Rule 39: There Is No Such Thing As Coincidence (Tony DiNozzo Love Story)

Interpol and the Russian Mafia

Tony's POV

I watch Gibbs walk away, I didn't know exactly what he wanted me to do. The doctor said not to question her, but that just means sitting there in silence. Heading back into the room, she's sitting there staring out the window. She doesn't look away as I take a seat near the wall at the end of the bed.

"Still haven't figured me out have you?" She asks. Her voice startles me.

"We've learned a few things."

"Nothing solid," she says. I walk around the bed and over to where her hand is handcuffed to the rail. I pull the key out of my pocket and remove the cuffs from her. She looks up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Talk to me a little bit and I'll keep those off until it's time to leave," I say. She rubs her wrist and nods. I nod and tuck the handcuffs and the key away into my pocket. I return to my seat.

"Who are you?" The question escapes me before I can really stop myself. She looks away from the window and stares at me. She almost seems to think about it for a moment before opening her lips.

"Everything you and your team believe me to be."

"What's that?"

"Assassin. Suspect. Ghost."

"Why do you think that?"

"It's what I am." Her cool hazel eyes look into my own.

"You know Agent DiNozzo a lot of your preconceptions of what may seem familiar, usually are. When you find yourself thinking of things from the past, you often remember something quite important. Reliving old memories that although painful, may be revealing falsehoods."

"You know you could write those little paper slips inside fortune cookies for a living with stuff like that," I say wittily.

She smiles and looks back to the window.

"I'll let you know this, you and I are not so different. I too lost someone I loved dearly."

"Reliving old memories?"

"They're comforting to think upon when your life is in danger."

"Well, you're in the custody of NCIS, I don't think your life is in danger anymore."

"You all thought that last time too," she says turning away from the window. "When you're someone like me, there's precautions that must be taken. Lives that must end and new ones that must be taken. You realize the kind of person you are and can be when people are trying to kill you. Relive a few memories from your past, maybe some from that woman you love. Maybe you'll remember something."

I stare at her, not knowing what to say but wondering one thing. How does she know about Erin?

Gibbs's POV

Walking up to Jenny's office I pass Cynthia, her receptionist.

"Gibbs, she's in a meeting right now. You can't go in there!" She rushes out as she stands.

I walk past her and into Jenny's office. A stocky man in an expensive suit stares towards me.

"I'm in a meeting, if you could come back later," Jenny says more than asks.

"It's quite alright, I've got to be going," the man say. His voice foreign to English, he's Russian.

"You must be Agent Gibbs, my name is Grigori Kedrov. Russian Diplomat from INTERPOL Moscow, we've got word that you have seven Russian Mafia members in your morgue and two in interrogation, yes?"

"Yes, we have them," I say.

"Your Director has informed me that you have a woman in custody as well? Tell me Agent Gibbs, she's very captivating isn't she as well as dangerous?"

"You know the identity of this woman?"

"There is one woman in particular that stands out," he says and leans over towards his chair and picks up a file.

"A gift from INTERPOL Moscow, in exchange for your cooperation with us in this case. You help us, we help you," he says.

"I told Mr. Kedrov that since this is such a sensitive case, we would work with him as well as we could," Jenny says.

"Of course," I say and shake his hand.

"Well, I must go. Thank you Agent Gibbs and you, Miss Shepard," he says and she nods. Not more than a few seconds goes by before he's gone.

"Russian Mafia?" I ask.

"Apparently so. What have you got about our ghost, Jethro?"

"She was in Venezuela before going to Belize and there's something more to that compound in Belize. McGee found a shipment arriving not too long before we got there and our ghost going to check on it."

"Do we know what the shipment was?"

"No, neither why she was in Venezuela. I was hoping you could get our ghost back in house, the doctor—,"

"I know Gibbs, she called before Kedrov got here. I'll get her back into this building as soon as I can. In the meantime, go see what our guests have to say about our ghost and their involvement with the Russian Mafia," she says and I stand up and take the file.

"Not to mention why they wanted her dead," she adds as I walk out.

"McGee, find everything you can on a Matrona Tvardovsky," I say.

"Sure thing, Boss."

"Ziva, can you get our Russian guests in separate interrogation rooms?" She nods and leaves a moment later as I sit down to read through the INTERPOL file about Matrona Tvardovsky, hoping McGee can find more than what they have.

"Interrogation is ready for you Gibbs," Ziva says. I gather up the folder and head to interrogation. Glancing toward McGee he's typing away and staring hard at his computer screen.

Walking into interrogation, the man that we'd arrested in autopsy looks at me calmly.

"Hello Agent Gibbs. You must wonder who I am or how I know of you? Well, I'll tell you only if you make deal with INTERPOL. They come see you, yes?" He asks.

"They came."

"You know why don't you?"

"I'm sure it's to understand just why you and your men came all the way to the U.S. to try and kill someone."

"They came because they want to see if we were successful."

"INTERPOL?" I ask, disbelieving.

"Yes, in Russia. Everyone is bought off in my country, including members of INTERPOL Moscow."

"How do you expect me to make a deal with INTERPOL if they're working for your boss as well?"

"Keep me here in America," he says leaning forward.

"I can't promise that. There's crimes against you for the attempted murder of three federal agents so far, including your infiltration into a government building to murder a suspect in NCIS custody," I say.

"You work to keep me here, I tell you what you need to know."

"Well, you're not the only one we have in custody. There's another in another interrogation room."

"He won't talk," he says.

"What makes you think he hasn't already?" I ask.

"Because if you're with me and no one is watching him, I would bet he's biting off his own tongue," he says and laughs. I turn and look towards the two way mirror.