Disclaimer: I only own Jimmy and Trey. And I really don't own them, because they're just made up thoughts, and you can't really own thoughts.
Author's Notes: This is a little longer than any of my other chapters have been, and I didn't even cover all I wanted to cover, which just means the important Catherine/Warrick things I wanted to cover will be concentrated in the next chapter.
I blame the length on my wonderful evening, which has left me totally energized. I spent the day at work doing grunt work, like measuring the size of the campus park and the distance from a certain set of dorm rooms to the park, and back, and the different paths that could be taken...tape measures, pedometers, and protractors (oh my!). Anyway, after an exhausting day in overpowering heat (well, the heat wasn't too bad, although the humidity was going to kill me), my sister and brother convinced me to go to the casino with them and bet on the horses. This chapter is the result of 3 beers, 2 winning races, and losing it all back in the slot machines.
Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews...you guys are the best! You keep me inspired to write, which I'm grateful for, without you I would get bored and quit in the middle of writing this thing. So, thanks!
Jenny
Six:
"Sara, you've got to realize that you didn't do anything wrong." Nick said firmly, his hands on her shoulders, "I know you hate yourself for killing that guy, but we are all so glad you did! I don't know what I'd do without you."
Sara pulled away, shaking her head and cursing loudly, "Nick! It's not that easy, you can't just say I did a good deed. I don't care about why I did it, I just care that I did it! So what if he was a criminal? So what if he killed those people at the party? He was still a human, and I took his life."
"So, it's true then?" A cold voice asked from behind Sara, causing both Sara and Nick to startle slightly. Neither had seen him coming, but now he stood next to them, his eyes cold and his body tense with rage, "You're that cop that killed Jimmy."
Sara was too shocked to reply with her usual "I'm not a cop, I'm a CSI" reply, so she just stared at him, her mind numb with sudden fear. Nick, apparently, felt the same way, because he took a step closer to her, taking her arm with his hand protectively, "Who are you?" Nick asked, his voice hard.
"Man, he was innocent, I can't believe you guys shoot innocent men. And they say cops are all looking out for the good guys, but in reality, you just don't care. You see someone you think could be a criminal or a suspect or something and you shoot him in cold blood. That's the reason you people make me sick. Jimmy wouldn't hurt a fly, much less a pretty girl like you." The man said, his voice trembling slightly, "Self defense, huh? I bet you didn't even give him a chance to defend himself, I bet be wasn't doing a damn thing wrong."
Sara felt her blood began to boil, but knowing this guy just wanted to bait her, she forced herself to remain calm, "If you believe this was done out of malice, or Jimmy Gardner was treated unfairly, feel free to call the Vegas Crime Lab and question Conrad Ecklie, he's handling the case. I don't have anything else to say to you."
"And if you don't stop harassing her, we'll call for backup." Nick added, his arm still on Sara, this time to keep her calm. He could see her rigid stance, poised to fight, and although he was glad to see some of the Sara he was familiar with shining through, he wanted to kick her for coming out of her quiet depression at this moment.
The man's fist pounded on the wall of the diner, anger showing on his face, "Where was Jimmy's backup? Who was protecting him from this crazy bitch?"
"First off, I'm not crazy!" Sara yelled, yanking her arm away from Nick, "Secondly, Jimmy had a gun pointed to my best friend's head, and he was telling me he was going to kill both of us! Unless you were there, you don't have a damn clue what happened!"
"Sara, calm down," Nick said, grabbing her arm again and not letting her pull back. "Sir, you need to leave."
The man took a step closer to Nick, pushing Sara aside, "What will you do if I don't? Shoot me? Obviously the LVPD doesn't have a problem with their people murdering the rest of us."
Nick and Sara both looked as if they were about to jump on top of the man when the door opened and Grissom and Warrick walked outside, Grissom's voice cool and calm, "Is there a problem?"
"You must work with this bitch here? What, you all going to shoot me? You travel in packs or something? This bitch should be in jail, with all of the other murderers! I know Jimmy didn't do nothing to her!" the man said, the rising anger evident on his features, "That's the damn legal system, letting the bad guys off and the good guys rot."
"Sir, you need to calm down." Warrick said, taking a step towards him, "Walk away and get your mind clear. It won't help the situation if you get arrested for assaulting an officer of the law."
The man turned on Warrick, his hand starting to move towards his jacket, where he knew he kept his 9 mm. "This doesn't have nothing to do with you. Go back inside and keep out of it." He nodded towards Grissom and Nick, "You too. This is between me and the girl."
"You lost your friend, and you're upset." Grissom said, his voice still eerily calm, "Sara's our friend, and we'd be very upset if we lost her. I know you must feel like we failed Jimmy and we made a mistake, but you do not know the details of the situation. It's okay to be upset and angry, but causing a fight our hurting our friend won't make Jimmy come back, it won't change what's already been done. You wouldn't want to spend time in jail just because you wanted revenge, would you?"
The man let his hand fall to his side, although his eyes were still focused on Sara, "Bitch, you better watch out, because we're going to be looking for you, and next time, there won't be anyone to help you." He mimicked a gunshot, then patted his jacket with a warning glare.
He turned around to come face-to-face with Brass, "Making a threat against CSI Sidle, are you? I think you ought to come with me," He looked over to Sara, "You too, we'll get the paperwork started on a restraining order while you file an official complaint against this thug here."
The man reached for his jacket again, but Brass pinned his arm behind his back, "Oh, no, not so fast." He motioned for Nick to retrieve the gun, which he did after sliding on a latex glove which had been in his own jacket pocket, and then Brass pushed the man against the car, his hands roughly patting down the man's sides, "Just to make sure you don't have any other toys in here."
Brass came across the wallet, which he pulled out and read the driver's license, "Trey Gardner, nice, Jimmy's brother, I suppose? Maybe a cousin?"
"Brother." Trey replied gruffly, struggling against Brass's grasp, "What's it to you?"
"Brother or not, you have no right to corner and threaten my people." Brass tightened his grip, whispering harshly in his ear, "When we get to the station, we're in my turf, and your bad-boy-thug image is going to go to shit."
Several hours later, Greg and Sara were back in Sara's living room, Greg checking all of the rooms for any signs of intrusions, the locks on the doors and windows for their reliability, "Just in case." He had told Sara, but he knew that if he hadn't checked, she would be doing it. It didn't take a genius to know he had been involved in the governor's case, and if he could easily spot her on the street, he and his buddies could just as easily track her down and get her address...the case had been covered well enough by the media that Sara's name was now well known. Just because Trey had a R.O. from Sara, it wouldn't stop his buddies from getting too close.
Grissom had suggested she stay with someone else, but she had been quick to point out that if she wasn't at her apartment, they'd probably assume she was staying with a co-worker. She had also shot down the idea of staying at one of Vegas's many hotels, returning to San Francisco to visit her brother, and going on a trip out of town for awhile until the case was solved. She had agreed to let an officer do surveillance on her apartment, but the idea had been turned down by the Sheriff, who had said the department was too busy as it was, they didn't have the manpower to spare. He also said the R.O. would be enough, and there was nothing to indicate anyone else would want to track her down.
If he only saw what they saw on a nightly basis. Greg had insisted he was going to stay with her until all of Jimmy's accomplices were behind bars, and Sara had been too freaked out about the whole situation to argue. She did, however, draw the line when everyone else -up to Brass himself- had volunteered to do the same. After that, she put her foot down and swore she and Greg would be fine, Trey had just been trying to scare her, get under her skin, and she wasn't going to let him win.
The only positive thing about the whole ordeal was that they now had Trey's fingerprints on file, and they were a match to some found at the ballroom at the Bellagio. It was now a matter of getting him to shed some light on who else had been present that night, and what exactly had gone down.
"Sar, we should get some rest. It's been a long day." Greg said softly, taking her hand into his and squeezing it gently, "Go take a long, hot shower, and we'll watch some TV, then we can call it a night. I think we've still got some Ben and Jerry's in the freezer, and instead of soda, I think I can wrangle up a few beers. We've still got a few out of that case we bought a few weeks ago, right?"
Sara nodded, sighing heavily. She felt so tired, mentally and physically. Sure, she could see why Trey had been upset, but she had felt so scared when she had gotten a glimpse of his gun. If Brass wouldn't have shown up...if Nick hadn't been there to keep her cool...if she would have been alone, or if he would have come to her apartment...things could have turned out so differently. And now, she didn't even have her weapon to defend herself. Not that she would have shot anyone, again, but she only now realized how comforting it was knowing she was protected by her weapon everywhere she went. That would be one part of her CSI uniform she wouldn't over-rate in the future.
She turned the shower on and let the hot water cascade down her body, sinking to the shower floor as the tears finally began to fall. She had been consumed with guilt over shooting Jimmy, but had somehow managed to let that go over the past few hours, the pain and guilt less intense than it had been since the shooting. Now she was remembering the fear and pain she had seen on Greg's face, the panic that had filled her own body, the worry that this was far from over, the fear she had felt outside of the diner this evening, the terror that was growing in her heart as she thought that someone could so easily walk up to her with a gun, and threaten her in broad daylight.
Her job was coming alive now, sure, they dealt with the sick, twisted people of the world every day, but never had it been so personal as the last week. Even when she was standing in the small room with Jimmy and Greg, it wasn't personal, it wasn't painfully terrifying as it was now. She felt like the fear was going to crush her chest, wondering if the sounds she heard in her apartment came from Greg or from one of the other friends or relatives of Jimmy, wanting to avenge his death. Would she be safe at the supermarket? In her car? In her bedroom? Where could she hide if she wanted to get away from these creeps? Would she ever feel safe in her own skin again?
She covered her face with her hands, trying to get a grip on herself. Sure, she had been in a bind today, but Trey hadn't even drawn his weapon, whereas Jimmy was waving his around like a maniac, yet she felt 10 times more scared now than she had the night she shot Jimmy. Maybe it was because Trey had so blatantly threatened her, or because she now realized that if they wanted her, she wasn't hard to track down, or maybe because she now saw firsthand, not after the fact, but during, what crazy people lived in the limits of her city.
The water soon turned cold, but she seemed unable to stop her tears, and remained curled on the floor, shaking from not only her sobs but the ice cold water beating on her back.
She didn't noticed when Greg turned the water off, barely glancing at him as he wrapped a towel around her and led her to her room, handing her a pair of pajamas and underwear. She let them fall to the floor as she sank to her knees, unable to support herself without Greg's assistance, and barely flinched as he dried her off and helped her dress, tucking her into bed and laying beside her, allowing her to bury her head in his chest as she continued to sob. Tomorrow, she'd be embarrassed. Tonight, she needed the comfort of a close friend.
Across town, Catherine burst into Grissom's office, Warrick hot on her heels, "I've got it!" She cried out, throwing a stack of papers on Grissom's desk.
"What?" Grissom asked, turning his attention away from his computer and looking at Catherine expectantly, seemingly unfazed by her excited outburst, "What do you have?"
"We've got a list of the 2 other people Trey Gardner says were working the Bellagio with him the night of the shooting," Warrick supplied. "Brass is bringing them in for questioning."
"We got the report from ballistics on Jimmy's gun, it was one used in the shooting, actually, it was the one which killed the governor's new son-in-law," Catherine added excitedly. "Also, Trey's gun supplied 27 bullets that Nick and Sara bagged at the Bellagio. His fingerprint was on the emergency exit, and the bullets are a match for one they pulled out of the governor's assistant, Theodore Harris."
"We also found another set of prints, besides Trey's, on the gun, which we're running through AFIS right now. If we get a hit, it's another possible gunman." Warrick said triumphantly.
Grissom gave them a wan smile, "It's about time we made some headway with this case. Page me when Brass gets the suspects in, we'll divide and conquer. Catherine, find Nick and tell him to stick close to the lab until they arrive. Warrick, I want anything at all that can tie the Gardner brothers with the governor in any way."
"Already working on that," Warrick said quietly, "There's nothing yet, but they could have been hired. I'm working on getting a warrant for their bank and phone records."
"I'll call Brass and have him push that through." Grissom said with a sigh, turning back to his computer, "I talked to him about an hour ago, he's going to send an officer to patrol the neighborhood Sara's apartment complex is in 'coincidentally' every hour or so for the next couple of days. I'm trying to get Ecklie to finish her investigation so she can be back in the lab, instead of alone at her apartment."
Catherine nudged Warrick with a smile, nodding to Grissom's obvious concern, "And here we were, thinking you didn't care." she said in a teasing voice, trying to lighten the heavy mood that had been present like a thick fog all week.
"You think it's a good idea to have her out in the field?" Warrick asked, concern causing his forehead to wrinkle, his head tilted slightly to the right as he studied Grissom, "With some lunatic threatening her? Without the other two suspects caught?"
Grissom shook his head, "No, she's not going to be in the field, she's going to be in the lab until the case is complete. It's safer for her to be in here than it is for her to be in her apartment. Greg will be able to come back to work the day after tomorrow, and I'd like for them to come back together. They seem to be close."
"Getting closer every day." Catherine muttered under her breath, giving a smirk to Warrick.
Warrick shook his head, "We'll be on our pagers if you need us."
"Let me know when the suspects get here!" Grissom called out as Catherine and Warrick disappeared from sight.
Nick sat in the break room, studying the ballistics reports from the Bellagio shooting. 4 guns, 4 types of bullets. 113 total, 27 coming from Trey's gun, 13 coming from Jimmy's. That left 73 bullets unaccounted for, probably from a semi-automatic weapon. Of course, he would have assumed Trey's was a semi-automatic as well, but it seemed that Trey had just kept reloading his gun instead of having one with a continuous release. Assume nothing, Grissom always told him, a lesson that was reinforced every day with every puzzling case that came through their shift.
He was exhausted, they had all been surviving on coffee for the last week, busy with the case, trying to handle the cases they had been working on before the shooting, and covering the slack from missing two CSI's. He would be relieved when Sara came back, even Greg, just so he could go home and get more than 3 hours of sleep.
He was worried about Sara, he couldn't deny it. She had seemed...off...to him earlier, and he knew it was eating her alive to know she had shot Jimmy. He wished he could say something to help her, he almost wished he had been the one held at gunpoint just so he could be with her at her apartment. One flashback to Nigel Crane, and he pushed those wishes aside. He wouldn't wish having a gun in your face to anyone, although he wouldn't mind being near Sara, holding her and making her feel better, spending 24 hours a day in her apartment, at arm's reach away. He just hoped Greg was taking care of her, and he tried to push the jealousy aside. Maybe once Greg came back to work, if Sara wasn't back yet, he could take his night off and stay with her.
His pager went off, and he realized the suspects were here. Meeting up with Catherine and Warrick in the hall, he said a quick prayer that they would have this case wrapped up by the end of shift.
Sara awoke to the sound of terrified crying. At first she wasn't sure what was going on, where was she? When had she fallen asleep? But all of a sudden, memories crashed down on her. She had completely lost it earlier, probably having a nervous breakdown, of sorts, and Greg had taken care of her. She had cried on his shoulder for hours until they both fell asleep.
Which meant that the cries were coming from Greg.
She rubbed her eyes, turning to see Greg shifting uneasily on the bed, gripping the pillow tightly. She shook his arm, "Greg, wake up."
He moaned again, mumbling something incoherently, his cheeks wet with tears. She shook him again, this time harder. "Greg! Can you hear me? You're dreaming, wake up. Please?"
She reached out to grab his arm again, and his eyes shot open, his body throwing itself into a sitting position, causing their heads to bang forcefully against each other.
"Jesus, Greg!" She yelled, rubbing her forehead, "Are you okay?"
Greg's hand rose to his own forehead, as he blinked rapidly, trying to figure out where he was. As his eyes adjusted, he realized he was in Sara's room, with Sara hovering over him. He allowed her to give him a tight hut, and he blinked back tears of his own. She was going through enough, she didn't need his problems to add to her own.
"It was just a nightmare Greg, they can't hurt you. I promise, no one will hurt you as long as I'm around." Sara soothed, holding him tightly and rocking him back and forth gently. She was no stranger to nightmares, and she was going to do her best to take care of Greg like he had been taking care of her for the last two days. "I'll keep you safe, I promise."
Greg smiled, even though his fear and shame from his dream, "You'll just shoot the dreams away, won't you?"
"If you were anyone else, I'd hit you for that." Sara replied, her lips close to his ear, enough to make him feel a physical reaction. "You are so lucky that you're my best friend."
"Best friend." Greg replied, pulling away slightly, knowing that if he didn't force himself to remember the distance, he wouldn't be able to control wandering hands, "Have you ever thought about being something more?"
TBC
