0801 in Abby's lab -
The basic screen for drugs in urine and blood had shown zero amounts of opiates, amphetamines, marijuana, alcohol and barbiturates. Abby crinkled her nose in concentration as she looked at the next round of results. All the other drugs requiring a prescription were in normal amounts for someone who had received treatment for possible heart attack first by EMTs and then by emergency room doctors. The only one not needing a prescription was aspirin. General Wheeler took aspirin and vitamins and that's all he took. The witnesses had been honest and now she was going to be dishonest.
Trying to put it out of her mind, Abby went back to the photographs. If she could just find something that would give Gibbs a road to go down. She needed his focus away from the test results, because she didn't want to lie to him. She might have to keep things from him, but lying to him was not an option.
At a private residence in Arlington, Alexandria, Annandale, McLean, Falls Church or it could have been Bethesda or maybe ...
"Long time no see," Jack O'Neill greeted the exhilarated officer. "Glad you could make it."
Jacobs laughed. "Fastest trip from Quantico to DC, sir... ever."
Brigadier General Kaden Jacobs, Commander of Air Force Office of Special Investigations, was still in a daze as he stood just outside the spacious kitchen. He'd thought the meeting would be at the Pentagon, but here he was in the man's home, having gotten there in the most unusual way.
O'Neill laughed as they sat down at the table and he poured them each some coffee from a fresh pot. "It was past time for you to get the chance." He looked at the man closely and asked, "They treat you okay?"
"Oh, more than okay, sir, though I have to admit I didn't know what to expect."
Jacobs had been driven away from Quantico in a large official SUV which had very dark tinted windows in all except the windshield and front sides. It was him, the driver and another man, sitting in the same row. After only about a mile, the man next to him said, "General Jacobs, I'm going to tell you something and it's important that you not react in any way ."
Turned out that there was another man in the car, one with a brown receding hairline about the same height who had laid curled up on the third seat covered with a large, gray tarp matching the vehicle 's interior. The tinted windows had an extra dark clingy film on them to keep traffic cameras and satellites from being able to see inside the vehicle.
A couple of miles ahead the driver stopped the car and popped the hood. It was explained that anybody watching would be distracted by him getting out of the car, looking at the front tire and then lifting up the hood, while inside Jacobs would trade places with the look-alike.
The exchange had been quick and no sooner had Jacobs felt the tarp against his face, he also felt a strange tingling. He was not laying on the comfortable bench seat of the SUV, but on the hard floor of what he didn't know. He blinked, saw two men in flight duty uniforms looking at him and then hands grabbed his and pulled him to his feet. The two men stiffened to attention and one greeted him, "General Jacobs, welcome aboard The USS George Hammond."
Because O'Neill was waiting for him, a tour of the ship would have to wait, but he was intrigued and very pleased. They politely gave him an opportunity to use the restroom, get a drink of water and catch his breath as he gazed down at Earth. He thought about when and how he'd learned of the Stargate Program. It was 2004 and Anubis attacked Earth. He was special assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Counterintelligence and Security and was in the room when SecDef got the first call about the invasion. The man's complexion blanched and he had looked both angry and fearful at the same time.
Jacobs then heard things from nightmares and B movies and been sworn to secrecy. He didn't know anything else about Stargate Command until he was promoted to brigadier in 2010 and put in charge of AFOSI. Even then he knew nothing about the day-to-day operation of the secret program. SGC didn't have crime, not even petty theft like other bases so AFOSI had no thing to do there. To some it would be eerie or curious or cause for alarm, after all, it could only be that the commander was stupid or blind, but the truth was the selection process for SGC assignment worked. The people were very committed to their mission and wouldn't do anything to endanger the United States or Earth. They all wanted to be a part of the top secret command and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize its legacy.
When he was ready, or about six minutes from when he was beamed up, Jacobs felt the same tingling and before he knew it, he was standing in a walk-in closet. The door opened and Lt. Colonel Paul Davis was there to hang up his overcoat and uniform jacket and then lead him around the corner to the living area.
That had all happened about 10 minutes a go and now they needed to stop the small talk and get down to business.
"First off, we're secure here. It's actually a better SCIF than the White House situation room." After Jacobs nodded, O'Neill continued. "Have you heard any rumblings about an NCIS investigation into General Ron Wheeler's death?"
Jacobs looked surprised. "Not a word, sir."
O'Neill could tell that Jacobs didn't kn ow Wheeler had died. "He collapsed at home, was DOA at the hospital."
Pushing aside his surprise and sadness, Jacobs confirmed,"General O'Neill, natural cause deaths don't get NCIS investigations."
"Yeah, and we're 99% sure it was, but NC IS has his body and they're investigating like it's murder or something."
Jacobs stared at O'Neill while his brain whirled. "Sir, you and General Wheeler were friends. Have they asked to speak to you?"
O'Neill sighed. "Oh, yeah and I met with them."
Davis fidgeted a little and Jacobs picked up on it. "There's more?"
"Yeah, I got the feeling I'm a suspect."
Incensed, Jacobs declared, "They're investigating a probable natural death as if it's a homicide and they suspect you?"
O'Neill laid his palms flat on the table. "The lead investigator, Gibbs, was at Wheeler's home the night he died."
"Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He's relentless, sir."
O'Neill tipped his head in agreement. "He and his ragtag team showed up there right before a group of us left."
"A group, sir?"
O'Neill and Davis explained about who went to the house and why. O'Neill told him about the President and SecDef suggesting the meeting with Gibbs at the Pentagon and the accusation that he and Elizabeth Wheeler were having an affair. Jacobs did his best to stay calm while inside he was screaming that O'Neill should have had counsel with him or better yet, not met with them at all. He felt relief that someone had sat in, even an aide, but if Gibbs was looking for a suspect, someone needed to steer him away from General O'Neill. That wasn't going to happen now. Then O'Neill dropped another bomb .
"Gibbs only knows that I was Ron's friend. He doesn't know I was his CO," O'Neill admitted.
Jacobs asked, "Who does he think General Wheeler reported to?"
"He doesn't know, but I'm certain he's looking."
"And snooping, sir," Davis added.
They told Jacobs about the people asking questions at the Pentagon food court.
"I know what you're thinking, but I didn't lie to him." With that confession O'Neill told him what Gibbs and McGee did ask and what he said to them.
Jacobs tried to get his brain around why NCIS would be doing what they were apparently doing. "AFOSI can't get involved. .. officially. JAG is a different issue. " He saw the acceptance in O'Neill's eyes.
"I know General Hoover well. He was at Peterson and of course now..." O'Neill didn't need to finish the sentence. Lieutenant General Richard Hoover, The Air Force Judge Advocate General had been Staff Judge Advocate at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs from 2004 to 2006.
Jacobs saw O'Neill's eyes and knew he knew. "NCIS would not investigate without a reason and if the reason isn't cause of death then it has to be..."
O'Neill finished it. "The Program."
"Yes, sir, and that means there's a puppet master because Gibbs would not spend time on this unless ordered."
Davis volunteered, "I get the impression, sirs, that he'd go to Timbuktu and back to find out what happened to any marine or sailor."
Jacobs agreed with that statement, but he also knew the man would have waited for the ME, especially since Wheeler died at a hospital after collapsing and there was no obvious evidence of foul play. Even poisoning would have had specific symptoms and left recognizable signs on the body.
"The hospital would have arranged for an autopsy, just to confirm what they think happened and get ahead of any possible liability, but unless they suspected something nefarious, the Major Case Response Team wouldn't even know about it until after or maybe during the autopsy."
With a big sigh O'Neill surmised, "That means the puppet master is Director Vance or Secretary Jarvis."
"I'm thinking the same thing, sir."
O'Neill had noticed Jacobs' minute react ion to his admission about speaking to Gibbs. "I met with them to try to keep them from snooping around Wheeler's assignment, and that didn't work out well. You need to know that I gave Gibbs a phone number to reach me."
Davis clarified. "It's an encrypted phone, General Jacobs, that will only connect to one number. Gibbs' cell phone."
Jacobs frowned. He could use that. "That 's okay, sir... I think."
"You think he'll call me." It was a statement, not a question.
Jacobs smiled. "I know he will, sir." With a twinkle in his eye he told them, "Gibbs doesn't really have anything yet. He can't get General Wheeler's jacket and he can't get yours. He sent people to ask questions hoping to get information to convince a judge to issue warrants."
O'Neill smirked. "He'll call me to do some fishing."
"Yes, sir, I believe he will."
They spent the next few minutes discussing what to do about the Pentagon information that revealed Wheeler's association with the Air Force and how to leak a name for Wheeler's CO or if they even should. Jacobs was going to find out about warrants and test the water for judges who might have been approached. NCIS was predictable and liked certain judges while they avoided others. Then they talked about ways to uncover who was pulling the strings and what to do about it.
"I have to admit I like the phone better than in person."
Jacobs assured him. "You'll do fine, sir, but there are two things. Don't lie to him and don't insult his team."
With a nod of understanding O'Neill asked, "Should I record the conversation?"
tbc
Thanks for reading.