"Yeah, boss, I just saw the pretty blonde leave the house."
"Alone?"
"Yep, the old fat guy from the hospital's come back though."
"And what about the patrol cars?"
"Two in the drive, shift will probably change over in an hour or so. What do you want me to do?"
"Sit tight; I'll call you when it's time."
Calleigh parked the Hummer in the lab's lot and after placing her purse in her locker made her way to the break room, she was greeted by Ryan's warm smile.
"Hey, Cal. How's H?"
She walked over to the freshly brewed coffee pot and poured herself a mug, "Tired, mainly, I think." She blew on the hot liquid to cool it slightly before taking a sip, "I think he's struggling with the holes in his memory, there's so much he doesn't understand."
"But the doctors said it would come back, right?" he looked at Calleigh expectantly.
"They have no way of knowing, he's had a few memories come back so I guess that's a good sign." She looked down at her drink, not wanting to make eye contact with her colleague.
Attempting to lift the sombre mood in the room Ryan changed the subject, "H putting those bomb fragments in order gave me an idea. I've called in someone from the bomb squad to see if they can help trace the origins of the device."
Calleigh felt a small sense of hope ignite within her, "That's great, Ryan. Are they here yet? Have they found anything?"
He held his hands up to halt the flow of questions, "The guy got here about an hour ago, he's in the trace lab looking the fragments over."
Gulping down the last of her coffee Calleigh placed a hand on Ryan's arm, "Good work, Ryan," before rushing from the room imbued with a new sense of excitement that the team might be able to track down the Malucci's before they found a way to Horatio.
As she entered the trace lab Calleigh saw a tall and wiry man leaning over the table, she cleared her throat and knocked on the open door.
"Hello there." He turned to greet her as he placed the bomb fragment and magnifying glass back down on the surface he was working from. "I'm Simon Hutchings, I was asked to come down and have a look at these fragments for you." Taking his latex gloves off he reached out to shake her hand.
She took it and looked at the man in front of her, trying to assess if he was friend or foe. The underlying threat from the Malucci's had left her wary of the intentions of those she didn't know, right now all she trusted was her team. Horatio's team, she corrected herself.
The gangly and awkward looking man in front of her didn't seem as if he could pose a threat but she knew appearances could be deceptively deadly. He was dressed in khaki coloured pants and a light blue shirt, open at the first few buttons. His dark blonde hair was combed neatly back in a style that reminded her so much of Horatio, his green eyes appeared kind and friendly as he gave her a small smile. "I don't bite, I promise," he added as he saw the guarded look she was giving him.
Ignoring his comment she let go of his hand and peered over the evidence on the table, "Have you found anything yet?"
All business, just like someone else I knew. Putting on a new pair of gloves he picked a two inch piece of metal with his tweezers and held it up to her. "Looks like the device was planted by the gas tank for maximum effect, held there by duct tape probably. I've found parts of the timer and the relay, it was certainly detonated remotely." Picking up another fragment he spoke again, "This part has come from a cell phone which is likely how they triggered the detonation which means that the perps could have been miles away when they set it off."
"Any clues as to who might have made this?"
He placed the fragment down again and looked Calleigh in the eyes, "The device was packed with nails and other bits of metal, placing it by the gas tank meant it had a huge impact when it went off, anyone standing within 50 feet of the vehicle would likely have been killed."
Calleigh nodded her head sadly, "We have two dead already and another five still in the hospital, some might not make it."
"Whoever did this meant business, I've seen this kind of work before and I have a few ideas as to who might have built a bomb like this. Once I've finished up with my analysis I can run them by you if you like."
Her expression softened towards him, "That would be great, I'm sorry if I came off as being a bit unfriendly," she said by way of apology.
"It's fine, from what I hear there's a lot going on round here at the moment." He wasn't sure if he should mention the events of the last week or so but news had travelled fast around the department and he was eager to find out if the rumours about his former colleague were true. "I hear Horatio has been injured, is he ok?"
The comment caught her off guard and she immediately switched back to her previous defensive stance towards him. "You know Horatio?"
He held a hand up in supplication, "We worked on the bomb squad together, a long time ago."
Her eyes narrowed, still not convinced. "You did?"
"Yes, I was a wet-behind-the-ears rookie when I knew him. He saved my life, you know."
Flashback. Miami 1998:
"Hutchings, try not to look so scared. You'll be fine." Horatio gave his nervous colleague a friendly pat on the shoulder as they stocked the Miami Dade Bomb Response vehicle with supplies. The team had been called to reports of a suspicious-looking bag being left in the federal courthouse, as a precaution they had been called out to assess whether it was indeed an explosive device.
The transition from everyday detective to a member of the bomb squad had not been a simple one, when he arrived for his first day in his new role he cursed the day he had ever met Agent Collins. He knew the FBI operative was the one behind his transfer and viewed it as another way to keep him off his guard and looking over his shoulder. If Collins plan was to rile him it backfired, he found his boss Al Humphries a kindly and engaging man who had a wealth of experience and knowledge in explosive devices and who was only too happy to share it with him.
The nerves of the first few weeks on the job were soon replaced with a feeling of confidence and contentment, something that he had not felt in years. In Al's team he finally felt as if he belonged somewhere, the older man could instinctively sense the unease in him but never questioned what he tried so valiantly to hide from the surface. Al just accepted him for who he was, faults and all, and provided him with a much-needed level of support that had been lacking from his life for more years than he could remember.
It surprised him when he found that he had an affinity for disarming explosive devices and how interested he became in finding out how they worked. Al was full of knowledge and shared it freely with the members of his team but Horatio found himself wanting to know more and soon began studying in his own free time to satiate his hunger to learn. He realised that his eagerness to study was probably no more than a crutch to him, another addiction to replace the others in his life. Years ago he had tried to lose himself in alcohol or narcotics and now he had replaced those vices with another, spending all his spare waking moments engrossed in a science textbook helped to quieten the negative voices in the back of his mind, the voices that wanted to pull him back into the abyss his life had become back in New York, by ignoring it he hoped it would go away.
His eagerness and rock-steady hands had seen Horatio rise quickly through the ranks in the bomb squad until he became Al's second in command. He still had no idea what the older man saw in him but he was grateful for the opportunities Al had afforded him, he hoped that one day he would be able to emulate his mentor and help others the way Al had helped him. He was given a chance to try when a gawky young officer was transferred into the team, skinny and tall the young man didn't look much older than twenty five.
"Horatio, he's all yours," Al had told him on the new guy's first day. He had given his boss a distinctly unimpressed look that Al shrugged off as he walked away, "We all have to start somewhere."
Simon Hutchings had been awkward at first but keen to learn, the young man had a sensible head on his shoulders but he would never graduate from the lab until he got his nerves under control. The way his hands shook as Horatio tried to teach him how to disarm a test device left the redhead in no doubt that if Simon's hands shook with a real bomb that the outcome would not be favourable to any of them.
"Simon, I need you to listen to my voice. Can you do that for me?" He kept his voice calm and steady as he spoke to the young man who nodded his head.
"Don't think about what you're holding in your hands. Imagine you're on a beach, the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, the sounds of birds in the trees. Can you do that?" Again Simon nodded as his hands began to shake a little less.
"Pretend it's a baby bird you have in your hands, keep your hands gentle and still. Now, look down at it." Horatio's voice was almost hypnotic as he watched Simon's hands still completely. "See the blue wire?" he asked as the other man nodded, "I need you to cut that for me, ok?"
Simon did as he was told and let out a shaky breath as the timer on the device beeped twice and then silenced.
"Well done, Simon. You've just disarmed your first bomb, good work, son."
Horatio and his protege stood by the van waiting for directions from Al. "Right, Jenkins and I will take the bag in the main hall. I want you and Hutchings to check the rest of the floor for secondary devices." Horatio nodded his head at his mentor's instructions as he clipped a radio to the belt on to his pants. Pulling a flak jacket over his head he signalled for his nervy colleague to follow him.
Sensing the younger man's unease he turned his upper body towards him as he continued down the darkened corridor, "Try to keep calm, I need you to concentrate."
Simon ran a shaky hand through his hair, "I'm trying. This is completely different to being in the lab, this is real."
"I know, son. That's why I need you to keep your eyes and your ears open."
Horatio lowered his torch as his radio crackled with the voice of his boss, "The bag is clean, no sign of any explosives. Find anything your end?"
"Negative. Hutchings and I are still searching, we'll keep you updated."
He placed the radio back on his belt and motioned for his colleague to walk ahead of him, "Keep your eyes peeled, that bag could have been a decoy."
The two of them had almost walked the perimeter of the building and were checking the last corridor when Simon stopped suddenly, hearing the tell-tale click of a device being armed. He lowered his torch to where his feet stood almost in slow motion and gulped in a shaky breath as he saw the taught wire caught underneath his foot.