"Eric, would you care to explain to me how your blood made its way to the scene of our latest case?" Horatio wasted no time in finding Delko. The protective side of Horatio emerged and he decided to keep the information confidential until he could find a suitable reason.
"H, I honestly can't say." Delko replied uneasily. Horatio's eyes glinted with intrigue.
"You mean to say you really don't know or you are not at liberty to say…which one?" Horatio stood in a slant, adding a rough edge to his voice.
"I don't know why it was there. I swear on Marisol's grave, H." At the mere mention of Marisol, both men became unnervingly silent.
"I believe you, Eric. We're going to settle this very soon."
"Eric…since everyone else knows you better than I do, they instructed me to ask you a few questions about the case. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you have every right to ask for someone other than me." Keats trembled as she sat across from Eric Delko. His integrity was being questioned and his absolution was only possible if Keats didn't screw up.
"It's fine. Ask me anything." Delko sat back, his entire body rigid.
"Um…let's start with where you were last night. The night of the massacre at Stedman Pool Hall." Keats held her pen ready, hoping his answers wouldn't condemn him.
"I was in the Lab. Boa Vista and I were filling out some last minute paperwork on the Haney case." Eric sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Did you know any of the victims?" Keats set out several pictures in an even line. The pictures were ones of the young men before they had met their untimely ends. Delko sifted through the photographs and bit his lip.
Joey…Carlos…Darren…Mike…Anthony." He pointed to the five he knew, his voice cracking. Keats made a note in his file and pressed on, finding it almost painful to ask Eric the same kinds of questions she would of common criminals.
"And what was the nature of your relationship with these men?" Keats asked.
"They were just some guys I hung out with on weekends. They were cool." Delko held his head down, avoiding Keats' gaze.
"Was there an argument? An aggressive dispute, perhaps?" Keats chewed on the cap of her pen. Delko ran his fingers through his hair, quite distressed.
"I…I walked in last week…Carlos was doing a couple lines of crack…him and Anthony were paying Mike for a few hits…even though I was off duty…I pulled a gun on 'em." Eric could hear their voices echoing in his head quite clearly.
'Are you kiddin' me, Delko? You'd whip a gun out on your friends? That's cold, man…'
"Then what happened?" Keats became riveted by his story.
"I started reading 'em their rights and then…" Delko remembered only too well how that went down.
'We trusted you, man.' They had shouted obscenities and threatened him, but losing their friendship had been the worst part.
"Joey came at me from the side. Tried to knock me out." He said. Keats imagined Delko being socked in the face, blood spewing from his mouth. The position of the blood and the amount of blood checked out in her head.
"Eric, why didn't you come forward with this information before?" Keats asked, realizing that his poor choice might actually have cost him his job.
"I opened fire on Joey. Just in his leg. I screwed up, had to the leave the scene. I knew if anyone found out they'd try to involve me in a drug scandal. I thought it best if I wait it out and stay quiet." Delko exhaled painfully. The truth had been hard to face, especially after it had been misguidedly suppressed.
"You thought wrong, Eric. I'm disappointed. You used your weapon off-duty…What were you thinking, Agent Delko?" Horatio entered the interrogation room with a heavy frown.
Keats stood by idly as Eric's lawyer was called as well as a few prosecutors intending to crucify Eric. He made a mistake. I make mistakes, too. Keats brushed away a few stray tears that had fallen down her cheeks.
"Come on, crybaby. Give me a smile." Ryan said, lifting her lips with his thumb and forefinger. Keats had cried ever since he brought her home. He was afraid she'd drown if he left her by herself.
"I can't. What if Eric loses his job? What if he has to go to prison?' Keats was on the verge of another outburst, but Ryan did the unthinkable and laughed. She glared at him, trying to understand his indifference.
"Delko's a big boy. He does all right on his own, Keats. He's been through some pretty tough situations before, but he managed to come through them unscathed. And if I know the way the system works, this should all blow over in like a month." Ryan gave her another smile and ruffled her hair. Keats felt better instantly. Ryan's words, his touch…they had the power to heal her.
Wait a second…Ryan NEVER smiles…if he's smiling then something is seriously wrong. Keats began to wail loudly and Ryan wondered just what he'd said that made things worse.
Natalia watched as Delko began packing a few things up in boxes. He would give her a reassuring look every now and then as if it were only temporary. But deep down they both knew better.
"Cheer up, Natalia. I'll be back in a few days. This is just the way proceedings go…it doesn't mean I'm gone forever. I'll be back." He said, closing some of the boxes. Natalia inched closer to Delko, struggling to express her feelings. She was frustrated with Eric for getting himself into this mess. She was concerned for his well-being. But more than anything, she was afraid that she was still very much enamored with Eric Delko. Their past seemed to haunt her, lingering as if to torture her.
"What went wrong with us?" She asked. She had suddenly forgotten why they weren't together anymore, even though it had seemed important at the time.
"We just weren't right for each other, I guess. There's never an easy answer for something like that, you know?" Delko placed a consoling hand on Natalia's shoulder.
"Spare me, Delko. I don't need to feel better just because you're trying to let me down easy." She brushed his hand away, pained by the fact that she'd been rejected before she could even admit her feelings.
Natalia Boa Vista turned on her heel and stormed out of the Lab before Eric could reply.