Yippee, another chapter!
I want to thank all y'all who reviewed last chapter: bmo16, nicole101, and grullo-cowgirl. You guys rock!
Chapter Seven
Agent Adam Wilkins strode into the forensics lab, chin held high and an air of authority about him. He held a black briefcase in his hand, and it hit against his leg with each long stride.
The FBI had sent him back to Vegas, intrusting only him with the job of delivering the case files of the four previous murders. The job was supposed to be one of prestige- delivering confidential information- but Wilkins thought it only a mundane task, unworthy of his attention. He should have been working on tracking down the Ice Assassin, not delivering stupid files. But who was he to question the jobs that his superiors gave him?
Meg greeted him at the entrance to Gil Grissom's office. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was dressed casually in black slacks and a light blue blouse. Her gun was stuck in the holster attached to her belt. Adam couldn't resist the urge to look her up and down. He'd always appreciated things that were beautiful. And Meg was definitely beautiful, in a fierce Amazon way. And that beauty was one of the things that made working with her such a joy.
"Agent Sawyer." Wilkins greeted, inclining his head towards her in a nod of recognition.
"Wilkins." She replied. Her pretty mouth was set in a grim line. Apparently she didn't appreciate his appraising her.
A sly smirk tugged at the corners of Wilkins' mouth, betraying his authortive manner.
"I trust you've been keeping busy around here." He said.
Meg's eyes narrowed.
"I've been doing my job, if that's what you're asking." She replied sternly, leaving no room for banter. Wilkins admired her no-nonsense work ethic.
At that moment Grissom opened the door to his office. Wilkins greeted him with a hello and a handshake. Grissom led the way, then, down the hall to a conference room, where the rest of his team was waiting.
>>>>>
Greg could feel the tension surrounding Meg as she sat down beside him at the table. He turned to her, offering a smile. Meg returned the smile, albeit a bit rigidly. Beneath the table, Greg gripped her knee and squeezed, sending her a silent message that he was right there with her. He could feel her muscles relax slightly, and couldn't help but wonder what she was so tense about. Sure her superior was there, but it couldn't be that stressful to have to see him. Could it?
Agent Wilkins stood at the head of the table, taking the case files out of his briefcase. His gray eyes flitted across the faces of those seated at the table, his gaze lingering a bit too long on Meg.
Beneath his hand, Greg could feel her muscles once more tense up. He moved his hand from her knee and reached to encompass her slim fingers with his own. Her fingers curled around his, and Greg found himself smiling.
Last night had been so perfect. He'd never spent so much time just talking to a woman before. It had amazed him that their conversation had flowed so easily without any awkward pauses at all. The hours that he had spent at Meg's apartment had been just as wonderful, if not more so, than their time at dinner. The way that she had curled up against him while they watched the movie had driven Greg mad. He wanted to do so much more than hold her, but Meg insisted that they take their newfound relationship slowly. And so Greg had refrained from his instincts. He had acted a gentleman that night. But it had been a hard struggle to do so. His restraint had paid off, however, and he had another date with Meg for that night.
Agent Wilkins was talking, but Greg barely listened. The older man was going on about something akin to how the information in the files that he was giving them was confidential and should be kept secret from anyone not in that room. It was a load of crap that Greg already knew. He couldn't help but think that his man was a pompous ass with the way that he seemed to be talking down to the CSIs. And, with a glance at his comrades, Greg could see that his sentiments were shared.
>>>>>
Meg drew her jacket out of her locker and slipped it on. It'd been a long day and she was anxious to get home and get some rest. But she knew that her mind would not allow her peace. Troubled thoughts flew back and forth within her brain, questions and non-answers pestered her.
Closing her locker, Meg jumped slightly to find Wilkins standing there. She placed a hand over her racing heart before forcing her face into an unreadable mask.
"What do you want?" She asked, not all too kindly.
"We have some things we need to discuss." He stated simply, his tone just as emotionless as the rest of him. Meg scowled. She was not in the mood to talk to him right then.
She'd never liked Wilkins, not since the first moment the bureau placed them together as partners. He'd always been too slick for her what with his obviously sexist comments and the way that he always had sexual innuendo in response to anything she said. He was a pig and a pervert and Meg didn't like him in the least. But, he was her partner nevertheless.
"What things?" She asked, readjusting her gun as she kept her eyes on his.
"Important things." He replied, his practiced mask remaining completely intact.
"Fine." Meg huffed unhappily. "Then let's discuss them."
A sly smile spread slowly across his face.
"I don't think you'd want to discuss them here." He replied in a sickly sweet voice. "Let's go somewhere a bit more…private."
Cursing under her breath, Meg followed him out of the locker room.
>>>>>
The two agents left the locker room, and Sara watched their retreating backs through eyes narrowed in suspicion. She'd overheard their entire conversation; heard each and every cryptic word.
Sara pursed her lips and her brow furrowed in thought. The conversation between the two had been so enigmatic. What did it mean? What could they be hiding?
From the first moment that Sara had laid eyes on Meg, she'd known that something about her was not right. She'd never been able to place her finger on it. But the feeling had been there, pestering Sara to no end.
And now there's something new to add to the puzzle.
Whatever was going on, Sara was determined to find out.
>>>>>
Outside the diner window, life in Las Vegas continued on as always. The heavy stream of traffic and pedestrians was not in the least bit affected by what was going on inside the diner. The outside world knew nothing of the inner-turmoil that raged deep within Meg's soul. And even if the world knew it was doubtless anyone would care.
Across the table sat Wilkins, his head tilted to the side as he surveyed Meg. She bristled beneath his gaze, wanting nothing more than to poke his repugnant eyes out from his head. But she contained herself, though it was quite difficult to do so.
"Well, you wanted to talk, so talk." She said, not at all bothering to hide the disdain in her voice.
"Why must you always rush things?" Wilkins asked, leaning back in his seat and placing his hands leisurely behind his head.
Meg scowled, something that she found herself doing more and more often whenever Wilkins was in her presence.
He smirked and reached for his coffee.
>>>>>
"Hey, have you guys seen Meg?" Greg asked as he joined Nick and Catherine in one of the small conference rooms. The two were looking over the files that Agent Wilkins had brought in only an hour before.
"I haven't seen her since the meeting." Catherine replied with a shake of her head. Greg turned to Nick.
"Me neither man." The other CSI responded.
"Alright, thanks." Greg left the room.
Where could Meg be? He hadn't seen her since she left the meeting. He could still feel the tension that had filled her and he hoped that she was alright.
His mind drifted to Agent Wilkins. There was something about the man that did feel right to Greg. Other than the obvious arrogance there was something that Greg didn't like about him. And it wasn't the way that the agent's eyes kept moving to Meg every other second.
It's probably nothing, he thought, pushing the worries to the back of his mind.
>>>>>
Nick glanced over the files of the Ice Assassin's earlier victims. Within the thick files, amid the photos of the crime scenes and dead bodies, were family photos taken from each victim's home. And in each photos there was a woman.
She differed in each case file, but she was there.
"It's amazing," Nick said, picking up two photos from different files, "there's barely any resemblance between each photo. How does she do it?"
"The wonder of prosthetics." Catherine shook her head. "Good for her, bad for us."
"Guess we better get started then," Nick said. "I'll run these down to Archie and see if he can't make as a composite of what our killer looks like."
>>>>>
Ooh, their getting closer to figuring out who the killer is. But who's the target? I think that I'm nearing the end of this story. I'm not sure when I'm gonna finish it, but I'm pretty certain that the end is looming near. There are still a bunch of things that I want to cover, but I don't think there'll be too many more chapters after this one. Sad, I know. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter.