Here we go... we'll just start with something kind of low-key. No cases just yet.

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Sara :: sits in the breakroom at the CSI crime lab, her feet propped up on a chair across from her, staring at the crossword puzzle Grissom had started earlier. She chews her lip, deep in thought, then gasps and grins, filling in a few words. She then looks up at the clock and sighs. Slow night for cases. She looks back at the crossword puzzle and frowns, thinking. Just then, Sofia enters the room. ::

"Hey, Sofia, what's a five letter word for 'mad'?"

Sofia ::enters room and sees Sara keeping busy as usual:: "Try Angry" ::a slight grin creeps across her face:: "That is what Ecklie is right now, from what I hear. Someone has messed up the evidence in one of his cases. Glad I'm not reporting to him now. Slow night, you look bored?"

Sara :: writes the word in and then smiles triumphantly at Sofia. ::

"Thanks, that works."

:: She looks at her strangely for a brief moment, thinking back to when she noticed Sofia flirting with Grissom, and then looks back down studiously at the crossword puzzle. ::

"Yeah, slightly bored. And which case was that? The arson case?"

Sofia ::senses something uneasy about Sara's tone, but attributes that to all of the overtime she has been putting in lately::

"Actually, yes. The Arson case has major loop holes in it to begin with, with the evidence found so far. And Ecklie feels a need to pin this one on someone since it was the Sheriff's house. You'd swear Ecklie's having a nervous breakdown right now."

::Sofia grabs some of the worst coffee imaginable from the breakroom coffee pot, pours it into the pasty white styrofoam basic issued cup and reached for the cream. Just anything to try to ease the tension she is feeling in the air right now::

Sara :: pauses, looking down at the crossword puzzle. ::

"Nervous breakdown?"

:: She glances up at Sofia, feeling a bit tense herself. ::

"Have you, uh, seen Grissom around here?... I mean, he and Ecklie always bump heads like crazy. I don't think the lab can survive it."

:: She fills in another word and tries not to think about Grissom. ::

Sofia ::stiffens a bit at the mention of Grissom's name. (Wonders if Sara could possibly know that they had dinner last night and he was the reason she was still in this place).::

"I think I saw him heading towards Ecklie's office. I'm sure there will be fireworks there soon. Yeah, if one of them doesn't give soon, I think this whole lab will cave in."

::Glances around awkwardly and leans against the counter.::

Sara ::

( I kind of wish I could read minds right now, but.. then again, maybe I don't want to. )

:: clears her throat ::

"Eight letter word for bones..."

:: She gives Sofia another small smile. ::

"Let's hope they keep it civil. I know Grissom has trouble with politics, though."

Sofia ::

(Is she trying to intimidate me or is she just being civil. I'm pretty sure I'm not her favorite detective here.)

"Maybe Skeleton?" ::shrugs:: "Not sure on that one, but I'd like to know if there are any in Ecklie's closet. I'd love to just have something to hold over him the way he treats everyone around here."

(Again is thinking if Sara could even remotely know about last night. And if so, if she would just ask I could explain. No, that would never happen.)

::Glances at watch::

"Well, sorry, my break is over. Have fun with your puzzle. Good night, Sara."

::exits room::

::The plane is struggling to make it to a landing, the craft shaking and seemingly on the verge of being out of control. He doesn't know anything about planes, but he's overheard something about hydraulics and problems with the controls and gear. They're close to the runway, everyone in position, knowing it's going to be a crash landing.::

(Why me, why another plane crash? She died when one hit those towers, now the one I'm on may crash into the ground.)

Stella was next to him, somewhat pale from all the shaking. He met her eyes, anxious to know she was hanging on all right.

Stella:"I guess you were right about it getting worse." ::She can't reach out to touch him but she wants to reassure him. She's just not sure how.:: "We'll make it out, it'll be okay."

Mac: I hope. (Please, if we don't, I don't want it to be like Claire. I want it to be fast.)

::Stella reaches out this time, and works an arm around his shoulders, her eyes telling him she understands why he's feeling what he is, even if she can't imagine what it's like herself. They brace for impact together.


::The plane touches down rear first, sparks filing the air as the belly skids accross the tarmac. The nose smacks down a second later, the body's uneven hit shearing off a wing. It seems an eternity before things finally still, and he realizes he's still alive. He's bruised and beaten up, but it looks likes he's okay. He wishes he could say the same for some of the other passengers.::

Mac: Stella? ::He looks over at her worriedly:: Talk to me, are you all right?
Stella: Ow....::She's not totally alert, but she's moving and her eyes are open. "Mac...?"
Mac: Yeah, I'm here, I'm not too bad I don't think. Just stay still, you'll be all right.

::After they're off the plane and on stretchers, Mac pulls out his phone, sees it's still working. He's glad he thought to add the LV office number to his list before coming out here. He dials it, tells them they'll be a little late. He's already wondering if this is the accident it looks like but there's no proof now of course.::

Greg::he walked into the break room seeeing sara::Hello hello. Working on another crossword puzzle?::he took his Hawaiian coffe out of the cabinet and poured it into the filter waited for it to finish making::

Sara :: looks up at him briefly, giving him a small smile. ::

"Why yes, I am. What's a five letter for 'cheerful expression'?"

:: She looks at the crossword puzzle, deep in concentration, then she smells the coffee and she grins widely ::

"Oh, please tell me you're going to share."

Greg::smiles a bit::Could the answer to that be...smile?::laughs as the coffee finishes pouring 2 cups::Remember this is the finest coffee around it's an honor to have me share it::laughs a bit half joking wiht her::

Sara :: concentrates on the crossword puzzle. ::

"Hmm... yeah, I think that's it. Thanks, Greg."

:: She flashes him a dazzling smile and reaches up for the cup of coffee, then smells it happily. ::

"You're a life saver. I couldn't drink any more of that pseudo coffee. Thanks."

:: She looks at an empty chair at the breakroom table. ::

"Are you on a break?"

: She pushes the chair out with her foot and sips the coffee contentedly. ::

Greg::smiles a bit::Why do you think I bring my own coffee in?::laughs a bit sitting down::Not really on break just not on a case::sighs::It's a slow night

Sara :: nods in agreement and sips the coffee, then stands up and goes over to put some creamer and sugar in it. ::

"Same here. Although I've heard that a couple CSI's from New York might be on their way here to help us with a case. You, um, heard anything about that?"

:: she sits down again and stirs her coffee. ::

Greg::sips his coffee looking at the wordsearch::not a word of it

Sara :: grins as Greg fills in a word on the puzzle, then she fills in the one that intersects it. ::

"You know, if I were Grissom, and you dared fill in a word on my puzzle, I'd probably steal the rest of your coffee."

:: She smirks and catches Greg's eyes for a second, then fills in another word. ::

** Later, at the hospital, after Mac and Stella have been initially checked out, but haven't been released yet. **

Grissom and Sara walk down the hallway. Each has a decidedly different demeanor. Both seem a bit uncomfortable being there for some reason. But they do seem to walk down the hallway in sync, their footsteps an interesting study in symmetry.

They get to Mac and Stella's room and Grissom motions with his hand for them to go inside. He lets Sara go in first. They walk up to the foot of the beds, and Grissom smiles, trying to look friendly. His voice holds a tone of welcome and of apology.

Grissom ::

"Not exactly the welcome to Vegas we'd hope for. Detectives Taylor, Bonasera, I'm Gil Grissom, this is Sara Sidle. We spoke on the phone a few days ago."

Sara :: adds a smile and a small nod hello to them, then looks on sympathetically for them having been in a plane accident, but doesn't say anything yet. ::

::They're both up, if not back on the job yet. Both Mac and Stella greet the two LV detectives when they come in.::

Mac ::in the back of his mind, he's still pondering the hydraulics comment, there have been a case or two where someone's pulled hydraulics tampering on ground vehicles:: Thank you. We were both extremely lucky not to have been hurt, based on the news reports
Stella: We have been looking over the casefiles again while we were here....maybe we can discuss it on the way? ::She's just anxious to leave and knows Mac is too::

::It's a different place, a different city but hospitals are all similar to a point, and it's hard not to have the scenes replaying, those eternally long hours sitting by Claire, knowing she was dying, feeling so helpless. He pushes the memories to the back, trying to focus on the current situaiton::

( since someone has signed up for Grissom, I'll exit him from this scene. )

Grissom :: his cell phone rings at that moment and he turns away from the rest of them to answer it. A moment later he returns. ::

"I'm due in court. I'm sorry. Sara, can you take Detectives Taylor and Bonesara back to the Crime Lab, please?"

Sara :: nods, giving him a reassuring look, like she's thinking to him "I won't let you down". ::

"Of course."

:: After Grissom bids them goodbye, she turns to Mac and Stella. ::

"Our SUV is right outside. Grissom's told me a little bit about the case. Do either of you think there's a connection to organized crime here?"

:: She starts walking with them down the hall towards the car. ::

::They follow her down the hall::

Mac: Possibly. Of course I can only hypothesize at the moment but I'm suspicious about that plane crash. I overheard someone say the hydraulics were messed up...I don't know that much about planes, but it's certinally not uncommon for hydraulic tampering to be used in automobile sabotage. I know it'll take a little time, but I'd like to try to get hold of the ATF reports when we can.

Stella: Well, plane crashes do happen all the time, but it is certainly something to consider. Especially since we also have organized crime suspicions.

Sara :: motions them to the black chevy tahoe and they all get in. She thinks to herself that Grissom must've gotten a ride to the courthouse. As they drive to the Crime Lab, she replies to their thoughts about the case and their plane accident. ::

"There hasn't been any report of any casualties. Yet. But the ATF is all over it. We couldn't even get anywhere close. Maybe since you both have more FBI connections, you might be able to grease some wheels under the Homeland Security Act or something."

:: She pauses, thinking about how to word things. She's one of the few CSI's in Vegas who hasn't gotten to work with another Crime Lab this way before, so she feels out of her comfort zone. She'd been counting on Grissom to show her the ropes. But she'd be damned if she would let him or anyone else down. ::

"So you're thinking that the case and the plane accident are possibly related?"

Mac: It's just a thought right now, one of a lot of angles that will have to be looked at until we pin something down for sure. I just couldn't help it coming to mind after this. As for the FBI yeah, I can look into it.

(They just better tell me it wasn't terrorism. I don't want to deal with that again)

::Stella is listneing intently but doesn't speak up at the moment::

Sara :: as she pulls into the parking lot and pulls into the parking spot, she looks over at Mac, who's in the passenger seat. She's thinking about what Grissom is always drilling into them, and it comes out. ::

"As Crime Scene analysts, we're trained to only look at what the evidence is telling us and not come up with scenarios. It's a little different to be talking about possible motivations before we look at the facts."

:: With a slightly apologetic smile, she gets out of the vehicle and leads them into the crime lab and into the evidence room with all the evidence that they've gathered from the crime scene on top of the lighted table. ::

Stella: It's just part of his crime philosophy...."Everything is connected." But you're absolutely right as well.

Mac: ::Nods:: That's true, the evidence is the main thing. I was only thinking over a few things, that's all. What do we have to go on so far?

Sara :: frowns, handing Mac the file. ::

"You're not going to like this. I know I didn't. Two years ago, there was a homicide case here in Las Vegas. At the time, things were... crazy around here. There was a crime involving the sheriff and his family, I was.. um... forced... to put this other case on hold."

:: Her expression betrays how unhappy she truly is about having had to do this, but she continues. ::

"The victim, a woman, was killed by strangulation. But there was a strange pattern carved into her back. "

:: She hands the photo to Stella and continues, although it's obvious that she has particular problems with violence against women. She tries to focus on the evidence. ::

"This most recent victim, same approximate age and description as the first victim, was killed in the same way, with the same marks on her back."

:: She hands the newer picture to Stella to compare. ::

"Some prints we found through AFIS coincided with some prints that you guys found in a cold homicide case. And turns out, there are similar markers. According to the copies of the pictures your lab sent us, the marks were the same on the back of your female victim three years ago."

:: She waits so that Mac and Stella can study the available evidence themselves and make any plausible conclusions or add their own information. ::

::Mac lets go of the hypothesizing, realizing he's doing the thing he himself told his crew not to, going on instinct. He thinks it's the plane crash and everything that's happened.::

Stella: This is a bit rare...serial killers do move accross state lines sometimes but not usually this far

Mac: No. Most of the better known multistate cases happen in states that border each other. There are exceptions of course, like the DC sniper, but even that case had only one that wasn't near the others.

Stella: I heard about a case of a higher profile motorcycle gang leaving bodies in two different countries once. ::She wants to say something about the plane but stick to the evidence, knowing there's nothing to tie it yet.:: Or it could be a religious cult, there was one like that too. Also both US and Canadian victims.

::The two of them study the symbol closer:: Mac:Well it could be some sort of gang symbol although we couldn't find any matches to it in our files, so it would have to be a newer one. The other theory is plausible too, we'll have to explore all of the angles.

Sara :: listens attentively and nods in agreement that Stella and Mac are making very good sense. Then she shuffles through the photos, handing one in particular to Mac. ::

"This is the real reason you guys are here. This latest victim... had this carved in the back of her leg, we were thinking this might mean something to you, Detective Taylor. And it cements a connection between these cases, even though, like you said, Detective Bonesara, most serial killers only stay within a certain radius. This one obviously had some reasons to want you to come here."

:: The photo is a picture of the female victim's leg, with a small carving in it that says "4 M T". ::

ooc :: I'm writing Catherine Willows for right now, but she's still open as a character. :)

Catherine :: walks into the evidence room, holding a file folder in her hand, her expression one of avid concern. ::

"Oh, hey, Sara."

:: She walks into the room further and nods and smiles hello to Stella and Mac, extending her hand to warmly shake with them. ::

"Detective Taylor, Detective Bonesara, nice to meet you, I'm Catherine Willows. Thanks for coming on such short notice. Sorry to hear about your plane incident. I just got the news that there were 15 casualties."

Mac: ::He's a little shaken by the 'message' but only a tiny bit shows.:: "The only question is, why do it way out here instead of in New York?"

::Their thoughts are on hold as Catherine enters. They greet her and shake hands::

Mac: We were very lucky to come out of it unhurt. ::He turns back to the evidence::We've been examining the evidence your team had collected and compairing with what we collected back in New York. The last body definately had a message to me, but as to why it was left out here, I can't say yet.

Stella: But the pattern on the other body definately matches the one on ours. Both of our groups seem to just need a little more to put everything together but obviously we don't have it yet.

Sara ::

"Seems like our killer has changed his M.O."

Catherine :: nods in agreement with Stella. ::

"We're still processing some of the evidence at the crime scene. Some of it is in DNA. Plus we don't have any information on the plane incident, the authorities haven't released anything to us other than the same information they have released to the press."

:: She rolls her eyes, frustrated at all the red tape. ::

Sara ::

"I wonder if the killer might have some friends who are airplane mechanics?"

Catherine :: looks at Sara and then shrugs. ::

"We hadn't thought of that possibility."

::Mac nods:: "I had some thoughts about the crash, but I don't want to go too deeply into it until more of the story comes in. It's always best to go by what the evidence says rather than gut instinct."

Stella: I'm not sure if anything would get them to talk sooner...I would say to bring up the investigation, but they'll probably just say their investigation has to have priority. Of course, it hasn't been long since it happened, so they may simply be ensuring that we don't get misinformed when they do tell us something.

Mac: True. I'm going to wait until I know more before I say anything about connections between the the case and the crash but I will say it's certainly suspicious. Right now, I'm most intrigued about this message someone left me. ::nods at the pictures::

Stella: A way of getting you out here for something else?

Mac: Maybe, just too early to say.

Sofia ::finds Sara in the lab shuffling through what seems to be endless piles of evidence::

"I hear that there was a major plane crash with some fatalities. Sorry to hear that. I know it will put more of strain on you guys that there already is, with the other Agents out here."

::Looks at Sara and hopes to find her in an amicable mood, thinking she looks like she hasn't slept in three days::

"I know that you guys haven't heard much, but I have a friend who knows someone at the FAA. They are still heavily investigating the crash. But I overheard them talking about some malfuctioning thrusters being the possible cause. I'm not sure if this helps you at all, but I thought I'd pass along the information for you. "

::Sofia smiles at Sara, understanding the position that she is in::

Sara :: looks up from the paperwork she's been pouring over, rubbing her temple, forcing herself to focus on what Sofia is saying, pulling her focus away from the evidence folder. She thinks about it for a minute, then replies in a thoughtful manner. ::

"Detectives Taylor and Bonesara thought that there was a chance there had been foul play. I wonder if that's something that can be tampered with prior to take-off?"

Sofia ::looks at Sara knowing that she is desperate for information because she knows that Sara will immediately begin drawing her scenarios out in her head::

(I have to be careful what I say. I don't want to jeopardize the source I have at the FAA.)

"It could be possible I guess if you know the right people at the airport. I'm no expert on planes, Did you get the warrant to search the hotel surveillance tapes at the Venetian?"

Sara :: smiles proudly and brandishes the warrant. ::

"Got it right here. We can leave whenever you're ready."

:: She stands up and grabs her stuff. Then she grins at Sofia. ::

"I'll even let you drive."

:: She hands Sofia the warrant and heads for the parking lot, putting her sunglasses on as soon as she gets outside, grateful for the fresh air, glad that it's evening and the temperature is cooling down. ::

Sofia
::Smiles at Sara. Maybe they can have a friendship after all. That is , IF, Sara will trust her::

::Sofia takes the keys and walks with Sara to the SUV. There was small talk along the way, enough to occupy their time until they reached the Venetian::

::Sofia pulls up to the Venetian and they walk up to the front desk::

"I'm Detective Sofia Curtis with the LVPD" ::she flashes the badge::

"This is Sara Sidle with the Las Vegas Crime Lab"

::Sofia then shows him the warrant::

"Ms. Sidle will be taking a look around for awhile. I think she may have an interest in your survelliance tapes, I'll make myself comfortable standing in front of the door while she looks."

::Sofia smiles softly but with authority::

::They listen to the conversation::

Mac: I just don't want to speculate too much further until we get more evidence, if we do. It may or may not be connected but I think it's better if, for now, we focus on the evidence we have.

Stella: Hopefully your warrent will turn up a little more, because we definately need everything we can get.

then watch Sara and Sofia leave to serve the warrant, while they stay behind with Catherine and Grissom::

Mac:(It's different here but interesting, with most of them not being detectives like our people.)

::His phone rings and he answers it. They, the team leaders, are gone, but Mac's pretty sure that Danny, Lindsey, Flack and Hawkes can handle things. T here is, however, constant communication about cases, suspects and occasional advice on how to proceed. It's Lindsey on the phone this time and he takes a moment to do something.:: "Before I hang up, I need some help with something on this end. I'm going to send you a picture that I want one of you four to take a look at. It was on the back of our second symbol vic. You'll see why when it comes through. See if the symbol on the vic is similar to any on our end. Not the name of course, but the MO of leaving messages on the body. I know the handwriting will be more difficult, cosnidering it's on flesh, but see if you can anything that might remotely be a match. Thanks, I appreciate it. OK, I'm sending the photo now ::snaps picture of "4MT" and sends it. "Let me know as soon as someone has something."

Grissom
::Grissom gets in his car, buckles in, and pulls out his cell phone. He dials Sara's number::
::He hears "Sidle" from the other end::

Hey Sara? I just got done in court. What's going on in your case?

Sara :: answers her phone and walks to the other side of the room, away from the monitors in the security office. ::

"Hey, Grissom. I was just about to look through some security tapes at the Venetian. Sofia is here with me. Catherine is over with Detectives Taylor and Bonesara now."

( I wish I knew what he was thinking. Lately I keep feeling like he's keeping me at a distance on purpose. )

"Where are you headed?"

( I could use a moment or two to actually get to talk to him, instead of his silent treatment. But then... what would I say?)