An Unfair Act of Vengeance
Notes: This is one of my longest chapters so far, but I think it turned out pretty well. Thanks for the reviews, and hopefully the story will be wrapped up sometime towards the end of this week…
Summary: The phone call takes several bad turns, and Nick is left in even more turmoil. Catherine assigns the team various tasks in an attempt to help them find Nick quickly, and they return with evidence that may break the case and help them find Nick…
"I really only have two demands for you Grissom, and they won't exactly be easy."
"What do I have to do?" Grissom couldn't keep how much he loathed the man on the end of the phone from his voice, and his eyebrows furrowed as the man on the other end chuckled slightly at his response.
"Well, I need you to answer some questions, fully, and honestly, if I even suspect that you're lying your friend loses his hand. Then we'll get to the second demand later."
"Fine." Grissom answered curtly… his eyes never left Nick's quivering body. He could see that the Texan was staring at the blade that had been left so near to him, but clearly out of his range.
"Why don't we start off with some simple questions. I believe my good friend already started to try to ask you, but got quite disappointed when you refused to respond. Personally, I think the questions need answers, so unless I get those answers your friend gets his hand cut off. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what losing that much blood could do to him…"
"Look, let's just cut this stupid chatter and just do this."
"I must say that I'm not very fond of your attitude, this is rather important after all… But, I suppose I can be a bit more lenient for now, so I'll start where my friend was cut off… What does Nick Stokes really mean to you Mr. Grissom?"
Grissom had expected the question, and this time he knew he couldn't just cop out as he had before with Gordon… He tried to come up with an answer, but found that he really didn't know what Nick actually meant to him.
"You of all people ought to realize that we don't have all day here…"
"I-I care about him… he means a lot to me, but I'm not sure I can really get any more specific…"
"I see… you've never allowed yourself to analyze your relationship with him, but why… you've clearly thought about it more with everyone else on your team…"
"I-I don't…"
"What did I tell you about lying Grissom? But, since you're not good with people I suppose I'll give you a few more chances. Now, why do you have so many problems when it comes down to Mr. Stokes?"
"I… I don't know…"
"Ah, well, from my perspective I get the feeling that Nick sees you as something of a father figure. That makes you uncomfortable doesn't it Grissom?"
"I really don't know…" Grissom was trying desperately to search for the answer, but he couldn't explain anything. His mind raced for an answer, and it was becoming harder to ignore the questioning faces of his team. They clearly didn't like the fact that Grissom was so unsure of himself…
"Well, Mr. Grissom, those are all my questions… for now, and believe me, we aren't done. Now, I'm much more excited about your next task… I'll be giving this phone over to Nicky, but if you say anything other than 'This is Grissom' your friend loses his hand… and there won't be any exceptions here."
The supervisor's eyes watched the camera as the man appeared, and untied the hand that had been firmly restrained behind his back. He could hear his friend's somewhat stifled cries of pain as he saw a knee thrust into the Texan's side. It wasn't long before the man handed the CSI the phone, smiled and stepped out of the view of the camera.
"H-h-hello?"
"Nick… This is Grissom…" he forced his voice to remain calm, and steady as it usually was, and his mind didn't even register how foolish the choice could be…
"Grissom… y-y-you've g-gotta h-help me… It h-hurts s-so…"
He watched the man on the monitor clutch the phone as firmly as he could waiting for an answer that couldn't come…
"P-p-please… I-I n-n-need you guys… I-I'm so s-s-s-sorry…" Nick's voice trembled, and he waited for an answer… the silence on the other end of the phone was deafening to him. Why won't you talk to me? What did I do wrong? Tears continued to stream down his face; he needed Grissom to talk to him…
"C-c-come on… p-p-please, someone… I don't u-understand… w-what d-did I d-do? Why c-can't y-you s-s-say anything? I'm sorry, you've g-got to b-believe m-me… I'm sorry Griss… I'm sorry..."
Grissom looked at the CSI's shaking hand try to hold the phone steady against his ear. He shut his eyes, wishing that the young man knew he had nothing to apologize for… Then he opened his eyes to see Dr. Alberts' dark form move onto the screen, and begin to attempt to pry the phone from the Texan's fingers as he continued to repeatedly cry out how sorry he was…
Once more the man moved out of the camera's way, and Grissom barely registered any of his team's scared looks as he felt the phone drop from his hands. The other end had been replaced with a dial tone, but he didn't care… He barely noticed that his hands were trembling, and he couldn't take his eyes off the man whose hand was still firmly tied to the table…
Nick couldn't fight back the guilt… He had thought of them as his family… and, now, he found out that his own supervisor, his role model, couldn't even say anything to him… I'm all alone… they've probably already given up on me… Something in the back of his mind wanted to scream that it wasn't true, but it had to have been at least twelve hours since Alberts had first pitted Grissom against him… They're the best CSI team in Vegas… and they can't find anything to help find me… He was so calm… he didn't even care…I'm so sorry Griss… All the Texan could think about was how much he needed to apologize to his supervisor, and how badly he needed to be forgiven…
"Hey, Gil, come on… sit down, just sit down…" Catherine coaxed Grissom back into his seat, but it wasn't easy… Whatever had been said, or not said, on the phone hadn't been good, and her eyes were quickly diverted back to the screen when they saw Dr. Alberts grab Nick's other free hand and tie it next to his other hand so the CSI's palms were facing up…
Nick tried to fight back; he had to try to do something right… he had to make up for his mistakes. But, Alberts' was too strong, and he watched in horror as one hand came down pressing his fingers flat against the table and the other hand withdrew a scalpel from his pocket…
"No!" Warrick screamed at the monitor; he knew his friend couldn't hear him but it didn't matter. He needed to find his Nick. Sara slowly pulled him back into his chair, and they clenched each other's hands as they waited to see what the man would do to their colleague…
Nick screamed out in pain as he felt the scalpel being thrust into his palm. He couldn't fight it anymore… he let it all go, no longer caring about what anyone might think of him… His eyes watched in despair as Dr. Alberts meticulously cut a deep X into both his palms.
They were all on their feet now. They stared in disbelief as they watched the man's mouth open wide as he screamed. Greg silently admonished himself for being thankful they didn't have to actually hear those screams… we deserve to hear them… we should've found him by now…
Sara couldn't take it. She forced herself to turn around, and she felt Warrick's unsteady arms wrap around her… she leaned into his shoulder as the CSI watched his best friend sobbing and screaming in agony on the computer screen…
Warrick didn't know what to do… their was nothing left for them to do… they couldn't find Nick, and they could only watch him suffer on some damn computer… Tears once more fell from his eyes as he watched the camera zoom in towards Nick's face, and there was no mistaking the anguish, and guilt, in the Texan's dark eyes…
No one moved once the screen went black. Brass was the first to leave, and he stormed furiously out of the room. He'd make damn sure that this Dr. Alberts was going to pay… and as for his accomplice in the interrogation room… this was war.
Catherine could see the guilt, and pain in Grissom's now unmoving form. He almost looked like a statue, and Catherine knew that she had to take charge, and be strong… for Nick's sake.
"Greg, I want you to go and try to collect as much surveillance footage as possible from around Grissom's place. If the tapes go that far back then I want you to look for any suspicious vehicles. Sara and Warrick, you guys are in charge of finding out where Dr. Alberts was staying here in Vegas, and find Sofia to take her with you. Call for a warrant, and if the judge doesn't get you one pronto then forget it and search the damn place anyway. I'll take the heat, and any evidence you find is only for helping find Nick. We've got enough to nail Alberts with the death penalty already. Gil, I need to talk to you about what just went on over the phone. Let's go people, we haven't got much time and Nick is probably already doubting that we'll ever find him!"
Greg hurried out of the room. Catherine was right. He just had one stop to make first. He opened the bathroom door, and immediately went to the sink. The cold water felt good on his face, and he quickly dried himself off. He was done with emotions for now; he'd save them for after they found their friend. He shook his head, and could see the redness was already slightly beginning to leave his eyes… Once more he took off and headed down the stairs to complete his task.
Warrick and Sara waited while Sofia made the phone calls to find out where Alberts had been staying, and to get someone to meet them there with a warrant for a full search. She came back, and nodded for them to follow her. Neither protested as she climbed into the driver's seat, and she didn't bother commenting when they both climbed in the back. They were friends, and once she heard about what had happened to Nick she could see why they needed support…
Grissom slowly sat across from Catherine; his mind was still replaying the events that had just taken place. She gently placed her hand on his arm, and could tell that it helped drive out the images that plagued the supervisor's mind… He shook his head. She was right, they needed to be strong. Tears, and guilt couldn't get Nick back… He took a deep breath and began to tell Catherine what Alberts had said throughout their 'conversation' a few minutes ago. She sighed when he was done, and when she saw that look of guilt began to creep into her boss's face she walked around the table and placed her hand softly on his shoulder.
"It was a lose-lose situation, Gil, and at least you saved him his hand…" it had been hard for her to get the words out, but he nodded.
"We've got work to do." His response was quiet, but firm, and he swore to himself that when they found Nick he'd find a way to undo all the damage he had done…
Greg listened silently as the officer apologized once more that the camera footage of the area hadn't been stored longer. Greg highly doubted that it mattered much anyway. It would've been impossible to tell what car he'd taken Nick in. He sighed, thanked the officer, and left the security building. He decided he'd go and check on Sara and Warrick; something just didn't feel right about heading back to the lab empty-handed…
He worked silently setting up the sound. This time the entire CSI team would be forced to listen to their friend's screams, and to hear him beg for it to stop… but it wouldn't. The man tied once more to the wall would soon feel his fury… he smiled. This was going to be the most satisfying act of revenge he'd ever felt, but he knew it would be topped when the team arrived just in time to see their friend die… He shook his head. That was still some time away, and the cowboy still required much pain before he would be completely satisfied. He walked over to the shelves that held his tools, and carefully picked a wide variety of weapons with which he'd soon assault the CSI…
Sara had finally forced herself together when they walked down the hallway and into the hotel just outside the room. Sofia waited for them by the door with two other officers who had brought the warrant straight from some judge's home. They quickly kicked in the door, and it didn't take long to clear the small room. Sofia followed Warrick and Sara inside, only to find the room completely devoid of life.
"He probably never even entered this room." Sara whispered to herself.
"It doesn't matter, we may still be able to find something…"
"Yeah, I'll check the drawers out here, you take the bathroom."
Warrick slowly walked into the bathroom, and looked around for any possible evidence. He moved slowly over to the shower and shoved the curtains aside only to see the "Crime Stopper" article taped to the porcelain wall of the tub. He had already pulled on his gloves, and snapped a few photos before carefully removing the paper from the wall, and placed it into an evidence bag. He looked quickly under the sink, but found nothing else there, and decided to check on Sara.
Greg didn't have a hard time finding the room. It was the only one with cops outside. And with a quick flash of his ID he entered the room only to see Warrick and Sara staring at a piece of paper in an evidence bag. They barely acknowledged him as he came closer and found himself just as surprised by what they were holding. It was the "Crime Stopper" article, and it had already been placed in an evidence bag, clearly initialed NS…
It wasn't long afterwards that they were back at the lab. Both of the two articles and the evidence bag had been processed, and they were waiting for Hodges to return with the results…
Nick felt the bonds around his wrists and legs removed. He sluggishly pulled his hands up to his shirt, and gritted his teeth as he put pressure on his wounds. After a few moments he tried to take a step, but found that the noose around his neck was still there. Several attempts to grab it to remove it failed; his still bleeding palms made it painful to even bend his fingers slightly… He growled in frustration… he was all alone and he needed to get out of this place… and fast. I've got to make it up to them… I've got to try… I can't justkeep letting them down…
Catherine and Grissom watched as Brass once more questioned the deliveryman who was now in tears. Neither of them cared about his feelings at the moment, and they waited in silence.
"Hey guys! I've got the results on that trace substance you found in the bag. It's GSR. And out of curiosity I tested the paper for GSR too, but I really never expected to find this… maybe they'll even give me a raise."
The last comment made Warrick lose it. In a flash he had the lab tech pinned to the wall, and Sara watched on in complete shock.
"Just, shut up, I swear, if you're ever that disrespectful towards Nick again I'll beat you into a pulp. He is out there somewhere right now, going through hell knows what, and you're sitting in here wasting his time while wondering if you're getting some stupid raise!"
Hodges couldn't even respond… he was in shock. It wasn't like he didn't care about the guy, but he had always tried to keep the mood light under any situation…
"Warrick, I really think we ought to have a little talk… we'll be ready in a few minutes Hodges…" Sara never took her eyes off Warrick, and she knew that their was something else going on with Warrick.
"I'd ask how you're holding up, but I can see that you're not, so you want to tell me why?" She asked as soon as Hodges had shut the door behind him.
"He shouldn't be in this damn situation Sara."
"If it wasn't Nick it'd be someone else."
Warrick shook his head… "It's my fault… all of this. It all started with a damn coin flip, and afterwards I only succeeded in making things worse…"
"Warrick, Nick was not buried alive because the two of you flipped a coin. It happened because Walter Gordon wanted to ruin a whole lot of peoples' lives. And if it had been you then it'd be you tied to that wall…"
"No… I wouldn't have even made it out of that grave Sara… I wouldn't have been able to do it, and even if I had… Nick never would've turned me out if I showed up at his house for help… He would've let me in; hell, he'd probably go to jail to freaking help me… and all I did to him was hit him. You didn't see his eyes Sara, you didn't see the look of betrayal there…"
"Well, it sounds to me like you've got two choices here, Warrick. One, you can go on this guilt trip and let it take you wherever, or, two, you can move on. Feeling guilty right now isn't going to help Nick out any, and if you eventually see something that you missed earlier because of that guilt you know what'd happen? You'd feel even guiltier because you'd think you'd let Nick down again. So, the way I see it, if you really want to help Nick, lose the guilt, and refocus your attention back to the case, back to the evidence. Then if you find the clue that leads us to Nick you'll be able to live with yourself for making sure that you did something that could make up for any past actions against Nick. If you help save him what do you really think he'll care more about, being hit by his best friend or being saved by his best friend?"
Warrick looked up at her slowly, "That's what you're telling yourself huh?"
"It works and it's true."
"Yeah, you're right, I'll go get Hodges and apologize, so we can see those results."
Greg had followed Mia to the DNA lab. There had been a small trace of blood on the back of the first article, and she was running it through their databases. He had been surprised to learn that she had cleared out all the backlog so quickly, and suddenly found himself noticing that the entire lab seemed to be more organized than usual…
"Blood belongs to Nick. At least that… that gives you a complete connection to Dr. Alberts."
"Thanks, and Mia, are you ok?"
"Yeah… why do you ask?"
"Because I can't really ever remember there being a time when there was essentially no backlog, or that this lab was so organized…"
"Oh… uh, I've spent the last several hours just running tests and decided to get everything tucked away…"
"Look, Mia, we're going to find him…"
"I know Greg, I'm just worried that if he does survive this he'll never be the same…"
"Probably not, but that isn't important. Right now we just have to focus on finding him, and if you want to talk, I'll be around…"
"Thanks Greg."
He walked slowly out of the lab. It was both comforting at nauseating to see how many people cared about Nick, and how many people suffered when he was put into a situation like this…
Nick felt the noose around his neck tighten slowly, and he could distantly hear someone speaking to him through the haze of pain that was coursing through his entire body…
"Ready for another go, Cowboy? No? Good…" Nick's trembling body flinched at the cruel laugh that echoed through the room…
To Be Continued…
Next Chapter: Nick is put trough even more as the team helplessly watches their friend suffer. However, they begin to chase several leads, and believe they are coming closer to finding Nick. Warrick puts his guilt behind him, and goes over the entire case once more searching for any missed evidence. He finds himself once more at the original crime scene… Nick is quickly losing it, and the team realizes they don't have much time…