Greg smiled a beaming smile towards Sara as she entered his lab. "Hey Sara."
"You got anything for me Greg?" she asked, smiling despite the emptiness aching inside her heart. The young lab tech came closer towards her, his eyebrow furrowed in an attempt to seduce her.
"For you," he grinned, "I have much to offer."
"Down boy," she giggled, "I'm only here for the results."
"I'm hurt," he sighed, clasping a hand over his chest as he faked a broken heart. "You only want me for my DNA!"
"Well not your DNA per say," she grinned, "more like the mystery DNA."
"Ahh well, then I can help you," he smiled as he retrieved the results from his table to hand it over to her. He watched her intently as she looked down at the paper in her hands, her eyes focused in concentration.
"Male unknown?" she asked with a sigh.
"Give me something to compare it to," he told her with a smile. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Hmm?" she asked quietly, her eyes still studying the results in her hand as if the man's identity would suddenly materialize in print. Looking up, she caught the concern in Greg's eyes. "Sorry, did you ask me something?"
Opening his mouth to speak, his words died on his lips when a tall dark haired man entered in through the doorway. "Sara, I've been looking for you."
"Well now you've found me," she muttered as she avoided his eyes.
"I've had a thought, would you like to check it out with me?" Stepping closer, he reached in closer to her, but his hand accidentally caught a glass vile and sent it crashing to the floor. "Jeeze, I'm sorry." Stooping down, he started to gather up pieces of glass, cutting his fingers in the process, his blood dripping over Greg's table.
"Here, take this for a second," Sara told him as she handed him a glass jar to catch the blood flow. "I'll go and get something to stop the bleeding."
When she had gone, Mark offered Greg an apologetic smile, "I'm so sorry."
"Hey it's cool, don't worry about it."
"I'm Mark Burrows by the way. I'm an old friend of Sara's." Nodding over to the young lab tech, he offered a greeting by way of a smile.
"Greg," he nodded back, his eyes watching the other man tentatively as Sara came racing back into the room. Grabbing the glass from Marks fingers, she placed it on the table and proceeded to wrap his fingers in a wet towel.
"Thanks honey," he drawled as she took his hand in hers. "You always did take good care of me."
"Don't let it go to your head Mark," she smiled, "and don't call me honey."
"Sorry," he grinned apologetically. "You ready to get out of here?"
"Does Grissom know?" she asked him curiously. "He needs to know where I am in case something comes up."
"Yeah he knows," Mark nodded. "We're going back to the murder site."
"Okay," she nodded, ushering him out of the door only to glance back at Greg. "Page me if you find anything?"
"Of course," he nodded as he watched them leave. Dropping his eyes down to the blood gathered in the bottom of the glass jar, he picked it up, an idea hitting him momentarily. "Okay Mark Burrows, let's see what you're made of."
Catherine and Brass arrived at the victim's house to find the front door open. Pulling his gun out of its holster, Jim Brass motioned for Catherine to stay behind him while he stepped inside. "POLICE," he called cautiously. "ANYONE HERE?"
Following closely behind him, Catherine mimicked his movements, her own weapon drawn.
Going into each of the rooms, they found the house empty but the signs of a struggle evident. "I'm calling it in," Brass told her as he made to step outside.
"Yeah, I'll call Grissom. He'll want to be here for this." Taking out her phone, she dialed in Grissom's number and held it to her ear. "Yeah it's Catherine, we're at the victims house. There's signs of a struggle, I'm just about to start processing."
Back at the lab, Grissom poked his head around the various different departments in search of Sara, but he couldn't find her anywhere. Coming into Greg's lab he called out to the man who had his back turned from him. "Greg, have you seen Sara?"
Turning around, Greg looked down at the paper in his hands and then into Grissom's face, shock registering in his eyes. "I've found a match to the killer."
"You have? Excellent work Greg," Grissom smiled as he came further into the room.
"No you don't understand. Sara, she's…" Taking a gulp of air, Greg thrust the paper towards Grissom's hand. "I matched the DNA to Mark Burrows."
"What?" Grissom asked, his voice rising in disbelief. "How?"
"No time," Greg told him, his voice shaking as he spoke. "Sara, she's with him."
"What? She's what?" Grissom dropped crunched up the paper in his hands and took a step back. "Where…where has she gone?"
"He told her you knew," Greg told him as his body started to shake. "Sara asked him if you knew about it."
"Greg, tell me where they went."
"I should have stopped her, I should have…"
"GREG," Grissom bellowed, panic settling in his chest as he grabbed Greg's shoulders. "Where did they go?"
"The crime scene," he stuttered, stepping back when Grissom released his shoulders. "He's taken her back to the crime scene."
Back at the house, Catherine picked up a strand of what appeared to be silk in between her tweezers. Moving it closer to get a better look, she fought to remember why the colour seemed so familiar to her. Picking up a small bindle, she placed the strand inside and stood up, starting to scour every inch of the room with her eyes.
"Catherine," Brass called from the doorway, the urgency in his voice causing her to look up at him. "Greg found a match to a Mark Burrows, Sara's friend."
"Oh God," Catherine gasped. "Does Sara know?"
"No idea," he told her solemnly, "But wherever he is, he has Sara."
"WHAT?"
"I have to go, but there's a guard posted outside and I've been told to tell you that Warrick and Nick are on their way to help you process."
"Okay," she nodded. Her heart was pounding against her chest, how could this be happening? Taking a deep breath, she returned her attention back to the scene before her. She had to help Sara in the only way she could right now. She had to find something to put Mark Burrows behind bars for good.
Sara watched the scenery rush past her window as they drove over the dusty paths that led towards their most recent crime scene. Her mind was swimming with insecurities as she watched the outside blur away.
"You okay Harvey?" Mark asked worriedly as he glanced over at her before returning his eyes to the road.
"Yeah," she sighed, "just thinking."
"Ahhh," he nodded with a smile, "you know it's always dangerous to do that."
"Mark stop it," she whispered sadly as she closed her eyes. "It doesn't work on me anymore."
"It used to," he told her, more than a little anger in his voice. Turning the bend in the road, he could see the crime scene up ahead, the yellow police tape billowing in the wind. "We're here," he told her coldly as he brought the car to a stop.
"Mark.." she started, trying to find a way to apologize, but her mind was blank.
"Come on," he told her, swinging open his door so he could climb out. He didn't look back as he strode over towards the murder site.
"Great going Sidle," she huffed to herself. "Two guys pissed at you in one day, must be some kind of record!" Swinging open her door, she eased herself out of the vehicle, her cell phone snagging the door as it fell to the ground unnoticed. Sara could see him crouched over up ahead and started to berate herself for being so stupid. What the hell was she doing here anyway? Stepping up closer towards him, she crouched down beside him. "I'm sorry."
Turning his head towards her, he watched her carefully. He had known her for many years now, and seeing her now in so much pain should have brought him to a compassionate climb, but it did nothing.
"Was he worth it?" he asked suddenly, watching her carefully for her reaction. Reaching out a hand, he grasped her wrist to pull her roughly to her feet.
"Mark, that hurts," she growled, "let me go."
"Answer me bitch," he spat, grabbing her other wrist tightly so he held her captive. "Was he worth leaving me for?"
"I didn't leave you Mark," she seethed, anger dripping from her voice as she spoke. "I was never with you."
"After all I did for you," he raged, squeezing her wrists tightly, causing her to yelp in pain. "Alan Wilson was gonna rape you and I stopped him."
"I know you did and I'm grateful," she winced as he tightened his hold. "You saved my life."
"For what?" he seethed, yanking her to him so she was close enough to feel his breath on her face. "You ran to another man. You dumped me and ran."
"I didn't dump you," Sara's mind was screaming out at her for answers as she struggled to free herself from his grip. "I wasn't with you."
"WHORE." He growled, releasing her suddenly to shove her to the ground. "I should have let him kill you."
"Don't say that Mark," she whispered as she pushed herself backwards with her elbows, anything to escape the madness of his eyes.
"I shoulda let him have you." Striding up towards her, her grabbed her hair in his fists, yanking her up to ram her against a tree. He watched her eyes cloud in pain and relished the feel of her trembling body against his. "Where's your precious Grissom now huh?" Releasing her hair, he dug his fingers into her shoulders, his nails drawing blood from her flesh.
Sara bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She was going to die. She was going to die here and no one would know what happened. Her investigator mind took over and pleaded with her body to respond. Lifting her hand, Sara dug her nails into Marks face, scraping her talons down his cheek to gather a mixture of blood and skin beneath them.
Yelping in pain, he released his hold momentarily and stepped back, but only for a moment. Anger flared in his eyes and he lunged towards her, catching her around the throat to squeeze painfully against her flesh. "BITCH."
"Mark," she croaked, gasping for breath as she struggled to pull his hands from her throat.
"You're gonna die for him now. I'm gonna finish what Alan Wilson intended for you." Releasing her, he watched as she slid down the tree trunk, her hands instantly grasping her chest as she fought to breathe. With one hand, she reached to her belt with trembling fingers, searching for her gun, but it wasn't there.
"Looking for this?" Mark smirked as he waved the gun in the air before pointing it directly towards her head. "Shot with your own gun," he grinned, "but no, that's not good enough for you."
"Why?" she whispered throatily, her chest rising and falling laboriously against the pain hurt. "Tell me why?"
"Why?" he grinned. "You left me. I saved you and you left me."
"I wasn't yours," she breathed, her chest constricting painfully as she spoke. "We were never together."
"I loved you," he spat, coming closer to nudge the cold metal of the gun against her face, "but you ran to HIM."
"No Mark," she told him, closing her eyes against the fear inside her. "He doesn't love me, he never has."
"Aww, you almost got me crying here," he grinned only to ram the gun further into her cheek. "I should blow a hole in your pretty little head for that."
"Then do it," she growled, her anger returning with a force so strong he was taken aback for a second. "Get it over with," she seethed, "You want to kill me then just do it."
Mark watched her with fascination. He'd expected her to at least cry, or maybe beg for her life, but he should have known that Sara Sidle would never go down without a fight. Pulling the gun away from her face, he stepped back. "No not yet," he smirked as he moved one of his hands to his belt. "I have other plans for you first."
Sara watched on in horror as the realization suddenly hit her. He was going to finish what Alan Wilson couldn't, and that meant…rape. Blind panic took over her senses and she pulled herself to her feet. "No….nononono," she muttered, shaking her head as she backed up further towards the trees. "Not again, no. NO."
"He never did love you did he?" Mark asked as he advanced towards her. "Gil Grissom was nothing but a fantasy wasn't he?"
Sara looked behind her and turned to run, but he caught her in his grip. Throwing her to the ground, he loomed over her menacingly, enjoying the fear in her eyes.
From somewhere behind them, several cars screeched to a halt and Brass, followed closely by Grissom and several officers, invaded the scene. Drawing his weapon, Brass advanced towards them, his weapon drawn. "MOVE AWAY."
"Oh now it's a party," Mark grinned as he stooped to yank Sara off the ground placing her in front of him. Bringing the gun up, he lifted it to her temple, the cold metal cooling her heated skin. "She's got to die."
"Mark," Grissom stepped from behind Brass, his body trembling with fear when he caught sight of the woman he loved. "Let her go."
"Oh lookie sweetheart," Mark drawled in her ear, "it's your boyfriend." Jabbing the barrel of the gun further into her skin, he grinned over at Grissom. "Just in time to watch her die."
"DROP YOUR WEAPON," Brass warned again, his eyes darting to Grissom in warning to stay back.
"Make me." Mark grinned menacingly as he snaked his tongue out to lick Sara's face. "I killed her for you," he whispered, "she had to die because of you."
Sara closed her eyes against his words, her mind trying desperately to blank out the feel of his tongue on her skin. She heard him load the gun and knew it wouldn't be long before she would be free of pain. Opening her eyes, she stared directly into Grissom's panic stricken face, memorizing his features so she could take them with her to the afterlife. She wanted to tell him she loved him, she needed to tell him so much, but she kept silent, waiting for the end to come. But it never came. A bang sounded through the air and she felt Marks grip on her body begin to loosen. For a moment she waited for the end. Had she been shot? Why didn't she feel any pain? There should be pain. Everything passed in a blur as she started to fall only to be caught in someone's arms.
"It's okay now honey," Grissom whispered, holding her tightly against him protectively. "It's all over now."
Brass came over towards Mark Burrows, his body wreathing in agony as he held his bleeding knee. "You shot me," he wailed, "you bastard."
"I would have loved to have done a whole lot more believe me," Brass told him angrily, motioning for two officers to handcuff him. " Read him his rights." Turning away from the scene, he walked slowly over towards Grissom who was holding Sara tightly in his arms. It should have been over, but he could see from here that Sara's arms were limp and she failed to return the embrace. Stepping closer, he crouched down to take a closer look at the young woman in Grissom's arms.
"Sara?"
If she had heard him she didn't respond. Her eyes stared into nothingness. Panic started to set into Brass' heart as he helped both Sara and Grissom to stand. Both men exchanged worried glances as she looked behind her at the man she had once called friend. "I'm a evidence," she whispered emptily, breaking away from Grissom to begin the slow walk towards her car.
TBC