Left Undone

Chapter 14 Chasing Life

He saw them as they were being escorted by a nurse to their car that was parked out on the curb. He wanted to get this over with in a hurry so that he could go back to New Jersey and leave this city behind him. Too much heat for his liking , but he knew that he'd better do the job, and do it right, or he would be going home to an early grave.

As they pulled away from the curb, he started his engine and fell in behind them, as so not to draw attention to himself. It was time to go to work.

TSJ

Tim watched from the van as Calleigh helped Timothy into the SUV and began to have second thoughts. What if something went wrong? Donnie turned to see the apprehension on his brother's face and tried to calm him.

" They are going to be fine, Tim. Stop worrying."

" You know what, Donnie, that's easy for you to say. That's not your wife and son getting into that truck."

" I know, Tim. But you've got to trust me, things are going to be fine."

" Yeah , yeah I know... Hey , there he is," Tim said as he pointed to a compact car as it followed them out of the parking lot.

" Alright , Tim. Here we go," Donnie said as he pulled the van out and followed the compact car. The butterflies that were in Tim's stomach found their way up to his throat. He was petrified.

Riley tugged on her shirt uneasily as she handed the bag over to the agent that was accompanying her on her flight. In a matter of moments, she was going to fly out of Miami, out of his life. The tears that she had held at bay were fast on their way down her cheek as she walked the concourse to the terminal.

" Ms. West, everything's going to be okay," the agent had said to her. She turned to him and smiled , it betraying what she was really feeling. It had already started, she was no longer Riley Highsmith, but now she had become Lucy West.

" I'm sure it will be," she returned as she glanced backwards at the entrance to the terminal. Outside, people were going about their business as if nothing was going on, but she knew differently. Her life would never be the same. She was jarred out of her thoughts by the tinny sound of the agents headset.

" We have the suspect in sight, he's moving west on flagler . Targets are in position."

"Hey Johnson, what's going on?" Riley asked as she turned to him.

He looked at her and dropped his eyes, he was given strict instructions to get her on the plane, and not to tell her anything. It would be better if she didn't know.

" It's nothing, Ms. West."

"We've lost them..."

" That doesn't sound like nothing, Johnson."

" All units be advised, target's is lost..."

"Ms. West , we need to board the plane," Johnson said as he tried to turn his headset down.

" Anybody see it?... There I see it... TS and CS seem to be okay... Wait..."

" TS... Are they talking about Timothy?" Riley asked as she heard the faint sounds of popping. Johnson finally got the headset turned down and grabbed her by the arms lightly. " Johnson, please tell me. Is Timothy in danger?"

Johnson shook his head and continued to pull her towards the terminal.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me..."

" Ms. West..."

" I promise you , if you don't tell me,..."

" Okay, alright, if I tell you, you are getting on that plane," he said as he relented. " There was a hit put out on him and his mother. We are tracking them, but it seems like it has gotten out of hand."

" I gotta know," Riley said as she grabbed his head set and turned it up.

" All units be advised, targets are down... Assailant left heading west on Flager. Someone catch this maniac, he's just killed two innocents..."

Riley let the headset drop out of her hands as she slumped to the ground. She couldn't be hearing that right. He couldn't be dead.

TSJ

Calleigh drove the SUV through the streets of Miami, keeping her eyes on the car behind them and the van behind the car. Her heart was going a mile a minute when she saw the car swerve to the right and then back behind her. She floored the gas and drove faster, making the driver of the car speed up, and hit the bumper of the SUV, sending them lurching. Calleigh looked over to Timothy, who looked back over to her with a hint of worry in his eyes, and she reached out grasped his hand. The SUV lurched forward again as the car rammed into them again. Calleigh let go of Timothy's hand and put it back on the wheel. She took a sharp turn, noticing that it wasn't the right one and cursed out loud. Timothy looked at her then in the rearview not seeing the van.

" He's not back there, mom."

" I know Timothy, I know," Calleigh said as she continued to drive. She turned again and noticed that they had made it to the warehouse district. It was then that she heard the unmistakable sounds of gunshots as they hit the SUV.

" He's shooting at us!"

" Get down, Timothy!" Calleigh ordered as she continued to drive. Her adrenaline had kicked in and she was now functioning without thinking. The bullets continued to ping off of the truck, leaving puck marks on the body. In an instant, it was over as she heard the bullet penetrate the tire, flattening it. She tried to steer the truck , but it was out of control. It came to a stop at a heap of steel beams.

Shaking her head, she could hear the squeal of tires in the distance, as she tried to focus. She had hit her head on the steering column, and she felt the blood trickling from the wound. Hearing a door open, she felt for her seat belt. Then she heard the shot. The bullet hit her in the chest and she felt the pain shoot through her as it took her breath away. She glanced down to see the blood coming from her chest then back to Timothy, as the door opened on his side. Another shot was fired and she saw Timothy take a deep breath as the blood poured out of his wound. He looked at his assailant and then closed his eyes. Calleigh felt the tears surface as she closed her eyes and dropped her head. The pain was unbearable, and it was chasing her life away.

" Where is she going?" Tim asked as he saw the SUV barreling down a road as they passed it, " Turn around, Donnie."

"We're on a one way street, Tim. We have to go around," Donnie explained as he pressed down on the gas. He turned the van onto a side street and headed in the opposite direction, taking them back to the warehouse district. Tim scanned the roads for the SUV, feeling his heart racing under his shirt. So many things could go wrong, he thought. He stopped breathing as he saw the SUV crashed into a pile of steel beams. The doors were opened and he saw Calleigh lying motionless in the driver's seat.

" What happened?" Tim asked as Donnie neared the SUV. Tim saw movement on the passenger side of the truck

Donnie looked down and saw the rear tire and motioned to it, " He took out their tires. Tim..."

Tim walked to the passenger side to see Timothy holding a piece of paper. He felt his heart being ripped out of his chest as he saw the blood that flowed from him and Calleigh. The sight of his family like this was too much to bear and he walked away from them, with tears in his eyes.

" Tim, we've got to get going. They are going to be fine. Alexx will take care of them," Donnie said as he put his radio up to his mouth, " All units be advised, targets are down. Assailant left headed west on Flager. Someone catch this maniac, he has just killed two innocents."

Tim nodded and grasped tightly to the paper in his hand, he was going to get this punk if it was the last thing he did.

TSJ

Alexx came to Calleigh first, lightly touching her face as she looked her over. The sadness that she felt was almost too much to bear as the body haulers moved Calleigh onto a stretcher. No matter how many times she had done this, it never got easier.

" You're going to a better place, baby," Alexx said as she covered Calleigh with a sheet. She walked over to Timothy and ran her hands through his hair, remembering the years that she had spent watching him grow. He was much like his father in many ways, and that would be something that she would miss. She motioned for the body haulers to put them in the van as she saw the Hummer pull up quickly. The doors on the van closed and Alexx walked to the driver and said, " Prep the VIP room , I'll be there shortly."

The driver nodded and pulled away as Horatio approached her, his eyes floating in pain. He stood and watched the van as it headed back in the direction of the lab. Again, he had lost a valuable friend and team member.

"Horatio," Alexx said as she touched him lightly on the arm.

He turned to her, feeling as if he was going to sink in the ground, trying to compose himself, "Alexx, what happened?"

" Both Timmy Jay and Calleigh took one round to the chest. Stipling says that it was up close and personal. I wanted to get them out of here before the media started to hover," Alexx replied as she looked into his eyes.

" I want to be at their posts, Alexx. I- I have to be there..."

" I'm closing this autopsy, Horatio. No one in."

" What? What are you talking about?"

" Their autopsy will be closed, Horatio."

"Alexx,..." Horatio said searching her eyes for an answer. This was not like her. He saw as she focused her sights on someone approaching the scene. Horatio turned to see Dennis Sackhiem as he walked up to them. He glanced at Alexx and then to Horatio.

" Lieutenant, I'm sorry to hear about your CSI and her son..."

" Not as sorry as you are going to be when I file obstruction of justice charges. By taking the evidence from us, you wasted time. We would've been able to interpret the evidence and found the trash that did this a lot quicker..."

" It's a federal case, Caine. I had jurisdiction and I went through the proper channels. We will catch him."

" Before he kills again, Dennis, or are you waiting for him to provide you with another body?"

Dennis ignored Horatio and turned to Alexx, " We get the results of the autopsy, not them. Understood?"

Alexx glared at Sackhiem and nodded adroitly, then dropping her gaze. There was nothing that she could do. As Sackhiem turned to leave, he stopped and said, " I am truly sorry about your CSI, Horatio. She was a fine officer."

Horatio barely acknowledged him as he saw Eric and Wolfe walking to the scene with their kits. They stopped at the SUV, knowing whose it was and dropped their heads. Horatio gazed at them and sighed heavily, taking his hands off of his hips. Another teammate and family member's funeral to attend to, lives snuffed out too soon.

TBC...