-Seriously wants to kill fanfiction- Third attempt here, hope it works!

Thanks to all who reviewed! Here's the next chap for ya

Chapter 4

The floor under her was cold, and wet. She had always hated being cold and wet. There was a time, when she was young, that she became lost, stuck outside in a violent windstorm. It wasn't until the morning that she had found her way home again, cold, wet and frightened. But that wasn't the only thing bothering her; her head was pounding. Right now, all she wanted to do was sleep, but there was that nagging voice, it wouldn't stop. Sara groaned as something nudged her in the legs again.

"Stop kicking me," she mumbled, "I'll be up in a few."

She let out a sigh as she was kicked again, "Stop it," she muttered.

"Sara," she could hear the person better now, even though she hadn't wanted to.

"Sara, come on, get up. Please," the voice continued. Funny, she thought, sounds like Greg.

"Sara, come on baby, open your eyes for me. Let me see your eyes, come on, wake up girl."

Sara frowned; Did Greg just call her 'baby'? Warily she opened her eyes, trying to make out the blurry shapes around her.

She finally saw Greg smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "There you are," he said softly, smiling still. "You scared me there for a minute."

She only blinked, letting herself roll from her side to her back. "What happened?" she asked groggily, concentrating on breathing in and out at the current moment.

"Your phone went off," Greg told her gently, "They didn't take to it to well. Drug you back over here after you passed out."

She nodded, waiting a moment to find her voice. "How are you feeling?" she asked. He looked more bruised than the last time she saw him.

"I'm hanging," he breathed heavily, leaning forward slightly. She could hear him hiss in pain as he began making his way towards her. "You?"

She almost laughed; would have laughed if she wasn't hurting so much. "I've seen better days," she muttered dryly.

Greg nodded as he laid his head on the floor next to hers. He was out of breath even though he hadn't gone more than two feet.

"Where?" she wondered. She hadn't any need to finish the question.

"Outside," Greg answered, "Smoking."

Sara shook her head. "They murder, rob, hold us hostage, and follow indoor smoking ban laws?"

"Weird huh?" Greg told her, "I can't figure out if they're new at this, or just stupid and lucky."

Sara did laugh this time, closing her eyes. "I'd would bet on the latter of the two."

"Sara," Greg started, raising his head a little. "We need help."

She nodded. "We've needed help ever since we started this job."

Greg laughed softly, rolling himself to his side, slowly pulling himself closer. "That's not what I meant. Let me see your hands, maybe I can get them untied." Greg had turned so that his back was to her side. It had been slow and painful, but he had managed it. He waited until Sara had moved her hands out from under her.

The ropes were tight around her wrists, and it took a moment for Greg to find out where the knot began. It was also difficult, given that his own hands were tied. Nothing was said between the two as Greg worked on the ropes as quickly as he could. There was no telling how long their captors would be outside.

"There," Greg breathed finally, "I think I got it." He pulled the loops from around her wrists.

Sara groaned softly as she flexed her fingers, trying to shake the numbing feeling out of her hands. She brought her arms in front of her, grabbing a shelf in order to help her sit up. She held fast as a wave of dizziness passed over her.

"After you untie your legs, leave the rope around them just enough to make it look like they're still tied. When I give the signal, run," Greg told her, taking time to catch his breath in between words.

"You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you here alone," Sara told him, reaching down to loosen the ropes around her ankles.

"You'll have to," Greg said, slowly pulling himself back towards the freezer. "I can barely move. You'll to run for help. I can hold out here, but you'll have to hurry, and don't get caught."

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head the entire time, but she also knew that Greg was right.

"They've already pulled our wallets, and lifted your keys, so the vehicle is out of option," Greg continued, as Sara moved over to him, catching him halfway in his slow crawling slide, working to untie the ropes that bound his own hands. He too groaned as she finally pulled the ropes off.

Sara helped him back into a sitting position, moving to untie the ropes around his ankles as well as Greg rubbed his wrists, grimacing as he did so. She stopped her movements however as the doors were opened. Greg placed his hands behind his back, nodding at Sara to do the same. He watched as she stuffed the loose ropes behind several bags of chips, beginning to protest as she pulled the ropes completely free of her legs, hiding those as well. Greg grew quiet as she swung her legs under her, before folding her hands behind her back in the same manner as Greg. Only moments before the two robbers walked in into their view.

"Looks like you doing okay," Mando said, smiling, hands in his pocket. He had removed his mask, allowing the two to see him for the first time. He had short brown hair, as well as a beard. Next to him, the younger man Stitch had also removed his mask. He had longer hair, looking as if he hadn't washed in weeks. He was clean shaven, at least a head shorter than his partner.

"Sorry about earlier," Mando continued, "we got off to a bad start. My patience isn't always the best."

Sara stared continually at the floor, unwilling to answer. Across from her, Greg spoke up. "So, no hard feelings, when are you letting us go?"

Stitch and Mando laughed, "You can't be serious. You two are going no where. Seen too much," Mando said with a simple shrug. He held up Greg's wallet then, examining it in the lights.

"CSI huh?" he wondered. Stitch spoke up next to him.

"I've heard of these before," he cried, trying to snatch it out of the older man's hands. Mando held it out of his reach.

"They're like cops," Stitch said, still jumping for the wallet. Mando laughed.

"Cops; bad news for us normally. Say Stitch, how much do you think we'd get off them?"

Stitch had stopped his efforts of obtaining the wallet, bending over slightly he had his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He wasn't in very good shape; something that Sara and Greg could use to their advantage.

"Not sure boss," the young man spit out, straightening up. "Not all that much for the guy," he continued, "but for the girl, we may be able to make a mint. You have that, soft heart factor to take into account."

Sara felt sick; they were being talked about as if they were a piece of merchandise. It was cruel, uncalled for. She wanted to say something, come up with a clever comeback, but her mind was blank. Greg saved her from saying anything stupid however.

"We're not cops," Greg said firmly. He wasn't willing to explain anymore, he knew that if the criminals learned they worked with cops, things could go bad for them. Greg hoped that the young man's ignorance would prove to be worthy for them at least once tonight. Maybe his ramblings would cause the older man to ignore him, and this topic would be forgotten.

"That's not what these pretty badges say," Mando intervened, shuffling through Sara's wallet as well. Stitch had finally gotten a hold of Greg's wallet and was busy pulling out the cash that was inside. Safe to say there wasn't much.

"Twenty lousy dollars," Stitch threw a fit, trying to crush the leather in his hand. Mando only shook his head, pulling out more cash from Sara's wallet. It was more than Greg had, but still not a significant amount.

"Don't worry," Mando told him, handing him the rest of the cash. "We'll be getting more off these two."

He started forward, reaching down to pull Sara to her feet. Greg had been waiting, had been ready. Without missing a beat he jumped forward, gritting his teeth at the pain that tore through his body. His arms wrapped around the large man's legs, throwing the unsuspecting criminal to the floor.

"Sara, run!" Greg yelled at her, doing his best to hold him down.

Sara staggered to her feet, catching Stitch off guard, able to run right past him. She could hear Greg yelling at her to keep going, to not look back, but she did anyway. Mando had already overpowered Greg, pinning him to the floor with one hand, thrashing him with the other.

She had wanted to stop, to go back. But Greg had told her to run. She was their only hope at the moment. If she didn't get any help, she didn't want to think of what would happen.

"Get the girl Stitch!" Mando roared; his face was turning red. He had let up on Greg for a moment, but a moment was all Greg needed as he watched Stitch run by, following Sara. Weakly he kicked out, catching the young man's feet, tripping him.

Mando cursed, giving Greg another punch for good measure before taking off after the fleeing captive himself. Greg had barely begun to push himself up when he was attacked again, by the smaller man. He wasn't as strong as Mando had been, but Greg was running out steam. What he had done already had been too much.

Unlike Mando, Stitch did little damage, the two mainly struggled. Greg, his body wracked with pain, was barely conscious that his hands were being held together; he didn't hear the zipping sound, didn't feel the thing plastic cut into his wrists. After a few precise kicks to his ribcage, the young man pulled away from the wheezing CSI, to help his partner. Greg was left alone.

Sara had managed to make it outside. The cool night air hit her in full force; only then did she really understand how muggy it had been inside the store. She came to a stop, looking around, trying to figure out where to go. It had been a mistake. Someone grabbed her from behind.

Sara managed a scream before he covered her mouth, bending her head back so that it came to rest on his shoulder. His breath was rancid, and she winced at the pressure he was forcing on her.

"That wasn't a smart move," he warned her. "Now, be a good little girl, and come back inside."

She ignored him, trying to slip free but his grip only tightened. "We could always kill your boyfriend off," he said simply, finally winning the battle. Defeated, Sara allowed herself to be led back inside.

Her legs were left free, but her hands were rebound, this time with a plastic zip tag, the same kind used to keep cords together. Sara winced as the plastic cut into her hands, before raising her head to find Greg. She bit her lip, trying not to make a sound as the two criminals conversed.

Greg was barely conscious, if he was at all. He had been beaten roughly, and was bleeding again, this time from his nose and mouth. She watched him, his heavy, inconsistent breathing, willing him to open his eyes. She didn't want to risk saying anything, didn't want to risk causing Greg anymore pain.

"We need to move, now," she could hear Mando saying, "The sooner the better, get the money into bags." He walked around the counter, grasping a gun in his hand, one that Sara hadn't seen earlier.

Walking up to her, he cocked the gun, holding it level with her head. Sara swallowed, closing her eyes. So this was how it was to end.

TBC