Disclaimer: I do not own the SAW franchise or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, so please don't sue me. (A/N: I know it's supposed to go at the beginning of the story, but I forgot. Hopefully that won't cost my story the need to be deleted!)

Chapter Two: Choices

(Grissom)

Before him were two men hanging from two separate meat hooks suspended from the ceiling. Both men were hanging from handcuffs slung over the hooks, and both men had black burlap sacks over their heads. As he stepped closer, he could see the steady movements of their chests that signaled they were both alive. He quickened his pace, thinking they were members of his team.

"Nick? Greg?" he called. The two men moved their heads at the sound of his voice, and he could hear muffled replies. He reached them and removed the bags, disappointed and confused that they were not members of the graveyard shift; he didn't even recognize them.

Both men had duct tape covering their mouths, but begged for help with their eyes. Grissom was never a man to leave someone else in distress, and he wasn't about to start now…regardless of whatever trap he was now a part of. He removed the gags quickly, wanting to know who they were and why they were a part of this…game.

"Get me out of here!" the man on his right yelled, clearly terrified.

"Where the hell are we?" the other, younger, man asked, looking at the hook he was hanging from.

"I don't know. I'll try to get you down." Grissom said, looking around for a pipe or something he could use to dislodge the handcuffs from the hooks. He noticed a tape recorder on a table behind the men.

"Hey, man, where are you going?" the left man asked as he moved out of their line of sight.

"Come back! Don't leave!" the right man begged. He picked up the recorder and pressed 'play'.

"Hello again, Mr. Grissom. You almost made us think you weren't going to make it out of that room. Congratulations for passing. By now, we're sure you have many questions for us, but let's start by saying this is your next test. We'll be watching your every move." the voice said, still being cloaked by the voice changer.

"What is that?" one of the men asked. Grissom looked up as there was a pause in the tape, noticing a security camera in the far corner, watching them.

"You probably don't recognize the two men before you. It's okay. It's been years since you last saw either of them. Their names are Stuart Gardner and Jerrod Cooper."

Grissom slowly turned to face them, instantly remembering who they were, and what they've done.

"You remember them now, don't you? Jerrod killed your beloved CSI rookie, Holly Gribbs. Stuart killed four people he believed didn't deserve a second chance when they escaped the justice system…but he's killed more, you just never found their bodies. Your task is to deliver justice. While both men were incarcerated, we all know they deserved the death penalty, don't we? All we're asking of you is to take your gun from the box under the table and shoot one of them."

He looked down, and sure enough, a box was under the table.

"When this tape ends, you will have ninety seconds to choose. Who deserves to die more, Mr. Grissom? The killer of one CSI, or the killer of a dozen criminals that slipped through the cracks? Don't forget, we're watching you. Make the choice."

The tape ended and another countdown screen lit up.

"Hey, man, shoot him! He's a cop killer! I was doing Vegas a favor with my deeds!" Stuart yelled.

"Oh, screw you, buddy! You're the serial killer! You're the one that should eat a bullet!" Jerrod snapped angrily. Grissom took the gun from the box and checked its ammo: one round.

"I'm serving my time, I don't deserve to die!" Stuart said, trying to defend himself.

"You and me both!" Jerrod chimed in. Grissom took out the picture of Holly, remembering how her death shook the team after only her first day.

Thirty-seven seconds remained and he approached the men, who were in a contest to see who could say "kill him" louder.

Thirty-two seconds. He put Holly's picture in his pocket.

Twenty-nine seconds. He looked at each convict, both hating himself, but also feeling glad for making a choice.

Eighteen seconds. He aimed his weapon at the back of the man's skull and fired, killing Jerrod. He had wanted to do that for a long time… He was never a man who outwardly showed many emotions other than curiosity or intrigue. People thought of him as weird, or an outsider, but he was content with his life – helping piece together the victims' final moments and helping to give closure and justice was more than enough to make him feel needed. But there were some people he'd like to just shoot in the head and end it all, as much as he disliked using his own service weapon.

The countdown stopped and a buzzer sounded as a door opened, bringing him out of his reverie.

"Get me out! Please!" Stuart yelled, starting to cry and scream in fear. Grissom dropped his empty gun and slowly approached the door.

"You can't leave me in here!" the remaining convict sobbed brokenly. Grissom closed the door behind him, blocking out Stuart's cries for help. He knew the other man was a serial killer, but for the briefest of moments, he felt a pang of remorse for leaving him.

A/N: I hope I didn't make Grissom appear OOC. I don't think I did, but if I did, I'm sorry. It's just for this one chapter where he kills someone in cold blood like this…