Chapter 17
Unable to wait any longer, Abby turned to the two directors. “Excuse me, sirs. But I think we really need to get started on this debriefing. We’re all on edge here. If we can get this op going, maybe we’ll all be able to take a breath. I, for one, am nervous as heck. Can you explain to me how this is going to go down and what will be required of me? Like, who am I going to be if I can’t be Abby?” Abby asked not only for herself, but for the man next to her who had quickly become such an important person in her life. She needed to make sure that he was going to be all right. And right now, he was coming apart, the edges of his psyche fraying.
Martin looked over at Tom. “Debriefing before we coordinate the rest? Tobias? Jet? You boys doing okay?”
Gibbs shrugged one shoulder in a jerky motion. He didn’t trust himself to speak much right now. “Fine,” he finally said, turning his hand over and reaching for Abby’s. He needed her support and stability at the moment.
Pulling up his hand, she kissed his knuckles, trying to let him know she was there for him. “We can do whatever you guys want; debrief, coordinate. Doesn’t really matter at this point. But it’s been a day from hell, even if there were some good parts,” she said, rubbing Jet’s hand with her thumb. “And I think it’ll be best if we finish what we started. I mean, I’m leaving my life behind for who knows how long. And Jet’s been slammed between two worlds.”
Martin studied Jet’s expression and realized just how far gone he was. “Jethro,” he said quietly in concern. “Tom, is there anywhere he can be alone for fifteen minutes, maybe a half hour. We need to get everyone’s statements organized and I trust Abby to give us her version of the events. If we start with Jet, he can decompress alone somewhere quiet, maybe your MTAC area.”
Seeing what his friend was concerned about, Morrow stated, “Sure, he can go anywhere he needs to within the agency. I’ll open it up to him. MTAC has agents in it currently, but plenty of dark seating where he can be alone. There’s also my office. Or…”
“My lab,” Abby offered, interrupting. “Sorry, Director. I meant to say, there’s also my lab. It’s got a futon, candles if he needs them, music…and not just the stuff I work with. Relaxing music too. But MTAC or your office is good too…” she said, stuttering to a stop.
“Her lab,” Jet agreed. He just wanted to decompress without an audience. “What do you need to know? Do you want to do this with the other agents in here to refute anything I might have forgotten?” Or misrepresented, he added silently.
Martin angled a glance over to Tom. He might be the director of the larger agency, but this was Tom’s office and Tom’s operation to lead right now. In truth, Martin should have stayed away and would have if he hadn’t been close friends with Jethro for many years. And Tom.
“No, the agents can go wait in the hall. We’ll start with you, and then Franks. Abby will follow, then we’ll call the boys from downstairs. Martin, do you want Fornell in here, since he, I assume, was running your op?”
Getting up, Abby said, “I’ll be in my lab, getting it ready for Gibbs. When I’m done, I’ll come back for my debriefing. Is that all right, Director?” She put a hand on Gibbs’ shoulder, squeezing as she smiled down at him.
“Fine, Abby. Just don’t take too long.”
Mike grumbled but stood as well. “Be at my desk. Call me, sir.” He emphasized the sir before he walked out.
Walking alongside Franks, Abby asked hesitantly, “You okay? Are we okay?” knowing he hated the idea of her and Gibbs being ‘friendly.’
“We’re fine, Abby,” Mike said but the tone of his voice made it clear that he was still a bit upset with her.
“No, we’re not. You’re still cranky. What is it Mike? Spill it ‘cause I’m not going to deal with your grumpy, silent treatment,” Abby demanded, as she stopped in front of him, hands on her hips. Even though she had a lot to do to prepare the lab for Jet, Mike was still a very vital part of her world, and she had to make sure they really were okay.
“Then don’t deal with me,” Mike shot back, knowing he was hurting her feelings, but unable to stop himself. “Go get the lab ready for loverboy, Girlie.” It was very immature and unprofessional of him, but he couldn’t stop it. He’d been so worried about Abby and the more it seemed unfounded, the more annoyed he got.
Abby gasped in pain at his words, her eyes tearing up. Not trusting herself to say anything, she turned away, practically running to the elevator.
Mike blinked a few times, aware of how much he’d hurt her and started after her before he shook his head and walked to his desk, feeling a lot of years older than he was.
~*~
Gibbs watched Abby leave, feeling a little alone, as silly and stupid as that was.
“Want me to start then?” When Martin nodded, Gibbs began speaking. “Got there at the appointed time, was doing this one completely alone. I looked around, found Abby. She seemed to stand out.” He gave both men a thin slightly ironic smile.
“I made contact, sure her necklace was going to draw the attention of the wrong person. We sipped champagne and I led her off into an alcove. We…” he trailed off, a little uncomfortable despite his years on the job.
“We connected. Then she hit me with a stun gun.” Gibbs displayed the marks. “And I went down. When I woke up, she was gone and the two young guys were there. We all postured a lot and they brought me to their van.
He waited for any cue to continue. When Martin nodded, he spoke again. “Ziva and the young guy…Tim? Covered me in the van. I was Mirandized and no charges were given, then I was brought here after Abby stopped by the back of the van to have a little chat.” He gave the men another small smile.
“I was brought here, Special Agent Franks introduced himself. Still no charges read. I was brought to interrogation where Abby came and fingerprinted me and then Franks came in with fists blazing. He had the case right but got my involvement in it wrong…”
He trailed off, waiting for anyone to speak.
“And you didn’t, at any point, during the posturing or when Franks attacked you, think to announce yourself or ask for Fornell?” Though he knew, from Martin, that Gibbs was under orders not to reveal himself, Morrow needed to know if that was his actual motive behind Gibbs’ actions.
Fornell moved to interrupt, to tell Morrow exactly how his ops were run, but was halted with a look from the director. Maybe Morrow knew; it would be standard interrogation to question all aspects of a person’s motivation and actions.
Martin watched his man, staying absolutely quiet but gesturing for Tobias to settle down.
“I’m in deep, sir. Under orders to take whatever was dished out without revealing myself. Only if there was a potentially lethal amount of force was I given orders to break cover. That wasn’t the case here. A stun gun, bruises, maybe a mild concussion. Your men are out of control, but I’m not lying in a morgue, am I?” Gibbs couldn’t help but be a little sarcastic.
Turning serious, he let his voice drop. “Nothing causes me to break cover, sir.” Even the lethal force might not if it had a chance of him getting answers. It was why he was damn good at what he did.
“That’s good to know, Special Agent Gibbs. Now I need you to tell me something, something that matters even more to me than this op. What are your intentions with Abby? And what will you do to protect her if I allow her to go on this undercover op with you? She’s like my daughter, Gibbs. Abby has sacrificed enough already for this mission. I need to know, I need to make sure that you’re going to be man enough to protect my girl.”
He leaned forward, composing his answer carefully. “I don’t know. Wherever this bond between us leads.” He spoke with complete honesty, unwilling to give the man any falsehoods. “Want to explore this.”
The other part of the director’s question was easy to answer. “I’ll protect and guard her with my life. That is not only a promise but a vow.”
Director Morrow met Agent Gibbs’s stare with his own, searching the man’s eyes for something, anything that would indicate he would bend under the pressure the op would put on him. “And you vouch for him, Martin? You’d stake your life, your family’s life on him?”
“Yes,” Martin said simply. “I’d trust him with my life and my family’s lives, Tom. He’s one of the best agents I’ve ever known.”
Seeing what he needed in the agent’s eyes, Morrow nodded leaning back. “Then I’ll trust you with Abby’s. I have nothing more for you Agent Gibbs. Martin? Fornell? Do you have anything you wish to discuss with him?
Martin shook his head. “Take some time, Jethro. Get your mind back into Jet Brooks. And his estranged wife. It’ll take us a few hours to nail out the details but I don’t see why we couldn’t send you and Abby to the suite after all the debriefing. Your guards cum personal assistants can bring her paperwork over and we’ll get a complete wardrobe organized as soon as the stores open in the morning.”
Wheels started turning in Martin’s mind and he nodded and smiled. “We may be able to work this out as his estranged wife who came to the party. We’ll have to check with Abby to ascertain what happened and see if we can work that out.”
Martin looked over at Tobias, wondering if he had anything to add.
Taking his cue from the director, Fornell approached his friend and agent. “And you’re sure, Gibbs, you’re ready to go back in? Do you think your cover is still secure? I know the agents took you out furtively, no one being aware of your capture. If you are sure about your security, than I have no problem in putting you back in.”
“I’m ready, sir. We need to get answers on both ops. Abby can brief me on the other op, right?”
Nodding in agreement, Morrow said, “Then I will endorse the mission, Special Agent Gibbs, and put whatever support you and the FBI deem necessary behind you and Abby. Your support guard, your assistants, will more than likely end up being our agents, probably Special Agents DiNozzo and McGee. If you approve of those choices, and after we debrief them as well, this group will see about adding them to the equation. Otherwise, you are free to go, Gibbs,” he finished, standing up.
Holding out his hand, he added, “Go regroup, center yourself in Abby’s lab. No doubt, she’s had it set up for you by now.” As soon as he left, Morrow had plans to call down to Franks for the next step in the debriefing.
Gibbs stood, looking at Toby for a long moment, knowing they wouldn’t be in good contact for a while. He paused a moment and then gave Toby a tight hug. “Take care of our girls, Tobias. Tell Emily we’re going to have a great time when we see each other again.”
Letting his friend go, Gibbs stepped back and took a breath. He started to reach for Martin’s hand but then gave him a briefer hug than Toby’s but no less heartfelt. “Thanks for your faith in me, Martin.”
“Take care of yourself, my friend.” Martin said quietly, knowing that the quiet time was at an end.
“I will,” Gibbs promised, extending his hand to shake the other director’s hand. “Abby will be in safe hands, sir. And I will work alongside your other agents without any problems. I understand that I answer to you.”
“Yes, you will be, Gibbs. I look forward to following your progress. And I will hold you to your protection of Abby. In order to continue the smoothness of transition, if something was to happen where I or Martin would need you to break cover again, the phrase you chose to use will stand. And, I apologize for speaking as if you’re not in the room Tobias, that phrase will remain between you and Martin and myself.”
“Understood, sir. I don’t anticipate having to use it.” Gibbs nodded at each of the men, turning and walking away.
“Good agent you have there, Marty,” he commented briefly before picking up the phone near him. Dialing an extension, he barked easily into the phone, “Franks, you’re up.”
“Good marine, good man, Tom. All around good guy.”
~*~
Mike was not in the mood for this. He stalked into the conference room, sat down, and looked at Morrow first then the feebs and back to Morrow. “What can I do for ya, Director?”
“You can start by losing a bit of that attitude. Then you could go into an account of the op you were leading, what went down when that op was set into motion, and ending with your attack and what happened to provoke it, in your mind.”
Even though he’d worked with Special Agent Franks before, Fornell was ticked at the man’s treatment of his agent. Arms crossed over his chest, he waited for the man’s explanation at his almost deviant behavior.
“I can do that, Tom, if ya call off your bulldog there, Special Agent Fornell.” Mike dragged the words out, knowing he was annoying the other man.
“Not a bulldog,” Fornell growled out, but he backed off for the sake of the debriefing.
“You know we’ve been trying to break this drug ring.” Franks threw a sheaf of papers on the table. “Background, tox reports, transcriptions of interviews. Have ‘em copied for each of you when Cynthia gets back from her rendezvous.”
Mike paused, flipping to the page pages of the file. “This event fit the pattern. Seven high ranking officers and at least one dependent each were gonna be there. Abby was sent it as a Marine wife, newly widowed. Last two we sent Ziva in on, nobody even approached her. Boys said she glowered at everyone.”
He paused again. “Abby was our only choice,” he said, his voice deadly serious and firm now. “She went in, wasn’t there more than twenty minutes, McGee and Tony say they lost sight of her and Brooks found her. When they approached, Brooks was unconscious on the ground. Abby came out to me all shook up, lipstick smeared, way too concerned about his well-being. Brought him back here, I knew I’d seen him before, crossed wires on the Pendleton murders and I went in swinging.”
Mike wouldn’t apologize for that. “Thought he was the dirtbag, not the victim’s husband.”
“Even if he had been the man from your previous investigation, why would you go in and punch a handcuffed man, Franks? Yeah, you’re style of interrogation can push the lines of Constitutional rights. But you’d at least had notable provocation. According to both Abby and Ziva, he had done nothing up until that point that warranted your behavior.”
Morrow knew that in the end it was probably protection over Abby that had caused Franks’ break. But for the success of the op and the sake of Abby’s safety, Morrow needed all Franks’ cards on the table before giving the go-ahead.
“Thought he assaulted Abby,” Mike said, growling the words out through gritted teeth. “Abby was shook up, Tom. Like I never saw her before. She wouldn’t come clean with me, just shook and got really quiet. But it was him responsible, even if she didn’t say it, we all knew it. Don’t talk to the girls. Talk to Tony and McGee. They were worried about what he’d done too.”
Mike wasn’t gonna get dressed down in front of the feebs.
“I will speak with who I deem necessary and when I deem it necessary, Special Agent Franks,” Morrow began, not liking that he had to put his most senior field agent in his place in front of the Director of the FBI. He preferred to keep that kind of debriefing under wraps. And despite the fact that he had plans to speak with all of his agents on the case, he did not like to be spoken to the way Mike seemed so readily wanting to.
“Did I miss your promotion above me, Franks? We are not new to investigations, and I am quite sure we can understand heat of the moment reactions, especially from agents new to undercover assignments. What our job is at this point is to determine if you really did believe you had just cause to hit a man who was not able to defend himself, or if you overreacted.”
Mike slapped his hand on the table, angry now. “You heard my explanation, Director! I’m not going to beg for understanding. That isn’t my style.” He met Tom’s eyes for the span of ten seconds before he looked away, folding his arms over his chest and focusing on a spot somewhere about Fornell’s ear.
Didn’t take long before they were kissing the FBI’s ass and he was the odd man out. The irony wasn’t lost on Mike Franks. “Abby, McGee, DiNozzo, Ziva. My agents, Director. NCIS’ op. I don’t want Fornell calling the shots on Abby.”
“My agents,” Morrow corrected, “A joint op with the FBI and NCIS. The plans did not include the FBI running the mission. But if you cannot get your head clear, cannot see to getting your head into a state where you can work with the FBI without your ego getting in the way, I will have no hesitation in setting up Fornell to lead. He had originally been intended to be your second in this situation, reporting only to me and Director Fletcher. And it’s an FBI agent who is deep enough undercover to enable a smooth transition. Not only Abby’s life that’s on the line, Mike. If I can’t trust you to stick your neck out for Gibbs, I’ll have to put someone in charge who will.”
“Whatever pleases you, sir.” Mike bit out. He was getting too damn old for these pissing contests. And he was damned sure that Fornell wouldn’t get dressed down like he was in front of both directors. “You always know best, sir,” Mike added in a mutter.
He didn’t like Gibbs, he didn’t trust Gibbs, and he sure as hell didn’t want Abby with Gibbs in any capacity. But Morrow wasn’t listening to reason.
“I have vacation, over six months. If you want me off this op, put DiNozzo in charge. He was capable when I was out.”
Shot. On the last joint op, that one with ATF and DEA. That one had been yanked out of their hands as well. “Still got lead in me from the last time you let someone else have too much control,” Mike said in an undertone.
“Mike, when we’re finished here, you will go back to your desk and refocus yourself. You’re head’s not in the game, and if you continue to behave like this, you’re going to put the whole operation at risk. You’re going to put Abby’s life at risk. And regardless of what you feel about this op, about Gibbs or about how we run it, you need to keep that in mind. You’re the best I have, Mike. I don’t want anyone else looking out for her, but you. Fletcher has vouched for Gibbs. Don’t make me doubt vouching for you.”
“As you wish, sir,” Mike repeated. He wouldn’t play good company boy and act like he liked this. But he wouldn’t hurt Abby either. And he knew working with Fornell was going to be tough, if not impossible.
“Don’t be a smart ass, Mike, anymore than you already are,” Morrow teased. “Now that you given us your account of today’s op, I need you to give your suggestions on the running of this op. We want to make sure that this runs as smoothly and as competently as we can, as we know our agencies are more than capable of.”
Mike wasn’t sure what they expected of him. “We have to give equal time to answers, more time to our op since people are dying.”
“And the money from the jewels could be used to fund terrorists,” Martin pointed out.
“People are dying,” Mike insisted, appealing to Morrow. This would be important in determining the pecking order. “Innocent people are taking drugs and dying. Murder.”
“And the terrorists are murdering people. So, how does that mean that your drugs take more precedence,” Fornell protested.
“Gentlemen,” Morrow said, holding up his hand. “This isn’t going to be about who gets more play time. I won’t have a pissing contest over priorities. Because this is my house and I’ll always win. Now, we’re going to approach this equally. It is the FBI agent whose deep undercover identity is allowing an op of this magnitude. However, it is my agents, my forensic scientist, who will putting their necks on the line. We operate as equals. I will not be having anything less.” Sighing, he nodded to his friend, the other director. “Anything less will mean someone’s death.”
Martin nodded to Tom. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “But we have to face the possibility that the ops may take Gibbs and Abby in different directions so I understand your agent’s concerns. We’ll have to rely on the entire group in order to form a cohesive unit.” And that included Interpol and Sebastian as well.
“Precisely, and that is why installing both McGee and DiNozzo as personal assistant and bodyguard, respectively, will aid in this. That way, if something does cause the separation, each will have at least one backup.”
Martin nodded. “These two are good talented men who have been undercover and can think on their feet? “ He’d only heard the names for Tobias’ reports, didn’t know or have much more information. “Should I worry that they might be combative toward my man?”
“My men are completely professional,” Mike shot back with a glare to the other man. “They’ll get the job done and they’ll do it right.”
“Nevertheless…” Martin turned to Tom for advisement. “Do you need us to work out backgrounds? I know your Abby usually does them for you folks, but she’s going to be busy…”
“Since I worked up Jet’s background, it might be easier for me to create histories for the rest of the team, especially Abby’s who will need to be linked with Jet’s.” Having been in Abby’s lab before, Fornell had a good idea on how to integrate a past for her. As for Tony and Tim, he had some plans that should make it at least more entertaining on his part.
“That works for me, Fornell. Your background for Jet was impeccable. And, yes, you will need to incorporate Abby’s with Jet to guarantee its success.” Morrow had faith in Fornell’s ability to create these histories.
“Why don’t you go down there and start working with them. Tobias?” Martin suggested. It’s been a very long day for everyone and I’m sure Tom would appreciate it if we could streamline the process in any way we could. Mike, perhaps you could run off copies of your operation for us and I’ll have either Agent Fornell or Sacks bring packets for you and your men tomorrow.”
Martin turned to Tom. “We’ll want to put Cynthia and Mellody on logistics. Abby, at least, will need a new casual wardrobe. We want her and Jet to be seen out to dinners and such to establish them as a couple again. It won’t be a case of our girls determining the best dresses for events, but an everyday wardrobe as well. I’m afraid the skirt isn’t quite fitting in with the identity we’ve established for Jet Brooks.”
“Do you want me to wait until the debriefing’s over boss? Or would you like me to head downstairs now? All I need’s a computer, and then when Abby, Tony and Tim are done in here for them to see me so I can finalize the details,” Fornell offered.
“I’ll wait to call Cynthia until the debriefing is over and Fornell’s established the new identities. It won’t help for them to be picking out clothes when they have no idea the characters they will be buying for. And I believe they’ll have to find clothes for Tim and Tony as well. There may not be enough time for the guys to go home.”
Martin looked over at Tom Morrow, knowing that it would take time to establish the identities. “Call Sacks and Blumenthal and then get down there. Tom, can you or Mike get him set up at a desk now?”
“Mike, set him up on Tony’s computer. It’ll give him access to McGee’s or McGee’s help if it comes to that. Don’t be afraid to use him or any other resources here, Fornell. Make sure their identities stick and can pass whatever are thrown at them. Franks, can you help him out? Help him run whatever backgrounds he needs. Then when you two are done, we’ll set McGee and Tony on them, see if either of them can crack the histories.”
“Thanks, Director Morrow. And I’d appreciate any help Franks can give me. Setting up three new identities in one night. Make sure we got access to a lotta coffee,” Fornell teased.
“Double strength,” Mike growled but nodded at the director. “You ready, Feeb?” He didn’t mind Fornell normally but now it was the principle of the thing and he had to keep up appearances.
“Tobias,” Martin called before the men left. “If you get a second, order something for Emily, my treat. Have it billed to me at the office. I know you wanted to see her this weekend.” It was the least he could do to help a damned good agent.
“Yeah, let’s get this started. It’s gonna take awhile. And thanks Director Fletcher. I appreciate it. And when you’re done with the three " Abby, DiNozzo, McGee " can you send them to us? I’ll need to input some more…personal details into their histories.”
Gesturing to the door, he shot back to Franks, “After you, retread.”
“Retread?” Mike grunted. “At least my agency didn’t have a cross dresser running it. The Hoover building should be called Rainbow Bright.”
“You jealous, Franks?” Fornell said in amusement.
“Nah,” Mike shot back as they walked out of the room. “My director could kick your director’s ass, Tobiassss.”
Martin shook his head, rolling his eyes. “This operation may be the death of all of us, Tom.” Now that they were alone"truly alone"he leaned in close. “You have faith in Gibbs and Abby working as a cohesive unit. I know my man and he comes as close to becoming his undercover personality as anyone I’ve ever met.”
What Martin didn’t say was that there was darkness that surrounded getting that deep in an operation, that it had left its own scars for Gibbs to grapple with. He couldn’t ignore the chemistry but he worried about Abby in a long term relationship with Jet.
He paused for a moment. “How do you plan to address Special Agent Franks’ assault on Gibbs, Tom? I’m concerned that Franks may have lost objectivity for our agent and that we need to address this strongly and decisively to avoid any further disruptions.”
“When we are finished with this debriefing, I’m going to ask you to join your agent in the squad room. I’ll pull Franks in here to redress his actions. If he cannot reach objectivity with Gibbs and with Abby, I will remove him from this op, give control to either DiNozzo or Fornell. I will not put Abby’s life on the line because Franks can’t get through his bruised pride.”
Martin nodded, very satisfied with that option. “And I don’t plan to lose Gibbs. He’s the best, Tom.” Martin paused a moment. “I’ll encourage Gibbs not to press charges, in the odd case that he is considering it. Even within agencies, he could make a case for striking a federal agent, but I think he’s been around long enough to react cautiously. I have to tell you, though, I don’t like it. If Franks had engaged him verbally, I wouldn’t have this issue but…”
They’d been friends enough for Martin to know when to back off, as he’d done with the Cynthia situation.
“I appreciate it, Marty. Franks is a good agent. He just tends to let his gut run his reactions. And when its wrong, his pride seems to trip him up.” Frowning, he stood up. “I don’t like it either, him using his fists to make his point. I wish I could blame it all on his over reaction to Abby’s responses, but even then Franks should have been able to control himself.”
Walking over to the intercom, phone system, he asked, “Time to call Abby now? She’s probably in her lab.”
Martin nodded, taking a long swallow of wine. The day wasn’t nearly over yet. “You get that assistant of yours to order you a massage,” he said quietly. They both know she’d be back before Tom left for the night.
“Sometimes you need someone to take care of you, Tommy.”
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