The room was completely dark, save for a single bare light bulb dangling above the metal chair in the center of the room. Horatio turned and nodded to the Agent, who nodded in return, and stepped out the door, closing and locking it behind him. Horatio's grip on Stetler's elbow was unnecessarily tight but a clear indicator of the intensity of his dislike for the man. "Have a seat." With a shove he pushed Stetler down into the chair, nearly knocking it over in the process.

His mind darted to Calleigh, but he pushed the thought aside. Now wasn't the time to dwell on her. Besides, he'd asked Evan to keep an eye on her. If he couldn't be there to protect her himself, at least there was someone else he trusted who could do the job.

"I want my lawyer." It was the first thing he'd said since being arrested. As a cop, he knew better than to say anything without legal counsel present.

"And I want answers." Horatio towered over him, the light above him only further accentuating the dark circles beneath his eyes. His hair was out of place and he hadn't shaved in days. Without Calleigh around, he'd simply quit caring. And when Web had called just a couple hours before, letting him know that Rick was one of the one's Locke had been after, he hadn't wasted time by trying to clean himself up.

"Jesus, Horatio, you look like…" Rick paused and smirked, "…death warmed over." He shook his head. "I'm not saying a word until I get my lawyer."

Horatio chuckled quietly through pursed lips but said nothing further.

Rick shifted nervously. He knew that laugh all too well. "You can't make me talk."

Horatio turned to the side and tilted his head at him. "You sure about that?" He grinned and began removing his watch. "Tell me something, Rick. How is your nose feeling these days?"

--

"Have you tried her cell?" Danny gripped the steering wheel tighter as he sped after the bus.

"She's not answering. It's going straight to voice mail."

"Shit!" He shook his head. "What the hell is Web up to? He knows that bus goes the opposite direction…"

"Maybe he made a mistake," she shrugged.

"Yeah or maybe he's sending her to the mall to go shopping," he said sarcastically.

Mel knew he was right. Web didn't make mistakes; even the breaths he took were planned out. "Should we call someone?"

"Like who? Web?"

"No, smart ass. What about Evan?"

Danny thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe he knows what's going on." He pulled the phone from his jacket and pushed Evan's number on his speed dial. He answered after the second ring.

"Yeah, Dan, what's up?"

"That bus Web ordered Calleigh to take, it's the wrong one."

"So?"

"So, Web knows it! Why would he tell her to take it when it's the wrong one. I'm telling you, Evan, he's up to something again."

Evan shrugged. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Have you heard from Calleigh?"

Evan switched the phone to his other hear and farther away from Calleigh, just to make certain she couldn't hear the conversation. "Um, no…I haven't."

Suddenly, about a hundred yards ahead, Mel spotted the bus. 'There it is!" she cried, pointing down the street.

Danny nodded, swerved around the car in front of him and flipped on the siren. "Never mind, Ev. We just found the bus."

--

Evan chuckled quietly and closed his phone.

"What was that about?" Calleigh asked.

"That? Oh, it was nothing." He said the first thing that came to mind. "Danny's date just cancelled on him."

Calleigh looked at the clock. "At Four in the morning? Isn't that a bit unusual?"

Evan shrugged. "What can I say? Danny likes unusual women…" He gritted his teeth, hoping she bought the lie.

"I guess…" It seemed strange to her, but not entirely impossible.

"So," he said after a few minutes of silence, "did you do undercover work a lot with MDPD?"

"No, not really."

"Well, apparently you're pretty good at it. Or…were. I guess you won't be doing much of that anymore."

Calleigh froze, but her eyes darted back and forth. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She had been putting up with some of Evan's strange…behavior lately, but this was a bit more out of character than she was used to.

"Yeah. Web seemed pretty pissed, insulting you like that in front of everyone. That had to sting. But hey, at least you caught the guy Locke was after, right?"

"You mean the guy that was after Locke, right? Calleigh, as slowly as she could, began to slide her right hand toward her gun at her hip. How did he know Locke was after someone? All she and Web had told anyone tonight was that someone had been after her.

Evan grinned over at her, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was then that he saw her hand moving toward her gun. Moving before she could react, he pulled his own gun out and put it to her head. Seeing her squeeze her eyes shut, he sneered. "Oh yeah, I have one too." The arrogance in his voice was something she had never heard before.

"What the hell are you doing, Evan?"

"Doing what I should have done a long time ago."

--

Stetler moved to stand. "You can't do this, Horatio."

"Sit down."

"You can't ma--"

"I said 'SIT DOWN'!" he roared, shoving Stetler back down into the chair.

Rick's heart pounded in his chest. "What do you want?"

"I…want to know…who you're working for," he said slowly.

"You've got this all wrong. I don't work for anyone."

"So you were acting alone?"

"I'm not telling you anything."

Horatio grabbed at his collar and lifted him half out of the chair. "You're going to tell me exactly what I want to know," he growled and threw him back into the chair.

As much as Rick feared Horatio, it was another redhead who truly terrified him. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Evan would kill him if he uttered a word about their plan. "What are you going to do?" He put on his bravest face, though inwardly he was a wreck. "Beat it out of me?" He laughed. "And even if you did, what would it accomplish? Anything I'd tell you would be inadmissible in court."

"What makes you think I give a damn about the courts, Rick? The only thing I'm interested in is the here and now. Once I'm through with you the Feds can have you. They can deal with the courts." Horatio shrugged of his jacket and folded it over a chair just beyond the reach of the light bulb's glow. Folding up his sleeves, he stepped back into the light. Based on the look on Rick's face, he was getting the message.

The last time he'd taken out his anger on Stetler, he'd worn gloves to protect himself. This time, however, there would be no gloves. Just skin against skin. He flexed his hands and examined them in the light. "Now, let's try this again."

--

"Damn it, she's not here," Danny hissed. There were only a handful of people on the bus, and Calleigh was nowhere to be seen. He raised his voice and addressed the passengers. "Did anyone see an attractive blond, slim, about 5'3, get on the bus back at Miami General?" The only responses he got were blank stares and an elderly couple shaking their heads. He looked over at Mel for help.

"Don't look at me! You were the one who wanted to go bus-chasing." They said their apologies to the passengers and driver and exited the bus. Once back on the sidewalk, Mel looked up and down the highway. "Maybe she took a cab instead."

"Well, why the hell isn't she answering her phone?"

"She had it turned off at the hospital. Maybe she just hasn't turned it back on yet."

He shook his head. "I don't know, Mel. I just have a bad feeling about this."

--

"You know what you're going to do now?" Evan said with a tilt of his head. "You're going to reach for your gun…slowly. And you're going to be smart about it. Any sudden movements and, uh…Well. I think you can figure that one out on your own." He pressed the muzzle of the gun harder into her temple. "Now take it out, and hand it to me. Slowly."

Calleigh could feel the cold steel bruising her temple. Her nature as a fighter and her will to survive were at odds. Half of her wanted to take him out, if she could; the other half said to do as he told her. Before she could make a decision, Evan made it for her. Calleigh heard the series of soft clicks as Evan cocked his gun, simply to emphasize his point.

Calleigh squeezed her eyes shut. After nearly a week of undercover work at the hospital, her body and mind were exhausted. She was afraid that if she did try to overpower him, she would be too weak or too slow. Under normal circumstances, perhaps she would have taken that risk… But Horatio…he would blame himself. Could he live with the guilt?

Evan was growing impatient. "Alright. If you're not going to do it, I'll do it for you. Put your hands flat on the dashboard." Calleigh did as she was told. With a wicked sneer Evan slowly reached around her waist, letting his fingers brush against her stomach. Feeling her tense, he paused. "What's wrong, Calleigh? You don't like me touching you?"

She knew better than to respond. Evan lowered his head and reached around her, unholstering her gun. Before pulling away, he leaned into her neck and nuzzled his nose into her skin. Calleigh swallowed hard and clenched her teeth. "Mmm. You smell nice. Is that the perfume Horatio gave you for Christmas? I can see why he chose it."

"Get…off…of me," she growled.

Evan pulled back and stuck out his bottom lip, speaking in a mockingly pitiful tone. "What's wrong? Am I not good enough for you? And here I thought you liked redheads."

"I do. But I hate assholes."

Evan's eyebrows flew up as a grin spread across his face. "You've got some fight left in you. I like that." Reaching behind him, he tucked her gun into the back of his belt. "Now turn around."

"What?"

He exhaled in frustration. "Turn…around."

Calleigh could hear her heart pounding in her ears. No amount of bravery could prepare someone for this. Though she would never admit it, she was afraid of dying, especially because she knew he wasn't afraid of killing. She couldn't let him see her fear, though. She needed to stay in control of the situation.

"You're going to shoot me in the back of the head? That's not the Ghost's MO."

"I'm not going to shoot you, Calleigh," he said defensively. "At least…" he chuckled, "not yet. Now turn around." Calleigh shifted in her seat until her back was to him. "Put your hands behind your back." Seconds later, she felt the cuffs click around her wrists.

Shit.

"Good. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" He put the car back into gear and pulled away from the curb. "You can turn back around now. We're only a few minutes away."

--

Horatio looked down at the bloody knuckles on his right hand and wondered if the blood was his or Rick's. Oddly enough, he felt no pain. The adrenaline must have been running higher than he thought.

Rick was slumped in the chair, his chin pressed against his chest. He wasn't unconscious, but he was dazed. Horatio's fists had a way of doing that to him. Rick hadn't been able to fight back; Horatio had bound his arms and legs to the chair. The most he had been able to do was squirm, and Horatio had actually found more than a small amount of pleasure in watching it.

He walked over to Stetler and grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking his head up and back. "Do I need to ask you again?"

Stetler spit out a mouthful of blood, spattering it onto Horatio's shirt. "You're getting a real thrill out of this, aren't you, Horatio?" His speech was slow and slightly slurred. "Tell me something. You think I'm working with someone. Let's say that's true. Where do you think that someone is? What do you think they're doing right now? Who do you think they're after?"

Horatio turned his head and narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" he asked slowly.

"Your precious Calleigh…she only arrested half of the 'team'. The other half? They aren't so happy right now. They think I squealed to her and since they can't get to me right now, they'll go after her, and make sure that she doesn't squeal."

Horatio grabbed Stetler's throat. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?!"

As Rick tried to speak, the only sounds that came out were gurgling noises. His face grew redder by the second and the veins in his forehead began to bulge. He couldn't breath, much less speak. Just as everything began going dark, Horatio let go. Rick gasped for air.

Horatio rushed over to where his coat lay and pulled his cell from the breast pocket. Frantically he dialed her number, but his phone beeped at him, informing him that he had no reception. "Damn it!" He hurried over to an old office desk that looked like it had been abandoned there back in the Seventies. There was a phone on the desk, but it looked like it had been left there at the same time. He prayed it would work. He lifted the receiver. Thank God. There was a dial tone.

He dialed her number, but was instantly connected to her voice mail. Shit. He heard a quiet chuckling from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Stetler watching in amusement.

"You think she's going to answer her phone?" he mocked.

Evan. He was watching out for her, wasn't he? He pressed the seven numbers of Evan's cell and waited as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Evan!" Horatio shouted into the phone. "Where's Calleigh?"

Rick stifled a laugh. Evan? Horatio had trusted that bastard?

"Why?" Evan asked, faking concern. "What's wrong?" He pressed the mute button on his phone and whispered over to Calleigh. "If you make a sound, I'll blow your fucking head off." He pressed the mute button again.

"Have you seen her??"

"No, Horatio. I haven't."

"Jesus, Evan. I told you to watch her."

"And I was," Evan replied. "She left the hospital before I could catch up with her. She's probably on her way to headquarters."

"She's not going back to headquarters, Evan. Find her."

"What makes you say that?"

"JUST FIND HER, DAMN IT!" he roared and slammed the phone down. He spun on his heels and rushed at Rick. Again he grabbed his throat, but this time slammed him and the chair back onto the hard floor. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?!"