NCIS - Coincidences :Ch. 8 - Flurries:

Chapter Eight: Flurries

The motel that was reportedly the hideout of Matthew Keys was an old rundown place on the city's southern side. Known for being a place where those who were running from the law went to escape the city police, it was well guarded by the many people who called it home, which had caused Gibbs and his team to be surprised when someone had reported seeing 'the man on TV' there. The call had come one week after the attempted assassination of Rebekah Conrad. Now, standing outside of the door to room twelve, Gibbs could feel eyes on his team. Everyone on either side of the room was staring at them through the peepholes. It was times like these that he missed the relative safety and security of being a sniper. There was no way to know what these other people would do, should they decide NCIS had no business here.

"Mathew Keys, NCIS! Open the door!" DiNozzo shouted after pounding on the door. The sound of multiple doors clicking shut and locks being thrown was nearly deafening in the silence of the motel.

When there was no answer, Gibbs nodded his head to indicate that Tony should go ahead. Ziva took up DiNozzo's position as the man stepped into a central position before the door. One strong kick later and they were all rushing into the small confines of the room beyond. McGee alone stood outside, keeping a watch on the rear. Once the main room was cleared, Tony and Ziva moved ahead to the bathroom; calling out clear when there was no sign of the subject of their search.

Holstering their weapons, Gibbs and his team began their search through Keys's personal belongings. The room was a mess with clothing strewn about and the stench of cigarette smoke on the air, along with other, less than savory, smells. It seemed Mr. Keys did not believe in basic hygiene. As the team moved through the room, they documented and collected evidence. Ziva started on the side of the room with the queen-sized bed while DiNozzo worked on the other side.

"Gibbs, we didn't miss him by much," Ziva stated, lifting an ashtray that was still smoking from the last cigarette that had been snubbed out in the bottom. A pile of cigarette butts had gathered beside the lamp.

Ziva began collecting the butts for Abby to compare the DNA to that found on the Lieutenant Commander. Stepping away as she began her collection, Gibbs searched the other side of the room, noticing that the man had been staying for some time, possibly months.

"McGee," Gibbs called.

"Yes boss?" McGee stuck his head in the door, his hat shading his eyes.

"Go to the manager, find out how long Mr. Keys has been staying here," Gibbs ordered as he pulled out the dresser drawers one by one, searching them by feeling beneath the contents.

"Yes boss," McGee turned and walked away without another word.

"Gibbs, if he's not here…" DiNozzo started, stopping when Gibbs looked at him, "But you already knew that… never mind."

"Ziva, stay here with DiNozzo and McGee, find anything you can in the room then start talking to the other tenants," Gibbs stood to his full height as he spoke and exited the room, ignoring the inquiring looks from both of them. McGee caught up to him as he walked toward the car.

"Boss, the manager didn't know Keys by that name, whoever gave us the tip knew more than they were supposed to know," McGee stated.

"Did you get any useful information from the manager or did you just stop me so you could chat?" Gibbs snapped, glaring at the younger man.

"No… I mean yes," McGee stopped speaking, shook his head, and began again, "The manager knew him as Gabe Reed. He's been staying at the hotel for the past month and a half. According to his sign in sheet, 'Gabe' showed up on the same night as the blizzard hit D.C."

"If he killed the Lieutenant Commander, why did he wait so long?" Gibbs wondered aloud, leaning against the top of the car, his breath foggy before his face.

"Don't know boss, but I will find out," McGee stated before turning and heading back toward the hotel room.

"McGee, get in, I'll drop you off at headquarters," Gibbs called back, ignoring the look McGee gave the other two. It wasn't much of a surprise they didn't want to be left at the hotel room. It wasn't exactly the picture of good housekeeping.





"Boss, where are you going?" McGee asked as they pulled up in front of the building and he got out.

Gibbs looked at him pointedly, driving away after McGee shut the door. The roads were a congested mess as Gibbs drove through the city toward the hospital, his gut screaming at him to reach the building as soon as possible. It could be nothing, but that was rarely the case.

Skidding to a stop outside of the emergency entrance, he flashed his badge at the security guard who came out to tell him he couldn't park there. Before the man had even finished his complaint, Gibbs was on the stairs, running toward the second floor. Even as he opened the door, he heard the shouts and two gunshots. Pulling his sidearm, he ran past the nurse's station, barely glancing over to see that the male nurse, Jamal, was lying behind it. His chest had risen and fallen as Gibbs looked and he took that as a sign that the man was fine.

One of the NCIS agents on guard duty lay outside the door, blood pooling around a wound in his leg. His side piece was gone and he indicated the room when Gibbs gave him a questioning glance. Stepping into the room, Gibbs was confronted by the sight of two men. One was Mathew Keys, his shaggy hair dangling about his unkempt face, his blue eyes wide with a crazed light from within. The other man was the second NCIS agent that had pulled guard duty. He was standing between Keys and Rebekah, his weapon held out before him in his left hand. There was blood running down his arm, dripping to the floor from the gunshot wound in his shoulder. Both men were panting hard as they regarded one another silently.

Behind them, trapped like a wounded animal, Rebekah watched with wide-eyed fascination. Something in the situation told Gibbs that the girl would never want to return to a hospital again for as long as she lived.

"Mathew Keys, NCIS, put the weapon down and put your hands up," Gibbs ordered as he stepped up to the side of Keys, his weapon held steadily on the side of the man's head.

"No, you don't understand! I'm saving her!" Keys shouted, pointing his weapon's barrel at Rebekah for emphasis before sweeping it back to the agent's chest. A smart move, a second longer of holding the weapon on Rebekah and there would be a second dead body found in this hospital room.

"Sir, he rushed us, screaming something about her life being in danger and that we weren't fit to protect her," the agent explained, his hand beginning to shake as he lost too much blood.

"Stand down Keys," Gibbs snapped, looking over at the agent. The man didn't look capable of firing his weapon, let alone aiming it.

"Becky, tell them! I'm not going to hurt you, Becky. I promise," Keys's voice had started to take on a whine as he looked over at the injured girl.

"Matt, I know you won't hurt me, but holding a gun on this man isn't going to convince Gibbs of that," Rebekah started. Her voice started out weak but gained strength when Gibbs nodded to her slightly.

"They'll hurt you," Keys stated firmly.

"No, they won't Matt. Gibbs put them in charge of keeping me safe. You don't have to worry about them," Rebekah responded, licking her lips as Keys's hand began to dip slightly. It came back up quickly however.

"No, they got to you, didn't they? Just like they got to your parents and my parents," Keys said. His eyes were narrowing and his mouth curved down into a sharp frown.

"Who are 'they' keys?" Gibbs asked, stepping back slightly when the man swung his weapon around on him. The agent beside the bed chose that moment to collapse onto the floor.

"You know who," Keys accused, "You're on their payroll, you do their dirty work for them. Take innocents and turn them into cyborgs for the government's use!"

"Matt, Gibbs isn't like that. He saved my life when I could have died," Rebekah said, trying futilely to move. The sling that held her right leg in the air prevented her from moving her lower body much beyond bending her left knee.

"Is that true?" Keys turned his gaze back to Gibbs.

Moving his eyes from the barrel of the gun, Gibbs nodded, "It's true."

"You aren't one of them?" Keys asked, still sounding uncertain of whether or not it was the truth. Gibbs looked to Rebekah before answering.

"She trusts me and, from what I've seen, she doesn't trust anyone," Gibbs stated, indicating Rebekah with a nod of his head. This seemed to get through to Keys as he looked back at Rebekah.

When Keys focused all his attention on Rebekah, Gibbs grabbed the weapon and slipped it from the young man's grip. It took a few moments before Keys discovered the weapon was missing and he brought his hand up to his face, examining it as though the gun had simply vanished into thin air. After securing the gun into the back of his belt, Gibbs slipped his handcuffs free and cuffed the younger man. It was the same caliber as the one used in the murders, Abby would compare the bullets and find out if it was the same weapon as was used.

"Matthew Keys, you're under arrest for the murder of Lieutenant Commander Roy Evans and Susan Evans," Gibbs stated, holding his arm securely, "Doctor, you can come in now."

An older man, nearer Gibbs's own age, stepped inside. The expression on his face was one of weary concern. He had already patched up the leg of the agent outside the door and was moving quickly for the one beside Rebekah's bed. A group of D.C. metropolitan police walked through the door shortly after the doctor and Gibbs handed them Keys with orders to take the man to NCIS headquarters on the Navy Yard. When they had agreed and two left with Keys in custody, Gibbs approached Rebekah and sat down in the chair on the right side of the bed. She looked over at him with still wide eyes and gripped his hand tightly.

"He was protecting me from the agents," Rebekah said, barely sounding like herself, "Why would he protect me from the agents? I thought he wanted me dead."

Gibbs squeezed her hand and looked up for the doctor, but the man was gone and so was the injured agent. Presumably, the doctor had escorted both men to the emergency room. Turning back to Rebekah, he gave her a small, reassuring, smile before releasing her hand and standing up.  He could feel her gaze on him as he walked away.

Emerging from the room, he was greeted by an atmosphere of pandemonium. Patients were standing in the hall, craning to see what had gone on in the room. Blood was tracked everywhere by those that had run through the agent's blood on their way down the hall. A nurse came up to him, her brown eyes large and fear-filled as she gazed up at him; the expression gave her round face the feeling of being much younger than she most likely was.

"Miss Conrad will need a new room," Gibbs stated.

The nurse lifted a chart and read through the doctor's notes before looking back up at him, "Miss Conrad is cleared to go home."

With a nod, Gibbs walked back into Rebekah's room, avoiding the blood drops from the NCIS agent that had been shot. Rebekah looked up at him expectantly; her hazel eyes had taken on a greener hue and were focused on his face. She had changed quite a bit from the girl who had thrown him out of her apartment.

"You're cleared to leave the hospital," Gibbs informed her, watching her lips turn up into a rueful smile.

"And where exactly am I supposed to go? My stalker burned down my apartment, remember?" Rebekah reminded him with a short laugh, "And I highly doubt I've still got a job to go back to."

"Mrs. Wong promised you'd still have a position, one that is documented by her laundry mat and you'll be staying with me until you are able to get around on your own, so stop whining and get ready to leave," Gibbs snapped, waving a hand at the nurse from the nurse's station before turning and walking out the door.

As he got to the door and began to close it, Gibbs heard Rebekah urging the nurse to help her out of the sling that her leg was still in. He allowed himself a smile at the way she was acting, almost like a kid for a change, instead of the adult she'd been forced to become. When the door was closed, it effectively blocked off any sound inside of the room and he lifted his cell phone, he'd have to move the protection to his house and that would consist of his team. Hopefully they had caught the bastard, but until he knew for sure, he would not allow anyone near Rebekah unless they were cleared first.