Gibbs looked up from his computer as Tony and Leah walked up. He was relieved to see she didn't look as angry as she had earlier, but he was aware that she also didn't look any happier.
Hey, Boss. You said something about briefing all of us on what's going on? Tony rested his hip casually on his desk while he watched the silver haired man eye the redheaded beauty.
Yeah, DiNozzo. Round up McGee, Abby and Ducky and I'll see if I can find us a briefing room. We could do this here, but I think the raised voices are going to be distracting. Gibbs walked off, ignoring the looks that passed between Kate and Tony.
Ten minutes later the group was assembled in a small room just down the hall from the interrogation rooms. Leah stood uncomfortably with all eyes on her.
This story starts quite a number of years ago. Gibbs and I were partners here for nearly three years. Our last case together involved a weapons dealer named Wilson Trainor. At the time weapons deals were interesting cases and Trainor's was a fairly seductive one to some of the agencies because he was a pretty big fish. However, Gibbs and I had first shot at him because we'd tracked him for eight months through his military contacts. She paused and paced around the table, unable to look at her audience, slipping into the memories.
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Gibbs, Hecht. We have him pinned down in that shack over there. But he's got hostages. The FBI guy didn't even have a name as far as I knew.
How the hell did he get hostages? What'd you do, deliver? That's my Jeth, always sarcastic. I heard his muttered comment as he stalked off. Vantage points? I didn't mean to snap, but with hostages the situation was out of control; I had to do something.
Here, here and here. I memorized the layout on the map as the beefy finger denoted my best options for firing solutions. I nodded sharply and left without another word, ignoring the hostile glares directed toward me from anyone wearing FBI insignia.
Jeth, I'm taking the south side, twenty seven meters. I'll radio in when I'm in position. I finished fitting the earpiece and strapped on the kevlar vest. Don't do anything until I'm in position.Never, Leah. I'll wait to hear from you, and I'll try and sit on these stupid Fibbies. He grinned at me as I took off.
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Things were sort of hectic, she explained. Apparently there was a little bit of a dispute over who was in charge that I was not privy to. As soon as I was in place, I broke radio silence. l related intel from my vantage point and what little order there was started to fall apart.Hecht, in place. South side, approximately 28 meters out, undercover. Hey guys, he has eight people in there, are you aware of that?Eight? We were told two! Some random Fibbie.
Well, next time get your intel straight. He has eight. Mostly women and children. How do you want me to handle this? I have a clean line to him, I can take him out or I can take him down with a non-lethal shot. What's your pleasure?We can't have you shoot him if there are children in there! Same idiot Fibbie.
Oh, right, so we're just going to leave him? Different idiot Fibbie. Great.
Shut up. I can talk him out, everybody just hold your positions. Wonderful, now everybody wants in on the act.
Gibbs, what's your call? I wanted my partner's input.
Can you take him out and stay hidden?Nope. Either way I'll have to step out. The trees are too low for me to get a clean shot, but it'll be brief.So you'll be visible? Gibbs' voice was hard now, very unlike him.
Yeah, but only for the length of time it takes me to make the shot. What's up with you?I said, there's no need for a shot, I can handle this! What are you deaf or stupid? Who is this asshole anyway and why is he interrupting?
I won't risk our best asset. Not until other options are explored. I've never heard Jeth sound like that. He's never hard and angry. He's calm and controlled, sure of himself.
What other options, dammit? I'm here and I can have him down. It'll all be over in under a minute. I knew my confusion showed in my voice. The stupid Fibbies jumped on it.
We've got snipers; we're on it. Hank, do you have him?Yeah, yeah, got him... I could hear the long drawn out words as he trained his gun on my suspect.
Goddammit! I can take him down without killing him! Just let me take the shot!No, no. I got him! I got the shot, I'm sure of it. Oh, great. Snipers who talk like that worry me. Good snipers just don't talk, they shoot.
Leah, stay hidden! We don't know who else is with him. If the intel about the hostages was faulty, he may not be alone. Gibbs' voice nailed my feet to the rocky outcropping where I stood.
Dammit, nobody shoot! He has hostages! I can talk him out! This guy sounds frantic now. What's up with this anyway. God! We sound like a bunch of kids playing soldier, not trained federal agents!
I can see this asshole -- just let me do my job! Furious, I nearly shouted into my headset just as I heard the stupid Fibbie sniper take the shot. He missed, of course. It was inevitable that day, nothing was to go right.
Shit! I missed!Oh NO! Oh my God! You ass! He just shot one of the women! He's got one of the kids by the throat! How could you be so stupid? The words poured out of my mouth, unstoppable. The tears were frozen, I knew they would come later, that I would pay for my inaction in the days to come. God NO! I want the name of that stupid fuck-up sniper! And then the idiot had the nerve to fire again! I charged out of my niche as I saw Trainor, wild with fear and rage, take off through the small building.
Leah! Is that you! Take cover now! What the hell... I heard the words in my earpiece and then the sound of my weapon drowned them out. I had Trainor in my sights. I fired once, hitting him in the right calf. He stumbled but regained his footing and as he stood I fired again, hitting him square in the ass. I gave a grim smile, pleased, then pissed when the shit kept trying to run. The last shot hit him in the back of the left knee; he finally went down and I was almost satisfied to be the one standing over him when the hordes of idiots and Gibbs caught up with us.
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I watched Trainor kill two defenseless young women and one child that day. I'm to blame and I have to live with that for the rest of my life. The words were quiet and no one in the room dared to breathe. I should have taken the shot when I had it. Unfortunately the story doesn't end with my taking Trainor down.
For the first time since she began to talk she met the eyes of her audience. Wilson Trainor escaped from the prison infirmary. I had already resigned from NCIS over the incident, the precise reasons are unimportant. I left DC and moved to Denver. I worked for a suburban PD there, unaware that Trainor was at large and seeking revenge. He tracked me, found me and stalked me, for nearly two years. Her eyes flicked briefly to Gibbs, his blue eyes hard and cold.
The evidence that was found in my house last night is a perfect re-creation of the types of gifts Trainor left me during his two-year obsession with me. At first, his attack was so subtle as to make me and my superiors think it was all in my head. Slowly it escalated. He was clever, I'll give him that. Even after we'd deciphered who was behind it, it took us another six months to catch him. This time we made sure he stayed put. For all his crimes. I testified against him for not only the stalking, but the murders I'd witnessed back in DC two years earlier.
Gibbs watched as the spent redhead slowly sank into an empty chair. He took over the narrative, hoping she wouldn't need to answer any more questions for a while. We don't know how the cold cases fit into this. We do know, though, that since her IA case was killed there has been a subtle campaign of harassment at Arlington. The minute she was assigned these two cases, it became open hostility. We also know that those cases and the two most recent bodies are related at least through the poison that was used, according to Leah's findings and Abby's tests.
Abby stood up, ready for her part of the show. She clicked on the screen and slides of the evidence popped up as she detailed precisely what was found at Leah's house. The unexpected gasp from the violated woman swung every head in her direction.
Where did you get those clothes? Her creamy skin had gone pale.
They were on your dryer, folded neatly. They had apparently just been laundered. Tony's voice was soft as he spoke.
That's the outfit I wore on Monday, right down to my underwear. She swallowed and shook her head, looking away from the screen. Ritchey died on Monday. Spied on and set up. Nice to be loved. Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.
Abby glanced at Gibbs, then finished her presentation. Ducky followed, his report on Captain Doug Ritchey's death containing no surprises for the team. The gunshots, all now knew, were duplicates of the ones Leah had inflicted on Trainor. Cantharidin was the cause of death, and in addition to the shots, the victim had been subjected to rather violent abuse, including sodomy.
Gibbs took over one more time. This morning, during her run, someone took a couple of shots at Leah. Whoever is watching her may start to keep a watch on all of us. Try to be aware of your surroundings at all times and be especially careful of being caught alone. He looked around at his team, about to detail assignments when Leah spoke up.
What caliber bullet was Ritchey shot with?
A .357, Abby replied. Looks like it could...I know what it was from. A .357 Dan Wesson Pistol Pack with interchangeable barrels. My .357, most likely. The same gun I shot Trainor with. That gun was stolen from my gun cabinet along with two of my other decent distance guns. There was a Smith and Wesson 659 nine mil and my personal Beretta, a 92F nine mil. This one's my service issue weapon and you're welcome to test it for ballistics records. She slumped back in the chair and ran her hands over her face.
Kate stood and walked to where the beaten woman sat. she said softly, touching her on the arm, I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to go through those things. We're going to find out what's going on, we're going to get the person behind this.
Leah opened her eyes and looked into Kate's brown ones. Thanks, Kate. It's been a long time since I've had anyone I could really trust. She looked at the faces around the table. You guys have no idea how much this means to me.
Gibbs rose from his chair, now all business. I want you on Leah's security system. Someone bypassed a pretty high-tech system, I want to know how they did it. I also want to know if she's been being watched in her own home. Kate, go with him. See if you can help him figure out where our watcher's located.On it, Boss. McGee stood up and turned to Kate. Give me about half an hour, I'll need to get some things together.I'll meet you in the bullpen. Kate smiled at McGee then turned to listen to the rest of the assignments.
Ducky, where would our dirtbag get cantharidin? Gibbs turned to the coroner.
Well, it's most commonly used as a prescription wart remover. However, it is derived from any one of three beetles in the blister beetle family. One simply crushes the dried insect and uses the resultant powder. Ducky looked as if he were about to launch into one of his stories, but Gibbs held up a hand.
Okay, Duck. Work with Abby, see if you can figure out what our scum used, and then see if you can figure out where it came from.
Leah stood abruptly, wanting to escape the small room. I'm going to go over the cold case files. I know there's information missing from those boxes; I'll try to make a list of what I know has disappeared. She started to slip past Kate and Gibbs who were flanking her, but Gibbs' hand snaked out and caught her arm.
Before you go, I'd like to talk to you. The blue eyes that grazed her were neither warm nor friendly. Tony, we need to check on how the ID search for the John Doe from yesterday morning is going, and then we need to see if we can pry loose the evidence from Arlington. It's going to take a very delicate touch because Arlington is pissed as hell at us.I'm on it. Tony smiled at Leah and then he and Kate headed for the door. They had barely closed it behind them when the heated words began. Glancing at each other, Tony spoke first.
We shouldn't listen. He kept a straight face as he looked at Kate's serious one.
It's probably private. Kate nodded in agreement.
It could be important. He cocked his head, listening.
If it's something that could help us help them... Her words trailed off as she, too leaned closer to the door.