"The truck's slowing down." Nick observed, feeling the vibrations in the bench lessening.
"Yeah, I feel it too." Gil nudged his friend gently. "You know I'll do anything to keep you safe, right? I'd do the same for any of the team."
Nick nodded slowly. "I know. But I don't want you to. Not for me. This is Mario we're talkin about. No matter what you do, it'll never be enough for him. You know that."
"I know." Grissom said softly, wishing he could take the blindfold off the younger man. "We do what we did last time he had us together. We do what he wants, when he wants and how he wants - anything to keep ourselves alive until we can either escape or are rescued. You hear me?"
"Yeah, boss. I hear ya."
"Good."
Both men felt the truck stop completely. A few minutes later the back of the truck was lifted open then Kevin and another man Grissom hadn't seen before climbed in with Marios watching from outside the vehicle.
"Help Gilbert first please gentlemen. Remember, he's not to be harmed. If I hear so much as an ow from him, there will be hell to pay. Ahhhh Nick, you managed to get free of your gag. I'm guessing Gilbert did that when he managed to get free of his seat restraint." Mario chuckled softly. "You're both so resourceful. Take Gilbert inside please. Then we will deal with Stokes."
Nick listened as Grissom was taken from the truck. As soon as he was gone, he heard someone else climb in. "Who… who's there?"
"Just me, Nick, just me." Mario sat down next to the blindfolded man, smiling when he noticed him flinch. "So, let's chat."
"I have nothin to say to you." Nick winced when a hand wrapped around his throat. "Go ahead. You're gonna kill me anyway."
Mario raised an eyebrow. "You have a lot more bravado this time around. Impressive." He released the other man's neck when he heard the other two men return. "Get him inside." Reaching over, he pulled the gag back into place then patted his hostage's face. "We're going to have so much fun, Nicky."
Nick grunted into the gag when the moving strap was finally released and he was dragged to the edge of the truck bed. He then felt himself slung over someone's shoulder again - he assumed it was Kevin. Yelling into the gag, he struggled as best he could while he was carried into a building of some kind.
"NICK! Don't struggle!" Grissom called out when he saw his CSI being carried in like a sack of potatoes.
Hearing his supervisor's words, Nick forced himself to do as was suggested. Grissom kept his eyes on Kevin while he carried Nick into a cage which had two layers of bars on all sides with a solid metal ceiling. Inside the cage was a bed and nothing else. He heard his friend groan into the gag as he was tossed onto the floor and left bound the way he was. Kevin snorted then left the cage so Mario could go inside.
"So, my dear Nick, I think we can remove these restraints now. But if you try anything, I kill you right here and now. Nod for me if you understand." Mario watched as his hostage nodded once slowly. "Good boy." He carefully removed the blindfold and gag then the ropes binding the man's hands and ankles. Once done he stood up and backed out of the cage, closing and locking the door behind him. "Look at that, Nick, back in prison."
Squinting while his eyes adjusted to the light level in the large room his cage was in, Nick clenched his teeth. It really was no bigger than a jail cell but at least there were no solid walls - just 4 walls of bars. A true cage. Looking out, he saw Grissom being held by a man he didn't recognize.
"Now, this cage of yours Nick… has a couple of lovely features I'd like to draw your attention to. First you'll notice the floor. See how the panels are actually grates?"
"Yeah, I see it."
"And second, you'll notice each side of your cage has 2 sets of bars, almost like something is supposed to fit between them."
"Yeah." Nick was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Good. Now, gentlemen, a little demonstration." Mario moved to the wall which had what looked like a garage door built into it. Next to the door was a row of levers and switches. "Stage 1…" He pulled one of the levers which lowered 4 plexiglass sheets down between the bars of the cage, effectively putting Nick in a sealed box much to the captive man's horror.
"Mario, no!" Gil could see the terror in Nick's eyes from where he was behind held back. "What are you doing?"
"Oh don't worry, he still has an air supply coming in through the ceiling. But wait - there's more!" Mario chuckled and hit a button.
Looking down when he heard a motor running, Nick's eyes widened when water started rising out of the grates beneath his feet. He moved to where the cell door was and yanked on the inside layer of bars in a panic. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Now you see, I can control the flow of water that goes in as well. Watch this, Gilbert." Mario waited until he was certain Gil was watching, the water level already over Nick's ankles. Suddenly the level rose rapidly, making Nick shout in fear when it was at his waist in under a minute.
"Grissom!" Nick looked over at his supervisor to see his own fear reflected in the older man's face. In another minute, the water was at his shoulders and he found he started having to tread water in order to keep his head clear so he wouldn't drown.
"Mario STOP THIS!" Grissom tried to get loose from the man holding him, despite his hands still being cuffed behind his back. At a motion from Mario, the man let him go and Gil ran to the side of the cage, trying desperately to find some way to get his friend out of the danger he was currently in.
Chuckling softly, Mario turned the water off but left the cage full with what was in it, forcing his one hostage to continue treading water. "How long do you think he can keep that up, Gilbert? Especially with his knee still in the healing process." Mario grinned when he saw the fresh alarm on Grissom's face. "Ah, forgot about that, did you? Good thing I didn't. I give him about another 30 seconds before he goes under."
"He'll drown!"
"Exactly."
Nick desperately looked around for anything he might be able to use to stay afloat but found nothing. His knee was aching worse than it had in a couple of weeks. Meeting Grissom's horrified eyes, Nick couldn't tread anymore. He groaned while taking a deep breath when he fell under the surface and could hear Grissom kicking at the side of the cell trying to get to him. He held his breath as long as he could then as suddenly as the water rushed in, it was gone, leaving him lying soaking wet on top of the grates, coughing and panting to regain his oxygen supply. Every single part of him dripped with water. With shaking arms, he managed to get himself back to a standing position. Once there, he glared at Mario who had moved back to Grissom while the plexiglass walls were retracted.
"You're a sick man, Mario." Nick panted out, still catching his breath while beads of water coursed down his face from his wet hair.
"This was just a demonstration, Nicky. Imagine what would have happened if it wasn't. Or if Gilbert here decides to not cooperate."
"Nick, are you alright?" Gil was ignoring Mario, his focus solely on his CSI.
"Yeah… yeah I'm good."
"Oh there's a lot more I can do to him with this cell, Gilbert." Mario was grinning from ear to ear. "The question is - do you really want to find out what."