This will be the last Computer Calls one-shot. I don't seem to be able to come up with any new ideas. I wanted to thank all of your kind reviews. It's been a real pleasure to write these. You will notice that, throughout this story, there are little tidbits from the other one-shots.
Having had some relatives in law enforcement, I can tell you that I've only HEARD of the bomb cake. Never seen it done.

This is how I wished Rick Stetler WOULD HAVE LEFT, not that lame ending in Time Bomb. I chose Alabama because actor David Lee Smith is from Birmingham. Enjoy!

Blowout

Cybertechnician Emmie Wolfe stared silently at the mass of computer parts. Dave Benton tapped away feverishly behind her. "Anybody know what time that thing is?" he asked at the display screen.

"In about an hour" Emmie said to the work table. "What's the status on Frank's case?"

His ponytail swayed as he shook his head. "Gonna be close. Going as fast as I can. Emmie, why can't Stetler take a rain check? Jake handed me a four-hour job."

"Nope. Lieutenant Caine wants every department there. No exceptions."

"So Stetler's moving back to Alabama. Aren't we supposed to celebrate after he's gone?"

Emmie sniffed as, with gloved fingers, she lined up circuits and wires. "Politics. The head of IAB is leaving after twenty years."

Dave nodded from behind his monitor. "What's all that?"

Emmie turned around from the lighted work table. "Lieutenant Caine told me that when a higher-up leaves, it's the custom for each department to give a gift that represents what they do. So I figured for the computer lab, it would be perfect to build Lieutenant Stetler a working computer from all the ones he's trashed."

Dave grinned at the screen. "You should have enough there to build ten computers."

"I know, since I couldn't do much else with these parts. I rebuilt this keyboard after he ran it through the dishwasher. He knocked this mouse on the floor and stomped on it when one of his contacts fell out, and he thought it was a giant rat crawling on his desk. I pieced this disk drive together after he shoved five CD's in the old one."

"Before you explained to him that he was supposed to take out the old ones?"

"That's the one." She then draped some wires over her hand like spaghetti. "And these wires were all that was left when he thought the CD drive was a cupholder and his coffee cup exploded. He should have his working computer just in time."

Emmie was just about to fasten the console together.

"Emmie?"

The computer tech smiled as she recognized Ryan's voice. Walter stood with him out in the blue hallway.

"We better get going. Stetler's farewell party just started."

"Almost done. Got one more thing." She looked around the table and then on the floor. "Hey! Anybody seen a conduit wire? I have to hook it up to the power source."

Walter hesitated. "That one that was on the desk?"

Emmie furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Yeah. What happened to it?"

"Uh, when you were at lunch, some guys from the bomb squad came around asking for some wire. It didn't have any tags on it, so I let 'em take it."

"You did what?"

The tall CSI shrugged. "Yeah. They said something about making a cake. I thought they were kidding."

Dave and Tyler looked at each other. Emmie put her hand on her forehead. "Uh, Walter, did I hear you right? The bomb squad made him a cake, and they asked for that conduit wire?"

"Yeah! Why?"

Just then her phone chirped. She picked it up. "Computer lab, Emmie. Uh, hey Sir." Dave just smiled while Ryan and Walter craned their necks. "Yes Sir. How bad is it? I think I can explain. We can bring some wet towels with us. Yes Sir." With that she hung up.

"What happened?" Walter wanted to know.

She sighed deeply and glared at them. "Dave? We better get down there. Walter, since you gave those nutjobs that wiring, you get to bring some wet towels."

Horatio looked a little annoyed as he met them in the blue hallway. With a white cloth he mopped blue and white frosting off his black jacket. "Mrs. Wolfe. Mr. Benton."

Emmie raised her eyebrows. "Sir, was that—"

"The bomb squad's gift to Stetler? Yes. I noticed the conduit wire in what's left of the cake."

The two computer techs simply stared at the window. What had once been the clean glass of an interrogation room was now spattered with chocolate, vanilla, and blue icing. Lab techs and officers were now wandering down the hallway, cleaning gobs of icing and cake off themselves. Some cursed. Some laughed.

"This can't be good" Ryan said, standing at a distance.

"Damn" Walter said, looking up and down. "Serious high-velocity spatter. Kinda looks like the suicide Tom posted this morning. What happened?"

Horatio now had to smile as he wiped his lapel. "Somebody strung the wire through that cake after they stripped the housing off. When Stetler cut into the wire with the metal knife, the baking soda in the cake caused a chemical reaction."

Walter pointed. "So Stetler—"

"—got the worst of it."

Ryan smiled. "Cleaning crew's not gonna be too happy about this."

"That's what I wanted to talk to everyone about."

"I'm out of here" Walter said between laughs. "Probably nothing left of that cake anyway."

"I'll bring him those wet towels, Sir" Emmie said.

Just then IAB agent Rick Stetler stumbled out into the blue hallway. Gobs of frosting and cake fell to the floor as he cursed and wiped his eyes. From his head to his knees, blue, white and brown spatter covered him. Blue icing stuck in his black hair. Frosting looked like warpaint where he had tried to wipe it off his face. His paisley tie and striped shirt were coated. He glared daggers at her.

"Figured you'd want these, Sir" Emmie said hesitantly, holding up wet towels.

With a huff, Rick snatched them away and cleaned his face and hands. "Horatio! You tell the bomb squad to meet me in my office! Now!"

Horatio smiled. "They just wanted to make sure you remembered them, Rick."

"By the way, Sir, we have your present from the computer lab. And it actually works." She looked at the frosting-spattered walls one more time. "Maybe it's a good thing I was late with it."

The IAB lieutenant slapped the wet towels back into her hand. Emmie wrinkled her nose and handed them to Dave. "What am I supposed to do with these?" he asked.

"Put them in an evidence bag. By the way, what did your cake say, Sir?"

Rick huffed as he took off his jacket and brushed it off. He could feel his anger slipping away. "It said 'Congratulations Lieutenant Stetler from the bomb squad.' I should've known they'd pull something like this."

"Well, call me when you get ready to go, Sir. I hope Homicide at least gave you a greeting card."

But then a crowd of officers and lab techs walked back up the hallway, wheeling another cake on a cart. Still covered with frosting, Rick stopped and stared.

"Surprise!"

Horatio dipped his head. "We didn't forget about you, Rick." He then handed him another cake knife. "Let's do this right here in the hallway."

Rick looked down at the new cake.

Good Luck, Lt Stetler

In spite of the icing still stuck in his hair and his clothes, he smiled. "Thanks everybody." As labcoat-clad techs and officers gathered back around, him, his eyes darted. He then handed the cake knife to Horatio. "But this time, you cut it! I'm standing back here."

"What about the interrogation room?" Walter asked.

Horatio lowered his head. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Don't worry. I just paged the bomb squad. They're on their way with cleaning supplies."

Horatio stood and watched as the CSI's and bomb squad officers sprayed the windows and wiped down the table.

"Okay Sir, how was it?" Emmie finally whispered.

Horatio held up his camera phone. "Need you to download these later."

"I'll take care of it" she said with a smile in her voice.

"Of all the celebrating we've done for Lieutenant Stetler" Horatio donned his sunglasses as he stood at the doorway. "I can say that the bomb squad really takes the cake!"