"I can't believe this is happening to me!" Martin nearly shouted as Agent DiNozzo cuffed him. Just mere minutes after he'd discovered how badly he had been duped by his newest 'patient' and his 'wife' and his 'former doctor,' the NCIS he'd known as NCIS had come through the door, DiNozzo smirking as he pointed a gun at him.
"Read him his rights, Tony," Gibbs had barked.
McGee had reappeared a little later, Tony's voice still going on in the background, reading the doctor his rights. "Boss, I found where's he's been keeping those pens he tried to use on you and he used on Lt. Kim. He keeps them in his small safe in the wall. Never would've seen it."
"Bag and tag it all, McGee."
As they led him into the waiting room, he avoided the gaze of his patients but couldn't help looking at his receptionist. She looked forlornly at him, almost a mix of disgust and sadness. "Carrie?"
"You killed them," she replied, shaking her head as if she still didn't believe it. "How could you test that on them?"
"I didn't - "
"They told me everything," she snapped.
Balboa appeared at that moment, and for some reason, he didn't look as sympathetic as he generally did. Martin counted on the fact that he had to keep up an image before his fellow agents.
McGee and Balboa each took one of Martin's handcuffed arms and began to lead him out. They were just at the door when the three men stopped.
The three kids were standing in the doorway, mouths slightly open, a look of disappointment mixed with horror on their faces. They stared at them speechlessly, eyes darting from the doctor to the agents and then back to the doctor.
Several feet away, Gibbs, Kate, and Ducky were cleaning up, Gibbs wiping his mouth after having rinsed out the faux blood. They came up behind McGee and Balboa, and Gibbs leaned over to look and saw the children's faces; their disppointment was visible even at a distance.
Gibbs would be the first to keep kids from developing hero complexes, but he would be the first to thrash anyone who could so hurt a child. Yes, they were older, but they were still children, and the let-down they seemed to try so hard to mask was quite evident on their faces.
"Guys," McGee said quietly, gently. "We need to take him out."
"Oh," the three stammered, shot back into reality, and backed away.
"Is Mr. Morgan dead?" Evan managed to voice what the rest of them were thinking.
McGee chuckled. "In a sense. But not what you're thinking." He tilted his head at the door and smiled as nicely as he could.
The three headed to the door, almost fearfully, and Gibbs nodded for Kate to go first. "Hey guys." She smiled. "Don't worry, we're all okay."
There was a collective sigh of relief.
"We have something to tell you," Kate said gently, and Gibbs appeared. "Um, we...know...six months is a long time to play you. But...the Morgans don't exist." She tried not to smile at the blank looks she was getting. "My name's Kate. Todd. I work for NCIS, the same group Tony DiNozzo and Tim McGee work for. And this my boss. Agent Gibbs."
There were stunned looks, and Sandy blurted first, "Isn't it against federal agency regulations to marry a subordinate agent?"
"Where'd you learn that?" Gibbs replied, his eyes twinkling at them.
"TV," Evan muttered.
"We're not married," Kate replied. "We were undercover." There were a few dubious looks, and she repeated, "We were undercover."
"Did a unbelievably good job," Ray muttered under her breath, but apparently it wasn't so silent when Kate blushed and Gibbs just smiled. Evan elbowed her.
"So...he did it?" Evan asked quietly. "What...what Agent DiNozzo said he did? Testing the medicines on the Marines, and...killing 'em?"
Kate just smiled sadly at them, and that was enough confirmation. "I'm sorry." She smiled at them. For a moment, she briefly wondered how much she would miss their antics; she'd seen them weekly for the past six months, whenever she and Gibbs had come to keep up their ruse before Martin.
"Come see us," Gibbs replied, handing them his card. "We'll give you a tour." He smiled down at them.
Martin glared at the smirking Tony as the door opened again and in came Balboa. "Hey Tony."
"Hey Balboa."
The doctor sneered at DiNozzo. "You ought to talk to this corrupted creep. Ask him how much money he got."
"Actually," Balboa corrected, "That would be how much money NCIS recorded in your attempts to bribe me." At the doctor's confused look, Balboa turned to Tony. "We're going out for drinks later. Wanna come? I already asked the others, and McGee and Abs and Ducky are all coming."
"Sounds good."
"Oh." Balboa, smirking, pulled out a small USB drive and held it up for DiNozzo. "Six months' worth of Dr. Martin's phone bribery."
Tony grinned, plucking the drive from Balboa's fingers. "You're da man, Bal." The other grinned.
The doctor was looking confused. "You told me you needed the money!" he exclaimed to Balboa, who turned to look at him.
"Well, sure, everybody who's stuck in a federal job could use the money," Balboa replied innocently.
"What about your family?"
"I'm single, I live in apartment, and I have the same maid that does DiNozzo's apartment."
"She workin' out for you?" Tony asked concernedly, ignoring the seething perp.
"She's great. Fast, efficient, and inexpensive. I could do without the weekly lectures about being a slob, though." Balboa nodded toward the door. "Gibbs wants to talk to him."
"How could you do this to me," Martin hissed. "You told me that you wanted to help the research into Gulf War Syndrome. You agreed to a financial deal to buy stock in Zetech!"
Tony chuckled. "You mean when you tried to bribe him with stocks in your father-in-law's biomedical pharmaceutical company? Real subtle, doc. Real subtle. What, you think you could buy out another NCIS agent's silence by getting him inside trading stocks in the company?" He leaned forward, a smirk on his face. "Y'know, ole Martha ended up in the brig for inside trading."
Balboa just grinned at the doctor. "Nice try, pal. Nice try." He snorted, shaking his head in amazement. "Did you ever consider that one of these days, you might run into a NCIS agent who couldn't be bribed? Or did your egomania think that you could sucker everyone?"
"You betrayed me," the doctor hissed, the hurt evident in his face.
The two agents' demeanor changed suddenly as they turned to the man, the cheerful, even gleeful bantering entirely gone.
"I betrayed you?" Balboa asked in a low voice as he leaned across the table into the man's face. "I betrayed you?"
"You had those patients' trust, and you killed them," Tony continued. "Who's the one doing the betraying?"
"I was helping them," the doctor hissed, standing up to face them. "They needed me. They needed my medicine. I could heal them. I can't help it if they didn't take it in proper dosages."
Tony widened his eyes, indignant. "You gave them the dosages!"
"Hey, uh, Tony." Balboa poked him as Gibbs and Kate entered. "Gibbs wants to talk to him." The agent patted the doctor's shoulder cheerfully, his grin wide. "I'm sure you'll love Gibbs as much as the rest of us."
"Just in case you forgot," Tony said half-gleefully, "since you knew them differently for six months - AGENT Gibbs and AGENT Todd. NCIS. Just so you're clear, Doc Brian."
"You mean Doc Bastard. With a capital B," replied Nina - Agent Todd. Martin frowned.
The silver-haired agent turned to her, a trace smile on his face and an eyebrow cocked in question.
"You get the one with the little b." Kate smiled, and Gibbs just shook his head.
The man gathered his wits about him and lashed back. "So you're Agent DiNozzo's boss?" Without waiting for an answer, he rattled on. "The one with 'more spouses than Elizabeth Taylor', according to Agent Balboa?"
It didn't quite produce the desired response. Gibbs just raised an amused eyebrow, and Kate was struggling to keep from laughing. When the older agent turned to the younger men, DiNozzo and McGee both pointed at Balboa, whose mouth fell open. "You narcs! You tattles! You said that if I used that line you wouldn't tell!"
"Boss," Tony replied, shaking his head with mock regret, "Balboa was just uncontrollable."
"Tony said it was a good idea," Balboa tried. "He said that I had to make this whole hating-him think look believable. So he suggested I tell Martin how I didn't like him or his boss, that I should tell about how many times you were married, and I should tell him how you married Kate and didn't get in trouble and all that. That it would be more believable that way, to stick to the truth." He paused, thinking over what he said. "The semi-truth, considering your undercover assignment. It was Tony's idea, I swear."
Kate stopped laughing and Tony suddenly felt himself with two glares on him. "I did not." He glared at Balboa indignantly and elbowed McGee standing beside him. "Tell them."
McGee looked puzzled. "Tell them what?"
"Tell them Balboa's stories was his own idea," Tony ordered. There was a silence, and then, "PROBIE!"
"I'm sorry," McGee exclaimed. "I remember you coaching him on what to say."
Tony began muttering about his predicament and how both Gibbs and Kate were going to get him for something he didn't do.
McGee, standing next to Balboa, slipped him a twenty and mouthed, "Thank you." Balboa nodded, grinning.
Martin ignored him and just returned to Kate in a crass, snide tone, "You two were really believable in your acting - or was it acting?"
Balboa and Tony gulped as Kate and Gibbs turned to the man. "Aw, c'mon, now, Mart," Tony replied, waving a hand at Kate and reveling silently in the man's wince at the butchering of his name. "Take a look at Kate. Does she look like Gibbs' type? She's not a redhead." Balboa snorted in laughter, then quickly shut up when Gibbs looked at him.
"Rule #12, never date a coworker," McGee recited.
"Thank you, guys, but I'm not so sure about the backhand praise." Kate then turned to the doctor with a smirk. "Thanks for the compliment about the acting," she replied brightly, looking up at Gibbs. "What do you think, Gibbs? I think we should submit 'For your consideration' tapes to the Emmys."
"Eh, they'll never give an Emmy to a military show."
"Good point."
"Aw c'mon, boss, you know we all still love ya, Emmy or not," Tony grinned, obviously enjoying teasing his boss. "Even Kate."
"Tony."
"Yes boss?"
"'Boss' is right. Get out. You have paperwork to do."
"BOSS!"
"As the lead investigator, it'll be more than usual."
Balboa and McGee snickered, then bolted when Tony looked like he was going to ask them to do some of his work. "Boss, you can't just let them run like that. They gotta help."
"You guys never help me," Gibbs pointed out. Tony groaned and trudged out.
Once the door closed, Gibbs turned back to the man.
"You've got nothing on me," Martin hissed.
"We've got five dead sailors and Marines," Gibbs replied, now all seriousness. "And batches of FDA-rejected medicine you were giving to them."
"They needed me. They wanted me to help them, and I did. I can't help if they died."
"You killed them." Gibbs voice dropped lower. "They served their country, and they deserved help, and you killed them."
Tony grinned as he watched Kate cleaning up her desk, having already turned in her part of the case report. Unfortunately, he and McGee were going to be here for awhile. So, the appropriate self-entertainment was in order. "So, was I better?"
Kate shrugged as she filed her folders in the cabinet. "What?"
"Bet being married to me was better than to Gibbs." Tony smirked.
Kate furrowed her brow. "I must have been VERY drunk to do something as stupid as marrying you." McGee snickered.
"Oh, c'mon, Kate. The DNA clinic?"
McGee rolled his eyes, and Kate nodded at him. "My sentiments exactly," she replied. "Besides, Tony, even Jerry Springer Kate wasn't stupid enough to MARRY you."
McGee grinned as he and Kate shared laughs.
"Ha ha." Tony made a face. "So, what was it like, being married to Gibbs?" He bounced his eyebrows, grinning widely.
Kate tugged the rings off her finger and gently slid them back into the box. "I'll say this: if he bought these rings," she replied, snapping the box shut and setting it on Gibbs' empty desk, "he's got taste."
Tony grinned. "That would explain how he got married three times."
"A woman wouldn't agree to marry a guy who told her 'Put 'em on' as a proposal,'' Kate replied in amusement. "That explains the three divorces."
McGee chuckled.
"So, Kate, what kind of proposal would you want?" Tony asked with a grin, leaning back in his chair and interlocking his fingers behind his head.
Kate rolled her eyes as she continued to dig through her purse. "Not one from you."
"Funny, Kate. No, seriously."
Kate looked up from what she was doing in curious amusement, wondering why Tony wanted to know. "Do I have to warn a potential Mrs. DiNozzo to run for her life?" McGee snickered but quickly shut up when Tony turned his head.
Tony made a face at her. "No."
Kate went back to what she was doing. "It's not the proposal or the wedding, Tony, it's the marriage."
"Ha!"
"It is. A nice proposal and a nice wedding are fine, but I have to find someone who's willing to put up with these insane working hours."
"So, you're saying Gibbs is running a nunnery-monastery?" Tony joked, and McGee snorted in laughter. Both shut up in a hurry when Gibbs suddenly appeared in front of them, an eyebrow raised, daring them to laugh anymore. "Not that that's bad." He stood up and walked over to Gibbs' desk, the mirth now gone from his voice. "We...uh, we still have to contact the families of those who died."
"General Cresswell said he'd send Cmdr. Coleman by - help draw up litigation papers against Martin's father-in-law's company, Zetech. They'll be able to sue for damages," McGee added.
"We...thought you and Kate might want to talk to the families, tell them about what happened and give them the JAG number," Tony said quietly. "Since you interviewed most of them."
Gibbs exchanged a look with Kate, who had fallen silent, and nodded. "Good job, Tony. McGee."
MacCLELLAN HOME
Gibbs and Kate watched quietly as silent tears streamed down the face of MacClellan's widow. Dora Cresswell had her arm tightly around her friend, providing what little comfort she could; her husband sat on the other side of her.
"Thank you," Mrs. MacClellan finally said, looking up. "Thank you both."
"We're just sorry we weren't able to catch this guy earlier," Kate said quietly. "NCIS Internal Affairs is starting up a inquiry into the two earlier investigations to see if there were any improprieties. We're also coordinating a joint NCIS and JAG inquiry looking into the two previous JAGman investigations."
"I know it's not much comfort now," the general added, "but I think you should look into filing a claim with JAG, especially since Dan was active duty. I have Cmdr. Faith Coleman and Maj. McBurney handling the preliminaries for litigation against the company."
"Karen," Dora Cresswell said quietly. "At least look for some money to help with funeral costs. From what Biff says, Faith and Mac - McBurney - are very good. And they'll tread gently."
She nodded.
"The attorney general will also be drawing up an inquiry into Brian Martin," Gen. Cresswell continued. "The government inquiry into the VA will take longer, but we will keep you informed of that, too, through Cmdr. Coleman and Maj. McBurney."
KIM HOME
Balboa handed the man a folder. "In here are the claim forms if you want to join the lawsuit against Zetech, Mr. Kim," he said gently. "I suggest that you do. It certainly won't bring your wife back, but it will help you to get some money to help with the debt after her funeral. You can put it aside for your children, too."
The man nodded.
"And don't quote me on this," Balboa added, "but make sure you do tell the JAs in charge that your wife had the so-called epinephrine-looking pen injected into her. That'll help their case and you."
"The JAG told us that he has Lt. Cmdr. Coleman and Major McBurney on the case," Tony replied. "We've worked with them before on a high profile murder case. They've very good." He smiled a little, his eyes twinkling. "Don't worry if they squabble in front of you," he said. "They're just too different not to fight."
LOCAL HOSPITAL
McGee smiled at the former sergeant major. "It's good to hear you're doing all right, Mr. Gilstrap."
"Thank you, kid," the older man coughed. "Never thought Doc Martin would have done this."
"I hope it doesn't break your confidence in other doctors, though," McGee pointed out. "I'm sure the rest of the doctors on your team are good, too. And I know personally that Dr. Pitt's an expert with infectious diseases and the like. He'll be able to clear you up on stuff."
The doctor chuckled. "Don't make me out to be God, Agent McGee," he replied, his eyes twinkling.
"My daughter thinks Dr. Brad Pitt is God's gift to my care," the patient laughed, then coughed.
"Until she saw me in person and realized I didn't look like THE Brad Pitt," the man replied, his eyes twinkling. The doctor followed McGee out. "Don't worry, your former sergeant major Gilstrap should be fine," he assured the agent. "If you don't mind me asking - how many died?"
"Four, and Gilstrap almost made five," McGee replied somberly. "Two went blind."
Pitt shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe this."
"Every barrel has a few bad apples, Dr. Pitt," McGee said. "But every barrel will have a lot of good ones, too." He stuck out a hand. "Thank you very much for agreeing to help on Mr. Gilstrap's case."
"No problem," he replied nodding. "I couldn't say no after Agent Gibbs, Tony, AND Kate showed up to see Gilstrap and ask me to help."
"They'll be coming tomorrow to check up on him," McGee nodded. "Right now...." he trailed off.
"You've got the families of the four who died and the two who went blind to talk to," Pitt replied understandingly.
WALKER HOME
"I thought your sister-in-law wanted you to move out to Hawaii to be with her," Kate said as she helped the petty officer in the kitchen.
"She did," Janice Walker said. "And I stayed with her for a few days. But I would still have a lot to take care of here, first. And my job is here. At least until the Navy transfers me. Mrs. Riley, next door - she helps to watch Paulie a lot for me, so it helps."
Kate nodded, and after a moment, she said softly, "I'm really sorry for your loss, Petty Officer."
"Janice, please." The woman paused a moment, and then smiled sadly. "Thank you."
There was a happy giggle, and both women leaned over slightly to see Gibbs sitting on the floor, smiling as the seventeen-month-old walked unsteadily across the room toward him.
"I have to say, your daughter was unusually cooperative when we took her," Kate replied. "I thought she'd cry endlessly."
The petty officer snorted. "I have to keep a real eye out for her. She has no sense of danger whatsoever - she'll let anybody hold her and walk with her. I'm thinking about buying one of those child harnesses to put on her when she really gets to walking."
Kate chuckled.
"The other day one of my husband's old Marine friends came with his wife to see us. Paulie never met them before. I go into the kitchen to get them some drinks, and I come out finding Paulie sitting happily in one of their laps, eating tiny pieces of watermelon out of their hands. No sense of danger whatsoever."
Kate smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, let me just say she's got a playboy meter that's as sensitive as anything. She won't let Tony get near her."
The petty officer laughed. "Well, that's good to know."
Kate smiled softly and asked, "How are you holding up?"
"I think," the petty officer said softly, "I'm more sorry for my daughter." She watched the small child clap as she reached Gibbs. "She'll never know her father."
"She might not ever see him," Kate replied firmly. "But I doubt that you would ever be able to let her forget him."
PO Walker smiled and nodded. After a moment, she turned to the NCIS agent and then smiled and nodded. "So. What's next?"
"Well, you have all the claim forms," Kate replied. "I think you should file with the lawsuit, even if it's just to get something for Paulie. I've met Cmdr. Coleman - she's careful and she's persistent, and Gibbs seems to think that Maj. McBurney is just as good."
Petty Officer Walker nodded, and then set out a bowl of sliced fruit onto the table before coming back to the kitchen. There was a happy shout, and the two women saw Gibbs carefully watching the tot as she made her way towards the small coffee table. Walker looked at Kate, who was smiling at the small scene. The NCIS agent turned and caught the woman looking at her and smiled. "Your daughter's adorable."
Walker chuckled. "So I always say, but it's nice to hear from someone else." She watched with slight amusement as the NCIS agent turned back to watch Paulie trying to clamber onto the couch next to Gibbs. She caught a death hold onto the couch cushion and hung on, feet suspended from the floor. The three adults watched in amusement as the cushion slowly slid off the couch, and there was a small thud as she landed back on the floor. Gibbs chuckled and carefully picked up the child and set her next to him, and she snuggled against his side as he put his arm around her.
Kate had an amused smile on her face, and Walker chuckled to herself. At that, the NCIS agent turned back to her. "Is it worth it?"
They watched as Paulie gave Gibbs a Cheerio and popped one into her mouth.
Walker smiled softly. "Definitely."
It was rare that anybody came this early to Arlington, even on a weekday.
Barry watched as the brunette made her way up the hill, carrying a large shoulder bag and dressed neatly but in loose clothes. Her arms were filled with flowers, and the senior cemetery caretaker watched as she stopped by yet another headstone and placed a small bouquet there before pulling up a few weeds.
They were fresh graves - a whole bunch had been exhumed by NCIS before, and now reburied. Inactive reserves, honorably discharged soldiers except one active duty. Mostly Marines. There hadn't been much explanation but a certain grim look from his boss. Barry didn't know the details.
The brunette was still on her way up, checking a slip of paper before heading for another headstone. She was a pretty one; he guessed late twenties or early thirties. Just slightly older than his married daughter.
He wondered briefly if she had buried a husband, or a sibling, or a parent - or maybe all three, considering she had already stopped at two stones and was still going. And that was only in the time he'd seen her; no telling how long she'd been at Arlington already. He went back to work.
About twenty minutes later, he looked up to see the brunette now much closer, one last bouquet left, the biggest one he'd noticed her carrying.
She approached a grave and suddenly got a surprised, then wary look on her face. She looked around, then checked her slip of paper and the headstone, and then paused, looking even more confused. She set the flowers down by the headstone and stood quietly there for several minutes, saying nothing but just looking.
He went back to work.
"Sir."
Barry looked up into a pair of warm, gentle brown eyes who smiled at him apologetically. "What can I do for you, miss?"
"I was just wondering if you had seen anyone over by that plot?" She pointed to the one she had been standing at. "Maybe within the last couple days?"
"No, ma'am, I - oh." Barry frowned and thought a little longer. "Yes, there was an older gentleman here yesterday evening," he suddenly said, remembering.
He and some of the other caretakers had been working last night when they saw the man coming, dressed simply in slacks, a shirt, and a sports jacket. Come to think of it, he had stopped at many of the same tombstones the woman standing before him had before coming to this last one. He had left a small bouquet at each of a rare flower. His last stop was the one she asked about now.
Major Timothy Kerry, Barry remembered. That was the name over the grave.
Andy had unwisely tried to chat up the man who had gotten on his hands and knees, cleaning up the stray weeds around the grave. It was more like Andy talking and the man ignoring him as he continued to work.
"Yes," Barry repeated. "There was an older gentleman here last evening. Silver-haired. One of the new kids tried to chat 'im up." He shook his head in amusement. "The man didn't say much, but Andy kept going. At one point the man turns this look on him - sharp, clear blue eyes that had this annoyed expression in them. I remember the strange thing was he said he didn't know the deceased personally."
The woman was staring at him curiously. "Did he say his name?"
"No.... Andy kept asking questions...the gentleman finally admitted he didn't know...uh...Major Kerry. He said he was doing it for...for a friend." The older man watched as the brunette's expression softened and flashed comforted vulnerability for just a second. "Are you all right, ma'am?"
"I'm all right, thanks."
"The major your husband?" Barry asked gently.
"No, no," she chuckled tiredly. "I...Tim and I had actually just broken up before he was killed." At Barry's expression, she smiled sadly. "It...it was the right thing to do. I loved Tim, but, ah." She shrugged helplessly. "It was the right thing to do."
Barry smiled at the younger woman, who seemed to still bear a little unwarranted guilt about her ex's death. He shifted a little awkwardly, not sure what to do, when she turned to him. "Um. He...the man who was here last evening, he left some flowers there. I recognize the irises, but the others...." She shrugged. "Do you - do you know the significance of them?"
Barry followed the young woman to the tombstone. "Ah," he murmured, looking at the white irises nestled among soft orange nasturtiums. "The orange ones are nasturtiums. Irises can stand for wisdom and valor, and nastartiums for patriotism," Barry replied. "Courage. You must have noticed them on the other graves."
"Yes, I did."
"Didn't expect a man to know so much about them?" Barry chuckled. "I wouldn't have thought that fellow did, either."
"No, neither would I." She smiled softly when she spoke. "He doesn't like gifts that require attention."
"Yes. Quite appropriate." Barry looked over at the brunette, who was still looking at the headstone and grave. "Is there anything else I can help you with, ma'am?"
"Oh, no, thank you. You've done more than enough, thank you." She smiled.
The cemetery caretaker nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." He tipped his worn hat and started off, back to his task. When she left a few minutes later, he waved to her and watched her disappear down the hill.
Ten minutes later, it suddenly occurred to Barry that she obviously knew the man who had been there last night.
END
Chapter End Notes:
Casefile. Posted to ff.net 7-31-05 to 8-5-05.