Disclaimer: Same as usual.

(Just to let everyone know my page breakers aren't working so it may be confusing when you read something and it seems like it skips. :x my computer is so messed up. I'll put PAGE BREAK to show where they're suppose to go.)

Title: City Lights

Chapter Three: Come Out and Play

"Damn," Warrick yelled as he slammed his right fist onto the computer table. "I can't get any matches."

Catherine, who so happened to be in the same room looking under one of the microscopes, looked up at the troubled, frustrated Warrick. "Don't get all mad about it," She said as she stepped away from her microscope and walked over towards him, putting a hand on the back of his chair. "Lets see, we have a note- with no fingerprints, a shoe-"

"It belongs to Nick."

"Alright, a shoe that belongs-"

"Catherine," he turned his body to face her. "Why aren't we right now hunting down these guys? It's like we're all taking our time hoping that a miracle will happen and Nick will pop up unharmed."

She looked down at Warrick, hurt in her eyes. She knew that what they were doing seemed unemotional and hurtful but they couldn't get themselves worked up over it. It hurt Catherine every time she'd walk past Nick and Greg's locker and see that they were untouched. Her mind wasn't so worried on Greg as much as Nick. Nick was taken hostage and anything could happen to him at any second. As for Greg, he was under the care of the hospital and she felt him safe there. "We…just can't Warrick."

"It doesn't make sense!" Warrick yelled as he stood up from his chair as Catherine backed up. "Nick would risk his life for us anytime and here we are drinking coffee, taking our times, and pretending like nothing is wrong! Oh, and what about our tab tech? He was shot and is on the verge of life or death and we're here getting replacements and taking a jolly good time walking down the hallways."

"That's not true," Grissom said as he entered the lab room. "Brass has policemen everywhere searching for Nick and the gang as we speak. As for Greg, I was just now coming to get you two. We're meeting Sara up at the Hospital. She called saying it was important."

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Nick awoken to the sound of footsteps and voices that filled the room next to him. As his eyes began to get adjusted to the completely dark room, he could make out a couple of shadowy objects. Not people, but just old, broken, furniture. A horrible foul smell filled Nick's nose as he covered his face with his free untied hand and glanced around looking for the victim of the smell. It wasn't long until his eyes landed on an odd shaped object and squinted his eyes hoping that it would sharpen the dark image. He didn't have enough time because suddenly the door that led to the room Nick was trapped in flung open revealing a blinding light.

"Ah!" Nick yelled as he covered his eyes, protecting himself from the bright white light.

"It's a damn flashlight. Grow up baby."

Hawk.

"It's not my fault you locked me up in some dark room that smells horribly." Nick protested as Hawk lowered the flashlight.

"What were you doing in that store anyway?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Nick couldn't see the fact that Hawk's eyes narrowed in anger but he could defiantly tell when Hawk spoke.

"Don't talk to me like that. If you did that to Snake you wouldn't be able to even think about what you did. You'd be dead before you could even process that."

"My life has almost ended in threats."

"I guess God just wants you to die doesn't he?" Hawk asked as he threw a dinner roll at him. "Might not be much use in eating that huh?"

Nick quickly caught the roll and broke some off before hastily placing it into his mouth. He was starving with no doubt and his stomach was beginning for food.

"You know Mr. Stokes," Hawk mentioned as he shone the flashlight back on Nick's face. "You don't have much chance of surviving with us. Our gang has been known to kill anyone or anything. Nothing stands in our way and if you are one that will try to bring us down or get us with the police, we will kill you and no one will ever find your remains."

As hard as Nick tried to be strong and brave, he suddenly felt like a helpless puppet in the murderous hands of a gang.

PAGE BREAK

"Will he be okay?" Sara Sidle asked as a short, plumped nurse walked quickly by. "Excuse me," Sara repeated. "Is he going to be okay?"

The nurse turned around to face her and sighed. "Who? We've got many patients in here already."

"Greg Sanders."

"Ah, he's in critical condition. Gun shot wound to his back. I'm surprised he was able to even dial 911 at the time."

"What room is he in?"

"You can't see him Miss…?"
"Sidle and why not?"

The nurse glanced at her watch. "We have our reasons Miss Sidle. So, please excuse me as I go to see the doctor. I'm sure Greg's doctor would like to visit you when he is done." And with that the Nurse gave Sara a faint smile and walked off into the chaos down the hall.

Sara sighed as she pulled up a waiting chair and sat. She didn't want to sit here and think about what had happened but instead go and see Greg. Make sure he's fine and okay.

She heard the beeping of machines, the exchanges the doctors made when they met, the humming of a child sitting across from her waiting for her mom to come out of surgery, the rain that began to fall from the skies. The hospital was just a horrible place to Sara. It was a place where people didn't know if their loved ones would step out of the door or if they would simply leave this world forever, the last time seeing them would be in a hospital bed hooked up to machines.

"Miss Sidle?" a man asked as Sara snapped out of her daze and quickly rose to her feet.

"Yes?"

"Relative of Mr. Gregory Sanders?" The doctor asked as he pulled Greg's file from under another patients.

"No, I work with him."

"Any family?"

"Um, well, he doesn't talk much of his family so I'm not sure. I guess you can say the people that he works with are the closest things as family."

"Hmmm," the doctor said as he opened Greg's file case, "I guess this will be fine then. Anyway, I'm sure you want to know how his condition is."

She nodded.

"Well, he is in still critical condition, much blood less. He is very weak at this moment and slurs when he's trying to speak-"

"He communicated with you?"

"Tried actually. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he was out. Been sleeping ever since. We have him hooked up and after a couple of days he should be improving. But Miss Sidle, we can never promise people that they will be okay. We're not always one hundred percent right."

Sara didn't have to pretend that she didn't know. Nodding her head, the doctor gave her a warm smile before turning around and walking towards another family.

Now all she had to do was wait.

BlondeNeko

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