AN: Hey guys! I'm working on my other fic, don't you worry! :)
I came up with this idea a long time ago, but I promised to myself I first have to finsih my other fanfics. Like that would ever happen.
Anyways, I hope you like this one, I worked very hard on it.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Rating: PG 13
Fandom: NCIS, characters from Criminal Minds will appear, but not a crossover.
Pairings: Basically, almost all of the ships in NCIS. McGee/Abby, Gibbs/Jenny, Kate/Tony, Tony/Ziva and Tony/Wendy. You'll see which one will win. ;)
Category: Thriller/Drama/Romance
Time: Takes place in season 5, BEFORE Jenny's death. Plus, she doesn't die. Why would anyone kill her off?
Enjoy!
*Slipped Away*
Chapter 1
24th of April, 2007
07:14 AM, Columbia Heights.
No one heard their screams.
"Please, don't do this to us!" Angie Hale, a woman in her middle ages begged through her own loud sobs. Tears were hysterically falling down her face. Her breathing was fast and uneven.
Angie was tightly tied to a hard wooden chair. Next to her was her beloved husband, Callahan Hale, upset just as much as she was. Her husband was notably a former marine. Also tied to a chair, he let a little sob escape his mouth. He looked at his captor, with his eyes pleading for mercy.
"We'll do anything! You can take all the money! We won't call the police!" He silently implored.
A little smirk grew onto the captor's face.
"I don't need your money" He spoke, with his voice croaky.
"You know we didn`t kill her!" Callahan desperately said, trying his best to remain calm. The captor chuckled.
"Liars. You are only delaying something that cannot be avoided" He bitterly brushed off his words. Callahan exhaled, rather furiously.
"I'm telling you the truth!" He raised his tone. Callahan suddenly saw the revolver rising to meet his forehead. Angie trembled in shock.
"Don't hurt him, please!" She begged weakly, tears streaming down her silky cheeks.
"Your time will come too, Mrs. Hale" He warned, not taking his eyes of his current target.
He could see the fear in Callahan's eyes.
"See you in hell, Callahan" The captor coldly said. Callahan's eyes went shut. He was prepared for the shot. The gun went off.
A gun blast was heard.
Callahan was dead, with a nine millimeter hole in his forehead. Blood shed down his now pale face.
"NO!" Angie screamed from the bottom of her lungs. She could only see the horror in front of her. The captor approached her, slowly. He walked up behind her back. Creeps went down her spine.
"Please…" She sobbed, now with no more control of her emotions. He pointed his gun to her head.
He pulled the trigger.
Shot.
Satisfied with his job, the captor walked out of the house, with a dark hoodie over his head.
08:23 AM
Shelby Greene, the woman who lives across the street, walked out of her house to visit her neighbors. The Hales. Unaware of what has happened earlier that morning, she knocked on the door.
There was no response. Shelby rang the bell. Again, no answer. She knocked again, this time louder.
"Hello? Angie, sweetheart? It's me, Shelby!" She yelled, hoping this time her friendly neighbor would come over to open the door.
But there was no answer again.
She checked if the door is locked. On her surprise, it wasn't.
"That's strange" She muttered under hear breath.
"Angie?" Shelby called for the woman once again. She entered the house. It was very quiet.
"Angie?" She yelled through the house. She walked into their bedroom, where her heart nearly stopped from the shock.
She covered her mouth.
"Angie? Callahan?" She concernedly asked. The gory sight invaded her brain.
"Help! Somebody call 911!" She yelled as loud as she could, praying somebody would hear her.
09:04 AM, NCIS Headquarters, Navy Yard, Washington D.C.
Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was already sitting at his desk, waiting for the entertainment to arrive. He was sitting there since the early hours.
He had his personal reasons.
Ding, ding!
The elevator spread wide open. Two younger agents walked out while having a small chit-chat.
"…Really? That's nice" Special Agent Timothy McGee said to the other agent. She smiled graciously.
"Thanks, McGee. I'm glad you appreciate that" The female Special Agent Ziva David responded. Tony spotted them. He quickly got up from his chair and approached them.
"What's nice, Probie?" Tony suspiciously asked, clinging onto McGee's shoulder. McGee glanced at Tony, then back to Ziva.
"Oh, Ziva and I were just talking about Michael" McGee explained shortly. He sat at his desk and turned his computer on. Tony glanced at Ziva.
"Michael who?" Tony questioned, keeping his suspicious stare on Ziva now. Ziva sighed.
"Michael. Rivkin. My boyfriend, Tony. Remember?" She said. Tony nodded his head quickly.
"Oh, right. That guy. What about him?" He walked back to his desk and sat down at his chair. McGee and Ziva looked at each other.
"Why are you so curious?" McGee asked his partner. Tony shrugged.
"What? Can't a friend just know something more about his other friends?" Tony said innocently. Ziva rolled her eyes.
"Well, if you really wanna know, Michael is taking me to the opera next week" Ziva confessed, rather proudly. McGee had a look of approval and happiness on his face; while on the other hand, Tony was clearly showing that he's not impressed.
"Wow, really?" Tony sarcastically remarked, with a fake smile on his face. The smile wiped away. "Does his boyfriend know about you?"
Ziva ignored the comment. She turned on her computer.
"What boyfriend, Tony?" A well known gruff voice questioned, in a rather teasing manner. Tony looked at his left, where he spotted Special Agent Gibbs walking out of the elevator, with a Starbucks cup of coffee in his right hand.
Tony cleared his throat nervously.
"Nothing, boss. Just discussing about Ziva's boyfriend" Tony innocently spoke. Ziva and McGee shared a devilish grin. Gibbs sat at his desk. He took his phone out of his pocket.
"I really don't see why that is any of your business, DiNozzo" Gibbs replied. Tony sighed and went back to his computer.
Gibbs' cell phone rang. He picked it up.
"Gibbs" He answered before taking a tiny sip of his strong, black coffee. His face straightened as he carefully took in the info the woman on the phone was giving him.
"Okay. Remain calm, we'll be there soon" Gibbs assured her confidently before hanging up. The team concernedly looked upon at him. He glanced at all of them.
"Grab your gear. We've got a dead former marine and his dead wife" Gibbs spoke harshly. The tone of his voice surprised them. They did as they were told and followed their boss to the elevator.
"You drive, Tony" Gibbs handed the truck keys to Tony.
The elevator closed.
09:22 AM FBI's private jet, on their way to Washington D.C.
"So, let me get this straight. There is no evidence? No photos?" Derek Morgan questioned impatiently.
Derek was a tall, black, muscular man in his thirties. He wore dark jeans, a long-sleeved V-neck blouse and stubble on his face.
They had to finish up the investigation as quick as possible, and this is their first time they don't have evidence from the crime scene prepared.
"Looks like it. The director said that another team will process the crime scene. They're called something starting with N…" Jennifer Jareau replied, leaning back in her seat.
"They're called NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. They investigate the deaths in the Navy. Their main headquarters are currently located in the Navy Yard district, in Washington D.C." Spencer Reid interrupted, spilling all the needed facts. JJ looked at him.
"How did you know that?" She questioned, utterly amazed by his knowledge.
"Oh, I just did a little research" He shrugged it off casually.
"Huh. When Reid does 'a little research', it probably means he is familiar with the history of every single member working there" A pleasant female voice was heard. Alex Blake walked out of the toilet and sat across Reid.
"It's not true that I know it all" He said. JJ laughed.
"Really? Tell us who died in the last few years out of all the agents" Derek scoffed. Like a switch has been turned on, Reid started talking.
"As far as I know, in 2004, Special Agent Chris Pacci died. He was shot, and before he could even bleed to death, his gut was cut through. He was replaced by Special Agent Timothy McGee, who's still working there. Then, Special Agent Caitlin Todd was in NCIS for two years. She was shot in the head by a terrorist called Ari Haswari. And after her, Special Agent Paula Cassidy was blown up when trying to defeat a terrorist that killed her team" Reid explained, not even bothering to take a breath.
Alex shook her head.
"So, it's more than just a research" JJ added sarcastically, looking at Alex.
"Where did you get the info?" Derek asked. Reid shrugged.
"I asked Penelope to do it for me" He confessed. Derek and JJ exchanged a look.
"Why did you need that much information?" Alex questioned, intrigued in Reid's 'research'.
"I just wanted to know who we are working with" He simply replied and went back to his book. JJ shook her head and went back to texting her husband. Behind them, Aaron Hotchner sat and talked with David Rossi.
09:31 AM, Columbia Heights, Washington D.C.
Gibbs and the team just arrived at the crime scene. As soon as McGee walked in and saw the gory scene, he felt nauseous. Ziva felt bad for the couple, while Tony did not show his emotional state in front of them.
"Tony, how can you take this stuff?" McGee complained, while taking out his gear.
"You learn how to cope with it, Probie" Tony simply replied. McGee thought. There was something more to Tony's words.
"McGee, DiNozzo, photos! Ziva, search the house for any other evidence!" He ordered to his team. McGee and Tony started taking photos of the bodies, while Ziva went up the stairs.
Gibbs approached his agents.
"Callahan Hale, ex marine; Angie Hale, his wife and an accountant" Tony said.
"What do you think, boss?" Tony asked, intently looking at the bodies in front of him. He hadn't seen that much gore since his years in Baltimore.
"I don't think, DiNozzo" Gibbs bitterly replied. The sight was truly gruesome.
"Would that mean you don't exist?" Tony added, sounding rather corny. Gibbs easily smacked Tony at the back of his head.
"Work, DiNozzo" Gibbs literally barked. He parted from Tony. McGee approached Tony when Gibbs left.
"Geez. That was harsh" He teasingly spoke. Tony rolled his eyes.
"Just his usual grump, McProbie" Tony said through gritted teeth. McGee nodded, slightly afraid of Tony, and continued snapping photos of the crime scene.
Ducky arrived.
"Hello, Jethro. What have you got for me today?" The chirpy old man said, in his usual funny British accent. Gibbs motioned with his head to the two bodies.
"See it yourself, Duck" He spoke in a low voice. Ducky stopped in shock.
"Dear Lord" He muttered under his breath, in shock.
"Execution style murder?" Gibbs suggested. Ducky nodded.
"That sure is what this is" Ducky replied. He approached the bodies.
"Time of death?" Gibbs questioned as he took out his pen and his notepad. Ducky took out the liver probe and put it into the first victim. Gibbs waited for the response. Ducky took out the probe and read the result.
"I'd say about two to three hours ago. This body is fresh" Ducky stated. Gibbs nodded.
"And the other victim?" Gibbs questioned, referring to Angie Hale. Ducky glanced at her body.
"I assume she died at the similar time, but I'll check with the probe" Ducky acknowledged his colleague. Gibbs approached the second victim's body.
"I think you know the cause of death yourself too, Jethro" Ducky glided in the probe into the second victim.
"Yeah, Duck. I sure do" Gibbs heavily sighed. Cases like this always haunted him for the next two weeks. No matter how hard you try, you cannot recover from the horrible sight.
"Oh, you poor people. You were so young" Ducky shook his head as he whispered to the corpses.
"Found anything, McGee?" Gibbs asked as he appeared in front of Tony and McGee.
"Uh, not yet, boss" McGee shamefully confessed, lowering his head. Gibbs moved his piercing blue eyes on Tony.
"You, DiNozzo?" He questioned, expecting evidence to be handed to him. Tony scratched his hair.
"Well, I found a bullet right here" Tony bended over behind Callahan, where he picked up a bullet with tweezers.
"I think he either dropped it, or he shot multiple times" Tony theorized. Gibbs patted his shoulder.
"Bag it and tag it" Gibbs ordered and walked up the stairs. Tony looked at Gibbs.
"That's it? All I get is a pat on the shoulder? Come on, Gibbs, I was pretty good!" Tony complained. Gibbs didn't even bother to listen to Tony's moans. Tony growled grumpily and went back to collecting the evidence.
"What you got, Ziva?" Gibbs questioned as he climbed the stairs. Ziva noticed him and got up.
"I searched the rooms a bit. Nothing suspicious. There are no signs of burglary. Nothing seems to be missing." Ziva explained. Gibbs nodded.
"Did you check the computer?" Gibbs asked.
"I only bagged the keyboard and the mouse for the fingerprints. McGee's gonna take the computer to NCIS. I'll leave the complete computer investigation to Abby and McGee" Ziva acknowledged. Gibbs gave her a quick smile of approval.
"We're going back as soon as you and Tony question the eyewitnesses" Gibbs said and went down the stairs again. Ziva nodded and followed him.
"Tony, go question Shelby Greene. She lives across the street. Take Ziva with you" Gibbs ordered. Tony nodded.
"Got it, boss" Tony replied quickly. Ziva appeared by his side. They both went out of the house.
…
Tony knocked on the woman's door. After a few seconds, the door opened, and the lady, Shelby Greene was there, with her eyes puffy. It was easy to figure out that she was crying.
"I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo" Tony introduced himself as he raised his badge, and then his wallet.
"And I'm Special Agent Ziva David" Ziva did the same as Tony.
"And we're from NCIS. It stands for-" Tony started softly, but was interrupted.
"I know what it stands for" She sharply cut him off. Tony and Ziva exchanged concerned looks and nodded.
"We've only got a few questions for you. Can you let us in?" Ziva asked politely. Shelby looked at both of them. She rubbed her nose. It was red. Clearly, she has been crying for a while.
"Sure. Come in" Shelby welcomed them. They entered her house. Shelby was a thirty year old –something with strawberry blonde hair and dark green eyes. She was very slim and fit.
Ziva looked around the house, while Tony questioned the woman.
"When did you find the bodies?" Tony asked sincerely. She trembled at the flashbacks of their dead bodies.
"S-somewhere around e-eight in the morning" Shelby stuttered out the response. Tony nodded.
"And when you found them, what did you do?" Tony continued questioning her. She moved a piece of her hair behind her right ear nervously.
"I called for help" She replied. Ziva turned around.
"So, you never heard anything before that?" She questioned, with suspicion in her voice. Shelby shook her head.
"No, not at all. I was asleep" She explained. Ziva nodded and sat by Tony.
"Why did you go to their house then?" Tony asked. Shelby put her head in her hands.
"Because Angie and I used to hang out every morning and drink coffee" She stated. Tony glanced at Ziva.
"Were you and Angie Hale close?" Ziva asked. Shelby nodded.
"We were good friends" Shelby replied. Tony got up. He sighed.
"Well, if you remember anything that can help, please give us a call" Tony gave her the NCIS visit card. She nodded. Tony and Ziva went out of her house.
"So if it's not Shelby, then who is it?" Ziva asked. Tony put his glasses on.
"Relax, Agent David. There is plenty of time for everything" Tony casually teased. Ziva made an annoyed grimace and sat in the truck.
…
12:11 PM, NCIS Headquarters, Navy Yard, Washington D.C.
The team sat in their chairs. Gibbs drank out his whole coffee. He threw the cup into the trashcan.
"What have we got yet?" Gibbs asked. They all got up and started talking.
"We know that Callahan is an ex marine, and his wife worked as an accountant for the 'McQuadde Brennan LLP'" Tony started. He turned on the plasma screen, where files about the Hales showed up.
"…And we also know that the killer didn't have any intentions in stealing their valuable belongings. The killing act was perhaps his only desire" Ziva added. Gibbs nodded.
"They're his target?" McGee asked. Gibbs shook his head.
"Nah. They're not conspicuous enough. And they simply aren't the kind of people who would hurt someone. They're not what he's seeking for" Gibbs said, deep in his thoughts.
"Maybe he just needs to kill random people for his own pleasure?" McGee proposed. He didn't seem to interest Gibbs enough.
"Maybe. Tony, Ziva, dig more. McGee, try to speed up Abby's search for fingerprints on the keyboard and the mouse and analyze Hale's computer" Gibbs ordered to the team. McGee nodded and went to the elevator. Tony and Ziva went back to 'digging'. Gibbs shook his head.
"Something doesn't fit" He muttered under his breath, staring at Callahan Hale's picture. A loud ding! interrupted his thoughts. He spun around, only to spot Tobias Fornell going out of the elevator. He was in his standard outfit. Long dark grey wool coat, under which was a black working suit. His hair was, as usual, barely visible and grey. Though, he wasn't alone. He was followed by a group of people. Men, and two women.
"Tobias, what the hell?" Gibbs asked as he spotted the crowd behind him. Fornell chuckled.
"Is that what your mother taught you to say when someone older is talking to you?" Fornell mockingly responded, crossing his arms. Gibbs smirked.
"You ain't older than me, Tobias. That's for sure" Gibbs replied in the same manner. Fornell faked a hurt expression. He scratched his forehead.
"Listen, Gibbs. I'm gonna be the one to bite the bullet. You're sharing jurisdiction over this case with my team. A.K.A., you're cooperating with FBI" Fornell explained shortly. Gibbs confusedly looked at the crowd behind him.
"Jethro, these are Special Agents Hotchner, Rossi, Reid, Jareau, Morgan and Blake" Fornell introduced his team. Gibbs stared at them.
"I'm not sharing jurisdiction with you, Fornell" Gibbs simply said. Fornell looked at him in confusion.
"You must" Fornell said.
"Who says so?" Gibbs asked mockingly.
"Your director does. And your SecNav" Fornell replied matter-of-factly. Gibbs looked up, where he saw Jenny watching him. She smiled.
Gibbs sighed bitterly. He walked over to Fornell.
"Fine" He whispered, rather angrily. Sharing authorities was never his kind of doing things. He went into the elevator.
"If anyone needs me, I'm down at the lab" Gibbs yelled to them all. They all nodded. The elevator finally closed. Fornell walked up the stairs to meet Jenny.
Meanwhile, the agents were getting to know each other. Spencer leaned in to see what Tony's doing.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked rather concernedly after a few seconds of having Reid watch him do his job.
"Oh, I was just observing" Reid said, like it was the most casual thing he just did. Tony looked at him in confusion.
"Observing what?" Tony asked. Spencer smiled.
"The way you guys work" Reid said. Ziva chuckled when JJ and Derek face-palmed their selves. Tony stared at him until he buried his head in his hands.
"Oh, no" Tony muttered. Reid looked at him with concern.
"What's wrong?" He asked sincerely. Tony lifted his head up from his hands.
"You're one of McGee's kind" Tony nearly whined. JJ and Alex laughed quietly.
12:37, PM Forensic laboratory, NCIS Headquarters, Navy Yard, Washington D.C.
Gibbs went into Abby's lab. McGee and Abby were working on analyzing Hale's computer.
"What you got for me, Abbs?" Gibbs questioned as he leaned in to see what they were doing.
"McGee and I were searching his event logs" Abby explained as she continued digging through the logs. Gibbs confusedly looked at her. She noticed his face.
"Oh, sorry. We were searching if anyone else has been using the computer" Abby said. Gibbs nodded.
"And the fingerprints on the mouse and the keyboard?" Gibbs questioned. Abby nodded.
"Working on that. At first I narrowed the search onto the naval database only, but if necessary, I will expand the search" Abby clarified.
"When should it match?" Gibbs asked. Abby shrugged.
"It could be anyone, boss" McGee said instead of Abby.
"…Which means it could match any second" Abby added. Gibbs half-smiled.
"I like the sound of that" He said, hoping they would get a quick match. There was something about this case that was bothering his gut. He stepped in front of the plasma screen, patiently waiting.
McGee turned around to leave his cell phone. He tripped over Bert and dropped the phone. It smashed against the floor. Abby turned around, only to see McGee struggling to get his phone back in pieces together.
"Here, let me help you with that" Abby said. She approached him and put the SIM card in its place. McGee put the front cover in its place.
"There you go. It's a good thing you didn't break the whole phone" Abby remarked before she looked back at her screen. Gibbs also went back to looking at the plasma screen.
Positive match was written in front of the fingerprints on her screen.
"Wow. In only three hours you found a match" McGee excitedly commented. Abby nodded.
"These are the fingerprints from the keyboard and the mouse. Let's see who was using the computer besides the Hales" Abby spoke. She opened the record waiting on the screen. Gibbs turned around to Abby, just as she opened the file.
The dossier popped up. The smile on Abby's face soon wiped off her face and her once rosy cheeks now turned pale. Gibbs wasn't looking at the screen at the moment. He was still looking at Abby intently.
"Abby, what's wrong?" He asked, seeing the expression on her face. Abby shook her head.
"It's impossible" She simply whispered, shocked. McGee was just as shocked as she was. Gibbs finally turned around to look at the screen. He saw why they were so terrified. The record belonged to Caitlin Todd.
Kate.
"Someone's playing us" Gibbs weakly said, with his eyes fixated on the screen.
AN: That's it for this chapter! Hope you like it! I only wrote the second, I'll upload it as soon as possible. :) It my have been a bit boring, though...
Cheers!