Chapter Twenty Nine: Darkness Descends

The flight was uneventful as McGee soared once again towards the west coast. Tony had called ahead and arranged a pickup and housing for McGee when he arrived, as well as the suspects to be taken into custody. As McGee got off the plane he was met by Lt. Colonel Joseph Brack.

"Special Agent McGee?" the man asked him and McGee nodded. "I'm Lt. Colonel Brack, United States Marine Corps. I was told to escort you to the prisoner."

"Prisoner? There should be two," McGee said slinging his bag over his shoulder walking next to Brack.

"Only have one, an Ensign," Brack said with a shrug. "Guess they couldn't find the other guy."

They went to where Ensign Deeves was being held and Brack told McGee he would take him to his housing once he was finished. The Marine then turned and left as McGee watched the young man in the holding room. McGee pushed the door open and slowly walked to the table, setting his bag down next to the chair before taking a seat. Ensign Deeves looked up at him with frightened eyes.

"I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS. I'm sure you know why you've been detained," McGee began as he stared the other man in the eyes. He could see Deeves quivering with fear.

"I don't understand what's going on," the man said with a shaky voice.

"You're being brought up on charges, Ensign Deeves."

"What kind of charges? What is going on?" the young man voiced, but McGee could tell the ensign already knew why he was there.

"Let's make this easier on everyone, Deeves, ok? Just drop the act and tell me what you know. Make a deal and tell me who's the lead on this."

"I don't know," Deeves began again.

"You're going to be charged with murder, Ensign Deeves," McGee said cutting the man off. McGee watched as sweat popped out on the man's forehead and his eyes shook with fear as he thought about his predicament.

"What? Who?"

"Lt. Commander Johanna Conrad," McGee said leaning back in the chair.

"Oh fuck, the lawyer lady?" Deeves said putting a hand up to his head. He started to shake and closed his eyes tightly. "I…she left the base, I didn't know she was…murdered."

"Tell me what happened," McGee said leaning forward again on the table.

"I fucked up. I almost got brig time. I turned in the wrong paperwork, Christ I was cleared of any wrong doing but she wouldn't fucking quit. They warned her but she wouldn't fucking quit. God damn it. She's really dead?"

"Yes, and if you don't start from the beginning this is going to look very bad on you, Ensign, you understand that?"

"Fuck. They recruited me," he began slowly.

"Who?"

"Ty and Mike," he replied with closed eyes.

"Ty and Mike who? The whole story, Deeves, you need to give details," McGee said. The young man simply nodded and ran a hand over his face before continuing.

"Ok. I was just assigned to San Diego, which was great for me. And then I start my job, keeping surplus and maintaining the munitions bunker. I'm there about a week when Commander Tyrell Powell and Lt. Mike Malford approached me. They told me they needed my help and that I'd be compensated for my efforts. I didn't know what they were doing honestly. I was just fixing the numbers to what they wanted."

"Then what happened?"

"I turned in the wrong sheet and some items were noted as missing. Since it was my report I got the heat. But that lawyer lady was investigating and Ty was sweating it. Then he somehow got an Admiral to step in and cover this shit up. Tyrell busted my balls but officially I was cleared of all wrong doing. O fuck, I got her killed," he said close to tears.

"Who was the Admiral, Deeves? Why'd he fix things?"

"I…I don't remember. He was a two star that I do remember and Tyrell seemed to know him well. But his name, it was Irish, something Patrick. I remember it was something like that because my name is Patrick."

"And the other man involved is Lt. Malford?"

"Yeah, Mike he works with me in the numbers part. There are other guys that come together at Ty's house off base; two are marines that I don't know. I don't even know their names."

McGee checked his watch. It was almost midnight in DC. He debated calling but figured that he just might catch someone in the bullpen. They were working this case hard so no one was going home 'early'. He told Ensign Deeves to sit tight and then found a quiet place pulling out his cell phone. He dialed Tony first and waited as it rang. He got his voice mail so he tried Ziva instead, same. He then tried Gibbs on a whim but also was directed to voice mail. He mumbled under his breath and then made the rounds on cell phones, again starting with Tony.

He sat patiently waiting. Finally the time had come that he was able to move. The house was quiet, still, and asleep. He moved with little disturbance to the world around him, making absolutely no noise. He reached the house and deftly picked the lock in short order, slipping in the door before pulling it closed once again.

He moved steadily through the house quietly, eyes darting from shadow to shadow, form to form. He was expecting surprises; it was what kept him in the game. He moved swiftly up the stairs and around a corner remembering from earlier the location of the two rooms that dimmed out early. The children's rooms. He came to the first one in the hallway and tested the knob. It turned easily in his hand and he pushed his shoulder into the door lightly popping it from the jamb and peering inside.

In the room were two boys, soundly sleeping in their beds. He quickly pulled the door shut and moved further down the hall to the second room. He again twisted the knob and forced the door slowly in, this time being rewarded with the sight of a sleeping girl. He walked quietly around the door and up to the first bed. He looked at the sleeping child and shook his head; this was not the girl he wanted.

He turned to the other bed and froze in his tracks. He felt his heart rate increase as adrenaline pumped into his blood stream. His mind reeled with the slightest urge of panic before he corralled himself and eased his mind. Plan B. She had to be close by; no one had left the house since he had watched them go to sleep. He backtracked from the room and closed the door softly behind him. He searched the rest of the upstairs rooms even peaking in on the two sleeping adults.

His mind surged as he gritted his teeth at his misfortune. His hands clamped and released in balls as he worked the fury from his muscles. He felt his chest tighten with rage at having to look for the girl. He stopped on the bottom step and took a moment to compose his mind once again. After he was calm he looked around the large living room. There was no sign of the girl. He checked the kitchen next and then headed to a back hallway. He came to a door and heard a hushed, harsh whisper of a child on the other side and smiled.

His smile faltered when he entered the room quickly and wrapped a hand over the face of the child that was about to scream. But the damage was done; she had been on the phone with someone while he took control. He hung the phone up with his free hand and tossed it onto the desk. The girl snaked and fought under his grasp causing him to have to restrain her with both arms before lifting her from her feet and making his way back to the front door. He checked the hall and found it empty the house still quiet and dark. He stealthily moved outside, sliding the locks in place as he did so. The girl fought him with raging power as she struggled to free herself from his grasp. The effort made him smile as he held her deftly to his chest.

After carrying her to his car and setting her next to him, hand still clamped firmly over her mouth, he started the vehicle and drove off with his prize. He took her to the safe house he had set up earlier and carried her kicking and mumbling under the power of his hand to the room he had prepared for her.

After locking the door, with her on one side and him on the other, he went to change his clothes and clean up. He calmed his mind once again and prepared himself to interrogate the child. There was little time but he knew this was not to be rushed. He also needed to contact Tyrell in Iraq and let him know there might be heat coming.

After he was cleaned, changed, and composed he returned to the door, unlocking it quickly. He slipped inside before the girl had a chance to move and stood in front of it. She stared at him with cold hard eyes and he admired her gumption. He smiled at her and she only glared a little harder at him.

"Gibbs is going to kill you," she spat at him making his smile turn into a grin.

McGee was frustrated as no one answered their cell phones either. Ziva and Tony's both rang before going to voicemail whereas Gibbs' went straight in. He left messages on all three phones. He regrouped his thoughts and sought out Lt. Colonel Brack.

"Lt. Colonel, I need someone to bring Lt. Mike Malford in for questioning," McGee said. The other man nodded picking up a phone instantly and dialing a number. He spoke with someone for a moment before he hung up and turned back to McGee.

"They're getting him now. Can I ask what's going on?" Brack replied.

"These men are suspected in a weapons trafficking ring. We believe one of the members of this ring murdered Lt. Commander Conrad," McGee answered. Brack simply nodded with a solemn face. They waited in silence for Malford to be brought in for questioning. Soon the man was there and McGee set to interrogating him.

The answers to his questions mirrored those of Ensign Deeves, but with less fear and shaking. The man sat emotionless in the room with McGee spewing answers to his questions. But again there was no solid name for the Admiral. Both man said he was connected to Commander Tyrell Powell. McGee nodded and left the room once again trying to make contact with someone back in Washington DC. After failing once again he decided to call it a night, arranging for the two men to be held overnight. Brack then took McGee to his own home where McGee fell soundly asleep almost as soon as the light was out.

Abby looked around at the evidence she had in front of her. She knew something was missing, but she couldn't figure out what. She looked at each piece again and recounted in her head what seemed to fit together. Her eyes landed on the fire tools set in front of her. It was here that she noticed something wrong. She studied it and realized a piece was missing from the set. She searched the entire lab, everything that had been brought in from the Conrad house and found nothing. She smiled to herself in admiration.

"You almost escaped me," she said to herself as she picked up the small scoop shovel. "But I am smarter than you."

All the other tools were accounted for except the poker. She knew from Ducky that the wounds were caused by something with three sharpened edges with one edge different. She remembered the fire poker from growing up, the three sharp edges of the poking end, with the hook on one side. She bounced with excitement as she headed towards autopsy to see if Ducky was still there. She found the room dark and frowned, feeling some of her energy deflate, but decided she didn't need to ask Ducky about it. Instead she went to the bullpen, and found the team in frantic search. She walked into the chaos and was not noticed, making her wonder what was going on. She grabbed Tony by the arm as he hurried past.

"Not now, Abby," he said quickly but she didn't release him.

"I think I know the murder weapon," Abby replied causing Tony to stop and look at her. "The fire poker. It's missing from the set. Killer probably took it with them."

"Great work, Abby," Tony said with a smile that quickly faded before he moved on with his prior task. Abby was a bit disappointed that he wasn't as excited as her, but she could tell something serious had happened in the case, and from the look of Gibbs, it wasn't good.

TBC…