AN: Wow, am I late or what? I'm so sorry everyone, I've just been really busy. I also have a ton of last minute rap ups to do for school, which ends soon. Long story short the next chapter shouldn't be out until summer, sorry guys. But, I want to thank you too for all the reviews. I will try to respond to all the reviews I get on this chapter. As some of you may have realized that I did not do that on chapter six, and I'm sorry. Well, on to the story, thank Dark Rook too for being my beta! :)
"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?"
Chapter: Seven
"Let's start at the beginning. You went to Crown College, correct?" Ziva said.
Gibb's team, with the addition of Fornell, was clustered around the table with the laptop, watching Alex expectantly. Alex sat on the stool in front of the computer and Abby had left to grab everyone a drink. Mrs. Jones and Director Mueller were present on the laptop's screen.
"Yeah. I take it you have my wallet?" Alex checked his back pocket out of habit before remembering that he wasn't even wearing his own jeans. He still had the sweat outfit issued by Tony.
Gibbs nodded and withdrew the wallet from his coat pocket. "I suppose you'll want this back." He tossed the wallet and Alex caught it absentmindedly.
"Thanks." Alex nodded and set it on the steel table in front of him, right next to his laptop.
"You enrolled him in college?" Mrs. Jones asked Director Mueller.
"I don't remember such thing. I didn't even hire him!"
Mrs. Jones opened her mouth to retort but Alex stopped her. "It's all right, Mrs. Jones. Whether he remembers or not, it was interesting seeing what college was like."
"How old are you?" Tony asked.
Alex glanced at Mrs. Jones, and she thought for a moment, "Tell them what you wish, Alex; this meeting is off record anyhow."
Alex nodded and turned to Tony. "I'm a minor, if that narrows it down."
McGee looked at Gibbs while his boss asked the next question. "You didn't have a license in the wallet. Are you able to drive legally?"
"I have an MI6 issued driver's license, though that's at home in England with everything else important. I only have an American driver's license here," Alex told him. "But yes, I am able to drive."
"Can I see your ID? I heard they look cool and have something special covering them," Tony said.
Gibbs smacked the back of his head and told him, "He left it back in London, for safe keeping."
Tony nodded and rubbed the back of his head, thinking that made the sense, especially if he didn't want to cause an uproar were he to be questioned. Though he had to hand it to the kid, he must be a good driver if he could handle a manual at whatever age he was.
"What happened to the colonel and his daughter already! You killed them didn't you?" Director Mueller interjected.
"No, I didn't kill them. But I could have stopped it . . ."
"Well then, why didn't you? This is causing mountain of problems and it's all your fault," Director Mueller told him, scowling.
"I came a little too late. Anyway, the day it happened, Mr. Lawson called me to ask if I would be able to work that night. I needed the money, so I said yes."
"You were a babysitter, right?" Fornell asked.
"Yep, that's how I earned my income since school was such a big priority and someone forgotto pay me up front like I had asked," Alex told him as he sent a look towards Director Mueller.
"You get paid up front?" McGee questioned. He assumed that each mission came with its own, varying, profit, depending on rank and difficulty.
"Not usually, but since I had to pay for my own food and the college classes I had signed up for, the bills really stacked up. So I figured that since I had to keep an eye on the colonel and his daughter anyway, I might as well get paid for it."
"How did you get that laptop and flat screen if you were paying your own way?" McGee asked.
"Oh, those were made by the gadget specialist at MI6," Alex told him.
"So your assignment was to watch the colonel and his daughter?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes, that was my mission. Apparently the FBI wasn't confident in their own protection system. I was supposed to keep an eye on them 24/7; that's why I lived a few houses down."
"What happened after he called you?" Tony questioned.
"I went over there, obviously. It was about five in the evening. Heather had homework, so I helped her with that and then Nick had some calls to make so he sent us outside," Alex told them.
"Who is this 'Heather'?" Director Mueller demanded.
Alex repressed a sigh, and Fornell answered for him. "It says in the file that Heather is the colonel's daughter. The man Alex refers to as Nick is the colonel."
"Thanks," Alex commented before continuing. "As I was saying, Heather and I headed outside. We played jump rope until it got dark. Heather didn't want to go in after that so we played hide and seek . . ." Alex shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I should have made her go in; then I might have been able to stop it."
"What happened next?" Ziva asked, her curiosity showing.
"The bad guys showed up," Tony guessed. "Right?"
"Yeah. It was as if they came out of nowhere. They must have been watching the house for quite some time. Anyway, right before they showed up it was Heather's turn to be the seeker. I hid behind a tree. I should have heard them a block away, but they had everything planned out."
"How many were there?" Mrs. Jones asked.
"There were seven of them," Alex told her. "As I said before, I was hiding when they came -"
"So you failed your job as an agent!" Director Mueller barked.
"Yeah, that may be," Alex commented. "However, there isn't anything I can do about there now, is there? And I did everything I in my power to stop them when it happened."
"Continue," Gibbs broke in.
"Five of them went after Heather. I guess they thought it was Nick outside, not me. She didn't even scream when she was shot . . . she probably didn't see them coming. I knew something was up as soon as they got close, but I was too late. I soon as I gave up my hiding place, they shot her. Then they saw me and I took out my gun -"
"I would never give a child a gun! You probably missed them. Thank God no one else was in the area. I -"
Mrs. Jones shot a look at Director Mueller, effectively silencing him. "Did the FBI give you the gun, Alex?"
"No."
"The FBI has a strict policy on guns," Fornell said. "If you can't pass the test, you are not allowed a weapon."
"I didn't receive a gun from the FBI, but I have one from the CIA. I assure you at least one of those guns that you found in the safe is from Joe. I also have one from Smithers himself and that was the one I used that night."
"Who are Joe and and Smithers?" Tony asked.
"Joe is the director of the CIA. I suppose you could say he's one of my bosses. Smithers, on the other hand, is a coworker of mine. He is the weapons and gadget specialist I previously mentioned," Alex filled in.
"So Smithers created your laptop?" McGee asked. He knew that if this guy did, he needed find some way to contact him.
"Yes," Alex replied.
"Do you think I could talk to him about the security system?"
Alex thought for a second. "It might be difficult to contact him . . . he has a job to do after all. But I could put in a word for you, would that be okay?"
McGee nodded.
Gibbs decide to resume the line of questioning. "You seem to have a pretty close relationship with the director of CIA. Do you know him personally?"
"Joe? Oh, sorry I just got so used to it. He would actually correct me if I called him anything other than that. I haven't known him too long; I knew Mrs. Jones before I met him."
Mrs. Jones nodded. "That is true, he didn't meet the director until his third mission."
"How many missions have you've been on?" Ziva asked.
"That is classified. Sorry," Alex told her.
"What happened after you pulled out your gun?" Gibbs questioned.
"Well, since Heather was dead, I opened fire -"
"I don't know why anyone would give a child a gun!" Director Mueller said. "You shot someone, didn't you? I bet it feels horrible and now you'll have that hanging over your head for the rest of your life. You should be disgusted with yourself. Having somebody's blood on your hands is no easy matter."
Tony glanced at Alex, knowing that Director Mueller was at least partially right. The amount of blood he had seen on the kid when they had first met was nauseating. But he understood that not only was it part of the job, Alex had done it to stay alive. He just wished someone so young didn't have to be filling in for him and his teammates.
Mrs. Jones glared at Director Mueller. "Alex knew that there were going to be consequences when accepting an assignment that required a 24/7 watch on a family in witness protection." She shifted her gaze to Alex. "Did you get injured?"
He pursed his lips before speaking up. "Well, after I shot two of the attackers another one snuck up and fired at me. I managed to hide behind the tree just in time though, so it nicked my arm."
"Did you get that checked out?" she asked, concerned.
"Well, you see I was busy with the whole surprise attack. Then these NCIS agents showed up, and one thing lead to another and now we're here. . . . So no, I haven't had time to check it out," Alex told her, shrugging.
"You got shot and didn't get it checked out?" Fornell asked.
"Uh, yeah?"
"You'd better not have tainted the crime scene. If you did the blood samples will be all screwed up," Director Mueller told him.
"I assure you I did not 'taint' your crime scene. . . . Well perhaps near the colonel's body, but that was really uneventful," Alex said.
"We'll get him checked out by our doctor," Gibbs told Mrs. Jones, before speaking to Alex. "Why would the colonel be a problem?"
"Where do you think all the blood came from? You really think I can't hold my own in a gunfight?"
"Considering you got shot? Then, no. I honestly have no clue why anyone would hire a child -" Director Mueller was cut off by Mrs. Jones. "Director Mueller? Would you like to have a private conversation with the prime minister to verify that Alex is a reliable agent? I could easily set that up for you seeing as anything pertaining Alex is almost directly related to him," Mrs. Jones told him.
"That would be excellent. I will talk to him after the meeting -"
"The prime minister decides on whether there will be a meeting, as well as what time it will be at. I said I would ask him, that does not mean he will agree to my request. You will receive a call at a later date if he does agree," she said.
Alex had to hide a smile as Gibbs asked him, "So, what happened to the colonel?"
"Well, after I took out the first five, I went inside the house. I found one of the assassins in the living room, talking to Nick. The moment he took out his gun, I fired at him. But the timing was off, his bullet imbedded itself into Nick's heart a few moments before mine hit his," Alex told them.
"Wait, there were only three blood stains outside. One belonged to Heather, then another two. . . . What happened to the three others? I highly doubt they would run away from a job if they hated the colonel this much," Ziva said.
"How many bodies did you find at the scene?" Alex asked, confused.
McGee spoke up. "Two."
Alex nodded. "The colonel and his daughter . . ."
"What happened to the, what, seven other bodies?" Tony asked.
Alex shrugged and glanced at Gibbs. "I have no clue, though I know for sure I killed them all before leaving. There was also another guy towards the back of the house attempting to break into the safe, he never knew what hit him."
"Wait, so you killed four people how exactly? Strangling them? Why didn't you use your gun?" Fornell questioned.
"My gun jammed after I shot the guy who killed the colonel. And, no I didn't strangle them, I don't become that personal. I prefer a swift blow to the back of the head."
"And then you went to the gas station to what? Make a big get away?" Tony asked.
"But he left all of his things at his house," Ziva said.
"I just needed a moment to gather myself, if you know what I mean," Alex told them.
"So that's what the whiskey was for? It's your coping method?" Gibbs said.
"In a way. However, that was actually my first -"
"You drank alcohol? You're a minor, andyou did it while on the job!" Director Mueller said.
Mrs. Jones frowned in disappointment.
"So all the blood came from the colonel?" Tony asked, remembering the soaked clothes the teen had been wearing just a short while ago.
"Unfortunately, yes. I tried to stop the bleeding, but the bullet had hit an artery. He asked about Heather as he died . . . I couldn't tell him before he went, though I'm not sure I wanted to tell him."
"That's when you took the colonel's car then?" McGee asked.
"Yeah, which brings me to my next question." He glanced at Gibbs and Tony. "When you guys picked me up, did you happen to keep the car keys?"
"No . . ." Tony said, confused.
"We left them there. I gave the worker instructions to call a tow truck to take it to the nearest car shop. Why, was there something in the car?" Gibbs said.
"Fuck," Alex mumbled, before speaking up. "No, it's not what's in the car. It's the car keys."
"So? The colonel's dead, he won't need them anymore," Director Mueller said.
"If the attackers are dead and we know that Alex is responsible, does that mean this case is closed?" Ziva asked.
Alex shook his head. "No, this case is far from over. They never wanted the colonel in the first place. Just what he gathered while he was overseas."
"So, Alex, do you know where he kept the information? In the safe someone was trying to break into?" Mrs. Jones asked.
"That's what you would think, but no. He printed out and kept all the information he had acquired in his wife's trust. Which happens to be connected to one of the keys on that keychain you just gave away," Alex told them.
The lab doors slid open and Abby walked in with a few bags. "Hey guys, sorry it took so long. You wouldn't believe that line." She set the bags down on the table and immediately handed Gibbs a coffee. "Why the long faces?" she asked, staring at everyone's frustrated or pissed expressions.
"Just another setback," Tony said as he grabbed two coffees. He took a sipped one and passed the other to Ziva.
"You had better get that key back, otherwise it's your head on the line. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend," Director Mueller told Alex before logging off.
Mrs. Jones smiled at Alex before sighing. "Well, if you don't need me anymore, I have to get back to work. I shall notify the prime minister, Joe, and Alan of your current situation. If you need any more assistance, I'm here for you. Good luck, Alex," she said. The screen went blank.
"So, how much of this file is incomplete?" Fornell asked as he went over the occurrences of that night and tried to match things up.
Alex opened his mouth to tell him, but a loud beeping cut him off.
"Oh, the scan is finished," Abby said as she ran over to the computer where she was running the fingerprint scan. She came back out with a puzzled look on her face. Typing in a few letters on the computer next to McGee, she connected it to the big screen.
"It says we don't have the authorization," she told Gibbs. "Which is weird because I thought we fixed that last time . . ."
"Sorry about that. I said before I wasn't sure if my file would come up. I guess it has, but it's still classified."
"But . . . you? How?" she asked.
Alex sighed and rolled his shoulders.
"How about we have some lunch while we finish talk about what we're going to do next? Then we'll get that wound checked out," Gibbs said, handing Alex a coffee.
Alex smiled and took it. "Lunch sounds great right about now."
AN: Thanks for reading everyone! Please send a review my way! :)