Chapter Nine
Grayson had just come back from his MRI. Kate and Levi had headed down to the cafeteria to get something to eat while Gibbs sat in the room with Grayson. The young man was quiet and sullen since Dr. McKown had stitched the gash in his head closed. Gibbs watched him for a while, noticing the stress underneath the tough exterior.
"Rough day," Gibbs said drawing Grayson from his reverie. He looked at Gibbs curiously, deciding whether to bite or not. He simply nodded his head slowly. The pain rocked from side to side causing him to close his eyes. "Tell me more."
"About what?" Grayson asked slightly annoyed.
"You haven't convinced me to stop looking at your brother for this, and you certainly haven't helped yourself as a suspect either."
"What can I tell you to convince you?" Grayson asked showing his frustration.
"Let's start by telling me about you," Gibbs said shifting forward in the chair. "Your past is pretty sketchy."
Grayson looked away from Gibbs. He wasn't sure if he could share his storied life with a stranger. As memories cascaded through his mind he bit back the tears in his eyes. Grayson took a deep breath and shifted slightly in the bed, causing his shoulder to throb.
"How far back do I have to go?" Grayson asked softly still not letting himself look at Gibbs. Gibbs got up and pulled the chair closer to the bed before sitting in it once more.
"You and your brother for starters."
"Zack and I…we…were close when we were kids. I got five years on the kid and I had that big brother idea since he was born. We…had it tough as kids. Mom tried, but she was young. She was only fifteen when I was born. We lived with Gram and Gramps until I was four and then my mom met Hank.
"We moved in, they had Zack and things went downhill. At first it was verbal abuse, mostly directed at my mom. But I was getting a little older and I started getting in the middle. He turned on me. Again it was all verbal. Told me I was worthless, a mistake, I needed to be put away in a closet. Those kind of things."
"Sounds like it took its toll."
"Mentally? Yeah. Even my teachers started to notice a change in my personality. They said something to my mom but she…she told them I was becoming a problem at home. I kept quiet. I felt betrayed by her. Zack, I think he understood. He used to sneak into my bed at night and tell me it was ok. I guess he heard me crying."
"Things escalated," Gibbs prompted.
"Yeah. Hank started physically abusing my mom. At first it was small, but then…it got bad. He was a drunk but most people didn't notice that. She covered for him. All the time she covered for him," Grayson continued with anger and hatred in his voice. "Then he started in on me. It started because I stepped between them once during a particularly bad beating. He knocked me across the room that day, but it got him away from my mom. She hid at the house for a few days until the bruises could be explained away. He had hit me where it could be covered by clothes.
"Hank threatened me. He told me if I told anyone he'd kill my mom. When I told her that she told me to stop making shit up. I became sullen, withdrawn, and angry all the time. My teachers spoke to my mom and she told them I needed counseling but she would take care of it. I was ok with the beating. I just stepped in and tried to hold my own when he would beat on my mom."
"How old were you?"
"Ten, eleven."
"Pretty young to be put in that situation. Leaves deep scars," Gibbs continued.
"Yes it does," Grayson said sternly looking at Gibbs. Gibbs raised his eyebrow. "The beatings got worse. He really started in on us. When I was twelve Zack started to notice what was going on. I tried to keep him from it but I couldn't. He saw it. Saw the bruises, he knew. He tried to help me one day and Hank had been drinking pretty heavily. Zack took a bad one that day. A couple more of those was all I could take."
"So you shot him," Gibbs pushed. Grayson looked at his hands, tears coming to his eyes.
"I didn't mean to kill him," Grayson said softly looking up at Gibbs. Gibbs felt that the boy was begging him to believe him. "No one believes that."
"What happened that day?"
"Hank was drinking and mom burned dinner. Zack was crabby because he was sick. I…I was off by myself like always. I guess my mom called for dinner but I didn't hear. I don't know, Hank said I was being disobedient. Then he tasted dinner. It was chicken and mom had over cooked it. Zack started whining about his stomach hurting and not wanting to eat. I had just sat down. Hank had spit his chicken on the plate," Grayson replied his voice dropping into a monotone as his eyes dulled. He stopped speaking as the tears slipped down his cheeks. Gibbs watched him a moment before he reached out and laid a gentle hand on Grayson's uninjured shoulder.
The young man jumped slightly at the contact. His eyes slowly cleared as he brought them up to meet Gibbs'. Gibbs could see the pain and fear in his eyes. A moment of silence passed through the room.
"What happened then?"
"Why is it so important?" Grayson asked leaning back and closing his eyes trying to stop the tears.
"Gives me insight into you if I understand what happened. That's a major turning point in your life. It defined who you became as you grew older," Gibbs explained.
"Hank yelled at my mom. Screamed at her that she burnt the food and now he couldn't eat it. Zack started crying. He was screaming and hyperventilating. I sat there. I just sat there. Hank roared at Zack to shut up. It only made him cry harder. I didn't do anything. I just sat there," Grayson said his voice cracking as he relived the moment. "Hank hit Zack. Knocked him clear from the chair. Zack crawled to the corner of the kitchen and rocked with sobs.
"My mom stopped. She just stared. I sat in my chair. Hank yelled. Then he turned and beat on my mom. Zack wailed from the corner and Hank turned and kicked him. I finally jumped from my chair. I rushed him but I was twelve. He put an arm out and hurled me across the room then turned back on my mom. My mind went to the gun. I knew where it was and that it was loaded. I knew it.
"I got it and ran back into the kitchen. Hank had my mom down on the ground, wailing on her. I pulled the trigger the first time and I missed him. He whirled around," Grayson said before he paused. The tears were streaming down his face now as he wiped at them. "That son of a bitch laughed. He laughed at me. Told me I was a pussy and couldn't do it. I didn't have the balls to shoot him. He kept coming at me and I fired again. I shot him."
Grayson took a deep breath and pulled the hem of his shirt up and wiped his face. He closed his eyes and took a couple more deep breaths. Gibbs thought about everything the kid had said. He was about to say something when he heard voices in the hallway, then he heard Kate laugh. He looked up to see her and Levi Brown coming in the room with a couple cups of coffee.
Grayson looked at Agent Gibbs and saw the brief flicker in his eye before it was quickly covered up. He turned to see both Agent Todd and Levi looking at him and he briefly wondered if he missed a question.
"You all right?" Levi asked. Grayson gave him a look of stupidity before he answered.
"Dude, I hit a car like three hours ago, no I'm not alright."
"Not what I meant," Levi replied with a sigh.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Grayson replied with a forced smile. He glanced quickly at Gibbs before dropping his eyes. A silence fell over the room; no one knew what to say next. Gibbs continued to watch Grayson in the bed, studying his demeanor and body language. He looked at Levi standing on the other side of the room, and saw the worry in the man's face.
They waited another half hour before Dr. McKown returned to the room. He came in slowly, a small smile on his face. He looked at Grayson as he leaned on the side of the bed. Grayson sat up and felt the spark of hope in his chest as he waited for the news.
"Got everything back. Had a colleague look it over with me just for a second opinion," Conner began.
"On with it, Con, let me out of here," Grayson interrupted.
"You have a mild concussion. You're probably going to experience mild dizziness and light nausea for a few days. Shouldn't last much longer than that. The stitching will need to come out in a weeks time. Your shoulder is just bruised with a stinger. You may experience numbness in the shoulder and elbow area, and even possibly down to your hand for the next couple days."
"And the knee?" Grayson asked, knowing it was the worst of the three ailments.
"A little more serious. You've done some damage to the MCL I repaired from last time you romped with Storm. But the good news is that you should have a full recovery if you stay off of it. I'm going to get you a pair of crutches to use. I want you to use them."
"Sure, Doc," Grayson said as he looked at the ceiling.
"I'm serious, Grady; you need to use the crutches. No running. You can put a small amount of weight on it and I want you to start the exercises I had you do last time to help strengthen it. Just keep most of your weight off of it for a week or so."
"I'll try, Conner, I really will."
"Give me a few minutes and I'll have your release paper work ready," Dr. McKown said before he turned and left the room. Grayson looked around the room as everyone simply stared at him. It was Gibbs that broke the silence first.
"Kate, get the car ready. Meet us out front."
"I'll join you," Levi said. Grayson noticed the quick look Gibbs gave to the back of Levi's head before he and Kate walked out. Grayson couldn't stop the smile on his face. Gibbs looked at the young man and tilted his head slightly.
"What?" he growled lowly.
"Nothing, G-man. I just want to get out of here."
"I'm taking you back to headquarters so we can finish talking."
"Yeah," Grayson replied with a sigh.
"I need you to tell me all about Gunnery Sergeant Corbett."
"I know," Grayson replied staring at the ceiling. "I'll tell you everything I can if it catches this guy and let's my brother and me have some peace from this."
He watched Levi and a female get out of a car in front of the hospital. She stood and leaned against the side panel while Levi took a seat on the trunk. He was slightly confused as he waited for Grayson to show. They had been at the hospital for hours. He was growing anxious of all the sitting still, wondering if he should simply go back to Colorado and draw Grayson out without understanding his plans.
His lips split when he finally saw Grayson and the gray haired agent come from the front doors of the hospital. Grayson had stitches in his head and was using crutches but otherwise looked fine. He frowned, hoping there would be a cast or something more damaging done to his adversary.
He shook the feeling and waited as they loaded the car. As the Government Issue sedan pulled from the curb, Storm shifted his own vehicle into traffic and started to follow at a very safe distance. He watched it maneuver through the city, heading straight back to NCIS headquarters. As he parked the car in the garage he began piecing together his disguise, finding the proper ID he needed to gain entrance to the building.
TBC...