CHAPTER 4: I'M SORRY

-Oh my God, Horatio!-, Natalia screamed, running towards her boss, Eric in tow; he was shouting Calleigh's name, though.

They crouched on either sides of their female colleague, Eric trying to pull Calleigh on the ground, Natalia attempting to pull the blonde's head from her boss's forearm. They all struggled for several seconds, Eric still calling his girlfriend's name.

Suddenly, her eyes focused on Horatio's blue one; she stood still, a silent plea in her green irises. She let go of his wrist, horrified. –Hor…atio… s-sor…ry…-

She fell unconscious.

-Natalia, call an ambulance, quick!-, Horatio ordered, standing. He stepped back from Calleigh's still form, giving Eric more room. He approached the wall of the house, leaning against it heavily; he stood still for a moment, trying to regain his breath and his composure. Natalia neared him, taking hold of his wrist, careful not to hurt him; his bent head snapped towards her, his expression surprised.

-You're bleeding, you need to get you arm looked at. -, Natalia pointed out softly, indicating his injury with her chin. Horatio looked at it as if he hadn't realized he was bleeding.

-I'm fine, Natalia. It's Calleigh we should be concerned about. -, the redhead replied, glancing at his fallen colleague; Natalia followed his gaze, chewing on her lower lip.

-Where are the officers?-, Horatio asked suddenly, his eyes hardening. Natalia took a step back, suddenly frightened of the usually quiet man.

-They… they are in the front. They're clearly distraught. -, she stuttered. –Horatio… what happened? Who was the attacker? I only caught a glimpse his back…-, she asked timidly, not wanting to further increase his discomfort.

-I…-, Horatio was at a loss of words. Instead of answering, he raised his hands, examining then himself, then showing Natalia the goo in which they were covered. She furrowed her brows.

-What is that?-, she asked.

-When I grabbed his shoulders, my hands slipped on his skin. They were covered in this thing…-, he replied. He moved away from the wall, walking towards the front of the house. –We need to take samples. –

Natalia trotted behind him, casting a last glance at Calleigh. She heard a siren in the distance.

Hold on, Calleigh. The ambulance is coming.

*

-Hey, Frank. -, Horatio greeted the Texan Detective, lowering his head to the window. Tripp exited the car, closing the door with a sharp TUD.

-Horatio. Just in time, the bell should ring any minute now. -, Frank greeted back, grateful to finally have a reason to stretch his legs. Upon noticing the redheaded man's attire, however, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

-Is that blood on your shirt, Horatio?-, he asked, nodding to the man's abdomen. Horatio examined the spot, buttoning his suit jacket to hide it.

-I'll tell you later, Frank. -, he promised. Dissatisfied with the answer, but knowing it was the best he could get from his friend at the moment, Tripp nodded curtly, stepping towards the school gate, Horatio in tow.

It was a couple of minutes later that the first students started stepping out from the building. Among them, Kyle. It took the boy only a second to realize his father was there and, judging from the grim expression on his face, it was not a friendly visit. He sighed, his shoulders shagging, before saying his goodbyes to a couple of friends and walking to his father.

-Hey Dad, what's up?-, he asked without beating around the bush, hands clenched into fists.

-Hello, son. Detective Tripp and I are looking for one of your schoolmates, Veronica Mitchell. -, Horatio replied, taking his shades off to better look at Kyle. The young man seemed to consider the name for a bit, brows furrowed in concentration, then his eyes widened slightly in understanding.

-You mean Ronnie? She's taking the other course… I don't know her much. Look, she's over there. -, he replied, pointing to a tall skinny African American girl. She noticed his pointed finger and two man staring at her; brows furrowed, she turned their way, walking briskly among the current of schoolmates, some of whom shouted at her.

-Hello. What can I do for you, sirs?-, she addressed the two adults, casting a quick glance at Kyle. The two nodded at each other.

-Ronnie Mitchell?-, Horatio asked.

-Yes, sir. -, the girl replied, looking him squarely in the eyes. They were the most intense blue she had ever seen.

-I'm afraid I've got bad news for you. Were you at home this morning?-, the redheaded man continued, searching her onyx irises.

-Sure, but I left early, around seven o'clock. I wanted to revise before the Math test, so I went straight to the library, sir. -, the girl answered, pointing vaguely to her back.

-You took the bus?-, the other man asked, voice gruff.

-No, I rode my bike. -, the girl replied, challenging. Horatio noticed she forgot to address Tripp as sir. Intentionally, he guessed.

It wasn't easy telling the girl about her slaughtered family, Horatio dreaded that part of his job. He omitted as many details as he could, but that didn't change the reality of the facts: she didn't have a family anymore. Her tears were silent, her gaze totally focused on Horatio as if making sense of his words would prevent her from breaking down completely.

Kyle fidgeted nervously on his feet, his instinct was telling him to do something, to offer comfort to the almost unknown girl; he settled for putting a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly to let her know he was there for her. It gave him a strange feeling. He didn't know Ronnie well and what little information he had was from jokes and stories his friends had told him, no first hand experiences, just nods of their heads when they passed each other on the corridors of the school. However, offering his comfort just felt right, as if he was doing something important, something worth doing.

-Do you know if your parents had enemies?-, Tripp asked. He hated doing it, but there was no other way around it.

-They were scientists, biologists to be precise. Who do biologists fear?-, the girl asked, wide eyed and gasping for air. Horatio noticed grief was being replaced by anger. Kyle slipped his hand in hers.

-Envious colleagues? Competition?-, Horatio supplied softly.

-They had a lot of both. They were… good, at what they did. -, Ronnie answered, sniffling as noiselessly as she could.

-What were they currently working on?-, Frank demanded.

-Organic molecules that form in an animal's body when it dies. -, the girl replied promptly.

-Do you know if someone didn't want their research to have success?-, Tripp tried again.

-I don't have names for you, colleagues rarely came to see my parents at home and they never talked about fights on the job. That's the way it was at home, only science mattered. -, Ronnie explained, keeping irritation at bay. Looking at the ground, she added as an afterthought: -The only thing that mattered…-

Fresh tears sprung to her eyes; she squeezed them shut, willing the tears not to fall but with the only result to accelerate the process. She turned her back on the Detectives, burying her head on Kyle's neck. Surprised, the young man was left dumbfounded, hands at midair as if he didn't quite know what to do with them. He looked at his father, silently asking for advice. Horatio nodded his head gravely, motioning for Kyle to embrace her.

He did.

***CONTINUES***

I know there's a hole in the temporal sequence of events, and I fully intend to fill it, I promise. A good flashback on Horatio's POV, maybe? Let me know what you think guys!