Later that night, Bishop noticed Langston was still at her desk, typing away at her computer.
"You okay?" she asked, going up to the junior agent.
Langston smiled. "Yeah, 'bout as well as can be."
"Well, if you ever want to talk, you know, been there, done that," Bishop said.
Langston hesitated. "Torres said you'd been here a while, came in from NSA."
"Yup. That was fun. Well, not so much at first, especially since I was so determined to get everything right the first time," Bishop said.
"No such thing," Langston said, smiling. She hesitated again. "What about, what about th' first time? The first time ya, ya know, killed someone?" She groaned softly, rubbing her leg.
Bishop smiled in sympathy, and glanced around. Gibbs and the other two guys had gone home for the night, so it was just them. She went to her desk and dug around for a moment, pulling out a bag of Maynards Swedish Tropical Berries and Maynards Fuzzy Peach Gummy candy, before going to Langston's desk and sitting down on the floor. Curious, Langston joined her, stretching out her sore leg with a groan of relief, as she leaned against the cubicle wall. She dug around the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out an instant ice pack, activated it, and pressed it against her sore leg, sighing with relief.
"The first time I killed someone, I was in Afghanistan, a few years back. His name was Rasheed Naasir, and he was the brother of Qasim Naasir, someone I was very close to," Bishop said, handing Langston some berries, which she accepted. "It was self-defence, but it shook me for days after."
Langston nodded. She reached into her shirt and withdrew what looked like a rose and leaves pendant in the shape of a cross. "Th' good book says don' kill, except if yer huntin', an' even then, I've only ever hunted fer food, never fer sport."
"Do you still go to church?" Bishop asked.
"When I can, even ifin' jest a quick stop an' prayer, but as a game warden, my weekends weren't my own, so I got real good at prayin' where I could, an' hopin' He understood," Langston said.
"It's not going to get any better as an agent," Bishop warned. "Murder victims don't always tell us ahead of schedule when they're going to die."
"Suspected as much. Thing is, what now? Is this gonna be a mark on my soul when I git there, or is He gonna understand I did what I had t' do t' keep His world an' His people safe?" Langston asked. "An' what happens when I have t' do it again, 'cause there ain't no doubt in my mind I will."
"I don't know about the whole soul part, but what I do know is you did the right thing. You were watching Nick's back, and when push came to shove, you protected him, the way you were supposed to, the way you were trained to," Bishop said. "You found something that we needed to get involved in, and there are a lot of families who are going to be that much more safer and healthier because of you." She smiled. "Last I heard, God tended to be pretty forgiving, and pretty laid back. He also tends to know what's in our hearts, and that means He knows what's in yours. He knows you did what you had to do, and as long as you keep trying to do the right thing, then I think He'll cut you a break when you get up there."
Langston chuckled softly. "That would be nice."
"Have you spoken to your brother yet?"
Langston hesitated, then admitted, "I'm afraid to."
"Why?"
"I wuz a pretty angry kid when he left. Said a few things. Didn't understand why he wuz leavin' me. I do now though. I'm afraid, well, I'm afraid he won' wont nuthin' to do with me, even after all these years," Langston admitted. "Despite how it looks, I ain't always as tough as I appear. Jest real good at hidin' it most days."
Bishop smiled. "I know the feeling. But I also know a few things about brothers; I've got three, and when I got divorced, I went home to Oklahoma for a while. Took a round out of one of my brothers, George, for butting in while I was trying to sort things out about how I felt about my ex husband, and all that. He forgave me. And then I tried to kill him, John, and Robert when they came to visit me for the holidays and gave me grief about Qasim, whom I was dating at the time." Langston laughed. "The thing is, brothers, especially if they're Marines, they tend to be pretty forgiving, and as you said, you were fifteen and you didn't understand. All you can do is try."
"I don' even know what to say to 'im," Langston admitted.
"Hi is usually a pretty good place to start," Bishop said, grinning. She got an idea. "We know where to find him. Maybe you could put together a care package for him, a box full of sweets and stuff that he could use over there. Put your contact information in it, and take it from there."
"Didn't know I could do that," Langston said.
"We have to be a little bit more careful these days, with the virus, but it's a place to start," Bishop said. "Afghanistan can get pretty chilly at night, and warm socks never hurt, or those energy drink powders. The internet usually has some good ideas, and I even know who handles the shipping these days." She could see she had Langston's attention. "If you want, we can help you. Write him a letter, tell him what you want to tell him, and put it in the box, and fill it up with goodies, and we'll ship it out."
"Is he allergic to anythin'?" Langston asked. "He wasn't last time I knew, but things could change."
"I can ask Ducky or Palmer to check his medical file, if you'd like," Bishop said.
Langston nodded. "Okay. Okay. As y'said, all I can do is try."
"And as long as you keep trying to do your best, and do the right thing, then, at the end of the day, that's all that matters."
Two days later, Gibbs was starting to get a headache. He and his team were in a parking lot, well away from NCIS or the DEA's headquarters, dealing with two DEA agents, specifically one Agent Monroe, who was still pretty mad about Langston's low-blow and the fact that NCIS had interfered in, to quote him, his case. There was a problem, however; a quiet, careful, investigation over the last two days had resulted in some interesting information. At least a dozen Marine and Navy families had been receiving fake medications from the pharmacy, and some of the medications were the difference between whether the patient wound up in hospital or not.
Agent Monroe was mad, considering the NCIS agents little more than glory grabbers who were horning in on his case. Unfortunately, the director of the DEA didn't see it that way, and had ordered Agent Monroe to coordinate with Gibbs' team. Agent Monroe had come to the meeting with Agent Dawkins, the undercover agent, and begun arguing Gibbs almost immediately, after glaring at Langston.
"This is our case, not yours! I don't care if a bunch of military families are stuck in the middle of this; it's not our problem!" Monroe snarled.
"And what happens when someone from one of those families dies because of the fake medication?" Gibbs demanded. "Then it really becomes our problem, something we're trying to prevent!"
"He has a point there," Dawkins said. He was already proving to be the more levelheaded of the two agents and welcomed the opportunity for some more help with the investigation, despite what Monroe was saying. "I know you don't like outside help, but right now, man, we need all the help we can get. I just got word that we lost another agent due to the virus, and it ain't getting any better." Before Monroe could say anything, McGee cut in.
"We already know who the courier is that's doing the switching. We were going to bring him in, but what we need to know is who's making the fake pills, and why," McGee said.
"Money, mostly," Dawkins said. "The head pharmacist is in it, and he's charging Medicaide and the military thousands of dollars for bogus prescriptions, largely due to the families that keep needing refills for prescriptions that don't work."
"What about the illegal drugs, like the uppers and downers and painkillers?" Torres said.
"He's not in that, but I'm sure he's connected to someone who is. Just haven't been able to figure out who," Dawkins said. "Look, I'm flying by the seat of my pants, right now, and even that's risky. I still don't know who's at the top."
"What about th' computer feller, the one who got th' patient infermation in the first place?" Langston asked.
"Shane Stevens," Dawkins said. "Little shit, big attitude, so watch yourself." His phone chimed, and he checked it. "Damn. Rocky wants to know where the hell I am." He glanced at Langston. "Is it true you nailed Monroe?"
"Th' only thing I nailed was a lousy set o' golf balls. Why you askin'?" Langston asked, as Dawkins saw the grins on the faces of the rest of the NCIS team.
"I need a cover," Dawkins said.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Torres asked. "You'll be puking."
"No, he won't," Langston said, sauntering up to Dawkins. And then she swung. There was a nasty crunching noise, and Dawkins dropped. When he stood back up, moaning, there was blood gushing down his face and on to his shirt.
"Okay, that hurt," Dawkins moaned, holding his face.
"Then don't piss off a woman at a bar again," Langston said, rubbing her knuckles.
"Noted," Dawkins said, staggering towards his truck, which was a rusted piece of junk even Langston wouldn't be caught driving.
"Nice punch," Bishop said, nodding in approval. "And I have an idea."
"Better be better than that damn punch," Monroe growled, glaring at Langston.
"Oh honey," Langston said, drawling, "if you really wanted one, all ya had t' do was say so. I even got my tie-down rope wit me this time, if ya really want ta play that badly."
Monroe gulped but wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Your idea, Bishop?" Gibbs asked patiently.
"We know who the courier is, but we can't risk tipping off the rest of the crew by arresting him in public," Bishop said. "How's your heart medication supply these days?"
Gibbs grinned. "Could use a top up. Same with my knee, which is getting pretty bad."
"Could we get Ducky to write up a prescription?" McGee asked.
"Very easily," Gibbs said.
"Who the hell is Ducky?" Monroe snarled.
"Doctor Donald Mallard, our former Chief Medical Examiner and current NCIS Historian," Torres said. "Not the guy you want to cross, especially if he's got a scalpel in his hand, which he does know how to use."
"He doesn't scare me," Monroe growled. "A nickname like Ducky, can't be all that bright."
Torres glanced at Langston. "Where's that tie-down string of yours?"
"In th' truck; I'll go an' get it," Langston said. "Haven't done a proper hog-tie in a while."
"Yeah? What did your last date think?" Torres asked, causing Langston to laugh.
"TMI, guys, TMI," McGee said, shaking his head.
"Gibbs gets the prescription, Langston drops it off and arranges for it to be delivered to her 'dad's' house, and we arrest him quickly and quietly," Bishop said.
"That works," Gibbs said.
"Why her?" Monroe asked.
"She's been there several times already," McGee said. "They know her, but they don't know she's an agent."
"What about th' IT guy?" Langston asked.
"We haven't been able to find him since he swiped the information," Monroe admitted. "He went off the grid, and we've been trying to figure out who the top banana in this operation is."
"Are there any other agents working this case?" Gibbs asked.
"It's just me and Dawkins right now," Monroe admitted. "DEA resources are stretched pretty thin right now."
"So git yer brain outta yer back pocket an' let us help ya," Langston said. "I don' know about the others, but I ain't interested in some stupid case glory. These fellers are 'bout as welcome as a porcupine at a nudist colony an' I want 'em outta my yard, preferably yesterday. We have a game plan t' catch the courier an' chances are, we could probably find th' IT guy a little faster. We git 'em, we start gittin' answers, an' you can focus on makin' sure Dawkin's don' trade his badge fer harp strings."
"What she said," Gibbs said.
Monroe hesitated, but finally nodded. "Fine, but I want a crack at the courier," he snapped. "And I still don't like you guys."
"Dawww, honey, an' here I thought you were cute," Langston sassed, causing Monroe to glare at her.
"Quit antagonizing the poor guy," Bishop said to her, under her breath. Langston just grinned at her. Since their late night talk, she and Bishop had been working on putting together a box that would soon be sent out to Camp Dwyer, along with a letter Langston had written to her brother. The only thing missing was a nice photo of Langston, and Bishop had advised Langston to dress up a little today, hoping to catch her in a more natural pose instead of her boring file photo.
Monroe reluctantly gave them his contact information, then left the parking lot. The NCIS team would head back to NCIS and Ducky would write up the prescription, while McGee and Bishop started hunting down Shane Stevens. Then, with prescription in hand, Langston and Torres would hit the pharmacy and arrange for the prescription to be delivered to Gibbs' house. Once delivery confirmation was set up, Gibbs would set up in his house, and they would arrest and question the courier.
It didn't take long for Langston to set up the delivery, using the fake prescription and the information Gibbs gave her. After being assured that the delivery would be completed as quickly as possible, Torres and Langston quickly headed for Gibbs' place, where he would meet them, to set up for the sting.
While at the pharmacy, Torres took the opportunity to take care of Bishop's private request, and got what he thought was a really nice snapshot of Langston throwing a sassy grin at him over something he said, which he forwarded to Bishop, along with a request for an explanation.
"Part of a care package for Jane's brother, huh? Okay, we can do that," Torres muttered, reading the text message Bishop sent him.
It didn't take long for them to set up at Gibbs' place, nor did it take long for the courier to show up.
"Show time," Gibbs said, having changed his clothes to look more like an old man in pain and less like a federal agent about to pounce on a bad guy.