Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 17
Monday – October 3, 2005
3 Black Hill Canyon Drive
9:40 am
"Mr. Chelton was just reported missing at the San Remo." Vartann walked over to help Greg lift a coffee table. "According to his friends, he was supposed to meet them for breakfast at eight and when he didn't show, they asked the hotel manager to check his room because they were concerned he had a heart attack. When he wasn't there, they checked the parking lot for his rental car and found the keys in the ignition. Hotel security pulled last night's tapes and sure enough…Mr. Chelton was escorted into a black Ford Explorer by two gentlemen wearing ski masks."
"Was he a heavy gambler?" Nick asked as he readied to process the next cabinet.
"No, his friends describe him as a devout Christian who didn't smoke, drink or gamble. He almost didn't come to the convention because he didn't like the idea of coming to Sin City."
"More mystery, I love it," Greg remarked. "Okay, so far we have two men abducting a saint and shooting him with no signs of struggle. We have an anonymous call with nothing more than an address. That address brings us to this dump full of crap and evidence of drug trafficking. What do you think?"
BPAC
9:42 am
"I think you're crazy!" Becca snapped back at her panicked co-workers. "I can certainly understand why you're under duress, but…get a grip, people! How could I be responsible for the two of you kissing? If I was a witch who could cast kissing spells, Brad Pitt would have been frenching me years ago!"
"You paid a PI for the surveillance, the kiss was just the lucky break you were waiting for," Drew explained in a huff as he opened a cold bottle of water for Tawny, who was sitting in the corner wiping her eyes with a disintegrating tissue. "You probably used the same guy you did before…the guy who dug up all the dirt on Tawny for you. Or did you think I forgot about that?"
"Okay, yeah, I've hired PIs before, so I guess that's not out of the realm of possibility." Her frustration growing, Becca stuffed her hands on her hips. "I'll humor you. Even if I hired a PI to put the camera there, when would I have had time to make that DVD and purchase a TV? We were only apart for twenty minutes and I don't know how to make a DVD like that."
"You alerted the PI when you left us alone in here and a good PI, like the kind your money could buy, would know how to make a DVD." Drew handed Tawny a fresh wad of tissues. "When you went to get Tawny that bran muffin, I bet you called for an update and arranged the delivery."
"Okay, fine." Becca threw her hands in the air. "It's logistically possible, but I didn't do it!" Pointing to her wedding ring she said, "I love Tony, not Hoj. You saw us together all weekend, Tawny, how the hell could you think I'm not madly in love with my husband?" Pressing her hands to her chest she boasted. "He really cares about me. He cooks me breakfast and makes sure I take my meds. The first thing he does when he walks through the door after work is give me a hug and ask me how my day was. When we watch TV at night, he cuddles me, and when he goes to the kitchen to get a beer, he asks if he can bring me anything. But most importantly, when I go to sleep at night…I sleep soundly because I know he's protecting me. I've never had that, ever, and now that I do, I never want to lose it. Even if I loved Hoj as more than a best friend, which I don't…he could never make me feel like Tony does, because to me, Hoj is still a boy who can barely take care of himself, not a strong man who can watch over me and keep me safe. Why would I want to give up someone who takes of me for someone I'd have to take care of?" After a breath she looked Tawny in the eyes and said, "I don't want to trade frozen waffles on a paper plate for Coq au Vin on china. I had nothing to do with that DVD and if you want my help here…you're just going to have to trust me."
"Okay." Drew placed his fingers on Tawny's wrist to take her pulse. "We've established two things…you had nothing to do with the DVD, and you have some serious Daddy issues. All the reasons you listed for loving Tony are parental."
"Ha! You are actually insinuating that I have issues?" Becca cracked up. "I'm not the one who just cheated on his wife with a married pregnant woman whose husband is your brother's best friend. Yeah, let's talk about that kiss for a second, Drew. From the looks of that lusty lip lock, I'd say you're the one with motive here. I think you put the camera in her office and waited for an opportunity to kiss her so you could make a DVD and send it to Hoj. Then, when he kicks her to the curb, she'll be yours for the taking. That would explain why you kissed her in the right part of the office to make it look like you're having sex with her on camera."
"What!" Drew blasted. "That's insane! After all I've been through to rebuild my marriage! Not to mention, she's pregnant with Greg's babies."
"Yeah." Becca needled, "Those sound like pretty good reasons not to shove your tongue down her throat and have her up against a wall, but ya did that, Romeo!" Turning to Tawny, she said, "He's the one who rented this place. He had access to install cameras. While we were gone all weekend, he was probably here installing everything. Our little plan today, played right into his hands."
In between jagged breaths, Tawny said, "You didn't…did you? Because at the hospital you asked me if the kiss had changed anything, remember? You asked me if I was ready to pack my bags and leave Greg. When I said 'no' you used my answer to prove a point, but I had a feeling in my gut that if I said 'yes' you would have helped me pack."
"I didn't do it." Drew knelt in front of her. "How could I? You collapsed in my arms, I carried you to the hospital, and then I was with you the entire time. I never even had time to make a call, right? And if that DVD gets out, it will activate the public humiliation clause in my pre-nup with Lissa. She'll divorce me and I'll lose custody of the kids, my home and half my assets. You know I don't want that."
"Okay." Tawny's voice quivered as she eyed both of her co-workers.
Becca wasn't quite done retaliating from the insult just yet. "And I'm not the only one with daddy issues in this room, Papa Drew. Didn't you present Tawny with a diamond bracelet and a sweet deal to be her Sugar Daddy? From what I've been seeing around here, you must have thought she said yes. Buying her Godiva, doting on her every chance you get…not that she doesn't eat it up. Today for example, you're handing her tissues, fetching her water, and trying to get food down her throat."
"I'm bein' a gentlemen."
"Ha!" Becca laughed hardily. "From the looks of things on that DVD I'd say you're more scoundrel than gentleman, but…"
Drew fired right back, "Pardon me if I take that with a grain of salt since it was comin' from the lady who dropped to her knees in front of my zipper before she even knew my last name."
"I was off my meds and…"
"Stop it, both of you!" Tawny gripped her throbbing head. "How about we focus on what's really important here…preventing Lissa and Greg from getting hurt."
3 Black Hill Canyon Drive
9:45 am
"Ow!" Greg crouched down and rubbed his throbbing big toe with one hand, while picking up a flannel shirt from the ground. "There was a freakin' dumbbell hidden under this thing."
Nick shook his head as he printed the last living room window. "That's why I wear steel-toed work boots instead of clown shoes, Bozo."
"He's right, Buddy." Vartann glanced down at his watch. "It's a safety issue. I can spot you the cash if that's the problem."
"Don't you mean Becca's cash?" Nick teased.
"Hey, not everybody can get hotel security to kick the shit out of him and make big bucks in a settlement." Vartann grabbed his ringing cell. "Some of us have to make our fortune the old fashioned way…by marrying up." As the guys laughed, he answered, "Hey, Baby…were your ears burning? I was just talking about you."
"How's your day going, Honey?" Becca asked in a cheery tone. "Are you working with Hoj?"
"Yep." Stepping outside, he sweetly asked, "Did you like your flowers? Shoot, I hope you got them already now that I said it."
"I loved the flowers. That's why I was calling. Tawny and I were just talking about making dinner for the two of you tonight to say thank you for the roses. What time will you both be done?"
"Sorry, Baby. Tonight's not a good night. Nick said they'll be pulling a double. Everything's taking twice as long as a matter of fact. I'm stuck here waiting for the coroner." He checked his watch. "Greg already left a message for Tawny saying that he would be home real late. Tell her to call him, because he's worried she's not answering her cell or the office phone."
"Actually, she went to a meeting with Drew to take notes and her cell's probably off."
"Okay, I'll tell him."
"Tony…"
"Yeah?" He started walking to the tape when he saw the Coroner's truck coming down the half-mile of dirt pat to get to the house.
"Do you think there's anything unhealthy about our marriage?"
His smile fading, Tony said, "Is this about me enjoying you and Tawny…"
"No," she chuckled lightly. "No, I know it's perfectly normal for a man to enjoy that. My concern is…do you ever feel like more of a father than a husband to me? Bedroom activities excluded of course. Because I was telling Tawny some of the reasons I love you so much and Drew overheard and said they were all parental in nature."
"Oh." He leaned against a tree waiting for David. "Hey, you yell at me to put the toilet seat down just like my mom, but trust me, I don't think of you maternally. Becks, I'm just loving you and giving you what you were missing and what you need to stay healthy and happy. That's a husband's job in my book. And you're loving me back, and giving me what I was missing and what I need to stay healthy and happy, so our marriage has perfect balance as far as I'm concerned. There's nothing unhealthy about it."
"I love you, Tony."
"Honey, what's really going on, huh? You sound sad," he stated with concern as he lifted the tape for David to pass under. "You better not be getting depressed over Drew saying that parental shit. He's hardly an expert on healthy marriages. The guy's a bastard who cheated on his wife and lied to a girl half his age just so he could screw her for free every time he flew into Vegas instead of driving out to the cottontail ranch and paying for services rendered. If I didn't feel indebted to him for life for hooking us up, I wouldn't give him the time of day."
BPAC
10:16 am
"It's after ten and you still haven't eaten," Drew remarked as he peeled the wrapper off Tawny's chocolate chip
Her stomach in knots, Tawny shook her head. "I can't eat."
"You heard what the doctor said, and you look pale as a ghost. Honey, we have enough problems without making another trip to the ER." Ripping the muffin in two he softly said, "Half will do if you can't manage the whole thing. C'mon…it's your favorite."
"Okay." She picked off a piece no bigger than a dime.
"Dr. Myers's secretary promised to have her call me as soon as she's finished with her patient."
After forcing the muffin scrap down her throat Tawny said, "I really hope she can see us."
"I got the information!" Becca announced as she rushed into the conference room. "Tony said that Hoj and Nick have to work double shifts. You have a message on your cell about it, Tawny."
"I saw I had messages from him, but I can't listen. If I hear Greg's voice right now, I'll definitely pass out again."
Drew walked over to the TV. "So, if a copy goes to your house or to the lab, he won't be there to receive it. Good."
"What about Lissa?" Becca asked while taking a seat at the table. "The message on the DVD makes it seem like Hoj is the likely recipient, but whoever is doing this could send one to your house too."
"Marta said Lissa has a hair and spa appointment at ten. That's a guaranteed four hours minimum. If she goes shoppin' afterwards that's at least another two hours on top of that. She told Marta she'd call and let her know if she was or not."
Becca twisted open her water bottle. "At least she'll be relaxed when the shit hits the fan." When Drew and Tawny glared at her she raised her hand. "Sorry, I was looking for a positive."
Drew pressed play on the remote. "Let's watch it for clues this time."
"I can't." Tawny turned her chair, thankful the footage was audio-free.
"It's someone who knows Greg calls her Princess," Drew remarked as he cringed. Becca was absolutely right, the feed had been edited to make it look they were having sex. "Obviously, it's also someone who would be happy if Tawny's marriage to Greg ended."
Becca added, "And someone, other than me, who is capable of being vindictive, and has the means to pay for a PI." Her voice saddened. "And someone who doesn't mind ripping Greg's heart to shreds in the process of..."
"Bev!" Tawny yelled. "Oh my God! I can't believe I didn't think of that bitch until now. She did it! I bet she thinks if I'm out of Greg's life and he's heartbroken, she'll be able to control him again."
"Yeah, but she's in a treatment center in Maui," Becca reminded her while Drew restarted the DVD. "I'll call and see if she checked out."
"She's not behind bars," Tawny reminded them. "She still has access to a phone and her money! Oh yeah, this reeks of Bev!" Her eyes moved to the screen and reluctantly, she re-watched the kiss. "She's probably opening her second bottle of champagne by now."
"You're right," Becca droned. "It's her MO. I can't believe I…"
Drew and Tawny both looked over at Becca when she stopped talking, and when they did, they realized Gil was standing in the doorway of the conference room.
The confused Master Criminalist dangled a key chain. "When the door was locked, I used the key my father just gave me. He asked me to drop off a check since I had to drive by to get to the lab."
Drew clicked off the TV without saying a word.
"What's going on?" Gil anxiously asked as he focused on Tawny, who was now staring at the floor.
"Someone put surveillance cameras in here and this scandal-causing DVD was delivered with the TV less than an hour ago," Becca answered on behalf of the guilty parties. "We're trying to figure out who had this place wired."
"You mean that's not old footage?" After noting Tawny's dress, Gil whipped around to check Drew's clothes. "It's from today."
"Yes, but it's not what it seems," Becca explained. "It's been edited to look like they were having sex when really it was just a kiss."
"Just a kiss? Is that what it looked like to you, Mrs. Vartann?" Gil eyed Drew with contempt. "Because to me it looked like an intensely passionate kiss between two married people not married to each other. Two people who swore to their spouses and to the public at large on Channel 3, that they were no longer romantically involved." His anger escalating, he grabbed the remote from Drew's hand. "Has anyone spoken to Greg?"
3 Black Hill Canyon Drive
10:31 a.m.
"I brought you something for you from the office, Greg." Sofia removed the bag from behind her back as she walked through the front yard of the dilapidated house. "Wendy Blake baked you banana bread. Nick left it on his desk and asked me to bring it with me because you were whining that you were starving because there was nothing in the house for breakfast this morning."
"Awesome!" Greg peeled off his dirty gloves. "My dad's still in San Marino, so there's was nothing cooked and…"
"You're thirty years old, Sanders," she laughed. "I think you're old enough to pour milk and cereal in a bowl yourself."
"We were out of milk," he replied before stuffing a hunk of banana bread in his mouth.
"It's called shopping. You'll be doing a lot of it once you have twins…diapers, formula, laundry soap, various caffeinated beverages to help offset the lack of sleep."
"Jeeeeeez! I'm still jazzed from my wild weekend, Curtis, stop depressing me."
Vartann overheard enough of the conversation as he walked out of the house. "Stop picking on my buddy! He's coming along just fine. Last week he finished puberty and this past weekend he finally successfully pledged into a frat. A few more cooking lessons from me, and he'll be able to make a better morning-after omelet than Stokes ever made you. Oh wait…he told me he never cracked eggs for booty calls."
The Blakes
10:40 am
"You call and have a nice conversation…she invites you over…booty is served!" Wendy slammed her son's notebook shut. "You get in here right now, Son!"
"Yes, Mom!" Sean came dashing from the laundry room. "Don't worry, I'm going to make my bed. I was just…"
"What do the initials on this notebook's cover mean?" Wendy waved the spiral bound book of sex notes labeled 'ILLFUN'. "Ill fun! I'll say it's ill fun! Booty calls and BJs! If it were Ryan's book, I wouldn't be shocked, but everything's written in your perfect penmanship, not his chicken scratch, so…"
"You weren't supposed to find that." The teen's face blushed eternal hellfire red. "It's an abbreviation for 'Important Life Lessons from Uncle Nick'. I never thought of it as two words until you said it that way."
"Uncle Nick taught you how to make a booty call?"
"No! No!" Sean frantically explained, "I didn't know what one was, so I asked. He didn't endorse making one. He told us to stay pure until marriage." Sean lifted his left hand. "And I intend to, just like I promised."
Wendy stared at her newly pubescent boy who was secretly washing his bed sheets for the third time in two weeks. "Okay, Honey." She handed over the notebook. "I encouraged you to ask Nick questions you weren't comfortable asking me or your dad, I should have expected you'd take copious notes. I'm sorry for yelling."
With his eyes on the hard wood floor, he claimed his scandalous property. "Please don't worry about me, Mom. I promise I'll grow up to be a responsible young man, not a horndog."
Dr. Myers's Office
11:07 am
"Drew…" Sylvia Myers roughly clicked off the TV. Still reeling from the DVD's contents, as well as everything the two patients had shared, she forced a calm tone, "I would like you to step into the introspection room while I speak with Tawny alone, thank you." She hoped he couldn't detect how much she wanted to strangle him.
"Sure thing, Doc. Again, I can't thank you enough for seein' us on your lunch break and…" When he saw the impatience in her eyes, the forty year old skulked off like an errant schoolboy. "Yes, Ma'am, I'll be there until you call for me."
Once they were alone, Tawny broke down. "I know, I know. I messed everything up. I'm sooooo stupid. So…"
"Let's not waste time on name calling." Sylvia slipped into the chair next to her sobbing patient who, with cried-off make-up and flat hair, looked like a little girl who got caught wearing her mother's sexy dress in a storm. "Close your eyes and put yourself back in the moment. I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer with absolute honesty. We don't have time to beat around the bush, my Dear. Say the first thing that pops into your mind with no filtering."
"Okay." With her eyes closed Tawny recalled the scene.
"What were you thinking right before the kiss?"
"Uh, okay…I was thinking…I can't believe how bad he wants to kiss me. He literally looks like he's going to die if I don't let him kiss me."
"And how did that make you feel?"
"Shocked."
"Why shocked?"
"Because unlike when we were together before, now I'm fat and my face is breaking out. I don't have colored hair or a professional manicure, and yet he still wants me when he could go out and kiss girls who are perfect. It looks like he wants meeven more than he did before, and that's shocking."
"Okay." The doctor sighed as she looked at the beautiful girl who still wore smaller clothes than ninety percent of the non-pregnant women on the planet and asked, "What were you thinking about Drew's physical appearance when he was standing there with his shirt off?"
Tears popped out of Tawny's tightly clamped eyes. "That he looks even better than I remember…stronger…bigger…so much different than Greg. I realized I missed the feeling of big strong arms around me…arms that I could sink into and really feel safe in. I could always walk down the street at two o'clock in the morning with Drew and guys wouldn't think of saying boo to me. I miss that. I mean…I know that Drew liked having me on his arm as a trophy girl, but with him, I never felt like a prize. Greg loves it when other guys ogle me. When he knows I'm going to stop by the lab, he always tells me to dress extra sexy, so other guys will be jealous of his girl. Like at the club this weekend…whenever a man checked me out, he was all 'oh, yeah she's mine, look all you want boys, but only I get to touch her'. It wasn't like that with Drew, I felt like he was protecting me, not flaunting me. I know it's really dumb that I felt safe since he was lying to about who he was, but it's that feeling of security I miss. I can't relax around Greg, I'm always taking care of myself or him or a problem. When I was with Drew I didn't have to worry, because he just swooped in and made every worry disappear. I know it's pathetically unfeminist, but it's true…I liked knowing that I had a man taking care of me."
"But you told me that Greg made you feel that way when he told you to stop dancing and move in with him."
"He did, but now…right now the only man in my life who makes me feel relaxed and protected is Greg's father, and this morning when Becca was going on and on about how well Tony takes care of her, I was jealous. That's when I realized exactly why Drew was so appealing to me today after Greg didn't seem to care that I was starving this morning. He left for work in a hurry without leaving me cash or his debit card, because he was so focused on telling Nick about his big frat boy weekend and all the sex stuff. I lost my debit card in Maui and had to cancel it. He knew that! And I told him I didn't have any money to grab something on the way into work. It's not just me he neglected, he wasn't feeding his babies." Crying, she confessed, "When I saw Drew's big strong arms I thought…if the babies were his instead of Greg's, he'd be obsessed with keeping them and me healthy, and providing for my every need."
"How did you feel once Drew's arms really were around you?"
"Fantastic." Tawny opened her red, watery eyes. "For sixty seconds. Then I felt disgusting because I thought…I'm kissing a married man when my husband's babies are growing inside me. I 'm trailer trash just like my momma says I am. I'm the man stealer she accused me of being. Lissa's home with the kids and I'm enticing her man behind her back." With a shaky hand she wiped her latest batch of tears. "And I felt stupid, because a girl has to be an idiot to feel safe in the arms of a man who is cheating on his wife." After biting her lip until it throbbed, she said, "And I felt incredibly guilty, because I just did something that would crush Greg if he ever found out."
3 Black Hill Canyon Drive
11:19 am
"Hoj!" Tony shouted from the living room where he was waiting for David to report his findings. "Your cell's ringing in your jacket. I could barely hear it over this country music crap Stokes is playing."
"I heard that!" Nick snapped back. "It's makin' me work faster."
"Can you grab my phone!" Greg yelled from the bathroom. "I don't want to miss Tawny's call and my hands are a little covered in shit from processing this toilet!"
David Phillips glanced up from the corpse. "And people are always saying that I have a crappy job."
"Hey! Grab your digital, Sof!" Nick waved his co-worker over to the corner of the room. "Squeaky floor board. Could be good."
"Could just be squeaky."
Tony walked over to the jacket and pulled out the phone. "Yo, Hoj! It's a text message! Still want me to grab it?"
"Yeah! She's probably calling during a meeting and can't talk. Bring it in here!"
"Okay." Tony walked over as the message popped up. 'Look what happened at BPAC this morning. Warning: it's risqué.' "Oh!" The detective cracked up. "Looks like the ladies made us a thank you video in exchange for their flowers."
"No way!" Greg ripped off his gloves. "Press play, press play!"
"Can we step out of here first? It smells like a sewer. I don't want my girl on girl action to be tainted in any way." Chuckling, Tony stepped outside the bathroom. "Okay, here we go." He held the phone so they both had a perfect view of the screen as the video began.
Once upon a time, there was a PRINCESS who loved a GEEK…
"Ha! A fairy tale theme," Greg gushed with anticipation as the screen went black before flashing new red words. "I love it."
Although Princess T loved to laugh with Chuckles the Geek, it was another she craved to screw on the sly.
"Whoa…" Greg whispered, "…our ladies are getting pretty raunchy."
"Yeah." Tony gripped the phone tighter. "I don't know if I like them going this far. Joking around and licking whipped cream off each other is one thing, but…"
"Don't be such a prude," Greg joked as he grabbed the phone to hold it himself.
Every time Princess T sees her secret lover, she gets stoked.
As matter of fact, as recently as today at eight am, she got stoked.
To be more specific, she got stoked by Sir Stokes and from the look of it...
She loves sex with a RUGGED KNIGHT, much more than fooling around with a joke like you.
"Jesus Christ!" Tony exclaimed when the words morphed to a video of Tawny and Drew having passionate sex against a wall. "What the…" He turned and saw the blood draining from Greg's face. "Is this old footage? From the Ana Silva thing? Someone playing a joke using the old stuff to freak you out?"
"No," Greg's eyes narrowed and focused on Tawny's head. "Her earrings…I bought them in Maui." The phone tumbled from his hand. "It's new."
Tony hurried Greg to the front door yelling over the country music, "Sanders, I need you to take a look at something in the yard!"
Blood pounding through his veins, Greg grabbed the porch rail.
"Bundy!" Tony rushed over to the cop. "Drive to the market down the road and get water for these guys. It's an oven in there." He slapped a fifty in the cops hand. "Get me some Gatorade buy yourself somethin' too. I'll watch the tape." He waved him off. "Go!"
"She screwed him." Greg gulped for oxygen. "She kissed me goodbye this morning…went to work in a sexy red dress…and screwed him." The image was burning his brain.
Still struggling to believe what he saw, Tony said, "Try to stay calm."
"Stay calm?" Greg remarked in disbelief as searing pain ripped through his head and chest. "My wife is pregnant with my kids and screwing another man and you want me to stay calm! Of all people you should know that's fricken' impossible!" Then, in a hopeful voice he said, "Maybe this is just another one of my nightmares." He slammed his head into a porch pillar. "Wake up."
"Stop!"
"Wake up!" Greg yelled as he readied for a second, harder, smash.
"Don't!" Tony shoved his devastated friend away from the pillar. "Let me call Becca." He held up his hand. "Just breathe. Just stand there and breathe." He punched buttons on his phone. "Maybe…I don't know…maybe…"
"There is no maybe after seeing that video!" Greg looked down at his hands. "Look at…where's my phone? Where the hell's my phone?"
"Shit." Tony looked at the front door. "You dropped it." Not wanting someone else to see the looping video, he stuffed his own phone in his jacket. "Keep breathing. I'll get it and be right back."
Alone on the porch, Greg's humiliation flipped to fury.
"Are you nuts, Vartann!" Sofia called out when she saw the detective rush into the house. "I almost pulled my gun on you. You scared me to death."
"Sorry!" Tony rushed down the hall until his gut screamed a warning. "Dammit! Greg!"
"What the hell is going on with those two?" Nick asked when Vartann ran back out the front door.
"Shit!" When he saw Greg racing the two hundreds to his truck, Tony took off running. "Stop! Stop right there!"
Nick and David stood on the porch watching the detective run like the wind after Greg.
"Did Greg piss him off?" David asked in confusion. "They were just laughing. What the heck happened?"
Nick hurried off the porch and when he saw his buddy pick up a rock and launch it at Greg he ran. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doin', Vartann!"
Having missed Greg's back with the rock, Tony dug deeper and closed the gap. "Don't get in that truck!" he yelled before diving for his friend's feet and tackling him to the ground.
"Get your hands off him!" Nick shouted from fifty yards. "Now, Vartann!"
After rolling and scraping, Greg scrambled to his feet just in time to be slammed into the dirt. "Let me go!"
"You're not going anywhere." With a knee in Greg's back, Tony unarmed him. Then, after checking the safety on the pistol, he shoved it in his waistband and empathetically said, "You'll thank me tomorrow, Buddy." He took out his cuffs and snapped them around his devastated friend's wrists. "Time to chill out."
"Vartann…" Nick seethed when he saw Greg covered in dirt, handcuffed and crying. "You're taking this frat boy shit way over the line! Give me the god damn key right now or I'm reporting you."
Suffering from a lack of oxygen coupled with post-traumatic stress disorder, Tony dropped onto his back and managed only a one-word answer, "No."
"Excuse me!"
"Nick!" Sofia ran over with Greg's cell phone. Panting, she said, "I think I figured out what's wrong. The video…it keeps looping. See for yourself."
After watching Drew take Tawny up against the wall, Nick calmly said, "Sofia…would you please take my firearm, because if you don't, I'm really afraid I might kill my brother, thanks."
Remembering her personal experience with her ex-lover's rage, the CSI didn't hesitate. "Got it."
One handgun lighter, Nick solemnly walked over to Greg, took his friend's car keys, and then helped him to his feet. "Let's get you cleaned up." He placed a hand on his friend's dirty, tear-stained face. "If you promise me that you'll hold it together, I'll take the cuffs off. Can you promise? We can't have anyone seein' you like this, right? So, promise me."
"I…" Greg sucked in a mouthful of dry desert air "…promise."
"Okay, then. Vartann…"
Tony stood, brushed himself off and then walked over to unlock the cuffs.
"We're gonna take an early lunch break." Nick grabbed Greg's cell phone. "You're in charge, Sofia…and you don't know anything about this."
"Understood." As she watched her boss help Greg into the Denali, Sofia turned to Tony. "You are going to follow them, right?"
Tony crouched down to pick up the sunglasses he had lost in the scuffle, "Hell, yes."
Author's Notes:
The Sean part was sweet though!
I'm a firm believer that people come into each other's lives for a reason. Vartann was in Greg's life at precisely the right moment in time. For all we know, he might have saved Greg's life just now…not to mention Drew's.
I hope you enjoyed Dr. Myers return. While Gil is unraveling the mystery of who did the taping, Dr. Myers will decipher why the kiss happened and what it all means for the future.
Next Chapter: Drew has his twenty minutes with Dr. M; Gil processes the BPAC office while Becca chats his ear off…he'll wish he went deaf LOL; we'll see if Nick and Greg are mature enough to handle the situation at hand; more suspects are added to the list! Posting: Monday, 9/11
Thanks to:
KJT and my husband for plotting with me!
Maggs