Author's Note: I'm still depressed about the lack of Danny on WAT season 3. I don't have much inspiration for a new case file. So I decided to do a Danny backstory fic. It starts out when he is 16. I don't know if this fic will advance as far as his life in the FBI. We'll see how it goes and how well the story is received.

Disclaimer: The Danny character from Without a Trace belongs to CBS and Bruckheimer.

Spoilers for: Risen, Clare De Lune, Legacy, Revelations

Danny was running…running as hard and fast as he could. He could feel the footsteps pounding the pavement behind him as he turned the corner into an alley. He slowed down and frantically tried to open doors and lift up windows, but they were all locked. He realized there was no escape as he reached the dead end. He turned to face what or rather who was coming. As he turned, he mentally prepared himself to show no fear even though his heart was pounding. The two young men chasing him slowed upon seeing Danny trapped at the end of the alley. One of them started to smile when he saw that Danny had no place to go.

As they approached, one of them called out, "Where's our money, little brother?"

Danny shook his head. "Don't have it. I need a little more time…"

"Time? Time? Little brother wants more time, Jackson. What do you think?" the one man said to the other.

"I don't know, man. Raffi had a whole month to pay us before this kid promised he'd come up with the money. Where's your brother, kid?" Jackson asked.

"I don't know," Danny replied.

"You don't know? You told us last week that Raffi arranged for you to get the money to us, but that you just needed a week. So if he arranged it, then where the hell is he?"

"I lied. I don't know where he is," Danny answered stoically trying not to show how scared he felt.

"Well this is unacceptable. You know that, right? We provided your brother with Grade A, high quality smack…and we get what in return? Nada…zero…zilch. That doesn't seem fair to me. Does it to you?" Jackson asked Danny

Danny shrugged. "You shouldn't have sold to him in the first place. You knew he was a junky. You knew he couldn't pay. Ripping off a liquor store or jacking a car isn't going to put a dent in what he owes you."

"You're a smart kid…much smarter than your brother. I tell you what…what if you work off Raffi's debt. You could work for me. We could definitely find something lucrative for a pretty boy like you. The rich johns from uptown love the little latinos down here."

Jackson's partner laughed as they exchanged glances.

"No…no way, man," Danny answered without hesitation.

"Oh come on…I've heard it's not so bad, little brother. You actually might like making the extra money after a while."

"Screw you. I'm not working for you," Danny fired back vehemently.

"You don't have a choice…if you want to live and if you want your brother to live, you'll do whatever I say."

"I'm not working for you," Danny stated again as he backed up to the wall and grabbed a pipe that was leaning against it.

Jackson laughed. "So what…you want to fight your way out of this?" Jackson asked as he started to walk toward Danny.

Danny's eyes shifted from one man to the other as they both approached him. As soon as Jackson came within striking distance, he swung the pipe quickly and connected with Jackson's jaw. Then he swung back the other way to make contact with the other man's abdomen. As they tried to regain composure, Danny pushed through them to run away, but the other man grabbed a hold of his t-shirt and swung him against the wall. Danny hit the wall hard. He pushed off the wall to try to get in another swing with the pipe, but Jackson's fist connected with his face in a hard, stinging blow. Danny immediately went down to the ground, but the other man pulled him back up and locked his arms behind his back.

"Was that the best you got, little brother?" Jackson said as he picked up the pipe that Danny dropped and started swing hard, crushing blows to his face and abdomen.

Danny didn't say another word. He just took the beating and tried not to cry out in pain. When he fell to the ground, the other man kicked his rib cage over and over as Jackson continued to hit him with the pipe. Danny was barely conscious, but he heard Jackson say, "Finish the kid off. Let's send that junky brother of his a message."

And then Danny felt it…a pain like no other he had felt in his life. The cold metal turned hot as it pierced his stomach and gashed downward. Danny winced as the man twisted the knife inside of him, and he felt his blood start to spill out of him. The man grabbed him by the hair and pulled up whilesaying a final word. "We'll track your brother down and let him know where to find your body. I bet you wished you never helped his sorry ass now…huh?" the man said as he violently smashed Danny's head to the ground andwalked away laughing.

Danny wanted to curl up into a ball. He was starting to feel cold as the blood drained from his body. He wanted to call out, but his lips wouldn't open. The piercing pain started to subside. He knew he was dying. He knew this was the end. Before he lost consciousness, his final thought was about the irony of the situation. He was trying to make the right choices. He was trying to get his life on track, and yet he was the one who was dying. Danny knew he was dying his brother's death.