Capture Chapter 2: Messages, a csi fanfic

Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long...but the chapter's extra long just because of the wait. I loved reading your response...look forward to more!

Jenny

Chapter Two:

"Gil Grissom, please report to reception. Gill Grissom, please report to reception."

Grissom slammed the stack of folders he was carrying down onto the conference room table, "When I tell her 'no interruptions', what does she think I'm talking about?" he grumbled, moving towards the doorway.

His steps echoed through the quiet lab, a pang of remorse weighing him down heavily. The details of Nick's disappearance just two years earlier still caused his insides to tighten and ache, and yet here they were, faced with loss once again.

If it was their serial killer who had taken Greg from the scene, there was little chance they'd find their friend alive. The first 9 victims hadn't survived this man's reign of terror, and even with Greg's training and knowledge, it was a definitely possibility that they'd find his remains before they had the slightest clue of who had captured him.

He made it to reception, the fury in his eyes quickly visible to Judy, who silently motioned to a package, "A kid just dropped off this envelope. It's got CSI Sanders's name on it."

Silently Grissom pulled a glove from his pocket, lifting the envelope with a frown. After careful inspection, he spoke softly, "A kid?"

"Couldn't have been older than 12. Before I could ask any questions, he rushed out of here." Judy replied, "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Without responding, Grissom turned and rushed back to the conference room, where he had gotten the majority of the lab gathered. Slamming the door behind him, Grissom dropped the envelope to the table, taking a seat and silently opening the seal. Turning the envelope over, he wasn't too surprised to see a cassette tape fall from the package, without as much as a note.

"What is that?"

"It's from our killer." Grissom replied, tossing a glove towards Jaqui, "Take this envelope and see if you can work any prints off of this." He glanced towards the opposite end of the long table, "Wendy, go check on my DNA results. Archie, get me a cassette player, now."

The lab techs scurried from the room, leaving only Catherine, Warrick, Nick, and Sara remaining at the table. Grissom turned to Sara, speaking quietly, "I think you should step outside for this."

"No." Sara replied, her voice coming out stronger than she had anticipated it to, "I'm staying. This is Greg we're talking about. My Greg. I'm staying."

Nick reached out to her, his hand on her forearm, "Sara, maybe it's for the best..."

"No!" Sara replied loudly, "I won't touch anything, I won't say anything...just let me be in here. I swear, I won't compromise any of your evidence, I would never do that."

"I know, but this is going to be hard to hear." Nick soothed, "Are you certain--?"

"I'm staying." Sara huffed, her trembling arms crossed over her chest.

Archie ran back into the room, cassette player in hand, and thrust it into Grissom's waiting hands, "Do you want me to stay?"

"Please." Grissom replied, motioning towards the end of the table where Archie had been seated earlier. He slid the cassette into the player, his hand trembling slightly as he pressed the 'Play' button.

Hello, my name is Greg Sanders. I work for the Las Vegas crime lab as a CSI level one. I would like to tell my wife, Sara, that I never meant for her to go through this. I am so sorry, sweetheart. I would like to tell my colleagues and friends that there was...nothing...you could have done. I've been allowed a five minute message to be sent to the crime lab, so I'll keep it short and straightforward.

Sara gasped quietly as her husband's voice echoed through the still room, tears that she had just gotten under control starting to pool in her brown eyes once more. He was alive, at least, he had been. Already their killer was deviating from his normal pattern.

As I sit here waiting...in my ultimatum prison cell...I can't help but wonder...Is this a test? Is has to be...I want to tell you that there is... no fault, none to blame...we're left to...push the envelope, watch it bend.

"What is he talking about?" Nick asked softly, "Do you think they've drugged him?"

Sometimes in life we're in the cross roads between the right way and the hard way. I think of my past...my rocky relationships with Lucy and Nancy...that feisty little tiger, Lily...Janice and Opal are definitely in my past. I've always felt that my future would be a breeze, I could view myself sitting in a country club somewhere, sitting back without a care or concern. Now I can see that I was wrong. There are always problems facing you, hidden dangers lurking around every corner.

"They had to have given him something...or maybe they're forcing him to read a pre-scripted monologue?" Catherine questioned, "What do you think, Gris?"

"I think we need to listen to the rest of the recording before making assumptions." Grissom replied in a steely voice, his hand clenched tightly beneath the table. Something wasn't right, this certainly didn't sound like something Greg would say, although it was clearly the CSI's voice.

My beautiful Sara...please be sure to give Andy, Matthew, Isabel, Larry, Linda, Elaine, and Ryan my love. If I don't make it back to you, and I've been assured I won't, don't be afraid to move on, don't be haunted by demons of the past. I love you more than you will ever know, you're always on my mind, and I'll always be in your heart.

"Who is he talking about?" Warrick murmured, "Are any of those names familiar, Sara?"

"No." Sara replied quietly, her eyes glued to the tape player, her heart racing. Was he still alive? Was he hurt? Was it even their serial killer who had taken him?

Nick, you're my best friend. Please watch out for my girl..she may need your help more than either of you will realize. You've always been there for me, and I have never forgotten that. You're a great person, a wonderful CSI, and the best friend anyone could ask for.

Nick sniffled quietly, trying to hold back tears as his hand connected with Sara's, their fingers entwining together. He was only able to offer her a soft smile before closing his eyes, not wanting everyone else to see the moisture clouding his vison. He gave her hand a light squeeze, and she returned it silently, her eyes also closed as she stifled her own sobs.

Warrick, what can I say? You've worked hard to overcome so much against you...you're a good guy Warrick, one of the few good guys out there.

Warrick's expression remained stoic, although a flicker of pain resonated deep in his eyes, and his hand twitched slightly, as if he was ready to ram his fist into the nearest wall. It shouldn't be like this, not one of their own, not Greg.

Catherine...you know, I never got to see you naked...I guess when you told me "not in this lifetime", you really held up to your word. Take good care of Lindsey, you know how teenagers are.

"One track mind, Greg, one track mind." She whispered softly, looking down at the table, her lip trembling slightly as she bit back tears.

Grissom, I'm sorry I allowed myself to get taken. I'm sorry I let you down. I bet you're sitting there with that serious look on your face, wishing you would have never let me out of the lab...of course, even lab work has its dangers. It wasn't your training that failed me, it was my own stupidity.

Grissom's expression remained unchanged, although it was clear that his emotions were running dangerously close to the surface. He had never doubted pulling Greg from the lab to put him in the field. The young man was brilliant, he had turned into a very capable investigator. To think that Greg felt he had been a disappointment was almost enough to break Grissom's resolve.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to focus. Greg was a case. A case that needed to be solved. Time was slowly ticking away, and with each precious second that was wasted on tears and "what if's", the chances of finding him alive grew dimmer.

Sara, Nick, there's nothing neither of you could have done to prevent this either, so don't beat

yourself up over it. Things happen, it's obviously my time to go. I'm sorry it had to be this way.

Sara sobbed, dropping her head to the table as Nick placed his hand on her back. Covering her mouth with her hand, she tried desperately to quiet herself, but found it increasingly difficult as Greg's words echoed through her grief-stricken mind. Clamping her eyes shut, she managed to quiet herself enough to hear the rest of Greg's message. This was too important for her to miss because she couldn't engage in self control.

Sara...I love you...I've loved you from the moment I met you...Please don't forget me.

Pushing her chair back from the table, Sara fled the room, her sobs echoing down the quiet hall until a resounding slam indicated she had found somewhere to isolate herself until she could calm down. Shooting a worried glance towards the empty doorway, Nick sighed, his heart aching as he began to think of what he could do to ease her pain.

She's...she's coming back. I have to go. Guys, I'm so sorry this happened, I'm sorry I'm putting you through this, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say a proper goodbye.

Greg's voice cracked over the speakers, and a single sob was heard as a door slammed open in the background, followed by a small scuffle and the sound out flesh hitting flesh. She growled loudly, and Greg let out a terrified scream.

No!...No!

The tape cut off, leaving a silent room in its wake. Pressing the 'Stop' button with a trembling hand, Grissom spoke softly, "Archie, see if you can isolate some background noise, try to get an approximate location. Catherine, Warrick, I want you to review the old case files, see if you can find a similar point of location with the last 9 victims. I'm going to head back out to the scene, see if we overlooked something."

"What do you want me to do?" Nick asked quietly, his eyes pained, "You aren't going to pull me off the case, are you?"

Grissom hesitated before speaking quietly, "No, no. You go check on Sara, bring her home and try to get her to eat and get some rest. Meet me at the scene once you're finished."

Sara flipped onto her side, a frown on her face as Greg's words echoed through her mind.

They were familiar, somehow, although she couldn't quite place them. The team was certain that he had been drugged, sedated perhaps, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something.

Rolling onto her back, she stared at the ceiling of her dark bedroom, sighing loudly. She had heard those words before...a book, a song perhaps?

She kicked the covers off of her tired body, stumbling towards the living room. Collapsing onto the sofa, she tiredly rubbed her eyes, trying to focus. Where had she heard those phrases? They were from a song...a cd...but which one?

Reaching onto the coffee table, she lifted the heavy binder filled with Greg's multitude of cds. Flipping through them, she tried desperately to remember the tune of the music, who it possibly could have been singing. Greg had been obsessive over that particular cd. It had been a gift from his sister, and he swore it was great music to play video games by...after a night off with Nick, playing racing games, he had sang those songs for a week, unable to get them out of his head.

She flipped through the binder, one cd at a time, knowing she'd recognize it if she managed to see it. It was on the third plastic page that she recognized the monstrosity. Tool. Sliding the cd into the cd player, she turned it to the first song, lowering the volume as she listened to the rock lyrics.

Is this a test? Is has to be.

"The Patient." Sara wrote onto a blank sheet of paper, "Line 3."

Ultimatum prison cell.

"The Grudge." she printed, "Line 8."

No fault. No one to blame.

"Schism. Line 8."

"Push the envelope, watch it bend."

"Lateralis. Line 6."

But why had he picked those lines? Those songs? This CD? Her head began to ache and she shakily walked into their kitchen, taking two white pills before sipping a glass of tepid water from the counter. He had been leaving them a message, but what was he trying to say?

She made her way back to the couch, sinking down onto the cushion before draping a burgundy throw blanket over her legs. Tears blurring her vision, she whispered softly, "Greg, what were you trying to tell me? I don't understand."

Rubbing her temples, she tried to remember what he had said next.

She bit her lip, trying to decipher the next clue in his word puzzle. Cross roads...was he alluding to where he was being kept? A path they had traveled? Or was everyone else right...had he been drugged and was just rambling on about nonsense?

She tapped the space bar on her laptop, quickly going to "Google". It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. Cross Road didn't turn up anything tangible, but after a few seconds, she located a "Cross Street" in Henderson, and decided to map it. As the screen loaded, Sara's heart began to race, a cold sweat breaking out across her body. Cross Street. Wright Way. Hard Way. Breeze Way. Opal, Lucy, Rocky, Janice, Nancy streets. Viewmont. Country Club Drive. Tiger Lily Way.

"He's telling us where he's at!" Sara shrieked to no one in particular. With shaking hands, she dialed the lab, asking to be transferred to Archie.

"Archie, it's Sara. Greg's message was coded, I think I know where he is. I need to know what he said after the part about 'hidden dangers'...can you get that for me?"

The line was silent for a few moments before Greg's voice filtered through the line.

"Did you get that?" Archie asked anxiously, "Grissom just stepped into a meeting with Ecklie, if you like, I could go get him for you."

"No, no..I'll call him." Sara replied absentmindedly, "Thanks Archie."

She shut her cell, writing down the names Greg had used. Andy. Matthew. Isabel. Larry. Linda. Elaine. Ryan. Glancing down at her paper, she studied the words carefully. What could that mean? She knew neither had friends or family by those names. Tapping her pen, she shivered slightly. A. M. I. L. L. E. R. A Miller. It was a name.

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, dialing information, "Henderson, Nevada. Miller, first name begins with A."

"Alyssa Miller. 33886 Country Club Drive. Phone number is listed as (702) 564-0000."

Clicking her phone closed, Sara exhaled deeply. Grissom was in a meeting. The others were working. From her house, it would take maybe 5 minutes to get there...backup would probably take closer to half an hour in traffic on this time of day. Throwing on the jeans and top she had discarded earlier, she grabbed her keys, he didn't have time to wait. She could call for backup once on her way.

TBC