Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them.

Author's Note: This was fueled by an idea that occurred to me about sometimes sacrificing characters to propel your plot along. I'm not particularly fond of killing people off, so this would be something a bit new for me. This is a work in progress and I hope you'll take the journey with me. As always, feedback is welcome.

"We clear here?" CSI Nick Stokes asked as he walked into the foyer of the large home that was their crime scene, glancing around the darkened house. It wasn't that he doubted PD; there was just something about the whole thing that made him feel uneasy.

"Jackson cleared it half an hour ago." Detective Sophia Curtis looked at Nick a bit oddly. She didn't blame him really; after all he'd been abducted, it was only natural that he was maybe a bit more cautious than the average CSI, but there were procedures that the department followed and Jackson was a veteran cop.

Supervisor Gil Grissom quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly at Sophia as he stepped into the house. "Body?" Sara Sidle was right behind him with her kit in hand.

Sophia gestured towards the stairwell. "Upstairs. Coroner hasn't arrived yet." She could tell from experience that it was going to be a long night if the CSIs had just managed to get there.

"What do we know?" Sara wanted to get an overview before they started to process the scene; to get an idea of what sort of evidence they might be looking for.

Sophia regarded the CSIs before her. "We don't know much; neighbors said they heard a disturbance and then gunfire. One claims he saw someone running from the house afterward. Patrol is out looking for them, but the description of the suspect was sketchy at best. And we still don't have a positive ID on the vic."

Grissom glanced over at Nick and Sara, gesturing at the stairs. "I'll take the body." He pointed towards the other downstairs rooms. "Nick, you and Sara process down here." Without another word, Grissom headed up the stairs with his kit, as always, his eyes open for the most minute details and the gears of his mind churning away like a precision Swiss watch.

"I'll take the back if you take the front." Nick grinned towards Sara. As much as the scene was giving off weird vibes to him, he put on a competitive front; anytime he worked with Sara or Warrick they each seemed to push each other more than working with anyone else did. Lucky for Warrick he had the night off or it might have been the three of them processing the scene.

"Meet you in the middle." Sara flashed him a gap tooth smile as she set her kit down and began to turn and scan the foyer for any obvious clues as Nick made his way to the back of the house. She quirked a brow curiously before heading into an adjacent room that appeared to be used for a den; something on the carpet in there had attracted her attention. She knelt down on the carpet to get a closer look at what appeared to be a link from a chain. After carefully documenting and photographing, she reached for a bindle and a pair of tweezers from her vest. She was working at extricating the object from the carpet fibers when she heard something that caused a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Sophia had remained in the foyer to wait for the coroner to arrive. She had barely heard the soft squeak of a door behind her open slowly and the thought occurred to her that no one should be there right now. She made a move to turn when she felt the distinct cold steel of a handgun pressed to her neck just under her ear.

"Don't move, bitch, or I'll blow you away." The strength in the hand that now gripped her forearm removed any doubt she might have entertained that her assailant was dead serious.

"Put the gun down and no one's going to get hurt." Sophia tried to keep a pleading tone out of her voice, as long as she showed strength she still felt she had a chance to talk herself out of the situation or find some weakness to exploit for that split second it would take to get away.

"I said don't move." The suspect hissed in her ear, pressing the gun harder against her neck.

Sophia let out a soft gasp and tried to stifle the fear that was quickly beginning to work its way to the surface. She needed to try and keep her composure, three CSIs were in the house and she didn't want to do anything that would put them in danger as well. She was the cop; she needed to try and reason her way out of this and watch for an opportunity.

"Now we're gonna walk out of here nice and slow, understand, bitch?" His hand released her forearm for just a second as he eased her gun out of its holster and tucked it into his waistband; he was clearly taking no chances here that she might do something crazy like try and shoot him.

"There are cops all around, what makes you think that you're getting out of here alive?" Sophia was calling his bluff; she knew that the reality was that Jackson was the only other cop at the scene, but if she could get Sara's attention, she might have a chance.

"There ain't no other cops; your partner is yapping it up back there with your crime scene guy. No one's going to help you, lady." His laugh had a cold hard quality to it and in that instant Sophia knew that he was capable of just about anything.

Sara was frantically trying to get Nick or Grissom's attention; she'd sent half a dozen text messages, not wanting to attract the suspect's attention as she'd carefully inched towards the doorway towards the foyer all the while trying to stay hidden. She knew that if she didn't do something soon, Sophia stood a very real chance of not walking out of this situation in one piece; she knew that she'd have only slightly better odds herself once she made herself known.

"You're wrong. You've already killed one person, you go out of here with a cop; you'll be the most wanted man in Vegas." Sophia was praying silently, trying to keep the waver out of her voice. She was scared to death and she had yet to see an opportunity that she could take to get away from this madman.

Sara knew she had to act or Sophia could die. She called out in the most authoritative voice she had and pointed her weapon at the man who outsized Sophia by almost double. "Las Vegas Police! Put the gun down!" Inwardly, Sara hoped that Nick or Grissom, or the officer who was supposed to have cleared the scene in the first place would get their asses in there and help her out.

The man didn't seem at all phased by Sara's threat as he smirked in her direction. "I ain't letting her go. I'm gonna walk out of her and you're gonna let me." He pulled Sophia roughly in front of his body as a shield and pointed the gun into her side, pushing it into her ribs in one of the few spots her Kevlar vest didn't cover.

"Sara, call for backup!" Sophia knew now that her only chance was to make as much noise as possible and hope that this guy was a lousy shot. "Call for backup! Suspect on location!"

"I said let her go!" Sara stood up and leveled her gun at the suspect's head. "Put the gun down now!" She was Sophia's only chance and she sure as hell hoped she didn't blow it. As big as the guy was, she didn't feel she had a clear shot to take him down.

"Like hell I will." The tall muscled man growled in Sara's direction and drug Sophia with him towards the front door.

"Sara, call for backup!" Sophia's voice was controlled but insistent. She knew that without more help, this guy wouldn't hesitate to take Sara out too, and she wasn't sure if the CSI was even wearing a Kevlar vest.

"Shut up, bitch!" The man dug the gun even further into Sophia's side. He was almost at the front door now and there was still no sign that any of the others had heard the commotion.

"Sara, I said..." Sophia's words were cut off by the arm around her neck. In that instant she knew she was probably going to die and she caught Sara's eyes and held her gaze for an instant just as she felt a blinding pain rip into her side.

"Drop the gun!" Nick Stokes had finally made his way back to the front of the house, having walked into the foyer just as the gun went off and Sophia slumped to the ground, Nick didn't hesitate, he fired his weapon three times, dropping the assailant to the ground like a load of bricks.