Two Sided Mirror
Chapter Two -A Family Affair
Speed opened the door to trace, first looking out into the corridor before starting out. He figured by now, Calleigh had told someone about their conversation in trace, so he didn't want to have to explain himself to anyone. He would slip out for just a moment, to go to the break room, then return back to trace to finish up on some paperwork before leaving. This day had been hard, but with luck, he had been able to successfully avoid all contact with them.
He walked into the break room, noticing that thankfully it was empty. The silence of the room echoed in Speed's ears as he thought, causing him to rethink his decision. Could he bear to do this? The ringing of his phone by his side, jarred him out of his query and he grabbed hold of it quickly, already knowing what it was. A call out. Grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, he turned and walked out of the break room, heading for the trace lab to get his kit.
/A Family Affair/
Speed pulled up to the scene to find two Hummers and Alexx already there, and he closed his eyes, steeling himself before he approached them. He had been lucky so far today to avoid them, but his luck was running out. He walked through the door of the house and glanced in it, getting a preliminary view of the scene. From his vantage point , he could see the two bodies in the foyer, and partial view of one as it jutted out of the kitchen entrance. He took in a deep breath when he saw the blood pools and dropped his head as he saw that the two bodies in the foyer were just children. He could hear the voices of Horatio and Eric as they moved about in the living room, and Calleigh and Alexx as they examined the body in the kitchen. He repositioned the camera on his neck and walked towards the living room, definitely trying to avoid the kitchen. There was just too much confrontation awaiting him in there. Coming to the living room, Speed spotted Horatio and Eric kneeling over a fourth body, a female, by the patio door. He sat his case down and looked through out the entire room, noticing the overturned chairs and yet another large blood pool surrounded by bloody footprints. Horatio looked up at Speed then back to Eric ,getting up slowly. The red haired lieutenant stood in close proximity to Speed as he continued to watch Eric as he stayed with the body.
" Nice of you to join us, Speed. Missed you on the callout this morning," Horatio said as he looked his protege in the eyes, intense blue meeting empty brown. Instantly , Horatio knew that something was different.
" I had pressing business, Delko came didn't he?" Speed returned as he gestured to Eric who looked up briefly at him, then back to the body. He had talked with Calleigh earlier .
" Speed,..."
" Look H, it's one time. I'm here now. So can I get to work?"
Horatio dropped his head and let a small smile drift to his face , glancing back up to him. It wasn't like Speed to be insubordinate to any of his superiors, especially Horatio. He stood aside and allowed Speed to pass, watching as the young CSI came to rest next to the body. There would be a better place and a better time for him to talk to Speed about what just happened.
" Hey, man, what's up with you today?" Eric asked as he looked up from the body to his best friend. A look of concern flooded the Cuban's dark eyes and Speed glanced away, feeling the need to get up.
" Nothing. What do we have?"
"Speed,..."
" Delko, I said nothing! What the hell do we have?" Speed asked as he raised his voice, prompting Eric to look at him with surprise. Horatio stood behind them, holding his trademark black sunglasses in his hand, absently fingering them.
"Gentlemen," he stated calmly, " we have work to do."
Eric glanced to Horatio then back to Speed, nodding . He didn't believe Calleigh when she told him what had happened, but now that he had seen it for himself, he still couldn't quite believe that his best friend was reacting like this. Speed ignored the concern eyes and set to work silently on collecting the evidence. At once , the scene was deathly quiet and Speed took pictures and evidence without speaking a word . After about fifteen minutes, he moved into the kitchen, taking pictures of the house as he moved slowly through it. He came to the kitchen which had been vacated by Calleigh, leaving Alexx there still doing her preliminary exam. She didn't look up as he approached the victim, but she knew that Speed was there.
" Timmy, how's it going?" Alexx asked in her most concerned voice.
" Alexx, what happened here?" Speed said as he ignored the question, making it obvious that he didn't want to chat.
Alexx looked up from the male body to see cold empty brown eyes that replaced the warm sincere eyes that she was used to, it taking the breath out of her. It took her a moment to gather herself, as she let the body down slowly, trying to think. It shocked her to the core to see him in this light.
"Um, victim was shot in the temple, close range, judging by the stippling at the entrance wound. They all seem to have gotten it the same way, except for the children in the foyer. Looks like an execution."
"Anything for me?" Speed asked as he began taking pictures of the kitchen and the body from his kneeling position. Everything seemed out of place here, even the two friends that now occupied the gleaming white room. She felt a shudder as he got up, leaving her view. Alexx fought to remain composed as she answered, " I found something on his clothes, doesn't seem to be anything from the kitchen. I'll get it to you after post."
Speed turned around as he towered over her, sighing hard, " I'd prefer if I could get it now."
"Timmy, I've got to transport, I can get it to you after the post," Alexx returned as she packed up her things, preparing to move to the next body.
" Alexx, would it be so hard for you to let me get this now? You still have two bodies in the foyer to get to. You're not going anywhere right at this moment," Speed said harshly, eliciting an equally harsh glance from her as she turned to face him.
" Look, Tim, I don't know what it is that's bothering you, but I told you that I would get it to you after post, and that's what I mean. So you are just going to have to wait."
" Alexx ,why are you being so difficult?" Speed asked loudly as he held her gaze, " Just let me collect the damn trace and I'll be out of your way."
" Timothy Speedle..." Alexx started before he cut her off.
"Save it Alexx. I'll send Belmontes to get it ," Speed said as he grabbed his kit angrily and walked out of the kitchen, leaving her there with a feeling of coldness and tears in her throat. He started in on the children in the foyer as he heard her sniffling loudly in the kitchen. Closing his eyes once more, he started in on taking pictures. God , he couldn't wait to get out of here.
/ A Family Affair/
" Did anyone notice Speed today?" Eric asked above the pulsating music. Both he and Calleigh had met Alexx at Lotus, one of their favorite hangouts , for drinks . They usually did so after a trying day and this one had proven to be just that. There was something wrong with their friend and it perplexed them all. " He practically bit my head off when I asked him what was wrong, and he snapped at H. That's just something that he doesn't do."
" You think that was bad?" Alexx asked as she picked up her drink, " you should've heard the way he talked to me. He's never talked to me like that, even after dispo day. There's something going on here."
Calleigh nodded and gulped down her Cosmopolitan , nodding, " Did you see what he was wearing today? Tim never wears those types of shirts. And his eyes... My lord, if he was a suspect in a murder, I would have to say unequivocally that he did it."
Calleigh's comment elicited small laughs from the group, but it dissipated in the atmosphere as they thought about what had truly transpired between them and their friend. It was as if some one had kidnaped him and brought a replacement in. He was the exact opposite of the Speed that they had seen no more than twenty four hours ago. The music did nothing to dissuade their feelings and it turn into an awkward silence. The only one brave enough to break it was Alexx, and she did so hesitantly.
" Do you think this has something to do with Nia?"
Eric glanced down at his drink and his hands as he remembered the day that he had found out about Nia. She had been a surprise to all of them , none of them knowing that Speed had fathered a child. But the more she came around, the more they saw a softer more likable side to him. Nia had brought out the best in him. When she left , she took the best part of him with her. It had been a long road back, but Speed had slowly returned to them. Now it seemed as if he was reverting back.
" I don't know Alexx, she's been gone for two years now. He seemed to have gotten over it pretty well," Calleigh offered as she finished her Cosmopolitan. Neither Eric nor Alexx, had touched their drinks in a while, their main concern over riding their need to relax.
" Well , all I know is that the man that we witnessed today is far from the man I called my best friend," Eric said as he glanced up . His expression dropped even more and the ladies followed his gaze to the entrance to the club to see him walking in. He wasn't expecting to see him here tonight, none of them, but here he was. They noticed the same demeanor on his face as he slowly made his way to them, seemingly coming to sit with them, but he turned in a different direction, heading for another part of the club. From his vantage point, Eric could see him as he came to a table and sat down. It was very obvious that he was meeting someone here.
" See , that is what I'm talking about, right there," Calleigh said as she got up quickly. She was slightly tipsy, but not enough to discount her. " Look at him. He's so.. ...so..."
"Anti Speed," Alexx returned as she gazed at him. He still wore the tight black shirt that he had on at work and the five o'clock shadow that he was sporting this morning had started to darken. There was something else that she noticed about him, but this was something different. " Hey, isn't there something missing with him?"
" What ,you mean like his personality?" Eric quipped as he continued to watch him through the sea of people.
" No, he looks different than he did today at work," Alexx said as she peered closer to him.
" Looks like the same asshole to me," Calleigh said as she motioned to the waiter for another drink.
" No, it's something about his appearance... I got it! He cut his hair!" Alexx exclaimed hitting the table. Instead of the thick , dark waves, there was a little less than an inch left on his head, giving him a younger, street look instead of the professional laid back look that they had all grown accustomed to. Alexx shook her head from side to side, this was definitely not the Timmy
that she knew. They watched him more as the time passed, noticing that he ordered nothing, and sat patiently. Then a tall man with short platinum blond hair joined him and they began talking. Alexx watched his body signals and immediately noticed the change. She was looking at an enigma.
/A Family Affair/
He walked into the club, already knowing who was in there , having seen each of their vehicles in the parking lot. Sighing inwardly, he side stepped many people as he made his way to them, trying to maintain tunnel vision as he headed for the table that he was supposed to sit at. He glanced at them , seeing the disappointment in their eyes, but mostly the concern, most likely from his performance this afternoon at work. As hard as it had been, he had to set the wheels in motion.
He sat there waiting for him, waving off the waitresses asking him for drinks, and he thought about the repercussions from the day. It hurt him more that he couldn't explain to them, leaving them to their own facilities to figure out the drastic change. But he hoped that they would never figure it out. He hoped that they would never know his betrayal. It was with that thought that he looked up again and saw a tall man with platinum blond hair as he approached the table. His eyes were a piercing gray and his stature complimented his lean frame, but there was something about this man that spoke volumes as to who he truly was.
"Speed, nice to see that you made it here on time," the man said as sat down, smirking.
" Don't call me that," he glared back. His nickname sounded almost filthy in the man's mouth. He was in no mood for games.
" Fine, like the haircut, Speedle. It's great to see that you are putting you all into this."
"It was necessary. So what's this all about, Preston?" Speed asked as he sat back, glancing nonchalantly at their usual table. He could feel their concern as it traveled through the pulsating beats that filled the air, and for a moment, his heart started to break. He didn't want to do this, but he knew that he had to.
" Things are getting set in motion on our side, so we need a little collateral. To establish trust, we need to provide them with something."
" Something? What are we talking about here? Money?" Speed asked as he looked at his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look at them again.
"No, something far more valuable. Think big, Speedle."
" Look , Preston, I'm not in the mood for games, could you just cut to the chase?" Speed replied getting very agitated.
" I like a man who knows what he wants," Preston said as he turned to look at the table of friends. " But I wonder what they would say if they knew what you were up to?"
He glanced back at them quickly, noticing that they were getting up to leave. It took every inch of him to stay seated where he was.
" You leave them out of it, Preston. This is between you and me. Isn't that how you wanted it?"
" You really care for them , don't you?" Preston asked as he turned his attention to Speed. Speed nodded his head, watching them leave, feeling the disappointment they left behind.
" They are all that I have," he returned as he thought about his daughter. They had been there when she had left .
" Well , I think you better work harder at trying to distancing yourself from them. This could get dirty."
" Don't worry about them. I'll do what it takes," Speed returned.
" Good, cause we don't need any messes on our hands."
" I said ,don't worry about it. Now what is this about collateral?"
" It's the biggest kind," Preston responded as he sat back in his chair. Speed listened intently on his instructions and felt himself descending into darkness. There was no turning back now.
TBC...