11

Fiat Justitia

Let justice be done

Karl Lipczynski sat on the uncomfortable metal chair and leaned his elbows on the table. He was still numb from the shock of what had just happened…everyone had told him they'd get off, McGee's word alone wouldn't be enough to convict…but it had been. He was going to jail; he lifted his head as he heard the click of the door handle…His spirits took another dive as he watched Gibbs and David walk into the room, they looked like they meant business, and he was here without a lawyer…what the heck, the lawyers hadn't done him any good so far, might as well deal with this himself…

"You're in a heap of trouble Karl."

Gibbs took his customary place across the table from the prisoner.

"Eggert will appeal; he says we have good grounds."

"Then he lied to you Karl, because you are going to prison, and you're going to die there."

Karl was momentarily taken aback, but then his natural bravado kicked in.

"Not me! Even if the conviction stands, I'll be out on parole in a few years."

Gibbs impatiently slammed his fist down on the table.

"You still don't get it do you? Three strikes Karl; you're out!"

Gibbs knew this strategy was risky; he hadn't cleared it with legal, and he wasn't entirely sure he was on firm ground with what he was doing. But he needed to talk to Karl now, when he was processing the guilty verdict, and before he had chance to talk with Eggert or Grier again. Karl was sitting totally still, his eyes darting from Ziva to Gibbs, looking for any sign that this was a joke; there were none.

"I…it wasn't three…just one…has to be a federal crime…"

"Don't try to teach me the law Karl. Trespass on the property of a Federal Agent – one; criminal damage to the car belonging to a Federal Agent – two; leaving that same Federal Agent to bleed to death - that's three. You're gone for ever Karl…unless…"

Gibbs had smiled inwardly as he saw the terror in Karl's eyes as he considered the possibility of a lifetime behind bars; Karl was practically gasping for breath now.

"What do you mean, unless?"

"We arrested your friend Giles Friedman this morning."

Karl felt like someone had kicked him in the gut, when McGee said Giles' name in court yesterday Nick had told him it would take NCIS days to track him down; he said there was nothing to link him to what happened to McGee, no evidence to prove he was the attacker… Gibbs watched the reaction, and probed harder.

"We found DNA evidence to link Friedman to the murder of Frank Dayton, and we know he didn't do that alone…Dayton was linked to an attempt on Agent McGee's life; you're linked to Friedman…see how this all fits together Karl? You're in the middle of a conspiracy to murder a Federal Agent."

Ziva took a few steps closer to Karl, and looked him up and down speculatively.

"You are a good looking young man, I am sure you will be extremely popular in prison, although…when the bloom of youth fades…perhaps your time in prison will not be so long after all…an early death may be preferable to a long life as the prison plaything…"

Karl was trembling now, how did she know that he lay awake in lock-up, terrified that someone was gong to attack him…to rape him…he couldn't stand that…he couldn't survive in prison…

"What do you want from me Gibbs?"

"Just the answer to one simple question Karl. Where did you put the body of Petty Officer Renton? Let her fiancé have some closure, give her a decent burial…that's all we ask Karl."

"I can't…Giles said…"

Gibbs leapt from his chair, and leaned over the table, his face inches from Karl.

"Giles said what? You think Giles is going to take the fall for this? He won't go down alone, he'll drag you all down with him, and that's a murder charge to add to all the others"

Karl didn't know what to do…he was so confused…Nick always told him what to do…but Nick wasn't here…he couldn't go to jail, not forever…

"If…if I tell you…what will you do for me?"

Gibbs sat down, and gave every appearance of considering his next move.

"I could talk to the DA, look to reduce your jail time."

He took out his notebook and pen, and put them on the table.

"You just write it down Karl."

Lipczynski struggled to pick up the pen, his hands were trembling so much…but eventually he scribbled down the location, and Gibbs called for the guard to come and take Lipczynski away. Ziva glanced at the notepad.

"Do you think this is the true location Gibbs?"

"It had better be, or Lipczynski will wish he'd never been born."

"Timothy McGee, you are brilliant!"

Tim smiled, but shook his head.

"Not me Abs, Jill Renton, she's the one who hid the memory chip in the box."

"But you're the one who found the clue about the hare. What do you think she put on here?"

"Let's take a look."

"Oh, no you won't young man! You are going home, and you too Abigail."

Tim stared longingly at Ducky.

"Please Ducky, just a few minutes, I have to know…"

"What you have to do, is sleep. I know the adrenalin has kicked in, and you want to start right now, but I can assure you that in a very short time, you will be unable to focus on the screen. Don't argue; Director Vance has put his driver at our disposal, and I suggest we take Abigail home, and then get you settled."

Tim wanted to argue, to tell Ducky he had to do this, for Jill Renton, and for Robert Draper. To see a hardened Navy Seal almost break down in tears as he handed over the polished ebony box, with a mother-of-pearl inlaid hare; it had been an intensely emotional moment for Tim and Abby, and their promise to Robert that they would handle it with care had been a heartfelt one.

Ducky had x-rayed the box, and they'd seen the memory chip hidden under the blue velvet lining, very carefully Abby had removed the chip, and rushed to the lab with Tim, unable to contain their need to know…until Ducky arrived. Abby was about to protest once more when she saw Ducky watching Tim, and she saw at last what Ducky was seeing; a man exhausted, physically and emotionally, a man who earlier today relived the worst moments of his life. She gave a huge yawn.

"You know Tim, I am so tired, you must be too…let's do as Ducky says, if Gibbs does find Jill Renton's body tomorrow, we're all going to be busy."

Ducky smiled his thanks to Abby; he knew a fake yawn when he saw one.

They did find the body, exactly where Lipczynski had said; they also found three blue coveralls. Ducky used dental records to officially identify the body as that of Petty Officer Jill Renton, the autopsy showed that she had been killed by a single gun shot to the head; her engagement ring was still on what remained of her finger.

"My dear, whatever you did, I am sure you did nothing that warranted such a punishment."

"Which one of them killed her? Do you think we'll ever know?"

"There may be some physical evidence on the coveralls as to who fired the fatal shot Jimmy, but in my book each of those bastards is equally guilty, as they are equally guilty of trying to kill Timothy, standing by and letting these things happen…it's a wicked act."

Jimmy wasn't going to argue with Doctor Mallard, watching Tim in court, and hearing him describe those moments when he thought he was dying…he was never going to forget that, or forgive the men who had left Tim to die.

For several days the team worked on the new evidence, Gibbs, Ziva and Tony talked more than once to Grier, Lipczynski and Friedman, at first they were tight lipped, hoping that their silence would save them. But as the physical evidence mounted, and Tim found more and more incriminating documents on Jill Renton's memory chip, their veneer of solidarity cracked, and each of them started to deflect guilt from themselves by making statements against their former partners.

The coveralls found with Jill Renton's body had epithelials from the three men, the one which had been worn by Giles Friedman also had Tim's blood on it, there was no doubt, he was the one who stabbed McGee. Along with the evidence linking him to Dayton's murder, Giles Friedman knew his life as a free man was over, not even Lawrence Eggert in his prime could get him off these charges, he tried to cut a deal by offering Gibbs the man behind the embezzling, and many other underground operations that he thought only he knew about. But there had been one other person who knew about Friedman's boss; Jill Renton had found out about Malcolm Dowland, and she'd documented everything she could find out about his business dealings.

Tim had found page after page of evidence that would have the FBI, ATF, DEA, and even the IRS working for months, Dowland had masterminded crimes ranging from tax evasion, through embezzlement, drug trafficking, murder…it seemed like nothing was beyond his reach or beyond the limits of his greed. It was all about to come crashing round his ears; Gibbs and Tony were bringing him back to NCIS, they wanted to charge him here, after all the reason they even could arrest him was because of the work of a Navy Petty Officer, and an NCIS agent.

Tim had been right about Jill Renton, Dowland had threatened to put her mother away, somewhere she would receive no medication, no relief from the ravages of the cancer that finally killed her. Jill's mother meant everything to her, and she went along with Dowland's demands just so long as her mom was alive. After the funeral, she had emailed Dowland warning him that he needed to stop what he was doing because she was going to NCIS…

"I wish she'd come to us first Abs, telling Dowland, that was like signing her own death warrant."

Abby linked her arm through Tim's, she still relished every moment he was here with here, he'd been away so long…

"Her mom had just died Tim, and her fiancé was out of reach, maybe she just wasn't thinking straight."

"Well that I can relate to…thinking straight is sometimes harder than it looks…"

Both of them stood quietly, remembering those dark days at the hospital when they feared that Tim might never regain his mental equilibrium.

"I missed you Timmy."

"I missed you too Abs."

"Hey! You're back here five minutes and you're already playing grab ass! Don't you two have any work?"

Tim smiled at Gibbs.

"You know Boss, I don't think we do. Except…"

The smile had gone, and Tim was serious once more.

"Something more we need to do Tim? I thought all the loose ends were tied up pretty tight."

"That's just it…a loose end, Nurse Fordham…we never found out what happened to her."

"I know Tim, but that's something we can't get Friedman and the others to talk about, and with no forensic evidence, we have nowhere to go."

"I just wanted…justice for everyone, you know…"

"We can't win every fight Tim; wish we could; but so long as we never stop trying…and don't forget Tim, you found Jill Renton, showed the world she wasn't an opportunist thief, and allowed Lieutenant Draper to say goodbye to the woman he loved…not bad work McGee, not bad at all!"

Felicitate Restituta

With happiness restored

"All I'm saying is, you keep telling us remakes are never as good as the original, and then give us a list of all the remakes that are better."

"Listen McHealthy; just because you watched the remake of True Grit while you were at your parents' place, that doesn't make you the office movie expert, that crown belongs to the one and only Anthony DiNozzo!"

"Never said I was an expert, I said there was merit in both versions…"

"Merit! So, now who's the movie critic?"

Gibbs shook his head, but he couldn't hide his smile. It was so good to have the team back together again. Tim had finally returned to full field duties, and he was looking much more like his old self. The headaches were a rarity these days, and after two weeks out in San Diego with his family, a little of his Florida tan had returned.

Friedman, Grier and Lipczynski had all put in guilty pleas on the numerous charges against them; they were likely to be sentenced to life without parole. Gibbs had put in a word for Karl as he had promised, but only to get him housed out of the general population; Gibbs wanted him to pay for what he did to Tim, but he couldn't in all conscience let a man go through what he knew Lipczynski would suffer every day…Dowland had elected for a jury trial. Gibbs was confident that the verdict would be guilty, Adele Belfield was prosecuting, and Gibbs had every faith in her ability to put Dowland away for a very long time.

They'd almost lost Tim…not just in that rain swept alley, but in the days and weeks after, in one of their many late night conversations Ducky had left Gibbs in no doubt how close they had come.

"People die from injuries less severe than Timothy suffered; his brain was thrown from one side of his skull to the other, that alone could have killed him, with the blood loss from his stab wound too…then the mental traumas of amnesia, the attempts on his life…"

"I think maybe he's the strongest of us Duck, and I don't mean physically...there's something about him, I like to think I saw it all those years ago…back in Norfolk, but he's come so far since then…"

Watching his team now, as Ziva threatened Tony and Tim with dire consequences if they did not stop talking about movies, and the way Tony suddenly had to stick up for his best buddy…man, Gibbs had missed that…all they needed now…

"Timmy! You were supposed to come to the lab, Ducky made tea, and I have a double chocolate chip muffin with your name on it, and I mean that literally, I had them put your name on..."

Tim glanced over at Gibbs and raised his eyebrows, things would get back to normal soon, but for now, he was relishing the newness of being back at work, at last he was ready to work in the field…this was what he wanted, what he was good at.

"Boss?"

"Go Tim, we won't have any peace until you do."

Abby grabbed Tim's arm, but she turned to the others before she left.

"Come on everyone, there's enough to go round, you too Gibbs…Jimmy even got your favourite coffee, this is a Red Letter Day; Tim's home!"

Consummatum Est

It is Completed

Dura Lex, Sed Lex Page 11