A/N: Here's the 2nd part – see, I'm pulling this through. Don't expect the next part before Thursday or Friday, though. For disclaimers, etc. see chapter 1. Some words of warning: I've not been kind to the guys from night shift. I apologize for putting several fictitious characters through hell. It somehow just came out like this. Try to enjoy the read anyway.

Chapter 2: Facts no one wants to hear

This announcement was followed by a moment of stunned silence. Calleigh looked from Alexx to Horatio, but none was meeting her eyes.

"When I got here, two people had already collapsed. Five more have been transported to the hospital by now, one of whom has died. I called Alexx in for the post. We do not know what has happened yet, but we can safely assume that this was neither accident nor coincidence."

The last sentence hung in the air, and the meaning it carried was not lost on Calleigh. Instantly, she understood Horatio's fury and Alexx's desperation, and found both feelings mirrored in herself. Someone had attacked their colleagues, and in their own building at that. This place was the center of crime fighting in this city, and the people dedicating their lives to helping the victims should not fall prey to the very villains they pursued. Besides, something like this should have been completely impossible.

"But what exactly has happened?" Speed demanded.

"We're not sure. I can only give you the meager facts we have by now."

Aided by an occasional remark from Tripp, Horatio gave them an outline of the morning's events at the crime lab. Calleigh found herself getting jumpier by the minute as she listened to her boss recounting the gruesome details.

Night shift had started out with business as usual, it seemed. Nothing out of the ordinary. The lead investigators had been to scenes, leaving the crime lab to the techs. As the night progressed, some staff members had begun to complain about diffuse pain in their hands. Some had difficulty with their eyesight. Some would be unable to stand for extended periods. At the same time, they grew more confused and disorientated by the hour, until an ambulance had to be called in when one of the trace experts stumbled into a glass door and cut himself severely.

By the time the rescue team arrived, two more of the staff claimed to have lost all feeling in their lower limbs. By then the crime lab had turned into a nightmare, as ever more people began showing the same symptoms. Horatio, being head of the crime lab, had been called in.

"We have checked the obvious sources of pollution – like the air supply in the labs – but… ," he explained, "… in-house maintenance found nothing off the scales. And since not everyone in the building was affected, we can assume this has nothing to do with our ventilating system." He focused on each of them in turn, concluding, "It was deliberate."

Calleigh shuddered at the thought. Instinctively, she reached out and placed her hand on Alexx arm, mimicking her own comforting gesture when Alexx had first entered. This time, however, it was not only meant to console. She was reaching out for support.

Horatio continued stating facts no one wanted to hear. Tripp had been informed, and IAB had invited themselves along. Horatio's account on their behavior was rather monosyllabic, but Calleigh deducted from his tone that they had wasted no time and proceeded to give everyone hell. At about 8 a.m., one of the victims had died and Alexx' presence had been required. She had arrived only shortly before the rest of the team with the prospect of spending the morning doing a post on a colleague.

Horatio finished and another silence fell, just as oppressive as the one before.

Finally, Calleigh asked, "Who is working the case?"

Horatio cast a quick glance in her direction. "We are." He let a moment go by and Calleigh realized just how much this was affecting him. He regained his composure quickly, though. "Now, I want every room in this building processed, including every single lab and storage room. Anything that's out of place: treat is as evidence. We have a lot of work on our hands, and we'll need all the help we can get. Some of those from night shift who were left unharmed are helping us out; they're processing the break room right now. Alexx, I want you to start on the post. Eric, you begin with the DNA labs, Speed start at Trace. As far as I've been told, there were no shootings to be worked on and nobody was in the ballistics lab last night. I'll have someone go over it, but for now I want us to focus our energies on the places that were actually frequented. Calleigh, you and I will have a look at the victims' activities. Anything they did after entering this building. If there is the faintest connection between them, I want us to find it."

They all rose. Calleigh felt somehow numb inwardly. She looked at her friends. Eric and Speed seemed subdued, and Alexx – while doing her best to appear determined – had her jaws clenched.

As the ME was about to leave the room, Horatio called her back. "Alexx!"

"What is it?"

"Special attention to the tox screening."

"Of course."

"I'll try and keep IAB off your backs for a little longer," Tripp stated.

Horatio nodded his approval as Tripp exited after Alexx. Eric and Speed followed to get to their assigned tasks.

"Where do we start?" Calleigh asked, looking at Horatio, putting more confidence in her voice than she felt.

"By retracing every single step of the victims. They were poisoned inside this building, and we need to find the source of that poison."

"Hopefully the tox screen will tell us what we're dealing with."

Horatio sighed. "I doubt it. Looking for poisons in an organism is usually not very successful."

"Not after several hours of metabolism," Calleigh agreed. "But maybe the symptoms can give us some clues on what we're dealing with. If Alexx can determine what the ultimate cause of death was …" She trailed off.

Horatio nodded silently, as if he didn't trust his voice any more than was strictly necessary. The case was affecting everyone, but for Horatio, Calleigh knew, it was personal. Most of the time she couldn't help adore his concern for his co-workers, but right now she feared his care's destructive qualities. Hesitatingly, she reached out and patted his arm.

"This is a hard case for all of us," she told him.

He did not miss a beat. "It's harder for those on night shift."

"Why did you even let them help work the case after the night they've been through?"

Horatio locked his eyes on hers. "They insisted. It is our investigation … but it was their friends."

To be continued ….