Lisa & Amanda arrive at the lab and rendezvous with Adam & George:
"What have we got?" Lisa asked. "Why are you guys back here? I thought you were at the hospital." George said. "We couldn't let you guys handle this alone. Besides, we figured you could use a fresh set of eyes and hands on this case." Amanda stated. "Alright, join the party." Adam said. "What have we got?" Lisa asked again. "We ran an analysis on the bullets we found in our victim Jordan Crawford. I couldn't get prints off those armor piercing .57 magnum bullets, but I did get something off those .30-80. auto caliber rounds. They came from an assault rifle, and get this, that rifle was involved in a previous case; We had it bagged in evidence all this time." Adam stated. "Can we get it?" Amanda asked. "According to records, it's already been destroyed." Adam replied. "Security sent over the surveillance footage this morning. I haven't had a chance to take a look at it yet." George stated. "I'll help you with that." Lisa said. "They told me that nobody's been in and out of the evidence room all day except the maintenance manager." Adam explained. "We've been trying to have a chat with him all day but he's nowhere to be found." George stated. "That seems odd." Amanda stated. "Did you get any prints out of the bullets they pulled out of Jack?" Lisa asked. "I sent them over to trace. We're just waiting on the results." Adam said. Suddenly, Adam's phone rings. "Adam Miller. You're kidding? We'll be right over." "What's going on?" Lisa asked. "That was trace. They got the results back." Adam replied. "I'll head over there with you." Amanda said. "Good. In the meantime, you guys find out what you can on that surveillance tape." Adam instructed. "We're on it." George said.
George and Lisa hit play on their computer video equipment and watch the surveillance footage:
"O.k., there's the security guard." Lisa said. "He looks nervous for some reason." George said. "There's two guys who come into the main hallway. Who the hell are they?" Lisa asks. "I don't know, but... woah!" The surveillance footage shows the two men shooting the security guard dead with silencers. "So that's why we couldn't find the guard. He's dead!" Lisa exclaimed. "We better secure the crime scene!" George stated. "Let's see what the rest of the video reveals first." Lisa instructed. George nods, as he and Lisa watch the rest of the video as the two men break into the evidence lab as the tape ends. "Is there a video camera in the evidence lab?" Lisa asked. "Yeah, and it's in color too." George replied. "We need to get that surveillance footage as well." Lisa stated. "You go get it. I'm gonna secure the crime scene." George replied. "Got it. We'll meet back here in the briefing room." Lisa commanded. "Alright." George said. Lisa dialed a number into her I-phone. "Amanda, meet me in the briefing room. I've got some evidence we all need to see." Lisa said into the phone. "I'm on my way." Amanda replied.
George went over and secured the crime scene by the entrance to the lab. Soon, Adam met up with him over the dead security guard's body:
"Woah; Is that guy dead?" Adam asked. "Yeah." George stated. "We've got several bullets nearby." "30-80. auto calibers and .57 magnum armor-piercing bullets. You think these bullets will match the ones we pulled out of Jack and our first victim Jordan Crawford?" Adam asked. "I wouldn't be surprised, but we won't know anything until we get the results back from ballistics. Send them over will you?" George asked. "On it." Adam stated. "Thanks." George replied.
30 minutes later....
Adam, George, & Amanda regroup in the briefing room to discuss the parameters of the current case:
"O.K., who wants to start things off?" George asked. "I will." Amanda said. "O.K. go." George said. "Ballistics reports got back from our bullets we found in our second victim, the security guard. They're an exact match to the ones we pulled out of our first victim Jordan Crawford and Jack. And get this, the 30-80. auto calibers came from the same weapon: An assault rifle, and not just any assault rifle, it's the one that was logged in the evidence locker and was registered as destroyed." Amanda explained. "Someone must have been manipulating this. Someone with access." George stated. "I want to see the surveillance footage from inside the lab." Lisa stated. "I'm pulling it up right now." Amanda said. The C.S.I.'s watch the footage: The two criminals enter the evidence lab and steal an assault rifle. "Freeze that! Zoom in on guy #1's face." George commanded. "Well that's how these records got manipulated. It's a cop!" Amanda stated. "Not just any cop. I know him!" Lisa stated. "So do I!" George exclaimed. "That's Harold Bynes. He was my former lieutenant and commanding officer." Lisa exclaimed. "He also was Jack's former partner." George said. "What!?" Lisa exclaimed. "It was years ago. He and Jack were working on a case together. They were trailing down a bunch of drug dealers. The bust went bad, and a massive shootout took place; Bynes got wounded, and the crooks got away." George explained. "They ever find them?" Amanda asked. "It was declared a cold case and never got solved." George replied.
"Wait a minute. I've seen that assault rifle before." Amanda stated. "Where?" George asked. "It was a case we all solved a few weeks ago. That's it! You remember those three guys you took out at the L.A.X. airport?" "Gary Thomas, Kevin Fischer, and Tim Myers? Yeah, what about them?" George asked. "This is the same assault rifle they were using!" Amanda exclaimed. "Well then, what the hell is their connection to Harold Bynes and our first victim Jordan Crawford!? "Maybe I can help. Adam said, entering the lab. "I ran trace results for fingerprints on the bullets we found at both crime scenes, and I got hits on two of the bullets." "What did you find out?" Lisa asked. "The results came back to two men: Jordan Crawford and Harold Bynes." Adam replied. "That settles it then. Bynes is a dirty cop." Lisa said with irritation in her voice. "But why would he do it?" Amanda asked. "Pull up his file." George commanded. Adam tries to pull up Harold Bynes file, but he is denied access. "Damn. Access denied. Whatever he's doing, he's doing well. He's covering his tracks because there's definitely something in here he doesn't want any of us to see." He explained. "I'm guessing he shot Jack to cover his tracks." Amanda stated. "Maybe Jack knew all about his illegal activity and was going to blow the whistle on him." Lisa said. "Maybe, or maybe there's something bigger going on. Do we have a criminal profile on Jordan Crawford?" George asked. "Yeah." Adam replied. "Pull it up." George ordered. Adam pulls up Jordan Crawford's file. "That's it." Adam replied. "Scroll down to known accomplices." George commanded. Adam clicks on known accomplices, and the results come back:
-Kevin Fischer....Gary Thomas....Tim Myers....Clarence Howard!!! "No!" Lisa exclaimed. "Lisa, what's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Amanda said. "It can't be." Lisa gasped. "What is it?" Adam asked. "It's him." Lisa replied. "Who's him?" George asked. "It's the man who killed my partner, who nearly killed me, and the man who Jack shot that fateful day when he saved my life." "It's all making sense now. Don't you guys get it?" George said. "Look, Clarence Howard was the ringleader of this drug-dealing organization many years ago. Robbing that bank was to get a supply of drug money to further finance their operation. The problem is, they needed weapons, leverage, and a fall guy to complete it." "They also needed someone on the inside to give them an advantage over the police." Adam stated. "And who better to do that then Harold Bynes?" Amanda said. Suddenly, George's phone goes off. "We've gotta find this guy Clarence Howard." Lisa demanded. "No need, police already found him." George said. "What!?" Adam asked. "That was an off-duty cop who just called me. There was a report of shots fired on Melrose Avenue." George replied. "We need to get there and fast." Amanda said. "Let's move out!" George commanded.
So the C.S.I.'s have put the pieces to the puzzle together, and it's a deadly one at that. The only problem is, if the ringleader is dead, that means that Harold Bynes is in the wind, and they not only have to find him, but get a confession out of him. That will be difficult without any living witnesses.
In the next chapter, another flashback, as Adam reminisces about how he met Jack.
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CSI: LA Season 1, Episode 11: "Left in Limbo"
Gizem / GerilimWhen Jack is shot and critically wounded in the line of duty, he fights for his life in the hospital. The C.S.I.'s work round the clock to find his shooter, but soon find themselves investigating one of their own. Meanwhile, each C.S.I. flashbacks t...
