Director Vance sat behind his desk, and tried to keep his cool. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He sat very still, and listened to what Gibbs was saying.
"I made a deal with Rory Adler. She gave me information about Martin Armando, and I told her I would have all of her charges dropped," Gibbs said sternly. "And I want you to back me on this, Leon."
"You didn't have permission to make any kind of deal with Rory Adler," Vance said quietly. He stood up, and looked Gibbs square in the eye. "I will not back you on this. I want Rory Adler under maximum security in a holding cell, now."
Gibbs held Vance's gaze. "I can't do that, Leon. I promised her that she'd be free to go. She gave me enough evidence to put Martin Armando away for a long time."
"You also promised me that you'd solve this case. You haven't solved anything. You've got both Martin Armando and Rory Adler in custody, which one is guilty?" Vance demanded.
"Armando," Gibbs said matter-of-factly.
"Evidence?" Vance asked smartly.
Gibbs shuffled his feet before answering. "We've got Armando's print on the murder weapon."
"I distinctly remember you telling me that Adler's print was on the murder weapon, along with a partial print that Ms. Sciuto couldn't match. Now you're trying to tell me that the print belongs to Martin Armando?"
"Adler left a gun behind in her motel room. The gun was covered with Armando's prints. Abby matched one of his prints to the partial print on the murder weapon from the first Adler case," Gibbs explained.
"So she left behind another clue, did she?"
"I know she's innocent, Leon. And I know that I can get more information out of her."
"Are you sure you're not getting to involved on this case? Personally, I mean?" Vance asked quietly.
"What's that supposed to mean, Leon?" Gibbs asked angrily.
"You know what it means, Gibbs." Vance straightened his tie, and sat back down behind his desk. "You have to get more out of Adler before I can even consider letting her go."
"He drugged her, you know. He visited her in her holding cell, and gave her a pill. He told her to take the pill before she went to sleep, she did and the next morning she woke up in a hotel room. Armando was the one who broke her out of holding," Gibbs said as a final note as he moved to the door.
"He didn't force her to take the pill though, did he?" Vance asked.
"No, he didn't force her to take it, Leon."
"Exactly. Get more out of her, or she stays in holding."
Gibbs let the door slam behind him.
Abby typed away on her computer. Her eyes scanned the screen as she took in the search results. She picked up her phone and dialed Gibbs' number. It rang twice before he answered.
"Gibbs."
"Gibbs, I need you to come to the lab, I've got results for the pill Adler took," Abby said brightly.
"I'm already here, Abbs," Gibbs said from the doorway. He smiled a sly smile when Abby jumped at the sound of his voice.
"Gibbs!" she hissed. "You scared me."
Gibbs handed her a fresh Kaf-Pow, and glanced at the computer screen. "What do ya got?"
"Considering that it's been more than 48 hours since Adler took the pill and escaped holding, her blood test results came back negative. Which is no big surprise. Based on her description of the pill, I've determined that Martin Armando gave her some sort of Muscle Relaxer, a strong one. The Muscle Relaxer caused her heart rate to decrease to a dangerously low rate, which also made her appear dead to anyone who checked her heart rate. That's how she escaped."
"Good work, Abbs." Gibbs planted a kiss on Abby's cheek before he left the lab.
