Note: For God's sake, can't I use a name only because it occurs in 'The Simpsons'? For what it's worth: I changed the bar from Moe's to Golden Gate. That's a gay bathhouse here in my city, I walk my dog by every day - hopefully that is now authentic enough.
----------------------
S-O-L-V-E-D
A brown hand wrote it down on the large white-board in the cell that displayed the status of his lateset case. //a hundred-thirty-five// Warrick thought, still and continuously in competition with Nick.
The fax went off, spitting out a sheet. Being closest to the maching, Warrick grabbed it. It was addressed to Gil, some missing person. On the second page was the picture: a teenage-boy, smiling happily.
Not taking his eyes off the picture Warrick slowly walked over to Gil's office.
"Hey, man, you got mail. Work on a missing?" the tall brown CSI slowly handed Gil the fax.
"No, murder, actually." his boss answered.
"And this?" Warrick pointed at the fax.
After a few moments of closely observing the picture, Gil glanced up, "The victim."
"What?" Warrick nearly yelled.
Both Cath and Gil looked up in sheer surprise. Why would Warrick react like this? Although the dark-skinned CSI was usually sympathetic with the victims of a crime, he did not use to freak like this. Two pairs of inquisitive, surprised eyes were on him.
"What is it, Warrick? Do you happen to know him?" Gil asked, not letting any surprise interfere with his calm outward appearance.
"Yeah! I mean..." Warrick realized he could not back off any more. "He used to hang out at a bar, 'Golden Gate'. How did it happen?"
"It seems he was stoned to death." Cath filled in, her eyes not leaving the form of her deeply upset co-worker.
"Isn't the Golden Gate a gay bar?" Gil asked slowly. He remembered a case that was related to the place.
"Yeah..." Warrick said slowly, pretty much insecure. Then, with defiance in his voice: "You got a problem with that?"
"No." Gil replied curtly. Then, a bit more gentle the supervisor added, "It's not our business where and how you spend your time off, Warrick. I don't mind. I really don't. Why don't you tell us what you know about this boy?"
"Yeah. Well, I don't know his name. We call – we called him Angel. I guess he was just about to discover he was gay. I saw him hanging around several times but I never... I mean, hey! He's only a kid! Why would somebody kill a kid? Only if – " Warrick's voice trailed off.
"If – what?" Gil would not let go now.
Catherine gave Gil a warning look, not to push Warrick too far. She had never seen Warrick like this.
Warrick wiped his face and sighed, "Only if it's another case of gay-bashing. There seem to be several cases of hate-related aggression lately. The community is pretty upset."
"I haven't heard of any such things lately." Cath threw in.
"Oh, sure. People keep away from the police. They hide and hope it passes. There has been beating and kicking and throwing of stones – maybe Angel was too frail and the attack too hard?"
"That's very valuable information, Warrick. I appreciate that a lot. Brass and me will inform the parents. Cath, are you going to meet me at the morgue in, say, one hour?" Gil packed the packers and readied himself to leave.
"Sure thing." She said and went to finish some paperwork.
Warrick followed Grisson and stopped him in the hall, "Gris, uhm, I'd prefer to keep that kinda confidential, you know? 'Bout me hangin' out at that place and all."
"You don't have to mention that, Warrick." Gil calmed his protégé.
"Thanks, man." Warrick headed for the break-room where he poured himself some coffee. He was alone and stared into the dark liquid. Stared and stared.
"I didn't know that you're gay." Cath's voice made him jump. The door was closed now.
"Actually, I'm not." He answered.
"You really don't have to hide like this. I'm cool with that. I won't shun you." She tried to make clear she did not mind his sexual orientation. Although Cath felt a strange twinge – it could hardly be disapproval, could it?
"No, you don't understand. I'm not gay. Neither am I straight. When I fall in love, then I don't look for a certain gender. I'm bi." Ok, now it was out. He looked at Cath to measure her reaction. Her opinion mattered a lot to him. To his relief he saw nothing negative, only surprise. She stepped closer and put her hand on his shoulder.
"It doesn't make you less of a person, Warrick. Only idiots would despise you. There'd better be nobody around here trying to harass you or whoever it is will get to know me!"
Warrick put his hand on hers, "Thanks, Cath. You're a real friend."
"You want to help in that case? We might need an insider." Cath had checked with Gil.
"Yeah."
They left together for the morgue where they met Gil and a coroner.
+++
"The deathly hit was not one on the head and in fact none of those. You see this?" the coroner pointed at a bruise directly below the sternum.
"A hit on the sloarplexus!" Gil exclaimed softly, "the lung collapsed, he faded and suffocated?"
"Exactly."
"They or the one assailant sees him fall and goes away, probably satisfied with what he did, not even knowing the boy was in critical condition. Manslaughter." Cath added.
Warrick stood in silence. None of the things he heard made the case less touching. It was the first time he was more or less personally involved in a case during his time at the CSI. An experience he would have loved to skip.
"But that is not all. I found. There were three different types of sperm in the kid's rectum plus several large ruptures in the rectum and sphincter." The coroner continued.
"He was raped?" Cath sounded angry and incredulous. What a sick mind!
Warrick hurried outside, suddenly feeling terribly sick. He did not make it to the bathroom though. He faded in the hall.
The sound of his collapse let Gil and Cath speed out of the lab.
+++
"Warrick? Hey, you OK?" Gil knelt at his side.
"Wha... what? Oh, man!" Warrick looked around, "I faded, huh?"
"I want you to go home." Gil said.
"No! I –" Warrick protested.
"You are going to go home. Get some rest, take this day off and try to clear your head." Gil's voice was authoritarian and Warrick knew nothing would change his supervisor's mind. He agreed with a sigh and left with a hanging head.
What the hell was going on with him?
How could he let a case get that close to him?
Warrick wondered on and on while he drove to his place. There he undressed and threw himself on the bed. They were right, he thought, he should try and get some sleep and clear his head.
Was he scared?
Guilty.
Warrick felt guilty. He had known of the bashing and he should have tried to convince his buddies to go and report the incidents. If he had done so, Angel would maybe still alive.
Fuck, but he had screwed up once more! Like with Holly...
He tossed around but couldn't sleep.
Poor sweet little Angel!
----------------------
S-O-L-V-E-D
A brown hand wrote it down on the large white-board in the cell that displayed the status of his lateset case. //a hundred-thirty-five// Warrick thought, still and continuously in competition with Nick.
The fax went off, spitting out a sheet. Being closest to the maching, Warrick grabbed it. It was addressed to Gil, some missing person. On the second page was the picture: a teenage-boy, smiling happily.
Not taking his eyes off the picture Warrick slowly walked over to Gil's office.
"Hey, man, you got mail. Work on a missing?" the tall brown CSI slowly handed Gil the fax.
"No, murder, actually." his boss answered.
"And this?" Warrick pointed at the fax.
After a few moments of closely observing the picture, Gil glanced up, "The victim."
"What?" Warrick nearly yelled.
Both Cath and Gil looked up in sheer surprise. Why would Warrick react like this? Although the dark-skinned CSI was usually sympathetic with the victims of a crime, he did not use to freak like this. Two pairs of inquisitive, surprised eyes were on him.
"What is it, Warrick? Do you happen to know him?" Gil asked, not letting any surprise interfere with his calm outward appearance.
"Yeah! I mean..." Warrick realized he could not back off any more. "He used to hang out at a bar, 'Golden Gate'. How did it happen?"
"It seems he was stoned to death." Cath filled in, her eyes not leaving the form of her deeply upset co-worker.
"Isn't the Golden Gate a gay bar?" Gil asked slowly. He remembered a case that was related to the place.
"Yeah..." Warrick said slowly, pretty much insecure. Then, with defiance in his voice: "You got a problem with that?"
"No." Gil replied curtly. Then, a bit more gentle the supervisor added, "It's not our business where and how you spend your time off, Warrick. I don't mind. I really don't. Why don't you tell us what you know about this boy?"
"Yeah. Well, I don't know his name. We call – we called him Angel. I guess he was just about to discover he was gay. I saw him hanging around several times but I never... I mean, hey! He's only a kid! Why would somebody kill a kid? Only if – " Warrick's voice trailed off.
"If – what?" Gil would not let go now.
Catherine gave Gil a warning look, not to push Warrick too far. She had never seen Warrick like this.
Warrick wiped his face and sighed, "Only if it's another case of gay-bashing. There seem to be several cases of hate-related aggression lately. The community is pretty upset."
"I haven't heard of any such things lately." Cath threw in.
"Oh, sure. People keep away from the police. They hide and hope it passes. There has been beating and kicking and throwing of stones – maybe Angel was too frail and the attack too hard?"
"That's very valuable information, Warrick. I appreciate that a lot. Brass and me will inform the parents. Cath, are you going to meet me at the morgue in, say, one hour?" Gil packed the packers and readied himself to leave.
"Sure thing." She said and went to finish some paperwork.
Warrick followed Grisson and stopped him in the hall, "Gris, uhm, I'd prefer to keep that kinda confidential, you know? 'Bout me hangin' out at that place and all."
"You don't have to mention that, Warrick." Gil calmed his protégé.
"Thanks, man." Warrick headed for the break-room where he poured himself some coffee. He was alone and stared into the dark liquid. Stared and stared.
"I didn't know that you're gay." Cath's voice made him jump. The door was closed now.
"Actually, I'm not." He answered.
"You really don't have to hide like this. I'm cool with that. I won't shun you." She tried to make clear she did not mind his sexual orientation. Although Cath felt a strange twinge – it could hardly be disapproval, could it?
"No, you don't understand. I'm not gay. Neither am I straight. When I fall in love, then I don't look for a certain gender. I'm bi." Ok, now it was out. He looked at Cath to measure her reaction. Her opinion mattered a lot to him. To his relief he saw nothing negative, only surprise. She stepped closer and put her hand on his shoulder.
"It doesn't make you less of a person, Warrick. Only idiots would despise you. There'd better be nobody around here trying to harass you or whoever it is will get to know me!"
Warrick put his hand on hers, "Thanks, Cath. You're a real friend."
"You want to help in that case? We might need an insider." Cath had checked with Gil.
"Yeah."
They left together for the morgue where they met Gil and a coroner.
+++
"The deathly hit was not one on the head and in fact none of those. You see this?" the coroner pointed at a bruise directly below the sternum.
"A hit on the sloarplexus!" Gil exclaimed softly, "the lung collapsed, he faded and suffocated?"
"Exactly."
"They or the one assailant sees him fall and goes away, probably satisfied with what he did, not even knowing the boy was in critical condition. Manslaughter." Cath added.
Warrick stood in silence. None of the things he heard made the case less touching. It was the first time he was more or less personally involved in a case during his time at the CSI. An experience he would have loved to skip.
"But that is not all. I found. There were three different types of sperm in the kid's rectum plus several large ruptures in the rectum and sphincter." The coroner continued.
"He was raped?" Cath sounded angry and incredulous. What a sick mind!
Warrick hurried outside, suddenly feeling terribly sick. He did not make it to the bathroom though. He faded in the hall.
The sound of his collapse let Gil and Cath speed out of the lab.
+++
"Warrick? Hey, you OK?" Gil knelt at his side.
"Wha... what? Oh, man!" Warrick looked around, "I faded, huh?"
"I want you to go home." Gil said.
"No! I –" Warrick protested.
"You are going to go home. Get some rest, take this day off and try to clear your head." Gil's voice was authoritarian and Warrick knew nothing would change his supervisor's mind. He agreed with a sigh and left with a hanging head.
What the hell was going on with him?
How could he let a case get that close to him?
Warrick wondered on and on while he drove to his place. There he undressed and threw himself on the bed. They were right, he thought, he should try and get some sleep and clear his head.
Was he scared?
Guilty.
Warrick felt guilty. He had known of the bashing and he should have tried to convince his buddies to go and report the incidents. If he had done so, Angel would maybe still alive.
Fuck, but he had screwed up once more! Like with Holly...
He tossed around but couldn't sleep.
Poor sweet little Angel!
