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Chapter Twenty Three # Escalation #
Kristy stared at the man in front of her. He was tall; he had the same kind of skin as Rosa.
"Do you want your Daddy?" the man taunted.
Her lip trembled behind the duct tape and she nodded.
The man grinned. "Well, you're not gonna get him!"
Tears started falling from her eyes and she sobbed, but the man held up his hand threateningly.
"Shut up! Don't cry!" the man snapped.
Frightened, Kristy sobbed again, and the man snatched her by the shoulders. She screamed through the duct tape as he lifted her clear of off the floor, shaking her violently.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" he yelled.
The door opened. "Diego? What's going on?"
"Pedro, she won't shut up!" the first man yelled.
"Shit, Diego, she's just a kid." Pedro shook his head, snatching Kristy away by the back of her dress and shoving her to the floor. "Watch and learn, little brother." He crouched down next to her and grabbed her shoulders, holding her firmly. "Now Kristina, you are going to do exactly what we tell you, or else you will get very, very hurt. Do you understand me?"
Kristy may have been three and many other things, but she wasn't slow or stupid. She nodded.
"Now what?" Diego asked.
"We make the first call."
"Gotcha." Diego nodded, pulling out a new phone from a case and chucking it to the brother.
"Gracias." Pedro nodded, before talking into the phone. "Hello, Mr Stokes. My name is Pedro Martinez. I have here in front of me a little girl that I believe belongs to you. She uh…got lost."
Kristy could hear her father talking down the other end of the phone. It sounded like he was shouting. Pedro motioned to Diego, who nodded and ripped the duct tape off of Kristy's mouth before leaving the room. She cried and spluttered but the man put a finger over her mouth and she quietened.
"I have several demands. Are you willing to listen?" There was a pause. "Good. My first wish. I want ten million dollars…Yes. No. You can talk to her."
Pedro clicked a button on the phone and held it towards Kristy. "Say hello to your Daddy."
"Daddy?" Kristy cried. "Daddy?"
"Kristy?" Nick's voice called down the phone. "Kristy, are you okay, sweetie?"
"Daddy, I scared, I wan' come home!" Kristy cried instantly.
"I know, sweetie, I'm looking for you, I'm gonna get you home, okay? I need you to tell me something, Kristina, can you do that?"
"I can do dat Daddy." Kristy nodded, crying.
"Kristy, when we were at the zoo, what did you ask me for?"
"What?" Kristy frowned.
"What did you ask me for at the zoo, and what did I tell you?"
Kristy frowned. "A…a zebra or a herd of zebras, an' you said I can hab a horsie when I five."
"That's right, baby girl, that's right." Nick sobbed. "Okay, Kristy, I'm coming to find you. Hold on, Kristy."
"I will Daddy, I miss you." Kristy wiped her eyes with her bound hands. "Pease hurry!"
"I think that's enough." Pedro snatched the phone away. "If I don't have the first ten thousand out of my ten million dollars in ten hours, I'll give you a piece of your daughter back. Maybe a little finger. Or maybe that's too original… You can wire it to the account number my brother is emailing you right now. Ten hours."
He shut the phone and crouched down in front of Kristy. "Voy a tener mucho divertido contigo, senorita." I am going to have a lot of fun with you, miss.
Kristy frowned. The man was speaking in Rosa's language. "Pues, no quiero jugar contigo. No me gusta ti, señor." Well, I don't want to play with you. I don't like you, sir.
The man recoiled. "Hablas español… Diego, la chica habla español." You speak Spanish…Diego, the girl speaks Spanish.
"Really?" the man asked. "Clever girl!" he taunted, patting the side of her cheek.
Daddy will find me, Daddy will find me, Daddy will find me, Daddy will find me… Kristy repeated over and over again in her head. Daddy will find me, Daddy will find me…
Daddy? Will you find me?
CSIVCSIVCSIV
Greg grabbed the phone with two fingers whilst he cleared up the sticky mess of juice that the twins had made on the floor. "Yello?"
"Greg, its Nick. We need you to come back to work, now…If you can. Please come-"
"Nick, what's wrong?" Greg frowned.
"Kristy, they've taken Kristy. Pedro and Diego, and they want ten million dollars, ten thousand in ten hours or their going to hurt her…"
"Oh my god, Nick… We'll be on our way." Greg rushed, dropping the cleaning. "Be there asap. Nick, we're gonna find her, I swear."
"Bye Greg."
"Catherine! We need to go back to work!" Greg yelled.
"How come?" Catherine asked, walking into the room.
"Kristy's been kidnapped, we gotta go." Greg explained, walking into Reuben's room where the twins had been sent to play after spilling the juice. He froze. "Lola? Reubs?"
The room was empty. Carved into the floor was Greg's worst nightmare.
Ha ha. We have the twins. Go back to your crime lab. Wait for further instructions.
"Catherine, Catherine!" Greg cried. "Oh, god!"
CSIVCSIVCSIV
Alyssa and Morgan both heaved together and managed to throw the trash from Greg's apartment into the dumpsters outside.
The two women got along, but Alyssa hadn't become as close to Morgan as she was becoming to the others.
"What's that noise?" Alyssa asked and they froze.
A child was screaming. They looked across the parking lot. A man was struggling to push a small girl into a dog crate in the back of an SUV.
"God, that's Lola!" Morgan cried.
Both women were overcome by maternal instinct, but while Alyssa's urged her to snap out her phone and call it in, Morgan's ran deeper and pushed further.
Without thinking she raced towards the truck, the same way that Greg had run across the parking lot towards her, except she reached her target. She smashed into the back of Diego Martinez and smashed her fist into the back of his head.
He roared and turned, throwing Loeila into the crate. Reuben was in the open crate next to her, tears in his eyes.
He smashed his fist into Morgan's stomach. She wheezed and kicked his groin. They fought a one sided battle, the beefy drug dealer versus the tiny blonde CSI.
Morgan was thrown to the floor. She reached to her side and grabbed for her gun, but Diego stomped on her fingers. She kicked at him again and scrambled to her feet, standing in front of Reuben's crate. Reuben instantly threw himself at her, grabbing onto her back while she pushed Diego away. She lunged for Loeila but Diego pulled out a gun and pointed it at the little girl's head.
"Stop now or I'll shoot this little girl in the head."
Morgan froze. The man slammed the crate shut and Loeila screamed.
"MOWGAN!"
"Please, don't do this, please!" Morgan cried. "I will let you leave, please, just don't take-"
Diego kicked Morgan in the chest and she fell over backwards, on top of Reuben. Diego smashed the car door shut on Loeila's screams and ran into the car.
"NO!" Morgan screamed as the car drove away. "STOP, LOLA!"
"Mogan, Mogan, Mogan!" Reuben cried. "Lola gone, Aunie Mogan!"
Morgan climbed off of him. "Reuben, are you okay honey?"
"No, I scared, I hurtie and Loeila's gone!" Reuben screamed.
"I know, I know!" Morgan cried, pulling him into her arms and holding him close. "We're gonna get her back."
Morgan stood up and started screaming at Alyssa, who hadn't moved. "Where the hell were you?"
"I was calling it in, I-"
"You let them get away! You just stood there and watched while he took Lola, he kidnapped your daughter and you just watched!" Morgan cried, furious.
Alyssa's eyes filled with tears. "I could… I could…"
"What?" Morgan screamed.
"I couldn't move. I can't move…"
"Oh yeah? And why would that be?" Morgan growled.
"Because there is a trip wire beneath my feet, I stepped on it and if I moved my feet, that suitcase where the car was parked will explode and you'd have all died." Alyssa explained coolly.
Morgan stopped for a minute and the only sound between the two icy glares was Reuben's broken crying.
"Mogan, Mogan…" Reuben sobbed. "Mogan!"
"I'm here, I'm here." Morgan soothed, rubbing circles into his back. "I got you; I won't let them hurt you. You can sit here and wait for the bomb squad, I am getting him inside and I'm telling Greg."
"Morgan!" Greg yelled, running towards them. "Reuben? Reuben!"
"Daddy!" Reuben wailed.
"Greg!" Morgan cried. "Greg, Lola's gone, I'm so sorry, I tried to stop them, I tried, but!"
"Oh Jesus Christ, no!" Greg moaned, drawing closer.
Morgan expected Greg to take Reuben but instead he flung his arms around both of them, holding them tightly.
"Where is she now?" Greg cried. "Are you two hurt?"
"No, no." Morgan shook her head.
Reuben clung to Morgan, though he kept his hand entwined in Greg's hair.
"Daddy, da man took Lola, he took Lola, Daddy!"
Greg nodded with tear filled eyes, fear and panic stabbing at every inch of his body, coupled with the numbing tones of relief that came from Reuben being alive and with him.
"Kristy's gone too." Greg murmured gruffly, messing up Reuben's hair gently as his sobbing started anew.
God… Greg thought. Please God… Give us our children back before I kill someone.
CSIVCSIVCSIV
As soon as the bomb squad and the CSI's were down in Greg's apartment and the parking lot, Wendy, Morgan, Alyssa, DB, Greg, Morgan and Reuben all arrived at CSI.
Nick, who hadn't been trusted to remain impartial and Finn, who was staying with him, both met them as they came in.
Finn and Nick hugged the others tightly.
"Sara's coming, I called her." DB announced
Greg's phone buzzed. "I don't know that number."
"My office!" DB hurried, bringing Greg in while the others hovered anxiously by the door.
"Russell, I'm not ready for this." Greg swallowed as the phone continued to ring.
"You can do this." Russell nodded, clamping a hand on his shoulder.
Greg put up the phone on speaker. "Hello?"
"Hello, Mr Sanders. My name is Diego Martinez. I have in front of me here a little girl, who I think belongs to you."
"You…what do you want from us?"
"Very to the point. You probably know from your amigo that I want ten million dollars from him. I have a different request for you. I want a plane. Military grade. And I want it in five hours. And I want it left at the abandoned warehouse. I will email you the address."
"It may take me more than five hours." Greg swallowed.
"Well, if it does then your little princess will get hurt." The man said, with what sounded like glee in his voice.
"I wanna talk to her. Now." Greg said firmly.
"Alright. Here's the little angel." The man laughed and a new little voice chimed down the phone.
"Daddy? Daddy, where are you?" she cried.
"Lola, it's okay, Lola, it's okay…"
"Daddy, Daddy, I no like it hewe, I wanna come home. Dese people no nice, Daddy, dey no nice and I no like it."
"I know, sweetie but can uh…can you tell me something?"
"What, Daddy?"
"How many times have you and your brother fought?"
"Daddy? We don' fight. We dus have angy talks an aguments."
"Good girl…" Greg covered his mouth with his hands.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Awe Weuben an' Mowgan otay?"
Greg half laughed. That's my girl… "Yeah, they're doing okay."
"Daddy I-"
"That's enough of an adoring conversation." Diego butted in. "Five hours, Mr Sanders, your time is ticking away."
The phone went dead and Greg's knees buckled. DB grabbed his arm and spun a chair around to catch him, and Greg's head dropped into his hand.
"A plane?" Greg moaned. "How am I going to get a plane? In five hours?"
"We'll figure something out." DB soothed.
"How?" Greg cracked.
Nick shoved open the door. "Greg, is she-"
"They want a plane." Greg stammered. "A plane, in five hours or they're going to hurt my baby girl…"
"Daddy!" Reuben cried, racing into the room and launching into his father's lap. "Daddy!"
Reuben buried his face in his father's chest and started to sob hopelessly. Greg held him close, stroking his back softly.
"I…wan'…my…sister!" Reuben wailed. "I miss her, Daddy."
Greg rocked back and forth.
DB gritted his teeth in anger at the image of his broken family.
CSIVCSIVCSIV
"Eli! Eli!" Sara cried, "Get in here, now!"
"What's wrong?" Eli replied, following Sara's voice into the living room.
As soon as she saw Eli, Sara wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "We need to go back to the lab."
"Okay." Eli answered evenly, hugging Sara back before drawing back. "But I'll be late for school…"
"Eli," Sara swallowed. "You're missing school today."
"Missing? Why?" Eli frowned.
"Kristy..." Sara took a deep steadying breath. "Kristy and Loeila have been kidnapped."
Eli's mouth dropped open. "Wh-wh-what?"
"Grab your emergency bag, it's by the door, let's go." Sara ordered, taking his hand and racing back to the car.
"Sara, are they gonna be okay?" Eli cried as they ran.
"I don't know, but we're gonna-" Sara cut off as her hand touched the door handle.
"Sara? What's wrong?"
"Eli, there're two men sitting in a Nissan, three cars down. This handle is hot, this car is dangerous. When I say, I want you to run. The other way, as fast as you can, okay? I'm right behind you."
"Sara!" Eli cried, slinging to her arm. "Sara-"
"Go, now!" she yelled. "Run!"
Eli burst out running in the opposite direction. As soon as he was three cars away Sara followed. Sure enough she'd hardly reached the second car when the SUV exploded.
Eli turned in time to see her fall to the floor. "Sara, NO!"
"Eli, run!" Sara coughed, scrambling to her feet. "Run, now!"
He ran back but she pushed him forward. "They're following us. Run!"
Eli ran. He moved his feet, one after the other and he ran as fast as he could. He ran. He ran.
He stumbled.
He fell.
Sara stopped.
Something smashed into the back of her head, something hard, something big. She fell to the floor.
This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.
"SARA! SARA, HELP ME!" Eli screamed as a man picked him up off of the floor.
Sara moaned, pushing up with quivering arms, wiping the blood away from her face.
"SARA!" Eli screamed as the man tried to force him into a car.
She ran towards them, pulling out her gun. The man jerked Eli in front of his body and pointed a gun at Eli's head, whilst his partner aimed the gun at Sara.
Hopelessly Sara's gun started to lower.
A gunshot rang through the air.
Eli fell.
Ooh? Who shot? Who died? Review? Aiming for 160 reviews in the next three chapters. PLEASE review :)