Ziva and Alex silently entered Abby's lab, though the silence was not returned. This time Alex couldn't even recognize the song playing through the speakers.

Abby was sitting a her desk behind the sliding motion detecting sliding glass doors.

But once she saw Alex and Ziva her eyes lit up. She grabbed a stuffed hippo off her desk and ran for them. If for some reason the motion detectors on the doors weren't working, Abby would have ran right into them, there was no stopping her.

As soon as she was within distance, she threw herself at Alex.

"I saw what happened at the alley! Are you okay? I've already talked to Tony on the phone so I know he's okay. But I saw you get hit in the head twice," Abby babbled.

"Saw?" Alex choked out through the bone crushing hug.

"Yeah, the alley you were in was right beside a bank, a security camera that was set up caught everything. I was worried about you! Tony too, but then again I'm always worried about Tony," Abby said finally relinquishing her grip on him, only to have her loop her arm around Alex's dragging him over to the computer.

Alex gave her an amused smile, " Abby are you gonna let me go anytime soon?" he asked noticing she still hadn't let go of his arm.

"Nope. It seems as though you get into more trouble than Gibbs and Tony combined. Jack certainly has her hands full with you, the least me and the team can do is keep an eye on you until she wakes up," Abby said as she started typing furiously on her computer keyboard.

Then, from behind they heard, "What've you got Abs?" Gibbs asked as he walked in, with Tony and Mcgee following slowly behind.

Abby spun around, taking Alex with her, "Tony! Mcgee!" Then ran over to them jerking Alex over there with her.

The side of Mcgee's face was very bruised, all the way from his eye to the middle of his cheek, but replied strongly, "I'm okay, Abby."

"Yeah, don't worry Abs, Mc-hard-head will be fine after those aspirins kick in," Tony said smirking at Mcgee, while clapping him on the back.

"Mcgee's not the one that freaks out on pain medication, Tony," Ziva said smirking at Tony.

"If you're done Abby, can we get back to what you have? Trust me, I made sure Ducky checked out all three of them. Their fine," Gibbs assured the goth.

Abby seemed to accept that they were all relatively okay since Gibbs and Ducky said the trio were fine, because she took Alex back over to her computer, but let go of her death grip on his arm.

"I was going through the computer on Payton's hardrive, and found that he had been given a loan from a loan shark. He didn't repay the money he borrowed and had been getting threatening e-mails from a Marvin Bensting saying that if he didn't get his money it wasn't going to end well for Payton," Abby relayed.

"Marvin Bensting? Man he's a big time loan shark, Boss. We've dealt with him in Baltimore. But that's a no-go. Bensting was killed in a standoff last week, a old cop buddy of mine called me and told me," Tony informed, writing off that theory.

"Well other than that Gibbs, there's nothing that indicates that there was another person at the scene besides Payton, Moore, and Sarah Sommers. So either this guy's really good, or..," Abby said turning to Gibbs expectantly.

"Or whoever killed Payton is also one of our supposed 'victims.' Thanks Abs," Gibbs said turning to leave.

"Wait! Gibbs, I'm not finished. Do you really think I'd call you down here just for that?" Abby said excitedly.

"I thought you said you didn't have anything else?" Gibbs asked confused.

"Not anything on this case, Gibbs. It's what I found in the alley where the SCORPIA agents cornered Tony and Alex," Abby said.

"Hey, we weren't 'cornered', Yokov got a lucky shot, I had everything under control," Tony said offended.

"Yeah, you looked it," Ziva said gesturing to his shoulder, as Tony glared at her.

"Anyways," Abby said before the two could start their bickering, " you know how the bank security cameras caught everything on video? Well when they hopped the fence there was a van waiting on them. Another camera at a different angle caught its license plate. Now it's probably a stolen van, but when there's a hit on the BOLO you'll know," Abby explained.

"That's great work, Abby," Gibbs replied, once again turning to leave, this time the team and Alex followed him.

In the elevator Gibbs checked the time, 12:00 AM, they had gotten a late start on this case, but still managed to accomplish a lot. And their lead suspect was in a hospital bed, so it wasn't like he was going anywhere. They deserved a good nights rest.

"Go home, get some sleep, be back here at 0700, we'll get a fresh start on this tomorrow," Gibbs ordered.

His team had been through a lot today, Gibbs noticed as he saw Tony's face etched with pain from his shoulder.

The tired team nodded, relieved to get a good nights rest.

Alex on the other hand was wide awake, with many questions running through his mind. Would they find where SCORPIA had taken up residence until he was caught? And if so, what would Gibbs and his team do? After all they were really only Navy cops. And if they find the SCORPIA agents, and manage to take them down..what then? What about Jack? There was no way he was going to leave her, while he went back to their cozy flat in England.

Alex was pulled out of his thoughts as the elevator doors dinged open, and him and the team filed out.

Everyone went over to their desks and retrieved their stuff, while Alex waited patiently for Gibbs.

As they made their way back to the parking deck, Alex was genuinely surprised by what vehicle Gibbs came to a stop in front of. A canary yellow, 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.

"This is yours?" Alex asked in awe.

"Yep, we took the company car home yesterday," Gibbs said simply, as they both climbed in.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! Wait!" Abby said running as fast as her enormous boots would carry her.

Gibbs cranked the car and rolled down his window, "what is it Abby?"

"I almost forgot! Alex you got a letter in the mail today from a girl named Sabina Pleasure, we're picking up any mail you get at your new apartment for you, by the way. It's been tested to make sure there's nothing wrong with it, we certainly don't want a repeat from last time. Anyway don't worry no one's read in case it's all romantic and stuff," Abby said winking her last commented, handing over the letter.

Alex who was thinking hard about what Abby had said, was jerked out of his thoughts and blushed deeply at Abby's suggestion, " thanks, Abby."

"Alright, Abby go home and get some rest. We're gonna need you fresh tomorrow," Gibbs said revving up the powerful engine.

Abby smiled and waved as Gibbs and Alex sped off into the night.

ALEX RIDER**NCIS**ALEX RIDER**NCIS**ALEX RIDER**NCIS**ALEX RIDER**

"Gibbs?" Alex asked curiously.

Gibbs gave him a questioning look as they were stopped at a stoplight.

"What exactly did Abby mean by a 'repeat of last time'?" Alex asked, that was one of many things that was bothering him about the current letter in his hands.

"Ah, its been awhile back, but there was this lady that sent a letter filled with a white powder to NCIS and Tony opened the letter, thinking it was for him. Everyone had to evacuate the building and be de-sanitized. Tony, being the one who opened the letter and was the closest, had to be taken to Bethesda immediately, along with Kate who had a cold at the time so her immune system was weak," Gibbs started.

"Who's Kate?" Alex asked interrupting him.

"Kate, was a agent on my team at the time. She died in the field," Gibbs said.

Alex could tell Gibbs didn't want to get into that by his short answer, so he didn't push.

"Anyways, turns out that after Tony and Kate got tested, Tony had developed the plague, Kate was fine though," Gibbs finished.

Alex was floored, "the plague? That's like something you get from the dark ages how did Tony manage to survive that?"

"It was close. Tony, was said to only have a fifteen percent chance of making it. But him being the stubborn person that he is, beat it. Though his lungs were left really scarred. He has to watch himself closely when he gets sick. Even a cold Tony has to be careful with. But Ducky keeps his eye on him, and other than that he's fine," Gibbs explained.

"I see why Abby was so careful with this then," Alex said, still kinda flabbergasted. This was definitely no ordinary Navy cop investigation team.

Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider

"You still not gonna open it?" Gibbs asked smirking at Alex, "I understand you not reading it in the car because you couldn't see, but now you've got perfect lighting." He said, as they entered the quiet house.

"Uh, no I thought I'd wait till later, you never know what to expect with Sabina," Alex lied.

Alex was unsure about the letter. He hadn't told Sabina that he was going to be in the states, much less gave her an address for her to write to. If him and Sabina did talk it was by e-mail or by mobiles anyways. Did Jack tell her? That was unlikely Jack didn't even know Sabina's number. MI6? Somehow he doubted, they cared enough to make sure he got his mail.

"How about some left over Chinese food for dinner?" Gibbs asked, taking out five white take out boxes full of various Chinese foods.

Alex was tempted to tell Gibbs he wasn't hungry to read the letter faster, but when his stomach gave a low rumble the idea was shot down.

"That's fine," Alex said, taking the plate Gibbs offered, along with a fork to fish out his food from the box.

Once he had piled the food onto his plate, Gibbs took it and put it in the microwave, before giving it back to Alex, urging him to eat, then doing the same for his own plate.

"What are you thinking about the case so far? You've been observing all day, any ideas?" Gibbs asked, surprising Alex.

He couldn't decide if Gibbs really wanted to know what he thought, if he was just trying to make conversation. Either way he answered. "Well, I kinda doubt Fulmer had anything to do with it. He's too much of a druggie. There's no way he could manage to take down two trained marines."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. But you never know, people may surprise you," Gibbs said, not taking his eyes off his plate, "you certainly surprised the hell outta me today."

"How's that?" Alex asked, through a mouthful of noodles.

"Those moves were impressive, not something you expect from a fourteen year old," Gibbs said, almost mimicking Tony.

"Well my uncle apparently did want to make sure I was well-trained before he introduced me to the spy world," Alex said quietly.

But if Gibbs heard correctly there was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Blunt told us your uncle was a spy, and that he was secretly training you. Is that why you do this? To follow in your uncles footsteps? Now I didn't know the man Alex, but this couldn't have been what your uncle wanted for you. Not at such a young age at least," Gibbs replied.

"Guess Blunt didn't mention my Dad," Alex thought.

Alex couldn't decide whether Gibbs was trying to put this all in perspective for himself or for Alex. Either way, it was wrong.

"Gibbs, I have no intention of following in my uncles footsteps," Alex said firmly, taking his empty plate over to the sink, rinsing it off.

"Then why are you doing this? You're constantly getting hurt, people are trying to kill you. You've got to be repeatedly missing school, not to mention you've got to be missing your friends. What's making you want to do this?" Gibbs asked.

"It's not that I want to do this it's that I-" Alex stopped mid-sentence, spinning around to look at Gibbs, who was watching him intently. "It's not your problem to deal with, don't worry about it. I think I'm going to go ahead and go to bed."

Alex turned to leave but Gibbs caught him firmly by his forearm.

"Alex, it became my 'problem' the moment you were assigned to my team."Gibbs said, giving Alex a hard look.

Not even Alex dared defy that look. And besides that, he had really warmed up to the man. He could tell that Gibbs really cared about what happened to him, and not just about 'doing his job.' Alex liked Gibbs, the rest of the team as well, but Gibbs was the one he trusted the most.

Alex nodded and leaned against the counter while Gibbs washed his own plate, along with some coffee cups from previous days, waiting for Alex to begin.

"When my uncle died," Alex started, "he had information for MI6. He was killed before he could deliver what he knew. Then, Blunt got the big idea to send me in to finish Ian's mission, and find out what he knew that cost him his life."

"Blunt asked you to do that?" Gibbs asked, finishing the rest of the dishes and mimicking Alex's position.

"He didn't give me a choice. He said if I didn't do the mission he would force me to have to go to a boys institution," Alex said quietly.

"What about Jack?" Gibbs asked, trying to hide his astonishment. What the hell was going on with the head of that Intelligence agency? Alex couldn't have had the proper time to mourn over losing the last member of his family, and yet there was MI6 sending him off on a mission.

"If I refuse a mission they're gonna revoke Jacks visa and send her back...well, here I suppose,"Alex explained.

"They're blackmailing you into doing this?" Gibbs asked, a few octaves higher than regular.

"More or less. Two or three of them I suppose you could count as 'voluntary', but at some point, each time I end up getting manipulated or lied to so that they get what they want," Alex replied. He wondered if he had said too much. It was easier than he thought, to talk to Gibbs. He felt that no matter what he told the man he wouldn't judge him.

"That's not right, Alex," Gibbs said quietly, running a hand across his face.

"Maybe. But that's the way it is, until I'm eighteen, at least," Alex said matter-of-factly. "Anyways, I'm going to head on up and go to bed. I'm pretty tired."

Gibbs nodded mumbling a 'goodnight' as Alex left the kitchen, leaving Gibbs alone. But the only thing running through his mind was of how alone the poor fourteen year old in his guest room must feel. And what he was going to have to do about it.

Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider**NCIS**Alex Rider

Alex was by no means tired or going to bed. He just wanted to get to the mysterious letter.

"With any luck Sabina is just stalking me," Alex thought hopefully. He'd take crazed teenage girl over assassins any day.

But as Alex's luck would normally fall, it wasn't Sabina, and his suspicions were, in fact, correct. Alex glared furiously at the paper in his hands as he opened it and read;

Alex Rider,

This game of hide and seek is over. Jack and agent DiNozzo have already been hurt because of you, lets not cause any more casualties than necessary. From what we've observed you are becoming quite close to a one special agent Gibbs. I strongly suggest you keep this letter to yourself Alex. You wouldn't want something terrible to fall upon your new friends, right? Do yourself a favor and turn yourself over to us. Besides it's just a matter of time before we catch you anyways. Save yourself the humiliation and the prospect of having someone close to you killed. Meet us in the alley where we last met if you come to your senses. You have been warned if you don't show.

Yokuv

A/N- Wow this took freakishly long, sorry about that. Hope you guys didn't think I had forgotten about you. School started August the 3rd for me so it's been hectic getting my schedule straight, classrooms found, and of course, uh, studying and paying attention in class.....(yeah, right. Most of this story got wrote in physics class when we're SUPPOSED to be taking notes. "What? Of course I'm taking my notes Mr. Norman")

But updates SHOULD get back to normal.

Again awesomely beta'ed by the wonderful Sheluby94dreamer. :D

Review and let me know you guys haven't left me because I took like a year to update lol (I could be exaggerating I'm pretty sure it was only like a month...or two and a half but still it was a long time.)