Author's Note: I posted just before the site went down so some people might have missed it. Make sure you've read Ch7 before this one. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

"I said lower your gun!" Freddie repeated loudly, pressing the muzzel of the gun against Warrick's temple.

The bar had gone deathly quiet. Everyone had become immediately paralyzed at the first sign of danger. Drinks sat forgotten on the table as people watched the standoff between CSI and suspect. There was nothing more sobering than a life or death struggle.

Nick shook his head firmly. "I'm not gonna let you walk out of here. Especially not with him."

The calmness in his voice belied his emotional state. He had not expected this kind of reaction from Freddie and from the look on Warrick's face, neither had he. Nick tried to keep his face void of any fear for the sake of his friend. He knew exactly what Warrick was feeling as he was usually the one whose life was being threatened. It was not an experience he would wish on anyone let alone his best friend.

Warrick had a somewhat defiant look on his face as if he was daring himself to show any sign of being afraid, but his eyes gave him a way. He stared steadily at his friend, which allowed Nick to see the battling emotions inside of him. His eyes were fearful yet brave. There was a confidence in them that was encouraging Nick, trusting in his ability to put an end to this situation as quickly as possible. Nick silently prayed that he would not let his friend down.

"You don't have a choice! Put the gun down!" Freddie snapped, peaking out from behind Warrick's head.

Nick's only response was to keep the gun firm in his outstretched hands. He was hoping that Freddie would get sloppy and provide him with an opportunity to take him down, but Freddie never allowed more than a fraction of himself to move out from behind Warrick. It was definitely not enough for Nick to wager taking a shot. He wouldn't risk hitting Warrick accidentally.

"I will kill him if I have to!" Freddie shouted as he took a step backwards, dragging Warrick with him.

Nick tried to ignore the way his heart was pounding in his chest. It felt as if it were about to burst at any moment given the way it was slamming against his rib cage. He could feel beads of sweat beginning to form across his forehead but withstood the temptation to wipe them away. He didn't want to show any signs of weakness.

"Stay focused. Don't give into the panic. Get him talking. Keep control of the situation." a voice inside of him admonished.

"Like you killed Linton?" Nick asked quietly, not moving an inch. The CSI kept his face mask-like, knowing that it was a way to make himself appear more commanding than he actually felt.

Freddie gave a small laugh. "He didn't give me much of a choice. There was no other option."

"Make him answer the questions you want him to. Make him fill in the blanks. It will buy you time to save your friend." the voice advised.

Following the advice, Nick asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"The gun. He turned it in. I had to do something." Freddie said with a shake of his head.

The realization of Freddie's words hit Nick like a ton of bricks. Up till then, he had come to believe that Linton really had killed his cousin. That at least made sense to him on some level - the weaker man taking his frustrations out on the stronger man. He had assumed that Freddie had found out about it and killed him out of revenge given the strong bond that he and Jack had shared during high school. But now, that didn't seem to be the case.

"You killed Jack." It wasn't a question.

Freddie didn't say a word, but the act of sticking his head out from behind Warrick's allowed Nick to glimpse the truth in his eyes.

Nick was stunned. "Why?"

Again, Freddie remained silent. Some of the intensity had left his face, but his grip on Warrick and the gun remained as strong as ever.

In an effort to keep Freddie talking, Nick asked, "Did Linton find out that you killed him? Did he take the gun from you?"

"No. He didn't know. I put the gun in his house." Freddie said, the angry tone of his voice was replaced with a less confident one. "I knew you'd look at him first since he found the body. Add that with his nervous behavior and he didn't exactly look innocent."

"How did you get him to write that note?" Nick asked, astonished.

"If you had known Linton, you wouldn't ask that question. Linton was always so easy to manipulate." Freddie scoffed.

"You were trying to frame him." Nick said, the anger was rising in him. In his mind's eye, he saw Linton Elwell struggling in vain against the rope held in the strong hands of Freddie McFarlane as the life was choked out of him. He felt a renewed since of pity for Linton.

Freddie appeared not to hear Nick. He continued speaking, lost in his own thoughts. "I thought you'd find the gun when you searched his house and that'd be it. I never thought Linny would be fool enough to turn the gun in. I should have known though. Nothing goes the way I expect it too."

Nick detected a faint trace of sorrow in the man's voice. Freddie's emotions were taking a decidedly different turn. This was the sign Nick had been hoping for. If Freddie was willing to talk, there might be a way to diffuse this situation without violence.

Throughout this conversation, Warrick had been playing the part of the good hostage. He had not tried to do anything heroic because antics like that were how people ended up dead. No, he knew better. He needed to let Nick do what he could and be patient. Instead, he tried to content himself with listening to the exchange of words between Freddie and Nick. He was proud of the calm manner in which Nick was handling all of this and promised to tell him so if they made it out of this alive.

"Why did you kill Jack?" Nick repeated his question.

"I had to. I didn't want to do it. I wanted to find another way, but there wasn't one." Freddie answered rather breathlessly.

Nick shook his head. "I don't buy that. There is always another way."

"You don't understand! I had no choice!" Freddie's face was contorted in a mixture of anger and frustration.

"Then help me understand." Nick tried to keep his voice calm.

"My life's a mess. Everything's a mess. I've messed everything up." Freddie's voice cracked with emotion. He shifted his eyes downward and shook his head in bewilderment.

Freddie seemed to be having difficulty focusing so Nick tried a different tactic. "He was like a brother to you. You sat across from me at a table and told me how you could never betray a bond like that. But you lied. You did betray that bond. Why? What would possess you to kill Jack?"

"You're right. I did betray him. He never would have done that to me, but I was never noble like him." Freddie mumbled. Though his face was partially construed by Warrick's head, Nick could see tears beginning to streak down Freddie's face. The man was clearly falling apart under the enormous weight of his guilty conscience.

This was all well and good as far as a confession went, but Nick wanted to know why. Once more, he asked, "But why? Why did you kill him?"

"Because she told me too!" Freddie shouted, jerking Warrick by the neck.

Again, Nick was stunned. "She? Who told you to kill Jack?"

Freddie shook his head in sorrow. Nick could feel panic begin to rise in his chest. Freddie was losing it, giving into the desperation he was feeling, and desperate men were often some of the most dangerous people to deal with.

"I betrayed him just like Judas." he whispered.

"What won't a man do if he's properly motivated?" Freddie's words rang in Nick's head and he understood. This woman, whoever she was, had paid Freddie to kill Jack.

"Freddie, listen to me. You can help yourself. Tell me who told you to kill Jack. There's still time to do the right thing. Tell me who you were working with." Nick tried to offer the man some hope.

"No. It's too late. It's not going to bring Jack back. It's not going to bring Daniel back." Freddie cried.

"Daniel? Who's Daniel?" Nick asked. He vaguely wondered what other bombshells Freddie was on the verge of dropping. He didn't know how much more he could take.

"Daniel Motz!" Freddie shouted as if Nick was supposed to know who this was.

"What does he have to do with Jack's death?" Nick asked.

"Everything." Freddie whispered. "I'm sorry."

Nick heard an all-too familiar sound - the cocking of a gun. He felt his heart drop as he saw Warrick's body tense. Freddie had reached the end of his tether and was going to shoot Warrick right here in front of him if Nick didn't do something now.

"No! Wait!" he pleaded, taking a step towards the two men.

Freddie suddenly released Warrick and took a step back. The gun went off with a loud bang. Nick's eyes widened in fear as he moved forward to catch his friend, but Warrick was not the one who fell to the ground.

Behind Warrick, Freddie's body fell with a dull thud. Warrick whirled around to look at him and saw that the back part of his skull was missing. Freddie had put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The person that possessed all the information they needed was dead.

Jim Brass was not a happy man.

The detective had cornered Nick and Warrick just outside of the bar and was letting them have it. "What were you thinking coming here without any backup? The guy was a murderer!"

Nick and Warrick exchanged guilty looks. What were they supposed to say? Sorry wasn't going to cut it. The cops and EMTs who were on the scene shot the pair looks of sympathy. It was no fun being on the receiving end of one of Detective Brass' emotional tirades.

"We were clouded by our zeal." Nick mumbled finally, not meeting Brass' eyes directly.

"Your zeal? How about your stupidity?" Brass shouted, rounding on Nick. "Do I really have to give you a lecture on the dangers of confronting a suspect or have you forgotten Amy Hendler and Nigel Crane? Look what happened! Warrick could have died and you let your suspect commit suicide right in front of you!"

Feeling that he ought to step in, Warrick said, "It wasn't Nick's fault. He - "

Brass cut him off by jabbing a finger into the younger man's chest. "And don't even get me started on you! You let a suspect take your weapon and hold you hostage with it!"

Warrick looked away, his checks flushed with anger and shame.

Brass sighed and looked away. When he spoke again, his anger was gone and he was practically pleading with them. "You gotta be more careful. Your job is to collect the evidence. Not to go off chasing after the suspects. That's our job. We're supposed to be there for your protection. You gotta let us do our jobs or next time you might not be so lucky."

Both CSIs felt properly chastised as the detective stormed away. They knew that they had messed up and been extremely lucky. They also knew that Brass' anger towards them stemmed from his concern for their lives. That didn't necessarily make the situation more bearable, but at least they knew where he was coming from.

Nick turned his head and saw the only person who could make him feel worse right now approaching them. Grissom. He sighed inwardly and steeled himself for whatever punishment his supervisor was about to hand down.

"Please tell me what happened." Grissom requested in a tone quite unlike the one Brass had been using.

Nick launched into an explanation of events. He tried hard to maintain eye contact with Grissom but it grew increasingly difficult as the story progressed.

"And it didn't cross your mind to request an officer to accompany you when you went to confront the suspect?" Grissom asked, looking directly at Nick.

"No sir. I was just focused on confronting the suspect." Nick admitted.

"You put your friend's life, not to mention your own, in danger to satisfy your own need to solve the case." There was a hint of disappointment in Grissom's otherwise steady tone.

Unwilling to let Nick take full responsibility for the situation, Warrick jumped in. "Don't be too hard on him, Grissom. I thought about calling for backup but I decided not to."

Grissom sighed at this. He alternated his gaze between Nick and Warrick as he sized them up and clearly found them wanting. "I don't know which is worse: The man who is so consumed that he rushes into harm's way without thinking or the man who makes the conscious decision to ingore protocol and rushes into harm's way without protection."

His words hung in the air. Nick and Warrick both waited for the hammer to fall.

It never did.

Instead, Grissom asked, "So what's your next move?"

Anxious to redeem himself, Nick rushed ahead with the thoughts that had been milling around in his head for the past hour. "Well, Freddie referred to himself as 'Judas'. I'm thinking that's a reference to the Judas from the bible who betrayed Jesus to his death for thirty pieces of silver."

Grissom gave Nick a look of surprise mingled with admiration.

Encouraged, Nick pressed forward, "He also said that someone, a female someone, told him to kill Jack. I'm thinking that this woman paid Freddie to kill Jack. Not a hit so much as she was buying his loyalty. Freddie didn't have a lot going for him and the idea of coming into some money might have outweighed any feelings of loyalty he had for Jack. There's a deeper issue going on here. Something involving a Daniel Motz, who I'm assuming is a fellow classmate. I'm not sure why, but he's the reason that Jack was killed."

"So you need to find out who Daniel is and establish his connection to the victim and your suspects." Grissom stated simply. "What about the female accomplice?"

"Both Victoria Winston and Stella Barnes would be capable of paying Freddie off. They're both doing well financially. I think we should look into Freddie's financial history and see if we can find out if someone's been paying him off." Warrick suggested.

Grissom nodded in agreement. The supervisor turned on his heel and began to walk away. He called out from over his shoulder. "Well, you better get to work."