Alright people! Time for another update! :-)

I'd like to thank everybody for your amazing reviews and messages. I am truly touched by the feedback I've received. Thank you so much for reading my story.

I hope I'll be able to update again soon (if the chaos that is my life permits me time to do any writing *lol*)

Thank you again so much for reading my story, and remember, I loooooove reviews, so please feel free. Good ones, bad ones, comments, remarks, corrections… every bit helps me make "Agent Sullivan" a better story and hopefully a better read for all of you readers out there. :-)

So, without further ado, here's the update. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :-)

Chloe's foot bounced rapidly under her desk. The muffled quick staccato thumping of the heel of her pump against the thin carpet was as close as she would allow herself to show how nervous she was. She was grinding her hands together in her lap to stop herself from biting her fingernails. It was a disgusting habit that she was very grateful to have kicked.

Tony and Ziva had showed up about fifteen minutes ago with Derek Friedman in handcuffs. Apparently he had resisted the arrest and had actually slugged Tony. Ziva, demonstrating a complete lack of subtlety, or rather just plain good instincts, had then twisted Friedman up like a pretzel and buried his face in the dirt before slapping the cuffs on him. Tony was of course telling Gibbs, and anyone in the immediate area, for that matter, all about it in extravagant details, and trying to convince him that he had actually "allowed" Friedman to punch him so that Ziva could get the drop on him. Tony's story wasn't fooling anybody. The bruise that was quickly appearing on his jaw was a testament to the fact that Friedman had caught Tony completely off guard. Shortly after Tony and Ziva had arrived, Chloe's uncle had showed up, and he'd been shown directly into the director's office. Chloe was amazed at how quickly the General had responded. This Friedman guy must be something else! He hadn't seen Chloe as he'd made his way up the stairs, which suited her just fine. The less she saw of him the better.

The phone on Gibbs' desk started ringing and Gibbs picked it up on the second ring. Chloe tried not to listen in on the conversation, choosing rather to focus on the image displayed in the digi-frame on her desk. The image showed herself and Lois, giggling madly, and having a mock fight with the cushions from the couch in their apartment above the Talon coffeehouse. She gave a small smile as she watched the image. She really missed the whole gang back in Smallville. Talking to them on the phone and through video conferencing over the internet really wasn't the same as having them there in person.

At his desk, Gibbs hung up the phone and got up from his chair. Chloe instinctively darted out of her seat and looked over the partition that separated her cubicle from McGee's desk. Gibbs was moving around his desk. He shot her a grave look and hooked his finger in a "come here" motion; a clear indication for her to follow him if she'd ever seen one. Chloe scrambled out of her cubicle and quickly fell into step with him.

"Where are we going?" She asked, feeling her nerves tightening.

"Director wants a word." Gibbs said simply.

"Oh." She felt her heart rate quicken. "What about?" Gibbs just remained quiet and started up the stairs. "Gibbs?" Chloe prompted as she followed him up the stairs. He didn't respond; just remained quiet. God, she hated when he did that!

They entered the director's waiting room, that doubled as Cynthia's office space, and Gibbs strode right on ahead. He pointed to one of the waiting room's chairs to his left.

"Sit." He said simply, not missing a step in his stride as he marched right passed Cynthia. Chloe felt like a dog in obedience school.

"Special Agent Gibbs! You can't just-!" Cynthia's protested, rising from her seat in indignation. But her protests fell on deaf ears as Gibbs opened the door to the director's office, marched right on in and shut the door behind him.

"Right… So, I guess… I'll just… wait right here, then." Chloe said lamely and slid into the chair Gibbs had indicated. Cynthia glared at the closed door to the director's office and then let out a long suffering sigh slumping a bit in her posture as she massaged her left temple.

"That man is going to be the death of me some day." She grumbled.

The wait out in the waiting room felt incredibly long. Chloe felt like time had slowed down to a crawl and was even going backwards at times. She could hear nothing of what was being said on the other side of the door; which was rather odd. The General wasn't exactly known for keeping his voice down when something upset him. Could the office be soundproof? Finally, the door opened to reveal Gibbs standing just inside the office. He gave her an indication to enter with his finger and Chloe got up from her seat. She quickly straightened her skirt and her jacket and ran a quick hand through her hair, all of which seemed to annoy Gibbs to no end, and then she walked toward the door. The look on her uncle's face as she entered the office was priceless! Never in her life had she seen the man as stumped!

"What is this, a joke?" General Sam Lane shot at the director as Chloe stopped half way between the director's desk and the door, clasping her hands behind her. The familiar question brought none too fond memories of when she'd met Gibbs for the first time into Chloe's mind. Director Shepard, standing behind her desk, calmly raised her eyebrows at the General. Chloe heard the door to the office close behind her and from her peripheral vision she saw Gibbs move over to the conference table. "'This' is who you've been getting your information from?" The General snapped, indicating Chloe. "I don't know what passes for a 'credible source' within NCIS guidelines, but I would hardly call the ravings of someone who collects conspiracy theories on their wall solid leads!" Director Shepard gave a small enigmatic smile. Chloe could have sworn that the good General had just played right into the director's hands.

"General Lane," the director spoke up, "may I introduce NSIC Civilian Agent Chloe Sullivan." The General looked over at Chloe, looking like he'd just been hit smack in the face with an entire truckload of eggs. "Agent Sullivan, I believe you already know Lieutenant General Sam Lane of the United States Army?"

"Indeed I do, director." Chloe looked over at her Uncle and found she was unable to keep a tiny bit of smugness out of her smile. "General." She addressed him courteously with a small nod of her head. Sam Lane watched Chloe for a moment, his visage steely.

"Well well." He said finally as a stiff smile spread across his lips, "I thought I'd seen everything, but…" He gave a little chuckle, "Chloe Sullivan, joining a government agency?" He gave a little shake of his head as he looked her over, "I must admit, I never thought I'd see the day." Chloe clenched her jaw to keep from saying something that would harm her already tentative participation in this case. Instead she simply smiled at him.

"Always a pleasure, General." Her smile was so saccharine sweet that diet-soda manufacturers would have been able to use that single smile as a repository for years to come. "And just a little update; the wall of weird came down when I graduated high school. Like the fall of the Berlin wall, it marked the end of an era. Besides, all those newspaper articles were so demanding of wall space." Her smile widened. "I've gone digital now. So much more efficient." Her eyes gleamed with pure wickedness. Sometimes, she just LOVED pushing the General's buttons! The General's smile faltered and he turned back to the director.

"Quite frankly, director Shepard, I don't see how any of…" he paused, looking almost amused at some private joke, "'Agent' Sullivan's intel is reliable." He had emphasized Chloe's title as if it were a big joke. Chloe's eyes widened a bit in indignation. "I mean, let's face it, she isn't exactly the most reliable source of information."

"Excuse me?" Chloe burst out before she could stop herself. How dare he call her findings into question?

"What with her background as a conspiracy activist," The General continued, completely ignoring her outburst, "and her being convinced that every branch of the military is keeping secrets from the American people, I'm surprised you're even considering her questionable findings evidence." Chloe's felt her cool teetering on a very thin edge.

"But you are keeping secrets." Director Shepard said calmly. The General's eyebrows arched a bit in an obvious fake gesture of a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Pardon me?" He asked.

"Derek Friedman has no ties to any branch of the military." The director continued unfazed, "Yet here you stand, demanding that he be released this instant. Care to tell us why?" General Lane bristled at this.

"As I have already stated, Derek Friedman is a fine upstanding young man who has been of great service to the United States Army." His words were clipped and official. To Chloe, it sounded like the General was reciting a well rehearsed script. "Having him brought into the naval yard in handcuffs is not only demeaning, it is also unpatriotic."

"He physically assaulted one of my agents." The director stated coldly. "Quite frankly, he should consider himself lucky that my agents didn't shoot him."

"They had no business accosting him outside his home!" The General raised his voice. Chloe felt the urge to roll her eyes. Oh great! Here we go! "He has an outstanding record and a fine reputation within his community!"

"Not according to local law enforcement, as I understand it." The director replied in that calm tone of hers as she sat down at her desk. She put on her glasses and opened the file folder in front of her. "Agent Sullivan," she addressed Chloe as she started scanning the first page, "how many local police reports did you uncover naming Mr. Friedman as the perpetrator?"

"Fourteen, ma'am." Chloe replied. The director had the file in front of her, but Chloe could see why she wanted to hear the facts out loud. It made a heavier impact with the General.

"A string of petty crimes!" The General snorted, "The childish rebellion by a misguided youth! That's all it was!" The director leveled her intense gaze on the General over the rim of her glasses.

"Agent Sullivan," she addressed Chloe again, her gaze never wavering from the General's eyes, "what were the charges against Mr. Friedman?" Chloe glanced between the director and the General. They looked like a pair of wild cats locked in a staring match for dominance.

"Harassment, destruction of property, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment are the ones that really stand out, ma'am." Chloe replied.

"Well well, General." The corners of the director's mouth twitched just a tiny bit. "Sounds like your man isn't as respectable as you'd like us to believe."

"That was a long time ago, director!" The General growled. "He has turned his life around!" Chloe could see the question coming before the director even opened her mouth.

"Agent Sullivan," The director addressed Chloe for the third time, her gaze still locked on the General, "When was the latest police report filed against Mr. Friedman?"

"Six weeks ago, director." Chloe had just managed to get the last syllable out of her mouth before the good General reached his boiling point.

"ENOUGH!" General Lane thundered. He advanced toward the desk, looking livid. Chloe heard Gibbs' footsteps coming closer. "I will not stand here and let you railroad a perfectly good man!" The General snarled. "You have NOTHING to hold him on apart from the word of a hack of a reporter who didn't even finish her journalism degree!" Try as Chloe might not to let anything the General said affect her, those words stung like a bitch!

"We have evidence that links Derek Friedman's truck to the murder of Seaman Horton." Gibbs spoke up, having moved right up behind General Lane. The General turned to face him.

"Do you, now?" He stared at Gibbs with glare that was only rivaled by the one Gibbs was glaring at him with. Chloe could have sworn she heard the faint echo of swords clashing and sparks flying when those two steely gazes met. The General had met his match! "And I suppose you also have evidence that proves that Mr. Friedman was driving said truck when the murder took place?"

"He has a history of violence." Gibbs deadpanned, "He and the victim have clashed on numerous occasions and it's well known that Friedman deemed Horton no more than an obstacle in his path toward his goals."

"I'll take that as a 'no' to my question." The General smirked. "You have nothing to tie him to his murder other than his truck."

"That truck is his pride and joy. He ever let anyone borrow it?" Gibbs fired back immediately.

"Now, how would I know that?" The General replied.

"What about his service weapon?" Gibbs asked.

"His w-?" The General faltered, looking a little lost for words. He'd obviously not expected that question. "What are you getting at?"

"Seaman Horton was shot prior to being run over by Friedman's truck."

"And what makes you think Friedman even 'has' a service weapon?" The General smirked.

"Call it a gut feeling." Gibbs deadpanned. That tone of his was so unnerving that Chloe felt the need to repress a shudder. "We'll know for sure when we turn his house upside down during our search."

"What gives you the impression that you have the right to search a civilian's residence?" The General glared at Gibbs and Gibbs glared right back. Chloe glanced between them, thinking that unless someone stopped them, they'd still be here a year from now, just glaring at each other and trying to get the other to look away first.

"We have a warrant to search Mr. Friedman's house and any other personal property in his name." The director's voice broke the staring match. "And we will be taking his truck into our evidence garage." The General broke eye contact and looked at the director. She was holding said warrant in her hand. The General snatched the legal document out of the woman's hand and unfolded it to read.

"We will find Friedman's service weapon and we will confiscate any firearm we find on his property." Gibbs tilted his head a bit as he watched General Lane. "And we'll also be holding your sniper for questioning." Gibbs' tone was low but the intensity wasn't lost on anyone. General Lane's head snapped up to stare at Gibbs in a mixture of shock and anger. Chloe did a double take and stared at her boss. Did he just say Sniper? Was he talking about Derek Friedman? "Seeing as how he's the main suspect in two ongoing investigations." Gibbs added.

"'Two'?" General Lane echoed. If Chloe hadn't known better, she would have sworn that the General had just started to sweat.

"Didn't I mention that?" Gibbs sounded almost surprised at himself. "Huh." He added as he turned and headed toward the conference table again. Chloe blinked a few times, not really knowing what Gibbs was playing at. What did he mean by 'two' investigations? There was only the murder investigation. Right…? She looked over at the director and found her staring at Gibbs, her face completely void of any expression. What was going on here?

"What other investigation is he involved in?" The General demanded. Gibbs took his time in turning back to face the group.

"Assault; on a navy lieutenant." He said as he squared his shoulders. The General looked confused. "You may know her already, General. Her name is Rachel Horton." Okay… that one came completely out of left field! Rachel Horton? But she was thousands of miles away, stationed on a navy ship somewhere in the Persian Gulf!

"His girlfriend?" The General chuckled incredulously, looking from Gibbs to the director and back again. "Since when does NCIS investigate lover's quarrels?"

"Since Lt. Horton reported to her stationed vessel, barely able to do her job due to injuries she'd sustained while in your man's company." Gibbs replied.

"So naturally you attributed that to him having roughed her up?" The General chuckled, sounding more annoyed now than incredulous.

"Well, she told me that she'd gone hiking and slipped into a ravine." Gibbs gave a little shrug.

"Then I think you should take her word for it and stop bothering innocent people!" The General snapped.

"Yeah." Gibbs chuckled, "I can't do that." Chloe frowned in confusion. Gibbs looked genuinely amused. General Lane, however, did not. "The lieutenant didn't mention the hiking trip to the ship's doctor when he wanted to pull her off duty. She told him that she'd fallen down a flight of stairs."

"And?" General Lane snapped.

"Lt. Rachel Horton is not a very good liar, General." Gibbs stated matter-of-factly.

"What-! What is this?" The General shot as he turned to the director. "Is this how you run this place? Guesswork and wild accusations? What, is a magic eight ball your primary method of investigation?" Chloe felt her temper flare. She'd had just about enough of her uncle's attitude!

"Have you ever seen a woman that's been abused, General?" The words were out of Chloe's mouth before she could stop herself. She knew what Gibbs was getting at. Rachel Horton had lied when she'd insisted that Derek Friedman had nothing to do with her being injured. Chloe had seen it in the young woman's eyes. "As in emotionally and psychologically tormented? They may look perfectly normal to the untrained eye, but the moment you mention their tormentor and suggest that he may have mistreated them, they instantly jump to his defense with-"

"Chlo!" the General cut her off, adding a tired sigh at the end of his abbreviation of her name, "This is a discussion for the grown ups. You really don't want to get in the middle of this." Chloe's eyes widened in fury. He had just waved her off as if she were no more than an uneducated child!

"That's 'Agent' Sullivan to you, General!" Chloe erupted. To her surprise, her outburst stopped General Lane in his tracks. He was staring at her in surprise, like she had just transformed before his eyes. Chloe glared hatefully at her uncle, feeling her anger bubbling within her. She'd had so much more than enough of Sam Lane's dismissal of her opinions over the years. It was like years of frustration were finally bubbling to the surface. "Unless you want me to start addressing you as 'Sam' or even 'Sammy', like my father does," the General seemed to swell in indignation at Chloe's mention of her father's nickname for him, a name that the good General despised more than anything else, "you will show me the professional curteousy of addressing me as is fitting to my station! You may feel that what I do is nothing more than an annoyance, and to you, I might not be much more than an ignorant child, but my job is just as perfectly legitimate as yours is! You-! You're unbelievable! One of your men is in custody, accused of murder, and you're acting like you can just waltz in here and-!"

"Agent Sullivan!" The director's firm bark cut Chloe's tirade short. "That is enough!" Clamping her mouth shut, Chloe glared at her uncle, her chest heaving with her heavy breathing as she tried to wrestle her temper back into check. NO ONE could make her as angry as General Lane could! He was the most incorrigible person she had ever met! "General Lane," the director turned her attention back to Chloe's uncle, "We will be holding your man in custody, interrogating him as to his involvement in Seaman Horton's death, and we will act on the search warrant granted to us by the federal judicial system." The general scowled at the director, obviously not liking this one bit. "I will of course be notifying Army CID and-"

"That will not be necessary." The General cut the director off.

"Excuse me?" The director arched her eyebrows questioningly.

"I said, that won't be necessary, director Shepard." The General repeated, a little more respectfully this time around. "I will be handling this matter personally. I will act as Mr. Friedman's armed forces representative myself. All of your findings will be shared with me and I will be kept in the loop on any and all actions taken regarding Mr. Friedman's case." The director watched the General for a moment in silence.

"A noble thing to do for a civilian with no ties to the military." The director smiled ruefully.

"My reasons are my own." The General replied shortly. Chloe glanced over at Gibbs and saw him watching General Lane like a hawk. Gibbs had mentioned something about Friedman being a sniper earlier and it had startled the General that he had. Could it be that Friedman was in fact a sniper in some army special task force that was off-the-books?

"Fine. You will be kept in the loop." The director agreed.

"Good." The General nodded, looking satisfied. "Then I trust, Special Agent Gibbs," he turned to face Chloe's boss, "that we can handle these matters quickly and quietly?"

"Got somewhere you need to be, General?" Gibbs asked, cocking his head. Sam Lane gave a tiny stiff smile.

"Let's just say that I wouldn't want Mr. Friedman spending any more time in confinement than he has to. For the sake of the investigation, of course." Gibbs held the General's gaze for a moment before it flicked over to the director.

"Investigations." The director corrected the General's words. "As Special Agent Gibbs mentioned, your man is involved in more than just the investigation of Seaman Horton's murder." The General turned back to the director, looking livid.

"You're not seriously considering pursuing this blatant slandering of—"

"NCIS has the authority to investigate and file charges on behalf of any and all enlisted personnel and officers of the naval forces and the marine corp!" the director cut General Lane off in a clipped official tone, "And when a navy lieutenant gets assaulted by another member of the armed forces, even if she herself does not report said assault, you can bet your entire battalion that this is exactly what we intend to do."

"This is outrageous!" The general thundered.

"No, General." Director Shepard calmly removed her glasses and placed them on the desk in front of her before rising to her feet; her steely gaze locked on the General. "What's truly outrageous is you walking into my office and telling me how to run this agency!" The director's very presence seemed to fill the whole room. Chloe was reminded of the time she first met the director in Grant Gabriel's office back at the Daily Planet. She'd gotten the impression then that director Shepard was not a woman to be challenged, and proof of that very fact was clear as day in front of her right at that very moment. "Do not, even for a second, entertain the notion that you can dictate terms while in my office, General! I'm allowing you full access to our findings as a gesture of good faith! Under normal circumstances, Army CID would be all over this investigation, sifting through every shred of evidence with a fine toothed comb! And you can bet that once your man's background came to light, their grip on your covert operations team would tighten so drastically that your people would need to ask permission every time they needed to draw breath!" Ah-hah! So there was a covert operations team involved! That's why her uncle wanted to handle this one personally! Chloe glanced over at her uncle, knowing that a storm was definitely on its way. There was no way in hell that General Sam Lane was going to take that one lying down. The look of indignation and insult on the General's face gave every indication of an impending bold of lightning.

"You," the General turned to Gibbs, a threatening finger directed in his direction, "will treat Derek Friedman with the utmost respect!" Chloe closed her eyes in exasperation. How classic General Lane! Resulting to threats when he didn't get his way! "There will be no allegations made upon his character or his person unless you have concrete evidence that allows you to back up your statements! And even then, I warn you to tread lightly!"

"You might want to put that finger away, General." Gibbs' tone, although calm and barely above a whisper, spoke volumes. This was a man who did not take kindly to threats! General Lane hesitated for a moment and then lowered his hand, resting it at his side.

"Mark my word, Special Agent Gibbs;" he snarled, "I will be watching you like a hawk all throughout your investigations!" Gibbs let out an amused chuckle, accompanied by that weird twitch of his head that was not exactly a nod, but still not exactly a shake of the head.

"I'm sure you will, General." Gibbs sounded generally amused again. "I just hope you can keep up."

"You will keep me in the loop!" The General raised his voice. "You don't make a move without me being present!"

"You'll get all the info you want on the murder investigation." Gibbs said matter-of-factly as he started for the door.

"And the assault charge?" The General snapped. Gibbs reached the door and opened it, then stopped and looked over at the General like his question had confused him a little.

"Well, don't look at me." He said with a small shrug. "Talk to Agent Sullivan." He indicated Chloe with a jerk of his head in her direction. Chloe frowned in confusion. Wait, what…? The General seemed to share her confusion. "It's her case." Gibbs said finally as he exited the room. Chloe stared in wide eyed shock at the door closing behind her boss. She could have sworn her ears were ringing. Wha- what did he just say?