"DiNozzo" Gibbs called as he swept out of the elevator.
He watched as Tony jumped up in response and he had to admire his team's efforts as he took in the accumulation of coffee cups, the takeout cartons that littered the bullpen and their tired appearances as they worked fruitlessly on leads.
"Paige Jackson" he announced as he ground to a halt in front of Tony' desk. He watched the flutter of confusion pass across his agents face before continuing.
"Ducky confirmed cause of death as blunt force trauma, but Abby identified traces of chloroform in her system. I want you to go through all the evidence that came in with her. I want a lead on who killed her, and I want it now if not sooner."
He heard Tony slip out from behind his desk and his hurried footsteps towards the elevator as he turned.
"David."
Ziva looked up from her computer screen and matched his stare; he averted his eyes briefly as he knew the assassin was better than most at reading his expressions. He returned his gaze towards her before barking out his next line of commands.
"Petty Officer Olivia Maguire. Everything we got. I need a connection between her and Jackson. Abby's running her blood work now."
Ziva nodded without objection and turned to her computer.
"McGee" Gibbs shouted, turning on his heel to face his younger field agent.
McGee snapped to attention still bewildered at the exchange that had just taken place, unsure how this all tied in to the Director.
"Yeah boss" he responded gathering his wits.
"You okay, Tim?" Gibbs asked with a gentleness in his voice that rarely surfaced around anyone but Abby.
McGee was temporary thrown off by the question and the intensity of the look Gibbs was giving him. He swallowed loudly and nodded his head up and down slowly verifying this with a yes.
"Good" Gibbs replied briskly, alerting McGee that this momentary display of emotion was now over. "Go help Abby."
He watched as McGee scarpered out of his chair and into the elevator before he slumped back onto his own chair hoping for once that his gut was wrong.
Jenny screwed her eyes up against the light that came flooding into the room as the door was swung open.
He paced towards her slowly and stepped around her playing with her hair.
She shivered slightly as she recalled his fascination with her hair and tried to ignore the feeling of his fingers raking through it.
"How does it feel Jenny?"
"Why are you doing this, Robert?" she began.
She was quietened as he tugged at her hair causing a sharp pain in her scalp.
"I meant how does it feel to know that Gibbs can no longer interfere with us?"
"Us? Robert there never was an us."
She opted for gentleness because anger wasn't an option. Not with what she knew about this man.
He let go of her hair and came around to face her.
"You shouldn't have lied to me, Jenny. I wouldn't have cared. We still could have been together. He wasn't good enough for you Jen. He still isn't."
"Robert, there's nothing between Gibbs and I now."
"Don't lie to me" he said, his voice rising a notch. "I've been watching you."
"Robert, I'm his boss."
"I've seen the way he looks at you. The way you look at him when you think nobody's looking."
"You've been spying on me, Robert?"
He looked at her and smiled dangerously.
"I have eyes in your office, in the bullpen, in your bathroom. I even have eyes in your bedroom, Jenny."
"Then you should know that Gibbs doesn't share my bed" she said slowly, her head spinning with the revelation.
"But I'll bet he wishes he does. I bet he fantasises about you. Just like I do."
"There's nothing between us, Robert" she reiterated.
She eyed him cautiously as his fists tensed and his knuckles whitened as he tried to restrain himself. He spun on his toes and stormed back out of the room, leaving her sitting on her chair, her breathing slightly laboured and her mind swarming with thoughts of the last time he had kidnapped her. But always at the forefront of her mind was Gibbs, and she wondered just how much longer it would take him to find her this time.
"Boss?"
Gibbs turned to face him wordlessly awaiting a situation report.
"I went through all the evidence from the Paige Jackson case. I read through all the case reports and looked through the crime scene photos. Whoever this guy was he was good, the original team covering the case found nothing. I logged the evidence out again and went through it with a fine tooth comb and found a single hair on Paige Jackson's uniform. Abby was able to get a DNA sample. She got a match Boss."
He stopped and looked up at his boss nervously.
Gibbs looked up and met Tony's eyes and knew that his gut had been right.
"Robert Marshall?"
He watched the look of amazement cross Tony's features.
"That's amazing, Boss ... his records are sealed. We ..."
"Not amazing DiNozzo" Gibbs growled as he pushed himself out of his chair and headed towards the stairs before stopping as he heard Ziva call out to him from the elevator doors.
He turned around and watched her hurry towards him.
"Gibbs, I went through everything on the Maguire case. Abby confirmed that there was chloroform in her blood too. The crime scene was clean though."
She drew a breath before continuing.
"However when I questioned Ducky about the body, he said he found a few of the victims hairs on her neck which had been recently cut which Ducky surmised was more than a little ... odd."
She looked up in time to see Gibbs shake his head his eyes closed before he looked back up to her.
Gibbs fought off the memory of him twirling a lock of Jens hair in his fingers and he made himself meet Ziva's eyes again.
"Gibbs?" Ziva raised her eyebrows at him and he nodded and let out a sigh.
Without another word he headed towards the elevator leaving Tony and Ziva standing in shock files still in hands sharing a curious glance.
"You think this Marshall guy and the boss have had a run in in the past then?" Tony asked as soon as Gibbs was out of sight.
"I think Gibbs will tell us as soon as he sees fit"
"You think that Gibbs suspected the connection all along?"
"I do not know Tony"
"Do you--"
"DiNozzo" she said her voice deadly and he remembered how close she was with Director "put a stocking in it"
He stifled a laugh.
She threw a look that made him quickly rearrange his features; he shrugged in apology before murmuring "sock".
She took a seat at her desk ignoring Tony and watched as he slowly retreated back to his desk and sat down with a sigh.
Gibbs stormed out of the elevator. McGee trailed helplessly after him, with Abby in tow behind him a folder in her hands and solemn look on her face. Tony straightened up a little in his chair and sensed Ziva do the same opposite him. They both watched their boss intently as he crossed the squad room.
The group waited in silence until the elevator dinged once more and Ducky stepped out, looking worried and puzzled.
"Robert Marshall" Gibbs broke the silence as Ducky approached the team and came to a stop next to Abby.
Gibbs looked around his team the determination burning in their eyes and so he continued.
"McGee's managed to hack into his records."
McGee hurried behind his desk tapping at his computer almost instantaneously pulling up a file onto the plasma to be displayed for all to see.
"Robert Marshall. Ex-NCIS agent. Been in prison for the past ten years." Gibbs reeled off without looking at the screen.
McGee hit a few more keys.
"Released three weeks ago, Boss."
Gibbs absorbed the information and a fleeting look of disbelief and rage flashed through his eyes. He was set to continue before Ziva interrupted him.
"What was he in prison for?"
"He kidnapped and assaulted a federal agent."
"Jenny ..." Ziva breathed.
Gibbs nodded curtly, his face masked of all emotion now.
"We were in Europe, the five of us. Me, Jenny, Pacci, Ducky, and .. that bastard" he said as he jerked his head in the direction of the screen.
"He was ... in love with her" Ducky filled in.
Gibbs shook his head roughly.
"No. He was obsessed with her."
"And none of us had any idea until it was too late" Ducky said when Gibbs' mouth clamped shut "even if all the signs were there."
"I was out following a lead with Pacci" Gibbs began.
"He asked her out for coffee" Ducky picked up as Gibbs shook his head - seemingly trying to rid images from his head. "When they got to the car he knocked her out with chloroform. Took her to a rundown hotel room and tied her up"
The team listened intently to the story, their minds working on overdrive as each of them prepared themselves mentally for what was coming next. Ducky placed a light hand on Gibbs' shoulder and urged him to continue.
"She was so out of it when we got there she couldn't remember all the details, but it seemed he wanted to kill me because I -"
He stopped abruptly not allowing himself to confirm his past relationship with the Director. Even if that relationship hadn't really taken off at that point.
"He wanted to kill me" he resumed. "He told her that he was protecting her. From me."
Tony looked up at his boss and suddenly saw him in a new light. It wasn't often you heard Leroy Jethro Gibbs speak up like this.
"Robert ... wanted to be with her" Ducky explained gently. "The Director refused. She told him to let her go and get some help. And that's when he hit her."
"He didn't just hit her Duck. He lost it. For whatever reason something snapped and he lashed out with the nearest thing to hand."
Tears were flowing freely down Abby's face as Gibbs recalled the tale. Tony kept his eyes fixed on the plasma with a new loathing in his eyes. The other two didn't move.
"He beat her within an inch of her life. I was almost too late. When I came in he went for me. We struggled. I kept him down long enough till Pacci arrived with reinforcements."
Ducky wrapped his arm round Abby and Gibbs turned to face them.
"The Director was unconscious. She was cut and bruised everywhere. Her whole body was limp and I was pretty sure she was .. "
He paused for a moment.
"Marshall was screaming at the top of his voice, swearing he'd kill me even it was the last thing he did."
Tonys head snapped around at this, McGee sat open-mouthed staring at his boss and Abby let a small cry escape her lips.
"Gibbs..."
Ziva started but piped down when Gibbs shook his head slowly.
"The last thing he said before he was taken away was" Gibbs looked at the monitor deadpan expression on his face, unblinking and took in a breath "if he couldn't have her then no one could."
"You think he'd carry a grudge this long?" asked Tony.
"Not much else to do in prison than obsess" Ducky said "especially if you have one already."
"So this is about you then ..." Ziva said, trying to understand the ramifications "not the Director."
Gibbs exchanged a look with Ducky.
"It's about both of us" was all Gibbs would say.
