Drowning

Chapter 9

'This is wonderful technology,' Vay told Abby as they worked together. One facial feature at a time, Abby had compiled a picture of a woman according to the psychic's description.

'You're making it easy for me!' enthused Abby. 'You're so definite about the details. Usually I just get vague descriptions from witnesses to work with and then I have to make educated guesses to fill in the blanks.'

'It was a particularly clear vision,' Vay told her as she gazed at the finished picture. 'That is exactly the woman I saw in my mind.'

'Cool!' said Abby. 'I'll send it up to Gibbs.'

When she'd done so, Abby broached the subject she'd been bursting to bring up – well, at least one of them.

'Madam Vay, I hope Gibbs wasn't too – you know – blunt when he spoke with you back in the Conference Room.'

Vay laughed softly.

'I have met blunter men,' she told the younger woman.

'He can be really scary,' continued Abby, her tone sincere, 'but he's not so bad once you get to know him.'

'He is very cautious, and wisely so,' said Vay. 'He tries hard to protect people, especially those he is most fond of, but it is not always possible to keep people safe from harm. That is something that must be very difficult for a man like him to deal with.'

Abby thought about Gibbs' first wife and child, and Kate, and Paula, and the times when a member of his team had nearly met with death. It was true. Gibbs was the quintessential patriarchal leader, but he wasn't God.

'Madam Vay,' ventured Abby, 'do you read Tarot Cards?'

Vay smiled and nodded.

'I do and I'd be happy to read for you. I enjoy your energy. Although I doubt that Agent Gibbs would be happy to come across me doing a reading in his workplace.'

'Oh, he'd have a major meltdown and ban Caffpows indefinitely!' exclaimed Abby. 'I was wondering if you'd like to come to my place for dinner. Tonight?'

'It would be my pleasure,' said Vay, warmly.

Abby clapped her hands together excitedly as she contemplated what would definitely be an intriguing evening.

……………………………………

In the bullpen, Gibbs scrutinized the picture Abby had generated with Vay's input. It had been put out as a BOLO against his better judgement. Vay's involvement in the case had him quite rattled. Under other circumstances he would have fought tooth and nail against someone like her even setting foot in the building, but this woman had inexplicably known about Tony's recent accident. During their first encounter, she had accurately warned Gibbs about Tony's need to recover further. And now she was warning him about further dangers. It had to be just clever guesswork or cunning, but Gibbs could not dismiss her totally.

The ringing of his phone interrupted his reverie.

'Gibbs…….What?............When? ……………Has the scene been secured? ……..Keep it that way until we arrive.'

Ending the call, Gibbs called down to Abby's lab.

'Abs….yeah I got it….. tell Madam Vay to meet me out the front. No time to explain, Abby. Just tell her.'

As he stood up and pulled open his drawer to retrieve his gun, McGee, Ziva and Tony followed suit.

'Where're we going, Boss?' asked Tony, still the only one of the team who dared ask questions instead of waiting to be told.

'You're not going anyway, Dinozzo,' said Gibbs, his tone clipped. 'David and McGee, we're going back to the stream. The conservation team sent to clean up seems to think the tree that knocked us into the water didn't fall by accident.'

'Hey, come on Boss!' protested Tony, anger and frustration evident in his voice. 'The doc cleared me. What use am I gonna be here?'

'You've just got out of the damn hospital!' Gibbs told him as McGee hurried to the lift. 'And don't think I haven't noticed you trying not to cough for the last couple of hours. You're no use to me if you end up with pneumonia! Go and give Abby a hand or go home and get some rest. David! What are you waiting for?'

Ziva sent Tony a sympathetic look before falling into step behind Gibbs. As the lift doors closed, Tony sat, deflated, in his chair.

'Fine!' he said out aloud to the empty room, and crossed his arms sulkily across his chest. He hated being left alone and left out. It reminded him of…never mind. He didn't want to go down that particular memory lane right now. He looked up and into the eyes of the picture Abby had sent up. Gibbs had left it displayed on the large monitor. The woman depicted was young and blonde with brown eyes. Her hair was styled into a sharp bob. She wore gold-rimmed glasses. There was a distinct, round beauty spot on her left cheek. Tony stood up and walked closer to the monitor. There was something familiar about her, he decided, but he couldn't place her. After a few moments of staring at the picture, he shrugged and decided to take Gibbs' advice and see if Abby needed some help. There was no way he was going home.

……………………………………………..

Gibbs squatted down to examine what the park ranger had pointed out. The base of the tree that they assumed had been struck by lightning, had most definitely been sheered by a man-made tool. There were no scorch marks on what remained of the trunk. The tree had been deliberately felled.

'McGee. Photographs,' he ordered. 'David, scan the immediate area.'

As the two agents sprung into action, Gibbs looked down towards the stream where Tony had struggled to stay alive. The memory of those moments chilled him. The idea that someone had deliberately sent the tree towards them made him bristle with anger.

'Any prints have been covered by the conservation team,' Ziva called to him.

'Who do you think did this?' the ranger asked Gibbs.

'Whoever did nearly took four lives,' said Gibbs, his eyes still on the stream.

'Pretty unfortunate coincidence,' continued the ranger.

Gibbs glared at him and walked off to where Madam Vay was standing closer to the water.

'What's with him?' the ranger asked Ziva.

'Do not take it personally,' she told the man. 'He simply does not believe in coincidences.'

Madam Vay heard Gibbs approach and turned to him.

'Getting any vibes?' he asked her, trying hard to keep the cynicism out of his voice.

'The incident was frightening, particularly for you and for Agent Dinozzo,' she told him, her eyes sympathetic.

'About Officer Partington,' Gibbs said, his annoyance clear.

'You think this has something to do with her disappearance?' she asked.

'Well, she was the only reason we were here!' he said impatiently. 'Maybe whoever's responsible for her disappearance tried to stop us from discovering evidence.'

Vay looked along the bank, at the water and back at thick foliage.

'Nothing evil happened to her here,' she told Gibbs with confidence. 'She is in a safe place. I do not believe what happened to your team had anything to do with her disappearance.'

Gibbs fixed his eyes upon hers for a few moments.

'Well, we're going to be a while collecting any real evidence before we head back,' he told her before turning to rejoin Ziva and McGee.

'As you should,' Vay agreed as she turned her gaze back to the water once again. There had certainly been an evil predator here, but the intended victim had not been Officer Partington.