Closure
Summary: Based on Episode: Targets of Obsession. What if they had been able to capture Jason McCain instead of shooting him. Nick and a newcomer try to make him see the error in his ways before it's too late to save him.
AN: I personally don't like or hate Justin Bieber, but the appearance of his character (Jason McCain) in the show and his timely death left a lot of tension and holes. How and why would a kid bright enough to build a bomb with so many fail safes resort to killing cops?
Better yet, could someone have prevented it had they gave the boy more attention, and it was really necessary to lower all guns on him? The Episode felt incomplete for Jason McCain died with many of the answers.
However, it could not have been that way. Fortunately nowadays there are experimental non lethal weapons that can be use to incapacitate without Killing. This fic is based on the use of such a weapon instead of shooting ten bullets against a boy.
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or Jason. Not the original plot this is originated from. Obviously, this fic features spoilers of the chapter, most of which I obtained from the reviews around the web as I don't have CBS at home.
Nick was furious sitting in the office. Jason had played them. Jason had booby trapped his house and killed Kip and nearly killed him, Catherine and Vartran. That boy had become a huge liability and he was going down.
Ecklie entered the room with four agents. "Nick, this is scientific agent Victor Waber of the CIA. He would like to make you an offer that I believe will interest you." The CSI under-sheriff spoke taking a seat.
Nick examined the guy. Brown spiked hair, black glasses, and dressed in a compressive shirts and pants, both black. Behind him were three agents dressed for SWAT combat, each holding a large case.
"I would like to do the pleasantries Mr. Stokes but time is against us." The man said taking the seat. "I understand you are pursuing a boy who has revealed to be a potential danger to cops in the Country. I take it that, given what happened, you understand the complexity of the situation we are facing, and the likely result."
Nick nodded. Jason was desperate. He hates the cops to the point he will not allow himself to go down without a fight. More than likely the boy would not live. Waber also nodded, he stood and sighted, visibly nervous:
"Jason's Death might prevent further attacks, but it doesn't bring Closure. He will take all the answers to the grave and this is something I would rather avoid. There is the small risk other cells could be operating like him and his brother did. If that is the case then it's in our best interest to extract this information from the boy."
"What do you propose Sir?" Asked Nick, even more interested.
"My agents would like permission to confront Mr McCain They are armed with an experimental Capacitor Projectile. If they are well positioned they can strike down the boy before he can do anything stupid. The capacitors will cause some damage, but far from Lethal. It would enable us to capture the boy and question him."
Ecklie interrupted "The technology is experimental and thus it poses a small risk to implement it, specially in this situation. Furthermore you and the other officers might have to cover yourselves while the sniper shooters hit the target. If you believe this is worth a shot I will allow it, but it's your call."
Nick sighted "Mr. Waber is right. We still don't understand the whole story. I can figure Jason's reason for trying to kill me out of revenge for his brother. But I refuse to believe a minor can do what he did only out of rage. God knows I want to shed my own two cents in his face and beat some sense in him."
"Calm down Mr. Stokes. That's unbecoming of a Police Officer." Waber spoke. "In any case. I will take your words as a green light to our operation. Now, would you please surrender your phone? I believe we can use it to track McCain without him figuring it out."
Nick nodded, handing the phone. The tech officer scrolled down and took his own phone. "This is Waber, please start a silent track on the number 94536623, send the telemetry data to the audio video center of the Las Vegas Crime Lab please."
He ended the call and took off for the AV lab. By the time they arrived there a blinking green dot was standing. Nick, Ecklie and Waber all grinned at it. The former taking his radio, but he was stooped the last second by Waber
"Don't. McCain might have tapped into Radio Communications, we don't want to scare our cornered rat. Call the cops you trust and have them approach but not get to close to the target. Remember, weapons down, leave the dirt work for my team."
Ten minutes latter they had arrived at the meeting point. Waber rallied all cops and handed them earpieces. "These radios are heavily encrypted, it's not your standard officer gear so it's safe for communications. I want you to surround the perimeter. Don't let anyone in and evacuate the nearby areas as silent as possible. Don't grab your weapons unless you hear "Code Red." He added.
He and Nick went into a nearby roof and knelled "They held a thermal reader to the house and watched the screen. "This is Waber, we have confirmed the location of the two suspects in the house. Standby while we try to detect the C4. Assault Two green light."
Nick watched as a commando dressed man crouched to the van. He went under the hood for a few seconds and there was no sound. Meanwhile Jason left the house.
"Suspect spotted. It doesn't appear armed." One of the cops said.
"Hold your positions I want to be sure neither of them can blow up the block should we approach. Assault Two, what's your status."
"I have got access to the Van sir. There is no sign of explosive Material."
"I feared so, empty the tank and return to standby. Sniper Team, what's your status?"
"SW1 in position, I have a lock on the suspect."
"SW2 in position, I have visual on the second suspect, no sign of weapons or triggering device, but he's behind glass."
"SW3 in position, covering the Rear exit. No signs of anomalies."
"This is taking too long." Nick spoke tense.
"Relax Mr. Stokes, we need to be very careful with bombers."
Night soon fell in. "All right, It's showtime. Assault One, cut the electricity grid to the house. Assault Two initiate operation nail it. SW1 and 3 be ready to take your shots, you have two chances and then it will get ugly so don't miss it guys.
Nick held his breath. Ten seconds latter the area fell out of light. Luckily they had been given night scopes. This was succeeded by a fiery blast and signs of heavy smoke entering the House from the back doors. As expected both Jason and his buddy ran away trough the open passage, both armed much to Nick's frustration.
Of course, it was dark and the snipers had both a clear view and the night sensors. Seconds after they left the house making their way to the car the shooters took their mark. The Army dressed guy was out like a light in a second, while Jason evaded the first blast but was caught in the second. The moment they fell the two assault officers came in with their own tasers while other officers quickly tied the criminals and stripped them of weapons.
Moments latter the lights were back and the police officers were dragging the two culprits to two police cars. They were both shocked and sweating and both had marks of their fall but were otherwise fine. Nick approached Jason, who grew furious.
"You are Alive!" The boy groaned.
"And you are very lucky to be." Nick spoke in a voice betraying nothing but coldness. "We WILL be talking about this Jason." The teenager struggled, then settled on spiting on Nick.
Victor sighted "Drag him away!"
Back at the crime lab Nick sat before a chained Jason. "I understand why you tried to kill me. Both before and after your brother was killed by this gun." Nick said placing the weapon, obviously unloaded, on the table, where Jason couldn't even grab it and toss it around.
Brown eyes met him with nothing but Hate, the boy had been silent since he entered the room. "I hope you understand that you being here is a miracle. Has this gone as it was supposed to be, chances are you would be in the floor below, having whatever was left of your chest being cut open by one of my buddies."
"I have NOTHING to say to you." The boy screamed. "You should have died back at the Warehouse."
"DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT WOULD HAVE MADE YOU FEEL BETTER?" Nick asked slamming the table "YOU ARE A MURDERER, HAVE YOU REALIZED THAT!"
"MR Stokes!" Victor Waber said entering the room. "Calm yourself or I will have you removed from this interrogatory. You are letting this boy get under your skin." The way Victor said Boy left no doubt of how pathetic he believed Jason to be. The same boy who was grinning at Nick's rage."
Nick sighted and left the room. Victor took a chair and held Nick's gun. "I must commend you on your skills devising that last bomb." He spoke to no one "Very few adults would have placed a bomb within a bomb, and much less a underage. It's a pity indeed, for you could have a lot of potential for doing good, and you wasted it killing Three good officers."
He cocked the gun and pointed it to Jason, who flinched. "Tell me Mr. McCain, what were your feelings when you created those devices? One can only wonder what would have crossed your mind as you carefully used your left hand and took measures to ensure these devices would cause the harm they did."
Jason remained silent. Victor didn't back away "Oh the mind of a rebel teenager. A mind who thinks it's ready to do great things but has yet to realize the true size of his own self before the world. Let me open your eyes boy, you are but a flicker of dust in a sea of chaos. A mere nuisance only waiting combustion."
"You are wrong." Jason replied, obviously ticked. "I killed a cop."
"And it's that what sets you from the dust?" Victor asked. "Then I am indeed wrong. Perhaps comparing you to dust was overestimating your potential. Indeed Mr. McCain you are a VIRUS. I congratulate you for being more complex than dust but as far as it goes you are even more worthless."
He held two pictures, one of Nick and one of Kip. "This is the person you tried to Kill, this is the person you killed. For you, that's all they are, faces with a badge. Masters of oppression. God Help me Mr. McCain neither of us will leave this room until you have realized who are these people before you."
Victor went on. It was a very long and tiresome monologue as the Scientist gave the reluctant boy a lecture on politics, rules, and the duties of the police. He then went on to list the many cases Nick and Kip had worked on. And although not once did Jason show a sign of hearing the man, it was clear to nick that Victor was very slowly melting the huge Psychological barrier between him and the boy
"You claim these two men are instrument of oppression. But as far as it goes they are and were respectable men who devoted their lives to make sure people wouldn't be oppressed. Maybe nick Stokes killed your brother, but think about how many people he saved. I am not talking about the officers who would have died had he bombed the precinct, I am talking about hundreds of people Just. Like. You. Mr. McCain, who would have been devastated by their loss and might even have resorted to what you did."
The Scientist was shaking, he took long breaths and for the first time since he arrived reached for the cup of tea he had brought with himself. "Think about it for a moment Mr. McCain, use the brain I know you have. Would you like to live in a world filled with Children like yourself? Blinded by hate, who can only see the demagogic negative views about people of good will. I will leave you for your own toughs." He said releasing one of Jason's hand and placing a doorbell over the table. "Ring me when you are done." He said holding the other end of the bell.
For added measure, Victor dropped a DVD with war scenes into a portable DVD player and set it over the table, out of Jason Reach but within his view. He soon left the room and joined Nick and the staff of officers following the interrogatory. The Defense Attorney was visibly displeased.
"What is the point of all this drama?" He asked. "It is clear my client is Mentally Unstable and require Support services. There is no point to keep him here."
"Your client might have useful information in a high profile case. Furthermore your presence here is a courtesy as he clearly violated the Patriot Act." Victor said coldly. "Send him to Jail and he will come back a worse monster. Send him to Child Services and it will be a matter of time before he is out loose. We need to make him realize the error of his ways right here and right now. I have a plan for him which will be better than any Sentence he could get for Killing officer Kip, but wherever or not he will have that door open depends on him."
The Attorney looked to the Chief Prosecutor, who sighted. "Lucas, I think this is the only way we will end in a win win situation. Truth to be told it makes me really disturbed that a Kid would be capable of doing what he did. Understanding what made him rise to that level and making sure it never again happens is far more worth than any sentence I should be forcing on this boy for Murdering an officer and attempting to kill other three."
Lucas nodded and took his seat. Minutes latter they heard the bell ringing in the hands of Victor. Who nodded and returned to the interrogation room.
"Can you please turn off that thing?" Jason asked, his voice softer than before. Victor eyed the boy for a moment, trying to sense deception, but bloodshot eyes were something that, while possible to fake, were very hard to imitate with accuracy. He quickly assumed the brunette was ready to talk and nodded, closing the lid on the DVD player. "So, how do we do that?"
"It's up to you. You can give a statement or write it down, or you can answer our questions. If you wish we will record it, it's easier for you, tough I think having it written by you would be my personal choice. We want to know everything, and you can take your time doing it. If you need food, water or bathroom I will gladly give you whatever you want before you start."
"I wish to use the bathroom." Jason agreed "And I would like a Hot Dog and some Cola. I will do the written version. Just one thing, do I get a Lawyer?"
"You violated the Patriot Act by doing what you did. Your actions were those of a Terrorist Jason and I am afraid I cannot allow you the Miranda Rights or anything else right now. Be glad that we allowed a Defense Attorney to back you up from the other room and that we are willing to give you a very one of a kind way out, IF YOU Cooperate with us."
"And If I don't?" Asked Jason
"Then, as much as It would hurt me to destroy whatever Humanity is left in you. I will personally ensure you are sent to A Maximum security prison where, despite it's name, the chances of you being secure are very slim. You will have lost your virginity not long after going there and I will be really amused if you get out alive. More than likely you will end your own life in a very shameless way." The man said in a voice that was as cold as the one Nick and Jason used at the beginning of the interview. "The moment you killed a cop you became mud in my hands. I can save or destroy you with this hand." He said raising his left hand.
"Fine, have it your way. But just so you know, what you just said is the very confirmation of my beliefs that some among you live to oppress." Jason grinned.
"If you want me to say I am sorry then I am afraid you will be disappointed. I have a duty with every American Citizen in this Country, and in fact every other human being in this planet. Your happiness is not worth the pain of any other being in this planet and in fact it's worth even less than that considering what you did to officer Kip and what you could have done to the Aforementioned Every Other Human."
Jason frowned. Realizing the own Selfishness behind his words. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I guess Alex was wrong. Oppression is nothing more than a Human nature, In my selfishness I was oppressive to others. I am ready to pay for that mistake, but tell me, how?"
"Well. It might feel a bit cliche but I guess I will give you some advice. Everybody has Ying and Yang, light and darkness. And it's impossible to destroy the Darkness in our hearts. What we must do is channel it, because it's not good or evil that makes the human being, it's his choices."
He signaled for a guard and took the DVD player "Your brother Choose to try to Shoot a cop when he knew it was suicidal. You chose to avenge your brother instead of seeking understating. Officer Kip gave up his life to protect others and both I and Nick choose to save your life and allow you a chance to make up for your mistakes. The choice now is only yours Jason McCain.
With that Victor left the office. Taking him and his team back to the Hotel suite they had been using to monitor the case of the bombings. He spent most of the night writing a report to CIA on the operation and disassembling the operations center in the Hotel Room.
He received a message from Brass. Jason had put a lot of effort in writing his confession, and giving info on the other members involved in the operation, their modus operandi and meeting points. Jason had been placed in Jail for the night, but Brass was pressuring the Judges to come up with a decision regarding his status before he became cell mates with people he had helped put away. They even found all stashes of stolen C4.
The second night Jason spent in Nick's house. Under surveillance of two guards and Nick himself. At the same time Jim had enacted operations all over the state to capture the culprits. It was a busy day for the CSI with lots of deaths and evidence recovered. Victor himself went to a dinner at a fancy Vegas Resort and kept writing the reviews on his case.
Finally, at the dawn of the third day, he went to Nick's house with a Telegram. The scene he saw was much different than the one he had seen at the District. It was a fact that both the officers, Nick included, and Jason, were still edgy around one another, and even understandable. But at the same time you could see not an ounce of malice coming from the boy, in fact there was some anxiety in him.
"He's been reading a few books on Psychology." Nick told Victor "He claims he's trying to understand the Human Mind better. He's also seen a few books on Criminal sciences I have around, I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"A officer of the law should never assume. But as this is Vegas I will risk a Bet. Mr. Stokes, this is a good thing." Victor said reassuringly. "In fact I am very pleased to hear these news." He spoke turning to the boy, who had been watching them over the book. They sat on the table And Victor handed the telegram to Jason.
"What's is this?" Asked The boy.
"Your Get out of Jail Card. And I will have you know that this is not the sort of thing we usually do around here. I had to pull a lot of favors to get my hands on this." The officer explained. "I am sure the letter explains it in full detail, but I will give you the summed up version."
He faced Nick for a second and went on "The Supreme Jury is willing to look the other way on your charge of killing an officer and trying to kill other three. You will have it in your file, along with a lengthy explanation on how you were "misguided by circumstances, brainwashed by dissident groups and how your efforts contributed to avoid a possible National Crisis. I will have you know this is only possible because Officer Kip's elder daughter is reluctant to send you into your deserved punishment, as is the Department of Justice."
"They want to believe I have salvation." Jason concluded "That there was some meaning to that Guy's death." He added, not failing to notice the frown of the police officers as he addressed Late officer Kip as "That Guy"
"We all want to believe that Jason because, you see. You will either be paving or closing the way to those that come after you. The whole purpose of this charade is to start a pilot project on a complex but very effective reformation program. It's my belief that if we cut the evil in the young hearts we can aim for a brighter future. You will show me if this is indeed possible or not."
"Give or take some time, in four years, we will show the results to the Supreme Council and then the Chamber of Senators. It will be up to them to effect this project or shut it down permanently. I won't say it's all up to you because there are several factors to be considered, but a great deal of the project relies on you reforming himself from a Cop Murderer into a Law Abiding protector of Life."
Jason nodded "I think I get what you are aiming at." He said flipping the paper. "Sounds like fun. I'm in." He said.
Victor held his breath, once again trying to detect a lie where, at least to his rather sharp senses, there didn't appear to be one." Nodding with a smile, the first one he had given since coming to Vegas. He held up a cuff key and released Jason from his handcuffs and leg cuffs.
"You are a free man, but don't blow it." The officer said seriously "That doesn't mean you won't have to earn our trust." He added, holding a object with a few wires. "This is a very effective forearm tracer. If you double cross us we will know and we will stop you. I will not let you risk civilians lives."
"I guess it's a small price to pay for House arrest instead of Jail." Jason nodded Putting out his arm. In a few seconds the object was softly but securely strapped to his arm. "If you try to tamper with it you will instantly be given a replay of the capacitor discharge, so don't mess with it."
Nick nodded, relived. "What will happen to him?"
"He will be living in a center of the CIA and will receive special training for a field we are developing. Suffice to say he will become the thing he tried to destroy." Victor explained "As my mission concerning the test of the LRCD Weapons are finished, I can allocate time to properly train him on it."
"I can't thank you enough Agent Victor. Your cooperation in this case was very helpful. I for one am glad you let us avoid the worst case scenario, and I hope we will see more of these weapons being deployed soon." Nick said with his boy scout smile.
"Only time will tell Officer Stokes." He said holding a hand to Jason's shoulder. Victor guided the boy to his car, a black Suburban, and they hit the road. Before they left Nevada tough Victor made one last stop on a house near the outskirts of the town.
They entered, and left an hour later. Jason much mellower after being returned to his seat. As the suburban left the town the door to that house came open again and a young girl set her eyes on the leaving suburban. Near her an elder woman, the daughter of the Late Officer Kip, smiled at the black car, holding a hand to her father's Dog Tags in a silent prayer.
Fin
Well that's it. It might as well be a terrible fic but at least I feel my heart lighter after giving a rant on how this could have gone. I understand it's far easier for CBS to kill of the bad guys, specially this one, to get Ratings, but when it comes to Kids, even Teenagers, I can't help but wonder if Violence is the only answer. Which is why I created this fic.
It is my belief that the use of technology and dialogue can come a great way into helping people understand each other and their world. Much strife can be avoided if people are willing to think and to show some empathy. Which is why, by using Victor Waber and bending the rules, I fulfilled my intention of coming up with an alternative to the fates of death and prison, to archive salvation of a disturbed one trough reasoning, and bringing closure to the families involved trough information.
PS: In case you haven't noticed yet by the way I write or my profile, I am neither born nor live in the United States. So of course I have a very limited knowledge of it's laws and stuff. Don't even bother to complain how the events in this fiction are either wrong or very unlikely to happen because as it's been pointed several times this is fiction! For that same reason, even tough I did use a orthographic corrector and tried my best to keep this piece of work pleasant to the reader's eyes, I do expect this work to have more than a few errors and very limited use of vocabulary, and for that I am sorry, no point in pointing it out I don't have the time or the patience to find a beta reader.