Panic seized Calleigh as she ran through the halls of the crime lab, so fixated on getting to her vehicle and rushing back to her house she failed to see the tall and bulky frame of Eric walking towards her. He held his hands out before she could barrel into him, "Hey, where's the fire?" he asked jokingly.
Neither having the time nor being in the mood to play games she tried to push past her colleague, "I haven't…I need…I need to go, Eric."
Sensing her rising panic he gripped onto her arms and held her in front of him, "What is it? What's happened?"
Her eyes darted around the corridor as she searched for the nearest exit, "I tried to ring Andy, he didn't answer," she said distractedly as way of explanation.
"Maybe he and Horatio are talking about something deep," he suggested.
Calleigh shook her head and tried to pull out of Eric's strong grip, "I tried the house phone too, and no one answered. Something's wrong, Eric, I can feel it."
He considered her words carefully; they had all been on high alert since the first attempt on Horatio's life in the hospital. He worried that Calleigh was allowing her personal feelings for their boss to cloud her professional judgement, was there a simple explanation or was she just overreacting? He knew Calleigh was not prone to hysterical outbursts of panic; whatever had put her on edge at least merited investigating. "I'm coming with you," he told her as he checked that he was carrying his service weapon.
With sirens screaming Eric drove through the midday Miami traffic as fast as the engine of the Hummer would allow. Weaving in and out of the traffic, his driving precluded any finesse as he too began to feel a gnawing sensation of worry gripping at him. A glance in the rear view mirror told him that word had got out through dispatch as three patrol cars joined them on their breakneck journey to Calleigh's house.
Eric felt his heart sink as the Hummer skidded to a stop in the gravel driveway seeing the lifeless body of one of the officers assigned to protecting the house. He glanced at his passenger and was about to tell her to stay in the vehicle but it was already too late; Calleigh had jumped out and was running towards the house.
Gun drawn, he made his way up to the seemingly abandoned patrol cars. Further inspection showed the occupants had most likely been taken by surprise and had been shot execution-style with a bullet each to the head. Eric let his head hang and sent up a small prayer to the Heavens, four more deaths to be laid at the door of the Malucci organisation. He gave orders to the officers that had just arrived to cordon off the scene and call for the M.E to attend before making his way into the house.
Taking no risks, Calleigh entered her home quietly and with her gun drawn, clearing each room in turn. As she entered the kitchen her eyes fell on the photo frame that was lying broken on the floor, smashed into pieces with the picture missing. It eased her frantic mind a little to see no evidence of blood in the room and gave her hope that both Andy and Horatio were still alive.
As she entered the hallway she became startled by the noise of the front door opening, instinctively she raised her weapon and took aim, fearing a would-be attacker but lowered it as she saw Eric standing in front of her. "I've checked the kitchen and hallway; we need to clear the lounge. You ready?" Eric nodded his head in agreement as they both raised their weapons and entered the room at the same time.
Glancing around the room she saw no signs of a struggle or violence until her eyes fell on the heavy-set body of Andy lying behind the sofa. "Eric, over here!" she called as she re-holstered her weapon and dropped to her knees.
The CSI in her would later admonish her for not following protocol at a crime scene as she disregarded her training and pulled off the white fabric gagging the unconscious man. Eric joined her seconds later and placed a hand to Andy's neck.
"He's alive, looks like he took a blow to the head" Eric pointed to the trail of blood that had run down the other man's face. He shook the shoulder of the unconscious man, "Andy, can you hear me?"
He was greeted with a weak moan in response, slowly Andy's eyes opened as he tried to focus. His mouth felt dry as he licked his lips and swallowed several times before trying to speak, the vile taste of gasoline and grease still present in his mouth. After a few moments he seemed to realise that Calleigh and Eric were with him, the pounding of his head was in rhythm with that of his heart as he recalled what had happened. Trying to sit up and failing he looked at the two people in front of him, "John…..they have him," he said as he pulled on the ropes around his wrists. "Get these damn things off me!" he shouted.
Ignoring the older man's aggressive outburst Eric did as he was asked and then helped the injured man to sit with his back against the couch. "What happened, where did they take Horatio?"
Lifting a hand to the cut on his head, Andy answered, "They took me by surprise, I had no idea they had got in until it was too late." He shook his head and winced before looking into Calleigh's emerald eyes, "We were surrounded, they told him to tie me up. They bound him and then shoved him out of the room with a bag on his head. That's the last thing I remember."
Eric gave the other man's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he saw a paramedic enter the room, "It wasn't your fault, we'll find him." He moved out of the way and let the medics do their job.
Calleigh however, was not so forgiving. "Are you telling me that Horatio just did as they asked and allowed them to take him?"
Andy batted away the hands that were trying to tend to him, "Look, they had a gun to my head. John said he would go with them willingly, I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen!"
Her piercing stare held him frozen in place, "They took him alive?"
"As far as I know, yeah. I'm sorry."
Calleigh felt her righteous anger fade as she looked at the distraught look on Andy's face and knew that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the attack. "We'll find him," she said as she holstered her gun and left the room.
The detective in him told him to pay close attention to the sounds of what was going on around him, listening closely he could hear three distinctive male voices, all with strong New York accents. His heart sank, if there was any doubt before it was now painfully obvious that his assailants were none other than the Malucci's. Bound and blinded by the hood over his head he had no idea how much time had passed since he'd been bundled into the back of the van or where they might be taking him.
Pulling on the plastic cable tie that held his hands out in front of him proved futile, the more he tried to move his arms the sharper the pain in his wrists became and he was sure he could feel the warm trickle of blood slowly course its way down one of his arms. Another swift kick to his stomach knocked the wind out of his lungs forcefully, groaning he held his arms as close to his body as his bindings would allow protecting the injured area.
"You move when we say you can move, pig," he heard the voice above him sneer.
As he was attempting to draw breath and gulp in much-needed oxygen he heard the voice of another man call from further away, "That's enough, Sal. We need him in one piece. For now."
"Yes, boss," Horatio's tormentor answered regretfully, admonishing himself for angering Gianni Malucci.
After travelling over a distinctly rough patch of terrain the van finally came to a halt with a screech. Light filtered through the black cloth of the hood as the doors to the vehicle were opened and Horatio felt the suspension lighten as his captors jumped out. He didn't have to wait too long before he felt two sets of hands grab at his ankles and pull him roughly from the van. With his feet being held and his wrists bound he found himself unable to stop himself from tumbling to the dry and dusty ground as his the men holding him hostage laughed at his predicament.
The earth felt scorching hot as his bare arms made contact with the ground, the midday sun of Miami a harsh and unforgiving mistress as his skin registered the heat and humidity. Dust had found its way inside the hood over his head and he felt its presence on his lips and in his mouth, he let out a dry cough as he lay on the ground.
Suddenly he felt hands gripping his arms and hauling him into a standing position; it was then that he felt the cold steel muzzle of a gun shoved into the small of his back. "Walk," a gravelly voice from behind him commanded. Knowing that he was completely outnumbered he did as he was told as he felt himself being pushed along. He almost tripped over the raised step as they reached the building before regaining his balance; he knew he had been taken inside as he felt a distinct change in temperature, the hot and sticky air replaced by a cool and dank atmosphere.
He walked for what seemed like an eternity, guided by the rough hands of his captors until he heard a door creak open. A hand pushed him violently from behind, the unexpected movement caught him by surprise as he lost his balance and fell to the ground only to hear the door slam shut and lock behind him.