Chapter 7

Abigail's Lab:

"Gibbs! How did you know I wanted to see you?" Abby asked excitedly.

"I didn't. You got something for me?" He said, handing her a refill Caf-Pow.

She took it from him, took a big swig and then slammed it down on her station. She twirled to look at him, her hands up. "Guess what I found?"

"Abby. I'm not in the mood."

"Grrr…you ruin all my fun, Gibbs. I got a match on our killer's DNA."

"Yeah? Who is it?" Gibbs asked, finally glad to have something.

"I just want to let you know that I triple checked my results."

"Abby."

"Alright. The DNA your killer left behind was that of Shane O'Malley."

"Nice work, Abs." Tony and Gibbs said at the same time. Gibbs looked at him and Tony silently apologized.

"Don't thank me yet, Gibbs. Shane O'Malley was killed in the late 1800's. You're killer's a dead man."

They all looked at her. She held up her hands in defense and then turned the monitor toward him. His team gathered around him and looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the DNA matched that of 30 year old Shane O'Malley of Dublin, Ireland, died in 1876. No cause of death listed. Abby had gone the extra mile to find the death certificate. Her results were irrefutable. Abby simply didn't make mistakes.

Gibbs nodded his head and moved on to his next question. "How are you making out on…"

"That was the other thing I wanted to update you on. I've been working with McGee and Ziva on the origins of the vampire Angelus. He is mentioned in a dozen of these volumes, Gibbs. I need more time. I could use Tony's help too."

"Not like you to want an assistant, Abs, let alone three."

"I know, but there is a lot of crap to sift through here. On the upside, I know none of them are planning to frame, maim, or kill me."

"You got it."

"Why do you wanna know about Angelus anyway? I thought you didn't delve into the dark and devilish, Gibbs."

"It means something to them. I want to know what."

He kissed her cheek and turned to leave the room, "Tony, Ziva, stay here and help them. I'm going up to interrogate Wesley."

Interrogation Room, Wesley:

Wesley was waiting patiently in the small, grey, dimly lit interrogation room for twenty minutes now. He didn't have his books to read or peruse through. He didn't have his scrolls to study. This was a complete waste of his precious time. He could be working. Instead he was sitting here waiting on NCIS to question him like some common criminal.

After several more minutes the door finally opened and expelled Agent Gibbs. He looked irritated and worn. Fatigue was starting to get the better of him. Wesley could see the circles under his eyes. It was obvious that the man hadn't slept lately. Wesley felt sorry for him, but resented being treated like a criminal.

"Wesley Windam-Pryce." Gibbs said and sat down across from Wesley, closing the door behind him.

"Yes, that's me. Look, I'm sure you have a complete dossier on me. No doubt you have one on each of us. I presume you have spoken to someone from Wolfram & Hart?"

Gibbs was thrown off guard. Wesley was good. It was as if he had interrogated before. Gibbs was being questioned instead of the other way around. He decided to answer him. Their source was apparently no secret.

"That's right."

"I should warn you that the source you believe to be a reputable law firm is in fact a cover for something far more sinister. I can't tell you more than that. We have been working on how to shut them down for a few years." Wesley was sure to choose his words carefully.

"I'll take that into consideration…" Gibbs was about to start his own line of questioning, but Wesley continued.

"I had thought of you as a man of good morals and common sense. I know that you are adamant to find your killer and nothing anyone tells you will sway you from your job. You don't trust anyone and you don't take things at face value. However, I hope you had more sense than to open old wounds for my friends by asking unnecessary questions about their past."

Gibbs was speechless. In all his years of doing this job, never, did he have a suspect interrogate him. He tried to speak again, and again, the Englishman continued.

Wesley watched him and saw that his fears were real. "I see it's too late for that. You, no doubt, asked Fred about the years she was missing from school. That was a rather traumatic time for her that she would rather not relive. You probably egged Cordelia into a verbal fight by making a comment on her failed acting career and probably mentioned all of her doctor visits. Those do not pertain to the case at hand. It was an invasion of her privacy. I bet you even mentioned Doyle. He was a good man and it tore her apart to watch him die. I should think Gunn's sister came into the conversation at some point when you questioned him…as well as his younger days running a gang in center city Los Angeles. He did what needed to be done to protect his friends and family. I don't know what life was like for you in the Marines, Agent Gibbs. I assume it was hell. Gunn's life was very much the same, accept he didn't have to travel thousands of miles to dodge bullets. Does that about cover it so far?"

Gibbs mouth twitched. Just who did this guy think he was? "I did. It is vital that I know their state of mind and it helps me to judge their answers. If they lie about those things, they'll lie about the questions I intend to ask later about the murder of Lt. Lake."

"We are not responsible for the death of your Navy's Lt. Lake. Shane is responsible for her death. I'm sorry for that. I assume that you have looked my file over? You'll have found that I was born in England and attended a very renowned Prep School for boys. I was hired as a librarian at Sunnydale High for a short time and then I joined Angel Investigations. I don't have many hobbies, though I do belong to a guild. The Watcher's Council to be more specific."

Gibbs started to write that down when Wesley stopped him.

"You can look it up if you like, but you won't find anything. It's an unregistered guild. You won't know where to look to find the information that you want. And I'm not going to tell you. It doesn't pertain to your case."

Gibbs wrote it down anyway. He looked toward the camera and then back at his suspect. He knew that even though he had ordered Tony to stay and help Abby, he would still be watching and listening to the interrogation on the plasma in her lab. He would know to have Abby look up the Watcher's Council Wesley had mentioned. He wasn't going to just take his word for it.

Gibbs was impressed with the man. He was controlling the flow if information. He was telling Gibbs straight out what he was sure Gibbs would ask and a little more that he wouldn't know to ask. He would have to get beyond that.

He opened his mouth to speak again. When Wesley started to interrupt, he held up a hand to stop him. He needed to get in control of this interrogation.

"I ask the questions. I want straight answers."

Wesley said nothing.

"You're skilled at interrogation. I'm actually impressed. How did you become so skilled?"

Wesley looked at him sardonically. He didn't believe that Gibbs was that stupid.

"I doubt that the police department allowed you to interview suspects. Do you take them to your office before handing them over to the authorities?"

"Anything to get our man. You know a little about that. I have done my homework too. I had Cordelia look into your backgrounds. You do whatever is necessary to get your man. Ari ring a bell? Perhaps your wife and daughter's murderer?"

Gibbs stared at Wesley. How had he known? Ari he could understand. There had been a report of the incident in his basement. The truth was that Ziva had killed Ari, but the report stated that Gibbs had shot him in self defense when Ari broke into his house and tried to kill him with his own gun. However, the truth about Shannon and Kelly's killer was not on file. That was the biggest kept secret at NCIS. Only his team and Jen knew the truth. How had this man found out?

"So, you must agree that breaking that particular rule is not that big a deal. Sometimes the law lets bad guys slip through the cracks. Sometimes, there are cases that are more difficult and too much for the police to solve. I'm not okay with letting them get away with it just because the authorities can't handle the case."

Wesley became quiet again. Gibbs watched him closely. Wesley had yet to lie to him. But something was still off. He just couldn't figure out what it was. Gibbs tried a different approach.

"What other rules are you willing to break? My team overheard you all talking about hunting your targets. Have you ever gone so far as to kill your suspects?" Gibbs asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Have you?" Wesley asked, referring to the two he just previously mentioned. He knew them both to be dead.

They stared at each other for a moment. They both knew the answer to that. Yes. Neither of them were about to admit it on the record while being video taped.

Wesley continued, failing to answer his question. "We work all angles possible when looking for our suspects. We may not have badges, but we are not without resources. We use the internet, we have reliable human sources as well as digital ones. We do the leg work, ask questions, interview witnesses on our own time without interfering with L.A.P.D.'s investigations. We have interrogated some people and we do hand over all suspects or perpetrators to the authorities. I won't deny that some of our techniques stray over the line a bit. Especially when it concerns the safety of one of our own."

Gibbs didn't say anything. He was jotting down what Wesley was saying. The next statement made Gibbs look up.

"When a case strays into personal territory the stakes are changed. I know about Kate."

Gibbs looked at him. A felt a pang of guilt at the mention of his former NCIS agent. Kate was killed on duty by the sniper Ari.

"I also know about the loss of NCIS Special Agent Paula Cassidy. You have almost lost Special Agent Tony DiNozzo a dozen times. He was even framed for murder…no? Mossad Liason Ziva David has had a similar experience while left alone with a suspect. Agent McGee was accused of discharging his weapon without cause at a police officer."

"You're point."

"When it comes to our 'families' Agent Gibbs…we do anything to make it right. Angel and I are no different. I trust you understand."

Gibbs eye twitched. He hadn't gained control. In fact, he thought he had relinquished power to Wesley even more than before without realizing it. If ever he deserved a head slap, it was now.

"Let's get right down to it then. How close to this case is your boss, Angel?"

"Be more specific."

"Was he with Shane when he killed Lt. Lake?"

"You think Angel is an accomplice to the murder of Lt. Lake?"

Gibbs said nothing. He just stared Wesley down in pure Gibbs fashion. Wesley laughed.

"You can't be serious."

"Dead serious."

"Then you are not the man I thought you were. Your reputation for learning the truth is impeccable, Agent Gibbs. I'm disappointed that you fail to see the truth here. No, Agent Gibbs. Angel is in not way connected to the deaths of your Navy Lt. Lake and Navy Captain Taylor."

"Captain Taylor?"

"You don't know the name of your second victim yet? I learned about that just this morning."

The door to the interrogation suddenly burst open. Tony stepped in, visibly cringing. He knew Gibbs would be angry to the point of boiling. It was important though.

"Boss, I gotta talk to you a sec."

"Oh, Agent DiNozzo. I do believe you just broke rule number 22. Never, ever, interrupt Gibbs while he is in interrogation." Wesley recited perfectly, smiling at the look of pure disbelief both men had on their faces.

Gibbs followed his senior field agent into the hall. The door was closed and the pair of them stared at the closed door. Neither of them knew what to think of what just happened. It was true, most of NCIS, and some other agencies, were aware of Gibbs rules. It took working with Gibbs to learn of them. Wesley knew…but how?

"Boss, he's weird."

"I can't argue with that, DiNozzo. What do you got?"

"Two things. Ducky is calling for you and Abby's got something."

"Let's not keep Dr. Mallard waiting. With me."

Together, the agents reported to autopsy, the mysteries of Wesley Windam-Pryce on both their brains.