The Lucky Bird bar lay on the D.C. outskirts.

Gibbs knew it because he had spent a lot of time under its roof after Shannon and Kelly died. But he hadn't been back since asking Mike Franks about a job.

The building looked in a state of disrepair. Like someone had stopped caring about the upkeep. Gibbs remembered it as having been more attractive.

Perhaps ownership had changed since his last visit.


The bar was closed. It was way too early to be open for business yet.

However... where there was a bar, there was always a back loading dock. Always.

The dock workers were taken back to be met by almost a half-dozen armed federal agents.

"Hey!" called Ziva. "Where is the owner? Tell us!"

One worker pointed to the second floor of the building. "Up there. Careful, though. That crazy Chelsey chick is also around."

"How long ago did she arrive?"

"Ten minutes. Not more than that, m'am." another worker supplied. "Got here same time as us."

BANG! A deafening shot suddenly ripped through the air.

McGee pointed at the truck. "Get in!"

The workers didn't contest the stranger's directive, immediately doing as they were told and locking the truck up tight.

Abigail would have taken more of the bar's inner decor if she hadn't been on a fully-heightened alert. Her primary objective was to help locate any access to the upper level.

McGee made a soft whistle with his teeth after a few moments. It caught the others' attention.

He stood in front of what looked like an actual hidden staircase near the side of the bar. It had been hidden behind a false wall.

"I only noticed because the wall was ajar." McGee felt very absurd saying this. "It looks like it's the only way up."

Abigail nodded. "I agree. Nice work."

"Chelsey Pryor is armed and possibly also unhinged." Gibbs looked around at the others. "Do not hesitate if whoever is up there opens fire again."

His company gave their understanding and fell into place behind him as he headed up the staircase.


Chelsey Pryor harbored zero remorse about murdering her old rival. It made no sense that Tulip Wheelwright had gotten to have a happy life. So... Chelsey simply eliminated the source of her jealousy.

What she had been expecting was the trust with which Tulip's baby had looked at her. It had changed the game altogether.

Chelsey bolted because she couldn't figure out what to do. At least until arriving at The Lucky Bird.

Unfortunately... This plan had also tanked.


As it happened, the staircase led to an office area on the second level of the building.

It was clearly a space for the current bar owner. And it was unimpressive. As downtrodden as the building's exterior. It bore mediocre lighting, mismatched furniture, peeling wallpaper. A rickety desk overflowing with business files. There were many of those. An old file cabinet astride the desk suggested the presence of even more old records and information.

Only a tacky hung painting on one wall of dogs playing poker seemed to be new. And clean.

But one spectacle above all others truly stood out: Chelsey Pryor pacing in tight circles past a dead body on the floor.

Gibbs barked, "Chelsey Pryor! Drop your weapon!"

"Who the hell are you guys?!" Chelsey screeched.

"We're CGIS and NCIS!" Abigail told her.

Chelsey sneered, "Am I supposed to be impressed that you all caught me?"

"You tell me." Abigail moved a step closer. "Before today, none of us had even heard of you. Why do any of this at all?"

"Because that insipid plain Jane had to be taught a lesson!" Chelsey retorted. "You don't get to just blow the whistle and move on like nothing happened! Tulip would still be alive if she had just minded her own business at Camp Lejeune! Who likes a snitch?"

Abigail deflected the question. "Why act now?"

Chelsey Pryor shot Abigail an expression so withering that the redhead could've been dead on the spot.

"My family threw me out after Camp Lejeune did. Called me a disgrace." Chelsey went on. "Going after Tulip would've happened sooner if I had also known she was in town. Why did she get to have joy? I had my own family, but..."

Abigail remembered that the jewelry store manager had said. "They died in a wreck, right?"

"Uh-huh. Some drunk driver hit the car that my family was in. Both parties died." Chelsey's face flickered to sadness for a second. "We were supposed to go to dinner. It happened six months ago tonight. Seeing Tulip Wheelwright walk into my store was the last straw."

"Can you please tell us why?" Abigail continued to speak in a calm way because it was getting Chelsey to de-escalate.

"That bitch didn't even recognize me and she even brought her baby."

Gibbs interjected a thought of his own. "Why did you even want her?"

"All I could think was, why did the bitch who ruined my life get to keep anything that made her happy? I was going to give the baby to the highest bidder…"

"But instead, you left her to die?"

Chelsey chose her words carefully. "The last thing I expected when shooting Tulip from afar was for her to strike her head on a rock. She did not go fast."

Gibbs arched an eyebrow. "That blindsided you?"

"Mhm. And it threw a wrench in my plan about finishing her off up close." Chelsey gave a diva-like sigh. "But her baby woke up from a nap and just looked at me. I think she wanted me to take care of her. No way I could handle that."

"Still doesn't justify revenge, attempted infanticide, pre-meditated murder, and," Gibbs indicated the dead body. "Whatever this is about."

Chelsey spared the dead body a glance, as if only just remembering it was there. "Miles was my friend. He owed me a large sum of money. I came to collect. He couldn't deliver."

"Then you were going to ransack this place for the cash?"

"Yeah. It's in a safe behind that painting." Chelsey bobbed her head in its direction. "Unfortunately… I killed Miles before I remembered that he was the only one who knew the combo."

Now Ziva also moved forward. "I take it the money was to finance a getaway?"

Chelsey was only cooperating now because she knew it was all over. "Yes. Miles is dead for nothing, but at least he has no family to miss him. I only have one regret now."

"Oh?" Ziva said dryly. "Just one?"

"It's that I wasn't able to finish off Tulip's husband, but only because I couldn't find him."

"You are disgusting!" Ziva motioned for Chelsey to relinquish her weapon. "Drop it! Now!"

Chelsey did. She even knelt down on her knees and laced her fingers behind her head.

"None of you are going to see me again after today," she sighed. "But I'm already a dead woman walking. And a cog in the wheel. I'll never talk."

Ziva handcuffed and mirandized Chelsey all the same before hauling her away. Tony followed. He'd call to the morgue about the dead man. McGee brought up the rear, saying he would let the dockworkers out of the truck so he could further interview them about what they'd seen. Gibbs went through the motions of calling the crime scene unit. Abigail directed her people away from the Pryor house and to The Lucky Bird so they could help out. Everyone had something to do.

But Abigail still made haste for the bar's outside back area, fast.

Gibbs followed.

"Abigail," he said gently. "What's up? Chelsey cooperated, and she's even still alive."

"But she called herself 'a cog in the wheel,' meaning that this isn't over and that someone else is out there." Abigail told her friend. "Somewhere."

"Yeah, I also thought about that." Gibbs admitted. "My team has had more than its fair share of cases that were picked up again on multiple occasions."

Abigail gazed at her friend seriously. "How did they go?"

"There's no real way to answer that. Ask Ziva. Or Hollis. Leon came into power because of one of those occasions. If her words do kick us in the collective at some point down the road, you can count on my team for help again. That is a guarantee."

"Okay." Abigail exhaled shakily. "Thanks, Leroy."

"Any time. I'm going to take over here so you and Abby can go tell Luna's dad that we caught the person who killed his wife."

Just like that, a tremendous weight settled itself back on the other agent's shoulders. Her work day was far from over. But she still managed to somehow keep her head up.

"My team is en route here now." Abigail answered. "I'll call you when I can about an update."

Gibbs gave her an acknowledging nod and a ghost of a smile before turning back to manage the scene.

Abigail took her leave. Quietly.

God only knew how she was going to get through the next part of the day. Or how it would even end.