Chapter 25
"We have to get out of here," Gibbs took Abby and Alessandra to the stairs, because the elevator would be too slow. "You two are paired up. You must not lose sight of each other and know where the other one is at all times."
"Ok."
"Got it Gibbs."
"Good."
When Gibbs, Abby and Alessandra got up to where everyone was, they had to leave. Immediately.
"Where are we going?" Abby asked.
"Everyone is going to a separate hotel with their partner."
"I'd like to swap partners then."
"Too bad Kate, you're stuck with DiNozzo," Kate rolled her eyes and looked at Tony, who was now grinning madly. She resisted the urge to elbow him in the stomach.
"You will not be able to contact anyone until you get a call from either me or the director saying so. You are not to leave your hotel rooms under any circumstances. Are we clear?"
"Yes," everyone replied.
"Good."
"Gibbs," Natasha said shyly, "if you don't mind me asking, when are we going to find out why the alarm went off."
"We won't know for sure until tomorrow. We have people coming and inspecting the premises in a few hours. If the note said 30 minutes and it was a bomb then it should have exploded by then," Kate, Tony and McGee had never seen Gibbs talk so much in his life.
"The Director has arranged for 4 cabs to pick us up and drop us each off at a hotel different to the person before us. You will not get preference in the room or the hotel"
"Boss," Tony butted in
"What is it DiNozzo?" Gibbs snapped
"Do we get room service?"
"Your meals will be provided."
"But do we get-"
"You will not get preference in anything" Gibbs cut him off. He was annoyed now.
"Ok boss. Sorry boss."
"Shut up DiNozzo, you're starting to sound like McGee."
"Hey," yelled McGee "Boss," he softened his voice realizing he had just yelled at Gibbs
"And you're turning into DiNozzo."
Chapter 26
"Well McGee, what do you think?" Annette asked McGee when they arrived at the hotel. It was an average looking hotel with an old TV, 2 rooms - one of which was a bathroom - and 2 double beds. Only problem was, one of the beds had a spring poking out of the middle.
"I think Abby is going to kill me."
"Why do you say that?" McGee pointed to the bed with the broken spring.
"We can share."
"That's what I was afraid of."
"Well then you get the bed with the spring or the floor. I get this bed," she said while jumping on the bed that wasn't broken.
"Careful there Annette, you could break the only good bed," McGee stuttered
"First off, it's Annie. Secondly," she stopped jumping "why should you care when you get that bed," she said pointing the other bed.
"This is going to be a long night," muttered McGee to himself.
"What was that?" Annie looked at him
"Nothing. I'm just saying that Gibbs probably got himself the really good hotel."
"Well, he is your boss."
"But that doesn't mean-"
"Sorry, but it sorta does," Annie laughed. "Anyway, let's see what's on TV. Now, where is the remote?"
Chapter 27
"Wow, look at this place," Natasha was in awe of the hotel room. There was only one bedroom, but it was huge. Large enough to fit 2 King-sized beds. The bedroom had an en suite with a shower and a bathtub. Plus, there was a kitchen and an eating room, which Natasha had never seen in a hotel room before.
"We got one of the 2 good ones," Gibbs told Natasha.
"So, Agent Gibbs, tell me a bit about your self. What is going on in the world of Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" Natasha asked. Gibbs laughed.
"Nothing much."
"Oh come on, there has to be something. Anything. You ever been married?"
"3 times."
"3 times! Oh wow. Anything else?"
"That's it."
"No it's not. That's what you said before. Then you said you had been married 3 times. That isn't nothing."
"That's what they mean to me," they both laughed. "What about you and your family?" Gibbs had taken a shine to Natasha.
"Well, when I was 8 I was in a car accident. My mom died and I got amnesia when I was thrown out of the car windshield because I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I can't even remember if my dad died in the crash too, or even what my name was. I was put in the orphanage and my adopted parents named me. Until then I was known as 'amnesia girl'. I don't know much about my real family. All I know is that my dad was a marine and my mom's name began with an S. My adopted family wouldn't tell me anything else." Gibbs tried to hide his shock. He didn't want to get his hopes up, so he asked another question.
"What were they like?"
"They were nice at first, but then they got a little snappy and demanding. Once the birth of their first child, they forgot I was their daughter too. They treated me like a maid. Not even, because maids are treated better than they acted towards me. I was with them for about 2 years before I called Child Services. They sent me to a new family up in Connecticut. They were really nice to me. It helped that they were millionaires. I kept my first name, but got their last name. Natasha Smith held too many bad memories, but I had gotten too used to the name Natasha to change it. So now I am Natasha Tarah Saunderson. I got to choose my middle name" she smiled. Her smile was so familiar. It reminded him of Shannon. Natasha had to be Kelly, but Gibbs didn't know for sure. After all, he couldn't just say 'Natasha, I am your father'. That sounded too much like Star Wars, or one of those movies Tony was always bringing up.
"Natasha, I don't know how to tell you this, but before the 3 marriages I told you about, I was married to a woman named Shannon. We had a baby girl who we named Kelly. I was in the Marine Core and when Kelly was 8 I was called to fight a war in Kuwait. I got a call when I was there telling me that my wife and daughter had been killed in an accident, when the driver of the car they were in was shot. They witnessed a crime, and were being protected by the NIS, which is now called NCIS. That's why I got the job there."
"You don't think I could be Kelly?"
"It's possible. After all, they said the bodies were horribly destroyed in the crash. For all I know, there could have been a third passenger who was mistaken for Kelly."
"Well, in that case, I want a DNA test. You know, just in case you are my real dad."
"I'll organize one for when we get back."
Chapter 28
"Oh Katie, look at this place. It's like something from... you know, I can't think of any movies to explain how bad this place looks" Tony said in disgust as he looked around his hotel room. There were roaches, spiders, ants and any other bug you can think of. It looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. There were 2 rooms, a bathroom with a dirty shower, rusted sink, broken mirror and a toilet... with a broken flush button. The other room had no TV, no radio, a table with a hole in the middle and 2 chairs stained with something they didn't want to know. The worst thing was, there was only one bed. A very small bed at that.
"Oh great," Kate walked over to the bed and sat on it.
"Looks like we will be sharing a bed tonight Katie." Tony walked over and sat next to Kate.
"No. I'm not sharing a bed with you Tony. Not if that was the last bed on earth."
"So, do you want to put 2 chairs together or sleep on the floor," Kate looked down at the floor. It was sticky, crawling with bugs and there were parts of the carpet that looked like they had grown to life.
"I get the bed. You get the floor," Tony let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Ok, I'll take the floor. And then, maybe we can call Gibbs and ask him for a raise. While we are at it why don't we just ask Elvis to do our laundry," Tony softened his voice and slowed it down a bit "Come on Kate, why can't we share?"
"Bad memories. And who is to say you won't try again."
"First, I won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I never want to hurt you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. The only reason I went out with Alessandra is because you weren't interested. I'm sorry if it hurt you. I didn't mean to. I'd take everything back if I could." Kate's eyes widened. She had no idea he felt that way. "Secondly you made a move on me."
"You know, you almost had me until that last dumb remark. You need to learn how to shut up while you're ahead."
"It's part of my charm."
"Well, Prince Charming, you can sleep on the floor."
"Kate, I was kidding."
"I don't care."
"Katie," Tony got down on his knees and knelt down in front of Kate. She almost forgot why she was mad at him. "I'm sorry. About everything. I really do like you Kate. I like you a lot. And I know you don't like breaking the rules. But if you're willing to give me another chance, I'm willing to go as slow as you want."
"I couldn't. What about Alessandra? She likes you and she has been through so much. I can't do that to her."
"You don't have to. I don't think she likes me that much anyway. She was drunk, or drugged."
"So was I..."
"It was different with you Kate. Ever since I first met you I felt something like I have with no other person. Everything was meaningless, up until you and I-"
"Shut up and kiss me DiNozzo." Tony smiled got off his knees and kissed her. Kate never remembered that he was this good.
"Do I still get the floor," Tony asked with a smile on his face
"Only if you're bad," Kate teased
"Is that a request," Tony joked playfully. Kate just smiled and kissed him again.
Chapter 29
"Whoa, Gibbs must really love you Abby!" Alessandra said as she looked around the hotel room in awe. They were staying in a Penthouse. Only one bedroom, but there were 2 double beds in there so it didn't matter. There was an eating area, kitchen, bathroom, 40 inch flat screen TV and a massage chair.
"I get the chair first," screamed Abby as she ran to the chair.
"5 minutes."
"20."
"10."
"Deal. Then you get it for 10."
"That sounds fair."
There was nothing that interested them both on TV for another few hours, so they turned it off and just sat there.
"I still can't believe what happened back at the lab," Abby broke the silence.
"I know. That voice... where did it come from?" Alessandra had a hint of fear in her voice.
"I don't know. I don't even want to think about it."
"Haha! Mine went the furthest!" Abby gloated.
"No, my paper plane SO went further than yours," Alessandra complained.
"You're just jealous."
"Jealous? Of what?"
"I won."
"You did not win. I won. You jus-" Abby clamped her hand over Alessandra's mouth "Did you hear that?" Abby whispered.
"Hear what?" Alessandra whispered back.
"That."
"What?"
"If I knew what it was, I wouldn't be asking?"
They stood there silent for a few minutes, and either of them heard anything.
"Nothing. I'm starting to think you're just pulling my cha-" Alessandra stopped talking. "I heard it" Alessandra softened her voice again.
"What do you think it was?"
"I have no idea. It sounded halfway between a rattle and someone stomping."
They waited a few more minutes and didn't hear anything again.
"You know I'm getting pretty sick of this sh-AHHHHHHHH" A rock went through the window of Abby's lab, scaring Alessandra and Abby
"Where the hell did that come from?"
"I have no idea. We should probably get away from the window just in case."
"Do not move," said a robotic voice
"What? Who said that?"
"Alessandra, I think we should get Gibbs."
"You have 30 minutes."
"30 minutes till what? Where are you coming from?"
"Look," Abby pointed to a flashing device near the window "I think it's a speaker."
"Great. Abby..." Alessandra was freaking out. The alarm went off and they both screamed.
"Alessandra, we have to stay here."
"We can't stay here!"
"In an emergency, we must stay outside the lab until Gibbs comes and gets us. All we can do is wait and hope he comes soon."
Chapter 30
"Abby, it's my turn on the chair."
"5 more minutes."
"You said that 5 minutes ago!"
"Oh fine." Abby got out of the chair "Hey, do you want popcorn or something?"
"Yeah sure. I've been feeling really hungry lately for no reason. I'll check the TV guide again for movies"
2 identical 13 year old girls sat in the park playing a clapping game. They were smiling, laughing, not a care in the world. The first girl had a cat toy under her arm, and the second girl had a Kenny toy in her lap. Both toys had ribbons tied around the neck. Twisted rhymes were very popular, with everyone singing "Mrs. Lucy", while these girls had a more X-rated version they had gotten from South Park. The girls started chanting;
"Mrs. Landers was a health nut, she cooked food in a wok. Mr. Harris was her boyfriend and he had a great big
Cock-a-doodle-doodle, the rooster just won't quit, and I don't want my breakfast because it tastes like
Shitzus make good house pets, they're cuddly and sweet; monkeys aren't good to have 'cause they like to beat their
Dictate what I'm saying, 'cause it will bring you luck, and if you all don't like it I don't give a flying-
"ALICE!"
"Wha- Huh?"
"You were in a trance."
"No I wasn't."
"Yes you were, I've been calling you for ages. What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Abby could tell it wasn't nothing.
"You miss Kendra, don't you?"
"Yeah," Alessandra sighed "You know, when I had Kenny, it always felt like a small part of her was with me. Gave me hope she was still alive."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. You wanted to ask me something?"
"Oh, yeah. Do you like butter on our popcorn?"
"Extra please."
"That's they way I like it too," Abby came out with the popcorn.
"Thanks for that." she grabbed a handful of popcorn.
"Any good movies?"
"Well, we can choose between Material Girls -"
"Ugh no, I'm not a Hilary Duff fan."
"Good, either am I. There is also Napoleon Dynamite, House of Wax, the Sponge-Bob Movie, Love Actually, Scary Movie 3, the Notebook and White Chicks"
"As much as I love Napoleon Dynamite and Scary Movie 3, I'm in the mood for a horror movie"
"So House of Wax?"
"Definitely. There is nothing better than a Scary Movie before bed."
Abby and Alessandra had been watching House of Wax for about 30 minutes when there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it. You stay here Alessandra. It's obvious that you have never seen this movie."
"How did you know?"
"You're shaking," Abby laughed.
"I didn't think it was that noticeable."
Abby looked through the peephole and there was no-one there. That's strange . Abby opened the door a bit and when she saw something at the door opened it fully to get a better look. She stood there in shock. She felt sick
"Umm, Alessandra. You might need to see this."
"What is it?" Alessandra got out of her chair and made her way over to the door.
Alessandra screamed. She felt weak. Now she was certain someone was stalking her.
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