Chapter 15

"Like I said, I ain't saying anything without a lawyer!" The dealer said as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"See, now, that's too bad. Because we don't care about a petty little distribution charge, and neither does the ADA." Gage said.

"He's right; do you really think that the Texas Rangers would waste their valuable time busting a bottom feeder like you on a petty drug charge?" Sydney added as she circled him like a tigress.

"So… what do you want from me?" The dealer asked as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat under Sydney's scrutinizing gaze.

Gage was amazed at how someone so petite, so gorgeous, so feminine could have the presence to make a hardened street dealer uncomfortable … but she could, and she did.

"We want to know who your supplier is." She said as she sat on the edge of the table.

"That's risky information, Ranger babe, a guy could get killed for it." He said with a smirk.

With all the quickness of a cat, Sydney gripped the man behind the neck and slammed his head down on the table with a deafening bang that echoed around the entire room.

"Not as dangerous as withholding information from the Texas Rangers. How long do you think you'll last in prison once they learn you're a rat?" She hissed at him dangerously.

"You wouldn't!" he said as he pushed back against her, throwing her hand off his neck, his head was promptly slammed down onto the table again, this time by the stronger hands of Gage.

"Yes …. We would, now tell us!" He said as he squeezed the dealer's neck.

"Okay! okay!" He sputtered under Gage's crushing grip, Gage grinned at Sydney as he released the man and they both looked at him expectantly.

"Okay, according to our friend in there, the supplier is a man by the name of Joseph McNabb, but that's all this weasel knows." Gage told Walker and Trivette.

"You have the warehouse address, let's go and pick him up, and let's make a show of it." Walker said.


"Joseph McNabb! This is the Texas Rangers! Come out with your hands up!" Walker said through a bullhorn at the seemingly empty warehouse.

McNabb cursed under his breath, he had no other choice, not even he was dumb enough to try and take on fifty armed police, he motioned for his henchmen and they all walked out with their hands up.

"Son of a bitch! There's enough of this here to make half the addicts in Dallas high." Gage said as the CSU team uncovered crate after crate of the fiery pills.


"What have you got?" Walker asked Sydney and Gage as they returned from the forensics.

"See for yourself." Gage said as he handed Walker the test results on the new drug.

"Damn." Trivette said as he read it over Walker's shoulder.

"Damn is right, Trivette, we have to get the people bringing this crap into the city, before people start showing up dead." Walker said as Trivette's phone rang.

His face became grave as he listened to the person on the other line.

"Too late." He said.


"Doc." Gage nodded to the medical examiner, who smiled at him flirtatiously. Doctor Babbs Delany was a sophisticated beauty, like a hot librarian or professor that a guy knew he never had a chance with in a million years, but still had wet dreams about at night.

"Ranger Gage! Ranger Cooke." Doctor Delany said, her enthusiasm dropping a fraction as she addressed Sydney, whose demeanor was equally chilly.

"Uh … you said that a body was found?" Gage said, trying to break the overwhelming tension in the room.

"Yes, and you won't believe the tox screen, even I didn't believe it when I first read it, so I ran the results three times and came back with this." She said as she handed him the chart.

"And all this is from dragons kiss?" Sydney said, astonished, Doctor Delany nodded.

"This composition is different than the stuff we found at the warehouse bust." Gage said thoughtfully.

"That's a common thing with street drugs, no regulations means they can put whatever the hell they want in them. This batch had amphetamines, gamma butyrolactone, otherwise known as GBL and Khat plant extract. Did this guy have alcohol in his system, by any chance?" Sydney asked Doctor Delany.

"Why, yes, he did."

"Then that's why he died, GBL can cause fatality when mixed with alcohol." Sydney said, Doctor Delany, as well as Gage looked at her with surprised and impressed expressions.

"Hey, you're not the only one who knows chemistry; I minored in chemistry in college." She said with a hint of pride.

"A minor in chemistry, that's cute." Doctor Delany said and the tension went up in the room again as the two women stared each other down.

"Ooookay, thank you Doc, we'll be in touch." Gage said as he ushered Sydney out the door toward the elevator before things got ... interesting between the two women.

"Don't be a stranger, Ranger Gage." Doctor Delany called sweetly as they left.

"You mind telling me what the hell that was?" Gage asked as she shrugged him off in the hallway in route to the elevator.

"She was coming on to you!" Sydney said as she jammed the button with her finger.

"So what if she was!" Gage said, Sydney opened her mouth to speak, but turned her back on him instead, she was starting to regret the decision to keep their relationship a secret.

"Look, Syd, Doc she's… I'll be honest, she is every man's fantasy, like that professor you had hot dreams about back in school, but she isn't you." He said as he gripped her shoulders.

"Look, I know what you must think of guys … like me, I was a playboy, I know. I was stupid; I was searching for something when it was right in front of me for so long, I was just too blind to see it." Gage said as he stepped close to her and took her face in his hands and captured her lips with his.

Suddenly, the door to the elevator opened and they broke apart, but not before almost everyone in company B saw them.

"Well, I'll be." Walker said as an amused smile crossed his face.

"Finally!" Alex said as she crossed her arms with satisfaction.

"Alex, did you have anything to do with this?" Walker said as he gave his wife a playfully accusing look, he was well aware of his wife's penchant for playing matchmaker."

"I wish I could take credit, but it wasn't my doing this time, I swear." Alex said as she put her hands up in front of her defensively.

Walker chuckled amusingly to himself as he grinned at the two now very embarrassed junior rangers, so Gage had finally made his move, good for him.

"Uh …" Gage trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly.

"Well, let's get this over with." Sydney said as she strode proudly out of the elevator.


"Yes, Gage and I are … I guess you would say we are taking it slow." Sydney said.

"I … didn't ask, did you ask, Trivette?" Walker said innocently as he looked to his partner.

"Nope, not me." Trivette replied without looking from his computer.

"Yeah, you two were 'not asking' loud and clear." Sydney said with a laugh as she returned to her desk.

Once she was out of earshot, Gage took this opportunity to talk to his superior.

"Look, boss. We were keeping this quiet because we didn't want any complications to arise with our jobs, we both worked really hard to get here, Sydney especially and I would hate for anything to mess up all she has worked for." Gage said, his look was one of concern, not for himself, but for Sydney.

Walker admired him for it, gone was the carefree playboy who had a different girl every week, some way, somehow, Sydney had gotten her hook in deep..

"Hey … as far as I am concerned, I think it's great, as long as your relationship outside of work doesn't affect your working relationship, its fine with me." Walker said, Gage's shoulders relaxed in relief.

"Thanks, boss." He said with a grin as he trotted back to his desk to help Sydney with the every growing stack of paperwork on the dragons breath case.

"That's so sweet, isn't it?" Alex said as she put her arm around Walker's waist.

"Yeah, even I have to admit, it is. I wish CD could be here to see this, you know he always talked about giving those two the push they needed." Walker said with a sad laugh.

"Me too, Walker, me too." Alex said as a sad, nostalgic smile crossed her face.

AN: I know two chapters in one day! don't get used to this, though because once I am off hiatus from school, this wont be as frequent. So I am trying to get as many finished in this story as possible. Also thanks for all the positive, shining reviews! I am glad so many of you like it, and I am glad I could write true to the characters! I always try really hard not to take characters out of character.