A/N: Don't really know Major General Cresswell very well, so I apologize if he's not quite to character.

Chapter 4

Back at the desks, Tim had something for Gibbs.

"Been running a case file comparison," he said, "seeing if maybe the sisters had some names in common. A couple pop up." He tapped a few keys and a face popped up on the plasma. "Suspect number one: Randall Kiley. Along with the DEA and several other agents, Agent Suddth was responsible for bringing down a drug smuggling operation, which Randall Kiley was part of. During the arrest, which Agent Suddth did not do as she was part of a different arresting team, Petty Officer Hugh Kiley, a.k.a. Baby Brother, shows up, punches out a federal agent, resists arrest, and generally creates merry hell. Lt. Suddth was the prosecutor and she sent him to jail for a year, plus dishonorable discharge. Petty Officer Kiley was suspected of having drug ties but nothing was proven."

"And Randall Kiley?" Gibbs asked.

"Currently doing a very long stint for a number of drug-related charges," Tim said. Gibbs nodded. "Next up, Gordie Stewart. Agent Suddth busted him for stealing a general's car from the Norfolk Navy Yard." Tim pulled up Gordie Stewart's file picture on the plasma and continued. "She turned him over to Lt. Suddth, who gave him to the Marines. The letter Gordie Stewart fired off was not nice, generally promising to pay them back when he caught up to them."

"Why him?" Gibbs asked.

"Gang ties," Tim said. "He was a member of the Squali del Diavolos, otherwise known as the Devil Sharks. And they have weapon ties."

"Weapons equals silencers," Fornell pointed out.

"Mouthy little shit," Julie said. "I remember him; should have seen his face when he saw me and Debbie. Thought he was going to piss his pants. That was four years ago though."

"Anyone else?" Gibbs asked.

"Lt. Bernadette Lawrence," Tim said, pulling up the file. "Stationed at JAG headquarters in Virgina, filed a Conduct Unbecoming complaint against Lt. Suddth but Major General Cresswell had it dropped when it was revealed Lt. Lawrence had not seen Lt. Suddth but, in fact, Agent Suddth at a club in Norfolk getting, I quote, cozy with one Commander Ian Baldwin. The complaint said Lt. Suddth was practically crawling in to Commander Baldwin's lap."

"When was this?" Gibbs asked as Julie snorted in disgust.

"Seven months ago, just before Lt. Suddth headed out to sea," Tim said.

"I remember that," Julie said. "That was just before Ian and I started really dating. As for crawling in to Ian's lap, the place was packed and the table was crowded," she said in disgust.

"How did the complaint get dropped?" Fornell asked.

"Me and Debbie pulled a fast one on General Cresswell that gave him a bad case of whiplash." She grinned mischievously.

"I'm afraid to ask," Gibbs said.

"What?" Julie asked innocently. "Not my fault I happen to have a skirt suit that's similar in appearance to Debbie's uniform. All I did was borrow her hat and wear a long coat."

"Uh-oh," Fornell mumbled.

Julie continued, a grin spreading across her face. "We were outside, I walked past him with my head down and hair up, he thought I was Debbie and called out to me, and she replied, right behind him. Poor guy damn near had a heart attack." She shook her head. "Scuttlebutt had it Birdie was not a happy little birdy when she found out the complaint had been dropped. Apparently she didn't believe the whole twin thing; called it a cheap conspiracy in front of Major General Cresswell."

"What did Major General Cresswell say?" Gibbs asked.

"Something to the effect of watching her mouth and remembering her place. She got kicked to the Region Legal Services Office at Norfolk Naval Station, last I heard," Julie said.

"Anyone else?" Gibbs asked.

"At the moment, no," Tim said. "JAG and the FBI tend to have two different jurisdictions when it comes to their cases."

"As much as possible Debbie and I did try to avoid crossing our cases to avoid conflict of interest problems," Julie said. "Wasn't too hard to do, especially as of late, since Debbie had begun picking up ship cruises; this last one was her third one and she mentioned the possibility of a fourth stint in the near future; I don't know why. Guess she liked what she was doing."

"Anyone in particular she mentioned?" Gibbs asked.

"I'd have to think about that," Julie said. "I'll go through my e-mails from her, see if any names pop up."

"Okay, you are staying here with McGee," Gibbs said, grabbing his coat. "You do not leave this building without one of us or letting me know; is that clear?"

"Then somebody had better let my supervisor know what's going on and grab my laptop and bag from my desk," Julie replied.

"I'll take care of that," Fornell said.

"I'm gonna need my nail bag," she said, handing the senior agent a set of keys she unclipped from her key ring.

"The one with the Barbie logo on it?" Fornell asked, apparently familiar with what she was talking about.

"The very same," Julie said.

"I'll find it," Fornell said. "In the mean time, you behave yourself," he said.

"I always behave myself," she replied sweetly, causing Fornell to shake his head in amusement.

"McGee, you go down to the evidence vault and find the gun from this case file," Gibbs said, handing him a Post-It paper with a series of numbers written on it. "Abby says the gun that was used to kill Lt. Suddth should be in the evidence vault already because it belongs to a closed case."

"Find it and bring it back to Abby for comparison," Tim said. "Got it, boss."

"Oh goody! I get to tag along!" Julie said, bouncing on her heels eagerly.

"Nice try; you're with me," Gibbs said, waggling a 'come here' finger at her.

"Still sounds like fun; I enjoyed messing with Biff last time. Hope he's gotten smart about the vodka," she said. "Last time I showed up at his office, all he had was Svedka Clementine vodka; cheap stuff. Told him not to stiff me next time and he promised he wouldn't. Of course, that was when he finally stopped laughing long enough."

Why do I get the feeling it's going to be a long car ride? Gibbs thought sourly.

JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, Virginia

The first person Gibbs and Julie saw when they exited the elevator on the floor that would take them to Major General Cresswell's office was Commander Bud Roberts. The last time Gibbs had seen Bud was when he had hauled the Navy JAG lawyer to NCIS to try and get access to the DNA database to identify a possible suspect in a murder investigation, a database that was used strictly for the purpose of identifying dead officers. Bud had put his foot down but had given in on signing a search warrant. That had been nearly seven years ago.

Just after Kate had joined us, he thought.

"Oy, Bud," Julie called, apparently knowing the commander. Bud's head snapped up and his eyes went a bit wide when he saw Gibbs and Julie but he lowered the file he was studying and waited for them to catch up.

"Julie, Agent Gibbs, what brings you here?" Bud asked politely, looking as if he'd like to be anywhere else but where he was now.

"Is Major General Cresswell in? I need to have a chat with him," Gibbs said.

"I believe so, sir," Bud said. "I'll take you to him."

As they walked, Gibbs asked, "Do you know Lt. Debra Suddth?"

"Lt. Suddth? Yeah, she's a good lawyer; she's sat second chair with me a few times, and she and Julie were at our Christmas party last year." Bud said. "I haven't seen her lately, however, and the general isn't happy about that either." His brow furrowed. "No one can seem to find her and I know you were asking about this morning," he said to Julie.

"Anyone in particular not like her?" Gibbs asked.

"There's Lt. Lawrence but the general census is she doesn't like too many of the women in JAG Corps," Bud said. "She got booted to the RLSO East, last I heard, after she accused Lt. Suddth of Conduct Unbecoming when it turned out it was actually Julie she'd seen. Didn't take that too well." A pretty plump blonde woman approached them, wearing a white Navy office uniform and carrying a bunch of files and Bud snagged her. "Hey, Harriet, have you heard from Debbie lately?"

"No, I haven't," Lt. Commander Harriet Sims-Roberts admitted. "I've been trying to call her but I keep getting voice mail. Hi Julie," she said, apparently recognizing the younger woman. She smiled politely at Gibbs, apparently recognizing the agent. "What brings you here, Agent Gibbs?"

"Just going to have a chat with Major General Cresswell," he said.

"Julie?" Harriet asked, puzzled.

"Chasing after him," she replied, jerking her head towards Gibbs. "Long story."

"Do you know where Debbie is?" Bud asked, worry etching his face.

Julie flashed a look at Gibbs, who nodded briefly. "I do, but until I know more, I can't really say. I'm sorry," she said. Then she changed the subject quickly. "What the heck is that on your uniform?" she asked, referring to a colored splotch on Harriet's uniform.

Harriet glared at Bud and Julie grinned in amusement as Bud all but withered under her glare. "His son decided to give me a hug this morning, with grape jelly on his hands, grape jelly that someone forgot to tell me he'd been given for breakfast," Harriet snarked before stalking away.

"She's gonna kill you one day," Julie said to Bud, a grin on her face.

"When you've been married as long as I have, you get used to it after a while," Bud said, shrugging. "Besides, don't all wives threaten murder and mayhem on their husbands at one point or another?"

"It depends," Gibbs said. "My third ex-wife tried to split my skull with a seven-iron."

"Sounds like she missed the tee-off point all together," Julie said, shrugging as she continued towards Major General Cresswell's office, leaving Bud and Gibbs to stare after her, with Gibbs' hand itching again.

"Is she always like this?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"Only when something's really wrong, sir," Bud said. "And if she's making those kind of wisecracks, then something is really bothering her and I've only seen her do that once before."

"When was that?"

"About a year ago; she was dealing with a case involving a child abduction and when they finally got to the little boy, he'd died of starvation," Bud said. "Hit her pretty hard, especially when it was discovered that it was the boy's mother who was the culprit."

"Been there, done that," Gibbs said, old memories surfacing.

Bud stopped Gibbs and asked firmly, "Sir, do you know where Lt. Suddth is? Is that why you're here?"

"Yeah, I know where Lt. Suddth is, Commander, and hopefully it's a better place than here," Gibbs said. And with that, he joined Julie at Major General Cresswell's secretary's desk. "Agent Gibbs, NCIS, to see Major General Cresswell," he told the yeoman.

"With FBI Agent Suddth right behind him," Julie sai.

"Do you have an appointment, sir?" the yeoman asked.

Gibbs sighed heavily and held up his badge. "Do I look like I need an appointment?" he asked sarcastically. Julie held up hers and smiled sweetly.

"One moment sir," was the comeback. The yeoman pushed a button on the phone and spoke. "Sir, Agent Gibbs of NCIS and Agent Suddth of FBI to see you."

"Send 'im in," was the reply. Gibbs opened the door and walked in, Julie right behind him, her long, soft-aqua brocade coat swishing as she undid the velvet tie-sash to reveal her dove-colored suit and purple blouse underneath.

Major General Gordon "Biff" Cresswell was at his desk, working, when they entered, and looked up. "Agent Gibbs, Agent Suddth, what can I do for you?" he asked.

Gibbs shut the door behind Julie and said, "I understand you're looking for Lt. Suddth."

"And if I am?" Cresswell asked, watching as Julie and Gibbs sat down.

"Then you're going to be looking for a long time," Gibbs said. "She was murdered in Norfolk last night."

"Damn," Cresswell said. "I'm sorry to hear that; she was a good officer." He stood up and moved to a cabinet along one wall. "A drink, Agent Suddth?" he asked.

"Only if Agent Gibbs gives the go-ahead; until we know whether or not I was the intended target or Debbie was, I'm under protective custody with Agent Gibbs and his team," Julie said.

"As long as you don't get drunk," Gibbs said in reply.

"Don't tempt me," Julie said sourly.

Cresswell poured a finger of vodka (Grey Goose, Julie noted absently, a good brand), and handed it to her. She accepted it, said, "Bottoms up," and knocked it back in one shot before handing the glass back to Cresswell. "About time you learned what good vodka is," she said, coughing slightly as the alcohol burned it's way down.

"Try a good bourbon next time," Gibbs said.

"What can I do to help your investigation?" Cresswell asked.

"Do you know if anyone had a particular dislike of Lt. Suddth, whether or not she'd received any threats or had cause to believe her life may be in danger?" Gibbs asked.

Cresswell shook his head. "She was a good lawyer; I haven't had any complaints against her, other than a Conduct Unbecoming complaint about seven months ago. That was resolved, or at least I thought it was."

"Lt. Lawrence, if I heard right?" Gibbs asked.

"That's right; claimed she saw Lt. Suddth getting a little too cozy with Commander Ian Baldwin, when it was actually Agent Suddth doing the cozying," Cresswell said. "I booted her ass to Norfolk when she refused to drop the complaint, calling it a conspiracy and all but accusing Lt. Suddth of sleeping around."

"How did she handle that?" Gibbs asked.

"From what Captain Estabrooks was telling me, she was behaving herself," Cresswell said.

"What was Lt. Suddth like?" Gibbs asked.

"A hard worker, a good lawyer, and from what I understand, friends or at least on good terms with the majority of the people she worked with," Cresswell said. "I had no problems with her."

"We're going to need access to her files, see if maybe someone may have had a problem with her," Gibbs warned.

"I'll see to it you get full access," Cresswell promised.

"Suggestion: what about Lt. Commander Roberts and Lt. Sims?" Julie asked. "I'm friends with both of them and they're good people, plus Bud admitted to having worked with Debbie before. As lawyers, especially Bud, they may know what to look for."

"Do you have any cause to suspect either of them?" Cresswell asked Gibbs.

"At the moment I suspect everyone until evidence tells me otherwise," Gibbs said. "However, having dealt with Roberts before, no, I don't suspect him at the moment."

Cresswell nodded. "Lt. Sims might threaten to murder someone, namely her husband, but she's not the kind of person I would see murdering someone without a good reason, such as self-defense."

"In that case, all the help we can get would be appreciated, but I would like to keep Lt. Suddth's death as quiet as possible," Gibbs said. "At least for now."

"Understood," Cresswell said. He pushed a button on his phone and said, "Caine, get Roberts and Sims in my office please."

"Aye aye, sir," came the response.

A moment later a knock came at Cresswell's door and he called for them to enter. Both Bud and Harriet did so, looks of curiosity and concern on their faces.

"Shut the door," Cresswell said. Harriet did so and Cresswell continued. "What I am about to tell you stays in this room until further notice; understood?"

"Aye sir," Harriet said.

"Understood, sir," Bud said.

"Good. Agent Gibbs informs me that Lt. Suddth was murdered in Norfolk last night," Cresswell said. "NCIS is investigating her death and he has asked us for help in going through Lt. Suddth's files to try and determine if anyone may have had a serious grudge against her."

Bud's face blanched and Harriet gasped. "Oh no," she breathed. She looked at Julie sympathetically, who gave her a tight smile, barely hiding the flash of pain and sorrow in her eyes, pain that Gibbs caught before the proverbial shutters came over her eyes.

You're hiding, Suddth, and it's going to cost you, Gibbs thought, seeing what the agent was doing.

"What can we do to help, sir?" Bud asked.

"For now, I want you to go through Lt. Suddth's files, see if anything and anyone comes up," Gibbs said, "and let me or my team know." He handed them his card, which they accepted.

"Agent Gibbs has asked that we keep Lt. Suddth's death quiet until he knows more about what happened," Cresswell said.

"A few people have asked where Lt. Suddth is," Bud admitted. "Once they see Julie, they're going to be asking even more, sir."

"As far as you know, she's helping me with an on-going NCIS investigation, endorsed by Major General Cresswell," Gibbs said.

"Which is true, sort of," Julie said.

"General?" Gibbs asked.

Cresswell nodded. "It's a plausible explanation," he said. "I'll go along with it for now."

"What about Gordie Stewart?" Julie asked. "Debbie slapped his ass to the Marines about four years ago and got a real nasty letter from him as a result."

"I'm not sure, but I remember the case," Bud said. "I'll add it to my list of names to check," he promised.

"And Julie?" Harriet asked.

"I get to keep Agent Gibbs company until I'm told otherwise," Julie said. "Not that I object, of course; the view is rather pleasant." She propped her chin in her hand when he glared at her, and smiled. "What? I'm just telling the truth! I can't help it if I happen to like what I see!"

"Julie," Harriet began gently reproachful, apparently having seeing this behavior before and seeing where it could lead.

"Thank you, that will be all," Cresswell said, deciding to cut things off while he could.

Both Bud and Harriet snapped to attention and said, "Aye aye sir." They quickly left the office, but not before Harriet threw Julie a worried look, which Julie didn't see but Gibbs and Cresswell did.

Cresswell turned to Gibbs and said, "I give you my word, you find whoever did this, and you will have the full cooperation of the staff here, as well as any other JAG branch; I will see to it personally."

"Thank you, sir," Gibbs said.

"And you, Agent Suddth," Cresswell said, turning to Julie, a stern look on his face, "behave yourself."

"Pfft, why on earth would I want to do that?" she shot back, a teasing grin on her face.

"Because if you don't, I strongly suspect Agent Gibbs may just decide to throw you in a safe house rather than have you tag along with him," Cresswell said.

Julie smiled brightly and said, "He'd have to catch me first and to be quite honest, I'd enjoy the chase. Just ask Master Sergeant John Burnham.; he's chased after me on more than one occasion and he's a Marine."

"He must not be a very good one if he can't catch you," Cresswell said.

"I didn't say he couldn't catch me," she replied. "I just don't make it easy for him to do so; part of my charm. It's what makes me a good federal agent but a royal pain in the ass to everyone else."

"I feel sorry for you," Cresswell said to Gibbs, very sympathetic.

"She could always get my foot up her ass," Gibbs replied, deadpan. "Then she will have a pain in the ass."

"Please do; I'll be happy to help," Cresswell said.

"What? Just because I nearly gave you a heart attack, you gonna ride my ass over that?" Julie protested mock-indignantly.

"Julie," Cresswell began patiently, "I have a daughter a bit younger than you. I also run this JAG office; do not mess with me."

"General," she began, "you ain't seen nuttin' yet." She smiled sweetly and Gibbs could feel his hand itching again.