Chapter 9
Gibbs, Sandy Chambers, Kate and Detective Tawdry sit in Conference Room 1 with the two women sitting next to each other and opposite the men. 'Keeping a table between us?' Chambers observes snidely.
'To help prevent me from launching across and throttling you. My self control is legendary amongst theses agents yet, with you, it takes significant will power to stop myself from killing me. And that is the end of that. Now...' Gibbs places a photo of the murdered Marine on the table. 'Do you know who this is?' Sandy Chambers barely looks at the photo
'Nope.'
'How about her?' Again she gives it the barest glance.
'My daughter. What's she done?' Gibbs ignores the question
'Did she have any enemies?'
'Who doesn't?'
'Who would want her dead?'
'She's dead?' The question sounds uninterested and slightly disgusted, as if it is deemed rude to die before your parents.
'Yes, Mrs Chambers. Your daughter is no longer living.' Detective Tawdry interjects before Gibbs can say anything.
'Do you know if she has any connections with Chief Adamson? Direct link that is?'
'No.'
'No, you don't know or no there is no link?' Kate clarifies.
'The first one.' Gibbs grits his teeth with impatience.
'Let me get this straight, your daughter has been murdered but you don't want us to find her murderer.'
'I never said that,'
'THEN HELP US!' Gibbs finally looses his temper with her, rising to his feet as he slams his hands on the table. 'Stop beating about the bush and tell us what you know, then we can get out of each other's hair. I don't want you here, Tony doesn't want you here, you don't want to be here. Help us and we'll never see each other again.' Sandy Chambers smirks at the outburst. Gibbs closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. 'Kate, Detective Tawdry finish the interview and report to me.'
'Where are you going?' Tawdry asks.
'To find my son. Before I commit assault.' Gibbs strides out of the door before anyone can say anything. He bumps into Leon Vance and ignores the man completely as he walks away.
'Gibbs. What the hell was all that about?' Vance shouts after him. 'Gibbs.' Kate sticks her head out of the conference room.
'I think it's best if you leave him alone Director.'
'What the hell is going on?'
'Gibbs has just taken himself out of situation before he can do any real harm.'
'Real harm?'
'I would leave him alone for five or ten minutes before you ask him Director, I've got to finish-'
'Finish your interview.' Vance brushes her off and Kate backs into the conference room leaving Vance alone in the corridor.
Gibbs storms into Abby's lab with a face like thunder. Tony ignores him knowing to let him pace for a few moments and preferring to finish him game on Abby's computer. McGee opens his mouth intending to talk to Gibbs but he catches Abby's warning shake of the head.
'Let Tony.' She mouths. 'He's the best at it.' Gibbs paces for minutes more before Tony finishes the level and stands. He inclines his head to indicate that Abby and McGee should move further into the lab.
'Abs, Lockdown.' Abby tosses Tony the remote that lock the door. He presses the button to stop anyone from coming in. 'Dad? Need I ask?'
'That woman is the most in-' He breaks off as Tony bursts out laughing. Abby cringes. 'You think this is funny?'
'Your expression.' McGee glances at Abby, her eyes are glued on the father and son duo but with a small smirk on his face. McGee turns back to watch them,
'My expression.' Tony nods sobering up.
'Your expression. Pure unadulterated fury. Even I never got you that far. And I went pretty far.'
'You and Abs together got me pretty near.'
'But we didn't.' Gibbs pulls him into a hug and they hold onto each other. 'Because we knew when to stop.'
'Thank you.' Gibbs murmurs.
'For what?' Tony asks cheekily. Gibbs gives a very light head slap.
'Calming me.' Tony beams.
'Any time.' Someone bangs on the door to the lab.
'That will be Vance.'
'Piss him off again?'
'I yelled at the mother of a victim.'
'Sandy Chambers needs someone to yell at her. She pisses about.' Gibbs nods. The banging occurs again.
'Open it Tony.'
'Abs.' Tony tosses her back the remote and she unlocks the lab. Vance storms in.
'What the hell is going on?' He demands. 'Why did you yell at the other of a victim and why was that door locked?'
'I can answer the last one.' Abby interjects
'Well?'
'Gibbs needed time to calm down. The best way to do it in a short time is to get him and me or Tony in here with minimum interruptions to calm him. If that means locking the door then so be it.'
'Fine.' He turns to Gibbs who has perched himself, like Tony, on the evidence table. 'Why did you yell at her.'
'She was pushing his buttons.' Tony answers for his father.
'I didn't ask you.'
'I don't care.' Tony retorts. 'My dad needs to stay calm before he lashes out.' Abby smirks at Vance, who has clearly underestimated the young detective. 'Mrs Chambers was my first social worker and she did her best to make sure that I couldn't stay with Gibbs, even though her superiors urged her to leave us be. This was when I was eight, by the way. She refused to believed that my biological father abused me, physically and psychologically, preferring to say that Gibbs had done it himself.' Gibbs places him arm around Tony's shoulders pulling him close. 'Every time I ran from a foster home I always ran to Gibbs, sometimes I went straight to his house, others I came here. To him and Abby and to a lesser extent Mama Sciuto, Ducky and Mike Franks. I felt safe with him but she kept placing me in homes that weren't suitable. I needed Gibbs. Finally another social worker took over the case and I was placed with him and then he adopted me. For the first couple of years Mrs Chambers sent us a couple of rude notices and put a couple of false reports into the system saying that he hit me in public with a couple of other slanderous messages. She was always caught out but the hatred always festered. This case has forced the three of us to be in the same vicinity again. She has grabbed the chance to annoy the hell out of both of us and push our buttons.'
'It was twenty years ago.'
'Truth be told, I had forgotten her name until we identified our Navel Lieutenant as Chambers' daughter.'
'But I hadn't.' Gibbs says. 'Neither had Abby.' Vance glances over at the Goth girl who concurs. 'She kept bringing up the time me and Tony first met her. And she knows what attitude really riles me up. She just kept pushing those buttons.'
'Of the three of us.' Abby takes over 'Tony is really the best to interview her, I would hit her hard, Gibbs would, I don't know, do it some cool marine way. Tony,' Abby smiles at her surrogate brother. 'Tony he would just act normally and irritate the hell out of her until we got what we want.'
'But I don't want him anywhere near her. Him going to collect her is more than enough time alone.'
'Dad, I don't need protecting.' Tony mumbles into Gibbs' shoulder.
'You're my son, I'll always protect you whether you think you need it or not.' Tony mumbles something else but when Gibbs glances down to try and understand it, Tony is fast asleep on his shoulder.
'Ahh, Poor baby.' Abby simpers as she and Gibbs manoeuvre him through the lab to the futon.
'Abs, has he told you why he's so tired and getting these migraines? He's had five in the past fortnight. Last time this happened…'
'He was studying for finals at the police academy.' Abby finishes 'and he keeled over before he told anyone he was hinky.' Abby stokes hair off Tony's face. 'He's only told me he hasn't been sleeping properly. He hasn't given any proper reasons.' She looks up at Gibbs. 'Demand he stays at your place for a lot longer. He sleeps better there.' They both stand after covering Tony with a blanket. 'Please Papa bear, for me. He will be fine won't he?' Gibbs pulls Abby into a hug, making both Vance and McGee astonished.
'He will be Abs. He will be.'
