Author's Note: Wow, two updates in one day! Heck, I am impressed by me!
Same rules apply: they don't belong to me (yet) and I am not making any
money off them.
* * *
Pain. Throbbing, stabbing pain. Nick felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to his skull. He forced his eyes open and tried to look around without turning his head. Any movement made his head feel like it was going to explode. From the spot where he lay Nick was able to determine that he was in a room. A dark, damp room with no windows. The cement wall had black mould around the edges and cracks were forming in the ceiling. Nick figured he was in a factory, or a warehouse of some sort.
A moan from nearby caught Nick's attention.
"Greg!" He tried to keep his voice down in case their captors were nearby. He dragged his body across the floor towards his friend. That simple act made spots dance in front of his eyes and he thought that he might pass out. He pushed the pain back and forced himself to examine his friend. The wound on Greg's head didn't look too bad. The blood had dried and the start of a massive bruise was present. Greg's eyelids were fluttering as he tried to pull himself back into the land of the living.
"Nick?" Greg's voice was weak, and he was still semi conscious. He forgot completely about the act that he and Nick were trying to keep up.
"Shhh" Nick touched Greg's shoulder and glanced furtively around the room. They were definitely alone, and Nick didn't see any cameras or any means of listening into their conversation. The heavy iron door was shut tight, and Nick didn't doubt that it was securely locked from the outside. He relaxed slightly.
"You OK there Greggo?"
"Matter of opinion" grumbled Greg as he brought a hand up to his head. "Ow!"
"Don't touch it!" Nick chided as he pulled his friend's hand away. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Greg shook his head and immediately regretted the movement. The world spun and he had to take a deep breath and lean forward to catch himself. He looked at Nick.
"What about you? You hurt at all?"
Nick gingerly touched the back of his skull. "I have a bit of a goose egg back here, but I'll live."
"What's the old expression? Don't count your chickens before they're hatched? Maybe you shouldn't bet your life until you get out of here" Greg sounded hopeless. And why shouldn't he? They were trapped in God knows where, both with head injuries, and there was no evident means of escape. They were screwed.
"Hey! Don't go getting all pessimistic on me" Nick's voice was sharp. "We're going to get out here, and we are going to be just fine, you hear me?"
"Oh and how do you propose we get out of here? We don't even know where 'here' is. God, your plans just keep getting better and better, don't they?" his voice was bitter and clipped. Despite his frustration, Greg regretted the words the instant they had left his mouth.
Nick looked taken aback. "Well I'm sorry that my plan doesn't live up to your expectations Greg. I did the best I could given the circumstances, which in case you forgot, included you having a gun held to your head!"
Greg gave himself a mental slap. Nick was right; he had done the best he could considering the situation. And Nick had unnecessarily put his life on the line to help him. Greg knew he had no right to sit there and criticize Nick.
"Look man, I'm sorry" he began "but I'm scared, OK? We are trapped here, and we have no idea what these guys are planning to do. For all we know, they might come in here any second and kill us."
"Greg, man, listen to me. I am just as scared as you are, but you gotta trust me. I am going to do everything I can to get us out of here in one piece." Nick hoped he sounded confident. The truth was, he was inclined to agree with Greg. They didn't seem to have a whole lot of options.
Nick forced himself to stand up and examine the room more closely. With the exception of the door, there was no possible means for escape. He tried the door.
"Big surprise. It's locked" He looked back at Greg.
Greg grinned at him as he too staggered to his feet. "Well what did you expect? That they would leave it open, maybe invite us out for tea?" Nick rolled his eyes at the teasing tone of the young man.
"I am trying to remain hopelessly optimistic."
Greg looked at his watch. "Geez, we've been gone from the bank for more than four hours. Grissom has to know by now what's happened."
"I hope so. I hope that he and Cath are at the bank right now piecing together what happened. Maybe they'll be able to track us down" Nick knew that it was a long shot. The men had been wearing ski masks and no one from the bank had seen the van that they had left in. Still, if anyone could track down these men, it would be Grissom.
"I think our best plan for now is to work on our cough 'sign language' so that we can avoid a repeat performance of what happened in the van" Nick suggested. Greg nodded.
"Sure thing. But they totally buy it. As long as neither one of us lets it slip that this is all just an act, they'll be none the wiser".
* * *
In the distance, a phone began to ring.
* * *
Pain. Throbbing, stabbing pain. Nick felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to his skull. He forced his eyes open and tried to look around without turning his head. Any movement made his head feel like it was going to explode. From the spot where he lay Nick was able to determine that he was in a room. A dark, damp room with no windows. The cement wall had black mould around the edges and cracks were forming in the ceiling. Nick figured he was in a factory, or a warehouse of some sort.
A moan from nearby caught Nick's attention.
"Greg!" He tried to keep his voice down in case their captors were nearby. He dragged his body across the floor towards his friend. That simple act made spots dance in front of his eyes and he thought that he might pass out. He pushed the pain back and forced himself to examine his friend. The wound on Greg's head didn't look too bad. The blood had dried and the start of a massive bruise was present. Greg's eyelids were fluttering as he tried to pull himself back into the land of the living.
"Nick?" Greg's voice was weak, and he was still semi conscious. He forgot completely about the act that he and Nick were trying to keep up.
"Shhh" Nick touched Greg's shoulder and glanced furtively around the room. They were definitely alone, and Nick didn't see any cameras or any means of listening into their conversation. The heavy iron door was shut tight, and Nick didn't doubt that it was securely locked from the outside. He relaxed slightly.
"You OK there Greggo?"
"Matter of opinion" grumbled Greg as he brought a hand up to his head. "Ow!"
"Don't touch it!" Nick chided as he pulled his friend's hand away. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Greg shook his head and immediately regretted the movement. The world spun and he had to take a deep breath and lean forward to catch himself. He looked at Nick.
"What about you? You hurt at all?"
Nick gingerly touched the back of his skull. "I have a bit of a goose egg back here, but I'll live."
"What's the old expression? Don't count your chickens before they're hatched? Maybe you shouldn't bet your life until you get out of here" Greg sounded hopeless. And why shouldn't he? They were trapped in God knows where, both with head injuries, and there was no evident means of escape. They were screwed.
"Hey! Don't go getting all pessimistic on me" Nick's voice was sharp. "We're going to get out here, and we are going to be just fine, you hear me?"
"Oh and how do you propose we get out of here? We don't even know where 'here' is. God, your plans just keep getting better and better, don't they?" his voice was bitter and clipped. Despite his frustration, Greg regretted the words the instant they had left his mouth.
Nick looked taken aback. "Well I'm sorry that my plan doesn't live up to your expectations Greg. I did the best I could given the circumstances, which in case you forgot, included you having a gun held to your head!"
Greg gave himself a mental slap. Nick was right; he had done the best he could considering the situation. And Nick had unnecessarily put his life on the line to help him. Greg knew he had no right to sit there and criticize Nick.
"Look man, I'm sorry" he began "but I'm scared, OK? We are trapped here, and we have no idea what these guys are planning to do. For all we know, they might come in here any second and kill us."
"Greg, man, listen to me. I am just as scared as you are, but you gotta trust me. I am going to do everything I can to get us out of here in one piece." Nick hoped he sounded confident. The truth was, he was inclined to agree with Greg. They didn't seem to have a whole lot of options.
Nick forced himself to stand up and examine the room more closely. With the exception of the door, there was no possible means for escape. He tried the door.
"Big surprise. It's locked" He looked back at Greg.
Greg grinned at him as he too staggered to his feet. "Well what did you expect? That they would leave it open, maybe invite us out for tea?" Nick rolled his eyes at the teasing tone of the young man.
"I am trying to remain hopelessly optimistic."
Greg looked at his watch. "Geez, we've been gone from the bank for more than four hours. Grissom has to know by now what's happened."
"I hope so. I hope that he and Cath are at the bank right now piecing together what happened. Maybe they'll be able to track us down" Nick knew that it was a long shot. The men had been wearing ski masks and no one from the bank had seen the van that they had left in. Still, if anyone could track down these men, it would be Grissom.
"I think our best plan for now is to work on our cough 'sign language' so that we can avoid a repeat performance of what happened in the van" Nick suggested. Greg nodded.
"Sure thing. But they totally buy it. As long as neither one of us lets it slip that this is all just an act, they'll be none the wiser".
* * *
In the distance, a phone began to ring.