It was just after 0500 when young woman named Abby Scuito was awakened by a knock on her door. She jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a man that she didn't recognize. Abby ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife then went back to the door and slowly opened it.
"Can I help you?" Abby asked.
"Yeah my car broke down and I need to use your phone."
"Why didn't you use one downstairs? There are people closer to the parking lot than I am."
"They wouldn't let me in." The guy said. Abby had a strange feeling about this guy so she said,
"I'm sorry sir, but I have to go." Abby started to shut the door but the man stopped her. He used his other hand to pull a gun out of his back pocket. The man pointed the gun at Abby and said,
"Let me in." Abby let the man in and reached for the knife in her back pocket that she had retrieved from the kitchen. The man shut the door then turned to Abby.
"Drop that knife!" He ordered. Abby wasn't sure how he saw the knife, but followed his orders since a gun was being pointed at her. She placed the knife on nearby table then put her hands up.
"What do you want?" Abby asked nervously.
"Oh Abby, you don't remember me?"
"How do you know my name?"
"We met three years ago at a bar in Georgetown. You tried to break up a fight I was having with my friend Josh Rowan." He said. Abby thought for a minute then had a flashback of that night.
Abby was at a bar in Georgetown with her friend Erica. They were having drinks and talking when they heard some guys behind them fighting. Erica turned around to the men and said,
"Stop fighting!" The two men looked at her.
"And what if we don't?" One of them asked.
"Then we'll call the cops." Abby said. All four of them started screaming at each other. They screamed loud and long enough that the manager had called the police. When the police got there, the argument turned into a gun fight. Abby ran back behind the bar to avoid getting hit. A few seconds after she found a spot to avoid the bullets, a body hit the floor right in front of her. Abby crawled up to the man to see if he was dead. She could see that the man lying on the floor was one of the men who was originally fighting. She saw an ID fall out of his shirt pocket so she picked it up. The ID read, Joshua S. Rowan USMC. Abby got up and saw the other man run to his friend.
"Josh! Can you hear me? It's me, Mark! Josh … Josh no!" he said. Mark teared up then got up and looked at Abby and Erica angrily.
"This isn't over." He said. Abby and Erica watched as the police handcuffed him then escorted him out.
Abby looked back up at the man holding a gun to her.
"This isn't over?" she asked nervously.
"It is for your friend Erica." Mark said. He put his gun in his back pocket then walked up to Abby and pulled her hands down so he could tie them behind her back.
"What'd you do to her?" Abby asked as she teared up.
"I shot her … in the face." Mark said proudly. Abby started to hyperventilate a little. He pushed a terrified Abby onto the chair next to the couch and finished tying her up.
At NCIS Tony was just walking into the squad room when Gibbs' phone rang.
"Yeah Gibbs … where? … we'll be right there." Gibbs hung up the phone then opened his drawer and grabbed his gun.
"Grab your gear we got a dead marine in Georgetown." He said. Tony, Ziva, and McGee grabbed their gear then followed Gibbs into the elevator. Once they were in the elevator, Ziva turned to Gibbs and asked,
"Who is driving Gibbs?" Gibbs looked at her and said,
"I am." Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and Ziva got off the elevator once it reached their floor. They got into the van and made their way over to Georgetown. Back at Abby's apartment Mark had Abby tied up to the chair.
"What happened to Erica?" Abby demanded.
"I told you, I shot her in the face." Mark said. He cut some duct tape off of a tape roll then put it over Abby's mouth. "I don't want to hear another word out of someone who's responsible for my friend's death. Erica was the first to go; Now I need to find that bar manager. What was her name … oh yeah Jackie Lewis." Abby tried to talk but her voice was muffled by the duct tape. Mark patted Abby's shoulder and said, "See you later. I'm gonna go try and find Jackie." With that he left.
In Georgetown, the NCIS team had just arrived at their crime scene. The team got out of the van and walked up to the front door. Gibbs knocked on the door and someone opened it almost immediately.
"NCIS, can we come in?" Gibbs asked as he flashed his badge at the man who opened the door.
"Of course." The man said as he wiped some tears out of his eyes. The team walked into the house and saw a woman with dark brown hair who appeared to be in her thirties lying dead on the floor next to a coffee table. Gibbs looked at the dead woman then turned to his team.
"Ziva, call Ducky and get an ETA. McGee, go access the scene. DiNozzo, you're with me." Gibbs ordered. The team walked in different directions and started working. Tony followed Gibbs into the kitchen where the man who had opened the door for them was crying.
"Mr. Lynwood?" Gibbs said as he stepped in. The man looked up and wiped his tears then said,
"Please call me Joe." Gibbs and Tony sat down next to Joe at the table.
"What happened to your wife Joe?" Gibbs asked.
"I don't know Agent Gibbs."
"Jethro."
"I don't know Jethro. Erica was in bed with me last night trying to get to sleep."
"Trying?" Tony said.
"I have sleep apnea Agent DiNozzo."
"Tony."
"She woke me up around 01:30 and said she had heard something. I told her not to worry because we have a dog that doesn't like to sleep much at night." Joe said. All three of them turned when they heard McGee say,
"Stay! Stay! Don't hurt me." When Joe heard a growl from his dog, he yelled,
"Bruno!" A German Shepherd walked into the kitchen then sat down next to Joe. Tony laughed when he saw the look on McGee's face, but stopped when he saw Gibbs staring at him. Joe put his hand on Bruno and told the rest of his story. "I told her not to worry, but Erica got up anyway. I was almost asleep when all of a sudden I heard a gunshot. As soon as I heard it, I jumped out of bed and ran into the living room. There was blood covering her face and the front door was swinging open."
"You have our sympathies Joe."
"Thank you." Joe said. Gibbs and Tony got up and walked back into the living room. Tony walked up to McGee and asked,
"Scared of dogs Probie?" McGee looked at Tony with an annoyed expression on his face. "Ow!" Tony grimaced after receiving a head slap from Gibbs.
"Get back to work DiNozzo."
"Sure thing boss." Tony said. Gibbs walked over to Ducky and asked,
"You got a time of death Duck?" Ducky pulled the liver probe out of Corporal Lynwood's dead body and said,
"About six hours ago Jethro. I do apologize for our tardiness. Mr. Palmer was driving."
"You got anything else?"
"Yes, our Corporal had an altercation with someone right before her death." Ducky said as he held up her limp hand to show Gibbs her defensive wounds. "Cause of death is definitely a gunshot wound to the head. I'll know more about our Corporal once she's on the table in autopsy."
"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said. The team gathered the rest of their evidence then got back into the vans and headed back to NCIS. Tony, Ziva, and McGee put their stuff away then got on their computers to start the investigation while Gibbs went to get a caf-pow. He walked into Abby's lab with the caf-pow in his hand and asked,
"What do you got Abbs?" Gibbs stopped walking when he didn't see Abby or hear her music blasting like it normally does. He looked in her office to see if she was there. Gibbs set the caf-pow on the table then pulled his cell phone out to call Abby. When she didn't answer her home or cell phone, Gibbs ran into the elevator so he could get back up to the squad room.
"Something wrong boss?" Tony asked when he saw Gibbs quickly get out of the elevator.
"Has anyone heard from Abby?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the squad room.
"No." Everyone answered. Tony got his gun back out of his drawer and asked,
"Want me to see if she's at home?"
"Yeah. I'll meet you there in a half hour." Gibbs said. Gibbs watched Tony run to the elevator then turned to McGee.
"What do we got?" he asked. McGee grabbed the clicker off his desk then got up and walked over to Gibbs.
"Corporal Erica Lynwood: native of Virginia, stationed at the Pentagon, and her only living relatives are her husband and sister. She's had one misdemeanor charge since enlisting eight years ago. Lynwood was charged with assault when she got involved in a bar fight three years ago."
"McGee, pull her bank and phone records." Gibbs said.
"On it."
"Ziva look more into that assault case."
"Alright." Ziva said as she picked up her phone. Tony was at Abby's apartment within twenty minutes. He got out of the sedan and walked up to her apartment. Once Tony was on Abby's floor, he knocked on her door and asked,
"You home Abbs?" When Tony didn't hear a response, he got some tools out and picked the lock. He got it open then let himself in.
"Abby!" Tony said when he saw Abby tied to her chair. He ran over to her and pulled the duct tape off her mouth then asked,
"What happened?"
"It's a long story I'll tell you later just get me untied!" Abby said. Tony started to untie the rope but was interrupted when all of a sudden, someone struck him hard on his head.
"Tony!" Abby exclaimed nervously. She looked up and saw Mark back in her apartment.
"You jerk! Tony is my friend!"
"What do you think I should do to your friend? Stab or shoot him?" Mark asked sternly. Abby looked at him with a terrified expression on her face.
"Neither." A voice said. Abby looked up and was relieved when she saw Gibbs standing at her front door. "NCIS, drop your weapon!" Gibbs ordered as he walked in. "Now!" Mark sighed as he put his gun down and hands in the air. Gibbs walked over to him with his gun still pointed at Mark. He handcuffed Mark then pulled out his cell phone so he could call McGee.
"McGee, come to Abby's and bring Ziva with you ... I need your help. Call Ducky I need his help too … she's fine McGee." Gibbs hung up. He pushed Mark down on his knees so he could get up. Gibbs walked over to Abby and quickly got her untied before he turned his attention to Tony who was lying unconscious on the floor.
"Tony, Tony can you hear me?" Gibbs said as he shook Tony's shoulder. When he didn't get a response, Gibbs grabbed Tony's arms while Abby grabbed his legs. They lifted Tony up and put him on the couch.
"Tony?" Abby said as she sat down next to Tony's head. Gibbs sat down on the coffee table next to Tony and said,
"DiNozzo!" Tony slowly started to open his eyes. He focused his eyes and said,
"Gibbs?"
"Can you hear me?" Gibbs asked nervously.
"Yeah." Tony said with pain in his voice.
"Are you okay?" Abby asked.
"My head hurts like hell but other than that… yeah I'm fine."
"It's not normal for your head to hurt like hell Anthony." Gibbs, Abby, and Tony looked up and saw Ducky and McGee at the door. Gibbs walked back over to Mark and pulled him up off the floor.
"Where's Ziva?" Gibbs asked.
"With Director Shepherd who told me to tell you it's important." McGee replied. Gibbs looked to the side as he gave a half smile. He turned back to McGee then pushed Mark towards him and said,
"Take him to interrogation."
"On it." McGee said. Gibbs watched McGee take Mark out of the room then turned to Ducky.
"How you doing Tony?" Gibbs asked.
"I've been better." Tony replied. Ducky pulled out a small flashlight and checked Tony's eyes then felt his neck to look for signs of a neck or spinal injury.
"No signs of any neck or spinal injuries ... you do however have symptoms of a concussion. I'd advise you to go home and get some rest Anthony." Ducky said.
"Thanks Ducky." Tony said. Gibbs and Ducky helped Tony up off the couch then along with Abby they all headed down to the parking lot. Ducky got into the ME van while the others got into the sedan with McGee.
"Boss, the guy who assaulted Abby confessed to killing Corporal Lynwood." McGee said when Gibbs got in the backseat of the car. Abby looked up from buckling her seatbelt at McGee and asked,
"Erica's really dead?"
"You knew her?"
"Yeah. Did he say why cause I really don't want to tell that story."
"Yeah he said why." McGee said as he started the car. Before he started driving he looked in the rearview mirror at Gibbs and asked,
"Boss, is Abby going home with you?"
"Yeah. So is Tony." Gibbs said. Tony looked at Gibbs confused and asked,
"Why?"
"You have a concussion Tony and we all know that you don't get enough rest when you're hurt. Gibbs wants to make sure that you get enough rest." Abby said. Tony smiled at Abby then looked at Gibbs and said,
"Thanks boss." Gibbs smiled and nodded his head at Tony. McGee managed to get to Gibbs' house in ten minutes. He parked the car and watched everyone get out.
"See you guys Monday." McGee said. Abby leaned into the open window and gave McGee a small hug.
"Bye McGee." She said.
"Later Probie." Tony said as he yawned and walked by. McGee watched them walk into Gibbs' house then drove away to his apartment. Gibbs shut the front door behind him after he let Tony and Abby in. Abby walked into his living room and plopped down on the couch. Tony and Gibbs followed Abby in and sat next to her.
"You guys are the best." Abby said.
"Abby, how did you know Corporal Lynwood?" Gibbs asked. Abby pushed herself up from lying down to a sitting position. She sighed heavily then said,
"We met in college. About three years ago I bumped into her and we scheduled a night at a bar to talk and catch up. We heard some guys fighting and tried to get them to stop then one thing led to another and the cops ended up killing someone in a gun fight. That someone was none other than the best friend of Mark Gunter Josh Rowan."
"So Gunter was looking for revenge?" Gibbs asked. Abby nodded her head and said,
"Yup."
"Well let's all go get some rest." Gibbs said.
"Gibbs, I don't think I can sleep." Abby said.
"You can try. Why don't you go up and get comfortable in the guest room." Gibbs said. Abby smiled at Gibbs as she gave him a hug.
"Thanks Gibbs." Gibbs hugged her back. They pulled away and Abby went upstairs. Gibbs turned to Tony who was already asleep. Gibbs smiled then got up and grabbed a blanket that was sitting next to the fireplace. He laid the blanket down on the table then sat next to it. He bent down and took Tony's shoes off then set them down on the floor next to the coffee table. Next Gibbs pulled Tony's legs up off the floor and moved them over to the couch. He got up and adjusted Tony's body so Tony would be comfortable on the couch. Gibbs propped up the pillow behind Tony's head then put the blanket over him. Gibbs smiled as he ruffled Tony's hair then went upstairs. He walked into the guest bedroom and saw Abby asleep on the bed. Gibbs smiled as he walked towards Abby. He pulled the covers over her then adjusted the pillow. Gibbs smiled and gave Abby a kiss on her head then walked out of the guest room. He walked into his room and took off his coat. He changed his clothes then climbed into bed. Gibbs was soon fast asleep just like Tony and Abby.