Flashback- Chapter 10
It seemed to Grissom that he was swimming in pain. It completely surrounded him as wave after wave of agony swept through him. He felt himself being pulled and dragged, but he was too weak to help or resist. Grissom's head thwacked against rough stone, sending a white-hot burning streak cascading through his already throbbing head. From a far distance, he heard a faint familiar voice, and he honed his attention on that voice, trying to block out the pain.
"Griss, hang in there, man," came the distant voice, "We're almost through this opening,"
Too weak to open his eyes or use his voice, Grissom tried to squeeze the hand that was holding his to acknowledge that he had heard. Nick felt a slight twitch in Grissom's hand and smiled slightly.
"That's right, boss. I've got your back," whispered Nick, glancing at the Grissom's pain-filled face.
Grissom felt his body pressed on both sides as rough sandstone scraped against his back and chest. The pressure against his ribs heightened the already intense pain in his chest, making him cough. He tasted the coppery tang of blood as the left part of his chest screamed in protest against the crush of being pulled against the rough stone.
Finally, the pressure eased, and Grissom felt himself being carefully lifted and carried. Both Petersen and Nick carried the injured supervisor through brush and stone of a steep incline. As far as Nick could tell in the waning moonlight, Petersen was not following any marked trail but, at the same time, seemed to know where he was leading them.
They finally reached a piece of level ground halfway up the back side of the canyon. Vegetation and large boulders blocked the view of the canyon below. Grissom let out a soft groan as he was settled down on soft sand. He was gently pulled into a semi-sitting position, making the effort to breathe a little easier. Taking small even breaths, Grissom concentrated on trying to control the pain that seemed to be emanating from all parts of his body.
Petersen crouched near Grissom and closely observed Nick as he tended to Grissom. The camouflaged man stood up and touched Nick on the shoulder to get his attention.
Pointing down the incline from which they had just climbed, Petersen said in a low rough voice, "Man bayad bevaram. Bar migardam." ( I have to go. I'll be right back.)
After he finished speaking, Petersen pointed down to the ground and then spread his hand out, palm side down, motioning downward with his hand, "Moondan inja." (Stay here.)
Satisfied that Nick understood that they both should stay where they were, Petersen disappeared around the boulders from which they had just come. Nick stared at the spot where he had last seen the man, but his attention was brought back to Grissom by a low moan. Nick returned his attention to his injured boss.
Cracking his eyes open slightly, the injured entomologist saw the blurred image of Nick Stokes gently checking his chest wound.
Taking in a sharp intake of breath when Nick softly probed his upper chest and rib cage, Grissom grimaced at the slight grinding sensation he felt when Nick felt around his ribs.
"Hey, Griss, you back with me?" Nick softly whispered, his eyes mirroring the concern in his voice.
Grissom cast weary eyes on his young protégé and gave him a slight nod. Licking dried cracked lips, the injured man whispered back, "Water?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure, Griss," said Nick gently.
The Texan slipped the pack off his shoulders and grabbed a bottle of water from the pack. He held the bottle up to Grissom's lips and let the man sip the water until Grissom nodded that he had had enough.
"Where…?' asked the injured man.
"I'm not sure. We're safe for now though. Petersen apparently took care of the shooters, but there may be more bad guys with guns out there," Nick replied.
"Wher…where is he?" panted Grissom between breaths.
"Not sure, boss," said Nick, "but this seems to be a well-protected spot. I think he went back a little ways to check to see if we were being followed. He should be back any minute."
Grissom shut his eyes and nodded to let Nick know that he understood. The senior investigator sighed and bought his right arm around to his left side.
"Nick, I think I might have a couple of broken ribs."
"I'm sure of it, Griss. Felt 'em when we set you down. They were probably fractured when that bullet hit you and getting you here probably finished the job."
"Listen, Griss. I'm going to check out where we are. Kinda get a feel of where we are, ya know?" continued Nick.
Grissom swallowed down the pain that was pulsating through him and nodded to let Nick know that he understood.
"No..not going anywhere soon," he rasped in a wan voice as he watched Nick move towards the surrounding boulders.
As Nick approached the boulders that led back to the springs, Petersen emerged back into the small clearing. Holding up Nick's Glock which he had pulled from his belt, Petersen eyed Nick with suspicion.
"Captain Brass, over here," Officer North called softly.
Jim Brass, holding his Glock in front of him with both hands headed in the direction of his officer. Just beyond two large boulders off to the right side of the trail lay a man facedown in the dirt. He appeared unhurt, but was gagged and bound with pieces of cloth. Keeping his Glock pointed at the man, Brass signaled for North to roll him over.
As North turned the man over, Brass recognized the frightened face of Nate Damien. North untied the man's feet and brought the man to a standing position.
Brass waved at North to release the bound man and said, "Untie and take the gag off this idiot."
"Okay, Damien, tell me where is your buddy, Swensen and your boss, Cattelier?" Brass asked the man.
Damien rubbed his wrists from where they were bound and shook his head. "I…I don't know," stammered the man.
"Okay, then try this…where are my two other men?" asked Brass, impatience growing in leaps and bounds.
"I…I don't know that either," Damien continued to stammer.
"You don't know much, do you?' Brass asked. "Listen here, buddy. I don't have the time to play games here. You and your buddies killed two of my men, and I've got two men missing. Now where the hell are they, damnit!"
"I…I told you. I don't know anything. Walt…he…and Jason killed the other two. I didn't have nothing to do with them being killed. Jason was in a hurry to get to the springs. Said that no one was going to stop him from getting what was rightfully his."
"Keep going…don't stop now," said Brass impatiently.
"Well, Walt and Jason, they was doing all the shooting. Winged one of guys, I think. We found blood and tried to follow where they led. We…we couldn't find them, but we heard them going up towards the springs. We…we thought we had them cornered and we split up. Next thing I knew, I was knocked down and tied up. I didn't see who it was but he was mumblin' some kind of foreign language."
"Do you mean that whoever tied you up wasn't talking in English," demanded Brass.
"No…no sir…he wasn't talkin' in English. Just roughed me up and tied me up. Never said a word that I understood," stuttered Damien.
Brass considered the man standing before him a moment.
"There's someone else around here. Nevertheless, Nate Damien, you're under arrest for assault and battery on a police officer, along with 1st degree murder of two police officers. North, cuff him and gag him again. Looks like we still have two perps to look for. Cuff him to that shrub over there."
Officer North hauled Damien to the brush that Brass had indicated and secured the man to it. Returning to the captain, the two police officers continued their sojourn towards the springs. The radio on Brass's hip crackled.
"Victor 1, this is Sierra 2. We are in your vicinity. What is your location? Do you copy?"
Brass turned to North and relaxed marginally, "SWAT's finally here."
"Sierrra 2, this is Victor 1. I copy. We are about a quarter mile from the springs. What is your location?"
"Victor 1, we are headed up your way. According to the map, we are approximately 15 minutes behind you. What is your status?"
"Sierra 2, both North and I are fine. You'll find Smithson's body about three miles up from the trailhead. We have one suspect in custody. CSI Stokes and Grissom are MIA. We are in pursuit of two other suspects, Jason Cattelier and Walt Swensen. There is an unknown assailant up here. Suggest that you use extreme caution as you make your way up here."
"Roger that, Victor 1. We should be approaching your location momentarily."
"North and I are going to continue towards the springs. Over."
Brass snapped the radio back onto his belt and signaled for North to move on ahead. A few yards beyond they came upon the body of Walt Swensen. The man had his neck broken, but there were no signs of Cattelier. After checking the body for signs of life, both men cautiously continued on to the springs.
Both North and Brass reached the springs without incident. The captain motioned to North that he should check out the area to the right of the springs while he checked the other side. As Brass proceeded towards that end of the springs, he spied a darkened area of ground. Kneeling near a group of boulders a little ways from the springs, Brass observed that a small blood pool had been left. Whoever was shot was still bleeding.
Sighing, Brass scanned the area from where he was crouched. There was no blood trail and no foot prints leading from this area.
"Victor 1, this is Victor 2," came the static-filled voice of Officer North.
"Yeah, Victor 2," Brass replied, "What'd you find?"
"Captain, I found Cattelier. He was bound and gagged just like Damien."
"Is he dead or alive?" asked Brass, caring only if the man could give him information on his missing CSI's.
"He's alive, Cap," was the reply.
"Okay, I'll be right there. I found another blood pool. Any other sign of Stokes or Grissom?" asked the captain.
" No sir, but there was something buried here, and whatever it was, is now gone."
"Stay right there. I'm on my way," report Brass and headed in the general direction to where North had gone.
A few minutes later, Brass entered the small clearing where North had Cattelier sitting against a boulder. The man will still bound, but North had taken the gag off the man's mouth. Brass turned on his maglite and shone it into the 3-foot deep pit. A rifle covered with clay and a short backpacking shovel lay nearby. The homicide captain strolled over to the pit and shone his light into the pit. It was empty of any contents that had been buried there.
Walking over to Cattelier, Brass crouched down close to the bound man, he shined his flashlight directly into the man's face.
"Okay, you piece of scum, where are my two men?" Brass growled in a low threatening voice.
"I don't know. They just disappeared. I swear I don't know where they are," rasped Cattelier, squinting his eyes and turning his head from the glare of Brass's maglite.
"Which one of them tied you up? Where did they go?" continued Brass with his questioning.
"Neither of them did," answered the prisoner.
"Then who did? Who hog-tied you?"
"I d..don't know, but I know it wasn't one of your guys. Your guys had on those crime vests. This guy was dressed in camouflage. Talked some crazy language," stammered Cattelier.
Brass stood up and regarded Cattelier. What he said coincided with Damien's statement. If Nick or Grissom had taken care of these three guys, they would be around here.
"North, untie this guy's feet," Brass said to the officer. Then he turned to Cattelier as North helped him to his feet.
"Now you're going to show me where you last saw them or where you think they went," grated Brass at the frightened prisoner.
"But…but…I..didn't…" stammered Cattelier.
"Now, dammit!" roared Brass, taking the man and shoving back towards the springs.
Both Brass and North followed Cattelier through the brush. Cattelier stumbled along towards the back wall of the boxed in canyon. He halted at the edge of the springs.
Panting from exertion, Catterlier gasped out loud, " Swensen, Damien, and I saw your two guys over there by those boulders. Swen…Swensen, he had his gun up and then we heard a noise. Damien and I went to investigate and then we came back where you found Swensen's body. Next thing, I knew I was bound and gagged. Damien got away, I guess."
"No, he didn't. We found him further down the trail, bound and gagged, just like you," said Brass drily.
The police captain was at a loss. Grissom and Nick had seemingly both disappeared into thin air with the help of a mysterious camouflaged stranger. With the Red Rock Sniper out there, could he have been the one who had taken Grissom and Stokes? He seemed the most likely suspect, but why would he want them? Why not bound and gag them as he did Cattelier and Damien? He had obviously, from Cattelier's account, saved the CSI's lives and was assisting them, but to what end?
Unhooking his radio from his belt, Brass called to the approaching SWAT officers making their way quickly up the canyon. He wanted the men spread out so that every possible exit out of the canyon was covered.
Catherine Willows and Grissom's team of CSI's rushed up the road to the trailhead. They had just gotten word that the trailhead had been secured. The coroner had been notified and Sheriff Burdick wanted the area processed as quickly as possible.
With their kits in hand, Grissom's team walked quickly to where Harmon's body lay. Catherine bent down low over the body and closely examined the officer's remains. Standing up, she glanced at her team.
"Greg, process both Grissom's Denali and Harmon's patrol car. You probably won't find anything probative, but maybe we'll get lucky."
Greg nodded reluctantly and did what he was told. The young investigator wanted to be on hand to help with the primary crime scene but knew that the faster he processed the two vehicles, the sooner it would be that he would be able to help with whatever was going on in the canyon.
"Rick, take the body and grid the surrounding area. SWAT has the area secured to at least halfway up the trail to where Smithson's body is. Sara, you and I will start up there."
Catherine looked up to see Jim Brass just making his way from the trail. It was still dark, but floodlights had been set up, casting ominous shadows outside the lighted areas. The captain's angry gait spoke volumes to the officers who were securing the scene. They were careful to avoid getting in Brass's way. His demeanor was grim, and Sara felt a hard lump forming in the pit of her stomach.
Her first impulse was to rush forward and inundate Brass with questions, but instead, she stood rooted with fear. Warrick stood next to Sara and put a comforting hand upon her shoulder.
"Sara," whispered Warrick softly to her, "are you going to be okay?"
Sara folded her arms and stared straight at the figure of Jim Brass making his way towards them. She clamped her lips shut, afraid that if she said anything, she would lose all control.
"Sara," Brass said softly.
Sara held up her hand and whispered tonelessly, "They're both dead. Gil and Nick are both…."
Brass shook his head. He could not confirm or deny her assumptions.
"Sara," Brass tried again, "we don't know. We haven't found them. They've disappeared."
Confusion flooded through the team, and they each gave the captain a questioningly stare.
"They…they've just disappeared. What are you saying?' asked Catherine, not quite believing what she had just heard.
Brass turned to Catherine. "Just that. They are not in that box canyon. I've got officers combing the canyon from one end to the other. If they're in there, we'll find them. It's not that big of a canyon. There is limited access to the canyon on the other end. I have a team of officers searching up that way, but I doubt that they could've gone that way."
"Why not if they were being shot at?" asked Warrick.
"We're pretty sure one of them sustained a gunshot wound and was bleeding heavily. There's an ancillary trail just northwest of the springs. It's well-marked but steep. It would have been next to impossible for a wounded man to make it up that part of the trail even if he had help."
"Then they've got to be in that canyon. If…if only one of them is injured, why haven't they come forward,…gotten help? Unless…unless…," Sara faltered, unable to finish her thought.
Brass held up his hand to stop any speculation,
"Sara, there could be any number of reasons why we haven't found them. I think that perhaps they could be with the Red Rock Sniper. There's indication that there was someone helping them… Let's not suspect the worse, shall we?" Brass said in an encouraging voice that didn't quite hit the mark. He looked at each member of Grissom's team and continued on.
"That's where I need you guys. I need you to be at the top of your game…for both Nick and Grissom. I need for you to process the entire trail. It has all been secured. We need evidence of who this stranger is and maybe it will give us a clue to what has happened to Grissom and Nick."
Pausing to take a breath, Brass continued, "I…I've cleared it with Burdick for grave to handle this."
Catherine nodded and turned to the rest of the team, "Okay guys. We all have a job to do. Let's get going. Hopefully, we'll turn something up that will indicate where Grissom and Nick are."
A/N: Chapter 10 completed. There is a possibility, if properly motivated, that I could get the next chapter by New Year's. (I'm not above blackmail) Thanks for those of you who have reviewed. Hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas and fantastic New Year…Y'all be safe and healthy as the holidays progress.
becky