Lovers of the Abyss

Chapter 6: High Seas pt 2

 In the time she and Tony took to clear out the locker, Wilkes died.

A striking blow to Belle's and the rest of the crew's egos. Now they stood up on the bridge, leaning over the railing. NCIS hats are brandished as Gibbs speaks loudly against the wind to them. "Keep your eyes peeled. Don't miss a thing. Wilkes was killed probably because he was gonna give up the supplier."

"Makes sense," DiNozzo calls to them at Kate's immediate dismissal.

"No, what makes no sense is that these boys are involved at all. Now, Wilkes was a proud Navy legacy. You know, Shrewe was a boy scout."

To this point, Belle comments, "Drugs among military members aren't as taboo as you think; vets are ten times more likely to get into substances." She knew that John had always tried to be nonchalant. Still, he had done his fair share of drinking and pills. She remembers when he got high or drunk, and her father would pick John up from his own stupors—saved his life making sure he didn't choke on his own vomit. Even before Mary, he'd been at the end of his rope.

Belle wonders how much of her anger at Dean is really toward John.

Angry at her father's father for how he ended up.

Gibbs agrees readily, "That's what they want you to think. Drug addicts learn the art of the con fast."

"Well, I had the lab that tested the urine samples send them to Abby for retesting," Kate informs him, relishing in the praise from their Boss.

Tony peaked over, "Where's Burley?" He tries to ask nonchalantly, but Belle and Kate pass an amused look toward each other.

"Watching more flight deck footage." To Tony's surprise, Gibbs checks his watch. "Yeah, he's been at it almost 18 hours now. He's always been this way. I'll go see how he's doing."

As their boss departed, Tony was left standing dejectedly looking after as he climbed the ladder. "It's not the same thing, you know," Kate told him as he looked back.

"What?"

Belle connects the sentence, "You and Gibbs, Burley, and Gibbs." Shrugging off Tony's denial, she continues. "He has no power over him now; if you were promoted and such, you'd have an even better relationship." She nudges his shoulders with her own.

Kate nods, "All I'm saying is that things on the surface are not always the same as when you put them in context with the way they actually developed, you know, under the surface. Kind of."

Belle and Tony both look at her blankly. " I have no idea what you said."

"Yeah me neither."

Kate laughs, " Neither do I, but the intent was sincere."

Belle snorted and laughed over the wind. "You guys are losers."

"You're actually a child." Tony shot back.

"You wanna talk about children—"

***

Gibbs had sent them a message to check out the Air Boss' take on Reyes. So that had sent the three up and back toward the flight deck, talking with said man as they were brought to the Chief Petty Officer. " Chief Reyes is one of the most committed men I've ever worked with."

Belle agreed lowly, "He runs his crew hard." She comments, not a question. She was run hard into the ground, but in the end, it was what she needed.

The man agrees, "And they appreciate him for it."

Tony took charge from the rear, "Aside from the two incidents, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary in the past few weeks?"

"Not unless you consider a 50% above average performance out of the ordinary."