Two Sided Mirror

Disclaimer: We all know that I don't own any body in Miami, but I do have s3 ...so I'm feeling kinda lucky. The unknown names are mine though.

A/N#1: This is a bit of a departure for me, being that I'm a traditional speed fanatic. But be warned, this is a very different Speed . If you don't like ,feel free to stop reading at any point. I just feel the need to let everyone know that he will be very OOC.

A/N#2: This was an idea that was kicked around by randomwriting and she decided that I would excel at this , and for that, I'm honored ... I hope I can make good on this.

Chapter One - Deception

The sun rose a little too early for Speed as he turned over in his bed, trying his best to shut the penetrating sunlight out of his eyes. Last night had been a blur, caused by one too many shots of whatever he was drinking , and the meeting just hours before , did nothing to lighten his mood; leading him to toss the thoughts around in his mind, and his urge to drink away his decision. As he pushed the covers back on his bed, he sat up, almost angry at the sun. It was just too early for him to have to think.

He crossed his bedroom slowly, letting the feeling return into his legs as the memories of the meeting replayed in his mind. If he accepted this, his life would change forever, but if he didn't, he ran the risk of hurting the ones that he loved, knowing that both had the same effect. Weighing the options, he opened his closet, glancing from one item to the next, not really focusing on what to wear, but more thinking about the situation that led to this rash decision. If he hadn't been there that day, this would be nonexistent, he wouldn't have to choose. But the fact of the matter was , that he had seen and heard something that he wasn't supposed to hear , and now he was the focal point. It all happened too fast for him to process, but before he knew it, he was being approached by agents of the ATF bureau, and a proposition had been made. Now in the brightness of the early Miami morning, Speed had to choose. His friends and co workers, or his life as he knew it. Cursing to himself out loud, he snatched a black top off of the hanger and grabbed the first pair of black slacks. The sooner he could get this day started the better.

/Deception/

The lab was bustling with activity as Speed glided across the atrium , heading for the bank of elevators that would take him to his trace lab. In all of the years that he had been at the Miami-Dade Crime lab, Speed never felt the heaviness that he felt at that moment, it bearing down on him, making breathing harder. He passed Paula without even looking her way, keeping his eyes on his target. She gave him a surprised look as he continued to walk, furrowing her brow at the oddness of that. There wasn't a day that he hadn't come in without speaking. Paula knew that he was somewhat of a loner, but Tim Speedle was never mean on purpose. She shook her head as he boarded the elevator silently and figured that he was just having a bad morning.

Inside the elevator, Speed closed his eyes, trying to remember why he was doing this in the first place. It was for them. His tight knit team mates, the ones he had considered to be apart of his family, the ones that cared about him so much. The ones he would die for in a heartbeat. Dying was one thing, but what he had to do ,starting today, felt like more than dying. With death, there would be a grieving period, loss would manifest itself . But what he had to do was going to rip their hearts out.

Feeling his cell phone vibrate at his side, he shifted his helmet to the opposite hand as he un clipped the phone from his waist. Seeing the caller id, he felt the tension as it gathered in his shoulders, twisting him in different directions. Could he do it? He flipped up the phone and uttered irritably , hoping that he would hear just exactly how he felt.

" Yeah,..."

" I trust you have made your decision?"

" When I said let me sleep on it, I didn't mean give me a call at the crack of dawn. I told you I would let you know," Speed replied as he eyed the floors as they ticked off. He didn't want to enter the lab in this conversation.

" Time is of the essence, Speedle," the voice returned smoothly.

" You keep telling me that. Look, I'll do it. But don't call me on the job again. Matter of fact, I'll get in touch with you from now on, got it?"

Speed heard the voice as it sighed then chuckled slightly before speaking again, " You have no pull here, Speedle, remember that. You will do what I tell you, got it?" The tone was mocking ,and Speed grasped at the phone white knuckled.

" Hey , last time I checked, I was requested..."

" You are not our only resource, Speed. Just our best. Do what you have to , but do it. We'll meet again tonight at seven thirty. At Lotus."

" Lotus?" Speed asked as he depressed the button to the locker rooms before it arrived to trace. After passing it, he depressed the button to firearms, knowing that it would give him more time before having to face anyone. " You would pick the place that they frequent."

" Gotta make it look good, Speed," the voice returned laughing. It was humorous to him that Speedle was frustrated. " Don't be late."

Speed heard as the line went dead, then flipped his down. He leaned up against the wall of the elevator with his eyes closed. What had he done?

/Deception/

Calleigh pushed the door open to the trace lab and smiled as she saw Speed with his headphones on, processing evidence. She walked to him, still wearing that dazzling smile, waving at him to get his attention. Sometime ago, she had learned a valuable lesson, don't sneak up on Tim Speedle. When he didn't acknowledge her, she sat the file down on the table, and reached up to tap him, causing him to lift his head away from the task. She motioned for him to take off the headphones and let the smile drop slightly as she looked at him. There was something different about him today.

" Hey you. Are you ignoring us today? You haven't come out of the lab in four hours," she said cheerfully.

" Well , Calleigh, its something called work," Speed returned acidly.

Calleigh let her eyes get wide as she took another look, now she knew that something was wrong.

" Tim, is there anything wrong?"

" No. What makes you think that?"

" It's just... just , you've been acting weird all day."

" Weird? Calleigh, I've been in the lab for four hours. There's nothing weird about that. Don't you have some work that you have to do?"

Calleigh took a step back and stared at him intently, " Speed, what the hell is wrong with you today? I was just ..."

" Just being a busy body. Now , if you don't mind, I have to finish this report before the end of the day," he replied without looking at her. He knew the venom that was in her eyes, and if he looked up, he would lose. She turned without speaking and pulled the door open violently, walking out of the lab quickly. He watched her leave , feeling his heart thumping in his chest as he retained his attention back to the evidence. He sighed heavily and slipped the headphones back on, shutting off the rest of the world.

/Deception/

" UGH! God this is annoying me!" Calleigh screamed as she pulled the slide back on the nine mm to chamber the round. After leaving trace, she headed back to firearms to test the ballistics on the numerous guns that she and Eric had found earlier on a scene. The thoughts about what he had said to her floated in her mind as the round chambered and she centered the gun on the target."Hmph! Busy body."

The sounds of the gun firing drained out the obscenities that she said as she emptied the clip into the target, feeling the hurt that he had perpetrated on her . In all of the years she had known him, Tim had never been outwardly vicious to anyone, least of all her ,and it shocked her to hear the hostility in his voice. Walking to the target, she continued to think about Tim and then shrugged her shoulders, if it was going to be like that, Calleigh decided that she would start handling him with a ten foot pole.

Tbc...

A/N#3: I know, there are like three other stories out there that need my attention, but I just started thinking about this and I had to do it... Let me know what you guys think, and let's be open minded here, lol. I can take criticism if it's constructive, so if you want to curse me, then um just forget the review. But others, go for what you know! I need feed back ,peeps!