Shariff Returns: [part 2]

...

3rd Person POV:

In autopsy, Colonel Mann and Gibbs were getting checked out by Ducky while Abby, Claire and Ziva waited outside. An alert had come through about people in the hospital with a mysterious disease, which the investigators knew to be the start of Shariff's attack. Things had escalated to a personal level when Shariff himself had contacted Gibbs to inform him that he had been infected with the BZ. Therefore those who had been with Gibbs at his home, he and the colonel, were getting checked for exposure.

"Poor Gibbs. First he loses his memory, and now he might lose his mind." Abby mused in concern. Ziva hummed.

"Shariff is going to lose a lot more than that when Gibbs catches him." she pointed out knowingly. All three took a step back when Ducky approached the doors to meet them. He reached over and turned off the hazard light, letting everything revert back to normal. Gibbs and Colonel Mann finished up their redressing behind him. The agent's gaze went to Ducky as the autopsy doors hissed open.

"Is he going crazy?" Abby asked quietly, shooting a concerned look towards Gibbs.

"No, he's his usual self. Which some people might characterize as unconventional." Ducky elaborated. The girls grinned in amusement.

"I didn't find any trace of BZ gas in either of them. Shariff appears to be bluffing." he added.

"You're welcome to..." Before he could finish the sentence, Abby had bolted inside and flew into Gibbs who grunted in surprise.

"Gibbs, I was so worried."

"I'm okay, Abs." he assured, giving her a pat on the back.

"Yea, me too." Mann added dryly from behind the crowd. When Gibbs separated from Abby, Ziva and Claire began updating him on the status of everything.

"No fatalities at the hospital. The dose was too low, they're reporting it as food poisoning."

"But word is already beginning to leak out." Claire finished for Ziva with a frown. Everyone followed behind Gibbs as he entered the elevator.

"How did Shariff deliver the BZ?" He inquired.

"I can't tell yet. The pattern of illnesses appears random." Abby explained, throwing her hands about for emphasis.

"We're still trying to find a link between Shariff and the Chechen rebels." Ziva pointed out.

"You won't find one. He's trying to distract us." Gibbs countered.

"From what?" Colonel Mann joined in the conversation.

"I don't know." Mann frowned at him skeptically.

"Then what makes you so sure?" Everyone in the elevator turned to stare at her quietly. Abby reached out and tapped the woman's shoulder to get her attention.

"Never question the gut." the goth insisted with a serious whisper. Her teammates grinned in amusment. However, she wasn't wrong. As the elevator doors opened up McGee jerked back in surprise having been ready to rush inside. He quickly turned to join the group as Gibbs brushed past him.

"Going somewhere, McGee?"

"Actually, looking for you, boss. I might've found a connection between Shariff's victims. Neighbors reported seeing the same truck outside of two of the houses." The man rattled off as they fanned out in front of Gibb's desk.

"Well, you got a plate?" Mann asked.

"Not enough of one. All I got is a red truck and some kind of logo." McGee winced apologetically.

"Claire, you and Tony find out if anyone else saw…." Gibbs trailed off as he spotted the empty desk. The man stood with a stern frown and glanced around the room. Everyone else remained silent.

"Where the hell is DiNozzo?"

"Why don't you ask Claire? Oh wait, she won't answer." Ziva imputed, cutting a sharp look at the woman. Claire glared back silently. Gibbs turned his gaze towards the woman who stared back imploringly. He knew where her stance was on the situation, despite what Ziva suggested. She was just as lost as they were when it came to Tony's absences.

"Find him. Now." He ordered. She nodded, walking away as she found the number in her cell. Heading towards the stairs, she glanced up towards MTAC thoughtfully. Changing her mind she climbed up, being sure that her team was distracted as she did. Slipping into MTAC, Claire found the director sitting in the theatre seats while the techs worked on pulling up footage and video calls. She slipped into a seat beside Director Shepherd who turned to look at her curiously.

"Agent Conners did you need something?" she asked politely. Claire nodded, staring ahead at the blank screen.

"Yes, actually. Agent DiNozzo is missing and I wanted to inquire if you knew of his whereabouts." Jenny blinked curiously.

"Why would I know?" Claire turned to face her director head on.

"He's been running errands for you for months. A lot of them seem to be in the middle of our investigations which in turn makes Tony look very bad. I was inquiring if this was one of those times. If so, may I say I think it's inappropriate timing seeing that we have an ongoing terrorist investigation." She told the older woman, her face never wavering. Director Shepherd grinned tightly.

"I think you're beginning to overstep your bounds Ms. Conners. What I use my agents for is none of your concern and is completely necessary. Nevertheless, I don't have him out on an errand at the moment so I'm afraid DiNozzo has skipped out on his own." She assured Claire calmly, her eyes hardening. Claire clenched her jaw. Tony wouldn't step out on a case as important as this one. Something else was going on but she wasn't getting her answers today. With a nod she stood to leave.

"Oh, Agent Conners." Jenny called, having the woman pause on the exit ramp to look back at her.

"I admire your loyalty to your teammates but be careful who you choose to point fingers at. It may come back to bite you." she warned. Claire said nothing as she left the room, even more exasperated than when she had entered. What wasn't Tony telling her?

...

...

Tony stood outside Jeanne's apartment and knocked on the door, listening for any sounds inside.

"Paging Miss Benoit. Miss Benoit, please report to your front door please." His cell range and he glanced down to see the caller ID. Claire. He declined it.

"There's a medical emergency requiring your assistance, Miss Benoit. Patient at your front door is dying of loneliness…" Tony trailed off as the woman he was searching for rounded the corner with a startled look.

"So when I said rain check…." She trailed off. Tony grinned at her as he watched her face. Jeanne's expression was riding a thin line between amused and infuriated.

"That's weird because I thought you said Brain Chex. Like a….some kind of breakfast cereal good for your brain. What's wrong?" he inquired gently as she brushed past him to unlock her door. Jeanne sighed.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you." she dismissed, leaving the door open for him to follow. Tony's head ticked to the side thoughtfully.

"That's not what I asked." he pointed out, shutting the door behind him. Meanwhile, Jeanne practically threw her jacket into the chair and put her things away in a huff.

"If you don't want to tell me, I can always look at your horoscope or read some tea leaves.." Jeanne whipped around angrily.

"What is it about 'No' that men refuse to understand?" she snapped in exasperation. Tony paused in the entryway to her living room.

"Is this all men or just me?" he asked in confusion. Jeanne paced by her coffee table, rubbing her neck anxiously.

"I got an e-mail from an old friend." She explained.

"And this old friend is not good at the 'No' word?"

"No, this friend isn't."

"Sounds like this may have something to do with me."

"Not everything is about you." Jeanne pointed out, her eyes glinting in amusement. Tony chuckled, glad he was able to calm her down at least a little.

"Okay, then." He consented with a grin.

"Enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do you think of me?" Tony inquired seriously, getting onto a different topic. Jeanne shifted her jaw in thought before a small grin crept onto her face.

"Beaches. Bette Midler, 1987." Tony took a step further into the room to meet her.

"1988, actually but I'm going to give it to you because you're kind of cute. And you win the prize." He pulled out a DVD case with a flourish and presented it to her with a bow.

"A night with Francois Truffaut. Actually a probably a couple nights, maybe even a long weekend." Tony rambled as he handed the DVD case to her. Jeanne took it with an amazed grin.

"I love Truffaut."

"Just so we're clear, you know, to make sure there's no confusion in the future. When we use the word 'rain check' we're saying "No' now, right?" Tony inquired, furrowing his brows anxiously. If he got into a bad way with the woman it could be catastrophic for the mission.

"Not 'no' with a capital 'N', more like a lower-case 'no'". Jeanne clarified thoughtfully.

"Yes, perfectly unclear. You see, this might be why men have trouble understanding the feminine of the 'no' word thingy." He pointed out with a chuckle. Jeanne stared back at him, her brow raised.

"I'm digging myself a hole."

"Yeah." She giggled.

"You know since I'm here it's a shame to waste me. I vote for group bath." He announced, holding up his hand to signify his vote. Jeanne giggled even more.

"Was that a 'yes' or a 'no'?" he asked as she slipped around him.

"It wasn't a 'no'." she assured coyly.

"Aha. That's very good." He grinned, waiting until she went around the corner. While Jeanne was in the bathroom, he quickly made his way over to the open laptop on her small dining table; sifting through the emails until found the 'old friend' she had been talking about. While scanning the email an alert flashing across the top of the screen about the outbreak of a mysterious illness. Along with it, his cell rang. He could quickly put the pieces together.

"Hey, is this about the mystery illness?" Tony asked in lieu of greeting.

"I don't know, you tell me. Or if you'd like you can decline my call and I'll ask again later." Claire growled in annoyance as she hid behind the stairwell back at NCIS. Tony clenched his eyes shut.

"I am telling you. I just got the newsflash. Shariff?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. You want to tell me went you are that was so important?" she asked tightly, pacing in the small corner away from everyone else.

"Off duty." He answered. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Alright this disappearing act is getting old, Tony. You want to keep things a secret, fine but now I'm starting to get heat about it and it's not ok." She hissed, crossing her arms over her chest as she took in some deep breaths.

"That's why I don't answer your calls. Gives you an out." he explained. Claire blinked in confusion as she processed the admission.

"You….what?" she stuttered. Tony licked his lips, wincing at the slip.

"If I don't answer you that's not your issue, it's mine. So, what are you calling for?" he quickly explained. Claire shook her head absently, trying to remember what her purpose was.

"Uh McGee found a connection between the victims. Their homes were fumigated by the same firm."

"All right, text me the address."

"Where are you?" she insisted.

"I can't….You…we…" Tony began dramatically breaking up as Claire protested on the other side. Hearing footsteps he quickly hung up. Jeanne stepped into view, wearing only her silk bathrobe as she grinned at him.

"Tony? The water's getting cold." Tony held up his phone apologetically.

"About that rain check…."

...

...

Claire's POV:

I sat at my desk, watching the news report on the victims at the hospital. Gibbs and Colonel Mann had returned from MTAC with Director Shepherd. Ever since their visit upstairs, Gibbs had seemed a bit on edge. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he rubbed his forehead roughly, as if to stem off a headache which was odd because Gibbs was never sick. Then again maybe I was overthinking it.

"Gibbs, we have news." Abby announced as she and McGee bounded into the office.

"We were able to back trace the wire transfer to Major Maguire"

"It wasn't easy."

"Most offshore accounts use a block cipher as a security protocol."

"So we fooled their system by causing it.."

"You got a location on Shariff?" Gibbs cut in, getting the two to stop talking back and forth in their geek speak.

"Gibbs, the wire transfer did not come from Shariff?" Abby grinned. I turned my head fully towards them in confusion.

"Who did it come from?" I asked.

...

I soon got my answer as the man was taken to interrogation. Just my luck….it was Dane. And he had arrived just in time for Tony to join us in the observation room.

"So, this was the guy Claire was drooling over?" McGee hummed teasingly.

"I see the appeal; he is very attractive." Ziva pointed out, eyeing the engineer in interrogation. I threw out my hand towards her in appreciation. Sure I still had feelings for Tony but I wasn't blind nor dead.

"I was not drooling." I insisted.

"Please. I saw you undressing him with your bedroom eyes." Tony countered, scowling at the man. I scoffed in offense.

"At least I'm not the one asking him if he waxed his eyebrows. I think we left him feeling like we both were hitting on him. Which I wasn't." Tony turned his scowl towards me as McGee and Ziva shot him amused glances.

"It's important to appreciate the competition." He countered. My head shot his direction almost instantly. The competition? Tony clammed up, realizing what he had blurted. Tony and I eyed one another uncomfortably. Thankfully the other two didn't take notice and took it as a joke, chuckling at the absurdity. Needing to keep up the act we tensely laughed along, turning to face the viewing window instead. I kept my eyes locked on the room in front of me, trying to get my emotions back under control. Where had that come from? I let out an internal sigh of relief when Gibbs and Colonel Mann walked in. I needed something to distract me.

"I want a lawyer." Dane instantly requested.

"Why? You done something wrong?" Gibbs asked innocently as he perched on the table beside the man.

"I'm admitting to nothing."

"You don't need to. We already know you wired $20,000 to Major Maguire. What we don't know is why?" Colonel Mann explained as she rounded the table to sit across from Dane. Gibbs stared holes into the man's head silently.

"I'm going to make this real simple for you. No lawyer, no trial." Gibbs told him.

"Just a room like this until you talk. That's the way it works for terrorists." Mann added.

"I'm not a terrorist." Dane insisted. Gibbs rubbed his jaw and stood, pacing to the other side of the table.

"Well you better hope you can convince us otherwise." Dane sighed, shaking his head. He leaned back in resignation and began spilling the story.

"All right. I diverted the BZ gas to Shariff, not the major. When I went to cover my tracks…"

"Major Maguire found out." Gibbs finished. Dane nodded.

"Yeah, Shariff said he would take care of it. I got worried when the major disappeared. I knew the missing BZ would be traced back to me."

"So, you made it look like Major Maguire sold the gas to Shariff by putting the money in his account." Colonel Mann answered.

"How much did Shariff pay you?" Gibbs asked. Dane frowned.

"Nothing. I paid him."

"What? You just like killing Americans?" Mann asked sarcastically. The man rolled his eyes, giving her a glare.

"We weren't planning on killing anyone. The plan was to scare people."

"Hey, it's working." Gibbs hummed lowly.

"You guys don't get it do you? Every time there's a catastrophe, someone cashes in. Katrina, the construction companies cleaned up. The tsunami, traders made a killing on tsunami-detection stocks. And during a chemical scare? Have you checked the stock market today?" Dane explained, smirking at the end.

"My lab paid me in stock options. The phony attack that put six people in the hospital; well that worked because everybody's running out and buying gas masks now. Stock prices went through the roof. I'll be a millionaire by tomorrow's bell." He finished smugly. I scoffed in disgust at his explanation.

"You're gonna be in prison by tomorrow's bell." Gibbs countered.

"You gave a terrorist deadly nerve gas." Mann added sternly.

"Just wait, all right? It's not what you think. I built in a safeguard. I denatured the enzyme, which makes it useless for an airborne attack. That's the only way I'd give him the gas."

"Shariff knew?" Gibbs inquired.

"Stealing the bug sprayer was just to scare people. Shariff has the BZ but he can't even use it. I mean, if you ingest it, it'll kill you. But yea last time I checked, bleach and bug spray will do the same thing and you can buy that anywhere." Dane pointed out.

"There is no terrorist attack." He insisted.

"Then why are there six people in the hospital right now?"

...

...

3rd Person POV:

"Boss, local LEOs found the stolen sprayer in an alley. No trace of the BZ. " McGee informed. His frowned deepened as Gibbs uncomfortably tugged at his shirt before rolling at the sleeves, ignoring the information. McGee stood to walk over to join the other three behind Tony's desk.

"I think maybe Dane was right." He suggested, glancing back at Gibbs.

"Wrong, probie. It's Shariff. He wouldn't go to the trouble if he didn't have a plan." Tony countered.

"And not knowing is driving Gibbs crazy." Claire pointed out as she watched the man rub at his face. She frowned in concern, not used to seeing him behave this way.

"Then explain how Shariffs gonna spread the BZ if it's been modified." McGee countered.

"Maybe it wasn't modified." Ziva suggested.

"It was. CID's chemical weapons specialist analyzed the blood of the victims at the hospital and confirmed the BZs been modified. It's harmless unless ingested." Colonel Mann informed as she walked into the room to join them.

"Which is basically harmless."

"It wasn't harmless for Major Maguire and those six people." Gibbs countered, speaking up for the first time. He wrung his hands anxiously.

"Shariff was in their houses. He could've spiked their OJ with BZ." Tony pointed out, watching his boss intently.

"Or Shariff figured out a way to modify it back." Claire suggested. Colonel Mann nodded along in agreement. Gibb's phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Why don't I wait for you to start the trace?" Gibbs straightened up and gestured for McGee to get to his computer. Instantly they all knew it was Shariff and they needed to trace the call. Colonel Mann walked closer to Gibbs to try and hear the conversation while McGee worked on the trace.

"I just called to see how you were feeling, Agent Gibbs."

"Better than those six innocent people you put in the hospital." Tony, Claire, and Ziva watched as the info was put up on the big screen, along with an audio recording so they all could hear it.

"I'd stop by and pay my respects, but I'm on my way out of town. How about I send you a postcard? I'm planning on travelling quite a bit for my retirement."

"And your Chechen buddies?"

"I'm not even sure where Chechnya is."

"We both know you're not retiring."

"With what I made, I plan to."

"Who were they?" Shariff went quiet on the other line. Gibbs had hit a nerve.

"..Wife….Family? Come on, Shariff. I've been there, I know. It's not the money. It's payback. You won't stop until you get it."

"So who were they?" The line went dead as Shariff hung up. Gibbs grunted in frustration and looked to see if McGee picked up the signal. Tim shook his head.

"So this is all about payback?" Tony inquired.

"Oh, he's planning an attack." Colonel Mann assured.

"I believe I have a clue as to what that might be." Ducky butted in as he walked into the room. With a wave he gestured for a group to follow after him. Gibbs, the colonel, Claire, and Tony followed down to autopsy.

...

Downstairs Ducky had the major pulled out of the freezer.

"Do you see the slight inflammation of the stratum corneum of his fingertips?" Ducky inquired, holding up the shredded digits.

"Slight?" Claire deadpanned, grimacing at the sight.

"Looks like he was grating cheese…and forgot the cheese." Tony added, shooting a small grin at her. Claire bit her lip, keeping her smile minimal.

"Well, yes. Most of the damage occurred when Major Maguire attempted to scale the walls of his crypt. When I learned that the BZ gas had been modified so it was no longer an airborne threat, I looked for other methods of exposure." Ducky explained to them. Gibbs fidgeted from behind the small door of the freezer.

"He ingested it?" Colonel Mann suggested.

"That's a good guess. But also a wrong one. The answer lies in the major's urine." Ducky elaborated, walking over and unscrewing the container.

"Smell that." Tony grimaced in disgust at the liquid being presented to him.

"I'd prefer not to." He declined. Colonel Mann and Gibbs leaned in to sniff. Claire opted to stay on the other side of Ducky so as not to be volunteered.

"Garlic."

"Shariff is spiking garlic with BZ toxin?" Mann asked skeptically.

"No. The contents of his stomach showed Major Maguire hadn't eaten anything, much less garlic." Ducky abruptly slapped a small sample container into Claire's hand. She stared down at it before following Ducky back to the body and standing behind him.

"It appears that Shariff may have been testing a topical method of exposure. Like sunscreen or a body oil. If that is the case, then that would explain both the inflammation and the garlic odor by-product." He explained while peeling off a later of one of the major's fingertips before depositing it into the small jar. Tony leaned in to sniff it. Claire shot him a confused stare, earning a childish shrug in return. She reached over him for a cap to screw onto the container.

"Of course all this will require a specialized analysis from Abby to determine that that is indeed the case." Gibbs snatched the jar out of her hand once it was sealed and he silently left the room with Colonel Mann. Tony and Claire watched them owlishly while Ducky remained oblivious.

"I'm fairly certain that…Where'd they go?"

"I'm guessing Abby's lab." Tony answered.

"I know Gibbs always gets his man, but those two are unusually motivated to find Shariff." Ducky pointed out with an impish grin.

"You think there's something else motivating them? Like a bet?" Claire inquired. Ducky hummed thoughtfully and walked away. Leaving the question unanswered.

...

While they were down in the lab, those left upstairs had found Shariff on some video footage. With a call, Gibbs and Colonel Mann came back up to meet with them. On the screen Tony had pulled up two different video footages, both showing Shariff coming in and out of the bank.

"Guy's been a busy little banker. He spent the last three days going from bank to bank." Tony began.

"Depositing or withdrawing?" Gibbs inquired.

"Withdrawing. And all of it in singles." McGee answered.

"Twelve transactions at 12 different banks. Which is why he was flagged." Claire added.

"Anit-laundering law used to say any transaction over ten grand needs to be reported." Tony explained, pulling up the bank notes for each withdrawal. Claire shot him a curious look.

"But those are $9,000 each." Mann pointed out.

"Shariff must have known about the limit." McGee suggested. Tony grinned.

"What he didn't know is that the Fed lowered the threshold to $5,000 last month." Claire's frown deepened.

"Since when do you know so much about anti-laundering laws?" She asked him. Tony blinked.

"Well, you should read your memos more often." He pointed out with a grin. Claire pursed her lip.

"Or not." She suggested instead.

"How much?" Mann asked.

"108,000."

"A lot of singles."

"About 108,000." Ziva pointed out with a grin. Tony's lip quirked.

"I have an inappropriate joke about strip club, but I'll save it for a less terrifying moment." he informed with a small laugh.

"Or you could just save it." Claire suggested. Tony smirked.

"He's putting the BZ on the money." Mann realized, turning to Gibbs.

"By the time it changes hands within 36 hours…"

"A lot more than 100,000 will be at risk."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs glanced over at the man.

"I'll check casinos and racetracks. Places to get rid of large amounts of cash quick." Tony answered for his boss, heading back to his desk.

"Agent McGee and Conners, airports and train stations. Wherever Shariff can hit large groups of people." Mann ordered, the two flying off to get it done.

"Ziva, coordinate roadblocks with local LEOs.." Gibbs ordered, letting the last one dart off.

"We'll have to issue a warning. It's gonna wreak havoc on the economy." Colonel Mann insisted with a frown.

"Economy's not what I'm worried about." Gibbs deadpanned.

"He could be anywhere. We won't find him now." She huffed.

"You're reneging on our deal?" Mann smirked. Gibbs quickly scanned over the video footage that had been pulled up. He froze it on a body shot of Shariff.

"McGee."

"Yea boss?"

"What is this?" Gibbs pointed to the large duffel over Shariff's shoulder. McGee stood and walked closer to the screen.

"It looks like the cash." He answered.

"I can see that, McGee. No, that right there. What is that?" Gibbs insisted, pointing to a small grey blur on the back side of the duffel. McGee grabbed the remote and zoomed in on the mesh pocket.

"It's a Game Box Portable."

"Pest guy said Shariff was addicted to it." Tony added as he held his phone to his ear.

"That a video game?" Gibbs inquired.

"Actually, it's a wireless handheld game console." McGee corrected.

"Wireless? It's traceable?"

"If he's playing it and we know his online gamer ID, yeah." Tim nodded.

"We do." Mann hummed. The three of them quickly rushed down to Abby's lab. Letting the two techs work their magic they pulled up Shariff's location as he was currently online.

...

The investigators came to a screeching to a halt outside the Amtrak station. Throwing the cars in park they all piled out and made their way into the station. McGee was watching his GPS tracker with Shariff's location.

"He's still online." He informed.

"National Guard is sending in a response team with the antidote." Colonel Mann added as she led the way inside.

"Ziva, Claire, lock the station down. Nothing leaves." The girls nodded and headed off in different directions to cover more ground and get the whole building.

"Which way McGee?" Tony asked, watching the man stare at his phone.

"I don't know. He went off-line."

"DiNozzo."

"Yea, boss?"

"Have security block all exits."

"I'm on it." Tony nodded, heading back the way they came. McGee, Gibbs, and Mann continue on through the station, scanning the crowds for Shariff. The three walk together and slip past some people heading to their boarding stations. Gibbs accidentally nudges into one of them. Taking a few steps further the man pauses and turns around. Shariff turns to stare at him surprise. A grin breaks across the man's face as Gibbs blinks hard, shaking away the hallucinations. While Gibbs was distracted Shariff turns the opposite way.

"Boss, are you all right?" McGee inquired, watching Gibbs stand there in a daze. Instead of answering Gibb's lifts his gun. Everyone around scrambled to get away in fright, leaving Shariff in the middle of the hall. He stood with his hands raised in surrender.

"Get down on the ground, Shariff." Gibbs ordered, blinking even faster as things began to blur around him. Shariff bolted. As he ran he dug into his duffel and threw out a large wad of cash into the air, drawing in a crowd. People flocked frantically to the money, forcing the agents to run around the crowd.

"Get the money." Gibbs ordered, running through the chaos after Shariff.

"What about Shariff?"

"I got him." he assured, letting Mann and McGee handle the situation.

"Don't touch the money. The money's been poisoned. Put it down." The two began ordering, trying to get the civilians to stop collecting it. Claire, Tony and Ziva quickly joined in, spotting the large crowd. As the agents worked to get the people away from the contaminated money, Claire looked around.

"Where's Gibbs?" she inquired.

"He went after Shariff." Mann answered. Noticing that he still hadn't returned, she stood.

"Come with me, we need to find them." She insisted, leading the agents to search for the duo. Voices from one of the men's bathrooms caught their attention.

"…they say everyone you kill will make ten more like me. But I think today, that just one will be enough." Shariff growled, standing to shoot Gibbs who was near lifeless on the ground. Mann quickly fired off some shots, killing Shariff. As he went down the others filed in to check on their boss. Gibbs laid there, twitching every so often as the BZ gas had fully entered his bloodstream.

"Don't worry, boss the National Guard is here." Tony assured, standing over the man.

"They have the antidote so you're gonna be just fine." Claire added. They both stood aside as the people in question walked in with their medical kits, ready to save his life.

...

...

Claire's POV:

That night everyone was sent home, leaving the paperwork for tomorrow morning. However, I had one last thing to take care of before I went. Taking the elevator down I met Abby in her lab.

"So, did you decide on the tattoo yet?" I asked, walking over to where she was hunched over her desk.

"I have it narrowed down between these two." Her head perked up, looking at to for my thoughts. I leaned down to examine the Victorian drawing of an owl and a skull with roses growing out of it.

"Well the skull looks super cool…but I really like the owl. Its classy and different than your other ones." I suggested. Abby hummed in thought.

"And it could be a representation of me…you know cause I'm the wise one…" she added with a grin. I snorted out a laugh.

"That works too." I agreed. Abby clapped her hands in delight and quickly shut her computer down. Grabbing her purse and jacket she linked her arm with mine and led me out of the lab.

"You are coming with me down to my tattoo place." She insisted with a pleased grin. I frowned.

"Wait, you're getting it tonight? Isn't it late?" I pointed out.

"This place is open until 3am so we still have plenty of time." I blanched.

"We?" Abby smirked as she pressed the elevator button.

"I think you should get one with me." She elaborated.

"Abby it takes time to make a decision like this. I don't think that's a good idea." her grin twisted into a pout.

"Oh please! I've been asking you to get a tat with me for ages and you still haven't done it." She griped, staring at me with puppy eyes. I winced. She was really good at that.

"I don't know….."

"It can be something you change, you know…to heal." She suggested, gesturing wildly. I frowned in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"From the breakup. I've read that it's oftentimes healthy for people to change something in their lives to get over a heartbreak." I sighed, not thinking about that.

"But….I mean….it's not like that though…." I sputtered, not sure how to explain it. Abby stared at me silently.

"So are you getting back together?" she inquired curiously.

"No…"

"Are you over Tony?"

"…..no….." I sighed in frustration. Maybe she was right. Things had starting to get better but over the last couple days it seems like this whole situation is starting to implode. Hell, I don't even know what 'this situation' really is. No one is telling me anything. Now that I think about it, some change that I could control would be good for me.

"Alright…" I finally relented. Abby cheered in delight and strangled me in a hug. The elevator doors opened and she dragged me out to our cars.

"Do you have one in mind?" she inquired. I smiled at her sheepishly.

"Actually I kinda do….."