Joseph screamed as the bullet lodged itself in his right leg. He pressed the hand that wasn't cuffed, down over the wound and gritted his teeth.
He couldn't believe he had been shot again! Though, this time he'd probably stay awake longer, and would therefore have to endure the pain longer too.
"You have to do as I say or you'll screw everything up." The robber said.
Then he left the room for a shot while, an came back with a belt. He tied it around Joseph's leg. Then the robber left and closed the door behind him.
Joseph was panting, he was old and he wondered if his body would be able to hold on for long. He promised himself not to fall asleep.
He had to stay awake. Because he was afraid that if he well asleep, he'd never wake up again.
-I-
13:35
Ryan sighed. Of course tere were no match in the system for the prints he had liften off the phone. If the DNA from the mask wasn't in the system, then neither was the prints. But of course he knew that it hadn't been why Horatio had told him to test the cell hpone for prints, Horatio also knew that there wouldn't be a match, but at least they had the robber's print. If he got caught.
When! When he get's caught, he will be cuaght, so not if, just when, Ryan thought. Though he couldn't help but to wonder if Joseph would still be alive when they did find the robber.
Calleigh walked inside Ryan's lab. She saw on the look of his face how worried he was, and frustrated. They had prints, DNA and a phantom picture, but they still had no idea where to start looking for the robber.
"I guess you didn't get a match in AFIS." Calleigh sighed, "Not that anyone expected it."
"Yeah, I know." Ryan said, "And there is nothing else on the phone either."
"There are no houses anyowhere near the place where we found the phone, so we know that he's not keeping Joseph anywhere close."
"Unless he built himself a underground hideaway."
"Not likely." Calleigh said.
"Why?"
"Because many people walk in those woods. He would never have been able to do it without being seen, and I'm sure that someone would have sued him or something." Calleigh said.
Ryan looked at Calleigh and smiled wideley. Calleigh looked confused at first, but then she smiled too.
"Let's see if anyone did something like that." Ryan smiled and left the lab, with Calleigh close behind.
"You two are looking very happy, why?" Frank asked as he met them in the lab hallway.
"We need you to check something for us." Ryan said and then told Frank to check if anyone had been sued or just had complaints against them for building anything in the woods, around the Miami River.
Frank nodded and went to his desk to make a few calls. Ryan and Calleigh smiled at each other, maybe they had just broke the case and Joseph would be saved.
"Calleigh, Ryan we got another crime scene." Horatio said as he and Eric walked towards the elevator. Ryan and calleigh went after them.
"But isn't Joseph a top priority?" Ryan asked.
"He is, and it's about the case. The robber has struck again." Horatio said, "A small bank was robbed ten minutes ago, by either the robber himself, a copycat or a companion."
Calleigh sighed, just when things had started to look better, another robbery was made and the case just seemed to get more and more complicated.
-I-
13:45
"Good morning Natalia." Alexx greeted as she peeked inside Natalia's hospital room. Alexx was about to say something, when she saw Natalia fully dressed and standing by the bed.
"I know that the doctor hasn't released you yet, so why are you dressed?" Alexx asked.
Natalia blushed and shrugged.
"Natalia, I know you want to help save Joseph, but you're not well enough yet."
Natalia sighed.
"I have to help Alexx."
Alexx grabbed Natalia's arm and sat her dow on te bed.
"You need to heal." She said.
"No, I need to help." Natalia said and stood up, "Alexx this is too important for me to just stay in the hospital and do nothing."
"Horatio will send you back here anyway if he sees you in the lab."
"Then I will hit him." Natalia said, "Alexx, let me do this."
Alexx sighed, she knew how Nat felt. Alexx also wanted to do more, but there wasn't much she could do. She couldn't process evidence on the same way that the CSIs did.
"Alexx, please." Natalia said.
"Why do I let myself be talked into everything nowdays?" Alexx asked. Natalia smiled and hugged Alexx.
"Thanks, but we need to sneek out though." Natalia said. Alexx raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well, I haven't told anyone but you that I'm leaving, and the nurses will just put me right back in to bed."
Alexx sighed and nodded. She opened the door and peeked outside. She couldn't see any nurses or doctors. She walked out in the hallway, with Natalia close behind. The managed to get into the elevator and to the parking lot without being seen. But before they managed to get into Alexx's van, they bumped into Jason.
"Nat, you're not ready to leave yet." Jason said.
"Jason, I need to help my team, it's very important." Natalia said.
"I know you want to help find Joseph, but you're not well enough."
"Jason, I am a woman who can kill without leaving evidence, I'm worried about someone in our family and the worst thing is that I've been stuck at a hospital for more then a week, so you better let me leave." Natalia warned.
She glared at Jason. Jason sighed and nodded.
"You better be back later tonight." He said, "You can help them during the day, but then you come back."
"Thank you." Natalia said and got into Alexx's van.
Jason raised an eyebrow at Alexx.
"I know, I know." Alexx sighed, "What happened to my Never give in motto."
Jason chuckled and nodded. Then he watched Alexx and Natalia leave. Normally he wouldn't have let a patient leave early, not even after what Natalia said, but this wasn't a normal occation. This was a matter of life or death for Joseph, and he couldn't let Natalia stay in the hospital. The team needed everyone to be there, he knew it.
-I-
14:00
"What makes this robber different from the one that has Joseph?" Eric asked.
"This guy didn't kill anyone. He robbed a small bank, he made a woman empty the cash desks, he forced all the employers to sit in a half-circle, but he didn't shoot anyone." Ryan said, "He's either a copycat or a companion."
"Copycat sounds more like it." Calleigh said, "A companion wouldn't make it seem like a copycat."
"What evidence have you collected so far?" Horatio asked.
"Shoeprints, bullet casings and even fingerprints from the door." Calleigh said, "Acoording to the people at the bank, it was a small guy or maybe even a woman, the voice sounded like an imitation of a man, but they're not sure."
Horatio nodded. Then he noticed cameras in all the corners.
"Does the cameras work in this bank?" He asked.
Calleigh nodded, and went to find the bank manager. Horatio never had to tell her what he wanted, she already knew. Ryan smiled as he too noticed the cameras, even if the new robber was only a copycat they needed to find him. Because somehow the new robber knew about the half-circle. As far as the team knew, no one had told the media or anyone else about that. So either the employers of the other banks told someone or the copycat knew the real robber.
Suddenly Alexx's van stopped outside the crime scene tape and out of it came Natalia and Alexx. Eric raised an eyebrow at them.
"Don't even start." Natalia growled, "This is important."
"Miss Boa Vista, I'm guessing that Alexx has already tried to stop you from coming here." Horatio said.
"Yep."
"Alright, well, I will not stop you, but you do realize that it's not very good for you to be here. You are still not well enough."
Natalia nodded. Horatio then told her to check if anyone has leeked information to the media about the robber and what he does when he robbs a bank.
Natalia nodded and started making some calls, she had a few friends in the media world, and they would never hide anything from her. If anyone told them anything about the robber, Natalia would be told.
"Horatio, I have the tapes from the cameras." Calleigh said.
"Good, take it to the lab." Horatio said, "Ryan go with her and ehck the shoeprints and fingerprints."
Ryan nodded and followed Calleigh away fom the crime scene, back to the lab.
-I-
14:30
Joseh opened his eyes and yawned, he felt so sleepy. He had fallen asleep after all and was now lying down. He groaned and sat up, when he sat up, his injured leg shifted a little and pain shot through it. Joseph hissed through clenched teeth.
He thought about his children, and the last few months. He had changed as a person, and he liked the new him very much. He had gone from a quiet man, who never did anything to stop Raquel or his children, he had expected them to live a similar life to his, and been hurt when they had chosen another path. Later, he realized that maybe because he made is so clear that he wanted them follow in his footsteps, they always did the exact opposite of what he said.
He was very proud of his children, and if he could go back many years in time, he would have changed the way he raiesed them. f you could even call it that, he never actually did raise them. Raquel did. He just sat on the side and let Raquel do whatever she felt like.
Now he had a closer relationship to them then ever before and he would never want to change them or their lives. He was a proud father, and a proud grandfather too.
He smiled as he thought about Elena, she was 18 weeks pregnant, just like that funny, crazy Maxine Valera. Joseph always thought that one of the greatest gifts in life is to see your own children become parents.
He thought alot about Eric too, he had never imagined Eric together with a man 16 years older than him, but he had too admit that Horatio was probably the best partner that Eric could have.
Joseph's thoughts were interrupted as the robber entered the room again.
"What's your name?" Joseph asked. He suprised himself by asking such question, it had just come out of his mouth.
"You don't have to know."
"It can't hurt. I'm going to die here anyway, so it won't hurt if you tell me your name." Joseph said.
"You can call me Dennis."
"I'm Joseph."
"Yeah, you know what I totally don't care, so just shut up or get shot again." Dennis sighed, "Don't try to become my friend or something, alright?"
Joseph nodded.
"Good, now I'm going to make another call to the lab and tell them that they have less then 12 hours to give me what I want." Dennis smirked and left the room.
Joseph sighed. He was going to die. He knew it.
-I-
14:40
Eric and Horatio got out of the elevator at the lab. The receptionist called out to them and told them that a very angry man wanted to talk to Eric.
Eric took the phone.
"This is Eric."
"Hey there, it's me. The man that's going to kill your father. Listen, you got less then 12 hours to meet my demands, or the old dude dies."
"How do you expect us to tell you when we have what you asked for? You threw away my father's phone, and I'm guessing that you're calling from a pay phone right now." Eric said.
"Very clever. Let's say like this, I want you to leave the plane on a highway and have no cops around it. If I see a plane on any highway in the state of Florida, I'll release the old dude. Goodbye."
Eric sighed in frustration as the robber hung up. He walked towards the break room. Horatio walked after him. He hated seeing his lover like this.
Eric sat down in the break room and starred out the window. Horartio walked up behind him and hugged him.
"We will find him Eric." Horatio said.
Eric turned around.
"How? How will we find him H? We have nowhere to look and we can't track the robber, he's not planning on letting my father live and we all know that." Eric growled, "So tell me, when we do fing my father, will he still be alive?"
"Yes he will Eric. You can't give up."
"I'm not giving up. But you can't stand here and tell me that you're so sure we'll find him, when you know how low the chances really are."
"Eric, I promise you that I'll find him." Horatio said.
"Yeah, but that could be in a decade or more. We'll find him when the robber wants us to find him, and he doesn't want that." Eric said and left the break room.
Horatio followed him.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"I'm going to drive around in town and look for someone who knows where my father is."
"No, you are going home to take a walk with Waldo and Rascall." Horatio said.
Eric stopped and looked at Horatio with a death glare.
"How can you tell me something like this?" He asked.
"I understand the preassure that you're in, but I told you not to do anything hasty. You need to take a break, and you know it. You're not in the right state of mind to work with this case. Now go home, take the dogs for a walk and then come back." Horatio said.
Eric just glared at him and the left the lab. Leaving Horatio behind.
Eric muttered to himself in spanish as he got to the parking lot, he started the hummer and drove home. He knew Horatio was right, but it still wasn't easy to be told to go home in a situation like this one
After fifteen minutes he arrived at his and Horatio's house. He walked inside and was greeted by two happy puppies. They had no idea what was going on and were just happy to see Eric.
Eric smiled at them and then took them for a walk in the woods nearby.
After ten minutes he was pretty deep into the woods and his mind was somewhere else. He just kept on walking straight ahead.
-I-
15:00
Joeph had fell asleep again and didn't wake up until he felt himself fall to the ground. He groaned as pain shot through his leg again. He looked around and noticed that he had been moved to another location. It was a still a basement, but he was sitting on a wodden floor. A very old floor, but still a floor. And he saw a window and a door, and a stair leading up to the door.
"Where am I?" He asked Dennis, who was on his way up the stairs.
"We're in my mama's summer cottage, in the middle of fucking nowhere." Dennis said, "I felt that it was too much of a risk to remain in my basement, so I moved you here."
"Where exactly are we?"
Dennis shrugged, "Somwhere between Hilton Street and Miami University."
Joseph nodded, "Are we in a forest?"
Dennis nodded, "Now shut up." He said and left.
Joseph smiled, he knew where he was and he also knew how close he were of being found by a certain someone. All he had to do was to be noticed. Somehow.
-I-
15:15
Eric snapped out of his deep thoughts as he stumbled over a small tree.
He couldn't help but to smile as she saw Waldo and Rascall chasing each other and biting each other's ears.
The he heard someone yell from something. He moved close to where it came from, and walked on to a small path. As he go closer and closer he could hear that it was a cry for help. He started running and suddenly found himself at the door of a cottage.
He took his gun out of the holster and opened the door, slowly.
When he walked inside he saw a small kitchen, a living room and a bedroom. He heard the call for help again and opened another door. It led down to a basement.
He walked down some stairs and the first thing he noticed was how dark it was.
Eric had forgotten all about turning on the lights, he walked back up the stairs and then turned the lights on. Then down again. Thats when he saw his father.
"Dad!" He exclaimed and ran to his father. He noticed all the blood on Joseph's leg, and the belt around it.
"What happened to you?" Eric asked.
"I got shot." Joseph said, "Listen Eric, you have to leave, he's dangerous. He said I could call him Dennis, but I don't know if it's his real name. He said this is his mother's cottage."
"I'm not leaving dad."
"He's a drug addict, and when he is high, he is very dangerous. When he's not high, he's nervous." Joseph said, "Please Eric, he will not hesitate to shoot you."
"Dad, I'm not leaving without you." Eric said, "I got a gun too."
"Where?"
Eric looked behind him and noticed that the gun wasn't there. He had placed it on the floor when he saw his father. He cursed at himself, he should have known better.
The everything went black for him as Dennis hit him in the head with the gun.
TBC...