Title: Triple Threat
Author: lildreamer
Rating: T for violence and disturbing images
Pairings: Various pairings—Grillows, Snickers, HC, SMacked, and others…
Spoilers: There will be several references to certain episodes from all three CSIs. I will let you know at the beginning of each chapter what they are. This chapter contains a tiny spoiler for Fannysmackin'.
Summary: One killer so diabolical, so dangerous, so deadly will attract the attention of CSIs across the nation when he pulls off the greatest crime the CSIs have ever witnessed. Three very different teams of CSIs will be drawn together only to find themselves thrown into the killer's deadly game where the only way to win...is to lose.
It's a race against time and deadly betrayal. They are all about to be tested to the very limit. And they are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Because ultimately, one of them will lose this fight...
Disclaimer: I do not own of the CSIs or any of its characters. This story is fictional; any similarities to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. The song "Bless the Broken Road" belongs to Rascal Flatts.
A/N: Crossovers will appear later on in the story. Also, for those of you wondering about my other story—due to popular demand it may return and be updated soon. Thanx 4 all the reviews!
All right, on with the story…
Greg Sanders walked into the ballroom of the Tangiers and stood there for a moment, taking in his surroundings. The place looked positively breathtaking. The room was huge and full of life, celebrating the LVPD's many years in service. Its walls were decorated with sparkling ribbons and garlands. Small, round tables were arranged in neat rows throughout most of the room. Candles flickered softly on the tabletops, creating a soothing glow. On the bandstand, a five-piece combo played pop classics while couples danced the night away. Of all the casinos that Catherine's father owned, this one was the most impressive.
"Hey, Greg!" a familiar voice called, pulling him from his thoughts. "Over here!"
The young CSI glanced around the room and spotted Nick, Warrick, and Tina sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room. Nick was waving him over and patting the empty seat next to him. Greg chuckled to himself as he went over to join them.
"Hi, guys!"
"Wow, look at you," Warrick smiled. "Neat hair. Nice suit. Not bad, not bad at all."
"Why, thank you," Greg replied, taking a seat. "Where is everyone?"
"Grissom and Brass are over by the bar, talking." Nick gestured toward the counter a few feet away where it seemed the said men were having a deep discussion. "The girls aren't here yet."
"They're probably still getting ready," Warrick said. "Women take forever. You know, with the make-up and the hair..."
"Hey!" His wife slapped his arm playfully, slightly offended.
Warrick opened his mouth for a comeback but immediately shut it when he saw Grissom and Brass come up to their table and take seats near Greg.
"They here yet?" Brass asked, taking a sip of his wine.
Warrick and Nick shook their heads.
"Hi, Greg," Grissom greeted, noticing the young CSI. "Nice suit."
"Thanks."
Tina turned away from the guys to let them talk and that's when she saw them. "Wow, they look beautiful." She stared past the guys at the three women who had just appeared at the entrance.
"Huh?" Warrick followed his wife's gaze and had to do a double take when he saw them. "Whoa..."
"What are you guys staring at?" Nick asked as he and everyone else turned around to see what had caught their friend's attention. "Wow..."
Everyone's eyes grew wide, their jaws hitting the ground.
It was Catherine, Sara, and Sofia, but they didn't look like themselves at all. Catherine had her hair pulled up into an elegant knot. And she looked dazzling in a flowing, baby blue gown. Sara kept her hair down, but it was wavier than usual. She looked stunning in a lilac colored gown. Sofia had her hair tied into an elegant braid. And her long, white gown accentuated her curves perfectly.
The ladies glanced around nervously searching for familiar faces. Catherine met Sam Braun's gaze, who was grabbing a couple of drinks at the bar. He smiled and winked at her then discreetly gestured toward the table they were most likely searching for. The ladies smiled shyly, spotting the guys staring at them.
The female CSIs and the female detective made their way over to the table, turning more heads as they did.
"Hi, guys," Catherine greeted, smiling.
"Hey, girls," Tina said giving each one a welcoming hug.
"You three look...amazing," Brass complimented.
"Thank you," Sofia replied as all of their faces turned pink.
"Yeah, you all look pretty girl--er--pretty good." Greg blushed, catching his slip. "Good--you look good."
Everyone laughed as Greg's face turned even redder.
"Man, I have been hanging out with the wrong people," Nick drawled.
"Gee, thanks," Warrick said, giving him a wry smile.
His eyes met with Catherine's for a moment and he almost felt wistful. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly, but then she turned to talk to Brass. If only things had been different...
"I've never seen three lovelier ladies," Grissom smiled. His eyes lingered on Sara, momentarily, but she didn't seem to notice. She was gazing outside at the balcony, her face troubled. Her mind seemed to be some place else.
"I'm gonna go say 'hi' to my dad," Catherine said, walking away from the table.
Warrick turned to his wife as he stood from his seat. "And Iam going to get us a couple of drinks."
Greg stood from his own seat.
"Where are you going?" Nick asked knowingly.
The young CSI grinned. "I'm gonna go mingle with the ladies."
Nick shook his head, amused. "Good luck with that."
With all the commotion, no one seemed to notice that Sara had also walked away and was now headed toward the balcony she'd been staring at moments ago.
It was quieter on the balcony and that was exactly what she needed right now. Sara's mind had been wandering the entire day. She had had a hard time concentrating on everything. In fact, she was partially to blame for the ladies' tardiness. But that had all been forgiven and forgotten and she wanted to move on. But she couldn't get the dream out of her head.
Sara just stood there with her arms crossed, looking up at the moon.
Nick came up behind her. "Hey, you okay?"
While everyone else was busy enjoying the festivities, he had wandered outside for some peace and quiet and had found her there. He had watched her for a moment, noticing the troubled look on her face, before he made his presence known.
"Yeah." Sara shrugged. "It's nothing. Just...a feeling. I don't know. Bad dreams I guess."
"I have those, too," Nick said, recalling the nightmares he'd been having since he'd been buried alive. "We all do. You can't do what we do and not have it bother you. What's the dream about? What happened to Greg?"
"No, not Greg," Sara answered. "At least not directly. It's...it's dumb. There's...something. I don't even know what it is. But it's not a good thing. And it asks me to make a choice. In the dream I have to decide who lives and who dies."
Nick moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He couldn't help but notice that there were goosebumps on her bare arms.
"I never used to be afraid, Nick," she sighed. "Not of anything. And now it's like I'm afraid all the time."
"You deal with it, though," Nick said. It made him nervous talking about feelings like this. "You always deal with it."
"So far," Sara said softly. "So far."
Soft music suddenly began to stream into the night from inside, catching their attention. They both looked up and glanced inside to see people gathering onto the dance floor.
Nick turned to Sara and gave her his most charming smile. "Hey, aren't we supposed to be having fun tonight?" He offered her his hand. "May I?"
Sara looked down at his hand then back up to his face, taken by surprise. "Oh...um...okay."
I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Back inside, everyone except Nick and Sara had returned to the table. They were chatting animatedly about something when soft music filled the room. From all over, people coupled up and walked onto the dance floor.
"May I?" Brass turned to Sofia, offering his hand.
She smiled, taking it. "You may."
As they headed toward the dance floor, Warrick and Tina followed suit, rising from their seats to join them.
The three remaining teammates watched as more people gathered onto the floor. Grissom's eyes searched the crowd, looking for the person he wanted to dance with. As he turned his gaze toward the balcony, his heart sunk. He'd found her, but she was already dancing with someone else. He turned away, disappointed, then noticed that Catherine had a similar look on her face. Her eyes were downcast. He looked to where she'd been staring and found that she had been watching Warrick and Tina. He suddenly felt sorry for her. For himself. They were two lonely souls who shared the same feelings of longing and regret.
"Catherine?" Grissom's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "May I have this dance?"
She looked up at him and smiled. "Of course."
I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
Grissom looked down at his dance partner, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Catherine felt his eyes on her and looked up at him. She smiled back as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She threw her own arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing.
Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
A few couples over, Nick and Sara had found themselves in a similar embrace. Nick held her tight, smiling down at her. And she smiled back.
God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you…
That evening, when the party was through, everyone filed out of the ballroom, saying their goodbyes. The graveyard shift CSIs walked outside together, chatting about the night's events. Several colleagues said goodbye to them as they passed the group and headed toward their own cars. But Grissom and his team were not ready to leave each other's company just yet, so the group stood to the side, letting cars pass as they continued to talk and laugh.
Greg was about to give his input on what he thought of the party, when something caught his attention. A young woman had just turned the corner and was running down the sidewalk opposite the Tangiers' parking lot. The girl look terrified.
"Hey, guys!" Everyone turned to the young CSI. "I think that girl's in trouble."
He pointed across the street and they turned around to see what he was talking about. The girl stopped to look behind her, took a breath, then kept running. As she ran past the lot, she finally noticed that she was being watched.
"Someone, help me, please!" she screamed, running into the street toward them. "Please, help me! He's after me!"
"Miss, what's going on?" Grissom called, stepping forward.
"You gotta help me, please! He's gonna kill me!"
"Who?"
Before she could answer and before any of them could react, tires screeched not too far away and a dark SUV came speeding out of nowhere. They all watched in horror as the vehicle barreled right into the young woman, ran her over, and sped away into the night. The girl's body lay motionless on the gravel, her limbs twisted and bent in ways not humanly possible.
Catherine gasped.
"O my god!" Sara's hand flew over her mouth.
They raced over to the unconscious woman, careful not to disturb the scene. Grissom immediately put his fingers to her neck then shook his head sadly.
"She's dead."
Sofia began calling in officers to clear the scene and direct traffic while Brass phoned the ME's office.
"Did anyone catch the license plate of that SUV?" Grissom asked his team.
Although usually very observant, being CSIs and all, none of them had caught a glimpse of the license plate. It was too dark and it had all happened so fast.
"What the heck is going on out here!?" Ecklie asked, bursting onto the scene.
He had been at the party as well, but had maintained a low profile until then.
Grissom turned to face him, a very serious look on his face.
"Traffic was murder."
So, whaddaya think? Want more? You know you do…
