I don't own CSI etc even though I would really love to.
I'm English so that's why I use English spellings, please bear that in mind when you read it and think "You spelt this wrong" or "We don't call it that!"
Please enjoy!
Nevada
Chapter One – Welcome to Las Vegas
MANOR HOUSE, LONDON, ENGLAND
She spent the last morning in her family's mansion alone, eating breakfast while watching a film in the living room. A clatter at the front door meant one thing: post. She walked into the hall and began sifting through the pile of envelopes that had arrived.
"Bills," she muttered, throwing the first two envelopes aside.
"Postcard from Aunt Megan." A brightly coloured postcard from the Caribbean was tacked up onto the fridge.
"Letters for Mum, Dad and oh, me…" She picked up the last envelope, addressed to her. It was from America, where the rest of her family lived, her aunts and only uncle, that is. Only this wasn't from family. She turned it over to see it was sealed with a blue sticker with "NVR SRV" in silver font. These letters meant nothing to her. She grabbed the letter opening knife and slit it open. There was a single sheet of white paper inside with cut out letters.
"You are alone but where will you run? I know where you're going, Casey. You can't hide. And not even your guardian can protect you. Hear from me soon."
And with that, she left the house earlier than planned, taking the threat with her as she left England.
CSI, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
"Hey, Grissom!" called Nick as he passed his boss in the hallway, "you know my niece is coming here to Vegas, right?"
"Yes, Nick. I have a very good memory."
"Well, is it alright if she hangs around CSI? Because you know me, I've never really looked after a kid since, well, never."
"I suppose. How old is she?"
"13. Very intelligent, good at Science especially. She's a brown belt in karate and is pretty good with ballistics."
Grissom smiled.
"A young CSI in the making, Nick. I bet she got that from you."
LAS VEGAS AIRPORT, NEVADA
Casey Stokes walked into the Arrivals lounge of Las Vegas Airport.
"Damn it Uncle Nick, where the hell are you?" she muttered to herself angrily. Sure, she had half American blood in her from her father and English from her mother, but she had only been to America twice in her life. Both times with her parents. But now they were gone, she was a stranger to her own country.
"Casey! Casey!"
She heard a fairly familiar Texan voice call her name. Nick, her uncle, approached her from the café.
"How are you Casey?" he asked.
"A little shaken up, but I'm alright. How long will the drive be? You know how I hate long car journeys." Casey replied in an English accent, not prim and posh but still definitively English.
"Well…no more than half an hour. My shift at CSI doesn't start until later, so I can show you around and then I'll take you to work. You don't mind coming, do you? Oh, and Grissom, my boss, said it was alright for you to do a little work if you got interested."
"Gee Nick, you got everything planned haven't you?!" laughed Casey.
They made their way to Nick's brand new SUV. She insisted on putting her luggage in the boot herself and was about to open the driver's door to get in.
"Um, Casey? You realise you're in America now? We drive on the right hand side of the road and the driver sits in the left seat, so could you um, get in the other side?" asked Nick gently. He was going to laugh at her for making such an obvious mistake, but stopped himself since in England as he knew well, they drove on the left side sitting on the right.
"You got any CDs Nick?"
"Depends on what you like."
"Whatever you got, just nothing classical or cheesy pop."
"You and Grissom are gonna be like water and electricity, Case. I got some Evanescence and Good Charlotte right now."
"Really? I always knew you were the coolest out of my aunts and uncle, Nick."
"Why thank you Casey Stokes, now please buckle up and get ready to see your new home town, Las Vegas!"
"Just one thing, Nick. I think you should call your boss and tell him we'll be late."
Nick looked confused. Casey pointed to the road ahead. It was filled with cars trying to enter, exit and drive through Vegas. She handed him her mobile phone.
"Use this, I wanna know if it works in America now."
CSI
Grissom, Catherine, Sara and Warrick were relaxing in the Break Room, minus the coffee pot which had gone missing. Down the corridor they could see Greg and Archie approaching them, talking at very high speeds look excited.
"Hey guys! Nick here yet?" asked Greg eagerly. He was literally bouncing up and down on the spot, brimming with energy. The other CSIs noticed he'd brought back the missing coffee pot, now empty.
"Do you see him? Why do you ask Greggo?" answered Sara, who gave him a slightly dark look. It looked like she'd not slept again and was probably needing that coffee just to ask the question.
"Yeah man. Since when are you all concerned about Nicky boy?" said Warrick suspiciously.
"And why is Archie here? Don't you have that video to look at that I sent you?" asked Grissom suddenly. To him, work came first as always.
Archie looked at Greg, who nodded. Archie coughed slightly and paced back to the AV lab.
"Well I heard a little rumour that Nick's become a parent at last…" said Greg slyly, looking at Sara while he said it.
Sara gasped.
"You're lying, Greg. He's become the guardian of his niece, whose parents died recently. Don't ever scare me like that again Sanders, or I'll, I'll do something!" she threatened lamely.
"Anyway," continued Greg, "as far as I know, she, the niece, is gonna be around CSI, so does anyone know how old she is?"
The CSIs burst out with laughter. Greg was staring at them with a puzzled expression.
"Anyone gonna answer?" he asked.
Still they laughed as he stalked out of the Break Room and back to DNA, where he watched the clock counting down to the mystery girl's arrival.
TBC
