This story was written for the Nick Fic Song Challenge on Talk CSI. The prompt was the song, "What's It Like", by Erik Schrody (Everlast).
"This is grunt work, man! They oughta have cadets out here doin' this, not us." Warrick stopped walking and leaned against the wall of a building next to an alleyway. In front of him people moved quickly back and forth, most of them laughing and many of them carrying tall plastic glasses full of brightly colored, but likely watered down, alcohol. It was the middle of the week here on Fremont Street, less people milling about than on a weekend, but those that were here seemed to be having a good time.
Nick stood in front of him and laughed. "We're the evidence guys though. No one said it was gonna be exciting all of the time."
"No?" Warrick looked up at him. "I don't know who you talked to, but that's what they promised me."
Nick laughed again. "C'mon, man! Look around! There are a lot worse things we could be doing tonight…in a lot worse places."
"Yeah," said Warrick, straightening up. "But we're not partying. We're taking fuckin' carpet samples, man. It ain't that hard."
"All right, quit your whining...come on." Nick pulled out his notebook and looked at it briefly before gazing up the street. "We're about halfway through."
"Halfway through this side of the street, buddy. Nice try though." Warrick looked at his friend sideways and tried to give him a disgusted look, but he couldn't help himself as it turned into a grin. Nick was right. There were worse things they could be doing tonight...a lot worse. Checking out the carpet designs of all of the casinos on Fremont was tedious, but the atmosphere on the street was pretty cool. Things were slower and a lot less rowdy than they could get on the weekends, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves and staying out of trouble.
"Okay, soooo..." Nick took a sheet of paper out from the back pocket of his notebook and looked at the four, small, square, color photos.
Each photo depicted a piece of carpet, the result of a victim's cell phone clicking off pictures accidentally. The woman had later been found dead, her body left in a dumpster at the south end of The Strip. But her wallet contained a time stamped parking receipt for a garage downtown dated the day before she was discovered. The photos on her phone were old save for these and one she obviously took of herself...arm outstretched and aimed at her face as she gazed up at the famous canopy light show over the famed Fremont Street scene. And after that were the four pictures of a carpeted floor, three of them almost too blurry to make out but one very clear. The timestamp on the photos put them at about 10 minutes after she took the one of herself...and within an hour of her time of death.
Now the two CSIs were checking every casino on Fremont trying to find a match to the photos. Once they knew exactly where she had been shortly before she somehow ended up dead ten miles away, then they would be able check surveillance video to see if she had been with or encountered anyone prior to her death.
Nick handed the paper to Warrick. "Your turn. I'm getting cross-eyed."
His friend laughed and shook his head, refusing to take the photos. "No way. You finish this side and I'll do the other."
Nick looked up and down both sides of the street. "Uh…the other side has half as many places."
"Does it?" Warrick laughed. "Didn't notice."
"Didn't notice, my ass." Nick laughed as well and checked his watch. "For doing half the work you get to buy breakfast when we're done then."
The two men began to walk across the alley but had barely crossed halfway before they noticed a man standing in the shadows near the sidewalk on the other side. He was short and slight, wearing a well-worn jacket that was at least two sizes too big for him. A black beanie cap covered most of his shaggy, dirty brown hair. He had his hand out and was currently arguing with what appeared to be a drunk, twenty-something college girl who was trying to back up and yelling something about him stinking. The man shouted something back at her that she apparently didn't like because the next thing she did was toss the remainder of her drink into his face. She then started heading back up the sidewalk, tossing him a look over her shoulder as she called back, "Get a job, you fuckin' jerk!" He made a move as if to go after her before he was stopped.
"Hey, hold up, man…hold up!" Warrick dashed across the alley in time to grasp the man by his coat collar and pull him back off of the sidewalk. "Leave the lady alone."
"Lady? That ain't no lady! You see what she did?" The man wiped his face with a dirty sleeve.
"Yeah, I saw. I saw what you did too, man. C'mon…off the street. Beggin' ain't allowed down here." Warrick pointed down the alley and put his hand on the man's back, pushing him in that direction.
"Uh uh…no way, Jose." He set his feet hard against the ground, resisting the push. "Dark down there. I like the lights out here. Hey…hey…" He said suddenly as an idea occurred to him. "Maybe you give me a buck or two and I go away, huh? Get me somethin' to eat?"
"Yeah, right," Warrick scoffed. "C'mon…go on…get out of here." This time he grabbed the man's arm and tried to pull him off the street. But the man jerked his arm away and started yelling that he was being assaulted. "Cut it out!"
"I got a right! I got a right and it's a public street and you can't make me go." The vagrant crossed his arms defiantly in front of him and shook his head. "Uh uh...no way, Jose...you can't make me."
"All right, all right...just back it up then." Warrick gave up and tried to push past him without touching him, but as he passed by the man quickly stepped behind him and in front of Nick.
"How 'bout you? Huh? Help a brother out?" When Nick stopped and sighed as Warrick turned around to watch what was happening, the man knew he had him. "C'mon, man," he pressed. "Just a buck or two for a burger or somethin'. Your man there...he don't care. But you ain't gonna let me go hungry, are you? Huh?"
Nick looked at Warrick who shook his head and warned, "Don't." But Nick was already reaching into his pocket, and the beggar smiled triumphantly and then gave Warrick a smug look as he took the cash Nick held out in front of him.
"Good man…good man!" He waved the bill around in the air before stuffing it under his cap. "Gotta keep it safe…lotta thieves around here!" He eyed Warrick one more time before taking off at a sprint down the dark alley.
Nick walked past Warrick as his friend stood for a moment looking after him, then caught up and walked by his side. "Hey, Nick…you know he's just goin' up to Lee's to get alcohol with that, don't you?"
"Maybe," Nick answered without breaking stride.
"Maybe nothin'. What'd you give him, a five?"
"Ten."
At that Warrick hooted with laughter. "Are you shittin' me?"
"It's not gonna break me, Warrick, and he can get some food or something for a day or two with it." Nick's voice had an edge to it that showed he was quickly getting annoyed with the condescending attitude his friend was giving him. "What do you care? It's not hurting you any."
Warrick shook his head, smiling. "You are so naïve, man. What? They don't have beggars down in Texas? Or let me guess…you invited 'em home for dinner?"
"I'm not naïve, Warrick. So I threw the guy a few bucks, so what? It's not up to me what he does with it."
"Oh, so it's okay with you that he's gonna go get plastered on your dime?"
Nick shrugged as they stopped in front of the Four Queens Hotel and Casino where the sounds of clanging slot machines rang out from the open doors. "Of course it's not okay. But it's not up to me. I can't tell him what to do with it. That's not how it works."
"Oh yeah?" Warrick feigned interest. "Tell me how it works then."
"Here's how it works." Nick neatly folded the sheet of paper with the carpet photos into a small square and put it into Warrick's front shirt pocket. "For going all smartass on me, you get to finish up this side of the street and do the other side." He punctuated his sentence with a big grin and a pat on his friend's back and then entered the casino leaving a speechless Warrick on the sidewalk.
Two hours later they had finally found a match to the photos. In a back corner of the Las Vegas Club Casino where penny slots filled the floor, they found the dark blue, green, and red diamond pattern that was depicted in the dead woman's photos. Security was pulling surveillance footage for them to take back to the lab for Archie to evaluate. While they were waiting they decided to go ahead and get some breakfast since it was getting late…early for most people, but late for two CSIs on the grave shift. So they walked up the street to Binion's to grab a bite in their famous 24 hour café. Before they could enter, however, Warrick stopped Nick, tapping him on the arm.
"Hey…isn't that your friend there?"
"Huh?" Nick looked up to see where Warrick was pointing. About half a block away on Casino Center Boulevard next to Binion's, a man sat on the sidewalk with his back against the building, his knees pulled up to his chest and a bottle to his lips. Nick's heart sank. It was the man they had encountered earlier, and not only had the bum totally played him, but Warrick was right about him after all...right about both of them. The guy was a drunk and Nick was naive. Shit. He looked at Warrick who shook his head, trying to suppress a grin, and then went into the cafe.
Nick took one last look up the street, and just as he was about to turn away again the man looked his way and they locked eyes. The two men stared at each other for at least thirty seconds before the vagrant looked away and lowered his head to his knees. Nick let out a heavy sigh and entered the restaurant, prepared to take more razzing from Warrick. Once inside, he found his partner already at a table looking at a menu, a waitress pouring him some coffee. Nick sat down across from him and told the woman that he would have some coffee as well. When she walked away to give them time to look at the menus, Nick finally spoke. "Got nothing to say?"
"Say? 'Bout what?" Warrick folded his menu and put it down on the table. "Oh…you mean about how I was right and you were wrong?" He grinned. "No, nothing to say about that."
"That makes you feel good? Being right?"
Warrick shrugged. "I just told you so, that's all." The waitress came back and he ordered steak and eggs.
Nick handed the woman his menu and said, "I'll have the Gambler's Special." He nodded across the table. "He's paying," he added with a wink.
Warrick laughed as she left. "All right…all right…I'm paying. Jesus, you're such a sore loser."
"I didn't lose anything, Warrick."
"You lost your money, man. I saw that guy on the sidewalk drinkin' your ten bucks."
Nick responded calmly, "I didn't lose it. I gave it away."
"Yeah, to a drunk who lied to you," Warrick huffed.
"I can't help that, man. It's not up to me what he does with it once I give it to him."
"So you don't care that he's spendin' it on booze?"
"Well, yeah…I care." Nick paused as the waitress arrived with their food. When she had set the plates down and left, he continued, "But I can't give it to him and then dictate what he does with it. I can't put conditions on it. If I give it, I give it. Period. It's not my place to judge him and whether or not he'll do the 'right' thing with it. Who am I to say?"
Warrick still looked skeptical. "I don't know, man…"
"Hey, it's no different than what we do at work. We can't pick and choose which ones deserve our help. We help them all and just hope we make a difference. Same thing." He shrugged.
"Yeah, maybe, but…" Warrick stopped speaking and looked at something behind Nick.
Nick turned to see what had gotten his friend's attention and was surprised to see the man who was the subject of their conversation walking into the café. The man stood for a moment, oblivious to the stares he was receiving, and looked around the room. When his eyes found the two CSIs, he made his way over to their table.
"Hey, man." Nick nodded hello. "Somethin' we can do for you?"
The man cleared his throat. "I just…uh…" He took another look around the room before speaking again, this time in a quieter voice so as not to draw any more unwanted attention to himself. "I wanted to tell you…I'm sorry." Nick and Warrick looked at each other in quiet surprise before the man continued. "I…uh…I saw your face…out there. You looked disappointed…like maybe…you expected something from me…like I let you down."
"It's all right," said Nick reassuringly.
"Ain't nobody ever expected anything from me before. I mean…not like…like they thought I could do anything right…or good. But you did…and I fucked up. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I'm gonna try to do better." He cleared his throat and looked around nervously. "I gotta go."
"Hang on." Nick took his wallet out causing Warrick to briefly cringe, but Nick was only pulling out a card which he handed to the man. "Give me a call if you need anything. Okay?"
A dirty hand hesitantly took the card, and the man put it into his pocket without reading it. "Yeah…yeah, maybe I'll do that." He looked anxiously around the room again, but most of the diners had lost interest in him and had gone back to eating. "I gotta go," he said again but did not move.
Nick started to say something, but Warrick beat him to it. "Hey…" He pushed one of the empty table chairs out with his foot. "Why don't you sit down…have something to eat with us?" He looked at Nick. "I'm buyin'."
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