"Convergence"
Chapter: 1
Jim Brass knocked as he strode through Gil Grissom's open office door. Grissom was seemingly transfixed on a small glass jar containing his latest insect acquisition. It was from a corpse of woman who was stuffed into a drain and recently found by a city maintenance crew.
"Chocolate covered grasshoppers, again?" Brass wisecracked.
Finally looking up over his glasses, Grissom responded, "Hardly. It's the third stage larvae of Calliphora Vicina. Blowfly," he clarified. "Usually the first to the party, if you will. Researchers report observations where it can detect a fresh dead body from over 100 feet overhead. This little guy places time of death at around 4 to 5 days…, but considering the body was tightly crammed into an underground drainage pipe… it may be a bit longer than that…"
Brass grimaced, regretting his joking inquiry. "Great. I think I just lost my appetite." He never liked that part of the job and he certainly didn't relish hearing about the creepy-crawlies with which Grissom was always inextricably enthralled.
Knowing this, Grissom smirked and walked over to a shelf containing a wire rack and carefully deposited his find into it. "So what brings you by today?"
"Ah, well, you're gonna love this-- ," Brass paused briefly for effect, as Grissom walked back to his desk and glanced at a few papers lying there. "Feebs."
Grissom's expression suddenly grew wary and squinting, he cocked his head slightly, as if weighing how Brass' news may impact his unit. Confused, he asked, "Feebs? I assume you're referring to the F.B.I.?" As soon as he finished the question, realization suddenly dawned upon his face and his eyes widened, "Not Culpepper again?"
"Technically—no. Though last year, the high and mighty at the Las Vegas P.D. saw fit to put in an application to be one of five cities in the nation to test out a new type of liaison program with the federales."
He paused briefly, watching Gil analyze the information he was being given, and then continued his explanation. "Guess the Sheriff still has a mayoral election on the brain, huh? Anyway, the program is one in which local law enforcement has a FBI agent on the premises, uh, actively working with our guys. Supposed to improve interagency communication and uh--", he glanced down at the one of the pages in his hand, "'quote' work to foster better relationships between local and federal law enforcement. 'end quote.'"
Grissom sighed, "Let me guess, I'm the lucky winner?"
Brass nodded in response, "Well, it is Vegas, after all…isn't everybody a winner…."
"Jim, wait a minute, you said 'technically' it wasn't Culpepper…"
"No. Not Culpepper but an agent formerly assigned with him. And my bet is that he ain't sending someone he doesn't already trust to be his eyes and ears—ya know, just waitin' so he can be able to swoop in and save the day—or at least get on television."
Grissom considered this, but decided not to read too much into things. He sat back down at his desk and began shuffling through his phone messages, "Well. At least we have some time before this 'test' is initiated, right?"
"Oh. Yeah. Sure," Brass sarcastically replied, glancing briefly at his watch. "'Bout half an hour to be exact."
"What?"
"Guess they're just getting' an early start, huh?"
-----
Twenty minutes later, assembled in one of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's smaller auditoriums, sat Sheriff Brian Mobley, Rick Culpepper, and LVMPD's Criminalistics Division Director Cavallo. The three men sat clustered on the speaking platform, their heads bent forward in hushed conversation. On the large screen behind them were joint images of both the LVMPD's and FBI seals.
Interspersed throughout the room sat several of the crime lab's staff, as well as various representatives from different departments of the Vegas Metro PD and the local FBI office. Brass and Grissom entered the room to find Catherine and Sara already seated. Grissom was half-surprised there wasn't TV cameras. Then he quickly assumed, correctly so, that this was a forum solely for the department and local government. In other words, no press allowed.
Catherine glanced at Gil. It was clear to her that he was not pleased, though he was masking it extremely well. She knew how he hated wrinkles that prevented the crime unit from doing their jobs—which was dealing with the evidence. He found it—rightfully so, an annoying intrusion to his realm of the crime laboratory. And she knew the presence of Rick Culpepper only exacerbated that irritation.
"Where's Nick and Warrick?" Catherine whispered as Grissom settled into a chair.
"Nick phoned in to confirm their pages and said they would be up as soon as they finished logging in some evidence."
Catherine nodded, and wondered to herself what this whole thing was all about. Her pager's cryptic message had only said to report to Conference Room 113 by 4:30 p.m. She wanted to ask Grissom for details, but decided against it. Besides, the meeting was clearly getting ready to begin. Despite that, she didn't need confirmation. It was easy to do the math -- Culpepper plus Grissom equaled trouble.
The panel participants began to take their seats at the sides of the podium and, Director Cavallo was the first to speak. "Hello ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming. Today, we are so very glad to have you join us as we announce a joint effort by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Pol—"
Suddenly, the door opened, and Greg entered somewhat noisily. He met the annoyed stare of the speaker, and most of the audience for that matter, and a sheepish and apologetic grin quickly crossed his face as he held up his hand in apology. Hurriedly, he scooted down the aisle and took the seat on the end, next to Sara. She glanced at the brown paper bag and foam coffee cup in his hand, and immediately noticed that he acted a little defensive. It had to be his treasured cup of Blue Hawaiian coffee. Sara tried not to smile. Greg could be cute, especially when he wasn't trying to be.
Cavallo continued, "As…I was explaining, it is a great honor for the Las Vegas Metro PD to have the opportunity to welcome the expertise, resources and varied experience of a federal agent to our department on a full time basis. I know that Sheriff Mobley and myself were greatly pleased to hear that Las Vegas would be a part of this valuable outreach program. I know you all are busy with ongoing cases, and I don't wish to keep them from you any longer than necessary, so I will quickly hand over this presentation to Special Agent Culpepper… Rick, if you would, could you explain a bit more about what this program entails…"
Culpepper stood, shook hands with Cavallo, and strode to the podium. He flashed a saccharine, toothy smile as he looked around the room at the faces focused on him. His gaze met Grissom's, and hovered for just a moment on Gil's vacant expression. "Thank you very much Sheriff Mobley and Director Cavallo. Can't tell you how pleased I am to once again be in your fine city."
He continued on, "Simply put, this program was developed in order to promote interagency cooperation and communication on both the state and federal levels. If certain types of information were more readily accessible, leads on cases could be quickly generated, and arrests and prosecutions could be more easily secured. This information sharing will apply from the investigation to the courtroom, and from the realm of police to the lab of some of our country's best forensic scientists." He paused, feeling full that he had the audience's concentrated attention.
"Granted, for the time being, it is a field trial, which we expect to last anywhere from six months to a year. However, speaking on behalf of the federal government as well as Sheriff Mobley and Lab Director Cavallo, we feel this program has far reaching implications to the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. Now -- on a personal note, let me share with you how very pleased I was to learn that a member of my team had applied, and was successfully selected to participate in this program. So, without further delay, allow me to introduce to you the applicant chosen to reside here with you as an ambassador to this program. Without a doubt, I know she will be a great asset to you and this department…" he droned on.
Greg's head snapped up from playing with his coffee stirrer when he heard that the liaison was going to be female. He grinned widely to himself, "Yes! A she! Hopefully she's hot," he thought, scooting more upright in his seat, his attention to the presentation considerably renewed.
Nick Stokes silently pushed open the door and entered the conference room as Culpepper continued to speak, and took an empty seat behind Grissom and Sara. "Where's Warrick?" Grissom asked.
Nick leaned forward and whispered, "Held up in Evidence. Finishing up now."
Culpepper was still droning on—, "…like to offer a brief introduction. She has been a valuable member of the Bureau for 6 years and has been enjoyed success in all of her assignments. She has varied FBI training, ranging from SWAT to hostage negotiation experience to domestic security. Throughout her tenure at the Bureau, she has also spent extensive time in the study of forensics. I think you'll find her to be well versed in many techniques employed here at the LVMPD. "
"It is important to underscore the fact that Agent Elliott is here to act as a liaison to you. If you have questions, need input, suggestions, procedural advice or just a neutral sounding board, Special Agent Rachel Elliott will undoubtedly prove to be just as invaluable to Las Vegas Metro PD, as she has in every capacity to the Bureau."
Culpepper paused, and raised his hand toward the back of the audience, and gestured, "Special Agent Elliott, would you care to come forward and say a few words…"
The audience shifted a bit, then began glancing around trying to see who this person among them was, as she had not been seated with the suits onstage. That small detail had been at her request. Culpepper hadn't minded anyway and had quickly agreed to her suggestion. Less people on the podium meant he would be more of a focal point. His quick agreement to her suggestion had only served to confirm her knowledge of his attention seeking behavior. She had to strongly resist the urge to roll her eyes from her utter and complete disgust.
Her perspective within the audience had permitted Rachel to observe a few of the crime scene investigators' body language and whisperings throughout the talk. She knew instinctively that it had been a good choice to ask to be seated away from the stage. Many seemed to share her opinion of Culpepper.
She certainly didn't want to jump out of the starting gate in this new assignment with resentment already in place because of her association with Culpepper. She knew all too well from talk at the field office water cooler that he had stepped on some toes the last time he was here.
She strode forward, and took the podium. "Thank you Special Agent Culpepper, Director Cavallo, and Sheriff Mobley," she paused, smiling slightly at the audience. Placing her hands lightly on either side of the podium, she continued "Good afternoon, everyone. I am very much looking forward to meeting each and every one of you, and to working with you," she spoke earnestly.
"This is actually my first visit to Las Vegas, but I'll do my best to adapt quickly to the way you operate so that my presence here doesn't impede you in any way. I don't want to take up any more of your time, I know how very busy each and every one of you are, but please know that should you ever need to speak with me, or require my assistance in any way, please know my door is always open to you. Thank you."
Catherine grumbled quietly, "I take that to mean she gets an office? I don't have an office." She looked at Grissom, and observed pointedly, "You have an office."
"Yeah, but I also have the headaches to go with it."
Sheriff Mobley briefly took the podium, once again thanking Agents Elliott and Culpepper, and concluded the conference. The murmurings in the room increased as attendees rose from their seats and began to filter out of the room. Rachel was greeted by several of the personnel on their way back to their labs and desks, and received their varied welcomes to Las Vegas. As she spoke with a man named Archie, an A/V tech, she noticed the man she knew was Grissom out of the corner of her eye. He was head of the night shift CSI's, if she remembered correctly, and he was exiting the room. He was talking with another man, a detective she ascertained from the badge he displayed.
She finished up her conversation with Archie, "I appreciate your kind welcome… I really do look forward to working with everyone here. Oh," she looked to where Grissom had just left the room, "I hate to rush off, but there was someone I needed to speak with, and I just saw them leave… would you excuse me a moment…" she smiled and quickly filtered her way through the thinning crowd to try and catch Grissom.
She picked up her pace, and caught up with him as he was walking with Brass as they followed the rest of his shift down the hall, "Hello! Dr. Grissom?"
Gil nodded, and extended his hand. "Agent Elliott… it's a pleasure. This is Jim Brass."
Brass also nodded, "Agent Elliott, nice to meet you. Please excuse me. I have a phone call to make. Catch you later, Gil."
"Sure," Gil then turned to face Rachel Elliott once again.
"I was hoping to arrange a time, convenient to you, of course, to speak with you."
He nodded, actually appreciating her effort. "Uh, sure." He glanced at his watch, "I need to hand out scene assignments. But will you be free in about 20 minutes?"
She wasn't expecting him to agree to meet that soon, but she quickly agreed, "Uh, yes, that's fine."
"Just come by my office. I should be through by then."
"Great." Rachel smiled, relieved that he didn't seem to be holding her association with Culpepper against her… yet, anyway. "Thank you, Dr. Grissom." She turned and headed back to the auditorium.
