Chapter 11

Mac and Flack arrived at the strip club, flashed their badges to get in the doors. As they entered, there were half naked women wrapping themselves around the poles on stage. One of the blonde haired girls, wearing a sequined string bikini approached Flack and put one arm round his waist and the other on his chest.

"Well hello Don, do you want your usual?" she seductively asked.

"Erm not today, Prissy, I'm on the clock," Flack showed her his badge attached to his waistband.

"Aww that's ashame, I've missed you," Prissy walked away slowly, making sure Flack saw her bum wiggling slowly side to side as she walked.

Mac smiled, "a friend of yours Don?"

Flack composed himself with an embarrassed smile, "yeah, you could say that."

Mac laughed as they approached the bar. The barmaid smiled at them both.

"What can I get for you boys?"

Mac showed his badge to the barmaid, "whoever is in charge."

The barmaid went over to the phone in the corner and lifted the receiver and spoke for a few moments. When she'd hung up, she went back to the bar, "Mr Gresham will be with you shortly. In the meantime, did you want anything to drink? Mr Gresham said it's on him."

"No thanks, we just want to talk to Mr Gresham," Mac declined on Flacks behalf.

Horatio sat on the wall outside the hospital, he had his head in his hands. He felt a pair of hands on his back and gently and soothingly rubbing up to his shoulders. As they dropped down to the front of his chest, Horatio turned his head to be greeted with a kiss from Calleigh.

"Hey sweetheart, how is Natalia?"

Calleigh climbed over the short wall and sat next to her husband and clasped her hand is his, "she's sleeping right now. She keeps blaming herself for what happened," Calleigh placed her other hand on Horatio's knee, "how are you doing?"

Horatio looked at Calleigh, "I'm alright, considering."

Calleigh gave him that look that Alexx gave him when she didn't believe what he'd just said, "don't look at me like that."

Calleigh turned so she had one leg on either side of the wall, "Horatio, how long have we known each other?"

"Too long," Horatio teased.

Calleigh responded with a playful nudge to his waist, "excuse me, just you behave yourself Mr Caine. What I'm trying to say is, I know when there's something bothering you."

Horatio wasn't used to sharing his emotions with anyone, not even his wife, "I don't know Cal, everything is getting on top of me I guess. There has been a lot to deal with."

Calleigh moved in closer and wrapped her arms round Horatio, "sharing the load will make things lighter for you."

Horatio smiled, "I know but I don't want to put anything else on you."

"Please don't carry this on your own, it's not good for you," Calleigh tried to coax out of him what was bothering him, "I'm not letting you go until you tell me what's going on."

Horatio knew he'd never get away with not saying anything, he was sure that Calleigh was getting helpful hints from Alexx on how to get him to talk, "there is something that doesn't seem quite right, as though Mac and Danny are holding something back from me. I can't quite figure it out."

"They may not be telling you everything until they know exactly what they're dealing with themselves."

"It's not that. I get the feeling that they know something about the attackers."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was talking to Danny outside Natalia's room, he told me that New York has evolved and so have its gangsters. Makes me think that they suspect the attack was gang related."

"But Dammo and Natalia don't have any gang connections in New York, how would they come to that conclusion?"

"I don't know, I don't know if I want to know," Horatio put his arm round Calleigh and held her for a few moments, "it's getting cold now, shall we go inside?"

Calleigh nodded as Horatio helped her off the wall. With their arms wrapped round each other, they went back to Natalia's room.