Disclaimer: The Pact belongs to Jodi Picault, CSI to the big-wig execs who run the show.
A/N: I wasn't going to post this until I had finished writing it, but I figure that a little bit of deadline might help get me motivated. Anyway, this is the result of the previous stories, Desperate and Tunnel Vision, and is based on Jodi Picault's bestseller The Pact. I hope you like.
Sunlight shone bright over the city of Las Vegas. Where once were neon lights that shone endlessly into the night, attracting people like moths to the bright warm dens of money, now shone the harsh light of the sun that turned the desert to flame. The asphalt began to simmer, sending up a mirage distorted by the sunlight glinting off the glass and the steel of the buildings that loomed high over the city.
Inside the casinos, convenience stores and diners that lined the streets of the city, however, people didn't feel the heat. People shopped, gambled, or sat having breakfast. Two people in particular were involved in animated conversation, laughing and chatting about, of all things, makeup.
"… And then my sisters all ganged up on me, tied me to a chair, and used me as their test subject." The man grinned, a little sheepishly. The woman laughed, throwing her head back.
"You're kidding!"
The man shook his head. "Nope. Wish I was."
The woman laughed again. "Well, I'm sure you were made to look very pretty."
The man rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease. Everything I ate tasted like lipstick for a week!"
"I repeat, very pretty."
"Like you?"
The woman looked aside, suddenly looking uncomfortable. After an awkward silence, she turned to wave at the waitress for the check.
"What?"
The woman turned back to the man and frowned slightly. "What do you mean, 'what'?"
The man smiled. "You don't take compliments very well, do you, Val?"
The woman smiled back, but her smile was slightly sad. "No. Not really."
Nick stared at her for a minute, then the waitress arrived with the cheque. Nick reached for it, but Val's hand was faster.
"Nuh-uh," Nick said, holding his hand out for the bill, "I'm paying."
Val raised an eyebrow. "Nick, this isn't a date. You don't have to pay for us both."
"But I insist." Nick grinned back.
"But I decline," Val said. "I'll pay." Nick reached across the table to try and grab the cheque from out of Val's hand, but she held it high over her head like a kid playing keep-away. "You know how I said I'd figure you out in less than a week?" Val said teasingly, "I think I just have."
"Oh really?" Nick said, grinning, "Prove it."
"You're a proper gentleman." Val said, matter-of-factly, as she pulled money out from her purse, "A regular knight in shining armour. You're into the old-school kind of romance. You like taking care of a girl, making them feel special." She looked slyly at him, and fluttered her eyelashes. "Am I getting close?"
Nick hid a smile. "Give me the cheque, Val. I'm paying for this."
"And why would you do that?"
"Because I'm a gentleman?" Nick smiled back, politely. Teasingly.
Val refused to be baited. "Come on, Stokes. I know your game."
"I brought you out for breakfast." Nick spread his hands over the table. "Just breakfast." He smiled. "Besides. You didn't ask what kind of car I drive."
"I know what kind of car you drive," Val said, rolling her eyes. "A Tahoe, standard issue, same as everyone else in the lab." She paused, then grinned. "But do you know what I drive?"
Nick frowned. "No, what do you drive?"
The waitress came back, and Val handed her the money and the cheque. The waitress gave Nick a strange look - as though she'd expected him to pay - before taking the money and walking off. Val grinned - almost triumphantly - at Nick.
"We could have at least gone Dutch if you didn't want me to pay for the whole thing," Nick said, with a shake of the head.
"Maybe next time," Val said, rising to her feet and slinging her purse over her shoulder.
Nick also rose to his feet. "Hey, wait." Val turned back. "Do you need a lift back to the hotel?" Nick asked.
Val shook her head wryly. "No, thanks, I can catch a cab."
"You don't need to do that." Nick said, catching up to her. "The Monaco's not that far from here, is it? Let me walk with you."
Val rolled her eyes. "Next thing you know, Nick, you'll be helping an old lady cross the street."
"Oh come on," Nick grinned, "You're not old." Val aimed a playful punch in his direction, which he dodged.
The two of them walked down the streets together in the early morning sunshine. If either of them felt the heat, neither of them showed it.
"That was nice," Val said, eventually. Nick smiled at Val, but she wasn't finished talking. "Breakfast, I mean. Best bacon and eggs I've had in a while."
"Oh…" Nick smiled, a little more forced than before. "Really? I think Denny's is better."
Val snorted, "If I wanted Denny's I could get them back home." She looked back up the sky. "But this was nice."
"Well, it was nice that you were able to come," Nick said, walking a bit closer to Val. She didn't notice - she was looking around the streets of Vegas, seeing them lit in a different light. He smiled at her, almost wistfully… then frowned as he remembered something. "I thought you and Sara were taking a Vegas tour today."
"Oh, well," Val shrugged, "Something came up. She had to go off and do… 'something'." She smiled. "We only had time for a quick drink in a bar, is all."
Nick smiled. And a couple of songs, if I remember right. He watched for a moment as Val pulled out a digital camera from her bag. "What are you doing?"
"My hobby," Val explained, "Remember? The first day we met, you asked me what I did in my spare time?" She clicked off a few shots.
"Oh yeah," Nick nodded, "Sky-photos." He watched Val silently for a few minutes as she took pictures of the morning sky. Clouds may have a silver lining most of the time, but now, in the late dawn light, they were lined with gold. After a few moments' silence, Nick asked, "What about people?"
"Pardon?" She looked over at him.
"People," Nick repeated, "You don't take pictures of people?"
Val lifted her camera to her eye again and clicked off a few shots of the sunny Vegas sky. "I don't take pictures of people."
"What, ever?"
"Ever." She turned to grin impishly at Nick. "Unless, of course, they're admissible in court."
Nick grinned back. "What about holiday shots, family photos?"
Val shrugged. "Someone else, like my mom. I am exclusively a sky photographer." She lifted her camera to her eye again.
A woman screamed.
Something fell out of the sky and landed on the pavement with a wet thud. Pedestrians gawked, running towards or away from the accident, depending on how close they were or how close they wanted to be. Traffic screeched to a halt as both rubberneckers and concerned citizens tried to stay on the road.
Nick didn't need to hear the screams of onlookers to tell him what had just happened. Someone had jumped from one of the hotel rooms, falling to their death at street level. A suicide. He looked over at Val, who had lowered her camera and was staring in horror at the gathering crowd. She seemed frozen, too shocked to move.
"Come on," Nick said, grabbing her hand. Together, they ran towards the crowd… and to the body of the jumper.
A/N: Watch my obligatory 'No fluff please, I'm angsty!' moment. Someone dies in the first three minutes of CSI... why not in the fanfics? Lol. More coming soon, as well as more fluff, angst and dead bodies.
