Title: My Life, Your Witness: Hidden Witness
Author: SilentCrystal
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the NCIS characters. And I don't use this for profit.
Summary: Timothy McGee goes leaves Gibbs team and they get a new agent, one with a hidden past.
Prologue
Reading PA, March 2003
"… may she rest in peace." The priest prayed and those gathered were either crying or comforting. The empty casket was lowered into its resting place. Empty do to the fire that took her life. A picture rested on a stand, showing a young woman in her late teens early twenty's, with wavy brown hair, dark brown eyes and a dimpled smile. A homely if not heavy set woman whose life ended much too soon.
A young man in his teens brought forth a radio.
"Liz asked me in a letter to play this." He played the song.
In the distance, a red and brown haired woman stood watching the procession of mourners.
"Ma'am. We must leave." A man wearing a black suit came up to her. The car parked close by housing another man.
"Please just a few more minutes." She turned to him, her hazel eyes pleading.
"You shouldn't be here in the first place. Come along. We must get you to the airport." He gently led her away. Back to the car that would take her to the airport.
"In other news today, Eric Simone, an accused murderer and rapist was released when, key Witness Elizabeth Freeman was burned to death in her apartment, a week ago. Police have released no statement as to the cause of the fire. Elizabeth's funeral was held today…"
Chapter 1:
Washington DC 2009: NCIS Headquarters
I sat at my desk, my headphones on, music turned down low as I did my paperwork. Fellow co-workers Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David were bantering back and forth. I tried to ignore them knowing that when our boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs got back from his coffee run that he would most likely be slapping one or both upside the head for not doing their work.
"Tony!" Ziva's loud exclamation had me looking up in time to see Gibbs exiting the elevator and Ziva to return the volley of crumpled paper. Gibbs raised an eye at both of them as he passed their desk.
Disappointment flashed through my eyes.
"Hey Tori, what do you think?" Tony was looking straight at me.
'God I hate when he calls me that. Then again I hate the name Victoria'
I knew if I ignored him he'd blame it on my music and I really don't want to get into trouble.
"Don't call me that. And what are you talking about?" Tony was intent on giving me a nickname, one that I don't like. I had only been working for NCIS for about 6 months and I had yet to tell my team that I rather go by my middle name.
"Ziva says that between a rock and a stone wall is the same as saying between a rock and a hard place."
"Oh no, I'm staying out of this." Ziva's butchering of the English language is amusing but I'd rather not get into a debate over it.
"Come on Tori, help me out."
"No." Tony was about to beg me when Gibbs stood up. "And don't call me that."
"Gear up. We got a case." We hussled to gather our things. Gibbs was already on his way to the elevator.
"Where to boss?"
The scene was grizzly. Blood was spattered across the motel room; in the middle was a young woman, blond, half dressed.
"Tony sketches, Ziva pictures, Brennan samples" Gibbs barked before bending down next to Ducky. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone that Victoria was the only one called by her last name.
Tony and Ziva started at the body while Victoria snapped out of her daze and started at the far wall, swabbing and gathering evidence. She put numbers next to the blood spatters for Ziva to take and by the knocked over lamp in the far corner. It was when she was examining a shard of glass on the carpet that she noticed a slip of paper under the bed. She pulled it out. It was a message to the victim on the bed. It read:
Lori,
Meet me at the Haven Inn.
8pm
E. S.
Bagging it. Victoria passed it on to Gibbs before looking to see if anything else was under there.
"Think Abby can get anything from this." She held up a cell phone.
"Bag it."
Abby went through the evidence we found. Tony was still bickering with Ziva and I had a headache. I get motion sickness and Gibbs and Ziva's driving tended to make me nauseous. At best I'd get a headache. Gibbs knew this. Ziva hadn't figured it out quite yet.
"Come on Ziva, English isn't that hard of a language."
"So says an American who's spoken it since birth." Ziva scolded. "I can speak many languages and English is the hardest."
"She's right Tony." I said from my desk. Hoping that, that would shut them up.
"How can you say that, Tori?"
"Don't call me that. My German teacher in high school had this list of the top ten or fifteen reasons of why English was so hard to learn. I remember one was 'In the present he gave the present to the girl.' Or something like that."
"So what, we like the challenge."
"Whatever Tony." Tony looked annoyed and Ziva was smirking.
"Just how many languages do you speak Victoria?"
"Counting English, 5"
"Great let's talk to the man in another language till he gives in."
"What's your problem with me knowing other languages?"
"Nothing Tori."
"Uh-huh. And stop calling me that." I went back to being miserable at my desk, hoping that Gibbs would return from MTac soon.
10 minutes later
Ziva and Tony were still arguing and Gibbs hadn't come out yet and Victoria had had enough.
"Will both of you shut up!?" She screamed at them. In surprise they both stopped talking and starred at her.
You see Victoria's motion sickness headache had turned into a full blown tension headache, courtesy of her teammates. Gibbs and the director were coming down the steps and both stopped to listen.
"Tori?" Tony finally spoke.
"Don't call me that. How many times must I say it before it gets through your thick skull?"
"Victoria what is wrong? You look a bit yellow around the ears."
"Green Ziva, that phrase is 'you look a bit green around the gills."
"But she is neither green nor has gills." Victoria groaned.
"Shut up both of you." Victoria in her frustration at her two co-workers had stood up and was now standing between their two desks. Her head felt like someone was taking a sledgehammer to it.
"Tony who cares if she gets the phrases wrong. And Ziva why must you always drop to his level of stupidity when he corrects you?"
"That's a little harsh Tori, besides I care if she's butchering…"
"Don't call me that damn it!" She interrupted. Tony arched an eye.
"What, Tori? Why can't I call you Tori, Tori?" Tony purposely said it and in her state of pain, Victoria pulled back and slapped him. The resounding crack of flesh on flesh was startling. Victoria starred from her hand to Tony's reddening check, before she hurried over to the elevator. Leaving behind two stunned team members.
"Gibbs, when Ms. Brennan gets back tell her to come to my office."
Leeann had headed to the roof. The view wasn't much to talk about but it beat looking at the same four walls day in and day out. The door behind her opened and then closed with a snick. She waited for the accusations, the reprimand, but none came. Gibb merely came and stood next to her.
"Are you going to turn me into the director when you go back inside?" She looked at him finally.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Did he deserve it?" Gibbs looked down at her.
"I just wanted them to be quiet."
"You have a headache." She nodded. "Worse then the ones you get from my driving?"
"I get tension headaches about once a year. Today was that day." Pause. "Why does Tony insist on calling me Tori?" Gibbs sighed and Victoria shrugged figuring he wouldn't answer.
"Tony is observant." She snorted. "Not in the way you, me and Ziva are, but he sees things. He notices that you old back from the rest of the team. You don't try to fight about time limit or expectations that are put on you." He paused
"Why bother arguing when it won't do any good?" He went on as though she hadn't spoken.
"Aside from the time you disagreed with FBI agent Fornell, and out right refused to do as ordered, you seem rather doctal." The note of her disobeying was still when she was on a probation period and the whole reason Gibbs decided to keep her on, was left unsaid. "Tony wants you to feel like you fit in because in his thinking it would make you open up more."
"Oh." She thought for a moment. "I guess I can see that. I just wish he wouldn't call me Tori. Victoria is bad enough of a name as it is, Tori is worse." They stood there quietly. Gibbs pondering what she just said. In the quiet space of time the door opened again and Tony came out.
"Abby has something for you boss." Gibbs nodded and left. Leaving Tony and Victoria alone.
"I'm sorry that I kept calling you Tori, I just…"
"Leeann." She interrupted, coming to a decision.
"What?"
"My middle name is Leeann. L.A. for short."
"L.A. huh. I like it."
Chapter 3: The Letter
"Gibbs, the prints I left from the letter were matched to our Petty Officer." Abby said handing him the letter. She then rounded the table and picked up the cell phone. "The cell had her prints on as well, and that's it. She most likely dropped it and it got kicked under the bed. I accessed the call log and most of the numbers were the same except for this one." She pointed to the list of phone numbers on her computer. "The number's registered to a Lt. Dean Boud Jr. Air Force. The rest were to Eric Simone's theater company out in Baltimore. Eric Simone is some rich guy from PA, who moved to Maryland a couple year back and opened a theater called After Dark. It's on the shady side of shows."
"Thanks Abby." Gibbs turned to leave.
"Gibbs wait! There's more." Gibbs came back over.
"Lt. Boud is from PA."
"Okay."
"The same city that Simone is from."
Leeann and Tony had returned to their desks and were quietly working when Gibbs walked in.
"Tony locate any files on Eric Simone"
"What am I looking for?" Gibbs shot him a look.
"Anything. Ziva tracked down this man." He handed her a slip of paper. Gibbs grabbed is gun and badge.
"And me Gibbs?" Leeann asked standing up.
"Gear up, you're with me."
Gibbs and Leeann drove out to Baltimore to check out Eric Simone's theater Company. After Dark's performances were on the more adult levels of shows. Posters of busty barely dressed female actresses were hung on the walls. The lobby was done up in deep shades of re and gold. The auditorium and stage were just as extravagant and gaudy a the rest of the building.
"Excuse me can I help you?" A young man dressed all in black walked over to them. Gibbs and Leeann both showed their badges.
"I'm special agent Gibbs and this is special agent Brennan, we'd like to speak to the owner, Eric Simone." The man nodded.
"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs but Mr. Simone isn't here."
"Where can he be reached?"
"I don't know, he didn't leave a number, he just said that he was going to take a vacation."
"Where?"
"D.C."
"Wow, this guy was accused of 3 counts of murder and rape and never convicted once. His last one almost made it to trial." Tony looked over at Ziva, who was typing furiously on her keyboard.
"why wasn't he?"
"Witnesses revoked their stories, key evidence went missing, and one witness was killed in her apartment." Ziva's phone rang.
"Officer David." After a few uh-huhs, yes's and thank you's she hung up.
"I located the Lt. He's currently on leave and has gone to visit his family in reading."
"It's pronounced Reding, like the color."
"But its spelled reading."
"Doesn't matter its Amish country there." Gibbs and Leeann exited the elevator.
"What do you got for me?" The two agents relayed their findings and were given new tasks.
Chapter 4: Lt. Boud
"Gibbs, Lt. Boud is here to see you." Ziva said hanging up her phone.
"Where is he?"
"Conference room." Gibbs hurried off. Leeann walked over to Ziva's desk.
"Lt. Boud?" This was news to her.
"Yes, Gibbs had me look up a Lt. Dean Boud Jr. USAF, From reading PA."
"Reading, Ziva. The 'a' is silent." Leeann said. "Why are you looking into him?"
"Abby found his number in Lori's call log."
"Oh."
"Lt. Boud." Gibbs entered the conference room and shut the door. Lt. Boud was a tall mad, stocky with dark dirty blond hair.
"Yes."
"I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs."
"Agent Gibbs why am I here?" Gibbs sat down at the table.
"We found your phone number in Petty Officer Lori Lopez's cell." He stated as though that explained everything.
"Lori? She called a couple of days ago, I missed the call. Why does that matter?"
"Petty Officer Lopez is dead." Lt. Boud looked shocked, which slowly melted into an angry grief.
"What? But… How?"
"She was found raped and killed in a motel room." Gibbs paused. "How did you know the Petty Officer? You don't exactly travel in the same circles"
"She had been a friend of one of my sisters. We still keep in touch."
"That sister wouldn't happen to be Elizabeth Freeman?"
"Yes, How did you know?" Gibbs pushed a file over to him.
"The other numbers were all the same ad a print was found both going to the same man. An Eric Simone."
"He's been up there quite a while." Leeann muttered to herself. She wanted to see this Lt. Boud to see if he was who she thought he was.
"It's Gibbs." As though that explains anything. And in a way it did.
A couple of minutes later, Gibbs came out followed by another man, wearing an air force uniform. Leeann watched them walk over to the elevator and the younger man get on. In a quick decision she gathered her belongings and hurried over to the steps. Gibbs went over to his desk.
"Ziva where's Leeann?"
Leeann was following Lt. Boud. Following him right to a bar. She slipped her badge into her pocket and left her gun in her glove compartment. And slipped into the bar. Glad that she had decided not to wear a suit today.
The bar was flooded with smoke and the heavy scent of alcohol. It took her a while but she finally located the Lt. sitting at the counter drinking a beer. Outside in her car, Leeann's cell began to ring.
1 hour later
Five refusals to dance and twenty really cheap pick up lines later Lt. Boud left the bar and headed for his rental down the block. Leeann not far behind.
Half way to his car, the shop window behind him exploded, sending glass everywhere. Leeann ducked behind he parked cars, reaching into her pocket for her cell, silently cursing herself for leaving her gun in the car and again when she couldn't find her cell. She scrambled to where the Lt. had taken cover behind her own car. One car space was left between him and her, the problem was, it was empty.
Taking a deep breath, she took a chance and ran across the space. Another bullet wising by, grazing her arm.
"Son of a…" She gasped dropping down practically on the Lt.
"Fool girl are you stupid. You should have stayed where you were." Leeann grumbled.
"Well excuse me."
"Daft woman." He muttered as she pulled open her car door and grabbed her cell of the seat.
Gibbs was sitting at his desk going over the case file. When his cell rang; checking the screen he saw that it was his wayward agent.
"Brennan where are you?" Tony and Ziva looked up from their desks.
"Gibbs I'm at… No you idiot stay down. And he calls me daft." In the background he heard gun fire.
"Brennan!" Gibbs was pushing the button for Abby's lab.
"Sorry Gibbs" Another shot, "Damn it, where is he?"
"Abby here."
"Abby track Brennan's cell." He hung up before she could answer.
"Boss?"
"Brennan you still there?"
"Yeah, your Lt. is to dumb to stay down though."
"What?"
"Just that he…" The line went dead.
"Brennan?" Gibbs closed his cell and called Abby. "Tell me you have a location?" Abby gave him an address and told him that Ducky was already getting prepared.
"Oh f*cking A!" Leeann screamed as her cell phone sizzled on the ground next to her. Her hand was bloody from where some plastic shards struck it. And she couldn't hear anything from here left ear. She turned to the Lt. "How you doing?"
"Just peachy. How long is that guy going to shoot at us?"
"The local leo's will be here in about 3 minutes. So he has that long if he still wants to get away." Leeann peaked over the car. Towards where she thought the shooter was hiding. "My team should be here in just over that if I know them."
"Team!" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Yeah I work for NCIS."
Chapter 5: Secrets Revealed
Gibbs was at the elevator punching the call button, Tony and Ziva not far behind.
"Boss what's going one?" Tony asked as Gibbs punched the button.
"Brennan's in trouble, and Lt. Boud is with her."
The police got there only moments before NCIS. In fact they were going to keep them out until they flashed their badges.
"What does NCIS want with a local shooting." One officer asked, he was pushed aside by Gibbs, Tony hot on his heels. Ziva stayed back to answer him.
"Since one of our team members is involved" She then followed her team over to the ambulance.
"… hand and grazed my arm. Other than that I'm fine. Lt. Boud is worse but only because the idiot decided to try and play hero." Leeann was pissed off and in pain.
"Excuse me, Agent Gibbs, but we need to go. An EMT pushed past Gibbs and started to close the door.
"Why is Leeann going with them?"
"Parts of her phone need to be removed from her hand."
"We got work to do."
Four hours later found Leeann bandaged and sitting in Lt. Boud's room. Gibbs and Tony showed up two and a half hours ago. They were talking to the Lt. about who would want to kill him when the door burst open and an older woman, probably early 60's late 50's, burst into the room followed by a man around the same age.
"DJ are you ok?" The woman said as she hugged Lt. Boud.
"I'm fine mom." Gibbs cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" The man is the one who answered.
"I'm Dean and this is Christine, We're DJ's parents."
"Who's DJ?"
"It stands for Dean Jr. Tony." Leeann said. "Excuse me." She said before she got up and left But not before Gibbs caught the sad and wistful look she cast the two newcomers.
Leeann left the hospital and took a taxi back to her apartment. Her car was taken to NCIS and would later need to go to either the scrapheap or repair shop depending on the damage. As she climbed into bed, the clouds outside opened up and it started to rain.
That night she slept restlessly the thunder and lighting from the storm outside playing havoc on her dreams.
Gibbs was at home working on the boat in his basement. His thoughts focused on Leeann. He couldn't get the imagine of how lost she looked when Lt Boud's family showed up. Sighing he picked up his coffee cup absently and took a sip. Only to find it empty. Another sigh and he headed up to his kitchen to get more.
She was running from the dreams; from the memories. She knew she needed to tell someone or something was going to happen. When she looked up she found herself standing in front of her boss's home. She stumbled up to the front door and knocked.
Gibbs was waiting for the coffee to brew when he heard a knock at his door. Most people who knew him, knew that they could just come in, no knocking involved. When Gibbs glanced out the window he could barely see who it was. The white bandage around the left hand cued him in. And when lightning lit the air he knew for sure. He opened the door.
"Brennan?"
She smiled shakily at him. Shivering from the cold rain water that had soaked her.
"Hey Gibbs. Can I talk to you?"
Chapter 6
Tony was surprised that Gibbs and Brennan weren't in yet when he arrived. Gibbs was Gibbs and never seemed to sleep and Brennan was one of those people who went to bed late and got up early.
"Hey Tony, Ziva, where's Gibbs?" Abby asked hustling up to them.
"He hasn't arrived yet. Why?" Abby told the two agents.
"Our Petty Officer had apparently auditioned for a show at Simone's theater and got the part. With her dead they need to find someone else. Simone had to return from his vacation early because of it."
"Which means we can finally bring Eric Simone in for questioning."
After taking Leeann back to her apartment so that she could get ready. Gibbs drove to the nearest coffee shop and got himself a cup and got another cup this one was Hot Chocolate, for Leeann. He only had to wait five minutes outside her apartment building before she came out.
When he handed her the cup after she was settled in the car, she gave him a weird look.
"Um Gibbs, no offense but I don't drink coffee." He just looked at her for a moment.
"I know." Leeann took a sip and discovered that it wasn't coffee.
"What do we do now?"
"We get Lori Lopez's murderer."
Abby had just finishing telling Tony and Ziva what she found when Gibbs and Leeann came in.
"Hey boss, L.A. how's the hand and shoulder?"
"Peachy Tony, they feel like I've been shot."
"L.A. when I heard you were hurt I was so worried." Abby hugged Leeann hard.
"Ow. Watch the shoulder."
"Sorry."
"Gibbs, Abby has some news for you on Eric Simone." Abby told Gibbs everything that she had told the other two agents.
"Are we heading out Boss?"
After Dark Theater was filled with eager female auditioners. Eric Simone was well known in the theater industry. The team wound their way through the female masses and into the auditorium.
"Excuse me, but you can't be in here, this is a closed audition." The badges came out.
"We need to speak with Mr. Simone."
"He can't talk right now. He's busy." Gibbs glared at the man.
"Find me, Mr. Simone or I'll take you in for obstruction of justice." The man found Simone for them.
"Can I help you gentleman." He pointedly ignored Ziva and Leeann. They all noticed.
Eric Simone was a handsome man, one of those handsome men who made your skin crawl a man who despite his charms felt slimy where ever his eyes touched you.
"Is there some place quiet we can talk to you Mr. Simone?"
"My office if we must talk now."
"We must."
Simone's office was much like the man, clean and hidden. Simone sat down behind his desk and motioned for Gibbs and Tony to take a seat.
"What is it you would like to ask me?" Gibbs pulled out a picture and passed it over to him.
"Do you know this woman?" Eric studied the picture.
"It's Lori, she was starring in the next show, but hadn't shown up for the past four rehearsals, so she was fired and we're recasting her role."
"Lori Lopez is dead, she was found in a motel room in D.C. Four days ago. " Tony said glancing at his boss.
"Where's Lori's understudy or back up?" Leeann asked. She was starring at a picture on one of the bookshelves.
"Understudy, back up for such a nobody. It's jut not done." Leeann smirked.
"That's a bunch of BS. Most casting directors would choose someone to play each role and then assign someone playing a minor role a major one, just incase. Most actors never even know."
"Well little lady, you know your theater." Simone's icy blue eyes looked Leeann over. Leeann held herself stiff, so that he wouldn't notice her the shiver that went through her body.
"Have you ever acted before?"
"No, I've sung, but never acted." Gibbs cleared his throat to regain Simone's attention and began asking the standard questions. He answered every one of them. From where he was to how he met Lori.
"I have one more question for you. At the crime scene we found a message written to Lori and it was signed E. S." Gibbs showed him the picture. Ziva noted the flash of anger in his eyes before the calm look resumed. "Can you tell us about it?"
"I was going to meet Lori. I had some thoughts for casting her in a role in another show. But something came up and I couldn't make it. Frank my friend and driver was suppose to deliver her a message. You can ask Donavan, Matt and Sabrina Felty. I was with them practically all day."
As the team left Simone's office, Simone turned to Leeann and studied her. Keeping her from following the others.
"Have I seen you before?"
"I don't think so." Leeann answered starring back at him.
"Umm. I'm not one to forget a pretty face or voice, would you mind auditioning for me?" Leeann's eyes widened.
"As a matter of fact I would. I'm no actor and even if I was I wouldn't be caught dead in the types of shows performed here. Excuse me I'm working." She hoped that one of them would notice and come looking for her.
"It's not like the gentlemen need you right this moment and they have the other woman to take care of them if they do."
"Excuse me?!" Taken aback. "Are you saying that me and Officer David are doing sexual favors for our Boss and Agent DiNozzo?"
"Brennan." Gibbs shouted from the door. "Get a move on it." When Leeann moved to leave, Simone grabbed her hand.
"I'm sorry if I've offended you. Here take my card if you ever feel like going into acting." He gave her his card and kissed her hand. Leeann hurried out.
Chapter 7: Plan of Attack
Back at the Naval yard Leeann had run off to the bathroom leaving her team to stare after her.
"Gibbs, I'm worried about Leeann. Ever since we took this case she's been acting weird."
"I agree boss." Gibbs ignored them for a moment.
"DiNozzo see if Simone's alibi works out. Ziva go see if Brennan's alright."
Gibbs left for the elevator and headed to Abby's lab.
"Leeann are you alright?" Ziva found her co-worker leaning on the sink, scrubbing her hand raw, in scalding hot water.
"I'm fine Ziva. I'll be out in a minute." Leeann glance up at her.
Ziva was startled to see fear in her eyes.
"Leeann, what's wrong?" Leeann just kept on scrubbing. "Stop Leeann, you're just hurting yourself." Ziva had to practically wrestle the smaller woman away from the sink. And was dismayed to see blood on her hand from where she had torn the skin. Ziva took her down to the morgue to see Ducky.
Ducky patched up Leeann's hands and left her sit on the table for a moment while he put his things away.
Gibbs, who had been talking to Abby about the bullets taken from Leeann's car walked through the door after receiving a call from Ziva.
"Leeann?" Ducky had never heard Gibbs use that voice, that tone for anyone other than Abigail.
"He touched me Gibbs. He touched my hand and kissed it."
"That's why you burned and rubbed your hands raw?" She nodded. "Go home, Leeann. Get some rest." Leeann slid off the metal table and left.
"Jethro?"
"Don't worry about it Ducky."
Leeann couldn't sleep. She could feel it in her gut that Simone was going to get away again. And she couldn't let that happen.
Digging through her closet she pulled out a small box and dug through it before she pulled out piece a paper. She dialed the number and spoke quietly to the person on the line.
"He's not going to get away with this." She said to herself as she hung up the phone.
The next morning
Gibbs got to the office expecting to find his team, all of his team hard at work. Instead he finds Ziva working, and Tony playing with a yoyo. Leeann was no where insight.
"Where's Brennan?" He asked as he slapped Tony upside the head.
"Haven't seen her et."
"I'm right here. Forgot something at home and had to go get it." She smiled at them ass she slid into her seat. "Oh, Gibbs I have to leave at two today." Tony and Ziva starred at her comically, no one save for Abby could get away with something like that.
"Why?"
"I have an appointment that I can't miss."
"You get back here asap afterwards."
"Yes sir."
'And so it begins.' Leeann thought.
The next week found Simone's case pushed to the back burners as another more pressing case came up. Leeann was frequently late or disappearing for hours.
"Toy I swear she's acting like you did when you were undercover for Director Sheppard."
"And what should we do about it Ziva. We can't force her to tell us." They quieted down when Gibbs entered and glanced at the empty desk of Leeann's.
"Gear up we got a case." It was a Marine found tortured in a garage. The case was going smoothly until Abby hit a road block in AFAS on a print they found on the tool box. And that's when the FBI showed up or should we say NCIS showed up on their door step. It wasn't until the second Marine was found tortured and dead, and the other Marine went AWOL, did they find out what case the marine was testifying in.
Leeann, placed an envelope on Gibbs' desk and left while he was still talking to Fornell.
"Where'd he go?"
"You can ask your FBI Agent when he wakes up again." Fornell and Gibbs took off leaving Tony and Ziva behind.
"Hey Ziva, have you seen L.A.?"
"No why?"
Gibbs drove off to where Simone's trial was taking place all the while thinking.
'Don't do anything stupid girl. You gathered all the evidence you could from his other cases and put the pieces together, now don't go and ruin it like this.' Another thought popped in. 'Why didn't we know that Simone was involved in a trial already. There was no record of it. The only reason I know about it at all is because of my gut and the digging L.A. did.'
Reporters were out and on the hunt. They easily tracked where Simone was and moved to intercept the marine, Fornell thought would be there. Instead they found Leeann. Gun pulled and ready to fire.
"Agent Brennan lower your weapon." Gibbs called in his 'I'm-the-boss-do-it-now' voice. The gun didn't eve waiver.
"I'm going to get rid of this scum bag."
"Go ahead. You won't shoot me though." Simone said cockily.
"Wanna bet."
"Do it then Agent."
"Leeann, lower your weapon." Gibbs called again.
"No, I won't let him go free again."
"We have proof, Victoria." Agent Fornell said.
"Don't call me that. You bastard. I know where my name came from. You. After that slut of a wife of yours. Were you even going to tell me that he was going to trial." Leeann glared at Fornell. Before she looked back at Simone.
"Elizabeth put the gun down." Leeann and Simone both acted like they've been shot.
"I knew you seemed familiar Lizzie." Simone recovered first.
"Don't call me that. Elizabeth is dead. You both saw to that."
"Annie." Gibbs this time, shocking her by the new nickname, into looking at him.
"We have evidence. Abby found it, with the pieces that you dug up. Simone's not getting out of it this time." Leeann looked back at Simone.
"Come on Lizzie, you know you want to do it."
"Shut up Simone."
"Come on Lizzie. I dare you." That's when she moved, surging forward and hitting Simone with the handle of her gun before swinging back and hitting his bodyguard. Simone dropped to the ground dazed and Leeann raised her arms and let Gibbs take her gun.
Chapter 8: Truth
Leeann told her team the truth. All of it. She told them of how she grew up as Elizabeth Freemen and how she first became involved with Simone's case. How she witnessed him brutally rapping and then murdering one of his actresses when she was working at his theater. She told them of the attempts on her life and then the fire that the FBI used to fake her death. About some of the physical changes and how her hair was actually starting to go back to it's original color.
"The red is almost all gone, so my hair is going back to being just dark brown again."
"Damn L.A. or should I call you Elizabeth?"
"L.A.'s fine Tony. In fact I thing L.A. is closer to the real me then Elizabeth ever was."
"Are you going to tell your family?" This one from Gibbs. Leeann remembered what she was told about Gibbs' family.
"Maybe, I haven't decided yet, if it's worth giving up everything I've worked for, these last few years. I mean, I'd love to see them again." The team starred at her. "What? Look my family never liked the fact that I moved to my own beat. They did everything possible to keep me near home and under their thumbs." Ziva spoke up.
"Most families are like that no? Why would you want to hide that you are alive from them?"
"Not to the point where they're trying to set you up with some guy so that you'd hopefully marry them and settle down. It's true they kept trying to arrange a marriage for me." They were silent.
It was during that silence that the elevator opened and Mr. and Mrs. Boud came out.
"Where is she? Where is my baby girl?" Leeann's eyes widened and she ducked behind her desk.
"Mr. and Mrs. Boud nice to see you again." The woman glared at Tony before focusing back on Gibbs.
"Where is my daughter? Agent Fornell said she was here." Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
'He must be trying to get back into her good graces.' Gibbs thought remembering the shouting match the two had once they got back to the Naval yard upon arresting Simone.
"What is her name, Ma'am?" This from Ziva.
"Elizabeth, her name is Elizabeth." Nodding Gibbs motioned for his two agents the to their two 'guests'.
"My team will take you to a conference room while I go and find Elizabeth." The Bouds were lead out of the room. "You can come out now." Leeann reappeared.
"What am I going to do Gibbs. They're going to demand that I go with them. Back to PA, back to being Elizabeth."
"You stand up to them Annie. And say 'no'."
Sighing. "I've never been good at telling my family, hell anyone 'no'.
"It's up to you." Gibbs headed for the conference room. Leeann was about to follow when she stopped and ran back to her desk, she took the contacts she wore to change her eyes to hazel out and put her hair up into a pony tail. Before going to the conference room.
Gibbs and his team watched sadly as their team member left with her family.
"She's going with them, just like that?"
"It's her choice Ziva." Gibbs glanced over at Leeann's desk and saw her contacts case and a folder, with a CD sitting on top of it. He opened the folder, looked at it, and smiled.
The end…….. for now.