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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: Excalibur: Part 1
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"Vegas has got to be the only place in the world where you can explore the great pyramids of Egypt, the Middle Ages, New York City, and Paris, all at the same time," Greg mused in awe, looking out his passenger side window at the profiles of the Luxor, Excalibur, New York, New York, and Paris. "Amazing. And the shows aren't all that bad, either," he added with a grin, throwing a look in Sara's general direction.
"What do you mean, Greg?" Sara asked with her own tiny smirk. "Do you regularly go and see the Thunder From Down Under?" she smiled at her co-worker, referring to Excalibur's all male dance show.
"Not my thing," he replied with a small shake of his head, once again turning his attention out of his window.
Before Greg could say anything further, Nick, trying to be the professional, interrupted his two partners. "So what do we have, guys?" he asked, taking his eyes off of the road for a brief moment to glance at Sara and Greg.
"According to the report," Sara paused a moment, looking down at the small slip of paper in her hand, "We have a DB at the Knights of the Round Table dinner show," she added, her voice rising at the end of the sentence as if she were asking a question. "It says here that no one knows what happened, and no one saw it."
"Not much to go on," Greg sighed, running a hand through his short, spiky hair.
"We'll know more when we get to the scene, Greggo," Nick smiled at his younger partner.
"Let's take it one step at a time," Sara added, giving Greg her own half smile. Although Greg was a talented CSI, and had the respect of his fellow graveyard shifters, the young man was sometimes quick to judge a situation—before gathering all of the facts around him. Last year, Sara had taken Greg under her wing, so to speak, mentoring him in the way that Grissom had previously mentored her. She enjoyed her role as a teacher, and was proud to see Greg successfully make the transition from lab technician to crime scene investigator.
"Right," Greg replied to both Nick and Sara.
Within minutes, the three crime scene analysts arrived at Excalibur, and parked their vehicle just outside of the front door, where Sofia Curtis was waiting for them. Grabbing their gear from the back of the Denali, they walked over to the blond detective, nodding a greeting.
"What's going on here?" Sara asked the detective, making eye contact with the other woman. Although Sara and Sofia did not always see eye-to-eye on things, Sara was starting to respect the other woman's presence at a crime scene.
"Thirty minutes before the start of the Knights of the Round Table show," Sofia began her narrative, looking each CSI in the eye, "the 'King' was found dead in his horse's stall."
"Uh… I'm guessing we're not talking about Elvis," Greg mumbled, taking a moment to observe the scene around him. Standing just inside of the double-wide doorway, Greg noticed enough chairs and long tables to seat hundreds and hundreds of people. The arena appeared to be split into sections, with each section representing a specific country denoted with that country's flag and insignia. Rather than a field, the middle of the arena was filled with dirt.
"Correct," Sofia answered Greg, a small smile on her face. "The Excalibur hotel puts on two 'Knights of the Round Table' dinner shows a night," she added. "Knights represent members of King Arthur's famed Round Table, participating in events such as jousting, hand-to-hand combat, and riding. –"
"Oh yeah, I heard about this," Nick cut in, looking first at Sofia, then Sara, and then Greg. "Fans come in for dinner, and cheer for whatever knight represents their particular section of the arena," he added. "Isn't there like a Black Knight and a White Knight"
"Yes," Sofia replied. "Representing good and evil. There are other knights, as well," she added.
"So who found King Arthur?" Sara finally asked, raising an eyebrow before heading over to the stall where John Gead, also known as King Arthur, was found dead.
"The Green Knight—Anthony Simmons—," Sofia replied, walking in stride with Sara. Greg and Nick trailed behind the two women, observing the people milling around the middle part of the dirt stadium.
"Hey, Sofia," Greg suddenly called out, realization dawning on him. "We need to get these people off of the dirt, and into the seats. Possible evidence with the footprints," he quickly added, as he, Nick, Sara, and Sofia, stepped to the side. With a quick, curt nod, Sofia took off to secure the rest of the scene.
Carefully picking their way over to the coroner, Sara greeted David Phillips with a gapped grin, kneeling down beside him. "Hello, David," she smiled, as her colleges surrounded David and the body.
"Hi Sara," he replied, glancing down at the body. "We have bruises to the face, neck and the arms. Been dead a couple of hours," he added, looking at his watch.
"It looks like someone was tired of King Arthur's reign," Greg ruefully said.
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TO BE CONTINUED