A/N- Thanks for all the reviews again. Glad you are enjoying it so far. Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and if you do...review!
"Can we talk outside so I can smoke? I really need a cigarette right now," Greg said to Nick. Nick nodded and Greg walked outside. His nerves were shot and now he was worried about what Nick had to tell him. Nick looked very serious and he wondered if Nick knew how tempted he was to take some the heroin.
Nick watched him light a cigarette and sit down in a chair. Nick sat down also and looked at him. He could see he was edgy and knew that seeing the cops ready to arrest him had to freak him out. "While on stakeout Jack and I talked. I think we have to take drastic measures now that this has happened. It is clear they want you either dead or clearly discredited. I think we need to set a trap for them and you will need to help us do it." Nick saw his eyes widen with worry.
"What do you mean I need to help you? What exactly are you talking about?" Greg asked, not sure he was going to like whatever the idea might be.
Nick took a deep breath before speaking. "Jack and I were talking while on stakeout about Will Larson. We think the only way we can really bust him is to have someone go in undercover and get the goods on him. We need to move on this fast since he does not seem to want to stop until you are out of the way."
Greg saw the look in Nick's eyes and had a feeling what he was getting at. "You want me to somehow get the goods on him? Is that what you are saying?" He put the cigarette back in his mouth and took a long drag off of it, shaking his head, hoping he was wrong.
Nick swallowed. "Yeah that is the thought. I've been thinking about this and of course we would have to get the okay on it from our boss, but I think you are the best bet. You can make Larson think you have relapsed and left me and need the drugs again."
Greg stubbed out his cigarette in an ash tray and pulled out another and lit it up. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. After taking another puff on the new cigarette he spoke again. "Nick, I am only clean for 4 weeks. I am not sure I can handle being so close to temptation again. Today was hard enough."
Nick leaned forward and fixed his intense gaze on him. "I have faith in you Greg. You have been doing great so far. I am so proud of you. I think you rather get rid of Will Larson more than you want the drugs at this time."
Greg thought about that for a moment as he slowly exhaled the smoke. He had to admit Will Larson and his constantly seeking some sort of vengeance on him was stressing him out, especially after today's ordeal. "What did you have in mind?"
Nick smiled, seeing that he was willing to hear the plan. "Okay so here is what I am thinking. We get a crappy motel room like you had before and wire it up first before you even move in. Then we have you move in and if I am right, Larson knows you are here now and that is why the drugs showed up on our doorstep. So he has our house on surveillance. He will know if you leave and move out. We can make it look like a major falling out and you move to the motel. Then you try to reach out to him and hopefully he will bite. We can have the room wired and hidden cameras to catch you getting drugs from him. At least I am hoping he will make a personal appearance again. I think he will because it seems personal to him."
"Okay and what if by chance he bites and sends his goon to just shoot me dead?" Greg asked, knowing that was a good possibility.
"We will have officers in the rooms around yours, also undercover. And Jack and I will be nearby too, that is if it goes as planned. Someone will be there before he has a chance since we will have the cameras and sound."
Greg finished his second cigarette and sat back with a heavy sigh. "I don't know Nick. This sounds like a bad idea to me. What if they want me to shoot up again like that one time when they tried to overdose me? If I take the drugs I am not sure I can get off again."
Nick shook his head. "The minute he shows the drugs backup will be there. He won't have a chance to give you any or force you to take them."
"Something could so easily go wrong. I don't like it. I'm not the same person I used to be that could maybe do something like this," he told Nick. He stood up and looked out over the backyard. The full moon lit up the yard.
Nick stood up and stood behind him. He gently placed his hand on his shoulder. "I think you are wrong. You might still be lost right now but I can't believe the Greg Sanders I fell in love with all those years ago is gone. I don't think you can truly move on though as long as this guy keeps trying to take you down in some way. I'm proud that you called me right away when you found those drugs on our doorstep."
Greg lowered his head. He couldn't bring himself to tell Nick the truth, what he really wanted to do with those drugs. "I think you are wrong and I think if we go through with this plan it will be proved to you."
Nick made Greg turn around and face him. Greg's expression was one of sadness. "You can only prove me wrong if you really want to but I think you want to try to change. You've been steady for a good month now. I know this will be tough but once it is over things will get easier, I promise."
Greg knew that he wouldn't be able to convince Nick otherwise right now. "Fine, I'll try to help if your boss approves it. I'll have to have some money of course to try to buy the drugs from him and all that sort of stuff. I mean I guess I know how to act like I am seriously in need so that won't be hard," he shrugged.
Nick smiled at him. "I have complete faith in you. This will work out. Let's go back inside and I am going to make some phone calls so we can get this thing rolling." Greg nodded and followed Nick inside.
Once inside Greg realized the stress really made him tired. "I think I am going to go to sleep. I'm really tired all of the sudden."
Nick told him that was fine. Once he was done making his calls he was probably going to have to go back into work anyway. Greg told him that was fine as long as he kept him up to date on what happened.
Greg walked into his bedroom and closed the door. He took off his shirt and looked down at his arms. He saw the old scars from track marks and softly ran his index finger over them. He turned and looked back at the door to make sure it was closed. He then reached under his mattress and felt for the plastic. He pulled out the small plastic baggie filled with the golden white powder. He stared at it and shook his head. He pushed it back under the mattress and sat down on his bed. He ran his hands over his face. He laid back and stared up at the ceiling. He wondered why he even hid a couple of the heroin baggies before the cops showed up. But deep down he knew why, he was still an addict and it was too tempting. And now he sat on his temptation knowing Nick was wrong about him. He would disappoint him at some point. Maybe not tonight or maybe if during the undercover op but the time would come when he would relapse and break Nick's heart. He shortly fell asleep with those pessimistic thoughts in his mind.
CSI CSI CSI CSI
Five days later Nick held Greg's hands in his. "You're going to be fine. I have faith in you." Greg rolled his eyes at him. He had managed to not touch the heroin hidden under his mattress again since that night but now he was about to leave the house in what was going to play out as a major argument with Nick. The undercover operation was about to go into full force. Nick and Jack got the approval for the operation even though their boss was skeptical but it was not the first time they used a drug addict as a pawn to bust the dealers. Greg had already played that part and his being a former CSI and a teacher helped his stature more than others. Of course his being clean for about 5 weeks now helped a lot too. But now he had to play the part of the addict again which he realized was going to be fairly easy as this whole situation really made him want to shoot up again.
The seedy motel room was already equipped with the microphones and hidden cameras. The manager had agreed to let them use it and the two rooms next to it. He was making a nice profit from them so he was happy to oblige. Greg would go to the front desk and act like he was looking for a room and the manager would check him into the appropriate room. A female officer was going undercover as a prostitute as his neighbor in the room to the left and a male undercover office going in as using the room for his mistress was would be using the room next to him along with another female UC officer. They had all met Greg and advised him they would be keeping a close eye on things.
"You know the first time Will Larson came to me was mostly for sex," Greg reminded Nick. Nick frowned. "I don't think he will bother with that this time. He will be on a mission. We just have to make sure he shows up and not just Nelson. You have to convince him you need to see him."
"But what if something happens that is not expected," Greg asked with some worry. "That is your call. If you feel you are in a situation you cannot handle, you know the safe word, California. You just say that and we will be in there."
Greg sighed and nodded. He still didn't like this idea but it was set in Nick's mind that it was going to work. "Okay then I guess we should start this whole thing," Greg pushed past Nick with his bag in his hand. Nick grabbed his arm as Greg opened the front door.
"Don't do this! You are making a huge mistake. I can take care of you if you just let me," Nick told him in a loud voice as the door was now open.
Greg spun around and got in his face. "You are suffocating me. I can't take it anymore. I never wanted to get clean. I was perfectly happy with my drug induced state. This drug free world sucks. You can't keep me here anymore. And don't try to follow me. I will keep running away. I'm not yours to worry about, got it?" He yelled at him as he pulled his arm out of Nick's grip. He walked down the driveway to his car. He unlocked it and opened the door. He threw his bag in the backseat. He was about to get in the drivers' seat when Nick came up to him again.
"Don't do this, Greg. If I find you using drugs again I will arrest you," he threatened. Greg scoffed at him. "I've heard that a million times already and you have yet to do it."
Nick glared at him. "Next time it won't be a threat…it is a promise."
"Well I guess if you do somehow find me and I am back on drugs then you just try. For now this conversation is over. There is no you and me. Now let me leave," Greg yelled. He got in his car. Nick didn't try to stop him. When he started up the car Nick stepped back to let him leave. As Greg backed out of the driveway he saw Nick shake his head woefully at him. Greg just stared at him before getting out onto the main road and driving away.
As he drove to find the motel he thought about what he said to Nick and how much of it was sort of true. He did feel a bit like he was suffocating with Nick always watching over his every move. He also never wanted to really get clean at first until his almost death in the desert. That did change him. He hated how he felt during that whole ordeal. Plus he did see how much Nick still cared for him and deep down he knew he cared for him too. But he knew he could not love Nick or anyone anymore the way they deserved. His heart was still full with so much pain and since being off the drugs he felt it even more so.
So the plan was to check into this motel and hang out there a day before trying to contact Will Larson. He brought with him the iPad Nick had bought for him to use to keep himself occupied and in contact with him via Skype. They would not turn on the recording devices until they knew Will Larson or his body guard, Nelson were going to be making an appearance. Greg stopped at a convenient store on the way and picked up a couple snacks and drinks to keep with him in his room. He didn't think he would have much of an appetite anyway as his nerves were already making his stomach churn.
After he officially checked in at the motel that they had set up for him, he grabbed his bag and the couple of grocery bags and took them into the room with him. He locked the door behind him and planned on staying inside until he had to go out. He had to worry that if they had been following him, which he had not been paying attention to, they might try to get to him before he set up a meeting.
It was another dump motel room. The room smelled musty and smoky, which seeing as he smoked now didn't bother him that much. The carpet was brown and he was sure they used that color to hide the real stains. He realized he lived in a place like this for months and during that time he hardly realized it. He was always so high it never bothered him.
Once he was settled in, he took out the iPad and was going to Skype Nick. They figured it was actually better to Skype than use the cell phone. He waited until he saw that Nick was online and contacted him. Nick's face came on the screen, looking relieved when he saw Greg. "Are you going to be okay there?" he asked him.
Greg nodded. "Sure, I will be fine for a day I guess. It's nasty here but then I lived in a place like this for months. I'll need to bathe in a tub of sanitizer after I am out of here," he joked, trying to lighten the mood for himself more than Nick. He was only there about an hour and already he was feeling incredibly edgy and insecure again.
Nick chuckled at his comment. "I'll be happy to get that bath ready for you when you need it," Nick smiled at him. Greg forced a smile. He was pretty sure Nick was hoping after all this passed over he would be willing to give them a chance again. But Greg just didn't think they could ever work again. He had too much emotional baggage that he could not let go of.
"So I guess I will be sitting around here, watching crappy TV or watching vids on this thing. And then tomorrow night I will make the call and hope all goes well," Greg said to him.
"Just remember if you need me, call me, text me or try me on here. If you sense danger, remember the cops are in the rooms next to you and you can knock on the walls and they will come for you," Nick told him.
Greg nodded. "I know. I'll be okay. It's not that long. I am mostly worried about the contacting part and if he will bite," Greg admitted.
"He'll make some move and whatever it is we will be ready." Greg could hear Nick's cell phone ring. He put up his finger advising him to hold on. Greg waited until Nick came back and told him he had to go into work but that he would be available by cell if he needed him.
Greg shut down his Skype and turned off the iPad for now. He turned on the TV and tried to find something to watch. It was still a tube TV but it did have basic cable. He settled on an old episode of M*A*S*H. He watched it a lot when he was a kid with his dad. The thought of his father made an ache start again in his heart. It grew as he remembered that last dinner he had with them. He had been arguing with his parents because they thought he needed to move on past Matthew and yet he said he had not had enough time to mourn him. He was bitter with them as they left the restaurant. He never got a chance to tell them how much he appreciated them caring for him while he mourned Matthew. They might have been tough on him but at least they were there for him and loved him.
He choked back a sob. He didn't want to feel this way. He wanted the bliss. He knew he could have it. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out the three little baggies he had stolen from the grocery bag of heroin that had been dropped off at their doorstep five days earlier. He put two of them down and kept one in his hand. He stared at the light gold colored powder. He knew it could make him feel good. He also knew it would be more convincing if he really was jonesing for a hit when he contacted Larson tomorrow. A little snort of it would just take the edge off.
He moved over to the nightstand and opened the baggie up. He put a bit of powder on his fingertip. He stared at it, convincing himself he could handle a little hit and would be okay. He put the finger to his nose and snorted the powder. He closed his eyes and let the drug take it's effect.