THE COMPETITION

What happened on Wednesday?

Saturday

On hindsight, Greg, wondered whether he should have broached the matter in a different way. He, who usually took fifteen minutes to explain something to his boss, had taken the straightforward route this time.

There was nothing wrong with that, but simply announcing, "Hey, Grissom, you've got a minute? Something happened and I won't be able to run with you guys," may not have been the most tactful way to put it.

Still, Grissom's reaction had been better than he had expected.

WEDNESDAY (flashback)

Grissom had frowned as if he hadn't heard correctly, and then he'd put his pen down in order to focus on Greg.

"Why not?" he asked, "I heardyou did great at the trial run -"

"Yeah, I did."

"Then why aren't you running?"

Greg's response had been honest –maybe a tad too much so:

"Oh, I am," he said, "I just want to run with another team."

Grissom's eyes had widened.

"Another team?" he repeated, "Why?"

"Because I'd like to win," Greg answered in a 'duh' tone.

"You don't think we have a chance?"

"Honestly? I can't say." Greg replied, "I mean, no offence, Grissom, but the night shift hasn't finished a race in the last five years-"

Grissom frowned.

"We have not?" he asked.

Greg looked up incredulously;he couldn't believethat Grissom didn't know this about his own team. But after a moment,herealized that Grissom's puzzlement was genuine –he had simply not talliedhis team's failures at the annual race.

Greg took it upon himself to give him a little reminder.

"Two years ago," he said, "You were driving the follow car and you got off track-"

"Oh," Grissom muttered thoughtfully, "Yes. I remember.There was a body out there, and-"

"Three years ago," Greg continued, "You spotted a fire burning several miles away-"

"It was the runaway car used in a bank robbery-" Grissom pointed out.

"And then, a year ago-"

And that's when Grissom had looked at him with big, wounded eyes.

"So, what you're saying is that I have made it impossible for the team to win."

And that's when Greg realized that honesty may be the best policy, but sometimes you have to be careful with what you say and how you say it.

"Grissom." He said patiently, "It isn't you. A year ago, it was Sara who spotted evidence of a recent murder, and four years ago, it was Catherine." he paused, "It's like the team's jinxed, or something." He said, "Maybe you're cursed to find crime everywhere you go."

But of course, Grissom didn't believe in bad luck or curses.

"Greg…" he said, and then he paused for a moment, "All I can say is that the lab needs you" He said at last, and then he sat back, seemingly pleased with his little speech.

But said speech didn't make any impression on Greg.

"Thanks," Greg said, "But we both know that I can be easily replaced, Grissom. Lots of people ended up without teams this year; you'll find someone else."

Greg's words were very effective; clearly, Grissom could not argue with the truth. After a moment, he nodded lightly.

"Very well, Greg." He said. "I'll tell everyone, then."

"Uh, I'd rather tell them myself if you don't mind," Greg said, "I don't want to be sneaky about this."

"Ok," Grissom said, picking up his pen again.

Greg was relieved by his boss' reaction. Fortunately for him, Grissom wasn't the win-at-all-costs type of guy. It made things easier.

Still, he wanted to make sure.

"So," Greg said, "You're cool with this?"

"Yes," Grissom smiled faintly, "I'm cool."

Greg nodded once and rose to leave, but just as he was turning away, Grissom spoke.

"By the way..." he said, "Who are you running with?"

"Oh, some guys from Washington." Greg said carelessly, "Professor Vauchss is leading them this year, and-"

"Professor Vauchss?" Grissom interrupted. "Adrian Vauchss?"

Greg nodded earnestly.

"Yeah," he said, "You know him?"

That was a silly question; everybody knew him.

"I know Doctor Vauchss," Grissom said tentatively.

"Oh," Greg smiled, "I call him Professor because he was my teacher in College, and -"

"Your teacher?"

"Yeah," Greg nodded, "I was his star pupil for two years," he added. "He called me yesterday, and-"

"He called you?" Grissom asked.

"Yep." Greg said. "Apparently, he heard good things about my running style," he said, "Or maybe running with old guys like Nick and Warrick made me look good in comparison," he joked.

The casual tone didn't fool Grissom; Greg was obviously proud of the fact that Vauchss had made that call.

"Anyway," Greg said, "He called and said he needed someone he could trust by his side." He smiled, "And he chose me."

"Oh."

"I'm wired Grissom!" Greg said enthusiastically. "Thanks for letting me do this, ok?" he smiled, "I really appreciate it."

Greg turned away again, but just as he was about to reach the door, Grissom's words stopped him again.

"They call him The Fox," he said quietly.

"Who?"

"Dr.Vauchss," Grissom said, "They call him The Fox. In Forensic circles, I mean." he added.

"Really? The Fox?" Greg smiled, "It's kinda obvious, huh? Fox and Vauchss-"

"It's not just because it rhymes." Grissom said, "Vauchss is what we call a 'Poacher,'" he explained, "Whenever he comes to a city, he always manages to snatch someone; DNA technicians, mostly. Vauchss offers them a higher salary, a better package of benefits, a job in Quantico-"

"Wow," Greg exclaimed. "I didn't know that." He looked at Grissom, and then he grinned. "Luckily for you, I'm not a DNA technician anymore, huh?"

And then he'd left.

Saturday

So, for Greg, that conversation had ended well. Later that day he talked to Nick and Warrick, and they tookhis desertion well, too.

Facing Sara hadn't been so easy, though.

TBC

Coming soon… Thursday.