Ok, first of all I'm so sorry for the delay :( I absolutly hate writers' block. Secondly I love you for reading my stories. And thirdly... Oh wait. I don't have a third one... sorry about that ;)
Disclaimer:zilch, nada, rien, nothing, though Clark, Tommy and Maddie are mine ;)
A/N: this is set in the thenth season for the record... I've been in a debate with myself about that... FYI
Chapter 7
At least her heart is still beating, Greg thought. The constant beeping of the monitors told him right but they didn't seem to be enough to make him believe Sara was still alive.
He was in the room for about 15 minutes and he needed to touch her. She was going to surgery soon.
The trip to the hospital had been uneventful and when they reached their destination, the doctors wanted to run some tests first and see if she would wake up before surgery.
15 minutes waiting and Greg was already feeling disoriented. Sara had taken all by surprise when she passed out in the lab. Everyone inside the AV lab seemed to forget Catherine for a moment and their panicked expressions showed it. They all settled that it was for the best if Greg went with Sara to the hospital while the others kept seeking for leads in Catherine's disappearance.
His mind was racing and it didn't seem it would come to a stop so soon, but Sara's voice was what it took to make it slow down a bit.
"Hey!" her voice dry and barely above a whisper "How long was I out?"
"Long enough to scare us all... You're going in to surgery in a few moments. The doctors just wanted to see if you would wake up." his hand caressing hers as he spoke.
"Gil?" Sara asked hesitantly.
"I told them all to stay in the lab. It was for the better" Greg spoke softly and tried to justify his actions, but the look of disappointment she had all over her face, told him he wasn't doing a very good job at it.
Greg was about to explain why he'd asked their friends to stay in the lab, but Sara's voice cut him.
"If I ... if I die during this surgery, I want you to do something for me, ok?" her voice was trembling as she spoke such words. What she was going to say next could change everything. And it was not going to be a pleasant change.
"Nothing's going to happen to you. You'll be just fine." Greg wasn't sure who was he talking to anymore: Sara or himself.
"Promise me you'll do it nonetheless"
"Ok, I promise. But I need to know what you need me to do."
She sighed "I want you to go to my place. In my library, on top of the desk there's a figure. I want you to take that to the lab and open it in front of everyone."
When it seemed Sara was done talking, Greg eyed her curiously.
"What's inside it?" he asked.
"You'll know when the time comes..."
Greg was about to reply but a doctor, followed by nurses entered the room.
"Excuse me sir but we need you to exit the room. The patient will be prepared for surgery" One of the nurses said politely.
Greg stood up and gave Sara a soft kiss on the forehead, praying it wouldn't be the last. As he prepared to leave, Sara grabbed his wrist and pushed him to her.
"I'm sorry. I did it" She whispered on his ear.
And with that she let go of his wrist giving Greg the chance to walk away with a confused expression bathing his features.
The blood painted the walls as if it were one of those modern paintings they now exhibited in the museums. His body, still warm but lifeless on the floor laid unmoving, with a cavernous slash adorning his throat like a necklace, blocking the only entry to the small compartment.
The knife rested against Clark's hips as he watched the motionless shape intently. His face plastered with a thick layer of angry red blood. Too stubborn.Clark thought. Just too stubborn.
"Thomas, get your lazy ass here!" he demanded.
Thomas eyed Clark through the see-through mirror annoyingly. He was getting tired of all this circus. He had never wanted to join it in the first place, but Clark managed to lour his sister into it and use it to his advantage. Other than blackmail he suffered to get him to do it, Thomas partially agreed to kidnap a member of the Las Vegas Police Department was because they agreed not to hurt anyone in the process. There was only one goal: revenge.
But now that he had witnessed a gruesome murder of a priest and torture of the kidnapping victim Thomas was not so sure if he could go through with it anymore. He was never like his brother. Never. And he certainly didn't want to start now.
Stepping away from where he stood behind the two-way mirror Thomas approached Clark and the corpse always careful not to step on the bloody mess on the floor.
When Thomas closed the distance between them, Clark continued in his demanding tone.
"Get rid of this shit. That little sister of yours will take care of cleaning up this mess."
"And how am I supposed to do that exactly?" Thomas asked somewhat annoyed.
"I don't know" Clark shrugged "Why don't you break that habit of yours and start having thoughts of your own?" he said, anger boiling near the surface.
After a moment or so of a cold stare exchange Clark found his voice again in the deep seas of anger and stress. "Bury his damn body in the middle of the desert. Unless, of course, your Excellency has a better idea!" The last part was uttered in a mixture of sarcasm and repulsion.
"I don't own any shovels." Thomas said, trying not to get to the point of no return, like his brother had done so many times.
"Then dig with your fucking hands, God damn it!" his voice reaching a certain level of exasperation.
Catherine was still in state of shock from the viciousness of the killing. Sure she had killed people in her line of work, but that was because it had been a matter of survival. She had killed only in extreme situations, whenever she or a civilian was in danger, never for the thrill of it. But she could hardly compare herself to a blood-seeking criminal.
Catherine could feel the fresh blood across her features. The gaze into the mirror only served to confirm what she already knew. She was almost covered in blood. Not as much as Clark was but her pearl white dress had still been caught by the arterial spatter.
She wasn´t exactly paying much attention to the conversation going on between Thomas and Clark, as a matter of fact, Catherine found herself unable to focus on it. The blood seemed enough to cloud her vision, to block her line of thought.
Her mind was now years away from reality. Even with her eyes open she could still see the scene replaying itself, she could still feel what she felt in those agonising moments when she thought she'd lost him and the almost 10 years that separated such event from the real world didn't seem enough to erase any of the pain nor intensity of such hurtful feelings.
When they found out who the killer was, the first thought that came to her mind was "Oh, shit!".
She didn't need to check if he was inside his office when they told her the news about the case because Catherine instantly knew Gil was with the killer. Alone. The big problem was here.
Catherine practically stopped every single person she came across in the lab merely asking if anyone knew Grissom's whereabouts. The answers, one always more frustrating than the other, varied from simple "No, I'm sorry"-s to sad smiled and a mere shaking of the head.
She was worried of what might happen to him but above all that concern Catherine was way beyond furious. She felt betrayed in some way if she dared to admit. How dare he put himself in danger over nothing? She thought. It's a damn serial killer for God's sake. He could have told her something or at least he could have taken someone with him. God! I hate this man...
Catherine was so distracted in the thoughts that she only noticed that she lost her balance when Nick's strong arms reached out to her and pulled her to his chest.
"Whoa! Easy, Kitten!" Nick teased, his usual charming smile tugging on his lips.
She was still so distracted by her own thoughts she didn't noticed the nickname.
Bringing her hands to rest upon his chest and using them to push away slightly, Catherine seemed to find her voice again. "Uh... Sorry, Nicky..."
Flashing him one of her best smiles, she cut the forming words on Nick's mouth with her own. "Ah... Hey, do you have any idea as to where Grissom headed?"
"Sid Goggle's" Nick said. But the answer was almost lost. Barely after the words were out of his mouth, Catherine was already running to the exit door with her car keys in one hand, leaving a shouted thanks float over her shoulder accompanied with a flashing smile.
Nick knew better though. Her eyes were concerned... and mad furious.
If she'd never passed a red sign, she certainly did now. There was too much at stake for Catherine to remember traffic rules. Besides she wanted to kill Grissom herself for causing such paradox feelings.
The car scarcely came to a stop before she hoped out of it and took off running towards the entrance to Sid Goggle's apartment. When facing the open door, her eyes automatically move to the smears on the floor. If she noticed them, so did Gil.
Following the trace of smears in a slow run Catherine is stopped by a loud noise seeming to come from where the smears end. Drawing her gun from the holster, she quickens her pace.
Catherine hardly made it to the entrance of what seemed a laundry room when she saw the serial killer coming towards Gil with a pipe. She didn't think twice before aiming her gun at Sid Goggle once, twice, five times, before coming back to her senses and watching him fall lifeless on the ground. And by her hands, justice was served: The Strip Strangler was dead.
Catherine's mind would have continued her flashback willingly but the blood loss from the gashes across her wrist and the pain that followed them, missed with the murderous scene she'd just witnessed was finally taking its toll.
Catherine felt a enormous urge to vomit. Her mind started spinning. She was feelingslightly light headed, and before she even noticed, everything went black.
Too busy discussing what to do with the body neither Clark nor Thomas noticed that Catherine had fainted.
Their exchange of ideas was quickly turning into a heated argument and after some moments of shouting and screaming they finally reached the same conclusion: they would have to work together if they wanted the body hidden in time to carry on with Part 3- The final Destination.
While the two men busied themselves with the lifeless form at their feet, in the the other side of the mirror Madeleine started ripping strips from the shirt Catherine had been wearing when she arrived here.
Once Thomas and Clark carried the body upstairs, Madeleine toot that as a chance to cross the room towards Catherine.
With the pieces of shirt in one hand, she slowly lifted Catherine's chin so she could see her face clearly. Unlike the men above her, Madeleine had noticed Catherine passing out and so she reached inside her jeans' pocket and took a small can of hairspray. Using one strip from the shirt, Madeleine pulverized it with the spray and held it close to Catherine's nose. After some moments Catherine slowly opens her eyes, a low grunt escaping the deeps of her throat. Her vision is blurred and shapeless.
"Hi" Madeleine said sweetly. "It's gonna be alright, honey!"
"Where am I?" Catherine questions, her voice still raw from the pain. "Who are you?"
Even though there's a tone of authority in her questions Madeleine can still detect some fear and apprehension.
"Somewhere in the middle of the desert, not very sure where exactly. I'm Maddie!"
Seeing that the expression in Catherine's face was one of anger and confusion, she continued. "I... I'm very sorry for what he did to you. He's... mad... obsessed with you. He dragged my brother and me into this. You seem like a good person you know?" her smile kind and warm "And I really wish I could help you, but I do something he doesn't want and I die and I don't want that on my brother's conscience."
When Madeleine noticed Catherine's expression soften a bit she rose some strips and started cleaning Catherine's wrist form the blood that still poured from the cut. Catherine flinched a bit at the action but was grateful for the gesture. She didn't know for certain how many hours she'd spent closed in there but it was enough for her to know that the cuts, thankfully, didn't catch any artery. Otherwise, she would be dead by now.
After doing her best in trying to clean some of the dried blood from her arms Madeleine carefully wrapped the rest of the strips to Catherine's wrist, that way catching some of the blood that still oozed from the slashes and slowly stopping the bleeding.
Sensing that she could trust 'Maddie' (what she supposed was the shortening of Madeleine), Catherine gave her a small smile.
"Thanks"
Even though her expression was still somewhat reluctant, Madeleine accepted her smile and offered Catherine one of her own.
In the lab, everyone watched the exchange carefully. Not a big amount of progress had been made since Greg and Sara were in the hospital.
The only thing new the team found was the whereabouts of the missing sister of Thomas Kirkwood.
Everyone was getting frustrated and not even the most hi-tech equipment in the lab seemed to provide enough clues as to where Catherine was being held captive.
They needed to find where she was and bring her home safe (as the situation allowed). They needed clues, evidence, anything that led them to a location in the middle of the desert. Starring at the screen was not going to make it happen.
Then all of a sudden, something clicked on his brain.
"We're too focused to find anything." Langston said.
All eyes turned to him in a silent question, which Archie voiced. "What? What do you mean?"
Dr. Ray was ready to explain his theory but Nick was already feeling beyond mad. "You want us to stop looking is that it? To give up on her just like this? We have the methods and the resources to find her. I will not give up on her, because I know she did. the same for me. She'll do it again in a heartbeat if needed to. Damn we used to be a team back there. A family. But everything just started to fall apart when Warrick died. We were a team... And if you think I'm giving up on her when she needs the most, then I'm sure as hell you don't know what is love and being loved."
All the CSIs in the AV lab starred at Nick, a little shaken by his sentimental speech.
While everyone recovered from their initial shock, Nick was still fuming and hazardously mad.
"That's not what I'm suggesting." Was Langston's response to the emotional outburst. "What I'm trying to say is, that if we stopped looking at that screen and focus in the evidence in front of us maybe we'll be able to get somewhere." Ray stopped his talking for a second to watch the expression of his colleagues. "Now, I may not have been with you from the very beginning and you might feel as if I stepped in someone's shoes someway, but that doesn't mean I don't care for you all. I know you have my back and I'll have yours no matter what." The last bit directed towards Nick, who rapidly regretted letting his unsolved feeling for Catherine cloud his better judgement.
"I'm sorry. I stepped out a little." Nick apologized.
"Now back to the case." Langston said "There are several pieces of information that we are sidestepping here. The transportation vehicles. Even if we're in Vegas, you can't still walk around carrying a body. Still, I suppose that in this weather it is quite hard to transport a body through the middle of the desert without a car."
As if catching Langston's drift Nick's mind begun to function again.
"Clark doesn't have a registrated vehicle" he said while holding the files from Goldensmith's previous felony
"But he could have easily rented one" Ray said.
"Right. What about Thomas Kirkwood?" The expression on Gil's face was one of pure concentration as he talked.
"The guy drives a 84 Camaro. The model he owns only has two seats. No way they'd carry Catherine in it. Besides, it was reported stolen four months back." Nick explained while going through the file pages to gather information.
"And his sister, does she own a vehicle?" Grissom asked.
As if on cue Archie immediately logged on the database and did a quick search on Madeleine Kirkwood. After some moments a file appeared in one of his screens. "A white GMC truck. License plate 297- SJI"
"Ok. They could have used the sister's truck to get Catherine to the desert." And again, Grissom was on command "Nick call Brass and tell him to put an APB on her car. Maybe if we get lucky we'll find her near it. Dr. Langston I want you to go through Clark's financials and see if anything pops out, no matter how small it may seem. Then I want you to go with Nick to Clark's place. Search every single thing, question everyone. We will keep you updated."
And with cell phone in hand and a nod Nick exited the room with Langston hot on his tail.
The first rays of sun started to creep out from the sky and the hot waves of heat could be felt already. Especially in the desert.
Shutting his phone violently Clark cursed under his breath and stocked it inside his pocket. He'd try again later.
Picking up a board of wood they took from the windows in the degraded building Thomas and Clark started digging a hole in the ground where they would lately bury the priest.
It took them longer than what they'd first pictured and the temperature hadn't stopped rising ever since they exited the building.
Once they finished digging, Thomas lifted the corpse and threw it into the hole along with his briefcase and started covering the body.
When they were about halfway though, Clark stopped his compulsory companion and spoke, his voice dry and hoarse from the heat ant the lack of water.
"Grab the SUV and go pick up the money. I got it covered here."
With one nod, Thomas tossed the piece of wood away and headed towards the vehicle while cleaning his hands on his trousers.
After Thomas drove away a few minutes passed by until Clark felt satisfied with the way they'd hidden the body. Picking up his phone again he hit speed dial and waited but he only got the voicemail.
He was growing tired and furious. It was the fifth time he tried to call but it went straight to voicemail. Looked like someone was avoiding him... 'Shame... it's too late now!' He thought.
Instead of disconnecting the call, he decided it would be best if he left a warning message.
"You're late on your payments and that's not the way I like to work. You're lucky that the service is quite pleasing and good looking! But I'm tired. Pay what you owe or you will drown, bitch." And with the same easiness he started the call Clark also put an end to it.
Dropping the phone inside his pocket again he headed to the building where a redhead and a blond were making acquaintances he would not be pleased about.
Three long agonizing hours passed since the doctors took her to surgery and Greg was biting on his own nails if only to relieve part of the anxiety and the fear that were boiling inside him now.
The last thing Sara said to him before going in kept replaying itself on his mind. He still didn't know what she'd meant with that. But when she was awake and far from danger then he could always ask her, right?
Not bearing being down no longer, Greg stood up abruptly and started pacing the waiting area. There was no need to say that with a range of imagination such as Greg Sanders's the man himself started picturing the worst case scenarios. And even if some of them involved a shooting in the operation room, he still felt afraid and cold from the thought of never seeing her again.
The soles of his shoes were almost ready to disappear from the constant passing when a strong male voice made him stop dead in his tracks and turn towards it suddenly.
"Family of Sara Sidle" the doctor asked subtly.
"That would be me" came Greg's instant response "uh... I mean... I'm her colleague... she has no family outside of her work really." Sensing that he was probably babbling Greg stop talking for a minute "How is she. I need to see her."
A concerned smile was plastered on Greg's lips but it suddenly fell when the doctor didn't show as much as a turn of the lips.
"Mr..." The doctor sort of asked.
"Greg Sanders" he replied instantly.
"Mr. Sanders... Greg, I'm afraid I don't bring you good news"
Do not murder me k? Please don't kill me. I still need to update my other story.
Thank you for all the alerts and reviews. Thank you Danielle, I love you girl xD
Don't forget to review ( just click on the blue button below) I still need my chocolate...
