CSI Fic: Battlefield (4/11)
Title: Battlefield
Chapter: 4/11
Author: Jedi Princess Clarrisani
Beta: Stalker of Shadows
Additional Helpers:
galuxkitty and
puppytraining
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Paring(s): Nick/Greg, Grissom/Sara, Warrick/Tina, wishful Catherine/Warrick
Rating: NC-17
Total Word Count: 25, 184
Tag: The storm’s been brewing for some time now.
Summary: With a serial killer on the loose and Greg’s job on the line, Nick finds himself caught up on several battlefields - professional, personal, external and internal…
Disclaimer: Do not own. If I did, you would have found several shots of Nick and Greg in the background creeping out of the supply room after their long bouts of absence…
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When the third body washed up on the shores of Lake Mead, they knew they had a serial killer on their hands. Triathlete, entered in the big competition, and again one of the favourites, Denis Burson had, like the second vic, been shot. Only this time, it was a bullet to the temple.
“Doubt there’ll be water in the lungs of this vic,” Warrick said as the coroner van pulled away.
“I just want to know how the press hasn’t got hold of this.” Greg looked at him, frowning. “Someone keeping them quiet?”
“Mayor.” Brass answered. “He’s sponsoring the event. He wants to attract more sports events and athletes to Vegas. A few murdered triathletes are bad press.”
“I’ll say.” Nick shone his torch over the ground where the body had been, then up over the water where the light reflected back. “Any info on the trainer?”
“Kasey Baxter.” Brass glanced back toward the road, frowning. “Been in Vegas for two months now. Considered to be the best athlete trainer in Western America. Trains quite a few big names.” He looked back toward them. “Has someone to account for his whereabouts at all times.”
“So it’s not the trainer.” Warrick frowned. “Leaves the other competitors.”
“Only a thousand or more.” Brass shrugged. “It’s a big event.”
“Mm-hm.” Nick frowned. “We need to narrow the search.”
“They’re being dumped in the lake with no piers anywhere close by.” Greg shone his torch back toward the water. “Means our guy might have a boat.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he just might.” Nick felt a sense of hope wash over him at the notion of having a decent lead. “G, call all the boat hire places in Vegas. Get a name for every boat hired at least three days before each body dump and cross check with the names of the athletes.”
“You got it.”
Nick turned to Warrick. “Call the Lake Mead Rangers. We need a log of everyone coming and going. See if they’ve logged anything suspicious.”
Warrick nodded. “What are you going to do?”
Nick looked at Brass. “Our vic was at a motel, right?” Jim nodded. “I’m going to go check out his room. Maybe this time our suspect left a piece of himself behind.”
* * * *
He hadn’t, at least not obviously. They needed to cross check with the evidence collected at the Willrock murder to be sure. If anything, there was another ransom note, and a vast amount of cleanliness. Nick was starting to wonder if their vics were clean, or if their killer was cleaning up after himself. Having known some triathletes back in Dallas, Nick believed it to be the latter.
Having closed the evidence log with a heavy sigh, Nick stood and stretched, glancing at his watch. It would be another two hours until the end of shift, and until he got his results back, Nick had nothing to do.
Warrick was still out with Brass, hunting down an incommunicado ranger, but Greg was at his desk going over the boat rental records he had until he could get the rest in the morning. Nick decided to go check on his progress and lend a hand until something else came up.
Stepping into their office, Nick dropped the evidence log onto his desk before glancing over at Greg, frowning when he found the other slumped over his desk, his head buried in his arms. Chewing his tongue with faint worry, Nick moved over to him.
“You okay, Greg?”
“Mm.” Greg sighed, raising his head just enough for Nick to see his eyes. “Just taking a break.”
“Yeah. Same.” Nick glanced out into the corridor, frowning at the people bustling around. His frown deepened as he spotted Ecklie further down the corridor, Nick turning back to Greg. “Hey, how about we go for a walk around the parking lot. Always makes me feel fresher after a long shift.”
Greg straightened. “Nick, it’s freezing out there.”
“That’s the point.”
Greg stared at him, Nick positive that Greg was going to turn the idea down, so he was slightly surprised when Greg shrugged and stood, scooping up his jacket from the back of his seat and heading for the door. Nick followed, falling into step beside him as they headed outside.
Greg remained silent as they walked, the night cool but not enough to chill. He sighed heavily, eyes to the pavement, Nick watching him out the corner of his eye. Eventually, Greg raised his eyes to look at Nick, smiling tightly.
“Nice mess I’ve got myself in, yeah?”
Nick nodded, hooking his thumbs into his belt as he cast his gaze around. “Cath knows now. And Griss told us about your articles.”
Greg set his jaw. “And the PhD, no doubt.”
Nick simply nodded.
“Thought so.” Greg let out a soft sound akin to frustration. “Been digging my own grave and never even realised.”
Nick chewed his lip. Greg was one of the few people who would mention ‘grave’ in a conversation with him, and while Nick has always appreciated that, in this context he did not. Shaking it off, he looked back at Greg. “You did what you thought was right, G. You help people who need it, you write cause you like it, and you’re going for a PhD because… well, you’re a friggin’ genius.”
“So eloquent, Nicky.” Greg chuckled, eyes sparkling in the faint light. He sobered. “As much as I want you to keep building on my ego, that doesn’t take away the problem. I’m screwed no matter what I do.”
“We’ll find a way out of it, G.” Nick reached up, squeezing Greg’s shoulder. “Atwater knows. And I’m sure Brass does too now.”
“I’m sure the whole lab knows.” Greg rolled his eyes. “I was a lab rat, Nicky. I know how fast gossip spreads in there.”
Nick shot him a sly smile. “Won’t be so fast now you’re not there.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of Bobby.” Greg tossed him a wink having spotted Nick’s surprised look. “He does it subtly. You ask the question, and he answers indirectly. You just need to know the code.”
Nick raised an eyebrow. “I take it you know the code.”
“One of the fist things Jacqui taught me. And I got to teach it to Hodges and Archie.” Greg shrugged, Nick noting how he had shifted closer so that their bodies were brushing as they walked. “I can’t go back to the lab, Nick. I’ll lose it. My mind, I mean. Ever since the explosion, I…” Greg sighed heavily, head dropping. “I can’t go back to the lab.”
Nick frowned. It had been a long time since Greg had spoken about the explosion. No doubt it was never far from his mind, the scars an ever present reminder of how close he had come to losing it all, but Greg had seemingly bounced back. But Nick knew better than that.
He still saw Greg flinch at fire, or break out in a sweat if something exploded at a crime scene. It was also one of the reasons Greg hated carrying his gun - the mere sound of it enough to leave him shaking. Not that Greg ever told anyone about it. In fact, Nick believed that Greg thought no one knew.
It was because of this Nick knew that he himself would never fully recover from the Gordon case, and that Greg would never again be comfortable in the lab.
“We don’t want you to go back , either,” Nick said. “Besides, you’ve qualified as a CSI, and no one can force you back into the lab. You don’t have to sign the paperwork.”
“If I don’t sign, I’d lose my job altogether.”
Nick set his jaw. “Which would you prefer?”
Greg looked up sharply, staring at Nick for a moment before he nodded in resignation. He sighed, seeming to inch closer to Nick as they slowed, Greg glancing back toward the lights of the crimelab. “I’d prefer it to all blow over and to have Ecklie drop it, but I doubt that is going to happen.”
“Yeah.” Nick gripped Greg’s shoulder tighter, noting the faint worry lines on the other’s face. Greg had always looked younger than he really was, and even at 32 he still looked in his mid twenties. But under the pressure his true age was beginning to show itself. “Don’t let it get to you, Greg. It’ll work out. We’ve all been in tighter spots than this and we pulled through. You wait. In a couple of years from now we’ll all be sitting back laughing about this.”
Greg set his jaw. “I don’t see you laughing about Kristi Hopkins.”
Nick winced. That was true. Sighing, he slid his arm around Greg’s shoulders and began moving back in the direction of the crimelab. “I’m just saying, man; don’t let it get you down. Do that and they win. We’re all backing you up.”
Greg sighed heavily, nodding. “Yeah, I know. I just feel seriously screwed right now.”
“It does seem that way. Best thing you can do is push it to the back of your mind and keep working. If we can crack this case, things may sort themselves out.”
Greg looked at him. “How’s that?”
“High profile. Mayor’s involved.” Nick winked at him. “Solve this, save the Mayor’s arse, and if he asks if you would like a favour…”
Greg’s smile turned deviant, eyes sparkling as he gave a low chuckle. “Guess we better break the case then.”
“Mm-hm.” Nick frowned as he spotted a familiar SUV pull in ahead. “Warrick’s back.”
“Yeah. Hopefully he’s got something.” Greg glanced up at him. “You doing anything after shift?”
Nick frowned, dropping his arm from Greg’s shoulders as they neared the lab. “No. Why?”
“I scored some free tickets to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest the other day. Want to come with?”
Nick blinked. “You sure you don’t want to find a date or something?”
Greg shook his head.
“Okay then. That’d be good. Just tell me where and when.”
“You got it.” Greg smiled at him, looking up with hopeful eyes toward the other who stood waiting for them on the sidewalk. “Please tell us you have something.”
“I have something.” Warrick smiled tightly as he looked at Greg, then up toward Nick. “Got ourselves a new suspect. A Toni Carpenter. Local athlete. His car was spotted at Lake Mead within twelve hours of each body discovery.”
Nick nodded. “Entered in the triathlon?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
Greg gestured for them to follow, leading the way back into the lab and their office. Dropping into his seat, Greg called up the triathlon registry and flicked to the ‘Cs’, grinning as he tapped the name. “Toni Carpenter. Age 19. Placed 2nd in the Reno triathlon last month.”
“Current location?” Nick asked, leaning over his shoulder.
Greg looked up at him. “Henderson, Nevada.”
* * * *
Greg lingered back as Nick, Warrick and Brass moved in on the home of Toni Carpenter, Greg watching from next to the car as they knocked on the door. As they waited for a reply, Nick shifted to glance in the window. There was no movement, even as Brass knocked again. Warrick checking his watch.
“After 6,” he looked up. “Maybe the guy has an early training schedule.”
“Maybe.” Brass cast his gaze around, stepping back off the porch. “Our guy lives with his parents. Guess they have an early training program too.”
“They may, Jim.” Nick smiled tightly. “Wouldn’t be the first time a whole family got into a sport. Father and son running, Mum driving support…”
“Yeah, yeah.” Brass moved back toward his Taurus, eyes flicking over toward Greg. “Either way, it’s going to be a couple of hours until a judge wakes up to give us a court order.”
“I’m going to head home, check on Tina.” Warrick smiled tightly. “She’s been asking me a lot of questions lately. Don’t think she trusts me.”
“Welcome to the joys of wedlock.” Brass clapped him on the back. “Your girl… works with her ex, right?”
Warrick nodded. “Why?”
“Turn what she says around on her. Keeps ‘em quiet for a while when you do that.”
Warrick chuckled. “Talking from experience there, Brass?”
“That’s for me to know.”
Nick smiled, chuckling as he watched Brass climb into his vehicle, Nick looking over at Greg. “Looks like we’ve got some time off, G.”
“So I heard.” Greg opened the rear door of the Denali, swinging himself up. “You heading home?”
“I was thinking of taking you up on your offer.” He looked back as he slipped in behind the wheel. “If you’re still up to it.”
“Make a good change. Take my mind off things.” Greg smiled as Warrick climbed in. “Work it out once we get back to the lab?”
“Mm-hm.” Nick shot Warrick a hard look as he saw the other hide a smirk. “We could all use a break.”
“Yeah.” Warrick’s eyes sparkled. “We could.”
TBC...