Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of CSI: Miami only the original characters Rebecca Castillo and others that may be introduced later in the story. I make no money from this weird hobby and am poor full time students so don't sue.
Chapter Two: Working With the Team
At 8am sharp Lieutenant Caine stood in the lobby waiting for me. He wore a dark gray suit with a plum colored shirt. With the climate the way it is I personally could not be wearing such dark colors much less with a suit coat. Light and airy is what I need and is what I had on. Black slacks with a cornflower blue colored three quarter sleeve blouse are what I sported. I hurried out to the lobby after helping myself to the hotels continental breakfast, which included a bagel with cream cheese and coffee with cream. I carried my half empty cup of coffee with me but then quickly regretted the decision. I should not of had coffee this morning. Already feeling keyed up I did not need the caffeine boost. I walk up to the Lieutenant.
"Good Morning Lieutenant Caine." I greet him. He turns in my direction and addresses me.
Good Morning Ms Castillo, did you have breakfast?" I answer him.
"Yes I did. Good ole continental breakfast complements of the hotel." I smile because I was in a good mood. He clucks shaking his head.
"That's not a proper breakfast Ms Castillo." I look at him as he continues. "Now eggs with bacon, toast and coffee, that's a good breakfast." Never one to be able to eat that heavy in the morning the thought nauseated me.
"And is this what you had this morning Lieutenant?" I threw back at him. He gives me that smirk that I think is suppose to be a smile.
"Well not exactly." He begins walking to the doorway and I do to. "I had toast and coffee from the list."
So it would seem do as I say not as I do would be a motto for him. We walk over to the departmental Hummer as he unlocks the doors with the fob. He slips in easily into the vehicle while I have to haul myself up into the cab. As I did this I could feel my pants sliding a little bit down to my hips. Damn, I must have lost a little bit of weight since I bought these slacks. They sure are comfortable though and that's what I am after. I wanted to look professional but be able to move about as the job demands.
After we arrive at headquarters the Lieutenant arranges for me to receive a temporary ID badge allowing me full access to the facilities. I am to display this badge at all times. He then takes me over to the trace lab because I am scheduled to work with Natalia Boa Vista for my first two hours. The Lieutenant takes a few moments to speak with Natalia probably wanting an update on the current case she's working on. He then leaves us to work. I look around recognizing most of the equipment used for trace analysis. A clear box with lots of envelopes of evidence is stacked full ready to be analyzed. It looked that Natalia will have a lot of work to do and is now probably a little bit behind. Trace analysis is always behind so I offered.
"How about you show me your procedure for running these and then I can lend you a hand with those." I point to the pile of evidence. Natalia smiles probably glad for the help.
"Sure Rebecca that would be great. We have been so swamped lately."
She proceeds to show me how things are run so I could assist with the work, under her supervision. Her direction is very informative and kind, not condescending. We soon developed a nice rhythm of running the evidence while sharing the space. The pile soon started to get smaller as both of us continued to work. Small talk was exchanged as we learned a little bit about each other. Natalia was easy going and a pleasure to work with.
Time went by quickly and it was a quarter to 10 when Eric entered the lab.
"Natalia, H wants me to take Rebecca on this callout." My back was to him so I did not see him enter. Natalia answers him.
"Geeze Eric I'm supposed to have her for 15 more minutes." She jokes with him.
"Look, I am almost caught up because of her." I turn around and look at both of them.
"Hi Rebecca." Eric greets me. "Your gonna accompany me to this crime scene I got called to." I answer him.
"Sure Eric, what ever you say." Natalia says to me.
"Thanks for your help Rebecca. I really appreciate it. Now I am mostly caught up." I smile as I answer her.
"No problem Natalia, I was glad to be of help to you." I move to join Eric in leaving the lab. She answers.
"Look forward to working with you again." I nod my head.
"Thanks, me too." Eric and I step out of the lab and begin walking to the elevators. He asks me.
"You ready for some fieldwork?" I grin putting on my best face.
"Of course, I did sign all the paperwork on liability and all." My grin gets wider. "In case I get shot out there all you have to do is have the body sent back to Minnesota." He looked at me funny but then chuckled.
"You're not going to get shot out there Rebecca." He lets me know. "Would it make you feel more comfortable if I get you some Kevlar?" I think he is serious so I back peddle.
"Oh no. That is not necessary. Um, I'm fine. Really." I felt embarrassed. Then I hear that familiar baritone voice of Lieutenant Caine.
"Ms Castillo do you have concerns about your safety?" I could feel my face heat up. I did not even hear him approach. He must walk like a cat. I turn to face him.
"Um, no Lieutenant. I was just. Um. Making a joke I guess." He tilts his head and studies me for a moment.
"Okay then. Everything will be fine. Eric will take good care of you." I nod my head in agreement too embarrassed to reply.
The elevator door opens and the three of us step inside. Eric pressed the button B for basement I assumed. The Lieutenant informs Eric that he and 'Mr. Wolf' are taking a call out over at the Gables and if he needed any help to call Calleigh. I stay quiet making no more comments.
Again I had to haul myself up into the cab of a gianormous Hummer. At least I am getting my exercise. Eric drives us out to the crime scene. After about two turns I was lost and did not know where we were. However after we arrived it did not look like a good part of town. Eric parks the Hummer right next to the yellow tape marking off the crime scene. We get out of the vehicle and I follow Eric as he walks up to a very large balding man wearing a light brown suit, hands on his hips.
"Hey Frank." Eric turns slightly so he faced both of us. "This is Rebecca Castillo. She is Horatio's candidate for the Computer Forensics position. Rebecca this is Detective Frank Tripp"
The large man looked down at me. He had to be over 6 feet tall. Frank had a rather intense hard look about his face but he had large blue green eyes. It was his eyes that put me at ease. He holds out his hand for me to shake it.
"Nice to meet you Rebecca." I placed his accent more from the southwest like in Texas. I take his hand to shake and his very large hand totally encompasses my small one. Using a firm grip he shook my hand.
"Nice to meet you too Detective Tripp." He gets this somewhat disgusted look on his face.
"You can call me Frank." Eric pipes up as I drop the handshake
"But don't call him Francis." Then Eric laughs as Frank sighs in disgust.
"You ready to get to work smartass? I'm bakin' out here and I wanna get out of here before my bald head burns." I chuckled at that. I could not help it. Frank is too funny.
"Sure thing Frank." Eric replies. "Show me where the body is."
Frank then leads us to the alleyway where a young dark haired man was laying face down with a bullet hole in the back of his head. It looked execution style to me having seen similar crime scenes in Juarez and back home. I took visual inventory of everything before me. Eric took the camera and began taking pictures. He asks me.
"Tell me what you think happened here Rebecca." So its test time now. He wants to see what I know, what I can come up with.
"Well." I begin as I crouch down by the body and I point to the back of the head. "The bullet entry in the back of the head along with the dirt caked on the knees of his pants tells me this guy was executed. Maybe gang related" Eric was crouching on the other side of the body so we were at eye level.
"Good eye Rebecca." He continues, "What does the dirt on his knees have to do with it being an execution?" I inform him as I stand up taking a step back from the body to demonstrate.
"Because whoever shot him made the victim kneel on the ground with his back to him so he could cleanly shoot him in the back of the head instantly killing him." I continue. "I have seen a lot of this in Juarez. Too many executions happened after a large drug bust." I continued more. "It gives the shooter a sense of power making the victim kneel down in front of them, plus making it easier to kill him. Waste less bullets that way." Oh Lord, I probably said too much. Why did I have to go on and on about it? I hear Frank chuckle. He had this smile on his face or was it a grimace?
"She nailed it Delko. The victim is some gangbanger that got himself executed all right." Eric stands back up as Frank points to a young Hispanic teen who was standing by a patrolman. "He is the witness and saw the whole thing so I am gonna take him back to headquarters for his statement." Eric replies.
"Okay Frank, Rebecca and I will finish up here. Alexx should be arriving soon." With that said Frank gives me a smile then walks away to take care of business. Eric asks me.
"You saw crime scenes in Juarez? Did you work down there or something?" I replied.
"I have friends down there in Homicide. When my friend, who is a CSI supervisor, learned that I studied in forensics she invited me to come and observe the process of how they do things down in Mexico. I could not turn down the opportunity so I accompanied her." I continued. "I visit Juarez about every two years and I spend much of my vacation with the CSI's there. I can't say I worked in Juarez but I help in an non-official capacity." Eric whistled lightly shaking his head.
"That's some dedication Rebecca. I would never spend my vacations doing CSI work." At least he was honest.
Eric is real good at teaching. His style is relaxed and he has the desire to share information. It was easy to develop an easygoing relationship with him and I knew within time I could probably gain his respect. Eric certainly had my respect, as he was patient enough to answer all my questions. He is a very knowledgeable CSI too. As we gathered the evidence the coroner van drove up. It was to be the ME to examine and arrange to have the body transported to the morgue. Dr. Alexx Woods stepped out of the van and approached Eric and I. She looks to me and asks.
"Hello Rebecca, is Eric treating you alright?" I smile nod in greeting.
"Hello yourself Dr. Woods, Eric is treating me just fine. He is a very knowledgeable CSI and I have been picking his brain." She smiles showing perfect white teeth.
"Don't pick his brain too much. Eric needs all that he can get." She chuckles then continues. "Honey, you can call me Alexx okay?" I nod in agreement then she addresses Eric. "Eric, what do we have here?" Eric complains.
"What, no hello for me Alexx?" Alexx replies somewhat sarcastically.
"I am so sorry honey. Hello Eric." She finishes.
"That's better Alexx and Hello." He then gestures to the body. "Gangbang shooting here. He was shot execution style and Frank took a witness back to the station for his statement." Alexx nodded her head acknowledging Eric's information.
"Okay Eric, thank you, I'll get busy getting the body back to the morgue." Eric then informs Alexx.
"Rebecca and I are pretty much finished here. We are gonna head back to the lab okay?" Alexx waves her hand in dismissal.
"No problem. I'll see you both later." With that we take the kits and walk back to the Hummer. Eric then drives us back to the lab.
The schedule showed that I was to shadow Ryan Wolf next. After Eric and I got back to the labs I helped him unload the evidence and set up the lab to run them. Ryan was on a callout with Lieutenant Caine so I offered to help Eric with the evidence. Eric's cell phone rang and he answered.
"Hey H, What's up?" He listens to what the Lieutenant has to say then states.
"No problem H, I'll take care of it." I looked at Eric hoping he would elaborate what the call was about. He then looked to me and explained.
"Horatio wants me to keep you until they get back to the lab." I reply
"No problem Eric. It would be good to be able to process the evidence we collected." We began the work.
While we were working Detective Tripp enters the lab holding a folder. He looks in my direction with that weird smile of his.
"Hello Rebecca, Delko keepin' you busy?" I look in his direction.
"Hi Frank. That would be a yes, we have a lot of evidence to process." Frank continues.
"I got the copy of Juan Salazar's statement. Maybe it will lighten your load a bit." Eric looked at Frank with this smirk on his face.
"That's really nice of you to bring the report down here Frank; normally I have to chase it down myself gettin' it from you." Frank gave Eric an annoyed look.
"Just tryin' to help out Delko. Now if you don't want my help let me know." Not knowing the full extent of Eric and Frank's relationship I walked up to Frank and took the folder from him.
"Thanks Frank." I hand the folder to Eric. "For bringing it down here." Eric drops eye contact with Frank and opens the folder to look at the contents.
"Yea, thanks Frank for bringing this down here. Appreciate it." It would seem the tension I perceived was in error. There was no tension between them. I have a lot to learn about how these people interact. Frank was now looking at me as Eric was going over the file.
"If Horatio doesn't make you an offer he's a fool." I just stared at him. I could not respond to what he said. Frank then turns to Eric,
"Later Delko gotta get back to work." With that he then walks out into the hallway and leaves. Eric shakes his head as he chuckles, talking under his breath.
"Man, Frank is sure acting weird." I respond to his statement.
"What makes you say that?" Eric laughs.
"Lets just say that Frank is normally not very nice to people he does not know. He normally has, well, a gruff personality." Because I felt a bit uneasy I tilt my head and say to Eric.
"I guess that's nice to know. Thanks." I then turn away from Eric and go back to processing the evidence. I knew that Frank has a strong personality and is probably on his best behavior because I was new but I also got the impression that he is the type of guy that took no crap from anyone.
Later Ryan Wolf enters the lab.
"Hey Eric it's my turn to take Rebecca now." I look up from my work and nod a greeting to Ryan. I wanted to finish up what I was doing first before I left Eric. Eric states.
"Sure Ryan, she's all yours." I pipe up.
"Just wanna finish this last part first okay Ryan?" He nods then said.
"Sure, I'll wait." He then takes a seat at a vacant stool and waits. Suddenly feeling rushed I did not want to give into that feeling. I took a deep breath and slowed myself down a bit. I felt Ryan watching me but I had my back to him. Eric walks up to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.
"That's okay Rebecca. I'll finish this up for you. Go ahead and go with Ryan." I was grateful for the reprieve. It was like Ryan's eyes were boring holes in my back and I felt a little bit uncomfortable with him watching me.
"Thanks Eric I appreciate it." He smiles then takes over my work. As I walk out the lab with Ryan my stomach growls very loudly. I realize that I have not eaten since before I came in. The continental breakfast was long gone. Ryan stops walking and stares at me.
"Did you get to eat any lunch?" I also stop walking.
"No, I guess time slipped away from me." He shook his head.
"Eric." Ryan spat. "He probably forgot to let you take a break." He then waves his hand. "Come on. I'll take you to the break room and you can get something from the wheel of death." He then shrugged. "Sorry, it's the best I can do right now." I look at Ryan puzzled.
"Wheel of death? Should I trust that I would survive what I eat out of it?" I was joking but then you never know.
"Rebecca." He says. "The food is fine. That's just a nickname for it that's all." I raise my eyebrows and smile.
"Ryan, I am just joking. I think everyone calls those wheel food dispensers the wheel of death. Without them I think we would all starve" Ryan began walking and I followed him to the break room. From the wheel of death I choose a turkey sandwich and bottled water. Ryan gets himself a candy bar and joins me at the table. I began eating my lunch as he consumes his food. He then informs me as I am eating.
"I am running trace on evidence collected this morning. Its from the callout Horatio and I went on earlier." I nod my head acknowledging him. My mouth was full of food so I did not speak. He continued.
"What I would like to do is show you the procedure of how we perform them then I will let you run some trace." He added. "But I will choose what you run okay?" I swallowed my food.
"No problem Ryan. However you want to do this is fine by me." He seemed the type of person that likes to be in control. That's okay by me. I totally understand that need for control being a control freak myself.
Ryan and I go to the trace lab to begin the work. His instruction was very methodical and very direct. Ryan knew his stuff and was very anal of how he presented himself. A lot of this I took on account of his age. I take him to be in his mid to late 20's and the ego of men in this age range can be pretty high. With maturity he will mellow on the ego thing with his imposing his great knowledge over me. Because I understood where he was coming from I did not have a problem with his need to control things. He does not know me or my work ethics or my knowledge base so for now I have no problem with him.
After Ryan went over the procedures of how Miami Dade does trace he then chose which evidence I was to run. I noticed he assigned me the lesser evidence as he ran his own trace on the more important evidence. However I did notice that when I asked questions he seemed comfortable with them and liked to answer them. Ryan held a wealth of information about the most fascinating stuff. This amazed me so I could not help myself with getting him to talk about weird subjects. Ryan had no problem indulging me either.
It was during such a weird conversation when Lieutenant Caine entered the lab. I think he entered when Ryan was telling me.
"In court they are always asking what the sperm count is. In our lab we just run the seminal test and DNA. We don't concern ourselves with how many sperm cells there are or whether or not they are alive." Ryan then notices Lieutenant Caine standing there. I did not reply at all.
"Oh H." Ryan makes a little nervous laugh. "What can I do for you?" Lieutenant Caine answers.
"Teaching Ms Castillo the nuances of forensics huh?" He was looking at his hands with that smirk on his face. He then makes eye contact with Ryan. "Update me please."
Ryan is all business sharing with the Lieutenant his findings. After the update Lieutenant Caine lets Ryan know that he is going to take me for the last two hours of the shift. I thank Ryan for his time and he smiles.
"Pleasure's all mine Rebecca. Thanks for your help." Lieutenant Caine and I then leave the lab. He informs me.
"We are going to Autopsy. Alexx and I will be working on the case I got the callout on this morning." I reply.
"That's great. Look forward to it." He stops walking and tilts his head studying me.
"You have seen autopsies before?" He was so serious and intense I ended up shifting my weight onto the other foot as the result of his intense stare.
"Yes Lieutenant Caine I have seen autopsies before. Both in Juarez and with the BCA." I kept eye contact with him as I answered him.
"Good. But if you feel queasy or feel faint you can step out of the room okay?" I smile knowing that probably won't happen. After what I have seen in Juarez I don't think anything can gross me out anymore. The drug cartel can do some pretty grisly things to people.
"Thanks Lieutenant I'll keep that in mind." I said that to appease him. He then continues to walk to the coroner's office and suites.
As we entered I noticed how cold the suite was kept. Then I noticed how technical the place was. It looked all shiny and new loaded with state of the art equipment. There were cameras and flat screen monitors all over the place. Above the suite was a theater and it too was loaded with computers and flat screens. I looked around with my mouth open. I did not even notice the young woman lying on the stainless steal slab. Alexx comments.
"You like my autopsy suite Rebecca?" I snap my attention back to her and say.
"Um. It's very impressive Alexx. I have never seen anything like it." I then point up to the upper level. "What is all that equipment up there for?"
"Rebecca, this is a learning autopsy suite. This suite is used for teaching purposes and the theater upstairs is used for documenting and observation." Lieutenant Caine adds.
"That's where we will be going." He then tells Alexx. "I am going to take a look over before you start cutting okay Alexx?" She nods her head.
"Okay Horatio. I already collected the fingernail scrapings and have her clothing cataloged and ready to be sent to trace." He gives her that smirky smile.
"Good job Alexx." He then begins to walk out of the room and I follow him.
Up in the theater Lieutenant Caine begins to power up the computer and equipment. The image of the body on the slab shows up on the screen. The resolution is outstanding. Alexx does a sound check.
"Can you hear me Horatio?" He answers.
"Crystal clear Alexx, gonna take a moment to take a look at Mrs. Stein." I am staring at the image and I notice something weird on her right forearm. It was kind of shinny and looked like the color green. I lean in close to the Lieutenant's ear and whisper.
"What's that stuff on her right forearm?" He answers
"Right forearm times ten." The computer then zeros in on the forearm and the foreign substance on the arm is more noticeable. "Good eye Ms Castillo." He then communicates with Alexx. "Alexx, I need for you to take a sample of that foreign substance on Mrs. Stein's right forearm." Alexx takes a swab and looks at it.
"I'm not sure what this is Horatio." She then takes the swab sample, secures it and logs it in the system. "Hopefully trace will be able to tell what it is." She sets the swab aside with the other evidence. Lieutenant Caine continues to scrutinize the image of the dead woman as I stand by and watch.
After he is done with his part of the exam he lets Alexx know that she can begin the autopsy. Alexx begins with the standard Y cut starting at each clavicle area, meeting at the sternum in the middle then continuing down the belly. It started out pretty standard with her measuring and weighing the organs. Looking for any abnormalities and such but nothing exciting was noted. Cause of death was not determined because Alexx had not received all the information from toxicology yet. I noticed during the autopsy the Lieutenant looked my way a few times. He probably was checking to see if my complexion turned white as a sign of whether or not I was able to handle it. I kept my eyes on the screen and sometimes looked down at Alexx watching her do her job.
By the time she was done it was past 7pm. I was pretty much mentally exhausted because it had been a very full day and I had a lot to process in my mind. My stomach growled loudly again signaling me I need to eat. I hate when it growls. It's so embarrassing. The Lieutenant looks at me raising an eyebrow.
"Yep it's about that time." He then continues. "I'll take you to this fantastic Cuban restaurant okay?" That took me by surprise. I actually just wanted to go back to the hotel to relax and be alone.
"I appreciate the offer Lieutenant but I would just like to get back to the hotel." He looks at me in that intense way of his.
"It is apparent that you need to eat. Come on." He then began walking toward the elevators. He was not taking no for an answer. I guess I am getting a taste of that intensity John talked about.
After I climbed into the cab of the Hummer I attempted to beg off from having to eat dinner with the Lieutenant.
"Look Lieutenant I would prefer just to go back to the hotel okay?" He turns his body facing me.
"Ms Castillo." He pauses. "Since you did not get a chance to eat a proper lunch." He pauses yet again. "Or breakfast I am going to insist that you at least allow me to provide you with a decent dinner." His insistence of having his way sort of ticked me off. I looked back at him probably with an annoyed look on my face.
"I can get dinner at the hotel restaurant." I add in for his benefit. "I will make sure I have something from each food group." I sighed. "Is that good enough for you?" My last comment probably sounded snide but I was getting crabby from lack of food and how long my day was. He announces to me.
"The hotel stops serving dinner at 7pm. Its after 7 now." My instincts told me he was not going to give up so I concede.
"Fine, I guess it's off to your fantastic Cuban restaurant then." I was feeling prickly because I do not like to be manipulated by anyone. As I moved to apply the seatbelt he adjusts back to facing the front and also applied his seatbelt.
"Ms Castillo you won't regret it. I promise you." I know he is probably only referring to the food but my mind wondered if he was insinuating something else as well. I noticed that throughout the day the way he communicated seemed somewhat too personal.
During the drive to the restaurant I kept quiet. I needed to get my bearings straight and I needed to shake the bad mood I suddenly was in. At least the Lieutenant seemed to respect my need not to talk at this time. When we got to the restaurant it took a bit of maneuvering to park the gianormous Hummer into a tiny parking spot. I was told we are in Little Havana and I saw that the Cuban restaurant was a hole in the wall type place. It has been my experience that not so pretty places normally serves the best food. I resolved the fact that I was not in control of the situation so I was going to enjoy this little adventure. My attitude improved immensely and I even put a small smile on my face. Lieutenant Caine opens the door and I step into one of the most garishly decorated place I have ever seen. It was nothing like the Cuban bar slash restaurant downtown Minneapolis called Café Havana. This is the place my cousin Scott and I go to relax and have good conversations. The Lieutenant steps up to my left side as a short elder Cuban man warmly welcomes him.
"Horacio it's good to see you. It's been too long my friend." He pronounced his name with the Spanish accent. The Cuban then moves forward to hug the Lieutenant. He hugs him back. Backs were slapped.
"It's good to see you also Ignatius." Ignatius takes a step back and looks at me curiously.
"Who's your lady friend Horacio?" The Lieutenant replies with.
"This is Rebecca Castillo." He pauses and I am starting to get use to them. "She is a potential hire for the lab." A big grin appears on Ignatius's face.
"Oh I see. Welcome Rebecca." He then adds. "Going to wine and dine her huh? Show her some Miami hospitality?" Lieutenant Caine lightly chuckles.
"It's been a long day for Ms Castillo and she is in need of some of your fine food this evening." With that the host then shows us to a table in an out of the way, somewhat secluded spot by huge potted plants. I was kind of expecting a parrot to crawl out of the fronds. Lieutenant Caine then orders.
"Bring the usual Ignatius and two Mojito's." The little Cuban man replies.
"Very good Horacio. I will bring the drinks right away." Ignatius then walks away to fulfill the order. A few moments later he sets down two tall glasses with a clear liquid in it over ice. A slice of lime with mint leaves floating in it was the only color. Not knowing what a Mojito was I tilt my head and study the drink carefully. I saw the Lieutenant take the straw and stir up his drink. He then takes a sip up through the straw. I copy him and find the drink real smooth and delicious. It was really good and I could taste a hit of rum. I love rum. I am then informed.
"What do you think of the Mojito?" He adds. "It's a traditional drink from Cuba and very popular here in Miami." I drank about a quarter of the drink in one shot. It was that good and smooth.
"This is pretty good. I can tell there is rum in this." I drink some more. "Real tasty indeed." I noticed that more of my drink was gone than his. I better slow down because I have not had anything to eat yet. I started to feel a bit warm as the alcohol began to take effect. The drink was stronger than the taste suggested. Suddenly I remember my manners.
"Thank you Lieutenant Caine for bringing me here. I like the atmosphere a lot." He takes another sip of his drink.
"You can call me Horatio Ms Castillo and your welcome." I gesture my hand in his direction with my palm up.
"Only if you agree to call me Rebecca." I reasoned that since I call my boss at the BCA by his first name it was okay to do that here. I also was feeling real relaxed. The day was intense but the stressors were leaving my body due to the Mojito. My cheeks felt warm and I knew that my face was probably flushed. He answers me.
"Okay Rebecca." I then try it myself.
"Good Horatio." But I mispronounced his name. The way I said it sounded more like Hor-roash-shee-oh. Damn my Midwestern accent. I drew out the O's sounding them out as a long vowel and did not seem to have the capability to pronounce his name correctly. Embarrassed and frustrated I thought to myself who the hell would name their kid Horatio anyway. "Sorry. Um." I try again. "Hor-roash-shee-oh" Bloody hell! Why can't I say his name correctly? Maybe I should go back to calling him Lieutenant Caine. At least I can say that right. Embarrassed I could not look him in the eye. He lightly laughs
"Don't worry Rebecca. People have all sorts of pronunciations for my name." I was looking at my drink and noticed it was three quarters gone. Must be one potent beverage. I was not drunk but I was feeling a slight buzz. I needed to eat something before I drink any more of that Mojito. With that thought Ignatius brought out two heaping plates of food. He sets them in front of us with a big smile on his face.
"Enjoy." He eyed our drinks. Horatio's was almost gone and I had about one fourth left in mine. "Shall I bring more Mojito's?" As is normal in the Latin culture he looks to Horatio for direction. Horatio nods his head yes.
"That will be fine. The food smells delicious Ignatius." Ignatius then walks away to fill the drink order. I look at my plate trying to decide where to start. Horatio already started digging in. He was probably hungry also. I was only able to eat about one forth of the foods in front of me before I had to take a break. After eating I could tell my buzz was better and I sobered up quite a bit. I then drank the rest of the first Mojito as Horatio comments.
"I am getting a lot of positive feedback from the team." I look up at him and smile. He continues. "It seems you have the ability to adjust well to the different personalities of my team." I use the second Mojito to wash down my mouth full of food. The Cuban food was delicious.
"You have a fantastic team Horacio." I chose to use the Spanish pronunciation of Orr-raa-cee-oh for his name because for whatever reason it was easier for me to say. The Spanish version rolled off my tongue so much better. I guess Mojito's and saying the English version of Horatio didn't mix well for me. I continued with. "A team I could easily work with. They are very intelligent and were patient with all my questions. I was happy to realize that they are not shy about sharing information. Everyone was extremely helpful" He gives me a half smile.
"I am glad to hear that Rebecca." He takes a drink of his Mojito. "I happen to think I have one of the best teams in the field." It was nice to hear that he values his team and he is the type that would look out for them. Lieutenant Caine may have some serious quirks but I could tell that he is very loyal to those who work for him. This concept was important to me in a boss. A boss that would not support me is a boss I would find very hard to work for.
As the consumption of the Cuban food along with drinking the Mojito's continued I could feel my tension leave me. I found it easy to relax around Horatio because he seemed to be able to draw me out of the defenses I put up when I don't know people very well. The rum in the Mojito's did help also but it was mostly the company. I knew in the back of my mind he was attempting to learn more about me but then again I was doing the same thing. If I am to be offered the position at the Miami Dade crime lab then I wanted to make sure it was going to be a good fit, as I am sure he is assessing the same thing. I looked at my watch and noticed it was coming up on 9pm. At this time I was beginning to get physically tired.
"The food was wonderful and I appreciate the company but I am thinking it's time for me to get back to the hotel." I then add. "I don't want to keep you out too late away from your family." He sits back in his chair and crosses his legs.
"Don't worry about that Rebecca. I don't have anyone to answer to okay?" At least he is not making some wife angry by keeping late hours.
"Maybe so but I am getting very tired after my rather intense day." I replied hoping he would take the hint and make movement to leave. He looked too comfortable sitting there though. Feeling a bit guilty I continue with. "And I know tomorrow will probably be just as intense." Horatio reached over and took his drink.
"At least finish your Mojito Rebecca," He took a sip. "Then we can leave okay?" I sigh and picked up my Mojito and took a sip. I then lean back into my chair with the drink and attempt to relax also. I kept quiet for a few minuets until he spoke.
"Rebecca," I raise my gaze up from staring at my drink to meet his. "At this time I think it's pretty obvious that you know I will be offering you the position." He takes another drink from his Mojito. "I would like some feedback from you of how things are going with you and my team." Wow. I was not prepared to answer these types of questions. The food and drink had me so relaxed that I was able to answer honestly without thinking. Keeping my gaze locked with his I tell him.
"Well Raa-cee-oh I think your comment made earlier about you having one of the best teams in the field of forensics is pretty accurate." I realized I had shortened his name even more but went on anyway. "The folks I worked with today are very different in personality but all are common with the huge dedication they have to their jobs." I then add. "And to you." I take a drink of my Mojito and continue. Maybe the Mojito is truth serum. "Things are more formal at the BCA but I enjoy working there and the people I work with are wonderful as well." It was what I said next that surprised even me. "I can honestly say that I believe I would fit in well with your team but I have concerns with being able to meet your high expectations." Horatio tilted his head and studied me for a moment. He never dropped his gaze as he took a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Normally I would not be interested in someone that is a recent graduate with little experience but in your case I made an exception." He paused. "I agree that you fit in well with my team but you also need to understand that if you did not already meet my expectations you would not be sitting here now." That made sense. I set my finished drink back onto the table and lean back into my chair.
"I appreciate your vote of confidence." I replied. "The schedule for tomorrow is more intense but I think it will give me a good taste of the rest of the positions in your department." I looked away to stifle a yawn. It looked that I was going to go strait to sleep instead of doing some reading from my forensics books I brought with me. Horatio then signals for Ignatius. The little Cuban approaches him and he hands him his credit card. The card is run and the receipt filled out. Horatio then stands.
"Time to get you back to the hotel." I stand up feeling very tired all of a sudden. The drinks made me feel very relaxed and comfortable.
"There will be no reading tonight. I am gonna sleep like a baby." I look up at him. "The food was wonderful, just the ticket I needed to end my day with." I follow him to the front of the restaurant as he lets me know.
"Tomorrow should be easier for you." He opens the door and I step though it. "You'll be fine, just relax and let my team help you out with anything okay?" I nod my head as we continue to walk to the Hummer.
"The intensity won't let up but at least I am a bit use to it." I smile as I open the door and crawl up into the cab. Horatio then starts up the engine and drives me back to the hotel. He wanted to escort me back to my room. Probably because it was after dark but I saw no need for it so I refused him. I could tell he wanted to insist but I told him it was not necessary the hotel was safe enough. Again he agreed to pick me up at 8am the next morning.