AN: This is my very first fanfic, so I would appreciate any and all (constructive) reviews.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR HAVE ANY RIGHTS TO THE TELEVISION SERIES NCIS OR ITS CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO DONALD BELLISARIO/BELISARIUS PRODUCTIONS AND CBS TELEVISION (ALTHOUGH LIKE MOST LADIES, I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING MICHAEL WEATHERLY...) NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. I AM NOT GETTING PAID FOR THIS STORY.
CHAPTER 1
"Grab your gear!" Gibbs called out as he strode into the bullpen.
"Where we goin', boss?" senior field agent Tony DiNozzo asked.
"Alameda," Gibbs answered. "We're to give an NCIS agent who was captured and held hostage in Mexico while on an undercover assignment an escort to D.C."
The senior agent passed out file folders to his team members as they headed toward the elevator. "All the information is in there. Her name is Nicole Charles. Her father was a Marine First Lieutenant named Lawrence Charles. After he was discharged from the Corps, he went to work for a defense contractor called Lilley and Associates. They were working on a top-secret project for the Navy code-named Atlantis when he was killed in an explosion. I was on the team that investigated his death.
"Agent Charles was a junior at UC-San Diego when he died, majoring in psychology. After she got her master's degree, she spent a couple of years in private practice before joining NCIS in 2000."
Agent Tim McGee frowned as he looked through the file. "It says here that she put in for a transfer to headquarters on several occasions but was turned down each time."
"Yes. Apparently her boss in San Diego was convinced that the only reason for the requests was to reopen her father's case. I wouldn't be surprised. Agent Charles is like a dog with a bone when she gets something like this in her head."
"Sorta like you, boss?" DiNozzo asked with a grin. Gibbs shot him a look, and he shut up.
"If she disappeared in Mexico, how did she get to Alameda?" Agent Ziva David asked.
"Actually, she was found in San Francisco. She was kidnapped by a Mexican terrorist named Ricardo Aguilar, aka El Lobo Negro. By the time a team of NCIS and FBI agents working with the Mexican federales raided Aguilar's compound last month, she'd been moved. One of Aguilar's bodyguards said that she was in San Francisco."
"So we're supposed to find her and bring her back for a debriefing?" McGee asked.
"She's in NCIS custody, but she's refusing to return to San Diego. It's our job to find out why."
"Is it not her decision whether or not to return?" Ziva wondered.
"It's not that simple, Ziva. She's an excellent agent who loves NCIS. Her boss, Agent Ron Tarkington, is convinced that something happened while she was in Mexico. When our people found her at a homeless shelter in San Francisco, she insisted to them that her name was Jamie Lawrence and that Nicole Charles was dead. Director Vance wants us to find out why."
By now the four agents had buckled themselves into seats on a jet. Tony raised his eyebrows as he took in the luxuriousness of it. "Where did this come from?"
"Courtesy of our friends at the Hoover Building. They want us to get to Alameda ASAP, so there's no time for a commercial flight."
Four hours later, they were circling an airfield just outside the city, and minutes later were on the ground. As they deplaned, a tall, handsome blond man stepped forward and held out his hand to Gibbs.
"Special Agent Gibbs? I'm Agent Todd Williams, NCIS Alameda. We have Agent Charles at our office."
Gibbs shook the young man's hand and introduced the rest of the team. "My senior field agent Tony DiNozzo and Agents Timothy McGee and Ziva David. Have you managed to get anything further out of Agent Charles?"
"No, sir. She still refuses to talk to us. Agent Tarkington and Director Vance are hoping you'll have better luck since you know her."
Forty minutes later, they drove through the gates of the Naval base and minutes later parked behind a four-story brick building. Williams led them through the rear entrance and into an elevator. As the lift rose, he said, "We found Agent Charles yesterday and put her up at a hotel, with one of our female agents in an adjoining room. This morning we brought her here and she's been here since."
Gibbs nodded. A minute later the group stood in an observation room, watching through the one-way window as an agent questioned Nicole. She stared into the mirrored surface of the window, refusing even to make eye contact with the other woman.
"Let me try," Gibbs said. Turning to Tony, he added, "You're with me."
They left the room and seconds later the other agents saw them enter the interrogation room. The agent interviewing Nicole glanced up, and Gibbs tilted his head, indicating that she should leave. As the door closed behind her, he studied the young woman he hadn't seen for more than ten years, although they had spoken on the phone often.
"Hello, Nikki," he said finally, and when she didn't respond, he added, "Excuse me... Jamie."
She smiled faintly as she turned to him. "Special Agent Gibbs."
He nodded to the dark-haired young man beside him. "This is Special Agent Tony DiNozzo."
The handsome agent stepped toward her with a bright smile and outstretched hand. "Agent Charles."
Nicole raised an eyebrow and shot Gibbs an amused look. "Your reputation precedes you, Agent DiNozzo."
He assumed a look of false innocence. "My reputation?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Never mind." She looked at Gibbs, and her smile faded. "Look, Gibbs, I've been telling these nice people here that I'm not going back to San Diego, and I mean it."
"That's fine, Nikki. We have no intention of making you go back." He handed her a folder from his briefcase. "In fact, these are your new orders."
She took it, but just held it, staring at him. "New orders?"
"Signed by Director Vance. You will be escorted to a secure location by my team and placed in protective custody. We're leaving now."
The three agents left the room as the door to Observation opened and McGee and Ziva stepped out. They walked toward the elevator and went downstairs and out to the car. An hour later they were on their way south.
"I thought we weren't going back to San Diego," Nicole said.
"We're not staying," Gibbs told her. "We're just stopping by your apartment so you can pack some things and then we'll be on our way."
His voice became formal. "Effective immediately, you are on leave for an indefinite period of time. As I told you back at the office, you are in protective custody. You will be taken to a safe house, where Agents DiNozzo and David will take turns guarding you."
She leaned forward, interrupting him. "Yes, Jethro, but while you're protecting me, who'll be protecting my team?"
"I don't understand."
She looked away. "He told me..." She hesitated.
"Aguilar?" Gibbs prodded quietly.
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Aguilar. He told me that if I ever told anyone... anyone... what happened to me, my team would suffer the consequences."
Gibbs sat back in his seat. "Nikki, we can protect you. We can have FBI agents on your team members. I can also tell you that the only people who know where you're going are Agent Tarkington, Director Vance, and my team. You will be safe."
"Don't bet on it. I wouldn't be surprised if Aguilar knows right now that I've left the city."
"But does he know where you're headed?"
"Probably not, but that just gives him a reason to carry out his threat. He won't know what I'm telling or not telling you."
"True, but he may assume that he has you so frightened you won't say a word."
"He's not wrong."
Gibbs reached over and took her hand, giving it a quick, gentle squeeze. "You'll be fine, Nikki. I promise."
NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS
This time as they stepped off the plane, they were met by a silver-haired man who looked to be about Gibbs's age. As soon as he saw Nicole, he came forward with a broad smile.
"Nicole! It's good to see you." He shook her hand and gave her a quick hug.
Smiling she returned, "Good to see you too, Tark." She turned to her companions. "Tark, meet Special Agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Tony DiNozzo, Tim McGee, and Ziva David. Guys, this is my boss, Special Agent Ron Tarkington."
They shook hands, then Tark led them to a car. "Agent Gibbs, I just received a fax of the orders from Director Vance. While we'll miss having Nicole on our team for awhile, I agree that this is the best thing for her. If there is anything we can do to help you, please feel free to ask."
"You can be sure we will. Now, if you'll take us to Nikki's apartment?"
"Of course." Soon he pulled up in front of a neat building on a quiet, tree-lined street. "I'll wait for you here."
The five agents entered the building, and several tenants greeted Nicole, welcoming her home. She nodded, smiled, and made small talk, all the while making her way toward the elevators. She leaned against the back wall and sighed. Gibbs looked at her sympathetically.
"We'll be out of here soon, Nikki, and on our way to D.C."
"I'm not worried about that. I'll just miss everyone here, too." She grinned a bit sheepishly, and he chuckled.
She unlocked her door and stepped inside, flicking on the living room light. Heading back toward the bedroom, she pointed out various things about her home. The team noticed that it had a feminine feel to it, the walls and furnishings in shades of purple, obviously her favorite color.
"And my sanctum sanctorum," she said, throwing open the door of her room. It was dominated by a queen sized bed with a thick rose comforter and about a dozen small decorative pillows. There was also a big-screen plasma tv on one wall, and a roll-top desk against another. Tony noticed a rack of CDs above the desk and made a beeline for it.
"Lots of classic rock bands," he noted, studying row after row of Styx, Kansas, Rush, Bon Jovi, Guns 'n' Roses, and others.
"Yep, and some others. Country, big band, blues, jazz... I have eclectic taste when it comes to music." She moved to the walk-in closet and handed McGee a couple of suitcases sitting on the floor, then began pulling down clothes to take with her. Ziva went into the bathroom to begin collecting a few toiletries that she would need. As McGee and Gibbs began folding and packing, Nicole grabbed a duffel bag and began stuffing it with CDs and DVDs, plus her laptop. She took a quick look around as the work was finished, then nodded to Gibbs.
"Okay, let's get out of here."