Journey Through the Past- Chapter 45

Manny adjusted the Mission Linens delivery cap low over his forehead. His directions were clear. Estavez, the leader of the Knights, had ordered him to Desert Palm Hospital to pick up Lucas Mallory and Todd Wilson and take them to Estavez's hideaway near Indian Springs after Mallory retrieved the "package". The hijacked van would make the perfect cover to smuggle both escapees out of the hospital.

As Manny turned the van into the underground parking garage of the hospital, he was spotted by Detective Vartann. Damn! Vartann spotted me. That's just great.

Immediately the police detective shouted for Manny to stop. He ignored the detective and nonchalantly tried to steer the van away from the officer. Looking anxiously into his rearview mirror, he saw the detective raise and aim his weapon. Manny swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat. Slamming on his brakes, he decided that facing Vartann was much preferable than the other end of a bullet.

Still holding his weapon in both his hands, Vartann approached the van slowly from behind the driver's side. Officer Mitchell was covering the opposite side. Manny slowly opened his door and edged his way out of the van with his hands up.

The police detective, with his weapon still trained on Manny, walked slowly forward. "Well, if it isn't Manny Fierro. Manny, by the looks of things, it looks like you decided to get a legitimate job, but I know better. Now, tell me why are you driving this Mission Linens van?"

The young gang member turned and faced Vartann, keeping his hands up. "Hey, Vartann. I didn't know it was you, man. If I had known you was callin' me, I would have stopped right away, y'know."

"Right, Manny. I know better. You're stallin'. What gives? I don't have time to mess around with you. You tell me now or I'm taking you down to PD and booking you for grand theft auto. You know one more violation of your parole will land you some hefty time. You know what that means…Tonya and the baby won't see you until you're a little old man. So what's it going to be?"

Manny stared at Vartann, suddenly frightened at the possibility of doing hard time in the state penitentiary. "Estavez arranged for me to get this van. I have a job to do. If it doesn't come off, he'll will come after me and Tonya. I…I can't risk it. You…got to protect me and my family."

"Manny, I will do what I can, but right now I need to know what is supposed to go down. This has to do with Mallory and Gil Grissom, doesn't it?"

Manny gulped and quickly nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm their getaway."

Shoving the frightened man against the van, Vartann whispered fiercely, "Okay, my friend, you're going to tell me every detail of what is supposed to go down and don't miss a beat."

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Manny Fierro carefully backed up the van to the designated stairwell door. Heaving a deep sigh, the young man scanned the half-empty garage and knew that he was being watched. The urge to just take off and escape from his dilemma was overpowering. He absently fingered the wires that Vartann had taped to his chest and shivered at the knowledge of what would happen if Estavez found out that he was Vartann's informant. Complicating matters even more was that he was sure that Grissom knew that he was one of Vartann's informants. He was half tempted to take off and grab Tonya and the baby and just disappear.

The banging open of the stairwell door brought Manny out of his reverie. Glancing behind him through his rearview mirror, he watched as an obviously hurting Gil Grissom staggered from the door and was pushed up against the back of the van by Lucas Mallory. Mallory swung open the rear doors of the van and roughly shoved his captive in. Grissom landed in the back of the van with a dull thud and groaned loudly as he landed on his casted arm. As Mallory crawled in, Manny's attention was drawn back to the stairwell as a man in a white coat was being pushed forward by Todd Wilson.

Manny started up the engine, but not before he heard Mallory tell Wilson to take care of the doctor. Oh great! Now I could be an accessory to murder...Manny stared in fascination as the doctor wasn't going to go down without a fight. Mallory screamed to take off, and he didn't hesitate. Manny stepped on the accelerator full force. The van screeched forward and rounded the corner on two wheels. As the back doors of the van swung wildly from the lurching of the van, Mallory was able to grab the doors and slam them shut as the van quickly exited the parking garage.

The rocking of the van as it negotiated its way through the streets of Las Vegas was making the pounding in Grissom's head worse. Sitting with his back braced against the side of the empty van, Grissom held his casted left arm close to his body and used his right arm to help keep his place on the van floor. His ribs ached fiercely and sharp pains were shooting through his side. Grissom was sure that when he landed on his arm, the hard cast did wonders on his healing ribs and stitches that were still healing.

Grissom had no idea where or even what direction they were headed. He leaned his head back, hoping the nausea and dizziness would just go away. Glancing up, Grissom looked forward, catching a slight glimpse of the driver. The lowered cap and the fact that the driver was hunkered down in the seat obscured his view of the driver, but there was something familiar about him. Everyone I see has a familiar face, like I've seen them before…still…perhaps one of Mallory's "friends" from the clinic? Grissom shook his head slightly, hoping to shake the cobwebs loose.

Mallory sat opposite of Grissom and quietly observed his captive. Mallory had Grissom right where he wanted him, and he was anxious to get away from Vegas. The authorities would be combing the area for their missing colleague, and Mallory would have to stay a step ahead of the massive manhunt that was sure to come.

Raising his left arm and rapping the back of the driver's seat to get the driver's attention. "Hey, you up there…Where are we headed?"

Manny continued to drive and didn't turn around, but instead replied in a gravelly voice, "Wilson wasn't supposed to be left behind. Estavez isn't going to be happy about that. Anyway, I'm supposed to take you wherever you want to go to pick up a package that you're to give me. Then I'm supposed to help you leave the area. Right now, I'm just makin' sure the police ain't followin' us."

"Okay…that sounds straight forward enough. By the way, what's your name?" asked Mallory.

"You know what? I'm just doing what I'm told. We don't need to be on a first name basis."

"Okay. Okay," said Mallory has he rolled his eyes with impatience, "I'm going to assume that your boss gave you something for me. That was part of the deal."

Manny reached under his seat and brought out brick-like package and tossed it over his shoulder over to Mallory. Mallory caught it and quickly opened the package. The package contained two $10,000 bricks of one-hundred dollar bills, false identification papers for two men, and three filled syringes. Mallory looked carefully over the contents.

"Hey, where's the rest of the package? Did you know what was supposed to be in the package? There was supposed to be at least $150,000 in hundreds. There's only twenty here. What gives?"

"I'm just the delivery guy, remember? I didn't know what was in there. All I was told was that this was a down payment and the rest was coming when you delivered your end of the bargain. Where is it that you want me to take you?"

"When you think it's safe, we need to go north on Highway 95 for a couple of hours. That's all I'll tell you for right now," growled Mallory.

Grissom watched Mallory as he sourly hunkered down with the contents of the package that had been tossed to him. Grissom frowned to himself. His memories were still fractured, but he did remember that Mallory was responsible for his addiction to the meth/cocaine/heroin combination. What Grissom couldn't remember was whether his addiction was because of his own actions and Mallory was just his supplier or was Mallory really responsible?

Grissom looked away and stared at his feet. Logic dictated that the possibility that he himself was responsible for his condition was a real one. Wasn't there an investigation underway? It didn't matter that the test results showed that his body didn't show the effects of long term addiction. Maybe he had stayed clean after he thought that Rachel and Scott had died, and that his past association with Mallory had drawn him back into that lifestyle when Mallory escaped from Folsom. However, every fiber of his being told him that this scenario was wrong.

He looked up and stared at the man across from him. Mallory stared back with a soft smile on his face.

"Grissom, you look like a man who has a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue. I suppose you want to know why I would risk being caught and sent back to jail by taking you with me."

"It doesn't make sense for you to do so. They would add kidnapping to the list of charges against you. It could make things worse for you."

"You are correct in that aspect, but you don't recall the close relationship we had before all this started, do you? How I supplied you with what you needed which allowed you to keep your reputation and job. We were partners."

Grissom shook his head. "I don't believe you."

Mallory shrugged his shoulders. "You're just confused. In a few hours, you're going to beg me for relief. Kenny knew which meds would help with the pain and keep your withdrawal at bay. What I have is better. We'll see what you want to believe by the time we get back to the clinic."

Grissom wrapped his arms around himself and settled back for the ride north. Mallory had the gun and, more than likely, the driver was also armed. His chances of overpowering both Mallory and the driver were nil even if he weren't nursing injuries. However, he decided that he would rather die than to take any of the poison that Mallory would try to tempt him with.

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Sara paced back and forth in Grissom's office at the crime lab. It had been at least an hour since Mallory had abducted Grissom. Sara figured that the best place for her and Scott would be at the crime lab so that they would be on hand if and when any new information came in. Detective Vartann and Catherine Willows watched her nervous pacing.

Sara paused in mid-step and looked at Vartann. "Why isn't there APB out for that van and for Mallory? God knows what Mallory is doing to Grissom or where he's got him."

Vartann wasn't sure he wanted to tell Sara everything that was going on so lamely replied, "Sara, we're tracking the van. For the time being, Grissom is safe."

The tall slender brunette gave Vartann an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me right now? He's in a stolen van with a lunatic. He's still recovering from the ordeal that…that madman put him through the first time. That's all you're doing?... Tracking it? How…just how are you tracking it?...Unless you somehow were able to attach a GPS tracker on it."

Sara stopped and stared at both Vartann and Catherine as the realization hit her. "Whose bright idea was that? You could have just arrested Mallory, and Grissom would have been safe!"

Catherine looked at Vartann and then at Sara. Clearing her throat, the senior CSI spoke softly to the irate young woman, " Um, Sara…it was Sheriff Burdick who approved this whole operation. Mallory was armed, and he wasn't alone. We didn't know if or how many others might have been involved in getting Mallory free. It all went down so fast; a decision had to be made. There wasn't time to analyze every angle."

"Oh, that's just fine and dandy. Grissom is abducted. Never mind the fact that he is still trying to recover from being shot, heal a mangled arm, and is fighting a physical addiction to God-knows-what. So you're tracking the van. Do you know at least know where they're headed?"

"They're headed north on Highway 95. They're probably headed back to the clinic or to the desert where Mallory was first captured. We believe that incriminating evidence having to do with the Knights and the drug trafficking trade in Vegas are what Mallory is after. If we're lucky, the exact combination of substances that Mallory had been giving Grissom will also be recovered."

"The question still remains. Grissom is still in danger. There's no telling what Mallory will do, and besides that, Gris is due for his meds soon," Sara persisted.

"Grissom is going to be okay. Sara, I promise you," Vartann tried to sound convincing.

"Just how do you know that? How do you know that Mallory won't just turn around and kill him? He's due for his next round of meds. What happens when his withdrawal and pain overwhelm him?"

Scott silently took in the entire conversation and was not sure who was right in this situation. He was itching to do something, anything really, to get his father back in one piece, but he also knew that as long as Mallory was alive and well, he would always be a threat to his father.

"What can we do to help? I know that clinic and the hills around the clinic like the back of my hand. I practically grew up there. There are hundreds of hiding places up there, and I can show you all of them. I also know the most likely routes Mallory will likely take other than the main highway," Scott said quietly.

Catherine exchanged looks with Vartann and as she was about to speak, Warrick rushed into the room.

"Cath, Archie's got something in the AV lab. He was able to finally get a signal from the transmitter, and we've also got an audio feed from the van."

Catherine nodded and reached over and grabbed Sara by the arm. "C'mon. I'll get you both up to speed on what's going down."

Sara's eyes opened wide. "You have the van wired too? The…van… that…Grissom's…in…is… wired. Catherine…" Sara wasn't sure whether she was more angry or worried at the gamble the police department was taking with Grissom's life.

"Listen Sara, this arrangement doesn't exactly have me thrilled either. After everything he's been through, this is the last thing that he needs, but, knowing Grissom, he would agree to this," Catherine paused momentarily, "at least the Grissom who we knew and loved before this all happened would have agreed to this."

"But, how…"

Sara didn't finish her question as they all entered the AV lab. Archie was attempting to filter out extraneous noise from the audio feed and sharpen the voices that could be heard crackling from the speakers. Nick was tracking the van, and its progress as it made its way north could be seen on the computer screen.

"How…how far behind is Mallory being followed?" whispered Sara as she watched the blimp that represented the van move across the map at a rapid pace.

"Don't worry, Sara," Vartann said confidently, "Mallory has no clue that he's being tracked, and he has no idea that we can pretty much hear everything he's saying. Should there be any sign of trouble; help is less than five minutes away."

Sara turned to Catherine. "I think that you should bring us up to speed, don't you?" she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Looking around and noting who was in the room, asked, "Why isn't Brass or Greg here?"

Catherine took a deep breath before she replied to Sara's questions. "Brass and Greg are following in Brass's Taurus. Since we're tracking the van, he's keeping a distance of about 3 to 5 miles back. A SWAT team is also behind them, another mile back."

Catherine put her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "Sara, Brass is actually behind this whole operation. When the whole thing came down at County, we found out that the patient in the ER wasn't Mallory. Brass must've broken all kinds of speed records to get to the hospital to check on Grissom. He called ahead to Vartann to tell him what had gone down and ordered guards for Grissom. Vartann was already at the hospital on an unrelated matter. Anyway, he was in the parking garage when the Missions Linen van came in. Vartann recognized the driver as a gang member of the Knights he had arrested previously and had used as an informant. Putting two and two together, he "enlisted" the help of the driver."

Sara was still confused as to the timing. "Catherine, how was there any time to set this up? I mean no one carries transmitters and wires around on their person. How was there time to wire this guy up and to calibrate a transmitter? How does Vartann know that he can trust this guy? I mean, I'm pretty sure that Vartann had pretty much strong arm him into helping."

Catherine gave Sara a half smile. "It just so happens that the unrelated matter that Vartann was at the hospital for was an undercover sting operation. The operation succeeded, but the undercover officer was injured and Vartann was here to retrieve the wire and transmitter from the officer. When Vartann arrested the driver of the van, the driver spilled. Ken Jones also bought us some time. His unexpected run-in with Mallory in Grissom's room bought us a little bit of time to set everything up."

Catherine grinned widely. "Yes, our Detective Vartann has quite a way with words. Anyway, the driver laid out the plan. Seems that Mallory has evidence that will pretty much destroy the Knights and put the leaders away for a long time. Mallory was able to strike a deal with Estavez, the leader of the Knights. He would turn over all this evidence in exchange for money, false id, and transportation out of the country."

Catherine turned her attention to the computer screen where Nick was still tracking the van. The GPS unit was still working well, but Archie was receiving more static than conversation from the wire attached to Manny.

"Archie is there anything we can do to boost that signal?" asked Vartann.

"No, not really. Those things have a limited range. If we're lucky, we can still get a faint signal for another thirty or forty miles. I'll do what I can to boost the signal. I'm guessing the problem is that the wire attached to Vartann's informant, but he's driving so he's facing away from both Mallory and Grissom. These things have a limited distance to pick up audio," said Archie.

"Well, do what you can," encouraged Catherine.

Archie nodded and smiled, "Will do, Boss."

At that moment, Ken Jones entered the room escorted by Officer Mitchell.

"Ms. Willows, Dr. Jones is here as you requested," announced Mitchell.

Looking up, Catherine thanked the officer and turned her attention to Jones.

"You look a little better than the last time I saw you,' Catherine commented as she noted the butterfly strips over his left brow and the bruises along his jaw line.

Rubbing his jaw ruefully, Jones gave Catherine a small smile. "I'm glad to know that I can still hold my own in a fight, although I'm not anxious to try again soon."

Jones listened carefully to the crackling voices coming through the speakers. "You were able to wire up the van?"

Vartann nodded. "Yeah, but we're going to lose it pretty soon. Can you understand any of the conversation?'

The room was suddenly quiet as the voices kept fading in and out.

Listening carefully, Jones could discern his cousin's voice, but the words were garbled. Archie handed Jones a set of headphones, saying, "Here. Try these and see if they help."

The doctor slipped the headset on and took a seat next to the AV technician. Jones shut his eyes and concentrated on the voices he was hearing over the earphones.

After a few moments, Jones opened his eyes and took the headphones off. They had lost the feed. Looking around him, he locked eyes with Scott who sensed that something was wrong.

The young man searched his would-be father's face. Stepping closer to Jones, Scott whispered in a low voice that no one but Jones could hear, "What's wrong? My father isn't doing well, is he? It's worse than you thought, isn't it?"

Jones shook his head and stared into Scott's cobalt blue eyes that were so much like Grissom's. "Grissom is holding his own. Mallory is…is headed to the clinic."

Overhearing, Catherine commented, "We figured that's what he was going to do- to go after whatever he has over Estavez."

Jones said quietly, "I think I know exactly where he's going. I'm pretty sure that he's on the way to Rachel's grave."

" Why? Why would Mallory take Grissom there?" asked Catherine.

Ken Jones spun his chair around and faced the group gathered around him. "Rachel…Rachel's body isn't there. She wanted to be cremated and so she was. I knew she loved the ocean. She and Grissom met in California. Both were from California and grew up near the Pacific. She spoke of her love of the ocean, and if she hadn't become a criminalist, she might have become a marine biologist. After she died, I was going to scatter her ashes off the Santa Monica Pier. It…it's where she and Grissom first met."

Scott stared wide-eyed at the man sitting in the chair before him. "You really did love her, didn't you? Why the pretense of a grave? Where are her ashes? I don't understand why the pretense to have a headstone and grave."

Jones looked up at Scott, quiet desperation in his eyes, as a wan smile crossed his lips. "I did it for you. You needed a connection, something to comfort you…and, in a way, it comforted me too. It helped me to see that you had something to hang on to. Her ashes are being stored at a mortuary in Tonopah. I…I never got the chance to scatter her ashes."

"How do you know Mallory is going to take Grissom to Rachel's grave?" asked Catherine, trying to absorb this newest turn of events.

Jones looked at Catherine and nodded at the headphones in his hands, replying, "I heard him tell Grissom that he knew that Rachel wasn't dead and that he could prove it. I heard him tell Grissom that her body wasn't buried in the grave and that he would show him to prove it to him."

"Why would he do that? What kind of twisted game is he playing at?" Nick asked.

The doctor shrugged, "I think it's part of the game Lucas is playing in order to get Grissom to think that he's being deceived. Who knows? Maybe a way to break Grissom down…maybe a way to control him. I couldn't tell you. I didn't know that Lucas knew about Rachel's body not being in the grave or how he found out about her ashes. "

Sara sat down heavily on the stool next to her. She wasn't sure what she felt at that moment. She wondered what this would do to Grissom. He was already carrying tremendous guilt. This would surely crack whatever stable foundation he had been able to build over the last few weeks since this whole episode had begun.

Turning to Vartann and Catherine, Jones continued, "I assume that you all are headed up there. You'll need me with you to least stabilize Grissom. His meds should be wearing off soon. I think that I can defuse the situation with Rachel."

"Do you really think that you can make him believe you- especially after Mallory gets done with him?" asked Scott quietly.

Catherine looked at both men and came to a quick decision. "You're both coming with us, but…are both of you listening to me? You'll both be with the paramedics and support team. You are not to approach the scene unless you have Brass's, or Vartann's okay. We're already on thin ice having you here at the lab let alone bringing you to a crime scene. You two understand me?"

Both men gave the senior CSI slow nods. Satisfied that they would have no troubles with them, she turned to the Vartann, Nick, and Warrick.

"Okay, guys. Let's hit the road. We've got ground to cover."

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Grissom was beginning to feel his medication starting to wear off. The dull aches that he was able to push to the background were starting to creep forward into his consciousness, making it hard for him to concentrate. Mallory had carefully slipped the gun into the holster and leaned casually against the side of the van observing Grissom. He apparently felt the need to keep a running conversation going with Grissom, trying to get some kind of reaction out of the man. Grissom breathed in deeply and tried to focus on piecing together the shards of memory that kept plaguing him and ignore the constant stream of words that kept running from Mallory's mouth.

"Hey, Grissom. You still with me, man? Hey, I'm still talking to you. I was talking about Rachel," shouted Mallory over the din of the engine and highway noise. He nudged the man's foot roughly.

At the mention of Rachel's name, Grissom's head shot up, focusing his attention on the man grinning like a Cheshire cat before him.

"Wha..what about Rachel?" asked Grissom haltingly.

"I asked if you still love her, Grissom. You still love her, don't you?"

"Rachel was part of my life. She will always be a part of me. Nothing could change that," Grissom breathed in deeply. "She was the mother of my son, but I… I've had to move on."

"What if I told you that she still lives? That Kenny has kept her hidden- what would you say then?"

" Whatever it is, I don't really believe you. What's your point, Mallory?" asked Grissom wearily.

"I know stuff. I know you don't trust me. Actually, I really understand that. However, I know about Rachel. Would you like to see her?"

Grissom eyed his nemesis warily. "What kind of sick game are you playing at? I saw her grave at the clinic. I remember finding her resting place."

Mallory grinned, "Yeah, you found the headstone and grave that Kenny put there. Did you see her body?"

"Why would he fake her death? I wasn't in the picture and not ever likely to be. Your cousin told me he loved her. From what Scott told me he treated her well." Grissom shook his head in disbelief.

Still smiling at Grissom, Mallory leaned forward and patted him on the knee, "Just think about it, my friend. Think about the events of the last few weeks and tell me who has been on your side. If I wanted revenge against you, couldn't I have just killed you with an overdose…" as Mallory continued he slipped the revolver out of its holster, "…or a bullet through your head? Haven't I had ample opportunity to kill you?" He sat back, and let Grissom contemplate all that he said.

Mallory sat back, fingering the revolver in his hand. Glancing over at Grissom, Mallory took note that his eyes were closed. Taking this opportunity, the escaped convict quietly and quickly unwrapped one of the syringes. Crawling over to his intended victim, Mallory plunged the needle into Grissom's neck, emptying the entire contents.

Arching his back, Grissom's eyes flew open with surprise as his arms flew up to push Mallory away from him. Grissom felt the burning sensation of the contents of the syringe course through his body.

Gasping, Grissom rolled over on his side and panted, "Mallory, wha…what did you do?" Swallowing, his tongue suddenly felt as if it had swollen to twice its size. The aches and pains all seemed to suddenly fall away, and Grissom could feel himself drifting. Trying to maintain his focus, he tried to concentrate on maintaining his hold on reality. Within a matter of seconds, the van had taken on a surreal appearance. Grissom tried to get up but found that his arms and legs wouldn't obey his commands. He gazed stupidly at his hands and feet as if they were foreign objects.

"Relax, Gil," said Mallory soothingly, "just rest easy. You don't have to worry about anything. I've taken care of everything. All you have to do is feel good right now."

Grissom looked into the friendly face close to his and simply nodded, having temporarily lost the use of his voice.

Grissom sighed. He did feel good, more relaxed than he had ever remember feeling. There wasn't any pain, just a feeling of peacefulness. What was it that he was so worried or uptight about? He couldn't seem to remember what was so damn important.

"Yes," he slurred," I do feel wonderful. Thank you."

Mallory gave Grissom a wide smile and patted his head as he would a dog, "Yes, my friend. You're welcome. I'm glad that you're feeling so good right now, cuz when you crash from this high, you'll need me to be your best friend."

Grissom smiled back at Mallory. The swaying of the van gently rocked him into a drug-induced haze.

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The chirping of his cell phone had Brass taking out it of his pocket. Checking the caller ID, he answered rather tersely, "Catherine, tell me some good news. You're positive that Mallory's headed back to the clinic and not up that canyon?"

The senior investigator answered calmly, "Jim, I'm positive. The guys and I have already left Vegas and we're just north of Indian Springs. An additional SWAT team is following us up. We've arranged for a paramedic unit from Tonopah on alert, and they won't leave Tonopah until we give the okay. A search and rescue helicopter is on its way to Tonopah in case we need it. Jim, Mallory won't be getting to the clinic until after dark. Obviously, we can't be running lights or we'll tip him off."

"We're not going to wait until daylight this time around. We'll be going in using night vision goggles and infrared to go in. The facility is still treating patients even though Jones is no longer there. There are only a handful of patients who are still being treated or are waiting for another facility to take them. Only one wing of the clinic is open. The others are closed down and locked up. We've already contacted the doctor in charge, and she has alerted the night time staff. The facility is already on lock-down."

"Do you know where that Missions van is right now as we speak?"

"Yeah, it was spotted in Beatty about twenty minutes ago. They gassed up and then took off- didn't even use the facilities there- a place called "The Death Valley Fruit and Nut Company. We left Beatty about fifteen minutes ago. Greg is in constant contact with Archie, and according to the tracker, he's still on 95, though he should be coming to the dirt road that leads to the clinic soon after he leaves Goldfield."

"He should be entering Goldfield in another ten to fifteen minutes. You've alerted Sheriff Taylor that he's on the way?"

"Yeah, the good sheriff is just going to let us know when he passes through. He and a couple of deputies will be helping us out."

Catherine then signed off and as Nick continued to drive, her attention drifted to the darkening desert, hopeful that they would be able to finally get this nightmare behind them. She glanced behind her at Sara. She had that determined "Sara" look to her, and Catherine knew that the young woman was wondering how Grissom would take it when Mallory showed him that the grave was little more than a mound of dirt.

For Sara, the ride north was giving her time to prepare herself for whatever might happen. It seemed that the first time she had first laid eyes on Dr. Gilbert Grissom so many years ago that she had loved him- that she had always loved him. Turning to observe the young man sitting in the next seat, she considered what might be going through the young man's head. Scott's right hand was nervously tapping his knee as he too stared out at the passing scenery. Mallory had not only turned Grissom's life upside down, but he had changed the course of whatever kind of normal life Scott might have had. Sara had no doubt that Grissom would have been a kind and wonderful father. She just hoped that he would have a chance to prove that to his son and to himself.

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Mallory straightened up and peered out at the growing darkness.

"Where are we? Have we passed through Goldfield yet? I told you to tell me when we passed through it."

Manny looked at the tanned face of the man peering at him over his shoulder. "We're just coming up to it. How's that passenger of yours? He's been pretty out of it for a while."

"Oh, he's doing just fine," said Mallory with a smirk. "Hey, Grissom! The driver's kinda worried about ya. Tell him you're fine."

Mallory nudged the drugged man roughly with his foot. Grissom's head lolled to the side, and he fell over, his head hitting the rough metal of the van floor with a loud thud.

"See," said Mallory brightly, "he's doing just fine- plenty of spirit."

As Manny glanced in his rearview mirror, he could see the man struggling to move his arms and legs in an effort to sit up. Licking his lips nervously, Manny considered the consequences if Grissom were to die.

"Umm, don't you think you friend could use some coffee or somethin' to wake him up a bit. I mean, it seems to me, that he's in a bad way. Y'know what I mean?"

"Hey, remember- you're just the driver. Grissom's my problem-you just drive, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Manny said grudgingly, wrinkling his brow as he glanced back at an obviously suffering Grissom.

Tapping Manny on the shoulder, Mallory said tersely, "About five miles outside of Goldfield you'll see a dirt road on the left. That will be Dry Canyon Road. Take that road. Follow that for about five or ten miles. I can't quite remember, but, anyway, you'll see a compound of buildings. That's where we're headed. When you see the compound, cut the lights in case there are guards watching for intruders. Got that?"

Manny nodded that he understood and continued to speed along the highway.

Some fifteen minutes later, Manny spotted the dirt road in the growing twilight. He switched on his headlights and took the left onto Dry Canyon Road.

Feeling the rough road under them, Mallory squatted next to Manny to observe the surroundings. He glanced behind him out the back windows and was satisfied that there was no one following them.

Laying a hand on Manny's shoulder, Mallory ordered the man to cut the headlights. "We'll be there soon. Best you cut the lights. I don't want any complications."

"It's getting' kinda hard to see out here," Manny warned.

"Just drive a little slower. There's almost a full moon tonight. There should be enough light to get safely there. We don't want to be seen. I don't even know if it's completely closed down or not. Just be careful, okay?"

Manny nodded and slowed the van down to a crawl. Satisfied that Estavez's man would get them to the clinic in one piece, Mallory turned his attention to Grissom.

Carefully making his way back to Grissom who was lying on his side, Mallory hauled the man up into a sitting position against the wall of the van. Slapping him sharply across the face, Mallory said loudly, "Hey Grissom, time to wake up, buddy. Open those baby-blues. I know you're in there somewhere."

Gil Grissom blinked owlishly at the figure squatting before him. His head was filled with cotton and his arms and legs felt like lead weights.

"Wha..what?" he croaked, trying to form words that seemed just beyond his reach. Confusion was reigning supreme in Grissom's mind and he was having a hard time getting his bearings.

"There you are. So how was your trip? You feeling okay?" Mallory asked with glee.

"M…Mallory, what did you give me?" Grissom said shakily as he felt the effects of the drugs starting to wan. Pain was beginning to inch its way into his consciousness, and his nerves were wound so tight that he felt that he might just snap in half. At the moment, all he could remember was the feeling of euphoria and the wanting to get back to that peaceful place.

"Something that made you feel better, but the downhill trip is a real bummer. I'm sure that you're feeling it right now," Mallory said drily as he eyed Grissom critically. "How's the pain? Nausea? Dizziness?"

Nodding his head, Grissom admitted weakly, "Yeah, all of it. I…I don't remember ever feeling this bad."

Sitting back on his heels, Mallory gave Grissom a small smile. "Grissom, we're almost back to the clinic. You remember the clinic, don't you?"

Taking a moment for his head to clear, Grissom peered up at Mallory, his face looking somewhat ghostly because of the waning light. "Y..yes, I was at the clinic with you and another doctor."

"Right, do you remember why you were there?"

Grissom didn't answer as flashbacks of his experiences hit him full force. Looking at Mallory and then seeing the two remaining syringes laid out on the floor of van acted as a trigger. Swallowing hard, he remembered. He remembered, and he knew that Mallory wasn't what he pretended to be.

"Grissom, hey, are you with me? Did you hear what I asked you? Do you remember why you were at the clinic?"

Carefully, Grissom averted his eyes away from Mallory and then looked down at his feet. The tremors and pain were both coming back full force. Clenching right fist and holding his left arm close to his body, the entomologist spoke softly, being careful to tell him the information he had been fed before, "Yes, I was going through detoxification for drug addiction. Supposedly after my treatment was finished, I was going to be sent to the state penitentiary."

"That's right, Grissom. What else do you remember?"

"You told me that Rachel didn't die in the explosion. It was a ruse that she and you planned together because of my drug addiction- that she had to do that because it was the only way she and Scott could be safe from my abuse."

"Okay. I was afraid that we would have to start your treatments all over. We're almost to the clinic. I want to prove to you that my cousin, Ken Jones, lied to you about Rachel. He led you to believe that she was dead, but I happen to know that her grave is an empty one. He's keeping her from you. He's been lying to you all along."

Manny called back to Mallory, "Hey, we're almost there. I can see the lights around the complex. Do you want me to pull up front?"

"No, pull around back. You'll see an area that looks like a large garden. Park next to the building nearest to the garden. There is also a shed outside of the building. There should be gardening tools in there. Get a shovel from there and then come back here to help me get Grissom out of the van."

A few minutes later, the van pulled up next to the out building Mallory had described. While Manny proceeded to retrieve the shovel from the gardening shed, Mallory tucked the two remaining syringes into his T-shirt pocket and helped Grissom out of the van. The escaped convict backed Grissom up against the van and braced him against the van to help him stand.

The tremors were steadily worsening but Mallory wanted to wait for Grissom to ask, rather beg, for relief. He was sure that it wouldn't be long before the pain, nausea, chills, and tremors would overwhelm his victim.

As Manny approached with the shovel, Mallory took the shovel and ordered the young gang member to help Grissom up the slight embankment to where the small cemetery lay. Tentatively Manny draped Grissom's right arm around his shoulders and half carried , half dragged the suffering man up to where Rachel Grissom's grave was located.

"Put him over there," said Mallory, indicating a stone bench located near the headstone. Grissom collapsed onto the bench, panting and leaning on his good arm to keep himself up.

Handing the shovel to his driver, Mallory ordered the young man to start removing the pavers that surrounded the grave and start digging.. Manny gave him a startled look.

"Look, man. I'm not digging up no dead body. I'm just supposed to drive you where you want to go, get a package from you, and then take you to Estavez to get the rest of your money. No way am I doin' this."

"You'll do it, or you're a dead man," threatened Mallory, taking the gun out and pointing it at Manny's head.

Manny took a step forward and reluctantly grabbed the shovel from Mallory. As Manny started digging up the grave, Mallory turned to Grissom.

"I'm going to prove to you that Kenny lied to you. Something valuable is buried here; it's just not your dead wife."

Grissom stared at Mallory. "It doesn't prove anything. It doesn't change the fact that my wife and son were taken from me. It doesn't matter who was responsible any more. This is all a sick game, and I'm tired of playing," breathed Grissom softly.

Mallory studied Grissom for a minute. "What is it that you want, Gil? Where is your fight? So you want this all to be over? Do you want all the pain to be over? I thought that this might help- to see that Kenny, the one person you thought was helping you, really wasn't your friend at all."

Grissom took in a deep breath. To tell the truth, he was tired. He was tired of feeling trapped, of not being in control, of feeling guilty, and being in pain.

"Yes, Lucas, I want all this to be over. I want to feel whole again- to be in control. It's…it's been so long. I don't know what it's like not, not feel pain, or to not shake so much that I think that my insides will come loose. I thought I had put Rachel to rest, but now she haunts me. I just want to forget and to put all of this," he said through clenched teeth, waving his hand toward Mallory and the still digging Manny, "all behind me- just to send it all away."

"Grissom, I understand. You don't think I do, but I do understand what you are going through. That's why I want to help you. We've been through too much together for me to see you suffer like this. I can make it better for you, and, in the end, you'll thank me."

Manny was now standing chest deep in a pit and turned to Mallory. He leaned against the shovel. "Hey, there isn't a coffin here. Hell, there ain't even a body buried here. It's just an empty grave."

His attention momentarily diverted from Grissom, Mallory replied, "Yeah, I know, but I needed my friend to see that I wasn't lying to him. I do want you to dig along the right side of the grave where those pavers were. You should hit a metal box about a foot down."

Manny stared at Mallory briefly, then nodded and proceeded to pry up the pavers and quickly dig down into the dirt.

"What's so important in the box, Mallory?" asked Grissom in a ragged voice. He blinked to focus his eyes as the moon rise gave the scene a surreal quality.

Turning back to Grissom who sat trembling on the stone bench, Mallory smirked, "In the box is a disk which contains all of my contacts including members of the Knights and other gangs in Vegas who have become police informants. It also has details on the newest street drug out there- a very addictive one I might add. The information on that disk is priceless."

Relieved that he wouldn't have to deal with a dead body, Manny tackled digging where the pavers were. However, he had to think quickly. He had to do something. Vartann and his posse would be there soon. He wasn't sure whether to allow the police to have the disk. He was sure of one thing. He couldn't in any way allow Estavez to have possession of that disk or he, Tonya, and his baby would be dead. In no time, he hit the metal box and brushing the dirt away, handed the box to Mallory.

"What I have here, gentlemen, is our ticket to paradise. Remember Grissom, I told you that I had something valuable here. Well, this is the answer to your problems. When I turn this over to Estavez, you and I will be on our way and you won't have any worries," said Mallory with a grin.

Opening the box, Mallory held up a computer disk and showed Grissom that the box was packed the rest of the way with filled vials. Smiling widely, he turned to Grissom, "This is the stuff that made you feel so wonderful. It's fairly new, Grissom, and you turned out to be pretty resistant to this stuff. The research says that an average person develops a dependence on this stuff within two or three trips, but you, you were able to take pretty steady diet of the stuff before your body became dependent."

In reality, it took five days of constantly giving Grissom the drug to truly get him hooked. Then Mallory gave him a cocaine, heroin, and diazepam cocktail just to throw his body's chemistry off-kilter even further.

Manny pulled the gun that he had hidden in the back of his pants, and pointed the gun at Mallory.

"No, I don't think so, man. I want you to put down the box next Grissom. Then you're going to inject him with both syringes that are in your pocket. After that you're going to get over here down in this grave where you'll die from a bullet."

Mallory's face contorted with anger. "I should have known better than to trust Estavez. We had a deal!"

Grissom looked up at the gang member with the gun. The familiarity of Manny's face clicked. "You're Manny Fierro. I…I remember you. One of Vartann's informants, aren't you?"

"Ah, Grissom, you remember me. Then you know why I can't let you live or why I need to kill Mallory. If Estavez gets a hold of that disk, I'm as good as dead. There's nowhere me or my family can hide. I can't chance it."

Mallory looked at Manny and hoped to bargain his way out. "Look, you can have the disk, then. Just let me go. You can even have the twenty thousand that's in the van."

"No way. The cops will be here any minute. The van had a transmitter on it. They know we're here. I can destroy the disk and hide some of the stuff so that Tonya and I will be set for life. The only way I'll be safe is if both of you are dead so you just do what I told you to do."

Grissom struggled to stand up and in an unsteady voice said, "Manny, I get it. You can't take the chance that Estavez gets a hold of any of that information on that disk. Listen to me, the authorities can protect you- put you in the witness protection program. If you kill both of us, you'll be charged with murder."

"You're wrong, Grissom. I can say that I shot Mallory in self-defense trying to save you from him. You'll die from an overdose. Sorry, man. This is the only way; so Mallory get those syringes out and inject them into Grissom. Do it, and do it now," said Manny desperately glancing around for the law enforcement that he was sure to arrive any minute.

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A/N: As you can see, this chapter was twice as long as the usual chapters. I wanted this one to be the last chapter with an epilogue. However, that didn't quite ring true. Good news is that the last chapter is ¾ done and should be posted in less than a week. Please review about this chapter as it was a difficult one to get through. Thanks becky.