Title: Triquetra
Rating: T
Warnings: This story is SLASH. If you don't like that then don't read any further.
Pairing: Horatio/Speed
Summary: They made it through their first year together, but can they survive the next few days?
888
The mayor hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. A slow smile spread across his face. He reached down and opened his desk drawer, checking its contents. This could definitely work in his favor. Definitely. His smile grew wider. He reached down and locked the drawer, got up, and left his office for the evening.
888
It was past closing time and the clerk had already left, locking the door behind her. Louis sat at the counter with Horatio and Tim. "So, what do you think?" he asked.
Horatio smiled and shook his head. "They're beautiful, Louis. Are you sure you can have them ready by Saturday?"
Louis gave him a stern look. "Are you doubting my abilities now, Horatio?"
"Never," he replied affectionately.
Louis' expression softened. "You'll have them Friday. You have my word."
As he went to pull out his wallet, Horatio asked, "How much do I owe you, Louis?"
"Horatio, you put that away right now," he said suddenly. "This is my gift to both of you. And don't you dare argue with me, boy."
Horatio ducked his head and smiled. "As I recall, that was always a fruitless effort."
"Good," the old man said simply. "Now, you're both going to let me take you out to dinner to celebrate. I have a standing reservation at the Provence Grill."
He didn't wait for an answer or an argument. As Louis began straightening up and putting things away, Horatio glanced over at Tim, who raised an eyebrow. Horatio shrugged, leaned in close, and whispered, "I warned you, didn't I?"
888
Horatio arrived at his office around eight-thirty in the morning. Tim had received an early call-out and was already gone when Horatio had gotten up. He sat down at his desk and started doing some paperwork when he noticed the message light on his phone was blinking.
He dialed in to his voicemail and listened. "Lieutenant Caine, this is Mayor Barrett. I need to speak to you. Please come by my office first thing this morning."
888
Horatio found himself walking up the steps of the Miami City Hall building with more than a little trepidation. He wondered what was behind the mayor's cryptic message. He was let into the mayor's office without a wait. As he walked in he noticed that the man behind the desk seemed to be in a good mood, at least he was smiling.
"Lieutenant Caine, take a seat please," he said cheerfully.
Horatio wasn't feeling any more at ease. It was something about the look in the mayor's eyes that bothered him. "Thanks, I'd rather stand," he replied somewhat coldly.
"As you wish," Barrett replied. "I called you here to talk about the case against this fellow who broke into my office and stole the files."
"Well, we have no evidence that he stole anything. Only that he was in here," Horatio said. "We searched his apartment, his vehicle, even the area where he was found hiding was searched. He says he was here looking for money and we haven't been able to shake his story."
Barrett smiled at him. "Well Lieutenant, I think that may be about to change. You see, he did take something. And I need you to supply proof that he took something. And that he destroyed what he took."
"I can't give you what I don't have," Horatio said simply. Then a thought stuck him. "Unless you expect me to fabricate evidence," he said, surprised that those words were even coming out of his mouth. Barrett smiled at him, but said nothing. Horatio was getting angry. "What could possibly make you think that I would do that?"
"Because, Lieutenant Caine, I know your secret."
888
Horatio stalked into the building at CSI. Whether it was the look on his face or the way he was moving he wasn't sure, but people were scattering as he passed. His anger had been building on the ride back from City Hall, so that by the time he arrived, steam was practically rising from him. He couldn't believe that the mayor had expected him to fabricate evidence and for what. He still didn't know that.
He hit the button for the elevator with far more force than necessary. When the car arrived he stepped in and pressed the button for his floor. He leaned back against the wall, closed his eye, and took a deep breath. He had to think. Giving in was not an option, and he'd told the mayor that. His only real option was to go to the commissioner. Not something he wanted to do but if he headed things off before they got going, he would have the upper hand. He pulled out his cell phone and called the commissioner.
When he reached the lab he headed straight for Trace. He filled Speed in on everything that had happened. He knew what he had to do but he needed his partner to know before he did it. This involved both of them. Tim's reaction was predictable, he was pissed. But he supported whatever it was that Horatio had planned. And since he was about to out himself he decided, what the hell. He leaned over and gave Tim a quick kiss, then headed up to the police commissioner's office.
He stood in front of the large oak desk. "Sir, I think we have a problem," he said. "Mayor Barrett has asked me to fabricate evidence on a case. I refused, of course." He supposed telling the mayor to go fuck himself was a form of refusal.
"Why would he do that, Horatio?"
"Because he knows something about me that he thinks he can use to blackmail me with. But I will resign my position before I let that happen," Horatio said with conviction.
The commissioner smirked. "Let me guess, he knows about you and Detective Speedle?"
Horatio was stunned into silence for a moment. "How… how did you know?"
"Come on, Horatio. Do you think there is anything that goes on in my department that I don't know about? The only reason it never became an issue is that the two of you proved very quickly that your relationship didn't affect the way you did your jobs."
"How could you possibly know that?"
The commissioner smiled at him. "Sergeant Stettler. He informed me about eight months ago. He is also the one who assured me that that your working relationship hadn't changed significantly."
Once again, Horatio was surprised. "Rick Stettler vouched for me?"
"Don't sound so surprised, Horatio. And if this is all Mayor Barrett has on you, then you have nothing to worry about. You have my full support. Despite what the mayor thinks, the department has no policy on this sort of thing. Whether or not you're a good cop has nothing to do with who you sleep with."
Horatio nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you."
"Now, there is something I could use your help with." Horatio raised an eyebrow. "There's something going on in the mayor's office. This whole break in thing is just the most recent event. Sergeant Stettler has been looking into some things and I would like for the two of you to touch base. I believe it has to do with the comptroller and a phony set of books. If we're right, that is what he is hiding."
"I still don't understand how this relates to the break in."
"The city comptroller is the mayor's brother-in-law. We think he kept a second set of books and someone else in the mayor's office found out. Near as we can tell, the mayor is being blackmailed himself. This break in provided him with a legitimate excuse to get rid of the incriminating evidence. My guess is that he still has it stored away somewhere."
"And," Horatio continued. "He won't actually get rid of it until I provide him with what he needs to prove that it was stolen. Otherwise it could look like he was destroying evidence. How much proof does Rick have?"
"Some, but this whole situation of yours may give us the opportunity to snare him. How much time did Barrett give you to decide?"
Horatio smirked. "You mean before or after I told him to go fuck himself?" The commissioner burst out laughing. "Until this afternoon."
"Go meet up with Sergeant Stettler. I'm sure the two of you can come up with a plan that will wrap this whole thing up quickly. I'll give him a heads up call now."
TBC
