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Four Years later...

Jack sat on a cold cement floor, with his knees to his chest. The small cubicle had walls made of sheet metal. Three other boys sat quietly in the room with him. He ran his fingers through the dirt on the floor. HIs eyes traveled across the pockmarked cement to the door jamb.

Jack looked closely at the door, there was a sliver of weak light leaking through. He stood up carefully, with the other boys' eyes on him. He pushed the door and inch.

"Let's get out of here," Jack whispered and looked up and down a dimly lit hallway before running barefoot into the slight hope of freedom. There were deadbolts on other cubicles like theirs, and he began to open them. Soon he had seventeen other boys aged eight to eleven following him.

They could not hear anything but the dull screams of seagulls and waves on a beach. Jack found another door and opened it a crack before opening it and walking into a large dusty room. It was dark, and filled with old rusty machines that loomed in the dark. The boys could hear distant voices, and were as quiet as possible though the cluttered warehouse.

One boy stepped on a nail, and his yelp rang through the steel cieling. The boys froze when the voices stopped and a door banged open somewhere to the west of the building. Jack led a blind sprint through the dirt and found a large sliding door. He wrattled the padlock in dispair.

Pop. Pop.

Two shots rang out and struck the metal two feet from him. He screamed before darting into the darkness behind machines. He felt his way along the wall, trying to ignore the shreiks of others, who were not as fortunate as he was. Jack found a small, translucent window along the floor and managed to push it open. He crawled under the small opening and groaned a little as he tore his belly up.

He crawled onto the sandy gravel and panted there for a moment. Jack sprung up and tried to find a door. He found one on the side, and opened it.

"This way!" Jack called to a small group who had managed to hide in the corner. The trembling boys ran out with him and into a few alleys. They ran for a few minutes before emerging under a boardwalk. Jack fell onto the sand and laid there. The Miami night was warm and humid, but at least it wasn't cold, Jack reasoned with himself. "I think we'll be safe here." Jack said and listened for anyone.

Police sirens sounded in the distance, someone had reported gun fire.

"Where are we?" One boy asked, looking around.

"I don't know." Another answered him.

"On the beach." Jack shrugged. "Let's keep going a little bit."

"Shouldn't we go to the police?"

"Not for a while." Jack said and walked farther down the boardwalk. The boys found a secluded place to hide and slept until dawn.

0000000000

Horatio was called out at three in the morning to supervise the investigation. He went to the warehouse first, and got the night shift started on processing. He worked on his own room before taking the fingerprints and DNA he had found back to the lab.

He handed his results over and checked in on the four men they had arrested at the scene. Horatio wanted to wait for Eric to start interrogations. Natalia arrived first, and began running DNA through the system.

"Do you have anything, Natalia?" Horatio looked in on her after a half hour.

"I have good news, and bad news. What do you want first?"

"Good news."

"Okay. All four men have been arrested before, for... several crimes against children offenses. I have hits in missing persons for three children so far."

"What's the bad news?"

"This is a Federal case. They have jurisdiction, apparently this case started in Virginia."

"Dammit. I expect a call soon then. Or they'll just show up." Horatio pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned on the table. He composed himself before walking out of the room. "Good job Natalia." he called over his shoulder. Dawn was just breaking, and his team began to show up. Horatio sent them directly to the crime scene before trying to make a decent cup of coffee.

"Horatio, call for you," Frank sleepily told him, once he caught up in the interrogation room.

"From who?"

"The 'Behavioral Analysis Unit,' what ever the hell that is."

"You got me Frank." Horatio sipped the bitter coffee before walking up to his office to take the call privately. He shut the door behind him and took a seat at his desk. "Lieutenant Horatio Caine." He picked up the phone and put his feet up on the desk. The door to his office opened and Rick Stetler stepped inside. Get out, Horatio mouthed and gestured at him. "I just found that out." He said and threatened Rick with a shoe. The Sergeant ignored him and began rearranging things on the shelf. "I understand. Can my team stay on the case? We already have a good head start in processing the building." Horatio threw the shoe and it landed right in the middle of Rick's back. "No, we haven't found any children yet. I have search parties and dogs out right now." Rick took his hand and knocked all of the books to the floor. "No, they aren't finished yet." Horatio threw another shoe, and it bounced off the wall. "Okay, I'll see you then." Horatio hung up the phone. "What do you want Stetler?" he growled.

"You have are being accused of brutality." Rick drawled.

"Why? Who is charging me?"

"Remember that raid last week?"

"Oh, yes. Look Rick, I have the FBI coming, and I don't have time for an interview right now." Horatio stood up to retreive his footwear.

"Alright, but I don't know how long I can wait."

"Don't worry about it. You'll get your interview." He opened the door. "Get out."