Sorry for the delay guys... I've been away from my computer... and working on halloween costumes and what not. anyways, enjoy...

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Chapter 10

Grissom shut his phone, troubled and looked around at the others. What he had heard in the end was not encouraging. The cell phone had not picked up much, but what it did definitely scared him. He'd heard the distant sound of a door opening, Catherine screaming, a pained yell, a grating thump, heavy breathing, and a crunching sound before he'd lost the signal. He looked around at the team who were gathered around him.

Greg's boyish grin and light expression had long since disappeared, and to Grissom, he simply looked lost. He couldn't see Sara properly, for she was looking away, and Grissom thought her cheeks were wet. Warrick looked pissed, really pissed. Grissom had put the phone on speaker when the rest of the team had come in so that they could hear.

"That bastard!" Warrick said in a strangled whisper. "That mother-fucking bastard!" He spun around and punched the cabinet behind him.

"Warrick," Grissom said warningly. "That's not going to help our investigation at all." The younger man did not turn around.

Greg and Sara were both watching them, Greg looking slightly shocked, and Sara giving the room a death stare. Somehow, Grissom managed to speak. "Let's go see what Archie's got." He left the room, not bothering to see if they followed him. They were right. He was not good with people. He could understand what Warrick was feeling at the moment, but not his reaction. Grissom had trained himself to keep such outbursts inside himself. Most of the time, Warrick was the same, but as with last time, he'd lost his cool.

Archie was waiting for them when they got there. He, like the others, looked worried. Grissom finally turned around and saw Warrick, Greg and Sara behind him. Wordlessly, Archie pointed to his computer screen. Grissom looked at the little red dot. It was on a road somewhere north of where they were, and looked as if it was winding through countryside. "That's where you lost the signal," Archie said quietly.

Grissom shook his head and settled down against the table behind Archie. At least it gave them somewhere to start. "Do you think that's where they are?" Warrick asked. He sounded a little apologetic.

"No," Said Grissom.

Greg was staring at the computer screen. "He probably heard them talking and pulled over." Grissom nodded in agreement.

"At least we have a lead." Sara said.

"Let's listen to the tape before we go out there." Grissom said. "It might tell us something more."

The other three nodded and Archie pressed play on the computer. "I tried to make it clearer, but there wasn't much I could do." He said before turning the volume up. "It's not that bad though. Melissa Harrison was a wealthy person, she had expensive toys."

Grissom knew what was on the beginning of the tape, but there was no harm in listening to it again. There was a gasp, and the female voice saying "Who are you?"

Archie paused it and looked back at the four CSI's. "That's not Catherine…" Greg said slowly.

Grissom shook his head. "Catherine told me that Melissa Harrison got her murder on tape and Catherine pressed record when her kidnapper came in."

Greg and Warrick both raised they're eyebrows. "They didn't find the tape?" Warrick asked, sounding incredulous.

"Apparently not," Sara said, also sounding surprised.

"Ready?" Archie asked. They nodded at him and he pressed the play button again.

Grissom heard the gasp, tearing fabric, scream and slap and waited. The tape clicked and started again. The male voice came again. "Very good, now turn around." Grissom looked around at the team. They exchanged quick glances before turning back to Archie and the computer.

Catherine's voice came. "Someone else is here, and people are coming." Grissom noted the fear in her voice once again, and he could tell the others did as well.

"Oh, we'll take care of your friend, but we'll be gone long before anyone else can get here." The same male voice said.

They heard Catherine gasp and the sounds of a short struggle. The man's voice came again, this time in a chilling hiss. "I advise you not to struggle when there is a gun to your head. Besides, it's in your best interest to cooperate with me. Or, I should say, your daughter's best interest."

"Lindsey…" Catherine fearful voice came. "Let her go!" She said in a whisper.

The man laughed. "Oh there's no need to do that. Let's just say if you don't cooperate, I'm not sure how long your house will be there."

Warrick looked over at Grissom, horrified. Grissom didn't know what to say to him, so he settled for listening to the tape. Catherine didn't say anything for a moment, and her captor laughed. "Well well well, what's this? Are we learning? I do hope so. It might keep you and Stokes alive longer."

"How do you know who else is here?" The team could hear the unhappy surprise in Catherine's voice.

"I have my ways," Said the man. "Oh listen, here he comes. Don't even think about calling out. You wouldn't want this bullet in your head."

The sound of a door being thrown open came and the team looked at each other. The sound that came next was even more confusing. They heard the door closing again and the sound of a safety lock on a gun. "Drop the gun," Archie stopped the tape.

"That's not Nick," Archie said.

Grissom shook his head. "No, it's not, but how…" he trailed off.

"There's another person there," Sara said. "The kidnapper always said 'we', he never said 'I'"

Grissom shook his head in disbelief, wondering what they were dealing with. "Go on, Archie. Let's see what else Catherine got on tape."

Archie complied, and they heard the sound of a gun dropping, presumably Nick's. "People are coming," he said immediately.

The man's voice came again. "Thanks, but we already know that thanks to Catherine here."

They heard Catherine gasp. Grissom was also surprised. How would they have known her name? Their captors ignored her. A different male voice came, and Grissom assumed it was the man who had Nick at gunpoint. "So, Nick, is it?" Grissom hated the mock in his voice. "Answer me!" The new man's voice came again.

"Yes," Nick replied. Grissom could hear a suppressed quiver in his voice. "Who are you?" Nick asked.

"You aren't in much of a position to be asking questions." The second man's voice said. "Frankly, you messed up our ingenious plan. You weren't supposed to live."

"You were behind that!" Catherine's voice sounded angry, rather than scared.

Her captor laughed. "Indirectly."

"How much do you know about us?" This was Nick.

"Everything," One of the men answered. The two kidnappers laughed. Grissom could feel unusual hate boiling inside him. "So tell me, did Sanders ever get his promotion to CSI?"

Silence. Everyone looked at Greg, who looked unnerved. "Answer me, Nick!" It was the same voice of Nick's captor.

Nick's answer was weak. "Yes."

The kidnappers laughed again. "Well, he's next. I wonder what the sight of your dead bodies will do to him."

Everyone looked at Greg, alarmed. He stared back at them, looking horrified. "Oh don't worry, we're not going to kill you yet," Came the voice of Catherine's captor. "We might get some money off of you. We'll let you know how it turns out."

Grissom hated the mocking tone of the kidnappers. Hadn't they played with them enough? Inside, he knew the more they talked, the longer Nick and Catherine had to live and the more they knew about the kidnappers, but this was not getting them anywhere.

"We'll leave them a little message, shall we?" The voice of Catherine's captor now sounded business like. "Just tie up a few loose ends, and we're out of here."

Everything recorded after that was too distant to hear. The tape fell silent, but they could tell it was still recording. About five minutes later, Grissom's voice filled the lab. "Jim! I need backup right away! Call Sara and get her over here!"

Grissom sighed. "Okay Archie, stop it. That's me when I got there."

Archie nodded and pressed stop. "You think this guy's a stalker?" He asked, looking around at them.

"Apparently they know everything about us," Greg said. Archie glanced at him. Greg looked distracted and angry. It was probably the first time Grissom had seen him like that. He had no idea how to deal with this new Greg.

"So, what do we do now?" Sara asked. Her cheeks were definitely wet, but she was trying to hide it and failing.

"They said they're going to hold them for ransom, so we have a little time." Warrick said.

"No…" Grissom whispered. "We have to find them, and quickly."

The others stared at him. Was it the first time they'd heard fear in his voice? They stared at him blankly. Greg was the first to catch on. His eyes widened. "Shit!" He cursed suddenly. The others looked at him. "Where do we start!"

"What?" Warrick looked between Grissom and Greg.

"We've heard their voices." Greg said. Warrick still looked lost, but Sara gasped.

"God, Archie! Play the end of Grissom's conversation with them." Archie spun back to his computer and fast forwarded through the recording to the end.

Greg turned to Warrick and explained quickly. "We know they're alive now, the kidnappers have no incentive to keep them alive. If they were meaning to send us a ransom note, they would have sent proof that Nick and Catherine were alive. Now we have that proof, and the kidnappers have no reason not to kill them. They could already be dead!"

This seemed to strike Warrick as Greg was explaining it. Archie was playing the last of Grissom's phone conversation with them. There was the sound of a door opening, which was probably the back of the car. Then a scream, which Grissom guessed was Catherine's. The yell after that was probably Nick's and Grissom could make nothing of the grating thump or the heavy breathing, but the crunching sound was most likely the cell phone being crushed, which was what Grissom presumed had happened. The recording stopped and everyone looked at each other.

Warrick was the first to speak and Grissom could tell he was trying to stay calm. "Well the scream would have been Catherine, and the yell was probably Nick. The rest is kind of muffled until the breathing and the crunch sound."

Grissom nodded. That sounded about right, but there was something about the scream and the yell that seemed inconsistent. "Archie, play Catherine's scream again."

He did so and Grissom looked over at the others. "Did you hear that? It sounded like it was receding."

Greg nodded, staring straight ahead as if thinking. "Her voice is close to the phone at first, and then far away. Was she thrown out of the car?"

Sara looked up, something close to realization dawning on her face. "Play Nick's for me,"

She listened intently. "He sounds far away," she said. The others nodded. "Did you hear that sound right before his yell? Play it again, Archie."

Grissom heard it this time. A small crunch. "That sounds like gravel. Like they landed on gravel."

Archie replayed Catherine's scream, and they heard the crunch again. Warrick looked thoughtful. "Why was Nick's yell delayed? He didn't do anything till after he hit the ground."

Grissom wondered at that too then remembered how Nick had fallen silent near the end of their conversation. "He was asleep, or something. He wasn't speaking much at the end of our conversation. I'm thinking he was starting to pass out from blood loss."

Warrick nodded. "And that thump sound?"

Archie played it again. They were silent for a moment before Sara said. "The grate was probably the gravel. It sounded like something sliding on gravel. But what about that impact sound?"

Grissom looked at the ground. What would make something slide? He looked around at the others and shrugged finally. They looked at him with bland faces. Normally, he could tell what a person was thinking, but not now.

"And the breathing?" Sara questioned.

They were silent for a moment. Was it the kidnappers, or one of the CSIs? "The sound after that…" Greg started. "Can you play it for us Archie?"

Archie played it again. "That's a cell phone being crushed." Greg said. "You lost the signal right afterwards. He probably crushed it with his heel or something. But what was the breathing?"

"We know he likes to… taunt his victims." Sara said slowly. "He might have dropped it in front of someone and stepped on it."

They all nodded but something was bothering Grissom. They had evidence, and plenty of it, but it wasn't getting them anywhere. The only thing more that they had was a location. The tape hadn't done much for them. All it told them was to keep an eye out for Greg and that Lindsey was in danger. The phone call had yielded little also. Grissom was almost positive that Nick and Catherine were not where they had lost the signal, and about all he'd learned from the phone call was that Nick was hurt and Catherine was scared. None of it was helpful. Looking up all the utility vehicles registered in Las Vegas wouldn't help either. There were too many. The only lead they had was the deserted mountain road that they'd lost the signal on.

"So let's head out to where the signal was lost." Warrick said.

Grissom nodded. "Sara, call Brass. We're better safe than sorry. Warrick, we'll take your Tahoe." The two of them nodded and left before Grissom turned to Archie. "Archie, could we get directions?"

He nodded and typed in a command. He looked back at Grissom and Greg. "Good luck, guys. Anything else you need, call me." He said.

TBC...