Fic: Coup de Grâce [1/10]
Title: Coup de Grâce
Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)
Rating: FR-15
Pairing: Gibbs/Abby
Category: Drama, Angst, Romance, Case-file
Spoilers: The S7 episode arc - 'Semper Fi', 'Borderland', 'Patriot Down', 'Rule 51'. Slight for 'Cracked', 'False Witness'
Summary: Sequel to 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'. Abby's involvement with the NSA, past and present, puts her future at risk.
Authors Note: I've tried to make it so it's not necessary to read the previous story but you might find it beneficial to do so.
Authors Note 2: Meaning of the title, for those who are curious: Coup de Grâce - originally a blow by which one condemned or mortally wounded is 'put out of his misery'. Figuratively, a finishing stroke, one that settles or puts an end to something.
~*~
Prologue
~*~
There was no body, no headstone standing proud in a sea of graves in a cemetery. There'd been no service, no gathering of friends and family to weep over a closed casket and mourn the vibrant life that was no more.
He didn't think it would have helped even if there had been.
The broken chain draped over his palm and the blood they'd found inside her car were all they had to prove she was gone. He kept the necklace, a simple white gold chain with two smaller-than-standard, decorative dog tags, with him at all times. If he was awake, it was safely stored in the pocket of whatever jacket he was wearing, within reach of his fingertips at all times, a tangible connection to her. If he was asleep, the chain sat on his bedside table, beside his gun, as he tossed and turned restlessly across the otherwise empty bed.
His fingertips danced over the sides of the dog tags, over the symbols and words carved into them. He closed his hand around it, forming a fist, feeling the edges dig into his flesh, branding him.
NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat on the stool in his basement, staring blankly at the shell of the latest boat he'd started to build.
Over a month had passed since she'd gone, more than a month without Abby Sciuto in his life. It wasn't the longest he'd gone without seeing her, having spent three months in Mexico with only the occasional phone call from the forensic specialist but it felt like the longest weeks of his life.
Only the months and years after Shannon and Kelly had died had felt just as long, and just as lonely.
He'd thrown himself into his work, buried himself in case after case. His agents and friends were not only exhausted from the sheer amount of work he gave them to do but concerned about his wellbeing, too.
Gibbs knew it but couldn't find it in himself to change, not yet. It was still too soon, still too raw. And even when he did, it wouldn't matter.
Abby would still be gone.
~*~
Previously
~*~
A wave of déjà vu swept over her as she paced back and forth in the small corridor just off the courtroom, waiting to be called to testify. It was the third time in as many months she'd been called to give evidence in a trial relating to Josef Branley and she suspected the ending would be the same, too.
Josef Branley was a clever man. A devious, immoral and dangerous man but his intelligence was something that couldn't be denied. They all knew he was capable of the crimes he was accused of - the murder of a Marine, in the most recent case against him, who had died because he couldn't afford to pay for the drugs he'd been using - and they all knew he had orchestrated each of them, too, but he was clever in that he managed to do so from the comfortable surroundings of the penthouse apartment of the building he owned. He was as powerful as any high-ranking politician, with hundreds if not thousands of underlings willing to do his bidding for a price he was willing to pay.
He was ruthless and made sure that those who crossed him didn't live long enough to even think about doing it again. He had a network of suppliers and associates that stretched all across North America as well as links to Mexico and Europe and was responsible for supplying a steady stream of illegal drugs to those who wanted them. Most were able to afford his services but those who couldn't, like the unfortunate Marine, soon found their debts settled in another, more permanent way.
Although they always had enough evidence to secure a conviction against Branley, he always managed to get out if. If there wasn't a scapegoat available to take the fall, bribes and blackmail seemed to do the trick nicely, though of course there was no evidence of that when NCIS, the FBI or the CIA investigated.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves - Abby hated court even at the best of times - she looked up at the sound of footsteps echoing along the tiled hallway. Her smile of greeting was small but the warmth in her green eyes was genuine as she watched Gibbs walk towards her, his strides long but his pace unhurried.
"Hey."
"Hey." He reached out to her, his fingertips grazing the skin of her cheek as he tucked an errant strand of black hair behind her ear. The touch wasn't accidental, they both knew that, though it would look it to anyone who didn't know them. "You okay?"
"I'd prefer to be in my lab," Abby answered honestly, one shoulder rising and falling in a casual shrug. "You don't have to be here, you know. You've got the Westward case to wrap up."
"Can't do anything else till Edmonds shows his face." He dropped his hand to the side - reluctantly, she noted with another small smile.
"Branley's not gonna try anything if that's what you're worried about." She smiled at the momentarily surprise in his blue eyes at having been so easily sussed. "I doubt I even register on his radar."
"Third time you've gone up against him in court," Gibbs reminded her unnecessarily. "He's gonna start taking us seriously soon."
She squared her shoulders against a shudder and tilted her chin up, a defiant look on her face. "The sooner he takes us seriously, the sooner he realises he won't get away with what he does forever." Her expression softened at the look on his. "Don't worry, Gibbs, I've got no intention of making myself a target. Think I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime."
Her rueful tone was justified. Not more than six months ago, Abby's past had come back to haunt her, resulting in her - with the help of the NSA - setting herself up as a target for a known terrorist she'd already made an enemy of. Her earlier career as an agent with the National Security Agency - and her childhood spent mostly in a NSA devised think-tank-come-school had come as a surprise to the colleagues who had become her family. It was only thanks to luck and the NCIS agents that Abby and her niece had survived, though the former hadn't walked away entirely unscathed - the scar on her thigh reminded them both of that on a daily basis.
"See that you don't." Gibbs' tone was gruff, and she didn't need to know him as well as she did to see he, too, was recalling the events of less than a year ago.
Not that those events had been entirely bad. Yes, one of her closest friends had been murdered in the apartment she now no longer lived in and yes, her past had been exposed, leaving her vulnerable and uncertain as to her future with NCIS but at least one good thing had emerged from the traumatic experience, too. Her relationships with all of her NCIS family had been strengthened as a result of it, and her relationship with Gibbs himself had changed, deepened, in a way that neither of them could regret.
"It works both ways, Gibbs," she reminded him lightly, glancing up and down the hall to check they were alone before moving closer, invading his personal space without apology as he'd done to her so many times in the past. "No making yourself a target, either."
She didn't need to stand on her tiptoes thanks to the high heels she wore and Abby took advantage of being a few inches taller, of standing eye-to-eye with him, by putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning in to kiss him gently. His hands moved automatically to her hips, fingers curling, digging in lightly as he returned her kiss.
They broke apart after a few moments, both aware the hallway outside of the courtroom wasn't the best place to be caught in a compromising position. Abby smiled at him softly as she took a step away, reaching up to tenderly wipe away the smudge of red lipstick that had transferred from her lips to his.
She dug in her purse for her small compact mirror, checking her own appearance quickly before putting it away. The doors beside them opened before either could say anything and she squared her shoulders again, subconsciously moving to stand beside him as he, too, stood straighter, standing side-by-side, ready to face whoever it was together.
The sight of them looking so much like a united force gave the JAG lawyer serving for the prosecution a momentary pause as he glanced at them speculatively before nodding in greeting to the NCIS agent he hadn't been expecting.
"Agent Gibbs, Abby." Lieutenant Commander Adrian Lowes clasped his hands in front of him. "We've got a ten minute break, then you'll be called to the stand," he informed Abby, his gaze darting from the pretty forensic specialist to the intimidating agent at her side. "There have been some developments I should make you aware of..."
"Developments?" It was Gibbs who asked, an eyebrow arching. His hand moved instinctively to Abby's back, reassuring and protective, and Lt. Commander Lowes wondered if he even realised he'd done it. "What kind...?"
"The lawyer for the defence was replaced at the last moment," Lowes explained quietly. "We're now dealing with a Ms. Hart, from Wolfram, Hart and Donowitz..." He paused at the look they exchanged. "You've dealt with her before?"
"Our paths have crossed," Abby answered evasively, her shoulders tensing further. "Last I heard, she was out of the country."
Lowes shrugged. "She's back now, and she's tough. I think she's already got half of the jury eating out of her hand, believing Bradley is just a misunderstood innocent who got caught up in a bad situation."
"She's good at letting the bad guys walk," Gibbs muttered, recalling it was M. Allison Hart who had secured Colonel Bell's release from a prison in Mexico, unwittingly aiding the Reynosa cartel in getting their revenge against him. Paloma Reynosa, leader of the cartel, and her brother, Alejandro Rivera, Mexican official, had used Colonel Bell's grudge against Gibbs for their own purpose - to get vengeance against the NCIS Agent for the murder of their father, Pedro Hernandez, the man who was responsible for the murders of Shannon and Kelly Gibbs.
Abby gave him a speculative look, her shoulders slumping. "She's good at letting the good guys walk, too," she said quietly, more of a whisper than a murmur.
It was Gibbs' turn to look at her, though Lowes noted she didn't return the glance. Glancing down at his watch, seeing that recess was almost over, Lowes sighed softly. "Are you ready, Abby? You don't want to go through your answers again?"
"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be," Abby answered, a quick smile curving the corners of her mouth. She did glance at Gibbs then, Lowes noticed. "You don't have to stay. I can see you back at NCIS later."
His cell phone rang before he could reply. He pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the display before giving her an apologetic glance. "Call me when you're done," he told her instead, leaning in to kiss her cheek gently before turning away, flipping the phone open and putting it to his ear. "Yeah, Gibbs."
Abby watched him walk away before turning back to Lieutenant Commander Lowes. "Let's get this over with."
She was left alone as the trial resumed, only to be called in a short while later. She took the stand, her eyes meeting Margaret Allison Hart's for a few brief moments as she waited to be asked the first question. The other woman couldn't hold her gaze for long, averting her eyes to the open file in front of her as though in shame.
Interesting, Abby thought to herself, making a mental note to try and catch a few moments alone with the lawyer later. They hadn't spoken since the day Abby had handed over the report she'd compiled on Pedro Hernandez's murder, a report that could have - should have - taken Gibbs out of her life and put him behind bars. It was the hardest thing she'd done, Abby thought, to trust someone else to save the man she loved, knowing there was nothing else she could do.
Putting those thoughts from her mind, she was soon distracted again - not by the questions she knew the answers to by heart but by the lone person she saw slip into the back row of seats in the courtroom.
NSA Agent Catherine Lowry caught her eye and gave her an apologetic smile, causing the knot of dread in Abby's stomach to tighten.
~*~
Author: Jo. R (driftingatdusk)
Rating: FR-15
Pairing: Gibbs/Abby
Category: Drama, Angst, Romance, Case-file
Spoilers: The S7 episode arc - 'Semper Fi', 'Borderland', 'Patriot Down', 'Rule 51'. Slight for 'Cracked', 'False Witness'
Summary: Sequel to 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'. Abby's involvement with the NSA, past and present, puts her future at risk.
Authors Note: I've tried to make it so it's not necessary to read the previous story but you might find it beneficial to do so.
Authors Note 2: Meaning of the title, for those who are curious: Coup de Grâce - originally a blow by which one condemned or mortally wounded is 'put out of his misery'. Figuratively, a finishing stroke, one that settles or puts an end to something.
~*~
Prologue
~*~
There was no body, no headstone standing proud in a sea of graves in a cemetery. There'd been no service, no gathering of friends and family to weep over a closed casket and mourn the vibrant life that was no more.
He didn't think it would have helped even if there had been.
The broken chain draped over his palm and the blood they'd found inside her car were all they had to prove she was gone. He kept the necklace, a simple white gold chain with two smaller-than-standard, decorative dog tags, with him at all times. If he was awake, it was safely stored in the pocket of whatever jacket he was wearing, within reach of his fingertips at all times, a tangible connection to her. If he was asleep, the chain sat on his bedside table, beside his gun, as he tossed and turned restlessly across the otherwise empty bed.
His fingertips danced over the sides of the dog tags, over the symbols and words carved into them. He closed his hand around it, forming a fist, feeling the edges dig into his flesh, branding him.
NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat on the stool in his basement, staring blankly at the shell of the latest boat he'd started to build.
Over a month had passed since she'd gone, more than a month without Abby Sciuto in his life. It wasn't the longest he'd gone without seeing her, having spent three months in Mexico with only the occasional phone call from the forensic specialist but it felt like the longest weeks of his life.
Only the months and years after Shannon and Kelly had died had felt just as long, and just as lonely.
He'd thrown himself into his work, buried himself in case after case. His agents and friends were not only exhausted from the sheer amount of work he gave them to do but concerned about his wellbeing, too.
Gibbs knew it but couldn't find it in himself to change, not yet. It was still too soon, still too raw. And even when he did, it wouldn't matter.
Abby would still be gone.
~*~
Previously
~*~
A wave of déjà vu swept over her as she paced back and forth in the small corridor just off the courtroom, waiting to be called to testify. It was the third time in as many months she'd been called to give evidence in a trial relating to Josef Branley and she suspected the ending would be the same, too.
Josef Branley was a clever man. A devious, immoral and dangerous man but his intelligence was something that couldn't be denied. They all knew he was capable of the crimes he was accused of - the murder of a Marine, in the most recent case against him, who had died because he couldn't afford to pay for the drugs he'd been using - and they all knew he had orchestrated each of them, too, but he was clever in that he managed to do so from the comfortable surroundings of the penthouse apartment of the building he owned. He was as powerful as any high-ranking politician, with hundreds if not thousands of underlings willing to do his bidding for a price he was willing to pay.
He was ruthless and made sure that those who crossed him didn't live long enough to even think about doing it again. He had a network of suppliers and associates that stretched all across North America as well as links to Mexico and Europe and was responsible for supplying a steady stream of illegal drugs to those who wanted them. Most were able to afford his services but those who couldn't, like the unfortunate Marine, soon found their debts settled in another, more permanent way.
Although they always had enough evidence to secure a conviction against Branley, he always managed to get out if. If there wasn't a scapegoat available to take the fall, bribes and blackmail seemed to do the trick nicely, though of course there was no evidence of that when NCIS, the FBI or the CIA investigated.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves - Abby hated court even at the best of times - she looked up at the sound of footsteps echoing along the tiled hallway. Her smile of greeting was small but the warmth in her green eyes was genuine as she watched Gibbs walk towards her, his strides long but his pace unhurried.
"Hey."
"Hey." He reached out to her, his fingertips grazing the skin of her cheek as he tucked an errant strand of black hair behind her ear. The touch wasn't accidental, they both knew that, though it would look it to anyone who didn't know them. "You okay?"
"I'd prefer to be in my lab," Abby answered honestly, one shoulder rising and falling in a casual shrug. "You don't have to be here, you know. You've got the Westward case to wrap up."
"Can't do anything else till Edmonds shows his face." He dropped his hand to the side - reluctantly, she noted with another small smile.
"Branley's not gonna try anything if that's what you're worried about." She smiled at the momentarily surprise in his blue eyes at having been so easily sussed. "I doubt I even register on his radar."
"Third time you've gone up against him in court," Gibbs reminded her unnecessarily. "He's gonna start taking us seriously soon."
She squared her shoulders against a shudder and tilted her chin up, a defiant look on her face. "The sooner he takes us seriously, the sooner he realises he won't get away with what he does forever." Her expression softened at the look on his. "Don't worry, Gibbs, I've got no intention of making myself a target. Think I've had enough of that to last me a lifetime."
Her rueful tone was justified. Not more than six months ago, Abby's past had come back to haunt her, resulting in her - with the help of the NSA - setting herself up as a target for a known terrorist she'd already made an enemy of. Her earlier career as an agent with the National Security Agency - and her childhood spent mostly in a NSA devised think-tank-come-school had come as a surprise to the colleagues who had become her family. It was only thanks to luck and the NCIS agents that Abby and her niece had survived, though the former hadn't walked away entirely unscathed - the scar on her thigh reminded them both of that on a daily basis.
"See that you don't." Gibbs' tone was gruff, and she didn't need to know him as well as she did to see he, too, was recalling the events of less than a year ago.
Not that those events had been entirely bad. Yes, one of her closest friends had been murdered in the apartment she now no longer lived in and yes, her past had been exposed, leaving her vulnerable and uncertain as to her future with NCIS but at least one good thing had emerged from the traumatic experience, too. Her relationships with all of her NCIS family had been strengthened as a result of it, and her relationship with Gibbs himself had changed, deepened, in a way that neither of them could regret.
"It works both ways, Gibbs," she reminded him lightly, glancing up and down the hall to check they were alone before moving closer, invading his personal space without apology as he'd done to her so many times in the past. "No making yourself a target, either."
She didn't need to stand on her tiptoes thanks to the high heels she wore and Abby took advantage of being a few inches taller, of standing eye-to-eye with him, by putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning in to kiss him gently. His hands moved automatically to her hips, fingers curling, digging in lightly as he returned her kiss.
They broke apart after a few moments, both aware the hallway outside of the courtroom wasn't the best place to be caught in a compromising position. Abby smiled at him softly as she took a step away, reaching up to tenderly wipe away the smudge of red lipstick that had transferred from her lips to his.
She dug in her purse for her small compact mirror, checking her own appearance quickly before putting it away. The doors beside them opened before either could say anything and she squared her shoulders again, subconsciously moving to stand beside him as he, too, stood straighter, standing side-by-side, ready to face whoever it was together.
The sight of them looking so much like a united force gave the JAG lawyer serving for the prosecution a momentary pause as he glanced at them speculatively before nodding in greeting to the NCIS agent he hadn't been expecting.
"Agent Gibbs, Abby." Lieutenant Commander Adrian Lowes clasped his hands in front of him. "We've got a ten minute break, then you'll be called to the stand," he informed Abby, his gaze darting from the pretty forensic specialist to the intimidating agent at her side. "There have been some developments I should make you aware of..."
"Developments?" It was Gibbs who asked, an eyebrow arching. His hand moved instinctively to Abby's back, reassuring and protective, and Lt. Commander Lowes wondered if he even realised he'd done it. "What kind...?"
"The lawyer for the defence was replaced at the last moment," Lowes explained quietly. "We're now dealing with a Ms. Hart, from Wolfram, Hart and Donowitz..." He paused at the look they exchanged. "You've dealt with her before?"
"Our paths have crossed," Abby answered evasively, her shoulders tensing further. "Last I heard, she was out of the country."
Lowes shrugged. "She's back now, and she's tough. I think she's already got half of the jury eating out of her hand, believing Bradley is just a misunderstood innocent who got caught up in a bad situation."
"She's good at letting the bad guys walk," Gibbs muttered, recalling it was M. Allison Hart who had secured Colonel Bell's release from a prison in Mexico, unwittingly aiding the Reynosa cartel in getting their revenge against him. Paloma Reynosa, leader of the cartel, and her brother, Alejandro Rivera, Mexican official, had used Colonel Bell's grudge against Gibbs for their own purpose - to get vengeance against the NCIS Agent for the murder of their father, Pedro Hernandez, the man who was responsible for the murders of Shannon and Kelly Gibbs.
Abby gave him a speculative look, her shoulders slumping. "She's good at letting the good guys walk, too," she said quietly, more of a whisper than a murmur.
It was Gibbs' turn to look at her, though Lowes noted she didn't return the glance. Glancing down at his watch, seeing that recess was almost over, Lowes sighed softly. "Are you ready, Abby? You don't want to go through your answers again?"
"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be," Abby answered, a quick smile curving the corners of her mouth. She did glance at Gibbs then, Lowes noticed. "You don't have to stay. I can see you back at NCIS later."
His cell phone rang before he could reply. He pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the display before giving her an apologetic glance. "Call me when you're done," he told her instead, leaning in to kiss her cheek gently before turning away, flipping the phone open and putting it to his ear. "Yeah, Gibbs."
Abby watched him walk away before turning back to Lieutenant Commander Lowes. "Let's get this over with."
She was left alone as the trial resumed, only to be called in a short while later. She took the stand, her eyes meeting Margaret Allison Hart's for a few brief moments as she waited to be asked the first question. The other woman couldn't hold her gaze for long, averting her eyes to the open file in front of her as though in shame.
Interesting, Abby thought to herself, making a mental note to try and catch a few moments alone with the lawyer later. They hadn't spoken since the day Abby had handed over the report she'd compiled on Pedro Hernandez's murder, a report that could have - should have - taken Gibbs out of her life and put him behind bars. It was the hardest thing she'd done, Abby thought, to trust someone else to save the man she loved, knowing there was nothing else she could do.
Putting those thoughts from her mind, she was soon distracted again - not by the questions she knew the answers to by heart but by the lone person she saw slip into the back row of seats in the courtroom.
NSA Agent Catherine Lowry caught her eye and gave her an apologetic smile, causing the knot of dread in Abby's stomach to tighten.
~*~