Chapter Twenty-Eight: Over the Edge

Tony and Ziva were quiet on the drive back as Rogers sat uncomfortably still cuffed mumbling. Ziva had actually drifted into a light sleep as Tony wrangled the car back to headquarters, back to a waiting Gibbs. The drive was long and boring for Tony and he struggled to keep himself focused on the task at hand.

Most of the ride he wanted to reach back and slap the grumbling Marine in the back seat. Tony wanted to turn and snap at him and tell him to buck up, but he restrained himself and let the bastard moan and complain about the cuffs. Tony glanced at Ziva and noticed a small smile on her lips but didn't wake her to ask her why.

Finally they arrived and the two of them dragged the uncooperative Captain Rogers to an open interrogation room, tossing him roughly down into a chair before turning and exiting the room. They then moved swiftly to the bullpen where they found Gibbs sitting behind his computer studying the dossier on Rogers.

"Get him?" Gibbs asked looking up. He spotted the open sore over the younger man's eye and grinned. "Tony, are you trying to be like me?"

"What? No, Boss, I…" he stammered. Gibbs pointed to his own eye and Tony nodded nervously, calming slightly. "Rogers is in interrogation."

"Good," Gibbs said standing abruptly and walking swiftly towards the elevator. They rode in silence and came into the observation room before anyone spoke. Gibbs eyed the man through the glass watching for tells, signs of stress. The man looked nervous to Gibbs and he figured the Marine knew why he'd been brought in. The fact that he resisted Tony had been proof enough for Gibbs that this man was involved in some capacity.

Gibbs glanced at his watch, noticing it was after eleven now. He composed himself on the inside to match his outside demeanor then left the room appearing a moment later on the other side of the glass. He took a seat across from Rogers and stared at the man. The Marine became more nervous and started to wring his hands.

"You know why you're here?" Gibbs asked in a low voice.

Rogers maintained eye contact with Gibbs, as he wetted his dry lips and placed his hands flat on the table to steady himself. "I'm sure you'll tell me," he said dryly.

"I'm sure I don't need to, but come on, Rogers, who's the lead on this? I mean you're not smart enough to run a big time deal like this, you're just the moving man," Gibbs continued in the low voice leaning forward closing some of the distance between them.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rogers said, but his eyes and voice gave him away and Gibbs broke into a grin, leaning a little further onto the table.

"Your buddy, Commander Powell, he's not the top either is he? And I know for damn sure Ensign Deeves is the low man, so who is it?"

"Sir, I think…" Rogers started before Gibbs snapped at him.

"Don't you call me sir, I work for a living."

Rogers snapped back in his chair, his hands clamping down on the table as he felt the venom flow from Gibbs' words. He licked his lips again, and Gibbs noted the sweat popping up on the other man's forehead and arms.

"What's the matter, Rogers? It too warm in here for you?" Gibbs continued leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, si…no." Rogers said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"You're sweating, you need some air?" Gibbs continued leaning in close again. "I'll let you have some if you just tell me what I want to know, come on. Don't let Powell beat you, then you don't get a deal, it's straight up. And you know Powell's going to throw the murder wrap on you," Gibbs said with a smile. Rogers' eyes snapped to Gibbs and his mouth opened and closed. There was genuine shock on his face and Gibbs new someone else was involved.

"I didn't murder anyone," he whispered his eyes wide with panic.

"Sure you did, Commander Powell said you did," Gibbs said with a shrug, leaning back in his chair and stifling a yawn.

"I didn't," he said a little more forceful.

"Then tell me who did, Captain," Gibbs said with cold eyes. Rogers studied him a bit before he shook his head.

"I can't," he said, his voice almost a whine.

"Sure you can," Gibbs said.

"No I can't. I don't know who did it," Rogers said leaning forward onto the table spreading his hands.

"Tell me who else is involved in your little weapons scam," Gibbs said with little emotion.

"I deal with Tyrell, that's it. I swear," he said with his hands in the air in surrender.

"Wrong answer. We know you met at Powell's off base housing with five other men. We know Powell and Deeves are two of them. Name the other three," Gibbs said slamming his hand down on the table making Rogers nearly jump out of his skin.

"I don't know names," he pleaded.

"Ranks," Gibbs said.

"We don't come in uniform," he said shaking his head. "I don't KNOW them!"

"You don't expect me to believe that do you, Captain?" Gibbs said with a smile. "Tell me or you do hard time for the murder of Lt. Commander Johanna Conrad."

"The only other one I know is Gunny Kevin Dangle," he said quickly as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "He's the only one I know."

Tony looked at Ziva and then left the room to get what he could on Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Dangle. Ziva continued to watch the exchange between Gibbs and Rogers. She knew the other man was telling the truth now, but she also sensed he was hiding something, or covering for someone. She glanced at Gibbs and figured he thought the same thing. Gibbs continued his questioning.

"That's a start. So we have you in shipping, and Powell and Deeves in siphoning surplus. Dangle runs the deals? He gets the buyers?"

"Yeah, Kev runs the deals. He places orders with Ty and then Deeves and some other guy get…"

"What other guy?" Gibbs barked making Rogers jump once again. The man scrambled to compose his jumbled brain, taking a deep breath with his eyes closed before continuing.

"I don't know that's Tyrell's area. Look I just know he's a white boy with blonde hair. Works with Deeves in the paperwork. After the numbers are fixed I get the order to send out and I ship it when I ship other munitions to troops over seas," Rogers said finally realizing he was in for the murder if he didn't tell what he knew.

"So who murdered Commander Conrad?"

"I don't know I was at Norfolk," Rogers said sitting back in his chair and throwing his hands in the air.

"We know Powell is overseas, you claim to be in Norfolk and if the alibi checks out, that leaves Ensign Deeves, and Gunny Dangle. Now we still have two mystery men, Rogers, who the hell is in this with you!"

"I don't, know the one guy, he's navy. Shit I only know Deeves because that asshole got fucked up in his paperwork and the bastard got investigated. Damn near destroyed us!"

"Who fixed the problem, Captain," Gibbs said in a low growl. It was then that his cell phone chirped. He pulled it from his belt without thinking still eyeing Captain Rogers. He broke the contact to look at the display screen. He didn't recognize the number and frowned wondering why he was getting a call at midnight from a number he didn't know and then he remembered giving Nicole his cell number. "Wait here."

Rogers looked at him as if he was crazy, like he had a choice. Gibbs stood still staring at his cell phone and walked from the room. Once in the hallway he flipped it open putting it to his ear.

"Gibbs," he said with his normal gruff.

"Jeez, Gibbs, maybe you should get some more sleep, you wouldn't be so crabby," Nicole said into his ear. Gibbs smiled when he heard her voice.

"You just pulled me from interrogation, Kido, I was in Special Agent mode," Gibbs said softly.

"Still working?" she asked surprised.

"I told you I'm never home; besides it's a pretty special case."

"It's about my mom?" she asked the pain evident in her voice.

"Yeah. How come you are awake?"

"I can't sleep," she said quietly.

"Did you try?"

"I'm afraid. I had a bad nightmare last night and I hurt my head."

"Hurt your head?" Gibbs asked leaning against the wall.

"I tripped and fell into the dresser," she said almost embarrassed. Gibbs smiled.

"You really gotta watch those things, they bite."

"Tell me about it," she said with a smile.

"Did you talk about your dream?"

"It wasn't a dream, Gibbs, it was a nightmare. I scared the other girl here."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I told her and I was mean about it," she said with a sigh.

"Did you talk to a grown up about it, Kido?"

"No," she said fighting to hold back the tears. "Not really."

"I'll find him I promise then you can sleep better at night," he said with clenched eyes, his fist balled at his side head beating softly against the wall. Ziva popped her head out of observation, took one look at Gibbs, and went back inside giving him privacy.

"He waits for me in the darkness, Gibbs," she said as the tears started to fall.

"It's ok, Kido, it's ok," he said softly. She didn't reply. He waited another moment. "Kido?"

Still no reply and Gibbs felt his chest tighten. He could hear her in the background of the phone but she wouldn't talk to him. He fought the panic that surged through him. "Gibbs," she said in a tiny whisper. He had to strain to hear her. "Someone is in the house," she said in a strained voice.

"Kido, hide right now. Where are you?" Gibbs asked frantic.

"I don't know somewhere in the city, I don't know, Gibbs," she said frantic. He could tell she was crying now. Gibbs felt the anger boil over in his blood and then the unthinkable happened. He heard her muffled scream over the phone and then it was dead.

He looked at his phone in disbelief as he felt his muscles constrict and his chest tighten. Anger ripped through him as well as guilt and fear. He crashed back into the interrogation room scaring Rogers to the point where the man sprang to his feet the chair underneath him tumbling to the floor.

"Who is working this with you?" Gibbs roared leaning on the table. Rogers' eyes grew wide with fear as he registered the severe change in his interrogator.

"I already told you," he said with his hands in the air. Ziva came around to the door and stepped inside, Gibbs didn't even register her being there.

"Fucking tell me right now who's in this with you, who killed the Commander!"

"Gibbs," Ziva said with warning in her voice, but Gibbs was oblivious.

"If one hair on that child's body is harmed," he breathed in a low growl.

"What child!" Rogers screamed fearing that he was in a lose lose situation. He looked at Ziva for help and the Mossad officer walked up to her boss and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Gibbs we need to speak in the hallway right now," she said. For the first time Gibbs realized she was in the room with him. Ziva locked eyes with him and the anger that flowed through his blue orbs scared Ziva. He looked back at Rogers one more time with hatred.

"Enough of this I can find her on my own," he spat at the other man and then turned brushing past Ziva and heading towards the door. He nearly crashed into Tony in the hallway and didn't even stop. Tony stood dumbfounded his head shifting from trailing Gibbs to looking at Ziva.

"Something is wrong," Ziva said as Tony came up next to her.

"You think? What got into him?" Tony said as the two walked after him.

"Took a phone call then stormed in and ripped Captain Rogers a big one," Ziva said.

"New one," Tony corrected.

"Whatever," Ziva said as the two approached Gibbs in the bullpen, his phone to his ear, cell phone in hand.

TBC…