Chapter 17
Museums Main Hall continued
Freddie nodded and pointed the gun at him. Grissom looked up. "You helped them find us?"
Freddie shrugged. "Look at this as an exercise."
Grissom's jaw clenched. "This is not an exercise. This is my life."
"You're life belongs to me!" Freddie shouted.
"You were playing us all along. Using us as pawns. Trying to win me back."
"It was the only way." Freddie argued.
Grissom shook his head. "It wasn't. I gave my life to the unit and you agreed on paper that the black market case was my last. How can you go back on it? It was on paper."
Freddie sighed. "How else was I going to get you to agree to take the case Gil? You were ready to leave 7 years ago. I had to find some way to keep you."
"I'm a human being. I'm not owned by anyone, not anymore." He shouted back and stepped towards his old mentor. "You got what you wanted. Ecklie and Mobley. The bodies and the contacts. What else do you want?"
"I want nothing but for the unit to be put back together."
Grissom nodded. "Fine, train someone else."
"It's not going to happen. The unit was you and the original team." Freddie tightened his grip on the gun. "You weren't suppose to get this far." He whispered.
Watching his old friend struggle with his inner demons, Grissom stepped forward once more. "Let me go."
"You hold too much Gil. It's how it's suppose to be."
"Then why didn't you finish me off in the hospital or at the safe house?" Grissom asked confused. "Why bring Sara into this?"
Freddie swallowed loudly. "She's the key."
"The key to what?" He asked confused.
He looked at Sara and watched briefly as she hugged her knees and kept her eyes on Grissom. "To breaking you."
Grissom's shoulders slumped as he digested the words. His eyes found Sara's. "Breaking me?" He asked no one. Sara closed her eyes and dropped her head into her knees.
Freddie changed the gun into his other hand. "She's quite the investigator Gil." He said quietly. Grissom nodded absently. "She's been onto you for a while and we knew she was going to weasel her way into the unit and we couldn't let that happen."
"I don't understand."
"She's been watching you. If she took up on the FBI two years ago, she might have been working with you." Freddie smiled sadly. "But she let the job offer go."
"Because of me?" Grissom asked.
Freddie nodded "Yes. We knew then that she wasn't going to stop nosing around."
Grissom stood with his arms loosely at his sides. Everything was becoming too confusing. The unit let him go, but then Sara was hurt. He was hurt. They had to leave Vegas and after weeks of being apart, he found her. Why didn't they kill them then? Why did they wait? The time only made them grow closer. What was the point? Grissom's breathing was becoming erratic at the thoughts running through his head.
His whole life was being watched and they knew when his relationship with Sara was growing before he did. The leave of absence, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't let her leave. He spoke to Brass and after sending her the plant, she stayed. FBI? She could have been working with him. Why didn't she take the job, she must have known. What if she did? She said she was trying to protect him. Protect him from what. He thought she was referring to his case targets. She couldn't have meant his superiors, could she? How could she know what would happen, hell he didn't know until Freddie told him when he took the case. He wasn't going to be able to leave the unit until he'd finished the case and when he did, he left. He wasn't sure he was going to stick around in Vegas, but he got so attached. He couldn't leave. He had to tell her before he went and when he did, he didn't expect it to turn out this way.
He put himself in danger and Sara. Freddie was saying she knew about the unit. She was a loose canon. They had to get rid of her, but he become too involved and his life was put on the line with hers. The unit needed to get rid of them.
Grissom felt Freddie's hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry old friend."
Craig bent slowly and reached for Grissom's gun as Freddie raised his to Grissom's head. Sara looked up and started to life the nightmare she dreaded. "GIL!" She screamed.
Grissom didn't move, he felt the cold tip of the barrel make contact with his head. Freddie stopped at the sound of Grissom's voice. "Why kill Jeff?"
Freddie took a shaky breath. "He was the link that was bound to break sooner or later. He was more attached to you than the rest of the unit."
"I trained him."
"That's why it was easy to turn him against you. He was given information that you abandoned the unit. He didn't take it well." Freddie explained sadly.
"You killed him because he was going to break down sooner or later?"
"Yes." He answered blankly.
Grissom nodded slowly. "And what happens to you after this? You kill two agents and one civilian, what happens to you?"
Freddie narrowed his eyes in thought. "I'm not certain."
"Jail sounds good." Craig clearly, pointing the gun at Freddie.
Grissom turned slightly and looked at Freddie. "You can't get away with killing people Fred. You know that."
Freddie stared at him. "The unit needs to be rebuilt."
"It could have been, without this." Grissom waved his hand between them. "You destroyed lives to keep your own in one piece. It could have all been different."
"If I let you go, then it will never be over. The unit will always be pulled in half and always looking over it's shoulder." Freddie lowered his gun and Craig stepped forward to take it from him.
"The unit is finished without you Fred. It was always you. My life was never going to stay as it was. It was time to move on. Time you moved on." Grissom turned to him fully and watched as Craig handcuffed Freddie. Craig pulled out his cell and called in backup.
Sara had her head down the whole time. Shutting her ears off to everything. She didn't even hear Grissom as he knelt down in front of her. He called her name, but she didn't respond. "Sara?" He tried again.
She looked up slowly with tears pouring down her cheeks. Grissom looked at her with emotionless eyes. He helped her up and turned to Craig as two agents walked through the door. He instructed for Craig to take Sara back to her apartment while he stayed with Freddie. Sara didn't argue as he knew she wouldn't. She could see in his eyes that he was hurt and that she hurt him. She lied to him.
Museums Main Hall continued
Freddie nodded and pointed the gun at him. Grissom looked up. "You helped them find us?"
Freddie shrugged. "Look at this as an exercise."
Grissom's jaw clenched. "This is not an exercise. This is my life."
"You're life belongs to me!" Freddie shouted.
"You were playing us all along. Using us as pawns. Trying to win me back."
"It was the only way." Freddie argued.
Grissom shook his head. "It wasn't. I gave my life to the unit and you agreed on paper that the black market case was my last. How can you go back on it? It was on paper."
Freddie sighed. "How else was I going to get you to agree to take the case Gil? You were ready to leave 7 years ago. I had to find some way to keep you."
"I'm a human being. I'm not owned by anyone, not anymore." He shouted back and stepped towards his old mentor. "You got what you wanted. Ecklie and Mobley. The bodies and the contacts. What else do you want?"
"I want nothing but for the unit to be put back together."
Grissom nodded. "Fine, train someone else."
"It's not going to happen. The unit was you and the original team." Freddie tightened his grip on the gun. "You weren't suppose to get this far." He whispered.
Watching his old friend struggle with his inner demons, Grissom stepped forward once more. "Let me go."
"You hold too much Gil. It's how it's suppose to be."
"Then why didn't you finish me off in the hospital or at the safe house?" Grissom asked confused. "Why bring Sara into this?"
Freddie swallowed loudly. "She's the key."
"The key to what?" He asked confused.
He looked at Sara and watched briefly as she hugged her knees and kept her eyes on Grissom. "To breaking you."
Grissom's shoulders slumped as he digested the words. His eyes found Sara's. "Breaking me?" He asked no one. Sara closed her eyes and dropped her head into her knees.
Freddie changed the gun into his other hand. "She's quite the investigator Gil." He said quietly. Grissom nodded absently. "She's been onto you for a while and we knew she was going to weasel her way into the unit and we couldn't let that happen."
"I don't understand."
"She's been watching you. If she took up on the FBI two years ago, she might have been working with you." Freddie smiled sadly. "But she let the job offer go."
"Because of me?" Grissom asked.
Freddie nodded "Yes. We knew then that she wasn't going to stop nosing around."
Grissom stood with his arms loosely at his sides. Everything was becoming too confusing. The unit let him go, but then Sara was hurt. He was hurt. They had to leave Vegas and after weeks of being apart, he found her. Why didn't they kill them then? Why did they wait? The time only made them grow closer. What was the point? Grissom's breathing was becoming erratic at the thoughts running through his head.
His whole life was being watched and they knew when his relationship with Sara was growing before he did. The leave of absence, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't let her leave. He spoke to Brass and after sending her the plant, she stayed. FBI? She could have been working with him. Why didn't she take the job, she must have known. What if she did? She said she was trying to protect him. Protect him from what. He thought she was referring to his case targets. She couldn't have meant his superiors, could she? How could she know what would happen, hell he didn't know until Freddie told him when he took the case. He wasn't going to be able to leave the unit until he'd finished the case and when he did, he left. He wasn't sure he was going to stick around in Vegas, but he got so attached. He couldn't leave. He had to tell her before he went and when he did, he didn't expect it to turn out this way.
He put himself in danger and Sara. Freddie was saying she knew about the unit. She was a loose canon. They had to get rid of her, but he become too involved and his life was put on the line with hers. The unit needed to get rid of them.
Grissom felt Freddie's hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry old friend."
Craig bent slowly and reached for Grissom's gun as Freddie raised his to Grissom's head. Sara looked up and started to life the nightmare she dreaded. "GIL!" She screamed.
Grissom didn't move, he felt the cold tip of the barrel make contact with his head. Freddie stopped at the sound of Grissom's voice. "Why kill Jeff?"
Freddie took a shaky breath. "He was the link that was bound to break sooner or later. He was more attached to you than the rest of the unit."
"I trained him."
"That's why it was easy to turn him against you. He was given information that you abandoned the unit. He didn't take it well." Freddie explained sadly.
"You killed him because he was going to break down sooner or later?"
"Yes." He answered blankly.
Grissom nodded slowly. "And what happens to you after this? You kill two agents and one civilian, what happens to you?"
Freddie narrowed his eyes in thought. "I'm not certain."
"Jail sounds good." Craig clearly, pointing the gun at Freddie.
Grissom turned slightly and looked at Freddie. "You can't get away with killing people Fred. You know that."
Freddie stared at him. "The unit needs to be rebuilt."
"It could have been, without this." Grissom waved his hand between them. "You destroyed lives to keep your own in one piece. It could have all been different."
"If I let you go, then it will never be over. The unit will always be pulled in half and always looking over it's shoulder." Freddie lowered his gun and Craig stepped forward to take it from him.
"The unit is finished without you Fred. It was always you. My life was never going to stay as it was. It was time to move on. Time you moved on." Grissom turned to him fully and watched as Craig handcuffed Freddie. Craig pulled out his cell and called in backup.
Sara had her head down the whole time. Shutting her ears off to everything. She didn't even hear Grissom as he knelt down in front of her. He called her name, but she didn't respond. "Sara?" He tried again.
She looked up slowly with tears pouring down her cheeks. Grissom looked at her with emotionless eyes. He helped her up and turned to Craig as two agents walked through the door. He instructed for Craig to take Sara back to her apartment while he stayed with Freddie. Sara didn't argue as he knew she wouldn't. She could see in his eyes that he was hurt and that she hurt him. She lied to him.