Note: Where did all the readers go? Don't leave me now, part two is going to be so good.

Chapter Forty-five: Panic

It didn't take long for Frank to get the troops rounded up. Many of the officers had been waiting for this moment, chomping at the bit, eager to get their hands on the guys who placed targets on their backs. The SWAT guys, fire burning fiercely in their eyes, were talking about what sort of things they would like to do to members of the militia. Their superiors listened without problem, knowing that when it came time to do their job they would do it like they were trained. Trash talk was allowed; it helped get out the anger, the motives that led many a good cop to doing the wrong thing. Horatio tried to convince his friends to stay behind at the lab where they would be safest. He didn't want them out on the front line. What if this became an all out shooting, a gun fight between the warring factions? He wouldn't be able to handle it if any of them got hurt. But he couldn't get them to stay behind. It was their case; they did all the hard work. And they wanted to see it through for the sake of Speed and Hagen and Jesup. Nothing he said changed their minds. So they suited up, almost like they were walking to an active war zone. He would make sure to keep an eye on all of them while they were out there, never letting them slip out of his line of sight. He would take care of them; make sure that they got home safe.

But it wasn't to be. As they were climbing into the Hummer his cell phone rang. He checked the number, frowning, as he did not immediately recognize the number. Then something in his brain clicked. Excusing himself he walked a few feet away from everyone so that he was out of range of the commotion and able to hear the voice on the other end. With a sinking heart he heard the bad news. Surprisingly he took it in stride. Later, on the drive back to his house, he kept telling himself that he was hiding the truth from Delko and Calleigh and Ryan so as not to worry them. Not when they were going into a volatile situation.

He pulled the Hummer into his driveway, the lights of his house a blaze, a black SUV parked along the curb, headlights on. Someone stood in the doorway of his home. As he got closer he realized that it was the agent from across the street.

"What exactly happened?" Horatio barked, not even bothering to keep his anger in check. He trusted them to keep an eye on his friend, on someone he loved.

The agent looked distraught but managed to keep his cool. "One of my guys noticed movement in the house, called it in. So when the front door opened I was ready. Weird for the front door to open, for someone to step out like that. I waited for confirmation of…well, anything. No cars drove up to pick-up the person who exited your house. None of my guys heard gunfire. So we got curious."

"Where's Speed?"

Now the agent looked sheepish, almost like a child being scolded. "That's just it, lieutenant, we don't know."

Horatio felt his heart skip a beat. Had the group somehow gotten a hold of Speed again? "What do you mean you don't know? You have fifteen guys watching my house." It took all his strength to keep from threatening the agent, to keep the anger and worry restrained.

"We searched the house, lieutenant. Found the dog locked in the bathroom barking like crazy. But no sign of your guy. There's no evidence to suggest a struggle," he continued. "No blood, nothing knocked over. Almost like he got up and walked away."

"You think he was the person slipping out, don't you?"

The agent shrugged. "Seems that way to me."

Horatio didn't say anything as he brushed past the agent into his own home. Something about the situation didn't feel right. And when he got to the bedroom he knew what was bugging him. The dog. Why would Speed lock Mite in the bathroom? It didn't seem like a logical thing to do. He would have been able to slip out of the house without having to worry about the dog, which was amazingly well behaved. No, there had to be another reason for Mite to end up locked away in the bathroom. Looking around the room he noticed that everything was in place. Speed's book was on the nightstand with his bottle of pain medication and a glass of water. The bed looked slept in. Like the agent said, no evidence of a struggle. He was set to walk by down the hall to join the agent when he felt a slight breeze. It came from his room. Baffled he flipped on the light, illuminating his room. Mite came down the hallway, head hanging, the agent behind him.

"Something wrong, lieutenant?"

"My bedroom window is open," Horatio pointed out.

The agent frowned. "You mean…we figured that you opened the window." Horatio followed his line of theory, understanding it since the screen was still in place.

"I think the person you witnessed walking out of my front door broke into my house with the intent of going after Speed," he said as he closed off the bedroom to preserve evidence. He started back down the hallway. "Only, he didn't find what he was looking for."

"You've lost me," the agent said as he followed Horatio out the front door. Mite wasn't that far behind them, he whimpered as they stopped on the porch.

Horatio turned toward the agent. "Speed wasn't in the house."

"He had to be. None of my guys reported seeing anybody but the figure walking out the front door."

"Speed doesn't sleep well, not with all the pain. He would have heard me leave and he would have heard someone trying to break into the house. You said that Mite was locked in the bathroom. He would have done that to keep the dog safe. Nobody thinks to shoot an unthreatening animal. Why even bother with the dog? When he didn't find Speed he simply walked out the front door to throw your guys off. He must have known you were watching the house," explained Horatio.

The agent crossed his arms over his chest. "So where's your guy if he didn't leave the house?"

Horatio smiled knowingly. "He did leave the house. He hid inside. And while your men concentrated on the front door he slipped out my bedroom window."

"Why?"

"To let me know that he was okay. How many home invasions have you been to where the perp breaks in through a window and takes time to replace the screen?"

Now the agent smiled, finally seeing things from Horatio's point of view. "None."

"Precisely. Now as to where Speed is…"

An agent came running across the yard with a look of amusement and bewilderment on his face. "Sir," he said addressing the agent standing beside Horatio. "I think we located our missing person."

Horatio studied the agent, noting the sense of urgency in the man's voice. "Is he okay?"

"He looks fine, lieutenant. But he's pointing a gun at one of the other agents. He won't let us anywhere near him."

"Take me to him. He's probably afraid that you guys are militia members dressed as agents."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to impersonate an agent," muttered the superior agent. He and Horatio followed the subordinate down the sidewalk to a house that had been on the market for the last two weeks. The closer the got the easier it was to see that something was wrong. An agent stood on the sidewalk with his hands in the air while two others had pulled their weapons. Horatio broke away from the two agents, jogging toward the scene. When he got there he found Speed standing with his back pressed against a tree, most likely using it for added support. There was a gun in his hand which swung in Horatio's direction. When he saw that it was his boss he let the weapon fall to his side.

"H."

Horatio walked over to him, taking the gun from his hand. He kept the weapon in the drawer of his nightstand like so many other officers he knew. "Are you okay?"

Speed actually smiled a little. "Other than rethinking the idea of climbing out the window?"