A/N: Okay, here is another long awaited chapter, not really. Anyways, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. knadineg, please don't hurt my villains. This is a plea for their lives. I need them functional still. Yes they are evil and deserve it, but what am I gonna do if you kill them? Hmmmm...I'll lose my story. Anyways here is another chapter.

Chapter 7

The world was dark. Everything was dark, even his mind. He was so tired. It hurt so bad. They had been so mad when they found him again that the man had beaten him unconscious right in the street. Later, a long time later, he woke up in the darkness that was now his only companion with the pain. He lay there in a dark room, the sandy dirt gritting painfully against his skin. He couldn't know for sure, but he thought he was in a basement now. There were only three things in his world. Darkness because he was blindfolded, pain and fear. He just wanted to go home. To be safe again. To disappear. That's what he wanted. But it would never happen. This was where he was going to die. Alone.

He could vaguely feel himself shivering. He was so cold. It was getting harder form each thought in his head let alone hold that thought. Had he been able to form rational thoughts he would know he was going into shock. He couldn't muster enough energy to do more than blink. The world floated by him without any meaning. He was oblivious to when the door opened and closed, four feet entering the room quietly. Two sets of eyes stared at him for a while, fingers pressing lightly against the pulse in his neck. He could discern the words, but they had no meaning to him.

"He's not gonna last much longer."

"He has to. The boss is already irate that he got away. I don't want to be around if he dies before we get anything from him."

"Well he can't leave this basement, he's caused more trouble than he's worth."

"We'll just have to bring some stuff down here to help him out. Keep him alive for a little longer."

"Fine, just enough that he can handle more questions."

"Bring me some blankets, gauze, pressure bandages, and an iv and water bag." the other man left the room to fetch the items quickly. The man rolled Greg over and removed the handcuffs before rolling him onto his back again, removing the blindfold. If the high fever, cold skin, and weak erratic pulse weren't enough indication the kid was in trouble, the catatonic stare was. He would sluggishly blink every now and then, but that was the only indication he was alive. The kid moaned weakly and the man noticed his broken wrist was wedged underneath his body. Roughly he pulled it out and let it drop to the floor. The wince was seriously delayed. He hated having to doctor the hostages. Most of them got this delusion that he really cared whether they died. In truth, he didn't. He just had to make sure they were alive long enough to fulfill their use.

The first thing he did was insert the iv and get that started, the he threw the blanket over the kid, moving it out of his way as he went to the leg and worked to stop the bleeding from the bullet. The left leg had sustained a bullet to the thigh which was seeping blood again slowly, but it had also broken when the kid jumped out the window. The bone was poking out a good three inches, but it was so swollen that it had stopped the bleeding. It took more effort than he expected to stop the bleeding in the leg, but he managed. The stab wound that he'd given him on the other hand, was just as stubborn as himself. It was bleeding heavily and refused to slow let alone stop. He scowled. This kid had blood like water. In the end he gave the kid a blood thickener which helped bring the bleeding to a stop. The amount he gave him wouldn't last too long, but it would be long enough. For the next hour or so he thumbed through various magazines and a grill cheese sandwich with root beer. He glanced at Greg every now and then. What little color could, did come back to his skin and the fever was taking hold. By the time the iv bag was empty, the catatonic stare was gone. That was when he took his stuff and left. The kid would live, another day at least.

It was strange. He felt stronger. Still exhausted, still riddled with pain, still unwilling to move, but he felt better. He didn't know what brought this about but he was glad for it. A small part of his mind said that he was losing it and that he was just making a bee line for death's door, but he shoved that part away. He just wanted to go home. His stomach growled loudly, the rumbling upsetting his ribs. He rolled onto his side with a groan, curling into a protective ball, cradling his broken wrist against his side. He was so hungry. It had been cruel, but he was sure he'd been smelling grill cheese a while ago. The smell wouldn't leave, though when he looked around he'd been by himself and no food present. It was torture. It smelled so good and he was so hungry. Lying there he drifted in and out of sleep, never feeling better, but his head was clearer along with the rest of the world. His mind wandered to various things like past events of name that substance, and the antics he would play on Gil and Catherine when they wanted the results for some test, or when he was dancing in the hall with that ornate headdress on. He could remember Catherine laughing at him, then there was Grissom just staring at him not knowing what to think. He liked keeping Griss on his toes. There was a big contrast between their likes and he found it entertaining to see his boss's reaction to the different things he did to entertain himself.

He had just been considering attempting to sit up when the door opened again. Two blurry figures entered and lifted him to his feet. He yelped at the fresh crash of pain. He couldn't walk so he let them drag him to a chair in the middle of a room. James was standing against the wall, a vicious smile on his face.

"How are we today Greg." Greg thought quickly.

"Peachy" he tried to sound defiant and brave but only managed a groggy whisper with a slight shake.

"Well then, I'll begin. I've decided to play a game."

--oo0oo--

Catherine sighed. This was the worst week of her life. Everyone of them had been shaken to the core by that video. And to think it had happened before Greg had called them. Nick had told them that Greg had jumped out of a two story window. At first she'd wondered what could motivate him to do that, now she knew…desperation. It had scared and shocked her when Brass had bluntly admitted to not being strong enough to watch the tape twice, and now she knew why. She wondered how Archie would be able to do it. Would he be able to detach himself just enough to get the job done. After this she would pester Grissom to give him a serious raise. She breathed in the cool night air. It had stopped raining, but it was still cold and windy. It helped wake her up enough for the drive home. Like everyone else the idea of going home for food, a shower and sleep was a horrid idea, but they needed rest. It had been agreed that they would go home in shifts for a few hours and return so someone else could, or in this instance, be forced to leave. It was her turn. Only Nick had been exempt from leaving because Greg had called on his phone, but he was still being required to sleep on the couch in Archie's lab.

She walked slowly to her car, weary. As much as she didn't want to stop working, the shower and sleep garnished with food was tempting. Determined not to be too long she climbed into her car and pulled out of the driveway. She never noticed the vehicle across the street pulling out in a perfectly innocent way with devious intent.

--oo0oo--

Greg was horrified. They had pulled a tv in front of him and up to the point they turned it on his mind had been cloudy and sluggish, but no now. Now he couldn't be more alert. On the screen was live video feed of Catherine, who was unaware she was being watched. She was climbing into her car. She looked horrible, deep circles under her eyes, but then, he was one to talk. She drove away and at the same time he saw a semi pull out of a parking lot across the street. It would have looked perfectly innocent to anyone else. He continued to watch from a live camera inside a third vehicle as the other two picked up to significant speeds. He watched fearfully as both pulled onto a back road that was empty except for them.

He stopped breathing as the semi pulled up along side her in the narrow two lanes and slammed into her sideways running her car off the road careening down the steep almost mountainous hill, bouncing into the air as if it were a paper ball. By the time it came to a stop slamming against a boulder it was crunched in, the original shape unrecognizable. Greg was sure he didn't breath for the entire five minutes the camera was trained on the motionless car before blacking out. Catherine never got out. Greg let the tears fall shamelessly.

"No, no no no no no no." the man smiled at him.

"I told you, I was going to play a game. Now that you know the consequences, I'm going to ask you questions." At that moment five more televisions were rolled out, each one followed every movement of Warrick, Nick, Sara, Grissom, and even Jim Brass. He suddenly felt exhausted again. What little energy the adrenaline of watching Catherine run off the road was now gone leaving him more exhausted, sluggish and groggy then before. His heart dropped into his stomach.

"What do you want?" his voice was shaking now.

"A name. Whom did you call on your little jaunt?" Greg was gaping still at the screens and hadn't responded quickly enough for James. A gun appeared in Warrick's screen, slowly aiming at his head.

"NO! I called Nick!" the gun disappeared. James smiling.

"Very good. Next time though, you answer me immediately." He gave a sharp nod and the onslaught of punches rained down abruptly. He cried out falling off the chair. The punches were replaced with kicks. He screamed with each rib snapping. Though the beating only lasted for a few minutes, it had felt like eternity. Greg found his consciousness was again on a very slipping slope and he was losing it fast.

"Now Greg, I'm going to let you think about this for a little why. I want you to be thinking about that witness you found. I want to know the name." That was the last coherent thing he heard before he was dragged back to his basement and chucked down the stairs. He lay there unmoving, the darkness swallowing him up and just before he slipped into unconsciousness, one simple thought returned to him like a life line. Nick will find me….Nick will save me…Nick will find me…Nick will save me.

--oo0oo--

Everything was a blur. There was sounds around her, but they were muted at best. Her mind was muddled and slow. Where was she? What happened? She felt heavy, too heavy. Something was very wrong. Her entire body had this cold, overwhelming ache. A strange numbness was slowly pulling back, replaced by an ever increasing pain, everywhere. She could hear voices swirling around her like the constant buzz of flies in her ear. Someone was calling her name…no, not her name. Something else. Slowly she cracked open her eyelids. They felt sticky and wet. There were two people hovering over her and she could see the movement of others beyond them. Confused she struggled to sit up but was quickly pushed back.

"Ma'am, please lay still you've been in a car accident. Can you tell me your name?"

"Wha--"

"Your name. Can you tell me your name?"

"C-Catherine Willows, Las V-Vegas C-Crime Lab" the voices said something else but she couldn't hear them as she drifted into unconsciousness again.

--oo0oo--

The room was in utter silence. Hardly anyone spoke unless it was unavoidable. No one wanted to speak, not after the video. Only time voices could be heard among them was when a discussion of evidence or a battle on going home for rest erupted. The only one that didn't fight was Nick. Archie had personally become his caretaker in a sort, claiming that if Nick wanted to stay in his lab he would follow his rules. Which meant getting rest. He'd also been ordering in enough food for an army and was seeing that they all ate something. Only Catherine had refused the food, saying her stomach couldn't handle what had been ordered. So now she was under strict orders to eat when she got home.

That had been almost two hours ago when she left. It was at one of the few times when they were all in the lab, Grissom asking Archie what he had on the tape so far, Warrick was flipping through some files, going over what little evidence they had for something they might have missed, Sara was eating some veggie dish from the Chinese and Nick was grudgingly eating, staring at his phone. Every now and then he would stop and Archie would give him a hard stare until he would eat again. He'd quickly lost his appetite and the thought of food was vile.

They all jumped when the shrill ring of Gil's phone erupted, echoing of the walls. They all couldn't help but wonder if Grissom's phone was next to be wired up by Archie. They all stared at him as his face darkened, he nodded sharply several times then hung up the phone with a look like he was about to smash it against the wall.

"Sara, Warrick, I need you two to go to the hospital, Catherine's been in a car accident." They stared stunned for a moment. That was very left field, from their perspectives at least. The shock wore off just enough for them to spring into action, gathering their stuff soberly.

"Hey Warrick, call me on Archie's phone when you have news." Nick was hating having to stay behind now.

"Sure Nicky, the very minute." They gave each other sad, desperate smiles before leaving. Warrick drove white knuckled, sirens blaring, cutting every corner possible, not caring that he was bending the rules or outright breaking them at times. He had to get to the hospital and now! Beside him Sara had the seatbelt as tight as it would go, barely allowing for air and she still gripped the door and seat for dear life, not even attempting to slow Warrick down. They got there in record time though it had seemed like an eternity.

As expected there was no information on Catherine's condition. It took everything Sara had to keep him from exploding at the nurse for not having information, having to literally push him away from the desk. He'd settled to pacing furiously throughout the room, constantly shooting glares between the clock and nurses that walked by silently. The minutes felt like hours and hours like days. Several times Warrick would ask for information just to be told they didn't have any, and held back from outbursts by Sara. They were at their wits end with Greg alone, but now Catherine, someone higher up in the universe either had it out for them or had a sick sense of humor. Sara was sure that Warrick pounced at the doctor when he FINALLY came out.

"How is she? Is she okay? Will she be okay?"

"Please sit and I'll tell you what I know"

"Fine." Warrick sat next to Sara impatiently.

"Mrs. Willows sustained a broken leg and wrist, severe concussion, badly bruised kidneys, three broken ribs and two cracked, as well as multiple deep lacerations. She lost a lot of blood both externally as well as internally but I was able to patch it up nicely."

"So…she'll be okay?"

"After a week or two in the hospital and lots of down time at home coupled with physical therapy for the leg, barring complications of course. Yes, she should be fine." Warrick was stunned and overwhelmingly grateful. He was speechless.

"Can we see her?" Sara sounded so calm. He couldn't believe how calm she could sound right now.

"She won't be ready for visitors for another half hour at least, but then I'll allow one person to stay with her." They nodded, watching silently as the doctor walked off to tend other patients. They sat silently, soaking in the relief before Warrick spoke up.

"Can…can you stay. I need someone to watch her, know she's really safe, but, I can't wait, not now." she nodded understanding. It was hard to wait, especially for him she knew. He needed to be doing something and they still needed things moving to find Greg.

"Sure, I can do that. Jus find Greg for me and I'll call it even." they both gave weak sad laughs at the attempt to lighten the mood.

"Thanks. I'm calling Nick on the way. You'll let us know of any changes."

"Of course." Warrick walked away briskly. Catherine would be okay, now he could focus on finding Greg.

--oo0oo--

Greg woke with a jolt. Everything was muddled, swirling and blending together. There was a buzz in his ear like a fly. He tried to swat at it but he found that the slightest twitch sent waves of pain coursing through his body. He remained curled tensely, afraid to move. He retreated deep into his mind, the familiar mantra returning, his only life line to sanity. Nick will find me…Nick will save me…Nick will find me…Nick will save me… At some point he got this intense feeling of being watched and painfully cracked his eyes open. He didn't know how long the two blurry figures had been standing there, but there they were, snickering and whispering something to each other. Mustering all his strength he glared viciously at them. They laughed.

"Well it looks like their might be a little attitude left in him after all." They lifted him to his feet suddenly. He yelped in pain. It was hard to breathe, especially standing. His body weight pulled agonizingly against his ribs. He was overjoyed when they finally shoved him into a chair, letting him sag, barely remaining on the chair. James was sitting in a chair just a few feet in front of Greg.

"Afternoon Greggo. Been doing a lot of sleeping lately. Am I really all that boring?" Greg fought through his muddled mantra to find a response.

"Like watching milk…curdle to cheese." he never had a chance to brace himself as he was pistol-whipped viciously across the jaw falling off the chair with a pained thud. A nameless goon shoved him back into the chair.

"That was very rude Gregory, I suggest you remember your manors. But I am going to make things more interesting for you. I've decided to play another game." Greg gulped.

"W-what kind of game." he couldn't keep his raspy voice from shaking.

"It's simple really, I ask you a question and if you don't answer or I think you are lying we play roulette. Understand." Greg nodded.

"Good. First question. Do you know the identity of the witness against me?"

"N-no" James sighed, pulling out a revolver pressing it against his forehead and pulled the trigger. Greg jumped terribly at the click of an empty chamber.

"Y-y-yes" Greg fought not to shake.

"Tell me the name." his voice was frighteningly calm. Greg remained silent, breathing heavily. James popped the barrel out spinning it swiftly then snapping it back in place loudly. Greg looked at his feet terrified. He couldn't hide the shaking when the cold metal pressed against his forehead.

"P-please d-don't." he never saw the malicious smile, jerking violently at the click. He curled forward desperate to just hide, disappear.

"You know Greg. You are making this much harder than it has to be. I know that you don't want to die. And I don't want to kill you."

"Then don't kill me and I won't die and we're both happy" there was a trace of anger in his voice once you got passed the slur.

"That's very good logic, unfortunately for us both, I need that name, and you know what it is. So Greg. Who is the witness." Greg tried to say something, anything, but he opened his mouth to speak and his muscles just wouldn't work. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The barrel popping out, spinning maniacally, the snap reverberated off the walls, the cold metal snout points at his head. He couldn't hold back the terrified tears any longer all semblance of courage flying out the window.

"P-p-please, d-don't d-do this." with a toothy, malicious grin to seal the deal, James pulled the trigger.

BANG!

A/N: Am I evil or what! Poor Greg, more hugs for him and everyone else!