The Old Neighborhood
"Hey Jesse, Dion, guys, what's up?!" Warrick was back in his old neighborhood. He was calling out to a group of guys playing basketball in the park.
"Hey Brown, what's goin down?" The young men were happy to see Warrick. After the high fives and salutations were over Warrick started to ease into his questions.
"How are things in the neighborhood?"
The young men were just as gossipy as a bunch of old women. "Ah, Old Lady Wilcox finally kicked out her no good husband. The Johnson boy is in juvie again. Little Lelani Adams is having a baby, she's only fourteen, ain't right man…" Then came the information that Warrick was waiting for finally came. "Oh, did you hear about Rodney Hayes? He up and disappeared…I mean into thin air. One night he went out for a pack of smokes and never came back."
Warrick acted cool, "Well how do you know he didn't just take off?"
"Nah, man, his old lady just had a baby and he was crazy about that kid, and his woman, real family man. He wouldn't leave them." answered Jesse. "I'm telling you man it's weird, no one saw or heard a thing. How does someone walk three blocks and disappear? No one has heard anything since."
"Well did they find a body or anything."
"Jesus Warrick, you been CSI too long!" Dion exclaimed, "You don't just say sumthin like that! Ain't cool."
"Sorry…well did anyone report him missing?"
"Yeah, his girl did, but cops ain't gonna do nothin bout it. They don't give a rat's ass if someone round here goes missin." The rest of the basketball players nodded their heads in agreement. Even Warrick knew this to be true. Now he felt compelled to do something about it.
"Maybe I should go talk to…what's his girl's name?"
"Tiana Rondell, lives up there on the corner in 4B," Dion offered, pointing to an old apartment building.
"Tiana huh? I know her, nice girl. She's fine too. Okay, thanks guys." Warrick pulled out some business cards, "Hey, do me a favor, here's my card, you find anything out, or if anyone else goes missing you call me."
Before Warrick could walk away Jesse stepped forward. "Look, Warrick, it's more then just Rodney, there's a lot of crazy shit going on around here, scary stuff. None of us wanna even go out at night."
Warrick nodded, "Yeah, I heard some stuff. Don't worry, I'm on it." Once he felt that he had reassured the boys he turned to leave. "Alright, check ya all later."
Warrick started over towards Tiana's apartment. Even though it was still morning, the sun was already scorching. This usually bothered Warrick, but today the sun felt good, he felt safe. Then something caught the corner of his eye. It wasn't a vampire, it was one of the guys from the interrogation room earlier today. Warrick walked over to him.
He got right in Gunn's face, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Gunn didn't move, "Hey, what's your problem man?" He wasn't intimidated by Warrick, he had dealt with a lot tougher, both human and demon.
"My problem is that you're in my neighborhood."
"Oh, I see…you're neighborhood." Gunn looked Warrick up and down, "Yeah, you blend in here real good."
"I grew up in this neighborhood, these are my people and I don't need some weirdo comin around and messing with them."
"Hey, I'm trying to help them! These people are in real trouble and there ain't no way a guy like you can save them!"
Warrick snorted at Gunn's cockiness, "How do I know that? Huh? How do I know you ain't setting up a new feeding ground for your vampire friends?"
"I got news for you, man, this place already a feeding ground! Do you know how many people round here have disappeared the last couple weeks? Eight. Eight people, mostly gang members."
"How do you know that?"
"Cuz I been hanging round here, finding things out, this place is just like my old neighborhood back in L.A." Gunn had been visiting neighborhoods like this since the day they arrived in Vegas. "Vamps pick places like this where there's a lot of gang activity and poor people. Cops don't investigate crimes around here. It's easy pickins man, a smorgasbord for evil."
Warrick just stared at Gunn. He honestly couldn't decide if he should believe him or not. Warrick knew what he saw on the tapes and in the hallway, but he still couldn't rap his head around it. He had heard rumors, mostly from his grandmother, about disappearances in the area, but nothing came up in the missing person's system. Feeling overwhelmed Warrick sat down on the stoop of the apartment building.
Gunn almost felt sorry for Warrick, he forgot what it was like to still be innocent. To not know about the demons that walked this earth. To not see the things Gunn sees everyday. He sat on the stoop next to Warrick.
"Look man, I don't know you, you don't know me, but I don't lie, I'm legit. I've been fighting vamps for a lot of years now. I know this is strange, but it's real, and it's bad. Now either you can let me help you or you can try to handle this yourself and fail. What's it gonna be?"
Warrick sat silently for a moment before offering his hand to Gunn. "Warrick Brown, CSI." Warrick could tell he and Gunn came from the same place. It was hard not to trust him.
Gunn shook Warrick's hand. "Gunn, demon hunter."
"So what do you know Gunn?"
"Well, I talked to a couple of guys around here and there have been a lot of strange things going on. People disappearing, shadows lurking at night, it's pretty bad when hardcore gang members are scared to go out at night."
"Yeah, we noticed a decrease in gang activity. Now I know why."
"It's more then just vamps though, there are a couple of other demons trying to move in around here."
Warrick looked at Gunn quizzically, "What do you mean other demons?"
"I don't know, creepy things, worse then vamps. Wes could tell you better then I could, he and Cordy are the demon experts."
"Cordy, the girl you were talking about in the interrogation room, visions and demons and goddess…"
"Oh my! Yeah, that's her, she's cool though, now…"
"So how long you been working for that vampire?"
"Few years now, I had my own vampire fighting crew, but I went to work for Angel, bigger purpose, fighting the good fight and all that."
"Can we trust him? I mean, he's a vampire right? And so is the blonde one with the big mouth."
Gunn laughed at Warrick's assessment of Spike. "Nah, they're cool. I mean, yeah, they're vampires but as long as they have souls they aren't evil. You can trust them." Warrick nodded as if he understood, but he didn't. Warrick and Gunn sat on the stoop in silence. Then out of the blue Warrick heard a vaguely familiar voice behind him.
"Warrick Brown is that you?" Warrick stood up and turned around. Tiana Rondell was standing on the top of the stoop. She was holding a small infant in her arms. Although she still had a little weight from the baby, she was still as beautiful as Warrick remembered her. Warrick and Tiana had dated when he was in college, but Warrick was too busy with school for her, so she left him. Warrick still thought about her once in awhile.
"Tiana, I was just coming to talk to you. Heard about Rodney. I'm so sorry."
Warrick's words caused Tiana to desolve into tears. Warrick walked over and put his arms around her, careful not to smother the sleeping baby.
After a few moments Tiana was able to speak, "Oh Warrick, what am I gonna do? Rodney is my life, where could he have gone?"
Gunn stood up to address Tiana.
"How long has your husband been gone?"
"Oh, he's not my husband, but he wanted us to…" Tiana could feel she was going to lose it again, so she quickly answered Gunn's question, "Two days"
Gunn looked at Warrick and nodded his head. Warrick could read his signal.
"Tiana, why don't you and the baby go inside, I'll be up to talk to you in a few minutes." After Tiana took the baby inside Warrick went over to talk to Gunn.
"What's up?"
"This Rodney dude, did he disappear into thin air?" Gunn had a worried look on his face. "Has anyone found a body?"
"Yes and no," he answered grimly.
"It takes two days for a vampire to turn. I'm thinking Rodney may have been more then just a meal."
"Dammit!" Warrick looked up at the apartment building. "What am I supposed to tell Tiana?"
"Tell her not to invite Rodney in if he comes calling tonight!"
"What?"
"Look, Warrick man, a vamp can't come into a person's home unless they are invited in, or the owner is dead. Tiana will be safe as long as she doesn't invite Rodney in…if and when he shows up. I'm gonna go brief the rest of the crew on this latest development." Gunn turned and walked away.
"Wait a sec, what am I supposed tell Tiana?"
Gunn shrugged, "I dunno, that's your problem man… Tell her the truth, but she probably won't believe you. But if you don't, she'll probably end up dead. Tell her to go to her mom's or friend for the night."
Gunn kept walking as Warrick sighed and went up to Tiana's apartment. He got up there and tried to convince her to go somewhere else tonight, he told her that Rodney may have been killed by some gang members and she and her baby could be in danger. Tiana promised Warrick she would get somewhere safe and not tell anyone where she was going. Warrick turned to face Tiana before he left.
"Hey, remember, you promised to get safe. You call me if anything happens or if you hear anything." Warrick stopped and looked at Tiana, "I'll always care about you, I don't want anything to happen to you. Please leave before it gets dark. Call me in the morning."
A teary-eyed Tiana nodded as she kissed Warrick on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered as she closed the door.
Warrick walked back to his car, drove home and slept for a few hours before work.
"Hey Jesse, Dion, guys, what's up?!" Warrick was back in his old neighborhood. He was calling out to a group of guys playing basketball in the park.
"Hey Brown, what's goin down?" The young men were happy to see Warrick. After the high fives and salutations were over Warrick started to ease into his questions.
"How are things in the neighborhood?"
The young men were just as gossipy as a bunch of old women. "Ah, Old Lady Wilcox finally kicked out her no good husband. The Johnson boy is in juvie again. Little Lelani Adams is having a baby, she's only fourteen, ain't right man…" Then came the information that Warrick was waiting for finally came. "Oh, did you hear about Rodney Hayes? He up and disappeared…I mean into thin air. One night he went out for a pack of smokes and never came back."
Warrick acted cool, "Well how do you know he didn't just take off?"
"Nah, man, his old lady just had a baby and he was crazy about that kid, and his woman, real family man. He wouldn't leave them." answered Jesse. "I'm telling you man it's weird, no one saw or heard a thing. How does someone walk three blocks and disappear? No one has heard anything since."
"Well did they find a body or anything."
"Jesus Warrick, you been CSI too long!" Dion exclaimed, "You don't just say sumthin like that! Ain't cool."
"Sorry…well did anyone report him missing?"
"Yeah, his girl did, but cops ain't gonna do nothin bout it. They don't give a rat's ass if someone round here goes missin." The rest of the basketball players nodded their heads in agreement. Even Warrick knew this to be true. Now he felt compelled to do something about it.
"Maybe I should go talk to…what's his girl's name?"
"Tiana Rondell, lives up there on the corner in 4B," Dion offered, pointing to an old apartment building.
"Tiana huh? I know her, nice girl. She's fine too. Okay, thanks guys." Warrick pulled out some business cards, "Hey, do me a favor, here's my card, you find anything out, or if anyone else goes missing you call me."
Before Warrick could walk away Jesse stepped forward. "Look, Warrick, it's more then just Rodney, there's a lot of crazy shit going on around here, scary stuff. None of us wanna even go out at night."
Warrick nodded, "Yeah, I heard some stuff. Don't worry, I'm on it." Once he felt that he had reassured the boys he turned to leave. "Alright, check ya all later."
Warrick started over towards Tiana's apartment. Even though it was still morning, the sun was already scorching. This usually bothered Warrick, but today the sun felt good, he felt safe. Then something caught the corner of his eye. It wasn't a vampire, it was one of the guys from the interrogation room earlier today. Warrick walked over to him.
He got right in Gunn's face, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Gunn didn't move, "Hey, what's your problem man?" He wasn't intimidated by Warrick, he had dealt with a lot tougher, both human and demon.
"My problem is that you're in my neighborhood."
"Oh, I see…you're neighborhood." Gunn looked Warrick up and down, "Yeah, you blend in here real good."
"I grew up in this neighborhood, these are my people and I don't need some weirdo comin around and messing with them."
"Hey, I'm trying to help them! These people are in real trouble and there ain't no way a guy like you can save them!"
Warrick snorted at Gunn's cockiness, "How do I know that? Huh? How do I know you ain't setting up a new feeding ground for your vampire friends?"
"I got news for you, man, this place already a feeding ground! Do you know how many people round here have disappeared the last couple weeks? Eight. Eight people, mostly gang members."
"How do you know that?"
"Cuz I been hanging round here, finding things out, this place is just like my old neighborhood back in L.A." Gunn had been visiting neighborhoods like this since the day they arrived in Vegas. "Vamps pick places like this where there's a lot of gang activity and poor people. Cops don't investigate crimes around here. It's easy pickins man, a smorgasbord for evil."
Warrick just stared at Gunn. He honestly couldn't decide if he should believe him or not. Warrick knew what he saw on the tapes and in the hallway, but he still couldn't rap his head around it. He had heard rumors, mostly from his grandmother, about disappearances in the area, but nothing came up in the missing person's system. Feeling overwhelmed Warrick sat down on the stoop of the apartment building.
Gunn almost felt sorry for Warrick, he forgot what it was like to still be innocent. To not know about the demons that walked this earth. To not see the things Gunn sees everyday. He sat on the stoop next to Warrick.
"Look man, I don't know you, you don't know me, but I don't lie, I'm legit. I've been fighting vamps for a lot of years now. I know this is strange, but it's real, and it's bad. Now either you can let me help you or you can try to handle this yourself and fail. What's it gonna be?"
Warrick sat silently for a moment before offering his hand to Gunn. "Warrick Brown, CSI." Warrick could tell he and Gunn came from the same place. It was hard not to trust him.
Gunn shook Warrick's hand. "Gunn, demon hunter."
"So what do you know Gunn?"
"Well, I talked to a couple of guys around here and there have been a lot of strange things going on. People disappearing, shadows lurking at night, it's pretty bad when hardcore gang members are scared to go out at night."
"Yeah, we noticed a decrease in gang activity. Now I know why."
"It's more then just vamps though, there are a couple of other demons trying to move in around here."
Warrick looked at Gunn quizzically, "What do you mean other demons?"
"I don't know, creepy things, worse then vamps. Wes could tell you better then I could, he and Cordy are the demon experts."
"Cordy, the girl you were talking about in the interrogation room, visions and demons and goddess…"
"Oh my! Yeah, that's her, she's cool though, now…"
"So how long you been working for that vampire?"
"Few years now, I had my own vampire fighting crew, but I went to work for Angel, bigger purpose, fighting the good fight and all that."
"Can we trust him? I mean, he's a vampire right? And so is the blonde one with the big mouth."
Gunn laughed at Warrick's assessment of Spike. "Nah, they're cool. I mean, yeah, they're vampires but as long as they have souls they aren't evil. You can trust them." Warrick nodded as if he understood, but he didn't. Warrick and Gunn sat on the stoop in silence. Then out of the blue Warrick heard a vaguely familiar voice behind him.
"Warrick Brown is that you?" Warrick stood up and turned around. Tiana Rondell was standing on the top of the stoop. She was holding a small infant in her arms. Although she still had a little weight from the baby, she was still as beautiful as Warrick remembered her. Warrick and Tiana had dated when he was in college, but Warrick was too busy with school for her, so she left him. Warrick still thought about her once in awhile.
"Tiana, I was just coming to talk to you. Heard about Rodney. I'm so sorry."
Warrick's words caused Tiana to desolve into tears. Warrick walked over and put his arms around her, careful not to smother the sleeping baby.
After a few moments Tiana was able to speak, "Oh Warrick, what am I gonna do? Rodney is my life, where could he have gone?"
Gunn stood up to address Tiana.
"How long has your husband been gone?"
"Oh, he's not my husband, but he wanted us to…" Tiana could feel she was going to lose it again, so she quickly answered Gunn's question, "Two days"
Gunn looked at Warrick and nodded his head. Warrick could read his signal.
"Tiana, why don't you and the baby go inside, I'll be up to talk to you in a few minutes." After Tiana took the baby inside Warrick went over to talk to Gunn.
"What's up?"
"This Rodney dude, did he disappear into thin air?" Gunn had a worried look on his face. "Has anyone found a body?"
"Yes and no," he answered grimly.
"It takes two days for a vampire to turn. I'm thinking Rodney may have been more then just a meal."
"Dammit!" Warrick looked up at the apartment building. "What am I supposed to tell Tiana?"
"Tell her not to invite Rodney in if he comes calling tonight!"
"What?"
"Look, Warrick man, a vamp can't come into a person's home unless they are invited in, or the owner is dead. Tiana will be safe as long as she doesn't invite Rodney in…if and when he shows up. I'm gonna go brief the rest of the crew on this latest development." Gunn turned and walked away.
"Wait a sec, what am I supposed tell Tiana?"
Gunn shrugged, "I dunno, that's your problem man… Tell her the truth, but she probably won't believe you. But if you don't, she'll probably end up dead. Tell her to go to her mom's or friend for the night."
Gunn kept walking as Warrick sighed and went up to Tiana's apartment. He got up there and tried to convince her to go somewhere else tonight, he told her that Rodney may have been killed by some gang members and she and her baby could be in danger. Tiana promised Warrick she would get somewhere safe and not tell anyone where she was going. Warrick turned to face Tiana before he left.
"Hey, remember, you promised to get safe. You call me if anything happens or if you hear anything." Warrick stopped and looked at Tiana, "I'll always care about you, I don't want anything to happen to you. Please leave before it gets dark. Call me in the morning."
A teary-eyed Tiana nodded as she kissed Warrick on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered as she closed the door.
Warrick walked back to his car, drove home and slept for a few hours before work.