Chapter Nine

Levi had deemed the house at the lake no longer safe. Depending on when Grissom listened to Nick's message, the police would no doubt be swarming the area in a matter of hours. He had ordered his followers to move to a new location, one that had been offered to him. It was inside the city, but it would do until the time came for them to act.

So they had blindfolded and bound their victims and transported them all. All of them except Donna's parents that is. Because of Donna's betrayal, Levi had declared her guilty and because of her guilt, she did not deserve the healing that would come from the death of her parents. Levi had no use for them and no desire to kill them so he left them behind. Nick had been somewhat relieved that at least two people were going to escape unharmed though it was hardly a cause for celebration.

Nick had no idea where they had been taken. He had no idea what had happened to the others for he and Donna were being kept in a separate room. It was empty except for a table and a chair. There were lines of dust on the floor which seemed to suggest that this room had been used for storage for a long period of time and the items had been recently removed by Levi's followers. But what the items were that had been stored in this room, Nick had no idea. There was nothing on the walls. Nothing at all in the room that would give him the slightest indication of where they were.

Nick sighed and tried to shift to a more comfortable position in his chair. His entire body hurt. Being tied to a chair was no picnic. The ropes had been tied so tightly that they cut into his wrists and every time he twisted his hands in an effort to break free, the ropes only dug deeper into his skin. The same was true of the ropes tied around his ankles. His head was throbbing. Getting smacked repeatedly up side the head with a gun will do that to you.

But that was just physical pain. Though it was uncomfortable to say the least, he could endure it. He had done so before and he could do it again. Mind over body. That's what he had to tell himself. The pain he was in was just a temporary condition. It was a lot more difficult to ignore the emotional pain his was suffering. No amount of happy thoughts and encouraging pep talks would mask the ache in his heart.

Nick blinked his eyes a few times and let his head fall back. What had he done? What had possessed him to go up to that lake without telling anyone until it was too late? What had he been thinking? Grissom had said that he had an inability to keep his emotions in check. Grissom had said that he had a reckless disregard for his own personal safety. Grissom had said that he had a need to play the hero. Well, look at him now. Grissom had been right.

The simple truth of the matter was that he hadn't been thinking. He had been too caught up in the thrill of saving the day. Too caught up in the excitement. His emotions had ruled him, not his common sense. It was bad enough that he'd gotten himself in trouble, but he also had dragged Donna into it as well. Nick turned his head and looked at the pitiful form of Donna. She was huddled in the corner of the room, her head in her bound hands. She had not been deemed as big a threat so Levi had been content with just tying ropes around her wrists and ankles and dumping her in the corner. The poor girl was so miserable that she hadn't moved from the spot where she had been placed. She just sat there, crying softly.

Nick cursed himself for his stupidity. He was most likely going to get himself and the girl he had been trying to help killed. His noble intentions had come to naught and the innocent would pay for it. All that death and it would be on his shoulders. Look at the mess he had created. It just another mess for Grissom to clean up.

Grissom. Surely the man knew by now what he had done. Everyone probably knew by now.

What must Grissom be thinking right now? Well, for starters, he was probably angry at Nick for being so stupid and reckless. He was probably angry that he now had two more people he had to look for. He was probably feeling validated because Nick had proved his opinion about him so completely. Perhaps he was thinking that Nick got what he deserved. Nick could hardly bring himself to disagree with that thought.

Nick let his chin fall forward to his chest. He tried to fight back the wave of sorrow that threatened to overcome him. Never before had he felt so completely worthless. So utterly lost. Tears stung his eyes and he squeezed them shut to prevent them from overflowing. Part of him desperately wanted to give in to his grief, but the other part of him would not allow it. Wallowing in his grief would get him nowhere. He had to think. Surely there was some way he could get out of this mess. He couldn't give up. Not yet.

Gil Grissom sat at his desk and tried to get a handle on his thoughts. Everything was slipping out of his control. He could feel it and he hated it. They had searched that house high and low and could find no clue that would lead them to Prosper's new location. It was as if they disappeared into thin air. A molecular impossibility he knew, but it still felt true nonetheless.

But that was hardly the main reason for his current state. A little voice inside his head was telling him that this was all his fault and he knew it was right. He should have answered Nick's call instead of ignoring it. Perhaps Nick wouldn't be missing now if he had. Of course, if he was completely honest with himself, Grissom knew that not answering the call wasn't the real, underlying reason Nick was in trouble now. It had everything to do with the way he had been treating Nick since the whole situation with Kristy. If he hadn't treated Nick so badly, the young man would be here right now, helping him solve the case like he was supposed to. But Grissom had pushed him away out of anger and practically forced Nick to put himself in danger.

During the past month, he had never really stopped to ask himself why he was so mad at Nick. Sure, Nick did something stupid that almost landed him in jail and as his boss, Grissom had every right to be upset by that. But where had this deep, seething anger come from? Catherine had been right. He had been lashing out at Nick in a unjust manner. He had done his best to rip Nick to shreds. Why? It didn't really make sense until now.

With the realization that Nick had gone rushing off into danger most likely as a result of the fight they had, things were starting to become a bit clearer. He wasn't truly angry at Nick for what he had done. The man accused of having no emotions was scared for his CSI.

Absolutely terrified.

Grissom suddenly realized that he was terrified of what Nick's need to save people and his great capacity for empathy would do to him. He was terrified that it would lead him into danger. Perhaps most of all, he was terrified that he wouldn't be able to help Nick.

In many ways, Nick's ability to empathize was far more dangerous than Warrick's gambling addiction or Sara's workaholic devotion. Those were things that Grissom could deal with in a more pragmatic way. Don't assign cases that strictly involve gambling to Warrick. Force Sara to take her day off and don't allow her to exceed her overtime limit. But how do you force someone to change who they are? He couldn't force Nick to stop caring and it wasn't as if he could just not assign Nick to certain cases because Nick was not prejudice when it came to empathy. He seemed to care about every victim to some extent.

Another aspect of why it was so dangerous was that caring about people was considered to be a good quality to have. How do you warn someone that the part of their character that helps to make them so personable and genuinely good is something that can lead them into danger? Was it a danger that he, a person who had trouble relating with others, could only see? How could he guide Nick when he wasn't even aware of the true nature of his own emotions? Grissom didn't know if it was even possible.

The harsh reality of it all was that he hadn't been able to help him. He had failed Nick. Completely. Utterly. Miserably.

Unbidden, his own words came back to haunt him. "The sins the father commits against his son have disastrous and far-reaching consequences. A father is supposed to impart wisdom to his son and provide him with protection, but this is not what Reuben Prosper or Thomas Sanford did for their sons. They were physically and emotionally abusive and their ill treatment of their sons lead those who they should have been taking care of into danger - not danger from an outside source, but from a danger within."

An immense pressure began to weigh down on him as he realized that this was exactly what he had done to Nick. Though he was not Nick's father, he was an authority figure and Nick had looked up to him. Nick had desired his attention and his approval, but Grissom had given him nothing but pain and neglect. He should have guided Nick and helped him, but he had not been able to because he hadn't been aware of his own feelings. His relationship with Nick proved that better than anything he could think of. Sometimes the only way people know how to show that they are concerned is through their anger and that's exactly what he had done. His terror had masqueraded itself as anger and even he had been deceived by its disguise. He had always had trouble communicating with Nick. Perhaps deep in the subconscious regions of his mind, he had decided that the best way to reach Nick was through anger and constant discipline, but in doing so, he had pushed the younger man away and driven him to take an extreme course of action.

The things that frightened Grissom the most about Nick, his empathy and his intense need to help others, had been the key to Nick's undoing. These were the things that Grissom should have cautioned him about, but he had realized his folly too late and now Nick was going to pay the price.

'And it's all my fault.' Grissom thought bitterly.

Warrick suddenly came bounding into the room, interrupting Grissom's thoughts. "The house belongs to Prosper. It was registered under his name."

He shoved the paper in his hand under Grissom's nose. Anticipating his supervisor's next question, Warrick said, "I ran a property search and Prosper owns no other homes or buildings other than this one and his actual home."

"What about the homes of his followers?" Grissom asked, looking up at Warrick in expectancy. "Have we checked those? One of those might be big enough to house the whole group."

"I'll get Brass and we'll look into it." Warrick turned to leave but found his way blocked by Sara.

"I just got a call from dispatch. LVPD found Nick's vehicle abandoned on the side of the road. It's being towed to the lab." Sara told them as she ran a hand through her brunette waves.

Warrick sighed heavily and shot Grissom a look. Grissom could tell that the man's nerves were wearing thin and so were Sara's. They were concerned for their friend. They had every right to be. Grissom was suddenly struck by how very young they looked and in contrast, he suddenly felt ten years older. If they were seeking words of comfort from him, they would be disappointed. He had none to offer.

Another interruption came in the form of Catherine. She pushed her way past Sara so that she could look Grissom directly in the face.

"The Redmans are here. They want to know where their daughter is. What do you want me to tell them?" Catherine asked pointedly.

Grissom knew that Catherine already knew what she should tell them, but instead, she had decided to use this incident to force some sort of discussion. He wasn't in the mood for it. There wasn't time. The entomologist dropped his head and began to busy himself with the papers on his desk in an effort to ignore the woman's piercing gaze. "Tell them I don't know where she is."

Catherine threw up a hand in disgust. "I can't tell them that, Gil!"

Grissom slammed the papers he was holding on the desk. "You don't want to tell them the truth? Fine! Make something up! Sugar-coat it all you want!"

The office fell deathly still as an awkward silence settled between the CSIs. All four of them had been on the verge of an outburst, but none of them, Grissom included, had expected him to be the first one to let loose. When a man like Grissom lost his temper, people knew that things were bad and the implications made them feel, if possible, even worse.

Once again, Grissom began to madly shuffle the papers on his desk in an effort to ease his own tension. He hoped that his reanimation would signal to the others that it was time to leave. How he wished they would just leave him alone, but they remained rooted to their spots.

"Grissom?" Sara asked quietly. She hoped that she wasn't about to set him off again, but there was a question that she had been wanting an answer to ever since Nick went missing.

"Yeah Sara?" he answered in a calmer voice which Sara took as a good sign and pressed forward with her question.

She struggled with her words as if she couldn't quite bring herself to say them. She shifted uncomfortably. "Why aren't these people dead yet? I don't understand why they're being kept alive and for that matter, I don't understand why Prosper didn't just kill Nick for interfering."

Grissom pondered her question. It was a good one - one that he hadn't given a lot of thought.

"Well, perhaps the Day of Purging is an actual date rather than a day that Prosper chooses when he feels like it. If it's a fixed date, he wouldn't want to commit the murders before then. That would upset the ritual." Grissom said matter-of-factly.

"How do we know what day it is then? It could be today or tomorrow or next week!" Warrick threw up his hands in frustration.

"It's gotta be sooner rather than later, right? I mean, why else would you grab all those people if you were only going to hold them for a week?" Sara reasoned.

Grissom remained silent for a moment, letting his eyes fall to his desk. They were missing something. What was it? Suddenly, his eyes darted up.

"What day is it?" Grissom asked quickly.

"It's Tuesday. Almost Wednesday actually. It's nearly midnight." Warrick answered confused.

"No! The date! What's the date?" Grissom clarified.

"It's March 15th. Why?" Warrick asked.

Grissom ignored his question and dashed out of his office. Catherine, Warrick, and Sara were hot on his heels as he darted into the evidence room where Levi's trunk was being stored. Grissom grabbed it, threw the lid open, and began to search the contents frantically.

"What are you looking for, Grissom?" Catherine asked, trying to peak inside the trunk as well.

"The missing piece of the puzzle." Grissom responded, not bothering to look up. "Here it is!"

He pulled out the newspaper article he had been looking for and scanned it quickly. "Everything that Prosper's doing now centers around his relationship with his father. Nick said that the man was still battling the ghost of his father and he was right. Reuben Prosper went missing on March 17th. That's the Day of Purging."

"That doesn't give us much time." Warrick said grimly.

Grissom shook his head sadly. "No, it doesn't. In one day, nine people will be executed."