"I can't see anything". Sara shook her head in frustration as she watched
the security tape for the fifth time. "There is nothing on that tape that
gives us any clues about the identities of these guys".
"Nothing that we can see Sara. But I'm willing to bet my life that Archie can pull something up back at the lab." Grissom hoped that his confident tone would help appease his team mate. He knew how worried Sara was. He had to give her something to be hopeful about.
"Is that your oh-so-subtle way of telling me to get out of here?" A faint smile tugged at the sides of her mouth.
"Am I that transparent? Yes, I want you to get this tape to the lab. Have Archie enlarge every frame if you have to. Just find something for us to work with".
"Gee, thanks for not putting any pressure on me" Sara grabbed the tape and headed for the door.
She was leaving just as Warrick and Catherine entered.
"Sara, have you guys found anything?" Catherine tried to keep her voice level, but the expression on her face belied the tone in her voice.
"Grissom wanted to wait for you guys before we got down to business. We've been watching the security tape but we can't find anything on it. I'm heading back to the lab to look at it more closely." She directed them towards Grissom and disappeared into the throng of people who surrounded the bank.
As Catherine and Warrick approached Grissom, they noticed a small cluster of people waiting over to one side. One woman was crying, another was trying to comfort her, and the rest were looking around nervously. They looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there. They must be our witnesses, Warrick thought to himself. He wondered if anyone had spoken to them yet.
"I thought we'd started by interviewing our eyewitnesses" Grissom said before Warrick and Catherine had a chance to say anything. Warrick had always thought Grissom had the uncanny ability to voice other people's thoughts for them, and this was another one of those times.
The group of people looked up as the CSI's approached them.
"Can we go home now?" The young woman who had been crying looked up at Grissom with a pleading look in her eyes. She looked terrified - and very pregnant. Grissom smiled at her.
"Soon miss. My name is Gil Grissom, and this is Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown. We're from the Las Vegas crime lab. We need to get as much information from you as we possibly can."
One of the back tellers, a man who Grissom guessed to be in his early thirties, spoke up.
"No disrespect sir, but why does the crime lab need to talk to us. Isn't that a job for the detectives or the police?"
Grissom glanced at Catherine. He hadn't wanted to say that the two hostages came from his department. But these people were clearly no fools. They wanted some answers from the CSI's as well. Grissom sighed.
"The reason the crime lab is investigating is because the two men that were taken work for me. We are going to be investigating this as not only a bank robbery, but as a kidnapping. We need your help to try and identify the men that did this."
Catherine took over. "Did the men say anything to any of you before they left?"
The man in his fifties spoke up. "They said that they were going to take out an 'insurance policy' to make sure that they got out of here ok. They started walking past each of us -"
"I thought they were going to kill me!" The young pregnant woman cried out "They were waving the guns around and they were looking at me and I thought that they were going to shoot me! Oh God-"she broke off into sobs, burying her face in her hands.
Catherine knelt down in front of her and took her hand. "Miss, I know this is difficult. But you're safe now, and we need you to do your very best to stay calm for us. Our friends lives may depend on it" Her own voice caught in her throat on those last words. The woman nodded her head, and dried her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued with the story.
"Well, like the gentleman was saying, they walked past each of us. But they found reasons not to take any of us"
"They said I was too old!" the man piped up. Catherine had to bite back a smile at the indignant tone in his voice.
"They wouldn't take me because they thought I was too big a risk" said the pregnant woman. "And they didn't take her (pointing to the other woman) because they thought that it would be too difficult to move her on the broken leg"
"They were smart. They knew the risks of taking these guys, so they moved on to Nick and Greg" Warrick said.
"They were desperate Warrick, not smart. They thought only about how they would be affected by taking these people. Don't ever confuse desperation with intelligence" Grissom's reprimand hurt Warrick. Usually Grissom reserved that type of comment for Nick. Warrick knew this was not the time to get upset. He wasn't allowed to have hurt feelings right now. Nicky and Greg were in danger and they needed him to stay focused.
"So they move on to the two people who are least likely to cause them problems" Catherine said quietly looking at Grissom. "My guess is they picked Greg - he's the smaller of the two"
The witnesses confirmed their fears. But that didn't answer Grissom's biggest question.
"Why take both of them? If these men were so concerned with how the hostages can pose a threat to them, why would they take two? The more hostages you take, the more you increase the risk for escape or for them turning on you. It just doesn't make sense"
The male bank teller interrupted. "They took both of them because they needed the older one - Nick did you say his name was? - to interpret for Greg".
The three CSI's looked at him. "Excuse me?" said Warrick looking completely bewildered.
"You know, interpret what they were saying to him?" He looked at the blank expressions on their faces. "Because he's deaf."
Catherine stared at him. "Greg is not deaf"
"Well Nick said he was. They did a whole bunch of sign language to one another, and Greg apparently signed that they had to take Nick too, in order to interpret".
Catherine thanked the witnesses, then pulled Warrick and Grissom aside.
"Grissom, I think I understand what's going on. Nicky would never let them take Greg. You know as well as I do that he think of Greg like a younger brother. So he comes up with this story, and manages to convince them to take him as well. That's why they took both Nick and Greg."
Warrick let out a low whistle. "Wow that is dangerous. Do you think that the guys really bought it?"
Grissom spoke up. "They must have. They left with Greg and Nick. But I think the more important question is, how long can they keep it up?"
* * *
Somewhere, in the dark, Nick began to stir.
"Nothing that we can see Sara. But I'm willing to bet my life that Archie can pull something up back at the lab." Grissom hoped that his confident tone would help appease his team mate. He knew how worried Sara was. He had to give her something to be hopeful about.
"Is that your oh-so-subtle way of telling me to get out of here?" A faint smile tugged at the sides of her mouth.
"Am I that transparent? Yes, I want you to get this tape to the lab. Have Archie enlarge every frame if you have to. Just find something for us to work with".
"Gee, thanks for not putting any pressure on me" Sara grabbed the tape and headed for the door.
She was leaving just as Warrick and Catherine entered.
"Sara, have you guys found anything?" Catherine tried to keep her voice level, but the expression on her face belied the tone in her voice.
"Grissom wanted to wait for you guys before we got down to business. We've been watching the security tape but we can't find anything on it. I'm heading back to the lab to look at it more closely." She directed them towards Grissom and disappeared into the throng of people who surrounded the bank.
As Catherine and Warrick approached Grissom, they noticed a small cluster of people waiting over to one side. One woman was crying, another was trying to comfort her, and the rest were looking around nervously. They looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there. They must be our witnesses, Warrick thought to himself. He wondered if anyone had spoken to them yet.
"I thought we'd started by interviewing our eyewitnesses" Grissom said before Warrick and Catherine had a chance to say anything. Warrick had always thought Grissom had the uncanny ability to voice other people's thoughts for them, and this was another one of those times.
The group of people looked up as the CSI's approached them.
"Can we go home now?" The young woman who had been crying looked up at Grissom with a pleading look in her eyes. She looked terrified - and very pregnant. Grissom smiled at her.
"Soon miss. My name is Gil Grissom, and this is Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown. We're from the Las Vegas crime lab. We need to get as much information from you as we possibly can."
One of the back tellers, a man who Grissom guessed to be in his early thirties, spoke up.
"No disrespect sir, but why does the crime lab need to talk to us. Isn't that a job for the detectives or the police?"
Grissom glanced at Catherine. He hadn't wanted to say that the two hostages came from his department. But these people were clearly no fools. They wanted some answers from the CSI's as well. Grissom sighed.
"The reason the crime lab is investigating is because the two men that were taken work for me. We are going to be investigating this as not only a bank robbery, but as a kidnapping. We need your help to try and identify the men that did this."
Catherine took over. "Did the men say anything to any of you before they left?"
The man in his fifties spoke up. "They said that they were going to take out an 'insurance policy' to make sure that they got out of here ok. They started walking past each of us -"
"I thought they were going to kill me!" The young pregnant woman cried out "They were waving the guns around and they were looking at me and I thought that they were going to shoot me! Oh God-"she broke off into sobs, burying her face in her hands.
Catherine knelt down in front of her and took her hand. "Miss, I know this is difficult. But you're safe now, and we need you to do your very best to stay calm for us. Our friends lives may depend on it" Her own voice caught in her throat on those last words. The woman nodded her head, and dried her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued with the story.
"Well, like the gentleman was saying, they walked past each of us. But they found reasons not to take any of us"
"They said I was too old!" the man piped up. Catherine had to bite back a smile at the indignant tone in his voice.
"They wouldn't take me because they thought I was too big a risk" said the pregnant woman. "And they didn't take her (pointing to the other woman) because they thought that it would be too difficult to move her on the broken leg"
"They were smart. They knew the risks of taking these guys, so they moved on to Nick and Greg" Warrick said.
"They were desperate Warrick, not smart. They thought only about how they would be affected by taking these people. Don't ever confuse desperation with intelligence" Grissom's reprimand hurt Warrick. Usually Grissom reserved that type of comment for Nick. Warrick knew this was not the time to get upset. He wasn't allowed to have hurt feelings right now. Nicky and Greg were in danger and they needed him to stay focused.
"So they move on to the two people who are least likely to cause them problems" Catherine said quietly looking at Grissom. "My guess is they picked Greg - he's the smaller of the two"
The witnesses confirmed their fears. But that didn't answer Grissom's biggest question.
"Why take both of them? If these men were so concerned with how the hostages can pose a threat to them, why would they take two? The more hostages you take, the more you increase the risk for escape or for them turning on you. It just doesn't make sense"
The male bank teller interrupted. "They took both of them because they needed the older one - Nick did you say his name was? - to interpret for Greg".
The three CSI's looked at him. "Excuse me?" said Warrick looking completely bewildered.
"You know, interpret what they were saying to him?" He looked at the blank expressions on their faces. "Because he's deaf."
Catherine stared at him. "Greg is not deaf"
"Well Nick said he was. They did a whole bunch of sign language to one another, and Greg apparently signed that they had to take Nick too, in order to interpret".
Catherine thanked the witnesses, then pulled Warrick and Grissom aside.
"Grissom, I think I understand what's going on. Nicky would never let them take Greg. You know as well as I do that he think of Greg like a younger brother. So he comes up with this story, and manages to convince them to take him as well. That's why they took both Nick and Greg."
Warrick let out a low whistle. "Wow that is dangerous. Do you think that the guys really bought it?"
Grissom spoke up. "They must have. They left with Greg and Nick. But I think the more important question is, how long can they keep it up?"
* * *
Somewhere, in the dark, Nick began to stir.