There was a slight chill to the late night air as Tony and Laurie left the building from a side entrance near the employee parking area. She saw him watch as another vehicle, what looked to be a Lincoln Town Car, drove away before turning back to her. Deciding to seize the initiative, Laurie broke the silence between them before he could.
"Thanks for not handcuffing me up there," she said lightly. When she got no response from the tall man standing in front of her, she tried again, this time more serious. "Thank you, also, for getting me out of there tonight. It was getting rather uncomfortable, thanks to Dr. Kaeler and his accusations." She glanced toward her car in the parking lot, reached in her pocket and pulled out her keys.
"That wasn't just for your benefit, or to cover Gibbs' escape. I really do need you to come with me to NCIS and make a full statement," Tony told her as he laid one hand on her arm to halt her own escape. "And though you copied Gibbs' chart for me, I'm sure Ducky would welcome your input during the exam I know Gibbs will get back at headquarters."
Laurie stilled under Tony's light touch. However politely phrased this was, it wasn't a request. She was going to Washington, willingly or otherwise. Deciding not to fight the issue, she nodded and allowed herself to be led to the agent's car. He was polite, she had to give him that, handing her into the car before walking to his side and getting in. But the courtesy was just that; she knew had she resisted the invitation she would have been treated as hostile. She could read that much in his eyes.
The quiet inside the vehicle grated on her nerves, however. She decided conversation was the best way to remedy that, opting to satisfy her natural curiosity as long as she had a captive audience.
"So, can you tell me anything at all about what's going on? Who exactly is this Ari person Mr. Gibbs seems so worked up over?" She watched as Tony's jaw tightened and wondered what she'd said to cause that reaction.
"Why do you ask?"
She shrugged. "Maybe if I know what's going on, I'll know what I'm looking for," she replied, honestly.
"He's a terrorist and a murderer."
This was worse than trying to get blood from an unwilling patient! "So Mr. Gibbs said. Why would he be after your boss in particular?"
"Because Gibbs—" At his abrupt silence, she looked up to catch his icy glare. "All of us are after him."
"Does any of this have to do with that woman, Kate? The one Gibbs thought Angie looked like?" She was unprepared for the sudden burst of acceleration that rocked the car. This was not Gibbs' sorrow or even the angry determination he had shown. This was raw fury that burned white-hot, deep inside.
She eyed his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and the impossibly tight set to his jaw. Somehow, though she knew she should drop the subject, she couldn't let it go. For some reason, she felt it was important to understand who this woman was.
Softly, she asked, "Was she the member of Gibbs' team that was killed, Tony?" This time she was prepared for the shot of speed that accompanied her question.
"What's it to you?" he growled at her.
"Because it would be a lot easier to help you if I knew who all the players were, don't you think?" She continued in a gentle tone. "She obviously meant a great deal to you and to Mr. Gibbs."
"Means." He stressed the word. "She may be gone but she's still a part of our team and she's family to us. She means a great deal to all of us." This time the glance he shot her dared her to say more on the subject. To refute his right to care for his fallen partner, since that was clearly what she was.
Instead she simply said, "I'm sorry for your loss. Of course she means a great deal to you." Then pushing where she feared she had no right, she continued. "Mr. Gibbs said 'he killed Kate'. I'm assuming he meant Ari?"
Rather than another head-snapping bolt of speed, the fight seemed to drain out of her driver just then. "Yeah, that bastard shot her with a sniper rifle while we stood not two feet from her." His words were ice, colder than anything she'd ever heard. She wondered if their hatred for this man and what he had done could be blinding them as to what was going on.
Weighing her next words carefully, she braced herself for an angry reaction. "So this terrorist is a cold-blooded killer, right? Someone who would plan something out meticulously?"
Tony's answer was a sharp exhalation and a tight nod. Laurie pressed her lips together and took a moment before continuing. "Then why would a man like that risk being caught on camera? There are dozens of them throughout the hospital; he couldn't possibly hope to avoid them all."
She was ready for an angry hit to the car's accelerator. She didn't expect the sudden braking maneuver that threw her against her seat belt. She turned to stare in shock at the unpredictable driver only to find a similar expression on his face.
"I must be slipping," he muttered. Louder, he said, "Of course he'd be on the hospital surveillance cameras." He grabbed for his cell phone, hitting his speed-dial as he eased the car back on to the road.
"McGee! We need to get all the footage from the hospital surveillance cameras. You did? Even the cameras in the parking lot? Okay, well, we're gonna need those, too. Just a gut feeling, Tim. Right. As soon as you can with that, then. Thanks, Tim." He flipped the phone closed and tossed it back on the car seat between them.
He blew out a slow breath before breaching the silence. "Look, Laurie, thanks for that. We've all been a little on edge since Kate… since Ari escaped. I shouldn't take it out on you. As far as the cameras, I should have thought of it myself."
"It sounded like someone did, though," she replied, cautiously. She didn't want Tony to shut down again.
"Yeah, McGee. He got most of the tapes we need, but I want the ones from the parking areas, too. You're right, this bastard's cunning. But we'll up our chances of catching him on film if we have the exterior security footage as well."
"So how do I fit into all of this? I didn't see the man Mr. Gibbs claims was in his room."
"Did you see anything? Anything out of the ordinary?" Tony's voice was much less angry now, obviously becoming preoccupied with the challenge of catching his terrorist on camera.
"Not that I remember," she told him. They had gone over this earlier on the phone and unfortunately, she hadn't been able to come up with any more details since then.
"Think, Laurie," he demanded. "Even the smallest detail may help us find him."
"Tony! I don't know what more to tell you. I've told you everything I can possibly remember. My best guess is it was someone disguised as hospital personnel." Exasperated with his narrow focus she blurted out her next words. "What if it isn't your pet terrorist? What if this is someone else?"
"Why would you say that? What do you know?" Once again, his voice was hard and cold.
"I don't know anything! Except that I think your feelings about your friend's death are blinding you to any other possibility." She immediately regretted her words. She really hadn't meant to bring up Kate again, but her frustration with his single-mindedness had the words out of her mouth before she could censor them.
Tony pressed his lips together as he glanced at her. When he spoke after another minute of uncomfortable dead air, his voice was tight and low. "I think you're wrong, but I'll keep it in mind." His grip on the steering wheel was once again white-knuckled, his face closed and unreadable. She didn't speak for the remainder of the drive, leaving the frosty silence between them undisturbed.