Title: No Easy Task
Author: lawslave
Category: General/Angst
Spoilers: General, but no specific spoilers
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. I just like to play with them.
Warnings: Only for foul language.
Summary: No task is ever simple, especially for Nick.
Eight hours they had spent going over the crime scene. Who would have thought anyone could become so enraged at a "Quince" party, of all things? Worse yet, who thinks anyone would pack a gun to a girl's coming out party? Yet they spent eight long hours at a second story ballroom in a strip-mall talking to everyone of the 150 guests, check that, make it 147 guests that may have witnessed the scuffle that turned into a shooting between 5 teenage boys right before the end of the party. Three were dead and three party-crashing murderers were missing in action along with the weapons. The shell casings that were left behind almost blending in with the gold confetti thrown when the Quinceñiera had made her appearance at the party. That had been fun to collect.
But here they were, back in the lab bringing in every bit of evidence they had collected from the ballroom. Nick followed behind Warrick and Greg, each carrying there own banker's box filled with clues to help, hopefully, in figuring out who killed their victims and where they could find them. No chance they were heading home with the end of shift quickly approaching. This was surely the sign of another double.
All three marched into one of the larger layout rooms hidden in the back of the lab and tiredly flung each of their boxes on to the work table followed by their jackets.
Greg was feeling especially whiney this morning. "You know it would be nice to just come into work one night and know you're really gonna be able to go home and relax at the end of your shift."
"You want set hours, G, you are in the wrong business," Warrick answered with a smile, "besides, gives you some more time to hang with us and learn from the pros."
Greg let his body fall into the nearest chair and rolled his eyes at Warrick. "The 'pros', yeah, right. I need a day off."
"Come on, Greg, you knew what you were getting into. Missing the old lab days?" Nick asked as he flung his FORENSICS cap onto the table alongside the boxes.
"Hours were nicer…but, you're right, better to be out in the field and away from Hodges. I think I just need some coffee and food I think. What time is it, like 9 am?" Greg sniffed over his right shoulder. "And a shower, too. You guys up for a bite before we get into all this stuff?"
Before any of them could answer, Nick's cell phone chirped. Pulling out the phone and looking at the caller ID, Nick let out an expletive and quickly shoved the annoyance back into his pocket. "Not again. I got to get to the bank."
"Man, you've been saying that for three days now after you get a call on your cell. Who are you avoiding? You got some hottie pulling a fatal attraction on you?" Warrick looked at him quizzically.
"Hottie, no. My 85-year-old grandmother. Dude, she's been calling me everyday for the past week asking if I've cashed the check she sent me for my birthday and 'bought myself something nice'. Sends me $20 every year."
"Nick, man, wasn't your birthday like last month?" Greg asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, and what are you doing taking your old grammas cash?" The same smirk spreading across Warrick's face.
"Don't start. I tried not cashing them a few years back cause I didn't want to take her money. But then she starts calling to ask why I didn't cash it and didn't I want to buy something nice for myself that would remind me of her, blah, blah, blah…"
"Aw, what is little Nicky going to buy with all that money?" Greg mocked and quickly earned him a smack on the head from the Texan.
Greg rubbed his head, "Ow, man. Not my fault you haven't gotten to the bank."
Warrick had a fine idea. "Hey, how about you head over to the bank, deposit that sucker and buy us some grub with that small fortune, bring it back here."
"Buy you guys breakfast? How did my grandmother's gift turn into breakfast for you guys?"
"Well, Nick, if you take Warrick's advice you can now stop avoiding her calls and tell her of the wonderful meal you were able to treat your buddies to because of her." Greg was liking this idea.
"Yeah, okay. I am gonna take a break and get this out of my wallet once and for all. I'll pick up breakfast on the way back – but it's Dutch."
Warrick fumbled through his wallet. "I'm tapped out on cash; haven't had a chance get to an ATM. Spot me for mine and I'll get you later?"
Greg piped in without even pulling his out, "Me too, Nick. Yeah, get you later."
"Right guys, you'll get me later. I believe that one. In that case, you are stuck with whatever I get you. Nice plate of eggs with a side of beans sound good, doesn't it?"
"Nah, man. Please spare us the Texas breakfast, we probably still got another eight hours in the lab." Warrick pleaded.
"Sorry, man. My cash, my choice." Nick grabbed his cap and jacket and walked out of the layout room. "See you in thirty, if I'm lucky. Tell Gris where I am if he asks."
"Will do. Bring something good." Warrick yelled out and followed him in to the hallway. Looking back at Greg, who was sitting at the work table with his head in his hands, he gave the younger criminalist a questioning glare. "You're right."
"'Bout what?"
"Shower would be good for you, Greggo."
Nick pulled into the first spot near the entrance to the bank. He hoped the early hour would mean a quick in-and-out. As soon as he got out of the truck, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket in search of his grandmother's check. So distracted by his search, Nick bumped into two guys that were walking into the bank ahead of him.
Nick apologized. "Sorry, man. Wasn't paying attention."
"S'all right." The smaller guy responded without so much as a glance back at Nick. His big friend was oblivious, seeing as how he seemed to be in a rush to get in line for the tellers, or so Nick thought.
Nick walked in and mumbled a hello to the old guard at the door. Most of the employees were just starting to scamper into work. There was only one, very pregnant account representative sitting at her desk in the open lobby waiting for her first customer to appear. Seeing that the bank was almost empty, Nick went over to one end of the lobby to fill out a deposit slip. He scribbled his account information quickly and walked over to the tellers' line, the big guy the only one waiting. Only one teller working at this early hour. It was then that Nick got a weird feeling. Big guy and his buddy seemed to be dressed oddly. Wearing heavy coats that were two sizes too big, he thought. Like something you'd wear to hide something else. Weird. And they looked pretty disheveled, their long hair kind of hiding their faces under old ball caps. Big guy had what seemed like an empty backpack over his left shoulder. Big guy's friend was over near the entrance reading some account brochures. Something wasn't right.
He was being paranoid, he thought. He just needed to get his thing done here so he could grab some food and head back to the lab. The sooner they got their evidence processed, the sooner they could all go home and get some much needed rest. Nick's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He grabbed it out of his pocket and checking the i.d., he saw it was Catherine calling.
"Hey, Cath. What's up?"
"Hey, Nicky. Word around the lab is that you're getting breakfast for graveyard."
Nick shook his head and chuckled. "Is that so?"
"So say my very reliable sources. Grissom, Sara and I are probably pulling a double like you. Being the sweet, consiterate man that you are, you wouldn't mind getting some extra stuff for us, now would you?" he could
"I don't know how reliable those sources of yours really are, but yeah. Flattery will get you anywhere. What are you guys working on that has you putting in the extra time?" He could hear Sara's voice in the background shout something about vegetarian, but Nick continued his chat with Catherine over the B and E turned double homicide, oblivious to what was now going on around him.
The blonde teller finished up with her customer and waved big guy over with a smile and a wave. "Welcome to LV Bank, sir. What can I do for you?" Service with smile.
Big guy walked over to the teller's counter and pulled out what looked like a deposit slip from his backpack and slid it over to the smiling teller. "Just got this one request for you."
The teller opened up the slip of paper and the color drained from her face. She opened her mouth as if to speak but could only look up into the face of big guy with a look of utter shock.
While listening to Catherine go on about their case, the teller's expression caught Nick's attention. All he could think was: Oh, no. Don't let this be what I think it is. Nick now ignored Catherine's rant and focused on the scene before him, but still keeping the line connected and the phone to his ear.
"Come on, just be nice and relaxed. I'd like to withdraw some cash." He replied and encouraged her while pawing something under his jacket.
Nick turned to the entrance and could see the smaller guy eyeing his buddy and the teller. Turning back to look back in the same direction, Nick's right hand got a little twitchy, knowing he still had his service weapon on his belt, thankfully hidden from plain view by his jacket.
The teller continued to stand behind the counter in total shock. Much to the disappointment of the big guy. It was at that moment that he decided to scare her into action and proceeded to pull out his gun, all the while trying to shield it from the view of the guard at the entrance.
Seeing that big guy was reaching for something Nick cut Catherine off who was now calling his name and quietly mumbled into his phone. "Cath, LV Bank down the street, we got a problem here."
"Nick? What do you mean you got a problem? What's wrong?" Nick didn't respond and hoped that the situation wouldn't get bad, but his gut was telling him there really was a big problem here. He could hear Catherine continue to question him but kept quiet so as not to draw any attention to himself. His phone remained on just in case he needed to communicate anything else to his colleague.
Nick hoped the teller would just calmly give the robber the cash he wanted and let him walk out of the bank without anyone getting hurt.
The teller opened her drawer and started pulling out bundles of cash one by one. Big guy quickly snatched them from her hand in anticipation of the next wad she pulled out. It was during one of her attempts to pull out a bundle that there was an extra motion made with her hand that caught the attentive robber. The damn alarm.
"What did you just do?" he shouted at the teller.
"N-nothing," she stammered as her eyes brimmed with tears.
That was enough to catch the attention of the guard at the entrance. The 50-something year old guard started approaching the teller all the while placing his hand on his weapon. "Sir, I need you to step away from the teller.."
"Shit," Nick muttered to himself. He lowered the cell phone from his ear and slid his right hand under his jacket.
As the guard started speaking to him, the big guy whirled around and aimed his own gun back at the rent-a-cop, ready for a standoff.
The guard had his own weapon out but failed to realize the little guy that had been hanging out at the entrance pulled a shot gun from under his coat, swiftly bringing it up and pulling the trigger, shooting the guard in the back. The guard fell to the floor, never really knowing what had hit him.
As soon as Nick saw the shotgun come out, his cell phone clattered to the floor, he unclasped his gun and aimed it at the little guy. It was the sound of the shotgun that made him react and he shot once, hitting him in the chest. Little guy jerked back and fell, a complete look of shock on his face.
"No!" Big guy screamed as he saw his accomplice fall back to the floor and instinctively turned in Nick's direction and fired.
The left side of Nick's body jerked back and his gun fell from his hand as he stumbled backwards to the floor.
The few people in the bank screamed at the sound of gunfire and ran for cover. The teller and a few other bank employees who were behind the teller's desk at the time ran into a back office and locked themselves behind a secured door. The pregnant service rep, not able to move as quicky, took cover under her desk.
Big guy ignored the employees and ran to pick up Nick's discarded gun and then dashed to his fallen friend. "Tommy, you okay? Hey, look at me!" Big guy grabbed his partner's head with both hands trying to get him to focus on him. His friend's eyes were wide open.
"Hey, man. Tommy, look at me! You're gonna be fine okay. I'm gonna get you outta here." Big guy tried reassuring his friend, but there was an undeniable tremble in his voice.
Tommy slowly shook his head and sadly looked into his partner's eyes. "I told you, Jack. This wasn't a good idea." As soon as those words left his mouth, the man's head went still and his eyes dead.
Nick clumsily sat up, panting for air and grabbing at his shoulder and the intense pain radiating from it. He could feel a wetness spread across the back of his shoulder. It was a through and through, he thought to himself. Trying to figure out what to do no that he was unarmed, Nick spotted his cell phone a few feet away from him and could just barely hear Catherine's alarmed voice emanating from the slim device. He slowly scooted near his phone, grasped it and scooted back against the teller's counter in search of something to lean up against. He placed the phone on the floor, between him and the bottom of the counter, hoping his friend could still hear what was going on, in the hopes it might provide some help in getting him out of this mess.
"No, damn it! Don't do this!" An intense anger radiated from the Jack upon seeing Tommy die. He clenched his jaw and turned his head in Nick's direction. "Son of a bitch!" Jack pushed himself off the floor and stormed towards Nick. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Nick's weapon and pointed it at the young man's head.
Nick looked straight in to the man's eyes, lifted hand from his wound held it out in front of himself in a silent plea for him to stop. Knowing that vocally begging for his life may or may not get help him any more than his feeble impersonation of a crossing guard, he found his voice. "Wait! Man, don't do this! Please!"
Those words fell on deaf ears and Jack was poised to blow away the man that had killed his friend. But as he stomped closer, the insignia on Nick's hat caught his attention and he stopped. "You're a fuckin' cop!?! You're god damn fuckin cop!?!
"No, wait." Nick pleaded, hoping he could explain he wasn't really a cop. He hardly had a chance to get those two words out before Jack lowered the gun and pulled his right leg back for a powerful kick aimed right at Nick's ribs.
Nick remembered the way his ribs felt after he cracked them falling out of the second story window thanks to Nigel Crane. Thing then was that he was unconscious as soon as it happened and he didn't wake up until he was in the hospital. Nick would be lucky if he only suffered cracked ribs, but this time he was privileged enough to feel them getting hurt one kick at a time. Even though he knew it was coming, the first kick shocked the hell out of Nick. He could swear he heard a rib crack. Didn't help his shoulder at all either. The first kick sent Nick completely to the floor and into a fetal position, vainly trying to get whatever oxygen he could into his lungs. He tried to brace himself for a slew of kicks he knew were coming.
Jack was in a blind rage. This asshole had killed his friend. And he was a fucking cop on top of it all. He wasn't stupid. If he didn't get out of this, he'd obviously land in jail, probably for the rest of his life. But killing a cop, that would get him the needle. No, he wasn't so stupid to just whack this guy knowing he was a cop, but he sure as hell was going to make him hurt as much as he could. The bastard killed Tommy.
Jack belted out 7 successive kicks. Most hitting Nick squarely in his ribs and abdomen. The panting man didn't even know what pain was until one kick went right for his injured left shoulder. The lack of oxygen and pain spreading across his torso was causing his vision to gray out. Although a welcome relief, Nick fought to stay conscious, not know what this man was going to do next. His efforts were futile, though, as Jack delivered his last blow to the "cop's" head. Then everything went black.
tbc