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Apr. 10th, 2012 04:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
supertracetechName: Kate
LJ:mellonemrys
Email Address: khummer@teleport.com
AIM/MSN/YIM (optional)- AIM and YIM: mellonemrys
Character; Series: David Hodges (called Hodges by most of his co-workers); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Las Vegas)
Character Journal:supertracetech
Character Type: Recurring Character Seasons 3-7, Main Character beginning in Season 8.
Digimon Partner: Tunomon > Elecmon > Garurumon (Black) > Were Garurumon (Black)
D-Comm Colours/Symbol:
Imported from Another RP?: No
Character Appearance:
Character Age: 44
Character History: Born in 1965 in Maryland, Hodges lost his father to leukemia at a young age, something he has never fully gotten over. Left to his own devices by a working mother, he quickly discovered his own talents, a love for sitcoms and Sci-Fi TV, and developed a harsh personality and an even harsher view of people. At age 17 he tried to pick up a hooker, who turned out to be an undercover cop. His mother demanded he pull himself together, and focus on his school work, since it was the most important thing for him to do at the time. Taking his mother's outrage seriously, he focused on completing his senior year and graduated with top marks, especially in his science classes.
Not really sure what to do career wise one of his teachers suggested forensics due to his observation skills and talent with a chemistry set. Applying at the top colleges in the Northeast, he was accepted at William's College in Massachusetts where his grandfather had gone. He earned his BA in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology after which he applied at several police labs in Massachusetts, Maryland and New York state. When he applied for a lab tech job at the New York City Crime Lab, they redirected him to LA where there was an opening more fitting to his specialties at the time. It would also give him an opportunity to attend grad school, which he applied for before setting up to move.
Jumping at the chance to do something he liked, and was good at, he packed up and moved out to LA. He didn't exactly fit in with the other lab techs, or the higher ups, but he was good enough at his job that they tolerated him. In 1999, his mother was killed in a car accident, after which he had a hard time readjusting to work. Soon afterward the chain of command in his department changed, the new management not taking to his 'charms' like the old had. They threatened to terminate him if his attitude didn't improve. In 2002 they transferred him to Las Vegas where there was an opening. He quickly attached himself to the night shift supervisor, Gil Grissom, intent on impressing him and treated him as an unwilling mentor.
Again, his co-workers tolerated him and his attitude because of his skills, but none of them really became friends. When Wendy Simms took the open DNA Technician position, Hodges found himself a rival. And as time went on, he found himself growing more and more attracted to her. They find that they both love the same Sci-Fi show (Astro Quest, a thinly veiled Star Trek spoof...but I will most likely be changing it to Star Trek to make references easier.) when they meet at a convention for it and help solve the murder of one of the guests. Wendy, who has also grown to like Hodges, offers to have a marathon of the show at her place, but as Hodges begins to realize that thinking about her is distracting him while he's working, he turns her down.
2008 brought many changes to the LV PD crime lab, Warrick Brown, one of the senior CSI's was murdered, which led to much distress within the department. In 2009 Sara Sidle, another CSI left the team, soon joined by Gil Grissom. Hodges was one of the first to know that Gil would be leaving and was one of the most upset about it. When the other CSIs moved into his vacant office, Hodges returned Grissom's fetal pig in a jar to its home on a shelf. Being short staffed, Hodges was asked to work in the field a few times during 2009 and 2010, something he detested, even though he easily discovered evidence.
After a normal check-up Hodges' blood tests came back with a high white blood cell count. The doctors told him not to worry and to come back for more tests. After a few weeks the second tests came back with the same results, leading the doctors to diagnose Hodges with B-Cell Chronic Leukemia. Dumbfounded, Hodges went back out to his car to drive to work. He took a short cut through some of the worse neighbourhoods and was hit by two cars.
Note: Most of this background is made up since Hodges doesn't have much in that department.
Character Personality: Hodges is best described as an insensitive asshole. He is also a kiss ass, especially to Grissom while he was still at the lab. He loves making dirty jokes out of lab results and at the expense of others and has a habit of telling others more than they really wanted to know. Most of this stems from being socially awkward, and trying much too hard to fit in.
He has his moments of sensitivity, but they are rare and far between. He also has attachment issues, going as far as blaming Wendy for distracting him at work, and using the excuse that work needs him more than he needs a relationship. Hodges does not trust, or particularly like new people or changes, and has no problem making this known to those around him.
He is also afraid of germs, which is why he dislikes working in the field so much.
Digimon Personality: Elecmon is pretty quiet and reserved until it comes to the subject of Earth's plant life. He considers himself an amateur botanist, and has questioned almost every tamer from Earth that he can. He keeps diligent notes on everything he learns about the subject and would like more than anything to have a plant not made of data, but of atoms.
He is a thorough researcher, and a hard worker, though he does tend to sleep in after staying up late at night reading and taking notes. He mostly keeps to himself, not having met anyone to share his fascination with. He doesn't like conflict, verbal or physical, and relies on his smaller size to avoid running into trouble. He's not above fighting, he just prefers not to involve himself in meaningless bickering.
He doesn't have much of a sense of humor, or experience dealing with social situations. But left alone in a lab or a library he feels perfectly at home. He has a scientific curiousity which leads him to be a little nosey at times, but it is always in the name of science.
Character Abilities: Hodges has a very acute sense of smell, he can detect and identify many chemicals that are odorless to most people. He is very aware of details, and notices things at a glance that others would miss. He is also, very good at his job as a trace technician, something that he makes sure everyone knows.
Sample RP:
Hodges stared at the folder full of test results the doctor had handed him. The doctor had gone over them very slowly with him, but he already knew the point the doctor would come to before he finished. His father had died of the same disease. He tossed the results into the passenger seat and stared at the steering wheel for a moment. He was going to be late if he took the route down the strip, so he turned on his car and began heading through the neighbourhoods. It wasn't the best part of town but it wasn't the worst either.
However it was the wrong night to be rushing to work via shortcuts after being given the news he was dying slightly faster than everyone else. He stopped at a stop sign and didn't bother to look before pulling into the intersection. Headlights flashed to his right and he glanced sideways...
* * *
Brass had been staring at the Nevada plate number on the silver Hyundai sedan. 'TREKTEK', he'd laughed the first time he'd noticed it on the car of one of the lab's technicians. Now however, he could barely even manage a smile. A tap on the shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Nick and Greg with their kits, ready to process the scene.
"So what've we got this time? Kids joy riding, drunk college kids, grandma falling asleep at the wheel...?" Greg asked, glancing at the three cars piled up against the wall. There was a black SUV piled on top of a silver sedan. A sports car was resting on the hood of the sedan. The firefighters had managed to put out the fire caused by some currently unknown factor.
Shaking his head, Brass flipped open his note pad and rubbed his eyes. "The driver of the SUV and his passengers were fleeing from the scene of another crime. They're all okay for the most part, minor injuries. The driver of the sports car was a lawyer who just finished a messy divorce. He wasn't wearing his seat belt and took a nose dive out of his windshield. He died on impact..."
Nick nodded as he made his way over to the wreak, "What about the sedan, Brass?"
"Middle aged man on his way to work from a doctor's appointment, however when the firefighters got done with the fire and went looking for a body they didn't find one."
Looking up, Nick frowned, "Then how do ya know about all that? Ya trying to keep in practice?"
That earned a weak smile from the older detective, "No, I know because this is David Hodges' car. He was coming in late because of a doctor's appointment today."
The two CSI's didn't say anything, just looking at the crumpled mass of smoldering metal that used to be three different cars.
"I need to finish taking statements from witnesses, do you think the two of you can handle this?"
Nick looked at Greg, both of which were clearly upset by the news that Hodges was one of the victims in the crash. Even if he was an annoying jerk most of the time. Nick finally found his voice, "I think I'm gonna give Catherine a call...we could use some help on this..."
* * *
Wendy looked through Hodges' lab window and frowned. He'd mentioned something about a doctor's appointment, but knowing him, he was probably nursing a hangover from his sci-fi marathon night. He'd only been talking about having one for ages now. She'd even hoped she might be invited.
When she reached her desk she found a note from him on it. There was something heavy in the envelop and upon opening it, she found a communicator badge from their favourite sci-fi tv show inside.
'To go with your new costume.' Was written on the note.
And turning over the badge she found that it was engraved. She blushed and quickly put it away in her desk before anyone else saw it. She'd actually have to thank him, once he got his sorry ass into work.
* * *
The three vehicles had been separated and brought into the lab to be processed. Going off the statements of the three people in the SUV, they'd hit Hodges' car from the side. So far they estimated that the SUV was going around 50mph, while Hodges was going around 35mph, based on the skid and yaw marks they'd found in the intersection. The third vehicle, the sports car at hit the two already incapacitated vehicles head on at around 65mph and pushed all three into a brick wall adjacent to the intersection.
Upon processing the SUV they found several cases of Mike's Hard Lemonade that were mostly empty. The three people in the SUV had admitted to coming from robbing a convenience store in nearby Henderson, and were enjoying their spoils when they'd hit Hodges. The convenience store had confirmed that four cases of of Mike's had been stolen, as well as $123 from the register. The robbers had just managed to evade the police and were hightailing it out of the downtown area. Surprisingly all three had avoided major injury and were currently sitting in lock up pending charges.
The sports car proved to be worse for wear than the SUV. If the driver had been wearing his seat belt, he would have been crushed by the steering column when his car hit Hodges'. The fire had originated in the sports car, a open bottle of whiskey acted as an accelerant, the driver's cigarette as the ignition. Most of the interior of the car was destroyed before the firefighters had gotten there, but the CSIs managed to find all the evidence they needed, along with the driver's tox report. The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.21%, well above the legal limit and according to his recently divorced widow, not anything new. He'd died instantly after he'd been catapulted through his windshield, due to the force of impact, and onto the pavement ten feet away.
Hodges' silver Hyundai was so far the most confusing piece of the puzzle. The passenger side door frame had collapsed in the initial crash with the SUV. The force had cracked the windshield and thrown Hodges' against the driver side door and window. There was evidence that Hodges' head had come in contact with the window, given break pattern on that window and the blood left on the edges. The second impact had crushed the front of the car and would have pinned Hodges inside. The steering column and front dash were folded down to the point that Hodges' legs would have been broken. The amount of blood in the car also suggested that he'd received several lacerations, most likely to his arms and torso. The fire had then spread to Hodges' car, partially burning the test results revealing he was suffering from leukemia. Burnt skin melted onto the driver side door handle confirmed that Hodges' had still been in the car when the fire had started.
However, without a body present it was hard to really be sure about any of this.
* * *
Time slowed down after the first impact. As it often was said to do in life threatening circumstances. The dark SUV's front end had crushed the side of Hodges' car. The glass had shattered, and the frame and doors had given way, ending up in the passenger seat. His head hit the window, cracking the glass and leaving him feeling dizzy and disoriented.
The second car in addition to changing their trajectory had also crushed the front of the car, pushed the steering column back, and effectively pinned Hodges to his seat. The impact into the brick wall crushed the side of the car and stopped the momentum of the three vehicles, causing the SUV to end up nearly on top of Hodges' car. Gasoline and oil leaked from all three cars as the driver of the SUV attempted to get out and help his passengers.
Hodges tried to move once the world had stopped spinning quite so badly, but quickly found that his pain won over any attempts. He could smell the gas, as well as cigarette smoke and hoped that one of the idiots that had crashed into him wasn't also smoking. Metal creaked above him as the SUV shifted. Glancing at the supports left holding the large SVU above him, Hodges paled. The metal was damaged beyond its stress points, and sound of glass exploding somewhere in front of him altered him to the beginnings of the fire that would soon engulf all three vehicles.
* * *
"Nicky, its been a week, have you gotten any sleep at all?" Catherine asked after finding Nick pouring over the evidence and crime scene photos again.
"...some, I just can't leave this alone Catherine..."
Walking over to the light table and glancing at the piles of photos she nodded slightly. "There hasn't been anyone matching his description at any of the hospitals or clinics..."
"Well then, maybe some low life picked him up off the street!?" Nick yelled, throwing the photos of the area around Hodges' driver side door onto the table.
"While its possible...its highly unlikely." Ray piped in as he walked into the room with a carrying tray full of coffee cups. "In all honesty, he wouldn't last more than an hour without medical treatment. Someone who wanted to hurt him further...it would most likely have to be personal for them to even bother with someone so injured."
Greg came in after Ray, yawning and rubbing his eyes, "What if someone picked him up wanting to help...but freaked out when he...he...died on them...? They would have just dumped the body somewhere..."
Nick nodded, taking one of the coffees, "That seems about as plausible as anything right now...have we put out alerts for dumped bodies yet?"
"We have, but we don't have any evidence of that...its like he just disappeared from his car." Catherine said after a moment. "Though...maybe there's something that the junior trace tech that Reno sent us missed..."
* * *
Hodges knew that the heat of the fire would weaken the metal enough to allow the roof of the car to collapse with the weight of the SUV. Twisting his body as much as he could, he pressed his back against the door. The world began to swim again as smoke began to fill the small area inside the car. He tugged at the handle only to remember that he'd locked the car before he'd started driving. He hadn't wanted to stop at an intersection and get mugged, it seemed like a silly fear at the moment though.
His fingers found the latch and unlocked the door, but it was jammed. Taking a few slow, deep breaths, he shifted his upper body again, cutting himself on the glass from the broken passenger side window. Taking the handle, he tried throwing his weight at the door, but again to no avail. As an added bonus to his injury count, he felt a sharp tug at the skin on his hand when he pulled it away from the handle. The fire had been blazing near the door and had caused the handle to heat up to the point it had nearly melted his skin.
The metal creaked dangerously and the roof began to give. Thinking as quickly as possible, he reached for the lever to recline his seat. It fell backwards with his weight just as the SUV came crashing through the roof. A part of the roof pinned his chest to the seat, forcing the air from his lungs. He tried to push up on the roof, but could barely move his arms given the current condition of the car. Next he tried to grasp the rear seat and pull himself back, but the steering column would barely allow him to move. He then tried to reach down and move his legs, so that they wouldn't be trapped under the column, but only managed to trap his arm in the process.
He heard a crash of metal through glass, but his eyes were watering so badly, and his head was spinning from the lack of oxygen so much that he could barely comprehend what he was seeing. Though he was fairly sure it was rescue attempt.
* * *
Wendy had researched for hours and hours in an attempt to get it just right. She knew that he'd have noticed if it wasn't just right. And even wearing it in public she didn't feel uncomfortable.
He didn't have any family anymore. Work acted like his home and family for so many years. Even if he had been like the jerk older brother most of the time.
They'd decided against an open casket given the deterioration of the body. But she'd snuck one last glance at him in the medical examination room after they had found his body discarded in the desert by the driver of a forth car - an associate of the robbers trying to cover up the body and avoid having his friends charged for manslaughter.
When the service ended, Wendy walked up to the casket and placed her flowers on the lid. Slipping her communicator badge off the collar of her long black dress, she lifted the lid, tears slipping down her face as she did so. Then she pinned the engraved piece of metal to his shirt and closed the lid again. Hurrying off before her co-workers could catch up. If he hadn't have been such a jerk, she would have gladly shared the phrase written on the badge with him. But when she'd moved in, he'd pulled away.
And now it was much too late.
Too late, even if they were 'made for each other'.
* * *
Hodges felt someone pull him out roughly out of his car. He was even awake enough to feel his arm snap before it was untangled from the steering column. With both legs and his left arm broken, along with his ribcage crushed, and decent trauma to his head, he was glad that he was able to feel anything at all.
Though he was beginning to wonder how long he could stay awake. The person placed him on a tarp and drug him along the ground, not mindful of his other injuries and barked out orders to some else nearby. The man then dropped Hodges, and disappeared from view for a moment. He returned shortly with a long thin object in hand.
The last thing Hodges remembered was a sharp pain digging into his skull, then all of his senses shut down.
Sample Journal Entry:
I-I require immediate assistance! My tamer seems to have fallen out of the sky...and is very very badly injured. He has suffered from significant blood loss and does not appear to be concious. We are located directly in front of the Hyperion Hotel, along with Miss Haku Yowane who is in need of some assistance as well. She is quite distressed over the entire situation.
I suppose I should try to check for breathing or a pulse...though I am not sure how to do so. However, I'm also assuming he is human in nature...which I cannot be sure of.
[There is soft rustling and the sound of sobbing for a few minutes.]
It does appear that he is breathing...but it is severely laboured. There is visible head trauma, suggesting at least one blow to the head with a blunt object. In all respects I don't think he will last much longer in this condition. Please send help as soon as possible.
LJ:
mellonemrysEmail Address: khummer@teleport.com
AIM/MSN/YIM (optional)- AIM and YIM: mellonemrys
Character; Series: David Hodges (called Hodges by most of his co-workers); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Las Vegas)
Character Journal:
supertracetechCharacter Type: Recurring Character Seasons 3-7, Main Character beginning in Season 8.
Digimon Partner: Tunomon > Elecmon > Garurumon (Black) > Were Garurumon (Black)
D-Comm Colours/Symbol:
Imported from Another RP?: No
Character Appearance:
Character Age: 44
Character History: Born in 1965 in Maryland, Hodges lost his father to leukemia at a young age, something he has never fully gotten over. Left to his own devices by a working mother, he quickly discovered his own talents, a love for sitcoms and Sci-Fi TV, and developed a harsh personality and an even harsher view of people. At age 17 he tried to pick up a hooker, who turned out to be an undercover cop. His mother demanded he pull himself together, and focus on his school work, since it was the most important thing for him to do at the time. Taking his mother's outrage seriously, he focused on completing his senior year and graduated with top marks, especially in his science classes.
Not really sure what to do career wise one of his teachers suggested forensics due to his observation skills and talent with a chemistry set. Applying at the top colleges in the Northeast, he was accepted at William's College in Massachusetts where his grandfather had gone. He earned his BA in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology after which he applied at several police labs in Massachusetts, Maryland and New York state. When he applied for a lab tech job at the New York City Crime Lab, they redirected him to LA where there was an opening more fitting to his specialties at the time. It would also give him an opportunity to attend grad school, which he applied for before setting up to move.
Jumping at the chance to do something he liked, and was good at, he packed up and moved out to LA. He didn't exactly fit in with the other lab techs, or the higher ups, but he was good enough at his job that they tolerated him. In 1999, his mother was killed in a car accident, after which he had a hard time readjusting to work. Soon afterward the chain of command in his department changed, the new management not taking to his 'charms' like the old had. They threatened to terminate him if his attitude didn't improve. In 2002 they transferred him to Las Vegas where there was an opening. He quickly attached himself to the night shift supervisor, Gil Grissom, intent on impressing him and treated him as an unwilling mentor.
Again, his co-workers tolerated him and his attitude because of his skills, but none of them really became friends. When Wendy Simms took the open DNA Technician position, Hodges found himself a rival. And as time went on, he found himself growing more and more attracted to her. They find that they both love the same Sci-Fi show (Astro Quest, a thinly veiled Star Trek spoof...but I will most likely be changing it to Star Trek to make references easier.) when they meet at a convention for it and help solve the murder of one of the guests. Wendy, who has also grown to like Hodges, offers to have a marathon of the show at her place, but as Hodges begins to realize that thinking about her is distracting him while he's working, he turns her down.
2008 brought many changes to the LV PD crime lab, Warrick Brown, one of the senior CSI's was murdered, which led to much distress within the department. In 2009 Sara Sidle, another CSI left the team, soon joined by Gil Grissom. Hodges was one of the first to know that Gil would be leaving and was one of the most upset about it. When the other CSIs moved into his vacant office, Hodges returned Grissom's fetal pig in a jar to its home on a shelf. Being short staffed, Hodges was asked to work in the field a few times during 2009 and 2010, something he detested, even though he easily discovered evidence.
After a normal check-up Hodges' blood tests came back with a high white blood cell count. The doctors told him not to worry and to come back for more tests. After a few weeks the second tests came back with the same results, leading the doctors to diagnose Hodges with B-Cell Chronic Leukemia. Dumbfounded, Hodges went back out to his car to drive to work. He took a short cut through some of the worse neighbourhoods and was hit by two cars.
Note: Most of this background is made up since Hodges doesn't have much in that department.
Character Personality: Hodges is best described as an insensitive asshole. He is also a kiss ass, especially to Grissom while he was still at the lab. He loves making dirty jokes out of lab results and at the expense of others and has a habit of telling others more than they really wanted to know. Most of this stems from being socially awkward, and trying much too hard to fit in.
He has his moments of sensitivity, but they are rare and far between. He also has attachment issues, going as far as blaming Wendy for distracting him at work, and using the excuse that work needs him more than he needs a relationship. Hodges does not trust, or particularly like new people or changes, and has no problem making this known to those around him.
He is also afraid of germs, which is why he dislikes working in the field so much.
Digimon Personality: Elecmon is pretty quiet and reserved until it comes to the subject of Earth's plant life. He considers himself an amateur botanist, and has questioned almost every tamer from Earth that he can. He keeps diligent notes on everything he learns about the subject and would like more than anything to have a plant not made of data, but of atoms.
He is a thorough researcher, and a hard worker, though he does tend to sleep in after staying up late at night reading and taking notes. He mostly keeps to himself, not having met anyone to share his fascination with. He doesn't like conflict, verbal or physical, and relies on his smaller size to avoid running into trouble. He's not above fighting, he just prefers not to involve himself in meaningless bickering.
He doesn't have much of a sense of humor, or experience dealing with social situations. But left alone in a lab or a library he feels perfectly at home. He has a scientific curiousity which leads him to be a little nosey at times, but it is always in the name of science.
Character Abilities: Hodges has a very acute sense of smell, he can detect and identify many chemicals that are odorless to most people. He is very aware of details, and notices things at a glance that others would miss. He is also, very good at his job as a trace technician, something that he makes sure everyone knows.
Sample RP:
Hodges stared at the folder full of test results the doctor had handed him. The doctor had gone over them very slowly with him, but he already knew the point the doctor would come to before he finished. His father had died of the same disease. He tossed the results into the passenger seat and stared at the steering wheel for a moment. He was going to be late if he took the route down the strip, so he turned on his car and began heading through the neighbourhoods. It wasn't the best part of town but it wasn't the worst either.
However it was the wrong night to be rushing to work via shortcuts after being given the news he was dying slightly faster than everyone else. He stopped at a stop sign and didn't bother to look before pulling into the intersection. Headlights flashed to his right and he glanced sideways...
Brass had been staring at the Nevada plate number on the silver Hyundai sedan. 'TREKTEK', he'd laughed the first time he'd noticed it on the car of one of the lab's technicians. Now however, he could barely even manage a smile. A tap on the shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Nick and Greg with their kits, ready to process the scene.
"So what've we got this time? Kids joy riding, drunk college kids, grandma falling asleep at the wheel...?" Greg asked, glancing at the three cars piled up against the wall. There was a black SUV piled on top of a silver sedan. A sports car was resting on the hood of the sedan. The firefighters had managed to put out the fire caused by some currently unknown factor.
Shaking his head, Brass flipped open his note pad and rubbed his eyes. "The driver of the SUV and his passengers were fleeing from the scene of another crime. They're all okay for the most part, minor injuries. The driver of the sports car was a lawyer who just finished a messy divorce. He wasn't wearing his seat belt and took a nose dive out of his windshield. He died on impact..."
Nick nodded as he made his way over to the wreak, "What about the sedan, Brass?"
"Middle aged man on his way to work from a doctor's appointment, however when the firefighters got done with the fire and went looking for a body they didn't find one."
Looking up, Nick frowned, "Then how do ya know about all that? Ya trying to keep in practice?"
That earned a weak smile from the older detective, "No, I know because this is David Hodges' car. He was coming in late because of a doctor's appointment today."
The two CSI's didn't say anything, just looking at the crumpled mass of smoldering metal that used to be three different cars.
"I need to finish taking statements from witnesses, do you think the two of you can handle this?"
Nick looked at Greg, both of which were clearly upset by the news that Hodges was one of the victims in the crash. Even if he was an annoying jerk most of the time. Nick finally found his voice, "I think I'm gonna give Catherine a call...we could use some help on this..."
Wendy looked through Hodges' lab window and frowned. He'd mentioned something about a doctor's appointment, but knowing him, he was probably nursing a hangover from his sci-fi marathon night. He'd only been talking about having one for ages now. She'd even hoped she might be invited.
When she reached her desk she found a note from him on it. There was something heavy in the envelop and upon opening it, she found a communicator badge from their favourite sci-fi tv show inside.
'To go with your new costume.' Was written on the note.
And turning over the badge she found that it was engraved. She blushed and quickly put it away in her desk before anyone else saw it. She'd actually have to thank him, once he got his sorry ass into work.
The three vehicles had been separated and brought into the lab to be processed. Going off the statements of the three people in the SUV, they'd hit Hodges' car from the side. So far they estimated that the SUV was going around 50mph, while Hodges was going around 35mph, based on the skid and yaw marks they'd found in the intersection. The third vehicle, the sports car at hit the two already incapacitated vehicles head on at around 65mph and pushed all three into a brick wall adjacent to the intersection.
Upon processing the SUV they found several cases of Mike's Hard Lemonade that were mostly empty. The three people in the SUV had admitted to coming from robbing a convenience store in nearby Henderson, and were enjoying their spoils when they'd hit Hodges. The convenience store had confirmed that four cases of of Mike's had been stolen, as well as $123 from the register. The robbers had just managed to evade the police and were hightailing it out of the downtown area. Surprisingly all three had avoided major injury and were currently sitting in lock up pending charges.
The sports car proved to be worse for wear than the SUV. If the driver had been wearing his seat belt, he would have been crushed by the steering column when his car hit Hodges'. The fire had originated in the sports car, a open bottle of whiskey acted as an accelerant, the driver's cigarette as the ignition. Most of the interior of the car was destroyed before the firefighters had gotten there, but the CSIs managed to find all the evidence they needed, along with the driver's tox report. The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.21%, well above the legal limit and according to his recently divorced widow, not anything new. He'd died instantly after he'd been catapulted through his windshield, due to the force of impact, and onto the pavement ten feet away.
Hodges' silver Hyundai was so far the most confusing piece of the puzzle. The passenger side door frame had collapsed in the initial crash with the SUV. The force had cracked the windshield and thrown Hodges' against the driver side door and window. There was evidence that Hodges' head had come in contact with the window, given break pattern on that window and the blood left on the edges. The second impact had crushed the front of the car and would have pinned Hodges inside. The steering column and front dash were folded down to the point that Hodges' legs would have been broken. The amount of blood in the car also suggested that he'd received several lacerations, most likely to his arms and torso. The fire had then spread to Hodges' car, partially burning the test results revealing he was suffering from leukemia. Burnt skin melted onto the driver side door handle confirmed that Hodges' had still been in the car when the fire had started.
However, without a body present it was hard to really be sure about any of this.
Time slowed down after the first impact. As it often was said to do in life threatening circumstances. The dark SUV's front end had crushed the side of Hodges' car. The glass had shattered, and the frame and doors had given way, ending up in the passenger seat. His head hit the window, cracking the glass and leaving him feeling dizzy and disoriented.
The second car in addition to changing their trajectory had also crushed the front of the car, pushed the steering column back, and effectively pinned Hodges to his seat. The impact into the brick wall crushed the side of the car and stopped the momentum of the three vehicles, causing the SUV to end up nearly on top of Hodges' car. Gasoline and oil leaked from all three cars as the driver of the SUV attempted to get out and help his passengers.
Hodges tried to move once the world had stopped spinning quite so badly, but quickly found that his pain won over any attempts. He could smell the gas, as well as cigarette smoke and hoped that one of the idiots that had crashed into him wasn't also smoking. Metal creaked above him as the SUV shifted. Glancing at the supports left holding the large SVU above him, Hodges paled. The metal was damaged beyond its stress points, and sound of glass exploding somewhere in front of him altered him to the beginnings of the fire that would soon engulf all three vehicles.
"Nicky, its been a week, have you gotten any sleep at all?" Catherine asked after finding Nick pouring over the evidence and crime scene photos again.
"...some, I just can't leave this alone Catherine..."
Walking over to the light table and glancing at the piles of photos she nodded slightly. "There hasn't been anyone matching his description at any of the hospitals or clinics..."
"Well then, maybe some low life picked him up off the street!?" Nick yelled, throwing the photos of the area around Hodges' driver side door onto the table.
"While its possible...its highly unlikely." Ray piped in as he walked into the room with a carrying tray full of coffee cups. "In all honesty, he wouldn't last more than an hour without medical treatment. Someone who wanted to hurt him further...it would most likely have to be personal for them to even bother with someone so injured."
Greg came in after Ray, yawning and rubbing his eyes, "What if someone picked him up wanting to help...but freaked out when he...he...died on them...? They would have just dumped the body somewhere..."
Nick nodded, taking one of the coffees, "That seems about as plausible as anything right now...have we put out alerts for dumped bodies yet?"
"We have, but we don't have any evidence of that...its like he just disappeared from his car." Catherine said after a moment. "Though...maybe there's something that the junior trace tech that Reno sent us missed..."
Hodges knew that the heat of the fire would weaken the metal enough to allow the roof of the car to collapse with the weight of the SUV. Twisting his body as much as he could, he pressed his back against the door. The world began to swim again as smoke began to fill the small area inside the car. He tugged at the handle only to remember that he'd locked the car before he'd started driving. He hadn't wanted to stop at an intersection and get mugged, it seemed like a silly fear at the moment though.
His fingers found the latch and unlocked the door, but it was jammed. Taking a few slow, deep breaths, he shifted his upper body again, cutting himself on the glass from the broken passenger side window. Taking the handle, he tried throwing his weight at the door, but again to no avail. As an added bonus to his injury count, he felt a sharp tug at the skin on his hand when he pulled it away from the handle. The fire had been blazing near the door and had caused the handle to heat up to the point it had nearly melted his skin.
The metal creaked dangerously and the roof began to give. Thinking as quickly as possible, he reached for the lever to recline his seat. It fell backwards with his weight just as the SUV came crashing through the roof. A part of the roof pinned his chest to the seat, forcing the air from his lungs. He tried to push up on the roof, but could barely move his arms given the current condition of the car. Next he tried to grasp the rear seat and pull himself back, but the steering column would barely allow him to move. He then tried to reach down and move his legs, so that they wouldn't be trapped under the column, but only managed to trap his arm in the process.
He heard a crash of metal through glass, but his eyes were watering so badly, and his head was spinning from the lack of oxygen so much that he could barely comprehend what he was seeing. Though he was fairly sure it was rescue attempt.
Wendy had researched for hours and hours in an attempt to get it just right. She knew that he'd have noticed if it wasn't just right. And even wearing it in public she didn't feel uncomfortable.
He didn't have any family anymore. Work acted like his home and family for so many years. Even if he had been like the jerk older brother most of the time.
They'd decided against an open casket given the deterioration of the body. But she'd snuck one last glance at him in the medical examination room after they had found his body discarded in the desert by the driver of a forth car - an associate of the robbers trying to cover up the body and avoid having his friends charged for manslaughter.
When the service ended, Wendy walked up to the casket and placed her flowers on the lid. Slipping her communicator badge off the collar of her long black dress, she lifted the lid, tears slipping down her face as she did so. Then she pinned the engraved piece of metal to his shirt and closed the lid again. Hurrying off before her co-workers could catch up. If he hadn't have been such a jerk, she would have gladly shared the phrase written on the badge with him. But when she'd moved in, he'd pulled away.
And now it was much too late.
Too late, even if they were 'made for each other'.
Hodges felt someone pull him out roughly out of his car. He was even awake enough to feel his arm snap before it was untangled from the steering column. With both legs and his left arm broken, along with his ribcage crushed, and decent trauma to his head, he was glad that he was able to feel anything at all.
Though he was beginning to wonder how long he could stay awake. The person placed him on a tarp and drug him along the ground, not mindful of his other injuries and barked out orders to some else nearby. The man then dropped Hodges, and disappeared from view for a moment. He returned shortly with a long thin object in hand.
The last thing Hodges remembered was a sharp pain digging into his skull, then all of his senses shut down.
Sample Journal Entry:
I-I require immediate assistance! My tamer seems to have fallen out of the sky...and is very very badly injured. He has suffered from significant blood loss and does not appear to be concious. We are located directly in front of the Hyperion Hotel, along with Miss Haku Yowane who is in need of some assistance as well. She is quite distressed over the entire situation.
I suppose I should try to check for breathing or a pulse...though I am not sure how to do so. However, I'm also assuming he is human in nature...which I cannot be sure of.
[There is soft rustling and the sound of sobbing for a few minutes.]
It does appear that he is breathing...but it is severely laboured. There is visible head trauma, suggesting at least one blow to the head with a blunt object. In all respects I don't think he will last much longer in this condition. Please send help as soon as possible.
