4. Little Truths, Little Lies
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I don't own Willow, or Xander, or Buffy, or anyone else Joss Whedon created.
I also don't own Sara, or Gil, or Jim...or anyone else Jerry Bruckheimer created.
I'm just a lowly amature writer who likes to throw their creations into the blender of my mind and see what comes out of it.
So please...have a heart, don't sue the poor amature. :)
When word hit that Captain Brass had apprehended a suspect in the Lawson family massacre there was nearly as much pandemonium as the time the lab had exploded. People were all clamoring to be nearby so they could see what kind of monster had been involved. Most of the people in the lab had heard about the killings by this point. Some had heard nothing but rumors while others had been exposed to aspects of the case as they assisted the night shift in processing the evidence.
So there was no one in the lab that didn't know about what had happened to the family, and what it could mean to have captured someone. Inevitably the press would soon be all over the place but not before they had the suspect in an interrogation room.
Grissom had been in his office with Catherine going over crime scene photos when they heard the news.
Grissom had nearly exploded when he heard that Sara had been the one to originally call Brass because she herself had been at the crime scene.
Catherine's presence and a calming hand had been the only thing that kept him from tearing out of his office and looking for Sara so he could hug the stuffing out of her…right before he strangled the idiot girl.
Catherine was amused to hear her normally calm friend talk so passionately. It was out of character for him to say the least. Or maybe it wasn't, after all, she'd never seen him in love before.
And it was love. She could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice. She knew what that felt like, she knew what it looked like so she recognized it clearly. The only thing more amusing was she wasn't quite sure if Grissom really understood just how deep his feelings went.
Not that she thought he or Sara would jump into a relationship unless the feelings were deep, they had too much to lose for that. She just wasn't sure they were actually really aware of how far they'd really gone.
She watched as Grissom paced his office like one of Siegfried and Roy's prized cats as he waited for Brass to arrive with the suspect and Sara.
Finally after a half hour that seemed far longer the activity outside the lab increased exponentially and Grissom knew it was because they were here.
Greg poked his head into the office and said, "Brass and Sara are back. Brass has the guy in central booking. Told me to tell you he'd let you know when he's ready to start the interrogation."
Grissom nodded to Greg and said thanks to the younger man who immediately left afterwards.
Grissom looked at Catherine who smiled in support and sympathy before saying, "Just remember, wait until after work to have that conversation."
Grissom smiled and said, "Thank you, Catherine."
With that they both left the office and headed for interrogation, as they did Gil said, "Let's examine this guy's clothes and make sure someone's bringing the car in."
*****
Sara was in the observation room of interrogation when the rest of the team found her. She'd been moving around the lab trying to avoid Grissom as much as she could. It was made easier by the fact that she could feel him when he was nearby and she'd move to another part of the lab when she felt him getting close. She knew a confrontation with him was inevitable but she was hoping that the longer she put it off the calmer he'd be.
It was strange for her to see Grissom as emotional as he really was. Gil had spent his life shielding himself. He had, at least she believed, accepted his life was going to be one of loneliness and so to protect what was truly a compassionate and caring man he put up walls of cold professionalism that while not perfect, served well enough that he didn't appear to the outside world nearly as emotional as he really was.
She however knew him more intimately than probably anyone had in years and she knew the truth of just how emotional Gil Grissom really was. How he could easily let his emotions fuel him into actions that might not always be the right ones.
If he was as mad at her as she imagined he could very well do something that they'd both regret, hence the hiding plan.
Now after nearly two hours in which she'd been moving from lab to lab, and room to room it looked like the jig was up as she watched everyone file into room and look right at her.
As she looked at them she noticed that their reactions as they came into the room varied.
Greg looked at her with something akin to hero worship. Not something she felt like dealing with at the moment.
Warrick looked oddly concerned for her. That she could handle, Warrick was a softy when you got right down to it.
Nick on the other hand looked at her with a combination of disappointment and sadness.
Sara knew that he'd have a few words for her, probably harsh when he got the chance. The last time she'd done something like this he'd made a point of asking her if she'd ever had a gun pointed at her.
At the time she had dismissed it as misplaced bravado considering at the time, his recent brush with a gun in his face.
Now she started to realize that it wasn't bravado, it was real fear. He was afraid for her. Sara was sure he thought she was back to that place where she'd been the first time they talked about it.
At that moment she realized that she had really cut these guys off in the last few months. She had always been a bit distant, a bit guarded but she'd opened up to each of them to varying degrees over the years.
Since the realization of her ability however she'd thrown up the walls as solid as ever and she had ostracized what she realized were some of the most important people in her life.
These people were her family and it was about time she started treating them a little better.
That didn't mean she was going to tell them everything, but protecting her secret didn't mean she had to cut them out completely. She was going to have to find that happy medium and soon or she risked doing permanent damage to the friendships she'd developed.
Unfortunately for a woman that was a monument to extremes, she knew it was going to be a monumental task.
"How long has be been in there?" Greg asked, looking through the one way mirror at the man in question.
"About an hour," Sara said, "Brass had him take off his clothes and basically put him through all the hoops."
"Probably trying to rattle his cage," Nick said as he took his own place at the window looking at the man and trying to see the evil that had done what had been done in that house. The problem was he just didn't see it. Sometimes it still bothered him that the bad guys didn't have horns.
"Problem is, I don't think it's working," Sara said, not taking her eyes off of the suspect, "I've been sitting here watching him and he barely moves. At one point I think I saw him sleeping. He's way too relaxed."
"Could be a sociopath, they don't usually get very emotional about the things they do. No conscience, no guilt. So he wouldn't show and discomfort, maybe?" Greg ventured. Psychology wasn't his thing but from what he'd read it could be a possibility.
"Sociopaths usually have anger issues. I don't see a sociopath being as calm as he was when he was arrested," Sara said.
The room feel into a more or less comfortable silence as the team watched and waited.
The silence was broken when the door to the observation room opened again and Grissom and Catherine came in.
Sara had to actually control herself and stop from taking a step back when she saw the look in Grissom's eyes. He looked ready to chew nails just so he could spit them at her and nail her to a wall somewhere.
She had never seen him so angry.
Judging from the double take the look caused on Greg and Warrick she was certain that they hadn't either.
Grissom walked right up to her and said, "What did you think you were doing? We've talked about this before, remember?"
His voice was controlled; sounding exactly like a supervisor's voice should sound but his eyes, held a pain and fear that almost broke her heart. She had to cover herself and instead of asking his forgiveness then and there covered with her usual confrontational attitude. She just hoped he saw through it.
"I didn't go there looking for him, I just went back to get a feel for what it had been like at night. I didn't go anywhere near the house when I saw the car, and I called for backup what more do you want?"
"How about you follow procedure? In case you forgot," Grissom said in a voice like ice, "the reason you're in Vegas in the first place is because of a CSI being alone at a crime scene."
Sara winced at the statement as well as the tone as did Warrick. It was a low blow and the thoughtlessness of the statement was a testament to Grissom's state of mind at the moment.
The cold tone he was using was equivalent to full throated screams from anyone else. The entire team looked decidedly uncomfortable with the situation and most of them were suddenly looking at the two people with confusion, as if sensing there was something more going on that they didn't know about, 'Great job Grissom,' Sara thought, 'Why don't you just announce to the whole lab that we're sleeping together.'
Amazingly it was Catherine that came to the rescue and the way the older woman looked at Sara told her that Catherine already knew about them both. For a moment she wondered if Gil had told her but she quickly dismissed that thought. Grissom was a private person and the last thing he would do is tell someone about his love life.
No, Catherine must have figured it out on her own which meant the rest of the team wasn't far behind and then from there the lab.
They were going to have to have a serious conversation about this and soon. There was no way Ecklie was going to let them remain on the same team if they were in a romantic relationship. Grissom was her supervisor and that kind of fraternization was absolutely forbidden.
They'd both be lucky if the only thing they received was some form of official reprimand for it.
She was about so say something else when they heard the door to the room open one more time and Brass poked his head in and said, "We're ready you coming?"
The statement was obviously directed at Grissom who gave Sara one more piercing look before he breathed heavily once and pulled himself together fully. Looking like the calm detached professional that he projected in nearly every facet of his daily life. Two seconds later you would have never been able to tell how pissed he had been.
Grissom turned to Brass and asked, "What did you find out Jim?"
"Something about this guy just bugged me so I decided to let him cool his jets a little while so I could do some digging. I'm glad I did because now I think we're going to have a little more leverage with our friend in there."
Brass smiled a little viciously as he opened the file he had in his hand and said, "We've got one very interesting character."
"Alexander Lavelle Harris, born October 15th, 1981. Place of birth, Sunnydale, California."
Brass glanced up and saw he had everyone's undivided attention. When an entire town had sunk into the ground back on '03 it had caused a stir around the nation. What had really surprised a lot of people was the fact that the town had been nearly deserted at the time. No one had ever officially ordered an evacuation but still the people had evacuated.
Eventually the story, like all stories, faded from the newspapers and televisions and was forgotten, until now.
Brass continued with his biography, "Mother: Jessica Harris, Deceased. Father: Anthony Harris, Deceased. Only other living relative I could find listed was a Rory Harris, location unknown."
Brass turned the page, "According to what I was able to find out starting about 1996 Harris' name started showing up almost weekly in police reports as either a witness to a crime or being listed as a 'person of interest'."
"96?" Nick said, "He'd of been what? Fifteen?"
Brass nodded, "Yup, and from what I've been able to find he's been a suspect in everything from vandalism and larceny all the way up to Terrorism and murder."
"Terrorism?"
"Murder?"
Nick and Greg asked at the same time.
Brass nodded, "His high school blew up at his graduation. It was ruled a suspicious explosion with possibility of a gas leak. I talked to a guy that worked the force in Sunnydale though and he tells me that they were almost positive that the explosion was caused by this Harris character and a gang he hung with but they weren't able to pin it on him since there wasn't enough left to investigate."
"And the murder?" Grissom asked.
"According to the guy from Sunnydale I talked to several people were killed in the resulting explosion. That, combined with a terrorist act, makes it murder one."
"So why is he still free?" Nick asked, angered at what he was hearing, "Who was this guy you talked to?"
Brass checked his notes, "Guy's name was Stein, and apparently he was a detective in Sunnydale while all this was going on. According to him, the Sunnydale PD was in the middle of some form of scandal, involving cover ups and the mayor. Incidentally the mayor was also killed at graduation and they had reports of him visiting Harris and his gang in the library of the high school shortly before graduation."
Brass stopped to go over in his head what the detective had told him before going on, "Some thought that the mayor and these people Harris was mixed up with were into something together. However the problem was that the whole town wanted to just forget the whole incident. By the time FBI and ATF got wind of it and went in to investigate there was no evidence to be found. This guy sounded pissed that he was never able to nail Harris or his accomplices. I was lucky to get a hold of the guy; had to call in quite a few favors to track him down. As it was he had his own investigation he was in the middle of and had to go. He was sounding skittish so I let him but he said he'd answer my questions later."
"Skittish?" Sara asked, finally having the nerve to join the conversation.
"Yeah, and he wasn't the only one. I found nearly half a dozen cops or former cops that had worked in Sunnydale and most of them as soon as I mentioned the name Harris just hung up on me. I didn't have much time to pursue it but you better believe I'm going to get hip deep in this as soon as we're done with this guy."
Grissom nodded, Brass hated a mystery almost as much as he did. Finally Grissom said, "Well according to the evidence we collected from his clothes and the car we've got nothing right now that we can use to conclusively prove he was involved. I'm not sure we can hold him."
Brass looked aggravated and said, "This guy thinks he's a tough guy, let's see how tough he is when we tell him he's looking to go down for six counts of murder one. Bet he gives us his partners in exchange for avoiding the needle."
Grissom shook his head unsure but he followed Brass out of the room and into interrogation.
*****
Xander sat in the interrogation room, seemingly oblivious to the world outside of it. In reality he was fully aware of everything that was going on around him. He could hear the people shuffling around outside, each trying to get a look at him to see what he looked like.
He knew that most if not all of them out there thought he was somehow involved in the atrocity that had taken place in that house. Moving from room to room he could smell the blood, terror, and sorrow everywhere and it took every bit of self control he'd had not to roar in fury at it.
It was because his senses had been so overwhelmed he hadn't heard the police moving around outside until it was too late to get out of there without hurting a few of them.
Two or three years ago he might have done it; having an extremely jaded view of law enforcement personnel due to his life in Sunnydale.
Time changed a man however and he'd learned over the last couple of years working with various cops, agents, and the like that not all cops were cowards and fools. In fact he'd grown to really respect the people that worked everyday to protect people from the all too human evil that existed.
It was for that reason alone that he'd allowed himself to be taken without a fight. It wasn't a big deal after all; they had their cover well rehearsed by this time.
The only reason he hadn't said anything when he'd first been arrested was he wanted to see how this played out given the monkey wrench that was their spy.
Sure he had told Willow that he didn't believe this Sara Sidle was involved in this but even he'd been known to be wrong. Just because he was the "One Who Sees", and wouldn't he love to shove that up Caleb's evil ass, he could still be wrong.
If this woman was involved then giving them the cover story would probably do nothing but get him killed and quick, or at least she'd try…probably.
No, better instead to play innocent bystander and see what happens. He might be able to learn something that these people didn't know they know.
Willow had been less than enthused with his plan when he'd contacted her via the telepathic link that she insisted they establish before he went out. She wanted to make the phone calls that would get him released before he'd even arrived at the station but Xander had talked her out of it.
They needed, he'd told her, to do it this way. They had to see what these people knew and they had to make sure that their little spy wasn't the enemy on this one. Willow hadn't been happy about it but she'd agreed. She'd also told him that she'd be listening in and if she even thought he was in trouble she was coming to get him.
That thought gave him a momentary shudder since he still clearly remembered the last time Willow went looking to bust someone out of jail.
So he waited, and he listened.
Finally his patience paid off as he heard the argument take place on the other side of the one way mirror. It was, he was sure, supposed to be soundproof. But soundproof, he'd learned was a relative concept. When your hearing was sharp enough that you could, if you concentrated, make out the subtle vibrations of the glass, you could hear bits and pieces of a conversation.
In this case enough to tell him that whatever else was going on, this woman was well thought of by the people she worked with.
No one's boss reacted that way unless they were worth it.
Finally he had to stop trying to listen in. One of the draw backs of trying to tune into one sense like that was that it gave him a hell of a headache…it was like trying to read print that was too small. Sure, you might be able to make it out if you squinted hard enough, but eventually you're going to tire your eyes out and probably suffer for your efforts.
So instead Xander relaxed and allowed his mind to wander over what he'd seen. There was no doubt that it had been a summoning ritual of some kind. The three girls an offering to whatever demon the murderer had been trying to appease. He recognized a few of the markings on the floor, things like power, but he was really going to need to leave the full translating to Willow and Dawn, when she arrived. He was good at what he did and he knew enough to recognize magic symbols and the gist of what they were saying but it still wasn't his forte.
Xander watched the two men enter the room and quickly categorized them.
The one on the left, brown hair, receding hair line, he knew that was Captain Jim Brass. He'd been at his arrest.
Of course even if he hadn't known that he'd of still known the guy was a cop. He had the look, he had the mannerisms. His eyes were calculating and he had hardness about him.
The other man was about the same height and relative size, and had a similar calculating look in his eye but the similarities ended there.
This man's eyes were also inquisitive and warm, although they weren't too warm at this particular moment, the way he was looking at Xander. Of course that probably had something to do with the suspicion of murder that was hanging over Xander's head right now.
Being a suspect in a slaughter of children tended to turn people off, so Xander wasn't holding it against him.
The two men sat down and stared at Xander, who stared right back. He knew what they were doing; trying to make him nervous, make him feel like they didn't care about being here.
It was a common tactic Xander had seen used plenty of times in the past when he's worked with police.
Make the bad guy think you don't care and then when you offer him something, usually a deal, he feels like you're doing him a favor.
Xander was actually impressed with the casual air of indifference the two men were showing. If Xander was guilty of something, and didn't know any better it would definitely be working on him.
Finally they began, "Mr. Harris," the cop began, "I'm Captain Jim Brass, this is Gil Grissom of the crime lab. You're here to answer questions in regards to the murder of Michael and Amanda Lawson and their four children."
Brass studied the man as he looked up at him and said, "Xander."
Brass glanced at Grissom and said, "Excuse me?"
The suspect looked him right in the eye and said, "My name is Xander. You start saying 'Mr. Harris' and I start looking behind me to see if my worthless scumbag of a father has come back from the grave."
The words were said calmly, but there was no mistaking the venom in them.
Brass took hold of it and said, "Alright, Xander, why don't you tell us then. Was your daddy mean to you? I know he's dead and so is your mother. Some of the only people actually reported killed in the collapse of your home town. Let me guess you killed them and you got a taste for it. That's why you killed the Lawsons'?"
Xander shook his head, "I had nothing to do with their deaths, Captain Brass. Nothing at all."
"Your parent," Grissom asked, "or the Lawsons?"
"Any of them," Xander said simply.
"Right," Brass said, as he opened the file, "A guy with a colorful past like yours is at a crime scene not once, but twice, once illegally trespassing and its coincidence. Like the fact that you're missing one of your eyes and they had their eyes removed. All coincidence, right?"
Xander squinted at that; he hadn't even considered that. Of course he hadn't known that the eyes were removed so there was no way he could. Still it was another piece of information that they didn't have before.
Suddenly Xander stopped and asked, "What do you mean, 'colorful past'?"
Brass smiled and said, "What you didn't think people could find out about that?"
He opened the file he had and turned it so Xander could look at it. If he wasn't as disciplined as he was he'd of cussed, as it was, since he was just playing a part he did let one soft one escape his lips. This was definitely not going as he'd planned.
Neither he nor Willow had expected this guy to find out anything so quickly. These people were much more competent than Sunnydale PD. Xander realized that there was no way he was going to talk his way out of this and so telepathically signaled to Willow that she should make her phone call. He was going to need some help to get out of this hole he'd inadvertently found himself in.
*****
Willow had been listening from the moment the interrogation started. She typed away on her laptop examining the files on the two people with Xander as soon as she heard their names.
Brass was a good cop, formally working in New Jersey. He was a former Marine, although according to Xander "Once a Marine always a Marine", even she could hear the quotes around the statement.
He had a reputation as a hard honest cop that had moved to Las Vegas when he cleared out a bunch of dirty cops out of his department.
Whatever else this guy might be he wasn't a bad guy, and that was all they needed to know.
Gil Grissom, or rather Dr. Gil Grissom was an entomologist and one of the most respected experts in the field.
According to what Willow was able to find out he was instrumental in raising the Las Vegas crime lab into the number two slot in the country. Pretty impressive she thought.
He was a workaholic and very driven in his work; also easily considered a good guy.
Willow was at a loss for what they should do when Xander signaled that he needed her to get him out of this.
She couldn't help but giggle as his exact words were, 'Will, Harris luck is running true to form…helllpp!'
It was said with humor that both felt despite the circumstances. Even though she knew she should worry about what was going on she really couldn't worry about Xander's current predicament. It was kind of hard to worry about what was essentially a couple of local cops when you had the White House on speed dial.
She didn't use that number of course because that was about like using a pound of explosives to get rid of a fly. Instead she called someone she was a bit more familiar with.
The phone rang twice and was picked up by a pleasantly voiced woman, "Department of Homeland Security, how may I direct your call?"
"I'd like to speak to Riley Finn, please. It's urgent." Willow said.
"Who may I ask is calling?" the voice on the other end asked, slightly more guarded.
"Willow Rosenberg," was the simple reply.
*****
Margaret Simmons paled when she heard the name. Working the phones in a place like Homeland Security might seem exciting to some but for the most part Margaret's job was very dull.
She was just a glorified receptionist really. She answered calls and forwarded them to the right people.
There were only a few names that she had been given that when they called her phone she was to react like her job could decide the fate of the world. Willow Rosenberg was one of those people.
She quickly brought up the information on the location of Riley Finn and thanked the stars above that he was in his office, even though it was pushing three o' clock in the morning. Mr. Finn was known to keep very odd hours so his presence wasn't out of the ordinary. She quickly put the call through to Finn's office and then made the appropriate notes in the phone log.
After she was done she called down to her supervisor for a break. She didn't know who Willow Rosenberg was that she warranted an emergency clearance as high as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs but she was fairly certain she didn't want to know. All she did know was that right now she needed a cigarette.
*****
Riley Finn sat behind his desk working on computer and trying to stay awake. He was only thirty-four for crying out loud. But it wasn't the age it was the mileage and if anyone had put on mileage it was him.
Finally deciding he needed a break he stood and limped to his coffee machine. Filling his cup and hobbling back to his chair he sat down and began rubbing the painful knee joint that had finally taken him out of the action.
It had been a close call for his entire team; some of them hadn't even made it. He didn't complain about his own relatively mild injury. A permanent limp was a small price to pay considering some of the others; after all, his own wife had wound up permanently blinded as a result of that final mission almost three years ago.
If it hadn't been for the arrival of the Slayers, none of them would have made it out.
After the survivors had recovered to some degree they were offered positions at Homeland Security to take care of logistical support for the fight against the demons and vampires being run within the borders of the United States and its territories, with new cooperation from the New Council of Watchers.
Riley had been pretty shocked by that, but then he and Sam hadn't really stayed in the loop as to the goings on in Sunnydale. Hell, it was nearly six months after the fact that he'd heard about what had happened to Tara. By that time it just didn't seem appropriate.
Even after Buffy had tried to make contact with him to have the chip removed from "Ass-face" he still hadn't even tried to find out why. He trusted Buffy and that was the end of it.
Still, facing that part of his life still hurt and so even when his instincts had told him he should check on the old gang he'd ignored those instincts. So he ended up shocked as anyone else when he heard about the fall of Sunnydale.
He'd tried to get in contact with Buffy then but missions kept getting in the way.
Then came his and Sam's final mission and suddenly they were being pulled out of the fire by half a dozen girls that moved just like Buffy did.
While he and Sam were recovering a Liaison with the Defense Department and Homeland Security paid them a visit and laid out everything that had happened over the last year. The First, the near Armageddon, the destruction of the Council of Watchers, and the take over and recreation of the Council by Rupert Giles and the rest of the Survivors of Sunnydale.
Riley had been shocked when the liaison told him that the New Council had contacted the United States government and told them point blank that they needed and wanted to work with the government in containment and destruction of hostile demons and vampires.
Riley had figured the Initiative would have soured all of them towards the military to the point they'd never want anything to do with any of it.
The Liaison, a Major Paul Davis, had explained that the New Council, while extending the olive branch that the Old Council had once shoved back in the face of the United States when the Old Guard had been in charge had explained that although they were smart enough to know they needed worldwide cooperation to ensure that the world remained safe they wouldn't deal with the United States unless they had someone in charge that they knew they could trust to keep Slayers out of the hands of those that would use them for something other than what they were born to. That meant Riley Finn and his wife Samantha.
Riley had been honored and touched by the offer and it had turned out to be just what the two of them needed; something to look forward to as they recovered.
Riley had asked Davis at one point how and why he'd been tapped for this and Davis had been pretty cryptic but had said he was used to weird things and he was used to helping to protect them from the people that shouldn't get their hands on them.
Riley hadn't missed a slightly haunted look on the man's face and so he'd dropped it.
So now here he was almost three years later. He was in charge of an entire department of Homeland Security that only a handful of people in the world even knew existed. In fact the only time he'd had anything to do with anyone really official was about a year into his new job. Riley got word that someone on one of the Senate Intelligence Subcommittees was making noise about putting the Slayers under direct US military control.
The argument, this unnamed Senator was making was that they were too dangerous to be left around "normal" American citizens.
Riley was smart enough to know that what the guys had always feared was coming true. Someone had figured that Slayers would make great weapons. Riley knew this was an extraordinarily bad idea and so did the president.
Riley had been tasked with explaining why this was a bad idea. He'd tried unsuccessfully for weeks to figure out an argument that would be strong enough.
It was pointless, he realized to explain that their deal with the Council forbid this. If any of these people cared about deals this wouldn't be happening.
He considered pointing out that the Council had the power to cause a serious problem in the political relationship between America and Britain. But again he realized that wouldn't work because politics was like a circle. No matter how much the relationship might strain it'd never break.
Finally, Riley figured out that the only chance was to explain just how bad things could get. So he arranged a little demonstration, courtesy of Xander, who was the only one he told about the situation.
Xander had decided the direct approach was the best idea and so he'd flown quietly into the US and been picked up by Riley.
Over the course of that single night he broke into the house of every single one of the Committee's home and held an impromptu meeting that went something along the lines of "Touch the Slayers and you'll be gutted like a pig."
Riley felt it was a little more heavy handed than he liked, but it had been effective but not perfect. Although Riley heard that most of the members of the Committee were unwilling to even discuss Slayers one or two were still pushing; one in particular although Riley still wasn't able to find out his name.
Finally President Hayes did what Riley felt he should have done in the first place, although he understood the president wanted to avoid something so heavy handed:
A Presidential Executive Order had been produced shortly there after that declared Slayers a matter of the highest national security and anyone that attempted to interfere with them or anyone affiliated with them in any way, shape, or form would be considered a Clear and Present Danger to the National Security of the United States and would be dealt with accordingly…regardless of who they were.
After that all talk about Slayers ceased completely, and life had settled into a routine of sorts.
Sam worked as a go between with the New Council's base in Cleveland and Riley's department, spending a few days a month in Cleveland to get intelligence on demonic movements around the country and world. The information would then be routed to appropriate teams working for the British, French, and Australian governments. Each of which had their own anti-demon agencies.
Sam wasn't working now as she had recently had to take a leave of absence for the birth of their first child, a beautiful baby girl they'd named Tara after the soft spoken woman that had made such an impression on Riley that he had cried when he'd heard of her death.
In fact the only reason he wasn't home right now with his family, instead of trying to melt his eyeballs at three o'clock in the morning was that Sam had gone to visit her mother in Michigan and taken Tara with her.
He was lost in the picture of his wife and new daughter on his desk when his phone rang. He reached over and picked it up, "Finn."
His musings stopped and he was all business once again as soon as he heard the voice on the other end, "Riley, its Willow."
His heartbeat jumped nearly thirty beats a minute at those three words. Although he'd gotten much closer to the gang from Sunnydale in the last few years and social calls weren't out of the ordinary, no one makes social calls at three o'clock in the morning.
Thankfully the first words out of her mouth got his blood flowing normally again.
"This isn't an Apocalypse call."
Riley actually slumped in his chair and released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"What's up then Willow? You don't normally call for a social visit this late or early in the morning."
"Sorry Ri," Willow said, "But I need your help with a little law problem?"
"Oh what's up?" he asked curious.
"In a minute," Willow said giggling, "first how's my niece?"
"Oh she's your niece now is she?" Riley asked.
"Darn tootin'" the redhead said, causing Riley to laugh out loud. He'd forgotten, in all the time he'd been away from Sunnydale just how much he missed these people. They made life more interesting and made it worth even more to live it.
"Riley looked back at the picture and said, "Well your niece is in Michigan right now getting spoiled rotten by her grandparents. Sam and Tara should be back in town beginning of next week."
"Cool," Willow said, Riley was polite enough to pretend that he didn't hear the hitch in the woman's voice that still hung in her voice at the mention of her dead soul mate's name.
He knew she'd loved a Slayer by the name of Kennedy that had been killed last year. He also knew that if Tara, her Tara had suddenly come back from the dead, not impossible with this group, while she was still with Kennedy she would have left the Slayer so fast Kennedy might have suffocated from the vacuum created by the speed at which the redheaded witch left her.
Riley knew from personal experience having found and married his own soul mate that you only got as lucky as Willow had been with Tara once.
Pushing such thoughts away Riley remembered she'd said she needed some help and said, "What can I help you with Willow?"
Willow sighed, "Well it's like this."
She went on to explain the situation in Las Vegas as well as telling Riley about the mystery they might have finally been able to solve.
Riley considered what she was telling him and asked, "And you're both sure this woman isn't involved in this?"
"Xander's sure," Willow said, as if that was all that needed to be said.
For Riley it was and he said, "Ok, I'll make a phone call. You know this kind of thing wouldn't happen if you guys would just carry the I.D.'s we made up for you."
"Buffy thinks it'd make us too conspicuous flashing Homeland Security I.D.'s when we're trying to help solve an 'Occult Killing'." Willow said, using the new code phrase they'd all adopted to describe demonic activity. It was better than "gangs on PCP" but only marginally.
"As opposed to the conspicuousness of Xander being arrested?" Riley countered.
"You've got a point," Willow conceded. She was quiet for a few moments then asked, "How are you going to handle this. I can't think of any way that this can happen that won't cause questions."
Riley shrugged and said, "You two were on vacation, heard something funny and since it falls into your area of expertise you decided to investigate. You apologize for not going through proper channels but you're used to working independently etc. etc."
"Got it," Willow said, "Thanks Riley."
"No problem Willow," the former marine said seriously, "You guys need anything let me know. I can have a team to you in less than two hours if you give the word."
"Ohh, ohh.," Willow said, "Graham's team?"
Riley almost laughed at the eagerness in his friend's voice and asked, "You still think you can get him and Faith hooked up?"
"Hey," Willow said, defensively, "A little matchmaking never hurt anyone."
"Unless you're doing it with Slayers," Riley said, "She almost killed him last time."
"Yeah but I doubt he was complaining," Willow came back and Riley almost dropped the phone at the brashness. Instead he roared with laughter.
Once he had himself under control he said, "In answer to your question, yes, it's Graham's team. He still won't take a desk job."
The thoughts of his best friend still out in the field risking his life caused the humor to drain out of Riley as quickly as it had taken root.
Willow seemed to sense his mood and said, "Hey, don't worry; remember he's got some of the best backup he could have."
"I know," Riley said, "still I'd just like it better…"
"If you were there too," Willow finished for him.
"Yeah," Riley said simply.
He cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I'll make a phone call. Xander should be out of the hot seat within the hour."
"Thanks Riley," Willow said, "Talk to you later."
"Later Willow," Riley said and hung up.
He immediately picked up the phone again and dialed a number. He waited for the phone to be picked up on the other end and when it was said, "This is Riley Finn, I need to speak to the Governor of Nevada."
*****
Xander was getting bored. Seriously bored. Bored beyond reason.
He hadn't said anything beyond one word answers, mostly "no", for the last twenty minutes.
Captain Jim Brass was like a dog with a bone. He could give Buffy a run for her money in the stubbornness department.
He wasn't going to let it go as long as he was sure Xander was involved with what had happened to this family and Xander hadn't bothered to go with the cover story because until he was sure he was going to get the support he didn't want to do anything else that would make him look guiltier.
Finally, Willow gave him the all clear. It was perfectly timed too because Captain Brass had just made a suggestion about Xander participating in activities that would make any human's stomach churn. He took a calming breath and said, "Alright, you want to know what's going on?"
Brass almost smiled in glee, while Grissom became more guarded, wondering at the sudden change in heart on Xander's part.
The demon hunter realized that this story had better be good because you don't pull the wool over the eyes of a man like this; either of them actually.
"I didn't think I'd get caught in the house actually. I was shocked by that and it was not how I wanted to introduce myself. The truth is that I'm a federal agent."
There was dead silence for about three seconds before Brass slapped the table and laughed, "Right, you forgot your badge in your other pants? Now pull the other one."
Xander almost laughed but decided against it, instead choosing to go for complete seriousness, "I'm being completely serious Captain Brass. Me and my partner came to Vegas for a little rest and relaxation. When we landed this morning, and by the way if you'd checked the flight records you'd of known there was no way I could have been involved with this, we heard about what had happened on the news. We had a hunch it fell within our area of expertise and decided to investigate."
Brass obviously still didn't believe him and asked, "And the reason you didn't announce yourselves was what?"
"We're used to working pretty independently, Captain. We get called into cases usually when their stone cold and the police have no place to go with them. Getting a chance to get into one at the beginning was simply not something we were going to waste jumping through political hoops. I really wasn't interested in getting into a pissing contest about jurisdiction while an animal like this was on the street."
"So instead you decided to waste our time by letting us interrogating you?" Grissom asked.
"That does sound bad doesn't it?" Xander asked, "But until I could prove who I really was I didn't want to waste my time telling you. Besides, your lab is still running evidence and listening to Captain Brass try to explain how I was involved with this I got a lot of information on this case that I might not have gotten otherwise until you had no choice but to share it with me. Like I said, I'm not interested in wasting time in pissing contests while this animal is out there."
In reality Xander knew that it didn't matter what these people did they weren't going to catch whatever it was that did this, it would be him and his friends that would be taking care of it. He also knew that there was no way they were going to get access to the information that these people had that he needed until they thought he was on their side.
That wasn't going to happen until Riley got things straightened out.
Once again Xander was regretting the decision to not carry the I.D. badges Sam and Riley had offered them. It would make these things so much easier, and he was going to be sure to explain that very forcefully the next time he had Giles on the phone. This was a monumental waste of time.
Grissom seemed to nod his head and Brass said, "Grissom, can I talk to you for a moment?"
Grissom nodded, knowing what his friend wanted.
Brass looked at Xander and said, "Don't go anywhere."
Xander snorted but said nothing.
*****
Outside interrogation Jim turned on Grissom and said, "Please tell me you're not buying this bullshit?"
Grissom shrugged, "It's too incredible a claim not to be true. There are too many things that we can easily verify. The flight information alone clears him of the murders. At that point we'd only have him on a trespass charge. I'll get Greg to check the flight information but he didn't do this, I'm sure of it."
The rest of the team had come out into the hallway by this point and Brass asked, "How can you be so sure?"
Grissom was about to answer when he saw a sight he never thought he'd see: Ecklie, running down the hall, clear fear on his face.
Ecklie stopped, in front of all of them and looked at Grissom and said, "Alexander Harris, Where is he?"
Grissom raised an eyebrow and looked at Brass, "Xander's in interrogation."
"Xander?" Ecklie asked, clearly confused and was just opening his mouth to ask Grissom what the hell he was talking about when Grissom took care of it for him.
"Mr. Harris prefers to be called Xander, and he's right there in interrogation," Grissom said, pointing.
Ecklie didn't say anything else; instead he practically exploded into interrogation, Grissom and Brass right behind him, the rest of the night shift hanging close by outside the door.
"Agent Harris, please, allow me to apologize. I don't know how something like this could have happened."
Xander smiled at the panting man in front of him. He immediately pegged him as a wannabe politician which meant as far as Xander was concerned he was a peon at best; still no need to be rude right off the bat.
"It's quite alright Mr.…" Xander trailed off, waiting for an answer.
"Ecklie, Conrad Ecklie."
"Well, Mr. Ecklie, it's me that should be apologizing, me and my partner. As I was telling Captain Brass here my partner and I are used to a little more autonomy than is usually accepted in most places. We forget ourselves sometimes and for that I apologize. Still I have to say I'm very impressed with the way I was caught. That was pretty impressive indeed."
Ecklie nodded, any praise of anyone in the lab obviously praise for him as well, "Yes that was Sara Sidle, she's one of the night shift CSI's."
Xander nodded, not bothering to say anything knowing this man had more to say; he was too important not to.
"I've already arranged for the dayshift supervisor to join us in the morning to brief you on the case. I'll have the case transferred to the dayshift I imagine you'll want to work with them anyway."
Xander could see the people behind Ecklie getting ready to protest. Even Grissom seemed stunned, and more than a little irritated at the presumption that his team couldn't handle the case. Xander decided to put the kibosh on that right now.
"Actually," Xander began, speaking calmly yet forcefully, "As I understand it, Dr. Grissom and his team have an incredibly impressive track record for solving cases, isn't that true?"
"Well, yes," Ecklie stuttered, "But…"
"And," Xander said, "They were the primaries on the scene. Seems it would be a waste of resources to try and switch the case to another team that would waste time trying to catch up when these people are perfectly capable of handling this case."
He looked at the assembled people, his eyes settling on the woman in back, Sara Sidle, and smiled slightly before finishing, "Besides, my partner and I prefer to work nights."
Ecklie seemed to deflate. He always preferred directing the high profile cases to what he considered his "golden team" the team he just happened to have been in charge of before his promotion.
He could tell, however when he was beaten and tried to recover as best he could and said, "Well, in that case, I won't take up any more of your time and I'll leave you in Grissom's capable hands."
"Thank you, Mr. Ecklie," Xander said, putting it on thick, "I've no doubt that Dr. Grissom will be able to help me just fine."
Ecklie didn't seem to know if he'd just been slighted or not and instead decided to not say anything more and left the room, bellowing as he went, "I'm sure you people all have jobs, get back to them."
Ecklie looked at Grissom and said, "Gil, can I see you for a moment?"
The two men left and Xander looked at Captain Brass and the remainder of the night shift CSI and said, "So, where should we begin," he asked seriously; pretending that he hadn't just been a suspect in a murder a few moments ago.
*****
Gil and Ecklie moved into the observation room and Ecklie said, "You want to explain why you were interrogating a federal agent?"
"We didn't know he was a federal agent till a few minutes before you came. He didn't tell anyone that and he didn't have any ID. How were we supposed to know Conrad? In fact how did you know?"
"I got a call," Ecklie explained, "from the Governor and he wasn't happy that he was getting phone calls from Homeland Security asking why we had one of their agents in custody."
"Homeland Security," Grissom questioned, "that doesn't make any sense. Since when do they handle investigations like this?"
"I asked the same question, and when I did the Governor happily transfered my call to a three way so I could have Mr. Harris' boss explain to me in no uncertain terms that 'the nature of Mr. Harris' involvement with Homeland Security is on a need to know basis.' He told me all I did need to know was that Mr. Harris and the people that work with him are experts in their area of expertise and had assisted on several cases throughout the country. He then suggested that we were to extend every curtosey."
Grissom raised an eyebrow at that and Ecklie said, "That suggestion was reiterated by the Governor who told me he'd be happy to get the mayor on the phone if I needed to hear it from him."
Grissom was sorely tempted to laugh at the near panic in his boss' voice. Conrad was a politician before he was anything else. Ambitious unlike anyone Gil had ever met before. To watch him running around trying to put out a fire he'd had nothing to do with and had no one to pin it one would have been funny if the circumstances surrounding it weren't so dire. Instead Grissom said, "We'll work with them but they have to understand this is our case."
Ecklie nodded, "According to Harris' boss, guy by the name of Riley Finn, and here's his number if you want to talk to him yourself," he gave Grissom a piece of paper with some information and a number on it, "He said that Harris and the people that work with him aren't glory hounds. In fact their exactly the opposite. Kind of like you in that regard," Ecklie couldn't resist getting a dig in.
"Anyway," he continued, "Finn said they don't look for glory and they don't try to take things over. They just offer their expertise and we would do well to listen to them."
Grissom shook his head, confused, "That's another thing, how does a kid that's only twenty-five become on expert on occult murders?"
Ecklie shrugged and said, "I don't know, I don't care, just work with them and get this case solved."
With that Ecklie moved out of the room and headed back to his office.
Grissom entered the interrogation room where his people were still gathered and was listening as Xander described the scene as he saw it.
Standing back Grissom had to admit that the guy had a good eye for detail. He also seemed to definitely know what he was talking about which just deepened the mystery further. Finally Grissom made his presence known and said, "I assume you'll want to get up to speed on what we have so far."
Xander said, "That would be good, although I'll need to call my partner."
Grissom nodded, then asked, "By the way, what's your area of expertise?"
"We investigate crimes involving mass or spree killings and those that have a particular occult leaning," Xander said.
"What made you think that this case met your usual parameters," was the next question.
"My partner just had a feeling," Xander said, "and when my partner gets a hunch, I've learned to listen to it."
The way he said it caused a strange reaction in Grissom and Sara Sidle, 'Interesting,' Xander thought.
Grissom covered his reaction well and asked, "When will your partner be getting here and should we wait for him?"
"Her," Xander corrected, "I imagine she should be here shortly. Actually if I could I'd like to get my things back and maybe get cleaned up."
Grissom nodded, "Sure, Nick," he looked at a sandy haired man Xander's height but definitely of a slighter build and said, "Nick show Agent Harris, the locker room after you get his things for him."
Nick stepped forward and shook Xander's hand, "Nick Stokes."
"Xander Harris. Please leave the agent stuff, we don't need it. Just call me Xander."
Everyone could tell he meant it as a blanket statement and he and Nick filed out of the room.
Grissom looked at the rest of the team and said, "Get together what we've got so we can go over it. We'll use that time to bring Agent Harris," he stopped for a second and then continued, "Or I should say Xander, and his partner up to speed."
Everyone nodded and began filing out.
Finally it was just Brass and Grissom and Brass said, "You buy this?"
Grissom seemed to consider it, "It is possible but it seems just a little too convenient."
"That's one word for it," Brass said.
Grissom looked at Brass and said, "We'll extend full cooperation to him and his partner but still, it wouldn't hurt if you made another phone call to L.A."
Brass nodded, understanding what Grissom was saying and with that both men left the interrogation room.
