Sorry for the long delay in posting, my internet server took a powder leaving me high and dry for the last four days. At last I'm back on the net and here's Part 12.
Anyway, about this next part - I am not and probably never will be a computer hacker. Usually I'm happy when the durn thing turns on, so I'm guessing about what's possible to hack into and what's not. For the sake of the story, consider it possible. It seems like it should be but I haven't been able to corner a thirteen-year-old to find out. ;-)
Part 12
NCIS Washington, D.C.
1525 Local
Kate swallowed, 'Nowhere.' was not going to go over well. The Director must have been giving Gibbs an earful. Taking a breath, she steeled herself, "I'm afraid we still don't have any good leads. The only witness we've found was pretty useless - all he could really confirm was that Alvaro was talking to someone else in the parking lot."
Gibbs' eyebrows rose, "That's it? Kate, this bastard has killed three Marine sergeants in the last month! If this keeps up, it'll be safer for these guys to be in Iraq! The Commandant's having apoplexy and he wants to know what the hell NCIS is doing about it. You haven't got anything at all to go on?"
Jaws clenched, Kate shook her head, "Not yet, no."
Gibbs stared at her for a long moment and then looked over at Abby, "Nothing from any of the scenes?"
Abby shrugged slightly, "Nada. Our shooter is very careful."
"Do we know anything?" Gibbs' voice rose in exasperation.
"We know he's targeting sergeants who have abused their wives and that he's probably accessing the JAG files to find them." Mac spoke up. Despite the fact that Kate seemed to like him and liked working for him, her opinion of Jethro Gibbs wasn't improving. She met his glare head-on.
Gibbs stared at her for a few moments and then looked back at Kate, "And I suppose you've eliminated all JAG personnel as suspects?"
She shook her head, carefully not looking at Mac, "No, but I don't know if that's right direction to concentrate on. Anyone with high enough clearance in the government, FBI or CIA can access those files as well."
"You think our suspect is in law enforcement?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.
"It would make sense if this guy sees himself as some sort of vigilante. Unfortunately, according to Abby, there are a number of computer geeks out there who are also capable of hacking into the JAG database."
"That's true, Gibbs," Abby spoke up when he glanced her way. "It's not like they have the same kind of security built into them like the databases for the FBI and CIA. Why bother? It's just a bunch of lawyer files. Even a medium-level hacker could get in, assuming he'd want to. The only danger would be from being bored to death. It's pretty dry reading - lawyers are criminally dull." She shot a quick grin at Mac, "Sorry, Colonel, no offense."
Mac snorted lightly at the play on words and then smiled, "None taken, I've slogged through more of it than you can imagine."
"Who are we looking for, Kate?" Gibbs' voice was calmer now as he stayed focused on his agent. She was still green at being a NCIS investigator but her skills learned as a Secret Service agent were formidable. One of those skills was profiling.
Kate shot a look at Mac. Just before Gibbs had walked in on them, she was going to suggest that they sit down and try to figure out what kind of person they were looking for. Even in the short amount of time that they'd worked together, she'd learned to value the Marine Colonel's insights. Mac had an intuitive flair for taking individual facts and extrapolating valid theories. Kate also had a strong feeling that this was personal for the other woman and she'd been hoping for a little more privacy before she delved into that particular area.
She'd noticed it earlier but then Sadik Fahd had appeared on the scene and suddenly it hadn't seemed that important. Mac had been incredibly lucky not to have been killed that night. She'd taken an enormous chance that Sadik wouldn't just put a bullet in her head as soon as he got her into that apartment. The 'what-ifs' alone were mind-numbing. At odd moments, Kate would find herself dwelling on the whole situation and wondering what she might have done in similar circumstances.
Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to re-focus, Kate looked back at Gibbs, "I'd say that this person is probably the only child of a military family. The father was a Marine sergeant who was an abusive drunk. The mother was either ineffectual or absent. I'm guessing absent just because the shooter hasn't targeted the spouses. That might not be the case. He's intelligent, disciplined and probably presents a somewhat straitlaced facade to the public. He has either exceptional computer skills or a job that allows him access to information such as the JAG database. I don't think he's in the military but it's likely he's a government employee or someone in law enforcement. Not a street cop - more likely he's in an administrative type job. He's in his thirties or early forties and has probably been fantasizing about this for a long time. There had to be some sort of catalyst that set him off. Maybe a friend was hurt by someone or he saw something on the news... Whatever it was, he's decided that it's people like his father who are the problem and he's going to fix it so that no one else will suffer. He's going to rescue them all by killing the abusers."
"And the sudden escalation?"
Kate shrugged, "Personal trauma, perhaps, or he's reacting to what's happening around him. Someone close is in trouble or he saw something upsetting in the news and he's dealing with it by accelerating his 'rescues'. If he can just get rid of them, everything will be wonderful again."
Gibbs ran a hand through his hair, "So this guy doesn't think he's doing anything wrong?"
Kate shook her head, "Oh, I believe he knows it's against the law because it's obvious he doesn't want to get caught. I think he's looking at it as 'It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.'"
"Colonel?" The concern in Abby's voice caused both of them to turn towards Mac in time to see her hurry from the lab.
"Let me handle this," Kate ordered over her shoulder. She was already headed out the door.
"What the hell... ?' Gibbs stared after her and then scowled as he looked over at Abby.
"I don't know, Gibbs. She turned white and then bolted. Maybe it was something she ate." Abby watched Kate disappear down the corridor.
"Mac?" Kate found the tall brunette leaning against a wall with her eyes closed, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Probably nothing. I'm just being stupid," Mac scrubbed at her face and automatically straightened up. After so many years in the military, it was almost impossible for her to slouch while in uniform.
"I doubt that," Kate snorted slightly and then grinned, "but if you'd like a second opinion, I can always get Gibbs."
Mac rolled her eyes, "No thanks." She sighed and stared down at the floor, "Your profiling hit pretty close to home. I'm an only child. My father was a Marine sergeant who was an abusive drunk. My mother ran off and left me with him when I was fifteen." She glanced up to see a startled look on Kate's face and smiled grimly, "Before you ask, I can account for my whereabouts... but it's a helluva coincidence, isn't it? Wanna hear another?" She paused while Kate nodded slowly, "Those murdered sergeants had one more thing in common - they all had one daughter."
Kate frowned, "No they didn't, the Mallorys didn't have any kids."
"Not any more. Laura Mallory was three when she drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool. That was four years ago."
"Damn," Kate turned and braced herself on the wall next to Mac while she turned over this latest revelation. Her first instinct was to reject the idea that Mac was somehow the trigger for this nutcase. That was crazy. There had to be thousands... well, hundreds of people with the same backgrounds. The shooter could have started this as his own revenge and then justified it by turning it into a crusade. She ran through everything she'd told Gibbs about what kind of person would go on this kind of killing spree and then she wasn't so sure. The Colonel had put it succinctly, it was a helluva coincidence. On the other hand, even if that was all it was, it was a starting point. Maybe it would lead them in the right direction. She looked over at Mac, "For the sake of argument, let's say it's not a coincidence. Exactly how many people know about your family background?"
"Ordinarily, I'd have said not many but that was before I remembered how thorough the CIA can be. Damn spooks even know my dress size."
"You're kidding." Kate stared at her.
"Wish I was," Mac smiled thinly, "If some CIA operative ever approaches you to help out on a 'strictly information-gathering' mission - run, don't walk, to the nearest exit."
"I'll try to remember that. Well, hell, this puts a little different spin on things, doesn't it? ... Still, those are classified files." Kate stared at the opposite wall while she thought. "So not only would our suspect be someone who knows you but they'd also have to have a high enough security clearance to get to your file." She paused, remembering what Abby had said, "Or they'd have to have some pretty exceptional computer skills." She looked over at the tall brunette, "It still seems pretty far-fetched but if it is someone fixating on you, that would certainly narrow the playing field."
"It wouldn't be quite that simple," Mac gazed down at the floor again. "Which brings us to coincidence #3: In September of 2000, I had my own fifteen minutes of fame. CourtTV aired a murder trial I was prosecuting. It turned into a goddamn circus and wound up on some of the networks."
"Wait a minute... what?" Kate's eyes grew larger, "That was you! I remember now! Damn, girl, that was quite a show. I didn't get to see a whole lot, I was tracking a counterfeiting ring through Oregon. Of course, the other guys on the team had fun keeping me posted on the daily stuff." Kate was quiet for a moment and then gave Mac a sideways glance, "I do seem to recall a bathing suit picture... "
"Oh god," Mac turned and glared at a now widely-grinning NCIS agent. "You bring that up anywhere near DiNozzo and I'll park a HumVee on you."
Kate held up her hands, doing her best to assume a serious expression, "Not a word to Tony, I swear." She waited a beat and then asked, "How about Gibbs and Ducky?"
"Kate!"
"What?"
Mac tried to keep her expression serious but it was getting harder with Kate standing there looking like the laughter was going to start leaking out of her ears. Finally, she gave up, shaking her head ruefully and chuckling, "I suppose if it hadn't been happening to me, I'd have thought all the media hoopla was pretty funny. For godsakes, it was a murder trial and they were critiquing my hair!"
"It was a pretty sensational case, wasn't it? The wife confronts and then murders her husband's mistress and claims self-defense? No question the media would eat it up." She paused, remembering, "Weren't there articles about you in some of the magazines, too?"
"Yeah, full of 'facts' they made up on their own or wrung out of anyone who had even a passing acquaintance with me." Mac's disgust was evident. "I wouldn't talk to them."
Kate frowned, "So you're in the national spotlight for what? A week or so?"
Mac nodded, "Verdict came down on 9-9 and fourteen days later, Sgt. Ed Davis is shot in the parking lot of a cocktail lounge in North Carolina."
Folding her arms, Kate resumed leaning against the wall, "Mac, the national exposure might be irrelevant. How could anyone, just by reading about you or seeing you on CourtTV, know what kind of childhood you had? Assuming that you might have been the trigger for this guy, and that's a big assumption, it's more likely that this is someone you know... that you've known."
"I don't think so," Mac shook her head, "I've been here in DC for nine years. If it was someone who knew me, why go all the way down to Lejune to kill the first 2 victims? And if they were trying to throw off suspicion, why suddenly start murdering Marines right here?"
"If I knew that, maybe we could catch this guy." Kate heaved a sigh. She raised an eyebrow, "Met anybody new in the last month or so?"
"You mean besides you?' Mac gave a mild snort, "Kate, I'm an overworked JAG lawyer. I meet new people almost every day." She stopped suddenly and frowned, "But you might be on to something." Mac paused, thinking it over, "How good is Abby on a computer?"
"Absolutely brilliant," Kate answered promptly. Her expression grew suspicious when Mac began to smile, "Why?"
Mac turned and started back for the lab. "Because I was wondering how long it would take her to hack into my files over at the CIA."
Kate hurried after her, catching up as they reached the lab, "What difference would that make?"
"What difference would what make?" Abby looked at the two women as they entered the lab.
"Where'd Gibbs go?" Kate asked, at almost the same time, glancing around the room.
Abby shook her head, "He left. I don't think you want to find him just yet. He's not used to people walking out on him." She raised an eyebrow at Kate and smiled, "You realize you ordered him to leave the Colonel alone?"
Kate looked somewhat aghast, "I did, didn't I? How mad was he?"
"Don't sweat it," Abby waved a hand, "He'll get over it. It's not like he hasn't done it to other people." She looked over at Mac, "Are you okay?" When Mac nodded, she looked back at Kate, "What difference would what make?"
"Abby," Mac spoke up, "Can you get into the CIA database?"
Abby's eyebrows rose, "You mean breach national security? ... Well, yeah, I guess so. It would take a while, though. Wouldn't that be considered like treason or something? I do NOT want to wind up in front of a firing squad."
Mac shook her head, smiling, "It wouldn't be treason unless you found something that could damage the US and then gave or sold it to a foreign power. I want to know if you can access the personnel files."
"Probably," Abby sounded dubious, "Who are you trying to find?"
"Me." Mac answered simply.
"You? You're kidding, right? You want me a commit a federal offense so you can see your own file?" Abby looked over at Kate, "This is a joke, right?"
"'fraid not," Kate glanced over at Mac, "We're looking into a theory about our serial killer."
If anything, Abby looked more confused, "And for that, you need the Colonel's CIA file?" She stared at Mac, "You have a CIA file? Don't you already know what's in it?"
"I've got a good idea," Mac nodded. She looked from Abby to Kate, "Why don't we sit down and I'll tell you what I'm thinking." When they were comfortable, Mac folded her arms and rested them on the table. She looked at Abby, "I've already told Kate this part. Her profile of the serial killer just about fit me to a T. My father was a Marine sergeant and an abusive drunk. My mother ran out and left me with him when I was fifteen." She paused for a second, giving the younger woman a chance to absorb the information. Abby looked almost as startled as Kate had. "Let me ask you a question. If you saw someone on TV, say a celebrity of some sort that you really identified with, what would you do?"
Abby shrugged, wondering about the change of topic. She shot a quick look at Kate before returning her attention to Mac, "I don't know. Follow their careers a little more closely - watch their shows or buy their music."
"Find out more about them?" Mac asked softly. Abby nodded slowly while Kate watched with an unreadable expression. Mac continued, "Two weeks before the first killing in Lejune, I was in the national spotlight because of a televised murder trial. The defense counsel didn't have a legal leg to stand on so she went for the sympathy factor and started trying the case in the media." She shot a wry look at Kate, "The defense attorney also happened to be one of my old law professors from Duke. One who once told me that I should reconsider being a lawyer and take up lap-dancing. She didn't mind repeating that for the reporters."
"Ouch. That was harsh," Abby glanced over to see the surprise on Kate's face as well. She looked back at Mac, "What happened?"
Mac ran a hand through her hair, "I wound up using the media as well. I kept hearing that the wife had a history of jealous violence but we didn't have enough time or people to chase everything down. Finally, I agreed to a TV interview with the CourtTV reporter." She shifted a bit and looked somewhat embarrassed, "I turned the conversation towards the rumors about the wife and then pretty much made an appeal to the public to come forward if they knew anything. It worked. I put the wife on the stand and got her to open the door on past acts and then I buried her. She was found guilty." Mac paused for a few seconds, "Anyway, for a week, I was a minor celebrity."
She looked at Abby again, "So... say you want to find out more about me. There's the TV stuff and one or two articles in some magazines. Where do you go next?"
Abby brightened, "The Internet."
Mac smiled back, "Right. Except that there's not much more on the web than what the TV and magazines have published. I'm a military officer. What do you do now?"
Abby nodded slowly, "If I was as good as I am, I hit the government files." She looked from Mac to Kate, "Oh wow. So if I'm this killer dude... "
Kate held up a hand, "You're not a killer yet."
"Okay," Abby conceded, "So I'm this angry, abused person... " She glanced over at Mac, "And I'm becoming obsessed with you. I hack into the government files and find out that we have this horrible family life in common." Abby furrowed her brow, "You turned out great, why would I want to start killing these guys?"
"Appearances are deceiving," Mac said slowly, trying to decide how much to say. ...Oh hell, if Abby did actually access her files, it was probably in there. She took a deep breath, "That kind of upbringing usually comes with a price and it's not something I would wish on anybody. I turned to drinking not long after my mother left. By the time I was eighteen, I was an alcoholic. Thanks to a near fatal auto accident, my Uncle Matt and the Marine Corps, I am now a recovering alcoholic." She stared down at her hands, "All the demons are still there, though. It's daily battle that I've grown used to fighting, but if it were possible, I'd never let my life happen to another child. No one deserves that." Mac's voice had grown quieter and quieter as she spoke and now she was silent, idly twisting her Marine Corps ring while studying her hands.
Kate and Abby stared at her and then looked at each other. 'Appearances are deceiving' had been the granddaddy of understatements. Kate cleared her throat and said softly, "So that gives us a 'Why'."
Anyway, about this next part - I am not and probably never will be a computer hacker. Usually I'm happy when the durn thing turns on, so I'm guessing about what's possible to hack into and what's not. For the sake of the story, consider it possible. It seems like it should be but I haven't been able to corner a thirteen-year-old to find out. ;-)
Part 12
NCIS Washington, D.C.
1525 Local
Kate swallowed, 'Nowhere.' was not going to go over well. The Director must have been giving Gibbs an earful. Taking a breath, she steeled herself, "I'm afraid we still don't have any good leads. The only witness we've found was pretty useless - all he could really confirm was that Alvaro was talking to someone else in the parking lot."
Gibbs' eyebrows rose, "That's it? Kate, this bastard has killed three Marine sergeants in the last month! If this keeps up, it'll be safer for these guys to be in Iraq! The Commandant's having apoplexy and he wants to know what the hell NCIS is doing about it. You haven't got anything at all to go on?"
Jaws clenched, Kate shook her head, "Not yet, no."
Gibbs stared at her for a long moment and then looked over at Abby, "Nothing from any of the scenes?"
Abby shrugged slightly, "Nada. Our shooter is very careful."
"Do we know anything?" Gibbs' voice rose in exasperation.
"We know he's targeting sergeants who have abused their wives and that he's probably accessing the JAG files to find them." Mac spoke up. Despite the fact that Kate seemed to like him and liked working for him, her opinion of Jethro Gibbs wasn't improving. She met his glare head-on.
Gibbs stared at her for a few moments and then looked back at Kate, "And I suppose you've eliminated all JAG personnel as suspects?"
She shook her head, carefully not looking at Mac, "No, but I don't know if that's right direction to concentrate on. Anyone with high enough clearance in the government, FBI or CIA can access those files as well."
"You think our suspect is in law enforcement?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow.
"It would make sense if this guy sees himself as some sort of vigilante. Unfortunately, according to Abby, there are a number of computer geeks out there who are also capable of hacking into the JAG database."
"That's true, Gibbs," Abby spoke up when he glanced her way. "It's not like they have the same kind of security built into them like the databases for the FBI and CIA. Why bother? It's just a bunch of lawyer files. Even a medium-level hacker could get in, assuming he'd want to. The only danger would be from being bored to death. It's pretty dry reading - lawyers are criminally dull." She shot a quick grin at Mac, "Sorry, Colonel, no offense."
Mac snorted lightly at the play on words and then smiled, "None taken, I've slogged through more of it than you can imagine."
"Who are we looking for, Kate?" Gibbs' voice was calmer now as he stayed focused on his agent. She was still green at being a NCIS investigator but her skills learned as a Secret Service agent were formidable. One of those skills was profiling.
Kate shot a look at Mac. Just before Gibbs had walked in on them, she was going to suggest that they sit down and try to figure out what kind of person they were looking for. Even in the short amount of time that they'd worked together, she'd learned to value the Marine Colonel's insights. Mac had an intuitive flair for taking individual facts and extrapolating valid theories. Kate also had a strong feeling that this was personal for the other woman and she'd been hoping for a little more privacy before she delved into that particular area.
She'd noticed it earlier but then Sadik Fahd had appeared on the scene and suddenly it hadn't seemed that important. Mac had been incredibly lucky not to have been killed that night. She'd taken an enormous chance that Sadik wouldn't just put a bullet in her head as soon as he got her into that apartment. The 'what-ifs' alone were mind-numbing. At odd moments, Kate would find herself dwelling on the whole situation and wondering what she might have done in similar circumstances.
Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to re-focus, Kate looked back at Gibbs, "I'd say that this person is probably the only child of a military family. The father was a Marine sergeant who was an abusive drunk. The mother was either ineffectual or absent. I'm guessing absent just because the shooter hasn't targeted the spouses. That might not be the case. He's intelligent, disciplined and probably presents a somewhat straitlaced facade to the public. He has either exceptional computer skills or a job that allows him access to information such as the JAG database. I don't think he's in the military but it's likely he's a government employee or someone in law enforcement. Not a street cop - more likely he's in an administrative type job. He's in his thirties or early forties and has probably been fantasizing about this for a long time. There had to be some sort of catalyst that set him off. Maybe a friend was hurt by someone or he saw something on the news... Whatever it was, he's decided that it's people like his father who are the problem and he's going to fix it so that no one else will suffer. He's going to rescue them all by killing the abusers."
"And the sudden escalation?"
Kate shrugged, "Personal trauma, perhaps, or he's reacting to what's happening around him. Someone close is in trouble or he saw something upsetting in the news and he's dealing with it by accelerating his 'rescues'. If he can just get rid of them, everything will be wonderful again."
Gibbs ran a hand through his hair, "So this guy doesn't think he's doing anything wrong?"
Kate shook her head, "Oh, I believe he knows it's against the law because it's obvious he doesn't want to get caught. I think he's looking at it as 'It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.'"
"Colonel?" The concern in Abby's voice caused both of them to turn towards Mac in time to see her hurry from the lab.
"Let me handle this," Kate ordered over her shoulder. She was already headed out the door.
"What the hell... ?' Gibbs stared after her and then scowled as he looked over at Abby.
"I don't know, Gibbs. She turned white and then bolted. Maybe it was something she ate." Abby watched Kate disappear down the corridor.
"Mac?" Kate found the tall brunette leaning against a wall with her eyes closed, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Probably nothing. I'm just being stupid," Mac scrubbed at her face and automatically straightened up. After so many years in the military, it was almost impossible for her to slouch while in uniform.
"I doubt that," Kate snorted slightly and then grinned, "but if you'd like a second opinion, I can always get Gibbs."
Mac rolled her eyes, "No thanks." She sighed and stared down at the floor, "Your profiling hit pretty close to home. I'm an only child. My father was a Marine sergeant who was an abusive drunk. My mother ran off and left me with him when I was fifteen." She glanced up to see a startled look on Kate's face and smiled grimly, "Before you ask, I can account for my whereabouts... but it's a helluva coincidence, isn't it? Wanna hear another?" She paused while Kate nodded slowly, "Those murdered sergeants had one more thing in common - they all had one daughter."
Kate frowned, "No they didn't, the Mallorys didn't have any kids."
"Not any more. Laura Mallory was three when she drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool. That was four years ago."
"Damn," Kate turned and braced herself on the wall next to Mac while she turned over this latest revelation. Her first instinct was to reject the idea that Mac was somehow the trigger for this nutcase. That was crazy. There had to be thousands... well, hundreds of people with the same backgrounds. The shooter could have started this as his own revenge and then justified it by turning it into a crusade. She ran through everything she'd told Gibbs about what kind of person would go on this kind of killing spree and then she wasn't so sure. The Colonel had put it succinctly, it was a helluva coincidence. On the other hand, even if that was all it was, it was a starting point. Maybe it would lead them in the right direction. She looked over at Mac, "For the sake of argument, let's say it's not a coincidence. Exactly how many people know about your family background?"
"Ordinarily, I'd have said not many but that was before I remembered how thorough the CIA can be. Damn spooks even know my dress size."
"You're kidding." Kate stared at her.
"Wish I was," Mac smiled thinly, "If some CIA operative ever approaches you to help out on a 'strictly information-gathering' mission - run, don't walk, to the nearest exit."
"I'll try to remember that. Well, hell, this puts a little different spin on things, doesn't it? ... Still, those are classified files." Kate stared at the opposite wall while she thought. "So not only would our suspect be someone who knows you but they'd also have to have a high enough security clearance to get to your file." She paused, remembering what Abby had said, "Or they'd have to have some pretty exceptional computer skills." She looked over at the tall brunette, "It still seems pretty far-fetched but if it is someone fixating on you, that would certainly narrow the playing field."
"It wouldn't be quite that simple," Mac gazed down at the floor again. "Which brings us to coincidence #3: In September of 2000, I had my own fifteen minutes of fame. CourtTV aired a murder trial I was prosecuting. It turned into a goddamn circus and wound up on some of the networks."
"Wait a minute... what?" Kate's eyes grew larger, "That was you! I remember now! Damn, girl, that was quite a show. I didn't get to see a whole lot, I was tracking a counterfeiting ring through Oregon. Of course, the other guys on the team had fun keeping me posted on the daily stuff." Kate was quiet for a moment and then gave Mac a sideways glance, "I do seem to recall a bathing suit picture... "
"Oh god," Mac turned and glared at a now widely-grinning NCIS agent. "You bring that up anywhere near DiNozzo and I'll park a HumVee on you."
Kate held up her hands, doing her best to assume a serious expression, "Not a word to Tony, I swear." She waited a beat and then asked, "How about Gibbs and Ducky?"
"Kate!"
"What?"
Mac tried to keep her expression serious but it was getting harder with Kate standing there looking like the laughter was going to start leaking out of her ears. Finally, she gave up, shaking her head ruefully and chuckling, "I suppose if it hadn't been happening to me, I'd have thought all the media hoopla was pretty funny. For godsakes, it was a murder trial and they were critiquing my hair!"
"It was a pretty sensational case, wasn't it? The wife confronts and then murders her husband's mistress and claims self-defense? No question the media would eat it up." She paused, remembering, "Weren't there articles about you in some of the magazines, too?"
"Yeah, full of 'facts' they made up on their own or wrung out of anyone who had even a passing acquaintance with me." Mac's disgust was evident. "I wouldn't talk to them."
Kate frowned, "So you're in the national spotlight for what? A week or so?"
Mac nodded, "Verdict came down on 9-9 and fourteen days later, Sgt. Ed Davis is shot in the parking lot of a cocktail lounge in North Carolina."
Folding her arms, Kate resumed leaning against the wall, "Mac, the national exposure might be irrelevant. How could anyone, just by reading about you or seeing you on CourtTV, know what kind of childhood you had? Assuming that you might have been the trigger for this guy, and that's a big assumption, it's more likely that this is someone you know... that you've known."
"I don't think so," Mac shook her head, "I've been here in DC for nine years. If it was someone who knew me, why go all the way down to Lejune to kill the first 2 victims? And if they were trying to throw off suspicion, why suddenly start murdering Marines right here?"
"If I knew that, maybe we could catch this guy." Kate heaved a sigh. She raised an eyebrow, "Met anybody new in the last month or so?"
"You mean besides you?' Mac gave a mild snort, "Kate, I'm an overworked JAG lawyer. I meet new people almost every day." She stopped suddenly and frowned, "But you might be on to something." Mac paused, thinking it over, "How good is Abby on a computer?"
"Absolutely brilliant," Kate answered promptly. Her expression grew suspicious when Mac began to smile, "Why?"
Mac turned and started back for the lab. "Because I was wondering how long it would take her to hack into my files over at the CIA."
Kate hurried after her, catching up as they reached the lab, "What difference would that make?"
"What difference would what make?" Abby looked at the two women as they entered the lab.
"Where'd Gibbs go?" Kate asked, at almost the same time, glancing around the room.
Abby shook her head, "He left. I don't think you want to find him just yet. He's not used to people walking out on him." She raised an eyebrow at Kate and smiled, "You realize you ordered him to leave the Colonel alone?"
Kate looked somewhat aghast, "I did, didn't I? How mad was he?"
"Don't sweat it," Abby waved a hand, "He'll get over it. It's not like he hasn't done it to other people." She looked over at Mac, "Are you okay?" When Mac nodded, she looked back at Kate, "What difference would what make?"
"Abby," Mac spoke up, "Can you get into the CIA database?"
Abby's eyebrows rose, "You mean breach national security? ... Well, yeah, I guess so. It would take a while, though. Wouldn't that be considered like treason or something? I do NOT want to wind up in front of a firing squad."
Mac shook her head, smiling, "It wouldn't be treason unless you found something that could damage the US and then gave or sold it to a foreign power. I want to know if you can access the personnel files."
"Probably," Abby sounded dubious, "Who are you trying to find?"
"Me." Mac answered simply.
"You? You're kidding, right? You want me a commit a federal offense so you can see your own file?" Abby looked over at Kate, "This is a joke, right?"
"'fraid not," Kate glanced over at Mac, "We're looking into a theory about our serial killer."
If anything, Abby looked more confused, "And for that, you need the Colonel's CIA file?" She stared at Mac, "You have a CIA file? Don't you already know what's in it?"
"I've got a good idea," Mac nodded. She looked from Abby to Kate, "Why don't we sit down and I'll tell you what I'm thinking." When they were comfortable, Mac folded her arms and rested them on the table. She looked at Abby, "I've already told Kate this part. Her profile of the serial killer just about fit me to a T. My father was a Marine sergeant and an abusive drunk. My mother ran out and left me with him when I was fifteen." She paused for a second, giving the younger woman a chance to absorb the information. Abby looked almost as startled as Kate had. "Let me ask you a question. If you saw someone on TV, say a celebrity of some sort that you really identified with, what would you do?"
Abby shrugged, wondering about the change of topic. She shot a quick look at Kate before returning her attention to Mac, "I don't know. Follow their careers a little more closely - watch their shows or buy their music."
"Find out more about them?" Mac asked softly. Abby nodded slowly while Kate watched with an unreadable expression. Mac continued, "Two weeks before the first killing in Lejune, I was in the national spotlight because of a televised murder trial. The defense counsel didn't have a legal leg to stand on so she went for the sympathy factor and started trying the case in the media." She shot a wry look at Kate, "The defense attorney also happened to be one of my old law professors from Duke. One who once told me that I should reconsider being a lawyer and take up lap-dancing. She didn't mind repeating that for the reporters."
"Ouch. That was harsh," Abby glanced over to see the surprise on Kate's face as well. She looked back at Mac, "What happened?"
Mac ran a hand through her hair, "I wound up using the media as well. I kept hearing that the wife had a history of jealous violence but we didn't have enough time or people to chase everything down. Finally, I agreed to a TV interview with the CourtTV reporter." She shifted a bit and looked somewhat embarrassed, "I turned the conversation towards the rumors about the wife and then pretty much made an appeal to the public to come forward if they knew anything. It worked. I put the wife on the stand and got her to open the door on past acts and then I buried her. She was found guilty." Mac paused for a few seconds, "Anyway, for a week, I was a minor celebrity."
She looked at Abby again, "So... say you want to find out more about me. There's the TV stuff and one or two articles in some magazines. Where do you go next?"
Abby brightened, "The Internet."
Mac smiled back, "Right. Except that there's not much more on the web than what the TV and magazines have published. I'm a military officer. What do you do now?"
Abby nodded slowly, "If I was as good as I am, I hit the government files." She looked from Mac to Kate, "Oh wow. So if I'm this killer dude... "
Kate held up a hand, "You're not a killer yet."
"Okay," Abby conceded, "So I'm this angry, abused person... " She glanced over at Mac, "And I'm becoming obsessed with you. I hack into the government files and find out that we have this horrible family life in common." Abby furrowed her brow, "You turned out great, why would I want to start killing these guys?"
"Appearances are deceiving," Mac said slowly, trying to decide how much to say. ...Oh hell, if Abby did actually access her files, it was probably in there. She took a deep breath, "That kind of upbringing usually comes with a price and it's not something I would wish on anybody. I turned to drinking not long after my mother left. By the time I was eighteen, I was an alcoholic. Thanks to a near fatal auto accident, my Uncle Matt and the Marine Corps, I am now a recovering alcoholic." She stared down at her hands, "All the demons are still there, though. It's daily battle that I've grown used to fighting, but if it were possible, I'd never let my life happen to another child. No one deserves that." Mac's voice had grown quieter and quieter as she spoke and now she was silent, idly twisting her Marine Corps ring while studying her hands.
Kate and Abby stared at her and then looked at each other. 'Appearances are deceiving' had been the granddaddy of understatements. Kate cleared her throat and said softly, "So that gives us a 'Why'."
