-1Grissom stood quietly in front of the wrecked truck. The heavy mass of steel rested on the driver's side; the rest of the body showed dents, scratches and marks of numerous impacts from what had to be multiple collisions. The supervisor narrowed his eyes, trying to take in what exactly transpired in the outskirts of the warehouse district. All the signs pointed to some sort of high-speed chase with all the facets of an overpriced Hollywood action movie. It would take the whole team to cover the miles that made up this scene. Grissom was aware of Jim Brass's quiet observation of his posture.

Grissom stared at his kit resting by his feet and left it there as he walked over to his friend.

Jim kept any normal dry humor to himself. He just turned his head towards the other crashed vehicle. "Looks like that SUV," he said, pointing a thumb at the Jeep, "was forced into the truck trailer at a high level of speed. Can't tell if anyone was seriously injured, although I did see some blood on the passenger side windshield."

Grissom gazed at the crumpled-up car several hundred feet away and then back over to Nick's mangled truck. "One of the tires on the truck looks blown out. From what I won't know until it's back at the lab."

"No eyewitnesses to what happened out here, but a few reports came in from motorists who called in about reckless driving a few miles from here. Statements taken from several people said there were an SUV and some sort of Audi chasing a truck through several red lights. There were a couple small car crashes with minor injuries. One couple complained to the DOT about the traffic lights going and I quote, 'haywire'," Brass summarized flipping his notebook closed.

Grissom pursed his lips. "There are several skid marks in a few different locations from the south," he said pointing past the detective.

"Whoever was after our guys meant business," Jim said dryly, scanning the scattered debris that littered the empty industrial area.

If Grissom heard his comment, he didn't acknowledge it. "Tell your guys to keep this whole area cordoned off. It's going to take time to scour all this asphalt for evidence. I want security surveillance from the intersections of the witnesses' reports. I want film of the cars in pursuit. Catherine, Greg and Sara are on their way to process. A tow truck is going to haul Nick's vehicle back to the lab for me to go over."

Jim raised any eyebrow at the remark. "When's the last time you did garage duty?"

"When two of my guys became moving targets in some war," Grissom responded, as he stared at the destruction in front of him.

Grissom lay under the jacked up mass of metal staring upwards. He had gathered all the tiniest clues to tell the story of truck's last moments before it crashed. But he remained under the wreck pondering the last time he saw his two CSIs. He had been in a rush, gathering the latest results from their hit and run case. Out of the corner of his eye he had seen Nick as he stood transfixed by the sliding board. Not until Gil slid under the truck himself did it dawn on him the reason for the hesitancy in Nick's movements.

Staring at the mangled layer of the undercarriage, Grissom found how the confined space roofed by several tons of steel could be a bit overwhelming if he remained on his back long enough to contemplate it. He nibbled on his lower lip as he promised himself not to be so callous to his co-worker's behavior. Everyone had given Nick so much space lately; it was a sort of defense mechanism. The memories of last summer had been safely tucked away to help with the illusion of normality. Now both of his colleagues were out there missing, maybe injured, and were possibly being hunted. The supervisor had been so lost in thought he didn't notice two feet appear beside him.

He heard someone clear their throat and Grissom rolled back out and carefully stood up, his back protesting the movement. He grimaced as he twisted the stiff muscles as he met Catherine's serious expression.

"What did you find?" she almost demanded.

Grissom tugged his goggles down around his neck; the same question had been at the tip of his tongue. "The driver side tire was blown out by a bullet. I recovered it and sent it to ballistics with a rush. The driver side windshield had two bullet holes in it. I haven't recovered those. They might be still at the scene. I did find another one imbedded in the front grille, also sent to Bobby."

"Seems they didn't have a problem trying to kill the driver," Catherine said solemnly.

Grissom walked around to the passenger side, ignoring her remark. "There was some blood splatter by the inside window, I sent that to DNA. It looked like someone's head impacted with the glass; I can only guess it was Warrick who was hurt. The amount of blood leads me to believe that it was not serious, but I'm not discounting anything."

Catherine followed the supervisor, closely following his summary until they were both facing the destruction of the driver side. "The air bag was released. I didn't find any trace of blood, but from the way the dashboard, and the inside of the car door were pushed in, I'd say Nick was lucky to escape with just minor injuries."

Catherine suppressed a shiver. "You're making guesses already." She looked over at her longtime friend. It was not in Gil Grissom's nature to jump to conclusions without something physical backing the statements up. However, the sheer amount of destruction caused to the vehicle left very little faith that either CSI left unscathed.

Catherine fiddled with her file folder. "My news isn't any better. I was able to trace the route from where the chase began at Warrick's townhouse based on eyewitnesses' statements and all the tire tracks at the beginning to the warehouse district. We found some bits of debris belonging to one of the vehicles. I won't know if it's part of Nick's truck or the suspect autos, but there was at least one other collision in one of the alleys leading to the warehouse district. Brass got the surveillance tape over to Archie, who's looking at it now."

Grissom shook his head as he extended his pointer finger for added emphasis. "We have print powder all over Warrick's bedroom. Signs of a break in, backed up by the neighbor's account that a group of men were chasing Warrick and Nick outside." Grissom held out a second finger, "The power is out at Warrick's place, added to the fact that a collection agency from the casino called earlier looking for him."

Catherine followed his train of thought. "Chase ends at the warehouse district. No calls for help. No incoming calls from either Nick's or Warrick's phones to 911, or any of us about trouble. We have the SUV belonging to one possible set of suspects. Nick's truck is totaled and all parties are unaccounted for."

Grissom motioned towards the smashed SUV in question. "After Sara and Greg are done dropping off their findings I want them combing through the suspect vehicle for anything that can identify the driver. I scanned through it, but there's no paperwork in the glove box. I sent the sample of blood off to DNA along with what I suspect was Warrick's from Nick's truck."

Catherine nodded. "Where did they go if they escaped? And why hasn't either of them contacted us?"

"I may have the answer to that," Jim said as a way of greeting as he walked in. The Captain had both criminalists' attention.

"I went by the hospital where Tina Brown works after you told me that you couldn't reach her. She never showed up for her shift yesterday, and no one there has heard from her."

Catherine and Grissom stared at each other letting the pieces fall into place. Grissom opened his mouth to voice a theory not supported by empirical evidence. Catherine on the other hand was not so guarded. "You think someone grabbed Tina Brown?"

Jim cocked his head as the Graveyard supervisor kept quiet. "Might explain the weird disturbance at Warrick's house, and why he didn't call anyone if his wife had been threatened."

Catherine let out a small growl. "Warrick's been acting odd of late, but with his recent behavior I just discounted it. And of course Nicky's involved; those two are very close."

Grissom felt his brain run a mile a minute. The case ...no it wasn't a case, he told himself. He wasn't going to be any closer to finding Warrick or Nick by just standing around with unprovable ideas. He walked out of the garage, despite the odd stares of his companions. "Make sure that other car is processed," he left in his wake.

Grissom was a man on a mission as he steam-rolled through the lab, dodging people left and right. There was still a piece to the puzzle that needed answering. One that contained visual clues to follow. He headed to towards the AV lab where Archie sat looking stunned in his chair. The tech swiveled in his seat to meet the demanding expression of his boss.

"I just looked at every inch of film caught by the cameras at the time of the chase," he started.

Grissom signaled with his hand the need to speed up the conversation. "Go on, Archie. Tell me what you found. Every second counts."

The Asian tech seemed to slump further in his seat, almost afraid to answer him. Archie swallowed a lump. "The results are not good."

"What are they then?" Grissom pressed, his voice irritated.

Archie stood up and stuffed his hands into his lab coat. "All the tapes are blank. There's nothing to study."

Gil Grissom just gaped at the AV tech, for once speechless.

Nick felt the outlines of his vision becoming fuzzier with each passing second. His continuous gasping for air had to come under control. Hyperventilating would just cause him to lose consciousness again, and he was not going to submit to the darkness while that evil black little beast crawled over his skin. He had reached the number forty from one hundred and the receding digits were no longer helping. He quickly switched to reciting the capitals of states to take his mind off of the simultaneous blossoms of pain. If he could just combat the feeling that his lower regions were on fire, he could manage the contracting muscle twitching in the rest of his limbs.

Nick had named all the capitals of the southeast and was working his way over the east coast as the scaly arachnid's tiny little legs inched towards his hand. If he had any muscle control at all, he would flick the damn thing off. Despite the numbness, the phantom memory of traces of little prickling sensations of insects sent shivers down his spine.

Madame Chu eye's followed the creature's path along his limb and she looked over at Warrick with malice. "Have you ever watched a man suffer from respiratory distress? It's quite a fascinating experience. The patient's throat closes in and shuts off all intake of oxygen. It's like watching a fish flop all over a dry dock after being snatched from the waters."

Warrick felt the bonds cut into his flesh through the fabric of his shirt. Weaknesses. The Voice knew them all. Warrick always understood that there was a slight risk involved when Nick spent time outdoors on any particular case. He carried an epi-pen in his kit or inside his vest just in case, even though his partner had been very stubborn about it. Now the possibility of anaphylactic shock was being used as sick torture. If he told them where Kenny was, it would buy Nick time. Maybe he could lie, and give her the address to a bogus area. The doctor eyed him as he wrestled with his decision.

"Just tell us where Mr. Longman is, and all this fun can end," Madame Chu encouraged at the criminalist's obvious internal struggle. She continued to hold Nick's left hand to her bosom, rubbing her thumbs on his flesh in a parody of reassurance.

Warrick glanced over at Nick, but his friend no longer paid attention to him. His brown eyes were solely focused on the scorpion that scaled his arm, his chin resting on his chest. The sounds of his ragged breathing mixed in with a plethora of slurred words that Warrick could not make out.

"We stashed him at the old junkyard on Willmont Avenue," Warrick blurted out in desperation.

Madame Chu's eyes grew large. She squatted down so she was at eye level with Warrick, maintaining her hold on Nick's broken wrist. "Are you telling me the truth, Mr. Brown?" She took a hold of his chin and peered into green eyes.

Warrick felt his guts twist into knots. "Yes, you bitch!" he spat. He craned his neck towards his partner. "Leave him alone!" he cried out, the anguish in his voice sincere.

Nick forced himself to focus at this the new opportunity. Chu had moved towards his side, her attention focused on his partner. He eyed the scalpel lying next to the velvet pad. The table was only a few inches away in front of him. If he could wrest his hand from her grasp, he could snatch the thing.

The assistant narrowed her eyes. "Your despair for your friend is genuine, but your words are hollow. I know when someone is lying to me. Your pupil reactions give you away."

Nick ignored the scorpion as it got bored and began to ascend his arm back towards his shoulder. It was one thing to have the thing crawl along a desensitized part of his flesh, but he would be damned if he let those hairy little legs move along areas of his skin that would feel every creepy part of the scaly beast. The evil woman tightened her grip on his hand, effectively cutting off any chance at grabbing the scalpel. All Nick wanted was a chance to fight; it was against every fiber of his being to be this helpless.

Nick tried to twist around in his confinement; maybe he could jar the creature off of his body. Madame Chu arched an eyebrow and reached for another, longer needle from her black bag of doom. She jabbed the slender wire in the direction of the arachnid, giggling as she tried to annoy the creature.

"This species is known for its aggressiveness. I'm not sure how it might react to being toyed with. I'm sure it would not deal with it as well as Mr. Stokes has endured thus far," Chu threatened as she grinned at the other CSI.

Warrick felt his chair rock forward in response to his struggles to tear free of his restraints. "I told you where Kenny is. He's at the old junkyard!" he screamed, hoping if he yelled loud enough, his words would sound more convincing.

Nick tensed further as the scorpion stopped moving, obviously aggravated at having the needle poke along its armored back. He heard Warrick scream at his tormentor. Nick's heart raced, his resolve beginning to slip away as the capitals he was relaying under his breath became incoherent babble. He heard the choked sounds of fear take over as he could barely take the mounting stress.

He managed a sob filled, "Albany," through clenched teeth.

Nick felt a scream building up from the depths of his chest when a loud commotion from the darkened room distracted them all. Madame Chu whipped around at the sound of a door banging shut dropping Nick's hand to jar against the wooden chair arm.

"Freeze! We have you surrounded!" echoed in the dimly lit room.

Nick felt adrenaline surge through his veins. The next few seconds were like some cheesy slow-motion effect in one of those CGI action movies. Nick knew those were not the words of any real law enforcement officer. As his brain tried to comprehend that this was not a real rescue, it was enough of a distraction to grab the scalpel left unattended.

Nick forced his body forward as hard as he could against the leather strap. He slung his left arm forward and forced his hand to follow his commands as fingertips barely latched onto the blade. He ground his teeth together from the pain of moving the broken bones, but his fingers curled around the thin steel instrument.

Madame Chu was temporarily distracted by the threat in the room, but whirled around when she sensed movement behind her. Nick saw her cold eyes narrow as she lunged at his hand. He had no choice but to swing his arm sideways, the tip of the blade slicing backwards at the motion. The scalpel sliced the woman's upper arm and blood cast off in the air.

The woman gasped as she held onto her arm, her face betraying the shock of being assaulted. Nick didn't have time to react as a figure moved into view. The movement distracted the woman enough to turn her back to him, as he was deemed the lesser threat for the moment.

Nick took the opportunity to cut the leather bonds over his chest at an awkward angle, while trying to keep the blade from slipping and injuring himself. With just the use of one arm, he bent down to cut away the ones around his legs, groaning as the bones in his wrist and hand rubbed together painfully.

"Nick!"

He could hear Warrick call his name to help free him. Nick was momentarily stunned to see Kenny Longman step into view, wearing a UPS uniform and holding a gun pointed at the doctor. Nick didn't have time to try to make sense of the strange situation as he half limped and half stumbled around towards Warrick's chair. His body was in the throes of such chaos it was a wonder he could support his weight at all. Nick cut the arm and chest restraints of his partner and with a very shaky hand, gave the scalpel to him so he could undo the rest. Once he was relieved of the blade, Nick fell forward, unable to bear the intense levels of pain he was in any longer.

Warrick saw Nick's legs give out from under him and grabbed him by the waist with his left arm to keep him from falling, while he hastily cut his leg straps with his right. Once the leather bonds were dealt with, Warrick held on to Nick's trembling body, his eyes forward at the stand off in the shadows.

Kenny was showing a brave front with what looked to be a pistol aimed in the direction of the evil doctor. Madame Chu seemed alert but not at all nervous for having a weapon pointed at her. She continued to glance back and forth between all three men, obviously contemplating her next move. She held her arm tightly, blood dripping down to the floor from her wound. Her eyes spoke volumes. She was not afraid of the situation. She was calculating on whom to take care of first. Warrick wasn't going to give her the opportunity.

"If she moves, you pull the trigger, Man" he shouted at his friend. He could tell his boyhood chum was extremely nervous, but he was channeling the energy into some great acting. Kenny nodded, which Warrick thought was a good thing. He knew a high-pitched nervous response would give away the fear that had to be coursing through the kid's body.

Warrick wanted to stay standing in a position of authority, but he had to help his best friend. He carefully sat back down, cradling Nick's shivering form. Nick let out a pain-filled cry as he collapsed literally into his partner's lap. Warrick kept Nick from slipping to the ground with his left arm and inspected the needles protruding from his flesh. He didn't want to just pluck them out, in case there was some special way of pulling them from where they were embedded in his flesh. However, there was no time, so Warrick gave a little prayer and carefully removed each one as quickly as he dared.

Nick felt instant relief in his right hand, his fingers uncurling from their continuous state of contraction. A second later his leg stopped twitching as the muscles spasms became less intense. He groaned in pure ecstasy as the fiery explosions of pain faded in his abdomen and groin. Nick felt his face grow moist from the release. Warrick was muttering calming things, as his right arm gained some mobility and the numbness flooded with sharp pinpricks of pain. It was a welcome change from the non-existent feelings from before.

"Warrick!"

Nick heard his partner's name called out. Any reverie disappeared knowing that they needed to get the Hell out of the house. Nick knew panic when he heard it and tried to force his body into a standing position. Warrick pulled him up, draping his right arm over his shoulder and took on a lot of his dead weight. The needles may have been removed, but Nick still felt the terrible effects to his muscles and nerves. His body was in no mood to cooperate right now as it tried to cope with what happened.

"Let's move, Nicky." He heard Warrick's hushed voice though the white noise of his brain trying to shut down.

Nick felt instantly awake as he forced his mind out of the cobwebs it so desired to be swallowed up by. He got both legs to support his weight as he hobbled along, leaning on his partner as Warrick maneuvered them both away from the vile woman. Nick craned his neck to see where the scorpion had scurried off to, glad that the damn thing was no longer on his skin.

Warrick dragged his partner over towards his childhood friend, noticing for the first time in the low-lit area that Kenny Longman was holding off the evil bitch with a toy pistol.