A/N:

I came to notice that Gibbs is threatening suspects several times to bring them to Guantánamo if they do not cooperate, and in one episode he even confesses that he was not pretending. Usually I like to watch this show but I can't help of being disgusted by those scenes. NCIS is politically biased and flattened all the time -not only concerning those camps but many other subjects as well- but there comes a point where it is hard to find tolerance for the inaccuracy and the generalization that are presented.

I don't think I have to remark that I don't own NCIS.

Rated T for critical discussion of political torture but no graphic descriptions.

Reviews are highly appreciated.

Sincere thanks for the review I got and to everyone who put this story on alert or favourites.

Nonetheless I would love to get some more reviews? Because according to my statistics there've been a lot mor readers.

Those first few chapters of the story will make more sense later!

We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.

Orson Wells

"Mr. Gibbs?" The voice was soft and seemed to be very distant, which wasn't bad since he didn't care where it came from anyway. A supressed feeling told him something wasn't alright at all but he was tired, his head lay on something soft and comfy and before he was able wonder why it did his mind drifted off to rest again. It wasn't warm but it didn't bother him. He was so relaxed. The world was smooth and his sleep had been deep and calm...

"Mr. Gibbs?" The voice was louder this time and more forceful than it had been before. He moaned to get, whoever it was, to shut up but the stranger just would't let him sleep. "Are you alright?"

The feeling of a light drizzle on his forehead got him to finally open his eyes, although his eyelids almost drooped as he grew more and more tired.

He looked into a pair of white open, hazel eyes that were filled with tears of worry. Blinking and taking another look Gibbs saw the woman they belonged to. Her hair was long and of the colour of her eyes. Her skin was naturally dark but looked pale though and she was thin, to say the least, if not scrawny. She sat down next to him, observing him carefully.

"I think you should drink some water", she said and thrusted an opened plastic bottle in his hand. Gibbs didn't move, slowly processing what was going on.

"Where am I?"

She bit her lip for a second, but the worried look disappeared from her face.

"I can't tell you yet. But eventually you'll find out. Now drink. Please."

"No I won't."

"But you should. It's important. You'll feel better."

He shook his head. "I won't drink from this bottle."

"But it will make you feel be-"

"I will not do it!" She jumped as he interrupted her harshly but calmed down quickly and appeared to be thinking. Then she smiled, grabbed the bottle and drank from it before giving it back.

"Will you drink something now?"

He sighted, slowly raised the bottle to his lips and took a small drink. She sighted, probably relieved, but stood up the next second to create more distance. It was only then that Gibbs took a look at where he was. From what he could see it was a basement of no more than probably ten or twelve square meters. He lay in the left ulterior corner, hands chained in front of his body and the chain connected to a steel hook in the wall above him. A single light bulb bathed the room in yellow, crepuscular light. A slim air matress lay at the opposite part of the room but was too far for him to reach.

The young woman sat down on it, not taking her eyes off him.

"I hope you are going to feel better soon."

"Why do you care?"

She smiled. "It's what I always do."

"You brought me here, didn't you?", he asked needlessly and took another swig of the bottle. The cool, smooth liquid connected his mind back with reality and put some life into himself. She took note of it with a content nodd and, realizing that she was pleased, Gibbs stopped drinking.

"You don't remember?"

"Would I ask if I did?"

"You wouldn't. So yes, I sedated you. I am your abductor."

Gibbs swallowed and clenched his teeth as he fought against the fear he was about to feel. Luwait had taught him that fear didn't mean weakness and of course it didn't mean there could be no courage either. He hated to fear things though. No matter how strong the better knowledge... it made him feel weak. He was vulnerable and it was nothing he had to feel comfortable with.

"Why am I here?"

She crossed her legs and tilted her head. "You're going to find out soon enough."

"You don't hide your face from me."

"Does it tell you anything?"

"You're not trying to press money from anyone."

"Yes", she nodded, "if this would be my intention staying as anonym as possible would be smarter."

"So what is your intention?"

"I am dead."

"And yet we are having a conversation."

"But you see... you're alive as long as someone is looking out for you. People who live have someone who cares about them. Or maybe even someone who hurts them, hates them and tries to destroy their lifes but they always, always have someone. The people who miss one are the only proof of life one ever really has."

"I will be missed, if that's what you're up to. I have family."

"I know. You can consider yourself lucky."

"Then you don't really know anything."

"I am all alone. Whatever it is you're hinting at... I have less."

"My people are going to kill you within a blink if you're pulling anything funny, be sure of that."

She giggled and threw her hands in the air and, only for a moment, he saw pure pain conquering her face. "This won't be necessarry. Mr. Gibbs, I am saving myself. I used to have family too and I used to have friends and people I could turn to. You stole my life. I want it back."

"So this is revenge?"

"No! No, oyu don't understand what this is about. I want to live. I want to be remembered and you don't know who I am. You don't even recognize the one you killed. All I want is to be remembered. All I want is to find my way into somebody's memory. I want you to know who I am!"

"Alright, then who are you?"

"And this is where things get a little tricky. I lost myself so eventually you'll need to tell me. Everything and everyone has been taken from me and you were the one to take it; so, Mr. Gibbs, tell me, I demand to get back what I once had, what I deserve - Who am I?"

Suzanne Cavanaugh, please report to the office immediatley.

"You heared it, Suzanne", sighted Miss Flonson, her classroom teacher, and didn't even trie to look surprized, "I don't think you'll come back due to the end of the period so I expect you to finish your assignment at home, okay?"

Sue didn't bother giving an answer and carelessly threw her pens and notebook in her backback. Ben would very likely help her finishing it and even though Miss Flonson never seemed to be content with Sue as a person she couldn't deny the excellence of her work. There wasn't a firstgrader around who made less mistakes in grammar and spelling and she had been theb first one to add up doubledigit figures. Flawless, as a matter of fact.

"Suzanne, did you understand?"

"No coming back. Finish at home. Understanding. Yeah."

"I don't like your tone, young lady."

"I know you never do, Ma'am", Sue answered sarcastically, mumbling a low-voiced "And I don't like you, bitch" to herself. There really wasn't anything else to say to a person who was wonderful with kids to a level at which it became creepy, at least in Sue's opinion. She had been with too many wonderful people to trust any of them and being nice, or at least polite, to those she didn't trust was an art Sue did not master.

"You can take a note to your parents right with you, if that's what you want."

It was one of the mistakes a really good teacher would not make, but Miss Flonson kept saying parents instead of guardians once in a while. Sue didn't mind the error but for she minded the one who made it she refused to overlook it.

"Oh no, I'm sure they'll turn over in their graves."

William Sanchez, the teacher's pet in the front row, giggled audibly and drew Miss Flonson's attention to himself for a moment. Sue slipped out of the room before she could be stopped and made her way to the office, knowing why she they were most likely demanding for her. And, needless to say, knowing what she had to act like.

"Hey Sarah, how are you doing?"

Sarah, the office assistant and only person Sue actually liked in this school, smiled at the young girl as she entered the room. She was quite sure that Sarah liked her as well but had no idea why she did.

"Fine", Sarah said in a chatting tone, "Chad is feeling better every day."

"He is? That's so good to hear! Tell him I said hi, yes? And that I hope he'll get well soon."

Chad was Sarah's husband and gradually recovering from radiotherapy.

"Sure I will. Now... I guess you're not feeling too bad either?"

"Nah, it's been a nice day."

"Did you ever considered that it could have been a nicer one without getting in trouble?"

Sue laughed out loud, as she did every time Sarah asked her the question. "I would, but hatever it is, Sarah, it's not my fault."

"You know you can't keep denying it all you life."

"I won't. One day I'll give you proof."

Sarah made a declining motion and nodded her head towards Elaina Johnson's, the principal's, door. "Whatever. You can go through."

"Yeah. Have a nice day."

Sue had stopped caring about most of her concerns a long time ago and quicly found out that it was easier that way. She didn't care about the world and the world didn't care about her. Everyone was happy with it. Or, maybe, unhappy. But who could ever be sure of the details?

She opened the door without knocking and paused for a moment as she saw more people than usual sitting in the small office, that smelled like paper and eau de cologne.

"Hey Miss Johnson." Nodding towards the heavy, sweaty woman behind the desk. Then she truned to a smaller person who looked mean, strict and too neat but was actually fun. "Hey Alexa."

"Sue", Alexa began and gave Sue the look she gave her all the time.

"Sure, manners", Sue replied, squared her shoulders and lowered her head to a deep bow, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you today and I hope you'll be able to enjoy the show!"

"Sue!"

"It's okay", Miss Johnson intervened and her double chin naturally supressed her smile, "I see you're already making progress, Mrs. Hayes. Suzanne, sit down."

"No, thanks."

Both women sighted. "Sue-"

"It's a matter of principles and not up for negotiation."

"Fine. Do you know why you're here?"

"For no reason."

"Oh yes?"

"You heared me."

"And, apparently, you skipped thinking one more time. We have proof. Johnny Myers' parents complained about how you were picking on his body weight again. You've been here for only a month and there were barely two days going by wíthout any complains being made. This can't go on the way it does, Suzanne. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"This sonofabitch deserved what he got", Sue mumbled and while the angry look Alexa gave her proofed that her guardian had heared the words Miss Johnson missed them completely.

"Would you speak up a little?"

"He got what he deserved. He's being mean to the entire grade and nobody complains about him because it doesn't change anything. If that fat bastard can't keep his hands off other children's stuff, and by stuff I mean their money and their candy, he isn't empowered to complain about a gym shoe full of whipping cream and a splash of gas in his stolen Coke."

"Suzanne, gas is highly toxic. You could have killed him!"

"It was my Coke, I can do with it whatever pleases me and I coincidentally felt like flavouring it with some gasoline this morning! If he steals my toxic Coke how is it my fault? And he didn't even swallow it. He's fine. I just had art class with him and it didn't do any damage, not even to his lovely character."

"You are missing the point. We can't just let you do stuff that is as dangerous as what you pulled today and you aren't even allowed to bring gasoline to school. And I doubt that you got that stuff legally, anyway."

Sue felt the fury rising up inside her in a twinkling. "And you, little miss super-justice, are totally-"

"I know Johnny isn't free of guilt. That's why you aren't expelled but suspended for the rest of this and the following week. But you better be careful. Thank you for coming in Mrs. Hayes. Have a good rest of the day."

The same night Sue lay awake next to Ben. He had stopped reading to her after five chapters, realizing that she wouldn't drift off to sleep in the usual way. It was late by now, even for her older brother, but she couldn't keep her eyes shut.

"Ben?", she whispered into the dark, not even sure if he was still awake. As he didn't respond she pushed him in the ripcage and he turned around to her moaningly.

"Go to sleep."

"I tried to."

"Try harder."

"I was thinking."

"Will you let me sleep if I listen to what you were thinking about?"

Sue nodded, realized that he couldn't see the motion.

"I don't think I want her to be on a warm island. She can go to hell. I don't care anymore."