I know...I know..It's about time. Well I did have to make you guys want more..right? Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews. They are appreciated and thanks to Tefla who helped me with the chapter...you rock! Enjoy!
Utter fear. That was the only thing that Erin could feel. She was currently being dragged through unending cement corridors. She hoped she was being taken to Nick and not to her death. She looked over at her captor and shivered. He had a look of glee on his face. It was that look alone that sent her level of panic through the roof.
The grip that had been established on her arm refused to budge, even after she relentlessly tried to free it. All she had earned in return for her struggling was a sharp jerk to her arm which almost sent her stumbling each time she tried to pull away. Finally getting the subtle message that was being given to her, Erin stopped her struggles and let Harris pull her along.
It had given Harris a minor thrill each time that she tried to pull away. In retaliation for her attempts he had quickly jerked the arm that he held while continuing to move forward. If the woman had stopped at all, she would have been pulled off her feet. Luckily for her this had not occurred yet, but secretly Harris was wanting to see his captive fall. After moment or two, a grin crept onto his face. Apparently she had learned her lesson. The tension that he had been feeling for the last few minutes of the journey suddenly disappeared.
Breaking the silence that had surrounded them since he had pulled her out of the room, Harris spoke.
"I see that you have finally decided to calm down. That may be the wisest move you have made yet Miss Matthews. Although, the wisest decision you could have made ... was to never have stumbled across my path in the first place. People have a tendency to just ... well disappear while they are in my care."
As Harris was speaking, he turned another corner before eying the door to the room where he had left the CSI. As he approached the room with Erin in tow, he stopped just out of sight of the doorway and smirked at the woman. The next moment he tightly grasped her arm with both hands and began applying pressure to the joint of her wrist. The pressure increased as he watched for any reaction. A simple pain-filled cry was what he was hoping Erin would give him. It would make Stokes squirm to know that she was being hurt and that there was nothing he could do about it.
At first Erin was silent as she caught the meaning in the words that had been spoken to her. 'People tend to die in other words.' was the thought that ran through her mind. After realizing that all motion had stopped, she glanced up to see an open doorway on her right. All relevant thoughts after that seemed to vanish instantly as the pressure on her arm and wrist increased to painful proportions.
Glancing into Harris's face, Erin tried pulling her wrist free again. Nothing came of the attempt, except for more pain. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to stifle the words that sat on the tip of her tongue, but as the pressure increased once again, she could not remain silent any longer. A mild scream echoed down the halls as Erin gave into the tactics being employed against her.
The pressure on her wrist eased as her scream died off and she gave Harris a reproachful look before finally tugging her arm free. Almost immediately she cradled her wrist against her chest and tried to ignore the throbbing sensation that remained instead of fading away. This mere fact indicated to Erin that she may have sustained an internal injury instead of just a superficial one. She did not have much time to dwell on the fact as she was roughly ushered into the room.
When Harris had left the room, Nick glanced around to the men guarding him before fidgeting in his chair. His worry for Erin increased as the minutes ticked by. The CSI wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it seemed like an eternity had gone by. The silence of the room was shattered then by a pain-filled cry and Nick's blood ran cold. Just as he was about to leap up from the chair, he felt two sets of hands pushing him back down … the combined pressure keeping him seated.
'Oh god. Please don't let that have been Erin.'
However, his investigative side told him that it most likely was. He struggled: both physically and mentally. Physically he knew he had to get free to help Erin, but he didn't know how to accomplish that. He battled with his emotions. He wondered what Harris was doing to her. A few things came to mind, but the main one that lingered was – rape.
He tried once again to get up from his seat. This time, however, he received a crack to the head with the butt of a gun. He saw a flash of white. When his vision cleared he could see the smug look of Harris standing in the doorway with a scared Erin. Almost immediately Nick tried to find anything that might prove his theory of what had caused the cry he had heard. The only outward sign that something was wrong, besides the fear in Erin's eyes, was the way she gently cradled her wrist alongside her chest.
"Erin are you alright?" Nick blurted out.
"She's just fine Mr. Stokes." Harris said as he pushed her into the room while the guards dragged another chair next to Nick.
Nick looked over to Erin who just stared at the floor. He silently wished that she would look up at him so he could tell if she was all right. As she was pushed in the direction of the chair he looked her over once again to make sure none of her clothes were ripped. They weren't, but that still didn't mean anything.
The scraping of the chair across the floor brought Nick's attention back to the room. He glared at Harris as he shoved Erin into one of the guards who pushed her into the chair and tied her to it. She gave a soft cry when the rope was pulled tight around her injured wrist. Nick now knew she was injured in some way. He leaned over to look around the guard that had been tying her up and noticed a bruise forming around her right wrist.
He could feel the anger burning inside and rising in him by the minute. Nick knew this man was vicious and cruel, but for some reason he hoped that Harris would have left Erin alone. Nick knew first hand what it was like to be on the receiving end of Harris's cruelty. Fortunately for some of it he was unconscious, but it still didn't make him feel any better.
The guards moved away from Erin and took their positions again behind both captives. Erin still stared down at the ground while Nick stared at her. He tried again to get her to talk.
Harris stood back and watched as the guards bound his other captive to the chair. He glanced over at the CSI and couldn't help but smile. He could see the lookin Stokes' eyes. It was a look of frustration, but not the look of a man who was broken. He was going to have to work on that. He knew for a fact that this young lady was going to aid in his attempts.
"Erin, are you alright? Talk to me." Nick pleaded.
Erin swallowed before she answered quietly, "I'm fine."
Nick once again looked up at Harris, "What did you do to her?"
"That's none of your concern Mr. Stokes. What you should be worrying about is what am I going to do to you next."
Nick remained silent.
"What … no witty remarks Mr. Stokes?"
"Go to hell."
"Well that remains to be seen doesn't it."
Harris reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "You get a small reprieve Mr. Stokes, but don't worry I won't forget about you."
Erin looked up at Harris then over to Nick. The CSI was still staring angrily at Harris. She watched the scene before tugging gently at the rope binding her to the chair. A flash of pain briefly reflected in her eyes before she returned to watching Nick … unsure of what was going to happen.
"Yea well don't do me any favors," Nick mumbled.
"Don't worry. I don't plan on it. Now if you will excuse me for a moment I have a rather important call to make."
Nick couldn't hold back the retort on the tip of his tongue, "Please don't let us stop you."
Harris gave Nick a fierce look before returning his attention to his cell phone. He dialed the numbers and the phone to started to ring.
His anticipation grew when he heard, 'Yea.' on the other end.
"This is Harris. You want to give me an update."
"I can't at the moment."
He grew concerned at that sentence. Normally Carl would have gotten himself into a secluded area to talk.
"Why not?"
"I'm not in a good position to speak at the moment."
Harris could feel his anger starting to rise. He was one person you didn't want mad at you. He took a couple of calming breaths before asking the next question. He already knew the answer. He just had to confirm it.
"Have you been compromised?"
"Yes."
He silently cursed to himself. These CSIs were smarter than he gave them credit for, but that was Carl's problem not his. Carl knew the stakes and he accepted them.
"Then you are on your own. If you were stupid enough to get caught then I don't need you anymore. You make sure you keep your mouth shut or I will shut it for you … permanently." And he slammed his phone shut.
The two captives quickly glanced at each other as Harris hung up the phone. They could see the anger radiating from his eyes and watched as he paced back and forth. He stopped abruptly and cast an irate look at Nick. The CSI knew he was in trouble with that look. He already had taken a beating and he wasn't sure how much longer he would last. He knew Erin was sitting next to him and his intent was to remain brave for her even if he wasn't exactly feeling it. To be honest he was scared to death.
Harris took three quick steps over to Nick and grabbed a handful of hair. The suddenness of the action surprised Nick and he gasped. He could hear a startled cry from Erin as well.
"This is all your fault!" Harris spat.
Nick grimaced in pain as his head was pulled forward and up to face the angry man. He could feel his ribs scraping together, but he kept the pain bottled up. He didn't know what to say to Harris's statement. Well actually he did but he kept it to himself. He figured if he kept his mouth shut he would live longer … he hoped.
"If it weren't for you … we wouldn't be here." Harris added.
Despite the pain the CSI was in … he smirked. It was worth the risk and so Nick decided to open his mouth anyway, "Grissom's getting close I take it."
The CSI watched his captor's eyes when he said that. The reaction that Harris gave told him everything he knew. More then likely, Grissom and the rest of the team had found out about Carl. It seemed that the lab tech wouldn't be providing any more reports for Harris. At least that was what Nick had surmised by the one-sided conversation he heard.
Harris's silence was all Nick needed to continue, "I told you Grissom would find you. As I said earlier … you underestimate him."
Harris gripped Nick's hair tighter as he was now face to face with him, "Your Mr. Grissom hasn't found you yet. I guarantee you when he does there won't be enough of you left to identify."
Erin cowered in her chair at that statement. What was this man planning? She was so scared, but she tried to act brave. Nick was her strength and every time he looked at her he gave her the strength to last another minute without completely falling apart. She had been close a couple of times, but she managed to pull herself together.
The constant ache in her wrist reminded her of the injury she received from this man. You would never hear her complain about it though. Nick had it much worse. The man had been both shot and beaten to a pulp and he never complained.
"Yea well you are still going to go down. No matter what you do to us." Nick replied back.
Harris had heard enough from this man. He pulled back his arm and punched the CSI squarely in the face. Harris hadn't even realized how hard he had punched Nick until he noticed that the CSI had fallen off of the chair and onto the floor. He listened for the startled cries coming from the woman. He reveled in it. The guards picked the handcuffed man up off the floor and forced him back in the chair.
He looked down at the CSI and noticed a trail of blood ran down from the right side of his mouth. He could see Stokes gasping in pain from his broken ribs. Harris knew that if the man wasn't handcuffed that his arms would be around his ribs at this moment. As it stood they were cuffed behind him. This fact alone excited Harris. He grabbed the CSI's vest this time and punched him repeatedly.
Nick didn't know how much longer he was going to stay conscious. He still wasn't fully recovered from his last beating and his ribs were killing him. He tried to block out Erin's cries as he was punched repeatedly. He knew that her cries were egging Harris on. The sick individual fed off of negative emotions. That's what gave him his power.
Nick could feel the blackness slowly surrounding him. It was abruptly pulled away when he felt cold water being thrown into his face. He quickly opened his eyes as the water was expelled from the area surrounding his mouth. Harris was once again face to face with him.
"Don't you dare pass out on me Mr. Stokes. I'm not close to being done with you." Harris said with contempt as he swung a few more times at the nearly unconscious man.
Nick just sat limply in the chair. He could feel the hands of the guards on his shoulders. They were obviously keeping him from falling from the chair. After a few more punches Harris finally stopped. The CSI could barely see out of his right eye. It was beginning to swell, impairing his vision. He let out a small sigh to show his relief that the beating had stopped. His concern grew though when he heard what Harris said next.
"Well Mr. Stokes, you handled that beating pretty well. Let's see how well Miss Matthews handles a punch. I myself think she will only last for a few - How about Mr. Stokes are you a betting man?"
Erin could feel the tears welling up in her eyes when she heard Harris speak those words. She had never in her life ever been hit before. Even as a child she was never punished with spankings.
The statement that Harris had just made got Nick's attention. He sat up straight in his chair. "You leave her alone you son of a bitch. If you still need a punching bag then you use me. Leave her out of this."
Erin was shocked by Nick's words. This man didn't know her until today, but yet he was willing to take a beating for her. She chanced a quick glance over in Nick's direction before looking away. She wanted to say something to the CSI, but she couldn't find the words necessary to express her gratitude that he'd try to save her from something like this.
Harris knew that that statement would light a fire in Stokes. He said it on purpose. There was no fun in beating someone when they gave up or no longer fought back. He saw the spark return in the man's eyes. 'Oh yes…there's more fun to come.' he said to himself.
"You surprise me Mr. Stokes. Why would you be willing to take a beating for a woman you don't even know?'
"That's none of your business."
Erin watched the exchange between the two men and wondered the same as Harris. Nick didn't know her. Why would he do that?
"Let's just say I'm making it my business."
Nick remained silent.
Harris smirked at the CSI and moved closer to Erin.
"Stay away from her!"
"You are in no position to make demands Mr. Stokes. Now tell me why."
Nick looked over at Erin then at Harris. He knew that he was going to be forced into talking. He drew a deep breath before releasing it. His voice sounded hollow as he answered Harris's query.
"It's my fault she's here and I feel responsible for her."
Erin drew in a sharp breath at these words. She had tried earlier to persuade Nick that it had not been his fault, obviously her words had not been enough to sway the CSI's thoughts.
"Well that's very touching Mr. Stokes. Yes it is your fault that she's here and it will also be your fault when she dies."
Harris once again looked at his watch, "Ah … aren't you the lucky ones? I still have some time to play before I go to my meeting. Hmm … what shall we do next?"
Well there it is the long awaited chapter. I hoped you liked it. Please click on that review button and let me know. Thanks!