Title: In The Line of Fire

Timeline: 7x25 "Seeing Red"

Author: Quitethefangirl

Genre: Angst/Crime

Summary: Eric is missing and on top of that the team is facing another battle and Stetler is behind the gun. As the team' searches for Eric and they put under administrative review by IAB.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author Note: For felixlee14, I hope there is enough of Calleigh's feelings to your liking in this chapter and I promise there will be more in the next chapter also. Anywhooser I had I crazy week, I started school, I crashed my computer (this would have been posted way earlier) and I (BIG EMPHASIS on the I) fixed it (and they call themselves techies), I rode public transportation for the first time (a bike was stolen from the front of the bus, there was a yelling match between two passengers. There was this man who was eavesdropping and participating in my phone conversation. I had to touch that pully thing to make the bus driver stop and it was gross, thank God for Purell. I missed my bus home by seconds because the light at the crosswalk turned red and had to wait 30 minute from a new one to come, but I met a fellow art student from my school. Ironically we had the same stop and it was both of our first times riding the bus, also we once meet in passing once at a scholarship interview, I let him go before me because I was late and he was early. Random, but yeah. Well let me shut up, you've come to read the story and not about my life.

Chapter 6

Closure and Exposure

Calleigh headed towards the ME's office. She wasn't sure why she wanted to check the morgue, if Eric was there she would already know, but she needed some kind of closure. She forced her mind to wander; thinking about anything other than Eric. Her thoughts wandered to who was working the post; there had been so much drama in the ME's Office lately.

After Alexx's departure, they had gone through five different ME's. One had ended up on the table before she even had the chance to work it. Tara Price, the latest ME's was arrested for stealing evidence a few weeks ago and was facing charges. A replacement hadn't been hired but with the shootout and the car accident earlier, it was sure to be chaos.

There had been many fatalities on both sides, leaving a large trail of bodies and Calleigh was confident those weren't the only deaths in Miami-Dade County today. There were probably a handful of other bodies, too. Calleigh was sure a very tired, overworked, stressed out, night shift medical examiner was manning the post. He would be cranky because he was supposed to be off today and asleep at home after pulling doubles almost all week; he'd be barking order at the staff and would only be annoyed by her presence. When she neared the office and walked through the doors, she was shocked at who greeted her.

It was Alexx; she was alone, bent over a body examining it. She greeted Calleigh without looking up.

"Hey Calleigh, how you holding up baby girl?" she said in a gentle, concerned voice.

"Hey Alexx, you know I'm really not sure," Calleigh said below a whisper. "It's like there's some moments of hope and other moments I keep blaming myself and I'm angry; I yelled at him. I-I don't know." She leaned up against the cold chamber, eyes closed, and her hand to her head. She found herself fighting tears once again. She quickly changed the subject. "How'd you end up here? Are you back?"

Alexx started to pry a bullet from forehead of the dead body. She looked up at Calleigh. The younger woman looked a little worse for wear; her eyes and nose were puffy and red, Alexx didn't have to be a medical examiner to tell she had been crying, a lot.

"When I heard about the shootout and Eri- everything," she thought it was best not the mention Eric's name, she looked down, focusing back to the task at hand and finished examining the body. "I called Horatio to see if there was any way I could help. I know about the misfortune of the last ME; I make Ryan keep me updated with all the office drama I'm missing. So I offered expertise and they were glad to accept. Ted, the poor man could barely keep eyes open he was worn so ragged, he practically bolted when I arrived to replace him. I'm glad to help, albeit temporarily and despite the circumstances, I'm glad to be back, after years of working with the dead, it a big adjustment working with the living let me tell you, you have to get used to patients who fight back."

That made Calleigh chuckle a little and smile. Alexx looked up at her and smiled, too.

"That's my Calleigh," she smiled. It was the reaction she was hoping for. She put the bullet into a baggie and prepped the body to be placed in the cold chamber. She washed down her tools and hands, disrobed and removed her gloves. Walking to Calleigh, the ME pulled her into a hug before pulling back and cupping Calleigh's face with her hands.

"Love is hard, baby girl but don't lose hope. You'll be back in his arms in no time." Alexx said, wiping away stray tear from Calleigh's cheek. A teary Calleigh smiled, tightly. It was times like these when she felt Alexx was more of a mother to her than her own.

"How did you know about-" she started.

"I knew before you did, Honey. I knew before either of you." Alexx smiled, they both laughed.

A few assistant ME's arrived with more bodies. Calleigh knew Alexx had to get back to work so she took this as her cue to leave. Calleigh thanked Alexx as she left. She didn't need to check the bodies; Alexx's words of wisdom were the best closure she could ask for. With a renewed sense of hope, she headed to her car.

After Calleigh left the locker room, Ryan sat and pondered of a second. He looked at his watch and thought it best to check the garage and see if the car had arrived yet. He got up and started walking towards the garage when he felt someone following him. He looked back to be greeted by none other than Rick Stetler.

"Mister Wolfe, I've been looking for you. Ms. Duquesne has already managed to evade me, so you're the next best witness; both you and she were there when everything went down. I need you to answer some questions." He said.

Ryan continued walking. "I have direct orders to be elsewhere. I'll answer your questions when I have the time, but at the moment I have more pressing priorities." He told Stetler curtly.

"If you're heading to the garage to process that car I can't let you do that. I can't have you compromising evidence." Stetler in a snippy voice.

Ryan turned and started to walk toward Stetler. He stopped just short of the IAB Agent's personal space. "What are you talking about, Rick? And how could I be compromising evidence? Care to explain?" Ryan spat angrily to his face before walking away.

"You know 'people' talk and I um hear that hindering a police investigation is a huge offense, so is aiding and abetting. That's two strikes, totaling up three strikes on your record over all and you know what they say – three strikes and you're out Mr. Wolfe." Rick shot at him.

Ryan froze in his tracks. Stetler's words scared him, but he tried his best to hide it in his outward appearance. Was he talking about the Billy Gantry incident? Though he lost a lot of trust over the whole thing, the team understood there were extenuating circumstances. Horatio and the team dealt with the issue privately and thought it best not involve IAB.

There was no way that Stetler could know about it, unless someone on the team told him. Natalia wasn't involved. Calleigh and Eric were pretty upset and angry about it at first, but when Horatio explained the reasoning for Wolfe's actions, they cooled down. He was sure they wouldn't go telling Stetler, he trusted them and he knew them better than that, but something still nagged him.

No, no one on the team would sell him out. Eric was mad, but he thought he knew him better than that, he wouldn't, but then again, he didn't think he'd be working with the mob. What else was he doing there? He was at the armory when the Russians where robbing it and he wasn't on police business. Or maybe Calleigh said something; she can get really hot and bothered about following procedures when it is not her breaking them. Maybe it was the both of them; they have been acting very secretive lately. Heck maybe it was Natalia, she's shown how good she can be at observing and reporting.

"Wait, what I am I thinking? They'd never do anything like that. Stetler's just messing with my head, trying to get me to sell myself out." Ryan thought.

Ryan turned to face Stetler once more, chuckling at him. "Interesting accusation there, Rick, however if I was actually guilty of this crimes you are accusing me of, then why are you standing here alone and not accompanied by some officers, making an official arrest. As for hindering, you're pretty good at it yourself, so if you would so kindly hinder me no further I have a car to process. Excuse me." He turned and continued on his way to the garage.

"You're not getting away with this Mr. Wolfe and I expect you for questioning in the morning. Horatio Caine can't save you this time." He yelled at Ryan. "He can't save any of you." He added in a voice only audible to himself.

Ryan ignored Stetler and continued to the garage. When he was safely inside, he pulled out his phone and dialed Horatio.

"Ryan, you have any news on the car?" Horatio answered the phone without a greeting, a usual anxiousness in his voice.

"Um no, I was confronted by Rick Stetler when I was on my way to. He threatened me with charges. He said he couldn't let me process the car because he fears I'll compromise evidence, H. What does that mean?" He lowered his voice before frantically adding, "He threatened me with hindering a police investigation and aiding and abetting. I think he-"

Horatio cut him off "Ryan, calm down and finish the task at hand; process the car. I don't know Stetler's game, but he has no ground to stand on. Your actions are no secret; they're common knowledge. The chief is aware of what happened with that case. I explained the circumstances to him so that if ever a situation like this would arise, you wouldn't be reprimanded this time. That's how I got the Gantry's placed in protective custody. So take a few breaths, clear your head and process the car. Call me when you get something, I'll deal with Stetler."

With that he ended the call. Ryan breathed a deep sigh of relief and smiled. Stetler had him really scared. Putting on his lab coat and a pair of latex gloves, he began to process the car. He started in the front, dusting the steering wheel and dash board area for prints; he managed to pull a few useable ones that he was sure belonged mostly to Eric and Sharova. When he was done lifting the prints he started looking for a bullet, hoping from the most part Calleigh missed her target, but judging by the blood on the seat it was less than likely.

Using the bullet holes Calleigh made in the glass, he developed a bullet trajectory. As he inserted the rods through the holes, he noticed there was something off about the holes. From what he could remember in the frantic rush of the shooting, Calleigh only let out about three to four rounds at Eric. There were only two bullet holes, which could mean that the rest were still in Delko, but it was the size of the two holes that seemed strange.

The hole that was located 3/4 from top of the driver's seat was circular and consistent with the size of the .45 caliber bullet of Calleigh's standard-issue weapon, but the other hole that was between the middle and the center back seat was nothing more than a slit. It was so small he almost disregarded it as just a rip in the fabric. He was no ballistics expert, but he knew it definitely wasn't made by any standard-issue weapon the police department used.

What took him as strange was the fact that there was only one hole in the front window of the car. By the positioning of the bullet in the back seat, it couldn't have come from anywhere but the front window. It puzzled him. From what he remembered in the rush of the shooting, Calleigh was at the very edge on the police barricade and no one was standing in front of the car. He had no clue where the bullet had come from. He realized there had to be a second shooter aiming at Eric too, for what reason he didn't know; if Eric was even the target he didn't know. But whatever weapon the shooter used, must have been a long range gun because no one knew the second shooter existed until now.

*singing* You've read it, so review it. There nothing to it, you you can do it. You love it, you hate it, lets negotiate it, lets lets debate it (I know, I need help lol)- Quitethefangirl