Author's Note - Thanks again to all that have responded. You guys are
awesome! That being said, this will the last update for a couple of days
because I have paper due on "Children's Literature: Does it exist?". But I
digress. Same disclaimers: they don't belong to me - I just borrow them,
hurt them a bit, and return back to CBS in one piece.
* * * *
Gil Grissom was annoyed.
He liked to think he was a patient guy. It had proved to be an invaluable skill during his years as a CSI. But even Grissom had his limits. And when not one, but two of his team members were late reporting to work, he got annoyed.
"Any luck reaching Nick or Greg?" He called out to Catherine, who had been trying to reach them for the last 20 minutes.
"None so far." She pushed the redial button on her cell phone for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Come on Nicky, pick up" Muttering to the phone didn't seem to be working, but given the situation, it was all Catherine could do. She wasn't worried about Nick or Greg, at least not yet. After all, they were only half and hour late. They could be stuck in traffic. Or maybe they had simply lost track of time. No, it definitely wasn't their physical safety that she was worried about at the moment.
But she was worried about what would happen to them if they didn't show up soon, and have a darn good excuse as to why they were late. She knew Grissom well, maybe better than anyone on the team, and she could read him like a book. At the moment, the title of that book read: "Anger Management 101: A Textbook Case in Suppressing Rage". If Nicky and Greg didn't show up soon, Grissom was likely to blow a gasket. If there was one thing he hated, it was reporting late to work.
Catherine sighed, crossed her fingers and pressed "redial". Maybe this would be lucky attempt one thousand and one. No such luck.
* * * *
"Grissom?" Sara's voice floated in through Gil's open door. "O'Reilly just called. Requested our presence down at the bank on the corner of Hawthorne and Finch. Said something about an armed robbery going down just a few minutes ago".
Grissom frowned. "Did he say how many victims?" I
"No. He just said that he needed us down there ASAP" Sara shrugged her shoulders. O'Reilly had sounded tense on the phone. That was understandable when dealing with the aftermath of a crime. But it was unusual for O'Reilly to be so cryptic about asking them to report to a crime scene.
Grissom stood up. "Tell Cat to keep trying to track down Nick and Greg. And tell her that the minute she gets them on the phone to find out why the hell they didn't report to work on time". Oh yes. Grissom was definitely annoyed.
* * * *
Grissom and Sara arrived at the bank to a sea of flashing lights. There were at least half a dozen police cars there, a couple of ambulances, and of course, the local news crews.
"Wow. It must have been some show that these guys put on inside the bank to warrant this kind of attention", commented Sara as she climbed out of the car. "Wonder how bad it is?"
Grissom didn't reply. He was looking around for O'Reilly. He finally located him standing near what used to be the doors leading into the bank. Now, all that remained were the frames and some shards of glass. He motioned for Sara to follow him, and together they began to navigate their way through the various rescue personnel.
Sara was looking around, and began to feel uneasy. Everyone was looking at her in Grissom in a strange sort of way. It was completely unfamiliar to her. She leaned close to Grissom.
"Gris? How come everyone is looking at us like they just accidentally backed over my puppy? I mean, they are really starting to freak me out. They look at us like we're going to fall apart or something".
Grissom glanced around. Sara was right. People were giving them a series of oddly sympathetic looks. As they reached O'Reilly, Grissom pushed those thoughts from his mind and cut to the chase.
"How many?" Typical Grissom. Straight and to the point. O'Reilly fidgeted with his tie.
"Well, there aren't any dead victims.yet anyways. But the guys who robbed this place walked out of here with a couple of hostages. We pulled the security tapes, and." He couldn't finish the sentence.
"I'm confused then" Grissom said. "If there aren't any victims, why are we here? We don't have anything to do with hostage situations".
O'Reilly led them over to a television monitor. Without a word, he pushed "PLAY". Grissom felt like the floor was going to fall out from under him. Sara was shaking. They watched in horror as Nick and Greg were held at gunpoint by three men with guns, and forced out of the bank.
Grissom now knew the reason why they hadn't shown up for work. They were being held hostage by three men who were fearless and reckless, which was a lethal combination. He felt oddly detached from the moment. He heard himself tell Sara to call Catherine and tell her to get down to the bank with Warrick as soon as they could. Grissom wasn't annoyed anymore.
Now he was just plain scared.
* * * *
Gil Grissom was annoyed.
He liked to think he was a patient guy. It had proved to be an invaluable skill during his years as a CSI. But even Grissom had his limits. And when not one, but two of his team members were late reporting to work, he got annoyed.
"Any luck reaching Nick or Greg?" He called out to Catherine, who had been trying to reach them for the last 20 minutes.
"None so far." She pushed the redial button on her cell phone for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Come on Nicky, pick up" Muttering to the phone didn't seem to be working, but given the situation, it was all Catherine could do. She wasn't worried about Nick or Greg, at least not yet. After all, they were only half and hour late. They could be stuck in traffic. Or maybe they had simply lost track of time. No, it definitely wasn't their physical safety that she was worried about at the moment.
But she was worried about what would happen to them if they didn't show up soon, and have a darn good excuse as to why they were late. She knew Grissom well, maybe better than anyone on the team, and she could read him like a book. At the moment, the title of that book read: "Anger Management 101: A Textbook Case in Suppressing Rage". If Nicky and Greg didn't show up soon, Grissom was likely to blow a gasket. If there was one thing he hated, it was reporting late to work.
Catherine sighed, crossed her fingers and pressed "redial". Maybe this would be lucky attempt one thousand and one. No such luck.
* * * *
"Grissom?" Sara's voice floated in through Gil's open door. "O'Reilly just called. Requested our presence down at the bank on the corner of Hawthorne and Finch. Said something about an armed robbery going down just a few minutes ago".
Grissom frowned. "Did he say how many victims?" I
"No. He just said that he needed us down there ASAP" Sara shrugged her shoulders. O'Reilly had sounded tense on the phone. That was understandable when dealing with the aftermath of a crime. But it was unusual for O'Reilly to be so cryptic about asking them to report to a crime scene.
Grissom stood up. "Tell Cat to keep trying to track down Nick and Greg. And tell her that the minute she gets them on the phone to find out why the hell they didn't report to work on time". Oh yes. Grissom was definitely annoyed.
* * * *
Grissom and Sara arrived at the bank to a sea of flashing lights. There were at least half a dozen police cars there, a couple of ambulances, and of course, the local news crews.
"Wow. It must have been some show that these guys put on inside the bank to warrant this kind of attention", commented Sara as she climbed out of the car. "Wonder how bad it is?"
Grissom didn't reply. He was looking around for O'Reilly. He finally located him standing near what used to be the doors leading into the bank. Now, all that remained were the frames and some shards of glass. He motioned for Sara to follow him, and together they began to navigate their way through the various rescue personnel.
Sara was looking around, and began to feel uneasy. Everyone was looking at her in Grissom in a strange sort of way. It was completely unfamiliar to her. She leaned close to Grissom.
"Gris? How come everyone is looking at us like they just accidentally backed over my puppy? I mean, they are really starting to freak me out. They look at us like we're going to fall apart or something".
Grissom glanced around. Sara was right. People were giving them a series of oddly sympathetic looks. As they reached O'Reilly, Grissom pushed those thoughts from his mind and cut to the chase.
"How many?" Typical Grissom. Straight and to the point. O'Reilly fidgeted with his tie.
"Well, there aren't any dead victims.yet anyways. But the guys who robbed this place walked out of here with a couple of hostages. We pulled the security tapes, and." He couldn't finish the sentence.
"I'm confused then" Grissom said. "If there aren't any victims, why are we here? We don't have anything to do with hostage situations".
O'Reilly led them over to a television monitor. Without a word, he pushed "PLAY". Grissom felt like the floor was going to fall out from under him. Sara was shaking. They watched in horror as Nick and Greg were held at gunpoint by three men with guns, and forced out of the bank.
Grissom now knew the reason why they hadn't shown up for work. They were being held hostage by three men who were fearless and reckless, which was a lethal combination. He felt oddly detached from the moment. He heard himself tell Sara to call Catherine and tell her to get down to the bank with Warrick as soon as they could. Grissom wasn't annoyed anymore.
Now he was just plain scared.