A/N: Holy flaming bat cave, Batman, I got another one out. And as you may have noticed already, this is one HUGE chapter(4801+ words without my notes). I don't know how it happened, but it did so I hope you guys are ok with that. Also, after writing this, I have discovered about how many more chapters this story will be. And I think you all will be able to guess as well at the end, but more about that later.
Warnings: Well, it's kind of different. Like, I did some interesting things in here that some of you will like, but some of you might not like it so much. It's just new. You see, what I do is I get the most general stuff planned out (like, someone is going to kidnap Greg) and then everything else happens as I write. Whatever flows into my fingers next is what happens. That's what happened with the character Ben. I never planned on having him. So anyways, some parts may be a little odd, but just try to accept it I guess. And if you hated it, then just say something about it.
Thanks: To everyone who commented. There was actually a really good amount of comments this time so thanks so much for that.
Anyways, enough blabble. Enjoy this amazingly long chapter.
Greg was amazed at what happened when Don returned from answering the door. He knew something would happen, but he definitely hadn't considered this.
Once Don came in and half-heartedly slung the door shut behind him, he just stood in the middle of the room, staring at his unconscious, unmoving son. Just staring. Greg held his breath seeing that emotion was building up in Don, and knew it was all about to come out in some from. He personally thought that Don would start hitting stuff (Greg particularly), but instead, once the build-up was complete, Don dropped to his knees and began to cry.
Relief was one of the many things that Greg felt after seeing Don break down like this, but there were plenty of other feelings as well. Like, puzzlement for instance. In all honestly, this behavior shouldn't surprise him too much, but he figured it did because of his past with Don. Every time he had seen the man, hatred swallowed him. And then all the physically violent things Greg had been through as result of Don's fury. Either way, he did not feel sorry for the man. That he was sure of.
He did hate it that Ben was hurt, though. Sure, the kid hadn't called the cops or anything, but he had never actually hurt Greg and had always been there to clean him up afterwards. And now, he had got himself a concussion for trying to help Greg. So, Ben did deserve his sympathy.
Greg was lost in thought when he heard himself speak. He had no earthly clue where it came from, or why in the world he would say it, but he did. In a small, strained voice he said:
"You should p… probably get him to a hospital."
After the words had successfully left his mouth, Greg's stomach tightened. He was not sure how this man would react. He could do anything from start crying more to beating the living hell out of Greg. So now, it was time to wait.
Greg watched nervously as Don hushed his crying and slowly looked over at Greg. Don remained on his knees in front of Ben, but his angered eyes stayed glued on Greg.
"Ha! You just want me to leave so you can scream for help," he spat out at Greg.
The man sounded more evil than evil. With his red puffy eyes, strained voice and anger radiating from each syllable, he made it crystal clear he was in a very bad mood. So, Greg bit his tongue and just looked away.
For a moment, things stayed this way. Greg wasn't sure if Don had gone back to weeping over Ben, or if he had kept staring at him, but he didn't care. Then, Don spoke up again.
"And what do you know anyway? It's just a bump."
There it was. The sign of weakness. Greg knew right away that Don was very scared of Ben's condition. He heard it in Don's tone. He was very nervous. Greg mustered up some courage and decided to speak again. He knew exactly what he was going to say, and also knew that the result of his comment could be very good, or very very bad.
"No, he has a concussion. You are suppose to get those checked out immediately or it could be very bad."
Don's features changed at this comment. He was almost defensive when he said:
"Well, you must have a concussion too! And you aren't dead!"
He was definitively trying to make himself feel better now. There was no doubt in Greg's mind that Don also knew it was probably best to take Ben up to the hospital, But Don didn't want to do something so risky. And then, despite his anger issues, Don did care about his son and so he also did not want to face the fact that he may have seriously hurt his own kid. So, Greg pressed on.
"Yeah, I'm sure I have plenty of them. But I didn't lose consciousness, which means that my concussions are either grade one or two. He has a grade three concussion, which can be very serious."
Don looked horrified now. He glanced back and forth between Greg and Ben, as though one of them would give him an answer. But of course, it never came.
"So… so he could die? Or… what? I mean, what is a concussion. Like, what does it do," Don asked almost frantically.
"A concussion is basically just damage to the brain from some sort of impact to the head," Greg said tiredly. His body was getting tiered by the minute and he guessed it must have been getting late. However, the look on Don's face made it clear that he wasn't fully understanding the concept of a 'concussion'.
"Look," Greg said kind of irritably, "it's not necessarily life-threatening, but it could cause some long-term damage."
Greg ended and laid his head against the wall. Don stood there staring at him for a little but. It looked as though he understood it now, but he seemed to be deciding what to do from here.
"But.. I can't leave the house.. I..," Don wasn't talking directly to Greg, but was more or less talking to himself.
"Fine," Greg blurted out, his head now hurting. "Just hold something to his head to stop the bleeding. If he wakes up, then he has a good chance, if he doesn't then you're both screwed."
Don stared blankly at him for a moment, then suddenly stood up, bent down and lifted Ben into his arms. Greg watched, kind of surprised at how strong Don was. It was quite a site though, Don holding Ben as though he were a little kid. Then, without any further conversation, Don left the room.
Everything he had said about concussions were true, except the part about waking up. It seemed right to think that if a person woke up not too long after the attack, the condition wasn't too bad. But then again, the brain was a very tricky thing to be messing around with. But, he told Don that none-the-less, probably just to get the man out of his hair.
He started to see that his attitude was changing drastically. He was being more reckless, taking many more risks. Not cowering at everything Don said. And most importantly, the thought of 'pain' didn't scare him. Pain was no longer a huge issue to him, which in itself was a disturbing thought.
Greg sat there, wondering what was going on. He found he didn't really care though. He was now hungry, exhausted, his body ached from everything that had happened to him, and now he was fairly certain he was dehydrated as well. No one had really thought to give him any water. All these aches and pains had made him care less. About everything.
He still cared of course, mainly about Grissom and the team, but not so much about how he was treated. He thought back to other cases he had seen, and also started thinking about Nick's kidnapping again.
Their experiences were very different. Greg was sure he had got the better situation though. He'd rather be beaten to death than to be completely alone, knowing that you are dying, and not knowing if anyone even knew you were gone.
He felt his eyes water thinking about his friend. And then about everyone else, because he knew they were worried sick about him. He didn't want that at all. And then his mind ran across the videos they had been sent, and he found himself getting sick to his stomach on top of the hunger pains and the physical pains to it.
Clear your head, Greg thought to himself. You need to stop thinking about all of this and try to rest. He agreed with himself, but of course it was easier said than done.
He tried to stop thinking about everything, and instead found himself thinking about camel and a desert. He was entering the phase right before sleep. The time when one dreams very strange dreams that almost always correlate to the person's surroundings.
He lingered his thoughts on this camel and watched it walk through the endless desert. It was strong at first, but began to wobble ever-so-slightly. The blazing sun baring down on it's back. The harsh winds causing the sand to rise up and race through the air like millions of little bullets. The camel still stood despite it all. Though, it was obvious it was needing water. Greg heard a very distant voice of his saying 'Even camels need water at some point.' This scene played out for a very long time. With each step, the camel faltered a little more until it finally slow down and literally dragged itself through the deep sand. And then, it fell to it's knees, so close to letting go and allowing the sands to cover him, take him out of his misery. But, he wasn't ready. He tried to pull himself up. He tried and tried, falling back to the ground on every attempt. Then, finally he got higher than he had been yet. He was so close to standing back up, getting passed everything and rising above his hindrances….
A door slammed, causing Greg to jolt violently against his bounds. He gazed stupidly at his surroundings. At first, he had no idea where he was or why he was in so much pain. He was close to having a panic attack when he saw Don's face, and everything came racing back to him. He allowed himself to relax, and instead focused on Don, who had changed significantly since the last time Greg saw him.
The major difference was that he wasn't as worried looking. He also seemed more relaxed, which meant that things were going a little better than they were before.
"He's awake," Don said simply.
"Great," Greg replied in a monotone. He didn't give a rats ass how Ben was doing. Not right now anyways. He figured he was a little grouchy from being woken up so suddenly like that, and then having his kidnapper tell him that his son is doing better was not exactly fantastic news to Greg. Right now, he wanted to go home. That's it. That, or be with his friends. Nothing else mattered now, not even the possibility of Don getting mad and beating him again.
Instead of lashing out, Don wore an understanding look, which only made Greg more angry. He couldn't possibly understand anything about what Greg was going through!
"I, I just wanted to thank you…"
Greg interrupted him with angry laughs. Was this man actually thanking him? The same man that kidnapped and beat him, was thanking him?
"Well, your welcome," he said much to loudly. He was hysterical and knew that everything he was doing was a very bad idea. But he was passed caring. Not even thoughts of the CSI's could hold him back from his angry rant. Everything he had went through for the past couple of days came barreling out. He knew that all of his physical and mental injuries were causing him to become someone else. He was now dazed and confused, but felt this uncontrollable urge to yell at this man. No, to hurt him, and if he got the chance, maybe even kill him.
"I so very happy you didn't kill your son! Its actually a good thing for me, because he's been trying to help me," he laughed widely. Don's eye filling with anger. But he just didn't care.
"Look, I'm 31 years old and I've been a CSI for about three years. I've seen a lot! I've been through a lot! And I don't know what happened to your wife," At this point, Don's face turned a deep shape of red, almost purple. "But I had nothing to do with it! So you know what? Go ahead and kill me! Or torture me or whatever you're planning on doing. Because I just don't care anymore. I just don't care!" Tears were now streaming down his face, stinging all of his cuts. Don stayed glued to his spot, outraged and shocked at Greg's sudden outburst.
Greg allowed himself to cry. He had always thought it unmanly, but he couldn't help it now. And, in his defense, there was very little liquid actually coming from his eyes. He guessed his body was too tired and too deprived of water to actually cry.
He was calming down now, and was regretting everything he had just said and done. His head cleared enough to realize the damage he had just done. His kidnapper had thanked him. That might have been his only chance to get out of here. Or even if he was treated better. But now that was no longer an option. He wished he could go back and do it all over, or have Don offer him another understanding look. But when Greg glanced up at Don, he knew that was not going to happen.
Don was drenched in anger. He was shaking hard, trying to control it, but it didn't work. There was only one thing he wanted to do to this man sitting in front of him, tied up and crying. He ran out of the room, grabbed the camera, and prepared to do the one thing he had told himself that he would not do under any circumstances unless matters got very desperate.
And right now, he desperately wanted to inflict as much pain as he possibly could upon this man, no boy, sitting before him.
Catherine couldn't stand it. They couldn't do anything for Greg. Of course, everyone had found some busy work relating to his case, to make themselves feel useful. To feel like they were doing something to help their poor, young friend.
Catherine had found herself doing these meaningless tasks herself, but later gave up on them. She wasn't giving up hope though. Actually, it was the exact opposite because the kidnapper was showing much different signs than he had been showing previously.
They were now closing in on the third day of Greg being abducted, and the kidnapper had called once everyday, right around noon. Today was different. It was now four o'clock and they hadn't gotten anything from him.
Of course, this change could be good or bad, but Catherine was hoping it was a good thing. They desperately needed good things.
Catherine heard a swift movement by the door, and as she turned to look at who was now standing in the room, she heard Warrick's voice.
"Catherine, I think we just got another tape," he said quickly, still standing in the doorway waiting for Catherine to get up and follow him to the front desk.
It was the same story as before. A random person had had a package delivered to them, and upon seeing who it was addressed to, brought it up to the crime lab. This time it was a rather young looking woman with curly red hair. And she had not seen the person who had delivered it. Same old same old.
Brass was up there this time as well, and he ordered some cops to further interrogate the woman while they went up to the package.
It was the same box as before and like last time, Catherine put on some gloves and opened the it. And, there was another DVD inside. However, the title on this one was different than the one before. Neatly written on the surface was:
Its Time
Warrick felt himself tense at the sight of the title. It's time? Time for what? Catherine also looked nervous.
Warrick had never been real close to Greg. Not like Nick or Sara. But he did respect the man. He had seen Greg for so many years and had watched him grow into an amazingly good CSI. The last thing he wanted was for Greg to die.
Catherine stood up with the DVD, leaving the box. She looked around and told someone to get the box to Jackie or Hodges, but both would need to see it at some point. She then exchanged a look with Warrick, saying that it was time to watch it.
"I heard about the last one. You guys got anything yet," Brass came up behind the CSI's and spoke gravely.
"Not yet, but apparently 'it's time'," Catherine answered, still looking at the DVD.
"For what?" Brass asked.
"I don't know," Catherine said and then began walking down the hall towards the labs.
Warrick and Brass quickly followed her, both nervous and anxious at the same time. Maybe this was the big break they needed! Or maybe it was just another horrific video of Greg being beaten half to death. Or what if it was death this time? What if it was time to finish Greg off?
Warrick shoved the thought from his mind. Now was not the time for that. If the tape gave him reason to think otherwise, he would deal with that then, however now he would remain optimistic.
Just as they were nearing the AV Lab, Grissom, Nick, and Sara came flying around the other corner, looking extremely excited.
"We've got a lead," Nick shouted out, clearly excited and hopeful now.
"We've got another tape," Warrick replied, sounding much different than Nick.
Grissom, Nick and Sara all seemed to slow down after this was said, but only for a moment.
"What do we do first," Brass asked.
"Well, we have a person waiting on us. Supposedly she saw Greg get into an SUV about the same time we know he left," Sara said, getting right to the point.
"Yeah, and she also mentioned that she could give us a description of the man that was with Greg," Nick added, sounding excited again.
"Ok, there's no point in all of us going to question her. There could be very valuable information from each thing, so lets split up and each of us take one."
They all agreed that this was a good plan, and were basically in the same groups as before. However, Brass and Nick traded places meaning that Nick, Catherine, and Warrick would watch the video while Grissom, Sara, and Brass went to question the woman. They all quickly parted and headed to their destinations.
"When will she be here," Brass inquired as they walked quickly through the halls.
"Any minute," Grissom answered, not taking the time to look at Brass when he answered.
Finally, they reached the waiting area where they saw a very beautiful young woman sitting in the chairs. As they entered, she stood up and greeted them with a small nod.
They motioned for her to sit down again, and then all of them each sat down and started immediately.
"So you think you saw Greg Sanders," Grissom asked, getting straight to the point.
"Oh yes, that was the man I saw on the news," the woman answered confidently.
Sara looked at her suspiciously.
"And what were you doing when you saw him? How are so confident it was Greg, Miss..?"
Apparently sensing Sara's suspicions, the woman sat up taller and answered quickly.
"Donoway. Carol Donoway, " she answered nervously. "I was walking past the Crime Lab on my way to the bus stop, and saw him and… I just know that it was him," she answered.
It might have just been her, but Sara could have sworn she saw Carol turn red a little. Brass must have also found her statement questionable because he immediately spoke up.
"You just know that it's him? Do you have anything more definitive?"
This time Carol blushed, there was no doubt about it.
"Well, I… I know it was him because… well because when I saw him…. I kind of…" She rolled her eyes and reddened more. "I thought he was really cute. And, and when I saw him on the news, I recognized him immediately."
Sara couldn't help but smile. She had always seen Greg as a little brother, but he was honestly a very good-looking guy.
"Alright ma'am, thank you very much. I'm going to have a sketch artist come in and you tell him as much as you can about the man you saw with Greg, can you do that for me," Grissom asked politely, and stood up. Everyone else followed his lead and Carol nodded importantly.
"Great. Thank you very much," with that, Grissom began to walk back towards the Av Lab.
"Maybe we can compare her description to the people on the tape of the hallway, see if we find this guy," Sara said quickly, walking fast to keep up with Grissom and Brass.
Grissom simply nodded at her statement. That was the plan.
Once they reached Archie's lab and entered, the sight they were greeted with was like getting a bullet to the chest. Catherine was openly crying, her hands pressed tightly to her face, her body shaking with her sobs. Nick, Warrick, and Archie all sat staring at the screen with a horrified look. They were all looking extremely pale and sick. Nick had silent tears running down his face and Warrick just had his hand over his mouth.
Seeing his team like this was nothing compared to what the screen showed his youngest CSI going through. Now everyone was staring at the screen, watching Greg be whipped. Only this time, he was literally hanging from the ceiling by his wrists.
His body was covered in blood, cuts, bruises, gashes… anything and everything. His head hung painfully on his chest, but it was obvious he was still conscious. This was a relief because they could be sure he was still alive, but then again, they would have preferred him be unconscious for so bad a beating. Every time the whip struck him, his body clenched, but soon he seemed to stop reacting to anything. This scared everyone watching.
Finally the man stopped beating Greg. They watched him turn to the camera and Greg fell relatively limp behind him. Deep down they all prayed for him to move, to do something to tell them he was still ok. As though he heard their prayers, he slowly, painfully tried to lift his head, but eventually gave up and instead moved his arms. He had to have been only about a foot off the ground and it was killing him.
Their attention returned to the man though, who was still staring directly into the camera. Everyone held their breath as he began to speak. He was apparently out-of-breath from being so physical with Greg, which made everyone's blood run hot.
"Well, now it is time. Time to finally reveal why have done this," he motioned to Greg hanging behind him who was trying to stabilize his breathing. "And you may be surprised to know that this will also be the first time Greg will find out the reason he is here. Though, he has discovered that it has to do with my wife. You see, fifteen years ago, my wife was murdered. And after merely a week, the man who did it was found, and thrown in jail. Much later on, the death penalty became an option for him, one that strongly supported."
The man tuned back to Greg and dug his hand into Greg's ribs, causing him to scream in pain.
"And because our justice system is just so very excellent, his case never received a decision on the death penalty until about two years ago," his tone became very angry. "It was rejected. Now, as I mentioned before, I strongly supported him being executed. You see, he not only murdered my wife, but he raped her and then buried her alive. He deserved to die. Now, this story all adds up to the reason why I have invited dear Greg here. I want that man dead. Why would I go to such extremes to do it? Why couldn't I just try to smuggle a bomb or something into the prison? And why would I go after a CSI?"
He went off the camera for a moment, then reappeared with a chair and sat down.
"Well, as you can imagine, I've had two years to plan all of this out and after thinking about everyone involved in this, the CSI's seemed to be the most innocent. After all, you guys found the bad guy, which I appreciate. None of you had anything to do with the judge's rulings. I know it seems wrong to go after the innocent party, but that's just the point. My wife was the sweetest, most innocent and caring person that ever walked this hell called earth. It only seemed fitting to take her equal in order to make my point. And I happen to know that Greg is a sweetheart. He has just been through quite a bit, which obvious makes him angry," he shot a nasty look over at Greg.
"And then you guys have contacts with all the people that can help me get what I want, so it's all perfect, you see. And now we come down to my demands. I want this man to be brought to me. I want to kill him myself."
Everyone in the room was shocked. Everything that the man had just said was shocking in itself, but his demands were outrageous.
"Now, I know what you all are thinking; if he is brought to me, that means that my location will be given away. And my own death would be the only thing to keep me from going to jail myself. But you see, I don't care about that. I know I will be found eventually, so what's the point in trying to prolong the wait? Like I said, all I want is to kill the man that took my wife from me. So, at the very end of this video, I will give you the name of the man I want, and then you will find out who I am, and where I live. You will also discover that I have a son, who is in fact here. However, he has been held here against his own will, and I expect him to be set free. Upon hearing what he has done for your little friend here, you will find that demand much more reasonable."
The man stood up and walked over to Greg again who hadn't been moving for some time now. He looked him over and then looked to the camera.
"He seems to be asleep. But he is still alive. And he will remain that way as long as I get what I want. Once I kill that man, I will surrender to you all, and you will be able to send Greg to the hospital as he needs it. And now, I will tell you the name of the man that should be dead. Ray Boree. Get him and bring him to me or else Gregory dies."
The screen went black. Everyone was upset, but determined.
"Get Ray Boree's records, find out who this bastard is, and call for a SWAT team," Grissom demanded.
Immediately, Brass took the job and rushed out of the room.
"What… what are we going to do about Ray? We can't actually get him out of jail to be killed."
Catherine choked out, still crying.
But Nick wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was thinking about that name. Ray Boree. He knew that name. He had heard it somewhere. But where? He searched his mind as hard as he could. And then it hit him.
"Wait!" He yelled out. Everyone turned to him.
"Ray Boree. He's dead."
Shock again hit everyone hard.
"What?" Sara yelled out.
"He… He's dead," Nick repeated. "It was in the newspaper the other day. He died in prison after a riot or something. I saw it right before you guys called me to tell me about Greg being kidnapped."
Everyone took this information hard.
"Well, he obviously doesn't know about this. At least, he didn't when he made this video," Grissom said solemnly.
"Well, maybe it's not a bad thing," Warrick spoke up, causing everyone to look at him questionably. "He wanted the man dead, and he's dead."
"Yeah… yeah maybe.. But he could also take it the wrong way and… and.."
Nick trailed off, not wanting to actually say "kill Greg".
They all nodded in agreement and then Brass came flying into the room.
"Donald Everett. His name is Donald Everett, wife Marley Everett, son Benjamin Everett. Ray Boree murdered Marley Everett on November 1, 1991. Got his address right here."
"Let's go then," Grissom said as he began walking out the door. The problem of the only thing that Don wanted was dead would have to be addressed later, as for now, they needed to get going.
Everyone followed Grissom out of the lab and began their journey to the last hope they had of getting Greg back alive.
A/N: A lot to think about, huh? Yeah, the thing I warned you about mainly was the weird little dream. The camel was obviously symbolic of Greg and I deliberately cut the dream off before the camel overcomes it's problems, to leave off the ending of if and how Greg deals with everything. So, I don't know. It was different, but ultimately I like it. I hope you guys did too.
OH!! I bet a lot of you didn't remember that newspaper from earlier in the story! But it's there in chapter 3 if any of you want to check for yourselves. Haha, I put that there not knowing if I would use it again and I did.. Yay for me for continuity!
And.. Finally the reason. The big 'why' has been answered. I thought it was kind of different from the usual reasons people have in their fics. Another attempt to be original.
And last but not least, I will not have another update until after the first of the year because I'm leaving for South Carolina Friday and will stay there until Monday. But the drive from where I live in Florida up to SC is a long drive so I will write in the car hopefully. Alright, enough talking.
Oh, and just as a little fun fact, the date of Marley Everett's death is my birth date. The year and everything. (To relieve you of doing the math, yes, I am 15 years old…)
Review if you can!