(Shout out to y'all who realized McGee was left on the down-low with the case! Abby seemed the know more than McGee, however McGee was the only of the field agents to know anything? Sketchy, yeah? lol, Thanks for your support! And please excuse typos, and feel free to point them out! I have a major crack in my screen, and it's incredibly hard to read. Thank y'all!)
I found Gibbs, and personally, was a little... pissed. I felt like I was left in the dark on the case, but at the same time, 'was the man for the job?' If this is what it's like to be read in, I may just be glad that Tony gets this guessing game more than me.
Did I just say that?
I didn't really mean it, I was just frustrated. Abby seemed to know more than me. Gibbs definitely knew more than me. I couldn't help but wander if he had read Tony and Ellie in. Now, this isn't my first read in, but it was the first time that I knew and the others didn't, so I was indeed proud. Anyways, as I was saying.
"Boss, Louis has a brother. Did you know that?"
"Yep."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"Nope."
Now I was really frustrated. I mean really? I was under the impression he had no family. Boss brought him to D.C... Why would a brother not get curious? I guess Liam Calder was a jail-bird, substance abuser, and flat out bad man. Maybe his Missionary brother tried to change that. Whatever the cause, I wanted to know why I was so in the dark.
"Boss," I mumbled, actually hoping he didn't hear me.
"What was that, McGee?"
Damn.
"I feel like I'm being shrugged off. Abby seems to know more than me, and.. I mean, I thought I was lead?" After I said that, I realized I sounded like.. well, an ass. I guess he thought so, too, because he never answered, and simply walked away. But the ignoring me part made me really feel pushed away. Honestly, I wasn't a happy camper. At all. I guess now I would ask Abby. Walking to the elevator, I punched the button to head to her lab.
"Here goes nothin'," I said, walking back into her lab. "Hey, Abby. Can I ask you a question, and you answer with 100% honesty?"
At this, she shifted her weight. "Sure."
"Has Boss said anything to you about the Calder case?"
"Define said anything..." she said, trying to lighten the mood, or maybe even avoid the question.
That did it. She knew more. He had said something. Why all this beating around the bush? I really couldn't wrap my head around it. If Gibbs didn't want me lead, fine. I got a bit more worked up than I should have, and I stormed out of Abby's lab, leaving a confused Forensic Scientist watching me go while I mumbled, "Total crap."
I wasn't about to let anyone railroad me. I was given lead on this case, and whether Gibbs liked it or not, I wasn't stopping. I was about to invest every ounce that I could into figuring out Louis Calder's murder. No matter how far back Gibbs let me stay, this was now my investigation that I was going to solve. One way, or another. This attitude raised my hopes slightly, and I walked into the Bull Pen, determination written all over my face.
"Have a break-through, McGee?" Tony asked.
"Mhmm."
"Just a 'mhmm'? No specifics?" he asked, leaning back in his rolling chair.
"Nope," was all I said, typing furiously at my desk. I had my legs stretched out as far as they would go while being crammed under the desk, and never glanced away from my screen. I wasn't about to lose. I was going to back-trace more steps, maybe compare some more victims, and really dig into Louis and Liam Calder's background. This wasn't over for me. Dang it, it had barely begun!
Three hours later, I hadn't moved. Since I was the only that was fully on board on this, if I even could be called on board, Gibbs hadn't called Ellie or Tony to do anything. They watched my every little move, but I ignored them. I needed to find out the cause of Calder's death, see if it was anything to do with the Terrorist who hacked him, and I needed to see of there was anything important on the laptop he hacked. Were the hackings random or did he pick through every person he hacked? Who knew. It was all I could do to stay focused.
"McGee, you haven't moved in ages," Tony said, walking over to my monitor. I quickly exited the screen, which was an encrypted file. However, Tony still typed with his index fingers. He couldn't know what that was.
"And?" was all I said in return.
"Do you want, perhaps, a coffee?"
"It would be nice, but I'm not leaving the building," I retorted coolly.
He acted as if that told him a great deal about what I was doing, and eased back over to his desk. He made a motion to Bishop and mouthed 'House Arrest.' I'm not sure if that should have ticked me off, but it did.
"Not House Arrest," I said, using air quotes. "Simply digging. That's all."
Tony nodded to Bishop as to say, "Definitely House Arrest," and all I could do was roll my eyes. Tony and I could argue over anything. We've argued over the fact that we were having an argument. I guess it was the whole little brother/big brother deal, but it can get old.
Anyway, I managed to find no links to the CT's hacks. I did find that he planted bugs prior to hacking, so his victims must have something that was note-worthy. I needed to get Calder's laptop, and I needed to contact Liam Calder. There was nothing obvious telling me that Louis was harboring Military secrets, but something was worth getting into his laptop. After a bit, Gibbs came strolling in.
"Update."
It bugged me he kept asking for updates. Ellie and Tony must've known something, because he expected them to provide an update, right?
"Nothing, Boss. This guy is a nobody," Tony said.
Ellie shook her head, and sat back. "I can't even find a previous job. He doesn't seem to have been employed anywhere."
Gibbs looked at me, and I played dumb. "Not anything you don't know," I said, pushing my file into a cabinet.
Gibbs didn't linger, leaving the Squad Room to head to the Director's office. I decided to head back down to Abby's lab to compare notes, and then I'd head to Autopsy. I needed a cause and time of death.
Down in Abby's lab, I showed her everything I'd found. She seemed impressed at my determination. But I didn't want her impressed. I wanted answers. She hadn't done anything else involving the CT because Ducky had her running forensics on Calder's clothes and such. Of course Louis being in water made it harder, but this was Abby. Best Forensic Scientist around, as far at Team Gibbs was concerned. No new notes from her meant I'd go to Autopsy.
"Hey, Ducky, Palmer."
"Ah, Timothy! How good to see you!" Ducky said, looking up from a clipboard. Palmer nodded me a hello.
"Yeah, Duck. Can you give me a time and cause of Louis Calder's death?" I asked, glancing around Autopsy.
"You look tired. I've put everything away for the night. Go home, Timothy. Get some rest."
"Ducky, I-"
"I would rather not get into tonight," Ducky said simply, grabbing his coat and leaving the room.
That was the weirdest thing ever... When did Ducky ever do that? This case got weirder and weirder, and I hated the feeling of being shunned. But he was right. I was worn to a frazzle. A little rest certainly would do me well, and maybe some time at my typewriter to clear my head. Yeah, that sounds nice.
So, that was that.
I headed back up to the Squad Room, gathered my things, and said my goodbye's to Boss, who was sitting at his desk.
"G'night, Boss."
"Night."
It was about 9:00 PM or so, meaning Ellie and Tony had left. I was exhausted, honestly. But not ready to stop. Gibbs shut me out, Abby had kind of shut me out, and Ducky, of all people, DUCKY shut me out. Not even going to give me a cause of death? I didn't know what Gibbs was brewing, but Timothy McGee was solving this case.
I opened the door to my apartment, and tossed my back-pack on the ground. Walking to my bedroom, and showered quickly, and put on some plaid lounge pants and a big USMC T-shirt. A little while at my typewriter, and I'd be headed to bed.
"Walking slowly, the young boy was aware of the eerie sounds behind him..."
A little while turned into to hours. It's now 11:30, and I'm looking like a zombie. My eyes are red and had dark circles under them, and my cup of tea I sat down with is long gone. Decided sleep was the best option, I grabbed my mug, set it on the sink, and dragged myself to bed. Everyone needed rest. Especially a Federal Agent, working double time on a case that no one wanted him to solve, right?
I feel like it's all over the place. But no need for two A/N's! Let me know what you think. :P NO HATE!
