So for everyone... the story continues... Just to let you know, there are no further M rated chapters, so you can all enjoy what is coming - but plenty of twists and turns...
I hope you are having fun...
Lucy
Chapter 25
When Kate and Eric arrived at the barn the following morning to start getting ready for the competition, they were not surprised to see Horatio's car parked near the house, they were however completely unprepared for what they saw next.
Mich was cleaning Zephyr – or at least trying to – but H was distracting her, Eric was amused. H was normally a very private person, not showing his feelings to anyone, except when he was angry. Yet, here he was, openly showing how he felt about Mich.
Kate gave a polite cough, causing both H and Mich to turn. Mich couldn't help blushing, though H recovered more quickly, "Hi Eric.. Kate… Is it that time already?"
Mich shook her head. "Get out of here and let me get some work done, or Kate and I will be late for the competition."
Stealing a quick kiss, H chuckled and led Eric to the house. "Let's have a coffee while the girls are getting ready." Looking at his boss, Eric began to smile, it had been quite some time since he had seen H so happy.
Kate was teasing Mich. "So come on… Spill the beans…."
Mich shook her head, "Don't go there Kate… You might regret it…"
Kate laughed "Regret what? The fact that I have to admit I might have found the right guy for me."
Mich laughed, "About time you admitted it…"
Kate grinned, "What about you..?"
The expression on Mich's face changed… "I don't know Kate… Maybe, it's not that easy."
Kate gave Mich a hug, though she didn't know the complete truth about what had happened to her friend in the past, she did know that Mich had had a bad time. "Well I hope things work out for you; you deserve to be happy."
Walking away, Kate didn't see the look on Mich's face. In her life, everytime something had been going right, something else happened to destroy everything. In her mind, she could sense that it was about to happen again.
Shaking the feeling off, Mich finished getting Zephyr ready, and moved on to Storm.. Kate was doing Pride and her usual horse Symphony… Finally ready, they loaded the horses onto the lorry, and went into the house for a quick break, before leaving.
The girls found Eric and H looking annoyed. "Looks like we'll have to catch you up girls. We have a problem downtown." Mich sighed and nodded her head. Kate was upset, but was learning to hide it better.
H gave Mich a hug, "Be careful… No crazy heroics today. Please…"
Mich nodded, "I'll try, but I'm not promising. You watch yourself ok." Watching H leave with Eric, Mich suddenly felt cold.
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Mich and Kate returned from the competition all smiles. All the horses had finished in the top 20, Kate coming home with a terrific eleventh place, great for her first time out in a top flight competition. Neither Horatio or Eric had made it to the event, but they had both called – several times, to find out how the girls were getting on.
The feeling of forboding that Mich had had that morning had evaporated, but a sense of doubt was still in her mind. She put it down to the nerves of the work she had to do tomorrow. Hearing the barn phone ring, she walked quickly over to answer it.
"Hi Jackie… Yeah the show went well… How long? I guess we have another hour or so…. Ok. See you later." Finding Kate putting a lotion on Symphony's legs, she told her about the impromptu dinner. Kate grinned… Her parents owned a small restaurant, and tonight there would be a low key celebration. She also had some news that she knew would surprise Mich.
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Horatio and Eric were going carefully over the evidence they had found. The dead girl was in Miami for a holiday from the UK, and the only information they had found so far, was her name and address – obtained from her driving licence.
Eric was going through her clothing, trying to find anything that might help them find the perp and Alexx would have the result from Tox in the morning. H had thought about bringing Calleigh and Ryan in, but decided against it. Fresh minds would be better put to use in the morning..
"How are we going to get in touch with her folks H, they deserve to know."
H nodded, "I have a contact at Scotland Yard, I'll see if he can help us. But that'll have to wait until tomorrow – I only have an office number."
Closing the evidence away in a secure locker, Eric made a quick call. Finding out that Kate's parents had planned a small celebration, he asked H to drop him off at home so he could have a shower before joining them.
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Arriving at the barn, H found Mich helping Kyra out with the last part of her homework – something that had been put on the back burner while the 9 year old had been out with her friends over the weekend.
Sensing a little hesitation from Mich as he gave her a hug, H smiled "So are we going to the party?" Mich nodded, but added that they couldn't stay long as Kyra had school the following day, "No problem. You go and get ready and I'll help Kyra finish up."
Relaxing at the party, H drew Mich to one side. "I won't be staying tonight. I have an early start. Is that ok by you?" He almost smiled at the relief on Mich's face as she nodded, and knew she had been trying to work out how to tell him that she would be a little uncomfortable with him staying now that Kyra was home.
He could not have been further from the truth. Mich had already explained to Kyra that H would be staying over from time to time, and the youngster had accepted what her mum had told her. Mich was relieved, because she too had an early start.
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Horatio was annoyed. Judge Ratner had kept him waiting for over an hour, even though he had been told to come in early. Clarkson had put together a very slick operation, and H hoped that everything would go well, the only thing they needed was a warrant signed by the judge.
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On a tall building opposite the Judge's office, Mich willed herself to relax. This was the most dangerous part of her mission. The only time she could be assured of having a clean strike at her target was at the beginning of his day – which meant that Mich was now dressed in a low visibility suit, lying on the roof of an office block, watching for the judge.
To while away the time, she thought back to the night before and smiled. Kate had given her a shock, announcing that she wanted to go into riding full time, asking Mich outright for a job. Her parents had given her their backing – though Mich had insisted that she complete her accounts and business course on at least a part-time basis, before agreeing that she did need more help at the barn, and saying that they would discuss the rest of her employment terms another time.
During the party, H had been attentive, not wanting to leave her alone, almost as if he felt guilty that he would not be spending the night. Dropping her and Kyra off, he had held her closely for a few minutes before leaving, with a promise to call her tomorrow. Mich had smiled and almost dared to think about a possible future, a future that was nearly in her grasp. If nothing went wrong.
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H's temper was building up, he couldn't believe it. The judge was refusing to sign the warrant, "Your honour, we need that warrant to effect a search and seisure this evening – an operation which we are running jointly with the Bureau."
Joseph Ratner smiled. Ever since H had cornered him on the murder of a young prostitute, he had thrown spokes in the Lieutenant's wheel, blocking several cases being brought to his court, including that of Walter Dresden. One day Horatio Caine would back down and apologise.
"Lieutenant, I don't believe you have brought sufficient reliable evidence to persuade me to give you a warrant. Go and look at your evidence again, and see if you can provide something better."
H swore under his breath, "You are doing this on purpose… "
The judge smiled nastily, "I warned you Lieutenant Caine…"
Whatever he was going to say next was lost forever, as his head slumped forwards onto his desk. Seeing the blood spilling from the judge's temple, H was stunned and drew his gun, before moving carefully to the window.
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It was Mich's turn to swear, she hadn't realised that the judge had a visitor this early in the morning. Seeing the shadow in the room, she froze as the sillouhette moved in front of the blinds, hoping that the person wouldn't see her… She couldn't believe it, of all the bad luck… Even at this distance she couldn't mistake the red hair… It had to be Horatio…
Scanning the buildings in front of him, Horatio called for emergency and back-up from his cell. The longer he stayed at the window, the more likely the assassin would have to move for fear of being caught. Then he would be able to pinpoint the building she was on, and then maybe they could finally catch her.
Watching H through her scope, Mich knew exactly what he was doing. Just his presence was pinning her down.. If she moved to early, she would be in trouble. It was lucky that she had planned for this possiblility. There was technically only one way off this roof – and that was down into the office block.
Hearing the sirens, she continued to hold her position. The men brought in would have to split up and that would be her best chance to get away, rather than having to face a full team coming up the stairs. They would be treating her as A and D; armed and dangerous, meaning that they would almost definitely try and shoot her.
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H could not help but admire his opponent. She was a cool one, still no movement from either of the three buildings that Horatio judged the shot could have come from. He too heard the sirens, and smiled. They had a chance to get her. Yet along with the smile came a feeling of regret. She had done a good job for the people she was working for, and supplied the Law Enforcement agencies with enough information on the Miami based Cartels to keep them busy following up leads for years.
As he watched the SWAT team stepping out of their vehicle, his cell rang. "Yeah, Ok." Giving the team leader the details of the buildings he wanted them to look through, he saw the black garbed men split up into three groups and begin moving.
Mich saw them too, and smiled. Horatio was a good tactician, but he could also be a little predictable. That's why she had beaten him at chess, not once, but on several occasions. Waiting for the SWAT members to enter the building she was in, she counted to ten before she started moving.
At first, she unzipped the sleeves of her suit, cautiously pulling out the extra cloth, before zipping it to the sides of her body. Sliding back on her stomach, she was able to pull her rifle over her head into its position on her back, underneath her suit, clipping the harness into place. Sitting up slowly, she unzipped the legs and zipped the extra material together. Her wingsuit was ready.
Horatio spotted the movement and alerted the SWAT team. He couldn't believe it when the assassin stood up and waved. She knew he was watching her… of all the… Stunned, H couldn't believe it as she ran across the roof and jumped… He involuntarily called out, but then watched in disbelief as she sailed away on the morning breeze…