. “First one off their ass gets to dance with all five of us at once.”

Danny, Flack and Hawkes all shook their heads, trying to play it cool. “We’re good, Lizzie,” said Flack. “We like the view just fine from where we are.” Liz sighed and shook her head. “Fine. Have it your way.” She moved to rejoin her fellow sirens when Adam said, “Uh, Liz? Hey, wait up! I’m comin’ with ya!” He practically leapt over the table, drawing laughter from the rest of the boys. As promised, Liz led Adam back to the circle of girls and placed him in the middle. The ensuing look on Adam’s face was priceless.

Danny’s laughter faded first, and sitting back against the leather booth, he let out a big sigh. Flack and Hawkes turned to their buddy at the same time, with Flack voicing the thoughts of both men: “Danno, you’re not still thinkin’ about Lindsay, are ya?”

Messer took a hand and first rubbed it vigorously over his visibly fatigued face--then pushed it roughly through his crown of brownish-blondish hair. His slightly bloodshot blue eyes betrayed the true answer even as he said, “Nah. Just been a long week is all. Mac really rode my ass about that specimen I f*cked up.”

The truth was that Danny hadn’t been able to shake thoughts of Lindsay Monroe for more than a few minutes at a time, which was the reason he’d dropped the blood sample in the first place. But although he trusted his boss with many things, it wasn’t his style to sit down and get all touchy-feely with Mac about breakups—and definitely not this one. His relationship with Linds had been tough from the get-go. That stuff about work hook-ups bein’ complicated ain’t no lie, he thought. Although laced with tenderness and bursts of intense passion, the time Lindsay and Danny had spent together had also been marked by misunderstandings, deceit, and frustration. Messer knew that he’d been in the wrong for sleeping with another woman, but he also knew that he didn’t deserve the shrewish guilt-tripping Lindsay’d thrown at him after he’d copped to cheating.

And although he missed her, he admitted it was for the best that she’d gone back to Montana. She was never gonna hack it as a New Yorker anyway. Also, the second that plane took off for Bozeman, Aiden had begun to come back into his life. He’d pushed one of his best friends away at Lindsay’s subtle behest, passing up Yanks games and streetside knishes in favor of candlelit dinners and elaborate birthday presents. She had me so damn whipped, Danny thought. This love crap really changes a guy.

Just then, Aiden interrupted Danny’s train of thought by walking up to the table. Her black dress pants slid smoothly along the seat of the booth, and she broke into a huge grin while elbowing Danny in the ribs. The red and orange stripes of a strapless top hugged her torso tightly and made her dark brown eyes sparkle. “Missin’ a good time out there, Mess,” she said. “Maka’s quite the dancer, ya know.” Danny couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Aiden’s full lips pursed to give him a knowing look. He and Kaile had circled around each other for years, and now that Lindsay was gone Aiden wanted to make sure Messer ended up with the right woman this time.

He brushed it aside for the moment. “I’ll keep that in mind there, disco inferno. Where’d you pick up those moves anyway? Catch ‘Saturday Night Fever’ on TV one too many times?” Aiden gave Danny a little knock upside the head with her hand, then reached up to sweep cascading waves of black hair out of her face. “I’m not even gonna acknowledge that,” she said, haughtily. “You Staten Island guys wouldn’t know how to move if a beat came up and smacked you in the ass.”

Messer looked across the table at Detective Flack, expecting a few jabs from his buddy from Queens. However, Flack’s brilliant blue eyes were fixed on the sight of Detective Jessica Angell moving her hips in time with the club’s music. Her dark red sleeveless top draped perfectly around a toned chest and contrasted nicely with the black skirt she was rockin’, and yet it wasn’t the clothes or her body that kept Flack’s gaze. He simply could not get enough of her smile. When those rose-pink lips parted, the ensuing flash of perfect teeth was practically blinding. Jess bent over to adjust one of her Sudini calf-length boots and caught Flack looking at her. She smiled, winked and straightened back up to keep dancing with Liz. The two women bent their heads together for a moment, and Flack felt like he was back in junior high. Are they talkin’ about me?

Aiden reached across the table and gave Flack’s left ear a hard flick. “Ow! What was that for, Aiden? Damn! You Brooklyn girls!”

Aiden nodded her head towards Jess. “When you gonna get on that?”

Flack brought a large hand to his chest and gave Aiden an effeminately puzzled look. “I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about, Detective Burn.”

“Uh-huh. Just sack up and ask her out, Flack. I mean Jesus, for all our sake’s—you guys have been flirtin’ like a coupla high schoolers for forever.”

Detective Flack’s forehead wrinkled under his gelled swatch of short black hair. “Maybe I don’t wanna be a one-woman guy, Aiden. Maybe I like just flirtin’ with Jess. Ever think of that?”

Danny shook his head disapprovingly. “Don’t listen to him, Aid. He’s all worried ‘cause the 1-2’s thinkin’ about makin’ her his partner. Whaddya gonna say then, Flack? ‘Sorry, chief, no can do—I haven’t nailed her yet’?”

“Nail who?” Jess’ strong voice shot across the table and straight into Flack’s chest. She, Liz and Kaile were out of breath from dancing, and Flack couldn’t help but wonder what else might make Detective Angell breathe heavily. “Um—nothin’,” Flack said, coughing and turning red. “Want some water after your workout?” “Screw the water, Don—I need a drink!” Tossing her dark brown hair out of her face, Jess grabbed the pitcher of Killian’s in the middle of the table and poured herself an ample glass, downing half of it in one go. Sh*t, Flack thought. I think I’m in love.

Jess motioned that Liz should sit next to Flack, but Doctor Ryder had other plans. “Oh no, hon, you go ahead. I’m hittin’ the bathroom.” So saying, she grabbed her purse and caught Flack’s eye as Detective Angell moved towards him. You better thank me later, said her smug smile. “Hey, me too, Liz,” said Aiden. “Wait up.” The dark-eyed brunette jumped up, making room for Kaile to snag the spot next to Danny. Turning her jet-black head of hair towards Detective Messer, Maka promptly took up Aiden’s mantle and began ragging on Danny for shirking the dance floor.

Adam and Kendall finally made their way back to the table, giggling and flirting. Adam was attempting to impress his dance partner with exaggerated tales of heroism. “Well, y’know, I’m not trying to brag or anything, but I was partially responsible for sending those IRA terrorists packing.” Kendall was having none of it, though. “Really? Because from what I heard, it was Messer who actually squirted the acid into their eyes.” Adam looked a little crestfallen until Danny came to the rescue with a few props. “Well, ya know, it mighta been me that finished off the bastards, but if Adam hadn’t gotten the acid in the first place, we might not even be here. Plus, he had such bad cigarette burns on his hands that he couldn’t even squeeze the bottle.” Adam’s mouth formed into a ‘thank you’ behind Kendall’s back, and when she turned around he did his best to give her a suave smile. “All in a day’s work, Ms. Novak.”

Kendall’s bright red lipstick set off the light blue top that was exposing a good portion of her lovely neckline, and Adam was clearly enamored with the entire package. “Okay guys, I think I’m gonna get outta here,” Kendall said, shaking her head to realign her hair. “There’s a Central Park Slip N’ Slide party going down in twenty minutes.” Snatching her raspberry-colored coat from a hook at the edge of the booth, the long-legged blonde searched the eyes of her companions. “Anyone wanna come?” Twelve eyes shifted to Adam and gave him six insistent stares. “Oh! Uh, yeah, Kendall, I’ll go with ya. Woohoo, plastic!” He gave an enthusiastic fist pump, almost hitting another club patron behind him. Flack tossed Adam his jacket and said, “Get outta here, kids. Be good.” “Aww, look at that, old man Flack,” Jess teased, patting Flack’s thigh. “Just lookin’ out for those crazy whippersnappers, aren’t ya?” Don smiled and shrugged, unable to speak due to the electric shock Jess’ fingertips had just sent coursing through his body.

Liz and Aiden returned from the bathroom with knowing looks in their eyes, a fact evident only to their male best friends. The conversation began to flow around the table as easily as the beer, laced with plenty of laughter and good-natured joking. At one point, though, Sheldon shared some chilling research with the rest of the team. “I’m tellin’ you, guys, the next real frontier of terrorism is going to be pharmacological in nature. We are drastically underprepared for the atrocities that bioterrorism could wreak upon us.”

“The anti-terrorism squad does its best to keep up-to-date, Doc,” Flack said. “It’s hard tryin’ to figure out what to put your resources into. How much do ya head off the current attacks from bombs and planes—and how much do you try and figure out what’s comin’ next?”

“Both, as much as you can, I guess,” Jess replied. “You gotta have balls of steel to do any of that work, though—I know that much. I’ve got a friend in the unit that does the building sweeps around Ground Zero. It’s one thing to walk a beat and wonder about which thugs are packin’, but going to work everyday and doing stuff that might get ya blown up? No thanks.”

“Liz, what’s the deal up in Boston?” Kaile’s beautiful almond-shaped eyes had a serious look about them. “You guys ready if something like that goes down?”

“Well, since I only work at PD half-time I don’t know the full extent of their preparation level,” replied Dr. Ryder. “There is, of course, an anti-terrorism unit, but they generally concern themselves with the kind of physical threats Jess and Flack are talkin’ about.” She took a sip of her beer and continued. “What I do know is that there’s been quite the increase in the development of substances designed to cripple major cities—not only physically, but mentally as well.”

“Whaddya mean ‘mentally,’ Doc?” Danny’s voice was more than skeptical. “Sounds like a Batman villain’s plot gone wrong.” Messer changed his voice to that of a news announcer. ‘Next at 10—Gotham City driven crazy by drugs in the water! Stock tradin’ shmucks cluckin’ like chickens on Wall Street!’” Everyone laughed, including Liz—but the good Doctor’s green eyes still glittered with intensity. “Yeah, yeah, yuk it up, Messer. Just don’t come cryin’ to me when your brain needs to be put back together.”

The conversation drifted back into the realm of lighter things, and excited voices discussing everything from the latest Tod’s handbags to the craptastic start the Yankees were off to flew around the table. Liz had little compassion for her tablemates at the introduction of this last topic. “Awww, look at all your little long faces,” said the avid Red Sox fan. “Doesn’t look good for the post-season.” Flack, Kaile, Danny, Jess and Aiden all glared across the table at their ginger-haired friend. It was Flack who again put words to everyone’s thoughts: “Ah, shut up, Lizzie. With your history of sh*tty second halves, you’re gonna eat those words in October.” “Whatever helps you and A-Roid sleep better at night, D.”

Midnight approached, and Jess was the first to move in the direction of home. “Well, kids, I think I’m gonna go get some sleep,” she said, pulling her black Ralph Lauren shawl about her shoulders. “I’m back on duty tomorrow at 9.” “Hey, Jess, lemme walk ya to your car,” blurted Flack. Angell gave him a surprised look, which prompted him to stutter, “I mean, obviously you can take care of yourself, what with your piece and all—I just wondered if you wanted some company.” “Sure, Don,” Jess replied, smiling such that her eyes disappeared into two cute sets of lines along the sides of her face. “Let’s go.” She began making her way through the spinning, twisting, ass-shaking crowd, leaving Flack in the dust. Don jumped up and turned to leave when Liz spoke up from her spot next to Sheldon. “D!” “Yeah?” “Y’know, if you’re feelin’ kinda tired and feel like goin’ home—or to someone else’s home, for that matter—don’t worry about me. Aiden said I could crash with her.”

Flack’s bright blue eyes widened, and his thick lips twisted into a wicked grin. He pointed excitedly at his friend. “I owe ya one, Lizzie,” he said, grabbing his leather jacket and practically sprinting out of the club. “You’re damn right ya do!” shouted Liz to Don’s quickly fleeing back, drawing laughs from the rest of the table. Dr. Ryder looked at Aiden devilishly. Half their plan was complete. Now to get Messer set for the night. Five minutes later, their chance came. Detective Maka’s petite mouth twisted into a yawn and uttered, “All right, looks like I’m done for the night too.” Danny turned to look at Kaile, and tried to muster up something smart to say. Something to let her know he was still attracted to her, even after all this time. Unfortunately, all he could see was Lindsay, smiling but with her hands on her hips. The very essence of their relationship—explosive chemistry and destructive fights. Aiden saw the glazed look in her friend’s eyes and took over. “Danny, isn’t your apartment close to Kaile’s?”

Danny snapped out of it. “Huh? Oh, uh, well, I don’t know, actually. I’m up near the stadium.” Aiden glared at him, and he quickly caught on and added, “But I’d be happy to take ya home if ya need a ride.” “Thanks, Messer,” Kaile said, her sparkly purple top setting off the reddish highlights in her hair. “I’m in Midtown.” Messer managed a genuine smile, his first of the night. “All right then, Detective Maka, let’s roll.” “You’re never gonna let me live that one down, are ya?” “Nope.” On his way out of the club booth, Danny grasped Aiden’s shoulder and squeezed tightly. Thank you, said his fingers to her skin. Thanks for carin’.

And then there were three. Liz and Aiden moved to flank Dr. Hawkes in the middle of the booth, and he jokingly placed his arms around both ladies. “Ahhhh,” he said. “This is the life. You know, you two should set up a matchmaking service.” Both women pretended to be aghast at the suggestion. “Dr. Hawkes, we have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Liz in her thick Boston accent. “We just wanted to see our friends get home in a safe and efficient manner.” “Right,” replied Sheldon, his chocolate skin rife with skepticism. “I haven’t seen puppetry that sophisticated since Cirque de Soleil.” “Hey, can ya blame us?” asked Aiden. “Despite what they think, those two couldn’t put the moves on a mannequin. They’ll be thankin’ us tomorrow.”

“I don’t doubt it,” said Hawkes. “Now, more importantly--would you lovely ladies like to dance?” “Thought you’d never ask, Dr. Hawkes,” Liz replied, extending her fair-skinned hand. “I love this song!” “I’m gonna sit this one out, Docs.” Liz pouted immediately, but Aiden waved her off. “Go on, move it.” “Suit yourself, AB, but you know nobody drops it like it’s hot quite the way you do.” Aiden laughed and watched her friends make their way back to the dance floor. Taking a drink of her beer, Detective Burn wrestled with her worry for Danny. On one hand, she was selfishly delighted that Monroe had taken her cowgirl ass back to Montana—for although Aiden and Danny had been friends for years, she couldn’t stand the man Danny became when he was around Lindsay. Sappy, deferential and just all-around lame. Almost predictable, really. Nothing like the combative, quick-tongued smartass Aiden had come to trust so dearly.

However, she reluctantly admitted, if he really was in love with Monroe, then there musta been somethin’ she did for him. Somethin’ besides sex and rope braidin’ lessons. She laughed aloud at her own b*tchiness, then sighed. She just wanted Danny to be happy—wanted to hear the teasing cadence in his voice again, to watch his hands wave wildly as he mulled over Joba’s struggles in the bullpen. So that meant getting him to snap out of the funk he’d been in since Lindsay left.

As Aiden watched Doctors Ryder and Hawkes moving together amongst the other partiers, she admitted to herself that part of her desire for Danny’s return to normalcy was so that she could talk to him about something that had had been nagging at her for some time now. Although it was hard for her to admit (not to mention a huge surprise), she suspected she might now be attracted to both men and women. . .and was incredibly confused as a result. Continuing to gaze upon her friends, she thought about the beauty she saw in both Sheldon and Liz. While she did appreciate the way Hawkes’ white Lacoste button-down clung to his dark chest muscles, there was something about the way Liz’s long legs moved in time with the music that Aiden found to be just gorgeous. Which is why she wanted to sit down with Messer and get his take on the situation. . .she knew she couldn’t talk to her brothers, and Grandma would probably just pat her hand, saying it was a phase she’d grow out of. Good girls from Brooklyn just didn’t swing both ways. By contrast, Danny might make a joke or two about pillow fights, but after seeing it was important to her, he’d listen. She was sure of it.

The song ended, and Liz and Hawkes rejoined Aiden at the table, snapping Detective Burn back out of her thoughts. “Well, girls, what do you say?” said Hawkes. “Can I put you in a cab and call it a night?” Aiden and Liz locked eyes, nodding. “Yeah, I think that sounds good. You good to go, chica?” “Yep, I’m cool.” The three friends tossed some cash onto the table, grabbed their light coats and headed for the door. Sheldon playfully bumped his hips into both women as they exited the club, drawing smiles all around upon their emergence into the warm June evening air.

Hawkes hailed a cab and opened the door for both women—receiving two kisses on the cheek for his troubles. “Night, Shel,” Aiden said. “See ya, Hawkes,” came the line from Liz’s red-lipped mouth. “Good night, my queens. Hope I see you again soon, Liz.” “You got it,” the tall redhead responded, resulting in a smug smile from Aiden. As the cab pulled away from the curb and took off into the night, Sheldon headed down the street in the other direction. It was a nice night for a walk—and for thinking about tall redheads at that.

Levi checked the watch wrapped around his makeup-tinted wrist. It had been two hours since the plane had left Heathrow, and if all was going to plan inside his body he would soon be the most lethal weapon to take to the air. The people sitting in his row were probably already infected, meaning they had the capacity to pass on the disease to a few others before dying later tonight. Now it was time to ensure that the rest of the plane became carriers of God’s message as well.

Standing up and saying “excuse me” in a thick accent, Levi passed his two doomed seat neighbors and headed for the rear of the plane. The thick muscles in his thighs felt sluggish, perhaps partially from being seated for so long. But he knew the real cause of their failure. The Rabbi's elixir was working its magic, slowly seeping through his tissues and filling his every capillary with deadly poison. He reminded himself for the millionth time that he was dying for God and would be with Him soon. But first he had to complete the rest of his holy mission.

Levi stumbled a bit as he encountered one of the stewardesses outside the bathroom. “Oh, I am sorry,” he said, again in the heavily accented speech. “It must have been the drink I had.” The stewardess’ painted red mouth smiled as she reached out to steady him. “Quite all right, sir,” she offered in a smooth British accent. Yes, dear woman, it is quite all right, Levi thought. Even moments away from death, I am portraying those head-scarfed vermin as the clumsy, vice-riddled scum they are. He stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.

Once inside, Levi wasted no time. He drew another syringe filled with blue liquid from his jacket and placed it into his pants pocket, sharp side out. Placing one foot to the left of the toilet seat and the other on the sink, the Son of David stood up so that his nose was almost touching the ceiling. From a special compartment in his shoe, he pulled out a Leatherman multi-tool and drew out the largest blade. Taking special care to avoid the smoke detector (and the hefty fine for tampering with it, apparently), he punched four holes into the square of ceiling material directly above his head. Closing the blade and opening the pliers, Levi managed to pull away enough of the ceiling to expose four separate rubber tubes. He didn’t hesitate for a second, quickly locating the white tube and grabbing it with his left hand. He didn’t know how the Rabbi had discovered the location of the plane’s ventilation system, but it didn’t matter. Levi thrust the needle into the tube and emptied the syringe, then replaced the ceiling cover as best he could.

He tossed the needle into the garbage, then washed his hands—just as the world would soon be washing its hands of Palestine. Making his way back down the aisle, Levi noticed at least three people twisting the knobs that sent supposedly benign cool air into their faces. If only they knew. Levi returned to his seat, buckled up and closed his eyes for the last time. I serve only you, O God, he prayed. Take me home so I may kneel at your feet.

An hour later, his body ceased to be that of Levi Ben-David—and became a host for Death.

Chapter Two: Two By Two

Adam could feel his heart pounding as his feet moved through a wooded section of Central Park. The handkerchief Kendall had tied over his eyes was starting to itch, but he shrugged off the discomfort in favor of giving in to excitement. S’not every day a beautiful blonde chick blindfolds you and takes you to a midnight Slip N’ Slide party, he reminded himself. He pictured her thick golden hair streaming out into the night from behind her head, and wondered if she saw anything in him besides a dorky lab geek. Although Adam couldn’t see it, Kendall turned around and flashed him a brilliant smile. “Not too long now,” she said, teasingly.

After a few more minutes of playing guide, Kendall emerged into the Parque Posadas area of Central Park. Out of breath from the jog and giggling at Adam’s confused expression, she decided to stop toying with Mr. Ross and untied the blindfold from behind his head.

To say that the sight meeting Adam’s now-uncovered eyes was crazy would be an understatement. Running down the outfield area between all six of the Parque Posadas’ baseball fields was a gigantic sheet of plastic--a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide, it was split into 8 lanes, each with its own individually colored number. At least fifty twenty-something guys and girls in various types of water wear (bathing suits, shorts, bra and panty sets, even a rain slicker) were dumping buckets of water all over the huge Slip N’ Slide. Music blared from the back of the truck the guerilla partiers had used to transport their containers of liquid fun:

Somebody call 911!
Shawty fire burnin’ on the dance floor, whoa
I gotta cool her down
She wan’ bring the roof to ground
On the dance floor, whoa

Having finally recovered enough to speak intelligently, Adam turned to Kendall to make a joke about fiery song lyrics playing in the midst of a water party, but the gorgeous lab tech was already running off towards the gathered masses. Upon reaching the head of the gargantuan plastic sheet, Kendall started stripping. That water’s gonna feel so good, she thought. Perfect way to wash off the stress of this stupid week. She took off everything but her red cotton bra and matching underwear, which literally stopped Adam in his tracks as he came chasing after her. “Hey, wait up there, Speedy Gonzalez! I. . .uh, oh, wow! Um, yeah. Do you want me to, uh, hold your stuff for ya while you—y’know, slide?”

Kendall grinned and nodded, cocking her right hip to the side as she twisted her long locks into a ponytail. “Aw, thanks Adam! That’s sweet. After I’m done we’ll switch and you’ll go!” Adam’s eyes widened and he tried to dissuade his lovely companion, stammering, “No, no, no—that’s cool. I’m good with just watching you, and uh, making sure nobody takes your stuff.” Kendall waved him off as one might dismiss a ridiculous tabloid story, shaking her head. “Nice try, Bambi! Enjoy your dry boxers while you can!”

So saying, Kendall grabbed a couple dollars from her wallet and jetted off towards the crowd. Adam noted that although she started near the back of the mob, the object of his affections soon made her way to the very front of the line. What a surprise, he thought. She could probably get the President to give up his nuclear codes with that smile. Kendall handed her money to a guy holding the collection box (big ass sheets of plastic weren’t cheap), got hosed down by that night’s luckiest man in New York City and took her place at the starting line of Lane 7. She set her jaw and grinned wickedly as she sized up the other bikini-clad competitors. When all the singles had been successfully stuffed in the slot, a guy in red Lifeguard shorts carrying a whistle and brandishing a bullhorn got up on a ladder. “All right, ladies!” he said. “First race of the night! You all know the rules—gotta start your slide after five running steps! After you come to a stop, put your palms flat on the plastic to show where you got to! And no cheating!”

Adam relaxed and grinned as the eight wet women prepared for battle. The “Lifeguard” blew his whistle, and the night’s first heat of Slip N’ Slide racing was underway! Kendall used her long legs to work up massive amounts of potential energy with her allotted five steps, and when it came time to slide she put her head down, placed her hands in a V-shape in front of her face and away she went! Her body slid smoothly over the wet plastic, and when she finally came to a stop she was well ahead of her competitors. As instructed, Kendall extended her palms in front of her, and within seconds a guy in flip-flops and Bermuda shorts first helped her to her feet, then raised her arm in victory. The crowd went crazy, and Kendall smiled through the water on her face. “Wahoo!” she yelled.

As Kendall walked back over to where Adam was standing, the resident tech king of the forensics lab found himself in awe of his colleague’s beauty. Every minute movement of her body was sexy—everything from the way her fingernails raked through her hair as she put her ponytail back together to the light steps she was taking across the damp grass of Central Park. The Arizona native made up his mind and started shedding his own clothes, getting down to his boxers just as Kendall strolled up. “Change your mind, Mr. Big Baby?”

“I’m not goin’ on the slide,” he said, his voice full of confidence. “Oh no?” Adam stepped closer to Kendall, reaching out and caressing her cheek with his hand. “Nah. I got a better idea.” Grinning, he pulled Kendall’s wet body to his dry chest and placed his mouth over hers. She seemed stunned for a second, but soon kissed back with equal force. The two brilliant scientists released each others’ lips, eyed each other hungrily, then sprinted out of the park towards any form of transportation that would take them to Kendall’s apartment in Chelsea.


Much to Flack’s dismay, Angell’s car was parked only a few blocks away from the entrance to Blue, and thus he caught himself consciously shortening his strides to make the minutes last. As with so many other times over the last few months, Don really wanted to ask Jess if she’d come back to his place--but he couldn’t make himself utter the words. He didn’t want to screw up the chemistry they already had. Jess ain’t like the other chicks I’ve been with, he thought. She’s beautiful, yeah, but smart and damned funny too. And she knows what it means to have to get outta bed at two in the mornin' for a 187. The beer and Jess' beauty had thrown him off his regular game, and so instead of spittin’ lines, he found himself content to just marvel at her tight figure. Her eyes were currently turned towards the sky, and he took the moment to query, “Hey, whatcha lookin’ for, Detective? I don’t think anyone in this city’s seen a star since 1973.”

She laughed, her shimmering lips parting to bring forth just a tiny glimpse of her tongue. “Just lookin’ at my city, Flack. And wishing I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow morning.” The two cops reached Jess’ beat-up dark blue Ford, and Angell was about to unlock her door when she decided just to go for it. Screw what anyone else thinks, she thought. She turned around and leaned up against the window a little bit. “How’re you gettin’ home, Don?” Jolted out of the simple “walk Jess to her car” plan, he faltered for a half a second before catching himself and shrugging. “Me? Oh, uh, I was just gonna take a cab. No big deal.” Jess grinned and looked straight into Flack’s gorgeous blue eyes. “I’ve downed enough beer for one night, but I think I might have a glass of wine before bed. You interested in joining me?”

How Flack managed to keep from responding with “Hell yeah!” was beyond his comprehension. But somehow he maintained the perfect front of nonchalance, saying, “Yeah, sure, that’d be nice. But didn’t you say you had to work early tomorrow?” Here Angell pretended to be hurt and sighed in an exaggerated fashion. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it. If you’re not interested, you’re not interested.” Flack’s façade of cool fell in an instant. “Whoa, hey, hold on! That’s not what I meant! I just thought you said you had to work early, and I didn’t want you to be tired or worn out or somethin’ tomorrow.” Jess took a step towards Don and raised her eyebrows. She dropped her voice a bit and said, “You think you could wear me out, Detective?”

The sleeping tiger of Flack’s accumulated feelings for Angell roared to life in the wake of her teasing, and he could feel his body temperature rise in response to the beautiful temptress standing before him. He took his own step towards her and took her face in his right hand. “I’m sure as hell gonna try,” he half-growled. Flack brought his mouth to meet Jess’ lips, and backed her up into the driver’s side door of the Ford. Jess had never had a first kiss like it. . .Don’s lips were strong, yet moved on and around her own with ease. As for Flack, he proceeded to get even more turned on at his first taste of Jess’ tongue--the way she deftly slipped it in and out of his mouth felt incredible. He moved his hand from her face to the back of her head, and plunged his fingers into the waves of her soft dark hair. She reached just behind his jacket and grasped his right hip tightly, threatening to head for the back pocket of his jeans and his toned butt.

Finally they broke away from one another, gasping for air and smiling. Without a word, Flack ran around to the passenger side of the car and, with a wild look in his eyes, waited for Jess to unlock the doors. Once inside, two of New York’s finest shared another deep kiss, fastened their seat belts, and sped off in the direction of Jess’ apartment in Queens.


As Danny eased his ancient Alfa Romeo down the streets of Midtown, he thought about how weird it was that he actually could give Kaile a ride home tonight. Usually on a summer night like this he’d be riding his bike, but the damn thing was in the shop again. He was convinced Lindsay’d done something to it in order to prevent him from riding. She hated his Harley, hated the accidents he could have gotten into. One more strike against Montana, he thought. Maybe I’m gettin’ the hang of her bein’ gone. Whatever the reason for his bike’s troubles, he didn’t feel like messing with the subway. Or a cab, for that matter. It was too close to the end of the Cabbie Killer case for him to be jumpin’ in the back of a Yellow anytime soon.

Complain as he might about it, Danny loved his little green sports car. “If I gotta own a four-wheeler,” he’d said to Flack, “it might as well be Italian.” Messer snapped out of his automotive musings to steal a glance at his passenger seat’s current occupant. Maka was leaning on her right hand and gazing out the window, tapping a purple-painted fingernail on her perfectly straight teeth. Danny loved seeing Kaile in something other than her work clothes—although he admitted that she looked pretty damn good in those as well.

Kaile turned her head from the window and caught Danny giving her a once-over. “What’s up, Messer?” Maka was brimming with excitement at the possibilities for the rest of the evening, but had also used her Detective skills to discover all the details of Danny’s recent break-up. As Maka studied Danny’s face, she found many of the elements she’d first been attracted to so long ago—strong jaw, great smile, crazy hair—and yet there were others that had only been added recently. His oceanic eyes appeared sadder, older even. And his sense of humor, although still as sharp as ever, was only making very rare appearances. I guess the death of that Ruben kid really got to him, Kaile thought. That’d probably put me outta commission for awhile too. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

Danny smiled and gave a little embarrassed laugh. “Y’know, I was actually thinkin’ about that crazy dead bride case four years ago. You remember that?”

Maka thought about it. “Oh yeah! Yeah, I do. Dead doves and a deader wife-to-be. What made ya think of it?”

“Well, I remember you tellin’ me you were attracted to a guy with a dark sense of humor—and I never told ya this before, but for a while after that I actually tried to have a stash of morbid jokes on-hand for whenever I saw you. Y’know, use the DBs to score a few more points.”

By this time, Danny had parked the Alfa on Kaile’s tree-lined street. Although it was twelve-thirty in the morning, the block still buzzed with life and lights. Friday night was now Saturday morning, but the parties weren’t going to wind down anytime soon. Detective Messer unbuckled his seatbelt and turned his body towards Kaile, placing his right arm around the back of the passenger seat. Maka had laughed at Danny’s earlier revelation, but in looking into his eyes she became aware of just how much he was forcing his flirting. So she pulled a Maka and cut through the crap.

“Messer,” Kaile said, “I was going to ask you to come upstairs, but I’m thinkin’ that may need to wait until another day. You should go home and get some sleep.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “Kaile. I’ve been lookin’ forward to this for a long time. Why would I wanna pass it up for a few winks?!”

“Look, Danny, believe me—I want it too. I’ve wanted it for a long time now. But I think you’ve got some stuff that you need to take care of.”

Messer leaned back on the headrest and exhaled heavily. “So what, now, I gotta prove to you that I’m over Lindsay before we sleep together?! Is that it?” He gazed at the gorgeous Asian woman sitting next to him and immediately regretted the statement. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kaile. You’re right. Clearly I got a lotta sh*t goin’ on. I just was excited about stayin’ over, that’s all.”

“Messer, I’m the last one who’s gonna demand a relationship from you, okay? I’m not the ultimatum type. It’s just that tonight I’m more concerned about my friend gettin’ better than about turning him into a friend with benefits. And really, if you think about it, you sitting next to me in the club and taking me home was all Aiden’s doing anyway.” Kaile gave Danny a little side smile, which he returned in kind. “Besides,” Maka said, “when you’re finally in bed with me you won’t be able to think about anybody else anyway.” Messer scoffed and grunted. “You’re not makin’ this easy, Detective Maka.” “I know. But it’s more fun that way. Now go home. That’s an order from a woman with an arm of steel.” Danny dropped his head and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“Thanks for the ride, Messer.” Kaile unbuckled her seatbelt, then leaned over and quickly kissed Danny on the mouth. “What was that for?” “Call it a preview.” She grinned wickedly, then stepped out of the car and waved goodbye. Danny watched her tiny but strong frame walk confidently towards the door of her building. He waited until she buzzed in, then placed his head in his hands. Now I know Montana got to me. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about her cute little smile even to get between Kaile’s sheets. What the hell is wrong with me?! He had to admire Maka’s insight and honesty, though. She’d read the heart he’d stuck on his sleeve and did what she thought was best for her friend.

Which, of course, only made him want her more at the moment.

After a few more minutes deep in thought, Danny brought the car to life, turned around, and headed north--towards the Bronx and his bed.