Title: Among The Dead
Author: Angie
Summary: What if it was Cath?
Disclaimers: Fortunately, CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them. If they did belong to me, I'm sure no one would have ever heard of them. The episode "Grave Danger" was written by Quentin Tarentino, Naren Shankar, Anthony Zuiker and Carol Mendelsohn
Author's Notes: Reading some of this fic may seem a little like deja vu. If I managed to succeed in my intentions that will be the case. This story started off with the idea of, "What if it was Cath?" and it escalated from there. There are lines in this which are extremely similar to the episode "Grave Danger" and some which are exact, that's done intentionally. I was intending on posting this all in one chapter, but length is prohibiting me from doing that. Many thanks to Jaclyn for betaing this for me. Thanks for the feedback on the first chapter. I'm still a little iffy on this fic, so it's nice to know a couple people enjoyed it.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Major Spoilers for "Grave Danger" if you haven't seen that episode and don't want to know what happened, DO NOT read this fic. There are also minor spoilers for "A Little Murder" and "Weeping Willows" and the possibility of minor spoilers from any other episode through the end of season five.
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage
XOXOXO
"Gris."
He looked to his left, acknowledging his co-worker as he continued the walk to his office. "Greg."
"I put all of Cath's active cases on your desk. Checked with Brass, the lawyer from a few weeks ago is accounted for, as is the guy who attacked her at the crime scene a few years ago."
"Thanks."
"Gris… you know, this might not be related to her work. What if one of Sam's…"
"Keep that under your hat for now." Gil told him, pushing Greg into the office with him and shutting the door. "Do you know if she's told everyone about her relationship with Sam Braun?"
"Most people know that they know each other. I don't think she's told many he's her father, though after the case was thrown out people…"
Gil nodded, understanding where Greg was going with his thoughts. "Don't tell anyone. We can't rule that out, but if this was personal… there's no way anyone could have known it would be Cath going to that scene. She was either followed, or…"
"Or they would have taken any of us."
They turned at the knock and Gil motioned for Greg to open the door.
"Gris. Just got back from Trace." Nick said in a rush. "The white fiber on Cath's vest. Cotton. Hodges found ether on it."
Sara stepped into the office and looked around. "I, um, just got back from the print lab. Nothing on the cup or the bag, the swab I took is still with Mia."
Gil was about to respond when he was interrupted by a scream down the hall. Looking at the rest of the team, he moved past them rushing down the hall, with the others close behind.
"Hodges? What's going on?"
"He was contaminating the package. I had to get it away from him."
"What package?" Nick questioned, looking at the delivery guy being held by security.
Hodges put the item on the counter, pointing to it. "It's about Catherine."
Gil turned to the package, looking at it closely, studying Catherine's name on the envelope. He pulled out a pair of gloves and quickly put them on. Picking up the item, he turned to the others. "I'm running with this."
XOXOXO
Gil stepped into the trace lab, setting the package onto a table and pulling up a chair. Running his fingers over the envelope, he felt the contents, making sure he knew where the items were. Grabbing an Exacto knife, he sliced open the very end of the envelope, bending it slightly and tilting the envelope to allow the contents to spill out onto the table. He glanced inside the envelope, making sure nothing remained then shifted his focus to the two items on the table. Using the ALS, he ran the light over the items, scanning for any foreign substances. The items came up clear and he picked up the cassette tape, turning it over in his hands. Glancing up, he saw the rest of the team step into the room. Without acknowledging them, he moved around the others, grabbing a cassette player and putting the tape in the machine. He hit play and waited. The taunting lyrics drifted over the room and Gil could see the confusion then anger overtaking everyone's expression as the true meaning to the lyrics sank in. They weren't going to catch the kidnappers. He held up the flash drive and moved to the computer. Plugging it in, the rest of the team gathered around him, watching the computer. A web page popped up on the screen, reading simply. 'One million dollars in twelve hours. Or the CSI dies. Drop off instructions to follow."
Gil watched the message flashing across the screen. With shaky hands, he moved the mouse to click on the button marked watch, not knowing what the action would bring.
XOXOXO
Catherine slowly blinked her eyes, adjusting to the green light by her side. She moved to sit up, wincing as her head made contact with the top of the box. Her eyes darted from side to side, she moved her hands away from her body, feeling the sides as she slowly came to the realization of where she was. Lifting her head slightly, she glanced down to the end of the box as she raised the glow stick, enlightening the area near her feet. She set the glow stick on her chest and felt around with her hands, she grasped onto the foreign object and raised it, revealing several glow sticks. "At least I don't have to be in the dark." She muttered, setting them back at her side. She felt around more on her left side, picking up the square object. She brought it to her eyesight, looking over the tape recorder and setting it on her stomach. Moving to the other side, she felt the familiar metal object. Lifting it for confirmation, she looked over her gun, removing the clip and seeing the single bullet inside. Engaging the safety, she set the gun back at her side. She moved the glow stick towards the top of the box, her mouth dropping open as she clearly made out the dirt on top of the box. Her breathing quickened and she could feel the panic starting to over take her body. She pressed her hands up, not feeling any give on the box. She shuddered as she felt the scream ripping from her body, echoing through the casket shaped box as she pounded her fists into the top. Calming herself down, she moved her hand to her stomach, picking up the tape recorder. Turning it over in her hand, she pressed play.
'Hello beautiful. Bet you're wondering just why you're here. It's simple, you followed the evidence. Led you right to me. I left your gun there for you, in case suffocation seems a little slow for you. Either way you are dying tonight."
She dropped the tape, hearing the click as it turned off. "No!" She screamed, feeling the tears stream down her face. Blinking rapidly, she shielded her eyes from the sudden spotlight activated at the end of the box.
XOXOXO
Gil watched as Catherine shielded her eyes. His own eyes taking in every inch that he could see, his hand instinctively raising to the screen to try and wipe the tear stains off her cheek. Her head moved closer to the camera and he could make out her looking towards her feet. "Catherine." He whispered, watching as her eyes looked up, almost as if she heard him say her name.
"Is this a live feed?"
Gil jumped at Sara's voice, moving his hand away from the screen.
"Looks like it." Warrick said stepping closer to the screen.
Gil grabbed a piece of paper, looking at the screen and jotting down some notes. "Her head is close to the camera. Doesn't appear to be much room next to her. She doesn't look like her legs are pulled up.." He quickly jotted down the calculations, looking up when finished. "That would be about six hundred liters of air in there." He did the mental calculations before continuing. "Assuming the math is correct, that's a little over an hour."
"We've got a twelve hour window. Maybe she has an outside air source we can't see." Nick walked to the back screen, inspecting the sides.
They continued watching the screen, when suddenly it went black and switched back to a white screen with the watch button beckoning them.
"How long was that?" Gil asked. Not getting an answer, he looked at his watch, checking the time, he hit the button again.
XOXOXO
She blinked, once again blinded by the light. Shifting her legs slightly, she adjusted her feet to block out a portion of the light. She turned her head to the side, seeing the brightly lit dirt just outside the box. She angrily wiped the tears off her cheek, letting her mind drift as she tried to fight her urge to panic.
XOXOXO
"That's it, Cath. Stay calm." Gil whispered, watching as she closed her eyes, recognizing her relaxation technique.
"Gil." Ecklie called stepping into the room. "I, um… I just got a call back from the mayor."
"No ransom, right?"
"'The city of Las Vegas can not give in to terrorist demands.' At least I think that's how he worded it. I'm looking at the budget now. I might be able to swing something there."
"Let me see what I can do." Gil said, standing and walking out of the room, knowing where he needed to go.
XOXOXO
Gil pulled up to the Tangiers and made his way to the concierge desk. "I'm told Sam Braun is here. Can you tell me where to find him?" He asked, flashing his identification at the young man behind the desk.
He followed the directions to the bar off the main casino, moving around the room until he spied the table in the back corner. He cleared his throat, making his presence known. "Sam. Can I speak to you for a moment? Alone."
"Unless you have a warrant in your hand, I have nothing to say to you."
"Sam." Gil continued, undeterred. "It's important."
Sam glanced at his guests, apologizing before slipping out of the bench. He walked past Gil, trusting him to follow, and went to a private room just outside the bar. Flipping on the light, he shut the door and turned to Gil. "What's so important that you had to interrupt my evening."
"Catherine. She was kidnapped." He said bluntly, not letting Sam's initial anger get to him.
"Who took her?"
"We don't know yet. At the moment, it appears to be random. We think the person or people that took her staged a crime scene. If that's the case, they couldn't have known who would show up."
"Yet in the back of your mind you still wonder just what I might have done…"
"Don't you?" Gil countered.
"Nothing recent. If this is from my end it's from the past. I'll check into my enemies. Make sure they are all behaving themselves."
"Sam…"
"I knew there was more."
"We received a message. They want…"
"How much?"
"We checked with the mayor…"
Sam interrupted again. "Terrorist threat, no negotiations, right? How much do you need?"
"One million. I can scrape together…"
"No need. I'll make a call." Sam walked across the room to the house phone. Minutes later, he was back in front of Gil. "You'll have the money in about five minutes."
Gil nodded, shifting uncomfortably.
"How do you, um… how do you know that she's…alright?"
Gil glanced at Sam, noticing the fear in his voice. "They sent us a package. There was a website link… it has video. It looks like a live feed…"
"I want to see it."
"It's not…"
"I don't care. I want to see for myself. Like it or not, she's my daughter. Just…" He swallowed hard, glancing down before turning his gaze to Gil. "Don't make me beg."
XOXOXO
Gil led the way down the hallway of the crime lab, ignoring the questioning glances of his co-workers. He walked into the private waiting room, shocked to see Lily there. "I didn't know you were…"
"I couldn't sit at home anymore. Not knowing what was going on. I…" She stopped when Gil stepped out of the doorway and revealed Sam Braun.
"What's he doing here? I thought I told you."
"Lily." Sam replied, stepping into the room and walking to her. "I'm so sorry."
She ignored Sam and turned to the other man in the room. "Gil?"
"Please, have a seat." He directed the two. Once they were seated, he pulled out a chair on the other side of the table and sat. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was bringing Sam into this, Lily. There wasn't time. We… we heard from the kidnappers."
"And?"
Gil glanced at Sam before looking back at Lily. "They gave us twelve hours to get one million dollars."
"One million…" Lily stopped, realizing why Gil had gone to Sam. She turned to look at the man she had loved all those years ago. "You gave him the money."
"Of course. I'd have given twice as much if needed."
Gil watched Catherine's parents, seeing the silent communication flow between them as Sam reached for Lily's hand.
Lily squeezed Sam's hand for support before turning back to Gil. "How do you know they haven't… that she isn't already…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish her thought.
"We were sent a link to a web page. There's a camera." Gil repeated for Lily.
"I want to see."
"Lily, this isn't…"
She interrupted Gil, standing from the chair. "I want to see my baby. Please."
Gil shook his head, knowing he wasn't going to be able to stop her. "I have to warn you, the video is… disturbing."
"Is she alright?"
"From what we can tell, she physically appears unharmed. All we can really see is her head, not much below. The video is a little grainy, but under the circumstances she looks like she's doing alright."
"What circumstances?" Sam asked, not liking Gil's uneasiness.
"She's being held underground."
Lily looked at Gil, her eyes wide. "She's buried alive?"
Gil didn't respond, he led them out of the room and across the hall to where the website was being broadcast. "Are you sure you want to watch this?" He asked, not expecting to get a response. He waited until they were both in front of the monitor, pulling the chair out for Catherine's mother. Once she was seated, he reached for the mouse, clicking the button to activate the website.
XOXOXO
Catherine blinked, her eyes once again squinting against the intruding light. She brought her hand up, over her eyes kicking the top of the box as she screamed in frustration.
"Stop! Please! Just let me out of here."
XOXOXO
Lily gasped, blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay as she watched Catherine on the screen. She quickly stood, knocking the chair over as she fled the room.
Gil turned, watching her lean against the wall in the hallway. He moved to follow her when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me." Sam told him. "You concentrate on getting her out of there. What ever you need, I can get it for you. What ever you need to do, I can get it taken care of. Just get Mugs back to us." Sam left the room, walking over to Lily and pulling her into his arms. After a few whispered words, he led her down the hallway.
Gil went to the doorway, watching for a few moments before turning in the opposite direction and heading for his office. He pulled out his keys, unlocking the rarely closed door and slipping inside. Settling in his chair, his eyes strayed to the locked drawer on his desk, picturing the brown leather bag that encased the money he received from Sam. The ringing of the phone shook him from his thoughts and he quickly answered it.
"Grissom."
"The address from the delivery guy was a dead end." Brass bluntly told him. "What's happening on your end?"
"Archie's trying to trace the source of the web cam. It's taking longer then expected, the signal is bouncing through different countries, and it's moving every time we hit the watch button again. I'm not sure we're going to get anything off that. I, um… I got the money. Just waiting to find out where to take it."
"Where did you get that kind of money?"
"Sam." He simply said, not elaborating any more.
"Gil, are you sure that's…"
"He's got the money, Jim. I'm not going to let her die because I disagree with her lineage. I can deal with any repercussions later. Right now.. I just want to get her back."
"How are you doing?"
"I'm fine…"
"I know you aren't fine, Gil. But I'll let you pretend for now. We'll talk when this is all over."
Gil looked up as his door slammed open and Archie appeared in the doorway slightly out of breath. "I gotta go, Jim." He hung up the phone without preamble and turned his attention to the man in his doorway.
"A message just popped up on the website. They want the money in twenty minutes." He hurried across the room to Gil, handing him a piece of paper. "Here's the address."
Gil glanced at the paper then back to Archie. "That's a good half hour from here, when the traffic isn't bad."
"I know."
"How much time do I have left?"
Archie glanced down at his watch. "Seventeen minutes."
Gil unlocked the drawer in record time, grabbing the case and racing out of the room. "Tell the others what's going on." He yelled over his shoulder as he ran down the hallway.
XOXOXO
to be continued
