Drowning

Chapter 8

Once the team and their visitor were seated at the large desk, all eyes turned to Gibbs. After all, it wasn't every day that a woman claiming to have psychic powers was invited to assist with a case. No one doubted that Gibbs was highly annoyed at having Vay in the building, let alone providing assistance. The air was heavy with expectation and questions. Gibbs, however, his face stern and mouth closed tightly, made no comment, even when Abby raised her eyebrows to their maximum height as she looked in his direction.

'I believe it may be for the best if I properly introduce myself,' said Madam Vay, breaking the silence. 'I don't need any highly developed powers to sense that my presence is not welcomed by every person here.'

Abby sent Gibbs a look of disapproval before turning her full attention to Vay, along with the rest of the team.

'I have been a fortune teller/psychic/clairvoyant/medium – whatever term you're most familiar with – for most of my life,' said Vay. 'I have worked professionally as one for the last twenty years – ten of those in San Francisco before moving here. I help people who ask for guidance and the answers to questions about themselves.'

'Cool!' enthused Abby, as Vay paused.

'I have assisted the police once before with a case. I saw a newspaper report about a memorial being planned for a young man who was missing presumed dead. I knew that he was still alive but unable to recall who he was. I convinced the police to re-open the case. He was eventually found alive and well.'

'How did you know he was still alive?' asked Ziva, her curiosity piqued.

'It is difficult to explain,' said Vay. 'I sensed…energies when I read his name. Images came to my mind…and'

'How can you help with the Partington case?' asked Gibbs, interrupting her explanation.

His eyes were hard and his tone was clipped. Vay was not intimidated.

'When I saw the officer's face, it stimulated some visions,' explained Vay. 'I sensed serenity and relief. I saw the face of another woman, very clearly. She was young with glasses and short, blonde hair. She was smiling. I can see her in my mind's eye now – quite clearly. She has a lot to do with what has happened to Officer Partington – but there is no danger or evil.'

Gibbs, if it were possible, looked even more skeptical as Vay spoke. His arms were crossed across his chest. McGee listened politely but was very dubious. There was no logic to what the woman was saying. Intellectually, he was blowing a gasket. Ziva found herself interested. Vay's comments to her the last time they had met had struck a chord with her and she had been mystified as to how the stranger could know something so intimate about her. Tony was being entertained – particularly by Gibbs' reaction to Vay – but he was also unsettled. This was the woman who had seen right through his masks into his soul. He didn't know if he believed in psychic ability, but she'd make an excellent profiler. Abby was really excited about the prospect of spending more time with Vay.

'Gibbs, what if Madam Vay comes down the lab and we can get a computer mock-up of the woman she saw in her vision?' asked Abby, her eyes shining and her pigtails bobbing up and down.

'After that, she can take a look at the information we have so far about Officer Partington and her last known movements,' offered Ziva, smiling at Vay. 'She might get some more…feelings about the case.'

Gibbs felt like the father being outvoted by the wife and kids about getting a new puppy. Was he the only one bothered by the notion of a psychic assisting with a case? After a few more moments of stony silence, Gibbs spoke again.

'Abby, get back to the lab. I'll send Madam Vay along soon. David, Dinozzo and McGee – get back to the office and keep digging.'

'You heard the man,' said Tony, cheerfully, wishing that he could stay and be a fly on the wall while Gibbs and Vay exchanged views of the world. He got up and shooed the other three out ahead of him.

When the door had closed, leaving Vay and Gibbs alone, the silence once again descended.

……………………………………………

Tony followed McGee and Ziva back to the bullpen. Abby had already rushed excitedly back down to her lab to set up what she needed. Suddenly Tony felt kind of awkward. He hadn't been alone with his two team-mates since the incident in the stream. He couldn't remember every detail, but he could remember enough to make him uncomfortable.

'Hey, McGee,' he began, hesitantly as the younger agent sat down at his desk. 'About the other night. Thanks for getting me out of a tight spot. You too, Ziva.'

'Well, your thanks are welcome but unnecessary,' said McGee. 'We're a team. You would have helped rescue me or Ziva if either one of us had been trapped.'

'Yeah,' agreed Tony. 'But if it had been you, McGee, I would have been giving you hell about it. I'm probably due for a few cheap shots from you.'

McGee thought back to the terrible moment when he was convinced that Tony was going to drown. The man must have been terrified, but he'd hardly shown it. McGee knew for a fact that he wouldn't have been able to keep from freaking out.

'I'll keep them for a rainy day,' McGee told him. 'I'm just happy you're okay.'

Tony turned his attention to Ziva who was regarding him with serious eyes. He recalled feeling warm arms wrapped tightly around him in the back of the truck, hearing soft, reassuring words and feeling tender kisses being placed on his forehead. The gratitude he felt towards her went beyond anything he could express in words.

'I am glad you are recovered, Tony,' she told him. She was curious about Tony's ramblings about getting the floor wet, but now was not the time to ask personal questions.

Not trusting his voice, and well aware of the cough he was trying to stifle, Tony smiled and nodded before sitting down at his own desk.

'What do you think Gibbs is telling Madam Vay?' mused Ziva.

'Laying down ground rules,' said Tony as he switched on his P.C. 'He doesn't like having her here. He has to have her here. He wants her to follow some rules.'

'I don't know why the director agreed to have her help,' said McGee, his brow furrowed. 'None of what she said made sense. I mean it's not… logical.'

'Gibbs' gut is not logical,' said Ziva. 'Instinct. Feelings in your gut or in your heart can make the difference in a case.'

'Yes, but Abby can't be serious about putting out a BOLO on a picture generated by someone's vision!' exclaimed McGee. 'Tony, back me up here!'

'Cut her some slack, McGee,' was Tony's unexpected reply as his fingers continued to fly over the keyboard. 'We've got nothing else to go on. Just because you can't measure something scientifically doesn't mean it isn't valid.'

McGee stared open-mouthed at the older agent before shaking his head.

'Maybe that cold water affected your brain after all,' he muttered.

'That's one cheap shot,' said Tony, good-naturedly as he continued to type. 'Two more to go and then we're even.'

………………………………………………….

Once Gibbs was left alone with Vay, he planned to be the first one to speak, but the woman spoke first.

'You are not a believer,' she told him, 'but you are curious. You are not as cynical as you would have the others believe you to be.'

'I don't want to get the Partington family's hopes up,' Gibbs told her, his face stern.

'That will not happen,' she reassured him. 'I would only directly liaise with the family if you want me to.'

'You say nothing to the press and inform a member of my team the moment you think you know anything,' Gibbs told her. 'And don't expect me to drop what I think is a concrete lead to follow one of your… visions.'

Vay nodded and sat back, resting her hands on the table.

'Agent Dinozzo had a very lucky escape,' she told him. Gibbs said nothing, but he could not deny that the hairs on the back of his neck stood up in response to her statement.

'You saved his life,' she continued. 'You also remind him of what he did not have as a child and as a young man growing up.'

Gibbs considered her words, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones. She leant forward and touched his arm gently.

'Your connection is strong,' she told him in a hushed tone. 'And that connection is very important. And even if you truly don't believe in what I say, you must both be very careful. The danger is not yet over, and you may soon be both in harm's way.'