A/N: I still don't own CSI, CBS, or any known entity. Mia and Stewart are, in fact, mine. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that this has Greg getting tortured, but I felt it needed to be restated. I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and if you are, please drop me a review. Even if you're not, please review.

Chapter 3: Teach Me, and Catch Me

Darkness. Frigid darkness. Eyes opened or closed, nothing changed. It was still cold, and still dark. The moon failed to shine into the window, leaving the room darker than Greg could ever imagine. He was shivering, feeling the metal of the cuffs freezing against his goose-bumped flesh. In the day's heat, the metal heated up. They never got hot enough to burn him, but offered him no relief all the same. In the night's cold, he shivered.

The thing that got him more than the hot/cold was the silence. There was no sound in the room as he sat still, and the door and walls was too thick to hear anything from the other sides. There was little to no wind, and no traffic tonight. He sat in the silence, shivering and thinking, as he had nothing else to do.

"Everything in due time, Gregory." The words reverberated in his head as they had for the past few hours. Nothing made sense right now. For some reason, he didn't think that Stewart Jacobson was going to kill him. Stewart had a plan for him, but Greg could not figure out what it was.

Creak. The door opened slowly, and Greg remained frozen. There was only one person it could be, so he wasn't guessing who was walking into the room. Stewart smiled evilly as he poked his head through the crack in the door. "Hello, Gregory," he said.

"Is this your version of 'Silence of the Lambs'?" Greg replied. Stewart chuckled.

"Of course not."

"What is this all about?"

"It's time for you to learn, Gregory."

"Learn what?" Stewart walked through the door with a bucket of charcoal. "Gonna make me dirty? I'm already disgusting."

"You have quite the mouth on you, you know that?" Greg shrugged. "Learning way too much from that girlfriend of yours." Greg's eyes narrowed

"How do you know about her?"

"I don't just know about her, Gregory. I know her."

"How…?"

"Time for a few little lessons, Gregory." Stewart pulled a matchbook out of his pocket, lighting one and holding it in front of his face briefly. Greg looked at him, noticing the scars extending across his face.

"Lessons about what?" Greg asked quietly.

"Life, love, your girlfriend," Stewart replied, dropping the match into the bucket of charcoal. Greg furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What does Mia have to do with anything?"

"She's the whole reason you're here, Gregory. She hired me to do this." Greg shook his head.

"I don't believe that. She loves me."

"Does she? Then, how do you explain this?" Stewart showed Greg the check Mia wrote.

"Three thousand dollars?"

"You don't mean anything to her." Greg shook his head.

"You don't know what you're talking about. That's not hers."

"Came from her book." Greg sighed.

"She'd never do this."

"Face it, Gregory. You don't know her. You've known her for a year, tops. You know nothing about her."

"And you know so much, huh? You've never been in her life, at all."

"I've seen enough, Gregory. I've been watching her from the sidelines."

"You mean, you've been stalking her." Stewart shook his head, producing a set of tongs from his pocket. He leaned over the bucket of charcoal, picking up a piece. "Why?"

"Juliana wouldn't let me have a part in my daughter's life."

"Is that why you killed her?" Stewart laughed.

"Maybe you need to read over that case file a little closer, Gregory. It was an accident."

"It was a hit and run. Other driver was never caught." Stewart shrugged.

"I didn't kill her." Greg shrugged.

"But you've kidnapped me, and insist on torturing me." Stewart shrugged again, walking over to Greg with the glowing piece of charcoal. "Why?"

"I'm not torturing you. I'm teaching you. Stay away from Mia, unless you want to get hurt. She uses men."

"You're a liar." Stewart dropped the piece of charcoal onto Greg's lap, delighting as Greg shrieked in pain. He pulled the charcoal off before it turned Greg's clothes into a pile of flames.

"I'm not lying. How much of her past has she told you? Did she tell you about how she murdered her ex-boyfriend in college? How she used another to score her alcohol? She's manipulative, conniving, and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The sooner you learn this, Gregory, the better for you. I'll stop at nothing to teach you, Gregory."

"Why do you care?" Stewart laughed.

"She's close to you, Gregory."

"So, you want to ruin her life? This is all about her?"

"Funny, isn't it? The one you think loves you is the reason you're here."

"If it's about her, why keep me?"

"This is an intervention, Gregory." Stewart pressed the burning charcoal to Greg's shoulder, causing him to scream. "This is all her fault. When you believe that, then you'll be free to go. She's the reason you're being tortured. She's no good for you." He pulled the charcoal away, and Greg gasped to catch his breath. "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you."

"How?" Greg breathed.

"She's going to leave you," Stewart said. "She's going to suck the life out of you, first, and then she'll leave you high and dry with nothing. She lies, cheats, and steals from everyone she's ever been with. You have so much to learn, Gregory." Stewart dropped the charcoal onto Greg's crotch, causing him to howl before pulling it away quickly. "So much to learn."

"Another note," Nick said, walking into the break room. Grissom, Warrick, Catherine, and Mia snapped to look at him.

"What's it say?" Warrick asked.

"'I guess I've grown tired. It's just what's expected of me, to tear your heart from the inside to the outside. You know, I was wired. I just couldn't help it the hundred thousand times I hurt you.'" The group looked at one another.

"Another song?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah," Mia said. "It's called 'Dear Joan,' and it's by a band called Tabitha's Secret."

"Who are they?" Nick asked.

"Predecessors to Matchbox Twenty. Three of them went on to form the second band."

"How do you know that?" Catherine asked.

"They're one of my sister's favorite bands," Mia replied. "She never shuts up about how great they are. Rather annoying, if you ask me."

"So, what does this mean?"

"I don't know."

"Broken heart?" Catherine asked. "Or, someone who's broken hundreds of hearts."

"That's definitely not Greg," Mia said.

"The target? The kidnapper had his heart broken?"

"I don't know," Grissom chimed in. "I think this is more of an explanation."

"I don't follow you," Catherine said.

"Our kidnapper's doing exactly what he thought he would. He's hurting someone, the target, more than likely. His child. He's using Greg to do it, and he's hurting them in more ways than just possessing Greg. It's almost like it's a show of remorse."

"But, we still haven't figured out who the target is," Nick said as Wendy walked in.

"Okay, so remember when I said that DNA wasn't going to help?" she said. "I lied. Still no match, but we do have a profile. Male, approximately 50 years old, brown hair, brown eyes. That's not much to go by, but at least it gives you something."

"Thanks, Wendy," Catherine said as Ronnie walked in.

"Sorry this took so long," he said. "So, according to this note, we have an older man, high school education."

"And apparently, an audiophile," Warrick interrupted. Ronnie looked at him sharply. "Sorry."

"It's alright. So, our guy's also right handed. Stressed, angry, and borderline psychotic."

"Only borderline? He kidnapped Greg."

"He's cold and calculating. Not crazy. He knows what he's doing, and he has a reason to do it." Mia sighed.

"Great," she mumbled. "So, whoever has Greg is executing some kind of plan, and only God knows why."

"He's leaving us all these clues," Grissom said. "He wants to get caught. He'd prefer it. He wants us to know why he's doing what he's doing. That's why he keeps pointing at himself. He wants us to know there's a reason."

Stewart walked back into Greg's room, smiling. "Every time you walked in, you're smiling," Greg said.

"Keen observation, Gregory," Stewart replied.

"What are you going to do this time?"

"We're going to have a little chat, okay?" Greg's eyes darted all over Stewart's form as he squatted in front of Greg. "Nothing funny, just two guys talking."

"I don't trust you."

"I'm the person you should trust, Gregory. I'm not going to kill you. I have no intention to kill you. If you die, it's an accident."

"It's homicide because I'm here against my will."

"Legally, yes. But in the way that matters here, no. I don't plan on killing you."

"I'm supposed to believe you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"When have I lied to you?"

"When have you told me the truth?"

"When haven't I?"

"When you're talking about Mia."

"I'm not lying, Gregory. If you want, I can show you the proof. She killed that man. She's cheated on countless others. She's going to do the same thing to you."

"No, she's not."

"Why do you think she hasn't slept with you, Gregory? She doesn't love you. If she did, she'd have no problem fucking you."

"She's in emotional turmoil following a traumatic experience where she was molested and almost raped."

"She'd still sleep with you. You're not Hodges." Greg shook his head, and Stewart slapped him. "Listen to me, Gregory. She doesn't love you. She's only with you because she knows she can manipulate you."

"I don't think so."

"But you're not sure anymore, are you?" Greg shook his head.

"You're wrong." Stewart chuckled, shaking his head.

"You'll learn, Gregory. I'll prove it to you." Stewart stood up, walking out of the room and leaving Greg alone. Greg sighed softly, thinking he was free for a while, until Stewart walked back in, holding a book.

"What's that?" Greg asked nervously.

"Relax, I'm not going to hit you with it," Stewart told him.

"Not yet, anyway."

"Shut up and listen. This book has all you need to know about Mia. Her exes, her cases, her life. We're going to go through this, page by page, until you believe it." Greg sighed.

"And if I don't want to?"

"You have no choice, Gregory. Whatever made you think you did?"

"Why do you want me to believe you?"

"Because it's the only way to save you."

"Why do you care?"

"She needs to be stopped, before she hurts anyone else. I'm doing you a favor, Gregory."

"I don't understand."

"She's the cause of all of this. She's a manipulative murderer. I'm trying to stop her before she strikes again. Before she hurts someone else. I'm not letting her do this again."