How To Relate: Chapter 11
Title: How To Relate
Author: justhowthisgoes
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Pairing: None
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Season 7
Summary: Tony has been getting threatening letters and the team is worried, but Tony isn't taking them seriously. Then come the attempts on his life. Could the new girl at NCIS be involved? And what secrets from Tony's past will be revealed in the search?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 11
Breaking The Ice
Tony drummed his fingers rhythmically on the table, mostly to break up the uncomfortable silence. It was not often that he found himself at a loss for words, but this unquestionably took the cake. What exactly do you say to the half-sister you never knew existed?
"So…" he began.
Ali gave a nervous chuckle when nothing more was forthcoming. "So…"Gibbs watched the slightly awkward scene in the next room for a few seconds before turning to Abby.
"Is this for real Abbs?"
"Oh, yeah. Totally legitimate." She assured him, handing him the sheet of results. "DNA doesn't lie."
He held the paper up close to his face, squinting, before giving up on reading the small print. Without his glasses he'd just have to take Abby's word for it.
"But Gibbs," Abby furrowed up her brow in confusion, "how did you know that I would know? No one else except Ziva even knew that I was running a DNA test."
Gibbs quirked an eyebrow but didn't answer, instead replying with another question. "So she's definitely not a suspect?"
Abby shook her head. "No way, Bossman. I mean, I guess anything is possible, but she's got a watertight alibi for Monday. She was here all day."
Back to square one then.
"Come on." He inclined his head for Abby and McGee to follow him out of the room, indicating that they should give Tony and Ali a little privacy.Best to just dive right into it. "So, your mom was Carol?"
"Yeah." Ali confirmed.
Tony nodded slowly. "I liked Carol. I think she was probably my favorite of all my dad's secretaries. He tended to go through them pretty quick but somehow your mom managed to stay around for a few years." He got a faraway look in his eyes as he reminisced. "She would give me lollipops when I had to sit and wait at the office sometimes. And she used to come and cheer at my Little League games when my father was too busy."
Ali smiled. "That sounds nice."
"Yeah, I guess. Of course, he was busy pretty much all the time." Tony scoffed a little resentfully before changing the subject. "You look like her a bit, you know?"
Ali beamed at this. "I've only seen a couple of pictures of her," she confessed, "mostly from when she was really young."
"Really? I've got a picture of her somewhere that I'll have to show you. It was taken right before I went off to military school when I was twelve. I think that was the last time I saw her; she quit soon after that."
"Well, you probably remember her better than I do. I was only three when she died."
His eyes grew sympathetic and he moved his chair a little closer. "How did it happen?"
"It was a car accident."
Tony felt something inside twist at her words as he looked down. "I'm sorry."
Ali shrugged, a little sadly. "It's ok. You can't really miss what you don't remember having, you know?"
In truth, Tony didn't entirely agree with this statement, but he nodded anyway for Ali to continue.
"After she died, my grandmother raised me. She was good to take me in, but she didn't talk about my mother very much. I think it was kind of a sore subject. Her only child showing up after years, pregnant and unmarried, and then dying and leaving her with a kid to take care of? It would be tough on anyone."
"Yeah, probably." Tony agreed.
"I had pretty much given up on ever finding out who my father was, and then I found my mother's diary. Suddenly I had a name, and I learned that he didn't even know she was pregnant when she left. I was determined to track him down and tell him who I was." She grimaced ruefully. "In hindsight it probably wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had."
Tony shrugged. "Seems logical enough to me."
"When I was younger, I always used to imagine my father showing up to claim me, and then whisking me off to a new life somewhere." Ali rolled her eyes. "Silly, I know. Of course, when I imagined him, he always looked kind of like Tom Selleck."
Tony smiled. "Tom Selleck? Really?"
Ali nodded, laughing. "Yeah. So I went to New York to find him, and as soon as I laid eyes on him I knew. I knew he had to be my father. I could see myself in him. The same when I came here and saw you. You look an awful lot like him, you know?"
"Yeah, I've been told that. It's the eyes, right?"
"Yeah. And the smile. Not that he smiled much after he found out who I was." She looked pensive. "I think my mother really did love him. But they didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, and he wasn't much for commitment."
"No, he wasn't. Still isn't, as far as I know." Tony shook his head, recalling his numerous ex-stepmothers. "You know, it's probably better your mother never told him about you. I know he didn't want any more kids. Heck, he didn't much want the kid he already had. Trust me; you didn't miss out on much where our father is concerned."
Ali frowned. "Let's not talk about him anymore right now."
"Alright. What should we talk about?"
Ali pointed to the sutures on his forehead. "How about what happened to you last night? Someone tried to kill you?"
Tony waved a hand dismissively. "Just a little car bomb. No big deal."
"A car bomb? As in someone blew up your car? And it's no big deal?" Ali was incredulous.
"Well, it wasn't actually my car. Now that would be a big deal. As it was though, it was just another day's work for an NCIS special agent."
"Really? Does this happen to you a lot?"
Tony looked thoughtful. "Actually, yes. More than you'd think. But enough about me, tell me about you. I heard you played college basketball."
"How did you know that?"
"Well, we sort of… looked into your background. You know, when you were a suspect." Tony met her eyes sheepishly.
"Oh." Ali nodded. "Right. Yeah, varsity. I played point guard."
"That was my position."
"Really?" Ali looked intrigued.
"Yup. Ohio State. I played football too. Quarterback."
"I guess athletic ability runs in the family."
"You know, I'm not actually sure if Senior ever played sports. He never talked about it. But then, we didn't talk much, even back then." Tony frowned. "Sorry. I forgot. Not talking about him."
He smiled brightly. "So, journalism. How did you get interested in that?"
"Well, it took me a long time to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I switched majors a lot. For a while I wanted to be a physical therapist, but I realized that I don't have the patience necessary. I thought of being a lawyer, but the idea of reading so many law books put me to sleep. I was a business major for about a semester, but I don't really have a head for math. Then I decided I was going to be a doctor, but my first day of medical lab I discovered that I can't stand the sight of blood." Ali laughed. "I became very intimately acquainted with the tile."
Tony chuckled at her imagery. "Would you believe that I once thought of being a doctor?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. A dermatologist though. Good pay, good hours, you know?" He shrugged. "But being a cop was a little more exciting. I was a detective in Baltimore before I came to NCIS."
Ali looked impressed. "I always thought it would be really cool to be a detective, like Sherlock Holmes, or Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys."
"So how did you finally decide on journalism?"
"Well, I'm good at writing. And poking my nose into other peoples' business."
"Wow, does that run in the family too?"
Ali laughed a little. "I guess so. Plus, I've sort of always wanted to be Lois Lane. She's, like, my idol."
"Yeah?" Tony grinned at this admission.
Ali blushed a little. "Yeah, well, she did win a Pulitzer for the first exclusive interview with the Man of Steel. Superman is my absolute favorite superhero."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Superman's ok." He allowed. "But personally I prefer Batman. Or else James Bond; I think he should count as a superhero. He's got just as many cool gadgets as the Bat."
Ali shrugged. "I guess he could count. I don't really know. I've never seen any James Bond movies."
Tony looked appalled. "You've never seen any James Bond movies? Not one? From Russia With Love? Dr. No? Goldfinger? License To Kill? Casino Royale?"
Ali shook her head at each title. "Nope, sorry."
"That's, that's almost sacrilege!" Tony stammered in disbelief.
"I did read Casino Royale once." She offered helpfully.
"Well, that's it then. I'm just going to have to introduce you to this film franchise. How do you feel about a movie night?"
"I feel… awesome about a movie night."
"Great! Tonight ok?"
"Sure."As Tony and Ali stepped out of the elevator, the squad room was abuzz and the many curious stares and whispers directed their way proved that the scuttlebutt was already running rampant through NCIS.
"Hey!" Tony barked at a small cluster of gawking probationary agents. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."
Abby rushed over to them and began talking a mile a minute. "Hey you guys! Did you have a good talk? Tony, you need to go talk to Ziva right now. Ali will be down in my lab when you're done."
Not even pausing for breath, she took Ali by the arm and whisked her away back into the elevator before either sibling could protest.
Tony winced as he remembered his earlier thoughtless words. He made his way over to Ziva at her desk.
"Hey Ziva."
She looked up at him, her face completely blank. "Yes?"
He ran a hand through his hair, silently cursing whatever caused his mouth to work faster than his brain at times.
"Look, about what I said before-"
"Stop." Ziva interrupted. "It is fine."
"Is it?"
She shrugged, turning back to her computer.
"Ziva. I'm trying to apologize here." He studied her face, hoping to see something other than ice in her eyes. "Oh, come on. You know I always put my foot in my mouth. I think this time I've got them both stuck in there, and good. You wanna help me out?"
When Ziva didn't crack a smile or even look at him, he gave up. "Fine. You know what? Whatever."
As Tony walked away, Ziva watched him go, unhappily.In the elevator, Abby reached over and flicked the emergency switch. Ali looked at her in confusion.
Abby took a deep breath. "I'm going to say this once, and once only, alright? The thing you need to know about Tony, is that he doesn't let people in very easily. He's letting you in. Now, I like you Ali, but if you screw that up, if you hurt him…" She shook her head. "Well, just know that I am one of the few people in the world who can kill you and leave no forensic evidence."
Ali nodded slowly, a glimmer of a smile on her face. "Duly noted."
"Alright then." Abby reached over and flicked the switch again before turning to grin at Ali. "We should get along just fine."
Ali grinned back.
Surprisingly, this was only the second weirdest thing that had happened to her in the elevator that week.
As Tony walked into Abby's lab, Abby and Ali were laughing together over something.
Tony smiled at the sight. "Well, you two are certainly getting chummy."
"I've just been telling Ali all kinds of embarrassing stories about you." At Tony's mock glare Abby smirked. "I'm just kidding! I can't help it if your sister is cool, Tony."
"Careful Ali." Tony teased. "She'll probably talk you into getting a tattoo next."
"I already have a tattoo."
"Of what?" Tony asked.
"And where?" Abby added.
"Shooting stars. On my back."
"Let's see it." Abby demanded.
Ali lifted the back of her shirt about halfway. The design was outlined in black and the tails of the stars delicately entwined as they wove their way up the middle of her back.
"Ooh! Pretty!" Abby exclaimed.
"Hey guys -" McGee stopped dead in the doorway, gaping.
The other three looked over at the sound of his voice, and Ali let out a barely perceptible squeak as she hurriedly pulled her shirt back down. McGee reddened slightly.
Noticing this, Abby and Tony exchanged a conspiratorial glance.
"So, Abby," Tony began, a little louder than was called for. "Ali and I were planning on a movie night tonight after work. My place: a little James Bond, a little pizza. Care to join us?"
"Why Tony, I would love to." Abby smiled widely.
He turned to McGee. "How about you Tim? You coming?"
"Sure, I guess."
"All right then. You're in charge of drinks."
"Well," Ali paused, smiling around at the group, "I'd better go get back to work. I guess I'll see you guys later."
She waved before stepping out the door.
McGee watched her go, a slow grin spreading across his face. Suddenly Tony reached over and whacked the back of his head.
McGee turned, surprised. "Hey! What was that for?"
"That was for what you were thinking, McGoo."
"What? I- I wasn't- Tony! How would you know what I was thinking?"
Tony just stared at him, narrowing his eyes.
McGee scoffed. "Sorry Tony, you haven't quite got the Gibbs glare down yet."
"The 'Gibbs glare'?"
McGee jumped about a foot when the voice came from right behind him.
"Boss! I-"
Gibbs turned his attention to Abby. "What have you got for me Abbs?"
Abby giggled a little at the look on McGee's face before turning to her lab table. "Well, the mysterious fibers are mysterious no longer. According to Major Mass Spec, they are particles of rayon filaments coated with polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs."
At a look from Gibbs she began to explain.
"PCBs are basically a synthetic organochlorine. They were used as a flame retardant in textile manufacturing but were banned in the US in the late 70s because of the extreme toxicity. This is some pretty nasty stuff. It's known to cause liver damage and a whole bunch of immune and neurological effects."
"So this is from some kind of closed down textile factory?" Gibbs asked.
"Most likely." Abby confirmed. "That doesn't help much though. There are nearly a dozen old factories that used PCBs in the greater D.C. area alone. Although, I could try to narrow it down some by figuring out which factories used this specific cogener of PCBs."
She reached for the Caf-Pow Gibbs had brought with him.
Gibbs held the precious caffeinated beverage just out of reach and raised an eyebrow.
"Correction. I will narrow it down." Abby held out her hand expectantly.
Gibbs gave a half-smile and handed over the drink. "Good answer."
As Abby took a loud slurp Gibbs turned to walk out. But before leaving, he reached out a hand on each side and simultaneously headslapped Tony and McGee.
"That's for calling it the 'Gibbs glare.'"
...
Chapter 12
Author: justhowthisgoes
Fandom: NCIS
Category: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Pairing: None
Rating: T
Spoilers: Up to Season 7
Summary: Tony has been getting threatening letters and the team is worried, but Tony isn't taking them seriously. Then come the attempts on his life. Could the new girl at NCIS be involved? And what secrets from Tony's past will be revealed in the search?
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
Chapter 11
Breaking The Ice
Tony drummed his fingers rhythmically on the table, mostly to break up the uncomfortable silence. It was not often that he found himself at a loss for words, but this unquestionably took the cake. What exactly do you say to the half-sister you never knew existed?
"So…" he began.
Ali gave a nervous chuckle when nothing more was forthcoming. "So…"Gibbs watched the slightly awkward scene in the next room for a few seconds before turning to Abby.
"Is this for real Abbs?"
"Oh, yeah. Totally legitimate." She assured him, handing him the sheet of results. "DNA doesn't lie."
He held the paper up close to his face, squinting, before giving up on reading the small print. Without his glasses he'd just have to take Abby's word for it.
"But Gibbs," Abby furrowed up her brow in confusion, "how did you know that I would know? No one else except Ziva even knew that I was running a DNA test."
Gibbs quirked an eyebrow but didn't answer, instead replying with another question. "So she's definitely not a suspect?"
Abby shook her head. "No way, Bossman. I mean, I guess anything is possible, but she's got a watertight alibi for Monday. She was here all day."
Back to square one then.
"Come on." He inclined his head for Abby and McGee to follow him out of the room, indicating that they should give Tony and Ali a little privacy.Best to just dive right into it. "So, your mom was Carol?"
"Yeah." Ali confirmed.
Tony nodded slowly. "I liked Carol. I think she was probably my favorite of all my dad's secretaries. He tended to go through them pretty quick but somehow your mom managed to stay around for a few years." He got a faraway look in his eyes as he reminisced. "She would give me lollipops when I had to sit and wait at the office sometimes. And she used to come and cheer at my Little League games when my father was too busy."
Ali smiled. "That sounds nice."
"Yeah, I guess. Of course, he was busy pretty much all the time." Tony scoffed a little resentfully before changing the subject. "You look like her a bit, you know?"
Ali beamed at this. "I've only seen a couple of pictures of her," she confessed, "mostly from when she was really young."
"Really? I've got a picture of her somewhere that I'll have to show you. It was taken right before I went off to military school when I was twelve. I think that was the last time I saw her; she quit soon after that."
"Well, you probably remember her better than I do. I was only three when she died."
His eyes grew sympathetic and he moved his chair a little closer. "How did it happen?"
"It was a car accident."
Tony felt something inside twist at her words as he looked down. "I'm sorry."
Ali shrugged, a little sadly. "It's ok. You can't really miss what you don't remember having, you know?"
In truth, Tony didn't entirely agree with this statement, but he nodded anyway for Ali to continue.
"After she died, my grandmother raised me. She was good to take me in, but she didn't talk about my mother very much. I think it was kind of a sore subject. Her only child showing up after years, pregnant and unmarried, and then dying and leaving her with a kid to take care of? It would be tough on anyone."
"Yeah, probably." Tony agreed.
"I had pretty much given up on ever finding out who my father was, and then I found my mother's diary. Suddenly I had a name, and I learned that he didn't even know she was pregnant when she left. I was determined to track him down and tell him who I was." She grimaced ruefully. "In hindsight it probably wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had."
Tony shrugged. "Seems logical enough to me."
"When I was younger, I always used to imagine my father showing up to claim me, and then whisking me off to a new life somewhere." Ali rolled her eyes. "Silly, I know. Of course, when I imagined him, he always looked kind of like Tom Selleck."
Tony smiled. "Tom Selleck? Really?"
Ali nodded, laughing. "Yeah. So I went to New York to find him, and as soon as I laid eyes on him I knew. I knew he had to be my father. I could see myself in him. The same when I came here and saw you. You look an awful lot like him, you know?"
"Yeah, I've been told that. It's the eyes, right?"
"Yeah. And the smile. Not that he smiled much after he found out who I was." She looked pensive. "I think my mother really did love him. But they didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, and he wasn't much for commitment."
"No, he wasn't. Still isn't, as far as I know." Tony shook his head, recalling his numerous ex-stepmothers. "You know, it's probably better your mother never told him about you. I know he didn't want any more kids. Heck, he didn't much want the kid he already had. Trust me; you didn't miss out on much where our father is concerned."
Ali frowned. "Let's not talk about him anymore right now."
"Alright. What should we talk about?"
Ali pointed to the sutures on his forehead. "How about what happened to you last night? Someone tried to kill you?"
Tony waved a hand dismissively. "Just a little car bomb. No big deal."
"A car bomb? As in someone blew up your car? And it's no big deal?" Ali was incredulous.
"Well, it wasn't actually my car. Now that would be a big deal. As it was though, it was just another day's work for an NCIS special agent."
"Really? Does this happen to you a lot?"
Tony looked thoughtful. "Actually, yes. More than you'd think. But enough about me, tell me about you. I heard you played college basketball."
"How did you know that?"
"Well, we sort of… looked into your background. You know, when you were a suspect." Tony met her eyes sheepishly.
"Oh." Ali nodded. "Right. Yeah, varsity. I played point guard."
"That was my position."
"Really?" Ali looked intrigued.
"Yup. Ohio State. I played football too. Quarterback."
"I guess athletic ability runs in the family."
"You know, I'm not actually sure if Senior ever played sports. He never talked about it. But then, we didn't talk much, even back then." Tony frowned. "Sorry. I forgot. Not talking about him."
He smiled brightly. "So, journalism. How did you get interested in that?"
"Well, it took me a long time to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I switched majors a lot. For a while I wanted to be a physical therapist, but I realized that I don't have the patience necessary. I thought of being a lawyer, but the idea of reading so many law books put me to sleep. I was a business major for about a semester, but I don't really have a head for math. Then I decided I was going to be a doctor, but my first day of medical lab I discovered that I can't stand the sight of blood." Ali laughed. "I became very intimately acquainted with the tile."
Tony chuckled at her imagery. "Would you believe that I once thought of being a doctor?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. A dermatologist though. Good pay, good hours, you know?" He shrugged. "But being a cop was a little more exciting. I was a detective in Baltimore before I came to NCIS."
Ali looked impressed. "I always thought it would be really cool to be a detective, like Sherlock Holmes, or Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys."
"So how did you finally decide on journalism?"
"Well, I'm good at writing. And poking my nose into other peoples' business."
"Wow, does that run in the family too?"
Ali laughed a little. "I guess so. Plus, I've sort of always wanted to be Lois Lane. She's, like, my idol."
"Yeah?" Tony grinned at this admission.
Ali blushed a little. "Yeah, well, she did win a Pulitzer for the first exclusive interview with the Man of Steel. Superman is my absolute favorite superhero."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Superman's ok." He allowed. "But personally I prefer Batman. Or else James Bond; I think he should count as a superhero. He's got just as many cool gadgets as the Bat."
Ali shrugged. "I guess he could count. I don't really know. I've never seen any James Bond movies."
Tony looked appalled. "You've never seen any James Bond movies? Not one? From Russia With Love? Dr. No? Goldfinger? License To Kill? Casino Royale?"
Ali shook her head at each title. "Nope, sorry."
"That's, that's almost sacrilege!" Tony stammered in disbelief.
"I did read Casino Royale once." She offered helpfully.
"Well, that's it then. I'm just going to have to introduce you to this film franchise. How do you feel about a movie night?"
"I feel… awesome about a movie night."
"Great! Tonight ok?"
"Sure."As Tony and Ali stepped out of the elevator, the squad room was abuzz and the many curious stares and whispers directed their way proved that the scuttlebutt was already running rampant through NCIS.
"Hey!" Tony barked at a small cluster of gawking probationary agents. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."
Abby rushed over to them and began talking a mile a minute. "Hey you guys! Did you have a good talk? Tony, you need to go talk to Ziva right now. Ali will be down in my lab when you're done."
Not even pausing for breath, she took Ali by the arm and whisked her away back into the elevator before either sibling could protest.
Tony winced as he remembered his earlier thoughtless words. He made his way over to Ziva at her desk.
"Hey Ziva."
She looked up at him, her face completely blank. "Yes?"
He ran a hand through his hair, silently cursing whatever caused his mouth to work faster than his brain at times.
"Look, about what I said before-"
"Stop." Ziva interrupted. "It is fine."
"Is it?"
She shrugged, turning back to her computer.
"Ziva. I'm trying to apologize here." He studied her face, hoping to see something other than ice in her eyes. "Oh, come on. You know I always put my foot in my mouth. I think this time I've got them both stuck in there, and good. You wanna help me out?"
When Ziva didn't crack a smile or even look at him, he gave up. "Fine. You know what? Whatever."
As Tony walked away, Ziva watched him go, unhappily.In the elevator, Abby reached over and flicked the emergency switch. Ali looked at her in confusion.
Abby took a deep breath. "I'm going to say this once, and once only, alright? The thing you need to know about Tony, is that he doesn't let people in very easily. He's letting you in. Now, I like you Ali, but if you screw that up, if you hurt him…" She shook her head. "Well, just know that I am one of the few people in the world who can kill you and leave no forensic evidence."
Ali nodded slowly, a glimmer of a smile on her face. "Duly noted."
"Alright then." Abby reached over and flicked the switch again before turning to grin at Ali. "We should get along just fine."
Ali grinned back.
Surprisingly, this was only the second weirdest thing that had happened to her in the elevator that week.
As Tony walked into Abby's lab, Abby and Ali were laughing together over something.
Tony smiled at the sight. "Well, you two are certainly getting chummy."
"I've just been telling Ali all kinds of embarrassing stories about you." At Tony's mock glare Abby smirked. "I'm just kidding! I can't help it if your sister is cool, Tony."
"Careful Ali." Tony teased. "She'll probably talk you into getting a tattoo next."
"I already have a tattoo."
"Of what?" Tony asked.
"And where?" Abby added.
"Shooting stars. On my back."
"Let's see it." Abby demanded.
Ali lifted the back of her shirt about halfway. The design was outlined in black and the tails of the stars delicately entwined as they wove their way up the middle of her back.
"Ooh! Pretty!" Abby exclaimed.
"Hey guys -" McGee stopped dead in the doorway, gaping.
The other three looked over at the sound of his voice, and Ali let out a barely perceptible squeak as she hurriedly pulled her shirt back down. McGee reddened slightly.
Noticing this, Abby and Tony exchanged a conspiratorial glance.
"So, Abby," Tony began, a little louder than was called for. "Ali and I were planning on a movie night tonight after work. My place: a little James Bond, a little pizza. Care to join us?"
"Why Tony, I would love to." Abby smiled widely.
He turned to McGee. "How about you Tim? You coming?"
"Sure, I guess."
"All right then. You're in charge of drinks."
"Well," Ali paused, smiling around at the group, "I'd better go get back to work. I guess I'll see you guys later."
She waved before stepping out the door.
McGee watched her go, a slow grin spreading across his face. Suddenly Tony reached over and whacked the back of his head.
McGee turned, surprised. "Hey! What was that for?"
"That was for what you were thinking, McGoo."
"What? I- I wasn't- Tony! How would you know what I was thinking?"
Tony just stared at him, narrowing his eyes.
McGee scoffed. "Sorry Tony, you haven't quite got the Gibbs glare down yet."
"The 'Gibbs glare'?"
McGee jumped about a foot when the voice came from right behind him.
"Boss! I-"
Gibbs turned his attention to Abby. "What have you got for me Abbs?"
Abby giggled a little at the look on McGee's face before turning to her lab table. "Well, the mysterious fibers are mysterious no longer. According to Major Mass Spec, they are particles of rayon filaments coated with polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs."
At a look from Gibbs she began to explain.
"PCBs are basically a synthetic organochlorine. They were used as a flame retardant in textile manufacturing but were banned in the US in the late 70s because of the extreme toxicity. This is some pretty nasty stuff. It's known to cause liver damage and a whole bunch of immune and neurological effects."
"So this is from some kind of closed down textile factory?" Gibbs asked.
"Most likely." Abby confirmed. "That doesn't help much though. There are nearly a dozen old factories that used PCBs in the greater D.C. area alone. Although, I could try to narrow it down some by figuring out which factories used this specific cogener of PCBs."
She reached for the Caf-Pow Gibbs had brought with him.
Gibbs held the precious caffeinated beverage just out of reach and raised an eyebrow.
"Correction. I will narrow it down." Abby held out her hand expectantly.
Gibbs gave a half-smile and handed over the drink. "Good answer."
As Abby took a loud slurp Gibbs turned to walk out. But before leaving, he reached out a hand on each side and simultaneously headslapped Tony and McGee.
"That's for calling it the 'Gibbs glare.'"
...
Chapter 12