Adventures of Faith the Slayer

XI. CSI Faith

Disclaimer:  None of these characters belong to me.  They belong to their respective creators.  I'm merely borrowing them to satisfy this nagging plot bunny in my head.

Spoilers/Timeline:  Post Season 7 of BtVS; no exact timeline for CSI 

Summary:  Faith tries her hand at solving crimes instead of committing one.

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TELL ME AGAIN WHY I AM HERE?" Faith asked her companion who asked that she accompany her on this particular case, seasoned CSI expert Sara Sidle, as she followed the brunette around the motel room where a woman was found with interesting markings on her neck and wrists.

Civilians, such as herself, weren't allowed at crime scenes, but Sara worked some of her mojo on her supervisor and got the go-ahead to take her visiting relative along with her to help with the case.  Exactly what kind of help was required of her Faith doesn't know, but something tells her she will soon find out.

"Because you're the expert on this kinda stuff," was Sara's glib reply.

Faith cocked an eyebrow and waved her flashlight at the woman leading the way around the motel room.  "I am no crime solver wannabe, dude.  How can I be an expert all of a sudden?"

Sara cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look over her shoulder.  Faith made a face as she knew that look.  She hated the fact that she opened up to Sara -- a very distant relative she found out about shortly after the gang moved to Cleveland and she was bored outta her wits she started Googling her family tree -- about what she does for a living.  It wasn't a glamorous, high-paying job being a Slayer, but she can kick some ass and possess uber powers in the package as well.

"I thought you don't believe in demons, cuz?"  Faith never thought of becoming a CSI, but since things in Cleveland are being looked after quite thoroughly by Buffy and her Scoobies, and things between her and Robin started to fizzle out a couple of months after Sunnydale, Faith decided to up and leave Ohio and move west again, but this time she stopped in Nevada.  She wanted to keep her options open.

"I don't, actually," Sara admitted and moved towards the bathroom, swinging the door open slowly and pointed her flashlight at the body in the bathtub.

Faith stepped up for a closer look.  The woman looked to be in her late teens or early twenties.  Her neck with two incision marks was exposed and based on her ashen colour, Faith didn't need to be a CSI to know that this woman was drained out of her blood -- or close to it anyway.  The vamps fed on her until her heart stopped then left her here.

"Fuck man, I thought I left that kinda life back east?" she muttered under her breath.

Sara cocked an eyebrow and flashed her flashlight at her companion.  "Excuse me?"

Faith smirked and looked at her cousin.  "Your killer's just been identified, cuz," she said smugly and walked out of the room.  Sara frowned and followed her cousin outside.

"Where are you going?" she demanded to know.

Faith kept right on walking until she reached the midnight blue Denali, which was the team's service vehicle.  She propped open the trunk and moved aside some of the paraphernalia on it and pulled the rub out, revealing an array of Slayer necessities she stored there just in case.

Sara's eyes widened when she saw what her cousin did to her ride.  She didn't know Faith rigged the back of her Denali to fit her crossbow, stakes, crosses and some holy water in the back.

"What are you doing?"

Faith finished packing the stuff into the black backpack she also kept there before turning to look at her cousin.  "I'm hunting vamps, cuz.  This is one killer you'll be doing a favour if you throw them in the slammer with the rest of the living population," she swung the backpack over her shoulder and started to walk away.

Sara didn't want to let her go just yet.

"You can't kill our killer, Faith," she hissed as she fell into step beside her cousin.

"Oh yes I can," Faith replied.

"No," Sara stopped in front of her, completely blocking her cousin's way, "you can't." She insisted.

"And why the hell not?" Faith demanded.  "That girl's just one of the many victims of this vamp -- assuming we're only dealing with one and not an entirecoven of 'em! -- and soon bodies will start piling up.  Would you rather wait until that starts happening, huh?"

"Look, I know you're all gung-ho about finding this vampire that is responsible for this murder, but we need to follow procedures here and bring in the suspect," Sara explained.

"How can you bring in a vamp into the precinct without it bursting into flames before it even gets to where it's supposed to go, huh?"

"We can always do an evening interview," she suggested.

"Yeah, right.  I doubt you'll be able to last one round of interview without the vamp biting the necks of whomever you put in that room with it.  Look, this is my job.  I know what I'm doing.  And not all cases are closed cases.  Put this one in your unsolved folder and move on."

"Faith--"

"Sara, you're my relative.  I know I'm not really good with the whole family bonding thing because really, I ain't got nothin' worth referring to as family except for B and the rest back in Cleveland.  But B and I hardly see each other eye to eye and...look, you do your job and I do mine.  Besides," she shrugged and fixed the strap of the backpack on her shoulder, "you won't be able to find any concrete evidence that will point you out to its killer.  And if you do find prints, you'll only reach a dead-end 'coz if worse comes to worse, this vamp's a recently deceased resident of this fine city."  Faith didn't wait for Sara to say anything.  She bid her cousin so long and set out to find this vampire killer before the night was over.