Disclaimer on chapter one.

AN: Enjoy, I know it's been a bit of a wait. dark rolling sea.

Chapter Eleven: Making Time

Jeffrey felt the hairs on his neck bristle as someone walked in the room. They made almost no sound at all, making Jeffrey's already frayed nerves split even more. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Chamberlain resumed his typing. Of the three computers running in front of him, each was presenting another problem. He reached for the coffee cup, bringing it to his lips. Nothing came into his mouth and he sighed.

He temporarily forgot the eyes on his back that had entered the room until he heard feet shuffle once more. He stopped what he was doing and turned to see a short, very heavy man in a blue suit. He had a grimace on his face and Jeffrey knew he was not pleased.

Without acknowledging the man, Chamberlain swiveled back to his computers and began debugging again. The newcomer continued to stare at him, making his palms sweat. He finally couldn't take it anymore and stood from his chair, grabbing the empty coffee cup.

He walked with purpose, ignoring the man watching him, to the coffee machine and filled his cup once again. After doctoring it up with cream and sugar he stood and slowly sipped at the hot liquid. When the man in the suit didn't make a move or a sound, Jeffrey finally turned to face him. Giving him a pointed stare, he said nothing.

They stood in a stand off for a few moments before Jeffrey's attention was diverted by the door opening. A worried, tall, extremely thin man with a balding head was gripping the door handle staring at the man in front of Jeffrey. After a few seconds pause, the man looked at the thinner man with a scowl.

"You're wanted in the main office," the thin man quipped in a high pitched voice.

"Is it urgent?" the man asked obviously annoyed.

"I was told to bring you, I was not told what it concerned," the man replied, his voice shaking slightly.

"Who sent you?"

"Mr. Smith," the man said with a grimace.

Jeffrey watched the panic that surged briefly across the navy suit's face. There was something special about this Mr. Smith. It was someone he had not dealt with. As the suit was walking out of the office Jeffrey reached out and grabbed his arm. The man glared at Jeffrey as he yanked his arm free and smoothed his suit.

"I demand…" Jeffrey started.

"Finish this job quickly or you'll get nothing at all," the man spat before hurrying from the room and down the hall. The thinner man gave Jeffrey an awkward smile before closing and locking the door. Jeffrey took his half full coffee cup across the room and sat down at his chair again. He rubbed his face and glanced at the clock. He was running out of time to save them. He plowed ahead once again fixing the last major problem the program was presenting.

Armani walked into the main office timidly, wondering why he had been summoned. At first the place looked deserted as the lights were drawn low and no one seemed to be in sight. He frowned and looked around a little before he spotted Mr. Smith in his Versace suit. The man didn't look happy.

"What were you thinking?" Smith asked.

"I was trying to hurry him along."

"I thought I made it clear that you were to stay clear of that room. Leave him alone."

"It was just a few minutes."

"The more you interact the more danger you put both of us in."

"He's not going to survive this anyway."

"Making an assumption like that is likely to get us both in prison," Smith roared angrily at him. "I'm beginning to think I made a mistake in bringing you into this, Caleb."

"It was no mistake I assure you."

"Leave the Colonel be. The less you antagonize him the quicker he will accomplish his goal. This program needs to be operational in the next few days if this whole operation is to be a success. Our buyers will not wait forever."

"The buyers contacted us again."

"What did you tell them?" Smith asked with a sigh.

"That the problems are being corrected and the program will be operational soon."

"Let's just hope Chamberlain is as good as they say he is."

"My people have never been wrong," Caleb defended in a hurry.

The look Smith shot at him silenced him immediately. They stood in quiet for a few moments before Smith pointed towards the door in a dismissive gesture. Caleb hesitated for a slight moment before ducking his head and leaving the office.

The anger built in his chest as he moved towards his own office. He hated being second chair to Mr. Smith. He knew absolutely nothing about his business partner and it was time he started to learn. His pace quickened with the anticipation of his new found mission. He would dig up everything he could on Mr. Smith and then use it against him in the end.

Their plane had landed in Maine and the drive out into the country had been pleasant for Tony and Ziva. They had shared very little conversation other than discussing the case. They were pulling up into a nice three story brick mansion when Tony turned to Ziva.

"Money?"

"Has to be for something like this," she replied running her eyes over the house.

"Self made?"

Ziva simply shrugged and exited the vehicle. Tony came up behind her as she was ringing the doorbell. They waited patiently for a minute before the door opened, revealing a pretty brunette. Tony smiled wide and held out his credentials.

"Hello, Ma'am. I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and this is Officer David. We're here to speak with Steven Chamberlain."

"Yes, the agents that phoned ahead. Steven is in the study," she replied quickly, stepping back to allow them to enter the home.

Once in the study they spotted a man that bore stark similarities to the picture they had seen of Colonel Jeffrey Chamberlain. The man turned to face them, the look of sadness etched on his face, and nodded.

"Welcome, I'm Steven," he said extending his hand. After introductions they took seats around the room facing each other.

"We've come to talk about your brother, Jeffrey," Tony started the conversation. He watched as the pain flickered briefly across Steven's eyes. The man immediately buried it, holding his eyes emotionless.

"Yes, my sister called earlier. It has been a devastating day," Steven replied softly, averting his eyes from the two investigators. Ziva watched him like a hawk, judging his reactions while Tony continued.

"As of right now we're trying to determine if Colonel Chamberlain had anything to do with his family's death."

"Rachael mentioned you'd be saying that."

"She mentioned that it was tough growing up," Ziva interjected.

"Things weren't the best, no. We had to fight to survive. My father was a drunken asshole. He was abusive. When we finally left him my mother worked most of the day. I was given the role of parent at nine years old," Steven replied. Tony could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"Do you think your brother is capable of this crime?" Tony asked. Steven locked eyes with him before he looked out the window. His response was delayed but calculated.

"Jeffrey always was the smart one."

Tony looked at Ziva, noticing her confused look. He looked back at Steven with a raised eyebrow. "The smart one?"

"He was always thinking things through before he acted. He knew everything about a situation before he responded. Everyone thought he was the perfect child. I knew though. I knew what he had done."

"And what had he done?"

"Nothing to horrendous. But he did his fair share of mischief growing up. I put him on the right line though. Then he turned around and joined the Marines."

Tony noted the hint of disappointment in the older brother's voice. "When was the last time you spoke to your brother?"

"Awhile now. I spoke to Marie last week though," Steven said turning thoughtful. Ziva raised her eyebrows and waited for him to continue. Tony leaned forward with interest.

"And?" Tony prompted after a long pause from Steven.

"She was upset. She said Jeffrey had grown distant lately, from her and the kids. She also said he was more angry, more likely to snap at little things. Not like him."

"Did she say what she thought was causing it?" Ziva asked.

"Work. She said he was pushing double time at NAVAIR to finish some program. He wouldn't tell her details."

"Do you know why he would lie about his youngest son's birthday?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?"

"He told his commanding officer he needed a day off to spend with his son since his tenth birthday was last week. We checked the records and Michael turned ten a lot longer ago."

"Michael's birthday was sixth months ago. Colby's was eight, and Annabel's is in three months."

"Why would he lie?"

"Something must have made him lie. He needed a cover for some reason," Steven thought aloud.

"Yes, to be off in order to murder his family," Ziva said with a sigh.

"I'm not going to say he's not capable, but my brother loved his family more than any man I've known," Steven replied with anger. Tony nodded slightly.

"We're still looking into it, Mr. Chamberlain. Any idea where your brother would disappear to?" Tony continued.

"Rachael and I are his only family. Otherwise I have no idea."

"Thank you for your time," Ziva replied as she and Tony stood.

Once clear of the house and in the safety of the car Tony and Ziva finally looked at each other. Neither spoke for a moment contemplating what they had just heard. Finally Tony looked back at the house.

"We're no where closer to finding Colonel Chamberlain," Tony said tapping a fist on the steering wheel.

"We got nothing from these people. Maybe we're looking in the wrong places."

"How so?"

"These people only saw him once in a while. We need to find who the wife was close to, who was close to the Colonel."

"That would be people on base. That's our next stop."

"We need to get back to Washington."

"Yeah," Tony said as he started the car and headed back to the airport.

Nicole got off the bus and made her way into headquarters. After passing through security and getting her visitor badge, she was escorted to the bullpen by an agent. She smiled as the young man left her at Gibbs' desk.

She sat down in his chair and started to slowly twirl herself in a circle waiting for him to return. As she rounded for the tenth time she caught a glimpse of him coming down the stairs. She stopped herself and smiled up at him as he walked to his desk.

"Have a good day at school?" he asked as he dropped a folder on the desk. Nicole bobbed her head at him as she started to spin again.

"Yup." She stopped spinning when she noticed Gibbs watching her. "What?"

Gibbs looked around the room before looking at his hands on the desk. He let out a sigh before he looked back up at her. "We need to have a talk."

"About what?" Nicole asked worried. "You have a fight with Jen?"

"No, yeah, well…"

"That was confusing."

"She's just not sure you accept her."

"What do you mean?"

Gibbs leaned down closer. "She's just thinking that you don't respond to her."

"Like that I don't like her?"

"Something like that."

"What do you want me to do?"

Gibbs took a deep breath standing up. He didn't know. He looked up the stairs before looking back at Nicole. "We'll figure that out. Just keep it in mind."

Nicole nodded and then began to spin in the chair again. McGee and Bariston walked into the bullpen holding paper bags, taking up their places at their desks. Gibbs looked over at the two young agents and turned to face them.

"What have we got?" he asked as they both looked up.

TBC…