A/N: Sorry for the slow updates. Things have been really crazy lately. See the first chapter for the disclaimer. As always, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and please review. :)

Chapter Twelve

May 3, 1995

It had been days that felt like weeks, and weeks that felt like months, but they finally had a solid lead in their case.

Ryan David Cortland.

Truth be told, Tony had trouble believing it at first. Maybe that was just because he was still developing his street smarts, or maybe it was because the guy was the leader of the local youth group. Coached soccer and taught Bible class. Loved his wife, Janice, and six-year-old son Keith. There wasn't a single person in Peoria that could utter a dirty word about Ryan Cortland.

And yet, the evidence said he was a murdering rapist.

They took a soft approach on the house when arresting him, despite the fact that Janice and Keith weren't home at the time. When they booked him, they took his DNA sample.

Perfect match.

They had their man.

And while Tony sat and waited in the atria of the courthouse, waiting for another case of his on the docket, Ryan Cortland looked at him.

"You," Ryan said.

Tony regarded him slightly.

"I'm gonna make you suffer for this. You had no right. Your ass is mine, you hear me? You're gonna suffer for this. I haven't done anything wrong. You planted my DNA. And when I get out, I'm gunning for you."

Tony thought about telling Ryan that threatening an officer would just buy him more jail time, but held his tongue as he watch the deputies take Ryan away to prison.

And within a few hours, the threat of Ryan Cortland was nothing but a memory.

January 29, 2010

"Are we sure this is going to work?" Abby asked, nipping at her nails nervously.

"Yes," McGee said.

"And he'll be okay?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Abby. Everything'll work out fine."

Tony made his way into the woods, stopping in a small open area behind the dormitory. He spun in a circle slowly, seeing nothing but trees, dirt, and rocks. "I know you're out here, Kevin," Tony said. "Show yourself."

"And why, exactly, would I want to do that, Agent DiNozzo?" Kevin's voice resonated from behind a rock, a tree, and the ground in some sort of triangle.

Tony looked around to try to find the speakers. "Because you want to end this. It's all for your father, right? Ryan Cortland?"

A half-chuckle surrounded him. "I figured you'd get it if I left the hair at the scene. One of the few pieces of my father that I still have left."

He turned his attention to a wire leading away from the rock. "Yeah, I heard about that. Stabbed four years ago. You were what, a senior in high school? Have you been planning this that long?"

"Longer."

"Probably since he was first arrested, you hated me, but in case you haven't learned throughout your research, your father was guilty."

"You planted that evidence. And you left Peoria shortly after that."

Tony shook his head as he realized the wire lead to the tree. "First of all, I never planted evidence. Not once. And second of all, I left Peoria for very different reasons."

"Hannah. Or, do you call her Heather?"

Tony walked toward the tree. "How did you find out about that?"

"Oh, I've been studying you for a long time, Agent DiNozzo. Studying criminology. Not too hard to find out that you had lost your daughter. And your son too, if I recall correctly. Ryan, right? Lived with that family in Akron. I bet it stung like hell when you found out that not only had he survived Keri's original murder, but that he'd been murdered himself. Now, I wish I could claim that for myself, but actually I just found out who that was. Didn't know Ryan existed myself before that. I'd love to thank him in person. Of course, I won't ever tell you who. And even still, I only picked her boyfriend because he was easy to get to. I knew him, knew where he lived, knew he was Navy. Knew it would get your attention. I mean, the only drawback was I had to listen to her whine about losing Pat."

"She trusted you."

Another laugh encompassed the clearing. "Yeah, she did," Kevin's voice resounded. "Enough that she asked me for advice in regards to you. Told me all about the situation. Asked me if she should get to know you or leave it alone. After all, she'd always wondered about her birth parents. Wondered what her mother was like. Did ya tell her she's dead?"

Tony shook his head again. "We haven't talked about family much," he said, finding a transmitter attached to the tree. He doesn't even have to be too close to be doing this, he thought. But if this is really his endgame, he's gotta be watching nearby.

"That's too bad. Guess you never really will, huh?"

Tony shrugged one shoulder. "Well, I probably will if you never come out of hiding."

Kevin laughed again. "For a guy that works for a Marine sniper, you're pretty dense. I'm sure you've figured out by now that I don't have to be anywhere near the clearing for talking to you. And I also don't have to be anywhere near the clearing to kill you."

"Yeah, but your killing style is more up-close. And hey, I'm your target. So why would you all of a sudden go long-distance on me?"

"Because I know you didn't come alone." Kevin appeared from behind a tree with McGee in front of him as a human shield. "Of course, your boy here sticks out like a sore thumb. So where are Gibbs and Ziva?"

"You tell me," Tony said. "You're the one who's so convinced they're here."

"Ziva's probably hiding somewhere off to your left, at this point. And Gibbs would be off toward your right."

Tony shrugged again. "Maybe they are, and maybe they're not. Maybe my only back-up was Tim. Then again, maybe there are more people at play here than just the four of us. After all, coming alone wasn't one of your conditions."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Implicit condition."

"Requires explicit mentioning."

Kevin shrugged. "I'm over it. Especially since I know your game. Since I didn't tell you to come unarmed, why don't you fork over the gun you're carrying under your jacket?"

Tony scoffed lightly. "You really have been studying me, huh?" he asked, removing his gun and tossing it toward Kevin and McGee.

"Enough to know your back-up is on your right ankle," Kevin replied.

Tony removed it and tossed it over as well, shaking his head more in McGee's direction than Kevin's. "You're good."

"And you have a knife concealed at your waist."

Tony pulled it out, holding it up for Kevin's edification. As he did, McGee dropped slightly, enough for Tony to throw the knife into Kevin's neck. As Kevin fell, Tony said, "Guess my skill with a knife wasn't exactly in your research, was it?"