Chapter Seventy-four: Got The Feeling

He tried to keep his mind focused on his work as there was a shit load of evidence that needed processing. Usually he didn't mind having a stack of stuff waiting to be tested but today he was having an unusually hard time concentrating on the task at hand. It might have had something to do with the conversation he had in the park yesterday. One minute it felt like the right thing to do, the next he was back to wondering if he had temporarily lost his mind upon agreeing to be a help. Hadn't the lab done the whole mole thing once before? And hadn't he gotten into a measure of trouble then? Hell, he got into a lot of trouble, angered his fellow investigators. Lest he should forget the time not too long ago when he helped to fake Horatio's death. That really made Calleigh and Delko feel that they couldn't trust him. And there was the whole gambling mess. The thing with that damned reporter chick that never quite got the hint that he wanted to be left alone.

If he went through with this and something terrible happened then his head would be on the chopping block. By all rights he had to say something to Horatio about the conversation with Speed. Yet at the same time he wanted to be friends with the man he was supposed to work with, not anger him and make Speed think that he was untrustworthy. In this job it was important to known someone had your back. Moments like these really made his obsessive compulsive tendencies shine through. And for once it was actually starting to bother him.

He put down the piece of evidence he'd been working with, took of his gloves and tossed them in a nearby trashcan. On his way out of the room he hung the white lab coat on a hook by the door. Then he was searching the halls for Horatio, figuring that his boss was probably in his office. Surprisingly there had been no calls today; which actually turned out to be a blessing seeing as there was a lot of evidence to go through. And the simple fact that things had gotten a little more urgent now that Speed had been attacked and his dog taken. Was it just him or did bad luck seem to follow Speed around?

Upon reaching Horatio's office he knocked on the half open door to announce his presence, then entered the room. As he had originally suspected his boss was working on the all important, and majorly boring, paperwork. Horatio looked up at him as he entered the room.

"Mr. Wolf," Horatio created him. Always Mr. Wolf and rarely anything else. "I can tell by the look on your face that there's something you wish to share with me but you aren't sure it's a good idea."

Ryan sank into one of the chairs. "It never ceases to amaze me that you can pick-up on so much."

"Maybe I've been doing this job for too long," Horatio smiled softly. "So out with it."

"Well....you see, it's like this…"

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Speed spent a pretty good portion of the morning doing research like a good investigator. He spent hours on the internet looking up various breeds of dogs and learning whatever he could about the black market. When he finally decided that he couldn't learn anymore he shut down the computer and left the safety the apartment provided him. He wasn't exactly sure what he expected to happen or even what he planned on doing. There wasn't much he could hope to do without having access to the evidence. If a lead should present itself he hoped that Ryan kept his promise and came through for him. Yet at the same time he still wasn't entirely sure he could trust the man. They hadn't exactly gotten along well since his return after being shot nearly two years ago. Had it really been that long? He couldn't remember.

It didn't take him long to reach the park where he usually walked Mite, including the night that he lost his dog. He should have jazzed things up a bit instead of sticking to a schedule. Routines always brought downfalls one way or another. If the dog snatchers had been watching him it wouldn't have been that hard to know what days he walked Mite, what time and where. He made it all too easy for them to take his dog. How could he have been such a fool? He should have known better.

The park was a popular place for waling dogs. He picked a bench that allowed him to see a good portion of the area. He'd brought a book with him to make it look as though he were just enjoying the day instead of watching people. He was on the lookout for rare breeds of dog. Today could turn out to be a complete waste of time or it might give him something to work with it. All he knew was that he couldn't spend the time at home in the apartment. He would go stir crazy worrying about his dog, feeling useless. And underneath it all he couldn't ignore the growing desire he had to spend time with Delko.

Looked as though he might have finally fallen in love with his friend.

When did that happen?

He was going to have to eventually sit down and have a talk with someone, clear his head, actually admit to all the doubts and fears swirling around in his head. Love was supposed to be some big beautiful thing that happened between two people. Why did he feel like he was on the verge of drowning?

A lady strolled by with a lovely reddish brown dog with pointed dogs and a thin build. He instantly recognized the breed as something called Pharaoh Hound. They weren't very popular or even that well known but he'd found the dog to be an interesting bred so it stuck with him. Seeing such an animal in person he could appreciate the true wonder of the breed right down to the shine of the dog's coat. He wondered how much a purebred cost, wondered if there were even any breeders in the states or if the dog had been imported. And that thought led him back to the question of what happened to all the kidnapped dogs? Where they sent overseas?

In trying to figure out the fate of the dogs he nearly missed out on a piece of potential evidence. A short distance behind the woman a man wearing shades and a baseball cap strolled. He had a newspaper rolled up and held under one arm, a coffee from a local coffee shop in one hand, and he was talking on a cell phone. The man looked like a million others in the park but for some reason he caught Speed's attention. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar. He watched the man, studied him, unable to shake the feeling that he'd seen him somewhere before.

And then it dawned on him.

Grabbing his book, he started to follow the guy.