THE COMPETITION
Gil & Greg friendship.
Greg's first race with CSI turns into a cutthroat competition...
SPOILER: DEAD RINGERS
Greg finished lacing his shoes and then he straightened up. He took a few tentative steps, to make sure that they fit. They did.
He glanced at himself on the smooth surface of the next locker and noted with surprise that he looked good in his new uniform. He looked just like a consummate runner, ready for the challenge ahead.
Good.
The 2006 Law Enforcement Desert Relay was scheduled to start in just twenty four hours, and teams were arriving from all over the country. Some of them were already doing trial runs, and Greg could tell that the competition was going to be fierce.
Greg was confident, though; he'd run with his new teammates earlier that day and he had hold his own with them.
He wasn't worried... But for some reason, he wasn't as fired up about the race as he'd been say, a couple of days before.
He wondered whether playing some inspirational music might help. Something like 'The Eye of the Tiger,' or 'We are the Champions'; something to put him in the mood for victory.
Or maybe he just needed to remind himself of all the things that he would accomplish if he won this race.
He smiled. Yeah, that was an idea.
Number one reason: He was going to help an old college teacher.
Number two: He'd finally show Chip Barnes that he was not the same Greg Sanders who'd lost every sports competition in high school.
Number three…
Greg smiled ruefully. There was no number three. The truth was, he just wanted to win the damn race, at all costs. Frankly, it was kind of embarrassing.
He'd let what had begun as his first race as a CSI turn into a cutthroat competition. And all because of Chip Barnes. Chip Barnes, who had made Greg's life hell in high school; Chip Barnes, whose hyena laughter had haunted dozens of kids at Lincoln High…
Chip Barnes, who had resurfaced like a ghost a few days ago.
Well, Chip was in for a surprise; this time around, Greg Sanders would be the one leaving the rest choking behind in a cloud of dust.
He was entitled to a little victory, right?
Yes, I am, he told himself, yet again.
Still… He couldn't help feeling a tad guilty. Regretful.
He was not running with the night shift, to begin with. He wasn't running as a CSI. He wasn't even running for Nevada; he was running for the Washington Lab Rats. He felt bad about that, even though Grissom and the other guys had taken his desertion well.
But then, they didn't know the whole story yet.
Greg sighed. All he'd wanted was to win a competition -nothing more and nothing less - but things got out of control, and now had to make all sort of decisions about his future. He didn't like that.
Damn, he thought. How can life get so complicated in such a short period of time?
It all started almost a week ago, on Monday.
TBC
Next... What happened on Monday?