A/N: Chapter 3 is up and now for the notes (SOMEONEPLEASETELLMEWHATTHEHELLISSYLUM)
Sexie isn't pronounced "Sexy" the original nickname just didn't seem right to write with.
Horatio, Mac and their respective teams (c) their creators, Daikonran and Secondet (c) my sister, the rest, me
3, Protect
A warm smile appeared on Secondet's face amidst the tragedy as he ran to his old friend.
"Mac Taylor; never thought you'd hit the tropics! Aren't you supposed to be melting or something?" the boy grinned.
"And I thought you wouldn't go back to that androgynous shape you had back then. Guess I owe Sheldon some $45 dollars." The New Yorker chuckled as he patted the boy's shoulder.
"But really, aren't the clauses in your…shouldn't you stay in New York?" Secondet asked, his tone serious and pointing at Mac's left eye.
"The bastard died before we could establish geographic boundaries, courtesy of a bullet in the frontal brain lobe." He answered, understanding where Secondet was coming from. He too had worried if leaving the city would have any adverse side effects on his health. "So what are you up to in CSI? Another bounty?"
"Nope, Dai and I decided to become official and stick it in Miami. New York's far too cold for the kids' health," Secondet answered, pushing back some stray hair.
Taylor smiled, he remembered the little tykes from back then…and the ruckus they caused between the shifts.
"Mr. Leonhart, your toxicology results are done." Marigold said, handing the folder over. The boy scanned through it and saw what he wanted. The worried look on his eyes told Mac that the results were troubling to say the least.
"Thanks, Marigold," he said and turned to Taylor, "I'm really sorry, but I got an actual schedule to work on."
As Secondet left the lobby, Mac looked around the floor with either modesty or pride. He saw through the boy's angelic disposition.
Sexie…
Secondet hurried to Alexx just to meet Horatio in his path. He quickly bowed in respect and sped to the medical examiner.
"Alexx, I just got the tox report."
"And?"
"Read."
Alexx decided to go along with the boy's hunch and analyzed the results. Formaldehyde, methanol and ethanol were found considerable amounts spread throughout the body. Her eyebrows raised, she shot an incredulous stare at the boy-angel.
"If I'm not mistaken, those are embalming fluids right?"
"Then our timeline is completely lost. This child was dead way longer than just two days ago." The medical examiner concluded, as she closed the body, causing Secondet to slightly cringe. "Dammit."
"I'll run a search on any exhumed or vandalized cemeteries in the Miami area." He managed to say before running away from the office. Alexx could only watch as Secondet threw up in a nearby trashcan.
I don't even want to know.
Horatio had other thoughts in mind when he saw Kino's wife blow his chunks. "You ok?"
"I-I'll be fine…I just had a bad lunch." Secondet responded, wiping the remains of his meal from his mouth.
"You go drink some water and I'll catch up to you. We do have an appointment tonight." The lieutenant comforted while rubbing his hand on the boy's back. He could feel the ridges produced by a pair of wings, the feather's spines like thin twigs along his fingertips. Secondet nodded and returned to the post while Horatio left towards Print analysis.
Ryan had already uploaded the prints into the database just a few minutes before.
"Do we have something?" Caine asked as he entered the room.
"Not really; just got it on the net and it doesn't prove promising." Wolfe replied, sighing tiredly as he wrote in some numbers. "Oh yeah, there's a package waiting for you down at the lobby."
"Thank you."
Horatio was welcomed with a large bouquet of red roses as he claimed the sent package. He smirked when he saw the correspondent was and looked around. No one seemed out of place until he saw a familiar face. Horatio hid the small card in his pocket and walked over to meet the stranger.
"Detective Taylor?"
The face sprung up at the sound the name and grinned. "Lieutenant Horatio Caine, it's been a while."
"I take it you're on vacation?"
"More like unredeemable time-off. Just came down here to say to Kino and his family." Taylor explained as the men shook hands. "Sexie tells me that it's for the kids' health."
Well, that's an odd nickname.
"So you're the agency that Daikonran talks about? Never thought of it." Caine said as he looked out to see Calleigh's Hummer park. "Speak of the devil."
Daikonran arrived in a separate vehicle but in time nonetheless. He dragged a pasty young man, handed him to the guards and took out his recovered evidence.
"All yours, do be careful, he bites."
Mac was clearly amused at the way the former bounty hunter handled the situation, so reminiscent of weeks past. "Why does this sound so familiar to a certain event in Queens?"
Daikonran recognized the comment and turned around. "Because that day you decided to poke fun at me and call me Fuky-Mi. What was it that you said? Oh yeah, 'Daiki love you long time'."
They exchanged hellos and greetings as they entered the building. "What, no creepy-crawlies or bad guys left in the Big Apple? I'm only asking instead of the proverbial melting joke." Kino commented until he spotted Horatio.
"Lieutenant, we seem to have a witness for our case of a dead five year old female child. Since it was processed by Miss Duquesne, she told me to hand over all evidence to you." He stated, handing over the evidence envelopes. As Caine read the report, he set the escape in a temporary second priority and caught up with the case.
"So what's with the young man over there?"
"Witness. He saw movement over at St. Lucia's just over two days ago, just in the time line Alexx established. Thought he have something." Kino continued, Mac not at all impressed as he observed the information relay.
"Then let's have a chat with our good man, shall we?" Horatio offered as he returned the folder to its owner. He shifted to Mac and said, "Sorry we couldn't be of any service…"
"That's ok, I can wait. I've got two weeks off anyways." Taylor intervened, walking towards the cafeteria room. He rubbed his left eye thoroughly before sitting down and grabbing a snack.
Tyler Perry was as jumpy when both Horatio and Daikonran entered as when the bounty hunter had found him roaming the scene.
"All right, tell the lieutenant what you told me."
His reaction was a violent twitch around his eyes and a jerk of the neck. "I-I can't."
"What do you mean, you can't?" Kino retorted, his face a mix of annoyance and incredibility.
"I-I need…my…" Tyler stuttered, his stare away from the investigators. His movements and seizures were those so strikingly similar to that of a heroin addict.
"Dammit, I forgot. He's thirsty." Daikonran chided as he leaned back, his hand over his forehead. Without hesitation, Horatio rolled up his right sleeve showed the young man his exposed forearm.
"Is this enough?" He asked, watching as Tyler picked up the scent and sounds of pumping blood. Tyler looked up, to check for any duplicity before he bit into the lieutenant's veins.
Horatio hissed instinctively but allowed the witness to drink. Both they and Mac, who had seen the whole thing from the cafeteria, watched as the rosy complexion of years before took over and Tyler relaxed. He took his mouth away and immediately Caine collapsed onto the table. He managed to stand up, even after losing half a pint of blood.
"Are you ready to talk?"
Tyler nodded a yes and began with,
"I was looking for a bite to eat, pun not intended. I remembered that my old mate told about how people would sneak into the St. Lucia and have sex; perfect place to grab and drink." He then turned to Horatio with a dangerous look. "You look like you've had your share of bites."
Horatio smirked, "Let's just say I've had a collective experience. What happened two days ago?"
"Well I was roaming around three or four in the morning when I found a group, two adults one minor, enter the inn. I heard some heated arguing, and then I heard a Boom. After that, the two adults just ran away. I checked but there was not a living soul in that inn." Perry concluded.
"Thank you. Now please follow the police officers to your holding cell." Kino thanked as Tyler was taken away. "Do you believe him?"
Horatio looked at his newest bite and said, "For handing my blood like that, he'd better be telling the truth."
A/N: So how was it? Reviews are welcome