A/N: Here's a new chapter folks! To my recent followers/favourites, welcome aboard, I hope you will enjoy the ride! To my reviewers, thank you so much! Reading your comments keeps me inspired & able to keep writing, so please keep them coming, I love them!
Guest Reviewers: Ladyaloysius & Sue Dooley: Thank you so much! I love that you both love these stories!
Now.. let's see just what we learn next..
"Can we please discuss what happened in Manchester with Lt Rooney" Jenn remarked, there were many conversations to be had, but she needed to start dealing with this one.
"Of course Director" James nodded "I was over in Manchester for a NATO conference & happened to be in the coms unit when you dialled in for Agent Larabee, Agent DiNozzo. I wasn't really listening until I heard words 'Gibbs'& 'Fielding' mentioned within quick succession. Then I heard the words 'Kelly Gibbs's boyfriend' and I damn near fell over" he finished looking at Jethro.
"Yea" Gibbs huffed, he knew exactly how he felt.
James saw confusion on a few faces around the room "my daughter Madeline & Kelly were the best of friends as kids, for a number of years we lived not that far from Jethro & his family. I consider what happened yesterday a miracle really, as I had been 2 minutes away from leaving the coms centre"
Jim couldn't believe his ears, imagine the chances of this happening? Seriously? Wow!
"As soon as Agent Larabee got off the phone I requested he tell me everything he'd been told & I read the file you sent through too. As soon as we were done, he grabbed his partner, Agent McGregor, & I seconded a pair of MP's, we went to get Lt Rooney. We found him in the officer's mess, and when Larabee requested that he accompany us to their offices, he got defensive & demanded to know why. Larabee said he was wanted for questioning in a matter relating to marine deployment orders being manipulated. He didn't mention any names but as soon as the words were uttered Rooney threw the trays of food closet to him at us trying to cause distribution & took off"
Fornell knew then that the man was guilty, taking off as soon as a word was uttered without even a name, guilty!
"We chased him through the mess & out onto the street, we were almost upon him by the time he reached…" James took a breath "by the time we reached the playgrounds, and that's when the shots rang out, one came close to getting him. The coward threw himself down to the ground & fell right into a pile of mesh fencing. The rest of us reacted instantly & spread out around the equipment & courts to get the kids & mum's that were there covered & to some form of protection"
Michael saw the disgust that was written all over his face, as well as many of the others.
James continued "we were aided in that task though by the off-duty marines who were there at the time as well, only 3 more shots rang out before it all went silent. The MP's took off in the direction of the shots to try to apprehend the assailant, myself and Agent McGregor helped get the kids all calmed down & together, whilst Agent Larabee & Lt Bond saw to Rooney" he finished with a glance towards the Lieutenant.
"And how did you end up there Lieutenant?" Jenn asked shifting her focus.
"I'd just gotten to Manchester from Frankfurt & was grabbing a quick bit of chow before my next flight in the mess. I saw the group enter & was on the other side of the room, I saw them take off & heard Agent Larabee shout "Rooney", so I zone into look at him & that's when I realised who they were chasing, I recognised him. So I took off after the man as well." Mike explained. He was feeling a little uncomfortable, this whole business with Colonel Tyler knowing the Gibbs family quite well back then & the fact that he'd just spent a good 12 hours speaking with man, it was slightly nerve racking!
"You can confirm that Lt Rooney was the man you saw in conference with MacDonald Fielding's security staff the day of Kelly's 21st?" Michael asked, he had Lt Atkins already identify him from a photo, but this further confirmation was important.
"Yes sir I can" Mike nodded "I always paid attention to the men that conversed with any of Mac's people & I watched him as he left the residence, saw him get into a blue Dodge Ram pickup, Agent Larabee confirmed that the man does own one indeed."
Gibbs listened, the more he heard the more at odds he became, this kid was sounding like he'd really done a good job back then & now.. still, he had to be good, no, he had to be the best! His girl deserved no less! That's when he realised Tyler had been with the kid for a good 12 hours.. hmm, he'd be speaking with him indeed!
"Please continue" Jenn prompted, she'd seen Gibbs mind drift off for a moment & couldn't help but wonder what had caused it.
"Not much else to tell you ma'am, I followed the group out, got to the playground just as the shots rang out, I made a beeline for the small group of boys playing soccer & got them to cover under the side of a slide. Once the shots stopped the Colonel sent me straight back to Rooney, he had gotten himself caught in that mesh & I had to help him out of it. Once I did so, we kept him secured until MP's arrived" Mike said.
"From the communication from Manchester the man hasn't actually spoken at all, that true?" Fornell asked.
"The only words he has uttered is 'not talking without a lawyer & I want my phone call'" James answered
"You give it to him?" Fornell asked with a smirk.
"No time before we left Manchester, flight was departing almost as soon as we got back air-side, crew wanted all parties on board pronto" James answered.
"Well since he's arrived he's had more than few words to say & he's made his strong request for a phone call, I have granted that request, as soon as the medic's have cleared him." Jenn remarked.
"Have we arrested him yet?" Gibbs asked looking at James.
"I never heard your Agents in Manchester arrest him, merely taking him in for questioning" James remarked.
"So why does he get a phone call!" Gibbs said towards Jenn.
Jenn could see that on the surface he appeared perplexed but she could see the underlining fury he had "I am not having this conversation with you again!" the number of times they've had this exact conversation was so many she'd lost count a long time ago! "The man wants to contact a lawyer, that's his right, his right even if he isn't under arrest, which apparently is only a matter of time Jethro! Him getting a lawyer now would probably speed things up in a day or two!"
Michael just watched the pair stare each other down, he'd dealt with plenty of Federal Agencies & this was an extremely strange dynamic between a Director & a Lead Agent, very strange! He'd never seen an agent act so forcefully towards their commanding Director! He could have voiced the same answer as she'd done, but there was no chance he was getting in the middle of them again, especially when he didn't have to! he saw the tension continue to build & was wondering how long it would continue for when he heard a knock on the door, maybe this would break it!
Jenn kept her gaze firmly on Gibbs when she answered the knock "Enter!"
Tony saw the door open & was surprised to see Tim enter, but he saw the expression his face, he was clearly nervous at coming in, especially given the tension that could be felt all the way to Potomac!
Tim swallowed, he was really nervous coming in here & he suddenly realised the atmosphere wasn't really welcoming, but he had his boss staring right him, he swallowed again.
Gibbs had shifted focus as soon as he realised it was McGee "you got something McGee?!" he knew his agent was delving into Rooney.
"Ah, yes boss, think we've got a lead on…" Tim stuttered but stopped.
"Lead on what Agent McGee?" Jenn prodded
James had taken this kid in, but upon hearing the word 'Agent' he had to be surprised, he was hardly in the mould of what a regular agent looked like, at least all the NCIS Agent's he'd ever dealt with!
"Ah, the interception that Lt Rooney made on the orders sent to the ROTC Command at Rice University ma'am" Tim answered, he was now getting stared at by all of them!
Gibbs eyes widened, he had some papers in his hands "explain!"
Tim nodded but looked towards Jenn "ahhh could I….?" he started to ask motioning to her computer.
"Go ahead" Jenn nodded.
"When the orders got sent from Major Rodney Rooney through to the ROTC unit, they reached the university servers so to him it looked like they got through. But we found that when they reached the server there was a delay before they went through to the ROTC command computer. It was only a 3-minute delay, but that's long enough for someone to hack the file" Tim started to explain.
"Wouldn't that require the person to be there onsite?" Jim queried, you couldn't do that remotely.
"They'd have to be within a tight circumference of the servers yes" Tim nodded, he brought something up on the screen "the server room that distributes ROTC's correspondence is housed here, in the south-east section of the university. There is a café across from it that someone could have been at for the hack" he finished pointing to the screen with the map now on screen.
"Survelliance footage?" Fornell asked
"We've sent a request through to the university for the camera outside the building that will hopefully give us a view of the café" Tim answered
"We don't need to wait for that" Mike commented
"Why's that?" Tony asked curiously, he knew he wasn't alone, everyone was looking at him curiously.
Mike approached the screen & pointed at the building right across from the cafe "that's the ROTC Command building & this square between the 2 buildings, that's where" but he hesitated for a moment, he wasn't sure how Gibbs would take this next bit "the Comedy Club's year end competition was held, it was the same day our CO gave us our final orders & he gave them to us the same day he got them, in fact he gave them to us within a few hours of receiving them"
Gibbs wondered why this was so special, so what if there was some competition on?
"The amount of people there then would have been…" Tim started to say, he remembered similar events on the MIT campus.
Mike nodded "Enough to allow a guy on a laptop to go unnoticed, but we've got it all on tape"
"We?" Tony asked, as soon as he'd asked the question though he saw Mike swallow.
Mike swallowed before answering "ah, well, Kelly & I took part in it, and between Lt Atkins & a few others, we got the entire event recorded. Should still be on her laptop" he finished with a sliding glance to Gibbs wondering how he'd take this.
Gibbs eyes widened, his daughter & this kid had gone into a comedy competition together? He took a breath, he had so much to catch up on & here this kid, this marine had been there for some of it, in a way it cut him the wrong way even if he was grateful that he had stood up for them. Taking another breath he looked at his agent avoiding eye contact with Mike "McGee, the laptop's in the conference room, go & get it, I will get Kelly, do not open it without us" he needed to save time but he did not want anyone opening it, he wouldn't let anyone imbed on her privacy or belongings.
"Yes boss" Tim answered, he was finding this extremely awkward, and listening to this guy speak about things he did with Kelly, it did make him feel awkward & he had to admit he was pretty surprised to hear that this marine had entered a comedy competition? He looked so... well, marine serious.
"Perhaps you could collect your brother Lt Bond & we could have that discussion?" Michael queried, it seemed this conversation had pretty much wound up.
"Not a problem sir" Mike nodded
Gibbs shook his head "I will collect him when I get Kelly, I need you to document the day you saw Lt Rooney at the residence" he'd learnt that name 'the residence' from his wife, that's how they always referred to it as they never called it 'home', it was always 'the residence', that had made him feel better, that place had never been home.
"Yes sir" Mike nodded, he was not going go against the man.
Gibbs headed straight for the door, but motioned towards Tyler to follow "DiNozzo, document it!" he ordered as he left the room.
"Yes boss" Tony answered, this meeting ended rather quickly!
Jenn watched the pair leave the room wide eyed, the man will never change! She turned her attention "I would say the conference room will be free for you Mr Barnes to speak with Lt Bond & his brother, Agent Fornell, I'd surmise you would want to be there as well"
"Thank you Director" Michael conceded, he saw Fornell nod in agreement, he had to admit this conversation ended more bluntly than he would have surmised.
James kept his gaze on Jethro as they headed for the lifts, he'd often thought about the man these last 13 years. At first he'd tried to maintain some form of contact but he soon realised that the man had not wanted it & was uncomfortable around him, but more so he realised the man couldn't stand being near Maddie, too many painful memories, so he had stopped contacting the man & he never heard back.
These last 12 or so hours though all he'd done was think of the man & his family & he was utterly gobsmacked! And when he started talking with Lt Bond, he'd become infuriated! He could see how angry the young man was with it all & he was all really edgy, he could see the kid was just itching to arrive, as soon as he was released from the aircraft he almost run to get transport to the navy yard!
As they entered the lift he saw Jethro take a moment for himself rubbing his good arm over his face "Jethro, if there's anything I can do, anything else, please let me know, whatever it is, I'm only happy to help"
"Thanks" Gibbs breathed out, he wasn't sure he could ask the question he wanted to right now, he wanted to clear his head first.
James nodded, he could see the man wasn't really in the talking mood right now, so he kept quiet. He just followed him out of the building & towards the group he knew was the destination. He saw that Kelly, Phoenix & the boy that had to be Mike's brother were a little away from Shannon, Jack & Ted.
"Shoot squirt!" Kelly laughed having just passed him the ball.
"D'oh!" Myles groaned as Nix got the ball past him through their makeshift goal posts.
"That's 10 bucks to me!" Nix grinned cheekily at Myles, score!
Myles shook his head as he reached for him & wrestled him to the ground "and what about the 15 you owe me from when I helped you before…" he finished with a smirk.
Nix grinned as he tried to get out of the hold "you said you'd forfeit it if I could beat Mike on Mario Kart! And I have!" he finished in a laugh.
Myles drew backwards a fraction "you've beaten Mike's score? Really?" he asked finishing a look up to Kelly.
"I have!" Nix grinned proudly.
"He did! And I'm as shocked as you are!" Kelly remarked
Myles looked back down "well then, that changes things, nice work squirt! But it's my turn now"
Gibbs had been watching and saw that his son clearly had a relationship with Myles, he just watched as Myles kept firm of his son as he rose & went for the ball, he could see that while his son was trying to disengage his hold he was laughing, he saw his wife approach & smiled as he brought her into his side.
"Done already?" Shannon queried, she'd expected it to take a fair while longer than this.
"No, but there's maybe some evidence on Kelly's laptop we need to take a look at" Gibbs started to say
"Evidence on my laptop? What kind?" Kelly asked having heard her dad, really?
"The video you have on it from the comedy competition at college, we might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Rooney on it. He hacked the orders that day & did it from near where you would have been" Gibbs explained
Kelly's eyes widened, the comedy competition? That was the day Mike got his orders, which made sense if that's when Rooney hacked it, she considered something though "Mike told you about the video?"
"He did, we have put a call into to get some CTV footage from the university but he said we might find something on the video" Gibbs answered
"So why didn't he show it to you?" Kelly asked confused, why didn't he just show them, why detour to get her?
"It's on your laptop" Gibbs answered, why would Mike show them?
Kelly was about to say something when she saw her mum give her a pointed look & minute shake of the head, she wasn't sure why but she let it drop "ok, I can get it up…" she suddenly realised something though "you're not going to watch it are you?"
Shannon didn't want her daughter to finish arguing the point about Mike accessing her laptop, but she suddenly considered what they were considering viewing & realised "no he's not"
Gibbs looked over at his wife, he knew it would difficult to see his girl & this marine boy doing something he really should have seen the first time around. He also knew that seeing this boy being so close with his girl was tough but if there was any chance that the footage could prove Rooney's guilt he would do it. He just didn't know why his wife didn't want him to "why not?"
"Because quite frankly I'm aware of some of the material they used for it & it's not something I want you or anyone for that matter to hear right now" Shannon answered, she knew that whilst the material they used was well, acceptable for college situations, she did not think it was appropriate for her husband, nor his colleagues to listen to.
"I though it was fun…" Nix began to say only to be muffled mid-sentence with Myles hand over his mouth
Myles had wrapped a hand over his mouth as soon as he realised what he was saying, that sentence finishing wouldn't do any good for anyone, not squirt, not Kelly, not his brother, not even himself!
Shannon eyed the two boys, she just shook her head "I don't want to know how you know anything about the material they used, so thank you Myles. But I'd hate to imagine you had anything to do with it"
Myles just smiled as he tapped his hands on Nix's shoulders, he saw the smile from him too.
Shannon just shook her head "why don't we all go back inside"
"What about the ice cream?" Nix asked with a pout.
Shannon shared a smile with her husband before looking back to her son "darling, we will get it, but maybe a little later, besides, you do not need to constantly fill that body with junk food"
Jack couldn't help but stifle a chuckle when he saw his grandson pout yet again. He knew there was a mountain of issues for this family to sort through, he had enough of them himself with his son to deal with, let alone the rest of the family. But these interactions, this simple quick interactions was proof to him that the family would be ok in the end, they would work through everything, and move forward. As far as he was concerned, he would be there for whatever he could be, he would do whatever he could to help each & every one of them & that included in grandson. He placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder as he leaned down & spoke quietly "I've got some treats from the store for you in my bag" who was he to deny his grandson treats!
A/N: So Mike & Kelly were in a comedy competition, Rooney seems like a bad dude & determined to get a lawyer.. but what will Gibbs learn when he sits down with the Bond boys & hears what they have to say? What will Shannon's reaction be to it?
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