Warrick joined Catherine in the hallway as they headed towards their
destination. The lead CSI looked at her partner seriously, commanding his
attention as they stopped in front of a closed door.
"I don't want any outburst, no drama," she stated.
Warrick stood straighter. "I'll keep quiet."
Catherine looked at him with sympathy. "I'm just as upset as you are, Rick. I also know when to store my emotions for later."
Warrick gave her a look that said what he was thinking. Every one of them
had lost their cool during certain cases from time to time.
The female CSI pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "Is Grissom observing
through the one way?"
"Nah. Sheriff got him back under a microscope. We're supposed to keep him
informed."
Catherine took a deep breath and fiddled with her files under her arm. She
opened the door and both of them walked in. Catherine took the chair across
from the desk and Warrick took a seat at the far end of the room. Both of
them waited patiently for Jim Brass to join them before Roger Sikes arrived.
Catherine Willows drummed her fingers ever so slowly on the table in front
of her. Her nails echoed in the room as she stared at Roger Sikes. The man
entered the room and sat in his chair in a huff. His eyes darted all over
the place and finally his cold stare focused on the female CSI.
"What do you people want now?"
Catherine leaned in on her elbows, taking her time answering the question.
"For starters, we want to know where were you Tuesday around 7:00 p. m?"
Roger slumped in his chair. "You people are really preoccupied about where I
am all the time."
Jim, who had been standing to the side, smiled smugly. "That's because we
think bad things happen where you go."
Roger snorted. "Whatever."
Catherine tilted her head. "Just answer the question, Mr. Sikes."
"That was two days ago lady. I went to visit my cousin, Jimmy. You want to
know why? Because you guys shut down my gym. That's where I was till your
bull dog showed up with a bunch of cops." Annoyed, the muscle man grabbed a
bottle of water sitting on the table and took a big swig.
"What time did you leave?... Mr. Sikes?"
"I don't know. Late at night."
"Anyone see you there?" The CSI asked.
"Yeah, my damn cousin. One of you already spoke to him. Got any other
questions?" Roger shot back.
"Yeah. Do you have any injuries that you're on the mend from?" Catherine
asked, her voice tight.
Roger seemed momentarily confused. "Injuries? No."
"Could you explain why a gym instructor would have fingerprints all over a
customer's locker in the physical therapy room, then?"
The instructor's face went from puzzlement to anger. Jim inched his way
closer to the volatile man, just in case he lost his temper again.
"I don't know. Maybe, I touched it at some point. Who knows." Roger Sikes
looked slightly uncomfortable in his chair as he started looking around.
Catherine pulled out a paper from a file and slid it over towards the
instructor. "Your fingerprints were found all over that locker and inside it
as well. Do you usually use client lockers?"
Roger snatched the paper, looked and threw it back towards the criminalist.
"Like I said, I may have been in there at one point or another. I work there
for crying out loud." Roger rested his palms on the table. "Look, if you
don't have any other significant questions then I'm leaving. The only reason
I didn't come back here with my lawyer was the guy charges way too much. So,
if that's all, then I'm out of here."
Roger got out of his chair and headed towards the door.
Jim Brass cut in front of him and pointed at the vacant seat. "Sit back down, we're not
done."
Catherine decided to go full force, knowing that the man might balk before
they could squeeze him any more. She flicked her gaze at Warrick, letting
him know to remain a silent observer. "Mr. Sikes, a crime scene investigator
was attacked Tuesday at your gym while searching the physical therapy room."
For the first time Roger Sikes looked nervous. Once he sat back down, he looked
over at Warrick and back to the detective whose eyes bore right through him.
The tension in the room was thick and all of a sudden the temperature had
seemed to rise a few degrees.
"One of you guys was hurt?" The instructor tapped his foot restlessly.
"Sorry to hear. What's that got to do with me?"
Jim walked over to the man and bent down and spoke softly. "It's the same
guy you assaulted three days ago."
Sikes' neck muscles tightened. "Just because I wanted to punch that cowboy's
lights out didn't mean I went after him or something."
"Really?" Jim opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking. "This guy caused
you to lose your temper at a police station of all places. This same person
didn't piss you off when you spotted him messing with your things at the
gym?"
"No way, man. I didn't do anything. I wasn't near the gym."
Catherine drew his attention back to her. She ticked off a finger for every
point she made. "Your fingerprints found on the locker he was searching.
Your beef with him during this investigation. We shut your gym down. Pissed
off your girlfriend." The CSI held his gaze as her voice went up an octave.
"You also tested positive for steroids."
Catherine just waited for a response, but got none. The man was fuming, but
he kept his mouth shut. Catherine glanced at Warrick, who nodded to her.
"You know, Nick said you weren't as tough as you make yourself out to be. I
guess you're just stupid to boot."
Roger violently got out his chair, knocking it down. Warrick stood up, ready
to pounce on the man. The instructor took his time looking at each person in
the room. Then he settled his eyes on the female CSI in front of him. He
grinned at her, laughing. "Stupid, huh? I guess I wasn't as stupid as your
boy. Sounds like he got his ass handed to him. Too bad none of you seem even
close to solving two employee of mine's deaths."
Roger took a deep breath and stretched his arms above him, flexing his
muscles while doing so. "Seems to me that Stokes should hit the gym a little
more often."
Catherine was about to give him a seething reply, when she noticed a few
scratch marks across Roger's forearm near his elbow. She hadn't noticed them
before, until his sleeve moved, revealing it as he stretched. "Nice set of
marks there. Do they hurt?"
The instructor looked at them dumbfoundedly. Warrick moved a little closer
to observe them. Roger glanced at the other CSI and smiled coyly. "Yeah,
well Michelle likes it rough. Got them all over my other arm and back." The
muscle man licked his lips obnoxiously. "Of course sweetheart, there's only
one way you'll see me with my shirt off."
Catherine blinked her eyes, repulsed. Roger smiled and went towards the
door. He looked over at Warrick and Jim who were itching for a reason to lay
their hands on him. "I'm going now. I failed a drug test. Whoopee. If that
was so pressing then I would have been arrested for a crime."
Roger Sikes opened the door and left. Catherine looked at the ceiling in
astoundment. Warrick sauntered over to the bottle of water and slipped on a
latex glove. He picked up the drink and looked his partners with
satisfaction. "I'll take this over to the lab now. See if we can match his
DNA to the samples that Greg has from the drug test."
Catherine exhaled a long breath she had been holding and wandered over next
to her partner and Jim. "Yeah, let's hope we bury him with it."
The three were already heading out of the room when they heard a loud
commotion in the hallway.
Nick froze in mid step as his mind registered who was coming towards him.
Nick saw the deep scowl in Sikes' face, and his ears echoed with the sound
of his own skull being slammed into the lockers over and over again. The
fear and helplessness rapidly rose like the bile in his throat, threatening
to choke him. His vision swam as his focus narrowed down solely to the giant
man heading towards him. All of his aches and pain were pushed into the
background as Nick's pulse ratcheted into the triple digits in tandem with
his blood pressure. He simply charged at the man. Nick grabbed the lapels of
the stunned suspect's jacket and pushed him into the hallway wall.
Greg barely had any time to react, cursing under his breath as he feebly
tried to pull Nick off of the other man. The lab tech knew that getting into
a brawl with gorilla boy was not the brightest of moves. Adrenaline and
anger was fueling Nick's aggression now, but the CSI would not last long in
a fight with Sikes in his current shape.
Nick held Sikes up against the wall. The veins along Nick's neck popped out
and the muscles around his jaw tensed. "You have no clue what it means to be
a man, do you? Attacking people from behind. You're just a 'roided up freak," Nick seethed.
Roger Sikes placed his beefy hands on the CSI's shoulders and shoved him
hard into the opposite wall. Nick's back impacted it with a thud.
Greg tried to stop the fight by standing in Nick's way. The tech tried to
subdue the furious criminalist, holding his hands out in front of him.
"Dude, calm down."
Warrick bolted out of the interview room into the unfolding scene, with
Brass and Catherine hot on his heels. Warrick grabbed Roger Sikes by the arm
as the suspect lunged forward to continue the altercation. "Back off!" Warrick thundered.
Jim Brass ordered two police officers who had come over during the scuffle
to restrain the Ox-man as he tried to plow through Warrick to get to Nick.
Warrick let go of the suspect's arm and stared down the man as he was being
led away.
"Get him out of here," Jim ordered, following his officers down the
corridor.
"This is police brutality!" Roger screamed as he protested being escorted
out. "He attacked me!"
Catherine and Greg each had a hand on Nick's good shoulder as he tried to go
after the suspect. "We're going to nail you," he yelled at the muscle man's
retreating form. Nick brushed past them both, his sling discarded and hanging by his side.
Warrick turned and blocked Nick's path and stared at him. "What the hell is
going on here man!"
The taller CSI effectively halted his tirade. Nick, still frustrated, turned
around and punched the wall with his left fist. He unballed his hand and
laid it flat. He took a few calming breaths and closed his eyes, trying to
control his emotions. With his adrenaline wearing off he felt all his aches
and pains return with ferocity. He kept his head down staring at the floor.
When he forced his eyes open the hallway was spinning.
Catherine gently laid a hand on his back, feeling the muscles there
trembling from the receding rush. "Nick?"
Warrick walked over, before glaring at Greg who was hovering around the
other side of Nick. Warrick leaned on his shoulder and studied his friend.
"You feel better now?"
Nick lifted his head and slowly turned around. The vertigo he was
experiencing made him falter. Catherine and Warrick were both there, each
grabbing an arm to hold him steady.
"Whoa, take it easy buddy." Warrick looked over at Catherine. "Let's get him
to a couch or something."
"What's he doing here and not at home anyway?" Catherine glanced over at the
lab tech, who looked all the world like he wanted to be swallowed up by a
big hole in the ground.
They waited for the CSI to gain a sense of balance, then he shrugged them
both away. Nick walked into an empty break room under his own power, but
still flanked by the other three criminalists.
"Don't get mad at Greg, I made him bring me here."
Nick gingerly lowered himself on a sofa, wrapping his left arm around his
side. Once he sank into the plushness of the couch, he leaned his head back
and rubbed at his temples again.
Catherine was pissed at Nick for being so stupid, but her heart went out to
him as she sat next to him. She adjusted his discarded sling strap, "Nick,
slide your arm into this and use it like you're supposed to," she commanded.
Nick sighed and moved his arm into the sling, the jarring motion sending
sharp painful sensations through his shoulder. He hissed and glanced up at
his coworkers. "Sorry I blew up like that. Don't know what came over me."
Warrick towered over the seated criminalist, his foul mood ever apparent.
"Saving you ass is not something I want to make a habit out of, bro."
"Yeah, yeah." Nick grumbled. The CSI shook his head. "He was just the last
person I thought I'd run into here."
Catherine crossed her arms in front of her. "You weren't supposed to even be
here."
"I just wanted to go over the case notes," he whined.
Catherine sighed. "You're going home... Now." She looked over at the lab
tech. "And Greg is making sure you get there, this time."
"Did you get anything out of him?" Nick knew that they must have come up empty, since the man had walked out of the interview room. The CSI then noticed the sealed water bottle. "What's that?"
Warrick allowed a tiny smile. "DNA comparison."
"Cath, just let me go over to the lab to find out the results," Nick
beseeched.
"You want to go to the lab, now?" Warrick snorted. "After what just happened
here?"
"Since I'm already caught, yeah." Nick grinned one of his million watt
smiles.
"No way you're working this case, dude." Warrick shook his head at the
insanity of the situation.
Nick ran his hand over his face wearily. "Guys, I know all you're just
trying to help, but..."
Catherine raised her hand to silence him. "Nick you are not medically
cleared to work this case. Even if you were, you'd be off it anyway because
of ..."
Nick cut Catherine off. "I'm not going back to my house to sit around all
day while you guys work my case." Nick got up with a little difficulty, his
arm protectively close to his ribcage. "If someone tried to kill you, don't
tell me for one moment that you'd just sit around." Nick locked eyes with
each person in the room, knowing that if positions were reversed, he'd be
hearing the same argument.
Greg looked down at his feet, not wanting to be caught by that accusing
stare. Catherine and Warrick were quiet, each one processing a multitude of
reasons to counter Nick's statements.
Nick stood there. "I just want to find some answers. I won't process
anything. Let me go to DNA. There's still stuff to go through from
Michelle's office. I know you'll need help with that."
Nick could tell he was chiseling away at their protective barrier. "Reading
files and papers isn't going to compromise the evidence."
Catherine stood up and walked over to Nick. She grabbed his hand. "We're
just worried about you, Nicky. We almost lost you."
Nick squeezed her hand back. "I realize that more than any of you. I just
want to be involved in a small way."
Warrick shook his head. Nick Stokes was a fiercely stubborn person, and
Warrick couldn't help but understand the man's feelings on everything.
Catherine sighed. "All right. Let's go to DNA and process the results.
Then, you're going home." Catherine saw the other CSI about to protest.
"We'll see about a few of those files, but let's just take things one step
at a time."
Nick nodded, happy that he had won out just a little.
Jim Brass watched as now three officers led Roger Sikes to the door. He
stood in the entrance of the police station and observed the brooding man
make his way down the outside steps. As the instructor walked down, Bob
Fulton could be seen getting out of his car. The physical therapist needed
to be questioned about prints that were found on the locker.
Bob Fulton looked like a deer caught in headlights as the mammoth instructor
stomped over towards his direction. Jim almost went over to the two men to
make sure their wasn't an altercation, but they exchanged very few words.
Roger Sikes looked over his shoulder to make sure he was out of earshot of
the police detective. He saw Bob squirm from his gaze and the larger man
went up to his face. "Don't you tell them anything or you'll
regret it, Bob."
The smaller man nervously shook his head yes, and went past the man to be
interviewed by the police. Brass wished he had heard what was spoken between
them.
TBC...
Author's notes: Broken record time, I'm still amazed at the wonderful response to the story. Hope you liked the little roller coaster ride from this chapter!
Designation:
I may have left you with a few more questions, but the hallway scene I hope was exciting. Thanks again.
Auntypasta:
There are still a decent amount of chapters left, so I hope you can take it :-)
witchsword:
Glad you're computer is working well again. All good things come to those who wait :-)
mudhousejunkie:
I hoped you liked the developments of this chapter and it was a longer one as well. Thanks again.
amarawind:
Here's another fix! Hope you enjoied it!
A.Remains:
Oh faithful one, thanks again for your exctiment, hoped I was able to give more in return.
sokerfreek:
Its nice to see a new face, thanks again for your kindness.
BradyLane:
Wow! That was a wonderful comment, thank you so much. I'm a fan of yours as well, perhaps we can get another chapter from your finale post story:-)
Angleforever:
I hope I was able to convey Nick's reasons for going to LVPD. The man doesn't want to be alone with his thoughts, he is foremost an investiagtor, and this is now very personal. I think he would be even more obbessed with the case. Hope this explains his actions.
csifan:
Was that enough action for you? Tried a bit of tension with this one.
msquirrell:
Nice to see you again and glad you were able to catch up. There was a lot of aniapation for this chapter, hoped you liked it.
staresp4cat:
The mystery is still afoot about Nick's attack, we can only hope the gang will make progress on the case, we'll see next chapter :-)
shoebe:
Hello! Glad you liked Walk in the Woods. Thank you for the feedback. I will contiune to update often.
rozzy07:
I love you girl! You're comments always make my day. The action angst is what I strife for, glad there are others out there with my kind of taste!
groban:
So happy to see you got a new computer. Hehe, I feel like some kind of drug dealer! All of you guys rock!
c1:
Just so happens I just updated. Hehe, you're right he never stood a chance, now let's see what happnes when he takes Nick home :-)
