A/N. Sorry it took so long to update but work has been hectic over Christmas and I'm currently addicted to World of Warcraft at the minute so that's taking up a lot of my time. Anyway this is an insanely long chapter with some rather long speeches in it towards the end which i have broken up a little bit to make it easier to read. Anyway tell me if you like it.
They were all sat, chatting in the break room. They were waiting for Brass's information of the other members of the W.O.S. Grissom was stood against one of the kitchen counters trying to enjoy his twelfth cup of coffee of the shift. Nick, Warrick and Catherine were sat at the break table talking to each other about the latest celebrity gossip. Occasionally one of them would laugh and cause the entire room to look towards them. Sara and Greg were sat together on the couch looking through some of the magazines that dayshift had left on the coffee table. Sara looked at one of the models bright shirts and admired the color. She faced the picture towards Greg and silently asked for his opinion. He looked and shook his head.
"Don't you think that pink is the wrong color for you," He obviously didn't think before he spoke. "It's doesn't match your hair," She smiled a little and turned away from him pretending to be upset. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted like an 8 year old who can't get her way. Greg seriously thought she was upset with him and immediately started reasoning with her. He let go of his magazine and it dropped to the floor. The whole team was now watching and they could all see Sara's face who was trying to hold back from laughing at Greg's ramblings. Grissom was also trying not to laugh but was finding it more difficult to hold it back that Sara was. Warrick and Nick were just sat and hoping that Greg wouldn't say anything else wrong. Catherine had literally turned in her seat and was trying to get a decent view of the situation of the couch but she had to keep looking round Warrick's tall frame which wasn't a bad thing in her mind. "I'm so sorry Sara," Said Greg. "I didn't mean it that way," The whole team sighed at the revelation that Greg had said the right thing. Sara relaxed a little and looked over her shoulder at Greg with a slight smile on her face. Catherine, Nick and Warrick began talking again. Greg bent over and picked up the magazine he had dropped. "It's just that I don't think you could pull off wearing girlie clothes," There was a bang as both Nick and Warrick's heads hit the table together. Sara turned to him slowly and boy did she look mad.
"What did you say?" Sara screamed. Catherine threw her chair back and bolted for the door but she got caught in the frame with Gil who was also trying to escape from Sara's outburst. Nick and Warrick lifted their heads from the cold surface almost simultaneously. They looked over at Sara who was stood up towering over a confused Greg who was still sat on the dark grey couch. Her hands were clenched into balls and she looked like she would snap at any minute.
"Nice one Greggo!" Nick whispered. Sara shot her head round and gave both him and Warrick a death glare.
"Time to go!" Warrick said as they both stood up and ran out the break room door. They made it half way down the corridor before they heard Sara really kick off on poor Greg who was now left on his own to deal with a rather pissed off Sara Sidle. They walked into the DNA lab where Gil and Catherine were trying to hide. They closed the glass door behind them which helped to muffle most of Sara's shouting.
"Has anybody else noticed that she's getting worst lately?" Nick asked as the door shut.
"She just needs a nice man in her life to calm her down a little," Catherine said. All three of them looked at Grissom who suddenly realised their gazes. "Someone who really cares for her and isn't gonna hurt her like everyone else has," Once again they were all looking at Grissom who was thought he might have something on his face. Suddenly they heard a slam as the break room door closed. They looked around and saw Sara sulking down the corridor towards the locker room. Once she was out of sight, Grissom spoke.
"I think that someone should go and talk to her," All three men turned and looked at Catherine. "Just to make sure she's ok," It took a few moments before Catherine caught on.
"What? Me?" She whined as she pointed to herself. "Oh no, you know how we don't get along," Grissom just smiled.
"All the more reason for you to go Cath," He shot a quick glance at Nick and Warrick who were nodding in agreement. "To build bridges and you know full well that if anything with an XY chromosome comes within 50 feet of her, she'll just erupt again,"
All three of the men looked at Catherine and gave her the puppy dog eyes along with the trembling bottom lips. How could she resist that? Nicky, Warrick and Grissom all looking adorable towards her. Suddenly she sighed at the thought of having to deal with an angry Sara.
"Alright, I'll go talk to her," She made her way out the door but not before turning back. "But you guys owe me a drink after this," The guys nodded and she left the room.
"I think we'd better check on Greg and make sure that Sara didn't kill him," Grissom said as the others turned back to look towards the break room. Suddenly Ecklie entered the room and simply nodded at Nick and Warrick before turning his attention to Gil.
"Grissom, I need to speak to you in my office now," It didn't sound like he was barking an order at Gil but it was enough for Grissom to take him seriously. Before he could answer, Ecklie turned to Nick and Warrick. "I need you two to round everyone of the night shift CSI's and get them to wait for Gil in the break room," They simply nodded at his command. He and Grissom then both left and made their way towards Ecklie's office. Grissom thought that this might be about Sara and the recent behaviour around the lab. Ecklie stayed silent until he opened the door into his office. He ushered Gil in and closed the door behind him. Gil noticed a man he didn't recognise sat in the leather chair opposite Ecklie's desk. The man was balding with slight remains of light silvery hair on the sides. He was wearing a dark navy suite which looked very expensive. The man turned and stood up once he realised he had company. Ecklie promptly gave the introductions. "Gil, this is Anthony Webster, The Director of External Affairs at the C.I.A," The man outstretched his hand which Grissom quickly shook. "Anthony, this is Dr. Gil Grissom, Supervisor of the Nightshift who are working the case,"
"Ah Dr. Grissom, I've heard so much about you," The man was smiling from ear to ear. Ecklie motioned for Gil to sit and Grissom slowly lowered himself into one of the chairs.
"How is the case going?" He asked as he also took his seat.
"Well Mr. Webster," Grissom was quickly interrupted.
"Call me Tony," He said. Grissom smiled slightly before continuing.
"Well, we have a list of suspects that were working through and a pile of evidence that is still waiting to be processed," The director nodded his head obviously please with the direction of the case.
"Ecklie informed me that one of the victims was an Englishman, is that correct?" Anthony asked sounding very worried.
"The suspect we interviewed informed us that he was an English Journalist," Grissom said as Ecklie nodded his head in agreement.
"Well the Englishman is the reason I'm here," Tony said as he undid the buttons on his jacket to make himself more comfortable. "Two nights a go after Conrad had informed me of the case and the victims, I made phone call to my counter part in the English Government to inform him of the recent events. An hour later, I got a call from Thomas Edgar who is currently the Head of MI6," Grissom continued to listen as the story developed. "He said that the W.O.S has been under their investigation for about 4 years. Apparently the journalist they killed was an undercover agent who was collecting information on their underground activities here in America. Not only did they put an agent into our country without informing us but they were claiming international jurisdiction on the agents death and the case involved with it. Now legally they can do that as it was their case to start with but I managed to calm him down and told him that the best crime lab in America was working this case. After about an hours discussion and me missing my granddaughters dance recital he began telling me some very alarming info on these skinheads,".
Grissom readjusted in his seat before the director continued. "Apparently in England, these Nazi movements aren't a big problem as they are here but their still a factor. The White Orchard Skinheads were started there in 1995. In 2001, the main members fled to France to avoid prosecution for the murder of 14 people. The English believed that they had gone into hiding but about year later, they resurfaced and committed bombings in some major Asian communities. Reportedly, close to 200 people died from the explosions. That's when MI6 got involved and sent in a newly formed TASK force to investigate and clear up the mess. They succeeded in wiping out most of the W.O.S members but a few escaped and fled here to America. An English agent was sent to infiltrate the gang and came here to America with them. He's been undercover for nearly 3 years until you found him. Now the English are pissed and they want the guys responsible behind bars. Now from the history of the skinheads they've done some bad things that I'd rather not repeat, this leads me to why I'm here," Grissom was a little baffled by the sudden flooding of information about his suspects. He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead feeling a headache coming on. "From all the things we know, we think be best if you had some protection. So we, the Americans are gonna continue conducting the investigation and the Brits are gonna provide some 'adequate' protection for you," Grissom stopped rubbing his forehead and looked back at Anthony.
"What do you mean by protection Director?" He asked.
"They are sending in the original Task force to be your personal bodyguards until it is deemed that they are no longer needed," He answered. Grissom looked shocked at the news and then he shook his head.
"Director, with all due respect we don't need any protection. They will simply get in our way," Anthony simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I know how you feel Dr. Grissom but the English are insisting that they help. Anyway these guys are experts on the W.O.S. Not only will they be protecting you but they will also be a valuable insight into the skinhead's world," Tony stood up from his seat and took a step closer to Ecklie's desk. "But I have to warn you that these guys have a serious army background and they don't mess around. London sent over their files yesterday and I'm gonna let you look at them so you have some idea of who your dealing with. There's nothing really official in them so I don't see a problem in letting your team have a look at them either," He lifted up a small pile of manilla folders and handed them to Gil. "I'm told that they have just completed an assignment in Bosnia and are on their way as we speak," The director straightened his tie and buttoned up his jacket again. "They have a brief stop off in Washington in the morning and should be with you tomorrow night. Unfortunately gentlemen, I have an appointment somewhere else so I will leave it to you to brief your team," With that he shook both men's hands and quickly left the office. Grissom turned back to Ecklie who had remained in his seat.
"Well that was unusual," Grissom said. The look on his face showed more than confusion. Maybe he was upset having to deal with someone in his personal space.
"You think that was weird," Ecklie opened his top drawer and pulled out a USB pen. "This was sent to me from London, with a note that said that you would need it. The note said it contained everything you'd need," He handed over to an even more confused looking Grissom who slowly placed the gadget into his shirt pocket. "I've already got Archie to setup a computer in the break room for you," Ecklie looked down at a mount of paper work in front of him and Grissom took this as a sign to leave.
He carried the folders under his arm as he made his way towards the break room. He opened the door with his free hand and noticed everyone staring up at him.
"Grissom, we've been waiting for 20 minutes," Nick nagged "What's going on?" Gil looked around the room to make sure everyone was there. Catherine, Warrick, Sara, Nick and Greg were all sat at the break table watching Archie setting up a laptop and a projector. Gil continued into the room and placed the set of folders onto the table.
"I don't think you guys are going to like this," he turned and walked over to Archie. He took the USB pen out of his pocket and handed it over to Archie. "This pen has some information on it that we need so work you magic on it Archie," Archie nodded and looked back to the screen. Grissom turned back to his team. "The Englishmen we found among the bodies was not a journalist as the suspects thought," Everyone was staring at him confused. "He was an undercover agent working for MI6," Everybody's eyes went wide.
"Whoa, British Intelligence? You mean like proper James Bond stuff?" Greg peeped up with a very small bruise on his left cheek.
"Greg, shut up!" Sara barked at him. Greg closed the imaginary zipper across his mouth before Grissom continued.
"MI6 has tried to claim jurisdiction over the case as they have been investigating these guys for a while," Everybody moaned at the possibility of losing the high priority case to someone else. "But they have agreed to let us continue the investigation," Everyone let out a small cheer. "Under one condition. That we are protected by them,"
"What?" Sara asked as everyone still looked confusingly at Grissom.
"These people," He said as he tapped the pile of folders on the table. "Are gonna be assigned to us as bodyguards until this case is over," Another loud groan spread through the room as everyone voiced their opinions. Gil handed them each a folder and they began to examine their contents. Nothing more than an Army report, a Psychological report and an I.D photograph.
"I got a really hot girl here," Greg said obviously forgetting what Sara had told him earlier. He held up a picture showing a blonde haired girl with bright blue eyes in her early 20's.
"Me too," said Catherine holding up another picture of a young women. This one was a dark brunette roughly the same age. "What her name Greg?" She asked referring to his photo. Greg lifted his eyebrows.
"You tell me your and I'll tell you mine," he said suggestively. Catherine sighed and looked back down at the folder before her.
"Kimberly Watson," She answered.
"This ones name is Danielle Barrett," He handed Warrick the photo who whistled before passing it to Nick.
"Whoa, very nice," His Texan accent seemed to show more when he talked about girls. Greg looked back down at the Army report that had been partially hidden by the photograph.
"There's not much information in these files," He said. Suddenly his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Sara noticed.
"What's wrong Greg?" He looked up at her across the table.
"This report has some personal details about her like any report would but there's something here that says 'Entry Conviction' and then next to it, it says 'Murder'," they all looked down at their own reports looking for what Greg was talking about. Catherine quickly glanced over the report and found it.
"Mine says murder too," She said.
"This one says Manslaughter," Nick said lifting his folder. "What about you War?"
"It's just says MCM, what does that mean," He asked. Suddenly Brass spoke up from the doorway.
"It's a code meaning Massive Computer Misuse," Everybody turned and looked at him. "It means that he's been convicted for Hacking," Jim stepped into the room and took a seat at the table next to Sara. "What are you guys up to?" He asked.
"These people are gonna be our bodyguards for a while so were getting to know them a little," Warrick answered.
"Oh are these the guys from England?" Brass asked. Once again everyone looked confused.
"How do you know about them, Jim?" Gil asked from the head of the table.
"The entire P.D has been briefed that these guys were coming but we were told nothing about them…" He was interrupted by Archie sitting at the nearby desk.
"Dr. Grissom, the computer's ready for you," The whole team stood up and walked over to him at the laptop. "Sorry it took so long but there was a simple encryption on the pen but its ready now," They all watch the projected image on the wall as Archie opened the folders on the pen. "That's strange, there's only one exe file. Nothing else,"
"The note said that this has got some information on it," Grissom said slightly confused. "Run the exe file Archie, see what it does," At his command, Archie moved the mouse pointer over the file icon and double clicked it. The computer whirred and clicked before bringing up a loading screen and a bar began sliding its way to 100. There was nothing else on the screen but the red bar slowly making its way to its goal. The entire team held their breath as the bar hit 100 and it seemed to do nothing for a few seconds. Suddenly it opened a full window that filled the screen. It was simply a faded red background with the words 'Awaiting Security Code' and an empty black box below with a flashing cursor below it.
"Security Code?" Archie asked looking at Grissom. Gil simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Nobody mentioned a code," As they continued to watch the screen, another young girl appeared actually on the screen. It was a real woman, not an animated one. She was wearing a white pant suite and her reddish hair was done up in a bun at the back making her look very sophisticated. She began to speak with a very posh English accent.
"Good evening Dr. Grissom. My name is Jenny Fisher and I am currently a high level programmer for MI6. Thomas Edgar asked me to create this program for you. It includes the personnel files on the six men and women that you will be working with. Thomas also gave me a recording he had made about them that I have incorporated into this program. Anyway before I ramble on any further, you'll need the code to access it," She pointed to the empty black box next to her. "Yesterday I mailed a coding box to you and you should have received it by now," Once again everyone looked at Grissom.
"I haven't received anything," He said while shrugging his shoulders. There was a sudden knocking on the door which made everyone jump. They turned around to see Judie, the receptionist. She opened the door and handed a padded envelope to Gil.
"This was just delivered for you Mr. Grissom," she gave a smile and left the room. The whole team stood totally dumb founded.
"I don't know about you guys," Nick said. "But I'm officially freaked," Grissom opened the envelope and shook out the contents out into his hand. A small metallic box was the only thing in the envelope. It was about the same size as his I.D badge but just a little thicker. He looked all around it and found nothing. Jenny on the computer began speaking again and the team huddled around the screen.
"It should look like a small cigarette case. You'll notice a small indented square on the top of the box," Grissom looked around the small object in his hands and found a small square no bigger than his thumbnail. "The small square is a fingerprint reader. I have assigned it to your fingerprints Dr. Grissom so that only you can open it. Once you place a finger on the panel, the box will open," Grissom did what he was told and placed his index finger onto the panel. The box whined for a moment and the Jenny's voice came from the box. "Thank you, Dr. Grissom". Everybody in the room just stared at the device in Grissom's hands.
"This is the coolest thing I have ever seen," Sara said. Everyone agreed with her as the box split in two and the top half slid open to reveal an arrangement of buttons assigned with different letters and numbers assigned to them.
"Now Dr.Grissom, once the box is open," Jenny had begun speaking again. "This program will generate a random set of letters and numbers that you need to type into the code box. It will then display another collection of numbers and letters that you will need to type into the black box on this screen. Here is the first code to input into the code box," She pointed next to her where the code NL675HG546 had just appeared and then she disappeared off the screen. Grissom franticly typed in the letters and numbers into the code box looking several times back up at the computer screen to check that it was correct. When the full code was entered, a very small screen on the code box brought up another code: 829BF049ZW. Grissom said the code out loud and Archie slowly typed it into the computer. The team watched as the code entered into the black box on the screen. As the last figure was entered a loading screen came up and the computer whirred again. Suddenly Jenny reappeared on the screen again and smiled. "Congratulations Dr. Grissom, you now have access to this program," The background of the program faded into a black colour and showed nothing. They waited a few seconds but nothing appeared.
"Archie? What did you do?" Warrick asked. Archie simply shrugged his shoulders. Suddenly a new voice was heard coming from the speakers. A very strong male voice still baring an English accent but not as strong as Jenny's had been.
"Dr. Grissom, My name is Thomas Edgar, head of Mi6. Firstly, I'd like to thank you for being so understanding. I know it will be difficult having strangers around during the investigation but we believe that it is in yours and your team's best interests to have them with you. Secondly, the information contained in this program in confidential so I must ask that you view it in a secure room. Your team is welcome to view it also as we trying to make it less of a daunting experience for you. Just make sure that it is only you and your team who will be able to see this information," Grissom cleared his throat and the nodded to the table where they had all been sat. They all caught on and reassumed their seats around the break room table. Grissom leaned in and whispered into Archie's ear. Archie simply nodded and left the room. Grissom then walked around and closed the blinds on the windows so nobody could peer into the room. As the room went dark, the voice began to speak again. "The following officers you are about to see are the six members of an elite team created 3 years ago to investigate an incident in France involving the W.O.S. At the time their first objective was to remove all traces of the W.O.S and their Nazi members. Their second objective was to contact and protect our undercover agent who was deep in the W.O.S at the time. When the W.O.S fled to America, the team was called back and assigned to other duties in the Far East. Where, due to they're recon work in Iraq, they were affectionately nicknamed 'The Desert Ravens". They soon became experts in desert and urban warfare as well as performing numerous sneaking missions into key Iraqi strongholds. You may have noticed that the paper files contain a piece of information called an 'Entry Conviction'. This is because in the mid 90's the English Government setup a program to try and relieve the growing amount of convicts in our already straining prison system. People that were found guilty of serious crimes and showed some potential would be offered the opportunity to serve their sentence in one of the Armed Forces. Of course it was a popular option as unlike Prison you weren't locked away from the world and you were given time like regular soldiers to visit your family at home. The majority of the members of the Desert Ravens were recruited through that program, which brings me to introducing you to your protectors,".
A photograph appeared showing a man in his early 20's with a very distinct facial features. His hair was short and a little curly at the ends which he seemed to of adopted into a style. A large amount of information rolled by next to the image as the director continued to speak. "William Savage. Born on August 25th 1980. His mother died in child-birth leaving his father to raise him. Believing his son to be a push over, he forced Billy into boxing and other violent sports. His father raised him hard and slowly his life revolved around violence. By the time he was sixteen he was a main man in an unsanctioned underground boxing league. When he was eighteen, he beat three of his opponents to death in the ring. He was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter in 1998. He served for 3 years in the army before enrolling in the SAS where he served for just one year before being called up to Mi6. Next, Steven Bullock," The image faded and changed to another, showing another man with rough blonde hair which was spiked and darkened off on the tips. His facial features made him look a little younger than the previous man. Fresh information began to slowly scroll next to the image. "Also born in 1980, his parents abandoned him in an orphanage where he stayed until he was seventeen. He then left and attended college and university obtaining a bachelors degree in computer science by his nineteenth birthday. In 1998 he was convicted of MCM after crimpling a number of high security databases belonging to a major insurance company, He served in the Army for four years, developing several of our current high tech weaponry. Wanting a new challenge he signed up to work for the Mi6 in 2002," The image changed replacing the previous one with two this time side by side. They showed the blonde and brunette girls that Greg and Catherine were talking about earlier. "Danielle Barret and Kimberly Watson. They were both put in the same foster home when they were children. Danielle was 5 and Kimberly was 4 at the time. They've been inseparable ever since. When they were both 16 they ran away from the home and quickly turned to prostitution and drugs to as a way for income. They soon came under the control of a Russian gangster called Irvine Krowski. After a while, they became his main girls and he started to take them everywhere with him. Of course hanging around with a gangster 24 hours a day means you get to see some stuff. They saw him kill a few people and even helped him with a few before he would trust them. When he did, he used Danielle and Kimberly to seduce his enemies and then kill them. After settling into it Danielle still preferred it up-close and personal but Kimberly quickly fell in love with firearms and preferred to use a sniper rifle than strangle someone. They were given the task of killing a high ranking policeman who was heading an investigation on Irvine. There was no change in their routine, Danielle was going to seduce him and kill him while Kim covered her in an adjacent building just incase. It went sour, they were setup and the policeman tried to get Danielle down on the floor to cuff her but she used a nearby knife and slit his throat. Then when several other policemen entered the room, Kim quickly shot them. They realised that it was their boss who had set them up and went and killed him too. They were arrested and convicted of five counts of murder between them in 2000. They both served for two years before their Commanding Officers contacted me about their skills and I quickly recruited them. Next is Wayne Turner," They images disappeared and were replaced by a single image of a man with spiked dark hair with a blonde streak down the middle. "The only person in the team who hasn't actually been convicted of anything. He has however in his teens been connected to several bombings and arsons around Europe. He enrolled himself in the Army after a very close conviction in 1998. He served as an engineer for two years and was called up to the SAS as an explosive expert. He spent a further two years there before being sent to me along side William. Which leads me to the final member of the team," The image changed again to reveal a man with brown hair which was gelled back apart from a small tuff at the front which hung forward over his right eye. "James Phoenix. Born in 1979 to a middle class family. He was well educated but began to go downhill after the untimely death of his mother when he was 14 and then when his father also died two years later he snapped. He was arrested for the assault of three boys at his school. Despite his age, he was given the choice to serve his sentence in the Army and he agreed. He served for 4 years before joining the SAS for 3 years before we recruited him into Mi6," The image faded and the screen went dark but Thomas Edgars voice could still be heard.
"The team is very unique, as they all bring their individual skills to the team as a whole; it develops the functionality of the team as a whole meaning they do very good work. Anyway, they should be with you soon and I hope the information in here will help you so that they don't overwhelm you too much. I have included as much as possible on their skills which if Jenny is as good a programmer as she says she is should be printing out on you default printer as we speak," Across the hall Gil could hear the printer in the DNA lab sputter to life and begin printing out pages. "I have given the control of the team to James and he will inform me of any significant developments in the case. Also, just in case you're concerned, they are strictly there to protect you and your team. You are still in charge when it comes to the case and they will not get involved unless you want them too. However, when it comes to your own safety, their in charge. They have never let me down and I trust them completely. Anyway, I've rambled on for far too long. All that's left is for me to wish you all the best. Good luck Dr. Grissom," The program closed and returned to the blank desktop. They all sat in silence, just bewildered at what they had just witnessed. Of course, Greg was the first to break it.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think this is a good idea," Everyone turned and looked at him.
"What do you mean Greg?" Catherine asked. "There's going to be six strangers sneaking around us all the time,"
"I know that Cath, but we've all seen what these skinheads are willing to do to innocent people so I'm personally glad that someone is going to be watching my back," He got a few nods from his team mates as the real danger of the case dawned on them. "Especially if that someone is a hot girl," Suddenly he was struck in the head by one of the pillows from the couch behind Sara.