Chapter Twenty-nine: The Call

He slept soundly for hours, oblivious to the world around him. His slumber was deep, taking him to places he had not been since the shooting. For once his dreams did not torment him, did not force him awake in cold sweats, his heart beating fast like he'd run a marathon. Someone spoke his name. He felt a touch upon his shoulder. Then lower on his arm. They spoke his name again, this time louder, more firm. His world began to shake ever so slightly. Then he heard someone yelling his name, a pressure on his arm. It finally began to draw him from the depths of his slumber, his eyes fluttering open. He found himself gazing into Delko's brown eyes, his friend crouched beside the bed.

Delko smiled. "Boy, who would have thought of you as a sound sleeper?"

"I haven't really been one for a while now," Speed replied, rolling onto his back. "What's up?" He checked his watch, which was still on his wrist. It was nearing noon.

"We have to go in," Delko told him. "Horatio said he was sorry that he had to disturb you after sending you home to sleep but he really needs all hands on deck."

"Something happen?"

Delko shrugged, having climbed to his feet. "He wouldn't say over the phone. He just gave me an address and said to meet him there as soon as possible, that I should bring you with me. So let's go, get up, get dressed. We can grab you a bite to eat on the way."

"Yes, daddy," Speed mumbled as he threw back the covers. He climbed out of bed, heading toward his dresser. Delko left the bedroom without saying anything but he could still hear his friend poking around in other parts of the apartment. He pulled a tee-shirt out of one of the drawers without bothering to see what it was. Usually he wore nice dress shirts to work but he wasn't in the mood to fuss with buttons. Horatio wouldn't mind. All that mattered to him was his CSI's doing their job efficiently and professionally. And as long as they didn't look like complete slobs or street-walkers they were free to wear what they wanted. He slipped the shirt over his head and thought about changing his jeans but passed on the idea. Who was going to know they were the same jeans from the day before? And did it really matter? They were probably going to get dirty anyway. He tried to tame his wild hair but found that it wasn't as easy as he expected. Giving up he made sure to retrieve his badge and gun from the drawer of his nightstand before leaving his bedroom behind. He may have had only a few hours of sleep but he felt surprisingly refreshed and ready to face whatever had been thrown their way.

Delko was leaning against the wall by the front door waiting for him. "Are you ready to do this?"

"Like I have any choice," Speed replied, slipping on his shoes. "So what do you think has happened that Horatio can't tell us over the phone?"

His friend shrugged. "Not a clue. I flipped on the tee-vee to see if maybe there was some breaking news or something but there's nothing. Whatever it is the media hasn't caught wind of it yet."

"Surprising, and somewhat shocking," Speed remarked.

"Tell me about it," Delko said. He opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. "Oh, don't worry about your dog. I fed him while you were resting."

"Thanks." Speed closed the door to his apartment, locking it. Before long they were stepping outside into the bright glare of the Miami sun. He was thankful to have remembered to grab his shades off the kitchen counter before leaving. The worst thing he could have done would be to forget them. Investigators missed evidence when they had to squint because of the bright sun. He climbed into the passenger side of Delko's truck. "I can't wait to get back on my bike."

"That thing is a death machine," Delko commented, putting the key in the ignition and starting the engine.

"Just because you can't handle two wheels and play with the big boys…"

Delko chuckled, pulling out of the parking space.

--

Fifteen minutes later he was pulling up on the crime scene that Horatio had given him directions to. Normally he would have run by the lab but H informed him that there was no time and that his and Speed's kits would be waiting at the scene. As he parked behind one the of lab's Hummers, shutting off the engine, he quickly glanced over at Speed. For some reason he felt unease about the sudden change in his friend's demeanor. Over the last month or so he'd been kind of dark, moody. More so than typical. Now all of sudden he seemed like his old self; moody but in an upbeat way. He wondered if maybe something was up and perhaps he should say something to their boss. They met around the front of the truck.

"I'll get our kits," Speed said. "Why don't you go see if you can wrestle the big secret out of H?"

"All right," Delko agreed. He headed across the expanse of green toward the water front. They were near the beach but not close enough that the crime scene spread into the sand and rocks. Now Delko understood why there weren't many reporters in the area. It wasn't a stretch of beach that would have been popular with tourists and locals alike. There were too many rocks, even boulders. This was a lone stretch of beach. And yet there was a car parked haphazardly in the sand, all four doors open. He found Horatio standing near a palm tree, his hands on his hips, his eyes trained on something on the ground. "Hey, H, what have we got?"

His boss looked at him. "Where's Speed?"

Delko pointed back toward the vehicles. "Getting our kits. He wanted me to see what was up. Actually…I wanted to have a word with you in private."

Horatio removed his sunglasses, looking Delko in the eye. "What's on your mind?"

Delko was quick to explain to his boss the sudden change in Speed and how it worried him. He was just finishing up when Speed joined them, a silver kit in each hand. Delko took his, thanking him. Then he turned back to Horatio. "So…what's the big crime?"

"We have another officer missing in action," Horatio dropped the bomb.

"Who?"

"Officer Jesup."