CSI Fic: Battlefield (3/11)
Title: Battlefield
Chapter: 3/11
Author: Jedi Princess Clarrisani
Beta: Stalker of Shadows
Additional Helpers:
galuxkitty and
puppytraining
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Paring(s): Nick/Greg, Grissom/Sara, Warrick/Tina, wishful Catherine/Warrick
Rating: NC-17
Total Word Count: 25, 184
Tag: The storm’s been brewing for some time now.
Summary: With a serial killer on the loose and Greg’s job on the line, Nick finds himself caught up on several battlefields - professional, personal, external and internal…
Disclaimer: Do not own. If I did, you would have found several shots of Nick and Greg in the background creeping out of the supply room after their long bouts of absence…
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If Nick had a dollar for every time Greg was right about something, he would have been a millionaire years ago. Sure enough, Jacqui Franco had been short tempered, and the lack of findings did little to help matters. Nick and Warrick were both glad to find an excuse to get out of there. The excuse, however, was not one they were happy about. It also meant that Greg was right about something else, and, unfortunately for them, the winner of their bet.
A body matching Richard Willrock’s description had just washed up on the shore of Lake Mead, and upon arriving, they visually identified their suspect although they would need prints before the ID could be officially confirmed.
“Damn,” Warrick rubbed his eyes as they headed back into Vegas, shift having ended over four hours ago. “Just when we think we’ve found our guy.”
“Back to square one,” Nick confirmed. “Although we have a bullet to go with this time.”
“How much you wanna bet the gun’s stolen,” Greg said from the back seat.
“Against you? Nothin’.” Warrick looked back at him. “You just cleaned me out.”
Greg smirked. “That’s what you get for betting against a genius.”
“Whatever, G.” Nick couldn’t suppress his grin, casting his gaze around their surroundings as he drove. “Well, both our vics have one thing in common. Both bodies washed up at Lake Mead.”
“Yeah, but Willrock was still alive when Georgalas was killed,” Warrick said. “Robbins put Georgalas’ TOD at roughly eleven days ago. Willrock has only been missing for three.”
“Unless somebody is lying,” Greg said. “Who was it that said they’d seen the guy?”
“The trainer,” Nick answered. “Said Willrock showed up for training, took off early, hadn’t seen him since.”
Warrick frowned. “Did we ever get that background on the trainer?”
Nick shook his head. “Brass is still working on it.”
Greg frowned. “You thinking the trainer is a suspect?”
“Everyone’s a suspect, Greggo.” Warrick tugged at his wedding band, frowning down at it. Nick saw him.
“You need to ring Tina? Let her know where you are?”
“No. She’ll know I’m on a case.”
“Keep her from worrying.”
“She doesn’t anyway. Not anymore.” Nick must have been looking at him funny, because Warrick gave him a reassuring smile. “Hey, things are cool. Don’t worry, bro.”
Nick gave him a reluctant look before turning back to the road. “Yeah, well, if you ever need anyone to talk to…”
“You’d be the first I’d call.” Warrick reclined back in his seat. “You’ve got enough to worry about.” He glanced back. “And that goes double for you.”
Nick saw Greg twitch slightly, the younger staring out the window. In the rear-view mirror Nick couldn’t help but notice how tired Greg looked - more so than he normally was after such a long shift. Grissom was right in saying this was a dangerous time for the younger - lesser men would have already snapped by now.
If anything, this was going to be an opportunity to see how much the CSI 1 could take, and while Grissom was no doubt secretly viewing this as an experiment, Nick was going to be the safety net.
Not that he minded.
“So apart from being found at Lake Mead,” Nick said, breaking the silence, “what else did our vics have in common?”
“They were both triathletes,” Greg answered.
“And both entered in the big race next week,” Warrick continued. “And from what I could gather, both were in the favourites to win the thing.”
“Yeah, they were.” Nick frowned. “Maybe we should start looking at it from that angle. Find out who the favourites are.”
Greg frowned at him. “You think someone’s killing off the competition?”
“Yeah.” Nick set his jaw. “I do.”
* * * *
Two nights later Nick again found himself in Grissom’s office, only now Catherine had joined them. Nick knew that earlier that night Catherine and Sara had broken their case, and Sara was currently tying up any of the loose ends. Catherine had entered Grissom’s office over half an hour ago, no doubt demanding to know what was going on. Evidently, Grissom had told her everything.
“So there’s nothing we can do,” she was saying, frowning up at where Grissom was mulling. “It Atwater doesn’t find anything, we lose Greg to Days.”
“But if Atwater does find something, which he can only do if Greg’s in the lab, Greg still loses his job as a CSI because he hasn’t worked enough cases.” Nick saw Catherine’s frown deepen as he spoke, Nick turning to look up at Grissom. “Lose/lose situation.”
Catherine looked up sharply. “Is Greg aware of all this?”
“Completely,” Nick answered, sighing heavily. “And Ecklie’s been on his case about running the DNA on the O’Conner case.”
“Well he can forget that.” Catherine glared up at Grissom. “Have you spoken to Conrad?”
“I have.” Grissom rubbed the bridge of his nose, frowning. “I believe it is his personal opinion that Greg should have never left the lab.”
“He had to, Gil.” Catherine shook her head. “He was finding it hard in there, we both know it. That was why you gave him that second chance.”
Grissom nodded, dropping into his seat and meeting her eye. “I believe Ecklie didn’t realise at the time how much everyone relied on Greg being in the lab. In fact, I think he saw Greg as expendable, as just another lab tech.”
“He’s much better in the field,” Nick spoke up. “He’s got an eye for detail. And he always has the techs in mind when he collects samples.”
“It’s true,” Catherine said. “I’ve even heard Hodges comment that he prefers Greg’s samples to anyone else’s.”
Grissom nodded, his forehead creasing with deep worry lines. “It’s not what we or anyone else thinks about Greg in the field, it’s what Ecklie thinks. And it’s clear to me that he wants Greg in the lab, away from us.”
“Meaning,” Catherine continued, “that he’d be away from his friends and support. He’d be on his own.”
Nick frowned. “Has Greg ever been on Days?”
Catherine looked at him. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“He hasn’t.” Grissom sighed, sitting back. “Which brings us to another problem. Are either of you aware of why Greg was never rotated like many of the other techs?”
Catherine and Nick both shook their heads.
“Before Greg was offered a place here, he worked at the San Francisco crime lab. He and Sara knew each other in fact.” Grissom smiled faintly only to have it fade. “When I was arranging the transfer with San Francisco’s Graveyard Supervisor, Carl Smythseton, Carl made it clear that Greg should not be put on Days, and made a note of it on the transfer papers.”
“Papers that should still be in Greg’s file.” Catherine nodded, frowning. “Did Smythseton say why to not put Greg on Days?”
“Apparently Greg is, as Nicky would call it, a night owl.” Grissom shot Nick a small smile as he continued. “His mind is more active in the later hours of the day, and he is able to focus more and work better during the night. On Days he is slower and less pleasant.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that.” Nick frowned. “The other day when we were processing the scene where the body washed up, he got quieter and more serious. He looked dead on his feet.”
Grissom nodded. “Carl, when he first hired Greg straight from Stanford, was good friends with one of Greg’s professors, who actually pointed out that Greg worked better during night classes than days, and had a tendency to complete his assignments to the highest standard in the early hours of the morning.”
“Highest standard.” Catherine looked up. “Knowing Greg, the standard would have been high anyway.”
Nick nodded. “Agreed.”
Grissom smiled tightly, looking down at a piece of paper in front of him. “Are either of you aware that Greg has been published in several forensic journals?”
Catherine shook her head while Nick nodded. Nick grinned. “I’ve, eh… kinda been collecting them.”
Catherine smiled. “Why does that not surprise me.”
Grissom smirked, leaning back in his seat as Nick gave Catherine an innocent/confused look. Turning to Nick, Grissom smiled. “But do you have his articles from College?”
Nick blinked. “He was writing in College?”
Grissom nodded. “His professors believed his work to be of such high standard they sometimes, with Greg’s permission, published them in the University journals and publications. I even have a couple.” He pointed toward his bookshelf where they could see several books bearing the Stanford crest. “And he still writes. Two months ago he had published an article outlining common mistakes CSIs make when collecting DNA evidence and the ways techs can amend that.”
Catherine leaned back in her seat. “I think we all need to read that article.”
“And his current one,” Grissom tapped a finger against the paper in front of him, “the ways CSIs can minimise contamination and maximise results during the collection process.”
Catherine frowned. “You have the article?”
“I’m Greg’s proof-reader. I also help him with any research.” He smiled, shrugging. “Sometimes it’s easier for a Doctor to gain access to material than someone who is not.”
“Then why doesn’t Greg do a thesis?” Catherine asked. “He’s more than capable.”
Grissom sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I only recently convinced him that he should. And found a way for him to complete it without him needing to leave Vegas.” He looked up at them. “He was going to publish his article, then begin researching. However, he was waiting until he reached CSI level 2 before he began in earnest.”
Nick blinked. He hadn’t known about this, and judging from the look on Catherine’s face, she hadn’t either.
“So,” Catherine said softly, “we have two problems. A) Greg needs to be a CSI to finish the article, and B) he needs to reach CSI 2 to begin work on his PhD.”
“Jesus.” Nick slumped heavily in his seat, feeling as if a giant weight had fallen upon him. “And there’s the fact he can’t work Days… why the hell didn’t he tell us any of this?”
“He was planning it as a surprise.” Grissom picked his glasses up off the desk, polishing them absently. “And I believe he didn’t want people to think he was receiving special treatment.”
“Which he is,” Catherine said with a tight smile.
Grissom glared at her out the top of his eye. “Greg also tends to keep things to himself. I’m sure no one other than myself and Brass know he has a younger brother and sister.”
Nick straightened. He hadn’t known that at all. It was almost an information overload - he was learning so much about Greg in the course of a few minutes, more than he had learnt in all the years of working with the younger man. Greg was someone he had always viewed as being open and honest about everything, but it turned out he had a personal, private side that he kept to himself.
Chewing his lip, Nick mulled over that realisation. There just could be more to Greg than he had thought, and he wanted to know everything. He wanted to know the other side, the private side…
“Nick?” He looked up, spotting Catherine and Grissom watching him with amusement. Catherine reached out and patted his arm. “Keep your mind on why we’re here, Loverboy.”
Grissom chuckled. “I think his mind was, Catherine, just not on the actual problem.”
“True.”
Nick brushed Catherine’s hand away as he felt his face heat up. He shifted in his seat, clearing his throat. That was probably one of the key things he hated about Catherine and Grissom - they were too good at spotting the evidence and putting the puzzle together.
“So, eh… what are we going to do?”
“I think it’s more what can we do.” Catherine looked over at Grissom. “Gil?”
He watched her for a moment before setting his glasses down on the desk. “Greg and I discussed it earlier. While there is currently no solution, the main goal is going to be keeping Greg in the field long enough to qualify to undertake the exam.”
Catherine shook her head. “That’s over a year away, Gil. He’s only coming up on two years. The minimum is three.”
“Not necessarily.” Grissom smiled faintly. “Greg’s situation has never been standard. His qualifications are as a DNA specialist. He was trained using real cases, not simulated ones most trainees have. He taught himself the theory. He reached CSI 1 through proficiency, not examination.”
Catherine nodded. “So the rules are different for someone like him. How long?”
Grissom raised an eyebrow. “Minimum two years.”
Nick scoffed. “Two years? Damn. I mean, not that he hasn’t worked for it…”
“Now that sounds like special treatment.” Catherine narrowed her eyes. “Greg know?”
Grissom nodded. “He’s known for a while.”
“And what was his reaction?”
“Back then, jubilation.”
“And now?”
Grissom set his jaw. “His first question was how his evaluation would affect it, which is to add at least another month. Secondly, how to keep him in the field.”
“Which is where I come in.” Catherine looked at him knowingly. “You want me to talk to Ecklie.”
“Please.” Grissom looked at Nick. “Meanwhile, Nick will keep an eye on Greg. If he shows any sign of bending under the pressure, tell me immediately.”
Nick nodded, giving a small salute. “Yes sir.”
TBC...