Character Death

Chapter 2

Grissom groaned, moving his head from side to side. He must have fallen asleep at his desk again, he figured. His nose itched, and he raised one hand to-

Raised one-

His arms wouldn't raise.

His eyelids fluttered open, and suddenly everything came rushing back.

"Sara?"

She was in the next chair over, her head slumped on her chest.

"Sara?"

"Jesus, my head," came a murmur to his right. Turning, he saw Warrick beginning to stir.

They were arranged in a circle, facing inward. All of them seated in the high-backed chairs. Their hands were bound behind them; their legs tied to the chairs at their knees.

"What's going on?" The young cop, Morrow, had woken up, and was looking around with wild eyes. "This, this isn't normal, right?"

"No, it isn't," Sofia told him grimly, blinking her eyes.

"Sara?" Grissom said again, more urgently.

She wasn't moving.

"Sara," Catherine called from her other side. "Sara, you okay?"

Eventually, Sara let out a low groan, and Grissom sighed with relief.

"Can anyone reach their cell phones?" Brass asked.

"I should be able to," said Nick, maneuvering his bound hands toward his back pocket. "I put it right back..." His voice trailed off.

"They took them," Greg supplied.

"Who?"

"How should I know?"

"Grissom?" Sara was blinking at him groggily, and he was pretty sure he'd never seen a more beautiful sight.

"Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah." She swallowed. "What's going on?"

Just then, the door opened, and Jed Crete walked in.

"Oh, thank god," Officer Morrow said, breaking into a grin of relief. "Lucky you were out of the room, buddy, look what a mess we're in. Can you radio dispatch, let them know that-"

Grissom shook his head, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, no, that's not happening," Crete smirked, closing the door behind him as the group stared at him.

Greg looked startled. "Wait, what?"

"It's him, Greg," Nick groaned in realization. "He's the one who did this to us."

"But he works for the sheriff-"

"Actually, I don't," Crete said. "Never even met the guy."

"But-"

"What we have here, ladies and gentlemen," continued Crete, "is a test. There aren't any grades in this kind of test; just pass or fail."

"I don't understand," Morrow said warily. "What are you testing us for?"

Crete cocked his head. "Let's call it a test of character."

"This is a bad idea, Mr. Crete," Grissom said loudly. "If recent history has shown us anything," he glanced at Sara, "it's that the LVPD reacts quickly to one of its own being held hostage. And you've taken nine of us. You really think you're going to get out of this alive?"

"So sweet, Dr. Grissom, that you'd be concerned with my safety. I've weighed the risks. And if the LVPD thinks they can just walk up the stairs, they're mistaken. I've got this whole place wired. They won't get ten feet."

"But why?" Catherine asked. "What did we ever-"

"As I was saying," Crete interrupted, "it is a test of character. Your first question-"

"What if we don't want to take it?" Sofia called, looking angry.

He turned to look at her, his fingers slipping into his pants pocket. "You'll take it."

"And if we don't?"

He pulled a gun out of his pocket, flicking the safety off and on, then back off. "You will." Seeing that this had effectively quieted Sofia, he continued with a slight smile. "The questions are simple, very simple. All you have to do is be honest."

"Are you going to untie us so we can take the test?" Morrow asked.

Crete shook his head. "No need for that." He pulled out a stack of white flashcards and a black pen. "You're a clever bunch," he said, uncapping the pen and sticking the cap on the other end. "I'm sure you can figure out very easily how to write with your mouths."

He looked at each of them in turn, moving slowly in a circle. "The first question is... out of this group, who are you closest to?"

They all looked at each other in confusion.

"That's it?" Greg asked.

"That's it."

Crete moved toward Warrick first. Warrick took the pen in his mouth, glaring at Crete warily as he wrote. Then it was Sofia's turn, then Morrow, then Brass.

Nick took his time writing, and when he spat the pen back out, Crete just stood grinning at him.

"And the cap?"

Nick froze. "Mm?"

"The cap, Mr. Stokes."

His shoulders slumping, Nick revealed the pen cap between his teeth. Crete took it, still smiling as he wiped it off on his pants leg.

"That reminds me," he said, raising his eyebrows. "I should probably tell you that even if you were able to unbind yourselves, each of your chairs is wired with an alarm. If any of the legs move, or if the weight upon the seat decreases, a siren will sound from your particular chair. And trust me, you don't want your siren to sound." He went further down the inside of the circle, handing the pen to Greg, then Catherine, then Sara, then finally Grissom.

"Now what?" Greg asked.

"Now we tally the votes," Crete replied, shuffling the cards. "Let's see... the first person is... Nick." He moved over to Nick's spot, dropping the card on the floor in front of Nick. "Next is... Warrick. Next... Catherine." He walked around slowly, dropping the cards in front of the named people. "Grissom... another Grissom... Greg... Sofia... Brass..." He waved the last card, grinning widely. "One card left."

Sara and Morrow stared at each other in confusion and mild panic.

"Who could it be, who could it be," Crete sang softly.

Grissom met Sara's eyes significantly, and she nodded, understanding that he'd written her name.

"The last person is... Sara," Crete said, flipping the card onto the spot in front of Sara. "So... who didn't get a card?"

"I didn't," Morrow said. "What does that-" He didn't get to finish the question, as Crete pulled out his gun and shot him in the chest. Morrow stared at the barrel of the gun in shock, gasping for breath, until he stilled.

"I'll be back in five minutes," Crete said, cocking his head. "The next question will be, who do you like the least?" He headed for the door, pausing midstep to add, "Try not to get it wrong."