Thank you guys!
Horatio arranged a meeting with Ronald Woodley the next day. He woke up early and got dressed. The hotel room seemed roomy and lonely without Ryan there. Horatio left quickly, and grabbed a coffee and some breakfast before driving down to the LAPD Crime Lab, where he was escorted into Woodley's office, and sat waiting for him. Finally, Woodley turned up after some twenty minutes and sat down across from Horatio. An officer stood in the corner of the office.
Woodley: Greg said you wanted to talk to me.
Horatio: *nods* You knew about the meeting Ryan and I had scheduled with Baylap.
W: *shrugs* The whole lab did. No one thought anything of it.
H: Really?
W: *nods* What's this all about?
H: Somehow, Andrew knew where we we going to be, and where we were from.
W: I'd assume whoever hired him told him that.
H: Woodley, after Ramirez and I left the interrogation room, you spoke with Andrew. And it wasn't to read him his rights.
W:...
H: What were the two of you talking about?
W: I didn't say anything to him.
H: I'm not stupid, Woodley.
W: *sighs* Caine, I could lose my job over this.
H: If you don't tell me, you're going to lose a lot more than your job.
W: What is your deal with this anyway?
H: I'm not after who hired Andrew in this, this is much bigger than that! This is about who blackmailed my colleage and ripped our team apart, who blew up my lab and killed tons of innocent people, who almost gave me brain damage in that explosion.
W:...
H: This is a huge deal. A group of people are organizing a new band of police officers, and plowing down anyone who stands in their way. If you're part of this, I need to know.
W: I didn't know they were going to hurt anyone.
H:...
W: Look around! This lab is nearly empty. Police officers in the area are slacking off, still getting paid, and the extra shifts are being covered by the ones who care about they do, and they don't get paid for it.
H:...
W: The LA police force is falling apart. This was supposed to help people, to fix the problem. More undercover agents, less patrol cops, and bringing in intelligent, well-trained, expert officers from around the world.
H: So it wasn't just Speedle? From Miami?
W: I...I don't know how they got them over here. I expect some of the officers didn't come willingly.
H: *sighs*
W: It was all so that we could fix LA. The new officers could train the slackers, fix what needed to be fixed...intergrate all of what they learned into our city. I didn't know anyone was going to get hurt.
H: *rubs temples* Who else was involved?
W: It's all being run by one guy who lives here, I think. I don't know his name, I've never seen him. I know he has a lot of retired LAPD officers, rich businessmen, and others on his side who organize the individual parts to it, and he oversees everything. I think the main guy who was supposed to get officers from Miami was named David K, I don't know whaat the K stands for.
H: *nods*
W: I'm in charge of bringing in all of the non-LA cops, and making sure they stay. Someone else organizes where they stay, what they do, ect, I don't know who and I don't know how many. It's all very secretive.
H: *nods* Go on.
W: I was asked by the head of the Miami branch-David- to scare you guys off. He told me you might come after the officer we brought over. I didn't mean for Andrew to shoot at you guys.
H: Well he said you did.
W: No! I told him to scare you guys off, and not to hurt anyone.
H: *shakes head* How do you know him?
W: I handled a case of his a year ago, theft. I became friendly with him after he was released, and knew that he...knew his guns well. I didn't want him to actually
shoot you...
H: *sighs* Right, but didn't you realize-
W: I didn't, I guess I wasn't thinking straight.
H: *nods* What do you know about the lab explosion?
W: Erm, I know that David is involved with a bigger group in Miami. Miami is one of our main targets.
H: Targets?
W: Well, not targets. But it's a place we want to learn from. And, a place we know we won't get officers willingly. There's another officer, of some official in Miami who's not fond of your lab, and he agreed to help. He had his own thing going, where he insisted it would help get us more officers.
H: How, by killing us? Bringing our lab down?
W: Not killing you, but breaking you apart. Figured he could get some of you to transfer to LA, work with us if he did so. Something about getting you all fired, cases re-opened, and I don't know...he had his own methods.
H: *nods* Rick Stetler?
W: That might have been it.
H: Wow. It all fits, I guess.
W: I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. Really.
H: You should have thought about that beforehand. You're a cop, you're supposed to be smart enough to know what's going too far.
W: *hangs head*
H: And this new brand of police thing, it's only a matter of time before more people get suspicious. I'm building a case against this, and I will make it my personal mission to put a stop to it.
W: Don't you see? It's for the greater good in the end!
H: *shakes head* Not the way it's going. Not by killing people and taking them away from the people they love through blackmail.
W: *sighs, stands up*
Officer: *hand-cuffs Woodley* You're under arrest for the attempted murder of Lieutenant Caine and CSI Wolfe. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law...