A/N: Well I guess this will be my last chance to post before Christmas so I suppose I better had...
Alas the time of year will not make the story any happier, sorry. Happy angstmas? Lol.
Thank you for all the reviews. Several of you have asked me questions but unfortunately you are not signed in or you have a private messaging blocker on, so I can't respond to you. Please turn your blockers off and sign in so I CAN reply.
I would like to thank SSC for always trying to keep that smile on my face during the heavy times and urging me to keep on plodding with the writing. I am blessed for friends like you. And thank you to PrintDust for the read through and tips. Good to know I didn't make too many boo boo's. And, she seems to love the evil as much as I do. Yikes, what a trio we are, the readers are doomed in a haze of angst. LMAO.
Cushions ready, pitch forks sharpened, evil hat on...off we go...
Chapter 18
Sara's heart beat wildly in her chest and she defensively held her hands out. "Please don't hurt him...just...think about what you're doing..." Her thoughts were clear which given the circumstances, surprised her but if there were cops outside they certainly weren't here to storm the building. They just wouldn't casually drive up if they knew who was inside. "Just...calm down," she begged. "I don't think this is what you think it is...How many cars outside?"
Grissom cried out as Ryan pushed his gun further into his windpipe. It wasn't very pleasant and the CSI well and truly feared for his life at that point.
"What the hell does it matter?" Ryan spat.
She clasped her hands together in a mixture of fear and frustration. "Please just answer the question," Sara pleaded. "I'm trying to help..."
"Just one," Jay answered, moving away from the window. He pointed behind him. "But they are just sitting in the car...I don't get it...Are they having a picnic or something?"
Sara took a breath. "They don't know we're here..."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
David stopped the car and leaned back in his seat, eyeing the house through the windscreen. There was light coming from within, so he presumed someone should be home.
"You know, I've just had a thought," he said removing his firearm and checking the barrel. His right eye twitched as he snapped the barrel closed.
"What's that?" Danny asked, removing his safety belt.
Checking the radio one more time, David sighed when it still didn't work and a haze of crackling was all he got for his attempt to communicate with HQ. "This is the only house for miles and is close to where the car went off the road. What's to say our fugitives aren't inside?"
Danny shuffled in his seat, checking through all the windows. "You think they could be?"
Puffing out a breath of cold air, David cleared his throat. "I don't know, it's...possible. It certainly is a nice hiding place."
"Wow..." Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Um...so what do you want to do? Everything looks pretty peaceful but if they're here then they are armed and they have hostages. It's not like we have any back up here..."
"Let's...just see what happens. I could just be being paranoid and if something is wrong then I'm sure they're not going to answer the door are they? Just, be cautious and be on your guard. Any suspicions, we get whatever information we can, leave and go get back up. No hero stuff..."
Danny nodded. "I'm all for that," the younger officer agreed. "My baby girl prefers her Daddy safe at home."
David smiled, slapping his partner on the arm. "Come on...Fingers crossed we might be able to get a coffee..."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Ryan's eyes bore into Sara's. "What?" he questioned her, shifting and taking Grissom with him, keeping his eyes heavily fixed on her with every step he took.
"They don't know we are here," she repeated firmly and continued with urgency. "Look, do you think one squad car would just casually drive up here if they knew you were in here and holding us at gun point?"
Jay stepped closer, but kept looking towards the front door. "She's got a point."
Ryan removed his gun from Grissom's throat and pointed it towards the window. "Then what the hell are they doing here?"
"I don't know," Sara admitted then she remembered something. "Wait...the owner of the house, when we first got here did mention that cops do come here when the weather is bad. Maybe it's just that..."
"Then let's just pretend no one's home," Jay suggested.
Sara looked to the window, hearing the sound of a car door closing. "You could, but they could have seen movement in here. If we don't answer that could make them suspicious and they could start looking around. From what we were told, the cops are..." she hesitated, "...were pretty friendly with the house owner..."
"Jay, give her your jacket," Ryan instructed. "And then get rid of the shit on the table, quick as you can."
"Why?" Jay questioned, confused.
Keeping a firm hold on Grissom, Ryan moved forwards taking the CSI with him, looking Sara dead in the eye. "I don't think they would appreciate seeing all the needles, blood and shit on the table and your jacket is to cover up her wrists. They see them; they'll start asking questions..." He hit Grissom on the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Not too hard but enough to get the point across he wasn't messing around. "...and she's about to get rid of them, so we don't want them getting suspicious now do we?"
Sara looked surprised that he was expecting her to get rid of their visitors. She swallowed hard. "You...want me to get rid of them?"
"You will, get rid of them," Ryan warned.
"But what if they recognise me? They could even know me..."
His nose curled and with a purpose, he pushed Grissom towards the kitchen. "You better pray they don't..."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
There was a quaint knock on the door and Sara breathed deeply, waiting not too far away from the entrance. Jay's jacket looked stupid on her. It wasn't big enough to cover her plump stomach but the arms were certainly long enough to cover her wrists. At least it was serving the purpose they wanted it to even if it did look silly.
However, she had her instructions no matter how ridiculous she looked. Get rid of the cops, or things would go from bad, to worse and she knew it.
She took one last look towards the kitchen to where she knew Ryan held her husband at gun point and she willed herself to stay calm. She could do this, she had to...
Another knock came and she approached the door. Gathering as much composure as she could, she reached for the handle and pulled the door open.
And there she stood, face to face with two reasonably wet looking police officers, the rain beating down upon their already damp features. How she wished she could cry out for help, her heart fluttered at the possibility but, she didn't. She couldn't...
"Oh..." Sara tried to act surprised, "...can I help you?" she managed to ask calmly.
"Um..." David said, exchanging a glance with his partner, "...good evening." They both looked Sara up and down and then they peered into the house. "We're looking for Shamus, is he around?"
Sara shook her head. "Erm, no, he isn't."
The officers exchanged another look.
"May we come in, Ma'am?" David asked.
Pulling the coat a little tighter around her, Sara hesitated.
"I can see you must be cold with the coat on, Ma'am. Having the door open won't help," David urged.
"I was just about to go to bed," Sara tried to put them off from entering.
David smiled. "It will only take a moment."
Sara conceded, if she didn't it may arouse suspicion. She stepped aside. "Okay…"
The two officers stepped into the house, wiping the rain from their faces as Sara closed the door, biting down on her tongue before facing them again.
"Do you have a name, Ma'am?" Danny asked.
Suddenly Jay appeared from behind, breaking the polite chat. "What's going on?" he asked and the officers faced him.
David scratched his head. "And who are you?" he asked.
Jay laughed, approaching Sara and slipping an arm around her waist. He ensured he kept his position facing front for in the back of his pants was his gun.
Sara felt her gut turn as Jay touched her but she did everything to try and play along. If she ever required an acting partner, the man by her side wouldn't have been her first choice. She just hoped he wouldn't lose the plot…
"My name's Buddy Rich, this is my wife Caroline. We're here visiting Caroline's Uncle. Is something wrong? I can't say it's usual to get calls from law enforcement at this hour…"
Danny stepped to the side to look around a little more and Jay noticed.
Sara felt her captor's arm tensing around her body.
"You say you're Shamus' family?" David asked softly and calmly.
Sara nodded. "That's right. He's my Uncle. We…were in the area so we popped in for a night. I'm actually not feeling too well, hence…" She ran a hand over the coat, "…the extra warmth…so can we help you with something?"
Ryan stood right by the kitchen door, listening. Grissom was face down on the floor, Ryan's foot stamping hard, just below his neck, squarely pinning him to the tiles. "You say one word..." he warned, "...and I'll snap your neck in two..."
David continued. "So you say your uncle isn't here?"
"I did," Sara replied. "He...went out before the storm so he's more than likely waiting for it to calm down before he comes back."
David worked his jaw a little and something about his look made Sara think he didn't exactly believe what she was saying.
"Okay..." He smiled gently.
Jay was getting edgy. "So can you tell us what this is all about?" he urged. "My wife is tired, very pregnant, and needs her rest..."
David nodded to his partner.
"We were wondering if we could use the phone," Danny began. "Our radio is down and we found a car down the road in a ditch..." he paused for a second. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you? Or, has anyone come in here looking for assistance or anything?"
Sara's heartbeat increased. They'd found the car...
It wouldn't take a lot to realise who the car belonged to if they knew what had happened. She tried to deny any knowledge. "Oh dear...No...Um, we don't know anything about it. Is anyone hurt?"
"No one in the car," David answered.
"Oh..." Sara looked to Jay. "I suppose it's possible my Uncle could have picked people up on the road," she lied but it seemed like a plausible lie.
Danny nodded slowly. "Hmmm..." he mumbled.
"Sorry, officers, we don't know anything about it," Jay added. "And unfortunately...our phone is out..."
David ran a hand over his sidearm, watching Sara and she noticed. She looked away, trying to avert his questioning eyes.
"That's too bad but never mind." He smiled at the couple.
"Anything else we can do for you?" Jay asked. "Because my wife needs to get to bed before she catches a chill."
The two officers exchanged one more glance and David shook his head. "Nope, that's about it. I'll report your phone for you; make sure someone gets here in the morning to fix it."
"Thank you," Sara whispered. "My...Uncle will appreciate that."
"No problem, Ma'am. Be sure to tell Shamus we popped by."
Sara tried to smile as Jay's grip got tighter on her. "I'll do that..."
Jay looked to Sara. "Show these nice officers out would you, Honey..."
Sara cringed at the sound of him calling her Honey.
"Right..." she mumbled and stepped passed the officers to open the door. Jay remained facing them, still concealing his weapon.
"Goodnight, gentlemen," he said flatly.
Both men nodded to him. "Night, Sir," they said together and moved towards the door.
Jay laughed to himself, content with his performance and backed away.
As they were about to exit, David stopped, looking Sara in the eye. "Oh...just a little..." he laughed, "...silly question I guess. If Shamus went out, how come his pick up is still at the top of the drive?"
Sara's heart skipped a beat and she stumbled for a response.
Jay's ears pricked upon hearing the officer's question and he sighed.
"Well, he...took our car," she eventually answered, her fingers flexing with nerves. "Was easier than us having to move ours out of the way of his truck..."
"I see..." David took a notebook from his pocket. "Can you give me the cars details please?"
Now Sara's mouth opened but nothing came out. If she gave fake details they would know she was lying.
It didn't matter though, her response would not be required, for the bullet that shot through the air well and truly stopped any more questions from being asked or answered.
Sara wasn't sure if she jumped when she heard the shot or when the spray of blood shooting from the officer's head spewed all over her face and body. She stumbled against the wall and then trembled in shock as his body shot backwards and crashed against his partner before dropping to the floor.
Danny fumbled for his weapon but he was too slow as Jay fired a quick second shot, catching the younger officer square in the abdomen. He crumbled to the floor before he had even pulled out his gun.
The kitchen door flew open and Ryan ran out, Grissom firmly in his grasp, his gun pointing towards his brother who still had his weapon raised. "What the hell was that?" he yelled, unsure of where to aim.
Sara's head slowly turned to look at Jay and she struggled to breathe. She was covered in the blood: her face, hair, and clothes. Then as she realised what had just happened, she turned, her hand flattening against the wall to support her now jelly like legs and she emptied the contents of her stomach upon the carpet.
"Mother fuckers asked too many questions," Jay growled, approaching the two men on the floor. "I think they knew..."
Ryan pushed Grissom towards his brother who now stood over the fallen officers.
Suddenly, Danny coughed and then groaned.
"Shit!" Jay shouted, eyeing up the young officer and pointing his gun at his head. He'd been hit in the stomach but he wasn't dead. "He's still alive..."
Sara took a breath and managed to push herself straight. She watched Jay hovering over the injured man who was now begging for his life.
"Please..." Danny gargled, holding one hand over his wound as blood poured from it and another in the air, "...please I have a daughter...I..."
Sara felt a horrible pain growing in her mid section as she looked over to Ryan and her face contorted her feelings. Grissom noticed right away and tried to pull away from Ryan but the thug held firm.
"Don't you dare test me now," Ryan threatened, jabbing his weapon into Grissom's ribs.
Sara watched as Jay reached to the officer's holster and pulled out his fire arm, noticing as his finger tensed on the trigger of his own gun. She tried to push her pain away.
"Don't!" she shouted causing Jay to snap his head around and glare at her. She held a hand up. "He's helpless...you really don't have to..."
"Shut up!" the younger man shot back.
Sara's hand fell to her stomach, the pain intensifying and she blinked hard but she managed to take a step towards Ryan.
"Don't do this," she begged. "He's hurt and not a threat to you now. You...you just killed another man..." She closed her eyes and cried out, doubling over, wrapping her arms around her mid section.
Both Ryan and Jay looked at her stunned and then to each other.
Grissom struggled again. "Damn it...let me go!" He managed to look over his shoulder and catch Ryan's eyes with his own. "Something is wrong...look at her..." he spat, gritting his teeth. "Please...take my cuffs off," Grissom requested desperately. "Please! You know something is wrong..." The CSI nodded to his wife. "She needs me and they will have a key..." He tried to struggle out of the cuffs but it was a futile effort.
Ryan still held firm, thinking over his options.
"Should I kill him?" Jay asked, looking to his brother, trying to concentrate on his most important issue at hand. His eyes returned to the officer, hard and cold.
Danny whimpered, his face whitening by the second.
Replacing the safety on his weapon, Ryan slowly retracted his gun from Grissom's side. "No..." he answered.
Jay frowned but lowered his weapon.
"You stay right where you are until I tell you that you can move," Ryan said, leaning into Grissom and whispering in his ear. "Do you hear me?"
Although Grissom's eyes never left his wife, he nodded.
Ryan approached the fallen cops, his eyes fixed on the live one while he crouched and his fingers sought a key from the dead ones belt pouch. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.
"Gil..." Sara gasped, holding out a hand, trying to stand straight again, "...it hurts..."
Grissom's pain burned through his heart as he stood static and watched his wife call to him. He just dare not move until he was told he could. It wouldn't help either of them if he did, he knew it.
He took a sharp breath as Ryan came back in his direction, disappearing behind him. He jumped when he grabbed his arms, firm and hard, yanking him so he stretched into an even more uncomfortable position.
"You make me regret this and I'll chop your hands off," Ryan warned.
Grissom said nothing but sighed when he heard a clink and his wrists were released from his bonds. The immediate strain on his mid section was released and for that he was majorly thankful.
He wasted no time and rushed towards his wife...
A/N: Um... Hmmmm... Oh dear... Happy Christmas guys :) – Thoughts please, and try not to swear! xxx