Author's Note: I am proud to bring yet another installment to the "Night Shift Mischief" series! If you're new to the fun, check out "Twenty Questions," "I Never," and "Hide and Seek!"
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of CSI:NY, they are the property of Anthony E. Zuiker and CBS.
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"Nice to see you all again," Dr. Marty Pino greeted his fellow night shift incarcerated co-workers.
Danny and Lindsay looked very unhappy. They could think of so many better ways to spend a night. None of the scenarios involved work...well, okay, one of Danny's did. "Oh, come on, guys!" Marty said. He was grinning ear to ear. "I have the best idea ever."
"Oh really." Danny didn't sound impressed. "What might that be?"
Marty couldn't stop smiling. "Let's wait till everyone gets here." He was hopping from one foot to the other, like a little kid at Christmas time.
The elevator pinged and Adam Ross and Dr. Sid Hammerback stepped onto the 35th floor. Adam offered a wave. "Hi."
"Hey Adam," Lindsay said. She looked over at Marty. "All right, Pino. What's your wild and crazy idea?"
Marty reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out two handkerchiefs. One was blue, and one was orange. "Marty, do you buy everythin' in Giants colors?" Danny asked him.
"Everything including my underwear," Marty shot back.
"There's a visual I could have lived without," Sid said. He nodded to the handkerchiefs. "So what are those for? You know, I played a game in college once with a few girls and my roommates. We blindfolded each other and then-"
"STOP!" yelled Danny, Lindsay, Adam and Marty.
"Anyway," Marty continued with a death glare at Sid, "when you guys were kids did you ever go to summer camp and play 'Capture the Flag?'"
Lindsay snorted. "Pino, you're not serious?"
He spread his hands wide. "My dear Miss Monroe, can you think of something better to do?"
Lindsay, sadly, could come up with nothing, which is why she ended up on a team with Adam and Danny, and was now taping a line down the rough middle of the lab. "God I hope Mac doesn't come in early tomorrow morning," she said. She stuck the line down at the end. "There. Now what?"
"Now we hide our flags," Marty said. He and Sid were the other team. Marty was convinced that Danny and Lindsay needed Adam more than the medical examiners did. Adam was a little put out until Danny told him he was smarter and better-looking than Marty, and that they'd rather have him than Sid.
"Wait, wait. We need rules," Lindsay said. "First off, flags have to be in plain sight. No hiding them in drawers, on your person...or in appliances," she said with a glance at Marty. During their first shift with him, Marty Pino had managed to squeeze himself into the refrigerator in the break room. It was how Mac first began to realize his team may not have been taking their night shifts seriously.
Marty only grinned and wagged his eyebrows mischievously.
"We can deal with that," Sid said. "Second rule?"
"One person always has to stay back to guard the flag," Lindsay said.
"That puts us at a disadvantage," Marty immediately spoke up.
"Marty, you coulda had Adam," Danny pointed out. "Your loss, and now you gotta deal with it."
"Anything else?" Sid asked.
"If you get the flag you have to keep it in sight. No sticking it in a pocket...or anywhere else, Marty," Danny spoke up.
"That's just gross," Marty said innocently. "Anything else, Messer? Monroe?...Whatever your last name is?"
"It's Ross," Adam said, slightly miffed.
"Right right." Marty clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "So. Are we ready for this?"
"Hold up," Danny said.
"What, Messer?" Marty asked.
"We need team names. That's the best part of the whole damn thing."
"Danny, no we don't." That was from Lindsay.
He grinned. "C'mon, Montana, it'll be fun. I think we should be the Death Squad."
"I think not," Adam said.
"We're the Giants," Marty said.
Danny threw his hands in the air. "Why am I not surprised."
"Then in all fairness, we should be the Cowboys," Lindsay said with a sideways look at Danny.
He grinned, catching the reference. "I can do that."
"I can handle that," Adam agreed.
"Now that we have the final opinion of Rich, can we please get started?"
"It's Ross. And let's do this thing," Adam said, more forcefully than either Danny or Lindsay would have given him credit for. The young man suddenly looked very determined.
"One minute to hide the flag," Sid said. "Go."
