Chapter Eight- This Time It's Personal
Thanks to obsessedwithstabler, KaydenceRei, Erin, Maggie Dolye, soliz, stareagle, Lady Heather, DrusillaBraun, KWillows, and Mad as the Hatter for their reviews and for keeping this story alive.
Special thanks to Sergeant Happy Bunny….what can I say? I'm crazy about you. Clinically insane…just don't tell anyone or they'll come and take me away. Lol Jk
Disclaimer: All rights reserved by Dick Wolf and the guy who made CSI. I can't spell his name, but he's with CBS. No profit made. (I wish)
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Catherine awoke with an excruciating headache. She sat up only to find herself feeling the need to throw up. Her head was spinning and she fought her gag reflex. Her memory swam. She couldn't remember anything about the attack. She tried to move her hands to find them tied behind her back and her mouth taped with duck tape. She struggled against the bonds until her wrists bled, but it was to no avail. She felt another wave of pain wash through her and she lost consciousness again.
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Cragen was with Munch, Sara, and Fin when he got Grissom's call.
"Cragen." He said in a very professional tone.
"It's Grissom. I can't find Catherine!" Came a yelling voice over the phone. Cragen had to hold it about a foot away from his ear to keep himself from going death.
Sara heard Grissom's voice and his words. Panic filled her. She yanked the phone away from Cragen.
"What?" she demanded her voice rising to the point where Munch raised his eyebrows and exchanged glances with Fin, surprised that her voice could rise that high.
"I can't find Catherine and she's not answering her phone." Grissom said. "I went to the crime scene just for the heck of it, cause you know how Catherine's attached to this case. Well I found strawberry blonde hair on the railing."
Sara covered her mouth with her hands. "No. Grissom she can't have been taken."
"You're right Sara, because I can't go on without her." He whispered before he knew what he was saying.
"What was that?" Sara asked, pushing the phone closer to her ear.
"Nothing." He quickly covered. "Get the team and meet me here. Now!" he commanded.
Sara hurried to obey. Munch and Fin helped, calling the SVU squad while Sara raced to contact all the CSIs.
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Alex groaned as the phone rang. She heaved herself up to her elbows, reaching for the phone over Nick's still sleeping form beside her. But as soon as she reached over him, he stirred and snuggled his face into her hair, bringing a smile to her face.
"Cabot." She answered, trying not to giggle into the phone when Nick started to kiss her neck.
"Alex? It's Munch. We need you to get a full search warrant for all the staff in NYU." Munch's voice said into the phone.
Alex sat up so fast, Nick jumped. She gave him a apologetic glance, before yelling into the phone. "DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT A JUDGE IS GONNA LET ME GET A WARRANT LIKE THAT?"
Nick put a finger to his lips. "You're gonna wake Antonio." He whispered softly, rubbing her shoulders to get her to calm down.
Alex's voice dropped. "Seriously Munch. No judge is gonna issue a warrant like that."
"They might if they knew the circumstances."
"What happened?" Alex asked, unable to keep the dread out of her voice.
"Willows's been kidnapped."
Alex gaped. Nick stared at her confused, wondering what was going on.
"I'll try John." She said, before hanging up.
"Nick I think we need to talk." She said softly as Nick's eyes clouded in fear.
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Olivia was next on the list to be called. "Benson." She said all businesslike.
"LIv? It's Fin."
"Hey. What's up?" she asked, rubbing her already red and swollen eyes.
"It's Willows. She's been kidnapped. We think by the perp." He replied quickly. "I'm gonna call Elliot, but get here as soon as you can."
"Yeah. I'm on my way." She responded, starting to pull on her work clothes.
She snapped on her belt and her gun before checking her reflection in the mirror. She was a sight. Her hair was messy and her eyes were red. She was one of those girls who couldn't cry without looking horrible. She sighed deeply. She'll get over Elliot. She hoped.
Her thoughts traveled to Catherine and wondered if she was okay. Catherine had a lot to live for. She was obviously loved by her team and she had a daughter who thought she was a hero. Thinking this, Olivia's movements became more rushed. She had to get the woman back. Her earlier feelings of jealousy toward the girl seemed foolish and immature now. Now she was just worried. She climbed into her car and sped toward the precinct.
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Grissom's frantic voice came over the line when Warrick picked up his phone.
"Catherine's been kidnapped." He said. "I need you at the precinct now."
Warrick dropped the phone in shock. He and Catherine had been partners for a while and they had bonded. They were so close and always met for drinks after solving a case. Catherine was strong. It was hard to Warrick to imagine her helpless in any situation. He quickly got dressed. He made himself a silent vow. He wouldn't rest until she was back with them and perfectly okay.
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"Novak."
"Casey, it's Alex. I need you to print out a search warrant form and meet me at the office. We need to make a very lengthy warrant."
"For what?" Casey asked, rushing toward her computer, tripping over some files in the process.
"All the belongings of the staff at NYU." Alex replied.
Casey was silent for a moment. "You're kidding right?"
"No I'm not. A CSI is missing and we have no voice." She responded firmly.
"Alright, but which CSI?" she asked, crossing her fingers that it wasn't Greg.
Alex was silent for a moment. "Catherine." She said finally, before the line hung up with a click.
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"What happened?" Nick demanded. "What about Catherine?"
Alex bit her lip. Nick was scared and that scared Alex. She placed her hands over his.
"I'm sorry Nick, but Catherine's missing. Grissom thinks she's been kidnapped." She said softly and gently.
Nick stared at her. "No…" he said softly in disbelief. He closed his eyes and Alex saw tears come to his eyes.
On instinct she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Shhh…." She whispered.
Nick couldn't believe it. Catherine was one of his mentors and she understood his background. He had come from Texas where ranching was a way of life and cattle and horses were your best friends. Catherine had grown up in the same world and there were times where they would drive to the outskirts of the Nevada desert just to ride and relieve the feeling of the wind in their hair and the home they had left behind. She knew secrets about him that he had never told anyone before.
Alex held him close. She could tell that he cared about Catherine and that he was scared of losing her. It made feel closer to him than before. His sensitivity and obvious attachment to the woman, made Alex determined to get this warrant. Not just to bring Catherine back, but to ease Nick's fear and pain.
"We'll get him honey. And I'll get the warrant. I promise." She said softly in his ear.
He believed her. "I know." He said, lifting his head to meet Alex's blue gaze. "I know." He repeated softly.
He didn't doubt it. He had never seen a DA quite like Alex. As far as he was concerned, she was the best. He had heard about her cases. She had an impressive win/lose ratio and was the first prosecutor to ever get spousal rape past a grand jury. He admired her dedication and stubbornness and the passion she showed for her job. If anyone could pull strings to get Catherine back no matter how difficult. It was Alex. He found himself trusting the detectives as well. If Alex believed they were up to the job, Nick would believe it too. He just hoped that New York's finest, will be able enough.
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Greg was at the precinct two minutes after Grissom called him. He was the first one there. Casey was there as well. One look at his confused face, Casey knew that Greg was wondering how on earth it could've happened. She walked over to him. Without a word, he buried his face in her neck. She hugged him tightly.
"It's gonna be okay." She said softly.
"I hope so." He said just as quietly before pulling away. He gazed at her and then his gaze shifted to Grissom who was staring off in space with a lost expression. "For his sake, I hope she's okay."
Grissom didn't even get a chance to call Nick before he and Alex showed up in the doorway. Both looked a little worse for wear. They were just waiting on the detectives now.
"They're on their way." Alex informed.
"Good." Sara stated plainly, earning a glare from Casey.
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Elliot was speeding toward the station. Cragen just got through to him. His cell had died and it had taken a while before Cragen could remember his home number. Now he was driving as fast as he could toward the precinct. He was just glad there was no traffic, but he was also dreading seeing Olivia again. He couldn't back out though. He had a job to do. With that in mind, he pressed harder on the gas pedal, arriving at the precinct within minutes.
He and Olivia got there at the exact same time. They parked right next to each other just like usual, but this time there was no laughter as the two entered. They always entered together, but this time their entrance was silent and uncomfortable…Olivia unwilling to meet Elliot's eyes and Elliot choosing to look anywhere but at her.
They hurried into the precinct and sat down at their desk, still not talking and not looking at each other. Everyone noticed this but chose not to say anything about it. Usually when they had fights it would blow over within minutes. They all hoped this time it would not be different, especially since there was a life on the line.
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Melinda made it into the precinct a moment before Grissom started to speak. She was a mess and she had a distant look on her eyes. She had a heartache from before, but she reminded herself that life had to move on and there was a little girl, spending the night with her daughter that needed her mother back. Lindsay had begun to ask questions that Melinda had to dodge with care. She didn't need to put fear into the little girl's mind and had just told her that her mother had to help Grissom with something and will see her soon. Lindsay had believed her…barely.
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Grissom had his head in his hands. "I want every man on the job." He said firmly to Cragen. "I don't care how many other cases you have going on, but I want all you've got on this case."
Melinda knew it was impossible and spoke up. "Grissom we can't do that. You always say every case is the same and we have to react to each one equally. No case is personal."
Nick took a step forward. He knew Grissom's way of dealing with cases, but this was different. It was Catherine. He was ready to smack some sense into Melinda, but Alex laid a hand on his arm, making him retain his senses.
Grissom's eyes were distant when he looked at her and said in a lost voice. "This isn't just any case Melinda. The bastard took Catherine. This time, it is personal."
"It's my fault."
"No Grissom. It's not. No one could've seen it coming. Not even you." Olivia said quietly.
"I asked her to come. I told her which case it was."
"And if you hadn't she would have hated you for life." Sara said softly. "You know that Grissom. She wanted this case and she would want us to do whatever we can to solve it."
"All the more reason to get cracking." Olivia said practically. "The faster we start a search, the more likely we'll get her back alive."
Elliot had to agree. "She's right. If we sit here, and blame ourselves, we'll never get her back." He said, subconsciously, putting a hand on Olivia's shoulder.
Olivia flinched and pulled away. Munch noticed, but he didn't say a word about. He just had an idea what was going on and put it in his mind to pry later.
Cragen took charge. His logical orders and firm tone was what made him a great captain and what made the detectives and CSIs alike look at him and follow his orders. They were staring at him now. His detectives looked grim. No one wanted one of their guests to get hurt and the CSIs just looked lost, losing one of their own, especially their second in command was a devastating loss.
"Casey and Alex, go to court. I want that warrant and I want it now." He commanded. "Melinda go to the morg. See if you can dig up any more on the bodies. Sara, bring in Lindsay. I want Olivia and Elliot to question her if she knew any of her mother's plans. Fin, Munch, look for any links between any of the cases that can bring us to Catherine Willows. Olivia and Elliot, I want you go through all of Catherine's phone records and the GPS system on her car. I want to know where she was before she disappeared."
He paused and turned to the CSIs. He had only given Sara a command because he was starting to get to know her through Munch. They had some late night chats about her and her interesting demeanor. Cragen knew he had no right to command the CSIs to do anything. That was Grissom's job.
Grissom knew that Cragen was expecting him to give commands over his own team. He had to pull himself together, but he found it difficult to tell the group to do anything without Catherine by his side, rechecking all of his ideas for possible errors or a better way to do things. She was his right hand. He couldn't function properly without her. He cleared his throat.
"Alright. We go back to the crime scene. We examine every leaf, piece of dirt, and every fiber. We find her." He said firmly with a hard look in his eyes that made the hair on every single one of the CSIs stand up on end.
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Everyone was intently focused on the evidence at the scene. Grissom never lifted up his head once. He was examining every inch of the ground for possible footprints or clues.
Nick was bagging Catherine's flashlight and her wallet. Within it there was a picture of Lindsay, which reminded Nick of the necessity of bringing her back safely. She had a daughter who needed her and loved her. This made Nick even more determined to outsmart the perp.
Greg was lifting prints off the railing. He got three sets.
"If any of these prints belong to the perp, then he's slipping." Greg pointed out.
Grissom glanced up for the first since arriving at the scene. "Then let's pray that he's slipping or else we may never find her."
Up ahead, Warrick found Catherine's gun. "Guys, I got her gun." He called.
Grissom was at his side in a moment. "Going north." His eyes narrowed suddenly understanding. "She's leaving a trail for us."
Warrick stared at him. "The blood on the ground suggests that she was unconscious."
"Perhaps she woke up and feigned sleep, but left various clues behind. The killer usually doesn't leave behind anything about his victim." Grissom pointed out.
Warrick knew he was right. His heart swelled with admiration at his mentor. She had trained him and even in her absence she was still helping him.
Grissom noticed something in the ground. His heart plummeted with horror. It was the missing woman. She was dead. There was a drawing beside her body. With trembling hands, Grissom picked it up. It was a picture of a bloody and unconscious Catherine.
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That is my stopping point. I've actually already outlined my ideas for the next chapter, but I think it would be too long to put it all together. Hope you enjoyed that. More on the way! 3