Irrefutable

By: Manigault

Thanks for the replies! They are very much appreciated!

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Brass stared at his cell phone with disgust. Somehow he'd missed a call from Sara and hadn't realized it until he had pulled the same object out to try and call Grissom again. Pushing the redial button he waited for Sara to answer, an apology ready on his lips. What he didn't expect was the sleepy voice that did answer Sara's phone.

"Greg? Is that you?"

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A grumbling Greg rubbed his eyes and tried to make sense of the disgruntled voice on the other end of the line. Only seconds before he'd rolled off a sofa and smashed his elbow on the coffee table when he heard the persistant ringing sound. Muttering beneath his breath he waited for Sara to answer her phone when he realized that she must have left it on the kitchen counter.

He was groggy when he answered the phone, hoping that Sara wouldn't mind his doing so when he heard the question vibrate in his brain and shift until it made sense.

"This is Greg. Is this Brass?"

"Greg? I need to speak with Sara, is she with you?"

Greg looked around the room and shook his head before catching his actions and speaking quickly, "Nope. I guess that she's in her room, hopefully getting some sleep."

"She's at her house?"

Greg heard the disbelief in Brass's voice and caught himself nodding his head before lightly hitting himself in the forehead. "It's okay. Warrick and Nick are here also so we can take care of any maniacs that try to get to Sara."

There was a few seconds of silence over the line and Greg found his eyes closing again with sleepiness. Brass's next question brought him swiftly awake.

"Why wouldn't Sara have her phone with her? She keeps that thing glued to her side these days." He didn't have to add 'in case Grissom calls'.

"Hold on, I'll knock on her bedroom door and see if she's awake," said Greg.

Greg held the phone in his hand as he jogged the short distance to the door where he had seen Sara disappear behind not that long before. He felt as though he was intruding on her privacy, but something wasn't sitting well with him. Knocking softly on the door, Greg waited for any sign that Sara was awake before calling out softly. When he got no answer, he turned the knob and stuck his head around the corner.

"Greg?" Brass's query floated through the air from the phone that was dangling in his hand.

Pushing the door open wider, Greg raised the phone to his ear and mouth and said with trepidation. "Brass, she's not here." Greg's heart was slamming against his chest as he surveyed the room for any sign of Sara's prescence.

"Did you check the bathroom?" asked Brass, his own pulse increasing with the statement.

Greg called out for Sara as he approached the bathroom. "She's not in the bathroom. The bed doesn't look like it was slept in, but I know that Sara wouldn't leave the house. No way would she do something that stupid."

Brass could only hope that was the case, but love and concern could make an otherwise intelligent person take stupid chances.

"Check the rest of the house and then call me back," said Brass as he walked to his car and fumbled for the keys. "I'm on my way over there but I want you to phone me after you've checked everything out. Wake up the guys and have them help."

Greg ran from the bedroom and along the hallway. Sara could be in one of the rooms, talking privately with Nick or Warrick. She wouldn't leave the house without telling them, would she? Banging on the first door, Greg hoped that he was being over dramatic and that the door would swing open to show an angry Sara demanding to know why he was making so much noise.

Nick was the one who opened the door, sleep pressing against his eyes as he struggled to make out the frantic form that stood before him, rambling on about Sara and something about her missing.

"Greg. Slow down and tell me what's going on? Where's Sara?"

Nick heard the other guest room door click open as a curious Warrick peered into the hall at the curious spectacle of an excited Greg trying to explain something to Nick and not making any sense in the process.

"Sara. Brass. Can't find her and think she isn't here." Greg didn't know why he was having a hard time forming a sentence but he was finding it almost impossible to keep his train of thought straight as images of the victims in the hotel pressed into his mind's eye.

"Sara went someplace? She wouldn't do that, Greg. Relax, we'll find that she's someplace nearby." Nick looked around his own room expecting Sara to appear from some corner of the room.

"We'll spread out and find her, Greg, I'm sure she's okay," said Warrick, a look of concern making a lie of his words. It wasn't like Sara to take off without a word to anyone unless she felt as if she had no choice.

"Anyone think to check the garage to see if her car was still there?"

Warrick and Greg looked at one another as Nick spoke and the younger man made a beeline for the garage. "It's not here!" Greg shouted.

"She left without telling us and didn't take her phone," said Warrick, the words making the reality much more terrifying.

Greg punched the redial on his phone and barely waited for Brass to respond when he blurted out that Sara's car was gone and so was she. "Where would she go?"

"I'll be there in five minutes, Greg, look around to see if she left a note."

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By the time Detective Alec Thompson arrived, Grissom's nerves were stretched to the limits, his blood pressure was soaring, and his head was beginning that dull throb that began at the base of his neck and worked it's way up towards the back of his eyes until it would consume his thoughts.

Alec stepped inside the room and studied the man in front of him with a calm eye before holding out one hand in greeting and introducing himself. "Gil Grissom? I'm Detective Alec Thompson."

Rubbing his forehead, Grissom smirked slightly before placing his hands on his hips and staring at the detective with mistrust. He didn't feel like exchanging pleasantries and deep inside his subconcious he realized that move could be harming his position but somehow he couldn't bring himself to think logically. He needed to get in touch with Sara.

"I've explained everything and nobody appears to be listening to me," said Grissom as he launched into another explanation of who he was and where he worked. "I need to speak with Captain Jim Brass at the Las Vegas police department. He can vouch for me and get a message to someone that could be in danger."

Alec pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Grissom who stared at it with such an expression of astonishment that Alec almost laughed. Almost. The look in Grissom's eyes stopped him from showing any amusement and he realized the man was in earnest.

Grissom got ahold of his thoughts and dialed the first number that entered his mind. 'Answer the phone, answer the phone, Sara.'

"Hello?"

"Greg? Why are you answering Sara's phone?"

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Sara let up on the accelerator as she pulled into Boulder City. She was going to pull into a gas station and find a pay phone to call Brass. She would let him know where she was going and who she was meeting. Glancing in the rearview mirror she didn't notice anyone following her and hoped that Lurie was unable to monitor her actions as she pulled into the first gas station she found and eased the car to a stop. These days it was difficult to find payphones but she must have lucked out because there was one at the corner of the gas station.

Fumbling for some change she found what she needed before walking briskly to the phone with every intention of filling Brass in on the situation and being prepared to defend what she knew Brass would deem a stupid move on her part. Hoping that he had spoken with Grissom she kept thinking she would turn the car around and head back home if she only she knew that he was okay.

Picking up the phone she was dismayed when only silence met her and further inspection revealed that the phone was out of order. Glancing at her watch and then the gas station she made her way over towards the building to search for a means of communication.

TBC