It was like any other day in the city of Las Vegas; blistering hot. I've been out in Nevada for years now, and the heat still gets's to me every single time. In order to try and battle the heat, The AC in the SUV was cranked up to it's highest setting. I may be able to freeze water in my car at the moment, but it's better than sweating five pounds off.

I took to cruising down the road at a slow pace. It wasn't often that I got to slow down, and enjoy the sights. Being a CSI is harder than it looks ok? The grueling hours make it hard for you to have a social life, let alone any sort of life. Not to mention it's hard to keep any sort of relationship outside of work. I was able to do that, but you know he left for San Diego and we mutually parted. I'm not holding a grudge, he did it to move up in his career path. I can't blame him, I would have done the same thing. You really get the chance to bond with your co-workers, though, which I guess is a good thing when you're finding out whether someone's fate is life or death.

My train of thought was lost when my cell started chirping in its hands-free stand mounted onto my dashboard. I didn't take my hands off the road as I answered the call, and instantly put it on speaker phone.

"You got Graves here.." I spoke rather loudly, in an effort to in order overpower the AC.

"I may be getting older Bridget but I can still hear." I heard Brass on the other end.

"You sure about that?" A smirk had appeared on my face. I went to hide it when I realized that he couldn't see me. "Whatcha got for me?"

" An unknown male subject was caught trying to skim poker chips off of one of the tables at the Palms Casino. The guy who the chips belonged to called him out on it. Two of them made a big scene, causing a mess before security took the two of them out. The guy wants to press charges." Of course, he is. Then again, who wouldn't? If some jerkoff was stealing from me, I'd do more than just press charges.

"The officers won't be on scene for awhile, can you read the guy his rights?" I quickly agreed that I would, then asked for a description of the guy.

"Not much to go on here, just the fact that the guy has 'intense blue eyes with brown hair'"

"Oh, that gives me so much to go on!" I said to Brass sarcastically.

"How do you think I feel? Look, I'll meet you on the scene." With a very curt goodbye, Brass hung up. Well, it looks like my scenic tour has just ended.

I pulled up to the Palms Casino and Resort. The sun and the heat showed no sign of letting up, so I stashed a bottle of water in my Kit just in case. Getting out of the car, I slid my sunglasses up on my face and made my way towards the front entrance. As I opened the door, I was greeted by a security guard. Without saying a word, he began to lead me to where I assume the suspect was currently being held. The two of us made our way through countless halls with marble flooring before we stopped outside a security office right outside the main floor of the casino.

"The guy's in there, keep the door open." I felt as if the guard was a straight-laced kind of guy, so I didn't push it. Swinging the door open to the security office, it went from glamorous to small and dingy. I've seen my share of grimy places, but this takes the cake. I focused my attention off of the room, and onto the subject. Brass' description was right despite his vagueness. A pair of bright blue eyes looked up at me as an almost slightly aggressive tone hid behind them. The brown hair Brass had mentioned early was close cut to his head, except towards his forehead it seemed it be a tad longer. I don't know what it was, but I feel like I've seen this guy before. Who am I kidding? This is Vegas, I could have seen him a thousand different places.

Clearing my throat, I slid my sunglasses off my face and placed on top of my head. "You are not being arrested at this current time, but I'm going to you read you your rights. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do or say will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?" The guy nodded his head but again seemed to hold some sort of emotion behind his eyes that I was unable to detect. I knew that this day was going to be particularly long.

# # # # # # # #

Emi was practically dancing down the disembarkation ramp and all Adam could do was look at her and smile.

"I feel so good!"

"Do you really?" Adam asked hopefully.

"God yes! No aches. No pains. No pinches. I can feel all the fingers on both hands. And the only reason I'm stiff is because …"

Adam quickly reached down and kissed her. When she could draw breath again she said, "What was that for?"

"The reason you were stiff was coming up fast behind us," he said with a chuckle. "Just thought I let him get going before we start complaining."

"Oh," she said looking around. "Well if he, Mr. Defensive Tackle, had bought a First Class seat like he meant to then he probably wouldn't have needed to be levered out of the one he had by you and two of the stewardesses, and the guy on the other side of the aisle. People that large need their own timezone or something." Emi snuggled under Adam's arm. "Thanks for asking me to come along. I've never been on a real vacation before."

Adam shook his head. "I can't believe … well, I can but we are definitely going to have to do something about that. I might not be able to pull off much but we can, at least, swing a few days Upstate camping out or maybe a weekend at the beach over the summer."

"Seriously?! We can … you … you'd take me …" She wound up high then squeezed him in a hug so tight that he was the one fighting for breath.

"It's not that big of a deal Emi," Adam said embarrassed he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"It is too a big deal. I …" They exited the ramp into an airside terminal with a glass wall that faced Las Vegas and Emi completely forgot what she had been going to say. "Whoa. Oh my gosh … that building really does look like a pyramid."

Adam was doing his own gawking before remembering Mac's admonition to stay situationally aware. He changed his computer bag so that it rested across his shoulders and between him and Emi as they walked towards the panoramic view. He subtly helped Emi to shift her backpack so that it was more secure and he checked to make sure the flaps were snapped tightly closed as well. He kissed the top of her head but said regretfully, "We gotta go pick up the luggage then see if we can get space on the hotel shuttle. I want us to get checked in and changed for that meet and greet thing I have to attend before the conference starts."

Emi jumped, feeling guilty that she was acting like a kid when Adam was here to work. She wasn't even sure how much time they'd be able to spend together as he was in Vegas to attend a tech conference in hopes of getting the opportunity to beta test some new lab equipment.

"Yeah. I've still got the sandwiches in my pack so at least you'll get something to eat. I can't believe the flight was two hours late."

"I want to take you to dinner."

"We'll save dinner for tomorrow like we planned."

"Emi …" Adam stopped on a sigh. "You're going to start with the budget thing again aren't you."

"Yes I am," she replied firmly. "When you asked me to come I didn't realize how expensive everything was going to be. You have to turn the receipts in when we get back. Half your meals are covered in your registration fee but mine need …"

"Emi …"

"Nope," Emi said blithely. "I refuse to waste money."

"Argh!" Adam complained … only he wasn't really complaining, it was more like a game he intended on winning in the end. "Let's just get to the hotel. I need to call in and let them know we arrived."

# # # # # # # #

Surprisingly for the crime that took place, it took almost three hours to process the scene and collect all the evidence. When Brass had said the two of them made a mess, I was expecting something on a small scale, not this! Poker chips were scattered everywhere; on the floor, the seats, and some on the table. One of the chairs was knocked over. When I asked the guy who almost had his chips skimmed from which one's were his, he muttered "Does it look like I know?" before the man passed out in a drunken mess. The people in Vegas never cease to amaze me in this city. In the end, I collected the chips that were mainly on the floor, which was about 75% of them.

Anyways, after that whole fiasco was done and over with, I headed over to the PD to begin interrogation on our mystery man. Brass offered to sit in on the interrogation with me. I agreed, due to the fact that I didn't trust this guy. There was something that he was planning, and I wasn't quite sure I wanted to know what it was. I arrived at the PD in no time at all and immediately made my way towards the interrogation room. In case you haven't noticed this already when it comes to my work, I waste no time.

When I entered the room, the suspect's eyes instantly fell on me. There was a harsh, yet playful look in them. It's as if he was trying to charm me, yet remain the alpha male. Avoiding his glance at all costs, I sat down at the table. I only looked at him when I began the questioning.

"Can I have your name for the record sir?" I asked the man. No one had gotten his name yet, and he refused to give his fingerprints to both Brass and the officers. All the man did was nod his head no. God, do I hate it when they become difficult.

"Alright then, well I'd tell you what your being accused of but I have a feeling you already know." A slow smirk slid its way up onto the guys face. Why do I have a feeling this is the only reaction I'm going to get out of him. As I looked at his smirk, something inside of me clicked. I knew him from work! Yes, he was a suspect in one of my first cases after I came to Nevada. What it was for, and who his name was, is what I couldn't remember.

"I'll be right back. Gives you some to think how to defend yourself." Without another word, I stood up from the table and abruptly left the room. With an officer now standing outside the room to make sure nothing happened, I walked down the hall. Truth to be told I needed the minute to come up with a plan. How am I going to question a suspect who won't speak?

# # # # # # # #

Emi was all but hanging out of the hotel shuttle's window with her mouth opened in a small 'o' as she stared at the diverse architecture of the hotels and casinos along The Strip. The driver said, "Sir? Can you get her to stay in her seat? She's cute and all but I'd like to keep my job."

Adam gave the smarmy driver an irritated look when he realized he was looking at Emi's rear end. Yeah, it was cute but it was his. He grabbed her hips and gently pulled her back down. "We'll go out after the Meet and Greet. OK?"

"Oh no, we won't, you'll be exhausted. You worked a double and were supposed to sleep on the plane."

"Little coffee and I'll be fine. Then we can hit The Strip and see the sights."

Emi gave Adam a mischievous look before muttering for his ears only, "You mean aren't going to stay in the hotel so you can ravish me at the first opportunity? I thought what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. We can forget all about those silly ol' ground …"

Alarmed Adam said, "Oh no we won't. Now behave."

"You sure?" Emi asked giving a little giggle and then a hiccup.

Adam groaned. "What did you drink?"

"It was just a sip of the rum and coke you had on the plane. I was thirsty after the Brick Wall knocked over that itty bitty cup of water they'd given me to wash down that itty bitty bag of pretzels. I thought it was just coke … but there was rum in it." Hiccup

"How big of a sip."

"Ummmmm …" Emi took thumb and forefinger and made a pinch and then widened the fingers a bit before hiccupping again.

Adam tried not to laugh as he said, "Looks like we both need some coffee. Now no more wiggling; it gives me ideas I don't need to have. The next stop is ours."

# # # # # # # # #

I walked back into the interrogation with nothing new other than the fact I knew I was screwed in the fact that he won't talk to me. Let's face it, I didn't come up with any idea. They haven't officially booked him so he didn't have to give up his fingerprints to us. The judge won't give us a warrant for it, cause let's face it, I wouldn't give a warrant just for a set of prints because the guy wouldn't comply.

When I sat back down at the table, the suspect's eyes instantly landed on me. He didn't say anything, but he did raise a dark eyebrow up.

"Well, I'm not going to waste my time here. If you're not going to talk, you're not going to." The man lowered his eyebrow just as a smile lit up his face. I hid mine as I knew I wasn't finished yet. "But you are going to be charged, so you get one phone call. I would suggest it'd be your lawyer." The alarm on the man's face suddenly rose a level or two. As if to try and hide the fact that he was alarmed, a smirk slid onto his face. I watched as the suspect crossed his arms over his chest, his legs now easily spreading out underneath the table.

I couldn't stop myself from asking the next question. "Take it you know who you're going to call?" For the first time, the man opened his mouth and spoke up.

"Call's not to my lawyer. My brother, he's, well a male version of you, except in New York. Figured I'd call him up since he's actually good for something for once in his life." The man's voice was deep as it was obvious by the underlying tone in his voice that he did not like his brother at all. Hey, it wasn't my problem to get mixed up in the suspect's family life, I just put them behind bars.

Clearing my throat, I stood up from the table again, this time leaving for good. "I'll have an officer escort you to the phones." Again, I left him speechless as I made my way out of the room. The thought of, oh crap hit me as I left the room. His brother's a crime scene investigator. He's going to try and pull some strings to get himself out of here when he knows he's guilty.