Dedication: I dedicate this story to my best friend for the attention and time she's able to give me while she's going through such misery.
Summary: It starts off as any other case, but when one of the CSIs gets shot, it is up to the others to solve the case and catch the shooter. Possible character death, depending on whether I can let this character die or not. One shot. No spoilers at all. Post-Lost Son though.
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI:Miami nor any of the characters. If I did, then I'd have let this happen in one episode. Without this character dying of course, but maybe this character won't die here either. Maybe it's just a matter of time before the writers let what I write happen :P I do own Amylia! But anyone may use her.
Influence
Mara Shelley looked at Justus Crown, who was sitting across the table.
"Let's get dancing" he said. Mara nodded and got on her feet. She wore a blue miniskirt and a white tank top, barely 21. But she had already experience a lifetime.
Club Zen was at the moment the most popular club in the whole of Miami, and Mara knew that she was lucky to even get in. It was very cool decorated, lime and white seemed to be the main colors. The VIP section was just up the stairs so the VIPs could oversee the dance floor. The club also had an outside area, with lounge beds from where you had a great look at the water and the skyline of Miami. Mara loved Club Zen.
Giggling, Mara looked at Justus.
"You know what? I think I may have had too many mojitos"
Justus laughed. "Maybe, Mara."
"Wait a minute" Mara stopped and took off her stiletto heels. Then she looked at Justus. "I don't like walking home on stilettos" She threw them in the water they were walking along. Again, she giggled. A dark figure walked past them. A bang. Mara shrieked. She looked at Justus, who suddenly laid on the ground instead of walking next to her.
"Jus? Jus?" Mara poked him. "Wake up. You can sleep at home"
Another loud bang. This time, Mara never had the time to shriek. Just as her boyfriend Justus, she was lying on the sidewalk. Dead.
"Frank… do we have an ID?" Horatio looked at Alexx, who was examining the victims.
"Mara Shelley, 21, and Justus Crown, 23. Both lived in Coral Gables."
"Coral Gables… okay. Alexx, TOD?"
"About 3:30 am, shot from behind. I bet you two never saw who did it?" Alexx turned Mara's head.
"Any idea how they ended up here?" Horatio asked.
Delko walked up to the crime scene, kit in his hand, smile on his face.
"I guess they partied all night at Club Zen before walking home through this neighborhood. It's a block away" he said.
Calleigh picked up two shell casings. "9 mil" she said.
"Okay" Horatio said. "Calleigh, you and I go have a talk with the owner of that Club Zen. Let's find out, if he's as Zen as his club"
They left Frank,Alexx, Delko and Ryan at the scene.
"Shot in the head, close range" Alexx said.
"Shoe impressions in the grass" Ryan suddenly said. He photographed it.
Horatio and Calleigh walked up to Club Zen. Had it been busy at 3 am, now it was totally silent. Horatio noticed the front door of the club was open. He looked at Calleigh, who took her gun out of the holster. Horatio did so too.
George Trautman noticed two people walking into his club, their guns draw.
"Miami-Dade Police" they shouted. Damn cops. One of them was a young blonde woman, probably at most half a decade older than the average age of his club visitors. The other one was a red-haired man, pushing fifty. He seemed to be the one in charge. Trautman drew his own gun. Those goddamn cops were probably for that little bitch Mara. If it weren't for her father to be his biggest investor, he would have hurt her long time ago. Trautman hid behind the bar, trying to blend into the background. Hmm, that year with the marines had certainly helped him. Looking around the corner, Trautman aimed at the blonde.
Calleigh heard a fire arm shoot and felt heat next to her arm. Miss. She aimed at where she thought the shot came from. As did Horatio.
"Miami-Dade Police" Horatio shouted again.
Shit. Miss. Trautman cursed at himself for missing that blonde. He wasn't losing his skills that fast, was he? He hoped not. He aimed again.
Horatio and Calleigh aimed at the bar. Horatio nodded at Calleigh. He himself walked over to the very corner of the bar from where Trautman shot, while Calleigh walked over to the other end, hoping to surprise him.
Idiots, Trautman thought by himself. Didn't they notice the wall with mirrors behind the bar? He saw them both coming. He aimed again. And shot. Then he moved over, to aim at the other one.
Calleigh looked down the barrel of a gun that was being held by a man she recognized as George Trautman.
"Mr. Trautman, I don't think it's a good idea to shoot me too" she said calmly, trying to not let him sense her concern over Horatio.
Horatio felt pain in his shoulder. He laid on the ground, looking at the ceiling, trying to get up but he couldn't. Thank god he was shot in his left shoulder, since he was right-handed so he could still aim at Trautman, if he'd have him in sight. He was concerned over Calleigh. From what he could hear she handled the situation very well, but he also knew Trautman could shoot her any time now. He worried about Calleigh. He knew she would be okay, but he worried about her and this situation.
Trautman backed away from Calleigh, stepping over Horatio.
Horatio saw Trautman stepping over him and aimed at his knee. He shot. Hit.
Trautman now tried to run away as fast as he could with a bullet in his knee.
Calleigh ran over to Horatio and kneeled.
"Horatio!" she said, taking a handkerchief from her pocket, pressing it against the wound in his shoulder. Somewhere, they heard an engine start. Boat. Calleigh grabbed her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"This is CSI Duquesne, man down at Club Zen. We need a paramedic"
Then she looked at Horatio.
"You're going to be alright, Horatio" she said.
Horatio wanted to believe Calleigh, looking her in her bright-green eyes. She was his best CSI and if he would not make it, she would run CSI perfectly fine.
This situation reminded him so much about a few years ago, when Speed was shot. Since then, Horatio insisted everyone of his CSIs cleaned their gun regularly, making sure this wouldn't happen again. He did too, afraid it would happen to him. And now it had, although his gun hadn't jammed. His vision became blurry and Calleigh became a blurry too. Horatio heard sirens. Ambulance. He believed Calleigh when she said it would be alright. And it would.
Calleigh looked at Horatio.
"Horatio" she whispered. She grabbed his wrist. He still had a pulse. Maybe Trautman had missed any important vein and organ. She hoped so. Ryan and Delko were the first to run up to her and Horatio.
Ryan saw his supervisor, lying on the ground, shot in the shoulder. This was the great Lieutenant Horatio Caine. He kneeled next to Calleigh.
"What happened, Cal?" he asked. Calleigh looked at him.
"George Trautman, the owner of this club, was still at the premises and took a shot at us. He missed me by the smallest distance you can imagine, but he hit Horatio right in the shoulder. He took off on a boat."
"What kind of boat?" Delko couldn't resist to ask. Calleigh shook her head. Delko walked off, to the back of the club, outside, to the boat slip.
Two paramedics came rushing in, putting Horatio on their gurney and taking him with them. Calleigh would stay by his side.
Ryan walked up to Delko at the boat slip.
"Can you believe it? Horatio, shot?" he asked. Delko looked at him.
"Even the best are not perfect" he said.
"That's more like a thing for Horatio to say" Ryan smiled.
"You know, great minds…" Delko laughed, trying to break the seriousness of the situation.
"He's going to be fine" Ryan said, before pointing at a stain that laid on the water, dark colored in every color of the rainbow. "What is that?"
"Fuel" Delko concluded. "Someone spilled or we've got a leaky boat"
The ambulance rushed up to the hospital. Calleigh followed the nurses as they drove the gurney inside, rushing to the ER.
A girl, about seventeen, rushed into the hospital, looking for a doctor. Calleigh noticed her and walked up to her. "Maybe I can help you"
The girl shook her head. "I dunno."
"What's your name?"
"Amylia Caine"
"Caine?"
"Uhhuh"
"Let's have a seat"
What seemed hours later, a doctor walked up to Calleigh, holding something.
"Miss Duquesne?" the doctor asked. Calleigh nodded. "You asked for the bullet?"
Calleigh nodded again. "Thank you, doctor."
Calleigh walked up to Alexx, who was examining Mara and Justus on two of her autopsy tables.
"Alexx, do you have a bullet for me?" she asked. Alexx looked up and noticed Calleigh.
"Hello Calleigh. How's Horatio doing?"
"Still in surgery" she answered. Alexx nodded.
"One of the bullets fragmented but the other one is still intact"
"Thank you Alexx" Calleigh said while she took the bullets.
Perfect match. Calleigh backed away from the microscope. So Trautman had also shot Mara and probably Justus too. She decided to go and see what Ryan and Delko had found.
"High octane fuel" Delko told Ryan and Calleigh. "This guy Trautman has a pretty fast boat"
The tox results on Mara and Justus just rolled out of the printer, as if it was waiting to be read. Calleigh picked up the paper and looked at it.
"High alcohol levels, that's all. They've been drinking."
"How's Horatio doing?" Ryan asked. Calleigh looked at him.
"He's still in surgery" she answered. Her cell rang. All three of them looked at each other, afraid of what the caller might have as message.
"Calleigh Duquesne" Calleigh said. "Okay" she said in the end, before ending the conversation.
"Seems like the coast guard picked up George Trautman for exceeding the speed limit on water" she said.
As two officers arrested Trautman, Calleigh searched the boat and came up with a gun.
"Wait a minute" she said. Then she turned to Ryan. "Test his hands for GSR"
"GSR" Ryan said.
As Delko tested the gun for fingerprints. "George Trautman" he reported to Calleigh, who was comparing a test bullet from the gun to the bullet the doctor had taken out of Horatio.
"Match"
George Trautman looked nervous. Calleigh looked at him.
"Mr. Trautman. We meet again" She showed him a photo of a gun. "We found this gun on your boat and we believe it's used to kill Mara Shelley and Justus Crown, and it's used to shoot lieutenant Horatio Caine. You're facing the death penalty for the attempted murder of a police employee and the murder of two innocent citizens"
"Innocent!" Trautman said. "Innocent! That little bitch Mara almost ruined me, mentally. She dumped me for that little bastard Crown."
"Yes, poor you" Calleigh said before standing up. "You better hope lieutenant Caine will make it"
Ryan looked at Delko. "She seems to interrogate the same way Horatio does." He noticed. Delko nodded. "I wonder if he's out of surgery now."
"I hope he is. I guess none of us, nor he himself, has any clue what influence he has."
They heard a phone ring. Calleigh's cell, that Delko was holding for her while she was in interrogation.
"Eric Delko, Calleigh Duquesne's phone"
"Mr. Delko, this is doctor Jett. Lieutenant Caine is out of surgery and he'll be fine."
Horatio laid in a hospital bed. Amylia sat in a chair next to the bed, just watching him.
"I don't want to lose you, dad. Please, tell me you won't go back."
Horatio smiled. "Amylia, CSI says the victim's last words. I have to get back."
The end.
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A/N: I recommend you listen Comptine d'une autre été, a song from the movie 'le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain', one of my favorite movies, while you read the last two paragraphs. It's sets a great tone for it.