Dangerous Measures
AN: Thankyou all for your reviews
Thankyou also to Kate for her great work and fantastic ideas!
Gibbs heard beeping sounds in the background and smelt disinfectant among other things, alerting him to the fact that he was in hospital. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around the hospital room, seeing how many machines he was hooked up to. He tried to cough, but the action was hampered by something. That's when he felt the tube down his throat that was connected to another machine, making whooshing sounds.
"Good morning, Mr. Gibbs," he heard a woman say to him
Opening his mouth, he tried to say something, but barely achieved a grunt.
"Just relax, Mr. Gibbs, that tube is helping you to breathe. Your were in a pretty bad condition when you arrived yesterday afternoon," the nurse told him
Gibbs tried to sit up, with the intention of pulling out the tube, but sitting up made the room spin and he lay back down. He watched as the nurse injected something into one of the tubes from his body, and walked out. Blinking a few times, he looked around the room, growing more depressed as he realised the chase was over. The paramedics had known who he was, so they would have called the police. Sitting up again, he leaned on his elbow until the dizzy spell passed, before breathing out and pulling on the tube down his throat. He gagged as the tube came out, putting it on the bedside table as he began coughing. Wheezing, he tried to collect his breath and return it to normal.
"Knock, knock," came a voice from the door
Turning around, Gibbs saw Kerry enter the room.
"They told me you were awake," Kerry explained
"Water?" Gibbs croaked
Kerry picked up a jug of water from the bedside table and filled a glass, before giving it to Gibbs. "I see you took out the oxygen tube" Kerry remarked, gesturing to the offending object
Gibbs took a sip of the water, "Mmm, uncomfortable. Can breathe by myself" he answered in staggered sentences
Kerry smiled, pulling a nasal canulafrom behind his bed and hooking it up to the oxygen, before placing it on Gibbs, making sure the prongs aligned with his nose, "That should be a bit better,"
"Thanks," Gibbs croaked, then frowned, "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to see how you're doing," Kerry replied
"Is that normal? Do you check up on all of the people you bring in?" Gibbs asked, coughing again
"Not usually. Sometimes I check up on people we bring in in a severe condition, I like to know that they made it, and some of the children we have to bring in," Kerry explained
Gibbs nodded, "I don't like cases involving children either,"
"Do you have any children?" Kerry asked, sitting down
"Had one," Gibbs croaked
"Had?" Kerry asked
"Shannon. She was seven when she died. Killed by a drunk-driver," Gibbs explained
"I'm sorry," Kerry replied
Gibbs nodded, looking down, "Yourself?"
"No. Only Richie and Casper, my dogs," Kerry responded
Gibbs smiled, "Always wanted dogs. But I'd never have enough time for them,"
"That's why I'm lucky, my brother looks after them for me when I'm at work," Kerry replied
"You live with your brother?" Gibbs asked, wincing as he tried to move into a more comfortable position
"No, he lives with me. He moved in a year ago when he went through a nasty divorce. He hasn't moved out yet," Kerry explained
Gibbs nodded, then narrowed his eyes at her, "You didn't really answer my question before, about why you're here. Most people don't like hanging around with people they think are murderers,"
Kerry sighed, "To tell you the truth, I really don't know why I'm here. I wanted to see how you were doing. And you don't act like you killed somebody,"
"That's because I didn't," Gibbs replied, leveling his eyes at her
Kerry nodded, "So why run?"
"I was given a heads up. I was also told that they weren't gonna continue the investigation, once they caught me, they would have put me away," Gibbs replied, "Hardly seems appealing, so I decided to help myself, came here and tried to get evidence that I didn't do it,"
"Did you find anything?" Kerry asked
"Nope, didn't have enough time," Gibbs sighed, "I need something like, a video capturing the whole thing," he gave a small laugh, "And with the likelihood that I'd find that, is less than zero,"
"Where would you look if you had the chance?" Kerry asked
"I'd check out the place where Collins was killed. Then question his friends, and Robbins' friends. I'd check out their financial and phone records around the times they were…Why?" Gibbs asked suspiciously
"My brother is a cop and owes me a few favors…" Kerry responded
Kate looked up from her desk and watched Tony for a while. She smiled as he frowned, squinting at his monitor and poking out his tongue in concentration.
"Got anything?" Kate asked
"Nothing all that important," Tony replied, "You?"
Kate punched a few more buttons on her computer, "Yep. I looked through Jones' phone records; there was a lot of contact between him and another number quite a lot prior to Wicks' murder. I traced the number and got a name,"
"Who is it, Kate?" Tony asked when Kate didn't say anything
"Brett Hobson," Kate replied
Tony widened his eyes in surprise, "He's the eyewitness…"
"Yeah, I know. I did a short background check on him; he dropped out of high school and remained unemployed for five years before he became a mechanic," Kate replied,
"Any trouble with drugs or anything?" Tony asked
"Yeah, a year before he became a mechanic," Kate responded
"Got a location?" Tony asked
Kate smiled, "Of course"
Kate and Tony arrived at Hobson's house half an hour later, knocking on the door. The door opened and a man stood in the doorway looking at them. He narrowed his eyes, "Can I help you?"
"I believe you can, Mr. Hobson?" Tony asked
"Yeah, that's me," the man replied, leaning against the door frame
"Special Agents DiNozzo and Todd, NCIS," Tony responded, showing him his badge
"Ah, hell no," Hobson replied, "What the hell do you want, pigs?"
Tony and Kate exchanged a glance, "We just wanted to ask you a few questions about Mr. Jones," Kate explained
"We went to school together. Now leave me alone, I have nothing to say to you," Hobson responded before closing the door
Kate put her foot in the door, "Actually, I believe you do. What do you have against Special Agent Gibbs?"
"That bastard killed somebody," Hobson growled, "I saw him do it,"
"I think we'll finish this discussion at the office," Tony interrupted
"Too bad, I'm staying right here," Hobson replied
"Look, we can do this the hard way or the easy way. I suggest you change your attitude and come with us," Tony responded
"Like hell I am," Hobson said slamming the door
"So, you choose the hard way," Tony said threateningly to the door
Kate and Tony exchanged another glance before walking back to the car.
"We'll get him," Kate promised
"Mr. Gibbs?" a voice called
Gibbs groaned and rolled over, sighing as he fell asleep again.
"Mr. Gibbs!" the voice called again
Coughing, Gibbs opened one eye and looked around. Kerry looked down at him and smiled, "Hey, you're awake,"
"Barely," Gibbs croaked, coughing again, "Why does it hurt so much?"
Kerry sat down, "Your lung was punctured which is why you're finding it difficult to breathe. And one of the bullets chipped your shoulder,"
Gibbs sighed and looked up, watching Kerry.
"I have somebody I want you to meet," Kerry said, looking towards the door, "This is Ben, my brother,"
Gibbs looked to the door, holding out his hand, "Hey,"
"Hi. Kerry's told me quite a bit about you and your case," Ben said
"Really?" Gibbs asked, glancing at Kerry
"Yeah," Ben replied, looking at Kerry, "I also did a bit of a background on you. So, you're an ex-marine, hey?"
"Yeah," Gibbs responded, clearing his throat
"And now you want our help?" Ben asked
Gibbs' eyes flicked between Kerry and Ben, immediately going on the defensive, "I didn't ask for your help,"
"Marines never do," Ben responded, sitting on another chair, next to Kerry, "I reviewed your case, managed to find out how much the Feds have on you and I tell ya, I'd hate to be in your shoes. But, I decided to see what I could find on these Collins and Robbins guys. I pulled their phone records and financial records; there was nothing out of the ordinary,"
Gibbs sighed, putting his head back on the pillow, "Figures,"
"To do anymore, I'd have to go out of my way to find anything," Ben paused, "So, thankfully for you, I know some people. In fact, I know the guys who investigated the murders,"
Gibbs sat up and watched him, then narrowed his eyes, "What's in it for you?"
Ben thought about it for a moment, then shrugged, "I don't really need a reason, don't get me wrong, I don't do this very often, in fact, this would be the first time I've helped somebody out in your position,"
"So why are you now?" Gibbs asked suspiciously
"Because my sister asked me to, and that's reason enough for me," Ben told him
Gibbs looked back at Kerry, somewhat surprised, "Thanks," he said, looking back at Ben
Ben nodded, "Okay. But you gotta tell me what I'm looking for,"
"Look over their cases, see if anything stands out, may have been overlooked before. Question their friends, see if anybody new had come into their lives," Gibbs paused, thinking, "The case at home with Wicks, he had recently met somebody over the internet, I think they said his name was Jones. There was also something about his shrink, Turner. My team was also looking into people who may have a grudge against me, primarily, Trance Passer and Justin Martin,"
"Well, that certainly gives me a lot to look for," Ben commented, "Your team is heading up an investigation?"
Gibbs nodded, coughing, "Yeah, unofficially, I think,"
"And they're NCIS?" Ben asked
"Yeah. Speak with Agent DiNozzo, he'll get you up to date on they're progress," Gibbs told him
"Okay, I'll follow all of this up and tell you if I find anything," Ben replied
That's it for chapter 9!...Hope it was okay! PLEASE review!
