True Justice
Grissom came into the break room. "Warrick?"
Warrick looked up at him. "What is it Gris?"
"I have a favor to ask of you." Grissom said.
"What do I have to do?" Warrick asked.
"Go talk to a Forensic Science class at the university. Sara did it yesterday, Nick the day before. Your turn." Grissom said handing Warrick a file.
"But Griss... I can't do this.." Warrick said standing up.
"Sure you can. It's overtime, double pay, and we scare kids out of being CSI's what's the matter with that?" Grissom smirked.
"Fine. What am I talking about?" Warrick asked opening the file.
"Hate crime and the discrimination that causes them." Grissom said starting out the break room door.
"Grissom.. That's so not cool!" Warrick said going after him into the hallway.
"It's that or Bugs. And I'm taking that." Grissom said looking at him.
Warrick sighed. "Fine, What time do I need to be there?"
"After shift, 8:00am." Grissom said going into his office. "Do some research."
"Goodie." Warrick muttered going off into the break room once again to do some thinking.
Warrick pulled into the parking lot and got out of his Tahoe. He went to the passenger side door and picked up a box and started toward the building.
He opened the door to the classroom and walked in. "Good morning. I'm Warrick Brown, CSI at Las Vegas Crime Lab. I will be speaking to your class today." Warrick sat the box he was carrying down on the desk at the front of the lecture hall/classroom.
The class grew silent and looked at him.
Warrick shifted uncomfortably. "What are you guys.. a bunch of db's?"
Someone coughed in the back of the room. Warrick blinked a few times. "Right. Maybe I should introduce myself again."
The class watched Warrick like a hawk.
"Like I said before. I am Warrick Brown, I am a CSI at The Las Vegas Criminilists Lab. Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes spoke to you over the last two days. Dr. Gil Grissom will speak to you tomorrow..." Warrick sighed and looked around the class room.
"Sir?" A meek voice asked from the front row.
"Yes?" Warrick asked looking at direction the voice came from.
"I'm Eve McNair. I just wanted to welcome you to the class." She said softly not making eye contact with him.
"Thank you Eve." Warrick smiled. "Now, who here remembers what.." He said as he turned to the box.
A whisper broke Warrick's train of thought. "Sucking up to your own kind now Eve?" A harsh male voice with a thick accent asked.
Eve didn't move her eyes were fixed on Warrick.
Warrick turned at the works 'own kind'.
"Why don't you run home to your mommy and daddy you little Oreo." The voice whispered again.
"Shut up Nate." Eve said softly not turning her head.
Warrick scanned the class again. "Who said that?"
Everyone looked forward at him.
"I'm serious. Who said that?" Warrick asked.
Eve blinked a few times and stood up and started to the door.
"Ms. McNair. Wait please." Warrick said going to her. "Go take another seat."
Eve nodded weakly and sat in a different seat.
"Who said that comment?" Warrick asked with a soft yet pissed off tone.
"I did." The voice said. He stood. "I'm Nate McCoy. Got a problem with it?"
"Yes, I do. Come down here." Warrick growled softly.
Nate came down the stairs and stopped in front of Warrick.
"Got a problem Nate?" Warrick asked walking towards him.
"Yes." Nate hissed.
"Really... Why's that?" Warrick asked circling him.
"People like you." Nate spat at him.
This surprised Warrick. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. People.. like You." Nate said getting in Warrick's face.
"Back off Nate." A voice yelled from across the room.
"Shut up Monica!" Nate yelled backing away from Warrick.
"People like me? Huh.. That's very interesting Nate. Do you take Sociology? No.. wait.. that would take open mindness." Warrick said sarcastically.
Nate just stared at him.
"Let me guess. You are from the south. Am I right?" Warrick asked looking at him.
"That's right. Alabama." Nate scoffed.
"Ah, Alabama. One of the birth places of hatred, the fight for civil rights, the start of all the segregation and racial problems." Warrick said sizing the guy up.
"So what if it was?" Nate asked.
"Then you haven't been taught manners." Warrick said. "The 50's are over with Nate. Get used to new ideas."
"What if I don't want to. I have the right to my opinion. Freedom of speech." Nate said.
"It's not an absolute right." A voice yelled from the back of the room.
"Shut up Josh!" Everyone yelled back at him.
"Josh is correct." Warrick said. "It's not absolute."
"Whatever." Nate muttered as he started to his seat again.
"Why do you hate?" Warrick asked causing Nate to turn towards him. "Is it because your scared?"
Nate looked at him and smirked. "No."
Warrick moved closer to him. "You afraid of me?"
"Should I be?" Nate snapped.
"Should I be of you?" Warrick asked.
"Maybe if you met me in a dark ally in Birmingham." Nate scoffed. "I doubt you would have made it off the bus."
Warrick raised an eyebrow at him. "Really. A 20 year old punk.. like yourself, because I am Black. Would beat me up in an alley in Birmingham Alabama, but since I am in Vegas right now. You wouldn't try it?"
"I never said that." Nate said. "I would try it now if I could."
Warrick looked him over. "But then it would be assault on an officer of the court.. wouldn't Josh?"
"He's right!" Josh yelled.
"SHUT UP JOSH!" Everyone yelled at him again.
Warrick smiled at Josh. "Fixing to be a lawyer Josh?"
"No, I just know the law." Josh said sinking into his seat.
"Oh, a big bad CSI man is trying to tell me what is right and what is wrong with my beliefs? What happened to the first amendment?" Nate asked sitting back down.
"It only applies with peaceful things. Verbal abuse is not freedom of speech!" Warrick snapped. "You have pissed me off severely kid. Great job. Get a public servant pissed off who's off duty and can get you red flagged for anything you do for life. Smart move!"
"You can't do that!" Nate yelled back.
"You have the markings of someone who could commit a crime. I can, I know people who are marked. Ever hear of the mob?" Warrick snarled.
"He has a po-" Josh tried to say.
"SHUT THE HELL UP JOSH!" Everyone yelled to him.
"Nate, I want you to apologize to Eve." Warrick said in a calmer tone.
"Make me." Nate snapped.
Warrick clenched his fists. "No one is leaving this class, till you apologize to her. I will talk to I have to call my supervisor to tell him I can't come into work because I am still talking to this class about what I am talking to them about."
"You can't do that." Josh said.
"Shut up Josh." Warrick snapped.
Josh sank further into his seat and started taking notes.
"Now, I am here to talk to his class about, Hate Crimes, Discrimination, and Prejudice that cause said hate crimes. As In murders. Got it?"
A few people murmured "Yes Mr. Brown."
"No." Nate said defiantly.
"Listen up Nate because you MIGHT learn something." Warrick snapped. "I grew up in Vegas. A child of the Seventies. You know how many crimes I can think of in my old neighborhood that were caused by hate?"
Everyone just looked at him.
"Countless. But, I'm not here to talk about m-" Warrick said when a voice cut him off.
"Give us an example." A female voice asked.
"Amber. Shut up." Nate growled.
"Why?" Warrick asked looking at her.
"Because, you seem to be one of them. Tell us about something." Amber lilted with a soft southern accent.
"One of them? That's a new one." Warrick scoffed. "You want a story from me?"
"Yes." Amber said staring Warrick down.
"Ok. A story?" Warrick sighed. "Ok, November 24, 1977. Vegas. A black woman is walking in a neighborhood. She gets to her front step and is gunned down. Died instantly. The suspects were gang members, white, getting back at her because she accidentally walking into them. Hate Crime. Leaving a seven year old son, and her mother."
"How is that connected to you?" Amber asked.
"It was my mother." Warrick said look at her. "Because of what happened, I wanted to do this. What I do now. Now, I will be talking about a case, Who here is familiar with the Laramie, Wyoming beating death of Matthew Shepherd?"
All the class raised their hands.
"Good. Now we're getting some where." Warrick said. He began to talk about the case. Though it wasn't in Vegas, it was the only thing he could find that everyone knew about.
After the class was over, Warrick was packing up when someone tapped him on his shoulder.
"Mr. Brown?" Eve asked.
"Yes Eve?" Warrick asked turning around.
"Uh, thanks for earlier." Eve said.
"It's no problem. I think it is safe to say, I am intolerant of intolerance. It was nothing." Warrick smiled.
"No, really, thank you." Eve smiled and walked out the door.
Warrick stood there for a moment and sighed. "All in a day's work."
That night at work Warrick stalked into Grissom's office.
"How was it Warrick?" Grissom asked not looking up from his desk.
"I never want to do that again." Warrick muttered.
"Why? What happened?" Grissom asked.
"Well, let's just say, the class was a living example of hate." Warrick sighed.
"Oh." Grissom said. "I want the details."
Warrick explained what happened.
"You didn't hurt anyone did you?" Grissom asked.
"No. I didn't." Warrick sighed as his pager went off. He looked at it confusedly. "Greg? I'm not working a case."
"Oh, yeah. We got a case in. Nick was transferred to that double with Sara. You got this one on your own." Grissom said. "Greg will fill you in."
"Why Greg?" Warrick asked.
"He's on the case also." Grissom said. "Get going."
"I will." Warrick mumbled as he walked into DNA.
"Ah there you are!" Greg said. "You're my partner!"
"No, you are just watching and helping me. What's the case?"
"Well, a 20 year old black female, found dead at the UNLV campus." Greg said handing him the file. "A Evelyn McNair."
Warrick looked at him. "When?"
"Approximant time of death was 4:00 p.m." Greg said.
"Cause?" Warrick asked.
"Stabbed." Greg said.
"Fingerprints?"
"Sent them to Jaqui."
"DNA?"
"None."
"We should go see our girl." Warrick said softly and sighed.
"Right. You ok?" Greg asked going to the door.
"Uh, Yeah." Warrick lied walking into the hallway with Greg.
"You are a horrible liar, you know her?" Greg asked.
"Just informally." Warrick said. "Just informally."