Hellbound: A CSI Fan Fiction Story
Chapter One
XXX
Grissom walked down the hallways of the Las Vegas Police Department to the Internal Affairs Division. Like he anticipated, Ecklie wasn't going to take no for an answer and if he wanted Sara gone, he'd do it himself.
He entered the office. It was empty. In the corner of the room was the office of Detective Ortega. In the chair opposite his sat Conrad Ecklie. Sara and Grissom walked inside.
"Gil, glad you could join us" said Ecklie.
"Why are we here, Conrad?" asked Grissom, already losing his patience. "I told you, Sara is staying and if you have a problem, talk to me."
"CSI Grissom, what is your relationship to CSI Sidle?" asked Ortega.
"Well, I'm her boss, but there's nothing wrong with being friends is there?" said Grissom.
"No, but CSI Ecklie says it is more than that" said Ortega. "You do know the rules concerning relationships between police officers?"
"I do" said Grissom, giving Ecklie an angry glare. "Ortega, I can assure you the relationship between CSI Sidle and me is completely professional."
"Sorry, Gil, but Ecklie and I have been talking it over and we've decided to put Sara in uniformed duty" said Ortega. "Considering what's happening to the Night Shift, we think it's for the best."
Grissom couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Come again?" he said.
"It's nothing personal" said Ecklie, but Grissom wasn't having any of it.
"You son of a bitch!" yelled Grissom. "This is personal, and you know it!"
"Gil, calm down" said Ortega.
"Shut up!" said Grissom. "This isn't over, Conrad. Not by a long shot!"
With that, he stormed out of the office.
XXX
Sara sat on the couch, watching the news in her lounge. So far, she had used her suspension to clear her mind and look at the situation. Then when she looked at it, she knew nothing would change.
There was a knock on the door. Sara got up and answered it.
"Gris" she said. "What's up?"
Grissom sighed. "I've got some bad news, Sara" he said.
"You'd best come in" said Sara. She stood aside to get Grissom into the hallway.
"What's wrong" she asked.
"Ecklie's gone to internal affairs" said Grissom. "As of tomorrow, you're on the street again."
"What?" she exclaimed. "He can't do this! All he wants is to keep us apart!"
Grissom tried to calm her down. "It's out of my hands" he said. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to the chief about it later. Sara, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be" said Sara, her face streaming with tears. "It's my fault. If I hadn't mouthed off at Catherine..."
"This isn't your fault" said Grissom. "Ecklie wanted a fight, and he got one." Then he hugged her. It was the best feeling Sara had had for a long time.
"I'm so sorry" he said again.
XXX
By the evening, word of Sara's demotion had spread around the crime lab. Grissom and Catherine sat the guys down to explain to them. They were not happy.
"That son of a bitch!" said Nick.
"What is he up to?" said Warrick.
"Guys, let's just be strong for Sara" said Greg. "She won't be on the streets forever, and soon Ecklie will give in and she'll come back to us."
Catherine sighed. "This is my fault" she said. "If I had listened to her, if I had been her friend instead of her boss..."
"Catherine, this isn't your fault" said Nick. "Ecklie would have done the same to all of us if he had the chance."
"Greg's right, guys" said Grissom. "Tomorrow, we come in here and do our jobs. We give Sara our support."
The guys nodded in agreement. With Grissom at the front, they knew Sara would be back.
XXX
The next day, Sara walked into the station, dressed a bit different than usual. Instead of her personal clothes, she was wearing a normal LVPD uniform. She tried to smile as the others saw her. They too were shocked, as even they had not been in uniform for a while.
"You look good, Sara" said Nick.
"Thanks, Nicky" replied Sara.
Grissom and Catherine entered the room.
"Hi, Sara" smiled Catherine. "How is it?"
"The uniform?" said Sara. "Uncomfortable, but better than the one I wore back home."
"Nice to hear it" said Catherine. "You'd better go to briefing."
"Sure" said Sara. She left the office.
XXX
The cases came in fast. Nick and Greg had a dead body at Stallion Mountain Country Club, Catherine and Warrick had a burglary in North Las Vegas and Grissom had a dead body in the woods.
Hikers found the body lying next to a tree near the riverbed. On closer inspection, Grissom discovered the cause of death was a gunshot wound and that the damage made gender undeterminable. Once it had been taken to the morgue, Doc Robbins discovered it was a male and his name was Darren Cosgrove.
"What was a guy from a quiet neighbourhood doing to get this?" asked Grissom. "Have you found the shell casing?"
"It probably washed away in the river" said Doc Robbins. "What I can tell you is there was a partial fingerprint on his wallet. It isn't a match to Mr Cosgrove, so I can only assume it's the killers." He handed Grissom the data sheet.
"Thanks, Doc" said Grissom. "What type of weapon caused his injuries?"
"Something of heavy calibre, perhaps an assault rifle or a shotgun" said Doc Robbins, gesturing to the head wound.
"He doesn't look like the hunting type" said Grissom. "I'll take this stuff back to the lab."
XXX
The partial fingerprint gave a match to a Bob Reeves. Brass and Sara arrested him without incident and he was brought into the station.
"When we searched his house, he had a shotgun, with 1 out of 5 rounds missing" said Brass. "Sara may be in uniform, but her knowledge is not lost."
"Sure thing" said Grissom. "Listen, Jim, I'd like you to be Sara's...guardian, of sorts while she's out there. Is that OK?"
"I'll watch out for her, Gil" said Brass.
XXX
As Grissom walked up to the interview room, Sara bumped into him.
"Hi" she said. "Are you going to interview that guy?"
"Yeah" said Grissom. "How are you holding up?"
"Good" said Sara. "I suppose I'll leave you to it."
She walked off and Grissom entered the room. Bob Reeves sat across from him and Brass.
"Mr Reeves, we found your fingerprint on the wallet of our victim" said Grissom. "Can you tell us how it got there?"
"I don't know" said Reeves. "Maybe when I went to get something from Darren..."
"So, you stole from him?" said Brass. "Maybe he came to you for revenge and you shot him?"
"No, man!" exclaimed Reeves. "I didn't kill him!"
"We found a shotgun in your house" said Grissom. "One round is missing and the coroner suggests that the rounds match the size of the bullet wound in Mr Cosgrove's head."
Reeves sighed. He knew it was over. "I didn't mean it!" he said. "He said take as much as I wanted, and I did. Next thing I know, he's back at my place, telling me I'm a thief. He went for a knife, so I picked up this shotgun and it went off! It was a mistake. Darren was my friend!"
"Why didn't you call us?" asked Grissom. "You dumped him in the woods. That makes you look guilty."
Reeves went silent. "I'd like a lawyer please" he said.
XXX
It turned out there was more to Darren Cosgrove's murder than Grissom first thought. Darren Cosgrove was printing counterfeit money in his house. He put some in his wallet, and when Reeves went to take some money, he took the false bank notes. Thinking Reeves was muscling in Cosgrove confronted him with a knife. Thoughtlessness mistaken for greed at first glance, but when Grissom searched Reeve's bag, he found several bundles of false bank notes. Then it turned into just greed by crime of opportunity. Seeing a chance to make extra money, Reeves took all of Cosgrove's false notes.
Nick and Greg's case turned out to be a waiter, annoyed by a member of the club, beating him over the head with a golf club and leaving him to die. Catherine and Warrick found their burglar receiving stitches as Desert Springs General Hospital.
Not an exciting day, but little did Grissom know, things were about to get a lot hotter.
XXX
Reeves was booked for murder and accessory to fraud, then fingerprinted and put in the holding cells. He'd be transported to the Clark County Courthouse, where the county jail was.
Grissom walked down the hallway when he saw Sara again. "Did you get a result?" she asked. "Yeah" smiled Grissom. "He shot his friend, and then took over his counterfeiting operation." "Strange what money does to people" said Sara. "How much do you think it was worth?" "Someone from the US Bureau of Printing and Engraving will inspect it" said Grissom. "He'll probably go to a federal prison."
"Do you want to go out for dinner after work?" asked Sara. "Why not?" said Grissom. "It's been a while since we were together. Alone."
Sara smiled then turned away when she saw Ecklie walking towards them.
"Gil, Sara?" asked Ecklie. "We're fine, Conrad" said Grissom. "What do you want now?"
"I need two officers to take a suspect to the county jail" said Ecklie. "I was going to recommend Sara..."
"No" said Grissom. "No. Not her." "Why not?" asked Ecklie. "Are you worried about her?"
"I'm not worried about anything" said Sara, both to Grissom and Ecklie. "I'll do it myself."
"Not that far" said Ecklie. "Officer Mitchell is waiting for you in the holding cells."
"Be safe, Sara" said Grissom. "I will" she replied before leaving.
"It's hard not to worry about your own" said Ecklie. Grissom stared at him angrily. "If anything happens to her, Conrad, while she's on the street" he said. "It'll be on your head!"
XXX
Hope you liked it! The action is coming soon!
Chapter Two
XXX
Brass walked down the hallway, followed by Grissom. "Jim, a moment of your time, if I may?" he asked.
"Yeah, Gil?" replied Brass. "Jim, can I borrow your car for a moment" said Grissom. "It's for police business."
"Why?" asked Brass, not satisfied with his friend's explanation. He'd known Grissom for almost 20 years and the look on his face meant it was much more than police business.
"Sara's escorting a prisoner to the courthouse" said Grissom. "That fraudster you arrested earlier. I want to follow them, just to make sure they're OK."
Brass sighed. "Gil, I know how much you feel about Sara" he said. "But maybe...you should let things take their course. I mean, the prisoner is going to be handcuffed and there'll be an officer in the back."
"I'm sorry, Jim" sighed Grissom. "I'm probably more worried than usual. I mean, Sara was a street cop once, so she'll know what to do."
Brass reached into his pocket and took out his keys. "If it gets wrecked, you can keep it" he smiled. "Now go. I won't tell anyone."
Grissom took the keys then headed towards the car park. On his way, he went into his office and collected his weapon. If anything should happen, and he prayed it wouldn't, he wasn't going to go out without a fight.
XXX
Bob Reeves and the two other criminals arrested that day were put in the back of the police van. Sara got in the back with them.
They left the station with the lights and sirens on, closely followed by Brass's black sports car, with a new driver.
XXX
The courthouse was in North Las Vegas, almost 10 blocks away. Grissom stayed calm throughout the whole drive. He didn't put the sirens on, as he didn't want Sara to know he was following her. She'd just say he was being overprotective.
As they turned onto The Strip, US Route 15, traffic started building up.
"Mitchell, what's holding us up?" asked Sara.
"Traffic" said Mitchell. "These people haven't seen a police vehicle before?"
Grissom looked around. Nothing was out of place or where it shouldn't be, normal as Las Vegas could get. Some people were stumbling around drunkenly from the casinos.
Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a tow truck smashed into the side of the police van, shoving it onto the other side of The Strip. A car coming the other way then crashed into the back and gathered air, spinning onto the side of the road and landing on its top.
Grissom grabbed hold of his radio. "All units, requesting backup on US Route 15, we have two officers and several civilians down, over?!"
He jumped out of the car and headed towards the van, only to be stopped by the moans of the truck driver. His head had been smashed against the steering wheel and his face was so bloodied there was not a patch of skin to be seen.
Grissom ran over to him. "Hang on, sir" he said. "I'm going to get you out."
Sirens wailed in the distance as Grissom dragged the driver out of his seat and into the recovery position. The driver of the car was still trapped. As Grissom went to help her, the back doors of the van exploded and out stepped Bob Reeves, a pair of smashed handcuffs hanging from one broken wrist and a police pistol in the other hand.
Grissom, for the first time in ages, drew his weapon. "Reeves!" he yelled. "Police officer; drop that gun!"
"Screw you, cop!" yelled Reeves, before pointing the gun inside the van. "Get out here!"
Sara stumbled out, a huge cut on her forehead and one of her hands broken. "Grissom...?" she said before Reeves grabbed her.
"Taking a cop hostage is going to make things worse!" said Grissom. "Let Officer Sidle go and I'll let you go!"
"I'm taking her with me" said Reeves. He raised the gun and fired. Grissom ducked and jumped behind the van before firing his own weapon. Reeves pulled Sara with him as he ran across the road in front of several shocked and frightened spectators.
Grissom fired once more, but Reeves was too far away. Now he had taken Sara hostage, and he had to get her back.
XXX
Hope you liked that. You didn't think Grissom was capable of that, but it is fiction.
Chapter Three
XXX
Seconds after Reeves and Sara disappeared into the night, a flood of police cars and undercover cars swarmed The Strip.
"Gil, what's going on?" asked Ecklie. The mere sight of him sent Grissom into a rage and he rammed him against one of the cars.
"Look what you've done!" he screamed. "He's taken Sara and it's your fault!"
"Gris, let him go!" yelled Nick and Warrick as they pulled their boss off Ecklie.
"Sara was kidnapped" said Grissom. "You've got to get her!"
"We will, we will!" said Warrick. "Now just calm down, calm down..."
Grissom sat for a moment on the pavement. Catherine and Greg walked up to him.
"I tried to stop him" said Grissom. "He wouldn't let her go..."
Ecklie walked over to the group, Warrick and Nick forming a crude barrier between him and Grissom. "Gil, I know you're upset, but if we're going to find Sara, we need you to be focused" he said.
"This is your fault, Ecklie" said Grissom, rising to his feet. "I'll never forgive you if anything happens to her." He turned to Catherine. "Catherine, he went up the alleyway over there" he explained. "I'm on it" replied Catherine.
XXX
Reeves led Sara down a small alleyway towards a hotel. He opened the fire exit and shoved her inside. She hit her head on the floor, and slowly began to lose consciousness as Reeves tied her up.
Then he began to kick her across the room. He wanted her dead. He still had the gun, but that would attract attention since the hotel was across from the accident scene. Anyway, if he was capable of killing his own friend for money, he'd easily beat a woman to death.
When Reeves stopped kicking, Sara remained still. Blood was everywhere. He pulled the handcuffs off his wrist and went into the hotel kitchen.
XXX
A bit shorter than before, but more action coming up
Chapter Four:
The Strip was quickly closed off to all traffic. The accident victims, plus Officer Mitchell, were on their way to hospital. A helicopter hovered in the distance as Grissom and the Night Shift gathered around a SWAT van.
"Reeves and Sara have been gone for about an hour now, and he was heading east, so Nick, Greg, you take East Tropicana Ave, Warrick, go with Brass and take East Flamingo Road. Grissom, come with me" said Catherine. "We'll search in between. The SWAT unit is on standby and the helicopter is as well. Call them if we need backup. Day Shift is on their way as well."
Grissom sighed. Reeves could be anywhere. For a whole block, there were a lot of buildings, mostly casinos and hotels. The alleyway they went down was empty, although a blood trail stopped at the pavement.
"Catherine, I need to check something" said Grissom. "Gil, we need to follow the rules if we're going to find her" replied Catherine. "I've followed the rules" said Grissom. "And now, all that's done is made things worse. I'm going. You can tell Ecklie, but I'll deal with him. I'll deal with anyone who harms her!"
He ran off down The Strip and cut through an alleyway just northeast of the casino, leading to Paradise Road. On that street were a lot of hotels and shops. Plenty of places for Reeves to hide out in, and now Grissom set off to search every one of them.
XXX
"Catherine, where's Gil gone?" asked Brass. "Warrick and I have searched everywhere. No one's seen them." "He's gone on his own" said Catherine. "Jim, I'm worried he might do something stupid. He has his gun." "Which way?" asked Brass. "On the alleyway over there, it connects with Paradise Road and goes all the way down to the airport and the highway" replied Catherine. "There's nothing there but some hotels and a few shops" said Brass. "I'll get the helicopter to follow him."
XXX
Grissom ran up to a young woman cleaning up inside the shop. He knocked on the window and she opened the door.
"Yes, Officer?" she said. "Hello" said Grissom, catching his breath. "Have you seen a tall man, brown hair, dressed in trousers and a red shirt?" The woman thought for a moment. "Yeah, I think I did" she said. "He was with one of your guys, a woman. I thought he was a detective, like you. They were heading towards that hotel over there." She pointed to a large hotel across the road.
"Thanks, Miss" replied Grissom. "Jim, Catherine, meet me at back of The Royal Casino and Hotel on Paradise Road."
XXX
Grissom looked at the tall hotel. It stretched from one side of The Strip to Paradise Road. It wasn't as big as Caesar's Palace, but big enough for an escaped criminal to hide in. A few minutes later, an undercover police vehicle pulled up and Catherine and Brass got out.
"The others are on their way" said Brass. "Gil, let me handle this." "No, Jim" said Grissom. "I'll look for Sara. You go and find Reeves." Brass didn't bother arguing, so he and Catherine went inside while Grissom checked the alleyway.
Bins and rubbish littered the ground. There were three fire exits. Two were locked, but one wasn't.
Grissom drew his gun and kicked the door in. He was in the storage room. Shelves and tables full of food and drink were everywhere. He also saw a trail of blood leading from the doorway to the fridge. Following it, he turned the corner and came across something he'd never want to see again.
"Brass, Catherine, get down here now!" he yelled through his radio. "It's Sara!"
XXX
"This is hopeless" said Nick. "Between this and The Strip, we have hundreds and thousands of buildings." "Don't give up hope, Nicky" replied Warrick. "Sara is strong. Grissom and Brass will find her."
"All units, officer down at The Royal Casino and Hotel" said the voice over Nick's radio. "Suspect possibly still on the scene, CSI Grissom already on scene, over?"
"No..." said Nick, as he, Warrick and Greg rushed across the road, followed by an army of officers.
XXX
"Sara, stay with me" said Grissom, trying to stop the bleeding to Sara's head. When Reeves kicked her, it made the wound larger. The Night Shift crashed into the room, along with the paramedics.
"Sara..." Grissom repeated as Brass dragged him away so the paramedics could help her. "Jim, I..." he said, but Brass stopped him.
"Calm down, Gil...calm down" replied Brass. Grissom did so and focused on the job at hand. Sara was in safe hands, but Reeves was still in the hotel somewhere. He ran into the kitchen while no one was looking, since they were watching the paramedics help Sara.
XXX
One or two chapters left
Chapter Five:
The casino was packed full of men and women, some drunk, some laughing, and some just sitting. Grissom, his gun still drawn, made his way through the crowds. He was wearing his badge, so people weren't worried about him. He found a waiter.
"Sir, I'm a police officer" said Grissom. "Have you seen a tall man, red shirt, trousers..."
"There's probably some here now" said the waiter. "One caught my eye, though. He had a badge and was asking a waitress about the police being outside. He had a gun, so I thought he was a cop. Like you."
"He's not a cop" said Grissom. "Where did he go?" "Upstairs" said the waiter. "Everyone's down here."
Grissom sprinted up the staircase, climbing almost three at a time. He checked every room on the second floor, seeing if all the doors were locked, then ran to the third level to do the same. It seemed like an hour had passed before he got to the fifth floor, where before he even began checking the doors, he saw the caretaker pushing a small trolley full of cleaning stuff along.
"Sir, have you seen a cop?" asked Grissom. The caretaker froze, he turned around but his face was obscured by a cap. "Are you one?" he asked. "Yes I am; I'm a crime scene investigator" said Grissom. "Have you seem him or not?"
"Sixth floor, said he was looking for someone" mumbled the caretaker. Grissom was about to turn away when he remembered something. "Can you take your cap off?" asked Grissom. "Just checking, that's all." As he got closer, the caretaker suddenly shoved the cart into Grissom and pulled his gun, firing a wild shot. Grissom ducked then returned fire.
"Stop, Reeves!" he yelled.
Reeves ran up the staircase to the sixth and final floor. A smaller staircase led to the roof. Reeves crashed through the door, only to fall into the glare of a police helicopter searchlight.
"Police Department!" yelled a voice over the megaphone. "Drop your weapon and surrender!"
Reeves shot at the light. It bounced off the helicopter. Before he could get another shot, Grissom was right behind him.
"Reeves!" he yelled. "Do not move!"
Reeves turned around. Grissom, more dogged than ever, stood with his gun in his hands, a look like never before on his face.
"If you shoot me, the sharpshooters on the helicopter will shoot you" he explained. "If you shoot at them, I'll shoot you."
"You're a CSI?" said Reeves in a mocking tone. "Your science couldn't stop me from escaping and taking your girlfriend hostage!"
"I don't need science to stop you!" said Grissom. "I need this gun!"
For a moment, there was silence in Grissom's mind. No helicopter, no yelling, no drama.
Reeves put his gun in his waistband. "Then we don't need guns at all" he said. "First one off this roof..."
Grissom holstered his gun. Both of them were now in fighting stances, circling each other.
Seconds passed until Reeves threw a punch. Grissom blocked it, then grabbed hold of his arm and wrenched it backwards. Reeves screamed as Grissom kicked him twice in the stomach, then untwisted his arm and punched him in the face.
Reeves stumbled to the ground. He got up again and lunged at Grissom.
Grissom jumped into the air and swung his leg right at Reeve's face, knocking him through the door of the hotel roof and down the staircase. One roundhouse kick was all it took.
Reeves, a dazed and beaten heap, watched as Grissom walked down the staircase. Then, to make sure, the CSI kicked him in the face and sent him flying onto his back.
That was all it took. Then he handcuffed him, took Sara's gun and pulled the badge off his shirt before making his way downstairs.
XXX
Downstairs, oblivious to the activities above, Catherine, Brass and the guys were searching the floors much slower than Grissom had.
"Has anyone seen him?" asked Brass. "Relax, Jim" said Catherine. "I can't" said Brass. "He's up there without any backup. Reeves could still be armed."
"Catherine's right, Brass" said Nick. "Grissom has it all under control, like always."
Catherine and Brass smiled. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the casino floor.
Catherine, Brass and the others watched as Gil Grissom emerged from the staircase. In one hand, he held a 9mm handgun. In the other, a gold police badge.
"Oh, my God, Gil!" said Catherine, running to help him. "Are you OK? Where's Reeves?"
"He's upstairs on the sixth floor" said Grissom. Brass signalled two officers to get him then turned to his friends. "Gil, you look terrible" he said. "I'll drive you to the hospital. Catherine can come with us." "What about Sara...?" said Grissom, getting up despite Brass's protests. "I need to be with her..."
He walked outside to the waiting police cars outside. Sara wasn't there. He had to be with her. He had to be with her now.
XXX
I like Walker, Texas Ranger. That's why I put the fight scene there
Chapter Five
XXX
Sara received 14 stitches in her head and had to spend two months in the hospital. She had to spend another month on crutches due to injuries sustained in the crash. Luckily, Grissom was there for her the whole time. In that time, Ecklie, in order to keep on everyone's good side, promoted her back to CSI, much to Grissom and the team's happiness.
After recovery, Sara got a two month holiday to recuperate. Grissom decided to hold her up at his house until she was completely better.
Bob Reeves wasn't going to be a problem anymore. He was arrested and booked on escaping custody, kidnapping and assaulting a police officer and attempted murder of two police officers. Add to that the counterfeiting and murder charges, the federal court was happy enough to send him to death row.
It was a warm morning, and Grissom and Sara sat in Grissom's lounge. The TV wasn't on; nothing was on, just them in silence.
"How has it been?" asked Grissom.
"OK" said Sara. "My leg still hurts..."
"Stay with me as long as you want" replied Grissom.
"You know...I thought I was going to die when he started kicking me" said Sara. "It brought back so many bad memories of my life."
Grissom hugged her. "Those bad memories will go away soon" he said. "They will..."
Then, the hug soon turned into a kiss. A long one, that to Grissom and Sara lasted for half an hour, not a few minutes.
"I love you" said Grissom.
"I love you too" replied Sara.
They smiled then kissed again, and it felt much longer than half an hour this time.
And with that kiss, Sara knew that her troubled past would soon be that. The past, because now, she had a job she enjoyed, friends she liked and a man who loved her.
And that was more than she could ask for.
XXX
The End
XXX
I hope you liked it. Please review.
One thing that I still don't get: In Britain, where I live, CSIs are civilian workers, not official police officers. On CSI, they have guns and handcuffs and arrest people, so they clearly are police officers, but still don't call themselves police officers. Is it just the producers or does this happen in real life?