Rated: K

Pairing: GSR

Spoilers for future un-aired episodes, 715-718.

A/N I've not written for nearly 18 months but felt the urge this morning. Thanks for reading.

The killer stared through the break room window at the couple standing in the middle of the room. They were wrapped in each others arms and oblivious to the intense glare aimed at them.

The killer knew that the case had been difficult for Sara, that her emotions were very near the surface and she felt that her caring nature had led her to trust someone who was completely untrustworthy. They had expected someone on the team to offer comfort, but had been surprised that Grissom had stepped in to provide it. The way Grissom was holding Sara disturbed the killer, something was off. It wasn't the way a colleague offered comfort. The way Grissom's hand stroked Sara's back, softly from neck to waist. The way he was whispering in her ear, dropping soft kisses in her hair. The way she clung to him as if he was her anchor in a stormy sea. Suddenly the killer drew in a sharp breath. It was love, there was love between them. When had this happened, why had nobody seen this?

Shock rippled through the killer, they felt a rage build deep in their belly, rising up through the chest, ready to explode through clenched lips. The need to scream was held rigidly in check as they turned and walked back through the lab. They could not destroy the careful mask that they had built up, everybody thought the killer was part of the team, the same as them, reliable, steady and far from what they really were. They couldn't afford to break down at work.

This meant the plan had to change, they thought they had Grissom's total attention now they knew that his attention had wandered. Sara was now a threat to the relationship carefully built with Grissom, the killer was no longer the focus of his attention, the Moriarty to his Holmes.

Tonight they would start creating a new crime scene, Grissom needed to return his attention to where it belonged. The killer would make sure that they were with Grissom when this one was discovered, ready to help look for clues, close to him the way it should be. The way it would be once Sara was gone.

C:\Documents and Settings\szr\My Documents\masked.doc