AN: Oh my gosh, I am soo sorry. I cannot even begin to tell you all how sorry I am for not updating sooner. And the fact is, I don't really have an excuse. I am working on multiple stories as well as legit working, plus school, and at the end of the day I just crash. But I will try to update at least once a month from now on. I apologize if that's too long, but that's the best I can do. On another note, you guys are AWESOME! Everyone of you, look at all the reviews this story has collected, courtesy of toi-meme. That means yourself in French...I think, if not let me know! Anywho, onto the story! Which was editted by DarkRook, who is sooo paitent and my non-writing times. :)
Abby sat in front of her computer, shifting from side to side. Her chair squeaked with every movement. She sighed and lightly drummed her polished fingernails on the keyboard. Waiting was not her strong suit. Soon, the bullet scan would finish and let them know if the gun Gibbs had given her had been used to shoot the colonel and his daughter.
Abby felt truly sorry for the colonel and his daughter. Not only did Mr. Lawson have to endure the war in Iraq, but he later got caught up in a nasty raid that involved some drug handlers. Though he was one of the few that got out alive and was honorably discharged, the torture he had to experience must have been awful. He had managed to put up a strong front, but the FBI still sent him back to America and put him in the witness protection program.
As soon as the colonel got to America, he began to spend time with his daughter; he hadn't seen her since he was sent on the mission. He swore to his wife, who was ill and bed-ridden that when he went into witness protection he would keep their daughter Heather safe.
So within the invisible safety net of the witness protection, they got sent across the country. With new identities and a new house, they lived their fake lives. However, their idyllic existence only lasted a few months before it came to a sudden, violent end. At least that's what McGee told had her.
Abby suddenly wondered why they were found. After all those months of successfully hiding away, what had managed to set off their murders? She didn't doubt the thoroughness of the FBI witness protection program, but it irked her that NCIS hadn't been the one to set up a different life for the Lawson family. The colonel had been overseas, after all, and he wasn't even a member of the FBI. Theoretically, NCIS should have been responsible for protecting the Lawsons.
But in the end, neither the FBI nor NCIS would have expected an attack so out of range, or so sudden. It seemed so out of character for any drug smugglers she had heard of. Why would they come for the colonel and his daughter some odd months after the incident happened?
The only plausible explanation would be that the colonel gave away information and Abby doubted that.
Abby blinked at her screen, coming out of her momentary daze. The scan wasn't finished yet. She thought it would have been done by now; it had been searching for quite some time.
She sighed and got up, stretching as she did so. Glancing at the scan, it was impossible to tell when it would finish. Abby wondered how McGee was doing on the laptop. She had to hand it to whomever had created it; they were a genius.
Even Abby had tried to crack it, only to end up discouraged when it locked down on her time and time again. She eventually stepped aside and let McGee handle it, deciding to focus on the scan instead. Now she planned on leaving the bullet scan for later. Worst case scenario would be that it blew up and then at least something spectacular would happen in the lab today.
Abby walked into the main lab, her caffeine drink in her hand, to find McGee standing next to the laptop. He appeared to be talking to a man on the big screen. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the man was old, grey-haired, and furious. She went and stood next to McGee, taking a sip of her Caf-Pow.
"No, sir. I'm sorry he's not here," McGee told the man.
The man began to mumble words about contacting Director Vance, and suspension. McGee glanced at Abby and raised his eyebrow.
"Er, hello," Abby said as she set her Caf-Pow down. "Who were you looking for?"
"Gibbs," both McGee and the other man said at the same time.
"What?" a voice laced with irritation demanded.
Abby whirled around as Gibbs stalked into the lab, Fornell close behind.
Gibbs handed her another Caf-Pow and she eagerly took it. Gibbs walked past her and stood next to McGee, staring at the screen. Fornell nodded towards her, and she smiled at him as she finished off one of her caffeine drinks.
She turned around and almost ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said as she peered down to see a teenager standing before her. "Are you a witness?"
"Something like that," he told her.
"I'm Abby, by the way." She smiled at the teen.
"Alex," he told her.
"He's the primary suspect in the case concerning the colonel's murder," Fornell butted in.
Alex just glanced at him before shrugging. Abby couldn't hold in the small gasp that came from her mouth.
"This kid?" Abby shifted her eyes from Alex to Fornell, then back again. "Are you sure?"
"Is that your gun?" Fornell asked him, gesturing to the gun on the table a few feet away from them.
Alex nodded. "My laptop too."
Abby glanced at Gibbs who was in a conversation with Director Mueller.
"He said all he needed was his laptop, which is here in this room. Tony and Ziva went to get a file that may help this process," Gibbs told the director.
"Where is he then?" Director Mueller snapped.
"Here," Alex flipped two fingers in the air as he opened his laptop.
Abby looked to the place where he was standing mere moments ago to where Alex was currently standing. 'How did he get over there so fast?' she thought, wondering if they really did have the right person.
"How are you going to contact this supervisor of yours?" Gibbs asked.
"Through a video chat," he told them as he glared at the sign-in page. "Did you guys try to open my computer ... multiple times?"
"Yes," McGee said sheepishly. "We wanted to get more information and figured the computer would be the fastest place to get it from."
Alex nodded, before typing in his password and hitting enter. "You guys brought my safe in too." he pointed to the corner where both the safe and the remains of what was insidelaid around it.
McGee nodded before Fornell spoke up. "Are all of these things yours?" he asked, referring to the safe and many guns around it.
"Yep," Alex told him before starting to type on the laptop.
"Who made that laptop, by the way?" Abby asked, wanting to get in contact with them and ask how they programmed the security system.
"A co-worker of mine."
Abby frowned at the simple answer, but decided that if the time came she would push the issue and obtain the information she wanted.
"Where is this so called 'supervisor'? I have been neglecting my meetings for far too long," Director Mueller said.
"I'm trying to get in contact with her now, but the attempted breaches of security have added a few precautionary measures I have to bypass." He continued to type, opening and closing multiple windows. "What was your meeting supposed to be about?"
"That is classified information. Get in contact with whomever you need to and move this process along."
"Don't tell me. Was it another meeting about funds? Those are the most boring meetings I have ever been to. Trust me when I tell you you're not missing a thing."
"You've been to those meetings? How..." Gibbs shook his head, knowing that only top officials could be present at said gatherings.
"I have certain connections," Alex said as he typed in a string of codes.
"With who? The CIA?" Fornell joked.
"Actually, yes. I've worked with them a few times and thus have contacts there, but I have more at where I primarily work."
"What do you do again?" McGee asked, because honestly he had no clue who this kid was, or how he was involved in the case.
"I work at a bank," he told them, paying more attention to the computer screen than McGee's reaction.
"If you can't get connected in the next five minutes you will be arrested for the murder of Colonel Lawson and his daughter," Director Mueller said, not even bothering to mask the irritation in his voice.
"All right, all right. Just give me another minute." Alex tuned out the crowd around him, trying his best not to make a mistake.
Fornell found himself looking over the contents of the safe, which consisted of numerous guns and a substantial amount of money. Bits of the safe were scattered across the table, mixed in with the piles of banks notes. His eye caught sight of a few leather holders. They looked like wallets, so he picked one up to examine it more closely. He blinked when he saw a picture of the kid with a different hair style and a name written beneath the picture. He was even more shocked when he came across European currency inside the wallet. Fornell pulled out a passport and was able to identify that it was from Germany, but couldn't figure anything else out, unfamiliar with the German language.
He found several more of these, all from different countries. He eventually found one with the name Alex Rider on it, which stated that he was from England. "So are you from England? Or are you just playing us with all of these fake identities?" Fornell asked him.
"Believe it or not, I'm actually from London. My main residence is in Chelsea."
"Do you have any other means of identification?" Gibbs asked as he flipped through the passport that Fornell handed him.
Alex shook his head and typed in something else. "No, I left my other ID's at home."
"Well, isn't that convenient?" Director Mueller said, sneering. "Where is your FBI card? You must have one if you're an actual agent."
"You never gave me one," Alex said. "This is my first mission for the FBI, after all."
"What about the CIA?" Gibbs asked.
"At home, with my actual wallet. I thought it rather stupid to carry around an ID that states you're working for a government agency," Alex told them and typed in the last few numbers needed for the feed to go through.
Fornell, McGee, and Gibbs all looked at each other casually. They all had separate thoughts at that moment, but all the ones they did have boiled down to one thing: the kid had a point.
"Are you done with whatever you've been doing?" Director Mueller asked.
"Do you need help?" Abby asked. Despite the fact that he was a suspect, she felt compelled to help him in any way she could.
"Thanks, Abby, but I got it handled. I appreciate the gesture," Alex said as he finally hit enter on his laptop.
Another screen popped up onto the big screen right next to Director Mueller. A women sat in a chair and she was filling out some forms. She finally glanced up, and would have jumped out of her seat if her field of work didn't constantly involve the unexpected.
"Oh, hello," she said as she set down her pen. "Who are all of you? And how did you get this private feed?"
Gibbs stepped forward. "I'm sorry, ma'am, for the unannounced interruption, but we had an emergency. My name is Special Agent Gibbs and I'm from NCIS. The person to your left is Director Mueller, head of the FBI. We were wondering if you could answer a few of our questions regarding a temporary suspect?"
"All right," she nodded. "Mrs. Jones, deputy director for MI5. May I ask who this suspect is and how they know me personally?"
Everyone in the room glanced at Alex. He sighed and stepped out and away from the table so she could see him.
"Hey, Mrs. Jones … long time no see, huh?" Alex said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Alex? Oh, that is you, how have you been?" Mrs. Jones asked, her face relaxing.
"I'm fine … considering the circumstances. Which are why I contacted you, by the way. I need help verifying that I am who I am."
"Oh no, did Alan mess something up? You would think that after I quit, he'd have came to his senses and left you alone. Do you want me to talk to him for you? I might be able to persuade him into-" Mrs. Jones got cut off.
"No, no," Alex broke in hysterically. "It actually wasn't Blunt's fault this time. After you left, Crawly took your place and Blunt even gave me a promotion. I am actually getting paid now and after a little talk from the prime minister I now receive vacation time when needed."
"That's great, Alex. I'm glad it all worked out for you, but I do wish Blunt could leave you alone..."
"Who are Blunt and Alan? You haven't given me anything to go off of, you're just talking as if you two are the best of friends. You're supposed to be his alibi, otherwise he will be arrested. I want answers and I want them now!" Director Mueller said.
"What did you do, Alex?" Mrs. Jones asked with a hint of sadness.
"Nothing much, just my job," he told her.
"He is a suspect in the killing of a colonel and his daughter," Gibbs interrupted.
Mrs. Jones sighed and popped a peppermint into her mouth. "Tell me you didn't do it, Alex."
"Okay. I didn't do it," Alex said seriously.
"That is no proof at all! He could be lying," Director Mueller told her.
"He is right, you know," Fornell said.
McGee found himself nodding. They did need more proof, and perhaps evidence that proved Alex innocent.
"What do you need to know about Alex now that will set back his arrest until we can get this sorted out?" Mrs. Jones asked.
"Well, first of all, is Alex Rider his actual name?" Gibbs asked.
Mrs. Jones nodded. "Yes it is. Alexander Rider. Next question."
"Does he work for both the CIA and FBI?" Fornell asked. He needed to know for sure, even though he suspected the claim was false.
"Yes to the CIA, I know he's worked for them before. " She glanced at Alex and he nodded. "As for the FBI … that's a new one I haven't heard of before."
"Yep, Joe redirected me to them a month or so ago. However, Director Mueller here doesn't seem to remember hiring me," Alex explained.
"That's because I would never hire a brat," Director Mueller told him.
Mrs. Jones glanced at Alex and he just shrugged. "Well, you would be surprised at how many government agencies have wanted Alex for his skills," Mrs. Jones told them.
"Does he work for MI5?" McGee asked. His curiosity was getting the best of him.
"No," Mrs. Jones replied curtly. "I would never let them, and thank goodness they don't want him. However, he does work for MI6." She looked at Alex. "What other information have you told them?"
"Not much," Alex replied. "I thought any proof would be classified."
"Classified," Director Mueller scoffed. "What could be withheld from me?"
"A lot of things. Like the fact that you hired me, for a start," Alex told him.
"Wait, so you work for MI6, the CIA, and the FBI?" Fornell asked.
"Yes," Alex said.
"How is that possible?" Gibbs asked Mrs. Jones.
"Honestly, I would love to tell you that it's a hoax. That multiple government agencies aren't using a teenager as an agent. But that is not that case in this situation."
"Who knows about this?" Gibbs questioned.
"Who doesn't know?" Alex retorted.
"He has a point," Mrs. Jones told Gibbs. "Alex has become very popular and well known among top ranking officials. He has completed more than fifteen missions abroad. Although we have tried to keep it confidential, some things leak out."
"Twenty-two, after this mission is over," Alex corrected.
"You have been busy, Alex," Mrs. Jones commented.
"I do what I can."
"Can you explain the missions?" Fornell asked, trying to wrap his mind around what he had just heard. He had been on more than one hundred cases while working for the FBI though he suspected these missions were simple things that happened rather quickly. He was still a kid, after all.
"Classified," both Mrs. Jones and Alex said at the same time.
"Well, what can you tell us?" Gibbs asked.
Alex was about to answer when the lab doors opened up. Ziva and Tony walked in, with a file tucked under Tony's arm.
"Hey, Boss," Tony said as he handed over the file. "Vance was pretty pissed when we came to see him instead of you.
Gibbs glanced at the file, looking for the differences between this one and the one that Fornell had earlier. It didn't take him long; there were a lot of them. He sighed and handed the file to Fornell. Turning to Director Mueller he said, "Which one is fake?"
"What are you talking about?" Director Mueller demanded. "Are you accusing me of making falsifying information?"
"Yes, that seems to be about right," Gibbs told him.
"May I see the file?" Alex asked as he stepped towards Fornell.
"That file is top secret! No mere child is allowed to see it," Director Mueller said.
"Right ..." Alex trailed off as he peered over Fornell's shoulder to read the file. "I'm sorry to say that most of this is wrong."
"Jibbs!" Director Mueller said.
Everyone ignored him and Mrs. Jones continued where he left off. "Are you positive, Alex?"
He looked up at Mrs. Jones and smiled. "Have I ever let you down before Mrs. Jones?"
She sighed, "No I suppose you haven't, Alex. Continue."
"Yes, well, it is a rather long story ..."
"I don't want to hear this! This … this story that by no means relates to the case," Director Mueller said, angered by this absurd waste of time.
"Actually, it does. What I'm about to tell you is the case," Alex told him.
"You actually remember all of it?" Tony asked.
Alex shook his head, "No, not all of it. But I might be able to separate the facts from the lies."
Ziva nodded, "Can you start with the night that we found the colonel and his daughter?"
"Sure," Alex told them, rubbing his temples. He felt stress and another headache coming on from not sleeping properly these past few days.
"It's all right, Alex," Mrs. Jones said. "Take your time. We can listen."
Alex smiled at her, "All right, what do you want to know?"
AN: *grins like an idiot* Bet this is what you've been waiting for huh? Well I will be happy to let you know if you have an idea, ANY idea at all, drop it in a review and I might use it. Although I have figured out what the next chapter is about, but don't let that discourage your brain. I know everyone thinks about a story after they read it, or in this case chapter, so give it some thought. If I do end up using it, I will thank you a million times, and I will put your name in the chapter it appears in. Does that sound fair? If not, tell me. Thank you guys so much for reading, it brings a smile to my face! :)