CSI Captive Part 4

Meanwhile, at the lab, Nick sat in the break room, trying to finish the paperwork for a case. It was useless though, he had been staring at the same typed page for the last five minutes. All Nick could think about was Greg. Nick knew Richard went all out when abusing Greg, which caused Nick so much mental anguish; it was almost as difficult to go back to work for him as it was for Greg. Nick sighed, and threw his pen down in frustration. He leaned on the table, and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, to keep the tears back. He gripped his hair and felt a sob working its way up his throat. Nick sunk his nails into his head, to make the pain drown out the sorrow. 'Damn it,' Nick thought. 'I can't do a thing for Greg like this! I sit here, and Richard gets away with all kinds of shit, and I'm useless!' In the middle of his self-hatred, Nick's phone rang. Nick pulled it from his pocket, and flipped it open. There was a picture of Greg, smiling at him from the Christmas party last year as his background. Nick felt his heart break, and glanced at the number, it was Greg's. Nick felt as if all time had stopped, and all of the air had been sucked from his body. He took a breath, swallowed thickly, and answered, trying to stop his voice from trembling. "Hello?" There was a pause, and Nick's heart thumped loudly in his chest. "Hello Nick, you're not busy are you?" a voice that Nick recognized instantly as Greg's tormentor asked. Nick set his jaw and growled, "Why do you care?" Richard chuckled, and replied, "I was just wondering, because I have some pictures that I would like to share with you, that is if you're not preoccupied of course." Nick paused for a moment, debating whether to tell Richard or not. Nick sighed, "No, I'm on break." "Good," Richard said, and Nick was sure he was smiling. "But I wouldn't eat anything if I were you before looking at these, I'm afraid of the consequences that might be for me that are directed at the food." Nick knew Richard was toying with him, trying to piss him off or something. He ignored it, and said, "Send me the pictures." "Alright," Richard answered, and Nick could tell he was smiling this time. Richard hung up and a minute later a file was sent to Nick's phone, with the name 'For your eyes only.' Nick opened it, and waited a second as the first picture loaded. Nick's eyes widened and his heart jumped into his throat. He stared blankly as the next few pictures loaded, as they were the same. Nick gazed at the next few, feeling empty. But then the last one loaded, and Nick couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked a few times, just to be sure. The picture remained the same, and anger flooded his thoughts. "Son of a bitch!" he spat, tossing the phone across the room. At that moment, Catherine Willows came in. She took a step back as Nick's phone just barely missed her. She looked at the phone, then to Nick, who held his head in his hands. Catherine approached slowly. "Hey Nicky," she said tenderly. "You alright?" Nick glanced up to see her, and blushed. "Sorry Cath," he replied, looking down at his paperwork. Catherine shrugged. "It's not the first time someone's been angry enough to throw things, and I doubt that will change." She walked over to Nick and looked down at him. "You sure you're okay?" she asked. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "I'm just frustrated." "Who isn't?" she replied. "So what happened?" Nick looked at her, slightly confused. She nodded in the direction in which the phone lay. "What was that about?" she asked. "Oh," Nick said, clearing his throat. He tried not to meet Catherine's gaze, but she was trying to look him in the eye. He sighed. "Richard sent me some more pictures," Nick finally explained. "More pictures, you mean this isn't the first time he's sent you some?" Catherine asked, going over to retrieve Nick's cell phone. "No," Nick told her. "He sent one just about when shift started, and I showed it to Russell. We're pretty convinced Richard's trying to attack me personally, instead of the lab as a whole like Richard had been doing." Catherine nodded, and took a look at the pictures through the cracked screen. She could see the picture clearly, and it made her heart ache in the worst way. The flash defined Greg's body, as he arched upwards with a look of extreme pleasure and extreme hatred mixed in his dark eyes. Catherine could see a hand in the lower corner of the shot, and didn't have to guess as to what was going on. She went back through the pictures, and wondered why the last one was different. In the rest of the pictures, the same hand was shown, moving its way up his body, touching in just the right spot that made him look ready to moan in pleasure, but Catherine could see in Greg's eyes that he was not enjoying it at all. Catherine shook her head, and placed the phone on the table. "Sick bastard," she muttered. "No wonder you threw it, I would do the same thing if I had these sent to me." Catherine paused for a moment, looking at Nick, who was staring at his phone. Catherine sat down beside Nick and said, "The last picture was different from the others, it looked…" "Unexpected," Nick finished as Catherine took a breath to continue. Catherine nodded. "Do you think Greg would let Richard do this?" she asked. Nick's head shot up at that statement, and he looked at her, eyes blazing. "I'm not saying Greg liked having Richard do this, but Greg is definitely holding back in the entire set of photos, except for the last one. Something caused Greg to keep everything in check, but it obviously failed. What do you think it was?" Catherine explained. Nick sighed and said, "Richard probably threatened Greg to let the pictures be taken, and to give a certain expression. But then Richard surprised Greg with the last photo, and that's why it looks out of place." Catherine asked, "Do you mind if I take this to show Russell? I'm sure he would want to know about it." Nick nodded, "Sure." Catherine took the phone and got up, heading towards the door. She turned to Nick, and told him, "Don't worry Nicky, we'll get Greg back. There's bound to be more photos, more evidence then Richard will make a mistake, and we'll catch him. Greg will be fine, he's a fighter, and he won't give in." Nick gave her a weak smile. "Thanks Cath," he said. "You didn't give in…," Catherine said, and then added quickly, "And Greg's got you to come back to, so I'm sure he'll do everything to get out." With that, she left. Nick sat in thought for a moment, pondering her last sentence, but then that gave way to thinking of Greg's predicament. Nick knew Richard's capabilities, and feared it would be a while till they saw Greg again, even if the younger CSI fought back. Nick shook his head, and sighed heavily. 'I know we'll find you Greg, but will it be too late? Will you be okay till we do find you? Can you hold on? You've got to babe, for me. I can't bear the thought of Richard hurting you…' Nick's thoughts ran off as tears came to his eyes. He didn't stop them, not this time. They slid down his face and he let out a soft sob. "We'll find you Greg, even if I do it alone," he whispered.