Title: In Shock
Author: Nicksfriend
Rating:k+
Spoilers: For Gedda
Disclaimer: Bottom line...they belong to CBS and to those who make millions
Author's note:This is my fifth CSI fic. I actually jumped when the Undersheriff shot Warrick; I didn't expect it...but I could see that it could've been survivable.
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We need something to get us through the summer. I would love to see someone else write a post For Gedda story.. I will be writing a sequel to In Shock, the story will need one as you'll see...but if others write then this could be our 'Happy Place' for the summer!I love Nicktorture...Nickangst and Nicklove!If it is about Nick then it'll be good...so if you haven't written before...do it! I did and I love it!Actually I love you guys! And for those who wonder I do not read or write slash,it's just not for me.
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Ecklie waited at the bank for the bank president to arrive,he wanted to check out the safety deposit box, the warrant already obtained. Two officers waited outside with him.
As a car pulled up they watched as a tall man exited and walked with a look of confusion on his face,"My name is Connor Ellis, may I ask what's going on here?"
Ecklie pulled out he warrant,"I need to see a safety deposit box, the box that is a match to this key." Pulling out the bagged key and presenting the warrant to the baffled man.
He looked at the paper and reached for his security pass card and slid it into the slot, the automatic door clicked and they entered, Ellis walked towards the vault,"The vault is on a timed mechanism, I'll have to call the security company and get them to open it, just a few minutes." he walked back to his office leaving the door open.
Ecklie could hear the conversation and soon the door to the vault clicked open, Ellis reappeared and opened the door to allow them access.
The key was still in the bag,as Ecklie handed it to Ellis, he checked the number and started looking for the specific box, finding it he laid it out on the table.
Ecklie gloved and reached for the bagged evidence from Ellis and removed the key to the box, then placed it into the lock.
When he opened the box he was dumbfounded, the papers telling him all he needed to know about who Pritchard's boss was, and who had Warrick killed.
He picked up his cellphone to call Grissom but got his voice mail instead, he left a message and continued to go through the papers.
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Gregg was studying the timing device, a cellphone activated mechanism which was attached to the bomb. Whoever had set off the bomb was probably close-by. Pritchard, according to Sara, had been watching from across the street, it just made sense, or did it?
Gregg was having a difficult time piecing it together, it just didn't make sense. Pritchard was in the building watching someone else pick up his ticket and a package that had been left according to the injured ticket agent at the bus terminal for Pritchard.
Why would you get someone to pick up a ticket for yourself, if you purchased it yourself? It didn't make sense, but if you didn't trust someone or you felt that it was a set up then you just might get someone to get the ticket and package for you. Pritchard watched from across the road in the vacant apartment to see if he was being set up, now that made sense.
He felt as if he was inside of his book, with crime bosses and crooked cops. Gedda was a murderer who barbecued the people who crossed him in a pit in the back of his business but he was probably protected, by someone within the law enforcement office, someone with a lot of power.
Gregg ran the scenario over and over again in his head,it just didn't make sense for Pritchard to even put the tickets in his name, it would have been suicide, every cop in Las Vegas would've been there to pick him up and they were but something went wrong, bad wrong.
Why would a bomb be sent to him via a bus terminal? Unless someone didn't want him to leave town, someone didn't want him to live, someone who knew the truth. He picked up his cell and dialed Grissom,it had to be someone who had power, someone with connections within the police department. Pritchard was just a scapegoat for this powerman.
Grissom's phone must be dead or he was out of the service area, "Sara, I need to get in touch with Grissom, do you know where he went?"
Sara's head popped up,"No, he said he needed to check something out,I figure it had something to do with Nick."
"I need to get in touch with him." He was desperate to give Grissom his theory.
"Try Nick's phone, I think Grissom was using it earlier." Gregg picked up his cell and dialed the number to Nick's cell, but no answer.
"Do you think he went back to the crime scene?" Gregg asked frustrated at not being able to get his boss on the phone.
"We can run over and check it out, he might have ,he did say he had to check out a lead, it might be there." Sara was intrigued by Gregg's burst of energy regarding the case.
Gregg did not relish the thought of returning to the diner where Warrick had been gunned down but he really needed to find Grissom, let him know that there may be something or someone bigger than an ordinary crooked street cop.
"I'll go with you Gregg." Sara grabbed her discarded jacket and followed Gregg out the door.
Wendy and Hodges watched as they left, both hoping silently that they had found a break in the case, that they had found a clue that would lead to finding Nick.
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Nick stood face to face with the Undersheriff,he had made an assumption but now he knew for sure he was the killer,Pritchard was not armed,and he had shot him dead. McKeen was a cold blooded killer.
"Stokes,I guess you must've figured it out, the little woman probably told you I came by last night to visit your friend, that he was just a little too gun ho for me to allow to continue searching for the bad cop." His gun now pointed at Nick, his finger tight on the trigger.
Nick stayed quiet, a rage building inside of him, the pain he felt for the loss of his friend rising to the surface."You killed Warrick?"
"He made it so easy Stokes. He parked his car in a dark alleyway, he was alone, all alone Stokes. Where was his friend when he needed you the most? Flirting with the red-head? Well, she gave me all I needed to kill your friend Nicky, she told me when he left and that he was all by himself. She told me that he left all alone Stokes."
Mckeen continued to point his weapon at Nick,wanting to pull the trigger but knowing it would get a lot of attention, he would have to take him somewhere else to finish the job, the red head too.
Killing Pritchard had been easy, he used his jacket to muffle the sound, now it lay partially over the man's bloody head. He had begged for his life, it was a pleasure to pull the trigger.
Nick looked over his shoulder, a very frightened Stephane stood in the doorway,he knew he had to protect her from the son of a bitch standing there with the gun, the murderer who had taken his friend's life. He made a decision, Mckeen wouldn't take Stephane's life too, he had to intervene.
He pushed Stephane back with a hard shove which knocked her to the side, McKeen's gun discharged , she fell to the floor but she managed to get out of the way of the bullet as it whizzed past her head. Nick saw his opportunity and ran into Mckeen full force, hitting him hard enough to cause them both to fall over the railing of the loading dock platform, the men and the gun hitting the pavement below hard.
Nick moved slowly attempting to get up, the concussion causing him to be slow and his vision still blurring, his head bleeding again. He knew that he had to get away from the killer, but he was surprised by the ability of the man to get up so quickly,now he was looking for the gun that had been knocked from his hand.
Nick crawled to the fenced in trash container and hid behind the metal container, trying to get his breath, hopefully Stephane would get help, there had to be ten cops in the diner, she would know what to do, he just had to stay alive a little bit longer.
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Stephane pulled herself off the floor, stunned by the fall but knowing that Nick's life was in danger. She ran out to the front of the diner,"I need help!" she screamed, getting the attention of the patrons, but most importantly the police officers.
The officers stood as she pointed to the back of the building, her disheveled, frightened appearance was all they needed to react. They pulled their guns and split up, some going towards the back of the diner and some headed out the front, a call for back up going out on all radios.
Stephane was embraced by her friend Katie, a fellow waitress who pulled her over to a booth to await the outcome of whatever was going on outside.
An officer approached needing to know what had happened, a dead body lay outside the door, Stephane filled him in on the details, her emotions in check,she could cry later, she had to help the Texan now.
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As Gregg and Sara pulled up a flurry of activity was happening in
the parking lot, Gregg jumped out and flipped out his badge,"What's going on?"
"We found Pritchard dead out back, we haven't located the shooter yet,but the waitress inside said that Nick knew the man and accused him of killing his friend." The officer was about to give him the rest of the details when Grissom and Brass pulled up into the parking lot, Sara now getting out of Gregg's car.
Grissom ran up, Brass following, "What's going on?"
Gregg decided to let Grissom in on his theory,"Pritchard's dead, Nick's still missing but there was someone else outside, according to the waitress Nick recognized him,accused him of killing Warrick." He paused and licked at his dry lips,"I think we have another cop involved, someone with power in the system."
Grissom nodded in agreement and headed inside the diner to speak with the waitress, Brass was about to follow when his cellphone rang, he stayed back to take the call.
Grissom walked into the diner, a very upset Stephane now crying, the news that they hadn't found Nick was a blow. He had saved her life and now he could be with the killer.
"Hi, My name is Gil Grissom. I'm with the crime lab," He spoke in a gentle manner,wanting to give her comfort knowing the trauma she had just experienced, "I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"
Stephane attempted to pull herself together,"Your friend saved my life." Her voice low and sad.
"I need to know exactly what happened, can you help me?" He leaned forward on the table, reaching over and picking up her hand,giving it a gentle squeeze,"Nick is my friend , I want to help him but you have all the answers, just tell me what happened."
"Nick came here and told me that I might be in danger. I gave him a description of the man who had asked me to tell him when your friend left last night, the man told me that he just wanted to give him some good news. I swear I didn't know that he was going to kill your friend. I gave him a description of the man and he recognized who it was and became very upset. Nick wanted to get me out of here, thinking my life might be in danger. When we opened the back door the man was standing outside, he had killed the man lying on the loading dock. He was going to kill us but Nick pushed me out of the way and I ran to get help." Again she broke down in tears, knowing that the killer wouldn't hesitate to kill the man who had risked his life for hers.
Grissom reached over and grabbed some napkins and handed them to her,"Did you get a name?"
Brass interrupted," She didn't have to Gil, the man is Jeffrey Mckeen, the Undersheriff."
Grissom gave him an odd and confused look,"What?"
"The key you found led Ecklie to a safety deposit box, it was filled with papers that pointed to McKeen as Gedda's partner, he's the dirty cop." Brass was upset, Mckeen evidently had Nicky with him, he would have no problem killing him.
Grissom stood and walked towards the back, the body still lying on the loading dock. Brass followed hoping that Gil would find the clue that could lead to Nick's whereabouts.
Grissom was now joined by his team, Catherine had received the call from Gregg and now she stood looking at the evidence in the back of the diner.
"Where's Nicky?" Catherine asked fixated on the blood drops on the pavement.
"That's what we're going to find out, Mckeen's the dirty cop, he killed Warrick." Grissom wasn't himself, he'd lost one cop, he'd be damned if he'd lose another.
Sara, stay with Stephane, the waitress inside, I don't want her alone." He then looked at what was left of his team,"We have lost valuable time, Catherine work the body and the parking lot."
Catherine nodded and opened her kit, guilt eating away at her,knowing that this could've been prevented if Nick had known the truth.
"Gregg,I need you to check out the rental car." Pointing to the car parked in the back alleyway, Grissom recognizing the numbers immediately on the tag from the rental agreement he had found in the apartment
Brass joined Grissom outside,"Where do you think he took him?"
"Don't underestimate Nicky. He's been through worse." Grissom stared out into the dark alley,police everywhere,but where could Nicky be? Grissom made his way down the stairs of the loading dock and pulled out his flashlight,blood drops led away form the diner, following the blood trail down the alleyway, Brass following behind him.
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Well, I could have the next chapter out tomorrow if you guys yell loud enough...I hate cliffhangers too!