A/N: Yeah so I have no idea when the next chapter will be out, since I just started college last week and it'll be taking up the majority of my time (especially Japanese!). So I'll try and get some chapters written out when I can, but there's no promises sadly.
Chapter 3
The next day, trio of CSIs and Brass had just arrived at the condo complex and were making their way to the main building. Much to their surprise, one of the roommates walked out and continued presumably to their vehicle, unaware of their presence. Brass went ahead while the CSIs hung back for a moment.
"Daniel McCrery?" He stopped walking, his expression unreadable through his sunglasses.
"Yes?" He replied.
"Captain Brass from Las Vegas PD. My colleagues and I have a few questions for you and your friends." Daniel guardedly watched the other three people come up behind him. "Mind if we go upstairs and talk?"
"Actually, yeah." He jerked her thumb over his shoulder. "I'm about to go pick up my friend Ethan from the library. Our roommate is up in the room, though. You can talk to her."
"Would you mind if one of us went with you? Just as a precaution?" Grissom asked with an obvious ulterior motive. Daniel shrugged and nodded.
"Sure. My truck's this way."
"Warrick," he called. The tall African American walked off with Daniel to his truck. Then the young man suddenly stopped and called to them.
"Just FYI: if no one answers the door she's probably on the roof." The three staying behind all glanced up.
"Up there?" Grissom pointed stupidly, confused.
"Yeah. She climbs up there sometimes."
"To do what?" Sara inquired, just as confused.
"She just likes to hang out up there. Sometimes she'll just sit up there and smoke." Daniel shrugged again and sighed sharply. "I don't know. It's just a heads-up."
"This should be real interesting," Jim commented wryly, holding the door for the CSIs.
"I've already filled my quota of 'interesting' for the week." Grissom stated tiredly. The three went upstairs and, luckily for them, found the third roommate in the room. Twenty minutes later, the remaining CSI and two roommates joined everyone else in the living room of the condo. It was open, meaning there was no real distinction between the living room and kitchen, and the CSIs were scattered about. Jim stood next to the single couch, where Daniel and Ethan sat. Max sat on a barstool next to the island in the kitchen, not bothering to change out of her raggedy black jeans and dirty t-shirt.
"So...what's this all about?" Ethan started, not sure which law enforcement official to address.
"First we'll introduce everyone: I'm Jim Brass," he gestured to himself, then to each respective CSI. "Gil Grissom, Sara Sidle, Warrick Brown."
"I'm Ethan," he followed suit in a bored tone, pointing at his friends. "Daniel; Max."
"Your friend, Brooke Lockeheart, was murdered almost three weeks ago." Sara began, earning an irritated glance from Daniel.
"What's your point?" He snapped.
"We've reopened her case." Grissom informed him. The three friends gave him a shocked look.
"What? Why?" The female asked.
"Where were you the night of the murder?" They fell quiet, glancing amongst each other.
"I was in Colorado. My mom is sick." Daniel spoke up.
"With what?" Jim queried.
"Breast cancer."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Sara told him honestly. He gave her a grateful nod and a sad smirk.
"What about you two?" The homicide captain continued.
"We were in Reno."
"We were helping a friend of ours with a set that night." Ethan recalled. "We were actually the guest guitarists."
"A set?" Warrick repeated. "As in, a band set?"
"Yeah."
"You're in a band?" Grissom clarified.
"Yes, we're in a band. What difference does it make?" Max turned with an exasperate expression on her face.
"You didn't mention that when you were first questioned."
"What difference does it make?" She repeated. "We weren't here. What does it matter what we were doing?"
"You'd be surprised," Grissom stated. Max glared at him, a retort on the tip of her tongue.
"Max," Ethan warned. She looked to her friend, and reluctantly fell quiet. For the time being.
"Her killer is still at large and we think he might have struck again." Warrick felt the young woman's intense gaze and immediately felt like he was under his boss' scrutiny. "We're re-exploring this case in hopes it'll lead us to who murdered your friend and possibly someone else."
"So, you're telling us the guy who killed Brooke is some sort of...serial killer?" Daniel ventured, looking between Grissom and the other CSIs.
"No. He's only got two victims; he's no serial." Max answered.
"To be classified a serial killer, one must have three or more victims." Ethan recited, earning himself and his friend odd looks: Daniel's was annoyed, the CSIs' were surprised, and the homicide captain's was confused.
"I'm studying forensics." Ethan said.
"What field?" Grissom inquired.
"Psychology." He nodded, and turned with his colleagues to give Max an expectant look.
"I treasure the art of criminal justice?" She offered.
"Can you give a legitimate answer for once in your life?" Daniel asked her.
"I asked you the same about givin' up those twinkies; seems that obviously didn't work." Max snapped harshly, causing everyone to cringe in shock. Grissom's eyebrow hit the roof while Warrick looked to Daniel and Sara stared at Max, her mouth hanging open slightly. Daniel stood up and Ethan immediately jumped between his friends, holding him at bay.
"Daniel, stop!" He ordered. Max gave him a complacent smile, moving her feet to the top rung of the stool and placing her hands on the cushion between her legs. She looked ready to pounce him; if she could growl she would have. "Daniel!"
"Get out of the way."
"Bring it, Tubby." Max goaded.
"No, don't you dare. Max," Ethan pointed at her angrily, "shut up. Or so help me, you'll clean for the next month."
"You don't clean?" Jim questioned innocently, though regretting it as he shrunk back slightly under the intensity of her glower.
"What, just because I'm a woman I cook and clean all day?" Her tone was dripping with acid.
"Alright, everybody just needs to calm down," Grissom intervened, moving next to Max. Warrick moved toward the young roommates also, sensing the tension rising dramatically. Sara watched as Max's leg and arm muscles became rigid with anticipation; as Daniel's expression darkened and his hand shut into a tight fist; as Ethan kept his hand firmly on his friend's chest but his focus on his female friend.
Suddenly a cough echoed from outside, and all hell broke loose.
Daniel burst past Ethan and tried to strangle Max, who fell back and hit her head on the island after he'd punched her a few times; gritting her teeth tightly she grasped his wrist with one hand and gripped his neck with the other. Sara was the first to react, grabbing Daniel's hand to try and loosen his grip; Jim, Grissom and Warrick pulled the angry male off of Max, who sat up with a menacing glare.
"Bastard..." She spat blood over to the side angrily, then bounced to the edge of the island in a crouched position and launched herself at Daniel. She landed with her hands on his shoulders and her feet in his chest, and the entire group collapsed to the ground. The two fighters landed on the coffee table, easily crushing it under their combined weight. Ethan and Sara rushed to help Grissom and the others up while his friends pelted each other senseless.
"Dammit you two, cut it out!" He roared, seeing Daniel kick her into the glass cabinet housing all their video games. The glass shattered and fell to the floor covered in blood; realizing his chance Ethan bolted over to Max and restrained her by wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Lemme go!" She growled, blood dripping down her face.
"No Max! Settle down!" He said firmly. Jim and Warrick helped Daniel, while Grissom and Sara watched Ethan in his attempt to calm his friend down. Ethan cupped Max's face and brought it close to his. "Look at me! Max, look at me! Me. Focus on me."
Her breathing gradually evened out as she stared at him, and soon he dropped his hands from her face then heaved a sigh of relief.
"Looks like you've got some bruised or cracked ribs." Warrick told the young man, but looking at his boss.
"Take him to get checked out." Grissom said.
"We'll use my car." Jim told them. "I'll keep you posted." Glancing over his shoulder at his other friend, Ethan watched as he glared at the duo while being escorted out the door to be treated for his injuries at the hospital.
"Get yourself cleaned up." he said curtly. Max fixed him with a steely gaze but silently stalked off to the bathroom. Sighing loudly, Ethan went to the couch and plopped down in exhaustion. "I'm sorry, about all this."
"Don't be." Grissom told him. "Daniel's a big guy; when he wants to fight someone there's not much that can be done to avoid it."
"What's the deal with those two anyway?" Sara inquired.
"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea." Ethan sighed. "In the weeks leading up to Brooke's death they began to bicker with each other. Then after, Daniel started acting different. It's like he hates Max for her dying. And Max doesn't back down from confrontation, especially from him, so it makes it rather hard to keep them from fighting."
"Have they ever physically attacked one another?"
"You mean, other than five minutes ago? No, not that I'm aware."
"Were they close, he and Brooke?"
"The best of friends. We all are. Er, well were." Grissom nodded while he pursed his lips.
"Well Ethan we appreciate your time, and we're sorry we caused all this damage."
"Don't worry about it; it's not your fault." Ethan told him, standing and shaking their hands. "Thank you for reopening Brooke's case; nice to know you guys haven't given up on finding her killer."
"Well, we might have found a new lead so we'll see." Grissom stated with a smirk.
"If we know anything, you'll know." Sara said, earning a sideways glance from her boss. The CSIs said their goodbyes and took their leave; Ethan closed the door behind them and Grissom immediately grabbed Sara's arm, motioning his head to the left. When she gave him a questioning look, he placed a finger over his mouth to keep her quiet and led her around the corner, placing their backs against the wall.
"What are we doing?" Sara asked anyway, earning an annoyed 'Quiet!' glare from her boss.
"What the fuck was that?" Ethan's voice boomed through the walls. "You two decide to beat the shit out of each other for what? And while LVPD was here?"
"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry?"
"No. I want you to tell me why you and Daniel can't fucking get along!" He shouted. "You two used to be best friends. What the hell happened?"
"How should I know? I'm not the one who's been on a chronic period for the last six months."
"Max, he's been under a lot of stress."
"From what?" she asked petulantly.
"His mom is dying, and we all lost Brooke last month."
"He needs to put her in a home, or get that deadbeat of a dad of his to get off his drunk ass and help his wife." She spat.
"How can you be so heartless?" Ethan cried.
"It's not my damn problem!" Max yelled. "I'm not the one who diagnosed his mom with cancer; I'm not the one who gave him the news of Brooke's death. So what the fuck is he pissed off at me for? I didn't do anything to him!"
"Where are you going?" they heard Ethan ask about a minute later.
"…sfield."
"Bakersfield?" He repeated incredulously, luckily for them. "Our gig's not till Friday, a good five days away! And the trip only takes four hours!"
"There's no real point in me staying here. What do you expect me to do? Help you nurse your boyfriend back to health?" Max scoffed despite herself. "I think I'll pass."
"Max.." Ethan sighed. "Max, wait."
"What?" She said curtly. He knew he should say something to soothe her anger. He wanted to tell her that she was he cherished their friendship and that she was his best friend, possibly more. But instead, his male instincts of saying something stupid kicked in.
"Can you drop me off at the hospital?"
"You're unbelievable. Call a cab." She said grimly, opening the front door and slamming it behind her. The snooping CSIs peeked around the corner and watched the angered woman storm down the hallway away from them. Grissom hadn't realized it earlier, but Max was rather attractive: she had curvy hips, a taut stomach, a nice ass, and pleasingly plump breasts. Max was tall, and just glancing at her she looked much older than nineteen years old. Grissom openly stared as she disappeared from view; he then glanced back at Sara, who was staring at him.
"What?" He said, a completely confused expression on his face.
"Did you want to follow her too?" Sara asked half-serious and half-sarcastic, though all annoyed. Grissom grinned at her, causing her to frown.
"No. She's smart; she'll notice. Besides, we need to get back to the lab and delve deeper into these kids' histories."
"You think we're missing something?" she wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. We won't know until we look." Grissom shrugged as he held the door open to the back staircase for her. "Either way if we don't figure out something soon, they might end up strangling each other and then we're back at square one." He paused, frowning. "Again."
A/N: Yeah. Abrupt ending but I couldn't think of anything else because I just wanted to get this chapter out. When I do I'll repost the chapter. So hope otherwise it was a peachy chapter.