Honour Thy Children
Character: Nick Stokes, The Team, The Lab Rats
Genre: Drama-AU
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the computer for which this was written on.
Rating: T (but M scenes will come)
Synopsis: Nick's career takes a new turn, but soon finds his past comes back to haunt him, invading the present and jeapordizing the future.
A/N: I'm not familiar with the Nevada desert, please excuse any geographical mistakes.
Thanks Smokey for your BETA.
This story started off as a Nick Song Fic in CSI Files, but I'm going to expand on it.
No flames, please. This is just for fun.
Chapter One
Did God overlook it
What ought have been written
The eleventh commandment
Honour thy children
The Eleventh Commandment by Collin Raye
Normally, a bright sunny day would bring out the best in someone, especially Nick Stokes with his happy-go-lucky disposition in spite of tragedy around him. Unfortunately, the rays only highlighted the tension he was feeling as he drove along 151 with Captain Jim Brass beside him, equally tense.
The sun blazed down on the vehicle, as they headed towards Valley of Fire National Park. They led a procession of cop cars and Denalis to the designated area.
Jim Brass sat beside him, equally tense. It had taken over six weeks, 1000 tips and one confession and now another sad chapter would unfold as the passenger behind them would lead them to the remains of 10-year-old Madison Conway.
Behind them sat 19 year old Sheila "Sugary" Cane. Her blonde hair in corn rows, her eyes covered with shades. She wore a black track suit that fit all too tight on her shapeless, boney body. She casually chewed gum. She had cut a deal with the DA to drop the death penalty if she led them to Madison.
"Do you mind spitting that out?" Nick asked, irritated by the smacks and pops perforating his concentration, as well as his ear drum. Normally, he could handle endless distractions, but at this moment he was as wound up as a tight as an elastic band, any added pressure would surely cause him to snap and this young suspect would find out how deep his rage would take him.
Sugary glared at him defiantly. What the hell ever happened to respecting your elders these days? All Nick could think of was if he ever showed such disrespect to older folks as a teen, his father would not have hesitated to grab for his belt, no matter how old the younger Texan got, his ass would be on fire for days.
"Where?" she retorted with all the teenage snotty attitude she could muster.
"There's a garbage pail in the back."
Sugary sighed and looked at her defense lawyer, Edward Greenspawn, a swarmy, yet well dressed young man of about 32. He held the pail and she loudly spit into it. From the mirror, Nick could tell she was smirking at him. The same smirk she wore during interrogation, during the viewing of the video and now as she gave them directions.
Finally, they reached one of Nevada's oldest state park. It's reddish rocks heralding their arrival. Nick pulled the Denali over as black and whites drove beside them and awaited Brass's instructions.
As they waited, Nick stared once again for a moment into the mirror at the young woman. From the moment she was brought into the station, he had felt some connection to her which he could not explain. She looked familiar, yet she was a stranger. While on the surface, there was nothing unique about her, another Vegas show girl wanna be, but an inkling told him there was a history there between them which could not or would not be explained to him.
A knock on the window jarred his thoughts; Brass motioned for him to come out of the car.
A second Denali had pulled up. Greg and Riley were rummaging through the back getting their kits in gear. Super Dave soon joined them along with a throng of reporters who had been following them. Bras ordered several officers to form a barricade.
"I hate these cases." Sara griped slinging a camera over head as she sidled up beside Nick, her brunette hair done up in a high pony which slunk through a baseball hat. Greg walked up to the other side and asked, "You okay Nick?"
Nick simply nodded, noting tension between his shoulder blades while his jaw clenched.
"I mean, " Greg continued oblivious to the body language, "That was probably hard to watch.."
"I'm fine Greg!" Nick answered sharply and walked away hearing Sara tell the CSI Level 3 under her breathe, "Nice going. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a course in reading body language."
"Are you willing to tutor me?" Greg asked slyly.
"Alright knock it off you two." Nick turned around and faced them, "There's a dead child here, there's no time for laughter."
Greg looked sheepish and almost guilty.
xxxXXxx
Hours passed as they walked along. Sherry simply trip tropped along without a care in the world. Her hands shackled. Her lawyer wiped his sweaty face and stared down sadly at his grey Armani suit, stained beyond repair. He certainly didn't come out ready for this hike.
"Well, where is she?" Nick finally asked. The hot sun was blazing on him, sweat was pouring down his scalp, he wiped a hand along his face and stepped closer to her. "C'mon you know where she is.."
"I don't know. Ben said she was here." She looked around, her glasses slid to the end of her nose, her boney arms hung.
A dangerous silence fell in the group as Sherry shuffled her foot and looked around, looking for some pin points. "It's like I said. There was a group of red rocks, a bush.." her voice trailed off.
"You know what I think?" Nick said, over-heated and exhausted beyond means, "I think you're just playing us for fools. I think you just wanna spend a few extra days getting some fresh air because you know you're going away for a long time, right?"
Sherry looked down at the desert sand beneath her sandaled feet and sighed. Her lawyer whispered a few words in her ear and looked at the men shaking his head.
"Well then where the hell is she?" Brass asked wiping a sweaty brow. He was short and stocky, but he could hold his own.
The young woman scanned the two men in front of her and finally said, "I don't know."
xxXXxx
The day bore into night, which soon bore into morning as the team finished collecting, photographing and gathering items such as clothes, a plastic spoon, an empty soup can. All could be evidence or none of it. If Madison was in the area, it could be evidence, if not, just garbage. What evidence they did find. Very little was said between them, no words needed to be said.
"It's time to get back to the lab." Nick stopped in front of the group. "We're not going to find anything in the dark."
Sara nodded. "I agree." She threw a look at the young woman before adding. "And I think you're right Nick, she only wanted to get some fresh air because she knows she's going to go away for a very long time."
Mr. Greenspawn held up his hand, "Please don't badger my client."
Sara stared daggers at the young, bushy-haired lawyer, watching sweat brew on his goatee.
Sherry looked down and mumbled, "She's here. I know she is."
Nick turned to Sara. "I'm going to take another look at that clip again to get some clues."
"I'll help you." She told him.
"No, I'd rather do this myself." His jaw clenched.
"But Nick.." Sara could see veins popping on his neck and arms, his shoulders rigid with tension.
But he turned away from the group and stormed back to the Denali.
xxXXxx
Twenty-four hours led to 48 hours and Nick thought the monitor was splitting into twos and threes.
"Nick, you need to get some rest." Catherine walked beside him and placed a hand on his back.
"I'm fine Catherine." He looked up warily taking note of the circles under Catherine's piercing blue eyes, her normal sheen of blonde looking slightly limp. Cases involving child abductions and murder always weighed heavily on his supervisor, which was why Nick took the lead on the case.
"Are you sure?"
Nick smiled faintly at her, in the years they worked together she knew him better than any of the team, knew things about him that no one else did.
"Has Ben Seabird talked?"
"No," Catherine sighed, "Still in the cell crying his heart out."
"Not of remorse, just because he got caught." Nick said.
"I know, but you need to get home." She squeezed his shoulder.
"You know pisses me off." Nick turned back to the screen. "These fuckers can just do what they want and get away with it!"
"No, he's not going to get away with it."
"Yeah, he'll cop a plea."
"I don't think the judge will allow that."
"Bull fucking shit!" Nick grumbled and turned back to the screen, watching the screen in slow motion, achingly looking at the scene around the horror of the crime.
"I know where she is!" he blurted, grabbing the mouse, he moved the box over, clicked, froze the screen and zoomed in.
"You do."
"We were on the wrong of the Seven Sisters!" Nick stood up and stormed out, "Call Brass!"
"Nick,"Catherine raced up to him, "You need to go home now!"
He stopped, placed his his hands on his hips.
"Try and stop me." His voice thick with rage like a Pit Bull in a fight.
"I won't." Catherine said, resigned to his determination., "I'll send Sara with you, though."
Nick took a deep breath and shrugged.
xxXXxx
Crime scene tape was already up as Nick pulled up and leaped out of the car. He carried screen caps of the video and studied the proximities and nodded.
Rocks and dirt crunched under his feet as ran along with Sara following close behind, he rounded a bend of the rock and there the little girl was. Wrapped in a deep red wool blanket with tuffs of curly brown hair sticking out was Madison Conway. A tiny hand stuck out from the blanket with a turquoise stoned ring on one finger.
Nick sighed deeply as Sara texted Catherine and Ecklie to let them know they'd found her.
"You can go on home, Nick." Sara told him, "I can process the scene. Ray and Greg are on the way."
"No, I started this and I want to finish." He told her in a voice thick with authority.
xxXXxx
Sara and Greg were scanning the immediate area for evidence while Ray measured the foot prints around the body.
"If I didn't know better." Ray observed, "I'd say there were more than two people."
"Or maybe someone was just out for a walk and didn't see the body. " Greg shrugged and bent down on his haunches where he carefully picked up a well-loved stuffed pink pig.
Nick , his camera in tow, watched them while Super Dave carefully unwrapped the blanket, revealing Madison Conway's tiny body, clad only in a Hannah Montana pink t-shirt and underwear. Out of respect, Nick turned away while Super Dave did a liver temparture.
"I'd say she's been dead for two days."
Nick's jaw clenched. "Meaning they'd held her for six weeks."
Super Dave cleared his throat, "Nick, I think you need to get some.."
"Yeah I know." Nick turned around and began to photograph the murdered little girl.
For six weeks, videos of her torture and rape circulated the web of the child porn addicts, while the rest of the world, the decent world that is, tried to find her with photos of Maddie from better times. Her daddy's marriage, a trip to Grandma's in Canada. Two different times, two different worlds, but one girl who found herself yanked unwillingly from the happy one to the horrid one in a matter of minutes.
Now it was Nick's job to photograph her final resting place.
Sometimes he hated this job, but there was some relief knowing she'd finally be going home to her loved ones.
Finally, after Dave gave the go ahead, Maddie was placed in the hearse to be taken to the morgue. Ah the vehicle drove away, the uniforms stood side by side and saluted.
After all, they had all screwed up on this case. From the uniforms to Nick himself, Maddie's death was preventable had they all set aside their own personal prejudices and pre-conceived notions.
Nick shoved his hands in his pockets as Sara walked up beside him, "Listen, I think I should take care of her at at the morgue."
"I know, the SAE Kit."
"Yeah." Sara patted him on the back. "Good work, Nick, now she can go home to her family."
Nick turned, fighting back tears, "She should have gone home alive, and it's my fault she isn't."
Sara shook her head sadly, "No, it's not."
But Nick turned around and went back to combing the area for more evidence, Sara's words simply disappearing because as far as he was concerned, she was wrong.
..to be continued
