True Teamwork

Chapter 1

Tony stretched with a groan and rubbed his eyes wearily, noting the time was almost 2300 hours. With Kate on special assignment for the State Department, he and Gibbs were more overworked than usual. The case they'd been working on for a few days had been difficult, and although they'd made some headway, there were still too many questions. Gibbs was in a growling mood, impatient for a quick resolution. He'd left the bullpen twenty minutes earlier in search of some fresh air and a caffeine fix.

Tony sighed and stared at the file in front of him yet again. He and Gibbs were working on a bombing case. Thanks to Abby's work at teasing a partial fingerprint from the scant forensic material they had, they'd already identified the key suspect, one Frank Redding, a Lieutenant stationed out of Norfolk who was currently AWOL. He'd bombed two sites frequented by military personnel, causing fortunately relatively minor damage but injuring six. Tony was trying to figure out his motive and possible next target before Redding could strike again. In reading the files, he learned that Redding apparently was disgruntled at having been passed over numerous times for promotion and had received disciplinary action a couple times for minor infractions. And in the past hour Tony thought he might just have connected something that would help resolve the case …

He glanced up as he heard the ding of the elevator arriving on the floor, the bell sounding louder than usual due to the quietness of the office at this late hour. Gibbs strode in, a large coffee cup in both hands. Tony returned his attention to the file to recheck his findings, giving a grateful smile when Gibbs wordlessly deposited a cup on his desk before heading to his own. Removing the lid and inhaling the fragrant scent of caffeine and hazelnut, he took a long sip before standing and moving over to Gibbs.

Gibbs looked at him expectantly, eyebrows arched. "Got something, DiNozzo?"

"Maybe, Boss. I was looking over Redding's file again and noticed something … may be nothing, but –"

"Just spit it out!" Gibbs snapped impatiently.

Tony flushed. "Right, Boss." He reached for the remote and the plasma flashed on, displaying the two bomb sites. Tony nodded towards the screen. "The first bomb was set off at the officer's club just inside the base. I went through the list of names of people who frequent it and it turns out that one of the regular customers is … " He paused, displaying the photo and bio of a fiftyish looking man with clear blue eyes and classic short naval haircut. "… Captain Arnold Stauffer. Has a usual table he sits at every Tuesday evening, which was the closest table to where the bomb was. However, he wasn't there that night because of an emergency late-night session with the Admiral."

Gibbs stared at him, eyes narrowing. "And that means something?"

"Yeah, I think so. See, two days later he was scheduled to address a group of new seamen recruits at the Norfolk Naval Yard at Portsmouth, but he missed that, having gotten a flat tire en route. It just happens that –"

"That's where the bomb was left in the trash can by the speaker's dais!"

Tony smiled, green eyes gleaming. "Right. Strange coincidence, don't you think?"

Gibbs frowned, but his icy blue eyes gleamed as well. "You know I don't believe in coincidences," he growled. "And how does this tie in to Redding?"

"It just so happens that Captain Stauffer was Redding's CO until May of this year, when he was reassigned. And guess who wrote poor performance reports on Redding and kiboshed his attempts at a promotion?" Tony grinned, handing the file to Gibbs.

"So you think …?"

"Well, it occurred to me that Redding might be choosing sites where he expected Captain Stauffer would be, and it was just his bad luck that he missed both times due to unforeseen circumstances. I think that Captain Stauffer is the target."

"It's possible, but a little thin."

"Yeah," Tony agreed, but he gave a self-satisfied smirk. "So I dug a little deeper and found that two weeks ago Captain Stauffer was admitted to the hospital briefly for a case of carbon monoxide poisoning. Preliminary conclusion is that it was due to a faulty heater in his house. While that's certainly possible, I got to thinking that maybe it wasn't actually an accident. I mean, the man may not know it, but he's had three potentially life threatening events in just the past couple weeks. So I'm having the investigative reports sent to Abby to have her work her magic. I figure she might find some other reason why this happened."

Gibbs glanced through the file. "Good job, Tony," he murmured, missing Tony's sudden beaming smile. "Now, do we know anything about Captain Stauffer's schedule in the next few days?"

Tony moved back to his desk and consulted a piece of paper. "As a matter of fact, we do. Turns out he's scheduled to attend a small military parade here in DC tomorrow morning at 1000 hours." He took a quick sip of coffee before adding, "I think it might be a good opportunity for Redding to try again. Stauffer would be pretty vulnerable out there."

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, sounds like something Redding might not be able to resist." He arched a look at his weary Agent. "Okay, DiNozzo, go home and get a few hours of sack time. We'll need to be alert in the morning if we're going to catch this guy."

"On it, Boss," Tony grinned, locking his computer and hoisting his backpack onto his shoulder. "See you at 0600."

"Make it 0700. And don't be late!" Gibbs admonished gruffly, his lips twitching to suppress his own grin. Tony merely waved and headed out.

Chapter 2

The next morning dawned clear and bright, a perfect day for a parade. Gibbs' eyes scanned the growing crowd appraisingly. The parade had just started and he was walking along one side of the street, with DiNozzo on the other. "Anything?" he growled into his mike.

"Not yet, Boss," came the answer in his ear. Tense minutes passed as they searched for Redding in the shifting sea of people. Suddenly Gibbs heard Tony shout, "Got him, Boss! He's near 21st Street. I'm almost – uh oh, he's made me. He's taking off. Damn, I think he's got a gun!"

Gibbs started pushing his way across the street, darting between two military bands, just catching sight of Tony in hot pursuit almost two blocks away. Just as he made the curb on the other side of the street, a big, overweight man stuffing a hot dog in his mouth, pushing to move forward for a better view, stepped in front of him and Gibbs crashed into him, landing on the ground. With a curse of impatience and ignoring the man's angry shout, Gibbs immediately sprang up and started running, trying to thread his way through the crowd, then stopped. He'd lost sight of Tony and had no idea what side street he may have turned on. "DiNozzo!" he called into the mike roughly. "DiNozzo, answer!" But the only answer was a frightening silence. With another curse he whipped out his cell phone and speed dialed Abby.

"Hello, you've reached the magical world of—" Abby began cheerfully.

"Abbs, I need you to track Tony's cell and give me his location – NOW!" Gibbs demanded urgently.

"Gibbs, what—"

"Abby, I need Tony's location!"

"You know, Gibbs, I can talk and work at the same time …" Abby paused, then said, "He's not very far from you, less than three blocks, heading north. Go down L Street to 23rd and turn right, he's … oh, wait, looks like he's stopped. He should be a couple hundred feet down that street."

"Got it. Let me know if he moves," Gibbs said tersely, snapping his phone shut and racing down the street. He hoped Tony's lack of movement meant he had caught up with and detained Redding, not the he was injured or … no, Tony was fine. Gibbs wouldn't go down that dark path. He merely pressed harder to get to the scene.

Chapter 3

"NCIS! Stop or I'll shoot, Redding!" Tony yelled, closing the distance between them. He followed as Redding disappeared briefly around the corner but as Tony entered the quiet side street he quickly decelerated at the sight in front of him. Strangely, Redding had stopped, and was simply standing next to a black sedan parked in an otherwise empty and overgrown parking lot to the left. The car's trunk was open and at a quick glance Tony could see a fairly large box that seemed to contain something electronic.

Tony approached slowly, nearing to just a few feet from the car, gun drawn. "Hands up, Redding. Now! It's over."

"Maybe, but not for me," Redding replied smoothly. He turned his right hand over and revealed a small remote control. He pressed a button and the electronic unit in the car trunk lit up.

Tony froze, staring down at the red lasers suddenly centered on his chest. He slowly looked up, noticing the box in the car trunk had an impressive array of wires linked to what he guessed was a bomb, the lasers emanating ominously from it. Cautiously he dropped his arm holding the gun, knowing he wouldn't be able to shoot Redding, who had shifted away from the car, without moving out of range of the lasers.

Redding gave a laugh, his eyes gleaming maliciously. "The lasers will detonate the bomb if they lose contact with you. I'd suggest you don't move, unless you want to become part of the scenery." He paused, hearing the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way. Have a good day!" Tony watched helplessly as he ran off, disappearing from sight.

He saw Gibbs appear at the end of the street and come racing up to him, and Tony shouted frantically, "Stop! Don't come any closer!"

Gibbs came to an abrupt halt, icy blue eyes widening at the sight of the red lasers focused on DiNozzo. "Okay, Tony, don't move," he said quickly, pulling out his phone to call the bomb squad.

Tony nodded, wetting his suddenly dry lips. "Not moving, Boss."

Chapter 4

Within ten minutes the bomb squad had arrived. Gibbs was glad to see Tom Cropwell as lead. He had worked with him through various tense situations in the past and knew he could trust him. He quickly explained the situation to Tom, then moved back to Tony's side to offer tacit support. Gearing up, Cropwell edged carefully towards the car trunk, calling out to Tony, "Hey, just hang in there. We'll diffuse this and get you all set shortly."

Tony managed a weak smile. "Yeah, I'll just stay here. I don't have anywhere else to be right now." Funny how his legs suddenly felt like lead. Keeling over right now is not an option, he told himself sternly. Let's not spray DiNozzo bits around the neighborhood.

Chapter 5

Cropwell and another member of his team closely examined the unit, gingerly checking wires and murmuring to each other in voices too low for Tony to hear what they said. He took a shuddering breath as he nervously waited, striving to keep his trembling legs from buckling. Gibbs still stood quietly close by, his solid presence offering Tony some desperately needed comfort.

Suddenly some lights on the bomb unit started flashing, and a red countdown clock abruptly appeared. Tony started with a sharp gasp, eyes widening, but managed to catch himself from moving too much. Alarmingly, the clock was counting down from 10 minutes.

"Shit!" Cropwell exclaimed, bent warily over the box.

"What's happening?" Gibbs demanded tensely.

"Guy was clever. It doesn't just have a motion sensor that will detonate if you move out of range, it apparently has a timer, too. Guess he set the motion sensor for something like 20 minutes before the timer would start." Cropwell shook his head, eyes darting over the bomb assessingly. "It's a kind of fail-safe … don't disarm the bomb in time, and it will still go off, no matter how still you stand."

"But why …?" Tony asked.

Gibbs looked at him grimly. "My guess is Redding wanted whoever tripped the bomb to sweat it out standing still, thinking that he just had to keep from moving to prevent the bomb from going off, but then he added the timer to make the person really panic."

"Well, it's working," Tony said shakily. He looked at the timer, which now showed just over eight minutes. Inhaling deeply to try to slow his rapid breathing, he asked Cropwell, "Any chance you can disarm this before the big finale?"

"I'm working on it," Cropwell muttered, standing up and walking over to consult with another expert.

Chapter 6

Five minutes on the timer. Tony shifted slightly, feeling the sweat rolling down his back. He knew it wasn't possible, but he could almost feel his chest getting warm from the menacing heat of the lasers. His heart was pounding furiously, and it was all he could do to hold his position. He looked at Gibbs bleakly. "Not quite the way I planned to go out," he murmured despondently.

Gibbs arched an eyebrow at him, shaking his head. "You're not going anywhere," he retorted calmly.

Tony looked at him, studying his stoic face. If Gibbs had any doubts about how this would turn out, he sure couldn't tell by his expression. Tony realized the only reason he hadn't yet fallen over was because this man was providing the quiet support he had always given him, support that Tony counted on more than anyone could know. Strength and support that Tony knew, without any doubt, he could rely on. That was a rarity in his world; he had no experience with that growing up in a cold and uncaring home environment. He was learning a lot from working with Gibbs, but one of the most important things was how to work as a team, knowing without question that he had backup in critical situations. Tony hoped that Gibbs felt as confident in Tony's ability to be on his six. He and Gibbs usually didn't say much about their relationship, but he thought they both understood their unique bond. Or maybe not … he should say something before it was too late. He owed Gibbs that. Tony moistened his dry lips. "Boss, if … if this doesn't turn out well, I want you to know –" he began.

"Save it for another time, when you really need it!" Gibbs interrupted quickly. More quietly, he added, "We'll get you through this. I'm not done with you yet, DiNozzo."

Tony gave a faint grin. "Still a work in progress, huh, Boss?" he joked weakly.

"A lot of work!" Gibbs returned with his own faint smile. "And I still owe you a head slap for taking off the way you did!"

"Looking forward to it, Boss." Tony just hoped he'd be around for a lot more head slaps …

Chapter 7

The red numbers on the timer inexorably continued their countdown, signaling just under two minutes left. Tony eyed Gibbs, who still stood only a few feet away from him. He bit his lip, fear apparent in his green eyes. "Boss, I think maybe you should –" he began.

"No," Gibbs interrupted firmly, shaking his head, his eyes intent on his Very Special Agent. "Don't even think it. I'm not leaving."

"There's no reason to stay!" Tony cried desperately. "You can't help me! I don't want you killed too!"

Gibbs' lips tightened, his vivid blue eyes flashing. "There is a reason to stay, DiNozzo. I've got your six. And we're in this together."

"But –"

"Tony," Gibbs said quietly. "This is not a debate. You'll be okay and I am staying." Never leave a man behind, Gibbs thought, always the Marine. Especially when it was Tony.

Their eyes met in silent communication. Tony swallowed hard, tears shining in his eyes, and gave the faintest of nods. Gibbs managed a brief smile to acknowledge it and turned back to Cropwell. "How are we doing?"

Cropwell frowned, still studying the bomb. "We think we understand the set up but are concerned about the wires. This guy is pretty wily, and we're not sure if he would deliberately switch the relays so we'd pull the wrong wire."

"You've got to do something; we're running out of time!" Gibbs looked at the countdown clock; less than one minute remained.

"Yeah, right." Cropwell pulled out his wire cutters and glanced at Gibbs. "You'd better get back behind the perimeter, just in case …"

"I'm staying," Gibbs said resolutely, looking at his Agent. "I want to be here when this comes out just fine."

Tony gave a sigh, his eyes locked on Gibbs, and stood just a little straighter, willing his quaking body to hold on for … another 12 seconds! Cropwell firmly clipped one of the wires and then decisively cut it, just as the timer turned to three seconds. A moment that seemed to extend forever – Gibbs was sure he didn't breathe at all – and then the timer froze, the lasers blinking out.

Tony stared in shock, looking down at his now laser-less chest with overwhelming relief, and gave a whoop. "Tom! You are the man!" he shouted.

Gibbs gave a grin and blew out a sigh of relief, still watching his Very Special Agent closely. The adrenalin rush that Tony had experienced was bound to crash … and just as Tony took a step his face suddenly paled, the smile fading, and he swayed dangerously as his knees buckled.

"Hey, now, I've got ya!" Gibbs quickly grabbed Tony as he fell limply. He carefully lowered him to the ground, calling for someone to bring some water. "It's okay. You made it!" he whispered to Tony, his hand warm on his neck as he gave it a gentle squeeze.

Tony stirred, his eyes slowly opening. "We made it," he corrected with a wan smile. He sobered, his green eyes regarding Gibbs, noting the strain still evident on his face. "Thanks for staying with me, Boss," he said softly.

Gibbs' lips twitched. "Anytime, Tony. Anytime."