A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter has just taken forever to get written and posted. For reasons beyond my control... (ie. the STUPID computer disk that ATE my freakin' chapter!) I had to start all over, when it took forever to get this one written... stupid stupid computer disk! There, now that that's settled, onto the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think:)

Chapter 5 - Stupid Mistakes

"Do you two want to explain what the heck you were thinking?" Grissom questioned but without waiting for an answer, he continued speaking, "Do you even realize what could have happened? If I hadn't of told Brass to check out that location... if they hadn't been late getting there... you would have been killed! Do you two even realize how serious this is!"

"Look, this isn't Sara's fault. I came up with the stupid idea of going. She didn't even know about it, and when I told her she tried to convince me not to go through with it. This is my fault, not hers," Nick explained, not wanting someone else to take the blame for his actions.

As he spoke, Nick rubbed the wound on his head. He'd gotten it when the man had started firing. It hadn't bled very much, but it was still quite painful.

"All right then. Sara, would you please step out of the room for a moment?" Grissom asked.

Sara nodded and walked out of Grissom's office like he requested.

"I understand why you did this... and I'm trying not to be mad... but you really don't leave me much of a choice here. You go behind my back, you tamper with the evidence, and you almost get you and Sara killed. What do you expect me to do here?"

Nick sighed.

"Suspense me. Fire me. Either one..." Nick replied.

"Just... just go home. I'm sure you can understand why I'm taking you off the case. I think you just need to have some time off. Just go home... okay?" Grissom tried to hide the anger he felt inside.

Nick nodded, and without saying another word he left the lab.

Not too long after Nick had left, Greg's cell phone rang.

"Archie, see if you can trace the call," Grissom instructed before he answered the phone, "Hello."

"This doesn't sound like the person I last talked to," the man on the other line stated.

"That's because it's not the person you last talked to. He's off the case. Now where is Greg?" Grissom questioned.

The fact that Nick wasn't there began to get the man angry.

"He's here. Now let me talk to the person that I talked to before."

"He isn't here for you to talk to. Listen, I don't know why you want to talk to Nick so badly, but he isn't here. So where is Greg?I want to hear from him!" Grissom demanded.

In the background, Grissom could hear the sound of someong getting hit and crying out in pain. He was sure that it sounded like Greg.

"You said you wanted to hear from him, so I hope you heard that. That's what happens when I don't get what I want!" the man exclaimed before hanging up the phone.

"Damn it!'" Grissom shouted.

Greg winced in pain. The man had smacked him right in the rib cage, and it had been extremely painful. It was very evident that the man was getting angrier and angrier, and probably regretted the fact that he didn't kill Greg when he first abducted him.

"Your co-worker was being uncooperative, and if you don't want to pay for that, then you'll tell me how I can contact Nick," the man stated, his gun drawn, and pointed directly at Greg.

"No."

"What did you just say to me?" the man asked.

Greg tried to swallow all of his fear. He wasn't going to let the man hurt any of his friends.

"I said, no."

"I wasn't asking. I'm telling you that you have to give me his phone number. He owes me money, and I'll be damned if I don't get it. If you don't, you won't be the only one paying for this. That's right... I know where you work... all of your friends will pay for your little attitude. You give me the number, and no one gets hurt... you don't give me the number... it's not just your life on the line," the man explained.

Greg wasn't sure if the man was telling the truth, or just bluffing to scare him. He didn't want to take a risk and end up getting himself, and his friends hurt.

It's just a phone number. It couldn't hurt... could it? Greg thought to himself.

Nick sat at home on his couch, mindlessly flipping through channels on his television. He tried to keep his mind from wandering and worrying about Greg, but sadly, that wasn't working.

"Greg is in trouble and all I can do is sit here!"

Suddenly, his phone rang and he hoped it was someone calling from the lab letting him know that they'd gotten Greg back safely.

He wasn't that lucky.

"Hello," he said as he picked it up.

"Hello Nick. You seem to be forgetting that you owe me money. One thousand dollars? Ringing any bells here?"

Nick immediately knew who had called him. It was the creep who had taken Greg.

"I would have given you the money if you hadn'ttried tokilled me!" Nick exclaimed.

"Oh, so I'm not going to get lucky and capture another stupid CSI?" the man asked.

"Greg wasn't stupid!"

"He went over to the dumpster, alone, without bothering to tell anyone else what he was doing. That sounds pretty stupid to me, and he's not the only stupid one. Look what you went and did! If I'd tried hard enough, I could have killed you. That wouldn't have been fun though. It's better tohear you suffer. I likehearing people suffer, Nick," the man laughed.

His laughter was filled with the vilest evil, and Nick felt as if he was talking to the devil himself.

"You're twisted!" Nick shouted, "What did any of your victims ever do to you?"

For a moment, the man on the other line didn't speak. All Nick heard was silence.