Sylvia,
Chapter 15
A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the long wait; It's been so long since I posted on this story I actually had to reread it to remember where I left off and realized it had a "Glaring" error that no one called me on...I never described/gave a description any of the OC's in the story... I will attempt later to go back and fill in physical description, for right now I just want to concentrate on getting out a chapter or two & I know this is a lame way to do this, but I felt I needed to give the readers some reference to the OC's…so, to give you an idea of what I'm picturing in my mind, just the physical description not the referencing character-Sylvia-Julia Benz (Darla, BtVS): Paula—Michelle Borth (Catherine, 5-0): Lanni-Amber Benson (Lenore, SPN, S6): Chris (Bruno Dylon, Numb3rs)).
a/n: I am also computer illiterate on the best of days...so if my computer geek stuff is wrong please explain it to me…like I was five!! Literally, my third graders know better how to use a computer than I do.
a/n: also, I know I'm breaking protocol again…by having an outsider in ops, but damn, it's hard to keep them away! And some of the legal issues may be just a "tiny" bit off….fiction-all of it…TV land physics…& to quote Jack Sparrow, "…they're more like guidelines, really…"
a/n: & lastly…again sorry for the long wait, one of the reasons for the writer's block…this chapter and the next are heavy on "investigating" and light on "action"—trying to tie my case details together was difficult with my OCD…so I hope the next two chapters do not prove to be too big of disappointment…
…..NCIS LA…..
Walking into Ops Kensi was the first to question the tech, "Eric, you ID our dead perp yet?"
Callen and Deeks laid out computer components on the work table quickly as the agent's turned their full focus on the big screen where Eric had up different traffic cam images…one showing the car Sylvia was entering after the hit and run, another of a long range shot of someone exiting the missing tech's home and the last, a coroner's photo from the crime scene: in the corner they could see a facial rec program speeding through hundreds of photos.
Eric punched a few buttons on the computer and the traffic cam pictures minimized, replaced with a California driver's license and booking photo next to the coroners photo, "Meet one Blaine Asher…32…been in and out of prison since his early teens…breaking and entering, assault, extortion…drugs…you name it, this guy has tried it at least once: not a guy you'd want' to meet in a dark alley…"
"So he's trading up to murder…?" Deeks ground out, his eyes fixated on the spike-haired man in the booking photo.
Studying the cruel eyes and angular features of the dark headed man in the photos, Sam asked, "Does this guy match the traffic cam shots…can we tie him to the hit and run or Parker's disappearance?
"Neither of the traffic cam shots are very clear, facial is only giving about a 70% match between the traffic cams and the dead guy…" Eric replied.
"We need more than a maybe…" Callen commented, "so we got anything on this Asher guy to tie him to Gray…or who might have hired him? Why these two would be working together? And who in the hell shot him?"
Nell shook her head, "as far as we can tell, Gray and Asher have never encountered each other before…the…"
"…before the hit and run…" Deeks finished tightly when Nell trailed off, turning to the team he said, "Easy enough to find out…we search his place…check his bank accounts…"
Eric shook his head, "no bank accounts…no credit cards…and if the guy uses a cell phone it must be a burn phone…can't find a contract for a cell plan…this guy stays off the grid…"
"He's got to have a trail somewhere…with the kind of money involved. These guy's been in the game all his life, knows how it's played; if he was willing to step up his game to murder, he's not gonna leave it to chance to have a way out…make sure who ever hired him didn't decide he was a loose end…" Deeks said.
"What about the flash drive Parker gave Lanni…?" Kensi said, "…did you find anything on it that…?
"I'm still trying…its running through every encryption program we have but it looks it's a double encryption…I can't open it without the keys," Eric reported with embarrassment.
"Well, then, maybe you can get something from Lanni's computer to help," Deeks commented as he pointed to the work table.
"Great…" Eric exclaimed jumping up and going to the table, "if Parker and your friend used these computers to download the information on the flash drives then the encryption keys should be on each of their hard drives…"
"We also have the hard drive from Parker's place, and we found his cell...see what you can pull off of them," Callen said.
"What about Lanni's cell," Sam questioned, "if she suspected Arrow Pharmaceutical of running bogus testing on one drug…"
"Then there's no reason to think they weren't doing it somewhere else; she might have had more than one contact," Deeks finished the thought.
"Where's her things now," Callen asked.
"The hospital should have bagged up all her stuff yesterday when they brought her in, so it should still be at the hospital," Deeks said.
Just then the doors opened and Chris walked in, a triumphant look on his face, "I got it…finally…."
Seeing the expectant looks, he said, "Got the warrant's for her medical files…and subpoenas to compel the doctor's to discuss the committee's ruling on her release hearing…"
"Excellent work, Mr. Peterson…that was quite a feat of bureaucracy…" Hetty commented with a smile, "Sounds like we now have quite a few avenues of investigation…so while Eric and Nell are retrieving the data from the hard drives; Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna, you accompany Mr. Peterson to Pine Crest, talk to those doctors, and Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks see what you can find out at our suspects house and pick up Ms. Sullivan's belongings at the hospital.
"
The agents traded uncertain looks, causing Hetty to quirk a brow at her hesitating agents. She knew exactly what was causing the hesitation, having been on hand for Callen's earlier phone call to ops requesting Chris's help at the crime scene and later when Nell informed her, that while not privy to the details, Deeks and Callen had come to some kind of an understanding, "…is there a problem?"
When no one immediately offered up an explanation, Deeks caught Callen's eye before giving a sigh and holding up his hands.
"Uh, well…after what happened earlier…don't know if I should be in the field, Hetty…" Deeks explained reluctantly, "I can barely hold my gun…"
Hetty nodded, "valid concern, Mr. Deeks…but are you expecting problems at Mr. Asher's home," she nodded towards the screen still holding the suspects pictures.
"Well, no, but we weren't expecting problems at Lanni's either…" Deeks said with a shrug, casting a quick look towards his partner.
"Well since our suspect is now dead, I don't think you should encounter any difficulty when you search his home…" Hetty replied.
"That's not the only worry Hetty; what about the shooter…?" Sam pointed out.
The team's eyes went back to Eric, who immediately pulled up the traffic cam footage, "the apartment building is in the middle of the block, so the camera shots are from either end of the street…both long range, but we do get a glimpse of the driver…"
As Eric zoomed in the footage as close as the program would allow, and despite the fuzzy quality of the long range shot, it was clear that it was a blonde-headed female despite the dark glasses and scarf covering her head was indeed…Sylvia Gray.
"And you think sending him out when Gray is clearly tailing him…and apparently armed, is a good idea…" Callen accused.
Surprisingly it was Nell who pointed out, "she did shoot Asher…when he was threatening Deeks, and she didn't attempt to shoot Kensi when she had the chance…and considering her jealousy issues…"
"It's probably because Agent Blye was keeping him from plummeting four stories at the time…" Chris countered, "At that moment anyone helping Marty would be seen as an ally to her cause…now if the situation had been reversed…"
The team didn't want to give that thought too much consideration.
"I can't hide from her forever…" Deeks said with a tired sigh.
"But you don't need to set yourself up as an easy target either," Sam countered, pointing out, "…thought you agreed to stay back at ops...?"
"Yes, but now I'm not so sure. I sure as hell don't want her eyes focused on any of you either…if she's tailing me at least we know where she might be…maybe we can actually turn it around on her and this whole thing can be over…" Deeks explained, "Eric can follow us with kaleidoscope, feed Sylvia's information into the search…"
Callen shook his head, "I still don't like it, it's too risky…Sam and I will be at Pine Crest; too far away to help if it goes sideways…"
Face creased in an angry scowl, Kensi was mildly put off by Callen's attitude; while it was true the bandages wrapping Deeks hands made holding his gun difficult, she, on the other hand, was perfectly capable of protecting herself and her partner, "I won't have any problems shooting her…"
Deeks couldn't help a small snort, "my hero…bad-ass Blye…"
"Oh, shut up…" Kensi grumbled, thought secretly relieved to see some of her partner's humor return.
Hetty looked between Callen and Kensi, weighing the detective's physical safety against his mental one and remembering her SFA filling her in on the dressing down Chris Peterson had given the team the day before at the hospital and then again, via Nell, at the crime scene, about treating the detective like a victim, "at the moment there is little Mr. Deeks can do on this case from ops…and we have a lot of ground to cover; the sooner the better…" resting her gaze on Kensi, Hetty asked, "Ms. Blye…?"
Kensi looked from Callen to Deeks, before saying, "we can do this Hetty…we know what to expect…we'll be on our guard…"
"Mr. Peterson…?" Hetty tuned to make the same inquiry of the detective's friend, someone who perhaps knew better than the rest of them where Deeks head was at the moment.
Chris and Marty exchanged looks, and the team was surprised by the expressions on each man's face. Expecting an angry scowl from the detective for the coddling and perhaps the feeling of having his skills being called into question, they instead saw Deeks looking at his friend with guarded expectation; like a child waiting for a parent to give them permission.
For his part, Chris truly looked to be debating the issue, before nodding his head and saying with certainty, "Marty is right, he can't hide from her forever—and making him sit on the sidelines and worry certainly won't help anything; so, the sooner we pull all this together, the sooner Marty, and all of us, are safe from Sylvia…"
"CSI will need to do a full sweep of his place anyway…we can call them now and they can be on scene while Kens and I are there…a few extra sets of eyes…" Deeks added.
After a moment Hetty nodded, "we'll also inform Lt. Bates, have a more visible presence in the area, if Mr. Beale picks ups Sylvia Gray on Kaleidoscope we can box her in…"
"Or scare her away…" Deeks grumbled.
"If we're going to do this, then Sam and I should be there…" Callen stated.
"We need that evidence from Pine Crest…we need to know why that committee let Ms. Gray out…we need to find that connection between the pharmaceutical story Ms. Sullivan was investigating and Ms. Gray…and our dead suspect; is he working for someone trying to protect their assets at the company or was this man tied to Gray," Hetty said with a shake of her head, "we can't let this woman dictate the course of this investigation…we can't jump at shadows. Now we all have our jobs to do, and the sooner we do them the sooner we can all be back in the relative safety of ops…"
…..ncis la….
"I still don't like it…" Callen grumbled as he stood by his open car door, watching Kensi and Deeks pull from the parking lot.
"You said that already," Sam commented, the scowl his partner sent him had him holding up his hands in defense as he added, "I don't either, but Hetty's right, we need that evidence…and they won't be alone at Asher's house and Eric has eyes on them all the way…" Sam said.
Once inside the car, Callen caught Chris's eye in the mirror, "you've been awful quiet about this…?"
Chris sighed, "don't know what I can add…honestly, with Sylvia, it's a crap shoot…she could just as easily be tailing us as Marty…"
"Comforting thought…" Sam intoned sarcastically.
"Just saying…not only does she want Marty…she wants to eliminate anyone who stands in her way, that could be anyone on your team at this point; as well as get revenge on those of us who testified against her…" Chris replied.
"I really don't like this…." Callen grumbled.
…..ncis la….
The ride to Asher's house was made in tense silence, both agent's on constant guard as they scanned the neighboring traffic for anyone matching Sylvia's description.
"Anything Eric," Kensi asked, about ten minutes into the trip.
"No sign of the car that Sylvia was driving from the earlier crime scene and I have facial recognition running on cars five behind you…so far it's clear…" Eric reported.
"Ten down…fifteen to go and were at Asher's house…" Deeks said.
Fifteen up and fifteen down, had them pulling in at the suspects house without incident. Despite the CSI van already being in the drive, Kensi and Deeks scanned the area and checked in with Eric one more time before exiting the car.
"Hey Perry," Deeks called to one of the techs that were standing by their van.
"Hey, Deeks, what's up…thought this was a crime scene…" the tech asked, "where's the vic…?"
"Already on a slab downtown…but we think there is evidence here at his place…we need it dusted for prints," Deeks explained, "it's probably a long shot…whoever hired the guy most likely met up with him somewhere else…: we're also looking for print-outs, bank statements…anything to tie this guy to a pharmaceutical company…."
"Okay…let's get started…" the tech said, going to the back of his truck to pull begin pulling out gear.
…..ncis la….
While Kensi and Deeks were working their end of the investigation, Sam, Callen and Chris pulled into Pine Crest.
"Okay, how do you want to do this," Sam asked as he surveyed the building.
"We'll how 'bout, I go collect the medical files, talk to the doctor that did Sylvia's pretrial evaluation and in-take evaluation, while you guys question the doctors on the committee," Chris stated with a small smirk.
Turning in his seat to see the ADA sitting in the back, Callen asked suspiciously, "What's with the look…?"
Pulling some folded papers from his briefcase, Chris said, "I have these little babies…all I have to do is present them, threaten a stubborn clerk with obstructing justice, if need be, and walk out with an arm load of files; you two on the other hand have to present your subpoena to the attending physician, then question a whole bunch of doctors that aren't gonna be real friendly to two feds telling them they screwed up…"
Sam scowled, catching Chris's eye in the mirror, "we question terrorists on a daily basis…these guys don't scare us…"
Chris just waved the subpoena at Callen who snatched it from his hand, grumbling, "…give me that…and stop smirking," Callen unfolded the paper and groaned, "so that was your angle…"
"What G…?"
Waving the subpoena, Callen grumbled, "the attending physician is Dr. Shreeves…"
Sam sighed, "yeah, he's gonna be real thrilled to see us again…"
Chris just huffed in amusement, "yeah, Sam here filled me in last night on your last encounter with the good doctor...so good luck with that today…"
Looking over at Callen, Sam grumbled, "that attitude…must be where Deeks gets it from…"
Callen and Chris just chuckled as all three men exited the SUV
Once inside, Chris presented the subpoenas to a rather flustered secretary, who immediately began making nervous phone calls.
A pinch-faced woman soon entered the lobby and all but snatched the paperwork from the ADA's out-stretched hand before introductions were even made.
With a curt, "follow me," from the older woman, Chris looked to the agents with a silent, 'help me'; causing both agents to smirk.
Callen just gave Chris a little wave, saying, "meet you back here in the lobby when we're done…call if there's a problem…"
Chris just sent the snickering agents a scowl before following the clerk back through a set of double doors; leaving them to wait for their escort.
Shortly, a younger looking man with a slight build and blonde hair, came out to greet them, "Gentlemen, I'm Dr. Chase…if you'll follow me we can sit down and see how we can assist you…"
"Where's Dr. Shreeves…" Sam asked casually.
"Dr. Shreeves is not in today…" the man replied with a touch of evasiveness.
The agents exchanged looks, Callen asking, "he make a habit of taking off in the middle of the week…?"
"I'm sure I wouldn't know…you'd have to ask his secretary…" he replied, stopping at a door and opening it to reveal an ornate conference room, "if you gentleman would have a seat…I am authorized, in Dr. Shreeves absence, to assist you in any way I can."
While the young doctor's words were obligatory, his tone and body language suggested otherwise.
"You know why we're here…?" Callen asked as he handed over the subpoena.
Flipping through the document and skimming its contents, Dr. Chase replied, "you want to know about one of our patients…a Sylvia Gray…but I'm not quite sure what this is all about…?"
"We're you one of the doctor's on the committee that over saw her release," Sam asked.
"Over saw…that's a bit of an overstatement…" Dr. Chase replied, waving the men towards the seats.
"Meaning what exactly?" Callen asked.
Sighing, Dr. Chase, sat back in his seat and fixed the agents with a pointed look, "has Ms. Gray gotten into some kind of trouble…?"
"Why would you ask that…?" Callen countered.
The young doctor rolled his eyes, and gave a frustrated huff, "look gentlemen…agents, we can play this battle of wills all day…" waving the subpoena, he said, "I'm holding a subpoena from a federal agency, so something is going on…it would help me to answer your questions if you'd just play it straight with me…"
Trading a quick glance, Sam answered bluntly, "…your patient took up where she left off…she was caught on camera exiting a car involved in a hit and run yesterday…and again, later following her previous victim…"
"God, are they alright…," the young doctor exclaimed mildly, shaking his head, "I knew something like this could happen…but Dr. Shreeves wouldn't…"
When the doctor trailed off, Callen prodded, "Dr. Shreeves…wouldn't what…?"
Dr. Chase's face furrowed in thought, saying hesitantly, "look…Dr. Shreeves is my boss…"
"And if you don't want to take the rap for a decision your boss made, you need to be straight with us…" Sam countered, warning clear in his tone, "…you had reservations about Gray's release didn't you?"
Another heavy sigh and a quiet nod was their answer.
"Why don't you just start from the beginning…" Callen directed.
…..NCIS LA….
a/n: next chapter half done, should be up within the week!