Dear Readers,
This is the story that was once 'The Past Revisited' and 'The Nights without Stars', so -expo facto- you have already seen the trailer for it. Now that we have an entire show, my story OCD needed me to start over, merge the two stories, and give you a thorough storyline. Now that I know where Grissom, Sara, Nick, D.B, Catherine, and company is… the more exact and realistic it can be. Believe it or not, I also found myself faced with another question: How do I present it to you? I was wanting to do this in script form, but I read around and I can get my account deleted for this. It is against the rules.
~8~
Las Vegas, Nevada
1:15 am
"Frankly, I don't really care if you think it's my team's fault or not. We handed the evidence over and if your guys broke the chain of custody then it is on you," Catherine Willows said as she walked towards her office.
She looked at her phone in disgust, pressed the red phone as angrily as she could, and tossed it amongst the files on her desk. It landed on top of a tall stack, but the the movement caused the entire stack to spill over. Papers scattered across the tiled floor and the CSI let out a stress-filled sigh.
"Hey umm," Mandy Webster said, poking her head into her office. "I know you have a lot on your plate tonight, but… there is something going on in the AV lab."
Catherine groaned. "What is going on in the AV lab?" she asked, her patience wearing thin.
Mandy seemed hesitant. "You need to come look," she said. " like… right now."
~8~
"What's the problem?" Catherine asked.
Greg Sanders pointed at the screen. "Someone is running our computer remotely," he said with urgency. "We've been trying to block them, but our fire wall has gone down. We can't get it back up."
"Alright," Catherine said, snapping into action. "Turn everything off. Restart the system."
Greg did what she said. "If someone is in the mainframe," he explained. "This won't help. There's no telling what this person has had access too."
"Did you call IT?" she asked, opening her phone.
Greg nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know if they have been able to ping the IP address."
"if they hacked the department mainframe," Catherine said. "Then whoever this is has access to everything: case files, fingerprints…"
Greg restarted the system, but nothing appeared. A cursor blinked on the bottom of the screen and soon it began to type. What it was spelling out made Catherine Shiver?
"Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders, Sara Sidle, D.B Russell, Morgan Brody-" Greg said as he read the names the cursor typed out.
It was on every screen, in every room. The green letters kept typing, repeating each name continuously. Catherine reached for her phone.
~8~
Quantico, Virginia
The ringing phone pulled D.B Russell out of a deep, sound sleep. He looked at the readout and was surprised to who was calling. He slipped out of bed, being careful not to wake his wife, and took the phone into the hallway.
"Catherine?" he whispered questioningly.
He hadn't heard her voice nor seen her face in nearly six years. When he had left Las Vegas, they had kept in touch, but as it sometimes happens, everyone drifted apart.
"D.B, we need your help. Someone has broken down and obliterated the city's firewall," she said. "IT is trying to get it back up, but there is no telling what the hacker has accessed on the mainframe."
D.B rubbed his eyes. "Okay," he said, looking at his watch. "I'll go in and get back to you as soon as I can."
~8~
San Diego, California
"And you can take this too," Missy said, thrusting a ring into his hand.
Nick Stokes closed his eyes and touched his forehead to the wall. "Baby, I've been tryin'," he said. "I just work a lot."
"Yeah," Missy said, grabbing her duffel bag and giving him one last look. "Well you have all the time in the world to work now."
She slammed the door to his apartment and his dog, Sam, padded out of the room and into the bedroom. Nick didn't blame him- it was too early for this. In his pocket, his phone vibrated and he quickly grabbed it, hoping Missy had had a second thought.
"Baby, look just come back inside-" he started in his warm texan brogue.
"Well, baby you may have to wait a while," he heard Catherine say.
Nick smiled. "Catherine Willows," he said. "A blast from the past. How are you?"
"I'm fine, all things considering. Look, you need to know that the city's mainframe was hacked and we have reason to believe that you and a few others may be in some kind of danger."
Nick wrinkled his forehead. "Danger?" he asked. "What kind? What do you mean?"
"Our computers began to run themselves and a list of names started to appear on the screen. Mostly … well… us," she explained.
Nick pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down. "Like who?"
"You… me… D.B… Greg… Grissom… Sara," Catherine replied. "to name a few."
Now Nick was worried, and he pulled a suitcase from the closet. "A few?" he asked sarcastically. "You're right. That's us."
~8~
Anchorage, Alaska
"Here's the boat," officer Bryant of the APD said as he escorted the members of the Coast Guard onto the deck. "It docked here and we heard the crying. Luckily the boat isn't registered, but we don't need a warrant for vessels."
"Thanks," Gil Grissom said, shining his flashlight around.
Beside him, Sara Sidle raised her own light and began to move toward the back of the boat. "It's coming from back here," she said to her team.
Being the only woman in the group, the men followed her example. Not because they wanted to humor her, but because she had earned their respect- not all pregnant women could still walk around at work and hold their own, especially in their line of work. She pushed a door open with her foot and shone the light into the dimly lit storage room.
"Be careful," Gil whispered to her as she entered the room.
When she entered she saw the cages and put down her light. She hurried over to them and peered in at the baby seals. They were all tightly packed together and there was cage on top of cage. Each small animal looked terrified, and they were all crying for their mothers.
"Oh, don't worry," she said to to the yipping pups. "We're here."
"How many cages are there?" Gil asked walking in behind her.
Sara looked around and counted. "Nine, maybe ten," she said. "And they're packed in like sardines."
"They're back here!" Gil called to the rest of the group.
Sara and Gil left the small room so that the officers could photograph the room and carry the cages out. Sara put a hand over her mouth and quickly walked back toward the dock so she could get fresh air. When she emerged from the claustrophobic space, she leaned over the railing.
"You okay," Gil asked her.
Sara shook her head. "I hate that people think they can play God," she said. "It makes me sick."
Behind them the Coast Guard officers carried the cages out one-by-one. Sara and Gil both turned to watch as the crying animals were loaded onto a truck and their cages opened.
"They'll be rehomed," Gil said, trying to soothe her.
Sara leaned against his arm. "What's sad is they were ripped away from their family," she said. "Their mothers."
"Let's go back to the office," he said, putting a hand on her back and guiding her down the dock.
As they walked Gil's phone chirped. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, looked at the screen, and then back at Sara. She stared back at him and motioned for him to answer the phone.
"This is Grissom?" he said tentatively.
~8~
A/M: Well, this is what I am kicking out. A way to tie it all back together. Let me know. -Katy