Summery Attention all who read, "Has the Jury Reached a Verdict" and related stories, I got so much negative feedback that I decided to write an alternate ending to the series. There will be closure, GSR, and cupcakes (yes, I said cupcakes)
Rating T
Comments Obviously posting this line of stories was a humungoginormous mistake. This is my attempt to redeem myself. Sorry to put you through the agony. Parts of this one stay the same because I'm lazy, but it will have a much better outcome than blowing our good friend Grissom's brains out. To gruesome of a description? Sorry. WARNING: Harsh Language
"Sometimes the evidence itself can bare witness. In this case we see that there is no such thing as an insignificant detail." –Gil Grissom
Surprisingly, the kidnapping and the value of the ransom had not been highly publicized. All non-jury civilians were forced to remain at the hotel until the trial was over, for Grissom's safety. All of the LVPD knew and had informed Grissom's family.
The morning the video went out was the day the attorneys in the Bladano case gave their closing statements. The prosecuting attorney gave a cut-and-dry speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in the months of this trial, you have seen evidence and heard sworn testimony roving beyond any reasonable doubt that Carson Bladano has murdered, terrorized, and conspired his way to the top of Delta Orbis, a terrorist organization right here in our own city, in our own state, and in our own nation.
"Now we all know about the kidnapped CSI. But I urge you to disregard any mention of him. Forget the video, or rather, remember it and remember what this organization is capable of, and imagine how much more they could do with their leader back. Vote not on sympathy for one man, but based on the evidence, and the law, and render a guilty verdict."
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Meanwhile, LVPD got a lucky break in the case. Someone had been recording a television show at the time the video went out. The owner turned in the tape in return for remaining anonymous.
Back at Archie's "techno lab" as Greg referred to it, Nick, Warrick, and Archie reviewed the video. The two CSI's watched as Archie tinkered with sound and picture quality.
"It sounds like there's an echo," he observed, "It must be a large, empty room, and I noticed that the walls are concrete."
They reached the part where Bradley Selto went to the other side of the room where Grissom was. "Stop the tape." Nick said. Behind and to the right of Selto was a widow. "Zoom in on that window." Archie zoomed in and cleaned up the picture. "Look out that window, Warrick. What do you see?"
"I see a pine tree."
"The only place in Nevada where those things live full lives is around Lake Mead. This is great, Archie, thanks. Now we know that Grissom's in a large, empty, concrete building near Lake Mead."
"With a window facing east." Archie added. "Look how bright it is outside. Facing any other direction it would be in shadow at this time of day. That room is filled with natural light. The building might not have power to it."
Warrick chuckled slightly, "Looks like Archie's becoming a CSI." He looked over at Nick. "What are you thinking, Nicky?"
"I'm thinking about the old Sportster's Unlimited warehouse. Sara and I worked a B&E case there. The east window had been broken. The company went out of business several years ago."
"Want to take a sneak-and-peak?" Warrick suggested. "We can't get a warrant just off a hunch."
"Defiantly, let's go. Thanks Arch."
"No problem."
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Nick and Warrick carefully approached the old warehouse from the east side, where the window was believed to be. They could see the window as they neared closer and closer.
Soon they were crouched behind trees only fifty feet away. They could see inside the room. They could see Grissom. Suddenly Warrick jumped up and tried to rush the building. Nick jumped up and held him back.
"What in the hell do you think you were trying to do?" Nick demanded. "Another stunt like that and you'll get us both killed!"
"But he's…"
"I know. I see him too. But Bladano's people probably have armed guards all over that building, and I'll bet you anything Grissom's not alone in that room. Let's radio for backup, maybe get SWAT down here, arrest every one of those terrorist sons-of-bitches and get Gris out of there without any of us good guys dying."
Nick looked into the room. He could see Grissom's face, and realized something: Grissom could see them. Nick looked at him and mouthed the words, "Don't worry. We're coming."
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Within the hour, SWAT teams and police units had surrounded the building. One team went in through the main north entrance, and another went in the west door, the opening directly into the room where Grissom was being held.
Warrick, because he was unpredictable and considered by many to be a loose cannon, went with the north team. The tall, wide doors were closed and locked. A SWAT specialist set explosives on the lock. "Get ready!" He shouted. All the men stood back with guns ready. The bomb went off, making the doors fly open. The team rushed in, weapons up. "Las Vegas Police! Step away from the weapons and put your hands where we can see them!" They did not resist. They new that they were beaten.
Meanwhile, the west team, Nick among them, waited for the okay from the north team. Their hearts all jumped when Nick's radio beeped. "Move in." They heard a voice say. The team leader kicked down the door and entered the room. Nick had been right before when he assumed that Grissom was not alone I the room. Before they had a chance to identify themselves, five men, including Bradley Selto, opened fire. "Shoot to kill!" The leader ordered the team. The team flooded in and returned fire, careful to keep Grissom out of the path of bullets.
North team heard the fire fight and sent half of its members in for backup. They stormed down the hall and crashed straight through the door. "Las Vegas Police! Guns down!" Everyone immediately stopped shooting, and the defeated men reluctantly dropped their weapons. They all looked around the room. Luckily, no cops had been killed. Two of the terrorists were dead and one was wounded. The officers moved in and began handcuffing those remaining men.
Just to demoralize them even more, Warrick began quoting a tainted version of the Miranda warnings. "All y'all got the right to shut the fuck up. Anything you say will warrant me kicking your ass, not to mention we can twist your words and use them in court. You all have the right to lawyers. If you can't afford any, we'll hook you up with some dumb-shit excuse for an attorney that cant even spell arraignment."
When all but a few had cleared out, Nick and Warrick went to attend to Grissom. They knelt down beside him and noticed that, even after all of the excitement that had just happened, he was barely conscious. Their stomachs twisted when the looked at the wires around his wrists and ankles.
"Trent," Nick called to the man who was about to leave the room, "I need some wire cutters over here."
"Sure thing." He answered.
Warrick looked up at Grissom's face. "How are you feeling, Gris?"
"Like shit."
"I got your wire cutters." Trent said as he came up behind them.
"Thanks, man." Nick said and took the wire cutters from him. He carefully cut the wires away. Grissom winced with pain when Nick unwrapped the wires to untie him.
As he was doing this, the paramedics came in through the west door with a stretcher. "You guys want to help us get him on the stretcher?"
"Sure," Warrick agreed. Together, they lowered the stretcher, lifted Grissom on, raised it up, and wheeled him out and put him in the ambulance. Warrick and Nick climbed in to ride with him.
When they were on the main road, Nick put his hand on Grissom's shoulder and said, "You're home free, Grissom. You're home free."
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When Grissom woke up in the hospital the next morning, he was not quite sure where he was or how he had gotten there. Then the pain rushed back, and he remembered it quite well. He looked around the room and saw every counter space filled with flowers. Laying next to him was a big brown teddy bear with a heart on its stomach.
"How did you sleep?" A familiar, compassionate voice said to him. He looked to the side to see Sara sitting next to you.
"Like a baby. Thanks for the teddy bear."
"How did you know it was from me?"
"I would be worried if it were from Greg." Sara laughed at his joke. "When I was in that building with those terrorists, I almost wondered if I would ever hear that sweet laugh again."
"I was afraid I would never see you again. I was afraid we wouldn't be able to find you before the verdict came in, which, in fact was this morning."
"What was it?"
"Guilty on all charges." They were quiet for a moment. Then Sara leaned forward and whispered, "I love you, Gil. Don't ever doubt that."
"I love you, too, Sara."
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After four weeks that Grissom took to rest from his experience, He got bored and decided it was time to go back to work. In the locker room, he wasn't much surprised by the surprise party waiting for him. There was a paper banner that said "Welcome Back Grissom," an all the gang yelled a cheesy, "Surprise!"
"I'm surprised," he said sarcastically. "I've only thrown three of these." There had been similar parties for Nick, Greg, and Captain Brass. On a table towards the back of the room where a coffee pot, filled with Greg's famous Hawaiian blend, and treys full of cupcakes, home-baked by Catherine.
"Forth time's a charm," Sara said, "Have a cupcake." She handed him a cupcake with pink frosting and multi-colored sprinkles.
"The sprinkles were a nice touch, Catherine."
"I had some left over from Lindsay's last birthday party."
In the doorway, they all heard someone say, "Now, why wasn't I invited to this little shindig?"They turned and saw Conrad Ecklie standing in the doorway.
"Because you're day shift!" they all said at once. Of course, that wasn't the real reason. It was just that nobody liked him.
"Well, days on not, welcome back, Gil." He gave Grissom a hard pat on the back, making him drop his cupcake on his shoe. Grissom suppressed a grin and rolled his eyes. Everyone but Ecklie laughed.
On CSI we see all sorts of crimes solved. But as much as I love the show, it isn't very realistic. Not every case gets closure. When that coin landed on tails, I considered saying "To hell with it, what does George Washington know about fanfic?" But I didn't. I decided to portray a more realistic side of the life of a big city cop where you don't always solve the case or make in just in time. Many readers couldn't accept that. Fine. No problem. I fixed it (Hopefully well. Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge.) But keep in mind that over half of all murders, yes, even Las Vegas, New York, and Miami, go unsolved.