Chapter Two
Gil stood up straight and stretched. He had been stooped over for forty minutes dusting for and lifting prints. He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. Greg Sanders looked up from where he was collecting samples. He looked at the older man with raised eyebrows.
"You ok, Grissom?"
"Yeah." Gil shook his head. "I think I may be getting too old for this."
Greg smirked and decided against making one of his typical, smart ass remarks.
"You know, we're almost done here." Greg offered. "I could finish up here if you want to go back to the lab and start the paperwork."
Gil didn't miss the playful twinkle in the young blonds eyes.
"What?" Gil narrowed his eyes with the same playful demeanor. "Do you want to be suspended, Greg?"
"How about rock, paper, scissors then?" He suggested after a short pause to think.
Gil raised an eyebrow and looked him in the eye.
"You, have been spending way too much time with Nick and Warrick."
"Come on," Greg challenged, holding out one of his fists. "What have you got to lose?"
"My dignity, for one."
Gil wasn't sure if he was amused or annoyed. He was sure though that if he was annoyed it was only because he was tired. Somewhat reluctantly, he held out his right fist and, copying Greg's chant and following his actions, played the simple children's game. After three fist pumps Greg held out a flat hand and Gil stood with a defeated look on his face, still holding out his fist.
"Paper beats rock every time." He gloated.
"Boss fires horrible employee… every time."
Gil tried to hide his smile, but Greg saw it and a triumphant smile stretched across his face. He threw his arms up over his head.
"I am the winner!" He yelled.
Outside the remaining police officer looked up at the open door and shook his head before returning to look down at his cell phone.
"Alright," Gil laughed. "Which one do you want?"
Greg took a moment to think, even though he had already made his decision.
"I…want…crime scene."
Gil let out a long, disgusted sigh and bent down to gather his things. After closing his kit he stood back up and gathered the already bagged evidence.
"I'll take this back to the lab." He said, looking at the still triumphantly smiling Greg.
"I won't forget this, Greg." He wagged his finger as he headed towards the door. "Especially when evaluations come around."
He could hear Greg laughing as he made his way down the concrete walk. He bid the officer farewell as he walked to his black Denali. He put his kit and the evidence in the back seat and paused for a moment to look at the view of the sun rising over the horizon. A light breeze blew through his curly locks and he smiled as he took in a breath of fresh air.
Greg watched through the broken living room window as Gil drove away. He still couldn't believe that Gil Grissom had just played rock, paper, scissors with him and lost at that. He looked around and determined what was left to be done. He had just gone back to the window that he was dusting for prints when he heard a noise in the kitchen. His brow furrowed with confusion and he wondered what could possibly be walking through the other room. He ignored the feeling that he should call for the officer and slowly stepped towards the kitchen. He stepped inside and was instantly grabbed from behind. A strong arm wrapped around his neck and his right arm was twisted behind his back.
"Help!" He screamed.
A fist came out of the dark and hit him across the mouth. Within seconds he heard the officer run into the kitchen and when the officer grabbed for the first assailant Greg tried to twist out of the man's grip. The man let go of his choke hold, but not Greg's arm and as Greg twisted out of the man's grasp he felt a surge of pain shoot up and down his right arm as his elbow was torn from its socket. He screamed out in pain as he dropped to his knees, holding his injured arm. He was grabbed by the second man and pushed face first
onto the tile floor. While the officer struggled with the first assailant a third stepped from the shadows and held a gun up to the young mans head.
"That's enough!" He yelled.
The officer let go of the man and when the man turned around he drilled his fist into the officers stomach, effectively dropping him to his knees. Greg turned his head to see what was happening and as he did a deafening shot rang out and the officers body dropped to the floor in front of Greg and lay still. Greg's eyes widened in horror as he watched the dark blood quickly begin to pool around the dead mans head. He felt the cold steel of handcuffs being slapped onto his wrists then heard duct tape being pulled off its roll and torn from the rest. The man covered Greg's mouth with the duct tape and pulled him to his feet. Greg's cries of pain were muffled by the tape as the first assailant, who had grabbed Greg and dislocated his elbow, lifted him and draped him over his shoulder.
"Shut up," A cold voice warned. "Or we'll beat you until your unconscious."
Though Greg forced himself to be quiet he did nothing to stop his tears. The pain in his arm made him feel like he was going to pass out, but the fear that clutched his heart kept him wide awake. Every step the man took a step it sent fresh pain through the appendage.
The cool, early morning air touched his skin as they went out the back door and into the alley. He heard the sound of a sliding door and was thrown into the back of a van. He landed on his injured arm and couldn't hold back the scream of pain as he slipped into darkness.
"Come on, boy." A man gently urged.
The sound of the voice wandered to Greg's ears.
Grissom! He thought, hopefully. You've come to rescue me!
Slowly the darkness began to turn to light as he was coming back into a conscious state of mind.
"Grissom?" He mumbled the question.
He was instantly awake when a hand slapped him hard across the face. He groaned loudly as his head was snapped around. He tried to throw his arms up to block if a second hit was coming but could move his arms. They were cuffed to the chair he was sitting on. When he tugged at his right arm a fresh wave of pain shot through the limb. His head dropped and he felt the panic begin to rise in him.
Definitely not Grissom!
"Calm down, kid." The voice instructed. "Before you hyperventilate or something."
Greg then realized that his breathing was rapid and he forced himself to take slow, deep breaths until he was finally calmed back down to a reasonable rate. After a few minutes he forced himself to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. When he looked up he saw a tall man standing before him. Greg estimated him to be at least six feet tall. He wore a black ski mask and matching black tee shirt, jeans and boots. For a second Greg wondered if his socks matched the rest of his outfit but mentally shook himself. He needed to stay focused. If he got out of this he wanted to be able to give as much detail as possible. Not if! He scolded himself. When. The team will find me.
He heard shuffling feet behind him and two more men walked around so that they stood in his line of vision. They wore the same outfits, except one of them didn't wear a tee shirt. He wore a nice looking black dress suit. The Boss. Greg entitled him in the back of his mind. When the man spoke Greg decided it was true.
"Well mister…" He looked at Greg's badge which he held up in his hand. "Sanders."
The Boss bent over so that he was eye level with Greg. An overwhelming sense of fear took hold of him as he looked into the dark eyes of his kidnapper.
"W-what, what do you want from me?" He stammered.
The Boss's lips curled up in a sneer.
"I want you to sit there, like the good little boy that I'm sure you are, and play bait."
Bait! Greg's mind raced. Bait for what?!
"W-What?"
"You'll see what I mean."
The Boss stood back up and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a cell phone that Greg recognized as his. He watched the man casually flip open the phone and scroll through the list of numbers until he found the one he was looking for. He pressed the call button and held the phone to his ear. After a few seconds the man began to speak.
"Mister Grissom."
Greg's brow creased with confusion. He thought he detected a sound of great satisfaction in the man's voice, not the threatening tone that he expected.
"You're in no position to ask questions." The Boss warned.
He turned to look at Greg and the sneer had changed to a sadistic smile and the hate in the his eyes made Greg tense.
"Are you missing something, Mister Grissom? Or someone, I should say."
Greg mentally kicked himself when he realized what was happening. If I hadn't been so stupid. He scolded himself. The Boss reached his bare hand out and caressed Greg's face. Greg turned away but the Boss's smile only grew wider.
"He's a very handsome, young man this Gregory Sanders."
Greg's heart froze at the thought of what his voice suggested. He shut his eyes tight and tried to force out the horrible images that were appearing in his mind.
"Nothing yet." The Boss reassured. "He's not what I want."
Another pause.
"It's not what I want." The Boss teased. "But who."
"You, Mister Grissom." The Boss continued calmly after a long pause. "I want you."
Greg's racing mind stopped when the words forced their way into his brain.
He wants Grissom? Holy Shit! A new self-hatred welled in him when he realized that he had been set up. Officer Talbot is dead because of me and now they want Grissom. Didn't Talbot have a wife and kids? He knew that Grissom would most likely do whatever was asked of him and that made Greg hate himself all the more.
"Would you like to speak with him, Mister Grissom?"
The boss held the phone down to Greg's ear.
"Talk." He ordered.
"Grissom?" He failed at trying not to let his voice sound shaky.
He wanted to hide the fear so that Grissom wouldn't worry as much. He knew had to do something or say something to deter Grissom from giving in to any demands.
"Don't do anything he says." Greg said hurriedly before he could be cut off.
The Boss ripped the phone away from Greg's ear and backhanded him hard across the right side of his face. He tried to stifle a groan as his head was once again snapped around. He vaguely thought he heard his name yelled from the phone speaker but wasn't sure.
"Temper, temper Mister Grissom." The Boss soothed mockingly.
The Boss's eyes flashed in anger and his voice changed to treachery.
"You're hardly in any position to make threats!" He snapped.
Greg could taste copper as blood from his split lip oozed into his mouth. Once again he forced himself to calm and regained control of his breathing. His head felt like it was spinning and he gently closed his eye's to make the room stop moving.
"Do you know what the round of a forty-five can do to a human skull?" The Boss continued.
An image of Officer Talbot flashed in Greg's mind. The man laying in front of him, most of his skull gone and the blood pooling around his head, slowly making its way to wear Greg helplessly lay close by.
"Do you want to see young Gregory alive again?"
Greg's mind froze as the words drifted through his daze.
Alive again?! His mind screamed. They're going to kill me! His heart skipped a beat and he gasped at the thought. The Boss looked at Greg and smiled a victorious smile.
"Good, then you will do exactly what I tell you to do. He shouldn't have to pay for your crimes."
His words were cold and Greg didn't miss them. He couldn't possibly imagine any crimes that Gil Grissom would have committed. He was one of the good guys. Wasn't he?
"Your silence tells me that I have your attention." He paused for the response. "Good, I don't like to repeat myself."
Greg heard the warning in The Boss's voice and it reminded him of a teacher he'd had in the third grade who used to talk down to the students like they were just dumb kids.
"You will stay there until you hear from me again." He commanded.
"Oh," He said as if remembering one last detail. "And the next time you go out to Henderson be sure to take a body bag."
He shut the phone and slipped it back into his jacket pocket. He looked at Greg with a sadistic smile and again caressed the side of his face.
"Let's hope for your sake, he's as smart as he claims to be."
The insult, although small, made Greg mad. Grissom was smart. He had taught Greg everything he knew about being a Crime Scene Investigator and he couldn't just let an insult like that about his mentor slide.
"You better believe he's smart. He'll find me and you'll sitting in jail cell crying for your mother." Greg spat out.
The three of them laughed and walked out of the dank room, locking the door behind them. To his right Greg noticed the plain table against the wall and to his left he saw chains hanging from the ceiling that were separated by the two foot steel bar that hung between them. He swallowed hard and silently prayed that the team found him soon. Then he was plunged into darkness as the over head light was turned off.
TBC
A/T: I did my own Beta reading so any mistakes are mine. Keep sending me reviews, I like to hear what you guys thinkJ Gil Grissom, secret criminal??? Hmmmm.
