Hopefully this'll make sense. Enjoy!
It's Not What You Think-Chapter 8-Answers Given to Questions Always Asked
NCIS HQ bullpen-1000 Zulu.
The shrill ringing of her cell phone woke up Lili from the few hours' rest she had gotten at her desk. Wearily, she answered with a groggy "Snyder."
"Come to 1863 Stones Town Rd. in one hour. Come alone. Don't be late."
"What? Wait! Who is this?" Her questions were greeted by silence. A moment later, she realized what had happened and quickly got her things together.
1863 Stones Town Rd., Downtown D.C.-1100 Zulu
It had taken her forty minutes to find the abandoned building. As she was composing herself and gathering her book bag, she heard a knock on the driver's side window. When she opened the door, rough hands grabbed her and dragged her out of the car.
Whoever they were, they didn't trust her to not run away, since the burlier of the two, was it two, men was using the fireman's carry. He dropped her down on the hard cement floor. She quickly scrambled up, but was grabbed and tied to a chair before she could get to her book bag where she kept her concealed weapon.
"Who are you? What's going on?" she questioned her captors, but was quickly shushed by a bright light and the sudden appearance of her boss, NCIS Special Agent Conrad Michaels.
"You'll be told everything, Lili," he told her as he loosened her bonds.
"You'd better. I want to know what the hell is going on! Now!" she snapped at her captors.
"We'll explain if you promise you won't start screaming," the man who had grabbed her said.
"Fine. I won't scream. Just tell me what the hell is going on!"
"The missing body you're looking for isn't exactly missing," a woman's voice told her.
The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows. She was a brunette woman with brown eyes; an inch or two taller than Lili herself. The blonde recognized the woman immediately.
"Agent Todd! You're alive! Wait, how? I saw the pictures and-"
"And you saw that the blood type of the missing body didn't match Caitlin's blood type, correct Elisabeth?" Another man said. Stepping out of the shadows, Lili could see that he was of middle-eastern descent. His accent was a mixture of proper English and possibly Hebrew or Arabic.
"You're Ari Haswari!" Lili said, suddenly feeling foolish for stating the obvious.
"You are here because we felt that someone should know what was going on," another man, also possibly of middle-eastern heritage said.
"Agent Michaels here suggested that you be the one to know, since you're investigating Caitlin's 'disappearance,'" Ari continued.
"That still doesn't explain to me what's going on," Lili said, trying to free herself from the rope that bound her to the chair.
"No, but what we have to tell you should," Michaels said.
He soon began explaining, with interjections made by the various people present. When he had finished, Lili felt even more confused, since what he had just told her now both contradicted and coincided with what she had figured out.
"So, let me get this straight," she said. "You either don't know who or just won't say who is after Agent Todd, so you faked her death to make sure that whoever they are think she's dead?"
"Exactly."
"Okay. I have one question, though: What about that body I'm supposed to find?"
"You will receive an anonymous tip as to the location of the body."
"A tip? This was never leaked to the public, how would anyone believe an anonymous tip?"
"This tip will come from someone who knows the location. You will not know who they are. They will give you a time and place; you will report this to Agent Gibbs & Dr. Mallard. Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes. But when this is all over, you and I are going to have a talk, Conrad."
"I don't doubt that, Lili."
One of the men standing behind Lili pulled out a white cloth and held it over her nose and mouth. Everything went dark, and the next thing Lili Snyder knew, she was waking up at NCIS headquarters, head on her desk, and Agent McGee was shaking her shoulder.
"Huh? What? What time is it?" she asked the fair-haired man.
"It's 0730 our time. Were you here the whole night?"
"Huh? Umm, yeah," she answered as she thought back to her late night encounter. "Wait, no. I got a call from someone and went to meet them, but no one showed up. I think," she said, gratefully accepting the sup of coffee he held out to her.
"You think? You don't know?" Tony asked her as he watched the exchange.
"Give me a break, Anthony. I'm still running on Pacific daylight." She glared at him and he glared back, annoyed that she had used his first name.
"How's your case going?" Gibbs asked her as he walked to his desk.
"Umm, good. Snyder," she said as she answered the shrill ringing of her cell phone. "Wait, wait. Where? Okay, thanks, I guess." She hung up and gave the paper with the address to Gibbs.
"What's this?"
"The address where our contact is," she answered mysteriously, giving him a look that said, This is about you-know-who. "I'm going to go tell Ducky," she told him, grabbing the paper from his hands.
"I'll get the car," Gibbs told her.
"Are we coming, too, Boss?" Tony asked the older man.
"McGee, you're with me. Tony, you stay here and finish up that report," Gibbs barked at the two younger men.
"Is this about-" McGee started
"Yeah, McGee. We got her." Gibbs finished for him.
Autopsy lab.
Lili exited the elevator and proceeded to where Ducky and Jimmy were discussing the body that lay on the steel slab before them.
"Ducky! Someone found her!"
"Mr. Palmer, put Lt. Jenkins away and get the van ready. Is this the address?"
"Yeah. You know, it's weird. I had a dream last night that this happened."
"Really? That's very interesting."
"I'll see you there. I'm catching a ride with Gibbs and McGee."
"I take it Tony is still in the dark about this?"
"Yeah. So, I'll see you there."
"Alright. I suppose good work is in order?"
"Not just yet. Later!" she called back as she left autopsy and headed for the elevator. This was going to interesting.
So, you like? For all of you who are thinking I'm mean for keeping Tony in the dark, I'm not. I just haven't figured out how he's going to be told what happened. Please review!
