Disclaimer on chapter one.

AN: Here's part two. let me know if I should continue. Not sure if you all like it. Anyway. Enjoy.

Chapter Two

Tony and McGee stood outside the base housing for Lt. Quinn. They had knocked on the door repeatedly but no one had answered. Tony looked around at the neighboring houses while McGee peered in through the windows. McGee turned to Tony.

"There's nobody here, Tony," McGee said annoyed.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Tony quipped shaking his head. They headed towards the main base and found a Captain named Henderson who knew Lt. Quinn. After asking him about the Lt., Henderson informed them that he was gone on a three day pass.

"He went home for three days, he left last night. Something about a wedding," Henderson explained.

"Where is home?" McGee asked.

"Indiana. Some small town in the northern part. I can't remember what the name of it is."

"Thank you," Tony replied as they hurried to the car. Tony pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Gibbs informing him of the minor snag. Gibbs gave them Lt. Quinn's home address and told them to book a flight to Indiana.

They made it back to Washington in short time, while McGee made flight arrangements over the phone. The flight to Indiana was rather boring and Tony took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep.

Once they had landed at the South Bend Regional Airport, McGee secured them a vehicle and they made their way towards LaPorte Indiana. The half hour drive through the winding country on U.S. 20 was pleasurable. Once they reached LaPorte, McGee used his palm pilot to navigate the small town.

They located Lt. Quinn's home and pulled up in front of the house. Tony looked around and made a face. McGee turned to him waiting for him to say something. Tony opened the door without a word and McGee joined him on the sidewalk after they had exited the vehicle.

"I don't think I could live in this place," Tony said as they approached the door. McGee looked around.

"What? Small town America?"

"Yeah," Tony replied shaking his head.

"It's not that bad. Kind of nice actually," McGee replied as he knocked on the door. Both agents drew their badges out for easy access as they waited for it to open. A woman in her early forties answered the door. She eyed the two men suspiciously and Tony stepped up and gave her a smile holding her badge out.

"Hello, Ma'am, I'm Special Agent DiNozzo, and this is Special Agent McGee. We're here from NCIS. Is Lt. Zachary Quinn here?" DiNozzo said in a soothing voice. The woman studied his badge and then looked up at their faces skeptically.

"From where?" she asked harshly.

"NCIS, Ma'am. We need to speak with Lt. Quinn," McGee answered her.

"He's not here," she simply replied. Tony looked at McGee and then back at the woman in front of them.

"Do you know where we can find him?"

"In Norfolk, where he is stationed," she said as if explaining it to a child.

"We were at Norfolk, he isn't there. They said he was here," DiNozzo replied back while biting his lip.

"Well then I can't help you, he isn't here. What you want with him anyway?"

"We need to question in him," McGee offered.

"About what?"

"The murder of Gunnery Sergeant Corbett," DiNozzo replied with a smile. The woman took a step back and looked from DiNozzo to McGee in rapid succession. She shook her head.

"I don't know where he is. You'll have to check Norfolk then," she said softly before closing the door on them. DiNozzo looked at McGee, his puzzlement shown on his face as they stood in front of the closed door.

"What was that about?" DiNozzo asked as he turned towards the car.

"I'm not sure," McGee replied. "But something funny is going on."

"He tells Norfolk he is taking a three day leave starting today for a wedding. He supposedly left Norfolk last night, coming home, which is LaPorte Indiana. But his mother doesn't appear to…"

"We don't know that that was his mother, just that she knew who Lt. Quinn was," Tony interjected.

"Ok, but the woman living at his address doesn't seem to know that he showed up, or that he was coming at all," McGee finished as they reached the car.

"Time to call Gibbs," DiNozzo replied as he pulled his cell phone out. McGee nodded his agreement as he leaned on the top of the car. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the curtain swish as a face disappeared. He turned his attention back on Tony.

"Yeah, Boss…woman that lives her claims she doesn't know where Lt. Quinn is…No, Boss…she wasn't exactly friendly…no, Boss…yeah, we'll go back and talk to her some more…information got it," Tony replied before snapping his phone shut. He looked at McGee.

"So?"

"We go back in and talk to the cranky old woman and find out where Lt. Quinn is hiding," Tony grumbled before heading back towards the house. McGee let out a sigh before he joined Tony up the walk.

"Who was that?" Kate asked as Gibbs hung up the phone. He looked over at her briefly before returning to his computer screen.

"Tony. He and McGee are heading to Indiana. What have you got?"

"Not much. The Gunnery Sergeant and Lt. Quinn didn't know each other from what I can see. There is nothing obvious to connect them, but I'll dig deeper to see if there is something."

"They had to have crossed paths for some reason."

"I'll keep looking. Why are Tony and McGee going to Indiana?"

"Our Lt. has a 3 day pass to visit home."

"For what?"

"Wedding."

"When did he leave?"

"Tony said last night."

"You know what town?"

"Why?"

"Just wondering."

"LaPorte or something like that."

Kate simply nodded and started to research the town and Lt. Quinn. Gibbs returned to his work as well as a silence settled over the bullpen area. Kate plugged away at the keys looking for anything she could find on Lt. Quinn. She was coming up empty handed on things that were related to the case and it was becoming frustrating.

Grayson headed back to the house after a long walk in the serene quiet of the mountain side. As he rounded the corner and came up to the porch he saw movement coming from the other side of the house. His instincts made him prickle as he dodged behind the decking and peered around the edge of it.

The person came out from the shadows with a bag over his shoulder looking nervous. Grayson stared at the young man in confusion at first, before the smile crept over his face. He had only seen the boy in pictures for a very long time, but it was no mistaking. He stepped from his cover and walked towards his brother.

"Zack," Grayson said warmly. His brother turned slightly, the worry on his face evident before he locked eyes with Grayson. They both let out a smile as they embraced for the first time since they were children. "What are you doing here?"

"I…I need your help," Zack said as the nervousness returned in his posture. Grayson gripped him sternly by the shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"It's a long story and I've been traveling for most of the night and day. Can we go inside?" Zack replied with a weak smile. Grayson slowly nodded as he released his hold and motioned for Zack to move into the house.

He then followed his younger brother up the steps and through the front door. Zack stopped just inside the entryway and looked around nervously. Grayson grabbed the bag slung over Zack's shoulder and tossed it aside before heading deeper into the domicile. He headed for the kitchen, pointing to a chair once there for Zack to sit down on. He pulled a jug of juice and some sandwich ingredients from the fridge and placed them on the table in front of his brother. He then grabbed a cup and plate from the cupboard, along with a loaf of bread.

"Thanks," Zack said as he set to work making a meal for himself. Grayson sat across the table from him and watched. It wasn't long before Aunt Janie came into the kitchen. She stopped short, her face showing her surprise before she regrouped and took the third chair at the table.

"Hello," she said with a smile. Zack nodded as he chewed the bite of sandwich he had just taken. She then looked expectantly at Grayson. The older of the two looked down at the table before looking at his aunt.

"This is Zack," he replied. She licked her lips before smiling at him.

"Welcome to our home, it's nice to finally meet you, Zack," she replied. Zack gave her a polite smile.

"It's nice to finally meet you too. I've heard a lot about this place. But it was difficult to find," Zack replied, looking at his brother when he spoke the last sentence.

"That was the point, little brother. How did you find it?"

"Like I said damn difficult. You really covered your tracks."

"Stop avoiding the question."

"My friend helped me track you down. I…I used Wilma, sorry."

Grayson only nodded. He didn't know how to feel. He was ecstatic to see his little brother once again, but he was nervous that he had found him. Janie looked from brother to brother wondering what was going on.

"Why is it such a big secret?" she asked Grayson. Grayson dropped his eyes and picked at the table. He shook his head slowly before looking up at his brother.

"What brings you here? If you went through all that to track me down you must be in trouble," Grayson countered with. Zack finished his sandwich and swallowed hard before he looked his brother in the eye.

"Yeah, I'm in some deep trouble and I'm hoping they won't find me here."

"Find you? What about the Navy?"

"Three day leave, told them had a wedding back home."

"Son of a bitch, Zack, what is going on? You didn't even tell the Navy where you were going?"

"Well they're the ones looking for me," he replied with a shrug. Grayson thought his eyes were going to pop from his head. He stared in awe at his brother unable to form words. He stood and paced the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Grayson said raising his voice slightly. Janie stood from the table and walked from the room without a word. Grayson was grateful for that. He turned his attention on his little brother once again. "Tell me…now."

Zack knew he was in for it, but this was his only chance. He nodded slowly, ducked his eyes and started his story. "The Navy thinks I killed a Gunnery Sergeant."

"What?!"

"I didn't. You believe me right? I didn't do it, Grady. I swear it. I never even met the guy. I don't know who he is or why they set me up. But they have evidence. They are looking for me. I was just a step ahead."

"How do you know?"

"I…I got this," Zack replied before reaching into his pocket and removing a letter. He held it out for Grayson to take.

"What is this?" Grayson asked as he took the paper from his brother.

"A letter. At first I thought it was from you. It has one of the names you usually use, it had the decoy address. I opened it and…well it wasn't from you…even though it looks like it."

"Who's it from?" Grayson asked as he skimmed the note. His brother was right at first glance it looked like he had written this letter.

"I don't know, but read it," Zack replied his voice betraying the fear he was feeling. Grayson stared at his brother for a moment longer before he took in the words of the letter.

TBC…