Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you to black widow mistress, Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, HesMines and Pandora of Ithilien for reviewing! Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted the next part to be separate to this.

Kort smirked at his phone as Gibbs hung up on him and then dialled another number, his finger pausing for a moment on the call button. His survival hinged upon his ability to pull off this crazy double cross, which no sane asset would try until the run for the border had failed, and probably not even then, but Trent Kort was not an average asset. He was good looking and very intelligent, and that wasn't egotism, it was fact. His visage could get him in to places others couldn't get and his intelligence could get him in to everywhere else, he knew it and his Agency knew it. He was a damn good CIA Agent and his Agency would be loathed to lose him, so getting rid of the Sec-Nav would make sure it didn't need to.

That didn't make what he had to do any easier though. He sighed deeply and then pressed the call button, bringing his phone to his ear and listening to it ring. He wasn't supposed to call his associate on the same phone more than once, they were using one use throwaway's for business, but this new development should peak his interest enough for it to not matter. The phone was picked up and Kort readied himself for a prizewinning performance.

"Hello. Is it done?" the Sec-Nav asked quietly. He must not be alone.

"Yes. I need to meet with you. The next part of the plan needs to begin, but there are problems." Kort could almost hear the other man's brain working over possible repercussions of coming to meet him. He could only hope that the guy thought he was home free.

"What kind of problems?" the Sec-Nav asked, his voice dropping slightly in volume but swelling in authority that would more than likely send the unlucky recipients' blood cold and turn them into jabbering wrecks. Kort however, chuckled at him and replied in his customary condescending tone. Anything else would make him suspicious.

"The kind I cannot divulge over the phone." The Sec-Nav sighed and then Kort heard the sound of his phone being passed to his other ear.

"Alright, I shall meet you at the house-" he started to say, but Kort cut him off.

"We can't use that. Gregory is still there, you don't want to be linked to him, do you?" Kort's voice was smooth and sweet like honey, the tone that could melt a woman's heart or tell a business partner that they are not essential to complete a mission. He winced, wondering if he was laying his carelessness on too thick. The Sec-Nav was quiet for a moment and then he harrumphed angrily.

"Right. I'll meet you at the back up house in an hour." The line went dead and Kort let out an unsteady breath. That was the difficult part over with. Now he just needed to get all the players in the same room and then leave them to their bloodshed. In the unlikely event the Sec-Nav survives the fire fight; he could take him out and contact the CIA. They would hide him until the investigation blew over. He punched up the previously called number and waited for Gibbs to pick up. It was time to set up the next phase of his plan.


Gibbs watched Jenny hold onto Abby like a lifeline, watched her cling to the one thing her job couldn't give her. The look on her face when she had asked him if Abby was her daughter haunted him. He'd felt like he had just killed a child because of how attached Jenny had become to the idea of having a daughter, and the magnitude of her heartache made him wonder if she had ever wanted one. She must have though; otherwise she wouldn't have felt so empty when it had been revealed to be a lie, would she? Abby pressed her face into Jenny's neck and sighed, before turning an odd look to him. He felt his gut act up in that moment and he just knew she was planning mischief. She smiled at him innocently and then held out her arms for him to join the hug. He shook his head minutely, trying not to draw attention to himself but she waggled her fingers at him and then nudged Jenny. Jenny looked at her and then her eyes were drawn to him. She raised an eyebrow at him and then held out a hand to him.

"Afraid to hug your favourite, Jethro?" she asked him slyly. He smirked and then walked over to them opening his arms and then dragging Abby from Jenny's embrace into his own. He grinned at her over Abby's head and she laughed quietly, the feelings he wished he was sharing with her verbally being communicated by his eyes. He knew she understood, she always had. He squeezed Abby and then let her go, pulling his phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrating. Well, Kort did say he would call back.

"Yeah, Gibbs."


Kort drove slowly down the dark streets, his rendezvous point somewhere within the mess of crisscrossing roads. He didn't trust the man he was meeting, this place was too isolated, too dark and oppressive, but he had a lot of experience in covert operations. He wouldn't be caught unawares. He just hoped Gibbs would come through on time, he wouldn't be able to keep the Sec-Nav talking for long, he would become suspicious quickly, if he wasn't already.

Spotting the house, he pulled over and checked his weapon, making sure he had a full clip and that his concealed weapons were readily accessible. If this meeting went south before Gibbs showed up, he would need to defend himself. He opened the door and looked down each street, making sure no one was watching. The last thing he wanted was witnesses.

"You're late." A voice said behind him. He turned around; a smirk firmly planted on his face and watched the Sec-Nav walk out of the shadows. He was watching him carefully, something he hadn't done before. He circled him and checked him over with his eyes, looking for weapons, and Kort felt his stomach tighten. He knew something was wrong. Trent surreptitiously glanced up at the windows of the safe house and saw two men up there, both with guns trained on him. He knew the mission had failed, but how? Gibbs wouldn't double cross him; he had too much to lose. He must have other spies in NCIS, spies Kort didn't know about who had seen Jenny.

"You're worried. You need not be, the mission is not over until I have completed my objective." The Sec-Nav grinned at him nastily and shook his head.

"Did you really think you could double cross me and I wouldn't find out?" Trent sighed and shrugged, nonchalantly planning his escape route. He could take out one of those guys and use the Sec-Nav as a human shield while he killed the other, then he could snap the mongrels neck and go to CIA headquarters. He could get out of helping Gibbs that way too, so he would go to prison for murder. His day brightened considerably at that thought. All he had to do was keep him talking until he rounded him a little more…

"How did you find out?" he asked, hoping to lead him into a long and boring reveal of his contacts. Just a little farther…

"An asset in NCIS who has yet to be used to her full potential. I have something she wants and she knows things I want to know." The Sec-Nav lit a cigarette and took a long drag, watching the emotions play on Kort's face. He wasn't foolish enough to get between him and his men, but it was proving quite entertaining making Kort believe he might.

"You will never get away with all of the things you have done; I have already recorded a confession and mailed it to NCIS. You will be found out." Trent said, his tone mocking. The Sec-Nav was done for, he just hadn't realised it yet. Gibbs would be on time, he always was.

"Actually I won't. You are the only one who knows of my involvement in this conspiracy against Jenny Shepard, no one else can tie me to it. With you gone, all I have to do is divert all of NCIS's mail to my house and I will find and destroy the tape. Thank you for telling me about that by the way." He looked up at his men and made a slashing motion across his neck, telling them to execute him, but instead of his men, he found himself looking up at Agent DiNozzo and Officer David. They both had guns trained on him and their windows were open.

"I think he would like us to shoot him." Ziva said. Tony chuckled

"I don't know if we should though. What do you think boss?" he shouted down to the street and the Sec-Nav turned to see Gibbs and Shepard standing in front of him. Jenny flashed him a quick smile and then his world faded to black as Gibbs' fist connected with his face.