Chapter Twelve: A Turn of Events

"Agent Gibbs." Said a serious voice on the other end. "I'm afraid I have grave news concerning your agent, Timothy McGee." Gibbs felt his insides go cold, felling as though the blood running through his veins had turned to ice. "We tried everything we could to save him but there was nothing more we could do. I'm sorry but… I'm afraid he's gone."


Gibbs fought to keep his breathing under control as his hand tightened on the receiver. Suddenly the voice chuckled coldly. "How did that feel, Agent Gibbs?" the voice asked. "How did it feel to hear that your agent is dead and it's all your fault?"

Gibbs felt his blood boil. "Who is this?" he demanded angrily, though somehow he knew he had heard that voice from somewhere.

"Why, I'm insulted, Agent Gibbs." The voice said, feigning hurt. "You don't recognize me? Here, allow me to clarify." The voice cleared his voice and began speaking in a slightly deeper voice. "If you have any questions for us or need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask."

Suddenly Gibbs knew where he had heard that voice and his hand clenched the receiver tightly as he hissed. "Aaron Stolson." Fornell strode over to Gibbs and Tony wheeled his chair up beside him. Josh glanced up at them with wide eyes.

"Oh, good. You do remember me." Aaron chuckled. "That's good. At least now you know the name of the one who killed your agent."

"My agent is not dead!" Gibbs snapped, glancing up at Fornell. Fornell nodded and turned from Gibbs, pulling a cellphone out of his pocket. "You stay away from him and all of my people. We know where you live, Aaron. We know all about you and your parents. How your father killed your mother and then turned on you."

"Shut up!" Aaron shouted. Gibbs ignored him and continued.

"Your father beat you, violated you, humiliated you. And he was a 'cop' as you like to call everyone. A big bad cop destroyed your world and there was nothing you could do." Gibbs taunted, trying to get Aaron to slip something they could use.

"I said shut up!" Aaron shouted again.

"You were a pathetic little snot-nosed kid that was too weak to defend your mother when she needed you." Gibbs growled, not caring how cold he sounded. This guy had gone too far when he threatened one of Gibbs' own people. He had placed Tim in the hospital, where he lay fighting for his life; he had temporarily crippled Tony, placing him in a wheelchair; and now here he was, once again threatening Tim and pretending he was dead. There was no way he was going to feel any sympathy for this creep.

Gibbs looked up as Fornell shut his phone, turned to Ziva's desk and picked up a sheet of printer paper. He quickly wrote on the sheet and turned it to Gibbs. 'He's fine. I just spoke to my men. No one has been in or out all day except the doctor. They watched the doctor through the window as he checked McGee.' Fornell wrote.

Gibbs nodded and turned his attention back to his seething caller. "You're a failure." Gibbs replied coldly. "You let your mother die."

"No, I didn't!" Aaron shouted.

"You failed to protect her. And now your anger is making you become the one person you hated the most." Gibbs continued. "You are becoming just like your dearly beloved father."

"I'm nothing like that bastard!" Aaron shouted. "He could rot in hell for all I care!"

"And guess what." Gibbs said, raising his voice over Aaron's. "We're going to take you down. We're going to make you pay for everyone you raped and murdered. Every life you took. Every life you destroyed. Every person you violated. Every attempted murder you tried. Every person you threatened. And when we find you, you can bet that we'll be showing the same amount of mercy that you showed to your victims. You better run, Aaron Stolson. Because we're coming for you. And we're coming fast."

Gibbs slammed the receiver down into its holster and looked down at Tony, who was looking at him with concern and confusion, and then looked over at Fornell. "Get your shot gun ready, Tobias. We're going hunting." Gibbs headed toward the elevators, Fornell right behind him. "Tony, you call Ziva. Tell her that I want her to go to the hospital and wait with Fornell's guys. Aaron's guys might try something again. And get me the rest of those names."

Tony rolled back to his desk, once again aggravated by the fact that he couldn't be out in the field with his teammates, helping them catch the creeps who did this to him and Tim and every other officer they've attacked. He quickly called Ziva and explained what had happened and that Gibbs wanted her to stay at the hospital with Tim until Gibbs got there.

"I understand." She responded. "And Tony." She added, sensing his distress.

"Yeah?"

"Do not worry." She assured him. "You have done more than your fair share to help. I will take over from here and make sure nothing befalls our friend. I will also speak with the doctor about your leg and the wheelchair. I know you want to help. The best you can do for now is to take over for McGee until he returns, when he returns." She added meaningfully.

"Yeah." Tony said before hanging up and returning to his task.


Gibbs and Fornell arrived at the apartment building that housed Victor Hendricks. They headed into the apartment building and up to the landlord's apartment. "Can I help you gentlemen?" The landlord asked when he opened the door, eyeing them hopefully.

"I would hope so." Fornell answered. He wasn't sure if Gibbs had calmed down enough to handle talking to pedestrians. "We're here about an apartment."

"Obviously." The landlord nodded. "Would you two like to see any near the top? Or perhaps a corner apartment; those are always popular for privacy. Not that I'm trying to get into your business or anything." He added hastily. "Not saying you need privacy for whatever you do with each other. It's up to you, really. You two can do whatever you want with each other as long as it's in an apartment. I do have other guests who are a bit squeamish about this sort of thing, you understand. What would your preference be?"

Fornell scowled as the landlord spoke, then scowled even more when he saw Gibbs' amused expression. "We're not here to rent." He answered tersely, glaring at Gibbs. "We're looking for the apartment of someone." Fornell reached into his coat and pulled out his badge, which he realized he should have done in the beginning so as to avoid this awkward situation.

The landlord glanced at the badge and his face fell. "Oh. Oh, all right. Which one? And do you have a warrant?"

"It's for a Victor Hendricks and no, we don't have a warrant." Gibbs said.

The landlord scowled. "Oh, well if it's for him, then I don't really care if you have a warrant or not. I'll take you to his apartment." He reached behind his door and pulled out a large silver key ring filled with brass keys. "Follow me."

They followed him down a hall to the elevators and stepped in with him. "Why are you so willing to let us search his apartment?" Fornell asked.

"That guy's been nothing but trouble since he's been here. Unfortunately he pays the rent every month, right on time; sometimes he's even early with it, so I don't really have anything to throw him out on." The landlord shrugged. "But he's always arrogant about it. Like he's trying to show everyone that he has enough money to pay for rent and whatever else he wants. He's arrogant about everything. You can see it in his eyes; he's always looking down on everyone."

They got off the elevator and headed down another hallway until they reached a door with a rusty number thirty two on the center of the door. The landlord clinked through his keys until he found the one he wanted and opened the door. He stopped short when he saw the inside of the apartment.

The room was trashed; old food was found scattered around on the floor, some already infested with insects. The furniture was shredded and scattered around along with the trash, stuffing and cloth thrown everywhere. It looked as if a full blown fight had taken place not too long ago, judging by the fresh blood splatters on the side of the upturned couch. Gibbs and Fornell immediately drew their guns, pushing the landlord out into the hall as he started to follow them into the apartment.

"Ha, I got him!" The landlord exclaimed triumphantly. "He's out of here. He's gone. I'm kicking him out."

Gibbs and Fornell ignored the landlord's ranting and entered the apartment, guns drawn. Gibbs searched the living room and kitchen as Fornell explored the bedroom and bathroom. "Clear!" Gibbs called.

"Clear over here." Fornell called back, coming out of the bedroom and standing beside Gibbs in the kitchen. "If Victor was here, he left in quite a hurry." Fornell commented, eying the toaster, which was still plugged in with slices of bread still in it.

"Either that or he was dragged off by someone he trusted." Gibbs responded, picking up two mugs of cold coffee and setting them back down on the counter. He turned and headed back into the living room, stopping to examine the blood on the couch. Fornell pulled out his cell phone and dialed a few numbers.

After he hung up, he turned back to Gibbs. "I'll have a few guys here in a few minutes to examine everything and collect evidence."

Gibbs nodded absently, studying the room. "Doesn't it almost seem like whoever made this mess was looking for something?"

Fornell surveyed the room at large, taking in the torn up couch and curtains. The curtains were pulled off the walls and each of the couch cushions was sliced open and the stuffing pulled out. Fornell narrowed his eyes and headed back into the bedroom, Gibbs behind him. The bedroom was the same, now that he got a good look. The blankets were ripped open and the mattresses shredded apart. "You're right. They were looking for something. Or perhaps someone." He said, his eyes zeroing in on the air vent on the floor near the bedroom window. Several small dots of what looked like blood were splattered along the metal. Fornell and Gibbs walked over to it and Fornell used his knife to lift up the grate, which wasn't screwed into the floor.

A face stared up at them, brown eyes permanently filled with fear, the unattached head sitting on a pile of body parts stuffed into the vent. Fornell sighed and let the grate fall shut. "Victor Hendricks. You guys want the body?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, we'll take the body and your men can take the evidence."

As they were about to head back out into the hall, the phone rang. Both men paused, searching for the phone under the debris. Suddenly the ringing stopped and a beep sounded from the answering machine, followed by a man's voice. "Vic? It's Jason. Hey man, I think we've got a problem with Aaron. He's gone nuts, man. He's talking crazy. He was going on about eliminating the federal agent at the hospital yesterday and now he thinks someone is selling us out. You know how paranoid he is. If he thinks someone is selling us out, he's going to eliminate all probabilities. Damn it, I knew this whole thing was a bad idea. I knew we should have stayed in Arlington. Damn. Just call me back. And if Aaron comes by, don't open the door. Pretend you're not home. Do whatever you have to. Just don't answer the door." There was a pause and then the voice continued in a hushed whisper. "I gotta go. Someone's at the door. I think it's Aaron. As soon as he leaves, I'm going to call those agents and tell them what's going on. It's time to put a stop to this, Vic. Aaron's gotta stop. I'll call you later after I talk to the agents."

Fornell turned to Gibbs as the call ended. "You thinking Aaron did this?" he asked, gesturing to the mess. "And that?" he added, nodding his head back to the bedroom.

Gibbs finally located the phone from under a bookshelf and carried it, and the machine, out the door. "If he is, then he's eradicating his guys. Which means we've got to get to Jason's house before Aaron does."

"Unless that was Aaron at the door." Fornell replied. The two of them rushed out of the apartment, taking the landlord with them, and headed down the hall to the elevator. "No one touches anything in that apartment." Fornell told the landlord as they rode the elevator back down to the main floor. "No one goes anywhere near that apartment. It is now a crime scene and anybody caught within several feet of it will be taken into custody. Is that understood?"

"Y-yeah." The landlord responded nervously.


Gibbs and Fornell leaped out of their car and up the driveway to Jason Peing's house. Both of them drew their weapons when they noticed the front door open slightly. Gibbs looked at Fornell, who nodded, and then pushed the door open. They entered the house, guns drawn. The house mimicked Victor's apartment, with all of the furniture slashed up and blood splattered along a wall near the bedroom door.

Gibbs and Fornell searched the house, starting with the living room, then the kitchen, and finally the single bedroom and bathroom. Gibbs noticed the blood trail leading to the closet and motioned to Fornell. Gibbs slowly approached the closet, Fornell poised behind him, gun at the ready. Gibbs bent down to examine the closet door, which had several bullet holes scattered around near the bottom. Gibbs aimed his gun at the closet as he reached out and quickly pulled it open.

A young man, looking to be in his mid to late twenties, sat breathing heavily on the floor of the closet, several bloody bullet holes decorating his abdomen and a single shot in his left shoulder. Blood trickled down his chin as he looked up at them, his breathing coming out in haggard gasps. "I'm. Sorry." He gasped, more blood trickling down his chin and onto his already bloody white dress shirt. "Stop. Aaron. He'll. Kill. Vic."

"He's already dead." Gibbs replied.

"No." Jason shook his head mournfully, squeezing his eyes shut and then opening them to stare up at them. "Stop. Aaron." He repeated desperately, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "He's. Going after. The. Agent."

"Where can I find him?" Gibbs demanded. "Where can I find Aaron?"

"You. Can't." Jason replied. Gibbs could tell he was struggling to speak, as his head slowly started to droop. "He. Can't be. Found. Unless he. Wants to be."

"Is he going after the others?" Fornell asked.

Jason nodded slowly before his lids lowered and his head hunched down to his chest, his body going limp.


A/N: Well, what do you think? So now Aaron's killing off his own men to save himself. What a jerk. And aren't you glad I didn't kill off Tim? I am. I like Tim. He's my favorite NCIS character. And sorry for the terrible cliff hanger. If I went any further, I wouldn't ever find an ending.

A quick word to my readers. I have now finished my other story Dolly Hiei. The chapters are finished and will be posted one at a time every Friday. But the story is done, which means that I will now be able to spend the rest of my time focusing on this story until it is done, which won't be long. Next chapter, the fun begins. Don't forget to review.