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3. Companionship Is Terrible

Danny walked back to the beach, disgruntled and upset with himself. Sam immediately picked up on this and sighed when he sat down again. "I told you it was a bad idea. You have it in your suitcase, right?"

He gave her a sour look. "Yes, I do. We've got to get back to the room in order to fix everything."

"You don't live in Greece, dude," Tucker joked, looking up from his PDA. "Throw it away once you've got the toga off."

"Just shut up," he snapped and marched off to the room.

Horatio walked out of the Medical Examiner's office and wandered into the lounge to grab himself a cup of coffee. A ghost signature that his team had never seen in their lives? How did they figure out it was from a ghost in the first place? There was no evidence, just the simple fact that a pink handprint was on the child's stomach, and the notion of a mother claiming she heard a gun when there was no gun. Where had he heard this before?

There was a rustling from behind him as he grabbed his coffee. He looked over his shoulder and noticed a man with icy blue eyes and silverish hair staring at him rather intently. Horatio's lips curled into a smile. "Well, shine the sun in my eyes. Vlad Masters, how in the world did you get in here without a visitor's pass?"

The forty year old billionaire from Wisconsin smirked and shut the blinds around the room. "I can be very persuasive when I want to, old friend," he replied, taking a seat in the chair, crossing his legs.

"So what brings you to the humidity of Miami, Florida, Vlad?" Horatio questioned, sitting down himself. He knew that the old companion was up to another kooky science experiment of sorts before he left for New York. The only question was, how kooky? And why did a nagging voice tell him not to trust Vlad? He pushed it aside as he waited for a reply from him.

Vlad cocked his head. "Oh, just some old relations and a young teen that constantly keeps my eyes open for anything unusual. You know the usual." He got up and got himself a cup of coffee. "What are you doing down here in Florida? I always thought you were a cold person."

"Times change and new possibilities arrive," Horatio told him, getting up and preparing to open up one of the curtains.

FWOOM!

A pink ghost ray zapped the cord to the blinds, catching the lieutenant by surprise. He whirled around and noticed Vlad succeeding in holding back a grin. Horatio frowned. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Vlad repeated innocently, although Horatio clearly knew he was lying. "I didn't see a thing."

"That pink beam," he explained, clearly confused at what just happened. His eyes narrowed. "You know what that was, don't you?"

"Not at all," the other replied mildly, getting up. "I'm simply wondering if you know where I can find a man who happens to work in this department, actually. Or should I say, very close to working in this department?"

Horatio glared at Vlad, the smile gone from his demeanor. "What are you talking about?"

Vlad cocked his head. "I do believe it is a certain man named… oh, butter nuts. Who was it? Ah, yes. Rick Stetler."

The lieutenant clenched up, teeth grinding. He raised an eyebrow. "Did I hit a nerve, Horatio?"

"No. Whatever made you ask that?" he replied, smiling dangerously. What in hell's name could Vlad want with Stetler? He was his archenemy, to say the least, and the two were often colder than ice to each other on various occasions. It didn't matter if it was over a sister in law or just the crime lab in general. They never got along. Never.

Vlad shrugged, matching Horatio's grin. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"Internal Affairs can give you some help with that. I'm not saying which department, though. That one, old friend- you're going to have to figure out for yourself."

Vlad opened the door outside and walked out of the lounge. "I can do that for myself," he replied. "It's all in the matter of how to ask someone's permission in having some help." He sauntered past the front desk and into the hallway down to the restrooms. Horatio pursed his lips. What was Vlad up to? And why didn't he like this feeling of evil that shrouded the man?

In the meantime, he'd start looking up some things on that ectoplasmic signature Alexx told him about. Maybe it would reach him closer to the killer. Or farther from the truth about Vlad.

Vlad rushed into the restroom down the hall and looked around, smirking. All was going exactly according to plan. With Daniel utterly confused at the hotel and Horatio completely oblivious to any slight implications he had made, he was utterly invincible. He morphed into his ghostly half Plasmius yet again and smiled in the mirror. "Plasmius, you truly are a genius!" he told his mirror image with glee, turning intangible and making his way to Trace.

Staying invisible, he observed Ryan Wolfe working and cleaning up every detail in his job. 'OCD, perhaps?' he thought submissively, watching his evidence he left behind be processed. 'He'd make a fine choice to take on a little side trip and get Daniel and Horatio together. Then I can take them out at the same time…'

Revised January 25, 2007.

Damned OOCness... I really was going to hurt myself for the way I did this chappie. Reviewed are enjoyed. Thanks for reading.