Chain of Command

Chapter 9

Horatio weakly commented, "I…thought you were…dead."

Hearty laughter erupted from Chien and his minions. "I'm sure you did." The man bent over and snarled as he put his face within a couple of inches of Horatio's. "Your comrades didn't take me prisoner for long, they turned me over to my army's commanders in a prisoner exchange…I paid the price for your men escaping from my prison and the fact the camp fell into enemy hands. I see the results of my torture every time I look in a mirror." He laughed wickedly, "You don't know torture until you are in the hands of experts. Just to let you know, I picked up a few tips to enhance what you endured during your captivity the first time. I've made your other men pay; now it's your turn Caine. I've waited very patiently for this day."

Horatio didn't blink. He kept his countenance strong, defiant. "Bring it on," he growled.

"We'll just see how long you will be able to say that." He nodded to one of his men who pushed the electric probe into Horatio's bare chest again causing his body to literally lift out of the chair, as it writhed uncontrollably attempting to pull away from the source of pain, his arms and legs pulled hard against the taute restraints as a guttural scream emanated from deep within sounding more like that of a wild animal.

The torture stopped for a brief time giving Horatio a respite to catch his breath before the probe once again touched his skin. This pattern persisted until Horatio finally passed out. Even Chien was impressed with the amount of pain the redhead could endure.

Frank rushed in to the A/V lab, address on a paper giving access to the security cameras and gave it to Trevor, the lab's a/v technician. "We need to examine security camera footage from every street camera surrounding the cemetery. I'd say look for a van, or a large SUV exiting the gates around 11:30 this morning."

"Will do."

"Call me when you've got something," Frank requested before walking out into the hallway in search of Calleigh. Then he felt his cell vibrate in his coat pocket.

"Tripp," he answered curtly.

"Where did you find him? Figures. Ok, see you in a few."

Eric walked out of the trace lab and Frank stopped him, "Hey Delko." Frank quickly closed the distance between them and exclaimed, "Patrol just called in, they found Phan out in West Flagler. They're on the way in." The two men continued walking down the hall as Eric turned his head toward Frank and said,

"I checked on Jerry Latham's whereabouts since he was cut loose. I verified he returned to Atlanta so he's not connected with H's disappearance."

Frank responded, "I'll bet you money Phan is connected. That's what Horatio believed…that the Burtons were murdered by someone connected to their time in Nam."

Natalia stuck her head out the door of the DNA lab. "Eric, Frank…you need to see this."

Eric looked inquisitively toward her as she explained,

"It took some time, but I finally found the information H requested."

The two men focused on the computer screen displaying a newspaper article from the Chicago Sentinel dated October 15, 2010, Councilman Dies after Hit and Run, Mike Gamble, a well-liked Chicago city councilman, was struck by a car last night and has died at the Buena Vista Medical Center. Witnesses told police Gamble had just reached the middle of the street as he was approaching his vehicle when a fast moving car suddenly appeared from the darkness and struck Gamble, then sped away. Police have very few leads concerning the incident. Councilman Gamble was a POW during the Vietnam War and had served his district of Lincoln Park for the past twenty years….

Eric felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. When he could finally speak, he looked at both Natalia and Frank. "You know what this means…Horatio is the last survivor of men that were in his group from that POW camp. We need to do a search and find out who was connected to that place."

"I'll get started on that," Natalia offered.

"Have either of you seen Calleigh?" Frank inquired.

"She was here a few minutes ago," Natalia answered. "Frank, she's fragile right now. She's putting up a strong front, but I can tell she's on the verge of collapse."

Frank broke eye contact and stared out into the hallway for a few moments before turning back answering, "They're no good without the other. We haven't got much time before…" he hung his head and let out a worried huff and then walked out.

As he walked through the door leading to the indoor firing range, someone was firing repetitively without pausing. He knew who that someone was. When the gunfire stopped, he approached Calleigh's back and heard her sobs as she griped the shelf in front of her.

"Cal…" Calleigh spun around, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She then pulled her top lip into her mouth as her bottom lip quivered,

"Oh Frank," she cried before collapsing into his arms. No words needed to be exchanged. Each could feel the other's pain. The big Texan just held his best friend's wife until her body stopped racking from her deep sobs.

"Hey," Frank softly said as her sobs had slowed to a whimper. Easing her back, but still holding her in his strong arms for fear she might collapse in front of his eyes. "We're going to find him Calleigh. Patrol is bringing Phan in right now. I'm going to interrogate him with Eric's help. I'm sure he knows who did this and I'm going to make damn sure he tells me." Calleigh nodded her head and felt a small glimmer of hope at that news and began wiping the tears off her cheeks with a shaky hand.

Calleigh rode back upstairs with Frank in the elevator and rejoined the team. As soon as they walked out into the hall, Trevor from the A/V lab rushed up,

"Detective Tripp, I found where the camera on the 69th avenue exit picked up a van leaving the cemetery at 11:32 this morning. It was not marked, just a plain white van you'd see most any day."

"Great, did you get a tag number?"

"I did." The man handed Frank a piece of paper. He thanked the young man and he quickly took the information to Eric in trace with Calleigh accompanying him.

"Delko…got a tag number of a white van that left the cemetery this morning after the service." Eric took the paper and desperately hoped this would be what they needed to start their search for Horatio. He keyed in the number, then sat back on the stool and waited for the computer screen to reveal the record.

The information suddenly materialized on the screen. The van belonged to a landscaping company in Coral Gables. Owner of the company listed was a Mike Thergen.

"I think we need to go have a talk with the owner," Eric spat.

As the three of them walked out of trace, they met Assistant Chief Gonzales. "Racing to a fire?" he asked sarcastically.

"We've uncovered some information that might lead us to the whereabouts of Lieutenant Caine," Eric explained.

"Is that so? All three of you need to go? Mrs. Caine…" the name obviously grating on his nerves by the tone of his voice, "In your husband's absence, are you not in charge of the crime lab? Shouldn't you stay here to "mind the fort" so to speak?"

"I am in charge Chief Gonzales, but when warranted, I go out with the team, just as Horatio has always done."

Gonzales looked even more irritated hearing her speak of her superior by first name. "I know Chief Gomez warned the both of you about carrying out your plans to marry. The fact that you somehow persuaded the Director to approve your union, changes nothing. I want to warn you that this matter can be taken to the mayor and city council and the chief and I plan to do just that."

Frank and Eric saw the fire radiate from Calleigh's eyes, but she gathered herself and to their surprise with a calm voice responded to the threat, "Do what you feel is necessary, but nothing will change what has been done."

"We'll see," Gonzales spouted before walking away, unaware of the blonde's angry glare.

Twenty minutes later, the two CSIs along with Detective Tripp, approached the door of the small building marked "Landscape Renovations." As they stepped inside, there was no mistaking the fact that more than landscaping was conducted from this location. Two of the men behind the counter were wanted felons and the third made a sudden move to bolt out the back, but Frank already had his weapon trained on him. The men had been so deep in conversation; they failed to notice the approaching trio until it was too late.

"MDPD, HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" – Frank bellowed. The other two men were quickly subdued and uniform officers escorted them out in cuffs to waiting patrol cars.

Frank asked the other man his name as he was cuffing him. The man winced as the handcuffs dug into his skin snapping, "Mike Thergen. You can't just come in here and arrest me for no reason."

"Oh we have a reason…for starters, harboring fugitives is a felony," Frank assured the man.

"Fugitives? I didn't know they were wanted. I hired them to cut yards."

"Your mistake. You should perform background checks before you hire. Take him," Frank told the waiting officers.

Eric began performing a search on the company's computer as Calleigh watched. "There're some encrypted files on here. We need to get this to Trevor."

"I'm going to search the van," Calleigh stated, "Frank can help me. Go ahead and take the computer back to the lab. We'll come as soon as we get through."

Horatio had no idea how long it'd been since he was taken from the cemetery. Pain took away the ability to concentrate. In some ways that was a blessing, but he did remember the electric probe. Suddenly, realizing he was being moved, he forced his eyes to open slightly, even though his eyelids felt like concrete. Then he felt a rope slip around his right wrist and at that moment, he became aware he was lying on the floor. The man jerked the rope tight causing Horatio's head to lurch upward then slam back to the floor as the rope cut into his flesh. He tried to writhe under the pressure of another man's grip, but was limited in his movement.

"Nice to have you join us again," Chien growled.

Horatio watched in horror as the other end of the rope was thrown over a couple of rafters in the ceiling of the room. He remembered the torture technique from his captivity in Vietnam. Back then, their arms would be folded behind their back, with their hands ending up behind their neck as parachute cord would be tightly wrapped around their body, keeping their arms in place. Then cord would be tied around both thumbs and they would be hoisted from rafters to hang by their thumbs until both shoulders separated from the weight of their bodies. He was confused and alarmed when he realized the rope was tied around his right wrist. Then two men began to pull him off the floor and as he ascended the pain in his right shoulder was tremendous. He grunted, but refused to scream out; determined not give his captor the satisfaction. Chien ordered the men to leave Horatio hanging by his one arm for several minutes, attempting to force the man to cry out in defeat, but he got no such verbal confirmation.

Horatio could feel the intense pain of his shoulder separating from the weight of his body, but after a few minutes, it actually began to ease as his entire arm became numb, along with his shoulder. He brought to mind the technique he'd learned long ago, keep his mind focused on something pleasant. He thought about his wedding night, about Calleigh lying in his arms until he began to fade into darkness.

TBC….