1

For the newly appointed supervisor, Catherine Willows, life had just begun to demonstrate purpose. Despite the endless paperwork, the arguments she often found herself a part of, and the fragile relationships she had with a few of her co-workers, Catherine walked into the crime lab that afternoon with a confidence she hadn't felt in years. She had forced herself to take a few days off of work to spend with her 14-year-old daughter Lindsey, and the benefits really showed.

Catherine strode down the main corridor with a powerful strength in her steps. She saw a tall figure approach and stiffened as Sara Sidle, her least-favourite co-worker, came into view.

Sara nodded curtly to the older, strawberry-blonde woman in acknowledgement as she passed her in the hallway.

"Sara?"

The tall brunette froze and turned around to face Catherine as her name was called.

"Do you want to get a beer with me after shift?" Catherine asked, "We could go to 'Shooters'."

"Did everyone else say 'no'?" Sara asked defensively.

"I haven't asked anyone else."

Sara shrugged her shoulders, "I'll meet you in the parking lot at 10:00pm."

Both women smiled weakly at each other and continued on with their business.

Unlike Grissom's "buggy" office, Catherine's contained comfy chairs and soothing sea-green walls. The closest thing to a bug in her office was a plastic butterfly paperweight which sat gently on top of her mountainous pile of paperwork.

"How are my two favourite CSI's?" Catherine asked, as Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes entered her office.

"Fine, now that you're back..." grumbled Warrick.

"Yeah, Grissom was a real treat while you were gone," Nick said; rolling his eyes.

Catherine smirked, "Anything exciting happen at the lab while I was gone?"

"Well, we've got a 419 down at Henderson, but for once it looks like the victim simply died of old age," said Nick.

Catherine scoffed, "This is Vegas Nicky. No one dies of natural causes around here."

Catherine glanced down at her watch, "Why don't you guys go home for a change. It looks like both of you could use a little R and R."

"Thanks Cath!" shouted Warrick and Nick in unison.

Catherine smirked and shook her head from side to side as she watched her two CSI's walk towards the locker room together.

Catherine couldn't remember a day when she hadn't had a crime scene to investigate. She was content to simply catch up on some of her paperwork. She didn't notice as Grissom, the graveyard-shift supervisor, walked nonchalantly into her office.

Catherine's heart pounded vigorously at his unexpected arrival, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Jesus, you scared me Gil!"

"Sorry Catherine. I just thought I'd mention that your shift ended ten minutes ago. Usually you're dying to get out of here," said her best friend.

"Damn it," yelled Catherine as she glanced at the clock, "I'm late!"

Grissom raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Sara and I were supposed to go to a bar after shift," said Catherine, as she scrambled to put on her red leather jacket.

"The last time I asked her to have drinks with me she ended up leaving the bar, because I showed up an hour late."

"Don't worry, Sara will wait for anything…" Grissom said sadly. He walked out of the office with his head hung low.

Catherine didn't have time to consider Gil's statement, but simply grabbed her purse and ran to the parking lot.

"You know Catherine, I'm starting to think that having drinks with you isn't such a good idea," said Sara with a hurt expression in her honey-brown eyes.

"I'll make it up to you" Catherine panted, "By buying all of the drinks tonight," she offered.

"Deal," said Sara.

Catherine climbed into the passenger's seat of the car as Sara started the ignition. Sara glanced sideways at Catherine. She knew she was taking this too personally, but she was tired of people always leaving her behind.

Sara and Catherine arrived at 'Shooters' by 11:00pm. It was a crisp Monday night, and the bars, like the crime lab, were rather slow.

Sara eyed the remaining empty parking spots with distaste.

"Let's try the back." Catherine suggested.

Sara drove to the back parking lot and found a decent spot for her vehicle. Catherine hopped out of the Tahoe and brightened as she heard the music blaring. The two women smiled awkwardly at each other and walked towards the back entrance in silence.

Without warning, strong masculine hands covered the two women's mouths with small white cloths; soaked with chloroform. Sara watched as everything around her blurred, but managed to scratch her attacker before she fell to the ground in unconsciousness. Catherine felt her body weaken, and just before her eyes fluttered closed, she saw a blurry, black figure come into view.

The two men, dressed all in black, looked around to make sure that no one had heard their victims' muffled screams. They dragged their victims violently towards their hidden black Mercedes, and forcefully threw the two women into the trunk. Catherine bled from her cheek, and lay awkwardly on top of Sara; who was badly bruised herself.

The two unknown attackers got into the car and drove away from the bar as quickly as they could. As the car turned sharply down a dirt road, Catherine was flung from her position in the trunk and landed on her side; squashing the cell phone in her pocket. Her phone responded to the sudden pressure, and dialled the number 'two'.

"Grissom…" answered a voice from the other end.

There was no reply from Catherine's end. The only thing Grissom could hear was muffled voices, and a faint humming sound. He didn't know what he was listening to, but a sick feeling arose in his stomach. Grissom isn't the kind of man who believes in intuition, but tonight was different. His gut told him that something had gone terribly wrong with Catherine and Sara, and for the first time in his life, he believed it.

2

Grissom attempted to re-dial Catherine's number, but found that her phone had switched to 'out of service'. A splash of panic ran through Grissom's body, but he slowed his breathing and attempted to remain calm. With a determined stride in his steps, he entered the staff room briskly, and found the very people he was looking for.

"Nick. Warrick. Greg. My office…right now!" Grissom commanded.

All three men jumped out of their chairs and followed Grissom obediently. They were all wondering if they were in some sort of trouble. They entered Grissom's office and waited to hear the urgent news.

"I received a phone call from Catherine a few minutes ago, but no one answered. I tried calling again, but she didn't respond. Sara and Catherine were supposed to go to 'Shooters' after shift, but I don't know if they arrived there safely or not."

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Grissom told the CSI's.

"Since when do you 'feel' anything?" asked Greg with a snigger.

Grissom shot Greg a look of disapproval, and continued on with his report

"Warrick, I want you to go to Trace, and track the GPS chip in Catherine's cell phone. Tell me if it's moving, and where it's located." Grissom instructed.

Grissom turned to the CSI on his right, "Nick I want you to go to 'Shooters' and talk to the bar tender. Ask him if he saw or heard anything. Make sure you check for any signs of struggle."

"Greg, I need you drive over to Sara's apartment and Catherine's house to check if either of them are at home."

All three young men had the same worried look upon their faces, before they strode out of Grissom's office.

Grissom was left to stand there in thought. He remembered the last thing he said to Sara. "I'm not ready for this; for us."

Spider watched intently as his two associates dragged the two new slaves into the foyer.

"Nikolai, I'm very pleased!" hissed Spider.

Nikolai blushed, and bowed his head respectively towards his boss.

"Leave me," Spider commanded with a wave of his hand.

Nikolai turned and walked out of the office; shutting the French-doors behind him.

Spider turned to his second-in-command, "Tell me Sergei, where did you find those two visions of beauty?" Spider asked.

"Nikolai and I were about to leave the bar, when we saw those two women. I thought they would brighten your spirits, so we drugged them and threw them in the trunk."

"What do you want me to do with them?" Sergei asked.

"Nothing. Those two are mine. No one touches them, do you hear me?" shouted Spider.

Sergei flinched and nodded furiously. He slipped out of the room as quickly as he could.

"Those two are all mine…" Spider mumbled to himself.

"Grissom…" stated a husky voice.

"It's Greg. I went over to Catherine's house like you asked me to, but her mother said that she hasn't been home since this morning. I tried checking Sara's apartment, but no one was home," said Greg anxiously.

"Okay. Your shift's over Greg. Go home, get some rest, and I'll call you back in a few hours," said Grissom before he hung up.

Grissom walked towards the computer lab in thought. "Any luck tracing Catherine's cell phone?" Grissom asked.

Warrick turned toward the supervisor; his face wrinkled with bad news.

"I traced Catherine's cell phone and it appears to be moving very slowly. I used the GPS chip to give me an exact location, and it provided me with an address."

Warrick pointed to the information on the computer screen with a snarl.

After a local Las Vegas address appeared, Warrick scrolled down, until the face of a handsome, middle-aged man came into view.

"Who's that?" Grissom asked.

Warrick scrolled down to the bottom of the screen. In small letters it said, "Wanted: habitual rapist and criminal; codenamed "Spider." Police are advised that the suspect is probably armed and dangerous."

"Shit…" Grissom said furiously.

Grissom immediately dialled Nick's cell phone number.

"Stokes…"

"Have you found anything at the bar yet?" Grissom asked.

"The bartender says he never even saw Sara or Catherine come in."

"Have you found any evidence outside?" Grissom asked.

"There was nothing out-of-the-ordinary in the front parking lot. But, when I went to the back, there were skid marks on the pavement. I also found a piece of Sara's shirt…" mumbled Nick sadly.

"How can you be sure it's Sara's?" asked Grissom.

"I gave her that shirt last month for her Birthday." Nick replied.

Grissom sighed before hanging up the phone.

He turned back to Warrick, "I need ideas Warrick, and I need them now!"

Spider dragged Sara and Catherine down two flights of stairs; into the dungeon. He let his heart beat increase, as he caressed each woman slowly, his mind overdosing on their addictive scent.

He grabbed Catherine first and decided she would suit lingerie the best. He stripped her naked, but found himself staring at the woman's toned body. He took his time putting the undergarments on her, and completed his task by hanging her from the metal chains that were bolted to the ceiling.

Sara's body felt limp in his hands, but he felt a strength about her that pleased him; he loved it when they tried to fight back. He chained Sara up first, before he tore off her clothes. He dressed Sara in the same red lingerie that he had dressed Catherine in.

He ripped off the grey, metallic duct-tape that lined each woman's mouth with a gasp of pleasure.

He stood back and stared at his latest prizes, "I'll be back, my darlings. Spider has to find his knives."

He turned around and left the two CSI's to dangle there unconsciously, as he climbed the stairs in search of his sharpest knives.

"Do you have any ideas yet?" Grissom asked.

"I have one, but you're not going to like it. If Spider has kidnapped Sara and Catherine, then realistically it's because he knows he can sell them for a lot of money. Therefore, the only way to get them back would be to buy them. In other words Gris, someone would have to literally become a slave buyer, in order to save Sara and Cath." Warrick stated.

Grissom pondered this for a moment, "No, we couldn't do that. It would be too dangerous, and there's no way the Crime Lab is going to give us the money," Grissom replied.

Warrick frowned. Grissom looked at the CSI, "So what are we waiting for 'rick? Help me get ready! I'll need a fake ID, new clothes, etc."

"But, I thought you said it was too dangerous?" said a stunned Warrick.

Sara flashed before Grissom's eyes, "It is. But, I'm willing to risk my life for theirs. "

3

Sara opened her eyes and squinted as the darkness enveloped her. She lowered her head to stare at her dishevelled body.

"Sara…" croaked a hoarse voice beside her.

Sara turned her head towards the familiar voice, "Catherine? Is that you?" Sara asked; breaking the deafening silence.

"Yes. What happened Sara? I remember walking towards the bar, but everything's a horrible blur after that," she said weakly.

Sara's eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, and she could see Catherine's body dangling from two chains; just like hers.

"Oh my God," whispered Sara.

"I think we've been kidnapped…"

"Are you hurt?" Sara asked.

"I feel like shit."

"Dido," replied Sara.

Catherine struggled in her chains, but stopped as the metal bit into her wrists.

"These chains are bolted shut. There's no way out, except with a key."

"I think we were duct-taped too by the feel of my lips, but someone must have removed it before we awoke," said Sara.

Sara and Catherine stared blankly at each other, but their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

The metal door of the dungeon creaked open with a squeak.

"Good evening my darlings," Spider said melodramatically.

"Let us go you bastard!" Catherine yelled angrily; lunging at her kidnapper.

Spider chuckled and glided towards Catherine smoothly; revealing the object hidden behind him.

"What were you saying?" Spider asked as he raised the knife to her neck.

Catherine's neck muscles tensed as the knife carved delicately into her throat.

Catherine remained silent, but her eyes blazed with hatred.

"That's what I thought," said Spider as he lowered the knife.

He walked over to Sara and saw the fierceness behind her eyes. He grabbed a lock of her hair softly and inhaled it passionately. Sara held her breath as he circled around her. He placed one hand over her mouth, while the other lingered around her body in exploration.

"Stop it…" Catherine whispered, as she watched him touch Sara.

"Are you jealous?" Spider asked. He moved to stand beside Catherine and blew softly into her ear, until her entire body trembled.

Spider stepped away from Catherine and walked back towards the center of the room, so both women could see him properly.

"I received a phone call just now from a potential buyer. I told him I wasn't interested, but he's willing to pay a handsome amount of money for the two of you."

"But, before the deal is final, I always allow the customers a sample viewing of their prizes," Spider grinned evilly.

"What do you mean by a 'viewing'?" Sara asked.

Catherine looked away from them both and shook her head silently. "He means he wants you and me to 'perform' Sara…" said Catherine; blushing tremendously.

"This is ridiculous. Let us out of here you asshole!" Sara screamed.

Spider walked over to Catherine and placed handcuffs over her wrists. He did the same to Sara and then undid the metal chains with his golden key. Both women stood in place; quite aware of the knife pointed at them.

"You two practice your moves. I'll be back soon with your new Master."

Spider closed the metal door behind him, and left the two CSI's to wallow in their own panic.

Nikolai came running down the stairs, "There's someone here to see you. He said his name was Grissom or something."

"Show him to my office Nikolai," Spider said quickly to his servant.

Nikolai ran back up the stairs towards the main entrance, while Spider took the long way towards his office.

A few moments later, an older man entered the office; just in time to see Spider enter from a secret doorway.

"Mr. Grissom I presume?" asked Spider as he shook Grissom's outstretched hand.

"Yes. But, what should I call you, sir?" asked Grissom awkwardly.

"Please, call me Spider."

Spider gestured towards an empty leather seat to his left, and Grissom took it gratefully.

"Why do people call you Spider? If you don't mind me asking," Grissom said hurriedly.

Grissom waited for Spider to stiffen, but instead, he cocked an eyebrow and seemed amused by this question. "Well, people call me Spider because of my personality. Like most Spiders, I am misunderstood. But, when angered, I too am known for my fierce temper," replied Spider suavely.

"I see…" said Grissom uneasily.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Spider commented.

"I understand that you have two women in your possession that are for sale?" Grissom asked.

"Yes. You'll be delighted to know that I've arranged for you to have a special preview of the girl's before you finalize the agreement" said Spider with a wink.

"Please, follow me" said Spider; walking towards the closed French-doors. He held the door open for Grissom and led him down the hallway.

Grissom reached a flight of stairs and stared down into the dark abyss.

"Where exactly are these beauties?" Grissom asked nervously.

"I keep them in the dungeon."

Grissom gulped and followed Spider down two flights of stairs. He barely had time to catch his breath as he was led through a metal door.

Grissom almost completely lost his composure as he saw Sara and Catherine hunched half-naked in a corner with their backs to him. He regained it quickly, but he couldn't look at them.

"Sergei, teach our ladies how to greet their new Master with style," Spider ordered.

Sergei pushed Catherine and Sara around to face Grissom.

Sara's eyes widened as she saw Grissom. Catherine almost stopped breathing when she saw her best friend staring back at her, but the look in his eyes told her not to interfere.

"Move you sluts!" Sergei yelled.

Sara and Catherine looked at each other and then at Grissom. His small nod told them he was there to help, so both women knew what had to be done.

Catherine started moving her hips seductively. For once in her life, being an exotic dancer actually paid off. Sara followed her lead and brushed up against Catherine softly. Their hands moved across each other's body playfully.

Grissom couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't let Sara and Catherine be humiliated any longer.

"Stop." Grissom commanded; holding up his hand.

"Is something wrong Mr. Grissom?" Spider asked apprehensively.

"Not at all. I've seen enough to know that they'll make excellent slaves." Grissom replied smoothly.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go back up to the office and discuss the price for these slaves," Grissom stated.

Grissom turned to leave, "Oh, I almost forgot. Would it be alright if the ladies were escorted by my driver out to my limo?"

Spider thought about this for a moment, "You seem like an honest man Mr. Grissom, so I will allow this."

"Nikolai, escort these women to the front foyer please. Make sure you give the handcuff keys to Mr. Grissom's chauffeur."

Nikolai and Sergei grabbed onto Sara and Catherine painfully, and the two women kicked and screamed all the way up the stairs for effect. Spider and Grissom decided to take the rear, and followed the two women up the stairs. Grissom gave a small nod towards Warrick, his driver, before re-entering the criminal's expensive office.

Sara and Catherine could hardly breathe when they saw Warrick. They struggled to keep the ecstasy off of their faces.

Nikolai shoved the two women towards Warrick and threw the handcuff keys on the floor for Warrick to pick up. Warrick shoved the keys into his pocket with a snarl, and grabbed his two friends roughly; not wanting to ruin the act.

Catherine and Sara wiggled in Warrick's grasp all the way to the black limo, while Nikolai and Sergei watched from the bay windows.

Warrick practically threw his friends in the back seat, locked them in, and strolled around to the driver's side and climbed in. The tinted windows hid everyone from view, but Nikolai and Sergei kept watch over the limousine.

Warrick turned around in his seat and tossed the handcuff keys behind him.

Catherine and Sara were in tears as they freed their wrists from the gnawing metal.

"I thought we were going to die!" Sara whispered.

"So did I," replied Catherine.

"I don't know how to thank you Warrick. If it wasn't for you and Gil, we would have been killed for sure!" said Catherine gratefully.

But Warrick didn't reply; his face had completely frozen.

"What is it Warrick?" Sara asked, as she noticed the unusual look on his face.

"Grissom and I didn't really make a plan about how we were going to save you. Everything just sort of happened. But, he's still in there…"

"Shit! Grissom probably doesn’t even have a check book with him. Spider won't let him leave without paying for us," said Catherine.

"Warrick, hand me your cell phone." Sara demanded.

Warrick passed his cell phone to Sara, "Who are you calling?"

"Brass. I think it's time to call in the reinforcements."

"So we're all set then? That will be 200,000 please," Spider said triumphantly.

Grissom's mouth dropped, "200,000?" he stuttered.

"Yes. 100,000 for each."

Grissom tried to stall for as long as he could, "Oh, before I pay you, what do you know about those women?"

Spider looked incredibly harassed, "I don't have time for this Mr. Grissom. Will you be paying in cash or check?"

"Check, I guess."

"Make sure you write Vladimir Polovski down. That's my real name," Spider said with a nod to the check Grissom was holding.

All of a sudden, Spider's French-doors swung open to reveal a very angry, very armed James Brass. Behind him were over a dozen officers; fully armed.

"Who the hell are you?" Spider shouted.

"Shut up and put your hands behind your head!" yelled Brass.

Spider reached slowly for the knife on his desk, but Brass was too fast for him. A single shot rang though the large room, and everything went silent.

Spider fell slowly to the floor; clutching his chest in agony.

"Who are you?" Spider asked Grissom.

"My name is Gil Grissom. I work for the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and the two women you kidnapped are apart of my staff," he answered; practically spitting on the dying man.

"Gil, I thought you liked Spiders…" Brass said with a smirk.

"I do, but some Spider's deserved to be squashed," Grissom replied.

Brass pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulance, but Grissom wasn't paying attention. He walked out of the office in a trance; quite aware that he could have died just moments before.

"Grissom!" called a female voice.

Grissom looked up and saw a blurred figure running towards him.

Catherine rushed towards Grissom and hugged her best friend tightly. "Thanks Gil," she said gratefully.

Catherine stepped back and waited for Sara to approach Grissom.

Grissom looked away in embarrassment, "Sara--"

But he didn't have the chance to say anything else, as she swept him up in a tight hug. She pressed her lips hard against his, and they were both electrified with emotion.

Grissom panted when Sara stepped back, but he held on to her hand tightly; never wanting to let go.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Warrick said from the doorway.

Catherine walked hand-in-hand with Warrick, as did Sara and Grissom. Neither of the men even noticed Sara and Catherine's appearance; they were just happy to have them back.

It was Thursday morning, and Catherine walked happily into Grissom's office.

"Hey stranger," she said from the doorway.

"I know I've already told you this a million times Gil, but I really am grateful that you risked your life to save Sara and me…" Catherine said sheepishly.

"You owe me; big time," he said jokingly.

Sara entered Grissom's office with a smile; followed by Warrick, Nick, and Greg.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Greg told his friends frantically.

"Do you guys want to hit a bar to celebrate your return?" the young CSI asked.

"NO!" Sara and Catherine yelled in unison; both flinching at the very thought of going to another bar.

The two women looked at each other and laughed until they couldn't breathe. They walked out of the office together in deep conversation. Grissom watched as his best friend and his lover walked down the hallway. He was the happiest man alive.

Now, all he has to do is find a way to tell Sara that he loves her…

THE END