"We are here to discuss what happened on that day, and what led to the shooting of Agent David. Depending upon your responses, your charges may or may not be reduced."
"Your husband will have no say regarding this discussion or its outcome. Do you understand what I have just told you?"
Jackie Vance had been glued to Fornell's face as he had been speaking to her. She said "yes."
"This interview will be recorded and may be used as evidence in a court of law. Now, Mrs. Vance; let's begin."
Vignette Nine: "Hello, Goodbye" – Part Nine
Gibbs' team and Director Vance listened quietly as Jackie Vance described how Agent Patrick had come to her before everyone else arrived, what he said, how he acted.
"So he gained your trust, and you had no reason to suspect anything?" Fornell asked, taking notes.
"He seemed like a nice guy. He was one of Leon's Agents. Of'course I trusted him."
"Please, continue."
Jackie then described the other teams showing up and Agents David and DiNozzo taking the kids and their suitcases out to the car.
"Did Agent Patrick give any indication that he knew that David and DiNozzo would be in the lead car?"
Jackie considered the question. "He never mentioned anyone by name the first time he talked to me, so I don't know if he knew who the team positions were or not."
Fornell nodded. "Go on."
She then describe how Agent Patrick suddenly showed up at her side, pointing a gun at her, and told her that after she got into the car, she was to say she forgot her purse and go back into the house.
At this, Vance had to sit down. Gibbs found him a chair and put his hand on his shoulder.
Everyone in the room knew this part already. The tension in the viewing room was raised to a palpable level as she began to describe what was not known to them.
"He put a gun in my purse and told me to leave it. I was supposed to get in the car, then say I forgot my purse and go back inside."
"He would be waiting outside for me, and I was to get in the car with him and leave."
She broke into a sob. Fornell pushed the box of Kleenex in her direction. She took one.
"Thank you. He told me that he hoped Agents David and DiNozzo remained outside with the children, but if one or both of them came back into the house, I was to shoot them."
Fornell broke in. "Those were his exact words: 'shoot them', not 'kill them.'?"
Jackie Vance looked terrified. "Yes, he definitely said 'shoot.' He told me if I didn't do this, he would find my children and torture and kill them, and that he would cut Leon's throat."
Leon had tears running down his cheeks. "Oh, my sweet baby. I am so sorry." He wiped at his eyes.
Gibbs murmured grimly. "That's a hell of a motivation."
Fornell continued his writing. "Ok, Mrs. Vance. I know this is hard, but we need to know exactly what happened next."
She took a deep breath. "I did as I was instructed, got out of the car and went back into the house. My purse was in my bedroom."
"As I was coming out, Agent David came back into the house and told me we needed to leave. She made me walk ahead of her."
"I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice! He knew where my children were." She started sobbing.
"Mrs. Vance, please just tell us what transpired."
She choked back a sob. "As I said, Agent David had me lead the way out. I reached into my purse, pulled out the gun, turned around and said I was sorry and…and I shot her."
"I meant to shoot her in the upper arm, just enough to stop her so I could get out to the back where Agent Patrick was waiting."
"But she was moving and turned or something and…I was so shocked the gun just went off again. I have no memory of pulling the trigger the second time, and I didn't mean to shoot her again."
Gibbs nodded. This was the scenario he had presented to Tony as the most plausible, that she had panicked and the second shot happened.
"I then ran out the back, and he threw me in the car and took off before I was even sitting." She was shaking so bad, so could hardly speak.
Fornell looked at her. "I think that's enough for now, Mrs. Vance. We can get your statement regarding your time with Agent Patrick later."
A female FBI Agent that had been present during the interrogation sat down, as Fornell left the room. He then went into the room on the other side of the window.
He ignored Vance and looked at Gibbs. "What do you think?"
"Well, there was no 'attempted murder', so those charges can be dropped. You could almost argue self-defense or threat against her family."
"That's the only reason she went along with any of this; she believed Agent Patrick would kill her family if she didn't leave with him and Ziva got in the way."
"We'll have a better idea of her frame of mind once we talk to Agent Patrick."
"Why didn't she say something to Agent David, why did she play along? She could have run for the hills after he threatened her and then went back outside to wait for her. Why did she have to shoot anyone?" Fornell challenged.
"Fornell, he didn't threaten her; he threatened her children and her husband. I don't think she thought she had a choice." Gibbs reasoned.
"Let's not forget: Mrs. Vance is not a trained NCIS agent, able to come up with multiple scenarios to get out of a terminal situation. If it had been Ziva or Tony he threatened or got to first, we wouldn't be standing here right now."
"I figured you would say something like that, Jethro. Director Vance."
Leon straightened his shoulders. "At this point it doesn't matter what testimony she gives regarding Agent Patrick as our interest in her is the shooting of Agent David."
"I am allowing you to see your wife. However, she can still be brought up on charges of Assault of a Federal Agent with a deadly weapon."
"I think some of her future may depend on how Agent David feels after hearing her testimony." Vance nodded grimly.
"You can go see her next door, and spend some time with her. Tell her the children are safe. Do you want to stay with your wife, or watch the interrogation of Agent Patrick?"
"It's one or the other I take it?" Leon asked, not happy.
"Oh, I can let this guy sit and stew for a while, all night for all I care. But I need to get the rest of your wife's statements while it is still fresh in her memory and before she totally breaks down."
"Can you give us an hour? Some food and drink would be appreciated since I am sure she hasn't eaten since yesterday."
"On it, Boss!" Tim and Abby left the room. Fornell looked at Gibbs, who cocked his head and gave him one of his "you know what I think" looks.
"Ok, let's take you to your wife; we'll get her some food. Calm her down, tell her you love her, whatever in the hell you want to do, Vance."
"However, you are not to discuss what was just said in this room. If she asks you how she did, tell her she was very brave or something but you are not to give her any false hopes that this is all going to go away."
Vance nodded and quickly left the room with Fornell. Gibbs watched as Fornell opened the door and the look on Jackie's face when she saw Leon.
He turned away, unwilling to intrude on their private moment. Tobias looked at the female Agent. "Mika, you can leave them alone. We have guards posted in the hall."
The Agent nodded and left with Fornell. Jackie sobbed into her husband's shoulder. "Oh, Leon, I am so sorry! Are our children safe? How is Agent David? Will she be alright?"
"Shhh…I'm here, you're back. That's all we need to focus on right now. The kids are fine. They miss their mom and are worried, but I've been with them this whole time."
"What about Agent David, Leon? I shot her!" She started crying again.
"I can't answer that, Babe. I've not been part of the investigation since it concerned our family. When I hear something, I'll let you know." Leon hoped that would satisfy Jackie for the time being.
Fornell didn't exactly forbid him from discussing Agent David's condition, but he wanted to make sure he didn't do anything to jeopardize his wife's case, even if that meant keeping information from her.
After about twenty minutes, McGee arrived with the food. He handed it to the Agent guarding the room to take it in. He didn't want to go in there and face Mrs. Vance.
After listening to her testimony, he believed that she didn't mean to hurt Ziva as badly as she did.
But that didn't change the fact that she did hurt Ziva, and by extension, their family.
Gibbs had been waiting in the hall for Fornell after he left Leon with his wife.
"So tell me Jethro, what do you think Agent David will do once she hears this testimony?"
Gibbs shook his head. "I have no idea what she will think, or if she even thinks she should have any say in what the charges are, or if there should be any charges."
Fornell's eyebrows rose at that. "Do you think that there is a possibility that she won't press charges? Why?"
"I didn't say she wouldn't. But this is the Director's wife we are talking about and we have all walked that fine line regarding some of our actions or inactions."
Fornell shrugged. "Well, at least no one died." He thought he caught a shadow cross Gibbs face. "I am correct, no one has died that I am aware of?"
"You're exactly right, Tobias. That you are aware of."
"I don't think I want to know." Fornell said.
"That's right, you don't." Gibbs walked off, letting his friend ponder the meaning behind those enigmatic words.
After Mrs. Vance finished eating, Fornell stuck his head in. "Director, we are about to begin talking to Agent Patrick. Do you want to watch or stay here?"
Vance looked at Jackie. "Go." She said. "He is deeply disturbed, Leon. I hope your team got all those sticky notes." She directed this at Fornell.
He looked confused. "Yes, we have them, but they are nonsense. You know what they mean?"
She nodded yes. "Ok, when we are done with Agent Patrick, I'll be back to get your take on it."
Vance and Fornell left the room and then Mika returned to her post inside the interrogation room with Mrs. Vance.
Agent Patrick was pacing, upset and worried. Gibbs, Tim and Abby had been watching him. He was muttering to himself and gesturing wildly, as well as he could.
They had changed it so his hands were cuffed in front of him instead of behind him.
"Boss, I saw Agent Patrick three days ago, and he was…well normal. I don't understand how he could have kept up this façade all these months, and no one caught on. I certainly didn't see it."
"Did you know him well, Tim?" Gibbs looked at the younger Agent."
"Well, no."
"Then don't worry about it. If the people he worked with every day saw nothing unusual about his behavior, then none of us could be expected to."
The door opened and Vance entered the room. He looked through the one-way window. "My God!"
Gibbs left the room and caught Fornell before he went in there. "Tobias, this kid is seriously delusional. If you don't want me in there, have another armed back up with you."
"He may be all talk at this point, but he is clearly out of touch with reality. I don't know if you are going to get much of anything coherent out of him."
"Well, then Jethro. Since you are so worried about my safety, I'll let you be my bodyguard."
Gibbs gave him a small smile and followed him into the room.
Agent Patrick stopped pacing. "Finally! Where's Mrs. Vance? We need to get back to work."
Fornell looked at Gibbs. "You need to get back to work? On what exactly?"
Agent Patrick beamed. "We are starting a Foundation in honor of Cindy. 'The Cynthia Collier Center for Victims of Acts of Terrorism.' It's all right there in my notes you took."
"I see." Tobias took the chair; Gibbs took a position against the wall.
"Son, we are not here to talk about some Foundation. You do know that you are in serious trouble?"
Agent Patrick looked confused. "But everyone is fine. And Mrs. Vance said she would be on the Board of Directors."
Fornell hit his hand on the table to get the Agent's attention. "Wrong! Everyone is not fine. Agent David has been shot, or did you forget that part?"
"Well, I do feel bad about that. Before I met Cindy, I kind of liked her. But she was dating someone. If she hadn't come back in, nothing would have happened to her."
"So it was her fault she got shot?" Gibbs said quietly.
Agent Patrick looked up as if he noticed Gibbs for the first time. "Well, yeah! She was supposed to be watching the kids. She left them."
It was all Gibbs could do to hold himself back from strangling this deranged Agent.
"Ok, but you did instruct Mrs. Vance to shoot Agent David or Agent DiNozzo if either came back in to get her."
"I'm sorry it was Agent David, she's hot. I much would have preferred that it had been DiNozzo."
"I see." Fornell said, looking sideways at Gibbs, whose glare should have struck the Agent down.
"So let me make sure I have all this: you threatened to kill Director Vance's children; Director Vance himself; ordered Mrs. Vance to shoot one, possibly two, NCIS agents; shot your own partner, and left him for dead; and then kidnapped Mrs. Vance. Have I left anything out?"
Agent Patrick rubbed his jaw. "No, I think that about covers it."
On the other side, Vance and McGee both said at the same time. "Unbelievable."
"And what is your defense for your actions, Agent Patrick?"
He looked at Fornell like he was nuts. "Have you not been listening? Hello? Cindy? She's dead because of him."
"Agent Patrick, Cynthia Collier is dead because a terrorist planted a bomb at NCIS. No one else is to blame." Gibbs responded.
"He made her come upstairs. If she hadn't been up there to see him, she wouldn't have been killed."
Gibbs unfortunately agreed with part of that statement. "It's true, Agent Patrick. If Ms. Collier had not been upstairs, there is a good possibility that she would not have been killed in the bombing."
"But the Director did not ask for her, he asked for a report. Anyone from that department could have taken it up to him. He had no control over that."
That stumped Agent Patrick for a few moments. "Well, maybe, but he shouldn't have asked for the report in the first place."
Fornell rolled his eyes. "Do you need to hear any more of this, Gibbs?"
"Nope, I'm good."
"Ok, then." They both stood up. Agent Patrick stood up too. "So I'm free to go? Mrs. Vance and I need to get to work."
Fornell put his hand on Patrick's shoulder and shoved him back in his seat.
"No, you are not free to go. You have the right to legal counsel, but I seriously doubt you're going to get much more than a court-appointed attorney the first year out of Law School."
"I want him in full chains. Take him to the holding cell here at the Navy Yard. We will need a Psychiatric evaluation before we can begin to consider the myriad of charges this Agent has waiting for him."
"In the meantime, book him on Kidnapping, Shooting a Federal Agent, and intent to commit First-degree murder, for starters."
"Wha…wait! Mrs. Vance! Please, Mrs. Vance, tell them. It's all ok. Please...Mrs. Vance?" Agent Patrick was led to the garage, where he would be transported the short distance to the Federal Prison that was located on the Navy Yard.
Everyone in the observation room just looked at each other, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
"Well, clearly Mrs. Vance was able to get him to believe she was on his side. She probably fed into his delusions and kept him occupied so he wouldn't hurt her."
"That was pretty smart of her to do that and brave. That could have easily backfired." Tim commented.
"Brave?" Abby snapped. "Only when it applied to saving her own skin. Why couldn't she have been brave for Ziva?"
Tim silently took her hand. "I wasn't saying I approved of anything she did, Abby. You know how I feel about what she did to Ziva."
Abby hid her head in his shoulder. He rubbed her back, trying to give her little words of encouragement.
Just then Gibbs and Fornell walked in. When Gibbs saw Tim and Abby together like that, he almost had a heart attack. But as soon as Abby saw Gibbs, she ran into his arms.
"It's ok, Abbs. It's over for now. Why don't you go home and get some rest? Tim?"
"Boss?" He looked up.
"Take Abby home, please." Gibbs handed her back over to him.
"Sure thing, Boss. Come on, Abby. Let me get you home, ok?"
She sniffed and wiped her nose, like a little girl. Gibbs kissed her on the side of her head. "Get some sleep, both of you."
He watched them leave. Fornell broke the silence. "Are you ready for Round Two with Mrs. Vance? I really can't wait to hear her story."
Gibbs nodded and headed to the room where Mrs. Vance was being kept. She looked up when she saw both Fornell and Gibbs.
"Agent Gibbs, I am so sorry about Agent David! How is she?"
"Later." Fornell said. "Tell us what happened after he brought you to the warehouse."
"Well, I could see that he was disturbed; pacing and muttering. I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and he went off and mentioned Cindy."
"So I asked about her, and he told me it was Leon's fault that she died in the explosion. So I did the only thing I could do; I empathized with him and asked him to tell me about her."
"The next thing I know he is sitting on the floor in front of me, like we were in my living room visiting; extolling the virtues of this girl. I encouraged him to talk about her and how wonderful she sounded."
"I knew Leon would expect me to do something to try to get away, so I asked him if he had something to write with, that I wanted to write down her name so we could make a donation in her honor and memory and of'course in his honor as well."
"Of'course." Fornell replied impressed.
"I asked him for my purse, since I knew I had paper in there. For a minute he got suspicious, but I convinced him that I really just wanted to find my pad so I could write down her name."
"And he gave you your purse?" Fornell couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mrs. Vance nodded. "He handed me his pen, but then I showed him I couldn't write while my hands were tied so…"
"Don't tell me he actually untied your hands?" Gibbs asked incredulous.
"Only the one I write with. So once I had my purse, I rummaged for a while. That is how I was able to turn on my cell phone and turn the volume off."
"That single move may have saved your life, Mrs. Vance."
Your reviews have been amazing. Thank you so much. Some of your comments are very astute. I hope you will be happy with my solution to this story when it ends.