Summary: Strange events in the form of murder leave nothing, but trouble and confusion. Nick and Warrick are pulled into a world they were not ready for. It threatens not only their lives, but their sanity.

Disclaimer: This is all written in fun and trial for something new. Everything CSI is not mine and never will be. It belongs to the creative talent of the actors, the writers, the directors, and producers. I am not making any money off of this. Only meant to offer something new on something already so great. No reason to sue.

Author's Note: It seems I distracted everyone from the clue in the last chapter by my comment at the end. Hmm, well, I give a name in this one! We are beginning to get closer to who-dun-it. Hope you all enjoy and I will see you all again soon! Promise! Bye!

Title: Poisonous Fear

By: duffshel

#9

Sheets of paper were spread out all over the top of the table. The names and numbers were nothing special. The White's were no where on any of these lists. Neither had ever gone to the Church of Gods. Warrick held his head in his hands as he rested his eyes. Greg had retired to the couch and currently was hiding his head behind a pillow. They had gotten the list job when they arrived back at the lab while the senior CSI's went off with Brass.

Warrick groaned as he rubbed his hands across his face harder than probably necessary. Nothing was making sense in any of this and he thought he was going to scream. They were heading into another early afternoon for the graveyard crew. It had been awhile since Warrick had pulled a triple. Well, it wouldn't be a full triple, but enough to be annoying.

Opening his eyes wide, he looked down at the papers again. These people had to be crazy. Next to their names it listed their religions. He couldn't figure out why these people would choose to go listen to that elderly man talk about something he probably didn't know much about instead of going to a correct institution that would teach correctly.

His grandmother had forced him to go to church when he was younger and he never really minded it. He just didn't have the time or the energy to take it back up again. Plus, churches all seemed to be about politics and money now anyways. Maybe some day he would think about it once again.

Warrick was about to grab a new sheet when footsteps in the hallway attracted his attention away. He turned in his chair to face a confused looking Vega, "Hey Sam, what's up?"

"Hey Warrick. I was just looking for Grissom or Brass. I just got back from going to see Mr. White's boss. Nothing from him."

"Hmm, too bad. We aren't getting anything off these lists we got from the church either. This is going no where fast."

Vega looked over at Greg before he walked into the room and took a seat. His head was beginning to pound. He needed to go home and get some sleep, but not until after he gave his report to Jim. If the two CSI's could hang out in this break room, then he could take a breather in there as well.

"I have heard of that place before," Vega grabbed a sheet off the pile, "Nothing good from it though. Heard rumors of drug deals, prostitution, and cults coming from there. But only one victim is connected with it right?"

"Yeah, the last one. Mr. Mueller had the phone number in his wallet and the names are matches to other members."

Warrick watched the smaller man run his eyes over the names, but they didn't seem to get any reaction out of him. More footsteps sounded out in the hallway, but this time Warrick didn't take the time or energy to turn to look at the new arrival. But from the reaction on Vega's face, he really should have.

"Nick!"

"Hey Sam," Nick walked slowly into the room, avoiding making eye contact with either Warrick or Greg who had sat up on the couch.

"What the fuck are you doing here? You are supposed to be at home, you moron!"

Nick eased himself into the chair next to Warrick, but still didn't look him in the eyes, "I decided to come to work. Better than sitting at home bored out of my mind."

Warrick's mouth gaped open and closed for almost a full minute, "You are supposed to be bored out of you mind at home! You broke two bones in you wrist! You need to rest, at home!"

"I'm not going to do anything Warrick. I just figured I could come in and push some paper around. No field work. I am not that stupid."

"Nick, are you sure this is a good idea?" Greg pondered from his seat.

"I'll be fine Greg. I promise I'll leave if I start to feel under the weather."

"Grissom is not going to be too happy about this."

Nick didn't say another word to anyone else in the room. He didn't care what they had to say right now. The papers in front of him on the table beckoned him to them and he picked one up. It was a list of names and religions, from where, he didn't know. But something from about the third of the way up the list caught his attention.

"Hey Sam, did you take a look at this list here?"

The detective finally moved since the arrival of the Texan, "No, why?"

"Tell me if this name looks familiar?"

Vega reached over and took the offered paper. His eyes scanned the area to where Nick had pointed and felt them get wider. That name was one he had the opportunity to learn during the past few hours.

"I say, this one does. It is interesting, is it not?"

Warrick exchanged a look of confusion with Greg, "What are you two talking about?"

"The name, Charlie Johnson. He is the father of one of the boys that found the mauled body at the skateboard park. His boy, Miguel Johnson, was the quiet one. The guy was intense."

Vega nodded as he listened to Nick, "Interesting find. I think we may need to swing by his place and have a talk."

"So, we have one dead body and one father of a witness on a roster for a church that has weird thing happening in it. I don't think this is as odd as it should be," Warrick thought out loud.

"What isn't that odd?" Brass asked as he let himself in the break room. He had been walking past when he noticed everyone seemed to be in there. They all looked like they were getting into something pretty intense.

"Oh, Nick found a connection on this list. When we talked with those kids from the mauling case, one of the kids had a father named Charles Johnson. Well, his name is right on this list here. He is under the Roman Catholic religion, but he still goes to this church."

Brass nodded his head, "Visit?"

"Visit. Who wants to go with?"

Vega was looking straight at Nick, but knew that probably wasn't going to happen. The boys had been open and talkative with the CSI, but if Grissom found out that he took an injured man to a possible suspect's house, he would never hear the end of it. Maybe Greg would be up to it. He wasn't too old and kids seemed to like him well enough. But Brass talked before he had the chance to.

"Well, I know this isn't going to be my best idea and Grissom will probably have my head, but I say we take Nick with us. You said the kids were comfortable with him and I think we should keep that up…"

Warrick jumped out of his chair, "No way! That is not a good idea at all."

"…and I think Warrick should come along for the ride," he finished as if Warrick had never said a word in protest."

The tall CSI clamped his mouth shut. He knew Nick would be best not to keep talking with that family since he really should be at home resting. But there was one part of his brain that thought this wasn't ridiculous. It was just a couple bones in his wrist. He wasn't going to be going to a boxing match or something. Talking to a family would do nothing to stress his arm. It was still in the sling anyways.

"Alright, but I'm not talking to Grissom about this one!"

Brass actually smiled, "I'll do it. Meet you guys outside."

Nick smiled as well and stood to his feet carefully. This was a stupid idea, but if it was going to help end these murders, then he was willing to do anything. His smile grew when he finally looked over at Warrick. The other man was fuming, but holding it in well. This was going to be interesting. It was a good thing he had actually gotten some sleep.

Both Vega and Greg knew something was about to go down between the other two so they made their exit without words. Vega felt like running out and Greg was off to find Catherine to go over some stuff. They didn't want to be within ear shot either.

Warrick shut the door behind them, "What are you trying to do here Nick?"

"Nothing, just going with to have a talk with a man connected to a crazy church. I am not going to do anything that will force me to use my arm. I promise."

"Why do you always do this? You should be at home resting! Why do you never listen to anyone else when they tell you something that will help you out in the long run?"

"I don't need to stay home for this. That doctor can tell me to rest all she wants, but I don't have to follow her instructions!"

"Well, what if I asked you to stay home and rest?" Warrick questioned softly.

Nick took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "I don't need to be told what to do. I can take care of myself."

"I know that man, but some of us would like to help you out. You know, being strong is not only about being on your own and taking care of your own shit. Being strong means you have the ability to get help when you need it. I don't care what you say, but I did this to you and I am going to help you through it. It may just be a broken wrist, but I don't care!"

This was a fight Nick knew he wasn't going to win. Warrick was once again in his full brother mode and there was little to do about it. He just hoped he would be able to handle this little trip without wanting to kill the other man too much.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I promise to take it easy and won't do anything stupid. I trust you to have my back and keep me in line," he grinned a little.

"Yeah, I'll kick your ass into line, you can count on it. Now let's get outside before they leave without us. I don't know how to get to that park."

They walked out of the break room in silence, but they both knew this wasn't over. It would be something they would deal with later. Vega was standing beside his car when the approached. He wore a big grin.

"Brass is getting his ears chomped off by your boss. He should be here any second now."

Sure enough, the door swung open and Brass marched out. He had pulled on his sunglasses and kept his face downward. Nick felt guilty for making the other man face Grissom over this. The CSI should have been the one to go in and talk with his boss, not the detective.

"Look Brass, I can go in and talk to Grissom if…"

"Hey Nicky, just get in the car, will ya. Nothing I love more than watching that man get mad. Makes him more human if you ask me," Brass smirked as he walked to the driver's door.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

Catherine Willows didn't have a smile for Greg when he joined her. The younger man sat down in the open chair without any questions. The file folders were already open. Greg grabbed a hold of one. The blonde woman smiled at him then, when he wasn't looking.

"You and I get to go over everything and try to fill in any and all holes that might be possible. Mostly those tire tracks at the White's house, the dogs from the mauling, and the Furber hot tub."

"Well, the tires were unidentifiable by brand, but the size proved to be a large pick-up or a conversion van. The tread wasn't very clear, shows signs of extensive use. And it has nothing to do with Mr. Mueller since he was found in his own car. It is a dead end at this point.

"Okay, so that is nothing we are going to be able to run with right now," Catherine grabbed another sheet of paper, "Lets think about the dogs. We didn't get anything from the search that Vega did and none of the dogs he looked at had any signs of attacking a person. He took the city veterinarian along with him to do the checks. And the few houses that owned more than one Pincher or Shepard kept them either in the house or in locked kennels outside."

"What signs were they looking for?" Greg looked confused. He hadn't heard anything from the mauling case and what was going on with the searches.

"Robbins found a tooth in the leg bone so they were looking for a dog missing some teeth and possible blood in the fur where the owner missed it. Nothing with any of them. All pampered pooches,"

"And still no name on the boy?"

"No, it is as if he simply appeared from no where. Nothing is coming up on any of the missing reports. I have no idea what to say about him."

Greg nodded. It was odd that there was no one looking out for the boy. He was someone's son, possibly a brother. No one ever had no one. There was always someone looking out for another person, even if it is just a friend.

"Did you hear anything back from Hodges about what you found in the tub, Greg?"

"Yeah, but nothing that will help. All the hair was either from Mr. White or two other unknown donors, but with the amount of each sample, the owners would be most likely. The only things we have from the tub that are unusual are the mud samples found at the bottom and the watch Nick sat on. The mud was a match to the samples we collected from the yard of the White's house. But no hits on the watch."

"Great, so these holes we had to fill are still wide open. And I am not even going to touch the frogs at this point."

The younger CSI watched his superior lean forward to rest her head in her hands. This was a tough one and Greg knew Catherine was going a hard third shift with no rest what so ever. She was getting to the end of her rope.

"So, did you hear about how bad Grissom took it with Nick?"

"Of course Greg. I was in the room when you guys filled us in, remember?" Catherine glanced up through half closed eyes.

"What? Oh no, when he came in and left with Brass."

Catherine stood up fast enough to push her chair a few feet back behind here, "He was back in? When?"

But Greg didn't have a chance to say a word as she already took off through the door. He jumped up as quickly as he could and caught sight of a flash of blonde hair whipping around the corner up the hallway to his left. Catherine was on her way into Grissom's office. Greg didn't want to be anywhere near for that conversation. The CSI turned and headed in the other direction, towards trace. Hodges always needed to be bothered. Greg smiled at the prospect.

TBC…