Chp. 10
Terry rode the elevator down to the forensics lab, hoping for good news. He knew if anyone could find these perverts, it was Abby. He loved the Goth like a sister, which if you thought about it, she was. When he walked into the lab, screams could be heard coming from the loud speakers. Terry saw Abby standing in front a computer, doing some dance he probably hadn't heard of. McGee was watching, mesmerized. It was no secret, even to Terry, that the two had a thing for each other, despite Rule 12. Terry waited until he was right behind Abby and said, "Boo."
Abby jumped three feet in the air and screamed, as well as McGee. Terry only laughed, trying to stay upright. "Works every time."
Abby scowled and put her hands on her hips. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood, or I might just tell the director on you." She said, waging her finger at Terry.
He only laughed. "Sure you would. Any good news?" He asked.
She smiled. "As a matter of fact, our demented friend might not be smart as we thought."
"Point, Abbs."
"Ok, Ok. Jeez, one Gibbs is enough." She said. "The point, master of disaster, is that our favorite scumbag got careless in left a print on Andrew's Harrison's body." Abby said, smiling. Andrew Harrison had been identified as the second victim.
Terry didn't smile back. "And did you identify said print?" He asked.
"Yes," McGee said, taking over the brief.
"Name." Terry said, sounding annoyed. He finally believed what his father had been saying for years. Abby definitely had ADHD.
"Here's your scumbag, Terry."
Terry looked at the face and name, but it was the biography that made his eyes widen. "Abby, can you send this upstairs?"
"Yeah, sure."
Terry kissed her cheek. "Love ya, Abbs. McGee, come with." McGee moved to kiss her and ignored Terry.
"Now, McGee!" Terry yelled, not bothering to turn around. Tim fell off the chair, picked himself up and ran, catching the elevator just in time.
"And I thought Tony was bad."
Terry had a snarky comeback, but it died at the mention of Tony. Even though he'd been gone more than two months, the wounds left by his death were still raw for everyone, even Terry. He'd worked ops with Dinozzo when he was with Delta and liked the man. It had been one of the reason's he'd fled two months previous. It was also one of the reason's he'd come back.
"What's up?" Gibbs asked when Terry and McGee got off the elevator.
"Our mutual friend Jack Nelson not only has ties to war protestors, but child molesters and murderers." Terry said.
"Come again?"
"Abbs?" Terry asked. It was her find, and he'd learned to give credit to whom credit was due. Gibbs turned to the monitor and saw Abby's smiling face.
"Well, oh great one, our suspects print came back as none other than Addison Sherman, liberal arts student at Georgetown. Founder of Students Against War."
"Good work, Abbs." Gibbs said, "Gear up, I'll be back in a minute." He said, going upstairs.
000
Despite protests from both Terry and Gibbs, Jen was back at her desk just a few days after being shot. She was restricted desk duty, per Ducky's orders. That didn't keep Samuel and Collin from worrying about her, though. Both boys had refused to go to daycare that morning and demanded to stay with the director in her office. They had promised to play quietly and not disturb her. Looking up from her work, Jen watched them and smiled. She got up and walked, or rather limped, over to them and sat down on the couch. Sam crawled onto the couch and sat in her lap. "Hey, Jenny, watcha doin'?"
"Well, Sam, I got tired of playing director and I thought I'd read to you guys for a while, since you were so sweet to sit up here with me. What do you say?" Jen said.
"Do you do good voices?" Collin asked.
Jen smiled and patted the seat next to her. Collin crawled up. "I might be a little out of practice, but why don't we find out, ok?"
The boys gave her gapped toothed grins. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, what do you want me to read first?"
000
Addison was nervous. The man he worked for was secretive and, as such, he didn't know much about him. But what he did know was you didn't want to make him angry. And Addison feared he had done just that.
"So, Addison, explain to me again why and/or how you managed to leave a finger print on the victim that is connected to an NCIS case?!"
"But..but I thought that's what you wanted. I get caught and just disappear."
Ari sighed. This tree huggers attempt at intelligence was laughable. "Yes, Addison, yes that is what I wanted. But not before our targets were dead!"
Addison cringed. The truth was he got into this because his employer had said he could do what he wanted with the kids, so long as they died afterward. He despised himself, but it had been done to him and as much as he tried he couldn't stop himself.
"Well, Mr. Sherman, I believe that, in light of recent events, it is best that we part company." Ari said.
"Ok, well, where's my money?"
"Ah, yes, your money." Ari said, bringing his hand out of his coat. It held no money. Instead, it held a silenced Glock 17.
Addison caught on too late. "No…No, wait!" he yelled, raising his hands in a futile effort to stop the three bullets that entered his chest and head three seconds later. Ari wiped down his residence and left the prerecorded tape where NCIS could find it. Then he left the safehouse for the last time.
000
"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I spell the blood of an Englishman!" Jenny read, making her voice deeper and, in her mind at least, doing a passable interpretation of the giant from Jack and the bean stalk.
"Jenny, you do good voices." Collin said.
The director hugged him. "Thank you, honey." She said, as Gibbs and Terry walked in, without knocking as usual.
"Well, look, guys we have visitors. To what do we owe the pleasure gentlemen?" Jen asked, grinning.
"We don't want Jenny to play director no more." Sam said.
"Yeah," Collin said, sticking his lip out.
Terry and Gibbs tried not to laugh. "Well, we just need to sign this piece of paper, then we'll go away." Terry said. He handed Jen a warrant for Addison Sherman's arrest and she signed it.
"Thanks, let's go." Terry said, practically running out of the office.
"He's excited." Jen said.
"Yeah, I think he misses Delta." Gibbs said.
"Jetrwo," Sam said.
"Yeah, bud?" Gibbs said, kneeling in front of the boy.
"Be careful." Sam said, putting his arms around her.
"Twerry, too." Collin said.
"We will." Gibbs said, ruffling the boy's hair.
000
They found Sherman's apartment with little trouble and, after informing the super that one of his tenants was a murder suspect, the man was only too happy to help. His apartment was on the top floor. Gibbs went first, then Terry, Ziva and McGee brought up the rear. When they reached the apartment, Terry moved to the left side of the door and his father covered the right. Ziva was behind Terry and McGee was behind Gibbs.
Terry placed the barrel of his shotgun on the doorknob and waited, working to control his breathing. Gibbs nodded and a second later the world exploded in a shower of wood and metal fragments as the locking mechanism literally disintegrated. Terry kicked the door opened and moved inside, racking the shotgun. The apartment opened onto a hallway that led to a living room. He moved forward fast, knowing that the other were right behind him. The living room was large, open space. There were two doors on either side of the room. Signally Ziva and McGee to take the one of the right, Terry moved to the one on the left. In short order, they cleared the apartment and found evidence linking Sherman to the three recent murders.
000
Three hours later, after evidence had been collected, crime scene photos taken and neighbors interviewed, the team went back to headquarters, no closer to finding Sherman than they had been.
"I'm going to take your mother and Sam home, then I'll come back here, see what we can sort out." Gibbs said.
"Sounds good to me. Bring dinner." Terry said.
"Sure, Chinese?"
"Ok." Terry said as the two men entered headquarters.
Ari lay on the roof of a building directly across the street from the NCIS employee parking lot and waited. He knew his target would be out soon.
000
Minutes later his patience was rewarded. Gibbs, the director and the boy came out. He took on his target and fired.
000
Jen was happy, happier than she'd been in a longtime. Sam was talking a mile a minute, alternating between her and Jethro, when they heard. A single shot, unknown direction. Gibbs moved to cover Jen and grabbed Sam. "Are you hit?" He asked. His Sig was in his hand and he didn't know how it got there.
"No, I'm fine. How's Sam?" She asked, unconsciously moving to the boy.
Then the world seemed to stop on its axis. Sam was lying on the ground, blood on his chest. Jen froze, terrified, like her feet were incased in cement. Then, suddenly, violently, time started up again.
"Sam, Sam!" She scooped the boy up, held him to her chest and felt for a pulse on his neck. His eyes were closed. "Come on, Sam. Show me those pretty blues eyes, come on honey."
His eyes half open. "Hurts…" he mumbled.
"I know, baby, but you have to stay awake, ok?" She whispered, trying to stay calm. But her voice shook.
Gibbs moved to where they were behind cover. "Ambulance is two minutes out."
000
"Fornell, I don't care what you have to do or who you piss off. I don't care about you, your career, anything except my information. You get me my Intel and you get yesterday! Don't bother calling until you have it." Terry slammed the phone shut and walked to the window, rubbing his face. Everyone was steering clear of him and Ziva had finally had enough. She walked over to him. "Terry, you shouldn't…" But he cut her off.
"Shouldn't what, Ziva. Shouldn't what! Blame myself, is that it?! I should just pray and hope for the best!?" He started to walk away, when Gibbs grabbed him by the neck and dragged him to the hallway. Seconds later, he was in his son's face.
"What's wrong with you?! Huh? Now, cool it!"
Terry pulled away and looked at his father, his tone low and deadly. "I'll cool it when whoever shot Sam is six feet under." Terry said, walking away.
Ducky stood up from where he'd been sitting next to Ziva and Collin. "What do you think, Duck?"
"I don't know much, Jethro. But I do know one thing, God help whoever shot Samuel."
000
Will Sam survive? Have faith, gentle readers, I'm not heartless.