Up for another chapter? :)
Both men decided it was best not to talk about this in the lab, so they went to a diner nearby. They sat down opposite of each other and ordered some coffee. Nick had calmed down a bit, but was still agitated. "I'm sorry I was getting rough with you. I know you're sensitive to physical violence these days and... I shouldn't have. But... What in the hell were you thinking? You lied to us. To all of us,even the DA."
"I just used the opportunity when I realized there was no evidence of any assistants..."
"So you weren't drugged at all? You remember everything?"
"...Yes. He only used drugs when he kidnapped me, but none after that point."
"I should've known! You asked about how Spencer was doing... You shouldn't even have known he'd been shot..." Nick shook his head. "So... you didn't shoot Sorkin?"
"No."
Nick rubbed his eyes. It was a lot to process. "I don't believe it... You lied... why would you?"
"I thought about it a lot. These two don't belong in a jail cell."
"How would you know? You don't know these guys! And one of them shot Spencer, forgot about that?"
"Yeah but I don't think he wanted to kill him... Nick, I don't expect you to understand. That's why I didn't want you to know. And because I needed to protect you. Novak is a horrible person. He hurt a lot of people out of pure joy. Paul Sorkin was a scumbag as well. I've seen the look on his face. I know what he was up to when he wanted to take me with him. These two guys saved my life. So I figured it wouldn't hurt anyone if I acted like I didn't remember anything." Greg explained everything to Nick calmly. He knew he was upset, but it felt good to be able to tell him. "It was hard for me to lie to you guys, but I think it was the right thing to do."
"Lying to CSIs and DAs is never the right thing to do, Greg. This could hurt you a lot, you know that."
"These test results don't prove anything, you know that. The alcohol level alone would be enough to have a blackout. I received several blows to the head, I was deeply traumatized... All these things can cause memory loss. They can't know whether or not I remember anything unless I tell them."
Nick had a shocked look on his face. Greg was so unlike himself right now it scared him. It didn't seem like an impulse Greg just followed. He thought this through. Carefully. "It's not up to you to decide whether or not these two guys should be prosecuted or not. They killed Sorkin, kidnapped you and beat you up! How does that make them the good guys?!"
"They killed him to save me! And I'm supposed to throw them in a jail cell? Come on, Nick, that's crazy. I don't have a right to decide their fate, but twelve jurors who'll only know half the story do?!"
"...Crazy, that's the word I was looking for. You're crazy! You're risking your career, your freedom, even, to protect these guys?"
"They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, just like Robin and her girlfriend were... and just like I was. Why does Robin get a free pass while they have to serve time?"
"If you'd have done the right thing and reported them to us they would've gotten a chance to defend themselves. With you as a witness they would've gotten a real chance."
Greg laughed humorlessly. "You're being naïve."
"Besides, you didn't agree to lie for Robin and her friend, what's the difference?"
Greg shrugged. "I don't know. It was different back then. There wasn't even a way to cover this up. But this time... I just used the opportunity..."
Nick had a sad look on his face. "I don't know what to say, Greg. I don't even recognize you anymore. A year ago... you'd never would have done something like that."
"Well, a lot happened since then."
The look on Greg's face let Nick know that his friend had been jaded by the recent events. He worried about him. "What am I supposed to do with these results now?"
"Hand them in. I don't want you to get in any trouble."
Nick looked thoughtful into his coffee cup.
"I'm sorry if I disappointed you, Nick, but I did the right thing. He seemed like a good guy that got into trouble and wanted to make it right again."
"That's not your problem, Greg. He decided to kill Sorkin. He shouldn't have taken the law into his own hands, he should've let the police take care of it."
Greg laughed humorlessly again. "Yeah, they did a pretty good job with Novak, huh? The law did the right thing and locked Novak up, but that almost didn't keep him from killing again, didn't it?"
Nick could see the fear and anger in Greg's face. He started to understand why Greg lied, but he still didn't think it was alright to do so. "There's been a lot of cases where I would've liked to do something similar like that, to protect good people who were forced to do something bad. But I never acted on it. And you shouldn't have, either."
"You've never been the victim in these cases, Nick. I have. It's different." He made a short break, then went on. "Do you remember Drew, the guy Novak was talking about? I think he was one of the guy's brother. They wanted revenge for him. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't know what that feels like."
"I had the chance to kill McKeen after he killed Warrick, but I didn't do it. I know what it feels like to want revenge, but I didn't do it."
"And now tell me you never regretted your decidision."
Nick didn't know what to say. Greg was right, after all.
"I'm not trying to find any excuses, but I went through hell because of Novak. Twice." When he noticed the sad look on Nick's face wouldn't fade, he tried to cheer him up. "I'm still the same guy I was before." He gave him a smile.
"I don't get it. You looked so happy when you had this big, awful secret." Nick shook his head.
"I wasn't happy about the secret, but it felt good to know that Novak and his friends were not able to do any harm anymore."
"How do you know that there aren't any left?"
"I don't. But I hope so. At least they don't have Novak to turn to when they need him."
Nick reached out his hand to rest it on Greg's shoulder. "I worry about you. I'm thinking about telling Russell about this..."
Greg hastily shook his head. "No, he can't know about this. I don't want him to get into any trouble."
"You've been with this guy for hours. It's normal to have positive feelings toward him, it's..."
"It's not Stockholm Syndrome. I don't have any positive feelings towards this guy. I just know he didn't want to hurt me."
"Come on, take a look in the mirror! Look at your wrists! He did hurt you!"
Greg smiled. "He was frustrated, I get that."
Nick just remembered something. "One of them might've killed Matthew Willis..."
Greg shook his head. "The texan said Sorkin did. And I believed him."
"Because you wanted to. You're talking yourself into this idea that these guys are good people, but you can't know. Except for killing Sorkin to save you, they did nothing to prove you they're good people."
"No, I don't believe this because I want to. I have to. I can't undo what I've done and I don't want to, either." This wasn't entirely true. Greg did regret what he did to some extend. He knew it was the right thing, but it didn't feel like it was, anymore.
Nick shook his head with sadness. "One day you'll wake up and regret this. You'll wish you'd never done it but it'll be too late."
Nick didn't show the result to Russell, he just put it in the file, hoping his supervisor wouldn't pay too much attention to it. But of course, being the experienced CSI he was, he did notice it. He didn't jump to any conclusions like Nick did, but he wanted to talk about it with him. "I'm surprised he didn't have any drugs in his system aside from the alcohol."
Nick nodded. "He isn't a hard drinker, the alcohol was probably enough for him to forget."
"Maybe it's a psychological issue. His mind might protect him by forgetting..." Russell looked at the results thoughtful.
"Mhm... maybe. He also received several blows to the head..." Nick said, repeating what Greg had told him earlier. "It's best to leave him alone, though."
"...Huh? I don't understand, you wanted to keep an eye on him."
Nick cleared his throat as he sat down in Russell's office. "I know but... I changed my mind. I think Sara's right, he needs some time to process..."
Russell raised an eyebrow. "I can't have two of my guys lying to me, Nick."
"What?!" Nick felt caught. Did Russell know more than he led on?
"It's obvious Greg's hiding something. I told him before, I know when he's lying. I just haven't figured out yet what it is he's hiding. And now you're keeping something from me. I need to be able to trust you guys."
"You can. You're reading too much into this, Russell."
"Come on, Nick, talk to me. You know something, don't you?"
"...It's better to give it a rest."
"He lied to the DA, didn't he?"
Nick didn't answer.
"Does he remember more than he's telling us?"
"Russell, do yourself a favor and stop digging. You won't like what you find. I wish I wouldn't have found it..."
Russell laughed a bit. "You're only making me more curious. He's protecting someone, right?"
"...Will you stop it already?" Nick got off his seat. Russell kept on guessing and finally got the right answers. He didn't react the way Nick expected him to. "...That's all you have to say to this? 'Well, then' ?!"
Russell got up to close the door. "You're the only one who knows about this?" When Nick nodded, he went on. "Then Greg doesn't remember anything."
"...What?! Russell!"
"I don't like what he did, but I understand him. He's protecting himself. This way, he doesn't have to go through another trial again. He can put this behind and get on with his life."
"But... He's probably helping criminals get away!"
"You know as good as I do that most of Novak's henchmen were decent citizens who made a wrong turn in life, getting themselves in trouble."
"You sound like him... Imagine one of them killing someone! This would be on Greg, I don't think he could deal with this!"