Hunters and Collectors
Disclaimer: CBS owns CSI
A/N Another ride on the rollercoaster with the team, who is next?
Chapter 8
Through the grapevine they had learned that CSI Sidle had survived and was now in hospital spilling everything she knew, everything they had discussed in front of her, that made their life more difficult but they enjoyed a challenge, it's what they did best. They worked out a new plan, one with a two fold outcome if it worked. It started with the household of Sir Charles Banister, the second son of the Earl of Carnarvon. He had a lot of valuable military memorabilia dating back to before the Boer War, even to Nelson and Elizabethan times. It was worth a small fortune but only a few items were kept in his Vegas home, the rest were more or less on permanent loan to the British Museum. The small items were what attracted the terrible trio to his abode.
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Grissom called everyone into the breakroom, all minus Sara of course who was still in hospital, and gave out some assignments. "Catherine, you and Nick a B&E at a Mansion in Seven Hills. Sir Charles Banister, high profile case, military artefacts stolen and yes I know it sounds like you know who, so be careful. The rest of you still press on with what we've already got. Cath, meet Brass out there, he and Vartann should be on hand."
"Ok Grissom, we'll be careful and with Lou around we should be fine," Nick winked at Catherine who grinned.
The trip out to the crime scene was uneventful and some nice music played on the radio until they were nearly there. Nick, who was driving, was trying hard to maintain a serious face but was failing badly and smirked. "So Cath, what's with you and Lou Vartann?"
"Now Nick that would be telling, besides there isn't really anything 'with' us at all, we are just becoming good friends."
"Yeah right, tell that to Greg, he'd believe it but this is me and I know something is in the air."
"Alright, but it doesn't go further than here ok? We are occasionally seeing each other outside of work, no funny business, just drinks and dinner and so far that's it."
"Fair enough, as long as he isn't hovering over you at the crime scene too much to give you both away," Nick laughed at the remark he made and earned a scowl from Catherine.
Their expressions suddenly changed from laughter to horror as a truck blindsided the SUV on the drivers side and pushed it off the road.
Nick's door exploded into his side and all airbags deployed saving Catherine and Nick from head injuries. The occupants of the truck got out and immediately ran to the passenger side door and extricated Catherine from the SUV. "Get Nick out please, he's hurt, I'm fine."
"Good to hear Ms Willows, but you are the one we want. Heather get her into the truck and let's get out of here. Nic please do the honour of restraining Ms Willows, we don't want her 'getting hurt' any more than she already is, at least not yet."
"My pleasure George," replied Nicola, getting some rope from the large tool chest.
Catherine tried to fight Nicola off but ended up getting a fist in her jaw for her troubles then found herself having her wrists tightly tied behind her back then her ankles tied together. She was helpless with these three murderers, and scared, especially because she knew what they had done to Sara and Sofia. She hoped Nick would be alright, he hadn't looked very good covered in blood from the accident.
Nick was frantic, he had managed to reach the radio for help but the pain from his side was not allowing coherent thought, the dispatcher tried to understand him but wasn't getting far. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Brass.
"Brass here."
"Jim…Nick…car accident…off the road…five miles from you, Cath taken, help."
"Ok Nick slow down, are you hurt?"
"Yes Jim, but they've taken Cath, hurry please….."
Jim didn't get any more response from Nick and jumped in his car calling for back up and paramedics to Nick's scene, next he called Grissom and asked for a CSI to attend as well. Grissom was sending himself as the only free CSI.
A crowd had begun to gather at the accident site and two men were trying to help Nick out of the car, unsuccessfully, another had a fire extinguisher already in use under the hood. Fire trucks, ambulances and police cars rapidly descended upon the scene and did their respective jobs, the police keeping gawking sightseers well back, the paramedics treating Nick in the car and the firemen working on extricating him from the wreck and keeping fuel away from any heat source. The man with the extinguisher was congratulated by the fire chief for his quick thinking, but the two men who tried to get Nick out could have killed him if they had succeeded. A piece of the door frame had punctured his side and was still attached to the door, removing it would have left Nick to bleed out quickly.
The piece of doorframe was quickly hacked off with a pair of heavy duty cutters and then he was eased onto a backboard, a cervical collar placed gently around his neck, the piece of doorframe bandaged in place, an IV started as well as oxygen then gently they got the backboard up onto the gurney and into the ambulance.
Grissom arrived to see the ambulance speed off and Brass came up to him to fill him in.
"Nick is in the ambulance, stable but with a piece of door frame puncturing his left side, Catherine was abducted from the scene, taken right out of the vehicle under Nick's nose. We know who by, what we don't know is why or where. All we have to go on is vehicle, which was a truck, colour unknown but that's where you come in, anything you can get off here will be crucial.
Grissom set to work finding trace from paint transfer, and two more things, the logo imprint from the truck in the driver's door and lower down a partial plate imprint. How could he get this lucky.
"Jim it's Grissom, you are not going to believe this, the truck left so many imprints, they may as well have left it behind. It was a Mitsubishi, white, Nevada plates, partial containing an L, J and a 4."
"Righto Gil, I'll have it run and put out an APB on it, there won't be many of that make in Vegas."
Brass was quite correct, there were in fact only five in Vegas, all in use apart from one. It was stolen from a truck lot the day before, the owner Terry Donovan was almost apoplectic when confronted by the police that his van was used in a criminal offence. His entire livelihood was in that truck, it was used for just about anything, small freight, removals, deliveries, now he had nothing but at least his truck was insured and the police report would ensure he had something to fall back on.
A/N Uh Oh another robbery and now Cath is gone and poor Nick in hospital (he really should take driving lessons). Say ever noticed how when Cath is paired up with Lou Vartann something always seems to happen to her? This time she didn't even get near him.
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