CSI Captive Part 1

D.B Russell sat in his office at the Las Vegas Crime lab, looking over some reports. He had just set it down, when there was a knock on the doorframe. D.B looked up to see Nick Stokes. "Ah, Nick, what can I do for you?" D.B asked, resting back in his chair. "Can we talk?" Nick asked, seeming a bit uneasy. "Sure," D.B replied. Gesturing towards the chairs in front of the desk, he indicated Nick sit down. "Thanks," the younger man mumbled as he sank into the cushion. "What's on your mind Nick?" D.B asked, leaning forward to look at the CSI's face.  Nick set his face into his hands, and growled, "Richard. He's been getting under my skin lately." "That's understandable; he would bother anyone to the point of becoming paranoid if they were in your place. Everyone in the lab feels for you and Greg, and how you personally are handling the situation," D.B told him. "I know," Nick said. "And I appreciate the support, but this time Richard's made it personal." Nick gripped his hair at the last statement. D.B was slightly confused. Richard had always made kidnapping Greg personal, not only to Nick, but to everyone else he worked with. "Nick, how is it…" D.B began. Nick cut him off, "Because he's sent me a picture." Nick glanced up at that moment, and D.B could see all the anger and frustration Nick was going through because of the horrible situation he was faced with. Nick dug his cell phone out of his pocket, and pulled up a message. He then handed the phone to D.B. D.B looked at the screen to see a picture of Greg Sanders. D.B suddenly understood why Nick was so upset. When the picture was taken Greg had to have been in a dark room, for the flash illuminated all kinds of atrocities. Greg's dark eyes glared at the cameraman, but also held a glint of fear. A black cloth had been twisted and inserted into his mouth, smothering anything that could have been some sort of protest. Greg's body was stretched out, for his arms were raised above his head, and disappeared from the shot. His bare chest was left exposed to the camera's lens, and it showed bruises and small bite marks scattered over his flesh. The camera did not show below his waist, but with Richard it could be concluded that Greg wore nothing. D.B handed Nick his phone back. "He sent this picture only to you?" D.B had to be sure this was a personal attack on Nick, and not just the lab in general, like it had been in the past. Nick nodded. "The thing that gets me the most about that photo is that I know Greg is scared. Richard may not know it, but I can see it. Greg's held up well when we get him back from Richard, but he's not completely himself. Richard thinks Greg bounces back from whatever happened, and is back to his old self…but he's not." D.B listened; he could tell Nick needed to tell someone about how Richard was screwing with him. "And the worst part is I think Richard's…breaking Greg a lot faster. With each encounter, Greg comes back less and less like himself," Nick told his supervisor. "I hate what's he's done." With that last sentence, tears glinted in Nick's eyes; apparently this had been eating away at Nick for a while. D.B opened his mouth to speak, when Nick got up, and headed for the door. "Nick," D.B called after him. "I don't think you should go anywhere." Nick turned to Russell. "Don't worry; I've got some paperwork to finish. I'll here for a while, and I really don't feel like going home right now." Nick then walked down the hall. D.B stared after him.