Sorry it's taking me longer than usual to update but if you had my Biology teacher you would get your homework done first too. This is the longest chapter yet so go and get some popcorn or something. It might be the penultimate chapter unless the last one is just too long (which it could be. You can't stop me!!). Disclaimer: If I owned CSI: Miami I would be wondering why I don't also own CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI:NY.

Mark had hit a wall. Metaphorically of course; he had not yet progressed to a state of mind where pain was his only release. He had succeeded in bringing Lauren back to his apartment and containing her in the spare bedroom, but the question now was what he would do with her. Ever since that day he had locked her in her family shed he had sworn she wouldn't survive long enough to know his name. Now, the time had come and he was at a loss to bring himself to even look at her any longer.

Why were his emotions in such conflict? He had waited for years to kill her, torture her and watch as everything that defined life was extinguished from her body and he could burn her remains in the wilderness of the Everglades. On the other hand, he wanted to preserve her. Following her, stalking her had become his only purpose and ending it now would be like quitting the game, purely because he was winning. The adrenaline rush of the kidnap itself had subsided by now and he felt he needed something more.

He pulled open the drawer and retrieved a length of green twine, biting off a length long enough to use. Laying the roll back down on the dresser, he tied the twine tightly around his left arm, just above the elbow and pulled it tight with his fingers and teeth on either end. His tourniquet in place, he reached back into the drawer and this time pulled out a small glass bottle with a needle and syringe sticking out of it. Steadying the bottle in his left hand, he painstakingly withdrew the dosage he craved and held it upside down so he could push out any bubbles. Tapping the inside of his elbow, he found the vein he needed and with an intake of breath, he plunged the needle into his arm.

The pain was only a few seconds long and he closed his eyes as he felt the substance enter his body and mess with his mind. The high was one of the best he had had for a long time, possibly because he had something to be high about. He dropped the bottle, now empty, to the floor and watched with pleasure as it smashed and covered the soiled carpet with sticky shards of glass. He felt immortal, fire was rushing through his brain and nothing he could do would stop the grin that was spreading across his face. This moment was perfect.

His confidence inflated, he made a spur of the moment decision to see how Lauren was. He didn't care if she was conscious or not, he wanted to share this sensation of euphoria with her. He floated from his bedroom down the hallway and fumbled in his pocket for the key. Time for some fun…

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Mark West? Why does it sound familiar? Horatio's brain was buzzing with questions as Tripp's Hummer sped down a street in Coral Terrace. Tripp had insisted that they stay in this area whilst awaiting a call from Eric because most of the dealers Raymond had associated with lived in this part of Miami. They were certain now that Mark West was a druggie who had been paid off by one of the local drug lords to kill Raymond Caine when he had learned his true identity. Delko was at this very moment going through Ray's old files to find an address for the guy.

"What is taking that boy so long?" breathed Tripp, after circling the block for a third time. "We should be banging the guy's door down right now!"

On cue, Tripp's cell rang and Horatio picked it up for him.

"Give me good news Eric."

"I'm sorry H. I've gone through every file twice. This guy must have used an alias whenever he was doing a deal. I have three addresses in the Gables and four in the Terrace. If you want, I can give you them all and you can search them one by one. It's slow, but it will get us somewhere. Calleigh's working on search warrants now."

He had to admit, it was better than nothing but that was no guarantee it would be enough. He wrote down each address as Delko read them out to him.

"Thank you Delko. Keep trying to GPS her cell, will you?"

"Sure thing, H."

Horatio hung up and considered the seven addresses on the notepad in front of him. Which was nearest? That would be… Bob Watson's apartment. Nine streets away. He told this to Frank who swung the Hummer so fast it momentarily pinned him back into his seat. He gritted his teeth and fingered the Glock in its holster on his hip. Whatever it takes.

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Lauren's eyes flew shut when the key turned in the door. She didn't want him to know she was conscious, if he did he would surely try and hurt her in some way. Lauren wasn't ready for that; she was still dizzy from the chloroform and it would only make things worse. Instead, she relied on her ears to tell her what the man was doing as he stepped into the room.

He turned and closed the door behind him. Three steps towards her shook the floor in the room and he stopped again. A scraping noise. The chair was being pulled back, away from her head. Rustling of clothes meant he had sat down on it. His heavy breathing was masking the noise of hers as she began to panic. Her eyelids were flickering beyond her control. What if he noticed? Did she dare take a look? Even with her eyes closed, she perceived a shadow looming over her. Her whole body went tense; she expected the worst but had no idea of when it was coming, or in what form. He spoke to her, much closer than she had realised him to be and his voice was unnervingly soft and soothing.

"Lauren? Are you sleeping?"

His hand touched the top of her head and stroked her hair thoughtfully.

"Wake up, Lauren. I only want to play."

His words made her sick. The chair creaked loudly and Lauren sensed that he had knelt down beside her. She could feel his stinking breath on her face as her studied her.

"Sleeping Beauty," he whispered and he leant forward to kiss her lips. "My sleeping-"

"Get off!" she shouted, unable to stand it any longer. She flicked her head back and spat in his face. What a sick, twisted pervert! The bloody cheek of it, she had been expecting him to kick her in the head or slice her throat, the last thing she had braced herself for was that.

Mark wasn't surprised at her actions. He had been far too brave to think she would accept him like that. He wiped the glob of spit from his cheek and sucked it slowly from his finger.

"What's wrong, sweetie? You aren't happy to see me?"

He's deluded! He's bloody mental! Wait… calm down. Think this through.

"I would be if you hadn't tied me up. Why did you do that?"

Mark's face fell. He must have hurt her. But hadn't that been the idea at the time? He shook his head, thinking that it might by some chance put his thoughts in order for him. Nope, hadn't worked. He fiddled in his pocket for something he had taken from her earlier.

"I've brought this back for you. I was going to keep it because it's so pretty and it reminds me of you but maybe you want it back."

He held out Lauren's necklace: a silver ring on a chain which had belonged to her mother before she had died. Lauren was speechless. She hadn't even noticed it had gone and this was a piece of jewellery that she wore every day, without fail. She held up no resistance as he clipped it back onto her neck for her and laid it to rest on her chest.

"I'm sorry if I got it dirty. It looks better on you."

Lauren tried not to think about what he had said and concentrated on how she could play him to her advantage. If he wasn't going to hurt her yet then she hoped she would have time to make a plan of escape.

"What's your name?"

Mark looked crestfallen.

"You don't know?"

"I want you to tell me."

"Mark. Mark West. This is my apartment. Do you like it?"

He waved his hand around to indicate the shabby furnishings and grimy curtains. It suits him, she thought. Disgusting.

"Hey, Mark? You couldn't untie my wrists could you? It's just- it's just that it kind of hurts… please?"

She looked at him imploringly, willing him to pity her long enough to do her a big favour. If she had had the guts, she would have fluttered her eyelashes.

"I don't want to. You'd try and get away, wouldn't you?"

"No! No Mark, I wouldn't. I promise."

He chewed a ragged nail as he decided. She was still his prisoner, right? The front door was locked and none of the windows opened wide enough for her to jump out. Even if she did try to attack him, she only had her bare hands! How much damage could a teenage girl do to him, Mark? He'd killed enough people in his time she wasn't going to pose much of a physical threat. If releasing her wrists made her more compliant then the pros certainly outweighed the cons. Yes! I've got nothing to lose. He pulled her hands up to his face and with his teeth and he ripped at the twine until it came apart.

Lauren's shoulders sagged with relief as her hands separated and she could relax a little better. She wasn't going to fight against him just yet; she would try later when his guard was down. For now, she would settle for being able to move freely without being in pain.

Mark shuffled backwards out of Lauren's reach, just to be sure. She didn't seem too happy about his act of goodwill, in fact if he looked closely he could have sworn that the moisture on her face wasn't sweat, but tears. Maybe… maybe she would appreciate it if he shared his drugs with her? Yeah, that would put a smile on her face. And then, if he did decide to kill her, he could give her an overdose to make it easier. Yeah. Drug her. He arose from the floor and stepped over her prone body.

"Back in a minute sweetheart. I'm going to get you a present."

Mark locked the door behind him and Lauren rolled over as she listened to his footsteps heading down the hall. Idiot had forgotten to check if she had her cell with her. Thrusting her hand into her jeans, she extracted her cell, flicked it open and switched it on. Battery? Yes, she had plenty of battery. She couldn't believe this was going to be so simple. Scrolling through the menus she found Horatio's name and dialled it before holding it to her ear to hear the sweet dialling tones that would get her out of here.

"I'm sorry, you have insufficient credit to make a call. Please make a top-up and try again."

Lauren punched to floor in frustration. Of all the days she would run out of credit, it would be this one. Why did she have a bloody pay-as-you-go cell? What use was it now, in this situation? She nearly threw her phone at the opposite wall in anger but she stopped herself, hoping that Horatio would have realised what had happened and would be calling her at any moment. She didn't expect it to ring only moment later showing a number she didn't recognise. Covering her mouth with her hand should Mark come back and hear her talking, she answered.

"Please help me."

Who was it that called her? It could be obvious but it could also not be. I'm not going to say. If you want to you can guess who it was in your review, because you ARE going to review. You know you are.

Peace out.

XXLollyXX