Ken sat in the open desk in the bullpen. The six images on the monitor in front of them held his attention. He cradled a pen in his hand, spinning it between his fingers as his mind mulled over the faces in front of him.
Who are you? ANY of you? Why did Miyako have your pictures on our computer?
The lightest of growls came from his throat. Ken took a deep breath, growling again as he exhaled.
It doesn't make any sense! Why would you have six strangers on MY computer?! What do these people want with you?!
He didn't register the pain that came with his teeth grinding together.
AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!
The sound of plastic cracking snapped Ken out of his thoughts. He straightened up in a hurry, looking at the pen in his hand. Luckily for him, the only damage that was done was to the cap. He'd somehow managed to squeeze the cheap pen's cap between his fingers, breaking it and robbing the pen of any hopes of ever being covered again. It was then that he took a second to go over the questions that ran though his head. He roughly ran a hand over his face and through his hair, as if trying to wipe the hostile thoughts from his mind.
From the opposite end of the bullpen, two agents watched the Detective go through his mental struggle. The two turned to each other, sharing concerned looks with one another.
"Think he doesn't have a problem, Ziva?"
"No, Tony. I can see that he has some kind of an emotional trauma that he is fighting through."
Tony rolled his eyes. "'Emotional trauma'? Really, Ziva? The guy's more messed up than George Clooney in Batman & Robin."
This time it was Ziva's turn to roll her eyes. "Is that supposed to mean that his character was insane in that film?"
"No, I'm talking about the fact that he even took a role in that hot mess. No amount of money would've convinced me to take that job."
"Why do I get the feeling that this is not about the fact that the man just lost his family?"
"What?" Tony threw his hands in the air. "Okay, we know that I don't like foreigners invading on my turf."
"Tony, I am a foreigner in this country."
"You're different, Ziva. You earned your way to your job, the right way. He took us through the craziest place that I've ever been, and I still have no idea whether or not that actually happened because I'm pretty sure my brain has already suppressed the experience! I legitimately can't tell whether or not I saw a huge, green praying mantis fight off a giant, red walking beetle!"
Ziva quickly walked up to Tony, her face inches away from his. "And I am not sure I am looking at a man who can sympathize with another over the loss of his family."
Tony sighed, pressing his hands into his face and rubbing away the sudden exhaustion that washed over him.
"Okay, I get that. The man lost everything right in front of him in the blink of an eye. Maybe you're right. Maybe he is just out of it. I can't blame him. I'd probably lose it to if something were to happen to Senior."
"So we are agreed? He is here to assist in our investigation."
Tony nodded. "Yeah. He wants our help. That's why he brought everything over to us, right?"
"Or, he might be lying about something." A silver-haired blur rushed by them, making its way to the cubicles and confusing the two field agents that watched.
"Hey!"
Ken snapped up just in time to see Gibbs walking past, waving his fingers as he went. Ken felt his face twist in confusion.
I don't think I'm supposed to be able to feel that. What the hell's going on with me?
He got up and followed the Senior Agent to an elevator in the corner of the room. Neither man said a word to one another, though Ken forced himself to keep quiet.
The way I've been feeling lately, I'm not sure I can trust myself to not sound like I'm angry about something. Besides, maybe he's found something.
The elevator eventually stopped, revealing a near pristine-white, if incredibly short, hallway. Gibbs led Ken through a set of automatic doors at the end. Ken saw the bodies of his family members laid out on tables in the center of the room. His pace slowed, looking them over and feeling his anger start to rise up again.
...is this...an autopsy room?
Before he could recover enough to ask a question, a sharp voice cut through the silence.
"Young man, I understand that legal jurisdiction is somewhat in the air in regards to this matter, but I assure you that attempting to pull the wool over my eyes was one act you were simply never going to get away with."
Ken followed the voice to yet another man, this one both older- and angry looking.
"Wait, what?"
Gibbs spoke up this time. "Detective Ichijoji, this is Dr. Donald Mallard."
Ducky continued, waving a finger at each of the bodies. "What you see here on these tables are not human remains. They are incredibly well-crafted fakes that very closely simulate human bodies."
Ken could feel the confusion build in him again.
And this time, I'm supposed to feel it.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"'The hell' I'm talking about is the fact that you attempted to pass these admittedly convincing fakes off as the remains of your family. Let me tell you, I've seen many things in my lifetime, but rarely have I seen a man with so much conviction toward vengeance that he would sabotage a federal agency in order to see it exacted himself. Luckily, Mr. Palmer and I were able to spot the replacements before this investigation went too far down the line."
"So what exactly are you saying?"
"He's saying," Gibbs said, "that you're screwing us out of this investigation by switching these out for your family."
That pushed Ken, hard. "Absolutely not! What we brought from Japan was exactly what we had over there. I didn't have time to change out anything! And besides, why would I sabotage anything to do with this when doing so would screw the whole investigation over?"
Gibbs shrugged. "Like he said, maybe you wanted to take things into your own hands?"
"The only thing we were able to discern about these is that they're formed out of some sort of rock-like substance that neither Mr. Palmer nor I were familiar with," Dr. Mallard cut in, "I've already collected a sample for Abby. Mr. Palmer is taking it to her now."
Ken looked down at the supposed, "bodies."
"So, if these aren't the bodies of my family, then where the hell are they?"
Darkness filled the room. Cold air lapped at the skin of the three held within. The only sounds that could be heard were the clattering of shivering teeth, and the occasional sob.
"Mom, when are we getting out of here?"
Miyako held her daughter and oldest son close, trying to both warm and comfort the two.
"I don't know, Rena. I don't know."
"I miss Dad." Sora said, wiping away tears.
"Me too, honey."
Rena tightened her hug on her mother. "What did they do with Shu?"
Miyako couldn't answer. A wave of anger and grief washed over her. She sat in silence for a few seconds, letting the feelings brew, until she couldn't take anymore.
"GET US OUT OF HERE! I WANT MY BABY! LET US OUT!"
At first, neither child reacted. It wasn't the first time their mother acted like this since they'd somehow ended up in the room they sat in. Unlike the previous times, though, they decided that Miyako's voice wasn't enough. Maybe, somehow, if all three cried out, someone would hear. Someone would find them.
Maybe, someone could save them.
So they screamed. All three occupants screamed until their lungs couldn't take it. Until they felt their throats go raw. Until their heads swam with exhaustion.
And even then, they kept screaming.
They continued to scream, hoping that their cries could somehow reach someone's ears.
