"Probie."
McGee kept his eyes closed and said, "Go away, Tony."
"Come on! I need some help bringing breakfast."
"Then ask Ziva or Brittany." He lifted his head and looked at him.
Tony looked over at Ziva sleeping on her desk and Brittany sleeping against Ziva's desk. "Are you kidding? Wake Ziva? I don't know how Brittany is, but she might react the same way."
"Well, what about Millie?" They both looked at the unoccupied desk that Millie was sleeping against.
"Probie, I wake any of these girls and there could be physical harm. I don't have a death wish."
"Fine." McGee stood up and straightened his jacket. "But you're driving."
"Fine by me." Tony grabbed the keys and went to wait for the elevator. McGee followed behind him. The doors opened and Gibbs stepped out with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
"Where are you guys going?"
"We are going to go pick up breakfast for everyone," McGee said.
Tony motioned toward the bullpen as he spoke. "The girls are sleeping."
Gibbs nodded. "Hurry back." The boys quickly got in the elevator. Gibbs walked into the bullpen and couldn't help but smile at the sight of the girls. He sat down and started to work on the computer.
A little while later, Millie rubbed her eyes and looked around. She glanced down at her watch before she noticed Gibbs at his desk. "Morning, Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs glanced at Millie. "Good morning."
Millie looked over at Brittany. "I've never seen her so relaxed."
"Why do you say that?"
She looked over at him again. "She has been really stressed, like something is bothering her. She won't tell anyone, not even me. Even when she would fall asleep while we were working on a case, she still looked likely something was weighing on her. Something about being here has her less stressed out than she usually is." Gibbs watched Brittany sleep.
"How long has she been like this?"
"Since I have known her. I've tried to get her to talk about it with someone, but she doesn't like to open up. It's not a trust thing. She's just . . ." Millie struggled to find the right word.
"Scared?" Millie nodded.
"Yeah, that's it. Scared." The elevator door rang as Tony and McGee stepped out of the car. Tony set the coffee on his desk and McGee put the food on his.
"Sorry it took so long. I had to guess what you and Brittany wanted." Tony handed Gibbs and Millie coffee. She nodded and murmured a thank you before taking a sip of her coffee. Ziva woke up when she smelled it and glared at Tony before he gave in and handed her a cup.
"Thank you, Tony," Ziva said. She graciously took the wrap that McGee handed her. Brittany rubbed her eyes and stretched.
"I smell coffee."
"Here." Millie grabbed a cup from Tony and handed it to her.
"We had to guess what you guys wanted. Yours, Brittany, is similar to what Sarah usually liked," Tony explained.
"We also got breakfast." McGee handed the girls some food.
"Where's mine, McChef?"
McGee threw a tray at him. "Here's yours."
Brittany took a hesitant sip. She let out a small, satisfied sigh. She looked up at Tony.
"What is this?"
He scratched the back of his head. "It's actually a toffeenut latte. It happened to be Sarah's favorite."
Brittany nodded. "It's good." She stared at the cup of coffee in her hand. Gibbs noticed the reminiscent-like look on her face. She snapped out of it when she noticed him staring at her. She stood up and grabbed a file from behind her. "So, what have we got?"
"I found a security tape near the warehouse," McGee played the video. "Only two people are seen on the tape before Brittany, Petty Officer Branson and," he paused the tape and enlarged the face, "this guy. He is seen leaving the building also."
Millie moved to a computer and pulled up her files. "I know this guy." She searched through her online files and stared at the screen as the photos flashed by.
"Is there any way we can run him through some database?" Brittany asked McGee.
"Abby is running it now."
Millie raised her hands in the air. "I found it. He was on our suspect list. His name was Dustin Grady. We talked to him before about some of the other killings. He claimed he was innocent."
"I remember him! We didn't have enough to hold Grady," Brittany added. "He claims to have an alibi for the murders. We can't seem to corroborate his claims though. He had motive for some of the killings. The rest we were thinking were just random."
McGee started writing down the address he had just found. "I've got an address for him." He pulled it off the sticky note pad and handed it to Brittany. She looked at the address.
"Ziva, go with her. Talk to him again." Brittany and Ziva grabbed their jackets and gear and headed to the elevator. Gibbs turned to Tony. "DiNozzo, get a warrant. They'll need one to look around."
"On it, boss."
"McGee, Millie, look into those alibis. I want them all verified."
Millie pushed her chair by McGee's. "Where do you want to start?" She handed him a copy of the list. McGee scanned the list.
"Come on. Let's start here." He forwarded a picture of Dustin to his phone while Millie grabbed her jacket. She walked to the elevator and waited for McGee to grab his gear before she stepped on the car.
Brittany stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her. She waited for Ziva to walk over to where she stood and stared at the house in front of her. It was a small, one-story house that looked neglected.
"It doesn't look like he takes care of his house," Ziva said.
"He got it from his mother after she died," Brittany said. "He doesn't stay here often so I'm not sure if he will be here." She got to the front door and knocked. "Dustin Grady! We need to talk!" They heard footsteps approach the door and stop. The door swung open and revealed Dustin. Dustin was of medium height and medium build. His dark hair looked unkept, but his dark eyes seemed outraged when he recognized Brittany.
"I thought you cleared me, Officer Madison."
"I didn't exactly clear you. You're still a suspect, Dustin."
"Dustin, where were you yesterday morning?" Ziva asked.
"Who are you, lady?"
"Ziva David, NCIS." She showed him her ID. "Would you answer the question?"
"I would do that if I were you, Dustin," Brittany whispered.
He shrugged. "I was here, all day."
"Then how come you were caught on camera yesterday morning in the warehouse district?"
"Look Officer Madison, I am innocent. Do you hear me? I haven't done anything. I was getting a package for a friend in the warehouse district but that's it. I swear." He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back. "Is that all or do you need to harass me with any other silly questions?"
Brittany leaned against the door frame. "Yeah. Your alibis for the other murders are pretty shotty. Want to explain that?" Dustin tried to shut the door. Ziva caught it before it shut and glared at him.
"We can arrest you," Ziva said.
"Then get a warrant, but good luck. They tried that already. You can ask Officer Madison how that worked out." He slammed the door on them. The girls turned and headed for the car. Brittany sighed.
"Well, he seems nice," Ziva said. Brittany couldn't suppress a small laugh.
Millie looked up and noticed Ziva and Brittany walk into the bullpen. She made eye contact with them and smiled.
"Any luck?" Brittany shook her head.
"He refused to talk with us again. He's hiding something still."
Tony slammed the phone on the receiver. "It's a slow day in the courts today. Still haven't gotten the warrant yet."
"How long until we can get that warrant?" Brittany asked.
"Maybe tomorrow morning at the earliest. My connection in the DA's office can't get it to go any faster. But it is Friday, so it might not get through until Monday."
"Do you guys have any warrants for his records and accounts?" McGee asked them. Brittany and Millie looked at one another.
"Are they still valid?" Millie asked. "We got them a month ago."
"They should be," Brittany said.
"Try it." Millie pushed a chair towards McGee's desk.
"What did you guys find?" Brittany asked the younger agents. They looked up. "Did the alibis check out?"
McGee shook his head. "We tried every place that was open. His alibis didn't check out."
"That means he is still a good suspect," Ziva concluded. "We might need to go back."
"As soon as my buddy in the DA's office pulls through."
Brittany sighed and sat down. She looked around the bullpen and noticed someone missing. "Where's Gibbs?"
"Probably getting coffee," Tony said.
"Hopefully you all found something in the midst of your leisure time," Gibbs said as he walked in. They scrambled back to their desks and continued to work on the case. Brittany looked up and watched Gibbs, curious as to what he would do next. He met her gaze. She sent him a knowing look before turning back to the computer and the task in front of her. He was suspicious of her, and she could see it. She knew she would have to tell him sometime, but right now was not it.
Brittany was editing a document on the computer. She noticed Gibbs watching her from the other side of the bullpen and closed the document down. She pulled up the case file and tried to sift through the digital evidence once more.
"What was that you had open?" She turned and noticed Gibbs next to her desk now.
"It's nothing. Just something I've been working on in my spare time." Gibbs nodded but didn't seem to buy the response. He made his way back to his desk and opened the case on his computer.
Brittany cursed to herself. She had to be careful about what she let slip about her. She couldn't drop too many hints, or she knew the director would transfer out of D.C. and she did not want to leave the city. She loved the place too much.
"Hey Brittany." She turned toward McGee. "Thanks for that upgrade."
"No problem. I thought the newer software version was much better. It's what I use on my PC at the CIA." He sat at his desk and looked through a folder.
She looked around. The three of them were the only ones left. Everyone else had gone home for the night, since there wasn't much else that they could do. And it was Saturday tomorrow. Everyone was ready for a break. She turned and grabbed her gear.
"I'm going to head home for the night." She stood up and started for the elevator.
"Brittany, didn't you have something you wanted me to read?" McGee asked her.
"I almost forgot!" She put her bag down and pulled out a thin folder. She handed the folder to him with a smile. "I really appreciate this."
"It's not a problem."
"Good night, Tim, Gibbs." She picked up her bag and left. Gibbs turned to McGee and looked at him strangely.
"What's that?"
"It's a small part of a story she wanted me to review for her." McGee glanced down at it. "I told her I didn't mind looking through it for her, since she is helping us with this case, after all." He opened the folder and started reading the pages. The bullpen fell into a comfortable silence. "Uh, Boss. Brittany's style is similar to Sarah's."
Gibbs stood up and walked over. "Let me see."
McGee handed it to him. "Writers can have similarities in style but no two are completely identical. Brittany's style is very similar to Sarah's but a little more mature. There are really only two ways that happens. She studied with Sarah, or she is Sarah. But I doubt that she is Sarah. I mean, we saw her die."
Gibbs looked up from the page. "This does seem close." He pulled out Sarah's last notebook and looked at the last page she had written on. "Look." He gave McGee the folder and the notebook. He quickly read them.
"They are close. She must've known Sarah better than she said." He looked at the cover of the notebook. "I'm not surprised you kept this, Boss. I figured someone would." Gibbs took the notebook back and placed it back in his desk where he carefully stored it. He often found himself pulling it out and reading the words she wrote on the worn pages.
"Why don't you go get some rest, Tim? Everyone else has already left for the weekend and you deserve some."
McGee nodded. "Good night, Boss." He put the folder in his backpack and left for the night.
Gibbs once again pulled out the notebook. He glanced at the last sentence on the page, wondering if Sarah ever knew that was the last time that she would ever write her stories. He closed it and took it with him as he left for the night, but the last sentence still lingered in his mind.
"Although her body was gone, her spirit and her memory lived on with her friends, forever in their minds until the day that she was joined by their presence in another life."