S2 E17 AU An Eye For An Eye

AU stories for NCIS episodes. Each is independent from all the others since this is based on the possibility of parallel universes and multiple timelines…. many, many of them. Later on some may seem to follow something that happened in an earlier AU episode story but it's probably coincidence unless I say otherwise in the beginning. Again, these are AU scenes/stories which means a character may die in one story and be alive in the next one. Or it might be a missing scene.

This is a short alternate universe story/scene for season 2 ep 17, An Eye For An Eye

The original episode aired on March 22, 2005.
Some of the dialogue may be from the episode.
Rating: K+
Category: general
Warnings: One swear word
Disclaimer: Borrowing characters. Just borrowing. No profit.
And finally, all mistakes are mine.

The young man opened the door to his apartment and found Gibbs' team.

He immediately asked, "Who the hell are you?"

Gibbs asked him, "Petty Officer Benjamin Horlacher?" The man's face indicated yes.

"NCIS," Gibbs clarified.

The Petty Officer appeared confused about why they would be there.

"What's going on, sir?"

Gibbs told him. "We're here to investigate a package delivered to you, opened by mistake by your neighbor. Sent from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay."

"It contained human organs. Pair of eyes." Tony didn't want to admit it but human eyes through the mail, beautiful blue human eyes, was pretty cool, except for the fact that the person the eyes came from was most probably dead.

Horlacher seemed genuinely horrified. "Eyes? You've got to be kidding me, sir."

Gibbs asked, "Where have you been the last couple of days, Petty Officer?"

"On a 72, visiting my family in New Jersey."

"You're training to be an intelligence analyst at Dam Neck?"

"Yes, sir."

"What area of the world do you cover there, Petty Officer?"

"Central and South America," he verified.

"Have you ever been to Paraguay?"

"Never. Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I'm sure there's…"

"Maybe your girlfriend does," Kate told him, still thinking about the ugly clothes.

"I don't have a girlfriend ," he told them.

"So what woman is keeping all of her clothes in your bedroom?" Kate kinda sneered.

Petty Officer Horlacher knew his future, whatever future he had hoped for, was over. He knew this incident alone would put a stain on his career and would put a huge question into the minds of people deciding his security clearance. The only chance he had for an honorable discharge was the truth, partial truth anyway, but not to the whole group. It was obvious to him that Gibbs was the NCIS agent in charge.

"I'd like to speak to you alone, sir. Please."

Gibbs gave him a questioning look, but didn't say no. He could tell the petty officer was hiding something. It wouldn't be the first time he'd granted a request like this and the only question he asked himself was, "here in the apartment or at NCIS?" Horlacher kept looking at him, clearly not afraid to meet his scrutiny.

With the decision made, Gibbs said, Tony, Kate, outside."

The two agents went to the hall, reluctantly, but stayed close, just in case.

"Thank you, sir. Can we close the door?"

Gibbs knew his team was there, listening. Horlacher's hands were empty and he wasn't close to anything that he could grab. "DiNozzo."

The door was pulled closed and then it was just Gibbs and Horlacher.

"Okay, Petty Officer, we're alone."

He didn't want to do it but there was no choice. He knew there was a real possibility they'd be taking him into custody for more questioning.

"I didn't lie about a girlfriend, sir."

Gibbs nodded for him to continue.

"The clothes are mine," he said, barely loud enough for Gibbs to hear.

There, he'd said it. He'd said it to another person for the first time in his life.

"They're mine. I wear them… sometimes… and I swear, sir, I don't know anything about that package being sent to me." It wasn't a total lie but it wasn't the whole truth. He didn't know for sure about the eyes but he suspected. He needed to talk to Purcell.

Gibbs gazed at him. He certainly knew some people were confused about their identity and some people just liked to wear "other" clothes. He'd known a couple, but they weren't military where it's almost impossible to keep that kind of a secret. This kid was very good at it or there'd probably be no way for him to get into a top secret intelligence school. He was compromised just having a secret like it. If it were to come out, well, the petty officer might do anything to keep that from happening.

Gibbs gave his card to Horlacher. "We'll have more questions for you, Petty Officer."

"Yes, sir," he agreed, trying to not appear or sound relieved.

Gibbs left the apartment and took Kate and Tony with him to the parking lot.

"What's the secret, boss?"

Gibbs hadn't promised to keep it secret and he knew the two of them wouldn't stop until they found out. He was going to tell them to stop looking for a girlfriend so of course they were going to have questions. He knew the kid could be lying about the clothes but admitting he wore them was a much bigger secret than any girlfriend could ever be.

"Petty Officer Horlacher doesn't have a girlfriend. The clothes are his."

McGee researched Petty Officer Benjamin Horlacher while Gibbs talked to Ducky, who was fascinated by transsexualism. A while later he called Kate and Tony, who were staking out Horlacher's apartment, and told them to get to the Navy Lodge and get some rest.

"Boss?"
"Gibbs?"

He knew they'd be confused so he shared the information that McGee discovered.

"Petty Officer Horlacher hasn't been to Paraguay. He's never been out of the country. Doesn't have a passport. "

Tony was first with his agreement. "When you put it like that, well, we still don't know he's not involved, but he didn't send the eyeballs to himself."

Kate said "Good night, Gibbs." She'd raised her voice a little so he could hear her from where she was sitting in the passenger seat.

Petty Officer Horlacher watched the NCIS car drive away. The call he'd made to Purcell had sealed his fate. The sneaky bastard had been blackmailing him and now had implicated him in a murder, sending the evidence right to his doorstep, and there'd be no coming back from that. Telling NCIS everything could be his only hope for redemption. He saw the NCIS car leave the parking lot and decided to make his move, glad he wouldn't have to be in his apartment. He desperately wanted to be away from where his secrets stared him in the face every day.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he answered his cell phone. A minute later he broke the news to the others, who were eating their complimentary breakfast.

"Petty Officer Horlacher is dead. His body was found in his car in the parking lot of the Red Wing Lake Golf Course at 7:00 this morning. It appears to be suicide and he left a sealed envelope with my name on it."

End

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