A/N: Well, here we are folks. It's a little bit longer than the last chapter, but worth the read in the end. Happy reading and hope this was worth the wait...


1:55 pm

Interrogation

Rachel sat up straight in her chair with one of her hands covering the other, staring blankly at the dull gray wall in front of her, as she patiently waited for Agent Fabray's return. She refused to look over at the one way mirror knowing that the NCIS agents were just waiting for the fireworks to begin. Agent Lopez had escorted her in here earlier to collect her phone. There were two other agents on the way to her house to collect all of her travelogues and laptop to bring back to the Naval Yard. The control officer did not want to give them anymore satisfaction than they were already getting at being able to witness her humiliation for their own personal entertainment. On the outside, the liaison was determined to give off the appearance of being calm, cool and collected, while allowing herself to seethe on the inside.

She was feeling a combination of emotions at the moment with the dominant feeling being anger. She was angry at her father Hiram for practically ripping into her in front of the Director of another agency and who was supposed to have been her future boss. Director Berry had made her out to be weak and incompetent for following the orders of Deputy Director Weston, just to make himself look better and more competent by comparison in Director David's eyes.

But it was the callous and uncaring glare that he gave her as he went into detail of all the things that he could and would do to make her life a living hell if she continued to defy Director ' orders, that sent her over the edge.

"Officer Berry, can you explain to me why Agent Weston is still in Washington DC and not on the flight we arranged for him heading to Paris? Or why there was a terrorist alert placed on him by NCIS?"

Rachel stood on the top step of MTAC with her arms crossed tightly over herself, staring defiantly as Assistant Director Berry's cold, brown eyes glare angrily at her. She then sent a glare in the stoic Director St. James' direction, wondering why he put that on Brody's record as well. The graying haired man sat back in his black leather chair as he waited for the control officer to answer the question.

"Answer me Officer Berry." Director Berry says impatiently.

"No, I do not have explanation, Director, sir. When I last spoke to Agent Weston,at around 0800 this morning, he assured me that he was close by the airport and would be there for take off at 1000." Rachel informs him, speaking into the headset while fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"NCIS has that alert on his passport because we have reason to believe that your operative, Agent Weston, has gone rogue. That his actions were directly responsible for the death of one of our field agents, profiler Danielle McKenzie." Director intervenes. "We also have reason to believe that he was also responsible for the murders of former US diplomat to Israel Levi Hellman, former Mossad Officer Levena Ezra and her husband ATF agent Douglas Newborn."

"He may also be actively targeting certain members of Special Agent in Charge Quinn Fabray's team, shooting into the lab of our forensic scientist Tina Cohen- Chang a couple of days ago. And myself last night when I accompanied Agent Fabray, to the house Mr. Weston was assigned to, in order to question him. We were ambushed by a Hamas connection working for him by the name of Mohammad Esifiri, who was killed in the attack."

Rachel looks over at the NCIS director disbelievingly. She knew that Agent Fabray had blamed Brody for Agent McKenzie's murder, but she had no idea about the other murders. She had heard through the Mossad rumor mill that Officer Ezra's death had been the result of a home invasion gone wrong. She remembers being devastated to hear of Levena's death, since the woman had been her mentor when she first entered Mossad and taught her everything that she knew. She didn't want believe that Brody would be responsible for doing something like while he was under her watch.

"I'll send over the case files for all four of these murders immediately and the crime scene photos from the forensics lab and Agent Fabray's car." Jesse finishes adjusting his headset.

"These are some very serious allegations that you're leveling against my operative, Director St. James. What makes you think that Agent Weston had anything to do with these murders?" Director Berry asks.

"Each and every one of the victims, had some personal connection to either Brody or Deputy Director Xavier Weston. Agent Danielle McKenzie knew Agent Weston from an undercover joint operation with the CIA five years ago. Apparently Agent McKenzie had told one of my agents, in confidence, that he had become infatuated with her." Director St. James explains.

Rachel looks over at him with flicker of hurt reflecting in her eyes. She remembers asking Brody about that assignment and his partner

"Director St. James, you should know better than to base your investigation around hearsay" he says picking up a stack of papers on his desk and shuffles them around.

" He's held her hostage, along with our Medical Examiner and shot her former assistant Matthew Rutherford."

"Brody was deep undercover and he was doing anything necessary to keep three years worth of work in tact. Try again,Mr. St. James." Director Berry counters disinterestedly.

"A year after that, he kidnapped her once again." Jesse continues on, watching Director Berry looks up, in confusion, from his paperwork. He then turns to look at the subdued officer.

"Interesting. That particular detail wasn't noted in your notes for the case-"

"Director Weston thought that incident was on a need to know basis. After Little Creek, the members of his cell became suspicious, Director." She quietly explains.

Hiram stares at her as if he wants to remand her for not telling him about this. Bt he puts his head down and continues looking at his papers.

"What else do you have, Director?" Hiram asks.

"Yes, sir. Ambassador Hellman and Officer Ezra were both close, personal friends of your Deputy Director Xavier Weston. As you may know, Officer Ezra had trained Brody when he first began at Mossad. And diplomat Hellman was his godfather. The circumstances that they were murdered under were different, but they all happened to be murdered with a Bravo 51 sniper rifle with unpoliced brass left on the scene. We have reason to believe that Agent Weston plans on going after more people that had any relationship to the former Deputy Director." Jesse finishes, waiting for some sort of reaction from the other Director.

Rachel fights the urge to defend her charge just yet. There is no way that Brody would have killed anyone and left his brass behind. He never did that during the occasions where he was forced to kill someone, knowing that he would have been signing his death warrant if he did. Besides, Brody would never hurt his godfather or the woman who took him under his wing, especially after his mother's death.

We don't have a clear motive yet to these unsolved homicides, but we would like the opportunity to investigate further into the matter and bring closure to each of the families as soon as possible We believe Agent Weston played a part in each of these murders." Jesse replies as Director Berry nods for him to continue.

"The problem that my people have run into is that we're positive that we can connect your agent to these murders, but we are having trouble obtaining the necessary evidence that we need because his control officer, Ms. Berry-" Jesse says pointing to her " Will not let us have any access to his travelogues and her phone records."

"Is this true Officer Berry?" the Director asks turning to her.

"Yes. NCIS is basing their case on their need for vengeance in the death of one of their own and flimsy, at best, circumstantial evidence. They haven't even asked me for a warrant for his logs and my records-" Rachel explains, but is interrupted by Jesse.

"We haven't asked for a warrant from her, out of an interagency courtesy. We figured we would give Officer Berry the opportunity to voluntarily offer up the information without involving the lawyers yet. But if that is what is more comfortable with, I will go up to the legal team immediately and have the warrant for her by this afternoon." Director replies. He continues on before she could get another word in.

"It's also the reason why my agency has yet to alert the media about these incidents, in spite of their inquiries. We know how bad it could make Mossad look if the media got wind of the fact that a highly decorated NCIS Agent, a former US Diplomat, a former high ranking Mossad officer and an ATF agent, were all murdered by a suspected rogue agent under your watch. Especially so soon after your failed Little Creek operation. So we'd like to be able to keep this between the two agencies as long as you're willing to cooperate with us."

The control officer watches the director put his hands under his chin as he quietly contemplates Director St. James' thinly veiled threat. She already knew that Director Berry was going to take his deal and that his hesitation was only a test for the new NCIS director. Her father had been looking for the perfect excuse to get Brody out of Mossad permanently for a long time now. He finally had a reason to now. If it meant selling her out to NCIS, Rachel had a feeling that he would not think twice about doing it.

A slow, polite smile makes its way on Director Berry's face.

"Now I see why NCIS was so eager to give you the position of Director, Jesse. You have a bright future ahead of you." Director Berry says chuckling as the NCIS director shyly smiles at him.

"Officer Berry will comply with your request and release her travelogues into your agency's will also release any cellphones that she may have in her possession and will happily answer any questions your agents may have for her. I do ask that you show discretion when looking at these travelogues and phone records, seeing as she is still in charge of agents who are currently under deep cover and I would hate if their assignments were compromised because of a leak from your side."

Jesse smiles politely at the Assistant Director ."Thank you, Director. Discretion is also a priority of ours as well. My team is good at what they do and I can assure you that no information will be leaked from our end."

Rachel's eyes widen as she looks on at the two men in disbelief.

"With all due respect DirectorBerry, you and I both know you don't have the kind of authority to order me to relinquish any of my records to you or NCIS. The only people who have the authority to do so is my boss Deputy Director Weston and Director David.-" Rachel says, refusing to end the matter without a fight. Director Berry's smile turns into a frown and for a moment, she sees a flash of anger flicker through his brown eyes.

"Not that I need to explain myself to you, Officer Berry, but I do have that authority. As of three hours ago, Deputy Director Weston has taken a temporary leave, citing personal issues. I have taken over any and all of his current case load and other duties as acting Deputy Director for the time being." the Mossad Director tells her sharply.

Rachel's mouth opens a bit as she looks on at her father in shock, trying her best to digest this new information. The last time she had spoken to her boss, as she was handing in her resignation papers, there was no indication that there was anything wrong with him. He even sounded a bit excited at the prospect of wrapping up the Hamas nuclear bombing case and moving onto something else, considering they have been working this operation since Rachel's return from maternity leave.

It was not like Director Weston to up and abandon an operation, especially when they were so close to the end.

"Sir, if I may ask, why is Deputy Director Weston on leave?" Rachel asks tentatively. "I thought he wanted to wrap this operation so that our attention could be directed towards a relief mission?"

She watches his jaw clench and his fingers dig into his platinum watch.

"Things happen Officer Berry. None of which is any of your concern at the moment." Director Berry says, giving her a look that the control officer knew all too well. He was telling her to drop it. That this was a Mossad matter and he refused to hash it out with NCIS' presence.

"I expect NCIS to be in possession of any and all records that you have pertaining to Agent Weston within the hour. Then you will immediately report to their interrogation room to answer any questions they may have for you." Director Berry instructs. "And I do mean any questions."

"And if I still choose not to comply with your directive?" Rachel asks defiantly. "What if I conference with Director David himself and see what his opinion on the matter is. Seeing as he's the only one who seems to remember what objectivity in an investigation is."

Director Berry sighs and glares angrily at her, holding his hands tightly against each other, trying in vein to release his tension. The control officer would have been tempted to smile, knowing that she was pushing last buttons, if it didn't mean that he was about to screw her over.

Rachel knew that she was playing with fire, intentionally baiting her father like she knew what the consequences were if anyone dared to make a fool out of Hiram Berry, especially in front of people with authority like him. But it was the only option she had left at her disposal in her last attempt to protect her charge. If they got one look at his questionable travelogues from the last year or so, it would only raise their suspicions more. She couldn't have NCIS throw away a year and a half's worth of work by arresting Brody just yet.

"I think you already know what I am capable of doing, officer." Director Berry says darkly.

"But just in case you have forgotten, let me remind you." Director Berry says and pauses for a moment. He leans back into his leather chair and glares menacingly in the defiant officer's direction.

"If you continue to defy a direct order for some a dime-a-dozen undercover operative, I will see to it that your contract with Mossad and by default the CIA are terminated immediately. As well as making sure that your security clearance is revoked."

Rachel didn't flinch at his threat because she had already resigned from her position at Mossad and was just waiting for the CIA to process the paperwork for her transfer. She was just wrapping this case up as a favor to her boss, Director Weston.

"You can rest assured that I will make it exceedingly difficult for you to find work in any other government agencies anywhere. But that would be the least of your problems, Rachel."

"What are you saying, director?" Rachel asks, watching as his glare becomes a smirk.

"You are Agent Weston's control officer, are you not?" Director Berry asks, crossing one finely tailored black pants leg over another.

"Yes."

"So it would stand to reason that you would take full responsibility for any and all crimes may have committed under your jurisdiction, would it not?"

"Yes, Deputy Director." Rachel answers hesitantly.

"Good. So it won't come as a surprise to you if I have NCIS immediately take you into their custody and charge you as an accessory to any and all of the things that would be charged with, should you choose not to cooperate." Director Berry asks smugly.

The momentary burst of confidence that Rachel exhibited earlier quickly evaporates as the director's threat hangs over her head. In spite of it though, the brunette doesn't back down from her Hiram. Instead, she levels a ferocious glare back at him.

" Director , is Virginia not a death penalty state in America?"

"Yes director, we are a death penalty state." Jesse answers, shooting a sympathetic look in her direction, but she ignores him. She was just as angry at him as she was at the Mossad Director at the moment and did not need or want his pity, especially now.

Instead of looking at the other director, Rachel looks down at the ground

"That's what I thought." he says nodding in approval. " All of the murders would be plenty of grounds for a life in prison without parole, if you're lucky. The thought of Beth growing up without both her mother and her father, I can't even conceive how devastating that would be for her. " The director leans in on top of the desk, appearing to be disinterested. But the control officer knew it was just an act. He saw the glimmer of fear in her eyes at the mention of Beth and he was going to use it against her to get what he Berry had won, once again.

Rachel rises up immediately and she glares angrily in Hiram's direction.

"I can't imagine what would happen to my poor granddaughter if her mother were to be held responsible for something Agent Weston might have done. I hear the foster care system in the US isn't necessarily the best. Maybe she'll luck out and be one of the ones that are adopted early on-"

"You leave Beth out of this, Director. She is a civilian, not another pawn for Mossad to use." Rachel hisses, pointing angrily at him. "Whatever punishment you want to inflict against me for my part in this fine, I'll accept the consequences. But don't you dare bring my child into this or pretend like you give a damn about either one of our welfares."

The control officer tosses the headset onto the floor and makes her way to the MTAC doors. She turns around and glares over her shoulder at Director St. James.

"I will comply with each and every one of NCIS' requests, Director ."

She turns back around and swings open the door hard. As she storms out of the room, Rachel hears one last order from Hiram to Jesse.

"Director , if at any point in time Officer Berry decides to leave the room before you or Agent Fabray dismiss her, make sure to have one or more of your agents on hand to take her into your custody."

Rachel brushes her bangs out of her eyes and places her hand over her eyes. She wasn't surprised nor affected in the least by the new Deputy Director's threats. She had witnessed first hand the kind havoc Hiram Berry could wreak life if you crossed him in any way, no matter who you were. And he wouldn't stop until you were completely destroyed. So it didn't come as a surprise to her when he readily handed her over to NCIS.

But the moment he threatened to take Beth away from her, something inside of her snapped. He had no right to act like he could do whatever he'd like with Beth whenever he didn't get his way. Hiram had no right to pretend like he genuinely cared about her or her daughter's wellbeing, when he hasn't seen his granddaughter since her birth.

Rachel had heard of and seen first hand the many stories of Hiram's ability to sink to whatever level he needed in order to get the job done. But she didn't think he would use Beth as a means to an end in this mess. Unlike her parents, Beth has nothing to do with Mossad, and if Rachel has anything to say about it, she hopefully never would. It made her seethe to think that the director was beginning to stake his claim to Beth, as if he owned her and she was there for the sole use of Mossad. It was all the more reason for her to resign her position and get away from Hiram, Mossad and more importantly, Brody.

Rachel leans back further causing the chair to tilt, and stares tiredly into the bright light of the lamp. She was helpless to stop her thoughts from going back to the man who was responsible for her being there in the first place. Brody. The control officer was used to cleaning up Brody's messes. This hadn't been the first time that the Mossad operative had lost his head in a mission. Sometimes he would get so caught up into an undercover mission, as a mole, that he could forget who he was truly working for. During those times, it would take at least a couple of months after the operations were over before Brody was back to being himself again.

Unfortunately for her, Brody's tendency to commit to his role, rubbed some agencies the wrong way. Three years ago, when they were assigned to work with Interpol on an operation, Brody played fast and loose during the operation and as a result, two of their agents nearly lost their lives while three civilians were killed during a stand off with a Al Quaeda cell in London. She had to play peacemaker with the supervising agent in charge not to have Brody arrested, especially with the operative being as blasé about the incident when he was confronted with the agency afterwards.

Rachel wonders why she continues to protect Brody at all? He never listens to her warnings to be more careful. He gives her his condescending smile and tells her not to worry her pretty little head about she tries to call him out on his behavior, he would find a way to rationally justify what he's done. The control officer has tried dozens of times to address the issue with her commanding officers or Director Weston. They would either brush it off or reassign him to a place where he could do desk work and stay out of trouble. Any mistakes that he made would just be covered up or smoothed over by the higher ups, just to placate their relationships with their allies.

When she would ask why they continued to put up with his behavior, their answers were always the same. He was the one of the few perfect moles that Mossad had left and the information that Brody provided for him, thanks to his connections with Hamas, proved to be vital to several ongoing and future operations. They couldn't afford to lose him as a contact yet.

Rachel sighs impatiently reaching for the star on her necklace and rubbing it, wondering what was taking Agent Fabray so long to come in and question her. She had been sitting here for the last twenty minutes and no one has come in to tell her anything. The two agents that Jesse had stationed outside the room, per her father's instructions, had not bothered to come in.

Rachel was confident that if she wanted to, she could get past the agents without breaking a sweat. She excelled in hand to hand combat when she first began at the CIA and later on Mossad. What she lacked in size she made up for in skill and persistence, as Officer Ezra once told her. She was also known to throw the occasional knife or two with near perfect accuracy. Whenever her schedule allowed, she and her friend Liam who was also a liaison, would teach classes in Krav Maga for the new agents. The control officer had no doubt that if she wanted to escape, it would be no problem.

The brunette sat back and tried to rid her thoughts of leaving the room, knowing that she wouldn't in the end. She was going to sit here and answer whatever question NCIS threw at her with integrity. Not for the benefit of her father or Brody though. She was doing this for Beth and the little girl alone and the only reason she was still here. Rachel wasn't going to risk finding out whether or not Hiram would make good on his threat just to protect her charge. As far as she was concerned, Brody was on his own this time.

Rachel places her forehead on the cold silver table, hoping that it wouldn't be too much longer before Agent Fabray arrived.


2:05 pm

Outside Interrogation

Santana crosses her arms over herself as the sounds of one of her heels tapping the floor, while she stands outside the room and observes the liaison anxiously. The new Director came down here and told her and the probie to keep an eye on her. They were told to arrest her if she stepped one foot outside of that room, they were to arrest her. She had to fight to keep the grin off her face, considering this an early Christmas present for her. Frankly, she was waiting for Berry to get up out of the chair before she put the cuffs on her.

She was almost tempted to go in there and say that there was an emergency with Beth to get her to leave the room as she watches the Mossad operative lay her head on the table. Unfortunately for her, she knew that the boss would rip her head off and then have her taken away in cuffs for disturbing one of her interrogations. If there was one thing Agent Fabray hated more than the other agencies interfering with her investigations, it's anyone screwing up or meddling in her she stood by and watched silently as the officer squirm in her chair while fighting back a smile.

Sam on the other hand, stared at his partner and ran his hand through his shaggy hair. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at his overly excited partner.

"Would you like sometime alone, Lopez?" Sam asks sarcastically.

He didn't know why Santana was being so hard on the woman. Rachel seemed okay enough to him, despite the fact that she was a potential accomplice in Dani's death. The Mossad officer had been nice enough to everyone here. He had no personal vendetta against the liaison because he didn't know her well enough to have anything against her.

Santana turns away from the mirror and glares at the probie.

"All good here, Evans." she replies, rolling her eyes and then turning back to the mirror. "Don't you have to go back upstairs and finish your reports? And by your reports, I mean mine and Puckerman's."

"Don't you think you're enjoying this a just little too much?" Sam asks, not letting her get off that easily.

"I would be enjoying this a lot more if kept your big fish lips shut, probie." Santana muttered.

"Why do you hate Rachel so much Lopez? She's just doing her job." Sam says glaring at her while his hand subconsciously moves towards his lips.

"You're right Evans, she was doing her job. I know it's been a while since I originally tried to join the CIA, but the last time I checked protecting a murderer wasn't anywhere in the oath that you take at graduation from the academy. Unless the oath's changed the four years. Say maybe you and me can go to the next graduation to check and see!" Santana yells sarcastically before turning away from him and glaring back at Rachel.

"Look, all I'm trying to say is if you were in her position and Puck was the one who murdered one of their people, wouldn't you do what she's doing?" Sam asks hoping to get through to his friend.

"Hell no. I would let Puck go up the river in a heartbeat." Santana says honestly. If it ever came down to her or Puckerman, it would always be Puckerman.

Sam sighs. "Okay, bad example. What about me?"

"I'd think about it for a moment, then you would go down probie."

Sam looks back at her mildly shocked but not surprised. Seeing that he is not getting through to the junior agent, he decides to hit below the belt a little. He takes a deep breath and then continues.

" What if Dani had killed Brody when he took her a few months ago. Would you have to think about protecting her from Mossad then?" Sam asks softly.

Santana's glare softens and she starts picking at the invisible lent on her shirt sleeve. She knew that the probie was right. If Dani had saved them all the trouble and killed Brody six months ago and Mossad was breathing down their neck, she would do anything and everything to protect her best friend.

At the same time, she didn't want to let Rachel off the hook just yet. There was something off about the officer and the way she protects Brody. Something told her that Berry wasn't just protecting the slime ball just to be little miss Mossad. She just hadn't figured it out yet.

Before she could answer the probie's question, the door of interrogation opens. Agent Puckerman walks in with a big bowel of popcorn in his hand. He steps in between Sam and Santana and holds out the bowel for the two other agents, who shake their heads at him. His cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk as he reached into the bag and puts more of the yellow kernels in his mouth.

"Boss'll be here in a second." Puck says with his mouth full. He swallows what was stuffed in his mouth.

"Is that really necessary, Puckerman?" Santana asks, pointing to the popcorn.

"Well yeah since it looks like we won't be watching that movie anymore. Wanted to get a quick snack in before the interrogation." Puck says reaching into the bowel. He scoops out a handful of the yellow kernels.

Before the junior agent has a chance to stuff the snack into his mouth, a hand slaps the back of his head, causing him to drop them. He nearly drops the bowel but is able to catch it before it falls out of his hand. He turns to see his boss right behind him walking towards the green door by the mirror.

"Put the popcorn away, Puckerman. You're in here with me." Quinn says, putting her hand on the door knob and opening the door slightly. Director St. James and Tina brush past him as well following closely behind the boss.

Agent Puckerman looks up and sees a twitch of a smile on the probie's face. He glares in his direction and shoves the bowel of popcorn hard into Sam's arms.

"Something to keep you occupied, probie." Puck says, turning away from the two of them and walking away.


2:20 pm

Interrogation room

The sound of the green door opening causes Rachel to raise her head from the table, waking her from her restless sleep. She briefly looks over her shoulder and sees a stone faced Agent Fabray approach her with a stack of folders in her hands. Cold hazel eyes glance at her briefly before looking away. She could feel a chill run down her spine and for the first time since she's entered the Naval Yard, the control officer was genuinely scared.

The blond senior agent slams four folders down onto the table in front of her face. She then pulls out the silver chair and turns the back of it facing forward as the blond slumps down in it. Quinn lays her arms on the back of the chair and lays her chin on top of her hands.

The senior agent spends the next few minutes observing her, almost as if she were trying to get a better read on her before she makes her move. She moves the chair a couple of times, getting as close into her personal space as possible. Rachel tried her best not to look at the senior agent too often, not wanting the other woman to think that she was going to give in to her that easily. She hadn't even noticed the three other NCIS agents floating behind Agent Fabray. The couple of times she allowed herself to look into the agent's piercing hazel eyes, however, she saw something there that she was sure the senior agent would adamantly deny if she called her out on it.

The dark circles that were under her eyes when she first met the blond the day before had become deeper and more pronounced. Rachel imagined the other woman's eyes to look more stunning than they are at the moment, when she's had the proper amount of sleep. On top of her tiredness, there seemed to be a hint of sadness, longing and possibly guilt.

The control officer has lost people on her team and under her command before, many more times than necessary, so she understood on some level how Agent Fabray must be feeling. From the brief interaction Rachel has had with her team, it seemed that the senior agent would do anything and everything possible for all of them. To not be able to save a member from your team must be devastating for the senior agent. She couldn't imagine what it was like to lose someone who was more than that.

While she sympathized with Agent Fabray, Rachel still had her job to do and right now, that job was to make the blond's job a bit more difficult than it has been up until now. And once this was over, convince Brody to get out of the country as quickly as possible.

"Normally I find persistence a very attractive and admirable trait in a person. But in your case Agent Fabray, it's become rather inconvenient." Rachel says, breaking their mini standoff.

Agent Fabray looks at the brunette for a moment and shrugs. She reaches over the table and flips open the flaps to each of the files before the control officer. The first photo shows Ambassador Hellman slumped over his steering wheel with his green eyes wide open. Blood slowly dripped down the middle of his forehead with some of it getting on the bridge of his nose. The photograph next to it showed three empty shell casings outside of the car door.

The second and third photographs were of Officer Ezra and her husband lying in bed with identical bullet wounds in each of their foreheads and blood splattered all over their cherry wood head board. The senior agent notice the brunette flinch a little when she sees a picture of the woman and the photo of the German Shepard with the snapped neck. The picture of the

Quinn moved the photos of the Newborns over to the side and places the photo of Agent McKenzie in front of the control officer. Rachel couldn't help but notice that outside of the bullet wound and the blood surrounding her head, which was the same as all of the other victims, that Agent McKenzie had been stunning. She reminded her of one of the cheerleaders from high school that she once wanted to be like. Agent McKenzie must have broken a lot of hearts when she was alive.

The blond reaches into her pocket and throws the plastic bag with the shell casings onto the table.

" Do you know why Brody left his brass behind?" Quinn asks icily.

Rachel takes the bag into her hands and examines the bag. She recognized the bullets and could point out the kind of gun they came from. Unfortunately for Agent Fabray, she knew they wouldn't match any Mossad issued weapons.

The control officer places the bag back on the table and crosses her arms.

" You are a broken record, aren't you, Fabray?" Rachel asks curiously, raising an eyebrow at her interrogator.

Ignoring the officer's question, Quinn leans forward and pushes the chair closer to the table.

" A sniper's brass is like signing your signature." the senior agent continues. "That's why a sniper always polices his brass."

Rachel nods and watches intently as Agent Fabray takes the bag off the table and holds it up in front of her.

"Lapua, .308 tail, moly coated full metal jacket bullet." Quinn explains as she places the bag back down.

"That's what you shot as a Marine sniper." the control officer states knowingly. She leans forward and turns her chair around to face the senior agent.

"At Mossad, we use Sierra 6.5 hollow points." Rachel said, reaching down and patting down on the holster on her right hip.

The senior agent raises an eyebrow at her and stares at the brunette curiously.

"How do you know what I shot, Officer Berry?"

"She profiled you for Brody." Jesse says sternly, causing Rachel and Quinn to turn and look at him. He did not move from his spot on the wall, but he did give the Mossad officer a steely gaze. The officer also noticed Puck studying Agent Fabray with one foot on the wall. And a raven haired woman with blue streaks in her hair, that she hasn't met yet, glaring angrily at her. With her black gloved hands on her waist. Rachel assumed that this was Tina, NCIS' forensic scientist.

"Not just the boss." Puck says stepping away from the wall. He takes a couple of steps forward towards Rachel. "That's how you knew where I was born and where I went to school."

"Brody's missions involved NCIS. As his controller, of course I did dossiers on everyone he might interact with." Rachel explains nonchalantly. "It's standard operating procedure at Komemiute."

"Is that so? Would you happen to know where those dossiers are now, Officer Berry?" Quinn snaps.

The senior agent looks up towards her colleagues and gives them a knowing look. "Director. Tina. Puckerman. Give me a minute with alone with Officer Berry, please."

They all nod in her direction and make their way out of the room. Jesse mouths good luck to and nods in reply. She waits for the door to close completely before she stands up from her chair and moves it to the opposite side of the table.

She sits down, facing away from the mirror, not wanting the team to hear the rest of this conversation. There were things her team had yet to know about their leader and Quinn preferred that they not hear it in the middle of an interrogation. She wanted to tell them in her own time and didn't need Officer Berry spilling her secrets.

"I'm assuming you know about what happened to my sister and mother in Mexico?" Quinn whispers lowly, hoping that the mic doesn't pick up their conversation.

" Yes and I'm really sorry about that Agent Fabray. No one should lose their family like that." Rachel says apologetically.

Not wanting to bring up her old ghosts, Quinn ignores the officer's apology and moves on.

"You're also aware that Agent McKenzie and I were married?"

Rachel nods. "And once again, you have my condolences. I can't imagine the grief you must be feeling right now." she says softly. The brunette resists the urge to reach out and place a hand on the senior agent's shoulder in comfort and instead grips her hand over her other one.

Quinn sees the control officers change in behavior and her defenses lower a bit. She decides to use that as her way in.

" So, then we know why Brody was originally targeting women, don't we?"

Rachel scoffs. " If he wanted to you know he is the sniper, why didn't he use your rifle, an M-40?"

"The Bravo 51 he fired is called a 'Kate'. Danielle's middle name happened to be Katherine." the senior agent tells her calmly. She taps on each of the photos on the table.

"You and I both know it was no coincidence that all four of the victims were killed in the same way, with the same weapon and the brass left behind all came from the same type of gun."

The Mossad operative sat back and took in the information. Agent Fabray did have a point. So far, all four of the victims could be connected to Brody or his father. It's obvious that whoever is doing this is trying send a message to the NCIS agent. Unfortunately, Brody wasn't a big fan of the blond agent or any of his father's colleagues. But that doesn't mean he would kill anyone to do it, would he?

"I still don't believe Brody is the sniper. But what you have said should be investigated immediately." Rachel says diplomatically.

The blond senior agent glares at her for a moment, before standing up from the chair and gathering all of her files, placing Dani's file at the 's obvious that the Mossad officer is a lot more strategic than she had anticipated her being. Quinn had a feeling that Berry wasn't going to cooperate unless she was absolutely compelled to and guilting the officer obviously wasn't working.

Quinn flips open Dani's file until she gets to the very last image. She didn't want to do this, but she knew it may be the only way she could get to Berry. The senior agent closes her eyes for a moment and sighs. Dani, I hope you'll forgive me for doing this.

"Well, when the media gets wind of this, it's going to create a furor." Quinn tells her coldly.

The control officer's brown eyes harden as she stands up abruptly and away from the table.

"\Are you threatening to go to the media?" she growls.

The blond agent throws up her hands and shrugs. "No, not me. This can stay between Mossad and NCIS. It's just that four murders with the same MO is bound to create a media firestorm for your agency."

Quinn walks back over to the table, with the ultrasound in hand and carefully places it down on the table.

"Can't imagine how crazy the coverage will get when it gets out that his last victim was seven weeks pregnant." Quinn finishes, closing up Dani's file.

Rachel picks up the ultrasound and stares at it with wide eyes.

"She-she was pregnant? Agent McKenzie?" Rachel stutters shakily, gawking at Agent Fabray.

"Yeah. I only found about it a couple of days ago, after completed her preliminary autopsy." Quinn says quietly. "We had been trying for the last year and a half. It took too late, I guess."

Rachel didn't ask anymore questions. She stared back down at the ultrasound, clutching it in her hands. The control officer felt some bile rise in her throat at the thought that Brody was capable of doing something like this. She wanted to believe that the operative wouldn't, no couldn't, come and visit her and their daughter hours after taking away someone else's wife and child. The brunette had to believe that she or Mossad haven't been covering up for a heartless killer for the last year and a half.

The liaison knew that it was a sign of weakness to let any emotion other than indifference show like this, but she couldn't help it. Being a mother herself, it was always hard to get cases or see other women who were mothers or about to be mothers killed like this. It always made her think of Beth and how she could easily end up like one of these women if something goes wrong on the job. How a couple of years ago, she could have easily ended up like Agent McKenzie and the thought terrified her to her core.

Rachel takes a deep breath and puts the ultrasound back down on the table and looks down at the floor.

Agent Fabray walks over and slips the picture in her pocket. The blond walks away from the table and heads for the door, giving Berry one last chance to cooperate. If this didn't work then their case would be shot to hell and Brody would continue to do this until he got who he wanted.

"This stays between NCIS and Mossad in exchange for what? Setting Brody up for you to kill?" Rachel asks the senior agent softly. Her gaze landing to the senior agent at the door. She watches as Agent Fabray turns around and stares back at her.

"No. Setting me up for Brody." Quinn says opening the door. "And if I'm wrong about this, he won't show up."

Agent Fabray knew that was a lie. He would show up, Brody always had seen the troubled look on Mossad officer's face when she told her about Dani's pregnancy and for a moment she felt guilty about it. Quinn wanted to offer some comfort towards the brunette, even if it was false hope. By the way Berry sucked in her bottom lip, the senior agent could sense that the liaison felt the same way too.

"And if you're right?" Rachel asks uncertainly.

"Then I'm counting on you to back me up." Quinn says pointedly before walking away, leaving Officer Berry to look on at her stunned.


14:55 pm (02:55 pm)

Fabray residence

Quinn takes the picture out of the solution, with her fingers on the corners of the paper. All of the lights were off in the basement,with the exception of the light coming from the stair way, while she developed the photos that were taken on her last roll of film. She takes two of the laundry clips that were clipped onto the wire and carefully hangs the picture up there to dry. She nods her head appreciatively at the photograph, thinking about how nice it was going to turn out once it was done.

After her interrogation with Officer Berry, she sent her team home to their dismay. As soon as she walked out of the interrogation room, the three agents and forensic scientist fired off question after question about her late wife's pregnancy, while Santana stood in the background yelling threats to the Mossad officer from the window. She was able to get everyone under control, no thanks to Jesse who just stood by and watched his friend flounder, and told everyone to go home. She said that if she caught anyone at the office or near Officer Berry when she walks out of this room, that what Brody was putting them through would be nothing compared to what she would do to them. When Officer Berry came out of her stupor five minutes later, the room went quiet. The surrounding agents parted out of her way and stared at her as she hurried out of the room without a word to anyone else.

The blond rushed out of the building and headed on home afterwards. As soon as she got there, Quinn slipped out of her uncomfortable work clothes and into her old, grey and ratty Yale sweater and black yoga pants. When she was done, the tired agent thought about getting some sleep, but her mind was still too wired from the case to sleep. So Quinn put Jethro in her and Dani's old room and headed down to the basement to work on the last couple of photos in her roll.

The agent walks over to the mixed floral arrangement that she got from the Farmer's Market nearby, that was filled with purple lilies, lilac and her favorite, blue irises. She had planned on going up to the rooftop where Dani was killed like she had every day since it's happened and leaves some flowers there. Then she would head to O'Malley's and knock back a couple of shots of their oldest whiskey, maybe with a couple of beers, and try not to think about the fact that she was going to be burying someone she didn't think she could imagine her life without.

The newly bed head blond leans and sniffs the arrangement, sighing longingly as she looks at them. A sad smile appears on lips as she can't help but think about how Dani would have loved these if she were here.

Every few weeks or so, the blond would stop by the Farmer's Market on her way home. She would stop by Ralph's booth and ask him for the best arrangement that he had for that day, while making small talk. If they had worked a harder case for that week, like the time Dani was forced to shoot and kill a suspect, she would try to get another arrangement for her. When he was done sprucing up the arrangement for his best customer, she would leave the flowers on Dani's night stand table for when she got home and then Quinn would go to her basement. Dani would then come home and discover the arrangement, after ignoring them to get out of her work clothes, she would come downstairs in her USC hoodie and wrap her arms around a obliviously hardworking Quinn. The raven haired woman would then reach over Quinn's work bench, drink out of her mug and then make some crack about how Quinn was killing her liver. With all the dark coffee and Bourbon she drinks on a daily basis.

Quinn steps away from the flowers and moves over to her locked drawer. She doesn't know what possesses her to do it, since the only thing in there was her old rifle from her time in the Marines, but she takes out the keys to the drawer and unlocks it anyway. When she opens it up, the agent is almost surprised that the rifle was not inside.

"You looking for this, Lucy?" A voice calls smugly out to her from the darkness.

Quinn turns around and sees Brody, sitting rather comfortably on her work bench. In his hands was her black M-40 with the barrel draped across the other side of his shoulder. Even in the darkness, she could see his bright, menacing smile for her.

Quinn sighs and closes her eyes.

He stands up from the bench and walks the short distance over to her, taking the safety off the rifle along the way. The rogue operative had time to change out of his black ensemble and was now wearing a blue v neck shirt. When he is about two feet in front of her, he stops.

"I want you to know, I wish I hadn't had to shoot Danielle." Brody says almost apologetically.

"Then why did you?" Quinn asks.

Brody shrugs his shoulders and the senior agent has to do everything that she can not to tackle the arrogant bastard.

"To cause you pain." the rogue operative says simply.

" I piss you off that much, Weston?" Quinn asks.

He shakes his head and almost laughs at the thought that the senior agent could think this had anything to do with her. Brody liked Quinn just as much as he did most people, she just had the misfortune of being the rook in his endgame.

"Not you. My father. You just have the misfortune of reminding me of the bastard." Brody said bitterly.

"What about Ambassador Hellman? Or Officers Ezra and Newborn? Did they remind you of Xavier as well."

"The only misfortune that they were plagued with, was the fact that they served as my father's willing lackeys." Brody says dismissively. "They choose to die for a monster."

Quinn looks into the rogue operative's steely gaze knowingly and sees something there. The blond wanted to slap herself for not realizing this sooner. Out of the three encounters that she's had with the man, this was the first time she's ever seen the operative give off a vibe that didn't scream smug arrogance. In fact the way he was looking and acting now, reminds her of how she feels when the topic of her own father comes up. This had nothing to do with her or her team, it had everything to do with his estranged father.

" He didn't marry your mother, did he?" Quinn asks as her gaze drops to the rogue operative's hands. Apparently she must have hit a nerve, seeing as he currently held her rifle in a vice grip. A second later, he notices that she is looking down at his hands and he relaxes his grip on the weapon again.

"That's what makes me the bastard Agent Fabray, not him." Brody says quietly. He remembers all the times his father had called him that when he didn't do what he wanted him to do or when he screwed up.

The older Weston made it a point to remind Brody every chance he got, about how much he never wanted the boy and how lucky he was for his mother's unending capacity for mercy. How he literally begged and threatened his mother for an abortion, telling her how their baby would ruin his precious career. He didn't care about how hard this would hit his mother's own career aspirations.

"From the moment of my birth, he groomed me to be one thing: his mole in Hamas. Sent me to Edinburgh to become a doctor, so I could work in the Gaza camps alongside my mother."

The rogue operative pauses closing his eyes.

Eventually, Xavier came around when he was five, when the future director discovered his son's higher than average aptitude and how it would be of great use to Mossad when he came of age. The older man saw to it that Brody and his mother were well taking care of and that he got into the best schools money could buy. When he wasn't in school, the Deputy director taught him the ins and outs of Mossad and what he needed to know to infiltrate Hamas when he was older. After he graduated from Edinburgh, Brody signed up for Mossad soon after.

He opens his eyes and gazes off into the distance, blue eyes briefly filling with sorrow.

"When he had her killed, I had no trouble joining the Iz-Adin Al-Kassam." he finishes.

After his mother's death four years ago, he had no problems turning his back on Mossad and being a part of Hamas full time. He would do enough for his former agency to make them believe that he was still loyal to them, until it was time to make his move. If he was going to abandon Mossad, he was going to do it on his terms and with a bang while take a few causalities with him. Brody certainly wasn't going to wait for them to get smart and order a bullet be put in him.

Quinn raises an eyebrow at him.

"You really don't believe your father had your mother killed." the blond asks skeptically.

"It was a retaliatory Israeli strike on a day I was in Tel Aviv, visiting him with Rachel." Brody said angrily losing his cool for a second. " After a couple of decades of planning, the bastard finally had his mole in Hamas. I'm the reason why Eli gave Xavier his cushy Deputy Director's position."

The rogue operative takes a couple of steps forward shaking his head. "He never knew how much I hated him."A menacing grin forms on his lips.

"I wish he could see his face when he realizes he created not a mole but a monster. Eager to strike at the heart of Mossad and Israel." he said, almost gleefully.

For a moment, the senior agent felt some sympathy for the rogue operative's unfortunate childhood. She hated her father almost as much as he did. But at least Russell had been tried to be a decent father when she was younger. Brody never stood a chance with a father like Director Weston, who only saw him as a means to an end.

" Yeah, I almost feel sorry for you." Quinn says understandingly, closing the empty drawer.

She doesn't think she would have turned out any differently than Brody if her mother hadn't done everything possible to protect her from Russell's influence.

Brody nods. "And I for you."

The blond agent turns away from her captor and walks over to the wooden steps. Brody, a little bit taken back, follows her but stays away from the entrance. She stands on the second to last step and stretches her arms, briefly wondering if Jethro was okay upstairs.

The Mossad agent lifts up the sniper rifle and examines it. He looks through the scope and aims the barrel in the sitting agent's direction

"When Rachel told me you were placing flowers on the roof where Danielle died, I couldn't believe it. Such a romantic touch. Never took you as a romantic, Agent Fabray." Brody states changing the subject.

Quinn smiles slightly at him, knowing that he only wanted to get a reaction out of her. She wasn't giving him the validation that he desperately wanted, so he decides to pull out the big guns.

" It was almost too good of an opportunity to pass up. Almost." he finishes cryptically.

"Why did you?" Quinn asks, playing along.

He looks up from the scope and lowers the sniper eyes lock with hazel as he explains his infallible plan to the relaxed agent.

" I need you to commit suicide with your own rifle. You never did give me enough credit in our game. I knew it was a trap before my dear, sweet Rachel told me you asked her to cover for you. You'd never trust Rachel."

"Guess I was right not to. She has been working with you all along has she?" Quinn asks.

"Not at all, Fabray. Rachel was just a pleasant, yet convenient distraction for my father. She is more or less the child he's always wanted more than I could ever be. When she got pregnant a couple of years ago, I saw that as the perfect opportunity to execute my plan, seeing as how he was more concerned about Rachel and Beth's welfares than keeping an eye on my activities." Brody explains causality. "Just like Agent McKenzie's pregnancy was my opportunity to get to you."

Quinn eyes flash in anger for a moment, before they become neutral again. He's trying to bait me again. I can't lose it now, Fabray.

"And you need to kill me to taste the sweetness of revenge." Brody concludes.

The blond agent puts her hand up towards him and shrugs as he raises the rifle taking his aim at her.

She smiles watching the rogue operative put his hand on the trigger and shakes her head.

"I've killed enough men and women in my life, Brody." Quinn says. She sits down on the steps defiantly. "It's going to be just as sweet watching you die."

The Mossad operative laughs at the senior agent. He looks down in the scope and cocks the gun, preparing to fire. "Sorry to spoil your-"

Quinn watches the lone gunshot, that came out of nowhere, pierce through the forehead of the former Mossad agent and his eyes widen as his body falls backwards on the floor. A little blood had splattered in the middle of her sweater, like it had a few days before. She stands up from the her spot on the stairs and moves towards the fallen operative's body.

Quinn knees down and examines Brody's body closely. She places a couple of fingers on his neck, feeling for a pulse. The blond was confidant that the disturbed man was dead,knowing that it would have been next to impossible to survive a kill shot like that. She looks into the dead dull eyes of the former Mossad operative, but she doesn't see Brody anymore.

Instead the senior agent is staring down at the dead green eyes of Dani. She's moving a stray raven hair out of her face and behind her ear. The pool of blood surrounds her head, like a halo. With her mouth opened slightly. Quinn looks away from the body and frantically glances around her looking for the gunman. Her eyes stop at the office building across the way and for a moment, she thinks she sees someone smirking at her. She think she sees Brody, smirking at her. She ignores her gut and turns away from the building, picking up her rifle and firing aimlessly in each direction. When the clip was empty, she drops the rifle onto the ground and looks over to see a horrified Agent Puckerman covered in blood, in Dani's blood.

The sounds of foot steps breaks her out of her trance and she sees Brody's body once again. She moves her hand away from the rogue agent and abruptly stands up. She turns around and finds the overwhelmed control officer staring brokenly down at the body. Brown eyes fill with unshed tears as she shakily holds the gun up, still pointing it at the body.

When Rachel moves to stand next to her, the senior agent puts her hand on the barrel of the gun and lowers it gently until the liaison's grip on the weapon loosens allowing the blond to take it out of her hands. Quinn reaches into her sweater pocket and takes out the rag she had used earlier, wiping the brunette's finger prints off the gun and then places it back in the brunette's holster. She takes that hand that Rachel still thinks is holding the gun, and intertwines it with her own, squeezing it in comfort.

What she had asked Rachel to do for her had been rough. Quinn suspected that deep down, the brunette was holding on to some slim silver of hope that Brody hadn't been guilty of any of this. That she wouldn't have to explain to her kid who or what her father truly was and why she had to kill him.

Rachel turns away from the body and looks over at the blond and then down at their hands, surprised by the contact. She had covered up for man who murdered her wife and unborn baby, yet the senior agent is providing her with comfort. The brunette thought the blond's kindness was more than what she deserved.

She rips her hand out of the senior agent's and moves closer to Brody's body. The senior agent doesn't follow her and gives the brunette the space that she needed.

"Director Eli David's retirement is coming up soon. " Quinn states, already knowing the answer.

Rachel nods meekly. "Yes. He plans on announcing at the end of the month. He's delegating most of his duties to Deputy Director Weston. My father is taking over Director Weston's position. Brody seemed as upset as my father was about Xavier's promotion."

Quinn nods walking up to the grieving liaison. She brushes her hand against the Rachel's left hand one last time. When she doesn't get a response, the senior agent turns around and walks up the basement stairs.

When she reaches the second step from the top, the blond turns around and her gaze lingers on Rachel kneeled down by Brody's body. The liaison had closed his eyes and she was whispering a Kaddish over him. Her own eyes were closed but the blond could still see the few tears that streamed down her face. Quinn wanted so badly to go down there and comfort the ailing brunette, but she didn't think she deserved to.

The last thing Quinn sees before she turns back around and heading back upstairs, she sees Rachel lifting his head out of the puddle of blood and cradling it into her lap. She doesn't see the monster that her team has been chasing relentlessly, he seemed more human somehow.

The senior agent was happy and relieved to see Brody gone. Her team could sleep soundly with the assurance that for tonight, there would be no imminent threat placed on their lives. Four families would have closure they needed now that the person responsible was taking care of. That should have been good enough for her, but somehow it wasn't.

Quinn thought about all the people the rogue operative left behind to clean up the havoc he reeked. In spite of all that he's done, Brody still had at least one person who missed him and bothered to give a crap about him, Rachel. Beth, the only innocent party in this mess, no longer had a father anymore not that she truly had him in the first place. Xavier would have to live with the fact that his old friends were killed by the monster he had a hand in creating. There was no way the deputy director would stay after this incident, let alone take David's position. There were no winners in this case and no happy endings to be found. Especially not for the senior agent.

As she pulled out her phone to call Shelby and her team at the morgue, the senior agent wondered whether or not the outcome of this investigation had been worth it in the end? If the ends had truly justified the means? Brody's death would not bring Dani or their unborn baby back. Nor would it fill the emptiness and longing that she feels in her heart for what could have been...


AN 2: And that's a wrap for Brody's storyline (outside of the occasional nightmare or two). Hope that wasn't too bad of chapter. Sorry it took me so long to get this one done, was having a bit of trouble with how I wanted to wrap this up in my head and what I actually ended up writing.

Once again, thank you for all reading, following and favorites. You guys are the best and I hope now that this big bad is done, you guys stick around for a few more.

Next update is the funeral and then a bit of time jump. Until next time...