Title: And the Thunder Rolls
By: duffshel
Author's Note: I know, I know. Bad author! Sorry for this taking so long! I was really busy over the weekend and there was no time for much. But you all don't really care about that at all, don't ya. :p And thanks for all the awesome reviews, though I'm probably not going to be able to get to them one by one for the last chapter. I promise to try to do so for this one! But as always, I loved each one. And so happy to hear from new readers! Thanks, thanks, thanks! Okay, enough from the bad author. Go, read, enjoy! Until next time! Bye!
#6: As the storm blows on…
Brass rubbed his shirt sleeve across his forehead. His hands were covered in Mr. Kentwood's blood. That was something the detective never enjoyed. In all his years, he felt the presence of blood on his hands more than he ever thought he would. Las Vegas was the city that knew how to bleed.
He took a deep breath and looked up at his younger colleague, "I think we've done all we could, Andy. Its up to him to make it now and us to get him out."
"Think he's gonna make it?" Warrick spoke up from the spot that he had taken up when he joined the others.
"Did all we could with what we got here. We should head out and take a look at our situation. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to."
Andrew looked up from his own hands as the other two men talked. He had to agree one hundred percent with Brass on getting out of this school. There were dead people across the hall, the two CSI's were injured, and there were scared teenagers sitting with Nick. "Should we split up?"
Brass exchanged a glance with Warrick, "That would probably be the best idea. Warrick, you and Greg go back and check out the band room. Andy and I'll go back to the other room and look around at where the hallway collapsed."
"What about the other rooms? Those other doors out there," Greg was still moving from foot to foot.
"Get to them once we find a way out of here. After the two we have been in already."
All four men exchanged looks before moving away from the injured man. They were all worried that he would die, but they knew that if they didn't leave him, he would never have a chance in hell anyways. This was the only way to save him and possibly some of the others trapped under the walls and ceiling in the other room. No one probably even knew what had happened to them yet.
Grabbing Andrew by the sleeve, Brass pulled the younger man towards the door. They shared nods, but there were no more words spoken from the two officers. Andrew was busy trying to wipe the blood off on his pants as he shuffled along.
Not moving his feet, Warrick looked over his shoulder to where Nick was talking with the kids. They had moved from their pile into a semi circle with the Texan in the middle of it. It seemed Nick was getting them to calm down and try to understand what needed to be done. He was bringing them out of that weird funk they had locked themselves into to get through this. The red headed girl had practically attached herself to his hip it seemed. His friend was going to have to stay in this room.
"Hey Nicky."
The call stopped all conversations and widened many of the young eyes. There bodies seemed to turn back in on themselves with the new presence. Any calm they had found, was disturbed. Nick turned, pushed himself up, and walked with a limp towards the other two CSI's. Something was up, he could feel it thickening the air. And he knew he wasn't probably going to like it.
"Yeah?"
"We need to check out the band room again. Plus, we need our kits. Well, if we can find the damn things."
"Good idea. There might be a way out through the rubble that we missed before. Though, it would have to be forgivable considering, eh?"
Warrick steadied himself for what he knew he had to say next, "Yeah, but Nick. I need ya to stay in here with the kids. Greg and I'll handle this, man."
It was something he should have been expecting. This was always what happened. Everyone else got to go off and do the work while Nick was sent back to the lab or left on the side lines. Now Warrick wanted him to baby-sit and wait like a little woman for the men to return with good news. This wasn't the 16th centaury anymore. He wasn't going to sit here and wait.
"I don't think so man. I'm coming with."
"No Nick. I need you to stay here."
Nick's eyes narrowed, his lips turned into a small sneer, "Why? Why do you need me to stay here? Huh? Tell me!"
Everyone else in the room shuffled as the fire between the two sparked up even higher. Greg stepped closer, just in case. Like he knew when they arrived at the school, he would never be able to break them up if they went at it, but that wouldn't stop him. There was no way he was going to let his friends kill each other.
"Guys, calm down."
"Oh shut up, Greg," Nick snapped uncharacteristically, "Why Warrick? Why should I stay here?"
"Because! You're hurt and I need you stay out of trouble. I cannot risk letting you do anything that might kill you, man," Warrick shouted suddenly.
Nick's mouth opened and closed slightly at the outburst. Rarely had Warrick shouted at him like that. This was something he didn't hear from the other man. It caught him off guard. Caught him enough to get out of his own temper.
"Wha…"
But Warrick sliced his hand downward in the air, "No. Don't argue with me on this one. Just listen for once and stay here."
"You always ask a lot of me, man," Nick said softly, turning his face downward to study his shoes.
Silence fell over the two friends. It was loud enough to roar through the rest of the room. Greg felt he needed to hold his breath in order to not break…anything. This was not his place to break any of the stuff these two men created.
"This is just like before. Asking me for something that I don't have to give. You say you're my friend, well, all I ask is that you keep acting like it. Don't do these things to me. You know I don't need it. I don't need you to protect me, Warrick."
Warrick suddenly became aware of many things, mostly the large group of people witnessing this exchange, "Alright. But if you don't watch yourself, your ass is mine. I'll kick it from here back to the lab!"
They slapped hands together, gripped the other fiercely. It was their grip of friendship, brotherhood. If words failed them, this was what the two could count on. Their hands knew better than their brains on matters such as these. They were being stupid, but the shake was always true.
"So, kids," Warrick turned to the group who were trying to look anywhere, but the three men, "We're going to go look around. I need all of you to stay in here. Don't go anywhere. Ya hear me?"
Some heads moved in some resemblance of a nod. A couple okay's reached out into hearing range. It was enough to let Greg know these kids were going to hide away in this room some more. They were scared and it was shutting them all down. He wanted to help get them out of here.
"You two done conversing now? We've work to do in case ya forgot!"
Nick smiled and turned to face Greg, "Where'd we be without you Greggo?"
"Probably getting some lecture from Grissom or something," the younger CSI's grin grew as Warrick laughed and threw his arm around the shorter man's shoulders.
"Can't have that know can we. Alright, enough chit chat. Let's get to work."
The three of the walked out the door, one after the other. Several sets of eyes watched them, different emotions being shown. But none of those young eyes were gifted words. Only fear, anger, and determination glowed through the pupils encased different corneas.
!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+
"Shit, this is more of mess than I remember," Brass scratched at the top of his scalp as he took in the room through the now flickering lights. It seemed the electricity was finally beginning to lose its battle to stay flowing through this area. The other room they had just left had been just fine. If this was anything like the high school, there would be more than one generator in case of emergency.
"Well, should we attempt to dig anyone out of that?" Andrew nodded his head towards the stone tomb.
"No. It could be something like those car accidents were the person is kept alive by the car holding them together. We could cause something to shift and possibly kill someone still alive. Need more help for something like that."
The younger man nodded, but didn't feel any better about the decision. His dream as a kid had been to be an EMT. Nothing more than a man in an ambulance. Other kids wanted to be the cop. Not him. It was never something he wished to become. But here he was, a cop with a tough decision to leave people to be injured and possibly dead. It was harder than he thought it ever could have been.
Without saying another word or sparing another glance at the large rubble pile, Andrew made his way slowing around the room. He would let Brass look around for an exit. His eyes would search for that black case of Greg's.
Brass shifted his weight along with lose rocks as he examined parts of the downed wall. There was no way he was going to climb on top of it. Like Andrew, he knew better than to mess with the small pockets that might have been created underneath this mess. He didn't want to kill someone and not even know it.
From his vantage point, there were no gaps available between the bricks and other objects forced within the school. Water still dripped in through tiny cracks that he couldn't even see. Brass could have sworn he saw a car tire wedges in there. Reaching out a hand, he pushed at a part farthest from the middle. With a grunt, nothing moved. This room didn't hold their exit.
"Nothing here, kid."
Andrew looked up from his crouched position by the still woman by the wall. In his hands he held a black CSI bag. It was wet on the outside and damp around the zipper, but appeared to be undamaged. Something might actually be used for the case if they could make one now.
'Found Greg's bag."
"Great. Grab it and let's get out of here. I want to check those other two doors right before the wreckage in the hall. Might be another room with an opening."
As they walked towards the doorway, the lights flickered one last time before extinguishing. Andy pulled in a quick breath, but didn't let his steps falter. He could see the yellow tinged light still burning brightly out in the hallway. That was his destination now.
The older detective was pretty much on his heels as they burst into the hallway. Even as a child, Brass had never been afraid of the dark, but in that classroom behind them, he was. It shut off his vision and he could have sworn he saw ghosts floating around lost.
Taking a deep breath and placing both hands on his stomach, Brass turned to look at Andrew, "Come on. Have to take a look at this mess with the hallway."
"Sure thing."
As they got closer to where the tornado had ripped through the school, Andrew could make out a rocking chair embedded within the bricks. He sure hoped some old lady hadn't been in it at the time when it took into flight. Knowing that no one would be caught underneath this pile, the younger cop felt more adventurous about climbing around and feeling for a week spot.
Brass held the CSI bag in his left hand as he watched the other man climb around like a monkey. There was no way he was getting his bad knee up there. Besides, though he would never admit it, Andrew was stronger than him and be able to do this better anyways.
"Now, don't make me catch you kid."
Andrew laughed as he pushed against another large brick, "Never, boss. Never."
!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+
"So you guys were trapped in this? Damn!" Greg crouched down by the bloody stones that Nick had been encased under. His hands shook a little as he took in the amount of blood each man had shed. Being caught in his own room was bad enough, but his friends had been in much worst than him. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself before he turned back to the others.
Nick leaned against the wall to reach down towards the floor, "Yeah man. Wasn't a picnic that was for sure."
"Like you've been on one Nicky," Warrick chided from where he was fumbling around the Ford truck slammed into the wall. He had a feeling this was the best place to work at in order to get them out of this damn place.
"Just cause you've only been on one with your Grammy doesn't mean I've never been on a real one with a girl back home."
"Girls actually talked to you?" Greg didn't want to be left out this time.
"More than you could ever dream of Greg. Your kindergarten girlfriend doesn't count, man."
Warrick laughed full from his belly, "And here I thought it was pre-school. By age six most girls knew Greg here was a lost cause."
It hurt to laugh, but Nick didn't stop. His hand covered his wound over his hip without him really being aware of it. Ever rib in his chest seemed to stretch with every expansion of his lungs. But it was what he needed right now. Being back in this room had been harder on him than he had thought it would be. He had never been forced to look at what remained of his glass coffin. Just now, his stone one.
"Hey, I've had lots of ladies. You guys just aren't cool enough for me to introduce them to you too. If anything would scare them off, it would be your ugly mugs," Greg bent over and pulled at the black strap he had finally seen.
"Who's married, man! Huh? I got me a very fine woman."
"Still say she was completely drunk when it happened," Nick pulled out a flattened saxophone, "Never would a sober woman marry you."
Warrick slapped his hand onto the steel bumper, "Drinks were not involved, Nicky. Not until the honeymoon. Then it was flowing from the tap."
"And I don't need to be hearing about that."
With a grunt, Greg pulled the kit bag free. It was ripped in one place along the bottom. Carefully opening it to look inside, the young CSI could see the broken jars and cracked reeds. Whatever evidence was being kept safe in here was heavily compromised. "Is that because you wouldn't remember what any of it was?"
The sax clanged to the ground as Nick let it fall from his hands, "Now that was below the belt. Come on Greg, don't play dirty."
No one said a word. Greg looked slowly up from the broken bag, afraid of what he would see on the other two's faces. He hadn't meant to get out of line. This was how he thought they played this game. But his eyes became slits as he saw the other two attempting to hold in their laughter.
"You guys are such jerks," he yelled, throwing his hands out wide.
"Yeah, yeah," Warrick wiped at his eyes, "Enough of this fooling around. We don't want Brass to find us like this. Find anything?"
He made his way back to where Greg was. The place he had remembered his bag being was completely buried. There was no way they were going to be able to get to it now. But it did look like Greg was holding something.
"What ya got there?"
"I found someone's bag. Don't know which of yours it is though, sorry."
Warrick took the kit in his hand and looked inside. This one wasn't his. And it looked like anything Nick had gotten from the upper part of the room was long gone. He signed and rubbed at his forearm with his right hand. They had a tough case from the get go and now they had an impossible one.
"Shit. Nick, your stuffs ruined."
The Texan walked slowly towards his friends, a frown on his face, "Find yours?"
"Nah, mine's under the damn truck probably. Not that I had a whole lot anyways. But the camera would have been nice to have."
"Maybe once we get some help we can find it. Dig it out. Might be something we can scrounge up to use."
Greg looked uneasy, "So how'll we put this case together? I mean, I had nothing from any of the kids. I'm sure my stuff is trashed, but I had gotten their fingerprints and checked for GSR. All of them tested negative."
"See anywhere where a gun could be ditched in any of those rooms," Warrick questioned.
"No. Wait, you didn't find one in here?"
This was shocking to Greg. He had thought for sure one of them would have found a gun in this room. But now knowing there wasn't one yet, he was worried.
"What are we going to do?"
With a shake of his head, Warrick looked at the younger man, "Find a way out of here now. I don't know about you guys, but I think this case is a lost one."
"No such thing as a lost case, Warrick. Just harder ones to solve," Nick studied the room around them from his spot.
"You've been hanging out with Grissom too much, bro."
But Nick didn't respond. Instead he moved slowly once again towards where the wall used to stand. Something had caught his eyes and he wanted a better look. It was a hard trek, but he finally made it. He ignored the feeling of blood filling his bandages clinging to his body. That wasn't necessary information anymore.
"Nick? Nicky? What are ya doing?"
Warrick's forehead crinkled with worry as he watched Nick move over the rubble. His friend was obviously trying to hide his pain, but he could tell by the slump of the Texan shoulders and the hunch of that proud back. Nick needed to get to a hospital soon. And he would love to join him. His own body wasn't happy with any of this.
It was Greg that actually moved after the other man. His steps were lighter than Nick's and it didn't take him much time at all to catch up. They were now standing at the far side of the mess, away from the truck. Now Greg was able to see it as well.
"I see outside!"
Sure enough, there was a hole in the downed wall. It was tiny, but it was enough to see the gray sky full of rain on the outside. The storm was still ragging on, but it looked like the tornados were something they weren't going to have to worry about anymore. That made Greg feel much better. Those were much more scary than he had ever imagined.
"Hey Greg, you think you can fit through there?"
The former lab rat shifted himself closer to the tiny exit. He reached up with his hand to judge the size by matching it against his outstretched fingers. It was much smaller than he had thought.
"There is no way I'm fitting through there. I'd get stuck!"
By now, Warrick had made his way over and was looking over their situation, "Nick? What about you?"
That caused Nick to start laughing, "Yeah man, if Greg can't make it, I'll shimmy right through there. Damn Warrick. What the hell are you thinking? My shoulders are broader than his, my hips too. No way."
"Yeah, sure. Can't have your ass stuck in there," Warrick grinned as he thought about it. None of them would get through there. Andy was bigger than Nick so he wasn't an option. As for himself, he would be lucky to get his arm through the damn thing.
Greg's eyes widened, "Hey, I bet one of those kids could get through here!"
The other two shared a glance and nodded. None of the adults would be able to get through that, but there were plenty of kids to try. And someone needed to get outside to get some help. Someone needed to know they were in there.
"Alright," Warrick stepped back, "Let's go meet up with Brass and Andy. We'll see what they think and get something done. Maybe they found something as well."
The tallest CSI led the way from the rubble back towards the door, back to the other people. Nick held back a little, sucking in a breath to stop from groaning. A glance down at his hip proved that he was bleeding again. And it looked bad. He darted his eyes upward at the other's backs. There was no way he was going to hide this.
TBC…