Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or anything to do with it!
Nick's breathing was slow and steady. He felt cold steel against his skull. His hair was still damp and he could feel the warm water mixing with his sweat and rolling down his neck onto his back. He was unsure of what to do with the situation he was in. It was impossible for him to turn around without provoking whoever was holding a gun to his head and so; instead, he slowly raised his arms until his hands were parallel to his shoulders.
"Well, I've gotta say…this is the most interesting thing that's happened to me all day!"
Nick was surprised to find himself trying to joke about the situation he was in. He was at the complete mercy of a total stranger. Someone he couldn't see or identify had control over whether he lived or died. Yet somehow the feeling of panic that had threatened to surface so frequently lately was still safely buried in his stomach. His breathing was slow and steady.
"You're trying to fucking joke with me?"
Nick was pleased with himself despite the dire position he was in. Though he seemed to have angered his captor with his attempt at humor, he had nevertheless managed to learn something about her; for the voice now placed next to his ear was without a doubt female. Nick realized with some satisfaction that he was most likely stronger than his opponent and would be able to overpower her. The only problem he had to deal with now was the gun pressing against his head.
As far as he could hear, the voice was not being altered in any way. The girl was standing close to him, close enough that their bodies were being pressed together. Nick was suddenly aware of how very naked he was beneath the towel wrapped around his waist. Subconsciously, he made the decision to take one hand from its position next to his shoulder and use it to ensure he did not lose the only covering he had on.
"What are you doing? KEEP YOUR HANDS UP!"
The girl was angry and sounded a little scared as well. Nick was sure he could use this to his advantage if only he could remove the problem of the gun.
"I don't know what you want or why you're here," Nick decided to try his chances at reasoning with the girl and see where it got him, "but I can almost guarantee that I won't be able to help you without any clothes on."
There was a pause that lasted an eternity as the woman standing behind Nick considered his words. Her indecision was evident and with each passing moment Nick was becoming more and more sure that he could handle the situation he was in. It was nice to finally have something happen that he could control. He was able to affect the outcome of his circumstances now, no more waiting or wondering.
Finally the girl mumbled, "fine" and shoved Nick towards his bedroom door. Nick didn't have to wonder at how she knew which way to go. He was fairly certain he'd been in his house before. Twice.
Nick purposely took a bit of a stumble as he stepped into his bedroom and it was then that the girl standing with him made her first big mistake. She removed the gun from Nick's temple. He was finally able to turn around and look into her face, though nothing he could have imagined could have prepared him for what he saw there.
The first thing Nick was forced to admit was that the girl had once been very pretty and there was no way to deny it. She had long, dark hair that swept behind her ears and rested in the small of her back. She was very thin; the bones of her face were far too prominent. She was dirty, it was clear both by her appearance and by her smell that she hadn't showered in at least a few days. As bad as all these things made her look, it was the eyes that truly shocked Nick when he was first taking in her appearance.
Her eyes were brown, but they held none of the warmth of love that Nick had known in the brown eyes of other women in his life. Her eyes were cold. They almost looked unfocused, as if she wasn't really seeing what was right in front of her. It took Nick only a moment to decided what the word was…crazed. That was it, her eyes looked crazed. This woman was not in control of what was going on, even when she held the gun pointing into Nick's chest; and if she wasn't in control, that left only one alternative, as unlikely as it seemed given their positions, Nick was in control.
Bending down slowly, Nick picked up a pair of jeans that had been lying in a heap on his floor and turned his back on the woman facing him. He was careful not to expose himself to her as he slid the jeans slowly up to his waist and fastened the button. Sighing slightly he let the moist towel drop to the floor, which he would normally never have done but he decided that these were extenuating circumstances, and turned back to look into her face. Her expression had hardened slightly and she gestured forcefully for him to come towards her.
Nick decided that the most important thing for him to do at the moment was stay alive. That being said he was also hoping to gather as much information about this person as he possibly could. Something in him assured him that, had this woman wanted to kill him he would already be dead, and he used this belief as a source of bravery to face the trials he knew were coming ahead. Thoughts about the best course of action raced through his mind as he was led back down his hallway into the living room and sat down in a chair at his kitchen table. The woman now stood eyeing him, the gun pointed directly at his face.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Figures you don't know. God how stupid are you? I left enough clues for a frickin' three year old to figure this out!"
Nick was confused. Clues, what clues? Was this girl honestly suggesting that the notes she'd been leaving in his house were clues? One thing was for sure, Nick considered himself much smarter than a three year old so this person obviously hadn't been as obvious as she'd hoped.
"You're talking about the notes? Were you the one leaving them here?" Nick's mind was so full of questions he was having trouble deciding which were most important and had to be put forward first.
The girl laughed. The noise was anything but cheerful; rather it was hollow sound. There was very little amusement left in her. "You really don't know who I am do you?"
Nick was forced to admit his ignorance. For an instant he considered that he'd been left out of the loop. Perhaps his friends had managed to identify the person behind this and hadn't bothered to call him? "No," he shook himself mentally, "they would never do that."
"Well than screw this." The girl had continued talking while Nick was lost in his thoughts. He realized he'd only been listening to half of what she said and forced himself to pay closer attention. "I was supposed to find you here fully aware of what was going on. And I could end it, knowing I'd achieved my purpose. But if you don't even know who I am…"
Her words made very little sense to Nick but he forced himself to play along. "How could you end it?" he wondered aloud.
"By ending you." It was a simple statement and though it caused Nick's face to drain of colour he was also aware of the fact that something seemed to have spoiled this plan she was speaking of. Finally he realized that the question he should be asking was the obvious of them all.
"Why me?"
"Because you hurt her and I love her. I won't allow you to live knowing you caused her pain. She cried for days after you."
Now Nick was sitting across from this woman staring blankly into the barrel of her gun. What the hell is she talking about? He found himself thinking. He had no idea how they'd managed to switch the conversation to someone else. Even worse he had absolutely no clue who this woman he supposedly hurt was. He hadn't had a girlfriend in months.
The only conclusion that could be reached was that this woman was clinically insane. Nick couldn't come up with any other explanation for what had happened to him over the last few days. This woman must have snapped and for some reason blamed Nick for something he'd never done.
The woman looked almost as confused as Nick was and she was getting angry at the fact that her fabulous plan wasn't working as well as she'd hoped. She knew that the game was up already, she'd ruined it. She hadn't bothered to cover her tracks in gaining entry to Nick's house because she'd planned to leave it in a body bag. Now she was everywhere; her footprints on the carpet, her handprint where she'd touched the doorknob to Nick's bedroom, she knew the lab would identify her and that she would be thrown to the dogs for killing as many people as she had. There was nothing else for it; she refused to allow them to take her on their terms.
Nick looked up from his thoughts when he noticed that the woman was no longer sitting in the chair across from him. In the time he'd been thinking about the case she'd stood up and removed the gun from his face. She was pointing it at herself.
"NO!" Nick screamed before it had registered what was going on. If he let this woman die none of his questions would be answered. There would be no one to tell him the reasoning behind this second hell he'd been through! He leapt towards the brunette but before he'd bridged half the gap between them he heard the resounding BANG that meant he was far too late. Within an instant he was staring at the lifeless form of the wasted woman lying in an awkward on his kitchen floor.
Hello everyone! I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but school's starting up again and that means way too much fun lol. And on top of that this chapter's a short one! I know it's just not fair but I will try to update sooner (I promise I will try as hard as I can). Okay this chapter only held one point of view and I plan to leave all the questions for answering in the next chapter. Yes I'm afraid this story is drawing near to a close I only really see two more chapters before the story is finished…no point in dragging it out to the demise of the storyline I guess! Just so you know in the interest of speed I posted this chapter before the ok from my beta so any mistakes rest completely on my head! Thanks so much to everyone who's reading!
And enormous thanks for all the reviews!
sokerfreek922: I'm thrilled you're liking the story and again I'm sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter (I hope you can forgive me!) I haven't seen your reviews until this chapter and thanks so much for deciding to hop on the reviewers' train! Lol I know that was a lame metaphor but thanks all the same!
FrodoLijactress: This chapter kinda served as an anticlimax I guess…I don't know whether that's the word for it but…ya the next chapter will hopefully have some answers and the final chapter will (obviously) wrap everything up. Please keep reading and thanks for the review!
Mma63: This chapter should definitely stomp out that concern about Nick I was hoping to get the idea across that he wasn't spazzing quite so much anymore (I'm sure you got that already) thanks so much for the review. Keep reading!
Nix707: Sigh though I would of course enjoy spending a little more time with naked Nick lol I had to go and ruin it by putting some pants on! Hope you liked the drama and thanks for the review. Btw I'm loving Full Throttle!
rojaji: haha, sorry about the cliffhanger but this one's not quite so bad. I'm thrilled ur liking the story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
everybetty: lol I'm glad you saw the reasoning behind the cliffie and I'm so sorry it took this long to get this chapter out! I know this chapter wasn't exactly illuminating but I hope everything will come through more clearly in the next chapter. Thanks so much for all the reviews!