AN: Got this one out earlier than I expected. I would like to make a note on my many typos. They suck. I reread these things over and over and do what I can, but I will always miss some so I'm sorry.
That being said, lets be happy! It is officially Christmas Eve (and for those of you that do not celebrate Christmas, then it is just another day. A good day!) So, this is your Christmas present! (Or, just a totally random present for anyone else!) Ok, so now I'm wasting everyone's time, including my own, so lets move on, shall we?
Thanks: To everyone who have commented. I would love to send you all replies, but I don't always get around to it so thanks to everyone! It makes me want to keep writing and post quicker cuz I just hate it when people don't update their stories for weeks, especially when I really really want it. Oh well. That's another issue all together.
Disclaimer: Don't own nothing
Sorry everyone for the long blabbering. Enjoy the chapter!
The news conference had been weird. He didn't like to talk about what had happened to him, especially when it was going to be broadcasted throughout Vegas and possibly all of Nevada. But they had told them that his story would attract more people, and more people looking for Greg gave them better chances of getting him back alive. And all-in-all, that's what counted, but he still hadn't felt comfortable with talking about it.
He was happy that Griss and Sara was there with him and in all honestly, they talked most about Greg and things the viewers could do to help, so it wasn't too bad at all.
Either way, it was just another way of getting Greg back, so it was welcomed by everyone.
The whole lab knew now. Most of them knew before the news station got involved, but it was all whispers. Greg Sanders? Greg kidnapped?! Why him!?!…He's much too young. Some of there whispers made anger shoot through his body. Why were they talking about him as if he was already dead? As far as anyone knew, Greg was still alive and they had no right to give up on him!
He was on his way to the lay-out room where Grissom had told everyone to meet. Apparently, he had received another phone call right before the news people came and didn't have time to tell anyone about it. Nick silently prayed that it was good information. Maybe they had a lead or even a hint of a lead. Anything at all would be more than welcomed at this point.
He rounded the corner into the lay-out room where he saw everyone gathered. It was an odd sight seeing everyone in there so tense and worried looking. He wondered if this is how it was when he was kidnapped. Warrick and Grissom were the only ones sitting, everyone else stood or was leaning on something. None of them seemed to be focused on one thing, they all just kind of stared off at something. Their minds running free, probably thinking about Greg and what he was going through.
Nick came in a decided to stand. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked expectantly at Grissom. He wanted to know now what was going on. Grissom was also staring at nothing, but seemed less tense than everyone else. It didn't surprise him that Grissom didn't look or seem as worried. He never figured out how, but Grissom had the ability to remain calm during tough situations, but Nick had wondered if this certain situation would be an exception.
Apparently not.
A few seconds after Nick came in, everyone else began to focus on Grissom, and sensing their demanding eyes on him, Grissom looked up at everyone.
"I got another call. Archie already has the tape and is getting what he can from it."
Everyone stood in silence for a moment, expecting more from Grissom, but when nothing else came from his mouth, Catherine spoke up.
"Is that it? That's all you wanted to tell us?"
She stopped and looked at Grissom who offered no response at all.
"Grissom. Greg is out there going through God only knows what, you get a call and you don't tell us about it? Do you know how he is? Are you sure he's alive? What did the guy want? Grissom, you can't leave us like this."
Catherine's anger seemed to be shared with everyone else in the room. Grissom knew something like this was coming and he wasn't really sure why he hadn't told them everything at the beginning, but he didn't. However, they did deserve to know.
He took a deep breath, and without looking any of them in the eye, began to speak.
"I spoke first with the kidnapper. He did not wish to tell me the meaning of his actions as of yet, but made it obvious he would eventually tell us what he wants. And, I talked to Greg."
Everyone stiffened and straightened up.
"And..?"
"And.." What was he going to say? "And he's doing… remarkably well."
They all stared at him, looking slightly confused.
"What do you mean remarkably well? How so?" Sara said, making herself visible after staying quiet for so long.
"Well, he's definitely weak, but he's still… Greg." He actually thought that this was a very good way to explain how Greg was doing, but they apparently wanted more.
"He was very optimistic, even made some jokes."
Grissom wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but his team's faces seemed to loosen a bit. That's when he knew what they needed.
"I think we should all go listen to the tape again, and see what Archie has."
Hearing Greg's voice and his optimism had made a world of difference for Grissom, so it couldn't hurt for the rest of them to hear it.
They all made their way to Archie's lab and found Archie listening intently to something on his headphones.
"Archie. You got anything?"
Archie's head popped up and looked at all his visitors, and smiled.
"Sort of. It's not much. I don't think it will help to find him, but its something."
"Every bit counts," Warrick said solemnly.
"Right, well from this last one, I think that is more than just one kidnapper."
Grissom raised his eyebrow. This wasn't very surprising, but he hadn't really thought about more than one person terrorizing Greg.
"How do you figure," Nick asked.
Archie removed the headphones and did some things with his computer, then some clips began to play.
"Well, I am unfortunately still a little upset from your rudeness so I will not be telling you that right now. I will however be sending you more little gifts as I am sure you love them so much."
Everyone listened and the Archie stopped the tape. Of course, no one except Grissom and Archie had heard the full tape, and this certain clip being the first part of it they heard wasn't very good. Grissom had hoped they would be able to hear the whole thing through, feel a little better after hearing Greg, and then work. But, if Archie had something, he wanted to hear it now in case there was anything they could do.
"Right there." Archie rewound the clip, did more things with the computer then replayed it. Only this time, the kidnapper could not be heard, just some background sounds.
"Ok, that sounds like chains, probably Greg. But that… that right there was the sound of footsteps. Now, because the kidnapper's voice shows no signs of straining that people get when do any physical activity, however small, means that there must be someone else in that room, other than just Greg and the kidnapper," Archie said quickly, in an almost excited tone. "Unless Greg is able to walk freely, which I doubt given the video and everything."
"No, Greg is not able to walk around freely."
"I doubt he'd be able to even if he wasn't tied up with the way he's been treated."
Everyone looked at Nick, half worried, half annoyed. They didn't want to hear things like that, but the fact that Nick said it in such an angry voice kind of worried them. It wasn't really that he sounded angry, because they all had the right to be angry, but since the whole thing started, Nick was a factor they were worried about. With his past and relationship with Greg, it was all reason for concern. However, they brushed off his comment.
"So, there is at least two kidnappers, and we've only seen and communicated with one?" Sara asked, trying to sum everything up.
At first there was agreement within the room, but it was interpreted by Archie.
"No."
Everyone looked at him, demanding an explanation.
Archie now seemed flustered.
"I feel like an idiot. I didn't even need that last phone call to tell me there is someone else involved..."
Archie started to type furiously and searched through things on his desk until he finally found whatever he was looking for. The screen changed in a flash and it showed the familiar site of Greg, bound and bloody laying on the ground with a man standing over him and a gun pointed at Greg's chest. Yeah, they had seen it already, but it didn't make it any easier to see again. Everyone sent a questioning look at Archie, who was still concentrating on his computer. He let the video play in slow motion until the point when the screen was about to go black, and paused it.
And there it was, as clear as day:
A hand coming at the camera, obviously going very fast, but was still visible once it was paused.
"How could I have missed this," Archie said, mentally kicking himself.
Everyone stared at the screen, discovering that Archie's feelings of idiocy were making their way into all of them. They should have figured that out on their own. The little signal the kidnapper gave before the screen went black should have hit them right then and there that there was an accomplice.
"Ok.. So there is definitely someone else there. That unfortunately does not give us much more right now."
Sara felt her hopes die a little. She looked back up at Greg, laying on the cold floor in that room and felt her eyes water. Why him?
"So what do we do now, Grissom?" Nick said, louder and with more anger than before.
Everyone looked at him, mostly worried this time.
"We… we wait, Nick."
Ben had left hours ago, leaving him feeling lonely and of course, he was still in loads of pain. The shock of hearing about himself on the news had died down, and he now faced the blunt reality of everything again: he was being held by a violent madman.
Nice thinking Greg. Way to stay optimistic, he thought sarcastically.
He had been hearing Ben and Don shout at each other for a little while now, though he couldn't make out what they were saying. Ben had never come back with anything to mop up all the blood on Greg, or to bring to key. So, Greg never touched the food that sat in front of him. Which, was not such a bad thing because he wasn't really hungry. He knew he needed the food, but he didn't want it.
So, it was better not wanting it, and not getting it, than it was to want it and not get it. Greg laughed out loud at his reasoning. That just barely made sense if anyone could actually decipher it in the first place.
Then the logical side of his mind kicked in: his thoughts were getting a little abstract. When was the last time he actually slept? Greg thought about this pretty hard. When was the last time he slept? He remembered sleeping, but he could not remember when that was.
Time didn't really exist here. The only way he guessed that it was nighttime was because Don and Ben stopped coming in for hours, and also the feeling that the body automatically gives at certain times of the day.
Still, those indicators seemed to be faltering now. He now realized he had no idea how long he had been here, and when everything happened. He figured he couldn't have been here long, but how could he know for certain?
The uncertainty of something that used to come to him so easy was nothing less than unnerving. It was starting to freak him out. Time was one of the most solid and continuous features of the universe, and yet it was escaping Greg. It left him feeling lost.
But Greg abandoned his worrisome thoughts as his captor's shouts became more audible.
"Why can't you just tell them what you want?!"
"Because son, these things take time!"
"You've never actually done anything like this!"
"I know what I'm doing!"
"Yes Dad, your way may work, but there are other ways of getting what you want. Ways that do not involve hurting him so much!"
"Why do you care? Huh? What makes you so interested?"
"I'M NOT INTERESTED, DAD! IT'S JUST THAT I WAS RAISED TO TREAT PEOPLE BETTER THAN THIS!!! MOM WOULD HAVE NEVER CONSIDERED DOING ANYTHING LIKE THIS!!"
And then there was silence. The most quietest silence Greg had ever heard. He remembered the last time that Ben had brought up his mother, he had been slapped silly. What would happen this time? He found himself getting more and more worried as the eerie silence continued.
Suddenly, there was a very loud banging sound against Greg's door, as though something heavy had been thrown against it. Greg's stomach lurched, knowing what that something was.
Other than the initial thud against the door, he heard no other sounds. No more shouts, no more movements, but most importantly, no cries of pain or anything to suggest anyone was remotely hurt. He continued to strain his ears to hear anything he could, but nothing came for a while.
But then he heard something. It was very quiet, but Greg guessed that whoever made the sound was on the other side of his door. He knew he was someone saying something, judging by the deep voice, Greg guessed it was Don. He didn't hear what was said, but he did hear how it was said.
It was something short, and in an exasperated tone. Kind of desperate sounding. Then it hit him. Don had just said "Oh God.."
That cannot be good, he thought to himself. Surely Ben wasn't dead, right?
He heard another noise. It was also against his door, but this time it just sounded like someone hit the door. And then he heard "Dammit!"
That settled it. It was Don speaking, and he was very upset. So, something bad must have happened.
Then, there was another sound. But it was much different than any sound he had just heard.
It was a doorbell.
Greg's spirits soared at this sound. There was someone out there that could possibly help him!
His happiness was abruptly halted as he heard Don swear more, then his door busted open and Greg watched as Don dragged the lifeless form of Ben into his room.
"Just a minute!" Don yelled, as he pulled Ben to the middle of the room and turned to Greg suddenly.
"You say a Goddamn thing and I will shoot you so fast," he hissed, only inches from Greg's face.
With that, he turned away and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind him. Greg was about to strain his ears again, when Ben caught his eye. The kid was still out, but his stomach was rising and falling in a continuous pattern. He had a small line of blood streaking down his face, but it wasn't much. Greg was sure that he was just knocked out.
However, this could change his plans on using Ben to his advantage.
But he'd think about that later. Now, he wanted to listen to what was going on outside of his room. He heard another door open and then someone speaking.
"Hello Mr. Everett, I'm sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if everything was alright dear."
It sounded like an elderly woman and she sounded genuinely sweet.
"Oh yes, Mrs. Mason. Everything is fine." Don sounded disgustingly sweet, but it was obvious he was trying to rush the conversation.
"Oh, I'm sure. It's just.. I heard some shouting and a very loud noise and I know things have been rough.."
"Thank you Mrs. Mason, but everything is fine. We just had things fall off the shelves, that's all." This time he sounded a little frustrated.
"Oh, well alright. Don, you know that you can come over anytime you want. Oh, and Ben too. I do miss that young man. Is he here?"
"Yes he is. But he's not feeling well. He's sleeping."
"Oh dear. You know, I have some very special ways to make people feel better. My mother taught me all kinds of remedies to fix any kind of illness. Just let me see him and I'll have him better in no time."
"No, Mrs. Mason. He's asleep. Why don't you come back tomorrow and if he still feels bad, you can work your magic." Don was definitely getting more and more angry.
"Oh, all right then Donald. I'll see you later then."
"Goodbye Mrs. Mason."
Greg heard the door shut loudly, just short of a slam and then Don stomping back towards his door.
Greg prepared himself for anything. With everything that just happened, Ben being attacked, the woman coming, God only knew what was about to happen.
But when Don came slamming into his room, what did happen was totally unexpected.
Greg never would have imagined what actually did happen.
Oh no, a cliffhanger. How evil am I? And I actually called this a present?! Haha, sorry everyone, but I wasn't planning on having a cliffhanger, it just happened. So.. Sorry. But aren't there some interesting new turns? I mean, they're not amazing, but Mrs. Mason sounds like a maybe? And what about Ben's position now? Hmm, your guess is as good as mine. For now anyways :) I hope to have the next one very soon. I tend to write a lot considering I'm on winter break. Luckily for you guys, I've been sick. Of course, not so good for me, but it's ok. I like writing too. Ok, well, Merry Christmas or just Happy Holidays to you all!