"Do you know what happened to all the children that were orphaned by the IRA's bombings during the 60's and 70's in England?", Trent began softly looking at a spot on the wall behind the Director and not at either of the men in the room.

"They were sent to orphanages in the interior of the country, away from the bombings and attacks, away from the 'hot zones' where they were supposed to heal and forget the horrors they had witnessed."

"It was at one of these orphanages that my story begins, born on September 23rd to an American Navy Officer and a mother that had just a slight tint of blue in her blood. I never met either one of my parents."

Kort stopped and looked both men in the eyes and they clearly saw the pain and resentment in the Englishman as he spoke of his parentage.

"It was a quiet life during my early years, no one knew or seemed to care who my parents were I was just another child living in one of the more respectable orphanages which meant I was wealthy. The official story that I was told was that my parents perished in an automobile accident not long after my birth and their estate had been liquidated and place in a trust fund for my care."

Kort paused again, looking at Gibbs, " You have one thing right in your rules... There is no third best."

The look on his face was half smirk and half grimace.

" It wasn't long after my sixth birthday that I first heard the name McGee. The orphanage had taken us on a field trip to the local Navy Yard to tour a battleship and allow us to learn a little history first hand. It had been a pleasant day and we were all tired when an old sailor came stumbling out of the local pub. I'll never forget the look of hatred on his face when he walked right up to me and harshly grabbed my face to get a good look through the haze of alcohol. ' Your McGee's bastard ain't you? Always suspected that Irish son of a bitch left more behind than they claimed.'"

"Gossip spreads quickly in a small town. Hand to hand combat became a means of survival after that fateful day and many of the grown ups turned a blind eye when the little Irish bastard would show up with a new black eye or bruise somewhere, but heaven up me if I was ever caught defending myself. They couldn't have the heathen hurt a proper British subject."

''No one ever seemed to hear that my father was an American, they only seemed seemed to hear the Irish when it was whispered that my father was an Irish American Navy Officer."

" By the time I entered secondary and boarding school, I was accomplished enough with my fists that even the older kids would back off and the few that didn't, well I had learned how to give them sufficient discouragement without leaving any marks. I was left alone to pursue my own agendas which included finding everything I could about the man who fathered me. I followed his career closely and that of my half brother. It always bothered me that John had it all while I was left with nothing. Maybe if I had been the first born he would have accepted me. No I was the dirty little secret he had left behind that would have destroyed his perfect life and marriage."

"I hated Robert McGee and everything in his perfect little world the way that only a child can hate. I went to bed each night with Robert McGee and his wife Penelope the villains of every fairy tale I ever heard of or read. The only bright light in my dark childhood was the knowledge that I had an older brother out there that would one day come to my rescue and save me from the dark reality where I existed."

Kort stood up and walked to the bureau behind the Director's desk and poured himself a healthy dose of Scotch from the decanter. He swirled the drink around a few times in the glass before he downed it in one gulp.

" At twelve I had my first encounter with MI6. I was called to the head master's office and brought in front of a gentleman who accidentally forgot to introduced himself. There it was clearly explained to me what dual citizenship was and no doubt was left in my mind that my stay in England would be no longer welcomed once I reached adulthood."

"For five years I continued to follow the career of my biological father and I silently celebrated when my step brother graduated from Annapolis, still thinking him to be the hero of my story. The month after my seventeenth birthday I gained full control of my trust fund and left England never planning on looking back. I went in search of my brother fully believing that he would accept me with open arms. Once again I must remind you that I was a child with a child's belief in happy endings. I was still at the hospital when the CIA recruiter located me purchasing a stuffed animal for the little boy who was my nephew. That was the last day that I ever believed in happy endings or white hats."

"He had on him several carefully worded contracts between the US Navy, the British MI6 and Robert and Penelope McGee."

AN: I am so sorry I didn't realize that it had been almost a year since my last update. Life has been kind of crazy on this end but I think I might have everything under control. Hopefully. I plan on starting to write more often and pick up where I left off on all my stories. My humblest apologies. Stray :)