Chapter 12
As Sara drove through down town she noticed that almost all traffic had disappeared, police cars was blocking almost every sideway, which made her speed up even more. As she crossed the city limit she pressed the bike to its max. Sara had never been driving that fast before, the speedometer was showing 165 mph, even for her it was a bit frightening, but she had to get to Greg before it was too late. Sara jumped off her bike in front of the shelter 22.56 minutes after the call to the lab. Sara walked into the shelter, flashlight in on hand gun in the other; she thought about calling Greg's name but didn't. If the kidnapper still were around, she didn't wanted them know she was here.
Sara walked down the hallway, letting the light flash over the doors; since only one of the doors had a key in it, she went over to that one and opened it. Pressing herself up against the wall she kicked the door wide open… nothing, she could see dim light coming out of the room, she took a deep breath and walked into the room, she could see two persons sitting on the floor; she pointed her gun at them:
"CSI Sidle, identify yourself!" Sara called out.
"Sara..? What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Frisco!" Greg asked in confusion.
"Yeah well, it seems the minute I turn me back on you, you get yourself into troubles," Sara smirked, turning the light on in the room. "Mark, are you alright?" Sara asked as she walked to stand beside them.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Mark whispered, turning to see Sara staring at him intently.
"Okay, then I want you to get the hell out of here, the minute you get outside you start running, and you don't stop until you're at least two miles down the road" she ordered him.
"But I..."
"Mark do as she say, get the fuck out of here before you start pissing her off, and bring hell down on yourself!" Greg growled tersely.
Mark got up and quickly left the room, murmuring "good luck."
Sara turned to Greg, "let's take a look at you, shall we?"
Warrick looked at Nick and chuckled, "still want a ride on that bike?"
Nick looked back, "hell no, not if Sara is driving!"
"I'll take a drive with her any day," Ann grinned.
"Bet you would," Sofia murmured.
Sara was talking with Gibson over the phone, she had taped the bomb with her phone, and sent it to the computer, and was now waiting for Gibson's verdict.
"It looks pretty simple! But there are some wires I'm not sure about, they could have a function, or they are just put there to confuse, I really can't tell over the computer," Gibson explained.
"Can I take the vest off him as long as I don't disconnect any of the wires?" Sara inquired.
"I should think so; the bomb is made with dynamite, so it needs a detonator to go off."
"Sara what does the time says?" Grissom asked.
"Four minutes," she answered. She was working on Greg's vest, when she suddenly raised, "shit," she cried out. "Gibson we got a problem! I'd found a heat device inside the vest."
"Well, that would explain the extra wires. Don't try to remove the vest; the minute the heater goes below body temperature, the whole thing will explode" Gibson explained.
Greg's face had gone from pale to ash grey. "Sara, please get out of here while you still can" he whispered.
"Greg there's no way in hell I'm leaving you so just forget it. Gibson, the heater will go off if it's get under body temperature, but what happens if it gets a lot warmer?"
"As long as you don't melt it, it shouldn't be a problem; it could even give you some more time, why?"
"I got an idea." Greg come on, we need to get out of here!
Greg licked his lips nervously. "Sara I …"
"Greg we're running out of time, so the last things I need right now is to have a quarrel with you, so get on your feet and move it!"
Greg got up and followed Sara outside; Sara went straight to her bike and turned it on.
"Okay Greg, get over here. Now hold on to your vest while I cut it open so we can pull it over your head." She said, trying to maintain her calm.
"Sara you heard Gibson, we can't remove my vest, we will blow up," Greg was really starting to panic now.
Sara could hear Greg was about to lose it, so she placed both her hands on each side of Greg's neck and forced him to look into her eyes. "Greg, you have to trust me, I will get us out of this, but I need your help, I need for you to do as I say. You're my best friend and I'm not going to lose you today, okay? Hell I might even kiss you, when all of this is over."
Despite the situation Warrick couldn't help laughing, "Damn girl, you can't say things like that, you're going to give the poor kid, a heart attack."
Greg started chuckling, "on the mouth, and I'll do whatever you say" he challenged.
"You gotta give him credit" Nick snickered "he's pushing it to the limit."
"Down boy, now get down on your knees," Sara said. "Now I want you to get as close to the exhaust pipe as possible, and hold on to your vest will I cut it."
Greg finally understood what Sara had in mind, "do you think it will work?"
"I sure hope so, ´cause it's the only thing I can come up with. Okay, let's try to get the vest off you."
After a few attempts, they finally managed to get the vest of Greg; Sara kept holding it close to the exhaust pipe.
"Okay, get on the bike Greg," Sara said, he did as he was told. Sara handed him the vest, "hold it while I get on the bike." Again, Greg did as told. Sara put on her helmet and turned her head to face Greg. "Okay, on the count of three, you let go of the vest!"
"Sara I …" Greg didn't know what to say how to explain.
Sara smiled; she knew exactly how Greg was feeling. "I know Greg me too. Let's get the hell out of here, huh? All or nothing..?"
"Yeah, all or nothing," Greg whispered.
"Three… Two… One…" Greg let the vest fall to the ground as Sara accelerated, and off they went Sara pressing the bike to its max.
Five miles before the cars reached their destination, a deafening explosion was heard a ball of red and yellow fire could be seen in the sky. They could taste the acrid smoke that filled the air, and as they got closer, the air was becoming so thick with dust, that they barely could see anything.
Everyone was holding their breath, waiting to hear either Sara or Greg's voice, but not a word was heard the line had turned silent.
Two miles further down the road, they were met by a totally fatigued Mark, Sofia pulled over and Ann jumped out of the car.
"God Mark, am I glad to see you? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Ann, just a little out of breath" Mark reassured.
"Greg, Sara have you seen them?" Nick asked.
Mark shook his head, "No, they didn't come this way."
Sofia's whole body was shivering; she walked back to the car and picked up the police radio and started talking." This is Detective Curtis, I need for all of the cars to spread out and start searching, for CSI Sara Sidle and Greg Sanders. They may be injured so work fast but thoroughly. Okay let's go find them..!"
Sara brought the bike to a stop and they both got off. Greg walked over and sat on a rock, his whole body was shaking. Sara went over to him and put her arms around him, and just held him for a long time. Finally he relaxed and Sara pulled away and sat right beside him.
"Wow, that was close," Greg said tersely, turning his head to the right to look at Sara.
"Yeah, too damn close, if you ask me!" Sara offered, as much for herself as for him.
Greg looked down, on his hands. "I thought I was going to die, and I guess I would have, if it hadn't been for you."
Sara didn't know what to say, "I don't know Greg, but the main thing is that you didn't."
"I know but…" Greg sighed, "but…why me..? Us..? What have we ever done, than to try helping people, it's not fair?" Tears were running down his cheeks now. "I don't think, I deserve to die for doing my job, and you could have lost your life too, because, you're too damn stubborn to stay away."
Sara put her arm around Greg, "you can't take it personally Greg. We work in a job where someone always will end up hating us. Be the victim's side, for not solving the case, or the criminal's side, for solving it. But you can't let it get to you, because, if you do? It will end up destroying you, and if that happen?" Sara pause, "not only, will the bad side win, but we will also be losing a very talented CSI."
Greg looked into Sara's eyes and saw nothing, but truth there. "I really missed you, I'm so glad that you came back to help finding me."
"Yeah," Sara smirked, "but answer me this? Is there anything you won't do, to get me back to have breakfast with you?"
Greg was laughing so much he fell down from the rock, laying on the ground he finally managed to stutter, "ap..pa..rent..ly not." Greg finally stop laughing and looked at Sara, "perhaps we should call someone, and let them know that we're okay."
Sara took out her phone, "sorry can't do Greggo there's no signal."
They both look down the road where a car was coming towards them; it came to a stop and a young police man walk over to them.
"Hello, are you Sara and Greg?"
"Yes we are," Greg answered friendly.
"Very glad to meet you, I'm Officer Moore, are you alright?"
"We're fine; can you call our team and let them know? I can't get a signal on my phone," Sara said.
"I'm right on it," he said walking back to the car. "This is Officer Moore, I've found the two missing CSI, both in fine condition," he told where they were, and went back to Greg and Sara.
"Quite a day the two of you have had!"
"Yeah, tell me about it, did Mark Underwood make it?" Greg asked.
"Yes he is fine, a little tired after all the running, but fine" the officer confirmed.
More cars began to show up. Sofia stopped the car and all four got out. Warrick and Nick ran over and jumped on Greg, and once again he was lying on the ground.
"Guys get off me," Greg cried out. "I didn't survive a bomb, only to be suffocated by you two," but he couldn't help laughing.
Ann ran over and hugged Sara; she took a step back and said. "Hate me, but from now on you truly are going to be my hero."
"Thank you Ann, that's sweet, but what I did was actually very foolish, so don't you ever go do a thing like that, you might not be as lucky as we were." Sara replied kindly but firm.
Sofia walked slowly towards the team, not quite sure about what to do, but before she figured it out Greg was pulling her in for a big hug; none of them spoke, holding each other was enough.
Warrick and Nick were getting ready to jump Sara, but she warned them not to get any ideas, so they just hugged her.
Mark was talking to Greg; he wanted to know how they had managed to get away without being blown up.
Sara looked ad Sofia, who was looking into the desert. "She looks so tired, so fragile, so lost." Sara thought. Warrick came up standing beside Sara, he follow her gaze towards the young Detective.
"Have you talked to her, after you got back?" Warrick asked, exchanging an intense stare with Sara.
"Talked to whom?" Sara asked. Well aware of, whom Warrick was referring too.
"Gee… Sara, I don't know take a wild guess!"
"No I haven't, hell I haven't even talked to you, or Nick, or anyone else for that matter. Look Warrick, I know you mean well, but I really don't wanna have this conversation right now. I'm tired and all I want to do is go home and get some sleep, okay?"
Warrick smiled, "sure Sara, guess I'll see you later."
"Yeah later Warrick," Sara walked over to Greg. "Greg I'm leaving, I need to go home and get some sleep. Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine Sara; I'm driving back to town with the guys, so I'll see you later."
"Yes you will and Greg anything… call me." Sara walked over to her bike turned it on and left.
Sara was in the layout room taking all the copies down from the walls, when Captain
Curtis walked in.
"Miss Sidle..!"
Sara turned and faced the voice. "Captain Curtis, what can I do for you; I don't think Sofia is here, yet?"
"Oh, I'm not looking for Sofia, Miss Sidle. I just thought I would come by and thank you personally for getting Mark back in one piece."
"Oh.., uh thank you," Sara suddenly felt very shy. "But this was a team effort, I was just the one with the fastest wheels, and I do recall getting help from a lot of squad cars."
The Captain laughed, "Glad to help. Oh, Ann says hey, you have made quite a big impression on her."
Sara laughed, "yeah well, she's still very young, it didn't take that much."
"I don't know about that Miss Sidle, it takes quite a bit to impress my daughter, and just like Ann, she thinks very highly of you" Dana said cryptically.
Sara was starting to feel very embarrassed and uncomfortable; she could feel her head flush. "Oh! I like Sofia too. I think she is very good at her job, and she did a great job as a CSI. And just call me Sara."
"Okay Sara, so do you and Sofia see each other outside of work? I would imagine, the two of you having a lot in common." Dana asked lightly.
"No not really, we have had breakfast with the rest of the team, but except from that, no!"
"Why not?" The captain asked gravely, giving her an intense look.
"I don't know" Sara said shortly.
What the hell can I say, sorry, but your daughter doesn't like me.
She shrugged, "We never really talked about anything else than work, so I wouldn't know if we have anything in common, and with our work schedules there's never much time for a private life."
The Captain looked pensive. "No I guess not," she said. "Well, I better let you get back to your work; it was nice meeting you Sara keep up the good work. Oh…" the Captain turned on her way out. "Say hey to Sofia for me, if you see her, will you?"
"Sure," Sara said, going back to her work.
The team was gathered in the break room going over the case, according to the evidence the Hunt family was the ones behind the kidnapping, but by the time Catherine and Brass had arrived at the house, the couple had been long gone.
"Well, every policeman in Nevada are looking for them, but my guess is, that they already have left the state," Brass concluded.
"They will turn up, eventually," Catherine said. "There is an arrest warrant out for them, in every data base in the country."
"Okay, guess we can't do nothing more than wait. Greg, you are going home on a sick leave, you can't work in the lab before you have been evaluated by a psychologist," Grissom stated.
"But I'm fine," Greg protested.
"Drop it Greg, its lab policy, might as well enjoy your days off," Catherine smiled.
Sara looked at Grissom, "I've finished my report and it's on your desk, so I guess I'm out of here" she exclaimed as she got up. "Well Greggo boy, since you're not allowed being here, what do you say? Want to get the breakfast I owe you?"
"You're on," Greg smirked. "And I want my kiss too!"
"Later," Sara chuckled on her way out the door. "Greg, I didn't promise I said might!"
Greg sighed; "Well it was worth a try."
After ordering breakfast and coffee, they went over and sat in a booth.
"So, you're leaving again?" Greg said, more a statement than a question.
"Yeah, that was the plan."
"Two months isn't enough? You know, you don't have to use all six month."
Sara laughed, "I know Greg, but this has nothing to do with time."
Greg exhaled deeply, "I know." He leaned forward, elbows on the table head resting in his hands. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it about?"
Sara lit up a smoke, and for a long time she just looked out the window, Greg was beginning to think she wouldn't answer him, but she finally looked back at him. …"My life!"
"I don't know how to explain it Greg, hell I'm not even sure I understand it myself. I just for a while now have been feeling like my life has come to a stop, I work, -eat, -sleep, and that's all. I ran in to an old friend when Grissom sent me to Frisco for the seminar, and talking about old days made me realize…"
Sara paused searching for the right words… "How measly my life in Vegas is. It's not like I didn't worked a lot back when, because I did always have. But I actually managed to have hobbies beside work. I always liked hiking, -rock climbing and surfing, and believe it or not?" Sara wiggled her eyebrows, "I even went out now and when. The truth is, I want some of those things back in my life, but as long as I stay in Vegas I don't think that's going to happen. I'm afraid I'll just keep on working until I finally burnout." Sara sighed; "I don't know Greg, maybe if I had someone in my life to drag me away from work things would be different."
Greg stayed silent for a moment, Sofia crossing his mind. He knew what he wanted to say, but this was Sara and he didn't want to die today. But finally he spoke. "I know you gave up or grew out of your crush on Grissom a long time ago. But he isn't the only person in Vegas you know. I don't know if you have notice? But there are other people, who wouldn't mind being a part of your life!"
Sara snorted, "Greg stop torture yourself, it's not going to happen."
"A man can dream." Greg chuckled sardonically. "But I wasn't thinking about myself."
Sara raised an eyebrow, "then who?" She asked looking quite confused.
Greg shrugged, debating how much information to supply. "You really don't know?"
Sara started looking slightly irritated. "No I don't, if I did, I wouldn't ask."
"Boy, am I glad, you're an Investigator, and not a Detective," he said. – Hopping Sara would pick up on it.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Sara growled. "Do you know something, I don't?"
Greg swallowed hard, not sure about what to say. It was not, like Sofia had admitted anything to him, and even if she had, she should be the one to tell Sara, not him.
Sara was getting impatient, "You better start talking Greg!"
"I'm sorry Sara, but I can't, I can't betray that confidence, it's just… I thought you knew."
"Yeah well I don't, but I respect your integrity, towards who ever." – Sara had indeed, picked up on Greg's comment, but it just didn't make any sense to her, so she choose to the Sidle thing, ignoring it. -
"Thanks," Greg whispered, glad he was off the hook.
Sara chuckled briefly, before turning to look out the window. "Well Greggo it's been fun, but I have quite a drive in front of me, so I better get on my way."
As they got up and walked towards the door, Nick, Sofia and Warrick walked in.
"Something personally," Nick smirked. "We walk in, and the two of you run out."
"Yep," Greg grin crushing his shoulder, into Nicks. "We don't like hanging out with the working man," he said, making everyone laugh.
Warrick gazed at Sara, "so, you're off again, when will you be back?"
Sara tried to keep the mood lightly. "In a week or so, when Greg gets himself into troubles again," she chortled friendly.
Warrick just smiled, knowing, he wasn't going to get an answer. "Well, see you, when I see you!"
Nick and Greg just hugged her, and demanded she kept in touch.
"See you all later," Sara said, walking out the door to her bike. She turned the motorcycle on, and bent over to get her helmet when the bike died out, turning around she came face to face with Sofia.
"Oh hi, did you kill my bike?" Sara asked curiously.
"Yeah" Sofia finally responded.
Sara looked inquisitively at Sofia, "why?"
Sofia gazed down on the asphalt. "Thought we might be able to talk a minute before you leave?"
"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Sara was well aware she wasn't making it easy for Sofia, but she really didn't know what to say.
"I don't know, it's just we haven't even talked while you have been back, jeeze… Sara, you're really making this hard" Sofia pointed out.
"I know and I'm sorry, but I just don't know what to say." Sara answered sheepishly.
"Are you coming back?" Sofia didn't look at Sara afraid about what she might see, but even more afraid of what she would be showing.
Sara stepped into Sofia's personal space, placed her hand under Sofia's chin, forcing her to finally look into her eyes. "Give me one good reason, and I won't leave at all!"
Eventually, she dropped her head in dejection and to hide her tears. "I can't Sara, as much as I want to, I just can't!"
Sara stepped back. "Well, then I guess it doesn't really matter if I come back or not." Sara got on her bike and put her helmet on; she turned towards Sofia again and with a sad smile she said: "Take care, okay?" And with that she left.
Tbc…