Title: In The Line of Fire
Timeline: 7x25 "Seeing Red"
Author: Quitethefangirl
Genre: Angst/Crime
Summary: Eric is missing and on top of that the team is facing another battle and Stetler is behind the gun. As the team' searches for Eric and they put under administrative review by IAB.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Author Note: Although I should be finishing up my paper I decided to be nice and post this chapter for you, just for you. Ok this is totally random but the other day I was watching old episodes of Burn Notice and the guy who plays Ivan Sharnoff in CSI: Miami was in it. Like CSI: Miami, Burn Notice is set in Florida Miami-Dade area, too. Ironically enough the character he was playing was a member of the Russian mob and he name was Ivan, how weird is that.
Chapter 4
Crossing Lines
Eric woke up in a dark room, his body propped up against a corner of the walls. His mind immediately began thinking about how he had ended up there. He had involuntarily fallen trap to the Russians' game and it made him feel so foolish. He should have seen right though it, but it was his heroic traits that got the best of him. He was always being "the hero" and when given the chance, he was never reluctant.
But now he was in need of saving. His perfect plan had failed terribly. He went in with the purest of intentions, but managed to come out looking dirty – very dirty. Yes, that was how he ended up here, he finally remembered. It was the text from an anonymous number he received shortly after his heated dispute with Calleigh. It read:
1031 Grant
South Miami, FL
Park in the Loading Deck 5
Come alone now. I want out.
It was the address for The MDPD Armory; the Russians' next target. Although the message was untraceable he knew who had sent it. It was the only one person with the access and information who would share it with him; Alexander Sharova, his biological father.
And if he wanted out, Eric was going to help him. As he made the decision to help his father he could hear Calleigh's voice pleading over and over in his mind "You cannot cross this line" and as much as he wanted to take her advice, Sharova was his family, whether he liked it or not, and he always looked out for family.
Eric wasn't thinking straight; he was upset. Calleigh didn't trust him and accused him of playing for both sides. He didn't understand why she was being so harsh about this. She greatly disliked Sharova and it was like she wanted him to be bad, but she didn't know the side of him that Eric knew.
Sharova was just an old man who was abandoned by his country and didn't want to be alone in the world. He was just looking for a family, which was how he got involved with the mob. They took him in when no one else would, but now he had Eric; now he had real family and he was ready to renounce the crime family and start over with a clean slate, beginning with getting to know his son.
Calleigh of all people should understand why he had given Sharova a second chance, why he had to stick this neck out for him, yeah it was a risk but he owed the man that much. If it wasn't for Sharova he'd be on the opposite side of the ocean in Cuba away from everybody he loved. "Why won't she understand that?" He thought to himself, "She'd do the same if it was her father. Why is she such a hypocrite sometimes?"
Without a word to anyone Eric headed straight to his car, alone, just like the message had directed. It was probably not the best idea to listen to the instructions, when they came from the man affiliated with the Russian mob and had put a hit out on his life a couple of months ago, but he had developed a level of trust and somewhat of a bond with the man he called Enemy Number One only a few months ago, because when Eric was in need, the man he shared DNA with, helped him. Now he was going to do the same.
His plan when he arrived at the Armory was to find Sharova, sound the alarms and leave before the police arrived. This way he could get Sharova out safely, so he wouldn't be involved or associated with whatever the Russians where planning. When he was sure Sharova was far enough to be out of harm's way, he'd return and protect the armory with the rest of the force.
On the ride to the Armory, he pulled out his cell. Sharova had said come alone, but he never said not to tell anyone where he was going. He had to call someone; learning information early could change a lot. His thumb danced around the number one on the keypad, Calleigh's speed dial, but he thought better of it. He wouldn't be able to give her the tip without her asking questions about the source, ultimately resulting in another argument, but more than that, he just simply didn't want to involve her. So he quickly hit two, the speed dial for Horatio Caine.
"Come on, H pick up." he said anxiously into the phone as it rang and rang, then he get the busy tone.
He quickly he hung up and dialed Ryan's number; he could get the message to H since Eric couldn't. Ryan's phone quickly greeted his ear with the sound for yet another busy tone. "What are the chances they'd both be on their phones at a crucial moment like this?" He asked himself.
He thought to call dispatch, but realised didn't have enough information for them to send out anything more than a squad car to check the place out. Natalia would probably be in the lab and would be no help. Frank, he could call him. He'd normally be near Horatio.
Eric dialed the number and the phone rang and rang. "What's going on? Why is no one answering their phones today?" He thought. After a couple more rings, he got Frank's voice message:
"Hello you've reached the voicemail of Det. Frank Tripp. Please leave your name, number and a detailed message and I'll try to return your call as soon as possible." Eric sighed in frustration. Someone needed to know where he was, so he left a message for Frank.
"Hey, Frank this is Delko. I'm at the MDPD Armory. I got a tip that something is going down, tell Horatio to send back up. It's the Russians. It could be something big, bye." He pulled into his destination; a large warehouse-like building that was the MDPD Armory.
He felt confident that Frank would deliver his message to Horatio in a timely manner and everything was going to work out. His plan seemed solid to him, but everything that could go wrong would probably go wrong. When he closed his phone, he immediately started to look for loading deck 5. Upon spotting it, he drove towards the large loading deck that seemed more like a large garage to him. From the outside the deck looked deserted, but when he pulled in he quickly learned that he wasn't alone.
There was a very large SUV, a van and a couple of cars, all looking like department issued vehicles, not the Russian mob's. He parked and exited his car, scanning the room for the lookout, but there was none. It seemed to him that the empty cars were his only companions. He felt uneasy. "Why is there no lookout? If the Russians had something planned here, they would have someone as a lookout." He thought, as he crept slowly around the space with his gun drawn.
Suddenly, he felt something cold on the back his head. Finding himself on the business end of a gun, he froze and put up his hands, tensing a great deal.
"Drop your weapon." A Russian voice barked at him.
Eric relaxed as he recognized the voice. It was Alexander Sharova.
"Woah it's me Eric, I came for you like you asked." He said, slightly turning his head to look at the older man.
"Eric?" Sharova asked confused, dropping his gun from Eric's head and turning to face him. "What are you doing here?"
"You sent me a text message, saying you said wanted out and you want me to come get you." Eric said, confused at Sharova's confusion.
"I didn't send you anything." Sharova looked around the room before dropping his voice to a whisper. "You shouldn't be here, Eric. I can't protect you, leave before they see you, your free game to them"
"What are you talking about? What do you mean you didn't send me the text?" Eric was confused more now than ever. "What do you mean you can't protect me?"He was getting angry now, maybe this was a mistake.
"I don't have time to tell you, Eric. Just leave, please. I'll call you later, just please leave, son." Sharova said pushing him away.
"I'm not leaving without you." Eric said raising his voice.
"Lower your voice, Eric you need to go." Sharova said in a whisper.
"I'm not leaving without you and you're going to tell me what exactly is going on here. You're coming with me." He said in a loud voice, grabbing Sharova's arm and pulling him towards his car.
"Eric, you don't understand--" Sharova words were cut short by another voice.
"Mr. Delko you make my job too easy" A milder Russian accented voice said from behind him.
As Eric turned to face the voice, he found it belonged to a tall slender man with black silky hair, who was wearing a black tailored suit and leather gloves to match. His face was aged and he had a scar that slanted from his cheek bone to his jaw line under his right eye, possibly from a knife wound.
He looked very different from the typical Russian mobsters Eric had encountered. He didn't look muscular, rough or violent though he was still somewhat daunting. He was clean shaven, well manicured, neat looking, and gentlemanly. He had a vintage swagger to him and he didn't look very much like a criminal.
Eric had no idea who the man was; he'd never seen him before, yet the man knew him. He'd even called him by name. Eric looked at the man confused, which only made the man responded by laughing. Sharova hung his head and wouldn't make eye contact with the man; he feared him.
"No, you didn't know me Mr. Delko," he said at Delko's confused expression. "But all familiarity aside, it's not important who I am. Just know that I know you Mr. Delko, I know all about you. Where you live, where you work, who you work with, who you call your friends, who you call family and who you love. If you come with me and cooperate, maybe I'll forget them and they won't have to be involved."
"Yeah, well if you know so much about me, then you'd know I am not one to 'cooperate' and I'm not going anywhere with you." Eric was unaffected by the man's words. It was nothing new that the mob knew things about him. This man was stating the obvious and Eric saw him as no threat. He and Sharova could easily overpower the thin man. "Come on, Sharova we're leaving." He turned his back to the man and tried pulling a frozen Sharova along with him.
The man did not try to stop Eric. He just let them walk away, but when Eric was almost to his car the man spoke again. "Maybe your woman, the blonde one… um what's her name? Oh yes Ms. Duquesne wouldn't mind 'cooperating' with me. I'm sure she'd be so much more fun than you. We could maybe ask her on her way home from work." the man said
At hearing the mention of Calleigh's name, Eric froze and turned to face the man. He didn't know how much the mob knew about them. This was exactly what he was afraid of; the mob using Calleigh against him. He'd do anything to protect her.
"You stay away from her." Eric yelled at the man as he walked towards him. "If you lay one hand on her I swear I'll kill you." He was now pointing his finger in the man's face.
Unsurprisingly, the man remained completely calm during the exchange. "The choice is completely yours. Come with me willingly and peacefully, and Ms. Duquesne will remain unharmed, but walk away and I will use all my power to get what one want, be it you or Ms. Duquesne. And if the choice is up to me, no hard feelings Eric, but I'd pick Ms. Duquesne. I'm sure she'd be useful in more ways than one. But don't worry; I won't lay a hand on her…" The man laughed a little, in spite of himself. "I'll lay many."
Eric was angry, not only was the man threatening him, he was also threatening Calleigh. He glared at him, but all he received was a smirk in return. He decked the man in the face, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground, Eric stood over him.
"You finished?" He yelled at the man. "Or do you want some more?"
As the man got back up from the ground, his nose began to bleed. Laughing, he wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. "You want to make this difficult, ay?" He pulled himself to his feet in one quick motion. He started towards Eric, but Sharova stepped between the two of them.
"Eric, run." Sharova had been quiet since the man appeared, but now he chose to finally intervene. The man hit Sharova with a violent, well calculated blow, making him hit the ground hard. He continued to beat the old man violently as he yelled at him in Russian. Against Sharova's advice, Eric stayed, pulling the man away from Sharova and then dealt the man some powerful blows of his own. They started to tussle, but he'd miscalculated the man's strength; his blows were more powerful then Eric had expected and the CSI quickly found that he was losing.
The man had almost over powered him when Sharova found the strength to get up from the ground. He put the man in a chokehold and Eric was able to get himself unpinned. The man struggled out of Sharova lock hold, but they were ready. Eric offered a few blows to the face and Sharova tried a kick in his knee, but the man grab Sharova's foot, twisting it. Sharova yelled out in pain, Eric stomped on the man's hand before the man could break Sharova feet. They had the higher ground now and it seemed as though they were going to make it out.
Then a burst of noise echoed through the deck as men exited the Armory; each carrying lots of ammunition, firearms and metal cases that were probably filled with more weapons. Someone was yelling and screaming commands over the noise and the man began to load the weapons into the cars. Up until then, Eric had thought the three of them were the only people at the armory. It had never occurred on him that there might be other people inside and they were not alone. He froze; now he was in the middle of this mess. He had got himself in too deep, way too deep. The Russians were robbing the armory and as he was present, people would think he was involved. He had to get out before it was too late.
The man took advantage of Delko's frozen state, over powering him. An instant a couple of men ran over and helped in the process, grabbing Sharova as well. Now they were trapped and the chances of the quick escape Eric was planning were slim. Eric tried to free himself, but it was hopeless; they were stuck.
"I hope you didn't think we were going to let you leave so soon. We said come alone for a reason. No one will come looking for a traitor." The man said to Eric, who was now being restrained by two men.
"He sent the text." Eric thought angrily. "I'm not involved in anything going down here." Eric yelled angrily at the man, trying desperately to free himself.
"Oh no, not yet, Eric Delko. You are a very important pawn in this game. You will help me capture my king." He stood inches from Eric face. "It's up to you, how many other players will be sacrificed, because if you resist me I will show no mercy." He whispered in a voice that made his accent come out more thick and harsh than it had the previous times he spoke. "Take him away"
The men restraining Eric did as they were told. As they walked away, Eric looked back and saw the man step up to Sharova, who was being restrained also, and started to beat him viciously. That when Eric heard it, the sirens in the distance coming closer and closer. Help was on its way. He wasn't the only person to notice it, and this time he was the one to use his opponent's frozen state to his advantage.
He quickly stepped on the back of one of his captures legs breaking it. Yelling in pain, the man released Eric from his grasp. He quickly subdued the other man by grabbed the man's sidearm and hitting him over the head with it. Free, he quickly headed over to Sharova.
"Hey!" Eric yelled, pointing the gun at the man beating Sharova. The man stopped and turned to face him. When he turned Eric released three bullets into the man. As he hit the ground, the man holding Sharova released him, and ran to his boss' aid.
By that time the police had arrived and ordered the Russians to stand down, drop their weapons and come out hands up. The order was ignored and a firefight started between the two sides.
The task of capturing Eric had been abandoned; now the main focus was escaping with as many of the weapons as possible. Eric walked over and retrieved Sharova. Helping the injured old man to his feet, they moved towards the car. As they reached the car the gunfire in the entrance of the loading deck was getting more intense, but the sound of more sirens approaching grew. Eric helped Sharova into the car then walked over to the driver's side, open the door and put the keys into the ignition.
The engine roared to life. He positioned his car to pull out of the deck in a quick motion. The Russians made a clear path for his exit, thinking he was one of them escaping with weapons. Their mistake worked to his advantage, making his escape easier since he didn't have to worry about any human obstacles, but as he exited the deck the police thought he was a Russian too. A rain of bullets showered his car, but thankfully they hit the car and not the passengers.
"Who was that man?" Eric yelled at Sharova, over the noise, as he drove the car out of the deck. It seemed the most logical question that was running through his racing mind to ask.
"An Enemy." Was all a badly beaten Sharova could muster.
As he pulled out of the deck, he saw the Russians holding off the police barricade. He would have to go around the barricade if he had any hope of coming out of this one alive. As he pulled out even more bullets flew towards him. He was thankful that not everyone on the force had the best aim, but not a second after the thought left his mind, bullets pierced though the window and ripped through his body.
He turned to faced the shooter and found himself looking into familiar eyes. Calleigh stood, her arms perched on the window of a hummer door and her gun pointed in his direction, frozen. She saw him and as they looked into each other's eyes, it seemed as though the world stopped. Her eyes filled with pain and confusion as they looked into his. Her glance lasted for what seemed like an eternity; he was lost in her eyes. He didn't snap out of it until the car hit the curb. As they started going off the road and onto the grass, the pain from the bullet started to sink in.
She'd shot him and she'd got him good; pain shot up through his shoulder. He looked down and saw how badly he was bleeding. The blinding pain distracted him from the task at hand, driving. The wound had greatly compromised his driving skills and the car moved wildly through the grass. His arm started to go numb and he lost control of the car as he started to lost consciousness.
That was all he could remember clearly. Everything after that point was blurry. He could remember flying around the car a little as he loss control, and water, but that was it. The clearest memory in his mind was the look on Calleigh's face; the look in her eyes as she saw him on the other side of the line hurt more than the bullets in his body. It was the image playing over and over in his mind as he drifted into unconsciousness and into darkness once more as he seat in the dark room reminiscing.
Thanks for reading, tell me what you think. Are you feeling the other characters point of view? Please review - Quitethefangirl