Thank you very much Marymel, C.H.W.13 and The-Pain-Crane-202 for your wonderful reviews! I hope you all enjoy chapter 7 :)
Spying
"You want me to drop you off at home?" Nick offered. The three of them, him, Greg and Catherine had all been sat by the side of the building for almost half an hour. None of them saying much, just sitting quietly with their thoughts.
Greg looked up to him with puffy eyes. "No thanks." All he wanted right then was to go, crawl into bed and sleep. But he didn't want Catherine or Nick to know that he was staying with Russell and his family.
"Greg, I know I'm not in charge anymore but you're going home, there's no way you're staying at work any longer for today. You can't." Catherine told him sternly. She was sat next to him with her arm around him, caressing his body close to hers as he sat there shivering slightly from the breeze and his small breakdown. She gently rubbed her hand up and down his blazer covered arm, not only to comfort but to create warmth for the younger man.
Standing up abruptly, Greg grabbed his phone which was still on the floor and briskly walked away from them to his truck.
With confused faces, Nick and Catherine followed him. "G?" Nick shouted and jogged to catch up with him. "Where you going, buddy?" He asked once he was next with him.
Without answering, Greg unlocked his vehicle and climbed in it, shutting the door as soon as he was in and starting the engine.
Catherine banged on his window as he'd locked all the doors, knowing that they would both try and get in. "Greg, what's wrong? Where are you going?"
Greg looked to her briefly, but then began to pull out of his parking space and towards the car park exit.
"What should we do?" Catherine asked, looking to Nick for help.
Nick now had begun to walk off and turned around to talk to her. "We should follow him." He said and went to sit in his truck.
"Nick, maybe we should leave him alone for a while. I think he just needs some space." Catherine said, doubting that chasing after Greg would do any good.
Winding his window down, Nick shouted out of it. "You joining me?"
Shaking her head Catherine spoke. "Spying on Greg? We can't, we should be working." They'd already been gone for thirty minutes and she was sure people would be wondering where the three of them were.
Nick shrugged. "I don't care. I'll tell Russell where we're going, he already knows about Greg since he told him over us. I bet he wasn't even planning on telling us." He said in an almost jealous voice.
Sensing that she needed to step in and talk to Nick, she reluctantly decided to join him in his truck.
"You know, I don't think Greg planned on telling anyone." She started.
Nick looked over to her. "Maybe not, but he has and I thought he would have told me before Russell. We've known each other, what twelve years or something like that? And Russell came here not that long ago and Greg's told him this before me?" He said upset with a shake of his head. "I just thought we were closer than this."
Ever since Greg joined the lab, Nick grew attached to him from day one. Yeah, he was weird and crazy, but that's why Nick loved him so much. He'd never met anyone like Greg in his whole life and after just a few years together, Nick thought of Greg as a little brother. He'd make fun of the young lab tech at the time, but never meant any harm and if anyone else were to mess with Greg they'd know about it. Such as when he was 'fanny smacked' some years back. Nobody actually knew how hard it had hit Nick to see his friend, his little brother, in so much pain in the hospital. Being the person he was, he invited Greg round to his house not long after he was released from the hospital. That night was the most subdued he had ever seen his best friend. They had a few beers, but Nick was the one doing all the talking and he knew Greg had something on his mind.
"You wanna talk about something G?"
Greg looked up to him and smiled. "No. No. Sorry, just thinking."
"About what?" Nick coaxed.
Greg looked up to him but then averted his eyes down. "I killed a man. I just, I can't believe it."
Nick closed his eyes slowly. When he'd first shot a man dead when he was at a scene he couldn't believe he'd done it either. But he eventually got over it, just like Greg would.
"I know it might not seem like it now, but you didn't kill him Greg. He ended up killing himself. He decided to get involved with the wrong crowd and now he's dead because of it."
But Greg was shaking his head. "But I killed him, Nick."
"In self defense. If he never joined that group he'd still be alive."
"Mmh." Greg mumbled. "Thanks for tonight, but I'm gonna head home."
Nick wished Greg would stop blaming himself but Greg being Greg, it might not ever happen. He was always worried he'd messed up or disappointed his mum or the team, but he never had. Not once.
"Okay. But Greg, listen to me. You're the strongest guy I've ever met; you're a great friend and the most caring person in the world. Don't let this change you alright."
A smile twitched the corners of Greg's lips. "Huh. Thanks."
Nick smiled back. "I mean it Greggo. I don't think you know how much you mean to me and the team."
"Well, thanks, again." Greg said. Each of them nodded and Greg headed home.
"I just wish he'd told me sooner Catherine." Nick said to her, after remembering his and Greg's conversation years ago.
Catherine reached over and rubbed his leg. "I know, but don't hold him to it. Please." She said with a smile.
"I won't. Of course I won't. I have no idea where he's heading." Nick said changing the subject. They'd followed Greg discreetly and he could have been heading anywhere. They were on a busy street, which was bustling with hundreds of cars speeding every direction you looked.
"Could be going anywhere." Catherine acknowledged and Nick nodded.
After driving for roughly five minutes, Nick spoke again.
"Why the hell is he in this part of town?"
They'd arrived in a rough area; thugs wandered the street aimlessly, smashed bottles left millions of tiny fragments of glass lying around the ground and homes were either boarded up or had bars over the windows and doors.
"I dunno, but pull over. I think he's stopping." Catherine said as she leaned forward in her seat to get a better look of where they were. Nick pulled over and they were hidden from Greg's sight.
"He's going into someone's house." Catherine said and looked to Nick. He turned back to her and frowned.
"Yeah, it seems like he knows him kind of. But he doesn't seem like the kind of guy Greg would hang around with." Nick noted. The man was an African American, who had cornrows, tattoos running up from his neck to his ear, and he was wearing an oversized grey t-shirt with baggy jeans and some big Nike's.
Greg took something off the man, but neither Catherine nor Nick saw what it was. The man laughed with Greg for a minute before they both fist bumped each other and Greg turned back and got in his truck.
"What do you think he gave him?" Catherine asked Nick.
Shrugging, Nick sighed. "I dunno, but round here I wouldn't give two thoughts about it being drugs." He told her honestly.
Catherine just shook her head with an unbelievable look. "Nick you know Greg, he doesn't do drugs. Besides, he didn't even get any money out."
"Yeah I know, but what else would he be getting from round here, huh?" Nick challenged.
"I don't know Nick. But it can't be drugs, it can't."
Little did they know that Greg had a bag of white powder in the seat next to him.
Ooh, there's chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed it and I'd love to know what you think so please review!
