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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"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 He decided to follow the blood trail down the alleyway, Brass followed behind him.
As he walked down the dark alleyway the blood drops continued,Grissom was becoming concerned about the amount of blood loss and his inability to find his CSI.
"Maybe the blood isn't Nick's." Brass finally broke the silence that loomed between the two men.
"Maybe,it does seem odd that Nick would go this far away from the safety of the diner,knowing that it was filled with cops unless he was being led away." Grissom suddenly stopped and knelt down to the ground.
"What?" Brass was curious as to what Grissom was looking at on the ground.
"That's not Nicky's blood." Grissom looked up at Brass with a smile,"I think Nick might have hurt Mckeen when he flipped him off the loading dock."
"What are you talking about Gil?" Shining his light down on the pavement.
A cellphone lay on the ground, bloody fingerprints visible, Grissom pulled out a glove from his pocket and picked up the cellphone, held it up and flipped it open."I think Mckeen called a cab."
"So where's Nick?" Brass asked the question again.
"That's a good question. I don't know." Grissom admitted sadly,"I think we need to check the hospital, maybe somebody found him and took him to the ER."
"That's definitely a good place to start looking for both of them." Brass pulled out his radio and started putting out APB for McKeen and a missing person on Nick.
Grissom gave the last number called from the cellphone to Brass and he dialed the cab company,"A call to your service was made about twenty-minutes ago from this number 555-5454, I need to know where they took the passenger."
The man on the other end of the line checked the call and came back on the line,giving Brass the information.
Brass hung of his phone and smiled,"Desert Palm hospital, I'll get some cops there to greet him, whoever it was."
Grissom stood and looked around,"That was a little too easy,don't you think Jim?"
Brass was a little confused,"What do you mean Gil?" Wondering what Gil was thinking.
"Something isn't right." He stood and shined his flashlight around, then he saw it, the clue that he had missed, the clue that told him that Mckeen was trying to throw them off.
Walking over to the trash can he spotted a trace of blood on the side of the can; he then looked inside and picked up a bloody shirt and pair of pants with his now gloved hand,"Wonder who was in the cab?"
"Nick?" Brass asked as he called for a car to pick them up.
Grissom pulled out Nick's cell phone, the battery now on low, and dialed Catherine,"Hey, our blood trail had a dead end, we think that someone was taken to Desert Palm, either Nick or Mckeen. Can you go there?"
Catherine's alerts went up,"Sure, I'm leaving now." She was about to hang up the phone when Gil continued.
"Put Gregg in charge of the crime scene until I can get back." he instructed.
As Catherine was hanging up the phone, she wondered if McKeen had figured out that Warrick was still alive."Greg, you're in charge until Grissom gets back, I need to go to the hospital."
"Is Nick hurt?" he asked concerned for his friend.
"We don't know, I'll be back in a bit otherwise I'll call."she got into her car and left.
Grissom looked up at his friend and and shrugged,"This is odd."
"Listen, I'll go to the ER too, call me if there 's anything new." Brasse climbed in the police car that had just arrived at the scene.
Grissom nodded watching Brass as he left. He turned and stood in the alleyway studying the extended crime scene,wondering if he had missed something else. He started back towards the diner, flashing his light into the dark areas, his mind wondering where the hell Nick was when he heard a commotion on a side street. He started running, the voices were loud and confrontational.
Grissom pulled his gun out of his holster,flipped off the flashlight and placed it back into his pocket. He stayed out of the view of the two men. All he could see was the look of anger in McKeen's eyes.
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Brass arrived at Desert Palm Emergency room, a cab sat out in front of the building, he pulled his badge out as he walked inside, accompanied by two other officers.
"I need the person who arrived in that cab." He directed the receptionist, pointing to the empty cab outside.
She pointed to the back,"He's in the triage area."
Brass pulled his gun as did the other two officers and entered into the triage area, a man wearing a suit sat with with his back facing Brass,"Sir, I need you to stand and place your hands on your head." Directing the man who decided not to fight but instead he complied with the orders.
Brass was surprised,"What the hell? He asked himself as he motioned for the police officer to cuff the man.
"I want a lawyer." Detective Vartann stood with his hands above his head, blood covering the front of his suit.
Brass was in shock,how far did this go and who else was involved, evidently Vartann was another pawn for McKeen or did it even go higher than McKeen? "Get him cuffed." He demanded the officer then Brass noticed what looked like a bullet wound to the detective's shoulder."What happened,did you bring him the wrong suit?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Vartann's voice filled with anger.
"He sold you out,just like he did his other pawn,Pritchard." What did he try to do, kill you?" Pointing at his bleeding wound,Brass's words filled with venom, wanting Vartann to tell him the truth, about what had happened.
"I was trying to save your CSI. If you want to me tell you anything else I'll need a deal and protection. This is bigger than you think." Vartann's words stung,this was not over by a long shot.
Brass pulled out his cell phone, Nick was still out there or possibly with Mckeen; the call went to the voice mail instead, he stopped the call and motioned for the officer to stay with Vartann so he could get treated. He pulled out his radio and placed a call to his officers at the scene to get a message to Grissom, that Mckeen was not at the hospital and neither was Nick.
He motioned for the second officer to follow him to the police car parked outside,"We need to get back to the diner." He shouted nervously, hoping that they were not to late.
Catherine pulled up just as Brass was about to pull out, he stopped and called out,"Wrong bad cop, we need to go back to the diner."
Catherine did not question him she just followed them out, lights flashing, and sirens blaring.
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Stephane sat inside the restaurant in silence, the events of the evening more than she had ever been exposed to in her lifetime. She had dealt with her mother's prolonged illness and her death. She had also endured a father who had left them both when she was young. Her life hadn't been easy but it was never this dramatic,never this frightening.
"You want a cup of coffee?" Sara asked as she sipped on her second cup, waiting for word on Nick.
"No, I'm fine." Her words soft and filled with sadness.
"Nick is a fighter you know,he doesn't go down easily." Sara was wanting the red head to be assured that Nick was one of the strongest men she knew.
""Why do you say that?"." Actually wanting to know more about her hero, the man who had risked his life to save her from certain death.
"He's been through a lot in the past few years,he was kidnapped and buried alive a few years back. In attempting to live he shot out a light in his coffin and a swarm of red ants almost ate him alive before we could get to him;but he held on,he didn't give up. That is the Nick Stokes that saved you tonight."
She reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder,"He put his life on the line because he wanted to save you, the way he was saved." Sara was reflecting on the man who she had left without even a good bye. It would have been harder to say good-bye to Nick than all the others because he was such a close friend.
Stephane was quiet for a few moments then she spoke," I love his smile, it just seems so natural for him."Remembering the many times she had seen him in the diner,always polite, always the gentleman.
"You know he's always had a thing for red heads, I'm surprised he never asked you out, you seem like his type." Sara's blunt manner revealing itself.
Stephane blushed at the thought, she had silently wished that he would ask her out but she always figured him the bosomy blonde type."That surprises me."
"There's a lot about Nick that would surprise you." Sara smiled, remembering how Nick always worried about others,always placing his needs last. always empathizing with the victims, a rare human quality.
"I hope he's okay,he had a terrible head wound." She bit at her lip and looked up at Sara,"I'm really worried about him."
Sara nodded, her own feelings surfacing for her former partner."Me too."
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Gregg was working the crime scene area, David had arrived and was working with the body on the dock.
Brass and Catherine pulled up, both quickly exited their vehicles.
"Where's Gil?" Catherine shouted to Gregg.
"I thought he was with Brass." Gregg answered wondering why they seemed so nervous.
"I'll take a car down to where I left him earlier. Catherine, you and Gregg take the alleyway." Brass jumped into his car and left.
"Gregg let's go." She took her flashlight and shined it down the dark alley, both CSI's walking rather fast to see if they could find Grissom.
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Earlier
Nick reached up with his hand feeling the blood oozing from underneath the bandage, the wound still creating a problem. He watched as the older man continued to look for the gun, his own vision causing him problems but he could see the light gleam off a metal object lying beside the trash can he was hidden behind.
McKeen reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell, dialing a number that was familiar,"I need some clothes, a gun and a vehicle at the corner of Sterns and Kennelworth behind the Krager building. Get it there now." His voice commanded then he cut off the call and started making his way down the alleyway, definitely injured from the fall.
Nick allowed the older man to get some distance before he was able to get to his feet and walk over to the object which turned out to be the gun that McKeen had knocked from his hand during the fall. Nick reached into his pocket and retrieved a glove and placed it own his hand.
As he followed the man down the alleyway he heard a shot fired; had they caught McKeen? He placed the gun into the back of his pants and took off running, hoping to find Mckeen in custody.
As he arrived where he thought he had heard the shot, he saw Vartann lying on the ground and McKeen standing over him, Nick threw himself into the darkness behind the back of a building, out of site of the two men.'What the hell was going on, how far up the ladder did this go?', he thought to himself.
"Listen Vartann, next time I tell you to take care of something you do it, or I will kill you, or someone in the organization will." Mckeen pulled out his cell and made another call and mumbled something about a cab to his location.
"I did what you wanted me to do Jeff, I looked for the key but I couldn't find it,Gedda must of hid it at his home." Vartann was frightened,fearing for his life.
"Then go to the hospital and get your arm fixed afterwards go to Gedda's house and find that damned key." Throwing the cellphone at him, it landed hard on the ground.
Vartann handed him the car keys, "I'll contact you later."
"You are to never contact me, if I want to talk to you then I 'll call you, understand?" He changed his clothes and threw his bloody clothing into the trash can. He then entered the car Vartann had brought, hitting the gas and taking off, rubber squealing on the pavement.
"Vartann crawled out of the way of the vehicle, the tires coming too close to his head. Nick was about to make his presence known when the cab arrived, Vartann stood and got into the back,the cabbie quickly left,seeing that his passenger was inured and bleeding.
Nick decided to make his way to the front of the building, into the street,thinking it might be possible to see where the undersheriff had gone, but that's when he saw McKeen's car coming at him, full speed ahead, with every intention of hitting him .
Nick jumped out of the way of the car, landing hard on the asphalt,'That just broke a couple of bones.". he thought to himself as he rolled over on his side, McKeen now leaving his vehicle and coming after him with his newly obtained gun drawn and aimed at his head.
"Stokes, I'm tired of chasing you down. Get up get into the car." He yelled at the man on the ground.
"I'm not going anywhere with you Jeff." Nick refused to go with the son of a bitch that had killed his friend.
"I said get up Stokes, or I will kill you where you lay!" McKeen would have no problem pulling the trigger.
Nick snaked his hand back and retrieved McKeen's gun and with a sweeping motion he pointed it towards the wayward cop."We'll see who dies first Jeff. I guarantee you one thing,one way or another you will pay for what you've done."
"You don't have what it takes Stokes, I've watched you for a long time,you are too straight of an arrow to just kill me." Mckeen smiled at the younger man, seeing that his words were effecting the CSI's mental status.
Nick slowly stood to his feet, his weapon focused on the crooked cop, his mind racing, Mckeen didn't think he was capable of killing anybody ,remembering a conversation he once had with his fellow CSI's after investigating a plane incident where the passengers killed the man with encephalitis; could he take a life?" Maybe he was about to find out.
Present
Grissom approached the two men, his CSI was wrestling with himself,he knew Nick, that he was internalizing the situation. He had seen Nick faced with death before,but this was a different Nick, this was a man filled with a pain that was deeper than his own,his friend's pain, his friend's death.
Grissom knew he had to approach and get involved, he just hoped that Nick would stand back and allow him to discharge the situation.
"McKeen, put down your weapon!" He shouted taking the older man by surprise.
"Mckeen looked towards his supervisor and shook his head," I have nothing to lose here Gil."
"Put your gun down Jeff or I will shoot!" Glancing over to an injured Nick, but he saw determination and anger in his friend's face.
The older man was still aiming his gun at Nick, refusing to allow himself to be caught, he knew the consequences and he would not spend the rest of his life in jail waiting on death row for murder.
"Nick, I have it, just back off!" Gil commanded his CSI,hoping that he could penetrate Nick's thoughts of revenge at the man who had killed his best friend.
"I can't Griss, he killed Warrick." The only words that he could manage out of his mouth.
"I know what he did Nick but I need you to back off!" He shouted, needing Nick to obey his command.
"I can't." Nick's voice a mere whisper now, his hands were shaking, unable to obey the command because it would mean that Warrick's death would be meaningless, his gun still pointed at the man's head, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Mckeen saw an opportunity."Grissom, I will shoot him if you don't put your gun down."
"You'll have to shoot me too." A voice from the other side warned, Brass now on the opposite side of Grissom holding his gun towards Mckeen's head.
Mckeen recognized the detective's voice, he knew he would die but he was going to take one more with him,Nick Stokes had created a problem,he had to die too.
A shot rang out in the alleyway.
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Another cliffhanger...NOOOOOOO! I 'm hearing you but one more and then we will be almost finished...maybe.
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