Please see chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimers.
Chapter 7
Ashlynn took a sip of her coffee and looked at her watch. With a heavy sigh she turned her cell phone on. She wondered how long it would take them to find her. She was even more curious whom they would send. Most likely Fornell would come.
Picking at the last of her bagel, the girl wondered if this was the best course of action. In all honesty she knew she could trust Gibbs, but he was still bound by the rules of his organization. This was a tenuous opportunity and she didn't want to see it ruined with bureaucratic red tape. Her plan was better. At least she hoped it was.
She was definitely taking a risk. This little morning reconnaissance mission might not go as planned. Well, the back up plan would be to come clean and tell everyone what she knew. If it came to that, she only hoped they didn't blow their one lead. Deirdre had often warned her that government agencies could be well meaning but get so bogged down in their own rules that they couldn't function.
Her mind flitted back to her brothers…and to Gibbs. She wondered if he had been alerted. Of course, Ashlynn wasn't his problem anymore. Even if by some chance he did show up, she would be safe from his wrath. She'd seen to that. For the life of her she couldn't imagine why this stirred up a certain sadness within her.
When Gibbs invited her to stay, part of her had wanted to do just that. She couldn't deny a certain longing within herself even beyond the prospect of being able to stay with her brothers. Ashlynn wanted them to have the chance at a more stable life, though. Something she never had. With a shake of her head, the young woman took another sip of her coffee coming back to the same conclusion; she didn't want to complicate things. Gibbs and she would invariably clash and she did not want to see her brothers caught in the middle.
Two black sedans pulled up outside and she smiled, looking at her watch. Well, now she knew how long it would take them to find her. She filed that piece of information away and focused on looking calm and unconcerned. Her calm was shaken, though, when the first person she saw was Special Agent Gibbs.
Their eyes locked and her stomach flipped over. He was obviously furious. Ashlynn reminded herself that she had no reason to care about his emotional state. The NCIS agent could take a flying leap as far as she was concerned. This knowledge, however, did not keep her from breaking eye contact to look down at her coffee.
Fornell was actually the first to speak as they approached. "What in the hell are you playing at?" he demanded.
"I wanted a decent cup of coffee, and after more than twenty-four hours with Agent Sacks, I needed a break."
"She has a legitimate point there, Boss," DiNozzo agreed, but looking at Gibbs he quickly added, "Shutting up, now."
"Let's go," Gibbs ground out.
"I'm not in NCIS custody anymore, Agent Gibbs. And where are my brothers, anyway?" she asked smartly with the hint of a smile on her lips.
"Get up and go to the car, now," Gibbs stated, his voice dangerously quiet. "If I have to help, you won't like it."
Ashlynn's bravado faltered. She really didn't know what he might do, but none of the things that flashed through her mind were very pleasant. Deciding this was not the place for a showdown she picked up her laptop bag and got up out of the booth.
They drove back to the safe house in complete silence. When she was ushered in, she realized Sacks and the other agent that had been here this morning were gone. She smirked. Probably wouldn't be seeing them again. When she turned, she realized she was facing just Fornell and Gibbs. There was no sign of Tony or any other FBI agents.
"I submitted to protective custody voluntarily, but I'm not a prisoner. I have a right to leave if I want," Ashlynn stated defensively.
"Have you forgotten that you're in protective custody because you got shot at?" Fornell yelled. "Andrés Covas is a very dangerous man and we can't protect you when you up and leave without a word!"
"Covas wouldn't be so sloppy," she answered echoing the comments that were made by the agents following the supposed assassination attempt.
"You don't seem at all worried about the fact that you were shot at," Gibbs observed.
Ashlynn shrugged. "I don't think it was Covas?"
"Who do you think it was then?" the NCIS agent queried boring a hole into the girl with his eyes.
"I wouldn't know," she answered looking away.
"You know, I would really hate to have to arrest you for impeding a federal investigation. If you know something, you need to tell us."
Ashlynn's heart was pounding so hard she was certain the two men could hear it. She didn't know how he knew it, but Gibbs knew she was holding something back. He didn't know what it was, though, and that being the case she planned on seeing this through. With a shake of her head, she answered steadily, "I don't know anything."
Gibbs stepped in very close to Ashlynn, "You know what the consequence for lying is don't you?"
"I'm not living in your house anymore, Agent Gibbs and I'm not subject to your rules," she answered as calmly as she was able, finding his allusion far more disconcerting than the prospect of being jailed for interfering with a federal investigation. "But I'm not lying. I don't KNOW anything about your investigation into Covas and his operation."
"But you suspect something?" Fornell guessed.
"Ashlynn," the hard edge to Gibbs's voice was truly frightening, but before he could continue his phone rang. "WHAT?" he yelled into the receiver. "When? Yeah, I'm on my way." Turning to Fornell Gibbs explained, "Captain Mathers is in the infirmary. They don't know if he tried to take his own life or if someone tried to take it for him." Facing Ashlynn once again Gibbs held up his index finger. "This conversation is not over and the next time we talk, you had better be ready to give me answers."
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"What have you got for me Ducky?" Gibbs demanded without preamble as he entered autopsy.
"I am quite certain that the poor man indeed tried to kill himself. Examination of the wounds definitely indicate self infliction. Man's ingenuity particularly when dealing with very limited resources never ceases to amaze me. Not that using one's intellect and knowledge to kill oneself is in anyway admirable of course, but one must indeed applaud the intelligent resourcefulness-"
"Duck."
"Oh, yes, well had the medical staff not responded with incredible alacrity, Captain Mathers would have undoubtedly bled to death and succeeded in his suicide attempt."
The doors to autopsy opened and McGee walked in. "Boss, I think I located the shooter."
"Well?" Gibbs's voice relayed his frustration at his agent's pause.
"Cloak and Dagger Adventures. People hire them to set up reality type spy adventure games. "
Gibbs looked incredulous.
"Kind of like The Game, with Michael Douglas," DiNozzo commented coming up behind McGee.
"Only it's all role play and props, nothing's real," McGee replied.
"Those were real bullets," Gibbs snapped.
"The president of the company insists that they never use real bullets or put anyone at risk. He gave me the name of the team leader who was responsible for this gig, but says the guy quit yesterday. He's pulling the specifics for me right now."
"DiNozzo?"
"Davis has referred several clients to Cloak and Dagger Adventures in the past. His flight isn't due to arrive tomorrow morning."
"Find out what you can from these Cloak and Dagger idiots and find that team leader!"
"On it, Boss!" the two agents answered simultaneously.
"Gibbs!" Abby's voice interrupted from behind him her face on the tiny screen on Ducky's desk.
"What have you got for me Abs?"
"Actually, it's what I don't have," she said with a wary look. "You know that Ziva dropped the boys off here, right? Well, I had to take a bathroom break, which is actually really odd, because usually I can down-"
"ABBY!" Gibbs yelled, his patience having worn thin with the day's events.
"Cam's gone."
"WHAT?"
"AJ said that he went to use the bathroom, too, but…" Abby shook her head.
Gibbs sighed heavily, his mind calling up Ashlynn's warning about the boy being banned from NCIS headquarters before the end of the week. If Cam was up to anything more than raiding the vending machine, he was going to SORELY regret it!
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"Hey, Cam, I just have a few minutes," Ash whispered into her spare cell phone her eyes darting to the bathroom door. Her mother had taught her to always keep a few pre-paid cell phones on hand. "So do you think you can come up with something to divert your Dad's attention for awhile? Something that won't land you in any trouble?"
"Well, I don't know about the trouble part, but the diversion is already underway," he answered with a grin. He'd been only too happy to get Ash's text earlier.
"Cam," Ash's exasperation was evident despite her hushed tone. They had moved to a new safe house, but Fornell was no man's fool so she was going to need to be very careful.
"Don't worry, so far I've just done a disappearing act. But I think I'll have some fun while I'm exploring NCIS headquarters."
"Cam, don't. Your dad will-"
"Oh, I've got a pretty good idea what he'll do," Cam winced but shrugged. "Might as well make it worth my while."
"Cam, when I wrote about a diversion, I meant something like playing sick. I don't want you to get into trouble."
"Don't worry about it. Do you think you'll be able to follow up on your lead?"
"That's the idea."
"Be careful, Ash."
"It's nothing dangerous, Cam. I promise. And thanks. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pulled you into this."
"If it helps find the men that killed Mom it's worth it!"
"Gotta go. Please don't get into too much trouble. I love you, Cam."
"Love you too, Ash."
TBC…