Chapter Six

1x06 - Broken

Disclaimer: Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warning: Disturbing Subject Matter! Alludes to the sexual abuse and murder of young children. In fact, I have raised the rating of this story to PG13 due to the subject matter of this chapter.

When he saw her lying there, so small, so delicate, so helpless, his instinctive reaction was to snatch her up and carry her away to safety - but he didn't. He was too late for her, this innocent soul taken before her time: she was already dead. He had failed her in life - unable to remove her attacker from society before he could do harm - but he would not fail her in death. Not this one, not this time.

This was going to be hard for everyone, he knew. He could see it in their eyes, the horror and despair at the depths to which another human being could sink. Each of them were seeing the precious children in their own lives in the place of little Ruthie, seeing their daughters & sons, their nieces and nephews, murdered and abandoned like broken dolls. Unfortunately, for most of them, this wasn't the first pedophile case they had worked, and, sadly, it wouldn't be the last. What a fucked up world it was, when children were in more danger in what was supposed to be a safe place then they would have been out in the unprotected public. The memories they would gain today would haunt them all for months: they would creep into their lives, affect their families, steal their dreams and populate their nightmares. But someone had to speak for this child, had to bear witness to the last moments of her short life. Who better then those sworn to Serve and Protect?

Seeing the sickening house of horrors where Stewart Otis had "played" with his victims, finding the pitiful graves of his previous victims: it all served to solidify their determination. They would prevail, at any cost. Justice demanded it.

There were times when Horatio felt as if he would never be able to wash the revolting stench of humanity off of himself, as if it stuck to him like a noxious slime. Days like this, he wondered if humanity really was the superior species: animals didn't behave like this.

Finally, finally, the sickening monster was within his grasp, sitting in his interrogation room, sniveling his twisted justifications.

"She was flirting with me."

Flirting?! Now he understood what the expression seeing red really meant. Everything he saw was filtered through the crimson wash of his own rage.

Wistfully, he considered putting a bullet through this, this...monster's brain, right between his eyes. Or maybe, he thought viciously, he would start lower, and work his way up...slowly. Wouldn't want death to come too easily, after all.

He savored the image for a moment before regretfully letting it fade. Society reserved the right to administer Justice for Itself, and perhaps that was for the best, in the end.

Besides, thanks to Megan's Law, this monster would never be able harm another child again. He would spend the rest of his - hopefully short - life behind bars, trapped with vicious criminals who despised his kind above all others.

A bullet to the brain would be an undeserved mercy, and Horatio wasn't feeling merciful today.