A/N: Thank you all very much for your kind reviews, and adding me to all your lists, it means a lot to me. I hope you're gonna like the following chapter too.

Disclaimer: I only own Ann Evans and Ryan's family as portrayed here.

Chapter 10

"…a man on your side… Someone that you think that you can trust is just another way to diiiiieeeee…. It's another way…… Shoot 'em up, bang bang!" (1)

Ryan opened his eyes, "Oh yeah, just great. Hopefully that doesn't mean bad news…" He turned the alarm off. "Shoot 'em up, bang, bang… If I'm lucky I get to shoot those bloody terrorists…" Then he realized it was the morning after. He immediately turned the clock radio back on, not wanting to miss the news.

"Police has been called to a scene in the middle of the night when the house of the well known scientist Hans Kaufman had been broken into. According to the police, nothing had been stolen. But of course, the people of Miami are very aware of the fact that only yesterday, television reported on the fact that Kaufman was developing a new nerve toxin and that terrorists have kidnapped a well-known safe cracker to help them get that toxin. The question now is whether or not this break-in has anything to do with the terrorist threat… Weather forecast: The sun is…"

Ryan turned the radio of again. So, Ann had managed to break into the house. At that precise moment his cell phone rang. He answered it immediately:

"Wolfe?

"It's me, Ann."

"Everything alright?"

"Yes. Everything as we planned. And you were right. Colourless liquid. Like water."

"Somebody called you already?"

"Yes. Tonight, 11:30, South beach. I told them to bring Ron or else they wouldn't get the toxin. They told me to come alone."

Ryan grinned, "They always do. I'll get the cops there. You just prepare the placebo, alright?"

"Yeah… You really think this will work?"

"We're all trained people. If they bring Ron along, we'll get him. And we sure as hell will get them…"

-----

At 11 PM, everything was set. Ann was there, dressed all in black. Ryan watched her from his hiding place. She was there, walking around like it was an ordinary evening walk. Nothing suggested she was nervous, or that anything was unusual. Ryan had hidden behind a huge sand bank, his gun already drawn. He couldn't see them, but he knew there must have been about half of the Miami PD around to cover them. When he had met Horatio this morning, he had told him everything. Horatio had not been too thrilled about Ryan's actions, but he had finally admitted it had been a good idea and had made sure neither Ryan nor Ann would be punished for it. After all, Horatio knew well enough that, had it been a member of his family, he would have done the same. Now Horatio was in his Hummer, a few miles away from South Beach. The whole area was secured as much as they could without being too obvious. If the terrorists appeared, they would never get out again.

--

At exactly 11:30, a car appeared at the beach. Ann, who had been sitting in the sand, got up and walked to one of the streetlamps, so that they would see she was already there. Ryan watched them without moving. He and Ann had agreed on which streetlamp she should go to, so that he could see her. Now she leaned against it. The car came to a halt; a door opened. Ryan could hear steps on the sand. And then a voice:

"Miss Evans… I'm glad you finally agreed on meeting with us. Where is the toxin?"

"Where is my partner?" Ryan had to admit, she was smart. Asking for her partner could mean anything, from workmate to lover. Like this, they would perhaps not try to blackmail her with some 'do this or we kill your boyfriend' talk.

"First the toxin."

"First my partner."

Ryan heard the distinctive click of a gun.

"You don't really think we're gonna do this according to your rules, lady? Give me the toxin."

"No. First I want to know if you're ready to fulfil your part of that deal." Ann, who was obviously at the business end of the gun, didn't show any sign of fear. Ryan didn't know why, but he felt deep inside that this wasn't the first time Ann Evans had a gun pointed at her. A long silence made him feel uncomfortable. He knew if he decided to end the show, if he needed to get out of his hiding place to protect Ann, it was over. For them and for Ron. He put it off. If they were lucky, Ann managed to see if Ron was really with them before she had her brains blown out.

Then the man broke the silence. "Get him out."

Another car door opened, the noise of something falling down on the ground and then Ryan heard Ann screaming, "Ron!!!!"

And then he heard the voice of his uncle, "Ann, don't do it!! Run!!!"

"Shut up!" the voice yelled at him, and the noise of a foot hitting flesh was followed by Ron's pain filled scream. Ryan felt his fingers holding his gun tighter.

But Ann already said, "Stop that. Ok, here's what we gonna do. Your friend over there comes here, with my partner, and then we have a nice, clean exchange. What do you say?"

There was again a silence, but then he said, "Okay, lady. But don't pull any tricks around me, because I will shoot your pretty face into pieces… Okay, come over here, and bring the guy with you!" Ryan turned around a bit to see something. It was in that moment when it happened. Sirens. Immediately the voice said, "I told you to play no tricks on me, lady!" A shot echoed, a dumb noise followed and then steps running away from the scene. Ryan got out of his hiding place and pointed his gun at the man running away from the scene.

"Miami Dade Police, put your hands in the air!" But the man didn't stop. And worse, he still had a firm grip on Ron, so Ryan didn't dare to shoot in case he'd hit his uncle. So he just repeated, "Put your hands in the air or I'll shoot!" He fired a shot in the direction of the car, but missed the back tyre only by a few inches. In the meantime the guy had opened the car door and had pushed Ron into it. He followed, and the car started speeding up before the door was closed. Ryan pulled his cell out and called Horatio: "Horatio, it failed, they still have my uncle. They've just driven away, heading east. It's a black SUV. I'm alright, yes… Ann?" He turned around to see that Ann was actually sitting in the sand, hand clutched tightly around her finger. Next to her lay the body of a man, dressed in black too. Ryan frowned, "Yeah, I think Ann might be alright too… You mighty wanna send some guys over; we have one of the terrorists…. You see the other ones? Give them hell, Horatio." He put his cell away. "Is he….?"

"No, unconscious. When I heard the sirens, I pushed his hand away from my face and planted a punch on his chin… Black belt… Always comes in handy. But I think I broke my finger…"

Ryan knelt down and took a look at her hand, "Yeah, definitely. We'll get you to the hospital." He then shook his head. "We were so close…."

"Why the sirens?"

"They were probably on some other call. God damn it."

"At least we now Ron's still alive…"

Ryan shook his head; now he was desperate, "They'll kill him now. I fucked up…"

Ann reached in her pocket and took something out, "We still have the toxin…. And we have one of them. Maybe this guy's important enough for them to agree on an exchange…"

Ryan heard sirens approach. "Let's hope you're right…" He got up and waved the patrols to come over. "Take him to hospital and then back to HQ. And don't let him alone, not even for a second. I'll send one of the team over to process him." The patrol nodded and brought the unconscious man to the car. Then he turned back to Ann. "Do you think you can handle the pain? I… I need to call someone to process you too. You might have some evidence on you…"

"Yeah, sure…. It's not that bad if I don't move my finger…" She gave him a weak smile. Ryan returned it and got back on his phone.

---

Calleigh arrived as soon as she could. She gave Ryan an encouraging smile. "It's gonna be alright. We're gonna find your uncle…"

"You think so?"

"Of course, Ryan. Remember, we have one of them in our hands now. Eric will find something that will lead us to them. We're the CSI. We're scientists. And science will help us." She walked over to Ann. "I heard you have one hell of a punch?"

Ann smiled, "You never know who you're gonna meet on… well, a case, so to say."

"You're right about that one. Now, let's see what you've got for me…."

----

Eric, in the meantime, had driven to the hospital. The terrorist's clothes were already bagged and sealed. The terrorist himself lay handcuffed to a bed and had decided to not speak a word, nor give out his DNA. But Delko had time. Frank Tripp had already been sent to the nearest judge to get a warrant for fingerprints and DNA, so it was only a matter of minutes before he would be able to get what he wanted. In the meantime, he sat there, giving the terrorist the silent treatment and admiring the bruise he was sporting. But also worrying. Would they get Ryan's uncle back at all? He had been through such cases before, and they rarely ended happily ever after. Especially not for the hostages…. He was interrupted in his thoughts by his cellphone. Tripp.

"Yeah, it's Delko."

"I faxed your warrant over to the hospital. Sorry I couldn't come along, but I have been called to another scene. Kidnapping."

"You need some assistance?"

"Natalia is on her way already. I'm not yet at the scene, so I don't know how messy it is."

"Alright, I'll be done here in a few, you need any help, call someone from night shift."

"Got that." Frank hung up, and Delko left the room to get the fax.

----

Horatio arrived on the beach. He shook his head at Ryan's hopeful look, "I'm sorry, Mr Wolfe, but we lost them. How are you and Ms Evans?"

"Calleigh is on her way back to the lab, and a patrol drove Ann to the hospital. She'll meet with you in HQ later to give her statement."

"Very good…." His cell phone rang. "Excuse me…" He took it out. "Yes, Frank?.... I see… Any idea where?... Tell Ms Boa Vista I'll join her immediately…." He put the cell phone away. "Mr Wolfe… We have a situation…."

"What?"

"Apparently, after the terrorists got away from us, they stopped in front of the Hyatt hotel and took a civilian who was just standing there hostage…" He paused and looked deep into Ryan's eyes. "The hostage is your mother."

--

(1) Jack White and Alicia Keys - Another way to die

I don't own music or lyrics