Chapter Nineteen: No One Else Comes Close

The building was quickly evacuated, all personal leaving by the nearest exit and going to stand on the far side of the parking lot. They practiced the drill at least twice a month to make sure that everyone understood. All evidence in the middle of being processed was locked in the safe each room contained, though tests continued to run. Places like the Gun Locker and Morgue were locked down tight so that no one could get in to take anything. There would be no case of body snatching at this lab. The only two people that remained in the lab were Speed and Horatio. The younger man stayed in reception, waiting for his boss to show up. And when he did he looked less than pleased that Speed was still standing there. He took one look at the box and decided to call the bomb squad to be on the safe side, though he judged that it wasn't quite the threat he'd been expecting. At least not so soon. The call for bomb squad was placed and Horatio directed Speed out of the lab.

They stopped at the front door. "Go join the others, Speed."

"Aren't you coming?" Speed looked back over his shoulder at his boss.

Horatio shook his head. "No, I'm going to remain right here until the bomb squad arrives."

"Then I'll wait with you."

"I don't want you near the building Speed," Horatio said with concern in his voice. "The building was evacuated quite a few minutes ago. The others are most likely worried about you. Go. And that's an order."

"H-"

"Speed…" There was an edge to Horatio's tone which was quite unusual when he was talking to his friends; it was something he reserved for criminals and crooks. "And tell the others not to come anywhere near here until the all clear is given."

"Sure," he muttered as he headed across the parking lot. He wanted to stay behind with Horatio to insure that the other man stayed safe. There was a feeling of…something almost like doom building deep in his gut and he didn't like it. Something unpleasant was going to happen before the day was through. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he threaded his way through the cars in the parking lot. The other workers were talking amongst themselves, not really worried about what was going on; to them it was just another drill, another day at work. None of them realized that a threat had been made against the lab. None of them realized that their lives could very well end just because they chose to work where they did. The closer he got the more upset he became with them. There was possibly a bomb inside the lab and most of them were treating this time as an extra break, laughing and smiling. He felt the urge to throw up but managed to keep from doing so.

He was a few feet away when someone broke from the pack and ran toward him. Calleigh threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"Uh, Cal," he said, made somewhat uncomfortable by her actions. Looking over her shoulder he saw Jake shake his head. Delko averted his gaze, gazing at the ground.

She let her arms slip from his neck and took firm hold of his hand, walking him toward the others. "I was worried, Speed. You weren't here and neither was Horatio. I kept imagining all these awful things…Is everything okay? This isn't a drill is it?"

By now they had joined the others and they were looking to him for answers. He looked at Calleigh. "Remember that voice, the guy with the accent that was on the tape?" When she nodded that she knew what he was talking about he continued. "Well he was here and he left behind a package. Horatio wants to make sure that it's not a bomb or something along those lines." As if on cue three vehicles entered the parking lot with bold print on the side claiming them as property of the bomb squad. A hush fell over the crowd as the knowledge that something serious was amiss settled over them. It was no longer just drill.

Speed took the opportunity to slip away well all the others were occupied with what was going on. He found a tree not too far away from the lab at the farthest reaches of the property and leaned against it, his arms crossed over his chest. He was a mix of emotion, a bundle of nervous energy and he didn't want to be around anyone else until he got control of himself. The tremor in his hand was still there, stronger than ever, another reason he kept his arms crossed. He didn't want anyone to see it. Closing his eyes he inhaled the scent of the rain that had passed through not so long ago, though the sun had already removed most of the evidence left by the storm, the scent of the cleansing remained a little while longer. With his eyes closed he could hear the sound of someone walking on the grass toward him. And he had a pretty good hunch who it was.

"Looks like they're going to be clearing the place soon," Delko said as he stepped up beside Speed.

"That's good news," Speed replied. He kept his eyes shut and made no attempt to move.

A moment passed before Delko spoke again. "I was worried about you when you didn't come out of the building right away…I thought that maybe something had happened to you."

"I was waiting for H."

Delko went on as though Speed hadn't said anything. "I had this horrible feeling that I wasn't going to be seeing you again. There's an alarm but you aren't there and…my mind went on this rather depressingly dark path throwing out pictures of what might have happened. The thought of losing you…no one comes close to you, Tim. No one."

He finally looked at his friend. "I don't know what to do."

"About what?"

"This…thing between us," he said with a gesture of his hand, "whatever you want to call it. I don't know what to do about it."

Delko shrugged. "An answer one way or the other would be nice."

"Eric…"

"I'm not going to go anywhere, Tim. I promise that I will always be here."

"Stop it," Speed snapped, though his heart wasn't really in it. "Just stop it."

Before Delko could say another word they were joined by Calleigh. She had a slight apprehensive smile on her face almost as though she realized she was interrupting something important. "Sorry to bother you guys but the buildings been cleared and the boss wants to talk with us." Delko fell into step beside her as they headed back toward the lab. He waited a moment longer, releasing a deep breath as he tried to still the tremor in his hand.