Sara and Matt, in the meantime, had met with the press and then started going through the motions of Sara's daily duties in regard to checking in on the long-term guests and seeing to their needs.  Then they headed off to the hotel's main office to retrieve some paperwork that she was in need of finishing up from yesterday morning. 

            Matt could tell that her actions seemed controlled and somewhat cold and he compared that knowledge with what he had heard Sydney say to her.  Matt was fluent in Russian but he couldn't understand why Sydney's telling her, 'Sara, that's an order." would make so much of a change in her.  It was almost like she was reacting from a hypnotic suggestion.  He watched her from the office door and waited for her to grab the paperwork she needed to take down to the lounge for lunch and to meet up with Jarod.  As he continued to watch her actions, he recalled her training and who trained her.  'Oh, man, that's it.  She 'is' in a hypnotic trance.  Why would Sydney do that and more to the point why would Jarod allow him to?'  He didn't understand and was going to have to ask Jarod about it later.

            "Matt, let's go."  Sara swept out of the room determinedly with a couple of files in hand.  They arrived in the lobby just as the conference broke for lunch.  As they headed out to the lounge, Grissom stepped in front of them.  "Sara, Matt.  Would you mind if we joined you for lunch?"

            Sara didn't reply so Matt told Grissom that he thought it would be okay.  They again headed out to the lounge, and then Sara stopped and looked over at Grissom.  She just stared at him for a minute and then asked, "Grissom, did you bring your notes on Kristie's murder with you?"

            Grissom was startled at her abrupt nature but replied casually.  "No.  If you want, I can get them and bring them down."

            "Yes, I want to review them."  She said it and then just as quickly as she had stopped she resumed her walk out to the lounge.  Matt followed closely behind. 

            Catherine looked at Grissom's puzzled face and asked, "What's going on Gris?  Sara's acting strange."

            "I'm not sure but if it's what I think it is, Jarod and Sydney are going to have some explaining to do."

            Nick looked out toward Sara and Matt as they made their way down to the lounge with a growing amount of concern on his face.  "Gris, what do you think it is?'

            "I think that she was put into some kind of trance with a hypnotic suggestion by Sydney."  Grissom ran his hand through his hair as he said this and ended up resting his hand on the back of his neck.

            "Man, they wouldn't do that would they?"  Warrick asked.  "That would be seriously wrong.  Sara will be really angry when she comes out of it."

            "You can count on that."  Catherine shook her head as she thought of what Sara's reaction would be.

            Grissom headed back up to his room to retrieve the papers and the rest of the team walked down to the lounge.  When Grissom arrived at the lounge, he saw the group sitting in the far back.  Sara sat stiff and motionless.  He had had enough.  After he reached the table, he asked Jarod and Sydney to step out of the lounge with him.  They reluctantly did so since they knew what he was going to ask them about Sara.

            They slowly walked away from the lounge and from any prying ears.  When he thought they were out of earshot from anyone he gruffly said, "I am not going to ask any questions.  I simply want you," Grissom pointed harshly at Sydney, "to pull Sara out of her trance immediately."

            Jarod and Sydney were stunned.  They hadn't really thought that he actually knew.  "Dr. Grissom, Sara," Before Sydney could finish; Grissom stepped closer to him and spit out between clenched teeth.  "I don't think you understand me.  Take her out of it now before you begin to wish you had."  Grissom glared at him intensely.

            Jarod had stepped in between the two of them and tried to keep Grissom from doing something stupid.  "Grissom, calm down.  Sara will be taken out of it.  We will just need to get her back down to the Pit before we do.  We don't want her to come out of it up here."

            Grissom took a step back and then without saying another word walked back into the lounge.  Sydney and Jarod followed but as they approached the table, Sydney made sure to get to Sara first.  He leaned down next to her ear and whispered something to her.  She instantly stood and walked off toward the Hotel with Sydney following close behind.

            Grissom addressed his team. "We are going to have a meeting in the Pit.  I would like all of you to have lunch and then return to the conference.  I won't be attending the afternoon session."  Grissom then walked away along with Jarod.

            Those sitting at the table watched them make their way back up to the Hotel.  They shared looks that read they were glad they weren't tagging along.

            Sydney, Jarod, Grissom and Sara arrived in the Pit and continued to walk down into an area that Grissom hadn't seen yet.  They went down steep stairways that lead further down than the lowest floor where the Infirmary was located.  When they reached the bottom, Grissom's interest in the Pit grew as he saw that the room they entered was like a gymnasium.  There were all kinds of equipment normally used for exercising and there was also some large floor mats laid out on the floor.  His attention was drawn back to Sara though as he studied her demeanor.  She was poised but in a stiff manner and she didn't look around or barely even move.  That wasn't the          Sara he remembered and he didn't like this one bit.  He spoke directly to Sydney, "What has to be done to get her out of the trance?"

            Sydney looked toward Jarod.  He knew Sara wasn't going to react well.  "All I have to do is say a specific command in Russian and she will come out of it."

            "What will she remember?"

            "Everything.  She knows everything that is going on, just can't go against her orders."

            "Why would you do this to her?  She trusts you."

            "I didn't want her going off by herself like last night and she wasn't about to follow Jarod's suggestion so I made it an order."

            "Is that all, an order?"

            "That's all it takes, but it has to be given in Russian and has to be from a ranking member of the Centre.  In her programming, she considers me as one of them."

            Grissom considered that a moment.  He would have to delve into that more later, right now he just wanted her out of the trance.  "Okay, then, say it and get her out of it."

            "Well, it's not going to be quite that simple.  She's going to react badly."

            "What do you mean, react badly?"

            "She may want to kill me."

            "Kill you?  Literally?"

            "Yes.  The last time she was put in the trance, well, let's just say the man had to be on oxygen a very long time."

            "Is there anything that will stop her?"

            "I'm not sure.  That's why we're down here.  If she does anything it will be toward me directly and possibly towards Jarod.

            "Dr. Grissom,"

            "Just Grissom, please."

            "Okay, Grissom, she might be less reactive if you say something to her immediately after coming out of the trance.  It's probably the best we can offer."

            Grissom considered letting her just go through her reaction.  They deserved it after what they did but he knew he wouldn't be able to just stand back and let it.  "Alright, let's proceed."

            Sydney told Sara to turn and face the other way, he then positioned himself about fifteen feet behind Sara before he sent his command.  After he spoke the words, Sara's posture became relaxed and then her eyes darted around in front of her.  It didn't take long for her to remember what had happened to her and why she was down in the gym.  She turned suddenly and saw her target.

            Sara felt like crying immediately after coming out of her trance state.  She knew immediately what happened and recalled who did it.  She looked for him and saw him.  'He's dead.'  She thought as she made her move toward him.

            Grissom had only ever seen the mixture of pain and hate that he now saw in the eyes of Sara when he had dealt with cold-blooded murderers and serial killers.  He didn't like this at all.  "Sara.  Look at me."

            Sara ignored him and lunged for Sydney but Grissom caught her around the waist and hauled her upwards so her feet didn't touch the floor and she continued to try to lunge out after Sydney.  Grissom never realized how strong she was. 

            Sara tried to free herself from the person restraining her but wasn't getting anywhere.  She turned herself around in his arms and nearly did bodily damage before she realized whom it was.  She immediately stiffened and held herself in check.  'Damn, I nearly hurt him.'  Her face told Grissom that she recognized him and that he was damn lucky she did.  He also saw the pain and hate in her eyes replaced with uncertainty, fear and something else he couldn't form the words for.

            Grissom slowly lessened his grip and then let her go altogether.  Sara continued to stare at him for a moment and then with a tremendous amount of self-control, she turned to look at Sydney and Jarod with both hands clenched at her sides.  She glared at them with nothing but malice but didn't utter a word.  Then she suddenly turned and walked up the stairs out of the gym.  Grissom, with a grim look on his face, stared at both of them and then followed Sara out.

            He let the door slam shut behind him as he turned to see which way Sara had left.  He finally spotted her just as she made it around a corner that led down to the elevator.  He ran hell for leather to catch up with her and when he finally did, she didn't say anything to him or even move to acknowledge he was there.

            Grissom carefully put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him so he could look at her face.  She was crying, silently and her eyes were downcast not wanting to meet his.

            He moved his hand down her arm and pulled her to him in a gentle hug as she continued to cry.  "Sara, what do you want to do?"  He left it up to her knowing that if he tried to make any decisions for her, she would pull away.

"I want to lie down."  She said in a muffled voice since her face was pressed into his chest.  "Will you take me up to my room?"                                   

            "Okay."  The elevator door opened and they stepped in.  "Sara, what floor are you on?"

            "Twelve."  Grissom reached over and pressed the button.  He continued to just hold her.  Unbelievably no one tried to get on the elevator as they finally reached her floor.  She pulled away from him gently as the door opened.  He followed her down to her rooms.  She unlocked the door and moved to walk in and Grissom said, "You should get some rest.  I'll come back later and check on you."

            Sara reached out and latched onto his arm as she spoke.  "Please stay with me.  Hold me for awhile until I fall asleep."             

            Grissom studied her face.  She looked really worn down and like something he had seen so many times before -a victim.  He followed her into her rooms and after glancing quickly around realized it was like a little apartment.

            She walked into her bedroom and motioned for him to follow.  He wasn't sure if this was such a good idea.  Not with the conversation they had earlier that morning but he decided to just let her make the decisions and have the control.  He followed her in.  As he walked in though he started to take a step back as he saw that she had already stripped down to her camisole and panties and was pulling the covers back.  She crawled in then looked over at him and saw the look on his face.  "Grissom, please, hold me.  I'm not a china doll.  I won't break."

            Grissom walked over to the bed pulled the covers up over her and then laid down on top of them.  She instinctively moved closer to him and allowed him to put his arm around her and while she positioned herself against the length of him.  "Sara, do you want to talk about it?"

            When he spoke, it pushed her mind back to where she was before and she started crying all over again.  He held her tighter and allowed her to just cry.  She clutched at him, at his chest and let it all come out in a torrent.  He held her and rubbed her arm up and down while his other hand found hers on his chest and entwined his fingers with hers.  They were like that for several minutes until she stopped crying.  He then heard the soft rhythmic fall of her breathing as he realized she had fallen asleep.