An Unfair Act of Vengeance
Notes: This might be my last update for a while, since I'm going on a vacation, I'll hopefully still be able to update some, but I can't promise anything… Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others, and I look forward to reading the reviews!
Summary: Nick is forced to undergo even more as Dr. Alberts grows bolder. The team is finally able to start putting together clues, but it has become a race against time. Meanwhile, the media has finally gotten wind of the story, and the team is forced to deal with even more pressure...
He was terrified of what was to come next… he could hear someone speaking off in the distance, but the words were drowned out by the constant pain from his body. His vision began to blur… This wasn't how it was all supposed to end…
Sara's eyes went wide when she watched the doors at the other end of the hall swing open. A few lab workers had tried dutifully to keep them away, but they were failing miserably. She glanced over at the distraught man standing next to her. Without hesitating she rushed him back into the break room, snapped the blinds on the windows and door closed, before quickly locking the door and closing it behind her. One look from the man who reminded her so much of Nick thanked her…
There had been no warning. In a single second they watched in horror as the end of a sledgehammer flew into the screen and landed hard on the Texan's right leg. They could hear a sickening crunch before the man's scream drowned out all other noise…
He could his femur crack from the sudden strike. More pain suddenly coursed through him, and he could distantly hear his own screams echo through the room. A few small tears managed to fall down his pale cheeks, but all he could focus on were his supervisor's last word to him… They care… they have to… Yet, something still felt wrong. They should have found him by now; they should've helped him… He could still feel the dulled pain in his jaw… he hit me… maybe it's all just been a big lie… Something inside him screamed that it wasn't true, that his colleagues cared about him, that they'd never really abandon him, but he couldn't fight the doubt that etched away at him…
Tears would have only been a waste of her time… Nick needed her to be strong; he needed her to help him. Sara had quickly called them and told them someone leaked the story to the press. She hadn't even bothered to think about this beforehand… Of course they had to find out eventually, but not like this. She continued briskly past the break room that Sara had wisely secured. She continued down the hall to the doors that were once more closed.
"Ok, I really have better things to be doing, so we'll make this quick. You're to clear the premises immediately or charges will be filed. Anyone blocking flow of movement to and from this building or anywhere inside will be charged with obstruction of justice. I'm not going to be allowing any leeway, so believe me, this isn't a threat; it's a promise. As for information about the case, I'm afraid none of it is discussible at this time, so let's go now."
Catherine watched the blank stares coming back at her, but they could tell she meant business, and none of them really cared to spend the night in a jail cell… She didn't leave until she watched the last one slowly dawdle down the hallway and out of the building. She whirled around and practically ran back to where Grissom and Archie were waiting for her.
Greg had determined that watching Nick wasn't going to do any good. He didn't know what to look for in the background, or anywhere. He tried to block out the images of his friend going through more than he could even imagine… He pulled into the lot where Brass' car was still parked along with two squad cars… With a quick flash of his badge he was already inside and heading for the crime scene…
"Ok, Gil, what are we actually learning from these tapes?"
"Well, Catherine, I'd say that Dr. Alberts is well prepared, and has had this planned out for quite some time. The building is old, and possibly partially underground. It has a tall, pointed ceiling with rafters, and could possibly be an abandoned shop that was built near a mine…"
"How can you tell that?"
"I've been in one before, on a case. It looked similar to the room Nick's in, and there are an awful lot of old tools piled up near his supplies…"
"Well, I guess I should go get…" She didn't get the chance to finish when Grissom cut her off.
"Catherine… please, I-I know this probably sounds stupid, but I-I can't…"
"Can't what?"
"D-do this a-alone. I know Archie is here, but it isn't the same…"
She looked at Grissom quietly. This wasn't what she had expected from her supervisor; she had been waiting through this whole thing from that uncaring, scientific look to overcome him, but it never had… If he can't watch Nicky alone, then I guess it's my duty to help him. But, we can still make ourselves useful…
"Ok, Gil, I promise I'll be right back. I just need to grab a map and some paper and pens…"
"Thanks, Catherine…" He avoided the other man's eyes. I'm sorry Nick… I'm sorry for what I've done to you… You deserve so much more than this…
She couldn't help it; seeing Grissom like this scared her… It made her realize that he would only be like this if the situation were entirely hopeless…
Nick forced himself to relax… That bastard won't beat us… He can't, he won't… They're my friends, my freaking family… They care, they have to… He was sure how, but he could begin to see a bit more clearly… He still felt the pain as it continued to eat away at him…
Grissom's eyes went wide as he thought he detected a flicker in the Texan's eyes… A moment later the man began to once more fight against the restraints. Something about the man's new movements seemed to wake him from some deep nightmare… We still have some time; we can save him…
Warrick and Brass quickly read over the sheet of paper. They both froze and Warrick's hands began to shake violently. Neither man noticed as Greg walked up noisily behind them, and read the paper from over their shoulders.
Congratulations, I'm glad this letter has finally arrived in your hands. If you're reading this I'm sure you'll want to know all about your friend's condition, but let me warn you. There is no hope for him; he will die. If not in my hands then in yours. Besides, you don't really want to save him do you? Think of all the suffering he would be forced to endure. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that would inevitably ensue, the guilt, the everlasting terror and paranoia… No, my friends, you see, his death is mutually beneficial. It will satisfy me to no end, and it will alleviate his suffering.
Warrick nearly jumped out of his skin when he finally noticed Greg standing there, also reading the letter in shock. His already shaking hands caused him to drop the paper, and Brass turned to see Greg as well…
"Damn! Greg, what the hell is going on?"
He winced at the man's shouts, and could see that Warrick immediately regretted being angry. "I came to check out w-what was going on, and to update you on Nick…"
"How is he?" Brass questioned, suddenly interested in the young man's presence. He stared into the other's eyes when he didn't get a response.
"Guys… I think I found something important…" Their eyes watched Greg as he carefully looked at the back of the page.
"Ok, Gil, I've got the map with our search radius on it… and it looks like there are a few dozen abandoned mines in all directions…"
"Well, then we need to keep a close watch on these tapes to see if we can find out anything useful…"
Both their eyes trailed back to the screen. Neither had noticed Archie leave for a quick cup of coffee, and they didn't like the fact that Nick was beginning to look more terrified than ever…
He couldn't believe it… But it was right there… the grave… he screamed and cried out, fighting furiously against his bonds. There was no way he could go through that again… Griss… You've got to find me! I know you can… But his thoughts were interrupted by a new sensation in his arm, and he could see two needles plunged deep into his now pale skin… He could feel the poison move through his system once more, but now it was accompanied by something new… He began to struggle as he felt the bonds that held him down being removed.
Grissom and Catherine watched in utter shock as Nick was drugged, and thrown from the table… Suddenly the camera swung to another area of the room where they could clearly see a large hole in the ground…
Warrick immediately swabbed the dust from the paper, and left the building. It was definitely metallic… and he needed to get it to trace for processing. Next to it there were another few words scribbled onto the paper.
You're merely 24 miles from him now. If you're bright enough you ought to be able to piece together the rest of the clues…
"Greg, stay here with Brass and finish up! I'm getting this processed as soon as possible…"
Sara watched from the doorway as Warrick ran into the lab in a vain attempt to avoid the reporters, but they were instantly all over him… She opened the door for him, when one reporter grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to finally get some answers…
He didn't even think about it. His fist came about, and knocked the man down. He was pissed, and they were about to find out for themselves… "Get the hell out of here! I'm trying to do my job, and if any of you actually cared about the life at stake here you'd let us work!" He whirled around and stormed past Sara, who was forced to run to keep up with him.
Nick screamed in protest as he helplessly stared at the Plexiglas cover that was coming into his view. A quick kick to his face caused his entire world to fade to black, and he never saw the gun, tape, and glow sticks thrown into the grave with him…
Suddenly the screen went black, but something wasn't right… they could still he Nick's now muffled groans. Their eyes stared at what had just been a clear copy of Gordon's grave for Nick, and neither had liked the way Nick had looked, let alone screamed when he was dropped into the coffin and had his gun, a handheld cassette player, as well as glow sticks covering him.
"We have to do something Gil…"
"I don't think we can…"
"Hey, guys, what do you need, I've just been put onto overload by the swing-shift, so if you've got something it may have to wait…" He never finished as he watched Warrick's fist rise towards him.
"Now, I think you get how important this is. You process this sample before anything! It could mean life or death for Nick! Now, lose the attitude, grow up, and do it!"
Hodges looked up at Sara as he listened to Warrick yelling at him. She gave him a frown, and he figured that he didn't have much of a choice… He quickly pulled himself back up, and took the sample from Warrick cautiously before getting to work…
He watched nervously as Warrick and Sara simply stared off into space… waiting for his results… He suddenly found himself fighting back tears. Why am I always so stupid when it comes down to these situations… Why can't I just shut my mouth when I ought to know it's for the best? His eyes glanced over at the pair, and he could see that they were barely keeping it together…
Grissom was pacing nervously, and neither was comforted when the screen was once more illuminated by a blinding white light… They could see Nick was having trouble breathing, and had already thrown up at least once. They could see the intensity in his eyes as he began to lose the defiance that had given him the strength to once more try to fight back.
"Hold in there Nicky…"
It was almost two hours later before Hodges quickly handed over the results. It wasn't much, just gold… but it had probably come from a mine… The reports told them everything they'd need to know, but he needed to tell them the truth…
"I-I'm really s-sorry, Warrick… I-I've never been good in t-these situations. Just f-find Nick… He's all that matters right now…"
"Yeah, sorry about your eye, but we've got to go give this to Grissom. We'll make sure you guys hear if we find him…"
They both froze as the saw the all too familiar scene in front of them… If they hadn't seen the deep cuts and bruises on Nick they would've thought they had traveled back in time to when Nick had first been buried alive…
"Oh, God… Nick… what the hell has that bastard done to him!" Warrick distantly heard his voice cry out in rage…
Sara forced herself to look away, and handed her supervisor the results quickly.
"I think we've got all that we need to find Nick…"
The words grabbed everyone's attention, and Grissom hurried to the map. They watched as he rapidly crossed out any mines that weren't still in use for mining gold, along the new circle drawn onto the map, and to their surprise there was only one left…
"What are the odds of that?" Catherine asked in shock.
"I don't know if this is a good thing, but we haven't got much choice…"
"Well, then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's call Brass, and get over there now!"
Sirens blared. He was all too happy. It was time for the final confrontation. He stood and placed the same sinister smile on his face. This is going to be perfect, and Pancho has been doing so well too…
The doors burst open and he laughed as he stared at the cops with their guns pointed at him. He watched happily as Grissom and the rest of his team stepped into his vision.
"It's about time you showed up. There are a few shovels here… if you wish you could dig up your friend's body…"
His trembling hands closed over the cassette tape. He was scared, but he forced himself to push the button.
"Hey Pancho. Nice of you to wake up. You're dead now, no one can help you. Not even your precious second family… Oh no no no… You are quite alone. They abandoned you; they despise you. Your death is the only way they'll ever be able to continue their lives that you've messed up so much… Why don't you save everyone the trouble and just pull the trigger already. Don't worry, it's your spare gun; I wanted everything to be as familiar as possible."
He started to scream as sweat began to flow down his face. The blinding light was burning into his skin; he couldn't stand it. His hand swung up with the gun as his screams broke down into dry sobs.
Catherine hadn't been able to take her eyes off the still wet blood that covered most of the table Nick had just been bound to. She froze as she thought she heard someone screaming. The man before the team was briefly forgotten as she grabbed a shovel and began to dig furiously in between two familiar pipes that rose from the ground. Warrick's eyes had followed the trail of blood to where Catherine was now digging. He grabbed the second shovel while the officers and the remainder of his team kept their guns pointed at the still smiling psychopath.
"I have no intention of stopping you from finding your friend, but I must say, that this isn't over."
"Far be it for me to disagree, but quite frankly we're taking Nick back, you're not going to hurt him anymore."
She felt her shovel hit something. Throwing it aside she began to wipe the dirt away revealing the top of the Plexiglas coffin…
The familiar scene was almost to much for him. He could see the Texan's eyes open wide as he heard the pounding noises from above. He could see the gun resting in the man's hands waiting to be used.
"Hey, Nick! We're here, we've got you… just put that down, and we can all go home!"
The Texan looked at the man outside the coffin, and he wasn't sure why, but he felt suspicious. It wasn't right. Why had it taken so long… Why do they only show up when I'm this close to… He stopped as the two people slowly backed out of his view. No! Come back… Why?
"That's it. Just step away or I'll lift my finger from this button, and detonate the rather large amount of C-4 that is lying right beneath him."
"I-I'm s-s-sorry… come back… y-you've got to forgive me…"
Nick's cries were too much for Grissom. He lunged at Alberts outstretched arm that held the detonator. He eventually felt it slide into his hand, and his thumb closed over the button before it could be released. Brass was the next to move in as he quickly cuffed Nick's abductor with the help of two other cops.
Sara could see Grissom's hands shaking violently as he tried force his thumb not to move. She quickly ran over to him and forced her hand over Grissom's thumb to ensure that it wouldn't slip. A quick look over her shoulder was enough to see the other three members of the team prying the top off the coffin.
"Greg, go get the paramedics!"
Greg hurried out of the hole without replying to Catherine… Nick had lost consciousness, and that wasn't a good sign. He watched as they carefully pulled the bloodied form of his friend out and onto a stretcher.
"He's going into cardiac arrythmia! Let's move!"
"Where are you taking him?" Warrick cried out in a frenzy as the paramedics ran from the room…
"Desert Palms… we need all the room we can get in the ambulance, so we can't take any of you along!"
The answer wasn't satisfying, but if Nick survived then no one on the team would bother to complain… Then their eyes landed once more on Dr. Alberts. He's going down. If it's the last thing I do. I'll get the evidence; there can't be any holes, not for Nick… That man is getting life in prison, or the death penalty… it doesn't matter, I'm not going to let Nick down. It was all Grissom could do to stop himself from running over and attacking the very man who had done all this…
"It still isn't over…" Dr. Alberts cackled madly as he allowed himself to be placed into the police cruiser. His eyes met the team's supervisor, and he smiled as he saw the rage and fury burning in him.
"You guys, start processing, take everything back to the lab. I'm going to Desert Palms…"
Grissom waited silently listening as the doctors within the next room... All he had gathered so far was that Nick had gone into V-fib. A nurse ran into the room with supplies, and he caught a glimpse as one doctor charged the defibrillator, and he turned away when as his friend spasmed...
It was several hours later when one of the doctors finally emerged from the room. He looked tired, and uncomfortable as he walked over to the older man sitting with his hands sitting idly in his lap. He could immediately see that the usually friendly supervisor wasn't in his usual element. The two had become something of friends several years back, and he had been able to tell how much his team meant to him. To see the normally calm man fighting over his emotions was disturbing, but at least he had some ok news...
"Gil," he began and awkwardly shifted as his friend looked up at him with his usually intent eyes showing mostly despair and guilt, "It looks like Mr. Stokes ought to make it. We're giving him antibiotics for the Pyridine and PCP that was injected into him, and we're injecting intravenous fluids into his system to battle the extreme dehydration he was suffering from. As for other injuries, with some minor plastic surgery the cuts on his arms will heal, and we can't do much for the bruises on his neck. All they're doing now is getting his casts ready; with luck he'll have full range of motion with his hand and leg. He had several serious fractured ribs, but it is all curable. All I think you've got to worry about now is the emotional damage that'll come from this…"
"You mean Post Traumatic Shock?"
"Essentially, yes, but there'll be more than that. What he underwent will undoubtedly bring up a lot of problems, so you might want to be careful around him…"
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: Nick's recovery... and how the team tries to cope...