A/N: Wow, thanks for all the great reviews! They made me really happy, lol. I am not planning on stopping this story before the real end, so don't worry, folks. This is gonna be finished.

Warning: I am posting this chapter un-betaed, as I wasn't able to get in touch with my beta reader, so all mistakes are my own, sorry. I will repost this chapter as soon as I will get it betaed, but I thought you would like to read it sooner rather than later. If the grammar is too bad, let me know and next time I will rather wait for the beta. Now go on and read, I know you can't wait for some Nicky whumping.

Fire and Water

by Nicol Leoraine

Chapter 11

They watched with fascination as the black Landlover get off the road and crashed at the bottom of the hill. Well, it was just the Master who was fascinated by the sight. Jonah gaped, open mouthed and after a full minute of stupor, he finally moved, only to ran toward the hill to take a look. He stopped several feets from the edge, suddenly all too aware of the man standing right behind him. It would've been so easy for the Master to just push into Jonah and send him over the edge too. But nothing happened and Jonah carefully peeked over to take a look. He saw the Landlover, laying on its top, pretty much crushed from the fall it took, but there wasn't any sign that the car was going to blow up. He looked uncertainly at his Master.

"What now? Should we... should we check if he's dead?" he stuttered and cringed at the incredulous look on the other man's face.

"You want to get down and take a look? Perhaps wait here till someone comes?" the Master asked in mocking voice that made Jonah shook his head.

"N-no, of course not. I just-"

"You just nothing. Leave thinking to me, Jonah, you're not doing the best these days. Now get-" the man paused and tipped his head to one side. "Do you hear it?" he asked after a second and as Jonah concentrated, he could also hear the sound of an engine. And it was approaching. Eyes wide, this time with panic, Jonah turned at the Master.

"What now!"

"First, give me my bag from the trunk," the Master calmly ordered and Jonah quickly returned with the weird shaped bag, and nervously shuffled, casting glances at the road.

"Now get in the car and get the hell away from here. We will meet three miles down this road, there's a small parking lot for tourists. Wait on me thirty minutes. If I don't get there in time, take the car back to Vegas, straight to the warehouse. We will get rid of it once I meet up with you, first it needs to be cleaned. And Jonah-" the Master grabbed his arm when the youth turned to the car, ready to get the hell away. Jonah looked into the fiery eyes and swalloved.

"Yes, Master?"

"Under no circumstances are you to return to the apartment. Do you understand?" The Master waited until Jonah gave him a nod, then released his arm.

"Once in the warehouse, you stay there. No trips. Or it'll be your last."

Jonah gave another nervous nod before getting into the car and taking off. The older man spared another glance at the wreck under him, then turned, trying to find out how far was the other car. By the sound of it, it was approaching a little too fast to be an average tourist and the master quickly took his bag and took a good look up the hillside. For a second his face was a frowning mask of concentration as he was looking for the best place, but it soon changed into a grin and he started crawling up the hillside, aware of the danger coming. He arrived to the right place just as the other car pulled over and two men came out of it, studying the tire marks on the road. It wasn't until he saw the gun in the holster on the younger one's side that he opened the bag and pulled out his own rifle.

xxXXxx

Nick didn't know what to do. One second he was looking down at the wreck of the car, fervently hoping that the man inside was still alive and thinking about a way to help him, the next he turned at Grissom, asking him to bring the rope, when he saw a flash of light from the hill above. He squinted and thought it could've been just an old bottle of coke or something else that cast a reflex of the settling sun. But the glass didn't usually move on it's own accord and Nick, his eyes trained from the hours of watching wild birds, caught the dark form huddled between the rocks. With a snap, his thoughts collided and he distantly realised what was going on when the first shot rang out. He saw Grissom pause, unmoving and Nick shouted at him to get down, but the man looked almost paralyzed and Nick knew that he was a perfect target. Without a second thought, he reacted.

With a long forgotten experience, he tackled Grissom to the ground just as he had done in the football plays many years ago. They didn't even land when Nick heard the second shot, quickly followed by a third one and felt a slight impact, as if someone jabbed a finger into his side. He ignored it and taking a breath he had lost, he scrambled to his feet and grabbed Grissom's arm, practically pulling him off the ground. He showed him toward their car with as much force as he could muster. There were several other shots, some of them too close for Nick's liking as he felt their burn on his face when they whizzed around, not even touching skin. He didn't care. Nick saw only the car, the cover it could provide them with and he made quite sure that Grissom was safe before he popped down beside him, leaning against the hot metal. For several moments all there could be heard was their ragged breaths. The shooting stopped.

Then, as Nick managed to calm his rolling stomach enough from threatening to give up the small amount of food he had in the last few days, he turned at Grissom.

"Next time when I shout Get down, do it! Damn!" Nick belowed, anger and fear rushing together, only to be pushed away by the sudden jolt of pain. He grimaced, letting out a hiss, just as Grissom turned to him, eyes wide with guilt.

"I am sorry, Nicky. I didn't hear you."

At that moment, two more shots rang out and they both felt the car behind them move as it was hit.

xxXXxx

When the shooting started, Grissom didn't even get the cance to react. He only felt as Nick manhandled him toward the car and once they were both behind the safety of the metal, he had to concentrate on getting back his breathing, chasing away the black edges from his vision. Finally he get the courage to look at Nick, only to be startled by his haggard look and angry eyes.

Once the younger CSI let him knew what he thought about his actions, Grissom couldn't help but utter the feeble apology and say the harsh truth.

"I didn't hear you."

But there was no reply, no more accusations and he doubted Nick heard him this time, because the two shots fired out made the car behind them rock and both men quickly realised what happened.

"He got the tires," Grissom said, his voice grave.

"Just great," Nick mumbled, bumping his already aching head against the metal and uttering few choice curses Grissom never heard before.

"Did you see where he is?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, but there was more defeat in his voice than triumph. "Though it won't help us much,. He's hiding behind the rocks. No way either of us could hit him from here."

Well, that explained the defeat, but Grissom didn't like the weary tone.

"Are you okay, Nicky?" he asked, suddenly afraid to hear the answer.

The criminalist squirmed a bit, a flash of discomfort passing his face, but then he shrugged.

"I'm fine. What about you? Hope I didn't break anything when I landed on you."

Grissom shook his head, still not letting his eyes off of Nick. Even in the vanishing light he could see the tension in the younger man's face, the glint of supressed pain. His eyes scanned the CSI's body, but Nick was in one of his dark days, he had a dark blue jeans and black shirt, and he was covered in dust and dirt from their tumble to the ground.

"Nick, this is no time to hide anything," Grissom said sternly, but didn't await the answer he got.

"Yeah? So what about you tell me how can you not hear a bullett flying next to your head?" Nick quipped sarcastically and Grissom flinched.

"Never mind. It's not like I need to know it," Nick snorted. Under any other circumstances he would've acted differently, but right now he took it just a little personally. Who wouldn't, really? There he was, in the field without a back-up, counting that the man next to him would watch his back if needed. But that didn't happen and he was leaning against the car, pinned down by a sniper. He couldn't move, could't help Travis, and damn, he couldn't even find the courage to tell the man next to him that he was shot. Nick bit down another curse and turned at Grissom.

"Look, Nick, I-" Grissom started, realising he had to say something , to explain, but Nick stopped him with a raised hand and a shake of his head.

"We need to call Brass. Do you have your cell?"

Grissom cursed, frustrated. He should've came up with the idea himself. He pulled the phone from his pocket, glad to see it wasn't broken. But his relief didn't last long when he shut it off and turned at Nick.

"We're out of range. The rocks are blocking the signal."

Nick threw him an incredulous look, before letting out a half hysterical laugh.

"So you're telling me that we need to get up the hill to be able to call for help, to tell them we can't move because we're pinned down by a sniper. And how do you propose we do that?"

"We wait for the sun to settle. It won't be more than forty minutes. Then we can move."

"And what if he has a night vision, huh?"

Grissom didn't answer that, so Nick did so himself.

"Then we're screwed, man," he sighed out and pushed one hand against his right side, wincing when he felt the wetness seeping through the shirt, the pain pulsing along with his heart.

xxXXxx

"Gotcha," the Master hissed with satisfaction. He knew at least the younger man was hit and two of the four tires were shot out. He was afraid the men could still call for some reinforcement, but one look at his own cell phone eased his mind. No signal. That meant, no help coming. Maybe he could change his plans a little. He wouldn't be able to make it to the parking lot in time and the kid was probably already on his way to the warehouse. The man clenched his jaw, still angry that the youngster defied his orders and caused so much trouble. He had planned two more kills before getting rid of him, but it looked like the cops were getting closer. No, he had to make sure these two won't be a danger anymore, then he'll return to the warehouse, finish the business and collect the rest of the money for the job. Right now though he needed to be patient and wait. Sooner or later, one of them would give him a clear shot and he planned to use it.

xxXXxx

Unknown to the three men above, the man in the wreckage twitched and with great effort, opened one eye. Everything was upside down, but it didn't matter, because the man didn't stay awake too long. The eye slid shut and the head hung down, resting against the air bag as if it was a pillow. The harsh breathing and the sound of the slowly dripping liquid were the only signs of life for a long while, until a moan warned of the man coming back to consciousness. This time, both eyes shot open in panic and the hands, until now limp, flung in the air, grabbing at something, anything.

'H-he-" the man managed to stutter, before he wet his lips with his tongue and took a painful breath. "Help!" Travis managed to shout out as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

TBC