"I don't understand why the Boss wants me to do this," McGee murmured, his eyes were glued to his computer screen.

"What are you talking about, McGee?" Tony asked from behind his desk.

"Boss wants me to pull the security camera footage from the bullpen from this morning. Why would he want me to do that?" McGee asked.

"I'm sure it's relevant to the case," said Bishop. She was seated on the floor between McGee and DiNozzo's desks.

"It is," called a voice from across the room. Gibbs was reentering the bullpen with a determined look on his face. "What have you got?"

Bishop jumped to her feet, anxious to speak. "Rory Adler used an ATM in Chevy Chase this morning. The security camera footage is being pulled as we speak."

Tony took advantage of the short silence, and shared what he had learned. "Boss, when we worked on this case for the first time, we missed something big. Since 1989 Rory Adler has been in a relationship with Martin Armando."

"The mobster guy who blew up that 7-Eleven last year?" Bishop asked, with her mouth full of granola bar.

"It's pronounced Mar-teen," McGee corrected.

"It doesn't matter how it's pronounced McGee. What matters is how the hell we missed something like that," Gibbs said sternly.

"Adler's sister died in that 7-eleven explosion last year. Photographs from the funeral were in the local newspaper, in this picture," Tony clicked the clicker and a black and white photo appeared on the plasma, " Rory Adler attends her sister's funeral hand in hand with Martin Armando."

"Why would she hold hands with the man who just murdered her sister?" Bishop asked.

"Maybe she doesn't know Armando was responsible for the explosion?" Tony suggested.

"Or maybe it's a forced relationship?" McGee suggested.

"Since 1989? That's a long time for a forced relationship," Gibbs said quietly. "Did anyone get the security footage from the ATM yet?"

"I just got it," McGee said, as he typed away on his computer.

"Put it up."

A soundless video popped up onto the plasma and began to play. Rory Adler approached the ATM slowly, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds. She inserted her card, and began to make a transaction. Her newly dark hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, and she wore jeans and a black zip up sweatshirt.

"How much cash did she take out?"

"She didn't withdraw any money. She was checking her balance," McGee answered.

"What was the balance?" Bishop asked.

"250,000 dollars."

"Do you think that's her money? Or is it Martin Armando's?" Tony suggested.

"It's her money," McGee answered.

"How do you know, McSmarty-pants?" Tony asked.

"Because I know where it came from. I hacked into the FBI database. Rory Adler has been an FBI informant for the past ten years," McGee said quietly.

"You hacked into the FBI database?" Bishop asked incredulously.

"Wouldn't the FBI have stepped in when we arrested her last month if she was an informant?" Tony asked.

"Not if she committed the crime she was arrested for," Gibbs said. "They couldn't have interfered, the evidence was solid. We had her finger prints on the murder weapon, and her DNA at the crime scene. Abby is never wrong."

"What if her DNA was planted? It's possible. Remember when it happened to me?" Tony asked, frowning at the memory.

"McGee, go and help Abby. Tell her I need her to go over the evidence from the first Adler case. Tell her it's possible that it may have been planted," Gibbs ordered.

As McGee headed toward the elevator, the phone on Bishop's desk began to ring. She picked it up. She scribbled something down on a note pad, and then hung up.

"BOLO came back on Adler. She's at a motel in Chevy Chase. She just got a room for the night."

"Grab your gear."


The motel was cheap. Bishop got the room number from the front desk. The team approached Room 5 with their weapons withdrawn. Gibbs raised his fingers and quietly counted to three. He kicked the door hard causing it to swing open and clash with the wall. The team infiltrated the room. The window on the back wall was open, the dingy curtains danced in the cool breeze. On the other side of the wall, an engine roared to life, and the sound of tires spinning on gravel filled the air.

"Dammit," Gibbs muttered. "She knew we were coming."

"Boss, look at this." The room was neat, Adler hadn't been there long. A small pistol lay on the pillow.

"It looks like she forgot her gun," Bishop said.

"She's been so careful so far, why the hell would she forget a gun?" Tony asked.

Gibbs remembered Ducky's advice. He tried to put himself in Rory Adler's shoes.

"She didn't forget the gun. She left it on purpose," he said.

"The gun's a clue? Like the surveillance photos she left for Director Vance?" Bishop asked.

"Yep," Gibbs answered. "Bag it and tag it. Let's get it back to Abby."