Disclaimer: CSI does not belong to me.
The Mayor knocked on Janine Collingwood's door and let himself in. The Swing-Shift supervisor didn't even turn around. She just continued to pack her belongings into the boxes that seemed to jostle for space on her desk.
The Mayor got tired of waiting, and cleared his throat. He was rewarded with a brief glance before Ms Collingwood looked back down at her files. "Can I help you, Mayor?" She asked, curtly, as she dumped a manila folder into a labelled box.
The Mayor smiled. "Sorry to interrupt you, Janine, but I just dropped by to see how you were."
"Peachy." The Swing-Shift supervisor bit back. "Just peachy."
The Mayor frowned. Ms Collingwood was angry for something. At him? Couldn't be.
"I thought you were on first-name terms with Ecklie," the woman added darkly. "Since when did I earn the privilege of being 'Janine'?"
The Mayor frowned slightly. So that's what this was all about. Ecklie's promotion.
"Gil Grissom had the right idea," Collingwood sat down and pulled a packet of cigarettes from one of the boxes. "Walking out so he didn't have to give a kiss-up speech." She pulled one of the cigarettes out of the packet and put it in her mouth, but didn't light it. "I would've done the same thing if I were in his shoes, murder or no murder."
The Mayor's eyes widened, then narrowed. "I picked Ecklie because he was a talented CSI, and he knew how to handle the responsibilities given to him."
Collingwood fixed him with a steady glare. "Funny, I thought you said 'Ecklie', because it sounded to me like you were describing Grissom."
"Collingw…"
"Even since his promotion, things have gone to hell." She said flatly. She took the cigarette from her mouth. "You remember Sophia? Was the head of Days for about a month while Ecklie was in transit? Well, Ecklie sent her to find out whether Grissom should be fired or not."
"That was not the purpose of the inquest," The Mayor said, barely able to control his temper.
"It was for Ecklie," the woman continued, her eyes dark. "So when Sophia said Grissom was a good CSI, Ecklie fired her."
The Mayor stared. "What?"
Collingwood looked bitter. "Oh, so you ARE listening to me. She didn't get fired, though. She got demoted. To Graveshift." Collingwood brightened a little. "And Catherine Willows? You remember her, right? She wanted the Day Shift position because she needed to take care of her daughter… and she was ready for more responsibilities." Collingwood scowled again, putting the cigarette back in her mouth. "Well, Ecklie decided it would be much better to split up ALL of Grissom's team, and put Willows in charge of Swing Shift." She waved an arm to indicate her nearly bare office. "So this will all be hers."
The Mayor frowned. "So where will you be going."
"Day Shift." Janine turned back to her files and resumed her packing up. "Ecklie's old office." She paused for a moment. "I don't have my old team anymore - they're staying with Willows, and Brown and Stokes. I'll be working with and supervising Ecklie's old team. And then, some of Ecklie's old team and my old team will be working for Grissom." Janine sighed. "It's a holy mess you made, sir."
"If Ecklie wishes to rearrange the teams," the Mayor said coolly, "That's his decision. He is now in charge of the lab, and for the staff in it."
Collingwood sent him a mutinous glare, but said nothing.
"And furthermore, if you have any complaints, you should talk to Ecklie."
Collingwood snorted. "Oh, yeah, I can see how that will go. 'Ecklie, you're a big, fat, stinkin' jerk who sucked up to the Mayor to get this job. Gimme back my Swing Shift or I'll get really angry at you.'" She shook her head.
The Mayor scowled back. "Ecklie was the most suitable for the position, given his talents and his political ability."
"Yeah, he's a real saint to those he works for," Collingwood glowered at the Mayor, "And Satan to everyone else. He's doing everything he can to ruin our lives. And it's working."
The Mayor stared at Collingwood. She'd never been this blunt - or hostile - to him before. Had he been wrong about Ecklie?
"But it's took late to back out now, isn't it?" Collingwood asked wryly, picking up a photo frame and storing it. "You'll look bad if you demote someone who you recently promoted. You'd look like an idiot. I mean, who promotes someone who is a two-faced megalomaniac? Just don't tell Ecklie I said that," Collingwood amended. "He'll have me fired." She sighed, and suddenly looked very tired. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mayor, I have to finish cleaning up. Catherine will be here soon to claim her new office."
The Mayor turned and walked out, his gut churning. He looked around the lab. Every time someone met his eyes, they were the first to look away.
A/N: Does anyone else think that the whole lab would be in an uproar because of Ecklie's promotion? Personally, I think he should be fed to the wolves.