Author's notes: Thanks to my reviewers. Sorgina13, Yes the reactions were funny...and true, Gibbs is yet to find out. I'm sure he'll be thrilled! (not). Oktober TM, Be very hinky eh? Yeah, I guess it is :P, glad you like it! And Hanners, I'm glad you really like the plot, I don't think there are that many errors, but did I miss something? I am a bit confused though, what Tiva? This is a tate fic and I haven't been focusing on tiva at all. I do have some ziva stuff in the future, so keep a lookout for that. Abby and McGee will be getting closer! They're not the main pairing in this fic, but they're still significant. Haha, funny you should say that because yes, Jenny will be coming into it a little more as of this chapter. This fic has minor Jibbs so yeah, :). I know the killers are hard to spot, but as Eric said, there are more than 2 so the many characters are nessesary to hide them. Glad you liked this fic, hope ya keep reading and reviewing! :)
This chapter I'm really looking forward ro reviews for since it's a more...what's the word? Action-packed? Drama-filled? Dunno, but it's certainly a "bigger" chapter than most. Hope ya like!
Chapter eleven: A whole new level of complicated
'Three bullet rounds to the heart' Ducky read off his notes to Jenny. She had her phone on speaker so Gibbs could hear both of them as Ducky reported his findings from the autopsy of the victim. 'Any one of them could have been fatal' Ducky sighed. 'Although the round through his skull appears most fatal'
'Each one of them were kill shots' Jenny said, anger leaking into her tone as she said it. 'We're dealing with a pro'
'Who is he?' Gibbs asked. 'And is Eric talking yet?'
'Eric is arrogantly confident that he has nothing to worry about, and that there more than two killers out there' Jenny said. 'He could be messing with us'
'Or not' Gibbs replied.
'The victim is Jack Stile, twenty-eight years of age and an undercover police officer from the metro area' Ducky said.
'Which means we're not the only ones looking for these scumbags' Gibbs growled. 'I contacted Metro and they are refusing to co-operate' Jenny added. 'They're not looking for the same killers'
'Well how many murders can a family national park hide?' Gibbs asked, raising his voice slightly and Ziva cast a glare at him from where she was guarding the cabin from the doorway. 'Who's his partner? No one sends a cop under cover alone like this'
'They won't say' Jenny replied. 'And before you blow some more steam Jethro, you need to understand that-' she then glared as her line went dead. 'I'm assuming that our line didn't suddenly cut out?' she said aloud.
'You'd assume correct, Director' Ducky nodded, knowing Gibbs too well.
Jenny grabbed her cell phone as it rung and spoke for a moment before hanging up and dialing Ziva's phone again.
'We can't risk any more time, Jen' Gibbs replied, sounding annoyed.
'Special Agent Gibbs: shut up' Jenny said, surprising both Ducky and Gibbs. 'I just got a call from the FBI. Another body has been found and they are going in to investigate, it's out of our jurisdiction'
'Ah the hell it is' Gibbs growled but listened, as he knew she wasn't done.
'They are fully briefed on your covers and will not interact with any of you in a way that could blow your cover. You may be questioned like the rest of the campers but they are not tampering with our mission. The body will be sent to Ducky here. They're almost there so alert your team immediately' she said and waited until he was about to talk and hug up on him with an accomplished grin on her face.
'You've been working for him too long' Ducky noticed.
'Tell me about it' Jenny sighed as he left but the grin remained on her face, she'd gotten him back for one of the most annoying things he did…it felt good.
'What's going on?' Abby asked worriedly as she an McGee stood outside their cabins to watch the FBI walking past in the direction of the nature trail. Everyone had been alerted to the situation and was going to work extra hard to keep their covers, as they knew some of the FBI agents and how their jobs worked.
'I don't know' McGee replied. 'Guess something happened, maybe more drugs?'
'They have a whole group of them' Tony replied, glancing at McGee. 'I doubt they would bring their top guys for some drugs'
'How do you know they're the top guys?' McGee asked, raising an eyebrow at him while Abby watched Tony worriedly as she hugged Bert.
Tony shrugged and sighed. 'Because, Pr-Tim…' he paused for a moment, getting his mind clear, which Gibbs noticed and raised an eyebrow. 'They've got fancy leather shoes, serious "I know what I'm doing" looks on their faces…not to mention the older guy looks like he's worked with the CIA or something, the way he looks at everyone as suspects' he let out a yawn and headed to the right where his cabin was.
Gibbs grabbed Kate's arm to stop her from following and went after Tony himself.
'Hey' Gibbs said, entering the cabin and then shutting the door behind him. 'What's your problem, Tony?' he asked.
'No problem, I mean the FBI showing up during our holiday isn't a bonus…but I'm fine…why?' Tony asked causally but kept his face turned away from Gibbs as he searched for a shirt to change into, as it was getting hotter.
'You're avoiding everyone' Gibbs replied, walking closer as his tone lowered. 'And don't lie to me, you've been married to my daughter long enough for me to know when you're lying'
Tony had to admit, Gibbs was good with working under cover. 'Ah, it's nothing…really. Just an odd day'
'It's been like this for days, Tony' Gibbs said in a demanding Tone. 'What's going on?' he stood right beside Tony, his face close to his as he glared. 'DiNozzo' he said and slapped his head.
Tony winced and looked sideways at Gibbs but still tried not to look at him in the eye. 'Being married to Kate is getting to me, boss' he lied, effectively. 'It's not just Kate; I mean it's the whole marriage thing. I now know you weren't exaggerating, three ex-wives? How'd you do it?'
'I didn't' Gibbs said. 'That's why they're called EX-wives'
'I'm not cut out for this kinda thing' Tony said. 'I'm not going to blow my cover, it's just…hard' Tony said and swallowed, looking at the wooden floor with a troubled expression and headed to the bathroom to change and take a shower.
Gibbs stood there and watched his senior agent for a moment. He knew Tony was lying, big time. He was good, Gibbs almost believed it, but Tony's eyes gave it away. If he were struggling with his cover he'd be mad, paranoid, annoyed or second-guessing himself. But his eyes showed that something much deeper was troubling him; that he was scared of something…surely not the killers because this was what he dealt with everyday in their line of work.
Gibbs's eyes narrowed and he left the cabin, heading into the one next door and rounding on Kate as the other three were outside playing one of McGee's board games.
'Hey, dad I…what?' Kate paused as she saw the look she was getting and that Gibbs shut the door behind him.
'What happened to Tony?' Gibbs asked, using his best intimidating stare. He noticed Kate avoiding his glance as well and shook her head, followed by a non-committed shrug.
'Kate?' Gibbs asked. 'Whatever issues you two have, this is not the time' he told her and she looked up at him, surprising him as she stared right into his eyes, her own laced with tears.
'Well then maybe you shouldn't have made us do this stupid mission, boss' Kate snarled softly and walked out of the cabin, heading right for Tony's.
'Daddy, what happened?' Abby asked him.
Gibbs made a "come here" signal with his finger and she did, followed by McGee but Ziva didn't move. They both knew there was no point in him asking her because she was too good a liar.
'What is wrong with Tony and Kate?' Gibbs asked Abby and McGee. 'Tony is avoiding everyone and Kate is acting…' he tried to find a word.
'Odd?' Abby supplied. 'And yeah, I think they had a fight about something…' she shrugged, covering for her friends but glanced nervously at McGee, which made Gibbs round on him.
'I ah…' McGee gulped and sighed with a wince. 'Kate and Tony…' he started to say and stared at the floor. 'Kate and Tony had an argument, a big one'
'Not their usual kind of fight' Abby joined in. 'it was bad'
Gibbs studied McGee for a moment and than walked out, believing them.
'Way to go Timmy!' Abby grinned and punched his arm softly. 'You lied to Gibbs! And got away with it!'
'Yeah well…' McGee shrugged. 'Kate and Tony-' he was about to defend why he did it for his friends but Abby wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
'I am so proud of you' she said in his ear and he smiled, feeling rather proud of himself too.
'How did he get away with lying to…him' Ziva asked, coming inside for a hat.
'Because' Abby said, pulling away from McGee. 'Timmy never lies, not really'
'Unless I have to' McGee added.
'Not bad, Tim' Ziva smiled and whispered into his ear, 'we may make a federal agent out of you yet' she joked.
--
Gibbs was about to enter the cabin he shared with Tony and Kate when he spotted Fornell approaching.
'Name?' he asked.
'Jethro, Marshal' Gibbs replied without a beat. 'Something wrong?'
'Camping alone?' Fornell asked, also not missing a beat, it was as though these two men had never met before in their entire lives.
'No, I'm with my family'
'I'll need to speak to them, Jethro' Fornell replied.
'What about?' Gibbs asked in a protective tone. 'You think my family is involved in whatever it is you're doing?'
'Maybe' Fornell said. 'Which is why I need to speak with them'
'Fine' Gibbs said and knocked on the door. 'Kate, Tony…FBI guy here needs to talk to you!'
'Whatever it is, I didn't do it!' Tony called out loudly but the door opened and Kate stood there.
'What's going on?' she asked.
'Have you seen this man before?' Fornell asked and held up a photo of a dead guy with dark brown hair and tanned skin.
Kate stared at the photo and shook her head. 'Sorry, no'
Tony sighed heavily and got up off the bed, walking over to look at the photo also. 'Saw that guy at the diner hall last night, but other than that…nope' he shrugged. 'Is that all, FBI sir?' Tony asked with a hint of tease in his eyes as he stared innocently at Fornell.
'These your only children?' Fornell asked strategically.
'Kate's my daughter, Tony's her husband' Gibbs corrected and pointed to the cabin on their left where Ziva was sitting outside with a book. 'Ziva and Abby are my other daughters…Tim is Abby's boyfriend, anything else you would like to know…sir?' he asked.
'We'll see' Fornell replied and walked over to the cabin, showing Ziva a photo. 'Have you seen this man before?' he wondered.
Ziva took the photo from him and studied it closely. 'No' she replied with a dull expression and went back to her book.
'Oh, hi' Abby said brightly, spotting Fornell. 'You're one of those FBI dudes, right? And what can a law-abiding citizen such as myself be of service to you?' she asked with a grin. Fornell almost cracked a smile then but held it.
'Have you seen this man?' he asked again, holding out the photo.
'He looks dead' Abby said, faking a sickened expression. 'Why would I know some dead guy?'
'What, you think we were involved?' McGee added.
'That depends, do you know him?' Fornell frowned.
'Nope' McGee shook his head but Abby bit her lip and sighed.
'Yes' she said. 'I saw him last night, he was sitting by our table' Abby told Fornell. 'I glanced around and saw him, but then a few minutes later he was gone. That's all I know' she said. 'Hope it helps, Mr FBI Guy'
Fornell nodded and walked away to interrogate other campers with the photo.
'Poor guy' Abby said and hugged McGee while he rubbed her back in comfort.
Later that night, while Gibbs was briefing Jenny, Tony and Kate headed to bed early but neither of them could sleep.
'I'm sorry' Tony whispered and glanced at her but she remained staring at the ceiling.
'For what?' Kate asked. 'Sleeping with me or getting me pregnant?'
'Getting you pregnant' Tony replied. 'Sleeping with you was…' he smirked but felt her hand grab his arm.
'Don't even say it' she said and stared at him, leaning over him slightly. Kate lowered her gaze and moved away.
'And I never blamed you' she said, rolling over to face away from him.
Tony glanced at her back and moved over, leaning over her neck while running a hand over her bare arm.
'I'm still sorry' Tony whispered into her ear and kissed her neck softly before rolling back over and facing away also, hoping to be asleep when Gibbs came back.
Kate turned and stared at the side of Tony's face for a moment and then rested on her back, closing her eyes.
--
Gibbs returned an hour later after assuring Abby that everything was okay for now and helped her get to sleep. His mission had never really felt like part of his job most of the time. He had calmed Abby down and promised he'd wait until she was asleep before leaving, much like he would with a young child…but Abby had always felt like a daughter to him. McGee was comforting her also and the way Abby curled up with him, Gibbs felt that she was in good hands. Once he was sure they were asleep, he glanced at Ziva and placed the blankets over her properly as she'd kicked them off before.
Then he locked the cabin on his way out and walked over to Kate and Tony. Gibbs saw they were both lying on their backs and raised an eyebrow at Tony, seeing that his hand was subconsciously placed over hers. Gibbs then got into bed and only after he was sure everyone was okay, then he realized how exhausted he really was and fell asleep almost instantly.
A few minutes passed and Kate opened her eyes, she hadn't been sleeping at all. Carefully and quietly, Kate slid out of bed and left the cabin, locking it again behind her as she headed to a cabin nearby.
--
'Jeez, it's almost midnight' a male's voice inside growled as she knocked. 'What the…Kate?' Mathew paused as he saw her standing there. He looked around to check the coast was clear and stepped aside, letting her pass him. 'What are you doing here? I thought you were under cover to catch those-'
'Matt, I really screwed up' Kate sniffed.
Mathew nodded and locked his door. He placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort and stared down at her with concern. 'Okay Katie, tell me what happened' he encouraged.
Author's Notes: ooooh, and the plot thickens yet again! No, I'm not going to tell you who Mathew is...yet. Please let me know whatcha think of this chapter as I actually rewrote bits several times and spent longer on it than usual, trying to make sure it was right. Please review!
-Mel
