The Dragon Chronicles: Miami 2

Calleigh was in the layout room looking through all the evidence Nick and Warrick had collected before being given the day off and reassigned to a hit and run case with Horatio respectively. Vicky had been stabbed to death and left in a hotel.

“Hey Calleigh,” Frank Tripp said from the door. “So you got pulled onto this one too?”

“I sure did and right now I can’t make heads or tails of it,” she replied. “I think the team from Vegas is going to have the most information right now and we’ll have to follow their leads.”

“Do you have any idea who’s coming to town?”

“Not a clue. Horatio didn’t tell me and I’m not even sure he knows to be totally honest.” She glanced at her watch. “Let me get this all packed away and we can go pick our guests up at the airport.”

“I just love it when we get out of out town folk poking around in our cases.”

“Frank, play nice,” Calleigh mock scolded.

He grinned. “Only because you asked me to.”
********************

Horatio was on his way to the trace lab when his cell phone rang. He paused in a corner and pulled it out of the inside pocket of his black suit jacket. “Horatio.”

“Lieutenant Caine, this is…”

“Sam Winchester,” Horatio interrupted smoothly. “What do you need?”

“Help,” Sam said.

“You had plenty of that until you ran away in the night,” Horatio said. “Your actions hurt Mandy deeply and I’m not sure I can forgive that.”

“I’m not asking you to, Lieutenant,” Sam said. “I tried to convince Dean we needed to stay but he wouldn’t listen. Now he says he wants to kill all of you and the only thing holding him back is a promise to me that he won’t.”

The red dragon growled softly. “You do realize that if either of you come into our community with the intention of doing harm you will be killed,” he said.

“It won’t come to that,” Sam insisted. “Dean has never broken a promise to me, ever. But you must know of someone I could talk to, someone who isn’t a dragon.”

“You already know one; Mandy Bonnibel.”

“I can’t call her,” Sam said, shame or embarrassment coloring his tone. “She wouldn’t even say my name the last time we talked and she sounded completely dead. There has to be someone else.”

“There’s a man in Vegas you could talk with.”

“Okay, great.” Sam paused for a moment. “Dean’s back, I have to go. Can you text me the information please?” He hung up before Horatio could say another word.

Horatio sighed and tucked his phone away again. It always seemed like the more problems a community had to deal with the more popped up. He was starting to think of problems as bunnies. He shook his head to clear out that image and started towards the trace lab again. “Speed.”

“Hey H, Eric worked out the wheel base on our hit and run car and I found fresh paint trace on a fire hydrant,” Speed said. “When you put them all together you get a Lamborghini Diablo, and its pearl metallic yellow.”

“Good work, Eric, Speed,” Horatio said. “Do we have a name?”

Eric glanced up from the computer. “I’m running the information through our database now,” he said. “It shouldn’t take too long and we’ll have, bingo.”

“What have you got, Eric?”

“A name and address,” Eric grinned. “Clavo Cruz.”
********************

The Miami Airport was as busy as ever. Calleigh and Frank used their badges to get around security to the gate where the Vegas team was due to arrive. Calleigh’s heart sank a little when she recognized the blond CSI in the lead. The last time Catherine Willows had been in Miami her attitude had been less than cooperative.

“Ms. Willows,” Calleigh said with a smile, manners winning out over personal opinion. “Welcome back to Miami. This is Detective Frank Tripp; he’s working the case with me.”

“I thought Brass was on this case,” Catherine said.

“He was but a conflict of interest came into play and he was reassigned,” Frank said in his normal, gruff manner.

Catherine looked a little taken aback at this tone. “This is Detective Sophia Curtis,” she said. “We brought what evidence we could and are hoping you have a little more to go on.”

“We’ll have to check at the lab and see what’s come up,” Calleigh said. “But I have a feeling we’re going to be lacking evidence in this case.”
********************

Frank was silent until they were back in the lab and he could pull Calleigh off to the side while Catherine and Sophia were being signed in and getting their visitors badges. “Okay, so what’s going on?” he asked.

“Catherine Willows has been out here before,” Calleigh replied softly. “And she tried to take over the case and walk over the rest of us. She was rude to Horatio and just short-tempered with the rest of the team.”

“What about the other gal?”

“Her I don’t know about but Jim or one of the others from Vegas could probably fill us in,” Calleigh said. “In fact I kinda wish we had one of them on the case with us.”

“That was strange that all the Vegas guys claimed conflict on interest the minute Las Vegas came up,” Frank said.

“They have their reasons. But you’d have to talk to Horatio if you want them. It isn’t my place to say.

She broke off as Greg came bouncing over to her. “Calleigh, you’re working the Vegas case, right?” he asked.

“Sure am, along with Catherine and Sophia; they just arrived.”

“Oh.” Greg’s whole manner, posture and attitude changed. “I have something for you when you have a minute free. But there’s no rush.”

“Well that was strange,” Frank commented as Greg left at half his normal speed.

“It sure was, I wonder what’s wrong.”

“Was that Greg Sanders?” Sophia asked as she joined the Miami pair.

“Yep,” Frank replied.

“For a minute there I thought he looked happy,” Sophia commented. “But I guess I was wrong. I haven’t seen a happy Greg in a long time.”

“Did you say Greg?” Catherine asked as she joined the small group.

“He has something for us,” Calleigh said. “So why don’t we start there and then we can compare evidence.”
********************

Greg was on the phone when Calleigh and the others walked in. He held up a finger. “I’ll look into that for you, H,” he said. “Cal just came in so I’ve got to go. Yeah, me too. Bye.” He closed his cell phone and smiled at Calleigh and Frank. “I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

“Now Greg, you know I always have time for you,” Calleigh smiled. “Especially when you have that look in your eye that says you just broke the case wide open for me.”

“I don’t know if I did or not but I did find something,” Greg said. “Alexx found some skin under the victim’s nails and it came back as male. There wasn’t a hit in CODIS so I can’t give you a name but we at least have something to compare it to if you get a suspect.”

“Good work, Greg,” Calleigh said. “Do you have anything else for me?”

“Not right now,” he said. “But I’ll keep working and see what I can come up with and call you if I do.”

“Great, then I’ll talk to you later,” Calleigh said.

Catherine, Sophia and Frank had stayed in the background while Calleigh was talking with Greg. The Miami CSI handed the folder to Catherine and led the way towards the layout room where they’d be working. None of them noticed the intense blue eyes watching from the darkness of a side hall.

But Greg always knew when his dragon was around and picked Horatio out not three seconds after the others left.

“Are you okay, Greg?” Horatio asked once the door was firmly shut behind him.

“I was just caught off guard,” Greg replied. “I guess I wasn’t expecting to see anyone from Vegas again, let alone Catherine. I’ve never been entirely sure how she sees me.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore because this is your lab, your home and she’s just a guest,” Horatio said. “Don’t retreat back into your shell, Greg. Don’t vanish on me again.”

“I won’t,” Greg promised. “So what about you? Do you have anything for me from the hit and run?”

“Not yet,” Horatio said. “Speed, Eric and Warrick have impounded the car and they might find something there. Jim and I are on our way to interview the owner to see if he was behind the wheel.”

Greg glanced over at his dragon. “You think he did it.”

“I do,” Horatio smiled. “But it doesn’t matter what I think.”

“I know, I know; it only matter what the evidence tells us,” Greg finished. “Be careful out there, H. Something doesn’t feel right.”

Horatio paused for a moment and studied his human closely. “Where are you picking up on that from, Greg?” he asked softly.

“It’s just a general feeling in the air,” Greg said. “I’m not picking it up along the bond.”

“Remind me to mention this to Gil, please,” Horatio said. “Because this isn’t normal even for us.”

“When does anything normal ever happen to us?”

“How very true.”

Jim had done some digging on the name Clavo Cruz while Horatio was checking on the team and he didn’t like what he had found. “Ramon and Clavo Cruz are brothers from Baracas and their father is the ruling general there,” Jim started as they drove to one of Miami’s more expensive clubs. “Both the brothers have complete diplomatic immunity, Horatio.”

“Which means we can interview them and even take them into custody but cannot hold them,” Horatio sighed. “There are days, Jim, when I really hate politics.”

“So what are we going to do, H?” Jim asked. “Even if this Clavo was behind the wheel it doesn’t matter. He can’t be arrested for what he did.”

“We’ll figure out a way, Jim,” Horatio replied. “We’ll figure something out because the family deserves some kind of closure.”

“You’re right but I really hope that we can do this without the politicians getting involved,” Jim said. “Because if we can’t we’re likely to lose the whole case with one word from the consulate.”
********************

The interior of the club was dark, lit only by small lamps on each table and neon tubing along the walls. Jim checked at the bar and learned that their suspect was at a table in the back.

Horatio stood back a little and watched while Jim questioned Clavo. And he could tell that the young man was lying to Jim. The red dragon didn’t even have to use his talent to tell that.

“I loaned my car to a friend last night,” Clavo was saying. “And it had just been returned this morning when a bunch of you cops showed up and took it.”

“That car killed a girl last night,” Horatio said speaking for the first time. “And the question is if you were behind the wheel or not.”

“I told you I loaned it to a friend.”

“Then you won’t mind giving us that friend’s name,” Jim said.

“Actually I would,” Clavo said. “And there’s nothing you can do to make me talk.”

Horatio slipped on his sunglasses with a smile. “Not yet,” he said.
********************

“This is definitely the car that hit our victim,” Eric said, his voice slightly muffled.

“Did you find blood?” Speed asked. He crouched down and looked under the car where his human was working.

“Some, it looks like the car’s been washed,” Eric said. “What about the steering wheel?”

“It’s been wiped clean,” Speed said. “And the airbag is missing.”

Eric slid out and sat up so he was eye to eye with his dragon. “That means it deployed and that’s a source of DNA.”

“And there’s something else,” Speed said. “There’s a definite feeling about this car. Whoever was driving it was furious at our victim and wanted revenge. That’s all he could think about.”

“Didn’t Warrick say he had some video footage of our vic at a party last night?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, he’s running through it with Tyler now.”

“Well, why don’t we see who she argued with at the party and if anyone left before she did.”
********************

Warrick liked Tyler. The A/V tech was as good as Archie, professional and fun at the same time. And he had very good eyes when watching video footage. “So I was able to find a fairly clear shot of your victim at the party,” Tyler said. “She’s in the background here fighting with this guy. The only downside is that he never turns around so I don’t have a face shot for you.”

“What about the reflection in her eye?”

“It’s a long shot but give me some time and I’ll see what I can pull up,” Tyler said. “Hey guys.”

“Anything good?” Eric asked.

“Nothing we can use,” Warrick replied. “What about you?”

Speed shook his head. “We need to find a missing air bag,” he said. “Do you know if H is back yet?”

“I haven’t seen him if he is,” Warrick said. “I’m going to stick with Tyler and the video evidence for now.”

“You just don’t want to go crawl through the garbage with us,” Eric said.

“Can you blame me?” Warrick laughed.
********************

After Gil dug out the anatomy journals he and Mac settled down on the back deck to talk. “Nicky says that I need to tell you about a new twist I found in our talent,” Gil said. “And, upon reflection, I realize that I just can’t keep it to myself. It has no real practical application other than driving the human high on pleasure.”

“Okay, wait a minute,” Mac said. “What?”

Gil outlined his readings, how the dragon could use the bond power to increase the sexual pleasure the human felt and keep himself under control at the same time.

“And this is just for our bond talent?” Mac asked.

“As near as I can tell, yes,” Gil replied. “It has to do with exactly where we connect mentally with our humans. The journal I was reading had several diagrams of the brain and said that each talent manifested in a different part.”

“So each bonding is based in a different section of the brain?”

“Unless the journal was wrong but based on Nicky’s reactions I have to say that’s unlikely at best.” Gil paused for a minute and grinned. “Does Danny cook at all, Mac?”

“Not much, why?” Mac asked.

“It was just something Nicky told me,” Gil said. “So do you think this is going to work?”

Mac sighed. “I hope so because it’s our last resort,” he said. “Well, second to last but no one even wants to talk about the last.”

“Right now I think Danny would,” Gil said. “He’s got a protective streak to rival Horatio’s.”

“Danny didn’t have the best home life growing up,” Mac said. “And I certainly didn’t help anything with my attitude just before we bonded. So he really understands what Ray has been through.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to send Ray up to you guys for a while this summer,” Gil said. “He’s been doing great down here, up until today anyway, and I think it’d be good for him to start traveling to your community now. I know he feels safe with you, Danny and Mandy.”

“What does H think about it?”

“I just thought it if so I don’t know. We can ask him tonight when he gets home. And maybe even ask him to talk with Stella. Who knows, she might be more willing to listen to him than she is me.”

“Horatio does tend to have that effect on people,” Mac said.

“I know and I really comes in handy at times.”
********************

Acting on advice from Greg, Horatio had managed to track down a PlayStation 3 for Ray. And had been very impressed when Ray managed to set it up all by himself.

“Hey Ray, do you want to talk about it?” Danny asked. The three humans were taking turns playing an InuYasha game.

“About what?”

“Oh, life, the universe, everything,” Danny replied. “Stupid people who don’t know when to keep their mouths shut.”

Nick snickered. “Is that any way to talk about Stella?” he asked handing the controller over.

“If the shoe fits,” Danny smiled. “Ray, I know what you been through and I know how you feel. My mom tended to fly off the handle and smack me and my brother around if we was bad.”

Ray glanced at Danny with wide eyes. “Did you tell anyone about it?” he asked.

“Nah, no one to tell. My old man was just as likely to smack us, my uncles were too in awe of my dad and I don’t got grandparents,” Danny said. “I guess what I’m saying is that if you want to talk, I’m willing to listen to ya.”

“Watch out for Kagura,” Nick exclaimed.

Danny bit back a curse and made his character, Miroku, duck as the dance of blades whirled by on the television screen. Ray snickered. “You have good reflexes,” he said.

“I’d be better if I was playing InuYasha,” Danny said. “How’d you convince Horatio to get this for you, Ray? Has he ever seen the cartoon or read any of the books?”

“Nope, Greg and I went shopping,” Ray said. “Uncle Horatio says as long as there aren’t any guns or excessive violence in the game he doesn’t care what I have.”

“So no shooting games,” Nick said. “Watch it, Danny.”

“Y’know, maybe we shouldn’t try to talk and play at the same time,” Danny said.

“Just because you’re losing,” Nick grinned.

Ray laughed. “Hey Uncle Nick, how long is Stella going to be here?” he asked.

“Overnight at least,” Nick replied. “She’s having some problems believing the truth about the dragons and what’s going on so Mac wants Gil to talk with her about it.”

“No one’s going to kill her, are they?” Ray asked.

Nick and Danny glanced at each other. “Why would you ask that?” Nick finally asked.

“Some of the things I’ve been reading in the books,” Ray replied. “There were times when dragons had to kill people because they wouldn’t keep quiet.”

“Well, its true that dragons have killed in the past but in this day and age, with everything we do with forensics, don’t you think it’d be a little harder to explain away the dead bodies?” Nick asked. “Besides, a dragon can’t kill a member of a community, Ray.”

“So what happened with Stetler?”

“We found his body in the glades and he’d been there a long time,” Nick replied seriously. “Calleigh is working the case to try and figure out what happened to him but its slow going because of some outside factors affecting the crime scene.”

Ray nodded. “You mean like weather and animals,” he said. “I’m sorry Stetler’s dead but I’m glad that he won’t be able to hurt me again.”

Danny and Nick gathered Ray into a tight group hug. “Kiddo, even if he was still alive there’s no way in hell we’d let anyone hurt you ever again,” Nick said.
********************

Horatio stood next to his Hummer, sunglasses in place, hands on his hips looking out over the crime scene. Speed, Eric and Warrick were working on collecting evidence from the second hit and run in as many days while Jim questioned the crowd behind the crime scene tape. There was something in the air, something that didn’t feel right.

“Jim.”

“You know how eye-witnesses are, H,” Jim said softly. “Everyone saw something different and no one can agree on anything.”

“The evidence will speak for us,” Horatio replied. “Keep an eye on Warrick, Jim. There’s something not right here.”

“I don’t feel anything pressing.”

“Maybe it’s a specific threat as opposed to a more general one. I need to go talk with Speed.”

“Okay, I’ll catch up with you later.”

The red dragon scanned the crowd again, his sharp blue eyes picking out two young men who were watching him and his team with an alarming intensity. Horatio knelt down next to Speed and leaned in a little.

“Speed, don’t look up but do you see the men in the bright shirts staring at us?” he asked.

The younger dragon turned to get a swab out of his kit and let his eyes sweep over the crowd at the same time. “They sure seem to be interested in us, don’t they?”

“The one on the left is Clavo Cruz,” Horatio said. “And I’m thinking the man next to him must be his brother, Ramon.”

“Our suspects from the hotel hit and run this morning?” Speed asked. “Do you think they had anything to do with this?”

Horatio sighed. “There’s something up, Tim,” he said. “So keep an extra close eye on Eric, okay?”

“We’re almost done here, H,” Speed said. “And I’ll get both of them back to the lab.”

“Thanks, Speed.”
********************

Greg was working on recalibrating one of his machines when he heard the door to his lab open. “What can I do for you, Boa Vista?”

“I thought since it was so slow right now maybe you’d like to join me for some lunch,” she said.

“I’m in the middle of something,” Greg said. “And I somehow doubt I’ll be done any time soon so why don’t you get back to work.” He paused when he felt the tip of a knife poke into his ribs. “You know you won’t get away with this.”

“We’ll walk out of here and the money is finally mine,” Boa Vista said. “But I’ll kill you if you try and get help. Let’s go, Greg.”

Greg sighed, put his tools down and took off his lab coat. He gathered up all the panic he was feeling and sent it along his bond with Horatio, knowing his dragon would save him. Boa Vista somehow managed to get Greg out of the lab without anything seeing the knife she had up against his ribs.

“You drive,” she said as they got near a Hummer. “And don’t do anything stupid or you’re dead.”

“You know you might as well tell me what’s going on,” Greg said. “Especially as we’re not supposed to be in this thing.” He pulled out of the lot and into traffic.

“I promise losing your job is the last thing you have to worry about,” she said.

A gun pressed up against the back of her head. “That’s the first truthful thing you’ve said so far,” Horatio said softly. “Now take that knife away from Greg; slowly.”

“I can move faster than you can.”

“Bet your life?” Horatio asked.

There was a moment of silence and then a clatter as the knife fell to the floor boards. Horatio smiled. “Now, Miss Boa Vista, you are going to tell me exactly what is going on and where you were taking my DNA supervisor.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You won’t get a second chance.”
********************

Jim, Speed, Eric and Warrick met Horatio outside a warehouse down by the docks. They were all surprised to see Greg along with a bound and gagged Natalia Boa Vista by the Hummer as well.

“What’s going on, H?” Speed asked.

“It seems we have a spy in our labs,” Horatio replied. “When I got back to the lab I found Miss Boa Vista attempting to kidnap Greg. And on the drive here she told me quite a bit about our recent hit and run cases and what’s inside this warehouse.”

“Do you trust her?” Jim asked.

“To a point,” Horatio said. “Gil and Nick should be here any minute and we’re going to take care of this once and for all. Luckily we have company in town.”

“So what’s the plan?” Eric asked.

Horatio took off his sunglasses and tucked them into a suit pocket. “Speed, you and Gil stay out here with the humans,” he said. “The Cruz brothers are in there expecting Boa Vista to bring in Greg as bait to get me. They want to be back off the case and leave them alone.”

“Hunters,” Warrick said. “That’s why they were at our crime scene this morning.”

“They intentionally ran down that innocent girl so Clavo could prove to his brother that he’d found three of us,” Horatio said as they were joined by Gil and Nick. “It seems that Miss Boa Vista called them.”

“If there are two hunters with diplomatic immunity in there what exactly are we going to do?” Gil asked. “Because we are not risking anyone with a crazy scheme.”

Jim glanced at the hair hostage/informant. “We have some leverage they aren’t expecting us to have,” he said. “And I think I have a plan.”

Mac was on the back deck when he both heard and smelled Stella behind him. He stayed facing the ocean, wanting her to make the first move.

“Who made up the books?” Stella asked sitting down at the table.

“I’m not sure exactly which book Gil gave you,” Mac replied. “He has books that Nick’s teacher gave him, books from a close friend of his out west and copies of some of the older ones from NYDC. We all keep journals, Stella. And as they are complete they’re added to each dragon’s personal library and are copied out if the other community wants them.”

“I was talking about the artist who did the drawings,” Stella replied. “How much did you guys pay him for those?”

Mac growled and turned to look at Stella, his eyes glowing. “You insist on treating this as if it were all a huge joke,” he rumbled. “What is it going to take to prove to you that we are telling you the truth?”

“Your, your eyes,” Stella gasped.

“What about them?”

“You’re glowing, Mac,” Danny commented as he and Ray came up from the beach. He leaned in to kiss his dragon. “Where’d everyone run off to?”

*A couple of hunters kidnapped Greg* Mac replied over their bond so he wouldn’t panic Ray. *Gil and Nick went to help the others and asked me to stand guard until they get back*

*In that case I think Ray and me’ll start dinner* Danny said.

“Thanks, Danny,” Mac said aloud.

“Why are you thanking him?” Stella asked. “All he did was ask you where everyone is.”

“They were talking,” Ray said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Gil and Uncle Nick do the same thing a lot. Uncle Speed says it’s not fair and it’s not polite.”

Mac snickered. “And he would be right that it’s rude,” he said. “However, there are times when we need to be able to talk without anyone hearing us or don’t want to let people know what we’re talking about. Does that make sense?”

“You mean like at a crime scene?” Ray asked.

“Just like that,” Mac replied with a smile. “You’re a smart kid, Ray.”

“Thanks.”

“Come on, kid, let’s go see how much trouble we can get into in the kitchen,” Danny said. “We can surprise everyone with supper.”

“Hey Ray, keep an eye on Danny for me; he can’t cook,” Mac said.

Ray snickered and went into Gil’s house with Danny not far behind him trying to look insulted – and failing.

“So now you expect me to believe you’ve got some kind of telepathic link going with Danny?” Stella demanded once they were alone.

“I don’t expect you to believe anything,” Mac sighed rubbing his eyes. As much as he hated to even think about it the final option was looming closer and closer every minute.”
********************

The interior of the warehouse was fairly empty with the only boxes being stacked in the middle of the large room. Jim made his way up onto the catwalks that ran across and around the upper section of the structure. Horatio slipped in a smaller side door with his gun drawn, held down at his side. He could hear the Cruz brothers talking and used their voices to pinpoint their location.

“She should have been here by now,” Clavo was saying. “Where is she? You know this plan won’t work if we don’t have the human.”

“Relax, Clavo, she probably got caught in traffic,” Ramon replied. “Besides, there’s no way Caine could have figured out what we’re doing. Think about how much we’ll get for three dragons. We’ll be promoted to chiefs in the camp and then nothing can stop us.”

“And right now we’re sitting ducks.”

“I’m telling you there’s no way in hell Caine knows what’s going on,” Ramon insisted.

“How much are you willing to bet on that, gentlemen?” Horatio asked. “You already made one mistake today. Do not make another.”

“Are you kidding?” Clavo asked trying to spot Horatio. “We have diplomatic immunity and can do whatever we want when we want and you can’t stop us.”

“Be quiet, Clavo,” Ramon said. “We have your human, Lieutenant Caine. You need to back off your investigation and leave us alone or we’ll kill him.”

“It’s not a good idea to lie to me,” Horatio said and his voice seemed to come from another part of the room. “We found the mole you planted in my lab and she is currently in my custody. I think you will find that diplomatic immunity only stretches so far.”

“How do you know we’re lying, Caine?” Clavo demanded. “I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with your human. I bet he screams real pretty.”

“That ploy isn’t going to work.” Now it sounded like Horatio was directly behind the hunters. “I know for a fact that everyone in my lab is safe and now I just have to stop you.”

Ramon laughed. “You can’t touch us, Caine,” he said. “We have total immunity.”

“And stop moving around,” Clavo shouted.

“I’m not moving,” Horatio said. “And your immunity ended the second you dared to threaten a member of my community. So now all the remains is to tell you good-bye.”

“You’re going to kill us in cold blood?” Ramon asked.

“You need to study your anatomy,” Horatio replied. “Dragons are warm-blooded.”

A shot rang out from near the ceiling and dropped Ramon cleaning. Clavo spun to see what had happened to his brother and Horatio took him out with a single shot to the chest.

“Now comes the hard part,” Jim commented as he joined Horatio.

“Making this look convincing,” Horatio agreed. “And we need to decide what we’re going to do with that bitch.”

“I’m impressed you didn’t kill her the moment she touched Greg the first time,” Jim said. “I don’t think I’d have your level of control.”

“She’s been living on borrowed time,” Horatio growled. “Call Alexx for me, Jim. I’m going to get the others.”
********************

Neither Gil nor Speed was too happy about having to stay outside when Horatio and Jim were in danger but they agreed with the two major points raised when talking through everything. Neither of them were really fighters or good with guns and the humans had to be protected at all costs. And Gil was trying to decide exactly what to do with Natalia Boa Vista. He knew his beta was going to want to kill her as soon as the threat from the hunters was eliminated. But he figured there might be information from her before that happened.

“How did the initially make contact?” Gil asked sitting down near Boa Vista.

“Who?”

“Don’t play stupid,” Gil said. “We know you called them about Horatio and maybe the others but I want to know how the Cruz brothers chose you to come into the lab.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I met them a few days ago and they told me if I kidnapped Greg then they’d pay me a million dollars,” she said. “I need the money so I agreed.”

Gil snorted. “I’m always amazed how much money influences people,” he said. “You do realize you’re in a lot of trouble, don’t you? You’ve gotten involved in something you can’t possibly understand.”

“But I didn’t do anything,” Boa Vista protested. “Horatio caught me just outside of the parking lot so nothing actually happened.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Speed said. “Gil, I just heard two shots from inside and, as everyone out here is fine. I think it’s over.”

“Greg and Warrick?” Gil asked.

“Stressed but totally fine,” Nick replied as the humans joined the two dragons. “Has she told you anything useful?”

“No,” Gil said. “But she’s maintaining that since Horatio got her early on she’s innocent.”

“Hardly,” Greg said.

“I will deal with her,” Horatio said. “We have fifteen minutes, gentlemen. Jim’s waiting for you inside.”

“Bring her along, Horatio,” Gil said. “I’m sure we’ll be able to think of something.”
********************

Horatio was waiting at the door to the warehouse when Alexx arrived. “What’s going on, Horatio?” she asked.

“The Cruz brothers are in there, Alexx, along with Natalia Boa Vista,” Horatio replied. “They conspired to kidnap Greg from the lab and were about to kill him when Jim and I arrived.”

“Is my baby okay?” Alexx asked.

“Have you adopted the whole team, Alexx?” Eric grinned as he bagged Horatio’s cell phone and gun.

“Just the boys who need it,” Alexx replied. “Is IAB here, Horatio? Do I have to worry about them in my morgue?”

“Not yet and not if I can help it,” Horatio said. He slipped on his sunglasses and smiled. “This is going to be fun.”
********************

“Lieutenant Caine you have put the lab, the city and the country in a very dangerous position,” Rebecca Nivens said.

“Have I?” Horatio asked. He and Jim were standing by his Hummer watching as Eric, Speed, Warrick and Nick processed the crime scene. Gil had gone back to the lab with Greg.

“Don’t play ignorant with me, Horatio,” Rebecca said. “You know perfectly well that both those men had diplomatic immunity and you were supposed to leave them alone.”

Horatio turned to look at her. “You mean leave them alone to kill one of my people?” he asked. “When Detective Brass and I arrived the younger Cruz brother was about to slit Greg’s throat. Is the lab willing to sacrifice its own people to remain on good terms with a man who is torturing people, perhaps innocent people, for us? Is that what you’re saying?”

“What about Natalia Boa Vista? You killed her.”

“She was killed by Ramon Cruz,” Jim replied. “I think he realized that Boa Vista was a liability and just didn’t want to deal with her any more.”

“So why didn’t you call for back-up?” Rebecca asked.

“I received a phone call from Clavo Cruz,” Horatio said. “I was informed that they had kidnapped Greg from the lab and would kill him if I didn’t drop the investigation against them.”

“There never should have been an investigation against them,” Rebecca exclaimed.

“They murdered two young women in cold blood, Miss Nivens,” Horatio said. “Jim, I’ll see you all back at the lab, okay?”

Jim nodded. “We’ll get everything logged in and taken care of.”

“I’m not done with you, Detective Brass.”

“Then I’ll be at my desk in an hour,” Jim said. “And I’m sure you’re smart enough to find it.”

Horatio bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the expression on Rebecca Nivens’ face. “No one commits murder in my city, Miss Nivens,” Horatio said. “I don’t care if it’s the president of the United States, murder is murder is murder and it will be investigated.”

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t call for help.”

“My only concern was getting to Greg quickly,” Horatio said. “Detective Brass was with me in the lab when I received the phone call and said he would come along. He shot Ramon Cruz. Ramon shot Boa Vista and I shot Clavo.”

“And why would they take Greg Sanders to get you to stop your investigation?” Rebecca asked. “What’s going on between the two of you that such a threat would have so much leverage?”

Horatio tilted his head a little. “I’ve adopted Greg as a member of my family,” he said. “Just as I have every person on my team. I don’t know why they chose Greg out of everyone at the lab but my response would have been the same no matter who they took.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” she asked.

“That’s your problem,” Horatio replied. “I will be at the lab if you need anything else. Tell the chief and the politicians we’ll have the evidence processed as fast as we can.”

“Where’s Stella?” Gil asked when he and Nick got home a few hours later.

“On the deck,” Mac replied. “She’s scared to come near me.”

“What?” Nick asked, puzzled.

“I gave in and let my eyes glow,” Mac said. “I’ve been holding the dragon in and I can just feel the stress getting to me, Gil. She’s lucky I didn’t Change on the spot and bite her.”

“So what brought this on?” Gil closed the hall closet. “Nicky, would you see what we have for supper, please?”

Mac grinned. “Ray’s been teaching Danny to cook,” he said. “I’m not sure what they’re making but Ray promised there would be enough for everyone.”

“What are you making Ray?” Gil asked.

“A mess,” Ray admitted. “Do you think we could order pizza, Gil?”

“Sure we can,” Gil said. “Why don’t you go see whose home and what they want?”

“Stella is convinced that we had some modern artist draw all the books and they’re all fakes,” Mac said with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what we can do, Gil.”

A low growl from the doorway startled everyone. Horatio stalked to the back door and out onto the deck. Nick looked at Gil. “He hasn’t had a chance to reconnect with Greg yet, has he?”

“We’d better get out there,” Gil said.

“I’ve never seen Horatio lose his temper before,” Danny commented as he followed his dragon towards the deck.

“None of us have,” Nick said. “Horatio usually tries to keep under control all the time. But think about how he must be feeling right now; his human was kidnapped and threatened by hunters and when that situation was over he had to deal with IAB. Then he had to fill out all the paperwork when the only thing he wants to do is claim Greg.”

“I think I’d rip the next person who looked at me apart,” Mac said. He slipped an arm around Danny’s waist, pulled his human close and kissed him.

Horatio had stalked out onto the deck, eyes glowing and grabbed Stella by the arm. “We’ve tried everything else,” he growled pulling her towards the beach. “And its time for you to make up your mind if you’re going to join your community or if you’ll become our enemy.

“Horatio?” Stella gasped.

“You stand right here and do not move,” Horatio said. He stalked off down the beach and angled down towards the water.

Stella screamed when there was suddenly a large red dragon on the beach staring at her with Horatio’s glowing blue eyes.

“We are telling you the truth,” Horatio growled. He reached out and picked Stella up gently. “What is it going to take to convince you that we are telling you the facts?”

“Hey Uncle Horatio?”

“Yes Ray?” Horatio asked looking down at his nephew.

“Gil said we could have pizza tonight. What do you want on yours?” Ray asked.

Horatio smiled, his fangs showing. “You know what Ray, why don’t you choose for us tonight and it can be lunch for you and Greg for the next few days.”

“Okay,” Ray said. He hugged Horatio’s snout and ran off towards Jim’s house.

“Put her down and Change back, Horatio,” Gil called. “It’s still too light for you to stay in true form long.”

The red dragon nodded, placed Stella carefully back onto the sand and vanished, shimmering like a mirage for a moment and then Horatio was back on the beach in human form. “Gil, we might be a little late for dinner,” Horatio said as he caught sight of Greg on their deck.

“Take their time,” Gil replied. “We’ll make sure Ray saves you guys some pizza.”

Danny wiggled out of Mac’s grip and went down to join Stella on the beach. “You want to talk about it?” he asked pulling her down to sit next to him on the sand.

“He, he, he….”

“Yeah, all the dragons can do that,” Danny said. “They just don’t unless they have to because it’s too dangerous to be in true form these days. Especially for Mac, Gibbs, Ryan and Flack; the city ain’t a good place for a dragon.”

“How?” Stella finally managed.

“You’ve read the books,” Danny said. “It’s just how they’re born and the right human can trigger that Change to true form. Stella, they ain’t human but they ain’t dangerous unless their human or a member of the community is in danger.”

“And Mac’s exactly the same as the man you’ve known for the past ten years,” Nick added from behind them. “He’s not a wild animal who is going to suddenly Change to true form and rip you apart. You don’t have to be afraid of them.”

Danny nodded. “Yeah, Horatio’s on edge because some stuff happened to Greg,” he said. “Normally the dragons have much better control and are better behaved in true form.”

“Can I see Mac?” Stella asked.

“You’ll have to ask him but probably after the sun sets he’ll be willing to Change,” Danny replied.

“Danny, did you get that problem worked out involving Mac’s Changes?” Nick asked.

“Yeah,” Danny said blushing. “He’s Changed a couple times since that night and hasn’t had the same reaction. ‘Course it might just be being here but I can handle it.”

“Handle what, Danny?” Stella asked. “He doesn’t hurt you, does he?”

“He can’t,” Danny replied. “Stella, Horatio was telling you the truth. Either you’re a member of the community and keep our secret until you die or you’re our enemy.”

“What happens then?”

“There are several options and none of them are pretty,” Nick said. “But if you honestly think you can’t do this, Stella, then we understand. There are a number of instances in history where a human learned the truth and couldn’t deal with it.”

“So you’ll kill me.”

“Not necessarily,” Nick said. “It’s up to the alpha and beta pairs to determine how the threat of exposure will be dealt with. But we really prefer not to kill people. All those bodies lying around just lead to awkward questions.”

Danny nudged Stella’s shoulder. “That was a joke, Stel.”
********************

The door to the bedroom wasn’t even closed before Greg’s back hit it, causing both human and dragon to stumble a little. Horatio growled and pulled Greg in closer to him, trying to get their bodies to touch as much as possible. For his part Greg just wrapped around Horatio, opened to his dragon and hung on as best he could.

Horatio growled again, ripped off Greg’s shirt and pushed it off, hands roaming over his human’s bare chest; moaning at the heat that flashed along their bond and into his body. Greg’s mouth opened more and Horatio deepened the kiss, tongue mapping and tasting almost frantically. When Greg’s tongue met and stroked along his dragon’s the little control that Horatio had been hanging onto broke. He undid Greg’s jeans, pushed them off, spun his human around and plunged home in a single motion. The dragon moaned as his climaxed almost immediately.

“H,” Greg groaned, pushing back against the still hard cock inside him. “Please move, H.”

In reply Horatio wrapped his arms around Greg so his hands were flat on his human’s bare chest. He pressed a kiss to Greg’s neck and started moving. Greg’s head fell back onto Horatio’s shoulder and his mouth was claimed by Horatio’s. Greg reached back and held onto Horatio’s hips as they moved against him and moaned when he felt his dragon climax again.

“On the bed, Greg,” Horatio said against his human’s lips.

“Need you,” Greg panted trying to move back against Horatio and cried out when Horatio pulled away from him.

“I need you too,” Horatio growled biting down on Greg’s neck and carefully moving his human across the room towards their bed. “I’ve needed you so badly all day and been unable to even touch you.” He positioned Greg on his hands and knees and thrust back into his human’s body.

Greg cried out as Horatio got the angle perfect on the first thrust and pushed back against his dragon hard, trying to get Horatio deeper into his body. He couldn’t remember the last time his dragon had been so wild and out of control but he loved it. “Please,” Greg managed.

“Tell me what you want, Greg,” Horatio rumbled. He ran a hand around Greg’s hip and wrapped it around his human’s cock. “Do you want me to stroke you?”

Greg sobbed in denial as Horatio’s hand tightened around his erection stopping his climax even as Horatio’s semen filled him a third time. Horatio slipped out of his human, rolled Greg onto his back, leaned over and took his human’s cock in his mouth. He kept his grip on Greg’s erection for a moment to drive his human a little higher and then released him.

It was a good thing Ray wasn’t home as Greg’s scream echoed through the room and the house as he came, Horatio swallowing quickly to try and catch everything. He spent a couple of minutes licking Greg clean and then moved up into a more comfortable position on the bed. He pulled Greg in and rested his cheek on Greg’s wild and sweaty hair. “Did I hurt you, Greg?”

“No,” Greg whispered. He pulled back and kissed Horatio gently. “I love it when you lose control like that. It’s just a turn on.”

Horatio smiled softly and kissed Greg again. “I love you,” he said. “Sleep, Greg.”

“Luv you too,” Greg murmured.

Mac, Danny, Speed, Eric, Nick and Ray took their pizza out onto the back deck to eat. Stella was still acting really weird towards Mac and they didn’t want Ray to pick up on the stress.

“Where are Uncle Horatio and Uncle Greg?” Ray asked. “I don’t want them to miss dinner.”

“They’re probably taking a nap,” Nick replied. “Gil ordered an extra pizza for them and has it in the oven.”

“Did they have a hard day at work?”

“We all did, Ray,” Speed said. “Your uncles managed to solve a really hard case nearly the entire lab has been working on.”

“Oh, okay, I was just worried,” Ray said.

“I know,” Speed said with a smile. “They’ll be okay, they just need some sleep. So what about you? What did you do all day?”

Danny snorted. “He beat me at ever video game he owns.”

“It’s good for you, Danny,” Eric said with a grin. “And he’s already managed to beat everyone here who plays video games.”

“I’m trying to convince Gil to play,” Ray said. “But he won’t.”

“He’ll come around,” Nick said. “I caught him reading one of your game instruction books the other day. Just give him some time to process it all.”

“Hey Mac, do you think you could….”

“Not a chance, Danny,” Mac said. “I tried, once, and it gave me a headache.”

“Fine, I’ll see if Ryan or Adam plays,” Danny said.

Mac put his hand over Danny’s. “I know you miss Flack, Danny,” he said. “But trust me when I say you don’t want a dragon with a headache around.”

“Gil gets migraines,” Nick commented. “Imagine how cranky he can get.”

“Nearly as cranky as I do if people are talking about me,” Gil said. He sat down next to Nick and kissed his cheek. “Mac, I’m calling a meeting as soon as Horatio and Greg join us. We found some very interesting things at the warehouse today.”

“How are we going to do this?” Mac asked.

“A speaker phone in my office as Gibbs and Tony are the only ones missing,” Gil said. “And I think as soon as you guys leave Gibbs is sending Flack and Abby down.”

“It’s that time already, huh?” Danny asked.

“Hard to believe time passes so quickly,” Gil replied. “Ray, do you want to watch a movie tonight?”

“Sure,” Ray smiled. “Can I pick it out?”

“You may,” Gil said. “In fact, I think Nicky went shopping after work and bought some new movies.”

“They’re in a bag in the den, Ray,” Nick said.

“I can’t wait until we have kids in our community,” Danny said. “Ray is such an awesome kid.”

“I think the thought scares Gibbs though,” Mac said. “But I’ll agree with you, Dan, I think it’ll be fun to have children to teach and help raise.”

Gil grinned. “I think it’s just as well Ray’s probably the only child we’ll have here,” he said. “Because I’ve noticed Speed’s snark is contagious.”

“It is not,” Speed protested.

“Yeah it is,” Eric said.

“You’re asking for it, Delko,” Speed growled.

“Then you have to catch me.”

Nick and Danny laughed as Eric bolted off the deck and out onto the beach with Speed close behind him. Speed had almost caught up to his human when Eric dodged and jumped into the ocean.

“That’s fighting dirty, Delko!”

“Are you going to come get me?”

“Of course not but you have to come out some time soon.”

Mac looked over at Gil. “What’s that all about?”

“Speed says that he’s seen what’s swimming in the ocean on the microscopic level and it will never touch his skin,” Gil replied. “Although I’ve seen him in the water at least three separate times.”

“You’ve got some silly people here, Gil,” Mac said.

“Don’t I know it,” Gil sighed. “But they keep me young and that’s the important thing. How are Ryan and Lindsay doing?”

“If you didn’t know Ryan had been in exclusively male relationships, just watching them together, then you’d never guess,” Mac said. “I don’t know that they’re in love yet but they’re deeply committed to each other and the love will come.”

“Are you guys on pins and needles waiting to see if the bond is true?” Nick asked.

“Well neither of them seem to be getting sick but they haven’t really been apart either,” Mac said. “I’m guessing they’re both going to be just fine.”

“I think Ryan’s head over heels with Lindsay,” Danny commented. “They’re good together.”

Mac nodded. “And it works out well because I can send them out together and not worry about the quality of their work. Have you had this happen yet, Gil? You’re more concerned about hunters attacking one of your community at a crime scene than you are that they’ll mess up a case?”

“Horatio will probably have a better answer for that one because he’s more involved on a daily basis,” Gil replied. “But yes, I am always worried about hungers or other people who could hurt us.”

“I guess it is kinda different for Jethro and me,” Mac said. “There are days that I envy you and Horatio being in the same city, Gil.”

“It must seem like you and Gibbs have two mini-communities sometimes,” Nick said. “I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be if one of you needs community help and the others can’t get there immediately.”

“We’ve managed to get around it so far and Jethro is suspended right now so he’s able to move around a little faster than normal,” Mac said. “In fact I think he’s in New York right now hiding a friend in one of our apartments.”

“That’s a story I hadn’t heard,” Gil said. “Maybe we won’t be able to have a full meeting then. What happened?”

Mac sighed. “I’m not sure of the details but we found a book in Ari’s apartment with a ton of blackmail information in it. Jethro made a copy for the FBI and one for his boss but refuses to give anyone the original.”

“Now that sounds like Gibbs,” Nick snickered.

“So his boss suspended him until Gibbs is willing to give him the original document,” Mac continued. “And one of his friends was charged with something based on the information found in the book. They faked his death until they can clear his name and Gibbs is hiding him in New York.”

“I can’t believe Gibbs willing left Tony at work,” Danny said. “He’s gotta know how little control Flack’s got right now.”

“It’s Jethro,” Mac said. “Who knows what’s going through his mind half the time. Gil, how important is this meeting?”

“Well, most of the information is more important for us than for you guys but you all need to know what’s going on,” Gil replied. “And I’ve got some stuff that needs to be hand delivered to Mandy and I think it’ll take federal clearance to carry it on a plane.”

“Are you talking about those two boxes, Gil?” Horatio asked as he joined the small group at the table. Greg bounced past everyone and headed straight into the house and the kitchen.

“How do you feel Horatio?” Gil asked in reply. “Because we all thought you were going to kill Stella.”

Horatio snorted. “I’m fine, I was still in control then but only just,” he said. “And Changing like that didn’t help anything.”

“I’ve noticed that too,” Gil commented. “How about you, Mac? Have you ever Changed when you’re feeling extreme emotions and then wanted nothing else but to claim your human?”

“Yeah, when Peyton killed herself,” Mac said. “Why do you think that is, Gil?”

“I’m not sure but it probably has to do with our protective instincts,” Gil replied. “What can we do for you, Stella?”

“How did you know I was here?” Stella asked. “None of you are facing the house.”

Greg slipped past her and cuddled up next to his dragon, putting their pizza on the table. “They could smell you,” he said like it was the most logical thing in the world. “Why is Eric sitting in the ocean?”

Nick started laughing. “He’s hiding from Speed.”

“Oh yeah, I didn’t notice Speed down there,” Greg said. He almost purred as Horatio wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in closer. “Eat, Horatio, you’re going to need your energy when we get home.”

“What did you need, Stella?” Mac asked.

“I was wondering if I could see you,” Stella said.

“She means in true form,” Danny whispered to Mac. “She mentioned it to me earlier today.”

“What do you think, Gil?” Mac looked around. “Is it dark enough to risk it?”

“Seeing as you’ll probably blend in with your surroundings, go ahead,” Gil said. “Eric, Speed, come up here, please.”

“Come with me,” Mac said to Danny. “Stay on the deck, Stella, until I’ve Changed. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Danny walked a little way down the beach and then stopped knowing that Mac would use him as a mark for distance. He watched intently having hot seen his dragon in true form for a while.

Stella shrieked a little when he boss suddenly Changed into a dragon. Even from the deck she could tell that his scales were shifting and swirling with color until they suddenly settled on ocean blue.

“You can come down, Stella,” Mac said, his voice more gravel-filled than normal and hissy on his “S’s”. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”

“I almost forgot how handsome you are,” Danny said. He crawled up onto Mac’s back and stretched out on his stomach. “I love seeing you in true form, Mac.”

“How can this be possible?” Stella asked. “Dragons are myths, legends. How can they, you, be real?” She reached out and put a hand against Mac’s foreleg. “You’re warm.”

“Dragons are warm-blooded, Stella,” Danny said from his spot on Mac’s back. “And you know that myths have some basis in fact. Dragons have always been real; they just aren’t always in the shape people expect.”

Mac reached back, picked Danny up gently, put him on the sand and Changed back to human form. Once the mirage-like shimmer was gone, Danny snuggled in close to Mac, who wrapped him in a hug. “What, Stella?”

“I’ve never seen you so affectionate before,” she said with a bemused smile. “Not even with Claire….”

“As much as it pains me to admit it, Claire wasn’t the other half of my soul,” Mac said. “Danny is. If it wasn’t for him I never would have Changed to true form.”

“So do you believe us now, Stella?” Danny asked.

“Let’s just say I’m starting to and am willing to learn more,” Stella replied.

Later that night Gil called Gibbs to get caught up on events. He decided to put off the full meeting until they could all take the time to head up to Pax Draconis for an hour or so and he knew that wouldn’t be until after Mac and Danny were home and Flack had blended.

“Yeah, Gibbs.”

“So where are you?”

“Gil? I’m in New York at Ryan’s apartment,” Gibbs replied. “I guess that Mac filled you in.”

“On the basics,” Gil said. “And I need your help, Gibbs.”

“What’s going on?”

“I think we underestimated the scope of the hunter threat,” Gil said. “We just had a pair of brothers with diplomatic immunity who turned out to be hunters.”

“How the hell did you play that one off?”

“They were stupid enough to kidnap Greg,” Gil replied. “It wasn’t hard to stage the scene post mortem and keep IAB and the government off our backs. But they came from Baracas and that make me start thinking there could be hunter camps in Central and South America as well as Europe.”

“Well that bastard Ari was from the Middle East,” Gibbs said. “So we’ve either got more hunter camps than we originally thought or they’re nomads.”

“Or a combination therein,” Gil said. “Who’s to say the higher ranking hunters don’t stay in one place to teach and control their people while most of the camps move around to avoid detection.”

“I know Adam told Mandy he’s been studying the hunters so I guess we can ask him,” Gibbs said. “I’ll be in New York for another day or so until I need to get home to Tony. I’ll talk with our scholars tomorrow. Oh, and Mandy’s solved our senses problem.”

“How in the world did she manage that?”

Gibbs snorted. “Very strong peppermint taffy,” he said. “Trust me, you eat one of these and you won’t be able to smell anything for hours.”

“Whatever works, I suppose,” Gil said. “Is she going to send some along to us?”

“She and Lindsay are making batches as we speak,” Gibbs said. “And she said she’ll send the recipe along so you can make your own.”

“It’s original I’ll admit,” Gil said. “And speaking of Mandy, we have some things for her.”

“More books?” Gibbs asked. “I’ve been meaning to talk with you about that, Gil. Mandy needs a bigger place but doesn’t want community help to get it. We were thinking if every dragon bond pair put in a fixed amount each month we could pay Mandy for her research and get her a better place at the same time.”

“That’s a good idea,” Gil agreed. “She deserves to be paid with how much she does for us. I’ll talk with everyone tomorrow and find out how much we can contribute on a monthly basis.”

“Good, because I’d like to get her into a place with an elevator and a doorman,” Gibbs said. “The apartment she has now is fine for a student but not for the main historian for two dragon communities.”

“And I’m sure Abby will be happy to do some extra security for the apartment,” Gil added.

“Abby’s idea of security is bubble wrap taped to the floor, shrieking doors and funeral bells,” Gibbs said. “No, I’ll pay for a professional company to come in and install a security system. The hard part is going to be convincing Mandy to accept our help.”

“There are days when I think Mandy is too damn stubborn for her own good,” Gil said. “But this might motivate her to work with us. We didn’t just find books and journals this time around. We also found a complete hunter kit – weapons, poisons; the works.”

“That is a find but how is it going to get Mandy to listen to us?” Gibbs asked.

Gil laughed. “Because it’ll require federal or military clearance to transport it,” he said. “Which means one of your team will have to come claim it.”

“And we can hold onto it until she agrees to get a bigger place,” Gibbs said. “That’s extortion, Gil.”

“Yeah, I know, fun, isn’t it?” Gil asked.

“I think we’re corrupting you. Flack and Abby are coming down for the weekend,” Gibbs said. “I’ll call Tony and get him to work out what documentation they’ll need and get it ready for them.”

“That sounds like it’ll work but I think only Abby should touch it,” Gil said. “We don’t know exactly what these poisons are or how they’ll affect dragons. And also, when things settle down a little more we do need to have another full meeting.”

“Do you think things will ever quiet down completely?”

“With all of us around and the jobs we do? Of course not,” Gil said. “I think the only thing we can do is hang on and enjoy the ride.”
********************

The next evening, one the NYDC folk had flown home, Gil called a community meeting. Ray had been invited to spend the weekend with Alexx and her family. Horatio knew that someday soon he would have to include his nephew in the community meetings but wanted to let the child keep what little innocence he had left as long as he possibly could.

“First off, how was work today?” Gil asked.

“IAB is still sniffing around trying to work out why the Cruz brothers would pick Greg out of the entire team to make me do something,” Horatio replied.

“Will it hurt anything if your relationship comes to light?” Gil asked.

“At this point I’d have to say no,” Horatio said. “As DNA supervisor he falls under the lab director rather than me in the chain of command. No patrol officer would dare cross me and Ray’s here because of Yelina rather than the state.”

Speed grinned. “I’d love to see some uniform decide not to do his job because you’re gay, H,” he said. “I could get rich selling tickets.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Horatio said. “Greg, how would your people react if you’re outted?”

“I can see a few problems but nothing major,” Greg said. “I’m already well known for being a little crazy and I’m a scientist. Folks don’t expect the same from me as they do the lieutenant supervisor of the day shift CSIs. You have an image and reputation to maintain where as I just have to be myself, which is fun, I should add.”

Horatio leaned over and kissed Greg gently. “I love it when you do that.”

“Let’s try to stay one step ahead of IAB regardless,” Gil said with a grin. “Now we do have a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.”

“What’s going on, Gil?” Jim asked.

“I took a moment to speak with Natalia Boa Vista while you and Horatio were in the warehouse,” Gil replied. “And realized that we had been told at least three different stories for how she got the job in the lab and how she made contact with the Cruz brothers.”

“So the question becomes which is the truth,” Horatio said.

“And if the Cruz brothers are the only threat we’re facing from their camp,” Jim added. “Remember they were talking about being made chiefs for killing us, Horatio.”

“Well, Abby is going to be here this weekend,” Gil said. “I could ask her to do some more digging on Boa Vista.”

“If that’s even her real name,” Greg pointed out. “I think it’s safe to say that woman was there because of our community and not to do cold case DNA analysis.”

“Based on two established facts,” Horatio said. “She was never in her assigned lab and no work was ever performed there. That does certainly speak to an ulterior motive.”

“But who actually put her in our lab?” Warrick asked. “Why was she there in the first place?”

“I thought she was there to hit on everyone,” Eric commented.

Speed and Horatio both growled. Warrick looked over in surprise. “I guess she didn’t go for black guys because she never came near me,” he said. “At least as far as I know.”

“I’ll speak with the directors tomorrow, Gil, and find out exactly who hired her and why,” Horatio said.

“The point still remains that there could be another threat from Baracas or a hunter camp we don’t even know about,” Gil said. “But on the plus side of that equation we do have all their books and the weapons kit. I don’t want anyone going near it, by the way, seeing as we don’t know exactly what the poisons are or how they can be introduced into a dragon’s system.”

Jim snorted. “I think as long as we wear thick leather gloves and keep them in that lead trunk we’ll be okay,” he said. “But how are we going to get it up to Mandy if none of us can touch it?”

“And who’s going to do the analysis on it?” Nick asked.

“Mandy, Adam and Hawkes are the most likely candidates,” Gil replied. “And that brings up the last point for tonight; Mandy needs a larger apartment for both her own security and also to house all the books and journals we’ve acquired for her library. She can’t afford it on her own and refuses to ask for help. Gibbs is thinking we should all look at our budgets and see what we can put in for a monthly salary for her.”

“Honestly we should have done that when she first started doing research for us,” Speed said. “So each bond pair is going to commit to a certain amount and then all of it will go to Mandy?”

“And we’ll work out the taxes and with-holdings as well,” Gil said. “I think Gibbs or Mac will figure that out for us. The hard part is going to be getting Mandy to accept it, according to Gibbs.”

“I’ll talk with her,” Horatio said softly. “I think between Danny, Mac and me we can bring her around.”

“Gil, there is something else,” Jim said.

“What’s going on?” Gil asked.

“Catherine is still in Miami,” Jim replied. “And I’ve noticed her eying Warrick like he’s a tasty treat she just can’t stay away from.”

The black dragon sighed. “Horatio, do you want me to deal with this one?”

“Could you?” Horatio asked. “I’ve got so much going on with IAB and cleaning up this political mess they’re insisting on dragging us through that I don’t know I’d be able to find the time to give it the attention it deserves. Plus, you know Catherine better than I do.”

“That just means I’m more likely to say the wrong thing,” Gil muttered rubbing his eyes. “So I guess I’m going to the lab in the morning.”

“Be ready for an attack from IAB,” Speed said.

“I, technically, wasn’t there,” Gil said. “So I can’t say anything about it.”

“That won’t stop her,” Eric said. “Speed and I were betting on when Nivens was going to corner and question Calleigh.”

“Sounds a bit like Conrad,” Gil commented.

“Worse,” Nick replied. “Much, much worse.”

“Now this I have to see,” Gil said.

Don awoke slowly the morning after his first attempt to blend. His mind was whirling in a couple of different directions but the primary thought was that he didn’t feel balanced. With a sigh he realized that he was one of the dragons who would need more than one Change to blend fully. Then he realized that he was alone in bed.

After he showered and dressed for the day, Don went Abby hunting and finally found her in Gil’s home office. “Hey, how long have you been up?” he asked leaning against the door frame.

“I’m not sure,” Abby replied with a smile. “I couldn’t really sleep and decided to get going on working out who this Boa Vista person was and exactly how she got into the Miami lab.”

“If she passed our tests then she must’ve had one hell of a good back story,” Don said. “Because I know you dig through and double check everything to make sure hunters ain’t getting into the labs.”

“Yeah, and that made me wonder,” Abby said. “It was almost too professional so I started thinking witness protection program but nothing came up when I ran her prints and DNA. I guess it’s possible she was there for some other reason and the money offer was just too good to pass up. And if that really is what happened then we could have a real problem on our hands.”

“Hey Don,” Gil said from behind the younger dragon, “how do you feel this morning?”

“Better but I ain’t there yet,” Don replied. “I might have to Change two more times.”

“The beach is at your disposal,” Gil said. “There’s brunch in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

Abby laughed as her dragon hurried away. “Didn’t you get the memo, Gil? Donnie’s always hungry.”

“Fortunately everyone else has eaten,” Gil grinned. “So how’s it going, Abby?”

“Everything I’ve found so far just verifies what I found last time,” Abby replied. “I’ll keep at it, Gil, but I’m not feeling too hopeful right now.”

“Just do your best, Abby,” Gil said. “And I’ll be on the deck with Ray if you need anything. The rest of the community is at work.”

“Okay, thanks Gil,” Abby said as she went back to the computer.
********************

Warrick was in the trace room looking over some evidence with Jim when he noticed his dragon stiffen and felt their bond open up. He turned around and found Catherine standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Warrick, can I talk with you?” she asked.

“Sorry, Catherine, I’m really busy right now,” Warrick replied. “I’ll catch you later.”

Jim followed his human through the halls and into Gil’s office. “That was rude,” he commented as he shut the door behind them.

“Maybe, but I’m sick of her eying me like I’m a treat she gets to enjoy,” Warrick said. “It was one thing back in Vegas but now it just annoys me.”

“Although I can see her point of view,” Jim said. He ran his eyes slowly over his human’s body. Warrick was wearing tight black jeans, a studded belt and a black work shirt that was half unbuttoned. “You are really easy on the eyes in that outfit, Rick.”

“Oh yeah? You like it?” Warrick asked with a grin.

“Let’s just say I never get tired of admiring the view,” Jim replied. He reached up and pulled Warrick’s head down for a kiss. Warrick opened to him immediately and wrapped his arms around Jim, pulling him in close.

“Where does Gil hide the lube in here?” Jim asked, his eyes glowing softly in the darkened office.

“In the desk I think,” Warrick said as he nibbled on Jim’s ear.

Jim growled. “We’ve got to be quick,” he said. “Pants down and lean on the desk.”

“Are you going to frisk me, detective?” Warrick asked as he undid his belt.

“I’d love to take this slow but we just can’t risk it,”’ Jim replied. “So we’ll just have to save that for when we get home tonight. For now though,” he slicked his cock and slid into his human’s body, “I just need to feel you.”

Warrick’s head dropped and his eyes closed as the bond he shared with his dragon flared to life when they were completely joined. Jim’s hands grabbed Warrick’s hips as he started to thrust, holding his human in place as he moved. Warrick had to keep both hands on the desk so he didn’t do a face plant and he wasn’t able to stroke himself. And Jim didn’t seem inclined to do it for him.

“Jim, please,” he moaned as he tried to push back and get his dragon deeper.

“Soon,” Jim said. “Lean forward for me.”

Warrick managed to make his elbows work and bent forward so his chest was almost resting on the desk. Jim moved with him and the change in angle not only let Jim get deeper but nudge Warrick’s prostate. Warrick bit back a cry and started pushing against Jim as the dragon thrust forward until they both came with bitten back screams.

“Love you, Rick,” Jim murmured against his human’s neck.

“Love you too.”
********************

Gil and Ray were working on Shakespeare when Gil’s cell phone rang. “Grissom.”

“It’s Gibbs and I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” Gil asked.

“I just got a phone call from Ryan,” Gibbs replied. “Mac and Danny have been kidnapped and I can’t leave DC because I’m the only dragon here.”

“I’ll send someone up,” Gil said. “I’d come myself but Flack is taking extra nights to blend and I need to be here with him. How’s everyone holding up?”

“They’re shaken and I think that Stella is really the one holding everything together right now,” Gibbs said. “I don’t have much info on what’s going on with them or what’s happened because they don’t know for sure themselves.”

“And it’s driving you nuts,” Gil said. “Let me make a couple of calls to my people and I’ll call you back.”

“Thanks, Gil,” Gibbs said.

“You’re welcome.” Gil closed his phone and rubbed his eyes. “Ray, will you finish up this act and answer the study questions, please? I’ve got to call your uncle and talk community business.”

“Is everyone okay?” Ray asked.

“There’s some trouble in New York and they need our help,” Gil replied. “But beyond that I really don’t know.”

“Okay.”

Gil smiled at the young man and went inside to the kitchen where he found Flack making lunch. “Don, go get Abby,” Gil said. “I need to talk with both of you.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Gibbs just called. I need to make one phone call and then I’ll fill you in,” Gil said. “Horatio, what’s your case load look like?”

“Just paperwork,” Horatio replied. “What’s wrong?”

“Mac and Danny have been kidnapped by unknowns,” Gil said. He ignored the twin gasps from the door for the moment and continued. “Gibbs can’t leave DC and needs help.”

“And you can’t leave Miami,” Horatio said. “I’ll catch the next plane up, Gil. Watch Ray for me?”

“You know I will and I’ll keep an eye on Greg too,” Gil said. “I’m sure Mac is fine, but…”

Horatio growled. “To sneak up on him at a crime scene it had to have been hunters,” he said. “At least I’m assuming they were taken at a crime scene.”

“Gibbs didn’t say,” Gil sighed. “I think he’s more rattled than he really wants to let on. Horatio; be careful up there.”

“Always and I’ll call as soon as I know anything.”

“Thank you,” Gil said.

“Gil, we need to get home,” Abby exclaimed as soon as the black dragon was off the phone. “We need to go help our community.”

Gil held up a hand. “You need to stay here and let Flack finish blending,” he said. “Your community members know what’s going on and understand.”

“Damn it, Gil; Danny’s my best friend,” Flack yelled. “And if there’s anything I can do to help find him then I’m gonna do it!”

Gil rounded on the younger dragons, eyes glowing, in full alpha mode. “The best thing you can do to help Danny is blend,” he snarled. “If you leave now with your lack of control I can promise you’ll kill the first person who looks at you funny. Is that what you want, Flack? To kill an innocent because you were in such a panic that you go off half-cocked? How do you think that would make Danny feel?”

“Grissom, I…” Flack’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. But that don’t mean I gotta like it.”

“No, you don’t,” Gil agreed. “But you have to trust in your community right now. They’ll take care of the situation. They know why you’re not there with them and they understand. Sometimes, even in the community, you have to think about yourself and your human first. I’ll call Gibbs back and see what I can learn. Abby, why don’t you give Mandy a call?”

“Oh my god, she’s gotta be flipping out,” Abby exclaimed.

“All the more reason to call her,” Gil said. “I promise as soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know.”
********************

Horatio tucked his phone back into his suit jacket pocket and left his office. His first stop was the trace lab where Speed was working. He filled the other dragon in on the situation and asked that Speed take over for him until he got back. Then Horatio went down the hall to DNA.

He did as he always did and just stood for a moment and watched Greg work. His young human was wearing jeans, a white tank top and a dark blue dress shirt that looked suspiciously like one of Horatio’s own as a jacket. Greg was typing up a report at his desk but swung around as if he could sense Horatio watching him.

Which he could. Horatio smiled at being caught out and went into the room. “Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey yourself,” Greg replied with a grin.

“I have to go to New York, Greg; Mac and Danny are in trouble and need my help.”

“Do you need me to go with you?”

“I want you to but I need you to stay here and help Gil,” Horatio replied. “Don and Abby aren’t going to be happy about being kept here while he finishes blending and there’s trouble in their home.”

“Okay,” Greg said. “And I’ll spoil Ray a little too. Call us when you get there?”

“I will, Greg, and thank you,” Horatio said.

Greg let his eyes show what his mouth couldn’t say at the lab. Horatio smiled softly. “Me too, Greg,” he whispered. “Me too.”

Once Ray was in bed for the night Greg decided to do some work on the web page. He and Abby had finally broken down and added an email section. She tended to answer the gaming questions as it was set up to look more like a fantasy or roll playing game. He answered the serious ones.

“Greg?”

“Oh, hey Abs; where’s Don?”

“Talking with Gil,” Abby replied softly sitting down next to him. “Donnie wants to try and speed up the blending process so we can get home and he can go help the New York team look for Danny.”

“He’s got to be going nuts,” Greg said. “I don’t know what I’d do if one of our community went missing. So how have you been otherwise? I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk with you but things have been a little wild at the lab right now.”

“Yeah, I’m digging for more information on that woman they snuck into your lab but I haven’t found anything yet,” Abby said. “I can only imagine how crazy wild it must be for you.”

Greg grinned. “It wasn’t like she did a lot of work on cold cases or anything but, at the same time, she was doing something and now we’ve had to divide the remaining work up among us,” he said. “And it makes it a little harder to get things done. I know it’ll settle down once we get into the routine and everything but it’s still bothering me right now.”

“You’re wicked at your job, Greg, I know you’ll be able to manage it,” Abby said.

“Uncle Greg?”

“In the office, Ray,” Greg called.

“I can’t sleep,” Ray said. “Oh, hi Abby. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You’re not,” Abby said with a smile. “Your uncle and I are just talking about the lab. So how have you been?”

“Fine,” Ray replied. He sat in Greg’s lap and looked over at Abby. “I’ve been learning about Shakespeare.”

“Oh yeah, which pieces are you working on?” Abby asked.

“Julius Caesar,” Ray said. “Uncle Greg, did Uncle Horatio call?”

“Not yet, kiddo,” Greg said. “But he might be buried in evidence up in New York and won’t be able to call until tomorrow. I can tell you that he’s fine, just busy.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Greg smiled. “Do you want to sit in here with me for a while? We can play some video games.”

Ray’s eyes lit up. “What about my bedtime?” he asked.

“We’ll call it a special occasion,” Greg replied with a softer smile. “Abs, do you want to play too?”

“I should probably go and meet up with Don,” she said. “I’ll see you both tomorrow. Have a good night, Ray. Later, Greggo.”
********************

Speed, Nick, Eric and Warrick gathered in the kitchen at Speed and Eric’s house to work on the book and code that Abby had brought down with her. “Okay, so we know about half of what’s in here because Abby’s managed to break it,” Speed said as he spread out the notes. “And she believes that those she has managed to break belongs to the male hunter, Ari. There was a female named Ziva there too but we don’t know the connection between them or why she was even in the area.”

“So what has Abby managed to do with these?” Nick asked. He picked up the black book and flipped through it. “And how long do we have to work the rest of it out?”

“Not much, but she did tell me that she’s run it through most of the code breaking software that she has available at NCIS,” Speed replied. “And she’s still drawing a blank so that tells me that it’s definitely a new code and most likely developed by the person using it to keep secrets. Gibbs says that there’s something in here that the director of NCIS is particularly worried about and that’s what we really need to focus on right now.”

“How could a hunter get dirt on so many people in DC?” Eric asked. “And what in the world could they have on the director of NCIS? I thought Morrow was one of the good guys.”

Warrick snorted. “There are no good politicians,” he said. “But it makes me curious too. And why would he suspend Gibbs for not handing the book over? It can’t be that big a deal.”

“Maybe it is,” Nick said. “I mean, maybe he’s killed someone and buried the body and doesn’t want anyone to know about it.”

“We probably shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” Speed said fighting back a grin. “But I’m really curious about how this code was developed. If we can break it then we can add it into the current code-breaking and maybe get some money for the lab.”

“True, well, let’s get to work,” Eric said.
********************

Gil and Jim were in Gil’s kitchen watching as Don Changed for the second time. “He wants to rush things,” Gil sighed. “And I just don’t know that we can.”

“Can you blame him though?” Jim asked. “Any of us would be doing the same thing if it was one of our community and we were up in NYDC territory.”

“But to risk the health of himself and his human,” Gil replied. “And Don’s one of the ones who knew about our world prior to his Change. I can understand that he’s worried about his best friend but I’m worried about how this is going to affect his blending.”

“Did you draw the line?”

“I went into full alpha mode,” Gil said. “I hate doing it, especially to one of the dragons from up north, but I put my foot down.”

“How’d he take it?”

“About as well as you’re thinking he did.”

“Well, it looks like he made it to true form,” Jim said glancing out the window. There was a large emerald dragon on the beach. “In a way I hope he manages to blend fully tonight.”

Gil pulled Jim away from the window. “That’s where we need to give them their privacy,” he said. “I learned that the hard way with Horatio and Greg. Are the others busy with the code?”

“Yeah, they’re at Speed’s,” Jim said. He took the glass Gil handed him and sipped the bourbon. “I dunno, Gil, it seems like things are really piling up on us right now. It’s looking like a team is going to have to go back to Vegas.”

“I heard,” Gil said. “I’ve already spoken with Doc Robbins and he tells me that things are quiet enough there right now. But we’re still not sending any community members back there. We don’t need to give the hunters another lead on us.”

“Are you going to send along any messages?”

“It depends on who goes but I’d like to let Albert know what’s been going on so he doesn’t walk in here blind,” Gil replied. “Honestly, the person I’m most worried about is Hodges.”

“You don’t think he’d try anything stupid, do you?” Jim asked. He snorted. “What am I saying, of course he would.”

“There aren’t any more unchanged dragons in Miami, I’m as sure of that as I can be,” Gil replied. “Mandy doesn’t think so either so I doubt there’d be enough danger to force a Change. Honestly, what’s the worst Hodges can do?”

“Just insult a member of the Miami lab,” Jim said. “I’d like to see him go up against Calleigh. I think it’d be hilarious.”

“True,” Gil snickered. “Very true.”
********************

It was close onto midnight when Greg finally got Ray to sleep. He’d wanted kids his whole life but, once he’d bonded with Horatio; he’d thrown that idea more or less out the window. Then he’d met Ray and hadn’t known how the young man would take to him. Greg felt so lucky that Ray had accepted him as not only a friend but another uncle.

He carried Ray to his room and tucked him in, being careful not to wake him. Then he went back to the office to finish sorting through the emails that had come in over the past couple of weeks. Greg hadn’t thought things had piled up so badly but, with covering extra shifts at the labs, they had.

“Horatio?” he asked, answering his cell phone as quickly as he could to avoid waking Ray.

“Hey Greg,” Horatio said softly. “How are things going?”

“Busy,” Greg said. “I wish you had called fifteen minutes ago. Ray’s been staying up to talk with you but he just dropped off. He misses you.”

“I miss him too,” Horatio replied. “I miss both of you. Tell Ray that I’ll call in the morning before I go back to the lab.”

“Okay; I’m just working through some emails before I go to bed,” Greg said with a smile.

“You don’t want to sleep alone, do you?”

“Not really,” Greg admitted. “Although it sounds like Don’s on his way home tomorrow so things will calm down a little. Has there been any word on Mac and Danny?”

“No and the group here is really starting to worry,” Horatio said. “It doesn’t help that Mandy was called to DC. Gibbs managed to find another alpha dragon. Can you believe that?”

“He found another community?” Greg asked.

“I don’t think so, I think he just found another dragon,” Horatio replied. “He’s frustrated by being stuck in DC, Don’s upset about being stuck in Miami and I’m just trying to keep everything together here. Truthfully, I really wish you were here with me, Greg.”

Greg clicked on an email from California. “I could fly up, H. I’m sure Gil will keep an eye on Ray for us.”

“If it goes beyond a couple of days, I might let you,” Horatio said. “But right now I need to know you’re safe in Miami. And I know you have a lot of work to do at the lab as well. I wouldn’t want you to fall behind.”

“Horatio, you said Gibbs just met another alpha,” Greg said.

“Yeah.”

“I think we may have just been contacted by another community,” Greg said. “I’ll show you the email when you get home, but this looks legitimate.”

“It’s not a game question?”

“No,” Greg said. “It’s not. I think they’re serious. It’s from a man named Charlie Eppes.”

“Show it to Gil and I’ll look when I get home. We’ll figure out what to do then.”

“Okay,” Greg said. “And now I guess I have to go climb into our big, cold bed all alone. You should be one of the dragons that can breathe fire, H. You’re always so warm.”

“Maybe I can,” Horatio said. “I’ve never tried. I promise as soon as I get home the second thing I’m doing is pinning you to the bed.”

“And the first thing?”

“Making sure Ray is at Gil’s house for the afternoon so we won’t be disturbed,” Horatio said. “I’m going to make you scream, Greggo.”

Gil and Horatio went to the lab early the morning after Horatio returned from New York. They wanted to figure out exactly how Boa Vista managed to get Greg out without anyone seeing them and also work out if there were ways hunters could use to get into the lab.

“This back area is a real rat’s warren,” Gil commented. They both glanced at the wall when they heard scratching. “I think its time to put out rat trays, Horatio.”

“I’ll mention it to maintenance,” Horatio sighed. “We get them every so often. All right, we have surveillance cameras and keypad locks all along here but this is the main hall to the garage so it’s used more than some of the side halls.”

“As well as the locker room,” Gil said looking around. “Are the camera feeds monitored, Horatio?”

“In theory,” Horatio said. “But honestly I don’t know. Anyone who saw Greg and Boa Vista probably wouldn’t have thought anything was odd because they’re both DNA and, therefore, had a reason to be walking together through here.”

“I guess the question becomes did anyone see the knife or was she able to keep it concealed?” Gil looked at one of the doors. “What’s in here, H?”

“Storage,” Horatio replied. He punched in a number on the keypad lock and opened the door, shutting it again quickly. “And Eric and Speed,” he said turning red.

Gil snickered. “I suppose I should point out that my office available even when I’m at the lab,” he said. “Unless I’m physically in there. What else is along here?”

“Like you said, a lot of not frequently used halls and locked store rooms,” Horatio said. “I can almost guarantee that the directors are not going to approve anything that means more money no matter what happens to our people.”

“And we can only do so much,” Gil said. “Do you think they’d be willing to consider better cameras at the doors and in the garage?”

“All I can do is ask,” Horatio said. “Gentlemen, how is your case coming?”

Speed sighed. “As well as can be expected, H,” he said. “And I think you’ve scarred Eric for life.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t use random store rooms,” Gil said. “Guys, unless I’m sitting at my desk my office is open. I’ll make up some kind of do not disturb sign for the door.”

“Let me know when you find this Dragon character,” Horatio added. He pulled out his cell phone. “Excuse me, Horatio. Yes sir, I’ll be right there.”

“Problem?” Gil asked.

“It could be, the chief wants to see me,” Horatio replied.

“I’ll keep an eye on things here,” Gil said. “I’ve got to talk with Catherine anyway and she should be here by now.”
********************

There were three blond heads and one bald one bent over the table in the layout room. The evidence from the kidnapping and subsequent homicide was spread out in as near to chronological older as they could work out.

Gil paused in the doorway and just watched for a moment. For all that he and Catherine had known each other for years, he’d had a hand in her training and he’d watched her grow into a criminalist he had to admit that he didn’t really know her. Catherine had always wanted to focus more on the why more than Gil’s preferred science and the how. Plus Gil had always liked to keep everyone around him at arm’s length - at least until he bonded with Nick and found himself with a community – and Catherine was included in that. And yet she and Jim, for the longest while, were the closest thing Gil had to friends. It was an interesting dichotomy and one Gil was glad he didn’t have to analyze too closely.

Frank noticed him first although Gil wasn’t sure if it was because the detective was overly aware of his situation and surroundings or if he was bored stiff with the science stuff. “Dr. Grissom,” Frank said straightening up. “What brings you down here?”

“Detective Tripp,” Gil replied with a smile. “Actually I was hoping I could steal Catherine for a couple of minutes.”

Catherine looked up from the folder she was reading. “Sure, Gil, we’re kind of stuck here anyway,” she said. “Maybe you could take a look at everything when we get back.”

“Of course,” Gil said. “Why don’t we go outside, Catherine, it’s a beautiful day today.”

She looked at him like he had grown another head but followed Gil through the halls and out onto the front lawn. “So how have things been in Vegas, Catherine?” Gil asked once they were off to the left side of the door.

“Things are okay,” Catherine replied. “Although Ecklie informed me that our solve rate has fallen off behind Miami and New York and he’s not too happy about that.”

“He has only himself to blame,” Gil said. “I tried to tell him, and the sheriff, that allowing Hodges to return would have consequences and it did. I’m not sorry I left, Catherine. We’re all very happy here.”

“So I’ve noticed, although I haven’t been able to talk with Warrick yet,” she said. “And there’s something I wanted to ask him.”

“You’ve had feelings for him for a while now, haven’t you?” Gil asked. “Since before he left Vegas but you didn’t know how to act on them.”

“How did you…Follow the evidence,” she said. “I guess I wasn’t as subtle as I thought.”

“No, you weren’t and you’ve been even less so since you arrived in Miami,” Gil said. “Catherine, they asked me to do this because we’ve been friends for so long and there’s no really easy way to say it. Warrick is in a serious long term relationship and is very happy.”

Catherine blinked a few times as the words sank in. “Why didn’t he tell me?” she finally asked.

“I don’t know,” Gil replied. “But they’ve been together for almost two years now and, trust me, they are deeply in love.”

“Almost two, Gil, that’s before you all left Vegas,” Catherine said. “Who’s he with? It can’t be you or Nick or Greg…” She trailed off and paled a little.

“Sometimes the truth is the most painful,” Gil said. “They love each other, Catherine. Just leave it at that and move on; please.”

“I never would’ve guessed it from the way they were always fighting,” Catherine said. “Does all this have something to do with all that ‘we’re in danger but can’t tell you about it’ crap Jim was talking about at the lab?”

“I’m not sure because I didn’t here what Jim was saying,” Gil replied. “I do know it’s not something they talk about work for obvious reasons.”

“Yeah,” Catherine agreed with a smile. “Their secret is safe with me, Gil. If you could let them know that I’d really appreciate it.”

“I will,” Gil said.

“And Gil, what happened with Sara?” Catherine asked as they walked back towards the trace lab. “Ecklie never said anything beyond that he was firing her and then there was your phone call.”

“She had a breakdown just prior to her trial,” Gil sighed. “And is being treated at a local facility. The doctors call every so often with updates but they don’t believe she’ll ever recover fully.”

“It’s kind of sad, really.”

“Yes it is but she was convinced that I belonged to her and we’d be playing house just as soon as she got Nick out of the way,” Gil said. “And I’ll kill anyone who tried to hurt Nicky.”

Calleigh looked up with a smile as she caught the end of their conversation. “Gil, that’s so sweet,” she said. “I just hope I can find someone to love me that deeply some day.”

“You will, Cal,” Gil said. He caught the look Frank shot at the ballistics expert. “Now, would you like to walk me through everything you have here?”

“Of course I will,” Calleigh said.

But before she could start, Frank’s cell phone rang. “Yeah Trip. Uh huh.” He pulled out his notebook and wrote a couple of things down. “No, I’m at the lab now. I’ll tell ‘em and we’ll be right there.” He flipped his phone closed and looked over at Calleigh. “We’ve got another kidnapping and it looks like it matches the one in Vegas.”

Horatio wasn’t surprised to find Rebecca Nivens in the chief’s office when he arrived. He ignored her and focused his attention on the chief. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Sit down, Horatio,” the chief replied. “It’s come to my attention that you lied to Miss Nivens in the course of her IAB investigation in the shooting of Ramon and Clavo Cruz and also Natalia Boa Vista.”

“How so?” Horatio asked. He shifted his weight to the side and put his hands on his hips. “I gave my report in a concise and truthful manner when she arrived at the warehouse.”

“You told me you didn’t know why Greg Sanders was kidnapped,” Rebecca said.

“And I don’t,” Horatio said softly.

“Please sit down, Horatio, and take off your sunglasses,” the chief said biting back a sigh.

“I did some digging and found out that you and Greg Sanders bought a house together not long after he moved to Miami from Vegas,” Rebecca said.

The red dragon took a deep breath to keep his eyes from glowing. “You have no right to pry into my personal life,” Horatio said. He managed to keep the growl out of his tone. But only just.

“I do when it has direct affect on a case,” Rebecca snapped. “The house only has two bedrooms and your nephew sleeps in one of them. That’s why they took Greg Sanders; he’s your lover and they found out about it.”

“Is this true, Horatio?” the chief asked.

“It is,” Horatio replied softly. “And there is nothing that can impact the job because of it. Greg is a supervisor and is not under my command at the lab. We are not breaking any rules.”

Rebecca snorted and Horatio glanced at her coldly. “Your predecessor was homophobic as well, Miss Nivens,” he said. “And it blinded him to his job. I suggest you do not make the same mistake he did.”

“You should have told me, Horatio,” the chief said.

“Why?” Horatio asked. “My personal life has no bearing on my professional life and, quite frankly, who I choose to sleep with is none of your concern.”

“It does when a situation like this arises,” Rebecca exclaimed. “Your judgment is going to be affected if you’re going after a lover rather than a member of your team.”

“You do not know me, Miss Nivens, do not presume to stay how I will act,” Horatio said in a soft, deadly tone. It was a tone that would have his team scurrying for cover and Gil moving in because the dragon was taking over. He slipped off his sunglasses and made eye contact with the newly assigned IAB officer. “You need to learn to follow the evidence, Miss Nivens, if you’re going to survive as an IAB representative. If you cannot manage that then I suggest you return to the state attorney’s office.”

The chief sighed. “There’s no reason to threaten her, Horatio,” he said. “Rebecca is only doing the job her boss appointed for her.”

“That was not a threat, chief,” Horatio said as he slipped on his sunglasses again. “It was advice based on observation of available facts. If that’s all for now, I have a lab to run.”

“Yes, that’s all for now,” the chief said. “This information won’t go any further than this office.”

Horatio glanced back at Rebecca. “I wouldn’t bet on that,” he said.
********************

When he got back to the lab Horatio went straight to the DNA lab and gathered Greg in against him. He buried his nose in Greg’s wild hair and used the unique scent to try and calm down a little.

“Uh, H?”

“We’ll be outted by the end of the day,” Horatio replied in a low growl. “Rebecca Nivens has been sniffing around and learned about our living arrangements.”

“And you think she’s going to talk?”

“She’s had it in for me since we first met,” Horatio said. “When I took over as shift supervisor I worked a case with her and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” He kissed Greg’s neck gently and stepped back. “I finally went to her boss and explained how her attitude and actions could harm the case and ask that it be reassigned to someone more professional. She’s never forgiven me for that.”

Greg snickered. “I imagine not,” he said. “Did you manage to get that case solved?”

“Once she was off it, yes,” Horatio said. “I didn’t think she was going to act so quickly, Greg. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s like we talked about; people around here already know I’m odd,” Greg said. “I doubt this will even faze them. Its you I’m worried about, H. You’re the one who has to interact with the uniforms and the detectives.”

“If they don’t do their job it is not a mistake they’ll make twice,” Horatio said. “We’ll get through this, Greg. We’ll get through this.”
********************

Speed, Nick and Eric got a late callout to a boat hijacking. “So did you hear the latest rumor?” Eric asked as Speed drove them towards the harbor.

“No, what?” Nick asked.

“It seems our fine lieutenant has been sleeping with the DNA supervisor,” Eric replied. “And they’ve even bought a house together.”

“That was quick,” Speed snorted. “Who told you?”

“Valera; she’s in helping Greg with something,” Eric said. “I told her it was stupid and to quit gossiping.”

“Yeah, but you know if Valera’s heard it then you know it’s through the lab already,” Speed said. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Nick. “Valera is sweet and cares for us but she’s almost always the last one to hear rumors in the lab. It’s a pretty good indication of how far things have spread.”

“Do you think the uniforms have heard?” Nick asked. “Because I really think the problem are going to come from there.”

Speed parked and groaned. “They’ve heard.”

Eric and Nick looked out the windshield at the scene in front of them. Horatio was leaning calmly against his Hummer, sunglasses on, head tilted back – it almost looked like he was asleep. The two uniforms were parted at the other side of the crime scene and both were behind their car, almost as if they were trying to hide from Horatio.

“Gentlemen,” Horatio said as they joined him. “We have a short trip ahead of us. The coast guard has secured the boat for us and is going to take us out there.”

“What about them?” Nick asked softly.

“Allow them their bias, Nicky,” Horatio said just as softly. “It’s not hurting anything at the moment.”

“So they’re not going?” Speed asked.

“They’re going,” Horatio grinned. “They just don’t like it.”
********************

Nick spent the boat ride out and back talking with his dragon. Gil was at a crime scene with Calleigh and the others working the kidnap/murder case. Gil told Nick that Jim was at the lab with Greg and Warrick so everyone in the community was safe.

*I think there are going to be more problems than Horatio is anticipating* Nick said as they were coming back in.

*How so, Nicky*

*The two uniforms we have with us today managed to stay on the other side of the boat no matter where Horatio was* Nick said. He started laughing. *Until the end, anyway*

*Do I even want to know* Gil asked.

*H managed to sneak up behind them* Nick said. *They were talking about how disgusting same sex relationships are and weren’t really paying attention to their surroundings. All Horatio said was ‘gentlemen’ and it startled them so badly that they fell into the water*

Gil snickered. *Tell me they still had their gun belts on*

*Full uniform, Gil* Nick replied. *And then Horatio made sure they both knew he’d be speaking with their shift supervisor. And if their attitudes don’t improve he’ll talk to their captain*

*It sounds like Horatio has this as under control as possible* Gil said. *I’m just not happy the rumors have managed to spread so quickly through the whole department. I just can’t help but wonder if there’s another agenda here; something we’re missing*

*We both know how hard it is to sneak up on Horatio and that seems to have been intensified by his Change* Nick said. *So I don’t think we have to worry about someone kidnapping him. I think we need to worry more about the type of attack that happened to Ryan. If a bunch of officers take it in their heads to attack Horatio*

*They’ll be sorry* Gil finished. *But I’d really rather it not come to that. You know as well as I do that there’d be some really awkward questions if a 47-year-old man managed to beat the shit out of a group of young patrol officers*

*Maybe you should talk with Horatio when we all get home tonight* Nick sighed.

*Even as an alpha there’s only so much I can do* Gil pointed out. *I can tell Horatio he’s not to be alone while at work but you know how the lab can get. I’ll ask him to be careful and leave it at that for now*

Nick snorted. *I doubt any dragon community has had to deal with problems like this before* he said. *You’re getting good at making it up as you go along*

*Thank you* Gil said. *Will you let Horatio know I want to talk with him as soon as he gets a chance tonight, please? And let him know I’m phrasing it like that because I know he’s going to want time to reconnect to Greg*

*How do you think this situation will effect our Greggo* Nick asked. *He’s come out of his shell so much since we moved here. I don’t want anything to hurt him*

*We’ll keep an eye on him* Gil said. *I swear if its not one thing it’s another. I have to go, Nicky. I love you*

*Be safe; I love you too*

A shadow fell over Nick. He looked up at Horatio. “You’re having way too much fun with this, H.”

“It isn’t my fault they don’t know how to listen,” Horatio replied. “But as the last thing we need are jittery patrol officers, I’ve let up; for now. What did Gil want?”

“He wants to talk with you after supper tonight,” Nick replied.

“Then I will be there,” Horatio said. “Thank you, Nicky.”

“Not a problem but I should start charging,” Nick grinned.

“I’m sure Gil will be more than willing to reimburse you for your time,” Horatio said.

Nick smiled. “I’ll have to ask him about that.”

“So I hear you had a little too much fun at work today,” Gil said when Horatio joined him out on the beach. The Miami alpha had just come in from his thinking spot in the ocean and was enjoying the sun.

“They’re all going to have to lose the attitude,” Horatio said with a grin. “It’s nothing I can’t handle, but it does make me very happy that Greg isn’t working as a CSI. I don’t know how much control I’d have if I was constantly worried about him out in the field.”

“Too true,” Gil sighed. “So tell me about New York. We haven’t really had a chance to just sit down and get caught up on everything that’s been happening.”

Horatio reached into his suit jacket pocket. “In a minute, Gil; there’s one more problem we need to address first.”

“Another one?” Gil asked, his eyebrow going up. “Calleigh and Frank are on their way to Vegas working on their really strange kidnapping/murder case, and I just know they’re going to run into Hodges at least once. Jim is getting a headache, which means that there’s something looming on the horizon for the community. And we’re still no closer to working out the code with Gibbs. Oh yes, not to mention the new alpha dragon Jethro managed to locate in a coffee shop up in DC.”

“Only Gibbs could manage that,” Horatio snickered. “You can add in that Mac and I seem to have formed what the lore masters call the beta bond. I’ll tell you more in a minute, but look at this.” Horatio handed over the folded piece of paper. “I asked Greg to show this to you, but things went a little crazy and he never had the chance. This email came in right around the time Mac was kidnapped. It’s from a mathematics professor out in LA. Greg asked Abby to double-check everything and it’s all legit.”

Gil looked down at the note. **I hope I am not reading too much into all of this and the information on your web page is fact rather than fiction. My older brother and my mentor have both undergone the procedures discussed on your FAQ page. He’s gold and my mentor is white gold. I’m curious if there’s a way for us to learn more as I’ve only been able to find two old books in the college library. I’m including my personal cell number as my brother doesn’t know I’m contacting you.
Thanking you in advance and I hope to hear something soon.
Dr. Charles Eppes, Math Department, CalSci**

“His brother is five years older, Donald Eppes, with the FBI,” Horatio said. “Abby said not to tell anyone but she could probably get all of their personal information if we really needed it. I think we should check this out, Gil. Because if I’m reading this correctly, there are two Changed dragons in Los Angeles.”

“And you have to stay here,” Gil said. “I can go, I wouldn’t mind a short trip and I’ve heard of Charles Epees. I’d like a chance to meet him.”

“I can take Ray to the lab for the week,” Horatio said with a smile. “Between all of us we should be able to keep him out of trouble.”

Gil grinned. “And out of the investigations?” he asked. “I’ll book my tickets and room after I talk with Nicky. Now tell me more about this new talent you seem to have developed.”

“Mac and I really haven’t done anything with it because he’s focused on Danny right now, something I totally agree with,” Horatio said. “But the lore masters tell me it’s a lesser bond than we share with our humans and, for some reason, only develops between the beta dragons of two neighboring communities. It has to do when knowing where the other dragon is an early warning system to let the community know a strange dragon is coming to visit.”

“Which is how Mac knew you were in New York before anyone told him,” Gil said. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and speculate that alpha dragons don’t and didn’t make a lot of social calls to other communities.”

“With the tendency to fight, I would doubt it,” Horatio smiled. “That’s pretty Miami-style thinking, Dr. Grissom, are you sure you’re not changing your infamous follow the evidence style?”

Gil laughed. “I was following the evidence, Lieutenant Caine,” he replied. “And I’ll do so further. There is a very good chance that one of these Changed dragons in LA is an alpha and I’m walking into his territory. I’ll have to be on my best behavior and at my most diplomatic.”

“And I wonder why now,” Horatio said. “Why are we suddenly finding all these strange dragons and possibly other communities now? It’s like when we all Changed so close together. The question returns – why so many of us when the books all say these bond pairings are rare.”

“I do like Tony’s suggestion that modern transportation plays a role in it,” Gil said. “But at the same time it also makes me think we’re overlooking the obvious.”

“Did we ever ask Chrysalis about it?” Horatio asked.

“I honestly don’t remember, but even if we did, he didn’t give us an answer,” Gil replied. “While I’m gone, Horatio, talk with Chrysalis about that and also see if any other communities have made contact with the lore masters.”

Horatio nodded. “And I’ll write out the steps to jumping to Pax Draconis,” he said. “If there are more alphas out there, more than the one Gibbs found, then they’ll need to know how to make contact as well. Chrysalis is the best reference we have, even with the long gap without contact with an earth-based community.”

“Very true,” Gil agreed. “Now I’m going to go and book my ticket and room, and call Gibbs, unless you can think of something else we need to discuss.”

“Nothing springs to mind, but I’ll call you if it does,” Horatio said. “Greg and I are taking Ray to dinner and a movie so we’ll probably be home late. Travel safe, Gil, and call me when you get there. I’m kinda curious about these guys.”

“A curious CSI,” Gil said. “There’s something I’ve never seen before. Have fun, H, and I’ll call when I’m settled tomorrow.”
********************

*~*~Los Angeles*~*~

As he pulled into the scene, Aaron Hotchner looked around for the one person he knew and was expecting – and didn’t see. There was a blond agent who looked like he spent most, if not all of his free time, at the gym lifting weights and a young black man both waiting on the curb. “Follow my lead,” he said to his teammate with a small sigh. “I don’t see the agent I was expecting and I don’t know how this is going to play out.”

“Yes sir,” Spencer Reid said quietly.

Hotch grinned at his young friend and stepped out of the black SUV, left hand smoothing down his navy blue, black and white striped tie that Reid had gotten him for his birthday the year before. Haley hadn’t been happy with the present, so Hotch kept it at the office and only wore it out of town so his wife wouldn’t be able to harm the silk tie.

“Special Agent Colby Granger,” the young blond agent said holding out his hand. “This is Special Agent David Sinclair.”

“SSA Aaron Hotchner, this is SSA Dr. Spencer Reid,” Hotch said.

“A genius are you?” Granger asked, looking Reid up and down in a way that made Hotch want to step in front of his young friend. “Didn’t they tell you we already have one out here?”

“Granger, get back to the bureau and see if Charlie has come up with anything for us,” a stern voice said.

“You got it,” Granger said with a final look at the pair from Quantico. David followed him without a word.

“Hey Hotch,” Don Eppes said with a grin. “Look man, sorry I wasn’t out here to meet you, but they needed me inside. Megan is downtown all but bouncing that your team is the one that got called in. Where are the others?”

“Gideon and Morgan went to the crime scene,” Hotch replied. “Elle and JJ are heading towards your building to get things set up for us there. And don’t worry about your agent; we’ve handled worse, although I would think another agent would be more welcoming. This is Dr. Spencer Reid.”

“Hey Doc,” Don said with a warm smile. “My brother is keen as hell to meet you. Hotch, you two have to come over for supper – no arguments.”

“Donnie was one of my instructors when I first went through the academy,” Hotch explained to Reid. “And the one who called us out here. What are we looking at?”

“This guy thinks he’s Wylie Coyote,” Don snorted.

“Excuse me?” Reid asked.

“I’m not kidding, how could I make something this nuts up?” Don asked. “His MO is that he stalks them while they’re out jogging, chases them down, catches them and kills them. Then when we show up at the victim’s house there’s a copy of old Roadrunner cartoons playing in the DVD or VCR. He’s taken out four women so far. We’ve tried to get all the joggers to run in pairs or stay out of his hunting area, but it seems like they’re not listening.”

Hotch nodded. “Our jobs would be far too easy if everyone would listen and then do as we ask,” he said. “Reid, go take a look inside and get started. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Yes sir,” Reid said.

The older agents watched him duck under the crime scene tape and walk into the house. Hotch sighed. “He’s not going to let it show, Donnie, but what your agent said to him is going to fester for the entire investigation. I think it might be best if we keep them apart. Does Granger have a fear of smarter people?”

“I’ve never seen him act like that before,” Don replied with a frown. “My brother, Charlie, is a math genius; we graduated high school together on the same day only he was around twelve. Charlie consults for us all the time and so does his mentor, Larry. I dunno, man. I really don’t.”

“Reid’s been through a lot and I’d like to keep him as safe as possible,” Hotch said. “Maybe putting him together with your brother is a good idea. They’d probably be able to work out the whole case before we even get things set up.”

“Its epistemophobia,” Reid said as he rejoined the group. “A fear of knowledge. Hotch, you need to come and take a look at something inside.”

Hotch hadn’t realized that their voices would carry and sighed. He needed to talk with Gideon and then he really needed to talk with Reid. The last thing he wanted was the younger man thinking that Hotch thought he couldn’t do his job. “What did you find, Reid?”

“I took a look at the DVD player and remote,” Reid said. “This is an eight hour disc and there’s no repeat feature on the system. For it to be running when the FBI or local officers arrive, our unsub has to know when they’re going to do it. That means that he has intimate knowledge of the case and access to inside information.”

Don groaned. “Just when I thought this couldn’t get any worse,” he said. “Hotch, Doc, we need to get back to the bureau and let my team know about this.”

“How many agents are working the case?” Hotch asked. “Don’t get upset with me, Donnie, I’m not suggesting one of your team is your killer. But I need to know the numbers before we get there.”

“Three teams,” Don said. “And that’s counting mine. Look, I wouldn’t want to think it was one of my people but talk with Megan. She knows everyone, and she worked with you for a while. But as far as I know, my team has been at work within my line of sight for each attack.”

“I’m sorry,” Reid said softly.

“Don’t be,” Don said. “If it is an agent then we need to know it before things get out of hand with the media. That was a great catch on the movies; none of us had thought to check.”

“Good work, Reid,” Hotch added with a smile. “Now let’s go and see what Gideon managed to find at the crime scene.”

Reid nodded with a weak smile and followed the other agents back out of the house. It was going to be a long case; he could just feel it.

Rather than renting a car, Gil took the hotel shuttle from LAX and then, after he was settled into the room, a taxi to the CalSci campus. He wandered around for a while just enjoying the twin delights of being back on a college campus and the drier heat that Los Angeles was offering that day.

A stop by the math department told Gil that Dr. Eppes was in class for another half and hour. He got directions and snuck into the back of the auditorium to listen to the tail end of the lecture. The professor was slightly younger than Gil had been expecting, but he taught with such passion that it was obvious that he loved his subject.

Once the room was empty, Gil approached the front. “Excuse me, Dr. Eppes?”

“Yes, can I help you?”

“My name is Gil Grissom, please call me Gil, and I’m from Miami,” he said. He handed over a printout of Charlie’s email. “The answer is yes, there is a way for you to learn more.”

“So it is true,” Charlie said, his eyes wide. “The web page, I mean, all the information on there.”

“It is, but it’s not safe to talk here,” Gil said. He couldn’t help but smile at Charlie’s enthusiasm.

“Oh, yes of course, please come to my office,” Charlie said as he finished gathering up all his things. “I’m supposed to meet my brother in a couple of hours, but I do want to know more. And so does he, its just that he’s too busy at work right now and our father doesn’t know anything about us.”

“So no family history?” Gil asked.

“Nothing that we can find from either side,” Charlie replied.

Gil nodded. “I’m not too surprised to hear you say that about your mother’s side of the family as the gene, or whatever it is, is attached to the y-chromosome.”

“So its only men who can,” Charlie paused as he shut the door to his office, “turn into dragons.”

“It’s known as a Change, capitol C, to true form,” Gil said. “I’ve got copies of the histories, lore and lingo – as our historian says – in my hotel room. There are some standard questions I need to ask all of you, the first one being how many people are in your community.”

“Seven,” Charlie replied. “My brother and me, my mentor and his human, two of Don’s team and another FBI agent.”

“And only your brother and mentor have Changed?”

“Yes, I was in a sniper’s cross-hairs and didn’t realize it until Don Changed to save me,” Charlie said. “Part of his team was with us and saw what happened. One of the books I did manage to find said that its actually not all that uncommon for one brother to Change to save another and its only the views of society that cause problems for the bond, the taboo of incest.”

“That’s interesting, I haven’t read that,” Gil said. “Would it be possible to get copies of these books for me to add to my collection?”

“Absolutely,” Charlie said. “In fact, why don’t you come with us to meet Don, I’ll drop off my work and we can continue on to the library from there.”

“It might not be a good idea for me to meet your brother in public,” Gil said. “I’m an alpha dragon and there’s a chance he might be as well and there’s no way to know exactly how he’ll react to my presence until we actually meet.”

Charlie blinked a few times. “Oh, I didn’t realize that,” he said. “Well, I suppose you could wait in the car and, Larry what have I told you about knocking?”

“Charles, are you aware that you have a dragon in your office?” Larry asked closing the door behind him.

“Technically, now I have two,” Charlie replied with a grin. “Remember I told you I was sending that email to the web page we found?”

“Vaguely,” Larry said, twisting his pen between his hands. “I do remember Don saying it was a waste of time.”

“Well it obviously wasn’t because Gil’s flown out from Miami to teach us about our history,” Charlie said. “Now I just have to let Don know about it.”

Gil sighed. “I don’t want to cause any problems between you and your dragon,” he said.

“Don’t worry about that,” Charlie said. “We’re still brothers even with this bond we share and we’re always having problems. That, and hiding our relationship from our father, makes life very interesting.”

“Indeed it does,” Larry said. “Don and Charles are two very different individuals in most regards, but in some ways they are quite similar. Their stubborn nature comes instantly to mind.”

“We’re not stubborn,” Charlie said. “Anyway, Gil, as I was saying before Larry barged in…”

“It’s my job to keep you safe when Don’s not around,” Larry interjected. “And I was concerned when I smelled a strange dragon in your office. It was something I felt I had to address.”

Charlie sighed. “I know you did, and I’m sorry. It’s just sometimes I feel like I have a babysitter.”

“Humans have to be protected at all times,” Gil said seriously. “It makes me very happy to see that both your brother and Larry take their jobs seriously.”

“There is a reason?” Charlie asked.

“Charles, your brother is waiting for us,” Larry said.

“Then we can talk in the car,” Charlie said. “But I do need to get these figures to my brother. If you don’t want to wait, Gil, I could just meet you at the library.”

“I’ll ride along and try to answer some of your questions,” Gil said. “And maybe I can figure out a way to meet your brother without any problems.”
********************

When Hotch and the others arrived at the LA field office for the FBI, he looked around and finally spotted Gideon in a corner reading over some case files. “Go check on the victimology for me, Reid,” he said softly. “You know what we’re looking for, Elle doesn’t.”

“Do you want me to tell her?” Reid asked.

“Not yet, I don’t want to talk about this where our unsub could overhear us,” Hotch replied. “I hate holding information back like this, but it’s just too risky right now to do anything else with it.”

Reid nodded. “I’ll let you know what I find.”

“I know you will,” Hotch said. He made his way through the desks and the squeak of a chair was all the warning he got before he was being hugged. With a chuckle, he wrapped his arms around the smaller woman and hugged back. “Megan, it’s good to see you again.”

“I’m so happy you guys pulled the case,” Megan Reeves said. She let him go and stepped back. “How have you been, Hotch? And none of the usual work crap about being fine, I want to know the truth.”

“Why did we let you leave again?” Hotch smiled. “Honestly, I’m fine. Haley came through like a trooper and Jack is about to turn two months. It’s hard being away from them, but I love my job.”

“More like you’re addicted to it,” Megan said. “Just like a good profiler should be. Did I see Reid vanishing into one of the conference rooms?”

“You did, and if you could talk with him I’d really appreciate it. One of your team pulled some attitude with him when we arrived and I think it hurt more than Reid is letting on. You might be just what he needs.”

“Let me guess, Colby Granger,” Megan sighed. “He’s a good agent, sturdy, but a little overly protective of Don’s younger brother. Charlie is our consultant and is brilliant at math. My gut tells me that Granger sees Reid as a threat to Charlie’s place on the team, which is stupid of course because they’re good in two different fields, but I’ll have a talk with both of them. I don’t think Don will mind.”

“I’d give you my blessings,” Don said as he came up behind them. “Especially since Charlie will be here any minute and we really need the stats he’s been working on. He seemed positive he could give us the next trail the suspect was going to pick.”

Hotch grinned. “Then I really do look forward to meeting him,” he said. “I need to speak with Gideon for a moment, Donnie. Is there a safe, soundproof room we could use?”

“Sure, one floor down, room “C”,” Don said.

“Thanks, Megan, I will talk with you later,” Hotch said.

Megan watched her old friend walk off and turned to her alpha dragon. “Donnie?” she asked with a smile.

“Save it, Hotch and I know each other from when I was teaching at Quantico,” Don said. “And Doc might have come up with something for us. That’s what Hotch wants to talk with Gideon about. Let everyone know our briefing will be down in the secure room, will you?”

“Yeah, you got it.”

Don went back to his desk and opened up the case file again. He was just starting to read when his head snapped up. He could smell a strange dragon in his building and mixed in with the smell was the scent of his human. Don’s eyes narrowed as he watched his brother, Larry and another man – this one with a visitor’s tag – walk into the bullpen area. He relaxed a little when he saw that Larry and Charlie were walking together and the new dragon was trailing along behind, putting distance between himself and the members of Don’s community. That single act alone spiked some respect in Don’s mind. But he still wanted to know what the hell was going on.

“Hey Don, I know I should’ve told you what I was doing but I went ahead and sent off that email I was talking about,” Charlie said, fidgeting with his bag as he talked. “And it turned out that it wasn’t a waste of time after all. The page was real. This is Dr. Gil Grissom from Miami and he flew out just to answer our questions for us.”

“What am I going to do with you, Charlie?” Don asked fondly. “Larry, Megan is in the other room if you want to go join her. Just be aware that she’s working with one of the BAU profilers.”

“Thank you,” Larry said. “Gil, I look forward to continuing our conversation about other planes of existence.”

“You’ll have to join me for dinner,” Gil said with a smile. He looked at Charlie’s brother and saw that he was definitely an alpha dragon. “Special Agent Eppes, it’s an honor to meet you.” Gil made eye contact for a moment and then looked down. His instincts told him that it was a signal to the other alpha that he respected and honored the fact that he was in another’s territory.

Don nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Grissom,” he said. “I’m just sorry you came out in the middle of such a large case and I don’t have the time to visit with you right now.”

“He’s a CSI in Miami and helps out with NCIS cases,” Charlie said. “He might be able to help us out as well, Don.”

“Let me talk with him for a moment, Charlie,” Don said. “Go join Megan, please. Dr. Spencer Reid is here and Colby was a bastard to him. The kid is taking it hard and I think talking to you would help a lot.”

“Sure, oh Gil, the notebook you wanted me to look over?”

Gil handed it to him. “I appreciate it,” he replied. “Because we’re all completely and truly stuck.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Codes are a form of math and, if Dr. Reid is here as well, then I’m sure we’ll be able to get this taken care of in no time,” Charlie said. “Oh, Don, here’s the work you’ve been waiting on. And I’ll leave you two to talk. Just don’t kill him, please Donnie? I really do want to learn more. We only just got started talking in the car over here.”

“I promise, Chuck,” Don said.

“Don’t call me Chuck,” Charlie grumbled as he walked away.

Don snickered and turned back to Gil. “So you’ve done consulting work before?” he asked.

“I have but I don’t want to presume,” Gil said. “I’d be more than happy to wait at my hotel until the case is over and you have some free time.”

“No, actually, I think we could use your help in the field,” Don said. “I know I’m probably not supposed to automatically trust any dragon who walks into my turf, but there’s something about you that says I can. Charlie’s going to want to come along when we catch this guy and I don’t want my attention split if I can avoid it. Would you be willing to come along as a guard for him, please?”

“I will, but we probably shouldn’t talk more about it here,” Gil said. “I’ve been hunted twice and my human was kidnapped to draw me out. It’s made me more than a little paranoid about talking in public about our condition, for lack of a better word.”

“I imagine it has,” Don said. “Okay, no more talking. I’ve got to go to a briefing with the rest of the teams. You’re welcome to sit in the back and I’ll vouch for you if anyone asks. And then once we get this guy I promise you’ll have our undivided attention for as long as you want.”