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: Told ya I would be back soon! But it is only because it will be a good few days before I get something else out. Thought I would give you all something for the holiday here in the US tomorrow. Hope this chapter lives up to what you are hoping for! Oh the layers! Let me know you thoughts about what is happening! I am curious to know what everyone thinks. Have a great Thanksgiving and I will see everyone either Sun or Mon. Adios!

Title: Poisonous Fear

By: duffshel

#10

The Johnson house was simply painted, nothing standing out. Nick couldn't help, but think he had seen thousands of similar houses back in Dallas. It was a home of the lower middle class. A few of his childhood friends had houses that looked like these. He was never allowed to visit with them for too long according to his parents.

Vega led the way up the small path through the wild grass and weeds sprouting from the brown soil. It had been decided on the way out here that Vega and Nick would be first to the door. And then once they were in, Nick would talk with Miguel on his own. Brass wanted to be present to talk with the parents and needed Warrick there to observe.

The smaller detective rapped his knuckles on the green wood of the door and the four men stood under the sun waiting for a response. It only took a few moments for a small, petite woman to answer the door. Her hair was black, her eyes large and brown. Her greeting was heavy with a Mexican accent. Nick had seen her at the station before, but it still shocked him that a man like Charlie Johnson would choose a woman of a different race. The man just didn't seem like the type.

Vega smiled sweetly to her, "Hello again, Mrs. Johnson. We met at the station earlier about your son."

Veronica Johnson smiled back, "Oh yes, Detective Vega. Do you have more questions for Miguel?"

"We do. I brought Nick Stokes with me, he helped me in the interview with your son. And Captain Brass and Warrick Brown are here to help me ask some questions with you and your husband."

"Of course, come in. Please come in," Mrs. Johnson waved them in.

Warrick walked in close behind Nick and took a good look at the home. It was well decorated and there was plenty of modern art up on the walls. The inside was defiantly a contrast to the outside. It seemed a little odd to the CSI. This was one odd little family.

Charlie Johnson was sitting on at the dinner table in the kitchen when his wife herded everyone into the room. Their son was pointing at something in a large book, a large frown on his little face. Both immediately looked up to see the new arrivals. Brass couldn't help, but smile when he recognized this as the man from that church. Someone somewhere really liked him.

"Well good day, Mr. Johnson. It is good to see you again," Vega forced a smile onto his face with the pleasantries, "And hello Miguel."

"What the fuck are you doing at my house?"

The blonde haired man stood tall in front of the other men. His wife shrunk herself into the corner and was waving for her son to come by her. Brass shuffled closer to his colleague and pushed Nick by Warrick. The taller CSI placed one hand on Nick's shoulder to keep him close.

"We are here to ask you a couple of questions. There is no need to get out of hand, especially with your son present," Brass huffed out at the man, "Now, if you and your wife stay here in the kitchen, Nick is going to watch Miguel for us while we do this. No need for him to be here."

Nick felt a little uncomfortable when Mr. Johnson's glare focused on his face. He stood his own ground, but didn't return the glare with one of his own. Suddenly, the other man's eyes dropped down, to look at his arm. Nick could have sworn something flashed through those eyes, but it was gone before he could even register it.

The Texan smiled at the young boy and held out his good hand for him to take. Miguel hesitated only for a moment and with a final glance at his parents, he took Nick's hand. No one tried to stop the CSI from leading the boy out through the back door out into the backyard. Charlie Johnson only returned himself heavily to his chair.

Now that the boy was gone, Warrick moved to lean against the wall next to the refrigerator to watch the proceedings. Veronica moved to stand behind her husband and rested her hands on top of his shoulders. They were trying to pull of the perfect family unit. Warrick smiled inside at the thought of Brass ripping it down, brick by brick.

But it was Vega that started things off, "We have questions for the two of you about a religious group that you are part of. We have records of your attendance to the Church of Gods over on Owen Avenue. Could you explain your part in the church to us?"

"We go there, so what! There is nothing wrong with it."

"There is no need to get defensive Mr. Johnson. We are just a little curious on why a Roman Catholic such as yourself would choose this as his church of choice."

Johnson coughed and rubbed a hand across his throat, "It is a second church for us. We still go and worship every Sunday at our normal church. I got involved through a friend."

"What about you Mrs. Johnson? Same friend?"

"I…my father worked for Mr. Tenner. He helped me through some rough times. He introduced me to Charles," her eyes were locked on the table top in front of her husband as she spoke softly.

Warrick watched them both closely. The husband was clenching his hands into fists and then releasing them as he talked. He maintained eye contact with Vega the entire time, but he wasn't facing the officer fully. The wife was trembling slightly and seemed to be asking for approval through her tone, making sure she was in the right. Something was not right with this couple.

"What's your profession, Mr. Johnson?"

"Why do you need to know that Detective?"

"Just curious," Vega smiled.

"I manage a launder mat."

"Do either of you know one Brett Mueller? He was a member of your little church," Brass decided he wanted a piece of this as well.

The couple stiffened slightly up at the mention of the name. Warrick could almost feel his ears perk up to attention at the subtle movement. Mr. Johnson once again coughed, "Never liked that little punk. He was always such an asshole. Did he finally get caught for the drugs?"

"No, sorry, but he was found dead in his car earlier today. Tell me Mr. Johnson, do you own any yellow paint?"

This ruffled the man's feathers too much, "There is no reason for you to be asking me these questions and I don't have to answer any more of your questions. You are going to have to go get a warrant to search my house. I want you all to leave. Now!"

Vega nodded his head and faced Brass. There was no way they were going to force this guy in to doing anything and they couldn't search the property for yellow paint. It was going to be a royal pain in the ass with this jerk. They just needed to get Nicky and the cops were out of there.

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

Miguel pulled Nick by his hand out into the warm sunshine. The Texan closed his eyes and raised his face upward at the sensation. His arm had begun to throb again and was accepting to any distractions possible. The young boy in front of him was mumbling something, but Nick couldn't quite figure out what it was.

There were several plastic toys scattered across the dusty landscape. A once upon a time sand box was overgrown with weeds, the wooden walls cracked and shattered. It was nothing, but a poor boy's playground and it made Nick feel a little guilty. He may have been the youngest in his family, but he always had nice things surrounding him for entertainment.

The brown haired boy began almost skipping next to Nick's side. He was excited about something. It made Nick smile. He turned to look downward at the sudden bundle of energy.

"What's up Miguel? Feet on fire?"

"No, just…wanna see something?"

Nick laughed, "Sure kid."

Miguel's face lit up almost to the point of blinding. His sudden burst of speed caused Nick to have to jog to follow the boy towards the back of the garage. The Texan kept the laughter to himself at the situation. Grissom would kill him if he found out that Nick, while injured, went off running after a little boy in a possible suspect's backyard. But he was told to keep an eye on the child.

"Come! Come! It is here!"

The boy was now hopping in place by the corner of the garage, pointing down at the ground. Nick put on his most interested face with the wide, curious eyes and small grin. This seemed to make Miguel even more excited.

It was a small, metal bowl filled with mucky, thick water. Nick puckered out his lips and pulled his brow together as he looked down at it. Glancing over at Miguel and his glistening eyes, Nick lowered himself down onto one knee so he could look closer. Being only about two feet away now, he could sudden see movement within the brown water. His head cocked to the side as he followed the little paths being paved in the liquid.

"What is it?"

"I caught them in the creek! Tadpoles!"

Nick reached a hand into the water and scooped up one of the little creatures. They were tadpoles from the Western Toad. Nothing special about them. You could find them all over the Western part of the United States.

"Hey Miguel, how do you know how to take care of these so well? Does a friend have any toads or frogs that you have seen?"

Miguel scratched the top of his head as he pondered the answer, "No, I just gathered up some water from the creek and brought them back with me yesterday. My momma doesn't know I did it yet. I don't think she will let me keep them."

"I once brought home a cat I found on the way home from school. I tried to hide it in my room from the rest of my family, but my mom was smart. She found it right away. I got to keep him."

"You think I can keep these?" Miguel looked up at the CSI with hope in his eyes.

"You will have to ask. It is always better not to hide things from your parents."

They both watched the small amphibian fall back into the bowl from Nick's hand. He wiped the grime of on his pant leg. The pain in his arm didn't bother him too much anymore. Kneeling in the dirt with Miguel was not something he would have pictured for his day, but he had to admit, it had appeal. But he was ripped from the moment by the sudden clanging of fence wire and vicious dog barks.

Nick looked up to his right, behind the garage. There was a crude kennel constructed there. Inside, two very dirty, very pissed off Shepards. "Hey Miguel, are those your dogs?"

"No, they belong to my uncle. He brought them over two days ago. They scare me though," Miguel moved closer to Nick as he looked up at the dogs.

"Yeah, I can see how that could happen. Do you know if they have left at any time since they have been here?"

The boy simply shrugged. Nick felt the urge to jump away, but forced himself to stay low and study the dogs. Neither had been bathed in what had to be years, their hair was ratted together all over their bodies. He couldn't see if any teeth were missing since they were slamming their mouths open and shut too quickly to follow. But, the opening to the kennel showed signs of recent disturbance.

"Okay Miguel, we should head back up towards the house now."

Nick took the small boy's hand in his this time and led the way back towards the back door. He was unprepared for Mr. Johnson to come barreling out of it at him first.

"What the fuck are you doing with my son!" the man's face was red.

The Texan rose his cast a little, completely confused, "Excuse me?"

But the man didn't bother to explain. He simply threw himself forward and collided with Nick. The impact caused Nick to slam back onto the ground, his entire body jarring. Johnson pulled back and punched the CSI hard in the jaw. The hit caused both men in pain, but Nick was seeing stars.

Warrick didn't let another moment pass by. He jumped around the two detectives in his way and plowed into Mr. Johnson. The blonde haired man didn't have a chance in hell with the tall, dark CSI grabbing him. Warrick used his weight to throw the man a few feet away from his friend. He glared down at him for a minute before he turned back to Nick.

Miguel had beaten him to Nick's side, "Are you okay?"

Hearing the panic in the small voice and seeing the small hand tap Nick on the cheek made Warrick literally slide to his knees by the down man, "Nicky? Hey man."

Nick could hear the voices above him, but paid them no mind right now. He was busy lifting his hand to his jaw and testing out the tender area. Nothing major, but it was going to leave one hell of a bruise. Pushing himself up, with a hand from Warrick, Nick managed to sit upright.

Brass and Vega were standing over the other fallen man. Nick reached out and placed his hand on Miguel's shoulder, "I'm okay kid."

The boy nodded, but his lips kept quivering. Nick observed him and could see the fear in those eyes. Something made the boy afraid of his father. He didn't have chance to say more to Miguel. Warrick had pushed him towards his mother so he could help his friend to his feet. Once he was standing he could hear that Brass was threatening to arrest the man for attacking a law officer.

"Nick, you gonna be okay, bro?"

That sad, pitiful look was back on Warrick's face. Nick groaned and moved away from him. He wanted away from those looks. But the barking brought him up short once again. His heels threw up dirt as he spun on them to face the taller man.

"Dogs! There are dogs!"

"Um, you sure you're okay man? There're no dogs here."

"Yeah man. There are two dogs behind the garage! I couldn't tell if they were the ones that mauled that boy, but man, they could be!"

It didn't take much more for Brass to start walking and go check this out. He left Johnson behind with Vega watching over him. The captain was itching to take this guy down and book him. If there were dogs, that would be enough, no warrant needed. The detective walked around the corner of the garage with steady footsteps. Sure enough, there were too very mangy dogs going nuts trying to at him.

Nick remained up on his feet with some help from Warrick. His arm was back on the verge of exploding from his body. And now he had a throbbing jaw to go along with everything. But knowing that they had found a pair of dogs that could possibly be the murder weapon they were looking for made it all worth it. He looked over at Brass as the man returned to them.

"Well, I have to say. Those are so really angry dogs. I'm going to call Animal Services and have them come down. Have to have their dental x-rays taken."

Mrs. Johnson ushered her small Miguel back into the house once Vega pulled out the hand cuffs. It was not an easy task to pull the blonde man's hands behind his back, but the detective finally managed it. Charlie Johnson huffed his frustration as Vega began the "Rights" ritual.

"Come on Nick, let's head back to the car," Warrick nudged at Nick before he turned and walked away, knowing his friend would follow.

Nick took one last look at the backdoor of the house. Inside was a scared pair of people and the cause was standing right in front of him. He suddenly felt very old, tired. Aches broke out in areas he didn't even know had muscles to ache. It was harder to follow Warrick back to the car than he thought.

TBC…