When the alarm on Grissom's watch went off four hours later, his eyes shot open. Subconsciously, he had been unable to commit to those few precious hours of rest. He stretched, threw back the covers and walked softly to his bedroom. He had meant to knock but found himself opening the door and looking down at Horatio sleeping.
Horatio was lying on his side with his knees drawn up slightly, one arm under his pillow, the other lying across his chest. A few ginger locks of hair hung across his forehead. Grissom leaned on the doorway and watched the other man's breathing shift the folds of his t-shirt.
After a moment, he spoke Horatio's name. His blue eyes fluttered open and focused questioningly on Grissom.
"It's time to get up."
Grissom smiled as he left, hearing Horatio groaning softly as he rose from the mattress.
Five minutes later, Horatio exited the room dressed in a crisp black suite and white dress shirt. His phone rang as he watched Grissom head to the room.
"Eric."
"H, I had an idea about Callum. We never found a computer but I figure he must have been connected to the internet somehow. I checked into the Miami Public Library and he has accessed the internet from a few of their locations. A warrant got us access to his e-mail account and he had made some interesting contacts out west."
Horatio tensed as Eric spoke. "I need those names Eric."
"They're in your in-box already, H."
"Thank you, Eric." He snapped his phone shut as Grissom appeared, dressed in a dark blue polo shirt and fresh slacks.
"News?"
"Good news." Horatio replied, returning to the room to get his laptop. He explained Eric's findings as he booted it up and opened his e-mail. "I need you to phone Nick and see if any of these address' came up in his search."
They headed out as Grissom was on the phone to Nick. As Grissom pulled away from the curb, he was calling Brass to inform him of the suspect's location and request backup.
Horatio seemed at ease but at his core, he was vibrating with excitement. Grissom looked full of concentration as he manoeuvred through the light afternoon traffic.
The house they eventually found themselves in front of was large, ensconced on a sprawling and, by Vegas standards, lush property. Both men climbed down from the Denali and made their way up the wide slate walkway towards the generous oak, double doors.
Grissom pointed out a damaged flower bed next to the driveway and the small yellow flowers in it to Horatio. They ascended the steps. Grissom grabbed Horatio's arm before he had the chance to rap on the door. The Vegas supervisor's eyes were narrowed, his ear cocked towards the door.
"There's music playing inside."
Horatio didn't pretend to understand, "what does that mean?"
"Right now, nothing. Knock." Grissom stood back and unbuttoned his holster as he watched Horatio take out his pistol and unlatch the safety.
Gun held by his side, Horatio pounded on the door with his free hand. "Derrick Marsden, police, open up," He hollered.
A man in his forties, dressed in business casual attire answered the door. "Gentlem-"
Horatio forced him to back up into the entranceway with a gun in his face. "Where are they?" He snarled above what, they could now hear, was loud opera music.
Grissom stepped in behind Horatio and moved farther into the foyer, listening.
"I don't know what you're speaking of but you are putting your job in jeopardy, officer." Marsden was trying to hide his fear but his hands were visible above his head.
"Andrew Callum and the two boys, where are they?"
Marsden sneered at him. It took the very essence of Horatio's self control not to pistol whip that look off of his face.
"Mr. Marsden?"
The two men in their tense stand off looked over at Grissom. He had wandered over to the central control for all the systems in the house and now stood looking at them, his hand on a round dial.
"Oberon was never meant to be listened to with the bass so high," Grissom turned the dial and muted much of the heavier sound, "it kills Titania's soprano."
In the relative quiet that now pervaded the house, a thumping could be heard coming from upstairs.
"Hold him," Grissom told Horatio, before he ascended the steps to the upper floor as quickly as he could, gun held before him. Horatio kept his gun aimed squarely at the no longer smug Marsden but his mind was with Grissom, wishing their backup was here.
Unable to clear the house, Grissom moved cautiously towards the thumping, checking over his shoulder as he went. Upon reaching a room he took to be facing the backyard of the property, he heard the muffled sounds of a voice. Grissom took a deep breath, steadied himself, then shoved the door open and moved his weapon from side to side. His eyes swept the room before falling on the small figure tied to the bed.
In the seconds it took him to holster his gun and move towards the child, Grissom saw enough to haunt him the rest of his days. Adam Renfrew had a mop of curly black hair from under which tear-reddened, haunted eyes stared at Grissom with intense relief. He was naked, gagged and tied to the corner of a bed. The small body was covered in bruises and there was fresh blood on the bed.
The child was shaking and crying in a panic as Grissom approached him. He pulled the gag from Adam's mouth and an incomprehensible mix of wails and cries came from him. Grissom kneeled next to the bed and hugged him tightly. "Adam? Adam? I'm with the police, okay Adam? No one's going to hurt you any more." As he spoke softly to the child in his arms, Grissom took out a pocket knife so that Adam couldn't see it, flicked it open with his thumb and began cutting the rope that was binding him. His hands free, Adam wrapped his long, skinny arms around Grissom's neck fiercely.
Jim, Catherine and several officers, all with weapons ready, filed into the foyer of Derrick Marsden's house.
"Make sure the place is clear guys," Jim ordered the officers. He holstered his gun and stepped behind Marsden. "Derrick Marsden, you are under arrest for aiding and abetting a felon, obstruction of justice and generally being a piece of crap." Jim handcuffed him speedily and led him outside as Horatio holstered his gun and took the stairs two at a time.
"Grissom?" He called out with urgency.
Stopping at the doorway as the officers were yelling 'clear', Catherine held her hand to her mouth and stared in shock. Horatio came up behind her and looked into the room over her shoulder. Grissom had his back to the door and was cradling Adam Renfrew in his arms.
When he noticed them over his shoulder, Grissom called to Catherine, "Get rescue and get me a blanket."
Catherine turned after a moment of staring at her supervisor and the child, heading down the stairs and barking efficient orders into her cell.
Horatio walked slowly into the room. "Adam?" he gently spoke the child's name as he took off his suite jacket. Adam looked up at him fearfully then pulled himself closer to Grissom. "Adam, I'm a police officer. My name is Horatio."
The child was still silent and shaking but he removed his face from Grissom's shoulder and looked at Horatio. The red head gave him the smile that he had been blessed with. It seemed to give every victim he had ever interacted with just enough reassurance. Adam was mesmerized by it.
Grissom looked from Adam to Horatio as he felt the boy stop shaking violently. Horatio's eyes never left Adam's.
"Hi. I'm going to wrap you in my jacket, okay son?" With Grissom's help, he manoeuvred the soft fabric around the child so that Adam didn't have to let go. "There. Nice work partner. Now, what do you say we get you out of here?"
Adam nodded his head quickly and started to shake again. Grissom tightened his grip and levered off of his bent knee to stand. As he walked from the room, he could feel Horatio behind him and see Adam was fixated on the Lieutenant.
An ambulance pulled up outside as they reached the foot of the stairs. Horatio moved ahead of Grissom and held out his hand to slow their progression.
"Wait here a minute." He strode out to the front steps where he could see Jim jotting notes next to the cruiser that held Marsden. "Jim?" The captain looked up at Horatio. "Can you have them get Marsden out of here?"
Jim looked at Horatio a moment before saying "yeah, sure," and waving over a nearby officer.
Once the cruiser was gone, Horatio motioned to Grissom to bring the child out. Realization dawned on Jim as he watched Grissom gingerly walk from the house.
Adam refused to let go of Grissom as he tried to place the child on a stretcher. Grissom looked down at him, somewhat at a loss.
Horatio gave Grissom a lengthy look before letting his gaze drop to Adam. "How about...how about we ride with you, partner? That sound like a plan?"
Grissom called Catherine over. "Cath, we're going to take Adam to emergency. I need you to contact Greg, Warrick and Sara and get their help processing this house." Catherine nodded at him. He knew this was killing her inside but he felt her commitment to finishing this, to finding the animal behind it all.
"All right kiddo, I need you to come over here for just a second so Grissom can get into the ambulance, okay?" Horatio held his arms out towards Grissom, keeping his smile trained on Adam.
The boy didn't really respond but neither did he protest as Horatio took him from Grissom, careful to keep him wrapped in his jacket. Grissom made certain Horatio had the child before he climbed into the back of the ambulance and took a proper blanket from one of the EMT's.
"Okay partner, one, two, three." Horatio said to Adam before stepping one foot onto the bumper and placing him in Grissom's blanket swathed arms. He then climbed in and managed to seat himself next to Grissom as the doors were slammed shut and sirens started.
Adam was starting to look dazed, Grissom noted, adrenalin leaving his system.
"I really need to have a cursory look at him," said the female EMT seated in back with them.
Grissom knew this was necessary but was worried about shocking Adam further.
"I, uh, I might have a way to distract him a little," Horatio said as he pulled out his cell. "Adam, I know...I know who you might like to talk to." Scrolling through a list of contacts as he spoke, Horatio finally came to the number he was looking for and hit send.
"Mr. Renfrew, please." Horatio again focused a smile on Adam. "Hello Mr. Renfrew, it's Lieutenant Caine calling. Yes. I do, in fact I have Adam right here and he would very much like to hear your voice."
Adam's eyes grew wider as he focused on Horatio's voice and finally had the ear piece of the phone gingerly held to his ear. "Daddy?"
Grissom managed to take the phone from Horatio so he could hold it as the EMT started to pull back the blanket and jacket and look over Adam's wounds. From what he could tell, there was a great deal of crying coming from the other side of the phone but Adam, a testament to the resilience of children, was smiling and babbling.
Grissom looked to Horatio who sat leaning over with his elbows on the knees of his dress pants, smiling at Adam. He briefly met Grissom's eyes before looking at the floor of the ambulance.
####
When they reached the hospital, Grissom and Horatio were allowed to accompany Adam into his room after the EMT spoke with a doctor and explained that his injuries were non-life threatening. Horatio stood by the door, hands on his hips, and Grissom sat next to Adam on the exam table as the doctor looked him over from head to toe. The doctor was kind and quick so that any prod or movement that made Adam wince was over before he knew why he had been upset about it.
When he was done, the doctor thanked Adam for bearing with him and turned to face Horatio, his smile disappearing in a instant. He took Horatio towards the door and spoke quietly to him.
"That child is going to need 8 stitches and I'll be damned if he doesn't have a couple of fractured ribs. I've never seen anything like this in 26 years of working emergency. You catch the son of a bitch that did this."
Horatio looked at him askance briefly before returning his gaze to the floor, "I understand Doctor." He took a breath, "Doctor, I'll need one of your nurses to bring a SART kit and a camera."
"Of course."
"I'd like for either myself or Doctor Grissom to perform the exam." He rumbled.
"You're both crime scene guys, I've got no problem with that." What the doctor didn't say was 'take care of him.' He didn't have to. That was exactly what Horatio was trying to do.
Turning back to the table, Horatio saw that Adam had managed to wrap himself up in the suit jacket again, his paper dress peeking out.
"You know what your dad told me Adam?" Horatio asked softly.
Adam shook his head vaguely.
"He told me...that he will be on the next plain out and that he will see you soon." Horatio looked over his shoulder as a nurse walked in an placed a small kit on the chair by the door. She handed Horatio the camera.
"Thank you nurse."
"Shall I stay?" She was in her thirties and had a calming, patient air about her.
Horatio's worry at this point was further traumatizing the boy. He hoped that a woman in the room might help Adam feel easier about what he had to do next. He nodded at the nurse and she moved towards Adam and introduced herself.
Horatio brought the chair and kit closer and stood facing Adam with the camera around his neck. The camera alone had caused fear to seep back into the boys eyes. Talking to him quietly and calmly, measuring out his words, Horatio got Adam to focus on him.
"Adam, I know you are tired but...I need you to stay with us a little bit longer, okay, because we need your help."
Adam was focused on Horatio's eyes again. Grissom was also focused on Horatio because he couldn't believe the effect the other man was having on this poor child.
"We need your help with two things, okay, one is finding Danny."
This had a pronounced affect on Adam who spoke coherently for the first time. "I want to help find Danny."
Horatio smiled at the little boy's falsetto and tried to keep his composure in the face of such earnestness in one so young and so afraid. He understood, after all, the burden of being a big brother.
"Thank you, thank you Adam. The other thing we need your help with is making sure the people who did this to you never hurt anyone else, ever again." Horatio's look had turned sombre but Adam nodded in response to this second request.
"Good man," Horatio said as he turned and opened the kit to his side. "Now, Adam, the way you can help us is by letting us collect anything those men may have left on you." He showed Adam the kit full of swabs with their heads encased in plastic capsules, tape lifts and wooden spatulas. "You can have either myself, or Grissom or nurse Colby collect those things from you," Horatio put the kit down and again focused on Adam as he spoke, "and some of it may be uncomfortable but we will let you know exactly what we are doing as we go along, okay?"
Adam was clearly afraid again but he had been infused with some strength at the mention of Danny. Grissom could see the resolve in his little face as he pointed to Horatio.
"You want me to do it?" Horatio tilted his head and asked to be sure. Adam nodded at him and moved minutely closer to Grissom.
Grissom started to remove the jacket from Adam's shoulders and kept a reassuring hand on his shoulder or back throughout the exam. Horatio moved quickly without rushing the child, his voice steady as he told him what each instrument was for.
Horatio had only even done two other assault kits on children in his entire career. As he held a square ruler next to the bruise on Adam's knee he had contracted from trying to be heard, Horatio knew he would remember this one as clearly and vividly tonight as he would 10 years from now. It's clarity and lingering horror on par with the previous two.
Grissom hugged Adam in the hardest parts, when tears squeezed themselves through the boy's tightly shut eyes.
"All done," Horatio said as he capped the lense of the camera. Adam quickly grabbed the suit jacket again and held it to his chest, the folds of the fine, soft fabric covering most of the small boy. "Thank you Adam, you were very brave."
Horatio snapped off one latex glove and unclipped his badge. "I need to speak with Grissom for a minute, okay Adam? But we will be right by the door and Nurse Colby will be right here with you."
Adam nodded as a small hand emerged from the folds of the jacket and grasped the weight of Horatio's badge. Horatio mustered one last smile as he made sure Adam had a grip on his badge, then turned away and walked to the door.
Ripping off the other glove and tossing the pair in the trash, Horatio closed his eyes tightly and sighed. 15 minutes had seemed like a lifetime.
Grissom looked at the other man with concern as he stood with his hands on his hips, head bent. "Do you need a minute?"
Horatio looked up and was caught for a moment in the intensity of Grissom's dark grey eyes. He saw the anxiety in them and knew he must be showing more distress than he wanted to. He shook his head, "No, no I need to talk to Marsden." The strength of Horatio's voice grew as he spoke until the name Marsden came out as a growl.
Grissom let his gaze drift to Adam, "we need to leave him here. I wish we didn't."
"Every minute we sit on this evidence, we get farther from Danny." Horatio said quietly.
"I know, I know." Grissom sighed and walked to Adam.
"May I have Horatio's badge?" Grissom asked, his hand outstretched. Adam reluctantly placed it into Grissom's palm.
"Thank you." Grissom's gaze was more direct, less comforting than Horatio's. His voice, however, was calm and reassuring and it was what Adam focused on as Grissom took the jacket and wrapped it about Adam's shoulders. "Horatio and I need to go now so that we can take what you've given us and start trying to find Danny. Nurse Colby will be here with you until your dad comes." He gave Adam a steady look until the boy nodded at him. Grissom nodded at him and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder before he turned away.
Horatio smiled at Adam quickly before ducking out of the room, knowing he had used most of the energy he needed to present a calm face. Knowing that if he stayed any longer, Adam might not be so comforted by his presence.
He followed Grissom out of the hospital mechanically, slipping his sunglasses on, his mind full of Derrick Marsden. Grissom strode to the Denali, lips pursed and locked in his own thoughts. As he went to buckle his seat belt, he looked at the badge in his palm. A stately eagle with wings spread over an ocean fronted city, protecting it. Having never left Las Vegas for long since becoming a CSI, Grissom wondered if Horatio missed his city, or more accurately, whether he felt his city was safe without him. His mind jumping to thoughts of his own team, Grissom supposed that Horatio had left Miami in good hands. It was then that he realized that he truly liked Horatio and was not simply suffering his presence in a necessary, bureaucratic cross jurisdictional fashion.
"You did..." Grissom found himself at a loss for words, a common occurrence around this man, "you were nothing short of amazing in there with Adam." He offered up the badge as Horatio, somewhat startled out of his thoughts, looked at him.
Horatio took the badge carefully and, though he couldn't tell for the sunglasses, looked at Grissom for a long moment. It was then that he learned something about Grissom. Inherently, instinctively, Horatio knew that this man had very little in the way of family. He knew because he sensed Grissom's capacity for caring in that compliment, meant to comfort him slightly, and yet he could see that Grissom was shutting down that part of himself to focus on the case. Horatio saw no signs of strain hidden in a worried crease behind that beard, no thoughts for the brutality of what had been done to Adam even though the evidence was all over his shirt. And again, not for an inability to care but because he could turn it off when he knew he needed his mind in a particular space.
Horatio could not do this because in Adam, he saw Ray Jr. when he was eight. He saw his brother when they were young. He felt his body tensing in anticipation of a fight because it had been trained that way from such a young age, ready to try insurmountable odds to protect his family. There was nowhere for him to run to in his own mind that he might leave his emotions aside and simply follow the evidence.
Grissom didn't begrudge Horatio his silence and did not wait for a response to his comment. Turning the keys in the ignition, he looked over his shoulder as he backed up. His mind was back to the evidence on the seat behind them. The precious trace that might just give them something, some way of finding Callum.
####
Jim was at PD when they pulled up. He didn't ask how the boy was because he didn't want either man to have to find a way to say something good when there was likely little to be had. Jim just nodded in response to Grissom's request that he accompany Lieutenant Caine to interview to speak with Marsden and led the red head into the building.
Grissom stepped into his office and shut the door behind him. He placed the SART kit on his desk and opened a drawer underneath it, removing a black collared shirt from it's depths. It wasn't often that he needed his back up clothes, Grissom reflected as he pulled his shirt over his head and off. He stood topless in the dim light of his office and looked at the blood on his shirt. Muscles worked beneath his beard as his jaw clenched and unclenched. He tossed the shirt in the garbage can next to his desk and slipped on the dress shirt, rolling up the sleeves. Narrowing his eyes at the kit as he picked it up, Grissom exited his office.
####
Horatio took off his sunglasses before opening the door to the interrogation room and striding in. His face was dark as he quietly surveyed Marsden. There was no confidence in Marsden now, he looked afraid. "You've never been to prison, have you, Mr. Marsden."
Marsden squirmed a little. "You know I have no record."
"I do," Horatio growled. "I know a lot of things about you Mr. Marsden. For starters, I know...that you've had a lot of contact with pedophiles who have been to prison."
Marsden shrunk in his chair but said nothing and avoided Horatio's gaze.
"Tell me, Mr. Marsden, did they, those friends of yours," he took a step towards Marsden and looked askance at him," did they have pleasant stories to tell you about their time in lock up?"
"What the hell do you want!" Marsden spat at Horatio.
"Where is Callum?" Horatio asked evenly. His body was tense, ready.
"I don't know." Marsden muttered.
Horatio moved his head from side to side, as if cracking his neck. In reality, he was wrestling his urge to beat something out of Marsden. He moved to stand right beside Marsden, who still would not look at him. Bending down to Marsden ear, he growled, "then what did he get from you?"
Marsden turned his head slowly, meeting Horatio's eyes. "More than you'll ever get from me," he whispered, "I want my lawyer."
Horatio smiled viciously before his hand shot out and grabbed a fist-full of Marsden's Hair. "What did you give him for Adam?" Horatio yelled, his face an inch from Marsden's.
Jim burst in the door, "Hey!" He put his hand on Horatio's chest and got him to back up. Stepping in front of Horatio and trying to claim his vision though Horatio easily had four inches on him. Jim addressed him in a low but pointed voice. "He's asked for his lawyer."
Horatio was succeeding in looking over Jim's head at Marsden, jaw clenched, his eyes the colour of the cores of ice bergs. His breathing was uneven. Horatio was loosing the battle with himself.
"Hey," Jim said, and Horatio finally looked at him. "Don't give him the pleasure."
####
Grissom looked briefly into the interrogation room through the barred window at Marsden's lone figure before entering the room behind it. He saw Horatio standing in, what was now becoming to Grissom, a characteristic pose of his. His hands were on his hips and his eyes were narrowed slightly, focused on Marsden through the one way mirror. Jim was leaning against the back wall, and raised an eyebrow in question when he saw Grissom.
"We've got him, dead to rights," Grissom said with a hint of satisfaction.
Horatio turned from the window to look at Grissom and, not really knowing why, noted the casual way he was wearing his dress shirt with the first two buttons undone.
Grissom looked to Horatio. "Adam just helped us make an air tight case against Marsden."
"Hmm," Horatio murmured, "But not to find Danny."
"Not yet," Grissom said, showing a little more optimism than he felt in an effort to buoy his clearly despairing partner.
"Let's celebrate the small victories," Jim said, showing the wisdom of one accustomed to settling, as many police officers are often forced to do. "Marsden has been in the periphery of dozens of big pedophile cases around the country and nothing ever stuck to the guy. Now we've got access to his house, his computers. This is big."
Grissom nodded at Jim, sharing his feelings.
Horatio crossed his arms and shifted so he could look at Marsden.
Jim looked at Horatio then to Grissom and shrugged. "I'm gonna book him and get the ball rolling. Keep me posted."
"I will," Grissom said, before returning to look at Horatio. He didn't have to be here an hour ago to tell that Horatio had lost his composure while dealing with Marsden. Grissom cocked his head to the side and observed how Horatio's hair, normally perfectly set, was in slight disarray.
"Hey," He said softly. Horatio turned his back to Marsden and fixed Grissom with a cold stare.
Grissom indicated the door with a flick of his head, "the team's back. Let's go see what they've got." Horatio nodded eventually and walked out with him. Grissom had to resist the urge to put his arm around Horatio's shoulders. But as they walked down the hall, he witnessed Horatio putting himself back together, rearranging his features to hide the anger behind them as he rearranged the locks of his hair. By the time they walked into layout, he had collected himself and was a picture of calm.
Grissom was pleased to note his team looked prepared, if a little tired. Sara was looking at a map on the large computer screen while Catherine, Greg and Warrick discussed the contents of a file. They looked up when Grissom and Horatio entered. Sara, however, kept her eyes focused on the screen.
"What do we have?" Grissom asked, realizing he himself sounded tired.
Catherine raised her eyebrows and sighed, not knowing where to start. "Uh, more than I ever needed to see in my lifetime. Marsden's house has secret rooms and a lot of secrets to go with 'em."
"Yeah," Warrick threw in, "we'll be bringing a lot more charges against him as soon as we're done processing his place but Sara noticed something interesting."
"Marsden's almost as obsessed with his cars as he is with little boys," Sara said, still facing the screen, watching a small red dot meander through the streets of Vegas on a satellite map. "He has pictures of all of his cars throughout the house but when I checked his garage, his mustang was missing."
"Are his cars GPS equipped?" Grissom asked, his heart rate speeding at the thought.
Sara looked over her shoulder at him, "Oh yeah. I just got permission from his service provider to access his account information. We're honing in on the signal now."
Grissom's face split into a grin which caused Sara to blush slightly and turn away, back towards the screen. They all moved closer to her, closer to the screen, watching the view focus and shift.
Horatio, standing in the back with Warrick among the tallest present, furrowed his brow as address' started cropping up in relation to where the dot was.
"He's near Tropicana and Cameron." Warrick said.
"Isn't there an industrial park there, near the Orleans?" Catherine asked the room.
"4693 South Arville street," Horatio said, turning from the screen towards the door. The team turned to look at him. "Marsden has a computer store at that address." He looked at Grissom from the doorway, impatient to be off.
Grissom turned to Warrick, "Find Brass and have him meet us at that location with backup." He turned to the women, "Sara, stay with that signal and notify us is he moves. Catherine, Greg, you're with us."
They broke apart like a football team from a huddle, practically running in anticipation of the completion of this case. Apart from the brief break, they were all of them running into their third shifts.
####
The Denali was entirely silent on the ride to the store. Las Vegas was far from asleep at 10 in the evening but the stretch of road they were on, just west of the strip, had none of the vibrance and life typical of that part of town. They drove through pools of street light, past the occasional car in the opposite lane.
"That's it," Horatio said as a plain row of store fronts came into view. They all shared the same dull white, concrete facade and could only be differentiated based on the glowing signs above the individual doorways.
Grissom pulled the Denali into the shared strip of parking lot and parked as far from the computer store as he could. He turned off the engine and lights and surveyed the store front as he called in their position to dispatch.
Horatio was also eyeing the entrance to the store and knew they weren't going in through the front.
"How are we going to get in there?" Greg asked from the back. "They've got security bars and we'd be making enough noise to let Callum know something is up..." The three older CSI's sensed Greg's nervousness but all agreed, in the backs of their minds, that he was at least thinking the situation through critically.
"Catherine, Greg, I want you to find his car first, it's gotta be around here somewhere. Find it and secure it." He looked into the back seat at his two colleagues, "Be careful. Callum's MO makes it likely he's armed."
Greg looked unsure as he climbed out of the truck but Catherine gave Grissom a steadying look before she herself exited. Grissom watched them setting off down the parking lot.
"I'm thinking Callum may have chose to use the loading bay, less conspicuous than the front door." Horatio stated.
"Agreed."
Horatio looked over at Grissom in the half light shed by a distant street light. The interior of the Denali was dark except for that. Grissom looked from their target and found Horatio's eyes. The two men sat for only a second like this but it seemed one of the longest seconds either of them had ever experienced.
Both of them shared a sense of anticipation, an eagerness to see this case finished, but also a fear of what they would find in that innocuous looking store. They had both been working this job long enough to know that Danny Renfrew's time was up a long time ago and if he was still alive, well...
Horatio could easily contrast his comfort of walking into this potentially dangerous situation with Grissom's reluctant preparedness. Being flipped into the fire with his gun drawn was almost second nature to the Miami CSI. But Grissom would have preferred if this was all about to play out without him or any of his CSI's having to draw their weapons.
Horatio had heard himself referred to as 'intense' on more than once occasion. Sitting there, looking at Grissom, he could understand why. Being out in front, taking the lead, bearing the burden of caring for and protecting these amazing, under-appreciated people; it required nothing less. The kinship he felt with this man was striking.
And he knew, sitting there looking across at his Vegas counterpart, that Grissom felt it too.
They exited the Denali, quietly closing their doors. As Horatio walked confidently towards the rear of the building, he slipped his gun from it's holster and flicked off the safety. Grissom followed, casting his eyes about. When they reached the corner of the building, Horatio looked back at Grissom and the Vegas CSI took out his own weapon.
Horatio looked quickly around the corner and then fell back against the wall before launching himself around it, gun drawn. Grissom followed, gun levelled next to Horatio's shoulder. The loading lot was empty except for a blue or black mustang, parked behind Marsden's computer store. The two men moved closer to it as Greg and Catherine appeared from around the opposite corner and began moving towards the vehicle. Horatio inspected the light spilling from under the door beside the large loading bay as Grissom scanned the car quickly. He shook his head when Horatio looked back at him and moved to the large concrete walkway at chest height that Horatio stood next to. Quietly, Horatio hoisted himself up, somehow managing to keep his gun in his hand. Grissom followed, managing the manoeuvre somewhat less fluidly than Horatio.
Grissom could feel his heart start to race as Horatio looked back him. Horatio had one hand on the door, the other holding his pistol at the ready. Grissom nodded and Horatio stepped back, drawing the door open so Grissom could enter, gun at the ready. He had to let his eyes adjust to the glaring, industrial light they met inside, but he didn't waiver as he stepped inside to let Horatio join him. As Grissom was moving into the main loading area inside from the doorway, a shot ricocheted off of the corner of concrete separating the doorway from the bay proper.
Grissom stepped back and felt Horatio pressing him to the wall with his hand on Grissom's chest. Eyes wide and alert, Horatio moved his hand over Grissom's chest to convince himself that Grissom hadn't been hit.
That done, he turned back to the inches of concrete separating them from the shooter. "Callum?" He yelled.
The two CSI's could hear giddy laughter, high pitched and deranged but definitely that of a male.
"Callum, this is Lieutenant Caine, Miami PD. I'm coming around this corner," Horatio yelled, trying to keep the unstable sounding man from going off the deep end. He took a deep breath and rounded the corner, finding Callum in his sights in a fraction of a second, feeling the trigger beneath his finger and knowing that if necessary, he could be faster.
But Callum didn't have his gun pointed at Horatio. He had it pointed at the small boy he had gripped tightly with one arm.
"You know, Caine, I just wanted to have my fun." Callum's voice and demeanour were definitely erratic. Horatio forced himself to focus on Callum and not the boy. Not the details of the area around them.
"Why don't you let Danny go so we can talk about this." Horatio said loudly. He needed Callum to point his gun away from Danny. Then he could take his shot and know the boy would be safe.
"Why don't you go to hell? Do you have any idea what it took for me to get him? How long I've waited, huh? Do you?" As he continued to speak, Horatio's body tensed watching Callum's blood slicked finger on the trigger.
Grissom could tell Callum was deteriorating by the tone of his voice. He knew, from his position beside Horatio, that Callum did in fact have Danny. They needed to get the boy away from him quickly. Both men knew this.
"I was so good. They all wanted to get me in the pens but I kept my god damned nose clean. I waited. Do you know what it's like to go for years without touching one of them? I needed it so bad..."Callum was sweating, his face contorting.
Horatio didn't respond. Callum was about to do something stupid, that much he was sure of. He just needed that something stupid to be in their favour.
"And I planned and I planned and I planned, for what? For what? To have Hartford's fucking cheapskate van repair screw-"
Andrew Callum never finished this sentence for in that moment, in his instability, he took the gun from Danny's head to gesture with it, as one will when ranting if one is inclined to gestures.
At the same time Horatio was pulling the trigger, more because he sensed at that moment that Callum was coming completely unhinged than he sensed Horatio's movement, Grissom spun on his knee around the corner, found his target and fired.
The end result was the same either way and both men, one standing, one kneeling, looked at the sprawled body of Callum and the slumped form of Danny Renfrew. They both rushed to the child's side, fearing that somehow, one of them had missed.
Another thing that Gil Grissom and Horatio Caine have in common is that they are both expert marksmen. Danny had collapsed because he was exhausted and without Callum holding him up, he could not have stood of his own will.
Grissom watched as Horatio holstered his weapon and gingerly lifted Danny into his arms. Both men knelt there for a moment, listening to the sirens fast approaching. Horatio holding Danny to his chest and breathing heavily, looking at the pavement. Grissom looking at Horatio.