Chapter 12

Calleigh pulled up in front of the school. Danny approached the Hummer when a hand held the door shut, yet again. Calleigh quickly got out of the vehicle and circled to the front. She saw it was merely a boy in a football uniform. She relaxed and watched their interaction.

"Seth, you failed to mention you were a jock." Danny smiled and leaned against the door with her arms clutching her books to her chest. The bruises around her stood out against her pale skin and she wished she could cover them too.

"Don't hold it against me. It'll be the only way I get to go to college." He gave her the same playboy smile he had the day before.

"What do you want?" She tried to stop smiling, but failed.

"I just figured, you know, when you decide you're ready, you'll need my phone number." He took one of her hands and wrote his number on her palm. Her stomach flip-flopped and she didn't even care that is was in permanent marker. "You know, just in case."

"And what makes you think I'll call?"

He pushed away from the Hummer and jogged away. He called back at her a final message, "You're perfect."

"That's not a reason." She smiled again. He was already gone. She opened the door and climbed inside. Calleigh hurried into the driver's seat and they were off.

"Who was that?" Calleigh asked in a somewhat teasing manner.

"Just a guy." She tried to hide the smile, but to no avail. Her eyes were glued to her palm. She could still feel where his hand had been.

"He's a very cute guy. And he likes you."

"He likes the idea of me. Someone new. Someone mysterious. Someone not at all interested in him." She put her hand down as if to make her point.

"Not interested huh?" Calleigh knew that was a lie.

"Not even a little. Just because the way he laughs it makes me smile and when he talks it gives me butterflies does not mean I'm interested in him." Her face remained completely serious, which made Calleigh laugh quietly.

************

"Natalia, what have you done?" Horatio rubbed his forehead. She had taken him aside near the elevators.

"I did what no one else wanted to do. None of you want to let her go because she is Speedle's kid, but you have to let her go!"

"We are keeping her because her SAE showed years of sexual abuse and he has the money to make it all disappear." Just then, the elevator opened. Calleigh and Danny stepped out into the hall.

"What have I done?" Natalia said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Calleigh asked as they approached the pair.

"I didn't know!" Natalia practically yelled and looked desperately at Calleigh then to Danny.

"Natalia, what happened?" Calleigh asked.

"I called Mr. Emmery this morning. He called twenty minutes ago and said he'd be here in…" she looked at her watch, "a half hour."

The color drained out of Danny's face. Fear washed over her. She started shaking her head madly.

"Why?" she sounded like someone had severed her rope as she dangled off a cliff. "Oh my god! What am I gonna do?"

"Danny…" Calleigh took a step toward her and she responded by jumping backwards, away from her.

"No! I trusted you! You promised I'd be safe!" She looked between the members of the group, her eyes landing on Calleigh. Calleigh averted her eyes and looked to Horatio.

"What can we do?" That was the last thing Danny heard. She wasn't even sure who said it. Her mind was spinning. It felt like her entire world was coming to an end. It was up to her. It always was. She knew what she had to do. She looked at Calleigh, who now had her back turned to Danny. She would only have a fraction of a second to do this, and it had to work. If she miscalculated even a fraction of a millimeter….

She took a few steadying breaths before enacting her plan. Before anyone could react, Danny had wrapped one arm around Calleigh's neck while the other pulled her pistol out of the holster and cocked it. Horatio acted just as quickly as Danny had and now his weapon was trained on Danny as well as he could with Calleigh being used a shield. Natalia stood behind Horatio, she had no weapon.

"Danny…"

"No, no more negotiating. I'm going to get in the elevator. I'm going to walk out the front door, and you aren't going to stop me. You will tell security to stand down. In return, she's free at the front door. If you decide to play hero, you better make it a head shot, or else I'm going down pulling the trigger, and she might live, she might not. Are you willing to risk her life? She knows I won't even blink if it keeps me away from him!"

"Horatio, listen to her, please." Calleigh wasn't afraid for herself as much as she was afraid for Danny.

"Calleigh, she may pull the trigger at the doors."

"She won't."

"How do you know?"

"I know you don't trust her, but please trust me, Horatio." Her eyes begged for him to listen.

He resigned by lowering his weapon. Danny backed up to the elevator. She stood still for a moment. "Change of plans!"

She pulled Calleigh through the door to the stair well and jammed the door with a nearby chair used by an absent security guard. She released Calleigh neck, but stayed behind her and kept the gun pointed at her head. She gave Calleigh a little push towards the "down" stairs and told her to move. They quickly made their way down to the underground parking garage.

Moments later, Horatio, Natalia and many members of security waited anxiously in the lobby. "Where the hell are they?" Natalia asked out loud, but mainly to herself.

A security guard came running to them, "They are in the parking garage. Camera's just caught them coming out of the stairwell. And like that, they were on the move.

"I'm sorry, Calleigh." Danny said as they approached the vehicle entrance. She heard Danny disengage the weapon.

"I know."

Danny removed the gun from Calleigh's head. She flipped it around so the barrel faced her and handed it back. Calleigh took it and holstered it. They stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"Give me a few minutes. I need to get my things from your house. Then I'll be gone. I can't go back. I know you don't understand, and you don't know the details of my life, but it's bad. And if I go back, I will die."

"I can stall them until he gets here. They know we're in the garage. You should go before they get here."

"Thank You!" Danny wrapped her arms around Calleigh, and Calleigh returned the embrace. It was the most sincere thing either had felt in a long time. Danny added in a whisper, "for everything."

"Go!"

And she did. By the time Calleigh herd her colleagues enter the garage, Danny was out of sight.