Note: Thanks for reading and the comments. I love your comments.
This chapter contains com army-commands. To be honest, I don't know much about military-comments or ranks. So everything I use in this chapter is what I know from the show and a bit of research online. My apology if I get some of it wrong, but please enjoy anyway.
another note: I have realized I have made a mistake regarding the timeline (according to a scene in 16x1) Jack's unit died in may 2003 - so this story should be set in 2003 and not 2007. I have correct the mistake in this chapter and I will go back and correct it in previously posted chapters later.
Gibbs's house
Gibbs comes running up the stairs from his basement when he hears the front door open and then closes again.
"you are early." He says to his guest without even look at who it is. He walks to the kitchen and grabs two beers from the frights and returns to the living room. His guest has taken off her jacket and placed it over the backrest of a chair. He hands her the beer, and she receives it with a smile.
"Thanks." She says and takes a sip. He just observes her while she walks over and sits down n the floor in front of the fire.
"How are you doing, Jack?" Gibbs asks after having observed her for a few moments.
"I'm fine." She says with as convincing a smile as she can manage, but she knows right away that Gibbs doesn't believe her. Jack tries to avoid Gibbs's look by turning her attention to the smoky steaks placed on a rack in the fireplace.
"It looks amazing, Gibbs."
"not ready yet." He just simply replies behind her. She looks down at the floor. She knows he wants her to tell him what she can about Johnathan Holland.
"I don't know what to tell you, Gibbs." She admits quietly. "I can't remember much." she looks up at him with sadness in her eyes.
"then tell me what you do remember." He insists.
"I don't know, Gibbs." He says, frustrated and stands up. She walks back and forth in the room. "I remember random little conversations with him."
"conversations about what?"
"I don't know. About how Johnny saw himself as a loser and a terrible soldier. About my family and his parents. About our home states and what we like to do in our free time. random stuff to have a conversation." She sounds frustrated.
"you said you remember a conversation about parents." Jack looks at him and nods. "yeah, what are you thinking?"
"We know that he was abused by his father when he was a child." Gibbs starts, and Jack joins in.
"Yeah, he told me. He was writing a letter to his mom. I asked him about his parents. He told me his father died, and he was never very close to him. when I said something about his mother must be proud of him serving his country, he responded that he thinks what his mom is most proud of is that he is nothing like his father."
"he hated his father?" Gibbs asks.
Jack nods and sits down at the dining table where Gibbs is already seated. "I don't think he just hated him. he hated everything within himself and everything he did that reminded him of his father." Jack says. "the first conversation I had with him, he told me he didn't like to kill people, not even known terrorists."
"he resists the violence that his father represented?" Gibbs states, and Jack nods confirmative.
"yes, I think so."
"But why is he becoming violent now then?" Gibbs asks.
"I don't know." Jack says. "something most have triggered him." Jack suggests.
"he was close with his mother, right?" Gibbs asks.
"yes. he was writing the letter to her. he told me she was always there for him."
"his mother died two months ago from cancer." Gibbs states.
"could be the trigger for his sudden aggressive behavior."
"but that wasn't the first time he showed aggressive behavior," Gibbs states and gets up from his chair and walks to the fireplace to take the steaks out.
"I'll get the plates," Jack says and gets up and walk to the kitchen to get the plates and utensils. While she is getting the silverware, she begins to remember something from Afghanistan. She remembers one time where she had to step in because Johnny was getting aggressive towards some of his fellow soldiers in the mess hall.
Flashback – Afghanistan, Helman province 2003
Jack comes out from her barracks and is heading to a meeting with her unit. She passes by the mess hall and hears loud yelling. She also notices at least three soldiers are standing like they are getting ready for a fistfight. Jack enters the mess hall and everyone is called to attention by Staff Sergeant Brody Jacobs. "attention officer!" everyone in the mess hall, beside one of the three men who is getting ready to fight, stands at attention. Jack doesn't give any command for them to continue. She walks straight to the three men.
"do we have a problem here?" Jack asks and looks at the three men. One of them, the one who didn't stand attention is PFC Johnny Holland. He stares at the two men in front of him. one of them is Sergeant Jeremy Dunkin, and the other one, Jack, recognizes as PFC Derrek Hopkins. PFC Hopkins is a fellow member of Johnny's unit.
"no, Ma'am," Sergeant Jeremy Dunkin says while looking straight ahead. Jack looks directly at Johnny and notices how his face is turning red in anger. Jack looks down at his hand, where his knuckles whitenea from holding tightly onto something.
"PFC Holland, do we have a problem?" Jack says in a demanding tone.
"no ma'am," Johnny says and stands in a position of attention as he was supposed to do when Jack entered the mess hall.
"carry on," Jack announces loud and clear, and everyone in the mess hall continues their business. Jack looks at the three men in front of her. They all continue to stand in the position of attention. She primarily focusses on Johnny, who still seems furious. She grabs the fork he is holding in his hand from him.
"do I have to report the 3 of you, Sergeant?" Jack asks, turning to Sergeant Jeremy Dunkin. Jack knows Sergeant Dunkin has been hazing Johnny a lot. She has overheard several times of teasing and demeaning comments from the sergeant to Johnny. It isn't just demeaning words Jack has overheard from the Sergeant to Johnny. She has also seen Johnny being ordered to do things for the other team members and being humiliated by the sergeant in front of fellow unit members.
"no ma'am. That won't be necessary, ma'am." Sergeant Dunkin responds. Jack looks to Johnny to see if she can get any hint about what this situation is about, but she can't read anything of his face. So, despite the nagging feeling about this situation and her observations about how Sergeant Dunkin treats him, she decides to let it go for now.
"carry on." Jack orders. The Sergeant and PFC Hopkins salute Jack as she walks away, but Johnny doesn't. But Jack will let it slip for now. She walks towards the exit, but a little slower than she usually would.
"oh, someone got a little lady officer friend." Jack hears PFC Hopkins says in a mocking tone while laughing. It makes her stop and sit down, among some of the enlisted. So she can listen to the scene between Johnny and the two soldiers. Some of the soldiers in Jack's immediate area stop eating to show her attention, but Jack whispers to them to carry on.
"are young doing the lieutenant in the mountains?" Sergeant Dunkin joins in. "is that what you are doing when you two are 'working out' together?" the sergeant continues with mockery. Some of the other soldiers in the mess hall know that Jack hasn't left yet, but the 2 men and Johnny don't seem to know. Johnny starts to tighten his fist around his fork. The two men start laughing mockingly.
"What is the matter, kid?" Sergeant Dunkin asks. "was it a secret?" some of the other soldiers sitting at the surrounding tables starts laughing in on the joke too.
"oh, you don't want your girlfriend to get dishonorably discharged for doing an enlisted do you?" PFC Hopkins asks and laughs mockingly. Jack hears Johnny slam his fist on to the table and stands up in a very threatening manner. He looks down at PFC Hopkins and Sergeant Dunkin with fire in his eyes. Jack almost runs through the crowd of soldiers to stop them. Jack makes it to the table on time.
"STAND DOWN PFC HOLLAND: THAT IS AN ORDER!" Jack yells, but it doesn't seem to get Johnny to stop. Jack looks at Johnny's eyes. There is something she hasn't seen before. His eyes are dark and so filled with anger. His eyes almost seem empty. PFC Hopkins and Sergeant Dunkin look up at Johnny's threatening body language. He is leaning over the table and resting his body weight on his fists while he is starring at the two men with eyes that could spark a fire or kill. Jack places a hand on Johnny's chest.
"Johnny," Jack calmly says since direct orders don't work.
"What is the matter, kid?" PFC Hopkins says calmly. "got the wrong dressing for your salad?" he adds mockingly.
"hey." She yells and looks directly at Hopkins. "stand down, PFC Hopkins."
"yes, ma'am." PFC Hopkins responds and looks down.
"outside, now," Jack says calmly to Johnny. She calmly and gently leads him outside of the mess hall.
"what was that?" she yells the moment they are outside of hearing sight from the mess hall.
"I sorry." He responds and looks down.
"are you trying to get yourself dishonorably discharged?" she asks. She is desperately trying to keep her anger under control.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." He responds again and looks at her with almost tears in his eyes. he no longer looks furious, more like a little boy who just got punished by his mother.
"if you attack a superior, you are going to end your career."
"I'm sorry." He says again and looks shameful down at the ground.
"hey," Jack says to get him to look at her. he looks up to meet her eyes. "I am trying to help you here."
"I don't need your help." He growls.
"hey. Sergeant Dunkin is superior. He can report you for this." Jack says when Johnny is trying to walk away from her.
"let him. he can't do much worse than he already does. And your 'help' didn't do any good. Derrek is going to tell everyone, and I am going to be an even bigger joke then I already am." He says, almost yelling at her.
"let me speak with your superior about it."
"it isn't going to help," Johnny says, frustrated. "I don't need your help, Jack." He says and walks away from her and back into the mess hall. Jack signs heavily and leans against the wall.
"Everything okay, Jackie?" that is Hale, who has walked by. He saw PFC Holland walking away from her.
"Yeah, fine." She responds resignedly.
"sure?" Hale asks.
"Yeah. If you knew someone, an enlisted where being hazed by his superior or someone in his unit, would you report it?" Jack asks while they walk together towards the meeting; Jack was heading to before she intervened.
"you can't help people who don't want the help, Jack," Hale says with a pad on her shoulder.
"I know, but I actually think he wants help. He doesn't know who or how to ask for it." Jack says, a little frustrated and look back towards the mess hall with sadness in her eyes.
"I think he knows who he can ask," Hale says and look at her with a smile sympathetic smile.
"I don't think he belongs down here," Jack says with sadness in her voice.
"do anyone us?" Hale asks.
"true," Jack says. Hale places an arm around her shoulders, and they walk into the meeting.
Present – Gibbs house
"Jack?" Jack gets snapped back to reality by the sound of Gibbs's voice. She then realizes she still hasn't gotten the utensil from the drawer.
"you okay?" Gibbs asks, concerned.
"kid." Jack says in an evident tone, but Gibbs looks utterly confused at her. "that is his trigger." Jack explains, but it doesn't clarify much for Gibbs. "the first time I saw Johnny get aggressive was when he was called a kid by his fellow unit member. Being called a kid triggers his aggression."
"he was probably called that by his father when he was being humiliated or beaten." Jack nods.
"McGee and Kasie just called about the Dunkin-car-accident," Gibbs informs her.
"It wasn't an accident." Jack states and the knowing look on Gibbs's face tells her she is right.
"no, it wasn't. "Gibbs says while they walk back into the Livingroom. They help each other set the table.
"the breaks were tampered with the many indicators of a drunk-driving accident the PD never bothered to take a closer look at the car," Gibbs explains.
"any evidence linking it to Johnny Holland?" Jack asks.
"not yet, but the car ended up in the water, so it is unlikely to find any fingerprints."
"yeah." Jack says, a little disappointed. "it makes sense, though." Jack says while Gibbs is serving her the perfectly smoked steak.
"what?" Gibbs asks while he is taking out his knife to start cutting his streak.
"that Johnny would kill Sergeant Dunkin. Dunkin was hazing Johnny. He made Johnny's life in the army a living hell."
"so his father tormented him as a kid. he joins the army to make his mom proud and ends up being tormented by his superior?" Gibbs asks. Jack nods with sadness. "so he is looking for revenge?" Gibbs asks and takes out a piece of paper from his pants pocket. Jack recognizes the note is the one she wrote in her office. It says the word "revenge" on it.
"yeah." Jack says, "he has been tormented his whole life. No wonder, he snapped." Jack says with sadness and takes a bite of the steak. "wow, Gibbs, this is one of the best you ever made." She compliments. It just makes him smile.
"But why did he wait nearly 17 years to start killing?" Jack asks.
"And why mostly women?" Gibbs adds, wondering.
"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Johnny didn't have any personal connection besides dating the three women he killed so far." Jack says, wondering. Jack notices a change in Gibbs's facial expression.
"you got something, Gibbs?" Jack asks.
"Nah. Let's enjoy our dinner." Gibbs says with a smile, but Jack looks right through it. Gibbs just realized something, but he clearly isn't going to share his thought with her for some reason.
Note: Thanks for reading – I have a new chapter almost ready so that the commercial break won't be long.