AN: Special thanks to everybody who's taken the time to review the past few days — I really appreciate each and every one of the reviews! I'm still on track to finish this by middle of next week, so the suspense won't last too, too much longer. Just long enough to hopefully keep you on the edge of your seats through Halloween. (Also on track to finish novel revisions by middle of next week so it can go off to the beta readers!) I started posting some of my original fiction at FictionPress under jenniecoughlin if you're interested. Just a couple of ficlets so far, but next month I plan to add a longer WIP in chapters. OK, six exclamation points in one AN means I need to drink less coffee. Shutting up now. :)

Chapter 22

Ziva looked around the bullpen. She knew who Gerald was, of course, though she had not been part of the team then. McGee had not either, but he seemed as affected as the rest of them. Jimmy was chewing on his lower lip, and his eyes were huge through his round eyeglasses. The silence was painful, and Ziva could not abide it.

"He is not going after surrogates anymore." She stated the fact, knowing somebody must. "Now he is moving on to former team members. We are next." She could feel her Mossad training starting to kick in as she forced herself to detach from her emotions. She could not afford those, not today. Not until the killer was caught.

"David is right," Vance said. "Dr. Pitt, I want you to stay here until this matter is resolved. I'll clear it with your CO." He looked around the bullpen. "Gibbs, I need your team to stand down, sleep. Dr. Mallard, Miss Scuito, that includes you, too."

Ziva nodded, and watched as the others did so as well, though Abby only reluctantly agreed, the last to nod her head. One pigtail smacked McGee in the face, but he did not even flinch.

"I've got the futon in the lab, for anybody who wants to come down there," Abby said. "We can lock the doors, too, to be safer."

Ziva could see McGee's arms tighten around her. "Tony and I can crash down there with you, right, DiNozzo?" the computer-minded agent said.

Tony nodded. "How about you, Probette? Autopsy Gremlin?"

"Yes, that would be good," Ziva said.

"I think I will stretch out in Autopsy," Ducky said. "I find familiar surroundings are a comfort at times like these, and the couch in my office is quite long enough for me."

"If I'm going to be sleeping on the floor either way, I'll stay in Autopsy, too," Jimmy said. If you don't mind, Dr. Mallard?"

"Smart thinking, my boy," Ducky replied. "None of us should be alone until all of NCIS is ruled safe."

Vance nodded. "Gibbs?"

Gibbs just jerked his head toward the chair behind his desk.

"Agent Dorneget, if you wouldn't mind staying in the bullpen as well, I'll make sure we get some blankets for you, perhaps even a pillow." Vance nodded as Dorneget began to stumble out a reply. Ziva, despite the seriousness of the situation, could not help but be amused at the probationary agent's nerves.

"Good." Vance nodded once. "Dr. Pitt, if you'll join me, I'll have a word with your CO." He looked around, meeting each person's eyes in turn. Ziva nodded at him when her turn came, hoping to indicate she was all right. "I also need to brief SecNav on this topic, something I should have done a few days ago."

As Vance turned to leave, the group broke into smaller clumps. Ziva walked over to McGee and Abby, reaching them the same time as Tony. She saw Jimmy lead Ducky toward the back elevator and hoped Jimmy's presence was a comfort for Ducky, not a reminder of Gerald's fate.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

Vance headed upstairs, the doctor at his heels. Once inside his office, Vance turned to him. "I'm afraid I wasn't quite accurate down there," he said. "I do need to talk to your CO, but that isn't why I wanted you here."

"You're concerned about the team." Pitt nodded. "I am, too. That's part of the reason I convinced them to let me come back here with them. They look worse than I've ever seen them, and I definitely am including the time Tony was dying from the plague in that category."

"Normally Dr. Mallard handles keeping them in reasonably good health, but as you can imagine, he is equally affected in this case," Vance said. "If you could assess them, I'd appreciate the intel." He paused. "We have a psychologist who has worked with the team before."

"And he didn't run screaming from this band of crazies?" Brad's grin was a bit forced, but Vance could appreciate the effort.

"Quite the contrary," he said. "Dr. Rachel Cranston might be the only person who is likely to get anything from them, especially in this situation." He selected his next words carefully. "My one concern is that her connection to the team could prove to be somewhat difficult in this case."

"Director, I'm not a head-shrinker," Pitt said. "I can only really deal with the physical symptoms. If you've got somebody who can evaluate their mental health, I'd suggest you bring that miracle worker in." He paused. "What is her connection to the team?"

"Dr. Cranston's maiden name is Todd," Vance said. "Her sister, Caitlin Todd-"

"She's Kate's sister?" Pitt's eyes widened.

"You knew Agent Todd?"

Pitt nodded. "She had a cold the day the envelope from Hannah Lowell arrived here, so Dr. Mallard insisted she go to Bethesda, too." He looked down to the floor. "She argued with Tony the entire time, but it was clear they were close. She insisted on staying with him, even once we knew she wasn't exposed."

Vance filed that information away in his mind. "I wasn't aware of that," he said. "At any rate, I'm going to contact Dr. Cranston, and see if she's willing to come over. If you could do some preliminary assessment, that would be useful. I expect those in the worst physical shape probably also are most in need of her services."

"Yes, sir," Pitt said. He started to leave, then turned back. "Thank you for letting me help."

"Thank you for your assistance, Dr. Pitt," Vance said. "I'll be sure to let your CO know how much we appreciate it."

Once Pitt had left, Vance made that call, the easiest of the three. The call to Dr. Cranston was more difficult, but not so bad as Vance feared. She agreed to head right over. The final call, to SecNav, was the one he was not looking forward to.

~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~NCIS~

Disposing of the evidence was easy. Bleach destroys everything, and the water will keep the tools hidden until I have finished my task. It will be just a few days now, the remaining body count growing smaller. Three hours until the next step, just enough time for me to get the items I need and get into position. This one will be satisfying in a different way than the last one. They are focused on one end, because they still lack some of the pieces I so carefully prepared for them. This next body, it will point them in the right direction, but not quickly enough. Not before I begin the final phase of my plan