Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Chapter 1

Zoë was driving frantically in her hummer to a new crime scene, she was belting down the motorway at a ridiculous speed with urgency. She pulled up onto the tarmac at the local airport and jumped out of the hummer and glared at Ryan, Eric and Walter who all turned to look at her as she rushed over to them.

"Where is he?!" Zoë questioned forcefully, as she looked up to the 3 of them from the large puddle of deep red blood. Each of them swallowed, one after the other having seen the fire in her eyes.

"Where is Natalia?" She questioned.

"She has taken some leave." Ryan squeaked. Zoë exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose as she shook her head.

"I'm only going to ask this once more. Where is Horatio?" She asked, dangerously low.

"We've moved his body, Zoë." Ryan said softly, trying to keep the situation calm.

"What? Why?" She questioned. "This has not happened!" She swallowed as she looked back down at the pool of blood.

"I'm so sorry Zoë." Eric said softly, followed by Walter.

"Come on." Ryan said, trying to pull her away from the scene.

"Where is he, Ryan?" She questioned, tears gathering in her eyes, her anger slowly dying and being replaced with hurt and emptiness.

"He's been taken by the coroner already, we can't have his body being plastered all over the news." Ryan said softly as he placed his hand on her back.

"No, you can't do that. We need photographs of the scene! This is compromising the investigation. How will we catch our killer?" She questioned, holding the tears back.

"I've got a few photos. But it's not a good idea for you to look at them." Ryan said softly.

"I need to see." She said looking up at him as she began to tremble.

"No, Zoë, I–" Ryan began but was cut off.

"I need to see!" She snapped and Ryan regretfully handed her his camera. She pulled up the pictures and Ryan saw her face drain of its colour. Her mouth fell open and she threw the camera back at Ryan and turned. She began to run back to her hummer as Ryan called after her. Eric and Walter both watched it all unfold in front of them. Ryan began to walk over to the hummer as they saw her wipe her eyes. As he got closer she revved the engine and reversed quickly and pulled away at speed. Ryan watched her drive away and then looked down at the floor and shook his head. He turned around and made his way back to Eric and Walter and looked up at them.

"We can't just let her drive away like that." Eric said, surprised that Ryan hadn't gotten into his hummer to chase after her.

"She needs some space. I won't do her any good if I chase her." Ryan said softly as he looked down at the blood pool.

"You know what she can be like under stress. She could blackout at the wheel." Eric said, worried.

"I know, she'll go home though. She'll go for a jog and I'll go round later. Don't worry about it." Ryan said softly, remaining calm.

"You don't know if that will happen. She can be unpredictable." Eric said, confused by Ryan's calmness.

"Don't worry, Eric, she'll be fine. I know what she's like when she's stressed and upset, okay?" Ryan said softly and Eric nodded. They all looked back down at the blood pool and swallowed.

"Who'd do this to H?" Eric questioned.

"Only half of Miami" Ryan exhaled as he got a sample of the blood.

"Half of Miami goes after Zoë, is she safe now that H is gone? Won't people be after her now that he's gone?" Walter questioned.

"Yes, she's okay. She's more than safe in her house." Ryan said softly and they nodded at him.

"Where is his body though, Ryan?" Eric questioned.

"It's been taken to a private morgue for examination." Ryan said as he looked up at Eric.

"How were you here so fast?" Eric then questioned.

"I was out running an errand when it was called in." Ryan said as he stood straight and Eric nodded at him.

"Are you sure Zoë will be okay?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I'm going to pop round after we're done here and then later." Ryan said softly, both Eric and Walter nodded at him. Ryan then began to question himself, and whether Zoë really was okay. He began to really worry.

"On second thoughts, is it okay if you guys get this scene done?" Ryan questioned and they nodded at him.

"Thank you, I'll call later and I'll be back." Ryan said and they nodded at him as he quickly rushed away and drove over to Zoë's house and pulled up outside, he saw that her car was next to Horatio's. He got out of his hummer and walked up the drive and knocked on the door and waited for a response. He knocked again but got no response and his heart began to pound. He let himself in.

"Zoë? Are you in?" He called loudly as he scouted downstairs.

"Zoë?" He questioned and then quickly went upstairs and checked all bedrooms and bathrooms. He saw the suit she was wearing on her bedroom floor. 'Ah, she's probably out for a jog.' Ryan thought to himself and then quickly left, driving back to the scene to find them packing away and about to head off.

"How's Zoë?" Both Eric and Walter called.

"She's good, she's on a jog." Ryan said softly and they nodded at him and gave the patrol officers a nod as they left.

"How are we going to get a suspect list? There's hundreds of people who would want to kill H." Eric said as they got back to the lab and all walked in.

"We'll have to go through the hundreds then." Ryan replied and they nodded at him with a sigh.

"I can't believe this has happened. What was H doing there in the first place?" Eric questioned.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Ryan replied as they stepped out of the lift.

They got on with the case and worked hard, but couldn't find any leads and with the sheer amount of people who would want Horatio dead, it was making it even harder for them. The list was ever growing the more they searched the threats he'd received and criminals that vowed they'd get him.

"I never knew H had so many people who hated him." Walter commented.

"Well, that's what you get when you put hundreds of criminals behind bars for the rest of their life, their family members aren't always pleased either…" Eric said as he read through the list they had compiled.

They spend the afternoon working hard until the night shift took over and they had to leave. Ryan went straight over to Zoë's house. He was driving down her road when he saw someone in her front garden. He put the window down and pulled his gun from his holster and approached quietly in the car. He pulled up onto the path and saw the man with something dark in his hand.

"Miami Dade police! Drop the weapon!" Ryan shouted. Ryan saw that it was a grenade in his hand and immediately pulled his trigger as the man reached for the pin on the grenade, shooting the man in the back. He jumped out of the car and up Zoë's path and hopped over the rockery that divided the garden from the path and drive.

"Ron Saris, you son of a bitch" Ryan growled, kicking the grenade from his hand and staring down at him. He pulled his phone out and notified the police as he bent down to get a pulse and then notified them that they needed a coroner. He quickly walked away and knocked on Zoë's door again.

"Zoë, I need to know that you're okay?" Ryan called loudly and then glanced round when a patrol car turned up.

"His name is Ron Saris, I caught him just about to launch a grenade through Detective Chambers window." He said and they nodded at him.

"How did you get here so quickly anyway?" Ryan questioned.

"We got an automated alert about a dangerous weapon at this location." The officer said as he shrugged. 'H did mention that there is a smart security system in place, surely it's not that smart though?' He questioned himself. More patrol officers turned up with a coroner and CSI's who began to work. Ryan gave his statement and then entered the house.

"Zoë?" He questioned. 'She's got to be in, she can't be out still. She wouldn't have gone far as her car is still here.' Ryan thought to himself. He began to slowly climb the stairs.