After pulling a double, Nick and Greg were on their way home. Catherine, Sara and Ray were still working on the case. They went home when Nick and Greg were on their second shift. And now it was Nick's and Greg's turn to rest a little.
Nick dropped Greg off at his apartment complex. "Okay, I'll pick you up later! Sleep tight!" Nick drove off.
Making his way into the apartment complex, the lights in the corridor were dead. Nothing unusual, Greg thought, that happened every few months, and the janitor usually took his time to switch the light bulbs. Though Greg thought it was weird that all bulbs but one were dead, and the one remaining was wavering, he was too tired to care and just went into his apartment.
Placing his keys on a side table next to the door, Greg went into the kitchen to fix him something to eat.
Putting a plate with some frozen food into the microwave, he noticed something in his apartment was off. With his apartment always being a bit messy, he didn't notice what was off until he saw one of the drawers in his bedroom being wide open. He was sure it was closed when he was leaving the house today so he wondered if someone was in here when he was at work.
Quietly going through the apartment to make sure no one was there, armed with a heavy book he knew he wouldn't be able to keep anyone from hurting him, he arrived back at the kitchen only to notice an empty glass, sitting on the kitchen counter. Next to it, there was the glass of orange juice Nick drank when he picked Greg up for work. Greg was sure it wasn't his glass, and why would Nick take out two glasses? Plus, it looked like someone drank from it. He could see the smudges on the rim of the glass.
He was sure someone's been in his apartment, but there was no sign of forced entry. How did he get in here? And what did he want? Greg went to see if anything of value was stolen, but not even the money he had in the apartment was gone. So what was missing? He didn't think someone would go through the troubles of breaking into his apartment without leaving any signs of forced entry only to leave a glass with their DNA and probably finger prints behind.
Greg decided to see if something in the drawer that was left open was missing. He kept every important document in that drawer, from his birth certificate to his school reports and his labor contract. And indeed, some of it was missing.
When Greg heard the microwave oven ringing, he startled up. Not only did he forget about the food, but he also thought the food would take at least another 15 minutes. He was pretty tired, though, so he figured he must've set the timer wrong. He wasn't feeling save or at ease being in his apartment, knowing someone had entered it without him knowing, but since he already checked to see if someone's still there, he wasn't precautios when he went into the kitchen to check on his food.
Setting the timer another 20 minutes, he went back in his bedroom to check if something else was missing. He picked his cell phone out of his pocket. "Catherine, it's Greg. Someone's been in my apartment... I'm not sure this has anything to do with the email I received, but..." the microwave oven was ringing again.
"I'll send Ray to check for evidence, don't touch anything. It's a crime scene now. We need to be careful with this, it might be related to the bombings and the shootings." after Greg didn't say anything, Catherine got nervous. "Greg, are you still there?"
"...Yeah, okay..." Greg said, quickly hanging up. Looking for something he could defend himself with, he picked up a big book again. He questioned himself for not having a gun at his house, but knew he wouldn't want to use it, anyway.
He wasn't sure if he should just lock himself in the bedroom, leave the apartment or check out if something was wrong with the microwave or if someone was still in here. Since he already checked to see if someone was still there and he found no one, he chose to stay at the apartment and wait for Ray, although he couldn't shake the feeling of somebody else's presence. He decided to check the appartment one more time.
He took a look around the kitchen. It wasn't a very big kitchen and he didn't really see much space anyone could hide in, so he decided to take a look at the microwave. Putting the book down on the kitchen counter, he opened the microwave oven to find his food missing. Quickly running into the bedroom to pick up the cell phone he left on his bed, he headed for the door. With his hand on the doorknob, he got hit in the head from behind, causing him to black out.
When Greg recovered consciousness he found himself pinned down to the floor, face down. Every attempt to get up failed as the man who attacked him kept pushing him down.
"You're lucky you don't have a gun at your place" the man said "Otherwise you'd be dead by now."
Pinning one of Greg's hands to the floor, pushing the other against his back, the man continued. "Listen... And listen carefully." he whispered in Greg's ear "The bombs and the shootings were just the beginning. There will be more to come, so get ready for it. It's gonna be big."
The man got up, kicked Greg in the side hard enough to crack a rib, continuing "Remember. You know nothing about me, but I know everything about you guys I need to know to make your miserable existences living hell. I'd advise you to stay on the ground until I'm gone or I'll have to correct myself... Because this means you won't be as lucky as I said before."
As the man left, Greg stayed on the floor, not being able to get up, anyway, but also not wanting to get up in fear of the man kept his promise.
After Greg was sure the mysterious man was gone, he slowly tried to get up. Bending forward to get up, he coughed painfully. He wasn't sure if his rib was broken, but it sure hurt as if it was.
Trying to find his cell phone to call Ray to tell him to hurry up, he noticed it was gone. This man who attacked Greg a few minutes ago probably took it with him, he figured. Too tired, dizzy and nauseous from being hit in the head, he didn't really care enough at the moment to look for his cell any further. He just sat there, resting his heavy head against the wall, waiting for Ray to arrive, not thinking about calling him or even the paramedics from the land line.
Ray finally arrived. Greg's door was wide open.
"Greg?" Ray entered the apartment followed by a cop, both with their gun drawn after they saw the door being open.
When Ray saw Greg sitting there looking like a picture of misery, he put his gun away and took care of him "Greg! What happened? Are you alright?"
"I think so..." he coughed.
"Can you get up?" Ray asked as he took a look at Greg's bleeding head.
In the meantime the cop went through the apartment to check if it was clear.
"Yeah..." Greg responded, slowly getting up supported by Ray. He couldn't stand up straight because his rib hurt so much.
"We better get you to a hospital, Greg..."
"No, I'm fine... I just... need some rest and I'll be fine..." Greg said with a tired and weak voice.
"Do me a favor and call an ambulance." Ray said to the cop, carefully putting Greg down again. "Greg, you need to stay awake, okay? I think you might have a concussion. Who did this? What happened in here?" as Ray took a look around, he noticed the signs of the struggle. Blood drops on the floor, a stone someone obviously brought up here from the outside, next to Greg, and a dirty footprint. Ray thought it was weird there was just one footprint, but he had to take care of Greg first.
"One of the glasses in the kitchen... It's his..." Greg said, closing his eyes.
"Greg, you can't sleep now! You need to stay awake!" as Ray tried to keep him awake, the paramedics arrived.