Chapter 9

The girls drove for another four hours before getting gas and resting for three hours. They hadn't seen the Hummer since the train but didn't want to wait around for it. Tanya and Shannon were up again at 5 in the morning and set out for New Mexico. They crossed the border into the dry state a few hours later.

"Here comes trouble," Shannon muttered as the Hummer appeared about a quarter mile behind them.

"They must be switching drivers," Tanya concluded.

"Yep," Shannon deadpanned and they were chased along side roads for well over two hours. Along a straight away by a few fields Tanya panicked.

"What are you doing?" Shannon asked as the Jeep rapidly slowed.

"The…car won't…work," Tanya said helplessly and pumped the accelerator to no avail.

"What do you mean the car won't work?!?" Shannon yelled. "Everything is still running and we have gas!" the radio played and the air conditioning was still blowing.

"It won't go!" Tanya yelled back. She saw the Hummer tail them. 80, 70, 60, 40, 30, 20, 10… they saw the speedometer drop. The girls sat in the Jeep until the tired CSIs came around the car with guns drawn. The girls put their hands up and climbed out of one side.

"Good girls," Horatio said; they threw him dirty looks.

"You two are under arrest," Calleigh said and Ryan and Eric moved forward and cuffed them. They were led back to the Hummer and put in the back. The CSIs then went through their things in the Jeep and set their suitcases and money in the trunk/hatch.

"How much money is in that bag?" Horatio asked. The girls stayed silent and looked out the windows. Ryan and Eric crammed into the back with them. Horatio smiled then started the Hummer and turned around. They drove back six hours to Fort Worth. Horatio found a small motel they would stay in for the night. Tanya had drifted in and out of sleep in the car with her head on Shannon's shoulder. She woke up when she was gently shaken and the group went into the motel. There were two beds and the girls would sleep on the floor. Neither felt like complaining, it had been a hard couple of days.

Horatio and Calleigh went outside a moment to get a few things from the Hummer, leaving Ryan and Eric with the two.

"Girls listen to me," Eric whispered urgently. They raised their heads and looked at him with sleepy eyes. "You are not going back to Miami. We will get you two out of the country tonight." This got the girls' attention. "At one in the morning you will be picked up by my sister Marisol. She will take you to the airport and you will be flown to Rio de Jeneiro and will stay with Horatio's sister in law. Nobody else knows about this, ok?" Eric explained. The girls nodded eagerly.

"Good," Eric said as Horatio and Calleigh walked back. They went to bed soon after ordering pizza to eat. The girls' were handcuffed in the front to be a little more comfortable. One came all too soon. Eric and Ryan carefully pricked their superiors with sedative without waking them.

"Let's go," Ryan whispered and uncuffed the two. They went out into the quiet night surrounding the motel and waited for Marisol to arrive. She came within a half hour in a small black Kia. The girls loaded their suitcases and money into the back.

"We can't thank you enough," Tanya gushed to Ryan and Eric.

"Don't mention it," the men said and hugged them goodbye. The drive to the airport was about a half hour. Tanya and Shannon chatted with Marisol on the way and loved her bubbly personality. Stuffing the money into their suitcases, the girls boarded the private jet for Rio.


Horatio woke up from a heavy sleep and looked down beside him and saw no girls. Ryan and Eric were sleeping peacefully in the next bed, content with their secret.

"Wolfe! Eric!" he yelled. They jumped and looked at him. "Where the hell are the girls?"

"It wasn't our job to watch them," Ryan sassed. Horatio cursed and went to the window.

"They are gone and we'll never find them now!" he griped. Calleigh woke up to his yelling and sighed when she saw their prisoners were gone.

"How did they get out and no one saw them?" Calleigh asked. The men shook their heads.

"We need to get moving," Horatio grumbled and went into the bathroom to dress.