Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me

Chapter 11

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Nick screamed, swinging at the punching bag in his basement. Sara sat on the other side of the room, her head between her knees. Her eyes were closed, and she silently cried, getting her pants wet. Nick was completely oblivious to anyone and anything other than this punching bag, envisioning it as that guy-that son of a bitch that took Greg. "WHY HIM?!"

Sara brought her hands up to her ears. She understood why he was yelling, but his way of dealing with anger was different than hers. She needed it to be quiet, and if she were to be anywhere near Nick, that wouldn't happen. But, she knew she couldn't get up without Nick seeing her face, which was probably all red and puffy from crying.

"WHAT. DID. THEY. DO?!" Nick screamed, punctuating every word with blows to the punching bag. Tears began to stream down his face, and his punches began getting slower and weaker as the tears fell faster. "They don't deserve this," he whispered, leaning his forehead on the punching bag.

Sara sat for a minute. She thought back to the hospital visit only thirty minutes earlier.

Running into the hospital, Sara and Nick looked around frantically for a front desk. Nick had seen it first, running forward, Sara only a couple steps behind. "Where's CSI Morgan Brody?"

At first the nurse didn't even look up. But when Nick brought out his badge, which he never used unless it was urgent, the nurse immediately stopped to listen to him. He repeated himself. "Where is CSI Morgan Brody?"

The nurse typed something into her computer quickly, and she wordlessly read the screen. Sara could tell Nick was getting impatient. He was standing on one leg, the other bouncing uncontrollably fast.

"She's in surgery," the nurse said. "It says here that she had been shot through the abdomen, and had lost a lot of blood. She'll need a transfusion as well, and visitors aren't allowed for at least twelve hours." She looked quickly between Sara and Nick. "If you'd like, I can take your phone numbers and call you when visitors are allowed."

Sara quickly stepped forward, knowing that Nick wasn't in condition. "Here," she said, scribbling her number on a piece of paper the nurse had laid on the counter, handing it back. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Have a nice day."

Nick was fuming as they walked outside, and Sara stopped at a bench by the front doors, urging him to calm down.

"I'm not going to sit down when Greg is-" Nick's voice faltered. "When Greg could be dead."

Sara sighed, knowing the likelihood of Greg even making it through the night. "At least we have Morgan. Once she can tell us who these men are, it'll be so much easier just to stick them behind bars for life." Her eyes begged him to sit down and to stop pacing.

"I don't want them behind bars, Sara!" Nick practically exploded. "I want them dead. I want to make them feel everything that both Morgan AND Greg have gone through. I want to do all that and more, leaving them to rot behind some dumpster or in the desert or someplace, where they can die alone and scared." Nick's eyes suddenly changed. His face full of anger fell, replaced by one full of fear and sadness. "I've never wanted to do that to anyone, Sara." Nick hung his head as he took a seat on the bench beside her. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I understand," was all she could say. She had been thinking every word that he had just said ever since they found Morgan and let Greg slip through their fingers.

Suddenly, Sara's phone rung. She looked over to Nick, who looked at her hopefully, but she simply shook her head. She knew he wanted to know if they were calling because they had found Greg. Once she did, he hung his head again.