An Unfair Act of Vengeance
Notes: I hope you like how this chapter turns out as well I do. Thanks a lot for all the great reviews!
Summary: Warrick finds out that Tina helped Nick and he isn't happy about it. Grissom and Greg return from New York, and Grissom's return helps the team recuperate for Nick's sake. Grissom and Sofia search Nick's home for possible clues.
Warrick had not been happy when Catherine had forced him to take a few hours to go home and get some rest. He had just gotten back from interviewing the guy who Nick had gone to see. Once he got back to the lab the temporary supervisor hadn't given him the chance to argue about it, so, after he had given his locker a frustrated kick, he found himself in his car heading home. He hopped out of his car, and headed up the sidewalk to his house. At least he'd get to spend some time with Tina… He opened the door, but was somewhat surprised when she wasn't anywhere to be seen. He walked through the living room, and froze in the doorway to their kitchen.
Warrick's mouth opened when he saw Nick sitting in his kitchen, and the Texan immediately jumped up to greet him. Tina gave Warrick a weak smile, and found that she didn't like the look on his face.
"Warrick, I think we need to talk in the other room…" Nick said. His voice had gotten stronger once his cut had been properly taken care of, and he could feel more energy pumping through him now that he wasn't out in the cold night air.
Warrick stepped back into the living room, and Nick quietly followed him.
"What the hell were you thinking coming here Nick?" Warrick demanded, his voice rising.
"Look, I wouldn't have come here if I didn't have to, man…" Nick's voice was uneasy, and his Texan accent would've told Warrick how scared his friend really was if he had been listening more closely.
He's my best friend, I can trust him… I've always trusted him, and he's never let me down. I know it… It may take some convincing, but I know I can count on him… Nick hoped that he was right, and he was hardly prepared for what happened next.
"Do have any idea of what this could do to us? You could get us both thrown in prison man! And, even if they dropped the charges later we'd be out of our jobs!"
"I know that Warrick, but, please, I don't have anywhere else to go…"
Warrick didn't even realize what he was doing; it was simply a reaction from the anger that was building up inside of him. The next thing he really remembered was seeing the Texan lying on the floor of his living room holding a hand up to his jaw. He gazed down at his knuckles and found that they hurt, and when his eyes met those of his friend he froze.
"How bad was Nicky hurt when this guy stabbed him?" Nick's older brother had been asking her these type of questions all night, and Catherine had answered every single one of them to the best of her ability.
"Physically it wasn't very threatening, but Nick went into a state of shock for some time. Luckily, he came out of it after the first night. The doctors were forced to restrain him, in case he had any nightmares that could've caused actually bodily movements without him ever really waking up. After the first night they determined his wounds would be healed enough to take any subconscious movements…"
"And, what's going to happen to the bastard that actually did this to him?"
Catherine couldn't answer, her eyes were focused on something behind him in the hallway, and when he turned to look he saw an older man followed closely by the guy who had come to see them in California… He sighed, and noticed how disheveled they both seemed. His eyes followed Catherine who had jumped up and ran out to greet them.
"Grissom! ThankGod you two are back…"
"Yeah, well, we caught the first flight we could; what have got so far?"
"Nothing, some guy said Nick had come to his house asking for help, but that he had gotten scared, and when he turned to stick his key in the door Nick took off. Warrick interviewed him, but he wasn't much help, except that he told us that Nick was bleeding, and wasn't wearing a coat, or even a sweatshirt…"
Greg sighed, once they had boarded the plane he had found Grissom's presence tobe a serious calming effect on himself, and he had found it easier to control his emotions. He had a sense that with Grissom back in play this Alberts guy was going down.
Tina had grabbed Warrick's arm, and forced him to turn around to face her. Her mouth was open, and she hardly heard the words she was practically yelling at him.
"How could you do that to him! He's your friend Warrick! He trusted you, and he needed you!"
Warrick couldn't believe what he had done, but the guilt he felt only deepened when he turned around to see the Texan was gone, and the sweatshirt was lying over the back of their couch… He'd never forget the look of betrayal that had implanted itself on the other man's already terrified face…
He was running as fast as he could. He didn't care where he was going; he just needed to get away from that… that place… He had never expected to see the blurred shape of his friend's fist connecting to his jaw, and he had found himself unable to speak… all he had been able to do was to pull of the sweatshirt that had suddenly felt like it was attempting to smother him. Then he had left… and now he was once more on the run, but with no where left to go…
Suddenly he heard the sounds of a vehicle driving fast towards him. He instantly ducked behind a dumpster, and he watched as a large SUV drove past. His jaw dropped when he briefly saw the face of his supervisor sitting next to Catherine. He instantly fought back the urge to jump out and beg them for help… I can't even trust my own damn friends… He took a look down at his shoes, forcing himself to keep his emotions under control, and he ran silently down the alley in search of a fairly warm place to spend the night.
"Grissom!" Warrick's face looked surprised when he saw the older CSI standing in the doorway with Catherine. When he had called her he hadn't even given her the chance to speak. He stood back, and they looked at Tina somewhat in surprise until they saw the gloves and first aid kit on the young couple's kitchen table.
"When did he show up?" Catherine asked quickly.
"I think the more important question may be when he left… and why."
Warrick immediately looked down at his feet, but he knew it'd be best to just tell them the truth. They'd find out soon enough anyway…
Dr. Carl Alberts had watched Nick come stumbling out of his friend's home. And he smiled curiously at the new bruise he sported on his face… He had just lost his trust in his friends, but he knew the Texan would have one more stop to make before his time came to an end… This was going to be one hell of a good show… After a few minutes he started up his car, and drove off to the site where his plan would finally be revealed to the dimwitted CSI team…
Nick hugged the wall of the house, and was glad the man had taken the time to actually take care of the bushes surrounding his house… This is it… my last chance… he sighed quietly, and tried to make himself comfortable while he waited…
Grissom and Catherine both looked dumbfounded when Warrick finally finished his recap of the evening…
"You hit him?" Catherine asked, the very thought was appalling to her.
"Catherine, don't. Not now at least. This is going to be hard enough." Grissom said calmly, and he almost cringed when he heard how calm his voice was. He was anything but calm… I hurt him even more… I didn't treat him fairly, I didn't give him what he deserved… It was too late for that though… Just follow the evidence… has it ever let you down before? He knew the answer was yes, but at the moment it was all he needed to force himself to deal with this new complication.
"I-I'm s-so sorry, you guys have got to believe me, I never meant for this to happen…"
"Calm down, Warrick, I'd suggest getting a few hours of sleep before coming back in to help clear him as a suspect…"
Several minutes later he and Catherine were back in the lab and looking for Archie.
"I don't get it, Grissom, why are we going to go see Archie?"
"Because of something I should have told all of you about a long time ago…"
They found Archie sitting in his usual seat in front of the complicated audio system. He waited until Grissom had closed the door before he played the tape for Catherine. Both watched the expected shudder that she had been unable to stop when the voice of Walter Gordon sounded throughout the room. What the hell does this have to do with anything? Walter Gordon is dead… Then she heard it… just barely… Someone had said 'perfect' in the background, and she let out a deep sigh, as she finally understood what it meant.
"Gordon had someone helping him…"
"Precisely, which automatically helps Nick out here. It gives us, and the police another viable suspect."
Sara burst into the room, and flashed a quick smile, "I've got some good news, Dr. Alberts' institution has a lot of Pyridine in stock. It helps call him into suspicion, and his institute has everyone's DNA handy. I told Mia to run our blood sample against their records, to see if she came up with anything; she should have the results in a few minutes… And, uh, by the way, what are you guys doing in here? There aren't any video or audio tapes involved with this case…"
"Grissom, go get those results, I'll fill her in on the details for you…"
"Thanks, Catherine, I'll leave the files in the lab, I want to check out Nick's place tonight. After that I need to head home and get some rest, so that I'm not pulling a double shift with only four hours of sleep yesterday…"
"Sure thing Grissom, it's good to know that you're back…" Catherine said sincerely as the supervisor exited the room. He hadn't even reached the lab when Brass came up beside him, a grim look on his face.
"I figured you'd want to know… Harold Rogers, that DA, just died… looks like Ecklie might get lucky though… Otherwise, I'm more concerned with what's going on to catch the guy who actually did all this…"
"I'm just heading over to the lab to see if we can get a DNA match on our first victim."
"How is that supposed to help us out?" Brass asked sarcastically as they entered the lab. Mia quickly handed the folder off to Grissom, who scanned the results. He looked up at Brass and offered a slight grin.
"I think we just got our biggest break…" Grissom said, satisfied with the results, "he's a patient of Dr. Alberts. Which means, that he was supposed to be in an institute in Phoenix, not in Vegas."
"That just made Dr. Alberts a suspect didn't it?" Brass smiled grimly they had him now…
"It does, I need you to find him, but be careful, this guy has got a lot of skills; I've never seen a case this cold before…"
"Where are you headed?"
"Nick's place, I'm thinking there is going to be something there that may help us out."
"Good luck, but just in case, take Sofia with you. It'll make me feel better in case this guy wants more than just Nick."
"Ok, Brass, I'll call and have her meet me there."
Several minutes later he pulled up outside Nick's house, and looked around the well-kept lawn and house. Sofia was waiting for him by the front door, and was about to force the door open when Grissom held out a key.
"Everyone on the team has one, Nick never really explained why, but I suppose it doesn't much matter now." He put the key into the lock, and they both heard the loud click as the door unlocked. Sofia went to move in, but Grissom put out a restraining hand, and moved in slowly, before he punched a few buttons on an alarm panel just inside the door.
"Is it just me, or is Nick a little paranoid?" Sofia asked calmly, but she regretted saying it when she saw the questioning look Grissom gave her. She had never really gotten to know Nick, but she knew that anyone that Grissom cared so much about obviously deserved it…
"Actually, I paid for most of it…" He said after a few moments, "thought it would let him relax a bit after that whole fiasco last summer." They moved into the living room, and Grissom let out a sigh when he saw a stack of books piled up on an end table. A closer look revealed that they were about various types of rare birds… Whenever I share some little fact you always assume that the only place I can learn it from is some TV show… The words hit him hard… he had assumed so many things about this man, and most of those things were probably false… He picked up the book on the top of the pile, and found a small slip of paper sticking out of it. He opened the book, and found a small article about Mourning Doves… how had he let himself be so stupid when Nick was so important?
"Hey Grissom, I found some phone numbers over here…" Sofia called out gently.
Grissom put the book down and walked over to the fairly large pile of numbers by the phone. At least half of them had lines crossed through them.
"I thought Nicky was supposed to be something of a lady's man?" Sofia said as she handed him some of the papers. And he could see that many of them also had a girl's name scribbled on it.
"I suppose he's been going through a rough streak in yet another area of his life…"
"Well, this place is clean, I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary…"
"Maybe not here, but there's still his room, and the guestroom too."
"Which room do you want?"
"I'll get them both, I want you to stay out here, look through his trash, check his cabinets, his answering machine… everything… then check the bathroom…"
"Sure thing…"
Grissom walked into Nick's room, and immediately noticed a kit lying next to the door, ready to go. He couldn't see anything out of place, except a few clothes on the man's bed. He took a brief look in the CSI's closet, but found nothing out of place there either. He walked over to the nightstand and opened the drawer only to find a few pieces of paper, some loose cash, and what looked like the back of a couple of pictures. He picked the pictures up, and smiled at the first one of Nick with his family. The next picture took away his smile as he looked at the photo of his whole team smiling at the camera… He put the photos back, and saw Sofia coming out of the bathroom.
"You're already done?"
"No trash, no messages, nothing, same with the bathroom…"
"I guess that leaves the guestroom…" They both cautiously stepped into the room, and both could tell that hardly anyone was ever in this room. Sofia picked around some of the empty dressers, and found one with some newspaper clippings in it.
"I got some news articles here… Looks like Nick has quite a few of your teams' most impressive cases in here…"
Grissom shuffled through the various articles, and sighed once more when he saw the cases that had proven that they were the best team in Vegas… One particular article caught his eye… He quickly scanned through it; it was an article on Nigel Crane…
"I think there may be one important place we've been overlooking…" Sofia watched his eyes glance up at the ceiling. She gave him a confused look until he grabbed a chair and placed it within the open closet. In moments his legs disappeared, and she could hear footsteps above her. She smiled, supposing that Grissom could never truly miss anything… Her thoughts were interrupted shortly when Grissom yelled at her to get up there.
Her eyes scanned the dusty attic. Grissom was bent over, looking at something. Her eyes landed on a single page of the "Crime Stopper" newsletter. This one sported a picture and article of Nick, as well as a short, handwritten note that sent a chill down her spine…
He'll be mine soon… Too soon for you to stop me Grissom.
Grissom reluctantly walked up the path to his own house. Sofia had collected the article and promised she'd bring it back to the lab to be processed, so that he could go get some sleep. She had also decided to check the numbers, and see who they all belonged to. He had barely stuck the keys in his lock when he heard something moving off to his side.
"Psst…" Nick hissed through his teeth once more. He watched his supervisor jump at his voice, but was glad to see the look of relief on the other's face when he saw him.
Grissom had definitely not expected Nick to show up at his house, but couldn't help but feel relieved that his CSI was still ok.
"I think you should come inside… and quickly…" Grissom opened his door and looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching as Nick darted inside.
"T-thanks, Griss…" Nick fumbled for the words; he still wasn't sure how he felt about his boss withholding so much from him. I guess I don't have much of a choice, and he did willingly let me in, so that has got to be a good sign…
"Here, take this, you're freezing…" Grissom handed Nick a blanket, and motioned for him to sit down on the couch. Nick flashed him an uneasy smile, and sat down. His supervisor sat next to him, and tried desperately to think of something to say.
"Look, Grissom, about before… in the lab…" Nick never had the time to finish when he felt something cold press up against the back of his head.
"How nice, I'd really like to give the two of you more time to chat, but time is of the essence… Why don't you both stand up, slowly now… I'd hate to have to kill you here Nicky…" They both stood, up slowly, and Nick winced as the man forcefully grabbed Nick's shoulder and pulled him away from the couch so that he was holding his gun at the younger CSI's head. Nick recognized the voice immediately as Dr. Alberts as he looked fearfully to his supervisor for help.
To Be Continued…
Next Chapter: Dr. Alberts drugs Nick with Pyridine and knocks Grissom out after using the two CSI's relationship against them. When Grissom wakes up he finds the other two gone, and he calls the team. They immediately scour Grissom's home for clues, but once again they find very little. A package arrives at CSI Headquarters, and Dr. Alberts gives them their first clue, as well as a phone call…