Love all the response, and would love it even more if it kept on coming :)
Chapter Nine: Cruel Deception
Sara brought the cup to her lips, tilting her head back as she allowed the cool liquid to flow into her mouth, swallowing shortly after. She made a slight face, closing her eyes, but soon after shook off the strange bitter feeling. Normally she would be having coffee, and despite all the rumors about caffeine consumption, Sara had already decided she would do what she could to give her unborn child the best step in life. After all, with her being a parent, the child would need to get all the help she could offer.
Shift started in just under twenty minutes, and Sara knew she had to cut back on some time yet, her overtime nearly maxed out. There would be no starting early, at least not right now, and the brunette knew that she would be more than likely sent home early. Normally Sara would have protested, but now she was thankful, already feeling the strain of the day even though it had just begun. Or in her case, the night.
Pulling the newspaper towards her Sara sat down, resting the cup of water on the table in front of her, flipping to the crossword section. There had been a time long ago where she had been addicted to these puzzles, but she had lost interest in them, that along with not having the time like she used to. She jotted down a few answers, taking another drink of water as she did so, letting out a bitter sigh. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive nine months without caffeine.
"I was almost beginning to wonder if I would see you tonight."
Sara let out a small smile as she glanced up, nodding in invitation as she answered. "Jaysen; in consideration, I didn't think it'd be that hard, considering you're on probation."
The man grimaced, taking a seat from across her. He had left his hair down today, and Sara could see for the first time how it fell around his neck, sitting lightly on his shoulders. Jaysen shrugged as he leaned back in the chair, hands lacing behind his head. "Not a big deal. I still stand by my decision, what I did was right. Saved a man's life, can't beat that. Besides, starting tomorrow I'm back out in the field."
"I thought you had longer than that," Sara questioned, filling in another answer on the crossword. "Nick's on lab duty till this weekend, both of you had the same amount of time to serve."
"Called sweet talking, besides, LA didn't send me out here to do lab work. I have more important things to do."
"You know, the work that's done here, is more important than interrogating suspects. A person can confess to a crime, but with no evidence to support the confession the case isn't going to go anywhere."
"Hey, you have your job, I have mine. We lead two different lives sweetie."
Sara blushed, coughing to clear her throat as she shifted in her chair. "With all due respect, I'm not your sweetie, so I'd like if you didn't call me that."
The man shrugged, offering up an apology. "Hard to refrain, especially with someone like you."
"Which means what exactly?" Sara wondered, taking another sip of her water.
"No offense meant, but you are a beautiful woman. I'd really like to get to know you better."
"Well…" Sara laughed quietly, uneasily as she grasped for the needed words. "I'm…"
"Taken," Jaysen nodded, "So I've heard. Didn't want to believe it, but so it seems like it's true." The man shrugged again, letting out a smile. "So, did you want to do something after shift? Strictly as friends. I'd really like to get to know you better."
Sara shifted uneasily in her seat, halfway between wanting to say no and feeling as though she had to accept the offer. She wasn't in the mood to go out and do anything, yet unless she had a valid excuse, the man would feel as though she was just blowing him off.
Luckily she didn't have to answer, a timely distraction occurring as Warrick walked into the room. He nodded to both the occupants in the room before pouring himself a cup of coffee, leaving Sara to envy him greatly. "What's all the commotion in the hallway?"
She had walked by the crowd earlier, but hadn't thought much of it, and even now had little to no concern for it, but she was grasping for anything that would come to her aid. Next to her she heard Jaysen snicker quietly, but before she could even ask Warrick was already talking.
"We have a leak inside the lab," the man stated, nearly draining his cup of coffee in one swig. "We're not sure, but it might be Greg."
"I heard the fool lost all the papers," Jaysen laughed, grinning as he leaned further back in his chair.
"I don't find anything amusing about it," Warrick snapped at him. "The media's already eating up the entire story, we don't have any evidence to back up the false confession, and meanwhile the real killer is out there, watching this, and getting away."
"Greg wouldn't do something like that," Sara voiced, moving to her feet.
"I know," Warrick agreed. "But without any statement or recordings there's nothing Greg can do."
"Where is he?" Sara asked quietly, a hint of concern in her voice.
"He's still in Ecklie's office. The man is not happy, so don't even try to intervene. You'll only end up getting him in more trouble."
Trouble, was a light definition. Greg sat quietly in the chair that had been provided; hands folded together, fingers digging into his skin as the verbal lashing continued. It made things worse knowing that he wasn't the culprit in this, and yet still having to take the fall. When he did something wrong…when it was indeed his fault, then he could take it. He always owned up to his mistakes after all.
It was clear the man wouldn't listen to him. Ecklie only wanted someone to blame, he hardly cared if that person was truly at fault or not. As long as the head of the lab had someone to point a finger at, then all was fine. Greg closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. He opened them a brief moment later, after a nudge from Grissom reminded him he was supposed to be paying attention.
"I don't even know if you're still a benefit to this Crime Lab, Mr. Sanders," Ecklie continued, "You've caused nothing but trouble in the past and you're certainly not improving the future at this present moment."
"We have no proof that Greg's responsible for this," Grissom stated, bringing a slight sigh of relief from the youth. Leave it up to Grissom to point out the obvious.
"We have a leak, yes, but that doesn't make Greg guilty."
"And the fact that Sanders is missing key evidence doesn't prove anything?" Ecklie demanded, his pacing ceasing for the moment. "Plus the fact he interviewed the suspect himself."
"Anyone has access to any information in the lab," Grissom pointed out. "The system isn't foolproof, especially when someone's working it from the inside. Greg took the statement yes, and his statement is missing. That only leads us to assume that someone else has taken the papers. Besides, Greg has clearly stated what the suspect told him, and it doesn't match any of the information that the media has."
"Did Sanders have a witness in the room?" Ecklie wondered, taking a seat across from them.
"We can consult Walters ourselves…" Grissom started, but was quickly cut off by the other man.
"Sure, let's go ask the killer ourselves; any moron will defend himself. We need a reliable witness."
"I'm not the only one who took a statement," Greg pointed out, tired of the pointless quarrel going around. "Walter's nurse stated that Carla Raquel was there earlier."
"I've already met with Captain Brass," Ecklie stated, "Raquel's statement is accounted for."
"That doesn't mean she didn't go to the media," Greg responded bitterly.
"And you expect me to believe she fed some fabricated story to the media? To what point and purpose would that have?"
Greg frowned inwardly, gritting his teeth. He could only wonder why it was a perfectly acceptable assumption that he had fed lies to the media, but not someone else. He didn't respond, and Greg could feel the man's eyes on him as Ecklie got up once again.
"This is what's going to happen." He paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "You are off the case."
Greg nodded, unsurprised by that. He expected that in the least. Needless to say he was actually surprised; he had expected to be suspended. That or fired. Either option wouldn't have surprised him.
"You will not do any collection alone; you will not take any more statements until further notice. Everything that is processed alone will be reprocessed, and you will keep a detailed log of everything you do, and have it signed by your supervisor after every shift."
"That's going a little overboard don't you think?" Greg wondered, raising an eyebrow as he sat up in his chair.
"Well I can't fire you," Ecklie returned, "And I'm not going to punish everyone else because you can't do your job."
If he had a response, Greg would have given it without so much as a second thought. Instead he just sat, dumbfounded as the criticism hit its mark. It was basically the same thing Brass had told him earlier. So it wasn't just a rumor…it was true. He only made things harder on everyone else. Greg swallowed as the reality settled somewhere deep inside of him, casting his gaze off to one side as Ecklie continued with the lecture, throwing out any verbal ridicule he could come up with.
By the time it was over, Greg was more than ready to leave. The young CSI hardly waited for Grissom to leave, and instead stepped in front of him, pushing his way out into the hall. The supervisor of the nightshift closed the door behind them, the man just standing there, watching the other for a long moment.
"I didn't have any part in this," Greg pleaded, his voice quiet, almost urging the man to believe him. "We can go to the source, find out who gave them information, and when. Surely we would be able to trace it back…"
"Greg," Grissom cut him off, holding up a hand. "Just go home. Get some sleep. You don't come near this case, not even within breathing room. Anymore nonsense and we could lose the case completely, and I'm not willing to go that far."
It was safe to say that Greg was slightly taken aback. He had always counted on Grissom being there for him, and backing him up in whatever it was. Not just him, but everyone else as well. After all, he always counted on the others to figure out a way to solve their problems on their own. Why was this any different?
Still he nodded, hands slipping inside his pocket, head hanging low as Grissom left him there in the hallway. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes as he tried to regain some composure. How was he just supposed to go home?
He turned and made his way down the hall, pausing as he passed the layout room, watching as Sara worked. She was going over the bloodstains found in the carpet, and Greg could only wonder what she was up to. They had been already been processed, which left one of two things. Either she had found something…or was still looking for something that was missing.
Pausing in the doorway Greg nodded her way, offering up a quiet hello. She glanced in his direction, stopping her work for a moment as she watched him. "You're not supposed to be here."
"Nice to see you too," Greg responded bitterly, only regretting the irritation in his voice.
"You're off the case…if Ecklie or anyone else sees you in here…all this evidence can be thrown out."
"News travels fast, doesn't it?" Greg laughed quietly. "Doesn't surprise me. Besides, I'm not even in the room."
"Doesn't matter. And news does travel fast Greg, don't tell me you were surprised. After feeding the media with a bunch of lies what did you expect? A pat on the back?"
Greg's only response was a silent blink. He did not just hear that, did he? He couldn't have, the only logical explanation was that he was still in shock, and had imagined it. Perhaps he was imagining everything, and would wake up to find all of this to be one bad dream. After all…the one and only person who was supposed to believe him, that should have believed him without so much of a second thought, was now directly accusing him.
"Don't look so shocked," Sara continued, gauging his expression. "I would have figured you'd be happy that the media was finally leaving you alone, but it's funny how deception is."
"Wait…" Greg shook his head, "You think I did this for attention?"
"You certainly didn't do it for the case," Sara pointed out bluntly. "You figured you'd throw a fake apple in the pot, let it boil until we caught the real suspect, and then announce yourself as the savior. Then all the media will be back at your command again."
"That's crazy Sara," Greg protested, feeling sick now to what he was hearing. "Why would I want that? Tell me why, when have I ever enjoyed confronting the media?" He took a step inside, emphasizing his point.
"I don't know, but if you don't leave this room I will call security to have you removed. I'm not letting you ruin this case anymore than you already have. Go home; I'll see you when I get off."
"No," Greg shook his head, backing up as he did so. "I will not go home. You may be my superior at work, but nowhere else. In fact, consider yourself lucky if I ever do come home again."
It was a false threat, but all Greg wanted was a reaction. Sara's mood was peculiar, and frighteningly unchanging. He could feel his stomach drop even more as she shrugged in response.
"Just do whatever, don't bother me, I'm busy right now."
"Fine," Greg responded quietly, shaking his head as he turned away from the door. His mind was racing with so many emotions that he didn't even notice the tears that ran down Sara's face as he stormed out the building, and into the brewing storm outside.
TBC