Yikes – I totally didn't mean to take this long to update, but I haven't been home since Wednesday evening, so I haven't had a chance to post. So very sorry! It appears as thought ff is allow review responses to work, so I was able to reply to the last few that came in. Thank you so much to everyone else!
Abby clicked the door shut as quietly as possible before hurrying down the hall, out through the lobby and onto the sidewalk. It was early, but already the streets were busy as vendors began setting up for the daily market.
Abby stopped just inside the door to allow her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness inside the warehouse. She was still a little early, but she figured it was better than running late. As her eyes adjusted, she squared her shoulders and moved to look around the warehouse.
"Ms. Sciuto," Alejandro smiled at her, causing her skin to crawl. "Imagine running in to you here."
Abby felt her heart seize, Paloma had played her. She had called her brother and told him she would be here. Gibbs was right. "What do you want?"
Alejandro circled around slowly, moving between her and the door. "I just want to talk. I want to figure this whole mess out, so that you can go home, and so that I can close my case."
"I already told you, I can't match that bullet to Gibbs' like you want me too. There is nothing more I can do. Let your father rest in peace and move on."
"You know I can't do that," Alejandro paced back and forth slowly, his hands clenching and then relaxing. "We both know Agent Gibbs killed my father, I will prove it, even if you did ruin the evidence."
"I didn't-"
"Leave the poor woman alone," a shadowy figure stepped out from behind a giant support beam.
"Ah, Mr. Bell, just in time." Alejandro smiled and moved to shake the other man's hand. "Told you she would be here."
"Indeed you did." Bell circled around and stood in front of Abby. "How are you Ms. Sciuto? We haven't officially met, but I've heard much about you and your…" He let his eyes roam over her body, "skills."
Abby shuddered and ignored the man's gaze. "What do you want with me?"
"You? Nothing."
"You think you can use me to get to Gibbs? To NCIS? They don't negotiate with terrorists."
"Terrorist? Is that what you think I am?" Bell laughed. "I just have some issues I need to settle with Agent Gibbs and since he hasn't returned my phone calls… I heard that you might be a good way to get him to pay attention."
Abby rolled her eyes. "You had Ms. Hart spy on him, didn't you? She's the one who told you to come after me, wasn't she? Or was it him?" Abby nodded toward Alejandro.
"It was both. And since they both said the same thing, I figured they were telling the truth. Looks like I was right, wasn't I? On the floor, Ms. Sciuto, face down."
Abby stared down the barrel of the gun before slowly moving to her knees and then face down on the floor. She felt the ground of the old warehouse shake as Bell approached and she tried not to shake as her hands were pulled together and tied behind her back.
"How will you get her to confess that she tampered with evidence?" Alejandro questioned.
"I'm not," Bell shrugged. "It's not important."
"What?" Alejandro's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter to me, just like Hart didn't matter. Neither do you." Bell lifted the gun he had pointed at Abby and pulled the trigger. He watched as Alejandro fell to the ground and then bent over Abby and pulled her to her feet. "Come with me."
Abby stared wide-eyed at Alejandro's lifeless form as Colonel Bell pulled her toward the back entrance, out the door and then shoved her into his car. She fell face first in the backseat and braced herself with her feet as he got in the driver's seat and peeled away from the curb.
"I apologize for making you lay on the ground, but I didn't want you to have to see that."
"Where are you taking me, what do you want with me?"
Bell ignored her and drove out of the city.
The moment the lock clicked, Gibbs sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He had almost grabbed her when she kissed him, but he knew that nothing short of cuffing her to himself would keep her from whatever mission she was on. His best bet was to follow her and do the best he could by keeping her safe from a distance.
He tugged his jeans up and slipped on a shirt before tucking his badge and gun out of sight. He hurried to put his shoes on and slipped out the door, pulling it shut behind him.
By the time he hit the street, he saw her round the corner at the end of the street towards the city center. He hurried to make up some of the distance, careful not to attract too much attention to himself. She disappeared into the market and he lost sight of her for a few minutes before finding her again as she paused to buy a bottle of water and a granola bar. He hung back and purchased a straw hat to help his cover and then followed her out of the market as she headed toward a large string of warehouses across the street. The buildings sat apart from the market so Gibbs hung back, unfolding a map and watching from the corner of his eye as Abby hesitantly approached and then disappeared between two buildings.
He was torn between crossing the street and following and keeping his distance. He couldn't see which of the two buildings she entered, but he could see if anyone else pulled up out front.
Feeling uneasy, Gibbs moved to a new spot to watch and stiffened when he saw Paloma Reynosa pull up. She was alone as she got out of the car and looked both ways down the street. Gibbs ducked out of the way and watched through a small crack in the wall as she followed the same path that Abby had.
He didn't see a weapon, but he was certain she was armed.
Abby didn't seem too worried to be alone with the woman, but he didn't trust the drug dealer. He hesitated briefly and crossed the street. He wasn't sure which of the two buildings they had gone in, but after a few beats of silence he thought he could hear arguing.
Sticking close to the walls, he edged closer until the sound of a gunshot rang in his ears. Gibbs grabbed his gun and pushed inside the warehouse, his view of the center of the building blocked by stacks of crates. He heard the unmistakable sound of tires peeling away from the curb behind the warehouse as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He edged along the crates and looked towards the open space of the warehouse. He could barely make out the shape of someone bent over a body in the center of the room.
Oh, Abbs… If she was dead because he decided to hang back, he would never forgive himself. And he wouldn't leave Mexico until he had taken out everyone involved directly and indirectly with taking her life… taking his very own last.
"She is still alive."
Gibbs froze. He hadn't thought he had been spotted.
"If he wanted to kill her, he would have done so already, Agent Gibbs." Paloma brushed her hand over the dead man's face, closing his lifeless eyes and then stood and turned to where Gibbs was, half protected by the crates.
As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he could make out a male shape on the floor. He kept a firm grip on his gun as he moved toward the woman, suddenly recognizing Alejandro's limp form on the floor. "Your brother..?"
Paloma nodded. "He must've heard from one of my people that I was meeting Abby here."
"Who took her?" If it wasn't Alejandro and it wasn't one of Paloma's people, he couldn't think of…
"Bell. Your good friend Morton Bell," her voice was laced with sarcasm.
Gibbs took a few steps closer, leading with his gun trained on Paloma's face. "Bell?"
"He and my brother… they were working together. Bell promised my brother a lovely pay-out and revenge of our fathers' death if he helped bring you down."
"You aren't interested in revenge?"
Paloma looked at her brother and then back at Gibbs. "I didn't know him well. I was young when you killed him. A long life isn't guaranteed in my line of work, I understand that and have come to terms. Alejandro remembered him well. I would have had no qualms with him taking you out, but you are of no concern to me. There was something about Bell, the way he suddenly sought out my brother, offering his assistance. I knew he must have had his own personal vendetta against you. Then, when I spoke to Abby yesterday, she filled me on the history between you and Bell. I told her about Ms. Hart yesterday, and today-"
"What about Ms. Hart?"
Paloma's head dropped. "My brother killed her, per request of Bell, I assume. Bell has not left the country."
Gibbs was silent a moment, he hadn't heard that the lawyer had died. "How do you know?"
"I overheard Bell and my brother talking. Neither of them knew I was in here. Bell was using my brother to do the dirty work. He has been having my brother do the dirty work, and now he's able to pin everything on my brother, he can push the government to take action against me."
It all fit together in Gibbs' head. The last several months, maybe even a year, had been one large game to Bell. Sending Ms. Hart to gain information on him, planning out getting Abby to Mexico to open the case against him. By using Abby, Bell had a guaranteed response from Gibbs' and by bringing the drug cartel into the mix, he had the perfect scapegoat. With the death of and NCIS agent, lawyer and forensic scientist, the government wouldn't hesitate to go after Paloma and her associates, leaving Bell free to disappear and enjoy the rest of his days. "Where is he taking her?"
"I have no clue." She pulled out her phone, but hesitated before dialing when Gibbs waved his gun at her.
"Who are you calling?"
"I have contacts… I will see if they know anything."
Gibbs nodded. He didn't trust her, but he had no other options. Pulling out his own cell phone, he dialed Vance's direct line.
It hadn't been an easy phone call to make, but it was necessary. Vance had promised to have the rest of Gibbs' team in Mexico by that evening. After a deep breath, he dialed another familiar number, one a little more local.
"Hola Senor Gibbs, how can I help you?"
"Camilla," Gibbs sighed. "Mike at the cantina?"
"No. Not since yesterday. Said he wouldn't be around for a few days. Is everything okay?" Camilla had a soft spot for the two men and had taken great care of Gibbs while he had been on his Hiatus.
"Ask him to call me the next time you see him. It's important."
"I will pay him a visit after my shift."
"Thanks." Gibbs didn't wait for a response, hanging up and turning to Paloma. "Any luck?"
"I have two local addresses of places that he owns. Both of them are on the beach, about 20 minutes from each other. I will drive."
Reluctantly, Gibbs re-holstered his gun and followed Paloma to her car. He looked over the addresses she had scribbled down, pointing to one of them. "This one. We go to this one first."
"No, that one is further from here. We go to the closer one first."
"But my gut-"
"Listen, Agent Gibbs," Paloma pulled her gun and trained it on his face. "I want to find them just as bad as you do. But we're doing this my way. I say we go to the one closest, and then if they are not there we continue on. And when we get there, you get the girl, I will take Bell."
Gibbs nodded after a moments' hesitation and watched as she put her gun away. As much as he wanted to deal with Bell himself, Abby was his first concern.
Five minutes into their drive, Gibbs spoke again. "Why are you working with Abby?"
"I'm not exactly working with her."
"Most people who get involved with your group we have ended up dead by now, but not her. Why?"
"She had information that I wanted. They can't talk when their dead."
"And now…? You're just going to let us walk away after this is all over."
Paloma nodded. "I see… I see a bit of myself in her, Agent Gibbs. She's a bright young woman, though not as young as she looks," Paloma cast a glance Gibbs' way. "She is going after what she wants and when it comes to matters of the heart, she has cast the rules aside. I like that. I know my reputation, and so it flatters me that she still sought me out. And she did it for you."
"I know." Gibbs was silent the rest of the ride.
TBC
