Title: Bottles and Broomsticks
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: R
Series: 1) The Word Is Out, 2) In the Light of Day, 3) Property, 4) Flames of Hell
Author's Note: Mentions of rape/torture.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Nick Stokes, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"He's got to be here," Nick told the rest of the team as they got out of the two vans that had brought them there. "Shane would have brought him back home. I'm sure of it." He turned towards the apartment building, squinting to see any light in the windows of Greg's apartment.

There was nothing. But that didn't mean anything, Nick told himself. Shane was probably keeping Greg in the dark, to disorient and frighten him even more, he thought bitterly. He probably had Greg tied up and gagged, to keep him quiet and under control.

Nick hadn't attempted to give them the entire story; he didn't want to tell the others about the months of physical and emotional torture that Greg had endured. Greg might not want the fact that he was being victimized to be public knowledge.

Instead, he had merely told them the basics -- that Shane was abusive, that he had kidnapped Greg from the hospital, and that Greg had been forced to go with him, even though Shane's name was still on the admissions papers as being the person to call in an emergency.

Nick only hoped that they would be in time to stop Shane from hurting Greg any more than he already had -- though he was sure that the bastard had been doing so ever since he'd taken Greg. He didn't want to think about what the young man he loved might be suffering at this very moment.

The team made their way to the front door, quiet and stealthy. At a nod from Gil, Nick and Warrick both kicked at the door, not caring that it would bring the other residents out in droves. All either of them could think about was getting to Greg and making sure that he was all right.

The living room was dark; Nick and Warrick made their way slowly down the hallway, pushing open the bathroom door, and then the door to Greg's bedroom. The bed was unmade; it had obviously been slept in a few days prior, but there was no evidence that Greg or his captor had been here recently.

"He's not here," Nick whispered, feeling tears well up behind his eyes. Where else would Shane have taken Greg? Was there some place that no one knew of where he could rape and torture Greg without anyone hearing the young man's cries for help? Or was .....

No. No. He wasn't going to let himself think that Greg was already dead, his body lying lifeless in some remote place where it might take Nick days to find him. Greg was out there somewhere, scared and helpless and .... and alive, He had to be.

Sara came hurrying down the hall, carrying Greg's address book. "This was by his computer," she said softly, holding it up. "There's an address for Shane. I guess he didn't live here." Her eyes darted around the bedroom before coming to rest on Nick again.

"We've got to find him." Nick's voice was terse, controlled; he didn't want to let out the anger he felt. If he did, he would end up doing something he'd regret; and at the moment, he wanted to concentrate all of that anger on Shane and give the bastard what he deserved when they finally met face-to-face.

* * * * * * *


The team looked at each other nervously as they gathered in front of Shane's house less than twenty minutes later. There were no lights on; the garage door was open, and Shane's car wasn't inside. Could it be possible that hadn't brought Greg here, after all?

Nick shook his head, looking up at the windows. He was sure that Greg was here; he could somehow feel it. He was in that house somewhere, scared and hurting, afraid for his life, not knowing that people who cared about him were here to take him to safety.

"Let's search the place as quickly as possible," Gil said quietly, his gaze resting on Nick. "Nicky, you and I will take the upstairs. Sara, you're around back. Catherine and Warrick, take the first floor. If you see any sign of Greg, any sign at all -- be careful. Shane could be armed."

They all nodded, knowing all too well what Gil meant. Shane could very well be holding a knife to Greg's throat, or a gun to his head. None of them was prepared to lose Greg to the whim of an abusive man who had obviously gone over the edge.

The front door wasn't locked; Gil and Nick glanced at each other as they entered the house, immediately heading for the stairs. That could mean either that Shane had left, taking Greg with him -- or that he had wanted them to find something that they couldn't bear to see.

Gil put a finger to his lips as they climbed up the carpeted stairs, frowning in Nick's direction. Nick held his breath, his ears straining to hear whatever had caught Gil's attention. At first, nothing came to his ears, no sound but the other CSIs moving around downstairs.

Then, he heard it -- a sound so faint that it was little more than a whisper on the wind. A soft whimper that sounded as though it was coming from beyond the open door just to the left of the stairs. A sound that carried pain and fear on the air.

Greg. It had to be Greg. Nick couldn't hold himself back for another moment; he literally leaped up the last four steps, ignoring Gil's outstretched hand and his wordless cry. He was going to get into that room and find Greg, no matter what might be waiting for him.

It took a few moments for Nick's eyes to adjust to the utter blackness that he plunged into; there wasn't a spark of light anywhere in the room, not even from around the windows. The curtains had been drawn tight, keeping out any street lights that might have filtered in.

Groping along the wall, Nick found the light switch, clicking it on -- only to find that it wasn't working. The room remained dark; he would have to pick his way across it to the window and pull back the curtains once he could find his way across the floor.

Another soft whimpering sound came from where he assumed the window was; blinking again, he took a tentative step forward, waiting for his eyes to make out the shape of the bed just in front of him. Moving carefully, Nick took a few more steps forward, around to the side of the bed.

He put out his hand in front of him, realizing that he was touching the curtains, then gripping a handful of them and pulling them back. The glow from the street lights outside flooded the room just as Gil stepped through the doorway, both of them focusing on the nude figure lying on the bed.

Greg looked up at them, his dark eyes wide with fear, a cloth gag tied tightly over his mouth to silence him. He stared up at Nick as though he couldn't quite believe that help was here; then, with a soft, muffled cry, he began to struggle against the ropes and duct tape that bound him.

"Shhh, baby, shhh -- it's okay, we're here," Nick murmured, falling to his knees beside the bed. He reached for the gag, loosening the knot at the back of Greg's head and gently easing the folded cloth out of his mouth, stroking his thumb across the young man's swollen lips.

Rather than tying Greg's hands behind his back, Shane had bound his wrists with rough cord, then bound his wrists to his thighs using duct tape. His ankles were bound with the same cord; anger flared in Nick again as the bonds were cut away to reveal the rope burns etched into Greg's skin.

Judging from the restraint marks on his wrists and ankles, Greg must have been tied to the bedposts while Shane was torturing him -- and he'd struggled like hell to get away. Nick wanted to cry as he looked at the damage done to Greg's body, the bruises and welts that crisscrossed his flesh.

It only took Nick a few minutes to cut through the duct tape with his penknife, then he was cutting through the cords that bound Greg's wrists. In seconds, the young man was on his lap, in his arms; he was stroking Greg's hair, holding him, comforting him, murmuring into his ear.

He had no idea what he was saying, and he didn't care if anyone else could hear the words, if they could understand the endearments that were pouring from his lips. The only thing that mattered was that Greg could hear those words, that he knew how much he was loved.

Greg raised his head, his teeth chattering, his dark eyes wide. Nick fell silent, realizing that the young man needed to say something. He had to give Greg the chance to speak; anything that he said might give them a clue as to where Shane was.

"I-I'm ev-ev-evidence." Greg managed to speak through trembling lips, his teeth chattering so badly that it was hard to understand him. "My b-body i-is ev-evidence. D-do a r-rape kit. His s-semen is in m-m-me. You c-can charge him with r-rape -- a-and assault. B-broomstick and .... w-wine b-b-bottle ...."

With those words, Greg burst into tears, burying his face against Nick's shoulder. Nick looked around, his eyes meeting Gil's. Whatever Greg was talking about, he'd at least given them something to look for -- and they could always ask him what he meant later.

Right now, the important thing was to get Greg back to the hospital and run that rape kit. If Shane had raped him -- and there was no reason to believe that he hadn't, given what Greg had said -- they could get a semen sample and nail him for the crime.

"Nick." Gil's voice was quiet; he was kneeling on the other side of the bed and reaching for something. He looked up at Nick, the color seeming to drain from his face. Silently, he held up a wine bottle in his gloved hand -- a bottle that was smeared with what could only be blood.

"There's a broomstick over here, too," Gil said quietly, confirming Nick's question before it could be asked. "And yes, there's blood on it. I don't want to think about what happened here, but I think we can both guess." His voice was quiet, but Nick could hear the anger simmering under his words.

Nick could only nod, unable to get any words out. He had no idea what Shane had done to Greg, but he would find out, no matter how hard it was to hear the words. And he would make that bastard pay. He would regret ever touching Greg, ever hurting him.

The important thing now was getting Greg back to the hospital, having the rape kit done, and processing the scene. The more evidence they had to convict Shane of rape and assault, the better they would all feel -- and Nick knew that they all wanted Greg's rapist put away for good.

He struggled to his feet with Greg in his arms, unwilling to let the young man go. Nick could feel Gil's eyes on him as he left the room, carrying Greg towards the stairs, knowing that the other man would probably have a lot of questions for him when this was over and they were back at the lab.

***

Next story in series - At the Killing Edge.