As Layla walked out the door, carrying Marlaina, she was met by Gibbs and Tony. They startled her, so she jumped. She didn't expect them to be there. "It's okay, you're safe now." Gibbs assured her.
"Are you Kate's team?" She asked.
Gibbs nodded. I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs and this is Special Agent Tony DiNozzo." Tony waved. Gibbs noticed the blood. "Is that yours?" he asked.
"No." she answered. She didn't want to elaborate.
"How many in there?" Tony asked.
"Two, but one is dead." She whispered.
"Did the other gun man kill him?" Gibbs asked. He needed to know what kind of situation his agent walked into.
Tears formed in Layla's eyes. "No."
Gibbs nodded. "DiNozzo, take them outside." He ordered.
Tony nodded. "Come on." He held out his hand.
Layla continued to look at Gibbs. "Don't let anything happen to my sister." She said, before taking Tony's hand and following him out.
Layla, Marlaina, and Tony exited the building and were immediately met by SWAT. Layla jumped and hid behind Tony. Tony took that as a hint. Traumatized Layla didn't want them anywhere near her. Tony looked around and spotted Amanda. "Hey! Call the dogs off." He told her.
Amanda walked over. "You heard him, stand down." She ordered. SWAT backed off.
Tony turned to face Layla and Marlaina. "Layla, this is Amanda. She's with the FBI." He introduced.
"Hi." She said, softly, while showing Layla her badge.
"Take care of them." Tony ordered as he turned to run back into the building.
Amanda led Layla and Marlaina to the command center. Layla spotted Leslie right away. She rushed over. Marlaina reached for her mommy, so Layla handed her over. Leslie held her baby tight and kissed the top of her head repeatedly.
Ducky, Gerald, and Abby approached them. Abby gasped at the sight of Layla. "Oh, Layla, what did they do to you?" she asked, caressing Layla's cheek. "Ducky, check her out." Layla glanced at Ducky, then back at Abby. She didn't know Ducky. "It's okay." Abby assured her. "Ducky's a doctor and a friend of Kate's."
"The blood's not mine." She responded. "He only hit me in the face."
"Why did he hit you?" Amanda, gently, asked.
"He heard you evacuating the building. He hit me, then shot at me to scare me." She answered.
"He?" Tom asked.
"I nicknamed him Ringleader." She, shyly, smiled.
Abby giggled. "Cute."
Tom sighed. He didn't see the humor Abby saw. "Does he have a name?" Layla shrugged. Amanda led her to a chair. Everyone else followed. "Was Ringleader the only gunmen?" Tom asked.
"No."
"How many?"
"Two, but one's dead."
"So, there is one, then."
Layla glared at the man, then tears started to fall. Amanda noticed and turned to Tom. "Questions can wait." She turned to Ducky. "Doctor, make sure nothing is broken." She noticed Layla shivering, so she took off her jacket and put it around her shoulders.
"Thanks." Layla, shakily, said.
Amanda nodded, and then pulled Tom off to the side. "Leave her be." She demanded.
"We still need to talk to her." Tom argued.
"No, we got what we needed. One gunman in there with Agent Todd." She reminded him.
"Yes, but who killed the other guy?" he asked.
Amanda sighed. "Look at her, Tom." She motioned over to Layla. Tom looked over. Ducky was checking out her cheek. She was distant. "Something happened in there. She killed him."
Tom raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. "How can you possibly know that, she hasn't made a statement?"
Amanda glared. "She's shaking, in shock, and she has blood on her. Do the math!"
"We still need to question her." Tom argued, again
"Will you get your head out of your ass! Wait for her sister." With that she walked over to one of the SWAT members.
Kate was face to face with Ringleader. Both had their guns holstered. When Ringleader took a step towards her, she took a step back. "I told you to clear Kevin's name, not find the real killer." Ringleader growled.
"In order to clear him, we needed a new suspect." She informed him.
He laughed. "Well, don't keep me in suspense. Who was he taking the fall for?"
"You." She answered. She thought she'd try her luck, since there was no guarantee that the person she thought was under that ski mask was actually there.
Once again, Ringleader laughed. "Me? You don't even know who I am"
"True, but I can guess." She took the picture out of her pocket and unfolded it. "I bet this was taken during happier times." She showed the picture to him. It was of two identical twin boys sitting around the campfire, roasting marshmallows.
"How do you know that I'm one of these boys?" he asked.
"Identical twins having identical DNA is something I learned in high school biology. Fingerprints, however, is always different for everyone. That's why we matched Kevin's DNA, but not his fingerprints." She answered. There was a moment of silence. "Why did you spit on the Petty Officers? You knew that your brother was in the system. You knew we'd arrest him. Was that your plan? Was this all just a game to you?" she asked. She folded the picture and put it back in her pocket.
"You still didn't answer my question, Agent Todd." He reminded her.
Kate shrugged. "I'm a profiler. Who'd be here putting on this show for his benefit, but a family member? As you being his brother, I'm just guessing since your parents are dead." She paused. "It's over, let's get out of here."
"No!" Ringleader yelled and reached for his gun.
Kate did the same. "You wanted us to clear your brother, and we did. It's time to end this!"
Ringleader's attitude changed completely. He went from amused to angry. Kate didn't like where this was heading. "You know, Agent Todd, I had every intension of killing someone tonight. Since your brat sister and that baby got away, I guess you are the lucky winner!" he started rambling insanely.
Kate kept her gun pointed at him. "After I got in here I thought the religious theme was a cover. Game's over, put the gun down!"
"That's we're you're wrong!" he yelled, as Gibbs and Tony came running through the door, guns drawn.
"Drop your weapon." Gibbs, calmly, demanded.
Ringleader grew even more furious. He still had his gun pointed at Kate, while Kate, Tony, and Gibbs had their pointed at him. "Put your guns down, Agents, or I'll shoot her!"
"Gibbs, DiNozzo, what do you say the chances are of you shooting him after he shoots me?" Kate, sarcastically, asked. She already knew that answer.
"I'd say a hundred percent." Tony answered.
"It's not worth it, drop the weapon." Gibbs demanded, again.
They heard him take his gun off safety to shoot, but Kate was faster. She fired off two shots, both hitting him in the chest. As the bullets hit him, however, his gun went off. Kate was hit in the chest and they both fell to the ground. Kate was thanking God that she was wearing her vest as Gibbs and Tony went to help her up. "Damn it, that hurt." She cursed after she got to her feet.
Gibbs walked over to check to see if Ringleader had a pulse: he didn't. He turned back to Kate. She had her eyes glued to Ringleader's body. Gibbs stepped in front of her to block her view. "It's over." He assured her.
She nodded.
"Damn, Kate, you really know how to bring out the worst in a guy." Tony joked, trying to lighten the mood. Neither Kate nor Gibbs were in the mood, so Tony was rewarded with a nice slap to the back of his head, "Sorry, Boss."
Everyone heard the shots fired. Amanda and Tom ran in, followed by SWAT.
Layla buried her face on Abby's shoulder. "Kate." She sobbed.
"I'm sure she's okay." Abby assured her. "They have to be okay." She whispered to herself.
Tom, Amanda, and SWAT rushed into Kate's apartment, guns first. When they noticed the dead guy on the floor, they reholstered their weapons. "Everyone okay?" Amanda asked.
"Just great." Tony answered, giving her a thumbs up.
Gibbs walked back over to Ringleader's body and pulled the ski mask off. Kate was right. It was Kevin Blankenship's twin brother.
Kate, Gibbs, and Tony walked out of the building. Layla immediately came running. "Kate!" she yelled as she wrapped her arms around her big sister.
Kate hugged her back. "They can't hurt you anymore, Laylee." She whispered to her. She could hear Layla sobbing. Kate kissed the top of her head. "Come on, lets get out of here." Layla broke away and followed her sister.
Ducky and Gerald went home after they x-rayed Kate's ribs.
Gibbs and Kate were at their desks. They pulled up two chairs for Layla and Leslie. Leslie sat in front of Kate's desk, holding, a very restless, Marlaina. Layla sat next to Kate, resting her head on her shoulder. Kate rested her head on Layla's and held her hand, while holding and ice pack under her shirt. Ducky said that taking the bullet in the vest bruised a rib. Layla changed into a pair of sweat pants and an oversized NCIS sweat shirt that Kate had in her car. She hadn't said a word since her gave her statement. Kate hadn't left her side, either. Leslie sat there trying to get Marlaina to sit still long enough to have a bottle. The young woman held her baby tight since everything happened.
Tony was down in Abby's lab matching fingerprints and trying to figure out identities.
It was now noon and everyone was exhausted. Gibbs decided that Kate and Layla were staying with him until their apartment was no longer a crime scene and cleaned up. He wouldn't take no an answer: no surprise there. Leslie and Marlaina were allowed to return to their apartment, since nothing happened there.
Tony walked in. "Twin's name is Levi Blankenship. The guy Layla nicknamed "Stooge", love the name by the way." That earned a slight chuckle from Layla. "Anyways, his name is Daniel Carter. He thirty and was just released from prison for assault."
"I killed him." Layla whispered.
"It wasn't your fault, Laylee." Kate assured her again.
Layla pulled away. "I'm going to the bathroom." She got up and walked away.
Kate rested her head on her desk, while still holding the ice pack to her. "Give her time, Kate." Gibbs told her.
"I know, Gibbs." She said.
Gibbs stood up. "Okay, I don't want to see any of you here for another week, got me? We've earned a nice vacation. DiNozzo, pass that message on to Abby and go home." Tony nodded and left.
Kate stood up. "I'll go get Layla."
Gibbs was in his basement working on his boat. Kate decided to join him. "Layla's asleep." She announced as she walked down the stairs.
"That's good." He replied. She sat on the bench. Gibbs looked back at her. "You okay?" he asked.
"It was a long night. I almost lost my baby sister." She replied, a single tear slipped down her cheek.
Gibbs nodded. "You should sleep." He pointed out.
"So should you." She challenged.
Gibbs smirked, but decided to change the subject. "So, I'm guessing religion wasn't his motive for murder?" he asked.
"No, he wasn't rational on any level. He went from laughing to angry in no time flat. This was a game. He planed this." She answered.
"Yeah." He said, handing Kate his bottle of bourbon. "Sip it, don't gulp." He advised, sitting next to her.
She chuckle, took a sip, and handed it back to him. Her thoughts turned back to Layla. The red head went through a lot last night. She was traumatized, but Kate had no doubt that she'd be okay in time. She had to be. Right now Layla needed patience, because she wouldn't go back to normal immediately. The bad guys were dead and Layla and Marlaina were safe. Kate had a lot to be thankful for that day.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.