See Chapter 1 for warnings and disclosures
CHAPTER 8
Gibbs strode into the bullpen and pointed toward a chair in front of his desk. "Sit," he ordered, not even glancing at Anya. His infamous gut was telling him something major was wrong, but he couldn't tell if it was with Anya or with Agent Dawson. He didn't have long to wait. His cell phone rang just as Anya brushed past him and plopped down into the chair.
"Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.
"Is this Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs with NCIS?"
Gibbs thought about being snide in his response, but decided against it. "Yes, who wants to know?"
"Agent Gibbs, this is Detective Michael Long from the Metro Police."
A chill passed through Gibbs. Whatever the detective was calling about, it couldn't be good. His first thought was McGee, who was scheduled to go to the Metro Police headquarters that morning to gather more information about the impounded car.
"Do you know a man by the name of Peter Sokolov?" Detective Long continued.
"I do," Gibbs responded, the feeling of dread grew even stronger. "What is this about?"
"I am attempting to locate his daughter, Anya. Information he provided indicated that you might know where she is."
"She's in my protective custody, and I'm not going to discuss it further over an unsecured cell phone. You will need to come to NCIS if you want to get more information."
Anya had been sitting slumped in the chair that Gibbs had directed her to. However, the last part of Gibbs's conversation drew her attention, and she sat up straighter, a worried expression on her face. "What is it?" she asked, not waiting until Gibbs had disconnected the call.
"Very well," Detective Long replied. "I'll be there within the hour."
Gibbs snapped the cell phone shut and turned to study Anya. "That was a detective with the Metro Police. He's looking for you. Have you done anything I need to know about?"
Anya was confused. Yes, she'd done some things in the past that would have gotten the police involved, but nothing lately. That was, unless they were getting involved in the Vladimir Lubivich fiasco too. "No, not that I can think of. I don't have a clue why they'd be interested in me."
Gibbs nodded, but before he could investigate this newest development any further, his cell phone rang again. He was tempted to lock the thing in his desk, but he had agents in the field and wanted to be reachable at all times. "Yeah, Gibbs."
"Boss, Agent Dawson isn't home," DiNozzo immediately replied. "Ziva and I checked with her neighbors, and nobody has seen her since yesterday morning." There was a pause. "Shit."
"What is it, DiNozzo?" Gibbs wasn't sure if his blood pressure could take any more surprises. He glanced up as the elevator dinged and nearly cursed himself when FBI Agent Tobias Fornell stepped off.
"You will never guess who just showed up."
"The FBI," Gibbs responded.
"Yeah, but how did you know? Abby keeps saying you've got these special powers that let you know when she's got something, do those powers extend outside the building?" Tony asked. Seeing as how he was outside of head-slapping range, he felt no danger in teasing his boss a little.
"Oh, I don't know, DiNozzo, it couldn't be the fact that I'm looking at Fornell's ugly face, now could it? You and Ziva find out what the FBI is doing there and then get back here as soon as you can." He flipped the cell phone shut, ending the call before Tony could reply.
Fornell glanced at the girl as he walked through the bull pen to stand in front of Gibbs. He wondered briefly who she was and, dressed like that, if she was any relation to NCIS's forensic scientist. "What do you think you're doing, Gibbs?" Fornell demanded as he stopped in front of the NCIS agent.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Tobias. I'm working. Are you just here to bug me, or is there a reason for this visit?" Gibbs glanced over as McGee stepped into the bull pen.
"I'm here to find out why NCIS is interfering with an FBI investigation – again," Tobias nearly snarled. He counted Leroy Jethro Gibbs among his friends – after all, they had an ex-wife in common – but he was tired of butting heads with the man.
Ignoring Fornell, Gibbs turned to McGee. "Take Anya down to Abby's lab." He turned a pointed look in Anya's direction. "Make sure she stays there until you're told otherwise."
Anya shot to her feet. "You have no right to send me away like I'm a child." She gestured toward Fornell. "What he's here about has something to do with Lubivich, I know it. I have the right to stay and hear what it is."
Gibbs stepped around Fornell and moved into Anya's personal space. The teenager resisted the urge to take a step back, which would have resulted in the seat of the chair she's just vacated hitting her in the back of the knees. "You might not want to mistake that for a request." When she responded with a mutinous stare, Gibbs sighed. He didn't know if he'd ever get through to this girl. "Or do we need to repeat our previous discussions regarding your attitude and doing as you are told?"
Anya understood completely what Gibbs was alluding to, and she had no desire to take another trip across his knee anytime soon. "No, sir."
"Then you will go with McGee down to the lab and you will stay there until someone comes to get you. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," she replied, not quite keeping the resentment out of her voice.
"Then why are you still here?" Gibbs demanded, taking a step back to give her space. He watched as the teenager and his computer expert left the bull pen and moved quickly toward the stairs before turning back to Fornell, who had been watching the exchange with interest.
"Taking up babysitting as a hobby, Gibbs?" Fornell asked. He had been only half paying attention to the little drama until the girl had mentioned Lubivich. The FBI's investigation into Vladimir Lubivich was part of the reason why he was at NCIS. Still, Fornell had to admire the way Gibbs had handled the situation. He only hoped he'd do half as well when his daughter, Emily, entered her rebellious teenage years.
Gibbs ignored the comment. "You still haven't told me why you're here."
"I told you why I'm here, Gibbs. NCIS is interfering with an FBI investigation – again. And, I want to know why."
"My office," Gibbs stated and strode off in the direction of the elevator, not waiting to see if Fornell was following. Once they were inside, Gibbs punched the button for a lower floor. After the elevator started its descent, he flipped a switch, which stopped the car's progress. "What's this about, Tobias?"
Tobias understood the unspoken statement that Gibbs didn't know what the FBI agent was talking about. "I'm talking about our investigation into Vladimir Lubivich as well as our investigation into Amy Dawson. Who was that girl, and what is her involvement with Lubivich?"
"Who is the lead agent on the Lubivich investigation?" Gibbs asked. His gut was telling him that he was not going to like the answer.
"I am," Tobias responded. "And you haven't answered my question."
Gibbs cursed and proceeded to tell Tobias the entire story from the time he met with Peter Sokolov and took Anya into his custody through the shooting that had happened the evening before. When he was finished, it was Tobias Fornell's turn to curse.
"I've been investigating Vladimir Lubivich and his connections with the Russian mafia for about a year now. Dawson was part of the team I'd put together. But she was a researcher, not a field agent."
Gibbs didn't miss Tobias' use of the word "was." He recalled that Agent Dawson had been the only representative from the FBI he'd dealt with through out this entire matter. He hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but how his gut was heading into hyperactive mode.
"A few months into our investigation, I started getting suspicious of Dawson. A few times, I found her in places where she shouldn't be and Lubivich was always one step ahead of us." He paused to look at Gibbs, the unspoken statement that Lubivich was being tipped off was clear in his eyes.
"Gibbs, I don't know how Anya Sokolov plays into this. She was never even on my radar as a potential witness. In fact, I'd never heard her name until today. If I had, maybe I'd have been able to build enough of a case against Lubivich to get him off the street before it was too late."
That last statement caught Gibbs's attention. "What do you mean, 'before it was too late?'" he demanded.
"Lubivich was fished out of the Potomac two weeks ago. He's currently in the FBI's morgue. Whoever's after your girl, it isn't Lubivich."
Gibbs let out a string of curses vile enough to make a marine blush. "What does Dawson have to do with this?"
"She was placed on administrative leave a month ago pending review. I've gathered enough information to charge her with conspiracy and a whole bunch of other crimes. Until McGee hacked into her bank records last night, I had no idea there was anything going on other than our investigation. I decided it was time to bring her in for formal questioning and sent agents over to her place this morning to pick her up while I came to talk to you."
"I was on the phone with DiNozzo when your agents showed up. Dawson is in the wind. Nobody has seen her since yesterday morning." Gibbs reached to flip the switch back on so the elevator could resume its journey. "I've got some information about Dawson's association with a man by the name of Ivan Carter you might find interesting."
Fornell sighed and leaned back to rest his head against the wall of the elevator. "What is the term you jarheads use to describe a situation like this?" he asked, glancing at Gibbs. The NCIS agent had taken a similar stance beside him.
"FUBAR?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
While Gibbs and Fornell were holding their discussion in the elevator, McGee was escorting Anya to Abby's lab. He was quickly growing tired of listening to Anya's ranting about Gibbs's order for her to be taken to the lab. Finally, having heard enough, he grasped Anya's arm and pulled her to a stop.
"You need to chill out, Anya. Gibbs had a reason for sending you down to stay with Abby, and this ranting you're doing isn't going to change that."
Anya was determined that she was going to find out what Gibbs and Fornell were discussing and how it affected her. Of all of the NCIS agents, she felt McGee was the one who would be the easiest for her to get around – outside of Abby, anyway. But, she had promised Abby she wouldn't use her any more, so she had to do something before they reached the lab. She just had to figure out how to get away from him. Considering her next move carefully she tried to pull her arm out of McGee's grasp, but his grip was too strong. This was going to be harder than she thought.
Tim sighed at Anya's response. "I mean it, Anya. Gibbs has his reasons for everything he does, and going against him is only going to make things worse. Besides, if what he and Agent Fornell discuss affects you, he will talk to you about it. He won't keep you in the dark." He started toward the lab again, pulling a reluctant Anya behind him. "Come on, let's go."
When Anya tried to pull her arm out of his grasp again, he didn't resist. But he did turn to glare at her.
"I need to go to the restroom," the girl stated. She hoped he would point her in the direction of the ladies' room and continue on his way, expecting her to continue to the lab on her own after she was finished.
McGee glanced in the direction of the lab. "There's one just around the corner," he stated and walked off in that direction. He glanced back and was relieved to see Anya following him. When they turned the corner, he pointed out the door to the ladies' room. "I'll wait for you out here," he stated. They were in the basement, and he assumed since the ladies' room, just like the men's room, was in the middle of the building, there were no exterior windows Anya could use in an attempt to escape.
"You don't need to do that," Anya replied, stopping in the half-opened restroom door. "I know the way to Abby's lab from here."
McGee refrained from smirking. Anya had just confirmed his suspicions – she was planning something. "That's okay, I'll wait for you. Go on."
Inwardly seething, Anya entered the restroom without making any further comments. The room was small, containing only two stalls and a single sink, so she had no difficulty seeing that there was no way for her to leave the room without McGee being aware. That only served to fuel the anger brewing in her belly, and she lingered long enough that McGee threatened to come in after her.
Leaving the restroom, she brushed past McGee without saying a word and continued down the hallway to Abby's lab. Abby was away from the lab, so McGee directed Anya to sit down at the desk in the office. He took the chair opposite her and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
Fornell took his leave and promised to keep Gibbs updated on what he uncovered. Gibbs returned the promise and stepped out of the elevator. He was slightly surprised to see that Tony and Ziva had returned from Agent Dawson's apartment. He was also slightly weary of the stranger who was standing with them.
When Gibbs entered the bull pen, the stranger approached and held out his hand. "Agent Gibbs, I presume?"
Gibbs nodded and shook the man's proffered hand. "Detective Michael Long, Metro Police."
"Could I see some ID, please?" Gibbs asked. The man had the bearing and demeanor of a detective, but after what he'd just learned, he wasn't taking any chances. After examining Detective Long's badge and identification card, Gibbs handed them back. "What can I do for you, Detective?"
Detective Long glanced at Tony and Ziva. "Is there someplace we could go to discuss this in private?"
"Whatever it is you have to say to me you can say in front of my team," Gibbs responded, crossing his arms over his chest, signifying that he wasn't going to budge.
The detective nodded. "I'm here about Peter Sokolov and his daughter Anya. I understand from our earlier conversation that she is in your custody."
"She is," Gibbs relied. "What is this about?"
Ignoring Gibbs's question, Detective Long continued, "how do you know Peter Sokolov, Agent Gibbs?"
"We're old friends. And, you haven't told me yet what this is about."
"I'm sorry to inform you, Agent Gibbs, Peter Sokolov is dead."
TBC