A/N: Hey guys, I hope we are all well. Here is the next chapter of my story. Evil hat is firmly on head and he's loving every minute of it and I'm loving every minute of writing it. I just love it when a little character info comes out :D Mwahaahha.
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On with the evilness... heheheheheheheeeeeeeeeeeee.
Chapter 8
Grissom waited anxiously inside the command unit as the phone rang through over and over. Finally... someone picked up...
"Hello..." Ryan cooed calmly, "...can I help you?"
Colin cleared his throat. "I'd like to think I'm the one here to help," he replied.
"Oh yeah," Ryan sniggered. "Of course you are."
"Are you happy we fulfilled your request?" the negotiator continued.
Picking up a pen from the counter top, Ryan drew a doodle onto a piece of paper by the register. "Oh...ecstatic..."
Colin's eyes clashed with Grissom's as the CSI stepped close to him. He did not look amused at the constant mockery.
As Grissom looked like he was about to interrupt the conversation Colin was quick to continue in order to keep the momentum of the relationship with the hostage taker. "Well...we held up our side of the bargain, just as you asked and you said if we did you would let us speak with Sara."
"I said I would consider it," Ryan replied, his eyes sharply shooting to catch Sara as she stared at him from across the room. "I didn't guarantee it."
As Colin sighed, Grissom felt his fingers clench tightly into balls. He was tempted to make a grab for the phone when Ryan continued.
"But... on this occasion I'll be nice," he sniggered. "She's been helpful; you've been helpful so...I guess I'll be helpful. You can have thirty seconds," he continued more firmly and this time seriously. "And do not dick with me," he warned.
Grissom's eyes suddenly flickered at the promise of being able to speak with his wife and his heart rate dramatically increased.
Ryan crooked his finger at Sara. "Here... now..." he commanded.
As she had done many times before, Sara rose from her seat and approached her captor. This time, her step was a little more hurried though as it seemed she might be getting something out of the journey.
Holding one finger in the air, Ryan made his instructions perfectly clear. "You have thirty seconds," he began. "Don't be clever and don't make me regret this because I will hurt you if you do. You get me?"
Sara was quick to nod and Ryan held the phone to her ear, making sure he was close enough to hear all that was said.
Swallowing the dry lump in her throat and feeling her gut clench, Sara spoke. "Hello..." she said quietly.
Colin's eyes widened not expecting Sara so soon. "One second, Sara," he said and quickly held the phone out to Grissom. "Try and get anything you can...you only have thirty seconds."
With haste Grissom took the phone. "Sara..." His voice was soft...desperate.
The second Sara heard her husband's voice the lump in her throat returned and she closed her eyes. "Hi..." she barely managed to get out.
"God, Sara...are...you alright?"
Her eyes opened. "I...yes, I'm alright."
Grissom turned away from Colin. "Are you hurt?"
Instinctively, she held her hand to her stomach. "No...at least...not yet," she half laughed at the joke.
"Sara..."
She realised her comment was stupid but she was trying to remain in some form of spirit. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"No, I'm sorry," Grissom continued. "If it wasn't for me..." He stopped himself as he noticed Brass tapping his watch. "I promise we'll get you out of there, sweetheart...I promise." He spoke with urgency now.
Sara smiled. "I know."
"Is there anything...anything at all you can tell me that might help us..."
Looking over her shoulder the tiny bit she could, Sara came almost nose to nose with Ryan. She quickly looked away, feeling his breath on her face. "No...I can't..."
Time was up and Ryan pulled the phone away. He nodded back towards the chair and on a sigh; Sara followed routine and did as she was told.
"Sara?" Grissom said panicked, noting the silence. "Sara?!" He about shouted now.
"Time's up my friend," Ryan said coolly.
Feeling the anger rise within him, Grissom snapped. "You listen to me," he growled. "You so much as lay one finger on my wife and I swear to God I will spend every last second of my life making you suffer."
Ryan's eyes turned dark and cold and he slammed the phone down causing everyone in the store to jump, Sara included who had just managed to sit herself back down.
She looked at him quizzically but then as he reached to his belt and pulled out his gun, she felt her pulse hitch as he aimed it in her direction.
As the phone rang dead, Grissom just stared at it until Colin pulled it from his grasp. "What the hell are you doing?" Colin demanded.
Grissom looked blankly at him.
"Are you trying to ruin the relationship I'm starting to build here?"
The CSI was about to reply but the sound of a gunshot stopped him and for a second or two, everything went deathly silent.
Every occupant of the trailer looked at each other. "What the hell was that?" Grissom shouted.
Colin looked to his monitors, "Sounded like to it came from the store."
"Oh no..." Grissom suddenly had the worst of thoughts. Had his threat to Ryan caused him to do something terrible? He bolted from the unit before anyone could stop him. Brass was quick to follow as was Colin.
"Gil what are you doing?" Brass shouted after his friend, chasing him down and grabbing his arm.
Greg appeared and pointed towards the store. "The shot came from inside." He clarified the supervisors thought and Grissom felt every single hair on his body stand on end. He looked at Brass. "You don't think..."
The captain nervously ran a hand over his balding head. "The problem is, Gil...you didn't think before you threatened the man who has a gun to your wife..."
"And what the hell would you do, huh?" He roughly pulled his arm free. "If you were me what would you do, Jim?" He shouted now.
"Guy's..." Colin stood in between the two men, "...this won't get us anywhere. Arguing amongst ourselves is not the way to go right now..."
Grissom held his hand to his forehead. The pressure was building in his skull and a migraine was surely approaching if he didn't relax. Right now, that was the last thing he needed.
Colin continued. "I'm going to try and call them back...see if I can find out what just happened." He looked a little defeated. "Not much else we can do from our current position..."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
With shock on her face and her mouth open, Sara shakily looked over her shoulder. Ryan's bullet had struck the Dr Pepper display behind her and some of the sweet refreshing liquid now dribbled down the remaining cans to pool on the floor.
She heard him approaching and with a very dry lump in her throat, faced front.
Ryan glared at her, the other hostages watching on. "I think your husband needs to learn who's in charge here," he warned slipping his gun back into his belt. "That will be the one and only warning shot I give, Sara. Next time, I won't miss. Are we clear?"
Sara didn't even contemplate arguing even though she had no control about what had been said. She quickly nodded her head in understanding.
"Is there a reason you just did that?" Jay asked, confused. "It's not like we're over loaded with ammo here..."
The elder brother shot a look to his younger sibling and pointed towards the door. "What do you think they are thinking right now?" he asked.
Jay shrugged his shoulders.
Ryan snorted and stepped away from Sara. He walked to his brother and placed an arm around him. "I'm glad I got the brains of the family."
"Hey..." Jay whined. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The phone rang, stopping their banter and Ryan laughed to himself for a moment before his face become deadly serious again. "It means you don't give them an inch...anyone...ever..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought we'd already learnt that, huh?"
Jay bowed his head and shuffled on his feet. "Yeah...sorry I..."
"Don't sweat it. Just remember what we talked about all those times. Keep control or lose everything. Got it?"
Raising his head Jay nodded.
Ryan looked at the phone as it continued to ring and ring. He scratched the back of his head. No matter how much he wanted to leave it, he just knew they wouldn't stop until they got an answer and the ringing was now beginning to seriously irritate him.
He growled and marched towards the phone, picking up the receiver. "What?" he shouted.
Colin cleared his throat as all anxious eyes fell upon him from the onlookers surround... Grissom, Brass...Greg...
"We heard a shot..." Colin began.
"Yeah, you did," Ryan cut in. "Glad to hear you guys are so good at your jobs."
The negotiator flipped a pencil in between his fingers. "Can you tell me why?"
Snorting, Ryan clenched the phone tightly in his hand. "I think it would be much more interesting if you worked that out for yourselves but be warned and be warned one time only...the next time I get threatened, or you dick with me, you'll be hearing more than one shot." He slammed the phone down.
Colin looked at the phone as it rang dead then slowly placed it on the desk.
"Great," Grissom grumbled. "That told us a lot."
Looking to the CSI, Colin stood. "I feel they need a little time to calm down."
"Time?" Grissom snapped. "What do you mean time? What was that shot all about?"
The negotiator sighed. "I don't know but right now I need their trust and that means everyone needs to relax and we just need to..."
"Relax?" The supervisor laughed but his humor didn't last long. He stepped forward with a purpose. "How the hell do you think I'm going to relax with my wife..." He pointed a firm finger into nowhere, "...in there?"
"Calm down, Gil," Brass warned.
Grissom threw Brass an angry stare.
"Why don't we take a walk?" Brass suggested. "Get a little air huh?" The captain took a hold of Grissom's arm, not really making the suggestion a request.
The supervisor did not look impressed. Brass tugged. "Now, Gil," he said firmly. "Or are we going to have a problem?"
Gnawing on the inside of his bottom lip, Grissom brushed Brass off and walked to the door himself. He didn't say a word as he exited the unit. Greg and Brass followed him leaving Colin to contemplate his next move.
"Gil, wait," Brass demanded as Grissom stormed away.
Sighing heavily, Grissom turned around to face the captain. "What, Jim?" he asked disgruntled.
Brass flagged behind him to Greg to wait and give him and Grissom a moment. The young CSI obliged and hovered in the background.
"You need to calm down, Gil," Brass warned. "Your reactions are not helping the situation right now."
Grissom looked to the sky. It was dark now and storm clouds gathered. He bit down on his tongue as his eyes connected with his friends. "I'm scared, Jim," he admitted. "I don't know what to do..."
With his brow soaring, Brass slipped his hands into his pockets. He had never heard Gil Grissom utter such words. Grissom was a man of integrity, a man of pride, power, passion, dedication and devotion, a man who didn't easily sound his fears.
Brass opened his mouth to speak but he stopped, not sure of what to say. A clap of thunder made everyone look to the sky. "Looks like a storms coming," the lawman said. "Just what we need..."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Fiddling with her now almost empty water bottle, Sara sucked in a deep, shuddering breath. The babies were kicking again, her back was on the bridge of driving her insane and her feet were crapping.
She looked up upon hearing Jay chuckling and felt her pupils dilate when she saw he had her cell phone.
"Hey Ryan!" he called to his brother. "You gotta hear this, seems like our CSI may not be as happy with her husband as she makes out."
Dropping the magazine he had not so long ago picked up from the counter, Ryan walked to where Jay was and took the cell. Holding it to his ear he listened to the messages as Sara looked on in horror. After the final message had finished he handed the cell back to his brother. With a smirk forming upon his lips he stepped away from the counter and approached Sara who was now holding her face in her hands.
"So hubby's been a bad boy has he?" Ryan chuckled stopping in front of her.
Removing her hands from her face, Sara glared at him, her eyes narrowing.
Ryan crouched down in front of her and entwined his fingers in front of him. "So why all the messages, Sara, hmmm? What did he do?
There was no way on earth she was about to discuss her personal problems with this man and she simply turned her head away in disgust at the question.
"Awww, come on, Sara, don't be like that," he mocked. "It's pretty obvious he did something to piss you off, considering all his messages. I need a little entertainment, come on...play ball."
Feeling her nostrils flaring, she turned her head and looked at him again. "Do you actually think I want to discuss my personal business with you?" she growled, sucking in a nervous breath. "Whatever issue I may have with my husband has absolutely nothing to do with you and I will not play your little games or be your entertainment."
He snorted and pushed himself to his feet. "Pity, I was getting a little bored."
Sara felt anger building inside her. He was getting bored? "Well I'm sorry holding all of us against our will and threatening our lives isn't quite hitting the spot for you," she said bitterly.
She expected some form of retaliation for her comment and immediately regretted it but to her surprise, Ryan just smiled. "You have balls, Sara. I like that."
A huge clap of thunder broke their conversation as Sara frowned at him and all occupants in the building jumped a little.
And now...the rain came.
Ryan smiled again before moving to the front of the store. Carefully slipping one of the blinds open he had a good look outside. The rain was coming down hard and fast and he chuckled, watching as the law enforcement surrounding the building ducked for cover or hurried to put on their rain attire. Some had begun putting up tarp up for shelter. He knew, at least for now that this type of weather would make their job of surveillance a hell of a lot more difficult. That made him happy.
He whistled as he turned back into the room but only for a second as suddenly the sound of mechanical beeping caught his ears. He sharply looked around to spot the store clerk with a cell phone. With a fierce look in his eyes he grabbed a baseball bat which was in a basket with a group of others for sale.
The store clerk sensed him immediately as he approached and he squared his back against the wall, his hand beside him, phone in full view.
"What...are you doing?" Ryan shouted, holding the bat out to menacingly hover just a few inches from the clerks face. All eyes were now upon the duo.
The clerk squirmed. "It's...just my girlfriend...she's so worried...I..."
Ryan swung the bat, hitting the clerk hard on the side of the head.
Everyone sitting in the group squealed and tried to shuffle a little further away. Sara's eyes widened and her hand shot to her mouth as she watched on helplessly.
Falling to his side and hitting the tiles, the store clerk groaned at the pulsing pain in his head and felt the ooze of blood run down his cheek. Ryan quickly bent and picked up the cell phone which now lay alone on the floor beside the clerk. He pointed the bat at the clerk again but all the man could make out was a very blurred picture before him.
"The next time..." Ryan warned, "...you won't be getting up."
Trying to sit up, the clerk attempted to apologise but he just ended up falling flat on his back again.
"Anyone else have a phone, huh?" the hostage taker shouted to all. "Give them up now, or I'll beat them out of you."
Joe quickly slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled out a phone and threw it on the floor in front of Ryan.
"Is that it?" Ryan questioned, looking to everyone.
The old couple nodded. "We..." the old man said, "...don't have a cell, never have, not our thing."
"And what about her?" Ryan pointed the bat to Suzanne.
Joe shook his head. "She doesn't have one, we can only afford one right now."
"Rigghhhtt..." Ryan muttered as he bent to retrieve the appliance. He took the two phones to the counter and placed them down. He paused for a moment before also picking up Sara's cell phone. He placed all three in a row and then swung the bat high, bringing the weapon down upon each phone in turn, smashing each one into pieces.
The whole room looked on cringing as the sound of smashing metal and plastic surrounded them.
Eventually Ryan stopped, leant the bat against the counter and kinked his neck until it cracked. "Ahhh..." he sighed with satisfaction. "...I guess that stops anyone giving away any secrets now doesn't it?" He looked to his brother.
Jay seemed a little stunned. "Um...Sure..." he agreed quickly.
Ryan smiled but his smile faded as the sound of a cell phone ringing confused him. He looked around but then realised the noise was coming from him. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the phone.
Jay stepped towards him. "Is it them?" he asked.
Looking to the phone Ryan checked the caller ID and nodded. "About damn time," he grumbled flipping it open.
Sara watched as he placed the cell to his ear, very anxious as to who the call might be from and what would come next...
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Grissom and Brass had returned to the command unit to get out of the rain.
"Do we have any idea how long this weather is going to last," Grissom mumbled as he paced back and forth watching the monitors.
Brass shrugged his shoulders. "You know what Vegas is like...Could be ten minutes, could be an hour..."
Grissom heard his cell ring and pulled it from his pocket. "Yeah?" he sighed.
"Gil, it's me," Catherine informed him. "Look I..." she hesitated.
The supervisor knew immediately this wasn't going to be good news, he knew by her voice. "What is it, Catherine?" he asked immediately, his eyes clashing with Brass's.
Unseen to her boss Catherine looked down at the file in her hand. "I have some more information on Ryan Murphy and...it's not..." She gnawed on her lip.
"Catherine...just tell me."
"Okay," she replied, clearing her throat. "Ryan was committed to Montevista hospital when he was fifteen."
"Why?"
Opening the file she read some of the notes to herself. "His father's death."
Grissom switched the phone to his other ear and turned away from Brass. "What?"
Catherine continued. "It all seems very complicated. His father was found dead in their home seventeen years ago. Multiple stab wounds. Two people in the house at the time...Mrs Murphy and Ryan. The mother was charged with first degree murder but as things progressed evidence came out about how Ryan had been abused by his father. Ryan swore he was guilty of his father's death, not his mother. He was institutionalised not long after the trial. He totally lost his mind."
Swallowing hard, Grissom took a breath. This was ringing way too close to home for him right now. All he could think about at that point was Sara's mother and what
Sara had confessed to him some years ago about her father. "Are you still there?" he heard. "Gil?"
He blinked hard. "Yeah...um..." He swallowed again, "...any evidence to suggest the mother didn't do it?"
"Maybe but...I guess no one stands in between a mother trying to protect her children."
Grissom had a thought. "Track her down; she might be able to help us."
Catherine sighed. "Already thought of that and she can't...help us."
"Why not?" Grissom shot back straight away.
"She's dead."
Pulling up a chair Grissom sat and rubbed his eyes. "How?"
"Suicide, barely a month after the trial. I guess, if she knew the truth about what had happened then she was taking it with her. That was when Ryan totally lost the plot."
"How long was he hospitalized?"
"Three years," Catherine continued. "He was released not long after he turned eighteen with several personality defects to boot." She closed the file. "There's quite a lot of info in here, do you want me to get Nick to bring the file down?
Grissom stood and ran a hand through his wet hair. "That would be good," he answered, "Might occupy me for a while."
"Still nothing happening?" she asked.
"Oh things are happening, just nothing of use," he grumbled.
She sighed. "I'll send Nick."
"I'll be waiting." He closed his phone and turned to Brass. The captain was about to ask what the conversation was all about when Greg shot through the door pointing behind him.
"The Under Sheriff is here," he said breathlessly. "He doesn't look happy and he wants answers..."
A/N: I'm liking Ryan, I think he's becoming one of my best bad guys. I love the unpredictable. Not sure Sara's liking it so much though. Thoughts please... :D -v Hit that little button down there and let me know what you think...