A/N: I forgot to mention when I posted the last chapter but I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. I certainly didn't expect to hit 400 reviews, the story and its popularity has exceeded all my expectations. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart xxx
She had to admit that she had never been so glad to see anyone in her life as she watched the tall and gangly frame of Simon Hutchings walking towards her.
"Miss Duquesne, I came as soon as I could. What's happened?" he asked concern evident in his voice.
"Simon, I'm so sorry for waking you but I didn't know who else to call," she began as she ran a distracted hand through her hair.
When Calleigh volunteered no more information Simon prodded her gently, "You say that a package was delivered earlier, addressed to you?"
She nodded her head as she kept her eyes on the building, preparing for the explosion that could emanate at any moment. "I…..we've had packages delivered recently from the people who've been after Horatio. They were just photos last time but after what happened in the other day well…I didn't want to risk it."
Simon placed a reassuring hand on her arm and gave it a light squeeze, a gesture that reminded her so much of Horatio. "You did the right thing, I'll go and check it out and then you can go home and say hi to Horatio for me."
His smile faltered as he saw the distraught look on Calleigh's face, "Miss Duquesne, what's wrong?"
She could feel the tears pricking at her eyes and willed them to stay in place, "They took him….they have him, Simon."
The shock registered clearly on his face, it took a few moments for the words to register before he forced himself to return to his professional demeanour and get down to business. "Clear everyone back to at least 350 feet, I'll send the robot in to check the package out. Do you know where it was left?"
"On the reception desk," she replied, her eyes still glued to the building.
It seemed like hours as Calleigh and Kyle stood waiting outside the crime lab along with the employees who worked the night shift, waiting for Simon to give them the all-clear to return. Exhaustion and worry began to eat at Kyle like a cancer, "What the hell is taking him so long, we're wasting time standing out here!" he growled in frustration.
"Let him do his job, Kyle," Calleigh responded, trying to placate the angry young man.
"Don't you see what they're doing? They don't want us to find him until it's too late, we have to do something, Calleigh!"
"We're doing all we can, running off half-cocked isn't going to do your father any good. We have to keep calm."
"Easy for you to say," Kyle muttered bitterly, "He's just your boss; you could get a replacement tomorrow if you wanted to. He's my father, you don't care about him like I do," he finished petulantly.
Unable to hold back her emotions any longer she turned on Kyle quickly and grabbed him painfully by both arms. "Of course I care about him! Your father means more to me than you realise." Her words trailed off as it occurred to her that she nearly let her true feelings for Horatio show, "I'd do anything for him," she finished softly.
Kyle could feel his anger dissipating as he took a long look at the forlorn figure standing in front of him. One look in her clear green eyes and he knew that she was just as worried about his father as he was, there was something so truthful in those eyes that he knew he could trust her. Trust wasn't something that came easy to Kyle, years of being bumped from foster home to foster home had made him wary of others, spending time with his father had begun to heal the deep wounds in his heart and soul and now he found himself once more adrift in a sea of negative emotions, emotions he didn't understand. He needed his father and his strength to help him through it, this time though he knew he was alone. It was up to him to be the man his father needed him to be; for once he needed to be the strong one.
"I know, Calleigh," he said quietly as his features softened, "I know."
Simon Hutchings finally returned from the building and made his way over to Calleigh; brushing the sweat-soaked hair from his forehead he tore the Velcro straps from his protective armour as he divested himself of it. "All clear, Miss Duquesne. It was a false alarm; it appears to just be a cell phone. I couldn't find any trace of explosives in or around the package."
She let out a long breath as she sighed in relief, "Thank God for that. Thank you so much for coming out, I know it's the middle of the night," she said by way of apology, feeling as if she'd wasted the bomb disposal expert's time.
"You did the right thing, Miss Duquesne. I said you could call me any time; any friend of Horatio's is a friend of mine. Let me know when you find the scumbags, I want to have a piece of them too," he responded anger evident in his voice.
"Get in line," Kyle muttered as he stood with his hands in the pockets of his Army fatigue pants.
Simon looked the younger man up and down, "You must be Horatio's boy," he mused as he gave Kyle a soft smile.
"Who are you?" he replied, giving the other man a wary look.
"I used to work with your father on the bomb squad. I have a son too, not much older than you. You have his eyes you know, and his stubborn streak by the looks of it." Simon appeared unfazed by the unfriendly look Kyle was shooting him, "You definitely got that glare from your dad too. Stay strong Kyle, Horatio's team will find him and bring him home. His team would walk through walls for him if they had to; they're the best at what they do. Trust them."
Simon didn't give him a chance to reply before he had walked away and was making his way back over to his vehicle, leaving Kyle to muse on his words. Trust had never been something he found easy to come by for him, just when he thought he'd found a bit of stability in his life he had found the rug swiftly pulled from under his feet only to be told to place his father's fate in the hands of a group of people he barely knew.
Despite her protests, Kyle had followed Calleigh back into the building and was currently sitting next to her at the observation table in one of the many rooms of the crime lab. Pulling on latex gloves Calleigh carefully removed the cell phone from the cardboard box it had been delivered in. She gave the box itself a cursory inspection, noting the handwritten address and brown packaging tape that had been used to seal it shut. She placed the box to one side, fully intending to log it into evidence before processing it for fingerprints and DNA.
She tried to keep her hands steady as she held the phone, watching as the text message symbol flashed on the screen. Taking a quick glance at Kyle she opened the message, "Watch the video." it said.
Clicking on the link at the bottom of the message she heard Kyle gasp just before she did as they watched with horror at the scene unfolding before them.