This chapter is for SevernSound. Thanks for all your reviews, Dude. I really appreciate them. I hope you'll enjoy it. Sorry about the 'Grissom Daniels' thing. Typo error.

Xxx

IronAngel 420.

Griffin slowly started to come to. There was a horrible pain in the side of her skull, and her vision was blurry, fading from colour to black. She was lying on her side on the floor with her hands folded behind her back. Griffin pulled but found that her hands were tied together; she folded her fingers over to feel her wrists, they were bound with duct tape. So were her ankles. Griffin lifted and turned her head so that she could see the front door. Her stomach flipped. Lander stood over an unconscious Sara, busy wrapping her wrists with duct tape. Griffin strained at her bounds, but the tape was too strong. She looked back at Lander, who had now straightened. He'd finished tying Sara up.

"Mr. Lander?" Griffin said.

Lander spun around and pointed a gun at her. Griffin recognized the gun in a second. It was Sara's Glock. She lifted her eyes from the gun and looked straight into Lander's eyes.

"You're making a huge mistake, Derrick," Griffin said trying to reason with him.

Still pointing the gun at her, Lander said, "Oh yeah?"

"Yes, don't be an idiot. You've been smart so far...don't screw it up now," said Griffin.

Lander gave an awful smile. He bent down and picked Sara up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He looked down at Griffin and said pointing his gun at Sara, "Fortunately, now I have a get out of jail free card."

Lander turned and was about to walk out the door when Griffin called after him, "Lander!"

He turned and she said, "If you harm a single hair on her head, I swear to you, I won't rest until I put a bullet in your head." Griffin threatened, and for one moment Lander felt a chill go down his spine. As he stared into those fathomless brown eyes his mind was filled with images of horrible torture; fates worse than death. Lander covered his nervousness with a smirk and walked out the door leaving Griffin on the floor.

Griffin listened as Lander sped off in a car. For a second she was filled with a crushing pain. She took a deep breath and commanded her body to calm. Griffin then turned her head over her shoulder trying to get a better look at how her hands were tied. She righted her neck and then felt around with her hands until she touched her back pocket. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out her utility knife. Griffin laid it on the floor right under hands. She then picked up the knife at a better angle and was able to slip it open. Now came the tricky part. She flipped the knife so that the blade rested against her wrists. Holding the handle between two fingers and began to saw through the tape.

"Rule number nine," Griffin grunted, "Always carry a knife."

She grimaced as the tape snapped. Griffin sat up and quickly sliced through the tape that bound her feet. She stood up and was just pulling the leftover tape off her wrists, when sirens split the air with their piercing squeal and blue and red lights flashed in the windows. Griffin hurried to the door, but before she could reach it, the door burst open. Brass stood in the door way, her gun drawn.

"Freeze!" he yelled.

Griffin raised her hands and yelled back, "Hold it! It's me, it's Griffin!"

Brass lowered his gun and Nick pushed past him and hurried over to Griffin. Grissom came in after Nick.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He reached up and gently touched the side of her forehead. Griffin winced, but she brushed him off and said urgently, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Listen, Lander took Sara."

Grissom froze.

"Grissom, did you hear me? Lander has Sara!" Griffin repeated.

"What happened? Tell me everything," demanded Grissom.

Griffin took a deep breath before she started. "We were working the sitting room. I was going through the CDs and Sara was looking through the magazines. You called me and I answered my phone. I was talking to you when I heard a noise. I turned, and the next thing I know I'm on the floor tied up. I saw Lander tie Sara up and haul her out of the house. I then managed to get my knife out of my back pocket and I got free."

Grissom clenched his jaw and turned towards the door. No one moved.

Grissom took a deep breath, turned to Griffin and said, "Okay, we treat this like a normal kidnapping. Print the door, see if there are any tyre treads outside, and then let's get back to the lab and see if we can find out where Lander might have taken her. Nick take the perimeter. Griffin and I will work the interior."

"You got it, Boss," said Nick as he left.

Griffin pulled out a pair of latex gloves from her vest. She slipped them on and walked over to where Sara had been attacked. There was something white lying on the floor and Griffin bent to pick it up. It was a white piece of cloth that had definitely not been there when they had arrived. Griffin gently sniffed the cloth and immediately pulled back.

"Grissom?" Griffin called. Grissom walked over to her and Griffin held up the cloth and said, "Chloroform. That's how he knocked Sara out without alerting me," said Griffin.

Grissom used his pen to take the cloth from Griffin and looked at it closely before he clenched his jaw and handed it back to her. He left the house, pushing past Catherine who walked in with an icepack in her hand. Catherine walked over to Griffin and said as she handed her the icepack, "I heard you got hit over the head."

Griffin smiled but winced when she placed the icepack to the base of her skull.

Catherine gave her a compassionate look and said, "You should have the paramedics look at that, they're busy looking at Officer Dean right now.

"Is he all right?" asked Griffin.

"Lander knocked him pretty hard over the head, so the paramedics are taking him to the hospital. Seriously though, you should let them check you out, you could have a concussion."

Griffin shook her head and handed the icepack back to Catherine and said, "I'll get it looked at when Sara is safe at home."

"It's dangerous to wait," warned Catherine.

"Exactly, it's dangerous to wait while the paramedics waste my time just to tell me I've got a bump on the head!" said Griffin.

Griffin spun around and braced herself against the wall.

"Rule number six, Bauer," Griffin growled to herself, "Always watch your partner's back before you cover your own ass."

"Griffin," said Catherine laying a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "you can't blame yourself for this."

Griffin gently shrugged Catherine's hand off her shoulder and said, "Yes, I can. I shouldn't have let my guard down the way I did. I didn't even get time to draw my gun."

Catherine was about to say something, but Griffin cut her off by asking, "Is Nick looking for tyre treads?"

Catherine nodded her head and said, "Yes, he found some acceleration marks."

"But we have Lander's car. Where did he get another car from?" asked Griffin.

"That," said Catherine "is a very good question."

CSICSICSICSI

Six hours had passed and Grissom and the team had struck one dead end after another. Six hours and they were no closer to finding Sara than before. Grissom couldn't shake the sick feeling that had settled in his stomach since the moment he'd heard Sara had been taken. He had to find her. He couldn't be too late.

"Grissom?"

Grissom looked up and saw Griffin standing in his door way.

"Come in, Griffin," he said. Griffin walked in and sat down. She looked exhausted. A Band-Aid had been place over the cut on her forehead, but it was now almost completely soaked through with blood.

"Why hasn't someone looked at that laceration on your head?" Grissom asked, concerned.

Griffin touched her head and winced. "It's fine; I hit my head on the shelf when that bastard knocked me out."

Grissom stood and went over to a cupboard that stood in the corner of his office. He opened it and pulled out a first aid kit. Walking back to Griffin he knelt in front of her and said, "It's not going to be okay when it gets infected." He opened the first aid kit and pulled out a pair of latex gloves, before he got out some disinfectant and a cotton swab. Grissom pulled the Band-Aid away and Griffin winced slightly. He dipped the swab into the disinfectant then straightened. He placed his hand on the right side of Griffin's neck and gently cleaned the two inch gash.

Looking up at Griffin, Grissom said, "You're going to need stitches."

Griffin nodded and Grissom reached back into the bag and pulled out a packet with a sterilized needle and some medical thread. He reached back into the bag and produced a bottle of anaesthetic with a syringe.

"You have anaesthetic in your first aid kit?" asked Griffin.

Grissom gave a small smile as stuck the syringe needle into the bottle and filled it with the clear fluid. "Always pays to be prepared," said Grissom as he stuck the syringe into the gash and pushed the anaesthetic into the wound.

As Grissom was stitching, Griffin focused on his face. She was silent for a few moments then said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

Grissom's hands stilled for a moment then he asked, "For what?"

"For not keeping Sara safe."

Grissom didn't look at her, but he replied, "It wasn't your job to keep her safe. Of all the people I know, Sara can take care of herself the best."

"But it was my job. I have the skills, the know-how, and the gun. I should have kept her safe," said Griffin.

Grissom, stopped, looked at her. He slipped a finger underneath her chin and coaxed her to look up at him before he said in a gentle voice, "It's my job to make sure my people are kept safe, Griffin. I'm the one responsible for her safety...and yours."

Grissom finished stitching Griffin up and he snipped the thread before he placed a Band-Aid over the wound.

"Disinfect that twice a day, the stitches can come out in three weeks," he said as he stripped off his gloves.

"Thanks," said Griffin.

"I see you've managed to lose a CSI, Grissom," said a snarky voice from Grissom's door.

"Culpepper," growled Grissom, "What do you want?"

Culpepper entered Grissom's office, "Why to get our precious Sara back, of course. Seeing as how you were so concerned with her safety during the Strip Strangler case, I'm surprised you put her in this kind of situation again, Gil."

Upon seeing Culpepper's smart ass, arrogant smile, Grissom saw red. Without actually realising what he was doing, Grissom balled his hand into a fist, stepped forward and punched Culpepper in the face. Griffin gave a startled jump.

Culpepper touched his mouth and his hand came away bloody.

"You're going to regret that, Grissom," he spat as he stepped forward. Griffin jumped between the two men and pushed the FBI agent away and laid a restraining hand on Grissom's chest. She looked Grissom in the eyes for a moment, making sure he was under control, before she turned her back to him and addressed Culpepper.

"Walk away, Culpepper," warned Griffin.

"Like hell," snarled Culpepper taking another step forward. Griffin held up her hands and looked up at him.

"You wanna get your ass kicked by a girl as well?" she asked. Culpepper glared down at her for a few more seconds before he lifted his eyes to Grissom and said, "This isn't over, Grissom."

And with that he left.

Grissom sighed and rubbed his sore hand.

"What the hell was that?" Griffin yelled.

Grissom sighed and said, "I'm sorry, I just lost my cool."

"Are you trying to destroy your hand?" the young woman said, "If you're gonna slug someone, keep your thumb on the inside of her fist, or you'll end up breaking your hand."

Grissom looked at her incredulously. "Wait, you aren't yelling at me because I assaulted an FBI agent?"

Griffin snorted, "Please, I've wanted to do that the first day I met that asshole. By the sounds of it he has a history of putting Sara in danger."

Grissom chuckled, but his face darkened.

Griffin got up; "I'd better get back to work." She paused at the door and said, "I'll find her, Grissom. I promise."

And she left.

CSICSICSICSI

"What more can I possibly tell you that I haven't already?"

Vanessa looked worse than the last time Griffin had seen her. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was barely held back with an elastic band, her clothes were mismatched and wrinkled. She had bruise-like bags underneath her eyes and her cheeks looked pale.

"I need you to tell me," said Griffin, "Where Derrick Lander would go, if he needed some place to hide."

Vanessa looked at her with her haggard eyes and said, "I haven't seen the guy in over ten years."

"I understand, Mrs. Barett, but you grew up here. You know Derrick better than anyone. Please, he's...he's taken my friend, and I have to find her," pleaded Griffin. Vanessa was quiet for a few minutes.

"Derrick loved mountain biking. He would spend weekends out by Lake Mead cycling and hiking. He took me there once," said Vanessa.

"Where in particular?" pressed Griffin.

Vanessa shook her head and said, "I don't know. It was night, and I didn't pay much attention to directions."

Griffin gave a frustrated sigh.

"I do know," said Vanessa and Griffin looked up, "That he owned the cabin we stayed in."

Vanessa sat back in her chair and folded her arms.

"Mrs. Barett...did Derrick ever get...violent...with you?" Griffin asked.

Vanessa was quiet for a moment; she then sat forward and folded her arms on the table. "Not with me. After about five months, he began to...change. He became angry and violent towards other people. He started to become rougher in bed..."

"But he never hurt you?"

Vanessa shook her head.

There was a knock on the door and Griffin looked up at it. She turned back to Vanessa and excused herself before she exited the break room. Catherine was waiting for her, seeming slightly frantic.

Griffin didn't wait for Catherine to speak, but immediately said, "Catherine, I need you check into property owned by Lander. Vanessa said he took her to a cabin out by Lake Mead. She said that he owned the cabin."

"Yeah, I'll get someone to look into it, but Griffin, listen! Lander just contacted Grissom via Skype. He's placing his demands right now in the AV room."

Griffin looked at her for a second then she took off running. She raced down the hall and into the AV room. The whole team was gathered and Catherine entered right in behind her. Grissom stood in front of the huge TV screen. Lander was displayed there; his eyes looked wild and he had a dark stubble on his cheeks.

"Calm down, Lander, we can work something out," Grissom was saying.

"No," said Lander aiming his gun at them, "This is how it's is gonna go down. In two hours you are going to bring five hundred thousand dollars in large bills. If I see so much as a shadow that looks like a cop before those two hours are up and I'll shoot the bitch."

"Okay, okay, Derrick. We can get you your money, but it's going to take some time," reasoned Grissom.

Lander shook his head and said, "Two hours, fifteen miles east of highway 147."

"How do I know she's still alive, Lander?" asked Grissom.

Lander sniffed and he wiped his nose with the back of his hand, which also held the gun. He took a step back and said, "You wanna see her?"

Grissom nodded his head and said, "That would go a long way."

Lander nodded looked to his left then stepped aside revealing Sara. She was tied to a wooden chair, her hands behind her back and her feet bound to the legs of the chair. Her head hung limp and her hair served as a veil, covering her face. Lander walked behind her, grabbed her by the hair, and pulled her head back.

"Sara?" said Grissom. Her forehead was covered with sheen of sweat and her top lip was split on the left side and swollen. There was a gash on her left eyebrow and a bruise on her left cheek. The bastard had hit her.

Sara slowly opened her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Grissom?"

"Hang in there, Sara. We're coming to get you," said Grissom desperately.

Lander shoved Sara's head forward and walked back to screen. He pointed his gun at them again and said, "Two hours, five hundred grand. If I see that other bitch anywhere near here I'll blow your CSI's brains out." The screen went blank.