Summary: There's evil once again in the city of sin. Whatever happens in Vegas…might just kill ya.
Timeline: Sequel to Poisonous Fear (recommended that one is read first), Early/Mid Season Six
Spoilers: Grave Danger, Bodies in Motion, Shooting Stars, Gum Drops, Daddy's Little Girl, several references to other episodes
Disclaimer: This is all written in fun. Everything CSI is not mine and never will be. It belongs to the creative talent of the actors, the writers, the directors, and the producers. I am not making any money off of this. Only meant to offer something new on something already so great. No reason to sue.
Title: To Whom It May Concern
By: duffshel
Author's Note: Hey all. Just a quick hi and plead for some reviews. Author is starving for them here! Not a whole lot to say. Just read and enjoy. Bye!
Chapter 19:
Oh the body swayed to music
Oh the lightning glance
If I would give it all and all
Maybe you would hear me
Ask for half a chance
Hearing only one root note
Planted firmly in the ground
Undo my heart, unzip my body and
Lend to my ear a clear and a deafening sound
Unzip my heart
Ramalama (Bang Bang)-Roisin Murphy lyrics
No one hung up on him. It didn't matter who it was. Jacob Tenner was someone you didn't mess with in any fashion. And now he was even madder. He just didn't know who he wanted to take it out on more. The man he already held or the man he would soon possess.
He gripped his phone in a white knuckle grip and grinded his teeth together. Shaun watched him from his seat, but knew better than to say anything about what had just happened. The man already knew he had messed up and wasn't someone his boss was happy with anymore.
Tenner didn't know what to do exactly about the situation. Calling Stokes back would show desperation and might make the man stronger against him. But if he didn't, then he might never get a hold of him in a timely manner. It was a move he hadn't been ready for, an unwanted variable in this situation.
Without sparing a glance at Shaun, Tenner stormed off to where Warrick was being held. Someone needed to pay and that moment was just fine to the older man. No one got in his way or even looked at him. His people knew to stay out of trouble when their leader when he was in one of his moods.
Since he had lost the three CSI's the first time around, Tenner had given his life a new direction. He had changed the outlook in things and allowed less room for error. Fear around him had grown and it was like a drug to him. Tenner wanted more. That was one of the reasons he was back to take out his revenge. But this time, it would be bigger. No one would get away this time. Sanity would be begging for release by the time he was done.
The black man was still out of it when Tenner entered the room. No one had tied him up. That made Tenner even madder. Someone had gotten lazy and thought an unconscious man didn't need to be tied up. If one thing was learned, never underestimate these people. They had fooled him once, but never again.
Tenner sneered and threw a kick hard into the CSI's ribcage, "Wake up! Get up!"
It was enough to cause Warrick to groan and roll away from the pain he was receiving. Bright flashes went off behind his eyelids forcing them to open before he could stop himself. All he could see was a cement wall, damp and moldy. Another kick got him to turn and look behind him at what else was going on in the room.
Another groan escaped, but not completely out of pain this time. Warrick had almost hoped that everything had been a dream and Tenner wasn't back. He could have dealt with another nightmare. This truth was almost too much for him.
"Get up!" Tenner barked at him.
Warrick rolled over to his right side, arms braced underneath him. His legs were slow to move, but he finally got onto his knees. With a push, Warrick was standing tall before the older, shorter man.
"Sit in the chair."
Replying with only a questioning smirk, Warrick crossed his free arms across his chest. There was no way he was going to listen to that man, especially when he was free to move around. It wasn't his fault that no one had taken care of such things. He wasn't about to make this simple. Plus, he was the bigger man.
"Oh, you don't think you have to do it? Ah, I see," Tenner taped his fingers against his chin and took another stop closer, "I would highly recommend that you listen to me."
"Yeah, and I'd say I was the mayor of New York if I did. Just cuz you can't get good help doesn't mean I'm going to do as you ask. "
"You think you have nothing to lose, don't you? Hm, interesting."
"I'm here. They know who took me. My coworkers are not slow. They'll figure it all out and be here in no time. We've done it before."
"Oh, and what about your dear friend, Mr. Stokes? You really think he knows what's going on? Or don't you believe he'll be on his way? We did have a nice little talk, that we did," Tenner smirked as he watched the other man react to the lie he was easily telling, "Nice little talk."
Warrick didn't want to believe it, but he remembered that gunshot from over the phone. He really couldn't place anything in what Tenner was telling him with what he sort of knew, but self doubt was a dangerous thing. And, besides, Warrick would always carry enough guilt for the planet when it came to Nick.
"Don't believe me do you? Well, you'll have to wait and see. I know he'll come for you as well as I do."
"No, Nick'll go get help. He won't come here without help. And how do I know you even told him anything he can use?"
"You seem to forget, Mr. Brown. I want him a lot more than I want you. So, why would I not tell him to come for you? He is more important in all of this than you could even begin to figure out."
There was no answer. Tenner smirked even more at the resigned posture the CSI took as he looked down at the floor. He was winning. Nick Stokes would be in his hands soon. No amount of hang ups would stop him from getting what he wanted.
"Now, sit in that chair and I'll let you see your friend when he arrives. Before I kill him of course. Unless you don't want the chance to say good bye of course."
Taking a deep breath, Warrick uncrossed his arms and walked over to the only chair in the room. Anyway this played out; he wasn't going to win this on his own. He just hoped Nick was smart enough not to come here alone. They would both be dead then.
!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+
Greg rubbed at the itch on his nose from his position by the smashed up front tire. It had been almost an hour since Catherine went with Nick to the hospital in the ambulance. No one talked about it. No one talked about Warrick. Not there, not in the crime scene.
He was almost done processing the area so David would be able to take the body. The towing crew was waiting for his okay to move the car back. He was still trying to figure out the best way to do it, with the help of the field coroner. Neither wanted to have to deal with the victim breaking in half.
There had been several fingerprints on the outside of the car. Greg could certainly make out three different ones, but it meant little without identifying them. He didn't have much. The car had been driven. It crashed into the woman, crushing her against the wall. So, he needed the mystery driver.
Feeling suddenly like a first timer, Greg was really unsure of what to do. His mind was pulled in too many different directions for it to focus on one thing only. And his heart really wasn't in finding a suspect. All Greg wanted to do was head to the hospital and be with Nick for a little while.
"You ready?" a feminine voice asked in his ear.
Whipping around, Greg looked into the amused eyes of Sara, "Almost. Just want to be certain."
"Certain of what Greg? If something is going to happen to the body during the move, it's going to happen. Nothing you can do to fix it. Just make sure you document everything before, during, and after."
"Grissom won't be mad if something goes wrong?" Greg asked, full of insecurity.
"No. He'll understand. I mean come on Greg. She is crushed. I'd be more surprised if nothing happened while moving the car back. Just be ready for anything. You're ready to do it."
Sighing, Greg pushed his body upright, "Yeah. I don't know what my problem is. This shouldn't have taken me that long to do."
"It's okay," Sara smiled softly and placed a hand on Greg's shoulder, "Everyone wants the same things. Just have to get through this and do our best. Nick isn't going anywhere and we'll find Warrick."
"You really think Nick isn't going to leave? He talked to someone over the phone. I heard Brass talking to Grissom. Nick knows something about what is going on."
"But remember who is with him. Catherine won't let him take off. She'll tie him to the bed if she has to. He's going to be fine."
The words helped, but not as much as Greg had hoped. He still had bad thoughts about the whole thing. It stilled played in his head, when Warrick walked away with that other man. And now he had Nick passing out from everything to add to it. His two friends were not doing too well.
Looking back down at the hood of the car, Greg knew he needed to allow David to take the body back to the lab. The woman needed to be examined and allowed to be cleaned up. It wasn't right to keep her body here for longer than necessary.
"David, we can move the car now," Greg waved to the bored medical examiner.
"Alright, I'll get the guys ready."
Greg turned to look back at Sara, "You done?"
"No, just wanted to check on you. You had been starring at that tire for a few seconds too long. Thought you might need a kick back into reality."
"Yeah, guess I did. Was beginning to feel like a newbie again. Guys wouldn't let me live it down if they had seen it."
"Oh," Sara smirked, "You think I'm not going to tell them the minute I see them? You would be wrong Sanders."
Any response or defense was cut off by the arrival of the beeping tow truck. Greg just shook his head and grabbed up his camera. He snapped photos of everything the towers did, touched. Looking at name tags and asking questions, Greg took detailed notes of what they were doing. It was time to move the car.
"Alright. Take it slow and if I tell you guys to stop, do it immediately," Greg shouted over all the noise and received nods from everyone.
One of the towers got into the truck, put the vehicle into drive and began to move forward. Groaning and screeching metal hurt Greg's ears, but he kept his hands on his camera, flash going off every few seconds. The car moved a few inches from the cement wall, screaming in protest.
The body jerked and twitched in response to everything. Her head fell forward more, slamming into the hood of the car. Greg winced, but photographed it. The car moved forward even more.
David was waiting to catch the body as it fell, but it moved away from his position. The examiner scrambled, grabbing the woman by the arm, trying to keep her from going too far. It worked to some degree, but as the car kept moving away, a large piece of metal began to remove itself from her abdomen.
"Hey! Stop!"
Hitting the brakes hard, the truck jerked to a spot, break lights blaring red. Greg moved closer and tried to see what had happened. He was beaten by David.
"Seems that a piece of the bumper got twisted up. Pierced her in the stomach. Not going to be prevented."
Greg nodded, "Just let me take some photos."
No one said anything as the CSI moved here and there, flash going off with regularity. The towers looked confused, one grossed out. This wasn't like their normal everyday calls, that was for sure.
Almost finishing, Greg looked up and just happened to look in the area that Brass and Grissom were talking in. The expressions of their faces were far from encouraging. Greg froze and totally forgot what he was supposed to be doing.
"Greg? You ready?" David asked, walking over to the CSI.
"Oh…yeah, sorry. Continue."
Greg tried to keep his attention on the car and the crushed woman. Any other day he might have been fascinated by the fact that her body almost completely bent itself in double without the pressure of the car. It would have been something new for the logs.
But he couldn't bring himself to do more than photograph and make notes. Talking even seemed to be too much now. All he wanted to do was go and listen to what the two older men were talking about. He wanted to know what those looks meant.
!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+
"Alright. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then count to three, do it again."
"I've done this four times already. Not really in the mood to keep doing this."
"Just humor me. I was told to make sure everything was okay. And, well, I don't want to have to report to Gil Grissom if something goes wrong."
Nick sighed, "What could go wrong? I just passed out."
"Oh, you passed out alright," Dr. Susan Mercer raised an eyebrow, "From sensory overload and high blood pressure. You sped your heart up too quickly and it didn't allow for your blood to fully oxidize from the stress. Ms. Willows told me a little of what happened."
"So, just give me some more oxygen. Then I can be on my way. I really don't need this thing," Nick mumbled, pulling on the IV needle buried into the back of his hand.
"You were slightly dehydrated upon arrival. Besides, a few doses of some essential vitamins and minerals won't kill you Nick. Just suck it up. You can leave soon. Once I'm done."
"Since when do you take orders from the crime lab?"
Dr. Mercer smiled and moved away from the shirtless man on her table, "Oh, since the first time you arrived to my ER stretched out on a gurney. Got specific orders from about five people on how to treat you. And I really don't want any of them busting in here and yelling at me for something I missed."
"Only Catherine is here now. She can take me home," Nick pleaded as indiscreetly as he could.
"Who do you think led the group into my office that day? Oh, she won't let you leave until every test available is done on you."
Nick harrumphed and leaned back, hands spread out behind him, "Fine. Just how much more blood you gonna take? I need to keep some of it ya know."
"I think you could spare a few more gallons, a strapping young man such as yourself," Dr. Mercer laughed as she began to pack up her supplies.
"You aren't much older than me, Doc."
"No, but still. I'm the doctor and you have to do whatever I tell you. Now, I'm going to take your tests into the lab. You just sit here and be a good boy. I'll get Catherine when everything is ready. She's in the waiting room."
Now it was Nick's turn to laugh, "Bet she's loving that. Probably have a couple nurses ready to tackle her if she moves."
"You got that right. Have all the male nurses ready for her. And somehow, I still think she'd take them all out. Such a said thing for the rest of us if she does. Some of them are not too bad looking," she winked as she walked to the door.
Groaning, Nick shook his head, "Information I really didn't need to know. You can keep them all away from this room."
"No problem there. The women want this room. You should see the battles that go on to be your nurse."
They both laughed. Nick watched as the female doctor left the room, closing the door behind her. The room was chilling and he could feel goose bumps rising over his entire body. Shifting around, Nick located his shirt. He grabbed it up and pulled it over his head quickly. He groaned as the IV tube got all tangled up in the sleeve, but didn't try to fix it.
He sat there, feet swinging in boredom. The heels of his feet tapped against the metal of the medical table. Nick let his eyes scan over the room. It wasn't too different from the last time he had been here. But he hadn't remembered much of his last visit. It was still foggy and probably better that way.
Breathing heavily through his nose, Nick tried to figure out where his boots were. His socks were not the best against the strong air-conditioning that seemed to be in this tiny room. They were standing up underneath the only chair.
Groaning at pains he couldn't understand, Nick shuffled his way to the chair , pulling the rack with him, and fell heavily into it. He groped for the boats, catching both with his fingers. It took longer than it should have to get them onto his feet, but Nick wasn't about to complain. He was just glad he could get them on in the first place.
"Well Stokes. Looks like you outdid yourself this time," Nick's voice echoed around the room.
Nick leaned back against the chair and rested his hands on his thighs. He was tired. The stress had bitten him in the ass and he was still trying to get over it all. And that made him feel bad, guilty and bad.
Here he was. Sitting safe in a hospital room and Warrick was out there, in the hands of that fucked up lunatic. Nick suddenly clenched his teeth and folded his hands up into fists. His eyes flashed with anger and frustration. This was not how it was supposed to be.
Casting a quick glace at the door, Nick tried to make up his mind. He had a battle going on inside his head consisting of two voices, two opinions. And the side that would make everyone else really mad was taking the lead. Nick barely even noticed when he got to his feet.
But he did notice his phone ringing, over on the table.
Nick picked it up and looked at the display. It declared that the call was restricted. And Nick had a pretty good feeling, well bad feeling, on who it could be. Gasping for a lung full of air, Nick answered the call.
"Hello?"
"It isn't polite to hang up on people in the middle of a phone conversation, Mr. Stokes. Didn't your mother teach you better manners than that?"
"What the hell do you want?"
There was a moment of silence before Tenner's sneer came barreling over the phone, "Don't fuck with me boy. You know what I want. I want you to come to me."
"Why?"
"We have unfinished business, you and I. I let this go on for long enough. Should have done it right, myself. Now I have the opportunity."
"Where's Warrick?"
"Oh, he's here with me. Just relaxing and waiting for his best friend to come get him. Would you like to talk to him?"
Nick frowned, "No tricks?"
"Of course not. I'll just hold the phone to his ear. Just a moment…"
He wasn't too sure what to expect. With that man, Nick knew anything was possible. He could be about to listen to Warrick's execution for all he knew. A tremor took control of his bottom lip as he waited, pressing the phone harder to his ear.
"Nick?"
"Warrick? Bro, you okay? Where are you, man?" Nick rushed out on one breath.
"I don't know. They knocked me out. Didn't see shit. And I don't have any windows to use. You okay?"
"Hey, don't worry about me. Just don't let them fuck with you, man."
"Too late for that bro. They got me good. But Nicky, don't come here. Stay away! They want you more than me. Going to kill you! Tell Brass and get the cops involved in…." Warrick's voice suddenly vanished and Nick panicked.
"Hello? Warrick!"
"You two are nothing, but trouble, you know that?" Tenner asked smoothly over the line, "He just doesn't know when to keep quiet and not talk. Same problem you have though to, don't you Nicky?"
"What do you want?"
"You, just you."
"Then why did you take Warrick? You could have left him alone."
"I didn't take him, oh no. He willingly came along. Not my doing at all actually. It was a mistake that will work out for the better in no time."
"Where are you?" Nick gripped the phone hard in his hand.
"You are ready to come to me? Ready for this?"
Nick stopped and looked down at the floor. He didn't know what was going to happen and it scared him immensely. After what had happened before, he knew he wouldn't make it out of this alive. Not this time. But he would do whatever he could for Warrick.
"Yes, now where?"
"Are you still with Kelly?"
"No, I was taken to the hospital."
Another pause, "Alright. You get out of there, don't let anyone see you. Talk to no one. Get a vehicle and wait for another call. I'll give you twenty minutes to do this. You fail and there will be consequences for it. You understand?"
"Yeah. Twenty minutes. And you tell me where Warrick is."
"That's the plan. You will follow all my instructions and things will work out just fine. You'll see."
"Yeah right," Nick hung up on the man again. He needed to get moving if he was going to find something he could drive. That might take a long time.
Nick quickly put his phone in his pocket and hunted around for any other of his personal belongings. There wasn't much besides his wallet, all going into his other pocket. Wincing, Nick pulled the tape off the needle in his hand and pulled it out. Carefully he pulled the stuff from out of his shirt and let it hand towards the floor. The small amount of blood was ignored, wiped on his pants. He moved quietly to the door of the room and turned the handle. He poked his head out into the hallway, looking to both sides. There was no one there.
He slipped out the door and made sure it closed softly behind him. Nick took another look to his right before making his way down the hallway to his left. It was a section of the hospital he knew well and how to get around it. All he had to do was make it past the front desk in the ambulance bay. He wouldn't even have to risk Catherine seeing him that way.
The young girl was popping her gum, reading some magazine that he couldn't make out. She glanced at him, but at his smile, she ignored him. Nick walked right out the sliding glass doors without even having to look back.
Knowing there were cameras in this area, Nick kept his head down and moved quickly towards the parking lot. No one in security would know him, but he knew Catherine would be asking for those tapes at one point. He had just created a scene that would be investigated by Vegas' finest.
Nick moved to the street and began to pick up his pace. The crime lab wasn't far. If he had any luck, he could reach it without an incident. He would be able to get in, get a spare set of keys, and be gone before anyone noticed him. That was the plan. And he didn't have much time to do it in.
His feet began to jog. Sweat built up and his breathing got harder. His body was still suffering from his earlier attack. This wasn't the best thing to be doing right then. But he needed to keep moving.
With only six minutes left, Nick arrived at the front doors of the lab. He forced himself to wait outside for a moment in order to catch his breath. Too many people would look at him if he were gasping for air while walking the hallways. There would be some uncomfortable questions to answer then.
No one was in the lobby or the main hall as he entered. Nick moved quickly, head down again, through the hall towards the vehicle lock box. He literally ran past the trace lab without even looking in to see if Hodges was there or not.
The steel box was outside Ecklie's office and the door was closed. Luck was on his side so far. Nick opened it and grabbed up the first set of keys he saw. He closed the box and began to make his way back out of the lab. No one even talked to him, no hellos of anything.
Nick got outside again and moved over to the extra CSI trucks. He pressed down on the unlocking button on the remote to see which one he picked. The Ford F150 flashed its lights at him. Nick smiled and moved over to the vehicle.
Climbing in, Nick put the keys into the ignition. He happened to look out the passenger side window as he did so. Nick threw his body down onto the seat at the sight of Brass' Magnum sedan. Peeking up just enough, Nick watched it move around the building and out of his sight.
Quickly, Nick got the truck going and moved to leave the lot. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror to see if Brass had seen him. So far, so good. Nick drove away, trying to find a safe place to wait out the next two minutes. He was too far to be seen and taken back now.
TBC…