Previously on CSI: Sentinel The Awakening, Horatio introduces his half-sister to his team, and is surprised by the ease with which his team and his sister have come together... as a Tribe. With one concern was placed to rest, several more crops up; such as the pain within Frank's heart and the truth behind Sera's unique abilities. Can the Tribe help Frank survive through the pain of losing all of his daughters to his malicious ex-wife? And will Horatio find a way to help his sister harness her unique abilities?
FF105 "Answers"
Kyle just pulled up to his apartment when he noticed Madison sitting on his stoop with an angry scowl on her face. It was a strange sight to see on the normally smiling face, which made the blonde wonder what could have caused Maddie to look like that. Well, I won't know unless I ask. The Medic mentally told himself as he slowly exited his car.
Madison's blue eyes glanced up to her cousin, who simply looked at her in concern.
"Hey." Kyle greeted.
"I need to see Felicia." The redhead replied as a greeting, making a blonde brow arch in surprise at the demand.
"Why?" He asked.
An incredulous look was shot at him as if he had just asked a very rude and very stupid question.
"Why?" She rebutted as she shot to her feet, "Why?! Do you even have to ask?! Why?! She broke Uncle Frank's heart! That's why! We're family! And no one messes with my family! How can you ask such a stupid thing!? Aren't you mad?!"
Kyle raised his hands, the universal sign of surrender.
"Whoa!" The blonde stated, "Yeah, I'm angry. Yeah, I wanna talk to Felicia too, but not when I'm angry… we gotta be smart about this."
"Well, I don't wanna be smart about this!" Maddie hissed too much like an angry kitten.
Kyle just stood there, letting Maddie shout and scream her frustrations at feeling so helpless. He completely understood how she felt, after all he too felt completely useless, but the Medic found his patience by reverting back to his military training. The blonde hoped his old DI's ears were burning.
"Is everything alright, dearie?" Mrs. Bradley, Kyle's elderly neighbor, asked as she looked at the cousins curiously. It looked like the elderly woman was coming back from walking her dog.
"Yeah, Mrs. Bradley, just some family issues; that's all." He replied as he finally ushered his younger cousin into his apartment.
"Of course, dearie, no one but family can frustrate you so thoroughly." The old woman nodded sagely, "If you need anything, you know where to find me."
"Thanks, Mrs. Bradley." Kyle smiled then turned to his cousin, who had stormed into his apartment and made straight for his kitchen.
Horatio's son could hear a few things banging against his kitchen counter followed by the sound of running water. Immediately, the blonde realized that Maddie was making tea. He was not sure when, how or why Madison got into the habit of making tea when frustrated. He just knew that she did, and honestly given their family history with addiction, Kyle liked the idea of making tea when upset.
"What?" The redhead snapped when she noticed the blonde smiling softly. He simply shook his head while sitting down and letting her have free reign of his kitchen.
Despite being mad, Kyle knew that Maddie would not stay that way for long, and sure enough, after setting the kettle on the stove, she let out a deep sigh and looked at him.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Don't be." He replied, "You're angry. I'm angry. Everyone's angry, but that's the situation… if Felicia doesn't want anything to do with her father, it's her choice."
"But the way she did it!"
"I know; it was cruel and mean and completely unfair to Uncle Frank."
Silence fell over the cousins. Madison was deep in thought while Kyle marveled at the fact that for once, he was the voice of reason. It usually was the other way around; Maddie was the voice of reason while he flew off the handle. Soon the kettle began to whistle, and Madison automatically made the tea for her and Kyle. After a few more minutes of silence, she broke the silence.
"I still want to see Felicia." She said "I want to give her a piece of my mind."
"Okay." Kyle replied then asked, "When do you want to see her?"
"Tomorrow after school." She answered, "She should still be in the orchestra. And when we last talked, she said something about concert at the end of the school year."
"Okay, then, I'll pick you up from school, and we'll head over to Felicia's school." Kyle remarked then looked at his younger cousin thoughtfully, "By the way, how did you get here?"
"I took the bus."
"And your mom knows that you're here?"
"Yeah, I told her what happened at Uncle H's place." Madison answered as she stared into her tea, "Mom agrees that what happened was cruel and unfair to Uncle Frank, but she also said that it's outta our hands. The most we can do is be there for him."
Kyle was quiet for a moment as he tried to formulate on how best to say his thoughts without causing his little cousin to be angry with him.
"Perhaps, she's right." He slowly began than raised his hand, "Let me finish… it is outta our hands if Felicia wants nothing to do with her father, and all we can do is be there for Uncle Frank… let him know that he still has us. Granted, it's not the same but…"
The blonde shrugged.
"I know… I know!" The redhead muttered in frustration.
"C'mon, let's finish our drinks before I take you home." Kyle said as he slowly drank his cooled tea.
Half an hour later, the cousins finished their drinks; spent the time talking about other things than the heartache done to their uncle. Kyle just quietly led Madison out and to his car. The blonde let his cousin's endless chatter wash over him as he drove her home. Luckily traffic was not horrendous, which allowed them to make good time.
Madison climbs out of the car with Kyle following behind her.
"Mom! I'm home!" Maddie called as she walked in, and he waited at the entryway.
"Maddie…" Susie came and greeted her daughter with a hug, "Kyle, what are you doing there? Come in, you silly boy!"
The blonde gave the woman a sheepish smile and did as he was told.
"Have you eaten?" She asked.
"No, ma'am."
"Well, then, you'll join us for dinner." She said, "We're having pasta, and there'll be plenty for you to take home too!"
Kyle just smiled and joined his cousin and her mother.
Kyle pulled up to Maddie's school the next day and was not at all surprised to find her already waiting for him. The young redhead quickly hopped into his car. He waited a few seconds for Madison to put her seatbelt on before he drove off to Felicia's school, about an hour away in good traffic.
"Should I ask how your day was?" He casually asked as he sensed she was not in a good mood. The blonde had hoped an evening to cool down would calm her fiery temper, but it seemed he was out of luck.
"My day was fine…" She said then looked at her phone in her hand.
"Then what's wrong?" He asked as he noticed that she was slowly getting angrier the longer she looked at her phone.
"I texted Felicia to let her know that we're coming."
"And?"
"I got a text back saying 'don't bother'."
"Don't bother?" A blonde brow arched in surprise.
"Yeah, the text even goes on…" She paused as she pulled up the text and began reading, " 'Don't bother to come. I want nothing to do with you or my father, and I prefer you stop texting and harassing me'."
Kyle frowned as he listened to Maddie read the text. Something did not seem right about the text. Granted, he did not know Felicia all that well, and the few times he had met her, she was well-spoken; a reflection of that private school education her step-father was sending her to. But still, the blonde could not ignore the sense of wrongness in the language of the text. He looked at Maddie and realized that she too must sense something was off.
"Does that sound like her?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"No, and everything is spelled out… no text speak…" She said.
"Is that how she normally sends text?"
Madison shook her head again.
"Okay." Kyle drawled, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Me too."
The cousins pulled up to Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, noticing that the parking lot was empty with a few cars here and there. Kyle signed them in with security, who directed them to the orchestra's hall. As the pair drew closer to the hall, they could hear music echoing throughout the hallway. The blonde cocked his head to the side as he tried to identify the music. It sounded like Beethoven, but he could not be sure.
They quietly slipped in the concert hall and moved to the front, where several other people were sitting. They must be the players' parents or older siblings. Kyle absently thought as he scanned the area for Felicia's mother or sisters. If they were there, he knew things would get awkward real quick. Fortunately, Lady Luck seemed to be on their side tonight since he did not see either Melissa or Felicia's sisters. And was it just him, or did Felicia looked surprised and happy to see him and Madison?
The practice lasted for another half an hour before the orchestra's instructor called it a night. Kyle watched as Felicia packed away her oboe. If Kyle remembered correctly, it was a gift from her father, Uncle Frank. Clutching her oboe case close to her chest, she rushed over to them with a large smile.
"Kyle! Madison!" She happily greeted, but her good mood quickly evaporated when she saw the somber expressions on the cousins' faces. "What happened? Is Daddy okay?"
Kyle took one look at the girl's frantic expression and immediately realized that they had been played, but by whom? He could only think of one person, who would gain the most by driving a wedge between father and daughter. He knew that once he told his own father of his suspicions, there would be hell to pay.
"Oh now he's 'Daddy', hunh?" Madison growled, letting all of her frustration to cloud her judgment. She knew she should not be this angry with the other girl, but it just made her so mad that this girl was willing to throw away a loving relationship with her father; a relationship that Madison never had with her own biological father.
"What?" Felicia looked surprised at the redhead's sudden hostility.
"Maddie!" Kyle barked, "Not now."
"Kyle!" Madison snapped back. Her voice cracked with emotions.
"There's something going on here, and until we know what, keep your cool!" The blonde ordered, causing the younger girl to take a deep breath in order to calm her temper.
"And what the hell is going on?!" Felicia swore, causing some of the parents to look at her harshly but not say a word.
Kyle instantly ushered the two girls out of the concert hall, not wanting to give the gossiping mothers any ammunition for their… well, gossip. The girls did not protest to being hurried out of the building and into the parking lot.
"Dammit! What's going on?!" Felicia demanded, "First, I don't hear from you for weeks. Then you come here, looking as if you're gonna give me a… a notification, and all of sudden, Maddie, here, is giving me attitude!"
"Bull!" Madison shouted back, "I've been texting you for weeks! And not once did you reply! I even called, but you never called back! And when you did decide to reply, it's some guff 'bout me harassing you!"
"What are you talking about?!" Felicia yelled then looked to Kyle, who had a troubled look about him, "What's going on?"
Kyle's blue eyes glowed a bit against the approaching nightfall.
"May I see your phone?" He asked as he held out his hand.
Felicia pressed her lips together in a thin line, not happy that her questions have been going unanswered, but she did as the blonde requested and handed her phone over. She watched as the older Caine – in blood – looked through it and became even more agitated watching his thoughtful expression morph into a frown.
"Maddie, your phone, please." He requested with a hand out.
Madison blinked in surprise at the request but did as asked all the while sharing a bewildered expression with Felicia as both girls were curious as to why Kyle wanted to see both phones.
Kyle looked back and forth between the two phones in his hands. On Maddie's phone, he saw all the text, including the one she had sent this morning, but on Felicia's phone, he saw nothing. Was it possible that Maddie had the wrong number for Felicia? He checked to make sure that his cousin had the other girl's correct number, and sure enough, she did. If the numbers were correct then how was it possible that Felicia was not getting any of Maddie's text?
The blonde then quickly sent a text from Madison's phone to Felicia's with a simple message saying 'test' and waited. Even after a minute, Felicia's phone gave no indication that it had received a message and yet on Maddie's, it had indicated that the message had been successfully sent. Suddenly Maddie's phone chimed with an incoming text. Curiously, Kyle opened the message. His brows disappeared into his hairline as he read the message that supposedly had come from Felicia. Felicia, who was standing in front of home without her phone in hand, was looking at him curiously while Maddie arched a brow.
Well, this got a whole lot messier. Kyle mentally muttered to himself.
"Both of you, in the car." He ordered as he pocketed the phones.
The girls were startled by the sudden command but complied nonetheless. They climbed into the blonde's vehicle, sitting as far away from one another as possible and completely ignoring the other. Kyle did not like the heavy silence in the car, but at the moment, he was more worried about what he was suspecting was happening to Felicia and Frank. Someone had hijacked Felicia's phone and was sending text, pretending to be her. Was it some kind of prank? Or was this part of a bigger plot?
The silence made the drive seem longer, but the trio made it to their destination. Kyle pulled up to a nice little condo. As the girls climbed out, they watched the blonde in utter confusion. Neither of them recognized the area nor did they know of anyone who would live there. Kyle simply marched up to the door and gave it a sturdy knock, making it impossible for the occupant to ignore him.
"What?!" The door swung open as the condo's only occupant snarled at the sudden intrusion to his evening.
Madison looked in surprise as she realized that they had gone to her half-brother, Ray Jr.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ray Jr. demanded, no doubt equally surprised by the trio's presence at his home.
"I need you to check Felicia's phone." Kyle began as he walked into his cousin's home.
The brunette rolled his eyes as he muttered something unflattering under his breath. He then motioned for the girls to come in.
"Why?" Ray Jr. questioned while glaring at his uncle's son, "Why do you need me to check her phone?"
"I think it's been hacked."
"WHAT?!" The girls exclaimed in surprise.
The brunette's expression reflected the same surprised disbelief as the girl's tone.
"I'm sorry… you think someone hacked a middle schooler's phone? A teenage girl's phone?" Ray Jr. asked.
"Hey!" Felicia snapped; feeling insulted that the other man would dismiss the idea. Her father was a cop; that made her a viable target for any criminal.
"Look, I know it sounds farfetched, but someone texted a message to Maddie."
"So?"
"Using Felicia's phone number, but it wasn't Felicia because I had her phone in my hand when the text came through." Kyle explained, "Now, unless she suddenly developed some of sort of techno-telepathic thing, I think someone hacked Felicia's phone and is pretending to be her to alienate us."
Ray Jr. looked at Kyle in utter disbelief. What the blonde had just said was akin to a foil-hat conspiracy! What would be the point of going through all that trouble of hacking into a teenage girl's phone; just to piss her friends off? And more to the point, who would bother? The brunette rubbed his face and looked at his cousin, who looked to believe what he was saying. Even the girls were having a hard time believing the blonde.
"Who and why would anyone bother to go through all that hassle?!" Ray Jr. demanded.
Kyle finally looked trouble as he glanced over to Felicia in concern. This made the brunette frown.
"I think Melissa may be behind it." The blonde confessed.
"My mom?!"
"You're shittin' me, right?"
Madison was quiet as she watched the three of them started talking over each other about the absurdity of Kyle's claims.
"SHUT UP!" The redhead suddenly shouted; surprising the others into silence as they all looked at her in confusion.
"Right now, the 'who' and the 'why' aren't important." Maddie snapped, "R.J., is it possible that someone hacked Felicia's phone?"
Ray Jr. just stared at his half-sister. He did not know why but hearing her call him 'R.J.' pleased him. It was something, he suspected, a true sibling would call him, and hearing it from her… Ray Jr. discovered that he was quite selfish in wanting to hear her call him that again and again. The brunette nodded his head.
"Yeah, it's possible." He sighed then held his hand out, "Give it here."
Kyle handed the phone over while they followed Ray Jr. to his room. The blonde watched as his cousin hooked the phone to a laptop and began typing away on the keyboard.
"By the way, what made you come to me?" He asked.
"I didn't want the Lab to get worked up in case I was wrong." Kyle replied.
"No," The brunette frowned at the computer screen, "I meant what made you think I would know this stuff."
"Oh!" The blonde was quiet for a moment, "Your mom was talking to dad about you getting suspended for hacking your school's computers, a while back."
Ray Jr. stopped typing and finally turned away from his laptop with a look of outrage on his face.
"She talked with Uncle H about that?!" The brunette's voice was controlled, surprising the others.
"Yeah, she did." Kyle shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know why. It's not like Dad has much say in what happens… I mean, he could say a lot, but he's just your un-cle…"
He trailed off, wondering if maybe Yelina had hoped that his father would get more involved with his nephew and therefore, be more involved with her. He hoped not. Kyle knew that once upon a time, his father had deeply cared for Ray Jr.'s mother just as he had once cared for Kyle's own mother. But now, neither of the women could hold a candle against the love Horatio had for Marisol. Marisol was his father's soul mate, and no one would be able to ever catch the Lieutenant's heart like she had.
Ray Jr. made a noise of disgust as he turned back to his laptop.
"I don't know why she tries." He muttered, causing the blonde to mentally groan as his cousin confirmed Kyle's concern.
"Great. Frist, Price and now, your mom…"
"Yep…" The brunette remarked while the girls looked at one another curiously, "Your mom gonna be a problem too?"
"Nah, she knows that she can't compete with a dead woman."
"Oh!" The girls suddenly exclaimed as they finally understood the cousins' comments.
"So?" Kyle asked, "Found anything?"
Ray Jr. snorted.
"This isn't the Lab." He muttered, "It's not like I can press a shiny button and get an immediate answer. This will take some time."
"How much time?"
"Depends on if they covered their tracks or not."
"Ah!"
"Hunh, that's odd…" The brunette frowned, "it doesn't look like the malware was buried too deeply…"
"You mean found it?" Kyle was surprised; the girls moved closer to see what the boys were discussing.
"Yeah, which is odd…?"
"What's odd?"
"Well, from what I can see, the code itself is pretty good… definitely not done by some wanna-be-hacker doing a cut-an'-paste job, but by an actual programmer… so why wasn't it hidden better?" Ray Jr. asked more to himself rather than to the trio in his room.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean whoever wrote this code would have placed it somewhere not a novice IT guy can find it." He grumbled, "I mean… c'mon! Everyone knows the first place to look for malicious code is in the temp files!"
The trio looked at one another in confusion.
"So…?" Madison drawled, hoping for a more understandable explanation.
The brunette sighed.
"So, the malware was written by a programmer, but someone else is using it… and not really well either." He mumbled the last portion, "Bet the guy will be pissed if he knew that his code was being used like this."
Kyle looked over his cousin's shoulder, but quickly realized that it was futile to try and read the strange text on the screen. Sure he recognized a few words here and there, but he could not make heads or tails of it. The phrase 'it's all Greek to me' suddenly came to the foreground of his mind.
"Eh… can you trace the source?" He asked.
"Seriously?" The brunette asked.
"Yeah… can you?"
"It's right there!" Ray Jr. exclaimed as he pointed to a series of numbers intermingled in the words.
"What is it?"
"Really?! You don't know?!"
"Dammit! I don't know computers like this!" The blonde exclaimed back with narrowed eyes, "If I asked you to do a simple interrupted stitch, would you know what I'm talking about?"
"Alright! Alright!" The brunette raised his hands in surrender, "For your information, that there is the IP address where all incoming traffic is being intercepted at."
"Oh." The blonde muttered, "Do we know –"
"Give me a sec.," Ray Jr. interrupted, "I should be able to look up the IP and find out who it's registered to."
"You can do that?! I thought we would need a warrant or something."
The brunette gave his cousin a disbelieving look before he continued to educate his less than computer savvy kin that there were a number of websites that could look up the registry of an IP address. Some sites would provide cursory information such as a name and when the IP was registered. Other sites, however, would go even deeper to include the registered owner's physical address.
"You're kidding?" Kyle asked, "All that information? Just out there for anyone to find?"
"If you know where to look, yeah. It's all out there."
"Well, that's just creepy." The girls muttered.
Ray Jr. just shrugged as he continued his search.
"So, who does the IP address belong to?" Madison asked, causing the brunette to go still before quietly swearing.
He then turned a cautious look to the blonde, who only arched a brow.
"You're definitely Uncle H's son." Ray Jr. mumbled under his breath, but Kyle heard him nonetheless.
"Crap…" He groaned as he rubbed his face, "I was hoping I was wrong."
"Considering the sort of mess this is gonna be, I kinda wished you were wrong too."
"Okay! Will one of you please explain what the hell you're talking about?!" Felicia finally snapped as she glared at the older males.
It did not escape either young man's notice that at that moment, the young girl looked very much like her father when the detective was angry and annoyed. Kyle sighed then motioned for her to sit down. Immediately the young girl looked nervous. All she wanted to know what was going on? Why was her best friend acting the way she was, not texting her for the longest of time and then getting angry with her? And why were the boys acting the way they were?
"Felicia," Ray Jr. started, "did you get any emails or text asking you to open or download something?"
"I got an e-card from my mom." She answered, "Does that count?"
"Ah man…" Kyle remarked.
"Your mom?" The brunette asked, "Are you sure it was from your mom?"
"Yes, I'm sure. She kept asking if I had opened it." She said, "And in all honesty, the e-card wasn't worth the fuss she made."
"No, I wouldn't imagine it would be since it was mostly a delivery method to get the malware on your phone." The brunette remarked with a dismissive gesture.
"Malware? You mean like a computer virus?" Felicia looked at her phone with concern and suspicion.
"Yeah, like a computer virus…" He said as he picked her phone, "Basically, your phone got hacked, and any incoming and outgoing traffic on your phone is being intercepted by someone else."
"Someone pretending to be me?" She asked, fearing the answer.
"Pretty much." He answered then handed the phone back, "Your best bet is to either get a new phone or try cleaning your phone's system."
Felicia stared at her phone in disbelief.
"Who would do something like this?"
Ray Jr. and Kyle gave each other worried looks, which Felicia could not ignore. It was then she immediately realized the purpose of those odd questions. Her dark complexion paled as she slowly realized that there could only be one person who could have done this.
"Are you…" She paused, "Are you saying my mom is behind this?!"
Again Ray Jr. and Kyle gave one another a look.
"Oh my god, you are…" Felicia whispered, "But why? Why would she do this? What's the point?!"
"When was the last time you talked to Uncle Frank?" Madison suddenly asked, drawing the other girl's attention to her.
Felicia just stared at her friend. Why was she asking such a thing? She had just found out that her mother, her mother, had been intercepting her texts and most likely her emails. And Maddie wanted to know when she last spoke to her… Felicia's eyes slowly grew wide. When had she last spoken, actually spoke to and heard her daddy's voice? Oh sure, she texted him every night, telling him that she loved him and such. After all, she knew and understood how hectic a cop's schedule was.
Felicia's eyes began to sting and water with tears while she covered her mouth, trying to keep from screaming. Madison immediately came to her friend's side, suddenly understanding that all the pain Uncle Frank had been dealing with was NOT Felicia's fault. Ray Jr. fidgeted in his seat. Tears made him uncomfortable as it reminded him of all the times that his mother cried because of his father.
Kyle waited patiently for Felicia to calm down before he asked her on what she wanted to do. Felicia wiped the tears from her eyes and stared directly into the blonde's eyes.
"I want my Daddy."
"Okay," he said, "go freshen up, and we'll head out."
Both girls left, leaving the cousins alone for the moment.
"You know, this is going to get messy, right?" Ray Jr. asked.
"I don't think 'messy' even begins to cover it." Kyle replied.
"So what's the plan?"
"I'm gonna call Uncle Frank," The blonde said as he pulled his phone out, "letting him know we're coming. I need you to call Dad and let him know what we found out."
"You think he can fix this shit?"
"I think he can point us all in the right direction on how to handle this." Kyle corrected then turned his attention to his phone, leaving Ray Jr. to do the same.
All this pain and grief, and for what? Each of the cousins thought as they talked on the phone.
Horatio just got off the phone with his nephew, who had just finished explaining what he and the others had found on Felicia's phone, and who they suspected was behind it. The redhead leaned back into his sofa, letting his head fall back as he tried to calm his raging thoughts. How can that woman cause such pain in not only Frank but her down daughter? Immediately he felt a firm hand resting against his forehead. Glacier blue orbs opened and stared into a pair of Siberian blue gems.
Horatio noted Sera's calm expression and took strength in her solid presence. He reached for his sister's hand, gently pulled it away from his forehead and gave it a light kiss. Sera gave his own hand a gently squeeze, which he responded in kind.
"It would seem that Melissa has been purposively driving a wedge between Frank and Felicia." The redhead said with a heavy sigh.
Sera tilted her head to the side and with her free hand signed 'who' and 'why'.
"Melissa is Frank's ex-wife, and honestly, I don't know what she hopes to accomplish, aside from hurting Frank."
'She made Bear sad?'
"Yes. Yes, she did."
'She has black-heart?'
Horatio frowned as he thought about his sister's question. He knew that "black-heart" often symbolized grief and sadness, but on a rare occasion, a "black-heart" could also represent anger.
"I suppose she could be 'black-hearted'." Horatio answered, "I just don't know why she would do this to Frank."
Sera shrugged dismissively then signed.
'Black-hearts are black-hearts.'
The redhead could only nod at his sister's remarks. He knew it was true that some people just have hatred in their hearts, and to him, it would seem that Melissa was one of those people. It really made him wonder how on earth Frank got involved with a woman like her. With another sigh, H let go of his sister's hand and proceeded to scroll through his contact list. He quickly found his lawyer's contact information and began to call him.
Sera ventured into the kitchen, leaving her Fire-Fur alone as he talked on the small device. Absently she began making a pot of tea, using the blend of tea leaves that Abeula had dropped off that morning. The Elder has said that the tea would calm the soul and the body. Sera knew that she and Fire-Fur would need to be calm in both the soul and the body in order to protect their Tribe from the Black Heart.
Sera then smiled as she thought of the Tribe's Elder. The Elder had been coming to their Den nearly every morning and had been teaching them the old tales of the Guardian and the Shaman. Sera found the tales to be a thrill, and while she knew that Fire-Fur also longed for the tales, he also held a worried glint in his eyes. It was as if he did not understand why Abeula would tell them these old tales. Sera could tell that her Fire-Fur was a bit wary of learning these tales since they were not of Abeula's old tribe. She had tried to explain to her Fire-Fur that these tales were now their tales since Abeula was part of their Tribe. Fire-Fur only arched a brow, but he did come to accept the tales. He quickly learned that the tales helped him draw her back from being far away.
Sera still suffered from being far away, but with the old tales, Fire-Fur always called her back, and Sera did not feel so drained from being far away. She liked Fire-Fur's method better than the Lead Hyena, who would violently pull her back.
She shook her head. She did not need to remember the Lead Hyena. He was nothing. She had Fire-Fur. He was everything.
"Seraphim?" Fire-Fur's voice was soft.
Siberian blue orbs glanced up as she tilted her head to the side.
"Still with me?" He asked with a small smile, which she returned with a full smile and a nod. "Good."
Horatio joined his sister in the kitchen and watched as she finished preparing the tea. Glacier blue gems watched and looked for any signs of her 'being far away' on him. After the few earlier incidents with her 'being far away' – as she called the experiences, the redhead was quick to learn to look for the signs. Unfortunately, he did not always catch the signs early enough. Horatio, although he managed to safely pull Sera out of these episodes, always felt as if he had somehow failed his sister whenever she had an episode.
Over the past couple of days, the redhead felt nothing but gratitude to his son and Juanita. If it were not for Kyle's research and Juanita's tales, H knew that Sera's episodes would have been more frequent and far worse than what they have been. Through his son's research, Horatio was able to make their loft a bit more comfortable for his sister's senses, such as airing out the loft and wiping down surfaces with a damp cloth to minimize the effects that dust and cleaning products had on her. Kyle's research even helped with food and how best to prepare certain dishes for her sensitive taste buds. And while the research helped Sera be more comfortable, it was Juanita's stories that gave H the inspiration to help his sister to control her abilities.
He found the stories fascinating… warriors with heightened senses, using their abilities to protect their tribe. Horatio could easily imagine his sister as one of these warriors of old. When Juanita began telling her people's history, he felt a bit uncomfortable because he understood that a tribe's history usually reminded within the tribe alone. It was Seraphim, who explained it to him that they were a tribe, and therefore, Juanita's history was their history. Of course, Juanita also eased his mind when she explained in her broken English that the stories would help 'the Guardian and Shaman' find balance. The redhead easily guessed that 'the Guardian' was Sera since she was like the ancient warriors, but he was curious as to who was 'the Shaman'. Both Juanita and Sera just gave him a look when he asked but neither gave him an answer.
Suddenly Sera stilled as she seemed to look through the kitchen wall. Horatio watched closely while his sister cocked her head slightly to the side, a subconscious sign that she was hearing something he did not. Quietly the redhead approached her and gently placed a hand on her elbow, immediately drawing her back into the kitchen.
"What is it?" He whispered; knowing that her hearing will be quite sensitive after hearing something outside.
'Stranger.' She signed, 'Yet not stranger.'
H frowned a bit as he moved toward the front door of his home. Before he had the chance to peer out the side window, the doorbell rang, causing Sera to lightly growl at the sudden noise.
A moment later and before their unexpected visitor could ring the bell a second time, Horatio opened the door. He stared at the stranger for a moment before he began to subconsciously take in the stranger's worth. The stranger was only slightly taller than the Irishman and was in good shape for a man his age, which Horatio estimated the man being only 10 or so years older than himself. The stranger's hair was cut short; too short for a fashion statement and yet too long to be military. However, H could not shake the sense that the stranger in front of him was military. The stranger was professionally and yet casually dressed with a thick briefcase in hand.
The stranger was observing Horatio as much as the redhead observed him.
"Lieutenant Horatio Caine?" The stranger asked with a slight hint of a Boston accent.
Horatio merely gave the barest of nods to the stranger when he sensed Sera by his side.
The stranger immediately turned his attention to the petite woman. His eyes grew wide in surprise and relief.
"Captain O'Shea." He whispered in relief.
Immediately, H realized who the stranger on his doorstep was.
"Dr. Ocascio," The redhead greeted, surprising the doctor, "please, come in."
"Thank you."
"Would you like some tea?"
"That would be wonderful. Thank you again."
'I make.' Sera signed then disappeared into the kitchen.
Dr. Ocascio turned sharply to Horation in surprise, "She signs?"
"We're learning together." The redhead answered.
The doctor smiled, pleased to hear the 'we' in the Lieutenant's statement.
The two men settled in the living room and waited for Sera to return with their drinks. It did not take long for the former Captain to return, but each took their time in prepping their own tea in efforts to stall and collect their own thoughts. Sera was the first to break the silence as she signed, leaving Horatio to translate.
"How did you find us?" The redhead asked as he took a sip of tea.
"I spoke with Col. Peacecraft as soon as I heard what happened at the hospital." Dr. Ocascio started, "He was reluctant to tell me at first; however, when I explained that I was Capt. O'Shea's previous doctor, he eventually informed me that the Captain was under your care. May I ask how that came about?"
"What do you mean?" H asked.
"I mean, why you? Why are you caring for her?"
'Fire-Fur is kin. Is Alpha. Is Tribe.'
Dr. Ocascio looked to Horatio for a translation but was surprised to see the Lieutenant staring at the Captain with fondness.
'You see yet you see not.' She continued, 'We are kin.'
Horatio chuckled then translated.
"I am family." He said, "It's subtle, but we do have a family resemblance."
Dr. Ocascio frowned at the comment while he looked, really looked at the pair. The Lieutenant gave the good doctor one of his shy half-smiles while the former Captain gave him a knowing grin which revealed an unusually sharp canine. No, it's not in the smile. The doctor thought to himself but immediately blinked when he finally noted an unearthly light in the pair's eyes. Although the pair's eyes were different shades of blue, there was an indescribable quality to their eyes that could only be shared between family.
Dr. Ocascio cleared his throat to cover his sudden unease at being so thoroughly scrutinized by the pair. He placed his cup of tea down on the coffee table and looked warily at the redhead, who only observed the stranger in his home.
"I suspect that there is more to your visit than to ensure that Seraphim is in safe hands." Horatio stated, causing Sera to remain absolutely still much like a big cat assessing a prey's vulnerabilities before striking.
"Yes." The doctor replied, "I'm sure by now that you've noticed a few peculiarities that Capt. O'Shea has."
"You mean her heightened senses?"
"Yes." The doctor was surprised by the Lieutenant's candor, "How did you learn about her senses?"
"We experienced a few episodes where it seemed as if she goes into a trance. As well as hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling things that most cannot."
Dr. Ocascio pulled his briefcase from the floor and places it on the coffee table.
"The trances are called 'zone-outs'. They are caused when Capt. O'Shea becomes overwhelmed from one or more of her senses."
"Zone-out?" Horatio straightened in his seat, watching the doctor pulling out several files from his briefcase.
"When I was re-assigned, something about the Captain's symptoms reminded me of a few case studies I read while in medical school, so I began researching for any other patients with similar heightened senses. I found a number of patients with one or two heightened senses, but those with all five … I was able to find about one or two records of service members, who had all five heightened senses. Some of the records dating as early as the First World War, where some soldiers were mentioned to have symptoms similar to Capt. O'Shea's. Unfortunately, the doctors of the time believed the soldiers were making the symptoms up in attempts to get out of the trenches so I cannot be certain if they truly had heightened senses."
The siblings' eyes grew wide in surprise.
"The government knew –"
"No, the government and military leadership didn't really know nor did they understand what was happening to the soldiers, and because they didn't know nor understood, these soldiers died before the truth could be revealed."
"What do you mean they died?"
"The 'zones'… these soldiers would fall into one of these zones either in a middle of a firefight or they simply never come out of it."
Horatio paled and instinctively he reached out for his sister. The thought that Sera could fall into a 'zone' and never wake up left a cold oozing feel in his heart. He felt her small and warm hand gently pat his as if to re-assure him that she was still there with him.
"Did they eventually learn what was happening to these soldiers?"
"An inkling of what was happening didn't surface until about the early 50's to about the mid 70's."
"The Korean and Vietnam Wars." H arched a brow in surprise to which the doctor nodded his head as he pulled two files from the stack in his hand.
"Lance Corporeal Davis Kowtko and Private First Class Jared Skarr…" Dr. Ocascio handed the files to the Lieutenant, "According to official reports, both men survived an ambush, had gone missing for several months before re-appearing with a local by their side. Corporeal Kowtko was in the company of a South Korean teenager, and PFC Skarr was accompanied by a young Vietnamese woman. After an evaluation, the men were re-assigned to either their old units or to a new one.
"The CO's for each of the men made several reports of how the men were able to detect possible threats before anyone realized there was one. Corporeal Kowtko's CO even remarked an incident where the Corporeal suffered from a strange trance and could not be brought out of it until Min-sik, the South Korean, came and mysteriously woke the Corporeal up. A similar incident happened with the Private."
Horatio was quiet while his mind immediately recognized that the doctor was saying even though the doctor himself did not understand. The two men were Guardians just like Sera, and the men's companions were their Shamans, those who helped ground the Guardians. He quickly reviewed the files in his hands and immediately caught his breath in his throat as he read what happened to the men and their Shamans.
"As you can see, the men and their companions meet with violent deaths. Min-sik was captured by North Koreans. He was tortured and brutally killed. Corporeal Kowtko, according to the records, became 'feral' and went on a killing spree; massacring all those involved in Min-sik's death. Private Skarr turned on his own unit after the death of Anh, his companion."
"Anh's autopsy report indicated signs of sexual assault prior to her death."
"Yes." The doctor hesitantly acknowledged as he found himself under the hard piercing stare of the redhead.
"She was raped and murdered by members of his own unit." Horatio stated bluntly, causing the doctor to mournfully nod.
"From eyewitness accounts, Private Skarr killed those directly responsible for her death before taking his own life."
'I would do same.' Sera signed as she sat regally next to Horatio on the arm of his chair, looking too much like a big cat guarding her domain, 'Any hurt Fire-Fur will meet my fang and claw.'
"Sera." Horatio's tone was soft with a mix of warning and affection while Dr. Ocascio looked on curiously.
"Had there been any other reports of soldiers' senses becoming heightened?"
"As I said, there have been a number of soldiers with one or two senses coming 'online' as it were but all five… there was only one confirmed reporting of a soldier with having all five heightened senses once it became known what was happening."
"Seraphim."
"No, due to her other behavioral and psychological issues, no one, save for you and me, are aware of her heightened senses. No, the only confirmed soldier with all five heightened senses was a Gunnery Sergeant during Desert Storm."
"And did he have a… 'companion'?" Horatio asked, not wanting to reveal that he knew more of Guardians and Shamans than was already revealed by the doctor.
"Yes, a Kuwaiti medic." The doctor nodded, "It was through their partnership that leadership realized what was really happening to some of their soldiers and before… eh…"
"They disappeared before the government could exploit the Gunny's gift." H remarked while the doctor was trying to find a more diplomatic way to say what happened.
"Yes, they did." Dr. Ocascio replied, "The Gunny is still listed as MIA."
The redhead nodded.
"But it did bring to focus that some of our men and women have these abilities. For a brief period of time, a project was started with the aim of finding and training these men and women, but the project soon was scrapped."
"Why?"
"For one, locating these men and women was time consuming, and once one was found, there was no way for them to control their senses."
"I'm surprised that this information isn't classified."
"Fortunately, the information is not classified, but finding the information was a challenge. Now," Dr. Ocascio paused as he handed the last file in his hand to the Lieutenant, "The Gunny may have been the last confirmed person with all five heightened senses, but I don't think he was the actual last one.
"This was written by an anthropologist, who – after its publication – claimed to have falsified the results in his studies."
Horatio looked at the doctor in surprise.
"Bear with me, please, I have a few patients, who suffer from one or two heightened senses. None of the 'conventional'," The doctor made air quotes when he said the word conventional; "treatment was helping them. Then I came across this dissertation, I had my reservations to implement the exercises mentioned by a self-proclaimed fraud, but my patients needed help, and my patients' needs come first."
"It worked?" H asked in disbelief when he realized that the doctor had implemented some of the noted exercises in the dissertation that Horatio saw.
"Yes, the exercises for control worked." The doctor said, "And yes, my patients still on a occasion suffer from zone-outs, but with a loved one's help, they're able to pull themselves out without serious side effects."
Suddenly Horatio's brow furrowed together as he looked at the dissertation in his hands.
"If the exercise worked then why…?"
"Why did he lie about falsifying the results?"
"Unless…" The redhead whispered as he slowly turned to his sister.
'He protects his Guardian.' Sera signed. 'He is Shaman.'
"I think," The doctor drew the siblings' attention back to him, unaware that they had already figured out the truth, "he lied to protect his subject… the Sentinel."
Horatio then stared at the dissertation and read the title once more.
"The Sentinel" by Blair Sandburg.
Stay tuned for the next installment of CSI: Sentinel The Awakening coming June 1st, 2016.