Summary: A serial killer comes to town on the boy's night to work. Things don't go calmly for Nick or Warrick when the killer decided to not play nice.

Disclaimer: This is all written in fun and trial for something new. Everything CSI is not mine and never will be. It belongs to the creative talent of the actors, the writers, the directors, and producers. I am not making any money off of this. Only meant to offer something new on something already so great. No reason to sue.

Author's Note: Wow, I got the most reviews on a chapter for the last one. Glad to hear that you guys are liking this and yes, the angst will begin for those of you who are waiting for it. I managed to sneak away for a minute and grabbed my laptop so I could post tonight. I am anxious to see what you all think of this new chapter and want to give you all plenty of time to read it. I am never going to try to predict a post again as I am zero for two. But I am really glad you are all enjoying our bad guy. I wanted to try writing something where he was one of the primary characters as well so that you will either love/hate/pity/whatever him by the end. So anyways, enjoy as always and I am not promising anything from here on out. There are things that happen in the night and not all of it can be pretty...

Breath for me

Written by: duffshel

#7

Ken whistled to himself as he walked back to his hotel room. He had followed the two CSI's from their food break back to the lab in which they worked. From listening in on their conversations he learned their names and caught onto the brother talk between the two. It seemed odd to him that these two could consider each other brothers. There was nothing in common with the two. Ken just didn't see how they could connect. He never did with anyone.

The two men parked close to each other in the lot and seemed to have the same schedule as each other. Ken would need to get his rental in order to follow them farther. Cabs just got to be too damn pricey.

The hotel was loud and crowded. People were yelling and shouting with joy and despair. The lights were flashing for the nightly show that attracted every camera in the area. It was too much. It was something that made Ken's skin itch.

He shoved his way through the crowds towards the elevators. It took too long to move down to the main floor. An extremely drunk couple came up behind him in the time it took for the doors to open. They stumbled in, giggling like fools. Ken would shoot them if he had the gun and the stomach for it. He was hopping by the time it dinged for his floor.

Scowling to himself, he pulled out his key card and marched loudly to his door. He was in an excellent mood before this damn hotel. The door protested his treatment of it as he flung it open.

"Honey, I'm home. And I'm pissed!"

Colleen simply whimpered.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

"The same M.O. on this body as the last two. I don't get what his game is, but he doesn't seem to be stopping. Heidi Victor's mother and father came in to identify the body. They said her girlfriend that went out with her last night is missing. I say he has her as well."

Nick and Warrick listened closely to Grissom. Their boss had put a few things together and was willing to run with them. He just needed to get his entire team on board. Catherine, Sara, and Greg all had agreed and had each taken a different aspect of this case. Gil wanted his guys to work together and head out on the street for any clues they could find.

"I want you two to visit the sites again and see if you can put any connections between them. I have Hodges looking into any hotel rooms that could be part of the crimes. We are going to get this done soon."

Gil looked over the two younger men. He held high hopes and respect for them both. They were decent people and worked hard. Warrick had come far since he got a handle on his gambling problem. Nick was getting better at ignoring the emotions with cases. If only the poor Texan's luck would turn.

"Keep your phones handy and your eyes open. There is something about this guy that just isn't right. I want caution from everyone. Don't play the hero."

Warrick looked up at Grissom. His words didn't make a whole lot of sense. It seemed like a speech you saved for a cop going into a raid or something. It wasn't like they were actually going to run into the killer in the middle of the street.

"Don't worry Gris. I will keep Nicky out of trouble. I will watch my boy's back."

"My back! What about yours?"

"It will be fine. My back doesn't have your history."

Nick pouted. He knew his history. He didn't need it through in his face right before going back out on the field. "Fine. Just make sure you don't forget where mine is."

There was tension between the two. Grissom could sense it, but he knew he came in on the middle of whatever they were going on about. He didn't want to deal with that right now. Saying nothing else to them, Gil walked out of the room.

"Look Nick, we need to get over whatever the hell is going on between us. I will not go into the field with this over our heads right now."

"I honestly don't know what is going on. I just…I don't know."

Warrick walked over to stand next to his friend. He threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Nick submitted. The taller CSI was bigger anyways. For as much muscle as Nick had, Warrick still had the upper edge.

"Okay. After this mess is all sorted out, you and I are going to figure this shit out. I don't care how long it takes brother, but we are going to move on. I will help you figure it out."

"I am sorry man. I just don't know what has gotten into me. These girls…these murders…I don't know. There is just something I feel we are missing. Something is starring right at us and we are missing it big time."

"You're probably right. It's going to come up and bite us in the ass to let us know."

Warrick pulled Nick out, still keeping his hold around his shoulders. There was a definite slump to them that should not be there. Defeat was not an option. This guy was going to go down, down hard.

The two men walked slowly, keeping the distance tight. People starred, but no one said anything. It was better to leave the two in their own world when these kinds of things happened. One time, a few years back, a former tech. had said something to Nick about his lack of ability in the field. It was Warrick that gave the answering punch. No one was willing to mess with the duo at that moment.

It was nice weather outside. There was actually a slight breeze under the starry night. Both men had only been working for about four hours, but to Nick, it felt like an age. After this was all settled, he really needed to take some vacation time.

"So which scene should we check out first?"

Warrick shrugged, "I guess we could start from beginning and head to the end. The street curb will still be taped off and watched by the cops for a few more hours. I say we head to the park."

"Okay. You can drive."

Warrick had to stop deep in his tracks. That was not something you usually heard from either of these two. It was a sign of something wrong. Nick kept walking.

"Alright man. Just don't get the truck floor dirty!"

"If I can find it, I will watch out for it."

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

The engine idled quietly in the dark parking spot. Cricket chirps were the only sound over the rumble of distant traffic. Ken wore a smirk of content. The street lights cast a yellow tone across the grass. A line of light managed to fight its way through the branches of the tree the car was parked under. Ken's eyes were lit up.

His little ducklings were all in a row across the park in the rubber water fountain. The man had just made it back to the lab in order to see Nick and Warrick leave. It had been an easy tail. He was surprised though to see that they went back to an older crime scene. Again, his interest was peaked.

The car was once again a Ford. He needed the backseat and trunk space for this one. These guys were not Geo size. His leather gloves warmed the flesh on his hands. He was ready. He was impatient.

The shorter man was down on one knee looking over the red mat again. Ken really didn't understand what they were trying to do, but he really didn't care. He just hoped they would separate enough so that he could get them both without too much trouble. Nick would be perfect if he would stay in that position.

Carefully, Ken turned off the engine and opened the car door. He kept his gaze on the two men as he unfolded himself from the driver's seat, pulling the keys from the ignition as he went. Not bothering to close the door, Ken walked around the large oak hiding him from the other men. The black CSI had his back towards this end of the park.

The grass crunched slightly under the white Reeboks. There were enough shadows lurking for murder to creep through. White cloth in black leather was not noticeable in the yellow glow.

Nick had bent forward to move some twigs away. He still felt uneasy. His hands were steady, but his mind was not. As soon as he left the truck, something was off in the air. Warrick said he was overreacting and there was nothing wrong in the park.

It was quiet. He even felt it to a point where he would even be corny. It was too quiet. The red rubber looked odd to him without the lights cast by the police cars. With just the lights from the street lamps, it looked like an orange death trap.

Warrick was walking away towards where the tire tracks had been. There was nothing popping out at either man as odd. They heard nothing of the footsteps behind them.

The ether didn't give off enough fumes to warn either man at a distance. Ken held it at ready. Nick was the closest and would be first. The blonde man walked proud and confident up right behind the CSI and with his left hand, grabbed Nick by the shoulder. Ken couldn't get the cloth over his mouth before he yelled out in shock.

Warrick whipped around at the sound of distress. The sight stopped his heart. A tall man had his partner by the shoulder with a cloth pressed up to his face. Nick was struggling weakly against him. With a roar of rage, Warrick jumped towards the two men.

Ken was prepared. He took a step back from Nick and pulled out a gun. Knowing there would be two, and male, Ken felt he needed something more than his belt. Finding a gun salesman in Vegas was even easier than he had thought.

"If you were smart, you would stop there and not move."

It was enough to stop the black man in his tracks. His wide eyes met the glazed eyes of Nick. Both men had been held at gun point before, but never with one of them held behind it hostage. This was not something he was ready for at all.

"Just stay calm, man. Let Nick go. Nothing has to happen here."

Ken snorted, "Everything is going to happen here. You two are going to come with me. Just keep it nice and simple. No one needs to be shot."

Nick's head seemed to weigh a ton and the voices of the other two were thick and unclear. He could sense Warrick was near, but couldn't figure out where. Panic shot through his entire being. Nick needed to know where his partner was.

"War...arrick…"

A lump in Warrick's throat threatened to choke him at the pathetic attempt of Nick's to call out for him. He had never heard Nick sound like that and he had seen the other man during many different trials throughout the year. Whatever this stranger had in the cloth was screwing with his man's body.

"What did you do to him! I swear, you are going to pay for this!"

"My, my. It seems that you think you have some sort of power in this situation. I am sorry…Warrick, was it…but there is no control here for either of you. This is my game now. If you two don't want to end up like all those pretty little girls, you will listen to me."

Warrick's heart really did stop that time, "You! It was you!"

The sandy haired man shook his head as he chuckled. The facial expression of Warrick was positively delicious. "Yep, that would be me. Don't worry. You two will get a full view of how this all works soon."

Nick slowly was gaining control over his body. The ether was losing its power as the fresh air streamed into his lungs. He could make out Warrick now. His heart was still thundering and he felt the tendrils of panic clinging tightly around his conscious. He wanted to ask his friend for help, but the press of something hard and round to the back of his neck stopped that thought process.

"Now, I want you two to walk with me towards the car parked behind me. You two will stay in front of me, but not right next to each other. I want about two feet of air between the two of you. Nick, you are going to have to stand."

Warrick couldn't stop the rage from taking over his body. His vision went slightly red while he watched the killer shove the gun into the back of Nick's head. "We are not going anywhere with you!"

If the headache of all headaches wasn't fogging Nick's mind, he might have laughed. Warrick was being the bigger brother. It was priceless. He would have to harass him for it later when they were laughing over some beers.

"Warrick, please."

"Yes, Warrick, please. Listen to me and no one gets hurt," the man mocked.

It was soft, pain filled voice of Nick that wavered his resolve. He watched the Texan as he struggled to his feet with the gun still rammed hard in the back of his neck. "Who the hell are you? And how the fuck do you know our names?"

"The name's Ken. You will remember it forever. And as for your names, well, I have been watching you two since I dropped of Heidi. I wanted to watch Las Vegas' finest at work and you two showed up. I was…intrigued if you will. Now stand!"

Once Nick was on his feet, Warrick knew his body was hidden more from Ken's vision. The killer was standing about a foot behind Nick. Warrick couldn't see anything, but the right side of the man's face. He knew he would regret this later, but he had to do something.

Without thinking anymore, Warrick lunged his body to the left and forward. Ken really wasn't too surprised at the action. The tall man seemed like someone who would do something stupid like that. Ken pushed the still recovering Nick forward and aimed the gun. He may hate them, but he knew how to use them. The trigger pulled with ease.

"Nick! No!"

TBC…bye!…