Horatio woke up smiling. Ryan was in his dreams. They'd been at a restaurant, eating a delicious dinner. They didn't have to worry about prying eyes, or people whispering about them. His smile disappeared when he felt for where Ryan's body was supposed to be and met nothing. He remembered that Ryan was missing, kidnapped, gone. He needed to find him.
He stood up, stoic faced, and walked into the bathroom. Stepping into the shower, his mind drifted back to Ryan. He leaned forward, palms against the wall, the water raining down on him. His mind went from Ryan to Marisol in a flash. They had stood in this shower, together. Funny, he never thought a woman like her would love a man like him.
"Horatio! Horatio, wait up!" Marisol laughed, as Horatio jogged a short ways from her.
"What, Mari?" He asked, spinning around to lock her in his arms.
"Don't run away from me like that." She pouted.
"Marisol, you know I'd never do that…I love you too much for that." Horatio replied, leaning in close to her face.
They kissed softly, a slight moment of bliss before Mari pulled away. She had a devilish grin on her face as she walked towards Dade Mall.
"Marisol Caine, what is going on inside that head of yours?" Horatio asked happily, following her, taking her hand in his.
"You'll never find out, Mr. Caine. Never ever." She smiled back to him.
They had gone shopping that day, shopping for her birthday. He wasn't going to lie, she was one of the most fun people to shop with. He probably would have been better as the silly gay friend than her usually quiet husband.
"Horatio?" Calleigh asked, peeking her head into the room, filled with so much steam she couldn't see a thing.
Horatio snapped from his reverie, replying, "Yes, Calleigh?"
"Uh, I was just seeing if you were awake. Cooper called, he's back. He's already at the lab working on tracing the phone call." Calleigh said, trying to cheer the man up. Horatio's breath caught. The thought of finally seeing his beloved Ryan thrilled him.
"I'll be out in a minute." He replied, rushing now.
"Okie dokie." Calleigh sighed. She just wanted him to be happy. She was tired of seeing him so sad. It was the worst after Marisol died. He became so…quiet after that, more so than usual. Fortunately, Ryan brought him out of it. She couldn't think of anything more like Hollywood than those two meeting and falling in love.
********************
Horatio and Calleigh walked out into the Miami sunshine, Horatio determined to get Ryan back. They rode in silence, both thinking about different things; the things that meant most to them. It was just past 10 A.M. as they got to the lab. Horatio quickly stepped out of the Hummer; he was on edge, anxious, nothing was fast enough. Calleigh wasn't even a pace behind him as she got into the elevator. But, just before the doors could shut, Rick Stetler strode right on in.
"Good morning, you two." Rick smiled that sickly sweet smile of his.
"Rick." Horatio replied coolly, not wanting to get into a fight this early.
"Horatio, I heard about your CSI. I'm just devastated. Have they found his body yet?" Rick provoked, a nasty habit of his.
"He's not dead, Rick." Horatio replied, gritting his teeth. Calleigh just stood quietly. She knew not to get in between the two of them.
"Oh, well, I'm just saying, 24 hours is a long time for a cop to be missing and still be… you know."
"Is there a point to your questions?"
"I suppose not. Just let me know when you find his body." Rick pushed. The elevator doors dinged open before Stetler could get anymore out. Horatio glared at him, fire in his eyes. He stalked away, Calleigh in tow, as quickly as possible to the A/V Lab. As they walked in Cooper was talking to Eric.
"Oh, hey Horatio. I was just getting ready to play the file." Ryan Cooper, the Audio/Visual Technician smiled. Horatio's breath caught, he really didn't want Cooper to hear that file.
"There's no need to play it, Cooper." Calleigh said hurriedly.
"Why?" He asked, a bit confused.
"We've already heard it a million times. Um, we know the echoing means Ryan was in a large room. All we can hear is Ryan's voice. It's fine, just run a reverse trace."
"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" Cooper replied, a suspicious look on his face.
"If you don't run it right now…" Horatio implied, his quiet voice ominous.
"Uh, yes sir." The techie said, a little afraid of Horatio's threat. Eric and Calleigh exchanged looks as Coop typed furiously, running a reverse trace on the phone number. Horatio held his breath. He hoped to God that this would lead him to Ryan.
"Okay. The cell phone went out at cell tower 255. That's over by Coral Gables. I'm checking to see if there are any large, unoccupied buildings in that area." Cooper typed some more.
"Coral Gables, that's an exclusive area." Eric said mildly.
"Open only to Miami's elite and exclusive." Horatio replied.
"There are two empty buildings large enough to create an echo. One's at 689 SW 32nd Avenue and the other's just down the road at 650 SW 32nd Avenue. Both buildings have different parameters and I could determine exactly which one it is by listening to the clip. Can I do that, or do we have to get warrants for both places?" Cooper asked, sighing. Calleigh looked to Horatio who had a helpless look on his face.
"Run it, Coop." Calleigh said softly.
"I just need a few seconds. Err… are there any really loud parts? That'll give me the best echo." He shrugged his shoulders. Horatio just wanted to leave the room. He wasn't ready for this yet. He wasn't ready for everybody to know.
"There's some at the end, the last few seconds." Calleigh replied, seeing Horatio's eyes squeeze shut. She knew he was worried about people knowing. Cooper nodded, selecting the loudest section with his mouse. Just as he was about to hit play, Horatio's cell phone rang out.
"Horatio." He answered, opening his eyes.
"Horatio, it's Frank. We put out a BOLO on that '92 Jag. Out of the two in the entire city, there's one parked outside of warehouse here in Coral Gables. I thought it was a little fishy, so I ran the plates. They came back to a Ricardo Montleban. The address is 689 SW 32nd Avenue. Warrant came through five minutes ago. I've got five patrol cars and SWAT here already and I'm waiting on your call."
"I'm on my way." Horatio replied, shutting his cell phone and racing out of the room.
"Never mind, Cooper." Eric said, and dashed off to follow Horatio. Calleigh just smiled, following pursuit.
"Damn it guys! You never tell me anything!" Cooper yelled after them.