Chapter Thirty-seven: Yes, I Will

Back at the lab Calleigh was in the Ballistics Locker. She stood before the firing range, a weapon resting upon the table before her. The goggles she was supposed to wear for safety were next to the gun, her mind clearly anywhere but on the task at hand. She had meant to test a few firearms to see if maybe they could be linked to other crimes committed by the militia group but for some reason she froze up. Work had been getting increasingly harder with each passing day that they weren't able to make any headway on the case. Would she ever see Hagen again? When Jake had broken up with her she felt like shit, kind of like he never loved her at all. And then she realized that he was right; she still had deeply rooted feelings for Hagen. She was also quite the fan of Officer Jesup. He was a sweet kid, a good cop, and thinking about him made her think about Ryan for some reason. Maybe because she'd known Ryan as a patrol officer before he joined the team. She sighed, a hand going to her face. She pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned against the counter.

"Calleigh…?"

She turned to look over her shoulder, a smile immediately spreading across her face. "Hey Horatio."

"How are the tests going?"

"Well," she drawled, the familiar heat of a blush creeping across her cheeks, "to be honest, I'm having a little trouble concentrating today."

He smiled softly. "Glad to see I'm not the only one."

With relief she sagged back against the counter. "Is it just me or has work gotten really stressful?"

"It doesn't help that the Feds are starting to breathe down are necks," Horatio pointed out. "One wrong move and they'll take over the case. They have good resources and more manpower and as much as I hate to admit it, they know these people better than us. However, our comrades are the ones in danger so I'm not ready to relinquish this case. Not yet."

"I don't think anybody is ready to give up," she said. "Have you looked at the time sheets lately? Even Cooper and Valera are staying late to be of help wherever they can."

"It takes tragedy to pull us all together."

"No, not tragedy, just good friendship and the human condition," she said to him.

"Listen, Calleigh, do you think you can put thoughts of Hagen out of your mind for a short while?" he asked her softly, concern in his voice. "These guns…"

She smiled again. "I know. I'll get right on it. I promise." She even turned to slip on the goggles.

"Good. I'm going to head upstairs and see what the guys have managed to gather."

"We'll find the answers," she assured him. "We always do." What she didn't say was that sometimes they couldn't find them until someone died. That was something she just did not want to voice allowed.

--

Ryan was looking at the piece of paper in his hands like the words were in some foreign language. There was an answered somewhere in the jumble but for some reason he just couldn't make out what it was. He thought about approaching Delko and asking him what he saw but he'd been unable to find Delko or even Speed. At least the two of them were gone; which meant that they'd stuck to the whole buddy system. A part of him wished that at least one of them was still poking around the lab. They'd been at this job far longer than him and though he had made leaps and bounds since joining the team, there were always knew things for him to learn. He massaged his eyes the fingertips of his right hand and then looked at the paper again. He'd been running a test on some sort of substance. Usually it was Speed that did all the Trace Evidence. Ryan worked the same department but he was kind of like the underling, the trainee; neither phrase felt right. Speed was head of Trace, Ryan helped when there was a lot of evidence. He was more like a jack of all trades, helping out wherever an extra pair of hands was needed. Like in the Trace Lab this afternoon, especially since the senior CSI was currently gone.

"What have you go there?" Horatio asked as he came to a stop before Ryan, his trademark sunglasses in his hand.

"I'm not quite sure," he admitted, handing the paper over to Horatio. "I ran this test…well, I went into the lab and saw that the machine was set to run the test but hadn't been started. This is the result of that test but try as I might I just cannot make out whether or not I've gotten an answer."

Horatio looked up from the piece of paper. "You found the machine ready to go?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Like Speed was a second away from pressing the button and instead got up and walked away."

"Where's Delko?"

"Also gone," he said.

For a few moments Horatio was silent. Then he resumed studying the test results, a frown furrowing his brow. "If I understand what I'm reading correctly these test results are for a plant. Speed must have found pollen on one of the victims."

"Can you make out what type of plant?"

"No," he replied with the shake of his head. "But maybe Valera will have an idea on how to trace the particular make-up to the right plant. Speed would usually be able to do it but since you said he wasn't here…"

"I could call him," offered Ryan.

"Don't bother," Delko voiced as he came upon the two of them. "He should be back in a few minutes. He just wanted a quick stroll around the block for some fresh air."

A dark cloud passed over Horatio's features. "And why the hell aren't you with him? I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I said that we were to stick together. Always."

They were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Frank. "Horatio, I think I have something that you're going to want to hear." For some reason Frank threw a glare in Delko's direction. Without another word the troop followed after Frank to the lower level of the precinct and into one of the interrogation rooms. Ryan could feel the anger rolling off the detective and it only made him more uneasy. Things were bad enough as they were what could be making Frank feel so strongly? In the interrogation room there was a brown-haired woman who looked to be in her early thirties. She offered them a shy smile when they entered. Frank began to speak right away. "This is Mrs. Springer. Her husband was a cop back in Milwaukee, killed in the line of duty. She moved down here to start a new life. And she has something she wants to tell you."

Without giving anyone else a chance to speak she said, "I witnessed an officer getting into a black SUV, the license plate conveniently covered with mud."

Delko could feel the tightening his chest but it was Horatio that spoke. "And what about this situation brought you to us?"

"He didn't look like he was going willingly. There were heated words and…I think I might have seen a gun. A cloud passed over the sun and the car fell into shadow so it was hard for me to tell. Once they got him in the car they sped off."

"Can you describe the officer?"

"I only really saw him from the back but he had dark brown hair and he was wearing what looked like a blue button-down shirt," she said.

"Speed," Ryan spoke up.

Horatio turned toward Delko. "I told you to stay with him."

"I'm sorry," Delko protested, the tightening in his chest getting worse. "I didn't think…I mean…."

"Frank, put out an all points bulletin on the car. Let every cop in the area know that another one of our own has been taken," Horatio ordered. The detective nodded in confirmation before leaving the room. Then Horatio turned his attention toward the woman. "Can you possibly stay a little while longer?"

"Sure."

"They just upped the stakes," Horatio said. "And they have no idea who they're messing with."