The Return
Chapter 25
The night was still warm, even for Miami, in late October when Eric stepped through the door into the lab's parking garage. The day had been a long one – he glanced at his watch surprised that it was almost midnight. How did Horatio ever do this? Running the lab is one thing, but the damn paperwork will kill you. I just wonder if I want to take the lieutenant's exam in a couple of days… do I really want paperwork hours added to shift hours? I sure as hell may as well kiss my love life goodbye if I get the chance to be day-shift supervisor!
Dragging through the door of his condo, Eric dropped his keys in a bowl resting on the table then secured his weapon and badge in the top drawer. He headed to the kitchen thinking he'd grab a beer from the fridge before collapsing on the couch for a while… to unwind.
Already having kicked off his shoes, he settled on the over-stuffed couch reaching for the remote to turn on the TV. Surfing through channels filled with only infomercials at this time of night, he settled on one of the national news channels. Half listening to the woman, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the cushions between draws of the ice cold amber liquid. Then his eyes opened slowly as his ears picked up a news bulletin emanating from the TV.
A Maine school-teacher was reportedly kidnapped yesterday afternoon from outside her home in Freeport Maine. The teacher, Emily Robinson pictured here in a school photo, was taken around four o'clock as she entered her house. The local police and state authorities have been joined by FBI agents in an area-wide search, but so far the woman has not been found.
Eric opened his eyes wider in order to view the picture – his police instincts automatically kick in when hearing things like this, even though the crime might be thousands of miles away from Miami.
Startled, he almost forgot about the beer in his hand as he abruptly sat upright staring at the woman's photo appearing on the screen. "That's Calleigh!" he shouted out loud in the empty room. She changed her looks – short, brown hair… but I'd know those eyes anywhere.
He listened more intently to what was being said now. He had put down the bottle on the coffee table and was leaning forward, to move closer to the large flat-screen TV in order to hear everything.
The anchorwoman continued discussing what they knew about the kidnapped victim.
This was Mrs. Robinson's first year of teaching in the Freeport school system. She and her husband, Bill, who is a local fisherman, moved to Freeport from Portland this past summer. Calleigh's picture stayed displayed on the screen while the newscaster gave a little bit of background information on her; information that shocked Eric.
His eyes remained glued to the screen. Husband! Calleigh's married… Who is this Bill Robinson guy?
Then the woman stopped suddenly when someone handed her a note from off camera, Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received word that the victim may have been kidnapped by the Russian mob… and the police have just received information from an informant about a possible location where they might be holding her. Authorities are verifying this new information. We'll continue covering this story through the night. Let's hope it will come to a safe conclusion.
Eric found himself suddenly unable to breathe… the Russians kidnapped Calleigh… why? Pulling in a deep breath, he reached for his cell phone still in the front pocket of his pants and called Frank Tripp.
Eric waited as the phone rang, pacing back and forth in his living room. Damn it Frank… Wake up!
The ringing stopped; an irritated growl was the only thing Eric heard before it changed to a groggy, sleep-roughened angry voice, "Tripp… this better be damn important to wake me up…"
"Frank…" Eric sharply replied, "Turn on your TV – NOW! Channel 104. It's Calleigh."
Frank thought he'd heard Eric wrong… only being half awake, he picked up the TV remote from the bedside table and pushed the buttons for the channel. What in the hell is he talking about? Then he saw the picture of a victim who for all practical purposes was Calleigh. Jerking up into a sitting position, Frank stared at the image on the screen and remembered Calleigh looking similar when she and Horatio flew back to Miami for Miriam's death. Oh shit… he exclaimed softly. His ears then picked up on Eric's voice screaming from his phone that he'd left on the bed behind him.
Frank returned the phone to his ear… "I'm here damn it Eric… you don't have to bust my eardrum!"
"That is Calleigh… isn't it?" Eric frantically inquired of his colleague, not readily trusting his own eyes.
Frank cringed as he answered, "Yes… it is. I didn't know where she was though… until now."
"What in the hell is she doing in Maine teaching school?" Eric angrily asked… "And on top of that they said she's married! MARRIED? Who could she be married to?"
"Eric… will you shut up for a minute? Who says she can't get married? Regardless of that fact… she's been kidnapped and they're saying by the Russians. We need to contact the Freeport police, or whatever they got up there and find out more. I'll do that and call you back – in the meantime, try and calm down… would ya?!"
Frank hung up and Eric realized his friend was right. Neither I, nor anyone else have any control over what Calleigh does with her life. Trouble is though… I thought after what happened to Horatio… there might be a chance for us…. He squeezed his eyes closed as leaned back against the couch. We've got to help find her.
Horatio stopped briefly behind an out building in the yard as his eyes scanned the dark, fog-shrouded area for the slightest movement before he continued to advance in a semi-crouched stance. I never have liked the thick fog up here… until now.
Detecting movement approaching from behind, Horatio spun around; his Sig Sauer leveled toward the direction, but then he lowered the weapon just as swiftly.
Softly he stated with a hint of irritability, "I thought I told you this was a one-man operation."
John gave his friend a half-smile, "Two are always better than one. What have you got in mind?"
While John moved around to the front of the house, Horatio found a sliding glass door at the back and tugged gently on the handle – it moved. Amazing how often people forget to lock this type of door. Curtains covered the opening which might move, revealing his presence, if the door opened too quickly so, he gradually slid the door to the side in short increments until there was a large enough opening for him to enter.
Not knowing whether anyone was nearby, he barely moved the curtain back, just enough to get a quick glimpse inside the room. He saw only one man sitting at a table across the room with his back to the door, apparently eating. Easing inside as silent as a cat, Horatio stopped momentarily ready for the man to turn around, but the man continued eating as he thumbed through a magazine. Only when Horatio was mere inches from the back of the man did he turn slightly, sensing someone behind him. That's the last thing he did before the butt of Horatio's gun slammed into his skull.
Moving quickly, but silently down the hallway, prepared to encounter more of Kunis's men, Horatio suddenly froze. He heard a manic laugh, then the unmistakable sound of a hand-slap against skin. The horrible sound permeated the hallway, seemingly originating from the opposite side of a door at the end of the hall. Instantly filled with rage when he heard the man's voice call out Calleigh's name, anger swiftly propelled him toward the closed door.
Stopping short when he heard movement in the hall, he raised his gun to fire at a sound coming from around the corner of an adjoining hallway, then his stance relaxed when his friend John appeared. Both men spoke silently with their eyes and hands, with John holding up two fingers, indicating he'd disabled two men when he came through the front of the house. Horatio nodded toward the door where he suspected Kunis was holding Calleigh. Continuing to communicate with hand signals only, Horatio indicated he was going through the door first, while he wanted John to stay back for a minute – just in case there were others in the house.
Horatio used the advantage of surprise when he slammed into the door using his left shoulder like a battering-ram while his left hand simultaneously gripped the doorknob and flung the door open. All the while praying that there would not be more than two men inside – wanting to keep the odds in his favor.
"BACK OFF KUNIS!" Horatio shouted as his eyes rapidly scanned the room for more occupants. His anger increased when he saw Calleigh strapped down in a large, wooden chair with obvious red marks across her face and blood oozing from one corner of her mouth. He felt the bile rush up his throat at the sickening sight of her having been injured by these men.
Kunis spun around, as did the man standing on the other side of Calleigh who reached to pull a gun from the inside of his jacket.
Horatio aimed for the man and ordered, "I wouldn't try that… if you want to live."
Calleigh was both relieved that Horatio found her, and apprehensive for his safety. She wondered if he'd noticed what Kunis had put on her.
"Well, well… you're a bit earlier than I expected Caine, but not early enough to stop my plan from being carried out," Kunis smiled, but displayed a hint of nervousness as well.
Horatio allowed his eyes to lock with Calleigh's only for a split second, knowing it would be dangerous for them both if he lost his focus. As his eyes left hers, he saw the heavy, military vest that her captors had placed on her. That bastard has rigged her with explosives!
Struggling to steady his breath, Horatio growled, "Get that vest off her… now! Take off the restraints…"
"Can't do that," Kunis quickly responded, "not if you want to kill us all."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Calleigh's expression change to fear a second before she screamed, "Horatio! Look out!"
It was too late… Horatio felt the impact to his back above his right kidney and simultaneously felt his grip on his gun go slack as sharp pain radiated up his spine and down his right leg, sending him to the floor face first.
A third man, in an adjoining room putting the finishing touches on a timing device, had heard what was happening, slipped through a side door which was only a couple of feet from Horatio's side and delivered the disabling blow.
Scrambling to reach his gun that landed just a about a foot out of his reach, Horatio briefly thought about his friend. What's happened to John? He should have come in behind me. Shaking off the pain, he made one desperate reach for his gun and had just wrapped his fingers around the weapon when his world went black.
Kunis barked excitedly, "Caine's not stupid… he didn't come here alone…"
The man who had effectively thwarted Horatio's attempt to save Calleigh laughed as he cut his boss off, "I already took care of him."
Turning to his man that had been working on the vest, Kunis excitedly barked, "Hurry up… there could be an army on the way for all we know. Get her finished and they all can go with her," as he felt their time was now limited for a successful escape.
Hot tears streamed down Calleigh's face as she called out softly… "Horatio," then her voice turned angry as she stared up at the evil face smiling down at her and remarked, "they'll find you… you won't get away with this. The police already know you're the mastermind of this plot."
"My dear," Kunis smiled, "by the time they find your charred remains, if there are any left that is, I'll be sipping Vodka at my favorite restaurant in Moscow." He reached out and touched her cheek lightly with his fingers as she pushed back into the chair with discomfort. "Such a shame to waste a beautiful woman… but that's just how things have to work out," his tone changing from soft to matter of fact at the end of the statement. He suddenly turned and walked away as he instructed his two men to follow, knowing since the timer had been started, they only had a few minutes to gather what they needed and get out.
After they left, Calleigh began shouting Horatio's name, "WAKE UP HORATIO… PLEASE WAKE UP!" while at the same time straining against the straps holding down her arms in a futile attempt to free herself.
A couple of minutes passed and then gunfire erupted outside the building. Calleigh could hear men shouting as the shooting lasted for several minutes. She finally heard a moan come from Horatio lying on the floor, returning her attention to the urgency of needing him to wake up.
Horatio felt like he was drifting… he wondered if he was floating in water. Did my boat sink? His thoughts confused by the darkness surrounding him and the seemingly weightless feel of his body abruptly ended as he realized a voice, a beautiful voice was calling out, pleading for him to wake up. I can't… so sleepy… I…. The sound of gunfire broke through his fog causing his eyes to jerk open.
He heard the voice louder now, "HORATIO… you've got to wake up!"
Calleigh… Why is Calleigh calling me? What is she doing here? Then the over-whelming memory of what had happened forcibly rushed back into his mind.
"Calleigh…" he responded in a rough voice while slowly pushing up on his hands and knees.
Calleigh squeezed her eyes tightly shut and whispered, "Thank God!" Her tone becoming more apprehensive she called out, "Horatio… I don't know how much time we have left."
Wobbly and slightly disoriented for a moment, Horatio stood with the help of a nearby chair as he shook his head trying to regain a sense of balance.
Lifting his head, his blurry eyes found Calleigh just a few feet away. Leaning forward as he moved, he stumbled toward her.
Reaching her, he stabilized his shaky body by holding onto each arm of the chair.
"Calleigh…" his voice breathless with concern, his eyes briefly fell on her bruised chin, "did he hurt you… bad?"
Calleigh shook her head no while her teary eyes focused on him. "He… they put explosives," she drew in a sharp breath before continuing, "…on me. Can you disable it?"
Horatio focused on the vest and found his sight returning to normal, allowing him to study the mechanism a few seconds before assuring her, "I can. First let me get you out of these restraints." Still woozy nevertheless, he couldn't give in - their lives were in grave danger. Reaching in a front pocket of his jeans, he took out a folded-knife and as he began working on one leather strap, the door to the hallway flew open and state police poured in the room with John staggering along with them.
"BILL… EMILY," John shouted as he walked unsteadily toward them.
Noticing what his friend was up against, he began working on the strap holding down her other arm.
"Sorry… I got hit from behind… the son-of-a-bitch was quiet and fast."
Horatio's hands continued working while his eyes stayed focus on the task of freeing Calleigh.
"I understand my friend, but right now let's just get her out of this contraption."
One of the officers joined them with a tool that made quick work of cutting the leather, while Horatio took time to ask the man,
"Did your team encounter three men leaving this house?"
"We did sir, they were quickly eliminated," he assured.
Horatio sagged in relief at the officer's news then briefly gathered a freed, shaky Calleigh in his arms. She had longed for his warm, strong embrace where she always felt safe and secure. He leaned back in their embrace and softly said,
"Sweetheart… let's get this vest off of you. Then I'll never let you go."
Turning to the men gathered around, Horatio announced, "Unless any of you have experience on the bomb squad… you need to clear out. The timer shows two minutes and I'll need that to locate and disable the connection."
Several of the officers looked at each other with puzzled expressions until John spoke up, "He knows what he's doing," at least I hope he does, he thought. The men then quickly filed out, but John stayed.
"That includes you too my friend," Horatio stated after turning to John beside him.
"Not on your life… I let you down earlier… I'm going to stay and help if I can."
There was no time to argue. Horatio returned his attention to the vest and began following the wires, taking note of the setup while feeling the sweat pop out on his brow. Finally he found what he needed… the one wire out of the big mass which lead to the trigger device that would set off the explosives. He showed John what he needed him to hold while he picked up his pocket knife.
Leaning in, Horatio gave Calleigh a brief, but tender kiss before pulling back. Trying to comfort her with a small smile he searched her concerned, emerald eyes then asked,
"Ready Sweetheart?"
Trying in vain to return his smile, she swallowed nervously and answered, "I've always trusted you with my life Horatio, just as I do now."
"I love you Calleigh."
"I love you," she whispered back.
Horatio looked at his friend John who gave him a tight smile before bracing for the impact of an explosion, realizing there really wasn't any need, given their close proximity to the bomb, but it was just a natural reflex.
TBC…