Title – Malevolent Justice – Chapter 22/22
Author – alligator138
Fandom/Pairing – CSI:Miami – Ryan/Eric
Summary – Ryan’s in the worst mess he could possibly imagine, with no hope of escape...
Chapter Summary – Release...
Prompt – from 130prompts - #126 - future
Rating – NC-17
Warning – SLASH, NON-CON, A.U., INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH ANGST – consider yourselves warned!
Disclaimer – They’re not mine, I’m making no money from this. I do this for my own sadistic pleasure. Muahahaha!
Thanks to – twiztid_togo for reading this through and offering guidance and encouragement all the way, and to lausi_gm for the pretty wp. <3




Malevolent Justice – Chapter 22

Ryan and Eric walk out together onto the steps of the Miami-Dade Courthouse, and the Miami heat hits them like a brick wall. Ryan screws up his eyes against the bright light.

“I’m gonna have to start wearing shades. I’ve spent way too long indoors to take this kind of sunlight anymore.”

“Maybe H has some old ones he doesn’t use anymore?”

Ryan glances at Eric, raising his eyebrows quizzically. “You think that’s likely?”

“Umm, maybe not.”

“Gentlemen?”

They both turn swiftly, like they’ve been caught out in some wrong-doing, guilt written all over their faces. “H!”

Ryan grins sheepishly. “Listen, H, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I just don’t know what to say.”

Horatio smiles back. “Thanks aren’t necessary, Mr Wolfe. How does it feel to be a free man at last?”

“Pretty damn good. I know that the evidence against Stetler was clear, and you were there to speak for me and everything... but I didn’t realise how wound-up I was until the judge actually said the word “exonerated”. It was like a huge weight being lifted. I guess I still kinda thought they’d take me away and lock me up again.”

“Over my dead body, Wolfe!” Eric gives Ryan a playful punch on the shoulder.

“And mine,” rumbles Frank, emerging from the courthouse behind Horatio. “We shoulda never let them take him the first time.”

“Agreed, Frank,” Horatio murmurs. “And for that I apologise most sincerely, Ryan. I really thought that it would be in your best interests to be proved innocent by a team other than your own, so there could be no question of bias. It just never occurred to me that that team would fall for such a set-up. By the time I realised how wrong I was, it was too late.”

“It’s okay, H. I never blamed you. Well... for about half a second, I considered the possibility that you were the one...”

Horatio’s eyebrow slides heavenwards.

“...but like I say, that was half a second, and it was at a time when I was blaming everyone. I knew it had to be a set-up, but I couldn’t think of anyone who hated me that much, so I just started running though everyone. I had no idea that Stetler felt like that about me. I mean, I know I was a thorn in his side, but...”

“I don’t think that it was personal, Ryan,” says Horatio, as he turns his sunglasses in his hands.

Both Frank and Eric shoot him an are-you-crazy look, but Ryan nods. “Our differences were always professional. And usually because of something I’d screwed up...”

The corner of Horatio’s mouth twitches ruefully. “You made mistakes that Rick didn’t want to rebound on the lab. That’s understandable, I guess. But I’m thinking that Rick may have deliberately exaggerated your personal differences in order to justify to himself what he was going to do. I knew him a long time, and this kind of vindictiveness was unlike him. I made some enquiries, and it seems that the Fuentes marriage had been on rocky ground for some time. Mrs Fuentes wanted a divorce, but her husband had made her sign a stringent pre-nuptial agreement which meant that she would receive almost nothing in a divorce settlement. And Roberto Fuentes, despite the humble appearance of his store, was a wealthy man. Rosa Fuentes needed a way for him to die, so that she could inherit his money. Rick Stetler was a godsend to her, with his knowledge of crime scene procedures and his access to the case. What her ultimate plans for him were, I couldn’t say.”

“Black widow.” Frank nods. “Poor, dumbass was taken for a sucker.”

“I think so.” Horatio looks down at his glasses. “Ryan, as far as I can see, was just an easy target for the murder to be pinned upon.”

“With my history. Yeah.” Ryan sighs. “He picked me, and he waited until I had no alibi to put his plan into action. I just wish this could have gone down some other way.”

“You’re not feeling sorry for him!” Eric stares at him.

“Yeah. No. Kind of... It’s hard to know.”

The four men stand in silence for a moment, lost in their thoughts. Finally, Frank breaks the silence.

“So what’re you gonna do, now you’re a free man, Wolfe?”

“Today?” Ryan grins with a sudden spark of mischief. “I’m going to get a tattoo!”

“What?” splutters Eric. Horatio blinks at him, while Frank twitches a grin.

“Yeah. This...” He indicates his left bicep. “This barcode isn’t something I want to live with. I talked to Alexx about getting it removed – lasered off or something – but it’s too bold, injected too deep. It’s intended to be permanent. So I’m going to get something else on top and around it to turn it into something I want. Alexx recommended a guy.”

Eric’s eyebrows are nearly in his hairline. “What are you gonna get? And how in hell does Alexx know a tattoo artist?”

“He’s an ex-mortuary tech. And I don’t know yet. It depends on what he thinks he can do with it.”

“That sounds like a good plan, Mr Wolfe. Eric, are you going with him?” Horatio looks enquiringly at the two of them.

“I’m not off shift yet.” Eric’s face falls, as he remembers that he has to go back to work after his morning in court.

“I think we can arrange some time off, after everything that’s happened in the last few days. Calleigh’s holding the fort back at the lab. I’ll go back and lend a hand. As long as you’re both there bright and early tomorrow, one afternoon of freedom won’t hurt.” And Horatio smiles, sliding his sunglasses on.

“Tomorrow?” Ryan frowns.

“Your shift starts at eight a.m. sharp.”

Ryan stares. “Wha...? But I thought... Being arrested and all, not to mention...”

“I fixed that,” Horatio replies smoothly. “Your arrest was the result of a plot contrived by the man who arrested you. Once I explained that to the relevant authorities, along with the fact that one of their CSI teams was taken in by fabricated evidence, they saw clearly where their responsibilities lay. Besides... as of today, we’re another CSI short.”

“What? Who?” demands Eric.

“Ms. Boa Vista handed in her resignation last night. She didn’t show for work today, and when I called her home, her sister answered. She’s not coming back.”

“I guess this was pretty hard on her,” Ryan muses. “We used to be kind of close.”

Eric grimaces. “According to Calleigh, she thought you were guilty. The switch-round must have really messed her up.”

Ryan nods in agreement. “Thanks, H. I won’t let you down.”

“Likewise, Mr Wolfe.” Horatio smiles his inscrutable smile, and with that, he’s walking away down the courthouse steps.

“Can you believe that?” Ryan looks back to Eric and Frank. “He stood up in court to testify to everything that happened. He paid all that money to secure my freedom, and then paid you guys back. And now he’s got me my job back! Again! How much do I owe that guy?”

“He’ll be happy as long as you’re all happy.” Frank looks after Horatio. “You’re his family. And talking of family, where’s your Uncle Ron?”

“He’s already at the tattoo guy’s place. He decided that it was one of the things a man should do before he dies. And you know how bad the courtroom thing was for him before. I didn’t think he could take it again, even though this time was going to be different. So I told him to get his done first, so he can tell me how good the guy is.”

Frank nods. “He’s a good man. Good taste in cars too. That little MG of his is a gem.”

Eric laughs. “Do I detect a whiff of jealousy?”

Frank draws himself up to his full height. “Naw. I’d never fit in it.”

“You off back to work now, Frank? Or d’you want to come with us and get a tattoo?”

“Got one, thanks. Seeya tomorrow, guys.”

And he follows Horatio down the steps, back to the Miami that they all know and love, with its victims and villains, its rich and its starving, its powerful and its helpless. Ryan watches him go, knowing that he’s part of it all once again.

“Tattoo, eh? Did you know?”

Eric sighs. “Tripp’s full of surprises. I bet there’s a lot we don’t know about him.”

“Should we get Alexx to invite him along to dinner tonight? See if we can get it out of him?”

“Yes, and we should get Calleigh in on it. No one can keep a secret from Calleigh.”

Ryan grins. “That sounds like a plan. You give Alexx a call, then, and I’ll drive.”

“Hold on.”

“What?”

“If we weren’t on the courthouse steps, I’d kiss you senseless.”

“Yeah? What’s stopping you?”

“I’m a bashful virgin. Didn’t you know?”

Ryan roars with laughter. “You liked that! We’re so gonna have to do that again! Maybe I can be the master this time?”

“Like you don’t know you were the master last time!”

He smirks. “Coming?” And he holds out his hand.

Eric looks at it, then glances behind him. “I guess holding hands on the courthouse steps is okay. So, when can we do that again...?”

The two men walk slowly down the steps, making plans for that evening and the following day, knowing that they can make plans further into the future whenever they like.

~*~FIN~*~



(Last chapter. Boo-hoo!)
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