Title: Bulletproof . . . I Wish I Was

Author: Melanie-Anne

Email: [email protected]

Rating: R, for some disturbing content, and adult situations.

Archive: Anywhere, just let me know so I can visit.

Summary: Takes place after But She Breaks. A difficult case becomes personal for Alexx and brings back unwelcome memories for Calleigh. [Horatio/Calleigh]

Spoilers: Miniscule references to Broken and Kill Zone.

Disclaimer: ::sigh:: The characters don't belong to me, no infringement is intended, blah blah blah . . .

A/N: The third in my series. You should read Kryptonite and But She Breaks first. This is not a happy story, but I hope you'll stick around for the ride. Special thanks to Marianne for clearing something up for me :o)

* * *

limb by limb and tooth by tooth

tearing up inside of me

everyday every hour wish that i

was bullet proof

wax me

mold me heat the pins

and stab them in

you have turned me into this

~Radiohead, "Bulletproof . . . I wish I was"

* * *

Charles Reyes woke up thinking today would be the same as every other. He showered, shaved and got dressed for work. He had cornflakes and coffee for breakfast but when he looked across the table at the empty seat, he decided enough was enough. He left the unfinished meal and went back to the bedroom. He undressed, leaving his security guard uniform lying crumpled on the floor. From his closet, he took out camouflage pants and a vest. When he was dressed, he pulled on a pair of boots and laced them tightly. Jenny had bought them for him at an army surplus store. She'd joked that now he was ready to run off and join the marines. He'd told her he'd never leave his Jenny.

His Jenny. Not anymore.

He went into the living room and unlocked the cabinet where he kept his guns. His favorite was the 9mm. Israeli-made Uzi. He slung it over his shoulder then picked up his 9mm. pistol. It was loaded with a fourteen-round clip; he always kept his guns loaded. He slid it into a hip holster then picked up his shotgun. Now he was ready.

He called his boss and told him he had the flu and wouldn't be coming in. His boss said he hoped he was feeling better soon.

He locked the house as he left, not making any attempt to hide his weapons. His car struggled to start, and for a fleeting moment he thought about going back to bed.

It started. The moment passed.

Charles Reyes reversed out of his driveway and headed south.

It was 9:40 a.m.

* * *

Jennifer Alvarez stood in front of her kindergarten class and spoke above the noise. She banged her palm on her desk to get the children's attention, and when they fell silent, she began passing out sheets of paper. "This week we're learning about space. Does anyone have anything they'd like to share about space?"

A freckled boy with a gap-toothed grin held up his hand.

"Yes, Michael?" Jennifer asked. She sat on the edge of her desk and pushed her glasses up.

"It's big," Michael said, giggling.

"Yes, it's big. What else?"

"There're aliens." This from Abby, a pigtailed blonde in the front row.

Though the other kids laughed, Jennifer nodded. "That's very possible. Now, does everyone have paper? Good. I want you to draw space."

"How? We don't know what's in it?" Susan, Abby's identical twin, worried about everything.

"Well, use your imagination. If you think there are aliens, what do they look like? What about the other planets? Or spaceships? There's lots to draw, you see?"

As the children started drawing, Jennifer wandered around the classroom, commenting on each of the pieces. She glanced outside the window as she passed it, and stopped. There was a familiar car parked in the street. She squinted, and saw her ex-boyfriend sitting in the driver's seat. When he saw her watching, he waved. She turned away.

Five minutes later, as Abby was asking what color Martians were, Charles Reyes walked into the classroom and opened fire.

Three minutes after that, he looked around the room, nodded once, and walked out.

* * *

The press was already at Jacob's Ladder Kindergarten when the CSIs arrived. Adele Sevilla was waiting on the steps to brief the team. "You'll have to wait for the medics to finish up in there."

As she spoke, a uniformed paramedic wheeled a stretcher out. Cameras flashed as the child was loaded into an ambulance. Calleigh and Alexx watched, horrified. Horatio put his hand on Calleigh's arm. "It's going to be worse inside," he said.

Calleigh nodded, paler than she normally was. "I know. It's just . . . they're children."

"I know. Speed. Alexx. You guys okay?"

They nodded and everyone turned to look at the next stretcher that came out. A paramedic followed, a blonde girl in his arms. She was sobbing into his shoulder. Another ambulance pulled up.

"How many injured?" Horatio asked.

The paramedic with the child sighed. "We've sent eight to the hospital so far. Another five or six, I think."

"Dead?"

"I don't know." He nodded to the girl in his arms. "She's not hurt at all."

"Hi," Horatio said. "What's your name?"

"Abby," she sniffed.

"I'm Horatio."

Abby managed a tiny smile. "That's a funny name."

"I suppose it is." He took off his sunglasses. "Can I talk to you about what happened?"

She shook her head and buried her face in the paramedic's neck. "I want my mommy."

"Okay," Horatio said. He turned back to his team. "Adele, what's the status on the shooter?"

"We have a description but no id. Witnesses saw a man walk out carrying a rifle and drive off in a gray or blue Ford Taurus."

Five more children were wheeled out before the CSIs were allowed in. They stood at the classroom door and surveyed the carnage. Children lay sprawled on the floor, bent over desks, some still clutching their crayons. The teacher lay on her back, her eyes still open in fear.

Horatio pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and stepped inside. He counted eight bodies in all.

"Why would someone do this?" Calleigh murmured. "They're just children."

"Well, all except one." He turned to look at Jennifer Alvarez.

The group worked silently as they began to process the scene. Sometimes there was just nothing to say. At the rear of the room, Speed found two children hiding behind a bookshelf. They clung to each other, too afraid to move. Speed sank to his haunches and tried to entice them out. Thinking they might be less afraid of a woman, he called Calleigh over. Eventually, the children realized they were safe and crept forward. Speed and Calleigh tried to shield them from seeing the crime scene as they took them outside.

The parents of the children who hadn't been taken to hospital had assembled in the playground. When Speed and Calleigh handed the children over to a paramedic, three of the parents ran forward, crying tears of relief. Calleigh glanced at the remaining parents before she returned inside, seeing their hope turn to despair, and knew she could do nothing to ease their pain.

Speed took photographs, moving grimly through the room. Half-finished drawings still lay on the desks. A shooting star, a space rocket, a purple alien . . . the innocent pictures spattered with blood.

Calleigh began the long task of collecting bullets. She found shell casings on the floor and an empty clip. There were bullets lodged in the walls, in the desks and in the floorboards. She identified three different types of bullets and wondered why one man had needed three weapons.

Alexx knelt beside one of the children. She felt the back of his head, finding an exit wound for the bullet that had struck his forehead. There were two more wounds in his chest; it was too early to tell which injury had come first. "Poor baby," she said. "You didn't know what hit you, did you?"

Horatio found a seating plan in Jennifer's desk and managed to work out what each child's name was based on where they lay. He consulted with Adele for the names of the children at the hospital, then gave her the go-ahead to tell the parents of the dead. He took out a flashlight to help look for bullets. When he passed Jennifer's body, something on her finger flickered. He looked closer; there was a diamond engagement ring on her left hand.

"Okay," he said. "Let's get everything back to the lab. Calleigh, I want to know what he was shooting with. I want this place sealed. We'll come back this afternoon for a reconstruction."