Twisted Justice (an NCIS story)

Chapter Nine

As Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva brought in bags of evidence to the lab they were hit with waves of words that could only be described as Abby.

"Gibbs I've tried to call him like a billion times, he won't answer. Ok I know he's probably mad at me but never be unreachable! What did he say when you talked to him?"

"He was not at his apartment" Ziva said.

"Oh no! Gibbs! Something happened to him!"

"Abby you need to process this blood and see if you can find a match." Gibbs said handing her the samples with deliberate calm. He needed Abby calm, yes she could do it in this state but she was much better if she was not frantic.

"Whose is it?" She asked wide eyed.

"Well Abby if we knew that you wouldn't need to run it."

Abby looked guiltily at her feet.

"Abby we need the blood soon." Tony interjected

"Gibbs I found something. Jimmy, he said McGee was having problems last week and asked me to see if this case had any connection that would cause that and... I found something.

"Start the blood and then tell us what you found."

She nodded and busied herself. When it was finished she turned around

"What cha got Abs?"

"Jimmy wanted me to see if I could find something so I started looking just to get him off my back. I looked in McGee's records nothing was in his adult past and his minor records are sealed."

"Abby" Ziva said "I have seen you and McGee get into seal records many times."

"I can but I didn't have a reason to yet. Then I remember hearing about you guys talking about something like this had happened before, well not this exactly, something like this-"

"Abby!"

"Ok, those kids that drowned, all those years ago something just felt wrong about it. I remembered McGee telling me that at one time his father was stationed at Bethesda."

"Abby what did you find?" Gibbs asked quietly even though he already knew.

Her eyes filled with tears.

"McGee was the Navy kid who survived. Three Marine kids died two at the scene and the third, a girl, died at the hospital after several day. McGee shouldn't have made it, I mean he was on life support, little brain activity and one day he just woke up. He was just 9 years old Gibbs." She said sadly

There was silence; no one knew what to say. Images flashed back of McGee at the lake, how disconnected he had been. The look on his face when he had seen the hole in the lake. Every day after that had gotten worse. Gibbs almost cringed when he remember how little McGee had said from that time on. He tried not the think about the empty look in his eyes he had seen too many times. Abby started to talk again her voice strangely soft and mellow.

"That's not the worst part. Not long after he got out of the hospital he was attacked."

This time Tony jumped in.

"Wilson said he made it up, that it didn't happen."

"Are you saying Tim's a liar?" Abby cried with anger.

"No, I'm just saying maybe he got confused or he was upset. I know I would be but Commander Wilson said it did not happen. Why would he lie to us?"

Ziva said nothing. Gibbs looked with sympathy as he realized Tony was trying desperately to hold onto the integrity of a childhood hero.

"I have pictures" Abby said quietly