Title: Club Descent: Slave Play
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRAO
Genre: AU, angst, hurt/comfort, romance
Warning: Slash, past abuse, non-con, rape
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Speed
Challenge: Lover100
Table: table-c
Prompt: #18 Slave
Word Count: 2130
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this.
Author's Note: This is NOT part of my H/Speed universe. This is my first AU. I have plans to turn this into a limited series.
Previous Chapters: The Meeting, Regrets, Choices, Let's Talk, Good News, Problems, Saturday, Help, Secrets, Home, Confessions, Courage, Whispers
(This chapter is for Little Horatio, who asked.)
888
Horatio turned back to his CSI. "Eric, are you absolutely certain? No chance of cross contamination?"
"Positive, H. These two cases are linked," Eric said.
Horatio was silent for a moment while he contemplated the ramifications of that fact. He glanced back into the room where Tim sat with the sketch artist and realized just how close he probably came to losing his life the day before. He turned back to Eric.
"What do we know about the victim, Eric?"
"Not much," Eric answered as he opened the file in his hands. "Young male, early twenties probably. He was found stripped and tied to a bed, beaten, likely sexually assaulted, then stabbed. No ID but we did find this next to the body."
He handed over a plastic bag containing a business card. Horatio looked at the card and muttered, "Club Descent."
"You know this place, H?" Eric asked.
Horatio nodded. "More importantly," he said looking through the glass at Tim. "So does he." After a moment he turned back to Eric. "Do you have any photos of the victim? Preferably not too gruesome."
Eric flipped through the photos in the file then shrugged. "Autopsy photo, neck up. Face shot for ID purposes," he said. "You think your friend may know the victim?"
"If he was one of the kids that hung out at that club, then I do," Horatio said.
He looked through the glass again and it looked like the sketch artist was putting the finishing touches on her drawing. "Eric," he said as he turned back. "I want you to show him the photo, but remember..."
"He's a victim, not a suspect," Eric finished. "Don't worry, H."
Horatio gave him a weak smile. "Thanks."
He opened the door just as the sketch artist slid her drawing across the table. Horatio walked over and stood next to Tim who unconsciously held up a hand. Horatio took his hand without hesitation. Tim stared at the sketch.
Horatio leaned down. "What do you think?"
Tim glanced up at him. "That's him," he said.
"Good," Horatio said. "You did good." Then addressing the sketch artist he said, "Can you make a copy of this and add in a beard, moustache, and a baseball cap. Paula, down at the front desk, can help with the exact details. Then distribute it."
"Yes sir," she said as she got up.
Horatio waited for her to leave then he sat down next to Tim and turned to face him. "We need your help with one more thing before we go," he said. He shifted his gaze to Eric, and Tim followed. "This is Eric. He's investigating the murder that happened Sunday morning, the one I got the call about."
Eric sat down at the table across from the two men and got his first good look at the man that Calliegh had said was Horatio's lover. He held out a hand. "Eric Delko," he said.
Tim shook his hand. "Tim Speedle," he replied.
Eric looked down at the file for a moment then back up at Tim. "Look, I know this whole thing has been difficult for you but I need to ask you a few questions." Tim nodded. Eric pulled out the plastic bag containing the business card. "We found this next to our victim." He passed the bag over to Tim.
Tim looked at it then over at Horatio. "You think he was one of the kids from the club?"
"It's beginning to look that way, yes," Horatio said.
Tim turned back to Eric. "Do you know which one?" he asked.
"That's where we were hoping you could help. I have a photo," he said. He pulled out a black and white photo from the file. "It's an autopsy photo," Eric added before he slid it across the table.
Tim took one look at the photo and recognized the kid immediately. "I've seen him at the club," Tim said.
"Do you know his name?" Eric asked.
Tim shook his head then looked at Horatio. "But Max might," he said. "What happened to him?" Tim asked gesturing to the photo.
Eric looked at Horatio before answering. Horatio nodded his approval. "We have evidence that the same person who assaulted you killed him. We found him tied to a bed, beaten and stabbed."
Suddenly Tim's mind desperately wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment but he didn't want to retreat. He knew he was safe and he gripped Horatio's hand a bit tighter just to convince himself.
"Face up or face down?" Tim asked. Eric gave him a questioning look. "On the bed. Did you find him face up or face down?"
After a quick glance at Horatio Eric answered, "Face down, knees pulled up under him."
Tim took a breath, trying to stay focused. "When, um…" He closed his eyes for a moment. "When you turned him over, he had marks on his chest and waist, like strap marks from being restrained." It was a statement of fact, not a question but Eric nodded anyway. "And these marks on his face," Tim said pointing at the photo, "are from a ball gag." He looked up at Eric. "He was raped?"
"We still have to confirm that. The ME will check for fluids…"
"There won't be any," Tim said mater-of-factly. "He always uses a condom. Look for bruising, tearing, he wouldn't have been gentle," he said quietly.
Tim was reaching his limit and Horatio could see him beginning to withdraw. He looked over at Eric and asked, "Give us a minute, will you?"
Eric agreed and left the room but he watched the two through the glass. Tim was staring at the far wall. Horatio turned toward him and took his face in his hands. He rested their foreheads together.
"I need you to stay with me for a bit longer," he said quietly and felt Tim nod.
Tim reached over and picked up the photo. "This is me, Horatio," he said and Horatio felt a chill run through his body.
"Tim, Eric needs to know what happened to this boy." Tim took a deep breath and nodded. "You need another minute?" He shook his head. Horatio leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "Okay, here we go," he said as he signaled for Eric to come back into the room.
Eric walked into the room trying to shake from his brain the image of his boss kissing another man. He knew that he didn't have any particular problem with the general idea of it. But this was Horatio, not someone he thought of that way. He sat down at the table again.
"Eric," Horatio said. "Tim may have some information pertaining to your case that may help."
Tim sat with one hand firmly in Horatio's grasp and the other resting on the black and white photo of the murder victim. "I can tell you what likely transpired between this boy and Simon." He spoke in a low, flat tone. "They met at the club, Club Descent. Simon would have been looking for someone who was into bondage."
"So, for this kid, being tied up was part of the game," Eric said. "That would explain why we didn't find any defensive wounds."
"It's also likely that there was a third person involved, not in the murder but in the game," Tim continued. "Simon is into slave play but doesn't like to get personally involved. He'll find a third to dominate the slave and he'll watch. He gets off on it."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "He had the kid strip, then had the third guy bind his wrists with leather bands and suspend him from something overhead. Then he spread his legs and restrained them to the floor using another set of leather cuffs. After that he would have blindfolded the kid."
Tim stared at the photo on the table and ran his fingers over the edge. "Once he had the kid blindfolded any number of things could have happened, weighted nipple clamps, ball stretchers. At some point the kid must've protested or talked back." He gestured to two bruises on either side of the victim's mouth. "These are from a ball gag, fastened tighter than necessary. He would have had the dominant penetrate the kid, either himself or with an object. All of this is designed to humiliate and I can guarantee you, by this point, the kid is probably freaking out, unless he was really hardcore. But Simon wouldn't have taken him if he was really hardcore. He looks for people who think they know DS play, lightweights. They're easier to take control over in the end."
Tim paused and took a breath. "He probably kept him for a couple days, likely picked him up sometime late Thursday night, after Max and I left the club, kept him until late Saturday. Probably wouldn't take him too long to break the kid. Once he did, that's when his personal involvement would start. He only want the completely submissive ones."
As Horatio listened to Tim's story he became concerned about his apparent detachment. He was showing no emotion at all as he spoke. Horatio had seen him withdraw before but this was different. He knew enough about psychology to know that Tim had withdrawn again but in a different way. He also realized, to his own horror, that even though Tim was talking in the third person, he was describing things that had actually happened to him.
Tim continued. "Simon had the dominant release the kid, now truly the slave, and tie him to the bed, probably into the same position you found him in. He would have been completely immobilized, unable to move even a little. The strap marks on his chest, waist and groin area are from leather straps that held him firmly in place. He could have been in that position for as much as a day while Simon repeatedly brought him to the edge of climax, then backed off, another form of humiliation and control. He also would have repeatedly raped him, likely with no preparation or lubricant. Extreme pleasure and extreme pain."
Tim fell silent and stared at the photo. Eric sat across the table from him trying to wrap his brain around what he was hearing. What Tim had described to them seemed to match the victim's physical condition almost exactly, bruise for bruise. And just as Horatio had, Eric was struck by the knowledge that Tim was likely speaking from personal experience. But one thing didn't make sense in that context.
"Why kill him?" Eric asked.
Tim looked up for the first time and met Eric's eyes. He shrugged and pointed to the photo. "He wasn't me," he said then lowered his gaze once again. He sighed. "I used to be normal," he muttered. He looked up at Horatio who was, by this time, completely speechless, and asked, in the same flat, emotionless tone, "Can we go home now?"
Horatio shook himself out of his slight daze and said, "Uh, yeah. That's probably a good idea." He looked up at Eric who nodded his agreement.
Horatio stood and Tim followed him out. He said nothing on the way home, just sat staring out the window of the car. Horatio was also silent on the ride home. His mind kept drifting to elements of Tim's story and he felt his stomach turning at the thought of what those first days must have been like, the shear terror and helplessness.
When they arrived home Tim walked, zombie-like, into the house. He sat down on the sofa and Horatio watched as he slowly drew his legs up protectively and rested his head to one side on his knees. Horatio wasn't quite sure what to do so he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Would you like some dinner?" Tim shrugged but said nothing. "Do you want to talk?" Again nothing. Horatio went to sit next to him but hesitated for just a moment. "Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit?" He saw Tim's lower lip start to quiver and he shook his head.
Horatio slipped off his shoes and suit jacket. He snaked one leg behind Tim and settled into the corner of the sofa, pulling Tim into his arms. For the first time since they'd met, Horatio was having trouble controlling his own emotions. His anger, his shear fury at what Simon had done was very close to the surface, mingled with a profound sadness at what Tim had endured. As he felt Tim bury his face in his shirt and his body begin to shake, he lost his own battle and wept along with his lover.
TBC