An Unfair Act of Vengeance
Notes: I like this chapter a lot, and I'm starting to really develop the henchmen's role in this chapter, and even moreso in the upcoming chapters that I have done... Hope you decide to review this, even if another chapter is already posted by the time you read it... I always really enjoy reading the reviews, and I'll try to take some spare time to respond and thank each of you!
Summary:Grissom stays with Nick, but Nick still can't face the rest of the team. Catherine decides the situation can't wait and tries to leave, but is confronted by the sheriff who gives her unexepected news. Sara and Brass take on the deliveryman, and Warrick and Sofia question Dr. Alberts. The interviews lead them to Grissom's office where another surprise is set up for them.
"Come on, Nick, you need to get some rest..." Grissom slowly began as his legs started to ache from his awkward position. Nick's only movements came from his deep sobs and his trembling body. His arms were still wrapped tightly around his supervisor, and he had his face buried in Grissom's shoulder.
"I... I can't... go through that... a-again..."
"It's ok Nick... I'll be right here, ok? I promise, I'll stay right here with you..." It took a lot for him to help the bigger man stand up, and he slowly helped him onto his bed. "It's going to be ok, Nick..."
He mumbled something incomprehensible, as Grissom pulled a blanket over his battered friend. He could feel his arms being carefully repositioned, and he once more felt the other man's reassuring grip on his right hand that had escaped being crushed... Within moments he was engulfed by darkness...
"Hey, Warrick, I'm heading over to Nick's place. Gil needs to know what's going on, and I can't exactly call him..."
"Yeah, I just got back, but I'm not sure you're going to be able to get him away from Nick..."
"It doesn't matter, he'll have to find out sooner or later. You're in charge, oh, and take my place; Sofia is waiting for you to go and talk to Alberts ok?"
"Yeah, that's ok, I can handle him..."
"Be careful Warrick..."
"You too." He called out as she continued down the hall. This is really going to put a damper on my spirits...
"Hey, Catherine, hold up!"
"Sheriff... uh... what do you want?"
"Well, I know you have been busy, but I just heard that Conrad Ecklie won't be able to continue working here for at least three or more years... And, I can't spare any shift supervisors, so the position is yours until we find a fulltime replacement."
"Look, we're already short on staff here already... I mean Nick is out, Grissom is busy helping him... and we've got dozens of cases flying our way..."
"You're all this lab has to offer, and besides, you've got a nice face, so you'll do just fine when you update the press on Mr. Stokes condition as well as the case."
"What! You can't be serious..."
"Oh, I am Catherine... They're waiting for you now, so you may want to compose yourself!" He called out as he continued down the hall.
She quickly continued down the hall... this wasn't what she needed. Her eyes fell on the heavy door in front of her, and she quickly brushed a few strands of hair out of her face before going in. As soon as the door swung open she was blasted with questions and blinking rapidly trying to shut out the blinding flashes...
"I'm sick of all the crap. Tell me where your friends are."
He looked up at the brunette that was snarling at him. His eyes refocused on the detective who sat back.
"I want my lawyer."
"Ah, now now... you won't even tell us your name, and your prints didn't come back, but we still know who you are."
Brass smiled when he saw the man's reaction to his statement.
"That's right, Kenneth Wilson... you were always one to just go along with other's plans... never even stopped to think for yourself did you?" Sara piped up this time.
"You actually think that I'll be convicted of anything? Even Alberts willonly be sent to an institute... you may as well give up. It's not like your 'friend' will ever recover anyhow."
"Now, that's where you're wrong. You see, he's already recovering, and before long he'll be as good as new... while you'll be sitting in a small prison cell. And, trust me when I say this, people whoenable others to torture innocent victims aren't received very well in prison. You'll want to watch your back."
"You can't scare me, Ms. Sidle... oh yes, I know all your names... we all do. Give up; your friend is dead meat. You'll never be able to save him when the time comes, nor will you ever find my friends."
He found it becoming harder to stay awake. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand and looked down at Nick once more. He was still trembling, and he occasionally muttered "I'm sorry..." before falling back into his uneasy sleep... You're going to make it. I know you can get past this; we won't let you down Nicky...
"All right... everyone just sit down, and please hold off your questions..." She stared at each of the reporters until they all gave in, and unhappily sat in their respective seats, "Ok, now, we've got some clarifying to do. First off; I don't want anyone bringing up Mr. Stokes past. It is completely unnecessary, and I swear I'll be suing anyone who tries it. Next, there will be absolutely no interviews with Mr. Stokes. Also, no personal information about him is to be released, and thanks to doctor-patient privilege I don't have to inform you about his condition. Got it? If anyone has any objections, the door is right over there."
She held back a smile as they reluctantly began to nod. "Ok, what I will tell you is this; Nick Stokes is currently recovering from his wounds that he received. Now, we are currently pressing charge against Dr. Carl Alberts who was found along with Mr. Stokes..." she bit her lip before continuing; she hated referring to Nick as Mr. Stokes... it just wasn't right, "We are also charging a man that our evidence links to Dr. Alberts as well as the abduction of Mr. Stokes. The charges are currently being filed, and the DA is already building a case. We are also continuing to follow up on remaining evidence. That is essentially all that I can say, but if any of you have questions, now would be the time to ask."
"Excuse me, but is there any way that we could interview the members of Mr. Stokes' team?"
"No, I believe that would be entirely out of the question. They have already been instructed not to speak to anyone with the press, and trust me, they won't. Also, interviews with any of Mr. Stokes relatives would similarly be nonbeneficial. Next question."
"Ok, uh... Do you know if Carl Alberts will be pleading insanity?"
"We do not know at this time, but it is a serious contingency that we are looking into."
"Can you give us any details as to what Mr. Stokes endured once he was abducted?"
"All I'm going to say is that he received numerous lacerations, and suffered several broken bones. Anything more would be breaking doctor patient privilege. Including his current status."
"Is there any possibility that this abduction is related to the incident last summer?"
"Well, if you mean Walter Gordon abducting Mr. Stokes, then all I can say is that we are currently investigating a possible link between Mr. Gordon and Dr. Alberts."
"What about the first victim? I have reports that say he was a patient of Dr. Alberts. Are there any other victims?"
"We have confirmed that the 'first victim' was indeed a missing patient from an institute in Phoenix run by Dr. Alberts. We are still investigating several leads from there. As of now there are still nine patients that authorities have been unable to locate. It is possible that they are also victims."
"What is going to happen to the institute if Dr. Alberts is convicted?"
"As of right now remaining patients are being relocated to various other institutions in the Phoenix area. We are currently working with the Phoenix PD to further investigate other workers at the institute. Depending on what we find it will most likely mean that the place will be shut down permanently."
She sighed as more and more hands continued to shoot up into the air... I've got things to do you morons... I just hope Gil doesn't leave Nicky alone...
Warrick followed Sofia into the small room, and decided against sitting down. His eyes immediately fell on the man already sitting down, and he fought the sudden urge to lunge at the psychopath who actually had the nerve to smile happily at him.
"I was wondering who they'd send to question me this time. Warrick Brown... tsk tsk tsk... you should've known better. I'm willing to bet you a few hundred bucks that dear Tina wouldn't even speak to you after she saw you slug your best friend. Oh, but of course... I'm truly glad that you still have your gambling problem."
"Hey, my personal life is irrelevant you asshole. Oh, and for your information, it's been years since I placed a bet."
"Maybe years since you've bet with money, but don't we both know that there is so much more a person can gamble with? For instance... his best friend's life. Now, you're wondering 'what in the world could he be talking about' and rightly so, I might add. You see, your friend isn't out of the woods by a long shot Warrick. Although, I think you might be more interested in knowing how much he begged for forgiveness. Or maybe his awfully high pitched screaming..."
"Hey, you don't speak unless you're answering one of our questions, got it?" Warrick snarled menacingly.
"Heh heh... you don't get it do you? This is merely a game, Warrick. Perhaps you still don't understand my plan though. I find it peculiar though... I suppose I gave your team too much credit. I'm not sure anyone else would've followed my plan so easily, and without even realizing it..."
"Just tell me where your damn henchmen are!"
"Oh, I wouldn't bother looking for them; they'll show up soon enough. That is, when the time is just right..."
"And when would that be?" Sofia offered coldly. She wasn't sure she liked how this was going to inevitably turn out...
"Perhaps by the time when seeing my gloves drenched with Nick's blood in my memories are no longer satisfying enough. Or perhaps when I can't relish in satisfaction when I remember his screams in my dreams. Fortunately all my memories of Pancho are quite fond... I'm not sure I'll ever forget the look on his face when I made him drug poor Catherine..."
"You son of a bitch. I hope you enjoy sitting on death row, and I promise you... I won't have any objections to sitting in a nice comfortable chair as they execute you. You'll never lay another finger on him, so you may as well just tell us what we want to know, or else you're just wasting our time."
"Don't you want to humor me, Warrick, after all... Pancho's life is still in my hands... one word is all it takes for him to disappear forever. Oh, and he won't die for many years; that much I can promise you. Rather, I've planned out at least four years worth of punishment for him. I would quite enjoy hearing him beg for someone to end it all... Tell me, Warrick, are you ready to gamble with his life now?"
"You can address me as Mr. Brown, and your empty threats aren't going to scare me off. Tell me where they are, now."
"I think you ought to check your supervisor's office... he hasn't been in there for at least a day now... I'm sure you'll find plenty to go off of from there." He smiled even more as he saw the other man's mouth open before it formed another snarl.
"We're not done here. You can sit tight for a while, and don't try to leave; we've got you under more security surveillance than you know."
"Come on Sofia..."
They both left the room and fought the urge to run into Grissom's office. Greg was heading towards them from down the hall, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his friends draw their weapons outside their boss's office...
"W-what's going on Warrick?"
"Stand back, Greg... we just got a tip, and I have no idea what we're going to find in there..."
Sofia kicked the locked doordown and quickly charged into the room with her gun out. Her eyes looked around the seemingly innocent room until she noticed it.
Warrick and Greg decided the room must be clear, but they didn't like the way that she had suddenly frozen in place with her arms now hanging limply at her sides. They walked in, and immediately regretted it. Everything had been cleared from Grissom's desk, and in its place was a large pool of blood. Sitting next to it was a large glass case full of fire ants.
"I-I'll swab it... a-and get it t-t-to Mia..." Greg stuttered quietly... he had no doubts about whose blood that was...
They both carefully pulled on their gloves, and began to process.
"Hey, Sofia, we're going to need this room taped off, ok?"
She didn't respond; her eyes still looked at the ants and the pool of blood. They all looked up when they saw several red drops fall from the ceiling... They couldn't hide their shock when they saw a large picture of Nick pinned to the ceiling tile with a large, bloodied dagger.
"Alright, we need a new plan... Sofia, get this room taped off, now. Then I need you to get Sara and Brass, once you find them send em up here. Then I want you to literally seal this building; no one in, no one out without permission. Greg, take your blood sample to Mia, then go and find Catherine. I'll keep processing in here..."
Sofia was suddenly reenergized. She quickly left the room, and came back moments later with tape. Greg quickly swabbed the blood on the desk, and raced off to find Mia in the DNA lab. Warrick began to snap photos of the picture and knife on the ceiling. Once the room was taped off, she noticed Vega and quickly pulled him towards the room.
"No one comes close without a good reason, got it? I've got to go track some people down."
"Sure, but what in the hell happened?" He asked as his eyes took in the blood and the knife that had plastered a piece of paper to the ceiling...
"I don't exactly know, but it isn't good, and Alberts knew all about it..."
"Huh..." He sighed as he watched the younger detective hurry off down the hall. His eyes looked around the many people gathering outside the office, and he could see the curiosity on all their faces... This is going to be bad...
"Hey, Mia!"
"Hey, Greg, what've you got now? I'm still a little swamped..."
"Ok, this is top priority. I need you to run this blood sample, and tell me everything you can about it ok?"
"Sure, but is there something I should test for in particular?"
"No... uh, just compare it to Nick's DNA... and quick..."
"Nick's DNA... but I thought Alberts was in custody?"
"He is... but obviously this isn't over... look I've got to go find Catherine. Just start the tests, and try to hurry..."
She looked at him confused as he sprinted out of the lab nearly knocking over a few people... If this is that important I'd better get busy... Her hands quickly pushed her other samples back and out of her way. Let's see what I can get here...
"Answer me. Where are they?"
"I see that he means so much to you... I can't wait to see your faces when this is over..."
"Hey, dumbass; she asked you a question. And, unless you answer it, you're going to be facing the death penalty."
"Detective Brass... you know something? I never even thought about how you'd react to hearing Nick's screams... seeing his blood pouring out of him... tell me did you cry, or were you strong?"
"I'd suggest answering her question before I personally see to it that you never speak again..."
"Hey, Sara, Brass..."
They looked up angrily at the intruder, but neither of them liked the fact that she was obviously nervous...
"This had better be good, Sofia... we could've gotten something from that creep."
"Warrick needs, you two need to head up to Grissom's office... it's not good..."
That was all it took for Sara to take off running down the hall towards the stairs; Brass and Sofia began to follow as two officers stepped in to watch the door.
Greg stopped at the door. He could tell there were a lot of people on the other side, and he still wasn't quite sure why Hodges said Catherine was in here... it wasn't exactly her job to deal with the media... What the hell, I may as well just go in...
"Are there any other details on the investigation that you're willing to inform the people of Las Vegas about?"
"As I said before no. I've already explained why I've taken the temporary position of Assistant to the Deputy Director. Conrad Ecklie is still in a fairly unstable condition, and it could be years before he is ever fit to return to work..." She sighed once more as the door swung closed slowly.
Greg wasn't sure how to take the last bit of news she had just given to the media... Well, I guess that makes her the big boss for now. How am I supposed to get her out of this though? He shot her a furtive glance, and he could see she was forcing herself to remain strong willed and calm. Just follow her lead, just be strong, and calm...
"Ms. Willows! I need to have a word with you." He called out loudly over the question one reporter had been attempting to ask for the past hour... His loud call was greeted by dead silence. Someone sighed loudly, and he tried to ignore the cold stares he was receiving...
"I'm sorry, but I have a lot of responsibilities to look after, and continuing this case is one of them. So, that's all the time we've got." She quickly turned and went out a side door, beckoning for Greg to follow her as the reporters slowly began to leave.
"Uh... so I guess you got promoted?"
"Thanks Greg... I was about to lose it with those bloodthirsty creeps. They actually wanted me to allow them to take photos of Nick's wounds... I swear..."
"Look, uh, Catherine... I hate to interrupt, but something bad happened..."
"What, please don't tell something happened to Nick..."
"We don't know... Warrick and Sofia were questioning Alberts, and he told them to check Grissom's office, and when we got there... all we found was a box of fire ants, and a big pool of blood underneath a picture of Nick that was stuck to the ceiling with a bloody knife..."
"Oh God... please tell me you got a sample to Mia already..."
"Yeah... and, uh... Warrick is processing, Sofia just went to get Sara and Brass..."
"Ok. I know we can't get a hold of Nick or Gil, so I'm heading over there now. You get back up there and help, and call me as soon as you get the results back from Mia!"
"Sure thing Catherine..." he called out after her. He didn't even wait for her to completely leave before he raced back towards the lab.
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: Catherine updates Grissom and Nick. Meanwhile the others process Grissom's office, and once Catherine gets back she is greeted by Nick's distraught parents. Grissom tries his best to console Nick's fear. Back at the lab the entire lab is thrown into confusion as yet another surprise comes their way...