Fannysmackin (TV scene narrated)

Part 1

 I didn’t know if I should be happy or nervous. I guess I was feeling a bit of both. Grissom had just put me on a case on my own. I hadn’t actually been a CSI for very long and this was my first time having a case all to myself. It wasn’t anything big. No dead bodies or casualties. It was just a shop burglary. There was a violent gang on the loose in Vegas. At first, the CSIs thought that the only thing they did was beat people up for fun, as if this wasn’t bad enough, they had now taken to shop lifting. Stealing alcohol to be specific. I thought that this was typical of teenagers. Seeing as they wouldn’t be old enough to purchase the alcohol, they’d steal it instead. Or maybe this was just another thing that they liked to do for fun. Even though it was bad news for regular members of the public that this gang had been breaking into shops and stealing things. The more crime they committed, the more evidence they would leave behind and the closer we were to catching them and putting them behind bars where they belonged.

I drove slowly down a dark narrow street. The ground was wet and shining under the car’s headlights. The street was empty. There was no one there, just some trash cans an some boxes. The walls were sprayed with spray paint. Indecipherable letters were sprawled across some of them. Newspapers lay spread across the ground in some areas. When people imagine Las Vegas, they usually think of casinos, expensive hotels, fancy restaurants and late night shows and parties. Lots of glitz and glamour. Every street brightly lit with LED lights and flashing signs. But in this part of town, the only lights that flashed were the indicators on my car when I signalled to turn left or right through the streets.I passed an alley on my right. Similar to the street I was driving on only a bit narrower. Filled with even more trash cans and dumpsters. Most of these were the backs or sides of restaurants. I kept on driving, slowing down when I realised how dark it actually was, afraid I might hit something while moving the vehicle slowly through the confined streets. I had plenty of time so I was in no rush to get to my destination. I had left early. Almost immediately after Grissom had assigned me to the case. I liked to make a good impression and do my job well. I had worked hard to get it after all. I had been in court earlier today. Displaying the evidence that I had collected in a case that I was working on previously. Everything went really well, much better than I had expected. This was the reason I was in such a good mood tonight. Before I had left to work on this case I had changed out of the suit I had worn to court. It was only just bought for the occasion. I had never worn a suit, but I had come to realise that formal clothing actually suited me a lot better than I thought it would. Now, I was back in my usual shirt and jeans. My Crime Scene Investigator’s uniform vest covering most of my shirt. It’s purpose was to hold my flash light and other smaller tools, while also informing people of who I was, as it had my last name, “Sanders”, printed on the front right pocket, and my job title printed on the back of it. Wearing it made me feel that little bit more important. Back when i worked in the lab, the only uniform I would wear was an almost knee-length white or light blue laboratory coat with my forensics I.D often clipped to it’s pocket. I approached another alley to my right, only this time something was different. I was sure I could hear screams and laughter coming from this alley. Maybe it was just children shouting while playing a game of football. I wouldn’t have been surprised. There were many parents around who just didn’t care if their children were roaming the streets at this hour of the night. I heard more laughing. Maybe it was just my imagination. I was quite tired after all. It was only then that a realised that I also had the radio on. Maybe it was breaking up, another radio station was perhaps coming in over it. I reached out and turned the volume down. The shouting continued. I was sure it wasn’t just my imagination. As I drove up to the Alley, so that I was almost parked right at it’s entrance, slowing down without even realising that I was doing so, I turned my head and moved closer to the passenger window on my right to try and see if there actually was anyone in the Alley. It was hard to distinguish if anything was there. I was sure I could see black outlines of figures, but the alley was filled with smoke coming from chimneys or vents of buildings, covering the shapes and making them blend in with the night sky around them. These buildings were most likely restaurants, still serving dinner, smoke and steam from their kitchens being directed through vents and out onto the streets.