Hey guys, sorry I didn't get the chapter up on Wednesday, but I've had a really busy week, so I decided I'd post it today instead : ) I think I'm going to make Saturdays the day I post for this story, at least until I've got this story caught up to my others : )

Anyway, I don't really have too much to say today, but I would like to thank everyone for showing support to this story, particularly those who reviewed the last chapter : )

Please remember that NCIS is not owned by me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

Kill Ari - Part 2

Gibbs let out a depressed sigh as he walked back towards NCIS Headquarters, a coffee cup in hand. He hadn't bothered to pull the hood of his coat up, thus allowing the rain to drench him through and through. It wasn't enough to wash away his guilt. How could he have been so stupid? He had led his entire team into a trap. All because he allowed his emotions to rule him.

It was a miracle any of them survived.

And Kate had been so... forgiving... but that was even worse. She should have been raging and yelling at him, telling him how terrible a boss he was for almost getting her killed, but instead she had reasoned with him. She was almost shot threw the head, all because of him, and she forgave him.

Just like that.

It just didn't make any sense to him. A second sigh escaped Gibbs' lips. He was right by the side of the NCIS Headquarters building now. Right outside of Abby's lab. He could even hear her music blaring out from her speakers.

A zipping noise sounded, and instinctively, Gibbs flinched away from it.

There was the sound of a window shattering.

A muffled yell.

A solitary gunshot echoing through the storm.

It took him less than a second to process what had just happened. Numb, Gibbs allowed his coffee to slip from his hand. Then he was running. Faster than he'd ever ran before. Dreading what he was about to find, Gibbs prayed to every god he'd ever heard of.

Abby couldn't have been hit. Not his sweet, innocent Abby.

He couldn't fail her too.

When the pane of glass shattered, Kate didn't even pause to think. She just reacted on instinct. And it was a good thing she did. Using all of her strength, the female agent threw both herself and Abby to the ground, the bullet barely missing them and striking the wall directly behind where their heads had been not a second earlier.

If she hadn't reacted so quickly, one of them would be dead.

Kate grunted as she landed on top of Abby, so that the gothic woman was looking up at her, pinned to the floor under Kate's body.

"You hit?" Kate whispered.

She drew her gun, cautiously looking up towards where the shot had come from, still shielding Abby with her own body.

"No" Abby groaned from beneath her, "You're heavy" she couldn't help adding.

"Thanks" Kate snorted.

"Not like that" Abby shook her head, "You're not fat... I just wasn't expecting all your weight to suddenly be on top of me".

"Well, I wasn't expecting to get shot at in your lab" Kate said, rolling off her, "Speaking of... we gotta move".

Without waiting for Abby to answer, Kate grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to the wall so they were out of sight of the window, and thankfully the gunman.

Abby looked at Kate, smirking in amusement.

"Why are you smiling at a time like this?" Kate couldn't help but ask.

"I was just thinking" Abby told her, still looking amused, "If Tony had walked in whilst you were on top of me... well, we could have made a fortune".

Kate let out a laugh, but she was still eyeing the windows nervously, her gun held steady in case she needed it. At that moment Gibbs came sprinting into the lab, his gun already drawn.

"Abby?!" he cried, obviously worried.

"Gibbs! On the floor now!" Kate yelled in warning, "We're under attack!""

Gibbs crouched down slightly, but rushed across the room, turning off all the lights and Abby's music before he threw himself to the floor, sliding on his knees to where Kate and Abby were huddled together, taking cover.

"You ok?" he asked Abby gently.

"Yeah" she nodded weakly.

Gibbs nodded, immensely relieved that Abby hadn't been hurt, before he turned his attention to Kate.

"Kate?" he asked worriedly.

He looked rather guilty as he checked to make sure she was fine too. Kate let out a low sigh. She should have known he'd still be blaming himself for all this.

"I'm fine Gibbs" she assured him instead of pressing him, "Just wondering how many times I can get shot at in one day".

"Good" Gibbs nodded distractedly, relieved she was alright, "Now I need you to get Anacostia Park closed off between the bridges. Tell metro cops it's a crime scene".

"Will do" Kate nodded.

She began crawling on her stomach across the floor. Abby, who was behind Kate and had the unfortunate angle of seeing Kate's bum in the air, arched a dark eyebrow.

"Err... Kate's ass?" she joked with a chuckle.

Kate glanced back over her shoulder at her.

"Why are you doing an impression of a caterpillar?" Abby asked in amusement.

"The sniper could have a night-vision scope" Kate defended.

"Ah, good point" Abby conceded, but unable to resist adding - "Really too bad Tony isn't here right now".

"Oh shush" Kate smirked.

She continued shuffling across the floor of Abby's lab.

Once she was out the door, and got to her feet, Kate dusted herself down, and rushed off to complete Gibbs' orders.

Gibbs, who would deny under oath that he'd cracked a smile during the girls' little pantomime, turned to Abby.

"I will get you bulletproof glass" he quickly promised, seeing the nervousness in Abby's eyes.

Abby's strained smile faded into a dark frown.

"There's no such thing, Gibbs" she sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Okay" Gibbs amended, plucking a small shard of glass from her hair, "Bullet-resistant glass".

Abby let out a dry chuckle, before she frowned thoughtfully. A feeling of dread had settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Gibbs... when Ari fired from that rooftop today... I know the wind hit the bullet off course but... he wasn't aiming at you, was he?" she guessed, sounding grim.

Abby prayed she wasn't right in what she was thinking, but at the same time, she knew she was.

"... No" Gibbs said solemnly.

"He was aiming at Kate?" Abby closed her eyes in dread, "Wasn't he?"

She sometimes hated being right.

"We think so" Gibbs confirmed darkly.

"When that bullet came through the window just now, me and Kate were hugging... we were right next to each other" Abby informed him.

"Abby, I was walking by that window when he fired" Gibbs quickly told her, wanting to assure her that she wasn't in any danger, even if that was a lie. Because his gut was telling him that Ari hadn't just aimed at Kate.

He'd been aiming at Abby as well.

Gibbs was sure of it.

"That doesn't mean anything" Abby shook her head grimly, "What the hell is this bastard's problem? Why can't he just leave Kate alone?!"

"You said it yourself" Gibbs shrugged, "He's a bastard".

His heart warmed at the fact that Abby wasn't even worried about herself right now. Her focus was entirely on her friend. She really was far too sweet for her own good.

"We can't let him hurt her Gibbs" Abby pleaded, "We can't let him steal a member of our family from us".

"He won't" Gibbs quickly swore, "I won't let him Abby, I promise. I'll keep everyone safe. I'll keep you safe, Abby".

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, inside though he was bubbling with anger, and if possible, even more guilt.

First Kate had almost died.

Now Abby was attacked in her own lab.

And it was entirely his fault!

But he wasn't going to allow Ari to get away with this.

Going after Kate was one thing. As hard as it was, Kate was an agent, and being shot at went with the job. She knew she had to lay her life on the line, just like she'd reminded him earlier. But Abby was an innocent. She didn't deserve to be looking over her shoulder in fear.

Gibbs swore to himself, there and then, that he was not going to allow her to become a casualty in this war he'd gotten them into.

Kate and Abby had wanted to get started on trying to find any form of evidence they could use against Ari in some way as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Gibbs insisted that their statements of the incident in the lab were a priority instead. Once those were done though, Kate and Abby, as well as McGee, were all down in the evidence locker, examining the car.

Well, Abby was doing most of the work. Kate and McGee were just there to help her out.

Abby was leant over into the trunk of the car so that her bum was up in the air, and McGee was stood directly behind her, making no attempt to at least try and be subtle as he looked at her backside. Kate, who was around the front of the car, examining some of the damage done there, scoffed when she noticed what he was doing.

"My god, McGee!" she cried, and McGee jumped in surprise, "Don't you think you could at least keep your tongue from hanging out?"

McGee's face turned scarlet.

"Oho!" Abby chortled, head still in the trunk, "Like what you see McGee?"

Amusement laced her tone.

Kate smirked.

"No!" McGee cried quickly, before his eyes widened, "I mean... yes... I mean... damn it!"

"Stick to computers McGee" Kate chuckled, "Situations involving actual people still seem too much for you".

"Gee thanks" McGee scowled indignantly.

Kate smiled sweetly back at him.

"Aha!" Abby cried victoriously, "Guys, take a look at this! I think... it's a .308... can one of you get me an evidence jar?" Abby grunted, still in the trunk.

Her arm was bent back towards McGee. In her hand was a pair of pliers, and pinched between the pliers was a bullet that Abby had recovered from within the framework of the car. McGee, glad for the change of subject, picked up an evidence jar and held it under the bullet.

"Drop it" he instructed.

Abby did so and the bullet fell into the evidence jar, which McGee then sealed. He just couldn't help himself though. Before he knew it, his eyes were back to staring at Abby's butt. Kate scoffed loudly.

"If you don't stop that, I'm going to have to get name-badges for everyone" she joked.

"Huh?" McGee blinked in confusion.

"Why?" Abby's voice asked from within the trunk.

"Yeah" Kate nodded seriously, though her lips twitched, "So I can tell Tony and McGee apart".

"Very funny" McGee snapped.

"She has a point" a new voice entered the conversation.

All three of them jumped in surprise. Abby grunted as she bumped her head within the trunk. McGee and Kate looked around to see Gibbs standing directly behind McGee, a disapproving frown on his face. McGee began stuttering, but no words escaped his lips. Gibbs continued frowning at him.

He was already rather pissed off.

He had just come from autopsy. Although he wasn't really needed right now, Ducky had come in to offer his support to his friends during this horrible game Ari had started playing. The medical examiner had wondered aloud exactly what had turned Ari into such a sadist. Gibbs had naturally replied that he didn't care and just wanted to kill him, before storming off in a huff.

So to come here, and find McGee taking more interest in Abby's ass than the case, it was just the cherry on the iced cake.

McGee looked down-right terrified under the glare Gibbs was giving him. Kate bit her lip to refrain from laughing. Being caught in a situation like that by Gibbs was almost the same thing as being caught in one by your parents.

"I found another one!" Abby called, unknowingly bailing McGee out.

"Boss, uh, we, we, we, we found a .308 slug" he stammered out.

"Two McGee" Kate corrected, "Abby just said she found another one".

"Kate's right" Abby said as she pulled herself out of the trunk, "They were plugged in the trunk".

Kate walked around to join the others at the back of the car, and handed Abby another evidence jar. Abby deposited her second find into it.

"These fired by that dirt-bag in the warehouse?" Gibbs wanted to know, looking at another two jars with more bullets in them.

"Yes. Those, I found in the right side of the car" Abby nodded, pointing out the gunshot holes where she had recovered them from, "Nine mill. Slugs".

"We think that Ari missed with his first shot, but managed to hit the jammer on his second shot" Kate told him their theory.

"Sounds likely" Gibbs agreed with a nod, before turning to McGee, "Where were you before you took cover?"

McGee walked around the car and crouched down where he had been when he had taken fire at the warehouse. Gibbs crouched beside him, looking at a bullet hole near McGee's head. Kate stood over them, almost watching it happen in her mind's eye.

Apparently fate hadn't just favoured her today.

McGee was damn lucky to be alive.

"Uh, right here" McGee stated, eyeing the bullet hole nervously.

They were all silent for a moment. All of them were thinking the same terrible thing.

How many people was Ari trying to kill today?!

"Tony's right" Gibbs eventually broke the silence, "You do owe that terrorist a thank you".

As Gibbs stood up to his full height again, the elevator doors dinged open and Tony walked out, heading straight to Gibbs.

"He didn't police his brass again" he immediately informed them.

"We got another casing?" Kate arched her eyebrows.

"Metro PD found a .308 casing in the park next to tire tracks" Tony nodded.

"What the hell is Ari playing at?" Kate shook her head, "First he lures us all to that warehouse. Then he almost kills me and McGee. Then he fires into Abby's lab... and all the whilst he's leaving evidence behind for us to find? Why?"

"You said it yourself, he's playing with us" Gibbs growled angrily.

"I know but... it's like he wants us to find him... it's like he wants this over as much as we do" Kate thought aloud.

They all exchanged dark glances.

"Hey" Gibbs got their attention.

Kate, Tony, Abby, and McGee all turned to their fearless leader.

"What Ari wants doesn't matter" Gibbs reminded them, "What matters is that we all stick together and find him, fast. Right?"

"Right, Boss" Tony answered him promptly.

Kate, McGee, and Abby all nodded seriously.

"So, you tell Metro PD to bring the evidence here?" Gibbs directed at Tony.

"I was waiting for you to tell me to tell them that" Tony replied smugly.

Kate frowned thoughtfully. His lips had twitched. A tale-tell sign with Tony that he was lying. Why the hell was he lying?

Gibbs glared at Tony, looking deeply annoyed.

"What?" Gibbs said coolly, unimpressed, "I have to tell you that, DiNozzo?"

"You always do" Tony shrugged cockily.

"Tell Metro PD to..." Gibbs started before Tony spoke over him.

"Already did, boss" Tony said with bravado.

He even had the gall to wink. Kate was forced to admire his courage. She doubted Gibbs would allow even Abby to get away with that.

Gibbs' eyes flashed angrily, but he didn't reply. He just gave Tony the 'Gibbs-Look'.

"Oh, and by the way, the director wants to see you up in MTAC" Tony smirked cockily at their boss.

Again, Gibbs looked annoyed by Tony's attitude, but he didn't comment on it. Instead he stomped into the elevator and the doors slammed shut.

Tony turned around.

Abby was frowning at him. McGee looked confused by his behaviour. Kate was looking at him with an expression close to fascination.

"Okay... that was a lot of... 'Tony'... even for you" Kate eventually said, "Wanna explain what that whole performance was about?"

"What performance?" Tony tried to play the innocent.

"Tony?" Kate's eyebrows rose up her head.

"Well, you know... all the world's a stage" Tony sniggered at the quote.

Abby rolled her eyes.

"Tony, quit dodging and tell us why you were baiting Gibbs?" she demanded to know.

Tony grinned widely at all three of them.

"I'm trying to get him to stop being nice" he replied without hesitation.

"Well, if anyone can put Gibbs back in a bad mood, I agree that you're the best man for the job" Kate said playfully.

"Wow! You and me agreeing on something?!" Tony gasped in mock-surprise, "I thought this day would never come!"

Kate couldn't help but laugh. She had to hand it to Tony, sometimes his humour really was uplifting. She certainly felt better than she had before.

"I like him nice" McGee suddenly noted aloud.

Kate and Tony looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them using just their eyes, before they agreed on what action must be taken.

They simultaneously slapped McGee around the head.

When Gibbs entered the dark MTAC room, he was met with the sight of a desert mountain landscape on the main screen. To the side of the room by the computers were several people, and Director Morrow was sat watching the screen in one of the chairs. Gibbs slowly deposited himself into the chair next to his boss.

"What do you have?" Morrow asked, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point.

Under the circumstances, Gibbs appreciated it. Now wasn't the time to beat around the bush. It was the time for action.

"Brass from Ari's sniper's nest. Three bullets" Gibbs informed him quietly, so he wouldn't disturb the other people working in the room, "Tire tracks in Anacostia Park, where he fired a shot across the river into our forensics lab".

"Unusual for a sniper not to police his brass, isn't it?" Morrow wondered aloud.

"Yes, sir" Gibbs confirmed grimly.

He believed that Kate was right in her suspicions about that. Ari was playing games with them. Leaving clues for them to find.

The bastard.

"I've received calls from every director I know, promising to hunt down this sniper as if he'd tried to murder one of their own" Morrow told him.

"FBI might be the most help" Gibbs said, resisting the urge to scoff. The day one of the other agencies went out of their way to help NCIS would be the day that he got a masters degree in computers, "Ari Haswari is their mole".

"According to your after-action report, no one actually saw the sniper who tried to take out Agent Todd" Morrow commented.

Gibbs rolled his eyes in annoyance. Morrow was obviously trying to hint that there was no proof that it was Ari. Who else could it be though?

And... why?

"Ari was on a rooftop 600 metres away" Gibbs informed him, not playing into it.

"Extraordinary shot" Morrow observed.

"No, sir, not really" Gibbs growled out stiffly.

After all, that shot had almost landed one of his people in autopsy, and there was nothing extraordinary about that to him.

"You were a sniper with the Corps, weren't you?" Morrow asked curiously.

He knew that he'd touched a nerve by saying that, so he quickly changed the subject. The last thing Morrow needed was an angry Gibbs right now. Especially considering how important today was for the agency.

"Two tours" Gibbs nodded in confirmation, resisting the urge to smirk.

Did Morrow really think Gibbs wasn't picking up on all of this?

"Vietnam?" Morrow asked, and Gibbs chuckled.

"I'm not that old, sir" he said in amusement, before he corrected Morrow, "Panama and Desert Storm".

"Thought you were older" Morrow chuckled.

They registered that the other people in the room were suddenly more much tense than a second ago, and paused their conversation to observe what was happening.

"Target vehicle approaching" a woman in the front row reported, "We have a hard lock".

Gibbs arched a grey eyebrow, intrigued.

"Target confirmed. Engage. Weapon free" a man typing at the computer stated into his headset.

"Good lock on target" another man said.

Gibbs watched as on the screen, a large vehicle was blown to pieces in a smoking ball of fire and ash. The other people in the room began cheering and congratulating each other. Gibbs turned back to Morrow expectantly. He hadn't known there were any such missions on the agenda at the moment.

It was usually the kind of thing he heard about.

"Highly classified" Morrow said before he could even ask, and Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Where was I?"

Gibbs smirked.

"Avoiding using Ari's name and the word sniper in the same sentence... sir" he sneered, unable to help himself.

Morrow sighed, the first signs of frustration flashing across his face.

"Your anger is understandable, Jethro" Morrow sympathised, "Two of your people were almost killed today. Agent Todd in particular is lucky to be alive. You want to make sure it can't happen again".

"Damn right I do" Gibbs growled.

"Plus you want payback" Morrow observed, his mouth a very tight line by this point.

Gibbs' glare only intensified.

"Don't you sir?" he couldn't help but challenge.

Morrow let out a tired sigh. He suddenly seemed rather old in that moment.

"It's a passion I can't afford" Morrow shook his head, tone very honest.

That might be true, but revenge was one luxury that Gibbs could afford, and damn it, he was going to make Ari pay for this. One way or another.

"You honestly think it wasn't Ari?" Gibbs couldn't help but ask.

"No, but there are those who do" Morrow reminded him bluntly.

This time Gibbs couldn't refrain from scoffing loudly.

"Those who ran him" Gibbs gloated smugly, having been right about Ari all along, "Those who thought they had the Holy Grail of moles. Those people covering their asses right now".

His voice rose in volume with every word. Several people in the room were now staring at him nervously. Morrow remained unfazed.

"You just make sure that you cover yours when you bring him in" he warned the irritated agent.

"Won't be a problem, sir" Gibbs flashed him a twisted mockery of a smile, "Because I won't be bringing him in".

His voice left precious little room for argument.

Perhaps Morrow sensed that, for once again, he changed the subject. Gibbs smirked at the small victory. Like hell was anybody, no matter how much their suit cost them, going to stand in his way this time.

Ari had raised the stakes and Gibbs would match them.

This had to stop.

"Anyway, you're not my problem anymore, Jethro" Morrow's voice dragged Gibbs back to the present.

Gibbs turned to see his boss stand up from his chair.

"You firing me, sir?" Gibbs asked, voice laced with amusement.

Morrow smirked but shook his head.

"I've been offered a Deputy Director's position at Homeland Security" he informed NCIS' finest agent.

"You'd leave NCIS, sir?" Gibbs gawked at him incredulously.

"Well, the agency could use some younger blood" Morrow reasoned fairly.

"Well, who'd be replacing you, sir?" Gibbs asked curiously.

Morrow just stared silently at him. Gibbs felt a feeling of dread overtake him.

"Not me!" Gibbs quickly cried.

Like hell would he allow himself to be chained to a desk all day!

Morrow let out a long, hard laugh at his reaction.

"As much as I like you, Jethro, I would not shoot NCIS in the head" he sniggered, actually sniggered, before saying loudly and much more seriously - "He's your problem now, Director".

Gibbs craned his neck to see who Morrow was talking too. He was momentarily surprised to see he was talking to a woman. A woman with red hair.

She turned around to face him... and Gibbs' jaw dropped wide open.

His heart stopped.

His brain froze.

His eyes glazed over as a barrage of memories overwhelmed him for a second. The woman... Gibbs knew her... oh, so well.

The woman had her red hair tied back in a tight bun, and she was wearing a sharp black suit. Her face was pretty and her eyes were dark, but despite her obvious beauty, her seemed... tense. And not just because of her new job. She forced herself to smile warmly at Gibbs.

God, she had missed him.

"Hello, Jethro" she greeted him, eyes sparkling.

It had been a long time since she'd last clapped eyes on him, and whilst some things were different, most things weren't. She was extremely glad.

It would be FAR too weird if Gibbs wasn't so... Gibbs anymore.

Gibbs' mouth hung open, his mind racing back to when they had last crossed paths, several years ago in Paris, where things had got… heated between them… and their sheets.

"Should we skip the 'you haven't changed a bit' bull?" she couldn't help but smirk when he failed to reply, so entranced was he.

Her light teasing was enough to snap him out of his stunned state.

"Why start lying to each other now, Jen?" his face lit up with a bright grin, and for a moment, he was able to forget his current troubles.

"Any problem taking orders from me?" the woman, Jen, or Jenny as everyone but Gibbs called her, wanted to know.

"As director or as a woman?" Gibbs answered with a question of his own.

Jenny smirked. That answer was just so typical of Gibbs.

"Either" she replied simply.

Gibbs shook his head. He had no real problem taking orders from her or anyone. Mostly because half the time he didn't even follow them. But he wouldn't take Jenny's word to mean any less than anyone else's. She deserved better than that after all.

"It was six years ago. The past won't be a problem" he assured her, and Jenny looked relieved, "You were a damn good agent. Especially undercover" he complimented her, walking over and smiling down at her.

"Jethro" Jenny couldn't help smiling up at him.

She had always admired Gibbs greatly. To have his approval, for him to be proud of her, well, it meant an awful lot to Jenny.

"Madam Director" he looked down at her, pride burning in his eyes.

Jenny was one of the best agents Gibbs had ever worked with, and he was proud to have been the one to teach her a lot of the things she knew, to have seen her grow into the magnificent woman she was today.

He was pleased for his old partner; she had done well for herself.

But Gibbs couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit nervous by her sudden reappearance in his life again. On the one hand, knowing your director so well was a plus because it meant you could have back-up with the top brass. On the other, it was a disadvantage because they knew you well enough to know when you're bullshitting and would come down on you harder than a tonne of bricks.

One thing was for certain though.

Gibbs would have his game set and matched with Jenny Shepard on his back.

And that's the cut-off point : )

This ended up being much longer than I'd hoped for. To be honest, I really wanted to axe that scene at the end since Kate isn't in it and the scene hasn't changed much, but I thought since it was Morrow's last scene as director, and it was Jenny's introduction scene, it was much too important to get rid of : )

Also, before someone asks, Kate is not going to be awarded the Medal of Freedom in this story like she was in canon. I'm sorry, but I just don't see Gibbs going as far as to do that when Kate didn't die in this universe I'm writing. I'm sorry if that upsets people, but I just think there are better opportunities for me to take that route with her character in the future.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter : ) I should probably have the next one up next Saturday, if not earlier. I'm aiming to have a least one chapter up a week until I get this story caught up with my other stories : )

Until the next time, keep on reading : )