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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 16, 2009 13:03:57 GMT -10
A/N - This is a Horatio/OC story I wrote awhile ago. I hope you enjoy!
Prologue
It was a beautiful spring day in Miami. It was early and the air was still relatively fresh and crisp, the humidity not setting in until later in the day. It was just past eight in the morning and although traffic was fairly heavy, it was moving quickly and steadily down the causeway as it normally did every single day. On this day however, things were anything but normal on the causeway.
Within the traffic moving down the causeway that Monday morning, three of those vehicles would become key players and those drivers’ lives would intersect and intertwine with each other in ways none of them saw coming.
The first vehicle of note was an SUV, a Hummer to be exact; the driver, a man in his forties, heading to work for the day. This particular man was six feet tall, lean, with piercing blue eyes and red hair, tousled as the wind came through the open window of his vehicle.
The second vehicle, also an SUV, was a red Toyota ForeRunner; the driver of this vehicle a tall female in her thirties, brunette with hazel eyes. She was currently driving several cars behind the Hummer, scared and unsure of her destination.
The third vehicle was a black BMW sedan with tinted windows and missing plates; the driver, a male, of unknown description. He was currently following the ForeRunner, and coming up fast behind her. He had been hired to get rid of her; he didn’t know why, he didn’t really care, he just followed the boss’s orders.
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The dark colored sedan tapped the bumper of the Toyota. The lone female glanced in the rearview mirror, terror and confusion in her eyes. She had no idea who the person was or why they were chasing her, but somehow she understood that if she didn’t get away from the sedan and its driver, she would be killed.
Someone wanted her dead, that was clear to her, but she had no idea why someone wanted to kill her, or even who; none at all. For some reason, her memory was fading in and out, scattered and disorganized. She was terrified, feeling as if her heart would burst out of her chest.
The Toyota sped up and so did the sedan. She swerved in and out of the traffic, not sure where she was going, just running on sheer panic and adrenaline now; it was the only thing keeping sheer exhaustion from taking over.
The sedan followed quickly and easily and the woman realized that her SUV was no challenge for the high end sedan- it was meant for speed and quick moves, while her vehicle was designed for off road tasks and pulling loads. The higher center of gravity of the SUV forced her to take into account rollover if she swerved too sharply and too quickly.
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She sped up, going straight down the causeway, having found a straight open space on the road to hopefully increase her distance from the sedan, but no such luck. He caught up quickly and easily, tapping her bumper again, this time with more force. Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white, she observed a Hummer up ahead, and swerved over to the right hand lane, passing him quickly, and then cutting in front of him. The sedan followed suit, effortlessly meeting the challenge.
The man in the Hummer quickly slowed his vehicle as the Toyota sped in front of him. He also noticed the sedan following closely behind and hitting the bumper. The man in the Hummer in turn sped up and began following the sedan, noticing the tinted windows and lack of plates would keep him from being able to identify the driver.
The only thing he knew for certain was that the driver was a man. He didn’t get a good look at the person in the Toyota, but he knew that they were in desperate need of help before they lost control and crashed.
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He turned on his lights and sirens, speeding up after the sedan. That is when it happened; to the man in the Hummer it seemed as if everything was happening in slow motion, lasting hours, although in reality he knew it was only a minute or two before it was over.
The driver of the sedan kept focus, not caring about the Hummer behind him. The driver of the Toyota, completely in a panic now, saw not only the sedan behind her, but a Hummer following, lights and sirens flashing.
That nanosecond moment of inattention caused the driver of the Toyota to lose control of her vehicle, and as she slammed on the brakes, the vehicle tipped onto its side, sliding down the causeway until it came to a complete stop, tires still spinning. The man in the SUV watched in horror at the sight in front of him, and the sedan, seeing its chance, continued past the overturned vehicle and sped off down the causeway.
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TBC
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Post by NV Oracle on Aug 16, 2009 13:16:08 GMT -10
Welcome aboard, celticgirl. You've got a really good start to your story, it'll be interesting to see what happens next.
Your friend
Oracle
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 16, 2009 13:49:22 GMT -10
Thanks for reading NV! It is a mystery that will take Horatio from Miami to Marina Del Rey, California!  Celticgirl |
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Post by deborah on Aug 16, 2009 14:31:25 GMT -10
high I see you found the site I told you about. On this site I am Deborah. I will be waiting for your stories to come out so that I can finish reading them. It is me dollydarwloo. It is so good to be reading your stories again. If you have steamy chapters again email them to me. I will also be looking forward to your stories about Horatio/Allie. I was trying to email you earlier to let you know that I liked your stories about Horatio/Maria and the one about Horatio/Noelle. Please keep them comming . also the one with Cara will be nice to finish reading.
Deborah (dollydarwloo)
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 16, 2009 15:19:03 GMT -10
Thanks for telling me about the site. I have really missed being able to talk about Miami and being able to post my Horatio stories without being harassed and stuff. I am looking forward to enjoying some time here.... Cheers Celticgirl |
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Post by sanne on Aug 16, 2009 22:24:24 GMT -10
Great start, Celticgirl. And I understand you have more for us when this is finished  Sandra  |
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 17, 2009 3:28:26 GMT -10
Chapter 1 Road Rage?
The man called rescue units as soon as the car lost control. His first priority was to check on the victims, letting the black BMW go; without a license plate or any description of the driver, it was unlikely he would ever be found.
He stopped his SUV in the middle of the road and set up flares quickly around the disabled vehicle. He could hear Fire and rescue unit sirens in the background as he knelt down and looked into the vehicle through the front windshield. The front windshield, had extensive damage, cracked in several areas, radiating outward like a spider’s web; but luckily it had not shattered.
Car window makers routinely added a polymer to the front windshield to prevent excessive shattering, thereby preventing serious injury and death to the occupants. The same however could not be said of side and rear windows, and in this case the passenger side of the vehicle had sustained extensive damage. He could see the driver, being held in place by the seat belt and moaning softly. With the vehicle on its side, he couldn’t get in to check on her; the sounds of the sirens were getting closer, but they would have a hard time getting through as traffic had now backed up on the causeway.
He decided his best course of action was to break the front windshield, slowly and carefully. The windshield now had several weak spots and he felt it was safe enough to break it without harming the driver.
He had managed to break the front windshield in a matter of minutes taking advantage of the weak spots the accident had generated.
He lay his jacket down, trying to cover as much glass as possible. He crawled as far as he reasonably could into the vehicle.
"Ma'am? Ma'am can you hear me?" He asked, watching the woman intently, touching her arm tenderly. He could hear her shallow, but steady breathing and he sighed with relief.
Her eyes soon fluttered open, a pair of round hazel eyes, meeting with his piercing blue ones. She moaned again, swallowed and attempted to speak.
“It’s ok,” he said. “Don’t try and speak. Rescue is almost here and you will be fine Ma’am.” The man whispered softly to her. “Just hang on Ma’am.”
To his amazement the woman smiled and whispered barely loud enough for him to hear. "Don't call me Ma'am." She rasped, coughing slightly. "It makes me feel old."
“Ok, can you tell me your name?” he asked, smiling at her attempt at humor.
“Alida.” She whispered softly. “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t Alida…I won’t.” he responded gently. “Is there any family I can call?”
“No,” she whispered, hardly able to talk, “I am alone.”
“Not anymore you’re not.” He replied. “Not anymore.”
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Rescue had finally arrived and Horatio moved aside to let them do their jobs, but stayed within eye contact with Alida. Within twenty minutes Fire had removed her from the vehicle and the EMTs began their emergency aid in preparation for transport to hospital.
“What hospital?” he asked the EMT as they loaded her into the back.
“Miami General.” he shouted over the noise of the sirens and engines, before he slammed the door shut and the ambulance sped off, lights flashing and sirens blaring.
Horatio Caine watched the ambulance take her away before turning his attention to the wrecked vehicle.
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Eric and Calleigh had finally arrived at the accident scene and found Horatio still examining the vehicle.
“What happened H?” Eric asked, approaching his boss.
Horatio explained to the pair what he had witnessed only an hour or so ago.
“Road rage?” Calleigh asked.
“I don’t know Calleigh.” Horatio responded, “We tend to use the term road rage to describe any display of aggression by a driver, and in this case, there is no doubt that from what I saw, the driver was extremely aggressive, chasing her down, tagging her bumper with his. However, the term is more appropriately used to refer to the more extreme acts of aggression, such as a physical assault, that occur as a direct result of a disagreement between drivers, and I didn’t see any of that here. I have no idea where the initial confrontation began, but I got the distinct impression that the sedan chasing her had been going on for some time.”
“Any ID on the victim?” Eric asked.
Horatio nodded. “Her name is Alida Marie Hughes, according to her driver’s license.”
“So what do you want us to do Horatio?” Calleigh asked.
“Bring the vehicle into the lab and have Ryan go over every inch of it.” Horatio directed.
“Maybe there was some transfer between the bumpers; maybe he had hit her vehicle somewhere we cannot see right now, although with this damage, it might be impossible to determine.”
“What are you going to do?” Eric asked.
“I need to go to the hospital and check on how Alida is doing. Only she and the unknown driver know what really happened at this point.” He responded.
“Any information on the other car H?” Eric inquired. “Plate number should make it fairly simple.”
“Now that is the interesting thing Eric, I can tell you that the other car was a black late model BMW, tinted windows and no plates.”
Horatio explained.
“No plates?”
“I have the feeling Eric that this was no simple case of road rage.” Horatio replied, looking intently at the wrecked vehicle.
Little did he realize how right he was.
Horatio had left his team at the site searching for what little evidence they could find. It would have been nice if the BMW had broken a headlight, anything, that could identify it and its owner. However the only sure thing he had was Alida, and hopefully she could fill him in on all the missing details.
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Everything about her was unusual; that was the first thing that went through Horatio’s mind as he drove to the hospital. Her name, Alida, was one he had never run across before; he would have to ask her about it. He sensed a history, a story that went along with that name.
He smiled at her attempt to be funny during what must be a very frightening ordeal.
To his amazement the woman smiled and whispered barely loud enough for him to hear. "Don't call me Ma'am." She rasped, coughing slightly. "It makes me feel old."
Although she was clearly scared at her situation, she remained amazingly calm; she had a quiet inner strength about her that got her through the time until rescue.
He also noticed her eyes; when she opened her eyes to look at him, he realized that they were hazel; he could see distinct flecks of green and yellow in the iris and as she became aware of her surroundings, they appeared to take on a different color, perhaps due to a slight change of lighting, or perhaps fear; most likely a little of both he thought.
Her hair was medium length, brown in color and straight, tied back in a ponytail. He could see some small cuts on her face and hands from flying glass and he had to resist the urge to reach out and touch her, for fear of embedding any glass on her skin even deeper.
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Horatio arrived at Miami General Hospital almost two hours after the accident. He walked through the ER and approached the nurse’s desk, flashing his badge. He inquired about the car accident victim brought in, showing the nurse Alida’s driver’s license picture. She nodded in recognition and told him to have a seat while she ascertained where the patient was.
Five minutes later, the nurse told Horatio that Alida was still in surgery; she had some internal bleeding, likely from the seatbelt rather then the accident. The MRI showed no head injury or spinal cord damage from the accident, so she is extremely lucky.
The nurse told Horatio that the doctor would come for him once surgery was over.
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It was over an hour before the surgeon finally came to speak to Horatio.
“Lieutenant Caine?” He said, “I am Dr. Wright.”
Horatio nodded and stood up, shaking the surgeon’s hand, “How is she?”
“She is stable, and remarkably lucky, although we did have to remove her spleen. The seatbelt really did save her life.” He explained. “The MRI was clear, no head or spinal cord injuries, although the story likely would have been very different if the vehicle had rolled over onto the roof, rather then just its side. She is banged up and sustained some lacerations from glass, but I expect she will make a full physical recovery.”
“Anything else I need to be aware of?” Horatio asked.
The surgeon paused briefly, “Yes-I think there is something you should be aware of.”
“Explain please.” Horatio said, tilting his head.
“Well, when we examined her, we found a bump on the back of her head, a fairly substantial one in fact.” Dr. Wright commented. “She was conscious when she was brought in so we asked her how she got it; she couldn’t remember at all.”
“Did she fall at some point?” Horatio asked.
“It’s not the kind of bump you get from a fall I’m afraid Lieutenant.” Dr. Wright said softly, “Someone hit her recently.”
Horatio stared at the doctor for a few minutes, “Can I see her?” he asked.
The surgeon nodded, “For a few minutes, she is still very groggy right now. She is in room 4450.”
“Thank you Dr. Wright; and thank you for informing me of the head injury.”
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Horatio stepped onto the elevator and pressed four.
Things were getting complicated and fast and he no longer had any doubt as to his original gut feeling; this was no road rage incident, someone wanted Alida dead. He thought, and they almost succeeded.
Horatio stepped off the elevator and walked down the fluorescent lit hallway until he reached Room 4450. He slowly opened the door and walked inside. The room’s curtains had been drawn to keep out the harsh sunlight and the nurse had left on a nightlight above Alida’s bed. Horatio walked toward the bed and looked closely at her.
There was bruising on her face and neck and her lip was swollen where she had been cut by the impact of the air bag. The tubes running from the IV in her hand and the oxygen in her nose added themselves to the troubling images of what he had seen at the accident site. A look of anger crossed his features, as he wondered who wanted this woman dead, and why.
Resting upright, Alida was sound asleep, having tugged the blanket up closer around her neck with her good hand. She looked extremely pale and exhausted.
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TBC
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Post by deborah on Aug 17, 2009 4:06:08 GMT -10
Great start so far. I have never read any of these, or if I did it was not in order. The name Alida is familiar but in a different story. I think they were in California or somewhere like that.
Am looking forward to more. It is good to be able to read some more of your stories and enjoy them. I am a CSI:Miami fan and especially Hortio.
Deborah
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 17, 2009 4:49:36 GMT -10
No Deborah, you are right. Horatio does end up with her in California when he figures out the other half of the mystery but that won't happen until Part 2.
Glad you enjoy it still!
Celticgirl
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Post by helene68 on Aug 17, 2009 6:43:31 GMT -10
very nice story Celticgirl. Don't let us wait to long for part 2 ;D Hélène |
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Post by sanne on Aug 17, 2009 6:48:49 GMT -10
In that case, please try not to spoil the progress of the story for those who haven't read it yet......I like it so far. Who gave her the hit on the head? The one who wants her dead? Won't be surprised if H and Alida end up being "together"......  Sandra |
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 17, 2009 7:40:54 GMT -10
Thanks for enjoying it so far everyone! Lotsa surprises in store for you all and I hope you continue to enjoy! Celticgirl |
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Post by NV Oracle on Aug 17, 2009 9:06:46 GMT -10
Enjoying very much, Celticgirl.
Can't wait to see what happens next.
Your friend
Oracle
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 17, 2009 11:57:07 GMT -10
Thanks for enjoying NV! |
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Post by celticgirl39 on Aug 17, 2009 19:34:07 GMT -10
Chapter 2- The Hospital
Horatio sat down in the chair next to the bed and continued to study her face. He knew she was sleeping, in part from the drugs in her system and in part from sheer exhaustion. The dark circles under her eyes indicated she hadn’t been sleeping well long before this accident. He wondered how many other “accidents” she had recently.
He frowned when he thought he observed streaks of what were tears that had been running down her cheeks and for some inexplicable reason, he began to feel possessive of this woman, a literal stranger to him, that he had stopped to help after an accident. It was his job after all, to help people in trouble; usually however, by the time he arrived, they were already beyond that kind of help he was able to give her.
He was deciding whether to leave and come back later when her body suddenly jerked and she inhaled sharply, as if she had been startled, or even scared by something. She moaned slightly as her body relaxed again and her eyes opened. She turned her head to the left and spotted Horatio sitting there. She looked at him intently as if trying to remember if she knew him.
"Alida…” he started to speak; he could see that she was trying to focus on him, "Miss Hughes?"
Alida blinked, looking at him a moment as she attempted to gather her senses together, a tiny frown beginning to crease her features.
"I can come back later..." he finally decided, looking at her again as he began to move.
"No...Don’t go" she said, in a sleepy voice. "You must be Lieutenant…Horatio Caine?" she asked, frowning again, pushing some of the blankets down as she seemed to be searching for something under the blankets, and not finding it, deciding instead to look at the IV needle stuck in the back of her hand and moving around very carefully because of it. “You were named after the writer, Horatio Alger?” she asked.
Horatio, for his part, stared at her in surprise-she knew his name.
He saw what she was searching for and before he realized it he was moving around to her side of the bed, picking up the adjustment control for her.
"Here," he said gently, his voice low, "Please let me help."
Groaning a little with pain, Alida blushed, reaching up with her free hand to rub at her eyes, as if she was still trying to get him into focus while he raised the bed higher up for her."I'm sorry," she apologized. "I think they have enough painkillers in my system to knock out a horse." Her voice betrayed the pain and exhaustion she was still floating in.
Horatio smiled briefly, as he finished his task. He glanced up at her seeing she was becoming more aware of her surroundings. Those hazel eyes were looking at him with a frank candidness, an eyebrow raised slightly in mild curiosity. He glanced down, hand still on the adjustment control. There was an emotional pause before he cleared his throat and gently set the control next to her to leg.
"You know who I am?" He asked, curiously. A smile briefly flitted across Alida’s face as she took her first good look at the man the nurses say saved her life.
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He was tall and lean, at least six feet with a full head of red hair, tousled at moment as he had a habit of running his hand through it she noticed. It occurred to her that perhaps he was nervous. The man was handsome, of that there was no doubt, but the thing that captured her attention was his piercing blue eyes. She could easily imagine drowning, willingly, in those eyes and she realized how dangerous he was to her, he was more dangerous then the man out there trying to kill her.
She understood that she could fall for him very easily and she couldn’t afford to fall in love with this man because it could end up getting her killed, and worse, getting him killed.
The nurses had told her he was a CSI and a Lieutenant and the thought had briefly, very briefly, crossed her mind to tell him about her trouble; but that was clearly not an option.
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"No," she said in that soft sleepy voice. "But the nurses told me, and I just assumed you were named after the author Horatio Alger.”
"I see...I see." he said, eyebrows rising in comprehension.
"What else did they tell you?" he asked.
"Just that a Lieutenant Horatio Caine would be coming in to see me..." She looked at him again, grimacing in pain, and as he glanced back at her, he could see a look of clear comprehension finally settle on her face.
"Oh my...it’s you." she said softly, sinking back into her pillow and looking at him with a mixture of surprise, realization and outright fear. "You were the guy with me in the...in the Hummer." she whispered.
Horatio looked down again, conquering a rising blush, and then nodded his head. "That would be me..." he smiled gently.
Alida turned white before his eyes, as she reached a shaky hand up to her face. "I thought you were a policeman coming in to question me, and honestly I can hardly think straight at the moment, “she murmured, suddenly noticing for the first time his badge and weapon at his waist.
"No, I was coming in to see how you are because I made a promise to you out there," his smile flickering, as he watched her absorb this information.
"A promise?" she whispered, her brow creasing in a sincere effort in trying to remember.
“Ok, can you tell me your name?” he asked, smiling at her attempt at humor.
“Alida.” She whispered softly. “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t Alida…I won’t.” he responded gently. “Is there any family I can call?”
“No,” she whispered, hardly able to talk, “I am alone.”
“Not anymore you’re not.” He replied. “Not anymore.”
He had made a promise, two promises actually; one not to leave her, and the other, that she wasn’t alone anymore. This was a problem for her; she needed to get rid of him now, she needed to keep all her senses and emotions in check because once she got out of the hospital, that man who wanted her dead would figure out she wasn’t, and the nightmare would start all over again.
It would be easier for her to disappear without a police Lieutenant on her trail for starters.
She still didn’t know who wanted her dead and why.
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She glanced at him again. "I don’t know how I can ever thank you," she asked quietly, watching him.
He looked at her and smiled. “You just did.”
“I am, according to the doctors, going to be fine now, so you don’t need to concern yourself with me any longer.” She finished.
He looked at her suspiciously, “Are you trying to get rid of me?” he asked her, half jokingly.
Her eyes stared directly into his, “I understand you have done your job Lieutenant; you saved my life and I can never thank you enough for that.” She responded.
“Unfortunately, it is not so simple Alida,” he replied. “I need to ask you some questions about what happened.”
“Wha-what kind of questions?” she asked, fear evident in her voice.
Horatio could hear the fear, and was puzzled by it. Although it was normal for people to exhibit some sort of fear reaction when it came to being involved with law enforcement, he recognized that her fear stemmed from something else entirely.
It then occurred to him that she knew someone wanted to kill her this morning, and she was trying to hide it. Why?
“Are you up to answer a few questions Alida?” he asked, “This can wait a little while longer.”
“N-no, ask me now so you can be on your way. I am sure you have other things to do.” She replied hastily.
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Alida was clearly hiding something and Horatio wanted, no needed to know what it was. That strange possessive feeling he had earlier had reared its ugly head once again, and he realized that if he was to help her, he would have to swallow any feelings he had toward this woman and consider her a case only; just another case. He stared intently at her for a few minutes, as if trying to psychically force her secrets from her.
Feelings could not come into this; he had no idea his potential for still feeling something still existed and it caught him off guard, completely by surprise by the presence of this woman. He had avoided for the last couple of years, very successfully, if one asked his co-workers, feeling anything since Marisol’s untimely death. His life, he would argue was his work, and his work was his life. His demand for justice for people who could no longer speak for themselves consumed his entire soul and he would stop at nothing to find closure, some kind of relief for the family and friends left behind with their suffering.
In this instance, and he clearly understood the implications, the victim, the potential murder victim was still alive and it was his job, as an officer and CSI to make sure she stayed that way, while at the same time, trying to find an unknown killer.
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“Tell me about the person who was chasing you.” He suggested, looking at her.
Alida looked at Horatio before looking down at her hand, playing with the IV tube, “I don’t know anything about it.”
“So you have no idea who it was, or why they were trying to run you off the road like that?” he asked.
“No, I don’t, I really don’t.” she sighed.
“Can you tell me how long he had been chasing you then?” Horatio asked.
She looked at him, her hazel eyes, becoming foggy with pain, “No, I don’t remember.”
She was lying, that much he knew; but he couldn’t push her into anything right now, she was recovering from a surgery. The one thing he did know however was this was not over; he would find out what exactly was going on, and why she didn’t want his help.
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Horatio sat back in the chair and looked at Alida. She was very pale and very tired. “Do you need me to get a nurse?” he asked her, concerned, wondering if she was in pain.
She nodded, “yes please, the pain medication seems to be wearing off.” She commented as she lay back into her pillows.
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She really wasn't up to questioning Horatio noted, not anymore, but he knew only too well that traumatic events like this tended to get buried, even hidden by the memory and if he didn’t get to it soon, it would become lost, maybe permanently.
He also knew that direct questioning on such an event right now would lead nowhere, the drugs the nurse had injected into her IV were reclaiming her and he could see the dullness in her eyes as the medication finally took over her weary body.
He sat watching her for a few minutes and was surprised at how she managed to hide her pain so well from him for as long as she did, which in turn made him question just how many other things Alida was hiding from him.
It would turn out to be quite a lot.
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TBC
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