This is an alternate universe version of how Speedle died, its a total one shot, its just one way it could have gone all sad and stuff.
Disclaimers:I dont own any one, blah blah copywright cakes
Tim Speedle knew that few buildings in Miami had basements. He knew that the one he was in was a rarity and maybe even some thing historical because of its proximity to the docks nearby.
He didn't actually care but he was aware of it.
Normally he would be interested in the history of such a unique building, he'd have gone home later in the day and done some research, just out of interest, but at the moment, he hated the building because there had been a severely decomposed corpse hidden in the basement, a little boy who'd disappeared months before and it would seem, been murdered here in this damp little room.
Speed hated the building because of the awful things that had happened there, he half hated the residents of the apartment block above for not having known what had happened, and he just generally hated the world today, because a little boy had died, and it shouldn't have happened.
He sighed, audibly, one of his typical, long, deep, world weary sighs, then wished he hadn't because the inward breath filled his nose and lungs with the stench of death and the body.
Then he felt guilty, because that stench had been a child.
He glanced around the room, his 'csi sense' on full alert. The body was long gone, back at the lab with the others, and most of the evidence had been collected but Speed had discovered a strange piece of trace evidence on the boy's clothing and had come back to see if he had missed anything on his first examination of the scene.
He had set up two portable lamps to illuminate the gloomy room, wishing he had more, and was walking the grid, literally pacing one step at a time over the scene and seeing what he found as he meticulously examined the concrete floor.
He knew there was one uniform upstairs, guarding the entrance to the basement, a young kid, new to the job, and the building manager, who had let them into the basement when the smell became strong enough to be noticed, hanging around trying to direct residents away from the cordoned off crime scene lest they decide to leave based on the little that they could see.
He heard a shout from above and wanted to kill the young cop for breaking his concentration, but he heard the kid say some thing about the building manager brewing coffee and remembered he hadn't gotten a good caffeine hit in a good few hours.
He looked around at the grid he'd mapped out and figured he could walk the rest of it, in his own time, go get a coffee, take a small break, come back to the scene with fresh eyes.
He knew, in his gut, that there was something here, some thing obvious and vital that he was just, missing…he heard the cop walk away from the door and set his mind back to work mode, zoning out everything around him.
Within another half an hour, he'd walked the whole room and as yet, found nothing.
He crossed the room to where his kit lay, crouching to find his UV torch, his attention fixed on the box in front of him.
He didn't hear the man walking up behind him, because the man was wearing those soft soled slippers old people always seem to wear, lifting his feet so they didn't make a scratch sound on the concrete.
He may have been older, but the building manager was large, still in pretty good shape from working on the docks as a kid.
He had a kitchen knife, the long, vaguely triangular type the killers in slasher movies always used, and he clamped a hand over Speed's mouth, pushing him back against the wall.
The knife was sharp and it slid into Speed's gut easily, all the way to the hilt, drawing blood at once.
"You cant tell them…I didn't mean him to die" the man hissed desperately "I didn't…"
Speed looked into the eyes of a man on the edge, guilt or just vanilla madness driving him to act.
Speed felt a tug as the knife was pulled out, and then the pain came, stealing the breath he would have used to scream.
"I'm sorry" the man whispered, dropping the knife and walking away, tripping over the cable for the portable lamps, the light fading quickly as the cable disconnected.
Speed slid down the ground, pressing a hand to his stomach and feeling the hot blood that was flowing from the wound.
He made a pained, gasping sound, reaching shakily for his cell phone and flipping it open.
He keyed a number, hitting send and praying for a signal.
Some one picked up and he gave a small prayer of thanks.
"Alexx" he gasped "M'hurt" he managed.
"Timmy?" Alexx sounded immediately concerned "baby what's wrong, where are you?"
"I'm cut" Speed hissed painfully "Oh…god Alexx I'm bleeding"
His eyes where fixed on the spreading pool of blood on the floor beneath his legs, how rapidly it was growing in relation to the increasing dizziness and throbbing feeling inside his skull.
"Timmy?!What happened, tell me what happened and where you are" Alexx snapped.
Speed was half aware of noise on the other end of the phone, as if Alexx was moving around or talking to people there with her.
He heard a voice, Horatio Caine, asking Alexx what was wrong, Alexx trying to explain what little she knew.
He heard Horatio snap that he knew where Speed was, and begin yelling orders.
Speed pressed his hand to the wound despite the pain, feeling awfully cold, his hands shaking violently.
"Alexx?" he asked in a small voice, "What's happening?"
"We're coming baby, you just wait, we're coming" Alexx sounded like she was crying.
MIAMIMIAMIMIAMI
Alexx saw the building and threw her door open almost before Horatio stamped on the brake and brought the hummer to a stop.
She was still pressing her phone to her ear, screaming Speed's name since he had fallen silent a few minutes ago, but she dropped it as she ran through the door of the building, Horatio at her heels, detective Frank Trip barrelling into the building managers apartment as he spotted the confused young cop rising from his seat just inside the door.
Alexx barely heard the words "My radio is switched off because the signal in here is bad" before she flew down the basement steps, taking them three at a time, registering the sound of sirens, the ambulance, some where behind her before her foot hit the concrete and she looked around, spotting Speed sitting against the wall in the light of Horatio's maglight.
She gave a strangled scream and rushed to his side, kneeling in the pool of blood that surrounded, him, grabbing for his neck to find a pulse.
"Timmy!" She shrieked, as Horatio rushed to Speed's other side, "Timmy damn it talk to me!!"
Speed still clutched his phone in his hand but as Alexx raised his arm, the phone fell away, his hand flopping lifelessly.
Horatio had raised the edge of Speed's shirt to see the wound and was talking rapidly and angrily into his phone, raising his voice to yell for the medics.
Alexx lay a hand on Speed's cheek and he was cold, his dark eyes shut.
Horatio was still yelling orders as Alexx reached across and took his hand, squeezing it once to get his attention.
"He's gone Horatio" she said quietly.
Horatio stared at her for a beat, the words she had uttered not quite registering in his mind, glancing at Speed, then back to her.
He pressed his fingers to the inside of Speed's wrist, his face set in a grim frown.
"No" he said simply.
"He's gone" Alexx whispered, "We lost him"
Horatio stood suddenly, stepping back from Speed, shaking his head, "No" he repeated "We're here now!" he pointed out.
Alexx took Speed's hand and held it between her own, squeezing her eyes shut as she heard the medics clatter down the basement steps and rush towards them.
"He's gone" she repeated as one of the medics tried to push past her, "just leave him" she sighed.
The medic gripped Speed's wrist regardless and checked his own watch as his companion pressed a stethoscope to Speed's chest.
Alexx opened her eyes and saw the men exchange grim looks and look over at her pointedly, one of them holding his arm so she could see his watch.
"Time of Death, three thirty six pm" Alexx said dully.
She saw a flash of something bright and looked over to see Calliegh Duquesne reach the bottom of the stairs in time to see the paramedics start to pack up their hastily dropped equipment and move away from what they where aware was a crime scene.
Calleigh immediately gave a choking sob and reeled, bodily, away from what was in front of her, covering her eyes as if she'd scene something obscene, shaking her head vigorously.
Horatio was watching the paramedics, his face angry, lost for words as they quietly, almost embarrassedly left.
"What…what's…" Calleigh tried to talk "Why are they leaving?" she finally managed raggedly.
"He's gone sugar" Alexx said, feeling utterly hollow "He died, alone, in the dark, scared and hurting" her voice was unnervingly blank.
"But…he cant have" Calleigh said almost petulantly "He was just at the lab this morning, he was fine" she searched Alexx's face, seeking out some impossible answer "This doesn't make sense" she whispered as her voice finally broke and she pressed a hand to her mouth, realisation and shock striking her at the same time "Oh…Speed" she gasped, walking towards his body, stopping her self half way with an effort so strong it was a visible thing, literally rearing back on her heels within a few feet of the body, half reaching out as if to touch him, curling her hand into a fist and letting it drop to her side.
Alexx leaned forward and stroked a stray curl of Speed's black hair from his forehead, feeling a dam inside her break.
She shoved herself backwards, just about keeping her composure as she rose to her feet, shaking from head to foot.
She looked, wild eyed, at the still silent Horatio who needed no better clue to act.
He strode forwards and pulled her into a hug, pressing her face against his chest as if to hide what she could see.
He walked her over to Calleigh and lay a hand on the other woman's shoulder, guiding her towards the stairs, moving stiffly, as if he where in pain.
The three of them froze at the bottom of the stairs, aware as CSI's that they couldn't leave the body alone, that procedurally it could compromise the case.
With some silent agreement, Calleigh and Alexx walked up the stairs and didn't look back and Horatio turned, dropping onto one of the steps and leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, staring at the silent visage of one Tim Speedle.