Unbreakable

Chapter Ten - Cleanup

Nathan paced around the room with his hands on his hips. His dress shirt was half untucked out of his dress pants, blood splatters boldly stood out against the silver hue of his once pristine shirt. His bow tie now wrinkled hung around his neck. The once beautiful charity event, now a crime scene. The white table cloths were stained with alcohol and blood. Tables and chairs were flipped around the room, the orchestra equipment that was once one strategically placed upon the stage was scattered on the ground below. Shattered glass crunched beneath him with every step he took before he abruptly stopped in his tracks, two puddles of blood spread out before him. He closed his eyes at the memory of Agent Shaw firing his weapon and clipping the shooter in her leg bringing her to the ground where she could be restrained, all while Matilda Wallace and Spencer laid on the ground mere inches away from each other, both fighting for their lives.

CSU (Crime Scene Unit) arrived a couple hours after the shooting, they quickly got to work taking pictures and blood samples. Green lasers shined across the room to determine the trajectory of the bullets that flew across the room. Small numbered placards laid throughout the room next to each puddle of blood and each individual bullet casing they could find.

"Agent Callahan, over here." A man wearing a pale blue jumpsuit crouched above a shell casing shouted. Nathan walked over to wear he was motioning him.

"What do we got?" Nathan asked turning the the shell casing over with his pen, being sure not to touch it and get his prints on it.

"This shell casing is different than the others." He put on a pair of nitrile latex gloves before carefully picking up the piece of evidence to examine it further. "This ones composition is unique in comparison to the others." He explained.

Nathan squinted at it, his face scrunched as his eyes ran over every inch of it. "In English?" He sighed in frustration.

"It's made of a titanium composite, this is the only titanium casing I've found sir."

Nathan's head whipped to the side to look the CSU tech in his eyes. "Another shooter?" He asked with urgency in his voice. His blood was pumping harder into his ears at the new development. If there was another shooter that no one saw then that means they walked out of this place undetected, right under their nose.

"I want every single inch of this place gone over again with a fine pick comb! If anyone finds another titanium shell casing they are to report it to me immediately!" He growled. His body was shaking with anger at this realization. He grabbed his tuxedo jacket off the back of a chair and stormed out, the slamming door behind him shaking the only windows still intact.

****

The office was quieter than usual. Everyone was working tirelessly to put together the pieces of the night. Nathan had printed out the CSU photos and placed them on the giant whiteboard that was in the lobby. He labeled each photo with the correlating information he had, taking his own personal notes of the now full investigation board in front of him.

The news of the tragedy that conspired at the event quickly made the national evening news bringing in the attention of thousands of viewers. The Chief of Police and the Mayor held a press conference to try to calm down and reassure the people of the town, they've asked anyone who has any information of the incident to come forward to help with the ongoing investigation. The local precinct offered their help with running down leads and answering phone calls, most of the calls proved to be irrelevant to the case at hand.

Agent Riggs hand on his shoulder pulled Nathan out of his thoughts. Her face was soft and gentle as she looked down at him sitting at his desk. She wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there but she had a suspicion that it had been hours. He brought his eyes from the crime scene photos up to meet hers. A soft smile on her lips as she handed him a cup of coffee. "It's decaf, you need to sleep. You're no good to anyone burn out." Her voice was low but comforting. With blood shot eyes he nodded his head at her words.