Road of Change

Chapter4

After the pair had left with Alexx, Natalia turned toward Calleigh and asked, "Any ideas how to get out of these cuffs?"

Calleigh's smile, lacking emotion, but full of determination answered her friend, "I do. Remember how they taught us at the academy to always have a bobby pin on you somewhere?"

Natalia smiled now remembering exactly what Calleigh was talking about.

"Of course… but do you have one? I quit carrying one a long time ago. Never needed it; until now."

Calleigh began twisting her body, resembling a gymnast's contortions as she struggled to get on her knees.

"If I can just get my head closer to my hands…" she stood, wobbly at first, but quickly regained her equilibrium. With every movement the hard metal bit into the flesh of her wrists. They sure didn't give much leeway… these things are tight.

Leaning her head closer to her hands pinned against the wall, she ignored the pain inflicted on her wrists as she strained one hand, stretching it toward her hair. Turning her head to where her fingers could feel around underneath the thick hair above the nape of her neck, her heart began to race as she was unable to find the pin at first, but knowing Alexx's and their lives depended on that hidden tool, she forced her fingers to continue.

Relief flooded through her entire body as her two fingers felt the slender metal. Now I just have to not drop the damn thing. If that were to happen, I'm afraid all Horatio will find will be our dead bodies.

Natalia quietly asked, "Did you find it?"

Finally able to pull the pin loose from its hold on her hair, Calleigh inhaled deeply to steady her hands while she answered,

"I did."

Calleigh's fingers felt numb from the lack of circulation while having her wrists pressed against the clasp of the cuffs, but she willed her fingers to hold on. Taking a break, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes as she attempted to steady her breathing. It would be very important to have steady movements once she began working on the lock.

After a couple of minutes, she stretched on her toes, while her fingers held the bobby pin, she brought her mouth to it and parted it with her front teeth. She bent the end of the pin at a 90° angle. Slowly she turned the pin around with her fingers and bent it again, at 90° in the opposite direction at the tip, forming a Z. Natalia watched apprehensively, flinching at noises from the floor above while Calleigh worked.

Calleigh examined the cuffs to see if they were double locking ones – they were. She inserted the pin into the keyhole and pushed it away from the cuff's direction of travel. She rotated the pin counterclockwise, to mimic the motion of a key. She eased back down on her feet to rest a moment, not wanting to strain to the point of causing her hands to shake.

After a couple of minutes, she stretched back on her toes and looked through the window in the bottom of the cuff and pushed the pin as she watched for the vertical line in the middle of the window indicating the second lock was free. Her heart stopped when she saw it. Quickly she repositioned the bobby pin to point towards the cuff's direction of travel and pushed until the cuff popped open.

She freed her wrists and slid down to the floor trying to catch her breath and calm her heart. She looked over at Nat and smiled. Tears were tracking down Natalia's cheeks as she returned her friend's smile. They both understood they still faced a difficult situation in subduing their captors, but this was a start.


Horatio waited patiently on the opposite side of the counter in Biloxi's crime lab while Chet, one of the CSIs that he met at the warehouse, examined the rock he had found partially hidden under the desk.

Chet sat up from looking through the microscope and locked eyes with the Lieutenant.

"It has a particular type of dirt clinging to it that can only be from one place - a gravel pit, one that is in limestone."

Horatio quickly asked, "Do you know of one like that close?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. There's an abandoned one about fifty miles north of here."

Horatio thanked the young man and quickly strode out of the room, heading to Charlie's office while calling Frank.

"Francis, we may have a location where the girls are being held. I'm on my way to Charlie's office - meet me there."

Frank answered abruptly, "On my way. Oh and H, the tissue from the cuffs was not a match… they're still here."

Horatio closed his eyes after ending the call. Hang on Sweetheart, I'm on my way.

Charlie, Horatio and Frank were on top of the building waiting for the police helicopter to pick them up when Charlie explained the equipment.

"Horatio… this bird has a heat sensing tracker device installed. We'll make real sure we have the right location before landing. I've got SWAT and cars headed to this pit and if it's the one, we'll put down a mile away so we won't scare the thugs and make things worse."

Horatio nodded his head in gratitude. "You've got a good team here Charlie. Your lab is excellent. I know you're proud."

"Took a while for me to get it to the level it is now, but when you have the major players in city government on your side, it helps."

Frank joined in, "You've also got a good detective division. I wouldn't mind working here at all."

Trying to relieve Frank's apprehension of getting on a helicopter, Horatio turned around and glanced at the big man, only to see a look of sheer determination, offset by a building anger. He knew for certain then that the man loved Alexx deeply. Offering his friend a tight smile Horatio quietly said, "Don't get any ideas, I need you in Miami."

The helicopter appeared after a couple of minutes and eased down for a landing, not wasting time by cutting the rotors, each man ran to the doors bent over, battling the strong wind created by the movement.

Charlie sat in the co-pilot seat to operate the heat seeking device, while Horatio and Frank were in the seat behind. Each man donned headsets so they could communicate over the noise of the engine and rotors. The aircraft took off and headed northeast.

In less than ten minutes they were about a mile out from the pit location. Charlie lined up the co-ordinates and they all watched the screen where red figures would appear if there were people inside the buildings. The first two buildings were empty. It was only when the machine zeroed in on the third, larger building that they detected movement.

"We've got four people on an upper floor and two in the basement."

The men watched as three of the images were moving on the upper floor, but one was stationary. The two images below them were moving. Horatio thought, Why is one not moving on the upper floor?

"I say it's a go on this place, that has to be them," Horatio spoke into the microphone of his headset.

"I agree," Charlie answered and then directed the pilot to the co-ordinates to meet up with his men. Then he spoke to his lieutenant on the ground and told him it was a go, they'd meet them in a couple of minutes.

No sooner had the helicopter landed than Horatio leaped out the door and ran for the SUV waiting for them. Charlie and Frank followed.

When the SUV pulled up next to the large SWAT truck some fifty yards away, doors quietly opened on the vehicles and the fully armed special-forces team fanned out, cautiously approaching the building where the heat-seeking device had located movement.

Horatio, Frank and Charlie were running low to the ground, guns drawn toward what looked like an office door. Horatio could feel his heart incessantly pounding against the walls of his chest from both fear and rage against those inside who threatened his wife and close friends. The Kevlar vest seemed to increase the uncomfortable feeling.

They followed the same procedure for entering the building as they did before, only this time they knew where their targets were. Passing through the empty first room, they silently, but swiftly made their way down a long hallway, leading to the room where three of the images seemed to be located, along with the image of a person lying down.

Stella walked over to Joe and pulled a .45 cal. Sig Sauer from her belt before announcing, "I'm going down to take care of the other two. You make sure this one gets enough of the drug to keep her quiet. We've got an hour before we need to leave for the docks."

The large woman began descending the stairs with a big smile on her face. I think I'll make this slow and force them to beg for a kill shot. No good pigs. No sooner had her foot touched the basement floor than loud gunshots coming from the upper floor made her spin around, immediately drawing her attention away from her task. What in blue blazes is going on up there?! Right at the moment Stella turned to climb back up the stairs, she felt excruciating pain hit her leg and felt her body falling, unable to stop the motion.

TBC…