Forty minutes later Kate and Tony walked into Observation. Round two, she muttered, while he flexed the fingers on his right hand.

That was a lot of writing, and I'll bet most of it turns out to be a waste.

Mmm. I bet you'll live, though. Kate replied absently, studying the face of Jeremy Duvall as he was being led into the room.

See how much sympathy you get when you come out with writer's cramp later, Tony grumped good-naturedly, as he too, focused on their next subject.

Gibbs entered the Interrogation room in his usual businesslike fashion, seating himself and setting a thick file on the table in front of him. The interview began much like Gibbs' previous discussion with the man. Duvall's hate-filled eyes stared straight ahead and he made no acknowledgment of any words spoken to him. Gibbs added in the new tidbits of interest; his fingerprints found on the financial documents at the house, his apparent romantic interest in the deceased woman. Jeremy held throughout, steady gaze never faltering.

So, I had the chance to meet your brother Scott, on Saturday. Looks a hell of a lot like you. Are you two twins? Gibbs detected an involuntary muscle twitch in his subject's throat. He continued in the slightly flippant tone he'd adopted. Yeah, it took some work to find his records so we could match up his prints to those documents at Emily's, too. Had to find out his first name from that. There was an unfortunate accident at the lab Saturday night. Guess your brother just kinda flipped and shot up the place. Bullets and crystal meth; ka-freakin'-boom. He laid a photo of the ruined building on the table for the stubborn man to see.

Duvall's jaw muscles had been working overtime to keep his teeth tightly clenched, but at the mention of his brother firing inside the lab, he thought he just might lose it. Surrendering to the need to know, he bobbed his head in jerky movements between the point he fixed his gaze upon and the picture on the table. Words burst forth unbidden. You're lying! It's a lie, you lying piece of shit!

At his tortured outburst, Gibbs quietly laid another photo next to the first: a grisly image of Scott Duvall. Burned beyond recognition, the corpse was rent with molten metal fragments. No ID was possible from the blackened body, but visible on the hand of the victim was a ring. As Jeremy's protests subsided and his eyes locked onto the second picture, the agent removed an evidence bag from the file. Tossing it with an expert flick of his wrist, it landed precisely in the center of Scott Duvall's final portrait. Gibbs watched as Jeremy picked it up with trembling hands and examined the silver circle inside the plastic cocoon. The young man allowed himself one anguished cry for his lost brother before slipping his cold mask back on.

Tell me what happened. I want every goddamned detail on how my brother died. The demand was made in harsh words, anger clearly walling off grief.

While they listened to Gibbs give Duvall the details on the raid of the lab, Kate commented to Tony, Gibbs ought to be very glad there are no weapons in Interrogation. Jeremy's as unstable as his brother. You can see the rage and frustration building in him just like it did in Scott, only Jeremy isn't verbal. We need to put a watch on that kid, he's gonna pop.

You sure? I mean, yeah, he's pissed and all, but you really think he's gonna lose it?

Kate averred, never taking her eyes off Duvall. There was something about his behavior that was more than unstable, it was eerie. This guy's eyes gave her the creeps.

Tony flipped open his phone and called for the necessary backup, making sure that everyone was aware of the situation. When he'd finished, he let Kate know what the new arrangements were.

They're going to have four guards instead of two for transport and they'll put extra watches on his cell. What do you think he'll try?

I have no idea, but there's something in his eyes that bothers me. I sure wouldn't want to be alone in a room with him right now.

Gibbs gave the unraveling man as much information as he dared about the events from Saturday. He could see the instability clouding the man's mind, and he knew he needed to snap him out of the dangerous state. Consequently, the agent let the Marine in him take over the interview.

His voice was like a gunshot in the small room. Pay attention. Lynn is dead. Scott is dead. Three more of your cohorts are hospitalized. You, Larry and Emily are in jail. It's over. We have all of Emily's books, we have Lee Allerton's statement, we have physical evidence linking Emily to the apartment where Lynn died. We have a videotape of her falling, for Christ's sake! He watched as the eyes on the prisoner dilated, perhaps hearing for the first time the seriousness of his situation. You have been charged with assault on a government agent -- whether you are also charged as an accessory to murder is up to you. If you have something you want to say in your defense, I'm listening. With that, he sat down and looked at the uncertain visage across from him.

Duvall licked his lips. Emily told him to be strong, not to say a word. She said they didn't have anything on any of them and that they'd all be fine. Lynn's death was just a horrible accident and they couldn't prove otherwise. But the calm, blue eyes and self-assured posture of the man sitting three feet from him said differently. That man's body language said they had everything he named and more. And Scott was dead. Scottie wasn't supposed to die. Did Emily know? This was way out of control. Damn, all they'd wanted was a little more money, and now look where they were. This was all Em's fault! He swallowed and began to speak.

I'm, uh, not sure where you want me to start. See, uh, look, if Em finds out I've talked, things could get, well, pretty uncomfortable. He glanced around the room, as if he expected her to walk in any moment.

Jeremy, if you don't talk to me, she walks away. Free. Gibbs waited, wondering just how that woman had intimidated so many men.

Nodding, the younger man continued, I think the whole thing was about the money. But I'm not sure. Em was furious when she found out about Lynn's transfer, too. See, we all got paid pretty well. But Em and Lynn, well they made a fortune. Em has -- had, one hell of a drug business. I mean, damn, did she know how to operate! And Lynn was so gifted artistically. You never saw any of her work, man, but she was unbelievable. She could do any document in the world, and you'd never know it wasn't the real thing. I couldn't believe it. When she got that transfer letter she was so proud. She'd found out about it a week before the letter came and she told me. She said that her CO had noticed her artistic skills and sent some of her work to NI and they were extremely impressed. She thought it would be cool to put her forgery skills to work for the government.

Well I guess it all came to a head the wrong way round. A couple of the guys had been collecting up some of the financial statements, planning on confronting the girls and demanding more money. Lynn gave me the transfer letter, figuring she didn't want to tell Em until she reported for her new duty. Em's kinda unpredictable and Lynn didn't want to have a fight. I stuck it in the desk in the kitchen, because Em never goes in there, that's the guards' desk. I don't know who found it and gave it to her, but she stormed into the kitchen looking for Lynn, waving the letter. I snatched it back from her, told her to just calm down and I'd go find Lynn. Jeremy paused and swallowed a few times, looking around.

Gibbs gestured and a moment later a guard brought in a paper cup with some water. After he downed it, the subdued man continued.

Em told us she had a drop to do that evening and gave me the address. She said to make sure Lynn was there and she'd talk to her then. And she left.

Gibbs interrupted, When was that?

Last Tuesday, the day Lynn died.

And what time did Emily leave?

Around two-ish, I'm not real sure. After that, I didn't see her again until Lynn and I arrived at the apartment. Those of us asking for more money decided to make it a dual confrontation. Lynn already knew about it from me, and she didn't have a problem with it as long as it was a reasonable amount. We all knew Em would be the problem. Em's kinda, well, a control-freak and greedy, too. We hoped that with Lynn on our side, Em wouldn't put up too much of a fight, and Lynn hoped that with the money issue it would take the heat off of her transfer. Wrong on both accounts. His voice was heavy with regret.

What happened?

I don't know. I wasn't in the apartment. I swear, man. Em opened the door, let Lynn in and told me to go wait in the car. I tried to argue, but Scottie said it'd be cool, so I left. Then about ten, fifteen minutes later Scottie came out and got in the car, slamming the door and swearing. Said he was so pissed at Em he coulda killed her. I hadn't seen him that angry in like, forever. I heard him mention Larry's name, but I didn't get the details.

So I drove him to the lab like he asked and when I got back to the house, Em told me Lynn had fallen. Said it was some kind of accident, I don't even remember the words. She was just so calm, weird kinda. I remember thinking I had to puke, but if I did she'd kill me or something. He put his head down on the table, all the fight gone from him.

Kate's eyes had been riveted to the confessor as each word spilled from trembling lips. She analyzed every nuance of his body language, every flick of his eyes. As his head came to rest on the polished wood, arms dangling uselessly at his sides, she turned to her partner.

He's suicidal. Gibbs won't get any more out of him now; he's hit a wall. And if we want anything more we're going to have to keep a very close watch on him. Believing in Emily was probably all that kept him going after Lynn died. Learning about his brother's death, and breaking his faith in his lover's killer might have been too much at one time.

It's not like we had a choice, Kate, Tony protested.

I agree. I'm just telling you, if you want a witness for trial he needs to be on a suicide watch and he needs some help. Otherwise all we'll have to hand over to JAG is an affidavit and another dead body.

Gibbs stepped up, having entered Observation and heard the last of Kate's comments. How on earth did that woman wrap so many people around her finger? She has to be the most hateful individual I've ever met.

I have no idea, Gibbs. But I'm going to need several minutes to compose myself before I can go in there and go after Martin. She turned from the disheartening sight of the guards leading the unresisting man away. You do realize that we're going to have to bring Pederson back in this afternoon for another confrontation. She looked her boss in the eye.

Even as Gibbs nodded his agreement, Tony protested. Is that really necessary? Duvall just gave up a fair amount on her and we still have Martin.

Duvall didn't give us anything on the murder. If we can't tie her to that we have to let her walk. DEA's licking their chops over her, but we have first shot at her and if we can prove murder she's more likely to stay where she belongs. Gibbs rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Well, I'm not interviewing that piranha! Tony was vehement.

Whatsa matter, Tony? Scared of a girl? Kate teased lightly.

That depends on the girl. Emily Pederson is no girl, however, she's a pit viper. I'm staying behind the glass, thank you.

I'll take her, Kate said. But let's do her this afternoon. I have a feeling I'm going to need plenty of time to get myself ready for her.

The three nodded and left Observation, needing to regroup before Kate's interview with Martin.