The Return

Chapter 15

"You oaf!" Deidra hissed, lambasting the big man in a low voice as he stopped mid-stride looking down at the overturned chair that was now on the floor.

She and Igor had entered first through the back door on the ground floor of the lodge, using the key they'd taken from the FBI agent.

"Do you want to wake them all?" She angrily continued to berate the man in Russian.

Igor hoped her reaction was from stress and that she'd forget about the incident. He had experienced her wrath in the past and wanted nothing to do with it again.

The other five men followed behind them, quickly dispersing into the building in search of the man they had come to kill, along with any others in the building. Their goal was clear, finish the job of eliminating Horatio Caine.

Deidra wanted Caine dead so badly that she put aside the pleasure of killing him herself. She told her men that whoever took the man out, would be rewarded with not only a substantial sum of money, but also a higher position within the mob. She wanted results; she also wanted her superiors to take notice of her leadership skills. She intended to correct her major error of not killing Caine before.

Horatio led the way down the stairs to the main floor, careful to stay against the wall not only for protection, but so that there would be no possibility of the wooden steps creaking, alerting anyone to their position. When the bullet splintered the wood about an inch over his head, he and Calleigh immediately fell to their knees behind the wooden slats of the railing for protection. The shooter had used a silencer, taking them completely off-guard.

Horatio whispered, as his eyes scanned the room over the barrel of his gun, "Did you get a direction?" His heart beat wildly in his chest waiting for her response.

"Hallway…" Calleigh answered as she aimed her weapon in that direction.

Horatio moved off the stairs and then sprinted toward a nearby high-backed upholstered chair. He heard a whiz of another bullet as it struck the chair with a thud, narrowly missing him as he dove for the safety the furniture offered. Calleigh was then able to find the origin of the shot and returned fire.

Cross was in the radio room when he heard the 'pop' of a gunshot. Quickly taking off the headset, his hand had already wrapped around the .45 that was lying on the desktop as he stood.

Gradually opening the door just enough to see the immediate area of the hallway; Cross saw nothing. Opening the door wider, he looked further down the hall and saw a man pulling himself along the floor while his other hand was clamped around his thigh. Blood was spurting through the man's fingers, indicating he wouldn't make it long without help.

Horatio approached the injured man cautiously; his gun raised and aimed directly at the man's back as he said, "Where is Deidra?"

The sound of Caine's voice caused the Russian to stop moving and instantly turn over with his gun aimed directly at Horatio, but before he could squeeze off a shot, Horatio fired, hitting the man in the center of his forehead. The recoil of the gun firing caused an electric shock to race up his arm and into his chest, momentarily taking his breath. Calleigh noticed him waver slightly. She walked briskly toward him, ready to meet another shooter.

"Horatio…" she called out anxiously reaching out grasping his arm, not knowing if he'd been shot.

Cross stood silently in the hallway and watched the scene play out in front of him.

Horatio's breathing sounded labored which concerned her and she called out softly, "Handsome… were you hit?"

He shook his head in the negative. Then managed to say between gasps of breath, "It's… just my wound. Give… me a second."

Horatio looked around thinking there were probably others in the building, but at the moment, he didn't see anyone else but Cross.

Still shaken, but knowing they were vulnerable standing there Horatio said, "Let's get out of this open hallway."

As they entered Cross's office, Horatio walked to a window and stood off to the side as he pushed the heavy curtain back enabling him to see the grounds in front of the lodge.

Cross watched Horatio's actions and quickly asked, "Do you see anything… a vehicle? How could they have gotten here in that storm last night?"

All Horatio could see through the heavy snow, falling at a rapid rate, was a mule deer cautiously making his way across the open area below.

"No vehicle. The Russians have no problem with weather like this. Probably walked in - didn't want noise to alert us and left it down the road."

Letting the curtain fall back in place, Horatio looked toward Calleigh. He could see the concern in her eyes and knew it wasn't all just for him. She knew the situation was dire, just as he.

Cross angrily spat, "They're cunning… I have to give them credit. Coming in when we never expected. I'm sure they took out Hernandez. What's our plan now, Caine?"

Horatio quickly diverted his attention to the agent. Raising his eyebrows he smugly answered, "For us to stay alive."

Calleigh added, "What about Hella? I need to go to her room and get her out. She might not have heard the gunshot."

Horatio wasn't comfortable with the idea of Calleigh striking out on her own, but he was concerned about Hella himself. I would have thought she'd heard Calleigh's shot and been here… I hope she is alright.

"How many clips do you have with you?" Horatio inquired as he reluctantly reminded himself of the fact that Calleigh could handle herself.

"Four. That ought to be enough."

Horatio reached out and cupped her cheek as he softly said, "Be careful Sweetheart. Bring Hella here and lock the door."

"Where are you and Cross going to be?"

"My guess is they entered the ground floor somehow. We'll head that way and hopefully surprise the rest of our guests."

Horatio and Cross stood outside the office door ready to give Calleigh cover if needed. When she turned the corner and was out of sight, Horatio couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was about to go very wrong.

Jared slammed on the vehicle's brakes. Ahead of them was a mountain of snow, twice as high as the Range Rover.

"What in the hell… I know it's snowing like crazy, but how could it just suddenly block the damn road like that?" Frank asked gruffly.

The sheriff slowly turned and with a steady voice answered, "An avalanche."

Walter let out a low whistle from the back seat. "Well, this I've never seen before. What do we do now?"

Jared studied their location a moment before answering the young man's question.

"We're not but a half a mile from the lodge. We'll walk. Ever done any snowshoeing?"

The three men had covered about two hundred yards, slowly trudging through blowing snow, heads down trying to protect their faces from the pelting barrage of stinging snowflakes, when they suddenly realized there was a partially buried SUV in the snow before them.

Walter made his way to the driver's side, while Frank and the sheriff kneeled down to look through the windows on the passenger side and found the front window broken out. Jared slid through the window opening and found a man lying lifeless against the seatback, behind the wheel with a bullet hole in his right temple. Reaching inside the man's coat, he found a slim leather case, similar to a billfold. Clicking on his flashlight he opened it. Puzzled he stared at the item in his hand. The ID read, Special Agent Dwight Jones. The dead man was a FBI agent.

"Find something?" Frank called out.

Jared didn't answer immediately; instead, he contemplated for a few moments why FBI would be in this area… during this kind of weather.

"Uh, yeah," Jared answered and then slid out of the vehicle and stood, holding out the victim's ID to Frank.

Frank squinted trying to read the information as Walter stopped beside him. Looking up at the sheriff after reading the ID Frank exclaimed, "FBI… and he's dead?"

"One gunshot to the right temple, signifying we should really be on alert. The killer, or killers are out here and not too far ahead of us."

Walter looked at Frank, "It's the Russians. If Calleigh is being held at this lodge, Deidra and her crew found out about it somehow."

"Yeah, that's what bothers me," Frank replied. "We need to get there fast."

Horatio had taken one direction, Cross the other. Horatio's direction would take him past Hella's room. He thought he'd make sure she and Calleigh were alright.

Before reaching the room, Horatio sensed someone was approaching from an adjoining hall. Flattening his body against the wall, his ears picked up on the soft footsteps coming closer. As the man cleared the corner, Horatio squeezed off a shot, bracing for the recoil. The man fell backward, sprawled out on the carpet. In a few seconds, blood began trickling out from underneath his body. Horatio reached down and picked up the man's weapon that had fallen from his hand. It had a silencer attached.

Cross made his way down another hallway and ran into two of Deidra's men. He took both of them out. A third man appeared around the corner and realized what had happened. He was young, a new recruit from the Russian sector of Miami. The young man looked at Cross asking in shock,

"What are you doing?"

Cross approached with a smile, but as he got closer, his hand that held a gun instantly flew up and fired. He walked to the young man lying face up; his gray eyes staring blankly at him. Sorry kid. Then Cross stepped around and walked toward Hella's room. Unfinished business needs to be addressed, he thought.

Horatio stood outside the door to Hella's room and softly called Calleigh's name before turning the doorknob. Opening the door, he quickly stepped inside. Then what he saw made his heart stop.

"Well, well Lieutenant… please… join the party," Deidra called out to him and then laughed sarcastically.

Across the room, Deidra stood beside Calleigh with a gun pointed at the blonde's temple. Calleigh's green eyes looked defeated and worried. A large man stood off to one side smiling.

Horatio responded through gritted teeth, "Let her go… it's me you want."

"Oh how noble of you Caine, but you see," Deidra's eyes travelled from Horatio to Calleigh, "I can't do that." Returning her attention to Horatio, she instructed firmly, "Now put your gun on the floor and kick it toward me and no tricks. My finger is just itching to pull this trigger; and I'd be very disappointed if that were to happen. I want you to suffer a bit before I end your life once and for all."

Horatio had no choice. The moment he placed his gun on the floor and let go, he knew it was over. Not only would he die, but Calleigh and the others with him. Where is Hella? Is she already dead?

The door opened behind him. Turning he saw it was Cross with his gun ready. Horatio made a move to pick up his gun, thinking the agent would distract Deidra, but he stopped instantly when he heard Cross exclaim firmly,

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Caine."

Cross walked in, his lips curled up in a cocky grin, with his gun pointed at Horatio.

Horatio glared at the man and angrily responded, "So Jones isn't the only corrupt agent. From the moment I got here, I disliked you Cross, and you've just proven why. How much did it take to buy you?"

Calleigh's hopes hit bottom with the arrival of the agent. For the first time in years, she was afraid. There's no chance now of us making it out. Poor Hella, Deidra must have eliminated her before I got here.

After what seemed an eternity, Frank squinted looking up in the direction they were heading, attempting to see through the snow falling heavier now. He could barely make out the outline of a building a short distance ahead. Walter saw it too and began to walk faster.

"That's the lodge, I hope," Frank commented.

Jared stopped walking and replied, "It is. Let's make our arrival a surprise."

All three men readied their weapons, just in case. By all appearances, government agents were inside the lodge, along with Calleigh, but the question still remained about the reason for her kidnapping and being brought to Montana. Something wasn't right.

Frank walked around to the back of the building while Jared and Walter made their way to the front entrance. Frank reached for the doorknob and turned it. To his surprise he found the door unlocked. At almost the exact time, he heard a gunshot from inside the building. A second shot quickly followed causing him to barge through the door at high alert, forgetting his own safety, his weapon ready.

TBC…