Denial
A/N: Okay, I know I updated late. Again. I'm sorry! I promise to try my best to update, but sometimes it's hard to get enough time alone to really write.
Disclaimer: If I owned CSI, Warrick would never have married Tina and he would've been dating/engaged/married to Catherine. Seeing as that didn't happen, I clearly don't own CSI.
Chapter Fourteen:
Warrick had been running around in circles for hours. One message had simply told him to wait at the train station until the midnight train. Midnight finally rolled around and Warrick took yet another train. The bandage around his neck was causing him difficulty. He could barely turn his head without being in severe pain. Having his right arm in a sling hindered him more than slightly. He could only use his left hand and that made everything more difficult.
The train pulled into the station and Warrick looked under the bench as instructed. There was another bag, but no cell phone. Instead was a note. The note read, Walk two miles north of the train station. You will come across a dirt road. Follow the road for another quarter mile and you will find a red car. Open the door. The keys are in the ignition and a map is on the passenger's seat. If you notify the police, I will shoot them.
Warrick sighed, exhausted. He could barely keep his eyes open but he knew that he was close. He tried to refrain from closing his eyes, but he felt like he was about to pass out. He walked the direction he was told to go and walked by a gas station. He stopped there and purchased an energy drink and some peanuts.
Warrick walked North, drinking and eating as he went.
CSICSICSICSI
"BRASS!" one of Ecklie's techs yelled. He had found something. Brass, who was sitting in the break room, appeared at the tech's side almost instantly.
"What is it?"
"Warrick's credit card was used to purchase an energy drink and some peanuts at a gas station."
"Where?"
The tech gave him the address and Brass bolted, Catherine following right behind him.
CSICSICSI
Warrick finally came to the dirt road at 1:30. The walk had been slow because he was exhausted and he kept stumbling. Turns out that the man who had shot him wanted him to walk through a desert, making travel difficult. The dirt road was much easier to navigate.
After exactly a quarter mile, he saw the red car. It was old and insignificant. It looked like someone had just given up on it and left it sitting, dead, at the side of the road. There were two pieces of paper on the windshield. He grabbed them and his heart beat faster when he looked at them. One was of Grissom, who looked terrible, holding a newspaper. The other was of Sara. She was holding the same newspaper, dated yesterday.
Warrick leaned against the car, breathing deep. He pushed the feelings of panic to the back of his mind, refusing to acknowledge it. After lowering his heart beat, he opened the car door. The map sat, as promised, on the passenger's seat. He looked at it before turning on the car. The map told him to go straight and that's what he did.
CSICSICSICSI
"Have you seen this man?" Brass asked the gas station attendant. The boy was no older than 20 and looked terrified of Brass.
"Um… he come in long time ago. He buy food and drink," the boy told Catherine in broken English. He looked like he was fresh from across the border and saw Catherine as more understanding then Brass.
"Do you remember when?" Catherine asked, her voice the opposite of Brass's. Brass had been the classic cop: mean and loud. Catherine was sweet and motherly and the boy opened up to her.
He nodded, smiling slightly. "I remember. He here when news come on. I remember to watch for people I know." He looked proud of himself when he remembered. "He here at midnight. Just after midnight."
Catherine smiled her sweet smile, "Thank you. Do you remember what he bought?"
The boy nodded, his smile growing. "Yes. He buy drink and peanuts."
"Thank you for your help. I'm just going to look around, okay?" Again the boy nodded.
Brass checked out the drinks, searching for anything that Warrick would have left behind, while Catherine checked the snacks. She looked under the box of Hershey chocolate bars (which happened to be her favorite) and found a piece of paper. She instantly recognized Warrick's untidy scrawl.
"Brass!" she called. Brass looked up, sending her a "what do you have?" look. "Note from Warrick." He was over there in a blink of an eye. One side of the note had a note from Warrick to Catherine while the other had directions.
The note read, Catherine, he took Grissom and Sara. Though, I'm sure you know this now. He led me around train stations all night. This was his last note. All the other information I got from came on disposable cell phones and I figured that people were less likely to steal a piece of paper then a cell phone. I'm fine. Do not worry about me. I have to go save Sara and Grissom. I'm still not quite sure what he wants, but I have to save them.
You have no idea how much I wanted to call you. But, you are the police, Cat, and if I called the police, they would die. I know that I will probably die anyways and so will they, but I couldn't bring myself to get the police to help. If this man wants me dead, he'll do anything to kill me. I'm just glad that you and Lindsey are safe. Please don't be angry with me, Catherine. I don't want to do this but I can't let Sara and Grissom die because of me.
You have no idea how much I love you. Tell Lindsey that I love her, too. I'm sorry, Catherine.
Love,
Warrick.
Catherine was in tears by the end of the note. Warrick was going on a suicide mission.
CSICSICSI
At two am, exactly, Warrick arrived at the warehouse. He parked the ancient car and swallowed painfully. His heart was beating annoyingly fast and his breathing was aggravatingly shaky. He pulled open the door of the warehouse, mentally preparing himself for death.
CSICSICSICSI
McKeen was in the warehouse, tracking the car with the GPS he had hidden under the seat. The car was almost here. He pulled on gloves and took out the gun. Sara was awake and glaring at him. Grissom, however, was barely conscious and would have fallen to the floor if he hadn't been tied to the chair.
McKeen could barely contain his excitement as he saw the car stop just outside the windows. He released the safety on the gun just as Warrick opened the door.
CSICSICSI
Warrick heard the release of a safety on a gun just as Sara screamed for him to move. And he did. He threw himself to the right, landing painfully on his arm. He looked up and saw Undersheriff Jeff McKeen. His eyes widened as the flood of memories flew back at him. The undersheriff wanted to talk to him, so Warrick rolled down his window. They talked about how great of a CSI he was and then the undersheriff shot him twice in cold blood.
McKeen was angry that he had missed. He turned to fix Sara with a piercing glare. She returned it with equal hostility. That's my girl, Warrick thought, proud of Sara for not giving up. Warrick thought quickly. McKeen was distracted for a moment, focusing his attention on Sara instead of him. Thoughts of what to do were lightening fast in his head as he decided what to do.
Warrick lunged at McKeen, tackling him awkwardly. The gun went off and Sara screamed. The two men fought for a while before the gun went off again. This time the bullet was in McKeen. The undersheriff looked surprised more then anything as he felt the hole in his chest. Warrick was stunned; terrified that he had killed him. Sure, it was self-defense, but the man was the undersheriff.
After pausing for a moment, he ran to untie Sara, who was closest. She tried to run across the room to Grissom, but fell on her face instead. Her legs had fallen asleep making walking impossible and running unthinkable. Warrick untied Grissom as she made her way to her love.
Grissom's forehead was hot with a fever and his leg looked bent in an unnatural way. "Gil," Sara whispered, trying to get his attention. Grissom barely responded, sick from the fever. Tears ran down Sara's face as she looked at his leg. He had a nasty scratch on it and the wound looked infected. She turned her eyes to Warrick, who sat on the floor. Blood was soaking through his bandages on his chest, forcing him to remain immobile. "Warrick," she said it a little louder but just as terrified.
"Left… clues…. Catherine… Find us," he said as he tried to breath.
Sara, Warrick, and Grissom sat on the floor together, Sara trying desperately to keep the men awake. They had gone all this way to remain alone and injured in an abandoned warehouse. Sara just hoped that they wouldn't die here.
CSICSICSI
After arguing for a long time, the techs at the lab had figured out the most likely places where Sara and Grissom would be. The first stop was a warehouse. As Brass drove, Catherine navigated. They searched eight buildings before finally coming to a warehouse with two cars near it.
On the way to the warehouse door, there were four letters scrawled in the dirt. GG SS Catherine smiled. They had found the right place. Brass kicked down the already broken door and shone his flashlight around the room. One body lay on the ground, covered in blood. Three people were sitting on the opposite side of the room. Catherine's heart stopped as she ran to them. Warrick's side was bleeding and he was unconscious and Grissom looked just as bad.
Sara was desperately trying to help even though she herself was dehydrated. Catherine didn't hear Brass call an ambulance and she didn't see him check the pulse on the body. All she cared about was Warrick, Grissom, and Sara. Catherine quickly checked each of them, starting with Warrick. He looked like he had torn his stitches. The amount of blood worried her.
She looked at Grissom and saw that his leg was at least fractured. She felt his forehead and was nearly scalded. He was definitely infected. She looked at Sara, the only conscious one. She looked fine except for a few scrapes and bruises. Catherine only noticed that the EMTs had arrived when she felt them pulling Warrick out of her arms. She rode with Warrick to the hospital in one ambulance with Sara and Grissom in the second one.
Brass drove quickly behind the ambulances to the hospital with his lights flashing and sirens on full blast. He didn't care if they woke up the entire city. He had to make sure that Grissom, Sara, and Warrick were safe.
The ambulances arrived at the hospital and Grissom and Warrick were whisked away into separate ORs. Sara was checked in the main part of the ER and was found to be severely dehydrated. They put her in a room almost instantly, hooking her up to all sorts of liquids. Catherine waited with Sara for news about their boys.
The two of them cried when the doctors told them the news.
A/N: Okay, I know I am being mean. :) It's fun, though. And this way you will review because you'll be like "OMG UPDATE SOON!!" and if you do, then I will. But, is it a "yay! They survived!" cry or a "Nooooooo! He can't be dead!" cry? The main question is: Can I kill Warrick or Grissom?
P.S. I want to know if you want a sequel. Please tell me if you do!!