Chapter Eleven: Have a Watchful Eye 15x14: Keep Your Friends Close

*Trigger warning*

Isana had felt a bit off, she had felt like something in her was telling her to hold on tightly to her friends as well as her boyfriend. They had met Dean yet but little did they know that they were about too. Not to mention that her phone and her laptop had been acting up thankful. She had a backup laptop where she kept all her extremely personal things.

Some may say she was paranoid, or they may say she was careful. She felt like she was being watched all the time and that's okay to feel that way because well she wasn't being watched. Or was she? She arrived at work before anyone else but fell asleep on Sloane's couch. Sloane didn't mind, Isana looked exhausted. She wasn't getting any sleep, Dean snored and since he was staying with her alot more he was snoring so much. Isana didn't have the heart to wake him up. So she would just sit up all night til he left in the morning. She was sleeping on Sloane's couch when Gibbs told Sloane to wake her, of course when Sloane did Isana immediately had her gun out.

Jolting awake hands gripping on the cold metal. It was concerning for anyone but more to the forensic Psychologist.

"Hey Easy there cowgirl."

Isana looks around the room before she relaxes, letting out a sigh and holstering her weapon. "I am so sorry Jack."

"No need to apologize i've been there, you uh, have a case Dead Naval officer in Alexandria. Gibbs sent me to fetch you."

"Thankyou Jack and thanks for letting me sleep on your couch, sorry for pulling my gun out at you. It wasn't you...I was expecting."

"It's okay, I am here if you want to talk.." she places a hand on Isana's back. She could feel her body shake a bit but she straightened up.

"It's fine, just a bad dream. It won't happen again." with that Isana leaves Jack's office. With a concerned Jack behind her.

//

Isana was taking photos with Bishop. "Uh, the victim is Navy Commander James Willis.

38 years old. Reported missing a week ago today."

"That's about when I'd put the time of death based on the decomposition.Gunshot wound to the head. Likely the cause of death, but I want to get him back to autopsy, properly unpack him before I make any assumptions. You know what they say.

"When you assume" Palmer looks at the three agents.

" I don't." Gibbs says flatly.

"Well, right. I mean, you-you don't. You don't because you have a gut, which is way different." Palmer says nervously as Isana just smirks, shaking her head.

"Uh, there are a bunch of rags in there. Killer's DNA could be on them." Isana continues.

"Yeah. I'll bring them up to Abby as soon as I unpack him."

"Hey, boss." Mcgee calls Gibbs over leaving Palmer and Isana and Bishop.

After Reeves talked with James's wife he leads them to a Private Investigator. Gibbs explained that they had to work alongside the private investigator so they met up at Fornell's house in his Garage. He was the private investigator.

"It's impressive."

"Does this desk make me look important, guys?" Nick says sitting behind Fornell's desk Isana laughs, snapping a photo of him as he starts posing.

" I really like the vibe in here." Bishop says as she takes a hat from the coat rack and starts to put it on.

"Oooh Hot." Isana comments, snapping a photo of her.

"Still no sign of Gibbs?"

" Oh. Uh, well, actually, he just called. He said he got held up and to start without him." Isana explains as Fornell nods.

"Oh. Then let's do this." Fornell presses a button on a remote and the garage door closes. "Our victim, Commander Willis, worked at the Pentagon."

"Job could've gotten him mixed up in something."

"Unlikely. He worked in the Support Services office. Dealt with phones and equipment maintenance. Nothing classified." Fornell says as Isana nods.

"What about his record?"

" Nothing on it except for his debt to Cash-Line Direct.At first glance, he looked like a Boy Scout."

"But he's not?" Bishop asks as Tobias shoves the corkboard to the side revealing a giant plasma with a keyboard set at the bottom.

" Oh, that is beautiful."

"Not what I was expecting." Nick replies as Mcgee is practically drooling over the tv.

"What? From a guy who also uses a corkboard?" Tobias attaches something to his hand holding it up.

" Tobias, is that the Sky-Glove 4800?"

" Oh, McGee, you-you got a little drool there." Isana points to the corner of her mouth.

"Whoa."

Tobias touches the screen and swipes it to the side. "Security footage from the Oxtail Grill in D. C. last month. That is Commander Willis." The footage shows James fighting with another commander.

"I ID'd the guy he's fighting with as another Navy commander. Sean Evans."

" It got pretty heated. Did you talk to Evans?" Mcgee asks.

" No. He's stationed on the USS Hoover."

"That's in port in Norfolk." Isana speaks up.

"Yeah, but without my FBI creds, I couldn't get access to board."

"Should've had Gibbs pull a string." Nick mutters.

"I tried."

"And he said no?" Mcgee asks.

"He didn't say anything. He's been avoiding me.He didn't want me on this case. Didn't show up to this briefing. Till I saw him today, he hadn't called in weeks."

"He may feel bad for ratting you out." Nick explains

"Why would he feel bad? Look at me. I'm over it. I'm thriving. Plus, he did the right thing.

He made sure that justice was served. So why would he be dodging me? Maybe you four could do a little investigating."

" Oh, no." "Oh, hell no." "We don't investigate Gibbs." Everyone was speaking all at once

"Look why dont I make a call, I can have you on the USS Hoover in an few hours."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah sure Fornell" Isana smiles at him pulling out her phone.

"How are you gonna get on a Naval carrier.?"

"You just leave that to me." she smiles at him again.

It was nice having a powerful boyfriend, you could basically call him for anything and he would get it done no questions asked.

Isana manages to get Bishop and Nick onto the USS Hoover to talk with Sean Evans.

She was stuck with Mcgee and Reeves which was odd. But not uncommon, they walked into Abby's lab seeing her recording a video.

"And then she said, "I love you, too. And then Bert the Hippo, he gave the bunny a great big hug and he promised that they would wear matching collars from that day forward.The end. Good night, Johnny. Good night, Morgan." Abby turns the video off.

Reeves clears throat. " What's all this?"

" It's my bedtime story for the twins' video anthology." She explains.

"Clay, Iz, I've got you down for Chapter twenty-two and Chapter ten."

"How do you find the time to put all this together?" Clay asks as Isana nods.

"I can barely manage to get my laundry done and folded in the same day."

"That is a good question. McGee, since the twins were born, you haven't even missed a step at work." Abby asks as everyone looks at Mcgee.

"So, what do you got, Abbs?"

" See how he just dove right back into work there?"

" Abbs, you told us to get our butts down here." Isana explains.

"Um, well, I'm still analyzing the rags that were found in the drum with Commander Willis' body, but at first glance, it looks like they were used to clean up the location. where he was shot."

"And what about the bullet?" Reeves asks.

"That's why I wanted your butts down here. So, I ran ballistics. The weapon used to shoot Commander Willis was a . 380." She walks over to her computer.

"Was it in the system?" Isana asks.

"No. But two bullets with the same striations were."

"Two other people were killed with the same gun in the same way." Mcgee says as Abby nods.

"Yeah. Execution style. And both within the last year."

"Are the cases related?" Reeves continues.

" No. The only link is that they were both murders-for-hire carried out by some unidentified hit man, which means.."

" Someone put out a professional hit on Commander Willis." Isana finishes for her.

//

It was the next morning and everyone was working at their desk. When Nick walks in his bag slung over his shoulder, being held by one finger.

"Hey, yo. Look who I found in the lobby." Nick says as Fornell appears behind him.

"Leave the FBI, it's Lord of the Flies down there. Security got out the pitchforks when I tried to come up unescorted. McGee, what do we know?"

" Well, Commander Willis was shot by an unidentified hit man who committed two other unrelated murders." Mcgee explains as Gibbs enters the bullpen he appears at his desk.

"Gibbs. Fancy meeting you here." He sees Fornell and starts leaving in the opposite direction. "Where are you going?"

" I got to get a thing. I think I'm catching something." He yells behind him.

"Sounds important." Fornell yells as Isana just chuckles.

"Yeah, okay, thank you for your help. Got something." Bishop hangs up her phone and gets up from her desk.

"I just confirmed that six months ago, Commander Willis served on the jury of a high-profile trial. The People v.Albert Hathaway." She picks up the remote and pulls things up on the plasma.

"The Ponzi King?"

" Bernie Madoff wannabe." Isana mutters rolling her eyes.

" That thing was in the news for, like, months.

"Hathaway was an investment advisor who cheated his clients out of millions of dollars." Mcgee explains.

"And Commander Willis was on the jury that convicted him?"

" He was foreman." Bishop explains.

"So, we're thinking Hathaway pulled off the hit from prison?" Tobias asks as everyone looks like they are thinking about it.

//

Isana and Nick decide to pay Hathaway a visit.

"I didn't do it."

"You didn't do what, exactly?" Isana sits up in her seat.

"Any of it."

"Any of what?" Nick asks.

" Mishandling of peoples' finances. My executive assistant had access to all my passwords; she's the one that you want."

"Mr.Hathaway, that's not why we're here."Isana cuts him off.

"Do you know him?" Nick pulls out a file contains James's photo and turns it towards Hathaway.

" No, I don't believe I do."

"His name is Commander James Willis, and he was foreman on the jury that put you in here." Isana explains.

"I've compartmentalized large portions of the trial. Truly, the emotional trauma was debilitating. I guess my not knowing his exact face would be something akin to PTSD."

Nick rolls his eyes. "Not even close, man"

Isana pulls out a photo of James dead. "The same man? The foreman?"

" Yep."

"You trying to pin this on me? I've been here for six months. They took me directly from sentencing to booking."

"Albert. Do you know any hit men?" Isana asks as Alvert Scoffs.

" This is ridiculous."

"Maybe you do know one, but, you know, PTSD made you forget." Nick replied as Isana refrains from laughing.

"Hmm. I don't know anyone like that."

"Well, Mr. Hathaway, when we listen to all the recordings of the phone calls you've made here, you better hope we don't find you even talking about the weather with someone who connects back to this case." Isana replies getting up to leave along with Nick.

Isana and Nick were driving back to the Naval yard when Abby calls she explains how she got a hit on the rags that were in the drum with James and the sulfate that was found with him too, they were sold by the same company in bulk, of course Torress and Isana go by there.

"The night your sailor went missing, two of my workers didn't show up for work. The Barrett brothers."

"What happened?"

" Next morning, I was doing inventory. Three liters of lye were missing, along with four bottles of Swiftex and my floor buffer. I confronted 'em about it." She types a few keys on her computer. "Michael and Joey Barrett are their names." She turns the screen to show their employee pictures.

"They stole the stuff." Torres replies as the woman nods.

"Sure did. I fired 'em on the spot, and if I don't see my floor buffer by tomorrow, they're gonna be in a world of hurt."

"Do you happen to have their home addresses?"Isana asks.

" No, they move around so much, I can't keep track. But if you want to find 'em, I do know that they eat almost every meal at that disgusting place over on Sixth."

"The raw food place?" Isana grimaces, face scrunched up in disgust.

" No. The place that serves only pizza and French fries. Can you imagine eating that crap for every meal?" Torres looks at Isana who smiles.

//

"Mmm, my mouth is watering. Have you ever eaten there?" Isana was waiting in a car with Gibbs.

"No."

"Mm. Well, it must be good if people are willing to wait in line like that." Isana watches the long line which was literally out the door and wrapped down the street.

"A lot of times, people are idiots." Gibbs says as Isana laughs. "Which one's which?"

" Uh, this one is Michael," she shows Gibbs a photo with her phone. " and that's Brother Joey."

"Are you guys seeing what I'm doing out here? I'm killing it!"

"Mm, get over yourself, Nick. You're waiting in a line." Isana replies.

"No, dude, I'm making all these people believe that a guy with this body fat percentage would actually eat here. I'm fitting right in.Oh, this feels good. This feels really good."

Isana just rolls her eyes. "You went to the briefing at Fornell's place?"

" Yeah. Why?"

" How'd he seem?" Gibbs asks as Before Isana can Answer. She's being cut off.

"I'm peachy. Thanks for asking."

"Tobias?"

" Cafe table by the restaurant."

Isana and Gibbs turn to look at the table seeing Fornell there in a fedora.

"What are you doing here?"

He chuckles. "Wait, you're surprised that I'm up to speed? I still have some contacts at NCIS who will answer my calls. So, let's catch us a couple of Barrett brothers."

"You can't arrest anybody."

"I am well aware."

"Hell, you can't even carry a weapon."

"As a civilian, I can."

"Are you carrying a weapon?" At this point Gibbs and Tobias were arguing.

" I may have a little something going on."

"How did you even get on this frequency?"

" I've been working with you people for 15 years. You think I don't know what frequency you're on?..."

" Targets at your six, Torres, heading north." Isana explains.

" Torres, move. Tobias, stay." They both get out of the car.

"I'm not your poodle, Gibbs." everyone starts approaching the Barretts.

"Hey, Barretts. Don't move. NCIS." They start to Run and Nick trips one of the brothers, the other taking off running.

"I got him!" Fornell takes off after him and Gibbs and Isana are in the car, they manage to get him cornered in the Alley he turns to run and Fornell tases him. They get the two brothers taken into custody where they explain everything How a hit man hired them to clean up the scene and how they were going to need to clean up another scene in a week, but they hadn't gotten the call. They stayed in a hotel called the Stargazer and that's where Isana and Gibbs go next.

"Wow. They deal with dead bodies and eat nothing but junk, yet they live like my Aunt Judy."

"They love to clean." Gibbs retorts as Isana nods.

"Hmm.'' She hums as they hear the toilet flush; they immediately reach for their guns when the door opens revealing Fornell.

"Bathroom's clear. Took you guys long enough."

"You gotta be kidding me." Gibbs says as Isana can sense an argument brewing.

"Hey, Director Vance gave me the nod to be here."

"Great." Gibbs shakes his head,

"It is great. It's great that I'm here. It's great that you're here. It's great that I get to sit here and watch you squirm for reasons nobody knows but you. The whole damn thing is great."

"Uh, I'm gonna go get some pizza and fries. I mean, we have to sit here and wait for the hit man to call, right? Who knows how long we'll be here?" With that Isana leaves.

She waits in line for twenty minutes before returning to the hotel room. She sees Fornell and Gibbs standing in front of each other.

"That's all right. I wouldn't know how to trust you now either." Fornell leaves as Isana sighs.

"Uh, is he coming back?"

" No."

"Okay." she could sense that it was tough that Gibbs didnt want to talk about it. The phone rings and Gibbs goes to Answer it.

"30 minutes. We'll handle it." He hands up the phone writing something down on the notepad next to the phone. "Got a location. Cleanup starts in 30 minutes."

"The hit already happened?"

" No. It's about to." Gibbs grab the paper and heads out.

//

Isana and Gibbs head over to the place where they were called to be, it's dark as they enter and decide to split up. Isana finds herself in the bedroom. She opens the closet finding the cat inside as someone grabs her from behind and put a hand over her mouth and grabs her hand and put it behind her back. She was about to break this guy's arm when Gibbs comes to the rescue shooting him in the chest. He walks over to the body pulling the mask up over his head to reveal his face.

"You recognize him?"

" No." Isana replies as they see a car's headlights indicating that someone was pulling into the driveway they head out into the living room seeing a woman walking cyanide she turns on the light.

"NCIS." They announce themselves as the woman gasp. Gibbs sits down on the couch with the woman while Isana is on the phone behind him.

"Uh, Gibbs?" Isana clears her throat as Gibbs walks over. "McGee ran the plates on the hit man's vehicle."

"Mm-hmm. Who is it?"

" Name is Dominic Malecki, and up until now, he has managed to keep his record clean.

And we still can't connect him to Hathaway." Gibbs looks over at Patricia, the woman who the house belongs to and begins piecing everything together.

In the end the true culprit was James's wife; she hired the gunman to take out her husband and Patricia because they were having an affair. Isana was tired she was on her way to her house when everything around her goes dark

Word count: 3200