A/N: Yay, finally I get around to posting this. My world has just been mad but I have some time off and I intend to write like a mad one. Lol.
Thank you to PrintDust for the beta, your help is spot on :)
And thank you to the readers for your constant support. Reviews are always welcome, please keep them coming.
Evil hat remains, well, EVIL! He bad. Sorry...
I will hide now...
Chapter 23
Ryan knew the clock was ticking, but he wasn't about to leave without any leverage, especially now that the cops were back on their tail.
"Sara!" he hollered one more time, a glob of spit shooting from his seething lips. He paused, his ears prickling as he listened. He was greeted by only the whistle of the wind and the rain tapping against the windows.
Anger seeped through his veins. They had come too far to get caught now.
He spun around in a circle, trying to assess where they might be until his eyes came to rest upon the cellar door.
A sneer formed on his lips - the last place they would probably go due to the horrors the basement housed. Or so they would presume, he would think that. He knew they were smart but he was by no means an idiot and a pinch in his gut took him towards the door.
Edging closer to the basement, he kept his eyes wide and alert. "No more games," he whispered almost at the door but as his hand reached out for the handle, he heard a creak above him.
His head snapped around to the stairs, the nerves surrounding his right eye twitching. With a curl of his nose he stepped away from the door and quickly moved to the base of the stairs.
He began climbing but just as he was about to reach the top and the landing, he heard Sara behind him.
"Looking for me?" she called up to him on a shaky voice.
Spinning around quickly, he glared down at his runaway hostage, his gun immediately pointing right at her. But then as he heard the creak again, he remembered the reason he'd gone up there in the first place.
And now he'd let his guard down.
Grissom appeared behind him, a golf club firmly in his grasp but Ryan was fast and as the sluggish moving CSI swung at him; Ryan just about managed to duck out of the way of the metallic weapon.
But Grissom, knowing he was fighting for his life, managed to swing again before the thug managed to right himself and he clobbered the gun, sending it flying. He swung so hard though, the golf club slipped from his fingers and shot over the banister and to the floor below them.
Both men at the top of the stairs and Sara at the bottom watched in awe as the gun flew through the air. It was as if the weapon was travelling in slow motion. It hit the wall with a chink and landed equidistantly between the onlookers.
Sara made a mad dash for the weapon and as Ryan went to do the same, Grissom launched himself at the hostage-taker using every ounce of strength he had left in him by jumping upon the younger man's back. Grissom attempted to hold him back but Ryan was much stronger and forced the CSI backwards and hard into banister.
Grissom cried out and slid from his captors back, crumbling to the stairs on his knees. Ryan spat at the older man and raised his fist high over his head. "I'm gonna kill you," Ryan sneered.
"Don't...you dare touch him!" Sara warned on a shout.
In an instant, Ryan's neck twisted and he saw Sara, just a few steps below him, pointing the gun right at him. He froze.
She waved the weapon. "Get, the hell away from him," she demanded, taking one more step up.
He licked his lips knowing he had another gun in the back of his pants but he had no idea how good a shot she was and whether he'd be able to draw in time. "I don't think you're going to shoot me, Sara," he gloated.
Flicking the safety off, she felt her nostrils flaring. "Just try me," she shot back.
Ryan took a heavy swallow, then held up a hand, trying to think of a way to get out of the unfortunate situation he'd found himself in. He'd be lucky if he had fifteen minutes left now.
"Step away now..."
"Okay...okay..." Ryan moved backwards, climbing several stairs but never taking his eyes off her.
Sara leaned forwards, keeping the gun and her eyes on Ryan as she grabbed her husband's arm. "Get up, Gil," she pleaded pulling on him.
He groaned but managed to get to his feet, blinking hard at the fact that Sara was the one with the gun. She urged Grissom down the stairs and took tiny, careful backwards steps in order to follow him. Her free hand gripped tightly to the rail to ensure she didn't fall backwards.
"Where do you think you're going to go?" Ryan sniggered, taking a step down with every step that they did, following.
Sara ignored his question. "Stay where you are!" she threatened as he continued to advance upon their retreat.
He ignored her and when she reached the bottom of the stairs he was only four steps above.
"My brother will get you as soon as you step outside, you know that right?" He gave her a big smile. "What you gonna do, kill us both?"
Sara could feel her hand shaking. Fatigue was setting in so much now she could barely see straight and she knew...she wasn't a killer. But had it actually come to kill or be killed?
Ryan looked to Grissom. "You're not gonna get away. There's no way she can pull that trigger."
Looking his kidnapper right in the eye, Grissom took a deep breath. His eyes watered again as the burning running through his nose continued. He reached up a blind hand and took the gun from his wife.
Sara let him take the weapon but she looked at him confused.
"Maybe she won't pull the trigger," Grissom began, "But I will, you bastard."
Now Ryan looked nervous as the CSI took one step closer.
"You threaten and kidnap my wife, you threaten my unborn children. You beat me half to death and by, God; I know you would kill me without hesitation..." The supervisor's finger tensed on the trigger.
The younger man looked Grissom right in the eye. "You don't have what it takes," he spat. "I gave you way too many chances, Gilbert, and now you're a dead man. And your wife...I'll treat her real fine. I could be a good Daddy you know..."
Grissom felt a rage like no other. It was almost like he'd been possessed by the devil. He snapped his finger back and pulled the trigger.
There was click but nothing but a click. Grissom's eyes widened and he tried again only to be greeted with another click. His neck kinked as he stared at the gun. The barrel was empty.
"Oh, God..." Sara mumbled as the biggest grin formed on Ryan's lips and he reached behind him to draw his other gun.
It all seemed to happen so fast. He whipped out the weapon and pulled back the safety. Sara tried to move, managing to shove her husband just as Ryan aimed and fired but the bullet caught his forehead and the couple fell to floor.
Sara lay on top of Grissom, dazed, a horrible ringing in her ears. She shook her head trying to work out what had just happened but she only had a split second before strong hands were surrounding her and hauling her to her feet.
She struggled, looking down at her man as he lay lifeless on the floor, his head turned away from her. Spotting a trickle of blood streaming from his hairline she screamed, wildly kicking out.
"NO!" she hollered but Ryan held her firm. "No, you son of a bitch! No! Gil!"
Ryan struggled to hold her and he was amazed by the sudden strength she'd found.
Unexpectedly, the front door was kicked in and Jay came bounding through it. "What the hell is taking so lon..." He cut himself short as he spotted his brother fighting with Sara. "Oh...shit..." He dashed to help. "What the fuck happened?" he asked, seeing Grissom on the floor.
"Fucker's...gah..." He continued to fight with Sara.
"You, bastard! You, bastard!" she screamed.
"They tried to get away...caught me off guard," he managed to get out.
Jay tried to grab Sara's arm but she kicked him full on in the gut.
"Agh!" he shouted. "Bitch!"
Ryan shot him a look that wasn't full of love.
"Bro, we need to go!" Jay groaned, holding his stomach. "They are going to catch us!"
Now, Ryan really lost his temper. "Sorry, Sara," he growled and in a split second, swiped his arm back and punched her hard on the side of her right cheek. Her head snapped back and she fell limp in his arms.
"Help, me," Ryan directed his brother as Sara's weight was a little too much for him to handle on his own.
Jay rushed to help, a bit stunned. "Dude...that was quite a hit. You knocked her the-shit-out."
"That was the objective," Ryan returned.
They both took an arm each and Ryan took one last look at Grissom before they hauled Sara towards the door.
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
The brother's reached the car.
"Shit!" Ryan shouted. "Of all things to forget...Go and get the damn bag," he moaned.
Jay's mouth opened in realization but he didn't say a word. He released Sara and ran back into the house.
The eldest brother was left with Sara's heavy weight and just reached for the first door that came to hand which happened to be the front passenger door. He just about managed to manoeuvre her lifeless body into the seat and stepped back once she was in, wiping his perspiring forehead on the shoulder of his shirt.
He stared at her for a moment and an unusual wave of guilt passed over him. It was quickly broken though when Jay returned, holding up the bag.
Ryan took a breath and then reached into the car for the safety belt. He didn't know why, he just did and clipped it into place around Sara. He then pulled a set of cuffs from his pocket, clipping one around her right wrist and the other through the handle on the door.
"Just in case she wakes up," he muttered. "I can't see her being very happy."
"Me either," Jay agreed. "You just killed her husband..."
Ryan took one last look at the house and sighed. He hadn't intended things to work out this way but when it came to him or them, he would always do whatever it took to survive and get what he wanted. "Let's go."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Brass had his foot to the floor as the rain pelted down upon his windshield. Catherine sat beside him, her fingers nervously clenching into her thighs. Nick followed behind in his SUV along with Greg, while half a dozen squad cars made a line behind the second law enforcement vehicle.
"How much longer?" Catherine asked, nerves pinching at her vocals.
The captain sighed, checking the GPS tracker on the dash. "Maybe ten, fifteen minutes," he replied, flicking his wipers onto super fast as the rain got worse again.
They couldn't get a chopper into the air due to the weather but Brass had got PD to call in reinforcements from Boulder city as they were closer and would probably get to the location faster than the Vegas crew. That would depend how bad the weather was at their end though.
Ultimately, he'd rather be first at the scene but the quicker help got to his friends, the better.
Catherine nodded, biting down on her bottom lip anxiously wondering what would await them when they go to their destination...
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Four boulder city patrol cars reached the house and sped up the driveway coming to a screeching halt about thirty metres from the target building.
Nine officers jumped from their cars, the rain pelting down on them. The most senior man pulled out his radio as his subordinates gathered around him. He wasn't sure if it was going to work but he had to give it a try. "Control this is Sergeant Cosgrove. We have reached..." He stopped when he saw the flashing of lights and heard more vehicles approaching.
Brass spotted the patrol cars and the group of officers ahead of him. He cut his lights and everyone followed suit in order to prevent the gunmen in the house noting their arrival. He pulled to a stop right by the others. All the vehicles behind did the same and pretty much jam packed the driveway. It certainly made sure no one was going to drive out that way.
Everyone leapt from their transport. Brass went immediately to Cosgrove. Catherine followed while Nick and Greg weren't far behind.
All the officers waited for their orders.
"You got anything?" Brass shouted, pulling up his collar as a huge clap of thunder informed everyone that the weather still sucked.
"We just got here," the sergeant replied.
Brass blew out a breath, looked up to the house and then to everyone surrounding him. "Okay..." he began, "...we all know the situation...two hostages, one of which is pregnant and both are our own." He cleared his throat. "Supervisor Grissom's phone was activated from inside this house so we know they are in there."
Everyone listened.
"We have two gunmen. They have already killed and by no means seem to listen to reason." His eyes floated to each person in turn now, coming to rest on the group of CSI's huddled together. He pulled out his gun, "Time to bring our guys home."
Nick whipped out his own gun and Catherine and Greg watched on. Brass nodded to him before giving Cosgrove his full attention again. "We'll take the front if you guys take the back. Let's go in quiet, try and get them before they even realise we are here."
The younger officer nodded.
"Let's try not to get our guys killed though, huh?" he added.
"You got it," Cosgrove answered knowing full well what was at stake here.
Brass looked at his watch. "Exactly two minutes and we go."
Another nod came from the sergeant as he synchronised his watch with Brass's. "Well you heard the man," he shouted. "Let's go!"
Cosgrove, along with his men rushed towards the house and around the side.
Jim Brass's officers surrounded him. "Everyone ready for this?" he asked. "We have no room for error here and we all know who's in there. Are we clear? "
"Yes, Captain," everyone called.
"Good." He nodded to the house. "Get in position."
They all scrambled away doing as told while Brass gave the CSI's his attention. He swiped the water away from his face. "Maybe you guys should hang back. This could be pretty chaotic and I don't need to be worrying about you three as well."
"No way," Nick responded immediately. He pointed to the house. "You know how much they mean to us. They're family."
Brass worked his jaw. "Fine. Just don't get in the way." He turned and headed for the house, the CSI's following.
When he reached the front, his team were waiting. "Shit's definitely already gone down," one officer informed his boss.
"What do you mean?" Brass asked hurriedly.
The officer pointed to the door which was very slightly ajar. "Blood...and the door is off its hinges."
That certainly didn't make Brass feel any better and he took a good, deep breath before he squared up against the wooden entrance. He checked his watch. Ten seconds.
Looking over his shoulder he gave everyone a nod. "Keep it quiet," he whispered, flattening his palm against the door. He counted three, two, one, in his head and carefully pushed the door open, his weapon raising, ready for anything...
His eyes immediately caught the spatters of blood on the wall and on the floor as he entered. He beckoned with his hand behind him, for his men to spread out and they did so.
Nick stuck close to Brass while Greg and Catherine hovered more at the back with the officers.
Everyone moved into the house and Brass shot his weapon in the direction of the kitchen door as it opened. He sighed with relief as Cosgrove appeared. He saw the basement door and turned. He held up three fingers and pointed to the door. Three of his men nodded and headed for the basement.
But then, as he stepped forward again, his heart missed a beat when his eyes spotted the body on the floor by the foot of the stairs. His pace quickened but his gun remained very ready as he moved towards it.
"Oh shit..." he mumbled as soon as his brain released exactly who was lying on the floor. His build was unmistakable...
A/N: I'm still hiding... BTW, only one more chapter left *sniff*. Now what are you thinking?