Heart's Desire
NFA Nepal Relief Auction ficlet (well it was supposed to be a ficlet) for Rogue Tomato
Prompt: Kelly wanted a story where Tim encounters something like the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter books. She also said she didn't mind horror. *evil grin* This is what my twisted mind produced. I hope you like it ;D
xxx
"Gear up!"
Tim tore his attention away from his computer to follow the command, noting a certain edge in Gibbs' voice that he hadn't heard very often and groaned. This was going to be a bad one.
"Where to, Boss?"
"Quantico."
"Let me guess: dead Marine." The glare Tony received from Gibbs could have melted glass. "Uh, missing Marine?"
"Dead family."
"Yikes…" Tony muttered softly as Tim and Ellie joined Gibbs and Tony in the elevator.
"What happened?" Ellie ventured to ask.
"That's what we're going to find out, Bishop," Gibbs snapped, silencing any further discussion. Tim glanced at Tony and received a nod in return. Yep, it's going to be a bad one.
Tim rode with Tony in the truck while Gibbs and Ellie took one of the sedans. When they arrived, Tim could tell Gibbs' mood hadn't improved based on how quickly Ellie exited the sedan and almost hid behind her co-workers. After receiving a brief overview from the MPs, Tim strongly suspected that Gibbs' mood was justified.
The bloodbath they encountered when they entered the house confirmed that belief, with the sight of three broken bodies, two of them young children, turning Tim's stomach. He managed to hide the reaction, although he was able to detect similar feelings in his more experienced partner. Unable to hide her own revulsion, Ellie had to excuse herself for a few moments after viewing the carnage.
"Where is the suspect?" Gibbs growled at the MP who had escorted them to the scene.
"Corporal Cooper was transported to the brig, sir. He's not talking."
"He'll talk to me."
The MP shifted uncomfortably. "No, sir, I meant he's not talking at all." He pointed to a blood-soaked chair. "We found him sitting there when we arrived, knife still in his hand. He never moved or spoke, even when we relieved him of his weapon and secured him for transport."
A shiver crept down Tim's spine. The MP's statement stirred something within his memory, but he couldn't quite bring it to the surface.
"Think he's working on an insanity defense?" Tony asked as he surveyed the room with thinly concealed disgust. "Because this is pretty obviously crazy."
"Get to work, DiNozzo."
"Yes, Boss."
Tim and Tony started to process the scene, interrupted only by the arrival of Ducky and Palmer, with the former making a few clipped comments about the number and condition of the bodies. Palmer remained silent, the gruesomeness of the scene dampening his normally cheerful demeanor.
Ellie eventually joined them, her gaze roaming over the two smaller bodies as she was clearly still struggling with her emotions.
"They're just babies," Tim heard her mutter. "Why would someone...their father do this?"
Tim paused, not really sure how to answer. "Sometimes things happen that just don't make sense," he finally replied. "Even when we figure out the 'who' and 'how', sometimes the 'why' never becomes clear."
Ellie just shook her head and got back to work, prompting Tim to do the same. After they had finished processing the scene and packed away the evidence and equipment, Gibbs returned from questioning Cooper. His mood was even darker than when they had arrived.
"Anything from the suspect?" Tony asked, earning yet another glare from Gibbs.
"Like they said, not talking. JAG showed up, called in a shrink."
"PTSD? Is that what they think?" Tim ventured.
"You and DiNozzo go talk to his platoon. Bishop, with me."
"On it, Boss." Tony looked relieved to not be riding back to the Yard with Gibbs, and Tim sent Ellie a sympathetic look before she reluctantly climbed into the truck.
The MPs had thankfully rounded up the rest of Cooper's platoon, and directed the agents to a small group of men who had admitted they had been the last to see the corporal the night before.
"What can you tell me?" Tony asked as Tim listened and took notes.
The oldest member of the group - a dark haired, olive-skinned man whose nametag identified him as Dulcamara - answered first. "I still can't believe Coop would do something like this. I doesn't make sense, sir. Not at all."
"He loved his wife, never even looked at another woman after they got married, and the kids...they were everything to him," Holloway, a heavily freckled redhead, added. "There's no way in hell he did this, sir."
"Anything happen recently that could have caused him to be stressed? Make him snap?"
They all shook their heads, although Tim noticed a flicker of uncertainty on the face of Foley, who had not yet spoken. Tony clearly noticed it as well, turning to the silent man. "You want to add anything to that?"
Foley glanced at his companions, shifting uncomfortably. "He...wasn't quite himself last night."
"What happened last night?"
"We," he indicated himself and the other two men, "and Coop went to a carnival over near Garrisonburg. Our wives had their own night out planned, so it was kind of a last minute thing. We...well, I thought we were having a good time, but at the end of the night, Coop was a little bit...off."
Another faint stirring of memory sent a chill down Tim's spine as the other men joined in the tale.
"If you didn't know him, you never would have noticed, but...he was laughing and joking, but it seemed forced," Dulcamara added.
"When did you notice the change?" Tim asked, and all three men seemed to consider the question.
"After the side-show," Holloway finally answered, and the others nodded.
"Side-show? Bearded Lady, Skeleton Man, stuff like that?" Tony asked.
"Not exactly. It was called 'Cabinet of Pandemonium', or something like that'. No people, but, it was...I don't know, weird stuff."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Most of it was junk," Holloway declared. "But there was this one thing… Honestly, the advertisement for it was a little creepy."
"So what was it?"
"It was called 'Heart's Desire'. It was this ugly old mirror that, according to the ad, showed 'your deepest, darkest wishes'. We teased Coop. Told him to go take a look. We told him…"
"We told him we already knew what he wanted and he wouldn't see anything."
Tim felt like he'd been plunged into a frozen lake. He remembered where he had heard that before...and what had happened afterwards.
"So...he didn't like your teasing, and then…?"
"That's not it," Foley declared. "We rib each other all the time. Cooper was laughing along with us. But then he decided to go have a look, and when he came back…"
"You noticed the change. Maybe he saw something while out of sight. Are you sure your wives where all where they said they'd be? Maybe Cooper saw-"
"No. Absolutely not," Dulcamara declared.
"But it's possible?"
"No. I was on the phone with my wife. I could hear Susan Cooper's voice in the background, and they were clearly not at the carnival."
"OK. So you want us to believe the Corporal Cooper looked at some funhouse mirror and it drove him crazy." They all glanced at each other and finally shook their heads.
"No, you're right, that's nuts. But I don't know how else to explain what happened. Coop would never-"
"But right now our evidence says he did. Is there anything else you can tell me?" They all shook their heads again. "Alright. We'll need to talk to the rest of your platoon and your C.O." Tony turned to leave and caught Tim's expression. "Something wrong, Agent McGee?"
Tim said nothing and followed Tony as he went to talk to the rest of the platoon. He was almost certain the senior agent could hear his heart hammering in his chest, but they both maintained their professional guise until they were both back in the sedan.
"OK, spill, McGee. What's got you so freaked out?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Tim muttered before declaring, ''Nothing."
"Don't tell me you actually believe that crap about the evil mirror."
Tim sighed. Tony wouldn't give up, he knew. Now it was just a question of whether he'd go along to humor Tim before dragging him off the the nuthouse, or outright mock him.
"It might not be crap, Tony. I...I've heard of something like this before."
"Yeah, in a horror movie."
"No. Personal experience."
"What are you talking about?"
"I...I've seen this 'Heart's Desire' advertised before...and I've seen its effects."
"When?"
Tim sighed. "I was thirteen. We were living off-base at Norfolk and that summer a traveling carnival was set up just a few miles away. A friend of mine, Will...William Jameson, convinced me to go with him. There was a side-show, just like those Marines described. Similar name, and the mirror was there."
"So did you look at it?"
"I didn't. Will...he said everyone knew what I wanted, so I didn't need to look. I turned that around on him and said he wouldn't see anything, either, so...he looked. And after that he wasn't himself. I thought he was just mad about the teasing, but… That night, he killed his entire family."
"What?"
"He didn't show up to school, and after the school tried to call his parents the cops went to his house and found him, exactly like the MPs found Cooper."
Tony scoffed, but Tim could see there was a hint of belief in his eyes. "Coincidence, Tim. It has to be."
"No such thing as coincidence, Tony."
"Yeah, and there's no such thing as evil mirrors that drive people crazy."
"Do you want to take that chance?"
Tony sighed. "OK, so, if this is true, then why haven't we heard of something like this before?"
"Probably because we've never checked."
"And you want to check, don't you?" Tim nodded. "So, what? If we find out this has happened before…"
"Then we find that mirror. And we destroy it."
XXX
Tony stared at his partner, wondering if perhaps Cooper's insanity was contagious. It was the only explanation for why his calm, rational, scientifically-minded partner would suddenly suggest something so ridiculous.
"You think I'm the crazy one now, don't you?" Tim asked sadly, and Tony took a moment too long to reply. "You do."
"Come on, Tim, you can't seriously believe…"
"I don't want to believe it, Tony, but I know what I saw. At least let me check, OK?"
"OK, fine, but I'm not explaining this one to Gibbs."
"Fine."
They rode back to the Yard in silence and after telling Gibbs that they basically had nothing, Tim turned his attention to his computer, which seemed to satisfy their boss that he was working on getting answers. Tony and Bishop left to interview another possible lead, which ultimately gave them nothing new, and Tim reported that nothing in Cooper's financials or service recorded indicated a reason for his acts of violence.
Gibbs headed down to autopsy to see if Ducky had anything new to report, and Bishop declared that she was going to go check with Abby, so Tony decided to see if his partner had been able to let go of his delusion.
"Find anything interesting?"
Tim turned to him, his face grim. "Yeah, I did." He pulled up a list on his computer and Tony leaned over his shoulder to read it as Tim explained what he had discovered.
"I was able to track the movement of the carnival over the past ten years. In every town where it stopped, there was at least one particularly violent murder. No connections between the victims, and the M.O.'s were different, so nobody made the connection. Every town, Tony. That's-"
"One hell of a pattern." He met Tim's gaze. "Maybe someone in the carnival-"
"No reports of evidence from an outside perpetrator, in any of the cases."
"Damn…"
Tim started typing again. "The carnival's moved already. If the past routine is any indication, it should be setting up in..." More typing. "Greentowne. Opening tomorrow night. As soon as Gibbs lets me leave-"
"We will go check it out."
Tim scoffed softly. "I thought you didn't believe any of this."
"I don't. But I'm not letting you go off on some search-and-destroy mission without backup."
"Fine. But what are the chances of Gibbs letting us out of here any time before midnight?"
"Good question."
Surprisingly enough, Gibbs dismissed them three hours ahead of the expected time, with terse orders to be back by 0700 the next morning. Tim immediately headed to the parking lot, with Tony not far behind. They waited until Gibbs' and Bishop's cars were out out sight before starting their trip south into Virginia.
It was almost midnight by the time they arrived at the field where the carnival tents and rides were being erected. After grabbing a flashlight from the trunk they started walking towards the group of structures. They encountered one security guard, clearly local, who merely glanced at their badges and let them pass through the single gate in the rickety fence surrounding the carnival.
They carefully made their way through the maze of tents and collapsable huts, checking the banners affixed to each. They met a couple of the workers involved in the set-up, who sent them suspicious glances, but otherwise the place seemed to be deserted.
In the far corner of the grounds they found a large, older tent, its once bright red stripes faded by the ravages of time, bearing an equally faded sign.
Oscuro's Cabinet of Pandemonium
"Doesn't look very wild to me," Tony muttered before turning to his partner and froze when he caught sight of Tim's expression. His face had lost all color and his eyes wide with fear. "Tim? Is this it?"
"Yeah," he whispered. "This is the place."
Tony looked around for signs of the proprietor but the tent seemed to be deserted. He turned back in time to see Tim disappear into the tent.
"McGee, wait!" Tony rushed in after him, only to find that he had stopped just a few feet into the shadowy interior of the structure. Canvas walls intersected near where Tim was standing, and as soon as Tony joined him he started down the narrow passage. They soon reached another intersection and made a right-hand turn, taking them deeper into the test. A final turn brought them to a large, open area, full of dilapidated wooden display stands with strange, carefully labeled objects. Tony shined his light on one of the labels and squinted at the faded type beneath a bowler hat that had clearly seen better days.
Originally the property of Herman Webster Mudgett, AKA H.H. Holmes.
"Yikes," Tony muttered. "America's first serial killer. Wonder what else is in here?" The adjacent item, a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles, was purported to have belonged to Josef Mengele. "Sorry I asked." He noticed Tim was no longer beside him and scanned the room with his flashlight, quickly locating the other man standing by what looked like a tall, narrow tent. "Tim?"
"Found it."
Tony hurried over and shined his light over the sign hanging over the tent's door.
Heart's Desire, the mirror of truth.
Gaze into her depths and uncover
your deepest, darkest desires.
Beware!
Not for the faint of heart
or weak of soul.
"Yeah, that is kind of creepy."
"What are you doing in here?"
They turned to see a short, wizened old man with a shock of white hair, his face pinched with worry, and something else Tony couldn't quite identify.
"Is this your tent?"
The man waved a hand. "Yes, of course, but you didn't answer my question." Tony flashed his badge and the man's eyes widened. "Police?" he squeaked. "What...why are you here?"
"NCIS. We're working on a case."
"This late?"
"Our boss is a slave driver, what can I say. You were with the carnival in Garrisonburg last night, correct?"
"Yes. My exhibit is a permanent part of the show." He didn't seem particularly happy about it. "Why?"
Tim pulled up a picture on his phone and showed it to the man. "Did he come through last night?"
The man glanced at the picture and paled. "I can't be sure…"
"He did. His buddies said he went through here."
"What did he do?"
"What makes you think he did something?" Tim asked with a distinct edge to his voice that Tony didn't like at all.
The man wouldn't meet Tim's gaze. "You said you were investigating, so something must have happened…"
"I think you know what happened."
"No, I didn't have anything to do with it. It's not my fault, I swear…"
"You knew," Tim answered, his disgust clear. "You knew what would happen, what's been happening everywhere you and...that thing have been."
"I think you need to leave. Now."
"People have died because of that, and you-"
"I told you, it's not my fault! Believe me, I never wanted any of this!"
Tony put a restraining hand on his partner's shoulder before returning his attention to the proprietor. "Tell us what you know."
"It's a curse! A family curse." He pointed to the tent. "'Heart's Desire'. We can't get rid of it. Believe me, we've tried!"
"But did you have to put it on display?"
"Yes! We tried to keep it hidden and our family started dying. Horribly! The deaths stopped when we put it back out."
"The deaths in your family, you mean," Tim growled. "What about the families of the people who looked at it?"
"It was their choice."
Tony wanted to strangle the man, but he resisted. Barely. "It wasn't a choice. They had no idea what happened. If you think that vague little sign is enough of a warning that looking at that mirror can drive someone crazy..."
"It doesn't drive them crazy," the man whispered, the tone of his voice changing. "It takes something from them. And it needs to take it. I'm sorry."
"What are you-?" Tony felt something slam into his head and he fell to the floor, pain darkening his vision.
"Stop!" The retort of a gun made Tony feel as if his head was going to explode and he felt the vibration of something heavy falling next to him.
"McGee!"
More gunshots, and then a startled scream. Finally Tony was able to focus and he looked up in time to see the little man fall, his flailing arms catching the side of the tent and pulling it down with him to reveal what was hidden underneath.
And Tim was looking directly into it.
Muttering a stream of curses, Tony managed to pull his gun while managing to avoid looking into the mirror. He prayed he wasn't too late as he aimed his gun towards the object of Tim's attention and pulled the trigger.
An inhuman shriek accompanied the sound of shattering glass, followed soon after by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Tony chanced a look and saw that Tim had collapsed near the body of a second man, much larger than either of the agents. A brief glance told him the big man was beyond help and he turned to check on the first man-also beyond help-before focusing on his partner.
"McGee? Tim? Are you OK?"
Tim groaned and rolled over, facing away from the shattered remains of the mirror. Finally he sat up and, after glancing at the bigger man, slowly turned toward the proprietor.
"A distraction. Can't believe we fell for that."
"I knew it all along," Tony blustered, earning him a withering look from Tim. "Are you OK?"
Tim didn't reply for several moments as he sat, simply staring at the remains of the mirror. Finally he turned towards Tony.
"How are we going to explain this to Gibbs?"
"We'll think of something…"
Several hours later the two agents were sitting on the bumper of the MCRT truck, being carefully examined-and scolded-by Ducky. Tony had given Gibbs the story that they had received an anonymous tip about a connection between 'Mr. Oscuro' and Cooper. They had confronted the man, who had admitted to hypnotizing Cooper before his accomplice had attacked them, breaking several of the 'exhibit' pieces in the process. When asked why the proprietor had had it in for Cooper, Tony had admitted they hadn't made it that far in their questioning.
Finally, after being cleared by Ducky to drive, Tim and Tony had been sent home, with a warning from Gibbs that they better have their full reports on his desk tomorrow morning. Relieved to finally be away from the lead agent's scrutiny Tony quickly made his way back to Tim's car, followed by the younger man.
"You OK?" Tony asked for the third time, and Tim shook his head.
"No. Not really."
"What do you think he meant, 'it takes something from them'? Takes what?" Tim didn't reply. "Did it take something from you?"
"I...I don't know, Tony. But I don't think I want to risk it." He met Tony's gaze, a haunted look in his eyes. "I think you better keep a close eye on me tonight."
"Aw, come on, Tim, you can't possibly think…"
Tim grimaced. "Better safe than sorry."
Tony studied his partner and finally decided that, this time, it would probably be a good idea to listen.
"I gotcha, Tim. Better safe than sorry."
The End
A/N: Virtual cookies to anyone who recognizes the names used ;)