Thanks to my beta Kristen!
Chapter 10: Journeys
Gibbs cursed under his breath as their flight was delayed for another hour.
He was tempted to blame it on Lily, but the redhead was sitting on her suitcase, eyes flitting around the airport. However much she tried to hide it, she was more nervous than alert.
He knew she had got her revenge the previous night. If she hadn't, she would have refused to come back. And it had a little something to do with him checking her bed and finding her missing. He really didn't trust her as far as he could throw her, and with good reason.
She was an accomplished liar, would double cross her own sister to get what she wanted, and loved to blow things up. And yet she was clearly afraid of someone. Someone she was shielding. Why else would she not go after the third person in the Louvre that night? Why else would she still be scared of someone?
He sighed, frustrated. Their plane had been delayed for hours at this point. It didn't help that Lily had booked a flight back that left at a ridiculous hour in the morning, meaning they were both short on sleep. At least the time difference was easier going east to west. He would have to murder her otherwise.
She looked like a little child: obviously tired, half asleep, bored, and nevertheless refusing to drift off into the land of nod. She was curled in on herself as best she could while sitting on a suitcase, and attempting to keep her head upright. Her hair had been slung back in a rough ponytail, a sign that she had little energy left. He knew she didn't particularly like air travel, but she could put up with it. These delays had to be sapping her resolve though.
Somehow, he was supposed to protect her. Her real security detail was lingering close by, but she had deliberately annoyed them all in the last few days so they would give her a little space. He was half tempted to handcuff her to one of her real security detail; the only thing stopping him was that he knew she could slip out of handcuffs.
The hard way.
After he had handcuffed her to his car door to prevent her from chasing after a suspect, only to run into her three minutes later when said suspect was on the ground, dead, and she was holstering her gun.
A cell phone rang and he found himself looking around as everyone nearby patted their pockets to check if it was them. Lily, on the other hand, simply pulled her cell phone out and answered "Shepard."
He wondered who was calling her this time. Possibly Jenny, if she had heard about the delayed flight.
"He was arrested?"
Still could be Jenny, especially as Lily was waiting for the person to tell the rest of the story. With most people, she would just interrupt everywhere.
"Whose bright idea was it to tie him naked to a street lamp?"
He snorted. Presumably, the stag night had been held a day earlier than usual. He was strangely pleased over it, as it meant that Lily couldn't have him tied naked to a street lamp.
"Tell the idiot cop that he's getting married tomorrow and I need him at the church."
Ah, yes, Lily's complete hatred of all cops, connected to the fact that they slowed her down. He had once heard her advocating a 'shoot on sight' policy towards them. Thankfully, Jenny had managed to talk her sister out of it.
"Post bail then. Or give me a few hours and I'll come deal with it myself."
He sincerely hoped that the person would post bail. He didn't want to have to restrain Lily from killing a cop. He had a funny feeling she would kill him first and then torture the cop in question.
"Great. I'll call you back when I'm on US soil."
She hung up, before turning her attention to him. He tried not to make it obvious that he was nervous. Lily enjoyed taking out her frustrations on others.
"How much longer before we board?" she whined.
"Not long," he offered. He decided to change the topic before she could lash out. "Guy number three, in the Louvre. Who was he?"
"None of your business," she replied.
"You knew who it was," he pointed out.
"I know a lot of people," she countered. "Some by reputation only. And you don't need to know who this is."
"If it's going to come up again, I need to know," he retorted.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Someone's curious," she teased.
"It's my job to be curious," he commented.
"Curiosity killed the cat," she noted. "But for a while, I was a suspect."
He had never been more thankful when they called their flight.
Abby Scuito continued to focus on her monitor. She was going to get this guy. She was going to get him.
She had spent time with Ducky's mother and was glad that she appeared no worse for her ordeal. Admittedly, Mrs. Mallard had spent a lot of time complaining about how Donald had not come when she had called and the 'imbecile' had not done as she had ordered. It had made the Goth smile.
And now she was determined to find Frank Cromwell. He was going to rue the day he had crossed Ducky if she had anything to do with it. She wondered what kinds of torture Ziva could perform before Gibbs returned.
Right now, Gibbs was on a flight to Dulles, Lily with him. Abby had been annoyed at the constant delays before takeoff and was keeping a close eye on when the plane was due to land. She had already worked out how long it would take them to traverse the airport, get a cab to the Navy Yard, buy coffee, and make it up to the squad room. She wasn't anxious for his return at all.
She focused harder as her arduous work began to pay off. She had almost got the trace on his phone…
"Yes!" she squealed.
"Got something, Abs?"
She whirled around, surprised that her silver haired fox had made it back before she had predicted, and was disappointing to find Tony standing behind her. She snatched the Caf-Pow from him, and took a long slurp before glaring at him.
"Abs?" he ordered.
"Right, well, I've traced Cromwell's cell phone, which wasn't easy because he's been using an encrypted satellite phone; no idea where he got hold of that beauty, but you really should confiscate it and put it somewhere safe because he doesn't deserve to have one if he goes around ordering the kidnap of defenseless old women, and –"
"Breathe," Tony interrupted.
She obeyed.
"Address?"
She scrawled it down on a post-it before handing it over and taking another slurp of her Caf-Pow. Tony left the room in a hurry, clearly as anxious as she was to apprehend the man.
Tony DiNozzo stared at the house in front of him. Abby had just reassured him over the phone that Cromwell was still inside.
He wanted to get this guy before Gibbs returned. He wanted to prove that he could run the team as effectively as the Boss did. Although he had to admit that he was ignoring the fact they almost gave up on Mrs. Mallard. He didn't want to be in the same state as Gibbs when he learnt about that.
The week had been stressful and tiring, but he was happy. Ducky's mother was safe, no one had been hurt – except for the Probie, but that had involved a paper cut and he could not be held responsible for it in the slightest – and everything had turned out okay.
He was looking forward to the wedding tomorrow. It would be a nice opportunity to relax and have fun, even though it would be a serious ceremony. He hoped Lily had a few tricks up her sleeve, although he doubted it. This would be her special day and he suspected she would do everything in her power to make it perfect.
He wondered if he would ever get married. He wasn't really one for commitment, but with the right girl he would change. He needed someone special…
Ziva prodded him hard.
"What?!" he hissed.
"Are we going to arrest Cromwell or are we going to stand around all day?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes. "We're just checking that he's not going to make a run for it," he claimed, not willing to admit that he had been thinking.
"Before we go in?" she checked. "Because he will not make a run for it until we enter. How can you judge that from out here?"
"Because I can," he snapped. "Probie, go round the back. Ziva and I can handle the front."
The Probie nodded before setting off. Tony waited until McGee radioed back and then set off.
It was time to end this.