Chapter 15 – Ulterior Motives

Gibbs

He watched Abby and McGee for a moment longer. They were talking quietly so that he couldn't hear what they were saying but they both seemed content with their newfound situation.

He joined them and looked at Abby meaningfully.

She smiled bashfully.

"You heard, didn't you?" she asked. He nodded and glanced at Ducky. "Can I buy you a drink, Gibbs?" she asked.

He nodded and followed her to the bar where they were out of earshot of Doctor Mallard.

"This puts me in a tough situation, you know," she said as she looked behind the bar for the bottle she kept just for him. "I've only known Tim for like a week. Or if you add up our time together, like twenty-four hours total. I should go straight to Napolitano." She looked down at a stack of glasses.

"But you're not going to," he said softly.

"No," she replied as she looked up at him. "And it's not because I'm in love. I mean, who falls in love at first sight?"

He smiled slightly. He had. He had fallen heel over heels in love with Shannon from the first time he met her. It took some work to win her over though.

"I'm not sure I've ever really been in love," she continued as she toyed with the glasses. "But that's not the point, even if we weren't… horizontal dancing," she said as she pointed in the direction of her apartment. "I wouldn't turn him over to Naps."

"Because you're a good person," he said. "You know it would get him killed and you don't want that."

Abby nodded as she leaned on the bar.

"Did you know I wanted to be a detective when I was a kid?" she asked. He shook his head. They knew each other but not that well that they had discussed childhood dreams. "I used to save up all my pocket money to buy Sherlock Holmes books. I loved how he could find the teeniest, tiniest bit of evidence to help him figure out who the criminal was. I even used to try to solve crimes around my hometown. The Mystery of Who Stole the Gumball Machine. The Mystery of the Missing Chickens." He smiled. "The gators did that one."

"I hope you didn't try to arrest them for the crime," he said with a chuckle.

"I didn't," she replied. "But my uncle Horus did. That gator made a really tasty gumbo," she said with a smile. He stared at Abby. Even after knowing her all this time, she managed to surprise him. "And he managed to trade enough of the meat to buy me two more books. He was a really great haggler."

"So that's why you wanted to be a detective," he said.

Abby shook her head. "Figuring those things out was fun but my first real case is why I wanted to become a detective," she said. "You see, we used to live next to this old junkyard," she said. "At first it was filled with old street cars and wagon parts. But when I was maybe ten, they started getting wrecked cars. I used love sneaking into the junkyard to look at them. Sometimes I was just trying to figure out how they worked. But I also liked to figure out how the cars had been wrecked and I would reconstruct accident scenes using my brother's toy cars."

Abby laughed at the memory.

"It used to drive Luca crazy when I took his cars but he always listened to me when I explained what happened," she said with a fond smile. He smiled as he imagined a pint-sized Abby explaining a car crash to her brother. "Then one day, a wreck came in to the junkyard. Gloria, she told me not to go looking at it."

"Gloria?" he asked.

"My mom," Abby replied. "She never liked to be called 'mom.' She always told me that she'd explain why one day but then she died, and I had never found out. My Pa, he never did explain it either," she said. "Luca said she probably didn't like it because it made her feel old but I got the feeling it was something else."

Shaking her head, Abby said, "Anyway, Gloria didn't want me looking at it because someone had died in the wreck. She said it was inviting trouble with the spirits, but I went anyway." He smiled, unsurprised. "I believe in ghosts, but I also believe that the dead are really in no position to cause the living any trouble. Found out that wasn't true the hard way."

She sighed. "You see, the car belonged to a local judge and his family. The judge was killed in the crash and his family was hurt real bad," she said.

He noted that her New Orleans accident was getting stronger. "I looked over every inch of the car and I found a teddy bear which I figured was his daughters. I had already planned to find her and give it back but then I realized the car had been tampered with."

"The accident hadn't been an accident," he said.

She nodded. "I took the bear back to the little girl and I told her Mama what I found," Abby said. "You'd think that she'd be happy to know it wasn't an accident. That they could find the person who tampered with their car and he'd face justice for what he did. But she just shook her head and told me to forget what I had saw and that I should get rid of the bear. I was so confused."

"What happened?" he asked.

Abby looked up at him. "The judge had been presiding over a case against a black man for stealing. The judge ruled that the black man wasn't guilty and the white folks who had accused him weren't at all pleased. It didn't matter that the black man innocent. They wanted him convicted because he was black."

"What happened to the black man?" he asked wondering if he had been lynched.

"It's not what you're thinking," Abby said quickly. "He got out of town as soon as he was let out of jail," Abby replied. "Took his wife and daughter with him too but not before his little girl gave the judge's daughter her prized possession to thank her family for helping hers."

"The teddy bear," he interjected.

"They got away," Abby continued. "But the judge paid for it with his life." Abby sighed and leaned on the bar, propping her chin on her hands. "I wanted to be a detective so that I could get justice for people like the judge. I even learned everything about forensics and fingerprints. Practiced that on my family. I didn't realize until I grew up that there weren't no female detectives."

"You could always be the first," he said.

Abby looked up at him and smiled fondly. "See Gibbs, that's what I like about you. You're always so encouraging. When things got tough around here with all the renovations, you told me to keep at it. It'll pay off in the end, you said. And you were right." He smiled. "My daddy always told me I could do anything if I put my mind to it. He helped me get into college and he was so proud of me when I graduated with my mathematics degree.

"Of course, I couldn't get a job because apparently women can't add well enough to be a bookkeeper," she said sarcastically. "Even with a mathematics degree, I couldn't even get a job as an accountant!" He frowned. "So, I figured if I got another degree, that would show them. I got a chemistry degree too and still that got me nowhere. I was tending bar here to make ends meet when Napolitano took over. The manager he hired to run the place was as dumb as a box of rocks." He chuckled. "I took over and I've been happy ever since." She looked up at him. "I guess that didn't really explain anything," she said.

He smiled. Her story told him more than she suspected. Abby was smart, driven and had a sense of justice.

"Everything Tim said is right," she said. "Guys like Napolitano are ruining this country. An innocent man was shot because he was in the wrong place. So, yes, I want to stop Napolitano even if it means my club gets shut down. And I also want to protect Tim. Not just because I like him, and he doesn't disappoint me in bed."

"Too much information," he said softly.

Abby smiled mischievously as she poured him a drink.

"I want to protect Tim because it's the right thing to do," she said as she met his eye.

He looked at her, reading her intentions. When he was satisfied, he nodded and sipped his drink.

"I'll understand if you don't believe me," Abby started to say but he cut her off.

"I believe you," he replied. "But it comes with a warning. I protect my people. From all threats."

"I understand, Gibbs," she said as she turned and collected another bottle from a shelf. She quickly poured another drink. "I promise I'll keep the secret. You'll see that you can trust me."

"We'll see," he said slowly.

Abby nodded and picked up the glass. She took it back to the table where Ducky was monitoring Jimmy's pulse. "One Glenfiddich," she said.

Ducky accepted the glass of scotch from Abby. He tasted it and closed his eyes appreciatively.

"That is excellent quality, my dear," he said. "And here I thought that all of these gin joints only served hooch cooked up in the back woods."

"Of course not," Abby replied indignantly. "We serve quality liquor here, Ducky."

"I see that now," he said. "Perhaps I might venture here once again if there should be an occasion."

Abby smiled brightly. "The next time you're here, ask me for L 'Esprit de Courvoisier," she said.

"The Spirits of Courvoisier?" Ducky asked.

Abby nodded. "It's a bottle of cognac that was part of a shipment that one of my sources of liquor came across. I think it was meant for La Grenouille but my source won't confirm where he got it. Anyway, Napoleon was the first to drink the cognac at his coronation in eighteen oh two. And since then, only the very best vintages has been added to it. Over a hundred years of empires, revolutions, and war and still the cognac continues on."

"History in a glass," Ducky mused. She nodded. "I would be delighted to partake in a glass of that cognac, my dear."

Abby smiled.

Suddenly Jimmy shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't suppose that there is someplace more comfortable that we could allow Jimmy to truly rest? I doubt that table is very comfortable," Ducky said.

"There's a couch in Ziva's dressing room," Abby suggested.

"Michelle is sleeping there," Ziva said as she approached them. "I gave her a brandy to calm her nerves and she fell asleep from exhaustion. The poor girl is a heap."

"Heap?" McGee asked.

"Wreck," Abby supplied. "English is like her fourth or fifth language. Idioms rarely come out right." Ziva frowned as she mouthed the word 'wreck.' Abby looked at Tim then reluctantly said, "We can take him the guest dressing room. There's another couch in there. I'll get some of the boys to do it," she said as she saw Blue entering the club with Tony following him. They all had dark expressions.

"What's going on?" McGee asked. "What's wrong?"

"The cops are still swarming the area," Tony said. "We aren't going to be able to leave for a while yet. How's the kid?"

"Stable," Ducky replied, "For now. But he does need to get some proper medical care and possibly a transfusion but that would be best done in a hospital. I've done all that I can do for him."

"Will he be ok for the night?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky looked thoughtful for a minute and then replied, "I think so yes. There is so little of the night left. I would like to get him to a proper medical facility as soon as possible, however."

"We'll see what we can do for him, Duck, but that's dependent on the police outside," Gibbs replied. "If they continue to swarm around, Blue isn't going to let us take him out. Worst case, I think we can get him out under the guise of a delivery truck come morning."

"Then let us hope that the police complete their investigation into the shooting and leave quickly," Ducky said.

"Doesn't seem likely Doctor," Blue replied. "They've got quite a mess to investigate. One death could be blamed on a robbery. Three makes them wonder what was going down. They're going to take their time with this investigation."

"Especially when they find all the brass we left behind," Tony muttered. "They're not the only ones who want to investigate. I'd love to know if they were really after McGee," Tony said.

"Well if you would have grabbed one of Grenouille's goons instead of killing them all," Blue muttered.

"Hey!" Tony said annoyed. "When someone shoots at me, I shoot to kill. This ain't a pillow fight. I didn't see you take any prisoners either Blue."

Blue rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort.

"Enough," he growled, silencing any further argument. "You want one of them?" he asked. "No problem."

"You're going to grab one of them, just like that?" Abby asked.

He just smiled and left, leaving Blue standing agape.

After a second, he heard Blue say, "He's mad."

He smiled to himself as he reached the back door. He was anything but mad.

When he reached the back door, he explained to Levin what he planned to do. Gayne looked at him like he was crazy too but he checked the ally anyway. When he determined it was clear, Gayne opened the door and let him out. He cautiously padded through the alley until he could see the front street where the gun battle had taken place.

Cops were all over looking for clues to what might have happened and where the perpetrators had gone.

He slipped back into the alley. He would double back and take the long way to where Grenouille's men had set up their ambush.

He carefully moved through the alleys and side streets until he reached the spot he had seen Grenouille's men lying in wait. It only took him a few minutes to find a weaselly looking man dressed in a suit watching the hubbub from a doorjamb.

He drew his gun and joined the man.

"Hey," the man said startled. "Who are you?"

"Don't matter," he replied harshly. "Did the cops find the club yet? La Grenouille didn't want it shut down."

"No," the weaselly man said relaxing. "All they found was some of your friends' bodies."

"They're dead," he replied harshly. "They weren't any friends of mine. They leave you here to keep watch by yourself?"

"Yeah," the man said. "Everyone else either didn't want to get nabbed or needed to see the doc."

"But you were brave enough to stick around," he said.

"Yeah," the man said proudly. "And I can report back that they didn't find the club."

"Good," he said. "Let's do that. My truck is this way. I'll give you a lift."

The man brightened up. "Hey thanks," he said.

"Keep close. I'd hate for the cops to get you."

He led the way and nearly shook his head at the stupidity of the man following him. He led the way back towards the loading dock and when he reached the door, he paused.

"What?" asked the man.

"Shout and you'll regret it," he said as he grabbed him by the back of his jacket with one hand and thrust his pistol into the man's ribs with the other. The man was so startled that he didn't say anything. He waited a moment before the guard opened the door and allowed them to enter.

"Where'd you find him?" Gayne asked as he roughly frisked the man and relieved him of a revolver and a Baby Browning. He took the weapons from Gayne and sniffed them. Both had been recently fired although that didn't tell him if this was the Browning that shot Palmer. Both weapons were fully loaded.

"Watching the cops," he replied when he finished inspecting the weapons. "He wasn't that hard to find. He was practically standing out in the open."

Pocketing the weapons, he dragged the man down into the club. As they entered, McGee quickly pulled off his glasses and tucked them away. Apparently, Tim still thought that taking off his specs was a good disguise. He and Abby had been looking at something small but he couldn't see what was in Abby's hand.

Tony was seated with Miss David and seemed to be in an intimate conversation. But on his arrival, Tony stood and turned to face him. He noted that Tony was resting his injured arm on his belt to lessen the strain.

Surprised, Tony said, "That was quick."

Gibbs smiled slightly. "Yeah well, he wasn't hard to catch. It's amazing the cops didn't find him first. Sit down," he said roughly forcing the man to sit at the table that was spotted with Jimmy's blood. The man looked at the blood and paled.

"Ziva," Tony said softly. "I think you ought to check on Michelle."

Ziva's eyes flashed. "I am not a delicate flower, Tony. I do not need to be sent away because you intend to question a rival. I am not afraid of blood."

"I know," Tony replied.

"Oh, it won't get bloody," he replied. "There are other ways to get a man to talk without making a mess."

"Then you do not intend to harm him?" she asked looking at him intently.

He smiled lightly. "Didn't say that," he replied. His captive fidgeted in his seat. "But it would be best if you didn't witness this."

"Are you to make Abby leave as well?" she demanded.

He shook her head. "This is about her club. She has a right to be here if she wants."

"And I do," Abby said fiercely as she stared at the man.

"Ziva," Tony said. "Gibbs is right. The less witnesses, the better."

"Very well," she said sharply. "I will go and check on Michelle."

When she was gone, he demanded, "What's your name?"

The man blinked before replying, "Fred. Fred Rinnert."

"Looks like a little weasel," Tony muttered. "How is he part of Grenouille's muscle?"

"Even muscle needs a brain, Tony," McGee replied softly.

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Tony asked looking at McGee.

Tony looked annoyed and he couldn't tell if it was genuine or just a ploy to get a rise out of Tim. McGee sighed and decided to play it safe. "I'm not saying that you're stupid. I'm saying Grenouille's muscle is stupid."

"Hey," Gibbs said glaring at them. Tony bit back a retort. He didn't need the two of them bickering while he tried to figure out what this guy was up to. They were all tired and cranky. And in Tony's case, he was in pain. "Fred," Gibbs said as he sat down opposite of Rinnert. "This is how it's going to work. I'm going to ask questions and you're going to answer truthfully."

"Or what?" Rinnert asked smugly. "You do anything to me and my Boss will make sure that you pay. La Grenouille doesn't take kindly to people roughing up his employees."

"If you don't answer truthfully," Gibbs said softly. "I'll let you go." Fred looked puzzled. That offer didn't sound so bad. "After I make sure that Grenouille knows you snitched on him."

Fred paled. La Grenouille was getting a reputation like Napolitano's. He dealt swiftly and harshly with people who betrayed him. "He knows I wouldn't," he said. "He knows I'm true blue." Fred spoke strongly but they could hear the doubt in his voice.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked with a smile that belied horrible fate that would undoubtedly await him. "Personally," Gibbs said as he rubbed the corner of his mouth thoughtfully. "I wouldn't want to take that chance."

"Yeah but if I talk, then I will be a snitch," Fred said.

That was logical. And that meant that Rinnert was in trouble no matter what he did. He watched as Fred worked that fact out for himself. At the same time, McGee worked it out and he could see that his young agent realized that Fred's lifespan just got a whole lot shorter. McGee frowned.

"Sounds like you've got a problem, either way you look at it," Gibbs said.

"Also, doesn't give me much reason to talk," Fred retorted. "If I'm going to die, I'd rather not go out as a snitch."

"Well then. I guess I'll just have to find another way to persuade you." Gibbs leaned forward and whispered, "If you don't talk, I'll give you to Kyle Boone."

Fred blanched. "You wouldn't?" McGee looked at Tony but he shook his head. Tony didn't know what he said either. He looked back at Fred and smiled. Fred's eyes widened. Suddenly he blurted, "I'll tell you anything you want! Just… just don't do that!"

"Is Grenouille interested in Quicksilver?" Gibbs asked.

"Well yeah," Fred replied as if that was a stupid question. "Why wouldn't he? This place has been hopping the last month. If this place makes as much money as he thinks it does, of course he wants to take over its assets especially since the Tin Angel fell from grace so to speak."

"But the increased security," Gibbs said.

"Put a hold on his plans," Fred said cutting him off. Apparently once he started talking, he was going to keep going, even without additional threats. "He couldn't exactly muscle in with all the goons you got keeping an eye on this place now."

He eyed Fred critically. It had been a while since he had interrogated a suspect. He had almost forgotten what it was like to steer someone into answering the questions he wanted answered. "So that crew out there was just out to cause trouble?" Gibbs asked.

"Well yeah," Fred replied with a half-smile. "If we made a little noise, then people might be afraid to come down here." He looked around the club, clearly impressed. "You know, if the cops started hanging around the neighborhood, it would make it more difficult for patrons to reach Quicksilver."

"So, if he couldn't have my club, he would at least force me out of business?" Abby asked angrily.

"Abby," McGee whispered as he put a hand on her arm. She deflated and settled for glaring at Fred. McGee pulled her back and pulled her into his arms. At first, she was tense but slowly she relaxed. Tim smiled grimly and hugged her close.

"I so wish I could punch you on the nose," she said as she glared at him.

"Like to see you try, doll," Fred replied haughtily. Abby started forward, balling her fist. If McGee hadn't caught her around the waist, he was sure that she would have belted Fred. And apparently Rinnert thought so too, because he looked around for a means of escape and had half risen from his seat. He reached out and grabbed Fred by the collar and pulled him back into his chair.

Abby growled slightly, which further served to unnerve Fred. McGee leaned down and said something only she could hear. He kissed her cheek and squeezed her shoulders. Suddenly she slumped against him, defeated.

With the situation was diffused, Gibbs looked at Rinnert critically. He knew in his gut that Fred was lying. Or if he wasn't lying, he was at least stretching the truth. Either way, he would find out the real truth. "That sounds like a pretty good plan, Fred."

"Yeah, it does," he said, his gaze shifting from Abby back to Gibbs.

"If Grenouille can't have it, no one can," he said. Abby tensed again but McGee squeezed her arm and she settled

"Yeah," Fred replied as he glanced at her nervously.

"I see one small problem," Gibbs replied.

Fred looked confused. Apparently, he didn't see a problem with the plan but McGee did. If they were planning on making trouble, they would have done it earlier in the evening when more patrons were leaving Quicksilver. Not after almost all of them had gone. It would have been even better if they had stirred up trouble while people were trying to enter the club.

Gibbs looked at Fred and replied, "If that was the plan, you wouldn't have waited until everyone was gone." Tony smiled grimly, knowing he had Fred in his crosshairs. "Why target two people when you could target twenty an hour earlier? Attacking two people doesn't cause enough trouble to hurt the club's business. It's either random violence or a targeted attack. We know it wasn't random violence, don't we Fred?" Fred looked more than a little nervous now. "So why attack that one man?"

Fred didn't reply so he glared at Fred. Fred slowly grew more and more unnerved until he blurted, "Grenouille heard that… he heard that Napolitano's numbers man started coming here after the Tin Angel went down." Then Fred said softly, "We were supposed to grab him and use him to get information on Napolitano's business, so Grenouille could target Napolitano directly. Then he was going to turn him over to the law."

"To take down the competition," he supplied. Fred nodded. "But you shot him. You could have killed him."

"With that peashooter?" Fred asked motioning to him. "Not a chance."

"This peashooter?" he asked as he pulled out the Browning. He removed the magazine and cleared the chamber before setting the gun onto the table next to the blood splotches. "You shot him with this peashooter?" he asked again.

Suddenly Fred realized what he had just admitted. "I didn't say that," Fred stammered.

"We could prove it's the weapon," Abby said suddenly.

He looked at her. "Because of the rifling in a gun barrel, each gun leaves a unique set of marks on a fired round," Abby said as she stepped up to the table. Tim followed close behind in case she decided to punch Fred anyway. "We have the bullet Ducky took out of Jimmy," she said as she set the bloody round next to a fresh one.

"You can do this?" Gibbs asked.

Abby smiled as she looked at Fred. "Oh yeah," she replied. "I have a friend who can help me out. Ramsey, he works for the Metro Police…"

"We don't want to get the police involved," Tony said quickly.

"Oh, they won't," she said quickly. "Ramsey and I go way back," Abby said. "We got our chemistry degrees at the same time. He'll be discrete."

He studied Abby for a moment and then nodded.

"Sounds like you're up a creek without a paddle, Freddie," he said turning back to the frightened young man.

"All right, so I did shoot him, but I didn't mean to," he said quickly. "I was just trying to scare him into coming along. How was I supposed to know some bookkeeper would fight back?"

Tim frowned but he silenced the younger man with a look. He looked back at Fred.

"Your problem there, Fred," he said, his voice taking a dangerous tone. "Is that you and your goon friends almost killed an innocent kid. The man you shot wasn't Napolitano's money man. He's the assistant to the city medical examiner."

"But he fit the description!" Fred said. "Tall, brown hair, and glasses."

"You know how many men fit that description in this town?" he asked as he stood and leaned over Fred menacingly. "Lucky for you, he didn't die." Fred cowered in his chair as Blue returned.

"Jimmy is settled in on the spare dressing room couch, Abby," Blue said as he entered the main hall. "The Doc is with him. I checked the building and it's still secure," Blue said. He caught sight of Fred. "Who's this scrawny thing?"

"Fred Rinnert," he replied. "Works for La Grenouille." He stood and pulled Blue off to the side. "They were after Gemcity and he's the one who shot Jimmy. He confirmed it."

"They still hanging around?" Blue asked.

He shook his head. "I don't think so. He told me that everyone either left because they didn't want to get pinched or they needed medical attention. He thought I was one of Grenouille's men at the time so he was telling the truth."

"Napolitano'll want to talk with him," Blue said.

"That's what I thought," he replied.

"Mr. Napolitano?" Fred asked. If possible, he paled even more. "He'll give me to Boone for sure. You promised!"

"I did," he said as he noticed Tim frown again. "I can't speak for Mr. Napolitano."

Blue motioned to McGee and Tony. They stepped off to the side. "I will be calling Mr. Napolitano as soon as we secure Mr. Rinnert."

"It's four in the morning," Tony objected. "You don't think that's going to irk Mr. Napolitano?"

"Naps'll want to know that Grenouille tried to kidnap me," McGee said. "Even if his men blew it." Blue nodded. "Although I don't know what he'll do at this hour."

"Thankfully that's not our problem. But either way, I don't think that Fred is going to like his end of the deal," Blue said. McGee frowned. "You have a problem with Mr. Napolitano's justice system?" Blue asked.

"I don't know if I'd call it justice," McGee replied.

"Well he will be getting due process," Tony quipped. "He's going to get a trial with a jury of his peers."

Tim snorted. "Maybe so but it isn't going to be a fair trial and I'm pretty sure that there's only one penalty regardless of his guilt or innocence and that's the death penalty."

"He admitted to shooting Jimmy," he said. "And he admitted that they were gunning for you, McGee. What more evidence do you need?"

Tim frowned.

"At the best, you'd have been turned over to the law. At worst, you'd be killed either by Grenouille or Napolitano to keep you from spilling to the law," Blue said. "Any way you look at it, if he had succeeded, your life would have been hell." McGee couldn't argue with him. "Grab that guy," he said to a couple of his men. "We'll get him out of your sight, Miss Sciuto."

"Thanks, Blue," she said even though she didn't look very happy.

"Looks like we're staying here for a while," McGee said.

"That would be for the best," Blue said with a nod. "If the cops are still lingering in the morning, I'll see that your friend is taken out of the building in a delivery truck. But for now, it's better to just sit tight."

"I'll go find some blankets," Abby said.

But McGee shook his head. "I doubt that we'll be sleeping."

Tony nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm going to at least sit down. Would you sit with me, Tim?" she asked.

McGee nodded and walked over to their booth. They sat down and he pulled her into his arms. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. She was clearly exhausted by the day's events. In spite of himself, Tim's eyes started to droop and within minutes, he was out.

"Cute," Tony said with a grin. He sighed and looked towards backstage. "I'm going to go smooth things over with Ziva."

"DiNozzo," he said sharply, stopping the younger man in his tracks. He lowered his voice. "She knows." He inclined his head towards Abby.

"She knows?" Tony asked just as softly. He nodded. "Everything?" He nodded again. "Ah hell. What do we do?"

"For now, nothing. She isn't going to Napolitano. But I want you to keep a close eye on the situation. If something we do threatens this club, she'll have to choose. And right now, I don't know which one she'd pick. I'm leaning towards McGee."

"Yeah," Tony said as he glanced at McGee. "For now." They watched the two lovebirds sleep for a moment longer. "I'll keep a close eye on her."

Author's Note: As I said in the previous chapter, this was all one chapter before. But I realized that Gibbs capturing and interrogating Fred Rinnert really should be it's own chapter. It also gave me the chance to flesh out Abby's character and her reasons for not turning in McGee for being a cop that wasn't because they're pitching woo (as Tony put it).

I tweaked the story line from Abby's 'first case' episode Hit and Run because I'm certain an interracial relationship wouldn't have happened in the era of Jim Crow, especially in the deep south of Louisiana. (Loving vs Virginia didn't occur until the 60's and many states (including every state in the south) had anti-miscegenation (inter-racial relationship bans) laws on the books until the Supreme Court ruled that they violated the 14th Amendment.) Even with the changes, it captures Abby's deep sense of justice and frustration that things can't always be put right. It also explained how our brilliant scientist ended up managing an illegal speak easy instead of catching criminals as a forensic scientist!