A/N: This is likely to be the last chapter I will post until early next week. I am planning to take a short break from writing for personal reasons, the break should last no longer than 4 or 5 days but it is something that I need to do. Thank you for your understanding.

The break room descended into silence as soon as Calleigh entered and all eyes fell instantly on her. She cleared her throat as she closed the door quietly. She felt her heart rate increase as the room full of people looked at her expectantly.

"Thank you all for coming in early," she began in a strong voice that belied the nervous tension she was feeling, "I'm sure you've heard by now that the Malucci's made contact with us last night, I've got Dave working on the cell phone as we speak. I need you all to get back to what you were working on yesterday and contact me ASAP if you find anything."

There were nods of heads and murmurs of, "You got it," as the team filed out of the room quietly talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. It left her standing with two familiar faces staring at her intently.

"I thought I asked you to stay at Eric's and rest," she said tiredly to Kyle who had perched himself on the edge of the couch.

"I couldn't sleep," he responded, his voice not much more than a whisper. "I couldn't sleep knowing he's out there. You saw what they did to him, Calleigh, I don't want to be sitting around and regret not doing everything I could to find him."

"Kyle, we've already discussed this. You can't be involved."

He stood up to meet her face to face; she had to admit that he certainly looked better than he had the day before. At least he had bothered to shower, shave and change into something that wasn't army fatigues. The crystal blue eyes that he had inherited from his father still looked tired but were significantly brighter than they were yesterday.

"I promise that I won't get in the way, I just want to be here in case anything happens." He looked at her with watery, pleading eyes.

Against her better judgement she nodded her head tightly as Kyle gave a sigh of relief and sat back down on the couch. She turned her attention to the other man in the room that up until now had remained silent.

"I thought you were meant to be heading back to New York," she asked him sternly as her tiredness and frustration began to get the better of her. The ageing man in front of her had hardly been Horatio's most loyal supporter since he'd arrived reluctantly in Miami a few days ago.

Andy brushed off the comment; years of practice of getting on the wrong side of women had practically left him immune to their changeable moods. "I thought I could be more use here," he responded in an equally firm tone, ready for a war of words if needs be. "I was a cop for a long time; I know how to work an investigation. Let me help."

"A few days ago you didn't care whether he was dead or alive and now you want to help?" she asked incredulously.

"Look, lady, they've had him for nearly twenty four hours now and you've got jack shit. Looks like you need all the help you can get."

She would later berate herself for her lack of professionalism but right now she needed an outlet for the panic and frustration that was beginning to overwhelm her and she had found a suitable target in the rotund and balding man in front of her.

"Where were you when he needed help back in New York!" she shot back as her voice rose. "Where were you when he was out there all alone? You turned your back on him; you were so quick to believe that he was dirty. How could you?"

He opened his mouth to respond, his ego quicker to jump into gear than his brain before he suddenly stopped himself from saying something he would later regret. With a sense of shame he realised that what she said was true, he'd abandoned his partner when he needed him the most, left him to fend for himself as he single-handedly brought down an entire criminal organisation.

"I know," he responded, hating himself for admitting it to anyone, especially a woman and especially her. "I let him down back then, but not now. I know you're not exactly keen on me but this isn't about me and you, this is about finding John and bringing him home. I can help you with that."

"He's right," Kyle added. "Everyone needs to work together if we're going to find Dad, being at each other's throats all the time isn't helping."

As she continued to give Andy a fearsome glare she realised that the boy was right, their attention needed to be solely concentrated on finding Horatio. "Fine, but stay out of my way. Do you still have a permit to carry a weapon?"

He responded with a snort, "Of course I do, I live in Brooklyn for Christ's sake. You're naked if you don't go out with one."

"You're here in an unofficial capacity, you shoot anyone then it's on you. Don't expect me to cover your ass, understood?"

"Loud and clear, Miss," he replied sarcastically. He could see now why John was so madly in love with her, even if the man didn't realise it himself at the moment. Calleigh was undeniably beautiful but not only that she was a fearsome women to contend with and someone who would not be intimidated by men or their mistaken notion that they had any superiority over her. It occurred to him that she had more balls than some of the men he'd worked with throughout his career. He might not like her all that much but he respected her enough to be able to lead John's team in his absence, having no choice but to work alongside her.

Kyle looked on, astonished, as Calleigh and the ageing man continued to glare at each other, both of them waiting for the other to look away first. They stared at each other like two bulldogs bristling for a fight, neither willing to give ground to the other. The two of them were more alike than they realised, both sharing the ability to channel that fearsome glare that his father reserved for occasions just like this, he too knew what it was like to be on the end of one of those looks.

The moment was broken by Calleigh's phone chirping insistently in her pocket; not taking her eyes from Andy she pulled it out at answered it in a clipped tone.

"Calleigh, it's Frank. I thought you'd want to know that the BOLO we put out on that SUV has come up trumps."

"You found the vehicle?"

"Yup, in North Bay Village. Just off the JFK Causeway, I've got a tow truck on its way out there as we speak."

"Has it been torched?"

"Looks like it according to the report I got from the officers on scene. We might still be able to get something from it though," he responded hopefully.

He heart sank, any hopes of finding a link to Horatio's whereabouts began to dissipate with the news that the vehicle had been set on fire, destroying what little evidence they might have been able to find. "Thanks, Frank. Keep me posted."

Closing her phone and placing it back in her pocket she returned her attention to Andy, "Eric's on his way back down to the morgue, you can catch up with him there and see if the M.E has anything new to report," her tone signified that it was an order not a request.

"As for you, Kyle, you can stay here where we can keep an eye on you. If you even think of running off on some suicide mission I'll arrest you myself and throw you in lock up. Understood?"

Kyle felt his cheeks flame in embarrassment; he'd grown used to being given orders, both in prison and in the Army, but it felt as if Calleigh were treating him like a child playing truant from school. He resisted the urge to answer her back knowing that the longer he kept Calleigh here arguing with him the less time his father had left. Letting his head hang in defeat he nodded, not looking up at her, keeping his head down until he heard both of them leave the room, only then letting out a growl of pure frustration as he punched the nearest wall.