*Chapter 5*
At NCIS Headquarters, Nurse Bennett waits alone in one of the interrogation rooms. She knows why she was brought in and how much trouble she's gotten herself into. From the observation room, the team can see how nervous and anxious she is.
"I love this part." Tony stated. "Look at her squirm. She's knows what's coming."
"Her duck is cooked." Ziva said.
"Goose is cooked." Tony corrected her.
"Why a goose?" Ziva wondered. "A duck can be cooked too."
"I guess you have a point."
The new agent, Samantha Cole, is also in the observation room with them. As she stands next to Tony, her hand wanders and gently touches Tony on the butt.
"Whaa!" Tony becomes startled and his hands slam against the two-way mirror as he plunges forward. The noise startles Nurse Bennett in the interrogation room as she doesn't know what it is or who did since she cannot see anyone.
"What's wrong with you?" Ziva asked.
"I think a bug crawled up my pants." Tony said. As he turns around, he tries to not make eye contact with Agent Cole.
"And it bit your butt." Ziva added.
"Yeah, something like that." Tony said. "Excuse me." He walks out the door.
"He startles easily." Samantha commented.
Gibbs and Fornell enter into the interrogation room. Nurse Bennett looks up at them anxiously because she knows she screwed up.
"By the look on your face, I'd say you know you're in a lot of trouble." Gibbs stated as he sits down across the table from the nurse.
"Was it your intention to help Apocalypse escape?" Fornell asked.
"I think I want my lawyer." Nurse Bennett said.
"Ha…" Gibbs chuckled. "She wants a lawyer, Fornell. I guess this interrogation is over."
"Like hell it is." Fornell said. He looks to Nurse Bennett. "Do you have any idea what you did? Right now there's an extremely dangerous psychopath wandering the streets. The four agents escorting him are dead. Another victim was recently found in a parking garage crushed by an SUV. More people are going to die. And you tried skipping town."
"We can think of several charges; aiding and abetting the escape of a prisoner, accessory to murder…" Gibbs begins to say.
"I want my lawyer."
"Didn't Al-Qaeda want Apocalypse freed due to the destruction he can cause?" Fornell asked of Gibbs. "I remember our people intercepting that message."
"Yeah, I remember that message." Gibbs acknowledged.
"Since Al-Qaeda wanted Apocalypse released as a form of terrorism, that means you don't get a lawyer, Ms. Bennett." Fornell said. "You get a one-way ticket to Gitmo."
"I'm not a terrorist!" Nurse Bennett exclaimed. She begins to whimper at the thought of her mistake. "I know I screwed up. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"If you're not a terrorist then why is Apocalypse loose?" Fornell asked. "Cause I'm still trying to wrap my head around how he managed to escape."
"When we arrived at the prison, I realized I accidentally packed two of the same sedative. The bottles look exactly alike. So I thought I packed the correct sedatives." Nurse Bennett said. "I never gave him the extremely strong sedative because I didn't have it. I didn't know what to do. So I gave him two doses of the strong sedative."
"There's a reason we require him to have one dose of the extremely strong sedative!" Fornell yelled as he slams his hand on the table. The sound of the pound startles the nurse.
"I didn't think it would make a difference." Nurse Bennett muttered.
"Didn't think it would make a difference…" Fornell shakes his head. He opens a file and shoves pictures of past victims in her face. "Look at these and tell me it doesn't make a difference!"
"Oh my God…" Nurse Bennett turns away and vomits due to the gruesomeness of the couple pictures of Apocalypse's past victims.
"You just had to do that didn't you?" Gibbs shakes his head at Fornell. "Next time we're doing this in your interrogation room."
"I didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident, I swear." Nurse Bennett cried. "I would never help a monster like him."
"You unfortunately did, Ms. Bennett." Fornell said. "And five people already paid the price because of it."
Nurse Bennett hangs her head in sorrow as Gibbs and Fornell leave the room. After the door closes, Gibbs and Fornell look at each other.
"They always crack at the sound of Gitmo." Gibbs said.
"And here I thought Gitmo is a trendy vacation resort." Fornell said. "Am I wrong?"
A cell-phone rings. There's a brief pause as Gibbs answers the call. It's a teacher from Julianna's school contacting parents to pick-up their children since schools are closing. After a minute on the phone, he closes it and looks at Fornell.
"I have to go pick-up Julianna from school. I'll be back in a while."
"No problem." Fornell said as he understands Gibbs has an obligation to the eight-year-old girl. It doesn't take rocket scientist for anyone to realize how important Julianna is to Gibbs. Though Gibbs may not have permanent custody of her, Fornell hopes the social worker eventually grants it to him.
Gibbs arrives at Julianna's school. Around the perimeter of the school are police officers. The safety of the students is a priority to everyone. Gibbs approaches the door. A police officer stops him.
"Hold on, Sir." The police officer said.
"I'm here to pick-up Julianna Sullivan." Gibbs stated. "I'm her guardian."
"Name?"
"Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Gibbs said. "Here's my ID." He hands over identification.
The police officer uses a computer and looks up the information on the student. He sees the information matches.
"Go ahead, Sir." The police officer said.
Gibbs walks down the hall in the direction of Julianna's classroom. Upon approaching the door, he looks through the window. Julianna is sitting at one of the tables with a couple other students; her friends. The girls are laughing and giggling. The sight brings a smile to Gibbs' face.
Julianna looks up toward the door. A huge smile stretches across her face at the sight of Jethro; her temporary guardian. She gets up as Gibbs enters into the classroom.
After gathering her things, Julianna places her hand into Gibbs' hand.
"Excuse me..." The teacher said as she approaches. "Before you leave, I'd like to speak with you."
"Sure." Gibbs said. He looks to Julianna. "Give us a minute." Julianna walks away. The teacher takes him to the side. "What is it you want to speak with me about?"
"I'm concerned about Julianna. Has she been acting out at home?"
"No, why?"
"She seems to be having trouble adjusting to being back in school after losing her mother." The teacher said. "Her behavior has been unacceptable. She doesn't want to do the work. She doesn't pay attention. She disrupts the class. And she shoved a student to the ground today."
"At home she's happy. She's doesn't act out at all."
"But for some reason she's struggling here at school. I thought if I gave it some time, her behavior would subside and return to normal." The teacher said. "Julianna's always been a good student and I don't want to see her fall like this."
"I'll take care of it." Gibbs looks toward Julianna who is sitting nervously on a chair. "Time to go."
Julianna grabs her bag. Gibbs gently takes hold of her hand. They exit from the classroom.
"What do you want for lunch?" Gibbs asked.
"Pizza." Julianna said with a smile. There's a brief moment of silence as she notices the police officers down the hall near the entrance. "What's going on, Jethro?"
"You trust me to keep you safe, right?"
"Yes." Julianna answered.
"A dangerous prisoner escaped from FBI custody today." Gibbs said. "The FBI needs my help in order to find the prisoner. So I have to go back to work."
"Well, I'm not scared." Julianna said as she's not afraid since she knows Gibbs will keep her safe no matter what. She recalls the red-haired lady appearing to her when she was near death after the car accident. The red-haired lady, Shannon, said Gibbs would protect her. And she trusts in that.
"Tony has to pick-up Chioke." Gibbs said. "He should be at NCIS by the time we arrive." He notices a smile stretch across Julianna's face. It's a dead give-a-way that she's excited to spend time with her friend.
The two of them walk to the car and get in. Gibbs plans on talking to Julianna about her behavior in school later. But as for right now, they drive in the direction of a good pizza shop before going to NCIS Headquarters.