Chapter 6:

Horatio was starting to wake up. He didn't even remember falling asleep, but when he opened his eye's he found he was in the same place. He had been hoping this was all a dream, but as reality sunk in he knew it wasn't. He looked around the room and saw Eric and Ryan; there was no sign of their captor. It looked as if both his CSI had taken advantage of this time to catch up on some much needed sleep; at least he was hoping the sleep had been their own choice. He didn't know what had gone on while he was unconscious so he didn't know if the killer had chosen to drug them to sleep as well. He didn't know where their captor was but he was glad for the break. He needed this time to check on Eric and Ryan. "Eric, can you hear me?"

Eric had not really been sleeping so he was able to open up his eyes right away and look at Horatio. Since the gag was in his mouth all he could do was move his head up and down to show Horatio he was alright.

Once Horatio was satisfied that Eric was alright he looked over at Ryan. He was a little worried about him. The whole time they had been here he seemed to be in worse shape than Eric. He didn't know if the killer had used excessive force on Ryan when he was abducted, but he was hoping Ryan's deterioration was just due to the fact that the boy had already been totally exhausted before any of this had happened.

It was because of Ryan's state that he had insisted the young man take a small break from their current investigation. He had at first refused the break saying it was not fair to the others, but soon came to realize that Horatio was right and that he had needed a break. "Ryan, can you raise your head and open your eyes to look at me?" When there was no response he tried again even louder, "Ryan, I need you to wake up, I know that you probably don't feel good and just want to sleep, but if we are to get out of here alive I need you to wake up".

Ryan had thought he heard Horatio's voice, but judging by the way he felt he thought he was already dead. He heard it again, but this time it was more persistent. He opened his eye's only to shut them again. The light in the room was too bright and it brought instant pain to his eyes. It also didn't make his ever growing headache feel any better. As he sat there he thought he heard Horatio's voice for a third time and decided to try and open his eyes again. Once he did he saw a very concerned look on his boss's face. Was he looking at him that way because he knew he was already dying? This caused him to look down at himself to see if there was a fatal wound he had missed feeling while he was asleep, but there was nothing there. Everything looked that same way as it did before. He was still tied to this chair and the wire the killer had attached to him before falling asleep was still there.

"Mr. Wolfe, please pay attention to what I am saying, I need you to look at me and move your head to let me know you are all right". Horatio didn't want to use harsh tone when calling out to Ryan, but he needed to get his attention. He didn't understand why he was just looking down at his body and not doing as he was told. He needed him to snap out of his confusion and listen.

As Ryan heard his name again, he looked up to see Horatio staring back at him. While he moved his head up and down to show Horatio he was ok, the realization of everything that had occurred started to come back. He also realized that while Horatio was trying to get his attention, he had used his first name a couple of times, but it took Horatio calling him 'Mr. Wolfe' that made him finally look up and focus on him. He never used his first name so why was he using it now. Was Horatio feeling guilty because he had made his decision and chose him to die? He was letting this whole situation get to him and thought that he may be reading too much into Horatio's response. But he still had to wonder why he chose now of all times to call him by his first name. His boss using his first name was something he was not use to.

Horatio was glad that both his CSI were still with him. He would need both men's help if they were to get out of here alive. "Ok, I need both of you to listen to me very carefully". Before he could finish the sentence the door opened up. Horatio realized that any chance of escape was one again put on hold.

As the killer came into the room he walked over to stand beside Horatio. "I am so touched by how much you still care about getting your men out of here, but the time has come for you to choose and this time I will have your answer". The killer bent down and put something in Horatio's right hand. "Since you are incapable of telling me who you have chosen, I thought we could use something that could help you. If you won't tell me who you choose, I want you to show me".

Horatio looked down at his hands tied to the chair and for the first time since waking up he realized that his arms were no longer tied behind his back, instead they were now tied down to each of the arms on the chair. He wondered why he had not noticed this before, but he was so tired and he had lost all feeling in both arms a long time ago. As he eyed the devise in his right hand he now understood why the killer had knocked him out. He needed time to untie his hands and re-tie them in this new position. He wondered how this devise was going to help him make his choice but he was sure he didn't want to find out. As he was wondering this, the killer moved to his left side and inserted a duplicate devise into his left hand. He tried to let go of the items but they would not fall away from his hands. It was as if the killer had used glue to keep them there.

"Well Horatio, as I am sure you have already found out, the two devises that I have placed in your hands are there to stay. Those 2 devises are wired to that machine over there". He pointed to the piece of equipment that was between Eric and Ryan. He noticed wires were coming out of the machine and that these were the same wires now connected to Eric and Ryan. The killer continued, "The machine is operated by those two devices in your hands. There is also a trigger on each of the devices that when pressed will tell me who you have chosen".

"How are these triggers supposed to help me choose?" Horatio thought he knew what the answer was going to be, but he still had to stall for time.

The killer went over to the machine and said "I think a demonstration is in order". The killer pushed a button on the machine and Eric's body all of a sudden went very rigid followed by severe shaking. Eric was also making some kind of noise but with his mouth gagged it was hard to understand.

It took only a few seconds before Horatio realized that Eric was being electrocuted to death. He was so tired, but he managed to push the panic welling up inside his head long enough to think. He realized that the triggers in his hands would stop the machine, so he pushed the one in his left hand since Eric was to his left. As he pushed the trigger, the machine stopped and Eric slumped forward and fell silent. "I thought you said the choice was up to me, why did you turn the machine on Eric?" Horatio didn't want the machine turned on either men, but he needed to keep the conversation going longer, so as to avoid any further suffering for his CSI.

"Oh Horatio, you certainly aim to please. I didn't know how long it would take you to figure out what the triggers were for, but you certainly haven't disappointed me". The killer walked over to Eric and said "your CSI is still ok; it was a small jolt of electricity this time. As you have already figured out, the triggers in your hands operate this machine. There is one trigger for each person. Once I turn the machine on all I ask of you is to press the button. This machine is very sensitive and will tell me which button you pressed first. I am only telling you this since I am sure you will press both buttons to save your men. All I need you to do is press the button to stop the suffering of your men. Once you do this the machine will tell me which one was pressed first and I will finally know which of your CSI you value the most. The one whose button doesn't register on the machine will be the one you have chosen to die".

For once, Horatio didn't know what to do. How was he going to get out of this? Unless his stalling techniques worked he didn't see any way out of this. "You can't do this. I will tell you who I have chosen after you give me a little more time to think about it".

The killer was listening to everything Horatio had to say, but it was little late for negotiations. He wanted to get this game moving along. He walked over to the machine and looked back at Horatio, "You had your chance Horatio, now you must choose". He turned back to the machine and pressed something. As soon as he did both the CSI were being electrocuted, there body's shaking in convulsions. He wondered how long it would take Horatio to stop their suffering.

Horatio could not believe what was happening. He hadn't expected the killer to use some form of torture to force him to choose. He didn't have any time to process this new twist and had to act fast. Both men could not last much longer. They were already weak from being here in captivity for a few days. He needed to press the triggers in both his hands to stop the suffering but he remembered what he was told. He had to try and press both of them at the exact same time in order to fool the machine. He decided now was as good a time to try as ever. As soon as he had pressed the button he was glad to see that the electrocution had stopped. Both his men were no longer suffering. But when he looked at them he could not tell if they were still alive. He just hoped he had not been too late with his action. He then looked at their captor and wondered what he was going to do next.

The killer had watched the whole thing while standing next to the machine. He had wondered how long it would take Horatio to make a decision. And what he had chosen to do is exactly what the killer was hoping would happen. He was glad that Horatio didn't disappointed him. He knew the next level of his game had just begun; only Horatio didn't know this, but he would soon find out.

As Horatio watched the killer for any clues as to what was coming next, he was surprised to see him remove the wires from Eric and Ryan. He continued to just stare at the man while he came and took the trigger devices out in his hands. He was further surprised when the killer placed these items back with the machine and then proceeded to walk toward the door, but stopping before he opened it.

"Horatio, you have played the game very well up to this point and that has made me very happy, but now I must leave you to prepare for the next level of the game. I hope you have enjoyed your time with me. I know I have. Expect to hear from me real soon Horatio". He opened the door, turned off the lights and then exited the room.

Horatio couldn't believe what was happening. He had not expected this to happen and now he was sitting here in the dark tied to a chair wondering if Eric and Ryan were still alive. The last look at both men before the lights went out was brief but he had not seen any signs of life in either of them. As he sat there trying to hear any sounds of life coming from either man, he heard the door start to open. He didn't know how long the killer had been gone but he thought he was coming back to do something else, or maybe he was going to come and get one of his men and take them away. As he looked through the now open door, he was surprised to find a beam of light shining in his eyes. He had to turn his head away from the light for a moment since it hurt his eyes. When he looked again he was even more surprised to see that it was Calleigh who was on the other end of the light.

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