Chapter 2

The next day Angela returned to the lab. She took her leather jacket off and grabbed her white lab coat. Abby walked in and stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted the gun Angela was carrying.

"What the hell are you doing with a gun?!" Abby demanded.

Angela turned. "Didn't anyone tell you? I'm also a field agent, so I carry a gun in case I have to go on assignment."

"Well I don't tolerate guns in my lab unless they're evidence."

"I'll keep it unloaded while working if that makes you more comfortable."

"No it doesn't. I want it gone. Now," Abby said sternly.

"What is your deal? I said it wouldn't be loaded while it was in the lab," Angela argued back.

"My deal is that I'm not entirely sure I can trust you yet. I know absolutely nothing about you or where you came from. How do I know you're not some escaped psychopath?"

"You're the psychopath!"

Abby approached her until they were toe to toe. She glared deep into her eyes as she spoke. "You haven't seen psycho yet."

Angela stormed off, snatching her jacket and throwing aside her lab coat. As she stepped out of the elevator on the upper level, she bumped into someone. She was about to curse at them until she saw who it was.

"Director Shepard. Please excuse me."

"You must be Abby's new assistant Angela."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Oh, why not?" Director Shepard asked.

"She freaked out because I carry a gun. Then she started spouting off about how she can't trust me. I don't think it's going to work between us. I feel like she hates me, and I can't work with someone like that."

"I guess no one's told you about what happened with her last assistant." Director Shepard explained what had happened to Abby the last time she had an assistant, and of how he tried to kill her.

Angela stood in shock at what she had just heard. "Well that explains a lot. Is there any way to convince her that I'm not going to be a repeat?"

"I'll talk to her," the Director said with a smile.

"Thanks."

Later that day Abby was called to Director Shepard's office. As she stepped through the door, she was asked to sit. Abby closed the door and sat across from her. She didn't know why she had been called, but had a feeling it couldn't be good, especially when the Director herself asks to see you.

"Is there a problem Director?" Abby asked.

"I hear you're not getting along so well with your new lab tech. What's the problem?"

"The problem is her bringing a weapon into my lab. How do I know she isn't a crazed killer?"

"I did a full background check myself. She's clean as a whistle. She is a field agent as well, so it is normal for her to carry a gun. My suggestion to you would be to get along with her, she came highly recommended from the bureau director himself."

Abby sighed. "Okay. I'll try. I like my job too much to risk losing it over something stupid like paranoia."

Director Shepard smiled. "Good. You are dismissed. And Abby? Try to keep the past where it belongs. Not every change is bad."

Abby nodded and returned to the lab where she found Angela working on some DNA samples. She approached her and cleared her throat. Angela looked up, not saying anything.

"I'm sorry about freaking out on you like that. I've had a bad experience with an assistant in the past."

"Director Shepard explained everything to me. If it makes you feel secure I'll lock the gun up and give you the key," Angela said.

"It's okay. You'll need to have quick access to it in case you do go on assignment, Gibbs doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Thanks Abby. Don't worry, you'll see I'm a fun person to have around," she said with a smile. "How about I buy you lunch today?"

"I'm never one to turn down food. Especially when it's free."

They changed out of their lab coats and went into town to get lunch. They talked for a long time as they got to know one another better. Abby began to feel more comfortable around Angela. At least she wasn't as wound tight as what Charles was. On the way back they stopped to get a couple of Kaff Pow's. Angela stopped and looked around as an unsettling feeling came over her.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked.

"I don't know. Ever get that feeling that you're being watched?"

"Yeah, I hate that feeling."

Angela brushed it aside for the moment, she had other priorities right now. At the end of the day, Angela headed home, but she could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her from the shadows. She entered her apartment and locked the deadbolt and chain lock before activating the security system. She then drew her gun and began searching through the rooms for any sign of intrusion, breathing a sigh of relief when she'd found none. She sat on the couch and propped her feet on the table in front of her, leaning her head back and groaning.

"I've got to stop being so paranoid. If he finds me, he finds me," she muttered. The phone rang. "Hello." She was answered with silence. "Hello!" She could hear the faint sound of breathing on the other end. "Who is this?" The line went dead.

Angela sighed, placed the phone back on the base, and turned on the TV. There was another report regarding Romanov on the news. This time his defense attorney and half of the jury members' bodies were discovered in the freezer of a butcher shop. The phone rang again.

"Hello."

"It's me. I suppose you've heard the news," the voice on the other end said.

"Watching it now. Aside from me, who all is left regarding the case?" she asked.

"There's six members of the jury, four of which have gone missing, and the judge. I can send someone over to keep an eye on things for you."

"I'm not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself."

"Just watch your ass. You've seen what Romanov is capable of so be careful."

"Don't worry, I was trained by the best."

"I trained you."

"Exactly," she said with a smile and hung up.

She looked at the TV solemnly before switching channels to watch The Forensic Files. Finding herself immediately bored with that, she went into the kitchen to cook dinner. As she put a pot of water on to boil the phone rang.

"Hello." She was answered with silence, then a low sinister laugh. "Who the fuck is this?!" she demanded and then the line went dead. She checked the caller ID, but the name and number came up as private. "Peachy," she muttered and resumed cooking.

Later that night she received another call. This time there a was a low heavy breathing on the other end then the line went dead. Angela check the alarm to make sure it was armed, and the doors and windows were securely locked before she went to bed.

"Calm down girl, probably just some asshole teenager with nothing better to do but make prank calls," she told herself. "Yeah, nothing to worry about."

She settled into bed and fell into a restless sleep.