A/N: here is the much awaited chapter! (the title gives it away, but not all of it! moo-ha-ha!) r&r, i hope you like it:):)
Chapter 6 – Found
"Hey guys, I've got locations on those numbers." Archie's words broke the near trance that had been over the room and they all moved to look over his shoulder, Grissom reading them out loud.
"Allen Brent, Allan Brent, Review Board Memo Line, Allan Brent…" He paused, frowning. "Thomson & Co. Shipping?" Archie nodded.
"Yeah, I thought that was a little weird too, so I checked it out and found that this number connects directly to the phone in the foreman's on site home at a shipping yard about half-an-hour outside town." Sara jumped in.
"Would it have an attic?"
"Yeah, probably, but that's really reaching. They could be in any house or building with an attic in Vegas."
"When was the last call to this place made?" she asked, her eagerness unhindered.
"Around – " He looked up at her. " – two hours ago."
It was then that Brass walked in. Before he could say anything, Grissom strode over to him.
"How fast do you think you could get us and some back-up to Thomson & Co. Shipping outside of town?"
"If we went full speed, we could probably get there in fifteen minutes. Why?"
"I think we've found them."
Nick's growling stomach woke him from a dead sleep. Having heard this, Greg, who hadn't been able to fall asleep as easily, reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag, holding it out to Nick.
"Here, have a cookie. I had planned on saving it for lunch, but I have no idea what time it is and you're hungrier than I am." Too weak to protest, he gratefully accepted the food, trying but failing to eat it slowly to make it last a little longer. All the same, having something in his stomach made him feel a little stronger.
"Thanks a lot man."
"No problem." For a long while they sat in silence, literally counting the minutes as they passed, before Nick suddenly looked down at himself and then over at Greg who noticed his glance and heard his quiet chuckle. He gave him a confused look.
"What's so funny?" Still smiling, Nick looked up at him, looking truly at ease for the first time since the phone call.
"I was just picturing how funny the two of us are gonna look when we finally get patched up." Pausing for a moment, Greg grinned as well.
"I imagine we'll look like we've been hit by a transport." Nick's smile broadened.
"Twice." At this, both couldn't help but laugh outright, though quietly, glad for the opportunity to relieve some of the tension that comes from waiting in fear.
It was all Nick could do to keep from screaming when Greg all of a sudden grabbed his injured arm in an iron grip.
"Greg…let…go! Please!" he gasped as white-hot pain exploded from the wound. "My arm…" Greg turned to look at him, his eyes unbelievably wide as he quickly released him.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered frantically.
"Hear what?" Nick asked, curious and confused now that the pain had subsided once more to the aggravating throb.
"Sirens!" Greg breathed. "I heard sirens!" Listening hard, Nick eventually had to shake his head. As much as he wanted so desperately to believe that help was actually on the way, he knew it was next to impossible; if Forman had any brains at all he would have encoded the e-mail and the phone to make them untraceable, and the last time he had looked out the window, it had looked as though they were in the middle of the desert. On top of all that, it was dead silent outside. He sighed deeply, tiredly.
"I don't hear anything Greg. I'm sorry." However, Greg didn't look any less enthused.
"I know I heard them! I haven't got an active enough imagination to have heard them in my head. I swear, it was short, but it was there!"
Grissom was still fuming in the passenger seat of Brass' car – they had specifically told each unit that it was to be a silent approach, and yet, when they were in sight of the barren looking compound, two of the six cars started up their sirens. Luckily Brass got over the radio immediately and ordered them to turn their sirens off, hopefully before their sound could alert their prey, potentially resulting in violent retaliation against their captives.
"Hang on guys," Grissom whispered to himself, the sound of their scared and pained voices calling his name still very fresh in his memory. "I'm coming. Hang on for just a little while longer."
It had been a few minutes since Greg's claim, and Nick's hopefulness finally got the better of him; he just couldn't help it – he had to look, he had to be sure.
Hardly making a sound, he stood and tiptoed over to the window, gazing out over the labyrinth of warehouses and to the surrounding desert lands… His mouth opened to speak and his eyes widened in disbelief – it was impossible, improbable, incredible, amazing… He was almost afraid that his mind was playing tricks on him, but as he continued to watch, the situation stayed the same, and the cars driving in their direction never changed course or disappeared, shimmering, into the beaming desert sun – and they were rapidly getting closer, the design of the squad cars filling him with more joy than he thought he possible – what he was seeing was real.
It was a moment before he was able to force the words out to Greg who had begun to stare at him.
"Greg! Oh my God, Greg! They're here! They found us!"
The convoy finally entered the empty warehouse community, all headed for the centre of the buildings where the overseer's house would be. Brass again picked up the radio.
"All units, all units, listen up: when we arrive at the house, move in quickly and quietly inside and take down the perps, alive if possible. Don't forget: there are two CSI hostages inside, last known location in the attic but they could be anywhere on the premises, so gentlemen, this is no time for mistakes."
Both Greg and Nick were standing at the window now, watching with disbelieving eyes as the police cars weaved in and out of sight between the warehouses, coming closer by the second.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when we get out of here?" Greg whispered. Nick though for a minute.
"I'm taking a two-hour shower," he said wistfully. "Then I'm going to sleep for three days. What about you?" After a few seconds, Greg smiled.
"I'm going to ask Sara to dinner, complete with candlelight." Nick looked at him with a grin.
"It's about time!"
"Yeah, I probably could've chosen a better time to work up the nerve, but hey, better late than never, right?" Nick bit back the urge to point out that it almost had been 'never', and answered with an easy smile.
"Definitely."
In the following second, two things happened in quick succession: the cars cleared the buildings, gunning towards the house, and the attic door burst open, the three kidnappers dragging them painfully back down the ladder and to the corner of the room that was opposite the front door. Almost as soon as they had positioned the two CSI's in front of them, standing, with their guns aimed at their necks, the front door was kicked in and a flood of officers, headed by Brass and Grissom, poured in, all of them halting a short distance in front of the corner, their guns raised. Grissom didn't take his eyes off Nick and Greg; they looked more worn out than before, Nick especially, blood working its way through the makeshift bandage on his arm made out of what looked to be the remnants of his sleeve. Moreover, the two bore expressions of such hope and relief mixed in with fresh fear that he couldn't bear to look away as he spoke in an icy tone.
"Let them go. You're outnumbered and back-up is going to be here in minutes and we can easily take all three of you down in less." The tallest and bulkiest of the three, presumably Forman, responded in an equally icy tone, using his thumb to pull back the hammer on the gun that was now pressed up against Nick's temple.
"I can just as easily take this one with me if you don't back out of this house, and chances are, one of my people can get the other one." Grissom had no intention of going that easily.
"How about a trade then? Me for them." Nick's eyes widened, hardly believing what he was hearing; he had wanted Grissom here, but he certainly wasn't about to let him put himself in his place.
"No Grissom! Don't do – " He was cut off as Forman brought the butt of his gun down on the side of his face just beside his right eye, not hard enough to knock him out, but with enough force so that for a brief second he saw white, too stunned to do anything but give a small cry as he staggered. Forman didn't allow him to fall, holding him steady with his hand grasping the back of his sorry-looking shirt.
"What's your name Tex?" he asked malevolently. "I never did get around to asking." For a second, Nick didn't answer and Forman jabbed his forming bruise with the gun's barrel. This seemed to convince him that silence was not the way to go, and Grissom was relieved when Nick finally spoke.
"Nick," he said through gritted teeth. Forman smiled a threatening smile, and spoke in a matching voice.
"Well, Nick, I'll do the talking from here on in unless I say different. Got it?" Another jab. Nick nodded submissively, but his eyes bore into Grissom's, their look clearly stating what he had already said. He was almost relieved at Forman's answer - almost."Oh, and about your offer, Grissom was it? There's no way I'm trading two clearly well liked hostages, one of which who has filthy-rich parents, for one old man. So like I said before, slowly back out the door. I'm sure you've got the phone number for this place by now, so give us a ring when you're ready to make a worthwhile deal." Seeing no other alternative, the group slowly backed away, one-by-one leaving, until Grissom was the only one left.
"This is your last chance to go quietly, because once I'm out this door, this will officially be a hostage negotiation wherein you have two officers as your hostages, meaning that, if we can, we will take you out." The two beside Forman looked at each other uncertainly, now clearly nervous, but Forman remained firm.
"Well Mr. Grissom, I guess you better tell that back-up of yours when it gets here that you've got a hostage negotiation on your hands." That same unnerving smile. "Close the door behind you, if you don't mind."
Slowly and with a heavy heart, he cleared the doorway and as he closed the door, he knew that the pleading and disbelieving looks on Nick's and Greg's faces as their rescuers including himself left them would remain burned into his memory forever, whether the two made it through this or not.
Five minutes away from the compound, Sara, Catherine, and Warrick were squeezed uncomfortably into the back of one of the ten squad cars on their way to give the first recovery party back-up, if they needed it, though they probably wouldn't. However, none out of the three even cared about their close proximities, each imagining in their minds what they would do, what they would say when they saw their friends again, such as Sara contemplating flirting back to Greg when he started; she really didn't mind it. In fact, over the past hours, she had found herself missing Greg and his flirting terribly.
However, when they arrived at the house only to find out from Grissom that they had been unsuccessful in their rescue and that both Nick and Greg were still inside, she suddenly felt a small hole in her heart that she hadn't before noticed expand as she took her place behind a squad car with the others to settle in for what was probably going to be the longest day of her life.
A/N: there you have it! and it is still about five chapters from being over, so keep those reviews coming:):)