ACT ONE

FADE IN:

EXT. LAS VEGAS (STOCK) - NIGHT

To establish.

INT. WALKER RESIDENCE - NIGHT

Greg and RILEY enter the home armed with field kits, passing two policemen.

SUPER: Two Weeks Earlier

In the hall assistant corner DAVID is kneeling beside a female victim that is face down in her own blood. It appears as though she's been shot in the back. David looks up at them.

DAVID
There's another body in the
backyard that I'm finished with.

The two CSI head to the back of the house.

EXT. WALKER BACKYARD - NIGHT

The two exit the house, standing over the body. The man was shot once in the back of the head.

RILEY
Initial report had this as a murder suicide.

GREG
Not unless these two are double jointed.

David comes to the door.

DAVID
Guys, we have a problem in here. Again.

The two turn. Riley shoots Greg a dark look that Greg pretends not to notice. They follow David back inside.

INT. WALKER RESIDENCE - NIGHT

The body has been turned over. David points to a photograph on the victim's chest, still wet with saliva. Riley pulls on a glove and picks it up. Her jaw sets as she turns to Greg, glaring.

GREG
What?

Riley shows him the photograph. It's a compromising photograph of the dead woman and Greg. Greg is furious, but he doesn't comment.

RILEY
This is the fifth photograph of you
with a recently murdered female.

Riley sets her kit down and pulls out a bag.

RILEY
And let me guess, you're going to
say you don't know the victim, you
don't know how the photograph got
here, and you're going to tell me
to mind my own business. Am I right?

Greg meets Riley's eyes.

GREG
I'll process the back yard.

Greg heads back outside. Riley is livid.

RILEY
Nick won't talk about these photos
either. Maybe the two of you should
stop sleeping with every married
woman in LAS VEGAS!

EXT. WALKER RESIDENCE - NIGHT

Greg kneels next to the body. He takes a minute to collect himself and then starts processing the scene. His cell phone rings but he doesn't stop to answer it.

EXT. MOJAVE DESERT - DAY

Located 20 miles from Las Vegas is a small retirement community. From the air, it could be mistaken as a community still being worked on. Equipment sits nearby, stacks of lumber and building materials are piled on recently paved streets.

EXT. LOS CASTILLOS LUJOSOS COMMUNITY - DAY

A high fence surrounds the community. At the front gates there are about a dozen finished homes. Beyond that are partially finished houses. Even further back the houses are only foundations. The community died before it ever began.

On the fence and houses notices of potential uranium radiation are posted, warning people to stay away. In key locations cameras monitor the grounds, their wires all leading back to the pool house.

Many of the windows of the pool house have been boarded up or painted black. In a garage across the street is a white van with no license plates.

INT. POOL HOUSE OFFICE - DAY

Through the small, triple pane window on the office door the garage can be seen. The room is converted into a small bunker with reinforced steel on the door and metal brackets on either side to catch a solid metal bar. Soundproof padding covers the walls.

Along one wall it looks like a T.V. station could be run with as much audio and video equipment there is. At the back are several Dell Blade servers, the lights on them blinking happily. One of the server monitors displays a website.

ON THE MONITOR

The website is plain, no graphics. On it, in an extra large font size, are the words:

Two men,
Two sons,
Two LVPD CSI...
...Will Die Soon

BACK TO SCENE

SUPER: Present

Blaine sits in a chair at a desk. He turns to a camera sitting near him and his smile is insane. He picks up a remote control and taps the record button.

ON THE MONITOR

The text fades into streaming video of his webcast.

BACK TO SCENE

His insanity shows in his melodramatic performance.

BLAINE
Welcome to my newest horror movie!
Coming to you live from somewhere
in the United States.

Blaine cackles as he zooms in on himself.

BLAINE (CONT'D)
My two victims asked, nay, begged
their supervisor, not to send them
on a job together. Their co-workers
should have believed them when they
said they didn't know anything about
contaminated evidence or questionable
pictures. All of these mere steps
for me, their host, to get them
alone, without anyone to turn to.
It made kidnapping them a breeze.
(Glances at watch)
Soon these unwilling participants
will be realize they are... Well,
going to die. But how, you ask?
That's the rub, isn't it?

Blaine taps a button on the switchboard and the website changes.

ON THE MONITOR

The video starts wide, showing the deep end of a pool with two men sitting in wooden armchairs placed on a grey mat. A black box sits under their chairs. The view zooms in on an unconscious GREG and NICK.

A cross bow is aimed at Nick, a shotgun at Greg. Strings are rigged so that if one moves more than an inch, the other dies.

Spots of daylight have found holes in the black paint, but are dim compared to the stage lights surrounding the men. The bright light makes it appear as if there is black nothing behind them. Cameras on tripods cover the two CSI from a dozen angles. Nick is starting to come around...

BLAINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Let the show begin.

INT. LOS CASTILLOS COMMUNITY POOL - NIGHT

It takes Nick a few minutes to realize the situation he's in.

SUPER: Present

He notices something cylindrical under his hand, but he doesn't dare move his arm or hand to see what it is. He can't quite see Greg, just his shoulder.

NICK
Greg?

Greg slowly comes to with a soft moan.

NICK (CONT'D)
Don't move. Do you hear me? Do not move.

GREG
Where are we?

NICK
I dunno.

Greg starts to lift his hand, pulling the string attached to Nick's weapon.

NICK
HOLD STILL!

Greg freezes.

GREG
What? What's wrong?

NICK
If you move, I'll get an arrow
through the heart. I'm betting he
set up something like that over there.

Greg looks at the shotgun.

GREG
Yeah.

The two sit for a minute.

NICK
Do you remember anything?

GREG
Not much. Did we even make it to
the crime scene?

NICK
I can't remember.

GREG
What's with the cameras?

NICK
Dunno.

BLAINE (O.S.)
Welcome to your movie debut,
gentlemen. Smile. The world is
watching. I've invited your
friends, families, everyone!

NICK
YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!

Blaine laughs.

BLAINE (O.S.)
But my dear Nicky, I already have.
As my beloved departed sister would
have told you, death is just a
family trait. You do know who my
sister is, don't you?

GREG
Petra was as insane as you are!

BLAINE (O.S.)
(angry)
And you two killed her for that,
didn't you?

NICK
She committed suicide in jail. We
didn't touch her!

BLAINE (O.S.)
But you did. You helped find her,
arrest her, convict her, and when
she couldn't stand being in jail,
your very actions killed her. But
before she died, I promised her I
would make sure you both understood
just how wrong you were.

NICK
We were not wrong! And when they
find you, I'll sit on that stand
and put you away too!

BLAINE (O.S.)
Oh, Nicky, you won't be breathing
by that time.

Nick presses his lips together. Greg coughs a couple times.

BLAINE (O.S.) (CONT'D)
How are you feeling, Greg?

GREG
Why? What did you do to me?

There was no answer.

GREG (CONT'D)
What did you do to me!?

Nick watches the string dance against the trigger.

NICK
Keep it together, man. We'll get
out of this somehow.

Greg relaxes back against the chair, staring down the barrel of the shotgun.

INT. CSI - LAB - NIGHT

Nick is working with clothing evidence when CATHERINE stops in the door.

SUPER: Two Weeks Earlier

Catherine holds a clear evidence bag containing a pistol. The pistol has been dusted and has fingerprints all over it. Catherine is somewhere between frustrated and angry.

CATHERINE
Nick, do you want to explain this?

Nick stops working because he knows this tone. He sets his tools down, turning to Catherine.

NICK
That's the gun I retrieved from the
homicide in Green Valley. What about it?

CATHERINE
It has your fingerprints all over
it, Nick.

That pisses Nick off.

NICK
I put on gloves, Catherine! I put
them on in front of Ray just like
you told me to. If you don't
believe me, ask him!

CATHERINE
He said the same thing. So explain
how it happened. Again.

NICK
I can't. I don't know.

CATHERINE
For a month now, you and Greg have
been turning in contaminated
evidence, and yet neither of you
can explain it.

NICK
Because we don't know how it's happening!

Catherine presses her lips together.

CATHERINE
I can't keep making excuses for you
two. This has to stop.

She drops the bag on the end of the table.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
Go help Ray find something else to
prosecute the shooter on this case
with, and double glove this time.

Catherine leaves. Nick puts his hands on his hips. His cell phone starts ringing. He pulls it off his belt, looks at the display, and throws it across the room.

INT. CSI - LOCKER ROOM - DAY

Greg sits in front of his open locker, staring into it. His vest and cell phone sit on the bench next to him. RILEY comes in and watches him as she puts her vest away.

RILEY
Are you okay?

Greg looks down.

GREG
Yeah.

His cell phone starts ringing and he slowly looks at it. Catherine looks from it to him. If an angry glare could blow up a phone, his would be in pieces.

Riley slowly sits down next to him. They both look at the phone when it beeps to let him know a voice mail is waiting.

RILEY
Greg... I'm sorry I yelled. It's
just... You and Nick are acting so
strange, and then there's those
pictures and evidence with your
fingerprints all over it. I don't
know what to make of any of it.

Greg stands. He takes off his sidearm, pulls out the gun box from the top shelf, and puts the gun in it.

RILEY
I'm pretty open minded, Greg. You
know you can talk to me about
anything, don't you?

Greg puts the box back in and picks up his vest. She grabs his arm and he looks at her.

RILEY
Let's go have a cup of coffee. Talk
about whatever is going on.

Greg slowly pulls away. He wants to talk, but can't. He puts his vest away and closes his locker, locking the padlock.

CATHERINE
Since when do you leave your gun at work?

Greg picks up his cell phone, looking her in the eyes.

GREG
It's safer here. See you tomorrow, Riley.

INT. CSI - LAB - DAY

Catherine enters the lab. Ray, Riley, and Hodges are working on separate pieces of evidence.

SUPER: Present

Riley is looking at a hair sample under a microscope. Catherine stops next to Ray.

CATHERINE
Anything?

He leans back and shakes his head. She shakes her head.

LANGSTON
Wendy is running the DNA test on
the rest of the hairs. We should
know more in a half hour.

Catherine looks at Riley.

CATHERINE
Riley, why aren't you in the A.V. lab?

RILEY
I needed to work on something else
for a while. I can't watch that

video again.

CATHERINE
There might be something on it--

RILEY
There isn't anything on it,
Catherine! We already know his
face, we already know we can't
identify him, we already know the
van had no plates on it. There is
nothing on it.

Hodges, Catherine and Ray stare at Riley through her tirade. Finished, she storms out. Ray gets up, patting Catherine's arm as he walks past her.

CATHERINE
I'll handle this.

Catherine nods. He looks at a monitor across the room.

ON THE MONITOR

The website shows Greg and Nick. They are silent, and both are sitting as still as they can to keep the strings from moving.

BACK TO SCENE

Hodges watches Catherine walk over to the monitor and sit down on a stool. He sets down his work and joins her.

HODGES
They knew this was coming.

Catherine looks up at him.

CATHERINE
How do you know they knew it was coming?

HODGES
I overheard a conversation they had
the day we all received the website invitations.

CATHERINE
What conversation?

Hodges begins retelling the conversation...

INT. CATHERINE'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Catherine is focused on her laptop monitor as she types a report. On her desk sits an open envelope with 'you're invited' written on it.

SUPER: Five Days Ago

She looks over the top of the monitor when Greg and Nick slink into his office.

NICK
We were told you wanted to see us
when we got in.

Catherine glances at his watch. She is at her wits end with the two.

CATHERINE
Do either of you know what time it is?

Greg looks at his watch.

GREG
It's ten-thirty.

CATHERINE
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this
shift starts at nine. Am I wrong?

The two don't answer. Catherine grabs a form and holds it out to them.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
You two were supposed to be at this
address an hour ago.

The two look at each other. There is a hint of fear in it. Catherine notices the look.

NICK
You're sending us to the same scene?

CATHERINE
You are both late, again, and with
a triple homicide, I need two CSI
to process the scene. Ray is out in
Henderson, Riley is working with
Archie to find out who invited the
entire country to a website stating
two of our CSI are going to die.
So, yes.

What she says elicits more fear from both men, in turn making Catherine more suspicious.

GREG
It sounds like Riley needs a hand
here. I'll work the scene alone. I
could use the overtime.

Greg reaches for the paper, but Catherine pulls it back. This is not helping her anger.

CATHERINE
Do you two know something about
these invitations?

She motions at it.

GREG
No.

NICK
No.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
Then why are you two so reluctant
to work together?

Together they stumble for an excuse.

NICK
We just can't...

GREG
We, uh...

NICK
We... Haven't worked a case
together since...

GREG
Since...

NICK
We just can't...

GREG
I... I hate Nick.

NICK
(nods)
If I have to work with him, you're
gonna have to fire one of us before
the shift is over.

The room becomes uncomfortably silent.

CATHERINE
Sit down!

Both men obey the sharp order immediately.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
I don't know what is happening to
you two. Why do you two keep telling
us you're working on case evidence
that you're not? Why are you two
leaving and coming to work together
when you live on opposite ends of
town? Why have you both been late
every day for a month? And why have
you two become so resistant working
calls together?

Neither answer.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
I'd like to help, but that means
you have to talk to me.

Neither is going to break their silence.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
Fine. If you won't talk to me, then
this stops today. And if you two
are the enemies that you are
claiming, and I end up having to
come to your crime scene for any
reason, you're both fired!

They are stunned by the turn of events, but they don't argue.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
Are we clear?

NICK
Yes, ma'am.

GREG
Yes, Catherine.

Catherine holds the form out to them again.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
Get moving!

The two jump up. Greg grabs the form and they start for the door.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)
And if either of you are late for
another shift, I'm writing you up.

The two hesitate, and then hurry out.

INT. CSI - LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT

Nick and Greg enter. Greg sits down on the bench in front of his locker. Nick opens his and gets ready to leave.

NICK
Come on, Greg. I don't want to see
what Catherine's like when she's
really mad.

GREG
I can't work a crime scene with you
Nick. Someone's sure to find out if
we work together.

Nick stops for a moment. He sits down on the bench, looking at his hands.

NICK
So what do you wanna do? Tell her?

GREG
I-- I don't know.

Nick rubs his face and leans forward on his leg.

NICK
We keep saying we're protecting
them, but are we? Or are we just
making this just a big mess? I
mean... I keep having horrible visions
about how this is going to turn out
when they find out. They're either
going to hate us or respect us.

GREG
At this rate, I vote more for hate.

Nick rubs his face.

NICK
I'm so tired. I'm tired of staying
up all day. Pretty soon she's going
to be on us about the minutes we've
racked up calling each other.

The two are silent for a moment.

GREG
When we get back, let's just tell
Catherine the truth. She'll understand.

Nick nods.

NICK
Okay. She needs time to cool off,
then we tell her. Good idea.

Nick stands, collects his weapon and kit.

NICK (CONT'D)
Meet you in the parking lot.

Greg grabs his vest, badge and field kit, following him out.

On the other side of the lockers, Hodges is shocked by what he thinks he just heard.

INT. CSI - LAB - DAY

Catherine stares at Hodges.

SUPER: Present

CATHERINE
You're just now telling me this?

HODGES
I didn't know what they were
talking about at the time. I
thought they were talking about...
You know what? It doesn't matter
what I thought. I realize I was
wrong and at the time I didn't
think it was important enough to
tell you.

Catherine rushes out of the lab.

HODGES (CONT'D)
You're welcome.

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE