A/N: Hi folks, here's another chapter! Sorry for the absence, but I've been snowed under with work & University! To my recent followers & favourites, welcome! So glad to have you with us! To my reviewers, I can't tell you how much I apprecaite & love reading your thoughts on this story, they help keep me inspired! Sorry I wasn't able to reply to you all individually this time, but I want to get this chapter up, before getting back to it.
So, without further ado, here we go!
Gibbs couldn't help but smile to himself, even when he was stressed, he could always count on his family to sooth & calm him, and bonus he had something to look forward to, though it would have to wait for after the game, because the F13 penalty was done as a family, no party was left out of it, he couldn't help but grin at that.
Gibbs made his way down the stairs & he couldn't help but cast his mind to Hollis, he wanted to speak with her & get a better handle on what she was doing here before he spoke to his wife. He spotted one of his SSA's, he had another matter to deal with first "Brunswick!" he called.
"Yes boss" Brunswick answered approaching him.
"I know a lot of people were hoping to get to the game tomorrow, but we're going to have to ration it out, I have 3 sets of tickets, one for the Junior agents, one for the SFA's & one for you and the other SSA's. You & the other SSA's are to decide how to deal them out, leave Tony's team out of it" Gibbs ordered, he'd already spoken with Tony & knew Tim was going, the rest of his team had all said they were staying on the search.
"Of course boss, I'll take care of it" Brunswick agreed, she both really wanted to get to that game & get through her current case so she could help with the search, so she knew why Gibbs was rationing who could go.
"Good" Gibbs agreed,he was about to ask where her case was up to when he spotted Donnelly & Ziva bringing Hollis & that Fielding lady into the bullpen, he let out a small sign, he wished he'd have a few more minutes to get through everything else first.
Hollis couldn't say that debrief had been what she'd been hoping for, it was totally one way, they hadn't told her anything about why they were interested in Withers, only grilled her on what the DOD's interest had been. They had gone round & round, it was extremely frustrating. Apparently, their side, would only get discussed once they'd passed their report on to Jethro, and that wouldn't happen until he was out of that management meeting. She'd still not been able to get more details about why they were all here & what exactly had transpired with his family!
She followed the NCIS contingent back into the main area & instantly saw Jethro there, while he no longer had a tie on, he still looked… she just couldn't get used to it, was he looking younger? Healthier? or just well, happier? She couldn't really place it.
Gibbs could see the curiosity all over Hollis's face, he'd have to speak with her soon. He needed to speak with his agents without them first though, but his girl was in his office "Zuse! Dodd!" he called.
Zuse had been buried in his computer, he wasn't sure he'd ever get used to being shouted at like that, but he knew he'd have to try, because he was in it for the long haul & this was part & parcel of working at NCIS. He could see his fellow probationary agent was thinking the same thing as they both answered "yes boss?"
"Escort the DOD personel back to the conference room, I'll be there in a few" Gibbs ordered.
"Yes boss" the pair answered rising from their seats.
"We've just come from there Jethro, surely we can skip whatever this is & get down to it?" Hollis asked, not liking he was again palming her off & they'd just spent 3 hours there going through everything from her end, that was all she could take.
Tony & Ziva flashed each other a worried look, they didn't know how Gibbs would respond.
Donnelly & Brunswick flashed each other a look of surprise, no one, other than Shannon ever called Gibbs Jethro in the office, ever! who was this woman?
"I need an update from my SSA's, I will be in after that & we can 'get down to it' I have more going on than just what you're here for" Gibbs replied, he wasn't used to someone rebutting an instruction.
Hollis's eyes widened, she was already confused & this again added another layer "Fine but this is important, highest priority" she'd never known him to not just hone in on the highest priority assignment & go full steam until it was dealt with.
"So the sooner you go, the sooner we can deal with it" Gibbs suggested "Go!" he ordered his agents.
"Yes boss" Zuse & Dodd answered.
Gibbs watched them go & was about to ask Donnelly what was going on when Tony caught his eye, he looked confused "something wrong DiNozzo?"
Tony flashed Gibbs a look, but returned his gaze to the level above "never thought those two would be laughing together" he observed, Tim & Mike were walking in tandem & laughing with each other.
Gibbs smirked "they've had to unite to combat an opposing force" but he was actually glad the pair were breaking the tension that had been between them.
Mike was coming down the stairs still quietly chuckling "we'll need a couple of beers"
Tim shared a smile with him "you're on"
"You two done?" Gibbs enquired of the pair.
Tim & Mike looked up to Gibbs "yes boss" "yes sir" they smiled
"She's… working" Tim added with wry smile.
""I bet" Gibbs smirked, but he turned instantly to Donnelly & Ziva "well?"
Donnelly saw Ziva give her a nod, so she took a deep breath "Withers was on their watch-list as a person of serious interest for his dealing on one of the illegal dark web exchanges, he was someone that offered his unique services to the highest bidder"
"What kind of services?" Tony asked.
"You name he did it" Donnelly replied & continued "obtaining sensitive information, finding people for the wrong people, connecting people together, for gun-running, hardware, drugs, they even have one open investigation going where they believe he was involved in the slave trade"
Kruse felt disgusted "should've shot the bastard" he spat to himself.
"Do they know of any connections he had with Guthrie through the exchange?" Gibbs asked
"Not sure Gibbs" Ziva answered "they've given us screen names of some of the people he connected with, but they haven't been able to connect names to their online persona's, Withers was the lead they were hoping to use to break up that exchange site"
Gibbs considered how to deal with this now, he had one more question to ask Ziva "she ask anything?"
Ziva knew what he meant "she tried, but I told her she had to wait for you to speak with her"
Gibbs rubbed his chin "ok, Ziva give Wu the names from the exchange & see what you can unearth, bring in the NATO lab & heck, get Abby on the case if you need the help."
"Yes Gibbs" Ziva agreed "Yes Boss" Wu agreed..
"Brunswick, where you are up to?" Gibbs enquired, hoping his agent was close to closing her case with those sailors.
"Awaiting a warrant boss, we can then search the Petty Officer's residence. We've got a DNA sample, just need to find something to match it to" Brunswick answered.
"Check with Alice on its progress, I want you to wrap it up by tomorrow" Gibbs ordered
"Yes Boss" Brunswick replied, by tomorrow? This was going to be a fun weekend!
"Donnelly, McGee, lets go see them" Gibbs motioned, but he looked to Mike "you, keep her up there" he finished pointing towards his office.
Mike raised his eyebrow "ahhh….. I'll do my best sir" the way Kelly was acting at the moment, keeping her anywhere, challenging to say the least! He really didn't want to deal with her currently, she needed time to cool off.
"noooo" Gibbs smirked "you knew what you were getting into when you signed up, you run towards the gunfire, not away from it marine, suck it up!"
"Yes sir" Mike replied automatically, given that comment & tone, it was pure instinct.
Gibbs hid his grin, he could see the startled looks, including Tim's, he eyed him "if I was you, I would be grateful to the Captain or you'd be knee deep in that gunfire" what he wouldn't say was that he was grateful too! He knew his girl would be cranky for a while & needed time for cooling off.
"Yes boss" Tim swallowed, he followed his boss but quickly whispered to Mike "beer's on me" he'd been startled by Gibbs' comment to Mike, but had to admit, he was grateful to not have to keep Kelly in that room, he knew right now she just needed space to cool off.
"Bet your ass" Mike mumbled as he headed for the stairs….…how'd he end up with this detail? He wasn't even the boyfriend anymore!
Tony's eyes widened at Gibbs remarks, he knew he wasn't alone, there were many sets of eyes that were startled by his comments. He saw a look pass between Mike & Tim, he was sure they'd said something but just couldn't hear! He watched as Mike walked towards Gibbs office, the guy looked like he was really walking towards gunfire, he wondered what exactly had happened earlier, he just had to know!
"Captain" Tony called following him up the stairs.
Mike sighed, but turned to look at him "Agent DiNozzo?" he asked, curious as to what he wanted, though he was glad for the momentary reprieve.
"I have to ask, what was that about? And what happened earlier?" Tony enquired.
"Dear miss Kelly can dish it out but she can't take it" Mike answered "so now she's annoyed at me & McGee, she clearly needs time to cool off, I swear she can channel her mum so easily when it comes to stubborn pissed off demeanour, and now, I, I have to go in there!" he was not looking forward to this "I'm not even her damn boyfriend anymore!" he muttered again, only out loud this time.
Tony couldn't help but smirk "I'd say it's her dad that she channels" while he'd dealt with Shannon being stubborn and angry, Gibbs definitely took the cake with pissed off demeanour! And the times he'd had to deal with Kelly in that mood, was definitely like her dad!
Mike eyed him "then you've clearly never had to deal with Mrs G when she's truly pissed!" he retorted
Tony could only presume that he had! Oh, he wanted to know this! He was about to ask about it when he heard his phone go off – it was a message from Gibbs. He read it 'you're deciding what details we tell Mann & this Fielding lady, so come to the Conference Room – NOW!'
"Gotta scoot, but I want to finish this conversation, I want details!" Tony remarked
Mike raised his eyebrow "you want details, you can add to the beer tab your buddy is currently funding" he was not going to give any of those details without a payoff!
"Done" Tony smirked, he knew he'd have to pay for this information!
Tony entered the conference room and quickly panned the room, he saw Mann at one end of the room, she was looking stunned, but both Gibbs & Tim, who were up the other end, were showing wee little smiles he wondered what they were in aid of. Donnelly, who was between them & had Delilah across from her, just looked confused. He wondered what words had been exchanged thus far. He was however glad that Gibbs was allowing him to explain only what he wanted them to know "Where are we at Boss?"
"We're up to the meeting Withers held posing as the INTERPOL agent, Agent Mann wants to know why Withers would assume the NCIS agent should know the Commanders whereabouts" Gibbs stated, he used his wording carefully, to tell Tony that he had yet to say it was him involved thus far.
Tony caught onto what Gibbs had said & why, he nodded in understanding & agreed "he was after intel about if the Commander's whereabouts was known by the agent"
Hollis wondered why he'd suddenly come into the meeting, as well as taken over the explanation of things. She needed to get things moving & find out what was going on, but thus far they hadn't been told much else. Only that Withers had impersonated an INTERPOL agent in order to access an NCIS agent and interrogated the NCIS agent and the agent's lawyer's apparently in regards to the location of some Navy Commander. She was a little curious, again, about his lack of hesitation of the lawyers involvement, he hated lawyers! But that's all they'd been told that and that Withers was also a person on interest in the disappearance of the Navy Commander. There was one other thing that she was wondering "who is the NCIS agent involved? Shouldn't they be here?"
"You're right he should be here, and he is here" Tony replied, taking a breath before continuing "I'm the agent & Withers wanted to know if I knew where my sister was."
"Sister?" Hollis queried taken aback "you have a sister?" she was sure he didn't have one, but then again, she was certain Gibbs hadn't had a real live family just a few hours ago!
"Yes Tony has a sister & for the purpose of this discussion she is the missing Navy Commander" Gibbs answered, while they were still waiting on official confirmation, he believed that was only a matter of time & it would serve no purpose to keep dealing in the 'maybe' line, especially for Tony.
"I didn't know you had…" Hollis started, but got cut off.
"That's another discussion for later" Gibbs interrupted "that bares no impact on the case" he added making sure she knew it was no go territory.
"Fair enough, please Tony, keep going" Hollis remarked, she saw a flashed look between Gibbs & Tony, and saw a look of understanding & maybe thankfulness, their relationship had definitely changed.
Tony was glad for Gibbs's intervention on that subject matter, but he wanted to give some sort of answer "I only just found out about her" he took a breath before continuing "him & his supposed partner, Guthrie were trying to have us believe they'd been assigned to investigate her disappearance, they told us she was part of some sort of NATO taskforce & as such it was their responsibility to find her. They wanted to know when the last time I'd had contact with her was, which was pretty easy to say, cause I'd never had contact with her."
"That doesn't sound right, NATO would always work side by side with US authorities" Delilah remarked quietly, she'd done joint projects with some NATO teams and investigations were always a joint affair.
"Ya think" Gibbs replied briskly
Tony wondered how long it would take Gibbs to get comfortable with her,he just carried on like he'd never stopped "Once pressed they said that she'd gone missing from a UK Training base in Norfolk and she'd been touring around looking at various bases in Europe and the UK. He said her laptop had been left behind & that's where they got my details from, but apart from that she'd just vanished from her accommodation there"
Tim saw Tony flash him a look, it was a 'help me out' look, he decided to pick up the explanation "as soon as they left we started digging straight away, as it really didn't seem right to us on numerous fronts. We quickly ascertained that they weren't INTERPOL agents & started the hunt to find them as well as her"
"Withers is someone who covers his tracks extremely well, it's one of the things he sells, doing a job & walking away cleanly" Delilah commented, she was glad they were getting into it now, this was why she was here "I don't imagine you'll find him anytime soon, but I've got some algorithms we can harness to try to work out the path he was on, it could help track him down."
Tony & Tim both shared looks of surprise.
"We know where he is" Gibbs stated.
Delilah's eyes widened "you found him? Where? How? We need to speak to him!" he could bring down the whole exchange!
Hollis was in agreement "I want access to him immediately!"
"Sure" Gibbs nodded "I'll call Palmer & tell him to expect a visit" he always did enjoy it when he could give the answer if only a little cryptically.
"Palmer? Jimmy Palmer, Ducky's assistant?" Hollis asked "what's he doing here? Wait! Withers is dead? How?"
"Generally when Palmer is involved, the person's dead" Gibbs remarked.
"Palmer's now a full ME & is a part of the NATO Medical Examiner's unit based here in Naples" Tim added to answer the other question "Palmer's autopsy was how we got his name, it was the tattoo he found on his….."
"His right ankle" Delilah finished, interrupting Tim "that's the only distinguishing feature the man has, how'd he die?"
"Long range sniper shot" Tim answered "he and Guthrie were both taken out in Parco De Floridana"
"Any information you've got on him, I want!" Gibbs asserted.
"We barely have anything…" Delilah started
"Barely means you've got something, you must have his conversations from the exchange, the user profiles of those he conversed with, IP addresses from the sites he logged in from. I want it all, because we need to find out who hired him!" Gibbs interrupted her briskly.
"We can give you our file on him" Hollis answered, she was quite surprised at his remarks regarding the exchange, since when did he know & use those terms like IP addresses & user profiles? "If I can ask, what your sister's name is Tony?"
"Patricia Kaplan, Commander Patricia Kaplan" Tony answered, with some pride at being able to answer it.
"Do you know if she did go missing from the base in Norfolk?" Hollis queried, wondering if the details Withers gave was even close to accurate, he wasn't known for it.
"No she didn't go missing from there but she was at the base, it was for a US only taskforce, they then moved to Abu Dhabi. She requested emergency leave whilst there & since then has gone off the grid" Tim answered.
"She was at the base in Norfolk?" Delilah asked
"I believe Agent McGee already answered that" Gibbs remarked.
Tim knew Gibbs was still on edge with this lady, but he saw a flashed look between her & Mann, he wondered what that was in aid of.
"Sorry, but I just wanted to double check. All the analysis that we've done, all the investigations & leads we've had with him & the few associates we've uncovered show no signs that the man gives out any details that are anywhere close to accurate." Delilah replied, she wasn't quite sure what she'd done to earn such a response from someone she'd never met.
Hollis could see that Jethro was clearly still very tense towards Delilah & wondered what the cause was, but her partner made a good point "the man boasted on the exchange about his ability to not give any information out during his missions, why would he give you a specific location on where he'd been? Where she'd been? If he was after her, he wouldn't want to give you any breadcrumbs at her whereabouts, it really doesn't fit his profile"
Donnelly noted that all three men, Gibbs, Tim & Tony smirked as a reaction to question, she guessed the reason but was curious about something "His profile ever show that he impersonated a federal or INTERPOL agent before? In a US federal building, whilst liaising with US Federal authorities?" she asked, no matter who it was, she had to admit, that took guts! But if he had, it would mean he was big fish for sure! So whomever he was dealing with, was bad news, very bad news!
"I will admit no" Delilah answered "but given he did, I would have thought, he would have been at greater pains to not reveal the details even more"
"Did he offer the information Tony?" Hollis asked
Tony saw Gibbs give him a small nod "Nope, he didn't. My lawyer got it out of him, that along with the fact that it was a search on her laptop that lead them to me"
"Your lawyer?" Hollis asked again.
"Yes my lawyer" Tony answered.
Gibbs was loving the confusion all over her face "something wrong?"
"Ah well, you don't do lawyers Jethro, but apart from that, I personally spoke with one of his previous customers, who's now in prison. The man was a highly rated lawyer himself, but he couldn't give me any details on anything from the man, so yes I am little surprised" Hollis stated
Gibbs couldn't help but give a sly grin "yea well, you've obviously never dealt with our lawyer before"
Hollis saw the glee on not just his face, but Tony's & Tim's too "let me first get used the idea you actually like a lawyer, because I thought you had a rule against them?"
"Things change" Gibbs offered "now, anything else you want to know or can we get that file & try to track the guy's associates?"
Hollis was still confused "right at this minute I can't really think of anything, except that we'd been trying to get access to his email accounts but were having issues getting a warrant. Couldn't even find a lawyer to go to with the necessary clearance that would go to a judge for us, they call claimed the evidence was too circumstantial. Perhaps whoever this brilliant lawyer is can help us? If they have confidential clearance levels"
"Our lawyer does have clearance & will get it" Gibbs nodded, he looked to Tim "go speak with our lawyer & arrange it, use Judge Everett, make it quick, and McGee" he waited for his agent to look at him
Tim looked at his boss, he was loving this topic, Mann truly looked taken for six with mention of the lawyer, wait til she found out who it was! "Boss?"
"Tell Captain Bond his detail is over for now, you're taking over til we get the warrant" Gibbs smirked.
Tim's eyes suddenly widened at the realisation that he will now have to go see Kelly! He swallowed "yes boss"
Gibbs saw his hesitation "now McGee" he asserted.
"Right boss" Tim nodded & headed out.
Hollis saw him head out, she wondered what his apprehension was due to, but got back on topic "have you considered if this could be related to whatever taskforce she's on? What taskforce is she actually on?"
"She's on a multi-branch taskforce assessing US bases strategic needs in the current changing climate & which bases requires upgrading sooner than others" Donnelly answered "and we seriously doubt her disappearance is related to it" she'd answered, because she'd seen Gibbs give her a nod.
"I've known there to be tension amongst staff between branches, all wanting their own bases to come up trumps" Hollis commented.
"I personally spoke with the Colonel in charge, as well as numerous other members of the taskforce, they all loved her, there was nothing untoward happening between them" Donnelly replied.
"Your man's dead, what are you wanting to achieve now?" Gibbs asked, wanting to move the discussion on.
"Well, we want to find out who killed him, it may have been through an employer he got through the exchange, and that could help us bring it down. We also have information that may help you figure out who hired him that could lead to finding Tony's sister" Hollis answered "if you bring us up to speed on that, we can help"
Gibbs knew she was right "Fine, Donnelly, get the file & get your team working on it, take her with you" he motioned towards Delilah "the file will probably require McGee, so tell him to get back from Judge Everett asap!"
"Yes boss" Donnelly nodded "Ms Fielding, this way" she motioned her to follow.
Tony flashed a look between Gibbs & Mann, he wondered what Gibbs had in mind now, he wondered how she would take everything that had happened, he wondered what Gibbs would tell her. The pair of them were staring at each other, he was really wondering what he was still doing in this room.
A/N: Hmm.. so at least now we know what Hollis & Delilah want, and I think Hollis is still trying to work out exactly what's going on with Gibbs.. and speaking of Gibbs, he's still pretty tense with Delilah, is it warranted though? How will Hollis go hearing the detials & just how will she go if a certain redhead shows up? Can Kelly get that warrant? How will the NCIS gang go working with the DOD ladies?
I'm not sure when I'll be getting the next chapter up, as I've got exams coming up, but I'll try to not make it too long a way. Like always, I love hearing your thoughts/comments, so review away!