Chapter Four
"So, what do you know about Meg?" Greg asked Nick as they went over evidence together early the next morning.
"Not much," Nick shrugged, "why do you want to know?"
"I'm just…curious." Greg tried to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. Nick looked at him carefully.
"Don't even think about it man." The older CSI shook his head with a laugh. "She's FBI, and way out of your league."
"Who says?" Greg arched an eyebrow. He was incensed over Nick's comment. If Greg wanted to ask Meg out, and he wasn't saying that he did, who was Nick to say that she was out of his league?
"Look man, don't take this the wrong way, but Meg is…well, she's unique." Nick paused, thinking over his next statement. "Let's just say she's not the kind of girl you're used to."
Greg opened his mouth to reply, but quickly snapped it shut when Meg walked into the room. She looked as immaculate as ever, if a bit more dressed down than the day before. Even a simple pair of jeans, green t-shirt, and leather jacket looked glamorous when she wore them.
If Greg had tried to deny it before, he no longer could. He was smitten with Meg, and that was all there was to it.
"Good morning." She greeted them both with a bright smile.
"Hey, Meg." Nick returned the smile easily. An unsolicited surge of jealousy raced through Greg's veins.
"Morning." He greeted Meg. She placed a to-go cup on the table, safely away from their evidence.
"What are we looking at this morning?" She asked, standing next to Greg and inspecting the clothing that sat on the table.
Greg was overcome by the smell of her perfume. She took off her jacket and pulled on a pair of latex gloves.
"We're just searching for fibers right now." Nick answered. "Not exactly a very glamorous job."
Meg chuckled.
"Ah, I love the tedious work." She grinned and reached for a magnifying glass.
Catherine looked over the file she carried. She had managed to get a hit off the vic's DNA and was heading to Grissom's office to tell him the good news.
Deeply absorbed in reading about the vic, she narrowly missed running into Sara.
"You should watch where you're going next time." Sara snapped. Catherine looked at the younger woman, resisting the urge to glare.
"Something wrong, Sara?" She asked, trying her best to be patient with the often moody CSI.
Sara sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Nothing's wrong."
"Really?" Catherine wasn't convinced.
Warrick passed by them, and Catherine greeted him warmly. She needed a break from Sara's moodiness.
"Where are you headed to, Warrick?" She asked. He held up his own file.
"Meg wants to look over the notes from my interrogation of Cynthia Lawrence."
Catherine noticed Sara's eyes narrow at the FBI agent's name.
"I'll see you two around." Warrick must have noticed Sara's expression as well. He quickly continued down the hall.
"Let me guess," Catherine sighed, "you don't like Meg."
"I don't get why we have to have the FBI poking their noses in our crime lab." Sara barked. "We have enough work to do without babysitting their little agent."
"Meg's only been here a day, Sara." Catherine was growing annoyed of her co-worker's attitude. "She may be young, but she's doing a good job so far. Besides, this is a federal case. The FBI have every right to get involved."
"Still, I don't like her." Sara retorted before walking off in a huff. Catherine whistled lowly and bit her lip. Sara would work out her issues eventually, and, maybe, come to terms with the fact that Meg was there to stay, at least until the case was solved.
Her mind quickly returned to the file she held in her hand. Now was not the time to dwell on Sara's problems. She needed to get this information to Grissom so that they could proceed with their investigation.
Grissom's door was open a crack when Catherine knocked on it. She could hear her boss shuffling around inside, probably messing with some part of his bug collection.
"Come in." He called. Catherine pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked inside.
"Hello, Catherine," he greeted her, "to what do I owe this visit?"
Catherine put the file on his desk.
"I found out our vic's identity."
Grissom reached for the file. Though he moved slowly, Catherine could tell he was practically bursting at the seams to read the information that she had handed him.
"John Carter," he read. "Age: thirty-one. Financial advisor. Lieutenant in the Navy. No criminal record." He looked up at Catherine.
"Good job."
"Thanks." She couldn't help the proud smile that flittered across her face. Compliments from Gil Grissom were not unheard of, but they were only given where credit was due.
"Make sure to have Brass go with you when you check out the vic's house." Grissom said, handing back the file. Catherine took it and nodded.
"Oh, and Catherine," he said when she was halfway through the door, "you might want to take Meg with you, too."
Carefully lifting a hair off the khaki pants, Meg bagged it and placed the hair with the rest of the fibers she'd already pulled off the pants. Beside her, Greg worked diligently, head bowed over the shirt, eyes narrowed just slightly as he stared through a magnifying glass.
Meg flipped the pants over, straightening out the wrinkles as she laid them down. Her mind was focused entirely on the task before her.
"So, Meg," Greg's voice startled her, causing her to jump slightly. She turned her head to look at him. He was leaning against the table, his hip against the metal. His eyes met hers steadily, unwavering. He seemed so confident, so cool. Meg would have killed to have his self-assurance.
"Yeah?"
"You wouldn't happen to have any plans for this Friday, would you?" He asked.
"No," Meg said slowly, "I don't."
"Well, how about going out to dinner then?"
The question shocked Meg. She had known that this was what Greg was going to say, but the actual words shocked her nonetheless.
She looked at him, taking in his spiky hair and hazel eyes, his light skin- pale from working inside all the time- and his not overly muscular but decently built frame. He was a geek to be certain, but a handsome, swoon inducing geek. Meg found herself saying yes before her mind comprehended the words.
Hot water cascaded over her body, leaving red marks along her pale and flawless skin. The water beating against her back eased the tension that resided there. She sighed and turned so that she was facing the onslaught. The water fell over her head and ran down her face. She breathed deeply, spitting out the water that fell into her mouth. Things were not going well.
Her target was falling for everything, but the guilt was beginning to sneak in. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to kill, not again. Mentally berating herself, she forced herself to push the guilt aside. She needed to focus, to do the job and get it over with. Then, and only then, could she be one step closer of being free from Him.
Turning the water off, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her dripping body. Thirsty, she walked out towards the living room/kitchen and stopped mid-step.
He was sitting on her couch, the book of poetry that Mindy had given her open in his lap. His eyes roved over her body as she stepped into the living room, taking in every inch of exposed skin. Never before had she been so aware of how short her towels actually were. She felt completely naked in front of him, and she didn't like that feeling. Fighting against the blush that wanted to run over her face, she forced herself to look him directly in the eye. Rule number one of dealing with her employer: Never let him know he intimidated you.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her. The action did nothing to help her feel covered.
His eyes snapped up from their position on the top of her breasts. He smirked as his eyes caught hers.
"Is that anyway to greet a friend?" She wanted to smack the smirk of the bastard's face, but held herself back. Now would not be the right time to do that. She needed to remain calm and deal with his presence rationally.
Taking a deep yoga breath, she tried to calm her nerves and racing heart.
"What do you want?" She tried to appear calm and collected, but she had a feeling that he could see right through her.
"I just wanted to see how you were coming along with your assignment." He stood and walked towards her, not stopping until his body was nearly flush against her own. She looked up at him, not allowing him to win the silent war that raged between them.
"I'm doing just fine on the job." She snapped. "And I would appreciate it if you would leave."
"Come, now," his finger ran along her jaw line, hooking beneath her chin, and a hand rested on her shoulder, caressing her bare skin, "is that anyway to talk to the man who only has your best interest at heart?"
She bit her lip, trying to keep back the retort that threatened to surface.
His eyes, ice blue and menacing, bored into hers. Blood drifted over her tongue, the copper taste mixed with his closeness nearly made her gag.
He gripped her chin tightly and pulled her face towards him. His lips were hard against hers. His tongue slid across her lower lip, forcing its way into her mouth. She wanted to gag, to bite his tongue and push him away from her. But she couldn't. She could show no repulsion, she could not resist. He held too much power over her. If she fought him, pushed him away, it would be the same as signing the death warrant herself.
His hands traveled down her arms, pulling down the towel that covered her. She tensed. This was further than he'd ever pushed before.
Before she knew what was happening, he had forced her back into the bedroom and down onto the bed. She closed her eyes tightly as his weight rested over her.
Think of something else, her mind said, pretend you are far from here.
She forced her mind to another place, another time, but it wasn't enough. Each touch of his hand on her skin, the penetration of his body into hers. She felt everything so keenly. Tears bit at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. If they fell it would only be one more thing for him to use against hers. She allowed him to have what he wanted. Then, once he left, she cried herself to sleep.
So, what did you guys think? I'm going to keep updating this story, despite the lack of reviews, but it really would help me to know what you all think of the story. So, I'm issuing you all a challenge that I know you can meet. If I receive at least ten reviews I will do my best to update this story more regularly. I really hope that you all will review. After all, reviews are the lifeblood of a story.