An Unfair Act of Vengeance
Notes: The action in this chapter took a long time to write, but I think it turned out pretty good. And I personally like the way it ends, so I hope you all do as well! I hope you take the time to review, and don't worry there is only one chapter left, so I hope this story will be done by Sunday, since I'll be gone the next to days. Sorry I never got the chance to update on my other story, but it will be updated as soon as I can get to it! It is also my longest chapter, because I really wanted to start wrapping it up, and that took a bit longer than I epected!
Summary: Nick waits for what he believes is inevitable. Meanwhile the team manages to put together the clues that soon lead them to a dangerous shootout.
Nick waited in silence for something to happen, but there was nothing. He tried to remain calm as he felt the metal bonds digging into his wrists and ankles. Not long ago one of his abductors had placed the blindfold back over his eyes, and he couldn't hold back his fear at not being able to see what could possibly happen to him.
"Grissom… Greg… I've just finished the first few autopsies with David…"
"Ok Doc… what do you know?" Grissom asked, and he quickly headed towards the first table.
"Well, I can't tell you a thing on the skeletons, except they have a lot of broken bones. However, I can tell you all that they died from the physical trauma…"
Grissom's phone rang, and he gave the other three a grim smile before answering his phone.
"Hey Grissom, it's Sofia."
"Did you find anything useful?" Grissom asked before she could continue.
"Well, I got back from the courtroom… didn't find anything useful there, but I did manage to pick up some interesting information on our other victims that you guys found."
"What about them?"
"Well… they were all in some field related to law enforcement… and they all went through at least one major traumatic event before they were abducted."
"How traumatic?"
"Well… none of them were buried alive for twelve hours… but they were all abducted for a short period of time… I'm currently checking to see if the victim's might own any property in the Vegas area… It's a bit of a longshot, but if it's worth it I'll let you know."
"Thanks, I've got some bodies to get back to. I'll see you later."
"How should I know where that creep is?"
Warrick sighed as yet another of his questions was sarcastically shot down by the blonde standing across the room from him.
"Look, Nick could be dead already, for God's sake! Don't you even give damn?" He finally yelled, and she flinched slightly at the harshness of his words.
"Who in the hell do you think you are? Why should I care about him? It's not like I have anything invested in all this."
"Is that what you tell yourself? Is that all it takes for you to sleep at night? Because, if it is, then let me clue you in on something. The bastard you call a father started all of this! He was the one who befriended Alberts, who let himself be manipulated into burying Nick alive! And you know what? You're no better than your father. You can't be if you're just going to sit back and withhold information from me. Why don't you just try to be selfless for a little bit huh? Nick does it all the time… hell, he did it back in that courtroom when he gave himself up to save us from going through God knows what!"
"I… I… I can't tell you exactly where… but there's a vineyard… uh… out by Lake Mead…"
"Hello?"
"Hey Catherine, I was wondering if you could meet me out here at a gas station by Lake Mead… It's an old rickety building right off the highway… just look for the squad cars."
"Sure thing Brass… I was just on my way to check on what everyone else has found so far…"
"Well, I got word from Grissom, he and Greg are still going through the autopsies, and they haven't found too much. Warrick is still interviewing Kelly Gordon with Vega, and Sara is off questioning some other possible witnesses with a few officers."
"Ok, well, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Nick waited tensely for something to happen. His mind was racing rapidly, and he could feel the tears falling from his eyes even though he couldn't see anything with his eyes open or shut. What the hell are they waiting for?
Catherine quickly jumped out of the black Denali, and she didn't waste any time heading for Brass. "What have you got?" She called as her shoes crunched on the dirt.
"I've got two guys over here, who nodded when I asked them about the car, but they don't want to talk."
"Why don't you let me take them? I bet I can get everything they know if five minutes."
"Hmm, and how exactly do you plan on that, Catherine?" Brass gave her a halfhearted smile.
"Well, I do have a slight advantage. They're imbeciles."
"I think you have some other advantages…"
"Well, why don't we find out? They seem like they at least want to talk to each other." She gave Brass a slight nod, and briskly walked up to the two men.
"Why don't you tell me what you saw?"
"Because quite frankly, Miss… Sidle… I don't care. That white car wasn't any of my business, and it sure ain't your business."
"Hey! I'm with the Las Vegas Police Department. Trust me; it's my business. Especially seeing that a friend of mine was lying in the trunk of that vehicle, and for all we know he could be dead!" She hissed as she allowed her anger to show through her calm exterior.
"Hello, boys. I hear you two might've seen something interesting. A little something… about a simple white car." Catherine allowed her voice to be overly soft and kind.
"Hello, Miss. I didn't realize they had anyone as fine as you working for the police department." One of the men spoke, and Catherine forced herself to ignore the twinge of guilt she felt when she heard the purposely stressed Texan accent. If only these guys were as polite as Nick… She forced her fake, plastered smile to get even bigger as she looked at them.
"Yeah, I mean that dimwitted brunette…" The second man began, but stopped as soon as Catherine started to speak.
"Oh, her… well, lets just say that I'm her superior for a reason. Now… how bout some info on this car… I'll make it worth your while…" She smiled even more, and casually flipped a few loose strands of hair out of her face.
"Mmm, well, for a generous favor we'll tell you everything we know…" The first man smiled widely as he saw the woman standing across from them smile even more.
"Oh, I'd love to pay you back… but information first… if you don't mind… first one to offer what they know gets my offer." She forced herself to keep up the fake smile while she heard Brass trying his best not to laugh.
"Sure, we saw it turning off the highway exactly 3.4 miles from here." The second man rapidly spewed the words out in a desperate attempt to beat his friend.
"Thanks. Now, as far as your favor goes, you can talk to the Detective over there. He's got a nice little surprise for you. It's called a few days in the slammer for withholding evidence, and quite frankly, I'm tempted to throw sexual harassment into the mix." She said, her high and soft voice replaced by one of pure disgust. Her stance also changed as soon as she finished, and she flashed a grim smile as Brass waved two officers over and the infuriated men were cuffed and led over to one of the police cruisers.
"Wow, Catherine… I didn't realize you had that in you."
"Yeah, well… when Nick's life is on the line… I'm going to do whatever the hell it takes." She replied calmly, and then turned to face the Detective. "So, do you know where this turnoff is?"
"Yeah, actually I do, but we'd better get everyone together… there's a whole bunch of farms and several vineyards out there. Plus, we have to go back for a warrant if we want to search any of the people's property…"
"Ok then… let's get Sara, and get going. Meanwhile, I've got some calls to make."
"Hey, Grissom!" He turned around quickly as he saw Hodges awkwardly hobbling down the hall towards him.
"David… how are you doing?"
"It doesn't matter… the trace you guys found on all the victims… it's a pesticide. Used in vineyards… but it hasn't been used in a long time, and you need a special permit for the stuff… Only a few dozen people have the ability to still use it."
"Great… did you get their…"
"Yeah, I've got their names, addresses… everything in these files, here you go, and I hope it helps!"
"Thanks David! And get some rest, you look like hell…"
Hodges flashed a worn out smile, and just nodded slowly as he watched the older man turn and leave. They're going to find him… for crying out loud they're the best team in Vegas… probably in the whole damn country… He tried not to finish the thought of how much Nick's absence was serving as a detriment. You get those six on a crime scene… and I have no doubt they'll get the right answers…
Twenty minutes later they were all waiting quietly in the break room for Grissom to show up. He walked in, and immediately Catherine began speaking.
"Alright. Here's what I managed to get from some dimwits at the gas station. They said that the car turned off here." She said while simultaneously pointing to the map.
"It's all vineyards and farms back there… which corroborates Kelly's statement." Warrick piped up, his mind was racing as he thought of how close they could be.
Catherine busily circled the location of the varying vineyards along the road. "Okay, and these vineyards no longer use the pesticide we found on the victims, so they're presumably out of the question." Grissom went on, and he quickly drew slashes through the vineyards they had just excluded, and they sighed as they noticed there were still three left.
"Ok, well, let me see the names…"
He smiled menacingly at the man chained to the rack. I'll give him another hour… one more hour to imagine what I might do to him… to imagine the pain. I've got all the time in the world, and these morons are making it so easy to keep going with my plans. Sorry, Mr. Stokes… they'll never find you.
"Ok, so none of the names seem to look familiar, but… what if one of them belonged to Kelly Gordon's mother? Or maybe someone else's mother…" Greg offered and sat back as Warrick lunged for the files that were piled next to him.
"What are you looking for?" Sara piped up in curiosity as they watched Warrick scan through some of the folders before dropping them rapidly onto the table.
"Well… I knew a lot of kids in school that got their middle name from their mother's maiden name. I'm hoping that whoever's land Nick is on did the same thing… and here we go. Kenneth Michaels Wilson, and right here is a vineyard owned by a Patricia Michaels."
"Ok, let's get out there pronto, I'll call Brass, and get everyone down there." Grissom spoke as he immediately jumped into action.
Forty minutes later they were once more racing through the vast desert towards their final destination. Hold on Nick… we're almost there… Grissom thought quietly as his fingers drummed on the steering wheel. We're coming for you… You… you've got to be… you can't be dead… you can't be… please… please… we need you…
Catherine grabbed the arm rests of her chair tightly as Grissom turned onto a dirt road. The car was bouncing wildly as he maintained his speed and sped on behind the police cruisers. Suddenly they saw a large adobe building sticking out of some trees across the vineyard. Grissom squinted in the blinding sunlight, and he quickly clenched his jaw as he looked at the peaceful structure.
Everything about the place seemed off. There were gardens, and the building was surrounded by trees that still bore their leaves. The cars continued to speed along the dirt road when the heard Brass over the radio.
"Ok, guys, odds are they're going to spot us, so once you stop your car hurry to your positions. We can't give them the chance to do anything drastic to Nick…" Grissom gripped the wheel tighter as the building grew larger. Once more they were engulfed in silence.
Kenneth Wilson sat quietly in the corner and looked at the man chained to the rack. Something about it ate away at him. He looked around the now empty room, where his mother had once fervently spent her time creating beautiful vases, and various clay objects. Her paintings still hung from the walls, and something about the place made him realize how lost he felt. Carl had told him he was being given the perfect opportunity to truly prove his worth by keeping watch over their captive. Yet, his stomach felt sick by the mere sight of someone so vulnerable. He had do to something about this, his eyes glanced out of the partially opened door, and he winced when he gazed into the self portrait his mother had painted so long ago. Her eyes seemed to stare at him with pure sorrow.
His father had taken him from her so many years ago, and he had never seen her again. Something had inspired her to leave the ranch to him, though he had been forced at the time to keep it under her name by Carl. How can they actually do this to people? Aren't they even human? Don't they care? His eyes wandered back to Nick, and he thought back to the moment he had first seen the rack that the men had built in his mother's home. She would never had allowed all this too happen… and she'd be ashamed if I allowed it to continue…
Brass quickly led the way with Sofia in tow towards the front door, and Grissom followed with Greg and a few more officers. His eyes followed Warrick, Catherine, and Sara as they ran quietly behind Vega and even more officers as they headed for another entrance. We're going to get you Nick… don't worry…
Seconds later the large front doors crashed open, and they found themselves standing in a fairly large foyer. He glanced curiously at the intricate handmade tapestries that hung from the large spiral staircase in front of them. He followed Brass cautiously as they made their way into the home. Suddenly the heard several scattered bursts of gunfire coming from somewhere on the far side of the house.
Catherine dodged for cover as the gunshots went off surprisingly close. Her eyes looked back to the door from the large coat closet She was huddled in with Warrick and a few officers. Across from them she could see Greg had been forced up onto a couch so that he was out of the way while Vega clung to the side of the wall, his arms were only inches from the hallway that led deeper into the building. The officer in front of her turned the corner after the first round of fire and fired several shots back, and was soon joined by Vega until they both ducked back for cover and more shots flew their way.
Brass didn't hesitate when he saw another man carrying a sub machine gun walk nonchalantly into the hallway they were now occupying. Grissom immediately recognized the man as Jack Silper, and before the other man had the chance to register the sound of the gunshots at the other end of the house Brass had shot him three times with the last bullet pummeling into the back of the man's skull.
"We've got to find Nick, and fast… I don't have any doubts that they're willing to kill him, and our biggest threat is still loose." He saw Brass nod cautiously as they searched for any signs of more people. More gunshots sounded out from the far end of the small hallway they were now in. At the sound of the shots they could hear a sudden series of heavy footsteps running heavily on the second floor. Grissom immediately turned with Brass as they waved for Sofia and Greg to continue and they made their way back to the stairwell.
Don't worry Nick… we're here… we're going to get you…
Vega waited patiently for the burst of shots to end, and he quickly turned the corner and aimed his weapon. He watched in satisfaction as Daniel Kelner came back up, and in a brief second he had fired his gun, and began to run down the hallway as he saw it plunge into the man's neck. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned briefly to catch sight of the others following him closely.
They passed through a lavishly decorated living room, and soon found themselves face to face with Sofia and Greg as well as a few officers. A quick glance behind them showed Daniel's body lying motionless on the dark tiled floor with a dark red pool forming beneath his. Two down… three more to go…Warrick thought to himself, and he immediately looked up the sound of a loud crash.
"You guys, where's Grissom and Brass?" Warrick asked slowly as his eyes followed the softer sound of numerous footsteps above them.
"They went to the second floor… they have some officers with them…" Sofia answered abruptly, and nodded for some officers to follow her down another short hallway that led to another room.
Nick had heard the gunshots in the distance, and he felt his heart leap as he realized what that meant. They're here… they found me… His heart raced as he felt a sudden surge of hope enter him. It isn't over… not yet. We can still beat them…
Grissom could feel his heart quicken, and he swung around in surprise as he heard someone coming up the stairs behind him. He relaxed a bit when he saw Warrick appear at the top of the stairwell, and he cringed when they heard a yell coming from the other end of the long, narrow hall.
Catherine carefully followed Sofia and Vega as they began systematically checking every room. The entire house had gone silent, and they were all silently praying that they would find Nick still alive. Come on Nick… you have to be alive… you can't be gone… we can't have gotten here late… Please be ok… Her eyes quickly scanned the few remaining doors that were closed. He could be anywhere…
Warrick froze when he saw Eric Kelner pop up from behind an overturned table. He watched in horror as the others managed to lunge backwards into a large bay window. There was no way he'd ever be able to make it, and without thinking he felt himself jump forward, and suddenly felt himself pressed against a door. The bullets from the sub machine gun came closer to hitting him, and he barely managed to fling the door open and leap in before he saw the bullets tear into the wall where he had just been standing. Jesus… come on man… you can't help Nick if you're dead… He slowly turned to survey the room when he let out a sharp gasp.
"Nick!" He didn't hesitate to race over to his best friend, and his eyes widened in horror as he slowly took in the device Nick was attached to. His voice had clearly startled the other man who had suddenly started fighting against the strong metal bonds that held him down.
Nick had frozen for only a brief second when he had heard Warrick shout his name. He had never remembered feeling as happy as he did at that very moment. Come on man… just get me out of here…just let me see you… let me know it's all real…
Warrick quickly crossed the room, and in seconds he had lowered the blindfold so that Nick could see what was happening.
"It's ok, buddy… we're all here… we're going to get you out of here, ok? Trust me… it's almost over." He said softly, and he slowly felt one hand grab a firm grip on Nick's shoulder, while his other hand wiped a tear from his own face. He's alive… we made it… he's going to be ok…
Nick stared up weakly at Warrick, and he felt his body finally relax. He felt several tears begin to fall slowly down his face as he felt the sudden need to smile. They're here… they found me… We're going to make it out of here… they're going to make sure this finally ends…
"Oh… yes, Mr. Brown. We're all here." Warrick froze at the sound of the voice followed quickly by a slamming door, and a familiar click. His turned around, and he sighed quietly when he saw Carl Alberts standing there with a wicked smile on his face.
"I'd suggest you surrender now before you get hurt." Warrick hissed in fury at the man standing across from them. His eyes finally landed on Kenneth Wilson, who was clearly scared of what might happen.
"You know, Mr. Brown, I don't want you… my business is with Pancho. So, you might want to say goodbye real fast." He quickly raised his hand, and felt his finger close around the trigger. How is Pancho going to react to seeing his best friend die? He felt the anger begin to get to him once more. How in the hell did his best friend even find him? They weren't supposed to ever find this place! He felt his finger finally pull the trigger back, but he could immediately tell that something had gone wrong when he opened his eyes once more, and saw that his shot had entered the ceiling.
The wave of confusion disappeared when he saw Kenneth still holding his arm. He swore as he swung his other arm around and felt it smash against the smaller man's face.
"Damn you, you could've ruined everything!" He swore loudly, and before anyone could move he had pulled the trigger once more.
Nick watched helplessly as he watched Kenneth Wilson fall to the ground with blood quickly pouring from the single hole to his heart.
"I'm… sorry that… it came to this…" He whispered as his usually defiant, gruff exterior melted away, and he felt several tears fall from his eyes as he slumped down to his knees. I am sorry Mr. Stokes… and Mom… please… forgive me… he fell slowly onto his back, and the last thing he saw was the self portrait of his mother as the door burst open once more. After another man slipped into the room he looked back into her eyes, and just before everything went black he dimly thought he could sense a look of slight forgiveness in her eyes.
Warrick froze as he watched the man slump to the floor, and just as he fell he heard another more rapid burst of shots before someone else hurried in through the door. His hand slipped silently over to the cuffs that were clasped around Nick's wrists and he waited before he finally flicked a switch that would allow Nick to force it open. His eyes registered the sub machine gun in Eric Kelner's hands. He heard several footsteps, and in an instant he felt himself being flung forwards as the two quickly positioned themselves behind Warrick.
Grissom and Brass burst into the room without hesitating. They had both heard Warrick yell Nick's name, and they had no doubts that Nick was in there. And with at least one psychotic person too… He focused, and allowed himself to take in the new scene. Tears swelled in his eyes as he saw Nick's predicament, but he could feel a slight wave of relief when he noticed that there was no bruising on the skin where Nick's clothes had been shredded. They hadn't started with him yet… thank God we made it here in time… He focused himself back on the scene, and froze when he noticed that Alberts was holding the lever that would begin to turn the wheels of the rack.
"I'll give you one chance to move away from that lever. And believe me… after everything you've done… I won't hesitate to kill you." Grissom spoke loudly, and used all his strength to keep his voice strong and he fought the urge to merely pull the trigger as he watched Alberts falter.
Nick took the chance, and silently slipped his uninjured right hand out of its unlatched metal bond. He slowly reached towards Warrick's side, and felt his partner's gun slip out of its holster and into his hand. Warrick forced himself not to turn his head as he felt the gun slip free from its place along his left leg.
Nick steadied his hand, and when he was sure Warrick was watching him from the corner of his eyes he winked.
Warrick immediately lunged forward and Nick fired a shot straight into Eric's head. He turned around just in time to see Alberts pull the handle and they heard the wheels begin to grind as they picked up speed and began dragging Nick's arm and legs away from each other. His eyes went wide as he felt the sudden strain on his still throbbing wrist. Please no… stop this… someone… His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a single shot ring out.
Suddenly Warrick was moving. And after fumbling with the other latch he released Nick's other hand while Grissom quickly unlatched the steel cuffs around Nick's ankles. He could feel Warrick's hands slide across his face as he pulled the gag loose.
Nick felt himself relax as Warrick helped him up onto his feet when he turned to see Brass cuffing Alberts. He quickly gave his supervisor a quizzical look when he noticed the blood coming from Alberts' arm.
"It's ok Nick. I couldn't kill him… you deserve more closure from this. He'll be facing a judge and a jury. Trust me, he won't be able to hurt anyone anymore, especially you…" Grissom started slowly as he moved closer to Nick, unsure of what to do.
Nick looked back and slowly nodded. He let out a soft sigh, and felt a smile come over him. Without a single word he nodded and gave his supervisor a weak hug as the pain in his leg began to ache even more. He as let out a nervous chuckle as Warrick grabbed a hold of him, and they waited for the officers to leave with Alberts before they began to make their own way out of the room. Before they even had a chance to reach the door they were once more stopped.
"Oh my God… Nick… are you ok? Oh God… we were so worried…" Catherine finally let out the emotions she had been fighting as she ran across the room, and wrapped her arms around him. Thank God… he's safe… he's ok…
"I've been better… but trust me… everything is going to work out…" He said gently as she let her arms fall back to her side. She smiled warmly, and nodded, while trying to breathe slower, and attempting to let her body relax. They quickly made their way out of the old building, and made their way to the nearest Denali.
"Well, sorry, Greg, but you get to sit in the back." Warrick smiled as Sara opened the door for him to climb into the back seat.
"Hey, that's not fair!" He whined loudly.
"Well, Nick can't climb over the seat, and we're all your superiors…" Sara smiled as she saw Greg wink, and he dutifully climbed into the very back.
"Hey, Brass, we're getting out of here. Dayshift can handle this one." Grissom called out as he moved towards the drivers side.
"I was hoping you'd say that! I already called, they're on their way, and you guys all have some time off. Enjoy yourselves!" Brass called after them.
"We plan on it!" Nick managed to say as his voice regained some of its strength.
"Yeah, but we've got to get you back to the hospital for a little bit, Nick. I don't think you want to be moving that leg around too much." Catherine gave him another smile, but made sure he caught her concern, and he slowly let Warrick help him into the middle seat. As soon as they were all in place Grissom was once more heading down the dirt road.
His eyes looked at the members of his team as Warrick and Sara made sure Nick didn't move around too much, and Greg playfully bantered with them. His eyes wandered over to Catherine as she smiled in relief. Her eyes never leaving the small mirror in her hands that Grissom could see was showing the reflection of Nick.
By the time they turned onto the highway once more on there way to Vegas he let out a soft laugh as he saw Nick and the others all sleeping soundly in their seats. We're all back… finally. No one was left behind this time… and I swear no one is ever going to hurt them this deeply again. Not now… not after all we've been through. We can get past this… all of us… together…
To Be Continued…
Next Chapter: Nick makes his recovery, and faces Alberts with his team after Alberts receives his sentence from the judge. After Alberts is finally gone, the team takes Nick home where he finds an unexpected surprise from his friends…