A/N - Two chapters within a couple of days? Surely not! Don't get used to it kids, I don't want to make any promises I end up breaking. Hope you all enjoy this one. Thanks once again to Ash and Amorith and all those who review!

Thursday - Day 5, 16.47

"We could radio them," Sara said suddenly, turning to Grissom.  They'd been sitting in the tree for hours, watching their friends and their enemies and waiting until the first sign of darkness to sneak in. The guards posted around their camp had started an organised patrol, a patrol that would continue into the night and make it very hard for anyone to walk through that part of the forest without being seen or heard.

Grissom shook his head, "You didn't hear what one of the guy's said when we were following them earlier?"

Sara shook her head.

"They heard us before, Sara. On the radio – when we were talking to Warrick. Do you remember how careless we were, what we said?"

Sara thought back to the conversation and closed her eyes as the words came to her mind.

"We're going to wait for a bit more light and then try and navigate our way to the river, we'll contact you…"

"They knew we were along the river – they just had to figure out where," Sara stated miserably.

Grissom nodded, "I wonder how much else they know about us from that conversation. They'd know that some of us aren't there – that our numbers are down."

"That we're interrogating someone – not hard to figure out it'd be someone from another camp… and… what are we supposed to do about them Grissom? I didn't even think of that… How are we supposed to get out stealthily when we've got a prisoner?"

Grissom frowned and looked back towards their camp. He noticed some movement and sat up straighter, squinting into the distance to see three ragged-looking people leaving the camp.

"They're taking him back," Grissom said, "They must be taking him back."

Sara squinted at the figures, "Is that Warrick and Nick?"

Grissom nodded, "Has to be – and the prisoner. They must be taking him back to his camp, we could cut them off and warn them!"

Sara looked doubtful; "One of us should keep an eye on things here."

Grissom looked about to protest but as he glanced back at the guards surrounding their remaining two friends he sighed his agreement. There wasn't much he could do if they did decide to attack but he couldn't just leave them there.

"I'll go and find Warrick and Nick," Sara said, "I'm positive I know where I'm going."

Grissom raised his eyebrows, "Like you were last night?"

Sara glared at him, "You know that was your fault."

Grissom feigned mock offence, "My fault?" He sighed and pretended to think, "Okay – well, just think if we hadn't got lost we wouldn't be in any position to save our team from being raided and attacked now would we?"

Sara grinned and shook her head, "Sure," she mumbled, "This position is a stroke of luck," she added sarcastically.

She began untangling herself from her branch and began to make her way towards the trunk of the tree.

"Sara?" Grissom called, causing her to turn to him once she had reached the centre of the tree, "Be careful."

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, grinning all the way down the tree at the slightly shocked, yet happy expression he gave her in return.

Dashing through the trees as fast as she could, Sara hoped to God she knew where she was going. From her position in the tree that she'd been sharing with Grissom she could see the path that she'd wanted to take but now she was on the ground and surrounded by the thick forest, she had to admit that she was only guessing that she was sprinting in the right direction.

She hurdled a log and continued running, a small grin forming on her lips. She was high on adrenalin and she liked it. She'd kissed Grissom – twice. She was now running through the Canadian wilderness in a desperate search for Nick and Warrick, trying to save her team from invasion. She'd kissed Grissom – twice!  She almost couldn't notice the ache in her hamstrings or the pounding in her chest. She could run like this forever! But, she realized, she had to slow down soon. She was coming to the place where she'd wanted to intercept Nick and Warrick.

She slowed down and came to a stop, crouching next to a tree and turning towards the direction she expected to see her friends appearing from.

After a couple of minutes she began to wonder if she had been too slow and missed them, but the low shuffling of feet coming her way eased her mind. As a precaution, she straightened up and hid behind the tree. It was big enough to hide her whole body and she had to poke her head around the side to keep an eye on the approaching visitors.

Still high on adrenalin, she almost came bounding out from behind the tree and into Nick's arms as soon as she heard his voice but quickly remembered that they had company and that she would have to be careful. Instead, she simply moved in front of the tree and waited for them to come into view.

They didn't noticed her at first, but when they did their reactions were so comical Sara couldn't help but snigger at them. Warrick did the biggest and most pronounced double take she'd ever witnessed and almost tripped over his own feet, while Nick jumped about 5 feet in the air after wondering what Warrick had seen.  The blindfolded man in between them stumbled at the sudden shift in motion, but seemed non-the-wiser.

Warrick continued walking, albeit it a little slower, and looked at Sara with a raised eyebrow.

She mouthed, 'We need to talk – now!' and he nodded his understanding.

"Hang tight Mr Hapner," he said to the blindfolded man, "I have to go use the facilities."

Nick found his feet and moved up next to Hapner and silently agreed to keep an eye on him while Sara and Warrick had their discussion.

When they were far enough away, Sara filled Warrick in on the details.

"You're kidding right? This is some kind of joke?" Warrick said hopefully.

Sara shook her head, "War, we have to get back there and get out as soon as we can - otherwise we're going to lose this thing."

Warrick sighed and looked back at Nick and Hapner, "What do we do with him?"

Sara shrugged, "You were taking him back to his camp weren't you?"

"His friends are basically waiting for us so we convinced him to sneak in and bring us back some treasures…"

Sara looked at him doubtfully.

"It's a long story," Warrick sighed again and looked around anxiously, "You don't suppose any of the other team followed us out here do you?"

"They looked pretty comfortable closing in on our camp, there's no reason for them to move. Whatever we decide to do, we better do it quick – I just don't like the thought of Catherine and Greg all alone back there."

Warrick nodded, "Okay look, Nick and I will continue on with this guy to try and get some more treasures – you go back with Grissom and make sure the others know what's going on. Get them ready to leave. Nick and I will try and meet you back at the camp before the raid."

Sara nodded, "You'll use the river?"

Warrick nodded and looked back towards Nick when they heard his impatient cough. Nick raised his eyebrows at them and Warrick nodded at him.

He turned back to Sara and slung an arm around her neck, bringing her into an awkward hug, "We'll see you soon – good luck!"

Sara grinned at him after he pulled back and went to join Nick again. She waved to Nick as she watched them set off and then quickly turned around and began her sprint back to Grissom.

Sitting in the tree and watching his camp in such a dangerous position was making Grissom nervous.  He was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that they now only had two people there – one up a tree on lookout, and one guarding the treasures in their cave. And he realized, with a lurch in his chest, that the enemy group had realised the same thing as well. One of the spies had left his position and was currently have a discussion with one of his friends. Grissom knew they were making a decision about whether they should wait until dark and risk more people in the camp or whether they should take advantage of the weakened side.

Slightly panicked, Grissom left his position in the tree and slid down the tree. Trying to devise some sort of plan and watch where he was going at the same time, he began to sprint towards his camp. He figured that his presence would throw them off a little, and make them slightly uneasy at least. So he rushed on towards the camp, making no effort to be quiet – in fact he wanted to be heard.

When he reached their sentry tree he wasn't surprised that Greg was looking down at him with a startled expression on his face.

"Greg!" he called and bent over, catching his breathe, "Hows it going?"

Greg practically jumped at the volume with which Grissom was talking and couldn't help but look at him as if he were nuts. Their roles had suddenly reversed. "Shhh! What are you trying to do? Wake up the sleeping kids over in Africa!?"

Grissom didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Relax Greg! There isn't anyone around, in fact why don't you come with me back to the cave?"

Greg was confused, but immediately alerted – something was wrong. "Grissom?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, yeah why don't you ring the bell to let Catherine know you're coming down." Grissom said, unsure as to how much of the conversation the enemy spies would hear.

"Ring the bell?" Greg asked, clearly confused. The bell was for emergencies only; he was only supposed to ring it when someone from another group was near… His eyes widened and he nodded his understanding, "Okay, okay."  He pulled on the rope that would ring the bell back in the cave where Catherine was and quickly began to climb down the tree. He jumped the last couple of feet and, without turning to look at Grissom, began a brisk walk back to the camp.

Catherine was ripped out of her daydream when she heard the bell near the entrance of the cave begin to sound. For a moment she simply looked at it, confused as to why it would be ringing, and then the realization hit and she sprung quickly to her feet.

Her breath quickened immediately as she began to pack up the various belongings that littered the cave floor.  In the few days that the group had spent there, it had become a fairly homely place, which was nice when everything was fine, but a bitch to pack up in a hurry.

For a fleeting moment she wondered whether Greg was playing a joke with her and swore that if he was, she would kill him, but when he arrived at the entrance to the cave followed closely by Grissom (who looked extremely haggard and out of breath) she knew they were in trouble.

"Gil!" she said, continuing to shove as much as she could into the pack in her hands, "What's going on? Where's Sara?"

They both began to help Catherine pack up while Grissom explained what was going on.

"They'll be confused by what to do after seeing me at first, but I think they might figure out that we know," Grissom said.

"They'll attack earlier," Greg stated and sent Catherine an apologetic grin as he heard her anxious groan.

Grissom nodded, "That's what I think."

They had almost gotten everything packed up, soon all they would have to do is wait and hope that Sara reached Warrick and Nick in time to tell them what was happening.

TBC