"Well this just seems...unoriginal," Calleigh complained as she looked at the bodies distastefully. "Twins for Tweedledum and Tweedledee."

"I don't get it," Eric murmured as he took a photograph of the bodies, "if Ridley's right and our killer is this Charles Rothdale guy what's his motive? How is he picking his victims? And why wait twenty years to go back to the Alice in Wonderland theme?"

Calleigh shrugged as she studied the crime scene with intrigue. "Maybe he just got inspired one day," she murmured, "or maybe it's the whole perfect, imperfect Alice thing... I don't know, maybe he actually has an image of what each of his victims should look like and not just anyone will do. I mean look at these two, slightly overweight, identical, male twins still in their teens, it fits and I'm sure when we find out their names there is a connection there too, just like with everyone else."

The pair in question were two round faced, sandy haired boys somewhere between fifteen and eighteen, eyes gouged out of both they were wearing red and yellow striped baseball caps, and red dickie bows at their collars, their bodies had been found under a bridge amongst some trash bags and cardboard boxes, discovered by a couple of teenagers the cops were pretty certain were hoping to make a drug deal there.

The two CSIs glanced over as they heard footsteps echoing up the tunnel signalling Alexx's arrival. The dark skinned beauty gave them a warm smile before glancing at the scene with disapproval. "This guy certainly puts a lot of effort in," she murmured before she crouched before the bodies. "You poor boys, how did you end up meeting a bad guy like him? You should be getting ready to go trick and treating not lying abandoned like trash. Well it's okay, you've been found now."

"I guess we better start gathering up the garbage then," Eric grumbled, "and hope someone left us a clue."

Calleigh folded her arms and wrinkled her nose slightly. "No evidence of gunshots anyway," she murmured brightly.

"Well if he's sticking to his habits there will be LSD in these two," Eric retorted as he opened his metal kit box and snapped on a pair of white gloves. "This is going to take a while," he commented despairingly.

"What are Horatio and Speed up to anyway?" Calleigh quipped. "I thought Horatio would want to be all over this one."

"Maybe he knew enough to avoid this scene," Alexx remarked as she wrinkled her nose at the smell of the rotting trash.

"He said he and Speed had a case," Eric answered with a slight frown, "sounded grumpy about it too."

"Grumpy?" Calleigh questioned curiously as she looked at Eric.

"I don't know," Eric attempted to explain as he glanced up at the southern beauty, "angry maybe, it must be a bad case."

"What about Ridley?" Alexx asked as she turned to wave her team on. "Isn't this case her speciality?"

"I think she was due to do admin work today," Calleigh answered, "but I suppose I could call her. Did Horatio even ask about this?"

Eric shook his head. "Nope, he said for us to deal with it since he and Speed had a case and hung up the phone."

"Huh." Calleigh looked thoughtful as she dug her phone out of her pocket. "Well I'll give Ridley a call, see if she's interested."

Breathe. Count to five. Shit, this wasn't therapy, this wasn't going to work! Ridley clutched her gun so tightly her hands started to hurt. Just one more bullet left, she had to make this count. They were close, damnit she knew they were!

She didn't know how she had managed to flee this far, her legs were aching, her chest hurt and she was desperate to double over and start heaving in air but she feared the sound would give her away. So she stood poised, gun raised and ready as she leaned into the concrete wall. She couldn't flee the city and she didn't exactly know her way around it yet so she had tried to move to somewhere secluded. These people didn't fear witnesses so since crowds wouldn't protect her, Ridley had chosen to evade them hoping to avoid the body count going up. She didn't know where she was, down an alleyway somewhere against a collection of old, forgotten buildings.

Chatter carried over the wind, a mixture babble of English, Spanish and Cuban; Ridley wasn't sure what might be her pursuers and what might be innocent bystanders as she couldn't make out any words. They had all followed her, she knew that, which meant one of two things, they would either want her alive to use as a means to get Emily or they would make an example of her for trying to stand up to them. Vomit churned through her stomach and tried to crawl up her throat a couple of times. She swallowed hard as her heart started pounding and sweat laced down her. She could remember the Suburban Legends killer's lengthy torture as if it were just yesterday. He had taken his time with her, drawing out the pain as long as he could and inflicting every torture on her that he could think of. She knew she couldn't face that again. She looked at her hands in horror as they started to tremble.

Suddenly there was a noise, a terrible traitorous noise that had the detective filling with a dread she hadn't felt in years. Her phone was ringing! Having no time to do anything but shoot, run and hide Ridley hadn't taken a moment to flick it on silent.

BANG! She got one clean shot in a pursuer's right arm as they came for her all at once, cornering her before she had a chance. Four of them armed to the teeth. Last bullet gone, she could do nothing. She pointed her gun threateningly anyway with a scowl and thought of the knife at the back of her right boot.

"Take her," one ordered gruffly.

"She's a cop!" one snapped hatefully as he raised his gun to her.

"We won't get our merchandise back without her," the first snarled with a glower.

"We won't get it with her," a third said sarcastically, "but we could make an example out of her so no other piggies think to interfere with our business."

Ridley swallowed hard as she held the gaze of the first fiercely. 'Don't show fear, don't you dare show fear,' she ordered herself fiercely.

"Drop your gun bitch we know you've no bullets left," the first man ordered.

Ridley threw it hard and it hit him so hard in the nose his chin was instantly soaked in blood. "Looks like it still works," she sneered. A gun shoved hard into her chest by the second man was her answer. She doubled over with a gasp of pain and almost blacked out when he hit her hard with it again and she slumped to the ground.

They grabbed her quickly, two on either side and frogmarched her out of the alleyway. Wasting no time, they broke into the first car they spotted, a black Buick, and shoved her into the backseat between two of them. "Head down," the one to her left snarled before he slapped her hard to emphasise his words. He was the one who had hit her twice with his gun, he had a short, black bushy beard and smelt faintly of whiskey.

"The girl's probably long gone," the one in the front passenger seat complained, "and this bitch probably doesn't know where to."

"Well she had better pray her cop friends know," the driver snarled as he glowered at her in the mirror, not that she could see it as she was looking at her lap.

The drive lasted almost an hour, Ridley counted every minute and every turn trying to map out the journey in her head but it was hopeless. They had their guns sitting in front of them, she had to move as soon as the car stopped, had to be quick, one chance.

The car rolled to a stop, the man on her right reached for his door before his gun and she seized her chance. He had an injured arm thanks to her and was slow. She grabbed it, it was heavy but she managed swinging it up and firing without even aiming. BANG! Blood and guts spattered all over the interior of the car as his brains exploded with the impact of the bullet.

She turned as the man on her left tried to lift his gun; he smacked it hard into her side as her own hit hard into his shoulder. The door behind her opened as she fired again. The corpse spilled out as the window behind the man to her left shattered into a hundred pieces.

"Drop it!" she heard someone yell.

"Fuck you!"

BANG!

Horatio and an ashen Tim raced from Horatio's car to the scene of carnage.

"One body," one of the cops on the scene explained, "a dog walker heard gunshots and called it in but it took us a while to find the scene, pretty remote."

There was a black Buick with all four doors open looking very much like the scene of a massacre. Horatio made out a body with a ruined face hanging out of the right back side. There was blood everywhere and one abandoned gun lying awkwardly on the ground.

"There's a building up ahead," the cop explained as he gestured to a stone path almost lost to weeds and bushes. "We haven't gone there yet but there are blood spatters leading that way. We've been waiting for back-up."

"He looks like one of those assholes from the mall," Tim snapped as he looked at the corpse hatefully.

"Let's check out the building Detective Speedle," Horatio ordered as he tugged out his gun.

Tim nodded as he tugged out his own gun and let his lieutenant lead the way carefully up the path. The blood spatters seemed to zigzag suggesting running and a bullet on the ground indicated more gunfire. They reached the building, large, square and red brick with dirty windows and a single wooden door. Horatio reached for the handle tentatively, hanging back at the left side of the door as he did. "Unlocked," he murmured before he nodded to Speed and opened it, moving swiftly to the doorway with his gun raised.

They entered the building cautiously and spotted a second man, still breathing, lying on the ground under a table clutching at his bloody left side with one hand and a gun with the other. "Drop your weapon now!" Horatio ordered fiercely as he took aim at the man.

The man muttered several curses before releasing his gun, knowing he didn't have the strength to lift it anyway. "Your bitch cut me," he spat at them angrily as he glimpsed their badges.

"Where is she?" Speed demanded sharply.

The man smiled up at him with bloody teeth and sneered, "dead."

Tim kicked him hard in the face without warning. "Liar!" he snapped angrily.

"Detective Speedle!" Horatio called out sternly.

The man started laughing even as he winced and spat up blood. "She interfered, she got what all you pigs deserve."

"Tell me where she is or so help me I will stick my foot in your wound and make it ten times worse!" Tim threatened.

"That would be police brutality," the man mocked.

Tim's retaliation was to make good on his threat. He lifted his right foot and sunk it hard into the man's bleeding side causing him to cry out and curse loudly. "Tell me where she is!"

"I don't know!" the man wailed. "I don't! We chased her in here, but she'd hid behind the door, bitch pig cut me the moment I ran through. Hernandez got her back though, he hit her good," the man smiled at the thought. "And Ferdinand..." He grinned. "He tied her up, stupid bastard should have tied her down, she kicked him and ran, can't imagine she got too far tied up."

"They can't be far, Speed let's go!" Horatio snapped.

"Little bound piggy's going to get stuffed," the man mocked.

"Speed now!" Horatio ordered before Speed could retort.

They hastened from the building and searched round the area for over an hour trying to pick up a trail, all too aware that time was of the essence. Was she hurt? Had she been shot? Was she even alive? A branch snapped up ahead and they hurried forward.

Tim suddenly froze as he came face to face with a swarthy, bloodied man aiming a gun at him. He felt his hand shake as he looked at the circular black hole. Death was in there, a few seconds and it could all be over. He needed to make his move but he couldn't.

BANG!

Tim shook at the sound and when the man crumpled to his knees with a gasp of pain, a sob of relief escaped the dark haired trace expert much to his disgust.

Horatio lowered his own gun and looked to Tim sternly. "Speed stay on him," he ordered, "I'll find Ridley." He had only shot the man in the left knee, enough to subdue him but hopefully not enough so that they couldn't question him.

Tim nodded weakly as he lifted his gun and pointed it at the man, allowing Horatio to disarm him.

Horatio wondered if there were any more men to deal with, the security footage at the mall implied just four in total so there was at least one, Hernandez or Ferdinand. So what did that mean for Ridley? He frowned and thought hard about where she could have run. 'She'd hide,' he thought as he glanced about desperately, 'somewhere secure and invisible. It would kill her to do it, it would be like being trapped all over again but I know that's what she would do. Fear would drive her there and fear would keep her there too.'

His cerulean eyes widened at the sight of several bushes clumped together. Could she have crawled in there? Only one way to find out. He moved forward cautiously, bent down and looked over the area. No, she wasn't here; he smiled faintly as he spotted a scrap of sheen, cream cloth, just like the material of the shirts she often wore. She wasn't here but she had been.

He moved searchingly, ever wary of another foe as he looked for his co-worker. Blood drops on the soil, fresh, were they hers? He followed them to a small, wooden, abandoned hut, too obvious but the wood bunker beside it, perhaps less obvious. Would she have trapped herself like that? If they found her there she would have nowhere else to run to. He moved up to it carefully and paused, what if someone else was hiding there? He stepped to the side of the bunker and listened carefully. Nothing. He flung up the lid in one fluid movement and when no gunfire erupted out he immediately aimed his gun and looked. No one. He frowned in frustration; let the lid slam closed and continued looking.

Twenty more precious minutes slipped by as Horatio followed scant evidence through the forest of cypress and palm trees and then finally he found her. It was a decent hiding place, crouched down and squeezed in between some rocks, if he hadn't been looking for her he might have missed her. He crouched down before her, gun still out as he was ever wary of their missing man. "Detective Moon are you alright?" he queried in that brittle calm voice he reserved for times when he was very worried. From what he could see of her she was soaked in blood and there was a slight tremble to her.

"I...they're the fucking cartel," she hissed out fearfully with wide eyes, "they won't stop and I interfered they'll do awful things." She seemed too unnerved to even properly realise that Horatio had found her.

Horatio held out a hand to her before he realised that her own were still bound. He could only imagine the fear she had bolted through these trees with, hunted like a wild animal.

"They saw my face and I'm all over the news," she choked out.

"Ridley I wouldn't let that happen, there's one more man out here, once we get him-"

"He's the ringleader," she said sharply, "he'll tell others. The girl, did you at least find her?"

"Emily, yes we did, you did a very brave thing helping her and leading them from her." He gave her a gentle smile. "Reckless mind but-"

"Horatio look out!" she suddenly screamed.

He turned and fired quickly. BANG! A gut shot, it was a slow way to go but as it was their missing fourth man Horatio realised that he did not care. The redhead stood up, disarmed his opponent with ease and left him moaning on the ground in agony. He then returned and crouched down before Ridley once more with a gentle smile like he hadn't just condemned a dangerous drug dealer to a lingering, agonising death. "You're safe now," he assured, "there's no one left to talk."

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and shook her head. "It'll be all over the news, you know that," she croaked out.

Horatio could tell that all Ridley wanted to do was stay hidden where she was; it was the classic animalistic reaction to simply hide until the danger had passed. She wasn't thinking straight but who could blame her? "Ridley they won't gain anything by coming after you," he insisted, "I can promise you now it's not a war they want."

"Okay..."

"Come on out now."

Horatio leaned back slightly so Ridley could wriggle her way out with several grunts of pain. The redhead frowned at the cable ties binding her hands tightly behind her back as he helped her to her feet. She leaned against him slightly and he embraced her loosely with one hand as silent tears trickled down her cheeks. "You were incredibly brave today," he praised her quietly, "and no one is going to punish you for that, I promise."

She nodded weakly and then pulled back suddenly with a look of horror as she eyed the bloodstains on his shirt. "Sorry," she said hastily, "I didn't mean to get blood on you."

"That's alright," the redhead assured with a half-smile, "now, is any of it yours? Are you injured?"

"No," she retorted numbly, "I shot one and stabbed another, they gave me no choice."

"I know."

"I...they were going to torture me, I knew it, that's all I thought of and I got them first."

Horatio nodded as he wrapped one arm loosely about her shoulders. "You did what you had to."

Horatio made a couple of calls and they waited quietly as the Cuban bled out beside them until a group of cops, including Tim, finally found them.

"Ridley!" Tim was quick to exclaim with alarm.

"It's not her blood Speed," Horatio was quick to assure.

Tim charged at her, gripping her tightly by her shoulders and leaning as close as he could with a fierce glower. "Don't you ever ever pull a stunt like that again!" he snapped at her in a fury. "Fucking cartel shoot up a mall and you lure them away by yourself! Jesus Christ Ridley I thought I'd lost you again!"

The tears were there again before Ridley burrowed against the dark haired man's chest wordlessly, turning her head sideways to seek out the comforting heartbeats. Tim's heart was frantic though as his chest heaved every couple of seconds, running on an adrenaline rush. He frowned over her shoulder at her bound hands and grumbled several curses.

"I did what I had to," she murmured numbly.

It was close to nine in the evening when the grim case of Emily Jenkins, as she was really known, was finally unravelled and Ridley was finally free to go as her role in the shoot-up was accepted by the authorities, largely thanks to Horatio's interference. Ridley was acknowledged as a cop who had saved more lives rather than a reckless vigilante who had risked lives, but despite this more enquiries were inevitable.

Calleigh and Eric had finally caught up with the story and despite Ridley showing an interest in the Tweedledum and Tweedledee case, they all agreed she was in shock and better going home and coming to terms with her day. Of course they all knew she couldn't do that alone but she turned down offers from Tim and Calleigh to have her go to their houses as she feared cartel retribution. In the end Horatio and Tim talked her into letting them accompany her to her own home until she was settled.

She moved almost in a daze, drained by the day and very much on auto-pilot, faint relief showing in her eyes when they reached her house, all of them in Horatio's car. Exhausted and still stained in blood, Ridley dismissed herself to the bathroom leaving the men to sit awkwardly in her living room.

Tim resented Horatio's presence knowing that Ridley had wanted the redhead because she thought he could protect Tim, it made Tim feel inadequate to protect her especially since Ridley had little to no faith in Horatio keeping her safe and yet she thought him more capable of offering safety than Tim.

"Do you think she's right?" Tim grumbled at the redhead. "Will the cartel come for her?"

Horatio shook his head calmly. "No, they have bigger things to worry about and if they hurt her the cops would retaliate, it's not a war they want to start."

"She killed one, hurt another and you killed one, they're going to be pissed about that. Plus, thanks to her, we have Emily in custody and they have little chance of finding out about their drugs," Tim reminded him icily.

"They won't make it personal with Ridley," Horatio insisted.

"Is there some way you have of insuring that?" Tim queried sarcastically with a scowl.

"I know a few things about the business of narcotics and dealers," Horatio answered darkly. "Just trust me on this Speed."

"Alright," Tim said as he let out a sigh, "but remember it's been almost a year, all this time trying to make her feel safe again, just remember that Horatio."

"She kept herself safe today Tim, in fact she kept a lot of people safe. She's stronger than you think."

Tim's frown deepened and he rubbed at his nose awkwardly as he thought of the gun pointing directly at him and how he had once again failed to act. 'Shit she's stronger and I'm weaker,' he thought angrily.

Ridley finally returned to them, her hair dried and down in messy, dark waves, her face wan and tired looking without a hint of make-up. She was dressed in joggers and a navy hoodie with NYPD on it in yellow font. Horatio's mouth twitched slightly as he was surprised to see her look to so casual and was amused by the hoodie.

"You guys can go now," she said softly, "I shouldn't have kept you back as it."

"I have no plans," Horatio retorted calmly.

"Thanks," she retorted with a small smile, "but it's okay, really."

He nodded and stood up from the couch.

Tim pointedly remained where he was and folded his arms. "I'm staying," he insisted fiercely.

"Tim," Ridley began a protest.

"Ridley I'm not made of glass okay and if the cartel were to come I'd rather be with you. You're not pushing me away again, got it?"

She blinked in surprise and looked at him wordlessly.

"I left you alone to the Suburban Killer; I'm not making that mistake again."

Ridley shuddered and turned away as she suppressed several memories. "Justin and Ruby were hurt because of me," she murmured softly, "I can't lose anyone else because of my stupidity."

"You weren't stupid Ridley," Horatio assured her, "and you won't lose anyone. Let Speed stay, it saves me having to drive him home." He gave a flicker of a smile at this.

"Thanks H, really," Tim retorted sardonically.

Ridley nodded wearily. "Alright, I'll er...walk you to the door," she said awkwardly.

Horatio nodded and the pair walked up her hall to the main door.

"I'm not on leave again, am I?" Ridley asked suddenly with a desperate look in her eyes.

"No," Horatio retorted calmly, "unless you want to be?"

"No!" she protested quickly. "Sorry," she added hastily. "I just thought you might say I was in shock again or something..."

"You are but I think it will pass. Look, get some rest and come in late tomorrow, you can look at our latest case then, see what you make of the unfortunate twins."

Ridley nodded in agreement before letting him out the door and bidding him goodbye. She shut the door and locked it before returned to Tim in the couch. He looked moody and like he wanted to chide her for something but when she sat down and snuggled up against him he knew he couldn't. Instead the dark haired man sighed and pulled her close before murmuring down to her, "you have no idea how worried I was. I really thought I'd lost you, do you know how important you are to me? I..." He swallowed hard and frowned as he wondered why putting his emotions into words always seemed to be so damn difficult. "I love you Ridley."

She smiled against him as she nuzzled against his chest. "I thought you might," she retorted teasingly, "at least, I always hoped you didn't ride carousels for just anyone."

"Now that was especially for Calleigh, remember?" he replied mockingly.

"Tim."

"Mmm?"

"I love you too."