Chapter 5

My head was pounding. Absolutely and utterly pounding. I was sitting at my desk rubbing circles into my temples. The past twenty-four hours had been killer, no pun intended, and I honestly just wanted to crawl back into my bed. After identifying the body as my brother Jack's, Gibbs had Tony once again rush me back to the bullpen. I was frustrated; not only because Gibbs had pulled me away from two crime scenes, but because the murderer was obviously trying to play me in some way.

A bottle of aspirin was sat on my desk, in front of my face and I looked up to find Tony with a sad smile. "I thought you could use some pain relief. You look like you're ready to fall into a pain induced coma."

I nodded my thanks and popped off the lid. I dumped a couple of pills into my hand and quickly swallowed them with my water. "Have you heard from Gibbs or McGee?" I asked hopefully, handing him back the bottle of pills.

"No," he shook his head, "I don't expect we'll hear anything until they're standing in front of us. We'll just have to wait it out. In the meantime, why don't we work on digging up anything on Petty Officer Nancy Roland?"

"Okay, yeah, that's probably the best idea you've had, DiNozzo." I smirked.

Tony laughed, "I'm full of great ideas, Hart, full of them."

I bit my lip and held back the smart retort I wanted to say, but he knew what I was thinking and he only shook his head with more laughter. "Alright, Petty Officer Nancy Roland was stationed at the Navy ship in the seaport Mina Salman located in Manama, Bahrain." I pulled up her driver's license and Naval records on the flatscreen.

"She was forty-five years of age, engaged and it appears that she doesn't have any immediate family." Tony said, taking the clicker from my hand.

"Don't you find that odd?" I questioned. He turned to me with a skeptical look. "Roland has no record of being in foster care, which means she wasn't an orphan. I suppose it could have been a private adoption, but her adoptive parents would still be listed. We couldn't even find her birth certificate, Tony. Why is that?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he mulled over the inquiries I had just given, "I have an idea. What if Nancy Roland isn't actually her name? What if she had it legally changed and the documents from her past are just sealed under a different name?"

"Yes! That would explain everything!" I followed him over to his computer as he began to search for any legalized name changes under Nancy Roland.

"This search might take awhile, why don't you go see if Ducky has dug up anything from her autopsy?" I nodded my head and went over to the elevator. I patiently waited for it to get to the floor and when the doors opened McGee and Gibbs stepped out.

"Hey, boss!" I said.

"Hart, perfect. You can go with McGee to Abby. We found another note and collected more DNA." Gibbs held up the evidence bag and I grabbed it from his hands.

"Oh, Amaya. How dreadfully slow. Your answers now lie between the DNA of friend and foe." Read the note. "They certainly aren't very creative. What kind of serial killer rhymes?"

"Once you're done there, you and I are going to notify the family of the victim." He nodded and sent us off to Abby. I took in a deep breath and forced myself to push the image of my brother, dead in his truck, out of my mind.

"Lacey, you can always take a pass on this case. Gibbs would understand." McGee quietly stated as we rode the elevator.

I shook my head, "Whoever the murderer is, they are trying to force my hand and I won't give them the satisfaction of having me pulled off the case, McGee. I know how to set aside my emotions."

He nodded and the elevator doors opened. Abby was bustling around the lab in a frenzied manner. As she heard the glass doors slide open, her head popped up.

"Good you're here! Give me!" She grabbed for the bag and began to move around her lab in a way that only someone so familiar with the space could.

I tapped my fingers against the table, "So... How long will these tests take?"

Abby placed a few DNA samples into a machine and pressed a button, "If we're lucky it'll only be a few minutes. Otherwise, who knows."

I nodded and played with the necklace at my throat; it was my safeguard, my arrow. I watched McGee lend Abby a hand with her computers and I felt useless. Computers and science were definitely never my strong suit. Sure, I could hack a government agency with the best of them, but I was better with hitting the streets and collected the evidence.

A slight ding sound was made and my head shot up from watching my fingers twiddle, "So what's the verdict?"

"Hm. That's odd." Abby spoke, nudging McGee to look at the results.

"Did you mix up the samples?" He questioned.

She shook her head and went over to her machine. Abby fiddled with the DNA and bit her lip, "Let's try this again." She placed new DNA into individual vials and labeled them. We all watched so that she would know it was done right. Placing them into the machine, she pressed a string of buttons and then went back to the computers.

This time, it didn't take so long for the sound to play. Abby bit her lip again, "It's the same, Tim."

"Guys," I called from where I stood, "A little lost over here. What's happening? What's the same?"

Abby and McGee shared a look that I couldn't quite read; it was a look of understanding between two people who had been friends for years. "Only two of the DNA samples match." McGee stated.

"Okay, so what's the problem? Of course two of the samples matched! One is mine and one is my brother's!" I laughed easily, "That's not that big of a deal."

Abby sighed deeply, "Lacey, your sample wasn't one of them."

"Wha- what?" I stumbled, feeling the blood rushing to my ears and muffling sounds.

"See, this is the petty officer's sample and this is your brother's. They have a 50.3% match which means they are siblings. And this-" McGee pointed to the left of the screen and his voice sounded hidden, "This is your sample. It doesn't match either one."

I stared at the screen, not fully registering the depth of this information. I felt dizzy, so I clutched the metal desk. "Hey, Lacey, let's sit you down okay?" Abby's arm circled around me and she pushed me into her couch, "I'll test them again. Science can sometimes be wrong."

I shook my head, not trusting my voice to say anything. My DNA didn't match my brother's. How was that possible? I've seen the baby pictures of all of us. Sure, I didn't have pictures of me in the hospital, but that didn't mean-

"Oh my gosh!" I jumped up quickly, startling Abby and McGee, "Oh my gosh! I'm- Oh my gosh!"

"Lacey, easy there." McGee whispered as he gently took my arm.

Suddenly, I needed to leave and without saying anything I ran for the stairs; the elevator would have taken too long. I ran up the two flights it took to get to the bullpen and I rushed to my desk. Tony's head shot up at my hastened pace.

He stood up and came to me, "Hey, everything okay?"

"I have to go." I panted, grabbing my car keys, my gun, and my badge.

"Why don't I ride along?" He raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he was trying to make sure I didn't do anything rash or crazy.

I shook my head, "No, Tony." Rash and crazy was what I needed to do.

I flew to the elevator, but it opened with Gibbs and I made a beeline for the stairs. There is no way I was getting stuck in one of his elevator meetings. I heard the two men call my name, but I kept going.


"What in the world was that about?" Gibbs growled to me as we watched the stairway door slams closed.

I shrugged, "She just said she had to go."

He quirked a brow at me, "And why aren't you with her?"

Before I could reply, McGee and Abby rushed in. "Oh good! You're both here." Abby said, a file in her hand.

"What did you find that sent Hart bolting?" Gibbs grouched.

McGee, knowing better than to dance around the information, spoke, "The Petty Officer's DNA and Jack Hart's match. Lacey's doesn't."

Surprise registered in me as I realized why Lacey was in such a hurry. I turned to Gibbs who stood ridged. Why wasn't he just as surprised by this information? He grabbed his gun and keys and left almost as quickly as Lacey did. What was going on?

"I'm assuming that Gibbs probably knows where Lacey went." Abby sighed.

We nodded in agreement and went our separate ways. I dropped into my desk chair and prayed that Gibbs would reach Lacey in time. She was my partner and friend, I couldn't afford for her to do something rash.


I hit the gas pedal harder and my car sped along. Anger was dripping from me as I clenched the steering wheel in my hands. Right turn, left turn, left turn, right turn, left turn, right turn, right turn. I came to a screeching halt in the driveway of a sprawling farm house.

I threw my car into park and jumped out. Making quick work of the few yards between the driveway and the porch, I hit my knuckles hard against the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Came a growling, deep voice from inside. I could hear the locks sliding out of the way and finally the door swung open, "Lacey!"

"Commander." I nodded my head at the man I had thought was my father for the past twenty-seven years.

"This is a-" he paused, searching for the appropriate term, "surprise."

I huffed, "I'm sure it is. We need to talk, but not here."

"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" The Commander growled.

An eye roll threatened to show as I spoke, "I haven't needed you to get me out of anything ever, what makes you think I'd need you to now?"

"We can talk here."

"No," I shook my head, "we need to go somewhere else."

The Commander folded his arms and stood his ground, but I refused to back down. "Fine, if you want to play that game," I began to pull out my-

"Lacey," Came Gibbs's stern voice, "this isn't the way to handle it."

"Gibbs, it's not what you're thinking." I sighed.

"You two know each other?" The Commander huffed.

I rolled my eyes, "Sorry, I didn't send you the memo." My hand traveled back down to my hip.

"Lacey-" Gibbs warned.

I pulled out my badge, "NCIS Special Agent Lacey Hart. I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Get off my porch."

I felt a stiff body stand behind me, "My agent asked you to come with her, Commander, I think it best if you comply."

The Commander mumbled something, but stepped onto the porch and shut his door, "Fine then. Let's go."

I opened the back door of my car and waited for him to get in. As I shut the door, my eyes met Gibbs's, "Hart, you going to be fine?"

"I'll be fine, boss." I nodded my head and climbed into the car.


It has been ages since I've updated and I'm truly sorry for that. Life has been hectic, but I have quite a bit of time on my hands now and I hope to have another update for my Hawaii Five-O story and this one in the following days! Thank you for your constant reviews and follows! Your messages mean the world to me!

Until next time!

Theatrefreak10