A/N: Agony and some disturbing scenes of torture. Please be advised.

Thank you for the all the reviews!

4 minutes ago…

Ryan lifted his head up from Horatio's lap, looked at him with pleading eyes and begged, "Kill me…please…"

"NO." Horatio firmly answered Ryan. "That, Mister Wolfe, is not a negotiation."

Horatio embraced the young CSI in his lap and whispered "I will not lose you, Ryan. If the price is my integrity, then so be it. But I will not lose you! Miami-Dade will not lose another CSI."

"'H'...Miami… can…can… survive without Wolfe…but…not…not…not Horatio Caine." Ryan sobbed against Horatio.

"Please…please…let it be the last thing…I do for…Miami…for, for you." Ryan gripped onto Horatio's hand tightly.

Horatio felt nauseating. For the past 3 days, he was willing to watch his CSI endured indescribable pain and only now he was ready to give-up his pride to end all of this.

"NO! Never! "Horatio screamed at some imaginary figure. Ryan tensed up at Horatio's outburst and Horatio's scream died down to a soft weeping "Please Ryan…stay with me."

Ryan lied there, too exhausted to argue. Either way, he was going to die from the blood lost soon. He was scared, but death would take all the pain away and that would be the silver lining.

Horatio's face felt wet and it took him several minutes to realize that tears were gently sloping down his face.

Ryan…if my integrity and my life can save you from death then I have no regret. At fifty-something, you can only protect the city for so long. I leave that responsibility to you. Live, that is all I ask.

The door opened and Kevin stepped inside with his men.

"Lieutenant, your time is up." Kevin announced

"Let him go, I need to see him safe before I say anything." Horatio responded

"Lieutenant Caine, you really do care about Wolfe and are willing to sacrifice justice for him." Kevin smiled at Horatio.

"Let him go first." Horatio tenderly laid Ryan on the ground and stood-up to face them.

"You have my personal promise not to kill him, but I need the address or else it's a bullet to his skull."

"Ryan needs medical attention now! I will provide you with the information. I need to know that you will keep your promise before I tell you guys anything." Horatio faced them without any hint of fear. It was a moment like that, which Kevin truly understood why people feared Horatio. Horatio's surrender felt like a curse had just put on Kevin. He felt he had angered gods by harming one of his creation and that the gods would punish him soon.

"Take him to the nearest hospital." Kevin said and pointed at Ryan. The man next to Kevin moved to contest, but Kevin held up a hand and stopped him.

Two men that had restrained Horatio earlier moved forward and lifted Ryan up by his shoulders and feet.

"Wait." Horatio shifted a little forward and held Ryan's hand. "Ryan…you will be ok…tell Kyle, I will miss him." Horatio said his good bye to Ryan, gently put Ryan's hand on his stomach and stepped back to let them take Ryan away.

"'H...H…" Ryan struggled against the two men lifting him, but his effort was not even noticeable.

Kevin and the other men stepped aside to let those carrying Ryan through.

"Lieutenant, the girl, where is she." Kevin asked.

Horatio took a deep breath, this was it, and it was all over.

"She doesn't exist, Kevin." Horatio answered him.

"What…??

"What the hell are you talking about?!"Kevin yelled and pulled out his gun and pointed directly at Horatio.

"Kevin, three months ago, director Gillies approached me about a leak in the FBI. Apparently, someone has been leaking information about drug busts in Miami. He wanted my help to flush the leak out because he didn't know who he can trust in the FBI. So I created the whole case about a drug dealer's death and spread the rumor that one of his clients was willing to provide us with information about a dirty cop in exchange for protection. Laure Day does not exist. I made her up to flush you out."Horatio finished up his story.

"Son of…"Kevin cursed. He was right, Horatio had flushed him out, but he didn't seal his faith. Kevin looked and Horatio and said,

"Good bye Caine."

And then all hell broke loose.

"MIAMI-DADE POLICE! DROP YOUR WEAPON! DROP IT NOW!" Eric busted through the door and grabbed the attention of everyone in there.

Before Kevin had time to react, Calleigh fired at him and the bullet found its mark on his temple.

"Don't even think about it or else you will end up like him." Calleigh warned at the other men in the room.

They held up their hands at Calleigh's intimidation.

"Horatio!" Frank followed by a few FBI agents ran toward Horatio.

"Frank, go find Ryan! They have him and he's hurt and needs help NOW!" It wasn't a request, it was an order. Frank stopped dead in his track, nodded his head and immediately ran out the room.

"Eric, search them for keys." Calleigh said when she noticed Horatio's ankles were chained to the wall.

The FBI agents and Eric pated the men for keys and at the same time confiscated their guns.

" Got it!" Eric prided at himself and walked over to free Horatio.

When Horatio said Ryan was hurt, Frank thought Ryan at worst had a bullet or two buried in him. But when Frank busted through a cranked wooden door, he found monsters inside torturing the young CSI. Without even processing, Frank shot them. He then turned and lost his lunch.

He ran as fast as he could. Later on, Frank would say the images would never leave him.

"We need…need rescues NOW! Ryan…Ryan…" Before Frank could finish, Horatio was running out the door. Calleigh and Ryan followed behind while the FBI agents cuffed the men in the room.

Horatio followed the trail of blood, Ryan's blood, down a path that led to a cranked wooden door. It was the basement. He could smell Frank's lunch and held his breath as he stopped at the door and slowly pushed it open.

There, three bodies greeted him, two sustained gunshot wounds and Ryan lied behind them very still. Horatio stepped over the two bodies and kneed by Ryan. Ryan was lying on his side and with his back toward Horatio.

Calleigh and Eric busted through the door at the same and gasped. In the room were all kinds of torture devices and restraints. There was dried blood on some of the chair in the room and the floor. Calleigh carefully walked forward to check the two men's necks. She shook her head at Eric to indicate there was no pulse. Somehow Eric was glad that they were dead because he would not hesitate to finish their lives.

Horatio kneed down and laid his hand on Ryan's back and the contact stirred Ryan. But Ryan didn't turn around. Instead Horatio heard Ryan pleaded.

"Please, I beg…beg… …have a little mercy…just end this…I can't take it anymore…" It was a desperate plea of a man in extreme agony.

Ryan didn't care anymore. He was in so much pain. He just wanted it to end. He didn't care if he sounded pathetic or weak. He just wanted the misery to end.

'Ryan, Son. It's ok. I got you…" Horatio whispered gently. Right now Horatio felt like a failed parent that couldn't protect his child.

Eric walked up to Horatio and his breath caught in his chest. There, lying in pool of blood was his co-worker, the one that he recently had a fight with.

"Eric, I need your jacket." Horatio asked. Without hesitating, Eric handed Horatio his jacket.

"Ryan you are safe now, Eric and I are here." Horatio comforted and gently rolled Ryan onto his back and covered his private area with Eric's jacket.

"Oh my god."Eric let out a breath.

Calleigh, wanted to give the boys some privacy, had step outside with tears in her eyes. She didn't need to see Ryan to know what he has been through. The devices in the room were enough prove.

"Oh my god…" Eric took a step back at the scene before him. Ryan's mutilated body stared back at him. Cuts, whipped marks, bruises and burns decorated Ryan's front.

Horatio was also taken back a bit. In the few minutes that Ryan was gone, it seemed like he had turned for the worst.

"Ryan?" Horatio whispered. His eyes cracked open just barely.

""H…" Ryan murmured and his bloody lips barely moved.

"Ryan, hang in there ok, help is coming." Horatio's voice sounded surprisingly calmed.

"My…my…"Ryan didn't want to ask for help. He was already ashamed that Horatio heard him begged. But something was hurting his hand really bad.

As if the parent in Horatio already knew his child's thought, "Where does it hurt?"

Eric saw something jabbing out of Ryan's fingernails, but he didn't know what it was.

"'H' something is in his nails." Eric said.

When Horatio lifted Ryan's hand, Eric saw what it was and let out a string of curses.

Needles were inserted under Ryan's fingernails. They poked out just under the skin. When Eric turned his head sideways, he noticed all the needles casted on the ground and realization drawn-upon him. The men had been torturing Ryan with sharp needles.

Eric bended down and began to pull the needles out of his fingernails. However, when he pulled, Ryan twisted and moaned and pulled his hand away from Eric.

"Ryan, stay still, I will be done in a moment." Eric said. However, the word failed to register for Ryan.

He tried to twist away and closed his eyes as tears fell down. He didn't care anymore. He was in a sea of pain. Ryan just wanted to end.

"Ryan, Son, it will be ok, I am here and I will not leave you alone." Horatio gently smoothed Ryan's hair. He looked so fragile and delicate as if a shift in wind could break him right now. Ryan cried as tears ran down the side of face and mixed with his blood on the ground. However, he did hold still for Eric to help him.

"Eric!"Horatio said and looked at his other CSI.

"I am almost done!" Eric answered back. Eric pulled out the last of the needles under Ryan's fingernails and casted to the side.

The pain Ryan was feeling earlier turned into a dull throbbing sensation. He lied there shivering and a coughing fit seized him as he trembled against the ground.

"Calleigh! Where are those medics?!" Eric yelled out the door.

"Breath, Ryan, don't rush." Horatio founded himself once again trying to calm his young CSI. They made it this far certainly faith couldn't be this cruel and take Ryan away from this world.

Ryan grabbed hold of Horatio's hand and shifted his focus on Horatio.

"I'm…'m…ok…my…birthday…going…tomake…it…" it was a weak attempt to reassure his boss and himself.

But after two minutes, Ryan was still coughing up blood. The field medics had already entered the room and busy trying to put an oxygen mask on him.

"Possible damage to the lung, we need to get him out of here now!" One field medic directed as the other two swiftly lifted Ryan onto a gurney. They covered him with a thin sheet. However, when they tried to put straps around him, Ryan reacted violently. He was kicking and screaming.

Horatio leaned forward and held Ryan's shoulders down.

"Son, Ryan, listen, they will not hurt you, and they are here to help you. Trust me Son, I am going with you." Horatio tried to calm Ryan down to no veil. It was then that one of the medics pulled out a needle

"I am going to sedate him."

The needle worsened the situation at hand and Eric had to pin Ryan's leg down to keep him from falling from the gurney.

"Put that away NOW!" Horatio ordered. The medic was taken back a little by his commanding voice and decided it would be wise to follow his order.

"Ryan, I need you to concentrate on my voice. No matter what happens, I will not let them hurt you. Please don't fight me anymore. Ryan, Son, Son?" Maybe it was Horatio's voice or maybe Ryan lost the strength to fight, he stopped the struggle and slipped in and out of conscious. His eyes would close for one second and then dazed at nothing the next. Horatio, Eric and the medics got him up the stairs and out the prison that had held them for the past 4 days.

Just as Ryan was loaded onto the ambulance, the FBI brought the men up and into the bus that had been waiting for them.

The man who had tortured Ryan for the past few days smiled and said "I enjoyed him, Lieutenant."

"I hope you will enjoy jail because they do things in there that are far worse than anything you had done to Ryan." Horatio didn't even look at him and climbed onto the ambulance.

Ryan lied there as his eyes searched for Horatio. A warm hand took his from under the sheet and Horatio came into view.

"It's going to be ok, Ryan, I promise."

Ryan took a deep breath through the oxygen mask and slowly closed his eyes, while Horatio sat there as tears rolled down his cheeks.

The rest of the CSI watched as the ambulance speeded away with flashing lights

Ryan Wolfe fits Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero perfectly. He experienced "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate." – Aristotle.