\ A SOLITARY ACT
Chapter 6
Tony had been undercover as a corrections officer for about two weeks, and despite everything he'd done - or appeared to have done, he hadn't broken Officer Mike Sullivan's inner circle of friends.
After the first few nights, Tony had told Gibbs that Sullivan was on his best behavior, so Gibbs had told Tony to do what he had to, to gain Sullivan's trust. Gibbs gave him a list of inmates currently in solitary that would help him out with whatever he needed.
So off and on for the past fourteen nights, Tony had picked a female inmate to "visit." He would make sure Sullivan saw him giving spot inspections, standing way too close when he frisked the inmate, overhearing Tony tell the con that he'd have to do a strip search. He'd hang out in the cell with the female inmate, talking or playing cards, making the appropriate noises if they heard someone coming down the wing. Then he'd time exiting the cell so Sullivan could watch him leave, tucking in his uniform shirt or re-buckling his utility belt.
Yet still, Sullivan hadn't approached him. Just as Tony was thinking it was time to call the op a wash and just take Sullivan down, the fish took the bait.
Tony was updating his duty log when he heard the tell-tale clatter of uniform shoes behind him. A fairly thick file landed on the desk next to his arm. Glancing at it, he saw that it was his doctored personnel file from the state pen, where he supposedly had been transferred from. For disciplinary reasons. He pushed it aside and looked up at his shift partner, his target, Officer Mike Sullivan. Sully. Tony raised an eyebrow in Sully's direction. "I've already read it." He snorted. "Hell, I lived it." Glancing from his file to Sully, he smiled slyly. "Find anything…interesting…in there?"
Sully stood just inside the office door, not sure how to take this new guy. If he hadn't read it for himself, he wouldn't have believed it, that someone else shared his hobby. Hell, if that file was to be believed, Magnum here, was more prolific at it than he was. He walked further into the office. "You've been a bad boy, Officer Magnum." He sat with one knee on the desk.
"Depends on your definition of 'bad.'" Opening up the file and reading a few charges, Tony smirked. Abby had outdone herself with these! "In fact, some of these were pretty damned good. If you know what I mean." He winked at Sully, shutting the file again.
Sully smiled. "Well, that kind of thing may be allowed upstate, Magnum. But not here. So keep your nose clean." He stood. "Let's take a walk."
Tony looked at the clock on the wall. "Not time for rounds."
Now Sully smirked. "Rita left a few places off your tour. C'mon, I'll show ya'."
Tony walked with Sully into the old section of the jail that was no longer in use except as storage. He watched as the other officer pulled out a separate set of keys. "Man, those are ancient!"
"So's this section of the building. Come on." Sully tossed the old cage door open and walked through. "Just a warning - the cages in this part of the building only open from the outside with a key. Not a problem here in the tombs, but make sure you either leave the outside door open or put something over the lock. That also lets everyone know someone's down here." He led Tony far enough into the caged ward that no one would see or hear them. As he turned, he saw Magnum had his hand on his Sig and was standing alert. He chuckled. "Ya' don't need that, Mag. I'm just showing you a secret place only a select few know about."
Tony looked around. "I can see why. Not exactly the Hilton, is it?" He walked around a bit, checking out the area, casually noting the waste baskets with used condoms in them. He spun in a circle with his arms spread wide. "What's so special about this dump?"
Sully looked as if he was giving Tony the key to the kingdom. "Let's just say that…it's not always possible to….do what we do….in the comfort of the cell block. You want real privacy, you come down here. May not look like much, but it's got it's creature comforts." He walked down the corridor to the end of the hall. "Shower room. One of the other CO's is also a licensed plumber. It's got all new pipes, all new fixtures. Going back on shift afterward, just hop in and out, you're good to go."
Tony hoped he was acting suitably impressed. Damn, this went further than just one blight in the system, there was a whole Boys' Club of rapists operating in this prison. "Must have known I was coming." At the other guard's confused look, Tony flashed his 'good ol' boy' smile. "Aw come on, man. You read my file. 'Allowing female prisoners extra time in the shower'? Didn't think I did that outta' the goodness of my heart, did ya'?" The two officers chuckled. "Yeah, nothing like a little 'slip 'n' slide' to start the day off right, know what I mean?" It took everything in him to leer and not gag. He knew he'd been convincing when Sully walked past and gave him a hearty slap on the back. With one last look around, he followed the other man with a sigh. A look at his watch showed him he had another five hours left before his shift was over. He should be thrilled that he'd accomplished his first goal, but all he could do was picture all manners of young women going through hell down here. And the most prominent face was Linnea Swanson's. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, knowing he couldn't afford to let his feelings get in the way.
Five more hours until he could leave and wash off the stink of this place. It was going to be a long night.
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Prison Infirmary
Dr. Brad Pitt stood outside the prison infirmary in a stalemate with not only the prison doctor, but the warden as well.
"….not necessary for you to have access to the patient. She belongs to the prison system's medical facility."
"Dr. Myers," Brad began, taking a step closer into the prison doc's space, "that young woman belongs to no one but herself. And I wouldn't be a very good doctor if I didn't follow through on a case with suspicious circumstances such as this one."
The warden was nervous. He didn't need anyone sticking their noses into his prison's business. Bad enough he had to allow NCIS to check his records, he didn't need some military doctor telling him what to do. "Dr. Pitt, I do admire your dedication to your patients, but Ms. Swanson is still a convicted felon, which makes her medical care our responsibility. You did your job in stabilizing the inmate, now it's our turn to finish treating her so she can return to completing her sentence."
Brad knew when he was being stonewalled. These two idiots were hiding something. "Fine, then," he capitulated. "Let me see her chart, so I can close out our record, and I'll be on my way."
Dr. Myers and Warden Williams shared an uneasy look, and the prison doctor sputtered and stammered. "Uh, well, while this is a prison, I am still bound by doctor/patient confidentiality. Surely you understand, Dr. Pitt." He smiled nervously.
Brad was so going to enjoy this. "Let me see if I'm understanding the laws surrounding inmate privilege correctly." He took a step closer to the doctor. "Prisoners are considered wards of the state, correct?"
With a shaky glance at the warden, the doctor voiced his agreement.
"And the state follows the rules for rights and privileges set by the government." He was now directly in the other doctor's face.
"Th-that would be correct, doctor," stammered the trembling prison doctor.
Brad pointed to the silver oak leaf on his lapel. "I am the government, Dr. Myers. And when it comes to the health and welfare of a prison inmate, if it is so deemed necessary, a doctor from outside the prison system is to be allowed access to any patient in the prison medical ward." He had to keep himself from smiling when the other man began to sweat. Gibbs was right - there was something big going on in here, and Ms. Swanson was only the tip of the iceberg.
After a scared look from Dr. Myers, Warden Williams jumped in. "Well, yes, of course, Dr. Pitt, that's true." He smiled confidently. "But only with a warrant signed not only by a sitting judge, but…"
"….but by the governor as well?" Brad pulled the signed warrant from his pocket. "Funny, all I had to do was mention pregnancy and prison, and the man was more than happy to sign." His eyes burned into Dr. Myers. "We'll be seeing Ms. Swanson now." The nurses with him pushed past the warden and the sketchy doctor and entered the medical ward. "We'll need all medical records, past and current, attending medical personnel logs, visitor logs, treatment records, staff notes, and anything else that may pertain to the care of Ms. Swanson." Brad stepped through the door, turning to bar the warden and doctor to enter. "You can understand the need for privacy, I'm sure. It's that pesky doctor/patient privilege thing. You can wait out here." He turned to the MP he'd brought along just for this type of thing. "Officer, see to it that no one from this facility interrupts my examination of the patient. Per order of the governor of the state of Virginia, the Navy is taking over this case. While she may be incarcerated, this is a federal facility, giving us jurisdiction. Anyone tries to get past, arrest them." Brad stalked down the hall as the MP took his position in front of the door, in a relaxed, yet attentive state.
Bethesda Naval Hospital
Six hours later
"You're right, Gibbs," said Dr. Pitt, ushering Gibbs and Ducky into his office. "There's something going on out there." He sat behind his desk. "I had the attending physician's file pulled. He's a prison doc because he couldn't hack a hospital. Three patient negligence complaints, not to mention complaints from other medical staff. He also had a problem with following his attending's direction."
Gibbs sighed. "So he applies at a prison, gets to be his own boss, make his own rules." He grimaced when Brad nodded.
"The girl, Bradley. How was she?"
Taking out his notes, he handed the file to Ducky. "See for yourself. Better than the last time I saw her, but still at risk."
"What's it say, Duck?"
Ducky read over the file, gleaning the important facts that Gibbs would want to know. "Well, her blood pressure is still rather low. Not dangerously so, if she weren't injured, but in her condition, and given her blood loss, I'm worried that she hasn't received a transfusion of any kind. Bruises healing…Bradley, what's this about recent bruising?"
Brad sighed. "It appears someone has been restraining Ms. Swanson. The bruising around her wrists and ankles are no older than a couple of days, at most. Although, she's so sedated most of the time, I don't know why they would need to restrain."
"What kind of sedation we talking about, Doc?" Gibbs looked concerned.
"Oh my…yes, very clever," Ducky muttered to himself. "Jethro, it appears they're staggering the use of several different sedatives, muscle relaxants, and pain medication to keep her sufficiently subdued."
Gibbs looked between the two doctors. "This something that we can prove with blood analysis?"
"Quite easily," said Ducky. "I believe the appropriate idiom in this case would be, she's got enough in her system to choke a horse."
"Well then, we need to get out there and get some blood…"
Brad smiled. "Already done. We've got one vial being tested here…"
Gibbs stood. "No offense, doc, but I want our lab checking it out."
"….another vial was already sent to NCIS and Ms. Sciuto. I know you'd only trust what she finds."
Ducky returned the file to Brad and stood. The three gentlemen shook hands.
Before they could leave, Brad addressed Gibbs. "If you need anything else….from me or the Navy…..you've got it, Gibbs. Whatever you need."
Thinking about Linnea Swanson and all that had happened, Gibbs got angry. "Make sure you have plenty of hospital beds for when this is over. Not that there'll be too many left alive to need 'em." He stormed out of Brad's office, leaving Ducky and Brad to share a concerned, knowing look.
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A/N - I know this is short, and I know I promised some Linnea, but I'm a little writer's blocked, so I went with what came to me. Hope you like this chapter. If any of ya'll have ideas for the next chapter, PLEASE let me know! Thanks, ya'll!
DISCLAIMER - I have nothing to do with anything that remotely resembles NCIS, I'm just very grateful they let us play with their creations.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEAS W! I need something to make me smile….