Unearthed Secrets
AN: Thankyou all for your reviews. Hope you like this next chapter
"Bastards" Gibbs muttered, squinting around the inside of the van, trying to find something to pick the lock with. He growled when he realised there was nothing there that he could use. He briefly considered smashing his cell, but decided against it when he remembered that it was the only way he could be contacted. Ducky had asked Abby to transfer calls from his house to his cell so that he didn't miss anything.
Sighing, he decided to just wait this one out, he could yell at them all later. Looking around the van again, he found the flask of coffee that Ducky had left for him and smiled. Taking a large gulp, he sat on the edge of the van and leaned against the side of it. He heard somebody walking fast on floorboards, probably the ones in the house. He frowned as the footsteps stopped, they must have gone outside, then he heard somebody throwing up. Taking a long sip of his coffee, he decided the crime scene must be pretty bad, unless the guy was new…
His thought process stopped when he felt somebody sit in the back of the van with him. Looking across, he saw a young boy sitting at the other end of the van. He couldn't have been more than six years old.
"Hi" Gibbs said, putting his flask down. When the boy didn't say anything, continuing to stare at him, Gibbs extended his hand, "I'm Special Agent Gibbs. What's your name?"
The boy frowned, ignoring his hand, "Are you a bad man?"
Gibbs retracted his hand, giving the boy a smile as he realised how he must have looked being handcuffed to the van. "No. I'm a federal agent, a police officer. My friends played a joke on me" he replied
"So, why don't you unlock yourself?" the boy asked, his face still a mask of confusion
Gibbs nodded; the kid had a point, "Because I lost my keys a long time ago. I decided I didn't need them"
"Why?" he asked
Gibbs studied the boy, "I don't know"
"That's stupid" the boy declared, "My dad always does stuff for a reason"
"Really? Where is your dad?" Gibbs asked, fearing he knew the answer
The boy looked at him with a lost expression on his face, which turned into fear, then it disappeared.
Gibbs silently swore, here he was talking with potentially, and probably, an eye witness, and he was cuffed to the van. "So, what did you say your name was?" he asked, looking around the van again for something to pick the lock with
"Trent" the boy replied
Gibbs looked back at the boy and smiled, "That's a nice name. How old are you?"
"Five, I'm six next week" Trent replied
"So, you'd be in year one?" Gibbs asked, pulling at the wires under the seat
"Yeah. My teachers want to put me into year two cause I'm smarter than the other kids" Trent boasted
"That's great!" Gibbs encouraged him, "What do you like most about school?"
"Well, spelling is fun and maths is easy" Trent replied
Gibbs silently swore as the wires didn't move, "What about the other kids?"
"They're cool. I have heaps of friends. I'm gonna have a humongous party next week, everybody in my grade is invited" Trent enthused, "And I'm gonna get lots of presents"
Gibbs smiled, thinking of Jake's parties. He carefully got his knife from the back of his pants, moving it at an angle so it wouldn't alarm the boy. Getting the knife under the seat, he started cutting a wire loose. Trying to keep Trent distracted, he asked, "Do you play any sport?"
"Yeah. Football and basketball" Trent replied
"My son plays basketball" Gibbs told him, with a smile
"Really? What's his name?" Trent asked
Gibbs sighed and stopped trying to cut the wire; he forced a smile, "Jake. Jake Gibbs"
Trent thought for a second, then shook his head, "I don't think I know him. Do you have any other kids?"
"No, just Jake" Gibbs replied, cutting the wire again
"Oh" Trent responded, "How old is he?"
"Almost twelve" Gibbs answered, finally getting the wire free. He pulled the wire out and began working on the cuffs
"What are you doing?" Trent asked, getting worried
"My friends forgot to leave me a key, so I'm compromising" Gibbs replied
"What does compromising mean?" Trent asked
Gibbs gave a small laugh, "What do you think it means?" he asked, finally getting the cuffs off
Trent watched as Gibbs put the cuffs in the van and stood up. Then he asked in a small voice, "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"
Gibbs' expression softened, "I wouldn't dream of it"
As Trent continued to look at Gibbs, his lip began to quiver, "Please don't hurt me"
Gibbs' heart constricted at the look on the young boy's face, "Hey, don't cry, shhh" he said, making soothing sounds. He walked closer to Trent and was going to wipe the tears from his face, but when he brought his hand to Trent's face, Trent flinched. Gibbs inwardly sighed. Kneeling down, he put his hand on Trent's knee, "I'm gonna go have a look to see if my friends are out the front of the house, okay? You stay here, I want be long"
When Trent nodded, Gibbs got up slowly and moved to the edge of the doors, scanning the front yard of the house. Nobody. Gibbs went back to kneel in front of Trent again.
"Were they there?" Trent asked, his voice quavering
"No" Gibbs answered softly; "Can I ask you a few questions, Trent? They may be difficult to answer, but it will help us in our investigation. Do you want to help us?"
Trent nodded, tears rolling down his face.
Gibbs looked away, fearing that if he watched the young boy cry, he would also begin with the waterworks. And that wouldn't help either of them. Putting on the role of the investigator, he looked back at Trent, "Okay, I'll start with some easy stuff, but it's eventually going to get harder." Gibbs told him, only continuing when he received a nod, "Can you tell me your full name?"
"Trent Simon Wills" Trent replied
Gibbs nodded, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Trent shook his head, "Only my dog, Betty"
Gibbs smiled, "That's good. You're doing well. Does your dad work for the navy?"
"Yeah, he's a marine" Trent told him, proud ness in his voice
"Does your mother live with you?" Gibbs asked
Trent froze, his face losing its color, then he began crying again.
"Okay, I think that's enough questions for now" Gibbs said, pulling the child in to a hug. Trent put his face into Gibbs' shoulder and cried into it, leaving a wet patch. Gibbs stroked Trent's hair, making soothing noises and trying to calm him down.
"Ah, agent Gibbs?" he heard somebody ask from behind him
Without looking at them, he said softly, "Jimmy, get Ducky, or Kate. Tell them to get down here"
"Now?" Jimmy asked
"No, Jimmy, whenever it suits you" Gibbs said sarcastically
He heard Trent sniff, "Who was that?" he asked when Jimmy scattered off
"Another friend of mine" Gibbs answered
"You have a lot of friends" Trent commented, sniffing again
"Not as many as you" Gibbs replied
Trent sniffed and hiccoughed, sobbing again, "I want my dad"
"I know, son" Gibbs replied
Trent looked up at Gibbs, "What are you gonna do to the person who…?"
"They will be locked up. We'll make sure they go away for a long time" Gibbs responded, pulling himself away and putting his hands on the young boy's shoulders, "Trent, were you there when it happened?"
Trent looked down, avoiding Gibbs' eyes, "I was playing in the closet. I should have tried to stop her" he commented, tears still rolling down his cheeks
"There was nothing you could have done, Trent" Gibbs replied
Trent's shoulders began shaking as the intensity of his sobs increased, "Will I ever see my dad again?"
"Jethro," Ducky said as he rounded the back of the van, stopping when he saw Gibbs comforting the young boy, "Who's your young friend?"
"Ducky, this is Trent Wills. Trent, this is Ducky, another friend who I work with" Gibbs introduced them, watching understanding dawn in Ducky's eyes.
"Ducky?" Trent asked, "That's a strange name"
Ducky smiled, "Yes, I suppose it is. People started calling me by that name around forty years ago, I can't actually remember why, but at the time, it must have been appropriate"
Gibbs smiled, keeping his hands on Trent's shoulders, he looked into his eyes, "Trent, I'm going to talk with Ducky for a moment. Will you be okay?"
Trent shrugged, finally nodding, "Yeah"
"Thatta boy" Gibbs responded, standing up and moving away from the vehicle so that he could talk with Ducky privately.
"He's their son?" Ducky asked, gesturing to the house
"Yeah, he was in the room when it happened. He saw the whole thing" Gibbs replied
"Dear lord" Ducky said, glancing back at the van
"I think he's in shock. The only thing I got from him was that the person who did it was female. He has no brothers or sisters, he's an only child" Gibbs told him
"I see. Okay, I'll go talk with him. Just stay close, he may feel safer if you're nearby" Ducky said
Gibbs gave a small smile, "Where do you think I'd go, Ducky?"
Ducky studied him for a while, wondering what the toll had been on his friend after talking with the young child "Any word from the police?"
"None" Gibbs replied, shaking his head, "I guess no news is good news…to a point"
"They'll find him, Jethro" Ducky told him
"I think we've been over this, Duck" Gibbs responded
Ducky solemnly nodded, then sighed.
Gibbs gestured over his shoulder, "They finished in the house yet?"
"Mr. Palmer should be bringing out the Lieutenant as we speak. However it may be some time yet until your team has finished" Ducky replied
"We should get Trent outta here before Jimmy brings out his dad, he shouldn't have to see that. Maybe take him to Child Services or somewhere" Gibbs suggested
"And who would take him, Jethro? You? I'm not going to let you drive with everything that is on your mind." Ducky asked
Gibbs thought about it for a while, clearly frustrated at having his independence revoked, "Fine. What about you? Jimmy can take care of the body until we get back"
Ducky considered it for several minutes before finally agreeing. They walked back to Trent and coaxed him into the sedan. Gibbs sat in the backseat with him, not wanting to leave him in the backseat by himself. Ducky started the engine and pulled away from the scene.
That's it for chapter 12...Hope you liked it! Please review!