Implied Connections
Chapter 5 – Judgement & Admission
By: Braidless Baka
Disclaimer: Ohoh! Guess what?! I got my lawyer on the phone today and… I still can't own Greg… (or CSI for that matter). Now things have to start getting illegal ^_~
A/N: Eek, more character development, but I just have to write stuff down before I go into the case. This fic's likely to be driven by characters rather than case anyway, but when we go find Greg and Catherine there'll be case stuff there ^_~ The full run-down of our Spring Valley case ^_^
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Warrick, in the meantime, was still working hard on their robbery case. Nick was right, he figured they were almost finished. That was, if his hunch was right. They'd traced a discarded revolver, standard LVPD issue, through fingerprints to one of their suspects. Why, Warrick asked to himself, would a juvenile be in possession of a police handgun? They'd matched the prints to the youth, but stealing a police officer's gun didn't automatically make someone a murderer. He'd sent Rachel to go to ballistics with the recovered weapon and make some test shots to compare it with the gun used in the robbery.
Rachel Simmons. Now there was a strange girl. Warrick wasn't usually the one to make judgements, especially where women were concerned. However, everything Rachel did seemed to put him on edge. He blamed the fact that she just wasn't Sara. They'd had their disagreements in the past, but Warrick was at least secure in the fact that Sara was competent, if not especially likeable. Rachel, while outwardly likeable, seemed to generate something akin to suspiciousness. It was a feeling he couldn't shake. No matter how much he tried.
"Hey Warrick?"
He looked up sharply from his thoughts to see Rachel waving a plastic bag at him with their bullet inside. He mentally pulled his mind back on track, saying, "What did you find?"
"Perfect match," she said, grinning widely. "We've got our shooter."
Warrick nodded. "Witnesses placing him there, and the murder weapon in his hands. We're solid on this one."
"Solid is right! I mean, I-" she paused suddenly, looking up. "Oh! Hi Nick."
Nick was leaning on the doorframe, smiling a little too much than was normal for Nick. "Hey Rachel, how're you guys doing?"
"I think we just cracked it," she said enthusiastically, waving the bag with their evidence in as though to prove her point.
"Yeah," butted in Warrick forcefully, the word holding weight as he said it. "Yeah, we did."
Nick either ignored, or simply didn't hear, the undertone of Warrick's voice as he continued, "Grissom's going to be pulling you guys onto our case when you're done."
"The one with Sara, right?" Warrick watched darkly as Rachel spoke, his near-silence seemed to go unnoticed by the other two.
"Yeah, that's the one."
"Hey, Nick," murmured Warrick eventually; standing from the chair he was sat in. "Do you have a minute?"
"Sure. Why?"
"We need to have a talk. Now." Warrick glanced at Rachel. "In private."
It was Rachel's turn to pause, her smile leaving her face for a second to make way for confusion. "I can go and uhh…"
"Go tell Grissom we're done here," Warrick finished sharply for her. He figured she knew he didn't like her, so why should he hide it?
"Sure," she said, making for the door. "Sure I can do that." She left quickly, her heels making clacking noises as they carried her swiftly down the corridor.
"What was all that about?"
Warrick turned back to Nick, almost having forgotten why he'd effectively evicted Rachel from the room. "Man," he said sharply, "I don't care how hot you think she is, there's no way you can come in here making googoo eyes at her every goddamnned time you see her."
"What? I'm not making 'googoo eyes' at anyone."
"I just watched you come in here and do it. And it's not like it's the first time; you do it all the time. Man, I need you to loosen up a little for me, okay?"
Nick frowned, obviously not having expected such an assault. "I'm being nice to her. It's more than you've been from what I can tell."
"What I'm being is professional. What you're being is stupid. You need to work out the difference, okay?"
Nick could've handled a lot of things, but when he was directly called 'stupid' was when he placed his limits. "So, I'm being stupid?" he demanded sharply, no longer leaning against the doorframe, but having pushed himself off it in order to glare Warrick down. "By being nice to a co-worker I'm being stupid? I don't see how that works."
"Well I do." Warrick frowned slightly, now aware of his own hypocrisy, but unwilling to let this one drop. "I've got a bad feeling about her, okay? Ever since she got here."
"You think she's got something to do with the case?" By 'the case' it was obvious Nick was referring to the Spring Valley case.
"I didn't say that," responded Warrick, his tone sharp.
"You were going to."
"I'm not gonna make accusations."
"Just because you don't like her doesn't give you rights to warn off everyone who does."
Warrick sighed, aware of how quickly this could escalate. "Do you like her? You really aren't getting any bad vibes off all this?"
"No." The reply was quick and blunt.
Warrick shrugged. "Then make like I never said anything."
"You're going to make like nothing ever happened?"
Again, Warrick shrugged broadly. "As long as you quit ignoring everyone else in the room when she's around, I really don't care."
"I don-"
"Yes, you do." The interruption came with Warrick's stern glare. "Seriously, you do. And you've got to stop doing it, or you'll start ignoring the case. And if you ignore the case Sara's suspension could become permanent."
"So, now you're blaming me for Sara's suspension? What's gotten into you?!"
Warrick looked at the ceiling as he tried to keep himself calm. He wasn't going to get into a fight over this, he'd already decided that much. He'd hate to have to explain his point to say, Catherine, or worse, Grissom. And he'd forgotten how personally Nick took things like this. "All I'm saying is don't go nuts over the blonde, all right? Promise me you'll keep things in perspective."
It wasn't a question, but a statement. But, Nick was angry now. And anyone walking into the room could've seen it. Warrick's hostility, while not evident on his face, was easily evident by his demeanour. Perhaps this was what enraged Nick, who was usually the most easy-going of the pair. The argument was senseless, the accusation unwarranted. And perhaps, silently, he could admit there was a little jealousy there too.
Eventually, after several second's silence, Warrick sighed. He picked up some papers and made to move past Nick. Nick, seeing this, moved to block his way. Warrick watched him quietly. "I don't wanna make a fight out of this, man."
"Why'd you start one then?"
"Seriously, don't make this into a big thing."
Nick's voice held bound fury. "Just because you say it doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter? Is that how we're playing this now?"
"I'm not playing anything. I'm telling you something. Whether you listen or not is something I can't influence, and I won't try to." He paused. "Now just let me past, okay?"
Nick paused for a moment, his eyes still angry. Then, grudgingly, he stepped aside to let the taller man pass. Warrick did so, then turning back with a quiet expression. "Thanks, man."
"She's not involved," Nick stated resolutely.
"I hope not." Warrick paused thoughtfully. "Go ahead, prove me wrong. I'll apologise to her if you manage."
"To Rachel?"
Warrick nodded. "Yes, to Rachel."
Nick watched Warrick as he turned then, heading up the corridor, and wondering what the hell he was supposed to make of their encounter.